I cannot own the obvious

Ryoma, Sakuno and their peers are all a magical 17.

3 years later, as most stories usually are…

This could possibly be the worst day of her life. The first clue was when her grandmother had told her that Ryoma would arrive later that evening. Despite being warned weeks ahead, Sakuno realized that she would never be prepared to face him. She had spent the day tripping and sputtering more than usual, a dazed expression on her features.

In short, she was Kawamura on steroids. Not a pretty sight.

When Sakuno had banged her elbow on the corner of her desk the 18th time that day, Tomoka finally dragged her out to the bathroom. Sensei wasn't even given a chance to stop their tracks. If Tomoka wanted something done, even Tezuka stepped aside. Sakuno knew to resist was futile, so she allowed herself to be led away.

Once they were safely ensconced in the bathroom, Tomoka dropped Sakuno's hand and glared at her. Then, she took a deep breath, and tried to scrunch her features into something more pleasant. She was failing at it, Sakuno noticed amusedly.

'Tell me what's wrong,'

'Nothing's wrong Tomo-Chan.'

'Your socks are different, your plaits are lopsided, and there's a stain on your right sleeve,'

At this, Sakuno hastily looked down at herself. One of her socks was their usual customary black, while the other was navy blue. She ignored the stain and her hair. 'Mou…' She said while adjusting her glasses, a telltale sign of nervousness.

'Saku-

'Icanttellyounow,' Sakuno rushed in.

'What?'

'I said I can't tell you now. You'll probably know next week or so.'

'Sakuno, are you sick or something? You're not going to die on me right?' Tomoka's voice was increasing, something which Sakuno was trying to avoid.

'No, no, I'm fine! It's just that…. things are complicated now. Grandmother has told me some things, which right now I can't tell anyone. It's nothing bad, I swear,'

'Is it so important that you can't even tell your best friend?'

'You are the only person I would want to tell, but even to you, I can't…'

When they were 5, and already inseparable, most had predicted that Sakuno would be a raving beauty while Tomoka would probably be 'merely passable'. This did not turn out to be true

A growth spurt in more areas than one had easily ensured that Tomoka was The Girl at 13. Suddenly boys paid attention whenever she spoke. Horio started to be nicer to her. He even asked her out once, and had not stopped trying since. Even the senior classmen took notice.

Sakuno, even at 17, was still waiting for body parts that never seemed to arrive. She had acquired glasses at 14, no doubt from her habit of reading in bad light. Her hair was still in twin plaits, unchanged since she was born. Grace would never be imbued in her; she only grew clumsier in time.

Despite their differences in personality, the two girls got along beautifully. Tomoka once said that they complemented each other, two awkward pieces making a perfect fit. Of course, they fought frequently. Though Tomoka was the only person, other than her own family, that Sakuno was comfortable enough to raise her voice at.

Sakuno sighed, and tried to kick a pebble that was in her path. Unsurprisingly, she missed and kicked her left ankle instead. Cursing and hobbling under her breath, she slowly made the familiar route home.

She wondered how Ryoma would react if she even had a percentage of Tomoka's beauty. This was disturbing to her, as she had never thought much of physical appearances. Sakuno had never worn makeup; she did not even own a single tube of lipstick. She was not ignorant of it; she had helped Tomoka numerous times to prepare for dates. Sakuno just had not felt the urge to 'doll herself up'. That pretty much died when Ryoma left.

……..Ryoma. Ryoma, Ryoma.

When Sakuno's household had heard news from two months ago that Echizen Ryoma, Tennis Prodigy and renowned tennis player, was retiring, they were astounded. It was unthinkable, him retiring at 17.

Grandmother had received a call a week later. At first, it was all hush hush. Sakuno had no idea what was being woven, she was valiantly trying not to care. Then it all blew up in her face 3 weeks later.

Ryoma was not retiring for the sake of retiring. He was retiring because he could not play.

The details were all too murky for Sakuno to comprehend. She only understood that Ryoma was injured and hurting, and that she was not there. Not that she would have been any help, but to simply be there and see for herself that he was taken care of would have been enough. She really was that pathetic, it seemed.

It only got worse, or better. Grandmother had deliriously suggested to Echizen Nanjiroh that his son should stay with her for a while. It was simple, she would use her years of training experience to help him regain his strength back. Tezuka, a former injured player, would be roped in as well. Japan was also convenient for its brilliant medical field, and a change of scene would do Ryoma good.

So it was decided. Ryoma would move back to Japan for an indefinite period of time. He would train once again with his old coach and Tezuka. He would stay with his old coach. With Sakuno.

Sakuno quickened her steps to reach home.

To be honest, I have no idea where I'm going with this. I have an idea of how I want the letter Ryoma drunkenly wrote to be woven in, but the rest is pretty much on the spot writing. This might be bad I realize. I may need an editor, should i choose to continue to write more. Pretty much depends on the response I guess.