Never Forgotten

A RyoSaku romance fanfic by Bunny

Chapter Five – The Webs We Weave

I didn't cry on my way home from the Australian Open. Nope, I did not shed one tear. Why? Because I cried during the Australian Open. I cried the whole week I was in Australia and by the time I was boarding the plane to fly back home, I was all cried out. I may have even been slightly dehydrated; I really was not feeling well at all. There was this sick nauseous feeling in my stomach that wouldn't quit.

Ryoma-kun…why?

He had rejected me. It was all fun and games when it was just the two of us - teasing me by walking around in nothing but a towel dripping wet, taking me out on a date, telling me not to disappear on him. But as soon as the idea of it going public came up – I was dismissed.

I had thought that maybe we were actually getting somewhere. Our "date" had been going so well, we were talking and getting along, getting to know each other. He'd smiled so sweetly at me, like I was his most important person, just like he was mine. He'd even called me Sakuno – just Sakuno – oh, how I thought I was going to die of utter bliss. Then thud. Reality came up to bear its ugly, mangy head at me and I was thrown to the dogs.

Surely, Ryoma-kun had to know that if he did decide to date anybody that it would be very public. I had resigned myself to living a life in the limelight with him, if he'd have me of course. I thought maybe he would because we were connected, but really? I should have known better. It was one sided. I'm just some stupid girl that didn't even know better than to stay off the tennis court during a match. I couldn't play tennis well myself, I had no talents to speak of or beauty that would allow me to stand out. I was really, when all was said and done, completely unsuitable for him. That's what all the girls at school loved to drill into my head. I'd never really paid them any mind before, but maybe they were right after all.

I couldn't see him any more. That's all there was too it. I would continue to watch his matches and support him, but not visibly. I just couldn't do it. God…I loved him. It wouldn't and couldn't work though, so I resigned myself to a lonely and/or miserable, unhappy existence. Or perhaps I could be stupid enough to get myself stuck in a bad relationship with a loser. A loser just like me…a loser – that's what I was, a loser.

Speaking of losing, or rather winning, I had no idea how Ryoma-kun did at the tournament. I hadn't the heart to go to the matches or to watch them on the television in my hotel room. I hope he won, because that was the most important thing to him – winning at tennis.

I arrived back home, and fell quickly back into my usual routine. Adding in of course my private tennis lessons with Fuji-sempai – why I bothered? I don't know. I suppose keeping with my plan was just easier than backing out. Explaining why I didn't want to learn tennis better anymore would be more troublesome than just doing the practices with Fuji-sempai. So that's what I did, I practiced.

Fuji-sempai was amazing. People liked to call him a tennis genius and he was. He didn't shine the way Ryoma-kun did, but he had his own style that was a pleasure to watch and learn. Comparing anybody with Ryoma-kun wasn't really fair though – nobody had his personality, that special something in him that drew me to him over and over and over again.

Surprisingly enough though, I actually improved by learning from Fuji-sempai. He was a good teacher - perceptive enough to read my thoughts and tell me exactly what I needed to hear at the right time. He was patient with me and he never made me feel awkward or clumsy, which helped a lot. I made progress, and it felt really good. I even ended up making the starting team and playing in a few matches – I even won most of them. I was still no tennis star, but I was able to hold my own on the court for the most part. It…helped…a little. My self-esteem had been pretty much blown out of the water and I was depressed. Making progress at tennis was the only positive thing in my life, so I cherished it.

Sometime during those months between the Australian Open and Wimbledon, I faced a dilemma from a private invitation I received in the mail. I was so busy with work, school, tennis and forgetting about what happened in Australia that it had almost slipped my notice.

The invitation perplexed me when I received it and took a minute to open it up and read it. What was this? Ryoma-kun was going to be in Tokyo for a private exhibition game just for the fans – or so it said. Tickets had to be purchased in advance through mail, and under the pseudonym "George Canasta." Who? Where did he come up with this stuff? I seriously wondered. It was such a weird name. I also didn't know how I got one of the invitations. It said it was for fan club members, but I wasn't in The Official Echizen Ryoma Fan Club. It was doubly weird. After much thought, I figured maybe it was because Tomo-chan made me write a fan letter with her after Wimbledon and we'd mailed along a tennis ball as a present. I'd drawn his face on one side of the ball and "Number One" on the other side. Maybe I'd been auto-added to the Fan Club mailing list? Why would they do that though? As far as I knew The Official Echizen Ryoma Fan Club was a paid membership. Strange, I should have probably given it more thought, but I was busy and hurt.

The first time I saw it wasn't long after I'd returned home from Australia and taking note of the deadline, I had put it aside to work through my Ryoma-kun issues later. I wasn't ready to deal with the possibility of seeing him again so soon.

I almost even forgot about it. Let's be honest though, I could never forget about Ryoma-kun. The truth is, I still ate, slept and breathed him. Last minute, I decided that I wanted to go to the exhibition. I know, I know, I said I wouldn't see Ryoma-kun anymore. What can I say besides that there was a compelling urgent voice inside of me that was telling me that I needed to go? I would stay in the back, out of sight, I just really wanted to go and see him, but I wouldn't go alone. There was no way I could even risk seeing Ryoma-kun alone. So, I showed the invitation to Fuji-sempai at our next practice and asked him if he wanted to go with me.

"An exhibition match?" Fuji-sempai asked as he refolded the invitation and handed it back to me.

"Yes, I thought…maybe you would want to go with me?" I asked.

Fuji-sempai got that evil gleam in his eyes that he got sometimes. Goodness, he even opened them slightly, he sure was serious. If I wasn't used to him from our lessons, I'd probably be running away right now. That's when he threw the bomb on my head, "Sakuno-san, are you asking me out on a date?"

"What?" Oh my, it was out of my mouth before I even thought about it. You could actually hear the surprised horror in my voice. That was so rude of me! Fuji-sempai is going to think I don't like him at all. Oh no! Why would he say that? Well…I guess, technically I was asking Fuji-sempai out on a date, but I wasn't thinking about it that way. I was thinking about Ryoma-kun. So Fuji-sempai's completely valid question actually threw me off. We were friends, kind-of…weren't we? I mean, we spent a lot of time together and I thought he would understand this was a tennis thing.

He took a step forward, closing the distance between us and whispered into my ear, "Are you sure you want to go out with me?" I could feel his hot breath blowing across my neck and my face flushing. Shocked disbelief froze me in place. Fuji-sempai! I was so scandalized. What, why, how…Fuji-sempai?

I looked at the profile of his face in my peripheral vision and wondered what he was up to. Okay, so he was a good looking guy and this would excite any normal girl. I was even slightly affected, but the truth is, I only had eyes for Ryoma-kun – even if I had been rejected. That's right, I was a loser girl that guys like Fuji-sempai had no interest in, so what was he up to? Fuji-sempai definitely had a strange, twisted side to him and he was two years my senior, so really, there was no telling. Well! Sakuno, you're sixteen years old! If you don't learn how to deal with men now, it's never going to happen. I don't know where that pep talk came from, or how I got the crazy notion in my head that this would be a good time to call out Fuji-sempai on his conniving ways. I don't know what I was thinking when I asked in a low voice, "Are you playing with me, Syusuke-kun?"

I think I surprised him, because I saw his eyes widen for a brief second, but he hid it well and my vision was limited to peripheral, so I wasn't really sure. He took a step back though and putting his right hand around the side of my face said, "Not at all. I'd love to go out with you Sakuno-chan."

"All right then, I'll get the tickets," I said as I felt my face flushing and took a step back, away from his hand. The conversation was dropped. I thought he'd got the message and figured that playing with me like that wasn't going to fly. Oh, I had another thing coming to me.

The whole thing turned into a big mess. I'd set aside the invitation after that, making a note to handle it and had promptly become too wrapped up in my life that I forgot to send for the tickets. It was all Fuji-sempai's fault. After the little stunt he'd pulled on me when I asked him and my impulse to get him back by playing along he'd gone around announcing to everybody that would listen that we were dating.

Like, really dating. As in, I suddenly found myself with a boyfriend. A boyfriend I didn't want, nor had I ever wanted, and if I was honest, I was slightly afraid of because he was a twisted sort of guy. Ryoma-kun, save me! In my dreams, I know. Ryoma-kun didn't want me, and I didn't think Fuji-sempai did either. I honestly thought that he was just playing it up for a laugh, to get a reaction out of people. I knew him well enough to know that he was that kind of a guy. Although, in his defense he hadn't dated any girls since I'd first met him three years ago when he was a senior at our Jr. High School. I didn't really know what to do or say, so I just kind-of went along with it. It was okay if people thought we were dating. Or rather, I didn't really care. It wasn't like Ryoma-kun wanted me anyways, right? Well…as long as he didn't start kissing me or something. That would definitely not be okay! I was saving that for Ryoma-kun. Maybe I would never be kissed - I realized with disappointment. Ryoma-kun didn't want me, but I didn't want anybody else. I moped for about a week when I realized that.

Still though, it was really hard to tell what Fuji-sempai was really thinking pretty much ever. He was a real walking contradiction. I suppose that's what all the other girls liked him for. He was very popular with the girls at our school. Of course, that did nothing but cause further problems for me. 'First Ryoma-sama and now Fuji-sama, you really think you're something special don't you Ryuzaki-san?' The number of times I heard that comment, and/or variations thereof, I lost count of. I wanted to scream at them that they could have their Fuji-sama because I didn't want anybody but Ryoma-kun anyways, but I wasn't the type of girl that said those kinds of things. Doesn't mean I don't think them, but I don't say most of the things I think. And well…I didn't want to embarrass Fuji-sempai by denying it. I was in a real dilemma, that's what!

If I said this new development didn't stress me out, it would be the biggest, fattest lie I ever told. That would be saying something too, because one time I made up this big elaborate story about not stealing cookies off of the cookie sheet while they were cooling when there had been chocolate smeared all over my face. Yeah, it was kind-of like that.

Fuji-sempai didn't really treat me much differently, but he certainly did crop up out of nowhere often. Especially when he first announced that we were dating and everyone was so bent on observing us together and talking about it…much to my embarrassment. I would be able to hear the chatter about it in the background. It made me crazy; I've never liked a lot of attention. It started out with walking me home from school and then progressed into I'd be walking down the hallway and bump into him.

"Sakuno-chan, how was your lunch?" I swear he had a sick obsession with calling me Sakuno-chan. He always said it just like that; like he was taunting me. It made me unbearably nervous. I would stutter, blush and twitch.

"A-ano…it was nice."

"The cherry trees will be blooming soon."

"Uhm…yes, you're right."

Can't tell you how many times he brought up the cherry trees to me. It took a little over two weeks before I figured out what he was on about. Then one day as we were walking home, it hit me - of course! In the spring, Fuji-sempai, Kikumaru-sempai, Kawamura-sempai, Inui-sempai, Tezuka-sempai and Oishi-sempai would all be graduating and leaving school for college or to start working at their jobs. Kawamura-sempai had been working more and more at Kawamura Sushi since finishing Jr. High, but now he would be working there full time. Tezuka-sempai was scheduled to enter the competitive tennis circuit that Ryoma-kun was in, and Inui-sempai was going to be his coach and manager. Kikumaru-sempai and Oishi-sempai were both planning to attend Tokyo University, but now that I was thinking about it, I didn't know what Fuji-sempai's plans were.

"S-Syusuke-kun, ah…ano…what are you going to do after you graduate?" Yes, of course I asked him first thing. What's the point of waiting? I would just worry over it and worry over it. Admittedly, I'm a worry-wart. Though, honestly, I was a little bit happy that he wouldn't be at school with me anymore. The embarrassment and rumors would hopefully stop at that. I also wouldn't have to deal with him popping up out of nowhere and hearing fellow students talking about us behind my back. Why did I suddenly feel like I was leading him on?

I watched him smirk knowingly at the path ahead of us, I could tell he was putting it together that I'd finally figured out his blooming cherry trees fixation he'd been sharing with me for the past two weeks. Par for the course though, he threw a bomb on my head instead.

"Sakuno-chan, how could you forget? Our first date is coming up – the exhibition game with Echizen Ryoma," he mentioned to me calmly.

I was instantly hit with shock and horror. I stopped walking abruptly. My shoulders slumped forward, and my bag made a dull thud sound as it slid off my shoulder and hit the pavement. I FORGOT TO BUY THE TICKETS. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!

Fuji-sempai stopped immediately. "Sakuno? What's wrong?"

Wow, he was being serious for once, not singing out Sakuno–chan to me.

"I forgot to get the tickets!" I exclaimed as I crouched down to start digging frantically through my bag for the invitation I'd casually tossed in there weeks ago. NO!!!! Nononononononononono! Don't tell me all this was for nothing. Don't tell me that I won't get to see Ryoma-kun when he's here in Tokyo because I was such an airhead that I forgot to get the tickets!

He walked over to me and squatting down beside me he started picking up my bag off the ground. I followed the bag, rising with it as I still frantically moved loose papers, wrappers, trash, supplies, books, folders and all the other junk that had collected in my bag the last few weeks. I had to find that invitation, maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe I could still get us tickets. How could I forget? Everything wrong in my life the past few weeks all started with that invitation, how could getting the tickets have ever slipped past my mind?

"Let's get you home and you can look through your bag there, okay?" Fuji-sempai said calmly before taking my hand and leading me to my house.

"Syusuke-kun, I really wanted to go!" I whined as he dragged me behind him.

"I know," he acknowledged.

"It was a special match!" I added. Goodness, I was so upset I was babbling.

"I know, I read the invitation too," he said.

"If I missed this, I'm never going to forgive myself," I pouted.

"Yes, I can see that. Okay, here we are – home sweet home. Now go tear your bag apart Sakuno-chan and see if we can go see your dear Ryoma-kun play here in Tokyo," he said, giving my lower back a small push towards my front door and handing my book bag back to me in one swift motion.

Did he just say? I halted and spun back towards Fuji-sempai, my bag swinging around wildly in my path, "Syusuke-kun! You knew?"

His eyes were open and he was staring at me intensely. I almost shivered. I can't tell you if it was because he looked so good when he opened his eyes or if it was because I was scared of his serious looks. It was probably a little bit of both actually. I also suddenly got this ominous feeling, this whole conversation was getting way too weird.

"I had my suspicions," he said slowly, and calmly.

I opened my mouth to continue to ask questions, but he put a finger over it, stopping me instantly.

"After asking me, you didn't mention it again. I wasn't sure why that was, so I tried to bring it up, but you didn't understand. I didn't want to say it directly and get you thinking about him again – something happened to you in Australia, didn't it?" he asked, taking his finger off of my mouth.

"Y-Yes," I confessed and left it at that.

He didn't seem to need to know more, he just nodded. "I thought maybe you had changed your mind and didn't want to go with me after all, but you didn't talk about it, so I waited for you to bring it up. I would be lying if I said I wasn't pleasantly surprised when you asked me about graduation. I suppose I should hold it as a small victory that you were thinking enough about me these past few weeks that the first thing that came to mind was something about me and not him," he explained.

I couldn't believe my ears. "Syusuke-kun, what are you saying?" I asked in complete disbelief.

Suddenly, he was back to usual Fuji-sempai, a smile on his face, his eyes smiling in the closed manner they always did, "I like you, Sakuno-chan."

Gobsmacked. That's the word. I was completely and utterly gobsmacked. Fuji-sempai liked me? Why? Why? Why? Yes, the very idea was horrifying. Not because Fuji-sempai was ugly or because I didn't like him, but because I didn't want to hurt his feelings by rejecting him. There was no way I could really date him. No way. All this time, I thought he was just joking around and I was playing along kind-of, all I really did was not deny it, but if this was for real? Oh no. Nononononononono!

"That's why I said I would work with you on your tennis and why I said I would go out with you," he added, his somewhat playful demeanor back in full-swing. He said it like he wasn't saying anything important - all nonchalant, as if we talk about this stuff everyday. I just wanted to fall over and die or run away, yes running away sounded like a good idea.

"Syusuke-kun this is not funny!" I finally exploded at him when I found my voice.

He stopped smiling and gave me that intense look with open eyes again. "I told you I wasn't joking that first day, and I meant it. I saw the look you gave him at Wimbledon. That loving, shining look you gave to Echizen Ryoma when you bandaged up his eye and I wanted that look to be directed at me. Sakuno, I've never been more serious about anything," he finished.

Confused beyond all reason, I looked down at the ground, wishing it could give me the words and answers I so desperately needed. All that was left now was being painfully honest with him. After all, he'd told me everything, the least I could do was be straight forward with him back. We were friends if nothing else, he deserved that much. I looked back up at him and gave him a weak, watery smile.

"I like you Syusuke-kun, but I'm in love with-"

"Echizen," he said cutting me off. "I know."

"Okay," I said, not knowing what else to say at that point.

"I don't care," he said.

"But Syusuke-kun-"

"It didn't go so well for you with Echizen, did it?" he asked.

Well, he wasn't being so nice about my poor broken heart, now was he? Why wasn't I surprised? I looked away from him, at our neighbor's front yard and said, "No."

"I'm sorry for brining it up, but when you came home looking so sad, and not talking about the tournament at all, I knew something must have happened," he said.

"Well, you're not called a genius for nothing, are you Fuji-sempai?" I almost spit it out at him. I was so hurt and angry suddenly, I just wanted to go dig a hole in the backyard, bury myself and let the world carry on without me.

"Look at me," he said.

No.

"Look at me, Sakuno," he said gently.

No, I don't want to.

"Sakuno, please look at me," he pleaded.

I slowly turned my head and looked at him.

He pulled me towards him and enveloped me in his long strong arms. "Sakuno, I hope you will let me stay with you and as long as you do, I will protect you and you won't have to be lonely or sad or feel rejected," he whispered.

Why did he have to be so sweet? This was completely messing with my emotions. I started crying, "Syusuke-kun, this isn't fair!"

He patted the back of my head with one of his hands, "I know. It's probably not really fair to any of us."

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Okay – just so we're all clear, Sakuno isn't dating Fuji! (Everybody just thinks they are dating because Fuji is saying they are, but Sakuno and Fuji don't have an understanding that they're really together.) He likes her and she likes Ryoma.

Sakuno thinks that Ryoma doesn't really like her, so she's completely depressed. She felt a connection to him before she even met him, which is why she pursued meeting him.

Fuji saw the devotion Sakuno gave Ryoma and admired it so much he decided to pursue her. This is why he started giving her private tennis lessons. Fuji and Sakuno are spending a lot of time together so they're pretty good friends by the time all this drama goes down, so Sakuno is upset that she doesn't like him. It would make her life easier, since Ryoma doesn't want her (in her head.)

Ryoma isn't really being a stalker, but he's drawn to Sakuno for the same reasons she's drawn to him. They both feel a pull to each other. He decides to pursue her because he notices in her that she genuinely likes him as just a regular guy, not as a famous tennis star. He likes the attention that she likes to watch him play, but he's really into her because she's the first person he's met that just likes him (in his head.) And well she's a challenge because she never sticks around long enough for him to be satisfied.

I'm not going to turn this into a "dragging it out super drama love triangle" fanfic. Like I said before, there are eight chapters to this fanfic total and while I'm editing them for about the 20th time before I post each one up, the story is completed and I'm not going to throw a ton of twists into it. Everything that happens is for a reason, though you might not get it completely until the end.

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Thank you to everybody that reviewed chapter four. – sends sparkles –

FujixSaku0709 – this chapter should answer your question on why Sakuno was so sad. She's the type of person that assumes things – especially when it comes to Ryoma and her insecurities of if he likes her or not. (Just think about all the times she runs away from him.) If you don't really get it though, let me know and I'll try to explain it better.

Izaquix078 – it's because he's lonely and she's his only lifeline to end the loneliness…sorry if it was creepy – that wasn't intentional. It's his inner thoughts though, so they're extreme – how many of us really do or say even half the things we think? He's just venting his frustrations in his head basically – typical guy stuff or so I'm told.

Kountry101 – Yes, that's correct she just found out about him by watching him on T.V. Yeah Nanjiroh still went to Seigaku and Sumire was still his coach and stuff.

Petite x Femme – thank you for the comment that was really nice, made me smile.

lilmissmex3 – yup! Hehehe

anonymous jane – Haha! Yeah, I could just imagine him letting his imagination run away with him…lol. Uh yeah, this isn't going to go on too long. I'm not a fan of dragged out fanfic, so I don't write them. No worries. Like I said at the beginning, this fanfic is 8 chapters total and it's done. So…did you not like the dialogue? I wasn't really sure what you were trying to say, you kind-of bounced around in ideas, but yeah…let me know. And the only reason Ryoma referred to her as an angel was because she saved him…and she does this appear/disappear thing on him, so he relates it to an angel when he's being WAFFy about her – not often. More often though, in typical Ryoma fashion he refers to her as stupid girl – I agree calling her angel all the time would be way ooc, even in an AR.

Quiet and Complicated, x.adEt♥, Car2nfreak, animeandmangaaddict, and BlackDove of Blessings – thank you all for your comments/reviews. You encourage me to keep editing and updating this story. I really appreciate the feedback and your take/feelings on the story so far. Please continue to let me know what you think. XD