Hey everyone! I'm sorry for a super late update. Anyways, I changed the ending of chapter 19 so please read it again. I also change Ryoko's NEW but TEMPORARY attitude I hope you'll like it.
~~Start of Chapter~~
Chapter 20 - The Change
"Ryoko? Are you okay?", Fuji asked.
Ryoko blushed. She shyly looked at Fuji, then looked down.
"Ryoko?", Fuji called again, then he slowly lifted his hand towards Ryoko's shoulder. And upon the slightest touch of him, Ryoko hastily stood up and leaped away from Fuji, with her heart thumping so hardly, and her face so beet red.
"I-I'm okay Fuji-s-senpai. S-sorry if I m-made you worry..," she answered with a shaky, but gentle voice. She looked at the opposition of Fuji's direction. She clutched her chest.
"Ryoko-chan?", everyone was surprised by her sudden change of actions and her weird attitude.
"Ryo...ko?", Fuji was puzzled as well. Ryoko reacted weirdly just by hearing Fuji's voice.
"W-what is it, F-fuji-senpai?", she asked. Everyone was more confused.
"Did I do something wrong? Why do you act so...weirdly?" the prodigy asked.
"H-huh, I-I act so weirdly? I-Is he starting to k-know my f-feelings to him? D-does h-he hate me b-because I-I act weird?", she thought negatively, with fear, a tear started to roll down her cheek.
"R-Ryoko-chan?", people started to panic, seeing Ryoko crying. Fuji was surprised.
"Ryoko-chan are you okay? What's wrong?", Eiji neared Ryoko and placed his arm on her shoulders. "Oi Fuji what did you do to Ryoko-chan?" he furiously asked. Everybody crowded her, except Tezuka, who just inched a bit, and Inui who was acting suspiciously.
"R-Ryoko?", Fuji asked, as he inched a bit. Ryoko sobbed.
"Ryoko-chan's acting so weirdly, what could've happened to her?" was the question in the senpais minds.
"Oi Fuji-senpai what did you do to her?", Momo asked. He neared Fuji with a furious look.
"Are you the one at fault in this incident, Fuji-senpai? Fuushuu..," Kaido followed Momo.
Everyone, except Tezuka who was just observing, Inui, and Oishi who's trying his very best to cheer Ryoko up, followed the rivals. They surrounded the poor Fuji with looks as if they're gonna eat him alive.
"Gomen, Fuji senpai, but I can't forgive someone who makes Ryoko-chan cry," Momo said as he clenched his fists, so do the others.
"E-Eh? B-but I did not do anything?", Fuji insisted.
"Stop lying, Fuji," Kawamura said. Altogether, they inched towards the 'culprit'. There was no escape.
Ryoko hastily wiped her tears and went inside the circle and stood in front of Fuji, facing the furious guys and spread her arms, defending Fuji.
"S-Stop! D-don't hurt Fuji-senpai o-or else...I-I'll be against you all," she innocently threatened them. Fuji was shocked, so as the others.
Silence.
"EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", the others reacted.
"Is this serious?", Momo cried.
"Ryoko-chan...", Eiji bursted into tears.
Tezuka was surprised too. He looked at the girl.
"Shhh...This can't be...real," Kaidoh doubted.
"What happened to her?", Kawamura worriedly wondered. The circle was dismantled.
"Dammit. I failed," Inui, who was just at a corner thought.
Everybody froze. They never thought she'd say that. I mean, why would she defend Fuji so bravely? Ryoko stared at the frozen guys. She blushed as she glanced at her admired one.
"This is bad," Inui thought as he tapped his forehead.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAHH!", they all cried, except Fuji and Tezuka, obviously. After their loud cry, they glared at Inui, making the data-freak guy insecured.
"Huh...," Inui reacted.
"I-N-U-I!", they bellowed.
"Gulp!", Inui started to run for his life.
The senpais began chasing him. They chased and chased as if Inui was their just run at his full speed to save his life.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO RYOKO-CHAN?", they bellowed, still chasing him.
"I...I...did not do anything!", Inui lied.
"LIAR!", they accused him.
"Just say the truth!", Eiji stated.
"Inui-senpai!", Kaidoh said in an angry tone.
"I...I...", Inui speeched.
Ryoko put her hands down.
"A-anou, F-Fuji-sama, w-what are they talking about?", she inched a bit towards Fuji, who was speechless that time, looking down, blushing. It was obvious she was shy.
And when the prodigy came back to his senses, he looked at her with his eyes fully opened. He gave her his angelic smile.
"Hmmm, they want to know what Inui did to you," he answered honestly.
"W-what he did to me?", she became confused. "B-but nothing's wrong with me. I-I'm perfectly fine," she insisted.
Fuji pouted. He knew something was really wrong on her. "You see, something changed in you," he explained the situation insufficiently.
"Huh?", she wondered.
"Ryoko," Tezuka looked at her worriedly.
"I-N-U-I-S-E-N-P-A-I!", the furioused senpais bellowed in anger. They were still in their dog-and-cat act.
"I...I," Inui started.
"YOU WHAT?"
"I...I.."
"HURRY UP OR WE"LL KILL YOU!"
"Ok fine! I'll tell you everything!", Inui stopped running, so as the others. The data-freak guy breathed hard, catching his breath. The senpais did the same too. And when they had enough, they glared at each other.
"Shhh, now tell us what you did," Kaidoh asked furiously.
Silence descended. Inui looked down. And then, he fell on his knees which had caught everybody as in everybody's attention. He shivered in horror. He covered his face with his both hands in shame. He was really pitiful if you look at him. But that did not touch his fellow senpais.
"I...," he began.
"A-anou. F-Fuji-senpai, w-what are they doing to Inui-senpai? I-Inui-senpai's so pitiful," Ryoko stated as she stared at the senpais, with her head down. She secretly stared at Fuji.
"Hn," Fuji stared at the senpai as well.
"Hurry up, senpai!", Momo impatiently complained.
Silence.
"I...I made a potion last night," Inui at last began to explain.
"A potion?", Eiji and the rest were puzzled.
"A potion?", Tezuka thought the same too.
"Yeah. I made a potion. In fact it was a love potion,"
"A LOVE WHAT?", everybody reacted. Some reacted loudly, while some silently.
"Yes, a love potion. Everything was planned. I planned them very carefully. But it still did falter. The love potion will be effective once consumed..." Inui explained further.
...
...
...
Everyone began to think.
"Ahh! The Ponta!", Eiji guessed.
"Huh? The Ponta?" is the question on their minds.
"Yes. It is used to make one fall in love with you. With its incredible use, I tried to make one for...you-know-who," Inui tried to not mention any name because if he does, he's sure Ryoko will get angry at him when she recovers.
"You mean-" Kawamura tried to guess.
"Shhh!" Inui hushed.
"You sly," Momo said.
"I put some potion to the drink so that the potion will be consumed by...you-know-who...without any suspicion. She did consumed it, so I was happy. I thought this will be the greatest day ever because at last she'll fall for me, but ...", Inui stopped.
...
...
...
...
"BUT WHAT?", curiosity rained.
"The person who consumed it will fall in love to the person he/she will see first. But it happened to be Fuji," he was saddened.
SILENCE.
"A-anou, Fuji-sama, what a-are they talking about?", Ryoko asked the tensai.
Fuji heard her. He faced the poor girl and intended to tell her the whole truth.
"Ryoko-chan," he knelt with his right knee before her and placed both of his hands on Ryoko's shoulders, making Ryoko blush even more. He smiled.
"F-Fuji-senpai," she thought as she tried to look away so that Fuji wouldn't see her red face. Inui saw them.
"You con-" Fuji started and was interrupted.
"FFFUUUJJJIII!", Inui stopped the tensai. He panicked as he approached the prodigy as fast as he can to cover up the crime he did. Upon arrival, he covered Fuji's mouth.
"Inui!", the others called.
"Please don't tell her if you don't want me to suffer!", Inui whispered at the prodigy's ear. "She'll get mad at me and I'll die if that happens!" he panicked.
Fuji just gulped. He doesn't know what he'll do - whether he'll say the truth to Ryoko or to save his friend. Confusion overpowered him.
"Fuji, I beg you...please?", Inui begged further, with his hand still covering the prodigy's mouth.
"But,"
"Please?"
"Hm.." the tensai said. He held Inui's wrist and moved it to uncover his hand. He looked at Ryoko. Inui shivered.
"It's just about Inui's experiment. Don't mind them," he said.
Momo and the others looked at Fuji with eyebrows raised.
"Oi, Fuji," Momo called as he grabbed the prodigy far from Ryoko.
"Why did you lie to her?", Momo whispered. He held Fuji closer so that no one could hear.
"I did not lie to her. I just said it's just Inui's experiment and don't mind them. Is that lying?", he answered.
"Ok fine. Why did you not tell her the truth? that she is under a sort of spell that made her act so strangely?" Momo rephrased his question.
Fuji gave off a sigh and answered, "It's because Inui begged for it. He said if I'll tell her the truth, she might get angry to him and that will kill him. I know it is wrong, but he did beg for it."
Momo was surprise and was upset. He wanted Ryoko to know what happened to her so badly not because he wanted to truth to unfold, but because he was jealous seeing Ryoko 'in love' with his senpai who happened to be Fuji. If it happened to be himself, he would not want Ryoko to go back to normal. Let's just say...he wants Ryoko to go crazy for him as well as he's crazy for her. It's just a matter of selfishness.
"But it's so wrong! Y-you are intelligent Fuji-senpai but your choice is wrong!", he tried to make Fuji change his mind. His voice was loud enough for the others to hear.
"Oi, oi, Momo what are you two talking about?", Eiji asked, who was far from them. The others looked at the two.
Momo neared the other senpais and told them the situation, trying to persuade them to agree on his opinion - telling the truth to Ryoko.
"EH?", they reacted. After some moments, his plan succeeded. All of the other senpais (except Inui of course) agreed on Momo.
"Fuji, we should tell the truth to the poor girl. I know you were just forced to keep the truth because Inui begged you, but remember this will just teach him a lesson," Oishi convinced the prodigy.
"That's right. Fuji, Inui might do this again if he won't be punished!" Kawamura added.
"Fuuushuuu! Althought he's our friend, it will never be the reason for us to always defend him even if he's wrong. We sometimes should break the chain," Kaidoh stated.
"You heard that Fuji-senpai? They meant what I meant. They want the truth to unfold," Momo said.
"Hn," Fuji hummed as he absorbed all they have said. "Is that so?" he asked.
"Yes, Fuji-senpai. Please do," Momo said.
"Ok," Fuji did not think anymore. He walked towards Ryoko as well as the others. Their move was easily understood by the culprit - Inui. He started to panick. He did not know what to do. The prodigy and his company stood in front of Ryoko making her wonder.
"A-anou, w-what's the matter?", she asked with confusion.
Silence. Fuji then broke it.
"Ryoko-chan, there's something y-", his statement was interrupted by a loud scream.
"NO!", Inui dashed towards him but was stopped when the others grabbed his both arms and held it tightly.
"Fuji, NO!", he cried.
"Inui-senpai, this is for RYOKO's sake," Eiji told him.
"No, please no!", he begged.
He begged and begged, but this time, Fuji was not moved. He was about to tell Ryoko when he was again interrupted by the ringing of the school bell.
"Dammit!", Momo thought. "Say it already!", he said.
"Y-you wanna s-say something Fuji-senpai? W-What is it?", Ryoko asked. Fuji looked at her in the eye.
"Okay. Ryoko you-," the prodigy was again interrupted.
"Ryoko! Ah! There you are! We were looking for you minutes ago," Tomo, who was with Sakuno, said as they run towards her as if they were in a hurry.
Ryoko looked at them as well as the others. Upon Tomo's arrival, she hastily grabbed her arm and dragged her away.
"A-anou, w-what is it, T-Tomo-chan?", Ryoko asked as they snatched her away.
"Ryoko," Fuji reacted.
"We need to plan our report," Tomo said quickly.
"Oi! Where are you going?", Momo asked.
"Gomen, Momo-senpai! Something came up! Gomen!", Sakuno apologized as they flee away.
"Dammit! Why now?", Momo cursed as Inui sighed in relief.
"A-anou, I made the visual aids already," Ryoko responded to Tomo, who was really worried for their report.
"Thank goodness!", Tomo cheered.
"Tomo forgot to assign the tasks for the group members to do. No one was told to make the VA's. Thank you Ryoko-chan," Sakuno added.
"N-no,i-it's nothing", she smiled innocently.
"Huh? A-are you okay,Ryoko-chan?", Tomo asked with her eyebrow raised.
"H-huh? I-I'm okay, w-why you ask, T-Tomo-chan?"
"Tomo...chan?", Sakuno wondered.
"EH?" Tomo hastily touched Ryoko's forehead. "B-but you're not sick!", she asked.
"W-what d-do you mean", Ryoko was puzzled.
"What happened to you? You're usually umm, a bit rude and cocky and impatient.." Tomo tried to explain.
"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno stopped her.
"I-I'm rude?..", Ryoko said in a shaky voice. She was hurt, tears started to form on the edge of her eyes. "I-I'm s-so sorry if I-I'm being rude t-to you..." she said.
"Ah no no no no...y-you're not rude. Hehehe. I-I'm just kidding!, Tomo panicked.
"Tomo-chan's right.Y-you're not rude! So don't cry, Ryoko-chan," Sakuno said, trying to cheer her up.
"G-gomen," Ryoko apologized.
"N-no,no. I should apologize. I'm so sorry, Ryoko-chan, hehehe," Tomo said. "Did something wrong happened to her?" that as the question in Sakuno's and Tomo's mind.
Their teacher went in and the class soon started.
"Damn, when will Ryoko-chan know the reality? Until when will she be in love with Fuji? AAAAAAHHH! Dammit!", Momo thought as his teacher taught the lesson. Yes, he was not paying attention to the teacher at all. He was pissed seeing his loved one love somebody else (well, who doesn't?). He thought of it over and over again, but ended up being punished by his teacher for not listening.
~Lunch Break~
"Nya Fuji, I'm really worried about Ryoko..." Eiji told Fuji as he placed his books in his bag.
"I know..," Fuji answered in a sad tone. He waited for Eiji to finish packing his stuffs.
"Ah, Fuji," Eiji stopped packing his things and hastily looked at his tensai friend. "Until when will the potion be effective?", he asked.
"The potion?", Fuji began thinking. "Now you mentioned it, when will the potion wear off?", It seemed that they forgot to ask the culprit.
"Let's ask Inui right now!", Eiji grabbed his bag.
"Okay," said the prodigy. They rushed towards the door, that time, they noticed somebody hiding behind the side of the room's door.
"Huh? Who's there?", asked Eiji. As they neared the person, the figure started to clear up. It was a girl holding a lunch box with her fingers fiddling unstably.
"Ryoko?", Fuji guessed, with his eyes opened.
"EH? Ryoko-chan?", Eiji was surprised upon seeing Ryoko at the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?", the cat-like tennis player asked. The boys looked at her, making her feel more timid.
"Anou..." her fingers were still unstably wandering over the lunch box wrapped with purple cloth. She looked down, with her face was beet red.
"R-ryoko-chan?", Eiji called.
"A-Anou...anou...", her voice was shaking.
"Ryoko?", Fuji called.
"Ryoko-chan's not like herself today. Did the potion changed everything about her?" Eiji wondered. "But it made Ryoko-chan actions ladylike, even made her a lot cuter!" he thought with a silent giggle.
"Anou...,"
"Hmm?"
"A-anou, F-fuji-senpai," At last she gave off another word aside from 'anou'.
"M-me?", the tensai reacted.
"Eh? Fuji again?", Eiji reacted negatively.
Ryoko's face turned red even more. She clenched her fists and then gathered some courage, gulped in a second...and hastily but gently pushed the lunch box into Fuji then ran away.
The boys froze in shock. Then they looked at what she gave Fuji. The prodigy then opened it and saw a bento.
"A bento?", Fuji wondered.
"EEEHHHH? RYOKO-CHAN GAVE FUJI A BENTO?" Eiji cried.
~~End of Chapter~~
What do you think of this chapter? I know most of you might dislike this so I'm sorry cuz I can't think of any bright ideas for this chaptie anymore. I stopped writing for 3+ months because
1. I started and am trying to finish watching Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden.
2. I'm busy plaing Ninja Saga.
3. I want to rest.
4. So busy with those stupid school works (I could kill the one who invented and introduced education.)
And you know what?
The "NEW PRINCE OF TENNIS" manga was released! But it's still on going! I can't wait for animators to animate this new series of POT! Try to read the manga. HEHEHEHE. That's all folks. Any suggestions for the next chaptie? Any comments? Please please please please review.
~lovefan123~