Disclaimer: Konomi Takeshi owns Prince of Tennis.

"Caught anything, Kunimitsu?" Kunikazu asked his grandson while putting another worm in his bait.

Tezuka gently shook his head in response. It has been a fine day for fishing, but both of them have not caught anything since they have arrived three hours ago. Tezuka kept his usual stoic face, but Kunikazu could easily tell that his grandson was nowhere near giving up.

He can be too stubborn sometimes.

His eyes caught something interesting, and the older Tezuka smiled.

Tezuka pulled his bait from the water and was about to put another worm when he heard a loud splash. Instinctively, he looked towards the source of the sound and saw someone swimming, or should he say drowning, to the shore.

It was the girl he always sees when he goes fishing with his grandfather. She would always stand by the shore, and then after sometime, she would slowly dip her right foot into the water. He could tell she was afraid and hesitant at first, but she would close her eyes and take a deep breath to drive the fear away. Her eyes would be beaming with determination as she tries – and fails – to swim.

And that's exactly what's happening now.

Kunikazu suddenly spoke.

"You know Kunimitsu, sometimes giving up is the best thing to do. So let's call it quits for today now shall we?"

Tezuka had no idea whether his grandfather is talking about themselves or the girl, but he nodded nonetheless.

The girl walked to the shore. She was shivering in cold, and a sad smile was evident in her lips as she looked at the sunset. She casted a final look at the sea, and walked away.

"How is it, young miss?" a servant, Fukuda, asked as she helped her in her robe.

"I failed again."

"I'm sorry to hear that, young miss. Let's try again next week."

"You know what, Fukuda-san? I realized that giving up is really a hard thing to do but," she hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head of negative thoughts. "I think I'm ready to accept the truth."

Fukuda smiled, and opened the door of the limo for her.

You finally grew up, young miss.

The limo drove off.

Fukuda remembered the first time she took her young miss to the ocean. The warmth of her smiles and her giggles as she played in the water melted the hearts of everyone who cared for the young lady, especially her.

But it had to happen.

The young girl was building a sand castle as the waves raced to the shore. The waves carried her toy shovel to the ocean, and the girl immediately stood up to get it back. A loud scream echoed in the beach as another batch of waves came and carried the girl to the sea, and everyone panicked.

Fukuda was about to jump into the water when a young boy ran past her and dived to the sea. He swam to the drowning girl and helped her back to the shore. She could barely stand, so he put her right arm into his right shoulder and held her waist with his left hand to support her.

"Lady Yoko!" she rushed to the young girl, and the young boy carefully released his grip on the shaking girl. Fukuda wrapped the girl in a towel to keep her warm, and carried her in her arms.

Since then, the girl grew afraid of the oceans, and never learned how to swim no matter how hard she tried.

Hamasaki Yoko woke up from her dream. Every time she goes to the sea and tries to swim, she would always dream about that incident. The salty seawater stung her eyes and her tears blurred her vision, that's why she never had the chance to see the person who saved her life.

Her alarm clock rang, and Yoko got out of bed. She opened the window, and smiled as she looked at the morning sky.

Thank you, whoever you are.

She heard a knock on her door, followed by Fukuda's voice. "Good morning, young miss. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

"Thank you, Fukuda-san. I'll be there shortly."

"Take your time, young miss."

Fukuda's footsteps became softer and softer, until they finally disappeared.

Yoko sat in the dining table half an hour later. Clad in her school uniform, she ate slowly, and rode her limo to school.

"How did it go, Hamasaki-san?" Ootori Choutarou asked Yoko while they were having lunch in the cafeteria.

"The usual."

Ootori was about to apologize when Yoko suddenly spoke.

"Ne, Ootori-kun. I dreamt about it again last night. As much as I wanted to thank that kid, I never knew who he is or his whereabouts."

Ootori felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. He was panicking inside, but was relieved to see Yoko looking away.

"Hamasaki-san."

"Yes?"

"I, um, er, never mind."

"Oh, okay."

Ootori looked at her from the corner of his eyes, and continued eating.

She doesn't have to know.

Ootori was having a match with Gakuto, with him leading six games to five. He was planning to leave early today, but the acrobat was able to stretch the match to more than ten games. Ootori spotted Yoko in the bleachers, and got a little impatient to end the match quickly. He bounced the ball a few times and was about to throw the ball into the air when Gakuto suddenly collapsed on the floor.

Ootori sweatdropped. Gakuto gave him a hard time, but he was more than glad to play against his stamina-lacking senpai. Had it been Shishido or Oshitari, he would have to play longer. Then he remembered Yoko, and approached his captain to ask for permission to leave early.

"Atobe-buchou." He started.

"You may go Ootori." Atobe gave him a knowing look and an amused smirk.

Ootori had to bow low enough to hide his blush from his captain.

"Looks like our young boy has finally become a man. Ne, Atobe?" Oshitari said while watching Ootori threw a few longing glances to the bleachers.

Ootori hurriedly took a shower, changed into his school uniform and sprayed some perfume. He opened the club room door, and dashed to the school gate.

Yoko was already there when he arrived.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hamasaki-san." Ootori managed to say while panting heavily.

"It's fine Ootori-kun. And by the way, that was a great match. Congratulations!" Ootori couldn't help but blush at the girl's warm smile.

Tezuka was in the bookstore when someone caught his eye. Outside, he saw Ootori and the girl yesterday. Ootori stopped in front of the bookstore window and the girl threw him a questioning gaze. He saw the Hyotei regular blush as he took the girl's bag from her arms. The girl smiled, and they walked away together.

I should not pry into other people's business.

Tezuka paid for the book, and left.