Tennis no Ouji-sama © Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.
- Act XXVIII -
[ Under The Moonlight ]
Ryuzaki Sakuno was prettier in real life compared to her photo. Hikari didn't understand why such a beautiful woman had to be so bashful around people. When Sakuno was talking to Ryoma, Hikari could see the chemistry. Takeshi wasn't lying when he said Ryoma softened around Sakuno because he drastically lowered his speaking tone just so he wouldn't hurt Sakuno with the sharpness of his tongue.
When they were running out of Ponta, Ryoma excused himself to buy it and Hikari pushed Sakuno just so they could spend some time together. Sakuno was blushing really hard and wanted to object. That was why Hikari pushed Sakuno until Ryoma noticed her and asked if she wanted to come along. Thus the two went to the convenience store.
Wasn't it wonderful to be in love?
Did she look exactly like Sakuno when she was around him?
The thought immediately made her vein popped on her temple. Her brother's friends from Seigaku specially came to celebrate her birthday. Even Genichirō came to her house earlier just to give her a birthday gift. Everyone wished her happy birthdays... Everyone but him.
Glancing at her phone, Hikari silently groaned as she scrolled the notifications and saw nothing coming from him. It was all she wanted from him yet he ignored her all day.
"Stupid! I shouldn't have told you my birthday!" she cursed to her phone before going back to the garden, deciding that she would be happy that day even without his wish.
When Shūichirõ was grilling the meat, Hikari was reaching for the mustard bottle but a blaring voice that screamed, "Hands off the mustard, Hikari-chan!" scared her so much that she retracted her hand.
"W-w-what's going on?" Hikaripaled when she noticed how Shūichirō's bangs were bending like a devil's horn.
"Mustard will ruin the true essence and amenities of meat juice! You must never use anything to enjoy the true taste of meat!"
"O-okay!" Hikari gulped, pondering where the delicate Shūichirō went at that moment. "Onii-chan, what's happening with him?"
"I know. Unfortunately, I can't do anything when he becomes like that," her brother replied while fixing his glasses.
"Why does he become like that anyway?"
"He's a meat magistrate. He's always like that when it comes to meat," Kunimitsu calmly explained.
"I see…" A drop of sweat trickled down on her temple.
Though it saddened her to suddenly have to leave everything in Germany, going back to Japan turned out to be the best thing after all. Through the fall and sadness, there was always something that made her able to raise her head and be grateful for what she had…
The lovely people around her.
The family that always became her backbone through it all…
When she was trying out the new earrings her grandfather gave her—pink ruby heart-shaped earrings, there was a subtle knock on her door. Hikari opened it to see her brother in his usual stoic expression.
"Onii-chan?" She tilted her head.
He pointed at her ears. "That suits you."
"Thanks." She turned her face around to give him a good look."I don't feel good accepting all these presents though." She showed her wrist to show the present her parents bought for her—a rose gold wristwatch. "They must be expensive. They did this to cheer me up after what happened, right?"
"Let them be. It's their way of showing their affection to you."
"I know." She smiled. "I'm very happy and lucky."
"And about my present…" Hikari raised her brows when he handed her a big box.
"It's… big but… light. What is it?"
"Why don't you open and see for yourself?" he said while shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants.
Curious, she immediately crouched and impatiently ripped the gift wrap. The moment she opened the box, she was stunned. She slowly took out the content, revealing an aqua-blue coloured Head Graphene XT Instinct racket. She glanced at her brother, deprived of any ability to utter words at the moment.
"It's a good racket for beginners. It'll add power behind each stroke when it connects with the ball." He placed both hands on her shoulders. "After we win the tournament,I'll teach you the basics again…"
The bubbling happiness within her was too much to be contained that she had to hold him as tight as she could. She felt him stroking her hair with his strong calloused hand.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it… I'm looking forward to it, Onii-chan. Let's play together…" And that was the rare moment where her brother actually pulled her into his embrace. She flabbergasted at this but soon replaced it with a huge smile and returned his hug—snuggling her face against his chest.
"Happy birthday, Hikari. Let's play together…"
Beep!
She waited an hour after her brother got into his room. Knowing that he had morning practice, he would sleep early, and usually, it took him half an hour before he finally dozed off. With careful steps, Hikari pushed the window open and slung her bag on her back. Going out normally from the main door would create a lot more sounds to alert her family compared to climbing down the tree.
Upon reaching the grass bed down there, Hikari sighed in relief and put on her shoes. She bit her bottom lip and bowed once to her house before exiting. She kept running until she reached the main road, where he had been waiting for her with a Harley Davidson motorcycle with his signature surprised her to see him riding a motorcycle because he was always a 'car person' for her.
When he called her, Hikari jumped into his arms, feeling like it had been so long since their last embrace. With a smile, she waited for him to give her the birthday gift she had asked for before but instead, he passed her a helmet.
"Uhm… this doesn't translate as 'wear this and go with you somewhere', right? Because it's close to midnight and I haven't got my present yet."
He chuckled and pointed at the helmet. "This exactly translates as 'that' and I'm not giving your present in front of—" he looked past his shoulder, "—a convenience store. Aren't I too great for that?"
"We have school tomorrow, duh! I only asked you one thing and I don't mind if you do it here!"
"Ore-sama isn't fine with that." He circled his arms around her waist. "And I don't want this day to pass like that so, wear that helmet."
"B-but…" Hikari glanced in the direction of her house.
As if knowing what she was thinking, he leant down and kissed her forehead. "I'll send you back before anyone wakes up. Don't worry."
"I-I've promised my brother not to sneak out at midnight anymore. So—"
"What is your heart telling you to do now, my queen?"He then moved to kiss her cheek then the side of her lips and stayed there for a moment, easily pushing the thought of her brother away, and eventually nodded. He smirked at her answer and released her whilst keeping his eyes locked with hers until he hopped onto the bike.
It was indeed strange to see him on a bike.
"Do you even have a bike license? Because I can't trust you bringing me around without one."
"Ahn? Of course, I have. I already have it since last year."
"Then show me the proof." He raised a brow at this then smirked as he pinched her cheek.
"I know what you're trying to do. Hop on. Let's not waste anymore time." With a groan, Hikari did as she was told and held his waist as tight as she could when he drove them—to her relieve—his manor.
The last time she spent the night in there, Hikari was too stressed out to realise how majestic it looked like during the night. The crystal chandeliers were glimmering with prism light, shading every corner of the room with warm yellow. There was a classical violin being played somewhere and it made the manor looked as if the vampires would hold a ball in there…
"Y-you're not going to do your ritual and suck my blood, right?"
"Ahn? Are you really still at it?" He was staring at her disbelievingly.
"I'm just getting frightened by my own thought." She didn't expect him to sneak behind her and suck her neck so she shrieked at the top of her lungs. "W-what are you doing?!" He burst into laughter in response while she touched her neck.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't paid you back for what you've done last time." He slung his arm around her shoulder while she furrowed her brows. "That was a fantastic love bite anyway."
"T-that wasn't a love bite, idiot! I didn't love you back then!" Her face flushed when she recalled the event—their first meeting. Hikari widened her eyes upon realising that it was only three months since their first meeting, yet so many things happened that it felt like they had known each other for a while.
Who knew that the incident would eventually lead to this day?
"So do you now?" he asked with a smirk.
"I…" Her lips were trembling as heat started to creep into her face.
Fortunately, he only smiled and kissed her temple without waiting for her answer. He drew circles on the back of her hand as he led her to the very first place they met—the abandoned court. Though he initially planned to rebuild it, he crossed out the plan for her sake, even planting more flowers that it looked more like a garden instead of a court.
And that night, he planted his magic on the court again.
No lights were turned on that night, nothing but the light from the full moon that shone over them.
Millions of stars were glimmering in the night sky, but thousands of fireflies in the court took the spotlight. Its faint glows were dancing around the court like dancing stars with the summer orchestra beautifully performed by the crickets. It felt so unreal that Hikari had to rub her eyes several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Stepping into the court, she placed her hands over her chest as she looked around.
"Does this count as extravagant?" he asked as he held her from her back. Hikari opened her mouth, wanting to say something but no words came out of it. "I take it that you love it. Good to know because attracting the fireflies to this court wasn't easy."
"I… this…"
He placed both of his hands on her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "Happiest birthday to you, my queen…" He smiled as he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. "I hope you're happy with your present."
Hikari threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much… This is the most beautiful present I ever got…" He brushed her hair before planting a soft kiss on her knuckle, then suddenly got down on one knee. "W-what are you doing?"
He took out a velvet box and revealed a crown-shaped pendant that caged a pink ruby inside it. "I know that we're already together but I haven't properly asked you out yet."
"T-that's not nece—"
"I promise that I will treasure your heart and will protect you with all my might forever…" Hikari felt like her heart could break out of her rib cage now that it was pummelling so hard. "I love you, with all of my heart. Please be my queen. Through the rise and falls, please be the one who stays by my side through it all…"
Hikari could feel the heat creeping up to her ears upon hearing his last sentence. "Y-you've read everything in my letter!" He smirked at this.
"Whoever you loved is a past now. I want to be that person you wholeheartedly love because I will do the same to you."
How could she say no to that?
When Hikari made a small nod, he put the necklace around her collar and clasped the hook. He then put a garland made of white roses, putting it on her head, and whispered, "I love you, my queen…"From the house, she could hear the bell that signed that it was twelve atmidnight. He waited until the bell stopped before continuing, "And I won't let this end even though the clock has struck twelve. I want this to be our true beginning…"
Happiness was overflowing from her heart that it was going to burst anytime. Throwing her arms around him, Hikari held him so tight and didn't hold herself back anymore from whispering the sincerest voice of her heart to him…
"I love you too, my prince…"
Hikari shuddered when he caressed her cheek and placed his hand on the side of her neck before pulling her close to his face. She could no longer hear anything but the sound of her own heartbeat.
Hikari closed her eyes the moment he pushed his lips against her, gently at first before he added more placed his finger on her cheek, making her slightly parted her lips, and use the opportunity to slid his tongue in, softly brushing against hers. Hikari gasped at the contact but he held her face in place, kissing her deeply.
Though she didn't have much experience in kissing, she allowed her instinct to lead her, to express things words had failed to do. Though they still had a lot of things they had yet to share, nothing mattered for them. At that moment, they were just two persons who found comfort in each other's hands.
They smiled at each other while he guided her arms so she circled them around his neck while he put his on her waist. The familiar violin melody of 'Junsei' slowly filled the silence of the night, touching her entire being that she couldn't stop her eyes from brimming with happy tears. Slowly, they swayed in a slow dance, bare-footed, under the moonlight.
To the stars that were watching them that night, she made the same wish as he did…
For the clock to never strike twelve for them…
Because she wanted that dream to last forever…
AN: Woohoo! Finally an update! So sorry to keep you so long to update this, guys! I wanted to update this after I finished the art I created for this fic. Check my profile to see the art! Anyway, I hope you're all safe and healthy!
I hope all the fluffs in this chapter are enough as an apology.
I'm planning another round of Marathon update this November because that month will be the fifth anniversary of this fic. Just in case some of you don't know the history, is that this fic used to be released in a different version with the same title before I decided to fully rewrite it. So, stay tune, guys!
Oh, I finally managed to watch Jujutsu Kaisen and…
Am I watching PoT too much to immediately realise the seiyuu of Sukuna is Atobe's seiyuu? Also Nanami 's seiyuu is Inui's. No wonder though. Nanami really shares Inui's vibe and eccentricity. 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 for reading and have a nice day!
