i don't own prince of tennis
i've been asked about the reason why all of the regulars are still in the same high scool althou Ryoma is a second year student now. well it's simple. where i come from the school sistem works like this:
- school it has eight years and two levels and it starts from age 7 and it ends at 15
-hghschool 4 years from 15 to 19
and then college from 19 to 23/24
now this '...' shows a persons thoughts
and this ... is the anoying voice inside their heads (aka me :p)
2 Temptation
Morning came and with it life began anew.
Come on Sakuno get yourself together. You can't stay inside your room forever. What happened to your promise to start your life again from zero? Get up and out of this house. Or do you want him to win?
'I'll never let him brake me. And I'll never brake the promise I made yesterday. I can do this I can start over.'
That's the spirit. Now what do we have on our schedule?
'Let's see… I know I've wrote it down somewhere, but where?... I got it! It's in my notebook. Let's see now:
7am waking up followed by a morning jog and some push ups, than a quick shower breakfast and school. Doesn't sound that hard. Well it's almost seven now so I'd better get ready to jog.'
She made her way around her room, first brushing her teeth and hair and than getting dressed in her sports outfit. Seeing how it was still warm outside she chose a pair of low cut denim short's and a tea shirt that ended just above her navel. She tied her hair in a high ponytail to keep it out of her eyes and chose a cd for her player. It was last summer that she discovered how refreshed she felt after a short jog and she just kept that habit. She also made it a habit to listen to music while running. Today she chose Avril Lavigne.
After she made sure that her backpack had all the necessary items she left the house heading towards the park nearby. With the music blowing in her ears she was able to forget about Ryoma and concentrate on her training. She was so out of it that she didn't even notice when she went past Kaidoh.
He was surprised to see her there so early and even more surprised to see her jogging at such a fast pace. Noticing the headphones he supposed that she was trying to concentrate on the music so that she could run faster and not feel as tired as one would otherwise. He didn't stay with her for long because they had different routes. 'I guess that she only runs for an hour or maybe even less. But that's still quite a lot for someone that doesn't do sports. She improved her balance a lot, doesn't trip over her own two feet anymore… and she definitely improved her form … a lot.' Just as soon as he finished that thought a small blush spread across his cheeks.
Meanwhile Sakuno had already reached the park and finish her laps and now proceeded to do her sit-ups. After 100 sit-ups she decided that that was enough and began her jog back home, once there, she took a shower and than she headed towards the kitchen to eat some breakfast. On the fridge door there was a note from her grandmother.
"I had to go to school sooner and didn't want to wake you. See you tonight"
"Yeah right. I wasn't even in my room. Will you ever take the time to notice me grandma, or will I always be second to everyone of your kids coach Ryuzaki? Oh well, some things never change so why fight them?"
After having breakfast and changing her clothes, she left for school.
There, not seeing her friend she decided to head towards class. On her way there she almost ran into Ryoma who for some reason was going in the opposite direction.
'I'm not going to say a word. I'll ignore him like he ignores me.' So walking past him seemingly not seeing him she entered her class-room where her friends greeted her.
'That wasn't so hard.'
Ryoma on the other hand had a whole different opinion about what happened. He was confused, and didn't know what to attribute the sudden change in Sakuno's behavior to. He wondered if she was mad at him and was almost sure that that was the case but had no idea what to do abut it. He decided to go back seeing how the object of his quest arrived already.
"Sakuno you were late. You were never late before. What happened?"
"Nothing Tomo. I just had to do something this morning and it took me a little more than I thought it would."
'I guess I'll have to wake up earlier from now on. I can't be late every day.'
'What was she doing this morning?'
"Ah! Ryoma-sama, you're here to. How are you? Are you excited about the tournament, who ar you going to play? What are you going to play singles or doubles?"
"Don't know. Hi Sakuno."
"Hello Ryoma."
'Huh? What's going on? Sakuno never called Ryoma–sama Ryoma before. And she was always shy when she talked to him. Now it's like she doesn't care anymore. Very strange.'
"Hey Tomo can you do me a favor and do this weeks class cleaning? I promise to fill in for you when it's your turn."
"Aaah! Sure Sakuno. Me and Ryoma will do all of the chores perfectly. Huh? Wait a minute. Why are you switching with me? Did anything happen between Ryoma-sama and you?"
"What! No way. Don't be ridiculous Tomo. I have club activities, and I don't want to be late on the first week."
"Oh… guess that makes sense. But that means that you won't come to cheer for Ryoma-sama."
"Yeah I guess. Sorry Tomo-chan." 'Actually I'm really glad that I can use this so that I can get out of the Ryoma club. I couldn't bear seeing him every day and cheer him when all I want to do is scream at him, it would be to painful.'
'Huh..? She's not coming anymore? What did I do?'
At practice Ryoma missed Sakuno's presence. She always had a soothing effect for him and now that she wasn't there anymore he was more grumpy than usual.
'And where is Oishi sempai going?'
"He's going to meet Sakuno at the library. Something about a club project. But if you ask me he just wants to see her. Everyone's impressed by her and seems to want her. You should be worried Echizen"
"Nobody asked you."
"So uncute."
'Why is everything going wrong? She's ignoring me, all the guys talk about her and on top of that it looks like Oishi sempai likes her. I know she changed over the summer but she's the same Sakuno that I l… I have to find her.'
In the library
He looked for a while after her but resigned himself when he couldn't find her.
'I guess she left. I should have been here earlier. Now she might fail her club assignment and it's my entire fault.'
"Oishi sempai, sorry to keep you waiting but I went to by some cola. Would you like some?"
The girl in front of him smiled and handed him the cold drink. He was taken aback by her looks he remembered her having these long braids, and wearing her school uniform that always made her look smaller than she was. But this girl and that one were to different persons. This new one had her hair lose and to the side, it wasn't as long as it was before but it was more stylish. It was also a bit curled he suspected it was because of her braids. She wasn't wearing an uniform anymore but a pair of faded jeans and a blue blouse that fully exposed her shoulders. He stuttered out an apology and then they proceed towards the library.
There they talked about her assignment and he was surprised she was so smart. She had already read all of dickens and most of Shakespeare not to mention the tree Russians that he personally thought as a must in ones culture. She also had seen a lot of the plays he liked.
'I really do like her, but not the way most would think. I want to protect her because although she acts happy and smiles I can tell that something saddens her and her heart is troubled.'
Soon it was eight and the library rep told them that they had to leave. Unknown to them, this whole time someone was watching them closely, waiting for the right moment to emerge from the shadows. But as the hours went by Ryoma didn't find an opportunity and felt his heat twisting in pain every time he would see her smile or hear her laugh at one of Oishi's joke. It was almost to much for him to take when his sempai put an arm around her shoulders and almost came out of his hiding place, ready to tare him apart, but when she shrugged it of, he felt like a little of his former strength came back.
When the two left he also took of but took a shortcut so that he could reach the main gate before them. When he saw her approach he was taken aback by the fact that she was alone but as she went past him and almost left him there alone, he reached for her hand and stopped her.
"Are you really that mad at me? Why? What did I do? Don't you understand?"
Chancing a glance towards her face he was surprised to see the emotions in her eyes, and the one that was more obvious than al others was sadness.
He let her hand go and walked away not knowing what to do, or say.
'What's going on? What did he mean?' she couldn't understand it, but all the emotions were replaced by anger when she remembered her promise.
'What is he doing? Why doesn't he stop playing this stupid game? If he thinks that I'll go back to being the same girl that always hung around him just because of a few words that I didn't even understand than he's got another thing coming. Sorry Ryoma but I'm not falling for it, not this time.'
Home there was no one expecting her but a note from her grandmother telling her that she had to go out of town urgently and she won't be back for a few weeks.
'So what's new? It's not like you ever cared enough to put me above tennis, I'm used to it. But I'm never going to let you or anyone else make me feel second best.'
Flashback
"Here you are. Do you know for how long I've been looking for you? You made me worry like hell!"
"S-sorry…"
"Huh… Why are you crying? What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Come on, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else. It will be our secret."
"It's just that everyone seems to be good at something, except me. And I'm tired of being second best."
"Tell me, what's your dream?"
"My dream?"
"Yes. Your dream."
"I don't know. But what does that have to do…"
"Only when you follow your dream can you be the best. Don't worry; I'm sure you'll find it."
End flashback
'Thank you Akira. Thank you for helping me find my dream. I'll never let it go.'
The following days were pretty much the same and Sakuno began to believe that her heart will be mended a lot faster than she thought before. That was until the day Ryoma decided he had had enough.
It started like all the others days. She first jogged than showered and left for school scolding herself for not eating breakfast. But when she entered the school the halls seemed emptier than usual and an unsettling feeling made its way to her heart.
She walked ahead towards her class and was almost clear of whatever danger her heart warned her of when a hand garbed her from behind and pulled her inside the chemistry lab situated next to her own class. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she would die and when her eyes opened she saw exactly who her attacker was and why was her heart screaming that way. It was ryoma. She wanted to leave but he had her trapped against the wall his arms creating unbreakable barriers. Then she looked into his eyes and knew that she had already lost this fight.
"Why?"
He never thought he would do this but she made him an unreasonable fool, and with each day he became more and more determined to find out why she was tormenting him, making him lose control, something he always prided himself with. Why was she abandoning him? Leaving him behind like an unwanted toy. So when he saw her today, he decided to do something although he didn't know what. And so here he was, in the chemistry lab with Sakuno trapped in his arms and no one to come for at least an hour. When he looked into her eyes he couldn't think of anything, other than how it would be to kiss her. So he bent his head and covered her lips with his own. He felt their warmth and the sweet taste made him hunger for more. With out hurry he began to gently nip at her lower lip and than licked the offended portion. When Sakuno gasped in surprise he depend the kiss exploring her mouth and tempting her to respond. As he felt her relax in his arms and respond to his kiss he deepened it even more until all he could feel was her sweet taste and all he could smell was her unique scent that filled his nose and made him lose control every time. He then realized that they could be discovered and he didn't want that. Not yet, and not now that he knew. So he unwillingly ended it but kept her close to his chest and looked into her eyes once more.
"I see."
A small smile crossed his lips as he planted a last kiss on her forehead and left. As soon as he let her out of his arms he was shocked at how cold and wrong it felt. It was as if something of vital importance was missing. But as he glanced back and saw her staring at him in disbelief he was a little more at ease for now he knew that nothing could take her away from him. He won't allow it.
When she heard the door close she realized that she was alone and that he had left. Sakuno couldn't believe what just happened, nor did she know how to act. What was he thinking? Why did he kiss her? And more important why did he live? Was this another game?
All that day she couldn't think of anything else and because she had separate classes from Ryoma that day she couldn't find the chance to see if he meant anything by it.
When she headed for the exit to go home her head and heart were a mess, and there he was standing in front of her as cool and collected as always. Was he waiting for her? She thought full of hope.
"There you are Echizen! Let's go. I'm starving."
"You were the one late Momo sempay. You should thank me for waiting for you."
'So he wasn't here for me. I'm such a fool.'
She walked ahead passing the two boys and praying that he would stop her, but alas not even a glace. She felt her heart breaking again. She would have thought it impossible but for the pain that was tearing her apart. Going to an empty house having no one to comfort her, she felt like crying but didn't.
"Never again will I cry. Not for you or anyone Echizen!"
Sleep evaded her that night and no mate what it was like she was doomed to be the slave of her thoughts.
The following morning was bright and sunny everything she wasn't.
Hey come on get up. You'll ruin your schedule again.
'I don't care.'
He really got to you didn't he. Man, I thought that you were stronger than this, but I guess I was wrong.
'What do you mean?'
Just a small gesture from him and you crumble to the floor. So tell me did you cry again?
'NEVER'
I'm bouncing of the walls again
I'm looking like a fool again"
You're such a fool to believe in him you know?
'Yeah'
'I'd better get ready to jog, I don't want to be late for school again. My back hurt's, I guess it wasn't such a good idea to sleep on the floor.'
Waking up on the bathroom floor
Hey are you ok?
'yeah'
You seem calm, too calm.
'It's ok to fall down as long as you get up .'
Pull myself together just to fall once more
So you admit that you'll fall again. So weak.
'I'll fall and get hurt. Bu I'll get up until I won't fall again. Now I have to jog.'
Her morning was just like all the others before, except for the sadness that kept creeping back in her heart. By the time she left for school all those annoying thoughts that she tried to block all morning came back with a vengeance.
When she reached her class she hopped that he wouldn't be there, but he was and it took all of her strength to stop herself from crying. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster and barely managed to answer her friend's greetings.
And my hart's steel beating out of my chest
She had to stop this thoughts about him, she tried thinking about her future and how she would make her own dream come true, but she also remembered that in this town it was almost impossible for her to do so because of all its taboos. She had been labeled as an outsider and succeeding in art was almost impossible if you didn't have some support behind you. She wouldn't find support here.
And this town's still making me sick
"Hey Sakuno I brought you this back."
"Huh… Oh thank's Tomoko…"
"Are you alright? You seem a bit out of it. Did anything happen?"
"Everything's fine. Don't worry"
She ignored her friends continued ramble and stared at the object handed to her. It was a tennis ball. She remembered it so well, it was her first time buying something for tennis and she spent most of her money on it. And all for him. Such a waste really.
And every penny from my last paycheck
I've blown on you
She couldn't handle it anymore. She felt like she was suffocating, like there wasn't enough air for her to breathe. She had to live, so she got up and left, living everyone speechless behind her, seeing how it was the middle of class and all.
I'm bouncing of the walls again
I'm looking like a fool again"
She went to the roof knowing that the height will calm her down. It always did.
'What am I doing? I just left in the middle of class no less. The teacher will kill me next time. But I just couldn't take it. I felt like I was about to scream, or suffocate. Why can't I get him out of my head? … What's this picture? Oh yeah. It's from the time Ryoma won that game in spite of his injury. If I remember well he was pretty much forced to do it. But I was happy and than he said something that made me cry. He always did that. First happy then miserable.
So go ahead and take a picture
And hang it up so you can tear me down.
Everything was forced about us wasn't it Ryoma? Either my grandma or your friends it was always someone that made you do things for me. So why this? Why now when I gave up? I feel like I'm going nuts, and what's worse is that I'm acting that way as well.
I'm bouncing of the walls again
I'm looking like a fool again"
THAT'S IT. I have had it. I'm not going to sit here and mope around. I'm going to ask him for a straight answer and I don't care if he laughs in my face or not. I'm not gonna let him run my life. Not any more.'
I threw away my reputation
One more song for the radio station
With a new resolve she made her way to room 207 where she knew she would find Ryoma. She wanted to know just what kind of game was he playing, and wanted him to stop. And there he was in the class room doing his duties alone.
"Where's Tomoko?"
"She's looking for you."
"We need to talk about yesterday"
"What about yesterday?"
"Why did you do that?" 'Please don't play dumb I don't have the patience'
"Do what?"
"KISS ME" 'who does he think he is playing with me like this. Is it all a joke to him?'
"…"
"Listen Echizen, I don't know what game you're playing but stop it before…"
"Before what?"
"Before I smarten up and kill you."
'So the kitten has claws.'
"…"
When she saw him smirking she simply lost it. All her calm and reserve went straight to hell and before she could think twice her hand went towards his face intent on making contact, but before that could happen he caught it and twisted her around so that she was now in his arms.
'Much better'
"So what was it you wanted to do?"
"Ryoma let me go or I'll…"
"Do what?"
And before she could say another word he covered her mouth with his own. His kiss was more demanding than the one before but it was also gentle and sweet.
'Do you know how much I've missed the taste of your lips? The scent of your hair. Do you know how much I lo…I should end it before I lose it?
He broke the kiss and eased her out of his arms. He smiled when he saw her cheeks flush pink and though he hated it he left.
It took Sakuno several minutes to recover from what just happened and when she saw she was alone once more she did noting more than give a sad laugh to the ears of an empty room.
I'm bouncing of the walls again
So are you going to fall again?
'No not this time. It's just a game after all.'
But it still hurts, doesn't it?
'Yeah … it still hurts. But one day it won't'
Let's go home.
well that's it for now. please review, i really want to know what you think about it and if you have any sugestions, than you are more than welcome to send them.
