Never Forgotten

A RyoSaku alternate reality romance fanfic by Bunny

Author's Notes:

This is an Alternate Reality where Ryoma and Sakuno never went to Jr. High School together because Ryoma didn't move to Japan. It is kind-of in a "what-if" type of setting as well. Ryoma and Sakuno are also older from the beginning, so pay attention to the age changes. At times they may be a little bit OOC, but that's from the differences I've incorporated into the story plot, not so much a deliberate attempt to be OOC or a flagrant disregard on their characterizations.

If you've read my AN's in another fanfic of mine, you don't need to cover this again. If you haven't you should read this part too:

I don't use much Japanese in my fanfics, but there are a few things that just don't translate well, (including honorifics) so if you aren't familiar with them, here is the brief key:

Mada mada dane – this is Ryoma's catch phrase, though lots of other POT characters use it. The meaning is basically "not yet" "not good enough" or "you still have a ways to go." I think by those three phrases you can get the gist of the meaning of the idea behind the words.

Baka – idiot, dummy, et cetera.

Ano – a commonly used word whisper. The closest translation would be "um."

Mou - a word expressing frustration. Not in a minor cussing way like "damn" but more like saying "bother" or "sheesh."

Honorifics:

Honorifics are an important part of the Japanese language and are used to indicate relationship or status. When addressing someone in Japanese, and honorific usually takes the form of a suffix attached to one's name (example: "Echizen-san," would mean "Mr. Echizen"), or as a title at the end of one's name or in the place of the name itself (example: "Fuji-sempai," would mean "Upperclassman Fuji," or simply "Sempai!" meaning "Upperclassman!"). Honorifics can be expressions of respect or endearment. In an anime and/or manga they give insight into the nature of the relationship between characters.

-san: This is the most common honorific, and is equivalent to Mr., Miss, Ms., Mrs., etc. It is the all-purpose honorific that most will start out with when first meeting someone and until they feel comfortable using another term.

-kun: This suffix is used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment. It is also sometimes used by men among friends, or when addressing someone younger or of a lower station.

-chan: This is used to express endearment, mostly toward girls. It is also used for little boys, pets, and even among lovers. It gives a sense of childish cuteness.

Sempai: This title suggests that the addressee is one's senior in a group or organization. It is most often used in a school setting, where underclassmen refer to their upperclassmen as "sempai." It can also be used in the workplace, such as when a newer employee addresses and employee who has seniority in the company.

[No honorific: The lack of honorific means that the speaker has permission to address the person in a very intimate way. Usually, only family, spouses, or very close friends have this kind of permission. Known as yobisute, it can be gratifying when someone who has earned the intimacy starts to call one by one's name without an honorific. But when that intimacy hasn't been earned, it can also be very insulting.

Thanks to Del Rey manga publications for the honorifics explanations. This is not exact word for word, but I used their translation as a starting point for my explanations. To learn more about other honorifics and how they are used, I would Google "Japanese honorifics."

Also to be noted in address is that generally speaking a family name or "last name" is used with a suffix before a person's given name, which would denote further familiarity. So by word there is more familiarity from say Ryuzaki-san to Sakuno-san.

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Chapter One – Obsessed

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I, Ryuzaki Sakuno, am obsessed. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

It all started when I was fourteen. I found myself flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch on a Sunday afternoon. I quickly by-passed the re-runs, the soap operas, the dramas, the sitcoms, the cartoons, the game shows….blah, blah, blah, I had seen it all before. And then, by chance I stumbled upon a tennis match. Wimbledon to be exact, (though I didn't know at the time) and that was when I first saw him.

I found myself riveted to the television. I couldn't look away even for a second as I watched in anticipation for the next amazing maneuver the cute guy that appeared to be my age would do next. He was dominating his opponent and it blew me away. How could he be so good? How did he learn how to do all those wonderful techniques? How could he get the ball to fly at his opponent's face like that? How? How? How? I'd never found any sport, least of all tennis, so completely fascinating before. He brought life to the game, he brought attitude to it. He was confident and strong and he played so beautifully. He was everything I wasn't and I wanted to be just like him. I admired him instantly and it quickly became oh so much more.

With a perfect final set, he had won the match and giving a smirk to the camera; he had walked off the court and left me a different person. And I didn't even know his name. Snapping out of my stupor at the announcer's comments on the match, I quickly scribbled his name as it flashed on the screen with the time of his next match on a piece of paper. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Echizen Ryoma. He's a tennis prodigy extraordinaire. Saying that he's amazing, or incredible, or awesome would be a gross understatement. He isn't just a tennis player, he is tennis. It only took my stumbling upon that one chance game and I was hooked for life. There was something so appealing to me about seeing someone my age accomplishing so much. Well, okay so maybe he's a few weeks older than me…needless to say, he was inspiring. And perfect. He's perfectly inspiring, that's what. He smacked his opponent on the court that day and he smacked my heart for good. I would never forget that day. Even years later, I could still recall the faces he made, the body language he used, and the moves he used to defeat his opponent on the court.

There was however, a very silly thing about this.

The Wimbledon that year was actually his debut on the Grand Slam tennis circuit. When I discovered him, he was a no-name barely qualified to compete at Wimbledon tennis player. Only a few had ever heard of him. And that match I caught him on? It was the first match of the tournament and Echizen Ryoma actually had a long ways to go. No, he didn't win Wimbledon that year. In fact, he didn't even make it to the semi-finals, but to me, he had already won.

I supported him though. I had discovered him early on, it seemed. Before he got so good that nobody could stand up against him. Before he gained the attention of the whole world and was recognized by all for his talent. Before The Echizen Ryoma Fanclub was formed, and before The Official Echizen Ryoma Fanclub was formed. (Yes, there was actually a difference.) Before every girl in my age group knew his name and sighed over his face that was splashed across teen magazines and tabloids.

To me, he was so much more than how the other girls all saw him. Yes, he was inspiring. Yes, he was brilliant on the courts. Yes, he was melt-your-knees and fall into a puddle of goo hot when he smiled or smirked. But…to me, he was so much more than that. I watched him and I knew him. Somehow, I knew him. It was as if we were somehow connected. I didn't really comprehend it all at the time, I just knew that I really cared about him and kept track of what he was up to and thought about him all the time. It wasn't just about his skills or his looks for me. It was about him. The real Echizen Ryoma, the boy behind the tennis racquet and the self confident smirk. The person inside that came up with his little, "mada mada dane," phrase he loved to taunt his opponents with.

Yes, I, Ryuzaki Sakuno was quite obsessed. Goodness me, I even took up tennis in an attempt to understand him better and well…to perhaps maybe get good enough to meet up with him at a tournament. Yes, I was that obsessed. My attempts at becoming a world famous tennis player myself were actually fairly quickly squashed. While having a decent knack for the game, thank Grandma for that – she was actually a tennis coach by profession and was only too happy to see me taking up an interest in the sport – I didn't have the raw, seemly natural talent for the game needed to end up in the Grand Slam circuits that Echizen Ryoma was in. Damn…I wasn't even good enough for regionals, or nationals, let alone the world scene of tennis. That idea failing me, I decided to take things in a different direction.

A year later I found myself boarding a plane to finally go and see him. I was going to see Echizen Ryoma play at Wimbledon. Somehow, somehow, I would meet him. Somehow, I would see him and he would notice me and all my dreams would come true. Maybe...well, stranger things have happened, right? By winning the Australian Open earlier this year, at barely over 15, Echizen Ryoma had beaten greater odds already, right?

As I boarded the huge airbus that would fly from Tokyo to London, I couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. I guess you could say that I didn't really know what I was getting into. I was excited about finally being even in the same country as Echizen Ryoma. Yes, although he was definitely Japanese, he apparently lived in New York in the United States with his family. So being Japanese myself had yet to assist me in reaching my goal. Finally, we would be close enough physically to actually see each other.

But what if I didn't get to see him? What if I didn't meet him? What if I did meet him and he didn't like me? What if he didn't feel the same connection? It's not like there was anything special about me that made me stand out that I could get his attention with. Oh, I was really rather scared when I thought about it. But then…if I didn't do something, if I didn't just try to meet him, if I didn't make the effort, I would never forgive myself and I would always, always wonder. The pull to him was too strong. He was like a beacon of light that called out to me and I was the willing moth called to his brilliant flame. I just didn't know if he would burn me up or connect me into his light and allow me into his bright, beautiful world.

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Aaaannnd that's it for chapter one. I hope everybody enjoys reading this fanfic. There are eight chapters total and I will try to post them all up as quickly as possible as I tweak through them. The story is already complete and I will do quick updates, so put me on story alert/author alert if you want to read as they come out. And please let me know what you think by leaving a review, regardless of how brief.