I do not own the prince

Pride kept him going back and apologising. He nearly cracked today though, when he heard Ryuzaki's voice.

Kuso, he had to go back now.

Karupin contemplated. The odds were, the boy didn't know about this new human in the household. Karupin lazily stretched out in his sunbeam, working out the odd kinks in his furry body. Nonchalantly, he started fussing over his paws while steadily gazing at the new human. It was a strange sight really. Most people, when they came to the house and saw him, would either squeal over him or run in fear of him. This new human just sat on the sofa and stared through him. It was rather insulting, really, which was why Karupin pretended not to see the new human, despite the strong kitty urge to sniff and investigate.

He was slightly startled though, when the new human suddenly walked over to him and crouched down. Karupin of course swished his tail at the intruder and was about to walk away in a dashing manner when this new human began scratching behind his right ear. Of course, he tried to put up a fight. But it was his sweet spot this new human was scratching and he was slowly becoming a puddle. Karupin had no idea how it happened, but five minutes later, he was purring loudly in this new human's warm lap, absolutely certain that this was his new favourite slave. With the smell of strawberries slightly wafting through his nose, Karupin slipped into a contented sleep.

Everybody made a wide berth when they encountered the two of them. It didn't help both that Nanjiroh was wearing his usual yukata and swinging a leek around while singing a Japanese folk song. Ryoma was desensitized to his father's flashes of insanity, so he calmly went about the supermart picking out groceries. Of course, his mother had bailed out on the trip knowing how excited her husband became when he was out in public. However, something felt funny about today.

His father seemed extra obnoxious for one thing. Every aisle they went, he behaved strangely. If Ryoma picked up a loaf of bread, Nanjiroh dumped two more in the cart. If Ryoma picked up a bag of potato chips, three more went in the cart. "Are we having some sort of weekend party?" Ryoma asked when his father placed three gallons of milk with the other accumulating produce. This was only their third aisle, but his mother was rather social, and entertained friends and family member during weekends sometimes. His father's answer pricked him slightly however. "Party? Hah! Don't you know seishounen, me and wifey will be gone the next two weeks. Leaving you….." Nanjiroh sniggered to himself, which soon escalated into full out gleeful laughter.

"Oh. Where are you going?" Ryoma asked disinterestedly while pushing the cart into the meat section. He wasn't very hungry at the moment, and looking at all the red meat displayed made him slightly nauseated. "Somewere." Nanjiroh answered, while ripping off and chewing a chunk of leek.

"Hmm" Ryoma politely agreed. Maybe he should get Karupin something to eat here?

"Going to Japan."

" …..Japan?"

"Yep!"

Okay, Ryoma's senses started to sit up. Something was definitely not right. Why was his father so cheery today? Granted, he was so harpy all the time, but something other than the meat section smelled extra fishy today. "Why are you going to Japan?" Ryoma prodded further. Nanjiroh was like the Oracle, ask an outright question and you'll receive a nonsensically cryptic answer. The key was to lull him into complacency, then whack him on the head.

"Temples."

"You're going to see temples?"

"And eat sushi. Lots of it."

This was a maddening hint, Ryoma was sure of it. Temples. Sushi. What did it all mean? Ryoma gamely asked another question. "Visiting friends?"

"Nope. No friends in Japan."

No…wait what? What about the old hag of a coach? Catlike eyes sharpened on Nanjiroh. Abandoning the game altogether, he bluntly asked, "What is it?"

"Hmm?"

"Something is strange. What is it?"

Nanjiroh didn't answer, but grabbed several unidentified boxes from the health produce aisle and threw it in with the rest of their items. He gave a serene smile at his son instead. Ryoma very nearly snarled at his father when he realized what the recent additions in their cart were. Sputtering, he felt his face grow alarmingly heated. "What are you doing? Put those back!"

"What, this?" Nanjiroh loudly exclaimed while fiddling one of the small contraband boxes between his fingers. Seeing how Ryoma was about to burst, Nanjiroh finally took pity on his son. He laughingly placed the contraceptives back and seized two bottles of aspirin from the rack instead. "Relax seishounen, I was just playing with you. And no, nothing strange is going on." Wheeling the cart to the cashier, Nanjiroh cheekily continued under his breath, " Well, nothing strange to me anyway."

This Was A Bad Idea.

No, no, it was worse than just a bad idea. Sakuno thought people should be jailed or something before they did acts as stupid as this. Although, if there was such a law Sakuno probably would spend all her life in a cell. She was a bit of a ditz, which everybody and their mother gleefully reminded her when she forgot. Flying all the way to America because Ryoma was horribly sick was probably her most ditziest move yet.

Still, she couldn't stay in Japan. When she overheard Horio exclaiming that he heard Momo saying that Ryoma's health had gotten worse, the only thing certain to her was that she had to go see him. Her original plan was quite brilliant actually. She wouldn't tell anyone she was coming of course. She was just going to sneak around, maybe in the hospital or something, and see how Ryoma was. Sakuno was going to be the invisible ninja nurse, taking care of him when he was asleep, making sure that he healed as comfortably as he could.

Everything was perfect, until Tomo-chan found out. It was partly also Sakuno's fault too. She had written her plans in her notebook, which Tomo-chan somehow got a hold of. Her best friend was furious. Waving the notebook about, she ranted and ranted, until she could no longer find enough words to belittle Sakuno's 'harebrained scheme.'. After the tirade, she marched Sakuno to stand meekly before Oba-san while she highlighted the various points why Sakuno should not be let out of her room until she was 30. It was the most embarrassing and infuriating moment in her life.

As if Karupin sensed her feelings, he purred louder and gently bumped his head against Sakuno's chin. Obligingly, she scratched behind his ear. Once he had settled in her lap again, Sakuno's thoughts began to drift back to her Oba-san's reaction. Instead of giving Sakuno that look which made her feel lower than dung, Oba-san had instead laughed and encouraged her to go to America. Come to think about it, Oba-san made her go the next day. It was as if everything had already been booked and planned…..

Ryoma's mother had welcomingly let her in, and was somewhere in the house packing for a trip. When Sakuno had asked which hospital Ryoma was at and if she could visit him, she had given a nervous titter and instead told Sakuno that she would see him very soon. Uneasiness stealthily crept at the back of her neck. Something was not right with this trip. Why was her Oba-chan so manic about her coming here? Why would Momo-senpai tell Horio of all people that Ryoma was very sick, when such information would more likely be confidential? Why had Tomoka told her she was sorry when they were at the airport?

Looking into Karupin's golden feline eyes, the uneasy feeling that she had been somewhat duped grew.

In Japan

"Hey Momo-senpai, you think Sakuno-chan will kill us?"

"Of course Horio, that's a given. But in order for true love to run its course, sacrifices must be made."

"Sometimes I wonder how you never became captain Momo-senpai. You are so wise,"

"Actually I was given the choice, but I turned it down so Mamushi's feelings wouldn't get hurt. Him being sensitive and all."

"Oh." A strained cough. "Right."

The best thing to do at this point would be for Sakuno to run away. Decision made, she carefully placed the sleeping cat on the sofa and practically ran to the front door. Sakuno nearly made it, until she heard Ryoma's Kaa-san calling her name. She stood uncertainly, stuck between making a run for it and well, making a run for it. Her ingrained sense of politeness won.

"Ah, there you are!" Echizen Rinko inwardly smiled, noticing the young girl standing awkwardly near the front door. Most likely about to dash away, Rinko thought perceptively. "I'm sorry I left you on your own for a while, but I've made your room. Shall I show it to you?" Before Sakuno could even answer, Rinko gently but firmly steered her in said direction. "The room has a lovely view of the garden. As you're probably noticed, we've incorporated a lot of our Japanese heritage in the house." As Rinko casually talked about interior decorating, she also scrutinized the young lady who was going to be her future daughter-in-law.

The girl was admittedly plain, and deathly pale. She barely spoke, and was painfully shy. Karupin seemed to love her though, which was a good sign. However, Sakuno needed more confidence to deal with the insensitive clod that was her son. There was a potential with her looks though. She had large luminous eyes, and clear translucent skin. The braids had to go though, she thought critically. Rinko glanced at the clock, and deducted that her husband and son would be home in thirty minutes.

"Why don't you take a nap? I'm sure you must be exhausted from the long flight," Sakuno immediately agreed to the suggestion. She was tired. And she badly needed a rest so that she could think things through later. Thanking Ryoma's Kaa-san for her generosity for letting her stay with them, she went inside the indicated room. Fifteen minutes later, Sakuno slept soundly on a warm bed.

Ryoma had been strangely dumped by his parents. There was no explanation for it. Ten minutes after arriving home, his parents hugged and kissed him goodbye, breaking the unspoken 'no touching' rule, then drove straight to the airport. He mentally shrugged off their behavior, figuring that weirder things had occurred in the Echizen family. Passing Karupin on the couch, Ryoma tweaked his cat's furry ears before heading for a bath.

It would be nice to have some peace in the house again. He knew his parents worried about him, and cautioned him against his progression in tennis. Ryoma still couldn't play a full game, but al least he could comfortably swing a racket now and then and there would be no sharp twinge. Sano-sensei, or more aptly known in Ryoma's head as The Quack, even came to America every now and then to check up on him. Everyone called or emailed to ask about him.

No. Not everyone. Seven months after leaving Japan, Ryuzaki still had not contacted him. Nope, couldn't be bothered to, that girl. Of course, he wasn't surprised for the coldness, given their last conversation. He just didn't expect it to be so…final. She gave up, so that was it? No second chance, no 'I'm sorry Ryoma', just an abrupt halt to everything?

Heck, he nearly flew back after hearing her voice. It wasn't like he missed her or anything crazy like that. Of course not. Ryuzaki was just in his head all the damned time and he was so tired of it he needed her to put a stop to it. Sometimes, when Ryoma was at his lowest point, he recalled all his encounters with her. Their one time charged kiss perversely got extra playback in his demented mind. So of course, just to torture himself, he replayed the scene again. And again.

His froze in the midst of his daydream however when he heard the bathroom door click open. And came upon the ridiculous sight of Ryuzaki sleepily rubbing her eyes as she walked into the bathroom. Ryoma was convinced he was hallucinating. Maybe the bathwater was so hot his brains had fried. Ryuzaki still hadn't noticed him. She looked cutely rumpled, with her hair down and slightly mussed, and face bare of her usual glasses. Was this one of…..those dreams?

She felt slightly grumpy and disconcerted when she couldn't find Rinko-san. The nap had not done her any good. She had managed to sleep for what seemed like minutes when she woke up, only to find that despite her exhaustion, she couldn't sleep again. Sakuno had nearly gotten lost in the house as she futilely tried to locate Ryoma's Kaa-san who had strangely disappeared.

Grumbling under her breath, she decided to shower and walked to the nearest bathroom she could find. It was slightly steamy in here, Sakuno guessed that Rinko-san had prepared a bath beforehand and had forgotten to inform her about it. She nearly walked into a wall; everything was blurry as she didn't have her glasses on.

Encountering what she assumed was a mirror, she wiped on the condensation to have a clearer look at her reflection. Staring at her features, all Sakuno could see was a tiresome imitation of herself. She was leaning closer when a hazy form in the mirror moved. Sakuno squeaked and turned wildly only to see a wide eyed Ryoma in the tub. For a few seconds they gaped at each other. Gaining her senses, she rambled out apologies and hastened out of the bathroom.

Safely ensconced in her room, she locked her door and instantly burrowed herself under the bedcovers. Her hands were shaking so badly, the phone nearly slipped as she dialed for her Oba-chan. She had seen Ryoma! He was bathing! She was going to be murdered by fangirls! Sakuno imagined her hysterical demise when an abrupt knock sounded at her door. Insanely enough, she thought that if she didn't answer, Ryoma would assume that she had gone away. When the doorknob rattled and Ryoma made all sorts of threatening noises, she finally walked on jellified legs to her doom.

She nearly slammed the door on him when she saw his usual stoic expression. No words were exchanged, none were needed. Ryoma just stood there, looking at her. After seemingly making a decision, he walked into the room and firmly clicked the door close behind him.

Im sorry I didn't update for so long. A lot happened, which im still dealing with. Amazingly enough, I still got reviews from time to time,which never failed to make me feel all fuzzy inside. I missed you , reader.