Chapter 7: Request

(Disclaimer: Don't own PoT)

-

Sakuno mumbled incoherent things in her sleep. Ryoma had been standing next to the bed she was occupying when he realized that. None of the things she said made sense and yet he was curious to know what she was really trying to say. He wondered if she always did this when she slept. Or maybe it was something she only did when troubled. It could even be something to do with whatever problems she was having with 'that guy'. Problems that Ryoma told himself he would keep out of. After all, he had his own things to worry about, he was only in Japan until Momo's wedding, and then he would be leaving back to the United States. He would never see this girl again. So what was the use of knowing what her problems were, anyway? It wasn't like he planned on helping either. She was nothing to him. He was just there to attend Momo's wedding and that was all.

But dismissing her just like that seemed quite wrong, too. Maybe she was nothing to him, but she had been a part of his childhood, being the very first person of Seigaku he had met when he arrived to Japan at twelve years of age. His memories concerning her were very vague, though—she seemed to slip far away into the background while the Seigaku regulars and tennis took over most of what he remembered from middle school. High school was even more of a blur—nothing too eventful happened except for his leave to begin professional tennis. Although he did remember speaking to her on his last day of school and her face looking sullen. He couldn't remember what that was about, though. He figured all the excitement he felt at that time towards starting professional tennis put all else at the back of his mind until it was finally forgotten. She was there, though. And just as he wouldn't turn his back on his old sempai friends…well, maybe he could; there were seven avoided calls from Momo this morning so far. But the point was, he wasn't leaving to the United States until he knew whatever problems she was having were solved. He wouldn't get involved, though—just know that she was doing fine on her own. That was the least he could do for the girl.

He was back to pondering whether he should wake her up or let her sleep in when his mother called up from downstairs. "Ryoma! There is a guest here for you!"

Let her sleep, it is. He left the guest room, answering his mother on his way downstairs.

-

Rinko smiled at the tall, broad Momoshiro before her. "It is so good to see you once again, Momoshiro. Up to any mischief, perhaps?" she teased him.

Momo turned a shade of pink. "W-Why do you say that, ma'am?"

Suddenly the young face of Nanako appeared beside the doorway, next to her aunt's frame. She whispered her words: "Why, there's a girl sleeping upstairs in the guest room!"

"Ah, about that…" Momo scratched his head nervously, while Nanako giggled, obviously amused by his reaction. "Didn't Echizen tell you?"

"Oh, yes, the poor girl," said Rinko in her very motherly voice. "My son came home with her resting in his arms last night. Said she was having some problems at home. I do hope she feels better. Are you here to take her home, by any chance?"

"Er…I was actually here to talk to your son about that." Just as if on cue, he saw Ryoma coming to the front door. "Yo!" he said, waving a hand. He got an indifferent reply back. Nothing unusual.

"If you boys will excuse me," said Rinko, letting Momo in before heading outside herself. "I'll be going to the supermarket for a bit. I'll be back soon, Ryoma."

"Bye, Aunt!" Nanako waved to her aunt, before closing the front door and turning to the two boys in the hallway. "I'll go make some tea."

After she left, Momo followed Ryoma to the living room. There were two couches facing each other, separated by a long coffee table in the middle. Ryoma had a seat on one, Momo sat on the other to face him. "She's still sleeping?" he asked him. Ryoma simply nodded. "She must be tired…" Again, no reply, just silence. "Thanks for taking care of her last night. I would have gone instead, if I wasn't watching over my…"

"She was crying last night," said Ryoma with a puzzled expression. Momo paused. "About that guy," he went on. "Do you know him?"

"No, I don't," replied Momo, shaking his head. "I only met him yesterday like I told you. I think Osakada knows more about him, though. I asked her about what went on, but she wouldn't say. I think Ryuzaki-san asked her to stay quiet on the subject."

"Are you taking her home?" Ryoma asked.

"…No," replied Momo slowly. Ryoma raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Then why are you really here?" he asked.

"Erm…Echizen…It wasn't my idea," said Momo, immediately looking uncomfortable, making Ryoma think that whatever he was about to say really was all his idea. "But I spoke to Osakada on the phone and we, well…we decided it might be best if…if…ifyouletRyuzasankiliveinyourhouseforabit?" The last part was completely rushed and barely audible.

Ryoma frowned. "I didn't understand."

Momo grinned sheepishly. "Well, I did say it low and fast."

"Well then, how's anyone supposed to understand that?" replied Ryoma with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Well it's a hard thing to say!"

"Then just say it!"

"That's easy for you to say, Mr. I-Get-Angry-So-Very-Easily!"

"That's because clowns like you don't know how to speak clearly!"

"Oh, really?! Then how about that time—"

"Momo," interrupted Ryoma. A vein was close to popping on his forehead. He glared at his older friend. "What are you so afraid to say?"

Momo looked away but answered the question quietly. "…If you would let Ryuzaki-san live with you for a bit?"

Ryoma's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he quickly replied with some finality in his voice. "No."

Momo immediately protested. "But you're the only one who can do this! Osakada obviously can't do it because Ryuzaki-san won't come home."

"Why can't you take care of her?"

"I have a fiancee, stupid," said Momo, sticking his tongue out. "What will she think?"

Ryoma groaned. "Tell me again why you're putting all this on me? First last night and now this. It's not as if I don't have any things at home to deal with," he said sarcastically. "And I refuse to get involved in all this drama."

"Please, Echizen?" Momo mustered up the best puppy-eyes he could make, but they only made him look stupid and annoy Ryoma more so he quit and tried another more serious approach. "We just don't want her to live alone," he said quietly. "Osakada said the guy's looking for her. It's unsafe for her to be by herself right now. It's a bit more serious than I thought."

He was glad to see that Ryoma didn't immediately refuse him, that he hesitated and looked away, obviously thinking through the serious implications in his words.

"So will you let Ryuzaki-san live with you?"

He wanted her to be fine by the time he left for the United States. That's what he thought he wanted when he was still up in the guest room with Ryuzaki. He didn't want anything to do with whatever was going on, he just wanted her to be fine in the end. But he had obviously misunderstood the seriousness of the situation.

Arrgh, he was so annoyed, however. He had only been in Japan for a few days and already he was having so much placed on his shoulders. By Momo. His eyes looked up from his bowed head and narrowed in a glare toward him. It was the only person he could blame for bringing all of Sakuno's troubles to his attention. Otherwise he'd be blissfully ignorant, attend Momo's wedding, and leave back to the United States without any second thoughts.

If anything, part of the blame should be put on Ryuzaki too. Her and her problems. Why was he doing this again? If he hadn't seen her in such a bad state the previous night, he wouldn't be bothering to worry. Why was he even worried, anyway? He hadn't seen her for a long time, had even begun to forget her actually (and he would have, if he hadn't seen her again at Momo's reunion party), and now he was beginning to wonder the answer to that question. It was really annoying; which only irritated him further.

He was just about to express his annoyance to Momo (who could see it anyway), when another voice spoke up in the room.

"I'm going to…live with Ryoma-kun?"

Sakuno stood by the doorway into the living room. There was still some sleep in her eyes, along with confusion, and she was only halfway turned in their direction, suggesting that she must have recently woken up and had been wandering for any assistance before overhearing them in the living room. Rinko had helped her change into some of Ryoma's more comfortable clothes the last night before allowing her to sleep. She was wearing a loose white long-sleeved shirt that looked large on her petite frame, navy blue shorts, and a pair of guest slippers. Both Momo and Ryoma paused in their seats and looked at her, neither of them saying anything at first. Momo put a hand to the back of his neck and broke the uncomfortable silence. "Well…we don't know yet." He glanced at Ryoma, who broke eye contact with him and looked elsewhere.

"Why…I mean…I was…going to look for a place myself," said Sakuno timidly, "You don't have to worry about arranging places for me to stay…I can be fine on my own."

"Well, I'm sure you can, Ryuzaki-san," replied Momo, getting up from the couch and smiling gently at her. "We just thought it'd be more fun and easier if you just stayed with one of us…and, you know, not be alone and stuff."

"We?" said Ryoma, turning his eyes on Momo.

Momo threw him an impatient look, wanting him to shut up. His little outspoken word hadn't helped. And that was no way to speak in front of a lady, anyway! "Yeah, we," he said, trying for a good-natured voice even though he was annoyed with Ryoma; even if he wasn't okay with letting Sakuno live with him for a while, he could at least reserve his emotions for a later time when they didn't have Sakuno standing nearby to have her feelings hurt. "What do you say?"

She didn't buy it, he could tell. She looked at Ryoma for a moment before looking back at Momo and saying, "Ryoma-kun minds. And I don't want to bother him." After that, she turned on her heel and left the doorway. Her footsteps could be heard going up the staircase before there was the sound of the guest room door closing a little louder than usual.

Momo immediately after turned to flick Ryoma hard between the eyes. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" complained the younger man, getting up from the couch. Before he could do anything, however, Momo pushed him back on the couch and towered over him.

"You…are…an IDIOT!" growled Momo. "Why the hell would you say something stupid like that in front of her! What a way to make her feel better, that poor girl is going through a lot and the only thing you know how to do is let her know how much you can't stand her!"

"I didn't say I can't stand her," said Ryoma in his defense, but he was beginning to feel the guilt well up in his chest. He'd slipped up and he knew it.

"Well you definitely didn't say anything on the contrary!"

"Um…?"

The two looked away from each other to see Nanako standing awkwardly in the doorway with a tray in her hands. Momo straightened up and stepped away from Ryoma.

"I guess now is a bad time to offer you some tea?"

-

Sakuno paced around in her borrowed guest room, angry tears welling up in her eyes. She had almost forgotten why she had gone in the room in the first place when she saw her clothes from last night folded neatly on the desk. She made to pick them up in a hurry, wanting to get out of Ryoma's house, but paused instead, feeling the soft fabric under her fingers. She pulled out the chair to sit and laid her head down on her clothes, which provided some soft comfort to her. A tear had slipped down one of her cheeks and she hastily wiped it off with her hand.

Did Ryoma really hate her so much that he couldn't even bear the thought of living with her? She could understand if he couldn't, after all, she knew his family had enough worries with his father. And she wasn't expecting him to wholeheartedly agree with Momo's suggestion, but it was the way that he'd so blatantly rejected her that made her hurt. Was he so disgusted by the idea that he felt the strong necessity to speak up against Momo and disassociate himself from it…in front of her?

She straightened up and wiped her face dry with her long sleeves. Maybe she was exaggerating, but there was no doubt that Ryoma didn't like having her here. Well! If her company was so unwanted, she might as well march out of the house right now and relieve him of it!

Shame…maybe she misread his company last night.

Putting a hand to her face again in case there were any stray tears, she realized her long sleeves weren't hers, that the shirt she was currently wearing belonged to Ryoma (along with the shorts), and so she angrily began to pull the shirt off over her. She threw it in the air, making an angry grunt as she did so, when the bedroom door opened and the shirt landed on none other than Ryoma's face.

She squeaked and pushed him out the door (Ryoma grunting underneath the shirt) before closing the door after him and locking it. Her face was red. Beet red. He had almost seen her topless! Finally her embarrassment was replaced with anger and she yelled, "Why can't you knock on the door first, you-you-!" She bit her tongue before she said anything she would regret (then again, maybe that was exactly what she needed), then went over to her folded clothes to get dressed in them.

Though she couldn't keep her thoughts away from her embarrassment and the close call.

-

Ryoma was still in a daze when he met Momo at the foot of the stairs.

"That was fast. Did you even talk to her?" Momo asked uncertainly, watching as the younger man passed him.

"I'll-I'll talk to her later," replied Ryoma, who attempted to keep certain thoughts and images from circling around in his head.

Because contrary to what Sakuno believed, Ryoma had seen her before the shirt had enough time to cover up.

--

A/N: Well, finally updated again. My interest in this story rekindled but I can't promise to update very soon. I'm very busy with school this semester. . Hopefully by the next chapter, I'll have come up with the story's permanent title, as the current temporary one doesn't really have much to do with the story. Thanks for reading!

(Current mood: Disappointed that the Prince of Tennis manga ended and there was no final RyoSaku moment to give it one good, final polish…AND make my day… . But hey, what could I expect from a shonen series…Still, waah!)