Chapter 13 – The Magic Bento
The next morning Sakuno woke up early, as usual. She got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to get changed, careful not to wake up Ryoma. After changing, she went downstairs and into the kitchen where Rinko was waiting for her. "Ohaiyo, Rinko-san."
"Ohaiyo, Sakuno-chan. You can use whatever you need to. I hope we have all the ingredients you'll need." Sakuno smiled at Rinko's generosity.
"I'm sure I can make something with whatever you have. Most of the things I cook are made from ingredients that everyone has anyway." With that said Sakuno got to work. "I just hope that this will make Ryoma feel a bit better…"
Flashback to Yesterday
"Sakuno-chan! I know what you can do to thank Ryoma." Rinko exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. Sakuno's eyes widened when she heard Rinko's exclamation. "You can make him a bento! Ryoma loves Japanese food but I'm not that good at cooking it. Sometimes Nanako makes Ryoma Japanese food for breakfast but he never gets a bento. I'm sure Ryoma would be happy if you made him a bento as a thank you gift." Sakuno's eyes shone with excitement.
"I love cooking, especially Japanese food. But…" Sakuno trailed off as she thought about just how much Ryoma had done for her. Would one bento really be enough to thank him for everything he had done for her? Rinko looked a little concerned as she watched Sakuno's expression. She had thought that a bento was a great idea.
"What's wrong Sakuno?" Sakuno's head snapped up to Rinko as she realised she had been staring into space.
"It's just…" The young brunette paused for a moment to figure out how to word her thoughts. "After everything Ryoma-kun has done for me, is one bento really enough?" Rinko smiled brightly at the girl's generosity.
"I'm sure Ryoma will be pleased with one but if you don't think it is you could make Ryoma as many bento's as you think is necessary." Sakuno's face lit up. Her eyes shone and her smile made her face glow.
"Arigatou Rink-san" Rinko giggled at the girl's excitement. A young girl in love really was very cute.
End of Flashback
As Sakuno started preparing everything for the bento Karupin walked into the kitchen and brushed against Sakuno's legs. "Ohaiyo Karupin-chan" Karupin purred in reply, causing Sakuno to giggle. "I really do love this cat. She is just the cutest thing I have ever seen… Ryoma seems to love her as well… OH! I have a great idea!" With this though, Sakuno started to make Ryoma's bento, along with a simpler one for herself, with new enthusiasm.
"I hope this will help make Ryoma feel better. I wonder what's wrong with him…" Sakuno pondered aloud to herself after she had finished making the bento's. Rinko, who had been cooking breakfast, heard the girl's musings and gave a gentle smile. "She really cares about him doesn't she?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure it will make him feel at least a little better. I think for now all we can really do is let Ryoma have a bit of space. I've never really seen him like this before either but Ryoma prefers to work through his problems himself. We shouldn't push into his problems, but we shouldn't necessarily leave him alone either. If we offer our support and let him know we are there for him, he will come to us." Rinko smiled down at Sakuno who looked up at Rinko wide eyed, before giving a small smile.
"You're right Rinko-san. I guess I just wish there was something I could do."
"You are doing all you can. I think the best thing we can do is just keep acting normally. Now how about you go and wake Ryoma up." Sakuno nodded her head a little solemnly and Rinko watched as she left the kitchen. Rinko sighed when she was gone from view. She didn't quite know what had happen but ever since the day before Ryoma had been extra cold to everyone, especially Sakuno. This had been clearly noticeable at dinner the night before. "I just hope that the bento Sakuno made will make Ryoma feel better. It really is so cute."
"Ohaiyo Nanjiroh-san, Nanako-san" Sakuno greeted the two as she passed by the living room and up the stairs.
"Ohaiyo Sakuno-chan" Nanako replied, while Nanjiroh was too immersed in his 'newspaper' to notice.
Sakuno smiled at Nanako's reply as she hesitantly made her way toward Ryoma's room. She was quite nervous to be around Ryoma at the moment. He had become quite cold since the day before and the poor girl wasn't quite sure how to handle it. She had never seen Ryoma this cold before. It really confused Sakuno, especially after what Ryoma had said yesterday at the school gate. "You're my friend and I don't want you to get hurt" Ryoma's words had been running through the young girls head ever since he said them. They had made her so happy, it was the closest that she had ever felt toward Ryoma, and yet now he was being so distant and cold. She just didn't get it. "I guess I should just do as Rinko-san said and act as normal as possible."
Taking a deep breath Sakuno opened the door and entered the room. Carefully, she walked over to Ryoma and called his name. As expected he didn't respond, so Sakuno tried again, shaking him gently to try and get a reaction. This time Ryoma stirred a little but was still definitely asleep. Sakuno sighed and tried again. She called a bit louder this time and continued to shake him. Finally, Ryoma opened his eyes and blinked up at her, sleep still clouding his eyes. This caused a light blush to bloom on Sakuno's face. She just couldn't get used to Ryoma looking childish; it made her blush every time she saw it. Ryoma sat up and rubbed his eyes, starting to clear the drowsiness from his head.
"O-Ohaiyo Ryoma-kun, it's time to wake up." Sakuno greeted Ryoma nervously. However the only reply she got was a grunt as he stood up and went to the bathroom to change. Sakuno sighed. She had been hoping that Ryoma would be a bit better this morning, but that obviously wasn't the case.
The Echizen household had just finished a very awkward breakfast, full of Nanako and Rinko's random topics of conversation which only ever lasted a few minutes; Ryoma's silent glaring at anyone who tried to speak to him; Sakuno's silent worrying and quiet answer's to any questions ask to her and Nanjiroh being Nanjiroh; when they heard Momo calling out for Ryoma and Sakuno.
When Sakuno and Ryoma walked out of the house they came upon an unexpected sight. Waiting at the gate was Tezuka and Momo. Seeing Tezuka standing there stunned Ryoma and Sakuno so much that they stood frozen to the spot for a good ten seconds at least before Ryoma finally continued to walk toward the gate. Sakuno quickly snapped out of her shock and followed after Ryoma.
"O-Ohaiyo, Tezuka-senpai, Momo-chan-senpai"
"Ohaiyo Sakuno-chan" Momo replied, while Tezuka nodded towards the young girl.
"Let's go" Ryoma said as he walked past them and onto the street. Momo and Tezuka were shocked with their kouhai's attitude. He had never been considered polite but he wasn't usually this bad. Sakuno sighed and followed after Ryoma. "I just wish he would tell someone what's wrong at least."
When Tezuka and Momo saw that their two kouhai's were leaving them behind the hurried to catch up. The walk to school was tense and awkward for everyone, but especially Momo. Tezuka was stoic practically all the time so the awkward tense situation didn't bother him too much, Ryoma was causing the tense and awkward atmosphere in the first place, and Sakuno had basically gotten used to the atmosphere as she had been dealing with it since the day before. About halfway to Seishun Gakuen Momo couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Sakuno's arm and dropped back a little before leaning over and whispering to her.
"Hey Sakuno-chan, what's up with Echizen?" He questioned Sakuno, needing to at least know the reason for this maddening atmosphere. Sakuno gave a wan smile in response.
"I don't know senpai. He's been like this since yesterday." With that said they lapsed back into silence as Momo thought things through. "Is this because of what we did yesterday? Wow… We really got to him. So this is how Echizen is when he's jealous…"
The group continued on until they reached the school, when Sakuno went toward the tennis courts to see her grandma while the regulars went to the changing rooms. The atmosphere that Momo had now started calling the 'Momo torture atmosphere' continued on even after Sakuno left and they had entered the changing room where the other regulars were waiting. As soon as the group of three entered the other regulars noticed the atmosphere and became quiet. It didn't take long for them to realise the cause of the 'Momo torture atmosphere' either, and Oishi, always caring about others and not knowing about the plan that Momo, Fuji and Eiji had carried out the day before, decided to ask what the matter was.
"Is there anything wrong Echizen?" Ryoma looked up at Oishi for a moment and went back to changing before replying.
"I'm fine senpai" Now every single person in the room knew this was a big fat lie, but no one could bring themselves to question the boy further. Fuji, Eiji and Momo shared a meaningful look and took an extra-long time to change so that they were the last three in the change room.
"What's wrong with Ochibi?" Eiji said, a nervous look plastered on his face.
"I think this is the result of what we did yesterday. We might have gone a little too far…" Momo voiced the opinion he had made on the walk to school. Fuji sat in thought for a moment before voicing his opinion.
"I don't think this is all due to us. We pushed him pretty far, but not this far. Something else must have happened to push him over the edge." The two other boys thought about this for a moment before agreeing.
"So what should we do nya?" Eiji asked, worried about his little buddy.
"We should probably just watch for now. The situation should sort itself out, especially with how worried Sakuno-chan probably is. I'm sure she will do something that will make him feel better." The other two nodded and they all left the change room.
Sakuno split off from the three regulars and made her way over to her grandmother, glad to get away from the suffocating atmosphere around Ryoma.
"Ohaiyo Obaa-chan" She called when her grandmother came into sight.
"Ohaiyo Sakuno" Sumire called back to her granddaughter and waited while she walked over to her. "Are you okay Sakuno?" Her granddaughter's troubled expression not going missed.
"I'm okay obaa-chan; I'm just worried about Ryoma-kun. He's been acting strange since yesterday."
"Hmmm" This news caught the old coach's interest. If there was something wrong with one of her regulars there tennis would probably be affected as well as the team dynamic. Additionally, although she wouldn't easily admit it, she cared a lot about all her students. She would make sure to observe Ryoma carefully during practice.
"I'm sure he will be fine Sakuno. He can take care of his own problems." Sakuno just lowered her head and nodded. No matter how much everyone says he can handle his own problems or he will be fine, she still worried a lot about him.
"SAKUNOOOOOO!" Sakuno jumped and turned around quickly to see Tomoka running towards her. "Did you get the cookies?!" She called when she was about five metres away still. Sakuno was about to answer her friend when her attention was caught by the figure of a emerald haired boy in a regular uniform and a Fila cap turning the corner. Her attention was brought back to Tomoka when she grabbed her shoulder however and she forced herself to concentrate on the conversation at hand, but her mind was really on the boy she saw turning the corner.
Ryoma viciously hit the ball against the wall with all his might, again and again. Hearing that loud mouthed girl mentioning the cookies just made him even madder. His body continued to hit the ball against the wall and his mind continued to run wild trying to comprehend what he was feeling. "Why am I so angry over some stupid cookies? It's not like I care anyway. They are just cookies, it doesn't mean she loves him or anything! Wait… Where did that thought come from. Why would I care even if she did like him? I don't! ARGH THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!" Ryoma hit the ball against the wall so hard that it split. Upon realising this he sighed, picked up the ball and leaned against the wall looking at the ball in his hands. "What's wrong with me?" Ryoma closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall trying to calm down. After a while he pushed off from the wall, threw the ball into a nearby trash can and walked towards the tennis courts. When he turned the corner however he saw a sight that made all his previous efforts utterly worthless.
Sakuno stood in front of Fuji with the packet of cookies in hand.
"H-Here Fuji-senpai, this is from me and Tomo-chan to say thank you for saving us yesterday."
"Thank you Sakuno-chan, Tomoka-chan, but you really didn't have to go to so much trouble."
Ryoma didn't want to hear any more; instead he stalked off toward the tennis courts a dark atmosphere once again hanging over him. "Fuji-senpai gets cookies for saving her once. Just once! How many times have I saved her? And what do I get for it? Nothing! It's not like I want cookies or anything like that. Even if she gave them to me I would just give them back. But she could at least offer!"
Tomoka kept watch over the change room door for Fuji-senpai while Sakuno was deep in thought. At first she had really only seen giving him cookies as an excuse to see Ryoma's house, however after spending the night thinking over all the possible outcome if he hadn't saved them, she really wanted to express her gratitude and was glad Sakuno was willing to make the cookies a joint gift. As soon as she saw the last three regulars leave the change rooms she grabbed Sakuno and dragged her towards them.
Sakuno was jolted from her musings and came face to face with the regulars. After a moment of confusion she remembered what she was supposed to be doing and got out the cookies.
"H-Here Fuji-senpai, this is from me and Tomo-chan to say thank you for saving us yesterday." Sakuno held out the cookies to him as she bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you Sakuno-chan, Tomoka-chan, but you really didn't have to go to so much trouble." Fuji replied while taking the cookies from Sakuno.
"It was Sakuno who made them Fuji-senpai. She wanted to share the present with me but it was really all Sakuno." Tomoka told them. She was very grateful for her friend's generosity but she just couldn't take credit for the gift, even if she was very grateful to Fuji.
"But it was you're idea Tomo-chan. You were just too busy to help." Sakuno added, determined to have the gift be from both of them. Tomoka smiled at Sakuno, truly glad she had such a kind friend.
"Well thank you both, I'm sure I will enjoy them." Fuji smiled down at the two first years gratefully. They then heard a loud call coming from the tennis courts.
"We had better go. Thanks for the cookies." Fuji said as a farewell and the three regulars made their way over to the tennis courts.
"Well, now we know what pushed Echizen over the edge." Fuji said to the other, who both nodded in agreement.
During practice everyone's eyes were on Ryoma. Anyone who watched him could tell something was different today. He wasn't playing badly, quite the opposite. He was playing very aggressively and didn't even give his opponent a chance. The problem was he was going to get worn out before practice even ended. Coach Ryuzaki couldn't let him keep going on like this. Three-quarters of the way through practice she called Ryoma out. When Ryoma approached she could see his panting and exhaustion.
"Ryoma, you can't keep going on like that. You know how important it is too pace yourself. Now you sit out and rest until practice ends." It was obvious that she was mad at him for his irresponsible behaviour. Only now did Ryoma seem to realise just how irresponsible he was being and lowered his head.
"Gomen"
The old coach sighed and said "Just rest".
For the rest of practice Ryoma sat on the bench and watched the others. When practice finished Ryoma was ready to quickly leave however the sight of Tezuka headed straight toward him caused him to stop.
"Echizen," he said in his sternest voice, "If you are going to take the position of pillar of Seigaku you can't be so irresponsible. No matter what problems you are experiencing in your personal life you can't let it affect your tennis. You leave everything behind when you step on the court. You got that?" Ryoma, yet again lowered his head as he replied.
"Yes Buchou" Tezuka glared at him.
"Look at me when you say that Echizen" Ryoma looked up at the captain surprised, however when he replied his eyes reflected his determination.
"Yes Buchou" Tezuka nodded, and turned around and started to walk towards the change rooms.
"Buchou's right. I need to get a grip. I can't let these stupid feelings control me"
With this new determination Ryoma went to get changed and go to class. However, no matter how hard Ryoma tried he couldn't stop. All through the morning classes images if Sakuno handing Fuji the cookies she'd made. By the time lunch rolled around, Ryoma had had enough. As soon as the first sound of the bell could be heard he hurriedly packed up his things and went straight for the roof to try to clear his head.
Once on the roof Ryoma sighed in relief. There was not a soul in sight. He could finally be alone. For a moment the boy just stood there, letting the strong wind blow through his emerald hair. Up there on the roof, the only sounds were of the wind and the muffled sounds of the students below. It was completely peaceful. Letting out another sigh of relief, Ryoma could feel the tension leaving his body as he sat down against the wall and shut his eyes.
Unfortunately his peace was short lived. Not a minute after the boy shut his golden eyes, did his keen ears pick up the creek of the door opening, causing his eyes to open yet again so he could glare at the person who dared disturb his peacefulness. Instead however, he found himself staring at the sight before him.
Ryuzaki Sakuno was standing in front of the open doorway looking around the rooftop. Her long braids were being blown around by the wind, and the little wisps of hair that didn't fit into her braids blew around her face. That hair was the main thing that caught Ryoma's attention. Despite his constant teasing about her hair being too long, Ryoma actually thought her long hair suited her quite well. The sight of the beautiful girl in front of him definitely confirmed that thought. "I really hope she never cut's her hair. Wait! Why do I care if she cut's her hair? It's a nuisance when playing tennis anyway." Ryoma's internal monologue was interrupted when Sakuno finally noticed him. Golden eyes met brown, and they held each other's gaze for a moment before Ryoma broke away to look at the ground, realising his heart was beating fast than it was before Sakuno came.
Sakuno's cheeks became a light shade of pink when she realised the she had been staring into Ryoma's eyes, and he back at hers. However, after Ryoma broke the eye contact something else caught her attention and it took her breath away. The wind blew through Ryoma's hair causing it to dance around his face and accentuating the green of his hair. He looked ethereal. Sakuno couldn't help but to stare.
After a few minutes of silence and staring, Ryoma looked back at Sakuno, who now looked away, cheeks the colour of cherries and hoping in vain that Ryoma wouldn't realise she was staring.
"Is there something you need Ryuzaki?" Ryoma's question snapped Sakuno back to the present and she quickly remembered why she was there.
"O-Oh r-right. A-anou, w-well" Sakuno had been so excited about the bento, worried about Ryoma and focused on giving him the bento, she didn't really think about what to say to him. When she realised this, her heart started to beat so hard and fast that she was sure that Ryoma would notice. "Calm down Sakuno, you've come this far you can't back down now. You have to thank him somehow, after everything he's done for you." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and tried again.
"R-Ryoma-kun, I-I made this to say thank you for saving me." Sakuno rushed out, holding the bento in front of her. Ryoma blinked up at the fidgeting girl. Sakuno, seeing that Ryoma was still confused continued to explain. "W-Well, y-you've done so much for m-me a-and I w-wanted to do something to t-thank you. Tomoka and I got Fuji-senpai cookies for saving us yesterday b-but w-well after everything you've done for me cookies just wouldn't be enough. S-So I m-made you a bento a-and I could make you one every day if you w-would like." During her speech Sakuno started to fidget even more. By the time she finished she was so nervous that she didn't even wait for Ryoma's reply before she placed the bento on his lap.
Ryoma couldn't figure out what to say. He knew he should have said thank you, however the words just couldn't get past his lips and instead he opened the bento. As soon as he could see the bento Ryoma's eyes went wide. The bento was decorated to look like the spitting image of his cat Karupin. He looked up at Sakuno confusion shining in his eyes and the girl answered his unspoken question.
"Y-You've been in a bad mood lately and I wanted to cheer you up a little s-so I thought that if I decorated the bento to look like Karupin it might cheer you up a bit…" She trailed off uncertainly as Ryoma didn't seem to have any reaction what-so-ever. That was until he let out a small laugh.
Ryoma felt lighter than he had in a long time and couldn't help but let the small laugh escape his lips. All the tension that had been building up in him since yesterday had completely disappeared along with all those awful, unidentifiable thoughts and feelings.
"Thank you Sakuno" He found the words leaving his mouth without his permission, however he didn't mind. He really did mean those words. This one gesture had managed to cheer him up and completely dissipate his bad mood.
Hearing Ryoma's response should have calmed Sakuno down however, while she was very relieved and happy, hearing Ryoma laugh, thank her and say her name caused Sakuno's heart to race just as fast, if not faster, than before and belly to be filled with butterflies. Surprisingly her face was not the colour of a tomato, which was probably a result of the shock of hearing Ryoma laugh. After waiting a moment to calm down Sakuno gathered her courage one last time.
"D-Do you mind if I eat with you R-Ryoma-kun?" Ryoma was a little shocked by this question and took a moment to contemplate his answer. Usually the thought of eating with someone would annoy him, but surprisingly the thought of eating lunch with Sakuno made Ryoma happy, almost excited. Despite how much this confused Ryoma and how much he wanted to deny that eating with Sakuno would make him happy, this one time he decided to just go with it.
"Un" Ryoma replied and looked up to see Sakuno smiling brightly as she sat beside him and opened her own bento and the pair enjoyed a peaceful lunch in each other's company.
A.N. Okay. I know it's been ages since I last updated and I'm really sorry! I'm also sorry that I don't know when I will next update. A few reasons for this. First reason, I have a HEAP of school work to to by the end of next week so... No time for fanfiction. Second reason, I'm not quite sure what's going to happen after this monster of a chapter. You can give me some suggestions if you want. Also, regarding why this chapter is so long. I have been thinking of this story even if I haven't been updating and this is how much I thought up in my head. I also wanted to give you all a long chapter as an apology for not updating in ages and not knowing when I can next update. It might be another month or two until I can next update or I might be able to in 2 weeks. I don't know. So I gave you all a very long chapter. BTW to give you an idea how much longer it is, my chapters started off at about 1000 words then the number of words grew to around 2000. This chapter was 4142 words. It really is a monster of a chapter. I spent the last two days writing it. What really shocked me is that in word it is 12 PAGES! That is ALOT of pages.
Okay, next on my authors note agenda. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED LAST CHAPTER! Thanks Deathly Jester for telling me the error with the italics. I went back and fixed that up. Formatting just doesn't seem to like me. Anyway thanks for telling me. Also thank you to everyone who has followed and/or favourited me and/or this story. I really love that so many people look forward to my updates. I'm sorry again for not updating. I feel really guilty about it. I know I hate it when authors don't update and I'm sorry!
Now the next thing on my authors note agenda (fyi there isn't actually an agenda, I'm making this up as I go along) I would really appreciate reviews. If you need any ideas of what to put in a review, you can give me a suggestion for the story (I am pretty sure I will just keep asking for suggestions in every chapter from now on so... sorry if that annoys you), tell me what you thought of the chapter, constructive criticism, flames (I won't listen to them but you are welcome to say whatever you want). I don't mind if reviews are short either. I just like knowing what you think. I know I said I would stop with my review addiction but... I'm pretty sure that is impossible.
Okay next (this authors note is getting out of hand) I am thinking of writing another story for the ghost hunt fandom so keep an eye out if you want to read that. I won't be posting it until my mountain of school work is done though. I also have an idea for a Ryosaku one-shot aswell so look out for that also.
Finally, thank you for reading the chapter. If you have reached the end of this monsterous authors note then well done. If you just skipped it I don't blame you. This authors note alone is over 500 words.
Please Review! Thanks for reading, and until next chapter
Cya
