A/N: What do you want me to say after such a long absence? But since I don't want to explain anything, so deal with it. Ha!

A/N 2: Un-beta'd.

From last time...

"Ryoma, you are no longer a little girl like when I first met you. You have become a woman. That was why I have to leave before I might do something both of us might regret later. That was why I didn't write you anything for the past two months," Syuusuke whispered in her ear. "Exchanging letters between us was no longer enough for me. I want something more."

Seiyou Academy 80. It's About Time!

But Ryoma wouldn't speak with him or to listen to him. She was still too furious. She wasn't good using words while he was a words master extraordinary. She hated to start a battle of words with Syuusuke when she was in disadvantage. If she had accepted, it meant that she already conceded him victory. Thus she refused to speak or to listen to him. The only way to settle this problem that she accepts was a tennis match.

Syuusuke opened his cerulean orbs to watch the opponent facing him on the other side of the court.

"Ryoma, before we start the match, I want to settle the winning price."

"Already? You are very confident about winning. In case you have forget. You didn't play tennis for two years while I still train myself here. My skills are far above than it was the two years ago."

"..." Syuusuke didn't reply.

She was right. He had stopped training in tennis for competition since he came to the United Kingdom. He only played a game or two with Keigo on occasional event, but nothing more. On the other hand, Ryoma kept playing for competitions, and he knew how fast Ryoma develop her skills. However, for this one game, Syuusuke had something else that Ryoma didn't have. He had a very clear purpose to win this game while Ryoma only want to win in order to avoid listening or talking to him.

"The one who will lost this game will have to do one thing the winner ask," Syuusuke simply said.

Ryoma raised an eye brow. It was a very simple victory purpose, and an obvious thing to do as well. She didn't see where it might be a problem.

"Fine." Ryoma accepted.

Outside the court, some spectators were gathered to watch the game.

"Hum, it's a bad mistake you just made there, Ryoma-chan, a very bad one." Yukimura said.

"You underestimate his will to win against you, Ryoma," Keigo said.

"Indeed," Hiroshii agreed, looking at Ryoma. "Syuusuke is taking advantage of his maturity over her. In a way, it is not a fair game because he is playing a psychological game—and a game of words while he knew she is very bad at those—while Ryoma think it is only a simple game. But then again, Ryoma must know better than anyone else to be careful when playing against Fuji Syuusuke in an unofficial game. Unlike the games he plays in competition, which purpose is only to win for the school you are representing, this game holds another meaning to win for him."

"But as she stated, Fuji didn't play in any competition for the last two years and didn't polish any of his skills as well," Niou said.

"Hmm, nonetheless, it would be an interesting game," Marui said. The others spectators agreed with him.

"By the way, buchou, you fly back from America only for this?" Kirihara asked Yukimura.

"Huhuhu!" Yukimura only chuckled as answer. Of course he had other reason for flying back to Japan, but he didn't need to tell Kirihara. And like Ryoma, Kirihara too cannot call his former buchou with anything other than "buchou". But Yukimura doubted that it was the same reason than Ryoma had for keeping calling Tezuka "buchou". It was only simply easier for Kirihara to keep calling Yukimura buchou because it's the limit his (missing) brain cells allowed him to do.

"Echizen Ryoma against Fuji Syuusuke, one set game. Echizen to serve." Tezuka called from his referee seat.

Syuusuke prepared himself to receive the first ball. Meaning while, he remembered why he had so hastily fly back to Japan.

Flashback

As Keigo and Syuusuke were doing their next assignment paper, Syuusuke opened his monthly letter from his parents.

Syuusuke,

Otousan and okasan (1) heard it from Keigo-kun. We are very proud of your accomplishment at Cambridge. Congratulations for being the first one of your promotion. Why didn't you tell us yourself? Okasan knows you don't like to brawl about yourself, but I would like to know the news from you and not from a third party. You know how Keigo... has a special way to announce importance news of this scale (Syuusuke chuckled, having a very clear idea of Keigo's glamorous way to do things). And like always, your father is chuckling in his corner, meaning that he knew something like that would happened but didn't think about telling me.

Here in Japan, our life is quietly passing. Touga-kun and Sora-chan are gaining height day by day. While Sora-chan is obedient to all of us, Touga-kun kept complaining when we tell him to do his homework? He used to listen to no one except you. After you left, he gives us very hard times. However, when Ryoma-chan tell him to finish his homework, he would immediately obey her. At the same time, it is because Ryoma-chan wouldn't allow him to do otherwise. No offense to you, my son, but I think Ryoma-chan make a better tutor to Touga-kun and Sora-chan than you do. She is strict where you are lenient. She seriously teaches the children where you would make up game to evade their mind. And yes, Touga-kun and Sora-chan know you were to easy on them. They are too bright for their own good, just like you when you were young. Too much seriousness for such small children. Maybe you were a bad influence on them, Syuusuke? (Syuusuke chuckled again) As far as I know, you now have lost your place of "the best teacher in the world" to Ryoma in Touga-kun's and Sora-chan's heart (Syuusuke laughed at this one).

Ever since Ryom-chan started tutoring them, Touga-kun and Sora-chan performed magnificently at school. At the last parents meeting, their French teacher was crying of joy for their sudden enthusiasm and progress. Sora-chan had declared that she wants to know many languages like Ryoma-chan does. Oh well, your father and I too think that Ryoma-chan makes a better tutor to them than you, Syuusuke (Syuusuke sudden burst of laugh made Keigo ticked an eye brow in curiosity).

Now, Syuusuke, let's start talking about something serious. It's about Ryoma-chan.

The last two years far away from Ryoma was bearable for Syuusuke. He could not see her in person every day, but exchanging letters with her had strengthened the bound between them. However, as Ryoma was approaching her eighteen birthday, it was becoming more and more difficult for him. Every single day that brought Ryoma closer to her majority was like a torture for him. It was like he was put in front of his favorite sweet, but it was a forbidden fruit to him.

In the letter his parents send him, his mother included a set of Ryoma pictures. There was one picture that makes Syuusuke lost his head. It was a picture took by the maids Aoko and Kaoko.

Ryoma was soon to graduate from Seiyou Academy. Miyabi got excited because she absolutely wanted to take care of Ryoma's prom outfit. Her excitement even wins over Nanako and Rinko, who didn't want to be left aside for the event. The three women often fathered around tones of fashion magazines to search inspiration for Ryoma's dress. Miyabi wanted the dress to be costumed made and was absolutely firmed about that. Ryoma made that mistake to say that any dress would be fine since it would be wear only for a night. She had set Miyabi and Nanako on fire to find THE dress. Ryoma had cursed herself (and her mouth) after that. Whenever Miyabi and Nanko would started a conversation over dresses again, which happened to be almost every in the month before the graduation, Ryoma would find an excuse to escape the house. Either because Fuji-dono had called her for an afternoon tea time or because Touga and Sora needed her to tutor them for their French lessons. Seri always found the excuses Ryoma came up to escape away from her sister-in-law and cousin to come over the Fuji household very amusing. She enjoyed them so much that she would even offer her help to Miyabi and Nanako just to see Ryoma's reactions. The two later were absolutely thrilled while Ryoma wanted to knock herself out with her tennis racket.

One day, Seri took an appointment to the store she used to purchase her clothes to find a dress for Ryoma. Seri had also brought Touga and Sora with her. The kids were the excuse to keep Ryoma in the store. Fuji-dono had asked Ryoma to babysit them for the day. Miyabi found it hilarious that even the august Fuji-dono had consent to play such a trick on Ryoma to keep the girl from running away from the store, but she would never let her little sister-in-law know about that. At the same time, Miyabi knew that Ryoma might find an excuse to leave the store with the kids, like proposing to buy them sweets and ice cream. The kids loved her so much that they would even follow her to the end of the world. So Miyabi also brought her own weapon to keep Ryoma in place. At first, she was reluctant to do it because she had always scolded Ryoga for doing it. But in this case, Miyabi couldn't find any other more effective use. She put her new born baby girl Nadeshiko into Ryoma's arms, much to the horror of the emeral-black haired girl.

Little Nadeshiko Yuuji was named after Ryoga's biological mother, Nadeshiko Yuuji née Nakayama. It was Miyabi's wish to name their first child after the person who had lead her to Japan toward her happiness. Ryoga was particularly touched and happy that his wife chose to name their first child after his mother. Baby Nadeshiko was only a few month old, but the little girl had an immense power on Ryoma. Ryoma, not very used around baby, was absolutely frightened by tiny Nadeshiko. When Nadeshiko was in the same room, Ryoma didn't make a sound and moved as little as it was possible. When Nadeshiko was dropped in Ryoma's arms, Ryoma would turn into a statue, her soul flying over her head. To think that Japan's number one tennis player is scared of a baby made Nanjirou and Ryoga rolled off the floor, laughing their guts out.

Even the ever serious Hiroshi couldn't help but tremble with the laugh running his body. And he just had to inform the old members of Seiyou Academy tennis club about that. The same night, the ex-regulars rushed up to Ryoma's house just because they want to see if what Yagyuu told them was true. Niou, Marui, Ootori and Kirihara took a pleasure to put in and take out baby Nadeshiko from Ryoma's arms. Ryoma kept alternatively change face from relieve to horror. The best was that they could gag her without having her beating them up because she was just too scared by the baby to move. Usually, whenever Ryoga put Nadeshiko in Ryoma's arm just for the fun to see his little sister being scare out of her skin, Miyabi would soon appeared to rescue Ryoma and took Nadeshiko back to bring her little sister-in-law back to life. The only exception was that night when the ex-regulars visited the Echizen family, Miyabi let them have a little bit fun. Ever since her marriage with Ryoga, the boys had warm up to her and had accept her as a friend. At the same time, it was one of the rare reunion of the ex-tennis-regulars, so she let them having good time of being together again.

However, that day at the store, Miyabi find some useful advantage in Ryoga's latest favorite game to tease Ryoma. Right now, in a comfortable arm chair near the window, a soulless Ryoma was sat with a sleeping Nadeshiko in her arms. Touga was absolutely fascinated by Ryoma's not-that-far-from-dead state while Sora beamed over Nadeshiko's sleeping face. Meanwhile, Miyabi, Nanako with Rinko and Seri could take their time to speak with the owner of the store, who was also the store designer, without worrying about Ryoma trying to escape. The maids Kaoko and Aoko were also there. Their main work was to babysit Touga and Sora, though it wasn't that much work whenever Ryoma was around. The kids would obey to the girl's every desire. So after taking a couple of shoots and pictures of the funny sighs of Ryoma, they were now taking part into choosing a dress for the girl who was stuck with a baby in her arms near the window. Suddenly, Nadeshiko squirmed agitatedly in her sleep, making Ryoma snapped out of her soulless state and she panicked more than she was already.

'Ahhhhhhhh! Kami-sama, help me!' Ryoma wanted to scream. Then, she remembered how Miyabi use to rock Nadeshiko when the baby was on the merge to cry and did the same. Nadeshiko soon sighed contentedly and snuggled into her aunt's warm chest to resume back to her afternoon nap. Surprised at how easy it was to calm down a baby, Ryoma couldn't help to look at her niece's sleeping face. Nadeshiko's chest rise up and down at a peaceful rhythm. And, against her own will, a little smile crooked the corner of her lips. Aoko snapped a shot. Seri send that picture to Syuusuke.

That picture of Ryoma surround by children: a sleeping baby in her arms, Sora smiling at the camera and Touga showing a V sign, made Syuusuke's imagination go wild. And it was because his imagination went while that he couldn't write any letters that made sense. In daytime, he only saw mothers with their children even though there were other people around him. In night time, his dreams were filled with children laugh. One particular dream was quite disturbing for him. It was Ryoma rocking a baby with chestnut hair and amber eyes. That picture kept popping up in his head day and night. He knew he loved Ryoma, but he didn't realize how much power Ryoma had on him. And that scared him the most.

Despite the two of them being part, they were still bound by the letters. But after the his mother send him Ryoma's picture, Syuusuke had the silly idea that his letters were stopping her from finding her true happiness because they cut her from finding probably more potential boyfriends - and maybe more than boyfriends. He was scared that he wasn't the right one meant for her. So he stopped sending her letters. Ironically, it was when he had decided to stop sending her letters that he started to write longer and longer letters. However, he kept them all in his desk. Then, not long after his mother letter, he received a short missive from his father.

'Syuusuke,

I understand that stop giving Ryoma news about you is a way to give her freedom so she can have more choices to choose. But at the same time, it is also a proof of cowardliness from you. Son, if you continue to hide from your feelings away from her, than maybe you really don't deserve her.'

Syuusuke froze, unable to think straigth. Keigo sighed and stood up from his seat. He walked over to Syuusuke, took the short letter his friend dropped and read it.

"Keigo, I'm going back to Japan," Syuusuke said. Keigo smirked.

"It's about time," Keigo said. He pulled out his cellphone and called for his private jet pilot. They flew back to Japan together.

End flashback

1) otosan and okasan: father and mother.

Updated on Sunday December 30, 2012. Unbeta'd.