Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ohjisama.
"Ano… Shishido-san, could I, uhm, talk to you for a minute?"
Shishido looked up, not even half aware of who had been speaking to him. He never paid attention to people when he was thinking about tennis. He could only do so many things at once after all, and some things just took priority over others.
"Umm… yes?"
The girl in front of him was a classmate of his, but he couldn't put a name to the face. He watched as she shifted from foot to foot, red on the cheeks, and meeker than meek. Shishido could see where this was going. It had gone there before.
"Ah, I see," he said before she could string together enough sense to form a sentence. "Listen, umm… Miss, before you say anything, I might as well tell you-- I already have a date to next week's dance. If there's anything else you need though, feel free to ask." It was only easy as breathing because it was only the millionth time.
If she could have gotten any redder Shishido would have loved to have seen it, though he didn't stick around to find out; the bell hang rung even before she had come up to him, and he need not be late to practice because of a girl with no name. He was out the front door within the minute, headed to change. She was still at the classroom window though, wondering who in the world it could possibly be. She had heard of Shishido Ryou's terrible reputation for turning girls down, but she had done her research beforehand. Not only had she asked around in every social circle in their grade, but acting on rumors that Shishido-san had in fact chosen to date down, she had inquired in every class in the grade below them. All of the girls she asked had said that they weren't the lucky girl. So who could be the Mystery Date? Shishido couldn't be lying about it, could he?
She felt silly and dejected at once as she watched him catch up with his tennis partner heading into the tennis clubhouse. The smile he smiled then had been the reason she had decided to ask him. To maybe see him smile that smile at her. But all she could think was that Shishido-san really loved tennis, to smile that genuinely about it.