Date to Dance
Synopsis: He stopped dating. She stopped dancing. He needed to dance. They needed to date. Wait. What? Tennis Superstar Echizen Ryoma knew nothing but tennis. So when he was requested to dance for his parents' silver anniversary, there were two things he knew he couldn't possibly do; how to say no and how to dance.
Chapter 9
I've been tired as hell all day because of my previous 'workouts' and of the unexpected visit from Sakuno and her kid. Now, here was my father telling me that Ulyssa is my child.
I frowned at him. "Give me a break already. You cancelled my games, you forbid me from going back to Japan –thus not getting the chance to play tennis with my previous teammates, now this." I retorted. Mixed emotions started piling up again. I stared at him. The old man just looked at me with his fearless brown eyes.
"Do I have to repeat my reasons every time we have this conversation?" I blinked at him as he sighed those words. He went closer to me. "You don't have patience in almost everything, Ryoma. How come you have one on her?"
I faced him head on. His words were like revelations to me. Me? With a child? Where the hell did he get that idea? I shrugged at him, letting him know I wasn't buying it. He knew I wasn't speaking anytime soon. So he asked me one last time;
"Tell me, Ryoma. What happened three years ago?"
…
…
"Ryoma! W-what are you doing here?" I saw her half-closed eyes grew wide at the sight of me.
"I need to talk to you." I answered her. She was wearing pink cotton pjs and her hair was a mess.
Cute.
I sighed inwardly. If it weren't for the situation my father made me realize I was in, I would've pulled her close to me and gave her the reply she waited back then.
"A-about what?"
"About Ulyssa." I answered simply. She gulped lightly before letting me in, I proceeded to the garden while she excused herself.
I sighed. Last night, my father had asked about my sudden visit to Japan three years ago. I remember what I told him last night. I closed my eyes as I leaned on the wooden chair.
"through with dating"
Flashback
Japan, 3 years ago
Echizen Ryoma found himself sitting on one of the VIP seats of the arena he was in. His girlfriend of 5 years, Kitazono Kotoha, funded the show. It was to showcase Japanese dancers for a chance to perform internationally.
His first encounter with Kotoha was way back when they were still in Junior High. He did figure that the girl was a spy for a tennis club at Hokkaido, so he never expected to see her again. After a few years though, Kotoha showed up in one of his games. Everything started there. He courted the famous dancer for two months before she finally said yes.
Right now, he knew he needed to propose to the girl – they were dating for five years, what's there to wait for? Right after the show, he'll take her to the venue he had readied at one of Tokyo's finest hotel as he had planned.
The show had started when Ryoma felt his throat dry. He stood up and walked outside. Ponta was the only drink he knew he needed. He was a few meters away from the door when he heard voices.
"Marry me." Said a husky voice. "Marry me. You don't have to pretend to him anymore. You don't have to spy on him, my tennis is over. You don't have to do this anymore, you don't have to sacrifice our happiness just for my dream."
Ryoma's eyes turned to slits but then widened at the next voice he heard. "O-okay..."
There was no doubt about it – but he had to see it. He went closer and stopped as Kitazono Kotoha came into his view. He clenched his fists. He wasn't going to cause a seen here, but hell he wanted to. He knew better than to cause havoc to the show his fiancée – scratch that, ex fiancée, had worked hard for – even after what she just did.
Ryoma sighed and walked back in. He phoned the hotel and told them to cancel the preparations. Ending the call, he placed his hands inside his pockets. He knew he had to get out of the area before he could lose control of himself.
"Please welcome on stage, Ulyssa!"
Somehow he managed to look at the emerging performer. She was dressed in white, her face was covered and only her eyes were shown for the public's view. The music started and it felt as if the song was mocking him.
He found himself sitting back on his seat, not once breaking his eyes from the performer. At one part of the song, he saw how her eyes looked straight into his. He saw the longing, he felt her need to be loved…
The song ended and he didn't realize he was applauding with everybody else. The performance was just breathtaking.
But his heart sank as he saw Kotoha back on the stage. Her lips were pale as she turned to look at him. Ryoma stood up and walked off, not even taking a glimpse at the person, whom he loved deeply, as she called him. Since that day, he avoided dance-related things, he hated it. He hated it, but not as much as he hated her.
She had made him weak and vulnerable. Dating her had become a drag that he only realized just now. Loving and dating… he knew he had to avoid those two. Both break the balance because one has to do everything and throw anything and everything just for the person they love. Ryoma knew he didn't need that kind of love nor attention. He vowed to forget her. He was through with it all.
End of Flashback
…
I suddenly felt something cold pressed against my cheek. I leaned away as I opened my eyes to see a can of Ponta near me.
"Here. I figured you'd like this rather than coffee." Sakuno smiled as she handed me the can of cold drink.
"Thanks" I muttered as I took the canned drink. I saw her sit beside me; she seemed freshened up. The previous pajamas were replaced with a frilly white sundress and her messy hair was tied in twin braids.
Cuter.
Fuck! I shook my head. "A-ano ..." I turned to look at her. Her eyes were on the cup of milk she was holding. "Thank you ..." she started. Seeing that I wasn't replying anytime soon, she continued. "I've never seen Ulyssa so happy before. It's all thanks to you." she looked at me and smiled.
"Grandma's loss had brought me so much pain. It was actually the reason why I had to stop dancing. I felt nothing but guilt all those time. I thought, if I had just stayed and took care of her, then maybe she would've lived longer..." her voice broke. She was tearing and I fought the urge to just wrap my arms around her.
"Then, then she came to my life. I-it was unexpected. But, the first time I had her, I was reminded of the sensation I've felt when I performed once. Ulyssa... I knew my life had been completed again." She slowly wiped her tears and looked up at me. "Seeing her happy makes me a lot more. That's why, I'm really thankful. Thank you so much, Ryoma." She smiled.
Seeing her this thankful made me hesitant. If I told her I could be her adopted daughter's biological father, what would happen? After hearing about her encounters, I couldn't find myself to actually do what I meant to do there for.
"That's why, I figured I could tell you..." she said snapping me out of my reverie. "Ulyssa, her name came from the stage name a showcase once gave me when I performed."
I stared at her blankly. So it was Sakuno… I opened my mouth to comment on that, I wanted to tell her I was there when she danced.
"And, that she's not adopted. She's really my child."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Yosh~ As I've said before, OOCness is everywhere, grammatical errors, tenses, misuse of punctuation marks and made-up stuff are scattered XD so I'm really amazed at le readers :3 lovelots desuuuu. Next chappie consists of flashbacks desu. Dewa, off you go~
Lemme know your thoughts :3 please do review~
