Note: They're about 15 now. Also, keep in mind I'm only on episode 9 of the Prince of Tennis. So sorry if some characters are out of character XD Thank you!
xxxxx
Sakuno waited at the train station for the fifteen-year-old tennis prodigy to get off from his travels in Europe.
"Oh please let Ryouma-kun remember me!" she begged in her mind.
Sakuno twirled her braids that were still the same length since Ryouma had left.
"The train coming from Ireland is now coming in," an announcer said.
Sakuno looked up and to the left as the train rolled into the station. Holding her breath she watched as it stopped with a large HISS in front of her. The doors opened. Sakuno watched carefully as people streamed out the doors. Sakuno suddenly gasped. There he was! Ryouma Echizen. She jumped to attention and gathered up her courage.
"Ryouma-kun!" she exclaimed.
Ryouma looked up. He walked over to her wordlessly. Sakuno smiled.
"Hello," Ryouma said in the same tone he left with.
Sakuno smiled brightly. "So you remember me?" she asked, standing on her tip-toes like an excited child. Ryouma averted his eyes from her gaze, deep in thought. Sakuno's hope was demolishing quickly.
"So he doesn't remember me!" she thought downheartedly. "At least he's thinking about it."
"You're-", Ryouma began. "You're-Ryuzaki-." He looked the other way. "Sakura, no Sakuno. Deshou?"
Sakuno smiled. "Yeah! You remembered!" she said happily. Ryouma looked at her quizzically. "So why're you here?" he asked. "Well to greet you from your Europe tour!" Sakuno said happily. Nnh was all Ryouma muttered.
"Come on! I'll go buy you some juice," Sakuno exclaimed. Ryouma looked at her. "What's the big "celebration" for?" he asked. "Well, it's just that, we're friends right? So I just thought that, I wanted to be the first to greet you back," Sakuno mumbled. "Did Seigaku come?" Ryouma asked. Sakuno shook her head. Ryouma then did something very rare.
He smiled at her with a wholehearted smile. "Well then, I guess you're my special one!"
Sakuno blushed furiously. Special one? Just what was up with Ryouma? Smiling at her like this and talking to her for so long. Even making a better conversation than when he left Japan. She quickly turned around. "C-C'mon Ryouma-kun. Let's go!" she said. Ryouma followed without a word and Sakuno quickly calmed down. "This is more Ryouma-ish," she thought. "I wonder what happened when he was on his Europe tour."
"Ryuzaki," Ryouma said, crushing his juice can and perfectly tossing it in the trash. They had exited the train station and now were sitting near the tennis courts. "Yes?" Sakuno said. "I'm gonna go play some tennis for a bit," Ryouma answered plainly. He unzipped his tennis bag and walked towards the courts. Depositing some change into a tennis machine, he began hitting each ball precisely. Sakuno watched in awe. She sighed. "I guess he really didn't change at all."
Later that evening, Ryouma had headed home and Sakuno decided to stay out for some grocery shopping. The sun was going down quickly and the darkness was overcoming the town. Sakuno quickened her pace.
"Not too much longer now, Sakuno," she thought encouragingly. "Just one more block to go!"
She suddenly heard the crushing of a can behind her. "Hey girl!" a man said. Sakuno froze in her tracks and slowly turned around. A guy about eighteen was walking towards her, leaving the crushed can behind. She came to the realization the can was actually a beer can. "Come here, I won't bite," the guy cooed. Sakuna shook her head without muttering a word. Forcing her legs to move. She hadn't been this scared in a while. A car with loud music pulled up to the guy. The windows rolled down revealing more of his type.
"Hey look at we have here!" one of them shouted about Sakuno. "Yeah she's a fine girl, ain't she?" the guy on the street said. The men in the car hooted. Sakuno was taking small baby steps now, fear gripping her like a cold hand.
"Where ya goin'?" one questioned. "Yeah we just wanna play for a bit!" another called. The guy on the street began running towards her and the car's engine revved up. It quickly caught up to her and Sakuno stopped right there.
"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be out this late without protection," the driver said. The smell of alcohol and smoke wafted out of the car.
"Yeah, just come in here and we'll protect you real nice-like," the guy on the street said, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Sakuno shivered and whimpered a bit. "No," she whispered. It was barely audible.
All the guys laughed. "You'll come with us without a struggle won't you?" the passenger said. The guy on the street pulled her close, making Sakuno drop her shopping bags. "We don't want any trouble," he whispered in her ear. "That's right, no one's here to save ya either!" a passenger in the back laughed.
Sakuno squeezed her eyes shut. "Maybe Ryouma-kun came back for something. Maybe he came back for a late night practice. He-he does that sometimes," she thought.
"E-Echizen," Sakuno said.
"Huuuuuuh?" the guy on the street said obnoxiously. "Whooo?"
"ECHIZEN-KUN!" Sakuno screamed. The guy on the street tightened his grip. "ECHIZEN! ECHIZEN! ECHIZEN!"
"Who the hell is Echizen?" one of the passengers asked. "Ya know, that tennis kid," the driver said. The guys laughed. "Echizen's somewhere in that other place girl! He won't hear you! Plus, what business does that bastard have to do with ya?" a passenger said.
"But he came back!" Sakuno said. "ECHIZEN! RYOUMA-KUN!"
"Shut up!" the guy on the street said. "He ain't here and he wouldn't bother with someone like you. He's famous now, if I was him, I would have dumped all o' my low friends long ago."
"WHO DUMPED HIS FRIENDS?!" a voice shouted from behind. A tennis ball struck the car window and flew straight inside and emerged out in the windshield.
"Let's get outta here! That tennis bastard's crazy!" a passenger in the back said. The driver sped off.
It was none other than Ryouma Echizen. He had that same look when he was challenging an opponent. It seemed Ryouma used the Split Step for in the mere time of a few seconds, he had struck the guy holding Sakuno hostage in the face. He fell to the ground, while at the same time, pushing Sakuno to the ground with lots of force. Sakuno slid a bit on the concrete. The guy got up and ran away without a word. Ryouma kneeled down next to Sakuno who was shaking with tears.
"Sakuno-chan," Ryouma said gently. "It hurts Ryouma-kun," Sakuno moaned. "It'll be all right, I carry around a first-aid kit in my tennis bag, for when I or my teammates get injured on the court," Ryouma said.
Silence.
"Ryouma-kun, this is out of character for u," Sakuno said, slowly turning on her back. She winced in pain. Her right arm was bleeding badly. Ryouma bandaged her arm up with the normal expression and no words.
"It's because since I've been in Europe," Ryouma began. "I can't stop thinking that it isn't the same without having you to encourage me."
Sakuno gasped a little.
"It was then that I have realized, even if it seems I have distanced myself from you. I'm in love with you," Ryouma said. His head lowered so his hat covered his eyes. Wordlessly, he raised his hand up to her cheek, brushed it quickly, and then cupped the side of her face in his hand. Sakuno leaned against it as his other hand grabbed her left arm and gently pulled her to an upright position. "I'll carry you home," Ryouma said.
"Ryouma-kun. Truly is. The Prince. Of. My Heart." Sakuno thought slowly. Tears still ran down her face as she buried her face in Ryoma's jacket. "Ryouma. . ." she whispered.