Girl's side
"Sakunoooooooooooo!!!"
The high-pitched yell resounded through the hallway, making some students look at one running girl.
"Hey, no running or yelling at the hallways!"
"S-sorry, senpai!" Tomoka bowed her head and slowed her pace, reaching her friend who had a puzzled look on her face.
"Is something the matter, Tomoka-chan?"
"Sakunooo… Tell me the truth! That girl really did it???"
"Uh, what are you talking about?"
"Meimi-chan called me yesterday and told me the new girl caused a ruckus! Y'know, the blonde one that all the boys are talking about" Tomoka couldn't hide her jealousy at that.
"Un, yes. She beat all my senpais from the tennis club, even captain Yue…"
"That's not what I'm talking about!"
"No?" Sakuno was now totally lost. Even though they were childhood friends, sometimes it was impossible to understand what was going on Tomoka's mind.
"I'm talking about her devilish scheme to rob Ryoma-sama to herself! Is it true that she lured him with that fake siren's call, showing her tennis skills, making him confess his love in front of everyone???" The hyper girl looked angry and appalled at the same time.
Sakuno's eyes bulged at the ridiculous rumor: "No! I mean… I was there and saw everything, and Ryoma wasn't even there…"
"Really, really?"
Sakuno nodded.
"Phew, that worried me. Even so, Meimi-chan also told me that –" The school bell rang, cutting off Tomoka's sentence "Kyaaa! We're going to be late! Hurry!"
With that, Sakuno was dragged to class 1-3 by one very energetic Tomoka-chan. Really, they were so different… Sometimes the braided girl wondered how they became friends, but always remembered how Tomoka was always by her side, making her laugh and forget about bad things. She may look shallow, but was a good-natured and supportive friend.
* * *
By the time of lunch recess, Sakuno heard various rumors about the transfer sisters (mostly from Tomoka). Yesterday they were the new idols, now they are regarded with caution. It began with Adelheid winning against the regulars and declining to enter the club. Everyone else saw it as an act of snobbism, but Sakuno had a different perception. When Adelheid left the courts, she looked disappointed, sad and… somewhat pained.
"Being talented and rich doesn't make someone a bad person" Sakuno though out loud.
"Sakuno-chan, you aren't picking that girl's side, are you?" Tomoka's voice startled the shy girl, since she forgot for a minute she wasn't alone.
"You are too naïve! Besides, the problem is how she looks down on everyone else! Her sister too! I've seen her once and she has this air of superiority, not showing any kind of emotion, as if it was below her… Actually, she gives me the chills… Like she hides some kind of deep secret… Oh, yeah! They don't even look alike; there really must be something wrong about them…"
Before Tomoka ranted another shameless rumor, Sakuno decided to politely interrupt:
"I'm sorry… I need to go to the library now."
"Oh, okay. I'm going to the cafeteria and meet some girls. They want to join Ryoma-sama's fan club! Go join us when you are done!"
Sakuno sighed and went to the library. Her grandmother said it had some books about tennis, full of pictures. She wanted to know more about this sport and be able to maintain a decent conversation with Ryoma.
After browsing the library for some time, Sakuno picked the easiest book available, one that was probably made for grade-schoolers. Even though her grandmother tried to teacher her tennis when she was little, the shy girl never showed real interest for it, so she only remembered one rule or another.
Deciding to spend more time away from gossips, the braided girl exited the building and headed opposite ways from the cafeteria. While she was looking for a nice spot to eat lunch, she stumbled upon Ryoma.
* * *
Echizen Ryoma was relaxing under a tree with his eyes closed, thinking about nothing when he heard someone approaching. First, he decided to ignore it, but the steps came to a halt and the person didn't budge for quite a time. Feeling a bit annoyed, Ryoma took the cap off his face and glared.
The poor braided girl got startled and dropped her things on the ground. Her face flushed and she bowed many times, muttering "sorry", and kneeled down to pick up her things. Ryoma, who was expecting some irritating senior, regretted his action a little bit and helped her.
A colorful book caught his attention and he reached for it. It was a very childish book about tennis. The girl, who he recognized as being Sakuno, gasped and tore it from his hands. She quickly stood up, hid the book under her lunchbox and hugged them tightly against her chest.
Such reaction amused Ryoma, who got up, put his cap back and said:
"Mada mada dane… Sakuno."
After that, he just left the girl alone with her own thoughts: Sakuno didn't know if she should skip in joy of being remembered or hide in a hole somewhere from the embarrassing situation.
Important note: As far as I know, Sakuno is the character with the biggest discrepancy between the manga and the anime. And since this fanfiction is based on the manga, I'll explain her for those who only watched the anime: Sakuno is a shy, mature and hardworking girl. Even though she is a beginner at tennis, she is talented and attentive enough to know when Ryoma's play is off (like when he fools some data gatherers) and to be pointed as regular-material at the end of the series. And she has a bad direction sense (or no sense at all). That's the Sakuno I'll try to portrait here.