AN: My entry for a contest held at the ryosaku livejournal community. Contest theme: 'renewal'.

Rabbit Tales

By Cinpii

If one was to think about it, one would surmise that Seigaku's resident tennis prince would be out on the courts, training hard with the rest of his team. It was a Friday afternoon after all, and classes were long since dismissed. But this in fact, was not true.

Echizen Ryoma was in the process of pushing one of the library's shelving carts towards the backroom when the door opened. The wash of sunlight briefly encompassed the far wall before the shadow of the intruder obscured it.

Tsk. An irritated expression marred his brow before he hollered over his shoulder, "We're closing". If he had thought that someone would actually visit the library this close to closing time, he would have locked the door. Now he had to assist a patron.

He was the only one around to do it, too. The school librarian was attending the quarterly Regional Librarian's Association Conference, and Ryoma was the only library aide present due to the slow shift. Fridays were always slow days. The number of visitors never reached more than five.

The sound of shoes softly clacking on the floor indicated a female presence. Ryoma's ears cocked when they registered the slightly uneven gait and the familiar rustle of clothes and hair bouncing against fabric. He paused. He only knew of one girl who sounded like that. He turned around.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun is here today."

Wobbly Hips.

She had the most peculiar habit of stating the obvious, he thought, a staid expression sliding over his features. What was she doing here? It was a Friday. He was this close to tasting freedom.

"Can I help you?" he asked, more out of ingrained training then genuine courtesy.

The pigtailed girl stared at him, head cocked to the side, genuine confusion written plainly on her face. She ignored his question in favor of asking one of her own.

"Why is Ryoma-kun here?"

His eyebrows narrowed a slight millimeter at her response. "I work here." She knew that. So did everyone on the team. Why was she so surprised? It was a well known fact that Ryoma missed two hours of practice each week because he had library duties.

"I mean, I was surprised to see Ryoma-kun here on a Friday," Sakuno clarified.

"Hn." So that was it. "New rotation. They changed the schedules last week." Now, instead of being late for tennis practice, he had to leave practice early to start his shift.

"A-ah."

She scanned the room, the silence permeating her senses. There was no one else around. He really was closing up. But why so early?

"You here to return a book?"

"Eh? No. Actually, I wanted to renew something." At his flat expression, Sakuno hesitated.

Ryoma jerked his thumb to the sign posted prominently on the front counter. Reddish brown eyes followed his hand. Mouthing the words to herself, "'All books must be checked out thirty minutes prior to closing time.'"

She knew that. That was why she had come straight after practice with an hour to spare. At her blank face, Ryoma prompted her to read the sign underneath. The sign that disclosed the library hours. She might have arrived well within normal business hours on any other day, but today was a Friday. The school library closed earlier on Fridays. An hour earlier, in fact.

Oops.

"Oh… I came too late."

When was she ever on time?

An awkward pause ensued. Sakuno looked at her shoes, feeling very stupid. It was bad enough that she didn't have the foresight to renew her book, but it was worse that she had committed such a gaffe in front of Ryoma-kun.

She took a step back, fingers adjusting the bag strap on her shoulder, arms tightening around her racket. "Well, I'll just leave Ryoma-kun alone then." The whoosh of her passage fluttered his bangs as she turned to go.

He didn't need to be an expert at reading facial expressions to see that she was disappointed. Ryoma's frown deepened. Now that she had delayed him this long, he had to help her. Heaven forbid he come between Wobbly Hips and her book. Ryoma sighed. He'd have to turn the computer back on.

"Give it."

Her head popped up. Her feet stopped. Slowly, Sakuno turned around.

"Eh? No, it's okay."

Ryoma extended his hand. "Give it."

"I don't want to bother Ryoma-kun anymore more than I have."

"Give. It." He curled his fingers in a come hither motion for extra emphasis. Really. Extend courtesy to a girl and what did you get for it? He was the one offering assistance. The least she could do was accept it!

With dubious eyes, Sakuno approached. She didn't want to be around Ryoma-kun if he was going to be mean, but if she left now, it would be rude. One hesitant hand dipped into her bag and pulled out a slim, hardbound book. A scruffy bunny sitting on a grassy knoll adorned the cover.

"This is the book for renewal?"

A tiny nod.

His brow quirked up. Of all the things to borrow in the library, he hadn't expected Wobbly Hips to choose this one. He opened his mouth to read the title.

"The Velveteen Rabbit?"

Another nod.

"Isn't this…" he paused, looking for the right turn of phrase. "Isn't this something we read in grade school?"

He'd never seen a girl blush so fast.

"You're not still reading this, are you?" he asked with great suspicion. If it took Wobbly Hips three weeks to read a book like this, and if she still hadn't finished it, then she needed an English coach along with a tennis one.

Looking into his flat, discerning stare, twelve year old Sakuno never felt more embarrassed in her life. He thought she possessed the English proficiency of a grade schooler. The hot color staining her cheeks refused to dissipate. Sakuno withered inside at his less than flattering perception of her intellect.

"N-no," she said, head shaking. "I finished it. I'd just like to renew it again."

His eyebrow quirked in disbelief. For a lie, it was lame. Lamer than the obvious tall tales his old man would concoct.

Sakuno blinked. Ryoma-kun didn't believe her. But it was true. Sakuno had found the book by chance. She was trying to find the Art section in the library one day when she took the wrong turn and ended up in the English section. The book's spine was jutting out, and like the respectful girl she was, she had pushed it back into place only to find out that the shelf was too jammed to fit anymore books.

Sakuno had pulled it out, thinking that maybe she could make some room and wedge it back in. There was a rabbit on the cover, and that captured her attention. Sakuno had a soft spot for animals. She flipped the cover open. The pictures were so charming she had carried it back to her seat (after a few moments of faulty navigation) to peruse it. The text was printed in a large English font, and Sakuno realized that she could understand most of it.

The story of the rabbit and the child's love for it had touched Sakuno's heart, and she had checked the book out to read more carefully in the comfort of her bedroom. Over the following days, Sakuno had been inspired and had sketched her own scenes to the story. They had to do illustrations for a book in their art class, and The Velveteen Rabbit had fired up her muses. It was perfect.

In a torrent of stumbling words, Sakuno explained to Ryoma that she just wanted to renew the book so that she could use the illustrations as a reference for her project.

Hn. It wasn't a lie. The art project was something his class had to do as well. Ryoma had planned to draw stickmen himself. It was a cop out, but he didn't have time to waste laboring over illustrations. He had tennis opponents to thrash.

"I have this," he said.

"Eh?"

"Kaa-san used to read this to me when I was a kid." Ryoma opened the book, browsing through the illustrations. His features softened just the slightest bit. "It's a good story."

Sakuno beamed at his rare concession of personal information, happy that they shared the same opinion on something. She felt a little bit closer to Ryoma-kun. Her lips formed into a soft, gentle smile.

"You want it?"

"Eh?" she blinked, the surprise clear on her face. "That's too much, Ryoma-kun. I couldn't," she shook her head, pigtails sliding against her shoulders.

"It's not like I read it anymore. Besides, mine's a different edition. Maroon cover. Different pictures, too."

"Really?" Sakuno perked up before she caught herself. "N-no, it's okay."

The freshman prodigy smirked. Her interest had not escaped him. His eyes lingered on the racket she was carrying in her arms.

Sakuno continued to demure. "Ryoma-kun is being too kind. I couldn't possibly—"

"I'm not giving it to you. You have to earn it."

Expressive reddish brown eyes widened. "Eh?"

"You'll have to show me if you improved in tennis."

Sakuno stared at him. Maybe she was seeing things, but Ryoma's lips seemed to twitch just the tiniest fraction before he turned around to push the cart again. Sakuno stood there watching his retreating figure. Was he teasing her?

He wouldn't be so nice if he wasn't, right? Sakuno smiled before hiding her happy countenance behind a determined face. She reached up with a free hand to cup it around her mouth. "I improved a lot!"

Ryoma returned from the backroom, his tennis bag slung over his shoulder, keys in hand. He didn't break his stride, instead, walked past her. Looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, "We'll see."

Sakuno's lips tightened at his words before she trotted after him. He was at the lights panel, flipping them off. She couldn't let him insult both her intelligence and her tennis ability! She had worked really hard and she was improving. Even obaa-chan said so. Sakuno informed him of that fact.

"Mm-hmm." With one palm on her lower back, he guided her through the exit, pausing to lock the door.

"H-hey!"

Ryoma straightened, adjusted his bag, and then turned to look at her. She stood there with a slightly disgruntled look on her face. Her cheeks were really cute, all puffed out like that. With a self-satisfied smirk, Ryoma jerked his head before turning towards the steps. "C'mon, let's go."

The pigtailed girl huffed before following him down. She'd show him. Sakuno opened her mouth. "At least acknowledge my hard work."

"I'll acknowledge it when I see results."

"That's—"

"Besides, your hair is still too long."

"What does hair length have to do with—"

"Arms are too bent."

"They're carrying my—"

"Posture is too rigid."

"But I'm not playing—"

"Hips are wobbling as we speak."

"Mou, Ryoma-kun!"

The two walked home together. And little by little, the rabbit withdrew from its timid shell and became animated, all thanks to the help of the boy.

FIN

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis was created by Konomi Takeshi. The Velveteen Rabbit was written by Margery Williams. Neither belongs to me and no profit is intended to be gained by this story.

Minna interested in reading The Velveteen Rabbit can find the online version at the Upenn Digital Library. It's a classic children's book. I highly recommend it.