Chapter 11: A New Start or Not?
Disclaimer: Tennis no Oujisama by Konomi Takeshi
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A/N: Finally! I have a beta-reader! I have a beta-reader! Thank you so much indistinguishable for doing the proofreading. Sigh- I wish I had one since I started writing this but oh well… I'm really happy with the results! I would also like to apologize for reposting this chapter for several times now, I was too busy with several things at once so… There you go. Read and enjoy!
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His Eyes on Hers
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Chapter Eleven: A New Start or Not?
"I want everyone to know how much I appreciate the performance you've shown for everyone at the acquaintance party. Please give yourselves a big round of applause!"
Suzuhara-sensei flashed the widest grin the history of Section 1 has known of, beating the one he gave them before the actual realization of the class project. It did not take any more moments before everyone went happy and glorious for their hard work. Rika looked everywhere around the room and was very happy that she stood up. She was not blushing anymore when she went towards Suzuhara-sensei and nodded towards him, as if asking for a permission to speak up. The young teacher nodded in response.
"Although at first it seemed like everyone did not give a care in the world for the presentation and everything else for that matter, I was really surprised and touched that this class could do wondrous things if they wanted to."
Everyone went silent, to the confusion of Rika.
Wait, do I have something on my face? Did I mess up with my hair? Did I just spit? Why are they... looking at me that way?
But she continued speaking while her face grew red.
"So, in behalf of everyone else who made the rather impossible success possible, thank you so much for your dedication and hard work. Everyone, I also wanted to take this chance to ask for pardon for the not-so-pleasant things I've told you before. Please forgive me."
And she bowed down. The boys became rather shy and the girls were nice as all of them accepted her apology.
"Thank you very much. Please, clap your hands for yourselves!"
Tomoka screamed from her seat. "Go Hayashi-san!" and clapped. Everyone else followed. As everyone started to chat happily to themselves about the party, Suzuhara-sensei tapped Rika's back and asked him to follow him at the other side of the classroom.
"I knew you could do it, Rika-chan. I hope you did not have much of a headache." Suzuhara-sensei said to her in his usual nonchalant tone. Rika looked away from her teacher as she heard how he used her name in such a child-like manner.
"Thank you, Suzuhara-sensei. The truth is I've had a lot during the time but..."
She stopped at mid-sentence when she felt something lightly tap against her head and blushed hard.
"Thank you. I hope to see you lead the class like this for the rest of the year."
Rika looked at her teacher and saw the same smiling face. She smiled in return and went back to her desk where she joined her friends and classmates while the young teacher resumed to his work. He surveyed the looks of the class before he started speaking for another topic.
"And since I am having fun as I see everyone else does, let's go have an English-speaking activity."
"EH?" Section 1 chorused as the jolly atmosphere was suddenly removed from them. The teacher only smiled more.
"Let's talk about how was your party, that's all! But we all have to speak in English."
Their faces grew sadder and more disappointed.
"This is an unannounced class recitation. I'll be calling out names in random. Ready?"
"Suzuhara-sensei!" The girls pouted. He chuckled.
"Let's first call out..." Suzuhara scanned the faces in the class and spotted someone not paying attention. "Nakayama-san."
Hiroshi was not surprised at all. He stood up and started talking in fluent English, making the admirers of him squeal.
"The acquaintance party was a... blast." He started out. "One thing that made me like the party is due to the performance of our whole class. I do not want to brag or do something similar, but I want to say that honestly, we did the best thing out of all the sections."
"Hiroshi, you rock!" the boys told him. Girls were shivering due to sheer and extreme admiration.
"But the one thing that I've come to like more is how I was able to dance with Ryuzaki-san."
"Kyaa!" Suddenly, there were fan girls who came out of nowhere. "Hiroshi-kun!"
"Eh...?" Sakuno's head perked up, as she was busy reading out her notes from her notebook. Tomoka's face grimaced a little before she went towards Sakuno and started hugging her tight.
"This is it, Sakuno! Hiroshi-kun's confessing to you in public!" She excitedly said as she wiped her face in a not-so-obvious manner on Sakuno's blouse. "Go answer him, quick!"
"Tomo-chan?" She blushed profusely. "W-what are y-you..."
"Then why is everyone being loud all of a sudden if you didn't like the activity?" Suzuhara Keiichi shook his head before calling out another name.
"Thank you, Hiroshi-kun. Next would be... Osakada-san."
"Kyaa!" Tomoka released Sakuno from her arms and stood up. "The party was the best! I got to wear the best dress in the world evah! And I was able to see Suzuhara-sensei in a coat! He's so hot!"
The comment made every soul of a girl start to talk animatedly before an almost damaging scream was heard. Tomoka made a sign that she will continue talking.
"And I was able to talk to Ryoma-sama for about... three minutes without him making me go away!"
"Is that true, Tomoka?" a diehard Ryoma fan asked inquisitively.
"Is that true, Tomoka?" the other fans followed. Tomoka only smirked and turned away from the fan girls.
"Of course, it is! I will never lie about my encounters with Ryoma-sama!" she threw her chest up and placed her hands on her hips. She winked at Sakuno, and the latter giggled. Soon, all the diehard fans of Echizen Ryoma went towards her and started asking for tips, oblivious of the class that was about to end in a few more minutes time.
Still, Suzuhara went to call out others who were causing the loud noises inside the room, but this does not stop the other diehard fans of Ryoma from asking Tomoka other questions of their concerns. The teacher just let them be since he was so pleased with their presentation, and bade them goodbye a little earlier than usual. As he was about to exit the room, he remembered something. He quickly called the attention of Hiroshi, and the boy went towards him. The two proceeded towards the corridors before talking.
"Won't you invite Ryuzaki-san to the theater club?" Suzuhara-sensei asked Hiroshi. The younger one smiled in return as he waited for him to continue.
"I think she has potential based on what I saw on your duet. Although she still has a lot to improve on, she should at least give it a try. What do you think, Hiroshi-kun?"
Hiroshi nodded. "Yes, I'll ask her later. But I doubt that she will join us. She's still too reserved to begin with."
"But she made it through the duet," the older man said. "If I am not mistaken, she can blossom into an actress. Or if we aren't watching, she might become a talented one."
The boy with chocolate orbs smiled.
"She can be... if she want to." He nodded and bowed towards his teacher before going back to his classroom.
"Please convince her, Hiroshi-kun." Suzuhara-sensei called to him again before he could vanish behind the door. "We will start rehearsing next month for the next production, so please remember that. She might give us some new color."
Hiroshi wanted to raise an eyebrow upon hearing the word "convince," but he nodded, still, and returned to his room. He peered at his watch and saw that he still had some time left to tell Sakuno about the matter. He spotted her without difficulty at her seat, talking to Tomoka. He stared at her face for a few seconds, smiled, and decided to do his task. He cleared his throat as he approached the two girls.
"Excuse me, but may I disturb these two young, pretty girls for a minute or two?" he asked pleasantly. Tomoka's eyes showed a little disappointment when she saw him looking at only Sakuno. She grabbed the other girl's shoulder and whispered something in her ear.
"See? I told you. He's going to confess already! Hurry and say yes!"
Sakuno blushed hard and looked shyly at Hiroshi. He just waited for her answer, and to break the ice, she laughed in a much unfelt way.
"Yes, Hiroshi-kun?" She asked. Tomoka observed her best friend for a moment and almost felt sorry for giving that advice to her, as she was almost sure that Sakuno might actually do that. To hide the anguish that was starting to form in her, she excused herself in a very jolly way and winked at Sakuno. Hiroshi and Sakuno looked confused with this. During the time when they were still practicing for the presentation, she would be more than glad to be with them to see how they would interact. Tomoka would only leave them alone when she was needed by the others.
"I'd better go chat with the others first. You two need some private time together." She almost whispered to them and then winked again. The two blushed furiously, and Hiroshi seemed to understand what she meant so he gently grabbed her free arm.
"You should hear this out too, Osakada-san. I said that I was talking to the both of you, didn't I?" Hiroshi let go of Tomoka's arm and smiled. Tomoka looked distracted for a second, and Sakuno noticed this. She touched her friend's arm and smiled at her.
"See, Tomo-chan?" Sakuno asked with a little sarcasm. Tomoka quickly recovered and was a bit surprised of how Sakuno said the words that she pinched her friend's cheek.
"Hey, you know how to be sarcastic with me now, huh?" Tomoka jokingly answered her friend. Sakuno raised her hands in defeat and motioned Tomoka to take her seat after a few more teasings between them. Hiroshi amusingly watched the two and felt a little envious.
"As he said a while ago, Suzuhara-sensei was very impressed with our performance." Hiroshi started out. Tomoka and Sakuno listened carefully. "Because of this, he reminded me earlier of the lack of actors in the theater club. You know, the first production for this season will be more or less next month."
"So... what's the meaning of this, Hiroshi-kun?" Tomoka asked.
"As you know, our English teacher is also one of the advisers of the Theater club. This means that since he saw Ryuzaki-san perform better than what he expected a beginner to show in our duet...He wants her in the theater club."
Sakuno felt her insides tremble. The theater club! Just as she was thinking of joining it, the opportunity knocked at her door without her having a hint beforehand. She could almost hear her hands clap in amazement. But still, her worries did not fail to pop up in her mind.
"Then why did you call me out, Hiroshi-kun?" Tomoka threw him a suspicious look. He smiled at her in such a nice way that she eventually smiled back at him.
"I can't imagine Sakuno without you behind her, supporting her." Hiroshi mentioned. "Without you, she wouldn't be singing for the duet. You are the first one to believe in her ability as a person."
-Flashback-
"Please, please, Nakayama-san! Although this may sound silly, I'm begging you to please help my best friend!"
Hiroshi stopped in his tracks and looked behind him. It was during the first few days of the school year in Seigaku, and he was still new to the surroundings of the school. Although he was handsome, people were strangely trying to avoid him. Maybe the boys thought of him as too arrogant, while the girls were just too shy to approach a transferee like him. He did not mind at first; he was used to that. But just now, as he looked behind him, he saw the very first person to approach him without shame or fear. But she wasn't that familiar with him for now. The most he could remember was that she was his classmate.
"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are? I'm sorry. I forgot your name," he asked plainly.
"Osakada Tomoka is the name." The girl smirked, and she put one of her hands in her hip. He felt confused as to what the sudden, arrogant nature was supposed to imply.
"Ah, Osakada-san. My apologies. Why do you want me to help your best friend...?"
"Well, uh..." She searched for words. "It may sound complicated, but I'll explain it to you... Care to have a seat at that bench over there?" She pointed at a nearby bench under a tree. He nodded. I don't have anything better to do by now. My part-time job will start at seven.
They settled themselves on the bench. Hiroshi observed the girl beside him as he waited for her to say something. He could clearly see that she was uneasy, something he instinctively thought of as uncharacteristic of her. At least, that was what he could observe.
"Well, let me talk about her."
"Your best friend?"
"Yeah. Ryuzaki Sakuno."
-End of Flashback—
Tomoka thought for a while and remembered the pact they made at the start of the school year. The grin was evident on her face.
"Go."
She nudged Sakuno who was beside her. Sakuno closed her eyes and inhaled.
"What time can I register for the theater club, Hiroshi-kun?" she asked him happily.
Tomoka and Hiroshi looked at each other and nodded. At the very first instant they looked straight at each other did they realize the same thing. Mission accomplished.
"We'll go after class, the three of us. Make sure you don't have any errands at the same time, though." He explained.
"Why, Hiroshi-kun?" Sakuno asked. Tomoka was thinking the same thing.
"I just think Sakuno-san might have to do an act of some sort for the audition."
"Audition?" the girls chorused in surprise. Hiroshi chuckled at the synchronized reaction from the two. Tomoka disguised her actions as she went towards Hiroshi.
"This is far too fast, Hiroshi-kun! You mean, audition for the play before winter break?" Tomoka gushed at him. Hiroshi innocently blinked at her and turned away as he smiled. She wanted to shake him for an answer, at the least, but he wouldn't reply. She was not one to give up, though. Tomoka went in front of him and engaged him in a staring contest. He played along with his lips still in the same, playful grin.
"Tomo-chan? Hiroshi-kun?" Sakuno went towards them and peered at the two whose faces were very close to each other. Then, the teacher for the next subject arrived inside the room. Sakuno put a hand on the shoulder of each of the two, trying to stop them from fussing as everyone prepared for the next class.
"Tomo-chan! Hiroshi-kun!" Sakuno clapped her hands. Tomoka looked at her; then back at the boy in front of her, only to realize one thing. She started blushing madly.
"Hey, that's enough, Nakayama! Two birds with one stone, eh?" one guy shouted. Hiroshi just went back to his seat which was next to that guy who shouted earlier. Tomoka glared at that guy next to Hiroshi as the latter just shook his head and talked to him in a secretive manner. Sakuno tapped her friend's shoulder and whispered something in her ear after she asked her to come closer.
"Hiroshi-kun teases you." Sakuno whispered, making Tomoka slap her hard on the arm.
"Sakuno. I wonder what he did to you last night which made you act crazy like this." Tomoka tried to act nonchalant, but the two girls were already making such a scene that the teacher in front had to call them back to reality.
"Is there something wrong, you two? Please go to your seats, or you'll be forced to answer the assignment I've given you the other day."
"Yes, sir!" the two rushed back to their own seats. Sakuno giggled as she did so, and Tomoka just eyed her.
"It's good to have you back after those days you weren't here to practice!" Momoshiro and Kikumaru took turns in teasing Ryoma as they were finished with the afternoon practice. Although he tried to hide it, Ryoma grinned at his upperclassmen's comments that he was back for good. However, teasing him like what they were doing right then was another issue.
"Stop ruffling my hair, Momo-senpai!" he scowled at Momo and then turned his attention to his other upperclassman, "and I can't – breathe, Kikumaru-senpai…"
"When will the two of you ever change?" Oishi shook his head as he watched them from behind. He was about to approach the two who was abusing Ryoma, but they released him just as he was about to faint from the lack of air.
"But anyway, let's go munch burgers! It's Kikumaru-senpai's treat!" Momo whistled after looking at Kikumaru with his mischievous eyes.
"Why me?" Kikumaru pointed at himself and pouted like a child. Ryoma and Momo grinned.
"Senpai's duties." They crookedly told him.
Kikumaru whined and jumped like a cat in frustration. The other regulars appeared behind them and started to flock the spot where the first four were.
"How about we visit Kawamura sushi today? We haven't dropped by his place with the seven of us present as a team." Fuji suggested. The others brightened at his idea except for Kaidoh and Tezuka with their usual stoic faces.
"There's a 100 percent chance that every one of us will agree, since we have not done anything to celebrate as we unite as a team once again." Inui popped up from behind as he closed his notebook and fixed his glasses in place.
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Momo cheered, but remembered their captain as he appeared in front of the regulars.
"Let's go head to the Kawamura sushi, but never let your guard down." He said before taking the lead. The united regulars back three years ago answered gladly.
"Let's go!"
"Momo-senpai." Ryoma called out to him. The person looked at him in question.
"Tell them to go ahead, I will just follow. I forgot something at the locker room." Ryoma said as he arranged his white cap on his head. Momo nodded but still reminded his friend, suspicion lurking within him.
"Make sure you follow, alright, Echizen? We'll see you there!"
As soon as the regulars went out of sight, Ryoma went towards the direction of the locker room. He shook his head and scolded himself for being absent-minded. Just as he was on his way, he noticed three familiar people appear. They looked like they were home-bound.
"It's my first time joining a club!" Tomoka excitedly squealed to Sakuno. Sakuno smiled warmly.
"Congratulations, Tomo-chan!"
"Congratulations to the both of you." Hiroshi said and the two girls smiled at him.
"But seriously, I thought I had to show my skills impromptu, like I had to show my make-up application skills and stuff." Tomoka placed her hand below her chin in a curious manner. Sakuno smiled at her friend as she was happy for her.
"I thought I had to act right away there too. Good thing we just have to sign our names and answer questions." Sakuno said.
"It's because the club is lacking a sufficient number of members as of now, so they'll accept anyone who is willing to join." Hiroshi answered the curiosity of the two for the Theater club.
"I might enjoy watching the two of you act like Romeo and Juliet if ever Sakuno needs to act!" Tomoka grinned widely – almost creepily.
"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno protested. Hiroshi then kneeled before her and took her right hand.
"My Juliet…" he said as if he was instantly Romeo. Tomoka couldn't resist to squeal at the sight.
"HIROSHI-KUN!" Sakuno burst, and she faced away from them as she continued speaking, her face as red as it could it be, "w-we are m-making a scene a-again!"
Tomoka ran towards her friend and continued teasing her. The people who took notice of the scene the three made were making comments of how cute a couple Hiroshi and Sakuno looked. The boy with feline eyes passed the scene while his cap covered his face, his reaction unseen by anyone.
Ryoma plopped down on his bed, feeling tired yet at the same time a bit happy. He thought of the good old times back when they were junior high, right before he flew back to America. The Seigaku regulars' company was crazy, yet he had to admit that they made a huge influence on him as a person, not only in his tennis skills, but in his overall personality.
As he smiled to himself, a furry entity jumped to his bed and went to his side.
"So you're sleeping now, Karu?" he asked his cat as he pet it. He received a purr from Karu.
"Ah. I have things to do first." He took his school bag and took out some books and a notebook.
"Nyaaaaarrrwww!" Karu cried as if it was scolding him. He went to his pet and rubbed its ears.
"Go ahead and sleep. I have to put off some thoughts before I hit the sack."
The cat resigned and curled itself. As for Ryoma, he took his English notebook and book and started scanning through his notes. His eyes widened for a split-second as he saw what he was actually reading.
…William Shakespeare
…Famous Playwright
…most known for plays such as the Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet and the Merchant of Venice…
He closed his notes and shrugged the thought of studying further.
"Wait. I am too. English is too easy, anyway." He turned the lights off and went back to lying in his bed. He closed his eyes, ready to sleep but found it hard to catch sleep.
"Stop appearing in my mind…"
He remembered what he saw earlier, and also topics which he tried to avoid when he and the regulars were eating in Kawamura's.
Acquaintance Party…
Girls…
Dance…
"Ryuzaki…"
It was lunch time as well at Section 1 of the freshmen. Sakuno blushed at the different comments of her classmate as Tomoka offered each one of their classmates the pastries that Sakuno made for everyone. The class thanked her as they ate what was offered to them.
"What's the occasion, Ryuzaki?" asked one guy between munches, "This is really good though. Can I have more?"
"Yeah. Are you celebrating your birthday or something today?" piped one girl from behind Tomoka and Sakuno.
"Not really." Sakuno shook her head. "I just want to say thank you to everyone."
"Then it would be nice if you thanked me every day! This is so yummy!" another guy told her.
Sakuno shook her head again as pink graced her cheeks. Tomoka acted as her spokesperson.
"These are for everyone's hard work and for agreeing to make Sakuno the lead singer!"
"Eh?" the braided-girl involuntarily queried.
"All right!" everyone laughed and finished their food. Tomoka smiled as she watched everyone enjoy eating. She noticed that she was still carrying weight.
"There's still left…" Tomoka peered at the container of the pastries. "What should we do with this, Sakuno?"
Sakuno stood up from her seat as she carried her water bottle and went towards Tomoka. "Hiroshi's not here yet so we leave one for him… How many are left, Tomo-chan?"
Tomoka showed her the container.
"Not too much, there's about ten more."
Sakuno opened up her water bottle to drink as she thought of what to do. When she came up with an idea, she abruptly stopped drinking. Just as she about to speak, Tomoka also started speaking.
"How about we give Ryoma-sama the rest?" her friend excitedly piped, but suddenly remembered that she should not have said that when Sakuno's expression saddened.
"No, what I mean is just… you know. I'm the food-bearer, you see?" Tomoka forced a smile and tried to encourage Sakuno to do the same. "Just like the old times!"
Sakuno saw Tomoka's effort to make her feel nonchalant about it, and she smiled softly.
"Go ahead, Tomo-chan. Although I just thought that some of her classmates might like more." She closed her eyes and smiled widely. Tomoka doubted what she was seeing at her friend.
"All right, if you really don't want to. I'm not forcing you or anything!" Tomoka shook her head. Sakuno just gently pushed her friend towards the door, unwary of the still-open, water bottle in her hand.
"I'm more than glad to give this to him even though…" her voice trailed away, failing to finish her sentence. Tomoka gave her the container of the pastries and took the bottle from her hand.
"Then why don't you go and give it to him personally?" Tomoka grinned. Sakuno blushed furiously.
"Tomo-chan! No, what I mean is…"
"Here he comes! Sakuno, just like the old times! He would feel a little happy at the least. He would never mind, remember?"
The shy girl hesitated for a while as she looked down on the ground, oblivious to the sarcastic tone Tomoka gave to what she last said. But right, he would not mind. At least not much more than she thought he would. She looked up and saw Horio carrying something in his arms while behind him was the person who she was trying to avoid. That is, for the rest of the time that will come but not now.
Horio was carrying a thick of pile of papers which was enclosed in a neat folder. Behind him was Ryoma who was lazily walking with his arms folded behind his head.
"Can't you see I need help with OUR project, Echizen?" Horio scowled at the tennis prince, shifting the thick pile enclosed in his arms in order to ease the weight he was carrying. Ryoma looked at him and yawned.
"I already did my part," came the answer and Ryoma yawned again. Horio ignored him when he saw what room they were about to pass.
"Hold this for a sec!" Horio exclaimed, but Ryoma was stubborn enough not to give the unibrowed boy a favor.
"I won't."
"Just for a moment!"
"No."
The poor, thick stack of papers went from Horio's arms to Ryoma's, and back and forth. No one was willing to let the other to get his way.
"Please! Just for a second!"
"Hold it yourself."
They both stopped when they saw a girl walk up towards them, carrying something. Behind her also came a girl who held something in her hand.
"Horio-kun!" Sakuno called, a little louder than usual. The mentioned rushed up to her, happy beyond normal happiness.
"Would you like some of these?" Sakuno offered the boy as she opened up the container in her hand. Horio couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"All of these…for me? Only for…me?" Horio pointed at himself, tears starting to accumulate in the corner of his eyes. Tomoka heard and rushed towards them as Ryoma also went towards the conversing two, concerned about something he had heard and secondly, for the project. At least, that was what he wanted to think.
"Well, uh…" Sakuno paused when she saw Ryoma approach them. She was startled when she felt someone ran towards Horio as if to push him aside.
"You're mistaken, unibrow-boy! That's for Ryoma-sama!" she pointed at him with the water bottle. Before anyone of them realized it, they saw water splash Horio and the thick pile he was holding.
Four sets of eyes blinked. The thick pile of paper was wet and was starting to get drenched. Horio shook it in hopes of removing the excess water in it, but his efforts were futile.
"Our project… deadline today…is… is…"
Tomoka was shocked beyond belief, but before she could come to her senses, they saw someone run towards their direction with dust clouds forming behind that person.
"Help! Help me! Inui! Inui is trying to kill me!" a familiar voice cried. When he passed by them, the four recognized that it was their upperclassman Eiji Kikumaru who was running for his life. He disappeared, and the next person who came was Inui, holding a bottle of something which they strongly suspected to be something really... not nice.
"As expected 99.9% of the time, Kikumaru will run away from me when I offer him to try my latest innovation of the juice I invented."
"Inui-senpai?"
"Oh, Echizen, Horio, Ryuzaki and Osakada." The guy with glasses peered at them, "you want to try my new concoction?"
They all stared at the pertained bottle as he brought it up for them to see and swore that they saw something move inside it. They gulped in unison, completely forgetting at the moment the drenched thick pile of paper.
Hiroshi was walking up to his room after coming from a luncheon meeting held by the theater club. He remembered how he was constantly teased throughout the meeting when Suzuhara-sensei asked him how Ryuzaki-san was doing. He tried to shake away the thought that he couldn't help but smile when he was teased, unlike before when he would dismiss the thought that he was made the topic of unnecessary things like love, like, and girls which he never took serious… Now he had to admit he was being a stupid guy who, if one's imagination was wild enough, would think he registered heart eyes in his face whenever he saw the object of the tingling feeling in his chest.
Like now. Although Sakuno was not facing his direction, he knew it was her, and the stupid grin that formed on his face crawled up his lips. Should he play a trick on her again? Should he tease her again? He just couldn't resist seeing the face she makes whenever he teases her of any sort.
"Ryuzaki-chan!" he called out to her. She looked behind her and saw him, waving lowly. He was too absorbed in his own thought that he did not notice the guy behind her. Echizen Ryoma.
He froze, and he did not become aware of the fist he was starting to make when he saw the hurt expression on her face. Not to mention that he also remembered what happened at the acquaintance party. He failed to save his last dance for Sakuno because she ran off somewhere. Although no one told him explicitly, he knew that she cried. The only reason he could think of was the guy next to her as of that moment.
Hiroshi saw as Sakuno looked at her to say "Later." However, the guy next to her took her wrist and started to lead her somewhere far away from where he could see him. He tried to follow them, but the girl who he adored smiled weakly at him, as if to say, "I'll catch up later."
He refused to look away from the two until they disappeared from his sight. He sighed heavily and went back to the room. The good mood he had after the meeting was somewhat doused by what he saw for not more than a minute.
I'll do my best to keep you from being hurt again, Sakuno.
~oOo~
A/N: My beta-reader also pointed out that she's getting worried about the RyoSaku theme of this story... I also realize that maybe I went overboard with Hiroshi's role, but maybe, just maybe… This is to balance things out. I hope you have noticed the hints (especially of what I've placed in the last part of this chapter) because Ryoma is acting upon the "problem" or "conflict" on the chapter I am still writing. Anyway, I have a lots of hints already, in fact from the first time that my OC appeared I had all the unobvious hints! But then it's unobvious so… keep reading and leaving me your views about this. Thank you everyone! Please me leave me a review, okay? Criticisms are most welcome; I think only from these types of comments only can an author improve his/her skills… ϋ Until next time, I'll "see" ya!