Disclaimer: I do not own POT (This claim is for both chap 1 and 2)
Author's notes: Aslee26606, here is the story and I hope that it is to your liking. It took me three hours to complete. It might be a little OOC WARNING. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Tezuka is coming back today…
Sakuno took one last look in the mirror before she headed out the door. Sakuno felt a myriad of emotions and one of them being anxiousness, because she thought that while he had been away for a few months he might've found a lovely blond American lady while he was overseas. Not to mention that when she was watching one of his games in America, a busty blond lunged at him was evidence enough that… women like the woman who lunged at Tezuka were throwing themselves at his feet. Sakuno looked at her down body earlier in the mirror… she wasn't endowed with big breasts or anything, she wasn't anything special. Sakuno recalled when Tezuka first told her how he felt, it was years ago, but the memory was still so vivid that the scene replayed in her head like it was only yesterday.
The wind rustled the trees in the park as Sakuno silently trailed after Tezuka wondering why on earth did he ask her to follow him? She went through all the accidents she had, such as tripping and knocking over the entire bag of tennis balls… was he mad at that? Or was it when she had accidentally split water onto his pants? Or was it because she hit the tennis ball earlier and it hit Tezuka smack bang in the stomach… ok… inches away from where it mattered.
"Ryuuzaki."
His voice seems very determined and very stern, Sakuno jerked from her list of accidents to look at Tezuka, his eyes burned deep into hers. Her cheeks flushed as she wondered if he had figured out that she had feelings for him? Sakuno was sure she didn't tell anyone… maybe he had noticed the way she looked at him?
"…Y…Yes?"
"I've decided this cannot go on any longer."
The way he was saying it sounded like it could be the accidents and about her crush, she gripped the edge of her tightly hoping that it was perhaps the former… please be about the accidents…
"If I don't do anything about it now, then what will be left is regret."
Regret? Sakuno hardly understood what he meant by that… this was starting to sound like something else entirely.
"Ryuuzaki, I like you."
"Eh?"
Sakuno had anticipated everything but what he had just said, it was only at that moment that she looked up and the shade of pink grew deeper. She finally looked at him and she knew that he seemed to be unable to stay his ground either. He kept pushing his spectacles higher but nothing was really fooling her this time. Tezuka turned to the side as he said purposefully
"What I mean to say is that I am in love with you. I know that you feel the same way for Echizen…but…"
He balled his fist and turned around saying in a very strong determined voice, the same voice he carried when he lead his team into the final competition
"If I don't try, then I will never know."
Sakuno felt like her heart was no longer sure if it ought to beat fast or completely stop, and thus it did the fast pacing beat, beating so hard against her ribcage. Sakuno raised her hand to her chest and she pressed the palm of her hand onto her chest as she squatted down close to the ground in hopes to regulate her breathing and she could feel her body shake.
"Ryuuzaki?"
Tezuka sounded worried, as he too dropped to Sakuno's level and he could see that Sakuno was trembling and that she seemed to be breathing harshly but he misunderstood completely
"Ryuuzaki, I do not expect you to return my feelings. I just need your honest answer and I will move on."
Sakuno's hand shot out to grab hold of Tezuka's hand, she was still shaking but she looked up saying
"n…N…No…"
Tezuka's eyes seemed to be watching her intensely but there was definitely a raised eyebrow in confusion and that was when Sakuno learnt a trick that helped her for the rest of her relationship with him. She could hear his own heartbeat, the way his eyes portrayed his soul, in doubt and ready for any form of attack that Sakuno could launch against him.
"M..My…My heart… b..beats so fas…fast… my head feels so… so…so light headed, I…I think…I…I am very… so very happy… and so… so embarrassed…I..I…I like you to…too…"
For once, that froze Tezuka. He squatted there unblinkingly looking at Sakuno while Sakuno had the opposite effect where her heart felt like it started to expand and that feeling of happiness just wouldn't stop. Tezuka seemed to be processing all the information very slowly and eventually his mind caught up with her own heart. Tezuka for once all the walls came down as though her words opened his emotional gates. He took her hand with his two hands and held it to his forehead, she could feel the slight dampness on her own skin as he shut his eyes and muttering
"…Thank god… Thank god."
Sakuno felt as though he was very thoroughly relieved as she begin to giggle softly and Tezuka gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close but Sakuno knew that she saw a slight tilt up on Tezuka's lips before he hid that look by hugging her. It was the one moment where she could see what others meant when they said Tezuka in his younger days resembled Ryoma… that same smile of victory. Small as it was… it was still the best thing Sakuno had ever seen in her life.
"Suppose, it is ok to let your guard down once a blue moon…"
Sakuno nodded wondering if he could feel her nod, together under the blue sky… it was their first day that they spent… as a couple.
Aside from being anxious and self-conscious about her own body, she was giddy with excitement. Tezuka had been overseas in America for 3 months and they had been emailing and using internet cameras to see each other, but personally she missed Tezuka, and seeing him through the computer or reading his emails was never enough for Sakuno, for she wanted to feel the warmth that radiated from Tezuka's rough hands… she wanted to spend precious minutes physically sitting side by side and just simply sharing the same space. Dare she even think about… missing his kisses? Sakuno went bright red feeling highly embarrassed that internally she felt her mental checklist of missing him went 'tick'.
Sakuno remembered their conversation before Tezuka boarded the plane, he looked straight at the camera as he said
"Sakuno, when I return to Japan… I have something very important that I want to discuss with you"
Internally Sakuno went through all the possible things that he had wanted to say to her, but the only thing she could think of was that Tezuka had decided that they wanted to go separate ways. His had a very serious look in his eyes, one that was completely without any guilt or any happiness… that was one of his serious blank faces where he knew that she was trying to read his face to guess an answer and he isn't going to give it away until he returns. Maybe that Tezuka felt differently about her now, but the distance between Sakuno and Tezuka made Sakuno realize that… she didn't just like him or like LIKE him… she loved him.
Sakuno loved Tezuka like she had never loved another man before him… and will never love another man after him. It was all the little things that she completely missed out, such as Tezuka always the first person at her apartment and the last one to leave it. The kisses they shared in the morning and the kisses they shared before they parted. She never knew that Tezuka had always been the one to carry an extra coat with him on days he knew she'd forget her own… Tezuka would be the first one to hold her in his arms in the first sign of her distress to soothe her and calm her nerves. Everything and anything he did for her made her emotional… teary. They had their ups and downs, they had arguments, they had confessions… he knew every last embarrassing detail about her and she hoped that she knew his.
Sakuno parked her car nicely in the car parking lot before making her way to the arrival part of the airport. The whole way through, she was excited to see him and so nervous because it'd be the first time in 3 months… the whole day through the drive and waiting, she was thinking of him… there had never been a moment where she had never thought of him, he was the center of her universe. The one that keeps her grounded yet took her to the sky with joy, the one that protected her and cared for her like no other would.
"Flight K270 from America has officially landed, flight K270…"
Sakuno's breath hitched, she stood there amongst all eager, lovers, husbands, wives, grandmothers, mothers, fathers… family waiting for their loved one anxiously. After half an hour, people started filing out to where people waited for them, she watched as fathers reunite with his loving wife and family… she watched as mothers kissed their babies… she watched as lovers kissed in reunion. It was quite agonizing to wait so long but then finally…! Stepping through the door in a long black winter coat and blue jeans, was a man wearing rimless spectacles. Behind those spectacles were the same sharp brown eyes scanning the crowd for someone until they landed on Sakuno. His eyes brightened up, and no matter how much talking and convincing he will try to do, there was no hiding that he was happy to see her just as much as she was happy to see him. So happy to see him that she felt the corner of her eyes were watering, and he obviously noticed and the only hint she got was right there at the very right corner of his lip… the slight tilt upwards as he wheeled his luggage over to Sakuno and without a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her body. Sakuno naturally wrapped her own arms around him and hugged with all her might as she buried herself into his scent… the natural strong minty and spicy smell with a touch of America still clinging to his clothes.
"Sakuno…"
He said her name in an exhale, it sounded like he had missed her as much as she missed him. They stood there in each other's embrace when…
KABOOOM! BANG! KRSHHHH!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH LOOK OUT!"
Sakuno looked up to see that the ceiling was caving in and the rubble was heading directly down towards them. Sakuno's eyes widened in shock, Tezuka however was more preoccupied with looking around at the sounds of bombs going off and sudden gun shots. Sakuno didn't think much, but she acted. Quickly with all her might she pushed Tezuka away causing him to trip due to being unbalanced when the rest of the ceiling between them formed a rubble and a tall wall between the people nearer to the arrival gate and the other closer to the exits and even then, the exits were now covered in more rubble and that one of them jammed the automatic doors. They were all trapped.
Tezuka could not believe his eyes when the rubble came falling down it was as though someone had purposely started this, but that was the last thing on his mind as he without hesitation got up and headed over to the rubble. The rocks bruised his legs but that was all there is to it. On the other side however, Sakuno was on the other side of the rubble. His fist banged the rubble a little as he shouted
"Sakuno? Sakuno! Can you hear me?"
Tezuka tried his best to hear the muffled voices as a woman screamed
"Oh my god… Oh my god... She… She's…"
Tezuka's heart raced, his mind went blank as he continued his assault to the rubble
"Who?! WHO! Sakuno! SAKUNO! ANSWER ME!"
There was silence on the other end when suddenly he could hear a weak voice he recognized
"…Kunimitsu…"
Quickly he leaned closer to the rubble as he asked anxiously
"Are you alright Sakuno?"
He asked, his heart refusing to relax until she assured him as much.
"I…I am fine. On…One bit of the ceiling is on my leg…"
"I…Th..Thank god… Hang in there Sakuno… I will find a way around…"
Tezuka took a look around to see that the rubble had been pretty bad since the Arrival area was kind of rather closed off and the rubble happened to land in their only way to the other side. He looked up and noted that they were lucky that most of their ceiling was mainly glass. Cuts on their bodies, the people started picking each other up, they were also calling out to their remaining family members to make sure that they were alright. Some others did not survive. There were many that probably died under the rubble crushing them. Tezuka felt sick when he noted that the woman who was earlier kissing her husband was dead under the rubble… he saw prams and he swallowed hard.
Tezuka looked around as he said
"Sakuno, I might try to remove some of the rubble so that that we can clear a small path…"
"…I…I don't think that… is a good idea. The rubble might then collapse on either side because of moving small rocks."
Tezuka could hear a woman cry very hard on the other side, Tezuka asked
"…Did she… lose someone…?"
Sakuno didn't respond for a full minute before she answered him as though she knew who he was talking about.
"…yes… There was a person right next to her… crushed to death …"
Tezuka could understand how that feels when one looks around, he leaned close to the rubble wall in hopes to keep hearing her voice and sure enough she spoke
"I missed you a lot Kunimitsu…"
Tezuka felt himself smile a little despite everything that just happened he responded
"I missed you a lot too…"
"Remember… th…the first time you… asked me on a date?"
Tezuka remembered that clearly as he answered good and honestly unafraid of the world hearing their tale, because right now in situations like this, it makes people feel like telling everything.
"Yes. I had rehearsed it in my mind a couple of times. I had attempted to ask you when I saw you at school…"
"But…Eiji jumped in to ask about his…assignment and pulled me away."
"Well, that didn't deter me. I attempted to ask you about it at recess."
"Hehe… Momoshiro… he jumped in with Eiji and gave the biggest fart known…to our…high school history and Eiji attempted to fart back… You were so…so mad at them…"
"…That I forgot to ask you again. But I tried after school, I was thinking that nothing can go wrong then."
"On…only to have Momoshiro… and Eiji… come over asking ab…about tennis."
Tezuka sighed a little at that memory and proceeded to explain
"Even after I asked them to leave us for 4 minutes…"
"I…Hehe…I remember, they were so keen to know what… it was about… they simply sat there. I…I think that was the first time you…you…"
"Got mad and asked you outright? Because of them, I think I just used three words of the whole speech I had."
"Date. Saturday. 11 o'clock…I was…so surprised when you said those three words."
"They botched my idea of properly asking."
"Well…I thought it was more…Me…moriable. How about… our first… kiss?"
Tezuka pushed his spectacles up higher as he said
"Are any of our memories without the Seigaku tennis team?"
"…No…"
"I think it was our 5th date, it was a nice night and we were simply walking and Eiji was hanging from the lamppost with mistletoe in his hands dangling between us. Inui proceeded to explain to me why mistletoe still works even when it is not Christmas. Fuji had the camcorder rolling, Momoshiro was making kissing sounds and Kaidoh was attempting to punch the daylights out of him."
"I…was so nervous… I thought…my heart was going to beat out of my chest."
"I could hear yours and my own…"
"…Our eyes met midway and for once… I…I saw how… you cared about me… th…that you like me… It was… like fear… leaving my body. It… it was the first snowflake that landed between… us w…wasn't it?"
"Yes… It was."
Tezuka responded, his eyes sparkling at the memory no matter how private and not so private it was. Sakuno had been coughing a little from time to time
"Sakuno, is your leg in bad damage?"
"A …little. Kunimitsu, what about you? Are you… hurt anywhere?"
"No. Just scratches and bruises… Trust me Sakuno… we will get out of this alive."
"That… is why I love you Kunimitsu…"
"?"
Tezuka was puzzled as to what she meant when her voice carried on
"You…always make it… a priority to protect me… to comfort me. When I am with you… I feel invincible, I…can walk the miles if you supported me. You had always… been someone I w…wished I was… so strong, bra…ve… a leader…and so…smart. To me… you were perfect… sometimes…I wonder how could, someone like you… like someone like me."
Tezuka looked up trying to see through the rubble as he answered honestly and sternly
"But you are everything to me Sakuno. The no-ending kindness… the optimistic… the understanding woman… Even your clumsiness to me seemed cute. Every day, a smile from you dictates my day. You brightened up our team, everyone loved you and never once anyone hated you. Sometimes I felt like every day was a battle to simply keep you."
"…At least… you didn't fall in love with an American lady, I…thought when you said… you had something… important to tell me."
"Sakuno, you are the only one that matters to me. Sometimes I don't know how else to convince you to see that."
"…So what…was the important thing you want to tell me?"
Tezuka looked around him where rubble was falling and he could hear constant negotiations and police sirens but they were nowhere close to helping them. He said
"That can wait until I can see you."
Sakuno giggled a little as she responded
"Well… every start in… our relationship was never… normal… I don't see why… we should start now."
Tezuka sighed but it was the kind of I-give-in behavior as he said honest to good
"Sakuno, while I was overseas for 3 months… I've come to realize that emailing and internet calls were never enough. I am not one to be sappy, but I can tell you that I don't want to part with you any longer…"
There was a heartbeat of a moment of silence
"…I guess what I am trying to ask you is… after all this… will you stay with me for the rest of my life? Until I grow old and die? Will you marry me Sakuno Ryuuzaki?"
Tezuka heard a sob on the other side, he could hear Sakuno's small sob as she sniffed saying
"…I…I…Do you have a ring…?"
Sakuno went a little high pitched at the point of the word ring as he answered with a smile
"I got the ring from America… and I was planning on getting flowers…and dinner…"
"Oh…Kunmitsu…I…I…"
She seemed so utterly speechless, Tezuka knew that when she behaved in that way, she was extremely happy beyond words but there was something niggling at the back of his head… she sounded sad at the same time.
"Before…I answer your question… will you hear me out…and promise me…something?"
"Anything…"
"I…through this three months… I missed you every day… I wished… you were here with me every day when I wake up… be beside me until I fall asleep. I realized… Kunimitsu…that I…I didn't like you…I loved you with every beat…of my heart. I loved you with every fiber…of my being… You…were the center of my world…"
Sakuno was silent for a bit and then she said
"There…is a yellow…envelope addressed to you. In my… study table…key is…in your tennis magazine…taped… use it to open…my second drawer… it will be right there."
Tezuka started to feel very uncomfortable with what she was saying then and there, he started to cut in
"Sakuno…what is going on?"
"…Promise me… that you…will continue to live your life… no…matter what…"
"Sakuno…! Sakuno! Sakuno, what is going on there?! Sakuno?!"
"I love you Kunimitsu…I love you with all my heart…and I will continue to love you…through thick and through thin…"
DRRRTTTTT!
Tezuka could hear that the rescue squad had decided to go through the back to rescue the people from arrivals. Tezuka turned to look at the door and without a word he sped out of the exit and followed all the guides as to how to get around and internally his map was working fast remembering how to get back to the front and sure enough… the damage there really was frightful. Most of it was covered in rubble. Tezuka knew where they were talking just moments ago as he headed towards the direction through the window where the rest of the rescuers were working to remove the bodies from the rubble. But before he could head to the direction where he was sure she'd be, one of them stepped in to stop him from going any further
"It's too dangerous sir!"
"Let go of me…my girlfriend is in there! She is in there!"
Tezuka looked wildly and pushed right past them without regards to them chasing him as he arrived his heart stopped as he knelt down like he was almost deflating as he looked at Sakuno whose eyes were wide open looking at him with tears streaming through her eyes as the rest of her body was under a pile of rubble and blood was coming down the side of her lips. The woman next to her was fully in tears as she wept
"I am so sorry sir… she made me keep silent…she…she didn't want me to say a word…about it…"
Tezuka nodded thanks to her but turned to Sakuno, his fingers trembling a little to see her in such a state as he reached to hold her hand in his own. It was weak but she still had a pulse.
"Sakuno...Sa…kuno…"
"…I…am…sorry for lying… but… I really do love you. If…If this…hadn't happened…I would've…said yes… with my entirety…but…please… don't…blame yourself… l…live for me…and for yourself…"
"No! You will be alright…"
The rescuers were trying to remove the rubble from here quickly but Sakuno's hand which reached to hold his own was weakening quickly. Tezuka felt the love of his life slipping from him, like water… the hurt and the pain was unbearable… unthinkable as he fought to keep them both optimistic but it seems that Sakuno knew.
"…I…want to try on the ring…"
Sakuno seemed to be attempting humor but Tezuka was quick to pull out the blue box and pull out the lovely silver band with a diamond on it. He slipped it into her finger, Sakuno looked at it lovingly saying
"I…it's a perfect fit."
"…Now you have to live on…or I will be wifeless…"
He tried to keep her awake but Sakuno laughed a little before she said
"…I will never…be far from you. Aishiteru Kunimitsu Tezuka…"
"Aishiteru Sakuno Ryuuzaki…So please don't leave me. Stay here… stay here with me."
Tezuka attempted to pull her away from got but God had his own plans as Sakuno finally shut her eyes and her final tear shed whereas Tezuka's has only begun.
"Sa…Sakuno… SAKUNOOOO! Why…Why did this happen…why…her? Why…?! Give her back to me, give her back!"
Tezuka cradled her head and pressed a kiss on her temple, he could never see her again…