Alright, who's up for some long-awaited story time?
Really, really, long-awaited story time...
Some of the more diligent may have been replaying this scene in your minds:
-Readers strap up Tsubomi to giant Wheel O' Fortune. A few spins later, a not-so-fine Tsubomi appears rather ill.-
Tsubomi:BLaaaaAarGh... -swirly eyes-
I know I write really short chapters...and the characters are way OOC. I'm really sorry for my lack of great writer innovation.
Sakuno took a long, deep breath. After a long, awkward dinner with Ryoma and his father, she didn't know if she could do this. She summoned her wits about her once again.
She had been waiting to do this for a long time. She shouldn't be afraid. Ryoma's father had said to make herself at home, and this is what she did at home, wasn't it? She took a step closer, taking a peek around. Seeing that the coast was clear, she made a dash for her target, which seemed to glow with an ethereal aura. Checking around once again, she sat on the bench across from it, allowing herself a satisfied smile.
Oh yes. She had been waiting what seemed like forever to do this. Finally, it was within her reach...
In a few strides, she reached the downstairs computer and turned it on. With a few clicks, Sakuno arrived at the official site of the S.T.F.U. (acronym for Seigaku Tennis Fangirls United).
When she had first been introduced to the site by Tomoko, it had been a meager webpage with a few pictures. With the combined efforts of the S.T.F.U., they had made it into a technological haven, with a chic look, a fan base, and even a fanfiction archive. Because the S.T.F.U. was a fangirl unit that emphasized quiet admiration from afar, the fanfiction archive was hugely popular among its members. Although she was astonished at first, Sakuno found sort of a guilty pleasure in writing fanfiction, and even though she had little private time to devote to her writing, her works were praised among the ranks of the fiction.
Here she was Koneko-chan, her online codename. All hail. Sakuno grinned to herself.
She knew the process well, and she had her ideas for her chapter. Although she wasn't used to this type of writing at all, but she couldn't resist a challenge that had been a wanted experiment among many of the S.T.F.U. And hence, she was writing...
A yaoi fic. Her face burned. All it seemed she really had to do was substitute male for the female that she normally wrote. It still seemed like quite a difference. She usually did self-insertion. This was quite off the beaten path.
She gulped, glancing around once again. No need to worry. Ryoma and his dad were both in bed. It was midnight and there was no reason they wouldn't be. After this, she'd just delete all the history files.
Here goes nothing...
Her fingers began to move in a blur, forming her ideas into a romantic comedy fiction.
The first thing that had woken Ryoma up was the light. The infernal light that spread through the gap of his door like...like...well, at the moment he wasn't really in the mood for similes. He pulled open the door and peered toward the direction of the light, opening his mouth to curse whoever had brought forth the light.
He stopped in shock as he saw the dim outline of braided hair and heard the fierce clicking of keys. R-Ryuuzaki? He wondered what she was doing on the computer at this time. Watching her for a while, he noticed that the slightest creak would send her into a flurry of checking to see if anyone was around, in which he would quickly and quietly crouch to the ground. What was she doing?
Ryoma crept stealthily toward her, careful not to make a sound. He watched as, with a final flourish, she pressed some button on the page, then went to another page, looking appraisingly at it.
One step, two step. Hide. The pattern continued until he got near enough to read the title of the webpage:
RyoFuji--Cats and SwallowsYaoiRomanceby Koneko-chan.
What the hell?
In utter confusion, he stepped back rather noisily. Upon discovering she wasn't alone, Sakuno, reflexively pressing the x in the right hand corner of the screen, was flustered into letting out a series of incomprehensible, but nonetheless loud shrieks. But Ryoma could tell that there was worse to come.
If he knew anything about people's responses, it was when they knew that their territory had been infringed upon. There was both a wild fury in her eyes along with that nearly matched the horror that was pouring off of her. She had the look of a trapped dog about her.
His name came out more like an angry hiss than anything else. "Ryooooma..."
Amazing how even his own name enstilled a deep sense of terror when she spoke it like that. In the back of his mind, he remembered an old American saying.
"Hell hath no fury..."
A million thoughts crowded into Sakuno's head at the same time.
First and foremost, the expected "CRAP!!",accompanied by a rush of curses against herself and her stupidity, with a smattering of Ryoma curses as back-ups. And last but certainly not least was the conundrum of "what the heck am I going to say?!" that threw her sense of security out of the window and into a deep, deep ocean of ill-tidings.
"Well", "um", and "uh" seemed like the only words she was capable of saying besides the growls she was repressing. She tried to gather her thoughts into at least a half-organized mess. "So, you see..."
Ryoma's only response back was a scared "E-eh?".
The loud wrenching of a door from downstairs quieted both her and the now stuttering Ryoma. The exasperated yell of Nanjiroh sounded from below. "Ryoma, you noisy idiot, keep the noise down to a minimum, wouldya?" The sound of footsteps came as Nanjiroh shuffled slowly up the stairs.
Ryoma froze. He was between a rock and a hard place. Sakuno or his dad? If Nanjiroh found him out of bed, he prepared a list of chores for him to do. Long, torturous chores that would take all day and leave him exhausted and with no free time. But then there was Sakuno...he chanced a look at her, then let out a relieved sigh as he saw that her face reflected the same anxiety of getting caught.
The footsteps were getting nearer. Ryoma watched as Sakuno's face grew more and more worried.
Ryoma knew the drill. Mouthing "not a word", he quickly pressed the off buttons of the computer and pushed Sakuno under the computer desk, cramming himself alongside her. There was no time for embarrassment. They both held their breaths as Nanjiroh came into the room, mumbled something about "Ryoma" and "stupid tennis computer games" before he thudded slowly back downstairs.
Ryoma thanked his lucky stars that his father was near incoherent after his sleep was disturbed. He turned back to Sakuno, who although still angry, was significantly calmed down, but as soon as the calmness came, it was replaced by a pink blush that started spreading across her cheeks.
Ryoma turned quickly away from her. "So you're the infamous Koneko-chan, eh? I remember hearing a whole bunch of girls talk about you at a lot of the tennis matches."
Sakuno turned redder. So he'd seen. No way to avoid it. She slowly nodded.
"And you're writing yaoi? Never would have expected that from you," He laughed and she felt even more humiliated.
Sakuno turned a lovely shade of magenta, but she vowed to have at least a little dignity. "Hmmph. Th-There are rumors among girls, y-you know."
To her surprise, Ryoma became as indignant as she'd ever seen him. "I'm straight. I like girls. Girls, you hear me?"
A little relieved to see that he was now the one who was embarrassed, she felt a little eager to egg him on. "You've turned away most of the girls that have come your way." In her chest, she felt her heartbeat accelerate from their conversation and their closeness, trying and failing to rein in the soaring feeling. "And everyone says that words are just words." She kept repeating this, trying to convince herself and hoping that she might see the logicality.
"Y-Y-You..."
Looking back, Ryoma didn't know why he did it. Part of it was anger, part trying to uphold his pride, and something...something he couldn't really explain. In the confined space, he lowered his head slightly, relishing the unbelievably shocked expression on her face,how flushed her face was, how her eyes trained on his every move. He played off his instincts, wrapping an arm slowly around Sakuno's waist, grinning as she gasped loudly. Then, pushing himself, he closed in the gap and pressed his mouth against hers. A warmth like he'd never known spread through him. Forgetting himself, he gripped her even tighter and worked his lips faster, satisfied by the low, throaty sound she made.
Then he remembered himself and pulled away. He kept his breathing slow as he smirked at the still-panting Sakuno, then whispered snarkily, "Proof enough?"
"S-s-so," Sakuno breathed heavily, building up her courage even though she could hardly speak a word without shaking. She had to know. Had to. "Does-does that mean...you...like--" she gathered all her bravery into the final word "--me?"
Ryoma looked over her quickly, and Sakuno noticed for the first time that he was pink, too. There was a mutter, soft but clear. "Maybe." He still gripped her in his arms.
A surge of joy. Sakuno laughed shakily. "Ryoma, you need to work on more definite answers."
School's a nightmare. Freakin' AP classes. I know for a fact I failed this one English essay, and I forgot to do the back of a worksheet to this one Chemistry thing...Grr...I also suck at speaking Spanish, and I'm surrounded by fluent Spanish speakers in my class, so that makes me feel like even more of an idiot than I already do. The light of my school days is my Japanese class, which is actually a blast, although half the class is in there unwillingly and the other is freakish-omigosh-otaku-fwahaha-boing-boing-boing people.
My so-called 'friends' aren't really my friends. I feel more of a connection with my readers because of our common interests than I do with them. I'd give my 'friends' a chance if they give me a chance, but they all orbit around someone else, and I was never a person that was good with people. I tried. Seriously. I was going through this really weird emo-ish period for a while, then tried to look on the bright side, but it is really hard for me.
Yup, yup. Comments on story? My intriguing personal life? I'd really actually like to communicate with you.
This was the ever-dreaded kissing chapter (since I have no idea at all how to write a decent kissing scene...or how to lead up to one). Story wise, I think that I'll be ending it next chapter--an epilogue! I hope you enjoy my story.
I probably won't ever correct the grammar mistakes in here because I just kind of glance without reading my writing. As a grammar freak, I understand your agony, but this first fiction of mine has been something I've wallowed through with a lot of struggling.
Maybe someday...
Over the rainbow..bluebirds fly...and I forgot the rest of the song...