Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Note: Well, here you guys go! I really enjoyed writing the first "one-shot," so I was going to go ahead and continue the story anyways! Thanks for all of you guys' input, I greatly appreciate it.

I.

The two weeks before Nationals went by quickly. During that time, Syusuke and Sakuno had minimal meetings with each other. The tennis regular's rigorous schedule was partly the reason, because Sakuno also had a ton of projects to complete before the term was over.

One day, Sakuno really needed help on her "myths and legends" project. She had to write an essay and make a poster on a legend or myth she enjoyed. Ryuzaki was in a predicament because she did not know which one she wanted to choose. Taking a risk, she decided that she would consult Syusuke for help. However, he had quite a tight schedule with all of the training Inui was forcing them to do. The girl just decided to ask him about it only if she happened to run into him one day.

Sakuno's chance came right before the Seigaku tennis team was going to depart for pre-national training. She happened to meet Syusuke outside the locker room by the tennis courts. When she saw him, though, he was with three other regulars. Sakuno was about to call her close friend's name when she saw Momoshiro, Eiji and Ryoma come out with him. She caught herself,

"Syu—uhh… A-Ano…"

The four regulars turned to look at who was speaking. When they saw Sakuno, they greeted her with the usual,

"Hoi-Hoi! Ryuzaki-chan!"

"Oi, Echizen! There's your—"

"—Shut up, Momo-senpai."

"Saa. Hi, Ryuzaki-chan," Fuji was very careful to distance himself from Sakuno when around the others. Luckily, his close friend played along, even though it was to her expense most of the time. Sakuno just called Ryoma instead,

"Ryoma-kun…"

Echizen just looked at her with his cat-like eyes, "Oi, Ryuzaki."

Syusuke had a feeling that Sakuno wanted to talk to him alone, so he quickly turned on his sadistic side, which allowed him to scheme ten times as fast as he normally could. Devising something in his head within a matter of seconds, Fuji informed the other three regulars that the burger joint four blocks down had a two-for-one burger special. Seeing the drool seep down Eiji's and Momoshiro's throats told him that his plan worked. He urged them on, blue eyes shimmering,

"I heard that the burgers were more… succulent. The cows are much plumper this time of year, which contributes to the overall juiciness of the meat and makes it tenderer."

When the tensai was done with this convenient description, the other three regular's pupils magnified, including Ryoma's. Hearing enough, they sped down to the burger joint as fast as possible without any goodbyes. They were busy begging each other to be the unlucky one to pay.

Sakuno looked on, chuckling uneasily to herself. She then walked closer to Fuji and whispered, "A-Ano… Aren't the members supposed to be eating healthier, Syusuke-kun?"

Fuji turned to look at her, hand gripping the shoulder strap on his tennis bag like he usually did. He frowned slightly, "Saa, you can still call me Syusuke, Sakuno." Seeing his friend blush made him feel better, and he lightened the conversation for her, "Sakuno, did you want to talk to me?"

Ryuzaki nodded, "Y-Yes, I did. Is this a bad time?" She quickly got a sick feeling in her stomach, like the start of an anxiety attack.

Syusuke shook his head, "No, Sakuno. I had a feeling that you wanted to talk to me."

Hearing this made Sakuno's heart warmer for some reason. Syusuke still understood her after all these years, and she appreciated that. She guessed that being Seigaku's sadist also helped, with the mind reading and all, but just a little. Even after hearing this statement, though, she still felt shaky and unstable. The truth was that this project was make-it-or-break-it for her. Her grade in that class was her lowest grade, and it was close to failing. The rest of her classes were fine, and the projects in those classes were not as great of a challenge as this one.

Finding a nice, quiet bench by the courts, the two discussed Sakuno's project for a short time.

"So you can only pick one legend?"

"Yeah… But I have three favorites. What am I going to do?" Sakuno sat slumped playing with her auburn locks. She thought hard about this project for days, and she still couldn't come up with something. It started to scare her.

Fuji hinted at her sudden uneasiness, so he quickly came up with a plan to ensure that she would pick something and stick with it, "Sakuno, tell me about your favorite legends."

His friend looked at him, "U-Uhh… Okay. Well, one of my favorites is the phoenix, when the bird is born from the ashes."

Syusuke nodded, "Saa. Go on."

Sakuno continued, "Hmm, well my other favorite is the kirin, the mythical creature that brings prosperity. And my other one is the dragon."

Fuji looked up, "Ah, that is hard to choose."

Sakuno sighed, "Yeah… they are all very pretty."

Fuji looked back at her and said softly, "Not as pretty as Sakuno."

"Syusuke!" the girl blushed once again, making Fuji feel a little dominant. His sadist side got a hold him because he was teasing her so much. Having enough respect for her, though, Syusuke stopped there and became serious again. He smiled,

"Well, do you know which one I would pick?"

Sakuno looked at him with inquiring eyes, "Hmm? Which one, Syusuke?"

Syusuke opened his eyes and looked her way, "I would pick the phoenix."

Ryuzaki blinked at his sudden change of mood, "H-How come, Syusuke?"

The tensai smiled with his cerulean eyes still shimmering, "Because, it's a beautiful bird that comes from something as insignificant as ash. It's a symbol of hope, new life. It's also a symbol of perseverance, Sakuno, because no matter how many times it falls, it gets back up again, and rises from the ashes."

The look on his face revealed that he was serious about this, and it awed the girl next to him. Sakuno could not believe how perfect his answer was. Even if she sat in front of the computer for hours trying to write her essay (which she would), she would had never come up with anything that deep. She sighed automatically, "Wow… Thanks for your input, Syusuke. It makes me feel a lot better now that I can pick what I am going to do more easily."

Syusuke looked at her again, "Are you sure you want to do your project on the phoenix? You're comfortable with it?"

Sakuno raised an eyebrow, "Why not, Syusuke?"

The regular just smiled, "I'm just making sure you don't have to do so much work and that you're happy with your decision."

Sakuno smiled awkwardly, heart fluttering even more from his kindness, "Thank you, Syusuke. Th-That is very sweet of you." She then got up, arms holding her books close to her chest, and struggled to check her watch. The time read 4:15, so she decided that she had better head home and start her project. Even though it was due in a week, Sakuno was still overwhelmed. At least she was not going to end up having the feeling one gets when they choose to do something at the last minute.

We all know what that feels like.

She looked back at Syusuke, "Well, thanks for your input, Syusuke. I m-must be going now." The anxiety was getting to be too much for her, and she needed to get away quickly before Syusuke saw her cry.

The tensai tilted his head and questioned, "So early?"

Sakuno timidly answered, "Y-Yes. I w-want to get this done as soon as possible…" Suddenly she started to break down from all the stress that had taken over her. Her books dropped from her arms and she held up her hands to her face, "The term is almost over and I have a ton of stuff to do and I am really scared of my grades dropping and I am really stressed and—"

Sakuno felt strong arms wrap around her skinny frame and her face was buried in Syusuke's Seigaku jersey. Then, she felt Fuji's hand give her a delicate rub on her back. The tensai whispered in her ear, "Sakuno, come with me. I can help you." Suddenly Syusuke could feel Sakuno's back and shoulders rise and fall. She was crying,

"Syusuke, why is it that even though I try so hard at that class, I always end up failing?"

Fuji then held her out at arm's length and frowned, "Sakuno, what are you saying?"

Ryuzaki had tears running down her face, making small streams from her eyes that joined together at the bottom of her chin. Her soft brown eyes glimmered in the sunset, making her look like she had two twin puddles on her face. After hiccupping a few times, she continued,

"I feel as if no matter how hard I try, I fail. Everyone else seems to be doing just fine but me—"

"—Shh," Syusuke pulled her back to him and wiped away her tears. He could see the hurt in her eyes, and it sparked his protective side. Fuji wanted to make sure that those tears would never come back. He whispered, "Sakuno, you are a very smart girl. There are times where you aren't going to do so well, but that doesn't matter. What matters most is that you tried your best. Sakuno, look at me."

Ryuzaki looked up and came face-to-face with dazzling blue orbs. Her breath hitched, "Sh-Syusuke."

The tensai's face was stern with compassion, "Don't look down on yourself. Ever." He wiped the second coming of tears from her eyes, "I believe in you, Sakuno. Now it's up to you to believe in yourself."

She could hardly speak. Was she hearing Fuji correctly? Sakuno could not believe how firm he was being with her. It felt… comforting. Syusuke succeeded in calming her down, and what he said gave her a big confidence boost. Having the tensai of Seigaku tell her that he believed in her allowed Ryuzaki to think better of herself. She could only smile now.

Fuji smiled again in return, relieved that he could make Sakuno feel better, "Now, Sakuno, let's go work on your project."

The two worked diligently in the local library, Syusuke searched for books to give to Sakuno who read page after page after page. Finally, after three hours, the girl had enough research pages and notes that she was ready to write her essay. She looked at Fuji and smiled,

"Syusuke-kun, I think I'm done!" She then got up and collected all of the stuff she needed.

The tennis player smiled up at her from his position on a chair, "That's good. Do you want to go home now? I walk with you."

Sakuno shook her head, "It's okay! I can walk by myself, Syusuke-kun."

Fuji frowned and stood up, "Saa, Sakuno-chan, it's dangerous to be walking alone at this hour. Plus, it's about to rain."

Sakuno tilted her head, "What? But it's so—" As soon as Ryuzaki peered out the window, droplets began to pat on it lightly. The girl gasped, "Wha? Syusuke-kun, how did you know?"

"Heh, I didn't know," he chuckled while reaching into his tennis bag, "Here, I have an umbrella in my bag that we can use."

"Wha—?! Then of course you knew about the rain!"

They got to Sakuno's house in a matter of minutes. The two were lucky that the rain did not pound on them like it usually did; this time it came in light titters and taps on Syusuke's umbrella. When they got to the door, Sakuno hopped onto the porch and turned back to the tensai. Smiling very cheerfully, she called out to her friend who was standing a ways from where she was, "Syusuke, thank you for helping me with my project!"

Fuji laughed softly, "I didn't do anything, Sakuno. I just offered the moral support."

Sakuno nodded, "Mm, but that was all that I needed, Syusuke." This made the tennis player open his eyes. Chocolate brown met cerulean and the rain just made the atmosphere all the more alluring. Syusuke then looked away from Sakuno and up into the sky. He looked as if he was pondering something. Sakuno blinked at his actions and asked, "Syusuke, what are you thinking about?"

The tensai faced her again, "I leave for Nationals in two days, Sakuno."

His friend nodded slowly, "I know, Syusuke… I know."

"I'll…" Syusuke started to say something, but his speech drifted off in the rain. Sakuno blinked again as she waited for her friend to finish his statement. Thunder could be heard in the distance and the rain kept tumbling down lightly. The plip-plips of rain could be heard on Sakuno's roof and they were in sync with the tut-tuts on Syusuke's umbrella. After a seemingly long silent episode, Syusuke looked once again towards his friend, "I'll miss you, Sakuno."

The girl bunched up her lips, "I'll m-miss you, too, Syusuke." Then, she told him to wait before she went back into the house. After a little while, Sakuno emerged from the front door and ran to Fuji. He was a little ways off from the porch, so she got a little drenched by the pouring rain.

Syusuke frowned at her actions, but noted how lovely she looked just now, "Sakuno, don't get sick from the rain, go back insi—"

"—A-Ano… Syusuke," after cutting him off slightly, Sakuno took his hand and put something in it. It was the charm bracelet she had been saving in her jewelry box all this time. She did not wear it to school because she felt that she would wear it only on special occasions. She looked up at him, seeing herself in his dazzling eyes, "Keep this with you, for good luck."

The tensai opened his hand, and as soon as he saw the bracelet, his heart fluttered with happiness. He looked at his friend, "Saa, Sakuno…"

The girl looked down at the bracelet, "I hope you don't mind that I added another charm to it. See? Here," she pointed to a little dragonfly charm on the link right beside the white whale charm. She smiled at Fuji, "Isn't it pretty?" The dragonfly charm was a small, cerulean charm which was a little opaque on the wings. The color of the body was the exact same as Syusuke's eyes.

"It's very pretty, Sakuno. Thank you for letting me borrow this," Fuji felt warm inside, like he suddenly gained a huge boost of energy. He wondered how one girl could do something like this to him. Only Sakuno.

After she watched Syusuke admire the charm, Sakuno whispered, "When will I see you again?"

The tensai looked towards her, "Even if we don't see each other for a long time, I can still write you letters. Do you want me to do that, Sakuno?"

The idea of letters made the girl smile cheekily, "Okay, Syusuke! Letters it is!"

Fuji chuckled, seeing in this Sakuno the young Sakuno he knew. He was not going to see her for some time, but he did not care. Sakuno closed his hand over the bracelet and wished him good luck one more time before going into the house.

Syusuke watched her go, but could not let her leave him just yet. He called out to her when she got to the door. When Sakuno turned around, he said,

"Be a phoenix, Sakuno."

She smiled, "Mm." She then frowned and punched the air, hand pointing towards Syusuke, "Be a winner, Syusuke."

The boy turned to give one last wave, and was gone.

Fin

Note: Done with the first official chapter. Thanks for reading! Your input is always appreciated.