Author's Note :
Konnichiwa minna-san!!! I'm sooooo sorry for the late update!!! (.lll)
Firstly is because there's some problems with the sign in and upload process and secondly is because my school is organizing a Japanese Cultural Charity Day (JCCD). Since I'm one of the committee members, I've been extremely busy lately. The money that we've collected will go to the Children Cancer Fund. (^_^)
So, here's the long awaited update!!
Gomen… It's written with what little time I have so I hope it doesn't suck…
Thanks very much to those who wrote in the reviews corner. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
I'm very happy that you enjoyed my story so far. Please continue to support me. ARIGATOU!!! (^_^y)
Recap chapter 1:
Ryoma is sleeping peacefully due to the influence of the drug administered to him during his operation. His face, relaxed in sleep is heart stopping handsome. It is hard to believe that Ryoma can never play tennis again.
As the group stared down at him, they felt a terrible loss. Tennis would never be the same again for each of them without Ryoma.
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Ryoma accepted the fact that he could never again play tennis fairly well. He completed his rehabilitation period in 2 weeks time instead of the normal 1 month required. The doctor was reluctant to discharge him at first because he's still convinced that Ryoma's shoulder is weak but after a few more test, he agreed to let him go on the condition that Ryoma returned every Friday for a follow-up.
Ryoma felt like a stranger after the incident. His father no longer does outrageous things to drive him crazy, heck he even scared the shit out of Ryoma when he woke him up nicely instead of just kicking him awake like he used to, his mother is always at home now instead of going off somewhere to have her American tea party and his cousin is overly worried about him and fussed about every little thing he did. He knew that change is inevitable and he appreciate their care and concern but he wished that things would just go back to normal.
School wasn't any different from home either. The first day he was back, many avoided eye contact with him (besides the Seigaku regulars) and yet he heard their whispers and gossips behind his back. His English sensei lets him sleep in her class and even complimented on one of his essays, but the most significant and positive change among all is that there are no more screaming, pushing and noisy bunch of girls crowding around him wherever he went. He could enjoy long periods of peace with Sakuno without anyone bothering him. Ryoma felt relieved and calm whenever he's with her because he feels that she's the only one that understands him best.
----- o o o -----
Everyone noticed a change in Ryoma after the incident. He avoided anything concerning tennis like the plague and he hardly ever wears his white Fila cap anymore. He even changed his normal routes to avoid the school tennis courts and the public courts.
Ryoma is slowly but surely getting used to his new lifestyle. His daily routine starts by going to class and waits for it to end. Then he would pick up Sakuno from the class next door and together, they would go to the nearby ramen stall or other nearby places for lunch. Later, they would hang out under their favorite Sakura tree talking, doing their homework, studying and cuddling until sunset. After that, he'll walk her home and kiss her good night before walking back towards his own home.
On weekends, he'd hang out with Momo-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai and the others if they had the time. The regulars were always careful about tennis topics whenever Ryoma's around. They do not want to hurt his feelings by bringing up Ryoma's most sensitive issue.
Ryoma smiles more often now, but only those who knows him can see that his smile usually didn't reach his eyes. Although the new Ryoma is friendlier than he was before, many, especially the regulars still prefers the old, arrogant Ryoma who loves tennis.
----- o o o -----
One day, during Biology class, the teacher instructed the students in charge that day to go down to the lab and bring up the two boxes of metal rods for their experiment. With a sigh, Ryoma got up and exited the class followed by another female classmate.
When they located the said boxes, Ryoma stood aside to let the girl take the top box first. After she managed to lift the box, she thanked Ryoma and hurried back to their classroom because the box was quite heavy.
Without thinking much, Ryoma bent to lift the second box. He gasped as a sharp pain lanced through his shoulder. He dropped the box noisily as the metal rods inside collides with each other, one hand coming up automatically to cover the sore area.
When he heard approaching footsteps coming towards the lab, he sucked in a breath and dropped his hand as the door swung open.
Two unidentified students stood at the doorway. The noise attracted their attention so they went to see what happened. When they opened the lab door, they saw Ryoma crouched down and is already picking up the metal rods.
"Ano... Daijoubu desu ka?" asked one of the students.
Ryoma turned, smiled and answered, "Aa, daijoubu, daijoubu. Had a clumsy moment that's all." The girls looked at one another with a skeptical look on their faces.
"Ano… Do you need and help? That box looks heavy… Your shoulder….."
"Ami!!" warned the other girl next to her.
"Go-Gomen nasai… I shouldn't have mentioned"
Ryoma waved off her apology, stood up and massaged his shoulder. He then bent down, hefted up the box and with a curt "Thanks", left the lab.
Ryoma kept his cool even though his shoulders is killing him from the strain of carring such a heavy box. He walked back to his classroom and set the box down on the teacher's table. He then went back to his seat, laid his head on the table and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on anything but the stabbing pain in his shoulders.
'Why now?! Why me?!!' are among the thoughts that ran through his head.
----- o o o -----
Sakuno noticed that there's something wrong with Ryoma as he carefully lowered his head down to rest on top of her lap but she waited until the right moment to ask him. She knew from past experience that Ryoma wold clamp up like a stubborn shell if he didn't feel like talking about something. Once he's comfortable on her lap, she combs her hands through his soft, silky hair, prompting a small satisfied purr from Ryoma. She giggled and continued her administrations until Ryoma visibly relaxed.
"Ne, Ryoma."
"Hmm?"
"Did something happen in school today? You look kindda weird just now."
Ryoma kept his eyes closed and was silent for a long time. Sakuno sighed and decided to skip the topic but as she opened her mouth, Ryoma answered her earlier question.
"I had to carry the metal rods from the lab for Biology class today. Didn't notice that it's damn heavy. My shoulders ached while I'm carrying them."
Sakuno looked worriedly at Ryoma and at the same time, she's a bit angry that he didn't take care of himself. According to the doctor during his last visit, his shoulder is fine for his normal everyday routine but he did caution Ryoma to not strain it too much because the tendons in his shoulder are still recovering.
She wanted to lecture him for his carelessness but at the same time, she didn't want to ruin their time together with petty arguments.
Ryoma crack open a lazy eye when Sakuno's hands stopped caressing his hair. Sakuno's face is scrunched up in deep thoughts and worry.
Ryoma smiled mentally.
'She's cute when she's angry and worried' he thought. His earlier bitterness vanished as he continued to look at Sakuno.
"Hn. I can take care of myself just fine Sakuno. Don't worry..." he whispered as he leaned up and gently kissed Sakuno.
Sakuno blinked in surprise and was reluctant to let the matter drop at first, but she soon melted into the kiss. Ryoma grinned when he felt her giving in and deepened the kiss, wanting Sakuno to moan his name. After a few tongue battles, he got his moan.
----- o o o -----
"Arigatou, Ryoma-kun. A-Ano… Take care of yourself ok? O-Oyasumi nasai…" said Sakuno when they reached her house.
Ryoma smiled, leaned in, pecked her cheek and whispered a husky "Oyasumi" before turning and walked away. Sakuno clutched her hands together and watched him until he turned a corner and disappeared from her sight. She said a silent prayer so that he'll have a safe journey home.
During his walk home, Ryoma was so deep in his thoughts about his shoulder ache this morning that he wasn't really paying any attention to where he was going. Unconsciously, he followed his old route home where he will pass through the old public tennis court where he and Momo-senpai usually goes to when there's no tennis practice.
As he neared the courts, he heard the familiar sound of a tennis ball being hit back and forth between a player and the wall. Curious, he walked over to have a look.
The boy was almost like Ryoma when he's in Junior High accept that he has dark, jet black hair, wears a white Adidas cap and used a green tennis racquet. Ryoma's brow lifted when he noted that the boy has bole legs. That means that the boy cannot run very well, yet his shots were near perfect. Every stroke is returned to the same position, almost like Tezuka Zone.
Ryoma approached the boy after he finished training and introduced himself. The boy said his name is Hidaka.
"Ne, if you don't mind me asking… Why do you choose to play tennis with those legs?"
Hidaka looked at Ryoma. Ryoma realized how blunt his question sounded and was about to apologize when Hidaka laughed, leaving Ryoma blinking in surprise.
"Why? Many people have asked me that question and my answer is always the same. I love this sport, that's why I choose to play it. Even though I can't really run with these legs, but I had lots of fun when I'm playing my favorite game. I don't mind what others think as long as I'm happy."
Ryoma was silent for a long, long time.
'I love this sport, that's why I choose to play it. Even though I can't really run with these legs, but I had lots of fun when I'm playing my favorite game. I don't mind what others think as long as I'm happy.'
Hidaka's wise words kept replaying over and over again in his mind. When he think about it, all he did after the doctor said that he will never be able to play tennis was to give up and avoid tennis but this boy, seven years younger than him didn't give up but practiced very hard to reach this level because he loves this sport.
Ryoma honestly loves tennis right down to the very core, same as the boy in front of him.
'Why not give it another shot?' he thought.
"Onii-chan? Are you ok?" said Hidaka as he noticed that Ryoma was very quiet.
Ryoma snapped out of his gaze and nodded. He turned to Hidaka and said, "Arigatou na, Hidaka-kun. I was lost when I'm told that I can't ever play tennis again because of a shoulder injury but seeing you today made me change my mind. Honto ni, arigatou gozaimashita"
Hidaka smiled and offered his hand. Ryoma took it and squeezed gently before letting it go and stood up. He then bid Hidaka farewell and continued walking home.
Ryoma hadn't felt like this in a long time. He felt his whole being is reignited with a force that's stronger than last time and his spirit is restored. He made a vow to himself as he pushed open the gates of his front door that he'll retrain himself to be better in tennis. No, even better than his old self.
He smirked and walked into the house. The old Ryoma was back.
----- o o o -----
He looked around and saw his mother and cousin sitting together, watching TV and sharing a bowl of popcorn while Nanjiroh sat at the other corner reading the newspaper. He had no doubt that there's some porn magazine hidden inside that said newspaper but that's not important.
"Gomen, Sakuno…" he mumbled as he walked over and stood in front of his dad.
Nanjiroh looked up when a shadow loomed over the article that he was currently reading and was surprised to see Ryoma standing in front of him in his usual cocky stance, a stance that was supposedly long forgotten after the incident.
He lifted a brow and waited.
Ryoma smirked.
'Time for some training, old man' he thought as he stared straight into his father's eyes.
"Oyaji. I have something to tell you…"
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End Notes :
Whew! Glad that's over… Don't forget to leave your reviews ya… See you all in the next chapter…
^_-