Ryouko wanted to blink but couldn't. She wanted to breathe in but couldn't. "Isn't he... a bit too close?" She thought. Her head was rested on his bicep muscles, near the shoulder. His face was... Five inches? No, even closer? Too close. Quite close. She could hear his breathing.
What was she thinking? It was not the first time that she was this close to Ryoma, she even hugged him in her sleep when they were younger.
It was not the first time, but... Why does it feel like it's the first time?
Ryoma's fist behind Ryouko was shaking a bit, as he tried to ponder what the heck he was doing and what on earth were the words coming from his mouth are coming from. One thing was sure, of all the times he had ever been this close to her in their childhood, this was definitely—
"Achoo..." Ryouko sneezed, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
The unfortunate boy who was in the middle of some serious self-contemplation, was sprinkled with... I dare not say it. All he could do in retaliation was shut his eyes and make an uncomfortable expression.
Ryouko sat up from her position and coughed. What was it that she was thinking about again? Something... She thought hard. Whatever it was, it already flew off the top of her head. The sneeze had blown it away. She cocked her head to one side as she wiped some excess drool from the corner of her mouth, trying to retrieve the thought.
At that moment, Ryoma collected himself and wiped a speck of her spit from his cheek. "Aish." He said both in anger and disgust, looking at it. He wiped it off on the beach blanket and sat up. "That is just disgusting! I told you you'd catch a cold. You never listen!" He scolded. Thoroughly embarrassed, yelling was all he could do to make himself less pathetic.
"You don't have to yell." Ryouko replied calmly. "Geez. I just sneezed in your face, not puke all over you. Do you have OCD or something?" She scoffed, not at all sorry.
"So you're implying that sneezing at people's faces is perfectly normal then?" He said, wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket.
Ryouko shrugged. "It was a call of nature. What can a mere mortal do against that?"
"I can't believe you really... Ach... So disgusting..." Ryoma said, taking a sniff at the edge of the sleeve he used to wipe his face with.
"Tcch. You are such a girl." Ryouko said, glowering at him. "Do you have a handkerchief on you?" She suddenly asked.
"I do not." Ryoma answered, quite angry.
"I'll settle with this then." Ryouko took the hem of his jacket and wiped her nose on it.
Ryoma shouted in fury, standing up. "Disgusting girl! Get away from me!"
"Hmph." Ryouko said, smiling in satisfaction.
"I can't believe you really... Kanemochi no oujo-sama (Rich young lady), my butt... More like a barbarian." Ryoma mumbled.
"That's enough out of you. One more word and I'll twist your neck." She said with a glare, shoving her fist towards him. She sniffed and placed the bend of her forefinger under her nose.
"Oi, oi. You didn't really catch a cold, did you?" Ryoma said suddenly, taking the two cans of Ponta and the chocolate bars, placing them on Ryouko's right side and sitting down on the beach blanket with the snacks right in their middle.
"No. I don't think so." She answered.
"You better didn't. You just sneezed in my face. If you make me sick, I'll seriously..." He made the gesture of strangling someone.
"Cheh. For a moment there, I thought you were just concerned whether I get sick or not. Such a selfless person you are... The sincerity is touching." Ryouko said sarcastically. "By the way, why are you sitting so far away?" She added as she noticed their distance.
"One meter. I'll always stay one meter away from you." He replied, taking one can of Ponta and opening it.
"Why?" Ryouko asked, grabbing the other can.
"Quarantine purposes." He answered, taking a swig.
"You make me sound like I'm so contagious... Sheesh, what a sensitive fellow." She rolled her eyes and opened her can.
Although it sounded like a mere joke, Ryoma took the one-meter rule seriously and embedded it on his mind. Lately, the closer Ryouko is, the more confused he becomes. "One meter. I'll stay away as far as that, until I figure out what's happening." He thought.
"Will you now stop trying to distract me and answer my question earlier..." He said as he held the can of soda on his left and traced the edges with his right thumb. "What going on?"
"Did I ever mention that I really hate you?" Ryouko answered, blinking at him with a blank expression.
"You don't have to say that 'cause I know. I also hate you so we're square. Now cough it up. The reason why you're fooling around." He said, unbaffled.
Ryouko sighed. She just couldn't hide anything from this guy. He notices everything.
"Well..." She started. "I'm just wondering if I'm doing the right thing." She took a sip from the can of soda.
"The right thing about what?" Ryoma asked, looking sideways at her. The sound of the waves breaking and the squawks of the seagulls far ahead made the subtle atmosphere a bit melancholic.
"The way I'm training the freshmen..." She said, swirling the contents of her soda can by gently rocking it with small circular motions. "I thought this would be easy, but now I'm not too sure..." She sighed.
"Well, I did notice them whispering amongst themselves, and I've heard that you've been acting weird. Not that you're not weird enough, I mean, you are already sooo weird." Ryoma answered.
Ryouko glared at him. Ryoma noticed and held one hand in surrender.
"Okay, okay... I'll hold the insults." He said. "Please continue." He took a chocolate bar from their midst.
Ryouko contemplated if sharing the matter with this insensitive guy would be beneficial but nevertheless, she continued. "I have been changing my coaching style. I mean, they do their best when people are encouraging them and saying praises but they won't grow strong with that. It's just so... soft. Well, they will get stronger, but not in a short period of time. The rankings will begin as soon as this camp is over. I planned this since the very start, ever since I volunteered to train them. Soft at first, then hit them hard after they master the basics. I figured it would only be fair." She narrated. Ryoma listened raptly.
"You know how hard my damned old man trained me. I was five but he started it off roughly. By the time I was eight, I've already been wearing weights adjusted to aid my strength-building and not hinder my growth at the same time. I didn't want to do that to the freshmen. Just look at how much I hated my grandpa." She said, taking a chocolate bar and ripping off the wrapping.
Ryoma nodded as he chewed on a piece of nougat. "Yeah. You've been hunting him your whole life with the intention to kill."
Ryouko couldn't help letting out a small laugh. "Well, that's a small exaggeration. You must notice that I used past tense. I'm no longer mad at him because of the training methods, I'm mad at him because he wouldn't have a match with me seriously. He keep on running away." She chomped off a bit of chocolate, chewed and swallowed before continuing.
"I'm grateful that he trained me roughly. Otherwise, I won't be such a strong player right now." She said matter-of-factly. "That's what I've been thinking. It doesn't matter that they hate me now. They'll be grateful about that later, just like what I did."
"So what's the problem?" Ryoma asked.
"Well..." She said, looking hesitant.
"Go on. Say it." Ryoma told her, his tone encouraging.
"If I was going to treat them this way, I shouldn't have started off all nice and sweet. I can feel that they are not adjusting well to the change. I can see it in their eyes. They're confused. They do good at training and I'm achieving my goal with their physical levels, but I'm totally toying with their mental parts." She said and turned to her side. "Do you get what I'm trying to say?"
Ryoma nodded. "I do get it. I mean, I've also been trained roughly like you. My old man had been making me grip the racket since I was two. I do admit that his training methods, along with my raw potential, are what made me the player that I am right now. Ifever I will train someone, I might apply your strategy as well. 'Do not dive right into the Spartan training but go softly at first.' It's the starting point after all. And their personalities are those kinds that will do well after people's encouragement had been shown to them. It's very unlike ours." He answered.
"So? What do you think?" She asked eagerly, gripping the chocolate bar on her fist tightly.
"I think you're doing well. They might have difficulty in adjusting to the new you. I could sense that from the way they've been behaving, but they're still training the way you want to willingly, right?" He said.
Ryouko nodded. "They don't say a word of complaint and do every routine as I instruct."
"That's good then. Anyway, you have until the end of this week. After this camp, before the ranking starts, if it will make you have a peace of mind, explain to them why you had been so mean. That it's for their sake. That you're sorry but you had to do it." He told her, taking another swig from his soda can.
"Nah. I don't like making excuses just so I can relieve myself. If they hate me, I can't do anything about that. I just hope that none of them will quit halfway. I mean, they have been through so much. It's such a waste. I'd rather be hated by them if that's going to happen." She replied.
"Well, this is such a strange happening... You've always been a merciless demon. What's with the sudden change in attitude?" Ryoma asked, taking another chocolate bar.
"Man, you say everything with a straight face, don't you?" Ryouko laughed. "I'll take those words as a compliment..." She added before she turned serious. "Those boys... They've grown into me. I care for them much more than I anticipated. They've become mine. They're my boys. And it's bothering me to see them uncomfortable. I feel as if I'm betraying their expectations." She said.
"Hmmm..." Ryoma said thoughtfully but inside, he felt really annoyed. 'My boys'? 'They've become mine'? Why did that sound so irritating in his ears?
"Well, in this case, you can do nothing but do your best in training them. You have no control of what they would think. It won't be your fault if they thought of you as disappointing. After all, as you've said, you're doing this for their sake. It's for them to become strong enough to face off with the senpais in the ranking tournament. Be true to yourself and stand strong. Just like I told you before, it's not like you to have hesitations like this." He answered, shoving off the feeling of irritation and giving a sensible opinion.
"Well, that situation and this situation is different... But... You really think so?" Ryouko asked, peering at him seriously.
"I know so." He answered with a smile. He stretched and let himself fall on his back to stare at the starlit sky. He placed both arms behind his head. "Besides, those boys aren't such spineless bastards to just hate you because you've been cold to them... Ifever they do though, I'll beat some sense into their skulls."
"I think you're right." Ryouko said slowly, a smile creeping into her lips. "No. I know that you're right." She rephrased her answer. She layed down on her side of the beach blanket and admired the stars as well.
There was second of silence before Ryouko said, "Ifever they do hate me, don't you dare touch a hair on their heads. I'll kill you."
Ryoma made a face. "What the heck is that about? Are you saying that they're more important to you than I am?" He said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his tone.
"Well, duh." Ryouko replied.
Ryoma scoffed. "Fine." He said sharply, got up from his lying position and grabbed a chocolate bar. He stood up and fixed his jacket, which was hanging lopsided on his right shoulder before placing the chocolate in his pocket.
"Why are you standing up?" She asked.
Ryoma glowered at her. "The unimportant person is now leaving." He said matter-of-factly and stormed away towards the woods.
"Why that jerk..." Ryouko said, abruptly sitting up, surprised at his reaction. She waited a few seconds to see if he was just kidding. Nope. The punk was marching straight without looking back.
She was about to get up and follow him but something caught her eye. It was Ryoma's cellphone. It must've fallen out of his pocket while he was lying down. She reached over and picked it up.
"Careless bastard." She said, opening the device. Suddenly, a smile curled up in the corners of her mouth. She wondered what Echizen Ryoma uses this phone for. He couldn't have that many people in his contacts, given that personality of his. "Let's see..." She said evilly, opening the contacts icon.
She closed her eyes and tried to guess aloud. "Including me, his mother and father, his cousin Nanako-san, and people from the tennis club. I'll say... Twenty people?" She said and opened her eyes wide.
"Fifty?" She said. "Tcch. Who are these people?" She asked, browsing the names. "This jerk is doing great. These are pre-tennis scouts. When did he have—" She felt annoyed. He had already been scouted by multiple agencies making a lot of pro-tennis players with great careers, and from the names, many were from overseas. "I gotta step up my game..." She told herself. "Or he's gonna leave me behind." Even the thought made her shiver. Never again. She would hate drifting far from him again. One separation was enough.
"He didn't say yes to any of them now, did he? We're still too young to be considering such things." She wondered aloud, the sound of the waves serving as background music for her anxiety. She bit her lower lip and opened the messages.
She immediately checked the inbox and browsed down. Nope. Nothing of that sort; some agencies were already sending him notices for training abroad but he only replied 'Not interested at the moment' to their messages. She sighed as relief flooded over her. She smiled in satisfaction.
She was about to turn the phone on stand-by when something caught her eye: one message saved on the drafts folder.
"It's on the drafts folder, which means that he must be planning on sending it in the future." She thought. Driven by curiosity, her anxiety mounting again, she opened the folder and was surprised that it was addressed to her number.
"E?" She said when she saw the details. It was written that day. Ryouko opened it and read the typed words. 'I saw what happened between you and Yukimura in the obstacle course earlier.' She arched an eyebrow.
'Are you okay?'
Ryouko blinked and merely stared at the phone's screen, not knowing how to react.
Finally, she sighed. What is it with boys and kisses on the cheek? Why is everyone acting this way? Even worse, this jerk also... She sighed again and placed the phone inside the pocket of her jacket.
She got up, gathered the few chocolate bars left and the two empty cans of Ponta. After all, one shouldn't litter. After folding the beach blanket and returning it to the paper bag, she started to walk back to the shrubbery where they came from earlier.
Ryouko was surprised to see Ryoma standing there, his hands on his pockets, the hood back on his head, the shadows of the trees overhead casting shadows all over his silhouette.
She smiled inside but dared not show it on her face. "I thought you left." She said, her voice clipped.
"I just figured... If I leave, you might not find your way back to the campsite alive." He answered, rolling his eyes.
"At least you're not mad enough to let me drop dead in the middle of nowhere." She replied and went past him, entering the path, whisking shrubs aside with one arm.
She turned to the left and was surprised when Ryoma grabbed her on both shoulders from behind and turned her to the opposite direction. "Not there, dummy." He said irritably. Ryoma sighed. "Sheesh. Just how bad is your sense of direction? I'm taking the lead. Just follow me, okay?"
"Cheh." Ryouko said, making a face but obeyed anyway.
In just three minutes time, they made it out of the woods into the familiar path towards the cabins. Ryouko was impressed and pondered about how he did that. They were lost for about fifteen minute inside that forest earlier.
"If you're wondering how we got out of the woods so fast, don't bother. Your head with no understanding of maps and paths will not be able to understand the logic." Ryoma broke the silence.
"You're such a ghost. How did you know about what I was thinking?" She said, quite irritated and jogged alongside him.
"It was written all over your face." He answered without looking at her.
"Hey." She said, elbowing him on the arm. "Are you really mad?"
Ryoma stared ahead and did not bother answering.
"Oi..." Ryouko said and bumped him gently on the shoulder. "Are you angry about what I said earlier?"
He just walked on expressionlessly.
"Oh come on..." Ryouko said, throwing her hands in the air. "For a boy, you are so petty." She walked on ahead and blocked his path.
"Move aside." Ryoma told her, quite annoyed.
Ryouko looked at him squarely and inhaled. "Listen. I'm only gonna say this once." She started.
Ryoma made a face at her but did not interrupt.
"One, that back then was a joke. Learn how to separate jokes from sincere words, won't you, you blockhead. Two, you're important to me. You should already know that without me saying anything." She said. She kept her face straight but she was feeling awkward. It was mushy; far too mushy, it's making her cringe inside.
"How important?" Ryoma's question took her by surprise.
"Huh?" She said in monotone.
"Just how important am I to you?" Ryoma said, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning.
Ryouko blinked and looked down. How important, he says... She placed a forefinger under her chin and thought hard.
"More important than my cousins." She answered.
Ryoma arched an eyebrow, looking stone-faced.
"Not enough?" She asked.
Ryoma nodded.
"More important than..." She looked at Ryoma cautiously. "...my parents?" She said hesitantly.
"Oi, oi, you and I both know that you don't mean that. Rika-san will cry if she hears that. Get serious would you?" Ryoma replied, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Okay, okay..." She said in surrender. What could she say to please this punk? "More important than..." She started but couldn't find any words to say.
"Tennis? Can you quit if I ask you to?" Ryoma completed for her.
Ryouko looked up, flustered and a bit mad. "You jerk, that's underhanded!" She was surprised to see him smiling. The thought finally registered in her brain. "You're just fooling around with me!" She exclaimed.
"Hmph. Just a little revenge from when you pretended to faint. You deserve it." Ryoma said and skipped past her. He started to run towards the cabins. "Better hurry! It's quarter past twelve!"
"That was so bad. You're horrible! How can you make fun of me like that?!" She yelled, chasing after him.
~~~
An's eyelids were droopy. They slid down her eyes and closed for about two seconds before she pried them open forcefully. She was lying on her bed, fighting her sleepiness.
She opened her eyes wide and blinked sleepy tears. She would not sleep. Not until she's seen the light on this situation. The curiosity was killing her slowly.
She stared ahead at the wallclock hanging on the wall. "It's past midnight. Just how long do they plan to stay out?" She asked herself in a low voice.
Figuring that lying down would just make her more sleepy, she got up and walked towards the window. She stared outside. No one there.
An was getting worried. "Man, I'm almost at my limits... I can't stay alert without at least six hours of sleep. Those zombies are really..." Her words faded as she detected movement from outside. And some laughter.
"Okay, okay... I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Echizen Ryoma's voice echoed through the night. He was sounding playful. It was the first time An heard him sound like that.
She peered outside. The boy no longer had the hood on his head and indeed... it is Echizen Ryoma. "Yosh." An told herself, making a victory gesture. She guessed perfectly right.
"Of course you won't. You're a sportsman. Stick to your principles. That was underhanded. Unfair. Below the belt." Ryouko said in an annoyed voice, counting with her fingers as she said the words.
"Alright, I get it. Sheesh." Ryoma answered.
An rested her elbows on the window's edge. "Hmmm... They get along extremely well... Why do they act so distant in front of other people, I wonder?" She thought.
"I'll get going now..." Ryoma said, punching her lightly on the shoulder. "Have a good night's sleep." He had already turned around when Ryouko spoke.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She said.
Ryoma looked over his shoulder. "Nope." He said after pausing to think.
Ryouko took something from her jacket pocket and brandished his phone in front of her.
"What the..." Ryoma said, checking his pockets. He turned around. "You little pickpocket." He said in accusation.
"Don't jump to conclusions. It fell off on the beach earlier. I didn't steal it." She said matter-of-factly.
Ryoma held his palm in front. "Okay then. Thanks for picking it up. Now give it. The hour is ticking. We need to get some sleep."
Ryouko shook her head. "Not until you answer a question."
Ryoma was getting annoyed. "Then just ask it and stop beating around the bush. I'm tired. I want to go back to my room."
"Okay." Ryouko shrugged. Se opened the phone and went directly to the drafts folder. "'I saw what happened between you and Yukimura in the obstacle course earlier.'" She read. Ryoma's eyes widened.
"Hey!" He exclaimed and ran towards her, trying to grab the phone. Ryouko swerved to avoid him. "'Are you okay?'" She finished.
Ryoma grabbed the phone from her hand successfully, his face burning. "You are such a sneak, reading other people's messages like that... Mind your own business." He said, his eyebrows knotted in fury. His ears felt hot.
"I'll give my reply on that personally. Of course, I'm okay. How could I not be okay. Tell me. Why does it bother boys too much, that kiss on the cheek, I mean... Team 2 is acting that way as well. Yukimura-san did it out of obligation. We needed to finish the task. I should actually thank him for it. It must've taken a lot of courage for him to do that." Ryouko said.
"Out of obligation? What are you talking about?" Ryoma asked, confused. He just realized that he had not pondered over the reason why Yukimura did such a thing. Now that he had thought of it, he does not come off as the type that just kisses any random girl on the cheek for no good reason.
"You know. The bring-me obstacle. What he had drawn was 'a kiss'. I'd like to pummel whoever placed that paper there. It's just ridiculous. It's not even an item. That was why he took so long. He must be so flustered. But to save the team, he still performed his task." She pointed at her cheek as she said the word 'task'.
"Task, my foot. Why on the cheek then? He could've kissed you on the hand instead. Wouldn't that be more proper?" Ryoma retorted, quite annoyed. So that was what it was about.
Ryouko blinked. "Now that you mention it... You have a point." She said, placing a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "Well... He did not have the luxury to think about that. He was under time pressure."
"Are you defending him?" Ryoma asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Yes. I'm saying that he did not do anything wrong." She answered.
"And you do not feel wronged?" He added.
Ryouko shook her head. "Nope. It was the rational thing to do. Besides, it's just a kiss on the cheek. I'd be such a loser to make that a big thing. If it's on the lips, then I would've—" She stopped herself. Even in front of Ryoma, saying such things is pretty... awkward. She cleared her throat instead to make up for the uncomfortable silence.
Ryoma glowered at her. Her cheeks were tinged pink and she couldn't make eye contact. What the hell is she imagining in that head of hers? He felt so pissed off.
"So a kiss on the cheek is not something to fuss about, is that it?" He said.
She nodded. "Minor." She said.
"Okay then." Ryoma said, walked straight towards her and pulled her by the collar of her shirt. Without even giving her time to react, he planted his lips on her left cheek. He didn't even close his eyes like Yukimura did. For that few seconds, he didn't blink.
There were two other people who wouldn't blink, or rather, they couldn't blink; An on the second floor of the Representatives' cabin, staring with eyes as wide as dinner plates, her jaw dropping, and the girl currently suffering from paralysis.
"Wha—wha—" For the first time in her life, Fujioka Ryouko stuttered. "Chotto!" She yelled and pushed him away.
The force was so strong that Ryoma was obliged to take a few steps back. He backed off calmly and wiped his lips with the back of his hand, looking as if he did nothing more than tie his shoelaces or something.
"Wha—what did you just do?" Ryouko yelled at him, quite baffled. Her cheeks were scarlet and she covered them with both hands. The back of her neck is burning.
"There. That is how you should react if any random guy kisses you on the cheek. Push him away, kick him on the balls. That's the natural thing to do." Ryoma answered, his tone very similar to someone giving a lecture in a seminar.
"HUH?!" Ryouko exclaimed, anger seeping in place of the flustered feeling.
"Also, I was just testing just how consistent you are. After all, you say it's not a big thing..." He said matter-of-factly. "How about now? Do you still think that a kiss on the cheek is not a big thing?" He added in a taunting voice, raising an eyebrow at her.
Ryouko ceased being the surprised damsel and picked stones from the ground. She started throwing them at Ryoma yelling, "I don't know, I don't care, get out of here before I bash your face off!"
"Oopsie, yoisho." Ryoma said as he dodged each of the pebbles. "Oi, oi, if that hits me, it's gonna bruise."
Ryouko scanned the ground, an almost crazed look on her eyes and found a small boulder the size of her head. She picked it up. "Whoah." Ryoma said as he saw the size of the stone and backed away farther. With a playful laugh, he spun around and ran to the opposite direction. "Sweet dreams, dearest!" He yelled in English.
"Drop dead, go die, you shameless jerk!" Ryouko said, throwing the stone after him. Her hands clenched into fists and her chest heaved up and down like a mad fighting bull.
"If I see you, I'll kill you! Make no mistake about that!" She shouted in fury before marching stormily back to the Representatives' cabin.
How much longer until this???
XD
What do you guys think? :)))