Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Thanks to You

"Syusuke… Syusuke?" Ryuzaki Sakuno pressed her hand on the tensai's forehead. She smiled as his eyes fluttered open to reveal that stunning shade of blue that always caught her off guard. Tilting her head in worry, she asked, "Are you okay?"

Fuji chuckled, "Saa, Sakuno. Don't worry." It was a couple weeks before the National tournament, and Sakuno and Fuji were having a picnic dinner under a looming oak on a hill. When they finished eating, Syusuke peacefully laid his head on his hands and Sakuno sat up looking at the stars. They went to that same spot on their free days to stay until the moon peeked out of the night sky. None of the regulars knew about these meetings, for Fuji had a very secretive side. Very.

Sakuno turned to him once more, "Is something wrong, Syusuke?" She was worried that he was drifting off to sleep. If he wanted to rest, they could go back home to their houses, "If you want, we can go now. The night sky will always be there."

Fuji then sat up and looked toward Sakuno with those crystal blue eyes, "Neh, you always say the loveliest things."

Blushing, Sakuno looked at the picnic blanket. She spoke from under her breath, "Is something bothering you, Syusuke?"

The boy leaned on his arms, "I'm just thinking…"

Sakuno looked up, curious, "About what?"

Syusuke chuckled, "About you, Sakuno. How you helped me with my tennis."

The girl sat up straight and looked at him, getting more curious by the second, "A-Ano? I…helped you?"

"Saa… Remember the egg hunt?"

It was a clear April day: the sky showed off its stunning shade of blue, and the birds that glided across its majesty twitted to-and-fro. The spring breeze subtly swayed the blossoming trees back and forth and allowed their newborn petals to flit around in its swirls. The squeals of little kids could be heard as egg hunts commenced and the scolding of adults was at a minimum, for the pleasurable weather was enough to suppress the adults' worry. A cheery voice could be heard far-off from a nearby egg hunt,

"Syusuke! Syusuke!" A six-year-old, auburn-haired girl in a spring dress skipped across a lush, green lawn. Hooked in her left arm was a bright-yellow Easter basket carrying a minimal number of eggs, but that didn't stop her from smiling. As she got closer to an older boy sitting in the shade of a sakura tree, she slowed down and hopped right next to him, "Syusuke, look what I found!"

The boy smiled with shut eyes and chuckled, "What is it, Sakuno?"

The girl's smile widened as she took something shiny out of her basket, "Tsubame! Tsubame!" It was a swallow carved out of silver, probably a charm that lost its carrier. Sakuno's face brightened as she wagged it in front of Syusuke's face, "Isn't it pretty?"

The boy frowned slightly, "Sakuno, you know that probably belongs to someone else…"

The little girl in the dress pouted, "B-but… Syusuke…" She was about to continue her protesting when the boy stood up and grasped the hand carrying her treasure. He smiled contentedly,

"Let's find its owner, okay? If we don't, you can keep it; if we do, I'll get you a better one, okay?"

Sakuno's face lit up, warming Syusuke's heart, "Really? You'd get me a better one?"

"Of course, Sakuno! Why not?"

The girl turned around in a flash, which in turn made her dress flow in the spring breeze. She turned back toward her friend and smiled brightly before running off, "Let's go, Syusuke!"

Syusuke opened his eyes, revealing a dazzling azure blue that blended quite nicely with the surrounding shades of spring. His smile added to the comforting atmosphere as he watched his best friend skipping along in front of him. As Fuji went to catch up with Sakuno, he wondered why the charm was so important to her.

Their search took a while, considering how many girls could have lost the swallow charm. Sakuno began to worry as she swiftly looked side-to-side wherever she went. She was running around so fast that even Fuji had trouble catching up with her at times. To make sure he was not going to lose her completely, he called her to him, "Sakuno-chan, wait!" He only called her by her name when they were alone. Sakuno stopped and looked back, only to smash her nose into his chest,

"Mmph?!"

Syusuke quickly stepped back and apologized, examining her face for any redness. When he saw nothing, he quickly took her hand in his, "Don't lose me, okay? I don't want you to get lost."

Sakuno nodded politely, "Okay, Syusuke-kun!" She then tugged him slightly, continuing her search. The motion made Syusuke chuckle to himself.

Much to Sakuno's dismay, they found the owner of the charm after a few more minutes of searching. It was an older lady in a bright green dress that matched her white sun-hat. When Sakuno and Syusuke asked her if she lost her charm and showed it to her, she bent down to Sakuno's level and kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you, darling!" As Sakuno reluctantly gave it back, the lady straightened up and explained further, "This was the first charm I received; it came from my husband."

Sakuno stood still, mesmerized by the woman's beauty. When she found out that the lady was very grateful, she was not as sad that she gave the charm back in the end. However, she was then saddened by the fact that the egg hunt was over and she did not have a lot of eggs. Sakuno was so excited about the charm that she finished the egg hunt long before it was over. As Sakuno walked with Syusuke back to her grandmother standing by their car, she kept looking down at the ground. Syusuke noticed her sudden change in mood and questioned, "What's wrong, Sakuno?"

The girl sighed, "I only have two eggs…"

Syusuke smiled, "Don't worry, Sakuno, I saved a bunch for you. I'll give them to you later, okay?"

Sakuno hopped giddily at her friend's kindness, "Thank you, Syusuke!" They were then a few steps away from where her grandmother was standing. Sakuno let go of Syusuke's hand that she had been holding the whole time and started toward her grandmother. She turned around, allowing her dress the flare one last time, "Syusuke, remember what you said!"

The boy's smile got bigger, "Heh, I know, Sakuno-chan. But tell me," he wanted to ask the question that bothered him the whole search, "Why did you like that charm so much?"

Sakuno smiled the biggest smile she could. Her eyes gleamed and she shouted before running to her grandma, "Swallows are my favorite animals!"

Syusuke chuckled before going back to his family.

"Ah! I remember the egg hunt!"

Syusuke chuckled again and started to stroke Sakuno's hair. He spoke into her ear, "Where do you think I got the name for my first triple counter?"

Sakuno blushed wildly, but attempted to calm herself down. Even though Fuji and she were very close, the sudden intimate gestures he made still made her heart skip. After taking Syusuke seriously, she thought to herself, "Tsubame… gaeshi… Oh! Haha! Syusuke, really?"

The tensai nodded and his hair tickled Sakuno's ear, "Wha! Syusuke!" She fidgeted for a second while the tennis player half-apologized, half-chuckled. She continued, "But, that's only one of your counters. The other two—"

"—Came from my experiences with you, too," Fuji softly cut in. He reminded her, "Don't you remember? I kept my word."

Sakuno smiled, "It's not like you to break it."

Two years had passed since that egg hunt, and Fuji was determined to keep his promise. As soon as he got home that evening, in spite of his mom's request to stay inside, he ran to the nearest jewelry store to find out how much a charm bracelet was. Peeking through the glass window, Fuji searched for the item he was looking for. "Saa…" He finally spotted a chain bracelet with an attached tag that read about fifty-five dollars in yen. With that delicate smile plastered on his face, Fuji whispered to himself, "Too easy. Sakuno is worth more than that."

During those two years, he worked on anything that could earn him money: mowed yards, fixed miscellaneous things, painted houses and even visited old ladies just to keep them company. When he finally saved up enough money to buy a charm bracelet complete with one, maybe even two charms, Fuji went over to Sakuno's house to ask if she would like to come over.

"Sakuno! Someone's at the door!" Sumire shouted from the kitchen.

"C-Coming!" the girl jumped up from the couch and sped towards the door. Her hair was now in little braids up to her shoulder blades and they bounced as she ran towards the door. She was wearing a little, yellow summer dress and sandals; evidently she just came from playing outside in the yard. When Sakuno opened the door, she was surprised to see her old friend standing there, "Ah! Syusuke!"

"Saa. Hi, Sakuno-chan."

"Hmph. Even though we haven't seen each other in so long, you can still call me Sakuno," the girl pouted.

Syusuke just chuckled, "If that's what you want," then we went on to ask, "Would Sakuno like to go play?"

The little girl smiled, "Okay! Let me ask—"

"—Syusuke! Very nice to see you!"

Sakuno jumped at the sound of her grandmother's harsh voice, "Grandma! You scared me!"

Syusuke looked up to Sumire, "Nice to see you, too, Ryusaki-san."

Sumire then pushed Sakuno out the door and shouted, "Go have fun," before slamming the door in Sakuno's nose.

"Ouch!" Sakuno was about to hold her nose when Syusuke cupped her chin and held it up. He squinted his eyes, "Are you okay? I'm sorry." After he put his hand down, he tilted his face and gave a questioning look.

"O-Oh… Yes, I'm fine," Sakuno took a while to respond. Not because she was hurt by the door, but because she could not stop staring at her old friend. He looked different somehow. He looked… handsome. Well, more handsome, or maybe Sakuno was started to care about appearances more than she did two years ago. His hair grew out, his skin was tanned, and he seemed to acquire more muscle than before. She wondered about this sudden change, so she noted politely, "Syusuke, you look different."

The boy laughed, "Is that why you didn't answer me?"

Sakuno blushed slightly, "N-No!" She then pushed for them to start walking, "Let's g-get going!"

While they walked out to the sidewalk, Syusuke decided to inform Sakuno of his activities. He finally got to have a nice talk with her after all this time, "If you really want to know, I've been doing a lot of work over the past two years." Still having that smile on his face, he continued, "I remembered what I said, Sakuno."

Sakuno turned to him as they hit a corner, "Syusuke… You didn't have to—"

Fuji's sincere expression cut her off, "You were very nice to return that charm, Sakuno, especially since you wanted to keep it. Of course I'm going to make sure you get a better one." Sakuno smiled, then turned to the right towards Syusuke's house. When she walked a couple steps, she noticed that Syusuke wasn't behind her. Sakuno turned around to see her friend chuckling to himself on the corner.

"A-Ano… Syusuke?"

The boy smiled, "Come with me, Sakuno. I'm taking you shopping."

They walked to the local jewelry store that was a couple blocks down. When they strolled through the glass doors, Sakuno could not believe her eyes. Inside were tons of crystal figures and cabinets stocked with shimmering rings and necklaces and everything else. Fuji turned to Sakuno while he jokingly asked, "Would you like to look around?"

"Y-Yes… Yes, I would," Sakuno stammered as she gazed lovingly at all of the wonderful adornments. As she was scanning the room, a lady walked up to the two of them and asked quite bluntly,

"Where are your parents?"

Syusuke turned to the clerk as Sakuno shrunk back behind him. As Sakuno grabbed his sleeve tightly, Syusuke answered politely, "They aren't here right now. We're here to buy something."

The lady, raising an eyebrow is disbelief, snorted, "I think you're lying. Get out, brats."

It was Syusuke's turn to raise an eyebrow. How dare this woman call Sakuno a brat? They didn't even do anything slightly harmful. His eyes fluttered open, revealing his dark blue orbs, "Please don't call my friend a brat."

The look in his eyes was so sudden and piercing that the clerk actually took a few steps back. "Fine," was all she could say, "What can I assist you with, sir?"

Syusuke then put his cheery expression back on as he answered, a little too sweetly for the woman, "We would like to buy a bracelet, please."

Dumbfounded, the woman sneered, "Over here, please."

Sakuno held on to Fuji's sleeve as he walked to the cabinet with the charms. The boy assured her, "It's okay, Sakuno-chan. You're fine." When they stood in front of the bullet-proof glass, Syusuke and Sakuno peered into it to see a plethora of charms. Sakuno finally let go of her friend's sleeve to take a closer look, "So many…" There were charms of every kind, from glittering sakura flowers to penguins to palm trees to sandals.

"Sakuno, go pick out a bracelet; I'll pick out your swallow charm for you." As she went over to the lady, Sakuno spotted something in the corner of her eye. There was a baby on the other side of the store who was playing with a small bunny-toy, and his squealing reached Sakuno's ears. She smiled, but the lady called her over to try on a bracelet.

"Hmm…" Syusuke found himself scanning the cabinet over and over. To his dismay, there was not a single swallow charm to be found. He doubted his keen sense of sight as he searched the cabinet again and again, but nothing. He was too lost in his search to see that the baby on the other side of the store was now reaching for a giant crystal bear on the counter, but Sakuno did.

The girl was done picking out a bracelet when she started walking and admiring the products of the store. By chance, she looked to where the baby was, only to see him grasping one foot of the bear. Sakuno's eyes widened, "That bear is going to—"As soon as she saw the bear tilt towards the baby, she ran as fast as she could. Making one last leap, she screamed, "Oh, no!"

A thump could be heard as Sakuno got there just in time to save the crystal bear from oblivion. The baby just looked at her with big brown eyes, and he giggled. Syusuke and the store clerk came rushing over, both oblivious up until now. Syusuke helped Sakuno up and held her shoulders, "Sakuno-chan! Are you all right?"

"Heh, I'm fine, Syusuke-kun!"

The store clerk breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you… That was our most expensive piece in the store." Suddenly she became so relieved that she told Sakuno that she could have a free bear charm for her actions. Syusuke was a little disappointed,

"Saa, Sakuno-chan, I know that the swallow is your favorite animal, but they don't have one."

The girl smiled, "Don't worry! Bears are my favorite animals, too! So are white whales!"

Syusuke smiled, "That's good to know."

As the two walked back to Sakuno's house, Sakuno kept admiring her new bracelet with a bear and whale charm clipped on. On the way, Sakuno remembered that her friend was now in middle school, so she asked him about it, "A-ano… Syusuke, how is middle school?"

Syusuke looked toward the sunset, "It's okay. I miss talking to you every day, though."

Sakuno looked down and sighed, "I miss talking to you, too… Don't worry, two more years and then I'll be in Seishun Gakuen, too!"

The boy chuckled, "I can't wait."

They got to Sakuno's house a few moments later, and Sakuno turned around before going into her humble abode, "Thanks for the bracelet, Syusuke!"

The boy smiled warmly, this time rewarding her with his azure eyes. He replied sweetly, "You deserve it, Sakuno. You saved that lady's baby, and her wallet," He ended his statement with a chuckle.

Sakuno laughed, "Haha! Well, the bear was about to drop on the baby! I had to save him!"

Syusuke kept his eyes open, allowing Sakuno to remember the exact color of his orbs. Syusuke caught her staring at him blankly and blushed slightly, "Saa, Sakuno?"

The girl gasped and opened the door quickly, "Uh… gomen! I'm sorry!" She rushed in the house so fast she had to catch herself from falling. She peeked out from the door to see Syusuke still smiling, "Umm, so I'll see you later?"

The boy chuckled, "Eh. And I promise it won't be after two ears again. Tell you what…" Syusuke closed his eyes for a moment to think, and he snapped his fingers in delight, "May Sakuno come to my tennis match on Saturday?"

The girl clapped her hands together and smiled brightly, "Of course, Syusuke!"

Fuji gave her one big smile before heading off, "Saa. Well, bye for now, Sakuno. See you soon."

"Bye, Syusuke."

"Higuma… Otoshi. Hakugei… You thought of those names because of me?" Sakuno could not believe that her senpai adopted all three names of the Triple Counter from experiences with her. To be honest, she felt special.

Fuji nodded, "Saa, Sakuno. Thanks to you."

When they were done reminiscing, the two packed up their things and headed down the hill. Syusuke started walking when he noticed that Sakuno wasn't following him. He turned around, "Sakuno? What's wrong?"

The girl was busy looking up at the sky. Snapping out of her reverie, she whispered, "Sorry. Hoshi… I saw a shooting star."

Fuji smiled, "Did you make a wish?"

Sakuno smiled, looking back up at the sky, "Yes, I did. I wished that you guys would win Nationals."

The boy chuckled slightly, "Ne, Sakuno, you know you're not supposed to tell people what you wished. It won't come true if you do that."

Sakuno looked back at him with cheery eyes, "It wasn't really a wish. I know it'll come true!"

Syusuke smiled in understanding, "Saa."

Sakuno went to join him, "Syusuke, do the others know about your meetings with me here?"

Syusuke turned to her, "No, Sakuno. They don't know. They think you have feelings for Echizen." He ended his reply in an usually sharp tone. Fortunately it was too obscure for Sakuno to catch.

"R-Ryoma-kun? They think I have feelings for…" Sakuno's thoughts began to take over. Have I shown too much affection toward Ryoma-kun? I do use '-kun'… I don't have feelings for him, but they think I do… Maybe I did before, but… Not now.

"Ne, Sakuno," the tensai was starting to feel Sakuno tense up, and he wanted to keep her comforted, "Let's go, okay? You need to rest; you've had a long day at school."

Sakuno nodded and walked with Syusuke back to her house. When they got there, Syusuke gave her a warm hug, "Sakuno, will you be there at Nationals?"

"Of course, Syusuke."

Syusuke smiled as they broke the embrace, "Good. When Nationals are over, I'm going to give you something."

The girl gasped, "What? Give me something? Syusuke, you don't have to—"

"—Shh. I want to. Thanks to you, my tennis has improved exponentially. Thanks to you, I'm known as a genius… I owe you," before Sakuno could reply, Syusuke turned and headed out, "Bye for now, Sakuno."

All the girl could do was stare. Finally mustering up enough courage, she yelled into the still night air, "B-Bye, Syusuke! Good luck!"

The boy turned to give one last wave, and was gone.

Fin

(A/N:) I'm still debating on whether to continue this story or not. I know I have a plot if you guys want one, so if this really interested you, please tell me. Thanks for reading!