Summary: Coach Ryuzaki sometimes questions what on earth her boys have in those tennis bags of theirs, because they are certainly too full to just have rackets. The stories behind what's in the regulars' bags.

My first Prince of Tennis fanfic, so I'm playing around. Female Ryoma.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any place, thing, or person in this story.

Tell me what you think!

IN TEZUKA'S BAG

1. Two rackets. For obvious purposes. Though he only ever uses the blue one, the green one is kept for sentimentality. It was his first real racket, a hand-me-down from his father.

2. Nine-wait, no, ten tennis balls. That is about nine too many. Tezuka rarely loses balls, but he's gained more over the course of the season, simply from picking up strays on the grounds as he walks out of the school gate or emptying his pockets after practice.

3. An extra pair of glasses. Again, obvious. The reason for this, however, is slightly more complicated. His freshman year he was playing a game against Fuji, where he developed one of his counters. Unluckily enough for him, this counter knocked him so off balance that he fell, knocking his glasses sideways and across the court. Before he could warn anybody, another freshman, who quit the next season, stumbled onto them, cracking the lenses. He played blind the rest of the practice.

4. Towel, medium-sized. He could use a small, but having a larger towel means it's versatile. It can be a blanket, a pillow, a bandage; he can wrap ice or heat pads in it and apply it to himself or his players. He carries this particular white one around because it was a birthday present two years ago from Oishi, and he doesn't have the heart to replace the slowly wearing down towel.

5. A notebook. Tezuka does not keep written data on his opponents, but he does use the book for homework, observations, and, strangely, sketching. He doodles. Yes, Seigaku's stoic captain doodles when he's bored.

6. A train pass and a bus token. This is purely precautionary, but after an episode with Fuji and Echizen that led to complete chaos as they got lost on the bad side of Toyko, Tezuka decides that you can't be too careful. After all, all their problems would've been taken care of if they had had means of transportation. Then Echizen wouldn't have had to scar all those innocent gamblers with an admittedly spectacular show of her skills.

7. His student ID. Technically, Tezuka is supposed to keep this in his backpack, but Tezuka pretty much uses his tennis bag as his backpack anyways. Beyond that, he keeps it in his tennis bag because no one ever believes he's a student and thus should get a student discount. One person at the movie theater actually accused him of 'faking an ID' when he tried to get a student discount with the team during a 'bonding day'.

8. A bag of jelly beans. It is his secret weakness, and somehow, Echizen found out. Somehow that girl figured out everybody's weaknesses. Point of it is that while Tezuka wasn't fond of coffee, jelly beans gave him that extra burst he needed when dealing (fondly, though often frustratedly) with his teammates. Echizen always keeps his Ziploc bag filled.

9. A picture. It's of the regulars, after Echizen joined, after that first tournament, with her eye covered in bandages. They look happy, invigorated, ready to go. At first, he kept it in because Fuji handed it to him at an inopportune moment (read: Student Council), but later he realized that it had become something of a good luck trinket.

10. A note. The regulars wrote it for him before he headed to Germany for those two weeks, farewell and good luck scribbles accompanying signatures, drawings, and stickers. He put it up on his bedside table at the rehabilitation center and later transferred it to his bag. Like the picture, it's a good luck trinket, but it also reminds him that he was never, ever alone. Not even across the world.

Tell me what you think! Reviews are most appreciated! :)