Ryoma, Sakuno and the Prom

Disclaimer: Tennis no oujisama (Prince of Tennis) belongs to Konomi Takeshi-san. I do own the plot, though (well, this plot will be part of the real Prince of Tennis if I own it -.-)

Summary: Ryuzaki Sakuno is trying her best to get over with our feline-eyed prince, and found someone to put all of her attention in the form of one of the once "freshmen trio" Katsuo-kun. But how long will she decline Ryoma's affection towards her? And what's all of this got to do with the upcoming prom[ryoxsaku; katsuoxtomoxhorio; eventual tomoxhorio

A/N: Uh… this is my second attempt at making a fan fiction, and first time for Prince of Tennis.

--- 3 PoT

Heartbroken

--- 3 PoT

Ryuzaki Sakuno, an attractive young middle school junior student who has amazing skills in music, cooking, and arts, leaned on the windowsill, her laid-down and unbraided long, auburn hair blown down gently by the wind. Her expressions are downcast, and she has an awfully cheerless aura around her. She let out a sigh form her soft cherry lips. You're doing a great job, Sakuno, she told herself. I'm SO over with you now, Echizen Ryoma.

With her musings, she definitely didn't notice someone walking towards her direction, and it's no surprise that she was shocked when she was patted in the back. She turned her head around to look.

"Katsuo-kun, don't scare me out like that," she said wryly, as she saw a grin from one of the once "freshmen trio" of the Seishun Gakuen Tennis Club, but was glad, nevertheless.

Katsuo ignored her comment, but said, "Ne, Sakuno-chan. Don't think of Ryoma-kun that deeply. We both know that he loves you back." Oh, great. Here we go again, Sakuno just thought.

She replied anyway. "Katsuo-kun. You're the only one who knows that he likes me back—"

"LOVES you back," he corrected.

"Whatever. And I'm so not stupid to believe that. And I've stopped loving him ever since we started our junior year, so, for the umpteenth time, stop bringing that up."

"Hai, hai. But you should believe me sometimes, ne? Even just as a former suitor."

FLASHBACK

Sakuno, along with other junior students, is starting the second week of the new term. She ended up in class 2-C for having low grades in English (even with Echizen tutoring her) and Plane Geometry. Osakada Tomoka and Horio were with her, too, while Kachiro, Katsuo, and Ryoma were in class 2-B. As she opened the classroom door and went towards her seat, she noticed a neatly folded note under her table and decided to read it.

Ryuzaki Sakuno-chan,

Would you allow me to court you?

Katsuo-kun (1)

That's it. No declaration of love or whatsoever. No flattering and sappy descriptions. No flat-out, clear reason. It's just that, and no more.

She looked around, and surely, she found Katsuo talking with Horio. Katsuo, noticing this, went out of the room. Sakuno followed.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan. What's the answer?"

Geez, he sure is cocky and demanding, but he may be the one to help me forget ryoma-kun.

"What if I said 'yes'?"

So that's it. They've been going out after that. For a week. Tomo-chan and the rest of Ryoma's fans club can't accept her decision anyway when she broke the news to them that day. And after a few days of making poor Sakuno-chan back into her old state (that is, having fallen for Ryoma and not Katsuo-kun) in vain, they gave up and help her get close to Katsuo. For a week.

You can't expect a playboy anyway to "stick onto one".

How, you ask? By another note, that is.

Sakuno-chan,

I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but I can't forget about her no matter how I try. I still love her.

Gomen nasai…

Katsuo

That's how it ended. But it did help her lots to forget Ryoma-kun. She immediately became Katsuo's best bud, learning about him and his futile attemps (not that it will not work; his efforts were crushed by his old buddy) to get Tomo-chan's attention, for it was already caught by Horio (2). But Katsuo, who joined forces with Tomo-chan's fans club, also tried to avert her attention to Ryoma-kun, who is close friends with Katsuo.

End of FLASHBACK

"That's why I can't bring myself to believe you, especially not because of that crap. You still owe me one for making a fool out of myself."

"This is the way I pay a debt to you. That makes me remember something,"

Sakuno just closed her eyes, no, not that prom again.

"I won't come with him, alright. Stop bugging me. I can enjoy the prom without a date," and with that, she stormed off.

But not after she saw him unleashing his evil smirk.

--- 3 PoT

The Seigaku Tennis Club has finished another practice, as expected to the two-time National Championships holder. Tezuka-buchou had assigned the new club captain: Ryoma Echizen. His fukubuchou is none other than Momo-chan-sempai. Tired from their intense training, the Regulars and the trio went to the tennis locker rooms.

The room was full of talks about the upcoming Seigaku junior-senior promenade. Almost all of them were excited to go to the said occasion. Almost.

Arai was the one who brought up the subject. "Momo-chan, are you coming to the forthcoming ball?"

"Eh? Of course, I've got myself a date already," replied Momoshiro.

"Have you scared her, or what," Kaidoh scoffed at the spike-haired vice-captain.

"Look who's talking. You're just envious that I got one, and you have none,"

"Why you, baka!"

"You're more idiotic than me, having no date at all,"

Ryoma was totally pissed off which was nothing to do with his two sempai's rants. "Do you want to run 100 laps each?"

Kaido and Momo stopped in their tracks. Their captain is scarier than Tezuka when in a bad mood.

"Gomen, gomen, Echizen (they were allowed to just call him by his surname)," Momo apologized. "Why are you in such a bad temper, anyway?"

When Ryoma didn't respond, he bugged him, "Hey, are you coming to the prom? Who's your date?"

"Momo-sempai! If you keep asking me that, you won't know what I might do to you!" He glared daggers on his sempai. He, fortunately, got the message.

Good thing Katsuo has something to calm him down a bit.

"Ne, Echizen, care to accompany me to the library? We have our class duty there, remember?"

"Hai, Katsuo-kun," he replied, not forgetting his weekly class routine. He followed Katsuo outside.

When they were out of earshot from their co-members, Katsuo talked to him.

"She said she was going. Alone. Without a date."

Ryoma totally understood what he meant, so he replied, "What can I do to that? I mean, the last person she was going with is me. She hated me with her whole life. You can date her if you like,"

"Nah, I'll pass. You know who I really wanted to dance with the most," he declined, "Anyway, she doesn't hate you. She just hasn't gone back to her 'old self'. Besides, the only problem is that she doesn't believe in us saying that you love her back. If only you would…" he left his sentence hanging.

Ryoma got the message. If he only have the courage to tell her how much he love her, things would be so much easier for both of them. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

"You're right. And I think I know how to work this out now."

Katsuo looked at him, totally puzzled.

Ryoma continued, "If she's got no date, I'll date no one either. But she's having her dance, for sure."

His friend, finally getting to the prince' point, smiled in approval.

It's still 3 days to go before the prom.

--- 3 PoT

A/N: I would love to hear from you, guys. Reviews, please!