A/N: Hi guys, I am back! Here is Chapter 7, a big and warm THANK YOU to those who read and reviewed the previous chapter! Your reviews really motivate me :) . Sorry for the errors, I will go over them if I have extra time.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis

Chapter 7

"Mama, let us go at our hot springs! And you know what mama? I am very very excited that you are back, remember your angel collection? Aniki and I would always add another piece whenever we have money…" Shin talked incessantly from the moment he latched himself to Sakuno's leg up to this moment; where almost everyone in the room is listening intently to their little conversation. His hold on Sakuno's leg would tighten every time he would finish a statement, excitement obvious on every fiber of his being.

For the first time in his life, Ryoma appreciated the fact that kids their age have their thoughts all scrambled up, especially whenever they would get really enthusiastic about something.

Yeah. Just go on…

Though everyone is paying attention to every word, everyone had their eyes at different direction, any direction as long as it is not on their Young Master's.

Oh Madam! Why do you have to leave them at an early age?

Zadagatsu-san hugged her younger grandchild from behind, trying to create a small space between her grandchild and their teenage visitor. She smiled apologetically to Sakuno for causing much discomfort (at least from what she thought)

"Shin, this is Ryuuzaki Sakuno, she helped your Aniki when he got lost and also when an 'accident' happened. She helped your Aniki get into his new uniform" she explained while caressing the tummy of Shrota's twin, the texture all furry and soft.

"B-but Obaa-san, she looks like mama, a lot like mama! Maybe Onee-chan is our mama in a new and healthier body." he explained. His arms are holding still on Sakuno's leg though not as tight as before. He smiled a big toothy smile to Sakuno, believing that his smile would ease the sadness that he is feeling inside. Their mother died five months ago, and they want nothing more but to see her.

Sakuno noticed the sadness on his smile, and she felt sorry. What could be the matter? Is their mother dead? Or she is just so busy that she doesn't have time to see them? Whatever the reason maybe she feels sorry for them. These two kids are the sweetest creatures she had ever beheld, in the few hours that she would be here; she would give her best to make them happy. And for a matter of about 3 minutes Sakuno is sure;

'I will help them forget their sadness, even for just a few hours'

"Ah, Shin-chan" Sakuno begun, restraining herself from crying.

The five year old clad in a bear costume looked at Sakuno's eyes while smiling weakly.

"Onee-chan, I am sorry I called you mama, what I did is not polite" he bowed in apology, the bear ears of his costume slightly tickling Sakuno's nose. Sakuno smiled.

"I don't accept a little brat's apology"

Shin's eyes widened like saucers, his head snapped upwards to meet Sakuno's eyes, worry and sadness apparent in his features. A small ball is starting to form on his throat, making swallowing painful; a sensation that he would experience every time he feels like crying.

'But no! I am already a big boy, I will not cry' the five year old chanted inside his head.

He clenched his hands and with as much saliva that he could store, he swallowed hard, hoping that the small ball forming on his throat will go down together with his saliva.

But it didn't.

In fact it became more painful, as if it is getting larger as he continues to swallow.

"O-onee-chan, I-I am really sorry, if you w-want…"

"I am so mad with what you did, that I will only forgive you if we will play all throughout the time that I am here " Sakuno said, a tone of feign irritation on her voice.

Shin's mood shifted from gloomy to cheerful in a span of a split second, he smiled from ear to ear and nodded his head "We will Onee-chan, we will! Together with Aniki and Onii, Yamamoto-san and Obaa-san" he said joyfully, eyes sparkling of excitement.

The soft chiming from a bell signaling dinner was heard, the butlers and maids who became all emotional of the small encounter composed themselves; straightening non-existent wrinkles of their clean and crisp uniform, observing proper posture and facial expression that they should always wear.

One of the butler's in line cleared his throat, "Lady Zadagatsu dinner is ready"


"I hope you find dinner really good my dears" Zadagatsu-san said with a smile, her eyes directed to both Ryoma and Sakuno who is sitting across them. On each side of Zadagatsu-san are the twins, Shin on the right and Shrota at the left, if not for Shin's teddy bear costume, the two vistors might have a hard time distinguishing which one is which. Both are playing with the coconut strips of their dessert as discreetly as they could, playing in such a way that they could enjoy the food while eating it; Shin is holding his spoon an inch or two higher than what his lips could reach, as the end of the strip is caught by his open mouth, he would then close his mouth and then eat the strip little by little, as if he is eating pasta. Shrota on the other hand, is eating the coconut strips first (for he believes that the one that taste good-the lychee for this instance- should be eaten last), he is scooping the strips one by one, and he brings it into his mouth with a soft 'slurping' sound, as if eating a noodle rich in sauce.

Now it doesn't necessarily mean that the kids were not taught proper table etiquette, they just want to enjoy the favorite part of the dinner, which is dessert, and besides their Obaa-san is talking to their visitors so she wouldn't really notice right? And also they are doing it discreetly.

Smart

Ryoma smirked as he observes the twins' naughty and sneaky behavior. Sure they are adorable, BUT these two gives him the hot undesirable feeling whenever they are doing intimate things with Sakuno, which he finds weird as well, a pair of five year olds? What harm could be done? He shakes his head very slightly it is almost unnoticeable. He also doesn't know, but as of now two things are clear to him. One, he doesn't like it that Sakuno practically loves these two the first five minutes she laid her eyes on them and two, he doesn't want Sakuno to take a bath with them. Heck, why is it that those two kids were given the opportunity to have a bath with her girlfriend, while he, the boyfriend doesn't?

"I am sorry for my grandchildrens' behavior, I am sure their requests are putting a strain on you" Zadagatsu-san said, while pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"No, I am fine with it if they really want to play, or take a bath or do something the few hours that we are here Zadagatsu-san" Sakuno gave a reassuring smile, "anything is really fine with me"

"Oh, how about our handsome Mizuno star, Mr. Echizen? Would it be fine by you that some of your time will be spent here?" Zadagatsu-san said with dry humor.

Sakuno's mouth formed an 'O' shape as the descriptive phrase was added to regard her companion, "Zadagatsu-san, y-you know about Ryoma-kun's…" her eyes widening in disbelief for what seemed to be the one hundredth time for the day. "…the Mizuno pictorial…" she trailed.

"Well of course, our helpers here are very close to me, and even if they work for me and my family, I know them," Zadagatsu-san raised her brows while talking to both Sakuno and Ryoma, Sakuno in return is nodding while Zadagatsu-san is talking, "I saw the copy of their magazine and then when I checked…ah! I understood what the silent squealing is all about" Zadagatsu-san said with a chuckle at the end.

The maids at the end of the table stiffened a little, trying their best to put on a straight face. There are also some who can't help but smile a little.

Sakuno giggled at the old woman's last line, "Oh, they are really lucky, I wasn't given the privilege to see the said magazine" she gave Ryoma a glance afterwards; a glance that is clearly saying 'Right Ryoma-kun?'

Ryoma gave her a smirk saying 'fine'.

Then a very bright idea hit our tennis star's head.

Sakuno may not know it and heck, even the tennis star wasn't even aware of it, but on the deepest part of his mind, and on the deepest part of his conscience; he is feeling a little guilty about Sakuno not knowing. True. He really doesn't count it as something really important but from how she reacted about it a few hours ago gave him another uneasy feeling that is not as bad as the one he feels whenever Sakuno gets all 'sweet' to those kids.

Take note of the word 'LITTLE' on the guilty part.

"So would it be alright if your girlfriend would spend some time with my grandchildren Echizen-san?" Zadagatsu-san repeated her question once again. Her grandchildren are looking at him intently, holding their breaths, their eyes are getting all watery for Shin and Shrota didn't even try to blink in anticipation.

Shin pouted his lips "Please Onii I want to play with Onee-chan"

Ryoma sighed. Stupid, bothering conscience…

"Okay" he said monotonously.

A loud "Yey" echoed throughout the big dining hall, and the twins can't help but stand on their chair and jump up and down because of joy. Zadagatsu-san looked at her twins with happiness and worry at the same time, she is happy that they are happy. She is worried because what they are doing is really unethical, jumping on a chair?

Maybe she should think if she will consider her son's request to enroll them on a public day care center.

Shrota hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"Obaa-san we will play with Onee-chan! I am so happy!"

Or maybe they are just really happy.


"Okay so I am all yours now, what do you want to do?" Sakuno kneeled on the shiny marble floors of the living room, pinching the cheeks of the twins. Ryoma is sitting on a sofa right next to Sakuno, pretending to look bored and uninterested to everything around him. Why again did he said yes? Ah right…

Stupid, bothering conscience…

'I've made it up to her for that pictorial, no excuses next time' Ryoma told himself.

"We want to take a bath with Onee-chan!" the twins said together, their eyes sparkling with happiness.

Ryoma flinched.

"Onee-chan will come; do you want to take a bath now?" Sakuno said, Shrota is already snaking his legs on Sakuno's hips while his arms are already on her neck, Shin on the other hand was about to do the same on Sakuno's back but he caught sight of Onii staring at them without any emotions.

A person about the same age as Ryoma and Sakuno would read the tennis prince's expression as jealousy or possessiveness, but being a five year old, the gears of his mind interpreted it in a very special way.

"Maybe Onii wants to join too…" and because Shin believes that he is a very good boy he approached Ryoma without any second thoughts; determined to ask him to join their little bonding moment with their Onee-chan. He put his hands behind on his back, trying his very best not to get embarrassed. He raised his head so that he could at least see Ryoma's facial expression, he then saw a blank expression and eyes that could bore holes on anything on the room. Shin's blush darkened.

"Onii, d-do you want to join us? That w-would be really f-fun" he said nervously.

Ryoma pat his legs, indicating for the kid to sit on it. "Come here" he muttered. In response to what Ryoma gestured, the kid's eyes widened in surprise, he is definitely not expecting this. The only men who do this to him and his brother were his father and Yamamoto-san. He giddily climbed the teenager's lap eager to sit and pose as if a kid being asked by Santa what he wants for Christmas.

"So, Shin right?" Ryoma whispered, making sure that his voice is out of Sakuno's earshot.

"Uh-huh" the boy smiled afterwards.

"Listen Shin, I know you are a real man right? Or a real boy in your case" Ryoma ruffled the kid's teddy bear fur costume. "and real boys are gentlemen right?"

"Yes Onii, that's why I am a gentleman, that is what Obaa-san is always telling me, that I am and I should be a gentleman" came the hyper active response.

"Yeah, right…so anyways since you are a gentleman, here's a small fact that you should keep in mind"

"Really Onii? You will give me advice? " Shin said in surprise. As a five year old he needs more of those 'ladies should be first' kind of advices. So the five year old went all ears to the tennis prince.

"Yes, and this is my advice; do not take a bath with your Onee-chan" Ryoma whispered so low that he has to inch closer to the kid's ear.

Shin's face fell. "WHY?" he almost shouted.

Ryoma shaked his head a little and then continued, "You see, Onee-chan is a girl; a lady actually, and ladies should never take a bath with a gentleman like you" Ryoma tried to explain in his most child friendly voice. He ruffled the five year old's fur since he observed that the kid seemed to like it a moment ago. "Do you understand what Onii is trying to say?"

The kid shook his head. "Onee-chan it's alright"

"When you take a bath with a woman, it's like you are taking advantage of them, and that is not good right?"

Again the kid shook his head, a frown evident on his features, "But Onii I really want to take a bath with Onee-chan, because… she really looks like mama. I really miss my mama, so when I see Onee-chan, I just imagine that they are one"

Ryoma released a breath that he is holding, 'This needs more patience'. "What made you say that?"

"Mama has long wavy and auburn hair, brown eyes, and soft voice, and she smells great too, the only difference is that mama smells like strawberries, Onee-chan smells like the flowers in our garden" the kid said with a frown, as if while telling Ryoma all of those things, only eight words are rolling inside his head, 'I cannot take a bath with Onee-chan, I cannot take a bath with Onee-chan, I cannot take a bath with Onee-chan '

"…and also they really look alike, like me and Aniki"

He hopped off Ryoma's lap and then took a small wallet from his pocket, he opened it and then showed Ryoma a wallet size picture of the whole family, minus Zadagatsu-san. There is a man with glasses on the right with face and hair color that resembles that of the twins and on the left is obviously their mother that has the same eyes as them. Ryoma took the wallet and looked at the picture closely; and it nearly gave him goosebumps.

One could say that this is Sakuno about five years from now.

The hair color, the smile, the contour of the face, is really similar to Sakuno's. The only difference is that the cheeks of their mother are a bit fuller but that's it, that's the only difference.

"Onii, that picture was…. We were three years old in that photo so…five minus three….two. That was two years ago Onii" the child said, his eyes are never leaving the picture as if any minute it will be gone in Ryoma's hands. When the wallet was handed back to him, he kissed the picture, wiped it, and then put it back on his wallet.

Shit.

Ryoma hate to admit it but he was touched. And conscience stricken.

Back to the days when he was still thirteen, he would just shrug these kinds of things off, since he would not benefit from it in anyway. Emotions, pity, and all of that mushy stuff would not help him to win tennis matches anyway so why care?

But that was four years ago, now he is sixteen and things are more different.

Is this what they call 'fatherly instincts?'

Nah. Too early for that.

"Okay Onii, I will tell Onee-chan that we will not take a bath together anymore. Because I believe in you, true gentleman should not take advantage of a lady!" Shin creased his brows in determination and he was about to turn his heels when Ryoma called after him.

"Hey kiddo", to which Shin turned.

"Well, since Onee-chan gave you permission, maybe it's alright, and… ", Ryoma pointed at the direction of Sakuno and Shrota, talking to each other while the kid's leg is wrapped around her hips. "I think it would make her really happy" he said with a smirk.

Shin furrowed his brows in confusion and then when he was able to get what Ryoma is trying to say, he run towards Sakuno and then latched on her leg.

Ryoma sighed. In the end he decided to make another plan for this unfair bathing event not to happen but his last minute plan backfired back fired; and it back fired big time.


A seven feet bamboo wall separates the male hot springs to the female hot springs. On the side of the female hot springs there are loud, squealing and splashing sound that could be heard, the male's side on the other hand has Yamamoto-san, clad in working robes. Picking the toys and pails designed with dinosaur that belongs to his Young Masters'. When he heard another squeal, he smiled.

The hot spring is complete with all the comforts that a commercial hot spring could offer, fluffy bathing robes, towels, masseurs (optional), food, candles for aromatherapy, and all sorts of special oils that you could add on the water. Anyone will be convinced that the owner of the house is really wealthy.

A loud thunder echoed throughout the house, sending a soft sound to vibrate on the sliding doors and cabinets that are placed just before the hot spring door. Ryoma opened the cabinet, expecting to see hand towels inside, but he didn't find any.

He checked the drawers underneath; no hand towels, on the other cabinet; still no hand towels, only lines of robes and body towels. Having only a towel wrapped around his hips, he went outside the dressing room to ask for a hand towel to one of the maids. No harm right? They seem to be all professional when it comes to work. No possibilities for harassments and all those sorts of things.

He opened another door leading to a hall where a few maids are in line to attend to the visitors' needs. He stepped outside and then talked to one of them.

"Excuse me, where do you keep your hand towels here?"

The maids where distracted by the tennis prince's lean and muscular figure, perfectly tanned skin and to his hair that is tousled from removing his school uniform. Their eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets, thanks to the muscles surrounding it.

One of the maids breathed a soft 'Echizen-san' before raking her eyes up and down Ryoma's half naked figure. One of the maids dropped the porcelain tea cups that she is holding, sending a loud crashing sound throughout the hall. Another one whispered, 'He really is the Mizuno god from the magazine Naga-san'

'I know, he is really really…'

'Hot' another maid continued.

'And sexy' another one said.

All the maids squealed in delight.


To be continued…