Ceyrai says: This fanfic has been gathering dust in my Miscellaneous Ideas folder, so decided to finally (finally!) show it to the general RyoSaku fanfic-reading public. (Not that there are a lot out there, but I'll take any audience I can get. XD)

Notes:
Pair: RyoSaku
Universe: Canon, future-fic
Warnings: Original character
Rip-offs: Maya Korakova could have been entirely mine, but she's based on a couple of real tennis stars – well, her name is, anyway. The Rolex Invitational is from a certain chick lit book that I happened to peruse at PowerBooks. And Sakuno's ringtone is definitely not made up either. Three guesses where it came from.
Disclaimer: I don't own TeniPuri (which I'm pretty sure doesn't own Fanta, so I don't either). Rolex, and any other copyrighted thing that I may have failed to mention.

Switch Watch
actually, i think i'll need help on this one

Maya Korakova, seventeen years old, tennis player, found herself increasingly curious as she stared across the country club lounge, at one brooding teen who was glaring at his can of Fanta as though he wanted to set it on fire.

Now this is interesting, Maya thought to herself. What could possibly trouble the unshakeable young Prince of the tennis world?

She knew it had a rather low probability of it being tennis related. After all, it was only one of those high lifestyle-sponsored tennis matches. This one, called the Rolex Invitational, was being held in one of the posh sporting clubs in the Hamptons that particular week of mid-July. Naturally, the one and only Ryoma Echizen was invited to play in the tournament, and naturally, this Ryoma Echizen couldn't resist the lure of a muscle-stretcher like this one. However, it was only an invitational - not at all as high-stakes as a real Open. It was more of a break for most junior tennis veterans than anything. So seriously, what could be the trouble?

Now, Maya Korakova was another one of those rising young tennis stars, just as famous and nearly as brilliant as the Prince of Tennis. But she was also just as nosy - ah, concerned - as most seventeen year-old girls are. So as concerned as she was, she decided to plop herself down on the same sofa as Ryoma.

"Hey, Echizen," she said, her Russian accent just barely audible. "You might melt your Fanta can, the way you're glaring at it."

Ryoma grunted as a way of acknowledging her presence.

"So what's your problem?" she asked good-naturedly. "Not tennis-related, I take it?"

"…Nah."

Surprisingly, Ryoma seemed a little more willing to talk than usual. Intrigued by his responsiveness, Maya decided to pursue the conversation. "So… is it girl trouble?"

A twitch under Ryoma's right eye told her she was right.

"Ohhhhh..." Maya murmured gleefully, a grin forming on her face. "Echizen's gained hormones!"

The fifteen year old boy threw her an irritated look that stated clearly, Shut it before anyone hears.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," the dark-haired girl giggled. "Anyway, what's the problem? Can't tell her what you feel?"

"Already did," Ryoma mumbled, not meeting her eyes. His skin turned into a red that had nothing to do with the summer heat.

"Oh, so you're together? That's wonderful!" Maya gushed. Tennis star or not, she still loved hearing these secret love stories of the rich and famous. When Ryoma's look turned even more ferocious, she raised her hands in protest. "Sorry, sorry - I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

"You better not, Korakova," Ryoma muttered, taking a swig of his Fanta.

"But you're obviously not in bliss about all this," Maya noted. "So what's the deal? You fought? Oh, you miss her! Or maybe she cheats?" Ryoma gave her an even darker look, and she hurriedly scrambled for a follow-up. "O-oh, but she's not the type, right? Okay, you can't see eye to eye about something? Or you do miss her…? Well, that's should be a given… Well, it can't be that you can't find a souvenir for her, that's a little too petty for a big shot like y-"

She stopped and blinked, staring at Ryoma's miserable expression. Something tells me I hit spot on.

"So that's it?" Maya asked, smiling amusedly. "You can't find a souvenir in the hundreds of shops and outlets that serve the Hamptons' fabulously rich?"

"There isn't anything here that I can't find in Tokyo," Ryoma said, sighing. "I want something unique." He grimaced and mumbled under his breath, "After what happened last time…"

"What happened last time?" Maya asked.

"I ended up buying her something from the airport souvenir shop," Ryoma muttered. "She looked happy, but she likes pretending to be…"

It was the first time Maya heard defeat in his voice. Not that she heard his voice often, though, but more often than not, it was Ryoma who did the defeating, not the other way around. "Oh God, I feel you there," she said sympathetically. "To tell you the truth, I'm feeling the same thing. I couldn't bring my boyfriend back anything last time… and I totally have to make up for it this time! I'm not particularly sure how to do that, though… I haven't found anything special enough."

They both sighed, both looking more dejected than rising young stars ought to be.

"If I do win this tournament," Maya went on, "I'll only be winning that girly Rolex watch I don't even need, and money I don't even know what to spend on. I can't give him money, though - that seems a little impersonal, don't you think, Echizen? …uh, Echizen?"

For Ryoma suddenly had a look on his face - a look of realization - that rendered him inattentive to Maya for a few seconds. Maya said his name again, and right away, he was attentive again. "Anyway," the Russian girl continued, "I guess we still have a couple of days to figure it out, huh? Do you want to go look for souvenirs together? Oh, wait, that'll look weird in front of the paparazzi…"

"Actually," Ryoma said, "I think I'll need help on this one."

Maya looked delighted. "I'll be glad to help!"

Then she felt as though she wanted to take her words back, without knowing why. Perhaps it has something to do with that weird I-ate-the-canary-AND-the-goldfish expression on this kid's face…

"See," Ryoma elaborated, "I wanted to give her something in particular. Something like a watch. Maybe a silver one. Probably one with a butterfly-shaped face - she likes butterflies, you know. Oh, I think one with pink diamonds embedded on it should do." He smirked at her confused face. "Know where I can find one of those?"

"Echizen…" Maya said slowly, putting two and two together, "that watch you want to give her sounds quite like that one-of-a-kind Rolex ladies watch the female winner's gonna get."

Ryoma only smirked wider.

"Echizen!" Maya exclaimed. Could this boy get any more arrogant and presumptuous? "Are you telling me to give you the top prize of the women's tournament?! I know I said I didn't want it, but that's rather unfair, don't you think!?"

"Relax, Korakova," Ryoma said easily. "We can switch watches. That way, your boyfriend will have a one-of-a-kind Rolex watch, and my girlfriend will have one as well. They're happy, we're happy. There."

"Well, that sounds like a rather good deal," Maya agreed, though a little hesitant. Then something crossed her mind abruptly. "Wait! What if I don't win the tournament?"

Ryoma shrugged. "Then they'll have to be contented with airport-bought souvenirs, right?"

Maya's jaw dropped as Ryoma stood up from his seat, having solved his dilemma. "Just a sec!" she said before he could sidle off. "What if you don't win the tournament?"

The cocky tennis prodigy just gave her an amused look.

"Not gonna happen."

Maya could only stare as the Prince of Tennis walked off, his hands in his pockets, looking satisfied.

As for Ryoma, well, he knew that it was in the bag.

(Maya Korakova would later note that that particular invitational was one of the strangest, yet most fulfilling tournaments she won.)

Tak.

"Gmmmngggrgghhh…" Ryuuzaki Sakuno groaned, awakening abruptly. She wrapped her comforters tighter around her.

Tak. Tak.

"Go awaaaaaay…" she moaned. Who is making that infernal noise at this time of night…?

Mi-mi-mirakuru, mikurun-run! MI-MI-MIRAKURU, MIKURUN-RUN!

"Argh, make it stop!" she grumbled in annoyance, fumbling for her annoyingly-cheerful phone in the dark. Her eyes still closed, she ended up pressing the wrong keys before finding the right one for answering calls. "H'llo?"

"Ryuuzaki, how long are you gonna make me throw pebbles at your window?"

She bolted upright, her heart jumpstarting quickly. "R-r-r-ryoma-kun!?" She quickly gathered her wits. "I'll be right down!"

She grabbed a bathrobe and hurried down the stairs, turning on whatever light she could get her hands on. She threw the front door open and quickly unlatched the gate.

"You broke the record for lateness again, Ryu-" Sakuno broke off Ryoma's wisecrack as she leapt up and hugged him around the neck. "Oi!" he protested, gasping for air.

"Sorry!" she apologized quickly, letting go. She rubbed her nape, smiling sheepishly. "I ended up missing you pretty badly."

"I was only gone four days," Ryoma mumbled, rubbing his neck.

Sakuno blushed at this. "B-but it's 1 in the morning, Ryoma-kun," she said hurriedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I arrived in Narita Airport at 10 last night, so my mom said I had to wait till morning to see you." He shrugged, but there was impishness in his eyes. "So I did."

Sakuno giggled. "Okay, I guess you did. But really, Ryoma-kun, what couldn't possibly wait till the sun had actually risen?"

He fished something out of his pocket. "This," he said, dropping it into her waiting hands. It was a velvet box with "Rolex" embroidered in gold thread on it. Sakuno, mouth open, slowly opened the package.

There, sitting on a velvet pillow, gleaming in the moonlight, was a dainty silver watch, with a butterfly-shaped face, each wing set with tiny pink diamonds.

It was beautiful.

And, as Sakuno realized when she stared long enough, it was the same only-one-in-the-world watch that she just saw in tennis star Maya Korakova's hands in that week's Sports section of the online news.

"So…?" Ryoma prompted, trying not to look to eager for her approval.

"It's… it's…" Sakuno didn't know what to say - should she appreciate the gift, or reprimand Ryoma for getting a prize that clearly wasn't his?

She opted for a combination of both. "Well, I love it, Ryoma-kun, but…"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow, looking offended. "But?" he asked incredulously.

"But I can't take it," Sakuno said sternly, her soft brown gaze scolding for once. She pushed it back to his chest. "This was Maya Korakova's, Ryoma-kun. I know - I saw it online."

Sakuno couldn't help but feel disappointed in Ryoma. Whatever means he used to get it, she was almost sure it was underhanded. (She hadn't forgotten the Echizen-Horio switch of four years back.)

"Yeah, well, about that…"

Well, almost. Because Ryoma was smirking in a way that made her have second thoughts of accusing him.

"Well, I let her switch with me."

"What?" Now the auburn-haired girl was confused. "What do you mean, you let her?"

Ryoma shrugged again, having already resolved to keep the finer details to himself. No way was Sakuno going to know that he had to turn to desperate measures to get her something of real worth.

"Let's just say… Maya Korakova was having boyfriend problems."

…

"…ehhh…?"

Ceyrai Says: The boy's arrogance knows neither qualm nor boundary.

I'm sure it would have caused a paparazzi frenzy if someone found out about the switch, but naturally, Ryoma couldn't care less. Heh.

Review?