A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews, they make me happy. I really like this pairing and I'm surprised that there isn't more Atobe/Sakuno fics out there! I get tired of reading RyoSaku so I like to switch things up a little! To .ame: Don't worry about Hyotei, they'll be interacting soon enough, I just haven't got there yet. We've spent most of our time with Sakuno so Hyotei hasn't really been a factor… yet!

Sakuno stood next to Tomoka as they watched the Seigaku tennis practice. Sakuno found her mind drifting to her previous evening with Atobe. He was so nice to her and she really enjoyed spending time with him. She barely stuttered when she was with him and every time he was near her confidence seemed to grow. Perhaps some of Atobe's overbearing confidence was rubbing off on her, and if it was, she didn't mind. Some of the regular members had teased her about 'dating' Atobe but she brushed all of their words off. She had finally realized that as long as she was happy, what other people thought didn't matter. The ball was only two days away and Sakuno was growing more excited with each day that passed.

"Are we going in a group?"

Sakuno blinked as she was brought back to reality from her thoughts. She stared at Tomoka with a blank expression.

"Are we going in a group this weekend?" Tomoka asked again.

Sakuno looked up at the clouds, "I hadn't thought of that yet, I'd love to, but I'll have to ask Keigo first."

"You really are calling him Keigo aren't you?!" Tomoka squealed.

Sakuno shrugged with a smile, "He asked me to."

Tomoka grinned, "Okay, well I was thinking our group could be me and Eiji, you and Keigo, and lastly Ann and Momo."

"Have you talked to Ann?" Sakuno asked.

"Actually Momo and Eiji were the ones who said they wanted to be in a group," Tomoka replied.

"Really?" Sakuno asked.

Sakuno knew exactly why they wanted to be in a group. The Seigaku boys wanted to spy on her, it was obvious. She smiled at the thought, so what? She'd let them because she had nothing to hide. Sakuno was starting to take Atobe's words to heart, she needed to be confident in herself if she wanted to get anywhere in life. She had always lacked confidence but since being with Keigo, it seemed as though she grew more confident in herself day by day.

Sakuno's eyes met Tomoka's, "I'll call him now and ask him."

Sakuno moved away from the tennis courts and pulled out her cell phone. She was unaware of the glare that Ryoma was sending her way from the vending machine that was near her. He grabbed his Ponta quietly and watched her. Sakuno cheerfully typed in a number and held the cell phone to her ear. It rang a few times before there was an answer.

"Hello?" an out of breath voice said.

"Keigo?" Sakuno questioned nervously, afraid she had caught him at a bad time.

"Sakuno," he acknowledged, "Is everything alright? You sound upset."

"No, no!" Sakuno exclaimed, "I was hoping I didn't interrupt you doing anything."

"Only tennis practice," he said sarcastically.

"Sorry!" she said, dropping her head, "I wanted you ask you a quick question."

"Fire away, I was about to take a water break anyway," he told her.

"Would you be okay with going in a group to the ball?" she asked, slightly scared of the answer.

Atobe thought for a moment, "I suppose that would be alright, as long as the transportation and whatnot are on my terms. What group are we talking about?"

Sakuno let out a sigh of relief and answered, "Momo and Ann and then Eiji and Tomoka."

"That's fine, would you be okay if Kabaji tagged along with us? He is my best friend," Atobe said.

"Of course not! I don't care who comes, the more people the more fun it will be!" Sakuno told him.

"As long as we get to spend some alone time together," he said lowly.

Sakuno blushed on the other end of the line, "I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to be alone."

Ryoma gripped his Ponta can with unnecessary force and stomped his way back to the tennis courts. Sakuno finished her conversation with Atobe and trotted back over to Tomoka's side.

"Everything is a go," Sakuno smiled brightly, "As long as we let Atobe take us."

Tomoka grinned, "Let him take us in his amazing limo? Uh yeah!"

"What are the other members doing for the ball?" Sakuno asked in a hushed voice.

Tomoka shrugged, "I'm not sure, we can always ask one of them."

Horio appeared out of nowhere, "The rest of the members are going stag of course! As am I!"

"What do you mean?" Tomoka asked with a bewildered expression.

"Captain Tezuka is going alone, and most of the other members are following his lead! They're going in a giant group together!" Horio explained.

"That's kind of odd," Sakuno murmured.

"Captain Tezuka is the coolest! It's only natural that most want to do the same thing as him!" Horio exclaimed.

"This is going to be an interesting ball isn't it?" Tomoka asked Sakuno.

She nodded back, "It looks like it."

…..

Sakuno sat at home that evening doing her homework when her cell phone suddenly buzzed. Her heart jumped and she sat up quickly to grab it.

"Hello?"

"Will you come to my tennis practice tomorrow?"

Sakuno was frozen, she had never been to anyone's tennis practices except for Seigaku's. If she went to Hyotei then she'd really feel like a traitor.

"Is that a good idea?" Sakuno asked hesitantly.

Atobe chuckled on the other line, "What's wrong with the idea?"

"Aren't your teammates going to get mad if I'm there? Since I go to Seigaku?" Sakuno questioned worriedly.

Atobe huffed, "Of course not, you don't need to worry about anything. Don't you want to watch me practice?"

Sakuno could tell he was teasing her and she sighed in defeat, "I guess I could… I'll have to make up an excuse as to why I'm not going to Seigaku's practice though."

"An excuse? Why? Just tell them the truth, they already know we're seeing each other," Atobe replied simply.

Sakuno cringed when he said 'seeing each other'. Were they really? Were they dating? She needed to define this relationship but she wasn't really sure how she should ask. Maybe she'd ask him tomorrow after his practice.

"Since your practice is after school, how do you want me to get there?" Sakuno asked.

"I'll send my driver to come pick you up of course!" Atobe answered as though it was obvious.

Sakuno reluctantly agreed, "Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

Sakuno hung up the phone and decided to call Tomoka. She knew that her best friend would kill her the next day if she didn't know about what just happened. The phone rang a few times until she heard Tomoka's voice.

"Hello?" she answered in her usual cheery voice.

Sakuno decided to cut to the chase, "Keigo asked me to come and watch him practice tomorrow at Hyotei," she rambled out quickly.

"WHAT?!" Tomoka screamed, "You aren't really going are you?!"

"I think I am…" Sakuno trailed off.

"He wants to show off," Tomoka mumbled.

"He always shows off," Sakuno confirmed with a small smile.

"You two are complete opposites, how does this even happen?" Tomoka exclaimed.

Sakuno giggled, "I'm not sure."

…

"Why the heck did the captain call us for an emergency meeting?" Hiyoshi grumbled as they sat in chairs by the pool at Atobe's mansion.

Jiro was hanging over his chair in an awkward position breathing heavily as he slept. The sun was starting to go down and the Hyotei regulars were becoming restless. Mukahi fidgeted relentlessly until his chair started rattling and Ryo shot him an irritated glare. Oshitari glanced down at his cell phone and adjusted his glasses.

"Thank you all for gathering so quickly!"

The regulars looked over to the side of the mansion where Atobe walked gracefully outside with Kabaji right behind him.

"It was no problem at all!" Chotaro said with a selfless grin.

"Speak for yourself," Ryo grumbled.

Atobe ignored the fellow third year and continued, "I have an announcement."

The regulars stared at their captain, waiting for him to continue. Atobe turned to Kabaji and gave him a curt nod. Kabaji walked past the captain and up to the chair where Jiro was sleeping soundly. He grabbed the chair Jiro was in and pushed it backwards. Jiro's eyes snapped open in mid-fall and he stopped himself quickly.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he cried and yawned sleepily.

"I am taking Sakuno Ryuzaki to the ball this weekend and have asked her to join us for practice tomorrow. So I'm expecting you all to be on your best behavior. If I hear anything to suggest that you're being mean to my date, I'll punish you personally," Atobe spoke with authority.

A few gasps and confused noises came from the Hyotei members.

"Isn't she from Seigaku?" Mukahi asked with a bizarre expression.

"She is… is there anyone here who has a problem with that?" Atobe asked.

"It's just extremely odd to hear such news," Oshitari said in a deep voice.

"Why is it odd? I, Keigo Atobe, can get whatever and whoever I want!" Atobe announced proudly, "My prowess is untouchable!"

Chotaro smiled with admiration at his captain while most of the other members glanced at each other awkwardly. The sun dipped over the horizon and the lights around the mansion sprang to life, illuminating everything. Atobe's grin glowed in the lights and Oshitari shook his head with a tired expression.

"So… you called us here to tell us to be nice to a girl from Seigaku who cheers for the Seigaku team who you invited to our tennis practice?" Ryo asked, emphasizing words.

Atobe frowned, "Yes Shishido, is there a problem with keeping my team informed?"

Ryo's eyes shot downward, "No captain."

"So now that everyone knows about tomorrow and the ball this weekend you're all dismissed, right Kabaji?"

"Yes!"

….

"Grandma," Sakuno approached her carefully.

"Sakuno? You aren't in bed yet?" she asked, glancing over at the clock.

Sakuno clasped her hands tightly in front of her, "Um, I won't be at tennis practice tomorrow."

Ryuzaki shrugged, "That's okay with me, but why?"

Sakuno grinned sheepishly and Ryuzaki's eyebrows shot up in realization.

"Are you going out with Atobe again?"

"Sort of," Sakuno replied, "He asked me to come to Hyotei's tennis practice tomorrow.

Ryuzaki's jaw dropped, "Really?"

Sakuno blushed brightly and nodded. Ryuzaki stared at her granddaughter in bewilderment. How was it that two people with such opposite personalities had come together? What did Sakuno see in Atobe and what did he see in her? Ryuzaki was surprised at the turn of events. She had always expected Sakuno to end up with one of the Seigaku regulars with as much time as she spent with the tennis team. She assumed that it could be worse… Atobe was a very respectable young man. Ryuzaki knew that Sakuno claimed the two were 'just friends' but she knew that wouldn't last much longer. She could tell by the nervous way that Sakuno talked that she had feelings for him and it was cute how shy she was about it.

"So is it okay if I go?" Sakuno asked.

"Of course, is he picking you up?"

Sakuno nodded, "He won't be there, but he said he's sending his driver to pick me up."

Ryuzaki rolled her eyes, "What I'd do if I had money to throw around like that…"

Sakuno giggled, "Thanks grandma, I'll see you in the morning."