Chapter 12 - The Green Eyed Monster

Ryoma had rushed into the house. By the time Sakuno had taken one shoe off Ryoma was halfway towards the stairs, where he was intercepted by his baka oyaji.

"Ne, shounen. Let's go have a match." Ryoma contemplated this for a moment. "I really just want to go to my room and be alone...But it's not only my room anymore, it's Ryuzaki's too" Ryoma mentally groaned at this thought "I might as well go play a game. It might make me feel better to just work out this confusing feeling..." Without a word Ryoma followed his father out to their tennis court.

Sakuno, being the curious person she was, hurried to finish taking off her shoes and follow them. "How would they have a match at home... Don't tell me they have a tennis court here, although it wouldn't surprise me." Sakuno thought fondly, smiling a little. It would be just like Ryoma to play tennis at home as well; after all he plays everywhere else. She went into the living/dining room and saw a door opening up to the outside. After going through the door, she followed the wrap around veranda and saw the tennis court, nothing much more than white lines in the dirt, but still most definitely a usable tennis court. After deciding to enquire about making cookies and a way to repay Ryoma later, Sakuno sat down to enjoy the game.

After even just a few minutes of watching the game Sakuno discovered many things about the two players. Nanjiroh was a very skilled player, it was obvious where Ryoma got his tennis talent from; Nanjiroh was constantly teasing Ryoma and having fun with him, it wasn't that Nanjiroh didn't care about his son, he just didn't want to show that he cared; and finally she knows who it is Ryoma that wants to beat. Sakuno had been wondering about that statement ever since Ryoma had said it, and know she finally understood. After always being teased by his father, of course Ryoma would want to beat him, and make it his lifelong ambition to do so. Sakuno was so deep in thought by this time that when she felt a hand on her shoulder it made her jump sky high. After turning around however, she discovered it was just Rinko.

"Gomen Sakuno-chan, I didn't mean to scare you." Rinko apologised after seeing that she had startled the girl.

"I-it's okay Rinko-san. I was just too deep in thought" Rinko nodded in understanding, a smile appearing on her face.

"I can see you love tennis just as much as your grandmother; you were watching the game so intently." A light blush rose up on Sakuno's cheeks.

"I-I'm n-not t-that way with all g-games though..." The blush already adorning Sakuno's cheeks got steadily darker as the girl talked. Rinko laughed at the young girl's embarrassment.

"I understand Sakuno-chan. You pay special attention to certain games don't you, with certain players." Rinko gave Sakuno a knowing look, which just increased Sakuno's blush, before continuing on. "When talented players play each other it's hard to take your eyes away. I love watching Ryoma and Nanjiroh play. They've been doing this since Ryoma learned to walk. It's amazing to see how much Ryoma has grown since he was little." Sakuno listened to Rinko talk intently; she could understand the love Rinko had for her family by listening to her speak.

"Something seems a little off about Ryoma today though... He's a bit more aggressive... Maybe this is a new technique he is trying to beat Nanjiroh..." These words seemed to be said more to herself than to Sakuno, but they did cause her to wonder. "Ryoma-kun seemed to be a little off during the walk home as well...OH! I have to ask Rinko-san about the cookies and a gift for Ryoma-kun"

"A-anou, Rinko-san?" Sakuno waited for the older women's attention to be focused on her before continuing. "A senpai saved me and my friend Tomo-chan today and we were thinking of baking some cookies for him. Tomo-chan is busy though so I was hoping I could use the kitchen to make some." Rinko's eyes lit up brighter than a light bulb.

"Of course you can Sakuno-chan! Oh I've always wanted to bake some cookies with a daughter. Of course I never had one, but I can make some with Sakuno-chan!" Suddenly a thought seemed to occur to Rinko and she turned toward Sakuno "You don't mind if I help do you Sakuno-chan?" A bright smile covered Sakuno's face when she heard Rinko's excitement.

"Of course not Rinko-san." Rinko stood up straight away, pulling Sakuno up with her.

"Well let's go then." Before Sakuno even had a chance to agree she was being pulled toward the kitchen.

It only took about fifteen minutes for Sakuno and Rinko to finish making the cookie dough and make it into cookies. While they were waiting for the cookies to cook, Sakuno thought this was the opportune time to ask Rinko about a gift for Ryoma.

"A-anou Rinko-san?" Rinko turned toward Sakuno giving the young girl her full attention. Red bloomed on Sakuno's cheeks, but her eyes shone with determination.

"A-anou... W-well R-Ryoma-kun has h-helped me a lot, s-so I wanted t-to do something to s-say th-thank you." Sakuno stuttered as fast as she could, her face as red as a cherry tomato. Rinko blinked once, twice, three times in shock before she smiled brightly.

"You're so kind Sakuno-chan! Hmm... I'll have to think about it. Give me a little time to think and I'll tell you what I come up with." A bright, relieved smile appeared on Sakuno's face.

"Arigatou Rinko-san" Rinko returned Sakuno's smile before leaving the kitchen. Sakuno sat left to her thoughts, but not for long. Soon after Rinko's departure the oven beeped, signalling that the cookies had finished cooking. Hurriedly, Sakuno took the cookies out and started placing them in a decorated paper bag, perfect for a gift. This was when Ryoma and Nanjiroh entered the kitchen, both in need of a drink. Nanjiroh went straight to the fridge, while Ryoma, who had cooled down and returned to normal during the tennis match, seemed to take interest in what Sakuno was doing.

"What are you doing Ryuzaki?" As soon as the sentence was out of his mouth Nanjiroh started to choke on his drink.

"Don't use that name you brat!" Nanjiroh half yelled. Ryoma was about to argue and continue calling Sakuno Ryuzaki until he remembered Nanako's studying. Ryoma sighed and restated his question.

"What are you doing... Sakuno?" Ryoma's heart sped up a bit at using her first name. It was the first time he had called any girl apart from Nanako by their first name. After seeing Sakuno's tomato red blush, Ryoma pondered if he should have used some sort of honorific. He thought that Sakuno-san was too formal though, and there was no way he was going to call anyone chan, so that just left no honorifics. It felt a bit awkward and made Ryoma's heart rate increase but he refused to use any of the other options.

Sakuno, meanwhile, was shocked. "D-did Ryoma-kun just call me Sakuno without any honorifics!?" She felt her face heat up, and stared at the boy in front of her. After a moment of staring she remembered that Ryoma had asked her a question and answered, face flushed.

"A-anou... I-I'm baking some cookies for Fuji-Senpai." And just like that, Ryoma returned to being in a bad mood. That simple sentence was all it took to make Ryoma's muscles tighten, his stomach churn and turn his face from nonchalant to a scowl. None of this went unmissed by the nosy father and concerned girl in the room. (Except the stomach of course. They couldn't see that.)

Ryoma grunted and grabbed a ponta from the fridge before leaving the room without a word. Sakuno's face scrunched up in worry. Her eyebrows furrowed, her cheeks puffed out ever so slightly (almost to the point of not being noticed even by Nanjiroh's perfect vision), and her face went a little pale making her red lips stand out. "If she gets like this every time some little thing happens to Ryoma I can see why the boy likes her, she looks so cute!" Nanjiroh thought looking at her face. "Nothing like the old hag at all."

"So Sakuno-chan, why are you making those cookies? You like this senpai perhaps?" Nanjiroh wiggles his eyes brows as he said this, all the while thinking "Yeah right she obviously likes Ryoma, that thick headed dense brat." Sakuno's face went from being pale to cherry red.

"N-no Nanjiroh-san, of course not. F-Fuji-senpai saved me and Tomo-chan today so Tomo-chan asked me to bake cookies so we could thank him." Nanjiroh nodded, the smirk already on his face just grew wider and wider.

"Aren't you a sweet girl Sakuno-chan" Nanjiroh said as he left. Sakuno, having already put all the cookies into the bag, sat down at the table and thought over what could have made Ryoma have such a mood swing. However, the poor girl could only think of one answer. "He couldn't be jealous could he... NO! Definitely not! Ryoma-kun wouldn't get jealous over me baking some cookies for Fuji-Senpai. Although... He has save me many times and I haven't done anything for him... I'll really have to come up with something very good to thank Ryoma-kun." Sakuno's thoughts got interrupted as Rinko came into the kitchen.

"Sakuno-chan! I know what you can do to thank Ryoma."

Ryoma went straight up to his room and shut the door before collapsing onto his bed. "Why the hell do I feel like this? She's just baking cookies! Why am I getting annoyed over cookies?"

Ryoma groaned and flipped onto his back, looking toward the ceiling. "What is this feeling in my stomach anyway? ARGH! This is too hard! Why can't everything be as simple as tennis?" Ryoma stayed where he was on the bed stewing over this new annoying feeling in his stomach.

"Oi Ryoma!" If Ryoma hadn't spent his whole life enhancing his senses he would have jumped at the sudden intrusion, however as he had heard the tiny wisp of the door opening all he did was grunt in response. Nanjiroh smirked at his son's behaviour. "Oh he is definitely jealous of this Fuji guy. I've got to thank this guy for such interesting entertainment."

"Don't tell me you're sulking because your girlfriend is giving cookies to some other guy?" Ryoma sat bolt upright and glared at his father. Exactly what Nanjiroh wanted. The smirk on his face just made Ryoma seethe more.

"She's not my girlfriend baka Oyaji" Ryoma turned his back on his father to look at his bookshelf and try to find a tennis book that he didn't know so well he could recite it without opening the front cover.

"Oh really? Well I guess that Fuji guy is her boyfriend then? I've got to say that I'm disappointed my own son let such a cute girl get away from him." Nanjiroh smirked as he saw Ryoma's look get darker.

"Fuji is not her boyfriend." Ryoma spoke slowly pronouncing every syllable perfectly, his voice low and threatening. "Oh this is working better than I thought it would" Nanjiroh thought in glee.

"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?"

"NO!" Ryoma's reply was immediate which shocked Nanjiroh. "Usually he would at least consider a suggestion before outright denying it." A thought, then dawned on Nanjiroh. "He's already realised it. Or at least already considered it and decided to deny it." Given the two options Nanjiroh considered that latter much more likely. By this time Ryoma looked quite distressed. His hair was a mess, his body language screamed jealousy but his eyes were full of confusion. The young boy genuinely had no clue what was going on. Nanjiroh sighed and, for once, took pity on his son.

In a soft voice he asked "Then what is going on Ryoma? If you're not jealous then what? You're not yourself that's for sure." With that said Nanjiroh walked out and left Ryoma to himself.

Ryoma sighed. "That's a good question Oyaji." Somehow Nanjiroh's words seemed to calm Ryoma a little. He wasn't as hectic or desperate as before to find an answer for what he was feeling. He could calm down and think. After a few minutes of thinking...

Nothing. Ryoma couldn't think of a single reason why he would be annoyed about Sakuno baking Fuji cookies or why he had been annoyed on the walk home. Ryoma sighed and fell back on the bed in defeat when he heard the door open. Ryoma automatically assumed a nonchalant position and picked up the closest book to him to make it look like he was just chilling.

Sakuno walked into the room slowly and nervously and saw Ryoma reading a book. She spoke up to get his attention and announce her entrance.

"A-Anou, R-Ryoma-kun?" Ryoma looked up from the book her he had been pretending to read.

"Un" he grunted in reply. Sakuno took a deep breath before she started to speak.

"A-Are you okay Ryoma-kun? You don't seem to be yourself." Ryoma groaned internally. "You're not the only one who thinks so. What is wrong with me?" Ryoma just sighed, got upoff the bed and went towards the door.

"R-Ryoma-kun? W-Where are you going?" Ryoma looked back towards the girl.

"Shower" he said abruptly, before turning on his heel and leaving. A sigh escaped Sakuno's lips and he face became downcast and defeated. "I guess Ryoma-kun doesn't want to talk to me about it... Something is definitely wrong though... I hope my thank you can cheer him up a bit..."

A.N. HELLO MINNA! I'm sorry if you had to wait for this (I don't remember when I last updated). This chapter is very angsty on Ryoma's part... I guess that's a reflection of my mood at the moment (I am in alot of joint pain. I'm only 15 for gods sake I'm not supposed to have sore joints that's an old peoples problem! [that may have been TMI but I like sharing]). I'm not too sure I managed to keep everyone (Ryoma) in character this chapter. Please tell me if I did a good job or not (Subtle hint for review) I'd really like to say THANK YOU! To the people who reviewed last chapter. So I give a special THANK YOU! To Juney (I know someone with that name at school :P), Sakura-chan41/Cherry Jam (Which name do you want to go by now?) and slvrphonex (that is very hard to spell you know. I had to check many times to get the spelling right). Also I don't think I have thanked my reviewers for the last few chapters (I probably have but I can't be bothered checking) So THANK YOU! To everyone who has reviewed my story so far. I also want to thank everyone who have followed and/or favourited this story and/or me. So Thank You! followers/favouriters (You are all spamming my inbox so I hope your happy :P) I have just noticed this is a really long authors note... Oh well it's about to get longer. I know last chapter I promised more jealous Ryoma. It wasn't until after I promised that that I realised I didn't know how Ryoma would react jealous. Well I know how he would react around Fuji but not Sakuno so... I hope I did well. I know I say this every authors note but I'm still open for suggestions. Also one I would really like is how long this story should go for. Until they become a couple? Until they graduate? Until they graduate high school? Until they graduate Uni? Until they are married? (I think you get the point now).

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please Review! Until next chapter,

Cya