36 Drabbles
1: Meeting/Encounter
It was completely unexpected. The words, the rhythm, the song just came to mind as she was staring at a picture of a boy with a bandage over his eye. As if something had took hold of her body, the paper lined with blue and red was steadily filled in by the lead of a simple pencil. Word upon word, stanza upon stanza decorated the once-blank page as her fingers nimbly wielded the pencil in expertise. She wrote late into the night, ignoring the yawns spewing forth and the drooping of her eyelids.
It was only until the red numbers on her digital clock flashed "1:03" did she finally lay down her pencil and drift to sleep in her bed, eyes closing and darkness overcoming her in mere seconds.
Ryuzaki Sakuno awoke blearily to the buzzing of her alarm clock on her night table. Reaching over to slap the "off" button, Sakuno moaned drowsily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Unconsciously, she sought out her cute animal calendar hanging on the opposite side of her bed. One of the dates was circled in red marker, standing out against the whiteness of the rest of the page. It was only a moment later she realized what the circle represented.
Gasping, Sakuno checked the time (7:30am) and flew out of bed just as her grandmother – Ryuzaki Sumire – called from the first floor. In her panic, she didn't notice the paper on her desk fluttering to the floor as she dashed by.
"Sakuno! Your first day of third year isn't going to wait for you to get ready!"
Sighing, Sakuno made her way out of the tennis courts (her grandmother needed to be there, as coach and all) and towards the entrance of the school. "Mou, Tomo-chan's going to be so mad" she mumbled, bento box dangling from her clasped fingers. With the little time she had left to meet up with Osakada Tomoka, Sakuno could only make a couple onigiri (rice balls). Even then, she was still ten minutes past the meeting time. Tomoka was going to chew her out for ten minutes, knowing the loudmouth as well as she did.
Sakuno let out another sigh, her gaze on the floor never shifting. The bento box swept dangerously close to the floor, and Sakuno giggled as she was reminded of Kintarou-kun and… Her smile faded away, the loose grip on her handkerchief containing her bento tightening. Her chocolate brown bangs shadowed her caramel eyes, lips curving down in a frown or grimace.
"Ryoma-kun…"
"What?"
At first, Sakuno thought she was just hearing things, remembering the way he used to say her name with that nonchalance. But then she realized the voice, sounding painfully familiar, was deeper and huskier. It was the kind of voice a handsome bishounen in an anime might have, the kind where once he spoke the girls would swoon with hearts in their eyes. Tomoka would say a voice like that "oozed sex". It just sent shivers up Sakuno's spine.
But then Sakuno realized someone was standing in front of her, and her head shot up to apologize for blocking the person's way. Only, her voice died in her throat as caramel eyes met painstakingly recognizable golden ones. She couldn't speak at first, her eyes trailing over his much taller figure and matured face. His hair, black but looking dark green in the sun, was as messy as usual, covered by the trademark white Fila cap on his head. Slung over his shoulder was an old, worn blue tennis bag. Stitched on the side in red English letters was "Ryoma Echizen".
Mouth parting, eyes widening, and breath caught in her throat, Sakuno's fingers unwound, allowing the strips of the handkerchief to fall through her fingers. Ryoma, tennis racket in hand, caught the falling bento with the strings of his racket, lifting it to present it to her.
"You dropped this." He said, voice still unfeeling and monotone. Hands shaking lightly, Sakuno took the box off of his racket, looking down at the ground with tear-filled eyes. A little malicious voice in her head began to emerge, convincing her Ryoma didn't remember who she was, but that was normal since she was so invisible and not worth his time. The grip on her bento tightened, and Sakuno squeezed her eyes firmly to stop the tears from falling.
"T-thank you…" Sakuno whispered, stubbornly keeping her head ducked to avoid his piercing cat-like eyes. There was silence for a short moment, Sakuno hoping he would just hurry up and walk past her so she could regain her wits and make her way to meet Tomoka before ten minutes of scolding turned into fifteen. But Sakuno just stood there and waited, heart thumping loudly in her ears and body trembling harder with every passing moment.
"You made onigiri, right?"
Sakuno's head jolted up as Ryoma's voice flitted to her ears. His face was still emotionless, voice still monotone yet husky. The growing girl had to readjust her eyes, not used to the much taller tennis genius. Sakuno, a little confused but polite as always, nodded with a tiny flick of her head, braids shaking from the motion. Ryoma tapped his tennis racket on his shoulders, tilting his head to the side.
"Then I'll try them. I didn't get to last time." With a little nod to her and a light swing of his tennis racket (nowhere near Sakuno), Ryoma breezed past her, returning his tennis racket to his shoulder as a rest. Sakuno's entire body froze, replaying his words several times in her head.
'I didn't get to last time…'
A light, almost giddy feeling began to overwhelm her entire body. Doubt lingered, still spurred on by the malicious voice in her head, but that one sentence gave her so much hope, so much faith. Impulsively, Sakuno whirled around to see Ryoma's back, her Seigaku uniform flapping in the light wind and her braided pigtails flying behind her.
"R-Ryoma-kun!"
His head turned.
"T-that is…" Sakuno gulped, not knowing what to say next. She had called his name merely on a whim, the words she really wanted to say getting stuck in her throat. "The tennis club did really well last year! Kaidou-senpai and Momo-chan-senpai led the regulars really well, and we placed second in the Nationals." Her grip on her handkerchief tightened, hearing the malicious voice in her head comment smarmily on how Ryoma really needed to know something like that. Her head ducked down, tears brimming the corners of her eyes.
There was silence again, the stifling, suspenseful kind that had Sakuno holding her breath and hearing nothing but the loud thumping of her own heart. She willed the tears not to fall, hoping Ryoma didn't see them and think her a crybaby. In her head, she scolded herself for not gathering enough courage and saying something lame like that. Ryoma probably thought she was a weirdo with too-long hair. Her malicious voice agreed heartily.
"Hn. Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai, Kaidou-senpai." Sakuno's head rose to look at him, tears dotting her eyes. His were no longer turned to her, but instead turned to the blue sky above them, a few white clouds drifting by contentedly. There was a cocky smirk on his face, one so familiar to the shy girl that she began to smile too. "Only second place? Not bad, but I'll do better." Sakuno's eyes widened at that, and she stared at Ryoma as he turned his head back to the direction of the tennis courts.
"R-Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno whispered. A wide smile blossomed over her face, her heart filling with warmth and excitement. "So that was why grandmother didn't pick a new captain last year…" With a little giggle, Sakuno's cheeks flushed as she gazed (lovingly?) at the tennis prince, who began to walk away once again. For some reason, at that moment, the malicious voice in her head had disappeared, and the words she wanted to say were bursting from her throat without another thought.
"Ryoma-kun!" He turned to look at the girl who called his name a second time, standing happily behind him, bento box clutched in front of her and smile so sweet and beautiful, his cheeks flushed a faint pink.
"Welcome back!"
Echizen Ryoma blinked a little, but then a small smile made his lips twitch upwards. He didn't say a word, opting to turn his head around and wave his racket in the air to her, resuming his trek to the tennis courts with leisurely steps. Sakuno watched him disappear, the glowing smile on her face not leaving. She stood there for another second or two, before spinning around and making her way to Tomoka with a little skip in her step. As she walked to the entrance of the school, Sakuno began to hum a little tune.
The tune turned into a soft whisper, and the soft whisper soon evolved into a song.
Dear Prince
~To The Princes~
Dear Prince
Let's meet up
Dear Prince
We don't need a reason
Dear Prince
Try your best
Dear Prince
I love that place
Because I'll keep on watching you until you win
That morning
I woke up earlier than usual
And packed my bag excitedly
Even though I got the courage you sent,
Those cheers have yet
To reach me
It's the chance of a lifetime
(Chance of a lifetime)
Even if you let it escape
(Don't worry about it)
It's not the end of the world
Yeah, keep on moving
You take your place
On the court like the transparent moon
Unyielding and persevering
In the approaching sun
"All right, go for it!"
Grab your racket
Once you serve,
The show will begin
Get ready
Let's meet up
Get ready
We don't need a reason
Get ready
Try your best
Get ready
I love that place
Ready go!
Let's join our hands
Ready go!
Because this is a present
Ready go!
To you, who never runs away
Ready go!
Go and make us proud
However the courage I sent to you, is only the first
Because the happy dreams
You've sent me are as
Numerous as stars
More than usual you say
Persevere
Persevere
Persevere
Never give up even if there are times you lose
Now I've gotten double the courage you sent
But that is still not enough
It's time to show your full strength
As I run flying across
Two tears of regret track my face
"Just winning or losing isn't everything!"
Just who was it who said that?
Someday, everyone
(In the course of time)
Will say they mustn't give up on their own dream
(My sweet dream)
But I don't want to
Get ready
For tomorrow
Get ready
Accept the risk
Get ready
Can you handle it?
Get ready
Even if it'll be
Very tough
Ready go!
The tennis ball
Ready go!
Grip it tightly
Ready go!
In the midst of pressure
Ready go!
Surpass your limits
Each time you collected a little of the courage I sent to you
You began to make out a story in the future
My friend
Dear Prince
Let's meet up
Dear Prince
We don't need a reason
Dear Prince
Try your best
Dear Prince
I love that place
Ready go!
Let's join our hands
Ready go!
Because this is a present
Ready go!
To you, who never runs away
Ready go!
Go and make us proud
Up till now I have gathered a lot of courage
In this town full of blooming sakura
I can give you a big smile
Thank you!
A/N Yes, the 36 challenges have started! I decided to challenge myself a bit, so my deadline for finishing this is December the 5th. (36 days, 36 drabbles. One drabble a day!) Knowing me, I won't make it, lol. But it never hurts to try!
My inspiration for this was Ryoma coming back to Japan (no duh), and the lyrics written by Konomi Takeshi in the song "Dear Prince", which was used in the last chapter of Prince of Tennis. (It's a nice song. =D) I figured Sakuno could write it, because who else would write a song titled "Dear Prince"? (Not Tomoka. She doesn't seem like the artistic type.)
Anyways, I hope you guys liked it, and please leave a review! Thanks!
Snowflake Flower