Disclaimer: Takeshi Konomi created Prince of Tennis. Anything you recognize – I don't own. Anything you don't – I do own.

AN: Yah!!! My first PoT story...it's a bit of angst right now, but it will get better ...but meanwhile...read on. =] Thank you, Kelly for editing and proofreading this!!!! Your suggestions are great!!

Pieces of My Heart

Prologue – Eternally


They said everything happens for a reason. They said better loved and lost, then not loved at all. They were lies to her, all lies. Obviously, the person that created them had not experienced what she was experiencing now. Would it had been all easier, if there had been less nights of endless crying? If she had not fallen madly, and deeply in love with him, would it change a thing?

The only thing that would have softened the cruel reality that she was facing right now would be the "what ifs" that clouded her mind, and filled her thoughts every waking minute. What if they had married? What if they had created a family, and became grandparents? What if, what if, what if...just so many "what ifs".

They also said time mended the heart. Yet it was another myth. Nothing could put back the pieces of her broken heart together again, and nothing could bring him back. Nothing. Could time make her forget his smile and laughter that rung through her dark mind? No. Time also would never help her to find another man to do what he did. He was her soul mate, he will always be her soul mate, at least in her heart, but probably not in his. Dead or alive, she was his...

Eternally.

It was so long ago, yet it seemed like yesterday when he first abandoned her, left her drowning in her loneliness, pain, confusion, hate, and love. She cried so many tears for him; tears that people told her weren't worth it. She tried. She really did. He was the one who told her that she shouldn't cry for something that wasn't worth it, but was he worth it? She didn't know. She hadn't known a lot of things for the past six month.

Her mind was nearly driven to the point of insanity. She couldn't think, talk, act, or feel without the thoughts of him running through her mind. She tried to end this pain, she really did. First, she tried getting over him, but that was impossible, so then, she tried blocking out the memories, but that was also impossible. He used her, feeding her sweet words to encourage her as he took everything she had away from her. Yes, she hated him, but she loved him more.

And the thing that destroyed her most was...

She still did.

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She tried so hard, just to erase the thoughts of him out of her mind, but it's easier said than done. She had been a fool since day one, but she didn't care. She didn't think that it all happened too fast and too well for her, She didn't care about the consequences, She didn't care, because for once, things were finally going her way. She grabbed and tried to hold on to him as though he was air, water, or something that she couldn't live without.

She let out a humourless chuckle and looked down at the book that was once so precious to her. Her hands smoothed over the aged cover, her eyes taking in its appearance in memory. She used to write in it all the time, recording all of the events that happened in her life, her thoughts and feelings. She hadn't looked at this for half a year because she wasn't ready to face all of the lies that she wrote in there, all of the lies that she believed. She wanted to say that she's not ready to do this yet, that she couldn't face a new beginning.

But she had to be ready.

Or else, she would never be able to move on. She would never laugh, smile, and joke around with Tomo-chan. Every single time a stranger says "Mada mada dane," the pain in her chest would intensifies. Hot tears would spill over her cheeks, and she would cry for hours until she could calm down again.

It was his entire fault.

If he hadn't come into her life, messed up her perfectly planned agenda, then she would never been this way. Most of all, her heart wouldn't be in pieces.

She would be happy.

She thought that she was happy, before she knew all of the deception and lies. She would dismiss all of the warning signs that came her way, thinking that God finally made her prayers come true, and she was only too happy to even mind one bit. She took it all for granted. Maybe she suspected deep down in her consciousness, but she didn't want to believe, so she refused to listen to her head.

Then, the truth came out.

And Ryuzaki Sakuno's world fell apart.

And nothing else would matter to her. Ever. Again.

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It was time to forget all of her foolish mistakes, and continue to record all the events, thoughts and feelings into that book. Perhaps she will reread all her previous entries. Then, there would be no more hiding from the reality. It was time to face it. It was time to pick up the pieces of her heart, and piece it back together.

Then, she would cry no more. She would refuse to let a selfish high school boy affect her like that. And she would move on.

This time, she was ready.

Sakuno rubbed her temple warily. Being miserable sure doesn't help your headache. With a heavy sigh, she picked up her old diary, and opened up to the first blank page. She took out a pen, and wrote the date on the top, Friday, April 23, 2004. It's been so long now.

A small, genuine smile lit up her face as she thought about the new beginnings, the new choices she would make, and the new life she will be giving herself.

It was the first smile that she had had in six month. Ever since the day that she found out, she didn't have a reason to smile. The bright, cheerful, and happy Sakuno was gone, replaced by a shell of her. She didn't try to plaster a fake smile on her face, like Fuji did all the time. She didn't laugh anymore, even if it was when Horio went on and on about his "two years of tennis experience."

But she was determined to have more reasons to smile and laugh for the year to come.

She was sure of it.

With a pen in her hand, Ryuzaki Sakuno was about to start a brand new chapter of her life, one that was without Echizen Ryoma.

It was kind of ironic, wasn't it? Just when she was about to step forward out of misery, Sakuno hesitated. A flash of doubt came into her mind, but she brushed it aside.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Sakuno. Haven't you learned from your mistakes already? You never brush off something that just instantly comes to your mind, like gut instincts. You knew that you dismissed the "signs of warning" with Ryoma, just like you did with that flash of doubt.

But she went on anyways, trying to be happy. Not knowing that she was probably already killing her chance at real happiness.

While Sakuno thought that she had been a fool to believe everything that came out of Ryoma's mouth, she should've believed one thing.

He loved her, he did then, and he does now. There was no change of heart in him, only regrets. He, too, tried to move on, and failed miserably.

What would happen to those two people? One already started to move on, but is keeping on looking back no matter how determined she is, while the other person is feeling regrets, pain, love, and longing at the same time, still trying to swallow his pride, and admit his mistakes, guilt, and love for her?

Only time would tell.

AN: Read and Review!!!!!!!! Whew.... that is it for the prologue. It was much longer than I thought it would be, but anyways, the next chapter should be out next week. I'm pretty sure that it's going to be in Ryoma's POV. TTYL. =]