Hye! I am back! With the continuation of the story. I think this is about to end... soon.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.

Chapter 28: Numb Days

Chapter Summary: He tried everything to apologize... and he never realized that his actions were really late.

He didn't know how much he had slacked off. He wasn't like that. Now that he thought about it, he would never let anyone distract him. But it wasn't like that anymore. How could he let someone distract him, let alone it was not related to tennis.

Echizen Ryoma was having a hard time approaching his girlfriend.

The tennis prodigy wasn't even sure if she was still his girlfriend. It was so stupid of him of lying to the girl and repeated the same thing all over again. It has been three days and he hadn't talked to her ever since that day.

Ryuzaki Sakuno discovered that her mute friend was actually his childhood best friend. Who wouldn't be surprised of that revelation? He had kept that secret even before they broke up for the first time. And now, he only made it worst. He couldn't blame Sakuno if the girl wouldn't want to see him. The tennis prodigy gave her some time alone.

Three days was enough for her, wasn't it?

Looking around his room, he realized how quiet it was now. His pet feline, Karupin was not even there. That wasn't supposed to bother him. He should be looking for somethng that would connect to his girlfriend. Standing up, he started looking around for it. Not for long, he finally found it. He couldn't believe that he would misplaced his cell phone like that. It was under his side table and no one knew how it got there. He didn't bother for he didn't want to know either. Just like his girlfriend, he couldn't blame himself for that.

In order for him to give the girl some time alone, he himself pushed those things away that would make him approach her. His only wish that it was enough for the both of them.

He would sincerely apologize to her.

Gripping his phone tight, he started to calm himself and dialed the only number that he had came to memorize... without him knowing it. Sakuno's phone rang and he waited for her to answer. After three rings, the girl picked up and he didn't wait to say his thoughts.

"Ryuzaki, I-"

'Hi! This is Ryuzaki Sakuno. Sorry, but I am not available to talk to you as of now. If you kindly leave a message-'

He didn't continue her voicemail as he dropped his call. The phone seemed dead as he was just holding it tightly once again. What would he expect? It was so stupid of him thinking that she would speak to him on the phone. His cell phone seemed so useless from his hands. Frustrated, he tossed it upward and collapsed on his bed at the same time. His phone landed just above his right side of his head. He couldn't careless anymore as he found himself staring on the ceiling. This was what he hated the most.

Not doing anything at all. To keep their relationship still.

He wanted to go to her house. If he had the chance, he would have done it. Her grandmother and his senpais were only stopping him from doing so. Fuji became stern to him once again. The guy loved his girlfriend and they even made a deal of not hurting her again. It was really odd that he had not challenged him of winning the girl's heart. Now that he had the chance again.

Fuji wasn't going to make a move on her and that remained a mystery to him. It would trigger him to do something reckless. Not at all.

For now. He would find a way in how to approach the girl and properly apologize to her.

The Next Day:

His cerulean eyes busied themselves staring at a girl who was painting seriously in the art club room. His knuckle which was ready to pound on the open door of the room was put on hold as he stared at her. Her expression was firm. Her movement was graceful and not a single perspiration could kill the wonderful view he was witnessing at that moment.

He would have brought his camera if he knew that would happen. Sensing that someone was watching her, she looked up and saw him with an almost embarrassing position. She was kind of surprised when she spotted him there.

"Fuji-senpai!" She blinked as she dropped her brush and pallette on the table next to her and was about to stand up.

From a quick recovery, he raised his hand and stopped her from standing, "Gomen, did I disturb you?" He asked walking inside the room.

"I-iie," She replied as she positioned herself back in front of the canvass and smiled at it, "I was about to take a break though."

Fuji followed her line of vision and stared at her canvass. Sakuno was painting the school's track and field where some students were running around it. It also covered the school's buildings as background and some bushes at some corner. But the fence from the tennis courts seemed the highlights of the image. Sakuno brought life to those fences and made all the image alive.

"You are really good at this, Ryuzaki-san."

He watched the girl flush as she touched her own canvass, "I still want to improve. I can only do this much."

"It's more than that, you know."

"You're flattering me, senpai."

"Is it working then?"

The girl looked at him surprisingly before she began to pout, "Mou, senpai. You are teasing me again."

Fuji couldn't help but chuckle and it made her pout even more. His hand went to her head and patted her, "Despite that, you really are good. You wouldn't have gotten that chance to go to London if you weren't."

The atmosphere sensed to tense a little. The girl was aware that the rest of the team knew her sudden leave to London. Her papers would've settled until next year but she requested to leave as possible as she could. She would leave the day after tomorrow.

Echizen Ryoma who was all behind the trickery was the only person who didn't know about this. Sakuno requested that he should not know until she left the country. With the help of her grandmother, they were able to keep the secret from the youngest regular tennis player.

"Are you sure you cannot be stopped from leaving?" He suddenly asked her.

Sakuno looked at him as if observing how serious his question was and then she slowly shook her head, giving him the answer that he needed.

"It can't be helped then."

"It's not like I am not going back," Sakuno answered standing in the process, " My home's here."

His signature smile crept to his face and nodded at her, "You are right."

"Thank you senpai," Her eyes looked away and went to the door, "For busying Ryoma-kun for a while."

The smile on his face became firm, "I believe he deserves more than that."

She shook her head once again, "I am okay now. I'll see through this." Taking a deep breath, she looked back at him, "I am not going to regret whatever decisions I am going to make in the future."

"That's more like it," Fuji smiled once again, "Good luck on your studies in London then." Sakuno smiled back at him and nodded at the same time. He really admire the girl's motivation and the courage to go on. She had been through a lot, got hurt and suffered. But that didn't stop her from continuing her goals.

Despite that her first love broke her heart twice.

Sakuno could stand on her own and he knew that she could overcome whatever trials she would encounter in the future, let alone her four year journey to London.

xxx

Everything was ready for her flight tomorrow. Everything seemed fine. Sakuno was ready to leave tomorrow morning. Now that she was about to leave the land of the rising sun, she admitted to herself that she was a bit nervous going alone there. It would be her first time going to a different country. She was going to Europe alone, to meet new friends, and to boost up her skills at painting.

Not long before, she was only watching the country, the beautiful cities, places and famous landmarks. London was famous for its own legends and histories. She made a search for the place. If she would step foot on the London's ground, she would probably visit the London eye first. The large ferris wheel would give her enough view of the place. It was a bit horrifying because of the height but as she decided to herself, she would overcome all of her fears. There were also the Big Ben, The National Gallery, Tower of London and the Palace of Westminster. Those places were really interesting from the pictures that she had seen and she couldn't wait to see them in person. She also couldn't contain her excitement about seeing Wimbledon, where the oldest tennis tournament was ever held, where Ryoma-

Her thought suddenly stopped there. She had almost forgotten that information. Of course, the place was also famous for tennis tournaments. It was also one of the tournaments Ryoma would enter every year.

The reason why she was watching London in the first place. She hoped that it would be different when she finally stepped foot in the area.

She just placed her last traveling bag in the corner of her room when her phone rang. Grabbing her phone from her side table, she looked at her caller. Tomoka was calling her and she immediately answered it.

'SAKUNOOOOO!'

The moment she heard her shout, she immediately removed her phone away from her ear. Really, she must make a mental note not to place her phone when your best friend was talking to you. And she hadn't said her greetings yet. When she thought that Tomoka was finished 'talking', she placed her phone back to her ear and said, "Mou! Tomo-chan! You don't have to do that!"

'How could I not? You are leaving tomorrow, dummy!'

"It has got nothing to do with my departure!" Sakuno replied and pouted at the same time.

'It's not like I won't see you off tomorrow.'

"You will not?"

'Oh, geez!'

Both of them started to laugh afterwards. Their laughs seemed to fill the air before they slowly died down. The tension was awkwardly dreadful after that. Fortunately, Tomoka broke it;

'Ne, are you sure you won't going to tell him?'

Great. She did break the tension fortunately, but she asked something that she didn't want to answer, unfortunately.

"It's best for him to know... when I am gone."

Tomoka sighed restlessly as she heard her from the other line, 'You sounded like you are not going back here anymore.'

"Tomo-chan, you know that's impossible." She said more than to herself. When she said those words, she felt like she was not really going back. Was it really her thoughts?

More like she was just escaping and she hated herself for that.

'Sakuno.'

Her thoughts were cut when Tomoka called her attention. Her tone was seriously different, like it was making a demand that she wouldn't reject. And she didn't know if she could when she heard her thoughts;

'What about Kanata? Aren't you going to make things right between the two of you?'

As long as it was possible, she didn't want to hear his name if she could. But she knew that it was impossible.

'At least?'

"I... I don't know," She said at last, "I am not sure if I am ready."

'When are you going to be ready?'Tomoka asked, 'You are about to leave... tomorrow.'

"I know but-"

'Just give yourself a peace of mind-at least half of them before you leave.'

"Tomo-chan..."

'You know where to find him. He's always waiting for you.'

She was right. Of course she knew where to find the guy. It was the only place he could go to. It was his comfort zone. Kanata was an introverted type of a guy. When she was down, it would take a lot of courage for him to leave his comfort zone and visit her home... just to comfort her.

He left his comfort zone once just to comfort her.

'Well?'

"What?" She asked almost forgetting that Tomoka was still on the other line.

'Visit him now, you dummy times two!'

"E? You mean now?"

'Yes. NOW!'

"H-hai!"She stood up and looked around. It must be now or never. She never had the idea whether she would have another chance of meeting and talking to him once again. When she came back, it would be four years later. Well, except for the summer breaks. It was actually, she was going to see Kanata about not Ryoma, "Thank you, Tomo-chan."

Tomoka ended the call when she thanked him, not leaving some warning that she would behave at all cost. Really, in what way would she behave in front of the boy? Sometimes, Sakuno wondered how Tomoka thought of her dealing with boys. The thoughts inside her head remained unanswered when she reached the location where she could find the mute guy.

It was his comfort zone.

His secret place.

The abandoned tennis court.

But the place somehow wasn't abandoned. There were lights inside. The lights were warm and peaceful to sight. The atmosphere gave animated effect in the surroundings. It made the court lively. Apparently, it wasn't the lights which centered her attention.

It was the scene in front of her.

The net was not visible in the middle of the court. It was replaced by a long table. On the table laid different sets of paintings. They weren't just paintings.

They were paintings that she created.

She looked around the area, realizing that it wasn't the only surprise she could get inside. More of her paintings were displayed on the fences. The scene made her totally speechless. Just how did her mute friend get those paintings from Seishun Gakuen?

Speaking of her friend, Kanata was standing at the side of the long table, holding another painting of hers. The guy was smiling. His smile was genuine. His eyes were serene like they were trying to give her some message that she couldn't ignore. He never showed that kind of expression to her before.

Seeing the guy now made her remember everything that happened in that very court. From the moment she met him there, hitting some tennis balls until the day she discovered the truth between him and Ryoma. She tried finding in her heart if the feeling of betrayal was still there.

There was none which seemed odd for her. Then she realized, she never held a grudge to anyone and it wouldn't start within these two guys who hurt her on hard. But she could see from the guy's eyes the regret they did in the past. Her train of thoughts were stopped when he started walking towards her, placing the painting next to one of her on the table. She watched him grab his digital board and pen that was also on the table.

Not really trusting her voice to speak, she just let him do his thing and that to start writing on his board.

'Apologizing is unnaceptable of what we've done but I still want to say it.'

He erased that first line and started writing again. After a few seconds, he showed it to her once again;

'I am sorry Sakuno, In behalf of my best friend too. We are so sorry.'

Sakuno remained silent as she watched him act in panic as he continued writing. He must've thought that she would give up listening to what he was going to say if he would not hurry.

'But I will not say sorry for one thing.'

Her heart started to panic for a reason that she didn't want to admit. Alas, he confirmed it with his next lines.

'I'd fallen for you, Sakuno-chan.' His eyes were not seriously looking straight to hers. Her lips remained in place as she still couldn't trust herself to speak. The boy did it for her, 'It's true and I was willing to try to win you.'

Right at that moment, she knew that she was blushing. Never in her second heartbreak could she expect about blushing like that. She looked around hoping for something interesting to watch but him. When she noticed that he started writing again, she couldn't help but be curious about it.

Until he showed it to her. And that message really made her speechless for how many times.

'But... I've given up on you,' Kanata looked at her with a hurtful expression as she continued reading what he wrote, 'I've given up before I fall for you really hard... before it would be more painful to let you go.'

"Kanata-kun..." That was the first time she spoke when she entered the court. She brought her hands to her lips and she silently cursed herself for almost sobbing there.

'Ryoma loves you. I know that he is even if you don't believe me,' He was staring at her as he showed her the board, 'But I knew because I have witnessed it.'

The first tear dropped to her face and she quickly wiped it with the back of her hand.

'Both of you are my best friends and I want my best friends to be happy.'

That summed up everything she tried to hide. Sakuno turned her back from him and immediately wiped her tears away. She even sniffed trying to calm herself down. She promised to herself that she would never break down in front of a guy and it would not start that moment. Not looking back at him, she shared her thoughts to him;

"I appreciate the thought. Thank you," Her voice were trembling, the thing that she couldn't stop from happening. Her hands were clasping in front of her as she continued, "But I am not ready. I am not sure about facing you or him or forgiving you completely but I..."

Kanata took the courage of grabbing her shoulder which made her flinch but she didn't pry his hand away.

"I am still leaving," This time, she turned to face him, "I am going to London tomorrow, Kanata-kun. It'll give me time to think... and also a peace of mind."

Her friend was visibly shocked at her revelation. Aside from Ryoma, Kanata also didn't know her about leaving for London. It was unfair that the two of them didn't know about it but she wanted it to be that way.

His hand left her shoulder and went back to the table. Her vision followed his movements as he grabbed another canvass on it. The canvass was covered with linen and she didn't know what art she did from the inside. When he opened it, her eyes widened when she saw the canvass.

It wasn't her art. It was his.

If being good at painting, Kanata was for sure had no talent in it but she could form the images that he had created there. It was the same tennis court they were in and the both of them were competing for the number of hits that would make from the 'WIN' word on the wall. She remembered that day were they played something ridicolous and that was the time she could never forget. That different thing from the canvass was there was another person standing outside the fence and it was totally out of their sights. It was impossible of her not to recognize the third person. It was exactly the same posture, figure and height and the most of all, he was wearing his signature cap.

Was he there all the time? That thought remained and she would never want to hear the answer of it.

She touched the canvass gently and Kanata slowly gave it to her hands. His gesture made her realize what he was trying her to do, "You want me to keep it?"

The boy just nodded at her.

Her eyes stared at the canvass and examined the whole thing. Her lips started to curve and gave him a genuine smile, "Arigatou Kanata-kun. I'll take good care of it."

Morning:

He woke up with a sudden chill from his spine. Looking at the clock, it was only 7:30 in the morning. He tried to remember what he was supposed to do that morning. For the weird purpose, there was no practice today and he didn't know the reason why. He thought of sleeping for more but then, something told him that he should get off the bed and start doing what. Yeah, the question was he didn't know what he should do.

Following his instinct, he got off of his bed and walked out of his room. He went straight to the kitchen and saw his mom preparing for breakfast. His dad was already eating his own meal. Luckily for him, it was a Japanese cuisine that morning.

"Took you long enough to wake up, seishounen."

"It's still early." He said as grabbed his bread and started munching it.

"You are not really an early bird." Nanjiroh commented.

He was about to retort when Rinko suddenly butted in, "Don't you have practice today?"

Ryoma just shook his head, somehow he felt heavy and he didn't know the reason why. Not knowing the real reason made him feel so irritated now. He didn't know what was happening to him right now.

"Oh, is it today already?" Rinko thought hard and then looked at Ryoma, " Why aren't you in the airport, Ryoma?"

"Rinko!" Nanjiroh called out to his wife. Rinko covered her mouth but it was too late. That totally got his attention and he both looked at his parents who were acting suspiciously at that moment.

"What's going on?" He asked with a warning tone in his voice, "Who's leaving?"

xxx

That explained his uneasiness the moment he woke up that morning. Without saying another word, he immediately bolted out of his house and ran all the way to the airport.

'Ryuzaki-san's granddaughter, Sakuno is leaving today for London.'

Rinko was still explaining more to him but he didn't let her finish. He could still hear the both of them calling out to him but he ignored them when he understood the first sentence his mother said.

How come he didn't know about this?

Why did everyone hide this kind of information from him?

Sakuno was leaving and he didn't know.

He cursed everyone for hiding it to him. If he could estimate the time, her flight would be at around eight in the morning. That realization made him bit his lower lip hard to bleed. Sakuno was going to leave and didn't tell him.

She was going away without them settling things first.

He managed to reach the airport and most of people there were only the ones who took their relatives and friends to the departure area, assuming that the people were already on board. The place wasn't crowded so he immediately saw his teammates and his coach, including Sakuno's best friend. Eiji was the first one to see him.

"Ochibi! What are you doing here?"

He glared at his senpai when he asked the question to him. He was still grasping for air but he couldn't careless. His coach was shocked at seeing him but she quickly recovered.

"Echizen, don't take this the wrong way but Sakuno decided on this-"

"Where is she?" Ryoma suddenly asked when he finally got his voice back.

No one answered his question so he repeated it, "Where is Sakuno?"

After a few seconds of silence, Tezuka approached him and grabbed his shoulder, "She's about to leave, Echizen."

His eyes widened and he clearly understood that. His eyes found Fuji who was seriously looking back at him. The tensai closed his eyes and looked at a certain direction. He followed his vision and saw an emergency door. From the look out window, he saw one of the planes slowly running on the runway.

Looking back at the tensai, he knew what he was trying to say and he understood him. That was the plane who would take Sakuno away. What he wasn't sure about if Fuji knew what he would do next. Well, he would give him his answer, also surprising everyone. He did the same thing that came to his mind.

He removed Tezuka's hand from his shoulder and bolted out to the emergency door.

Done! How was this chapter? Something will happen next chapter. Do you know what will Ryoma do? Find out his crazy stunt next chapter.

Reviews please! Just a bit more. This story is about to end so please help me. Thank you very much.

Next Chapter: The Stubborn Prince of Tennis is Back!