Red Roses


Hey guys... :D bwahahah... :)) :D how are you doing? did you like the last chappy? :D heheh... :D well... here comes a new one... :)) :D bwahahaha... :)) :D it's the biggest turning point of the story!! where everything will turn upside-down and inside-out.. :)) :D hehehe... :D this is where it will make a complete 180-degrees turn!! bwahahaha... :)) :D

It's really hard to think what would Syusuke do if he had forgotten his memories... :D so I just wrote what I think he would do... :)) :D hehehe... :D

Review, anyone? :D hehehehe... :D It would be very appreciated if you would... :)) :D hehehe... :D tnx in advance... :D

Disclaimer: This is just a fanfic... so I don't own the characters... :D heheheh... :D


Chapter 9: Dolphin Bay

Syusuke woke up the next day with a refreshed smile. He had already persuaded himself that the people around him are the ones he can definitely trust. They knew who he was and they are eager to help him regain his lost memory. He told himself that this day, he would venture on what he truly was.

"Awake already?" Yumiko asked, walking to Syusuke's direction. She sat on the edge of the bed and started combing her brother's hair with her fingers. "It's still 6 in the morning, Syusuke. You can still sleep if you want to."

"It's ok. I can't sleep anymore." Syusuke said with a huge smile on his face. "Are we friends? We seem to have forgotten to introduce one another, well, after I forgot everything."

Yumiko chuckled lightly. "Syusuke, I'm your only big sister, Yumiko." She said, continually combing Syusuke's hair. She can't help but feel envious of her brother's hair, even though he just woke up; his hair is still very smooth and flowing.

"Oh... Ohayoo, nee-san!" Syusuke greeted with a radiant smile. "Are you my only sibling?"

"You still have a younger brother, Yuuta. He can't come here now, because he'll be having his board exam in 2 weeks time, and he's reviewing on Nagasaki. I didn't tell him that you had lost your memory; I don't want him to be distracted from his education." Yumiko explained. She stood up and grabbed a picture frame from the cabinet on the opposite side of the room. "This is him." She pointed to Yuuta's smiling figure on the picture. "Do you remember how you would be so over-protective of him? You wouldn't even let him out of the house after 9." She chuckled as the memory flashed back to her mind.

"Was I really that hard on him?" Syusuke asked, feeling guilty.

"Of course you were." Yumiko broke out into a soft laugh. "But don't feel bad about it. Remember, Yuuta wouldn't even graduate junior high if you hadn't been that hard on him." Syusuke smiled, even though he didn't know what he did. A few moments later, his smile faded away. Yumiko noticed Syusuke's sudden change in mood. "Is there something wrong, Syusuke? Are you hungry?"

Syusuke looked up to his sister. "Nee-san, can we get out of the hospital?" He asked, looking pitifully at her sister.

Yumiko smiled and grabbed her brother's hands. "If that's what you want, then I'll talk to the doctor about it, ok? But I don't promise anything."

Syusuke's sweet smile returned to his lips. "Thanks, nee-san." Syusuke wrapped his arms around his sister's waist and hugged her tightly.

Yumiko pat Syusuke's back. "It's alright, Syusuke. It's alright."


The doctor had agreed to let Syusuke check-out, thanks to Yumiko's clever persuasion. The only catch is that Syusuke would regularly check up. The nurses had just finished doing the final check on Syusuke's health before they would declare Syusuke as a checked-out patient. They had removed every tube and wiring embedded on Syusuke's slender body. "You're ready to check-out, sir." The head nurse said before signalling everyone to extract out of the room. "You should be excited. You're running in perfect condition. You could finally play tennis."

"Thank you." Syusuke turned to the group of Ryoma, Nanako, and Yumiko. "I played tennis?" Syusuke asked with a pinch of interest in his tone. "You never told me that I did."

"You never asked." Ryoma smirked and grabbed a picture from a cabinet. "Look at this." He threw the picture to Syusuke. It was a picture of them jumping with joy because of their win on the National's Tournament back when Syusuke was still on junior high. "That's when we won on the National's. You played your best on that tournament."

Syusuke smiled. "Was I good?" He asked, not removing his eyes from the picture.

"You were awesome." Ryoma bluntly said. "Anyways, where do you want to go?"

"Hmm… Can we go to where I live?" Syusuke said after sometime of thinking.

"If that's what you want then." Nanako said as she approached Ryoma and placed her hand on the younger man's shoulders.

Yumiko grabbed some of the bags that everyone, excluding Syusuke of course, had packed from the hospital. "Let's get going then."

She was about to raise the heavy bag, but Ryoma stopped her. "I'll carry those, nee-san. You can assist Syusuke." Ryoma said.

"Ok."

Ryoma and Nanako carried all the bags to Ryoma and Syusuke's car while Yumiko helped Syusuke stand up. Syusuke made sure that the other two wouldn't hear what he's about to say to his sister. "Nee-san, I thought you said that I only have one more brother?"

"That's right." Yumiko replied in a low volume.

"Then why did he call you 'nee-san'?" Syusuke referred to Ryoma who called Yumiko as 'nee-san' a while ago. "Is he my brother?"

Yumiko chuckled loudly that the other two looked back on the two of them. "We're fine." Yumiko reassured Ryoma and Nanako who looked at the two of them. She then faced Syusuke. "You'll know it by yourself why he calls me 'nee-san', Syusuke."

Syusuke sighed. "Alright, nee-san."

The ride was smooth. Syusuke would ask about things he saw on the way. Yumiko and Nanako would answer his questions, usually, with added information. While the girls and Syusuke are chatting, Ryoma would drive quickly to their house. In just half an hour, the group finally made their way towards Syusuke and Ryoma's house.

"We're here, Syusuke." Yumiko said. "Does this house ring a bell?"

Syusuke frowned and shook his head sideways. "Is this where we live in?"

"I don't live here, Syusuke. You and…" Yumiko was about to say Ryoma's name, but she saw the disapproving look of Ryoma directed on her. "You live here." She stuttered as she assisted Syusuke out of the car.

"Alone?"

"Yes. Alone."

Nanako decided to butt in to their conversation. "Well, sometimes, when you feel lonely, you would call Ryoma to sleep beside you."

"Really?" Syusuke, now in a good mood, walked graciously inside. He couldn't help but notice the many pictures of him and Ryoma together decorating the living room. "Nee-san, Nanako, if this is my house, then why are there so many pictures of me and Ryoma?" He said faintly so that Ryoma wouldn't hear a word.

"Since you two are very close to each other, you would always take a picture of the two of you." Nanako simply asked.

"Oh, if you say so…" Syusuke said with a little disbelief in his voice. He ventured into his house, exploring it like he hadn't been living there ever.

Nanako sighed and whispered to Yumiko. "I wonder why Ryoma doesn't like telling to Syusuke about them."

Yumiko smiled. "Perhaps our little Ryoma is a little bit shy on telling how he loved him." She whispered back.

"Perhaps…" Nanako said before she went out to the car. "Let's bring Syusuke to the court; I think he's itching to play." She said sarcastically.

Yumiko approached Syusuke who was still venturing through the glassy kitchen. "Syusuke, can you dress up by yourself?" She smirked and turned away. "We'll stop by on the tennis court in a short while."

"Alright, nee-san!" Syusuke said before scurrying to the bedroom.


Ryoma sighed as the ball he volleyed scored. He glanced at the scoreboard and noticed how one-sided this match has become. Nanako stopped the game, noticing that Syusuke's a little bit breathless. She placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulders and smiled. "You've done great, Ryoma."

The both of them together attended Syusuke, who was panting and sweating furiously. "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" Ryoma asked, taking the racquet away from the tensai's hand.

"I'm fine." Syusuke answered before drinking the water Yumiko handed him. He panted for a while. "I don't seem to be that good in tennis. Did I really make it to the national tournament?"

"Have you seen the two huge trophies on the living room? One of them is the trophy you got from the said tournament." Ryoma answered Syusuke's question.

"You were remarkable while playing on the national's." A voice sounded from the back of the group.

"Konnichiwa, Tezuka!" Syusuke greeted enthusiastically.

"Tezuka, why are you here?" Nanako asked. She noticed Ryoma's irritation on the new arrival, so she patted her cousin's shoulders several times, like saying to cool down.

"I saw your car parked, so I thought I might pull over, since I'm not busy."Tezuka said with a sweet smile on his face.

"Aw… too bad, we were just leaving…" Ryoma said with the intention of making the older boy leave.

"Now, now, Ryoma. That's just plain rude." Nanako said, continually patting Ryoma on the shoulders. "Would you like to play with Tezuka? I'm sure Tezuka would be more than willing to hit some balls with you. And besides, Syusuke would be able to see how you play tennis."

Ryoma could do nothing but give in to his cousin's desire. "Fine, but it'll only have one set and that I get to serve first." He spun around and started walking towards his side of the field.

Tezuka prepared himself for the strong serves of his former teammate. "This is going to be a hard match." He said to himself as he stares at the ball being thrown up in the air. "HERE IT COMES!" He whispered as he activated his Tezuka zone early in the game.

Syusuke watched in amazement as the white aura surrounded Tezuka. "Wow! Nee-san, are they really like that?!" He said as the ball that supposedly flew to the right has been sucked in to the temporary vortex Tezuka created. "Shouldn't that ball be flying to the other side?!"

The two girls themselves stood in awe with the same reason as those of Syusuke. Yumiko answered her brother's question after a short while. "I don't know, Syusuke. I haven't seen Tezuka play before. He is so good at this!"

Syusuke rolled his eyes as his question was left unanswered.

A few minutes later, Yumiko exclaimed loudly. "Syusuke! Have you seen that move?!" She asked, not tearing his eyes away from the game.

"What Tezuka just did?"

"Yes! That's your signature move! The Higuma Otoshi!"

"I-I have a cool move in tennis?!" Syusuke asked with a shocked tone.

"You had 5. Let's watch carefully, Ryoma's going to serve once again." She said, ending the conversation.

The game didn't end, Nanako stopped it because it was taking so long and that everyone is already hungry. Ryoma didn't want to stop yet, he was secretly enjoying the match, but what can he do against Nanako's will? And Tezuka started vacating the court. He sighed and followed his former buchou's example. They ended on a Deuce with Tezuka having the advantage. He picked up his bag and started walking to Tezuka's direction where Syusuke seemingly flirts with him.

"Mada mada dane…" Ryoma whispered to Nanako who just came to his side. "Why is Syusuke so amazed with him?" Ryoma ranted enviously.

"Have you ever thought of your attitude?" Nanako teased the young athelete. "I haven't seen you so jealous before. Just look at how pink your cheeks are." Nanako broke out into a faint chuckle.

"I've just played, what do you expect?" Ryoma has the match to thank about his pinkish blush.

"Whatever you say, Ryoma, whatever you say…" Nanako sarcastically said. She quickened her pace. "Hey, where do you people like to eat?"


They ate at the nearby restaurant that Yumiko had suggested. While eating, Syusuke asked a lot of questions, mostly about his tennis. Yumiko, Nanako and Tezuka each answered the tensai's questions patiently, but when the question was about his love life, Ryoma would butt-in quickly and answer the tensai's questions.

After the meal, Oishi called Ryoma and suggested that they visit the shop for a while for Syusuke to see. Tezuka kindly accompanied them, since the showroom was just approximately 4 blocks away from the shop.

"FUJIKO! HOW ARE YOU?!" Eiji exclaimed as the four-man group made their way inside the shop. He dashed towards Syusuke and gave the unsuspecting tensai a tight bear hug. Oishi pulled Eiji away, noticing that Syusuke is turning violet with lack of air. "I'm sorry, Fujiko. I'm just so happy to see you again." Eiji apologized while rubbing the back of his head.

"Are there anything that needs to be done?" Yumiko said while patting Syusuke on the back.

Oishi grabbed a few documents from the counter and handed them to Yumiko and Nanako. "Five orders came in today. Can you handle those?" Oishi once again walked to the counters and grabbed a thick document. "And, Echizen…" He handed the thick document to Ryoma. "This needs to be signed. Don't worry, you won't go to prison. I have checked those documents, they're just contracts that our shop will handle their needs for photography in 6 months to 1 year's time."

"Alright, Oishi-senpai. I'll handle this today." Ryoma turned to Syusuke. "It would be best if you'll hang out with them." Ryoma said, pertaining to the two ladies. "My office would be boring until 7 in the evening."

"Ok, Ryoma." Syusuke said with a huge smile and turned towards Yumiko and Nanako. "So, where to?"

Nanako smiled and glanced at her documents. "Hmm… Let's start with the one farthest from here." She said, still scanning through the documents with Yumiko.

"Nanako, looks like this would be the best document to start with." Yumiko said, pointing to the document labelled 'Serendipity Garden'.

"Alright, and, this should be the last." Nanako said, pointing at a document labelled 'Dolphin Bay.' "It would be best if we'll take a picture of the sunset."

"Ok, let's start then." Yumiko said. She kept the documents on her laptop bag and followed Syusuke and Nanako to the door.


While Nanako and Yumiko are busy taking pictures of their third order, and Syusuke is busy watching them, Tezuka showed up, almost mysteriously.

"Tezuka! Why are you here?!" Yumiko greeted with a surprising tone.

Tezuka smiled. "I'm going to give these to the shop owner. He's expecting these." He said, taking a parcel out of his bag. "I see that you're busy here. I'm sorry to disturb you." He approached the owner of the shop and gave him the parcel.

"It's ok, we weren't disturb, actually." Nanako said after she clicked the camera.

"Where are you headed to, Tezuka?" Syusuke asked, butting in to the conversation.

"Nowhere, actually, I have finished everything early." Tezuka spun around to Yumiko and Nanako. "Can Syusuke come with me? I promise to bring him back to the photography shop before 7." Tezuka promised with a smile.

Yumiko gave him a sceptical look. "Where are you taking him?"

"I just want him to see the sunset once again." Tezuka plainly explained.

Yumiko was about to say something when she felt a hand touch her shoulders. It was Nanako with a smile towards her. "Don't worry." She said before facing Tezuka. "We trust you to take good care of our Syusuke. Bring him back the time you said you would." Her smile was very sweet that it had calmed Yumiko down.

"Thank you so much, Nanako-san, Yumiko-san!" Tezuka bowed down to signify his gratitude towards the two girls. He then faced Syusuke and grabbed him gently by the hand. "Let's go, Syusuke."

Tezuka drove slowly to their destination. The sun was already setting and Syusuke couldn't help but feel frightened. "Tezuka, where are we going? It's getting dark already." Syusuke said with a pinch of fear on his tone.

"We're here." Tezuka said. He then pulled over a parking space. They had visited the beach where they first met, the Dolphin Bay. "You go ahead to the dock. I'll just buy something." Tezuka instructed, pointing at the wooden dock.

"Ok." Syusuke agreed and walked to the end of the dock. They were alone on the bay, no one else occupied it. 'Such beautiful scenery! I wonder why no one ever goes here.' He thought as he felt the touch of the cool, sea breeze blowing on his face. He took a seat on the edge of the dock and a few moments later, Tezuka sat beside him.

Tezuka gave a bouquet of red roses to Syusuke. "This is for you, do you remember these?"

"Wow, they're beautiful." Syusuke commented. "And so fragrant!"

"Yes, I know. You gave me red roses before. It was the best thing that I had ever got." Tezuka smiled and looked at the horizon, waiting for the sun to touch it. "I can still remember why you gave me those flowers."

Syusuke flashed a curious smile. "Why?"

Tezuka placed a hand on Syusuke's shoulders, the one farthest from him. "It was very sweet and loving."

Syusuke curious smile morphed into a sweet, innocent one. "I told you that our relationship will forever bloom with one another, just like the way we appreciate a bouquet of flowers when they are many." He laughed and looked lower, hiding the blush from Tezuka.

Tezuka shot a curious glance on Syusuke. "How did you know that?"

"I don't know." Syusuke animatedly said. "I just know it from the back of my mind. Just like I know that this place is where we first met." He raised his head to face Tezuka. "I also know that we are together."

"But…" Tezuka was about to say that Syusuke's wrong, but something inside stopped him from doing so. His mind tells him that it's wrong not to tell Syusuke that they already broke up their 8 year-old relationship, but his heart tells him that he couldn't do so.

"But what?" Syusuke asked with a worried face.

"Nothing." Tezuka said shakily.

Syusuke smiled in return and leaned to Tezuka's chest, like the days when they were still together. He grabbed the bigger boy's hand and wrapped them to him. "You have given me the best years of my life, Tezuka. Those are the memories that I wouldn't want to forget." His hand made its way towards the other boy's waist.


OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! SYUSUKE REMEMBERS ONLY THE FRUITFUL YEARS OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH TEZUKA!! OMG!! What will happen now?! What will Ryoma do to once again regain Syusuke?! Will Syusuke ever remember anything about his relationship with Ryoma?! The story's getting more and more interesting!! What will ever happen? How will this fic end?! To tell you honestly, I still don't know what happens in the ending... :)) :D heheh... I'm still picking on two possible endings... :D hehehe... :D however, the ending will greatly rely on the reviews that I'll recieve from the readers... :D hehehe... :D

So... did you like the chapter? hehehe... :D well... send me a review for me to find out... :D It'll be greatly appreciated... :D hehhee... :D

all the while... :D

-kitoyisme