Title: Irritated
Author: potetofurai
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Rating: G
Pairing: Ryoma/Sakuno
Summary: Sakuno waits for Ryoma to fulfill a promise he made three years ago.
A/N: A continuation of my 'White Day' trilogy I started last year. I think this story can stand alone. Hope you like it!
It was March, and the air was unusually hot. The winter brought little snow and it seemed as if spring was completely skipped and summer had already arrived. The weather seemed to be irritated at something so it wasn't acting properly like a child. Most people would never believe that the weather could be irritated at something or someone, but there were those who said it could.
Ryuzaki Sakuno yawned and looked of the window of the stuffy classroom. The strange weather was making her tired, and it didn't help that history class was excruciatingly boring. She gazed out on to the scenery that graced the window of her second floor class room. She had a clear view of the running track, and currently a class was running around it for gym class. As she watched the runners she noticed one boy who was ahead of the rest of his classmates. She recognized him immediately. She could pick this boy out from any crowd. He was slightly smaller than the rest of the boys a Seigaku High school, but he was probably the most handsome. He had the most gorgeous soft black hair that was always kept neatly (though at the moment it was messy because of the exercise and the sweat he produced), and his eyes were a sharp arrogant yellow, but Sakuno knew that the boy's eyes could become gentle and innocent within a second. He was Echizen Ryoma, resident tennis prodigy and he also happened to be the person Sakuno loved the most.
Sakuno had known Ryoma since the seventh grade. She, like most girls in her year, had been entranced by his beauty and was never able to produce on intelligent thing when he was around. She had thought Ryoma couldn't stand her, that he hated her. But one day about three years ago that idea had changed. It was white day and Ryoma had given her a white ribbon, a symbol of his eternal love for her. Sakuno had fallen completely in love with the tennis prince that day.
Sakuno looked at her reflection in the window. An average, but confident looking girl stared sleepily back at her; her dark brown eyes dropping with boredom. She had long wavy hair, which half of it was pulled in to a small ponytail. It was tied with a white ribbon, the same ribbon that Ryoma had given to her three years prior. She had worn that ribbon in her hair confidently everyday for the past three years. Though Sakuno had not always been very confident, not even close. She used to be a shy, clumsy girl who apologized for everything. But it was the white ribbon that changed her. When Ryoma had given her that ribbon, she gained a confidence that was unheard of for her. Just knowing that there was someone to love her was enough to make her stronger.
She had been very patiently waiting for her tennis star these three years. Sakuno gave him her support in everything he did. She never missed any of his tennis matches (she even stayed home from school to watch his matches in the US Open). Despite her undying support and love, Ryoma had still not made his move. This was starting to make Sakuno irritated.
Echizen Ryoma hated gym class. He didn't like to play any other sports besides tennis. It wasn't that he was bad at them (actually he was rather good at everything) it was just that he didn't get a thrill from playing them. He didn't see why he had to still take gym in High school, it was pointless to him. Though being a Regular on the tennis team had its advantages. Every time a match was approaching, he got to sit out of class. No one wanted to see their precious tennis star become injured in gym class. But unfortunately there would be no more matches before the start of the next school year, so Ryoma was forced to participate. Today's activity: Running. Ryoma never ran very fast in gym class, there was no need to use all of his energy, but he was still far ahead of the rest of his classmates.
Running was one of the things that Ryoma could deal with in gym class. It gave him the opportunity the think without any distractions, and boy did Ryoma have a lot to think about. With the end of the year quickly approaching, the time to choose the next captain of the Tennis club was here, and Ryoma was the lucky member. He had to come up with a strategy to rebuild his team; most of the regulars were graduating, leaving him with only two former Regulars and himself. It was going to be a tough task.
There was another matter that had been troubling Ryoma's brain for quite some time, and it had nothing to do with tennis. Years ago on White day, he had made a promise to a girl. A promise that he would love her…someday. The day had come; he realized a year and a half ago. After becoming good friends with the girl, Ryoma realized that she was not the stuttering clumsy girl he thought she was. She was funny, smart and was very good company. She was Ryuzaki Sakuno. In his first year of Junior high school he had given Sakuno a white ribbon on White day and almost kissed her. When he realized what he was doing, he fled. Though as time went by Ryoma realized that he wanted that kiss, that he wanted Sakuno to be his. She was the perfect girl for him, not too loud, not very flashy, but she was confident and could take care of herself. But Ryoma had never been able to complete his promise, he had never been able to find the courage to tell Sakuno how he felt and get his kiss. It was starting to make him irritated.
The end of the day came and Sakuno was on classroom duty. She had wanted to watch Ryoma's practice, but was unable to because of her duties to the class. She didn't always watch Ryoma's practices, but today he had his last match with his senpai's and she wanted to see it. Somethings were unavoidable she guessed and decided to wait for Ryoma after his practice.
Ever since gym class all Ryoma could find himself thinking about was Sakuno. He found himself becoming irritated when he saw her chatting with Fuji-senpai at lunch. He realized that if he didn't make his move sooner or later, she could be taken away from him forever. And that was something he didn't want to ever happen. He decided that today was the day, after practice he would tell her that he was completely in love with her. The day had gone by faster than Ryoma would have liked and he was distracted so much that he lost his all of his matches with the senpais. After practice had ended he walked into the locker room running his hand through his hair.
Sakuno walked towards the tennis courts. She had come to the decision that today she was going to confront Ryoma. She was tired of waiting for him. Ryoma was a very shy boy when it came to these things and it was probably better for her to go to him. At least that's what Fuji-senpai had told her during lunch. Becoming completely nervous as she approached the boy's tennis club room, she started to fix her uniform, making sure it looked nice. She pulled the white ribbon form her hair to fix it. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew Sakuno's precious white ribbon from her hand.
Ryoma was a mess. He's mind wasn't on anything but Sakuno now. He changed quickly into his uniform not bothering to look presentable and headed out into the strangely warm air. Making his way down the path to the main entrance of the school he noticed a girl with long hair running towards him. He wondered briefly about what she was running after. Then he saw it. A small white ribbon was being carried by the wind; Ryoma reached out and caught it. The girl reached the spot where Ryoma stood clutching the ribbon. She was bent over trying to catch her breath. Ryoma knew this girl, she was the girl who occupied most of his mind now…Ryuzaki Sakuno.
Sakuno looked at up at the person who had caught her ribbon. It was him, her Tennis prince, Echizen Ryoma. She smiled at his appearance. He must have been very stressed and tired to walk out of the locker room looking like that. His shirt was only halfway tucked in and the top two buttons were unfastened. His tie hung loosely around his neck and his normally neatly kept hair was dishelved. It looked as if he had been running his hand through it all day. He looked tired. His eyes were half closed; as though he could have feel asleep on the spot if given the chance. Beyond the tiredness Sakuno saw an element of surprise. He looked as though he had not seen her in a very long time.
They stood silently across form each other, letting the wind play at them. Before she realized what she was doing, Sakuno spoke up.
"Ryoma-kun, it's been three years since you gave me that ribbon and I feel as if we've only just become friends. Was that ribbon a joke or-"
Ryoma was shaking his head. He stepped closer to Sakuno and grabbed her hand. The secen seemed awefully familiar to Sakuno. Ryoma tied the ribbon carefully around her wrist, and before she knew what was happening, Ryoma's lips were presed against her's completing the kiss from three years prior.
They broke apart and with their faces still close togeather Ryoma whispered, "I love you…and this time. it's forever."
A large gust of cold air swept the area; it seemed as if the weather had clammed down, as if it was less irritated now.