STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLIED.

Note: Well hello there. I know this might have been late, and you might be thinking, "Wow, that's stupid. You took two years before you realize that the story's really nasty..." yadda yadda, but yes, I would edit this entire thing. Not out of selfish reasons but for the sake of, well, maybe improving.

Ah, before you react something like, "So, do I know you?" or "Do you even have the right to edit this stuff?" 'lemme introduce myself. I'm Kemi(yes, Kemi-chii), one of the writers of this co-write project. I've been meaning to start re-editing this one since last year (i.e., the story's grammar/spelling problems, sentence construction, characterization/OOC-ness, etc.), but of course, a lot of factors stopped me from doing so. Ah, don't ask. Long story.

Just to make it clear. Marriage Menace is Future-Set, not AU, as what I'm insisting before. Sorry, my bad.

But anyway, on behalf of matsukanishi09, I want to sincerely thank each and everyone who supported the story from the start. My co-writer (which I believe is feeling the same way too) and I were really surprised on how FanFiction writers/readers welcomed Marriage Menace. Giving your precious time reading /and/ reviewing was more than enough. Thank you, really.

Now, to compensate that, I would do my best to make this fiction worthy to read. :) But of course, it might still contain errors (probably the ones I still missed), so don't expect much please.

Well, uh…thanks for understanding, and by all means, read on.

I. A Life after Yesterday's Misery (EDITED)

Rays of sunlight seeped through the curtained window, awakening the sleeping figure that lay beneath the purple covers of the bed. She fidgeted, visualizing the room where she was. Placing her unstable locks behind her ear, her blurry vision caught sight of the flashing digits on her alarm clock. 7:45 AM,it read. She silently walked away from her cozy slumber, starting her daily routine. Stopping by the calendar, the familiar date encoded with red flowers and hearts bore realization to her weary body. Hastily, she rummaged through her closet, remembering on how special this day is.

She walked down the aisle, covered with that silky pearl-white dress. Her long mane flowed endlessly beneath that veil, together with her pretty face. She smiled weakly at her best friend as she passed by the grand piano playing the wedding's symphony. She looked wonderful. And it brought stinging tears to her eyes.

Happiness radiated at the reception room after the ceremony of exchanging everlasting vows. Wines clattering together with the cheerful outbursts of the guests inside made her uncomfortable. Ryuuzaki Sakuno decided to pass by her newly-married friend, hoping that she can finally voice out her warm congratulations. With her successful attempt, she slipped past every person she knew who were invited on Tomoka's wedding celebration.

There was Horio Satoshi, miserably crying as he eyed the loud-mouthed friend he used to love. Sakuno felt a twinge of compassion for him, knowing that he truly desired to live forever with Tomoka. Yet, a smile replaced her misty expression as soon as she saw the other two, Kachirou and Katsuo, who were sitting by Horio's side, telling him that it was better to let the girl slip off his grasp and be happy once in a while.

Glancing to her left, her beaming face seemed to radiate further. There on an isolated table sat Momoshiro, An and Eiji. A chuckle escaped her pink lips as she watched the two adults rant and An engulfed with annoyance.

She was about to leave when yet her picture perfect plan of escape was shattered into pieces as soon as An saw her gawking towards their direction. And those pieces were now blown by the wind as An stood from her chair and started pacing towards Sakuno's route.

"Sakuno-chan! Why are you standing all by yourself? Are you with somebody by the moment?" An inquired.

Sakuno meekly smiled with a nod, not wanting to utter a single word. She and An were good friends and they met each other frequently. But by now, a queer sensation seemed to be present, as if something she tended to escape from was about to be held right in front of her.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" An reckoned with her head facing Tomoka's direction.

Sakuno once again nodded, her trance a while ago completely forgotten. She eyed her best friend from head to foot, remarking on how magnificent she looked. And as she stared longer, a stray thought passed by her mind. The silky fabric that hung by her shoulders and the bouquet of roses and chrysanthemums that wafted at the air. As she walked on, a man on his best suit, with his disheveled green locks and piercing golden eyes waited with a smile.

She immediately shook her head in disagreement. She was supposed to forget about him. He was not a part of her life now. Right after what happened few years ago, she couldn't really remember exactly when, for all she got there was a bunch of miserable memories and a shattered heart. Yet as her thoughts about the young brat began to evaporate, Momoshiro and Kikumaru suddenly appeared.

"Ne, Ryuuzaki-chan, when are you gonna be married anyway?" Momoshiro innocently asked.

"Yeah! With Tomoka-chan married and An-chan having Momo-chin as her boyfriend, aren't you feeling a bit left out?" Eiji added.

Sakuno was taken aback. This was unexpected. Sure, her friends' romantic issues are improving and she was really happy about its results.

Yet…hers?

She wasn't considering love as a futile emotion in her heart right after the tennis prodigy gave her the cold shoulder treatment during their middle school days. She has a lot of suitors as well, and some of those were her students (who were actually junior students). Still, she wasn't ready for those ties with the opposite sex.

"I'm prioritizing my work as of now." She answered.

They all stared at her, hoping that she'll add more words to that phrase. Yet in utter disappointment, she didn't seem to sense this, and stormed out after a quick goodnight.

"What do you think, An?" Momoshiro queried with his eyes on the direction were Sakuno ran off to.

"She still loves him." An finalized, her words were sure.

"I see." A lovely smile graced out his lips, thinking about what the future may bring about.

"Sakuno!" Her voice rang, alarming the distracted girl by the balcony.

"Tomo-chan. Congratulations!" She smiled once again, acknowledging her friend's presence.

The next scenes seemed to be shocking for Tomoka's nature yet they both stayed there in silence, watching as the trees sway with the wind. Neither of them said a word in order to stop the deafening silence. For them, it was peaceful and calming. And when the clock struck half past twelve, Tomoka stood away from the railings, catching Sakuno's attention.

"Some things do come unexpected, Sakuno. I just hope that you won't screw up when an opportunity comes in your way." Tomoka advised with enthusiasm as she blended into the crowd of people.

Then, it was a new day.

Tomoka's wedding turned out well, yet what happened after her best friend's sudden words of wisdom really pushed her plan of escape last night right into the fire. She was childishly interrogated by Momoshiro and Kikumaru, asking her questions about her current life—her life after Ryoma left her.

She wasn't even sure how his name popped out of their conversation, (all the while connecting it with her when there weren't any connections at all) yet it was still undeniable that an accurate arrow of pain shot right past her agonizing heart. The reason for that, she wasn't sure, but she kept on reminding herself that it wasn't for the fact that she still harbored feelings for him.

No, that wasn't it.

Sakuno shook her head upon reminiscing last night's events. It was fun, really, especially when you found out that they never grew out of their childish antics. A smile crept on her lips, as she fidgeted her dress in front of the mirror. And she was off.

"Sensei, what is the proper tempo for Auld Lang Syne?"

"Sensei, sensei! Is note reading really that important?"

"When are we going to start playing rock music?"

Sakuno dropped a lump of sweat upon seeing how hysterical her class was. It wasn't easy being a music teacher of thirty-six junior students who are desperate music lovers. You might think that it was better off with our students having such passion about what you teach, yet in Sakuno's case, today's just too pressurizing for her pupils.

She stifled a sigh, catching everyone's attention. She raised her head, facing her students with a smile.

"I can't answer your questions if you'll ask them all at the same time. Please raise your hands."

"Yes, Tsukiyo-kun?" Sakuno called a boy at the far-end corner of the room.

The boy was the so-called leader of their class, silent and stoic. He slightly resembled Ryoma, except for his dark raven locks and piercing azure eyes. He opened his left eye, lowering his right hand at the same time.

"When are you gonna accept my date offers?" Well, that was another difference.

One should not take it wrong, but he was not, in any way, a playboy, pervert or anything of that sort. Actually, Sakuno was the first female to ever catch his attention and he just wouldn't give up easily.

Sakuno blushed right after the statement graced out of his lips. It seemed that old habits never die easily. A satisfied smirk was his reply. Seriously, the boy was happy about the result.

"W-We'll talk about that later, Tsukiyo-kun." Sakuno grabbed a stray piece of chalk, nervously writing Japanese characters on the board.

"Come in," Sakuno replied after a series of knocks were heard outside her door.

Classes were finished for the day and there was no one scheduled for detention. The sudden tapping of wood gained her curiosity that she mindlessly accepted whoever was behind her door.

"Aren't you gonna answer my question a while ago?" Tsukiyo said as he made himself comfortable inside the deserted faculty office.

His impassive voice caught her off-guard. She jerked her head towards his direction, only to utter the name she thought she had once forgotten.

"Ryoma-kun," Sakuno muttered, catching the boy's attention.

"Huh?" He replied; a tinge of jealousy was evident in his voice.

To be honest, you couldn't blame Sakuno. With Tsukiyo's head covered with a white cap, he can be easily ditched as the tennis prodigy himself. The sun's rays seeping through his raven locks made it glitter, creating a new hue of which Sakuno always knew about—his greenish locks. And by the time his eyes struck the orange color of the sunset, his azure orbs went gold, letting him resemble the man Sakuno once and only loved.

"Ryo—" Sakuno uttered once more, yet was diligently halted as Tsukiyo removed his cap.

Sakuno suddenly realized her mistake, reciting a series of apologies right in front of the lad. Some things never do change.

"You can pay me back by accepting my date offer." He lazily demanded.

Sakuno rose to her feet, a look of disbelief in her chocolate eyes.

"But—" She tried to retaliate, but was stopped by a flick of his finger on her forehead.

"Shut it. Meet me at the old Seigaku grounds at 1:00 PM sharp, Saturday. And don't be late. I hate waiting." With that, he left a dazed teacher behind.

"I can't read, damn it!" Echizen Nanjirou burst out as a loud crash was heard.

"Shut up, I'm the one who's injured, not your porn magazines." Ryoma retorted while rubbing his sore butt.

Ryoma tried to get up from his current position on the floor right after his fall from the ladder he was on. Sure, he was never a clumsy guy, yet he fell due to the fact that a black sewer rat suddenly appeared about, sucking the daylights out of his system. And out of sheer luck, he stumbled once again, earning another shriek from his perverted father who was seriously reading a new issue of an American porn mag, covered by the morning paper, just in case Rinko would curiously ask what he was reading.

Glaring on the object that caused a graze on his ego, Ryoma's gaze softened as he realized that it was a neon blob with a mark of his chibi face on it. He picked it up, intently analyzing the old tennis ball that remained of her existence to his life. Yes, this was the last straw he had since that untimely confession happened. He wasn't on his right mind at that time, (he was twelve years old for goodness' sake) and he was sure that she just happened to be in the wrong place and time. Yet, he was surer she knew that tennis was his priority.

And now he regretted it.

"Ryoma-san! Please arrange your things! We'll be flying back home tomorrow." Nanako entered without a knock, reprimanding him upon sight of his untidy room.

"Aa." Ryoma answered, picking up his boxers.

"Tsukiyo-kun. H-Have you been w-waiting long?" Sakuno fidgeted upon remembering his cold words right after his demand for a date.

He lazily opened his eyes upon hearing her voice. He once thought that she wouldn't appear, right after the cold shoulder he had shown the very afternoon he insisted the date. Yet even if he wanted to tell on how nice she looked, on how considerate she was to accept his offer, he'd rather spit the words that blended his nature.

"You're three minutes late." He walked on, leaving her behind.

A smile was formed. She couldn't help but to feel right as he said those words, as though she was already used to it.

"Who's Ryoma?" Tsukiyo asked while licking his ice cream.

Sakuno's eyes widened, halting her attempt to lick her ice cream. Her gaze shifted to the boy beside her, his face full of curiosity about the person behind the name he just uttered.

"Well, just a crush I had before." Sakuno tried to sound calm, yet her voice seemed cracked.

"Crush, huh? Do I look like him?" Tsukiyo looked out the window.

"A lot. Same attitude as well." Sakuno chuckled absent-mindedly, her eyes entirely blank as if she was in deep thought.

"Che," Tsukiyo ended their conversation, noting that the name he mustered was a very special person for Sakuno.

After the "date" of eating more like tons of ice cream, Sakuno insisted that she wanted to walk home by herself, albeit the glares she received from the young man she was with. Strolling as the rays of sunlight brightened her face, she noted on how moved on she was, right after Tsukiyo struck a conversation related to him.

Passing by the old Seishun Gakuen grounds once again, she couldn't help but to reminisce with a pained smile, as she recalled his cold answer upon her confession.

TBC.