26th Chapter: invisible strings

Unlike the past days, he woke up quite refreshed.

Ryoma blinked slowly as he sat up from his bed. With the sunshine pooling from his windows, he can instantly deduce that it's past the time for his morning run and practice. He felt up his wounded forehead through the bandage.

Like a confirmation that his small accident yesterday really happened, he winced at contact. As a person who breathed tennis almost all of his life, he still found it ridiculous. That he tripped over a tennis ball because of losing focus, was a thing that he didn't even knew he was capable of—well, things he was capable of if you count daydreaming and clumsiness, since Ryuzaki Sakuno left the house.

It was an epiphany. The discovery that he really missed the twin-braided girl surprised him. It literally took him weeks and a petty accident to come upon the conclusion that he missed her. Last night as he laid on what used to be her room, he wondered how he could deal with that single fact alone.

And that same last night, like the universe conspired to help him, Ryuzaki is loitering around the house at almost curfew. The timing was precise, and he did his best to make sure he could talk to her about his eureka moment. But the thing is, he chickened out and he had to add it up on the things he didn't know he was capable of.

Because Echizen Ryoma, the prince of tennis, can be described as anything but a coward.

It should've been simple. When he was in the kitchen to get her a drink, he already had a script. All he needed was to speak, but his words were lost in his tongue when she asked him if he was okay.

As he replied on her questions one after another, the thought of telling her about his newfound feelings drifted away. Lost in thoughts, as they catch up for a bit; chuckling, sharing a small joke.

When he looked at her flustered face, he felt his heart swell. Ryoma found the feeling, not entirely unpleasant. And as he stood up to go to his room, to give her some pillows and covers to use, he wondered about the strange tug in his chest. The thought that she would be using his things sent him a weird feeling he's yet to coin a term about.

And at his second attempt of asking her why she was outside, he wasn't prepared at how genuine, honest, though somehow melancholic her answer was.

"...I was worried when I heard about your accident."

"Y-You know me, Ryoma-kun...I've been like this ever since the first time I met you..."

If initially, it was Ryuzaki who seemed to be caught off guard, in the end, it was him. He wasn't prepared to see her small strained smile after the light ambiance they both shared earlier. Maybe it was because he had a clue as to what her words may have pertained about. And maybe because, despite the tumultuous emotions that since frequented him after months of her revelation, he still doesn't have a definite answer.

Five years later, but he might as well be the same twelve year old Echizen Ryoma who still haven't had any idea as to what it actually meant to have romantic feelings. It was frustrating. To tell her that he missed her would mean that he had to explain why. Why would he miss her? Did he miss her as a friend? As someone he's romantically attracted to? He doesn't know why. But the possibility that she leaves again, and he doesn't have any idea when he will see her again didn't sit quite well.

His forehead started to ache again, and he wasn't entirely kidding to think that it was for all the non-tennis related thinking. Ryoma only shook his head, putting his rambling thoughts at the back of his mind. He finally opened his bedroom door to see whether the house seemed to be more like the place it once was, with Ryuzaki sleeping over for the night.

His eyes wandered to her opened bedroom door- with the bed empty, the sheets folded neatly, he couldn't find it in himself why he rushed to descend downstairs. The front door was closed, and the living room was exactly the same way they had left it last night. He visited the kitchen, seeing no one. At the corner of his eyes registered a yellow post-it note pasted on the fridge. He went on to see it.

Ryoma-kun, thank you for letting me stay over... I'm sorry I left early. I made breakfast. - Ryuzaki :)

"So she already left." his mood plummeted, wanting to at least see her for a bit before she leaves. His stomach grumbled, reminding him of his missed dinner last night. He turned to look at the kitchen table. Grilled fish, tamagoyaki and a bowl of rice, covered with transparent plastic wrap was in view. There was also a small aluminum thermos at the side which he assumed to be some soup. The prince of tennis didn't want to eat yet, the thought that Ryuzaki already left gave him a lingering small discomfort. He begrudgingly sat by the kitchen table to help himself with his late breakfast. On his head, mulling at the comfort that it was still the clumsy girl's cooking that he couldn't miss enough.

Ryuzaki Sakuno woke up early- fifteen minutes earlier than her usual alarm clock that's supposed to ring at 7:00 in the morning.

She sat up on the bed, yawning, stretching her arms as she took in the view of her room, wondering why it looked exactly the same as the room she had when she stayed at her previous boarding house. It took her a minute to fully realize what transpired last night, and the reason she was there.

Instantly, the girl blushed, reminiscing the embarrassing things she did. From ditching Kate and Kevin without any word, to her pacing in front of the tennis prince's boarding house, up to actually getting caught outside by the boy she's deliberately avoided for a month. To add up, the fact that all of her resolve to forget the feelings she had has already crumbled, just highlighted the failure of her nth attempt at forgetting.

At this point, she's quite afraid that the tenacity of 12 year old Ryuzaki Sakuno's romantic feelings is far greater than everything she's ever experienced. If it was a good thing or not, the twin-braided girl can't comment much.

Sakuno sighed, swinging her legs at the edge of the bed to finally stand up. Then, she gently opened her bedroom door. The house was still silent, no signs of the prince being awake. The girl took it as her cue to silently descend the stairs to reach the common bathroom by the kitchen. There was a whole small closet of clean toiletries there- a feature that was now missing on her previous bedroom's adjacent bathroom since her moving out.

After her morning rituals, she checked the refrigerator for something she could cook. But seeing it all empty, she wasn't surprised at all. Luckily, her class would start at around 9:30 in the morning. Having more or less 2 hours left, she left for a quick trip to the nearby farmers' market.

Along the way, the question: "Why am I doing this?" repeatedly played in her mind.

Normally, by thinking so much and spacing out in a walk would've led her to numerous disasters. But not this time. For even if the rational part of her brain continued to question why she was doing this much for her five year unrequited love, the other part of it already knew the answer.

More than making breakfast and getting groceries for the amber-eyed boy, she was actually doing it for herself. The answer she came upon over her late-night realizations were that simple.

Giving herself the choice of choosing whatever she feels right and happy about.

And that meant doing unspoken favors, cheering the love of her life on, and just letting herself to be in love for the moment.

It's official. After her long deliberation last night towards her next step, she's decided to give up on forgetting. If completely avoiding Ryoma for a month was useless against small accidental encounters with him, then nothing could possibly change her feeling. Day by day, it was becoming apparent that accepting her situation and letting her feelings die of natural causes would be most effective.

She had a smile on her face after buying groceries. As soon as she arrived back at the boarding house, she immediately went to cooking. The girl was mildly surprised to see that the boy is yet to wake up. But then, she figured that he needed all the rest that he can, considering how hectic his practices usually were.

A few moments and she's already done with everything. Noticing she only had an hour at most before her classes start, Sakuno decided to write a note. That was the least she could do to tell her thanks before she goes back to her own boarding house for now. Before closing his front door on her way out, she exhaled.

Accepting her feelings certainly made her chest feel a bit lighter. With newfound energy, Ryuzaki Sakuno smiled to herself. The tips of her auburn braids bounced as she left the vicinity.

It was a good thing that as per his college dean's confirmation yesterday— he needed to thank Kate for that- he's free to not attend classes for the week to aid in his full recovery. He's also excused from going training, which in honesty, was only a benefit since his pride is yet to heal in remembrance of his petty accident. Though true to the belief that he breathes tennis, skipping training at the university doesn't mean that he'd miss out on practicing in his own. After all, three weeks from now, the US Open starts.

The tennis ball whizzed, bouncing off from the outside kitchen wall where he usually does his wall practice. He swung his racket, swiftly hitting the ball back. It perfectly hit off the same spot since the rally started.

He has been doing it for twenty straight minutes. Deep inside, he was aware that this kind of wall practice would only be good as a bit of a warm up. But then again, he was quite sure that it was the least he could do aside from his usual workout to not be out of shape.

Finally feeling thirsty, he caught the ball with his racket, controlling the ball to a stop. He glanced at the nearby bench where he usually places his drinks, only to see the empty Ponta can that he consumed earlier. Exhaling, he stretches his one arm that holds his racket before walking back inside the kitchen door.

He rummaged through the contents of his fridge, the grape-flavored soda no longer holding the monopoly of the space inside. He figured that Ryuzaki must have gone shopping before she left earlier. That could only explain the amount of non-junk food inside the machine. There was a flicker of small hope within him that she wouldn't let those precious food gone to waste. She would definitely come back later or in another day to cook, since he can't really cook anything by himself.

His day was becoming better, even with the small disappointment he felt in the morning.

The small beep of his phone sitting atop the kitchen table caught his attention. After grabbing a new can of Ponta, he went to check what the fuss was about. The screen lit, and flashed a notification of a message from Kevin Smith himself.

Coach has been running us ragged since his star player isn't around. Try to actually rest so you can come back here right away. We still have US Open.

P.S. Did Ryuzaki visit you last night? She literally ran when she heard about your accident...

He replied:

Tell coach that I wouldn't need to rest for that long.

Ryoma then, smirked as he pressed on the send button. Even with the last question, the boy didn't feel the need to tell his blond friend about Ryuzaki's unexpected visit last night. For some reason, he's sure that his closest confidant in America would pry too much and ultimately annoy him in the end.

He would be lying though, if he denies that the knowledge that Ryuzaki really went out of the way to visit him made him feel elated. Is that what it really meant to miss someone?

A smile crept on his lips, wondering when did he become so emotional.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell put him out of reverie.

"It's here already?"

His cat eyes widened, remembering he ordered some fast food for lunch. He wasn't really a great cook and he wasn't in the mood to get out of the house and eat out like he usually does, these days.

At the next ringing of the doorbell, he finally moved to open the door

The girl with the twin-braids uneasily stood behind the uniformed person.

"Food delivery?" she wondered, her hazel eyes looking at the logo of a famous fast food in the box that the person held.

She unconsciously clutched the handles of the bento bag she brought. A frown made its way on her face, thinking that making the prince of tennis a bento for lunch isn't a great idea at all. She totally missed on the thought of the possibility that the he would order himself his own food.

"Mou..."

And she rushed there too, considering that it's lunch break and it was the only time she could give him the bento she made. Her worrying whether he could get himself his own lunch seemed to be for nothing.

It was a bit disappointing. And she looked forward on making him food again. She bit her lip, deciding that if the tennis prince really ordered his own lunch, she doesn't have any business to stay and wait.

"Maybe I could just give my extra bento to some blockmates." she dejectedly thought.

For the second time, the fast food delivery person rang the door bell. Sakuno wondered why she didn't move fast to leave. She felt glued on the spot, standing there awkwardly as the wooden door opened to reveal the boy who looked like he was just doing training. Sweat flecked on his face and on the loose strands of his hair that peeked under the white cap he wore.

"Food delivery, Sir!"

She saw how the boy's eyes wandered first to the delivery person before darting to her. Upon realizing that he could see the bento bag she brought, she immediately shifted to hide it behind her. She saw him blink before his golden eyes bored into her.

Sakuno's cheeks burned. She swallowed the lump on her throat. The not-so-distant memory of her admission to the unwavering feelings she had for years, made her flustered. It was really strange, how mere acceptance of her own situation could make her act this way around him again. She wasn't sure whether it was a step forward or backward.

"Ryuzaki," he regards, "You're here."

"H-Hai!" She stiffens up, cheeks still flushing in embarrassment as she replies, "A-Ano, I was just checking up on Ryoma-kun."

Internally cringing as to how she instantly reverted back to being a stuttering mess around him, Sakuno gave him an assuring smile as she continued to speak promptly, "But Ryoma-kun seems to be okay, I-I should leave."

She was about to turn on her heels, when he managed to grab her hand. The contact made her flinch, her pulse quickening at contact.

"Matte, Ryuzaki..."

Her surprised eyes settled on his face. His brows were furrowed, and the slight pout on his lips reminded her of his childish defiant expressions when he was being refused to. She was caught off guard that it was directed at her.

The prince of tennis pulled her closer, tugging slightly for her to move her way inside the house. She was puzzled, finding the right words to speak. Meanwhile, without breaking his hold on her hand, Ryoma handed money to the seemingly forgotten delivery person in front.

"You can take the food for yourself." he instructed, closing the door on the guy.

But as a couple of seconds passed, the doorbell rang again. Looking positively grumpy, Ryoma opened the door a bit. It was just enough so his face could show outside.

"Keep the change." he said with finality, not allowing the dazed crew to utter his thanks. Then, he closed the door for the second time with a sigh.

"A-Ano, why didn't you accept your ordered food?"

He turned to face the twin-braided girl who was so lost as to what just transpired. Ryoma appeared perplexed by her question.

"What for?" he shrugs, looking perplexed.

"Eh? What do you mean by that, Ryoma-kun?"

He adjusted his hat before he looked away, the small pout in his lips didn't leave as he muttered, "You brought me food, right?"

"Oh..." was all she managed to reply, before her eyes wandered to the bento bag she hugged in her arms. She remembered how with the little time she had left that morning before attending her first period class, she managed to prepare the lunch boxes. It made her heart swell, his indirect declaration that he'd rather eat the food she made over the ones he ordered.

Ryuzaki Sakuno took a deep breath, trying to calm the erratic heartbeats pounding in her chest. She held out the bento bag as she spoke.

"Let's eat lunch, Ryoma-kun."

A genuine smile crept on her face as she looked back at the boy she was so hopelessly in love with, marveling at how easy it is for him to make her feel this certain way. Over the years, it seemed like no matter what she does, somehow, her feelings would never leave, as if tied to her by an invisible string. And she would always wonder, whether it all could actually connect her to him.

A/N: Hello! With this chapter, the fanfiction dot net version finally caught up with the wattpad one. This is kinda late because I planned on updating after I finish the next chapter. But I can't seem to get around writing a certain scene for the next chapter. So for the meantime, I'll be posting a new ryosaku fic entitled, the downward spiral to romance, as a side project while I work on the next chapters of Waiting for that Promise.

Regarding future updates, my schedule is a mess, again after this month. That's because my review classes are going to start soon, and for the next six months, I would have to prepare for my postponed board exams again. I hope you all would understand~

Also, thank you everyone for reading this fic. I really feel happy whenever you leave votes and comments. I have so much RyoSaku projects lined up and waiting for me to write, so I wish you would all stay with me.

Thank you!