Love is just a word
--
"One of the hardest things in life is watching the person you love, love someone else."
--
Contrary to popular belief, Ryoma eventually realized there was more to life than tennis and beating his father. It definitely took time for him to notice the rest of the world; but hormones seemed to hit him like a downhill bus with broken brakes.
At least that's what it seemed like to Sakuno.
One day he was brushing off his fan club's attentions like annoying flies and the next he was actually encouraging them and openly flirting with them.
She had hoped, perversely, that he was really mocking them in some strange way; by giving them hope and then tearing them down; but no, since that day his eyes were practically glued to the feminine hopefuls in his life.
But not her; no, never her.
It was okay though, or normal at least; she had damned herself a few years back when she had 'given up on him' and decided that friendship was better than being the annoying granddaughter of the coach. Once she had decided that; the stuttering stopped, the nervous playing with hair and skirt stopped, the blushing-at-any-and-every-moment stopped and she found she was very relaxed around him.
She, and consequently Tomoka, had joined him and his freshmen friends at lunch one day and struck up a conversation; one thing lead to another and they all went out to their favorite burger place where they chatted, joked and placed bets on the winners of the next tryouts for regular spots; they had been good friends ever since. He was easy enough to be friends with, not like Tomoka with her boisterous ways or Horio with his braggadocio attitude.
No, before his hormonal realization, he pretty much kept to himself and showed the minimal amount of compassion and emotion required to keep friends and stay on the good side of teachers. Sakuno and the rest of their little group of freshmen friends accepted this as the norm with very few exceptions.
Though when he offered to help her a little with her tennis, a reward for achieving a regular spot on the girls' tennis team, she lost her head; forgot her promise to herself and was thrilled. She had thought that maybe she was just the tiniest bit special to him and that maybe; just maybe, he wanted to help her to get closer to her.
But the day the lessons started, the err of her thoughts was shoved rather roughly in her face as she was introduced to a side of Ryoma she found rather unflattering and unpleasant, to say the least.
She met the demon tennis coach, nay the tennis nazi! He was a perfectionist that was certainly true, unless she did it right he would make her repeat it a hundred times. Or run laps with heavy weights on her arms and legs.
After he offered her help, there was universal outrage from his friends. Horio especially put up a big fuss.
"I have known you for longer and have two more years of tennis experience than she does! I've been asking you for coaching forever; it's not fair!" Sakuno begged to differ that she was actually the first person he met from school in Japan, but at that point she was desperate to get Ryoma's spotlight as far away from her as humanly possible. After more whining Horio finally got his way and he, Katsuo, and Katchiro joined her tennis lessons from hell.
People thought her grandmother was a tough coach; at least she told her pupils what she wanted.
Ryoma, used to hiding his plots and thoughts from opponents in a tennis match, had the nasty habit of not telling anyone what he wanted them to do. Whether he wanted more spin on the ball, more power in the swing, less arc in the air; he never breathed a word of it to her. She supposed she had it easy compared to the boys, they all just got smacked into position by Ryoma's racket. He apparently was too much of a gentleman to hit her, so instead, he would just continually insult her as she tried various swings to attempt to find praise in the hail of criticisms. She could tell she was getting close when he moved from insulting her general appearance and character, to her stance. She had only gotten it perfect a few times and when that happened he would sigh and say,
"Now if only your hips weren't so wobbly and your hair wasn't so long…" She had never heard the end of that sentence; but sometimes as a sort of pathetic, self-indulging game, she would think of ways he would fill it in with something romantic or at least complementary.
'Now if only your hips weren't wobbly and your hair wasn't so long you would be the best on the team and I'd marry you on the spot.'
But the likeliness of him ever saying something like that to her grew less and less with each passing day.
Maybe it was just her, because she was such a pushover, but he always seemed to be extra hard on her. Sure, he tortured the other three boys to the point where they were begging to let them quit the private lessons, but he seemed to get a sort of sick pleasure out of her pleading for a break. And they call Fuji a sadist.
The most puzzling thing about these lessons was that it didn't change things at all, at least in school life. He still let them copy his homework, which she desperately needed with the hours that Ryoma's tennis hell took up. He never even mentioned his teachings outside the lessons themselves, even after his schedule became too busy and he fortunately had to let them go on their merry way he never brought up the lessons again. He still was friends with them and even congratulated her whenever she won matches as a regular, which happened more frequently with his guidance. Though the training was torture she became much better at tennis and was even elected assistant captain. But when he was coaching, the moment he caught her in her tennis uniform, her ass was his, and he certainly had his wicked way with it.
She never thought there would be a day when she would treasure those hellish moments with him, let alone that she would wish they would come back. That time came the moment those damn hormones came barreling around the corner of his life and slapped him upside the face.
When he finally took a notice to the thrumming estrogen filled populous around him, he really took notice. His cocky nature merged well with his good looks and turned him into a prime-time playboy. No girl was exempt from his dating lineup, that is except for Sakuno; his old, near, and dear friend. Even Tomoka traitorously entered the fray when she announced that she wasn't interested in Ryoma anymore, and that she hadn't been for a while. She liked someone else and she wouldn't tell anyone, even Sakuno. This apparently intrigued Ryoma and made her free game since this guy wasn't stepping up. So he then flirted with her, which she returned before playfully shooting him down. This developed into a habitual game that Sakuno dreaded being apart of.
"Hey Tomo-Chan, what are your plans tonight?" Ryoma would usually start.
"Nothing that you're involved in, I assure you." She would counter in while looking up through her eye-lashes attractively.
"That's too bad; we should really fix that one of these days." Then they would both laugh and continue to talk to each other like that; Tomoka with her eyes half lidded and Ryoma smirking and raising his eye brows seductively.
Sakuno, and Horio for some reason, would usually stand behind them and make gagging gestures.
Another annoying habit that Ryoma had gained when his lower brain was activated was that he loved to talk about his date's attractive qualities even though he and the rest of the world knew that he was just going to dump her the next day to move on to the next girl.
This one had a rack out to there.
That one had amazing long legs.
This one had these blue eyes that just popped.
That one had nice full lips.
This one was really tan.
That one had short blonde hair that felt cool to touch.
And this one had a long tongue and really knew how to use it, if you know what I mean.
Sakuno was forced to sit helplessly through these unofficial jibes at her. Maybe she was vain for thinking that they were targeted to offend her but she didn't trust the fact that all of the qualities he chose, she seemed to lack. The only thing she could do when he started to talk about his date was throw in some sort comment about him being a sexist pig before he would seem to ignore her completely and recount every detail of his date with the girl to his male followers.
When that happened she would pout her not-so-full lips; roll her not popping, not blue eyes; fix her not short and blonde hair, before crossing her arms over her rack which was definitely not out to there. She would then walk away on her short legs and wobbly hips; with her pale skin, and not talk to Ryoma with her tongue that she apparently didn't know how to use properly, if you know what I mean.
A girl could only take so much abuse before she starts fighting back. So she decided to start her own dating line up.
She went all out, letting her hair out of the braids and styling it, glossing up her lips and adding just the right amount of makeup. She remade her prudish wardrobe too. She couldn't do much since they wore uniforms in school but she found if she undid a few buttons on her blouse and pulled her skirt just a little higher…
Well needless to say the effect was immediate. She didn't realize how little she needed to do to have lesser men pulling at her skirt.
Horio, shockingly enough, was the first to actually notice her change of attire; or at least first to express it vocally. He was also the first man to actually ask her out, which lead to a succession of fairly awkward dates and clumsy gestures of affection between them. Neither of them was really in it for the other, they both were together to gain the attention of another. She was attempting the impossible; to force-feed Ryoma a taste of his own medicine. While Horio, as he later confided in Sakuno, was trying to get Tomoka's attention away from her mystery man to look his way. But their relationship didn't get them anywhere, so they decided to end it before they embarrassed themselves.
After that strange turn of events, she was chomping at the bit and ready to kick some prince of tennis tail.
She decided to start with someone easy, someone she could understand and handle accordingly- a jock. So, the first day in her warrior princess battle mode she moseyed over to a sophomore, star player on the basket ball team no less; batted her eyelashes a few times and bada-bing-bada-boom she had a date with him.
Of course she thought she could, and should, revel in her victory and brag to her friends, which happened to include Ryoma. What a disaster that turned out to be.
The minute she mentioned her date, Ryoma was on her like a like a cat on a wounded rabbit.
"Oh really, a date with that Isumo guy huh?" It was Isumi, but she was shocked he was even close. "I haven't really talked to him, is he nice?"
Well he was a good looking star athlete; he was as nice as he needed to be to keep his spot on the team. "Yeah, he's nice…" She said instead.
"Is he smart? I assume he takes a lot of hits on the basketball court…" He offered suggestively.
She bristled before replying in a sickly sweet tone. "Well, Ryoma-kun, I really wouldn't know; I'm not in any classes with him as he is a sophomore and I am a freshman." If only she realized then that this was all just a trap; just the cat playing with its wounded pray while it slowly, but surely was backed into the proverbial corner.
"A sophomore, huh? You know I'm going out with a sophomore now too; Yumi Aio, maybe you know her?" She had to stop her face from falling there. Yumi Aio, the prettiest girl in school. She was also the dumbest, but for her face and body, most of the girls at school would trade in their brains any day.
"Not formally, no." She forced herself to say. "Is she nice?" She said in a pathetic attempt to keep her composure.
"Very." Was all he said, but it was enough for her stomach to turn into knots and be driven close to tears. Even if she knew that they could never be together, did he have to be so stupid and inconsiderate? Did he even realize how much that hurt?
She inhaled sharply to keep her feelings in check before attempting to end the discussion abruptly so she could escape from him. "Fascinating, but I have to go and find out when Isumi is picking me up tonight." She tried to stomp off, but Ryoma grabbed her arm and forced her to stay in the conversation.
"You have a date with him tonight? What a coincidence; I have a date with Yumi tonight." As if he didn't have a date every single night of the week; with doubles on weekends.
She wanted to get out of there, from the taunting stare of their companions to the haunting smirk on Ryoma's face, she wanted to escape it. "Amazing, I don't believe it! But I really have to-"
"Why don't we double?" That made her freeze in her tracks. Several images came to mind. The rabbit was cornered.
Double date with Ryoma; She and Isumi sitting there awkwardly while Yumi and he made-out. God no, kill me now!
"Uhh I really don't think that would work…"She tried feebly.
"Well why not? ...Unless you were lying about going out with Isumi..." the cat pounced.
She didn't take well to that accusation. "What!? You think I'm lying!?" She practically screamed at him, while ripping her arm from his grasp. He didn't need to anchor her here anymore; he had her attention.
"I didn't say that…" he said calmly, placing his cool tennis mask over his face.
"But you were thinking it." She said, her voice low and dangerous, daring him to deny it. He backed off a bit from her tone. The dying rabbit attacked and landed a hit, the cat recoiled.
"I'm just saying, I've never seen you two together…" Before Sakuno could tear apart his argument with 'I've never seen you talking with any of your many girlfriends in school, but I don't call you a dirty, rotten liar.'; Isumi, the man of the hour, the reason for she and Ryoma's current threatening stances; decided to drop by and say 'hi' to his date for the night.
"Ah, Sakuno-Chan! I've been looking for you; I wanted to know what time I should pick you up tonight." She was thankful for his impeccable timing and shot the perturbed looking Ryoma a triumphant smirk before saying "Anytime after six is fine with me Isumi-kun."
The cat is distracted and the rabbit gains a chance of escape.
"Okay, six-thirty is fine with me if you don't mind…" Isumi replied while eyeing her in a way that she felt extremely uncomfortable with, but thought that it was best not to call him out on it, so she could preserve the 'happy couple' look to beat Ryoma.
"Hey Isumo-Chan," Ryoma cut in suddenly, acting like his old friend, when he wasn't even getting his name right. "What would you say to a double date?"
The rabbit realizes too late it's a trap and tries to turn in the other direction to escape the cat's claws.
"It's Isumi." He replied coldly, and Sakuno thought, for the first time, that this relationship might work out.
The rabbit is able to dodge the claws but doesn't notice the cat crouching for another pounce.
"Of course it is. Forgive me. But think about it, a double date; you, me, the lovely Sakuno-Chan," he turned and gave her a quick wink. "And my date, Miss Yumi Aio."
The cat pounced and delivered the killing blow.
Isumi's eyes widened and he looked interested. "You…and Yumi?"
Sakuno could only watch, like an almost-dead rabbit, as her hope for escape drained away like life's blood.
Isumi, who she was decidedly dumping after this date, suddenly nodded his head in agreement. "Sure, I guess we could double tonight. Where do you wanna meet?"
So they continued to discuss tonight's plans, and while Ryoma kept his eyes on Isumi and seemed to be talking to him; she felt the catty grin on his victorious visage was meant for her.
When he had prevailed with this come-from-behind victory, Ryoma; it seemed, couldn't help but rub Sakuno's nose in it. Even after he got his way; won this double date, which he knew would be miserable for her. After they had practically made all of the plans for tonight, without asking her; when she was standing right next to them. Even when he knew that he had successfully turned her date against her, and that she couldn't back out of it without lying badly or just looking like a total bitch. As if knowing all of that wasn't enough; after plans were secured for the night, he turned to her; almost as an after-thought and had to nerve to say, "That's okay with you, right Sakuno-Chan?" For the first time in her life she wanted to punch him, preferably break his nose, good looks be-damned.
She had to take a deep breath, count to ten and beg for the patience of the gods.
"Sure, Ryoma-kun should be fun…" She said and tried not to look like the end of the world was coming. She apparently satisfied him because he smirked, turned back to Isumi, and continued to talk about the restaurant they were going to tonight.
Horio shot her a sympathetic look, which she responded to with a brave, hopeless sort of smile.
Yumi was pretty that was for sure, Sakuno could barely keep her eyes off her; her poor small minded date didn't have a chance. Though in her defense, she was sitting across from Yumi and was an indirect line of sight; Isumi was staring rather rudely, in her opinion, at Yumi from his position between her and Sakuno at the table they were sitting at. Contrastingly, Ryoma hardly paid any attention to his date; which really pissed-off Sakuno. If this example of perfection in the female form wasn't good enough for the pampered prince, what was?
But for what Yumi had in looks, she lacked in brains indefinitely. Yumi didn't seem to really notice the stares or lack of, because she was so concentrated on her food. She had ordered a seemingly simple dish- spaghetti; but Yumi had refused to use the given fork, claiming that she wasn't used to them and preferred chopsticks. So the seemingly simple dish turned into a test of Sakuno's patience.
Yumi would take a single strand between her chopsticks and, like a child, slurp that single strand until the end. Before grabbing another strand and starting the whole ordeal over again; Sakuno was nearly at her wits-end. Each slurp of the pasta was a graying of her hair, she was sure of it.
So Sakuno stabbed viciously at her House salad as Yumi slurped, Isumi stared, and Ryoma ignored them both and attempted to engage her in conversation. She listened and answered him half-heartedly, her attention focused on the statuesque figure that was ageing her prematurely.
She watched as Yumi slurped yet another strand of spaghetti and tomato sauce splattered all over her chin, nose, previously white shirt and her massive breasts. Massive was not an exaggeration either, Sakuno estimated her bra size was the same as her grade average, 'F plus'.
She saw, in the corner of her eye, her date actually letting a bit of drool slide out of his mouth before quickly wiping it away. That really drove her over the edge, she was raised by her grandmother who was very strict when it came to manners; but to have her date for the evening actually drooling while rudely and blatantly staring at someone else's date was just ridiculous! Something had to be done.
So she sat up quickly and said sharply "Yumi!" The girl in question jumped in surprise and dropped the noodle she was directing toward her mouth, which fell with a plop and splattered more sauce onto her shirt.
Their two male companions were also surprised by her outburst. Isumi, startled from his daze, dropped his own chopsticks onto his plate with a loud clatter. Ryoma, who had paused in his almost one-sided conversation with Sakuno to take a drink from his soda; gasped, choked, and started coughing and pounding on his chest. A waiter who happened to be passing by slapped his back a few times before Ryoma's breathing evened and advised him to drink more carefully.
"Uh, yeah?" Yumi said, getting over her shock. Sakuno chose to ignore Ryoma's death glare before continuing.
"Let me teach you how to properly use a fork." She then took her salad fork and balanced it in her hand in a delicate manner, to correctly demonstrate the way it's supposed to be held.
"No, I'm okay with my chopsticks." She said flashing Sakuno her pearly whites and flipping her shoulder length black hair behind her ear.
"But you can only eat one noodle at a time; a fork is more efficient." Sakuno insisted.
"Uhm…What's 'if-ish-ant' mean?" She said, once again displaying her childish learning level.
Sakuno replied, unabashed. "It means easier and faster."
"Which one?" Yumi said her eyes wide with confusion. Sakuno saw Ryoma roll his eyes at her response and she wanted to laugh.
'At least I'm not the only one who notices her words before her body.' she thought
Sakuno grabbed Yumi's previously unused fork and placed it in her hands. "Just try it." She persisted "I promise you can stop if it's too hard." Yumi immediately looked insulted.
"Too hard? Puh-lease! I wasn't born yesterday; I know how to use a fork." She then fisted the fork and stabbed continuously at her spaghetti, succeeding only in cutting it into tiny pieces.
She looked up at Sakuno with her bright eyes wide and looking close to tears. "It won't stay on the fork…Help me Saku-chan?" She practically whimpered.
Sakuno sighed and was about to help her when she heard her date voice his opinion for the first time.
"Yeah, help her Sakuno-Chan…" She looked over at Isumi and saw a huge and creepy grin on his face as he looked back and forth between the girls as if encouraging them to start making-out.
She glared at him and was about to tell him off when Ryoma beat her to the punch. "Isumo-chan, stop acting like a freak and finish your food so we can head over to the karaoke bar." Isumi glared at him but obeyed anyway and finished his meal quietly.
Sakuno did help her, for she could not ignore a cry for help, and she cut the rest of Yumi's spaghetti up into small pieces for her and asked the waiter for a spoon. This way Yumi could eat without making a mess and without infuriating Sakuno any more than necessary.
"Thanks Saku-chan; I'll remember this way for next time okay? That way I can eat more…what was that word you said...Oh yeah 'ifishant', which means faster and easier; not just one, but both of them." She turned to Ryoma "'Member that, okay Ryo-kun?"
He snorted with laughter. "Of course, but we'll have to practice with the fork until then so you can show off to Saku-chan." Yumi's eyes hardened with determination.
"Yeah, I'll show you Saku-chan; I'm really good with a fork and next time you'll see. I was just having a bad fork day today." She said excitedly.
Sakuno laughed good-naturedly but was holding back a grimace. Yeah, next time. Sure.
There wouldn't be a next time, at least not for Isumi. And with Ryoma's normal dating record there wouldn't be for Ryoma either- he'd be off with some other girl. Yumi was exceedingly pretty and a sweet person at heart, so there'd be plenty of other guys for her.
As for Sakuno…well she was thinking of celibacy at the moment…yeah she could be a nun…or a priestess…with the way her dating record was going she was sure she wouldn't be missing out on much.
They managed to finish their meal without further mishap and then headed over to a karaoke bar that was pretty high class for a first date in Sakuno's opinion. But Ryoma picked it out, so she figured it was just another way to show off.
As soon as they entered, her senses were assaulted by the smell of sweat and stale perfume in the air while her ears were attacked by a heavy base and off-key singing. She scanned the main room though she had to shield her eyes from the bright lights coming from the Dj's control room. It was a rather large room filled with people of all ages, the majority were teenagers because it was such a hot date spot, but she saw older couples and families with young children sitting at tables as well. The second thing she noticed was, of course, the dance floor smack-dab in the middle of the room and all of the teen couples on it; the majority of which were grinding rather intimately.
Looking at some of them she almost felt like she was peeping at some private moment. Oh, great, if Ryoma and Yumi were going to start doing that in front of her she wouldn't be able to watch. Her stomach turned into sickeningly tight knots thinking about it. Before they even found a table her nightmare was brought to life.
"Ohhh Ryo-kun; I love this song, I wanna dance!" Yumi said excitedly while clapping her hands together and bouncing on her toes. Sakuno felt her heart stop.
"Nah; I'm still digesting. You can go ahead and start though." And like a jolt to the chest, her heart was started again.
"Okay," Yumi replied barely listening. "More dance floor for me!" And she ran out into the middle and started bopping along with the music. She looked slightly awkward as she was one of the only ones without a partner, but one glance at her face and you could tell she was having the time of her life.
This was unbelievable; she had to make sure she wasn't hearing things. "You…You don't want to dance?" She asked tentatively.
He shrugged. "Maybe later; right now my stomach still hurts from choking earlier." He replied before giving her a very unnecessary, in her opinion, pointed look.
The image of them dancing came to mind again and her chest tightened once more. Ryoma give-eth and then he take-eth away.
"…'Kay…" She said not even having the heart to conceal her depressed tone. Ryoma shot her a confused look mixed with something she couldn't quite place--not mocking; more insistent.
Isumi wasn't even paying attention to their little exchange and was instead focused on the fourth of their party, the one that was bopping her heart out on the dance floor. Certain areas of her body bopping along with her just a second behind; she had a feeling it was these certain areas that caught Isumi's attention in the first place.
They found a table in the corner that was half booth and got settled, that's when she noticed that Isumi wasn't the only guy who took notice of Yumi's off-time bopping areas; she had captured the attention of most of the guys in the room. Even the ones who were draped with their own dates on the dance floor couldn't keep their eyes off her. Well it wasn't as if she was discouraging stares in her little sleeveless blue dress that started too late and ended too soon. Sakuno pulled her shrug tighter around herself in a subconscious attempt to prevent comparisons between her and the divinely proportioned figure bopping along on the dance floor. The tennis prince, once again, found nothing more fascinating than the area around him and talking with Sakuno. She didn't get it; her date was staring at his date, why wouldn't Ryoma even dignify her with a glance. Was he embarrassed? He shouldn't be; she knew for a fact that he was at least acquainted with the female body. He always bragged about how far he went with his dates, the thought of which turned her cheeks red and made her heart clench tightly.
She knew she was being a little rude for her lack of attention to Ryoma's half forced conversation between them. He had to repeat himself multiple times and almost demand answers or comments to keep her attention. But she couldn't help it… or she didn't want to; she was more than a little cross with him for the way the evening turned out. She was betting he picked out the damn Karaoke bar knowing it was more of a dance club just so he could grind up to Yumi.
Ryoma temporarily surrendered to Sakuno's silence and went to buy a Ponta from the vending machines; that's when Isumi took his chance and slid his chair closer to Sakuno's seat on the bench.
"Hey Sakuno-Chan, wanna dance? We can't let Yumi have all the fun can we?" He asked; an excited, but a suspicious smile spread on his features.
In that instant she felt like a psychic because she could suddenly just tell what he was thinking. She could practically hear every thought going through his head. It sounded something along the lines of… 'I want to dance with Yumi but I can't just dump Sakuno now, not when a three-way is within reach. So I ask her to dance with me, get close to Yumi, get them to make nice to each other, and if I'm lucky we get out of here to my brother's car before Echizen even knows what hit him.'
She thought she'd snatch away his three-way idea before he got too attached to it. "No thank you; I don't want to get all sweaty." She watched as his face visibly fell.
"Are you sure; Yumi looks a little lonely…" he said; still trying, Sakuno assumed, to get his three-way.
"Well, you go keep her company. It's okay, I don't mind." She said dismissively. He finally got the hint and slunk off to the dance floor to claim the second best prize: Yumi.
Sakuno didn't mind in the slightest, she was going to dump him after this date anyways. But telling him to dance with Yumi was also inadvertently solving another of her problems. The other half of which came marching back from the vending machines; Ponta in hand, he sat himself down on the bench next to her. If Isumi was keeping Yumi busy, then maybe they could prevent the couple from getting on the dance floor together.
"Where'd Isumo go?" Ryoma asked in a bored tone, probably not even expecting an answer.
She gracefully decided to give him her full attention. "He decided he wanted to try his skills on the dance floor--I really didn't feel like getting all sweaty so…" She trailed off hoping he would continue or fill in the blanks himself.
He did, in a less than pleasing way. "You know with that attitude you'll never get better at tennis." He said sternly.
She just rolled her eyes, now happy to direct his attention on her rather than on the bopping figure on the floor.
"Please, this has nothing to do with tennis! I just bought this dress; I'm not going out there and getting sweat and who-the-heck knows what else on it."
"Huh, I thought that was a new one." He observed. Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned a rosy pink color. He noticed she had a new dress? She had to give her head a mental smack and force herself not to get all romantic.
To keep herself and Ryoma in check she responded with sarcasm.
"Oh really? So you have my wardrobe memorized now? Aww I didn't know you cared."
He countered in kind. "Well we've known each other for how many years now? I'd like to think that I know about everything in your closet." He delivered with a smirk. Her cheeks darkened again and she prayed that the lighting in the room would hide her red visage.
She forced herself to trudge on with the conversation. "W-What's with this sudden knowledge of my wardrobe Ryoma-kun? Perhaps you would like to try on my clothes for yourself? Personally, I thought you needed a new look." She said hoping he didn't hear her stutter.
She noticed for the first time how close they were really sitting to each other as he leaned in even closer and breathed in her ear. "Sure, I'll try your clothes on; if you let me take them off you."
She thought her heart would explode for its pounding. She looked up at him, her face beet-red and getting redder when she noticed that their lips were inches apart; their noses were practically touching. Her mind went blank and rushed with thoughts at the same time. Did he really just say that? Did he mean it? He had never talked to her like that before. He was so close.
"Wah?" was all she managed to make her mouth say before the strange trance she was in was broken by laughter.
The laughter of the prince of tennis to be precise. "Wahahahah Oh my god, you-you should see your face!! Bwahahahahah it's friggin' amazing! I didn't think you'd believe me, but that face was fantastic! I've never seen you get so re~d!"
Her face went from flushed with pleasure and romance to fiery red with anger in seconds. She immediately shoved him away from her; finding strength enough to even surprise herself as she shoved the laughing youth off the bench and onto the ground. Ryoma yelped when he hit the ground but his laughter barely slowed. After a minute or two he caught his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes and apologized. "Sorry, sorry; it just was too easy and you know how fun it is to make you blush?"
Sakuno didn't know or care, she pushed past him and charged toward the lady's bathroom wiping angry tears from her eyes as she went. Ryoma leapt up and grabbed her wrist and tried to turn her toward him but she stubbornly faced the other way.
"Wait," He said, still not totally able to get the laughter out of his voice "I'm sorry, that was stupid, don't be mad."
"I'm not mad!" She snapped unconvincingly.
"You sound mad…" he said, sounding serious for the first time.
"Well I'm not; I just have to go to the bathroom! Now let go of me!" She snarled and snatched her hand out of his grasp. She then turned and ran to the bathroom letting the tears fall freely and not caring who saw as long as it wasn't Ryoma Echizen.
If she would have looked back at him she might have seen him run a frustrated hand through his hair and cuss violently.
She didn't know how long she was locked up in that bathroom, but when she came out Ryoma was waiting outside and leaning by the door with a can of Ponta as a token of apology. She took it with a small forgiving smile.
"Sorry, I was acting like an idiot…" He said and truly looked sorry.
"No it was me," She said and took a swig from the can and licked her lips. "I was being too sensitive; I was just annoyed that you noticed my new dress when my date didn't even notice I was wearing clothes."
Ryoma had that odd look on his face again and he ran his hands through his hair roughly and looked away before replying.
"Did…you want me to teach him a lesson…for next time?" He said through gritted teeth, not looking her in the eye.
What was he so mad about? She looked at him quizzically and considered his words and her own before replying.
"Well," she started carefully "There isn't going to be a next time for Isumi."
She certainly didn't expect him to react the way he did. His eyes widened and he took a quick step toward her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Seriously?" He asked with a matching tone, now looking straight into her eyes.
"Uh yeah" She sputtered still recovering from surprise. "I don't know if you could tell but he's a jerk-off and he's more interested in Yumi's bust line than me." She said with a dark look, daring Ryoma to suggest otherwise.
Once again his reaction surprised her. He laughed a couple times, loud and heartily; she flushed with embarrassment and was about to shove him away when he laid his forehead on her shoulder and sighed.
"Ah Thank God; I was worried I would have to lie to you for that jackass." He said relief flooding his voice.
"Wh-what do you mean?" She said with a blush and a stutter, mentally berating herself for it afterwards.
He lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her carefully before continuing "Well that asshole split with Yumi and if you really liked him then I sure as hell wasn't gonna tell you."
"What?! Oooh next time I see him I'm gonna sock him one; he was my ride!" She yelled turning her embarrassment into justified anger. He started laughing again and buried his head in the crook of her neck to muffle his laughter. The heat from his breath on her neck and his larger form shaking her with his hilarity gave her goose-bumps.
She needed to say something before he noticed. "Well I'm glad you told me, but I would have been glad you told me either way; whether I liked him or not." She prattled off not needed or expecting an answer. In response, he lifted his head from her shoulder to her relief and chagrin.
"Well I prefer he tells you and breaks your heart instead of me." He replied, defiance clear in his voice.
She stuck out her lower lip in a playful pout. "I would think you were used to breaking girl's hearts by now; you do it on a daily basis you know. Speaking of which, what about you and Yumi; aren't you mad?"
"Nah," he scoffed "I've gone out with her on three different occasions and during all three we've both hooked up with other people by the end of the night."
"What if she didn't want to be with him, should we try to find them?" She said her voice thick with worry.
Ryoma snorted, "Does she look like the type that's gonna say 'no'?"
"Well no….Why do you keep going out with girls like that when you know it won't go anywhere?"
A smirk spread across his face and he grabbed the forgotten Ponta can from her hands and took a swig. "Why do you ask?" He asked cockily while licking his lips "You jealous?"
Her eyes widened with surprise and then narrowed at his nerve. She shrugged off the remaining hand on her shoulder and grabbed the can back from him before chug-a-lugging the rest.
"Never." She said and pushed past him, tossing the can in the recycling bin as she passed it.
"Ah come on; you must be at least a little jealous." He insisted, falling in stride along side her.
"Sure I am a little." She said stubbornly "Everyone wishes they had people tripping over their tongues whenever they walk by at some point in their lives don't they?"
"I don't mean of me." He glared as he and she both plopped themselves down next to each other on their bench from earlier. "I mean of the girls I go out with."
"Why should I be jealous of them? If this is a jibe at my looks I don't really give a-"
"No it isn't and you'd be jealous of them because you want to go out with me." He said with a slight urgency to his voice.
"Why do you care so much if I'm jealous or not?" She snapped, embarrassed and hurt by the truth in his words.
"Because I'm really gonna feel like a jackass if I worked hard for months to make you jealous when you never were!" He snarled.
They both froze after he said this.
Sakuno was shocked; did he really just say that? He wanted to make her jealous? This would certainly explain a lot of things. But no, he had never shown any interest in her before. Augh this was like tennis lessons all over again; why can't he just say what he means?!
Ryoma remained silent and he had his tennis mask on; he refused to look her in the eyes and instead chose to stare blankly down at the dance floor. He didn't try to escape, though he looked like he really wanted to; he just sat stiffly, still as a statue.
"Well..." She began cautiously, not entirely trusting her voice. Her heart pounded with excitement despite her slight frustration with him. "You should still feel like a jackass because you acted like one." He turned slowly and looked at her with confusion bright in his eyes.
"But…?" he prompted. His mask started falling from his face as he slowly put two and two together.
"But I suppose I'll have to forgive you; since you only wanted to get my attention. You're like that cat who brings home dead birds just to get a belly-scratching." She finished with a huge grin adorning her face, which was flushed with pleasure.
"Does this mean that you'll go out with me?" He asked with a victorious grin, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, it does." She said and she felt like she was floating, she had never been happier.
Ryoma wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him; he then leaned toward her until he was just a breath away. "You know that means I get to kiss you whenever I want right; and I'm not making that up, this is a standard in boyfriend-girlfriend contracts." He said playfully.
She laughed and replied "Whatever as long as I don't have to scratch your belly."
He stuck out his lower lip in a pout and said "We'll work out the details in the contract later, but I'm not making any promises on that belly thing."
And then he pressed his lips against hers and she swore she didn't need anything else in the world. Nothing else mattered. They eventually had to part for air of course and Sakuno was pleased to find that Ryoma looked just as contentedly dazed as she did.
"That wasn't your first kiss was it?" Those were the first words out of his mouth, post-kiss.
Sakuno eyes widened and then she groaned and grimaced. "Oh you just had to remind me of my first kiss, didn't you?"
"Why what happened?" He asked uneasily.
"It was when Horio and I were going out; ugh that was the most awkward relationship in history!" She groaned again and barely noticed when Ryoma's grip around her waist tightened.
"I don't wanna talk about you and other guys…" he said sulkily.
She giggled "Well you brought it up in the first place; and to think you were worried about me being jealous? What about you?" She teased
"That's the reason why I wanted to make you jealous, so I wasn't the only one. You know; misery loves company and all that." He said and nuzzled her hair.
Sakuno blushed at his attentions before whispering in his ear. "It wasn't my first kiss, but it was much better; trust me." He chuckled and captured her lips again. The rest of that night was filled with talking and laughing and more kisses for them. And Sakuno had never been so happy in her life and was never so glad that her date had left with another woman.
That was the beginning of their relationship, which was filled with lots of smiles and laughter. And there were other firsts together besides kissing. She still blushed at the thought. But she was so happy she hardly knew what to do with herself. The best part was that Ryoma was just as happy to be with her as she was with him. They were together for the rest of their three years in high school and Sakuno couldn't recall ever enjoying school so much.
She didn't think things would ever change, she thought her happily ever after would be just that; forever after.
--
Sakuno shifted uncomfortably on the unfamiliar mattress and pushed at the heavy blankets she was stuck with.
Momo stirred slightly next to her. She froze and prayed he wouldn't wake for the third time.
Someone somewhere took pity on her; he just adjusted the arm around her waist and mumbled something before nuzzling back into his pillow and falling silent again. She sighed in relief and adjusted herself in his arms so they were no longer pressed together so intimately.
She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight that's for sure.
She listened and heard Eiji stirring in the kitchen down the hall. He was there just as a precaution; Momo was emotionally unstable at this point, everyone had insisted. Though she trusted Momo with her life and much more, the thought of spending the night in another man's apartment was a little uncomfortable for her. Besides if Eiji wasn't there to distract him, she wouldn't have gotten the chance to shower and change from her bride's maids dress into her more comfortable sweats.
Momo could scarcely leave her side at this point and the psychologist they had called on the phone had said that it would be inadvisable to leave him for the first few weeks. She grimaced at the thought.
A few weeks of this?
She looked at the clock; three a.m., great. Momo would wake up at frequent intervals from bad dreams and need to be comforted. That's why she was here… in his bed… with him. She would rather be in her own house, but that same psychologist had said that he should be surrounded by familiar and comforting things.
Moose stretched and grunted at the end on the bed where he lay, as oblivious to the world as Momo. Well at least she had him here to comfort her; that dog did wonders to her stress levels. It was usually stressful to own a dog bigger than you, but knowing that he was there and would protect her from harm calmed her immediately.
She sat up gently, careful not to disturb either of her bedmates, and reached for the TV remote control.
She took a deep breath and prayed the volume wasn't loud, poised her finger over the mute button just in case, and then pushed the power button. It thankfully wasn't that loud, but she still muted it right away just in case. Neither of her larger companions stirred and she relaxed and started to channel surf a little. Let's see if there are any decent re-runs on at three a.m.
She happened upon the sports channel, paused, and checked the results running on the bottom of the screen out of habit. She looked at the actual video running and was shocked to see an image of Ryoma Echizen in a post-game interview, pre-recorded from earlier. She jumped and dropped the remote under the blankets; she quickly scrambled around to find it.
When she did, she immediately turned to the next channel and refused to change it for fear of seeing his face again. So she was stuck watching some old documentary on jellyfish.
If there was a choice between watching Ryoma's fantastic celebrity life in America and obscure facts about jellyfish…
…she'd take the jellyfish every time.