The Chapter that Never Was (aka The First Draft of Breathing I, Chapter 3)
He hadn't meant to listen in on his parents. It just sort of happened when he went downstairs to get a Ponta. His mother was home early and she and his bum father were sitting in the kitchen having one of their talks.
"Ryuuzaki-sensei has a granddaughter around Ryoma's age right?" his mother asked.
"Yep. Cutest damn thing you ever did see. She sort of reminds me of you except a little more socially inept. And a whole lot shier. And quieter. And…"
"Why do you always make an idiot of yourself?" his mother asked him sardonically. Ryoma loved his mother very much.
"Because you like me best when I make an idiot of myself," his father said in a deep, rough voice he probably thought was sexy.
"Anyway,"' his mother went on, "do you think we should set up a play date?"
"He's old enough to go on real dates, Rinko. Setting up a play date would be insulting."
"I know, but it never hurts to try."
"Try what?"
"Try to get him out and about and his mind off just tennis. It's not healthy."
"Well, I don't think Sakuno-chan's the one you want for that."
"Why's that?"
"She takes after her father and grandfather in the social department. She's devoted her life to martial arts. Not to mention that crazy old geezer that married that hag really screwed her up."
"What? How so?"
"He taught her how to read a person's feeling through their punch or something. It's supposed to be some martial artist technique or whatever. The point is, she communicates best through punching the living daylights out of you."
Ryoma found that a little hard to believe. He couldn't imagine meek, sweet little Ryuuzaki hitting anyone.
"But surely her parents don't let her walk around hitting people all day."
"They don't. That's part of the problem. She's not supposed to use any karate outside the dojo or battlefield, so she doesn't know how to act around anyone. She tries to overcompensate for her instincts and ends up being totally spineless and introverted. The hag just doesn't know what to do with her. I don't know, though. She seems fine to me. Adorable really. The shyness is kinda cute and she's the sweetest thing you'll ever meet. So what if she never sticks up for herself? Besides, I hear tell that Ryoma does the sticking up for her."
"Really?" His mother sounded so surprised.
"Yep. The hag heard it from last year's team captain."
"Oh. So what's she look like? Cute?"
"Super cute. She's got long braids like her father and grandfather. Her hairs dark brown, but looks red in the sun, a couple shades darker than the hag's. Her eyes are this brown color that's closer to honey than anything and they're always real big and doe-like."
"Oh, she sounds perfect," his mother said with delight.
Perfect for what?
"What do you think she'll look like when she's older?" his mother went on with enthusiasm.
"Depends."
"On what?"
"On who she takes after."
"Well, what happens then?"
"Well, if she takes after her grandmother, she'll be really pretty. If she takes after her grandfather, she'll be twice as pretty. If she takes after her mother, she'll be beautiful. If she takes after her father, she'll be twice as beautiful."
"That's…a little strange."
"Tell me about it. Her father and I were best friends there for a while. It was really weird having a friend you'd consider dating if he wore a dress and some makeup."
His mother laughed and he was sure his father was smirking.
"You're horrible," she said.
"But you love me," he replied happily.
"Don't know why," she said wistfully.
"I'll show you why. Come here."
Ryoma walked in before his parents could get any farther in that line of "discussion." His mother immediately stepped away from his father to see if her son wanted anything. His idiot father cursed under his breath and Ryoma had to suppress a smirk. He settled for a Ponta. Grape, please.
Author's Note:
This is what I had when I first wrote the chapter months ago. Aren't you glad I changed it? If your confused, it's because you haven't read Breathing I. I'm told it's good. You might want to think about checking it out.
Thanks for the view.
Sani