5. A Secret to Keep
"Ahem. Can I get everyone's attention, please?" the Class Representative, Asahina Shiro announced in front of the class, "We need to decide on what our class would do for the upcoming School Foundation Festival. Any ideas?"
It was lunch break and everyone was asked to stay in the classroom for a short class meeting. There were murmurs of discussion among the students before one by one, they contributed ideas. Sakuno only observed, not really minding whatever the class decides upon. She was listening intently to Tomoka's ideas that she's yet to share in class when the classroom door opened, revealing Echizen Ryoma who came back from a teacher's errand to help carry their notebooks. He didn't look like he was in the best mood, considering how he was caught in the act of dozing off from the last class. For a moment, the class discussion was halted while he made his way back to his seat. Despite the growing noise of ecstatic voices from their classmates as the meeting continued, Sakuno's gaze can't help but gravitate to the tennis prince. The sunshine from the windows beside his desk illuminated his features greatly, enhancing his already good looks. He had a hand propped to his chin as he looked in front, golden eyes lazily watching the ongoing meeting.
It has been more or less two months since the news of his break up with Mori Akane resounded within the whispers of gossips. She could still remember the rumors, of how he broke up with her in the afternoon of the Prefectural tournament. How Mori seemed to have puffy eyes when she saw her that afternoon when the matches were over and it was time for everyone in the club to go home, and Ryoma hanging out with his senpais after school again. They were the first years' power couple, both so popular and seemingly out of reach. So it wasn't a surprise that the topic refused to die down until it was the third week. Tomoka would often tell her the rumors, never failing to comment that just as how fast and out of nowhere Ryoma and Mori's dating news were, the same could be said to their sudden breakup.
To Sakuno, she wouldn't like to admit outright that a small part of her was happy. It made her guilty that she felt it, after all she's friends with them both- but then, seeing Ryoma single again somehow made her hope reappear. She couldn't count how many times she berated herself over that recognition. Was her hurt really that fickle? What were her tears for? It was as if her heart recovered again, only to sincerely believe that her feelings would someday be returned.
It was far from reality, though. Things weren't really the same anymore. While it was true that after he broke up with Mori, she no longer avoided him, the gap that Sakuno made from secluding herself was still there. Ryoma no longer tutored her in tennis, and without an unavoidable activity, Sakuno didn't really spend any time with him. She did give him sweets for his family, continued to cheer for him on matches, and they do interact for school works, but that was it. It is safer to say that they are now the barest minimum of friends, and Sakuno is just another face in his crowd of cheerers. The thought elicited her a sigh, as she pondered how much their distance widened again.
"Ryuzaki-san..?" Sakuno was pulled out of her reverie. Realizing that almost all her classmates looked at her, her ears turned red, and she felt flabbergasted. She straightened on her seat, suddenly feeling conscious. Ryoma, who for some reason returned her gaze from earlier. He was looking at her intensely, eyes narrowed hopeful as if silently communicating. The stimulation of being under his stare sent her heart beating fast and she immediately looked away in escape. She turned her head to see the class representative who looked at her in inquiry. Asahina's expression was curious and she wanted to kick herself for not paying attention as to what was happening. "What were they talking about?"
"H-Hai..?" she manages to say. Horio who was now standing in front too- he volunteered to be the secretary for the meeting- moves, eyes glinting with mirth as he wrote the prince of tennis' name on the blackboard. Sakuno's confused eyes widened in shock, taking her time to stare at the writings on the board. She saw the list where Ryoma's name was written: Scarers/Ghosts. Her vision darted to the uppermost center of the board where their booth was already, apparently decided.
Class 2's Horror House Booth
She blinked multiple times.
"Okay, so with Ryuzaki-san's vote, it's decided that Echizen-kun would be one of the scarers." Asahina continued his talk. "Any more volunteers?"
"Eh?" Sakuno gasped, instantly looking over the tennis prince's seat. He was scowling at Horio's direction. Horio gulped nervously, regretting his jesting demeanor while writing his name earlier. Sakuno felt sorry for their uni-browed friend. It was her mistake, after all. If only she paid attention to the topic and at least tried to understand the expectant look that Ryoma gave her.
"Gomen, Ryoma-kun..." she silently murmured in apology to his direction.
Time went by quickly, and there's only a week left before the school festival begins. Everybody seemed frantic, with empty spaces and classrooms filled with building projects, with performance practices every break times, to the haul of unfinished crafts that some people even continue to do at home. All in all, it was busy. With club activities temporarily suspended to give way for class booth preparations, Ryoma found himself painting one of their backgrounds on one corner of the classroom while he absentmindedly nods to the conversations that Horio tries to make while painting another prop.
"Oi, are you listening, Echizen?" Horio asks and Ryoma only grunts in passive reply as he continued to brush over the chocolate brown paint over the plywood. He just dipped the paintbrush on one of the paint cans, a bit forceful so the meager amount left, splashed a bit. He glances up to hopefully find the person in charge of the paint supply, only for his eyes to meet with rich chocolate brown pools that he hasn't stared at for a long time.
"Chocolate..." he unconsciously muttered, blinking at Ryuzaki Sakuno who stood before him. Brows furrowed in curiosity, "Ryuzaki..?"
"Ryoma-kun..." she replies with a small smile, and Ryoma looks around to Horio who appeared to be saying, 'I did try to tell you.' with his deadpan expression. He sets aside his paintbrush before he stood.
"What is it, Ryuzaki?"
"Ah... Eto," she fishes something in her pocket, "I... I was wondering whether I can take your measurements?"
"Measurements..?" he asks, unsure eyes turned at her.
Ryuzaki immediately stiffens up, face slowly reddening as she flails her hand in denial, "I-It's for your costume... a-as a scarer..."
"Oh." He mouths in realization, "Sure."
"So Ryuzaki is assigned to the sewing of costumes, huh?" Horio joins in, "Why is Echizen only getting his measurements now? I thought it was supposed to be done last week?"
"Ah... That's because... How do I say it?" Ryuzaki was holding a tape measure as Ryoma thoughtfully set aside the plywood he was painting so it doesn't get in anyone's way, "I think everyone thinks it's hard to approach Ryoma-kun..."
At Ryuzaki's explanation, Ryoma quirk's an eye brow, looking at Ryuzaki incredulously as Horio simply replied, "I see. That explains it."
"That explains what?" Ryoma couldn't help his grumpy retort. He couldn't fathom why anyone would be scared of him.
"O-Oh... Y-You know..." Ryuzaki stutters, "You were quite scary when your name was written on the list of scarers."
Well, not only did he murderously glare at Horio when he put his name on the list, he also played a practice match with him that afternoon and pummeled him. The thought of putting a costume on felt embarrassing and the thought of its being a possible blackmail material unnerved him. With the kind of his senpais and family, he can't be so sure that no one would take advantage of that. His Momo-senpai used to say that he could be quite scary when he's irritated while playing, so he figured that it must be one of the reasons. Not that he cared, anyway. He wasn't really keen on knowing, but seeing Ryuzaki appear fidgety around him definitely brought back memories. It made his lip curl a bit in a smirk, teasing.
"Well, whose fault is it?" It was a reference to that lunch break when Ryuzaki agreed to list him, even if he cast her a look of protest.
He enjoyed seeing her cheeks flare while she pouts, "S-Sorry about that, Ryoma-kun..."
"Hn," Ryoma contemplated whether to tease her anymore, but he only decided to shrug, "Anyway, shouldn't you start measuring now?"
"H-Hai..!"
And she started to unravel the tape measure in her hands. Unlike Ryoma's expectation that she would be clumsy while doing work, Ryuzaki showed an air of experience. She looked focused while glancing at the measurements of his shoulders, murmuring numbers as she jots down notes on her minuscule notepad. When she went ahead to measure his waist, Ryoma's breath unconsciously hitched, finding Ryuzaki's sudden close proximity a little stifling. His arms were slightly up making way for the girl's arms to reach around his body. He cleared his throat, averting his gaze to the classroom to not feel as awkward. When he spotted a red-head standing out from the corner of his vision from the door, he turned his attention to it.
"Oi! O-chibi and friends!" His Eiji-senpai seemed happy enough that he noticed him right away from the classroom door. Peeking from behind the acrobatics expert is his other senpai, Fuji who has a camera in his hand.
"Ah! Kikumaru-senpai and Fuji-senpai!" Horio regards, standing from his work, "Do come in!"
"Konnichiwa, senpai-tachi." Ryuzaki finally finished her job. She stood in between the boys.
"Konnichiwa." Fuji greets.
"Hi!" Eiji flashed a peace sign while the tensai beside him had his usual smile on. They approached the first years with curious looks, "What are you guys up to here?"
"Painting backgrounds and props," Ryoma simply replies, following up his question, "Don't you have class booths to prepare too, senpai-tachi?"
"Kikumaru's in-charge of painting props too along with Oishi, if I'm not mistaken," Fuji smiles to Eiji who was looking away whistling in guilt, "I'm a volunteer for the Photography Club to cover the preparations and actual festival, so I really am just supposed to loiter around." He happily pointed at his camera.
"By the way, Ryuzaki-chan, you aren't painting, are you?" Eiji successfully changes the subject, "Are you perhaps here to help o-chibi here?" He slyly looks at the girl who waved her hands, cheeks tinting a bit.
"I was here to get Ryoma-kun's measurements," Ryuzaki shakes her head, "I'm in charge of sewing the costumes."
"Costumes? That sounds great... What booth is your class doing?" though no one could really easily notice the mischievous shine in Fuji's crescent-shaped eyes, Ryoma shuddered.
"We're doing a horror house," Ryuzaki answers politely.
"Interesting!" Eiji replies exuberantly, "We'll definitely visit! We can't miss seeing o-chibi in a costume, nya!"
"That's true. Though I'm not sure if Kaidoh would appreciate it much if we invite him," Fuji chuckles, "Anyway, can I take photos of you guys while you work?"
"Sure! Why not, senpai?" Horio laughs, and Ryoma only shrugs. The two boys continued their painting while Ryuzaki stood by the sidelines, finding the right time to excuse herself without seeming rude. Eiji who normally would've tried to mingle with the boys' photos unexpectedly behaved himself, not risking being found out that he was skipping his own class' booth preparations. After a few clicks to his camera, Fuji was finally done.
"Ne, as a thank you," Fuji offers, "Why don't I take a normal picture of you three, Echizen, Horio, and Ryuzaki-chan..?"
"H-Hai..? With me too?" Ryuzaki points at herself, surprised, "But I didn't really contribute anything for your cover, Fuji-senpai..."
"Umm... Actually, you did," Fuji confesses with an apologetic smile, "I secretly took a picture while you took Echizen's measurements."
"E-Eh?" At that point, Ryuzaki's blush grew bigger. Ryoma saw her gaze up to him, though he didn't return her look.
"Ne, Fujiko, I can actually join in their group picture, right?" Eiji beams, being jumpier, "It won't be published on your cover, right?"
"Un." Fuji nods his head, and Eiji prances beside Ryoma. He pulled him up from his squat, much to the tennis prince's irritation. Ryuzaki situated herself beside Horio who is on Ryoma's other side.
While everyone had plastered smiles on their faces, Ryoma had his default expressionless face on. He wasn't really ecstatic nor is he especially annoyed about it. But if it wasn't his Fuji-senpai who requested and if it weren't for the fact that he felt too lazy to escape, he wouldn't want his picture taken.
"EIJI!"
"Horio!"
Ryoma tilted his head to look over. From the classroom door, Oishi and Class 2's representative, Asahina, stood. Realizing their almost synchronized calls, they stared at each other, suddenly feeling conscious of their actions. The latter greeted the senpai and gestured for Oishi to go ahead of him inside the room. Meanwhile, Eiji froze beside Ryoma, squeezing himself to the back in a futile attempt to hide, "Shh!" He mouthed to them.
Horio only looked puzzled for the reason why the class representative called for him. He excused himself from their small group to meet up with Asahina by the doorway.
"Eiji, why are you here?" Oishi strides towards them, in pursuit of his golden pair partner, "We're short on people, you know!"
"Ah, I was just... Umm... You know, taking some break. Haha..." Eiji sheepishly replies, stepping out from his hiding, "I was helping out Fujiko for a bit..." He looks out to Fuji for help.
"He's right, Oishi," Fuji covers to Eiji's relief, but then, he adds, "Though truthfully, I will be fine alone now." It earned him a betrayed look from the acrobat who could only accept his capture now.
"K-Konnichiwa, Oishi-senpai..." Ryuzaki greeted. It was then that Oishi realized that he is, in fact, in Ryoma's class.
"Ah! Konnichiwa... Sorry for suddenly barging in your classroom." the current vice-captain of the tennis club apologizes, "I just need to get Eiji back." He turns his head to look at Ryoma and reminds him, "Echizen, you're asked to stop by on the club room later, after class. Don't be late."
"Un." Ryoma curtly replies as he watched Oishi drag Eiji out of the classroom. The red-head shouts his goodbye's with a wave of his free hand while being comically in tears. Ryuzaki and Ryoma could only sweat-drop at the affair.
"Fuji-senpai! I'm afraid I would have to go now." Horio says apologetically over the door, "I have some things I have to attend now!" He sounded rushed, and it wasn't surprising that he already took off without hearing Fuji's reply.
Fuji appeared disappointed, fiddling with his camera, though it passed on fast when he looked at the remaining two first years who still stood in front of him, "Ne, I think I should just take a picture with the two of you?"
"Eh..?" Ryuzaki reacts, blushing as she turned to face Ryoma, "S-Sure... If that's okay with Ryoma-kun?"
Ryoma narrows his eyes at the still smiling senpai whom he wasn't sure whether he planned it all along. His proposal was just too reminiscent of their middle school days when they try to set up Ryuzaki and him. He was suspicious and now, he wanted to turn it down. But then, Ryuzaki decided to just throw the question at him. If it was just him, then he would've rejected the idea right away. Ryoma could do nothing but sigh in resignation."It was only a picture."
"Sure." He mutters, and Fuji gestured for the both of them to scoot closer to each other.
They slowly sidestepped so that their shoulders barely touch, and once again, Ryoma felt stifled. He's thankful he's good at masking his emotions so he didn't look as flustered as Ryuzaki Sakuno who appeared like a bundle of nerves. He inwardly smirked at the girl's ever unchanging behavior. He turned to look at her in an attempt to tease her a bit when she blinked before him, surprised.
"Ryoma-kun..?"
"What is it?" he questions, unsure about her behavior. She was looking intently at his face and somehow, it made him feel conscious.
"There are bits of brown paint on your right cheek..." she almost whispers.
"Ha?" instinctively, Ryoma reaches for his right cheek to check.
"It... It smudged, Ryoma-kun..." Ryuzaki shyly lets him know while she reached in her pockets for a handkerchief. She then, offered it to him, "Y-You can use this to wipe it off..."
Instead of receiving the handkerchief, Ryoma turned his head to glare at the still smiling senpai. The paint couldn't have been in his face before Ryuzaki arrived. She would be nice enough to tell him if that was the case. Now, if it happened while Fuji was taking their photos as they continued to paint, then it's possible. All this time, he's facing him, so he should've noticed, right? "Why didn't you say that I have paint on my face, Fuji-senpai?"
"Are? I didn't see anything until just now, Echizen," the triple counter specialist continued to smile innocently, making Ryoma huff, "He's definitely enjoying this."
He is still glaring at his mischievous senpai when Ryuzaki suddenly chuckled. He flashed her a curious look, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, don't mind me, Ryoma-kun..." her cheeks flushed while she laughed, "It's... It's just a bit funny to see you glaring at senpai with paint on your face."
"Fuji!" a third-year girl, another visitor popped by the classroom door, prompting them to look. "Can you cover the third years' dance preparation now?"
"Mirai-san?" Fuji responds, his cerulean eyes staring at the girl surprised. Almost immediately though, his expression shifted back to his normal smile, "I understand... I'll be there."
"Ah, Echizen, Ryuzaki-chan... I'm sorry, but it seems that I have to go now." He turns his head to look at Ryoma and Ryuzaki.
"It's okay, Fuji-senpai," Ryuzaki responds kindly, "I also need to go back to my sewing too."
"Betsuni." Ryoma replies casually, losing his annoyed face earlier. Without even waiting for his senpai to leave, he mutters, "I'll go wash my face."
He turns to face the door, accidentally meeting Ryuzaki's eyes. She didn't say anything, just steps back to give him way. For some reason though, Ryoma felt a little bothered. It wasn't like he was one to feel awkward over an encounter- at least, not around Ryuzaki. As he descended the stairs towards the male comfort rooms, he found it strange that the afternoon when he brought Ryuzaki home suddenly crossed his mind. Thinking about it now, it was weird, how their relationship regressed over a period of three months. What happened earlier when she took his measurements was probably the longest she's been around him, since Prefectural. Though honestly, he thought that it would've been for the better, after all, surely, she won't be bothered by anyone because of him anymore. All is good for him and he liked his daily life, simple. He really wasn't one to pay extra close attention to anyone outside of tennis, so he wasn't sure when it all started. Somehow, he felt uncomfortable whenever she's close and at the same time, distant.
"Eh? You want to see the design for your costume, Echizen?" Horio asks, "Were you not there when it was talked about?"
It was after class dismissal, and without any club practice to give way to the preparation for the festival, Ryoma is going home with his first year friends. Kachiro and Katsuo went ahead and is in waiting at the school gates, while he waited by his desk for Horio after going to the club room to meet with the captain. Horio hastily arranged the props he'll continue to create at home by his own desk. Ryoma lazily looked at him, suddenly remembering that he still didn't have any idea and missed out on asking Ryuzaki what costume he'll be wearing. Since Horio is apparently really involved with the class booth's preparation, he decided to ask him.
"I don't know." Ryoma shrugs, "Maybe I was asleep or something."
"Really, Echizen..." Horio sighs, rummaging through his bag, "You're lucky, you're friends with me, who has three years of managing experience."
"I have notes for everything, you see..." he continues to gloat, putting some notebooks by his table while he looked further in his bag.
Ryoma stands up from his desk, walking over to Horio's. He scanned the pile of Horio Notes by the desk. Deciding on randomly picking up one, his eyes accidentally spotted a green note. It was a stand out among the maroon notebooks that Horio uses. He settled on picking it up instead, eyes curious at the familiar text it was labeled- Inui's Secret Notes: First Years' Edition.
"Ne, why do you have one of Inui-senpai's notes?"
"Ah! Put that back, Echizen!" Horio yells, "Inui-senpai told me not to let anyone see it!"
"Heh," Ryoma smirks, waving the green notebook while backing away, "What could 'Secret Notes: First Years' Edition', mean?"
"Ah!" Horio dashes for him, but Ryoma is a bit faster. He immediately ran towards the teacher's table, navigating through the empty desks while flipping through the pages. He was surprised to see a page dedicated to him. He half-expected that it would contain tennis related stuff, but it was all general facts and trivia.
"Why did you borrow this from Inui-senpai?" Ryoma asks, genuinely curious as he swiftly dodged Horio's attempts at snatching the note away from him.
"It's kind of a guideline..." Horio breathes heavily, momentarily stopping to rest. His stamina is still way below the tennis prince's to keep up, "Inui-senpai let me borrow it to pattern my own notes..."
"Oh..." Ryoma continues to flip the pages, seeing some more names of first years with their own dedicated pages. He even saw Osakada's before landing upon the page which contained his former coach's granddaughter's name.
"Ryuzaki Sakuno." It wrote. And among the list of facts and trivia, one line caught his amber eyes' attention. It was one of the last lines, could easily be ignored if not for the topic and the name written on it. Ryoma gulped, instantly stopping in his tracks as he read:
"Love Interest: Echizen Ryoma."
A/N: Yep! New developments unfold! I hope the pacing's okay. I'm kinda afraid that this all goes a bit fast, but then, it's supposed to be like that? AAAAAA I just really hope that the pacing is fine. We're only 35% in the story if I'm estimating correctly. Haha. I don't know when I will post the next chapter since I've been adding and removing stuff from my outline, editing and writing the succeeding chapters. And aside from my board exams preparation, I'm working part-time now, so my schedule is getting hectic again.
Thanks for reading this chapter! Do tell me your thoughts on this chapter, please?
Btw, is anyone willing to beta read my works? I really suck at proofreading and editing my own work- I always tend to overlook things- so I would be happy if someone could help. :)