Chapter 9 – The Newspaper Revealed
The Echizen's, plus Sakuno, all sat around the table eating and having pleasant conversation. That was the strange part. The usually stoic, silent Ryoma and the usually timid Sakuno who won't talk unless spoken to, were sitting to one side of the table having a conversation, oblivious to the rest of the table who were staring at them in shock. Nanako, Rinko and Nanjiroh kept exchanging looks of disbelief. Never before had Ryoma been interested in having a conversation unless it revolved around tennis, Karupin or ponta (he barely ever had a conversation about ponta, I mean, there is only so much you can say about a drink). However, Nanjiroh soon got over this shock as he heard the word Ryuzaki. As soon as the name left Ryoma's mouth, Nanjiroh yelled and almost fell off his chair in his haste to find out where Ryuzaki sensei was. Ryoma and Sakuno quickly stopped their conversation out of shock, and turned to face the disgruntled man. Rinko couldn't help but giggle at the antics of her husband.
"Oh dear, he was talking about Sakuno-chan. She is Sumire's granddaughter after all, the do have the same last name." Nanjiroh glared at Ryoma.
"Why do you have to use that name?! You almost gave your poor father a heart attack! Just call her Sakuno-chan like the rest of us." Ryoma blinked once at his father, before turning his head towards Sakuno to continue there conversation.
"As I was saying Ryuzaki-" The rest of Ryoma's sentence was interrupted by Nanjiroh's loud yell of frustration.
"RYOMA!" Sakuno could help but giggle a little as she saw the smirk on Ryoma's face. She had seem him like this when he teased the senpai's but it was always more fun to watch up close. Ryoma turned back to his dad, smirk clearly visible, and asked,
"Yes?" Nanjiroh stood there for a moment, his house opening and closing like a gasping fish, before Rinko, with a smile on her face, decided to break up the argument.
"Ryoma, for the peace of everyone in the house please just call her Sakuno. Nanako doesn't need Nanjiroh yelling while she is trying to study." Ryoma looked toward Nanako for a moment before lowering his head and sighing in defeat. He didn't want to cause his cousin trouble during her exams. With that decided everyone went back to their meal in silence. That was until curiosity got the better of Rinko and Nanako.
"What were you two talking about before?" They asked in unison, surprising each other. The two of them giggled for a moment before turning back to Ryoma and Sakuno. "You never usually talk about anything other than tennis Ryoma. It didn't sound like you were talking about tennis though... So what were you talking about?" Nanako elaborated, still staring curiously at the pair. Ryoma didn't show any signs of answering his cousins question however, so Sakuno answered.
"We were talking about a book. It's not well known, so barely anyone has read it. Ryoma-kun's the only person I've met who has read it aswell. So we were discussing it. It's really nice to get someone else's interpretation of the book." Sakuno smiled at she told the rest of the table about this. She really did enjoy being able to share her opinions with someone, especially since it was such an amazing book. The rest of the table was still in shock. Ryoma had been talking about a BOOK! They just couldn't wrap their minds around this information. Even though they were his family, and knew more about the young boy than anyone else, they still didn't realise that Ryoma liked reading this much. They only ever saw him with books about tennis, and they were positive this book wasn't about tennis. The sound of a chair being pushed back broke everyone out of their musings. Ryoma had pushed his chair back and was leaving the table to go to bed, having finished his food.
"A-Arigatou. The meal was delicious." Sakuno said to Rinko, as she too got up to leave the table. The three remaining members of the table then realised that they too, had finished their food without realising it.
"Heh, you never know with that boy do you?" Nanjiroh said, to no one in particular, but both the girls nodded their heads in agreement.
Luckily for Sakuno, Ryoma didn't make the same mistake with the alarm clock the next morning. Mainly because, since he was still sleeping on the futon, he forgot to set it. Sakuno, however woke up at the same time as always. She always woke up early because in her room the sun would shine right on her face at exactly six o'clock, which was very effective for waking someone up, and had now become a habit she couldn't get rid of. Her face was graced with a light pink when she realised she was, once again, sleeping in Ryoma's bed. She inhaled and noticed the bed still smelled like Ryoma, which made her blush turn darker. To try and reduce her blush she looked around the room and saw Ryoma. A slight smile appeared on her face as she saw Ryoma sleeping peacefully. After a moment or two of staring she quietly started getting ready and made her down stairs. Rinko was in the kitchen just starting her preparations for breakfast. When she saw Sakuno enter a smile lit up her face.
"Good morning Sakuno-chan! It's rare to have anyone up at this hour in this house." She smiled at the young girl, glad for the company. "How is your ankle this morning?" Sakuno could hear the concern in the older woman's voice and smiled.
"It's still kinda sore, but it's definitely getting better." Rinko gently smiled at Sakuno, glad that her ankle was getting better. "I can help you make breakfast." Sakuno offered. Rinko looked at Sakuno, contemplating whether to take up her offer. She then remembered how much her son loved Japanese food, and how Nanako couldn't make any for a while. He really did deserve a treat after all he had been through lately. Saving Sakuno and what-not.
"Can you cook Japanese food?" Rinko inquired of the young girl.
"R-Ryoma-kun..." Ryoma could feel a gentle nudge on his arm, but chose to ignore it. He would much prefer to sleep a bit longer. "R-Ryoma-kun?" Now he could hear a voice aswell as the nudging. However, still not ready to relinquish his hold on sleep, he groaned and rolled over into a more comfortable position. "R-Ryoma-kun you have to wake up now" Through the fog of his mind Ryoma recognised the voice as Ryuzaki Sakuno's. He cracked open his eyes sleepily and looked up at the blushing girl leaning over him. "This is so embarrassing... Why did I have to wake him up" Sakuno thought due to her great embarrassment of having to wake up her crush.
"Ryuzaki?" As soon as Sakuno saw his eyes open she quickly moved back a bit. Upon hearing him call her Ryuzaki she thought. "He must have forgotten about what Rinko-san said last night. He did just wake up after all." Ryoma slowly sat up and stretched. He greatly resembled a cat Sakuno noticed, causing a slight giggle to escape her mouth. Ryoma seemed not to notice and just yawned. "He really isn't a morning person is he..."
"What are you doing here Ryuzaki?" Ryoma asked as he blinked groggily at the girl sitting before him.
"You need to wake up Ryoma-kun. Rinko-san sent me to get you. Momo-chan senpai and Oishi senpai will be here soon."
"Hn" Ryoma replied before going to the wardrobe and getting his uniform. Sakuno quickly left the room and went back downstairs.
When Ryoma entered the room the first thing he noticed was the smell of Japanese food. "I thought Nanako had to study..." Instead of questioning his good fortune, Ryoma decided to take a seat beside his father. Said father was currently in the middle of reading the 'newspaper'. Ryoma just sighed and shook his head. At that moment Sakuno came out of the kitchen carrying some food with a smile on her face, although she looked a little nervous. She placed the food on the table before going back to the kitchen to help Rinko with the rest of the food. It was, as Ryoma expected, Japanese food. However when Ryoma tasted it something was different. It wasn't Nanako's usual cooking, but it did taste oddly familiar. It was then that Nanako entered the room from the hallway. This confused Ryoma. If Nanako didn't cook this then who did?
"Oh I see Sakuno-chan was kind enough to make a Japanese breakfast for you Ryoma." Nanako said, answering Ryoma's unasked question. Now Ryoma realised why it had tasted familiar. It reminded him of the lunch Sakuno had made for him before. He had quite enjoyed that meal, and still didn't know why she had taken it away from him. Hopefully this time he would be able to finish. Sakuno came back out from the kitchen and sat beside Ryoma with her own food. She still looked a little worried and kept glancing at Ryoma out of the corner of her eye, but couldn't bring herself to ask him if he liked it. Not after what happened last time. Nanako watched on and sighed.
"Ryoma, do you like Sakuno-chan's cooking?" Nanako finally asked. Ryoma looked up at her and nodded. This caused Nanako to sigh again.
"Don't tell me, tell Sakuno-chan. She's the one who made it. People like to know when you enjoy their cooking Ryoma." Ryoma just blinked at her before turning towards Sakuno, who had been watching the whole time.
"It's good" he said without emotion, before turning back to finish the meal. Even though he didn't sound enthusiastic at all, Sakuno was still ecstatic to hear that Ryoma liked her cooking. She smiled at Ryoma, who was now looking toward his food in thought as he ate. "This is actually better than Nanako's cooking... I didn't realise Ryuzaki was that good of a cook" He was broken out of his musings by Sakuno's voice.
"Arigatou Ryoma-kun" Ryoma looked towards Sakuno and saw her beaming at him. For some reason, Ryoma noticed his heart started to beat a little faster and he got a funny feeling in his stomach when he saw her smile. Trying to ignore this weird sensation, he turned his head back towards his food and gave a grunt in reply.
Nanako watched this and smiled to herself. That was until she saw her uncle was reading the newspaper at the table. She walked up to him and snatched the newspaper from his hand, however, with the newspaper gone everyone could see what he was really reading. It was one of his infamous magazines.
"Uncle!" Nanako exclaimed as said uncle tried to hide the magazine. While Nanako reprimanded Nanjiroh, Ryoma looked towards Sakuno to see her reaction. Sakuno seemed to be shocked. She just stared blankly, her whole face beet red. Ryoma decided then that it would be a good time to leave. He nudged Sakuno to get her attention and then the two went to get their bags before leaving the house. They stopped at the gate to wait for Momo and Oishi to come. Sakuno then broke the silence, still blushing.
"R-Ryoma-kun. A-anou, w-what was th-that magazine your dad had?" Ryoma had been expecting this question but still didn't quite know what to say. After a moment of thought Ryoma decided to just tell it to her straight.
"It's one of his dirty magazines. He's always reading them and has them stashed all over the house. We have bonfires with them every now and then. Don't let it bother you too much." Ryoma said and watched Sakuno for her reaction. Sakuno just nodded slowly and said "Okay" She certainly didn't expect Ryoma's dad to be a pervert. Especially since Ryoma had almost no interest in girls. Now she could understand why her grandmother acted the way she did.
Ryoma was very impressed with how she was handling it. Most people would be disgusted or repulsed, but she just accepted it. Maybe it was because she was so shocked. Either way there was no way to be sure as the senpai's arrived.
A.N. Hey! I updated! I hope you guys r still enjoying my story. I didn't get any reviews last chapter :( I admit it was a pretty boring chapter but I still love reviews even if they just say it was boring. Its nice to know people are reading and care about my story. I hope this chapter was more interesting. I did rush the ending a bit. I know I haven't put anyone suggestions in yet but I'm working on it. I'm pretty sure next chapter I will be able to add SaKuRa-cHan41's suggestion. I'll also try to make my story a bit more exciting, coz it has gotten a bit boring. I haven't gotten any criticism either. I don't mind criticism, I love it actually. It's great to know what others think I should work on. I'm also hoping to put writing in my schedule somewhere so I can update more regularly. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Please Review! Thanks for reading! Until next chapter
Cya
