Chapter 4: The Ryuzaki Residence

Disclaimer: I own Tennis no Oujisama…not. How sad. My world would have been happier if they would give me a share of this.

~oOo~

A/N: Don't bash me for this chapter; this'll be just a little sentimental moment in Sakuno's side. But alright, you can give your thoughts about anything; just give me what you think about this, please! (Thanks to those who were constantly reviewing, I'll do my best!) Chapter four, here goes!

~oOo~

His Eyes on Hers

~oOo~

Fourth Chapter: The Ryuzaki Residence

"At last! I'm home!"

Sakuno opened the door with her keys, she still being carried by Hiroshi in his arms.

"You can let me down now, Hiroshi-kun…I'm so sorry for being a burden to you…" she still looked away from him for her embarrassment didn't fade away still.

"You're sure? I can carry you up to the sofa if…"

"No, thanks," Sakuno cut his words short, for at that instant she was already so conscious of her being a burden for him, "I really thank you for your concern but I think the pain subsided a little and I can move around a little…"

"If you say so, okay then." Hiroshi smiled at her again, like he was oblivious to the coldness of the rain water that drenched his clothes. Sakuno smiled briefly at him, and then proceeded to walk slowly but surely to open the lights.

"I guess I'll be going now. Maybe we can talk about the matter tomorrow during our free time." Hiroshi moved as if to leave then, and she thought that the guy could catch flu after running under the rain.

"Ah- Wait, Hiroshi-kun!"

Hiroshi looked back, "Yes, Ryuzaki-san?"

"Anou, Hiroshi-kun...?"

It was then when she looked at her that she saw what handsome face lay upon in front of her. Her blush became more furious. Hiroshi just waited for her to continue.

"Would you like to come in first or should I bring the towels here so you could dry yourself..?"

Hiroshi looked below and saw how water dripped from his clothes. He scratched the back of his head.

"Will that be fine with you?"

"Anou… I just want to thank you in turn for carrying me up to here…So…"

He just looked at her. When she wouldn't continue, he spoke up.

"Thanks, Ryuzaki-san. Actually, I feel a little cold now."

"Uh, the towels! Just wait for a minute Hiroshi-kun okay?"

Sakuno almost ran towards her room just as fast her as her feet (with one of those being slightly impaired at the moment) would allow her. Hiroshi waited outside. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her even though he was already trembling a little.

"Sweet, pretty things are always rare…"

Upon reaching her room, she went straight to her cabinet and grabbed the towels that she saw. Loose clothing articles revealed themselves to her, and she didn't have a second thought of not getting them for Hiroshi to wear. She sighed, and thought about Hiroshi who was waiting at the living room. I should feel awkward by this time; I'm alone in my house with a boy little known to me! But, I don't feel that way… I wonder why?

The two finally got rid of their rain hang-over after some time, and by then they were just sitting in front of a fireplace to keep themselves warm. Hiroshi had the towels that Sakuno fetched in her room propped up in his shoulders with the loose yet comfortable clothes replacing his uniform that soaked wet in rain water. On the other hand, Sakuno was in her home clothes then, her braids still tucked in their respective places.

"Ryuzaki-san, your family must be rich… Am I right?" Hiroshi asked as he watched the fire dance on its place.

Sakuno shook her head in disagreement while waving one hand in front of her face. "No, we are not rich. You must be mistaken, Hiroshi-kun. My family belongs to the middle class."

"You have a fireplace here… and it's not usual for Japanese homes to have a fireplace in the living room because that's typically Western tradition…" he asserted while still watching the fire. "Or maybe at least, your parents are inclined to Western tradition."

She looked at him, her two dark eyes wide in amazement. "Amazing, Hiroshi-kun! You were right about that. My parents are working abroad and each year that they return, they furnish the house with little pieces of souvenirs that were often Western ones. But..." she tilted her head in confusion, "how did you know?"

He smiled but he didn't move his gaze away from the fireplace.

"It's because I was one of the actors of the Theater Club of the school I last attended."

He saw from his peripheral vision that the girl beside him had her face clouded in slight confusion so he continued explaining.

"I've played quite a lot of roles for our productions when I studied at my previous school, most of the plays being Western in origin," he started, "and since I was one of the actors frequently chosen to play some roles in those plays, I learned more about the typical Western ideas and settings…"

So it was true that he is an actor. Sakuno nodded. Maybe it's fun to join a theater club.

"And you know what, for those at the European side of the world, it's kind of romantic when a boy and a girl sits in front of a fireplace."

"A-After a rain sent them cold and shivering?" Sakuno quickly provided. She tried to suppress the blush in her face, although as always she failed to do so, because blushing already became second nature to her. Not after then that a question popped into her head.

"How about you Hiroshi-kun..? Aren't your parents worried now?" she checked the wall clock. "It's only a few minutes before the clock strikes seven…"

She looked at him and waited for an answer and didn't notice the small frown that formed on the boy's face.

"I live alone, actually…"

Sensing that he didn't want to continue to talk about the question she asked, she murmured a soft "Sorry." The boy shook his head and said it was fine.

The next minutes passed, and silence floated between the two of them. Only the faint sound of the rain outside and the frequent flicker of wood fire provided the music for them to listen to. She was afraid to ask another question or pursue another topic which he might not like. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've talked to him. Then she thought of making themselves some traditional Japanese tea.

"So, why shouldn't we talk now about your song?"

Sakuno looked at him and thought of how she almost forgot about it. The making of tea went to the far end of her mind.

"Oh, of course!" she smiled at him. Why is his presence so…homey?

"Do you have a song in mind?" he asked again. Instantly, all of Tomoka's ideas came to her mind.

"I don't know if it can be sung by a duet, but Tomo-chan suggested the song 'Eyes on Me,'"

"Eyes on Me…Eyes on Me…" Hiroshi repeated the title to make himself remember. "Ah! Is that the song that goes like this?"

Whenever I sing my song on the stage on my own

Whenever I say my words, wishing they would be heard

"Ah, yes…That's it… Eyes on Me…" uttered her in amazement yet again. Hiroshi sure could pull a perfect tune out of nowhere. His face brightened up.

"That'd be perfect for you, Ryuzaki-san! Osakada-san sure has interesting ideas…I think we can manage to split the lines and make the song a nice one for a duet."

"Can you make it into a duet just in time so that we'll still have ample time to practice, Hiroshi-kun?"

"Trust me," he looked briefly at the fire then faced her once more.

"Will you trust me completely, Ryuzaki-san?"

All of a sudden, the once cheerful Hiroshi transformed into a gloomy one, almost like a child desperately begging for his candy. He had in his eyes that something strange again, same as that what his eyes had when he caught Sakuno moments ago. Sakuno backed a little, her mind telling her that the guy with her could be one of the nicest she could meet in her whole life. With a smile and a small chuckle, she answered him.

"Of course, Hiroshi-kun! I'll trust you. I already trust you now."

He flinched for a moment like he was about to sneeze. He did not really expect her to answer him that way, though he expected her to agree with him. After a split-second, she saw both of her hands being held tightly by him.

"Thank you, Saku- I mean, thank you, Ryuzaki-san. Thank you."

At that moment, to say that Sakuno felt awkward was a grave understatement. Never did her hand get held like this, and never was she so close to a boy! She interacted with boys in her life - absolutely, she did. She always tailed the tennis club regulars during their matches and practices, even in outings and special trainings; twice or thrice someone confessed feelings for her during her junior high school days-but it was never like this. In her past few years, she was always treated as "that shy girl" or "the tennis coach's granddaughter" (and if it was anything or anyone related to the older Ryuzaki, it or whoever could be it should be regarded with respect) so everyone around her who knew her existence as the granddaughter. They had to move some space away from her, even if they knew that Ryuzaki Sakuno had always been a timid, kind girl. Osakada Tomoka was an exception, however.

"A-anou… I just remembered, Hiroshi-kun, I… will make some warm tea for us… so we will not lose our voices…" she stammered. "Please excuse me…"

She withdrew her hands and bowed before heading to the kitchen. Hiroshi, who was left in front of the fireplace, did not know what to do. If she was any other girl, he could have laugh off or maybe admire a little yet again his charm on girls. But with this Sakuno who reminded him of someone, it was unthinkable. And what's that red thing on her face? She looked cute- if that was the right word to describe it- when she blushed. Hiroshi mentally scolded himself. Enough, Nakayama. No time for those... things.

Alone in the kitchen, the girl having chocolate orbs of her own searched for the traditional teacups, one for her and the other one for her "visitor". Yet, her thoughts were not focused on the little quest for the teacups but on the past three years of her high school life. Back then, she was a normal student who would do the most common of things. Or maybe except for one.

She and Tomoka would always tag along with the Tennis Club's regulars and watch their matches against the other schools' tennis clubs. Most of the time, they had enough luck and consideration to have free time during those important matches, and so they could watch to their happiness. Tomoka and Sakuno could not care less when they were behind the walls of the court. All they knew was that when they were behind those walls, they had to cheer and bring up the spirits of their school players.

"Especially, that someone." Sakuno carefully remembered.

That someone who inspired Sakuno to hold and use a tennis racquet; that someone who motivated her to skip the girl's tennis club's practices just to watch his matches; that someone who saved her many times from those circumstances she hated to be involved in.

That someone who was too special for her.

But just her luck, he was too special. With his skills, he had flown too far away for her to reach. It was like he was in the sky while she was standing on the ground, and all this time she was looking up at him.

Many times have she thought that she should just accept the fact that tennis would always be that someone's life, and she should just give up on him. It may sound silly, she was just fifteen and so was he. But she was waiting for two years already for him to recognize that she existed. She existed in the real world, if not in his world.

Maybe the real reason why I think I will keep on cheering for him for his next matches is Tomo-chan, who will insistently tag me with her as always.

But somehow, the "childish" admiration for him inside her disappeared little by little.

Maybe I'm just pretending that I still like him just so I could hold on to something I was sure that existed before.

She already found the two cups she needed and remembered Hiroshi. Should I start moving on and forget him already? Or maybe not.

'CRAAACCKKK!'

Sakuno woke up from her musings upon conceiving what had just happened.

"Ryuzaki-san!"

In a flash, he was beside her. There was this another someone who was so nice to her, and he came looking at her like a knight-in-shining-armor. She was picking up the tiny pieces of shattered cup then.

"Hiroshi-kun, I just dropped this..."

He questioningly looked at her, and the next question that came from him surprised and almost terrified her.

"Why are you crying, Ryuzaki-san?"

"Me, crying..?" she tried to make her voice as glad as possible. She moved her free hand to touch her cheek and felt something damp. Sakuno was so drowned in confusion that she didn't notice herself shedding silent tears.

"No, it's true, Hiroshi-kun, this is nothing...I'm just too careless that I've dropped this..."

The girl wiped her tears dry and faced him once again. Hiroshi looked so worried at her, but he was forcing a smile.

"Never mind the tea. Both of your hands are still trembling, Ryuzaki-san..." he knelt beside her. "Let me do the cleaning, and wait for me at the living room so we could start the initial practice after I'm done with this."

"But Hiroshi-kun..! This is our house, and I..."

"No but's. You are trembling. You might scratch yourself if you continue picking up these things."

His being too nice to her almost made Sakuno shed tears again.

How can he be so kind to someone as weak and as clumsy as me?

"Obaa-chan sure is taking her time at the school..." Sakuno whispered to herself. They were situated in front of the fireplace again after Hiroshi was done cleaning. The boy cleared his throat and stood up before her. He arranged himself with all the glory of the loose clothes that covered his body. When he spoke, his voice changed into that of a teacher.

"Let's start with the basics. Please stand up, Ryuzaki-san."

One eyebrow of hers arched slightly at the sudden change of his voice. But she did as she was told.

"Sing the do-re-mi," Hiroshi instructed still with the all-of-a-sudden-mature-voice. Sakuno hurriedly cleared her throat then sang.

"Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti do~"

"Descending, this time."

"Do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do."

His serious face broke into a comforting smile.

"Don't get tensed. Just relax as you sing, understand?"

Sakuno put on her sheepish smile. "Oh sorry, Hiroshi-kun. You just sound like a professional voice coach,"

Hiroshi faked a surprised face. "Oh, is that so? Then if I do, I'm now you're voice coach. You have to follow my every order to enhance your voice. Understand, my student?"

"Eh?" she blinked her eyes, not expecting him to take the comment seriously.

"No complaints. We don't have that much of time. Now, your coach wants you to relax as you sing," he soothingly commanded. That image of him, a young man acting up as full-grown, made her laugh softly.

"Did I tell you to laugh, Ryuzaki-san?"

She stopped, scared that he became angry all of a sudden. She looked at his face, and was relieved. His face is smiling but his tone is not. He really is a gifted actor.

"No, Hiroshi-sensei. I'm sorry for being disrespectful. Let's continue, Coach."

"Better," he said in that same, intimidating tone. "Let's resume."

"I'm home. Sakuno, you home now?"

The door opened wide and revealed a much older version of Sakuno. It was the famous tennis coach, Ryuzaki Sumire.

"Obaa-chan!" Sakuno hurried to the door while dragging her damaged foot and assisted her grandmother. "You are so late, I haven't-"

"I bought sushi from Kawamura's for I forgot to tell you that the supplies ran out already." Sumire's face brimmed with a grin. That is when she noticed Sakuno's foot and the boy behind her granddaughter. He was watching them in sheer amazement.

"And may I know who's this guy you brought to our house?" The girl looked back at Hiroshi and remembered to introduce him.

"Obaa-chan, this is Nakayama Hiroshi-kun, my classmate and my partner for the duet for Friday's party."

The boy faced the older woman and bowed. "I am Nakayama Hiroshi. I'm very pleased to meet you, Ryuzaki-sensei."

The older woman's face became puzzled. "Wait, partner? Duet? Party? What's these all about?"

Sakuno and Hiroshi looked at each other and laughed at the coach's reaction. It made Sumire's frown to deepen.

"It seems like you two young people have a lot of explaining to do." Sumire shook her head and smiled at the two persons she was referring to."Hiroshi-san, you should stay for dinner. I won't accept no as an answer."

The talented actor scratched his head. "If you say so, ma'am."

The downpour outside finally stopped on its own. The clock strike for the ninth hour, and the three persons who were lively conversing at the living room did not realize that the past hour passed by so fast. After Hiroshi dressed back to his already dry uniform, Coach Ryuzaki offered him a ride back to his apartment. Again, the boy couldn't say no for the older woman insisted. It would be dangerous for him, she said. Robbers could fly from the corners, or gangs might unexpectedly beat him into a pulp. What the reason for those things she did not explain further, but Hiroshi knew that even if he protested, he could not get out of the way he wanted to. All in all, the conversation ended with Hiroshi seated on the back seat, Sumire on the driver's seat bidding her granddaughter on the porch that she would be back in a few minutes.

"Be sure to lock the door when I leave, okay?" Sumire shouted when the car's engine started. Sakuno nodded and waved her hand.

"Yes, Baa-chan! See you tomorrow at school, Hiroshi-kun. Thanks again!" Hiroshi nodded his head.

"Off we go then. The doors, don't forget!"

"I understand. Take care!"

And the car rode fast away from the Ryuzaki residence. Sakuno turned back to the house with a smile in her face.

The short trip turned silent at first. Hiroshi looked out of the window, his mind filled with some thoughts. Sumire looked at the rear view mirror, then back at the road.

"My granddaughter is pretty, isn't she?"

Hiroshi became distracted for a second, then looked at the person driving the car. He was puzzled at first. Why was she asking him this question?

"You don't have to get distracted, Hiroshi-san. I know you think so too."

He bowed down his head and manage to give her a small nod. He realized that he would never win from this woman.

"I know it's not my position to talk about such things, but my clumsy little granddaughter likes someone very known to me."

Maybe a try would not hurt. "Is that so, Ryuzaki-sensei? That's good for her." Safe and sound comment, I suppose that's what I've just given her.

"Then maybe it's also good for you if you like someone, right?" Sumire smirked, then turned the car to a corner.

"Maybe, sensei." He smiled back.

"You're a nice boy, I see. Take care of my granddaughter, will you, Hiroshi-san?"

Heat rose up to his ears. He really couldn't decipher what this tennis coach wanted, but he knew that he was feeling rather uncomfortable with her mystical words. With a satisfied sigh, he nodded. The complex where he lived finally appeared in front of them. He was home again, alone, finally. He opened the door, and alighted the car.

"Thank you very much for the lift and the dinner, Ryuzaki-sensei."

Sumire shook her head. "Don't mention it. You can visit us again if you want."

Hiroshi bowed down again, then was about to close the automobile's car when the woman on the front seat said one more thing.

"You'll appreciate what I've told you after a few days time." then she winked at him. He smiled in response, then closed the door. The car moved away until it finally disappeared from his sight.

Hiroshi turned towards his home, the smile in his face evident, especially when he entered his room. A picture frame placed on a table greeted his eyes.

"I'm home, Kaa-san."

~oOo~

A/N: That was a long chapter, wasn't it? I hope you enjoyed reading this one. Is it right that Ryuzaki Sumire votes for Hiroshi for Sakuno? How about Ryoma, when will he appear again? (RyoSaku fans, don't kill me! The best parts are yet to come! X3) Oh great, the party is nearing! I wanted to finish this one fast! Don't forget the review, or bashing. I like reading them. Chapter five might take a long time, and I wonder myself when will be the next time I'm going to update.