"Is that everything?" Ryoma asked her as the driver of the car loaded their luggage at the back compartment, "You did not forget anything?"
"I think that's everything." Ryuzaki replied, initially thinking hard of the things that she may have forgotten.
"If that's everything, we can go now, Sir." the driver closed the compartment and Ryoma nodded. The two university students got inside the car. Sakuno on the back seat and Ryoma at the front, beside the driver.
It's 6 am and they are scheduled to fly back to Japan at 8:30 am. Ryuzaki took a deep breath, as she looked at the moving buildings and establishments as they made their way to the airport. It's been months since she's last home. And while Ryoma isn't a bad housemate, she craves the company of her Grandmother in their own house.
Looking at the front, she can see Ryoma's bored face in the hanging mirror inside. He isn't wearing his hat, but he had his tinted shades placed at the top of his head. He yawned, and when he looked up at the mirror, the girl immediately looked away. Too awkward to make eye contact.
She shouldn't have been surprised, that Ryoma already knew about the wedding before she told him. When she brought the subject up, he already arranged the tickets and the dates. Apparently, that same morning she received her friends' e-mails, the Echizen also received one from their Momo-senpai.
Sakuno sighed, relieved that Ryoma already arranged everything. She was not sure if she can actually get the tickets on such short notice. As the airport visibly get closer, she smiled to herself. She can't wait.
"Ryoma-kun! I can see the Tokyo Tower from here." She excitedly tried to get his attention. Her heart swelled, realizing there's only a few minutes before she takes the step to her home land. She didn't immediately realize the closeness that happened when Ryoma leaned to her side, looking outside the window. She can make out the small smile in his lips. Seeing his reaction, she wondered why he didn't visit within those five years. But before she gathered the courage to ask him, she dismissed the thought. Ryoma just may have his personal reasons, and she can't possibly question those. The idea of those reasons made her feel a bit deflated.
When they landed, it was Ryoma who pushed their luggage cart. She felt quite guilty that he's carrying her luggage. But when she volunteered to push too, he just gave her a wondering look. And so, she let him.
The airport is as busy as usual. The noise of people talking and rushing to their respective places, was all too familiar. After the duo passed by the security, they walked a bit further to the waiting area. Sakuno's eyes scanned the place, looking for the familiar face of her friend, Tomoka who volunteered to wait for them. Amidst the sea of faces, Tomoka's loud calling of Sakuno got their attention. Sakuno's bestfriend held a placard: Ryuzaki Sakuno and Echizen Ryoma-sama. Beside the girl is Ryuzaki Sumire, who had a wide smile in her face.
Without realizing it, Sakuno rushed ahead, giving her grandmother and best friend a tight hug. She just missed them so much. And no amount of e-mails and calls beat the feeling of actually seeing them.
"How's America, Sakuno?" her grandmother asked.
"It was great, so far! There were a lot of people helping me around." the younger Ryuzaki replied, holding her grandmother's hand.
"You have lots of secrets to spill to us, Sakuno." Tomoka slyly said, "Is Ryo--"
"Mou, Tomo-chan!" she covered Tomoka's mouth, a faint blush in her cheeks appeared, knowing Tomoka would tease her a lot about a certain prince.
"How's your flight, Ryoma?" the elder Ryuzaki asked the approaching boy, "I see you've gotten much taller." she said with a joking smile.
"It was okay, Ryuzaki-sensei," he greeted, "You've grown older too."
His last statement earned him a rather hard elbow on his stomach from the coach. "Well, five years can be long." Ryoma awkwardly rubbed his aching tummy as she then proceeded to slap his back casually. He stifled a groan.
"It's nice to see you again, Ryoma-sama." Osakada greeted, her mouth finally uncovered, "Do you remember me?"
How could he not remember that loud voice that would oftentimes annoy him up to no end? He didn't remember her name, but he recognized her face, "Hn."
"See, Sakuno? Ryoma-sama still remembers me!" She excitedly chuckled, "I was his fanclub President after all."
"Hai, hai." she giggled.
It was already night, and Sakuno basked in the chilly air of Japan night. They got inside the car that Sakuno's grandmother drive. Ryoma sat in the front seat while Tomoka and Sakuno sat in the back. The two girls excitedly chat with each other, catching up some things they failed to e-mail each other.
Ryoma stared outside the window, observing the night at the city. He recognized the familiar roads, though some shops and establishments were quite new. He looked at the new buildings, which seemed to look as if it was there for a long time now. Right now, he thought that five years is indeed very really long.
After almost an hour of travel, with the usual traffic, from the mirror inside, he saw Ryuzaki Sakuno drifting into sleep, leaning into Tomoka as the latter used her phone. She must be tired. He thought. He felt tired too, and though he was quite annoyed that his family can't even be bothered to personally fetch him from the airport, he longed for his old bed.
When they stopped at the Echizen residence, with sleepy eyes, she saw him get out of the car. After the audible sounds of luggage fished out of the back, she heard him thank her grandmother for the ride.
She sat up straight, seeing the boy's back to her as he walked to his home. It was Rinko who opened the gate, and let her son in. She also thanked her grandmother before closing their gates.
"I'm home." she swore she heard his voice from inside the house. She suddenly felt a tear welling up in her eye. Finally, Ryoma-kun's really home.
"Tomo-chan!!!" she blushed furiously, as Tachibana An zipped at the back, the blue dress she'll be using for tomorrow's event.
"What? I really think that Ryoma-sama will really find you pretty in that dress." Tomoka stated, "Right, An?"
"Sakuno definitely looks good in this dress." An replied, sitting beside Tomoka so she sees the girl in the dress fully.
"Who knows, Ryoma-sama might fall in love with you." the loud girl made a 'you'll-never-know' face to tease the girl.
"Be confident, Sakuno. You're pretty, and I'm sure Echizen-kun is aware of that." An adds.
"Mou, An-chan and Tomo-chan, I just came back and the both of you are still teasing me." Ryuzaki pouts. Feigning annoyance to her friends.
"Okay, okay...We'll stop." Tomoka laughed, "You're really easy to tease, Sakuno."
"By the way, have you heard from Takenori-kun?" An changed the subject, "He was really deflated when you left for US."
"I haven't seen him since graduation." Sakuno replied honestly, "I still feel bad about the last time we met."
Takenori Yuji confessed to Ryuzaki Sakuno for the first time at the school festival of their first year in high school. Their class were performing a play and Ryuzaki and Takenori were voted as main leads. After the school festival and while everyone's dancing around the bonfire he confessed to the girl bravely. It surprised Sakuno, as Takenori himself is popular enough to get a popular girlfriend too. But she turned him down, for the reason that despite the almost three years of not seeing him, Echizen Ryoma still holds her heart, unknowingly.
The second time that Takenori confessed was the day of their high school graduation. He congratulated her, then told Sakuno that he liked her in their three years of high school. The girl was flattered, but she ultimately felt unfair if she accepted the boy. While her friends advised that she get a boyfriend so that she'll forget her middle school crush, she can't bring herself to do it. She'd rather be alone than lead other people up. She turned him down for the second time, while apologizing profusely. After that day, she didn't see Takenori Yuji again.
"You shouldn't feel guilty, turning him down." An commented, noticing that Ryuzaki's voice sounded sad, "It was better than dating him and being dishonest."
"An is right, Sakuno." Tomo rubbed the girl's shoulders for comfort, "You shouldn't feel bad."
A sudden knock from the door of An Tachibana's room, got the three girls' attention. Momoshiro Takeshi's voice were heard from the other side of the door.
"An, are you girls finished with the fitting? We just finished with Echizen and Taka-senpai brought over sushi for everyone," the former Seigaku regular called.
"Sure, Takeshi! We'll be downstairs in a while." An replied.
"Okay!" the man responded, his footsteps can be heard descending the stairs.
The girls helped Sakuno get out of the dress. Moments later, they're ready to come down. From the top of the stairs, they can already hear the energetic, 'Burning!' of their Taka-senpai. There was also the boisterous laugh of Kikumaru and Momoshiro . The three girls descended, and they saw Fuji, Ryoma, and Oishi whom in contrast of the other three senpais, talked idly, choosing to catch up with things. The Seigaku regulars are almost complete, except for Kaido who was finishing some tasks at his university, and Tezuka who's still in Germany.
There were a lot of catching ups, laughter, and congratulations that afternoon. Taka brought a lot of sushi, enough for the small get-together before An and Takeshi's wedding. Ryuzaki Sakuno continuously observed the tennis prince as he get along with the other former regulars. At first, she was nervous, five years is a long time after all. But as minutes passed and she watched him comfortable and act the same way as before, she guessed that time may have just been an irrelevant concept for friends who shared the same hardships and victories,
"O-chibi, you playboy!" Kikumaru mischievously slapped Ryoma's back, "Living under the same roof with Ryuzaki-chan."
"Looks like our Echizen is not really a kid anymore, huh?" Momoshiro laughed, earning the famous annoyed face of the tennis prince, "Ah, youth."
"ECHIZEN!!!" Taka, who somehow got hold of a racket, courtesy of Fuji, yelled, "BURNING!!!"
"Maa, maa." Oishi joined the conversation, "I'm sure that the both of them are responsible enough for those things." He said with his usual motherly tone.
"I see Echizen has finally fell in love," Fuji smiled, "And with Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter, no less."
"Stop putting weird ideas in your heads, senpai-tachi," Ryoma shrugged, his face slightly annoyed because of his senpais' usual meddling. "Ryuzaki and I are housemates. That's different."
Across the room, Ryuzaki Sakuno visibly blushed, overhearing the boys' conversations. Tomoka and An teased her a lot more, particularly about the accidental kiss, albeit without being straightforward so that only the three of them would share the joke.
It was already night, when they decided to call it a day. They left An and Takeshi in their house. The seven people walked on the streets, continuing some conversations until they split up to go on their own ways. The last three people were Tomoka, Sakuno, and Ryoma. A few walks, and it was Tomoka's turn to go.
"Bye-bye," Osaka Tomoka touched Ryuzaki's arm before she walked away, "See you tomorrow, Sakuno, Ryoma-sama!"
"Bye-bye, Tomo-chan." Sakuno smiled at her friend, while Ryoma just nodded his head in recognition.
"Ryoma-sama, make sure that Sakuno goes home safely, okay?" Osakada requested, for the last time before she went her way.
"Ano, Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno felt flustered, embarrassed since he might think that she would like to waste his precious time, "You don't have to go out of your way." She gave him a small smile.
The boy looked at her as he casually said, "It's okay, your place is near anyway." He thought of the possible ways that the elder Ryuzaki would kill him if he just let her grand daughter by herself, walking alone in the streets at this time of night. Somehow, those thoughts were enough for him to comply by Osakada's request.
"Let's go." he suddenly walked, so the girl caught up.
"Thank you, Ryoma-kun." she shyly thanked him.
"Hn."
The walk was not entirely silent, but it was pleasant. Sakuno got reminded of the times that she and Ryoma would walk back home together in their shared house at the university. The lamp posts illuminated the street lights as the chill of night descended. Ryuzaki rubbed her hands together, not entirely minding the weather.
"Ryoma-kun, isn't it nice meeting our friends, again?" she started a conversation. She looked at him, trying to spot his faintest expression in the face.
"It was nice." he replied, sporting his usual expression that Ryuzaki Sakuno has long learned to be his, happy and contented face without being obvious about it at all.
She stared at him as they walked, longer than she intended. There was a question that she longed to ask him, after all those years. All along, she's been putting it at the back of her mind, figuring that it won't be helpful and she might just sound accusatory. But it bugged her the most now, that they're finally back in Japan.
"Ryoma-kun?" she halted, just before they walked to the corner leading to the Ryuzaki residence. He looked back at her, a little surprised when she stopped walking.
"Do you remember the last thing you told me when you first left for US Open?" she asked, walking again so that she can stand by him. She tried to sound casual.
"Something I told you?" he asked, also continuing to step forward. She can see that he's trying to remember. Going through memories, but to no avail, "I don't remember." He finally said.
There was a pang in her chest, as she still remembered his exact words even after all these years. His words were all she thought about as she waited for years with the love she didn't have the chance to confess. It was a shame, but Ryuzaki knew just how exactly he was. How different she saw him from the way he saw her.
"Was it something important?" Ryoma asked, getting curious himself. He tried to remember.
"I-It wasn't important Ryoma-kun," she awkwardly laughed, internally disappointed. It was sad, but it was her reality. There were only a few steps before they reach the gates to the Ryuzakis.
The tennis prince threw her an even more questioning look, now wondering even more She thought that it was nice that he seemed to care. But still, she didn't want to tell him outright. She's afraid that she would say more than the necessary, and reveal just how pathetic it was for her to hold on. She felt silly.
"Just forget it, Ryoma-kun." she gave him a weak smile.
They finally reached the gate.
"Thank you for walking me home, Ryoma-kun. Good night." she tried to sound cheerful.
"It's nothing. Good night."
Ryuzaki Sakuno waited for Echizen Ryoma to turn his back and walk away. With a heavy heart, she closed the gate. More than ever, she felt sad.
A/N:
I missed updating last month This is really late, but if you're reading this, big thanks! I would be uploading the next chapter shortly, as this chapter is supposed to be the part one of the next~ Expect it around this week, the latest. Hehe.
Anyway, as much as I thank everyone still following and reading this fanfic, it would be great if you could give a vote and leave a comment. Believe me, even the laziest person/writer (like myself) gets motivated to work more with your feedback. :D
Thanks again!