"Slip away"
A Prince of Tennis ficlet by Maria, written for the 30 Angsts comm in LJ.
Pairing/Characters: Echizen Ryoma and Ryuzaki Sakuno
Rating: PG
Disclaimer/claimer (if needed): Not mine.
Summary (if needed): Ryoma is gone. Sakuno is depressed. Tomoka is desperate. Tomoka's PoV, spoilers for the TV series.
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Why is she doing this to herself, you wonder. Since you two met at elementary school, you've seen her sad, happy, upset, annoyed, peaceful... but even if she was down, you knew she would sooner than later bounce back and giggle, saying "It's okay, Tomo-chan".
But it's not like that anymore.
Since Ryoma left Japan, Sakuno started to gradually isolate herself from the world. She still replies politely to all the questions about her health and insists that she's doing just fine, but you (and the others) know it's not true. Principally because you usually find her training relentlessly until she almost collapses out of fatigue, or just sitting by the window of your classroom, staring at the blue skies.
Two years have passed since Ryoma and his family moved back to the USA. He never forgets to mail Tezuka-san and Momoshiro-san periodically (which is logical due to the influence they had on him in the months he spent in Seigaku), telling them about his journey to become the best tennis player ever. Other people have to wait for a while for his e-mails, but he does reply sooner or later (whethere one of the other, depending on the person..).
When he e-mails you in particular, he always asks "In her last mail, Ryuuzaki told me she's doing well... Osakada, are you sure she is?". Then,you lie and tell him that she's okay, while mentally cursing at him for being such a blockhead. Many times, the following reply will have a not-so-thinly-veiled message by the lines of "You liar, she's not fine, tell me the truth", but then you'll just cut it from your own message and ignore it...
And you hate yourself for hiding the truth. She promised herself to let go, to trust him, to hope that he may be back to Japan for more than just some weeks in the summer...
But she can't.
At times, when you're in bed, you even come to cry because of all of this. She's so sweet, kind, and selfless to the point of almost being a living Tohru Honda! He's so talented, cool, strong...! They'd be one of a kind. You'd give them a whole-hearted blessing, happy to see your best friend and your idol getting together. Even if the outcome was so annoyingly-and-typically Japanese: the smart and strong husband and the quiet, sweet wife. It'd make all of his Western fangirls puke...
But you, Tomoka Osakada, wouldn't care. Seeing your friends happy is your Top Priority. And yet, you can't do it. She made you swear practically by your twin siblings that you'd never tell Ryoma how bad she has come to feel. You just cannot go and blab it all out...
"You blockheads! You two!", you sob as you bury your face in your pillow. "You could've been so close, but..."
It's true, they never really dated. The infamous school rules ("don't date anyone until past graduation!") wouldn't have allowed it anyway. Also, he was reluctant at times to be with her, and she never gathered the courage to really ask him out.
But the feelings lingering between Ryoma-sama and Sakuno-chan were real, or so you want to believe...
And now your best friend and your idol are miles apart, they won't tell each other their side of the story... and you're practically not allowed to bring them closer.