TENDERNESS IN THE RAIN

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS


Chapter 7: His Discovery, Her Assistance

"Sakuno, may I come in?" Yuka knocked at the door. Sakuno sat on her bed and hugged her pillow tight with her face buried in the soft material.

"Sakuno…" Her friend called again, refusing to leave her alone.

Sakuno sighed, "It's open." She answered in a tiny voice.

Yuka pushed the door open and sat down next to the young woman.

"Sakuno, what's wrong?" Yuka asked in concern.

"…it's nothing…" Sakuno didn't want to discuss it. She kept her past to mostly herself. Not even Yuka knew about what happened, nor did Sakuno have any intention of sharing it now.

"You're not yourself. Did Miss Mari say something that bothered you?" Yuka said offhandedly. She noticed sharply when Sakuno tensed slightly. Even though Sakuno never talked about her past, it did not mean Yuka was ignorant. The elder woman was more resourceful. Through the bits and pieces from Atobe and Sanada, Yuka has a pretty good guess about what's troubling her young partner. Back then, Yuka did accompany Sakuno to her old school just that one time. Though that was years ago, Yuka still recalled the memory quite well. Echizen Ryoma was not a person to be easily forgotten. What ever was making Sakuno act so out of place, was surely related to the tennis star.

Yuka always thought the best way to solve anything was to face it head on. If just hearing about the name of the young man brought such grief to Sakuno, then perhaps this was the most fitting opportunity to find closure to that part of her life.

Despite herself, Sakuno shook her head feverishly in response to Yuka's question, as if trying to convince herself.

"Alright, I'm glad. I came here today to talk to you about something important. I won't be handling Mari's case this time."

Sakuno jumped, "What? Why not?"

Yuka straightened and explained, "I need to take some time off for other things in my life. We both agreed that this case is rather simple and since you have no objections to Mari's case, I thought you'd be able to handle it. Unless, you've got reasons I do not know about?"

Sakuno bit her lips in frustration. It was difficult to reveal facts about her painful past, but being so indirectly close to Ryoma would be just as hard.

Yuka didn't give Sakuno time to hesitate, "It's settled then. I will let our new client know who to contact and explain it to her." She got up and left abruptly.

"Wait-" Sakuno said quickly, but Yuka has already left, leaving the young lady mellowing in misery.


Yuka pulled out her phone and pushed a set of familiar numbers.

When the line got through, she said quickly, "Atobe-"

She stopped as only Atobe's voice mail greeted her. Yuka hung up in annoyance. Since Atobe was probably abroad and difficult to get in touch with, there was only one other person she could think of to call.

"Sanada, this is Yuka."

"I know why you're calling." Sanada said directly.

"I could only assume Atobe knows what he's doing. But is she ready to face him?" Yuka said with concern.

"It's been years and she's no longer the quiet little girl anymore. You of all people should know that she may seem delicate, but she's got an iron will when she sets her mind to it. How do you think she got the courage to leave everything and went abroad?" Sanada answered.

"I know, but…"

"Yuka, you worry too much. Let them solve this on their own. They're not children anymore." Sanada said heavily.

Yuka, convinced by Sanada's words, hung up with a grave heart.


Sakuno sat patiently waiting for her new client to show up. It was useless talking to Yuka to change her mind. Sakuno, without a choice, had to place herself on the front lines. When she called Mari, Mari sounded ecstatic at the change of hand. Sakuno could only wonder why there was such a response.

After she talked to Mari about Ryoma, Sakuno was surprised at how little the woman knew about the tennis pro. Therefore, Sakuno had to provide her own information in order to help this case along.

"I'm sorry for being late. Are you Cherry?" Mari asked wide-eyed.

"I am. Please take a seat." Sakuno smiled warmly.

Mari stared at the beautiful woman in front of her. This is the mysterious Cherry? Is she…blind?

"Yes, I am. A surprise, I know." It's as if Sakuno read her mind. Mari blushed in embarrassment and wondered how Sakuno knew what she was thinking.

"I get that a lot." Sakuno did it again.

"Anyways, I did a thorough research and I think I may help you in certain areas. Echizen has a few weak spots, as you can say. If we use these to your advantage, he would definitely notice you more to reciprocate your feelings." Sakuno felt herself feeling numb, helping another girl with Ryoma.

"Really? I want to hear all about it!" Mari exclaimed.

"Alright, let's get started. But before we start, there's something you have to promise me first." Sakuno put on a serious face, "You must promise to never reveal my identity or my face to anymore. And I mean no one!"

"Of…of course…" Mari was confused and a little startled by how stern Sakuno was, but promised nevertheless. If all worked out with Ryoma, who gives about Cherry's face?

"That's settled then. Number one, since Echizen's family is Japanese, he's had an appetite for Japanese food since he was young. The best way to his heart is through his stomach. This is probably the oldest trick in the book, but have you ever cooked for him before?" Sakuno wondered.

Mari laughed, "Cooked? I don't even go inside the kitchen often, let alone cook. I do drag him to restaurants often, but he never seemed satisfied. Come to think of it, most of the restaurants I ask him to take me are steak houses or other European cuisines."

"Right, so you see my point? Just some simple home cooking might do the trick."

"But…I don't know how to cook. I grew up in the states so I'm pretty clueless about how to make Japanese food. Wait, I'll just buy some." Mari brightened as she wiped out her phone, busily dialing to find a Japanese chef.

Sakuno held her hand out and stopped, "No that might not work with Echizen. From what I know, he is quite sensitive about food. He can tell, even with a subtle difference. It's not too late to start learning now, right?" Sakuno encouraged her.

Mari groaned at the thought of a messy kitchen. Then an idea hit her.

"Say…it's your job to help me, right? Why don't you teach me? Better yet, why don't you do it for me? You look like someone who knows how to do it."

"What?" Sakuno stuttered, "I don't think…that's a good idea…"

"It's decided then." Mari concluded without hearing Sakuno's protest.

Sakuno, being Sakuno, could not bring herself to disagree totally with the over energized Mari.


"Mari, what do you want?" Ryoma said boringly as he entered her apartment. She called him an hour ago, using Max as an excuse to get him over. Ryoma could never be sure if she was trying to trick him again or not. But seeing the bright sunny smile on her face quite confirmed that it was nothing urgent.

He was about to leave when he smelled something delicious…something familiar…

"Ryoma, I only wanted to invite you to dinner. You'd never come if I don't use dad." She whined, pulling him inside and shutting the door. Ryoma allowed himself to get dragged in and seated by the dinner table. His eyes brightened considerably at the feast in front of him.

"I prepared all this just for you, darling." She beamed at him.

Ryoma didn't even glance up at her before grabbing a pair of chopsticks to dig in. Mari watched in surprise as Ryoma began stuffing his face with the dishes. She sat down across from him and took a few bites. After tasting a few plates, she thought the food were alright at best, but hardly five star level. Why would Ryoma be more interested in Cherry's cooking instead of the other famous restaurants they have dined?

"Delicious…" Ryoma muttered between bites, making Mari a bit sheepish. Since she refused to cook, Cherry had no choice but to take up the task. For a person with vision disability, Cherry worked her way around the kitchen like magic. The owner of the Dream Maker was precise on the material and seasoning, while busily preparing for the entire day. She left just minutes before Ryoma answered the door.

After swiping the dishes clean, Ryoma exhaled in satisfaction. It's been years since he's tasted such authentic Japanese food. This was just as good, if not better than his mother and Nanako's cooking. But he has serious doubts about it coming from Mari. For one thing, Mari never went inside the kitchen because Max was always the one cooking at their place.

"Ryoma, I'm glad you liked my cooking. Maybe we could go to the living room and…" Ryoma got up before she finished. He grabbed his keys and coat and proceeded to the door.

"You invited me to dinner and it was good. Thanks and goodnight!" He gently closed the door on his way out.

Mari stomped her feet in anger and screeched in frustration.


The second plan Sakuno gave to Mari was more intimate and specific. This was a secret she had learned from Rinko a long time ago. After passing on directions, Mari proceeded to plan B.

She secretly snuck into Ryoma's house to prepare her plan, waiting for her beloved to return to the surprise.

After a long day of practice, Ryoma walked into the house covered with sweat. Before he could strip his shirt off, Mari jumped out to greet him.

"Ryoma, you're back!" She rushed forth and held on to him.

"Mari? Damn, what are you doing in my house? Get out!" Ryoma said angrily.

"I came to give you a surprise of course." Mari brushed his words off and pulled him to the bathroom. She opened the door and pointed inside, "Look what I have prepared for you."

A steaming bubble bath, with a familiar smell presented itself in front of the young man's eyes. Ryoma blushed slightly and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her towards the door and pushed her out, completely humiliated at being treated like a child.

"Ryoma..Ryoma…" Mari knocked repetitively at the door. Ryoma ignored her and walked back to the bathroom. After stripping off his clothes, he took full enjoyment of the prepared bath.

But he wondered. How did Mari know about the bubble bath? Only those closest to him knew about this tiny secret? Unable to resist, he drifted off into sleep, thinking about the mystery.


As even her second plan failed, Sakuno provided once again another plan. Mari had been impatient and frustration with her lack of success. But Sakuno listened with an open heart to provide as much help as she could.

Mari got up early one day and went knocking on Ryoma's door once again.

"Who is it?" Ryoma yawned behind the door.

'It's me, Mari."

Ryoma considered ignoring her completely but knew she would persist until he did what she wanted. He cursed himself for getting up early today and opened the door grudgingly. To his surprise, he was not met with Mari's makeup face, but a small fluffy cat purring for attention.

Ryoma's heart softened when the small animal watched him with pleading eyes.

"Do you like it? Doesn't he remind you of Karupin?" Mari said proudly.

Ryoma took the kitty from her hands, "I thought you don't like cat." He remembered how Mari watched Karupin with disgust whenever she visited his house back in the states.

"Well, people change." Mari shrugged. Cherry had been right to suggest using a cat to get closer to Ryoma. For one thing, Ryoma loved cats, especially Himalayan cats, like Karupin.

She produced a cat nip which Ryoma grabbed to start playing with the little creature.

It's been a long time since Ryoma had such a playful time. This was one of his favourite activity when he was younger. But now he was simply too busy for such leisure, and Karupin was getting a little old for such playfulness. He'd almost forgotten such sweet memory!

Ryoma allowed Mari to stay a few hours, only to have the accompaniment of the cat. As the kitty drifted off into sleep, Ryoma turned his attention to Mari, "You should go now. I've got to get ready for practice."

"But I thought we could do something later." She begged.

"No. Leave." He said simply.

By now Mari was at the point of explosion. Ryoma has never been this severe with her back at home. With so many attempts to gain his good favour, she could only take so much rejection. Now Mari was beginning to think it was Sakuno's plans that have distanced Ryoma away from her.

Unable to contain her anger, Mari jumped up and latched on to his arm. "Do you hate me or something?" She screamed, making the kitty bounce up and hiss.

"Let go of me!" Ryoma said, trying to pry her off him.

"I should never have listened to him! He tricked me! That no good…" Mari ranted heatedly.

"What are you talking about?" Ryoma finally shook her off and took the small cat up to calm it.

"You friend Atobe, that's who! He hooked me up with "Dream Maker" so I could get you to love me! Ha, a lot of good that did!" She continued to fume.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes. Atobe? What's Atobe got to do with this?

Ryoma wasn't sure what's going on. But he did know he could not stand to hear Mari's penetrating voice another second. Once again, he pushed her outside of his house and shut the door to her face.


That night, as Tiger (name of the kitty, given by Ryoma) slept next to his bed, Ryoma thought about what Mari said.

Even a celebrity like him has heard of the famous Dream Maker. Knowing Atobe and his connections, he wasn't surprise by how Atobe could hook Mari up with them. But what did confuse him, was how they know such personal details about him. First the food, the bath, and now the cat and the cat nip. This went beyond the average snooping. So was this the reason why they were so successful with their business? Ryoma was a trifle angry and curious about such breach in his privacy. Without reasons or explanation of its own, Ryoma wanted to know more about them.

Next day, Ryoma tried calling Atobe a few times, but could not get through. He waited a few days before trying again, but the results were the same. It was only after contacting Tezuka and Fuji, did he found out Atobe was abroad on business. He also made a few phone calls on his own to learn more about Dream Maker. But the identity of Cherry has been sealed off completely.

But as a strange feeling gnawed at him, the only person Ryoma could think of was Mari. He invited her out on purpose, hoping to leech some information out of her. Mari was overjoyed at being invited, that she talked none stop about useless chatters, making Ryoma tense with headache. Reluctantly, Ryoma decided to try his hand.

"Say, Mari, you said Dream Maker gave you all these ideas about me, right?"

Mari sniffed arrogantly, "Yeah, but I guess they're overrated. The plans have all seemed to backfire."

"Who was it that gave you the information?"

"Oh, Cherry did."

"The owner?"

"Yeah…" Mari was clearly not interested at talking about her contractor.

"What's she like?" Ryoma asked curiously.

Mari suddenly looked alarmed. "Why are you so interested?"

"Just a bit curious, "Ryoma took her face in his hand and whispered next to her ear, "Don't men deserve to be curious?"

Mari thought she has just landed in heaven, "Of course…" She sighed dreamily.

Ryoma pressed his advantage, "I'd like to get in touch with her, if you can arrange it. If you could, I'd gladly compensate you with…" He finished the rest of his sentence whispering into her ear.

Mari almost melted, at least her brains did. At the moment, she forgot about her promise to Sakuno and gladly agreed to arrange a meeting for him. Her mind was now solely on the reward Ryoma promised her on arranging such a meeting with Cherry.

Ryoma watched with satisfaction as Mari busily talked to the girl he's dying to meet.


Sakuno once again sat patiently waiting for Mari. It would seem that tardiness was Mari's habit, but Sakuno, being the gentle person she was, didn't really mind. After her first few attempts, Mari had been furious at the result. She phoned Sakuno in a rage and complained about her methods. Sakuno didn't know what was wrong. She could only assume Ryoma had changed significantly over the years.

Sadly, she smiled bitterly to herself about how truly apart they have become. He was no longer the clueless freshman and she was no longer the timid tag along. Her memories of him were now truly memories, as they have lost its significance. As the waitress came to fill her tea cup for the fifth time, Sakuno realized she has been waiting for almost an hour and a half. She wondered if she should call to reschedule. Unlike before, Mari had insisted on meeting in a private room, and not in the usual café. She could only guess that Mari's going to be emotional, and wanted some privacy to themselves for venting.

As the second hour pass by, Sakuno was having a hard time staying awake. She tried to call Mari a few times, but her phone had been busy. As the minutes ticked on, Sakuno leaned down to put her head on the table. She told herself to take a few minutes of rest, but the sandman claimed her.


Ryoma cursed and rushed into the building. Mari had told him the appointment she made with Cherry was at two o'clock, and now it was almost 5:30pm. Unfortunately, Tiger got a little sick so he had to take him to the vet first. He did not want to ask Mari to make another appointment, hence another reward for the hopeless girl. Ryoma, in his mind, have already concluded that Cherry must have left after so long a wait.

Without thinking much, he marched up to the paneled door and knocked a few times. When he received no response, he pulled the door open slowly and saw a long hair woman with her head down on the table.

"She must have dozed off waiting…" He said to himself, as he quietly closed the door. Ryoma tip toed next to her, but could not see her face.

The woman in front of him was shapely and tall for a female. Her soft auburn hair seemed to glow from within, reached all the way down to her waist, and was now covering her tiny face. There was a sense of familiarity about her that piqued his interest.

Then a sudden realization hit him. Only one girl has hair color like that…a girl he has left behind but never forgotten in the past…

He reached out and with a trembling hand, pushed her hair aside to reveal a serene angelic face. A face he could never forgive nor forget….Now everything was clear.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno…"

Wow, they have finally met face to face after such a long time. What's going to happen between them? What will Sakuno do now that Ryoma found now about her? Stay Tuned!