Ryuzaki Sakuno continued on her way to the gym.

Gym? Yes, gym. She was going to give the old regulars a visit.

Old regulars? They were working out.

And affirmitive, all of them.

(Well, at least that's the plan.)

As Sure As Doubtful

Summary: "O'chibi, why were you hiding behind that plant?" "I was checking if there were...worms on it." "Heh. Are you sure it's not because you're following Ryuzaki-chan?"

A/N: Plot bunny came to life. One of the stories that I want to clear out of my head. Enjoy!

Standard Disclaimer Applies.

One might think that with all of the tennis action that the regulars get almost daily, that they'll never need to work out anymore. And well, since it's summer, with all the fun and glory, they have all the time in the world to just lay down and watch a movie or two eating mochi ice cream. If you're one of the many who think this way, well, Ryuzaki Sumire would prove you wrong.

She can.

She would want the best for her old team. Even if she is not responsible anymore for their training.

So away she went on a cheery summer Thursday, with calming birds and picture perfect stuff life that, heading towards each of the places that the regulars might be enjoying their day on.

On her way to the first stop though, she passed by the local burger-slash-bowling-joint that they had went into three years ago. She was just about to ignore it when she saw a flash of green cloth through the glossy window of the joint, which reminded her of Kaidoh's bandana. Bingo, she thought. They were playing or probably eating today.

But what does that have to do with Sakuno visiting them?

If Momoshiro describes how Sumire would answer the question stated above, it would be, "I'm not that young anymore to radiate charm and I don't have the money to treat you guys for lunch and I don't want you all to eat junk food, so yeah, I'll just call my granddaughter to bring us her delicious food."

Enough of Sumire.

The now sweaty regulars were starving. Well, they weren't that hungry, but the thirst they were feeling right now were nothing beyond compare to any of their past deadly matches. Even the almighty juice-making Inui Sadaharu hadn't expected their coach to be so mad at them for slacking off.

If you ask Sumire though, she'd say, "There is no time for slacking off. Even if it's summer. You boys have a friendly match with my old comrades' boys, so it's better if we start preparing now, other than wasting two good months of intense labour. Besides, Sakuno wouldn't mind cooking for us, anyway."

When Eiji had wailed that Sakuno might get tired of cooking all the time for them, Sumire bellowed. "She doesn't. Trust me! After all, she had been cooking for a lot of people this whole summer."

"Oh? She's taken at interest at culinary, huh?" Fuji asked. "Did she make it as her business?"

"Well, not exactly. She does it for free. She goes to that orphanage everyday to feed the kids good meal," She stated, feeling proud of her selfless granddaughter. The regulars then got back to working out. "Or, maybe it's because of that 'cute,' as Tomoka would say, boy working there. Beh, I don't really know. As long as she's okay, then that's alright." The coach added casually.

A certain cat-eyed regular, who was currently on the treadmill, suddenly tripped.

Sumire came immediately. "Ryoma! You alright, boy?"

"Hai." He answered, while trying to fall back into the right step. Only to crash down once again.

"Oi! You're really off today, huh? What happened?"

Echizen didn't answer, but went back into treadmill-ing. On the background, Fuji's, Inui's, Eiji's, and Momo's eyes glinted with knowing.

One word: Jealous.

Taka and Oishi's sweat dropped in an anime-like fashion, while Tezuka and Kaidoh shook their heads in disapproval.

This won't turn out good-

"Konnichiwa, Obaa-chan, senpai-tachi, and Ryoma-kun."

Everyone gave her a nod in greeting. Except maybe her grandma, for she had already looked over the basket that she had brought with her.

Eiji left his post on the bench press to greet Sakuno. Momo did the same thing to his own rowing machine. Together, they ran towards the 15-year-old with open arms.

"Sakuno-chaaaan!"

"Save us!"

They hugged her for about a moment. Which is a minute and a half. They would've not stopped if it weren't for Tezuka, who grabbed them by their shirt holes. Sakuno smiled in relief and began to distribute the food she had brought them. One by one, the old regulars made their way to Ryuzaki trudging, while the older Ryuzaki was taping her foot in impatience. They were planning to just drop-dead right there and then but the coach's, "Hoi! Faster!" made them think otherwise.

"Oishi~"

"Oishi, ne, Tezuka?"

"Un."

"OISHI, SAKUNO-CHAN!"

"Fssh..."

Eiji was snickering. "Oishi, they're calling you right now."

Oishi looked up from his bento, chuckling. "I have to agree with everyone, Sakuno-san. This is delicious."

The girl blushed. "Iie."

Momo looked apalled. "Oi, Sakuno-chan. Your bentos are improving. Are you planning on getting married early?"

A certain someone broke his chopsticks. Fuji looked Ryoma's way with a smile. "My hand slipped."

Sakuno blushed again. "N-no! It's n-not like t-that at a-all!"

Sumire broke their merry. "Ahem, if you boys aren't done eating yet, I suggest you stop minding my granddaughter's lovelife and continue eating; unless, you guys want an extra hour on the bench press?"

They broke the fastest bento eating record that day.

Sakuno calmed down and stood up from her seat when the regulars were done eating. Sumire helped her with the utensils. "Well, thanks for the lunch, Sakuno. Are you going back to the orphanage now?"

From the treadmill, Ryoma eyed them with slanted eyes.

Sakuno shook her head. "I went over there before coming over here, Obaa-chan."

Sumire rubbed her chin. "Oh? Well that's good. But didn't you get lost on the way here?"

"Obaa-chan! I know my way around here already." Sakuno smiled. "Besides, Kiriyo-kun came with me. He comes here often."

"Oh, that child from the orphanage? Well, well, Sakuno. It looks like you've got yourself a boy."

Sakuno turned into a tomato. She quickly waved her hands in front of her in defense. "No, Grandma. It's not like that! We're not like that at all!"

"That's what they all say, Sakuno-chan!" Momo commented from afar. She stiffened. She turned around to find the Regulars grinning at her like cats. Ryoma tilted his cap downward before raising the elevation to the treadmill, and running faster.

"Get back to work!" Sumire instructed. She then fell on the chair, exhausted.

Sakuno looked over her with worry. "Obaa-chan, I think you should go home and rest. You look a little pale."

Sumire nodded her head. "Sure thing. Go watch these brats for me, okay?"

"Oi brats, I'm leaving you in Sakuno's hands. Don't try anything funny!"

"Hai!" The gym door closed.

"So, Sakuno-chan, who's this Kiriyo guy, eh?" Momo asked with wiggling eyebrows.

She blushed. "He's my friend at the orphanage."

"Friend, hoi?" Eiji added, his own brows ressembling Momo's. "Or boyfriend?"

Momo and Eiji broke into giggle fits.

Fuji noticed Ryoma's stance froze. He took note of how tight the "boy" of the team's hands was holding on the bars of the machine. His smile widened. "Replacing Echizen, I see."

With that, Sakuno's eyes widened. She blushed tenfold. They were sure she was going to be in coma or something due to blushing. Eh? Was that even possible?

"A-anou, Kiriyo-kun, he is different."

"Define different." Inui asked, his position on the weights abandoned.

"Hoi hoi, yeah!"

She did not need to purse her lips in thought. "Well he, for one, does not like playing tennis that much…"

"Oh? Who could not like playing tennis!" Momo raged.

Fuji's eyes flickered with amusement before closing, "So, are you implying that you like guys who take interest in tennis?"

Echizen turned his head just a wee bit to listen to the conversation. But of course, he had to convince himself that he was merely caught in between the air—the regulars were interrogating Sakuno about the guy she *ahem* supposedly liked, and he just happen to be nearby to hear every detail.

Sakuno smiled shyly. "U-un."

"Yosh! So Echizen still has a chance with you!"

The brunette's eyes widened. Oishi came to her defense. "Well, you might be right, Momo, but according to Sakuno-san's history with tennis, of course she'll want to couple up with someone who had experience with tennis—no offense, Sakuno-san."

Sakuno's blush faded just the slightest; nonetheless, she nodded her head. "Ano, senpai-tachi, is it alright if I go check on Kiriyo-kun? He said he'd be by the pool."

Tezuka nodded his head to the direction of the pool. Sakuno smiled. "Arigato, Tezuka-senpai."

Ryoma stopped with his treadmill and left for the same direction. His teammates looked at him with confusion. "I'm going to go get a drink."

Leave it to Ryoma to casually lie about his true intentions.

When he was sure they couldn't see him anymore, he referred to brisk-walking.

No way was he going to lose to some Kiriyo guy who somehow managed to squeeze himself into Sakuno's life. He had worked so hard to get into her good side for the past year—of course, spending the two years prior making a name for himself in the world of tennis—but said attempts only led to misunderstanding and weird situations.

Like that one time, three months ago, when Sakuno asked him to come with them (senpai-tachi) to the beach, and he agreed. Then he overheard from that Osakada-girl that she was sick, and immediately, he thought that it was Sakuno that she was referring to, so he cancelled on his senpais. Because what's the point on agreeing when one of his reasons wasn't there?

Sakuno wouldn't even look at him the Monday after.

Anyways, he won't let some dude step ahead of him—although he wouldn't ever admit that out loud.

Thinking about the possibilities his so-called opponent might win her over; said girl almost caught him. It was a good thing that Sakuno was unaware of his presence, or else, it might have led to another one of those moments he thoroughly wanted to forget. Jumping to the nearest possible canopy for him, he crouched down to spy on Sakuno and Kiriyo.

"O'chibi, why were you hiding behind that plant?"

Ryoma turned to his side, to be met with curious pairs of blue and violet eyes.

Think, Ryoma, think!

"I was checking if there were...worms on it."

Really. Like seriously, really?

Inwardly, he felt like drowning himself on the pool across from them. Eiji and Momoshiro had to bite their tongues to keep themselves from laughing. "Heh. Are you sure it's not because you're following Ryuzaki-chan?"

He scoffed. "Of course not!"

The leaves of the plant that they were currently hiding behind of suddenly moved. The three looked scared for a second, knowing that it might be Sakuno checking up on them.

"Onee-chan!" A little boy, around six, perhaps, was peering at them with wide eyes.

Sakuno looked up and turned to them. "Senpai-tachi? What are you doing behind that plant?"

"Uhm…"

"You see-"

"They were hiding from Inui. He was going to make them drink one of his delightful juices again," Fuji saved, his ever-smiling face present.

Sakuno nodded unsurely. Fuji turned to the little kid beside Sakuno. "Is this…?"

"Hai! This is Kiriyo-kun."

Ryoma calmly walked away, an air of fresh relief trailing after him. He almost looked like he was smiling. Or smirking.

Momoshiro and Eiji were fully laughing by now. Fuji opened his eyes. "Oh. Well, then it looks like we better get back to training, then."

Sakuno nodded and took Kiriyo's hand, heading towards where the other regulars were.

"Ne, I bet you Echizen was lying about checking the worms on that plant."

When their training exercise was done, and Sakuno had taken Kiriyo back to the orphanage, somehow, only Sakuno and Ryoma were left to walk home. And the latter wasn't going to waste this chance to get on her good side, yet again.

"I-"

Sakuno turned to look at him.

"I mean, the senpai-tachi thought that you and Kiriyo were a couple."

Sakuno nodded slowly. "Hai. I know. I was there when they brought out their thoughts."

Ryoma looked away and winced. Way to state the obvious.

Sakuno, sensing her companion-her * ahem * long-time object of affection-'s troubling aura, decided it was time to confront him about her observations.

"Ne, Ryoma-kun,"

Ryoma turned, as if to tell her to keep going.

"Did you think that K-Kiriyo-kun was someone older? L-like someone who I would be interested in?" She was blushing madly, but somehow it came out comprehensible.

When he didn't answer, she quickly waved her hands in defense. "I-I didn't mean to i-imply anything, it's j-just that Tomoka-chan's been saying that y-you might uhm, I m-mean, you s-seem kind of-"

He didn't know when he titled him cap, but he was sure happy that it covered up the prideful smirk he was now sporting.

"Do you want to go practice with me some time?"

"E-eh? With the senpais?" Sakuno stopped walking.

Ryoma also stopped walking and looked back. "Just us."

Sakuno blushed heavily before smiling nervously. "Well, if y-you're not busy…"

"Tomorrow, 8am, street courts. See ya." He waved off before hoping on the train.

Sakuno stood there, still shell-shocked. Did Ryoma just asked her out-kinda?

She was sure to tell Tomoka that she was right. She smiled and waited patiently for her own train.