Chapter 2: Without Her Smile
A/N: Minna-san, sorry for the wait here's the next chapter… read and review onegai...
"Look, look it's Ryoma-sama!!!" a group of girls appeared out of nowhere and started to giggle and stare at the Seigaku player. The shadow cast by the rim of her cap hid her eyes as she tore her gaze away from her past and into the present.
This was the first time he hated being so famous. Right then and there, he wanted the fan girls to disappear with a snap of his fingers but reality doesn't offer that kind of convenience. Ryoma stood there rooted on his spot as he stared after her disappearing figure. Though he hates to admit it, but somehow he wanted to see her flushed cheeks and brilliant smile… before the fan girls ever entered the scene… right then and there… he wanted things to be back the way it used to be.
Each step was like walking on thin ice. If she was not careful, the ice could crack and she would end up falling… again. Sakuno pulled down her baseball cap to hide her eyes as she approached her team.
The crowd was wild! Her schoolmates were jumping and shouting here and there. Obviously, Ryuugan won… without a single game lost. " After Mori University, we're up with Seigaku next eh?" she heard one of her sempai said out loud. "No big deal… I mean… they all look like cheerleaders only instead of holding pom-poms they decided to use a tennis racket." All the sempais laugh a loud but as soon as one coughed at the sight of Sakuno they all glared at her as if she was a prime suspect.
"Oh that's right you came from that school didn't you?" the older tennis player with long black hair tilted her head as her words reeked with sarcasm. She bowed her head slightly gaining giggles from the team. "Watch us squish them like the shit they are," her sempai whispered to her ear then walked away together with the rest of the team.
As soon as they were out of sight, Sakuno looked at the direction they walked of to as a smirk formed on her lips as she said "I would love to see you try," then she grabbed her things and ran off to a different direction.
"Why do you have to come along? I can handle it myself," a man with brushed up hair entered a convenient store together with a man wearing a bandana. "Senpai Oishi thinks you might end up buying snacks instead of drinks so I had to keep an eye on you," his companion retaliated. "What did you say?!" "Wanna fight?! HISSSSS!!," they began arguing then "Are… sempai…" a female voice said from the counter. The two immediately stopped bickering and looked at the girl. "Sa-Sakuno," they said together.
"Oh so you work here huh," Momoshiro placed their groceries on the counter to pay. "What's wrong?" Kaidoh inquired as she saw how she looked at their groceries. "Might I suggest you guys to buy a can of Ponta," she recommended out of the blue. "Huh? Oh that's right Ryoma did say something about him not drinking beer," the mention on his name was like a splash of cold water in her face. What the heck am I doing?! She scolded herself mentally. "As expected of Sakuno… you know Ryoma best…" "It's… nothing like that…" her tone became distant as she began bagging their groceries.
"What was that about?" he looked at his snake-eyed friend. "How should I know?" Kaidoh was as clueless as Momoshiro.
"What took you guys so long?" Eiji popped a sushi in his mouth as he asked. "Gomen, gomen we just talked for Sakuno for a while," Momoshiro explained as he sat on the tatami mat. "Sakuno?" Oishi inquired. Nobody noticed how a certain player with amber eyes stopped eating and listened closely. "She was at the convenient store… working," Kaidoh answered.
"NANI?!" the energetic acrobatic player stood up abruptly then approached Echizen. "What?" Ryoma looked at his sempai in confusion. In a blink, Eiji dragged Ryoma out of the restaurant with Momoshiro and Takashi at their tail.
"Where is she?" their sempai strained to look for Sakuno. "There the one with the baseball cap in the counter," the guy with brushed up hair pointed. "GO FOR IT RYOMA BABY!!!" the man holding a tennis racket shouted as Eiji and Momoshiro pushed Ryoma towards the counter.
Powerless to do anything, he was pushed to the counter where a girl wearing a baseball cap was standing with her back against him. "Ano…" he began, catching the girl's attention. "Yes, how may I help you?" the girl tuned around. "EH?!" Eiji, Momoshiro and Takashi exclaimed form afar as they saw a girl with blue eyes and black hair. "We're looking for Sakuno," the three marched up to the counter to ask. "Oh… she just left. You missed her by minutes," the girl politely replied.
"Failure…" the three muttered as they walked back to the restaurant. "It's not like I really wanted to see her," Ryoma put his hands behind his head in a carefree manner. "You can't lie to us. We've seen you… staring at the courtside every practice since she left and most of the time before your game you would touch that charm she gave you," one of his sempai said making him blush.
"But you know… she seems different…" Momoshiro took notice. "She was the one reminded us to buy a Ponta most likely for you but then when she heard your name it was as if she became a different person." He continued. Ryoma put his hands in his pockets then looked at the pavement. Was it something he did? or something did not?
The next day…
"Hey let's watch how Sakuno's school play," the girl with high pigtailed hair said to the Seigaku team. "I also need to get their data," the player with black framed glasses said as he scribbled something down. So off they went to watch the Ryuugan's game against Mori University.
"Look, look it's the Seigaku's dream team," the girl wearing the Ryuugan jersey and black baseball cap went rigid as her sempais gossiped about how cute they are. She sat on the bleachers as she began to write something in her notebook, paying no attention at all to her team mates' game.
"Not bad," Seigaku's assistant captain said as they watched the game. "They haven't lost a single game yet…" Inui browsed his notes as his glasses sparkled. "So Sakuno who's always on singles one hasn't played yet," the smiling genius' eyes slightly opened as he watched the girl on the bleachers.
His amber eyes never left the girl that was sitting on the bleachers, away from her team. She sat there writing as her teammates compete. Her chocolate eyes would once in a while glance at the court then roll up as if saying "God they're showing off again." His widened as he saw how her pen stopped when she heard one of her sempai shouted "Ryoma-sama!" In his cat-like vision, he saw how her grip on her pen tightened then she continued writing again.
As the tennis ball hit the opponent's court signaling a match, Sakuno snapped her notebook shut and left immediately as her team celebrated their victory. I can't stand being around them. Her steps quickened as she heard their cheerful voices…
"Chotto…" the voice of her sempai made her stop. "You're one of Seigaku's players right?" she looked to her distant right to find one of her sempai talking to a Seigaku player with high pig tails. Tomoko… "Yes, I'll be looking forward to our game," Tomoko politely greeted. "Eh? Look here bitch… I'm gonna take you down so hard you won't have any dignity to play again," the older player threatened her. "Those words mean nothing unless you can use it to hit the ball," as expected from Tomoko's untamed tongue.
Sakuno smirked as she heard their argument but at the same time she looked away. The sky looked clear almost close to perfect as if mocking her. Tomorrow they will be up against Seigaku…
A/N: Minna-san read and review onegaii…