Chapter 37: Relapse
That afternoon, Horio and Ryoma met up at an expensive looking restaurant in the city. It was one of the few places they chose since only a few people go there. The two ordered lunch since it was Horio's longest break that day.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Horio asked in an excited way. It was rare for Ryoma to invite him out to lunch. No… it has never happened before. Ever since he came back, it's always Ryuzaki, Ryuzaki, and Ryuzaki. Not that he's not happy for him, though. He had always expected the two would get together, and it would do him good to spend time with Sakuno to ease his anxiety.
"Well…" Ryoma pondered on how he should start. How would he, a mere friend who's not that even close to either of them, reveal his fiancé's pregnancy to him? Why him? That was the umpteenth time he had asked himself. He blamed Tomoka the coward for this. That's it, that's how he's going to call her from now on.
"Oh, you know what? I got promoted! Which means I get a raise! Isn't that amazing? I have more than two years of experience! And oh, one more thing. Echizen, you're going to be my best man, okay?" Horio flashed a smile to him, one that he always did whenever he had something to brag about. He only nodded in defeat.
"I know, I know. Why couldn't you just get Kachiro or Katsuo instead of me? I'm not that reliable," he muttered.
"You already know? I guess Tomoka beat me to it. Anyway, Kachiro and Katsuo are too busy with their own jobs to actually have time to help me. So, I guess with you having no tournament at this time, you'll have nothing to do," Ryoma could feel his annoyance rising up to Horio's nonstop insults, "...then we pick out suits for the wedding and all. Oh, and help us choose a theme."
"Horio, how you think that I even have any idea what a theme is is beyond me. You must be looking for Ryuzaki,"
"I know, I know you're worthless outside the courts. But I got no one else to ask to be my best man,"
"Fine… I'll do it," the prince agreed unwillingly. All of those useless bickering was only prolonging their conversation and he wants to get straight to the point as soon as possible, although he hasn't any idea how to do that.
"Gee, thanks, Echizen!" Horio sipped on his beverage happily.
Realizing that there's no way around it, Ryoma figured he would just use Tomoka's words.
"Horio…" Ryoma's hands were uneasy, his thumbs unconsciously shaking," …what would you do in a situation where your girlfriend is pregnant?" He wasn't sure if that sent the right message, but he's not very smart with these things so he just hoped Horio would get it.
But the boy looked bewildered at his question. The prince repeated his words in his head.
"R-Ryuzaki's pregnant?" the boy covered his mouth in shock.
"Wha…?"
"I knew it. Well, you don't have to worry. With your status and wealth, you could raise a hundred babies if you wanted! Of course, I'm the godfather, okay?" He went on talking about how the babies would look with his and Sakuno's genes. "I'm sure the brats are going to play tennis, too."
Ryoma slapped his forehead twice. It really is hard talking to an idiot when you're an idiot.
"Dumbass! Your girlfriend is pregnant!" that came out a little too loud that a couple office workers turned their heads to the noisy men in the back. Ryoma seemed to have shrunk from his seat in embarrassment.
When he looked up at Horio, his mouth was open and his eyes wide. Ryoma waved his hands on the stunned boy's face, but he must have fainted on his seat.
"Idiot…" the prince sighed and continued to drink his coffee. That insult popped Horio's train of thoughts and had the urge to throw an insult to Ryoma.
"You're the idiot, stupid. You don't even know how to phrase your questions!"
Ryoma let that one go. Then another silence. It went on for another thirty minutes. It was no problem to the prince; he's used to silence all the time. The problem was Horio.
"That's amazing…" he finally spoke. Ryoma noticed a glimmer in Horio's eyes as he looked from afar, as if imagining the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Horio's mind wandered. Suddenly, flashbacks of middle school ran through his mind.
The first time he saw Tomoka, it was the first day of school. To be honest, she was not the most beautiful girl he saw. Sakuno was more of his type, quiet, shy, and gentle. She was the complete opposite of her best friend. That marked the day that they often bicker, he's loud, she's loud, it just didn't click.
"Sakuno, who's that handsome boy at the courts?"
One day, he heard the girl ask her friend enthusiastically. Apparently, they were talking about Ryoma Echizen, his newfound friend earlier. Although he was quite the snob, he did manage to force himself to the prince. Now, they're somewhat closer than any of their classmates, something to brag about, Horio thought.
"He's Ryoma-kun, that new member of the tennis club,"
Looking at Sakuno's smile, Horio instantly knew of her infatuation for Ryoma. After all, that was the first time he had seen her look so serene talking about a boy. Tomoka, too, looked so in love with the view outside. The two girls both watched the members train and had matches. Horio, on the other hand, was stuck with picking up tennis balls flying from all directions.
That was how middle school happened basically every day.
He recalled the first time Tomoka ever paid attention to him that didn't include Ryoma.
"Horio, aren't you coming?" She turned her back and faced him. The team had just finished their practice and were about to head out to Kawamura-senpai's sushi place. The first years were tasked to clean the place up, but Horio was the last to pack up.
He raised his head and stared at her, and the sunset served as a backdrop on her perfect silhouette. She looked gorgeous with that afternoon sweat that ran down her temples.
For the first time in his life, Horio realized Tomoka was even more beautiful than Sakuno. Well, attitude-wise, of course Sakuno is way better, but this girl waiting for him while the rest were already out of the school grounds, made his heart throb.
"I… I'm coming," he unconsciously replied.
Tomoka smiled (maybe due to her excitement that Seigaku won the recent tournament), then she propped herself on the nearby bench.
"Well, hurry up, weirdo," she stretched her legs and leaned on the wall behind. It seemed that she intended to wait for him so they could go together.
Horio couldn't help but smile at her, and he didn't care that it was uncharacteristic, he just did. It surprised Tomoka, but then she shrugged as the boy finished up.
"You really changed," He heard Ryoma say beside him. Horio looked at him, recalling the development in Ryoma ever since middle school. He had this fresh aura around him. They both have.
"We both changed, I guess," he answered.
"So…" Ryoma wondered if he did enough and that he could go home now. Hmm…
"I'm so happy, Echizen!"
"Okay… I'm gonna go–"
"Oh no, you don't, godfather!" Horio put his arm on the prince's shoulders and shook him.
They had their mini celebratory party, much to the prince's dismay. Instead of going home, they spent the next two hours in a daytime bar and had a couple of drinks. He wondered if Horio realized he had just skipped work.
That night, Sakuno arrived home at nine thirty. He expected Ryoma to be asleep since he must have had a long day with Horio the new dad. But she was surprised to see him currently bustling in the kitchen, he seemed to be making food.
"Ryoma-kun?" Her voice caught the prince's attention, he turned around and was holding a knife.
"Oh, you're here," he smirked. If Sakuno didn't know him, she'd say that was the most devilish smirk she had ever seen, and it didn't help that he was still holding on to the knife like a serial killer.
Sakuno put down her bag on the dining chair and walked towards him, curious of what he was making. When her eyes traveled on the kitchen counter, there was mess everywhere and it made her nauseous.
"O-Oh my God…" she squeaked.
"I'm going to clean this up. Check this out," he moved to the dining table and lifted the metal food cover, revealing what seemed to be seafood ramen. Being a chef in the making, she instantly thought how sloppy it looked, but her trained eyes knew that all of the ingredients were expensive. Ryoma must have done some grocery shopping at the mall.
"Wow! You know how to cook, Ryoma-kun?" She smiled and reached for the spoon to taste the broth. All the while, Ryoma stood beside her, watching her sip on his ramen. He felt quite proud of himself for being able to do something in the kitchen. After all, he learned from Anran's dad when he was in China.
"Yeah, I learned a bit from China. How does it taste?" He leaned down on the table, resting his chin on his palm and curiously watched her.
Even though it looked bad, Sakuno was surprised that it tasted decent.
"It's good!"
"You eat that one. I'll make one for myself," he patted her on the head and gently stroked it before he turned around and continued cooking. Sakuno wasted no time and sat on the chair, devouring the chinese style noodle soup.
After dinner, they decided to watch a movie while digesting.
Sakuno rested her head on Ryoma's shoulder while their legs found their way on the coffee table comfortably. They were currently watching Titanic, and when the movie was over, the woman couldn't help but tear up a little.
"That was so sad… but Jack's love for Rose was so touching," she commented while wiping tears off her cheeks. Ryoma only sighed in relief, thinking that that was the longest and most boring three hours of his life. But still, he forced himself to focus on the storyline, or else, he'd make Sakuno upset. She always enjoyed movie night with him, and they would talk about its story.
"Not really," Sakuno ignored his comment.
"I want to be just like Rose, a beautiful and classy woman… Oh, and you look a bit like Jack, Ryoma-kun!" she wrapped her arms around his waist and stared off into the distance. The prince frowned.
"I don't want to be Jack, though."
"What? Why not?" she raised her head and arched an eyebrow at him.
"Because he died. Do you want me to die? Also, he didn't end up with Rose," Ryoma crossed his arms on his chest, emphasizing his point to Sakuno.
"Huh…" she leaned in and waited for him to elaborate his answer.
"Instead, I want to be Rose's husband and have a family for seventy years," He added, smirking at his well-thought-out answer. It seemed to work because Sakuno looked satisfied with it. She flashed a smile and hugged him again.
"That's even better, then! Hehe…"
"But Rose keeps on thinking about other guys instead of her own husband on her deathbed. What is up with that?" He chuckles at Sakuno's shocked expression on his joke, the warm smile faded as soon as it came. He just loved to tease her.
"T-Then I don't want to be Rose anymore…"
He laughs at her, and when she was crossing her arms grumpily on the side of the sofa, Ryoma decided to end the teasing and scoop her up on his lap. One more thing he loved about teasing her is how good it feels to pet her when she sulks.
Sakuno lets out a squeak before he kisses her forehead, nose, and cheeks. Sometimes she just looked cute and irresistible, he thought.
"I'm joking," He laid her on the sofa and leaned in for a kiss. She smelled like strawberries, that shampoo she used was a blessing to Ryoma's senses that it was making him lose control.
"Mmm… how was Horio-kun?" she asked. She ran her hands through Ryoma's dark green hair, feeling its soft strands. She looked at his handsome face, always wondering how she could have possibly made someone like him fall for her.
"I was hoping to do this without you thinking about other guys, babe."
Sakuno giggled under him.
"No, Ryoma-kun… I mean how was he when you told him the news?"
He sat up and recalled the conversation in the restaurant earlier. Of course, being the forgetful and uncaring type of guy he is, Ryoma couldn't really remember Horio's exact words.
"He said… I don't really remember much but I guess he was happy. Otherwise, I wouldn't be getting home drunk."
"Ahhh! You guys went drinking? You didn't tell me… Where? Were there other girls? Ryoma-kun!" By that point, they were both sitting, and Sakuno was shaking his shoulders, hoping to hear more. Ryoma smirked, he never realized how jealous Sakuno became when it came to him.
"I hardly even talk to Horio, what makes you think I was with other girls?" He watched as she nodded slowly, thinking about what he said. Well, no, that doesn't convince her one bit.
"Well, if you think about Honoka-san… and Kaoru-san!"she smiled menacingly, feeling a little proud that she had thought of the perfect rebuttal of his argument. It satisfied her more when his expression was becoming more and more frustrated.
Ah, she knows how much Ryoma hates to remember those times.
"Touché," he sighed, his back falling on the sofa behind him. He heard her laugh and felt her arms hugging him tightly.
"Tomoka?" his voice came out weak and quiet. He didn't want to disturb his fiance's slumber. It was currently eleven in the evening, and he expected her to be asleep already. But he heard gurgling sounds in the bathroom, it seemed like she was vomiting so Horio dropped his bag and her favorite cake to the floor and raced in their bedroom.
"W-What's wrong?" he said, panting heavily. He found Tomoka kneeling in front of the toilet bowl, hurling her guts out. Her brown hair was frizzy, and it ran all the way to her face. Horio knelt down and removed her hair.
"I'm fine…" she mumbled under her breath.
"Echizen told me… you shouldn't worry about anything, okay?" He hugged her weak body, hoping to send a comforting feel on her. But she only threw up on the toilet bowl again.
"Tomoka, let's go to the doctor right now," Horio pulled her arm and helped her stand up. He noticed how pale her face was and she seems to have lost some weight. He was beginning to feel guilty for making her suffer like this. Right now, she is far from the woman who's always well and energetic.
"No… I'm fine. I just want to sleep," Tomoka waved her hand and she gently laid back down on their bed.
"Let's go now, so we can see how the baby is," he insisted on taking her to the hospital in the dead of night. It didn't matter how tired he was from work. He just wanted to take care of his family. He wants her to know that he's there for her. Making Ryoma tell him the news was obviously because she was too worried about what his reaction might be. What did she think he was going to say? Of course, he's happy!
"Horio, I swear to God if you don't let go of me," she hissed at him. Horio realized he was still holding on to her arm when she was already lying down. He knew it irked her when he made her do things, so he released her and sat beside her.
"Sorry," he whispered, touching her hair and gently stroking it. He could almost hear Tomoka moan. She always does that when she's feeling relaxed.
"You better talk to my parents, then we should move our wedding until after I give birth," he heard her murmur under the blanket. Horio nodded in response, but then he took a double take. Something didn't quite add up.
"What? We're going to move the wedding? Tomoka, what are you talking about?"
"Isn't it obvious? I don't want to be huge when I walk down the aisle," she responded in a cold tone.
"Wha– No one's going to care! In any case, we should move it at an earlier date! Let's do it next week! I can file a leave and we can just go to Vegas or something if you–"
At that moment, Tomoka kicked the blanket off of her body and sat up, anger was visible on her face.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Horio almost fell off of the bed with Tomoka's intensity. Truly, the pregnancy hormones are in another world than menstrual ones.
That night, neither of them got a good night's sleep since all they did was fight, shout (Tomoka did), and cry (they both did). Tomoka wants to give birth before they get married, but Horio wants to get married before their little one arrives. They both have their own reasons, but neither were backing out and compromising.
Riiiiing!
Ryoma swiftly grabbed his phone and stared at the alarm. His vision was still hazy, but he could make out the word on the screen:
Therapy.
He sighed heavily. Every time he had to talk to someone about himself, it felt like a drag. Nothing is worse than having to delve into your deep feelings and troubles that haunted you for so long. But realizing it needed to be done, Ryoma couldn't deny the help he was getting. Since it was his day off from self-training, therapy was scheduled today.
He stood up, stretched his arms, and went to the bathroom. Noting how silent the house was, it meant that Sakuno had already gone to school, as were other days. Ryoma didn't complain, he knew that her education should be prioritized before him and that's okay. After all, it was him who pushed her into pursuing her dream so he can't hold her back.
Sitting on the sofa, he turned on his laptop. He was about to have a video call with Miss Mao and have their monthly therapy session.
He unconsciously shook his leg as he felt uneasy while waiting for the doctor to answer the call. He bit his lip, trying to ease his nervousness, but when Miss Mao finally took the call, he released the breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Good morning, Ryoma-kun," the kindhearted lady greeted. It was always comforting to hear her gentle voice that instantly calmed his nerves. Even though her rates were high, she was indeed a skillful psychiatrist, one of the best in the field.
"Good morning, Miss Mao."
"How have you been?"
"Just fine."
"Why don't you tell me about your week?" rustles of papers were heard as she prepared her notepad for note taking.
He inhaled sharply. It was that part of the conversation where he felt most awkward. He wasn't used to talking much and even though it's been a routine for him to talk to his therapist, he had always found it hard to detail his emotions.
"Not really eventful, but it's fine," he said. Looking back on the previous days, all he ever did was train in the morning, then hang around the house all day, then make dinner for him and Sakuno.
"Are you sleeping okay?" She took note that Ryoma said "fine" twice already. It seemed that he tried to shorten their session, and that wasn't a good sign.
"Yeah,"
"You haven't been abusing the pills, have you?" she arched an eyebrow on the monitor. It was a constant occurrence where patients tend to take more of what was prescribed, leading to overdose. She had to make sure that Ryoma took his medicine properly and appropriately. She was genuinely concerned with the boy's health and mind, and according to his progress, he seemed to be stuck with his negative thoughts, keeping him from moving forward.
"Of course not," he smiled slightly at Miss Mao.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep,"
"Okay. How are you getting along with other people?"
"It's the usual. Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. It's fine," his smile faded, then his eyes unconsciously scanned the room devoid of life. Miss Mao noticed this, and a negative feeling tugged in her heart.
"Ryoma-kun, are you feeling lonely?" She finally asked. She knew that all of his life, Ryoma has been avoiding interactions with others and if possible, he only wanted to do the bare minimum in that aspect of his life. Moreover, in his early life, he's already been thrust into a competitive world, and each step he took, pressure and expectation only grew, making him feel like he wasn't enough and that being the best was the only way to get to the top.
It took a toll on his mental state, developing a trauma from the public eye, and had forced him to hide and run away from everything.
He glanced at his tennis bag, which was skillfully hidden beside the untouched and unnoticed bookshelf. Inside it were numerous empty pill bottles that he had just bought last month.
"No,"
To be continued.
