Hi minna-san! It was sad too but in every story there is an end. So I have to end my Triangle Hearts soon. But I hope will stay with me until the very end. Please enjoy this chapter. ^_^

music4life1791 - thank you very much. Yeah I am aware of my mistakes, sorry about that. ;P I tried looking and reviewing my stories over and over again but I could still find some. Anyway thank you for bearing with me until the end. And for your stories with hime-chan, I'll read it on Friday. I've checked it but I don't have time so I'll have your story my priority on friday. Thank you very much. ^_^

DISCLAIMER: I do not own TeniPuri or POT or the Prince of Tennis. I just love to share.

Chapter 18: Decision

Chapter Summary: She made everything clear. Even though it's painful she had to face it. She thought that everything was fine already but why is he bugging her now…?

In an isolated area in the school premises where students rarely go, Sakuno talked to the tennis tensai while she stared at the ground;

"S-syuusuke-kun, Y-you see I," Sakuno started as she was becoming nervous once again. Fuji just looked at her waiting for her next words, "Y-you're very kind. It's not that hard to like you b-but-"

"Stop," Fuji interrupted. "I know what comes next."

Sakuno looked at him. The boy just stared at her and then he continued;

"It's alright, I understand now," Fuji said; his eyes softened as he looked away and continued, "No matter what I do, you'll never like me back. I've already realized that it's just… look at me; still having false hope that you could… even just a little."

"S-syuusuke-kun… I-I-"

"I've seen everything. Even the real thing between our match earlier," Fuji looked at her again."And through experience… I'll never be a match to him."

Sakuno felt pity for Fuji, he was definitely kind. Sakuno leaned closer to him causing the tennis tensai flinch. The girl was blushing when she blurted out her feelings, "I-I tried, Syuusuke-kun, I tried to like you. I did. I wanted to like you because I knew that you could make me happy. But with the state I was in today, I don't think it's possible. And… it didn't compare with the feelings that I have for him. No matter what I do, I couldn't bring myself to shift my attention to you or to someone else. It was always him." She looked down. The girl was trembling as she gripped both of his sleeves and continued;

"I don't care if he hurt me several times, I don't care if he didn't like me back, I don't care if he ignored me, sent me away or shouted at me, I… I'll always like him, e-even though I already said good bye to him." Her tears started to fall. "He-he will always be my… my number one."

The girl started to cry in his arms. Fuji felt envious to the young tennis prodigy. And he didn't hide it from her. He held her arms gently as he said his words, "He is so lucky to have you but he was so stupid to let you go. I envy the things that he has. I just hope that he'll notice that." …Before it's too late. He added in his thought.

"I-I'm very sorry… Syuusuke-kun but I-I can't like you… the way I like him," Sakuno looked at him and said. "I only like you… as a brother." Her tears flowed freely on her cheeks. She was really red that time because of her mixed emotions. Fuji wiped her tears and said;

"A brother huh… I guess that's not bad after all. I can be overprotective when boys come to you suddenly," Fuji was able to joke around with her. Sakuno smiled at that, "There I made you smile again." Fuji's face became serious he suddenly hugged her and said, "Let me tell you my feelings one more time."

Sakuno was shocked. She heard him whisper in her ear for several times, "I love you… I really love you, Sakuno. I love you so much." He tightened his hug to her. Sakuno just closed her eyes as she kept hearing his feelings towards her. She cried for him that time.

When he released her, she saw the sad look in his eyes. She touched his cheek as she said her words;

"Thank you… for loving me," she said as she leaned closer to him, "Syuusuke-kun." she kissed him on his cheek for a long period of time.

The tennis tensai was shocked at first but when he felt her warm lips on his cheek. He closed his eyes as he said something;

"I am officially cutting our ties… You're free now."

They released each other as if they had solved a big problem. Sakuno was relieved after that. Without saying a word she left the tennis tensai alone. As he watched the girl walking away from him, he realized something; he looked up above and whispered;

"…A brother… huh?" Good thing that no one was there. Because it would have been embarrassing if someone saw him cry.

After lunch:

"Ryoma, dear... "

Rinko knocked on his door three times before entering his room. She saw how depressed her son was when he arrived home despite the fact that he tried to hide it from her. But a mother's instinct wasn't like that. The boy sat up on his bed as she sat on the edge of it.

"Is it lunch already? You could have shouted downstairs." He feigned a yawn as if he was just got up from his sleep.

"It's already past lunch Ryoma, but that's not the reason why I'm here."

Ryoma looked at his mother curiously.

"I am your mother and I know a slight chance of what is happening to you these days."

"W-what do you know?" he looked away.

Rinko caught his chin and let him look straight at her, "We've been there, your father and I. We fought and had misunderstandings but we made up after exchanging a few words. If you can see a tiny chance grab it."

"K-kaa-san, what are you talking about?" Ryoma said as he shoved his mother's hand from his chin.

"You know what I'm talking about. I believe that I don't have to say it out loud for you to get it." She stared at her son for a while.

Ryoma didn't say anything but he realized that his mother had a point. That brought him into thoughts once again. His mother stood up, went to the door and said; "If there's a girl that you like, then fight for her."

Ryoma blushed at his mother's words. He grabbed his pillow and threw it towards the door as he said his words;

"W-who said that I like someone?" Ryoma retorted acting clueless. His mother went downstairs already as she wore a smile on her face.

Sunday 1pm:

He went to a public court which was rarely seen by goers. He somewhat avoided 'that' court that they used to practice at. He decided to play this time. But every time he threw the ball, their faces kept popping inside his head causing him to miss the ball. That snapped him. He raised his racket as he was about to throw it to the ground.

"You can't blame everything on the racket."

He looked at the person who said those words. He was a shocked to see Tezuka had entered the court carrying his racket.

"B-buchou." He bowed to his captain respectively. Tezuka walked closer to him. Ryoma was still looking down. Tezuka hit his head slightly with his racket on his head and said;

"I keep telling you this but you let your guard down anyway."

"Warui… " Ryoma said keeping his position still and continued, "For letting my guard down."

Tezuka put his racket away from his head, "What are you going to do now?"

"Shiranai… " He composed himself as he looked away. "They decided for themselves."

"You developed feelings for the girl… " Tezuka said without hesitation. He saw how his kouhai reacted at his words, "You're giving up now that they're going out… for real."

Ryoma gripped both of his hands as he stoically replied to him, "Wakattayo… " He looked to a different direction, "Ore no… make."

"BAKA!" Tezuka whacked him with his racket reallyhard this time.

"Itte! Tezuka-buchou, why did you do that?" Ryoma said as he rubbed his head, to think that he used his favorite racket to hit him.

"A tennis prodigy will never give up a fight as long as you can still see a tiny chance of winning. Have you forgotten that?"

Ryoma was a bit surprised at his captain's words. Is he cheering him up? It was definitely new for him to see his captain like this. But whatever the reason was, he should be thankful for him.

"Now, put your guard up again and don't let it down! I won't tolerate it again." Tezuka ordered him pointing his finger outside the court. "Run… 100 laps."

Ryoma was a bit confused but he followed him. "H-hai!" He started to run… nowhere. He thought about what his captain had said to him. He never expected him to be like that although the strictness could be sensed from his voice. Then he realized something;

He just kicked me out from the court. He thought as he smirked. Somehow he felt enlightened when he heard those few words from his captain.

Monday morning:

Fuji was practicing alone at the court that early morning. He was still adjusting from the break up, actually he was not that hurt unlike the time that they were not a couple yet. He looked up as he whispered something;

"I guess… accepting the break up… did lessen the pain." He smiled after that. "I can face Echizen and Sakuno-chan with no regrets after this."

He then noticed the young tennis prodigy entering the court. He pretended that he didn't see him enter the area and continued practicing. But he was the one who gave him a shock;

"Fuji-senpai… "

He looked at him with eyes widened. He had actually stiffened on his location. Ryoma showed a prickly look and retorted;

"What?"

Fuji composed himself as he shook his head, "Iie, it's just that… it's been a while since you called me that."

Ryoma was a bit shocked himself. Since when did he stop calling him his name? He couldn't remember. He closed his eyes and said, "Well it's your name and you are my senpai."

"You're right. Are you practicing?"

"I will later. I am here for a different reason and that's you." Ryoma bluntly said.

Fuji was a bit surprised. "Well, I think I know what you came here for."

Ryoma remained silent. In fact he let him say the 'magic words' that he was waiting for.

Fuji looked up to the sky again, "You'll be the first one to know this… " Ryoma was still staring at him as he continued to talk, "We officially broke up."

"W-what?!" Ryoma reacted. It was so sudden to him that he didn't hide his reaction. It wasn't actually the 'magic words' that he was expecting.

Fuji looked at him and he started to chuckle, "Really Echizen, you're so funny. That's why it's fun to tease you."

"What are you talking about? Are you kidding me?" He was able to keep his stoic face. Fuji walked near him.

"You heard me, its official. It isn't something to be joked about," he looked at his Kouhai meaningfully, "No matter what I did; I just couldn't capture her heart. I can't force her. If she'll be happy with the person she chooses then I will be happy too."

Ryoma tried to keep a stationary reaction. He hoped that he managed to do that. I thought that…

"There's just this one thing that I wonder about?" Fuji said.

"What is it?"

"Did she bid you goodbye?"

"What?"

"She said that yesterday to me. She said that she told you goodbye on your last talk."

Ryoma's eyes widened. He remembered her words from back then, "No… it was a misunderstanding."

"That's the reason why she didn't choose any of us. She knows that it'll be unfair for both of us. She can be so considerate sometimes, one of her characteristics that I like about her." Fuji explained.

Ryoma looked at him sternly.

"Hey! Hey! I am just telling what I see okay," he leaned closer to him. "As for the record, YOU haven't done anything yet."

Ryoma twitched. He turned away as he left the court, "I'm leaving."

Fuji caught another word, "She kissed me though for our parting time," Ryoma stopped halfway not looking at his senpai. Fuji smiled and smirked. He scored as he thought in his mind, "On the cheek."

Ryoma remained silent for a while but afterwards he looked to his shoulder and showed a slight smile to him, "You're wrong senpai," Fuji was his turned to wonder. "I already did something actually." Ryoma then continued to walk away.

Fuji was left shocked at his kouhai's words. When Ryoma was gone, he smiled to himself as he scratched the back of his head, "My score was taken back from me… huh."

Saturday: One week after the match:

There was three weeks left before his departure. Everyone was adjusting to themselves. Fuji was starting to move on. He asked Sakuno to call him 'Fuji-onii-chan' as he adopted what she suggested. The tense between them was somewhat converted to brother-sister relationship.

Ryoma was still acting stiff but no one could read his mind nor what was his plan. He kept saying 'just wait till I get it all done' words to them. Everyone was sighed and gave up in the end.

The girl was back to her old self, like nothing happened between them, like she didn't confess to a certain tennis prodigy. Because of that get up, she could face Ryoma and the others as acquaintances and friends. It was like the old treatment to be precise.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan! What are you doing here?" Tomoka asked her that morning when she saw her at the tennis court.

"I felt like practicing for a while. What about you?" She asked her best friend as she was separating her racket from the tennis bag.

"Sensei asked me to come to school today. I think she needs me to run some errands."

Sakuno felt a little goosebumps, "D-don't tell me, I-it's for the test of courage event tonight?"

Tomoka gave her a thumps up sign. "Correct!"

"I-I will never join that event. You will never let me."She hugged her racket tight.

Her best friend pouted. "You are so a kill joy. Don't you know that?"

"C-call me whatever you like to call. I am STILL not going to participate." She shut her eyes tightly while saying that.

"Hai! Hai!," Tomoka sighed and left afterwards. "Well. I need to go now. Do be careful alright."

Sakuno just nodded. When she was left alone, she started to practice. Good thing that there was no practice today so she wouldn't see those guys from the club. She felt like being away from them for a while. She was actually getting used to the get up they had.

At least I can have a peace of mind.She thought. Everything was going well. Ryoma was talking to her like the old times or she was actually the one to start the conversation if she had the chance. She was actually satisfied with his 'un' or just a plain nod or smirk from him. It was definitely back to normal.

It was before lunch when she decided to finish her practice that day. She went to a nearest vending machine to buy some ponta. She just got her drink from the slot when someone talked from her back;

"Ryuzaki."

She looked behind her. She was a bit shocked to see the girl with the long hair that she fought last festival. The girl was with the other four girls that she too fought before.

"W-what do you want?" She couldn't hide the nervousness in her voice.

The girl in the middle sighed as she replied to her question, "Relax, we are not here to bully you. It was from the past."

She was shocked. If that was not the reason that they confronted her then what was the reason? Her thoughts were answered when the girl continued to talk;

"We wanted to thank you actually, for saving us back then."

Sakuno couldn't get what she meant. "S-save you? I-I don't get you."

The girl with the wavy hair said, "You saved us from expulsion, if you remember. It was not only tennis that we were supposed to lose; we were almost subjected to leave Seigaku because of what we did to you. It was really unforgivable if you look at it simply."

She was shocked on that news. She never heard of that. When they noticed that she couldn't talk the girl in the middle continued;

"If you didn't cover yourself for us that day, we won't be able to set foot here or to cheer Ryoma-sama again. So we awe you big." She walked forward a bit closer to her. Sakuno flinched when the girl bowed in front of her which was followed by the four girls;

"Thank you Ryuzaki, and forgive us." They said in unison.

She blushed and a bit embarrassed, "P-please, s-stop with the formality. I-I totally forgotten about that incident," she looked down and continued, "In fact, I should be the one thanking you. Without that hardship, I wouldn't be standing strong until now. S-so thank you instead."

The girl in pigtails remembered something, "You should join the club as a regular, Ryuzaki. You are a good tennis player."

"Yeah, don't think twice. Accept the offer sensei gave you." The other girl said.

Sakuno thought about that. It seemed that she made a decision already. She smiled and nodded. The girls understood that. The girl in the middle said another thing to her that made her flinched;

"We accepted the fact that if there will be a girlfriend suited for our Ryoma-sama, it should be you."

She blushed on her comment, "B-but I-"

They started to leave the area as they talked, "We will support you from now on. Consider us RyoSaku fans when that day happens."

"Good luck."

They still could hear their teases and comment even though they were far inches from her. She blushed on that thought. They didn't know that it will never happen. She gave up on the thought as she stared from a distance. The girls were no longer to be found. It's just her, her ponta and her racket. She then remembered her tennis racket. It was clumsy of her to have forgotten her racket at the court. She started to run back to the court to get it.

xxx

He didn't know what he was doing at the school premises that morning. The practice was not implemented but he felt like going there. He brought his own tennis racket just to practice, probably to get some peace of mind.

I guess it is not forbidden to practice today since we had an event tonight.

He was not planning to participate in the test of courage tonight. So he will just made an alibi later to avoid his nosy senpais. He really wanted a peace of mind to make everything clear. Just when he was about to get it, he saw a certain auburn girl running to the court while carrying her ponta. He guessed that she was there a while ago and forgot something. He went closer just to confirm it and he was right. He saw her reaching for her racket which was left on the bench.

She is definitely a natural clumsy girl to forget her important gear like that. He smirked as he watched the girl... secretly. He saw her every move, the girl stared at her tennis racket for a long time and shared fondness on it. He gave another smirk when he heard her apologizing to her racket about forgetting the gear alone.

"I guess… you ended up… being my first love after all… " He was a bit surprised on her words. His eyes widened as he saw her kissing the edge of her tennis racket while her eyes were closed. But the surprising events weren't stop there. The moment she kissed her racket, the wind blew… nicely. It made her hair sway to its direction making the girl looked cute that time… in the eyes of a certain tennis prodigy. The scene was indeed memorable and… unforgettable.

He closed his lips that he didn't notice that were slightly opened and was replaced a genuine smile. He slowly moved backwards so that she won't hear any noise from him. When he finally succeeded, he walked away putting his hands in his pockets after fixing his tennis bag on his back and his fila hat.

"Ryoma-sama?"

He looked up. He saw Tomoka along the way. Of all the person that he would collide, why would it be her best friend.

"W-what are you doing here?" the girl asked him.

Ryoma shrugged, "I am bored." And then he started to walk away again, passing her.

"W-what?" She wondered.

But before he got away from her, he said another thing to her, "Thank you… Osada."

She was a bit shocked. Why would he thank her? And then she remembered something, "its Osakada, Ryoma-sama! Geez! When will you get my name right?" she pouted leaving the thought alone with her.

Ryoma smirked when she heard her words. He would never tell her on what she did to him but she was not dense to not noticing it. He left the school with a decision that day.

xxx

"Did you see Ryoma-sama today?"

She was shocked on her best friend's question, "N-no, why?"

"He was here a minute ago. Why did he leave?" Tomoka wondered and then she deviously thought of something, "Maybe he was shy now that you are here."

Sakuno reacted on her words, "W-what are you talking about? It is not Ryoma-kun's nature to be shy at all."

Tomoka thought that she had a point, "You are right, so what could be the reason?"

Sakuno was thinking the same thing. She became a little upset that he didn't give an effort to see her today. Even it was just a coincidence; Tomoka saw him and not her. The whole thing was so enigmatic for her.

Sunday at 5am:

She was woken up by a spontaneous call on her cell phone. She rubbed her eyes while grabbing her cell phone apparatus. Her eyes were slowly dilating when she recognized the name that registered on her phone;

R-ryoma-kun is… calling me…?

She reluctantly answered the call as her heart was beating fast, "H-hello… R-ryoma-kun?"

"OSOI!" the boy on the other line retorted. "Took you long enough to answer my call."

Sakuno was blushing very hard as she replied, "I-I'm sorry." H-how did he get my number? D-did he have it a long time ago? She thought as she remembered that she was keeping his' as well. "W-why did you call?" she asked him instead.

Ryoma quickly replied, "Come to the school rooftop, now!" It was like ordering her.

"W-what? B-but why?" she was a bit shocked on his words.

"Just come, okay. I'll be waiting." He dropped the call without waiting for her reply.

Sakuno was stunned. What was he thinking? It's just five in the morning. And he wanted her to come to school at that time… on Sunday to be exact. Her thoughts never answered her unless she would come to school. She told her grandmother that she would do morning exercises that day as she left the house. She ran to the school grounds and through the rooftop.

At the rooftop, she saw him standing near the steel bar like he was waiting for the sun to rise. She was actually facing his back. Her hands were on her knees as she recognized him there. She spoke when she finally caught her breath;

"R-ryoma-kun… It's still early and it's Sunday. W-why did you call me here?" Sakuno asked him.

Ryoma didn't say anything for a while. Then she heard him sigh as if he was preparing for his words… those words that made her eyes widened;

"Sorry," He started. "To have kept you waiting all this time…"

Done! So how did it go? I don't know what to say since I've been thinking about this chapter for a long time and guess what; I managed to write it the way I expected. I hope you liked it. ^_^

Special acknowledgment for my few readers. Your words were worth unforgettable. Arigatou Guzaimasu!

readingISfunXD, Shiina Yuki and GamerELF.

Sorry for not translating them, here they are:

Warui - I'm sorry

Shiranai - I don't know

Wakatta yo, Ore no make - I know, I lost

Osoi - You're late!

Reviews please… there were only two chapters left so please share your thoughts with me… thanks a lot. ^_^

Next Chapter: Reciprocated Feelings