A/N: Well… here it is finally. I can't vouch for how good it is or isn't. I don't particularly like Fuji's part in this but I've been having computer troubles so I don't know how many times I've had to type this up. I don't remember how I originally wanted him to be portrayed.

Uh… lets see. I made this chapter longer as compensation. A lot of it was going to be in chapter 5 but I just bumped things back a little. I suppose it'll lead up to having one less chapter by the end of this story which I'm guessing won't be to far off from now. 5 more chapter max and that's pushing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Chapter Four

Large cinnamon eyes stared around in amazement; there were so many people. Sakuno had no idea tennis was so popular. Taking a few steps forward she observed the people surrounding her. Players and spectators alike intermingled with one another and others, like herself, simply looked around in wonder. Smiling a little at the atmosphere, Sakuno began walking again. Her grandmother hadn't told her what courts they would be playing on but she did know she would be watching them play a school called Yamabuki. The thought made her grimace. She had heard of Akutsu Jin. He was, essentially, the stereotypical epitome of the badass bully and his tennis style was a reflection of this image. Sakuno was vaguely aware that something had happened between him and some of the freshman on Seigaku's tennis team however she couldn't give a detailed summary on what he had done mostly because the students involved apparently hadn't divulged any specifics.

"Sakuno-chan!"

Sakuno looked up at the shout. Who was calling her?

"Hey…," a female popped in front of Sakuno's vision causing her take a step back, "why the long face?"

More than a little surprised at the sudden appearance of the junior from Fudomine, Sakuno spoke, her voice surprisingly steady after the brief scare, "Konnichi wa An-chan. Ano… I'm just a little worried about the match today."

An beamed at the younger girl before her, "I wouldn't worry about them. Seigaku's got a great team this year. I doubt they'll let some wannabe punks uproot them."

Sakuno still appeared uncertain, but decided that she'd let the topic go. If An thought they were good enough, she supposed it could be true. Sakuno didn't exactly have anyone to compare the regulars too so she couldn't be sure though.

"Do you know what co-," Sakuno's question was cutoff as she found herself falling backwards to land painfully on her rear end.

"Ore-sama demands that you apologized to his person."

Sakuno looked up and blinked. Once. Twice.

"Wha…?" She openly stared at the boy standing before her, appearing annoyed. His jacket was draped over his shoulders and his overall countenance was that of superiority. She dimly acknowledged the presence of seven other males but was a bit preoccupied thinking about how discourteous male tennis players could be to the general population.

"Well? Ore-sama does not have all day to spend on mundane people such yourself right Kabaji?"

"Usu," said a large man… boy? He loomed behind Atobe, but Sakuno did not get the sense that she should be afraid of him.

Ignoring the twitch in her jaw, Sakuno stood up and dusted her skirt off. Bowing a little she spoke, "Gomen nasai. I wasn't paying attention."

"Hmph. Ore-sama supposes he will forgive you this time," with that, he walked past her; although he made it all to obvious that he did not want to touch her… at all. His team, she supposed they were since they were all wearing the same uniform, followed him. None had acknowledged her except maybe with sleepy eyes and orange, ruffled hair. He had thrown her a brief glance of curiosity before quickly following after his team.

Coming to An once more, Sakuno frowned, "That really was not funny."

As a fresh new peel of laughter left her mouth, An attempted to look apologetic, "G-Gomen. It's just, y-you have the worst luck with the tennis players don't you?"

Disregarding both the question, which she supposed was rhetorical, and the laughter, Sakuno quickened her pace. An was not deterred.

"That was Atobe Keigo. He's the captain of Hyotei's tennis team. He's always like that."

Well that was encouraging. Hopefully she wouldn't have any more encounters with that particular person. She'd rather deal with Echizen than a narcissistic guy like that. Speaking of…

"Ne An-chan, why does Atobe-san speak in the third person? Last time I checked this was the 21st century."

An's rambunctious laughter was the source of many odd looks for quite some time thereafter.

~oOo~

Seigaku's tennis regulars had just arrived and were now headed towards court 5 for the their match against Yamabuki. Tezuka had left with Ryuuzaki-sensei to take care of some last minute registration requirements. They were all engaged in idle chatter when Fuji mentioned decided to mention a certain auburn haired girl.

"Saa… do you think Ryuuzaki-chan will be here to watch the matches?" Fuji's voice was cheerful and a tad-bit too innocent for his own good.

Ryoma cast him a glance. He wasn't keen on joining the conversation but the mention of Ryuuzaki had peaked his interest.

"I hope so! She's so cute, and I could show her more of my acrobatic tennis," Eiji's energetic voice piped up.

"She is cute isn't she? I'm sure she'll grow into a beautiful woman. Ryuuzaki won't be able to keep the men off her."

Ryoma, who was closely following the conversation, glowered.

"I don't see why you're so interested in someone like her."

Fuji turned to Ryoma, his seemingly perpetual smile widening considerably, "Someone like her? I wasn't aware you and Ryuuzaki were so close."

Ryoma frowned but did not respond. The other regulars, who were listening to the conversation, exchanged looks. Fuji was up to something, that much was obvious but they weren't quite sure their kouhai was aware of this.

"In fact, I've never seen you pay so much attention to the opposite sex as you do her."

Ryoma finally turned his eyes to the sadistic upperclassmen, "What are you saying Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji chuckled a little, apparently amused by something, "Just that you may be a bit attracted to our little Sakuno-chan. Nothing really."

Clenching his hand around the strap of his tennis bag, Ryoma narrowed his eyes, " I think you're mistaken senpai. Her hair is too long, she's clumsy, bad at directions, can't play tennis, and she's always got her head in the clouds. And since when have you called her Sakuno-chan?"

Fuji seemed all to happy to refute the freshman, "Oh, I'm far from mistaken. You must be watching her or thinking of her to remember ALL of those things about her. You rattled off quite a few, are you sure those aren't the things you're especially fond of?"

The freshman seemed to flinch at the accusation but otherwise made not move to counter the Fuji's words. The senior continued; he was obviously enjoying the discomfort he was causing Ryoma.

"Ryuuzaki's clumsiness is quite endearing in my opinion. And with 'her head in the clouds' as you say, that could be useful in a few areas that I can think of," the queer little smile that appeared on Fuji's face had all the regulars but one blushing beet red, "I don't see why I shouldn't call her Sakuno-chan. As far as I'm concerned, we're friends."

Before Ryoma could respond, a new voice spoke up, "Fuji, I think that's enough."

It was Oishi who had spoken. A ghost of the blush that had appeared a few seconds earlier was still present on his face but his face was predominately worried. He didn't want the two to start fighting. Neither would be a pleasant sight when riled up.

Fuji, whose cerulean irises had opened, turned to Oishi. He smiled serenely and Oishi only caught a brief glimpse of the blue orbs before they completely disappeared again. Oishi shuddered a little at the sight.

"Ah… gomen. I got a little excited there," it was decided that no one would respond to that particular statement.

"Oi! Echizen, where are you going?"

Ryoma didn't turn but spoke, his voice revealing a hint of displeasure most likely directed at the previous conversation, "I'm thirsty."

~oOo~

Sakuno looked around. Tomoka said she was going to be there but the girl wasn't anywhere in site. She was actually probably already at the courts, somewhere she should be at the moment.

"Gomen Sakuno-chan. I don't know what courts they are playing on but the board has all of the matches and their court numbers so just follow that and you'll be fine. Ja ne."

"Ja," she watched as the older girl hurried away most likely to meet her brother and his teammates.

Turning her attention to the board her eyes roved across the brackets. Finally her eyes landed on Seigaku and Yamabuki. They would be playing on court 5. Smiling, she turned, she had missed at least the first match but if she hurried she'd make it for at least part of the second match.

Sakuno actually found the courts quite easily. Starting at one, she counted until she reached court 5. Judging by the mass of people and loud cheers, this is where she was supposed to be. Circling the courts, she found Tomoka easily. She was quite… boisterous.

"Konnichi wa Tomo-chan."

Tomoka whipped around, a little surprised, "Sa-chan! You made it. You missed the first match. We lost," she appeared a bit deflated them but perked up after a moment, "but Ryoma-sama hasn't played yet."

They lost the first match? Yamabuki must be fairly good then.

"Oi! Osakada, who's she?" a new voice asked. Sakuno turned to the new voice and observed him silently. He had a unibrow and was just as loud as Tomoka.

"Baka! How the hell don't you know who she is? She's in our class."

Sakuno couldn't really condone the comment because she didn't know who he was either.

"Tomo-chan, its okay, I'm new to the class anyway. Its not expected that he should remember me so quickly," Tomoka looked like she wanted to protest but Sakuno addressed Horio, "I'm Ryuuzaki Sakuno."

Horio's eyes widened, "The coaches granddaughter?! Echizen hates you!"

An uncomfortable silence settled then, no one speaking but all watching Sakuno's reaction. However when she opened her mouth to speak, another voice cut her off.

"You're too noisy."

Everyone's eyes shifted to the stoic boy who was watching the match. In his hand he held a grape Ponta. His eyes moved from the courts to the small group, taking them all in, his discontent apparent.

"Ah Echizen, I didn't know you were there," Horio let out an uncomfortable laugh.

Ryoma ignored the boy. His eyes were on Sakuno. They stared at one another, not a word passing before he spoke again, "What are you doing here?"

"Watching the tennis match just like everyone else."

He grunted before turning back to the match, "Whatever."

No more words were exchanged between the two but the air remained tense. Sakuno watched the matches with poorly veiled interest. Kikumaru and Oishi worked together incredible well and she enjoyed watching the hyperactive boy moving about the court in flips and turns. The match ended well with Kikumaru and Oishi taking the victory. The next match between Momoshiro and "Lucky" Sengoku had Sakuno worried. She had noticed his limp. It wasn't very long before Sakuno found herself cheering for him softly, getting very much into the game as the junior made an amazing comeback.

"Sugoi…" her voice was filled with awe as Momoshiro was escorted off the courts.

Sakuno looked around, her thoughts wondering before the next match began. She would get to see Akutsu for the first time and she was interested. If he was as interesting as other made him out to be, she might like to draw him. She was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of a bright voice.

"Good luck Akutsu-senpai! I know you'll win!"

Swiftly spinning around, Sakuno got her first look at the infamous boy and he looked positively menacing. She would rather not have seen him. Taking her eyes from the imperious form, she sought out the voice she had heard before. Her eyes landed on a short boy. Another freshman. He wore the traditional clothing of a tennis club member and around his head he wore an oversized green headband. Oversized because she could see it falling over his eyes every few minutes as he bounced excitedly around Akutsu.

"Dan."

The boy paused in his movements and tilted his head to the side, his brown, doe-like eyes stared inquisitively, "Hai Akustu-senpai?"

"Shut up."

Sakuno was taken aback when Dan smiled widely at the retreating back of Yamabuki's looming ruffian. Fascinating… without thinking, Sakuno found herself standing before the boy. He looked at her, blinking a few times before smile.

"Hi! I'm Dan Taichi desu. Who are you?"

Sakuno felt a blush creep up her cheeks and she answered, admittedly a bit nervous, "R-Ryuuzaki Sakuno."

There was short silence in which he watched her curiously, "Ne… what school do you go to?"

"Seigaku. You go to Yamabuki right?"

"Hai! So you are our opponents then?" he smiled lightly, "Akutsu-senpai will definitely beat your player. He's the best."

Sakuno gave Dan a peculiar look. His statement wasn't malicious. No, it just showed how much faith he had in his teammate.

"You are friends with Akutsu-san?"

Dan seemed to mull over this queston for a moment before answering, "Hai, he is my idol and doesn't tell me to go away."

Sakuno smiled at this. It was a strange answer but if Dan, being as innocent as he appeared, could get along with Akutsu maybe he wasn't so bad.

"Ah! Its starting, come on," grabbing her hand, Dan pulled Sakuno to the gates to watch the match. Blushing at the contact, she allowed him to pull her.

To say she was stunned was an understatement. The start of the match was rough, with Akutsu appearing to threaten Ryoma at the net. Ryoma had then responded in kind by putting a well-placed drive volley in Akutsu's face. Despite the fact that Ryoma had made the comment that that had been compensation for what happened to Kachirou, Sakuno did not approve of violence. Her eyes shone with her disapproval.

The match moved on, Sakuno becoming engrossed with it. Both her and Dan cheered at one point or another but when it came time to switch courts, Sakuno turned to Dan who had begun to excitedly discuss the match with her. Feeling as though she was being watched, Sakuno returned her eyes to the courts. Ryoma was glaring at her. Recoiling at little she looked around uncomfortably. Maybe he was looking at someone else. Craning her neck around, she looked. No one else was there. Great, what did she do this time?

"Ne… why is he looking at you like that?"

Even Dan had noticed, "I don't know…"

The end of the match seemed to come quickly with Echizen winning with a cleverly placed drop shot. Silently cheering, Sakuno placed the incident behind her. Completely forgetting about the glare. As the two opponents left the court, Sakuno realized that Dan would be leaving soon. Acting on a whim, Sakuno called out to him.

"Dan-san?"

Looking at Sakuno, Dan answered, "Hai?"

"Would you… umm would you like to model for me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Model?"

Blushing red, Sakuno looked down, "Ano I draw… er… I'm an artist. So… you don't have to. You probably wouldn't want to," she rambled on as Dan's everlasting grin seemed to grow.

"Sure," now he was blushing a little as he dug in his pockets, "exchange phone numbers?"

Sakuno's blush deepened as she pulled out her cell phone, "Hai."

After programming their numbers in one another's phone, they parted ways.

"Ja ne Dan-san."

"Ja," he turned to leave but as he was walking away he yelled over his shoulder, "Call me Taichi!"

Staring after him, Sakuno found herself unable to stop smiling. He was such a happy person. Not to mention he was cute. Blushing once again, Sakuno turned around.

She found herself startled as she came face to face with many pairs of eyes. All of the Seigaku regulars (minus Tezuka), Tomoka, and the freshman trio were staring at her in astonishment.

Ryoma was first to speak, "He's from Yamabuki," it was a simple statement but it was spoken with a hint of irritation.

"…so?"

"Meaning he's from a rival team. Are you trying to give away our training methods?" he bit out harshly causing Sakuno to flinch.

"What… are you talking about?"

Ryoma grunted, "No, its not suspicious at all when you start talking to, and apparently hanging out with, members of other tennis clubs."

Sakuno glared at him, " What am I going to tell him? You practice and hit little green balls to each other over a net? Its not like I know the mechanics of the game, there's nothing for me to tell. And why would I give away your training methods? There's a certain amount of loyalty to a school that most people have. That includes trust in peers."

Ryoma's eyes seemed to bore into her and Sakuno shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot. Turning away from the fidgeting girl Ryoma spoke a phrase that often aggravated his opponents, "Mada mada dane."

~oOo~

It was a few weeks after the match and Sakuno was very confused. Tomoka wasn't around before school, after school, or even at lunch. It was a little weird since her best friend was always telling her about the latest gossip. Even Ryoma's behavior was iffy. He had been throwing her smug looks the whole week and it was getting on her nerves. None of this should have really concerned her. With Tomoka not around she could concentrate more on her art. Plus, when she did see Tomoka she acted in such a way that she was glad the girl was gone for the time being. Was it bad to say her best friend was grating on her nerves? No… the thing that bothered her was Ryoma. After the way he acted at the tournament, he shouldn't be going around throwing her self-satisfied looks.

"Sakuno-chan!"

Sakuno inwardly cringed at the loud screech.

"I really know how to jinx myself don't I?" she mumbled under her breath.

"What was that? You were mumbling," Tomoka was still louder than need be.

"Nothing Tomo-chan. Do you need something?" Sakuno asked, her mild irritation cleverly concealed beneath a soft smile.

"Oh my god! Guess what?!"

"What?"

"Ryoma-sama asked me out!"

Sakuno froze. Wait… what?

"Wha…?"

"He asked me out! You know how I haven't been around lately? Its because I've been with him, he just asked me out. I can't believe…"

Sakuno tuned the girl at this point. It all made sense now. The looks, why Tomoka wasn't around, everything. What was he trying to do?

"Tomo-chan," Sakuno interrupted the love-struck girl.

"Hai?"

"Can I talk to you… outside?"

Tomoka nodded and at her silent acquiesce; Sakuno led her outside the classroom. They had a good 10 or so minutes before class started so Sakuno didn't worry about time constraints.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Sakuno looked down for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts into coherent words, "Are you sure about this?"

"Nani? Sure about what?"

"Echizen-san? Are you sure you want to go out with him?"

Tomoka's eyes widened a bit and understanding flashed through her eyes, "Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be? Its every girls dream to be on his right arm."

"Ano… I was just wondering. Are you sure he really likes you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well he wouldn't have asked me out if he didn't," A feeling of dread overcame Sakuno, this really didn't seem right.

"What's with you giving me the third degree anyway?"

"Gomen Tomo-chan. I just don't think he's serious. I don't want you to get hurt."

Tomoka gave her a hard glare, "You're just jealous I'm going out with him, any girl would be. I just thought you would be different or at least happy for me."

"Wait, no. I-," Sakuno tried to explain.

Tomoka went on, "In fact… I don't think you should talk to me anymore. You're already at the bottom and I don't want you ruining my rep," with those words Tomoka returned to the room. Sakuno could only watch sadly at her friend's retreat. She could here her loud boasts and the sound of Horio telling her to shut up.

"Hmm some friend you have there," the voice from behind her just about had Sakuno jumping out of her skin.

Sakuno gawked at him only a moment before her look turned into a full blown glare, the hatred in her eyes apparent, "Are you happy now?"

Two weeks had gone by and apparently the two mismatched lovers were still going strong. It was lunch time and Sakuno was depressed. Tomoka had pretty much abandoned her and she really didn't have any other friends to fall back on. Sighing, she made her way to the roof. No one ever went up there so she should be okay. However, upon her arrival, she was greeted with the sight of someone she would rather not have seen. Echizen Ryoma. He was lounging back against the wall and, in lieu of her arrival, had opened his eyes to observe her. He said nothing as she made her way onto the rooftop completely, her eyes trained solely on his person. Sakuno really hadn't had any contact with the boy up until this point. She seemed hesitant and he stood, ready to leave since his peace had been disturbed but her voice stopped him.

"Why are you going out with Tomo-chan?" Sakuno asked him, eyes conveying her confusion, "You said your fan girls were annoying."

He smirked then, "What's the matter? Jealous?"

The question had Sakuno gaping at Ryoma in disbelief, "You have got to be kidding me. You're playing Tomo-chan to make me jealous?"

His smirked curved higher; he looked absolutely malicious. Stalking towards Sakuno until her back was pressed firmly against the rooftop's fence, he placed his hands on either side of her head and leaned down. Golden eyes flashed with dangerous intentions as he spoke, "Well, I guess it worked now didn't it?"

Flinching away from him, Sakuno vaguely recognized the sweet scent on his breath as that of the grape Ponta he was so fond of. He was close. Too close. Depserately trying to stave off the rapidly beating motion of her heart, Sakuno put her hands on his chest and pushed. Hard. The action obviously surprised Ryoma because he took a few steps back. Sakuno was staring at him with an odd look in her eyes.

"S-Stay a-away from me," she was stuttering again.

Ryoma quickly recovered from the surprise of being pushed away, "Tch. Stuttering again?"

"N-No," she paused and closed her eyes. Counting to ten she opened them again, "If you hurt her I swear you'll regret it."

He sneered at her then, "Yeah? I'm wondering why exactly you care what I do to her; she dropped you like that," he snapped his finger, the noise sounding harsh to Sakuno's ears.

"And what're you going to do if I just 'happen' to get tired of her," he looked thoughtful for a moment, "Come to think of it. I'm already tired of her. She's obnoxiously loud and clingy. I'd like to graduate with my ears and arms in tact."

Despite the nature of the remark, Sakuno found herself agreeing with Ryoma. Tomoka really could be loud and clingy. Obnoxiously so even. But she wasn't going to tell Ryoma that.

Letting out long suffering sigh Sakuno looked up at Ryoma with pleading eyes, "Just please, please don't hurt her."

Inwardly wincing, Sakuno wished she wouldn't have said that. The statement was just like handing over a pump to inflate his already ridiculously oversized ego.

"Fine."

"… nani?" Sakuno stared at him in astonishment. That was… unexpected. She had assumed he wouldn't care whether he hurt the girl or not. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

Sakuno smiled a bit, "Thank you Echizen-san," and with that she left, albeit she took an unnecessarily wide berth of his person upon her departure.

~oOo~

Another week had gone by and nothing special had occurred. Tomoka seemed to make it a point to speak especially loud about her relationship with Ryoma around her and she had begun to frequent the tennis courts, sketch book in hand. There was a little less than a month before her exhibition and for all it was worth… Sakuno wasn't excited. She had the idea of inviting Tomo-chan along but those plans were quickly squashed after a certain incident happened. She also needed to do a portrait. Ryoma was still her muse despite what had happened but she doubted she would do the portrait of him; even though it would be nice, he was quite attractive, it wouldn't be the wisest choice for her to have her eyes glued on his face every time she showed up to watch the tennis team practice. She had already called Dan and he said he would be happy to be her model for the time being. They boy had such an interesting air about him and for once she didn't let the opportunity slip up. Not a mention of the meeting was made to anyone, not ever her grandmother, lest Ryoma find out and go off on her for "fraternizing" with rival teams again.

Sakuno was in the art room. Her eyes stared absently at the colorful easels around her. She had done all 3 paintings already. Only one featured Ryoma… the first painting she had done. It was by far her favorite. The other two were conceptual, portraying life with symbolism and subtle detail. These were what drew Misaki-sensei to her art in the first place. The charcoal and pastel works were what she was having issues with. She knew she wanted to portraits but she wasn't really sure if she should make them all portraits of different people or if she should do some kind of contrast, involving at least 2 portraits- one with charcoal and the other with pastel.

Sakuno let a weary sigh escaper her lips. Shifting, she pulled her knees up and in the process placed her feet on the stools small seat. Her head went in her hands and she looked straight ahead.

"Stupid Echizen. If he wasn't such a cocky bastard then I wouldn't have to have these problems," she mumbled under her breath before silence once again settled in the room.

BANG!

The door to the art room flew open, banging against the wall with a resounding clang that had Sakuno jumping a mile high.

"SAKUNO!!!"

Well… at least she knew gravity worked. Yet again, due to Tomoka's loud voice, Sakuno found herself on the ground. The impact had been painful and she held her head at the sharp pain there.

"Sakuno!" the girls wail once again alerted Sakuno to another's presence in the room. Right.... something was wrong.

"Nani?" Sakuno couldn't keep the contempt out of her voice, never mind the fact that she wasn't trying to.

Tomoka face appeared in front of her and Sakuno watched the tears stream down the girls face. Idly, Sakuno wondered if Tomoka had ever been to Niagra Falls. The trail of tears reminded her of the large waterfall she had seen in picture books.

"H-He b-broke up with me!!!"

Sakuno stared at her blankly for a moment before it finally clicked. She had to resist the urge to say 'I told you so'. It wouldn't exactly be appropriate for the given situation.

Wrapping her arms around the hysterical girl, Sakuno spoke soothing words, "Shh… its okay."

Finally, the girl calmed down, her red puffy eyes looking gratefully at the young artist.

"What happened?"

"W-Well I was talking about how I should sit with him and the other tennis regulars at lunch and I guess he got mad. H-He said he didn't want to do this anymore and that he never liked me in the first place. And he said I w-was ugly and too loud."

Sakuno's eyes narrowed, no doubt the boy had said more. She knew how he was but she hid her anger for the time being.

Standing, Sakuno looked down at Tomoka, her face carefully neutral.

"S-Sakuno?" she looked confused.

"I hope you understand that I'm only doing this because I don't like to see anyone cry. You cut all ties…." Sakuno trailed off.

Looking frantic, Tomoka spoke up quickly, "No no! I wasn't- I didn't mean that!"

Sakuno looked down at her despondently, "How many times are you going to do this to me Tomo-chan? I'm not some rag doll you can just toss around and go pick up later when you feel like playing again."

"Sakuno, I-"

"I'm tired of it. Bye Tomoka."

Sakuno turned and left the room. That was hard, Tomoka was her best friend but this always seemed to happen. She found some more popular friends and she left her. When something happened between Tomoka and her "new friends" she always came back, begging for forgiveness. Sakuno always forgave her… except for this time. It would take a lot more than a half-hearted apology to win her over this time. But for the time being she had something to take care of. He agreed not to hurt her…

He was walking towards the gates of the school when she found him. Jogging over, she came to stand in front of him. He seemed surprised, but the surprise was quickly replaced with a blank mask.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her!"

He stared at her impassively, "Hurt her? What are you talking about?

"Tomo-chan?"

He looked perplexed for a moment before it seemed to click, "Osakada? I didn't touch her."

Sakuno was furious, "Don't give me that bullshit. You hurt her. Emotionally. Or does that word mean nothing to you? She loved you!"

"She loved me?" he gave a rye laugh, his words coming ever more resentful, "If anything is bullshit, then its those three words. Osakada doesn't even know me. She's just like every other self-absorbed bimbo trying to move up a little more on the social rungs of the ladder. Why should I waste my emotions on people who are only using me? They don't care so I'm not going to pretend like I give a fuck," his smoldering gaze stared directly into her wide, brown orbs, "So Ryuuzaki, how exactly are defining love? If its what I've been seeing then I sure as hell don't want a damn thing to do with it."

Sakuno eyes were large, the shock apparent in her features. Whatever it was she was expecting, it definitely wasn't that outburst.

A/N: And things get more complicated. I don't really like this chapter that much. There are some parts that I like, but the things I don't like outweigh the things I do. Does it seem sloppy to you guys? I think I'll redo it…

Uh for next chapter there's going to be two serious talks, both involving Sakuno and two other characters. Till next time, read and review please.