Tennis no Ouji-sama Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.


- Act XXIV -

[ Rondo Towards Her Heart]


Had the sky ever been this blue before?

Had the bird chirps been this melodious before?

Or were these beauties always there but he never realised it?

Keigo unknowingly smiled when a bird landed on his thigh, chirping while cutely tilted its head as if asking how was his day.

"My day has never been this beautiful…" he said to the bird before gazing up to the sky.

Closing his eyes, for the umpteenth times he replayed the content of her letter in his mind. Though it wasn't directly meant for him, it was still for him. It was hard for him to hide his face from her after he read everything in that letter. He couldn't believe that even after he told her that, she still felt that way about him.

With his reputation, he received millions of letters every year but none of them could make him feel the way he felt when reading hers.

It warmed his heart so much that his face flushed in red. It was getting harder to hold himself from kissing her whenever she was around because scaring her was the last thing he wanted, so he danced with her instead. The sensation of holding her close, her scent, the way she was holding him so tightly—everything was pouring so much euphoria into his heart that it could burst at any moment.

No one would know how he wanted to freeze that moment forever…

If only being the Ice Emperor allowed him to do that.

Keigo slumped on the grassy bed, taking a deep breath as the scent of hundreds kinds of flowers seeped into his senses, smiling when the hint of her scent roamed his mind.

"Hikari…" he whispered her name. Even that alone already sent him flying up above. Glancing at his palms, Keigo let the sensation of holding her overwhelm him. How he wanted her to return his feelings just so he could shower her with his love. But seeing the way she held him back the day before, Keigo was certain that a part of her did. And he had to take an advantage of that.

Going back to the manor, Keigo was about to take his phone when the 'janitor's phone' came into his vision. His hand hovered the phone for a moment before he decided to turn it on. Just as he expected, a message from her popped in and Keigo knew exactly what she was up to.

The news about the upcoming typhoon flashed on his phone. Despite that, the sky didn't show any sign of the upcoming storm. It was almost like a premonition about the event that was about to occur, not for him but for her.

One little push was all he needed…

It might be the harshest thing he would ever do to her.

But he'd do whatever it takes to make her fall into Atobe Keigo.

He had to have her no matter what…

After dismissing the club, Keigo exchanged his clothes into his disguise. Each step he took as he was heading to the hut felt like he had a stone attached to his foot. Inside the hut was his nervous-looking princess, who he promised to meet. The atmosphere was thick with awkwardness. For a second, he didn't know what to say, until she broke the silence.

"L-long time no see…" she stuttered.

"You're right. I'm sorry for not replying to all of your messages. I turned my phone off because I've been away for a while." He had prepared the reasoning a long time ago that it flew smoothly from his mouth. "Have a seat. I'll make chocolate for you."

"I won't t-take long! I just want to give you something. After that… depending on your answer, I might be leaving soon."

Never in his life his heart was drumming that hard against the rib cage, so much that he could feel his ears thumping as well. He slowly turned around, seeing her approaching him with a pink envelope in the small hands that were gripping it as if her life was depending on it.

"T-the real reason I didn't choose Hyotei was… the policy that forbids the relationship between school staff and student…"

Keigo unknowingly widened his eyes. He always thought that Kunimitsu played a big role in her decision so it never crossed his mind that he was the real reason she didn't choose Hyotei…

"I… I always like you… since our first m-meeting…"

And so did he….

She was staring directly at him and how much he wanted to commend her courage for doing so. Sincerity and honesty mixed with anxiety were clear in her eyes.

How much would he have to pay to get her to say that directly to him?

"I…" She bit her bottom lip and finally pushed the letter into his hand. "P-please read the rest in here!"

Keigo slightly bowed at her before opening her letter, reading the very same content she wrote the day before. How much he wanted to scream a million yes for her at that moment. He even had to clench his fist to hold himself back.


To whom my heart belonged to,

Before you, I have never experienced love and I want to thank you for letting me have one of my own. Our meeting might have happened by accident, but the memory lasts many nights that I have to express it through this letter.

The moment you walked into my life, my feelings for you have only grown. Your past and every single thing you hate about yourself only make it stronger than ever, so much that it has become overwhelming now.

I love you for who you really are. No matter what the world might've said about you, no matter what the world might've told you, I love you because you're you. I want to be the woman who would stand by your side through your rise and fall, simply because my heart will never cease to love you.

-TH-


"Why someone like me?" he finally asked, wondering why she didn't change her feelings even after what he had told her. "You know my story. I am just a…"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter! It's about you and what's inside you! It's all that matters for me!" She was on the verge of tears.

What had he done to deserve someone like her?

Keigo clenched his fists, wanting to hold her so much but his brain reminded him that he shouldn't. Not in his current state. Or else, he would ruin everything…

Finally, the time was nigh for him to end this once and for all.

Taking a deep breath, he covered his face for a while before finally took her hands. "I… appreciate your feelings for me. Your letter… everything that was written here makes me happy but I…" he gulped, "I… can't accept your feelings." He bowed at her. The whirl of guilt was spinning in his guts.

To his surprise, she remained indifferent.

"I see…" she said with a sad smile. "Thank you for… being honest with me."

"I'm so—" Hikari raised her hand to stop him.

"Don't feel sorry for being honest to yourself. Apologising will only hurt me." She took a deep breath numerous times and seemed to suppress her emotions while trying hard to smile at him. "I want to thank you for all the kindness you've given to me. The times we've spent together, I won't ever forget that."Hikari bowed at him once before taking her bag and leaving the hut.

"W-wait!" Slamming the door right in front of his face, she had run away towards the gate. He wanted to run after her right away but with his disguise on, it was definitely not a wise move. Keigo arbitrarily took off his disguise and ran as fast as he could, looking around for any signs of her around Hyotei. When he caught a sign of her boarding the public bus, it was already too late for him to catch up. He checked the bus number and the possible destinations—none of them leading into her house area.

The weather cast had alerted the city about the upcoming typhoon but the wind was rather strong for the typhoon that was coming tomorrow. When his phone beeped, Keigo checked it and widened his eyes to see the information about the typhoon coming earlier than expected. People were encouraged to stay inside because the alert had been raised to level three.

"Hikari…" The last thing he wanted was her being trapped inside the storm. Keigo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself so he could think right away where she might go when she was upset.

He could think nowhere but that one place.

The garden they went to during their first date.

Keigo rushed to the place with his car and smoothly climbed the cemented wall without hassle. He took a quick look and sighed in relief when he saw her there.

Hikari had always looked regal in the garden, in the court, wherever she danced on as if she was the fairy that lived in there. But never she looked so small and fragile as she did at that approached her, peeking at her face to see her staring blankly at her bare feet. Slowly, he reached for the wet strands of her hair, startling herto the point she looked at him up and down to confirm that it was really him.

"W-what are you doing here? How—"

"The storm is coming. Let's get you somewhere safe." She slowly nodded in response so Keigo took her into the car that brought them into the manor.

Seeing how soaked they were, the maids and butlers quickly rushed to cover them in towels before ushering them to the fireplace to warm themselves. Hikari didn't say a word since he picked her up from the garden and silently sat while staring at the flickering fire, gripping the towel around her tighter before burying her face in her knees.

The whirl of guilt started to overwhelm him again. It kept piling upwithin his belly that he kept sighing to ease the feeling. However, it kept coming back.

"Have you… ever experienced being broken-hearted before?" she suddenly asked.

"Yes. When you rejected me." When she lowered her head, he quickly said, "Hey, I'm just kidding." Though he couldn't imagine how he would without the knowledge of her falling for his disguise.

"It might be my karma for rejecting you then… I'm sorry…"

"There's nothing wrong about being honest with your feelings." Keigo sat beside her and handed her a warm cup of tea. Hikari refused at first but he didn't budge until she took a sip of it."You'll get over it eventually. Don't worry."

She chuckled. "I hope I can be as strong as you. How can you still be able to see me after I—" Hikari choked on her words before breaking into tears.

Patting her back, Keigo said, "Take your time recovering, but change your clothes first, okay? You'll get sick like this."

But her sobbing became uncontrollable instead. The more she wailed, the more his chest constricted by the barbwires of guilt that he pulled her into his embrace. He allowed her to rest her head on his chest, kissing her forehead in a soothing way.

"It's okay. Let everything out," he whispered.She clutched hard on his shirt, close to ripping it but Keigo didn't care even if she did.

"I didn't expect it to be so painful!" She sobbed. "Why does it have to be p-painful?!"

It was her own fault…

There was nothing good about the janitor role he played after all…

If she chose him from the beginning, it didn't have to be like this.

But everything was according to his plan.

The best way to win a woman's heart was to wait until she was broken-hearted.

"You'll overcome it eventually…" he whispered again as he caressed her cheek."Just forget about him and be mine…"

And filled that hole…

"Give me your heart and I will never break it." Then he cupped her cheek.

That was his rondo.

When he moved closer to her face, Hikari shut her eyes in submission. His heart was drumming hard like the wings of a bird when he finally closed the gap between their lips. It was the slightest pressure at first before he started to move his lips, brushing her so ever soft lips against his. That alone had awakened something that had been sleeping within him, more as he deepened the kiss.

How long had he dreamt for that moment?

He hadn't expected that a kiss could feel so right…

Or was it because he was doing it with her?

Hikari retracted her lips and looked away so he caressed her cheek in the most assuring way, whispering soothing words before pulling her face and having his lips locked with hers again. This time, he put his hand at the back of her head to hold her still, the other around her waist, pulling her into his lap as he savoured her sweetness. She was rigid and tense in his hold so he drew circles on her waist in his attempt to soothe her.

They pulled away at the same time when oxygen was necessary. He kissed her eyelid, her cheek, then down to her neck, before slowly pushing her onto the carpet. How he loved the way her hair splayed in contrast with his green carpet. Under the dim light from the fire, she looked so beautiful that it was harder to hold himself back.

Putting his arms around her, he caressed her wet strands of hair away, whispering how gorgeous she was before kissing her again, deeper and deeper… until he was lost in her taste.

Finally, she fell into his arms.

And he would never let anything take her from him…


AN: THE END.

Or not? XD

Realistically speaking girls, you have to be careful when seeing a man who suddenly comes out and offering comfort when you're down. Enjoy it in fiction stories but be very careful in real life, okay? Psychologically, it's harder to think straight when you're sad.

But anyway, yes! They're together now. Since I've granted your wishes, don't I deserve a lot of votes, comments, and reviews? Khukhukhuk...

What do you expect to happen next? What kind of fluff do you want to happen? Do write your wishes and it might be granted. XD

About the next chapter, I can only describe it with one word, and that is… fluffy! LOL~

Favorite, follow, and most importantly—review are gold for me! As I mentioned in the previous chapter, the story is also posted in Wattpad. Since the site allows me to post videos and images, I might be able to pamper your eyes there. Check my account in ReikaNanatsuki!

Thank you faericire and mapl3nin2cool for your reviews!

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!