Hi there! MitsukiJunko's back. Well… I don't know what to say for the meantime so… enjoy the story for a while.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.
johanna – tee hee hee… Di gusto ni Ryoma ang nangyari. Well… tingnan u na lang sa susunod nakabanata… ^_^
Chapter 14: Right by Your Side
Chapter Summary: After the storm there was the calm. Would it be forever? Find that out.
'The flower that rippled on the water's surface falls,
Fleetingly and therefore violently.
Time
I always wanted to protect you,
I don't want to leave here now
Right by your side
Still
I can hear your voice calling out for me.
I don't want to leave here now
I'll be right by your side
For the rest of my life…'
(I want to be with you, my everlasting love)
~ Yuki Kaida (Fuji Syuusuke)– Right by Your Side ~
"Let's go."
She looked at him when he said that. It was Friday afternoon and everything was done for that day. She had finished her training and there was no practice recital that day. Tomorrow would be the trial for the regulars and on Sunday would be her recital. She would be very busy this weekend to her surprise. But she wouldn't mind it.
"We're going somewhere."
She blinked her eyes twice as she followed him. Without asking any more questions, they went somewhere. They boarded the train and went to Tokyo city. She noticed that they were entering a large mall, not taking it any longer, she asked the guy, "W-what are we… doing here?" She was not sure if he would answer her so she was not expecting at all.
"I decided to buy you clothes."
"E-eh?!" She was shocked when she heard that from him. Flailing her hands in front of him, she honestly replied, "I-ie… it's okay—you don't need to-"
"It's for your recital the day after tomorrow and some house dress too." He cut her.
"B-but-"
"No buts, I already decided," He looked at her and instantly grabbed her hand, "Let's go."
It was really unexpected of him to answer her question and now, she couldn't believe that he was buying her new clothes. Blush appeared on her face as they continued walking inside the mall.
"Kyaa! It's Echizen Ryoma!"
Both of them flinched when they heard someone shout. Then a bunch of girls and some boys approached them.
"Shimatta," He whispered as he saw them approaching to their location, "Why did I forget disguising myself?" With that he gripped his hold at her and started pulling her away, "Let's scram!"
Another shock came to her as they started to run. She couldn't find her words as she was dragged by him to escape the crowd. They quickly entered a store where few people could be seen. He was a fast runner and her being dragged by him was really tiring. She put her hands on her knees as soon as he let go of her and was trying to catch her breath.
"Che," He pinned his hat down, "I need a disguise too."
She looked at him who was starting to look at the clothes inside. Good thing that they entered a clothing store which was suitable for men's wear, "G-gomenasai."
Ryoma looked at her and frowned, "Why are you apologizing?"
"B-because… if it wasn't for this…" She fidgeted with her fingers and continued, "You wouldn't have to disguise yourself."
"It's fine, I told you and it's pretty normal for me," He said checking at the clothes on a rack. He chose a simple get up and looked at her, "Wait here. I'll go get change."
She simply nodded. Then she looked around her. There were few people who seemed to be looking for Ryoma and good thing that they couldn't recognize her as his companion when they ran together. There were times that they looked at her direction and received no response from them. Being a nobody could be nice too as she thought.
She looked further the store and then her eyes caught at something. From a distant rack, there were different ornaments being displayed just in front of the glass window. There were beautiful and nice but the one that caught her eye was a silver box. Being hypnotized by it, she slowly walked closer to the box and stared at it. The box had glitters when you carefully stared at it. The box had a unique shape. If it isn't for the dimension, it would shape like a prism crystal. Out of curiosity, she held it and felt a little opening. She turned it around and saw a small handle;
This is beautiful. I wonder what it is. She thought as decided to open it. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. The moment she opened it, there was a pink ballerina inside that started to dance around on a magnetic-mirrored floor and it was embraced by a beautiful music that started to play.
It was actually a music box.
The lid that she opened was actually a mirror itself. It reflected the ballerina's moves. She smiled as she listened to the music. It was beautiful to her ears and she wanted to listen to the music for a couple of times.
"H-how much is this?" She asked a saleslady when she walked near her. The saleslady smiled at her and explained;
"I am sorry ma'am but that's only for a display. It's not for sale."
"Oh…" She felt disappointed when she said that, "I see. Thank you anyway."
"Sakuno."
Both girls looked at her caller. Ryoma appeared in a different outfit now, with a men's jean and a gray hoody shirt. They blushed at the same time when they saw him.
"What are you doing there? Let's go."
"H-hai!" With that she returned the music box on the display rack and looked at the saleslady, "Thank you again." She smiled and then ran to him. She bowed at him and then walked to the exit. She didn't know that Ryoma looked at the previous location she was standing and stared at it for a moment before following her outside.
They looked for the clothes that she was about to wear at her recital. She tried every clothes and bought that suited her. Once again, she tried reasoning out to him but Ryoma just ignored her. She also insisted that one dress was enough for her but the guy kept buying her clothes. Blush dawned at her as she tried every dress in a store. In the end, they were able to buy three sets of dress and three pieces of house dresses.
Saturday morning:
"Na Echizen, isn't today's trial for the girls to become a regular?" Momo asked him.
"Un."
"Why don't we watch it?" Kachiro suggested.
"No."
"Come on, Echizen. Let's see Sakuno-chan play." Momo said once again.
"Yadda."
"Aren't you curious about the result? What if she was struggling?" Momo convinced him again.
"Y-yeah, buchou, let's see the girls play." Katsuo said this time and then followed by the two junior players.
Ryoma thought about it and then decided to stand up and walked away;
"Okay."
The regulars rejoiced when he said that but he was not finished yet. He turned to his shoulder and looked at them;
"…Until you finish 50 laps." He continued to walk away after he said that.
"What?!" they said in unison.
"Echizen, you-" Momo fisted his right hand and raised it in front of him.
"Momo-chan-senpai, I guess we should follow him or else he would raise our laps." Kachiro stopped him.
Momo sighed as he calmed himself, "Alright, let's finish our laps and then let's follow our captain."
"Hai!" They all said in unison. They started running laps so that they could go and see the girls play later. Sumire watched them and smiled. She thought of giving them a break for a while. Besides, she too wanted to see Sakuno play for her team.
At the Girls Tennis court;
His eyes widened when he saw the results of the board. He looked for her name and found it. She had won the first match with the score of 6-2 but the second match wasn't finished yet so he decided to go and look for her. He didn't search for long, he saw her currently competing.
Sakuno was on her sixth game in her opponent's favor.
"I-It's Ryoma-sama!"
Ryoma heard their call but he ignored them. His eyes were focused on the court where she was playing. Sakuno's opponent spotted him as well much to his irritation;
"Konnichiwa Ryoma-san!" She bowed and waved afterwards.
Sakuno looked at his direction as well and he saw how she blushed when she saw him standing there. Ryoma just nodded and pinned his hat down. There were some girls approaching him to ask for his autograph. At first they let him but afterwards the coach of the girl's team stopped them or they would force to leave the court without watching the game at all.
The game continued and Sakuno tied the game. He smirked, "Yarujan." He whispered. Some girls who were near him heard what he said. They began whispering and murmuring at his praises. What's up with these girls? He secretly thought as he continued watching the game.
The boys' regulars approached the court afterwards, "Echizen, what's the score now?" Momo asked him when they reached his location.
"3 games all."
"Wow… this is a tough fight. Naruse-san is having a hard time." Kachiro observed the game. Sakuno scored a point from her opponent's service.
"Saya Hirano, class 3-2. Good at academic subjects," The data analyzer suddenly blurted out her information, "Tennis skills; right-handed and double-handed back swing."
"I-inui-senpai!" Momo was shocked to him beside them, "S-since when did you arrive here?"
The data analysis pushed his glasses to his nose, "I've been here since the start of the game."
They narrowed their eyes, "Really… you are so sneaky." Horio said this time.
"Fssh!"
The crowd created a commotion especially when they saw what happened on the court. His eyes widened when he witnessed that. Sakuno was being hit by a ball on her shoulder and she was holding it now.
"Naruse-san!" The trio shouted at the same time.
"Are you alright?" The umpire went down and checked up on her.
Sakuno smiled at her and said, "H-hai… I am fine. This is nothing." She warmed up her arm as she moved it in circular motion.
"Hirano's backhand swing is powerful," Inui said writing some information in his notebook, "She is known as a monster for backhand swings."
"E-eh?!" Katsuo said this time, "What a name that is!"
"You are lucky if you can hit it back with a powerful force but it will be a different story if you are being hit physically."
"You mean…" Momo cut, "Sakuno-chan is having a hard time."
"Let's just hope that she can endure another blow."
They looked at the game afterwards. Ryoma remained silent as he listened to the information. He stared at Sakuno's countenance. She had this determination to win the match despite her condition that she was in right now. Unfortunately, she was being hit again to her shoulder… almost at the same spot.
"I—I am fine. I can still play." She stopped the umpire who was about to walk down her seat. The umpire gave her an anticipating look and announced the score;
"Fault! Point goes to Naruse! Four games to three! Naruse!"
"Can she make it?" Momo held onto the fence and gripped hard, "She needs to win two more games to win the match."
"Naruse-san…" Kachiro said with concern on his voice.
"She can make it."
They looked at the last person who spoke.
"She'd been through a lot. This is nothing to her."
They remained silent after he said that. Later on, Momo jumped on him by placing an arm around his shoulder;
"Sugoi Echizen! You sure trust her tennis skills, huh?" He teased, "So young, so young."
Ryoma tried to free himself from him, "Senpai—let go! I'll tell you to run laps again!"
Momo wasn't frightened about his threat so he didn't try to let go. After some time, the game had its tough moment until it came to an end.
"Six games to four! Game and match! Naruse Sakuno!"
The crowd rejoiced after they announced the winner. The boy's tennis club was happy for the result as well. She was being congratulated by her teammates and the coached wished her luck for the final game.
"She's really great. Echizen was right," Horio said, "She'd won the match."
"One more match and she could be a regular to her team." Katsuo commented.
"Yeah." The others nodded.
"Fsssh."
"Ah, Mamushi, you are here?" Momo said.
"Don't start it, moron," Kaidoh hissed at him.
"Who are you calling moron?" He stepped forward to him.
Kaidoh faced him, "You are moron, moron!"
The two fought as usual and the others tried to stop them. For goodness sake, they were fighting at a different court but Ryoma still ignored them. He stared at the girl who was fixing her things and was ready to leave the court.
xxx
That was a tough fight. I wasn't expecting that I could win from her. She thought as she walked to the fountain and washed her face there. The way she moved her arms were quite painful so she yelped in pain. She bit her lower lip. That was so reckless of me to be hit twice at the same spot. Will I be able to make it to the final game?
"That was a nice game."
She looked at the person behind her and blushed a little, "R-ryoma-kun."
"But that went too far."
Facing him completely, she looked down while holding her arm, "Gomenasai…"
Ryoma walked closer to her and gently grabbed her hand as possible. She was shocked when he did that;
"A-anou…" She tried speaking but the guy had lifted her sleeve and saw the dark bruise to her shoulder. She winked at the pain that registered to her arm.
"I knew that it would come to this," Ryoma said as he let go and grabbed her own towel from her. He placed it to the running water before rinsing and applying it to her bruise, "You need to see Tezuka-buchou after this."
"H-hai," She said looking away. He was really closed to her that she was blushing really hard, "I—I'll play for the final game."
She knew that he was looking at her so she stayed looking on the ground.
"Then give it your best shot."
Surprise at his words, she looked at him. She thought that he was going to stop her and rest but it was the other way around. He let go of her shoulder but he grabbed her hand again and placed it to her shoulder instead.
"Be a regular in this team," He gave her a smirk of motivation, "I'll be supporting you."
She smiled at him and said, "H-hai. I'll give my best."
Later on:
The final match started between her and the Vice captain of the girls tennis team. It was going to be a tough game.
"Let's play to the end okay, Naruse-san." She said.
"H-hai." She bowed. She studied her opponent. This is the girls' tennis Vice captain, Mika Kawashima. She's good at studying her opponent's moves and hits. This is going to be an exciting game.
"One set match, Kawashima to serve!" The umpire said.
The first game started. Everyone looked at the game and was really shocked at the outcome of the first game. Mika's service ace was actually a love game. Sakuno couldn't believe it as well. The serve that she was doing the entire game was fast and almost invisible to her naked eye. That was why she couldn't see them. The first game ended fast and now it was her turn to serve. She hit her first serve but it was returned to her court without hitting it back to her side.
"Love-fifteen!"
"Man, it's already at the second game but Naruse-san is at disadvantage." Horio said pulling his own hair.
"Quiet Horio, the game has just started." Momo scolded his junior.
"But it's really hard; Kawashima-senpai is really a great tennis player." Kachiro said.
"Her skill is like a speed of light," Kaidoh observed, "Her shots are almost invisible to her opponent's eyes. If your eye vision is beyond normal then it's possible for a person to see it."
"I hate to admit it but Mamushi's right," Momo said agreeing to him, "She has quick reflections as well.
"Love-thirty!"
"She is losing her service game." Kachiro commented.
Ryoma just looked at the game. Sakuno was having a hard time. The second game ended swiftly.
"Two games to love! Kawashima!" The umpire announced.
She breathed really hard as she stared at her opponent. She's really fast. I couldn't see her shots. Mika served once again and followed it with her eyes.
"Fifteen-love!"
Huh?!
Mika served again.
"Thirty-love!"
"What is she doing?" Horio said.
T-that is…
Ryoma noticed it too but he remained quiet.
The Vice captain served again. Sakuno closed her eyes this time.
"Why is she closing her eyes?" Katsuo asked no one.
"Look!" Kachiro pointed.
"Forthy-love!"
"Is she giving up now?" Momo said this time.
…
"…"
Mika served again for her triple match point. And that went fast. Everyone blinked an eye. It took seconds for the umpire to announce the score.
"F-forty-fifteen!"
"That's great! A return ace!" Momo said this time.
Ryoma smirked this time, "Hmmm not bad."
"Sakuno-san returned the ace by simply following the direction of the ball with her eyes close," Inui said and started writing new data in his notebook, "That was a hard returned ace."
"The disappearance of the ball was just temporary," Ryoma started, "She found its weakness by simply following the direction of the ball."
"What do you mean?" Horio asked him.
"The ball can't be seen by the person's naked eye but it's just only to trick your eye," He said, "You will think that it really disappears but the truth is it never disappeared at all."
"How's that possible?" Katsuo said.
"Let me explain," Inui said, "Mika is using the opposite movement of a shooting star."
"Opposite movement…" Katsuo repeated.
"…of a shooting star?" Kachiro continued.
Inui nodded, "As we all know. Shooting stars appear immediately and disappear immediately as well. We can see the length despite that it's really fast. No matter how fast a shooting star appears in the sky we can still see it if you take notice. But what Mika did in her game was the complete opposite. She uses the both ends to appear instead of the distance it could travel."
"So… Sakuno-san could see the end as it passed her?" Momo said.
"Un," Ryoma nodded, "That's the reason why she closed her eyes, to reverse her sight."
"With her eyes closed, she could see the real shooting star that we couldn't see at daylight." Inui said.
"Sugoi. Naruse-san is really amazing." Katsuo said.
In the end Sakuno won the third game after the second deuce. The game continued but Sakuno was still in disadvantage for she couldn't close her eyes all the time. Mika noticed this and tried another tactic. Soon after the match was close to end;
"Five games to three! Kawashima!"
"It's Kawashima's serve again," Momo said as he stared at the girl who was serving for the game, "Sakuno-chan is having a hard time."
"Gomen, Naruse-san but I will end it in this game." Kawashima said as she stared at her.
Sakuno was breathing hard but she couldn't reply to her words. Aside from being tired and breathless her arm was weighing her down. It was still painful especially when she hit a powerful serve and shot. She positioned herself so that she could prepare for her serve.
It went really fast… like the speed of light. Her shooting star skill was pretty amazing even though it didn't work on her. But since she was at disadvantage because of her arm it was difficult to move around resulting for the game to end.
"Six games to three! Game, set, match! Mika Kawashima!" The umpire announced.
Sakuno sighed as she heard the winner. She lost but she didn't regret it. She was a bit sad but it was a wonderful game. Walking to the net, she shook hands with her opponent;
"That was a nice game." Mika said to her.
She smiled, "H-hai… thank you very much, Kawashima-senpai."
"Is your arm okay?" She asked.
"Hn… i-it's okay. It's a bit tired though."
"You better go the clinic," Mika said and turned around but then looked at her shoulder, "Oh, and good luck, you'll be a good regular as I see your own potential."
"E-eh?"
She smiled and turned again; waving her hands, "See you at practice on Monday."
She was shocked when she heard that. Thinking what Mika said, she walked to her things and went out of the court.
"That was a nice game!"
"M-momo-senpai!" Sakuno was shocked at his appearance, "But I didn't win."
"Nah, that's okay. Besides," He said, "If you practice a lot in the future, you can become a regular. If they see your determination maybe they'll consider you to become one."
"R-really?"
"Un," Ryoma looked at her, "You did great there."
She gave them a nice and warm smile, "H-hai… arigatou."
xxx
Ryoma escorted her to the clinic afterwards. Tezuka had given her some tips and reminders about her new wound. She could see his veins being popped up on his head making her sweat drop. They exited the clinic after she bowed at the doctor.
"Sakuno-san!"
She looked at her caller. She saw the trio running to their location, "H-horio-kun, doushita no?
The trio gasped first before looking at her, "The—the trial… the board…"
"T-the trial? Board? W-what do you mean?"
Horio leaned at her, "Just look at the board now!"
Blinking her eyes twice, she also blushed because of his closeness. Ryoma pulled his collar neck at his back and retorted;
"That's enough. Let's go back to the court." Ryoma said before letting him go.
xxx
Her eyes widened when she read the notice. She couldn't believe it. Tomoka was also in front of the board and read the news as well. Due to happiness, she jumped on her and rejoiced;
"Sugoi! Sakuno! You made it!" She shouted while holding her, "You made to the regulars!"
"I… I did it?" She still couldn't believe what she was seeing right now.
"You really did it, Naruse."
They looked at the person who talked last. Sakuno acknowledged their team captain, "T-Taiya-buchou."
"Welcome to the team." The Captain of the girl's tennis team smiled.
"B-but I didn't win."
"Naruse," She walked closer to her and continued, "Choosing a regular player doesn't come up whether you win or not. It's the skill and determination that we are looking for. I know that you will become a good regular member to our team."
She stared at her and then smiled, "H-hai… arigatou."
"Look, Saya Hirano, the girl that you defeated also become a regular too," Horio announced, "See, I knew you could make it."
"You didn't say anything at all, you stupid." Tomoka whispered but Horio heard her.
"What did you say? You-" As usual they started bickering in front of them. Sakuno sweat dropped as she was beginning to get used of the sight while the others just ignored them.
"Oh right, my sister told me that you can rest today. Just be prepared for your recital tomorrow morning."
She looked at her captain, "E-eh?"
"Ah… you don't know yet. I am Riku's older sister, Taiya Keiko."
Everyone was shocked when the captain said that.
"Y-you're surname… that's why." Sakuno realized after that making Keiko laugh.
"Well, just follow my sister and rest for today, okay."
She smiled at her and then to everyone, "H-hai… arigatou guzaimasu minna-san." After that the new set of regulars joined in and after a short assembly, they were sent home.
Echizen's house:
They decided to retire early so that she could rest. Ryoma had insisted to do that so she politely obliged. After she washed the dishes and fed Karupin, she went to the sofa and was ready to sleep. But she was shocked when Ryoma grabbed her wrist that made her look up at him.
"Sleep in the guest room from now on."
Her eyes widened when he said that, "B-but I-" she cut when Ryoma pulled her up and guided her to the guest room, "A-anou—R-ryoma-kun!"
She hadn't had the chance to convey her thoughts when he gently pushed her to sit down on the bed not breaking his stare at her;
"Sleep here."
"B-but why?" She couldn't help but asked.
Ryoma sighed as he looked at her, "Are you still thinking that you are my slave?"
With that question, she blushed and nodded immediately. She couldn't look at him now. Ryoma didn't say anything as he decided to stay quiet as well. Her eyes widened when she felt his lips touched her head. He was kissing her on her head making her blush on the process.
"You never became my slave from the start," He said as he distanced himself from her head, "I'd just let you do those chores so that you can make yourself comfortable around me."
She slowly looked up at him while still blushing, "T-then… w-why am I here?"
"To save you from the darkness you are in."
She stared at him with a shock reaction on her face. Ryoma continued;
"I promised you, didn't I?" He said looking at her, "I made you believe that you are my slave because I knew that you wouldn't come here with me."
"W-why are you telling me this now?" Sakuno asked him, "I—I am not sure if y-you could save me after this month."
"I'll make you then," He said grabbing both of her hands making her flinch, "I'll have two weeks to make you stronger."
"I…"
"For now, you need to know what to do," He said, still focusing in her eyes, "I'll be right by your side… when you do."
"Ryoma-kun." She blushed really hard.
"You need to fight back, you need to show them that you are strong," He looked away after he said that, "You need to tell him that he's wrong… you have to do that if you…"
She waited for his next words but he didn't continue. Thinking hard, maybe he was right. Staying with him might be a good idea. With that she would learn how to stand for herself and maybe she would make Kaito see all of her efforts and hardships. Definitely, he would see her.
"But…"
She looked at him and now he was smirking as he continued;
"If you are still thinking that you are my slave, we can still continue where we left of."
Blush appeared on her face as she started to panic. She couldn't find the words to say that she ended up stuttering. Because of her reactions, he started to laugh;
"Just kidding," He said as he started to straighten up and walked to the door. She didn't see his reaction now that she was facing his back now, "I can't do things like that when you are preoccupied of someone."
Her eyes were focused on him. He waved at her before closing the door between them, not until leaving a single word;
"Oyasumi."
She remained silent as she stared at the closed door. Her blush was still present on her face. Ryoma was really kind. Even though she was stupid in front of him, he still accepted her and her flaws. He knew everything about her aside from her secret pasts. But still, He accepted her. Unconsciously, she touched her head that he kissed and whispered back at the door;
"Oyasumi…nasai…"
Done! Whew! This was hard to do… How was this chapter? What about the moves here? The disappearing shooting star? I am not sure about the name? Have you heard of it? Don't know and kinda forgot if I ever did. The match scenes were only my sudden thoughts as I wrote them on the spot so sorry if I made a mistake there.
Sayaa Hirano, Mika Kawashima and Taiya Reiko are just figments of my imagination. They are not affiliated in any anime or so. I never planned on making OC characters but I just cannot help it. So there.
The music box played 'Lacie' an instrumental music from Pandora Hearts that came from Oz' pocket watch but soon to be revealed a music for Lacie herself… being played on a piano.
Review please! I wanted to hear from you. Let me know please… thank you very much…
Do you know the manga of Mayu Shinjo called Ai Ore? Well, guess what, I found the manga and was very excited to have a copy of it. I already read it online but having a copy is still different. Tee hee hee, I just couldn't stop giggling and smiling when I saw those kisses and mushy mushy scenes between the lovers. I am so in love with Akira Shiraishi… maybe I can have Ryoma his attitude maybe a little… if you know Akira's personality that is. I even fell asleep while hugging the manga… (Sorry Ryoma plushy don't be jealous, I'll just hug the both of you instead. Tee hee hee) Now I am thrilled and inspired because of that. ^_^
I do not own the music of Yuki Kaida and Pandora Hearts' Lacie and never will. Just love sharing them.
Next Chapter: Innate Mind