Wound Up
By hye-kyo
Disclaimer: Nope, POT isn't mine…
Author's Notes: See, I told you there were POT ideas hanging above my swivel. I finished this while I was supposedly working. Haha, lazy me. Anyway, at least I am not slacking off in updating am I not? Haha again. Anyway, I actually planned on putting another more mature POT fic here but well I decided to not post it here but as a separate one-shot instead. So here's this one for you guys.
Read and Review!
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Title: Finally (or What Ryoma knew he was missing but doesn't want to admit and what Sakuno wanted but when she gets it she gets all fidgety and what Tomo-chan meant when she said, "Finally.")
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance/Humor/General
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He lazily sat, drinking his Ponta. He was bothered.
He knew of course that there was something missing. And that tennis wasn't everything. He knew from the beginning though he had attempted to ignore that he knew it.
Now it was eating him. The fact that he knew something was missing was irksome, but the fact that he doesn't know what that particular something was undeniably vexing.
He looked at his watch. An hour before his flight to some unknown place. He sneaked out. His agent didn't know he was here, waiting for a flight to nowhere.
He needed to find that something. It was eating his concentration. It'll probably impact his play at the ATP.
He had a feeling that sometime in his childhood, sometime more than ten years ago, he had a feeling that he knew what he was missing. Or what he would probably be missing. He had a feeling that he had almost come to terms with that missing something. Only he was too keen on avoiding it.
Now he was suffering the consequences.
When was it? When did he start feeling like this again?
Ah, the answer came swift. When he received that recorded video of one summer vacation many years ago. There. That was when he felt it.
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Ryuuzaki Sakuno watched as her bestfriend Tomo scurried off with the moving crowd to get something to drink. She told her she was parched and she volunteered to go along.
She looked around. She definitely missed home.
She took a seat, looked at the electronic boards and then looked around. Forty-five minutes to boarding.
And she brought out a paperback she brought along.
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It was one of his sempais who sent him the video. It was one summer break in high school, one summer break among all the summer breaks that he was not with them.
He could remember spending an entire day watching it, playing and replaying it. He missed practice, missed a couple of photo shoots and missed a press conference.
What was it about the video?
And a high-pitched voice took his attention. He turned his head, focusing on two girls. Both of which seemed utterly familiar to him.
He remembered the feeling. The feeling he knew he had felt thirteen years ago, the feeling of missing something.
It was like that. Like an epiphany.
And suddenly, he knew.
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"Tomo-chan," Sakuno looked around, aware of the staring people, "Not so loud."
Tomo just laughed, "I'm sorry." She sheepishly grinned, "I thought I saw Ryoma-sama over there at the vending machine. I couldn't help but squeal. I guess I was wrong."
"Right," Sakuno said. They had just seen Ryoma Echizen play and win at the China Open for the International Series on TV.
"Right." And Tomo giggled again.
"Where are the drinks anyway?" Sakuno asked, already knowing the answer.
"Riiight!" Tomo hurried through the crowd again, "Be right back!" she called back as she disappeared into the crowd.
Sakuno slumped back onto her chair, wishing to see Ryoma-kun right now. She resumed to reading but the light was blocked.
So she looked up. And she realized wishes do come true.
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He had watched the video many, many times. He could recall it rewinding and fast-forwarding in his mind.
There was Kikumaru-sempai doing some explaining about the mechanics of the game. He fast forwarded it and came upon Inui-sempai's most abhorred punishment for whoever loses. Until now, Ryoma couldn't understand the mechanics of the game. Maybe that was because he wasn't interested in it.
He fast forwarded the video, until it was the Captain's turn to speak. He fast forwarded it again and skipping a few scenes he rewound it, until finally he came on the spot which he was looking for. He stared at the smiling brunette just beside Fuji-sempai. They were at the backdrop, it was Oishi-sempai doing some talking now but Ryoma wasn't paying attention to him, he was staring at the brunette. And then he paused the video.
"Ryuuzaki," he murmured as he noticed that her lips were pink and that her cheeks were of the same color. Was she blushing at something Fuji-sempai was saying? She was five years older in the video, five years older from when he last saw her, she looked different, with her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Ringlets made their way down her nape and wisps of untamed hair were flying with the wind. She made a great picture. She was lovely.
He had to admit. She was lovely.
And he paused. He paused above her, towering over her as she looked up to meet his gaze.
"Ryuuzaki."
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Sakuno's eyes widened. "R-Ryoma-kun?"
But he didn't answer. She blinked again and again but he was still there. She continued staring, thinking that he might disappear as suddenly as he appeared. She continued gazing, entranced by his face and by his presence.
Could it be that he is really here?
"Ryoma-sama!" it was the squeal that brought Sakuno back. She regarded Tomo had come back but her gaze was fixed at him just as his own was fixed at her. Sakuno wanted to turn away but something in his eyes compelled her to keep still and gaze back.
"Ryoma-sama!" it was the squeal again. And it was him who broke the spell.
"Hn," he murmured to Tomo. And he turned back to Sakuno.
"Why are you here?" Tomo asked and then she turned to Sakuno, "I told you I saw him!"
Sakuno swallowed. There it was again. The spell of his gaze. She found herself unable to look away.
"We thought you were still in China?" it was Tomo.
Ryoma only murmured some wordless noise, his gaze still fixed on Sakuno.
"We saw you play. You were great! The series was easy for you, I think you'd be…"
Sakuno swallowed again, Tomo's words drowned out in the background. She felt something in her stomach and she was about to say something when he spoke.
"Why are you here?"
It was Tomo who answered, "We've been here for two years do you know? We just finished our masters degree."
"Hn…" was his response.
"We're going back to Japan now. How about you?"
But he didn't answer. Instead he said, "Ne Osakada, do you mind getting me a Ponta?"
"Of course I don't." Tomo squealed when he said her name and she hurried again through the crowd.
Sakuno wanted to volunteer to do it but Tomo was already out of sight.
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Right. Now he knew what he was missing.
He smirked. "Ne Ryuuzaki," he said.
"H-hai?" she stuttered.
He smiled to himself. The same stuttering Ryuuzaki. He understood now. The video, the obsession with which he played, fast-forwarded, paused and rewound her scene in the video over and over again.
Now he knew. It was Ryuuzaki Sakuno which he was missing.
"Come with me."
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Instead of Tomo-chan's voice, it was the announcer's voice that shook her out of her daze. Her plane had landed. They were to board it. They were to go home.
Except that Tomo-chan isn't back yet.
Except that Ryoma Echizen was asking her to come with him. No, telling her to come with him.
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He almost cursed when he heard the announcer telling it was boarding time for Ryuuzaki. And he really cursed inwardly when her friend, the blabbermouth from junior high school, came back carrying a can of grape Ponta in her arms like it was a baby or something.
"Sakuno-chan, it's almost time to leave," Osakada said as she gathered her baggage.
"H-hai," Ryuuzaki looked away from him, her cheeks flushed pink.
Not yet, he wanted to say, but Osakada had blocked him from the brunette by chatting him up as they walked towards the lane.
He took a deep breath. Now that he knew, he couldn't afford to lose her again.
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Sakuno was frantic when Tomo came back. She quickly grabbed her plane ticket from the top of her bags and was grateful for having Tomo chat him up.
There was something dangerous about him. About the way his throat grumbled and growled, about the way his eyes seemed to devour her, about the way he told her to come with him.
He was walking with them towards the boarding lane when he said to her, "Ne, Ryuuzaki, could you show me your ticket?"
And even though she didn't want it, her hand automatically extended itself to him to hand him her ticket.
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"Osakada," he said, looking at the ticket, "You don't mind going back alone do you?"
Ryuuzaki's brows furrowed. Osakada's eyes sparkled. He knew the blabbermouth understood and had given him her blessing, not that he needed it though. But it made him feel good that after all these years, Osakada was still rooting for him for her bestfriend.
He'd remember to thank her in the future.
And just before Ryuuzaki realizes what he was about to do, he tore the ticket into two.
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Sakuno's eyes widened. Her face flushing red.
"Well," Tomo said gleefully, wiggling her brows, "I'd tell your grandmother you extended your stay for some much needed honeymooning." And she winked an eye at Ryoma.
He nodded back, "Probably not here. Probably somewhere else. But not here in Norway."
"Good, Sakuno-chan wanted to go to France."
He smirked and turned to Sakuno.
"Tomo-chan," she murmured, still unable to comprehend the situation.
And she winked at Sakuno. "Finally," Tomo smiled. And she waved and boarded the plane.
It was hard to understand, how everything was simply ordinary and then everything was suddenly outstandingly not ordinary anymore.
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Just like what Ryoma Echizen would expect of her, she still didn't get it.
He took her hand in his, brought her to the counter to cancel their flights and book for a trip to France the same day.
He sat her down while they waited. Five hours. Five hours until they leave Oslo.
"Anou…Ryoma-kun?"
"Hn?" he asked, her hand in his.
She was blushing. There were a lot of things she couldn't understand. "Anou…doushite…"
"Mada mada dane Ryuuzaki," he smirked again. He leaned against the chair, "We have five hours. What do you want to do?"
"Anou…" right, she needed to ask. Because she was wondering why he was holding her hand and why he wanted her to come with him and is he playing her?
"Hn?" he asked, closing his eyes.
"Why are you…" she blushed again, her stomach doing some somersaults.
"Don't ask." He opened his eyes, gazed at her and whispered, "Let me just show you."
He would explain everything to her. Once they get to France he would tell her why. Explanations could wait.
Right now, what he wanted to do was brush his lips against hers in the most fleeting of kisses.
And kiss her he did.
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A/n: So how was it? I might make a follow up…or not…I still don't know. Anyway, thanks for those who read and reviewed the other one-shots. I promise to reply to everyone soon. I hope you'll all like this one…
