Firsts

Summary: When Ryoma Echizen first realized that he loved her, it was raining.
Pairing: RyoSak
Status: Complete
Warning(s): Long story ahead, and doses of lovesick Ryoma.

Disclaimer: Anything recognizable is not mine.

For April, who has one month of PoT experience and is absolutely smitten with Horio.

When Ryoma Echizen first came to notice her, he was already on his second year in Seigaku. Not quite accurate, since technically he had known her since freshman year, but to actually notice her was different from just being disinterestedly aware of the existence of a clumsy, twin-braided girl who always watched his matches from the sidelines. As a matter of fact, it was a feat in itself; Ryoma barely ever noticed anything that was not tennis-related, and although she was the granddaughter of his tennis coach – which was the only reason that he even knew her name in the first place – this unprecedented phenomenon had nothing to do with the said sport. The girl had zero skills in tennis, let alone in swinging a racket, for crying out loud.

So no, when Ryoma Echizen first noticed her, it was not because she had gotten any better in the sport that he practically lived and breathed for.

It was because of her hair.

On his first day in school as a junior, Ryoma had come in exactly as the school bell rang to announce the start of classes. Still sleepy, he robotically made his way to a desk by the window, not bothering to stifle a yawn as he plopped down on the chair and watched in boredom as their homeroom adviser entered the classroom.

"Oi, Echizen!" someone hissed from his right, and said boy turned and saw a boy with a unibrow occupying the seat next to him.

"Cheers," he greeted monotonously.

"We should go down the courts later," Satoshi Horio suggested, smirking proudly for some reason. "I want to show you an original special move I developed during the break!"

"Mhm."

"These three years of tennis experience are bound to yield something, yes?"

"Mhm."

"At this rate, I think I'm finally going to land a Regular spot!"

"Mhm."

" – so you will have to pair up with one of your classmates for today," the teacher, Ishikawa-sensei, was saying in front, amidst the low din of the excited class (sans Ryoma and Horio who hadn't been listening to a thing he had been saying).

"Eh?" Horio said blankly, blinking as Ishikawa-sensei produced a box with small pieces of paper in it, "What's exactly happening?"

"What I want you to do," the teacher continued, shaking the little box lightly, "is to pick a number from this box, and find the one who picked the same number you did. Then I want you to spend the whole homeroom period getting to know each other. I'll be back by the end of the period. Now move along."

As the students noisily left their desks to go in front and pick from the box, Ryoma scowled and stretched his arms behind his head, effectively dozing off in an upright position. Whatever the activity was, it didn't seem interesting, and he didn't do things that didn't interest him.

"Aren't you going to participate at all?" he heard Horio ask in surprise.

"Hn," he grunted, his eyes still closed.

There was a short pause. "Suit yourself!" Horio huffed, and as Ryoma heard him stand and walk away, he did not fail to catch the other boy's words as he murmured, "Let's see if you can still act cocky after you witness my amazing special move…"

Really. Ryoma inwardly rolled his eyes, before going back to snoozing.

It hadn't been long before someone interrupted him in his nap.

"…Ryoma-kun?"

Reluctantly, he raised an eyelid open, vaguely noting that someone was standing before his desk. "Yeah?" he asked curtly, closing his eye once more.

"Uhm…" Oddly enough, the voice seemed familiar. "Can I ask…what number you got?"

After pointedly ignoring the question for a few seconds, Ryoma realized that the figure still hadn't moved from its spot. Sighing heavily, he opened his eyes and stared up at his assailant impassively.

He blinked.

"Err," a girl said, her wide brown eyes shifting uncomfortably to the side to avoid his gaze. "Everyone else found their partner…except me." She had wavy, auburn hair that fell just below her shoulders and cheeks that were currently flushed for reasons beyond his comprehension. Ryoma thought she was quite familiar, but couldn't put a name to go with that shy face.

"I…I was wondering," she squeaked, clearly intimidated by his silence and piercing stare, "if we got…the…uhm…same number?" She exhaled loudly after that, seemingly relieved to have finished her sentence.

Ryoma took another moment giving her a once over before he finally dropped the question that had been nagging his mind since she came:

"Who are you?"

The girl's eyes widened in shock, her mouth slightly hanging open. Then, like a volcano about to explode, her face turned beet red and tears started to form in her eyes, shoulders shaking in contained emotions.

It was enough to alarm even Ryoma Echizen. "O-Oi -"

"WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN, RYOMA-KUN?"

Before he could even react to what had just been shouted in his face for the whole class to hear, the girl turned around and ran out of the room, her hair and tears flying behind her. As the door slammed shut, dead silence fell upon the room, with every pair of eyes staring daggers at a certain green-haired, golden-eyed tennis prodigy still staring at the spot where the girl had left off, as if she was still there.

"…What did just happen?" he said, more to himself than anyone else.

"You just made Ryuzaki-san cry, you bastard!" Horio yelled angrily from across the room.

Ryoma looked at him in confusion. "Ryuzaki…?" Then, it clicked. "AH!"

Horio could not believe what was happening. "Don't tell me…" he said, very slowly, "…you did NOT recognize her. AT ALL?"

Ryoma cocked his head to the side in an almost defensive manner. "Her hair is different," he said, as if it explained everything.

"JERK!" someone accused him.

"I think it's rude to still not know her after all this time, Echizen-kun," another supplied in an admonishing tone.

"Ryuzaki-chan looks so upset. You should be ashamed, Echizen!"

"Poor Sakuno-chan."

Ryoma was beginning to lose patience. Why was everyone thinking that it was all his fault? Should he be blamed if Sakuno Ryuzaki looked completely different without her long, childish twin braids? What was she getting so worked up for anyway? It was a freaking innocent question; it wasn't like he called her unpleasant names or something.

"Tsch," he said in obvious annoyance. "You all still have lots to work on."

"WE WOULDN'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU!"

When Ryoma Echizen first realized that he was curious of her, it had been at least two weeks after the embarrassing homeroom incident. Curious was quite an awkward term, but he could not find anything else that would better describe this odd occurrence in his daily life. It was quite unbecoming that the soft-spoken granddaughter of the tennis coach had begun to unceremoniously barge in Ryoma's thoughts from time to time, causing disturbance in his normal cognitive functioning (which was scantily comprised of tennis, food and his cat, Karupin). It was like one day, he'd just woken up feeling more conscious of her presence than usual. At first, he made no big deal out of it and just let himself go on with his new activity, but when he had almost been caught looking by the said girl not just once, but twice in class, he started to get concerned with this abnormal behavior he had started adapting.

What could possibly be the reason behind this?

One night, as he lay down on his bed waiting for sleep to come, he pried off his mind from tennis to address the pressing matter at hand. As he absently stroked the fluffy Himalayan cat curled up against his body, he recalled the past weeks' events, trying to pinpoint the exact time when he had started to get curious of Ryuzaki.

After some time, the memory of that incident resurfaced in Ryoma's thoughts, unintentionally putting a light scowl on his face.

He had been on cleaning duty that day, and, as a boy, he was naturally assigned to mop the floor. After getting the mop from the cupboard at the end of the hallway, he made his way back to Class 2-1, intending to get this quickly over with so that he could start tennis practice. Kaidoh-buchou tolerated tardiness as much as former captain Tezuka had, though he was proven to be even stingier than his Spartan predecessor: anyone who arrived after he had entered the courts would automatically be ordered to run twenty laps, perform a hundred racket swings and clean up the clubroom after practice hours.

Just as he was to enter the classroom, he came across another female classmate on cleaning duty. It appeared like she was already going home, since she was already carrying her school bag with her. Ryoma raised an inquiring eyebrow at her.

"Echizen-kun," she greeted. "I'm sorry if I can't stay until you're done. I have to go early because of a family affair. And anyway, I've done my part."

"Hn."

"See you tomorrow!" she said, bowing at him briefly. She had turned and was about to walk away when she suddenly paused and looked back at him.

"And make it up to Sakuno-chan, okay?" she said, in that stern look that Ryoma always saw in his mother whenever she used the "Behave, or else" method on him and his father. Then she left before he could even comprehend what she was saying.

As he went inside the room, he realized that he was alone – except for a certain auburn-haired girl who was busy dusting off the board erasers by the window. Immediately, he understood what his girl classmate had meant earlier.

He mentally scoffed. Did he really have to say sorry for something so shallow that wasn't even his fault?

Pretending not to notice Sakuno, Ryoma started mopping the floor. It had been uncomfortably quiet for quite a while, save from the occasional screech of a chair being pulled across the floor as Sakuno arranged the desks and the sloshing sound of Ryoma's mop. After what seemed like minutes, the tennis prodigy straightened up and wiped sweat from his forehead, before finally noticing that the only other person in the room had been staring at him from her position beside the teacher's table, possibly waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.

"What is it?" he asked impassively, resuming his task to have an excuse not to look at her.

She didn't say anything.

Ryoma decided to let her be. When he was finished, he looked up and found out that she had not moved at all from her spot and was still staring at him unabashedly. Her face was void of its usual flush, however, and she wasn't smiling.

Girls and their weirdness.

Inwardly shrugging, he made his way out to return the map in the cupboard, but not before coming to a halt at the door and looking straight back at her.

"You really look different with your hair," he commented.

Sakuno blinked, her mouth slightly hanging open. She hesitated for a moment, before she said, "Ryoma-kun had not changed at all."

The boy in question remained standing still in the doorway for another second, before he turned around and tried to walk away, only to be halted by a tall figure looming over him. He looked up and blinked slowly.

"Momo-senpai?"

"Good afternoon to you, too, brat!" Takeshi Momoshiro said, grinning widely as he trapped Ryoma in a headlock. "Uwaaah, you really have grown a lot taller!"

Ryoma grunted and pushed him away from him. "What are you doing here?"

Momoshiro put a hand on his chest, faking hurt in his eyes. "Is that how you treat your beloved vice-captain?"

"You still have lots to work on."

But Momoshiro was not paying attention on him anymore and had already entered Ryoma's classroom, greeting Sakuno enthusiastically.

Ryoma was about to resume walking when something steeled him. For some unexplainable reason, he remained rooted on the spot just outside the room, out of both Momo-senpai's and Sakuno's sight but close enough to hear their voices.

…Was he actually eavesdropping? No, he wasn't. He still had enough dignity in him to stoop to such a lowly act, thank you very much.

"Good afternoon, Momo-chan-senpai!" he heard Sakuno say, sounding cheerful all of a sudden.

"Ryuzaki-chan, why did you cut your hair?" Momoshiro half-shouted, despite standing right in front of her.

"Err," she said softly. "I realized it was kind of slowing me down. It was getting too long anyway."

About time she realized that, Ryoma dimly thought.

"No matter!" Momoshiro said. "In fact, I think you look better with shorter hair! Just keep it that way, and I'm sure boys will be running all over your feet in no time."

"M-Momo-chan-senpai! Don't say something like that!"

Yes Momo-senpai, don't say something stupid like that. Ryoma frowned. Who would want to go after clumsy, stuttering Ryuzaki? Just because she looks better now doesn't mean she's not a klutz anymore. He mentally nodded to convince himself.

Wait.

Ryoma's gears ground to a sudden halt. I said she looks better? Where did that come from?

"I bet even that Echizen can't keep his eyes off you now, eh, R-yu-za-ki-chan?"

The said boy's eye twitched in annoyance. Who couldn't keep his eyes off Ryuzaki again? Him, THE Ryoma Echizen? Tsch. Seriously, give him a break. That could only happen if Ryuzaki was a tennis ball – which she definitely wasn't.

"On the contrary," Sakuno said glumly, and Ryoma, despite himself, couldn't resist straining his ear to catch her next words, "I think Ryoma-kun did not even notice me."

Why had she said that with so much sadness?

"Eh?" Momoshiro seemed highly disappointed. "That brat, he never learns."

You're the one who never learns, Momo-senpai.

"He won't recognize an opportunity right under his nose even if his life depended on it."

What opportunity?

"He's an immature, self-absorbed kid with no concept of young love!"

…What?

"You better teach him a lesson, Ryuzaki-chan!"

If Ryuzaki would have to teach me anything, it definitely won't be about racket swings.

A moment of silence followed, and Ryoma waited for the girl's response. Then:

"It doesn't really matter, Momo-chan-senpai." A pause. "Not anymore."

Ryoma did not know why, but he suddenly felt indignant. Was this all because he failed to recognize her with the new haircut? He definitely didn't mean that as an insult. In fact, he thought that shorter hair complimented her face, so why was she getting it the wrong way? Somehow, the idea that Sakuno thought that way frustrated him. Besides, what was the matter with Momo-senpai? Why wasn't he defending Ryoma? Wasn't he a friend?

"My, my." Ryoma could imagine Momo-senpai shaking his head in defeat. "Don't be so sad now. I know you'll soon find a guy who will recognize you."

Before he could stop himself, the green-haired boy re-entered the classroom, the mop still in his hand. "Momo-senpai," he deadpanned, "don't you have club duties to attend to?"

Momoshiro eyed him evilly. "Mind your own business!"

"Get out of our classroom," he said, sounding a bit more morbid than necessary.

The older boy blinked at his dark mood. "What's up with you?"

"Stop bothering people."

"I certainly am not!"

"You're really annoying me."

Momoshiro stared at his kouhai, partly confused and partly pissed off with his attitude. "What did you just-?"

"Momo-chan-senpai," Sakuno suddenly said in a firm voice, her eyes trained on Ryoma, "is very much welcome in this class. He can come in on his free time if he wants to."

Both Momoshiro and Ryoma looked at her in bewilderment. It was rare that she spoke to Ryoma without stammering even once, more so in that indignant manner she had just told him off with. Ryoma met her gaze with his usual devil-may-care nonchalance, but she didn't even flinch or look away like she always did before.

You really seem different now. Shrugging, he turned away for the broom cupboard. "You still have lots to work on," he muttered under his breath.

Ryoma had the oddest feeling that made his heart seemed heavier.

When Ryoma Echizen first realized that he no longer just saw her as a clumsy, stuttering young girl who attracted accidents like iron to magnet, he was fresh from a very rigorous tennis practice on a particularly windy day.

The first signs of autumn had begun manifesting, and he was in a pretty foul mood, since he woke up late in the morning when he was supposed to have a long exam on his first period. Thankfully, his teacher had been very understanding regarding his situation (he made up an elaborate excuse that involved running after a bag thief, and since he was the Ryoma Echizen, it was bought without a second thought) and let him take a special exam during lunch break.

In the afternoon, he had been scolded by Kaidoh-buchou because Horio bought the wrong tennis equipment on shopping day. Ryoma didn't see why he had to be blamed for another person's stupidity, but Kaidoh had stressed (not without a string of swearwords to accompany it, of course) that as a regular, it was his responsibility to see that the job was done properly. As compensation, Ryoma was ordered to run an additional thirty laps around the court, as if the training regimen wasn't strenuous enough.

By the time he was done, it was really late into the afternoon, and he was rather starved. Wiping sweat off his face with a towel, he trudged his way back to the clubroom, thinking of taking a long shower before going home.

It was at that moment when he heard two voices conversing not too far from where he stood.

"…been more than one month, and yet you're still not giving me a straight answer, Ryuzaki-san."

Ryoma paused at the mention of the name, and he turned just in time to see two figures walking around the corner towards his direction. He quickly went inside the clubroom to hide himself, leaving the door slightly open so that he could spy on the conversation.

As expected, Sakuno's face came into view, the yellow-orange sunrays enhancing her brown eyes and wavy red hair. He had not bothered to observe her closely since the last time he was left alone with her on cleaning duty, so it was only now that he properly saw the growth spurt she underwent in the course of the summer break. Aside from the transformation brought about by those wavy locks of brown-red hair (she never braided them anymore, letting them fall freely just past her shoulders), she was definitely at least two inches taller than she was on their freshman year, and the Seigaku uniform fitted her in a rather disturbing way – it seemed to have become tighter around the bust area – which was inappropriate, if you asked him.

Ryuzaki needs to buy a new set of uniform, he thought disapprovingly. That blouse is too small.

"Yatsumori-kun," Sakuno said to a boy Ryoma did not recognize, "I've already told you that I'm not interested."

"I don't see you going out with other guys," the guy named Yatsumori said. He had his back turned to where the white-chapped boy was hiding, so his face wasn't visible. "I don't understand why you're doing this."

"Yatsumori-kun-"

"You just don't like me, do you?" the boy said, and Ryoma scowled as Sakuno shook her head vigorously.

"No, you're a very nice guy -"

"Then why won't you go out with me?"

Sakuno exhaled loudly. "Because I don't like you that way, Yatsumori-kun," she said in resignation. "I'm so sorry."

There was a moment of silence, where the spying Ryoma slowly digested the scene unfolding before him. He had no idea what they were exactly talking about, but he definitely didn't like the tone of Yatsumori's voice. It sounded pitifully desperate, like that of a tennis player in denial of his impending loss in a match. Instances such as that led to ugly conclusions, which usually consisted of someone resorting to physical violence in a vain attempt to redeem one's self.

The green-haired boy paused. Well, this wasn't tennis, was it? That guy couldn't possibly do anything even if Ryuzaki didn't give him whatever answer he wanted…right?

Though just in case worst came to worse, Ryoma readied himself. This was Ryuzaki they were talking about, after all; he could still distinctly remember all the instances during freshman year that he had to save her from all kinds of bullying. For some reason, the girl seemed to attract them like bees to honey.

"…It's that Echizen guy, isn't it?" Yatsumori broke the silence, and Ryoma blinked as Sakuno's eyes widened considerably.

Seriously. Why was it that every conversation with Ryuzaki that he would – ehem – accidentally overhear tended to always include him?

"W-What did you just say?" Sakuno demanded, and Ryoma smiled wryly when he recognized the stutter in her words. She's still that stammering girl, after all.

"You like him, don't you?" Yatsumori said, sounding disgusted all of a sudden. "Spending all of your free time screaming like a fan girl alongside Osakada during his games…even learning tennis just for the sake of impressing him! For all I know, he doesn't even care about you! He's too absorbed in his tiny world to even notice you following him around like a puppy!"

That touched Ryoma's nerve. Who the hell did this guy think he was anyway? He made it sound like Ryuzaki and her friends had been doing something gross. Sure, they were loud, but Ryoma didn't mind their cheering the slightest bit! Moreover, he wasn't blind – of course knew what Ryuzaki was doing – so how…dare this nameless boy claim that Ryoma didn't give a flying fu-

He paused, regaining his composure in an instant. For a moment, he had the sudden urge to go ahead and punch Yatsumori's face, but thought the better of it.

Ryuzaki, show the stupid guy how wrong he is.

However, much to his shock, Sakuno turned away from Yatsumori, her face unreadable. Her next words sent Ryoma's mind reeling:

"You're right, Yatsumori-kun."

…What.

"I used to spend all my free time screaming like a fan girl alongside Tomo-chan, and I even joined the girls' tennis club because of him," she said in a barely audible voice. "And I know that he will never see me as anything more than one of his hundreds of admirers." She looked back at Yatsumori, determined. "That's why I got over him."

…Ryuzaki?

"It's just that I'm not into dating yet, Yatsumori-kun."

So this guy wants to date Ryuzaki?

"I want you to know that I'm not giving up so easily, Ryuzaki-san," Yatsumori said with conviction.

This. Guy. Wants. To. Date. Ryuzaki.

Sakuno sighed. "Yatsumori-kun."

"I'll give you what that Echizen can't!"

I'll give you what you deserve, idiot.

Ryoma, unable to resist the temptation to intervene, held the doorknob to pull the door open, only to be stopped by a familiar voice from behind.

"I won't do that if I were you. Fshhhh."

Ill-disguising his surprise with a fake cough, Ryoma quickly turned around and caught sight of none other than the current captain of Seigaku Tennis Club, Kaoru Kaidoh. Fresh from the shower, the senior sat on a bench and began drying his hair with a towel, hissing like a snake as his court nickname "Viper" suggested. If he saw the flustered expression on the younger boy's face, he didn't comment on it.

"Kaidoh-buchou," said flustered young boy muttered.

Kaidoh put down his towel and started dressing up in his school uniform in silence. Ryoma looked back at the scene outside, but found out that the two people he had been spying on were gone. What could he have missed?

"Echizen."

He turned back to his captain. "Yes, buchou?"

Kaidoh stood and slung his tennis bag over his shoulder, then tied a characteristic green bandanna around his head. He gave Ryoma a once over, before he hissed and walked past him.

He stopped just as he was to leave. "You should just go get the girl before it's too late," he grunted.

With that, the captain left, leaving an astonished golden-eyed boy behind.

When Ryoma Echizen first realized that he could not get enough of her, it was a chilly December evening. It was the last day of classes before Christmas break, and, the moment the school bell rang throughout the campus to announce dismissal, the students simultaneously stood from their desks and whooped in celebration. Ryoma fixed his school bag, planning to silently slip out of the room before anyone would get the idea to tag him along somewhere to eat out, when suddenly, Horio was in his face.

"Where do you think you're going, Echizen?"

This was exactly what he was talking about. "Home."

Horio sniggered and put an arm around his shoulder. "No you won't. Let's celebrate at Taka-san's!"

"No, thanks," he mumbled, shrugging the other boy's arm away.

"Tsch, so cold," Horio said crossly. "I guess I'll just go with Ryuzaki-san."

Ryoma paused at that.

The other boy went on raucously. "Heh, come to think of it, I'll have Ryuzaki-san all for myself!"

Ryoma shot Horio a glare so sharp that the unibrow boy unconsciously took a step away from him.

"It was a joke! A joke!" he quickly amended, shrinking at the green-haired boy's stare. "Jeez, why are you so serious these days…"

There was a moment of silence, before Ryoma finally said, resignedly, "Fine I'll go. But I won't stay too long."

After bidding their classmates goodbye, Ryoma, Horio and Sakuno met up with fellow second-year Kachiro at Katsuo (Tomoka had to go home early to look after her siblings) and started walking towards the sushi parlor that the tennis club frequented during special occasions. It had started to snow about three days ago, so they were tightly wrapped in thick coats, their breath forming a fog in front of them and their cheeks pink from the cold. As the others chatted animatedly about one thing or another, Ryoma snuck a glance at Sakuno, who was smiling at something Katsuo was saying. Briefly, he was reminded of his rather obscure attempts to compensate for whatever apology he owed from the girl (as a responsible and loyal member, he followed Kaidoh-buchou's rarer-than-the-blue-moon advice), all of which having ending up in a rather awkward situation.

The first had been, in his opinion, the most disastrous. That noon, he entered the classroom after a short meal in the school cafeteria, then spotted Sakuno Ryuzaki at her desk, concentrated on the textbook in front of her as she scratched her head with her pen. Ryoma figured out at once that she was working on the English homework due the next day.

After a short internal debate, he finally decided to come up behind her.

"Hmmm, that one over there should be 'are' instead of 'is,'" he said right next to her ear, making her jump in her seat.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" she squeaked, giving him an exasperated look as she inched her face away from his. She made to close her book when the said boy snatched it from her hands and checked her answers more closely.

Sakuno blushed, probably embarrassed that her answers were being checked by someone who knew the subject better than her. "Can I have my book please?" she more pleaded than asked.

"And this should be 'have closed,'" Ryoma pointed out, ignoring her protest. "This one here-"

"Ryoma-kun-"

"—must be 'you're' instead of 'your.' There's a difference between them, you know."

"Please, can you just-"

"This one here is not a sentence, so don't end it with a period."

"I know it has a lot of mista-"

"If you don't change this, I'm sure you're going to fail."

Silence.

"You really should rewrite this," he commented lightly. "If you want, I-"

"Please hand my book over," a plum-faced Sakuno said sharply, gaining even the attention of those nearby. Exhaling deeply, she plucked her book from a still-surprised Ryoma and made her way out of the classroom, without so much as giving him another look. "Thank you for your help, but no thanks."

"Echizen-kun," Kachiro suddenly said, rudely barging in Ryoma's thoughts. "I heard you're going to participate in the French Open next year!"

Ryoma tugged his cap lower so that it covered his eyes. "I guess so."

"Ehh, so that means you're going out of the country this summer?"

"Hn."

"Wow."

When they arrived at Kawamura Sushi, a group of familiar-looking high school students was loitering at the entrance, creating noise that reached all the way from where Ryoma and the others stood. A particular guy from the said group looked up at the younger people's arrival, and his face broke into a wide smile.

"Echizen!"

It was the former Seigaku regulars. Ryoma stared back at them and smirked. "Heh."

"IT'S OUR OCHIBI!" exclaimed a hyperactive redhead, enclosing Ryoma in a bear hug. "I missed youuuuuuu!"

"E-Eiji-senpai-"

"You've grown a lot, Echizen," Syuusuke Fuji said, chuckling as if he just found something amusing in what he said. "You don't look like a little boy anymore."

Ryoma didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not.

"Probability of meeting Echizen today, 70 percent," muttered a tall, spiky-haired man with thick square glasses, scribbling away in his notebook.

"That's how Inui says hi, nya!"

Former captain Kunimitsu Tezuka and former vice-captain Syuuichirou Oishi just nodded and greeted the new arrivals genially, with the latter engaging Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo in small talk.

"Oh, Echizen and Ryuzaki-san are here too!" Takashi Kawamura said in greeting as he emerged from inside the restaurant. "Come inside; it's freezing cold out here!"

For a moment, it felt like a reunion of the legendary Seigaku team that won the Nationals. Momoshiro and Kaidoh had been contacted to join the impromptu celebration, and, if anything, their arrival had increased the already boisterous atmosphere that Eiji, Fuji and Taka-san (in Burning Mode) had started. Ryoma, after a brief catching up with Tezuka about the pro-tennis circuit that both of them had decided to pursue, silently helped himself with sushi, not engaging in any conversation but enjoying his time, nevertheless.

"Do you still want the maguro sushi?" someone asked.

The boy looked up and met wide brown eyes. Sakuno was sitting directly across from him, her chopsticks pointing at a lone sushi on the platter. When he shook his head, she gratefully took it, closing her eyes as she savored the taste in her mouth.

"They really do make the best sushi around here," she said.

"Hn."

As Ryoma observed her, he was reminded of yet another one of his failed attempts in winning back her "favor," which was, if he thought about it, even more disastrous than the first one. It was during PE class, and the boys and girls were divided and asked to practice basketball. During a ten-minute break, Ryoma saw out of the corner of his eye a sweat-drenched Sakuno collapsing on the bench. Since he was trying to redeem a little bit of his already destroyed image to the girl – and he absolutely didn't like the lingering looks the other boys in their class was giving her – he went outside and bought two cans of Ponta from the nearest vending machine. For Ryoma, a can of that particular carbonated drink was all it would take to cool him down on a hot and awful day.

Naturally, he thought the same went for Ryuzaki.

As he re-entered the gym, a ball almost hit him squarely in the face, and if it wasn't for his sharp reflexes, he would've been sporting a black eye by then. Instead, it hit his left hand, sending a can of Ponta flying from his grasp. Two of his girl classmates approached him and apologized, but he only shrugged, picked up the fallen can and went straight to Sakuno.

"Ponta?" he asked, offering her the drink.

Sakuno blinked at him, obviously confused at his sudden display of generosity. "For me?" she said in astonishment. When he didn't say anything, she hesitantly accepted the Ponta. "Thank you…"

"Hn."

"Oi Echizen, break time's over!" a boy classmate called out, and, nodding in farewell, Ryoma turned and left. At the back of his mind, he hoped that was enough peace offering to make the girl think otherwise of him.

But then, just as the tennis prince was about to receive a chest pass from his partner, the gym was suddenly filled with the sound of a surprised shriek, distracting everyone from what they were doing. He looked at the source of the commotion and realized that it was Sakuno, holding the can of Ponta he gave her an arm's length away as foam violently burst out of the open lid. Her face, blushing seven shades of red, was drenched in grape soda.

Ryoma had accidentally handed her the can that was knocked off by the stray basketball.

So much for a peace offering.

"Ryoma-kun?" the very subject of his thoughts snapped him back to his senses.

"Hm?" he grunted absently.

"You're spacing out. Are you alright?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

Ryoma looked to the side. "Yeah." He looked down on his plate and realized that he still had some sushi left. After a second's hesitation, he pushed it towards the girl across from him.

Sakuno stared at the silent offer. "This won't do something funny to me, would it?" she asked him with a smile. "Not like that Ponta can."

The golden-eyed boy huffed defensively. "I didn't mean it," he grumbled childishly.

To his surprise, Sakuno chuckled, and it was a soft, melodic sound. "You're funny, Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma arched his eyebrows. "What's funny?"

She shook her head at some private joke. "You're acting weird these days. But thank you." She took one nigirizushi and popped it in her mouth. "Taka-san's father does make the best sushi in town, ne?" She smiled at him, and he just stared back at her blandly.

She was beautiful.

When Ryoma Echizen first decided that he wanted her, he was in Paris. He was in a high-rise hotel, shielding himself from the scorching heat of French summertime. The Roland Garros, otherwise known as the French Open, had just been recently concluded with him as the champion, making all tennis fanatics worldwide break in a wild frenzy. After a press conference that lasted for at least two hours – and had almost made him blind from all the camera flashes headed his way – he had been ushered to the safe recluse of the VIP suite he currently found himself in. Like a dead log, he had fallen onto the queen-size bed, only to get up at seven AM the next morning still feeling sleep-drunk and elated after a ten-hour sleep.

He took a long shower after getting up, made himself a peanut butter and jam sandwich in the mini-kitchen for breakfast and ate it in front of the flat-screen TV. On his bed lay Karupin, noisily playing around with a ball of yarn. His idiotic father was nowhere to be found, but he could bet his most prized racket that the perverted man must have gone down to the pool area, flirting with all the bikini-clad women his groping eyes could lay on, while he, Grand Slam champion Ryoma Echizen, sat alone watching reruns of Tom and Jerry and boring the hell out of himself.

He yearned for his bed in his Japanese-style home.

He yearned for the cold Japanese breeze.

He yearned for Nanako-nee-san's Japanese cooking.

Heck, he even yearned for his pile of untouched homework, and Seigaku and Horio's grating voice, the rooftop, the tennis club, that wavy soft-looking auburn hair that fell just below shoulder level, round brown eyes with the slightest tinge of red, and of course that set of perpetually flushed cheeks, not to mention that small, warm smile that made him feel all weird inside –

Ryoma froze, as if electrified. He did not just think of Sakuno Ryuzaki.

To pacify himself, he doubled his efforts in appreciating the cartoon show on the flat screen, but his mind drifted away to a certain archipelago in Asia, more specifically in the most densely populated urban city where a certain girl would probably be enjoying her summer break. Come to think of it, how did Sakuno spend her holidays?

Did she practice tennis? Did she enroll to formal lessons? Did she accompany her grandmother on talent scouting? Did she start playing on the street courts? The more Ryoma thought about the options he came up with, the more he realized that they were what he would do on holidays. He had not the slightest idea on how normal people (read: people who are not tennis freaks like him) spent their free time. He most certainly hoped that they were not anything like his father, who frolicked around as a monk with a stack of perverted magazines.

Maybe she was out shopping with that banshee Osakada, like how his mother did with her girlfriends.

Or she could be home, cooking and tailoring like the stereotypical domesticated woman he saw on TV.

Or she could be on a date with that asshole Yatsumori.

No way. Ryoma glared at the TV in front of him. He knew for sure that Yatsumori was way below Ryuzaki's standards. Ryuzaki liked cool men who had tennis moves with a force bordering to the supernatural. She liked men who were proficient in English too, and could save her from bullies anytime of the day. She liked men of a few words, but definitely didn't spout nonsense and who never sounded desperate. Oh, and men who loved cats too. Himalayan cats, to be specific.

Sakuno's words echoed in his mind's ear.

"And I know that he will never see me as anything more than one of his hundreds of admirers. That's why I got over him."

"It doesn't really matter, Momo-chan-senpai. Not anymore."

He really had to give her the Densest Girl Award. She had a brain as slow as a snail – Ryoma wondered if it was the main reason of her stammering – because anyone with half a common sense could see that –

He froze again. See what? His face scrunched up in deep thought, as if trying to comprehend something abstract and otherworldly. See what, exactly?

At that precise moment, his handheld rang, filling the room with a shrill ringing tone.

He stared at the offending thing sitting on the bedside table, before he heaved himself up and flipped it open. The words Unknown Number flashed across the screen, but he answered the call, nevertheless.

"Hello?" he said in English. Then he had to pull the handheld away from his ear as a voice boomed through the earpiece.

"NYAAAAAAA IS THAT HIM, IS THAT HIM?" came Eiji Kikumaru's familiar voice. "CONGRATULATIONS, OCHIBI!"

"Yo, Echizen!" Takeshi Momoshiro took over the line. "You owe me a stack of burgers when you come home, you insolent brat!" There was a slight commotion as the dunk smash expert seemed to be struggling against someone. "Oi, I'm his best friend, I deserve more time to-"

"ECHIZEEEEEEEN!" Horio's horrible voice broke through, and Ryoma instantly regretted ever admitting to himself that he somehow missed him. "It's so unfair! Why didn't you even tell us when you left so that we could have been there in the airport to say goodbye-"

"Horio-kun, the call is limited, make time for us!" Katsuo's indignant retort could be heard in the background, but Horio ignored it.

"You all still have lots to work on," he said to them, his eye twitching.

"Give me that, you freaks!" said a female voice, then a split-second later, "RYOMA-SAMA! I was in my cheerleading outfit while watching you on TV! You were amazing! The fan club had recruited twice our original number after you won the French Open! Kyaaaaaaaa!"

"Tomo-chan you're making Ochibi's ear bleed!" For once, Ryoma agreed with Eiji.

"Oi, hurry up!" Momoshiro barked from the background. "That's my prepaid load you're spending! Give the phone to Ryuzaki-chan!"

Ryuzaki was with them?

"She left just now!" he faintly heard Kachiro said. "But she said she'd be back soon."

"Eh? Where did she go?" Tomoka Osakada said.

"I saw her leave with some random guy," Horio babbled, and Ryoma's ear perked up.

"And you let her go just like that?" the Prince of Tennis shot, before he could even stop himself.

"We were all so caught up in trying to call you, so we didn't really notice," Tomoka told him.

Eiji's distant voice floated in. "Oh look, there she is, nya! Eh – who's that guy with her?"

"Isn't that Yatsumori from 2-3?" Katsuo said wonderingly.

"Oh yeah, Ryuzaki-chan's admirer!" Momoshiro supplied, unaware of the deathly silence coming from the other end of the line. "Really – hey, what's he doing with her? What the hell? STOP THAT BASTARD-"

The line was suddenly cut off, and Ryoma felt an unfamiliar sensation rise up in his throat. "Hello?" he tried, only to be answered by the busy tone. "Shit." He almost ran out of patience in letting five minutes pass, before he dialed Momoshiro's number and waited for him to pick up.

He didn't.

Ryoma tried again, and again, the intervals between each attempt getting shorter and shorter until he didn't bother to wait even a second before redialing. Momoshiro only picked up about half an hour later, after what seemed like thirty missed calls.

"Echize-"

"I've been calling."

"Sorry about that," the older boy said apologetically. "The phone was in my bag and-"

"What. Happened. To. Ryuzaki."

There was a moment of silence on Momoshiro's end, before he said, in an unusual tone, "Is Echizen…actually concerned?"

What the hell? Ryoma had no time for this. "Momo-senpai."

"Goodness. ECHIZEN IS CONCERNED!" Momoshiro laughed. "I knew it. I so knew it-"

"You have five seconds."

That seemed to sober him up…not. "Well, you don't have to worry about anything, Echizen," he said slyly. "Momo-senpai is here to protect your young love!"

"Three seconds."

"At some point it looked hopeless but I never really lost my faith in you!"

"I'm hanging up."

"You said five seconds!" the older boy whined.

"Just tell me!"

"Nothing major, really," Momoshiro informed him after a few heartfelt sniggers. "That bastard, Yatsu-whats-his-name, was just being a pathetic excuse for a human being and thought it was gentlemanly to grovel at Ryuzaki-chan's feet just so she'd go out with him. I mean of course I can't let any other guy touch Ryuzaki-chan other than you, ne? It's just right for me to beat the snot out of the jerk."

Ryoma found himself nodding even though Momoshiro wouldn't see.

"Though we had to take Ryuzaki-chan to a clinic."

The confident smirk disappeared. "What?" he said icily.

"Easy, tiger," the violet-eyed boy said coolly. "She just scraped her knee from all the scuffle. In fact I'm here with her right now. Eiji-senpai and the others grabbed something to eat."

That seemed to calm the Grand Slam Champion down. "I see."

Momoshiro cackled. "But I have to admit, you sound so cute with your ass all bundled up!"

"Shut up."

"You wanna talk to your princess?"

Ryoma didn't say anything, wanting to retort something witty but finding it a mere waste of time and energy, since he knew that he'd up talking to her anyway.

"I'll take that as a yes," Momoshiro said, and he moved away from the mouthpiece as he said to someone, "Ryuzaki-chan? Somebody wants to talk to you."

There were very few things that rattled the cool of one Ryoma Echizen. They were as follows: (1) a particularly challenging opponent, (2) his missing Karupin, (3) an early morning call and (4) talking to Sakuno Ryuzaki.

The last one was something he just found out today.

"Hello?" came Sakuno's voice over the phone, and suddenly, Ryoma didn't know what to say. He even felt a bit embarrassed for some reason, but he absolutely refused to let his nerves win.

"Hello?" she said again, and he could almost see the light frown creasing her face. "Momo-chan-senpai, the line must be cut."

"It isn't," Ryoma found himself saying.

There was a small pause, before Sakuno stammered, in evident surprise, "R-Ryoma-kun?"

"You still have lots to work on, Ryuzaki."

"It is you!" she said delightedly. "Congratulations on winning! Obaa-chan and I saw all your matches!"

"Ah. Really?"

"Yes, really."

"I see."

"Yeah…"

Awkward silence followed, and Ryoma's mind wasn't functioning that well. Maybe the heat was finally getting to him.

"I heard about what happened," he said after a short while, making it a point to sound casual so as not to appear more worried than necessary.

"Oh," the girl said from the other end of the line. "That's not a big deal."

"You scraped your knee."

"Err, that's not a big deal either, since it happens all the time."

"Hn," Ryoma said monotonously. "I wonder how Ryuzaki-sensei will react to that."

"Please don't tell Obaa-chan," Sakuno said quickly, suddenly nervous. "You know how she is when worried. Her heart is not as well as before so I don't think it's wise to stress her with unnecessary -"

"Then stay away from -" Yatsumori. "—trouble."

"Y-Yes, Ryoma-kun…" she said in defeat.

Ryoma paused for a moment, before he said, "Ne, Ryuzaki."

"Yes?"

He hesitated for a second, carefully choosing the right words to say. "I can do with some bento when I get back."

"Eh?" Sakuno sounded confused. Then, it slowly dawned on her. "O-Oh! Of course! I'll be happy to make you one!"

"Well then, see you around." Ryoma flipped his phone shut, sighing. Throwing the handheld on the bed, he turned to the wide window overlooking the grand Roland Garros Stadium, his face breaking into a small smile. Really, Sakuno Ryuzaki's brain is as slow as a snail…

Anyone with half a common sense would see that Ryoma Echizen liked her.

A lot.

When Ryoma Echizen first realized that he loved her, it was raining.

He was standing alone by the fences surrounding the Seigaku tennis courts, watching silently while the freshmen hurriedly scrambled around to hide all the equipment as the first few droplets of water showered upon them from the gray sky overhead.

"Freshmen, hurry up!" he barked in a commanding voice.

"Yes, Echizen-buchou!" they chorused, before obeying his order.

He waited until the very last freshman on the court disappeared into the safety of the clubroom before he finally allowed himself to take shelter from the rain. As he entered the confines of the Seigaku Tennis Club quarters, a clean towel was immediately thrown his way.

"Thanks," he murmured at a smiling Katsuo, gratefully drying his wet hair.

"It seems only yesterday that we were freshmen awed by the very fact that we have stepped in this clubroom, ne, Ryoma?" his teammate started, sitting on one of the benches and looking around the place fondly. Time and circumstances had long outgrown the use of formalities they attached to each other's names. "And now, we're leaving it all behind."

Ryoma sat across him and smirked lightly. "Hn."

"To tell you the truth, I never even thought of wearing this jersey." Katsuo referred to the Regular shirt he was wearing. "But I guess shit just happens, huh?"

"More than that," said a voice, announcing the arrival of a smug-looking Horio fresh from the showers, "whoever thought we'd win the Nationals once again?" He seemed to implode on the spot. "I knew that my four years of tennis experience will soon get recognized!"

"You're not a Regular, Horio," Katsuo reminded him.

"Just because I'm not a Regular doesn't mean I can't share the feeling of winning the Nationals!"

Ryoma tuned out the impending argument and rummaged in his tennis bag for his handheld. As he pulled the desired object out, a sheaf of papers fell off his bag, landing lightly on the floor between Katsuo and Horio. The two looked down at it distractedly, before Horio took the initiative to pick it up.

"Echizen, you dropped something -" Glancing at the letters printed on the paper, however, his eyes widened, and his unibrow quibbled violently. "You -!"

Ryoma, realizing what the other boy was holding, quickly snatched the paper and hid it with the rest of his things. "You really shouldn't touch other people's belongings," he said curtly.

"What's the matter?" Katsuo said, frowning. "Are you hiding something, Ryoma?"

"Oh hell he is!" Horio said, sounding wounded. "Why didn't you tell us that ITF Junior Tennis School wants to sponsor your high school education abroad?"

Ryoma remained silent as Katsuo's eyes widened like saucers.

"I-Is that true?" the boy stuttered. "You mean the International Tennis Federation itself?"

"No mistake!" the unibrow boy huffed. "I saw it with my own two eyes!" He stomped and stopped right in front of the impassive captain, crossing his arms across his chest as he looked down to meet golden-brown eyes. "So?"

Ryoma looked pointedly away from him. "So what?"

"Your decision!" Horio said impatiently. "Did you respond to ITF? You're going abroad – for good?"

"Of course he's going!" Katsuo said excitedly. "Just like what Tezuka-buchou did! This is a rare opportunity, and I'm sure Ryoma won't let it pass!"

Ryoma remained silent.

"But this is different!" Horio reasoned out. "Tezuka-buchou only leaves for Germany during breaks. In Echizen's case, he'll never come back!"

"If it's for his growth as a tennis player, then we have no other choice!"

"Is that how it is, Echizen?" The unibrow boy turned to Ryoma once more, his eyes ablaze with a mix of emotions. "I know it's for the best, but still…"

Silence.

Horio grunted in dismay, walking back to his locker. "I seriously can't imagine Ryuzaki-san's face once she hears this."

At that, Ryoma looked up, his face stony. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when his handheld beeped twice, announcing the arrival of a new message. Turning his back to the two members, he opened his phone and read the brief text across the screen:

I'm here with Obaa-chan. Will be waiting for you.

Approximately one hour later, Ryoma paid for and went out of a green cab that stopped in the hospital's driveway. He pulled on his tennis gear as the automatic glass doors parted to let him in, a distinct sterilized smell wafting through his nose. He scrunched his nose in disapproval. He hated the smell of hospitals.

It didn't take him long to locate Sumire Ryuzaki's private room. As he walked along the immaculate hallways, people could not help but spare him at least a second's glance, either in mild curiosity or admiration. After all, he had grown to a tall young man, his formerly wide, child-like eyes reduced to cat-like sharp slits of golden-brown and his gait effortlessly demanding authority (it must have been a trait acquired through captainship of the Seigaku Tennis Club, as the same had been seen both in Tezuka and Kaidoh). Despite of all the changes though, he still wore that white Fila cap over his dark green hair, now slightly battle-worn from all the local and international matches it had endured with its owner.

As Ryoma continued walking, he spotted a familiar figure sitting on one of the chairs fixed on one side of the hallway. The girl looked up as the tennis captain came closer, a demure smile lightening up her otherwise tired face at the mere sight of him. She tucked a lock of long auburn hair behind her ear as she stood to meet him up.

"Hello Ryoma, how was practice?" she asked casually.

"As usual," Ryoma grunted, observing the girl as she fell in stride with him. "How is Ryuzaki-sensei?"

"She's back to normal, thank goodness," Sakuno Ryuzaki said. She, too, had long outgrown her stammer and shyness, to be replaced with a highly positive attitude that even the Ryoma Echizen wasn't immune of. "Tezuka-senpai and Fuji-senpai dropped by an hour ago. They wanted to wait for you but it seemed that Tezuka-senpai still had an appointment to attend to."

"Ah. How are they?"

Sakuno chuckled to herself. "Same old."

They came to a halt before a door, which was manually labeled with "Sumire Ryuzaki." As Sakuno turned the doorknob and welcomed herself in the spacious room, Ryoma stared at the back of her head, the memory of the confrontation with Horio and Katsuo earlier resurfacing in his mind's eye.

"Do not mention this to anyone," he told the two before he left. It was clear between the three of them that by 'anyone,' Ryoma specifically meant Sakuno.

"Until when do you plan to hide this from us, Echizen?" Horio said angrily to his retreating back. "You're not planning to slip away again now, are you?"

"No."

The door silently swung shut behind him.

"Ah, Ryoma!" said a booming voice, and if Ryuzaki-sensei wasn't in bed with an IV injected to her vein, Ryoma would not have second-guessed that she was sick. The old woman, shaken from all the necessary procedures the hospital conducted on her, had grown a lot thinner since he last saw her, but her eyes were still fiery with youthful athleticism. She smiled genially as Ryoma bowed at her and took the stool beside Sakuno's.

"I hope the club paperwork isn't giving you a lot of headache."

"It is," Ryoma drawled, earning a giggle from Sakuno, "but it isn't something you can't get used to."

The coach barked out a hearty laugh. "Anyway," she said, winking conspiringly at her granddaughter. "I think Sakuno here wants to share some good news."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Is that so? Let's hear it then."

Sakuno beamed at him, and he thought he'd never seen something brighter. "Ryoma…I passed Tokyo Gakuen High School!" Her wide, brown eyes shone happily. "It means I'm going to the same school as Tezuka-senpai, Fuji-senpai and you! Isn't that great?"

Ryoma's insides churned unpleasantly. "Hn." Since he was known to be naturally expressionless, Sakuno didn't find his quietness weird at all.

"I mean, I never really expected to, you know, get in because the exam was really hard!" she rambled on. "But I think I did well in the interview, and honestly -" Much to Ryoma's surprise, she grabbed both of his hands with hers. "—if it wasn't for your tutoring skills, I wouldn't make it through!"

"Let the man breathe, silly girl," Ryuzaki-sensei laughed.

"To tell you the truth, I was already preparing myself to spend my high school without you -" Ryoma deliberately avoided her gaze " –so you couldn't imagine how happy I was when they called me this morning." Sakuno gave him another bright smile before finally letting go of his hands. "There, that's the good news."

"Hehh, so you didn't fail after all," Ryoma teased, putting on a characteristic smirk that earned him a punch on the arm. "Not bad."

When he looked back at Ryuzaki-sensei, however, he was mildly puzzled to find the elderly woman staring at him thoughtfully. She blinked away when she realized that he was staring back, addressing Sakuno instead.

"Sakuno, can you get Ryoma something to drink?" she kindly told the young girl.

Sakuno heaved herself up from her seat. "I don't have to ask what you like," she told Ryoma knowingly, before leaving the coach and student alone in the room.

For a short while, there was no sound aside from the low humming of the air-conditioner.

"So," Ryuzaki-sensei started, giving Ryoma a sharp look. "What are your plans now?"

Ryoma's answer was quick. "Finish high school here in Japan."

The coach stared at him intently. "Are you sure? Because I was quite certain you will be offered a scholarship abroad. The ITF will be a bunch of fools to let you pass by."

"They offered me a scholarship," he said. "But I'm not going."

A sense of dread filled him at her next question.

"Why?"

Ryoma looked down at his curled fists resting on his lap, where Sakuno's smaller, warmer hands had been earlier. "Japan is my home."

"You grew up in America," the teacher corrected him lightly. "And besides, this will be a huge stepping stone if you plan on going pro."

"I know that."

"I think you should reconsider."

"I've made up my mind," he said firmly, but Ryuzaki-sensei was not swayed.

"Have you now?" She frowned at him. "Tell me. What's holding you back?"

At that precise moment, though, the door opened again and revealed Sakuno's return, carrying two chilled cans of Ponta.

That's what's holding me back.

"Here you go," she said to him, handing him the drink. "Don't worry; it won't burst out in your face."

"Why are you bringing something up that happened two years ago?" Ryoma grumbled, opening the can and taking three huge gulps from it.

Sakuno chuckled. "Who would forget that?"

Ryoma secretly watched her as she helped herself with her own can of Ponta. Ever since his return from the French Open, he and Sakuno had developed an odd friendship, one that was least expected by all of their peers. Cold, uncaring and disinterested Ryoma had slowly become a part of the social system through Sakuno's efforts in staging one-sided conversations and running after moody walkouts. Ryoma himself didn't know how she did it, but somehow, she had managed to go under his skin and bring out the more sociable side in him that he didn't know existed. This girl, initially shy around him, had grown to be someone who could stick around monosyllabic responses and endure two hours of his parents' (and cousin's) doting. It hadn't been surprising when their whole school thought of her as his girlfriend, despite her constant denial. No other girl in the planet could have the same effect to the Ice Prince.

And besides, it wasn't like Ryoma hated the idea itself.

His mind wandered back to the ITF invitation he received last week, folded neatly in a secure place inside his bag. His father shrugged indifferently at the news, expecting it all along. His mother and cousin had been ecstatic, though the latter claimed that she would miss Ryoma when he's gone. Ryoma himself hadn't been surprised, but a part of himself had been wishing that by some sort of miracle, he wouldn't receive any invitation abroad.

Call him a softie, but he did feel a strong attachment to the people who made up the best three years in his life.

There was also this tiny issue, one that exclusively revolved around a single person and yet seemed to be the biggest reason behind his problem…

"Sakuno," Ryuzaki-sensei suddenly said. "Weren't you just telling me that you're hungry?"

"Eh?" Sakuno blinked. "But Obaa-chan, I just ate-"

"This girl," the old woman said to Ryoma, shaking her head with a smile. "She insists on watching over me twenty-four-seven."

"I already told you," the younger girl said patiently, "I had dinner just a few-"

"Ryoma, will you kindly go down with this stubborn child and get something to eat?"

Said boy had an unexplainable feeling that the coach was up to something. As if to prove his point, she gave him a knowing look, one that clearly said, "I'm giving you a chance, so do it properly."

Well, he himself did want to talk to Sakuno privately.

"Come on," he told the auburn-haired girl, getting onto his feet and heading for the door. "It's my treat."

They sat across each other in the hospital cafeteria. Sakuno, despite claiming to have eaten already, still ordered a full meal and was happily devouring her curry. Ryoma stared down at his own burger steak, his appetite nonexistent. He used his fork to poke at the meat, then pushed the plate away from him.

Sakuno looked at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

"…Yeah."

She gave him another meaningful look, which he deflected by simply looking away.

Silent minutes ticked by.

"Ryoma-kun, I've been wanting to tell you something."

When Ryoma met her gaze, she was smiling at him serenely. Me too, he wanted to say, but chose the better of it.

"Can we meet tomorrow after class?"

He looked at her in confusion. "Why don't you just tell me now?"

"You'll see," she said mysteriously, her smile widening. "Remember that court where you and Sasabe-san played a match?" she said. "When I first met you on the train?"

Ryoma slowly nodded, more baffled than ever.

"I'll be waiting there, so don't be late!"

He was still pondering on Sakuno's odd request when he came home at past eight in the evening. When he arrived, his father looked up from the evening newspaper and gave his son a piercing look, before saying, "Something's up with you."

"Oh yeah?" Ryoma took off his shoes and got into his house slippers.

"You don't want to go…" the older Echizen said lazily, inserting a finger in his ear and twisting it around, "…do you?"

Ryoma intentionally ignored him and made to walk away when a strong tanned arm stopped him. He looked up and met fierce eyes that were very much similar to his own.

"You know," Nanjiroh said, the trademark lopsided grin creeping up his face, "I believe I still haven't told you how I met your mother."

"…Huh?" was all the younger Echizen could say.

"Your mom was such a feisty young woman, he he."

"That sounds very wrong, coming from you," Ryoma said distastefully. "And what's your point, exactly?"

"Actually, I don't know." Nanjiroh said, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "I just felt like telling you that when I first met your mother, I didn't think she was special. I had not the slightest idea that she would later on become my wife and bear me a child that will grow up to be an un-cute brat that moved around like there's a stick up his-"

"Your point?" Ryoma cut in curtly.

"—ass," Nanjiroh continued, smirking as his son's eye twitched violently. "But because I was too busy fooling around with girls and money, I almost lost her."

"I think she would've been better off without you," the younger Echizen deadpanned.

The older man pretended to be hurt. "That's so mean, Ryoma-kun!" he said in a high-pitched voice.

"Stupid oyaji."

"Fortunately, I did not lose her," the retired Samurai concluded smugly. "Do you know why?"

In spite of having little interest to anything that his father had said, he let him continue.

"It's because your mother waited for me." In what was supposed to be a fatherly way, Nanjiroh put an arm over Ryoma's shoulder and pulled him closer. "She stayed by my side loyally, no matter what I did. She molded me to become a better person -" somehow, Ryoma found that part hard to believe "—and she put up with every imperfection I had. That was when I realized that I found the woman whom I want to spend the rest of my life with."

After giving the boy an affectionate pat on the back, the older man let go and started walking away.

"Oyaji."

Nanjiroh stopped in his tracks, looking back at his son over his shoulder.

"What did you do when you realized you loved her?" Ryoma asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Ryoma's father looked affronted. "Haven't you been listening to what I'm saying?" he said impatiently. "You're my son, you shouldn't be asking something so obvious!"

"Just answer!"

"I never let go of her, of course," Nanjiroh deadpanned, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But you were still building up your career when you met Okaa-san."

"You're missing the whole point," the older man said, sighing. "She waited for me, Ryo-chan. She did not complain that all I ever did was tennis. In fact, she even supported me all throughout. She's also a budding lawyer around that time, but she never let our individual goals get in the way.

"That's how I realized that she's the one. She never became a hindrance to my personal dreams; instead, she helped me to make them come true." With that, he left, muttering something along the lines of, "I have the most idiotic son in the world."

The next day, Ryoma was completely out of focus. It was still raining cats and dogs outside, and although classes were not suspended, all club activities had been postponed. As soon as the bell rang, he practically shoved his things into his bag and immediately left the school, avoiding any more unnecessary confrontations with either Horio or Katsuo. He already had too much on his plate without seconds of melodramatic teammates, thank you very much.

The public tennis courts by the train station were empty when he arrived. Ryoma took shelter under the bridge, spending some time reading the profanities vandalized on the bridge posts (some of them were quite amusing). He checked his wristwatch when his patience began growing thinner, wondering where Sakuno was. She was twenty minutes late.

Just as he was to pull out his mobile phone, his sharp senses prickled, and he turned just in time to catch a tennis ball heading his way.

"Nice catch!"

It took him a second to get over the initial shock. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"What does it look like?" Sakuno was standing in the rain, fully decked with her tennis uniform. In her right hand was a black-and-yellow racket Ryoma had never seen before, making him conclude that it must have been bought recently. "I'm challenging Ryoma Echizen in a one-set match!"

"You're crazy," Ryoma said over the noise of the rain. "Get off the court!"

In response, another ball was directed at his face.

"Sakuno!"

"I'm serious!" the girl said, pulling out another ball from her skirt pocket and bouncing it on the clay surface of the court. "I'm not moving unless you play with me!"

Ryoma growled. "Fine." He set down his tennis bag, preparing his gear. Anything just to make her get out the goddamn rain. "Be prepared to lose, though."

Ryoma didn't know where on earth Sakuno gathered the confidence to challenge anyone – much more the Prince of Tennis himself – to a sport she practically sucked at, but when the girl performed her service play, he was beside himself in surprise. The form, the footwork and even the swing of the racket – all of them were done properly. He had to double-check whether it really was wobbly-knees Sakuno Ryuzaki standing across the court, for this girl was actually marginally good.

He definitely underestimated her.

"Heh," he hummed arrogantly, returning the ball with a volley. "Since when did you learn hitting a decent shot?"

"When I started practicing instead of stalking you?" Sakuno replied, responding with a neat cross-court. "I never gave up tennis, Ryoma."

Plok. "It's the hair."

Plok. "It has nothing to do with it!"

Plok. "It has to do with everything."

Plok. "Maria Sharapova has long hair."

Plok. "Not as long as yours."

Plok. "You don't make sense!"

Plok.

Plok.

Plok. "Ryoma?"

Plok. "Stop talking."

Plok. "Why?"

Plok. "We're in the middle of a match."

Plok. "That's the point!"

Plok. "What?"

Plok. "The only way for you -"

Plok. "—to get what I say-"

Plok. "—is through this!"

Plok. "What was that?"

Plok.

Plok. "Please go abroad, Ryoma."

Ryoma froze, letting the easy lob get past him. On the other side of the net, Sakuno stopped too, panting heavily as she smiled at him.

"…What?" the tennis prince asked.

"You heard me," Sakuno said.

For a moment, the rain seemed too loud, pressing on their ears and filling the whole of their being. Then, after what seemed like forever, she spoke again.

"I know it will come to this point," she continued, approaching him slowly. "Of course, you'll have to pursue pro-tennis." She stopped just before the net, and Ryoma stared at her unblinkingly, taking in every detail of her face. ""You'll have to leave Japan and take over the world."

"She did not complain that all I ever did was tennis – in fact, she even supported me all throughout."

"You will have my full support among with everyone else's. We all want to see you achieve your goal from the very start."

"She stayed by my side loyally, no matter what I did."

"I will surely miss you -" This time, he thought he saw a faint blush on her cheeks, standing out in her skin that had gone pale in the coldness of the rain. "—but I'll be here, Ryoma. I'll wait for the day you'll come back with all the Grand Slam trophies you can have."

"She waited for me, Ryo-chan."

Smiling still, Sakuno looked down at the racket she was holding. Then, much to Ryoma's surprise, she reached it out over the net towards him. "I thought I'd give you a farewell gift," she said in a barely audible whisper, but he heard the words crystal-clear. "I had it customized. You'll see your name printed on one the side of the shaft. I had it stringed at Haritatsu's. Do you still remember when you took me there three years ago in place of my grandmother?"

Ryoma stared at the racket as if he could not believe his eyes.

"That's how I realized that she's the one. She never became a hindrance to my personal dreams; instead, she helped me to make them come true."

"Don't you like it?" Sakuno said worriedly. "Well, I know you're really fond of your red racket, but I honestly think that you should have a new one when, you know, start playing pro. I heard from interviews that professional tennis players have custom-made rackets. I chose black because it's pretty much a neutral shade." She grew more anxious as no word came from the boy. "Err, maybe I should get another one. I'm so sorry, I wanted to ask you but it would ruin the surpri-"

The rest of her words remained unspoken as at that very moment, Ryoma closed the remaining space between them and locked her in a kiss. Her lips felt very soft and warm against his, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine and making the hair at the back of his neck stand on end. He let his racket-free hand touch her wet hair, while he snaked his other arm around her waist, keeping her small frame snug against him. Sakuno stood still in shock, but gave in a second later as she slowly hugged him around his neck and deepened the kiss by standing on tiptoes. Ryoma responded by holding her tighter – almost carrying her off her feet – basking in the warmth of their body and the sweet taste of his mouth on hers.

It was like that in what seemed like forever, the rain pouring down on them relentlessly as they remained blissfully unaware of the world, only feeling their arms around each other, lovingly warm despite the cold. Ryoma finally had to pull himself away to catch his breath, and in that time-stopping moment, he stared deep into the eyes of the girl he finally realized – after all this time – to be the only one for him.

"I love you," he whispered.

Sakuno's eyes widened, before they twinkled at him brightly. "I…" she started, flushing a very deep shade of red. "I…err…R-R-Ryoma…I-I…u-uh-"

"You really are quite a stutterer, huh?" he said casually, still not letting go of her body. "What were you saying?"

The girl just gaped at her like a fish, unable to string two words together.

"I'll go and fulfill my dreams," Ryoma said. "Then I will come back for you."

Her lips parted slightly in mild surprise, before her face broke into a beautiful smile.

"Will you wait for me, Sakuno?"

She chuckled that chuckle of hers, the one that sounded soft and melodic. "You don't have to ask," she said, surprising Ryoma as she tightened her hug. "You still have lots to work on."

"Hehh." A smirk played on Ryoma's lips. "My girlfriend's stealing my lines now, eh?"

Sakuno gave him a playful squeeze. "Your girlfriend?"

"Oh, right." Ryoma rested his forehead against hers, not breaking eye contact. "You haven't responded yet."

She chuckled again, lifting a hand to gently touch his cheek. "I love you too."

They remained in each other's arms for another while, not noticing when the rain had stopped, the first rays of sunlight peeking from the parting clouds.

It was the happiest day in Ryoma's life.

x Fin.

Thank you, Starbucks, for refilling my caffeine supply. And by the way, this is the first time I've ever written a kissing scene. I hope I got it right.

Please commend me for writing a 25-page one-shot (and yourself for reaching this part) by leaving me a review. It feeds not only my ego, but my plot muses as well. Thank you for reading :3