Aika's THANK YOU Note~

:Bows: Sincerely, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, :)

Zero-onE001 I'm relieved there's someone else out there like me, XD

ilyPJP19 D: I'm glad you enjoy the story so far. Really…? :sweatdrops: Is that good, or is that bad? I'd like to think he's grown up, o_O

Tommyboy1331 Good that you like it, :) continued~!

midnight blue08 It has just began, my child… :P

heartluv Yay you're staying, :) here's next chapter~!

Yuki029 :LOL: Of course your friend sat on her boyfriend's lap, sheer sweetness~! If a stranger pops up outside my window, XD I'd scream neurotically. Uh-oh, I agree with you about people nowadays being less generous in dropping reviews, o_O maybe it's because there has been too many fanfictions?

Be-ya o_O A bit weird? I update fast? You're not the first to say that, XD

Bad Boy

Chapter Four

"Third Party"

Yoshikawa Kaori was ten years old, and she was the elementary school girl who'd been in the accident which had taken place nearly three months ago. That morning she had been cycling as she routinely did to school, and Ryoma had been in a taxi rushing for a tennis tournament. It was only by chance that he'd overslept and they ran into each other, leaving the taxi driver and himself injured and fortunately, recovered, but the girl in a coma.

Truth be told, Sakuno wasn't entirely sure for how long Ryoma planned on "taking a break" from tennis. She knew he somehow felt guilty, because he'd told her about it himself; almost two months ago when she'd visited him at the hospital, just a day before he was released, he'd completely broken down. He told her he couldn't forget how he'd urged the taxi driver to "drive faster", he told her maybe that had been the reason for the accident. Sakuno didn't know whether that was true, but she'd hugged him and stayed until he stopped crying. It had been the first, and hopefully the last time, that she had seen Echizen Ryoma cry.

They never talked about it afterward, like it had never happened, and Sakuno didn't mind.

"What did you put in there?" Ryoma asked as he took Sakuno's backpack from her, slinging it casually over his shoulder.

As the doors slid open, they followed the stream of people out of the subway train. Sakuno thought about what she had put inside her backpack that morning.

"Um… Slices of chocolate cake for Mr. and Mrs Yoshikawa and Kei-kun, slices of chocolate cake for Ryoma-kun, my cell phone, my purse, my handkerchief, my keys—"

"—pretty much the whole wardrobe." Ryoma summarized. Sakuno fidgeted anxiously. "What about slices of chocolate cake for yourself?" he asked.

"I-I've eaten."

"So later you're just going to watch me eat?"

"Um…"

"Pervert."

"Eh?" Sakuno blushed. "I-I'm not…" as she fiddled nervously with the hem of her light blue, pleated blouse, she remembered that her grandmother had given her Ryoma's cap before she left the house that morning. Sumire had watched Sakuno with a half-wondering, half-knowing look as Sakuno packed, and later she'd given Sakuno the "mysterious" white cap with a red line around it, which she claimed had been discovered on the ground a few meters from Sakuno's bedroom window early that morning. While Sakuno turned red, Sumire innocently mentioned about having seen Echizen Ryoma wearing the mysterious cap at school before. "A-ano, Ryoma-kun, I've brought the cap you dropped last night. It's inside my backpack."

Instead of answering, Ryoma took Sakuno's hand and held it in his grasp, stopping her from fiddling like a restless five-years-old. Sakuno noticed that he was wearing a crimson hairband around his right wrist. It was unmistakably hers, which he'd pulled from her hair last night.

"You want to walk, or you want to take a cab?" he asked once they stepped into the open air.

It was quite strange. They'd been making the same trip every Sunday for more than a month now, and he kept asking her that question.

"I don't mind." Sakuno replied like she always did, and Ryoma led them toward the street, apparently deciding to take a taxi like he always did. The distance from the subway station to the hospital wasn't exactly far, but still they'd been taking the taxi. "W-why are you wearing… My hairband on your hand, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked, curious.

"You want it back?" he asked stoically. "Or you want me to tie my hair with it?"

"N-no, it-it's okay. I'm just wondering… Why would you wear that hairband on your hand."

"It's my lucky-charm." he explained, hailing a taxi for both of them.

Once they got in the black car, Sakuno requested for her pastel green backpack from Ryoma, unzipping it in her lap. She fumbled around, feeling like searching for a gadget inside Doraemon's dimensional pocket. When she finally found Ryoma's controversial cap to be returned to him, she saw him settled comfortably beside her, eyes closed, peacefully asleep.

Sakuno smiled. Somehow, he looked exhausted. Almost as if he hadn't really slept the entire night. Even his hair was somewhat disheveled, windswept, tussled. Not that Sakuno was complaining. If Tomoka and the admiring girls were here, they might've said that it made Ryoma look sexy. No, probably sexier. Sakuno felt like a pervert, but she couldn't stop staring.

Since Ryoma had decided to take a break from tennis, he'd started wearing the school uniform regularly instead of t-shirt and shorts, and the change oddly escalated his popularity amongst the enthusiastic girls. Although Sakuno had shyly agreed with them that Ryoma had grown from cute to good-looking, she couldn't understand the school uniform complex. Sakuno had heard the girls categorizing her boyfriend as "bad boy" type, but she couldn't see which part of Ryoma represented "bad" at all. And bad boy doesn't necessarily make bad boyfriend.

At least, that was what she thought.

~;~

It was rude to yawn in front of other people, especially when one was your elder, and particularly when you were greeting her with a "Good morning". For Ryoma's okasan, it was unforgivably direspectful. It was a good thing she wasn't here.

Mrs Yoshikawa smiled as Ryoma tottered into the ward.

"Good morning to you too, you look like you could've used some more sleep." she said.

Yoshikawa Kei, Kaori's seven years old, younger brother, didn't agree.

"You look like shit." he commented, his eyes trained on his Gameboy's screen, his fingers pressing busily on buttons.

"Kei," Mrs Yoshikawa admonished.

Sakuno crossed the ward to put the flowers she and Ryoma had bought just minutes ago in the vase. Ryoma walked straight to Kei who was lounging leisurely on the red couch. He whacked Kei on the back of his head, and when the seven years old muttered a curse, Ryoma whacked him twice more.

"You impolite outsider!" Kei bawled. "Do you keep coming to visit my sister, or do you keep coming to hit me?!"

"Both." Ryoma droned out, taking a seat next to Kei. "Where's Fuyu-san?" he asked.

"I'm not Otosan's babysitter, and I don't freaking live to answer your questions."

"Watch your language, Kei." Mrs Yoshikawa said. "Fuyu's gone out to the cafeteria, Ryoma."

Pulling his feet onto the couch, Kei harrumphed. He turned his head toward Sakuno.

"Sakuno nee-chan, have you considered my offer yet?" he asked proudly. "Dump this stupid, obnoxious outsider and date me."

"Do you even know what obnoxious means?" Ryoma chimed in.

"Shut up." Kei snarled. "Sakuno nee-chan, this outsider's not worth your time, you know. I bet I kiss better than he does."

"Kei, I'm going to tape your mouth if you say just one more word." Mrs Yoshikawa threatened.

"So?" Kei said, directing his eyes on Sakuno and apparently challenging his mother.

Ryoma leaned his head on the couch and closed his eyes, looking too sleepy to care. Although, he did pat Kei's head rhythmically three times, as if giving a warning.

With a reddening face, Sakuno blinked twice, not knowing how to respond. Every time when she and Ryoma came, Kei and Ryoma would argue--or rather, Ryoma would hit Kei several times for being uncivil, and Kei would take revenge any way he could, while Mr. and Mrs Yoshikawa would unsuccessfully try to make him apologize and behave. Kei also seemed to be doing his best to "lure" Sakuno to leave Ryoma for him. He was seven years old, so it made his seduction quite harmless and absolutely adorable, but sometimes, Sakuno thought Ryoma looked seriously jealous.

The door was pushed open, and Sakuno was saved from further embarrassment when Mr. Yoshikawa, or as Ryoma called him, Fuyu-san, walked in the ward holding a plastic bag filled with edibles.

"Ah, I thought you were coming." he said when he saw Sakuno. He glanced over to the red couch, raising an eyebrow at Ryoma who seemed to have drifted into dreamland. "That never happened before." he observed.

"Y-yes, I don't know why either." Sakuno retorted in a quiet voice. She still couldn't get used to the family. The Yoshikawa couple had married young and appeared youthful even now, and their family was friendly and, well, in Kei's case, loud, but Sakuno couldn't help being formal. Then again, maybe Kei's outspokenness was the cause for her awkwardness. She went to the couch and took her backpack from Ryoma's lap, taking out the breadbox in which she'd packed some slices of chocolate cake. "T-this is for you."

Before Sakuno could hand the breadbox to Mrs Yoshikawa, Kei had grabbed it from her.

"What a shame." he said in a remorseful tone.

"W-what?" Sakuno asked anxiously.

"What a shame that you're serving this unworthy outsider." Kei elaborated, tilting his head in Ryoma's direction. "You cook so well, but you waste all the tasty meals on this… Bum."

Mr. Yoshikawa sat down in the chair next to his frowning wife, and he chuckled.

"That's why you've lost to Ryoma, Kei." he said. Kei looked supremely annoyed at the word "lost", but nevertheless he listened. "You sounded like you want Ryuzaki-san for a housemaid instead of a girlfriend, and she's dating Ryoma, not serving him. Which is what she will be doing if she goes out with you." Mr. Yoshikawa concluded. "Ryoma's far more considerate than you are."

Kei turned his eyes suspiciously on his mother.

"Okasan, are you sure that man is my father?" he asked, throwing a sidelong glance at Mr. Yoshikawa.

"No. Seven years ago he found you in the drain and took you home to me." Mrs Yoshikawa retorted heatedly. "Didn't you, Fuyu?"

Mr. Yoshikawa grinned.

"Well, now that you mentioned it Mayuri, I seem to remember it happening…"

Sakuno smiled apologetically when Kei glowered at his father. She looked over to the bed, where Kaori was lying on, motionless for nearly three whole months. She sighed. She was afraid to think of what would happen if Kaori never woke up. Ryoma had promised her that he wouldn't "stop" playing tennis, and Sakuno knew he wouldn't, but it had been two straight months now; she suspected he'd never even touched a racquet since he got out of the hospital. Fortunately, his oyaji, her grandmother and Tezuka seemed to share a silent agreement. As far as Sakuno could tell, none of them had said anything to object Ryoma's decision to temporarily withdraw from tennis.

"Give me some time, I'll get back stronger… But now just give me some time."

Those had been his words that day when he'd cried on her, and Sakuno had told him he could take his time.

~;~

They left the hospital and for the first time, wandered around for a few minutes before taking a cab to the subway station. Although it was only for a few minutes, Sakuno quickly regretted the walking. Her artful and flirty stilettos (or so Tomoka said, since she was the one who insisted that Sakuno wear them every time she went out with Ryoma), were killing her feet. Sakuno wasn't even sure if Ryoma had noticed them. He'd certainly never mentioned anything.

Then again, Sakuno wondered…

"R-Ryoma-kun?"

"Hn."

"D-did you…" Sakuno could feel the heat creeping up her neck. She was definitely on the way to humiliating herself. They were at the park, strolling at their own pace. Most of those who were "hanging out" around were children, but there was also a number of lovey-dovey couples. Sakuno could never stand the exposure. She was still exhaustively embarrassed being seen with her boyfriend, and it became unbearable when they ran into their classmates or generally schoolmates; if they were girls, they would giggle or glance with obvious envy at Sakuno, and if they were boys, they would loudly greet Ryoma and his "date", which only made Sakuno wish the earth would open and swallow her alive. Keeping her eyes to herself so she wouldn't have to notice anybody recognizeable around the park, Sakuno took a deep breath and tried again. "R-Ryoma-kun… You always stopped to sit when we went out together… And you took the cab to the hospital even though it wasn't that far away… C-Could it be… That you did it because I was wearing high heels?" she asked.

There came no reply.

Sakuno glanced up timidly, and she found Ryoma looking at her with a blank face. Although, she could see… Amusement, in his eyes.

He raised his hand and cuffed the top of her head lightly.

"Of course I did, or else you'd be limping on the way home." he retorted. Sakuno blinked, touching her head, and then she smiled brightly. So he did notice. "I didn't think complaining about what you wear was a wise thing to do," he admitted. Sakuno blinked again, taking in his words. "I learned that from Nanako." he said, sounding reflective.

"D-does that mean I've many… Flaws, in what I wear?"

"Hn." Ryoma confirmed. Sakuno frowned, dejection began to sink in. But then, he stopped walking and turned to her. Sakuno nearly bumped into him. She was a good measure a head shorter than Ryoma, the top of her head reaching only his chin. It was at a moment like this that Sakuno realized how unfairly fast boys could grow. Back when they'd first met, they were quite the same height. He placed his hand on Sakuno's cheek, and made her look up at him. "Your blouse's revealing." he said.

Revealing??

"It-it's not at all."

"To me it's enough." Ryoma remarked, and Sakuno's cheeks practically combusted. "Your skirt's too short."

"It-it's not… Too short…"

"To me it's enough."

W-what could he mean by enough?

"It-it's a-accept-acceptable." Sakuno pronounced with effort, feeling like she'd swallowed her tongue.

"Your perfume's also enough." Ryoma continued. His hand moved up to the back of Sakuno's head, his fingers whirling around some dark locks of her long hair. Whenever they went out, Sakuno didn't braid it. She took her girlfriends' suggestion and fashioned her hair in different ways. One style for one outing. "But your hair…" he said, his voice lowering.

Sakuno could feel eyes gazing at them. The people at the park--she didn't dare count how many--had turned in their way and were rudely staring, looking curious and even entertained. Ryoma didn't seem to mind. He kept inching closer.

"D-don't you like how I styled my hair?" Sakuno asked.

"Your hair's too much." he said, stopping an inch before their foreheads touched. Sakuno stared into his brown eyes and couldn't help but notice that they looked clear again. Every time when they looked that clear, Sakuno wondered what he was thinking about, and she had the most shameless idea that whatever it was, she was involved in it. "What's with that face?" he asked in a slow, teasing, knowing voice. "I'm not saying I don't like it."

Embarrassed, Sakuno did her best to control herself from banging their heads together. That, would have been a tragedy.

"It-it's not something I usually do." she admitted uncertainly. Although she didn't look, she had a feeling that Ryoma was smiling--or per chance, smirking, at her honest revelation. "Tomo-chan and the others say I… I have to do my best to be presentable for Ryoma-kun."

For a moment, Ryoma was silent.

"Really, for me?" he asked. Sakuno nodded earnestly, looking at him to show she was two hundred percent serious. Ryoma brought his fist to his mouth, looking away. He cleared his throat lightly, and maybe Sakuno had been mistaken, but she thought he was blushing. When he turned to her again, he simply took her hand and towed her to continue walking. "Let's go."

Sakuno obeyed, but she was convinced that he was somehow shy.

"Are you… Are you shy, Ryoma-kun?" she asked.

He scoffed, rather condescendingly.

"Of course not." he retorted, sounding defensive.

Sakuno smiled, practically bouncing on her stilletos, the aching in her feet at the moment forgotten.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun?"

"Hn."

"About Okumura-san…"

"I met her when I was smaller." Ryoma explained patiently. "We're childhood friends… With child-like stuff passed on between us."

"Does that mean… Okumura-san is Ryoma-kun's childhood sweetheart?"

Ryoma gave it a thought, and he lifted his shoulders in a brief shrug.

"I can't really put it any other way, so yeah, you can say that. But that was long ago." he said, When Sakuno didn't comment, he went on. "Eri's family moved away when we were ten, and we kept in touch through emails and all, but after some time we got busy… Or something." he grasped on Sakuno's hand firmer when she remained silent, and she looked at him with a frown.

"Didn't you feel sad, Ryoma-kun? It's a waste to lose that kind of relationship. It should be treasured."

"A waste…?" Ryoma repeated. Sakuno nodded convincingly, and he raised his free hand to poke at her forehead. "I think you're not normal." he declared. "I thought normal girls were supposed to be jealous or worried themselves crazy at something like that."

Sakuno turned her eyes downcast, blushing.

"I-I didn't worry myself crazy…" she mumbled, not willing to admit that she had been worried. And yes, a bit jealous. "B-but that kind of relationship between Ryoma-kun and Okumura-san really is precious. It's always hard to take care of a relationship with other people, and it's harder when it's long-distance, but they're precious all the same…"

Ryoma seemed thoughtful at her words.

"Oyaji and Okumura Ojisan are friends, but I don't know what Eri's doing in Japan." he said. "Her Japanese was poor back when we were kids. She named a doll she owned "Mekabu-chan"." he revealed, and Sakuno giggled. "I told her "mekabu" was a seaweed, but she wouldn't listen."

"Okumura-san is very pretty. She must've been a cute little girl too," Sakuno suggested.

Ryoma didn't seem to be paying attention. He turned to watch a group of children playing hopscotch near the yellow playground slide. Looking at his face, one could've assumed that he was giving a thought on joining them.

Somehow, Sakuno didn't feel as bad anymore being seen with her boyfriend. She felt lightened and satisfied instead. Maybe it was the fact that Ryoma had explained to her about Okumura Eri. Feeling a lot better, Sakuno lifted her head properly, shyly handing a smile to a mother who was helping her son with a kite at the playground.

~;~

Usually, their date took place on Saturdays. Starting from last month Sundays had been dedicated only as the day to visit Kaori, but that Sunday they broke their routine and spent time at the nearby arcade--which they'd actually never yet gone together to, despite the fact that it was the closest place from their house which offered entertainment. Then again, maybe it was because of the short distance that they did not go there, considering there were many familiar faces from school to be seen.

It was well after five when Sakuno came home. She managed to convince Ryoma that he didn't need to see her to her frontdoor, since he would have to backtrack to get home himself. She also knew that her grandmother had gone out and would only return some time later, and she couldn't help but recall what Sumire had said about it.

"Since I'm not going to be home when you get back, remember not let Ryoma stay too late if he comes in."

Nervously, Sakuno shook her head over the ringing words. She didn't tell Ryoma that her grandmother wasn't home. She didn't know what his reaction would be or what he would think, not to mention that if she told him about it, it might give him something to think about.

Sakuno fumbled with her keys to open the door, briefly thinking about the meal she could make for tomorrow's lunch break.

"Ryuzaki," a voice called, curt and demanding, mildly startling her.

Sakuno turned to see Eri standing just a few meters from her. Like yesterday, her green eyes were piercing, only right now they appeared even more accusing. Sakuno managed to smile.

"Okumura-san?" she prompted.

"It's not over." Eri announced.

"W-what?"

"Ryoma. He came to see me last night, telling me all kind of stupid things. I get it that he wanted to make a point that he's with you, but it's not over." Eri repeated, looking directly at Sakuno's face. She smiled icily. "The fact that he came over to my house just to tell me that he's "with you" is impressive, isn't it? He went that far, it shows that he likes you, but it also shows that he might still be interested in me. He knows I'm here because of him, so he told me all that because he doesn't want to be distracted from you--by me."

Sakuno didn't really understand, but she didn't like it at all.

"T-that's not true. Ryoma-kun… Is my boyfriend." it took her a lot of courage, but she said it. "Y-you can't just say that kind of thing, saying that "it's not over" like you're going to… Steal Ryoma-kun."

"Are you daft?" Eri asked loudly. "I am going to take him from you. If we think about it, the third party here isn't me. It's you. I'm just taking back what belongs to me." she pressed.

"You're not being reasonable… Okumura-san." Sakuno replied, and she hated how her voice had gone soft like always did whenever she was about to cry, and she hated it more how her eyes had watered. She wanted to yell at the girl in front of her, she was angry and sad and afraid, mostly at the girl, but also to herself for not being able to look as confident as the girl seemed. "Ryoma-kun is someone else's boyfriend already." she forced herself to add. "Mine."

Eri wasn't perturbed. She stared at Sakuno sharply, and Sakuno kept the eye contact.

"You're not good enough." Eri said.

"A-and you are?" Sakuno returned, barely having control on her voice so it wouldn't shake.

"For one, I'm not going to do nothing about Ryoma not playing tennis anymore. I take it you know how good he is, everybody does. He was going to be number one, but now he's stopped. I can't tell yet why he's staying behind, but I'm going to find out, and then I'm going to help him play again." Eri frowned at Sakuno, looking disgusted. "You've done nothing about that, have you? I heard you and Ryoma started going out after the accident, and it was also when he stopped playing, but he's healed. For two months long, you didn't help him play again. Because without tennis, he's been paying attention to you. It's the only thing more important than you. You're selfish." Eri accused. "That's why you're not good enough."

At first, everything seemed too much to be digested. But once the words sank in, Sakuno stared back at Eri in shock.

It was true. For two months long, she had done nothing to help Ryoma play tennis again.

Aika's Note~

I don't have much to say, except that I don't have to move away. I've got the green lights from my parents (after persuading with argumentations which could've defeated the politicians) to stay at my aunt's place; all I need to do is be a good girl, which isn't hard. But I don't know how it's going with my brother, since he's the troublemaker. It's almost sinful how he looks so angelic, you know, ironic. I've also gotten myself a part-time job. I'm not sure how it's going to affect updates yet, but if they get slightly soggy, please don't kill me.

Have you noticed there were rhymes in those lines? XD

Going now, until next chapter, :)