Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor do I own Fullerton hotel. I do own Aiko, Will & Jason though.
Title: Celebrate Celebrity
Summary: Ryosaku Sakuno had just won her best actress & model award, while Ryoma had just become number one in the tennis world. They have been called together for a photo shoot, and while the old friends reconcile, will it get any further than that? Or does it stop there?
Warnings: This story is mainly Ryoma & Sakuno, so if you do not like this pair, please don't read it. Flames on the pair will be ignored. You have been warned! Lol. :P
Random Note: Wrote this story for fun. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are always welcomed! Please review!
Chapter One: We Meet Again
Everybody applauded loudly and cameras flashed non-stop as Hanashi Rin walked down the red carpet. She had just won the best actress and model award. She walked with the confidence and grace most actresses had, but she had another different air around her that drew crowds.
The air of shyness and modesty she had was the key. The air she had kept with her since she was a twelve-year-old Ryuzaki Sakuno.
Sakuno, now known as Hanashi Rin, smiled gracefully at the cameras as she received her award. Her hair was as long as ever, but it was no longer in braids. Her hairstylist had given it many treatments, which involved hundreds of different fragrant oils a week, and it was now a look that every girl wanted and every man desired.
Sakuno stepped up the platform and took over the microphone. Wiping a few drops of happy tears from her eye corners, she first waved a hand at the crowd. They cheered.
"T-thank you all so much for everything. If it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be standing here receiving this award, nor would I have made it so far. I have to thank my company as well; they made all these possible for me. Even when I was stressed over the amount of work I had to do, my company and fans kept me going. Thank you all so much!"
After the heart-warming speech, she stepped off the stage and walked back to her seat, occasionally shaking a few lucky fans' hands.
"I LOVE YOU, RIN!"
Sakuno smiled joyfully at her fan boy, and then turned to the others. After signing a few autographs, she was ushered out of the building and into a limousine. She had another photo shoot to go to.
She smiled gently at her fans and waved goodbye as she was driven away. Then, she leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes as sceneries whizzed by.
"Tired, miss?" her personal driver, Will, asked in fluent Japanese.
"A little. But it was nice to see so many fans," Sakuno replied to her reliable driver. He was from America, but he was sent to Japan to work with her. Sakuno had picked up fluent English during her time working in America, but she still preferred her mother language. And Will knew that.
"They love you, miss."
"All the more I should work hard."
"Then you should rest now, miss."
"Thanks," Sakuno replied as Will pulled up frosted glass between the front and back seat.
Sakuno opened her eyes and flashes of her career flew by in her mind. It had only been three years since she had started her acting and modeling career, and she had been a huge hit. When her contract with Acer Company expired, many others had invited her to their company. But she stuck with Acer.
Her career brought in millions a month, and once in a while, she would get an invitation for a movie. That raised the salary even higher.
Sakuno didn't remember how she had started it all. Osakada Tomoka, who was still her best friend, had pulled her in to an audition for models, and she had got herself a place. Since then, the company had been with her and helped her reach her potential. Sakuno had never dreamed she could have become a celebrity.
She had never dreamed that she would be seen on television, magazines and newspapers, and she would have so many fans. It was almost like Echizen Ryoma.
Ryoma.
Echizen Ryoma, who was currently number one in the tennis world, at the age of twenty-one. Sakuno had seen him on television many times; she'd always tuned in to the sports channel when she knew he'd be on. She had cheered silently for him and he never failed.
After so many years, Sakuno was still in awe of Echizen Ryoma.
--
Echizen Ryoma clenched his fist to stop from fidgeting as his make-up artist applied make-up onto his face. The brush was extremely itchy and soon, he was twisting his neck fervently.
"Echizen-san, please stay still!" the artist said, a hint of frustration in his voice. "I'm almost done…DONE!"
Ryoma let out a breath of relief when the itchy brush was finally removed from his face. "Mada mada dane."
Ryoma tried to recall why he had agreed to this photo shoot. It must have been the free Ponta he was going to get and the amount of money he was receiving. At the thought, his shoulders relaxed and he leaned back against his chair.
"Now that you're already number one in the world, what would you be fighting for next, Echizen-san?" the annoying reporter asked.
Now that he was already number one in the tennis world, his opponents sweat even before entering the court. To him, it was all too easy. It seemed as though there was nothing to fight for anymore. What was the place before number one?
Zero. And that meant nothing.
What else could he fight for then? Sure, he'd continue playing in the pro circuit, but all the excitement had nearly been gone. There was almost no fun in playing tennis against those people and he'd never be able to enjoy a tough game. Because there wasn't a tough game anymore.
Except maybe his father, Echizen Nanjiroh. Somehow or other, he'd occasionally fall into one of his father's traps and lose the whole game. Only occasionally.
At that train of thought, Ryoma suddenly had the urge to play his father. But of course, his father was nowhere near where he was and it was impossible to get him over since his photo shoot was starting soon.
So now, he could only wait for the Hanashi Rin that he hadn't a clue about to arrive and finish the photo shoot with him.
--
Sakuno was jerked out of her slumber when the limousine came to a sudden halt. Will tipped an invisible hat and greeted, "I'm sorry to have woken you up, miss, but we've reached our destination."
Grinning, Sakuno replied, "You and your American jokes."
Stepping out of the limousine, she was immediately ushered inside with a reporter following closely beside her, asking her random questions that she couldn't answer. She was guided to a chair and she closed her eyes on instinct, knowing that colors would soon paint her face.
It was over rather quickly, and the reporter was finally allowed to have some free time to interview her.
"Five minutes," Sakuno's manger said firmly and fiercely, as if daring the reporter to ask for more.
The reporter nodded and turned to Sakuno. "Hanashi Rin, what a pleasure to meet you. Since I have to make it quick, I hope you would cooperate with me…"
The rest was a blur as Sakuno constantly answer the reporter's questions and smiled, nodded and laughed at all the right places. It had taken a lot of lessons for Sakuno to learn how to deal with reporters though. There were just some things that she had to lie, for if the truth came out, it would be completely twisted. And Sakuno had learned it the hard way when she accidentally said that she admired Ryoma.
Sakuno could still remember the words vividly.
It had been rumored that Echizen Ryoma was currently going out with another actress, Kiyori Kake. Hanashi had confessed in her previous interview that she loved Ryoma. Would Rin go out all the way to get her Ryoma back? Or would she sit back and keep her anger inside? Read to find out!
It had made her sound like a total bitch.
Soon, her manager came bursting in, insisting that the reporter disappear at once.
"Aiko-san, please relax and don't stress yourself too much," Sakuno said kindly, smiling a warm smile at her worked up manager.
"Seriously, Rin, you should be thanking me for shooing him out. You're working with Echizen Ryoma today and it wouldn't be nice if we had another one of those episodes again."
Sakuno's eyes widened. "Eh? Ryoma-kun?"
"See, you're already on first name terms already."
It was as if time had frozen. She was seeing Ryoma again. Not just on television, but she was meeting him in person. Once again. Would he recognize her as Ryuzaki Sakuno? Or had he completely forgotten about her?
Seeing her client seizing up, Aiko quickly reassured her, "It's all right. Just a photo shoot. Seriously."
Sakuno's face remained blank as Aiko took her to the studio. Aiko stood aside and waited for Echizen and his manager to enter.
--
Jason Parker marched into Ryoma's make-up room and handed a bunch of papers to Ryoma.
"Here are a few of the papers you have to sign for your stay at Fullerton Hotel. The total amount is right there." He pointed to some random numbers and Ryoma gave it only a cursory glance before signing it.
After signing the paper, Ryoma threw the pen languidly onto the table and placed his hands on his armrest.
Picking up the papers, Jason turned to Ryoma and said, "You're on now. Come with me."
Ryoma stood up, brushing his pants and grabbed his racquet. The director had requested Ryoma to take his racquet along for the shoot.
Entering the studio, the first person who caught his eye was a beautiful girl with flowing long hair wearing a sexy sportswear.
Her long hair was somewhere just above her knees, and Ryoma usually thought hair below the waist was ugly. But somehow, this girl managed to pull it off. Her hair shone and swayed at her slightest movement. When she turned around to meet Ryoma's eyes, her hair swished gracefully behind her.
Her big, round eyes were extremely captivating, and nose and mouth were in the exact proportion. Her skin was flawless and fair, and the colors of her clothes were just right for her skin.
Someone cleared his throat and all attention was diverted to him.
"Right, introductions might be in order before we start the shoot. Echizen Ryoma, this is Hanashi Rin. Hanashi Rin, this is Echizen Ryoma. You will be posing together for a advertisement for Sports Ponta."
Both moved forward automatically to shake hands, and while Ryoma acted unaffected, Sakuno's dimple formed a dent on her smooth face.
Inside, though, Sakuno was disappointed that Ryoma hadn't recognized her. But that was that. They were just working as partners for this one time.
The director arranged them for Ryoma to be holding out a racquet with Sports Ponta on it towards Sakuno, who was to have just finished a game or exercise.
Suddenly, Ryoma remembered something. The move. It was familiar. He had done it somewhere before. She was familiar. She was…
"Ryuzaki Sakuno."
"Eh?" Sakuno said frantically.
"You're Ryuzaki Sakuno," Ryoma repeated calmly, staring right at her eyes.
"Y-yes."
Then there were a few individual shots before the last one with them holding out Sports Ponta back to back. It had been her closest moment with Ryoma but was over in a second when the camera flashed.
--
Ryoma was intrigued. He couldn't understand how he had suddenly remembered her, Coach Ryuzaki's granddaughter. Maybe it was her long hair. Or maybe it was the move he had made when he tried to apologize to her on that day he'd upset her.
After the shoot, he went into Sakuno's room, and saw that she was removing her make-up. It was lucky that no one else was with her.
"Ryuzaki?" He could tell she was startled even from behind.
She turned around slowly. "Ryoma-kun?"
Ryoma stopped himself in time from rolling his eyes. Who else could it be?
"Yeah."
Sakuno stared at him for a full minute before realizing what she was doing. Jumping up from her seat, Sakuno gestured to another chair beside her. "Please…have a seat!"
"Thanks," Ryoma nodded.
"H-how have you been doing?" Sakuno asked, desperate to make a conversation.
"Fine." Was the tennis player's one word answer.
Still the same Ryoma-kun, Sakuno thought, panicking.
"How…is your work going…?"
"Not bad," was Ryoma's decided answer, and Sakuno knew he wouldn't bother to elaborate.
Now Sakuno felt like pulling her hair out. God, why was she still so nervous around Ryoma? She should have gotten over it by now, yet…she knew she hadn't.
"What have you been doing?" Ryoma asked bluntly.
Sakuno was surprised. "I…I have been doing acting and modeling…"
"I see. So now you go by the name: Hanashi Rin?"
"Y-yes…"
It isn't like Ryoma-kun to ask so much. Had he changed…?
"Hope we'll work together again some time," Ryoma said, got up and left, leaving Sakuno in stunned silence.
Ryoma had just been polite and said that he was willing to work with her again?
Sakuno suddenly felt fluttery.
Drop your thoughts! Click GO!
A.Renika