Disclaimer: I do not own POT.
A/N: This is a long time coming. And, here it is - due to popular demand! Hope you guys like it. :3
Aged 23.
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The Part-Timer at Chiyo-Ni's
II
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September.
It was odd, she suspected, as she gazed up at a familiar cute signboard; that she'd be looking into her favorite hometown frozen yogurt shop all the way here in New York City. Granted, the store was in a mesh of Japanese establishments in the East Village; still, for a fresh graduate in her first year in a foreign country, speaking in a foreign dialect, and far from her friends and family back in Tokyo - this apparition was nothing less than a welcome surprise.
When she entered the store, she was half-expecting a poor man's version of her local fro-yo shop. But, the interior that greeted her was spot on. The ambiance, the energy, the sweet scent, it was all so similar and nostalgic. She'd sooner start to tear up, hit by a wave of homesickness when a group of high school girls gushing in a corner caught her attention. And before she knew it, she was trying her best to hide her laugh, a familiar haughty face coming to mind.
Regaining her composure after a second of that wave of nostalgia, Sakuno approached the counter with a skip in her step. "Green tea please, with a scoop of white chocolate." She chirped to the attendant behind the counter. With a simple nod and a friendly smile, the teenager started preparing Sakuno's order. And, the latter, after receiving her delicious cup, walked out of the establishment to her rented apartment blocks down the road.
As she walked down the streets, gingerly eating her dessert, her brows knit at the sight of a familiar face walking towards her from the other end of the road. It takes her a second to rake her brain, to check if her eyes were fooling her. But with each step closer, she couldn't very well deny it. After all, it was impossible not to make him out from the crowd, what with all the billboards and advertisements he was in.
Then, in that instant they crossed each other, Sakuno bows her head to hide the grin that made its way to her pretty features. And, in that same second, in the corner of her eye, as they passed each other, she thinks he starts to turn his head to look over his shoulder. She follows. And, she stops where she is. Five meters apart, in the midst of the flowing sidewalk traffic, Sakuno meets the gaze of the handsome young man she had the mis/fortune to meet back in Tokyo.
Unable to keep the smile that spreads across her face, she raises her cup of frozen yogurt over her lips in an attempt to hide her grin. The young man spares her a glance. Then, a smirk forms on his features, shaking his head to himself as he continued along his path.
Eight years, Sakuno reminisced with a smile before turning back to her way home.
.
November.
Sakuno's brows knit at the sight of yet another billboard of Echizen Ryoma advertising a small, inconsequential frozen yogurt shop; thinking the cost of advertising most probably outweigh its benefits. Still, as she adjusts the strap of her bag over her shoulder and continues on her way down the block, a smile forms on her lips.
.
December.
She knew they ran in different circles. But, she had long wondered when they'd finally cross paths again.
In a random party down in Manhattan, one to which her trendy, in-the-know friend was invited to, Sakuno finds her ears ringing in alarm after almost having thrown her beverage over one Ryoma Echizen. The club they were in smelled like cigarette smoke and alcohol, the music blared, and the dimly-lit hall was razed by the sharp, bright flashes of light that accompanied the beat of the music.
To say Ryoma Echizen was surprised to see her was an understatement. And, to catch her before having ruined his shirt - was just unbelievable.
"Ryoma," A voice from behind the two pairs of shocked faces called out amid the booming music. "Let's go."
Ryoma still couldn't compose himself. "Ah," was all he managed to reply, his grip on Sakuno's arm loosening.
"Gomen," Ryoma heard the young woman say after him in their native tongue. But, the instant he looked back over his shoulder, she was no longer there.
.
January.
"It's not funny." Ryoma mutters heatedly under his breath, throwing his face towel to a snickering Kevin.
"You've been obsessing over this girl for nearly a month now, and you're telling me it isn't funny?" The dashing Caucasian man continued laughing. "You don't even know the person!"
At this, the handsome celebrity grumbled, crumpling his sweaty shirt into his duffle bag. Annoying as his friend was, what were the odds the woman he ran into in some random club weeks ago was the same red-faced girl he met in Chiyo Ni's all those years ago. And, his face heated; even if she was, Ryoma thought in self-loathing, what did it matter?
A few days later, in a tagged photo online, he finds himself in the same group shot with one Sakuno Ryuzaki. The second Ryoma reads her name, his entire body jolted and his hands cupped his gaping mouth in utter disbelief. And after the second ends, he melts into his apartment floor in self-loathing, chastising himself for being so foolishly smitten with some red-faced girl he barely knew - especially when he realizes it's been practically a decade since he last saw her.
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February.
Sakuno receives a bouquet of roses in her workplace from an anonymous admirer. The anonymity instantaneously creeps her out that she refuses to bring home the bouquet. And the same ends up in the confused arms of her office floor's custodian.
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May.
When a friend of a friend of her friend asked her if she, being Japanese, she wanted to be set up with a poor man's Ryoma Echizen, Sakuno's brows furrowed so deep that those around her started laughing at the odd look of confusion on her flushed face. "He's a friend of ours, and it's so uncanny how similar he looks to Ryoma!"
Being the timid expat she was, Sakuno was forced to agree to the blind date.
Fast forward to the weekend, the dolled-up brunette was seated in some Italian restaurant with romantic lighting, staring out the window as she waited for her date to show up. Within a few minutes, she saw her date approach the restaurant from the other side of the road. And, meeting his gaze, she couldn't help but raise her brows at the surprise that registered on his rather fetching features.
The man on the other side of the glass wall, the same one who met her gaze initially with shock, settled. And, he glances to the side, as if in thought, before returning to look at the perplexed hazel eyes of the pretty brunette. The smirk that forms on his handsome face makes Sakuno uneasy.
She stood up when he entered the establishment. And, while trying her best not to judge the book by its cover, from her date's attire - a simple shirt and shorts - it was easy to understand why the man was dubbed the poor man's Ryoma Echizen. But, as her eyes continued to scrutinize her date, she found it remarkable how his resemblance to Ryoma Echizen was downright uncanny.
"It's good to see you're finally making an effort." is the first thing the dashing young man comments, a haughty smirk spreading on his face.
At this, Sakuno's lips part. She couldn't believe her ears.
But, instead of growing red in offense, she starts to tremble in laughter; soon accompanied by the deep tone of Ryoma Echizen's ringing laugh.
"It's been a while, neh, Echizen-san?" Sakuno chuckles. And, still chuckling, Ryoma nods, raising a hand and tenderly tucking a lock of hair over the young woman's ear.
In a few minutes, when Sakuno's date arrives, Ryoma excuses himself. Even when he leaves, the young man continued to wear the same smile the entire evening, nothing less than elated by the chance encounter, by the intoxicating ring of Sakuno's laughter, by the proximity and familiarity between them; even after all these years.
.
Ryoma Echizen: I'll have a date if you're just giving them for free.
(seen)
When Sakuno saw the message, she laughs and shakes her head before locking her phone with a press of a finger.
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July.
It was only after the Wimbledon that Ryoma is able to properly ask Sakuno out on a date. By then, the brunette was already back in Tokyo; having finished her one-year rotation in her company's New York office.
When Ryoma got the notice, he simply locked his phone, got his coat, and headed out for the evening.
.
August.
After ceaseless efforts of courting, Sakuno finally agrees to date a friend from university.
"Chiyo Ni's come into quite some money, neh?" Ichido comments to no one in particular as he looks around the store. The couple was waiting for their orders to be served. "I wonder how much they pay Ryoma Echizen to be their spokesperson."
Sakuno only smiles.
"Did you know he worked here before? When we were in high school, they say." Her boyfriend grins in amusement, finding it incredible for anyone in Ryoma's stature to have worked such a mundane position. "If it was true, you would've known first hand, wouldn't you?"
"I- uh," Sakuno reached out for the cups handed to them over the counter. "He did." She turned to Ichido with a forced smile on her lips. "I don't understand it either, his attachment to Chiyo Ni's."
"It's because of unrequited love." The attendant butted in, his voice deep with intrigue. Sakuno and Ichido exchange skeptical gazes. "They say, it goes back to when Ryoma Echizen was in middle school. Apparently, he had a crush on some random girl with long braided hair he saw in the shop. Since he didn't know anything about her, he decided to work here, thinking that he'd meet her by chance." Ichido chuckled at the growing flush of Sakuno's face. "But, as the legend goes, he still hasn't met her so, he continues his efforts - in hope, that the day comes when he'll be reunited with his one true love."
"That," Another attendant interjected, "Or Chiyo Ni's is owned by a rich family who're friends with the Echizens."
At this, Ichido laughed.
.
September.
Sakuno couldn't believe her eyes.
Luckily, Ryoma had his wits about him. So, inside Chiyo Ni's fro-yo shop, he approached her and told her they should catch up.
Later that evening, when they meet for dinner, Sakuno reminds the jovial, oddly good-mannered Ryoma Echizen, that they have never been friends. So, technically, there was nothing they should catch up on.
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October.
"You don't like me?" Ichido asked in a rough voice, unable to understand what Sakuno was saying. "We're adults, whatever it is, I'm certain we can work it out." Then, he starts to chuckle in nervousness. "That is, unless you never liked me since the beginning."
Sakuno only apologizes. And, after, she meets Ryoma for dinner for the nth time since he returned to Tokyo.
.
December.
"Did you go to Chiyo Ni's in middle school?" She asked, her tone steady, firm. And it made Ryoma unsettled, thinking that she met with him with an agenda.
The pair was at the Echizen family's residential home in Tokyo, celebrating Christmas (in the not-religious way), his birthday, and the New Year in one party. Sakuno was a few sake's in, now holding a glass of wine as she spoke to the taken aback Ryoma.
"Well?" She urged, her voice growing shrill.
Around them, the room was filled with people socializing, mingling, and having a good time.
Ryoma's brows furrow in defense, cautiously eyeing Sakuno's nth alcoholic beverage. "I did. Why?"
"Then," Sakuno continued without acknowledging Ryoma's answer. "Is it true that you had a crush on a girl who often went there alone?" Ryoma's cheeks started to flush. "Say, a shy, brunette with long braided hair?"
"So what?" The young man challenged amid the redness on his face.
"So what?" The brunette cried, throwing her arms; her wine nearly spilling, much to Ryoma's chagrin. "You've been stalking me since middle school! And I thought what happened in high school was bad enough!"
"I didn't stalk you, you loon." Ryoma gritted, the blush on his face didn't help support his claim. "You can't sue me for having a crush."
"You tormented me!"
"And what do you call what you did to me?" The tennis professional athlete challenged. "Do you think it was a piece of cake trying to find you? I had to work part-time in some random shop! Then, when we did meet - you say you hate me. How was I supposed to react?"
"I-"
"And what does it matter now? You said it yourself - you're in love with me!-"
"Ryoma!" Sakuno cried, red in absolute embarrassment, quickly shoving her hands over Ryoma's lips to shut him up; tiptoeing just to reach his height for dear life. Those around them only chuckled, thinking how sweet the new couple was being.
With a growing smirk, Ryoma removed Sakuno's hands from his mouth and leaned closer to her unamused face. "Mada mada dane."
Sakuno only pouted. "I can't believe you really don't like Chiyo Ni's froyo, you lovesick idiot."
Ryoma only laughed, pulling Sakuno into his arms in a snug, tender embrace; his chin resting atop her head, his nose, filled with her sweet scent. With a sigh, his heart full and content where he was, with the beautiful brunette in his embrace, he utters in a passing thought, "I still can't believe how much I love you." Sakuno flushes, even as the handsome athlete pulls away to look at her face. "And you're not even that pretty."
"You're insufferable-" The young woman starts to seethe, earning a laugh from Ryoma before pulling her in for a deep kiss. Around them, their friends and family where starting to countdown to the New Year.
END.
A/N: OMG. You guys really love this fic, don't you? Because of your responses, I may just upload a third installment. I wasn't able to tag it, but the story is technically completed.