Author's Notes: Firstly, I have to apologise. It has been 6 years...
I always had this story at the back of my head but I never really got down to actually writing it. Work and a lot of other stuff that you face as an adult really got to me. I decided to pick up writing once again after some difficult times. Doing what you love really helps to relieve stress and I just feel (and hope) continuing this story will lead me to somewhere.
I hope my readers have not left me... Though many people I know have lost interest in Prince of Tennis, I have never left the fandom. I will strive to complete this story, hopefully regularly updating.
We Called It Love will be a slow burn. Although I mentioned that I hope to update regularly, chapters will be long (unlike my previous stories) and will take some time to write. I expect this to be a long story as well. Therefore I ask for the patience of my readers. I actually started on this chapter last year but one of the reasons why it took so long to post was because I removed entire paragraphs and changed the flow of the chapter several times!
I sincerely hope my readers will stay with me on my journey to complete this fanfic. I also hope to hear from my readers, since I might be rusty after not writing for so long. Your comments will greatly help to motivate me to continue writing!
My livejournal has since been buried 6 feet underground lol! Until I find a new place to interact my readers, please do DM me if there are any comments. Recommendations on platforms to engage readers are greatly appreciated!
Please enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.
Chapter 4: His and Her Circumstances
Hasty steps disrupted the peace of the tranquil autumn afternoon. Fallen leaves unwillingly shifted from their resting position as a slight breeze rose from the hurried movements.
The speed of the footsteps did not falter despite the rustling protests of the crisp, autumn leaves. Directed but unsteady was probably the best way to describe the footsteps and as its owner hastened her pace, the fall foliage mumbled their complaints incessantly.
Sakuno remained oblivious to the annoyance she caused to the participants of the autumn scenery. Her long, chestnut-brown tresses did an unorganized dance in the gentle breeze; little droplets of perspiration formed across her forehead, stubbornly grabbing on to strands of her fringe. She let out soft pants as she struggled to stay on course while moving as fast as possible. She only had an ultimate goal: to reach home as fast as possible.
The brown door to her abode was beckoning to Sakuno. Just a little more and she could reach it. The gate was right in front of her. Sakuno, in a manner reminiscent of her schoolgirl self, stumbled through the gate clumsily. Five steps, four, three, two, one…the doorknob was within her grasp. She fumbled through her bag for her keys and in her haste, her bag of groceries fell unceremoniously on her doorstep. That seemed to be the very least of her concerns as she her focus was on the keys and opening the door. After what seemed to be a century, Sakuno finally fished out her keys that were strung together with a sakura keychain and opened the door.
Salvation.
That was the only word that came to Sakuno's mind as she hobbled into her house and deftly closed the door behind her. She rested her back towards the closed door and slid down to the cool floor as she tried to soothe her laboured breathing. Her pants resonated in the empty living room, accentuating the stillness of the house. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were coloured a faint scarlet. Sakuno placed her hand on her chest to ease her racing heartbeat while she gathered her breath.
After a short while, Sakuno finally managed to calm down. Sighing, she bent down to pick up the groceries that were scattered disorderly on the floor. Some apples had regrettably sustained bruises upon falling to the floor and Sakuno could do nothing but sigh again.
"What a waste!" She thought. "And the greengrocer had specifically picked out the pretty ones for me! Looks like I will have to use them immediately."
Today was just not her day.
The echo of a heavy sigh resonated in the kitchen. Sakuno glanced at the bowl in front of her in defeat. She had never made such a beginner's mistake in years.
Broken eggshells and a swivelling yellow fluid tainted a clear mixing bowl. The remnants of the egg yolk and shell settled uncomfortably in her hands and were desperately attempting to escape their confines.
Sakuno heaved another dejected sigh as she cleared up the offending mess. She had wasted half a carton of eggs in just an hour. She glanced dolefully at the trash bin that was filled to the brim with broken shells. Her last losing battle with eggs was during her middle school days when she was learning how to make bentos and she was definitely not expecting to be defeated more than ten years later.
Sakuno could almost see the pleading eyes of the remaining eggs in the carton and decided to spare them from murder at her hands. She gingerly picked up the eggs which had miraculously escaped an imminent death and placed them back on the carton. Sakuno did not believe in horoscopes and fortune-telling and therefore did not take note when the horoscope segment of her favourite daily morning TV programme predicted a "tumultuous week" for her. Looking at her messy kitchen counter, she was forced to consider that the horoscope reading might actually have some truth in it after all.
After what seemed to be the umpteenth sigh of the day, Sakuno began to clean up her kitchen. Her article was due in a few days but she could not seem to be able to concentrate on the task. Glancing at the rubbish bag full of broken eggs, she decided it would be best to stay out of the kitchen for today.
After clearing out the trash, Sakuno slumped down into her sofa and lay her head on the soft cushions. She was exhausted. Mentally and physically exhausted. It was really not her day. Nothing seemed to be going for her today. Ever since the announcement of his return, her mind had been in a whirl. Plus, it was not helping that Japan loves to repeat sensational news over and over again.
Sakuno slowly changed to a sitting position and reached for her mobile phone. She needed to switch her mood as soon as possible. The deadline for her article was fast approaching and she couldn't miss it due to her own issues. Unlocking her phone, she quickly made a phone call.
"Hello! What's up Sakuno?" Tomoka's chirpy voice resonated from the other end of the phone.
"Tomo-chan, are you free later? Do you want to have dinner?" Sakuno cut straight to the chase.
"Ok! I was planning on having dinner alone later anyway!" Tomoka answered. "Is there anywhere you would like to go?"
"Erm..." Sakuno hesitated for a while, thinking how to explain her current circumstance without giving away too much. "I am actually having some trouble coming up with something for my article. I am pretty tired today after being out and working the entire afternoon...Could you buy dinner over to my place? If you want, I can order takeaway."
"Oh that sounds bad!" Tomoka replied. "All right! I will buy some stuff over and we can order takeaway from the Chinese restaurant near your place! I have been craving their food for some time! If you want, I can stay over tonight. We can try to come up with something together!" she offered.
"Thank you Tomo-chan." Sakuno smiled. "Tell me what you want and I will call them later."
"Ok! See you later!" Tomoka said.
Sakuno ended the call with mixed feelings. She was thankful she had a good friend in Tomoka who was always willing to go out of her way to help. However, she also felt guilty for being secretly thankful that Tomoka did not suspect that anything was wrong with her. She definitely did not want her to know the reason behind the abnormal behaviour.
It was not something Sakuno was ready to face at this time.
"Sakuno!" Tomoka's bubbly voice sounded from outside Sakuno's door. "I'm here, open up!"
"Coming!" Sakuno lightly pattered to her door and opened it to reveal a beaming Tomoka.
"Yo!" Tomoka greeted Sakuno with a smile and proudly showed off her purchases. "I got a whole bunch of stuff from the convenience store! We can have these and get some ideas!"
"To...Tomo-chan?" Sakuno's chocolate eyes widened at the sheer amount of snacks and drinks. "We will not be able to finish all this on our own..."
"Of course we can!" Tomoka replied and let herself into Sakuno's house. "Oh the food is here!" She exclaimed as she placed her purchases into the refrigerator. "I am starving! Let's have dinner right now."
Proactiveness was something Tomoka excelled at. Sakuno knew this part of her friend very well and most of the time, could only go along with her. Being a regular at her house, Tomoka quickly laid the table and removed the plastic wrap from the bowls.
"Ah!" Tomoka took in the delicious aroma of the food and grinned. "I have been thinking about this mapo ramen since late afternoon. The gyoza too..." she picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm!" She closed her eyes and chewed on it happily. "The gyoza is way too good!"
"It is hot so be careful Tomo-chan!" Sakuno cautioned worriedly. She glanced at Tomoka who was slurping her noodles eagerly and smiled. Her best friend had always been the lively one and this aspect of her never changed from the time they became friends.
"What are you waiting for Sakuno?" Tomoka asked as she peered up and realised Sakuno had not touched her food. "Come on, dig in. The food is going to get cold!" she urged.
"All right, I am tucking in. Itadakimasu." Sakuno put her hands together and said before starting her meal. Deviating from her usual order, she had ordered fried prawns in mayonnaise sauce with rice. She carefully picked up a prawn with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Almost immediately, her chocolate eyes widened in wonder. The mayonnaise sauce was creamy and slightly sweet and tangy. The prawns were plump and springy and had a natural sweetness to it which was made even more delicious by the crispy batter. The sauce had a hint of lemon which complemented the greasy fried prawns. Sakuno could imagine herself finishing the entire dish easily and ordering another if she was at the restaurant. The flavours gel so well together it was like a match made in heaven!
"Is it that delicious? Let me try one!" Tomoka had observed the look of sheer enjoyment on Sakuno and it greatly piqued her curiousity about the ebi mayo. She knew Sakuno had a discerning tongue and if she enjoyed it so much, it must be really good! Tomoka picked up a prawn and popped it into her mouth.
"Oohh! This is so good! Why haven't we ordered this before!" Tomoka exclaimed. They had been to the restaurant countless times since high school but somehow had never ordered this dish. "But why did you order this today Sakuno?" she asked.
"Well... as you know I was having some trouble coming up with a dessert for my article and thought having something new would help?" Sakuno answered meekly, trying to be as natural as she could. "The ebi chilli is really delicious so I thought the ebi mayo would be good as well..." she continued.
"That's a great choice!" Tomoka gave her a thumbs up. "I am going to order a whole portion of ebi mayo for myself next time." she said and stared longingly at the creamy prawns.
"You can have more if you want." Sakuno smiled and pushed the plate of prawns nearer to Tomoka.
"I already my mapo ramen. Eat up Sakuno, an idea might just poof into your head while you eat the ebi mayo. If that is not enough, we still have lots of snacks and drinks!" Tomoka said and slurped her ramen heartily. Sakuno smiled at her best friend and started on her dinner once again.
"Ah that was delicious!" Tomoka exclaimed. Empty bowls and plates were piled neatly on the table. Even Sakuno, who thought she did not have an appetite, had finished the entire plate of ebi mayo.
"Let me take the plates out Sakuno! You can clear the table for dessert." she said. Sakuno nodded and went to the kitchen to retrieve a dishcloth.
Sakuno finished cleaning up just as Tomoka dumped her bag of snacks and drinks on the table. She began to take them out one by one. "This is a chestnut and pudding dorayaki which is the top in sales. Chestnut and pudding! Can you believe it? I cannot wait to try. And this is a purple sweet potato mont blanc. Look, the purple is so pretty! And this..." she chattered away excitedly while introducing the things that she had bought. Sakuno smiled at her energetic friend. She was always by her side no matter what happened. To Tomoka, doing such things for her best friend was expected but Sakuno took great comfort in these small gestures.
"It's way too much isn't it?" The bubble around Sakuno burst when she finally snapped back into reality. All kinds of snacks, desserts, canned and bottled drinks were laid messily around the table. For those with a sweet tooth, this would probably be heaven. But for Sakuno who just had a filling dinner, it seemed like a sweet hell.
"We don't have to finish all, we can have the rest tomorrow! Let's pick the interesting ones first." Tomoka answered gleefully. "Let's try the pudding dorayaki, my curiousity is killing me!" she reached for the dorayaki.
So the "desserts for inspiration" time, as named by Tomoka, commenced in the Ryuuzaki household. The duo savoured the sweet treats and discussed the taste of each one. As it was fall, there were many desserts and drinks using sweet potatoes, chestnuts and pumpkin. Chocolate and strawberries also appeared very frequently. However, there was one dessert that caught Sakuno's eye.
"Cola warabi mochi?"Sakuno picked up a small container. She studied to the small brown cubes in wonder. "And it says here that the flavouring powder is supposed to give that bubbly feeling just like soda." she remarked in wonder.
"I thought that looked interesting too! Why don't we try it?" Tomoka said excitedly. Sakuno took off the clear cover and studied the cola warabi mochi. It was a transparent brown and very pretty! Using a toothpick, she picked one up and put it into her mouth.
"It really is a cola-flavoured warabi mochi!" Tomoka exclaimed in surprise. She reached out for the packet of flavouring powder and sprinked it on the remaining mochi before popping another into her mouth. "Cola! This is so interesting!" she said as her brown eyes widened in astonishment.
"This is indeed a great idea." Sakuno agreed. She began to think of ways to use regular soda to make warabi mochi. "What about the powder..." she mumbled in a low voice.
"Seems like you found your inspiration!" Tomoka smiled cheerfully. "Then lets finish what we can. I'm stuffed but I think I can have a bit more. And we can think of what to use in place of kinako powder." she said.
"Thank you Tomo-chan." Sakuno thanked sincerely. She was really, really glad Tomoka was always around when she needed someone.
Sakuno stared at her kitchen table and sighed.
"Out of all the flavours, it had to be this one..." she let out another gratituous sigh.
Sitting on a pretty green plate were eight transparent purple cubes. The alluring shade glistened as the rays of the morning sun shone upon it, making it look like real grapes amongst the green background. A small mound of crushed walnuts near the end of the plate completed the look.
"It doesn't only looks good, it tastes good as well..." Sakuno sighed again. She had already lost count of how many times she had sighed the past two days.
Her plan to make warabi mochi from soda was a success. But Sakuno could not help but sigh at the irony of the situation. She had bought all available flavours of Ponta after she and Tomoka had to go for a night walk after stuffing themselves silly from all the food they had consumed the previous night. She experimented with all the flavours and to her chagrin, the one that tasted and suited the season best was grape flavoured Ponta.
Of all flavours, grape flavoured Ponta.
It was as if everything around Sakuno was announcing to her the return of Echizen Ryoma. From the media to stores and now even the inspiration for her article, everything reeks of Echizen Ryoma. She had been trying to shun away from everything related to the tennis king but just like a cunning snake, his shadow seemed to slither in from any possible opening.
Echizen Ryoma. The tennis king. The reigning world tennis champion. The nation's most revered sporting idol. Her classmate in middle school and high school.
Her ex-husband.
He was once her life, her everything. She could never get enough of him. But now...
Sakuno took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "I have got to focus on completing my work. I should not get distracted. I have timelines to meet!" she shook her head to remove all unnecessary thoughts and busied herself with decorating the table for photo-taking. Work was the only thing that could take her mind off things for now.
If fans of Echizen Ryoma were to witness the scene in front of them right now, most of them would probably faint from a massive nosebleed. The King of Tennis, the handsome Echizen Ryoma, was stretched out on his sofa like a lazy cat. Most importantly, he was topless. He didn't have his shirt on. Which meant his stong chest muscles, chiselled abs and those well-sculpted muscular arms were out on full display. How the media loved it when he changed his sweat-soaked shirt during a match. That very day, the photo of the topless prince of tennis was splashed across all media. In just a few hours, the keywords 'Echizen Ryoma', 'Echizen Ryoma abs' and 'Echizen Ryoma topless' became the top three most searched terms. Ryoma was a well-known sportsman but his fame only reached to the tennis fandom and Japan. After the pictures were released, he exploded in popularity worldwide, especially among women. He usually did not care much about matters outside of tennis but he suddenly realised that a lot more cameras were swarming around him. And for once, he was perceptive enough to notice that many of them were very interested in capturing him in different states of undress.
Clayton's workload increased exponentially. Besides having to increase security around Ryoma, he had to deal with the massive surge in endorsement and interview requests. Not forgetting that he had to send out some legal threats for invasion of privacy, Clayton was like a walking machine on steroids. The effect was that he became more irritable and sarcastic in front of Ryoma and for the first time in his life, the then prince of tennis was actually slightly terrified of the dark aura around his manager. The situation improved after he gifted Nanako with a full wedding jewellery set courtesy of one of his new endorsement contracts.
Ryoma could not comprehend the interest in his naked body. To him, it was a pretty normal thing. Everyone did it in middle school, high school and even in the tennis circuits, it was not uncommon for male tennis players to change their shirts in open. However since the incident, he became instinctively aware of the hungry gazes on him. He developed such an immense repulsion that he would now automatically shudder whenever he sensed someone looking at his body parts. He also never took off his shirt in public again, much to the dismay of his worldwide legions of fans.
Ryoma stared out of his full length window at the Tokyo skyline. It was already autumn but indiscernable since he was staying so high up. All he could see at his position was the cloudy sky that was gradually gaining an orange hue.
"Meow." A soft purr could be heard from below the sofa. A white ball of fur leaped onto the sofa and settled down comfortably beside his owner. Ryoma smiled and scratched the chin of the Himalayan cat. "Meow." Karupin Junior purred lazily. He was obviously enjoying his owner's scratches.
It had been some time since Ryoma did something that did not primarily involve tennis. He had originally wanted to sleep his fill then have a light tennis workout. It was supposed to be a nice day in the life of the tennis king. However, from the moment Clayton entered his apartment in the morning, it was destined not to be.
"Come on Ryoma, rise and shine. We have got lots of interesting stuff to do today." Clayton headed straight for Ryoma's room and pulled the sheets of the sleeping prince. "Get up Ryoma or I will wash you up myself." he said.
"What the..." Ryoma, who was rudely awakened from his slumber, squinted at the sudden burst of morning light courtesy of Clayton. "Clayton, what are you doing here..." he mumbled and tried to go back to sleep.
"I was serious when I said I would wash you up myself Ryoma." Clayton said with his arms crossed. "Or would you prefer I take a photo of you now and sell it to the press. With the money I can quit being your manager forever." he said almost threateningly.
"Ugh..." Ryoma scowled and sat up in bed. "Why are you here so early threatening me in my house? Don't you have nothing better to do?" he was definitely not a morning person and being so abruptly pulled out from his comfy bed made him even snappier.
"I told you that we are going to the hospital today didn't I? I also sent you a message yesterday to remind you." Clayton replied. "Ok Ryoma stop wasting time. Get up and go wash up. We going for a nice Japanese breakfast before heading to the hospital." he said.
Ryoma grunted while getting out of bed begrudgingly. Truth be told, he was not fond of anything related to his injuries. Hearing about his injuries made him feel like he had a limit, as if he could no longer aim higher. He had spent most of his life trying to reach a non-existent pinnacle he set for himself. Coupled with his natural talent and raw determination, that was how he dominated the tennis world. The first time he had an injury serious enough for him to pull out of a tournament, he was reluctant to visit a hospital and got into a heated argument with Clayton.
"Don't forget what happened to Tezuka." Clayton retorted icily which immediately shut him up. How could he ever forget. His captain, a genius in his own right, had to forcibly retire from his beloved tennis. He left his unfulfilled dreams to him and here he was straying onto the same path. As unwilling as he was, he finally decided to listen his manager.
True to his words, Clayton brought Ryoma to an unassuming restuarant. There was nothing fancy about the the place or the food, but it was what Ryoma liked: simple but delicious. The ladies managing the eatery were welcoming and warm. They also did not seem to recognise the duo. Seeing the two good-looking young men reminded them of their sons or grandsons and they kept asking if they wanted to refill their rice and giving them extra side dishes. Unable to refuse their hospitality, they ended up eating more than they had planned to. Ryoma had to admit it was a great breakfast and it made his mood better at having to go to the hospital.
With full stomachs, the duo continued their plans for the day. The next stop was a private hospital that was famed for sports medicine. Though that tad of unwillingness still existed within him, Ryoma decided to let it go for the sake of that delicious breakfast. He went through a multitude of tests and for the first time in his life tried cupping treatment. Ryoma glanced at the round marks around his arms that ranged from red, purple and black in colour. He knew some professional athletes were doing the treatment but never thought he would do it one day. The marks looked menacing but his back and arms did feel better afterwards. Of course, he was reluctant in the beginning but Clayton threw out an offer of a delicious Japanese lunch. Ryoma thought he must have went mad to be so easily bought over by food. Staying abroad for so long without an authentic taste of home must have dulled his common sense.
"Take it easy for the rest of the day Ryoma. You just need to rest for now." Clayton said on their way back from lunch. "Nanako is cooking dinner tonight. Would you like to come over? The boys would be pleased to see you too." he offered.
"I'm good. I just want to get home and take a long soak to soothe my muscles." Ryoma declined the invitation. Of course, he wanted to have homecooked food after a while. However, he knew his manager missed his family very much. Being on the road with him meant that he was away from his beloved family for extended periods. Thus, he did not want to disrupt Clayton's precious family bonding time.
"All right then. I left a flyer for a Chinese restaurant on your coffee table. It is the branch outlet of the one near Seishun-dai. You missed it didn't you? You were complaining how inedible the Chinese takeout in the US were." Clayton said. "Order some nice stuff and think about your diet later. Light exercises are ok but don't go playing an entire match with the gang. You are supposed to rest, remember that Ryoma." he instructed.
"Got it." Ryoma answered simply. He gazed at the familiar Tokyo scenery from the side window. The leaves of the gingko trees lined up neatly at the side of the road were beginning to turn yellow. Going according to his usual schedule, he would have been preparing for the Paris Masters right now, perhaps adding to his collection of silverware before that. But here he was here back in his hometown, doing anything and everything unrelated to tennis. He let out an inaudible sigh. Nothing seemed to have changed, yet everything seemed to have changed.
Ryoma glanced at the flyer Clayton had left on the table. The Chinese restaurant was quite famous in their area. He remembered Momoshiro dragging him to the restaurant after going with his family once. He was singing praises of the food the entire way which in fact made Ryoma skeptical. After all, Momoshiro was only good at wolfing down his food and anything minutely above average probably tasted great to him. Plus, he had less than pleasant experiences with Chinese food when he was living in the US which resulted in his palate gravitating more towards Japanese flavours. So when he tasted the food, he was surprised beyond words. His senpai was right, the food was delicious. The taste was so memorable Ryoma brought her there despite his interfering senpai nagging at him that it was not a favourable place for a date. She loved it too and it became her impetus to learn to make Chinese food.
Ryoma let out a bitter laugh. The memories were coming back again. He was purposely blocking all traces of her but the protective barrier he set up never seemed strong enough. Or was it because his memories of the city was mostly of her?
The one he had so loved. The only woman he had ever loved.
His ex-wife, Ryuuzaki Sakuno.
Perhaps he should never have returned. Then he could escape being tormented by their memories together. No matter where he went, he was unconsciously searching for her. Just seeing the flyer reminded him of her contented look and that cute smile on her face after having her favourite dish. Or that of her distressed look when attempting to eat a slightly spicier than usual mapo tofu.
"Hmm?" Ryoma felt something furry rubbing his arm which successfully broke him out of his trance. Karupin Junior had got up from his resting position and was rubbing his furry head against his arm. His golden, cat-like eyes softened and a small smile crossed his attractive features. He caressed the soft fur of his pet cat. Junior was a chip off the old block, both in his appearance and disposition. He was also smart and perceptive which was especially evident at moments like these. It was almost as if he could sense the change of mood in his owner.
"I miss her. Junior, you miss her too, don't you?"
Author's notes: Do google the food names if they are not familiar.
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