Hello wonderful readers! Happy May 1st! From my heart to yours, here's a brand new chapter! Woooooo! (I think I may be more happy than some readers that I finally got a chance to post this up.) Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 9- Resistance is Futile

As Sakuno lay in bed, her mind swirled with confusion. Why was Ryoma acting so nice? What had prompted him to act so pleasantly towards her? Sakuno didn't mind the pleasantry, but for Ryoma, it seemed out of the norm. And if Sakuno wasn't mistaken, there was a bit of a flirty tone in his voice while they were walking to her house. Now THAT was very unexpected.

And what was with him suddenly calling her by her first name? That little occurrence was weird, too. The Ryoma that Sakuno knew since middle school never did things like flirt, and call her by her first name. He would call her "Ryuzaki" repeatedly. Why the change now? Sakuno was very suspicious of his behavior. Getting hurt again was out of the question. No way was some boy going to take her for granted because she was better than that.

'Maybe I've been too friendly with Ryoma-kun. Maybe he thinks I like him again,' Sakuno mused. Then she felt her cheeks heat up. Ryoma was nice enough and he was extremely handsome. Sakuno shook her head to clear her senses. 'There is no way on Kami-sama's green earth that I would fall for Ryoma-kun again,' Sakuno resolved. Besides, what if Ryoma only pitied her? 'No,' Sakuno decided. She couldn't get any closer to Ryoma. In fact, maybe she'd better draw away a bit. Besides, if Ryoma had even a bit of negative feeling towards her, it was for the best anyway. And so Sakuno fell asleep, her mind made up. She would give Ryoma space, if only to keep herself protected.

The next day, Sakuno woke up feeling miserable. She really didn't feel like going to school today. But alas, if she missed a day, Tomoka would surely call her and demand why her best friend was absent. So Sakuno washed up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and proceeded to go to school as expected. All throughout her morning ritual, she kept thinking of how to distance herself from Ryoma. She would quit having lunch with him and make herself unavailable during any time except school. So she set her mouth in a grim line and prepared to once again, pull out unfriendly Sakuno.

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Sakuno trudged up the stairs to deliver Ryoma's bento. She'd wanted to drop it off earlier, but left it in her locker by mistake. She'd seen him earlier in the hallway and pointedly ignored him, not noticing the weird glance he gave her in response.

She pushed open the door to find the sky and the clouds, a scene she'd embraced many times. "Hey," Ryoma spoke from the other side of the roof, hands in pockets. Sakuno had to hand it to Ryoma; he could look good in any position. But now was not the time to admire her friend's good looks.

"Here," Sakuno replied, the bento in hand. She stayed rooted near the door and Ryoma noted how tense she was.

"Thanks," he said, taking it. This was weird; Sakuno was usually cheerful and would've sat down by now.

"You can sit, Sakuno-chan," Ryoma mentioned, gesturing.

"No thanks, I've got…stuff to do," Sakuno feebly got out. Wow, resisting Ryoma was harder than she'd imagined.

"For example?" Ryoma prompted; he wanted to find the underlying cause of Sakuno's behavior.

"Just stuff. Nothing that concerns you," she snapped, turning to go.

"Sakuno-chan…"

"And stop calling me that!" she demanded. Ryoma complied, but pressed on, "What's up Ryuzaki? You're not like yourself." He was a bit dumbfounded and it reminded him of the day he and Sakuno had made their deal.

"Look, I just…I'm a bit confused, okay?" Sakuno said, shaking her head. She couldn't let herself be persuaded to stay; distancing herself was for the better.

"About what? C'mon Ryuzaki, we're friends," Ryoma stepped closer.

"And?" Seeing Ryoma's slightly hurt face, Sakuno offered, "I'm just confused by last night."

Ryoma edged closer as Sakuno started, "How do I know you don't pity me? How do I know that you regard me as a real friend, and not the chick that makes you bentos?!" she spat out.

Sakuno was ready to bolt. She was doubtful and unsure; she was emotional. She considered Ryoma a real friend, but did he feel the same? There was too much, emotions reoccurring from days long gone.

"Sakuno-chan…"

"Don't. How do I know you mean it when you address me so familiarly?" Sakuno's eyes were filled to the brim now.

Ryoma stepped closer and took both of her wrists in his hands. To her surprise, he started rubbing circles with his thumbs, "You know, you're the first girl I've ever gotten this close with," Ryoma started. "All the others seemed annoying, but you, you're different."

He looked down, hoping to catch Sakuno's eye, but she was staring down. This type of thing was very unusual for Ryoma, but he did want to let her know he felt.

"You're not annoying and…you don't talk too much. You're not nearly as much as a pushover as you used to be…" he paused and got a reaction.

"Humph."

"And you're my friend." At that, Sakuno looked up. She wasn't prepared. She and Ryoma were inches apart, and what was worse, his eyes bore into hers.

"But…"

"Ryuzaki, I consider you a real friend. Not just the 'chick that makes bentos.'" Sakuno only nodded her head. She didn't really know how to feel, and she didn't expect Ryoma to express him in that way.

"One question," he spoke up after Sakuno had pulled herself together. She was also now keenly aware of Ryoma's thumbs.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Do you not want me to call you Sakuno-chan?"

"I mean…I guess its fine, I'm just so used to Ryuzaki. And I guess since we're friends…" she paused, looked up, and continued, "You can call me Sakuno-chan. I do call you Ryoma-kun, after all," she finished.

Ryoma released her wrists and stepped back a bit.

"Then Sakuno-chan? Will you sit and eat with me?" Ryoma looked down to catch Sakuno's eyes. He really did enjoy her company; she was the most pleasant teen his age he knew.

"Sure, Ryoma-kun," she replied, looking up also and meeting his hazel eyes.

"I thought so," he quipped, smirking down at her.

"Ryoma-kun!" Therefore, the two ate lunch, one welcoming friendship, and the other reassured of it.

Remember to review if you enjoyed the chapter and the story in general. Oh, one other point. Some of you may consider Ryoma OOC. He is a bit, so I''m trying to mold his personality to get along very well with Sakuno's. After all, this will eventually turn into a romantic fic. But rest assured, Ryoma won't be too OOC, I'll try to keep him in character as much as possible. And if anyone wants to kindly contribute some pointers for me, please do so. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!