Disclaimer: Im getting tired of this… I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS its hurting my ego alright. –sobs in the emo corner-
Credits: HEAVEN- Ayumi Hamasaki I DISCLAIM THIS TOO
Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code I DISCLAIM THIS TOO
Thanks to: all the reviewers actually, and special thanks to fanficgirl, yeah I will hasten this chapter up, but the…this one is going to be long..im going to get over my problem, revealing the clan details actually, wish me luck then! Cha!
CHAPTER FIVE: Sweaters and Cameras
…
….
Previously
Ochiba and Masaki told her that she looks more like her father, Sakurei took one spare glance at her uncle's portrait hanging over the fireplace, he was quite good looking with his manly features, which makes his offspring a little bit more like him, she couldn't wait to see her, but for a fact that she knows, she doesn't like Sakuno, if it means taking the title away from her, specially the Organization, she knew perfectly well this is one drastic move from her grand father, a rookie or less, handling the Organization? He's probably crazy! Does he want Sakuno's head over his platter or he just wanted o piss Sakurei off, the company will falter if Sakuno were to handle it, besides she's older than Sakuno means that she's got stronger birth rights, and the thought of his Grand father naming Sakuno his heiress is an insult for her, she also knew that the Council is aware of Sakuno's arrival, and their impression was: "what does she know about leading a Yakuza Organization?"
She couldn't help but smirk, whatever it takes, the Organization will be hers, even if it takes her killing Sakuno, she will, she had been leading the Organization ever since she was fourteen, and she's got her first kill right after she was hailed as a member of the council, and nobody will stop her specially Sakuno, taking over the Akacho Corporation.
….
…
Her Auburn braided locks swayed as she took one step ahead of him whenever she sees something interesting over the skating rink, he couldn't help but notice her smile…
If he only knew that this could be the last time he would see her like this, suddenly he didn't fail to notice, in a flash almost not visible to human vision, there was a flash of sorrow in her eyes, they were standing there still in their school uniform, spare the fact that he made Sakuno wear his jersey jacket because its getting colder as time passes by specially its winter, and now they going on skating over ice, and having her sick means his head on the platter of Ryuzaki Sumire, and for sure he didn't want her to get sick-rephrase that- he didn't want to get punished for being such an inconsiderate brat.
"Ne…why don't we go in first, im bored." He suddenly broke the silence hoping it would distract her from anything she was currently thinking.
He caught cinnamon orbs staring at him in shock, as he raised his eye brows in confusion.
"Isn't that why were here for."
"D-demo, Ryoma-kun…I..I don't know how to skate."
Oh crud.
He almost slapped his palms on his forehead, she doesn't know how to skate yet she's here with her ticket in hand? Isn't that a bit annoying, they were waiting there for an hour and a half for the rest of the company to arrive yet he was deprived of skating because she just doesn't know how to skate?
'Feeh, mind that later.'
"I'll teach you, let's go." He said turning his back giving her no chance of refusing, or rather ignore his command.
She just smiled at his demeanor, nothing much changed after all, he's still that arrogant kid who always win his matches (spare Tezuka back then… and Fuji)
Who provokes his opponents to do their best shot at him, but still lose in an instant, its him the Ryoma Echizen she'll always love.
XXXXXXXXXX
Paris, France.
Chateau Sangreal.
"Don't you think it's a bit too drastic to send her here? Besides what does she know of what she's going into?" a man with tan skin ( I dunno, its just my observation really) , and Feline amber eyes with ruffled dark locks, sat carelessly over the table playing with his racket in front of him.
A man lying over a king sized bed covered with navy blue velvet fabric that stays beside an enormous window covered with first class fiber class, he suddenly spoke and smiled at the same time.
"You and I both know, I won't last longer than five months, and I just can't leave without knowing everything is alright." He spoke softly yet his cerulean blue optics traced excitement and tiredness at the same time, his face were more like a man in his early thirties when in reality he was in his late fifties, he smiled at this, the man sitting on his table, as per usual.
"There's Sakurei, you can leave everything by her hands, god knows she's loyal to the clan." The lad spoke once more, this caused Jiroubu to glance at the family portrait over his fireplace, and frowned.
"Sakurei will be the head of the Company as it is…"
"The council affirms with Sakurei, she could be more useful in the Organization."
" You and I both know, Sakurei isn't a superior Yushihiro." he looked back at the lad who just shrugged.
"But don't you think she's more qualified?"He remarked as he glared at Jiroubu, as he stood by the giant fire place and watched the flames dance, as its brilliance flickered to his eyes.
"Sakurei is not a pure blooded Yushihiro to be hailed a leader." he muttered as he stared at the five feet family painted portrait that hung above his fireplace, a smile found its way to his lips when he saw the two years old Sakuno smile brightly as she was being held by her father,Hatori, Sakurei is a Yushihiro, however, since she carries the name from her mother, Yachiru Yushihiro, her birth right to the clan has been inferior, to that of Yachiru's younger brother, Hatori.
"SO to say…when will you introduce you to the council?"
"There is no need…they're already aware of this."
"And?"
"Lets just say…they're a bit…anxious about it." The lad groaned of what he heard.
"She doesn't stand a chance with the other six." He said in a sarcastic disbelieving tone.
"Im the leader of the council until the next five months…and that's more than enough for me to teach her everything she needs to know." Jiroubu said as he took a sip of his tea.
The clan has been formed 50 years ago, by the ancient seven Yakuza organizations, who formed the brethren council, the brethren council here lies the treaty of each Organization to come up with terms towards co-existing as they vote for a leader, for the last 15 years, Akacho had been its superior, but as years passed, the council had been greedy, the election had been worthless, the leaders only nominate themselves and vote for themselves, so to speak, its non-sense, as Jiroubu had proposed a method, a method to avoid bloodshed and to promote fairness, by solving a puzzle, ever since then its been a tradition to solve each puzzle a leader would pass down in order to take his place.
"Sakurei will be pissed ya know!."the lad said.
"I know." Jiroubu could
"And you know what she can do." He continued.
"Yes, and your pointing at?" Jiroubu said sarcastically.
"Nothing, I was just checking if you still know what you're doing."
XXXXXXXXXX
She was standing frozen beside the skating rink, she looked up in hesitation she still wore his sweater, as she gripped the sides of the wall for support, how is that that it looks so easy to walk on ice but its so hard in reality? Oh god was she embarrassed when she saw him smirk.
"Mou…R-Ryoma-kun…maybe I'll just wait-." Before she could finish her statement, the prince who was currently standing of the skating rink took her hand into his and pulled her into the ice, he held her elbows for stronger support as he made his way just around the walls for insurance, as Sakuno held him tightly on his arms, he was skating backwards slowly, as he tried on his patience with teaching wobbly hips how to skate.
"Relax…"He broke.
"D-Demo…Ryoma-kun should be having fun…and not teaching me." She said as a taint of red tinted her cheeks in embarrassment.
"Echizen-sensei sounds suitable for now." He said as he smirked, as he some familiar faces at just the other side of the glass walls,well a certain red head was still holding a camera, with his mischievous grin, Kaidoh who was currently beating Momo verbally because of his-oh well-monstrous appetite for food, Tezuka whose currently muttering 'don't let your guard down' and Inui who was currently mumbling 'Ii data Echizen will need a nose lift in the next 5…4…3…2' and could life get any worse for Ryoma, the figure who he recognized as Fuji pointed his fingers behind Ryoma with a scary smile plastered on his face, and that smile doesn't look like a insignia of something good.
"Ryoma-kun!! Behind you!!"
KABLAMMM
KAWHHHOOOSS
"Itai!!"
-And this is how Ryoma Echizen died with his ego,reputation and his nose currently bleeding thanks a lot to the wall.
'darn this wall!!'
He cursed, and suddenly muttering curses on his mind mentally beating the wall, and sticking stupid ramblings like what the hell is the wall doing there In the first place, and why the hell why his nose-
"Ryoma-kun your nose is bleeding!!" Sakuno knelt down to him as they earned some stares from strangers, Sakuno rummaged her pocket for her handkerchief, and folded it neatly and slowly wiping Ryoma's nose, who was now lightly shuddering because of the ice, he sighed and grabbed the handkerchief from her lightly brushing his hands to hers making her blush at the sudden contact, as he slowly stood up, followed by Sakuno.
"Mou…Ryoma-kun….are you alright? You're still bleeding, we should treat that." Sakuno muttered as he held her hand and guided her to the benches, what a troublesome day for Ryoma, he looked beside him to see her worried face-or perhaps its not that bad.
"Hey isn't that the tennis player from Wimbledon?"
"Oh!! Ryoma Echizen!"
'Or perhaps its gotten worse.'
"Hoi! Nya!! O'chibi!! I got another picture!! Wanna see?!!"Eiji suddenly popped beside him.
"Mamushi!! I told you! That one is spicy!"
"Fsssh,you picked it."
"BURNING!!!!LETS GET IT ON!!"
"Don't let your guard down."
"Taka-san can you make me some wasabi sushi after this?"
"Oh! My god! Echizen is dying!! He's bleeding!! Lets get him to the hospital."
He could only mumble incoherent words under his breath as he held Sakuno's handkerchief on his nose, he subconsciously grabbed her hand and led her out of the stupid crowd they were in and made their way to the shoe lockers to change, and much to his dismay, he's luck seems to have left him at the bottom of a deadly situations like this.
He opened up his locker to be welcomed by overflowing fan letters, and right after he shut the door off-
"Ryoma Echizen! What have you been up to when you came back here in Japan?"
"Mr.Echizen What are your plans-."
"Ryoma Echizen (flash) Do you have any plans to join the French open this year?"
Flash
Flash
"Mr. Echizen do have plans with getting married?"
'Im only 17 for christs sake.'
He scowled at the question good enough, he just stayed here for a couple of days hoping he won't need some awful disguise like he did when he secretly left for Japan to avoid the media, as crowds formed in front of him flashes of cameras blinded him, as he tried to breakthrough searching for some Auburn head with braids.
"Oi! Isn't that O'chibi and Saku-chan?!!"Eiji broke as he held his camera tight in his hands as the
Inui lifted his glasses a bit, and nodded, as he continued to scribble.
"Ii data, .95 percent…Echizen will ask for our help and 99.5 percent he'll say… 'Mada Mada Dane'"
"Don't you like to watch him there..after all misery loves company."Fuji smiled…leaving the others to shrug, Fuji smiled, he's a mad man…that they take note to never humor the tennis tensai.
"He'll have his reputation in the junkyard right about now."Momoshiro spoke, as he pointed to the prince whose face-needless to say-he's bout to give them a piece of his mind.
"Lets give him a hand! You know…for blackmailing?!"Eiji winked at the group, as he ran to the crowd.
Ryoma saw a certain red head coming through with a big grin of his face followed by Oishi who suddenly grabbed a white hat almost similar to his, as Eiji winked at him.
He hated to admit this, but he owed them one, he nodded and knelt down from the crowd and crawled his way just behind the post near the skating rink grid.
"Oi!! Guys!! Ryoma Echizen 's leaving!!!"Eiji screamed as he gained the attention of the media, Oishi ran away as the crowd followed him, with incoherent questions and voices slowly faded, Ryoma stood up and adjusted his hat, and started to look for Sakuno, he felt something tug his heart when he saw no sight of her from the crowd as he started running.
She sighed and started to look for him, she knew for a fact, she's really bad when it comes to directions, thanks to the media, she was completely lost, the wave almost taken her aback, now, she doesn't know where she is, she looked around hoping to see some hints as to where she can go, but only to find strange naming stores, she started to run, still looking around to find some familiar land mark.
She felt her feet went numb and felt tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, as she tugged Ryoma's jacket closer to her, she wants to scream his name over and over but she knows that he can't hear it, she wants to stop herself from feeling this, but that's what she can't do the most, she glanced at her wrist watch.
'5 hours…I only have five hours…' she mentally thought.
And only god knows how long will she be looking for him, she's wasting time, the clock is ticking, and the plane won't wait for her…and staying here is not an option, she looked around only to feel her tears flow down to her cheeks.
'Im so stupid…why did I even think that he'll be looking for me.'
She thought as she lowered her head bitterly at the thought as her feet went walked on its own as it led her to a store named "MUSIC CIRCUIT", her eyes went wide at what she saw, a piano resting at the front of the store, it was a fine piano with ivory for its body, plainly white with golden trimmings and grid for details.
"That's our new arrival, you can try it if you want."The lady said, probably the owner of the shop,
Sakuno looked at her hesitatingly, as the lady smiled and led her to the piano.
Her fingers wandered at its keys, 'its wonderful…' she thought, she pressed the last pitch to the left, the sound reminds her of the days with her mother when they play the piano together when she was still a child, her voice was the most endearing lullaby she heard in her entire life, she smiled at her memory.
'Okaasan.'
He wiped the sweat formed over his brow, he's been running around the mall for quite sometime now, and his patience is at its finest, she might have been lost, thanks lot to her poor direction talent, he's giving her so much hard of a hard time.
'You better be alright.'
She slowly played her keys of the piano, with her eyes looking outside the shop, hoping to se his face towards the arriving crowd.
Saigo ni kimi ga hohoende
Massugu ni sashidashita mono wa
Tada amarini kirei sugite
Koraekirezu namida afureta
Ano hi kitto futari wa
Ai ni fureta
Watashitachi wa sagashiatte
Tokini jibun o miushinatte
Yagate mitsukeatta no nara
Donna ketsumatsu ga matte ite mo
Unmei to iu igai
Hoka ni wa nai
He sighed in irritation, his gut feeling is pushing him harder, he sat for a while and took a deep breath and adjusted his cap, thoughts whirled in his head, the 'What if's ' driving him into madness, this girl is such a trouble, he unconsciously hit the chair he was sitting at, in annoyance as he stood and started running again.
la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la
Kimi ga tabidatta ano sora ni
Yasashiku watashi o terasu hoshi ga hikatte
Soba ni ite aisuru hito
Toki o koete katachi o kaete
Futari mada minu mirai ga koko ni
Nee konnanimo nokotteru kara
He was looking through thin glasses sparing them a glance for a certain girl with peculiar Auburn head and long braids, he heard a voice, as he saw crowd forming in a store a couple of blocks away,something made his stomach churn as he scowled, his gut feeling again,it's been disturbing him for a while now, it's the thought that this is time won't last long….like something's going to happen, he didn't know, he unconsciously gripped the fabric inside his pocket, and shrugged the thought off.
'Whatever.' He thought, as he ran toward the crowd.
A smirk played its way to his lips.
'Found you.'
He made his way inside the shop y breaking through the crowd as he stopped in front of the elegant piano resting at the stage of the shop, giving him a good view of her tear tainted face, she looked up at him with shock traced in her eyes, he gave her a smirk, then she stared at him as she continued her singing as her fingers danced gracefully against the ivory keys of the piano, not breaking the eye contact, as if she was saying everything she wants through her stare, he just stared back at her, as she smiled lightly.
Shinjite aisuru hito
Watashi no naka de kimi wa ikiru
Dakara kore kara saki mo zutto
Sayonara nante iwanai
Ano hi kitto futari wa
Ai ni fureta
She finished as the crowd went silent, then suddenly they gave her a round of applause, then she suddenly realized that there were so many people listening to her, she blushed furiously and lowered her head and froze at the chair she was sitting at, Ryoma knew well she'll rot there in embarrassment if he won't drag her out, so he grabbed her wrist lightly and led her out of the shop and in front of the fountain right at the middle of the all.
"Why did you leave me." He asked, more of a statement rather than a question.
"E-eto…I was gone with the crowd…and then I-."
"Im tired of looking for you."
She looked up at him realizing his nose had stopped its bleeding she smiled.
"Mou. Daijobu da ne." She smiled
He looked at her quizzically, and noticed she pointed at his nose.
"Of course." He answered.
"Gomen ne? Ryoma-kun…for looking for me." She said with a bitter smile on her face, suddenly Ryoma felt guilty, he didn't fail to notice her face was tainted with tears, he smirked once more, maybe she cried because she's lost.
"You cried." He said.
Sakuno blushed furiously and nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll always find you."He said reassuringly at the girl.
She smiled at him brightly with his statement, maybe he will always find his way to her, he always does, and he never failed, he saved her a dozen of times more than she knew, and he never failed…
'But he can't save me from this one…' Her smile faded.
'Here it goes again' He thought as he noted her sudden change of mood.
"I want some ice cream." He said trying to change the topic, as he stared at some store not so far away from them.
She nodded in agreement as she smiled at him lightly, as she turned her back to him, he noticed she was still wearing his jacket, he smirked, and he didn't fail to notice…
'Looking good.' He noted as she noticed him look back at him, their eyes met, some how that image planted itself in his mind.
"Ne? I thought Ryoma-kun wants ice cream?"She suddenly spoke.
"Aa." He managed to say as he tugged his cap again and followed her, as they walk side by side.
She was sitting across him as he pouted looking at the passerby, she kept on glancing at her watch and everytime she does, a mark of disappointment was left in her face, he kept on staring at her he doesn't even know why, thank god she was busy staring at some people or else he won't have this…chance.
"Here you go, have a great time, Enjoy!" The waitress said, placing two jumbo sized parfait glass at the table, one was Caramel Overload with a decorative thumb-sized umbrella resting on top of the ice cream , and the other was Strawberry Frenzy with two strawberries resting on the top of the pink ice cream with strawberry syrup scattered on it.
She glanced at her watch once more.
'That's the last straw.' Ryoma grunted, he really hates it when she peeked at that stupid watch, he grabbed her wrist lightly and unstrapped her light blue watch and taking it from her.
"I'll borrow this for a while." He said as he kept the watch inside his pockets leaving a wide eyed Sakuno, as he dig in his ice cream.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"Masaki-jisan" Sakurei broke peeking over that little space at the shelf waiting for Masaki to respond.
"What is it?"Masaki answered.
"Why do you hate her?"she said as she grabbed a book from the shelf and started browsing it.
"Why do you ask?" Masaki spoke.
"Why do you want her 'gone'?"Sakurei said again.
"Because she doesn't fit with us." He answered with as-a-matter-of-fact-tone.
"If so then-."
"Rest the case Saku-chan…im busy."
"Whatever."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Arigato Ryoma-kun…" She said as she removed his sweater once more and handed it to him, as they went out and stayed at the Sakura park not so far from the mall.
"You can have it."He said as he took a sip of his Ponta.
"B-But..this is important to Ryoma-kun." She said.
"Drop the topic, just keep it."Ryoma said demandingly.
Sakuno just stared at the fabric and folded it neatly on her lap, as she noticed Ryoma gave her back the watch, not wasting any second, she took a peek, and realized.
'Its about time…'
"A-Ano…Ryoma-kun, I have to go…Obaa-chan's waiting for me at the station." She said without looking at him and frowned.
Then suddenly he stood up and looked back at her, and gave her smirk.
"Let's go."He muttered, as Sakuno followed him to the train station, and this is her most unforgettable moment with Ryoma.
'Ryoma-kun….Aishiteru.'
Thoughts whirled in her head, everytime he looks at her, she was expecting him to tell her something….important, but she earned none, she smiled bitterly.
'Maybe this is all we have.'
When they arrived at the station, the Team was there already, the same old Seigaku tennis club, and Ryuzaki Sumire who was staring at her sad expression, Sakuno just looked down in disappointment.
"Oi!!Echizen, you owe us one!"Momo suddenly popped behind Sumire, as Inui broke again.
"Ii Data, Echizen will ignore Momo."
"You didn't do anything Momo-senpai." Much to Inui's data.
"WORLD ABOMINATION!!!MY DATA NEVER FAILED ME!!!!!!!" Inui suddenly curled into a ball in the corner and started muttering curses.
"Nya! O'chibi, I never thought you were THAT famous!"Eiji suddenly spoke with his forefinger on his cheek in wonder.
"I don't think so…"Ryoma smirked as he glanced at Sakuno, who just lowered her head and blushed, she knew he was talking about her 'fans' earlier.
"Mou, we have to go now…"Sumire spoke as Sakuno went by her side, and gave the senpai-tachi a thankful bow.
"Ja ne."and with that they turned their backs and left.
"That was some delicious Ice cream you had there."Momo smirked sadistically, and looked down at Ryoma.
"Yea, I want some too…"Eiji affirmed.
"Well, I think Taka-san's sushi can wait, right Taka-san?" Oh no…here comes the villains, as Fuji grabbed the camera from his pockets, and browsed some 'dating pictures' of Ryoma and Sakuno, and placed it in front of Ryoma who just scowled.
'Crud.'
"Whatever." Then he buried his hands in his pockets and felt sudden soft fabric touch his hands, he pulled it out to see a pink handkerchief with taints of blood spots, he then took a look of her retreating back.
'Maybe tomorrow.'
"Ii data, finally… Echizen reached puberty." Inui suddenly appeared on Ryoma's shoulder with a sadistic smirk on his face.
XXXXXXXXXX
She loaded her luggage at the back of the trunk, and looked back at the house, and sighed.
'Goodbye…' she thought, it might look ridiculous to other people seeing a girl say goodbye to a house, but to Sakuno, she couldn't care less, it gave her shelter and warmth for years.
"Sakuno-chan, you forgot these."Sumire broke and went of the house carrying pink tennis bag on her shoulder, and gave it to Sakuno who smiled back at her Obaachan.
"Obaa-chan, can you give this to Tomo-chan? I can't tell her im living…personally."Sakuno said as she took out a red envelope from her hand carry, and gave it to her Obaachan.
"I will, how's your day with Echizen?"she grinned, she knew her little Sakuno likes the lad so much, even when they were still freshmen, she had that adoration to the prince, and now, well maybe it blossomed into something more.
"A..Ano, its great."She answered as she blushed, just to earn a pat on the head.
Silence
Silence
"I'll miss you a lot…Obaachan!" She suddenly burst into tears and hugged Sumire, who held back her tears and held Sakuno in her arms.
'Sayonara..Ryoma-kun, till we meet again…'
XXXXXXXXX
'Darn.' He thought
Its already late and he still can't sleep, somehow her image plagued his mind for an unknown reason, he felt like he won't see her for a long time, his stomach churned again, he scowled, what is it that's missing?
He knew there's something.
"Meoooow."
"Karupin…what do you think it is…"Ryoma muttered as he kept staring at the ceiling.
Specially that moment back at the station, he knew should've told her something, something else he didn't know.
'GARRRGH…'
And yes, in case you're wondering, he's Ryoma Echizen whose mind is in the hazy blues of confusion and madness, so much for his coolness and rationality.
He buried is face in the pillow and forced himself to sleep as he called it a day.
XXXXXXXXXX
THE NEXT DAY…
"Blahblah" –English
"Blahblah"-Japanese
"Vernet, prepare the car, I'll go to the airport." He spoke in a foreign tongue, not missing his Japanese accent.
"Yes,Ryoga-sama." Vernet answered with French accent.
"Do you mind if I come too?"Sakurei suddenly appeared at the staircase.
"I was hoping I'd spare you the trouble."Ryoga said sarcastically.
"Thanks anyways, But today's my flight to Japan…so I guess you don't have any choice."Sakurei said as she lifted a brow at the lad, who just shrugged.
"Mada Mada Daze…."
…
….
TZUZUKU
….
…
AN: 12 pages of M.S word written for two days…4702 words 26196 characters with spaces AND 21 679 without spaces! AND this is the longest story I've ever wrote EVER!!…I hope it fits to your liking, and yes, Ryoga is here! Don't you just love this dude!! And he knows how to speak English, how? Details….who cares about them? How did he get to Paris? It's a secret for now,…lol… now you don't have any reason not leave a review!! Coz I'd get really mad!! I wrote this two days straight!! Without any sleep!!! Gawd!! My eyes are sore!! SO LEAVE A REVIEW….make the authoress happy!!! People!! Leave a review! For christ's sake!! Hafta go…too sleepy…zzzzzzzzreviewzzzzzzzzreviewzzzzzzreviewzzzzzzz