Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

It was a strange feeling, he thought to himself. He glanced around the ornate ballroom. Young men in suits of various colors and young women in elegant ball gowns were dancing across the ballroom in perfect synchronization. The only thing they all had in common were the masks that adorned their faces. Some masks had an assortment of feathers and sequined beads while others were plain. But they still provided the ability to stay hidden. Everyone wore their masks so the only thing visible of their face was from the nose down.

So this is what it's like to have no girls constantly around me. He had donned on a navy blue dress shirt, black blazer and black pants for the annual Winter Ball. It's been a while since the commencement of the ball and all of the young men, including him, had taken off their ties and un-tucked their shirts. Even though his white mask obscured the full view of his face, many could tell that he was handsome. Just because he was handsome didn't mean that girls were flocking over to dance with him. He was currently standing alone while everyone else was having fun dancing with his or her partner. He searched among the throng of dancers for a lone young woman to dance with.

He spotted a young woman with wavy hair who was observing everyone like he was. She wore a burgundy dress that looked like it was made of velvet. Her black mask could be considered simple if it wasn't for the lace outlining. He put on a charming smirk and walked over to her. He grasped her hand and bowed, kissing her hand. A tinge of pink arose on her porcelain white cheeks.

He looked at her and asked, "Why is such a beautiful maiden like you not enjoying tonight's festivities?"

She seemed a bit shy, but gained some unknown confidence. She drew back her hand. "What is such a handsome man like you doing all alone? Shouldn't you be off wooing some young ladies?" She put on a smile, the mask making her smile be a bit daring.

Touché. He had never encountered a girl whose mood could change so quickly. From shy to confident. He doubted she was like this everyday. "I would much rather woo this young lady in front of me." He put his hand out to her and bowed once more. "Would you honor me with a dance?"

"I don't know." She slowly said. "I don't know what's lying underneath that mask. What if you're some creepy random guy? I have every reason to deny your request."

"But that's the beauty of tonight's ball. Everyone is wearing a mask. You could do whatever you want. You could let yourself loose. You've already done that since your hair is down." He pointed to her hair and she noticed that the other girls' had their hair up in a bun or another fancy hairdo.

She put on the same daring smile and took his hand. "I would love to dance with you."

He pulled her forward and she let out a gasp. He put his mouth near her ear, not noticing how their bodies molded well with each other. He whispered, "I'll be sure to make this a fun night for you." They both walked toward the dance floor and joined the dancers in an Austrian waltz. A few dances later, 'Libertango' by Astor Piazzolla came on.

He turned to her, "Do you know how to tango?"

"Yes. Why? Do you fancy Latin music?"

"I prefer associated with Greece." They began to dance. The dance making them unconsciously getting closer. Their legs interlocking to perform the legwork of the dance.

"The tango is a rather intimate dance. Wouldn't you say?" She said as he twirled her about.

"It most certainly is." He dipped her at the end of the song. There was a moment where their lips were going to meet. They were just gazing at each other while everyone around didn't take notice of them and continued dancing. She took the chance and pressed up her lips against his. He brought her back up, his lips never leaving hers. The kiss was nowhere innocent. They let loose the heat that accumulated during the tango.

He broke away from her and whispered, "The dance floor isn't the right place to be doing these types of things."

"I know someplace where we could go." She led him into an alcove. Overcome with a feeling he didn't know, he pushed her against the wall and crashed his lips upon hers.

As their kiss progressed, their hands wandered about. But they were careful to not remove each other's masks. They knew tonight was their one chance to be someone else. They didn't have any feelings of regret or uncertainty. Because wearing a mask meant they were safe.

Hidden.

A few minutes past midnight.

"You know that once we go past those doors, we'll never see each other again." She said as she righted her clothing. She was a bit in a daze from all the kissing they had done. He merely smiled. When they left the alcove, he went to the left while she went to the right. They didn't bother to exchange names like everyone else was doing. They didn't even give each other a second glance as they went to their respective rides.

"Did you have fun tonight?" He turned around to see his smirking friend called Oshitari Yuushi.

He peeled off his mask revealing himself to be Atobe Keigo. "It was fine. I met a lovely girl." He smiled, having a far-off look in his eyes. Oshitari raised his eyebrow, surprised that his friend didn't refer himself as 'ore-sama'. "Come. We must hurry and leave before ore-sama's fangirls become to awed by ore-sama's handsome features." They briskly walked away, toward one of Atobe's limos. During the walk to the car, Atobe's thoughts went back to that young woman with her daring smile…

In the taxi, she had put her head back against the headrest.

Ring. Ring.

She took off her mask, revealing herself to be Ryuuzaki Sakuno, and answered the phone.

"Hello. Tomo-chan!...Yes, it was really fun. You should have been there…I met a really nice young man…Are you done baby-sitting your brothers?...That's great. I'll come over right now and give you all the details of my night…I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye." She hung up and scooted up in her seat to give the taxi driver the address of Tomoka's house. She then leaned back in her seat and rested her head against the window, reminiscing the night's events and wondering if she would ever meet the young man again next year…

Oh, how Fate just loves to toy with us.

Here it is. It's my first AtobexSakuno fic. Hope you all like it. Sorry if some parts were OOC, they kind of had to because of the whole 'mask and be hidden' thing.

Happy New Year everyone!!!