Notes from a Muddy Writer:

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

Happy birthday, Ryoma-kun! Again, thank you for being a great muse to me. \(*o*)/ How old are ya now? Hahaha. Anyway, continue being the adorable kid/guy that you are. :D

Let me greet my 'favoritest' character ever too: Levi! Wow, Heichou's so old. XD Hahahaha!

Also, I ask all of you to excuse a certain scene if it's too much. I'll leave these symbols "***" for you guys to know that that was the scene I was talking about.


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Let Me Kiss You

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"Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering."

-Anonymous

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Another fist collided with his cheek. It sent him sprawling on the ground again.

Dammit. Why must he have to pack such a punch, Kirihara thought. His right hand flew to his face, slowly massaging his swollen cheeks.

Looking up, he met the eyes of the famous tennis player— eyes that screamed murder. Kirihara readied himself for another punch.

"Stop it! Ryoma, stop!" Sakuno yelled. There was a brief commotion where Kintarou grabbed Ryoma, preventing him from sending punches. The umpire and some of the audience headed down to where the boxing match was to help.

"What the hell were you doing with her?!" Ryoma shouted at him, still struggling against the tight hold of Kintarou and the others.

Kirihara also asked himself the same question. Why did he kiss her forehead? Then again, what was so wrong with it? She wasn't tied to anyone, right? So, why did he have to react that way?

"Just calm down, Ryoma!" Sakuno exclaimed as she went near Kirihara. "It was nothing!"

"That wasn't just nothing! And why are you near him?! Get away from him!" He yelled as he continued his struggle.

"Gosh! Just keep quiet, will you?!"

"What the—"

"Koshimae, calm down!"

Any other objections made by Ryoma were drowned out. Sakuno knelt beside him and touched his cheek. "Are you alright, Akaya-kun?"

He gazed at her, his personal angel, and saw her bright brown eyes full of worry. For him.

"Let's get some ice for your bruises," she said as she held his hand to guide him away from the mess.

"Sakuno!" It was Ryoma. "If you go with him…"

She faced with him, eyes burning with unrecognizable emotion. "If I go with him what? You'll punch him again? Or will you punch me?"

That shut him up.

"Let's just talk once you've calm down," Sakuno said in a snipped tone before turning her back.

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"Ouch!"

"Oops, sorry," Sakuno smiled sheepishly. She pressed the ice pack on Kirihara's cheek with a measured pressure.

The two of them were now seated on the couch inside her house. They had to walk a few minutes because the three of them didn't actually play on the tennis court behind the house. Ryoma decided to keep the apartment's location a secret. And secret it will be.

Silence enveloped the two of them. Sakuno continued to press the ice pack while Kirihara contented himself watching her in strict concentration.

He opened his mouth, but she beat him to it.

"Why didn't you fight back?" she asked without stopping with what she was doing.

Kirihara expected her to ask him that. Only, he did not have a definite answer. So, he chose to look away. At least she did not ask him why he did that.

"Akaya-kun, are you listening?" she questioned him again.

"I was about to," he replied, which was the truth, "but you guys interfered."

She sighed. Then her eyebrows furrowed as if she was in conflict inside. He kind of got the hint of what she was going to ask.

"Akaya-kun, why… why'd you do that?" Heat rushed to her cheeks.

He also felt himself blushing, so he looked away. They stayed that way for a while until Kirihara decided to break the silence.

"Uh, Sa-chan, I'd better get going. My cheeks feel better now, thanks to you."

She only nodded in response.

Kirihara got up and walked towards the door. It was best this way.

He needed to get away before Ryoma find them together. It would spark another fight, and he doesn't want that. Sakuno only heard the door opening and closing, and then silence again.

A few moments after the door opened again. But this time, a grim-looking Ryoma stood in the doorway. Sakuno stood up from the couch in an effort to avoid him, but Ryoma held her by the wrist.

"Was he here?" he asked. His voice had an undertone of anger.

She managed to escape his grip. "He was, and before you get any ideas, I only applied cold compress on his bruises. You know, the one you gave him."

In all honesty, Sakuno could not believe how she was able to talk to him like this. She thought that it was his fault too. What right did he have to hurt Akaya? Akaya who was there to cheer her up, who made her smile, who made her laugh.

He wouldn't understand it. He will never understand.

"And what about that kiss, huh? You know, the one he gave you," he mocked.

Sakuno glared at him. "What about it?"

"What do you mean 'what about it'?"

"You tell me."

"Oh, I suppose that was okay with you?!"

"You didn't have to shout!"

"Well, you're shouting too!"

"You started it!"

With his patience wearing thin, Ryoma cornered Sakuno until her back pressed against the wall. He trapped her between his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked, still annoyed at him.

"Why didn't you avoid it?" he asked in a serious tone.

"I would have if I had known!"

Ryoma leaned in closer, and whispered, "Did you like it?" His voice carried a dark mischievous hint.

"What—"

Whatever Sakuno was going to say was cut off when Ryoma suddenly dove in and crushed her lips with his. He was rough, and it made Sakuno angrier.

She pushed him away and slapped him hard. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes for she'd never been handled like that.

Sakuno hurriedly went out of the house.

She never wanted to see his face ever again.


Replies:

Merry Christmas, my adorable reviewers!

J Luc Pitard- Yeaaah! They wouldn't have it in any other way. Hahahaha! They're rivals after all. :3

Sapphire122- Please enjoy my Christmas gift~ ^_^

Yana19- I have to put the two of them~ they're part of the story... Hahahaha... Aaaawww~ thank you! \(*o*)/ All hail RyoSaku!

Prilly55- I hope I did the 'fight scene' in this chapter all right~ ^_^

YLCourt- Hahahahaha! Sooooon~ very soon? But I don't think Sakuno can do that...? :3 Thank you for the love~ :D

Asuna11- Asuna-chaaaan! It diiiid?! Aaaaw~ Well, you kind of guessed what happened basing on your reviews~ Hehehehehe... :D

Guest- Gueeeest! Thank you for your review~

ShizurieX2- Aaaawww, well, you didn't get the 'Kintarou hug'. Hehehehe... well, maybe soon? :3 *hint hint* Hahahaha!

Long live marshmallows- Every time I see your penname, I feel like shouting it (like a soldier! Like a man! Hahahaha! XD). Here is more jealousyyyy~ XD

Sandra- Oh Sandraaaa-chan! T_T if you only knew... thank you, as always, for your reminders~ :3 They'll have a baby soon. They're married after all, aren't they? Hahahaha! :3

Yuki- Yuki-chaaaan! Sorry for the looooong wait and short updates... T_T *bows but gets slapped anyway* ~~(TToTT)~~ Um, do you think they're closer now? Help~ hahahaha anyway, about that picture you asked on FB, those are my friends~ ^_^ Ryoma's always jealous... I mean he get jealous easily... *bonks Ryoma on the head* Thank you for your review~

MitsukiJunko- Hi there! Thank you for your review~ :D I'm a bit giddy about the "every scene was unexpected" part... really? Hahahaha~ Thank you! Yeah, what will he do? ;) Sure! It isn't mine to begin with... hahahaha! Lemme read once you've posted it! Please? And let's spread this apple tradition! Hahahaha~

Lyfa- Lyfa-chaaaan! Sorry for the short update~ but hopefully, everything's alright... :)

SaKuRiMoOn- Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! That's the only thing I could say as I read your review~ Gaaaah, can't keep this smile off my face. XD I hope this update did justice to the wait? *crosses fingers*

Youare-who-youare- thank you so much! I hope I did okay with this update~

Birdofdarkness- Well, newsflash: he survived. Hahahaha~ :3

Notes from a Muddy Writer:

I'm sorry for that one, but I had to write that scene. *bows* Again, this chapter's shorter and unbeta-ed. However, I'll be updating it. The Regulars will be in the next chapter. So please watch out for that.

Also, forgive me if the format's a bit different. My netbook's OS got corrupted, so I have to make do with a tablet.T_T