Pure Essence: Hiiiii to all my fanfic readers and loyal supporters!!! I know I'm a bad girl who hasn't updated for a while, but life has been super busy. So forgive me oki? I just finished my AP exams…and now I have my regents to take and SAT…

I haven't written anything over these past few months, so I'm probably a bit rusty. Thanks to all who read the last chapter and enjoyed it. I hope you will like this one just as much!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the wacky plot to this story.

Previously in the last chapter...

"You'll miss my lunches?"

Tears of disappointment began building in Sakuno's eyes. "Is there anything else you'll miss?" she asked hopefully.

Ryoma pulled his cap low enough to hide his eyes. "Not really…"

Sakuno's heart shattered and the tears overflowed. She sniffed silently but Ryoma caught the sound. He looked up to see her crying.

"O-Oi, Ryuuzaki." He stuttered. Why is she crying? He can't handle crying girls!

Did he say something wrong? What did he do to make her cry? He had absolutely no clue.

Sakuno wiped her tears but refused to say anything. She grabbed the two lunchboxes and ran towards the door.

Before she ran out and slammed the door behind her, she turned to him angrily.

"Ryoma-kun no BAKA!"

Chapter 7: Departure Pt. 2 (Sayonara Ryoma-kun)

She couldn't believe it. How could anyone be so direct and dense? Did she have to say everything in order for him to understand what she was hinting?

Sakuno's heart constricted painfully as she angrily recited "Ryoma-kun no baka!" in her head over and over again. She muffled her sobs with her hand as she ran down the hallway blindly with tears blurring her line of vision.

A part of her pitied herself for being so weak and helpless. Another part of her blamed herself for not being able to tell him her true feelings and also expecting too much from the tennis prodigy. She should've known that he wouldn't say anything along the lines of "I'll miss you."

So why does it hurt so much? Why did she have to love him so much?

Since long ago, she knew this love would be fruitless. The probability that it was an unrequited love was 100 and she knew that. But still, the fact that he would miss her lunch more than he would miss her was really heartbreaking.

Could this be his way of saying good-bye?

'I doubt it' Sakuno thought as she wiped the tears from her face.

From his reaction, it seemed as if…. as if he had no idea she was leaving…

Sakuno shook the idea away. That's not possible. 'Obaa-chan said that she'll notify the tennis team in the morning...so Ryoma-kun should've known already.' She reasoned.

Then why did he look so confus--

Sakuno shook off the thought and groaned. This was too complicated. There was no way Ryoma would've missed such an important gathering. Sticking to that idea, she took a few deep breaths. Finally, she didn't feel like crying anymore.

'I must be so ugly right now.' She thought and glanced at the clock in the hallway. There was a few more minutes left – enough time to fix those puffy eyes.

At the same time…
Ryoma sat silently by himself in the now empty roof. His face twisted in deep thought. Deep inside, he knew he must've done something really really bad to make Sakuno get so angry at him… but, what exactly was it that he did wrong? He had no clue.

'Why are girls so hard to understand?' he pondered, frustrated.

Ryoma could never answer that question because he doesn't even know the answer himself.

Why couldn't they be simple like tennis or English? Then, he wouldn't have to kill so many brain cells trying to figure out why Ryuuzaki was so angry at him.

Moments ago, Sakuno had run out on him snatching his delicious lunchbox away from him, leaving him surprised at her sudden aggressiveness.

He smirked at the thought though. It was the first time she had ever raised her voice at him and he had to admit, he was pretty surprised at her boldness. It was good to see her in the not so shy and quiet mode. She can be quite – he wouldn't never tell anyone in the whole world this – cute with that dynamic attitude. But he liked the quieter side of her as well. He wouldn't want her to turn too dynamic or she might even become like her friend Tomo- whatever her name was – friend. That would definitely be a no-no.

'Whatever' he thought casually. 'She can't stay mad at me for long…' Or at least he hoped. It sucks to know someone who's always been good and supportive of him be angry at him. An unsettling and tugging feeling pulled at his heartstrings. Ryoma frowned.

'Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?'

At the Gift Shop...
The regulars of Seigaku (excluding Ryoma) all crowded outside of a girly gift shop staring at the pink and "cute" plushies that were peering back at them from inside the window. They had decided to skip their tennis practice and the rest of the school day to buy something for Ryuuzaki-sensei and Sakuno as their departure present. Of course, they had already asked Tezuka and he reluctantly allowed them to go today as an exception. They were also going to bring Ryoma along but, he was no where to be found.

"So," Fuji began. "Are we going in?"

The other regulars scanned the street nervously. "Wouldn't it be weird going inside?" Kawamura asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. "This place seems to be more for the girls…"

"Hsssshh" Kaido agreed, a pink tint on his cheeks.

"Let's not waste time" Oishi said and opened the door for them. "We don't have all day since they're leaving in a few hours."

"But –" the regulars wanted to protest but were stopped by Oishi's stern and motherly look.

"Alright." Momoshiro sighed. "Kaido, you can go first."

"Fsshhh" Kaido hissed. "Are you trying to pick a fight?!"

Just before the two rammed heads, Kikumaru stepped in.

"Nya! Look look, Fuji and Buchou are already inside!"

"Eh?" All heads turned to look inside the pink store. Indeed, Tezuka and Fuji was side by side picking out "cute" objects.

"Darn, I wanted to be first." Momoshiro mumbled under his breath and unfortunately, Kaido caught it and another phase of bickering began. Fortunately however, it was stopped by Oishi who pushed the both of them into the store.

Inside the store, it was surprisingly not as "girly" as it seemed to be on the outside. Although the wallpaper was pink, the things inside were relatively made for both genders.

The regulars dispersed, each looking for their own presents.

Within 30 minutes, the regulars paid and met outside the store each delighted with their gifts and a bit sad that the time of departure was creeping closer.

"Now what do we do?" Momoshiro asked.

Oishi glanced at his watch. "School should end about now… I think we should start heading to the airport. I'm sure Ryuuzaki-sensei and Sakuno will be there soon…"

The rest of the regulars nodded. Oishi and Tezuka each waved for a taxi. Eventually, two taxis stopped in front of them.

"Let's go." Tezuka said and the Seigaku regulars quickly hopped into the taxi after their captain. During the ride, no one spoke a word. The tension was high and a very suffocating aura was beginning to form as the taxi drove closer and closer to the airport…..

DING! DING! …..
"DING!!"

'Oh GOD' Sakuno groaned in her head. School was finally over but she was definitely not delighted. On regular days, Sakuno would've been grinning from ear to ear after the bell signaling the end of the school day finally rang. However, today was not just any regular day.

It was the day of departure…her departure…She had dreaded this moment for a long time.

As the students around her quickly packed up and chattered excitedly about their after school plans, Sakuno could not help but feel like she was now in a totally different world from them. In around 2 hours, she will be on a plane to America where she will have to leave behind her closest friends, her home, school, and her long time crush, Ryoma Echizen.

Tears slowly began to well up as she remembered the prior incident and she closed her eyes to keep them from falling. 'Ryoma-kun…' she thought sadly. 'Perhaps I should go and apolo-'

"Sakuno… Are you ready?" Sumire Ryuuzaki suddenly appeared and jolted Sakuno out of her thoughts. "We must leave quickly. We still have to stop by our house to pick up the luggage."

Sakuno turned and nodded. "Hai… obaa-chan…" Sakuno quickly packed her books and went to her grandmother's side. As they walked down the hallway together, Sakuno turned her sad eyes toward the staircase leading to the roof longingly - hoping to get a glimpse of him coming down coincidently. Sadly however, the staircase was empty and the roof door had no intention of opening soon. Sakuno closed her eyes as a heart wrenching feeling overwhelmed her.

'So this is how it all ends…' she thought and opened her eyes. 'Good-bye Seigaku, Good bye Tomo-chan, good-bye Seigaku Regulars…'

She turned to stare at the staircase now behind her for the last time.

"Good-bye Ryoma-kun"

At the Roof…
Ryoma yawned lazily as he shifted to sit in an upright position. 'What time is it?' he wondered and pulled out his cell phone – only to find it turned off. 'Off?' Ryoma raised an eyebrow and then it clicked.

Earlier in the day, right before he fell asleep on the roof, he had turned off his cell phone to make sure no annoying or noisy phone calls would disrupt his rest.

"Hnn…" he muttered under his breath and pressed the ON button. The screen slowly loaded and finally, a beep was heard signaling that the cell phone was ready for use.

Suddenly, a notification popped up notifying him that someone had left him a voicemail. Ryoma Echizen scrutinized the message on the cell phone screen: "You have 6 voicemails."

'Must be junk mail' Ryoma thought. After all, he had never received that much calls in one day unless it was from fan girls who had somehow secretly gotten his number off who-knows-what sources OR perhaps it could be his senpais bugging him about missing practice.

'It's probably nothing important' he thought and shrugged it off. Snapping his cell phone closed, he stood up and headed for the door hoping the school gates have not closed yet.

Back to Sakuno's Situation…
Sakuno and her grandmother had packed and were ready to go.

While waiting for the taxi to arrive, Sakuno stood outside her house and stared hard at it – hoping to scratch its image into her memories forever. "I'll miss you…" Sakuno muttered under her breath as she gently smoothed her hands over the gate. Most people would've thought she was mentally ill if they saw her talking to a house. But to Sakuno, her house was like a sanctuary, a place which had protected and sheltered her for so many years. A strong bond had been formed over the years.

While still in a daze and staring at her house unblinkingly, Sakuno did not notice that the taxi had pulled up behind her and was waiting for her to enter. Sumire Ryuuzaki had already started dragging the heavy luggage to the back of the taxi.

"Sakuno, why are you just standing there?" Sumire called, pulling Sakuno out of her reverie. "Help me carry some of the luggage!"

"A-ah, Hai Obaa-chan, Coming!"

Sakuno quickly turned around and helped her grandmother load their luggage into the taxi. When everything was packed into the back of the taxi, Sumire Ryuuzaki climbed into the front seat of the taxi while Sakuno silently sat in the back seat.

"To the airport" her grandmother told the taxi driver and he nodded.

As the car begins to move, Sakuno turned to look out the back window – her eyes never leaving her house. She looked on sadly as her house became smaller and smaller as they drove down the street. Sakuno's eyes teared and she wiped them away quickly so her grandmother would not see them. Even when their house was out of sight, she continued to stare out the back window.

Sumire Ryuuzaki watched her granddaughter in the front mirror. Knowing of her granddaughter's enclosed loneliness and sadness, she remained quiet during the ride for she knew that if she said one word, Sakuno would burst into tears.

In her thoughts, she wondered if it was really the right decision for her to take Sakuno with her to America. Sumire Ryuuzaki knew that Sakuno was happy in Japan but that doesn't mean she can't be happy in America too right?

'Time will change this' she reassured herself.

As her mind drifted to other things, Sumire Ryuuzaki noticed a small yellow tennis ball next to Sakuno. As she looked closer at the reflection in the mirror, she noticed that it was one of those tennis balls that Sakuno had drew Ryoma's face on.

Ryoma Echizen. How could she forget? He was so special to her granddaughter. For a long time, she knew that Sakuno had admired and loved the prince of tennis and she probably still does whole-heartedly at this moment.

'Sorry Sakuno…' Sumire Ryuuzaki thought guiltily. She knew that by bringing Sakuno to America, she had hurt her granddaughter emotionally. She had to leave everything behind that she had loved including him.

Sumire Ryuuzaki was sure time can heal some of the wounds in Sakuno's heart. After all, adaptations take a while to get use to but once it kicks in, the pain will be less.

But there was one thing that Sumire wasn't so sure of:

Can time really heal a deeply wounded heart?

At the Airport
"Mou…. When are they coming?" Kikumaru whined. They had been here for half an hour and no sign of Sakuno or Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"Eiji, It's only been half an hour." Oishi sighed. "They should be here soon."

Right after Oishi finished his sentence, Fuji spotted Sakuno and Ryuuzaki-sensei walking into the airport.

"Look, they're here." Fuji notified.

The regulars immediately rushed up to them and they were pleased at Ryuuzaki-sensei's expression –it was not hard to tell that she was deeply touched and surprised.

"Minna, arigato for coming." She smiled at them and they returned her smiles genuinely.

As Sumire Ryuuzaki and the regulars were talking happily, Sakuno looked around hoping to get a glimpse of the person she was looking for…

"Echizen isn't here."

Sakuno looked up to see Fuji, Kikumaru and Momoshiro hovering over her.

"A-ano, I-" She stuttered. "I wasn't looking for him…" Sakuno stared at the floor. If she looked up, she knew they would know she was lying.

Momoshiro and Kikumaru looked at each other while Fuji's always smiling face became more serious.

"Nya! Ochibi is so mean… he didn't even bother to show up when his girlfriend is leaving…" Kikumaru whined a little annoyed.

Momoshiro agreed. "Don't worry Sakuno-chan. I'll call him right now!"

Sakuno was about to protest but Momoshiro had already flipped out his cell phone and dialed Ryoma's number. Sakuno fidgeted on her spot nervously. She half wished Echizen Ryoma would not pick up to save herself from the awkwardness of the situation and another half of her wanted to hear his voice and see him one last time…

As fate had it… Echizen Ryoma picked up.

Echizen Residence
"Ring….." "Ring….." "Rin---"

Echizen Ryoma reached for his cell phone. Seeing the caller ID that read "Momo-senpai", he flipped open the phone and put it to his ear.

"Momo – senp---"

"ECHIZEN RYOMA!" Ryoma winced. 'Sure doesn't sound like good news' he thought sarcastically.

"Hai?"

"Where are you?!"

"At home. Where else?" he replied cockily.

"AT HOME?!" Ryoma can just imagine Momo-senpai looking like he's about to have a seizure.

'What's wrong with him?' Ryoma thought, a bit annoyed at the tone of his senpai's voice.

"Nn."

"OH-MY-GOD!" Momoshiro emphasized each syllable. On the other line, he heard Kikumaru asking Momoshiro what was going on and when he told Kikumaru what Echizen had said, even Kikumaru was causing a big commotion.

On the other line, he swore he heard Kikumaru called him an "uncaring midget" and also something along the lines of "Let me give him a piece of my mind!"

There was a few moment of static and thumping - which Echizen was pretty sure was the fumbling of Momoshiro's cell phone in the middle of a fight over it between Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai.

Ryoma sighed and waited until one of them can finally get a hold of the phone. Suddenly, a tiny voice was heard on the other line.

"It's okay if he doesn't come." the small voice squeaked.

"Ryuuzaki?" he muttered into the phone. As if on cue, Kikumaru's loud voice suddenly boomed so loudly that his cell phone was slightly vibrating.

"Ochibi!" Kikumaru sounded angry. "What do you think you're doing at home? Your girlfriend will leave for America in about one hour!"

"My girlfr-, wait- Ryuuzaki? America? What?"

"Ochibi… this is not the time to fool around and pretend you know nothing. Ryuuzaki -sensei and Sakuno-chan will board the plane in about one h--"

Click.

Echizen Ryoma hung up on his senpai. 'Sakuno leaving for America?' he thought incredulously. 'Is this some kind of joke?'

A fearful feeling tugged at his guts. As if moved by some mysterious force, he scrambled up quickly and grabbed his jacket, threw on his hat, put on his sneakers, and raced out of the house.

Back at the airport…
Both Momoshiro and Kikumaru were fuming.

"He hung up on us! Nya!" Kikumaru exclaimed with a red face that almost matched the color of his hair.

Momoshiro simply grunted and spouted a bunch of curses under his breath.

All the while, Sakuno stood by the side watching the events unfold. When she had heard that Ryoma had hung up on them, her heart broke.

'He's not coming…' she thought painfully. 'He doesn't care whether I stay or leave…'

Deep inside, Sakuno's heart was bleeding and crying out but she refused to break down in front of all her senpais. 'I will be strong… I will be strong… I will be strong…' she repeated the four words over and over in her head trying to calm her nerves and distract herself from thinking about him.

"Sakuno-chan"

Sakuno turned around to see an adorable teddy bear being shoved into her face gently as if trying to comfort her. Sakuno held the teddy bear and pulled it down to see the person who gave it to her.

"Fuji – senpai…"

"It's your departure present." He smiled softy. Sakuno was grateful. She needed someone who can smile and make her feel like everything will be fine. "A-arigato Fuji-senpai! I will treasure it. I promise." Sakuno gave him a grateful smile. He nodded as a reply.

Once Fuji gave her his present, the other regulars lined up to give her theirs. Sakuno thanked each one of them whole-heartedly. She felt so blessed to have friends as wonderful as those that were standing in front of her right now. "Honto ni arigato senpais." She bowed to them respectfully and thankfully.

'If only he came…' she couldn't help but think about him. The time was drawing so close and perhaps she will never see him again…

A hand was suddenly on her shoulder.

"Sakuno, it's about time to enter the gate." Her grandmother looked down at her approvingly and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Hai… obaa-chan." She turned to bow in front of the Seigaku regulars one more time and thanked them for their presents.

"Take care of Seigaku!" Sumire Ryuuzaki grinned at the regulars. "I expect to see it in good shape if I come back in a few years."

"Hai!" all the regulars grinned. "Don't worry Ryuuzaki-sensei. It will be better than it was before."

"I hope so." She smiled approvingly. "Keep in contact. I will email all of you once in a while."

"Nn" All the regulars nodded.

"Sayonara senpais…" Sakuno waved goodbye.

"C'mon let's go." Sakuno and her grandmother walked toward the gate. Right before they entered, a loud and gasping voice penetrated the airport.

"WAIT!" Echizen Ryoma rushed up to them. "Sorry I'm late." He gasped, sweating profusely. Sakuno blinked and pinched her cheeks slightly to make sure she was not hallucinating.

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno's heart thumped wildly. This was too good to be true…

"Yea?"

"You made it." She said dumbly. Echizen Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Yea. I took the taxi after I heard you were leaving and then I got stuck in traffic. I ended up running the rest of the way here." He wiped his sweat and his breath was beginning to steady.

Unbeknownst to them, the Regulars and her grandmother had temporarily moved far away to give them privacy – which, Sakuno appreciated. She had so much she wanted to say.

"A-ano… Ryoma-kun…" she began.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you this morning on the roof. I felt like I just needed to apologize before I leave or I will carry that guilt overseas…"

He sighed. "Baka. Don't get so worried over something so insignificant."

She nodded and gave him a sweet smile that pulled at his heart strings.

"How come you never told me that you were leaving for America?" he demanded.

"E-eh? Obaa-chan had a meeting with the regulars and they all know about it already."

"Well, I don't." He huffed.

"B-but, everyone thought you were there and heard the message."

"That shows exactly how observant they are."

Sakuno chuckled at the tone he was speaking with and sighed a breath of relief. Finally, it seemed that everything was back to normal.

While Sakuno was in her own little world, Echizen Ryoma glanced at the bundle of gifts she was holding. 'Shoot' He doesn't have anything to give her. He didn't even have time to grab anything along the way.

Echizen cleared his throat slightly causing Sakuno to look up at him. His heart pounded a little faster than usual probably due to nervousness or something else he doesn't understand….

"I don't have anything for you…" he told her, a bit embarrassed at his empty-handedness.

"Eh?"

"I meant, I did not buy any gifts for you because I just found out you were leaving today…"

"Nn" she nodded. "It's okay Ryoma-kun. You showing up is already a gift for me."

Ryoma examined the bundle in her hand. He didn't like to be the only one without anything to give.

Reaching for his hat, he pulled it off his head. "Here. Take it."

"D-Demo… Ryoma-kun! This hat is very important to you isn't it? You wore it to every tennis match."

"So?" he raised a questioning eyebrow.

"S-So, I can't have it. It's too important."

Echizen Ryoma sighed. "Just take it and think of it this way. I'm not really giving it to you. Hold on to it for me. When we meet again, return it to me."

Sakuno was silent for a moment as she thought about the deal for a moment. A slight blush later illuminated her cheeks.

Ryoma smirked. Seems like she finally understood what he was trying to tell her.

'We will definitely meet again…'

"Hai Ryoma-kun." She gently took the hat from his hands and held it tightly. "Arigato…"

She looked at him one more time before she gave him one last beautiful smile. His heart felt like it was being squeezed and a strange bittersweet feeling overwhelmed him. He ignored it – not fully understanding what he was feeling and why he felt it.

"Sayonara Ryoma-kun…" she whispered to him before turning to leave.

He watched her leave.

"Sakuno."

He called loud enough for her to hear. She stopped in her tracks and half turned around to look at him. A blush fully spread across her cheeks.

"Ryoma –kun?"

"Take care."

She looked stunned for a moment before nodding.

"H-Hai. I will." She looked down at his hat.

'I hope I can meet you again… Ryoma-kun…'

She looked up at him one last time and memorized his face.

"Sayonara."

Ryoma Echizen watched as Sakuno Ryuuzaki entered the gate with her grandmother. Underneath his uncaring attitude, he knew he would miss her company in school, on the roof, or just simply at his matches which, will probably never be the same again without her around. But, for sure, they will meet again.

He was sure of it.

Finished. Epilogue Coming soon...
Pure Essence: So, how was it? This chapter was the longest I've ever written in this fic. I guess this makes up for all the months I didn't update. Hehehehehe.

So, did you like it? Thought it was terrible? Or was it so good that you can just like marry it right now?

The story ends here. However, I plan on writing an epilogue which will definitely not be as long as this chapter (that's for sure). Expect it soon. Well, not too soon… tests coming up… Its 1:00 a.m. right now… I've been writing this chapter all day…… Hope you enjoyed it at least. D

Please Review and tell me what you thought of it. It's been a while since I've gotten any reviews and I miss them oh so dearly.