It's Complicated

By: Bunny

Rated: Teen 15 and up

Genre: Romance/Drama

Summary: RyoSaku. Ryoma is a bully. Sakuno is convinced of this fact, or so she thought. Nah, he's a bully all right.

IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE:

For this fanfic, I altered the story timeline slightly and made the U-17 camp happen during the summer break of Ryoma and Sakuno's 2nd year of middle school instead of the winter/spring before 2nd year started.

Chapter One

Echizen Ryoma is a bully.

How do I know you ask? Let me give you some cold, hard, facts. I've known him for over three years. Due to...various circumstances I spend an awful lot of time with him. I probably spend more time with him than anybody else does. I don't even know how that happened to me, but it's always been that way, ever since we met right before our first year of middle school. Actually, I'm probably the only person in Japan that he's always had consistent contact with since he first moved here all those years ago. Yes, that's right, even when he's been out of the country, somehow, we've always managed to stay in touch. That being said, I kind of know him best. Oh, and the truth is that...sometimes I feel like I'm the only person that knows the real Echizen Ryoma. After years of careful observation I've noticed that everybody else is oblivious to how much of a bully he is.

I mean, I'm living proof of that. Even though most people that know us would consider us to be friends, which sometimes, even I question this, but we probably are (kind-of), he bullies me the most. No...maybe we're not kind-of friends. Well, sometimes I think we are, sometimes I think we're definitely not, but most of the time...I've simply viewed our relationship as...a bully...

...and his victim.

So I'm somewhat of an expert on him and his bullying tactics, and believe me when I say this...

He. Is. A. Bully!

Oh fear not, I'm going to tell you everything and then you can tell me what you think, all right? I must warn you though...don't get tricked on the rare occasions that he's being nice! The truth is that he's a bully.

Definitely.

Now that I'm thinking about the start of it all...it's strange...really. I just never would have thought that in the end, my opinion of him would be that he's a bully.

You see, the first day I'd met him, he'd actually been rather sweet to me, despite my blunders. He'd saved me on the train from the older boy swinging his tennis racquet at my face, (though he later denied seeing me there) and instead of being angry with me for giving him bad directions and then blundering horribly in my attempts to make amends he'd treated me to a ponta. He'd spent some time with me and had even asked me to stay and watch his game against the older boy, well, in his way of asking which came out as 'hold my jacket for me.' Still, he'd been really nice, and then very, very cool when he'd played tennis. I'd been inspired by him and struck all at the same time. It was love. I was instantly in love with him. At the tender age of twelve.

What a mess.

The next day at school, I'd started to see glimpses of his true colors, that is, that he is a bully. First, he claimed he hadn't remembered me. The jerk. I'd wanted to cry the whole rest of the day. Here I was all in love and inspired and he couldn't even remember all the time with me the day beforehand?

He did remember though. Later, as I'd spent more time with him, it had come up again, and he'd nonchalantly mentioned our first real meeting. Why'd he pretend like he didn't remember me before? Because he's a bully!

From there, his torment of me has only progressed, but for such a long time I'd been so clueless about it. In our first year it hadn't mattered how he'd tormented me or how many times he's sent me off crying, I'd always gone back for more. I'd been blindly in love with the bully. In fact, I'd gone out of my way to try to please him and get him to notice me. Oh, how silly I was.

He'd noticed me all right. He'd noticed that he could tease me, taunt me, and still get anything he wanted from me because he'd balanced it well enough for a girl struck stupid with love for him with shows of heroics (while bullying others), and a nice gesture here and there to keep me flocking to him and doing things for him.

Bentos, chocolates, cheerleading, presents. There'd been no bounds to the things I'd have done for him back then, especially since during that first year of middle school I did all those things without him asking. Imagine if he'd milked it more and asked for things back then.

That wasn't his way back then though.

No, his way was to bully me. Tennis racquet to the back of my knee as he passes me practicing paired with, "Your hair's too long, your shoulders are too wide, your hips are too wobbly, mada mada dane."

This scenario has in fact, happened repeatedly, with variations thereof in his speech ever since first year. Years ago, I'd basked in his attention and followed his advice. Well, except for my hair of course. My hair was not too long. Never seeing it for what it truly was.

More bullying.

The tennis racquet and mada mada dane speech has been his most consistent bully tactic. It's happened now by my account, at least once a week for the past three years. Except for when we aren't talking.

And oh, there are reasons for that, and believe me, it all comes back down to more bullying.

When had it first started? When I'd first started to realize our relationship was anything but normal? Hmm...I suppose it was during the summer of our second year of middle school. Of course it would take something drastic to pop me out of my love bubble and see things for how they really are.

See, after our first year, Ryoma-kun had left for America. I had thought it was for good and I'd been supportive of his bright tennis future, but personally sad that I wouldn't see him anymore. I stupidly thought things had been progressing for us to a more romantic type of relationship. Well, that is, as romantic as Ryoma-kun was probably capable of. At thirteen no less. When he'd left, we didn't think he was coming back, at least not for a while...so he'd given me his tennis racquet.

I'd melted.

In my overly romantic thirteen year old mind it had been a sure sign of love. After all, Ryoma-kun's tennis racquet had to be his most treasured possession...and he'd given it to me!

I should have known better with it's delivery, but back then I just hadn't realized yet what was really going on between the two of us. You see, as he'd shoved his red racquet into my hand there hadn't been much else with it besides a grunt and instructions to email him everyday.

Everyday!

See what I mean?

Bully.

Of course at the time, I'd thought it was all part of his sure signs of affection, but now I knew better. That is to say, in retrospect, I can honestly say it was just more bullying. He wanted to keep dibs on me and everybody else. Forcing me into daily email was the easiest since I'm his number one bully victim.

Maybe he picks on me because I'm nice? Maybe it's because I'm a pushover? Maybe it's just because I'm around him the most? I'm still not really sure how or why I became his primary target, but I digress.

So back then I'd done as instructed and I'd obediently emailed him everyday. I emailed him about the start of second year. I told him about Kaidoh-senpai and Momo-senpai. I told him what little I would learn about our senpai-tachi that graduated when they would stop by the courts for a chat. I told him about the cherry blossoms blooming in the spring with the start of second year, and my slowly but surely made tennis progress. I told him about people I met, friends I made, and the tennis tournaments I went to. I told him about just about everything.

Here and there, I'd get a brief response. It usually had to do with some new opponent he'd met and learnt some cool new move from, or something to do with his cat. Here and there he'd complain about missing Japanese food. His emails usually ended with some sort of reinforcement bully tactic to make sure I would continue to email him everyday.

This went on for months. Until one day during the summer break of second year I got a different type of email from him.

Very different.

I'm coming back. August 3rd, 4:00 p.m., Narita. -Ryoma

I was shocked and euphoric. It was only a day's notice, so I'd scrambled to make sure I could meet him at the airport. I'd even called Momo-senpai to see if he was going as well, only to discover he didn't know Ryoma-kun was coming back. When he'd answered the phone surprised that I was contacting him and asking if there was something wrong with Grandma, I'd realized he didn't know.

He didn't know.

He didn't know.

How could Momo-senpai not know?

I didn't tell him.

I wanted to. Really, I did. There was this part of me that told me I should tell him and the senpai-tachi so we could all meet him there at the airport together. But there was this other part of me that desperately wanted to know why I was the only person Ryoma-kun had told he was coming back.

So, alone, I'd rushed over to the airport to meet him. I'd been early, I knew that much, but finding him had been a challenge. He didn't tell me his flight, or what airline. I'd been standing there in the middle of the airport trying to figure out what gate to go to by reading through the flight schedule board when out of nowhere a hat was placed on my head.

Startled, I'd spun around and there he was! I was so happy to see him it took all of my energy to fight off giving him the most embarrassing glowing smile of happiness. My thoughts were swimming, my mind was overwhelmed, my heart was pounding quadruple time.

"This is the departures."

"Wha-?"

"As usual your planning is bad."

"Ryoma-kun!"

"Your hair's too long."

"My hair-"

He'd smiled then, grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the exit.

I'd been struck dumb.

I mean...seriously...he'd smiled...at me.

It was as startling as when he'd given me his racquet before he'd left. He'd smiled like he was happy to see me. I actually felt like he was maybe as happy to see me as I was to see him. My mind had still been reeling from his smile when he'd grasped my hand and began dragging me out of the airport. My mind now a jumbled mess of mushy jelly, I'd been able to do nothing except follow him with my faint blush and silly love struck smile on my face. It was a good thing he had his back to me as he'd pulled me along too, because I don't know as though I would have ever been able to live down what I'm sure must have been my stupidest, most pathetic look ever.

He hadn't had much on him. Just his tennis bag and his racquet and he'd effortlessly guided us to the train station, and despite his long absence, he directed us back to his family's home without so much as a misstep or a pause to look up and read signs.

When we'd arrived, he'd unlocked the gate, and then the house, gesturing for me to proceed him inside.

I'd slipped my shoes off in the entryway with a quiet 'sorry to disturb' to the dwelling and waited for Ryoma-kun to follow. He shrugged off his tennis bag and propped it up against the hallway wall. Unzipping the top he'd put his racquet inside as well and then shrugged off the leather jacket he was wearing and handed it to me.

I'd stared at his jacket blankly for minute and then catching on, I'd shuffled to the closet and hung it up on a hanger.

Can I just take a second to pause yet again and point out what a bully he is to me? I mean, what did I look like? His personal valet?

As I was hanging his jacket up, I'd realized I was still wearing his hat, so I'd removed it from my head and placed it on top of the shoe cabinet in the entryway.

Ryoma-kun led the way into the living room and flopped himself onto the couch there. I'd sat down next to him as he'd finally started explaining.

"I'm going to the U-17 Invitational Camp tomorrow with the old team."

I had no idea what the U-17 Invitational Camp was, but it sounded impressive, and whatever it was, it was enough to get him to come back to Japan. So I'd grinned, "Awesome Ryoma-kun!"

"I'm going to play against high school players."

If he was trying to impress me about his tennis skills, he was at least a year too late. I'd been impressed with his tennis the day I met him. Three years later, I'm still impressed with his tennis all the time. I don't even think Ryoma-kun knows that I'm his biggest supporter and that will never change, no matter how much he bullies me. I'm just not usually very vocal about my support. What can I say? I'm a pretty quiet girl. Sometimes, he brings it out in me though...my...fangirling over his tennis.

"I'm sure you'll be number 1, Ryoma-kun!" I'd said with a smile, no coaxing necessary. We were alone, it was a special day. I loved supporting his tennis goals, it's kind-of what our relationship is founded on after all. So of course I gushed my support to him. I really believed it too.

I still believe that of Ryoma-kun...that he'll become number one in the world.

It wasn't the first time I'd told him directly that I believed he'd be number one. I'd first told him that the day he'd left for the US Open. I'd told him again when he'd left (for what I thought for good) to go to America before second year started. So I don't know what it was about that time, but...

The words had barely left my mouth before he'd closed the distance between us and kissed me.

I'd been so startled, I'd quickly scrambled backwards, "Ryoma-kun? What are you...?"

Without any hesitation, he'd followed me across the couch. As he'd loomed over me, and I'd leaned back towards the armrest behind me he'd quirked an eyebrow at me, "What are you doing?"

Was he going to kiss me again? I flushed and leaned back further, "Wha-what do you mean what am I doing? You-you...!"

His eyes had narrowed for a second before he'd grabbed the end of my braid that was hanging off the side of the couch and given it a tug.

"Ouch! Ryoma-kun! Don't pull my hair!"

I'd barely caught his smirk at my protest before he'd once again closed the distance between us and started kissing me, again. This time, I'd been a little bit more prepared for it, but I'd also been cornered into the edge of the couch with nowhere to scramble away to. I'd still wiggled back a bit in embarrassment, but the distance between myself and the armrest had only been a few inches and Ryoma-kun had easily followed me, without even barely breaking contact. I found myself with my head resting against the armrest, Ryoma-kun's left hand wrapped around the tail of my right braid, and the tip of his tongue licking at the parting of my lips. Instinctively, I'd opened my mouth and suddenly everything had fallen into place as if we'd been kissing forever.

It...it was...amazing.

It was crazy!

I mean, Echizen Ryoma was kissing me. ME! He was kissing me!

I was kissing him back too, and oh, he was laying on top of me on the couch in the living room of his parents' house and...ahh...it was like a dream.

I just...I suddenly felt so...close to him.

It was incredibly intimate.

It must have been at least an hour or so that we'd been lying there together kissing on the couch, because the next thing I knew, the sun was setting and Ryoma-kun was grumbling to me about being hungry. He was standing above me as he straightened out his clothes and combed his hair with his fingers before smirking down at me. I was still laying there on the couch in a bit of a stupor when he'd stopped grumbling and said, "Sakuno."

Snapped out of my dream state, I'd locked eyes with him, "Huh?"

He shook his head back and forth and I could swear I could hear the 'mada mada dane' that he wasn't saying. "Can you make some dinner?"

Now completely back to myself, I'd realized my situation. Instantly flustered, I'd shot off the couch, and wobbled into Ryoma-kun. He'd steadied me as I'd patted my hair down over my braids and untwisted my dress so that the front of it was realigned properly.

"Ryoma-kun, your parents aren't coming home?" I'd asked.

"After I get back from camp. Tonight I'm alone," He explained.

Oh.

"Me too, Grandma went to some conference-"

"Coach Ryuzaki isn't home?" Ryoma-kun asked, interrupting me.

"Ah, no, it's just-"

He'd grabbed my hand once again and started pulling me towards the front door, "We should go to your place. You'll have food and it won't be so dusty."

"Wha-?"

Releasing my hand at the entryway to put my shoes back on, he'd disappeared for a few minutes. Feeling completely lost as to what his plans were now, I just heaved a sigh and put my shoes back on.

Soon enough, Ryoma-kun had rejoined me with a small duffle bag in tow. He stepped past me and quickly slipped his shoes back on. Grabbing his tennis bag off the floor, he'd slung it over his shoulder. Finally he grabbed his hat off of the top of the shoe rack.

"Come on, Sakuno, I'm starving," He'd complained as he'd stepped out of the house.

I'd shuffled past him, still not really sure what was going on. He'd locked the door and led the way and I'd had to almost run to keep up with his quick pace.

A few minutes later, we were at the gate for my house, then the door, and then I was letting us both in. (Ryoma-kun was practically shoving me in through the doorway was more like it, that bully.) We both paused at the door to change into some house slippers and then Ryoma-kun was steering me into my own kitchen.

Taking a seat at the counter, he turned expectant eyes at me.

A/N: Well, here it is...the first chapter of my latest chapter story. I was looking at my documents for this last night when I finished out the rough draft (it's 22 chapters!) and noticed that I started writing this fic back in February, as I was finishing up posting/edits of For Services Rendered. Crazy, right?

I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, I can't wait to hear what you think! Buckle your seatbelts because we're in for quite the ride on this fic! I can't wait to share the whole thing with you all, so I'll be working hard on doing edits. Love you all bunches and bunches my RyoSaku fam. :D

xoxo Bunny