Pah!
Ryoma placed his hands on the reddened cheek, staring at Jennifer in consternation.
"I'm disappointed in you, Ryoma, very disappointed in you." Jennifer said finally after a long silence.
Ryoma sat in silence, staring down at his blanket.
It had been two days already, and Ryoma was still not completely healed. His match was supposed to be tomorrow, but in his condition, he would definitely lose. Thank goodness the doctor Shane had enough authority to request for postponement of match to next week. This is the finals, where the champion of this grand slam will be decided. Suddenly having to postpone such an important event, it's no wonder Jennifer would be angry.
Ryoma was still sitting in silence, staring down at his blanket.
"You okay, Ryoma? Not used to being slapped by your loving manager, huh?" Kevin asked, smirking slightly, drinking his soup. Ryoma had aways been treated especially nice by Jennifer, and it was rare to see Jennifer actually angry at Ryoma. They were in Ryoma's house, where Ryoma was taken to be checked by his private doctor. Kevin came to visit him, and was greeted with a buffet of food in the dining hall of Ryoma's. Ryoma had a really big house and a really good cook.
Ryoma stared at Kevin sardonically, as the latter wolfed down his food greedily. "Haven't eaten for three days?"
"Haven't eaten such good food in my life." Kevin answered, eating more.
"Che, pathetic."
Kevin shrugged, ignoring Ryoma's insult and continued eating.
"How is she?"
"Huh? Who?" Kevin looked up.
"Sakuno, you idiot."
"Sakuno? What about her?"
"How is she?"
"She's fine I guess, back to school."
"Not injured?"
"Of course not, why would she be injured, with you acting as a physical barrier." Kevin started his lecture that he had been preparing for Ryoma all these time. "You should be grateful that I came to your house to check if you are alright. If I haven't been there, you would have been dead. Okay maybe not that bad. You would have broken a bone, and never able to play tennis ever. Letting yourself get beaten up like that, you must be mentally retarded. Thank goodness I talked to Daryl that day and found out that he was quite suspiscious. If not, your whole life would be ruined, Ryoma, ruined! Couldn't you at least stop and think for yourself, a bit?"
Ryoma slumped on his bed. "Please, stop it. I had enough lectures today."
"Well, I'm lecturing you in place of Sakuno. Do you know how much you made Sakuno cried? The more blood flow out of you, the more tears flow out of Sakuno."
Ryoma stared at the ceiling gloomily.
"Do you have any idea how much Sakuno cried just for you?" Kevin said, stuffing food in his mouth angrily. "First you wouldn't talk to her for three years, she cried in sadness at night. Second you kissed Jennifer, that made her cry even more. Now, this."
Ryoma stared blankly at space. Good, he's finally reflecting all his evil deeds that he had done, Kevin thought. Then, Ryoma turned and smiled at Kevin suddenly. "That means she loves me. You lose, Kevin."
Kevin glared at Ryoma as he felt his anger rising up. He was expecting some kind of apology, to say that he was sorry for making Sakuno cry, for breaking her heart, for making her suffer like that. The way he said this stupid sentence, so proudly... he did not even feel guilty about making Sakuno cry like that.
"That's not for you to decide!" Kevin shouted angrily.
"Well, but isn't it pretty obvious?" Ryoma said confidently.
"No. Just a stupid date doesn't make her love you back. You broke her heart and this stupid date has no ability to mend it up!" Kevin said staring down at Ryoma.
"This date isn't stupid."Ryoma scoffed. "Why does everyone says that?" He looked down. "But it is kind of meaningless. I didn't do what I wanted to do..."
"What do you want to do?"
"Confess. Tell her what I felt in these nine years. How much I loved her but didn't dare to say it. Planning to do that after the match, but well, the match hadn't began and I became like this." Ryoma laughed dryly.
Kevin felt his heart turned sour. If X and his gang had not decided to target Ryoma for whatever reason, Sakuno would have known how much Ryoma loved her all these while. And maybe, she would finally realise how much Kevin had been hiding, about Ryoma's love for her, about everything. If Ryoma was not attacked, Sakuno might, Kevin emphasised, might love Ryoma again, and even worse, hate Kevin for hiding the fact...
"I like Sakuno too, in case you hadn't notice..." Kevin said bitterly.
"Jealous? I bet Sakuno is waiting for me to confess all this time."
"Well, we are going to confess together, and then we will know who Sakuno really loved."
"You will stress out Sakuno."
"Scared?"
"No way. Scared of you? Hah." Ryoma smirked.
"Shut up!" Kevin stood up, knocking his food to the ground.
"Hey that's my bedroom floor you're dirtying!"
"Fine! I'll clean it up!"
Ryoma was definitely the most irritating person in the whole world! Spoilt brat, pampered to the bones! So proud and confident that Sakuno will love him. Kevin clenched his fists angrily. Well, he's never letting Sakuno go!
The phone rang. Who would be calling him now?
He took it up. It flashed 'Sakuno'. Sakuno? Why was she calling? She was supposed to be in class, so why did she call? Was she in danger?
"Who is it?" Ryoma asked, sensing Kevin's anxiety.
"Sakuno."
"What? Why is she calling?" Ryoma jumped out of bed. "Put her on loudspeaker now!"
Kevin pressed the loudspeaker.
"Kevin? Kevin?" Sakuno seemed to be crying. Hard.
"Sakuno? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Kevin asked anxiously.
"Help me...help..." He knew it, Sakuno was in danger. He stared at Ryoma, as Ryoma stared back equally shocked.
XxXxX
Sakuno shifted uncomfortably. She could not concentrate in class. Her classmates were all staring at her. In the morning, some random people she did not even know threw insulting words at her, thinking about it made her heart beat fast and her tears started coming to her eyes. She had never angered anyone before, why would they shout at her like that?
Now she was in class, and everyone was glaring at her. She thought it was something on her that looked weird at first, but she had checked and double-checked, but there was nothing wrong with her, except that her eyes were still swollen. So why were they eyeing her?
The class ended, finally. Sakuno wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible. She stood up and walked out of the lecture room.
Something long was sticking out, and Sakuno did not realise. She tripped and all her notes dropped into the ground.
"Watch where you're going, woman." The sticking out object was someone's leg and the master was sneering at Sakuno's fall.
She bit her lips to resist her tears to flow out in humiliation. She hurriedly picked up her notes, mumbling a soft, "Sorry."
As she walked out of the class, she could feel thousand pair of eyes watching her, mocking her, glaring at her. What had she done? Why were they all staring at her like that?
"Hey, stop where you are." A girl stood in front of Sakuno, blocking her way. After X and his gang, she was extremely paranoid about having someone blocking her way like this. She shrieked a bit and started walking in the other direction.
"I said, stop where you are!" The girl wrenched on Sakuno's hair. Sakuno cried out in pain as she dropped all her notes once again. The girl let go of her finally, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Several more girls started surrounding Sakuno. Sakuno's phobia started coming into her. She grabbed her notes, trembling helplessly. Scene of Ryoma getting beaten up, scene of blood dripping all over the ground vividly passed her mind. No, no, calm down, Sakuno... She picked up her notes as she shook uncontrollably.
"Look at her, pathetic." The girl bent down, making eye contact with Sakuno. "You, girl come with us. You will have to do a lot of answering."
They dragged her up the staircase, along the corridor, and it was after what seemed like eternal walking and pulling of hair, they threw Sakuno down into a certain room which looked like a toilet.
"Let me introduce who we are." The girl started talking. "We are fans of Ryoma, and we love him like how we love ourselves. And, being as fans, we bought the ticket to watch the upcoming match in which Ryoma was going to play and it will increase Ryoma's popularity and level of hotness."
"Then, there came the attack." A couple of girls gasped and a few hung their heads in sadness. "Ryoma was...attacked by a group of...of people, who was jealous of Ryoma because he was too great. It happened just last Saturday."
"See this photo. This is the photo of Ryoma after he was attacked." The girl showed her a photo in the phone. "He was so badly injured that he had to postpone the match, the match of paramount importance, the final of the grand slam."
"Now tell me, what is this?" The girl showed her another picture. In the picture, Sakuno was tugging at Ryoma, crying, while Ryoma laid unconscious. "Why are you in the picture? Do you have anything to do with the attack?"
Something to do with the attack? What? How? They must have thought it was Sakuno that injured Ryoma. "Erm, I think you are mistaken..."
"Mistaken?" The girl laughed malevolently. "No, I don't think you are mistaken. A few of our informers said that Ryoma had visited our dormitory quite often, and he would always visit a particular room. Room m4-...09, which so happens is your room. Now could you explain why was Ryoma in your room?"
"H...he was...a...a classmate of mine...in Japan before..." Sakuno stammered. "He came...to...to see me..."
"Classmate? Oh wow. Well, I'm a cousin of Bon Jovi." The girl said sarcastically. The other girls laughed venomously.
"Well, explain this." The girl showed her another photo taken. It was Ryoma grabbing Sakuno's hands as they ran out of the school on Saturday. They even took the picture of that? It was so early in the morning!
"Okay, who are you to Ryoma? Why are you always with Ryoma? Explain!" The girl grabbed Sakuno's collar and shook her.
"I told you...I was his classmate..." Sakuno said, choking on her tears.
"Like hell I would believe you!" The girl threw Sakuno roughly on the floor. "You, ever since Ryoma and you were seen together, Ryoma had been in several life dangers. First the semifinals, when he fainted after the match. Next, on the same day that Ryoma took you out, he was injured!"
Sakuno shook her head in denial, but the girl pushed her violently on the ground again. "You must have charmed our Ryoma, and made him to go out with you, when he never went out with anyone before! Then you secretly harmed Ryoma from his back. What did Ryoma do to you that you must do this to him? Speak!"
Sakuno's face was already half covered in tears, as she struggled to answer. "I...did not..."
The girl stood up. She signaled to the other girls. "We'll make her confess. Flush down her notes."
Sakuno sat there helpless, in the middle of a group of girls surrounding her, as she watched her notes being thrown into the toilet bowl, and flushed down. Why were they doing this to her? Whatever thay said, they have no evidence to prove it, why must they assume and made her say something that was not true?
She did not want to hurt Ryoma, she just wanted a proper date with Ryoma finally. All those 'dates' she went with Ryoma before were horrible. She had always wanted a nice date with Ryoma, and she got it. That day was the best day of all her life, Ryoma being so close to her, trying to make her smile, trying to get her to talk. It was quite awkward, but it was still fun. She did not want Ryoma to be attacked too. It ruined the best day of her life completely.
Why didn't they understand that, and leave her alone? She was sad enough. Maybe it was punishment, it was a punishment for her, for being a coward, for letting Ryoma get beaten up while she remained safe and well-protected.
"She's not talking." The girl rolled her eyes, as she watched Sakuno cry uncontrollably. "Let's lock her up in this toilet until tomorrow." She bent down and lifted Sakuno's head with her long nails. "If you are good and you decide to confess, we'll let you out, or else, you'll be staying here all the way till I come to school tomorrow."
They shut the door. 'Click', 'click', the door was locked.
"No, no..." Sakuno crawled over to the door. It could not be true. She could not be locked in the toilet. She grabbed the handle, but no matter how much she turned, pushed, banged, it would not barge.
"No...no..." Sakuno covered her face as more tears came flowing down. She's locked in the toilet. It was a punishment. Ryoma was beaten up, and he lost all his dignity just for that date, Ryoma gave so much for her, yet she did nothing for him.
But this punishment was too much, too much. Her notes...she spent the whole of her free time coming up with it, now it's all...flushed away. She snuggled. It was getting cold. She was left alone in this god-knows-where toilet, and the rest of the people were having their classes and lectures. And she was going to be left there all day, all night, till tomorrow.
No, she needs to get out of here. She took out her phone, trembling, and dialed Kevin's number.
"Kevin? Kevin?" She asked frantically.
"Sakuno? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Came Kevin's anxious voice.
"Help me...help..." Sakuno choked on her tears again. She wiped her tears away, and realised that her tears were wetting the phone too.
"What happened, Sakuno? What's wrong? Say it slowly, okay, calm down. Yes that's right. Breathe in, breathe out. Now slowly tell me what's wrong."
Sakuno followed Kevin's direction and calmed down. "I'm locked in the toilet. Some-someone...a group of girls...they...they claimed to be Ryoma's fans, they suddenly grabbed me and threw me into this toilet...they flushed my notes away, and locked...me...in..." Sakuno stopped, realising that her tears were coming out again.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down now. Okay, we'll save the details for later. I'll come pick you up. Where are you exactly?"
"In my school..."
"Okay, I'm going there at once, alright? You stay there, and wait for me to get you out of there, okay? So where is that toilet of yours?"
Where was it located? Sakuno seriously had no idea. "I...I don't know...I didn't...I didn't take note of ..."
"Okay, okay, it's enough." Sakuno thought she could hear Ryoma's voice. "Get your butt in this car! Hurry!" "Alright, alright, I'm coming!"
"We're traveling to your school now, Sakuno, hang in there. We'll reach there in five minutes." Kevin assured. ("Directions, Kevin, I never went to her school before." "Okay, erm, turn left in this corner." "You'd better be sure, or else." "What do you think of me, an idiot? I'll go find Sakuno myself, you stay here." "I'm coming along, and this is my car, and you dirtied my bedroom!" "Geez, fine, fine!")
"Okay." Sakuno answered, and hung up the phone. Ryoma seemed to be coming too. She hid her face in her arms. After all this, Ryoma was coming to save her too. She did not know whether to be happy or sad.
XxXxX
Damn those fans, damn those fans, damn them all!
Ryoma clenched his fist as he cursed angrily. Locking in the toilet, these stuff happened in his elementary school in America, and even Seigaku, but he did not participate in it, nor did he try and save any of the victims. He was not interested. Furthermore, what's wrong with being locked in the toilet? It was not that bad, the toilet was quite clean, and the bench there was a good place to lie on.
He was so stupid then. Now thinking about it, of course being locked in the toilet was horrible. Hear how much Sakuno cried? It mush be scary, being in the toilet alone, all cold and only walls and sinks and toilet bowls to be stared at. At night, it must get really frightening for a girl like Sakuno.
"Are we reaching?" He asked impatiently. He had to save Sakuno out of that horrifying place before those fans go in and torture her some more. He knew what his fans were capable of, and he definitely was not going to let them torment Sakuno anymore.
"Reaching." Kevin said, eyes concentrating on the road, frowning.
Ryoma tapped his fingers as they reached another traffic light. Just drive through the traffic light, I'll pay the fines! Ryoma wanted to shout, but Kevin would definitely refuse.
Kevin, he was so irritatingly patient. When Sakuno was crying in the phone, he was serene enough to calm her down and get her to talk. If it were Ryoma, he'd just order Sakuno to wait there and he would rush to her school and knock down every door they have to find her. If Ryoma had not chase Kevin out of the house and get him to move, he would spend the whole day questioning Sakuno about the details.
"Reached."
Great, finally! Ryoma opened the door without waiting for the car to stop properly, and jumped out immediately.
"Hey, Ryoma, that's dangerous! You have not healed completely yet! Ryoma? Are you listening to me? Where are you running off to? We don't even know where she is!"
He's not going to follow Kevin. Kevin was too slow. He needed to get Sakuno out of that toilet fast, and stop her from crying anymore.
"You! Do you know where is Sakuno?" He stopped a person, grabbing him by the collar. The person stared back blankly. "Sakuno. Sakuno Ryuzaki!" He repeated impatiently but the person shook his head frantically.
He threw the person away, and searched around. Right, not everyone would know Sakuno, so he had to use another method.
His eyes caught sight of the assembly microphone. Great, this would make a wonderful announcement.
He went up to the platform and took the microphone.
"Ryoma, what are you trying to do?" Kevin shouted after him.
Ryoma turned on the microphone. "Attention everyone. This is Echizen Ryoma, and I'm looking for a girl called Sakuno Ryuzaki. I know that someone is hiding her somewhere, so you better tell me now where she is or I'll fuc-"
Kevin somehow rushed onto the platform and covered Ryoma's mouth to prevent him from saying further.
"No swear words, or it'll ruin your image!" He whispered frantically at Ryoma's ear. What? Now in this crisis situation, he was still thinking about his fucking image?
"Erm, this girl, Sakuno Ryuzaki is of utmost importance to us in our team, and we need to find her. So those people that hid her in the school as a fun practical joke, if you tell us where she is, Ryoma will personally sign on anything you want to sign on." Kevin said, taking over Ryoma's microphone, as he strangled Ryoma, preventing him to say anything.
Autograph? For those damned fans that made Sakuno suffer in the toilet? Yeah right! Ryoma struggled, trying to break free of Kevin, but Kevin was strong. He really regretted training Kevin.
"Okay, now we will wait for people to come." Kevin whispered, stopping Ryoma from struggling.
"Well, what if they refuse?" Ryoma whispered back angrily. "What if this make them suspicious of Sakuno calling us to save her, and they went back to torturing her?"
Kevin seemed to finally understood where Ryoma was going. Gosh he was such an idiot he did not even think of that.
"Okay, we have received information from the WRTY, from their SS GPS system that Sakuno Ryuzaki is in one of the female toilet. According to privacy code number 42, they could not tell what toilet she is in, so we are now going to check every female toilet here. Will everyone please evacuate from the toilet now to facilitate our investigation. Sorry for any inconvenience, and I deeply apologise if we ever...bumped into anyone accidentally in the toilet. Thank you."
Ryoma stared at Kevin like he was an idiot. "You think people will buy this crap?" He whispered incredulously.
"Hey give me some credit! I came up with these impromptu!" Kevin whispered back, as he was dragged off the platform by Ryoma.
Ryoma rushed to the nearest girl's toilet. He pushed the door opened, and realised that there were still some people in there. "Everyone get out, we are searching for Sakuno Ryuzaki. If you know where is she, spit it out now. If not, get the hell out of here." He ordered coldly, as the girls run out of the toilet, glaring at him.
"What are you doing, Ryoma?" Kevin pulled Ryoma away before he went in.
"Finding Sakuno?" Ryoma answered, staring at Kevin as if he was the biggest moron on Earth.
"You don't have to do this, Ryoma. Just slightly push every door. Sakuno is locked in the toilet, remember? We'll just find a locked toilet and then hit it down."
Makes sense. So Kevin wasn't as stupid as he looked.
"Okay."
XxXxX
End of Chapter! Do you like it? Or do you think the story is getting too weird and far-fetched. I don't think these kind of stuff happens in University, everyone is so mature and stuff, but well, just ignore it please!
Review!
