Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, even though I wish I did~! I actually don't need the whole series, I just need Tezuka-buchou :3. Sadly, he doesn't belong to me. ;c

Tezuka Kunimitsu and Usagi Rin were acquaintances through their grandfathers Tezuka Kunikazu and Usagi Ryota. Kunikazu and Ryota had only met through one common ground, Shogi, while at a park nearby Kunikazu's residence. Ryota had brought his granddaughter, Rin, along with him to play while her parents worked during the day. Kunikazu had brought his grandson Kunimitsu along so that he could make friends since Kunikazu decided that the boy was too quiet for his age.

"Who's this young lady you brought with you Usagi? It's very uncommon to see any ladies around you," said Kunikazu.

"Ah, this here is Rin, my granddaughter. My son-in-law and daughter both had work again, so they left her in my care. She seems quiet too, especially one her age. I figured it'd be good for her to have interactions with other kids her age. Usually they're rambunctious and obnoxious, but not her," Ryota replied while looking at Rin, who was hiding behind his legs. "Come now Rin, old Tezuka-san here won't hurt you." As Ryota said this, footsteps were heard coming in their direction.

"Ojii-san, how long are we going to stay out here?" an unknown voice asked.

"Hoi, Kunimitsu! Don't sneak up on me like that! Eto…we're not leaving for a while, Kunimitsu. I still have to play Usagi-san here in a game of Shogi. One more game and I'll be tied with him!" chuckled Kunikazu. Kunimitsu, however, was not pleased with his grandfather's antics and stalked off towards what seems to be the tennis courts. "That boy is too serious and mature for his age. It's not good," said Kunikazu as his smile slowly dropped.

"Oi Rin, why don't you go and cheer up Kunimitsu? He could use a friend." Ryota said as he did a gentle shove against Rin towards Kunimitsu's direction. Rin paused, unsure of what to do, then started to slowly walk towards the tennis courts too. Halfway there, the lips of both Kunikazu and Ryota shifted upwards into a smirk.

Rin didn't have far to walk, as the tennis courts were practically next to the Shogi playing area. As she was walking, she couldn't help but notice that Kunimitsu was standing in front of the fences that belonged to the tennis courts. On the courts, were two men hitting the ball to and fro with vigorous strength. Rin walked closer to observe the actions between the two men, and found herself standing next to Kunimitsu. There were a few minutes of silence before Rin broke it.

"D-do you like tennis Kunimitsu-chan?" asked Rin, who looked away towards the other side of the tennis courts before Kunimitsu could answer.

"Hai," was his only reply.

"Eto…really? Do you know how to play?"

"Hai. My father is teaching me the basics and I'll just advance from there on my own," came his stoic reply.

"Oh. I'm sort of learning too, and my father is teaching me as well," came her response. "Maybe you and I should practice sometime, Kunimitsu-chan."

"Hnn. That'd be good," he stated as he turned his head towards her, his dark brown orbs connected with her hazel orbs as he did so. "Bring your racquet out tomorrow and we can practice." After speaking, Rin heard her grandfather call out for her to head back.

"H-hai. I will. Thanks Kunimitsu-chan," said Rin as she started turning her body to head back while not breaking the eye contact between them. "I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow Kunimitsu-chan."

"Hai, same here," said Kunimitsu as he headed back in the other direction.

The next day, Ryota and Rin came out again. Ryota met Kunikazu at the usual place, the Shogi tables. This time, Kunimitsu was sitting on one of the seat, racquet bag in hand. He was staring off in another direction while his grandfather was lecturing him about being more social and being less introverted. His attention turned when he saw the same girl with hazel orbs from yesterday, Rin. She was holding a tennis bag in one hand and the other hand held her grandfather's.

"Eto, what's this? Rin, you're playing tennis with Kunimitsu?" asked Ryota.

"Hai, Ojii-san. I invited him to practice with me since Tou-san isn't home again," replied Rin, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Eeh? That's fine with me, just be careful and try not to get hurt. You know how your mother acts when you get a scrape, cut, or bruise," said Ryota as he remembered his daughter almost chopping his head off for letting Rin trip and fall.

"Hai, Ojii-san. I'll be careful," said Rin as she turned to Kunimitsu. "Ready?" she asked. A nod was all she received as an answer and then they both headed to the tennis courts.

"Both of them are so quiet. I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow ended up together in the near future," stated Kunikazu as he rested his chin on his arm that was propped up against the Shogi board.

"Agreed. They seem to have some chemistry between them, if anything it's a silent reaction," chuckled Ryota.

Rin and Kunimitsu had arrived at the tennis courts and started taking out their racquets and some tennis balls. Rin started to adjust the strings on her racquet, put on the shock absorber, then started to walk towards the other half of the tennis court. Kunimitsu had taken longer since he had to apply a new over grip to his racquet, put on his wristband, and take off his sweatshirt before heading to his half of the tennis court. When Rin realized that he was ready, she started a slow rally that kept at a steady pace. She was surprised, Kunimitsu's father must have been good at tennis if Kunimitsu could be able to return her hits with a powerful forehand. She smirked and returned the ball, but with a little bit more topspin to it. Kunimitsu couldn't reach in time, causing the ball to hit the fence behind him. He looked down from the ball then up to her face, which had a small smirk plastered to it. In return, his stoic face remained the same, but he picked up the ball and started the next rally with her. Before they knew it, the sun had almost gone down and the park lights had turned on. They stopped once they noticed that they couldn't hear the sounds of children playing on the playground anymore.

"I think we should call it a day Kunimitsu-chan, it's getting dark," said Rin as she headed towards her bag to put away the racquet and the tennis balls.

"Hai, it is getting dark," came his response.

"Kunimitsu!"

"Rin!" Both Rin and Kunimitsu looked over to the direction of the voices calling their names. They saw that their grandfathers had forgotten the time and got lost in their intense game of Shogi. "We forgot that you two were playing here. Well…that and the fact that I beat Tezuka-san over here once again, giving me the lead by one game," chuckled Ryota.

"Oh shut up, Usagi-san. You only won because we forgot the grandkids tagged along and had to rush over here, while you were leading the game," retorted Kunikazu, refusing to admit defeat to his Shogi rival.

"Hah! Sore loser! Rin, never be a poor sport like Tezuka-san over here. You'll never enjoy the game if you do," grinned Ryota. Kunimitsu couldn't help but watch the exchange between the older men while watching Rin's reaction when her grandfather spoke to her. Her cheeks lit up a red color as she nodded, replying to his comment about Kunimitsu's grandfather being a 'sore loser'. "Well, it's time to go Rin. Saa, before your Tou-san gets worried about where you've been," said Ryota as he grabbed Rin's hand. "Well, we're off Tezuka-san. Take care Kunimitsu." Both grandfather and granddaughter walked off leaving Kunimitsu and his grandfather behind.

"Oi, Kunimitsu, are you and Rin friends?" asked Kunikazu, watching his grandson's reaction to the question. He wasn't surprised as the boy's face remained stoic.

"Hai, but we're not very close if that's what you're trying to say," he replied, his eyes not leaving Rin's retreating figure.

"Ah, good. Don't let that one get away, she's a keeper," chuckled Kunikazu. Kunimitsu turned around and grabbed his bag off the ground as his grandfather chuckled. A smirk couldn't help but escape, however it was only for a slight second before his face became passive again.

Over the next few weeks, Kunimitsu and Rin would come out with their grandfathers and play tennis at the courts until dawn. Each day was almost the same, with the exception of Kunimitsu's and Rin's skills increasing. However, one day was entirely different from the others, making it something for them to both remember.

Rin threw the ball up in the air, and brought the head of racquet down on it, performing a slice serve. Kunimitsu, of course, easily returned it and criticized the flow of her movements, claiming it was 'sluggish' and 'off-balance'. Rin pouted as he return-aced her while criticizing something she worked hard on. Both of them, being only seven, had been very mature for their age but every once in a while, Rin would be childish and immature when he made an offensive comment towards her.

"Mitsu-chan, I don't like playing tennis with you anymore," Rin stated bluntly.

"Why's that?" asked Kunimitsu, curious as to why she would bring that out of the blue.

"Because you're always so mean to me when we play even though we've met three months ago," replied Rin. "Can't you be a little bit nicer to me at least?"

"Eto, I don't know what you mean by 'nice'. I've always been like this, but I wasn't aware that my words were affecting you. Gomenasai," said Kunimitsu as he picked up the ball from the net and walked back to the baseline. Rin let out a sigh and started walking towards her tennis bag. "Where are you going?" asked Kunimitsu.

"Home, because I don't like the way you're being right now Kunimitsu. I'm getting offended by your words and actions. You don't go and say sorry to someone like you don't mean it, then walk away," Rin said as she started shoving things in her bag in an effort to get away from him.

"Gomenasai, I don't know what you mean," stated Kunimitsu. Honestly, he was telling the truth. He didn't know what she meant because so far, Rin was his only friend and he didn't know how to act since she was his first and only friend considering he didn't have any other interactions with kids his age. When his response came, Rin gripped her bag and stalked off towards the entrance to the courts. "W-wait Rin-chan! What did I do wrong?" asked Kunimitsu.

"Ne, I'm sorry Mitsu-chan, but I can't really say. It's not you. I'm just dealing with some things with my family right now. Gomen," she said as she rapidly exited. Kunimitsu just stood there watching her leave in a rush without knowing why.

What Kunimitsu didn't know, was that her family was having a rough time. Her parents were fighting over financial problems and her mother was making things worse by threating her father with a divorce, all while Rin was caught in the middle of the warfare. Her parents' fighting lasted for a good four years before they both decided they couldn't handle each other anymore. Her mother filed a divorce and took half of her father's belongings when Rin was only eleven. Her father had ended up moving to Kyoto, finding a new job, and a new wife while starting a brand new life without Rin in it. The stress that her parents had been putting on her had not affected her at first, but it became evident later. Her grandfather began to notice it and decided she should start spending more afternoons with him at the park and playing tennis with Kunimitsu rather than staying at his house, since her father didn't want to keep her and her mother needed time to find a new job. Until then, Rin and her mother had stayed with Ryota until her mother could find her footing and start over again. The impact of her parents' fighting made Rin feel like she couldn't do anything but keep that stress bottled up. She felt nobody else would understand her. Kunimitsu had become irritated at her actions during their tennis practices with each other. Her hits were slower and it seemed like she wasn't even putting effort into playing him. Thinking that it was something else, Kunimitsu confronted her about it, saying that she's not playing with her full extent and that she was toying with him.

"Look Kunimitsu," said Rin as she was breathing in and out slowly while clenching her fists, "I'm just going through some tough times right now. I need some alone time." Rin had started to turn and walk the other direction from him. A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"You're not alone, you know. I know it may not seem much, but I do care about you and I don't want to see you sad. Can you please tell me what's wrong?" asked Kunimitsu, his face stoic, but his eyes reflecting his concern.

"…No. I can't. It's an inner battle that I have to fight. I'm sorry Kunimitsu, I wish you could help but it's a matter of internal conflicts I need to deal with myself," said Rin as she pulled her wrist out of his hand. Kunimitsu, finally getting angry that she wouldn't accept his help even though her was offering it freely, snapped.

"Rin, I know you've been having problems with your family. It's plain to see. What I don't get is why you won't accept my help when all I've been giving you is my support. It's fine though. If you don't need me, then I don't need you," Kunimitsu said as he huffed then walked off to get his grandfather and tell him that he was heading home first. Kunimitsu didn't know that Rin couldn't really tell him. It was a painful experience and recalling it would defeat the purpose of her pushing it to the back of her head. He was her closest friend. Her only friend. Him abandoning her is twice as worse as her parents fighting because they've spent years together as friends. That, and the fact that he was the only friend she had made in past few years. He was the only one who really understood her, but now he was choosing to walk away and leave her. Well, that was fine by her. She didn't need him, or so she thought.

Over the next few days, Kunimitsu still came out with his grandfather to play tennis. He headed off to the courts, hoping that Rin was there practicing her serves as usual. She wasn't there, leaving the courts devoid of all sounds. He then walked back to the Shogi tables and up to Ryota.

"Usagi-san, can I ask where Rin-chan is?" asked Kunimitsu, his mask hiding his concern.

"Oh, Kunimitsu. Rin didn't tell you? Her mother got a new job. The thing is, her new job's all the way in London. She didn't want to leave Rin here with me, feeling that she'd be a burden on me, so she decided to take Rin along with her," Ryota said as his voice softened considerably. It took sometime before Ryota's words finally sunk into Kunimitsu's head. Once it did, Kunimitsu dropped his bag and frowned.

"…Arigatou, for telling me Usagi-san," he said to Ryota, then turned to his own grandfather, "Ojii-san, I'm heading home first."

"Ah," was the one-word reply that his grandfather gave him.

Kunimitsu walked and thought over and over again what Rin's grandfather had told him. 'She moved away. She didn't tell me. We had a fight before she left, and I regret what I told her. I never got to say sorry, or wish her goodbye.' These thoughts kept flowing in and out of his head as he walked home.

"Rin, if I ever see you again one day, I promise I'll make things right."

A/N: So…how did you like it considering that this is my first fic on FF? I would like some constructive criticism, ideas, or reviews please! I hope I didn't do too bad. I'm a bit rusty c: