Hye!!! I am back again. Sorry guys, I hope you are still there. I also hope that you like this chapter. Domo... :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never ever will.
Chapter 4: Black Day
Chapter Summary: They had the first date as a couple.
I still couldn't believe it. It was like I was still dreaming. It all happened since almost a month already.
Ryoma-kun had been my boyfriend for almost a month. Technically, it would be tomorrow.
He had been telling me that he wanted us to be together since my birthday. I never noticed the hint he was giving me. Maybe, I was to oblivious about them.
Everyone knew except you.
He told me after I accepted him that day, in front of the raw tree. I confronted the others and it seemed that even Tomo-chan had an idea about it.
I was happy and all giddy now I was with him now. I was with Ryoma-kun. I couldn't stop smiling because of that thought.
"Your hair is too long. Do you want me to help you carry it?"
I turned around and came face to face with a grinning Tomo-chan. I pouted when I realized what she was saying;
"Leave my hair alone, Tomo-chan," I said closing the book that I was trying to read, "What took you so long?"
She plopped down opposite to me and placed her own books on the table, "Kaidoh-senpai asked me something and helped him out."
"Help him about what?" I asked curiously.
Tomo-chan had her own shade of red before she replied, "Well, he asked me to hang out with him tomorrow."
My eyes widened at the sudden revelation, "L-like a date?"
"K-kinda. But it's not the same as you have with Ryoma-sama," She explained as she opened her book at a random page, "He just asked me to help him buy something, like clothes or jewelry."
"F-for what occassion?"
"Beats me. He never told me." She said reading more unto the page. I never realized that Kaidoh-senpai would ask her to hang out with him. To add my surprise, it wasn't anything related to tennis.
"Tomo-chan..."
"Yeah..." She responded not looking at me.
"It's English."
"Yeah..."
"We're here for Math?" I asked with uncertainty.
She flinched as she realized what book she was reading. She closed the book and grinned at me, "I know it's English. Come on, let's do Math."
I couldn't stop laughing at her.
xxx
"D-date?"
"Un." Ryoma-kun confirmed as he tossed a tennis ball on the wall, "Tomorrow."
I couldn't stop blushing as he said that. I found the ground likable to watch as I fidgeted with my fingers, "Where are we going then?"
"You'll know when we get there." He said not stopping from rallying on the wall.
I looked up and stared at him, "You always say that everytime I ask you."
He looked back at me and smirked, "Stop asking then."
I pouted as I turned around, "You are so unfair." I whispered.
"I heard that." Ryoma-kun said surprising me there.
"Stop listening then!" I exclaimed earning a slight chuckle from him.
xxx
"Where are we going?" I asked as we boarded the train.
"On a date." He said plainly.
"Mou, you are not helping!"
"Mada mada dane, Ryuzaki."
I was taken aback when he said that. It had been so long since I heard his catchphrase. It felt nostalgic. I was still in the middle of recovering when he grabbed my hand and pulled me to a chair. The cabin was crowded really fast so he stood just in front of me, holding on to the railing above him. I blushed further at the gesture. He was actually staring at me.
We never had the chance to speak so I looked outside the window, viewing the scene.
After a few minutes of traveling, we stopped at a station. I noticed that we were in Asakusa. My eyes found Ryoma-kun walking ahead of me. I followed him and decided not to ask him. No matter how curious I was, he would never answer me.
As we walked outside the station, a thought came to me. I had the hint where we were going. I had confirmed it after ten minutes of walking as we stopped in front of a park.
"We're in Sumida park."
He looked at me gesturing the gate in front, "Last winter, I told I would take you for viewing."
I stared at him for a couple of seconds before I realized what he was telling me. My eyes widened when I remembered what he said, "The cherry blossoms."
"It's springtime. The festival has already started," He said grabbing my hand and pulled me inside, "Let's go."
I couldn't contain the excitement that was filling inside me. Viewing Sakura was one of the events that I enjoyed doing. That really made me forget this time of year. Spring had already started and I regrettably forgot about the said event. It was rare that Ryoma-kun remembered it for me.
"We're here."
I looked ahead and appreciated the view in front of me. The place was really nice. There were some areas where people could stay, eat and walk around the vicinity. Trees were in full bloom. The lake looked serene. People were busying themselves around the trees. I walked forward and held out my hand, palm facing the sky. The petals were flying elsewhere, following the flow of wind and stopped randomly when the air seized.
"We still have time," Ryoma-kun said catching my attention and turned to him, "Let's eat first."
I nodded as confirmation. When he walked back to where we entered, I noticed that we were leaving the park. I walked up to his pace and asked him;
"Are we eating outside?"
He nodded as he pointed out at a distance, "I wanted you to have a view of the place first before going to the main event."
"Main event?"
"Cherry Blossoms."
I frowned at him, "Wasn't that the viewing of the flowers already?"
He looked at me and grinned a little, "You haven't seen everything yet."
"Oh..." Was my only answer. I didn't really how to react to that. The only thing I knew was my face was blushing.
"Come on." He called out to me when he thought that I dazed once again.
The walk didn't last long as we reached Suke6 Diner, one of the closest restaurants from the park. He pulled me inside and looked for a nice place to dine in. We were settled where the ambiance was at ease. A waitress approached our table and asked for our food.
"What do you want to eat?" Ryoma-kun asked me.
"I don't mind for sandwiches and pastries." I said observing the sheet of the table in front of me.
"Are you on a diet?" He asked making me to look up and stared at him.
"What? No!" Blush crept to my face when she thought of that, "I am just not hungry."
He didn't say another word but he ordered their food. It surprised me when he ordered a two-course meal and a desert.
"The meals are mine so don't worry."
Somehow that made me sigh in relief. I almost forgotten that Ryoma-kun was kind of glutton when it came to food. I shouldn't) have been surprised at that.
"But the desert is yours."
My eyes widened when he said that. I ended up pouting at him making him smirk wide. The waitress left with our orders and that made us alone in our table once again. He was looking outside as I stared at him.
"Arigatou, Ryoma-kun."
My words made him turn to me from the window, "For what?"
"For bringing me here."
He didn't say anything for a couple of seconds before he leaned back on his chair staring back at me, "I didn't bring you here. We are on a date."
My face was beet red when he said that. Not trusting my words, I nodded at him instead. He was always prank to his words. I just couldn't believe that we were dating. That he was boyfriend. It was like a dream. If this was only a dream. I'd never wanted to wake up. I knew that I sounded silly, thinking of typical things but that was what I was feeling.
Minutes later, our food arrived. We ate in silence savoring the taste of the food. The restaurant did serve delicious food. I wonder if Ryoma-kun searched of this place before coming here. He seemed to be enjoying his meals as well. The desert was also delicious. I was thankful that he ordered it for me.
We finished our food and got out of the restaurant. Ryoma-kun was holding my hand as we went back to the park. It seemed that he didn't mind us holding hands in this place. He rarely did it at school. I understood him clearly.
I also didn't want some sort of attention.
We made it back to the park. We walked to the other side of park and stayed at a certain place. We watched the other people do their things. Ryoma-kun even joked about their actions. I couldn't help but giggle at his antics. He rarely did that.
I was slowly beginning to notice that he did things that he didn't often do today. And that was new to me.
It was already three in the afternoon when Ryoma-kun stood up from the ground we were sitting, just eating some snacks like sakuramochi and classic sweets that we bought at Chomeiji and Kototoi Dango while watching the view around us. I had the feeling that the viewing of cherry blossoms had not come yet. Seeing the cherry petals already dancing around us was enough for me to be honest. But Ryoma-kun had other plans as he grabbed my hand once again. I was going to miss the warmth of his hand when we got back home.
Two hours later, Ryoma-kun said that we had someplace to go so I followed him. He led me to the river this time. The hanami goers were stranded because of the sets of yakatabune boats that were aligned there. He gestured me to the sets.
"The viewing will be nice to witness at a later time. For now, let's ride a boat."
His first sentence caught my attention, "Later time?"
He turned and grinned at me, "You'll see."
I smiled at him as he talked to the staff and rented a boat to ride. He gestured me to one and he followed next.
Ryoma-kun grabbed the oar and rowed the boat for us. I sat in front of him and looked around us. I only realized how fast my heart was beating. It must have been like that for sometime and I didn't even realize it.
Was that even possible?
The view was nice and beautiful. The trees were also giving away their petals making the river flowery. It didn't even bother the people rowing the boats in the river. That was the good thing about it. I couldn't stop the smile forming in my lips. I couldn't careless if Ryoma-kun was watching me now.
It was rather almost six when we got off from the boat.
"It's time." He called out grabbing my hand and pulled me to a certain place we visited before.
He brought us to a place where it was hard to see anything. It was almost dark and I wondered why Ryoma-kun preferred to view the flowers at this time. I always viewed them at noon so I was wondering why it was different. I was about to ask him when the lamps around the park were suddenly lit. That caught my attention at the entire area. My eyes widened at the sight in front of me. The trees were really beautiful to view at night. The petals were lifting from the ground with the breeze of the cold wind. The lights were giving more colors to the cherry petals which were still attached to the branches.
I reached my hands to the railing in front of me and enjoyed the view. "S-sugoi..."
"I told you so."
I turned to him with a genuine smile on my face, "You are right. Cherry blossoms are so pretty to view at this time," My lips couldn't stop stretching at how I appreciated the sight in front of me, "I love it."
"I am glad you do." He said standing closer to my side, enjoying the view as well.
The night started to get darker but the viewing of the flower petals was getting prettier than before.
I took the chance and glanced at my boyfriend. Amazingly, he knew how to make me happy.
And I was happy to have him with me at that moment.
Done! How was this chapter? I was able to follow my updates so expect my normal updates every month. See you next month... :)