Happy

Epilogue

It was surprisingly good turnout; no one had known how many people Mizuki had been dear to. Ryoma didn't speak at the funeral; she didn't really know Mizuki and technically his death had nothing to do with her. She felt it wouldbe almost an insult to go up and talk about how much they would all miss him when she'd barely known the boy.

But Yuuta did speak, his speech was full of halts and small sobs which made it all the more beautiful. The funny thing was that if you asked Ryoma what he had said she wouldn't be able to tell you. The beautiful words would catch on her throat and she wouldn't be able to voice them. She wondered if this was something she should tell her psychiatrist about; her parents had gotten her one to deal with her latest trauma and Ryoma had to agree she needed it. She'd actually feel better after their chats.

But there was no one who made her feel better quite like her boyfriend. Syusuke could always tell when something was bothering her. He'd wrap his arms around her and wait for her to tell him, and she always did in the end.

The entire tennis competition had been postponed thanks to the incident which was convenient as no one really felt like playing tennis. Even Yukimura and Sanada weren't forcing any of their regulars to practice.

Ryoma for one would have loved to get out and play some tennis, hell she would have loved to do anything outside the house. The press had gone mad with this story. They dug into her entire life, the sob story of a once abused girl being kidnapped and maimed sold like crazy. She hated it, it was now common knowledge what her father had done to her and to her brother. They couldn't even leave the house without a swarm of camera men and anchor women and men sticking to them like glue. It started after Mizuki's funeral when they followed her and Syusuke back to her house and found out where she lived.

The swarm never stopped Syusuke from visiting through, Ryoma was pleased to note. He would come over often, sometimes with the other regulars as well.

One afternoon her and Syusuke were curled up together on the couch, enjoying "Panic Room" with Syusuke chuckling whenever Ryoma would squirm or yell at the TV things like "Run!" and "You idiot!"

They didn't have to worry about bothering her family as the Echizen couple had left the house in some of Nanjiro's infamous "wonderful disguises" the reporters backed off some when Nanjiro started speaking gibberish quite loudly. Rinko only giggled as they got into their car. The disguise was ruined somewhat when Nanjiro hollered "Nan-chan escape!" as they drove away.

Nanako had gotten past the media earlier in a rather more discrete fashion; she went out back and jumped over the fence.

As the movie ended Ryoma shook her head "Tennis is so much better than this" she turned on her boyfriend "How can people stand to do this all the time? I mean I feel so …lethargic"

"It's nice to be lazy every now and again" Fuji retorted easily as he got up to get some more popcorn, pecking Ryoma lightly on the mouth

"So what's next?" he called from the kitchen "Something Japanese this time, I barely kept up with that one"

"You should see Momo-sempai, he concentrates really hard and misses half the movie trying to figure out what they've saying for the first half" Ryoma called back with a smile. She rather liked the simple life "How about spirited away?" she suggested when Fuji came back

"Oh, a childhood favourite" he smiled honestly as he watched his girlfriend put the DVD in

"Mine too" Ryoma said with a slightly sad smile "My mom scared the crap out of me and Ryoga when I was two, watching it later on it doesn't seem half as scary. She laughed her ass off at us though. That part of her reminds me of my stupid old man" the loud ads knocked Ryoma out of her nostalgia

Syusuke noted with glee that Ryoma had a slight smile on her face as she talked of her mother, she didn't seem sad anymore. Not when she talked of the past though she only talked about it with her new family and Syusuke. She almost never spoke of her birth father but the nightmares had stopped.

Syusuke spent almost the entire movie watching Ryoma. He captured every childish grin as someone onscreen was injured and every tiny gasp when something surprising happened. Though she had seen the movie many times before. She held back tears at the sad moments and smiled contently as the movie finished.

Maybe she's getting over this too quickly he wondered worriedly but smiled as he normally would But even if she is we'll all be here to catch her if she falls

"Syusuke are you okay?" Ryoma asked, she was one of the only people on the planet who could tell Syusuke's smiles apart

He answered her with a kiss. It was a sweet lingering kiss, it lasted a while as neither were in any hurry to pull apart from the other "I'm brilliant" He breathed when they parted, faces only inches apart still "And you're perfect"

"Not perfect" Ryoma corrected with a snort "But so close it scares me" she finished with a wink

Syusuke laughed with tears in his closed eyes. He didn't care that he'd completely ruined the moment "That was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard"

The greenette's small pout faded into a small grin. She had never seen Syusuke truly let loose and laugh like that before and she looked forward to making him laugh like that again in the future. Maybe in front of everyone she thought with an evil grin just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean I can't ruin his reputation, right?

The brunette was too busy laughing to notice the devil horns sprouting out of his girlfriend's head. If he had he might have cried "I've created a monster!" or something to that effect because there was a new sadistic genius in town

And her name was Echizen Ryoma.