Chapter 1: Ryoma's First Breakfast

Maybe he jumped the gun a bit when he moved out.

Ryoma was a prince. A prodigy. He could do anything. So, why was he struggling?

He looked at the plate in front of him. Burnt. Everything was absolutely burnt. Even the miso soup was somehow burnt. Could you even burn soup? If not, how come it tasted like firewood and gasoline?

He threw the rice out. It was the third time that morning he tried to make breakfast. The third time.

Ryoma looked at his mom's recipes that she gave him before he left for Japan. But something must be wrong with the recipe. Because surely, it couldn't have been his fault.

Okay, so maybe it was him. But he'd never admit that to anybody. He'd never admit that maybe it was a little too soon for him to move out, because he couldn't even cook a simple Japanese breakfast. Ryoma cursed to himself. His mom always made it look so easy.

"Che," he said as he angrily poured the soup in the sink. He heard Karupin eating behind him while his own stomach growled. This was one of those times that Ryoma would've preferred to be a cat. They had no trouble getting food. And they definitely didn't need to prepare their own meals. But then again, until a few days ago, he'd been the same.

He laid down on his living room floor as his stomach grumbled louder. Maybe he'd just go out for breakfast. He saw some restaurants around the grocery store while he was on his way to his new apartment yesterday. And he was running out of the ingredients his senpai-tachi brought over for him. Ryoma knew he only had one more try until he was fully out of resources.

His stomach growled once again. 'Yes,' he thought, 'I'll just go get breakfast at a nearby restaurant.'

Then, he heard a sudden knock at the door. It wouldn't have been so odd if it wasn't for the fact that it was six o'clock in the morning. But he already knew who it was. It was too early in the day for any of his senpai-tachi to come by. And all his family members had been in the states. So, that only left one person.

"Ryuzaki," he said as he opened the door. As he saw her standing there, nervously looking at him, he recalled their reunion from yesterday.

The day before had been interesting. Before he could even get a word out, she ran to the apartment next door. The same one that his former teammates were looking at just before they entered his.

"So, this is why you suggested this place," Ryoma accused. Of course, no one straightforwardly admitted it.

"We helped Ryuzaki-chan move in about a month ago," Fuji explained.

"That's right! We were reminded of how close this apartment was to the airport," Eiji chimed in. "And there's a bunch of family owned places around here. We remembered how safe and convenient this area was for Ryuzaki-chan, nya."

"So, it basically fit all of your requirements," Momoshiro patted Ryoma's back. "For such specific standards, you're lucky this apartment was open."

They all smirked at him with the exception of Tezuka who only flashed his glasses.

"Please take care of her!" they shouted, causing the young prince to rub his forehead.

However, even if they were scheming the whole thing, they'd been right. There really was nowhere else to go. The area had been full for a couple years now. If he didn't take the room now, surely, there'd be no chance in him finding one that met his standards until the next year.

"Is everything okay, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked, snapping him out of the memory. "I-I smelled something burning."

Besides, he didn't mind that it was Sakuno. He didn't mind at all.

"I'm trying to make breakfast," Ryoma replied quickly, trying to keep his cool. He really didn't need the girl to know that he'd been burning everything he touched. Then, he remembered an important detail the former Seigaku members mentioned before they took their leave.

"Ryuzaki-chan is studying to be a chef," Eiji excitedly told him. Apparently, Sakuno had become close to all of the members after he left Japan. He'd heard a brief story about how she was always the one who made the victory meals, something they all looked forward to. All nodding their heads, they agreed she became somewhat of a food savior to them.

"Ryuzaki," he said, causing her to blush all of a sudden. Sakuno had no idea how he could do that. "Can you make me breakfast?"

"Eh?"

After a short twenty minutes of waiting, petting his cat and watching a few old tennis matches on television, Sakuno had finally prepared a traditional Japanese breakfast.

Ryoma was showing a subtle expression of astonishment. The clumsy girl that he'd come to know had created a tray full of, as he saw it, glowing treasures. Of course, every now and then when she was cooking, he'd glance at her without her knowing, afraid that she'd end up creating a fire somehow... knowing her history. But he only saw her work effortlessly. It was probably comparable to how he was on the courts.

Sakuno sat herself next to the prince with a slight tint of pink on her cheeks and prepared the table for the meal. Ryoma was relieved. He was going to get to eat.

"I-Is it good?" she asked nervously as he took a bite of fried rice and tamagayoki. Ryoma knew his cool was evaporating since his hunger had overtaken him that morning. And eating her food finally gave him some relief. But that didn't mean he'd be out of his character. So, he just nodded.

Once he took the bite, he knew it'd be good. What he failed to predict was that it tasted… familiar?

"I-I tried to follow the recipe on the kitchen counter," Sakuno said as she fidgeted with the apron. "I-It may be for a simple Japanese breakfast, but I-I could tell someone altered it based on s-someone's taste."

Ryoma proceeded to eat the rest of the breakfast and ended it with a, "It's not bad. Thank you."

Sakuno's face lit up. Normally, people complimented her with the highest praise, but she knew that Ryoma wasn't that type of person. Even so, she was happy that he ate her cooking. Smiling to herself, she'd happily cook for him again if she was given the opportunity.

The young prince looked at the girl and smirked. Even as the years passed, he knew what she was thinking. He always did.

"Don't you have class?"

"Ah! I don't start until eight o'clock. What about you, Ryoma-kun?" she was still blushing and avoiding direct contact. She'd barely seen the young man in the past couple of years yet, her heart still always skipped a beat.

"So, you like cooking, right?"

She nodded.

"Then, if I pay you, would you keep cooking for me?"

She blushed harder. Had he realized her thoughts on cooking for him?

"A-Ano, Ryoma-kun doesn't have to pay me," she said courageously, trying not to return to the girl who acted so clumsily around the boy.

He looked at her a few seconds and frowned. Did she not think he'd be able to pay her?

"Why?"

She quickly realized that he mistook her offer. "A-Ah! It's not what you think! A-Ano, it's because um, you and I know each other already, and we're neighbors now..."

She continued on, finally looking at him. "I-It's a neighborly thing to do; plus, it'll be good practice for me. If I make too much food, I might end up just wasting it. I-I can only eat so much."

Ryoma blinked and finally retreated to his signature smirk. "Heh? So, really you're the one using me?"

"Mou, Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno blushed again.

Ryoma only widened his smirk.

A/N: Hooray, the first chapter's up! I really liked writing the continuation like this. Sometimes, I just hate having to continue it from where it's left off but this story is meant to be a kind of drabble series, so I can get away with it. Anyway, this is going to be a weekly update rather than updating it on a random day. Like I said in the prologue, I've basically planned out this story's chapters already. So, thank you for reading and please comment as much as you can!

Cata06 & nallhir: Thank you so much for reviewing and I'll update this story next Saturday. I love hearing that you guys enjoyed it so again, thank you for your comments!