199A/N: I hope you enjoy the fic.
Summary: RyoxSaku: Echizen Ryoma has been down lately after he was sick and nobody knows why. Somehow, for some crazy reason, he told his hidden thoughts to Ryuzaki Sakuno. In order to keep the girl quiet, tennis lessons were available and Ryoma was her guide. With all the time with him during her lessons, will Sakuno eventually tell him something also? And how long can she keep the secrets to herself? My first Prince of Tennis fic.
"- Dialogue
'- Thoughts
Italics- Dream/Song(if)/Flashbacks
OOOOO- Scene change
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANIME/MANGA PRINCE OF TENNIS. PRINCE OF TENNIS OR TENNIS NO OJI-SAMA BELONGS TO TAKESHI KONOMI.
Dream Sequence
"Play to the end!"
"Be Seigaku's Pillar of Support!"
A young boy ran through a dark tunnel as fast as he could. So many images appeared in his mind and he tried not to think about them. Shouts and screams echoed throughout the tunnel.
"Play a match with me!"
"Seishounen, show them power!"
"Is that all?! Come on!"
He didn't know what he was running away from, but he just had the urge to just search to the end of the tunnel. He held his crimson tennis racket tightly with his hand and felt like the ground turn into a tennis court. He stopped when a huge net was blocking his way and he had no choice but to jump high to cross through.
At last, the light of the tunnel began to appear before his eyes. He panted and quickly dashed to the end. But when he was about to pass through, darkness clouded the exit and everything was pitch black...
Secret Exchange
By: HaruCherry510
Chapter 1: The Sudden Fall
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The morning sunrise rose up through the city of Tokyo, Japan. White faded clouds drifted through the no longer dark sky, but a bright sea color to start the day. People did a regular routine to get ready for business, work, school, or clubs being held at this very day. Unfortunately, one didn't feel like rising at all.
The sun's rays peeked through the blinds of a young junior high student's window. The sunlight bathed the boy's face and he slightly moved. The loud alarm on top of his bed went off. For a few seconds, he sat up from his bed and stopped the alarm with a press of a button. He stared down at his sheets with his emotionless feline eyes. At the moment, he felt like he wanted to lie back down and go back to dreamland. But knowing he might be late, Echizen Ryoma had to get ready. He stood up slowly as possible but he rushed through standing up. Discomfort exploded in his head and he rubbed his temples. He sat himself down; he had to get ready for morning tennis practice and he couldn't afford himself late. It came to the point that he realized he was sick with a fever. With quick pace, a little Himalayan cat with droplet sapphire eyes gazed at the boy. The small cat licked Ryoma's hand placed on the bed and Ryoma stared down to see the cat purr. He made a small smile and patted the cat's head.
"Ohayo, Karupin." He said softly.
"Ryoma! It's time to get ready!" Ryoma's cousin Nanako shouted downstairs. Ryoma made no response and stopped petting the cat. He stood up to get ready for school, knowing that it might be a bad day for him.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Ah, Ryoma, you're up. Breakfast is on the table." Nanako replied.
'He should be happy today...' Nanako thought as her long dark hair reached her mid-back and she wore an apron in the kitchen.
Ryoma went down the stairs with his school uniform, yet he had difficulty because of his condition. He was lucky that Nanako didn't see him coming down and he sat down to stare down at his breakfast. He saw the Japanese styled breakfast, which made him happy at least, but he didn't feel like eating. He knew his mother, Echizen Rinko, made it for him before she took off with some errands. Nanako placed two bottles of milk on the table for Ryoma to drink. Ryoma picked up his chopsticks and started to eat some food. He tried not to show that he was a bit off today because people were concerned for every little thing that didn't bother him.
"I'm done." Ryoma stood up and Nanako eyed the plate. To her surprise, the young tennis player only ate half of his rice but his fish was barely touched! He always ate everything if it was Japanese. If it was American styled, he would only eat the piece of bread and nothing else.
"Ryoma, are you sure you don't want to eat the rest?"
"Yeah." If Ryoma looked at food one more time, he might get more sick. At least he finished the two bottles of milk, that was what he really wanted to have for the morning. Nanako tilted her head with concern.
"Are you okay?" She ended up asking the question that Ryoma didn't want to hear. Ryoma didn't know how to answer the question so he just nodded his head. Nanako still wasn't convinced one bit. She stepped a little closer in front of the boy and lifted her hand away from her apron.
"Let me-"
"Nanako, I'm fine." Ryoma stepped away from the kitchen as he heard his senpai call out to hurry up. He rushed to the front door to put on his shoes, grabbing his tennis equipment, and closed the door shut; leaving Nanako alone with his father. Echizen Nanjiroh, retired tennis pro, stepped inside from the backyard with a newspaper at hand. He wore a black robe as he went over to the kitchen.
Scratching his lazy head he asked, "He already left?" Nanako nodded her head faintly and continued to cook.
"He was pretty off lately..."
"He's always like that! Let him-" But before he could finish his sentence, he eyed the half-warm fish in front of him.
"Ano...Nanako, did you fry this yet?" Nanjiroh poke the fish playfully.
"I already did. It was for Ryoma, but he didn't eat it." Nanako replied.
"He didn't eat the fish?"
"He only ate that bowl of rice..." Nanjiroh spotted the rice and it was half eaten. He was a bit confused with his son's appetite, but decided that it wasn't serious. Nanako started to do more household chores and left the kitchen to get some equipment.
'Uncle, when Ryoma left, I could've sworn a shade of red was on his face.'
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Momo-senpai, matte."
Takeshi Momoshiro was a great friend to Ryoma at the school. As a 2nd year at Seishun Gakuen, or for short, Seigaku, he played tennis and was a regular at the tennis club. Dark purple eyes and broom-like hair, he rode his bike as slow as possible for Ryoma to catch up.
"Hoy! If we're late, it's going to be your fault!" He exclaimed. Ryoma reached inside his tennis bag to get his white Fila cap. He doesn't usually wear it this early in the morning, but the shade of red on his face was starting to show when he passed a side car mirror. He took a breath and tried his best to show that nothing was wrong with him.
"Heh. Made made dane." He replied his special saying as his walking started to pick up speed.
"Hey! Chotto matte!"
They made it to their school and went to the tennis club to put their equipment away. It seemed that the other Seigaku Regulars were already inside the school to get to their classes. Ryoma still had his cap on, but he knew that he had to put it down when he steps into his homeroom. He was walking with Momoshiro until-
"NYA! Ohayo, Ochibi!" Ryoma felt arms pounce behind him and eyed the obvious person. Kikumaru Eiji, 3rd year, looked similar as a 'neko' with curious eyes. His acrobatic plays at tennis were fantastic when he was paired up with Oishi, the vice-captain of the tennis club. He had his usual grin on his face as he greeted the freshman.
"E-Eiji-senpai, let go." Ryoma was losing some of his air supply. Eiji gladly let go of the freshman. He pulled down the rim of his hat.
"Why are you wearing your cap? You wear it at the tennis courts!" Eiji asked. Ryoma frowned when people messed with his hat.
"I feel like wearing it." Ryoma silently went inside his homeroom, as Momoshiro and Eiji were a bit confused with his behavior.
"Eh, Momoshiro. Is he acting different than usual?" Eiji asked with a worried look in his eyes. Momoshiro shook his head.
"He must have an off day. Let's go." Momoshiro turned around and saw his tennis rival, Kaidoh- who was a 2nd year and Seigaku tennis regular like Momoshiro. He had his bandana off, revealing his slick black hair to show. He had eyes that looked like a piercing wild snake.
"Watch where you're going-Fssssshhh." Kaidoh hissed.
"Why don't you watch where you're going, mamushi!" Momoshiro called out.
"What did you say?" Kaidoh retorted.
"You heard me!" It came to the point that possible sparks of electricity were firing into each others' eyes. Eiji sweat dropped and tried to stop them from any physical violence.
For the freshman however, Ryoma sat down on his desk and eyed more students coming in. He took his cap off and rubbed his temples as his fever was a bother.
"Echizen?!"
"Hm? Ryoma-sama? OHAYO!"
'Great...' Ryoma thought as the people he knew most came inside the homeroom.
Horio and his two friends from the tennis club came inside and Osakada Tomoka arrived also. Horio was known as a bragger for his two years of experience of tennis and pretty much annoyed Ryoma sometimes. Tomoka had light brown hair pigtails and was wearing the Seigaku school uniform for girls. It consisted a dark green skirt and a light green shirt with a pink ribbon in the middle. She was also known as the leader of the 'Echizen Ryoma Fan Club'.
"I-It's really early for you to be here Ryoma-kun." Ryoma looked up to see another girl behind Tomoka. Her name was a blur to Ryoma but he knew her. She was the granddaughter of the Seigaku tennis coach, Ryuzaki Sumire. She had long dark auburn hair that was braided into two pigtails. Her chocolate colored eyes stared at him with concern.
"You're right Sakuno." Tomoka said, now noticing that he was early. He was late most of the time to his homeroom classes.
"Why'd you came early, Echizen?" Horio wondered.
Ryoma didn't feel like answering so many questions; he just wanted to be alone at the moment. The bell saved him from further questions and the homeroom teacher arrived to teach the lesson. Echizen had problems paying attention to the lesson, but he didn't care knowing that he knew the subject by heart. So he ended up staring at the window throughout the entire time in the homeroom- to close his eyes and rest.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Throughout lunch and the end of the school day, Ryoma was alone the entire time. During lunch, he stayed at the rooftop of the school and took a small nap, making him skip the lesson again. He ended up getting away from the loud group to close his mind a little. But his sickness started to worsen every passing hour. He was seriously going to have a problem with afternoon tennis practice...
"All right." Kunimitsu Tezuka commanded everyone to form around.
Tezuka was known to be the captain of Seigaku's tennis club, wearing spectacles and has light brown hair. He started to explain the tennis agenda for today, but Ryoma hid his face with his white Fila cap. Being in front of his buchou was nerve-racking; he might see his taint flustered cheeks and his captain might scold him. Behind the fence, Ryuzaki Sakuno was holding her school bag to see the tennis club practice but saw Ryoma's head down. Her lips turned into a straight line and her eyes were gazing at the boy. Tomoka had to leave earlier to take care of her brothers so Sakuno was left alone with nothing to do.
'Daijoubu desu ka...Ryoma-kun?' Sakuno gripped her school bag nervously. Earlier during lunch, Sakuno found him having coughing fits at the rooftop and she was worried about him. She had a gut feeling that something would happen very soon.
Tezuka finally sent them off to play practice matches. Everyone was sent to seperate courts- Regulars, or special players that compete in tournaments, go to Court A and B while other tennis club players either go to C or D to practice back and forehand swings. As for freshmen members, they either help out with other people or pick up tennis balls that were being left on the ground.
For certain people who were late for practice, they had to run laps and drink the dreaded concoction made from Inui. Inui was known to be a data carrier for Seigaku. He collected data from various players from different schools that they compete in. The dreaded juice that he made was known to help people, but most people just got unconscious.
"Echizen! Your serve." Momo threw the small tennis ball to the opposite side of the court the two of them were in. Ryoma was caught off guard, but he grabbed the ball with his hand without hitting him in the face. He took position for his serve using his right hand.
'Twist serve...' Momo was getting ready to return the ball. Ryoma threw the tennis ball high in the air and served the ball to Momo. But Momo's eyes widened when the ball hit the net. The freshman would never have a bad serve during a practice match- especially his Twist Serve.
"Hey! Serve already!" Momo shouted out loud. Ryoma just wanted Momo to be quiet, the match was only beginning. Ryoma did a regular serve instead and it went over the net. Momo returned it with ease and Ryoma did the same. During the match though, Momo noticed that Ryoma's returns were a bit weaker than usual. Momo did his famous smashes and the surprise was that Ryoma missed it.
"15-Love." Momo called out. Ryoma panted with exhaustion. While he was returning the ball with his racket, he was looking at eight balls coming at him. He shrugged the thought as they continued the match. For a few minutes, Momo had the lead with two games.
"Nani?! Momo-chan-senpai is beating Echizen!" Horio cried out loud.
"You okay?" Momo asked the young tennis player as they changed courts for the next game. Ryoma only nodded and lowered the bill of the cap. But as he was walking, he reached his point. He closed his eyes and fell to the ground with a thud; his face planted at the court. The regulars eyed the young tennis player on the ground and their eyes widened with shock.
'RYOMA-KUN!' Sakuno thought as she opened the tennis gates and went over to him.
"Echizen!" Momo rushed over first since he was one playing him. He sat him up on the ground and shook his shoulder.
"Wake up. Echizen!" Momo continued to try waking him up. The regulars dropped their rackets and went over to the court. The other players couldn't help but look at the different court.
"What happened?" Fuji, the tennis tensai, asked.
"He just dropped dead." Momo continued to shake his shoulder.
"Ah! Ochibi!" The freshman player winced and opened his eyes wearily.
"Ano...I'm fine." Ryoma stood up but he was sent back to the ground again as he couldn't stand up that well. Sakuno bit her lip awkwardly and could only see Ryoma with problems. Oishi took off Ryoma's cap and felt his forehead. He quickly stopped when his hand was on fire.
"High fever! You should go home!" Oishi exclaimed. Ryoma shook his head.
"Betsu ni."
"He's sick?" Kawamura Takashi responded.
"Nothing's wrong with me!" Ryoma complained.
"Everyone, back to your courts!" Everyone turned to see Tezuka command an order and the regulars took one last look at Ryoma and went back. Momo and Sakuno were the only ones that stayed with him.
"Ryoma?" His captain kneeled down to take a look at him. Ryoma's face glistened with sweat and only nodded his head. Tezuka touched Ryoma's forehead and Ryoma winced slightly. Not having much of a choice, Tezuka commanded, "Go home. Practice is over today for you."
"I'M FINE!" Ryoma's stubborn side started to show.
"Ryoma, it's best if you get rest. Otherwise you'll be at the sidelines during tournaments!" Tezuka replied back. Ryoma only glared at his captain as Momo helped him up.
"Just do as he say, Echizen." Momo whispered in his ear.
Ryoma grabbed his cap that was on the ground and turned to get changed. Everyone eyed him with confusion. The regulars have to be in tip-top condition before their next tournament and one of them wasn't. Inui was surprised because Ryoma was following the menu of food everyday and the proper exercise. How did he get sick? His calculations must be checked once more. Sakuno watched Ryoma come back a few minutes and made a farewell with only a nod. Worrying so much for the tennis player, Sakuno decided to go home without her grandmother. She wanted to follow him just in case.
-HaruCherry