Chapter three: His Story, Her Story
He blinked as recognition flickered in his eyes, and the phrase "be careful what you wish for" flowed through his mind. A simple word confirmed both his and her identity.
"Sakuno."
He stiffened slightly as memories of their past came rushing back.
Age: 20
Location: Japan
Sakuno hummer a song under her breath. She woke up extra early today to prepare breakfast for her grandmother and… her boyfriend. The smile on her face grew even wider as she diced the carrots.
A while later, she carefully packed the food for her grandmother and left it on the kitchen table along with a note informing her grandmother that she will be out the whole day today and to not wait for her for dinner.
It was almost her birthday, but she wanted to spend the actual day with her grandmother, so she discussed with Ryoma beforehand to celebrate a bit earlier. Today was the day, and she can't help but be excited.
Taking a look at the mirror, she fixed her bangs and hair before leaving, carefully picking up the packed lunch with both hands. They had decided the night prior to meet at the arcade, one of the few locations she knew the way to.
Ryoma was on his way to the arcade when he received a call from his father.
"…"
"Hello? Is this my idiot son?"
"…"
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"… Speak."
"Ah… As cold as always. You hurt your father's feelings all the time Seishonen.
"I'm going to hang up."
"No, no. Okay, I get it, you don't want your father to intrude on your little date. Ah, well, I received a call from overseas. They have seen some videos about you, and they're interested in inviting you to join them. Do you want to go?"
"…"
"They sent over some packages. I left them on your desk, you can take a look later. Also, I'll be busy the whole day, so don't call me. Just happily go on your little date with Sa-"
Ryoma hung up abruptly and put his phone back into his pocket. He continued on to the arcade, the contents of the phone call long forgotten. By the time he was there, Sakuno was already waiting for him beside the front entrance.
"Ryoma-kun! Good morning. Did… Did you sleep well?"
"En."
"That's good! I made lunch for us."
Ryoma nodded and gave her a small smile. "Do you want to go inside the arcade first or eat first?"
Ryoma waited as she pondered about it, then she promptly decided that they should eat first. Ryoma agreed and they went to a nearby park and sat down on a bench to eat. She chatted about their seniors and things that happened in university. Ryoma listened to her stories with amusement. As they were about to clean up the lunch boxes, Ryoma's classmate stumbled upon them.
"Eh? Echizen-kun? What are you doing here?" The classmate then noticed Sakuno and stammered a greeting," Ah… H-hello."
Sakuno greeted him politely, then kept her head down and started to pack up the lunch boxes as they were done eating.
Ryoma greeted the classmate with a nod. "Hello." He glanced over at Sakuno and reached over to tap her hand. As he got her attention, he introduced them, "This is my classmate Sato." Turning his body, he then said, "This is my girlfriend, Ryuzaki Sakuno."
"Hello Ryuzaki-san!" Sato energetically greeted once again.
Sakuno was at a loss for what to say, but before she could say anything, Ryoma cut her off. "My girlfriend is a bit shy. Do you live nearby?"
"Ah, no. I was just running some errands for my mother. Oh, actually I have a question about the team project that's due on Monday. Can we discuss it some time later today?"
Ryoma nodded. "Around 10? I will be celebrating her birthday today. I'll be free tomorrow as well if you need."
Sato quickly nodded before glancing at his watch. "Sorry, I have to go, but happy birthday Ryuzaki-san! Echizen-kun, I will contact you after 10 tonight if you're home by then."
Sakuno stood up in a hurry and thanked him before he ran off. Ryoma helped pack the rest of the lunch boxes before he grabbed her hand. "Let's go to the arcade now. I heard there's a new game that has to do with tennis."
Sakuno quickly followed. "Will you win me a plush toy?"
Ryoma turned around to look at her red face and laughed. In the past when they were still in junior high, she was simply his tennis coach's granddaughter. In high school, she was simply his classmate and a distant friend, someone who was always on the edge of his friend circle. It wasn't until the last year of high school when they were forced to be on the same yearbook team that he started to get to know her. He realized they had many things in common, and his love for Japanese food and her love of cooking only brought them closer. Now that they were dating, every once in a while, she would blurt out random requests with a burning face, and he realized just how fun it was to tease her by disagreeing. But today, for the sake of her birthday celebration, he'll let it pass.
"Alright."
He watched as her eyes lit up and the both of them quickly ran to the arcade.
Sakuno opened the door to her home with a big plush toy in the shape of a cat in her arms. She turned around and waved goodbye to Ryoma before heading inside.
"Welcome home Sakuno. Did you have fun today?"
"Obaa-san! I'm home! I did, look, Ryoma-kun helped me win a toy at the arcade! There was a new tennis themed game and we played that a couple of times before Ryoma-kun got the hand of it, and we won the grand prize! Then he treated me to dinner after! We went to Taka-san's restaurant today."
Sumire laughed. "Sounds like you had a good time. I cut some fruits earlier and put them in the fridge. You can eat them later if you like."
"Thank you! What about Obaa-san? What did you do today? Is there anything I can help with?" Sakuno quickly took off her shoes and walked to the kitchen. She put the plush toy down on the sofa on the way to the kitchen and put the lunch boxes down in the sink.
"No, I don't need help with anything. You can rest tonight. You must be tired from walking all day today, you silly girl. I'm going to go through some proposals from the tennis club. I'll be in the study. Find me if you need anything. Otherwise, good night Sakuno."
"Okay! Good night Obaa-san! I will just clean up the kitchen and wash the lunch boxes first."
Sumire nodded with a smile and headed upstairs.
After she was done cleaning up, she headed upstairs to shower and change into her pajamas. She sat at her desk and took out some of the books from her backpack and started to go through the questions one by one. The date was great, but she still needs to study, after all, she was still a university student!
By the time Ryoma was home, it was already 9:58PM.
"I'm home." He called out; however, no one greeted him back. They must still be out. Ryoma headed to his bedroom and turned on the computer to contact his classmate from earlier today. After the issue was solved, he leaned back on his seat and rubbed his eyes out of fatigue.
He opened his eyes and stood up to stretch when he saw a few pamphlets for a university in the US on his desk and a letter. He recalled his dumb father mentioned something about it to him in the morning. As he looked through the information, he heard his mother return home. He looked down at the papers and frowned. He then headed downstairs to greet his mother, pamphlets and letter still in hand.
"Welcome home Okaa-san."
"Oh, Ryoma, you returned home earlier than me! How was your little date with my cute Sakuno-chan?"
"Okaa-san… I want to discuss something with you."
Rinko placed her bag and her jacket on the nearby chair and turned around to face her son, all traces of smile gone from her face. "What's wrong Ryoma?"
Ryoma showed Rinko the items in his hand. "Okaa-san, I… I got an offer."
Rinko took the pamphlets from his hands and flipped through it. She then briefly skimmed the contents of the letter. "Oh Ryoma." Rinko reached out and gave him a hug before tugging him towards the living room. The two of them sat down and soft murmurs could be heard.
Being overwhelmed with homework and group projects, Sakuno didn't have time to think about much else. It was only when she received a bunch of birthday greetings that she realized it was her birthday.
Ryoma and her haven't really contacted, other than the daily morning greetings. Even if they were in the same campus, they were still in different departments, and unfortunately, their breaks weren't during the same times either. Sometimes, during the period before exams or his tennis matches, the two of them could spend weeks without seeing each other.
Sakuno rushed to the professor's office to hand in her project in advance. She left the professor's office and rushed towards building A. She knew Ryoma's schedule by heart, and she knew that in 5 minutes, Ryoma's class would be over. Now that she was finished with her stuff, she is free for the rest of the day, and she decided to spend a bit of time with Ryoma before heading home for the birthday celebration with her grandmother.
She opened the main doors to building A and started to look for room 206. The doors were still closed, so she stood by the wall and took her phone out to reply to the birthday greetings one by one.
Suddenly the door opened, and a group of students walked out. She hastily put her phone away and waited eagerly for Ryoma.
"Eh? Are you Ryuzaki-san?"
Sakuno turned to the source of the voice. "Ah! Ummm…"
"Sato. My name is Sato Hideki. We met at the park last time when it was your birthday." He smiled and seemed proud that he remembered her name.
"Ah, hello Sato-san."
"Are you waiting for Echizen-kun? The professor called him over to discuss something, so it might be a while."
"Oh! Thank you for letting me know. I will wait here for him."
"No problem. It must be hard being long-distance soon. Is that why you're trying to spend as much time as possible with one another? Echizen-kun is always so cold and indifferent in class, it's hard to imagine him with a girlfriend!"
Long… distance?
"But I can see you two matches very well. He finally told me you two were classmates from junior high! Now the whole class knows he has a girlfriend from junior high. Oh, there's Echizen-kun. Echizen-kun! Over here!" Turning back to Sakuno, he said, "Well, I won't interrupt your time together. It was nice seeing you again! See you next time Ryuzaki-san!" With that, he left before Sakuno could say a word.
"Sakuno? You don't have class today? Oh, and happy birthday."
She stayed quiet for a couple of minutes as they walked to the campus study rooms.
"Thank you. I finished class early. Um… Ryoma-kun…"
"Hn?"
"Why…" Why did Sato-san talk about long-distance?
"…?" Ryoma waited for her to continue.
"Sato-san… Um, he…"
"Sato? What did he do?" Ryoma grabbed her hand and eyed her up and down, as if worried she was injured.
"Ryoma-kun. Are you…" Are you not telling me something? Are you going somewhere? She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "Are you going somewhere?"
Ryoma paused. "Oh. En.
Sakuno looked up, "Where are you going this time? How long is the competition for?"
"I'm going to USA. I'm not going for a competition this time." Ryoma paused. "I have been very busy recently with transfer forms and preparation for things like passports and other documents. I didn't mean to not tell you. When I tried you were busy the last week, and then it slipped my mind."
"How… long…?"
"Sakuno, I…" He sighed. "I don't know."
"When are you leaving?"
"Wednesday, midnight."
"…" Sakuno looked up at him with tears swirling in her eyes. "Congratulations Ryoma-kun, you are one step closer to your goals now. I'm… I'm happy for you, I hope you know that."
Ryoma stayed silent, his grip on her hand tightened.
She smiled. "I am sincerely happy for you from the bottom of my heart."
"Thank you."
"I promised Obaa-san to be home soon, so I'll leave now! Let me know if you need me to help with anything. I will leave first. Goodbye Ryoma-kun."
Sakuno slowly slipped her hand away and waved before turning around and running away. She wasn't a child anymore, she knew that not everyone will stay by her side all the time, especially after Naruku, but the sudden change made her feel sad nonetheless.
She wiped her tears as she ran and pat her face a couple of times. By the time she was home, any traces of her tears were long gone. She took a few deep breaths outside the door, forced a smile on her face, and pushed the door open.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome home Sakuno, happy birthday!"
She wasn't sure about happy birthday, but she was sure it was an unforgettable birthday.
Ryoma arrived at the airport with his parents. He grabbed his luggage from the back of the trunk and said goodbyes to his parents. Rinko grabbed him for a hug before she let him go. He waved one final time and headed inside the airport.
He dragged his luggage to the airline and waited in the line. The gates weren't opened yet, he had arrived a bit too early. Ryoma adjusted his cap and pulled it even lower. He felt a bit frustrated, but he didn't know why.
"Ryoma-kun."
He looked up instantly to see Sakuno beside him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, to send you off. Obaa-san agreed. She gave me a ride and dropped me off just now. She is trying to find a parking space now."
Ryoma lifted his hand to pat her on the head. "Thank you."
Both of them looked at the gates to see that they were now open and shuffled along the line.
Sakuno turned to face him and beamed at him. "I also got you a present. Look!"
She handed him a grip tape, the one he uses often. "I got this, just in case you need to change but couldn't find any suitable ones in America."
Ryoma smiled. "There's a lot more other brands in the US you know."
She frowned. "Then give it back! I'll use it myself!" She reached out to grab it, but Ryoma quickly stuffed it in his backpack.
"It has already been gifted out, how can you just take it back? I'll reluctantly accept."
"Hmph! Who needs you to accept? Give it back!"
The couple behind them chuckled, and they momentarily stopped their playful argument.
"I left your birthday present with my mom. She will drop by later today at your house. Sorry for the late birthday present."
Sakuno shook her head, "it's alright. We already celebrated before, and I already got your plush toy present. You didn't need to get me another one."
"How can a plush toy compare? You're officially older than me by one year now.
"… You!"
Ryoma laughed and soon they were at the counter.
Ryoma gave the lady his passport and put his luggage on the belt. After he grabbed his boarding pass, the both of them headed towards security check.
"Ryoma-kun, be safe. Don't be so rude to other people once you're there. They're all must taller than you, you might get hit!"
"…" Ryoma made a face at her. "I am still growing."
"Yup yup. Drink more milk Ryoma-kun."
They bantered until they got to the front of the line.
She grabbed his arm and pulled him down so they were eye to eye.
"Ryoma-kun, I'll accompany you until here. Take care of yourself." And then she leaned in and gave him a kiss.
She released him and gave him one final smile before she said her goodbyes and left. Ryoma was stunned. He had never kissed anyone before, let alone been kissed. He rubbed his lips and turned back to look for Sakuno, but she was gone.
"Next!"
The security guard's rough voice jolted him from his daze, and he stumbled forward and entered the security check area.
Sakuno stepped out of the airport and found her grandmother chatting with Ryoma's parents. Her grandmother noticed her first, "Sakuno, did you say goodbye to Ryoma?"
Sakuno nodded, and then turned to greet his parents. Nanjiro was about to say something when Rinko elbowed him in the ribs.
"Sakuno-chan, I didn't know you were coming to send Ryoma off. If I had known, I would have gotten my husband to pick you up along the way! Oh, right, Ryoma left this with me just now. I was supposed to drop it off in the morning, but since you are here, I will give this to you now."
Rinko handed her a small box. Sakuno thanked her and walked over to stand beside her grandmother.
Rinko gave her a warm smile, "It's getting late, we will head home now. By the time we get home, it will be past 11 PM. Good night everyone."
Sumire and Sakuno went back to the car, and she slowly opened the box. Inside was a bracelet with a single charm in the shape of a cherry blossom petal. She knew what the bracelet meant right away. There was also a small card. She flipped it open as a single tear dropped onto the card.
"A sakura petal for my Sakuno. Thank you and happy birthday."
She thought back to all those times as he slowly helped her become braver. Sakuno had never been an independent girl, but he was the pillar for her to rely on. He never sugar-coated anything and told her things as is and he was as stubborn as an ox sometimes. He was also constantly busy with his courses and tennis, so they don't get to hang out very often, but whenever she needed him, he was there. He was there. But he won't be anymore. She won't have anyone to rely on.
Sakuno turned her head slightly to face the window and secretly wiped her tear away. She grabbed her phone and tapped on it until Ryoma's name was on her screen. She stared at it for a while longer before she started tapping again.
He had no idea how he got through security check, and he had no idea how he found the gate. He just knew by the time he refocused, he was already waiting at the gate for the airplane.
His phone vibrated a couple of times, and he reached into his pocket to take it out. Notifications showed that it was a text message from Sakuno. His fingers swiped across the screen.
From: Ryuzaki Sakuno
Message: I wish you all the best. Let's break up.
Ryoma closed his eyes and for the first time since he made his decision, he started to waver. He looked at his phone again and typed out two words.
From: Echizen Ryoma
Message: Goodbye Sakuno.
.TBC.
I have rewritten chapter two, so kindly reread it! :D
Dictionary:
Seishonen – 青少年, young person, youthful person, young man
Obaa-san – Grandmother
Okaa-san - Mother