12This fic has been in my LJ account for a long time. I didn't know why I haven't posted it yet here, but when I read it again, I decided to just shove it into my pile of fics here in . :D Standard disclaimers apply. Enjoy! :D
Dark Spectrum
"I heard that he turned down Hibari-san."
"Hibari? From 3-A? Isn't she that beautiful blonde?"
"Y-Yeah... apparently, Echizen thought otherwise."
"Geez! If I'm a girl and I like him, I would never confess to that asshole."
"Pfft. Just thinking of you becoming a girl is laughable-"
"Sakuno?"
She blinked twice and tried to move her hand from its current position. It was numb and her grip on her pen seemed to be out of her control.
"Sakuno?"
She could hear her name, but she couldn't turn. She knew very well who it was, but she couldn't listen. The conversation between her two classmates was too hard to erase out of her mind... especially when they were talking about him.
"Don't listen to them, Sakuno."
Finally, she turned. Tomoka sighed in relief, yet her face morphed into concern again as Sakuno's hollowed eyes reached hers.
The girl was definitely torn about what happened to Hibari.
"S-Shouldn't you be happy? He rejected her! Hibari! That means that he still-"
"No, Tomo-chan." She smiled, yet it didn't reach her eyes. "He never did."
She crouched back and hid her face, creating the illusion that she was writing her notes.
Instead, she was crying.
-o-
"Who is it now?"
"I think it's Fujiwara from 2-C. Really, those girls have guts!"
"But, why do you think he dumps them...so heartlessly?"
"I don't know. Maybe, he still likes Ryu-"
"Sshhh!"
It had always been the same. Her classmates would talk about him, comment on the girls who asked him out and then stop as they mentioned her name.
It was as if she was some kind of taboo. And that made her feel sick.
She couldn't take it anymore.
"Excuse me." She closed her book shut and faced the pair.
"R-Ryuzaki... w-what is it?" Funny... how others stuttered around her. Just like how she stuttered around him.
She smiled and she could feel the shivers that the pair felt. Her smile was hollow and lonely, and it sucked the happiness of others.
"It was never about me."
-o-
"She really did shout?"
"Y-Yeah... Echizen was holding her wrist and then... she just snapped."
"Woah. I never thought that she could do that."
"Me either-Oh! Here she comes!"
"Ryuzaki! Are you okay?"
It was Horio this time and he walked towards her in a brisk pace, knowing that even his presence was not enough to let the pain go away.
But, it was enough to let her release everything.
He held her as she cried and the room was silent.
-o-
"I heard that Echizen failed the English test."
"What? You're kidding, right?"
"No! I heard Fuji-senpai and Tezuka-senpai talking about it in the corridors!"
"How the hell did he fail?"
"..."
"Well?"
"...He was at the hospital. Visiting Ryuzaki. And sensei didn't consider it an excuse."
"Oh. The depression's getting deeper, then?"
"...I hope not."
"He should fix her. It was his fault, anyway."
"Yeah."
-o-
"Hey, that's Echizen!"
"Yeah! He's playing tennis again. Some things just never change, right?"
"So, he finally gave up on Ryuzaki?"
"Osakada said that the treatment's going well. But, I heard nothing about Echizen."
A ball zoomed towards them, followed by an empty can of Ponta.
"Shit, he heard us!"
"Run!"
Ryoma clutched his racket tighter, trying to eliminate the words those two had said. He moved towards their previous position and picked up the ball he carelessly drove towards them.
He gripped it tighter, cursing himself for the mistakes he had done. He never gave up on her. Not once, not ever. He pocketed the ball and adjusted his cap, walking away from the spot he vented all his anger out.
Because he had let her fall and shatter. Now, all that remained was a broken replica of the once shy, yet bubbly, girl he had always wanted.
And that ball in his pocket was the only thing that connected him to the Sakuno of the past.
-o-
"I heard that she checked out from the hospital."
"Yeah. Ryuzaki-sensei said that she was finally recovering."
"Hell, even Osakada cried in PE class when she heard the news."
"It had been too much, don't you think?"
"..."
"What?"
"Maybe, she really loved him too much."
"Hell." -o- "She cut her hair." "Yeah. I saw it. We were in Math class together." "I wonder if she did it because of Echizen. Osakada always blabbed about him making comments about her hair." "..." "What?" "L-Look." Ryoma watched her file her things inside her locker. It had been a week since she came back, but still, apart from the haircut, nothing has changed. He watched her some more, and he knew that she knew that he was doing it. It was written all over her actions: the quick piling up of books, the unconscious halts to finger her hair, and the light fidgets she did with her skirt. They may all find him dense, but he noticed the littlest things when it came to her. And then, something from her bag caught his attention. "Ryuzaki." She swiftly covered her pack, undoubtedly knowing why he suddenly called out her name. But it was too big, apparently, her bag's zipper can't cover it up-even if she wanted to. Without her knowing it, he was already behind her... and that thing was already in his hands. "I-Is that-?" "Ssshh!" "You kept it." Those three simple words had her gripping her locker door, her head bowed so low that even he can't see her face. It had been months since he last talked to her... since he last approached her with her knowing. "I-I can't do it, R-Ryoma-kun." She still called him that. "I-I can't throw it away." He knew that she was crying and that to see him holding the red racket he gave her was the cause of her pain. But, somehow, he felt relieved that she kept a part of him. He turned her around, his free hand maneuvering her to face him. It wasn't the old stutters or the deep blushes, but anything that is Sakuno was enough for him. Even if she was hallowed and destroyed beyond repair. It was his task to fix her up. "Give me another chance." He reached into his pocket and handed her the tennis ball. More tears streamed down her face as she nodded and melted into his embrace. "I can't throw it away either." -o- "Ryuzaki-san, good morning!" "Oh! Hi, Sakuno-chan!" Sakuno smiled at the two boys, greeting them in response to their lively ones. She walked towards her seat and tutored Tomoka about their previous History lesson. They were laughing about some Alexander the Great joke that Horio delivered, and this time, the smile reached her eyes. "She's back, then?" "Yeah. It's amazing how she bounced back after shattering." "Pfft. I never thought you were such a romantic, Kachiro!" "S-Shut up, Katsuo." end.