Chapter 5: Surprise
Disclaimer: I do not own Tennis no Oujisama/ Prince of Tennis, but I want my share of Kunimitsu Tezuka… sigh. It will never happen, either…
~oOo~
A/N: I'm back, minna-san! Hope that did not take too long. I wanted to update this as soon as possible but as always, there's school or education we have to suffer. Thanks again for the reviews! I hope more would come soon… Truth is, the more I receive the more I am encouraged to continue updating this one. So keep the reviews coming, so even if there's that hell I'll update right away, no matter what! (Hey, raven-eyed-lass, that's getting dramatic). Oh well, off with the story!
~oOo~
Fifth Chapter: Surprise
Sakuno's voice lessons with Hiroshi started that rainy night and it continued for the next two days, although not in the Ryuzaki residence anymore. Right after the class meeting for the still-needed preparations, Tomoka asked permission from their English teacher if they could use the music room for duet's practice. Suzuhara-sensei nodded a yes and told her he would just tell the music department to let his students use any of the music rooms. After blushing and admiring the older man, she went straight to the classroom where Hiroshi and Sakuno were waiting. She gave a thumbs-up at the two, and off the three went to the music room with their bags, Hiroshi carrying both his bag and Sakuno's, as the guy observed that the petite girl found it hard to walk with his and Tomoka's pace. He also offered to carry Tomoka's bag but the pig-tailed girl refused and only said that she was fine with carrying it.
According to Sakuno, Hiroshi is a good teacher; Hiroshi on the other hand, complimented her and said she was an able and flexible student. But whatever the real reason behind what was happening did not matter; just after five complete rounds of practice for the song, the duet came to master every twist and tune of "Eyes on me." Tomoka was more than awed after hearing the two sing, but it occurred to her that something was still missing.
"That was so dreamy, you two! It was really… excellent! I can't believe your voices blended that well!" she exclaimed as she went beside her best friend after the third round of singing. Sakuno's face beamed with pride and happiness. She knew that when Tomoka makes a comment, it would be almost always real (exceot when she was sarcastic). She smiled at her partner, then at the girl beside her.
"Thanks, Tomo-chan." Sakuno said.
"So, Osakada-san, what do you think?" It was Hiroshi. "Should we add more things to the song number or is the singing fair enough?"
"Now that you mention it Hiroshi-kun, I think I can add a little more spice to this number…" Tomoka started doing her mannerism whenever she would think-eyes closed, eyebrows met, and right hand on her own chin. It was not long afterwards that an idea came up to her.
"The bar scene!"
"The what?" Hiroshi and Sakuno chorused. Evil Tomo-chan then had her matching evil grin on her face, and then put her hand on her hips.
"Let's imagine this scene: You two will be in a bar. Sakuno will be in the stage, as she was the resident singer on that bar, while you Hiroshi-kun, is just some cute-faced guy that will enter the bar. No, wrong. Hiroshi-kun frequents the place, so he's familiar with it."
She saw that she caught the interest of her two companions, so Tomoka kept the laugh from coming out of her lips as the chain of thoughts seeped into her mind. She faked a cough and continued.
"The guy, Hiroshi-kun I mean, will settle himself in a table both near the stage and the counter. He will talk to some friends there, and will mention that he will leave the country for good after a few days. Just in time, the resident singer will sing her last song for the night. She, in this case Sakuno, had long set her eyes on this cute-faced guy that frequents the bar. When she finds out about the guy's situation, she enters the stage and cues that she will sing her favorite song."
"Oh, I see!" Sakuno piped in, her palms pressed together. "That's why it's Eyes on me… and then, what's next, Tomo-chan?"
"I'll tell you. What happens next can be summarized in one whole sentence: Sparks-will-fly-"
"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno flushed at the way Tomoka said the words.
"Wait, let me finish," Tomoka butted in, "the resulting song number will turn into a duet. Get it now?"
Sakuno felt like she was shrinking again out of embarrassment.
"Sounds fine with me. I think it will warm the audience's heart. How about you, Sakuno-san?" Hiroshi asked his partner for the duet. The braided girl thought that it was not necessary anymore to look at neither Tomo-chan nor Hiroshi-kun to look for an answer. All she needed was to say that she agrees.
"It's… fine with me too. But, who will direct the scene?"
Tomoka shook her head and Hiroshi smiled.
"It's no other than the beautiful and talented girl beside you, of course! But don't expect that I would be that merciful." Tomoka's lips grinned way up to her cheek. Sakuno could only wonder what will be next in line in this sequence of mismatched events.
Meanwhile at the tennis courts, the tennis club was about to start their daily activities. The early students waited for the other members to come after changing into their usual playing clothes. It was just a healthy ten minutes before the call time, and people were not rushing for it was still early. Like the rest, Ryoma proceeded calmly to the locker room where his things were placed. Likewise when he was in middle school, he earned a slot for the regular line-up of players. But unlike in his younger years, he was now respected throughout the school. It's a neat understatement to say that when the name "Ryoma Echizen" was heard in Seigaku, pride soared throughout everyone's heart. Of course, it was not a joke to say that when he was younger, he won four championships at the US and was selected as a player to represent Japan in the US Open more or less two years before present.
Yet, after all these achievements, he had change a little.
Now, he was just tying the laces of his shoes, contented that another afternoon came for him to improve his tennis skills more. All he wanted is to be the best. He didn't really care for his trophies or medals.
"There you are, Echizen!"
The unibrowed he had known for so long appeared behind him. The former was panting, as if he just ran a long distance. Ryoma questioningly looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Have you… Have you… seen…Ryu-…Ryuzak-"
Ryoma stood up, finished with his shoes. He opened his bag and took out his signature cap.
"I can't understand why you are stammering. What about the coach?"
Upon taking a very deep breath, Horio stood up straight and started talking straight.
"No, not the coach, the younger Ryuzaki. Have you seen her around? She said I have to return this to her this afternoon."
Ryoma wore his cap and arranged it in place as he was watched Horio take out a notebook.
"No, I haven't seen her."
When he thought of adding the detail that he never saw her since he arrived in Japan, he shook his cap-adorned head. Wait, he was not asking me that.
"I have to give this notebook today!" Horio stammered then started panicking. The other one just closed his bag and tugged it behind his back as he motioned through the door.
"What's the big deal? You can return that the next time you see her." He turned the knob of the door. Horio ran up to him in no time and started frantically waving the notebook in his hand.
"No, I have to give it NOW!" He panicked, the notebook being mentioned still waved by his hands. As he continued shaking the notebook and Ryoma dismissed the thought of further talking to Mr.5 years-of-tennis-experience, something fell from the notebook. Ryoma picked it up, making Horio dead silent.
"What's this… a letter?"
Horio came back to his senses and realized what exactly was going on. He tried to snatch the piece of paper from Ryoma's hands but he evaded Horio's hands.
"Let's see… A letter," Ryoma flipped open the letter.
"That's not yours! Give it back!" Horio protested as he still tried to retrieve his letter back. The former was ready to read the contents of the letter, as he was as a swift as a fox to evade Horio's desperate hands. He intended to read it out loudly, but kept his mouth shut upon reading the first line.
"Here, it's all yours." He folded the letter neatly and handed it to Horio, to the latter's surprise. Eventually, the unibrowed boy found his composure back and opened the door wide open.
"I'll start searching for her then, thanks for your great help, Echizen!" sarcastically said Horio, with his face all flushed, and ran away. Clutched in his hands were the notebook and the letter that Ryoma was about to read.
"A love letter huh…" Ryoma whispered to himself.
He started walking away from the locker room, tennis bag still slung behind his back. He noted that it was an only a few more minutes before the assembly of the club members and remembered Horio. He shook his head, thankful that this time he would not late so he would not be running laps. Maybe his fate was transferred to some unfortunate unibrowed boy.
"I wonder why he found her that way. That weak and clumsy Ryuzaki."
"Closer, Hiroshi. Closer!"
Sakuno wanted to die of out shame. Do we really have to do such acts? We're just to sing a song, right? Why should I have to do this?
"Sakuno, your facial expression! Focus your attention on the scene!"
She gulped hard when she saw Hiroshi's face dangerously near her own face, but she managed to sing the last line of the song.
And you know that you are not dreaming…
"CUT!"
She was very relieved after hearing the director Tomoka shout the word from her seat.
"There you go, we are done rehearsing what we have brainstormed about just earlier, and looks like everything is subtly perfect. Only a few more rounds and voila! We will be ready for Friday!" The director blabbered excitedly. She looked so excited, Sakuno noted, unlike herself who was feeling rather wearier than usual. She forced a smile to answer her.
"Oh wait, it's getting late. Sakuno, Hiroshi-kun, I'll go ask how much longer are we permitted to use this room, okay?"
"I can do that, Osakada-san. You two girls could stay here." Hiroshi offered while looking at Tomoka. She slightly blushed upon seeing the killer smile the guy was known for, and then waved both of her hands in front of her face.
"NO, Hiroshi-kun. As the director for this scene, and the person who also asked permission earlier, I am the one liable for our practice here." She took hold of his two shoulders and pushed him towards the sofa. The guy then was seated comfortably on the sofa. She then did the same to Sakuno, so it turned out that the two are seated right next to each other at the sofa.
"So, you two, stay here. Besides," Tomoka giggled to herself, "I want to talk again to Suzuhara-sensei! Wait for me, okay?"
And she was gone in a flash, right after the door closed behind her. It really was getting late for it was past six in the afternoon. Evident on the faces of the two left was weariness from the whole day of school and the rehearsals.
"You did great for a first-time actress there, Sakuno-san." Hiroshi started then smiled at her. Sakuno was more at ease now in talking with him, considering the fact that she spent a night of dinner and casual talk with him and Ryuzaki-sensei. She answered with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, Hiroshi-kun. But to be honest to you, I…"
"Is there something wrong, Sakuno-san?"
She shook her head. "No, it's just that I felt I was messing up with the number."
He considerately patted her head then laughed silently to himself. She became confused as to why he laughed all of a sudden.
"Why are you laughing, Hiroshi-kun? Is there something humorous?"
He stopped laughing and averted his eyes back to her and lingered to look at her face, like she was something strange and unusual.
"Say, Sakuno-san. Would you feel something strange if I..."
Ryoma could not believe that the talk with Seishun Gakuen's principal lasted a century for him (in reality, it lasted for one whole hour). He also could not decipher as to how he managed to survive the long one-sided conversation, or to be more precise, a worthless speech of praise for him. After a long day, he was then headed towards the gates of the school, half-thankful that the day has ended while the other half still thought what had really happened-why he was called out from the last minutes of the tennis practice, why he heard so many sweet praises from that same old man, why he even let his time be wasted with such a silly talk.
-Flashback-
"That's it for today's activities. Thanks for the hard work, everyone. Till then, see you tomorrow! Freshmen, kindly arrange the equipment before leaving." The coach of the tennis club for high school had appeared on the courts and smiled to himself when he saw the person he was looking for.
"Thanks for your hard work!" Everyone on the courts chorused then started arranging the balls that scattered on the ground. Ryoma was done cleaning his side of the court, and by that time he was just on his way to the locker room to get himself changed.
"Oi, Echizen! How about burgers before going home?" Momo ran a little behind Ryoma. Eiji joined the two while wearing his adorable cat-like smile.
"Yeah, O'chibi! You've been away for some time!" He engaged Ryoma in a headlock, but found difficulty of some sort because the boy who he referred to as Ochibi years ago was now taller than him by three inches flat. "Let's hang-out more often so we could make it up for the lost time!"
"Echizen-kun?" The coach called out to him. Ryoma looked around and saw the coach. Momo and Eiji went straight ahead to the locker room, while the cat-eyed boy immediately went to the person who called him.
"Yes, Coach Yamada?" He politely asked. Yamada-san then smiled; pleased with the way his name was called by the youngest tennis prodigy.
"I just talked to the principal. He asked me if you could pay him visit right now, because your name really made the school proud."
Ryoma wanted to raise an eyebrow, and almost scoffed a "Yes Sir," before bowing and leaving the coach's presence. He went straight to the locker room and sighed. He just wanted to go home and lie in his bed with Karupin's offspring, Karu. Maybe what he wanted will be postponed for a few more hours, he supposed. He had to break free from Eiji and Momo's headlocks yet again while the other regulars laughed first before exiting the room and bidding Eiji and Momo to let go of Ryoma already (yes, the infamous official line-up of Seigaku middle school's tennis club were still regulars too; only Kawamura was not part of their line-up from middle school because he vowed to concentrate on cooking and be the best sushi chef in Japan). Not long after that the two mischievous guys let go of the poor, strangled O'chibi and bid him their farewell that Ryoma trudged towards the principal's room.
"I hope this will not take too long," he thought before knocking on the door and saying his name. A gleeful voice then answered him to come inside.
"Echizen Ryoma-kun! Come inside, please. I'm very pleased to meet you in personal, the youngest tennis prodigy who decided to come back to Seishun Gakuen for his studies." A smile welcomed him, and he bowed down a little to show his respect.
"Pleased to meet you too, Principal."
"Oh, take a seat here. I have so many things to tell you…"
-End Flashback-
It was like a nightmare back there. He did not want praises from everyone. He wanted to be the best, just the best, nothing else. And to be the best, he needed to defeat every strong opponent down there. What was the big deal with that? What more weighed him is the gravity pulling his eyelids forcibly as he tried to remember what sort of talk did the principal talked. Ryoma shook his head. What more if he accepted the ride back home offered to him by the principal? How he was so thankful that he can return home alone. Or at least, not yet.
"Hey, you there! Hold on a second!"
The cat-eyes looked around and saw no other persons roaming the path where he was walking in. Then, he used those orbs he possessed to glare at the figure running towards him. Not again. His feet stopped for a while.
"Oh, Echizen-san. I'm sorry for the rudeness." He recognized the man to be the security guard. He didn't answer him; he just sent him a slightly hazardous glare. The man did not notice what Ryoma gave him, to the latter's disappointment.
"Can you please do me favor? You see, it's time for the shift of guard for today, but my fellow security guard seemed to encounter some problems along his way here."
"Then what?" His tact became visibly forgotten, as he ached to sleep in a bed.
"He'll be here in a few more minutes. I can't leave the guard house for long, but I have to inform those who were using the music room that it's time for them to leave."
Why does it have to be me? Ryoma grunted a little. "So now I'll go to the music room and just tell those persons who were using the room to leave at once. Is that all, mister?"
The guard then scratched the back of his head. "Just a little favor. Could you please do it, Echizen-san? I'll be in trouble if the principal sees no one on the guard house."
"I'll do it, sir. I'll be going then." He faced away from the person and made his way to the music room, while the man behind him thanked him gratefully. He wanted the day to end.Wonder when this day will end…
Good thing the music room is the first room he would see as he reached the second floor of the main building. He hastened his steps a little and turned the knob of the door. The door wouldn't budge; it was locked. Why does it have to be locked? He thought there were persons inside. He moved back a few steps and realized that the lights on that room in front of him were turned off. He moved back with more steps and saw the next music room with the lights turned on. Ryoma sighed, and then mentally scolded himself. Of course, there were two music rooms, the previous one he approached earlier being larger than the one he was approaching. He reached the second music room and turned the door's knob.
This people are really troublesome, making me come back here just to inform them that they have to get out of this darned place.
One, two, three- what she knew next was that her body froze steadily in front of Hiroshi. Her mind refused to comprehend things that caused her to be like this, but she was completely aware of the things happening to her. Her pretty face, with innocent and scared chocolate orbs and quivering lips, now a mere inch away from the boy's face with almost identical features as hers. She couldn't even gulp, for her chin was held by hands too soft for her comfort.
"If I'm close to you like this?"
"Heaven, send someone… Someone to save me…" Sakuno prayed in her mind, while she helplessly stared at the chocolate orbs in front of her.
As if on a cue, the doors opened. Hope flickered in her heart, and she automatically promised herself that she would give the tightest hug to Tomoka when they walk home together after the practice. Hiroshi and Sakuno both turned their faces towards the door, with their faces still awkwardly apart. The supposed Tomoka (in Sakuno's point of view) appeared and Sakuno had to blink her eyes hard.
Since when did Tomoka got taller, had a body with an athletic build? "She" even had a white cap on "her" head, wore the standard jacket for a tennis club regular, and cat-eyes that Sakuno thought that hypnotized her for a second and almost made her forget that she had her lips almost kissed by Hiroshi. And what the heck, since when did Tomoka become a guy?
There was a big mistake in it. This person couldn't be Tomoka, of course! On the other hand, it couldn't be the person she admired for years, right? Sakuno had it- her natural, eye-catching blush overcame her face, and she completely forgot about Hiroshi. She would never let this chance to slip away- the chance to welcome the person back to Seigaku. However, her eyes looked at the skirt she was wearing, as she said those words.
"Okaeri nasai, Ryoma-kun…"
~oOo~
A/n: "Okaeri nasai," means "Welcome home." You might ask why I used the Japanese words, but it just looks more appealing and cute- Sakuno saying that to Ryoma is just too cute to be resisted for a RyoSaku fan like me! Ü
Sweet! Chapter five done and rewritten! I'm sorry I have to replace the first edition of this chapter; you guys might protest again and say that the wait was unworthy after I give that cliffhanger. I was just excited when I uploaded that thing. So, my line again: I love your reviews, veryone! Keep them coming! As I said, I'll be updating more often, so don't worry. RyoSaku just rocks. Heehee. X3
And also, I want to add the regulars to the story as minor characters, but I think I can't do that just yet because I'm still new with stories compromised of several characters. Oh well, that would be it. The CCS characters are kept at minimum for the same reason as that of the regulars. Heehee.