SUMMARY: Ryoma and Sakuno are the best of friends. But why is that such a bad thing?

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. (sighs)

Note: All the Italics are flashback scenes!

All thanks to YummieCreamy, pinkfloweree, Hazelnut, Fullmoon05, The Sakura Snowflake, Jomai, CrazyGirlofManyNames, Elme, Kawaii Chou, jHeyTTernallie, CrazyGirlofManyNames, KrisMs, ignoredflower, pinklove, Forever Dreamin, larsha, Cyansilent, 2756, kanomie08, The Magical Whatever, pabi chan, loki lee, KenRik, Sumaru93, unchangingxp, Pure Essence, BlueJx23, astig3422, ScarletNinja123, XkanomieX, animeflunky, Chi Bara, rotflol162, sakura4594, samurai-lapin for reviewing my fic! They're really cool! Hope you continue supporting me!

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Chapter 4: Memories

Ryoma blinked wearily, trudging towards the dining room. Not even bothering to do anything properly, he plopped down on a vacant seat and tried fervently to at least get a few minutes sleep.

"I'm sorry, Ryoma, but Sakuno-chan hasn't arrived yet. Don't you always walk home together?"

Groaning, his head fell down to the table with a loud thunk. He had been waiting for her until midnight. Where the hell was she?

"Che, you little brat, what are you doing here moping when cute innocent Ryuzaki-chan is somewhere out there in the dark?"

His perverted oyaji was right. Why did he not follow her? He groaned in frustration. Girls were so confusing... so what if he did kiss her? It was a natural progression, right? She was his only close female friend. He falling in love with her was inevitable.

Or was it?

But he was almost certain she liked him too. So what was stopping her? And what made her cry? He tried to think of anything, but when his mind drew a blank, he sighed. If she wasn't his best friend, and his soon-to-be girlfriend (at this, his thoughts were almost hopeful), he'd have dumped her by now.

"Ohayou, Ryoma-kun."

The soft voice startled him from his thoughts. There standing before him was his best friend herself, smiling gently and apparently unharmed. He shot up quickly and had half a mind to grab her shoulders and shake her senseless when he noticed how tense she was. "Where have you been?" he asked in the gentlest voice he could muster under the circumstances.

"I'm sorry if you were worried about me-" Damn hell he was worried! "-but I had been thinking." Was it just him, or was she backing away from him?

"About what?"

"Obaa-chan called, and she said she was going home tomorrow. I was thinking that maybe I should go right now."

He almost flinched. "Don't you want to be around me anymore?" he blurted out.

Her eyes widened. Her hand reached out to touch his face when she once again- he thought bitterly- 'realized' herself. Her arm drew back quickly. "I-I... no... not really."

She was avoiding him, and he knew it. His eyes narrowed, and quite suddenly, he felt furious- at everybody, at her, at himself. "You're lying," he hissed dangerously. "Why on earth are you distancing yourself away from me?! I'm sorry I kissed you, if that's what you're worried about. I want you to tell me what the hell is wrong because I don't want you to stay away from me!" he practically shouted.

She was shaking, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "R-ryoma-kun, please calm down-" And she made a move to touch his shoulder.

Fearing her withdrawal once again, he grabbed her outstretched hand and pressed it to his heart. At that moment, Ryoma's mind was screaming at him to let go and that he was bordering on sappy now, but he just didn't care. He snarled and tugged her to him. "What the hell did you do to me?! All of a sudden you come sauntering into my life, and like hell I let you in, so there's no way I'm going to let you walk away from me again!" And then he pressed his lips to hers in a slow searing kiss.

When they broke away, her pupils were dilated, and she was staring at him like he had grown another head. And maybe he did. Because the Echizen Ryoma he knew can't- won't- do this sort of thing.

Until she came.

To his shock, crystal tears fell gently from her dark eyes, and then she was smiling weakly at him and placing kisses all over his face. "I think..." she whispered softly. "I think you love me."

"Um... anou... R-ryoma-kun," Sakuno started nervously, glancing at the aloof freshman walking beside her. When he made no move to reply, she simply continued. "Why are you f-following me?"

Ryoma raised his cap to smirk at her. "What made you think that way?"

She bit her lip. "Um... well... I-I'm not really sure, b-but Ryoma-kun's house is on the other way, and you've been walking with me ever since... um..." She thought for a moment. "Ah! Ever since your match with Shinji-san..." She turned to look at him. "Is your eye ok now?"

He almost laughed at the worried look that crossed her features. "Che, that was months ago. I'm not that weak. Mada mada dane."

She nodded thoughtfully and continued walking, amusing him. How many minutes would it take for her to realize he didn't answer her question? Ryoma grinned to himself. Days, probably. But it was better for him anyway. He thought that maybe he had just woken up one morning with the urge to walk her home, and so far, the urge hasn't been fading.

But in all honesty, he didn't know himself.

----

"What the hell are you doing walking out late at night?!" Ryoma hissed, grabbing Sakuno's arm and pulling her to an empty alley.

Her eyes were wide, shocked. "R-ryoma-kun! What are you doing here?" Was he stalking her?

He shook his head furiously. "Where have you been?"

"A-ah... It's Tomo-chan's fourteenth birthday and-"

He scoffed. "And Osakada, or anyone, didn't even walk you home?"

She frowned defensively. "I can take care of myself, Ryoma-kun..."

He almost rolled his eyes. "Right." At her indignant scowl, he smirked and covered her bare shoulders with his jacket. And then his hand was on her back and he was guiding her gently. "Let's go home."

As all her anger dissipated at his concern, she smiled. "Hai. Let's go home, Ryoma-kun."

----

"Tomo-chan, I can't ask Ryoma-kun to the dance. You know he's not into that kind of stuff."

"But Sakuno-" Tomo whined. "You know I can't go because I have to take care of my little brothers! And at least this way, I know he's in good hands."

Sakuno sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Ryoma-kun won't even talk to me, Tomo-chan, so what makes you think he'll even agree?"

"Oh, don't worry about it so much. I'm sure-" Her eyes suddenly widened and she gasped. "Oh my gosh! He's walking this way! Sakuno, you HAVE to ask him!" And she promptly pushed the reluctant and surprised Sakuno.

"Ah!" Sakuno dug her heels to the ground as she almost collided with the tennis prince. At his raised eyebrow, she flushed. "I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun!"

"Go with me."

His blunt statement caused her to blink rapidly. What did he say? "Anou, Ryoma-kun, I don't understand-"

"To the dance," he said slowly. "Go with me."

Sakuno thought she was going deaf. "Could you please repeat that, Ryoma-kun? I thought you just said you wanted me to go to the dance with you."

"I did," he muttered, tugging the bill of his cap down. "Will you?"

Her jaw dropped. After a few minutes of tension, she finally stammered an affirmative response. He simply nodded and walked away briskly. She stared at his retreating back.

Was he blushing? Or maybe it was just the light.

She smiled. It was probably the light.

----

He was furious.

"And you left her ALONE?" he fumed, shooting a glare at the girl practically running to catch up with his brisk strides.

Tomo frowned. "If I didn't, Ryoma-sama, how am I suppose to call you?! Scream until the whole bloody school comes running to our rescue?" she growled. "I think not!"

Ryoma resisted the urge to hit something. Osakada was right. They just had to go there as quickly as possible. "Are you sure she was alone? Nobody was prowling the corridors?"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Yes. I made sure of that."

There was a pause, and when he spoke to her, his tone was hesitant. "Was she... was she crying?"

She glanced at him, a sardonic smile twisting her features. "I'm not really sure, but I think being bullied by a throng of girls would do that to you," she countered sarcastically.

His already tense body stiffened even more. "Does this happen often?"

Tomo almost snorted. He wasn't honestly THAT dense, was he? "Oh NO. This just happens every single day of every single waking moment of her life." Her rage was palpable in the air as she rounded on him. "I never thought that being close to you would result to this, so you better make things right! Don't give me that bullshit about this being not your fault because it is. Damn right it is."

He wanted to raise an eyebrow at her ranting, but he knew she was right. Damn, she was right. "Don't shout at me," he muttered tersely as they arrived in front of the door to the rooftop. He glanced at her and quickly glanced away. He absolutely hated when girls cried. He felt so helpless.

"Ryoma-sama," she whispered in a small barely-controlled voice. "Please take care of Sakuno." With that, she was gone.

Straightening himself, he opened the door and found her hunched against the wall. At the sound of the door opening, her head quickly shot up, something dark and defiant in her eyes. When she saw him, her body sagged in relief and then tensed up again.

"R-ryoma-kun?"

His fists clenched involuntarily when he spotted the redness and barely-visible handprint on her cheek. There were also dark marks on her pale skin. Ryoma swore to himself that he was going to physically disembody the person who did this to her. Letting his cool mask slip away, he knelt in front of her, a hand reaching to touch her face.

She cringed. "D-don't!"

He nodded. Wondering how to phrase his thoughts, he simply sat beside her, basking in the warmth that was her presence. After a moment, he spoke again. "Nobody will be hurting you again."

"A-ah, hai..." she said weakly. And then she was sitting up straight again, her eyes wide as she looked at him in horror. "H-how did you know?"

She was surprised by the genuineness of his smile. "Friends are supposed to watch each other's backs, right?"

Her jaw dropped. "A-ah what?"

He faced her squarely, taking her hands. "Ryuzaki, if it doesn't bother you," he started, blushing a little. "Would you like to be my friend?" All he received as an answer was her launching herself in his arms and crying uncontrollably.

The next day, the whole Seigaku was astounded when they found THE Echizen Ryoma carrying a blushing Sakuno's bag. Virtually attached at the hips, they were inseparable ever since.

----

It was Christmas Eve.

Ryoma grumbled under his breath, chafing his hands. Where on earth was she? He tightened the black scarf around his neck, eyeing the nearly frozen fountain with something akin to disdain. Why the hell did she pick the fountain in the middle of the park to be their meeting place?

"Ah! It's so cold!"

His head whipped to the side. "Ryuzaki?!"

She was wearing a simple dress and jeans under the voluminous sweater that she wore. "Ah! Ryoma-kun!"

His mouth twitched up in his signature smirk. "You can barely be seen under those."

She laughed embarrassedly. "H-hai. I couldn't find anything else to wear." Noticing his barely-suppressed shivering, she took out a neatly-wrapped gift and handed it to him, her face beaming. "Merry Christmas, Ryoma-kun!"

He shook his head in amusement. "You made me come all the way here just to give me your Christmas present?" When her smile didn't falter, he grinned as well. He took the gift and at her eager look, he tore the wrapper and found a knitted green scarf inside. "Did you make this?" he asked as he removed his own scarf and wrapped hers around his neck. It was surprisingly warm and comfortable.

She flushed, nodding. "I thought maybe you'll like something that I did with effort..."

He smiled inwardly at her thoughtfulness. "Thanks. I got you one too." And he promptly threw a small rectangular box at her. She barely caught it.

"Ryoma-kun! Why did you have to throw it?" she mumbled, clutching the box to her chest.

He shrugged.

Smiling slightly, she opened the box and gasped when she saw the intricate silver bracelet. "Ryoma-kun, it's beautiful..." Almost in wonder, she clasped the bracelet around her wrist.

"That's expensive, you know, so you better take care of it," he commented. She nodded slowly, and he turned to leave. "Ja."

"Wait!" He halted in his tracks. "I wasn't finished yet!" When he turned around to face her, she launched herself into his arms. "Happy birthday, Ryoma-kun." And then he felt a kiss on his cheek and something pressed into his hand and she was gone.

A gentle smile crossed his features when he found a tennis ball with his face and the markings, "Ryoma-kun No. 1".

"Merry Christmas, Ryuzaki."

----

a/n: so. Their second kiss ever. Is it okay? I've sorta made a background of their past.

I think somebody recommended I show a part of how they became friends and stuff. So?

Is it okay? I know I'm too sappy, so there might be fluff overload in this chappie.

I'm sorry if the characters are a bit OOC, but I hope you like it.

This fic is dedicated to myself (I'm turning 16! Yey!) and to all the people who reviewed my fic! Arigato gozaimasu!