Hello! MJ-san's back! How is everyone? I am sorry for delaying my fics but I'll try my best to update… I am still working on my Cherry Valentines. I hope you can still wait. For the meantime, this is first chapter of IASWAB. I am also sorry for delaying this. I was supposed to update this last Saturday but I was beat up by watching Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-Hen that day. I just couldn't get enough with the story... For the compensation, I hope you like this... Domo… ^^
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never ever will.
sweetangel - tee hee hee... yeah, that's a first... maybe? Sorry for him for a while...
Hiiii! Yeah, long time no see... I miss you too... :)
I am glad that you are so happy about my new fic... Well, I am starting to get used to the site... but I still need to think about the plot... tee hee hee... we will see about that...
thank you very much... I'll see you soon... ^^
Chapter 1: Moving On
Chapter Summary: It had been a month and she knew that she moved on. She knew that she did.
"I like you."
"E-eh?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing at that moment. Her eyes widened as she stopped from packing her things to her bag. They were inside their classroom and they were the only ones inside that Friday afternoon. She was looking in front of the blackboard while she knew that he was staring straight at her who was just standing beside her. Did she hear him right? Blushing, she slowly looked at him and saw how serious he was, "W-what did you say, R-Ryoma-kun?"
"…I said I like you," He said as if it was only natural for him to say that, "Go out with me."
She remained speechless and she didn't know what to say. Ryoma confessed to her that day and if she was only dreaming about, she didn't want to wake up at all.
She knew that she could do it. She was slowly getting used to it. She was brokenhearted, yeah, because she felt that she was being cheated, betrayed, played and was taken advantage of her kindness.
But she didn't react that day.
She was hurt but she didn't let them hurt her bad.
She didn't even cry in front of them. Not even before, during and after that scene, the scene that had proven her stupidity of believing him, the scene that had proven that everything was real.
…That the young tennis prodigy didn't love her after all.
She loved Ryoma… a lot. When he confessed to her four months ago, she was the happiest girl alive. It might sound corny but that was what she felt during that time. She thought it was real.
She thought his feelings were real.
Her thoughts were only swiped away by the wind and disappeared forever. She needed to wake up from that dream and live to the reality now where she had realized everything.
She was only a victim of their bet.
She didn't know the reason why and she didn't bother to know either. What would she need to know it if she knew that Ryoma would never come back to her.
He loved someone else and that was Honoka. She was their classmate at home economics and homeroom subjects. She was really blind that she didn't know the stare they were giving to each other.
She should've known from the start.
After that scene, she slowly walked away without even saying anything. She just looked down and walked away from that place. She could even hold her tears back until she reached home. Luckily that she was able to find it.
As she reached her room, she silently cried her heart out and buried herself on her pillow. Good thing that her grandmother was still in the school when the incident happened, and was all lucky that she was in the faculty room together with Tezuka and Inui at that moment.
The explanation was not enough but it was all clear to her that Ryoma didn't want her anymore. She could remember the smirk he gave to her before he kissed Honoka.
The pain came once again when she remember that.
No… she had to move on. She had to forget everything. She had to stay strong. She wouldn't let them think that she was being defeated by their game. She would show them that she could accept it.
Ryoma was not a part of her life anymore.
She must accept that reality.
Morning:
She was on duty that morning. Good thing that she had to go to school early that day and she knew that Ryoma would be practicing at the court that time. Mostly, she would spend her free time watching him play from the window of the art room which was her club.
Well, she would still do it from time to time when she was in that room. She couldn't help it but the court side was at the club room's point of view. It was painful whenever she looked but it was the only way to move on. She had to focus on her own profession now and she would busy herself with her paintings.
At least, she wasn't all too distracted with the breakup a month ago when she was with her paintings.
"Sakuno!"
She looked at the door where she heard someone call her, "Tomo-chan, you are early today."
Tomoka entered their classroom and walked closer to her, "I want to go early because I know that you are already here."
"E? Why?" She blinked her eyes twice when she said that.
"What do you mean why?" Tomoka frowned at her question and patted her shoulder, "I want to accompany you to the club room of course."
She narrowed her eyes towards her best friend, "You wanted me to paint you something, am I right?"
Tomoka grinned wider and then grabbed her hand, "Hey, hey are you finish? Let's go there now."
Sakuno sighed and weakly smiled at her, "Mou… Tomo-chan…"
"Let's go!" With that she pulled her out of the room and went to the art club room.
Art Room:
"Please do your homework next time, Tomo-chan." Sakuno said as she finished painting the draft for Tomoka's dream house. It had some highlights and it was made rush so that wasn't actually neat but Tomoka told her that it was fine just like that.
"You know that I can't draw," She said as she grabbed the piece from her, "I can only rely to you on this."
"I can teach you, you know." Sakuno said looking at her best friend.
Tomoka was standing near the canvass stand while she was sitting in front of the canvass. They were in the middle of the room which that wasn't big but she was satisfied at that room. There weren't enough members to visit the room so it was fine if she could stay there by herself.
She preferred that way after all.
Not long before, they could hear the practice training of the tennis players in that area. They could hear them before of the whistle Tezuka was using at that moment. Not really knowing what she was doing, she stood up and looked at the window.
And there they were.
He was playing against Kawamura while his girlfriend was cheering for him. Honoka's face was really happy while he was smirking everytime he heard her cheer. Kawamura was a strong opponent but he could level his skills. Maybe it was because of Honoka's cheer.
It was Ryoma's strength after all.
…The strength that she couldn't give to him before.
She heard recently that Ryoma was secretly courting her before he started to approach her. The rest of story was still unknown. They said different versions of the story and no one could prove the real one.
"Ne, are you alright." Tomoka asked her tapping her to her shoulder.
She flinched when she felt her touch. She gave her a reassuring smile as she looked at her best friend, "Hai, don't worry about me, Tomo-chan."
"Are you sure?" Tomoka wasn't convinced.
"It has been a month and they haven't shown and doing things in purpose." Sakuno said looking back at the court. When Tomoka learned the truth that day from Horio, she immediately ran all the way to her house and spotted her crying on her bed. She told her everything that happened. Tomoka wanted to knock some sense out to his brain after that but she stopped her, telling her that he didn't see her miserable like that.
She promised Tomoka that she would never show that weak side of her in front of Ryoma and Honoka. Her best friend was the only person who saw her like that.
"Remember Sakuno, my offer is still up," Tomoka said catching her attention, "I am going to beat Ryoma-sama to a pulp even though he's my idol."
"Mou… Tomo-chan…" She frowned at her best friend's words.
"You're my best friend and there's no way I would let them get to you like that."
"I am fine," She said grabbing her hands and gripped them, "I will not let myself down because of what they did to me," She looked back at the window and stared at the white-capped boy who was playing against his senpai, "I still love him but that is all. I will move on from him and show him that I can."
Tomoka just watched him before she surprised her with a hug, "If you aren't my best friend, I would've hit you. Just come to me when everything goes wrong, okay."
Sakuno was rather shocked when she said that. She returned the hug after that, "Hai… arigatou… Tomo-chan."
They stayed like that until it was time to get back to class. The first period was about to start at that time.
Later on:
The whole class was still suffocating for her but it wasn't like before. During the first days of breakup she couldn't look straight in front of the class or even to him fearing that her tears would fall any minute.
Ryoma who was sitting near the window was just beside her. He wasn't looking at her but the thought of him next to her felt awkward. During the home economics club, Honoka had stolen her seat and sat beside Ryoma. She didn't complain and sat to another seat.
At least she felt a little relieved and hurt at the same time. She couldn't take the same together with them of course.
It had been a month but the pain was still unbearable and it was amazing of her that she could hide it from them. Just really amazing.
xxx
The class was long over and Sakuno went to the art room. She painted a few things before she decided to end it afterwards. She didn't want to go there but she had to. Her grandmother already knew what happened but she didn't mingle with their business.
She just told them to think things carefully but she didn't miss to scold the young boy for what he did to her.
Aside from that, she didn't enter the scene between them.
She had to go there and talk to her grandmother about something. Sumire couldn't visit her to the art room because she was busy preparing for the upcoming tournament.
And there she was, standing outside the court… where the regulars were still playing in the afternoon. Walking inside, she tried to avoid contacts between Ryoma and Honoka. She wanted to get out of there as possible as she could.
"Ryuzaki-chan!"
That would happen a little later though.
"Momo-senpai, Fuji-senpai," She looked at them and bowed, "konnichiwa."
Momo stopped walking in front of her, "Are you going to the club room?"
"Hai…"
"Is your afternoon activity done for today, Ryuzaki-chan?" Fuji asked her this time.
Sakuno nodded to him, "I need to see Obaa-chan to talk about something then I'll go home."
"Want me to take you home?" Fuji offered.
She raised her hands in front and weakly smiled at him, "I-Ie, I don't want to bother you senpai."
"You are not a bother at all," Fuji countered, "I am glad that you are fine though."
She opened her eyes after that. She knew what Fuji meant. Even they didn't open nor tell it to her, they were worried about her. She gave the tensai a genuine smile;
"That was all in the past. I can't stay upset forever."
Fuji and Momo looked at her as if trying to see if there was something odd about her expression. To her surprise, Momo draped an arm to her shoulder and said;
"I am so proud of you, Ryuzaki-chan!"
"M-Momo-senpai!" Sakuno shrieked as she blushed a little.
"You better let go of her Momo." Fuji said, his smile was still plastered to his face but it showed a different meaning.
"Ryuzaki-chii!" Eiji surprised everyone there by glomping her from the back, "It's good to see you here now, nya!"
"K-Kikumaru-senpai!" Her blush intensified. It's been a month since Eiji had done that to her but she missed it though.
She missed the whole team. It was seldom of her to visit the court after that incident a month ago and she thought that she could visit and cheer for them once again. She knew that they were looking at her but she couldn't care less. She was there for another reason anyway.
"A-anou… minna, I need to see Obaa-chan now." She said trying to free herself from the acrobatic player's grip.
"Ne, ne, you'll cheer for us again, right?" Eiji said as he slowly released her.
Sakuno took a few steps backward and faced them; her hands were brought to her back and smiled at them at the same time;
"Of course!"
The three of them smiled back at her.
"Well, I'll see you later then." She skidded away from them and walked towards the club room. Sumire was talking to the captain and the vice -captain of the club. They looked at her direction when they noticed her presence.
"Sakuno, you are here," Sumire said as she gestured her to come over, "You can make dinner and no need to wait for me. I will be late okay."
"H…hai…" She said as she looked down and fidgeted a little, "A-anou… Obaa-chan, you see…"
Tezuka and Oishi looked at each other and nodded. Oishi looked at their coach and said;
"Sensei, we will take our leave for a while."
Sumire nodded and the both of them bowed before they left the room. It was the two of them now, "What is it?"
She faced her grandmother with a full determination, "I… I'll play tennis again…"
Sumire was shocked but recovered fast, "Are you sure?"
"Hai…" She said as she looked down, "As… a hobby though."
"A hobby?" Sumire stared at her, "You are not going to have it for real?"
She shook her head. Everything changed after a month. She didn't hold her racket until now… until she decided that she would again.
"I just can't throw my desire of holding the racket but… I don't want to do it here."
"What? Why?"
She looked away. Did she have to say it to her? Sumire knew her situation.
"Very well," She said after a few seconds of silence, "But where do you want to play then?"
"I'll look around," She immediately said looking straight at her, "Somewhere near our house."
"Are you sure about this Sakuno?" You are not forcing yourself, are you?" Sumire wanted to be sure about her decision.
"Hai…" She gave her a positive answer.
Sumire sighed as she said that, "Alright… I'll give you permission but don't look far away or you'll get lost."
"I won't!" Sakuno pouted earning a laugh from her grandmother.
"Run along now, and do be careful." She said smiling at little at her.
"Hai… arigatou, Obaa-chan." She bowed at her and then left the room. She bowed at the regulars outside before she left the court with a smile on her face. She knew that everything would be alright.
She knew that it would be.
Later on:
She looked for a possible court to play, a court where no one could see her, a court where she could spend time without disturbance.
…A court where she didn't have to think of anything.
But it was useless.
When she spotted a place, it was always public and some people were playing. She didn't want to join them for she didn't know the people playing inside. She wanted a quiet place to play. She was about to give up when she heard some tennis balls being played near her location. She slowly walked to that path. When she turned to a corner, there were some tall plants that were lined up and behind them was a fence. She peeked inside and saw a court.
Someone was playing inside the court, alone.
Curious, she walked further and looked for the entrance. When she saw it, she looked around. It was definitely a court, a court that was hidden from the public. There was a guy that she didn't know and he was playing on the court but he was not facing the net. She was facing his back as she was at the other side of the court but he was facing the wall and rallied to it instead.
There was a large word written on the wall. It was spelled 'WIN' in capital letters. He was hitting the letter I for several times and she knew that he was really amazing. Sensing that someone was watching him, he looked back and spotted her.
She flinched when he looked at her. He had nice eyes and black hair. He was rather tall than her. She noticed the frown on his face turning her back to reality, "G-gomen, I… I am sorry to disturb you," She was about to move backwards when the boy waved his free hand telling her that it was alright, "A-are you sure? I am not bothering you?"
The boy nodded as he walked over the net and walked closer to her.
"I… I am looking for a court to play, you see." She looked down as when she realized the happy expression of his eyes. It seemed that the boy in front of her was really kind, "Then… I've found this."
The boy showed her his racket making her to look at him;
"I… I play tennis but I am not good. I could see that you're good," Sakuno smiled at him, "Y-you could hit the same letter on the wall."
The boy smiled at her and nodded.
Sakuno noticed something to him as she looked at him.
The boy frowned and noticed her curiosity. He weakly smiled as he pointed his lips and shook his head at the same time.
"I… I see," She bit her lower lip. The boy couldn't speak. He was mute but she could see the satisfaction in his eyes that he was happy, maybe because of tennis. She should be happy too, "My name's Sakuno, Ryuzaki Sakuno, nice to meet you." She smiled, closing her eyes in the process and extending her hand to him.
The boy grabbed her hand and to her surprise, he flipped her hand flat on the midair and wrote something on her palm with his other hand. It tickles when his index finger was tracing something to her palm then she realized what he was doing;
"Y-your name's Kanata Ichigata?" She looked at him which he nodded. She smiled and blushed at the same time, "N-nice to meet you… Kanata-kun."
The boy nodded for several times and Sakuno was happy to meet a new friend… in the hidden court. She knew that it was going to be fine.
She knew that she could move on.
With her new sanctuary and friend, she knew that she could.
Done! How was this chapter? Another angst is in the house. I know some of you hate Ryoma for what he did to Sakuno but bear with him for a while. The reason about the bet will be revealed next chapter… domo…
BTW: If you've seen the Chinese drama version of POT, I based the art club room there and the mute friend that Long Ma (Ryoma) met in that court. I forgot the name of the guy who was playing in the court. Long Ma and the guy became good friends there but I am going to change it here. Sakuno met him instead of Ryoma. Last info, it was Long Ma who wrote the word 'WIN' on the wall in that court. I'll be using these places in this fic of mine but they aren't mine to begin with… Disclaimer's apply to them.
Tell me your thoughts please… domo…
For those who haven't read my other on-going fics and one-shot fics, just visit my page and tell me your thoughts there too. One word is enough for me. Domo… :)
Next Chapter: Unintentional Dare
