Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

PS: In my original draft I got Shusuke and Yuuta's older sister's name wrong. Thanks to all of those who corrected me. If I have any other mistakes, please tell me. I want to make my stories as realistic as possible. Or as realistic as a fanfic can get anyway! Thanks for reading. Vienna Sky

Chapter 2

"All right, here goes nothing." Sakuno muttered nervously to herself as she reached a tentative hand out for the doorbell.

It had been a day since she accidentally injured Yuuta Fuji and had promised to cook lunch for him until his wrist had healed. Now she stood nervously on his doorstep trying to muster up the courage to ring the doorbell. In her other hand was two bento boxes neatly wrapped in a red cloth. She was excited for him to try her food. Since her parents were on business trips a lot and her brother had tennis practice everyday of the week except Sunday, she had learned to cook for herself at a young age. She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening.

"Hello, you must be Kunimitsu's little sister. My name is Yumiko Fuji. I'm Shusuke and Yuuta's onee-san." The speaker of the words was a stunningly beautiful young woman of about 20.

"Hello, my name is Sakuno Tezuka. It's nice to meet you. I came to bring Yuuta-kun lunch today." Sakuno said frantically, flustered to be caught off guard.

"Oh, Yuuta told me about what happened yesterday." Yumiko said as Sakuno blushed as deep as the cloth she was holding.

"I'm really, really sorry about that!" Sakuno replied guiltily.

"Don't be." Yumiko said sweetly. "Accidents happen and it was a good thing that you didn't get hurt and between you and me, Shusuke and I are such bad cooks that I'm sure Yuuta would sprain his other wrist just to escape our cooking! Come inside."

Sakuno giggled. Yumiko-san was as nice as Fuji-sempai was and her warm smile made Sakuno feel comfortable as she walked into the house.

"Why don't you wait in the living room while I go get Yuuta? Make yourself at home." Yumiko suggested.

"Hai, thank you so much Yumiko-san." Sakuno said as she perched timidly on the couch and took time to admire the room.

The Fuji living room was modernly decorated with black leather furniture, a glass coffee table and a big screen TV. Along the walls were beautiful paintings of traditional Japanese landscapes and photos of the entire family. Sakuno could see that Shusuke and Yumiko-san got their gentle smile from their mother and that all of the children had inherited their father's reddish-brown hair.

What a nice family She thought to herself. They all seem so happy together, I wish oto-san and oka-san were home more often. Her parents both worked for an export company and their work brought them overseas often and for long periods of time. In her childhood, she spent a lot of time with her brother, which is why they were so close. I wish I had parents like that. She thought wistfully.

"Sakuno-chan? Are you okay? You look really sad."

Sakuno whipped around to see the concerned face of Yuuta Fuji looking at her, his left wrist and hand wrapped up in a sling.

"I'm fine, I was just day dreaming. Here's your lunch Yuuta-kun and here's Fuji-sempai's. I didn't know you had a sister, otherwise I would have made one for her too." Sakuno replied. Just then, Yumiko and Shusuke popped their heads into the doorway.

"Thank you for thinking of us but I'm afraid that we won't get the chance to eat it." Shusuke said slyly, his dark blue eyes gleaming.

"Yes." Yumiko added. "Shusuke and I have to go buy groceries. See you later Yuuta. It was nice meeting you Sakuno-chan!" She said as they rushed out the door.

"Wait!" Yuuta called out. "You just went grocery shopping yesterday!" But they had already gotten into the car and sped off leaving a confused Yuuta and an anxious Sakuno.

"Ano…thank you for making this for me, but can you do something else for me too?" Yuuta said not looking into her eyes.

"Sure, anything you want." Sakuno said happy to be of use.

"Well, I'm a lefty and yesterday I injured my left wrist. I really can't hold chopsticks with my right hand so I've been having my siblings feed me all morning but now that there gone…" He trailed off too embarrassed to say more.

"Okay, I'll feed you." Sakuno said and she opened up the bento box and picked up a little bit of food with the chopsticks and placed it delicately in his mouth. She watched him chew, apprehensively awaiting his reaction.

"Wow, this is really good! Even better than the one you made yesterday!" He said enthusiastically. He really meant it too.

"Really? You think so?" She replied.

"Yeah! It's delicious! Why don't you have the one that you made for Shusuke? He and onee-san already ate. And don't worry about making them food; they like to eat out a lot." Yuuta suggested.

"Alright, if you say so. But next time I'll bring dessert for the whole family." Sakuno said cheerfully as she opened up the other box. She alternated between feeding Yuuta and feeding herself but switching chopsticks each time was a hassle.

"Ne Sakuno-chan. I don't mind using the same chopstick as you if it makes it easier." He said quietly. "I mean, if that's okay with you because I don't mind if you don't want to either." He added hurriedly.

"It's alright, I don't mind either." Sakuno replied shyly.

After that the two talked for a long time and Yuuta found himself talking about the pressure that he had been feeling lately from Mizuki-san and how ever since he transferred to St. Rudolph he wasn't as close to his brother anymore.

I've never told anyone this stuff before. He thought to himself. She's such a good listener and I feel like she understands me and I understand her.

Sakuno talked about the absences of her parents and about her feeling like a burden to her brother all the time because of her clumsiness in tennis.

"I'm so clumsy. I wish I had quick reflexes like you and onii-san. If I hadn't been stupid enough to try to get that racquet, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt." She said sadly as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"You're not stupid or clumsy." Yuuta told her as he gently wiped the tears from her face. "I think that everyone has strength and weaknesses and some of your strengths are definitely cooking and being a good listener."

"Thanks Yuuta-kun."

"If you want to improve your tennis skills, then tomorrow I could meet you at the tennis courts at Kazedai Park and help you. That way you could get practice without bothering your brother." He said.

"Wow! That'd be great but will it be okay for you with your injury?" Sakuno asked worriedly.

"It'll be fine, the doctor said that I should exercise the rest of my body to keep it in good condition and I'll just be coaching you anyway." He reassured her.

Just then Sakuno's cell phone rang. It was her brother checking in with her since it was already 4:00.

4:00! I've been here for four hours! She thought.

"What's up?" Yuuta asked after she had hung up.

"Oh, I lost track of time and I should be getting home now." Sakuno said.

"I'll walk you home; I don't want you to go alone." Yuuta said.

"Alright." She said happy to spend more time with her new friend.


When they reached the gates of her house she turned around to say good bye.

"I'll meet you at noon tomorrow at the Kazedai Park tennis courts okay?" Yuuta said.

"Okay, I'll see you then Yuuta-kun. Bye." Sakuno said. After he turned around and left she went into her house.

"How did it go?" Kunimitsu asked her when she came through the door smiling.

"It was great!" Sakuno said cheerfully. "Tomorrow we're going to meet at Kazedai Park and he's going to help me with my tennis."

"Oh really? The bath is ready if you want to use it. After that come down and get ready to eat dinner." He replied, happy to see her in high spirits.

Sakuno went up the stairs reflecting upon her day and eagerly awaiting the chance to spend tomorrow with her new friend.


"Oy Echizen!" Takeshi Momoshiro said over the phone to his friend. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing really, why?" Ryoma replied.

"There's a place by my house that's just renovated their tennis courts and it's really nice. Wanna have a game or two?" Momo asked.

"Sure why not? I'll see you tomorrow morning." Ryoma responded. "What's the place called again?"

"Kazedai Park."