The tender moment was unwittingly cut short by Miyu when she saw Sakuno's eyes flutter open.
She went and gave Sakuno a tight hug, "Are you okay? I was so worried, Sakuno? Do you want to go home? Do you need something to drink?"
Sakuno breathed in Miyu's sunny scent and felt strength coming back to her. She felt… loved by these two people who enveloped her with their strength, care and warmth. The cold spot in her heart started to heat up again; that cold spot that pulsed strongly whenever she had her headaches.
She said, "I feel much better now, Miyu-chan and Niou-senpai. Thank you for being here for me…" Her voice almost broke at the end of the sentence but she composed herself.
Miyu released her and got her a chair so she could get off Niou's lap.
Sakuno's limbs still felt weak and she gladly accepted Niou's help in getting into the chair. She did not know why but she did not blush when she found that she had been sitting in Niou-senpai's lap.
She thought it must be because she had such a strong sense of safety there; with Miyu around, she was entirely at ease now that her headache had gone.
She remembered the question Yanagi had asked her before her headache came… the images! She remembered the images! She remembered seeing these two strangers before.
She concentrated on their features, looking from one to the other. Miyu wanted to stop her but since she seemed fine now, she said nothing.
A name came to Sakuno and she said it with thinking, "Fuji… Fuji Syusuke…"
Everyone heard her and Fuji's eyes widened sharply. He did not know what to think for once. Should he be glad that she was remembering or should he be wary of what that might mean?
Sakuno murmured softly, "I-I know you, Fuji-senpai and I-Inui-senpai…" She frowned slightly, "How come I know you? You two…" Her memory took pity on her and gave her two images. "You two… play tennis… at Seigaku?" She asked, not sure if she was right.
Fuji decided to be straight-forward with her, "Yes, Ryuzaki-chan, your grandmother taught us when we were in Seigaku Junior High. We met you when you started studying there three years ago. Do you remember the other regulars? You used to come and cheer for us when we played matches against other schools. You even met some of the Rikkai regulars very briefly when you were twelve."
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Sakuno looked puzzled but when she heard the last part of his speech, she brightened visibly and asked with a smile, "I did? I met them before? How come I don't remember? Have I met you, Niou-senpai?"
Niou quirked a smile at her quick change of mood, "No, I haven't met you when you were twelve. We did play against Seigaku in the Kanto Finals but that was it for me. Maybe it was some others that Fuji was talking about."
Sakuno looked disappointed so Inui said, "You were helping with the Junior Training Camp and only Sanada, Kirihara and Renji were there. You did not know them personally because we all had our own jobs to do."
Sakuno nodded, "Thank you, I-Inui-se… Inui-san." They all noticed the change in the honorific.
Sakuno remembered that Fuji mentioned something about the others but she instinctively shied away from thinking about that, so she did not mention it again.
Somehow, these people seemed familiar but she did not remember really knowing them.
It was an uncomfortable feeling; was she not supposed to have met them three years ago? How come they were less familiar than the Rikkai regulars that she had only met about two weeks ago?
She was puzzled by the questions she came up with and yet, she felt that she did not want any answers at the moment. She suddenly wanted to leave but did not how to say so without sounding rude.
Niou noticed her uncomfortable expression and while he could not guess at the reason, he wanted to take her away from these Seigaku regulars who seemed to be the cause of her headache earlier.
He said, "Sakuno, I had better take you home now. You are looking a bit pale. Yanagi, I'll call you later." He looked meaningfully at Yanagi; telling him without words that he would have his explanation one way or the other.
Miyu did not want Sakuno to go but she wanted to go on planning what to do next, so she encouraged Sakuno to take some rest.
Sakuno was grateful for the understanding from her friends and she left after saying goodbye. They walked away, Sakuno unconsciously holding onto Niou's T-shirt for comfort.
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Miyu watched them go and sat down, rubbing her temples tiredly.
Yanagi watched her and spoke up, "I'm very sorry, Miyu. I was too hasty." Miyu smiled at him, her earlier anger had dissipated very quickly, "It's fine, besides, you don't have to apologize to me, and it would have come to that sooner or later."
Fuji knew what Miyu meant and mused, "It seemed that although Ryuzaki-chan did not react favorably when she saw us, she was able to recover with support from Niou. I wonder if she could do the same with the other regulars."
It was a valid point and Miyu caught on at once.
Yanagi and Inui, the incorrigible data-collection maniacs were already scribbling away at their notebooks. The other two ignored them, knowing that they were more or less useless now.
Miyu looked thoughtful, "I would hate to say it but I think you have a point there, Fuji-san. Sakuno obviously feels safe with Niou-senpai and I think that she would feel the same with most of the other regulars because they have been getting to know each other quite well. Are you suggesting something?"
Fuji smiled at her quickness of mind, "Yes, Yukimura-chan, I think that it would be better for this… problem between Echizen and Ryuzaki-chan to be solved as soon as possible. Ryuzaki-chan would not be able to move forward if she does not overcome it, don't you agree?"
Miyu grimaced, "I know, but I don't want to see Sakuno like that again… still, it won't help her in the long run if someday, she sees that Echizen at a game or somewhere and goes into shock because of it. It would be better if we set up the place and conditions for them to see each other again."
Fuji was slightly surprised that she had been so receptive to his suggestion; she seemed to be very protective of Ryuzaki.
However, he said, "Inui and I will go back and talk to the others and then we will contact you again. That would be best, I think. In the meantime, what do you think you can do, Yukimura-chan?"
Miyu thought and turned to Yanagi, who had finally stopped his scribbling, "Renji-niisan, do you think we should tell everyone about Sakuno's selective amnesia? I would rather less people know about it but I think she will need their support later. However, it is not really my problem to tell."
Yanagi nodded, "I agree with you, but I think it would be better if they know about it. Niou will definitely ask about it later and the others will be better prepared to react if she gets any more of those bad headaches again. I also want Ryuzaki to step out of her past and enjoy her present at Rikkai; she is a very good influence on the regulars."
Fuji smiled sadly at his last words, "…step out of her past and enjoy her present… kai?" He thought, "We have let a treasure go and never even noticed."
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With promises to get in touch as soon as possible, the four departed with their own thoughts on what they had learned and seen. Fuji and Inui returned to Tokyo and Miyu and Yanagi went home.
Miyu called Sakuno as soon as she was home to make sure she was fine.
She disliked keeping her in the dark about what they were going to do but she thought that it might be best. She did not want Sakuno to dwell on her lost memories after all.
Besides, Sakuno appeared to have forgotten about her selective amnesia because it did not overly affect her life.
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She remembered who she was; she remembered her relatives; she remembered most of her old classmates and teachers at Seigaku.
She did not think too much about her old school nowadays because she was so happy at Rikkai.
Everyday, there was something new to learn and something happy to share with her friends. Soon she could start going to tennis practices again and would become even busier.
She would have less and less reasons to remember her old school, apart from the fact that her dearest grandmother was still teaching in the junior section.
During the holidays, Sakuno knew that she would go and stay with her grandmother but now, her life was so full that she did not mind being away from her.
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After Miyu finished talking to Sakuno, she went to her brother's room and knocked.
He said, "Come in, Miyu." There was only the two of them in the house and he knew it could only be her. He was pleased that she came to see him because he had been worrying over her and Renji the whole day and finally decided that he should just ask her.
He turned from his desk and Miyu sat down on the floor, looking up at her brother as she had done since she could understand that this was someone who would always be there for her.
What she did not expect was his expression; a mixture of dread, embarrassment and determination. She was even more surprised when he blurted out, "Miyu, are you and Renji dating?"
She was speechless and then, without warning, starting hollering.
She laughed so hard at this ridiculous question that she began to roll on the floor, stamping her feet and clutching her stomach.
Yukimura looked embarrassed now; from her reaction he got his answer. He was obviously imagining things and Miyu would definitely tell everyone about it. He would have to put up with snide comments and nudges in the ribs for some days to come.
Even Sanada had commented on his protectiveness; he refused to add the 'over' in front of the word.
That had been some time ago when they saw a pleasant looking young man talking to Miyu on the street.
Yukimura had started to speculate frantically about future brother-in-laws and such nonsense to Sanada until Sanada just told him to go over and ask Miyu about it. It turned out that the nice young man was just asking for directions.
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Miyu stopped laughing after a while and she said to her embarrassed brother, "Onii-san, I was coming in to tell you about today but since you asked me first, well, no, I am not dating Renji-niisan."
Yukimura said sheepishly, "I know that now, you were laughing so hard that it couldn't be possible. Anyway, what were you doing with him?"
Miyu's face became more serious and she started to explain, "We were meeting with Inui-san from Seigaku this morning because I needed some information about Sakuno…"
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Yukimura listened patiently, not reacting when he heard about Niou and Sakuno, though he could do without that.
After Miyu finished, he thought for a while and looked at his sister, a calculating glimmer in his eyes, "Do you want to invite the regulars over for dinner tomorrow after practice?"
Miyu smiled, pleased that her brother had caught on so quickly and was ready to take action and support her, "I would have to make sure that Sakuno doesn't know about this, she might be hurt at being left out… oh wait, I could just tell her that you guys will be talking tennis tactics. I'll call Renji-niisan now and tell him."
She got up but Yukimura said, "No, I'll do it. Don't worry, get some rest, you've done enough for today."
Miyu grinned and pecked Yukimura on the cheek, surprising him, "Thanks onii-san, I knew I could count on you! Oyasumi!"
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Yukimura rubbed his cheek gently, thinking ironically that he had been telling Sakuno about the 'pecking on the cheeks' habit that they used to have and thinking that it was a half-lie. Well, now he would be able to say with a clear conscience that it was the truth.
He got out his phone and phoned Yanagi, who was wondering whether he should call and tell Yukimura what he and Miyu had been doing.
He picked his phone and it rang. He almost dropped it in surprise.
He answered, "Yanagi Renji speaking."
Yukimura lost no words with his old friend, "Miyu told me. We will be having a regulars' meeting at my house tomorrow after practice along with dinner… take-away because only Miyu and I are home."
Yanagi understood the command underlying the words, "I'll inform everyone tonight and tell them it's urgent."
Yukimura was pleased, "Thank you, Renji. By the way, what do you think about this situation? Do you think that Sakuno will want to return to Seigaku after this?"
Yanagi noticed the change in the way Yukimura addressed Ryuzaki but being him, he did not tease his buchou and friend.
He answered, "First, we are assuming that she will regain her memories at the sight of Echizen Ryoma and possibly the other Seigaku regulars. You have to remember that there is also the possibility that she would not remember them. However, to answer your question; I think that the chances of her staying at Rikkai Dai are good because it appeared that she was not… as valued at Seigaku.
Besides, she had negative memories connected with Seigaku and positive memories with Rikkai, so I don't think you will have to worry about it. This is just my guess though but I think you are smart enough to come up with the same conclusion yourself, Seiichi. Why ask me?"
Yukimura smiled wryly, though Yanagi could not see it, "I have my reasons and if you can guess them, maybe I'll tell you. You'll probably know soon enough, old friend. Goodnight."
Without waiting for Yanagi's response, he hung up. Yukimura thought, "Yes, I have my reasons…"