Hi! I know what you think. I am filled with the on-going fics now and I am only active with two fics weekly (Fantasy Beyond Reality and Mending Tears) and one inactive fic (Cherry Valentines). Now I am starting with a new fic which was requested by Johanna on her birthday. But it's okay, even though I cannot guarantee you my weekly updates of this one. I'll assure you that I'll finish all of my on-going fics. So I hope that you love this pioneer chapter. Happy Birthday Johanna… this fic is for you. I hope you like it. ^_^

Chapter 1: Marriage Complex

Chapter Summary: She couldn't believe it. She was marrying him. As in she couldn't believe that she was marrying the man of her dreams… but she was not expecting it this way…

"Do you, Ryuzaki Sakuno, take Echizen Ryoma, to be your lawfully wedded husband for better or worse, for health and sickness and 'till death do you part?"

Her eyes widened a bit as she heard what the priest in front of them asked the famous question to her. Everyone was waiting for her answer. If she answered that question positively, she would be together with the guy who was standing beside her. Everything would change after that. Her nineteen years of being single would change in an hour.

The question was… was she ready?

She looked at the man beside her. He was looking at her as well, waiting for her answer. Ryoma looked good at his white tuxedo that paired with her white trahe de boda. She blushed as she looked away and looked back at the priest. Ryoma had the same expression but somehow, it still gave her the same reaction to her face. Not wanting for the priest to wait, she answered him… positively.

"I do." She was thankful that she didn't crack.

The priest had asked her more questions and gave him the same answers. Her mind was elsewhere when she was answering the questions. It wasn't like she didn't want to marry Ryoma. He was her crush, her first love and her savior. It was definitely a dream came true for her, marrying the man of her dreams.

But…

She felt that something was wrong. Something was not right. She was not supposed to marry him today. The last time she remembered, they were just celebrating Ryoma's victory for winning the ATP world tour three weeks ago. They were celebrating at Kawamura's as usual. She was there too courtesy of Tomoka and her grandmother. They enjoyed the night laughing and giggling as they often spent time with the famous tennis prodigy. Ryoma was spending most of his time to different countries and he went to Japan on and off if he had the time, not missing to visit them. That thought brought her back to the past.

Flashback:

"What's the meaning of this?"

She could hear the unbelievable voice of her grandmother. Her head was aching as she reached for it. She sat up as she tried to look around her. Blinking her eyes for several times, she could sense that she was not alone in the room. There were figures around her and her grandmother but she was having a hard time recognizing them. They knew them but their names were raking inside her brain.

"W-what's happening?" She asked instead as she was not aware of her surroundings yet.

"Ryuzaki-sensei…"

She recognized the voice this time and the sound was really close to her. That was the time she recognized the people around her.

It was the Seigaku regulars and her grandmother.

"M-minna, W-what's happening? W-why are you…" She was cut when someone stopped her by simply covering the hand of her stopper to her.

"I'll take responsibility."

Her eyes widened as she looked to her side. "R-ryoma… kun…" He was there looking straight at her grandmother's shocked face… no almost unbelievable vision. She realized that she was on the bed… with him… both naked.

Eh?

She observed herself as she blushed really hard. Realizing that she was naked, she secured the cloth that was covering her body. Blush rushed up to her face as she tried to explain, "I-it's not what you think—I—I—don't remember anything. T-this was just a misunderstanding-"

"Ochibi, how could you?" Eiji suddenly said cutting her explanation, "Don't you respect our coach?"

"I agree with Eiji-senpai," Momo said as well, "We want you to be together but not this fast!"

"S-senpai-tachi… l-listen to me." She tried to reason out.

"I said I'll take responsibility." Ryoma said stoically propping his hand to his chin as he was not looking at them, like it was the normal thing to do. He didn't move a muscle the moment they entered the room, he was still sitting beside her.

"Saa… what done is done. We cannot undo this." Fuji commented.

"This is trouble. What if Ryuzaki-chan…" The concerning mother hen started his worrying thoughts about them.

She tried to get their attention, "H-hear me, please."

"That's enough, Sakuno." Sumire said who was quiet after the shock.

"B-but nothings-"

"How am I supposed to believe that when I saw you looking like that?" She was starting to get irritated at her. Seeing that it was useless explaining to her, she looked down and gripped her hands hard on the sheet.

"There's no other choice," Tezuka looked at them and then looked at Ryoma afterwards, giving him all the stares he could get, "You should take responsibility."

Ryoma twitched, "That's what I said."

Sumire looked at them for a long time. They were still on the bed, not looking at each other and different shades of red could be seen from them. Well, Ryoma had a little while Sakuno had a lot. Sighing, she finally made a decision, "You two leave me no choice, you have to marry."

She looked at her grandmother unbelievably. Not expecting that her grandmother would say that, she couldn't find the words to protest. She was very busy with her thoughts that she didn't see his reaction. Then everything went fast and they started preparing for their wedding.

And there they were, in front of the priest, exchanging vows with each other. Ryoma didn't say anything and remained quiet these three weeks of preparation. She didn't hear or see any sign of protest or any violent reaction from him. But she was completely aware. They were completely aware.

"And now you may kiss your bride."

The voice of the priest brought her back from the past. She clearly heard what the priest had said just now. She didn't even hear Ryoma said his 'I do's' to the priest or she wasn't even aware at all. Her heart was beating really fast when Ryoma turned her to his side and lifted the veil on her head. She had the chance to stare at her 'husband'. He was really good-looking or proper to say handsome like those fangirls of his often told. His expression was still the same but she knew that he was not regretting everything. And she wanted to believe that.

She blinked her eyes twice when the guy's hand tipped her chin. Closing her eyes tight, she waited for the kiss that he was about to give her. Her heart wouldn't stop from panicking and she hoped that it would end really fast. And then he slowly leaned closer and kissed her.

…On the cheek.

It was fast but she was still shocked. Ryoma kissed her… on the cheek. Somehow, that was not the one she was expecting and mentally felt disappointed about it. Ryoma gave her a tiny smile after that. Staring at him, she smiled as well not missing the blush on her face. Both of them looked at the crowd. They invited their close friends, from the school's close rivals to their relatives. The church was enough to occupy them.

The western wedding of them was simple yet a peaceful one. Sakuno smiled at them, Ryoma did too but only a little. They were married but they could still hear teases from his teammates in the lead of Eiji.

At the reception:

She still couldn't believe that she was married. She was Mrs. Sakuno Echizen starting today. The man of nineteen who was sitting beside her was her husband now. Until that very moment, he was still the stern person she knew but she didn't see any sign of resentment from him.

Was it really okay for him?

What about his career?

What about his fame?

What about his—

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

She was cut with the sound of high pitch sound of glasses being hit by spoons and fork. Her eyes widened as she looked at the crowd. They were looking at them while they were making sounds with their glasses.

They were asking for it.

To her surprise, Ryoma raised his hand once again to touch her cheek this time. She blushed really hard as she stared at his eyes.

"Don't worry, just leave it to me." He whispered before leaning down to her face.

E-eh?! Her eyes widened as he did that. His hand that was covering her cheek was the one blocking the audience view so they would probably thought that they kissed.

But they didn't.

She was shocked because Ryoma was just kissing her at the corner of her lips. Even though it wasn't exactly at her lips, the friction still created an affect to her. His lips were pretty close to hers making her blush really hard. Closing her eyes in the process, she couldn't stop her panicky heart at that moment. She raised her hands to his chest and gripped there.

"That is really long, Echizen!" Momo suddenly shouted making everyone laugh at his comment.

Both of them broke from the 'kiss' and stared at them.

"Urusai, Momo-senpai!" Ryoma retorted but there was a slight hue of red on his cheek. The crowd began to laugh once again.

She blushed really hard and was a bit shocked to see him blush a little. Momo was true anyway. Ryoma didn't let go until Momo cut them. Looking away, she covered her lips due to embarrassment. She didn't know what exactly to feel at that moment.

"Look, Sa-chan is really shy!" Eiji pointed at her making her look at the acrobatic player.

"S-sa-chan?" Blinking her eyes twice as she looked at the crowd where Eiji was staying. The regulars were sitting at one large table while her grandmother was sitting with Ryoma's family. Two tables were sitting close to each other. The thought brought her back. Well, she was not a Ryuzaki anymore.

They reception continued. Congratulating words could be heard from them. Even Tomoka hugged her and was really happy for her. The music started to play and to her surprise, Ryoma invited her to the dance floor. Another whispers and teases could be heard as they went in the middle. They started to dance. She wasn't sure if Ryoma could dance as they were slowly rocking their bodies there. His one arm was wrapping to her waist while the other was with hers. Her other hand was on his shoulder. She couldn't look straight at his eyes, so she ended up looking at his chest. She was blushing really hard.

"You don't have to be so tense around me."

She looked up to see amber eyes staring straight at her. They were still the same.

"Just relax." He added gripping his hold to her waist.

She secretly yelped when he did that. Nodding, she gave him a tiny smile as they continued to smile. Later on, people came to them one by one as they pinned some money to their wedding attire. Some were yen and some were dollars.

Sakuno was still shocked about the western traditional wedding custom. Maybe the reason why Ryoma chose this custom was because he was aware of it. She wouldn't mind though… she only wished that everything would be okay between them.

After the dance, there were doves to be freed, then the cutting of large wedding cake and throwing her bouquet to the girls. Throwing of her nice and beautiful bouquet to the girls was a tradition for a wedding that whoever caught it would be the next girl to get married. When she threw it, it was Nanako who caught it. The girl blushed as she caught it but she was happy though. The next event made her blush to the umpteenth time. Ryoma ordered her to sit and told her that he would get the garter from her leg.

"R-ryoma-kun, w-wait!" She tried to stop him when his hands were under her wedding gown already.

"I told you to relax," He smirked this time as he continued lifting his hands to her leg, "This won't take long."

Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes to relax. Her heart was beating really fast. She also gasped when his hands touched her skin of her legs. Gasping, she gripped her hands tight which were on her lap. The crowd whispered as Ryoma was getting the garter inside her. Finally he got it and stood up. She breathed afterwards. Soon after, it was the guys turn to stand in the front. Ryoma turned around and threw the garter at his back. Sakuno was really blushing at that moment especially when the receiver of the garter was…

…Tezuka… who was just sitting not far from them.

The tennis captain just stared at his hand which the garter landed. The others looked at him and gave him a silent reaction but afterwards… teases.

"Way to go, Buchou!" Momo said approaching him, "It's you turn!"

Tezuka twitched when he said that. He looked at the garment once again and a blush was slowly appearing at his face. To his surprise, Nanjiroh suddenly stood in front of him and grinned;

"Well my boy," He started as he grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, "What are you waiting for? Go and put it in Nanako-chan's leg."

"What?" Tezuka's eyes widened, "W-wait!"

Ryoma and Sakuno were standing at the corner when the table was turned to Tezuka and Nanako. The latter was blushing as the former hesitatingly inserted the garter to Nanako. Tezuka was blushing but he tried to hide it. Once he was finished, he bowed to Nanako before walking back to his seat. He continued drinking his wine to calm himself.

The other regulars snickered at Tezuka's action. But they sweat dropped when Tezuka acted being the captain once again as he ordered his teammates to run a hundred laps when they got back to school. They were already in college, same school and same teammates. Only the seniors were graduating next year. After the small scene, the table returned back to the newly wedded couple.

The event continued until night. The ceremony went well as expected of Echizen's wealth. Ryoma had been winning matches from here and there. The latest money that they used for their wedding was the price that he had won from the ATP world tour. That was why they were able to invite their close friends; Fudomine, Rikkaidai, Shitenhouji and even . They even invited Hyotei much for Atobe's bewilderment.

Everyone knew that it was a sudden wedding ceremony but they didn't ask questions any further. They knew what Ryoma had been doing and he knew that what he was doing was right. The people who knew her and Ryoma thought that they were a perfect couple.

She wished that it was true. She truly wished that it was.

After the reception:

They were on their way to their unit after the tiring event. Well, actually, they snuck from the event with the help of Nanjiroh.

Go and make more babies, okay?

The thought made her blush even more. How could she forget that? After the reception, there was their honeymoon. She was being told that they would stay at a luxury hotel with him for two weeks. Ryoma suggested that an average hotel was fine for them but Nanjiroh insisted to take her in a grand hotel and so they were on the long ride at Tokyo bay. The ride was really quiet and awkward between them. How come it was hard to talk to him now? It wasn't hard before although, she took enough courage to initiate a conversation with him.

"Are you tired?"

She flinched when he asked that. Turning to her side, she saw Ryoma staring at her. It was very rare of him to initiate a conversation like this one. A blush appeared on her face as she answered, "N-no… I am fine."

"Un."

Silence welcomed them again as the car continued to take them to their destination. Minutes later, they reached the hotel that they were about to stay. They approached the hotel receptionist and made clarifications. When it was all done, they were being guided to the elevator. They both went in alone, since their things were already at their suite; it was no need for the hotel boy to escort them to their room. Once the elevator brought them up to their floor, Ryoma suddenly lifted her up making her gasp in the process. He carried her on their way to their room.

Sakuno panicked as she put her arm to her husband's shoulder and neck, "R-ryoma-kun!"

"We're almost there." He said as he stopped at a certain door. Good thing that it wasn't lock because he wouldn't probably know how to open it if he was holding her like that. His hands were busy from her back and from the back of her knees.

She only blushed as she let him do everything. His scent was really nice as she could smell him. Once the door was opened, she couldn't stop praising the place. The room was beautiful and elegant, the one that couple would give praise to a room. But her ocular search ended really fast when Ryoma went straight to their room and put her down on the bed. Ryoma somehow tripped and he wasn't able to balance himself as he put her down on the bed. He fell on top of her by accident. Both eyes widened and blushed with different shades of red.

"R-ryoma-kun." She was able to say his name. They were close to each other. She bet that he could hear the fast beating of her heart. Ryoma's hand was just a few inches to her face and she could feel that he was clenching the sheet. To her surprise, Ryoma pulled himself away from her;

"Gomen." He looked away, "Do you want to take a bath first?"

She quickly sat up and nodded, "H-hai." She remembered that they were still on their wedding attire except for her veil that he removed at the reception a while ago. It was quite disturbing for her when she moved around so he removed it for her. Her gown was off shoulder but there were straps at both sides and her skirt was really big and wide. She was still wondering, how Ryoma brought her there without hassle. Without waiting for his reply, she quickly went to the bathroom and started taking a bath. There was an evening gown already in the bathroom closet and thought that she could wear that. She looked at her reflection in front of the mirror. T-this is nice but t-this will be first time he will see me like this. She thought as another blush appeared to her face. She covered herself with robe as she went out of the bathroom. Ryoma was already on the bed, lying timidly there. His back was facing her so she tried to catch his attention;

"A-aren't you taking a bath as well?"

Upon hearing that, he looked at her making her blush in the process. His shirt was loosened that she could see his chest. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him bare naked but this time it was different. They were husband and wife now.

"Maybe later." He said after that.

She nodded and then sat on the bed. H-he is not going to do it, right? Even though we are a married couple now? b-but what if—she was cut on her thoughts when she felt the bed move. Gripping her hands tight, she waited for the next moment.

"Are you nervous?" He asked her. It was close to her ears but the way he asked it was not frightening. It was more on… calming. Admittedly, she nodded, "It's okay. We are not going to do it if you are not ready."

Her eyes widened as he said that. Ryoma sat beside her but he didn't say anything. Ever since that night, they didn't talk seriously to each other. It was the time that she should tell something to him;

"R-ryoma-kun…" She started gripping her hands on her lap.

"Hmmm."

"N-nothing happened… between us," She finally said it, "Right?"

It took for a minute before he answered;

"…No."

Upon confirming it, she looked at him, "Then… why didn't you say something? W-why didn't you explain it to them?"

"It would be useless to explain that scene besides," He said looking back at her, "You will be affected that most if I don't take responsibility."

"B-but what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I can get by."

"W-what really happened that time? I don't really remember?"

Ryoma closed his eyes as he too tried to remember, "I believe that we were both drunk."

"I—I was not, it's impossible."

"How can you remember if you are drunk?"

"What about you then?"

"I wasn't sure too," He said and then looked down, "I couldn't even remember how we both ended in Kawamura-senpai's room and both… naked."

Blush suddenly appeared at the both of them and they became silent once again.

"What's going to happen to us now?" She absentmindedly asked him. She didn't notice him looking at her.

"Let's try it."

"E-eh?!"

"…This marriage thing."

"W-what about your career, Ryoma-kun? T-this marriage will only hold you down."

"It's not going to be."

"H-how can you be so sure? W-what about your fangirls?"

"The whole world already knows that I am married now."

"Y-you are famous when you are single."

"I will become more famous now that I am married."

"I-is this really okay, for you?" She leaned closer to him this time, "I—I am not asking you to take responsibility. We both know that nothing happened between us. I—I don't want to be a burden to y-" She was cut when her new husband's hand went to her cheek and calmed her;

"Stop worrying. It's too late to go back now."

Her eyes widened as she realized that. He was right. It was too late. They were already married starting today. If she told them her true feelings and explained everything to them, they wouldn't end up like this. Ryoma would be participating in the other tournaments today instead of being with her. She had stolen his freedom. Looking down, she talked, "G-gomenasai."

"Don't be," he lifted her head using the hand on her cheek so that she could look at him, "I did not regret this. You are not that bad either."

"Ryoma-kun…" She said. Ryoma removed his hand from her and went back from lying down;

"You continue your life while I continue mine," He said as he fixed himself, "Since you are going to be with me, try to adjust with my time."

She stared at his back. She knew that he was ready to sleep. Sighing of relief, she knew what he meant at his words. They wanted to act like normal but the different was she would be staying with him for the rest of his life. With that thought, she slowly crawled on her part of the bed and lied down as well. Their backs were facing each other. She thought everything that happened from three weeks ago until that night. Ryoma was aware that nothing happened between them and if he didn't, she would know. She knew herself, she knew her own body and she was pretty certain that nothing happened between them.

But still Ryoma married her. He did this because he wouldn't want to ruin her reputation. He married her for her sake. Well, he gave her his name aside from that; there was nothing that he could lose if he didn't marry her. But Ryoma was really gentle to the people who were gentle to him. He was just returning the favor… and that was all she thought.

Calling it for a night, she closed her eyes and thought that she wished Ryoma had married her that day not because of a reputation…

That he married her because he loved her.

Done! How was this pioneer chapter? Their marriage life has started but what will happen next? Find that out in the next chapter.

To Miss Johanna: This multi-chaptered fic is for you. I hope you like this story though, the update is not regularly like the others. So… there it is. Happy Birthday again… ^_^

See you soon… ^_^

Next chapter: Insecurities