Pure Essence: Welcome back to the story! Thank goodness my AP exams are finished. That lifted off the whole burden of the school year. Now I just have to focus on my finals… (Sigh). Anyway, thank you all for reading this story and I appreciate all the reviews I received as well. I will continue to do my best :)

Please don't forget to take my poll on my profile page. Also, the RyoSaku fanart/fanfic exchange has already begun so no more official participants are accepted but if you would like to be a backup writer, please visit my profile or the RyoSaku Livejournal for more information. The posting of all the fanart/fanfics will be posted on August 4, 2008. Please do visit the RyoSaku Livejournal to vote for your favorite. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I love the Prince of Tennis but I don't own it…(cries).


Previously in the last chapter:

"L-Let's g-go" she stutters nervously and pulled him toward the direction of the gate.

Ryoma followed behind without a word. A comfortable silence fell upon the two. As the pair walked under the pink-orange sky, Sakuno turned to him.

"Ryoma-kun?" she waited for him to look at her before giving him a supportive smile. "Congratulations."

Ryoma smirked.

About time.


Chapter 7: Date and Confession


It has been a week since Tai stayed over at Ryoma's house. Although Ryoma wasn't mad about what happened at the courts anymore, Sakuno felt as if the distance between them had widened. Whenever Tai was around her, Ryoma would either pretend not to see them or simply look uninterested and turned to another direction. It was only when they were alone that he didn't seem so distant.

It was tiring for her to constantly try to make the two be on good terms with each other. She was like the monkey in the middle. Whenever she spoke with Tai or went somewhere with him, Ryoma would throw her an accusing glare causing her guilt level to rise. But whenever she was with Ryoma, Tai would look so lonely and bored causing her guilt level to rise even more for not being able to entertain him as a guest and make his stay enjoyable.

Lying on her bed with her face in the pillow, Sakuno sighed mentally. Because of all the things on her mind lately, she barely had any sleep for two days. Thankfully, it was the weekend so no one would be able to see those dark rings around her eyes except her family and childhood friend.

"Mou…" she mumbles into her pillow in a fustrated tone. It was now 5:30 in the morning and she's fully awake contemplating what to do about her brother and her childhood friend.

'Why can't they just get along?' she thought to herself and turned her face to the wall so she could breathe.

"You know, if you're not going to sleep you might as well wake up and do something productive." A voice sounded next to her bed.

Sakuno turned her whole body towards the familiar voice. "R-Ryoma-kun." She was so used to him coming in and out of her room that she didn't even have to question if it was him or not anymore. A grunt was heard and she watched curiously as he sat on the floor beside her bed.

"Y-You couldn't sleep?" she asked him.

"Betsuni." He shrugged and examined her tired face. He noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes and frowned. Slowly, Ryoma reached over and rubbed his thumb over her upper cheeks, the area right below her eyes. Sakuno blushed darkly at his gesture.

"A-Ano…" she stutters awkwardly.

"You couldn't sleep either" he said quietly and then their eyes met. "Is it because of the thunder?"

"Eh? Thunder?" Sakuno strained her head to look at the window. Indeed, she was so out of it before that she didn't even notice the rain splattering heavily against her window as well as the low grumbles that mixed in with it.

"R-Ryoma-kun… did you come here because you were w-worried?" she mumbled shyly. It was rare to see Ryoma being so gentle to her as of late. She had missed talking to him one on one.

Ryoma's thumb paused in its movement and he stared at her for a long time before letting out a sound that sounded like a 'yes' causing her heart to speed up. Trying as hard as she could to not make him feel awkward for being honest, she gave him a small smile and placed one of her hand shakily on top of his. She clasped it gently and said in a thankful tone, "Arigato Ryoma-kun…"

Ryoma nodded in acknowledgement and released his hand from her face.

"You should try to sleep." He said. "I'll stay here with you."

'Just like last time…' Sakuno thought as their hands intertwined again.

"Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno muttered as she closed her eyes and pulled the covers higher to cover her blushing face. "A-Ano…when we're like t-this, I'm not afraid anymore."

"Hn."

'But please don't be so nice to me Ryoma-kun…'

For some reason, all the thoughts that were keeping her from sleeping suddenly vanished. The only thoughts in her mind were of him and the warmth enveloping her small hand. She finally felt the restfulness she hadn't felt for days suddenly come flooding back to her making her feel extremely sleepy. She released a deep breath before allowing sleep to fully overcome her.

'…or I will fall deeper in love with you…'


A few hours later, Sakuno awoke to Ryoma nudging her on the shoulder.

"Hm?" Sakuno moaned sleepily before sitting up to face him.

"Look at the sky." Ryoma pointed to the window and her eyes followed it. Through her window, she saw that the rain had stopped. The sky cleared and the morning sunshine filtered into her room. The rain droplets at her window glittered almost blindingly to her still tired eyes.

"It's beautiful…" she whispered and he nodded. Ryoma slowly stood up and released his hand from hers. It was until he allowed her hands to drop from his that she remembered that their hands had been together the whole time. Their linked hands felt so comfortable that she almost wished he didn't let go…

"Oi." Ryoma snapped her out of her reverie. "You should wake up. Baka Oyaji said that he wanted us to go somewhere today."

"H-Hai" Sakuno said and quickly scooted out of bed. Ryoma left her room to allow her to change. By the time she finished, the whole family was up and running.

"Ohayo Sakuno-chan." Nanako greeted cheerfully and then a worried expression donned her face. "You didn't sleep well?"

"A-Ano…I'm fine. Really." Sakuno smiled slightly. Although her dark circle wasn't as bad now, it was still slightly visible.

"Souka…" Nanako said, slightly relieved. "Well, here's a cup of green tea. It'll help to give you a little more energy."

"Arigato Nanako-san" Sakuno said and then looked around the room. "A-Ano…where is Tai?" At that moment, she noticed Ryoma's cat-like eyes narrow at her. She pretended not to notice. She was just too tired to care at this point.

"They went to the back of the house. I think my uncle asked Tai to play some tennis with him." Nanako said thoughtfully. "They just left around three minutes ago."

Sakuno thanked Nanako before heading to the back of the house. As she walked, Sakuno heard footsteps follow her. Without turning around, she already knew who it was. She sighed quietly and continued her way to the open porch that led to the private tennis court.

As the court came into view, she saw Tai swinging his borrowed racket as a warm up while Nanjirou simply stood at the side, with his hand in the flap of his black yukata, waiting lazily. Nanjirou released a yawn causing Sakuno to smile slightly at her father's childish antics.

"Ohayo Nanjirou-san." She greeted politely. Ryoma's father waved to her before greeting her sheepishly. Tai turned happily to his childhood friend and offered her a cheery "Ohayo". Sakuno just couldn't help but return the greeting with the same enthusiasm.

"Neh, neh, Sakuno." Tai waved for her to come closer. "Can we use these to play?" he motioned to the bucket of tennis balls tagged with the faces of Ryoma and her.

"Sur—"

"No you can't." Ryoma came out from behind her and stood in front of the bucket.

"Why not?" Tai asked.

"These are reserved for our use only." Ryoma said and threw him another pack of tennis balls. Tai caught the net-like bag easily. "Use those."

Tai frowned and wanted to question more but Ryoma interrupted him before he could say anything else.

"Oyaji, didn't you say you wanted us to go somewhere today?"

Nanjirou grinned and waved for Ryoma and Sakuno to come closer. Tai went back to practicing by the courts without paying them much attention. When they got to him, Nanjirou reached into his yukata and pulled out two rectangular shaped papers. He handed one to Ryoma and one to Sakuno.

Sakuno looked at them before turning pink. 'Movie tickets?' she thought. Ryoma must've thought the same thing because they were looking at each other with a questioning expression on their faces.

'It's like a date…' Sakuno thought.

Nanjirou was beaming at them and Ryoma glared at his father. "What's this for?" he asked while wondering what idiotic plot his father had cooked up this time.

"Ah, Seishounen." Nanjirou smirked haughtily. "It's for you and Sakuno-chan to spend some time together of course."

"What?" Ryoma asked. "Why?"

Something in Sakuno's stomach lurched at Ryoma's response. It seemed as if Ryoma didn't want to go with her.

"I-It's okay if you d-don't want to go Ryoma-kun…" she said quietly. Ryoma looked at her but Sakuno turned away and avoided his eyes. If she looked at him right now, she was afraid the disappointing feelings would overwhelm her and show on her face. The last thing she wanted was for Ryoma to go to the movies with her out of pity.

"If you don't want to go then give it back to me." Nanjirou said, eyes twinkling. "I'll just give it to Tai-kun here. I think he would like to go to the mov—"

"I'll go." Ryoma interrupted immediately causing Sakuno to look up at him surprised.

"Eh?"

Nanjirou pushed Sakuno to Ryoma and ushered them off. "Go on then. The movie will start soon. You don't want to miss it. I heard it was really good."

"Cheh." Ryoma scoffed and stomped toward the house with Sakuno trailing him.

When they were out of sight, Nanjirou sighed. 'I can't believe I've raised such a dense son'.

"Nanjirou-san?" Tai asked after he watched Ryoma and Sakuno make their way into the house. "Where are they going?"

Nanjirou smirked. "I just sent them out to buy some things for me that's all."


"This must be a really good movie…" Sakuno said in awe as she stood at the long line waiting to enter the theatre.

"Hm." Ryoma nodded uncertainly. Something just wasn't right and his instincts are telling him that this movie was not such a good idea. After all, what good ideas ever came from his father anyway?

But when he turned to see Sakuno's excited expression, he couldn't bring himself to say anything. 'Maybe I'm just thinking too much into it.' Ryoma thought to himself. But the more he waited, the more people he noticed going in were couples… Ryoma pinched his eyebrows together suspiciously.

"Is something wrong Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked slightly worried at his troubled expression.

"No." he said. "Let's go in already." Their tickets were handed to the man standing in front of the theatre. He ripped off the appropriate ticket stub and returned the ticket back to them. In the dim theatre, Sakuno stayed as close behind as Ryoma as possible. The floor was carpeted and sloped down causing her to stumble a few times and run into Ryoma accidentally.

"G-Gomen-nasai Ryoma-kun" she whispered when she bumped into him again. Her eyes have not yet adjusted to the dim lighting while Ryoma's keen eyesight allowed him to adapt easily. She was basically feeling her away around to make sure she doesn't walk into any chairs or step into some unknown dent on the floor.

"Hold on to me." Ryoma sighed and guided her hands to his arm. Sakuno smiled in relief when she found something to hold onto. "Arigato Ryoma-kun." She murmured and felt him shrug before he slowly released her hold on him and guided her to a chair. Once seated, Ryoma placed himself right next to her and sat quietly until the movie began.

When the movie began, the white flashes from the screen illuminated the whole theatre allowing Sakuno to catch a glimpse of the full room. The room was nearly packed and she also noticed that in front of her, in back of her, and to her left were couples being cuddly with each other.

She smiled bitterly at the scene around her. It was too bad she couldn't be like them. The one person she loved ended up being her brother. This "date" was another tease of what she could never have in reality. Fate was just too cruel...

Staring at the movie screen, she tried hard to not feel so awkward around Ryoma. Ryoma on the other hand, seemed to have made himself comfortable. His cap was taken off so that it didn't block those behind him and his body was slightly slumped in a casual position. Smiling, Sakuno found the tensions in her body loosen as she also relaxed into a casual position and turned her full attention span to the movie once again.


Ryoma sighed mentally at the screen in front of him. This type of movie was definitely not his thing. It was too…romantic. For the majority of his life, he only watched tennis matches on television and that's about it. It was really hard for him to sit quietly for the past thirty minutes without feeling fidgety.

He turned his head to look at Sakuno and smirked smugly. He noticed that she was smitten by the romance and those corny lines the actors were spouting and he wasn't listening to. Her eyes reflected the light of the screen and for a moment, he thought she looked like she was going to cry. Ryoma looked worriedly at her.

Was the movie that emotional? He sure didn't feel anything…

Ryoma turned his attention back to the movie trying hard to understand the events going on. He watched patiently for another hour before the romance in the movie went to a whole different level.

Sounds of pants and moans sounded in the theatre as the actor and the actress in the movie began to strip their clothes while French kissing. Although no nudity was shown, it was enough to make him avert his eyes. Ryoma slid down lower in his seat and put on his cap hoping it'll block his vision from the horrid and corrupted sexual scenes of the movie. He wasn't the only one who seemed to feel uncomfortable though.

'What the hell?' Ryoma cursed mentally at his father. 'Perverted Oyaji!'

How could he ever miss the fact that his father would plan something like this?

Beside him, Sakuno also slid lower in her chair and covered her face with her hands. She was so awfully embarrassed that her face and ears turned red. When their eyes met each other, Sakuno leaned over to his chair and stuttered, "A-Ano, c-can we l-leave R-Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma pulled his cap lower to cover his eyes and nodded. "Yea. Let's go." The both of them quickly made their way out of the row as fast as possible trying not to disturb the couples (whatever they were doing…) around them. Sakuno scurried behind Ryoma using him as a shield.

When they finally left the theatre, neither one of them said anything. They looked awkwardly away from each other and stood in silence for a long moment before Sakuno made the first move to remove the awkwardness between them.

"L-Lets get something to eat." Sakuno stuttered and smiled uncomfortably. "I'll treat you this time Ryoma-kun."

"Fine." He shrugged and started to walk toward a certain direction. Sakuno decided not to ask where he was going since she was treating him and wherever he chose to go will be fine. She walked quickly to match his pace.

After a few minutes of walking, she finally saw where he wanted to go.

'The burger joint' she thought as the place came into view. It was the same place Ryoma and Momoshiro would often come to eat. She smiled lightly at the memories of when Momoshiro and Ryoma each chowed down ten burgers and more competitively. Suddenly, she wondered if she had enough money to pay for all the burgers Ryoma might buy…

"A-Ano…Is this the place?" she asked obviously.

"Hn." He nodded and pulled open the door. She stood there for a moment, thinking Ryoma would go first but he made a hand movement that told her to go ahead of him. She blushed at his courtesy and wondered where he learned to be such a gentleman… She almost expected Ryoma to simply open the door and walk in first and let her follow behind him.

"Arigato Ryoma-kun" she thanked him shyly.

"Betsuni." He said.

There wasn't a long line at the burger joint and Sakuno was thankful for that. This way, they can quickly get their food without standing next to each other for too long with nothing to say. As they waited in the shortest line, Sakuno couldn't help but suddenly feel glad of the way things turned out. She finally had a chance to be alone with Ryoma. Ever since Tai came, it was hard for the both of them to interact for more than thirty minutes a day. But thanks to Nanjirou, they were able to spend time together.

"Sakuno." Ryoma's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "What do you want?"

"Hai?" she said and then realized it was their turn to order. "Eto…a small Iced Tea and a cheeseburger please…"

The cashier nodded and turned to Ryoma. "Can I take your order sir?"

"Do you have grape flavored ponta?" Ryoma asked.

"Hai." she said. "Anything else?"

"Three cheeseburgers please."

A tiny grin broke out on Sakuno's face when he ordered Ponta. It was just so typical of Ryoma.

"That would be a total of 1057 yen." (Approximately 10.00.)

Sakuno nodded and took out her wallet. She opened it and only found 634 yen (approx. 6) in her wallet including some coins but they were still not enough…

She looked guiltily at Ryoma but found that he was already handing a bill to the cashier.

"E-Eh?" she said. "But I'm trea—"

"You don't have enough right?" he said humorously while staring at her with half lidded eyes. "Mada mada dane Sakuno."

"Mou…" she muttered with a sigh. Once again, Ryoma ended up treating her. Sakuno scolded herself mentally. 'Next time, I'll definitely treat him!'

When the food came, they found a table and sat opposite of each other. "Gomen Ryoma-kun." She apologized profusely with her head bowed low slightly. "You ended up treating me again…"

Ryoma shrugged and took a bite out of his cheeseburger. He had planned for this to happen anyway. Sakuno never seem to carry much money out with her. He took note of that ever since the first day they met when he bought her a drink when she offered to treat him but didn't have any money on her.

"Betsuni." He said. "Hurry up and eat that before it gets cold."

"Hai…" Sakuno picked up her cheeseburger and took a bite. Her eyes widened suddenly. "It's delicious…"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow at her. "You never tried that before?"

Sakuno shook her head. "N-No…I usually order a salad when I'm here…"

"Hm." He said thoughtfully and took a big gulp from his ponta can. Picking up his second burger, he took another bite and Sakuno did the same. Ketchup oozed out and stained her lips. She licked it off but a dot the size of a pencil eraser lingered at the corner of her lips.

Ryoma grinned at the sight in front of him. His cat-like eyes lingered at the dot of ketchup. He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked at that moment. She looked so childish and happy as if a child was given a satisfying toy.

When Sakuno noticed that Ryoma was staring at her instead of eating, she blushed.

"A-Ano… is there something on my face?" she stuttered.

Ryoma smirked. Wouldn't she like to know…

"There's ketchup over here." He pointed to his own face at the spot that corresponded to the spot on her face where the dot of ketchup was. Sakuno wiped at the spot except she wiped the side that had nothing.

"Lean closer." Ryoma commanded and Sakuno obeyed. She leaned her body closer into the table wondering what he was going to do.

Ryoma picked up a new piece of napkin and attempted to wipe off the spot for her. Sakuno flinched at his sudden action and he paused. "Don't move."

Her face turned a deep shape of red. "H-Hai." She allowed Ryoma to wipe off the ketchup for her without any protests. The first thing she noted about his touch was his gentleness. Sakuno's heart stung at the feelings of happiness that suddenly rushed through her. Ryoma was treating her so well and she regretted that it was only going to be temporary. When he pulled away with the stained tissue, she missed his touch dearly.

Ryoma went back to eating casually while Sakuno slowly leaned back again. Taking a sip from her Iced Tea, she replayed the moment in her head over and over again. Ryoma was up to his third burger now. Sakuno watched him eat while she drank her Iced Tea with a straw.

'It feels good to sit like this together.' She thought.

Sakuno wished she could call this time spent with Ryoma a "date" but since she was his sister, this was probably what they call an "outing." But a girl can dream right…?

Sakuno put the drink down when Ryoma finished with his burger. He drank all of his Ponta already and was quite thirsty after his third cheeseburger.

"Neh," he eyed her Iced Tea. "Did you drink all of that yet?"

"Eh?" Sakuno picked up her Iced Tea. There was a little more than half in it. "N-No."

"Can I take a drink?"

"What?" she said with her eyes widening. "B-But I drank it already…"

"It doesn't matter." He said with a shrug. "It's not like you're sick or anything."

Hesitantly, she nodded mutely before pushing her cup to him. "H-Here."

When Ryoma took the drink from her and drank directly from her straw, her face flushed another deep shade of red.

'An indirect kiss!' Her conscience noted. The poor girl couldn't keep her eyes off his lips as it made contact with her straw. Her face was as red as a tomato if not redder, and her heart was pounding. So much adrenaline was rushing through her bloodstream that she felt faint. It was just too much. Never in her life did she dare to dream that Ryoma would share a straw with her.

It was so ironic how all the good things happen when they were "siblings" rather than when they were friends…How much happier she would be if this happened in reverse…

"Sakuno." Ryoma glanced worriedly at her. "Why is your face so red?"

"H-Huh?" She covered her cheeks with her hands. "It's nothing."

Ryoma stared suspiciously at her with a raised eyebrow and she had to look somewhere else to avoid his gaze. When he decided to drop the topic, he pushed the drink back to her.

"There's still some left. You should finish it."

Sakuno stared at the drink for a long moment before contemplating whether or not to drink from it. When she didn't move, Ryoma blink before saying, "I'm not sick either. So don't worry."

"No…I-I mean…it's not t-that." She stuttered embarrassingly.

'Mou…'

This moment was probably a once in a lifetime chance. Mustering up her courage and pushing her shyness out of the way, she grasped the cup and let the straw slip in between her lips. Images of Ryoma's lips on the same straw flashed through her mind causing her to focus her vision on the straw stiffly.

When Ryoma saw Sakuno drink the Iced Tea he returned, something sparked in him. It was the first time he ever shared a drink with a girl other than his mother (he'll never admit that to Sakuno). He never even shared a drink with his cousin, Nanako. But for some unknown reason, he didn't mind sharing it with Sakuno. There was something about her that makes him feel comfortable enough to be "intimate" with her.

It's not like she was a stranger to begin with. They were friends before (somewhat) and even though she was his sister now he never accepted that fact. He found himself not being able to see her as a family member. It may be because of the small amount of time they spent together as "family" or it may just be the fact that they've known each other in a different way and the sudden status as becoming brother and sister just doesn't sink into him.

In his eyes, he saw Sakuno as that same person he used to call "Ryuuzaki." Nothing has changed. Except, well, he began to pay a lot more attention to her ever since they lived together. From time to time, he would share the bed with her (no questions asked) or go shopping for groceries when his parents forced them to go.

When Tai came into the picture however, he found himself constantly searching for her to see where she was. The unsettling feeling inside him grew larger every time he saw them together. He suddenly wondered if there was anything more between them. From the ways they touched, laughed and spoke to each other was so different from the way she spoke with him. Sakuno hardly ever stuttered or shied away from Tai. So why does she look away from him and stutter at every word when speaking to him?

He just didn't get it…He didn't like that Tai one bit. Every time he's around, Sakuno always go to him since she was "responsible for making his stay enjoyable." Ryoma scoffed mentally. 'Excuses.' At times, he would get jealous of Tai. Jealousy was a feeling he didn't understand fully but got the gist of it since he had been jealous of other things before, just not over a person. It was the first time he ever felt like pulling her back and making her stay with him rather than letting her go to Tai. Where did this protectiveness come from? He has yet to figure that out himself…

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked, snapping him out of his long thoughts.

"What?" Ryoma blinked.

"Y-You look troubled…is there s-something wrong?" Sakuno noticed that he was staring intently at her and that caused her to fidget uncomfortably.

"Betsuni…" he dawdled and then silence moved in. Suddenly, he leaned forward and looking as serious as he can, asked, "Who is Tai to you?"

"Eh? He's my childhood friend…" Sakuno looked confused for a moment. "I-I thought I told you that already Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma shook his head slowly and frowned. "Mada mada dane…" he sighed. "I meant do you like him?"

Sakuno's mouth fell opened slightly. Why was Ryoma so curious about her relationship to Tai? He was making her hope for something from him…

"A-Ano…not as more t-than as a friend…" she blushed at his unwavering gaze. "W-Why do you ask?

I want to know…

Ryoma's eyes softened when she said that. He ignored her question and didn't say anything more. He had no reason for asking except it somewhat made him feel as if a weight was lifted off of him. A sense of relief swarmed him.

He was about to suggest cleaning up and leaving the burger joint when his sensitive ears picked up a sentence that made his body turn stiff once again.

"But there is someone I like very much."

Sakuno had whispered that under her breath to herself thinking Ryoma would not hear it. Unfortunately he did. She looked dejectedly at her cheeseburger wrapper before reaching for her tray to throw out.

But before her hand reached the tray, Ryoma held her wrist to stop her from moving. Sharp golden orbs bored into her brown ones.

"R-Ryoma-kun?"

"Who?" he asked, quietly. An upsetting feeling overshadowed his previous sense of relief. For some reason, he just had to know who she was talking about. A sudden nervousness built up in the pit of his stomach. "Who is it that you like?" he emphasized each word slowly.

Sakuno looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her embarrassed face of being caught muttering something a long the lines of a confession, was beet red again.

'Sakuno no baka!' Sakuno groaned inwardly. She wished the floor would just open up right below her and swallow her whole. This way, she wouldn't have to answer him. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon no matter how much she wished for it. She knew Ryoma would not let her go until she answered him. His gaze told her that he had every intention of getting the truth out of her today no matter how long it takes.

"E-E-Eto…" She suddenly had a stuttering fit.

'What should I say?' she panicked internally.

"Tell me." Ryoma urged while a tingly feeling was poking his stomach painfully.

'Don't tell him.'

Her conscience told her over and over.

'Don't tell him!'

'Don't tell him!'

Before she could stop herself, her lips opened and a single word flew out of it causing his eyes to widen.

"…Y-You."

"……"


A/N: DUN DUN DUN!! (Dramatic music plays).

I'm so sorry for this sucky chapter. I hope Ryoma was not OOC because I tried hard to put him in character without making him seem too…. Errr…nosy? XD (which he is understandably…being a boy in love and all and not realizing it. hehe)

I mean, I know he spoke more than he did in all the other chapter combined, lol. But when a boy is curious, he's just gotta ask neh? Where will this story go if he doesn't question anything? :O

I see that Tai is starting to become an unpopular character. But that's okay! I wrote this chapter with a lot of RyoSaku moments hoping to maintain a balance of some sorts. Even though Tai is mentioned here, the chapter is mainly RyoSaku interactions. I hope you enjoyed it at least.

I felt like my writing really went downhill. I need to improve on my writing style. Sniff…I will work hard though.

Thank you for reading and I hope you'll drop a review below just to make me happy.

P.S. – Don't forget to take my poll and be sure to visit the RyoSaku LiveJournal anytime or on August 4th, 2008 for the posting of the RyoSaku fanart/fanfic exchange results. At that time, please go and vote for your favorite fanfic/fanart. :)

See you guys soon… in about another month. (Sorry. But finals are coming up!)