Author's Notes (1): This involves mainly the Kawamura family and Sakuno. It happens before or while Episode 49 (English trans: Different Kind of Fight) and definitely before they meet up with Hyotei.
Author's Notes (2): Okay, my Japanese sucks. I'm having Sakuno call her father 'Daddy' in English since it's easier for me.
Author's Notes (3): Yabusame: mounted archery; Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: Located
45km southwest of Tokyo in Kamakura. For more info look at the website: I figured it would be a nice side note because, well, why not? Also, yes, those garnishes are real. In one of my book-addiction-spending sprees, I once spent about five books on how to make garnishes. I have no idea why, but they are fun, if very detail oriented to make.
Warning: At the end there's a Nanjiroh/Rinko scene. It gets a PG rating there- Nothing graphic. Just two adults in an adult relationship. And a little Nanjiroh reasoning about the Shinto religion just to get his way. You don't have to read it to get the story, just thought I'd put something there for Nanjiroh and Rinko fans.
Title: A Little Cut to the Heart
Sakuno sighed as she listened to her Obaachan on the cell phone. "Oh dear. Are you sure that you're all right? Okay, so what does Obaachan want me to do? Go where? I think I know how to get there. Are you sure that it'll be all right? Okay. All right. Okay- I'll see you later."
As she hung up the phone, Sakuno sighed again as she looked up at the late afternoon sun and gathered up her overnight bag. "At least it's not raining."
Sighing again, Sakuno shook her head as she started towards the bus stop.
Sakuno stood outside the sushi restaurant, debating if she should just walk in or if she should just try and call up Tomoko again.
"Ah! Ryuzaki! There you are!" called out a voice as the door opened. "Obaasan just called to say that you were coming over! Oyaji- Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter is here!"
"Oh! Kawamura-sempai!" Sakuno started as she looked up at the tall senior. She immediately bowed low to him and his father. "I'm so sorry for troubling you!"
"It's no trouble at all," Kawamura-sempai said as he took Ryuzaki's overnight bag and led her into the restaurant. "We don't mind watching over you while Obaasan is delayed."
Kawamura-san smiled as he looked at the young girl. "Sit! Sit! Did you eat yet? Are you hungry? I can make something for you if you want to eat. Want a bowl of U-don? Soba? Sushi?"
"Ano I'm sorry but I'm not hungry, thank you," Sakuno said shyly as she followed Kawamura-sempai and sat at the farthest corner of the sushi bar, nearest to the kitchen. "I already ate with my Obaasan and her friends before I came."
"So where are you coming from?" Kawamura-sempai asked as he started to tie an apron around his waist. "Did you have a nice weekend?"
"Oh, it was fun," Sakuno said with a shy smile. "My late mother's godfather, Sanada Jiji-san, took me to see a flower and gardening display and then a kite show. And my mother's mother, Obaasan, took all of us to a martial arts district competition and then we all went horse-back riding. Oh, and I saw the some riders doing yabusame training for the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine festival. It was amazing!"
Kawamura blinked as he looked at the little girl and passed her a cup of tea. "Your Obaasan took you to a martial arts district competition? I never knew that you were interested in martial arts!"
"Oh, I'm not very interested in it… not like most of my family is," Sakuno blushed as she took the tea. "They have balance, I don't. And you need balance in martial arts."
Remembering the accidents the girl often found herself in, Kawamura said kindly, "You can learn to keep your balance."
Chuckling at herself, Sakuno shook her head. "It doesn't work, sempai. And after several attempts that have landed me in the hospital, I finally gave up. Everyone says I'm too much like how Mama was when she was younger- I have no balance unless I'm riding something- which is all really strange if you think about it."
"I'm sure that works out better than it sounds," Kawamura said kindly with a smile.
"It does," Sakuno said earnestly. "Anyway, my family, they're very much into martial arts. Obaachan said that Daddy even won a few competitions himself when he was younger."
"My son was very interested in martial arts when he was younger and he wasn't so bad at it," Kawamura-san laughed as he came over and looked affectionately at his son. "Taka spent six years studying it before his interests moved on to tennis. He's such a flippant guy!"
"You really should say things like that, Oyaji," Kawamura blushed as he scratched his head. "I'm her sempai. What would she think of me when you say these things?"
"Nothing bad, I'm sure," Kawamura-san shot back. He looked at the small girl. "Isn't that right, little one?"
"Ha-hai!" Sakuno blushed as she looked earnestly at Kawamura-sempai. "Kawamura-sempai is a very nice sempai and he's really gentle… when he's not holding a racket."
"That's very true," Kawamura-san chuckled as he looked at his blushing son. "Anyway, Taka, you may have to pull double duty tonight. Our regular helper cannot come in today and Murai will be an hour late."
"Is there anything that I can do, Kawamura-san?" Sakuno asked hesitantly. "I can try to help out until Obaachan comes."
"You can just sit there and look pretty," Kawamura-san winked. As he was about to say something else, a couple of customers walked in. "Hello! Welcome! Taka! Menus!"
Sighing and feeling a bit useless, Sakuno watched as Kawamura-sempai and his father serve the steady flow of people coming into the small family restaurant. She sighed again as she tapped her fingers on the counter.
"Hello, can I help you with your order?" asked a kind voice. Sakuno looked up to see a pretty middle-aged woman looking down at her.
"Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm not a customer," Sakuno said quickly as she shook her head. "I'm just waiting at Kawamura-sempai's for Obaachan."
"Oh, I see, you must be Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter then," said the woman with a gentle smile. "I'm your sempai's mother. And what is your name?"
"I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno," Sakuno said with a shy smile. "I hope that I'm not a bother to you."
"Oh no, you aren't," Kawamura-san said as she looked at the girl and then at the restaurant. "But I don't think that you should stay here, it's going to be busy very soon. It's almost supper time."
"Where should I go?" Sakuno asked worriedly. "I asked Kawamura-san if I could help since it seems that he's shorthanded but he doesn't want me to do anything. Isn't there anything that I can do?"
"I think we can think of something that you can do," smiled Kawamura-sempai's mother as she led the little girl in pigtails into the kitchens. "What say you can start helping me with the small things first?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sakuno smiled as she followed Kawamura-san into the kitchen.
"That was a delicious meal as usual, Kawamura-san," said a customer as he helped his wife into her jacket.
"And the dessert was quite tasty and the garnishes quite clever," said his wife as she looked at Kawamura-san. "I didn't know that your wife had such a hidden talent."
"My wife is a woman of many talents, Tanaka-san," Kawamura-san said proudly though he was confused at what the woman was talking about. "Please come again!"
"Thank you, please come again," Kawamura said as he looked up from the table he was cleaning. "I'm so tired!"
"Well, now we've finally got a small break!" sighed the elder Kawamura as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He looked at his son. "That was a nice dinner rush. You did well, Taka. You may inherit this store with full honors yet! But you still have much to learn before you work with your old man!"
"Arigato, Oyaji!" his son blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Hai! I agree that I have much to learn!"
"That's right!" Kawamura-san grinned as he beamed at his son. He turned to talk to the coach's granddaughter. "What do you think little Miss? Eh? Where'd she go? Taka, did she leave?"
"Where did who go?" Kawamura asked as he looked up from the table he was cleaning. He followed to where his father was staring and dropped his rag. "Eh? Where did sensei's granddaughter go?"
"I don't know!" Kawamura-san said with some alarm. He came around the counter to meet his son in the middle of the restaurant. "Could she have left without telling us?"
"She wouldn't do that, I think, and I know Obaasan would let us know if she were here to take her away," Kawamura said as he shook his head. "Maybe she's in the restroom. I'll go check."
"And I'll ask your mother if she saw the little one, Taka," Kawamura-san said as he started towards the kitchen. "Wife, have you seen-"
"Oh, my, isn't that pretty!" Kawamura-san exclaimed as she clasped her hands together, admiring the small radish that was shaped like a polka-dot mushroom. She admired the banana shaped like an arch around the plate of fruit, the strawberry fans, a whimsical strawberry dog, miniature mushroom cap basket, the braided chives and the pineapple fruit boat. "My garnishes don't look half as pretty as what you have here. You are quite talented with that pairing knife, Sakuno-chan!"
"I'm not really good at it. It just takes a lot of practice," Sakuno blushed at the praise. "Oh, Kawamura-san! Is Obaachan here?"
"No, she's not. We were just looking for you," Kawamura-san said with a great sigh. He looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Taka! I found her! She's with your mother! So what are you doing here, Ryuzaki-chan?"
"Just look at all these pretty things she made using that small paring knife and corer, husband," Kawamura's mother said as she looked at her husband. "Aren't they just clever? And she made all the desserts look prettier as well!"
"My, so that was what Tanaka-san meant," said Kawamura's father as he scratched his chin and admired the garnishes. "So you were the one that was decorating all the food."
"You found her?" Kawamura exclaimed as he came into the kitchen. He leaned against the kitchen island and patted his heart down. "Lucky! I thought that something had happened to you while I wasn't looking!"
"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you, sempai!" Sakuno cried out as she started to bow in apology. "I'm sorry! It's just that I was just having so much fun here in the kitchen with sempai's mother that I-"
"It's all right, it's all right, Sakuno-chan. My son and husband are easily excited," Kawamura's mother said as she waved away Sakuno's apology. "Taka-chan, look at what she's been doing! Isn't it adorable?"
"Oh, so you're the one that's been making all the little garnishes in the dishes," Kawamura said as he picked up a small mushroom-radish. "I was wondering since when did my mother have time to do all the decorations."
"Oh, was I doing something wrong?" Sakuno asked worriedly as she looked up at her sempai.
"Not at all, in fact we had a lot of compliments for your work," Kawamura's father chuckled as he picked up a small braided chive. "These are very pretty." He lifted the miniature mushroom cap basket. "And how did you make this?" Then lifted the strawberry dog. "And this? Are these beans for the eyes? And how did you get it to stay like this?"
"Hai! I used a toothpick to hold the two strawberries together after I carved out room for the beans for the eyes. And for the mushroom basket, I cut the stem out of the mushroom and trimmed the enoki mushrooms to put them into the cap," Sakuno explained with a blush. "It was very easy to make."
"Not by looking at this can you tell," Kawamura-san chuckled as he placed the small garnish down. "Taka- maybe you should learn how to garnish a little from this little one here! Keep up the good work!"
"Ha-hai! I will do my best," Sakuno blushed as she bowed. She shyly looked up at her sempai. "Ano did Obaachan come in yet?"
"No, not yet," Kawamura said as he shook his head. "But don't worry it's only been two hours since she last called. They were just towing her car then. I can't believe that you can use a small paring knife to make all this! So what else can you make? Ryuzaki?"
His father frowned. "Taka, why don't you call her Sakuno-chan? After all, you are babysitting her for your sensei."
Taka lifted a hand to scratch his head. "But wouldn't it be presumptuous?"
Sakuno's eyes widened as she bowed deeply. "Oh no! I would consider it an honor if you would call me that, sempai!"
"Then I guess I can call you that if you can call me 'Taka-san', Sakuno-chan," Kawamura said.
"But that would be too rude- Obaachan would be mad that I wasn't showing the proper respect and Obaasan would be horrified at my manners!" Sakuno shook her head vigorously. "And not to mention what my uncles and cousins would say!"
"Then how about just when you're here?" Kawamura-sempai's mother suggested as she looked at her son to Sakuno-chan.
Kawamura-san nodded in approval. "That should do it. Call him Taka-san while you're here, Sakuno-chan! We won't mind."
"Oh, okay," Sakuno stammered as she bowed. "Thank you very much for allowing me to call you that, sempai."
"No problem," Kawamura said as he waved it away. He tried to look nonchalant as he felt his cheeks get heated up. "So- what else can you make, Sa-Sakuno-chan?"
"I-I can make people's faces on fruits and carrot flowers and such, Kawamura-sem- I mean, Taka-san" Sakuno admitted with a nervous smile. She picked up a radish and started carving it. "The biggest knife I use is a steak knife. I can't use a big knife yet because I always cut myself with them. So both Obaachan and Obaasan keep them away from me."
"So this must mean that you're a good chef like my Taka-chan?" Kawamura's mother smiled as she looked at her son fondly.
Sakuno shook her head. "I can't cook very well yet. I get help from Obaachan and Obaasan when I try. But I am improving! There! A radish sempai!"
"How cute! Taka-chan, look at yourself!" exclaimed Kawamura's mother as she took the radish and cooed over it. "You are just so talented, Sakuno-chan!"
"That does look like me, doesn't it?" Kawamura chuckled as he took the radish from his mother and examined it. He looked at her speculatively. "Say, can you carve out the regulars without looking at them?"
Sakuno blinked as she looked at him. "If you would like me to, I can. Would you like me to carve fruits or radishes, sempai?"
"The radishes will do," Kawamura said as he picked up a knife and eyed the various vegetables around the table. "I'll make a special salad bento for lunch and they can decorate the bento. Won't the others be jealous when they see my good looking Seigaku Regulars' bento!"
"But these aren't good enough to decorate a bento," Sakuno stammered as two red spots appeared on her cheeks.
"Now, now, you're being too modest, Sakuno-chan," Kawamura's mother laughed as she patted the girl's back. "You really are quite talented. Didn't you hear my husband say that the customers thought that the decorations were quite cute and clever?"
"That's right, I heard more than three compliments today on the garnishes," Kawamura-san said with a loud laugh. He was about to say more when he heard the customer entrance bell ring. He called out, "Hello! I'll be with you in a moment- Keep up the good work, little miss!"
"Hello! How may I help- Echizen-kun! What are you doing here?" called out Kawamura-san as he looked over to see who the customer was.
"We were passing by and Oyaji said that wants some sushi for dinner," Echizen said as he pulled down his cap to cover his eyes. "Family style, please. And if you can, five bowls of miso soup."
"One order of family style sushi coming up and five bowls of miso," Kawamura-san said cheerfully as he started to prepare the fish. "If you want to see Taka while you wait, he's in the kitchen right now. Just walk in that way."
"Thank you," Ryoma said as he started to lazily walk towards the kitchen. He stopped when he vaguely heard the conversation going on.
"No, no. When holding a larger knife, you have to hold it like this, do you see?" said Kawamura-sempai. "It's almost like holding a tennis racket in front of you, like I sometimes do."
As Ryoma go closer, he heard a small voice then a loud, hesitant laugh that had to belong to his sempai. "No, I suppose you shouldn't yell out 'Burning!' like I do."
"Why don't you show her how to hold the knife like I taught you, Taka-chan?" called out a woman's voice. Ryoma lifted an eyebrow at the pet name of his sempai and wondered who he was talking to.
"I suppose there's no choice, let me show you how to hold it," sighed Kawamura-sempai. "I'll stand here and you know how to hold that paring knife while holding that radish. But since the handle and the onion you're cutting is bigger you now have to adjust your grip on both and-"
Now curious, Ryoma entered the kitchen and his eyes widened as he took in the sight of Kawamura-sempai standing closely right behind Ryuzaki at the kitchen island. And he had his arms wrapped around hers. Time stood still as he looked at the two of them, locked in their own little world and absolutely oblivious that he was there.
Ryoma felt his grip on reality start to slip further when she tilted her head to look up at a blushing Kawamura-sempai. He blinked hard as he felt his heart drop to somewhere below his knees. "What-"
"What are you standing there for, Ryoma?" asked a loud voice. Startled, Ryoma blankly looked up at his coach's face. "Is there something wrong there?"
Alarmed by the unknown voice, Kawamura-sempai's mother twirled around from the stove she was working at and saw an older woman with a young boy at the doorway. Curiously, she demanded, "Oh, hello! Can I help you? What are you doing in my kitchen?"
Distracted at the voices, Kawamura looked up to see who his mother was talking to. "Mother- what- Sensei! Echizen!"
"Obaa-Ai!" Sakuno yelped as she looked up from the onion she was cutting and sliced her finger. Pain flared up as blood started oozing from the small gash. "Ittai!"
"Ryuzaki! Are you all right?" Kawamura asked as he jumped back in alarm. He took one look at her profusely bleeding finger and blanched. He felt his head getting light at the sight of blood and started to fall forward. "Oh no- you're bleeding! Mother! She's bleeding! She's- ooh!"
"Sempai!" Sakuno cried as she felt a dead weight on her back and fell forward towards the counter. Desperate to grab something, she did and felt it following her and hitting her as she went down.
Everyone watched in slow motion as Takashi Kawamura fainted and slumped on the back of the much smaller Sakuno who went down like a battleship, her bloody hands trying to grasp anything that would keep her up. Except that she grabbed the cutting board loaded with partially cut onions, and they all went down with her.
Suddenly there was pandemonium in the small kitchen all at once.
"Takashi! Takashi! What's wrong?" Kawamura's mother cried out as she was at her son's side at once and pulled him into her arms. "Husband! Husband!"
"Ryuzaki!" Ryoma shouted as he fell to his knees and grabbed her shoulders, lifting her to her knees. "Oi! Ryuzaki!"
"Ittai! Ryo- Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno gasped blankly as she blinked her eyes at him. "What are you doing here? Ittai!"
He had no time to answer that as Ryuzaki-sensei grabbed her granddaughter from him and pulled towards her causing the girl to squeak. "Sakuno! Sakuno! Are you all right? Did you loose any fingers? Let me see your hand!"
"Obaachan! You're hurting me!" Sakuno gasped against her grandmother's tight grip. She felt her eyes start to fill with tears, but whether it was from her grandmother's vise-like grip or the pain of cutting her finger, she wasn't sure.
"Don't you dare scare me like that, Sakuno," Sumire Ryuzaki scolded gently as she let go of her granddaughter. "Now let me see your hands."
With his golden brown eyes showing nothing, Ryoma watched as Sumire Ryuzaki's hands tremble as she lifted her granddaughter's hands to look at them carefully. One hand perfectly fine yet had splattering of blood while the other had a finger that was dripping of blood. "Oh Sakuno- you might have to get stitches for this one."
"What's going on here?" Kawamura-san demanded as he raced into the kitchen and around the kitchen island. His jaw dropped as he saw his wife desperately trying to revive their son as he lay in her arms, his son's teacher holding her granddaughter's bloodied hands and Echizen on the floor with onion cuttings all around them. "Wife! What's wrong with Takashi?"
At that moment, Kawamura groaned and opened his eyes as he rubbed his head. "Oi blood."
"If you faint again, we might have to take you to the hospital, sempai," said Echizen before he looked up at Kawamura-sempai's father and slowly stood up. "He fainted at the sight of Ryuzaki cutting her finger. Sempai? Are you all right now?"
"I've been better," Kawamura moaned as he pulled away from his mother's arms. He lifted his head suddenly at looked at the small girl. "Sakuno-chan! Your finger! Are you all right?"
"She may need stitches," Ryoma announced as he frowned at his sempai as he practically ignored him and fretted over Ryuzaki's bloody fingers. Since when did he start calling Ryuzaki 'Sakuno-chan'? "So we had better get off the floor."
"It's not that bad," Sakuno announced as she looked from Ryoma-kun to her grandmother. She felt her face become very hot as she looked away from Ryoma-kun. This simply wasn't happening. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge him, it would just prove that Ryoma-kun wasn't in the kitchen where he witnessed her newest bout of clumsiness. She gave her grandmother a small smile. "Really. I don't want stitches-"
"We'll see," Ryuzaki-sensei said to her granddaughter. "Let's clean it up a bit first. Ryoma, here are my keys to my car- I'm parked out by the corner on the right, and take out the first aid kit. Well? You heard me- go on!"
"Hai," Ryoma muttered as he left the kitchen quickly.
As Ryoma disappeared, Kawamura's mother scolded her son. "Yare, yare! If I had known it was because of the sight of blood, I never would have screamed for your father."
"Gomen," Kawamura said as his mother flicked her finger on her son's forehead.
At his hiss of pain, his mother looked over at the young girl who was over by the sink with her grandmother. "Sakuno-chan, sensei, I have a first aid kit here. Taka-chan, go get me the antibacterial cream and alcohol swabs under the counter. Husband-"
"I'll go get it," Kawamura-san said as he sped towards the back of the kitchen and into the storage room. He came back immediately with the kit and started to place the necessary items on the kitchen island. "Now Sakuno-chan, we know all about cuts here! Taka used to cut himself badly when he first started learning the trade."
"Really?" Sakuno sniffed as her grandmother held her hand firmly under the running water. She winced as she tried to move away then subsided at her grandmother's stern look.
"There, I think it's clean," Ryuzaki announced as she looked at the finger and sighed with relief. It wasn't as bad as it looked. She looked at her granddaughter. "We're going to clean it with alcohol now."
"Now?" Sakuno yelped as she snatched her hand back and cradled it safely. She gave her grandmother a winning and hopeful smile. "Can't we do it later?"
"You sound just like how Taka did when he cut his fingers with the knife," Kawamura-san chuckled as he looked at the little girl. "Oh, the pleadings and the doleful looks! And so dramatic when he couldn't escape! And that wasn't good- he had several deep gashes if I remember."
"Really?" Sakuno blinked as she looked at her sempai with wide eyes. It was hard to imagine him as trying to wheedle his way out of anything.
"Really. I had a few bad cuts on my hands and I have the scars to prove it too," Kawamura chuckled as he laid his hands on her shoulders, keeping her still. He smiled down at the smaller girl as she looked at him with big eyes. "There was one cut-"
"Here's the first aid kit that you asked for, sensei," Ryoma said loudly as he entered the kitchen and laid the kit on the kitchen island abruptly. He remained silent as he narrowed slightly at Kawamura and the fact that his hands were still on Ryuzaki's shoulders. He stood next to her as he looked at her face. "Is your finger still hurting so badly, Ryuzaki?"
"Huh? Ryoma-kun? You're really here?" Sakuno blinked as she looked at him. Her face grew red at the sight of him staring at her. She bit her lip, he looked really angry when he came in and now he looked even angrier. Why was he really angry at her? She tried to give him a meek smile. "Ano Ryoma-kun, what-"
"Echizen! What are you doing here?" blinked Kawamura as he looked at the boy with a blank look on his face. He could feel the waves of displeasure coming from the young freshman but he didn't know why.
"Oyaji and I were passing by and he wanted a family style sushi with five bowls of miso, so we came here," Ryoma said shortly as he glanced up at his sempai's face. "Then-"
"Ai-yah! I totally forgot about it during the excitement!" Kawamura-san shouted as he shook his head in dismay. "Gomen, Echizen-kun! Gomen! Taka! Come and help me! We can't keep this boy waiting! Taka!"
"Coming!" Kawamura called out as he raced after his father. He popped his head back in the kitchen. "Echizen! I'll talk as soon as we get the order underway! Sakuno-chan- be strong! It'll be all right! Trust your sempai in this!"
"Ha-hai, sempai," Sakuno stammered with a deep blush.
"Okay," Ryoma shrugged as he looked at Ryuzaki and the way she cradled her hand against herself. "Does it hurt much?"
"It would hurt less if Sakuno would only give me her hand," Ryuzaki said as she gave her granddaughter a stern look. "I still need to look at it more closely to see if she needs stitches. And it still needs to be disinfected and bandaged. Now, out with your hand."
"Obaachan, do we really have to do this? Can't you just put a bandage?" Sakuno asked meekly as she tentatively held out her hand. "And just skip the alcohol treatment?"
"I don't think that we should skip the treatment, Sakuno," Ryuzaki said as she looked at her granddaughter and kept a firm hold on her granddaughter's wrist. "You know as well as I do that this needs to be done."
Sakuno paled as she inched her hand away from her Obaachan's unrelenting grip. "Yes, but can't it be done later?"
"You really do sound like my Taka, Sakuno-chan," Kawamura's mother chuckled. She winked at the girl's grandmother. "Maybe you two should date since you're both alike."
"That would be an idea," Ryuzaki chuckled as well as she looked at her granddaughter. Maybe if Sakuno were distracted, she could pour the alcohol over the girl's finger before she got herself up into a state. "We could arrange it."
"Wha- what?" Sakuno goggled at the sempai's mother and then at her grandmother as her face flushed a deep red and she started to melt down. "Ano Obaachan- what?"
Ryoma frowned slightly as he glanced at the two older women as they started to make plans between themselves while Ryuzaki simply blushed and goggled and sputtered. For some reason, the subject of Ryuzaki and Kawamura-sempai being match-made was a very irritating thought. "Oi, Ryuzaki. Your cut- it's not looking all that bad. The alcohol shouldn't hurt so much."
Blinking at Ryoma's change of subject, Sakuno stared at the unsympathetic boy. "Ryoma-kun, where are you from that pouring alcohol on an open wound is not painful? Of course, it's painful. It's- IIII-TTTT-AI!"
"Done," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she let go of Sakuno's hand and capped the bottle of alcohol as the girl whipped it back to safety and slumped against Ryoma's chest. She smirked as she looked at Ryoma's and Kawamura-san's shell shocked faces. "My granddaughter has a set of lungs, doesn't she?"
"What was that? What happened now?" Kawamura-sempai demanded as he ran into the kitchen. "Everyone?" His eyes widened as he saw a pale Ryuzaki lean against a slightly blushing Echizen. "Sakuno-chan? What happened? Are you all right?"
"Nothing's wrong Taka-chan. It seems that Sakuno-chan has a very loud voice when she wants it to be," Kawamura's mother laughed as she looked at her son. She shook her head, her ears were still ringing. "Now go back to work everything's okay here."
"You're mother's right, Takashi. She was screaming because I surprised her with a douse of alcohol," Ryuzaki-sensei said with a wry smile. She glanced at Sakuno, amused that her granddaughter was too stunned to care that she was in the arms of her crush. But that couldn't be said about Ryoma- the boy knew who had in his arms around and was unsure about what to do. "Sakuno is absolutely fine considering the circumstances."
"Oh, I see," Kawamura said as he scratched his head. He looked closely at Ryuzaki and Echizen and hid a smile. It seemed that Ryuzaki was unaware that she was being held up by Echizen but his little teammate was definitely aware that he had the girl in his arms. "Echizen-"
"I heard a scream! Taka, what's going on here? Was it Sakuno-chan? Are you all right?" Kawamura-san demanded as he looked at her then at everyone in the kitchen. "What happened? Wife?" His eyes widened as he saw the little Ryuzaki lean against Echizen. "Why are you leaning against, Echizen-kun, Sakuno-chan? Are you hurt?"
Blankly, Sakuno looked at Kawamura-san then behind her. Her eyes widened as they met with the golden eyes of Ryoma-kun. Alarmed, Sakuno immediately pulled herself away from Ryoma with a deep red face. "Oh! Ryoma-kun! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"
"I think I'm deaf," Ryoma said blankly as he shook his head as if to clear it out. He looked at Ryuzaki owlishly.
"Ano I'm so sorry Ryoma-kun- Ittai!" Sakuno gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands. Tears started to form around her eyes.
"Stop that! You'll start bleeding again," Ryoma said gruffly as he pulled her hands away from her mouth. He grimaced as he saw blood start to gather but not start a steady flow. He looked at her and saw blood staining her mouth. "Lucky. It's not bleeding again but you had better put a bandage on it fast before you do anymore damage. And you had better clean off the blood near your mouth- it looks real bad."
Ryuzaki-sensei shook her head as she looked at her youngest Regular. She didn't know who was worse in talking to girls, him or his father when he was at that age. "Yare, yare. You could have said that better, Ryoma."
Ryoma looked at his coach, puzzled at her pitying look. "Huh?"
"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno sniffed as she looked down at her hands. Now it was official, she wanted to die. She wanted an earthquake to hit Tokyo and make her sink. She not only managed to slice her finger open- she also managed to make Kawamura-sempai faint, scream in Ryoma-kun's ears and then slump against him. And now, she made him become disgusted with her because she smeared her own blood against her face- probably making her look like a horrendous vampire from some really bad movie. "I didn't mean to disgust you."
Ryoma looked at Ryuzaki, puzzled at her distressed look. "Huh?"
"Echizen! You shouldn't tell a girl that!" Kawamura scolded as he put his hands on Sakuno's shoulders. "It's bad of you to tell a girl she looks disgusting!"
Ryoma looked at his normally timid sempai, confused at his scolding look. "I didn't say that- I said that she should clean the blood off near her mouth- it looks bad. If someone saw her, they would think that someone hit her."
"But you could have said it better," Kawamura's mother said with a shake of her head. She lifted a wet towel and started to clean off Sakuno's face. "Such youthful mistakes! Don't you pay attention to him yet, Sakuno-chan. He's still young- my Taka's older, so it's better for you!"
Sakuno's eyes grew big. "Huh?"
"Huh?" Ryoma goggled at her. Annoyance filled him when he heard Kawamura-sempai's mother say that. Mother or not, she was really starting to make him angry. "Excuse me-?"
"What I don't understand is what happened? What caused the scream?" Kawamura-san demanded as he looked at his wife. "What happened? Sakuno-chan?"
Grateful for the distraction, Sakuno's lips trembled as she gave an angry glare at her grandmother. "Obaachan cleaned my finger with alcohol when I wasn't ready. Ittai!"
"We would have argued about it for another thirty minutes and that way was faster," Ryuzaki shrugged as she lifted the antibacterial cream and a bandage. "Ready for this? It won't hurt."
Frowning at her grandmother through her teary eyes, Sakuno looked at the tube suspiciously then at her grandmother again. Her grandmother sighed. "Such a distrustful look aimed at your grandmother! Would you rather Takashi do it for you? He's got gentler hands. Taka-"
"I'll do it," Ryoma offered as he took the cream and the bandage from the coach before she could finish the sentence. Efficiently he opened the bandage to get it ready then looked at the younger Ryuzaki expectantly as he held out the tube. "Give me your finger."
At his calm and no-nonsense manner, Sakuno blanched as she looked at him. It was worse than when she was hurt with Obaasan! At least Obaasan distracted her when she put on the medicines. She took a wary step back from him as she cradled her hand against her chest. "Ano are you sure that you know how to put on a bandage, Ryoma-kun?"
"I know how to put a bandage on, Ryuzaki," Ryoma said calmly as he looked at her. As she looked at him with still wary eyes, he asked, "What's a matter? Don't you trust me?"
"That has nothing to do with it- I don't want you to hurt me," Sakuno said bluntly as she scowled at the bandage, missing the slight widening of his eyes. She looked at him suspiciously. "How do you put on a bandage? And medicine?"
"I won't hurt you. I put bandages and medicine on like anyone else does. You open it and put it on," Ryoma said slowly as he looked at her. She still looked at him suspiciously. Oddly hurt by the look of suspicion, he tried to give her a better answer. "You put the medicine on like anyone else. You dab it on the wound and then put the bandage on."
"That's- that's not really a good answer, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said as she bit her lip. "In fact that sounds very painful."
"Dabbing medicine is painful?" Ryoma stared at her. "That sounds painful? It's how people put on medicine and a bandage. How is that painful?"
"I don't know, but it sounds painful," Sakuno sniffed as she glared at him with big eyes.
"How can that sound painful?" Ryoma demanded as he gave her a look of exasperation.
"It just does," Sakuno said stubbornly.
"Yare, yare. This is getting us no where," Ryuzaki-sensei sighed as she looked at the stubborn face of her granddaughter and the frustrated one of Ryoma.
"Oh, yes- now she definitely sounds like Taka," Kawamura's father chuckled as he shook his head. "This sure brings back memories."
Kawamura took the bandage and medicine from Echizen. "Here, let me do it for her, Echizen." He dabbed a bit of the antibacterial cream on the bandage, took paper on the adhesives and then lifted it up for Sakuno-chan to see it clearly. "See? It's all ready for you. And I won't put it on so tight. I promise."
Still suspicious, Sakuno looked at her sempai warily. "Will it hurt?"
"It will a little," Kawamura admitted with a wince. "But it won't hurt as bad as the alcohol. And it doesn't smell like the other medicines. Sempai's promise."
Sakuno bit her lip as she looked at the bandage that was ready for her finger. She narrowed her eyes. "Not too tight? Promise?"
"Sakuno, he already said that he wasn't going to make it tight," Ryuzaki-sensei exclaimed with exasperation. "You're not questioning your sempai, are you?"
Sakuno looked at her grandmother indignantly. "I just want to make sure."
"Not too tight," Kawamura promised.
"Are you sure?" Sakuno asked as she looked at him.
"He just promised again, didn't he?" Ryoma snapped as he looked at Ryuzaki. He immediately regretted his words when he saw the hurt look on her face. "Ryuzaki-"
"Oi! Is there anyone here? Seishounen! Where are you? What's taking you so long? Oi!" called out a loud and annoying voice. "Yoo hoo!"
"Oyaji," Ryoma gritted out as soon as he heard his father's voice.
"Whoops! Gotta go," Kawamura-san said as he started towards the doorway. He paused to look back at his son. "Be gentle, Taka. Sakuno-chan, don't you worry, my son might not be able to cut fish well, but he does have the gentle hands of a doctor."
"Oi! Anyone here? I'm here for my sushi and my snarky dwarf!"
"What a loud voice! He hasn't gotten quieter now that he's an old man," Ryuzaki-sensei sighed as she shook her head. "Come on, Ryoma. He probably wants to come and get you as well."
"Hai," Ryoma sighed as he followed his teacher out the kitchen. He turned back to say good-bye but frowned as he saw Kawamura-sempai bend his head over Ryuzaki's hand. He felt his feet start back towards the kitchen.
"Oi! Seishounen! Are you coming? Your kaasan is waiting for us to bring this home!" shouted out Nanjiroh. Ryoma turned on his heel and glared at his father.
"I'm coming," Ryoma said curtly. Taking a deep breath, he called out loudly, "I'm leaving now, sempai, Kawamura-san, Ryuzaki. See you tomorrow."
"Bye, Echizen-kun," called out Kawamura-san in a sing-song voice. "See Sakuno-chan? That didn't hurt, did it? Isn't my Taka-chan a gentle giant?"
Ryoma gritted his teeth as he forced himself to walk away from the kitchen.
Smacking his lips, Nanjiroh let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Now this is some delicious sushi, right, Seishounen?"
"It's all right," Ryoma answered curtly. "Can I be excused now? I want to go to my room."
"That was all you're eating?" Nanjiroh exclaimed as he looked at his son's plate. "You only had twenty pieces!"
Rinko Echizen looked at her son with a bit of alarm and pulled him over to her. "But you've hardly eaten, Ryoma! Are you feeling sick?"
"I feel fine, Kaasan," Ryoma said grumpily as he pulled his head away from her hand.
"But you usually eat more than this, Ryoma-kun!" his cousin Nanako exclaimed as she looked at his plate. "You usually eat enough to fill an army."
Ryoma shrugged. "I just wasn't in the mood for sushi, that's all."
"This doesn't make sense. Since when are you not in the mood for sushi?" Rinko asked as her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Maybe I should call a doctor-"
"I'm fine, Kaasan," Ryoma said patiently. "I just want to go to my room-"
Nanjiroh blinked as he looked at his son. "It's only eight o'clock! Why would you want to go to your room now?" His eyes narrowed and then he smirked. "Oh, I get it! You want to play a game against your old man, dwarf?"
Scowling at his father, Ryoma snorted. 'I don't want to play a game with you, baka Oyaji."
Sitting up immediately, Nanjiroh gave a mock scowl at his son. "Why not? Think it's because I'll laugh my ass off at you when you lose?"
"No, maybe because have school tomorrow?" Ryoma sassed back with a scowl. He looked at his mother's worried face and relented enough of his bad mood to lie. "I have hard test tomorrow and I want to get some studying then sleep early. So can I be excused?"
Semi-satisfied with that answer, Rinko nodded. "Of course- I'll bring up some snacks if you're still awake."
Sighing deeply, Nanjiroh reached for his son's portion of the sushi. "Oh well. If you're not eating, your father then should finish this for you so it won't go to waste!"
"Thank you, Kaasan," Ryoma said as he ignored his father stuff his face and excused himself. The two adults watched as Ryoma climbed up the stairs and went into his room.
Nanako looked at Rinko. "He was lying. Do you think that he's sick?"
"He could be- but he usually doesn't act this way when he's sick," Rinko mused as she looked at the door to her son's room speculatively. There was something about his grumpiness- it seemed so familiar but she couldn't place it. "Nanjiroh, what do you think?"
"He's fine," Nanjiroh said through a mouthful of sushi. "There's nothing wrong with the dwarf. He's probably just tired. That boy has no stamina."
"Are you sure, uncle?" Nanako asked worriedly. She was about to say more when the phone rang. "I'll get that."
As Nanako left the room, Rinko looked at her husband. "I think it's more than a lack of stamina. There's something about the way-"
"Aunt! There's an Ito Suichi on the phone for you!" Nanako called out.
"Ito Suichi!" exclaimed Rinko as she stood up. Nanjiroh lowered his chopsticks and narrowed his eyes at her. "I wonder what he's doing calling me?"
"Who knows? Doubt that it's important," Nanjiroh snorted as he crossed his arms.
"Probably," Rinko agreed absently as she left the room to take the phone.
Nanako looked up from her plate as her aunt came in. Rinko blinked as she looked at her niece, the only person in the room. "Eh? Where's your uncle? I thought he was going to help finish up all the sushi?"
Nanako shrugged and frowned in puzzlement. "Uncle said that he wasn't hungry anymore. He said that he wanted to go take a walk and then go to bed because he was tired. So who's this Ito Suichi, Aunt?"
Though puzzled at her husband's disappearance, Rinko shrugged as she sat down. "He's an old friend of mine I met when I was in America. We dated a couple of times-oh!"
"He was an old boyfriend?" Nanako asked politely as she looked at her aunt. She was looking speculatively at the closed bedroom doors. "Are you all right?"
Rinko smiled as she looked at her niece. It finally hit her why Ryoma's sullen attitude was so familiar. The boy was becoming just like his father. A pang of love went through her heart, her little boy was growing up. "I'm fine, Nanako- and I'm sure that Ryoma will be too. After all, he's almost like his father. Just more mature. I hope."
"Ryoma's just like his father?" Nanako repeated as she looked at her aunt's amused face. At her aunt's knowing look, it hit Nanako a second later. She let out a chuckle. "I wonder who she is? Think we'll meet her?"
Shrugging, Rinko picked up her chopsticks. "I hope so. But the way he's acting- I hope that he doesn't sulk for very long."
"It should be interesting to see Ryoma in love," Nanako giggled. "I can't wait to see it."
"I just hope that he doesn't court her like his father did to me," Rinko chuckled. "Now that was an experience."
Ryoma lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling with Karupin at his side. Frowning in the dark, he thought about the image of Ryuzaki in the arms of Kawamura-sempai. For some reason, he couldn't get the image out of his mind. She could have pushed him away- sempai shouldn't have held her so close like that. It just wasn't right.
'But it was if they were being match-made' whispered a little voice in his head. 'If she's going to be his wife, then he has every right to hold her like that.'
'Bull' thought Ryoma as he scowled. 'She's only twelve. Why should she think about marriage so early?'
'But who said it was her that was thinking about an early engagement?' whispered the voice again. 'And besides, isn't she the most docile and obtuse creature you've ever seen? You're always spending your time- time that you should be devoting to your tennis and beating Oyaji- worrying about her. You have no time to waste on her. Let some other guy rescue her from falling flat on her face or getting hurt. Like Kawamura-sempai.'
Ryoma scowled at the thought. 'Stopping her from hurting herself is my duty. Oishi-sempai said that since we're in the same grade, I should look out for her.'
But Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo are in the same grade, too. So it's not just your job. Why can't they look after her?
"Because their reflexes suck," Ryoma snorted aloud. "I have no choice as a Seigaku regular. I have to make sure the coach's granddaughter doesn't hurt herself."
But didn't she already hurt you?
And with that Ryoma reached over to his radio and turned it on, not allowing the voices in his head a chance to speak.
LAST WARNING- ADULT SITUATION: RATED PG
Nanjiroh scowled as he hit the tennis ball with the palm of his hand against the wall. Playing handball wasn't his thing, but it did work well when he was pissed. As he was about to hit it again, he had a flash of the laughing idiot and a much younger Rinko on his arm.
Growling, he smacked the ball hard, imagining that it was Ito Suichi's face. "His phone calls are not welcome here. Why was he calling?"
"Because he wanted to say hello," Rinko answered as she stepped out of the shadows. "And to catch up on old times- He's going to be visiting Japan in about a month, something about doing a consultation for his work. And he would like for us to guide him around Tokyo."
"Did he say 'us' or did he just mean you?" Nanjiroh asked as he smacked the ball harder.
"He might have just mentioned me guiding him around, but he wanted to play tennis against you," Rinko said calmly as she crossed her arms.
Catching the ball, Nanjiroh turned to look at his wife speculatively then smiled. "Oh, he wants to play against me?"
"Yes, he does," Rinko said as she walked up to her husband. She didn't trust the smile on his face. "Promise me that you'll be nice to him." At his silence, she sighed. "At least don't hurt him too much. His company needs him back alive."
"I won't hurt him," Nanjiroh said as he crossed his fingers behind his back.
Sighing, Rinko pulled out his arms, revealing his crossed fingers. She interlaced her fingers between his, preventing him from crossing his fingers again. "Now promise me."
Crossing his toes, Nanjiroh said, "I promise that I will not hurt him too much."
"Good," Rinko said as she started to step away then squeaked when Nanjiroh held her hands behind her back. She looked at her husband and saw the gleam in his eye. "Nanjiroh! We can't!"
Lowering his head to kiss the base of her throat as he lifted her hips, Nanjiroh growled against her skin, "Why not?"
"Because we're at the temple," Rinko moaned as she threw her head back and wrapped her legs around his waist. "We can't do this here! Let's go back home!"
"Yadda! I'm worshiping the temple of my wife," Nanjiroh said as he walked over to the tennis bench and laid her down on it. He felt his breath catch as he looked at the face of his wife then he lowered his head to kiss her.
"Nan- Nanjiroh! It's a place of worship," Rinko gasped when he broke the kiss to move his mouth lower.
"But I am worshiping, Rinko! I'm worshiping nature!" Nanjiroh reasoned as he smiled roguishly. "Isn't that the basis of Shintoism?"
"How is having sex here the basis of Shintoism," Rinko demanded as she glared at her husband.
"In a nutshell, Shintoism makes offerings and worships the kami, the forces of nature, neh?" Nanjiroh said as he kissed his wife's collarbone. His hands moved to cup his wife's breasts. "So I am worshiping the nature of my wife at the temple of my wife. So it all fits!"
"There's something wrong with that logic, I know there is," Rinko gasped as she tried to clear her mind of the fog of lust her husband was weaving around her.
"Figure it out later, Rinko," Nanjiroh said as he kissed her deeply and his hands went lower. "I'm busy worshiping."
-End-
PS This was actually longer, but I broke it up. I'm still working on the second part, please be patient. And thank you all for the reviews.