Tennis no Ojou-sama: A Prince of Tennis Fan Fiction

CHAPTER 71: Ryouko's Saviour

Ryouko walked aimlessly. She didn't even know which way she was going. Is she getting farther away from the cabins? What if she won't be able to find her way back to the campsite? Even so, she walked on. She felt suffocated as if she gulped down a great chunk of bread without chewing it first and it didn't came down properly.

Ryouko hit her chest repeatedly, thinking that it would help. She stopped on her tracks and halted hitting herself. "Sure it was my fault. I should have just given her the dang ball and be over with it." She mumbled, her tone deviant. "But he didn't have to say that." She added, sitting down on a nearby boulder.

'Stronger than normal...' 'Too strong for your own good.' Whenever people tell her that, she felt pleased. But this time, it's different. It didn't make her feel proud. Somehow... In this situation... Being strong is not good.

She took the tennis ball from her pocket. She was reminded again of Ryoma's words, of Tomoka's rants and the fact that neither of them even asked what really happened. "Did he really think that I'm the sort of person that will shove someone weaker than me just because I felt like it? 'Accidentally or not' he said... That means that he's thinking that I did shove her on purpose. If I did do that, shouldn't he ask why first? Doesn't it even occur to him that I'm not someone who acts out without a proper reason? Is he even my best friend? It looked like he doesn't know me at all." She thought, swallowing a lump in her throat. She was on the verge of tears but she had been good in gulping that down. She rarely cried and this is not one of those situations that deserved her tears.

She replayed what happened inside her head. "Well, isn't it her fault that she's weak?" She heard herself say. "Okay. I shouldn't have said that..." She thought.

"But I was angry. I said it out of spite." She said under her breath, defending herself. There was no need to make herself believe that she was the one at fault. Other people are already blaming her. She got no one on her side but herself. She can't lose that too.

Ryouko lifted the ball over her head, planning on throwing it for real. But she couldn't do it. "I should've just left this there with them..." She said, quite regretful. With a sigh, she put it back inside her pocket and got up. Maybe she should just go back to the Representatives' cabin and lie down on her bed for an hour. She could use the peace and quiet while the girls are gone. It is unlikely that Sakuno and Tomoka would be there.

"Where's the way back to the cabins again?" She asked herself as she looked around. She could still see the white tower from afar. "Oh." She said. "That means I'm still quite near the campsite." She thought. She started walking towards the direction of the tower. If she managed to find the third team's cabins then she could go back to the Representatives' cabin easily. Ifever she collides with Ryoma or the pair of girl friends on her way, she would just pretend not to see them and proceed straight to her destination. That shouldn't be hard to do.

She emptied her mind as she walked, looking up at the sky, losing herself in it's peaceful and vast blue. She remembered the phone call with Ichidou. She sure would love to hear his carefree laugh at a time like this... Words spilled out of her mouth without her noticing. "Kairitai. (I want to go home.)"

She heard herself and shook her head. "Think clearly, Ryouko. You can't long for home now..." She said. She had important matters to deal with. Crucial to Seigaku, important for the freshmen... Besides, she had to finish what she started.

Ryouko shifted her eyes on the road ahead when all of a sudden, her surroundings were slowly shrouded with a dark veil. Everything was looking blurry until she found herself in total darkness. There was a shrill 'diiiiiiiiiiiiit' sound ringing in her ears, similar to the sound the machine in the emergency room makes as someone's vitals are flat-lining. Gradually, she lost her hearing. "What is... happening?" She managed to say before everything was lost.