Previously…

Lavinia saw two people talking near the lake. The light of the moon revealed a tall, young brunette and a black-green haired girl.

'Syuusuke and Ryoma!'

Knowing that she shouldn't be rude and spy on them, Lavinia was going to walk on the opposite side when Ryoma's expression under the moonlight made her stop.

'Ryoma-chan, she looks like she's… like she's suffering…' Lavinia thought.

Lavinia continued to watch them. She saw Fuji's lips moving, saying something to Ryoma. His eyes were open and he seemed determined. He was demanding something from Ryoma who had to tilt her head back to look at him. As he talked, Ryoma's fist clenched and she bit her lips. Her expression looked as though she were being tortured. After Fuji stopped talking, Ryoma shut her eyes and she started trembling. To Lavinia's horror, she saw tears start pouring out of Ryoma's eyes. Ryoma said something back to Fuji and abruptly ran away. Fuji made a move to stop her, but Ryoma was faster. He called her name, but Ryoma didn't look back at him as she kept running. Lavinia saw the pain on Fuji's face as he brought his hand to his heart, painfully clutching it.

Lavinia brought her hand to her mouth, covering it so that no sound would escape.

'Syuusuke… Ryoma…'

"Ryoma-chan, you haven't seemed yourself lately," Lavinia said.

Surprised, Ryoma looked up at Lavinia.

"Miyabi-senpai," she muttered.

Lavinia had stopped by for a visit, and they had gone up to Ryoma's room after dinner where they sat on the bed, talking. Karupin, curled on Lavinia's lap, purred under her hands, his tail swinging back and forth. Ryoma darted her eyes away from Lavinia, biting her lips.

"You often look sad and you're awfully quiet today," Lavinia continued. Ryoma's fingers began to play with the hem of her shirt.

"It's… It's just that I have a lot in my mind lately…" Ryoma muttered, looking down to her feet.

"Can you tell me what's been bothering you?" Lavinia asked.

"I…" Ryoma didn't answer but, instead, laced her hands together, clenching them. Lavinia took Karupin off her lap and put the cat on the bed. She moved closer to Ryoma and covered the young tennis player's hands with her own.

"Ryoma-chan, your parents, your brother and your cousin are worried when they see you like this. Me too. I am worried as well," Lavinia said. "Can you tell me what made you so sad?"

"Miyabi-senpai…" Ryoma closed her eyes, feeling her tears begin to gather as she felt Lavinia's sincere worry through her skin. "I… I cannot tell you…"

She couldn't tell Lavinia the reason behind her sadness. She couldn't tell Lavinia about her feelings for Fuji. If she did, she might hurt Lavinia, and Ryoma didn't want to hurt anyone. But keeping that secret inside her made her suffer. Ryoma was torn. She no longer knew what to do. And despite how much effort she put into control herself, her tears were stronger than her and they escaped from her eyes. Ryoma quietly cried. Lavinia silently watched her, an idea running through her head. Then, she decided to give it a try.

"Ryoma-chan, could it be…" Lavinia hesitated. "Could it be… that your sadness has something to do with Syuusuke?" she slowly finished, her hesitancy evident with every word. Shocked, Ryoma opened her eyes and looked up to Lavinia, gasping.

'What?! How did she…?' Ryoma panicked. Lavinia continued.

"Ryoma-chan…" Lavinia softly said again, bringing her hands up to cup Ryoma's face. "Could it be… that you love Syuusuke?" Lavinia finished more tenderly. Ryoma stopped breathing

'She…' she panicked. 'She knows!'

The secret she didn't want Lavinia to know was no longer a secret. Lavinia already knew. Ryoma could say that she didn't know what Lavinia meant, but her mind was too distressed to build up a lie.

"Mi-Miyabi-senpai… I… I…" Ryoma bursted in tears. "Wuaaaaaaaaah! Wuaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She cried like a baby.

"Oh, Ryoma-chan…" Lavinia pulled Ryoma into her arms and hugged her.

"Wuaaaaaaaaah!" Ryoma continued to cry in Lavinia's arms.

Lavinia didn't stop hugging Ryoma until the younger girl had fallen asleep. Lavinia tucked her kouhai under her cover and silently stepped out of Ryoma's room, leaving Karupin to guard his mistress. When Lavinia closed the door, she saw Rinko standing next to her. Rinko smiled.

"I made some tea. Would you like to join me?" Rinko pleasantly asked.

Lavinia smiled.

"It would be my pleasure, Echizen-san," Lavinia said.

The two women went down into the living room. Lavinia sat on a cushion and Rinko poured her a cup of tea.

"You know, Miyabi-san, you are the very first girl Ryoma has ever opened herself up to," Rinko said, pouring herself a cup of tea. "When she was young, Ryoma was very small compared to kids her age. She was often made fun of because of her short height, and Nanjirou and Ryoga certainly didn't help her. They used to tease her when they played tennis, saying that she was too short to reach a ball or that she needs longer legs to run faster. They made it worse each time she lost a game against them. It came to the point where Ryoma believed girls to be weaker than boys. Then, she decided that she won't play with girls. She wanted to become stronger, so she ended up playing with boys only - mostly playing tennis of course. She even went so far as to tell us to see her as a boy! After that day, she never wanted to put on a dress anymore." Rinko sighed. "It was so sad because she's so cute in dresses." Sigh again. "One day, it turned out that Ryoma no longer wanted to be a girl or wear girl clothes. That was partially why Nanjirou started to buy his dreadful magazines. He missed seeing his lovely and adorable little princess in cute clothes. He likes picturing Ryoma in a dress." Rinko smiled fondly.

"Is that so," Lavinia said, amused.

"But that still makes him a pervert!" Rinko growled, grinding her teeth.

Lavinia chuckled. Rinko sighed and calmed down.

"As she grew up, Ryoma came to feel awkward around girls," Rinko continued. "That's why she doesn't want to be close friend with them. She is very reserved around them." Rinko looked up at Lavinia. "But you're the exception. You are the very first girl she has let come so close to her."

Lavinia smiled.

"I don't know why, but I feel particularly attached to her," Lavinia said. "She made people want to protect her. The other day in the dress store, after what Ryoga-san did to her, she was so distressed that I felt like wanting to console her like a mother. Even the manager of the store couldn't help but feeling maternal toward her too."

"Isn't she adorable and lovable when she is distressed?" Rinko fondly said. They laughed wholeheartedly. After a moment, Rinko spoke again.

"Thank you for what you've done for her," Rinko said.

Lavinia smiled again.

"I'm the one who is happy that Ryoma-chan choose me as a friend," Lavinia fondly said.

Fuji household.

Sinking into his armchair with his collar unbuttoned, Fuji looked at the moon. In his right hand, he held a yellow ribbon. It was the ribbon from Ryoma's Valentine chocolate. He had preciously kept it with him. But now, he regretted having keep it, especially after the announce of his engagement. The ribbon always reminded him of Ryoma and the painful acknowledgment that loving her was forbidden to him. Yet, he could no longer bring himself to throw it away. Fuji brought his fingers to his lips, touching them. He still remembered. He still remembered how soft her lips were. Her lips had tasted wonderful, like an addicting wine nectar, which made him to to taste her again. But that addicting wine also turned him into a fool.

He remembered the night at the lake at the onsen resort. Fuji closed his eyes, covering them with the left hand.

"What an fool I was…" he muttered.

And the worst, he knew it was a foolish thing to do, but he still did it. That night at the onsen, he really made an imbecile of himself.

Flashback

"Ryoma," Fuji said, skipping the prefix -chan, "run away with me!"

End flashback

He told Ryoma to elope with him - to flee with him.

'Why didn't I think before acting?'

Why didn't he think about Ryoma's feelings before saying these words to her? He clearly recalled her reaction. She had looked up at him with her beautiful golden eyes, which were filling with turmoil as he talked to her. Ryoma struggle to control the violence of her emotions had left her trembling, but she lost her fight and the atrocious torment escaped out of her body through her tears.

Flashback

"Fuji-senpai, I cannot do that…" she told him, crying. "I cannot hurt Miyabi-senpai!"

She turned on her heels and ran away.

End flashback

'She ran away from me…' Fuji clenched his fingers. 'I was so selfish. I only thought about myself and my feelings. I didn't consider hers… And I hurt her…' He bit his lips.

'I hurt her…'

Knock knock knock.

Someone was knocking on his door. Fuji's eyes snapped open as he sat up in his chair and straightened out his clothes. He took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Yes?" he called out in a normal voice. The door opened to reveal Lavinia.

"Excuse-me, Syuusuke," Lavinia said. Fuji stiffened and stood up. "May I speak with you?" Lavinia asked. Fuji looked at her for a moment.

"Please come in," Fuji said in a slightly reluctant tone. Lavinia saw it, but that didn't stop her. She calmly stepped in the room. "Lavinia-san, how may I help you?" Fuji asked.

Lavinia noticed he kept using the prefix after her name. He was still reserved toward her. Lavinia sat in front of him.

"I will not beat around the bush. I will be straight with you," Lavinia said. She looked up at him. "Am I wrong or do you not want to be married with me?"

Fuji hesitated. Then, he looked straight to her.

"Lavinia-san," Fuji spoke, "I will obey to my grandmother's order. Do not worry about me breaking the engagement," Fuji said, biting his lips.

Strangely, Lavinia didn't feel hurt by his words. Lavinia carefully examined him. She saw him holding a small yellow ribbon between his fingers. She thought it was unlike Fuji Syuusuke to carry such an item - such a feminine item. She presumed the ribbon came from someone else, and, judging by the way Fuji held the ribbon so preciously, it was someone he held very dear in his heart.

"May I ask another question?" Lavinia politely requested.

"Please do," Fuji replied.

"Syuusuke," Lavinia said slowly, her eyes fixed on him, "do you… do you already have someone in your heart?" Fuji's fingers immediately tightened around the ribbon. Lavinia saw his gesture. The brunette darted his eyes away from her. He had more and more difficulty repressing his feelings for Ryoma whenever she was mentioned. On the other hand, it was a very clear answer for Lavinia's question.

"And does this person…" Lavinia hesitated, "does this person happened to be… Ryoma-chan?"

'What?!?' Fuji's eyes snapped open as he panicked. He spun around to look at Lavinia, his pupils trembling.

'She… She knows…'

Post: Novembre 27th, 2009.