Summary: AU RYOSAKU If one Echizen Ryoma finds out that shy Ryuzaki Sakuno was actually Vermilion, Japan's current rising star, what's the poor girl to do to keep her identity a secret?

Disclaimer: POT is not rightfully mine, and so is You Raise Me Up. It was sung by Lena Park.

Chapter 3: Secret

"Thank you for bringing me home, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno offered shyly, bowing.

Ryoma just shrugged. "Don't worry about it. And besides, stupid oyaji would have my hide if he found out I let a girl walk home alone at this hour."

"O-oh." She took a glance at him and was shocked to find him already looking at her. "Y-yes?" she squeaked nervously.

He stared at her intensely. "I didn't know you could sing."

Her throat ran dry. Did he find out? Was her secret discovered already? She forced herself to calm down. "It's a h-hobby of mine… I'm not that good at it, really…"

He seemed amused at that and looked away, much to her relief. "Yeah. Mada mada dane."

She sighed inwardly. He didn't know. She was safe. Thank Kami-sama.

"Vermilion, right?" At her stunned expression, he raised an eyebrow. "You didn't honestly think I wouldn't know, right?" When she didn't reply, he sighed. "Girls."

Sakuno swallowed nervously. "I-I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun."

"Why on earth are you apologizing?"

She flinched. "Nothing. Um, I mean—"

Ryoma frowned. She looked like he was going to attack her or something. "Hey. You all right?"

Sakuno nodded vigorously, although he thought the action seemed a bit hysterical. "It's just, well, I—" She broke off when he suddenly sighed and walked over to her. "R-ryoma-kun?"

"I'm not stupid, Ryuzaki," he started, his tone slightly amused, slightly exasperated. "I know it's a secret, so don't go panicking on me."

She forced herself to calm down and just breathe. She was safe. He wasn't going to tell anyone. She was safe. "O-oh. T-thank you."

There was a moment of silence in which he let her regain her senses. "So." He peered at her curiously. "You're famous?"

Against her will, she flushed. "A bit."

He smirked. "Probably an understatement, but I'd take that as a yes." She blushed deeper. "Don't I get something for keeping your secret?"

Her head shot up in surprise. "E-eh?" Did he want money? But Ryoma-kun doesn't look like he needs it… Fame, then? Or maybe—

He rolled his eyes. "It's not as bad as you think." He lifted a finger. "One, assuming you cook, bring me lunch."

She nodded quickly.

He raised another finger. "Second, talk to me. In English. It gets really frustrating when there's nobody decent enough to talk to. And I know you're fluent, so don't deny it."

She blinked, then nodded uncertainly. "As long as it's just the two of us?"

"Fine. And third—" He frowned slightly, then shrugged. "I'll think about it. So bye." He started to walk away.

Sakuno could only stare at his retreating figure. What?

&

"Oi, Ryuzaki."

Sakuno blinked and turned to look at him. "Yes, Ryoma-kun?"

"Can I borrow your eraser?"

"Oh. Here you go," she smiled, handing him the said object. "Ryoma-kun seems to forget a lot these days, ne?"

It had already been a few weeks since he discovered she was actually Vermilion, a famous singer. He was the only one who knew her secret, and she was glad he wasn't telling anyone. Somehow, because of this, they have gotten a bit closer, even if Ryoma was his usual aloof self.

"Hmm… what if I don't let Ryoma-kun borrow my things anymore?"

He rolled his eyes. "As if that would happen," he muttered.

She laughed at his reply. True to their deal, they also started talking in English, out of anybody's hearing range of course. Sakuno found out the reason he was so fluent was because he grew up in America. She told him the reason why she worked so hard to be fluent was because she wanted to sing in a different language. "You're right. That wouldn't happen."

The bell rang to signify morning classes were over. Ryoma handed her eraser back. "I'm done," he said, standing up. "Let's go."

They started having their lunch together too. Ryoma wasn't such a picky eater, as long as she cooked him a Japanese bento. And Sakuno found she didn't mind cooking for the other teen as well. She smiled. "Ok."

&

They were walking home, and Sakuno was humming gently to herself when he promptly stopped. She almost bumped into him. "Ryoma-kun?"

He wasn't looking at her. "If you're going to sing, do it properly."

She was taken aback. "O-okay." Did he- did he really want me to sing? When he started walking again, Sakuno hurried to catch up with him.

"Well?"

She blinked. "Hai!" When she noticed the slightest hint of red on his cheeks, it finally dawned on her. She blushed as well, feeling her heart skip a beat.

I'm glad… Ryoma-kun likes to hear my voice.

&

The door to the roof top slammed open. "Ryoma-kun!"

The tennis prodigy glanced over his shoulder, mildly surprised to find Sakuno flushed and sweating all over. "Did you run up the stairs?"

She nodded vigorously, obviously unable to speak because of her excitement.

He rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Ryuzaki, before you forget breathing."

She nodded again before pausing to catch her breath. When she finally got her voice back, she blurted out, "I just talked with my manager! I'm going to have another concert!"

He blinked. "Oh. And?"

"And-I-would-like-it-very-much-if-Ryoma-kun-would-go!"

Pause. "Oh." She smiled hopefully. "I can't."

"E-eh?"

He shrugged. "I don't go to concerts. And I spent the last of my allowance to buy some tennis equipment. Sorry," he added as an afterthought.

Her face fell. "Oh. I see." She brightened. "Then I'll just see Ryoma-kun once I go back to school, ok? Bye!"

When the door closed again, Ryoma sighed, remembering the brief flash of hurt in her eyes. "That stupid girl…"

&

What on earth am I doing here again? Ryoma asked to himself, cursing softly when some avid fan bumped into him. Again. He'd lost count on how many times he'd been jostled and stepped on, no matter how tall he was. That stupid girl. I swear this is the last time I'm going to one of these things… Since the concert didn't seem likely to start any minute now, he decided to get some fresh air outside. He grumbled to himself, wondering how he gets himself into these things. First, he had to borrow money from his stupid oyaji.

"Ahhh! So you're going to watch Vermilion's concert? This is a miracle! We must celebrate! The brat is finally growing up!"

"Oyaji, will you just give me the money?"

"Of course, of course. But you have to take lots of cute pictures, ok? I would go too, but your mom would kill me! Ah! I'm counting on you!"

Now he had to take some stupid pictures. And as soon as he stepped inside the concert hall, he got practically harassed. It's all that girl's fault… His ears perked up when voices drifted near.

"But the show is about to start!"

"Hai. I'll be there shortly," a soft familiar voice said quietly.

"You look sad. Is something the matter?"

"N-no. I'm just… nervous, I guess…"

A sigh. "Please get yourself together and come inside quickly."

"I understand. Thank you, Ayase-san."

Ryoma blinked when the person came nearer. He could only see the profile, but there was something awfully familiar about her. "Is that you, Ryu-"

His breath caught in his throat.

The girl before him was absolutely breathtaking. Under the moonlight, her long unbound auburn tresses looked silver, and her hazel eyes were wide and almost luminous, and she wasn't wearing… her glasses… "-zaki…"

"R-ryoma-kun?"

He couldn't believe how different she looked. So this was the Vermilion they were so crazy about. Up close, he could finally see why. "Yeah." At his current condition, it was the only thing he could say without looking like a total moron.

"It really is Ryoma-kun! I'm so glad you came!" She laughed. "But now that's Ryoma-kun here, I'm getting really nervous!"

"Oh." Speak, damn it.

"Um, well, I would like to see Ryoma-kun after the concert, so… wait a second…" She offered him a special backstage pass shyly. "Please come and see me."

He nodded and took the pass.

"Well, I better be going now! Ryoma-kun should come inside too!" She smiled brightly at him, one that made all the blood rush to his head and his heart do a weird dance.

"Wait, Ryuzaki-"

"Hai?"

He swallowed, and why was he feeling nervous anyway? "You look good," he managed to force out.

She stared at him, her mouth open in surprise, before she flushed a fiery crimson and bowed. "Thank you so much. Ryoma-kun looks good too," she whispered.

When she finally left, Ryoma took a deep breath, clenching his fists. What on earth was happening to him?

&

Sorry for the extremely late update, but I couldn't find it in my heart to post this earlier, because I was finding it hard to commit myself to this story. Again, I fear I cannot finish it.

But ah well, I thought here you go, so here it is, and it's pretty damn long. -laughs- Hopefully it's good. And I was planning to write a Christmas fic for A Twist of Fate but I'll probably do a valentines fic (again) instead. Hehe. Or a late Christmas one.

And just in case anybody's confused, words in italics (ones that are enclosed in quotation marks) are spoken in English. Words in italics that are NOT enclosed in quotation marks are merely emphasized. So there. I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter and please review, when you can!

Oh, and special thanks to Ruffle, who with her review has encouraged me to do better. I appreciate your thoughts!

Much love,

Queen Mist

PS. Unedited, so don't be too harsh on me. –grins-