I'm being good girl and putting up the 1000 Words epilogue. It WOULD be my last input at for the beginning half of '05. Hopefully I'll continue writing fanfics after my Form 3(Year 9) exams? Hahaha. Oh well. Enjoy. Eh, and I don't know which part of Germany Tezuka ended up in, but let's just say Frankfurt. LOL it is fanFICTION after all. Sorry if this update took a long time, but let's just say, I just started school on the 3rd, and I already have homework piling up. Aaah, listening to Tezuka's song, Mighty Wing, from his new album, is HEAVENLY. XD

I'd just like to tell everyone that I've got a beta-reader, who is the great Am Loves Syusuke-chan. Hahahaha! Um yeah, I haven't got a beta-reader, honestly. Until now, when I decided it'd be safer if my fanfic was read by someone who would correct my silly mistakes. anyway, ehh enjoy! Just want to credit her for her hard work

Once again, I shall warn you of OOCness, especially in Tezuka. Let's just say he only shows his true feelings to Yuko. Oh uhm, there is a slight RyoSaku in the fic.

Yuko's life after Tezuka left for Germany

Time flew very quickly for Kiritani Yuko. Being apart from her loved one made life tough. It seemed even harder than her asthma. Speaking of that, she finally grew out of that disease. (A/N: Yup, that happens. Right? Right. Because I have friends who have grown out of asthma. Er, and I've heard tales of that. Hahaha, but I didn't really do research.) Phone calls, e-mails and instant messaging couldn't replace the sight and voice of Tezuka Kunimitsu. True, she could have used a web cam and microphone to hear and see Tezuka, but then again, she would rather see him in person.

He came back every year around New Year, to celebrate that festival with his family. Besides, the therapy center in Germany was closed because of the festivities that were held. He called Yuko everyday too, and if not, he would be conversing with her on instant messenger.

Finally, Tezuka came back from Germany for good. On that day, which was exactly 2 years since he left for Germany, Yuko had decided to see his stone face again (although he showed emotions when he was alone with her). She was 17, and had gotten her driver's license. So did Tezuka, apparently. He took an international driving license, and that permitted him to drive in the streets of Japan as well. Yuko had bought a car to pamper herself with. It was tiny, cute, and yet big enough to fit five people.

She drove to the airport, glad to be able to see Tezuka again. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen him for ages, but she only saw him for a short while. This time, she could gaze, stare and admire his features as long as she liked.

She greeted him at the airport with a big hug. He wouldn't kiss in public, and she understood that- something about 'to keep up with his reputation of being emotionless'. Whatever it was, kissing was a no-no in public. At least they could kiss in private, right? Something was better than nothing.

Tezuka went to university to study Economics and Accounting (A/N: I could never see him as a lawyer or a doctor, so let's say he took over his dad's company, neh?). Yuko obviously followed him to university, taking Culinary Skills as her field of study. (A/N: Um, I heard that there was a Hotel Management course, which probably has something to do with cooking. But then again, let's just make up this course. ) They both graduated after a number of years.

Tezuka still played tennis while studying, and had finally decided to go for tournaments. At the raw age of 20, Tezuka had gained many trophies, and he had won all those tournaments as easy as ABC. His trophies were piling up, and he had filled two cabinets already. He could defeat veterans, but there was one opponent that he was eager to play against:, Ryoma Echizen. Yes, Ryoma Echizen, the first-year in Seigaku, who had become Seigaku's pillar of support (A/N: um, Tezuka gave him that title, right? LOL). Tezuka was eager to see how Ryoma had turned out to be. He hadn't seen him since those Seishun days.

He kept in touch with most of his old friends, namely Oishi, and also Fuji. They did organize get-togethers, when he came back during those Christmas and New Year breaks. Everyone had missed their old buchou, who gave laps to anyone who slacked, or anyone who created chaos and disrupted practice. Actually, Tezuka had given laps to anyone who had pissed him off, too. No one could ever forget that.(A/N : Uh, Am says that never happened, and it's true. Just to simply make this fic longer LOL)

5 years later (5 years after Tezuka turned 20)

Tezuka had something important to announce to his fiancée. After work, he quickly rushed off to the restaurant that they were supposed to rendezvous. It was a small foreign restaurant by the seaside, which promised good views and a romantic ambience. Tezuka knew it was perfect for the occasion.

Yuko, on the other hand, had to leave her restaurant in the hands of her fellow colleagues. She had opened a restaurant after completing her course, and it was not very far from the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Tezuka. She told him that it would be cool if he thought of going to her restaurant, but he insisted that they were to meet at another exclusive and prestigious restaurant.

When Yuko arrived at the restaurant, Tezuka was already there, prepared. Their table was outside on the Tokyo Harbor. They had a good view, and they could see the nightlights on the other side of the harbor. Tokyo was a humongous city, and it was a busy city.

"Hey, Yuko," Tezuka greeted, hugging the girl. She smiled in return, and took a seat. He sat facing her. The waitress handed the couple their menus and waited for them to order.

After placing their orders, Tezuka finally had the chance to talk.

"Yuko, how long have we been engaged?" Tezuka asked. (A/N : True, he wouldn't exactly begin a conversation, but we KNOW he needs to talk, to convey his message.)

"Hmm, let me count. About ten years? What made you ask that question anyway?"

"That's a long time."

"Uh, yeah. Now get to your point, Kunimitsu! What made you ask that question?" Tezuka smiled (so he did,) and took out a tiny box.

"A present for me! Thank you, Kunimitsu!" Yuko exclaimed. She opened the box, and was surprised to see another diamond ring in it. However, this diamond ring was even more intricate, with more diamonds. Wow. This must have cost Kunimitsu a bomb!

"I-It's beautiful, Kunimitsu," Yuko commented, wiping the tears that had gathered in her eyes. She had finally remembered; it was the anniversary of the day they first met, at the bar. Tezuka knew the date of when they first met because he had been writing in his diary, about how his life was.

"I'll put it on for you, Yuko," Tezuka offered, taking her hand and gently slid the ring through her fourth finger. Yuko beamed. She had never been this happy in her life. True, when she first found out that she had to marry Tezuka, she was rather upset, because at that time, she had fallen for Atobe Keigo. However, one can change, right? At that very moment, her heart belonged to Tezuka Kunimitsu.

Tezuka purposely chose that restaurant because he had prepared everything for the special night. No, he wasn't only going to give her a ring, he was going to do something even more special, and hopefully she would appreciate it. He wanted her to be the happiest bride in the world, and for that, Tezuka Kunimitsu would do anything.

Yuko noticed that her fiancé had been having eye contact with someone behind her. Don't tell me it's a waitress that he's interested in. He can't let me down at this moment, when I'm so in love with him. Tezuka nodded his head, and they heard some music.

"Eh? Tezuka, what's this?" Yuko asked, puzzled. Soon, she heard someone sing.

"Kimi no kotoba wa, yume no yasashisa kana? Uso wo zenbu, oikakushiteru, zurui yo ne.

Tabidatsu kimi ni......Sameta senaka misete, Kiiteita yo.......Hitori tatakau no?

ZURUI yo ne."1

"Oh my god. T-that's..." Yuko stammered, thinking back to her previous days.

"Sen no kotoba (a thousand words)," Tezuka said, smiling at his bride-to-be.

Yuko was at a loss for words. She got up from her chair, went to Tezuka, and kissed him. So much for 'Tezuka's reputation of not showing affection in public'. Yuko couldn't care less. Everyone kissed in the streets anyway. Besides, she was on cloud nine. She needed to thank Tezuka.

"Hehe, you must be up to something Kunimitsu! There's just something behind all this, right?" Yuko said, sitting back on her seat.

"Uh, I really don't know how to say this to you..uhh, we've been engaged for so long.."

"Don't tell me you want to break up right now, do you?"

"No, no! Uhh, just wanted to ask you if I could be honored to take your hand in.. marriage," Tezuka said, looking away. Yes, that was typically Tezuka, who had a hard time trying to say that sentence. He was afraid to look Yuko in the eye, and he was definitely afraid that she was going to reject his offer.

When Tezuka looked away, Yuko didn't think that he was insincere. He was just being embarrassed and shy, and Yuko knew that very well. She grinned at him.

"Mitsu-chan, you're just soooo cute when you blush! Well, okay then! We have to start preparing already!" Yuko said, laughing. Tezuka smiled back at his wife-to-be; she was as jovial as usual, even when it came to trivial matters like these.

The Tezuka family was very busy preparing for the marriage of Kunimitsu, the only son of Kuniharu (A/N: or was it Kunikazu? I think Kunikazu is the name of Kunimitsu's grandpa) and Ayana Tezuka.

The regulars of Seishun Gakuen's Tennis Club were definitely invited. After all, they were Tezuka's only friends, unless you counted his colleagues in the office. They too, had been invited, but Yuko made sure that each and every one of the Seigaku Tennis Club regulars attended the wedding.

It wasn't long ago when Fuji himself had married Miyuki, after a long time of courting and chocolates and necklaces for Valentine's Day. Miyuki also helped prepare the wedding; by shopping with Yuko for the suitable wedding gown. Tezuka had just gotten himself a simple tuxedo, which was necessary for the day.

Eiji, upon receiving the letter, had called everyone he knew, getting them all to come. Their stoic, emotionless and stony captain was getting married. How could they even miss it? At first, Ryoma and Kaidoh couldn't care less, but somehow Eiji got them to go. In Ryoma's case, Eiji said he would treat Ryoma to a sushi buffet at Kawamura's (the boy never lost his love for food); and for Kaidoh, Eiji said that he would get him a cat. (A/N: Mind the weirdness. LOL I just had to write that.)

There was a lot to prepare:; namely the guests list, the venue, and much more. They were going to have a traditional tea ceremony in the Tezuka's residence (A/N: I'm not a Japanese, so I'm not so sure about these ceremony things, but let's just say there's a tea ceremony before the girl enters a family). Besides that, they were also going to exchange rings in the church nearby.

Finally, THAT day came.

Yuko was excited that morning. She was going to marry Tezuka; the person she had been loving for ten years. Despite having to go through Tezuka being overseas, she was alright with it. Modern communication systems solved every problem.

When she had to serve tea to her elders, namely Tezuka's grandfather, she was quite afraid that she might screw up everything and ruin the whole event. Tezuka could see and read Yuko like a book, and he knew she was afraid. He held her hand reassuringly, looking at her eye to eye, with a smile spread across his face. She smiled back in return.

Luckily, the events went on as planned, and everything ran smoothly. Now, the next thing was going to the church and have the usual marriage procedure. Yuko quickly changed into her gown and rushed into the car.

Yuko was very thrilled about the fact that she was going to walk down the aisle. Arm in arm with her father (who had obviously been invited. Her mother was also invited for the event, of course), she was going to face the person she could never imagine loving, but it was just that simple.

She could recognize almost everyone who turned up for her wedding. The Seigaku Tennis Club regulars were definitely there. The ichinen trio, who had obviously grown up into such fine young men (with the exception of Horio, he still brags about having 2 years of experience, in work, in this case). Tomoka and Sakuno were also there, and they could never forget to invite Ryuzaki-sensei herself. She was proud that Tezuka was finally getting married (it was a miracle to her; she thought that even though with his good looks, he would never get hooked because he would never be in contact with anyone, let alone with the opposite gender). Besides Miyuki, Yuko also made sure her other two girl friends, Yuki and Mika, had turned up for this spectacular event.

Her mother was also proud of her, and she was glad she had made the right choice for her daughter (which was forcing her to marry someone she didn't like, and it turned out that they both liked each other in the end). Yuko felt quite bitter seeing her parents, but she had no choice. They were her parents, anyway. Despite her hatred towards them for planning her life and not letting her have any say in it, she still loved them. Besides, if they never existed, she would never have existed as well.

Finally, the time came for Yuko to walk down the aisle. In her long peach gown, she was holding her father's hand. Her father had a tear-stained face. Even though they never gave her any freedom, she knew clearly how much her parents had loved her.

Yuko's father ushered her to the altar and left her there. Tezuka took Yuko's hand gently, and they were facing the priest.

"We are all gathered here on this very day to witness the wedding of Tezuka Kunimitsu and Kiritani Yuko. Tezuka Kunimitsu, do you take this woman, Kiritani Yuko, as your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest said.

"I do."

"And Kiritani Yuko, do you take Tezuka Kunimitsu as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." Yuko said, beaming as she looked at her husband.

"Are there any objections?" the priest queried. No one responded. "I now declare Tezuka Kunimitsu and Kiritani Yuko as man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Tezuka gazed into Yuko's blue orbs. He leaned forward, and they kissed gently. They were now officially married.

The both of them walked out of the church aisle slowly. She threw her bouquet of roses to the crowd, and Ryuzaki Sakuno had caught it. She was blushing, and Yuko knew that her feelings towards Echizen Ryoma were undeniable.

"Hahaha, we're finally married, after so many years," Yuko told Tezuka. He nodded his head in agreement. They got into the wedding car, and they were ready to live the next phase of their lives.

So yeah, the epilogue! I tell you, it's pretty lame, especially the ending! TT uhh yeah. I didn't know how to end it! So I hope you enjoyed the fic, and please leave a review if you feel like it! And if I may repeat myself, THANKS A LOT AM-CHAAAAN!