Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Feelings ❯ Chapter 1

Hidden Feelings

 

 

“Ruka? Ruka-chan?”

 

A deep masculine voice rang through the house.

 

“Dear, is she in the room?”

 

A small head poked out from the middle-aged man's shoulder, taking in the sight of the empty room.

 

The man sighed inwardly. His eight-year-old daughter had `disappeared' AGAIN! He pressed his thumb on his temple waiting for his beloved wife's outburst.

 

“MOMOSHIRO RUKA! YOU BETTER APPEAR INFRONT OF ME NOW OR YOU WILL BE GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”

 

Two floors up from the empty room, a small and timid figure cringed a little when she heard the ever loudest roared of her mother.

 

She looked down at her newly discovered treasures and decided to completely ignore her mother's yelling.

 

She was playing hide and seek with her little dolly, Pinky when she accidentally stumbled across a few dusty boxes placed at the corner of the attic.

 

Children could be distracted easily. No exception for Momoshiro Ruka. In an instant, she had forgotten about her game. Ruka unsealed one of the boxes nearest to her.

 

She kneeled on the ground and poked her head into the seemingly huge box. Ruka found the box was filled with old old books. Her lips quirked, showing her lack of interest.

 

Nevertheless, she pulled out one book from the box, underestimating her own strength and the book's weight.

 

With a loud `thud', the book slipped from her small hands and landed on the ground.

 

Ruka's attention was transfixed towards a particular spot on the ground.

 

A rectangular sized paper white in color was lying soundlessly beside the fallen book.

 

It was previously attached in between the book. During the fall, it slipped out catching Ruka's attention.

 

Curiously, Ruka bent down and stared at the slipped object with her big brown eyes. She concentrated on it as if the paper will jump up anytime to bite her.

 

A minute or so had passed and nothing had happened.

This time, Ruka stretched out her little finger and poked on the paper.

 

Still, nothing had happened.

 

Finally deciding the object owns no harm on her, Ruka picked the paper up and flipped it around.

 

The paper or more correctly the photo somehow managed to survive through the years.

 

The front was contaminated by a few dull yellow spots but other than that, the picture was still in good condition.

 

The yellowed edge of the photo hinted the age of it.

 

Ruka hold the photo with both hands as if it was something breakable.

 

Slowly she looked into it.

 

There was a young boy in the photo.

 

Ruka blushed a little at the young boy's handsome features. Admiring handsome males was a trait inborn in every female, regardless of their age.

 

Ruka placed her small index finger on the boy's face and drew her hand quickly to her back. She giggled.

 

The boy was holding something that Ruka failed to identify. She knew it was something that looks like a stick with a round net attached to it.

 

With doubt on her mind, she gripped the photo and ran downstairs.

 

Ruka stopped at a particular door. She pushed open the door a little, poking her head into the room.

 

“Ruka-chan, there you are. Your mother was looking for you everywhere, dear.”

 

An old but energetic voice startled Ruka.

 

She hopped into the room and kneeled beside the old man.

 

The old man was in his late sixty. He was sitting on a study chair, examining a thick book with his black-framed spectacles. His sharp features showed that once, this old man used to be an attractive, handsome man. He still looked handsome but his wrinkled skin showed that time had taken a tow on him. He was Momoshiro Takeshi.

 

“Grandpa, what is this long stick with a round net?”

Little Ruka shoved the photo in front of Momo and pointed towards the object so called long stick with a round net.

 

Momo's heart skipped a beat when he saw the photo presented to him by his little granddaughter. Or it had even stopped beating for a while.

 

He closed his eyes tight and reopened it. Still there. The young boy's figure was still there.

 

He stared intently towards the deep green eyes as if the eyes in the photo will response to him.

 

The old photo had acted as a key. A key towards the forbidden yet bittersweet memories of Momoshiro Takeshi.

 

How long had it been?

 

How long had it been since they last met?

 

How long had it been since the last time they cycled to school together?

 

How long had it been since they played on a match together?

 

How long had it been huh, o chibi.

 

Echizen Ryoma.

 

He could still remember it as if it was yesterday.

 

The way Ryoma would cringe his brows together and shouted “Momo-sempai” when he used to straddle him across the shoulder while ruffling up his messy hair.

 

The confidence tone of Ryoma when he commented, “Mada mada Dane.”

 

The cute pitched of his when he shouted “Iada!”

 

“Grandpa? Grandpa?”

 

A light tugged on his sleeves shoved Momo back to the present.

 

He looked down towards his granddaughter with confusion.

 

“What is it Ruka-chan?”

 

“Grandpa I was asking you what is that long stick thing.”

 

Momo chucked a little in recognition. That thing used to be the precious thing in the world during his youth.

 

He stretched his wrinkled hand and patted Ruka's head.

 

“That is a tennis racket, Ruka-chan. We used it to play tennis. Do you know what is tennis?”

 

Ruka nodded her head profusely.

 

“Yea! Ruka knew about it. Ruka's teacher told me that tennis is a kind of sports. Am I right Grandpa?”

 

Momo smiled towards her and nodded.

 

“Grandpa, who is the person inside the photo?”

 

Momo sighed and picked up the little girl on to his lap.

 

“Ruka-chan, this young boy in this picture called Echizen Ryoma. He was a very talented tennis player. He used to be my junior in Seigaku high and my teammate in tennis.”

 

Momo paused a while and continued.

 

“Ryoma used to be my best friend.”

 

Ruka looked up towards her grandpa and refocused on the photo.

 

“Is it like the buddy buddy kind?”

 

Momo smiled.

 

“Yea…you are right, Ruka. We are like the buddy buddy kind.”

 

“But grandpa, why haven I seen him before? Aly from next door. My buddy buddy. I always meet her. Why haven I seen grandpa's buddy buddy before?”

 

Momo once again sank into the deep whirled of memories.

 

“Momo senpai.”

 

Echizen suddenly lifted his head from Momoshiro's back shoulder.

 

Momo felt a bit lost. He had enjoyed Echizen lying on his shoulder while they cycled to school.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I'll be leaving to Germany two weeks later.”

 

Momo stopped his cycling abruptly, causing Echizen to smash on his back.

 

Echizen rubbed on his sore nose but did not complain.

 

“Wh…Why so soon?”

 

“They offered my a scholarship. My whole family will be going with me.”

 

“Why, Germany Echizen?”

 

This time, Echizen choose to keep his silence.

 

Momo chuckled bitterly.

 

“Its for him isn't it huh?”

 

Echizen didn't answer but replaced his head on Momo's tensed shoulder blade.

 

“We'll be late for training Momo senpai.”

 

Mechanically, Momo resumed his cycling.

 

Every movement seemed to be so painful for him.

 

This was too much for him to take.

 

“Echizen?”

 

“Hmm, Momo senpai?”

 

“…What if…what if I tell…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Momo choose to swallow whatever he was planning to say.

 

Silence accompanied them all the way along with a shattered heart.

 

…Echizen, what if I tell you that I loved you, would you stay for me?…

 

“Grandpa?”

 

“Oh, gomen ne. Ruka-chan had never seen him before because grandpa had not seen his buddy buddy for many many years, Ruka-chan. Ryoma went to a far away place.”

 

“Far away place? Why didn't grandpa go and find him? Didn't grandpa wanted to see his buddy buddy?”

 

Momo's lips curved into a sad smile.

 

“That was because the place Ryoma went was too far for me to reach.”

 

Momo sighed heavily.

 

Ruka seems to be affected by her grandfather's emotion and cringed her face.

 

Momo patted her head and gave her a reassure smile.

 

“Although it's so far away, don't worry Ruka. Someday for sure, grandpa will meet his buddy buddy again. Someday.”

 

“Really? Grandpa promised?”

 

Momo ruffled Ruka's hair and smiled.

 

“I promised.”

 

All a sudden, an angry figure appeared at the doorway.

 

“MOMOSHIRO RUKA!!!!”

 

Horrified, Ruka jumped off Momo's leg and rushed past her furious mother before she could catch her.

 

“Ah, YOU WILL REGRET IT FOR RUNNING!”

 

Silence again refilled the room.

 

Momo lay back on his chair and closed his eyes.

 

He was tired.

 

Slowly, he pushed his body upwards.

 

Momo pulled open the lowest drawer of his study table. He took out a file and flipped it open. Inside the file, a piece of old news paper was kept neatly.

 

Momo ran his fingers passed the young face printed on the newspaper and down to the words underneath it.

 

Echizen Ryoma, 14 died in a plane crash heading towards Germany. He used to be a talented tennis pla………………

 

Momo closed the file and slipped it back into the drawer.

 

His thoughts drifted back to the time when Echizen was in the airport waiting for his flight to Germany.

 

“Momo senpai.”

 

Momo looked at him with a smile, while tasting his own bitterness in his mouth.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Promise me, we will meet again.”

 

Momo stretched his hand and ruffled through Echizen's hair one last time.

 

“I promised.”

 

Momo looked at the photo his granddaughter had left him with.

 

Echizen, I'll keep my promise.

 

We will meet again. Maybe tomorrow, one year later or ten years later. For sure, we will meet again, someday.

 

 

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