Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or Clair de Lune
It was several months before the Kantou finals, when he was first hospitalized. He was still adjusting to having to stay in a hospital room for a long period of time. He had been in hospitals before, visiting injured teammates and ill roommates. But he never imagined he would end up here himself. He first met her one-week into his hospitalization. She went into his room to ask for directions to her grandfather's hospital room. He had learned her name was Ryuuzaki Sakuno and was able to remember her because of her distinct twin braids. They had talked for a while before she went down the hall to her grandfather's room. It had been a few days since his first meeting with her when he, Yukimura Seiichi, realized that he yearned for her presence in the hospital. She would glide by his room and say hello. But that was all he saw of her.
Two weeks after their first meeting, Sanada had come in his room to inform him of the team's progress.
"Today, I caught Akaya using his crayons to color all over the west wall in the clubroom." Sanada said.
"Did you punish him?" Yukimura asked.
"Of course."
There was a silence. Not uncomfortable, they were friends long enough that there never tended to be an uncomfortable silence. A noise wedged in to disturb the silence. Yukimura snapped his head to face the door.
"What's wrong, Seiichi?" Sanada asked, worried his friend was hurt and needed help.
"Don't you hear that?" They both became silent. Sanada struggled to hear what had his friend all worked up. A faint note was heard, followed by a succession of notes that formed a melody.
"I think it's coming from the roof." Sanada stood up and walked out, intending to find out the source of the noise. Several minutes later, Sanada came back and sat down in one of two chairs that were in the room. "A young girl is playing the violin for her elder."
"How does she look like?"
"If I can recall, she had two braids. Her hair is rather long."
Yukimura perked up a bit. "It's Sakuno-san."
"You know her?"
"A bit. She came in asking for direction a few weeks back. She's the granddaughter of Seigaku's coach. Would you say she plays well?"
"Yes. She does play quite well. Especially for someone of her age."
The P.A. system announced "Visiting hours for non-relatives is now over. Visiting hours for non-relative is now over."
Sanada stood up to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Seiichi. Renji might come as well as the rest of the team." Yukimura only nodded and bid him farewell. He closed his eyes, trying to hear the song. He was pleased when the sound of the violin gradually became louder.
A nurse came in. "It's time for Vital Signs, Yukimura-san." Yukimura stood up and had the nurse check his pulse and blood pressure. "Ah. It seems Ryuuzaki-san is playing again." She remarked.
"She's played before?"
"Every Wednesday. She was a bit shy before. But now, it seems she's gotten used to it. It's such a pity that she only plays for her grandfather." She left and let Yukimura to ponder if he could ever get Sakuno to play her violin for him.
Every Wednesday after that, Yukimura would hear Sakuno play the violin on the roof. She would continue to play even though her grandfather was no longer at the hospital. Feeling curious one day, Yukimura went up to the roof, hoping to sneak a glance at the young girl playing the violin.
Having reached the top of the stairs, Yukimura was able to see Sakuno play, despite having her back to him. She played the violin with confidence. When the song ended, Yukimura applauded. Sakuno turned around, shocked. She didn't know she was playing in front of an audience.
"Yukimura-san! What are you doing here?" Sakuno was putting her violin back in its case.
"I heard you playing and came up to see. You are very good, Sakuno-san."
She blushed prettily. "I'm not that good." She murmured.
"What's the name of the song you were playing?" He walked over to where she was and sat down in on a bench they had on the roof.
"Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy." She answered. She picked up her violin case.
"I've never heard of it."
"You have. Everyone has. You just don't recognize it from its name."
"Are you in the music club at your school?"
"No. I'm in the tennis club. I'm not very good at it though."
"You should consider joining it."
She went to the door that led to the stairs. "Maybe. I'll see you around, Yukimura-san."
"Bye Sakuno-san."
And so began their weekly talks on the roof. She would play a song. He would listen. They barely spoke to each other, but it was comfortable. There was no need to fill the silence with talk. After his successful surgery, he never got to see her again. But every Wednesday, without fail, he would walk by the hospital and hear her playing her violin.
"Excuse me, do you know where Ryuuzaki Sakuno is?" He asked a girl wearing the Seigaku uniform. He was on Seigaku's campus.
The girl blushed, recognizing him as the famed Rikkai tennis captain. "She's in the music room. It's that way." She pointed to main building. "Third door from the left."
"Thank you." The girl scurried off to find her friends and tell them who she just met.
He paused at the doorway leading to the music room. He saw Sakuno standing next to the grand piano, playing Clair de Lune once again, this time accompanied by the piano. He leaned against the doorway, letting the music wash over him. The song was over and Sakuno had put her violin away, but she still hadn't noticed Yukimura's presence. The pianist whispered in Sakuno's ear, telling her that someone was here. She turned around, once again surprised.
"Yukimura-san!' She greeted. "I was just about to leave."
"If it's not too much trouble, would you like to come and get ice cream with me. Sakuno?" He offered. She waited for the '-san' to come out of his mouth, but it never did. She looked at him but he just smiled and offered his hand to her.
Finally, she took his hand in her and smiled. "I would love to."
And that's how it all started.
Here it is. My first YukiSaku fic.
I got this idea when I was doing nothing during the storms that were hitting SF.
Please read and review. Hoped you enjoyed it. I'm halfway finished with Strings of Fate so expect an update soon.