A Little Too Late - Prince of Tennis - Oneshot

Kuririn thought Niou didn’t care how she felt. He should understand that she was in as much pain as he is. In fact, maybe even more than he does. Masataka was both of their son, and for the first half of the pregnancy, she has no one to rely on. If it wasn’t for her good friend, Liliadent Krauzer or the then married husband, Atobe Keigo, she wasn’t sure she would see it through. She wasn’t the one who impregnated him and just went MIA for nine months. She wasn’t the reason he has to leave his happily married life to run away and raise their child away from everyone they had loved and cared for. Except for her few trusted friends; there was no one else who knew where they were.

And it definitely wasn’t her fault that Masataka passed away after a fever that refuses to go down. She finds it unfair that all Niou can do was blaming it on her. She remembers that day Niou came home a little later than usual, and all she could do was cry.

“Masaharu… Taka… is dead…”

Niou’s face paled, and a second later, she found herself being slammed against the wall. She knew that her head bled and that her shoulder dislocated from the impact, but the physical pain was nothing compared to what she was feeling inside. The pain in her heart numbed the pain in her body. Without a word, Niou had left her bleeding and crying on the floor, helpless and weak, and disappeared. The only time he reappeared and the last time she saw him was Masataka’s funeral last week. He had refused to talk to her or acknowledge her pleads no matter how she called out to him.

“Masaharu, what are we going to do now?”

“…”

“Masaharu… Please… Don’t leave me alone in this…”

“…”

“Masaharu…”

Kuririn gave up trying to get through to him. She knew he blamed her for everything, and she felt like she was at fault. Separation meant no problem to them. They were never officially married. Kuririn used to wonder why Niou did not register their marriage despite having a son and even after four years of living together. The reason was crystal clear now. He could disappear from her life anytime he wanted. He won’t have to feel tied down or pressured into anything. There wasn’t any guarantee that he will stay by her side forever and always.

The funeral was a blur to her. Many people came to pay their condolences. Her own family came. It was awkward for her to meet them in such a situation, and she knew they weren’t happy with the things she had done in her life. Kuririn felt like they were gloating over the fact that Masataka is dead; that they were silently telling her that if only she had listened to them she wouldn’t be in this position.

She knew that she doesn’t have a place in that family anymore. That she smeared the Sanada name and was a shame to her family and she wasn’t welcomed home anymore. She had no more place to go. Long after everyone left, and long after the sky darkened and rain fell, she still sat crouched over her son’s grave because that was all she had left in this world.

She has no more home, no more family, no more Niou, and no more friends. There wasn’t a person whom she could rely on. She was all alone, and all that she had disappeared along with Niou.

“Kuririn…” she felt someone wrapping his arms around her and she finally looked up.

“Keigo…”

“Come back with me, you’ll catch a cold.”

“I can’t do this to you. I left you.”

“I don’t care, come back to me.”

Kuririn stayed still. Was it really okay for her to lean into him one more time? After having hurt him like that? Kuririn was never sure why she had left this wonderful man for someone like Niou who has no sense of responsibility.

“Mm…”

She let him carry her away from all her miseries and sadness, hoping she can finally do something right in her life. Hoping that she had made a right choice for once in her life.