AN: Minna-san, gokigenyo Mi-chan is back again. I'm always owing bunches of apologies to many friends here. I'm really sorry that I actually take very long long time to update my stories. Yet, I'm so happy that encouragement is always here for me to continue, tsuzukette, tsuzukette
For those whom I'd owe you a big one; you know who you are!! I'm so sorry
At first I really hope that more people would join me with this writing game but it end up that I'm doing this storyDou…ho…ho
I still hope that you all would enjoy this story; though I have to say that this is not properly written.
Pairing: Echizen Ryoma x Ryuzaki Sakuno
Genre: Romance/Humor/Drama
Timeframe: Senior High School Year 3 (Final Year)
Song title: Gravity by Maaya Sakamoto
"…" denotes speech
'…' denotes thoughts
Bold denotes lyrics
Italic denotes Readers Ideas (Contributed as Excuses)
Intro: Ryoma-kun and Sakuno-chan are officially dating each other and this has been going on for more than three months, however Sakuno-chan is feeling unconfident towards this relationship.
Although Ryoma was the one to propose to her, their intimacy has not been improving a bit. Worst, the girl has never been kissed before by her boyfriend.
One day Ryoma-kun told her that he is deciding to continue his tennis trainings in America for another five years. Right now Sakuno will have to find a way to give her boyfriend a memorable kiss before he leaves.
Instruction: Anyone is free to insert not more than 5 lines to this story You are free to use your own dialogue/imagination, but please ensure that all the plotting/dialogues are well connected and please do not use vulgar language and must be suitable, complied to PG-13
Recaps:
Still with his back facing her, Ryoma sighed "If that's what you think…" with that the prince continued to walk back to the training ground.
"Ryoma-kun?" At this moment she felt the change of his attitude. He has become cold to her once again.
KISSING RYOMA-KUN 101 EXCUSES
Chapter 3
"Ryoma-kun…" she called again as she paced towards her boyfriend. Though she felt the sudden coldness from him; yet he'd save her from Atobe's merciless teasing. She thought it is appropriate to show her gratitude "…thanks for sticking up…"
"You should know him better, Sakuno" he cut off her words instantly "After all these while you've been working as a team manager. Flirt with whoever you want; just don't expect me to mop up the mess"
"I hope both of you'd get along; I'm more than happy to wash my hands off it"
"Ryoma-kun??" It seems like ages since she heard him speaks with sarcasm, moreover he'd hurl insults which he knew were untrue and unfair.
Those words really hurt her flesh deep; heart crushing; especially it's from someone whom she's madly in love with.
'Why, why would it turns out like this?' she thought bitterly; hot tears stream down from her rosy cheeks.
Ryoma was dazed when he saw her in tears. This strange foreign feeling which he never experience is now whirling inside him. He cannot comprehend why, yet he feels guilty whenever he sees this expression; seeing that her eyes are now fills with so much pain; that vulnerably sad gaze that pierced through his heart.
Been a long road to follow
Been there and gone tomorrow
Without saying goodbye to yesterday
"Hey…" He held out his hand to touch her face but she flinched.
"Ryoma-kun no baka!!" she shrieked before running away from him.
"Sakuno!!"
'This is scary!! I must hide!!' She'd heard him calling even thought they parted; yet her conscience couldn't control herself from running away.
Are the memories I hold still valid?
Or have the tears deluded them?
Maybe this time tomorrow
The rain will cease to follow
"Echizen, you need a break"
Ryoma lifted a shoulder, sipped his ponta grape, and continued to brood while staring out the rest house window. He wasn't sure why he'd let Inui and Yanagi to enter his room; to listen to their nagging.
"I don't see the need of having one" he replied nonchalantly.
"Your data said so" Yanagi said, eyeing the copies of Ryoma's data collected by both Inui and himself.
"De? Didn't I always surpass your expectations? Senpai-tachi" this time his voice sounds sharp with a little defensive.
"Oka-chan yo; stops nagging the boy" Inui sighed in defeat.
"I'm not nagging; I'm mothering" Yanagi responded with a faked disappointing look on his face "Otou-chan; you'll spoil our kid like this"
"Both of you; stop disgusting me further. I know; the East and West Spying devils doesn't seems to have a liking of seeing me here; I better leave; before I would die and rot from repulsion" With that Ryoma stood up and grabbed his belongings before leaving the two data players behind.
"My; was that a compliment??" Inui furrowed his brow; taking dislike of the way Ryoma addressed them earlier.
"Inui, do you think we're over doing this?"
"No" Inui adjusted his lens as he reread the piles of datasheets which they collected on Ryoma. "His performances have signs of oscillation. Monitoring players is part of our job."
Through the observations for the past days; Ryoma was not in his best condition during his match with other players; however, his performance excelled rapidly when he was to match with Atobe Keigo. In fact; they noted that everytime when Ryoma served; balls always aimed for Atobe's face.
"It must be it" The former Seigaku data player concluded at last "Its Ryuzaki-san has something to do with Echizen's sudden change in behavior"
"Correction…it's a sudden change in many players' behavior"
For the past two days, Sakuno was absent from tennis club. Everyone misses her presence.
Ever since she joined the club as a manager; many players started to take liking of her. Her natural shyness; kind-hearted; the display of her strong will and determination in doing things right from tears and sweats had gained recognitions from many top players.
From day to day; people would expect to see her standing in front of the entrance and greet them with her warm and lovely smile.
Yet; two days had past and there no signs of the lovely figurine.
"Ryuzaki-kun; I wondered where and how is she now?" Yanagi pondered audibly while Inui took note of his partner's behavior.
"So Renji is being affected too. Otou-chan would get jealous"
And the mist will fade into one more today
Something somewhere out therekeeps calling Am I going home?
As soon as Ryoma walked out from the rest house; someone is already standing in front of the main gate waiting for him.
"Yo, Echizen" he greeted him with a little mischievous grin on his face "You've got guts to let this 'Ore-sama' to wait for you for so long"
"Atobe?!" Ryoma eyes widen upon seeing the man whom he had built certain detestation towards him recently "What do you want?"
"Ore-sama wants to know what happened to your cute little girlfriend"
"It's none of your concern, so buzz off!!"
Just when Ryoma was about to leave, Atobe grabbed his bag to stop him from leaving.
"Because this 'Ore-sama' teased your girlfriend the other day; both of you had quarreled…I assume"
"What are you babbling?! Instead of killing your stupid brain cells to make up these stupid assumptions and sticking your nose into other people's business; why don't you make use of the free time to get yourself train on how to dodge my ball from hitting your face" he proposed sarcastically.
"I knew it…" Atobe's face slightly twitched with irritation. Indeed; he's been extra alert especially when it comes to dodging Ryoma's attack "…you did it intentionally"
"Obviously" he admitted with a confident smirk on his face.
"You this arrogant brat!!"
"You foolish okanemochi"
Will I hear someone singing solace to the silent moon?
Zero gravity what's it like?
Am I alone?
Sakuno had been locking herself inside her room for the past two days.
Pulse thudding, she cast a dishearten glance through the window. Sheer depression hollowed out her stomach. The words of her prince had been repeating on and off her mind for days.
"Sakuno; let me in!!" Tomoka demanded as she knocked her door. Though she's far from ready to face her friend yet she would never get herself to shun them; especially this one is her best friend since elementary; Osakada Tomoka.
She pinned a smile to her cold lips and forced herself to across to open the door.
"Sakuno…" Upon seeing Sakuno's face; Tomoka's vitality dimmed and was replaced with similar sadness "Look at you; you poor thing" As soon as Sakuno give way; Tomoka entered her room.
"Tomo-chan…" the more she forced herself to smile; the more she couldn't suppress her tears from escaping from her puffy eyes. She quickly turns away and dries her eyes.
"I'm…fine…" her voice cracked but she insisted to stay strong.
"Baka!! How could you be fine? Don't try to act strong in front of me!!" She held out her hand and gently stroke Sakuno's back "It's okay now. I'm here for you. Just let all your misery out in a go; don't hold back"
"Tomo-chan…" without holding back Sakuno embraced her friend and broke into a weeping heap.
When Sakuno finally settle down a little; she told Tomoka of what happened to them the other day.
"What?! You were reading the book and that okanemochi stood behind you and then he did that to you and Ryoma-kun saw it??" She screeched.
Sakuno nodded weakly.
"And he said those harsh words to you??"
She gave another nod.
"That's awesome; Sakuno!!"
"Huh?? Awesome? Tomo-chan; you're so cruel"
"Wait…calm down!! What I wanted to say is that you've already succeeded. You'd made Ryoma-kun jealous!!" the girl immediately explains herself before seeing her friend's teary face again.
"He's jealous? Uso..."
"Believe me!! I bet with my life. He was jealous because of how Atobe treated you" the cheerful girl said confidently.
Is somebody there beyond these heavy aching feet
Still the road keeps on telling me to go on
Something is pulling me
I feel the gravity of it all
"So, Sakuno; go and make up with him"
"No…I'm not going…" she said softly.
"Eh? Why?!" Tomoka's eyes widen with disbelief. The diffident girl had always been very tolerant. It doesn't matter how other used to piss her off; she would forgive and forget them after the next day.
"I can't. Ever since what happened the other day; I've lost all my courage to face him…" she confessed tearfully at last.
"What do you mean; Sakuno…you can't just give up like this. Moreover you already know that how he reacted was out of jealousy"
"Though I finally understand why he those harsh words…I'm not seeing him again…I don't want to get hurt anymore…"
"STOP!!" Tomoka intervened, her voice hard and sharp "Sakuno?! What do you mean that you're not going to see him again? Isn't that a little too selfish? You're afraid of being hurt. You don't even remember of what the others had done for both of you in the past. Even I had given up on Ryoma…"
"Tomo-chan…" Surely Sakuno was able to comprehend what Tomoka meant. Ever since junior high; Tomoka had been actively devoted to Ryoma and even openly admit her affection towards him.
That very day; she chose friendship over love.
"I'm sorry, Sakuno…" Deeply mortified by her own words, she apologized brusquely.
Softly, soberly, Sakuno said "I'm sorry too, Tomo-chan…I'm not worthy for all the good deeds that you had done for me…"
"Sakuno? I'm sorry too, for saying those harsh words. But please do understand; as your best friend; I really want you to be happy…"
"Still, I'm so sorry that you had to listen to my selfishness"
"I'm sorry too…" the two good friends look at each other for a moment before breaking into soft chortling.
"Now, that makes us even…ne"
"Hai" Finally Sakuno was able to flash a sweet smile at her friend. Tomoka is pleased that she finally got to see Sakuno smile again. 'I'm so scared that I might not be able to see that kind of smile again'
"Na?" Sakuno look puzzled for a moment. She thought she did her friend whispering softly to herself.
"No…nothing. I was thinking why would you fall for someone who's as dense as Ryoma?"
"That…even myself also could not comprehend it. I used to think that I'm definitely not that 'falling in love at first sight' type. I never thought this is happening to me when I first saw Ryoma-kun playing tennis. From that day onwards; whenever I sees him; his confident look and his determination; my heart races like its going to explode anytime" she declared shyly. "When he finally asked me to be his girlfriend; I felt like I was floating in cloud nine…"
"Hm…that's well said Sakuno; except it sounds a little mushy…" Tomoka grinned mischievously at Sakuno as she teased "I didn't know that you could talk like that, a new discovery…"
"Tomo-chan; you're teasing me again…" Sakuno immediately covered her intensely blushing face.
"I wondered what if Ryoma's personality is in contradiction of who he is now…" An image of Ryoma in a lady killer mode appeared in both their minds.
'Hey, baby…I'll greet you with a kiss! Let me hug you three times a day. I'll make you feel hot and I'll do that to you!!'
"…" Sakuno almost faints from her wildest imagination.
"Sa…Sakuno?! Stop that!! You're having nosebleed now!!"
"It's Tomo-chan's fault!!"
"Hey, still wanna try out the tips on the book??" Tomoka grab the little book which was laid on the floor. The covers seem a little worn out; it shows that the girl must have reading the book frequently.
"No" she decided immediately.
"Eh? Naze??" Tomoka was a little disappointed with her reply but she knew that she would be getting this from her.
"Tomo-chan can save the book for yourself…" After all the merciless teasing she had from her best friend; Sakuno finally gathered all her guts to do the same to her "…you can use it to steal kisses from Oishi-senpai"
"EH?!! Sakuno!!" From the beginning Tomoka was mixed up with surprise and embarrassment, but she was able to return recuperate from it in a short time. She swear that she will not give into Sakuno's teasing, she decided to play along "Hm…I think the 'eating spicy food and feed him drinks on mouth to mouth basis is not bad' since Oishi-senpai cannot handle spicy food; what do you think? Sakuno…"
"Tomo-chan, you're a minx..."
"Hey, why don't you just give up on that girl? Both of you are just too different"
"Who are you to tell me what to do? I don't take orders from anyone" Ryoma shot another killer glare at Atobe.
"You can never give happiness to her. You chose tennis over her, remember? You've chosen tennis, leaving the girl behind and pursue your training. You're leaving her to wait for your return? What kind of a boyfriend are you?" Atobe provoked further.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's none of your concern!?" Ryoma felt like the conversation is going nowhere. He had never felt so beaten when it comes to defending himself. He thought, perhaps this is what he deserves.
"This 'Ore-sama' will definitely take her away from you. I'll make her mine"
TBC…
AN: Phew!! It's done!! Hurray. I'm always overexcited whenever mi-chan happens to complete a chappie. To mi-chan, time is really my enemy. Perhaps mi-chan always had difficulties expression the characters' feelings in English; so I hope that if the structure sounds weird; please forgive me, okay?
I know you all will definitely forgive me since I was long gone and had just returned…. Proud to say that my Japanese is improving….thanks to sensei and of course my own hard work does pay off I hope I'll be able to reply all the reviews, but right now is almost 2:00 AM in the morning and mi-chan is really beaten and tired.
So, I hope to dedicate to all of you, yes, it's you!! I'm sure you all know who you are. Thanks for all the encouragement and supports.
Dedication: animegal.zeronine, animelover11368, lilaznbunny, kawaiikireitenshi, Second Storey Stairway, Dita5000, Forever Dreamin, reader713, Theresa, Karis Lee, Not Telling, NeverxAlone, animeandmangaaddict.
Special Dedication: Angel, Chibi-Kari, Jomai, Arenja, Car2nfreak – Mi-chan is back again Thanks for the support!!
Translation:
Baka (noun) – stupid/an idiot
No (particle) – Number of uses. Most commonly use is to connect nouns to show a relationship of some kind.
Okanemochi (noun) – Rich man
Uso (noun) – Lie/falsehood
Chan (suffix) – attached to names to give informal or affectionate form of reference. Used especially with children's and girl's names.
Kun (suffix) - is an informal honorific primarily used towards males (it is still used towards females, but rarely). It is used by persons of senior status in addressing those of junior status, by males of roughly the same age and status when addressing each other, and by anyone in addressing male children. In business settings, women, particularly young women, may also be addressed as kun by older males of senior status. It is sometimes used towards male pets as well.
Oka-chan (noun) – Mother
Otou-chan (noun) – Father
Yo (particle) – a particle used at the end of sentences for emphasis and which expresses emotion, enthusiasm or rebuke etc.
Ore (noun) – An informal word use by man.
Sama (suffix) – a more polite equivalent for 'san' and attached to names of clients and customers to show politeness.
Naze (adverb) – Why