Chapter 49: Communications

"Thank you so much for helping me with my groceries, Tezuka-san. I still couldn't speak German if I wanted to, and I couldn't read any of the labels at all. You've been a big help today. Let me treat you at least," Nanako smiled brightly at the tall man in front of her. Tezuka Kunimitsu couldn't help but stare at her long, blue hair swaying with every move she makes, and her sweet smile that seemed to uplift his mood after a gruesome training.

Tezuka suddenly felt light, and energized.

"You're welcome. But there's no need to repay me of some sort. I'm glad you got everything you need," he closed his eyes.

But it looks like the woman hadn't heard him at all because she was already busy admiring the ice cream stand across the grocery store.

"That looks delicious," she mumbled. Tezuka followed her eyes and there was indeed a colorful stand.

"That's actually gelato," he commented.

"Oh, is that so," she said. "Want to try?"

He looked at her questioningly. Would it be weird to enjoy the cold and creamy beverage with a kouhai's cousin? And an attractive woman at that. Wait, did he actually think about that?

Tezuka cleared his throat and nodded, letting the woman do what she wanted. Gelato is harmless, after all. They walked along the path surrounded by vendors of different things. Tezuka ate his vanilla flavored treat, while Nanako had her chocolate one.

"I've been meaning to ask, Tezuka-san. Your arm was previously injured, right?"

Tezuka nodded.

"How long was the healing process?"

"It took me years, but I can't play in long matches. I have to move carefully in order to not strain my arm again," he looked down at his arm and observed its appearance. It doesn't hurt anymore, like new.

"Is that so? Years, huh?" Nanako was lost in thought. She worried about Ryoma's wrist. He doesn't like to talk about it, but based on what Ryoga knows, there's a bit of a problem with Ryoma's left wrist.

Tezuka glanced at her and immediately knew why she asked him about that. He already knew of Ryoma's wrist even before his party last year, and he was one of the few people the prince had talked about it to.

"Don't worry about Echizen. I'm sure he can overcome his injury. But considering his stubborn attitude, I'm not sure he would comply with the doctors well, and in the event they say that he should take a break again, there's no guarantee he would," he said.

"Yeah, you're right. He's just too full of himself sometimes. Does he think he's invincible?" Nanako frowned, recalling the time her cousin kept on playing tennis even though his eye was bleeding, and when he lost his memories. Ryoma was too stubborn for his own good.

But in all fairness, he still won both games.

"Even I couldn't tell him off," Tezuka smiled at the memory of his middle school days. It seemed not too long ago, but it has been a few years ago. He heard Nanako chuckle at his comment, and he somehow liked that sound.

After they finished eating, it was time to part ways. Nanako thanked him for showing up on short notice when she decided to ask for his help. She just hoped that she wasn't too much of a bother.

"Y-You met with the captain?" Ryoma asked with a hint of shock in his voice. That night, Nanako called and told him about Tezuka and how he helped her today. Somehow, she just couldn't keep it to herself and she wanted someone to know of her encounter with Tezuka.

"Yes. He was very nice," she blushed at the thought of the man's stoic face, his stiff movements, and low voice.

"You're going to be okay there after all," he smirked. He was initially worried for Nanako who traveled to Germany alone. Considering her divorce, Nanako seemed a bit fragile right now and it was a relief that the captain was there.

"Why?" She asked.

"Captain is a trustworthy person. You'll be okay," he nodded to himself, thinking that his captain never really showed he cared but he was surprisingly a gentleman.

"I think so, too," she smiled.

"Okay, I gotta go," Ryoma noticed the time and now that training is over, he had no other place to be other than home.

That dark, empty place we called home.

He resisted the urge to shout out his frustration. For some obvious reason, he doesn't want to return home yet. So, he decided to roam around the area, or even ride the train to see where it would take him.

Ryoma suddenly felt adventurous. He boarded the train going the opposite way, and chose his stop. He sat down with his tennis bag beside him. There weren't a lot of people in the train, and the afternoon sunset glistened inside. It reminded him of the first time he supposedly met Sakuno.

He didn't remember her inside the train that day, all he ever cared about was teaching those loud guys a lesson.

Those were precious memories, and he let out a small smile while he played those memories in his mind.

A few minutes later, he arrived at his stop. It wasn't too far from home, but it looked completely different from their town.

Walking along the quiet street, he heard some children laughing and playing at the nearby park. He looked over and there they were, happily running around and those smiles on their faces were enough to bring an unexplainable ache in Ryoma's heart.

He didn't even notice that he was frowning.

"Dada?!"

Ryoma flinched at the high pitched voice behind him. He turned around slowly, as if caught by the police. But when he faced the owner of the voice, a wave of happiness drowned his sorrows away.

"Haru!" He picked up the little boy who hugged his neck tightly. He hasn't seen Haru and his parents for a year, and he misses him so much. Well, his parents, too.

"Dada, you live around here, too?" he asked.

"No. I was… taking a walk," So they live here now. Ryoma gently put him down and watched him run to the silhouette of a familiar woman.

"Osakada," he muttered, a hint of surprise in his voice. He didn't expect to see Tomoka and Haru in a place he visited out of curiosity. He didn't believe in fate, either.

"Ryoma-sama?" She was being pulled by Haru towards the prince.

"You guys moved here?" He approached her.

"Yeah, a few months ago. Why are you here?" Tomoka blinked, unable to believe her eyes. After a year, who would have thought she would bump into Ryoma Echizen in their neighborhood?

At a cafe, the two friends sat down and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

"So, do you understand? It's uncle, okay?" Haru sat on Ryoma's lap comfortably as he ate his croissant. Ryoma was convincing him that he shouldn't call him Dada anymore. He would think that after a year passed, he would grow out of that habit. But as Tomoka said, it was Haru's instinct after all.

"He's such a stubborn kid, Ryoma-sama," She chuckled.

There was something different about Tomoka that Ryoma was curious about. Of course, she had matured, being a mother of two. But he kind of envisioned her to be more energetic. But right now, she was like a weaker version of Sakuno. She visibly lost a lot of weight, and she had her hair cut short, too. That smile she displayed held a lot of unsaid things.

Since when have I been observant of others?

"So, how is Sakuno?" she inquired.

"She's fine," Ryoma answered. It would naturally end there, but he decided to probe, "It's been so long since you saw each other, right?"

"Right," she abruptly said.

"Sorry,"

"Why are you apologizing, Ryoma-sama? It's not your fault, nor Sakuno's. I'm the one who should apologize,"

Ryoma saw the sadness in Tomoka's eyes, and he felt bad that he opened a sensitive topic. He knew that they were inseparable since they were young. But it's up to them to patch things up, he couldn't do anything about it.

"But I know she misses you too," he averted his gaze from her and settled on watching Haru drink his juice. He patted his head for behaving today.

Tomoka sniffed, trying to control her tears.

"I miss her, too. But I guess I just have to wait until she feels better," she forced a smile. Tomoka wanted to reach out to her but she respected her feelings, too. She doesn't blame Sakuno at all, she understands. There were times they texted each other, asking how things were. It was a way to keep up and stay in touch, but it wasn't the same anymore. She doesn't want to see anyone and she would always find excuses not to see her. It was okay, she thought. She didn't have the will to see anyone either.

After all, Tomoka had something she couldn't tell her.

"So where's the baby? I didn't hear anything from Horio the whole year," Ryoma asked with wide eyes. He's actually excited to see Haru's sibling. Ever since Sakuno kept her distance from Tomoka, he didn't meet up with Horio and the others. He figured Sakuno needed his support more. But the weird thing is, Horio didn't contact any of them (Katsuo and Kachiro) regarding their second child. Knowing the guy, he would be telling the whole world about it, won't he?

"Ryoma-sama, if I tell you, would you promise not to tell Sakuno? I don't want to force her to make amends with me," Tomoka's voice turned so serious that Ryoma was eager to know more.

"Okay," he replied.

"The truth is… we lost the baby,"

Haru looked up at his face when he realized his uncle stopped moving. He was frozen in his place, his mouth gaping, unable to utter a word. He watched the pained look in Tomoka's face as she clenched her jaw. She didn't want to cry anymore, much less in front of the prince, her friend. It seemed like Ryoma was the only friend she had right now, and all she wanted to do is to tell him everything. The nights she cried herself to sleep, wondering what she had done, or hadn't done for that child.

"W–What happened?" he finally spoke.

"I don't know. The moment she came into this world, it was already over. The heartbeat I longed to hear was gone. We don't even know why," her hands were shaking. Talking about it now somehow refreshed the feelings that she tried hard to forget.

"Are you okay?" He thought hard about what comforting words to say, anything. But he didn't know anything at all. He doesn't understand a mother's struggles well enough to offer words of encouragement, and he wasn't that close to Tomoka, either. She needs her best friend. They need each other.

"I'm fine, Ryoma-sama!" She flashed her usual smile at him, and it comforted Ryoma a little, that she can still smile despite what happened.

"How is Horio?" he continued.

"I don't know. I'm much stronger than him, after all. But I hope you, Katsuo, and Kachiro can cheer him up,"

"Of course," Ryoma smiled at her. Tomoka looked at her wrist watch and realized that it was almost dinner time. They needed to go home and start cooking.

"Well then, Ryoma-sama. We'd better go home," she said. As uncharacteristically as she had been, Ryoma was glad that he still saw that Tomoka's quite the same. He felt nostalgic about how their friendship evolved during high school. He didn't need to tell her that he kind of… missed talking to her. Yes, it wasn't like him at all. But what the hell, the girl's his friend.

"Bye," he smirked, and patted Haru's head one more time before the two left the cafe. Ryoma sighed, feeling overwhelmed about the things he learned today. He felt sorry for Tomoka and Horio, but he also felt bad that Sakuno didn't know anything. He finally understood their absence, and he hoped that one of them would reach out to the other. It would really make things lighter.

As he lined up on the train leisurely, Ryoma felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. When he checked the message, a small smile crept across his face.

Ryoma-kun, I love you.

-Sakuno

Suddenly, his day just got a little better.

"We're home!"

Horio's ears perked up when he heard his wife's voice. He closed his laptop and stood from his chair. It was his day off from work, but there were some problems on his data that he couldn't go to the park with them.

"Welcome back!" he smiled. Looking at Tomoka, he felt relieved and happy. He missed them even though they were only gone for an hour. Haru was so excited to see him, too, that he ran to Horio for a hug.

"We're back, daddy," his cute voice said.

"Did you have fun at the park, Haru?" he asked cheerfully. Tomoka walked to his side.

"We met Ryoma-sama," she said.

"Y-You did? What was he doing there? Their house is on the other side of the city!"

"Horio. I told him everything,"

"Oh… what did he say?" He put down Haru and had a troubled look on his face. He never told it to anyone yet. They wanted to deal with it within their family first. But Tomoka thought that Ryoma suddenly showing up surely meant something.

"He just wanted to know if we're okay. Other than that, he said nothing. I told him not to mention it to Sakuno. It would only worry her more,"

Horio wrapped his arms on Tomoka to comfort her. He knew it pains her that her best friend is being distant towards her. Even if he wanted to help her, there was nothing he could do.

"You okay?" she asked in a soothing voice. She heard Horio sigh, and his body relaxed.

"I am," he smiled. There really is something in his wife's touch that makes him feel good in just a second.

"Ryuzaki-san!" Soichiro's head popped out on the backdoor. He saw Sakuno sitting on a small chair. It seemed like she was on a break. He stepped out and went to join her. It was their routine to take their breaks behind the restaurant since it's quieter than the break room.

"Soichiro-kun. Hello," she smiled, holding her phone close to her chest. She was in the middle of composing a message for her husband. It has been tense around Ryoma ever since they fought that she wanted to make amends now. She just doesn't know how to start. So, she spent her break trying to text him.

"It's cold out here," he draped his jacket over Sakuno's shoulders. She flinched, but thanked him anyway. He was a good friend, Sakuno smiled.

"Thanks. I'm just enjoying the silent night,"

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm quite exhausted. There are times I just don't want to get up in the morning,"

"Me neither,"

Sakuno smiled sweetly at him. They were such good friends that she just feels comforted every time Soichiro talks to her.

"You seem troubled. Were the staff awful to you again?" he crouched down beside her and lit a cigarette. At that point, Sakuno no longer minds when he smokes around her.

"No…" she recalled her fight with Ryoma, and strangely, that part where they argued over her promotion being a result of her marriage to him emerged. But maybe he was right. She can easily be replaced by someone more skillful and reliable. And considering that she's been neglecting Ryoma for so long, maybe she should take a break from all of this, "... maybe I don't deserve this job after all. Should I just quit?"

"What? No, you shouldn't!" Soichiro suddenly stood up, and unconsciously raised his voice. He was shocked to hear that quitting had even crossed Sakuno's mind. "You've worked hard for this, Ryuzaki-san. Don't ever forget that I was your witness. I've seen you work your way up, okay? You deserve everything," Soichiro was a bit worked up from Sakuno's desire to quit. It meant that she would no longer show up to the restaurant and that didn't sit well with him.

"Oh… thank you, Soichiro-kun. You just know what to say every time. But please relax," She giggled at her friend's outburst. It seemed like every time she had something in her mind, he was there to comfort him. It was nice to know that there's someone who she can lean on. She stood up and faced him.

"Don't quit," he said.

Sakuno smiled. There was a feeling of warmth inside her heart that the cold didn't bother her anymore. It has been so long that she hasn't spent time with a friend that it felt new to her all over again.

"Yes, I won't," she decided to keep doing her best right now. She didn't have to quit right away, right?

"Don't go," it almost sounded like a whisper, but he still hoped she heard it.

Sakuno's face turned red. She wasn't sure what it was, but there's intensity in Soichiro's eyes. He stared at her brown eyes with a feeling of desperation. For the first time, she didn't know what to say to him.

Is it outrageous that she thinks that maybe… Soichiro likes her? It can't be, right?

"Are you okay? You're red," he raised his hand and held Sakuno's forehead. Her skin felt so hot that Soichiro was sure she's coming down with a fever. That would surely happen because she's been hanging out in the cold every night.

"N-No, I mean–" she stepped away from him, forcing him to retrieve his hand.

"I-I gotta go," she pulled the door open and ran inside, leaving a dumbfounded man alone. He scratched his head at how Sakuno blushed and ran away like that. Holding his chest with one hand, The moonlight illuminated the redness of his face. He feared that the more he thought about not seeing Sakuno, the more his heart was going to burst.

Inside the toilet, Sakuno held her thumping heart in her chest. Even after splashing cold water on, her face was still red. It was a dangerous situation, and Sakuno was too faithful to Ryoma to even think that Soichiro was being romantic. She shook her head violently and tried to dismiss the idea.

He didn't want me to go.

That thought kept swirling in her head. It was wrong, so wrong!

Or maybe she just misunderstood the situation?

"Oh, I was going to send a message!" Sakuno held up her phone and saw an incomplete text message for Ryoma. She deleted everything, and forced herself to forget what happened with Soichiro. She was just being assuming, after all. But she wonders what this feeling of guilt meant. She didn't do anything wrong, right?

Her fingers began to type the first and easiest thing she could think of.

Ryoma-kun, I love you.

-Sakuno

To be continued.