Syusuke-kun's Letter

By: Reinne141

...

Chapter Six

...

It was like a jolt of electricity shook me after I heard that, Sakuno-chan.

'Do I really like my Kouhai?..'

But I was confused at the time.. because even though I've had my fair share of crushes and fan girls before, they were nothing compared to the sensation I feel everytime I touch your flushed cheeks or whenever you look at me with a smile gracing your beautiful face.. And it really felt strange.. It was a foreign feeling and I was scared because I don't know what I'm up against of. I was afraid to face the unknown.

...

Sakuno tapped the Bento box beside her and smiled. She was feeling troubled because of Tomoka and her great idea but now.. she feels a lot better, knowing that she'll see her Senpai again. After noticing what just came to her mind, she realized that she sounded as if she's taking solace in the presence of the Tensai. But it is true.. her Senpai's soothing words helped her a lot and made her realize a number of things. His calm demeanor and warm smiles acted like a relaxing pill to her, making her forget about the frustrating thoughts that kept on plaguing her mind.

She looked up and watched the clouds move slowly.. It was a beautiful day indeed.

But her Senpai is unusually late today, it's now ten minutes pass lunch time. She suddenly got worried and fumbled to get her phone from her bag when she heard a "Click!" from the direction of the rooftop door. The auburn-haired girl quickly shifted her warm, chocolate brown eyes to it and there he was, Fuji-senpai, closing the door behind him.

"..Gomen, Sakuno-chan."

She noticed that the Tensai is panting heavily and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, he looked dead tired. Concern and understanding showed in her eyes as she watch him walk towards her. The brunette lad sat beside her and leaned on the wall, then he closed his eyes and tried to compose himself, his breath still uneven.

"D-Daijobu desu ka, Senpai?", the petite girl asked him worriedly. She rarely sees him in this kind of state!

The Tensai nodded slowly and showed his usual smile, "Betsuni.. Saa.. Tezuka sure is over the top today with the training. Sorry again, Sakuno-chan." He gestured to the Bento beside the girl and tried to give her a scolding look although it didn't really work, he was having a rather hard time suppressing his smile, the thoughtfulness of the girl indicated by the untouched food making it hard to do so, "You haven't eaten yet.. You shouldn't have waited for me."

"Iie, Fuji-senpai.. W-We always eat together and I'm used to it so.. I-I can't just eat these without you, S-Senpai..", the auburn-haired girl answered him shyly, making him fondly pat her hair in the process with adoration evident in his cerulean blue eyes. Sakuno furrowed her brows, "..Mou, after your practice, you went here immediately? You should've rested first, Senpai!"

The handsome brunette chuckled, "But I can't have you waiting for me now, can I?"

His hands found its way to her cheeks and pinched it affectionately.

"F-Fuji-senpai!", the girl pouted adorably, making him want to pinch her more. "You should've rested first before going from the Tennis courts to the top of a six-floor building."

"And you shouldn't have waited for me, Sakuno-chan. Now we're even."

The girl just shook her head and gave him his Bento. She didn't even notice that she didn't stutter with her last sentence, a proof that she's now more comfortable with her Senpai. They ate the food she prepared with a little chit-chat and laughter, talking about the events that occured the previous days. Sakuno even told him about her date with Oshitari Yuushi (Fuji just nodded and nodded while she was speaking about it, pretending as if he didn't know a thing).

"Well.. what do you think about him, Sakuno-chan?", the Tensai asked her, his usual smile plastered on his handsome face although he looked away. He stopped eating for a while to wait for her reply.

"..He was nice.."

Twitch.

"Demo.. I.. Umm.. Mou, how should I put it..? Uh..", the girl brought a hand to her chin and rubbed it, "Eh.. It's pretty silly, Senpai.. But.. I didn't.. I didn't feel any.. spark."

Fuji suddenly turned to look at her, a feeling of relief invading his chest,

"Spark?"

She nodded, "Hai, spark.. Just like in the movies. Or butterflies in my stomach.. Or rapid heartbeats..", she suddenly blushed, "..I told you it's silly!"

"But how are you supposed to feel those kind of things, Sakuno-chan? Spark and such?", he asked her with an inquiring look.

The petite girl just shrugged, "I don't know.. You just do. In here." She pointed at a certain part in her chest where her heart is. "If you find the one.. Your heart recognizes her and.. it starts to act crazily. Like beating wildly whenever she's around or.. or pounding so much, it hurts!", Sakuno explained passionately but then stopped and once again, blushed furiously. "Mou.. I watch too much romance movies..!"

Fuji smiled at her amusedly, although some of her words were.. uh.. disturbing.

'..Starts to act crazily.. Beating wildly.. Pounding so much, it hurts..', he slightly shook his head as if doing so will rid of them. If he was someone else, he would've sneered at himself right there and then.

"Saa.. in the movies, what does it mean? Feeling those kind of things?", the Tensai asked before putting a wasabi sushi in his mouth.

The auburn-haired girl smiled brightly at him,

"Then it means you're in love!"

His cerulean blue eyes widened and he nearly choked on his food! Sakuno quickly gave him a bottle of water and patted his back gently, "..Ne? Daijobu, senpai?", she repeatedly asked him.

The Tensai just smiled at her and drank the water, "Y-Yeah."

He took a deep breath and calmed his crazily-acting heart. His handsome face once again wearing a smile. But Sakuno didn't fail to notice that he's starting to sweat profusely, so she brought out her face towel and moved to wipe them off of his face.

Fuji was surprised by his Kouhai's actions and stiffened a bit. To have her caring for him like this.. he'd gladly choke everytime their together! After a while, he found himself leaning to her gentle touch, a feeling of contentment filling his chest.

"Mou.. Senpai is really not feeling well!"

"Saa.. It's nothing, really", he tried to reassure her. But in all honesty, he really was feeling tired. Sakuno told him to nap for a while since he looked so sleepy but when she saw him lie on the cold, hard floor, she scooted nearer to him and tugged on his shirt. "Sakuno-chan?", the Tensai asked once she caught his attention.

The girl pointed at her lap, her face now a crimson-red. 'But Fuji-senpai's welfare should come first!', she reasoned to herself. The next thing she knew, she has the Tensai's head resting on her lap while combing through his brunette hair with her delicate fingers. His smooth breathing seemed to be in sync with hers, his heart (though beating in a doubled pace) felt light and warm and fuzzy.. Just like the feeling he had the first time he held her: It felt like home. Like.. it's right where it belongs.

...

"Saturday.. 11:03 in the morning. Still nothing..", Inui muttered while looking intently at the front door of the Ryuzaki residence. He clutched his trusty green notebook tightly and sighed heavily. He was planning to spy on Fuji but he heard his sister say to Yuuta (who came to visit his siblings) that he left early in the morning so he went for Sakuno instead.

"..Inui-san, should we really be doing this?", Oishi asked the Data man while pushing the leaves of the bush in front of them out of his line of vision.

"Of course, nya! This is Sakuno-chan we're talking about! We should confirm if the rumors are true!", the cat of the group wiped the lens of his binoculars (yes, he brought one) and once again looked through it, watching for any signs of movement.

Momo yawned loudly while scratching the back of his head,

"Senpai, you know how girls are. They make rumors about almost anything!"

Kaidoh started to nod but stopped himself mid-way, what is he thinking, agreeing with the porcupine head?! He glared at Momo who turned to look at him, and seeing the viper glare at him, he stared back with the same intensity.

"What are you looking at, Mamushi?!"

"At a porcupine. Got a problem with that?!"

"You two, shut it nya!"

"Butt out of it!"

"Hey, stop it! You guys are not helping!"

"Nya, they shouted at me, Oishiiiiiiii!"

"Mamushi here started it first!"

"It's your fault for being a sore to look at!"

"What did you just say?!"

"TARGET SIGHTED!", They all turned to look at the direction Inui pointed at. And.. saw a girl with auburn tresses hanging beautifully behind her, wearing an off-shoulder pink and black blouse that emphasized her slender figure, her black skirt showing off her flawless, creamy thighs. The silver stilletos she was wearing made her legs look longer while her anklet dangled over it. She has her back on them so they couldn't really see the face of the model-like girl.

"That's not Ryuzaki..-"

"It's her", stated Inui matter-of-factly.

"Nya, it's not-"

"Look closely. Auburn hair, same height and features."

"..But she-"

"..Looks hot!"

"Naaah, that couldn't be her, she'd never wear..-"

The girl turned on a corner and they finally got a view of her beautiful but.. familiar face. Their eyes widened at the sight, not quite believing that this gorgeous goddess is their timid Kouhai!

"Kami-sama.. She looks.."

"Nya.. is that really her?"

"Oh youth! Our little Sakuno has bloomed!"

"Ffffshu.."

"Minna..", Inui called out to them. "I think we should follow her now." They snapped from their dazed state and nodded before Inui continued, "And stop drooling."

"Shut up!"

"You're the one to talk!"

...

Sakuno entered the restaurant Tomoka told her to go to. It's quite exquisite, actually. And she can't believe that she'll be having lunch in a fine restaurant like this..

The chandeliers hanging up on the ceiling gave it a beautiful ambiance, as well as the stairs from the front to the middle of the place with figures intricately carved on them. The soft sound of violin enchanted her to close her eyes and listen to it for a little while.

A waiter led her to a reserved table for two. And as she went nearer, she smiled tentatively to the guy who stood to get her chair for her.

But no matter how nice this restaurant is.. she could never be comfortable in dating with a complete stranger.

...

"Nya, I thought you said she's dating Fuji!"

"I did."

"Then who's that?!"

The regulars, once again hidden behind a bush, argued while trying to get a good look at the table where Sakuno is from their position outside the restaurant. Their poor hiding skills attracted some attention from the passersby who cautiously avoided them and gave them curious looks.

"Aya, come here!"

"Mom, they're weird."

They squabbled and argued some more until,

"Where is Fuji-san, nya?"

"I think we should call him."

Momo flipped open his cellphone and dialled the Tensai's number when..

'RIIIIIING! RIIIIIIING!'

"Is that your phone, Eiji? Answer it already!"

"He's not picking up-"

"It's not mine, nya!"

'RIIIIIING! RIIIIIIING!', a classic ringtone. A ringtone that nobody uses but..

Inui frowned, "Isn't that..-", then he froze.

A sudden realization bombarded them.. and snaked its way to the pit of their stomach coupled with a feeling of ice cold dread, giving them goosebumps all over.

"Saa.. I wonder what you're all doing here..", the regulars all turned as if in slow motion.. only to be greeted by a certain sadistic Tensai's smile which didn't quite reach his open cerulean blue eyes.. It gave an eerie and ominous feeling that made them wish for a big hole to appear on the ground and just swallow them whole.. The aura emanating from him spoke in volumes of the torture and suffering in store for them.. OH CRAP.

'RIIIIIING! RIIIIIIING!'

"Kami-sama.."

HELL ON EARTH.

...

Tezuka twitched.

A sudden coldness swept up to him, making him knit his eyebrows in curiosity and mild concern for the lives of the regulars. The buchou adjusted his glasses and clenched his jaw as the foreboding feeling grew stronger and stronger.

'What are they up to now?'

He tried to shrug off the horrible feeling that kept on creeping up on him and took a sip of his chamomille tea.

...

Sakuno averted her eyes from the guy named Toshi. She didn't like the looks he was giving her, she might be naive or innocent at times but her instincts are practically screaming for her to get out of there.

"You're one hot pretty little thing. So I heard you're looking for a boyfriend?"

The petite girl quickly shook her head, "I-Iie.."

"Then why would you go on dates like this?", the guy gave her a sly smirk, "Come now, don't be shy." Then he gestured for the waiter to come and ordered for the both of them, not even stopping to consider her.

'What did I get myself into?', the auburn-haired girl sighed. She suddenly felt his knees bump 'accidentally' into hers underneath the table which startled her, 'Tomo-chaaaaaaan!'

...

Fuji narrowed his eyes as he watch the guy opposite Sakuno do some things that started to really, really piss him off. But he shouldn't move yet..

He glanced down to the ground, and smiled warmly at the five blokes lying there who are just recovering from their latest encounter with five bottles of Aozu which, he proudly admitted, had his personal touch. They were supposed to be for the guys who'd make the grave mistake of taking advantage of Sakuno's innocence but oh well, he had no problem in sharing it with his dear teammates, after all, he's a generous person.

'I.. I shouldn't have given him the recipe~ OH GOD!', Inui regretted deeply as he squirmed and held on to dear life. And worse, he didn't even had the chance to write his precious data! Oh, how he'd love to see the expression on their faces after they drank-, 'OH, I'M GONNA DIE!', he squirmed more (Poor intestines..), much to Fuji's delight.

And the others.. didn't even had the chance to run. Their begging and wails of 'KILL ME INSTEAD, I DON'T WANNA DRINK THAT!' or 'OKAA-SAAAAAAAAN!' fell on deaf ears. The Tensai chuckled darkly as he brought out his Polaroid camera, this will be good blackmail material!

After he returned from his morning jog, his Onee-chan told her about five guys, (one with glasses, one with spiky hair, one with a bandana, one with red hair and one with a weird hair-do) who look just like his teammates, hiding behind a bush outside of their house. She said that they left after hearing 'Syusuke left early, Yuuta.'

That should teach them for trying to spy on him.

...

Tezuka twitched again.

That familiar ominous feeling crawled up on him and made the hair behind his neck stand. He closed his eyes and got up to wipe the spilled tea on the table.

'Yudan sezu ni ikou, minna-san.'

...

Sakuno felt a hand touching her knees and she froze. She felt violated and insulted and.. and.. UGH! The man in front of her is such a vile creature! Toshi smirked at her and she wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face with a tennis racquet!

Is it a crime to find a decent date?

She had been enduring a half hour in his presence being touched subtly on her arm or legs, being treated like a girl desperate for a boyfriend and being hurt emotionally when he suddenly mentioned the word 'Ryoma Echizen' after she answered his question about the school she goes to.

"That cocky brat.. Tsk, You went to the same school as him? It must've been hell! Dang, there was this time when one of my friends challenged him to a match, we wanted to beat the heck out of him. Keh! He thinks he's all that just because he's a son of a professional tennis player! I bet allof his matches in U.S. are fixed!"

Sakuno looked down while biting her lower lip. Ryoma might be a little- okay, overconfident but he never cheated nor did he ever had the need to. 'It's rich bastards like you who think you're all that!', her bad conscience screamed.

"No..", she started, "Ryoma-kun.. will never do that." The petite girl looked at him with fierce eyes. Ryoma.. his pride will never let him do that. He is waaaaaaay too talented in tennis and has a waaaaaaay too big pride!

The guy looked at her with an arched eyebrow, "Don't tell me.. you're one of his fan girls?"

She didn't answer him and just continued to stare. Toshi smirked and shook his head,

"Missy, you're too pretty for a brat like him. I can't understand why girls like you stoop so low and worship some arrogant guy who never even spare you a glance."

Bull's eye. Toshi didn't miss the look of hurt in her eyes. It certainly got through to her. 'How easy..', he thought. The girl's lips quivered.. those pink, luscious lips that he'd like to have a taste of.

...

"..That bastard!", Momo scowled, but winced when he moved to stand. His body is not yet fully recovered from the torture Fuji made them go through. He felt like he might puke his guts out again so he remained in his position but his scowl didn't leave his face as he eyed the git in front of their precious Sakuno.

"Nya, what's happening to Sakuno?!", Eiji glanced at Inui who had his serious face on. He tried to jump and glomp on Inui but he felt dizzy so he just settled on turning on the Data man's direction. Never will he ever mess with Fujiko-chan, ever again!

Inui was tightly holding the Aozu bottle that Fuji brought with him and squished it,

"..73% that he said something personal to make her look like that. And from the looks of it.. it's about Echizen", he said as he remembered the face she'd wear everytime one of them would mention anything about the prodigy.

"Ffffshu, I'm going to kill him!", Kaidoh hissed. The hellish stomach-churning experience he suffered from a while ago (and never will he ever do anything to provoke the sadist to do the same in the future, he just might die!) didn't hinder the anger he felt for that octopus-looking guy. He rubbed his knuckles with the palm of his other hand, he couldn't just let that sorry-excuse-for-a-human get away with touching Sakuno inappropriately! He's going to commit bloody murder!

"Kaidoh, control yourself!", Oishi sighed, "Osakada-san better stop making Ryuzaki-san do things like this." Fuji already explained to them about their Kouhai's predicament and they all felt a little sympathy for her, having to resort to this just to be able to move on. So this is what the Tensai had been doing, following the girl around to protect her from guys who'd take advantage of her.

Oishi tried to calm them down but suddenly stopped when his stomach turned and he turned green.

Fuji, on the other hand, has his cerulean blue eyes opened the entire time.

This was the first time he ever felt this kind of anger before.. And it got to drastic heights as he watched the guy rudely touch Sakuno. His sadistic side has finally taken over his being now and he can't wait to execute on him every single thing he learned from his book 'Sadism 101: From Barbaric, Medieval to Modern Ways of Torturing'. His eyes held the intensity of his anger and clearly he has no intentions of letting him pass.

May his poor soul be able to survive the punishments laid out for him..

...

"You really like him that much, huh? I bet he just ignored you, like he did to everybody else", Toshi taunted the auburn-haired girl. He learned this technique from a friend, how to make a girl fall for you. Simply make them feel like crap then lift them up. It makes airheaded girls.. want to please you.

But Sakuno is not one of those girls, she's certainly not!

"You.. are too beautiful for that, Sakuno." The guy stood and walked to her seat, "You deserve someone who will treat you right and make you feel special.." He moved to put his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged it, "How about.. I do that for you?" He whispered in her ear which made her shiver in disgust, but the bastard thought of the opposite and was encouraged to do more.

He leaned.. and bit the lobe of her ear.

...