It was definitely one of those afternoons where it actually seemed like the tennis prince was home in Japan. This set up where his mother is washing the dishes is definitely a sight that was too familiar. What only changed though, was Ryuzaki Sakuno that is helping her mother on drying the plates.
"Ah! Ryoma, can you help Sakuno-chan with shopping groceries?" Rinko Echizen finally noticed her son's presence in the kitchen while he is holding a glass of water.
"Eh?" His mother's words seemed to just trigger a surprised face from him.
"What 'eh'?" asked his mother puzzled, "Is there a problem, Ryoma?"
"W-What's the problem, Ryoma-kun?" asked further by the shy Sakuno.
"N-Nothing." He accidentally stammered as he finally realized that in this home, his mother is still the in-charge. It just seemed new that after years, his mother would just be standing there and asks him something.
"If that's the case, then, you can get the shopping list posted in the fridge." Rinko, who just briefly took her time to look over the said fridge, ordered her son.
"S-Shall we go now, Ryoma-kun?" the boy slapped himself internally for being so absent-minded as he didn't realized immediately that they were to go now.
He just nodded at the Ryuzaki who just removed her apron and set aside the cloth she's using to dry the dishes. Wanting to redeem his self from the earlier embarrassment, he quickly walked to the fridge as he snatched the shopping list. Going over the list, Ryoma realized that it was going to be a long time spending in the market.
"Wow, it is a long list." It was all that Sakuno could mutter as she looked at the shopping list in her hands, "Well, considering the lack of some basic home utensils and stock of food, this list is reasonable."
They were already walking on the side of the road, to the market's destination. It was a sunny day, just perfect for walking. Though the sounds of the busy people walking, talking, and yelling at each other, and vehicles' horning can be such a turn-off for a good day.
"Hn." The usual nonchalant reply made the girl a little conscious of her words as she immediately tried to defend herself.
"I-I mean no offense, Ryoma-kun." She stuttered but he was silent the whole time.
Feeling more sorry about the situation, she continued to ask him, "R-Ryoma-kun, are you angry?" her words being uttered, sounding so worried.
When he looked at her, she was reminded a time when they were freshmen in middle school. He had the same expression on his face, except that he had that somehow boring expression but at the same time, seeing a surprised or sometimes annoyed face. It was kind of hard to explain for Ryuzaki Sakuno, but it was kind of like that.
She remembered him asking her that time, "You're being talkative today, Ryuzaki." And she was kind of hurt that she ran away.
The way he's looking at her right now, reminded her of that time that she prepared herself as to what will the Echizen reply to her.
"Mada mada dane, Ryuzaki." But it didn't sound so insulting at all. The way he said that, sounded so carefree. Leave it to the Prince of Tennis for being so vague and all.
"Why are you so hard to understand, Ryoma-kun?" she thought to herself, as they continued to walk with their destination now visible, this time, being silent, trying to not annoy the boy.
The parking lot outside the establishment is filled. It was clear that today is a certified shopping day.
Going inside the super market is a sight. The long queue of people on the cashier proved that. If it is really possible to get out of the task he is given, Echizen Ryoma would've run away from this already. The first minute inside has already proved to be a pain.
"Ano, Ryoma-kun, shall we start on shopping already?" she asked the boy.
"Let's start already." Grabbing the nearest empty cart, they started on their shopping, starting from the nearest aisle where the kitchen utensils are found. Feeling a little lost with some specific words to be bought that he doesn't have any idea of what, he gave the long list to the girl who is more than glad to be of help to him.
Murmuring all sorts of pans, ladles, and spatulas, Ryoma just stared at the girl who is a little absorbed on what she's doing. He noticed how she would put her right hand just under her chin, contemplating if the product she's looking at is right in their budget. He was quite amused as to how can she be so focused at those trivial things.
Their shopping kind of went on smoothly as the girl did almost all of the task, and the Echizen's only duty is pushing the cart. He did kind of felt a little guilty, but what can he do? Shopping and Echizen Ryoma just doesn't coexist in his mind at all. So they just kind of went on with that setup.
"Aren't they too young to be living together?"
"Well, you know kids these days."
The sound of two women murmuring those things to each other caught the tennis prince's attention. There's nothing more that annoys him other than two older women being so nosy with his life. He was prepared to face them and give them his infamous glare, but when he looked at them finally, he realized that there were a couple and a kid that seemed to be their child also doing their shopping, unminding the talks about them. The couple is noticeably younger than them. And obviously, the older women's talks were about them.
"Ryoma-kun is there something wrong?" it was Ryuzaki's curious voice that made him look at her again. It looked like she just put in the last item that they needed.
"It's nothing." was all his reply, ignoring the scene he just saw earlier.
"Then we can go fall in line at the cashier now." Sakuno helped him push the cart, much to his surprise to the long line of customers waiting to pay for their chosen goods.
"R-Ryoma-kun, I can just fall in line here." she smiled assuringly as she told of her proposal, "You can just sit over th--Ah!"
She yelped in surprise when a tiny pair of arms hugged her legs.
Both Ryoma and Sakuno looked at the kid who looked like is about to cry, hugging onto Sakuno's legs, uttering the words, "Mommy."
"A-Are you okay?" it was Ryuzaki who picked up the kid, at last, "Where are your parents?"
The kid just cried when asked the question.
"What's your name?" she gently asked the child, "We will find your Mommy."
While crying hard, the boy managed to say his name even if it is almost too hard to decipher.
"Geo.." he was crying so hard, "..rge."
"Okay, George," Sakuno patted the child's back, trying to calm him, "My name is Sakuno, and his name is," she points at the Echizen,"Ryoma-kun."
"Hn." Ryoma nodded to the child, but to his surprise the child hid behind the girl.
What's the matter with that kid? Ryoma though he wouldn't admit such childishness was quite annoyed with the child's attitude.
"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno got his attention, "Don't you think we should ask one of the staffs to make an announcement and find his parents?"
"I'll call one, then." he lazily replied. He just wants all of this to be over and it seems that Ryuzaki's idea is the best and the fastest.
"Hey!" Luckily, one of the shop's staffs passed by, Ryoma didn't hesitate and approached the staff.
"Yes, sir?" the staff asked.
"This kid here, his name is George," Ryoma explained, "Has lost his parents. Can you make an announcement to find the parents?"
Sakuno stared at Ryoma, with a smile on her face. He explained so clearly that the staff understood right away and do the work. If that was her who explained, she probably will get nervous and stutter a lot. She knows that Ryoma Echizen is a great person, ever since they were in middle school, but she can't help but feel it again after so many years.
"Staff said we should wait here." the Echizen who just came back, said to the Ryuzaki.
"T-That's good, Ryoma-kun!" she stuttered yet again, mentally stressed with herself's extreme stutter when around the tennis prince most of the time. "You and George can sit in the benches over there and wait for me." she looked at the said benches before continuing, "I'll be queing here so when the time George's parents come here, we can immediately go home."
It won't take a mind reader to know that the Echizen is not appreciative of shopping at all. For starters, he looked grumpy when they started walking to the supermarket, and he looks quite done when they saw the long queue. So the Ryuzaki took it upon herself to at least, make this time bearable and fast for him.
"George, you can wait with Ryoma-kun over the benches there, so your feet won't hurt of standing too long." she told the child who doesn't seem to like the idea at all. "George?"
Maybe it was the fact that George hates the Echizen so much, that he started to cry.
"Why are you crying?" Sakuno asked the kid who is still bawling, "Okay, okay, we won't be bringing you anywhere." she tried to comfort the child but the crying still continued.
"Are you hungry?" she didn't give up on making the child stop crying. She already feels bad that she made the baby cry, and they wasted too much of Ryoma's time. Carresing the child's back, she murmured, "Don't cry, don't cry." to George repeatedly. Ryuzaki was too absorbed with the child and she didn't notice Ryoma gone.
'Where did Ryoma-kun go?' she wondered, when she made the child calm and lessen the crying at least.
'He didn't ditched us, right?' it was a sad thought indeed, 'But I don't think Ryoma-kun is the type of person to do that, though.' Sakuno sighed, she knew that it was certainly not Ryoma's thing, but where is he exactly are her thoughts.
It has been 5 minutes since the boy stopped crying, around 7 minutes since she last saw Ryoma, and the queue for her turn is getting shorter. She lifted the kid, carefully sitting him in the cart. She's decided to wait for the parents and the tennis prince inside the supermarket no matter how long it takes. After all, since she was kind of new here, she can't really go home as fast. Heck, she even forgot her phone in the house. 'Talk about being this absent-minded.'
"Ryuzaki," a familiar voice she knows at heart, made her jump in surprise a little. Ryoma showed her a wrapped popsicle, "Maybe that kid is hungry."
'So that's why he went missing... he bought a popsicle?' she looked at him, unsure, 'But even if George is hungry, should you be giving him popsicle?'
"Ne, Ryuzaki," Sakuno was probably silent for a long time that Ryoma needed to check on her, "You hungry too?"
"Ah! I'm okay, Ryoma-kun," she snapped out of her thoughts, "Maybe George would like to have a popsicle." she shyly smiled, looking embarassed at being so out of reach today.
She saw George eyeing the popsicle ever so fondly, that she motioned to Ryoma, giving the popsicle to the excited child. Her heart kind of melted, seeing the child's sparkly eyes, holding the treat. "I guess, he likes you now, Ryoma-kun." the Ryuzaki giggled, seeing George who is now holding his arms out to Ryoma. Yes, the kid who was moments ago hated the tennis prince to the point of crying so hard, is attached to Ryoma now because of a popsicle.
Ryoma looked at her with those eyes, quite unsure what to do, with the child who looks up to him. Sakuno only nodded knowingly at him, "He wants you to carry him in your arms, Ryoma-kun." she was smiling at how cute the scene is. There is Echizen Ryoma, the Prince of Tennis himself, awkwardly returning the arms held out by the kid and carrying him in his arms.
After a few minutes, it was their turn and they paid for the goods in their cart. It was really timely, because just as when they finished checking out, a man approached them, claiming to be George's father.
"I'm so sorry for troubling you," the man apologized, "I did not notice him getting inside the super market again." George's father explained how after answering a few phone calls on his phone at the parking lot, that the child has gone back to the super market. He searched around the parking area first before deciding to go back to the super market and ask the guards where he finally found them.
"I'm really sorry." the man could only apologize.
"Make sure you look after your kid properly." Ryoma told the man bluntly, earning him a worried look from Sakuno and an even sorry look at the man in front of them. They are lucky that George's dad is not some thug to be provoked by Ryoma's words. After the 'thank yous' and the 'sorrys', George, the lost kid finally bid them good bye with his father after treating them ice cream.
Eating ice cream while carrying the groceries on their hands, Ryoma and Sakuno exited the establishment, walking to their home.
The bustling noises outside were still present, but thankfully, the weather is not that humid anymore as the sun hid behind the clouds. It was pleasant, walking in this kind of weather. Eating her strawberry ice cream, Ryuzaki can't help looking at the guy beside her. She was kind of glad that this day went smoothly. She hates being a burden to him, plus, she doesn't want him hating her for trivial things. 'N-Not because I like him, of course.' she clarified to herself, 'But because we are l-living together that I need not to trouble him.'
"Ne, Ryuzaki." his amused voice made Ryuzaki's face turn tomato red at his next statement, "You've been staring at me for quite a while now."
"I-I'm not staring at you, Ryoma-kun."
"Then, do you..." he tried to think of reasons as to why this Ryuzaki girl stared at him, "...like this ice cream flavor too?" Well, he tried.
Truth to be told, Sakuno's fragile heart almost exploded when he uttered the words 'like', and now that he asked if she likes green tea ice cream too, she's become too flustered. 'Sakuno, why are you like this?' she mentally scolded herself. She really needs to cure this feeling.
"A-Ano, R-Ryoma-kun, I do like green tea-flavored ice cream too."
"Hm."
"H-Hai."
There was a brief silence and the noise they can only hear are from the busy streets. It was not the awkward kind of silence, which made Sakuno relieved. This also made her kind of calm somehow.
"Ryuzaki..." the tennis prince suddenly stopped walking. Ryuzaki also stopped, looking at him in wonder.
"What is it, Ryoma-kun?"
"Does my family bother you a lot?" it was the knid of question that she didn't expect. After all, though Ryoma's finally is kind of at the too energetic at the teasing and tennis part, they treat her with kindness, especially his mother.
"Not at all," she didn't hesitate, "They are too good to me, really." a smile escaped her lips.
"Hn." Ryoma started walking again, so she did, too.
"But why are you asking me that?"
"I know my idiotic father and brother is quite a handful at times," he stated obviously, as they walked, "Don't mind their unnecessary comments."
'Yes, they can be that sometimes,' she thought. But his last words made her wonder if he did worried about her. She did play tennis with Ryoga before, and she enjoyed that. It was contrary though to the tennis prince's attitude that day. Maybe he was really worrying about her? Could he be jealous? But Sakuno knew the latter is kind of impossible. Does he even like her to that extent? She can only dream.
"Ryuzaki, you're staring at me again."
And this time, though Ryuzaki Sakuno's heart exploded because of him, she doesn't want to stop this feeling. With red cheeks painted on the girl, they walked home quite comfortably in silence.