Confessions of Echizen Ryoma
By LizellePhantomhive
Disclaimer: I don't own PoT. If I did, Ryoma and Sakuno would be together. End of story.
Author's Notes: I never planned on starting my one-shots until after I had started a different fanfic, but after reading the 'New Prince of Tennis' and listening to different songs, my mind was screaming at me "START THE ONE SHOTS!". Sakuno is not going to be a little wimp in my one shots, so Ryoma's going to have to work to get her ;). Updates are going to be all over the place, but I'll try for once a week. Not sure how long this is going to be.
It's ALL RyoSaku :3
First Serve: Welcome Home
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T (for language I am going to have Ryoma AND Sakuno use)
Takes place: After Ryoma returns. During 'New Prince of Tennis'
Confession: Ryoma confessing to Sakuno, and himself, that he cares for the girl
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"Sakuno-chan! Sakuno-chan! Did you hear?"
Ryuuzaki Sakuno turned around, her mid-back length brown hair swishing behind her as she focused her lovely brown eyes on her best friend, Osakada Tomoka. It's been a few month since Echizen Ryoma, a boy Sakuno had a large crush on, left for America to compete in tournaments there. He never gave word on when he'd return, so Sakuno forced herself to move on. She even went as far as cutting her formerly long brown hair that was just below her hips up to her mid-back and leaving it down instead of in her trademark braids, tying it up when she had practice or a game. Her tennis game improved greatly, since Ryoma wasn't around for her to become distracted as well as the fact that Sakuno had a stubborn determination about her.
"Hm? What's up, Tomoka-chan?" Sakuno asked, a questioning look in her eyes.
Sakuno had also gotten over her stuttering and could speak without worrying about it. Tomoka knew that her best friend was just forcing herself to change and push away the old, weak Sakuno in favor of this new, stronger Sakuno. Tomoka looked at her best friend sadly and said,
"Sakuno-chan...you've changed a lot"
"Have I? I've never noticed" Sakuno replied casually, inwardly pleased that the somewhat small changes she's made about herself became noticeable.
"...Is it because of Ryoma-sama?" Tomoka questioned softly, watching Sakuno freeze up slightly.
"Iie, of course not" Sakuno answered, looking at her watch, "I've got to go Tomoka-chan, I promised the regulars I would bring them all a bento at their training camp today"
"Matte, Sakuno-chan!" Tomoka cried, taking Sakuno's arm.
"Nani, Tomoka-chan?" Sakuno asked, turning to look at the girl currently gripping her arm.
"There's something you should know..."
"What?"
"...He's back from America" Tomoka murmured, noticing how Sakuno's arm and whole body tensed, "Ryoma-sama is back from America and taking part in the training camp with the other regulars..."
Kawamura yawned and stretched his arms over his head, somewhat bored because it was the first day of training camp and the 'voice from the speakers' ordered them to practice for the rest of the day. There was once court dedicated to each team, so Tezuka decided to let the team practice in doubles. Kawamura's partner for the day was Ryoma, who was also lounging around lazily, watching the match that was Oishi and Eiji verses Inui and Kaidoh. Kawamura looked at Ryoma and rolled his eyes back to the match. The boy obviously was still hooked on tennis and he was worried that when Sakuno heard that he was back, she was going to lose all the progress she made. Each of the regulars would take turns giving Sakuno a one-on-one lesson during their tennis practices and were genuinely amazed at her quick progress. They also worried about her heart, which had broken when Ryoma left and was gradually healing. Would seeing Ryoma again cause her to lose control over her heart again?
"Demo...I'm just here to give them their lunch..."
"Gomen, miss, demo, no one besides those taking part in the tennis camp are allowed onto the premises"
"About time!" Kawamura said, getting to his feet and heading over to where the security guard was.
"Kawamura-senpai, this man won't listen to me" Sakuno said, pointing to the security guard.
"She's with us" Kawamura told the guard, grabbing the poor girl's arm and pulling her towards where the rest of Seigaku's regulars were practicing, ignoring his half formed cries of disapproval.
"Hey guys! Lunch is here!" Kawamura told them all happily, letting go of Sakuno's arm when the other guys turned around.
Ryoma turned around lazily and looked at Sakuno before looking ahead again. His eyes widened slightly as he turned around again. The brown hair girl had changed since he left for America. She cut her hair and didn't have them in braids anymore, her brown eyes avoiding looking at him as she handed the other regulars their lunches. Sakuno avoided looking at Ryoma as she handed Momo his lunch. After a quick glance, she noticed that Ryoma had gotten slightly taller, maybe on par with her own height now. She began to second think the light blue sun dress Tomoka decided she should wear to hand the guys their lunch. Sakuno ignored all the whistles and cat calls in her direction, watching with a somewhat amused expression when the regulars, including Tezuka and Inui, gave warning glares to members of the other teams.
"Sakuno-chan, Sakuno-chan! Look who's back!" Momo said eagerly, grabbing Ryoma's arm and pulling him towards Sakuno.
The girl took in a deep breath and looked Ryoma in the eyes, having prepared for this moment for a long time. She smiled and handed Ryoma his bento, which she made just in case the day before. Ryoma took the bento, watching for the blush that was sure to form on Sakuno's face any moment. He was baffled when she didn't blush at all, instead rummaging through her bag to produce a can of ponta and handing that to Ryoma as well.
"Welcome back to Japan, Echizen-san" Sakuno said, bowing slightly.
The regulars surrounding them looked from Sakuno, to Ryoma, then back to Sakuno. Momo and Eiji both exclaimed, 'WHAT?!' while the others looked at Sakuno as if she were possessed. Ryoma looked at Sakuno and felt a stab of pain when she called him 'Echizen-san'. Sakuno blinked innocently at Eiji and Momo, who were crying at how Ryoma lost his chance. She sighed and turned to look at Ryoma, giving him a bittersweet smile before turning her attention to the others.
"I'm going to head off now, minna-san. I still have errands to run for obaa-san" She said, bowing to everyone before heading up the steep hill again, thankful there was a path.
"I did it! I finally showed Ryoma-kun and the others that I was over him! I didn't even blush or stutter!" Sakuno thought happily before a sad smile graced her features, "What was I even thinking back then...Thinking that Ryoma-kun had feelings for me...He's solely focused on tennis alone"
"Sakuno-chan called O'chibi 'Echizen-san'!" Momo cried, shocked.
"It seems Sakuno-chan was serious when she said she wanted to get over you" Fuji mused, looking at Ryoma, "She finally realized that all you care about is tennis"
Ryoma said nothing as he went back to sit down, placing the can of ponta beside him as he opened the bento and picked up the pair of chopsticks on the side. He blinked and smirked when he read the message etched in the rice. It read, 'Welcome back'. Ryoma's eyes became half lidded, feeling that stab of pain again when he recalled that Fuji said Sakuno had moved on. Since when did he care about what the brown hair girl felt about him? Oh right, when he realized that he actually did harbor feeling for her and actually missed her when he was in America. They all heard a slap and a girl cry out in pain. Ryoma knew that voice and placed his lunch beside him, ignoring his senpais when they asked where he was going.
Sakuno had just climbed up the hill, inwardly congratulating herself, when a high school came up to her with a smirk. She shivered when he looked her up and down in a manner that made her want to have a bath when she got home. The high schooler walked over to Sakuno and asked,
"Now what's a pretty young thing like you doing here alone?"
"I...I had to drop off some food for my boyfriend and his team. They here for the training camp" Sakuno made up on the spot, the second half being the truth.
"Boyfriend? Well, he won't know anything if I steal a kiss, would he?" The high schooler grinned, wrapping an arm around Sakuno.
"I-Iie, let me go!" Sakuno exclaimed, shoving away from the high schooler.
"Aw, c'mon. Just one kiss..."
"I SAID LET GO, YOU BASTARD!" Sakuno screamed, slapping him across the face.
The high schooler pulled away in surprise before growling and shoving Sakuno to the ground. She cried out in pain, looking down and noticing there was a large gash on her right elbow. The high schooler grabbed Sakuno's injured arm, her crying out in pain again, and hissed,
"Bitch. You're going to pay for that"
"Let her go"
Sakuno and the high schooler looked at the owner of the voice. Ryoma looked at Sakuno, noticing that she was bleeding as well as the dirt all over her dress and her hair disarrayed. His blood began to boil when he looked into her eyes, seeing tears as well as fear. The high schooler let go of Sakuno's arm and shoved her towards Ryoma, the young teen catching the girl in his arms as he glared at the high schooler.
The brown haired girl buried her face into Ryoma's shoulder, ignoring the voice inside her head that was screaming at her to not depend on Ryoma again. Ryoma turned his attention to Sakuno and his expression softened. He whispered into her ear,
"You alright?"
"Y-yeah..." Sakuno replied, cursing that she stuttered.
Turning to looked at the high schooler, Ryoma said, "Oi, fucker. Hands off my girl"
"You're...that brat, Echizen Ryoma"
"Mada mada dane" Ryoma smirked before hissing, "Get lost, asshole"
The high schooler scurried off, Sakuno sighing in relief and pulling away from Ryoma. She smiled shakily and murmured,
"Arigato, Echizen-san"
"Ryoma"
"Mou?"
The blue haired teen rolled his eyes at the clueless look on Sakuno's face. She could be so slow at times. That was one of the things he liked about her, though. She was able to fight back for a while, until that piece of shit high schooler decided to shove her against the pavement. Ryoma, instead of repeating what he said before, looked at Sakuno's arm and narrowed his eyes. He took off his jersey and handed it to Sakuno before pulling off his t-shirt, ripping the bottom of the shirt and making a makeshift bandage. Sakuno blushed when Ryoma stood in front of her without a shirt on. She averted her gaze, her inner self fainting when she caught a glimpse of Ryoma's body. He grabbed her injured arm and wrapped the bandage around it, taking care as to not hurt her.
"You picked up on what I did when you were injured" Sakuno said softly, a small smile on her face.
"...Hn" Ryoma replied, pulling his jacket back and draping it over Sakuno's shoulders.
"Mou? What's this about, Echizen-san?" Sakuno asked innocently, pointing to the jacket draped over her shoulders.
"You honestly don't know?"
"...Mou?"
Ryoma just smirked and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. Sakuno began to blush again when she found her face an inch away from Ryoma's face. With his free hand, Ryoma pushed a stray hair from Sakuno's face and replied,
"I want people to keep their hands off of what's mine"
Before Sakuno's mind could process what Ryoma had just said, the prince of tennis kissed her passionately. Once her mind finally caught up to what was going on, Sakuno gave in and closed her eyes, kissing Ryoma back and feeling him smirk against her lips. She pulled back first, needing to breath, while Ryoma continued to kiss Sakuno, kissing down her jaw and down her neck.
"Mou, Ryoma"
Said teen smirked against Sakuno's neck and replied,
"Hn"
"The other regulars are watching us" Sakuno said bluntly, Ryoma pulling back and looking where Sakuno was pointing.
The regulars gave each other high fives and cheered, not sensing Tezuka's approaching aura. When they did, they froze and turned around in fear.
"One hundred laps around Seigaku tomorrow morning before we show up for training camp" Tezuka ordered, the others replying with a 'Hai, bouchou!'.
"I'd do a hundred laps around the school" Eiji said with a shrug, "It was worth it now that O'chibi and Sakuno-chan are finally together"
Sakuno giggled at the annoyed expression on Ryoma's face, placing a hand on his cheek to gain his attention again. He smirked when she pouted cutely and rested his forehead against hers.
"...So what now, Ryoma?" She asked him, her hands on both his cheeks.
"Hn..." Ryoma replied against her lips, "I think you know"
Sakuno could only smile gently and fully welcomed Ryoma back into her life when he kissed her again. She was wrong about one thing in her life and that was that Echizen Ryoma didn't care for her at all. Him being with her and kissing her proved that Ryuuzaki Sakuno and Echizen Ryoma did care for each other a lot.
"Welcome home, Ryoma"
A/N: Yeah...not that good, but I'll do better, I promise :3 R&R please (: