"Hey, Echizen! Give it your all, will you? Don't look down on me!" Momoshiro yelled at the frail-looking kid across the net. He bounced the neon ball on his hand to the ground a couple of times before hitting it with his racket. It was a weak, normal serve, Momoshiro groaned. He proceeded to hit it back with great force. The boy ran towards the ball but didn't catch it. Another point for the taller guy.
"We got a few days left before the finals. Get serious." he was visibly annoyed, and the nod the kid gave him only fueled it more. He doesn't get it. Ryoma had always been one hundred percent even in practice matches. Surely, he isn't the only one who noticed this. Even the other regulars, too, as well as the first years on the sideline. They continued to hype Ryoma up to get back to his senses, but the kid could only wipe the sweat off his forehead before he started to serve again. A normal serve.
"Why don't you hit a twist serve?" he asked while returning the ball back to him. He was surprised when Ryoma just stood in his place rather than running to the ball. Instead, it hit the ground. The spectators were silent. Momoshiro looked around to see if he was the only one who thinks something is wrong with the lad, but all of them looked at each other.
"Ryoma-kun!" a girl, Sakuno, Momoshiro recalled, shouted before she barged into the court and ran towards Ryoma. As their eyes followed the girl, everyone watched as Ryoma fell on the ground, much like the ball did before. Unfortunately, Sakuno could not catch him in time and his head hit the ground with a loud thud. Everyone was shocked, and they all ran to his aid. Sakuno lifted his head and learned that he had fainted.
"He lost consciousness! Let's carry him to the infirmary!" Oishi, the substitute, captain ordered. The coach was not present at the time, so Oishi is in charge.
Kaidoh volunteered to give Ryoma a ride on his back to get there faster since he is the most capable to carry a person right now. All of them followed him, but Sakuno hesitated if she should go, too, since she really can't help with anything. Instead, she gathered Ryoma's racket and put it back to his duffle bag. There was no question that she was scared to death when she realized that Ryoma had his eyes already closed when Momoshiro-senpai scored the last point. That's how she knew that he fainted. It can be because of lots of things. Since they had an upcoming test soon, all students were preparing day and night, and she witnessed Ryoma working hard in his studies. Then there's the finals. They had been training everyday under the hot sun in order to make sure that they're ready to defeat Rikkaidai.
After taking Ryoma to the infirmary, the school nurse checked him and found out that he had been enduring a high fever. The sun and stress only contributed to his sickness. The regulars let him sleep to recover and they decided to resume practice and let the first years stay with him.
"Where's Sakuno-chan?" Eiji looked around and saw that the girl never followed them here. The first years shrugged.
"Maybe she went back to class?" Momo guessed.
"But how did she know that Echizen fainted? We didn't even notice," Taka commented.
"Yeah, no one can really see his eyes with that cap of his," Eiji said. He heard Momoshiro giggled and grabbed his shoulder. They grinned.
"Ah, the young!" they said in unison before leaving the room.
"Hey, Ryuzaki. Where've you been? The senpais were looking for you," Horio asked the girl who was reading her math notebook by the window. She blinked at the boy.
"T-They were? Why?" she closed her notebook and gently placed it on her table.
"Well, they just wanted to know how you knew Echizen was sick, that's all," he replied before plopping on his own chair.
"Oh," she blushed. She didn't watch Ryoma everyday for a year for nothing. "Ah, how is Ryoma-kun?" she asked.
"He's resting in the clinic. You can drop by if you like," Horio smirked at her." I know you want to,"
"Ah, maybe I will. Hehe...," she said nervously. Horio is unbelievably sharp, Sakuno thought.
After math class, Sakuno went straight to the clinic and found the prince sleeping alone. She pulled a chair and sat beside his bed. She stared at his face. His mouth slightly parted, letting out a gentle breath in and out. A damp towel laid on his forehead, a few strands of his hair sticked to it so Sakuno carefully picked it off. Her intrusive thoughts told her to stroke his hair. No harm will come if she does it. The boy is unconscious and there's no one around. So she did. Her cheeks turned pink whenever her fingers touch his skin. She felt that the towel was dry, so she carefully removed it and washed it on the sink. When she returned, she was surprised to see Ryoma's eyes opened.
"R-Ryoma-kun!" she shrieked.
"Ugh, too loud." he winced. The girl whispered a soft sorry before she proceeded to put the towel back on his forehead. He felt warm all over his body, and he couldn't move a single muscle.
"Oh, don't move. You have to rest. You must've been so tired. But don't worry, the senpais said you can take the day off," she pulled out a new towel from the cabinets.
"Ryoma-kun, do you mind if I put this towel on your back? So you don't sweat on your shirt," she shyly asked. The boy stared at her.
"Uh, I can't move," he replied blankly after trying to wiggle a few times. The girl was visibly panicking over what to do. Her grandmother always reminded her to wipe her back after practice to prevent pneumonia. And she wanted to do it for Ryoma to not get even more sick.
"Um, well if you'd let me, I will do it for you," she hesitantly said. Ryoma stared some more before nodding. Sakuno smiled with hope. She's beginning to feel helpful now.
Sakuno removed his blanket and gently pushed his shoulder to the side. Ryoma tensed at the sudden gesture, but he trusted the girl to do what is right.
"I-I will lift up your shirt now," she informed him to avoid being thought of as a pervert.
"Okay," he said quietly. He didn't know if the heat was because of his fever or the skin contact the girl is doing, but he is definitely feeling even more dizzy. Sakuno saw the many scars on the boy's back. It was from all those intense training he always does at school and maybe even at home. She felt sorry for him but would never tell him. She proceeded to fold the towel neatly and placed it on his back. Then she pulled down his shirt.
"It's done," she said.
"Thanks," he replied. A comfortable silence filled the room. The boy stared at the ceiling and the girl played with the hem of her skirt. No one really knows what she's waiting for.
"Don't you have a class?" he looked at her.
"Oh, okay, I'll leave now..." she suddenly felt useless again. But it was okay. She's just a classmate, not a manager, or a nurse, or a member of the club. She will always treasure what little moment she could have with him. Sakuno stood up from her seat, but a hand caught her wrist, stopping her movement. Ryoma surprised himself since a moment ago, he couldn't move even a finger.
"On second thought, why don't you keep me company," he looked at her with wide, tired eyes, but full of twinkle. The same eyes Sakuno fell in love with. She was mesmerized by him that she obeyed, no questions asked. They took a moment to stare at each other's eyes.
"Ryoma-kun, um..." she started, not breaking her stare at the prince. He noticed his hand was still holding her that he instantly snatched it away. He muttered a quiet 'sorry' and returned his gaze on the ceiling. A tint of red was visible on his cheeks.
"Y-You might not recall what happened but you kind of fainted in the middle of practice," she spoke. Ryoma looked at her again and nodded.
"Hmm, well I don't remember but I heard your voice," he said. Sakuno felt her heart jumped.
"Oh, sorry about that. I paid attention to you ever since the first game, since your form was obviously off," she quietly answered, staring at the tree outside the window. The boy blinked.
"You always notice the smallest things, do you?" he smirked. Sakuno smiled at him but immediately frowned again.
"Sorry if I didn't get to catch you. Your head must've been hurt pretty badly! I'm so stupid," she said. Ryoma sighed. Honestly, this girl always thinks lowly of herself. She must be seeing herself as useless all the time.
"Still, thanks for that," he smiled. Sakuno's eyes widened. This is the first time that she saw Ryoma smiled sincerely, without a hint of cockiness.
"I didn't really do anything to help, though," she said with a touch of sadness in her voice.
"Sometimes, you don't need to do anything to help me," he answered, a smile plastered on his face. She couldn't help but be teary-eyed. She was touched by this boy in front of her.
"How can you be so kind to me?" she cried. "You always save me, but in the rare times that you need someone, I couldn't do anything for you," a tear fell down on her cheeks. The boy sighed. Must he spell out everything?
"You help me in more ways than one, you just don't know it," he rolled his eyes. "Stupid Sakuno."
The girl blinked. She felt her face get hotter and hotter, even hotter than Ryoma's forehead.
"Y-You just said my name..." she said while Ryoma covered his mouth. He glared at her for being so annoying. She giggled; a growing happiness clouded her heart.
"I meant Ryuzaki," he spoke in a muffled voice due to his hand covering his mouth, but the girl disregarded that last comment and kept giggling in front of him. Ryoma breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he managed to cheer up the girl in less than half an hour.