Ryoma Echizen was like Siberia, a frozen desert with icy winds that pummeled its explorers. He was strangely attractive with his distant demeanor flecked with spurs of forcefulness. He greatly reminded Sakuno of a certain captain.
A week ago, she had witnessed a girl give her feelings to him in the form of baked goods. That girl became the leader of a movement. Naturally, the feminine half of her class liked him with that dark hair falling over those enticing hazel eyes.
"Sorry, I'm not interested," he'd replied. It seemed to be the response he gave every time someone bared her heart to him.
Despite his coldness, Sakuno felt familiar with him because he had saved her that first day. She knew a side of him existed that he refused to reveal to the public, and on that day, she had caught a glimpse of it. Truth be told, she couldn't help wanting to see more of it.
On Sunday morning, he wore a dark gray t-shirt and black basketball shorts. She had anxiously awaited the arrival of her guest. Upon hearing the succinct rap of knuckles on wood, she quickly stood up to smooth out her newly bought gi and answer the door.
"Ryoma," she said as if she hadn't been waiting by the door, "you're early!"
"Your house was closer than I thought," he said, expressionless as usual. He neglected to mention that he had made sure to depart his house at least a half hour earlier than he needed to. "Is there somewhere I can change?" It was then that Sakuno noticed the black sports bag hung over his shoulder with the Prince logo on it.
"Oh, of course, you can change in my room," she answered hospitably. Sakuno's room looked like it belonged to a little girl. In a way, it did. When she shut the door for him, Ryoma examined the pink walls and the toy cat resting on her yellow bedspread. On top of her wooden desk, there were three framed photographs. Two of the photographs depicted large groups of people. In one, there were several familiar faces. He recognized Katsuo, Kachiro, and several other classmates. They all wore similar uniforms to the ones they wore now, except they looked slightly smaller - probably her junior high graduating class. In the other photo, Ryoma quickly located Sakuno in the foreground. The people surrounding her ranged in age from infancy to older than the great Ryuzaki matriarch herself, all with the same auburn hair, except for the ancient ones whose stands had turned white. The last picture had only two people in it. One was clearly Sakuno, happily smiling at the camera in a summer kimono. She clung onto the arm of a tall boy with sandy hair and wire-rimmed glasses.
AN: So FINALLY some one on one RyomaSakuno interaction! Sorta... Next chapter, we'll find out more about the boy in the picture and maybe get some action. Now that school is back, I'll try and update once or twice a week. Gosh darn AP Euro. Darn it to the fiery pits of heck. At least winter break is in less than a month - YAY!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I realized some people probably don't know what a gi is. It's the white uniform you wear in most Japanese martial arts.
So yeah...
gi = martial arts clothes