Hi! I am back again. A lot had happened with the last chapter. What will happen next? Just read the continuation.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own TeniPuri and never will. Capiche?
heartluv - yeah... it is really hard for her... falling in love with him in the first place is a sacrifice enough for her. We will know that in the future... How will she realize that the person that she really like isn't Kaito at all? Soon... very soon...
thank you very much... and this is next chapter... thank you once again... ^_^
johanna - malalaman mu rin yun... pagdating ng panahon... Sa ngayon ito muna... salamat... ^_^
yana19 - chapter 19: Well, yeah... everything was fine until the last part, wasn't it? tee hee hee that was indeed a sweet kiss that they shared... I think that was considered their real kiss from the other ones.
Tezuka being the man with few words understood them... yep, he knew their score alright. They are just suppressing their feelings with each other... but who knows maybe in the future... it really takes time...
Thank you very much... ^_^
chapter 20: Yeah... I guess love is definitely blind... right? She was blinded by the false love that she thought real... I knew that almost everyone hated Kaito since chapter one... tee hee hee... That's why Sakuno has come to be hated by everyone as well... Sorry Sa-chan bear with me a little while longer ;p...
tee hee hee... Well... I'll leave at that for a while... about their past that is...
their story will also be revealed the day that she was missing.
Yeah... I love her too... 'nuf said too... RyoSaku moments... well I can tell that there is some here... tee hee hee... thank you by the way... ^_^
Fantasmic - Oh... okay... I am glad that you did. Mostly, readers will eventually stop reading once they find flaws in it or they will ended up as silent readers or so... but thank you for telling me... And as I've said, everything is possible, even the impossible... I guess I did the impossible here. It did say 'painfully' there or I think that it should be safe to say that they are physical yet painfully bumped to something hard, even your elbows could do, unfortunately. (You are not taking care of yourself, literally meaning.) I'll consider what you said although, it's only a minor problem that the character has to face in the story. She has to prevent that from developing that she needs to take precautions of her activities. Maybe that solve the problem. Thanks for the suggestion. (If you notice, I didn't even mention the name at all.)
Thank you once again... I hope you read soon... :)
sandra - well, this is RyoSaku after all. Don't worry it'll be soon. And thank you very much... I'll do my best. Their moments will arrive soon too... For now... this is the next chapter... Thank you very much... ^_^
Chapter 21: Something Left Behind
Chapter Summary: He had enough. He just couldn't stay quiet and do nothing. With one swift move, he must do something… and fast.
A bright light around her welcomed her eyes as she opened them. She felt heavy and her body was not well. Looking around her, she realized that she was not in their home. As she tried to sit up, she felt that her head was spinning so she held it until she was able to sit up.
"You shouldn't force yourself like that."
She jerked when she heard someone talked near her, "R-ryoma-kun!" She was shocked when she saw him sitting on the sofa just ahead of her. No wonder that she didn't see him there. She knew that she wasn't in his house either, so she asked him, "W-why are you here?"
Ryoma looked at her before saying his words, "Ryuzaki-sensei made me do an errand for her."
"I… I see." She replied. She remembered that the old lady found her at the train station and took her to her house. Then, memories came back at her. She looked down as she didn't want Ryoma to see her state.
"Something happened, isn't it?"
She flinched when he said that. Ryoma wasn't oblivious of what was happening to her. She guessed that she couldn't hide it from him after all, "I… confessed to him… this morning."
Ryoma's eyes widened but she didn't see that. She gripped her hands tight to her lap as she continued talking;
"He rejected me, of course," She painfully smiled as she remembered all the things that happened earlier, "H-he said that I should stop saying things because it's not even funny."
"…"
"I am such stupid," She closed her eyes as tears were warning to fall again, "E-even I knew that I would be rejected, I am still hurt like this. It's painful that I couldn't even breathe properly. I didn't imagine that being rejected could be this painful. I should've confessed to him."
"Don't cry."
She looked at him. She was shocked that Ryoma was actually looking at her.
"Your tears are not worth for him," He said standing up and sat beside her, "He doesn't deserve your love, give it to someone else." He reached for her face and wiped her tears with his bare hands.
She just stared at him as he wiped her tears. She was trembling and she felt cold.
"You are hot," He felt her forehead and realized something, "Damn it Sakuno, you have a fever." Before she could reply to his words, he had lied her down back to the sofa and called his sensei. Sumire was in her room doing something for a while.
"Her temperature is high," She announced as she took her body temperature, "She couldn't go home tonight. I'll give Naruse Kaito a call about her condition. I'll prepare her bed, you look after her."
Ryoma just nodded as he looked at her. She just closed her eyes and he was right after all. Now she realized why she was feeling heavy and cold. It had something to do about staying for long under the rain. It was such a stupid thing to do. Now that she troubled the people around her.
"Ryoma-kun…" She called to him.
"I am here." He said taking his hand to hers as he sat on the sofa where she was lying.
She gave him a smile before replying, "I am sorry… for letting my guard down like this."
He stared at her as he gripped her hand tight. Sakuno slowly closed her eyes and prepared herself to rest. His other hand went to her cheek to feel her temperature.
"Your hand's cold."
He flinched when she talked. He was about to remove his hand to her cheek when she herself held it.
"It… feels nice."
He stared at her weary face. She was weakly smiling at that moment. But he knew that she was close of crying once again… she was just holding it back. She was trembling despite the condition she was in. He kissed her forehead for a couple of seconds before leaning back.
"Sleep Sakuno," He whispered to her ear, "I am just right here."
She slowly nodded when he said that. It took for a while before she made herself in deep slumber. He couldn't believe what was happening right now. He just let her go yesterday and this what had happened to her? Now, he knew that he just couldn't keep his eyes away from her.
He just couldn't.
Monday morning:
As expected, Sakuno wasn't able to practice that morning as well as attending her class that day. Her fever hadn't gone down as Sumire informed him. He continued with his daily routine that day. His team was competing for the prefectural tournament a few weeks from now. He called his team for an announcement that time;
"Listen for the lineup that I am going to announce," He said as he got their attention, "Starting to this day, you have to practice your skills with your partner or have a match with someone.
"Hai!"
"Few weeks from now, the tournament will be held. For doubles 2, Kachiro Kato-Katsuo Mizuno pair!"
"Hai!"
"Doubles 1, Satoshi Horio-Masaya Ikeda-senpai pair!"
"D-doubles 1?" Horio said looking at Ikeda, "W-with Ikeda-senpai?"
"Singles 3, Masashi Arai!"
"M-me?" Arai pointed himself.
"Singles 2, Takeshi Momoshiro-senpai!"
"Yosh!"
"Singles 1, Kaoru Kaidoh-senpai!"
"Fsssh!"
"That's all, any question?" He asked everyone. Momo raised a hand and asked something to him.
"You're not going to play, Echizen?"
He looked at his senpai before asking, "You don't need my help this time. I trust with the lineup that I made for the tournament."
"Hmmm."
"Practice hard to win this tournament. No, we will win the tournament." He smirked giving them the assurance they needed.
"HAI!"
With that they started to practice with their partners.
"Horio, Ikeda-senpai!"
The two of them looked at him, "This is going to be your first time at doubles. Make sure that you'll know which skills that you are going to be in sync."
"But Echizen," Horio said approaching him, "Are you sure about this… I mean I am not even good at doubles."
Ryoma placed a hand on his shoulder, "You have the potential when I saw you rallying with Ikeda-senpai."
"Are you sure about this, captain?" Ikeda asked him.
He nodded at the both of them, "Know your synchronicity. I trust you two."
Their expressions changed into something stronger. Both of them looked at each other and then looked back at them.
"Don't worry," Ikeda replied, "We will win the tournament with our new found skills."
He smirked back, "We should."
They started practicing after that. He decided not to play in the tournament as he wanted to give his team a chance although, he wanted to play. He felt excited at watching them and see their flaws while playing.
As their Captain, he would do everything to make his team stronger just like how Tezuka did to them before.
Later on:
"Ryoma, What to do, She's running a high fever," Sumire said when he thought of dropping by. She wouldn't mind him as she asked the boy to take care of her anyway, "I thought that she'd be okay if she would rest the whole day but it wasn't."
Ryoma looked at the girl who was lying on the bed. Her breathing wasn't normal that time. He walked closer to her to feel her temperature and she was right. She was actually burning, "Sensei, this is bad. Let's call Tezuka-buchou."
"I already called him and he's on his way," Sumire said as she was really worried of her, "What was Sakuno doing on that rainy day and let herself soak like that?"
Ryoma just looked at her. His eyes became narrowed as he concentrated of her breathing pattern. Of all the people who knew her, he was the only one who knew her real reason.
It was all that guy's fault.
"I'll prepare more hot water and soup for her. Stay here for a while." Sumire announced and he nodded at her.
He sat on the chair which was beside the bed. Sakuno was not in a good condition. He concluded that her immunity system wasn't that strong that time. She was stressed about everything that happened to her.
She was enduring all those tough things at such a young age. He held her hand tight as he heard her speak.
"M-mom… d-dad…" she whispered, "K-kaito… nii… san…"
He gripped her hands more, "Shhh… don't talk, Sakuno. Save your energy."
"Don't… leave me…" She whispered between difficulties of breathing, "I'm… scared to be… alone… don't… l-leave… please."
"Sakuno…" He leaned closer as he brushed her hair on her head. Sakuno was crying again and he hated it. Before, he wanted her to express herself when she wanted to cry and not holding it back. But now it was different. Ever since he told her to cry, she never stopped crying when she was hurt even just a little.
"K-kaito… nii… san…" She continued as her tears started to fall, "I am… sorry… I… love you… a… lot… sorry…"
But he hated the name that she was calling. Wasn't he the one responsible for her condition now? Why was she apologizing to the guy? And to think that she still loved him. That was too much.
…Too much for him.
He had enough.
He gave her a non-expressive look as he gripped her hand with his two hands. Just as he let go of them, the door of her room opened and revealed the doctor-in-training and his coach. He immediately stood up and bowed at them;
"I'll take my leave for a while sensei, Tezuka-buchou." He said as they approached him.
"Where are you going?" Sumire asked him. Tezuka had begun checking on Sakuno.
Ryoma was already at the door before answering her question, "I am going to retrieve something that I left behind." Before they could ask him, he was already out. Sumire and Tezuka looked at each other and shrugged afterwards. The latter then, observed the girl.
Few minutes later:
The night wasn't dangerous so he could have a short trip elsewhere. He quickly took an express train all the way to Yosouku so that he could easily reach the place. Not an hour passed before he could reach his destination. He had that sharp memories that he remembered his place.
He was actually standing in front of it.
Staring at the house for a while, he looked straight ahead and began walking at the front porch. Without hesitation, he knocked on the door three times. He didn't wait long for the person that he was intending to see that night was standing right in front of him. The person wasn't surprised at all, like he was expecting to see him in front of him.
"What do you want?" He sternly said, "Do you want to come in?"
"It won't take long." He stoically replied to him, "You do know why I am here."
He looked at him for a long time before he decided to speak, "She's already in your place. What else do you want from me?"
"I'll take her away… in your custody."
He smirked this time, "You know that it is impossible. She's still my step-sister no matter what you do."
"That's the point. She's just your step-sister."
"…Who happens to love me by the way."
He was a bit shocked when he said that, "And you do not love her, which is why I should make my move now," He secretly smirked when he saw his expression, "You left something behind but you didn't even take time to look back and grab it… now you lost it."
"…"
"I'll make sure that she would look my way." With that, he quickly turned around and started walking away from the place.
"You still have a long way to go, Echizen." He shouted as he called out to him.
Ryoma looked to his shoulder and smirked, "That should be my line, Naruse." He continued walking ahead feeling the tiny feeling of victory in his head. Somehow, he felt that he made a good job at that. The next thing that he would think was how he would make his plans go into actions.
There was one way to find out and he would do that.
11pm:
"Ryoma!" Sumire was shocked when she saw him in front of her door, "Where have you been?"
Ryoma bowed at her. Sumire moved a little so that he could enter, "I did some business a while ago. I am sorry for intruding at this time of the night, sensei."
"It's okay," She said as they walked upstairs, "Tezuka is still here, watching Sakuno."
"How is she?" He couldn't help but asked.
"Tezuka gave her a strong medicine and her fever seemed to calm down a bit but she needed to be monitored thru the night." She explained to him.
"Can I watch over her tonight, sensei?" He asked her not hiding his real intentions to his coach.
Sumire looked at him and a thought came to her, "You seemed to be so worried about her too. Is there a reason to it, Echizen?"
Good thing that his hat was still in his head so he had the chance to pin it down, "There's no reason but I am worried so yeah."
Sumire just smiled at him and didn't reply to him. They reached the room and saw Tezuka taking her vital signs. He was feeling her wrist for her heart rate as he counted breathing pattern at the same time and then her body temperature for the last.
"How's she now?" Sumire asked him.
Tezuka wrote all her vital signs in his record before answering her, "She's okay. Her temperature has gone down a little but it still needed to monitor."
"I see," She replied, "Are you sure, you're okay with this?" She looked at Ryoma who just nodded afterwards. Tezuka suddenly stood up and said.
"I've checked her condition this night but I'll be back tomorrow if there any changes." Tezuka said as he walked near to his former coach.
"Thank you Tezuka, I am glad that you are here." Sumire said.
"I am just doing my job," Tezuka bowed at her and then looked at Ryoma, "Call me if anything happens."
"Hai." He said as he too bowed in front of him, "Thank you very much, Tezuka-buchou."
He frowned but he disregarded it. He turned around as he opened the door; Sumire followed him leaving him alone with the girl. She changed from before. Her breathing pattern was okay unlike a while ago. He sat on the chair where Tezuka had previously seated. It took a few minutes before Sumire came with a futon in her hands.
"I am sorry about this Echizen. I don't want to trouble you." She said.
"I volunteered sensei, there's no need to apologize." He bowed once again.
"Seriously boy, I've never seen you got interested with a girl before." She smiled giving him a little tease.
He looked away as he replied, "I just can't leave her unprotected, that's all."
"Really?" She asked not buying his reason but she didn't ask any further as she fixed his own bed, "I trust that you won't do anything to her at this time."
"I am not that desperate," He narrowed his eyes to her making her laugh, "Why are you laughing, sensei?"
"Nothing, nothing," She said as she stood up, "Thank you again. Please take care of her."
Ryoma nodded at her. She was about to leave the room when she remembered something. Looking back at the guy who was still sitting on the chair, she called his attention.
"Ryoma I have something to tell to the both of you but since she's still asleep, you could tell her tomorrow when she wakes up."
Blinking twice, he asked her, "What is it then?"
Next morning:
The sound of the birds chirping brought her eyes to open. Blinking for several times, she tried to look around and she knew that she wasn't in her room. She sat up only to be shocked.
"R-ryoma… kun." She whispered the guy's name. The youngster was sitting next to the bed. His face was leaning on the bed while he was actually holding her hand. Did he watch her all night? She was really surprised to see him there. She covered her lips with her other hand to hold her tears from falling once again. There was a futon on the ground and it was probably for him. Ryoma never used it for some reason as she saw that it didn't have any sign of being used. She noticed that he moved, signing of waking up.
…Which he did.
The guy blinked for several times, registering what image he was seeing in front of him. When he finally did, the expression on his face had obviously changed.
"You're awake." He timidly said to her.
She nodded at him, "T-thank you for taking care of me."
He nodded as he felt her forehead. She blushed when he did that, "You don't seem to have the fever anymore, that's good."
"A-anou… what happened to me?"
"You had a high fever last night. Everyone was worried about you."
"E-everyone?"
"Ryuzaki-sensei and Tezuka-buchou."
"O-oh?" She reacted. She remembered what happened to her yesterday. Because of her clumsiness, she let herself soak in the rain for a long period of time and the wheel of fortune seemed to be on her side as the tennis club's coach found her and took her to her home. A lot had happened to her. Kaito had rejected her confession and Ryoma already knew that. It was painful but for some reason, it wasn't that painful anymore. She wondered why her feelings would change overnight. It seemed that Ryoma and the old lady's companion made her feel a little okay. Even the doctor-in-training was also there to checkup on her.
"I was worried too."
Cutting from her thoughts, she looked at him. Blush suddenly appeared on her face.
"Stop acting reckless like that," He said gripping her hand that he was holding all through the night, "I told you be strong, remember?"
Looking at his eyes, she bit her lower lip, "G-gomenasai… I… I didn't know what I was doing."
"…Did he affect you that much?"
"W-what?"
"Why do you love that guy so much?" He asked straight to the point.
She flinched when the question was being asked, "I… I don't know that myself either. All I know is… I am in love with him."
"…"
"…"
"But I am okay…" She smiled at him, "H-he rejected me… s-so I won't pursue him anymore. I know that it's going to be like that in the first place. B-but I don't think my feelings for him… w-would change."
Silence interrupted the two of them. Somehow, it felt awkward for her. Ryoma never replied to her last words. Something felt wrong when she said her last words. Why was she feeling hurt after she said that? She didn't want to know. A shadow took notice of her making her look at him. Her eyes widened when Ryoma leaned closer and wrapped his arms to her slender body.
"R-ryoma-kun! W-wha-what-"
"I'll say that love is stupid but I won't mind it," He said tightening his hold, "Just wake up and you'll see what you are really missing."
"W-what do you mean?" She said as she let him hug her. Her heart was panicking at that moment.
Ryoma brushed her messy hair and replied, "Figure it out yourself," He leaned away as he stared at her eyes, "You would not mind living with me again, would you?"
That shocked her. She wasn't expecting that from him, "B-but my home…"
"Your home is with me." He said keeping the same tone in his voice.
The way he said it brought happiness to her heart but something was still stopping her, "I—I don't think… that is a good idea."
"If you are thinking about him, then don't be. I already told it to him last night."
Her eyes widened when she heard what he said. Was he serious? What was he planning to do? Why would he be keeping her again?
"You are studying here in Seigaku and the distance between Yosouku and Seigaku is not a joke," He said as if he read her mind, "Besides you have to prepare for the upcoming tournament with me."
That got her attention, "T-tournament… with you?"
"Aa," He nodded and gave her a reassuring look before replying to her, "We will join a charity tournament next month. We will both playing in singles and mixed doubles."
Her eyes widened at the news, "M-mixed doubles?"
Ryoma nodded once again, "Both our coaches decided us to participate at the tournament. We will be joining both."
"I… I never tried playing doubles…"
"I'll teach you. This will be a good opportunity for you."
Thinking about it, he was right after all. It was also her chance to play with Ryoma at mixed doubles… him being her partner. She never tried that play before and it was indeed her chance. She blinked twice when Ryoma had reached a hand and offered it to her;
"Let's start anew and there will be no longer a master-slave relationship this time." He smirked at her.
She blushed at his words. Looking at him, she knew that he was serious about it. Still, she gave him a giggle making him frown at her action. Before he could react, she interrupted;
"Arigatou… hontou ni arigatou… Ryoma-kun." She gave him a genuine smile before she reached for his hand. A part of her might have been closed but a new door was willing to be opened for her.
And she wasn't going to hesitate to enter it. She already made a decision.
Done! How was it? Tell me your thoughts please. This fic is estimated to have 34 chapters or so but I am still not sure yet. Even though the reviews aren't great like my Absolute couple and Crystal Teardrops, I am still going to write more chapters. Since this is rated M, I am only doing it once so I'd better to write everything that I could think. So please… motivate me more… please…
Thank you very much for staying with me up until this moment.
Next chapter: When the cat is out the mouse will play