Emergency Author's Note: To get the final joke said by Sumire: Japan and China don't exactly have the best international relations. There's a bit of bad blood between them because of the harsh things Japan did to China in WWII onwards and about two years ago there were lots of anti-Japan protests in China. Not exactly stellar relations between them.

Sakuno Adventure #4: Grandmothers be Kind to Your Granddaughters

The world went on its usual way, turning with the earth; Sakuno looked down from the apartment window and didn't interfere. The cool glass panes, now spattered with moisture from the thick clouds outside, muted the traffic below so that only the ticking of the clock mixed with the clicking of her grandmother's knitting needles teased her ears. Her knuckles tightened around the cloth of her skirt hanging over her knees. Why her grandmother had decided to actually take up a tried and true old lady's hobby escaped Sakuno's reasoning. The only answer she could come up with was that it was just another way to drive her batty. The clicks drummed against her brain. Her fingers spread up against the window as her mind tried to escape outside to what might be hidden through the blanket of drizzly gray rain.

"Sa-chan, if you really are so bored, I don't think just staring out the window will help," came her grandmother's voice. "Have you finished your homework?"

After a monosyllabic affirmative answer wherein she didn't move her eyes to meet the other woman's, Sakuno kept her eyes riveted on the drizzle outside. Her lips were pursed in what could be no other than a genuine pout.

"Ah, so sulky," sighed the voice. "You're upset. I'm sorry, Sakuno, but you're not going out no matter how much you pine. You're grounded and that's that. A day and evening at home with your old grandma won't kill you. Besides, it's been raining all day. What could you do out there except catch cold? Not as if the booth would be open today anyway."

"Hmph." Sakuno folded her clenching fingers across her arms. Her humor was a foul one indeed, nor had the stars been in her favor that day.

It had started out promising enough; it had been good to not have to sweat for so long over kitchen stoves under time's pressure and cook what she wanted at her own pace. But starting right after lunch, when she had decided to make the order of cakes for Marui in the comfort of her own home, everything had gone on a rocket-sled ride downwards to utter frustration.

The bad weather had started off things on a sour note. Then her first chocolate cake had for some reason or other flopped. She had been very cross and disappointed in herself but Sakuno knew that such things happened to even the best bakers. After salvaging what she could the only thing left to do was to start all over ;but it chomped into what turned out to be extremely precious time. Five cakes—aesthetically pleasing ones, too, with the ganache frosting perfectly level on top and delicately squeezed out by hand on the edge in rich waves-took some time to make well and the package delivery truck always left the post office at three o' clock, exactly on the third chime. The driver would probably commit seppuku if he left even one second later. Sakuno knew from experience that the rest of the office workers were rather hard-nosed about schedules as well.

By the time the five angel-perfect cakes had been ready, the drive to the post office would already have been a close shave. She had begged, cajoled, and whined with her grandmother all the way there to go faster, but Sumire was not about to do anything crazy in a car on wet streets. When they had arrived the last truck was just ready for departure as the workers finished up making the transfers into its loading space. A man had met them at the door and told them to either come back the next day or they could let the post office hold the packages overnight.

Sakuno had almost lost it right then and there; tears of frustration had been ready to fall. She had pleaded in what she had hoped was her most persuasive manner-No go. The prospect of giving Marui-san day old cakes was anathema to her baker's soul. Sakuno had begun to fear that she'd not only have to redo everything later but would also have five not-so-fresh cakes on her hands. Blasphemy!

It was a good thing her Grandma understood that. Where tears had done no good, Sumire had gotten right in the workers' faces and accused them of having no pity in their hearts and not appreciating good service for baked goods. Then she had stormed past them, cake boxes in arms, and thrust them at the man loading the truck to take. No one dared go against the old lady's wishes. Her grandma kept a pair of nunchucks in the glove compartment for a reason.

But just as they were leaving to get in the car, the same delivery truck passed close and hit a puddle, spraying water all over Sakuno. She'd shivered all the way in the car as dirty water dripped down hair and clothes. Even thought now she had taken a warm bath and changed, it had still left the girl in an almighty nasty funk.

And then there had also been the phone calls.

The first ones came as welcome distractions from the gloom, the first from Tomoka and the second caller had been Ann. They had been spitting indignation over the line—of course they had heard was what going on. Ann had overheard her brother Kippei talking to someone about a mess with Hyotei and Sakuno's name had come up. Tomoka had heard it after cornering Horio (who was getting to be just as good at spying as Mizuki), who had heard it from Oishi, and threatened to pluck out his unibrow if he didn't spill everything. Sakuno's delight turned quickly into exasperation as she had to talk both of them down; Ann was threatening to literally go after any and all Hyotei girls she saw with a baseball bat. Then Tomoka had to start one-upping her and then A-bombs somehow got into the discussion and it just went downhill from there. Sakuno appreciated their concern with all sincerity but she found it a relief on her ears to finally get away from the squawking phone line. She could still feel the buzzing between her skull.

A short while after that came the most pleasant call. Somehow Kirihara-san and Niou-san managed to find her number (little did she know of Renji Yanagi's prowess!) and called her up just to chat. They also had heard something was up because of Sanada but they wouldn't get anything out of him even under the greatest torture. They told her to tell them if things were bad but Sakuno managed to head them off into more pleasant topics. She didn't know that Kirihara liked many of the same music bands she did, it had been fun to talk about that with him. Niou argued with her over how many onigiri it would take to barter for a motorcycle. They kept on teasing her, calling her names like 'Saku-baku' and 'bunny' and 'Rapunzel', but she did not really mind so much.

"Oh yeah, Sakuno-chan, we gotta warn you," said Kirihara, suddenly much more dour. "Did you get a note from Marui-senpai? Because he went totally ape over your cakes, you know. You kinda made an impression. So just—Sanada-fukubuchou said he'd kill him if he bothered you and forbade Yanagi-senpai to give him any information on you, but you better be prepared. If he calls you, just hang up. He's been riding on a sugar-high for a while now. He just ate the last one today. He's been bouncing all over."

It was a bit much to digest. Sakuno had licked her lips and squeaked out: "Um, 'information?'

But by the time she got it out she heard a sharp grunt from Niou on the other end. The two were apparently talking on a cell phone somewhere outside in Kanagawa.

"Dammit, there he is! He sees us! He's coming this way Turn it off, Akaya, for the love of-"

The line went dead. A few seconds later the phone rang again. She really should have known better, but like a fool Sakuno had picked it up again.

"Hello?"

"Is it really you, Sakuno-chan? Am I really speaking to you, cake-angel? Did you get my note, sweetling?"

There were sounds of obvious scuffling and a few curses in the background. Sakuno stared at the receiver in utter amazement before collecting herself. "Yes, Marui-san. Um—I sent the cakes you ordered today."

Of all the things she could have said, this was the worst. Marui squealed, actually squealed, and started making crazy pronouncements of his devotion. Surely all the Rikkai players didn't have such insane sides like this! She was too embarrassed to hang up until he started shouting, "Marry me, Sakuno-chan, please!"

Out of reflex, sensing this was too much for her to handle, Sakuno hung up the phone. It rang again. She was so stunned she actually picked it up again.

"Marry me, please!"

Sakuno had mumbled something she couldn't quite recall, something about being married to the sea. After that she had lain down for a nap, she really had needed one.

The reprieve was brief. After she had woken up Sakuno flinched when the tone rang out again. She had decided to stay right where she was, not realizing until too late that if she didn't answer the phone then her grandmother would. She had started up with a yelp, about to slap the cursed thing from her Grandma's hands before she got a marriage proposal as well, but apparently the caller had hung up.

"Must have been a wrong number," said her grandmother.

But the phone rang again. And again. And again. Each time her grandmother answered the line clicked dead. Soon enough Sumire was mad enough to spit out hornets. The phone was a private line that neither of them recognized and so they couldn't trace a number. After the fifth time her grandmother finally pushed the automatic callback button. "Who the hell IS this? Speak, you little punk prank caller!" Once again she was cut off.

In the end Sakuno and her grandmother did what they should have done and just unplugged the phone cord from the jack.

Now the blessed silence, so dearly bought, had brought Sakuno to her present state. With no insane antics to distract her, she could only brood on her slew of misfortunes. The whole thing was mess. She didn't dare not go to work the next time her shift came up, but she would work in less than ideal conditions. Her seniors would only make things worse and she was sure that even though she had begged them from making direct interference, things wouldn't last. And today she had slogged through the rain just to deliver cakes to an obvious freak with a massive cake fetish which he had projected on to her! To top it all off, she couldn't bear to tell her grandmother because it was all too much and she was too embarrassed.

The world was sometimes unbearably cruel.

"All right, what is the matter? Something is troubling you. Why don't you tell me?"

The tone was so kind and her grandmother looking at her with nothing but good will, but Sakuno could not bring herself to say anything. It was as if everything that was dizzying her was jammed up inside her chest. A pressure was building up behind it, hot and tight. For so long she had not kept anything from her grandmother, the woman who had almost singlehandedly raised her, and who was both mother and grandmother to her, now she could say absolutely nothing, ask for no help. Sakuno did not know why but she felt it and it was almost torture.

"Nothing, Grandma."

A snort came from behind as Sumire put down her knitting. "Not nothing! I can see something is wrong and it's not just because you were splashed. You'll feel better if you let it out, Sa-chan. Is it because of your English homework? Math?" Her sharp old eyes narrowed. "You haven't been troubled by Hyotei anymore, have you? I swear I told Atobe and the principal I'd skin him-"

Sakuno was becoming ever more flustered. "No they haven't, Grandma!"

"Then what?"

That was the last straw to break her back. Before she knew it Sakuno slammed her hand on the windowsill and turned around, her lips pulled back in a grimace. The hot lump inside her was forced out in an explosion by the pressure that had built up behind it.

"Dammit, Grandma, leave me alone! Can't you see I don't want to be bothered?"

Heavy silence curtained all around the now-stuffy room. Eyes wide, Sakuno shuddered and took a thick gulp of air. She had never yelled like that at her Grandma, not ever since she was old enough to know better. Sumire's face went utterly slack in shock and then her eyes hardened with her coach's resolve and she assumed a sternness so sharp Sakuno felt it prickle her skin. Sumire rose up quickly, making no word, and gestured for Sakuno to do the same. She slowly did so. With an abrupt slap of her palm the old woman sent the chair back away from the window and sat back down, arms folded, in front of her granddaughter in the overstuffed chair. She pointed to the foot cushion before them.

"Come here, Sakuno. You simply do not speak to me like that, do you understand? I will not stand for it. I thought I had taught you better than that. Do you hold me in such little respect?"

Little tiny specs of light danced before Sakuno's eyes and all the fight drained out of her. She felt utterly mortified. Shame flashed through her. Squeezing her hands together Sakuno worked her throat and squeaked out: "I'm so sorry, Grandma."

"Come here, I said."

Petite as she was, Sakuno was almost certain she was too big to be spanked now—at least she hoped to high heavens that she was. For all her Grandma's strictness with her unruly team and a temperament that valued order and discipline over physical comfort, her Grandma had not ever made so much as a move to lay a swat on Sakuno after the last spanking that she'd gotten when she was five. An outright slap was unheard of. Sakuno stood before the old woman in the chair and tried to keep her resolve and not tremble. A few unwilling tears made their way out of her eyes but Sakuno managed not to whimper.

Her grandmother stared hard at her as if trying to figure out some particularly difficult and somewhat aggravating puzzle. Then, slowly, the hard lines softened. Once her grandmother breathed out deeply Sakuno felt her own hitched breath release. She saw her grandmother pat the footstool.

"Sit down, Sa-chan. I won't yell at you."

Grateful to sit down because of the dizziness wracking her balance, she sank down onto the cushy footstool, her shoulder blades still quivering slightly. As he heart sped down Sakuno felt a tug on her scalp. Her braids were pulled behind her shoulders and she could feel her grandmother unraveling them deftly. There was a gentle pressure on the sensitive skin of her head as Sumire reached into her nearby handbag for a comb. It sifted through the long strands of thick hair with utmost gentleness. Sakuno relaxed, breathing in the wafting scent of the other woman's light perfume. She loved having other people comb her hair. The feeling against her scalp was so delicious.

Sumire regarded the tumbling waves of slightly crimped hair as they rippled all the way down her grandchild's back and rested their ends on the footstool. "Your hair is so pretty, Sa-chan. I remember when I was the one who did this, before you learned how to do it on your own," her grandmother murmured over the undone plaits, the old lady's time-roughened fingers guiding and combing through each strand with gentle precision. She smiled upon catching the light breeze of lilacs from the unbound hair.

"It's been a long time," came the admission. Sakuno had fully relaxed by now and was looking down at her fingers. They were interlaced lightly in her lap. "You used to still help me with them when I was still thirteen or so but then I really got the hang of it."

"I remember. I also can recall how you were so incredibly shy back then. Remember how you always stuttered when you weren't with the family or Tomoka?" At her granddaughter's nod Sumire chuckled in her dry way at the memories. "I have to admit, I was a bit worried there at first." She grinned at the curiosity-piqued look Sakuno cast back at her. "You hardly could talk to anyone on your own if they weren't close. You could barely even order sushi from the Kawamuras for the longest time! Not until you got to know them better, that is."

" I don't like talking to strangers over the phone."

"Or how about that fact that you could barely go up to the counter at a fast food restaurant and ask for more ketchup? You always were so shy! It was pretty cute, but still it did concern me. I wondered if I had done the right things when you were growing up."

Sakuno had never heard anything like this come from her grandmother's lips before. She actually turned around for a face-to-face talk, eyes wide. "Of course you did, Grandma! You raised me fine." A little sigh. "It's not your fault if I'm not as tough as you. I—just hate being a bother to other people. But of course when I try not to be a bother I get nervous and I end up being a bother and it all just becomes a mess. And then I have to get someone to bail me out. It's the story of my life."

A finger waggled in front of her face as her grandmother clucked her tongue. "Now that's just silly. You were only twelve and you're still only fifteen and a half! You aren't grown up, not by a long shot. You can't rely on yourself yet. And besides, even after you're grown you'll still need to rely on other people."

Sakuno began to pout and folded her arms, puffing a lock of stray bangs out of her eyes. "Other people are no fun. I attract all the bullies."

Her grandmother then demanded to know if she considered Tomoka, Tezuka, Ryoma, Taka, Fuji, and the rest bullies. Sakuno had to admit that they had been very gracious to her considering all the messes she'd gotten in but she hated imposing on them. Even though her grandmother kept on insisting they were glad to do it, Sakuno didn't feel all that absolved.

"You're just trying to grow up too fast," Sumire finally said with some triumph. "Relax. Enjoy being young. Soon you'll be full grown and have other things to deal with. And there I'll be, sitting at home in the dark and wondering why my granddaughter never calls anymore." Her voice trailed off lightly while Sakuno flew into a tizzy of denial.

"Ah, don't tease me like that, Grandma! I'm never going to leave you all alone."

"What, never?" her grandmother asked, one wry eyebrow kinked.

"Never! I won't ever leave you alone just because of some boy or whatever. You're my Grandma and I'll never feel really lonely because I'll have you. You'll always come first, you and my aunts and uncles and cousins. I just wish we could stay together forever."

"But you know it can't, sweetie. I'm old and you have your life ahead of you. Don't shut out great future happiness just for the sake of one old woman. I want only the best for you."

Trying to fish around for some response but coming up with nothing, Sakuno only cast her eyes down and drummed her fingers on her knee. Her grandmother's hand cast through her hair once again and the capable old hands cradled Sakuno's face and lifted it up.

"You were pretty cute when you were younger, but now I see you'll turn out to be quite nice on the eyes." Sumire gave the whispery sigh of the elderly. "So sweet and fresh! It won't be long, I think, before some rascal will try and steal you away from me."

"Grandma, you're on a roll today. Will the teasing ever stop? No one's going to steal me away."

"Now that's a very interesting statement because the last time I talked to Tezuka he said you received a note from Rikkai's Marui Bunta-"

Short of falling off her seat and pretending to play dead, Sakuno settled for flushing red all the way down to her neck, hiding her face behind her hands and hair, and protesting that she had done nothing. She couldn't help it if people really liked her baking. Really, REALLY liked it. At last her grandmother let it go with a laugh. Her equilibrium returned and Sakuno turned back around to let her hair be braided again. Settled against sturdy knees the rain outside had an almost calming patter now. Then, after a brief comfortable silence, her grandmother spoke again.

"That does remind me, though. I heard something from Nanjiroh Echizen today before those damned calls started that I think you'd like to know. Ryoma's finished with his tour in America. He's coming back next week."

Everything lurched to a total halt in Sakuno's vision, her heart began to pound with the shock. Never had she expected the senpai's predictions to come true so soon. Memories, both good and bad, clouded her eyes as she looked back. "Really? Are you for real, Grandma?" At the returning nod her spirits began to rally. "That's great to hear. It'll be good to see him again. Um, I'm sure I'll see him at school...

"What makes you think you won't see him before then? You know how those boys are. No gossip escapes them. They'll be pouncing on him almost before he has a chance to get off the plane. And since we still keep in touch with the high school tennis team, I'm sure they'll be dragging him along."

At that the girl's heart began to sink a little as she nodded rather glumly. It would be nice to actually be able to try and interact with Ryoma-kun in a friendly way without him being forced into her presence. He never seemed to have really minded her tagging along in the past, but it did always seem unfair to her for him to have to do it. She wondered if he would ever like to just be in her presence of his own free will, no tricks or coercion or accidents.

Besides, her former crush on him only made her more confused. It had been so long since she'd seen him in the flesh and she simply did not know how she'd react. Her first experience with having giddy feelings for someone else had been very sweet, but it really hadn't done her much good, at twelve Sakuno hadn't known how to handle a crush. She'd acted rather foolishly—ah, who was she kidding, she'd been a total fool. Ryoma really had been only interested in tennis—who could expect otherwise?-and she had always hovered at the edges, hoping for something she didn't really understand.

Even then, Sakuno thought, she had realized that twelve was just too young for any real romance, but he had been so handsome (still was, she'd seen pictures), collected, and so assertive and assured. Ryoma-kun had displayed so many traits she admired and wished she possessed herself. She had wanted just to be close to him and form some kind of good friendly relationship, perhaps with the promise of something more when they were older...

But he had not been easy to get along with. It drained her to keep up with his coolness and his downright arrogance. Ryoma was a good person and she really did like him, but he was not warm. Constant affection and assurance were not required for her, but Sakuno preferred to be in the company of people who didn't always point out her faults at almost every turn and make her feel so small, even if it was unintentional or thoughtlessly implied. Ryoma had never encouraged her that much. And she never knew what to say around him without feeling like a fool. Perhaps it was because she knew that Ryoma-kun was special; he'd be a somebody. Why should he think of her? She was just an average person with above-average cooking and artistic skills who could only do her best to be as good a person as she could be. Sometimes it felt like he would just swallow her whole. Not even Tezuka with all his great talent could make her feel so small.

Also, she was still so young. Her grandma always said that she couldn't date until she was officially sixteen and Sakuno was in no hurry. She'd seen what went on between Ann-chan, Momo-senpai, and Kamio-san. She'd seen the movies, heard stories of bad love gone even worse. It looked awful. Having a romantic relationship seemed like a hassle she could do very well without for quite a while. There were more important things in her eyes. There was a family to take care of, cooking skills to learn, a job to do, school to get through. She didn't need anything else. That was all a banquet she could feast on well enough.

Sakuno swallowed hard and clenched her fingers in her lap. Well, that was just it. Let fate do what it may and she would handle it with as much pluck as she could muster. She wouldn't become any world-famous personage anytime soon but she to keep on playing to her strengths and keep on making what improvements she could. If she saw him again soon, it was best to try and keep on letting him inspire her to fulfill what capacity she already had and not get caught up in comparisons. No one had a right to trample on what dreams and personality she had.

Now if she could only remember that and not fall apart the next time she saw him, it would be fine. Sakuno prayed that she could keep sight of herself.

"You're daydreaming, Sa-chan."

With a shake of her head Sakuno smiled back at her grandmother. Reassurance flooded into her as she gazed upon the face regarding her so kindly. Ryoma-kun would never have her Grandma look at him thus.

"Sorry, Grandma. I was just thinking."

"Already swooning over Ryoma, I see!" That got her grandma a swat on the knee in protest.

"No way! I was actually thinking that if Ryoma-kun insults my hair when he sees me again, I'll...I'll...do something..." she trailed off lamely before falling into a small fit of giggles. The other lady joined in and when they were done her grandmother had a slightly more solemn look to her despite her grin.

"Seriously, Sa-chan, if he hasn't acquired any more social skills since he left then don't let it bother you. Ryoma's a good boy but it doesn't matter if he transforms into the moon. In my eyes, you're the greatest treasure. No other grandmother can claim such a granddaughter as you."

There was nothing to say after that. The humid clouds now had brought on a drowsiness on the both of them along with the guttering rain. Heaving great sighs they both let their bodies relax. Sumire tilted back in her chair, crocheting put aside, and let her head tilt up to the ceiling. Sakuno pushed the footstool away and curled up on the thick rug underneath to settle her head upon her grandmother's knees. She had a fleeting thought that she wished this could last forever but then dismissed it as a nap came on.

PoT PoT PoT PoT PoT

A dry, thirsty throat woke Sakuno up from a heavy nap. She wiped the blear from her eyes and slowly removed her head so as not to wake her grandmother. Along the way back from the kitchen she noticed that in the front pocket of the tote bag that served as her purse that her cellular phone had been turned off. Branding herself a fool for letting the phone ring all day and disturb her grandmother so much, she turned it on. Almost immediately the chime rang. Taken aback and wary of the unfamiliar number, which, at least, was not the dreaded private line, she answered tentatively. Did she never learn? Perhaps she was masochistic.

"Ryuuzaki-san?"

Sakuno had to tilt the phone away from her head so she could blink at it. The world was full of mysteries today; at least this one was not unpleasant. She smiled and spoke.

"Ohtori-san, is that you? What a nice surprise! How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ryuuzaki-san. I hope you haven't been doing too badly with what's been going on..." She could practically sense his blush over the phone. Sakuno sighed.

"It's certainly not your fault, Ohtori-san. I'll deal with it somehow. I bet all of you got an earful from Tezuka-buchou, especially Atobe-san."

"If he was feeling bad before, he feels really crappy now," a gruffer voice chimed in. "Tezuka murdered him in court yesterday."

"Shishido-senpai! Stop that! Anyway, Ryuuzaki-san, we're trying to do what we can. Atobe really feels responsible for all this and he wants to help you deal with it somehow,try to make it up to you. He actually tried to call your home all day today but your grandmother kept on calling him and-"

"She scares the hell out of him!" piped up a voice that might have been Jiroh's, Sakuno also heard a very agitated and regal voice bawl out for him to shut up. Sakuno vaguely wondered if Hyotei and Rikkai Dai didn't share the same kind of insane disease. Was it contagious?

"Well, that's true. Sorry, Atobe-buchou. But Ryuuzaki-san, we decided to try and call you on your cell a few times but it was always off. But here you are!" He lowered his voice to a whisper that she could barely make out over the natural interference on the phone line. "It's extremely hard for Buchou to admit any kind of wrongdoing, you know, so I would like to formally apologize to you on his behalf, even if he wouldn't want me to..."

Sakuno had tried to be as quiet as she could when answering the cell phone but her grandmother possessed rather sharp hearing when it came to detecting things that annoyed her. A shadow loomed in the hallway. Sakuno gulped when she saw the glint of snapped patience in the formidable old woman's eyes. It was the glint of someone about to take a hatchet to someone else's face. Sakuno cried out when her grandmother snatched the cell out of her hand and bellowed into it.

"Who the hell IS this? If I find out who you are, you punk, I'm going to staple a Japanese flag to your butt and send you to China!"

There was an audible squeal and the line went dead.

Sakuno had once heard in class that Alexander Graham Bell had been so annoyed by people calling at all hours of the day on his own invention that he'd finally up and unplugged the thing from his laboratory and never had anything to do with it willingly ever again. In her mind, Mr. Bell had had exactly the right attitude.