37Charade
by: RoyaleDeuce
Disclaimer: TeniPuri is not mine.
Note: Possible sappiness. Sequel to Mesmerized.
Ryuzaki Sakuno's adoration for Echizen Ryoma was well-known in campus.
In fact, everyone knew they were going to happen.
But little did everyone know she had a secret – that may contradict the aforementioned notion – yet to be revealed.
Ever since Fuji and Sakuno shared bliss under the rain that one night... things changed. A simple tease transformed into a deep, mutual understanding. A warm, friendly smile transformed into something much more it seemed to suggest. A dear senpai transformed into the boy she truly desired.
His effect on her was tremendous.
Every subtle gaze sent a tingle down her spine. Every quick exchange of words spurred a sense of longing to say something more than a mere 'hello'. Every chance encounter in the hallway caused her heart to palpitate so wildly against her chest.
She would have gathered enough courage to initiate some changes and up the ante, but seeing that Fuji did not seem to mind the standard arrangement of 'senpai-kouhai' up to that day, she told herself that acting like everything was normal between them was perfectly fine.
But if everyone thought her blushes were meant for Ryoma, then they were mistaken.
For Fuji Syuusuke had managed to keep her solely mesmerized on him.
"Here to see Echizen, Ryuzaki-san?"
Clutching the wrapped bento in her hand, Sakuno timidly shook her head which earned her wolf-whistles and playful remarks from the rest of her senpai-tachi.
"Kya! Ryuzaki-chan is in denial, ne? You don't have to be shy, nya!" Kikumaru chuckled excitedly.
"That lucky bastard! Echizen better appreciate the bento you made for him!" Momoshiro cried, knotting his eyebrows in a frustrated manner.
"Don't worry, Ryuzaki-san. We won't tell him your secret..." Kawamura offered kindly.
The girl's heart skipped a beat.
My secret...
"Is that for me, Ryuzaki?"
Sakuno found herself blushing hard when suddenly standing right before her was Seigaku's famed tennis genius. She noticed he was wearing that smile of his which was only meant for her to be understood. What may have appeared to be an innocent smile in the eyes of others was really a smile that implied something more than normal comprehension and found only in the wildest of her imaginations.
Her mind and heart experienced frenzy at his intense gaze... but she had to break the moment because it was all too much to bear.
He called me Ryuzaki...
"Ano... this is actually for obaa-chan, Fuji-senpai."
Politely excusing herself, Sakuno failed to notice the frown that flitted on Fuji's face.
"Here to see Echizen, Sakuno?"
Sumire glanced at her granddaughter from the corner of her eye. The sounds of 'poks' reverberated throughout the silent campus as afternoon training progressed. The regulars were all engaged in practice matches, and the said tennis prince suavely kept his pace in the rally.
"Yes," she whispered as her eyes were fixed not on Echizen Ryoma, but rather on his opponent.
The brunet's beauty still took her breath away, his agile movements driving her over the edge. The fire of determination caught in his cerulean orbs agitated her heart beat even more as the memories of that night replayed in her mind. She craved for his scent. She craved for the warmth of his body. She craved for the touch of his lips. She craved for him.
Syusuke...
Sakuno froze when Fuji glanced her way.
Chocolate brown met cerulean.
She spontaneously shifted her gaze towards Ryoma and pretended she had been staring at him instead of Fuji.
The boy actually caught her ogling him again.
Only this time: There was no rain... He was not half-naked... They were in public.
She felt a knot form in her stomach as it dawned on her that she wouldn't get a repetition of last time. It bothered her why disappointment overwhelmed her expected relief. But she had to admit that the thin thread they had as a relationship was slowly starting to have tension. Their act of ignorance with what was happening between them disheartened and made her unsure. Their little charade brought about sleepless nights. Their unspoken secrecy hurt beyond words.
As she exited the courts while fettered with her distressing thoughts, Sakuno was left totally oblivious to a pair of eyes fixed on her retreating figure.
"Here to see Ryoma-sama, Sakuno-chan?"
Among the horde of girls crowding right outside the courts were Tomoka and Sakuno with heart-shaped boxes. It was an incredibly hot Valentines, and majority of the females gathered were die-hard Echizen Ryoma fans – who would do everything to deliver their chocolates even if they had to endure waiting under the scorching heat of the sun. Tomoka was one of them, and people thought Sakuno was, too.
But the only reason why Sakuno was there was because she finally made her decision.
"You're finally going to confess, right?" Tomoka nudged her friend playfully.
Sakuno was well aware that her friend was referring to Ryoma, but nevertheless, she nodded her head because in all sense, her purpose for the morning did have something to do with a confession.
"Kya! Ryoma-sama's coming!"
And an explosion of fan girl squeals followed right after.
It took quite a while for the number to subside before Tomoka and Sakuno managed to have a glimpse of the regulars. By the time they were in front of the crowd, it was noticeable that everyone already had a huge pile of treats right beside them.
"Ryuzaki-chan!"
Sakuno blushed when her senpai-tachi's attention was on her. She knew everyone, including the queue of girls behind her, was waiting for her to come forward and hand her present to Ryoma. Admittedly, she was most bothered by two sets of eyes on her: Ryoma's... and Fuji's; the former, brimming with expectance, and the latter with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
Anticipation hung thick in the air.
Taking a deep breath, Sakuno finally stepped forward.
She heard a series of gasps when instead of approaching Ryoma, she stood right before Fuji.
"A-Ano..."
"Ryuzaki-san!"
She wouldn't run away... so what if people got shocked?
"Sakuno-chan!"
Her senpai's silence tortured her... she couldn't take it anymore.
"Fuji-senpai... I—"
Her eyes widened when Fuji suddenly removed his shirt.
What did her senpai think he was doing?! They were in public—
"Your nose is bleeding."
Everything happened so fast because in the next moment, Fuji had already pinched Sakuno's nose and tilted her head upward as he dabbed his white shirt under her nose to cease the blood flow. She could feel the warmth creep on her face at the proximity of their bodies. Her face was only a hand's length away from his torso, and she could smell the bath soap he used in shower right after morning practice.
Well, she did wish for his touch and his scent, but not like this... Not when everyone thought that he held her because he was just a concerned senpai who was thoughtful enough to help a kouhai with a nosebleed.
She shut her eyes close to avoid having to look at Fuji's lean body.
"I think the bleeding already stopped."
"But don't you think it would be better to bring her to the infirmary to make sure?"
"Psst... Get dressed already, Fujiko. You're making a scene."
"Ryuzaki..."
Opening her eyes, Sakuno was surprised to be met by Fuji's mesmerizing gaze.
It was only then she realized that he had already retracted his shirt from her nose.
"Are you alright?"
Sakuno nodded.
"Good." And then he broke the contact and put a considerable distance between them.
As she was given another chance to perfectly view her senpai's naked upper body, Sakuno felt something wet trickling down her nose again.
Oh dear...
"I think we really should bring you to the clinic now."
With shirt under her nose, Sakuno did not waste another moment to tail Fuji towards the clinic even if she had a heavy heart about the sudden turn of events.
Too bad she didn't get a glimpse of her senpai's odd smile.
As soon as the nurse left to get a new set of uniform for both teens, an uncomfortable silence reigned in the infirmary. Fuji was sitting on the bed right beside the one Sakuno was sitting on, and in the past few minutes, the auburn-head tried her best to avoid eye contact, or glancing at his general direction for the matter. He was still shirtless, and she couldn't risk having another terrible nosebleed.
"Sakuno..."
Instead of looking at him, she stared at her hands and fidgeted with her bloodied skirt. "W-Why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
She knew her senpai had that innocent look on his face... but she won't be fooled.
Gathering enough courage, she looked up... only to be taken aback by how intense her senpai gazed at her. He had his cerulean orbs exposed in the open... and it still brought the same effect. Ignoring the rapid beating of her heart, she steeled herself and struggled to keep the eye contact.
"A-Ano... Why do you... Why do you pretend like nothing is happening?"
Fuji pulled the same tone, "What's happening, Sakuno?"
It broke Sakuno's heart how her senpai continued to keep his charade. And at that moment, it dawned on her that she may have been wrong all along. What if she misunderstood everything and thought that her senpai really cared for her that way. But he had kissed her, hadn't he? And she felt something in that kiss! Therefore, how could she have been wrong?
"W-Why do you call me Sakuno now? Why..."
Fuji quirked his eyebrows.
Sakuno sighed, "Nothing..." She gave up.
What she was feeling right now hurt more than any other possible injury she may have sported.
The nurse returned not long after with both Fuji and Sakuno's uniform.
"Are you alright now, Ryuzaki?" the nurse asked with a smile.
"Yes," Sakuno nodded.
That was a lie.
"You don't like Ryoma-sama anymore, do you, Sakuno-chan?"
Sakuno shook her head.
"So... you like Fuji-senpai?"
There was a fleeting pause before Sakuno shook her head again.
"What?! You were going to give him the chocolates, weren't you?!"
Sakuno turned to Tomoka – currently in hysterics – and nodded. The young Ryuzaki blushed when a few passers-by broke into whispers at the sight of her. She was pretty sure they were all talking about how she had not given Valentine's chocolates to Ryoma for the first time. It irked her how they would still talk about Ryoma and her when what they should really be talking about was Fuji and her. She did reveal her intention of giving the chocolates to the tennis prodigy, right? Was a relationship with her senpai that unlikely that people would even avoid talking about them being together?
It made her wonder if the night with him under the rain had all been just a dream.
"Sakuno-chan! Fuji-senpai's coming this way."
Sakuno's breath hitched. Say what?!
"Osakada..." He smiled as soon as he reached the spot where both girls were having lunch.
"Ryuzaki..." His smile widened when he turned to her. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
It bewildered Sakuno why Fuji wanted to talk all of a sudden. Feeling people's stares on her, she couldn't help but keep her head down and fidget with her hands the entire time. It was only then she realized that Fuji and she were standing together in the middle of the open courts for everyone to see.
Her heart thumped faster.
"I-Is there something you want, senpai?"
Fuji turned around to look at her. "You."
Time stopped.
Fuji smiled that seemingly innocuous smile of his. Though right after his spontaneous declaration, she knew better than to be deceived.
"I-I thought you didn't like me..." she whispered.
Fuji retained that calm facade. "What made you think that?"
"You were acting the entire time... right?" Sakuno mumbled, afraid of the answer. Her blush turned a deeper shade of red when she realized that they caught more attention now. She would bet that everyone thought that they were just having one casual conversation... but it was beyond that. Her feelings were in the line, and she needed some answers. "W-What are you trying to do?"
Fuji remained smiling.
It brought pain to Sakuno that he was still playing his little charade—
"I was trying to control myself, Sakuno..." His opening of eyes took her breath away. His innocent smile was still there though. "Have you any idea how hard I've been trying to restrain myself from doing things to you?"
Sakuno was floored.
"Do you want to know what I want to do?" asked Fuji in a way that was so naive that Sakuno was so sure people had no idea how tainted their topic really was. "I want the feel of your hair in my hands... I want your lips on mine... I want to make my mark and claim you..."
Sakuno's face was burning. "...W-Why don't you?"
Fuji had been caught completely off-guard at her statement, his smile now gone.
"W-Why don't you... Syusuke?" Sakuno breathed. "I'm so sick of pretending... I can't take it anymore..."
Fuji plastered on a warm, friendly smile that only meant one thing. "Me too."
Sakuno was surprised when the boy suddenly reached for something in his pocket. It was a tennis ball. It alarmed her when Fuji suddenly threw the ball towards one of the school windows.
"Syusuke!"
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout campus.
Placing both his arms on each side of her face, he pinned her on the wall. Without wasting another moment, he leaned forward and pressed his lips on hers. All the pent-up frustrations in the past days were vented through that one passionate kiss. Finally, they felt complete. After breaking the fierce lip-lock Fuji showered his kouhai's face with kisses like the last time they shared an intimate moment with each other.
"I-I've been waiting..." Sakuno murmured when Fuji placed his forehead on hers. "A-Ano... It actually worried me that you were ashamed of me and wanted to hide things..."
Chocolate brown met cerulean.
Fuji smiled and pecked Sakuno on the nose. "Would you have rather done this in public?"
Sakuno shook her head, her face a deep shade of red.
"I would have kissed you right there and then if you wanted it..." He grinned, enjoying the sight of Sakuno getting redder.
Shyly, she softly kissed Fuji on the lips, "I don't want to pretend anymore though... If that's alright with you..." She stared at him with big, doe-shaped eyes.
"Saa... How could I say 'no' to you?" Fuji nuzzled Sakuno's forehead. "Besides, after we let people know about us, I can kiss you anytime now, right?" Then he planned to kiss her again, but Sakuno pressed her finger on his lips.
"Syusuke... People might be looking for us now..."
Fuji grinned. "Don't worry, Sakuno. We still have 1 hour of detention..."
...and the rest was history.
A/N: Finally posted this. It has been a LONG time since I posted a fic, and I didn't expect that a FujiSaku would be my comeback. I hope both Fuji and Sakuno weren't too OOC though. Anyhow, please tell me what you think about it! Was it good? Bad? Please review!