"If you were given one wish, what would it be?"

I, Ryuzaki Sakuno, had never before been asked such a question. I've had an average life. I've had friends and crushes. This was an average question, mind you. Everything about my life was average except for one thing. It wasn't a thing, though. It was a person, and that person was a certain 12-year-old male. His name was Echizen Ryoma.

What, you might ask, does Echizen Ryoma have to do with wishes? Other girls might say that he has everything to do with their wishes. They might say that their wish would be to be the mother of his babies.

What would I wish for? What does it have to do with Echizen Ryoma? You may just find out.

The melancholy of a so-called angel is what has happened to me, despite my wishes.~~~~

"Sakuno!"

"What is it, Tomo-chan?"

"We won the nationals! Did you hear?"

"I was there, Tomo-chan. It was amazing."

"Where is Ryoma-sama! I need to congratulate him."

"You see…"~~~~~

"Ryoma-kun, I know you lost your memories."

"Could you save it for later, Ryuzaki? I have a match to win."~~~~

I thanked him for saving me from the senpai on the train the day we met after he asked me for directions. I had sent him the wrong way, and he lost by default.

I thought he was a boy. He was not a boy, though. He was not a man. He was a male prodigy, and I admired him. He was not courageous, because to have courage there must be fear. He had seemingly no flaws.

I was no fool. I knew he was an icon. He was popular, and many appealing girls were after him. I didn't know whether or not they were his 'type' or not.

I didn't know if Echizen Ryoma had a type. I'd had crushes before, but Echizen was much different. I didn't want him to see me or to be invisible to him.

Being invisible was easy for me. I was kind to everyone, and I think of myself as the so-called angel. I am not conceited, and it was not an act. I'm normal.

Going back to wishes, I was going to tell you mine.

What, pray tell, do you think mine was?

If you think I wish for him to fall deeply and madly in love with me, you're wrong. Another wrong guess would be in thinking I wish for him to be happy with or without me.

I have no ill-intent toward Echizen, but I have no wish for him to suddenly become the jolliest man alive.

I wish for happiness myself. I am not selfish. I might have been happy if I had forgotten my great infatuation with the prince. I might have been happy if he had returned my love for him.

I don't know which would be most painful. If I took the time to think over his character and convince myself he was wrong for me, I probably wouldn't have the esteem to stop myself from thinking it was me who was wrong for him. If he accepted me, I would always have the fear of him turning me away. He would either find someone more interesting or break off the relationship because he just didn't care for me at all.

My insecurities were all I knew. I was right when I said he already had found his true love. Tennis was his dream, and I was only a footnote in his biography that was stardom, if I was even thought of by him.

No matter how much I tried, I could not forget him. His confidence was great enough that he could fill me with it and still have enough to defeat all of the opponents ahead of him. He had the power to make my knees weak and my cheeks blush bright pink. He had the power to make me the happiest girl alive and the ability to send me into hysterics with a melancholy that lasted into the late night.

He had left, though. He didn't stay. He went for the US Open, and I had no idea he had left until he was gone. I thought for once in my life that after the nationals, I might, just might, have a chance with Echizen.

I can't say I was unhappy after he left. In fact, I was quite content. I was sometimes happy. I had company with Tomoka, Horio, Katsuo, and Kachiro.

Then he returned. From what I heard, he just showed up out of nowhere, and that was it. Just like that, Echizen Ryoma was welcomed back to Japan at the U-17 Selection Camp. What a star he truly was and is really.

When I heard of his return, I nearly cried on the spot. I held it in, though. I hadn't forgotten him, but I was fine at the time. Heartbreak and regret filled me, along with hope and joy.

With his return came new memories; some were good and others bad. What also came was a realization.~~~~

I groaned. The bed had moved, or someone had shifted. It was probably me. I didn't usually sleep well. The covers had fallen off the bed, and I was cold.

I heard footsteps coming toward where I lay. I felt light pressure on my lips for just a moment, and then the comforter was pulled back over me.

My hands groped in the darkness for the person there, but they couldn't find him. All she could feel was the pillow that he had left an indentation on. She knew he had to leave again. She sighed and lay back down.

Her hands were suddenly enveloped with warmth, and she could feel his fingers entwined with hers. The cool touch of metal was the only thing that let her know it was not a dream. The ring on her finger was something real.

He was leaving for a tournament in America and would not return for a month. She chose to stay here instead of coming with.

He then released her hands, grabbed his duffel bag and tennis equipment, and then he left. Sakuno knew he would be back. He came back the last time he went to America for the US Open.

"Sometimes one wish is equivalent to three."

Author's Note:

I am just going to explain this now. In the story, she mentioned three wishes. 1: A wish for Ryoma to fall in love with her, which was not her wish. 2. For Ryoma to be happy with or without her, also not hers. 3. For herself to be happy, which was her wish. All three of them came true, so her one wish was equivalent to all three of those.