Disclaimer: The Prince of Tennis and its characters are property of Takeshi Konomi. However, this plot and any original characters belong to McGrady. This story is rated T for language and minor sexual content.
Author's notes: Thanks to Train, Rachel, Yuki, Otakugal, and Anonymous Jane for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed the prelude. For this story, I'm attempting a modified polylogic epistolary format.
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"Ninety-nine percent of everything done in the world, good or bad, is done to pay a mortgage." -Nick Naylor
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Karma: How the Tables Have Turned
by McGrady
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Arrogance Finds Innocence
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Ring! Ring! Ring!
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Ryoma Echizen: "Echizen speaking."
Agent: "Ryoma! God damn it! What the hell are you thinking? Why the fuck are you retiring? You've only just turned 20, you have at least ten more good years in you! Don't be a dipshit like your father was and dip out early!"
Ryoma: "I've won each of the Grand Slams at least twice. I've been ranked number one in the entire world for over two years. I've been playing professional tennis since I left Japan when I was fifteen. That's five years. I'm tired. I want a break."
Agent: "But… Oh fucking hell! Ryoma – just – ah fuck it!"
Ryoma: "…"
Agent: "Okay… okay… okay, you know what? I must be on some frickin' crazy pills! Ryoma, you have so many endorsements lined up right now! Damn it, and all the experts are picking you as the runaway winner of Wimbledon!"
Ryoma: "I know that. I don't need you to tell me that. I actually don't need you for anything."
Agent: "And the god damned – wait, huh? 'You actually don't need me for'… What is – what's wrong?"
Ryoma: "I'll tell you: you and your so-called 'extra-curricular investments'…"
Agent: "… Ryoma, uh… Hey, champ, you know –"
Ryoma: "Shut up! You fucking piece of filth! You fucking take my money!"
Agent: "Wow, Ryoma, chill out! I didn't do anything!"
Ryoma: "Fuck you! I'm not the fucking blind man you think I am – I see right through you, ass hole, and you're just like all the other shit-bags who tried to be my agent! You know where my lawyers sent them? To jail!"
Agent: "Hey, hey, now! We don't need to do this! Let's just work this out! Can't – can't we just compromise?"
Ryoma: "We will compromise on nothing. You better prepare for court. You – are – fired!"
Agent: "No, wait!"
Slam!
Dial tone…
ooooo
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Ryoma Echizen: "Echizen speaking."
Nanjiro Echizen: "Ryoma! I just saw your press conference. Nice suit! But what the hell! Why are you retiring?"
Ryoma: "Uh, old man! I'm just so pissed off at…"
Nanjiro: "… Pissed off at what? The money? The fame? The women?"
Ryoma: "No, no, old man, that's not it!"
Nanjiro: "Hm… yeah, you're right, it can't be the women. According to the tabloids, the women don't bother you at all…"
Ryoma: "What? The tabloids? What did they say about me this time?"
Nanjiro: "I'll read this headline aloud for you: 'Japanese sex symbol Ryoma Echizen again seen at Rockets game without escort, furthers speculation that he is gay.'"
Ryoma: "Ahh! Fuck! I fucking hate the paparazzi! What are they trying to do with me?"
Nanjiro: "So you're not gay?"
Ryoma: "What? No!"
Nanjiro: "Well, that's nice to hear. Not that I mind gays… I just thought that, if you were gay, it would be a huge shame for you to never discover the joys of the female body…"
Ryoma: "Listen – old man – ah dang it… I'm… I'm just sick of my fucking life…"
Nanjiro: "…"
Ryoma: "…"
Nanjiro: "… So it's come to this…"
Ryoma: "Come to what?"
Nanjiro: "Everything loses its fun eventually. Even tennis. When we, the professional athletes, turn what was once fun into what is our job, what is our means to put food on the table… it's awful. Tennis was never meant to lead to horrible lives. We all need to take a step back."
Ryoma: "… Yeah… yeah, you're right, old man… fucking agents, always trying to screw me, fucking paparazzi, fucking press… My entire life was tennis… I guess everything really does lose its fun eventually… thanks, Dad…"
Nanjiro: "Mm… except for boobs! Boobs never lose their sweetness, eh, Ryoma?"
Ryoma: "Ah, old man…"
Nanjiro: "Ah ha ha ha! Heh heh… well, even though I can't see you, I'm pretty sure I put a grin back on your face!"
Ryoma: "…"
Nanjiro: "Ha ha ha! So, my son, what are you doing to do now?"
Ryoma: "… I'm gonna go to school here in America. I just was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania."
Nanjiro: "Really? That's not a bad idea, getting a college degree… is this school good?"
Ryoma: "Penn is okay, I suppose. It should be a nice diversion."
Nanjiro: "Yes, it sounds like a nice opportunity. Getting away from the cameras, getting away from the agents, getting away from the tennis courts, finding a girlfriend… I hope you enjoy your time at this 'Penn' school. You've already accomplished my dreams; now I want to see you accomplish yours."
Ryoma: "… Thanks, Dad…"
ooooo
May 20
Dear Diary,
Guess who Mr. Handsome just gave a wink? Sakuno Ryuzaki! Me! Oh, if Mr. Handsome would ask me out, I think I just might die! Sigh…
Also, we just had our first meeting for tennis. It looks like I might be playing Singles 2 again. Lame! I think Mr. Handsome is playing Singles 1 for our men's team now. Maybe he could give me a lesson someday!
Anyway, I'm spending part of my summer now looking for an off-campus apartment to stay in for my sophomore year. Still no luck yet, but I still haven't checked out the rest of Walnut Street.
That's all I have for today!
Love,
Sakuno
ooooo
Sakuno Ryuzaki sipped her bubble tea as she read over her latest diary entry. She was seated in her favorite corner of her favorite bubble tea café in Philadelphia. For the past two years, Sakuno studied at the University of Pennsylvania as an international undergraduate student. Since her days as a middle school student at Seishun Academy, her English and her tennis improved drastically, enough so that she could play women's varsity tennis for Penn.
Regardless of how she appeared to have changed, she was still the same Sakuno Ryuzaki that she was when she attended Seishun Academy. She once again fell for the best singles player on the men's tennis team, a popular young man who was easily remembered by his peculiar last name, "Handsome."
Sakuno sighed as she studied the miniature hearts she drew around Mr. Handsome's name. She suddenly recalled that she first drew those hearts around the name of her first crush, Ryoma Echizen. However, unlike Mr. Handsome, Ryoma never smiled at her, waved at her, or winked at her. When she really thought about it, Sakuno realized that he probably did not like her very much at all.
For the sake of old times, Sakuno turned to the earliest entries in her thick diary, the entries she wrote when she was 13 years old, and observed the hearts around Ryoma's name. She even read an entry or two, remembering how deeply she cared for the boy. Images of her laboring away at lunches he would never eat, or composing cheers he would never hear, flooded through her memories. Pitiful, thought Sakuno, all for a giant jerk.
Thankfully, Sakuno for years had been over the jerk known as Ryoma Echizen.
"Huh?" said a nearby voice to her. The voice was deep and smooth, with a hint of mischievousness. It to her again spoke again.
"Ryuzaki? Is that you?"
Sakuno looked up into a pair of big eyes. She gasped and stuttered.
"R-Ryoma?"
Seating himself at the other end of Sakuno's favorite table was none other than Ryoma Echizen. He had grown: his shoulders were broader, his legs were longer, his face was sharper, and even his fashion sense was classier. He casually took a sip from the Ponta in his hand.
"I never imagined seeing you here, Ryuzaki," said Ryoma dully. He then lazily quirked his lips into a small smirk. "Is that a blush I see crawling up your face?"
Sakuno could easily feel her cheeks flushing even more in embarrassment and shock. Ryoma's distant, younger voice rang in her mind. This will be the last time I see you, it said coldly. She peered down into the first pages of her diary, marked by a girl enslaved by her infatuation for an unknowing boy.
"You!" hissed Sakuno, jabbing a pointed finger at Ryoma. "Wipe that smirk off your face! Why are you here, Echizen!"
"I'm looking for an apartment," said Ryoma, unabashed, "how about you?"
"I'm – I'm also looking for an apartment!" said Sakuno forcefully, trying but failing to make her voice sound dignified.
Ryoma chuckled at her ineloquence. Sakuno, however, did not find it amusing.
"Shut up, Echizen," she said, "that's not funny!"
Ryoma blinked. "'Echizen'?" he said. "Since when did you call me that?"
Sakuno fumed. "Since when –"
But she was cut off when Ryoma reached across the table for her open diary.
"Don't touch that!" said Sakuno as she swiped the diary away from his grasp. "Ass!"
Ryoma was bemused: why was she being so aggressive toward him? He studied the angry Sakuno as she stowed her diary and pen into her bag. She had grown from what he thought was a cute, quiet girl into an especially-cute-when-angry woman. Her body was still slender, but her chest had developed nicely. Boobs! said his father's voice in his head.
"When did you get rid of your braids?" asked Ryoma, noting her stylishly-cropped, shoulder-length hair.
"Not your concern," said Sakuno tersely, rising from her chair and meeting Ryoma's gaze with hard eyes. "This will be the last time I see you!" she declared, cramming as much apparent disdain into her statement as she could muster. With a flip of her hair, she gracefully slipped her bag on her shoulder, grabbed her bubble tea, and strode away from Ryoma and out of the café with her head held high.
Ryoma chuckled. "I'm not so sure about that, anymore, Ryuzaki," he said under his breath.
ooooo
HEADLINE: Tennis heartache RYOMA ECHIZEN dating unknown college girl – NOT GAY!
Philadelphia, USA
Ryoma Echizen (20) was seen at the Bubble Tea House in Philadelphia, immediately next to the University of Pennsylvania's campus. The above cell phone picture, submitted anonymously, shows Echizen with an unknown blushing student. It was said that immediately after this picture, the couple squabbled briefly before the girl left. Expert celebrity analysts studied the picture and the provided scene, and have concluded that Echizen and the unknown girl have likely been dating for at least six months, and believe that the blush, argument, and hasty departure of the girl may be consequences of unplanned pregnancy. Speculations of Echizen having an affair and impregnating women are driving our expert analysts mad with possibilities…
ooooo
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Ryoma Echizen: "Echizen speaking."
Agent: "Ryoma, baby! The king! Mister Outstanding! Best of the best! How are you!"
Ryoma: "I fired you. Never call me again."
Agent: "Wait, wait, wait! Did you see the tabloids recently?"
Ryoma: "…"
Agent: "This is the headline: Tennis heartache Ryoma Echizen dating unknown college girl, not gay. Not gay, Ryoma! Finally, the paparazzi get rid of your homosexual, asexual, no-sexual reputation they created! The sponsors are seeing this and are finding out that you are even more marketable! We got calls from Rolex, Dockers, Hanes, Brooks Brothers! The NBA called for a commercial shoot! Mercedes called too, they want to offer you a lifetime deal! Ryoma, baby, the tabloids helped us for once! None of this could happen if it weren't for their 'Ryoma's got girls' headlines! We can finally get rid of your reputation as an asexual and start selling your sex!"
Ryoma: "…"
Agent: "… Uh, Ryoma? Uh… are you getting all this?"
Ryoma: "I'm not surprised. You hadn't told them that you no longer represent me."
Agent: "Uh… heh heh, Ryoma… Ryoma, babe! Champ! King of the world! Beautiful tennis wonder! Japan's finest! Come on, we were just joking earlier! You and me, we're the dynamic duo, the unbeatable team!"
Ryoma: "…"
Agent: "Yeah, baby, we're in business! Ha ha! Now listen carefully, Ryoma, you gotta get this girl to follow you to the rest of your press conferences. She's gotta be sitting on your bench during your matches. She's gotta go to charity events or dinners or whatever with you. She's gotta be seen with you. But you gotta make sure that she won't be with any other guys, too, that'll be so bad for you and the media. This girl, I have no idea who she is, but she's fucking hot! Molten hot! Blazing hot! Good job with her, man!"
Ryoma: "Wait, what? What girl? I'm not dating anyone!"
Agent: "This girl in the picture on the tabloid! The picture of you two in the Bubble Tea House in Philly! She's raking in the dollars for you!"
Ryoma: "… Ryuzaki…"
Agent: "What was that? Her name? 'Ramen-mackey'? What kind of name is that?"
Slam!
Dial tone…
Agent: "Ah, no! No, no! Come on, Ryoma! Ah damn it!"
Dial tone…
ooooo
Immediately after hanging up on his former agent, Ryoma Echizen put on a pair of sunglasses and searched Penn's campus for the nearest magazine booth. He was slightly irritated – he had finally found the perfect off-campus apartment to live in for the following academic year, and was signing the last papers – but felt strangely better when he saw the headline on the cover of a cheap tabloid.
Ryoma purchased the magazine and sat on a bench to peruse the article. "This is worthless," he muttered after reading the first two paragraphs. He tore out the enlarged picture accompanying the article and tossed the remainder of the magazine in the nearest garbage bin.
The picture's quality was low, the angle and lighting were poor, but mistaking either him or Sakuno Ryuzaki was impossible. The picture showed Ryoma lowering himself into the seat across from Sakuno, and Sakuno blushing. He further observed Sakuno's half of the picture, noting her style of dress, her simple earrings, and her wavy hair. She's still pretty cute, admitted Ryoma to himself, grinning.
She's raking in the dollars for you! said Ryoma's former agent shortly ago. We got calls from Rolex, Dockers, Hanes, Brooks Brothers! The NBA called for a commercial shoot! Mercedes called too, they want to offer you a lifetime deal… We can finally get rid of your reputation as an asexual… Good job with her, man… She's gotta be seen with you… This girl – she's fucking hot…
She said she was also looking for an apartment, realized Ryoma. He glanced at Sakuno's half of the picture again.
"You," said Ryoma aloud to the picture, "I found a place to live. You're looking for a place to live. I need you to be seen with me."
Ryoma jovially pointed at the picture. "Stop blushing!" he demanded inanely. "You will move into my apartment with me, and you will like it!"
ooooo
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Author's notes: Please tell me everything you liked and disliked, or how you think I can improve, by reviewing! Criticism is vital for me to improve as a writer. Thanks for reading!