The Art of Flirting Chapter 9: Tezuka and Conclusions

A/N: Okay, so not a lot of people liked the last chapter. A lot of you said it didn't feel Ryosaku. I hope you all enjoy this chapter because it IS very Ryosaku. Tezuka makes his appearance too. Next chapter is the final chapter. I'll probably have it out sooner (you all have my word!)


I woke up, saw the waves splash onto the shore, and felt better than I had this past week. As I continued to lay on my side, I felt as if all the stress that the flirting gave me was suddenly washed away. My body was purely relaxed, and my head was laying on something soft. It took me a moment to realize the softness was not sand. I turned over. Tezuka-senpai's face looked down at me.

"Oh!" I screamed out of surprise. I jumped out of his lap and into the sand. "H-how…" The shock of the situation made me unable to ask a simple, 'How did I get on your lap?'

Tezuka-senpai cleared his throat and said, "We have a lot to talk about." I suddenly felt uneasy. Did he know about my flirting? Did Tezuka-senpai know what Ryoma-kun called me? The memory of my crush calling me that despicable word… I did not know whether to be mad at him or myself. I knew Ryoma-kun was just feeling hurt, but he did not have to call me that… that… degrading name. I felt myself about to cry again. Tezuka-senpai broke my thoughts by saying, "Come here."

I was flabbergasted. I followed his command. I sat in his lap again, and he put his hands around my waist. Was Tezuka-senpai….trying to flirt? He blew on the back of my neck, and I felt all the hairs there stand up. I trembled; my heart pounded. I did not want this anymore. All I wanted was Ryoma-kun. I did not want any of the sempai-tachi. I just wanted Ryoma-kun. "Stop!" I wailed, and, for a second time in five minutes, I flew out of his lap. I was surprised to see a smile on his face.

"It's alright. I did not want to flirt with you anyway." I gasped. "What I am here to do is talk."

Talk? What could Tezuka-senpai want to say to me? With my heart still pounding, I voiced my thoughts. He smiled again and said, "Eiji told everyone about your plan."

I sat there dumbfounded. "A-are you serious?" I whispered. When I was flirting with the senpai-tachi, they only flirted back because Eiji told them to. I never felt so stupid in my entire life. Was this worth losing Ryoma-kun? My heart and head both agreed on the answer: no.

"I am very serious. What you have been doing has been ridiculous, but your senpais have not been setting a good example either. What made you do this?" Under Tezuka-senpai's disappointed glare, I felt lousy. I told him the whole story. I started with Nationals, went to Tomoka's plan, talked about Eiji-senpai agreeing to help me, and ended with what happened yesterday. As I was telling Tezuka-senpai the story, guilt and stress seemed to disappear. All the fears and insecurities I had were being voiced. I was as peaceful as I was when I woke up.

"You did not have to do much to make Echizen jealous." I heard those words before. I usually did not believe them. However, when Tezuka-senpai said it, those words were significant. If someone who knew Ryoma-kun so well could say those words, then they must be true. Did Ryoma-kun like me?

"I feel so stupid." I muttered; crying seemed possible at any moment. "I-I made a fool out of me. I-I made a fool out of the whole tennis team. I should not have listened to Tomo-chan. It's-it's just he was so mean to me. I-I was feeling so underappreciated." Tears were falling down my cheeks at the realization of why I really did it. Sure, knowing if Ryoma-kun liked me or not was a great thing, but I really was feeling underappreciated. I had forgotten my main reason as this week passed. "I-I made h-him lunches. I-I went to practically every match. I-I g-gave all I could to h-him. My all is not worth any-anything to h-him!" I was fully sobbing now. Through my blurred vision, I saw Tezuka-senpai contemplating what I said.

He opened his mouth to speak. "You should know as well as I know that Echizen is not good with showing his emotions." He waited for me to calm myself down before he continued. "To most girls he shows nothing but disdain and impatience. However, it is different for you. He eats your bentos. He listens to your cheers above anyone else's. He is willing to give you the time of day. For Echizen, he is showing affection. Of course, any other person would think he's being mean. Echizen is not like everyone else, so the way he shows caring is different. Sakuno, do not think you are worth nothing to him. You are probably the other girl besides his mom and cousin that he cares for."

Although Tezuka-senpai's speech meant to cheer me up, it made me cry harder. Only this time, they were tears of happiness. He really did like me. I really did mean something to him. I was not just 'that girl with long braids' or 'the girl who gives me food'. He saw me as Sakuno, his friend, his supporter. Then it hit me that he would never talk to me again. "I really messed up." I laughed, and in combination with my tears, the noise sounded like a snort. "I really, really screwed up!" The idea that I tried so hard for nothing and ended up losing what I wanted was so ironic. I thought I never had him, but it turns out I did.

Tezuka-senpai said quietly, "You can fix this." I looked up in surprise. My eyes were wide with anticipation. I could get Ryoma-kun back… "Go to him. Tell him your story. Apologize." I shook my head.

"It'll never work. He does not want me back. He hates me. He thinks I'm a…"

"It will not work if you think like that." He said forcefully, cutting me off. I sat in silence. Tezuka-senpai was right. At a time like this, I could not be negative. A new surge of optimism ran through my body.

"You're right! I'm going to him right now!" I disregarded the fact it was past curfew, and, if I did get caught, I would be in huge trouble. None of that mattered. Before I left, I gave my senpai a hug. "Thank you. I cannot express how much I mean that."

As I was running up the beach to go find Ryoma-kun's cabin, he shouted, "Don't let your guard down!" I laughed. I continued to run. My hair was a mess, tangled and frizzy, and my eyes were bloodshot and my cheeks were red from crying. It occurred to me that I could care less. Ryoma-kun, I told myself, Ryoma-kun was the only one who mattered.

I reached the main camp. I ventured to Cabin 5 where I knew from Tomo-chan was Ryoma-kun's cabin. I went around to the back door where, to my luck, a group of four boys were leaving the cabin. They kept the door open for me, and I whispered my thanks. They were probably sneaking out to see girls. I was not much better than them; I was sneaking in to see a boy. I successfully got into the cabin's bathroom, and I used the door blocker to keep the door slightly open for the group.

The cabin has a bathroom in the back, where I am now, that had four stalls and one huge communal shower. The floor was tile, and I walked slowly incase it was wet. I opened the door which led to the main section of the cabin: the beds. There was another door at the end of the rectangular room, and that door opened into a room where my enemies were sleeping: the counselors. I skulked around the room until I found what I was looking for: Ryoma's tennis bag. Hoping he had a bottom bunk, I crept slowly down the narrow space between the two bunk beds. I let out a relieved sigh when I saw Ryoma's black, almost green, hair.

I shook him gently. "Ryoma, Ryoma." I whispered. He mumbled something, but he did not open his eyes. "Ryoma!" I said a little bit louder. He opened one of his cat-like golden eyes.

He sat up suddenly, and he hit his head on the top of the bunk bed. He winced in pain, but he was still focused on me. "What are you doing here?"

I took a deep breath. This was the only chance I had… "I'm here to apologize. And explain. And I hope you let me. And I'm sorry. And…" I started babbling on, and I only stopped when I heard Ryoma laugh.

"Okay, explain it." I told him the same story I told Tezuka-senpai twenty minutes earlier. Only this time, it was easier to talk about the experience. This was probably because I had already let it all out. I finished the story. However, I excluded the reasons why I did it, and I had tried to pass it off as a dare by Tomoka-chan. I was too embarrassed to tell him the true reason, and it would have been exactly like a confession. I watched him take the information in, and I hoped he believed it.

"Even though it is something I would expect her to do, I really doubt it this time. What is the real reason?" How could he read me so easily?

I gulped. I feared telling him I liked him. Despite what Tezuka-senpai said, rejection was sure to occur. His golden eyes continued to stare at me. He really was expecting an honest answer. I could not lie to him again. I liked him too much to lie to him again.

"IdiditbecauseIwantedtomakeyoujealoussoyouwouldappreciatemebecauseIlikeyouandIdosomuchforyou." I said as fast and low as I could. I took a deep breath. His expression was merely confusion.

"Ryuzaki, it is eleven at night. Speak slower." I waited a few beats before saying my run-on sentence again. I turned blush red when he did not say anything. I knew this was going to happen.

"I get it." I said softly. "I understand if you do not like me. I would not like me either." I said with a dry laugh. "I actually do not like myself after what I have been doing… So, I guess I should go. Goodnight Ryoma-kun…" I tried to keep a smile plastered on my face, but it fell as I said goodnight. I knew I must have looked pathetic standing there with tears in my eyes and messy hair flying all over the place. I started to walk away; why should I continue to be humiliated?

"Don't go." He commanded. "I do not want you to go." A big, goofy smile was on my face.

"You don't?" I whispered, trying to contain my excitement.

"Are you deaf?" I giggled. I went back and sat on the edge of his bed. He moved over and patted the new open space. "Lay." My eyes bulged. Lay next to…Ryoma-kun? I was so happy. I complied, and, because the bed was only a single, our bodies were touching. My face felt hot.

"Ryuzaki, you are ridiculous." I blushed harder. "If you needed to know if I appreciated you, you could have asked." I felt a pang of disappointment. I thought he was going to say he liked me back. I felt stupid; my confession was not returned.

"Oh." I said sadly. "Well I know now, right?"

"Now might be too late." He said; his face turning serious. He turned over to face me, and I did the same.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I was afraid he was going to say he had a girlfriend, or that he was gay, or…

"I'm leaving for America tomorrow." My heart fell. This was worse than what I had imagined.

"No…no…you can't…" I pleaded. His facial expression did not change. He really was set on leaving. We laid in silence for a few minutes until Ryoma spoke.

"Ryuzaki, how do you feel about me leaving?" The question was weird. He said it not because he wanted my opinion but because he cared about how I would deal with him gone.

"I-I'm going to miss you, of course. And, I guess I will be lonely. And, I guess it makes me feel sad because I do not even get a day with you. And, it makes me feel stupid because instead of wasting time trying to make you jealous, I could have been with you…" I stopped my rambling when I realized what I said. 'Could have been with you', was I that stupid? Ryoma did not even say he liked me yet!

"You are with me, baka. You'll be with me when I leave too. I hope you'll be with me when I come back." My whole body filled with glee.

We repositioned ourselves, and, even though I had many questions ranging from 'Will you write me?' to 'When do I get to kiss you?' words weren't necessary to ask them. These questions were asked by my head on his chest, hands on his back, and our legs intertwined; they were answered by his face on the top of my head, his hands wiping the remnants of the tears I had shed today, and his knees on my thighs. We stayed like this in our physical conversation until Ryoma said, "Ryuzaki."

"Sakuno." I corrected.

"Sakuno," He said slowly, as if devouring every syllable, "You should go back." I knew I should too. I got up, but he tugged my hand. A few moments later, I slipped out of the cabin, took a short walk, and entered mine. I changed into pajamas. I happily went into my bottom bunk, remembering the kiss I received from a boy in a similar bed three cabins over.


A/N: The last chapter is the epilogue! Was this chapter Ryosaku enough? I tried keeping Ryoma in character; it's pretty hard during a love scene… Review please!