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Disclaimer: The Prince of Tennis is not mine. I do not own it.

Chapter 10: Kasukana Kibou (A Faint Hope)

Chapter Summary: Everything is falling apart, that's what she thought. She almost gives up when they give her a sudden boost to go on. Will she grab that light and enter the chaos she sought or just remain in the dark? See through.

"Have a match with me." He said straight to the point, aiming the racket to her. He was standing inside the court where singles were supposed to be held.

She was stiffened. …He? …Wanted her to have a match? …Right at that moment? She took a step backward. "Y-you know that it-it's impossible-"

"If you beat me, I will concede your words." He interrupted.

"I told you. It is impossible, R-ryoma-kun. I-I don't have my racket with me so-"

"That won't be a problem," He said as he walked to the waiting shed. He entered a door. Her eyes widened when she saw him taking out her tennis bag from that room. "You left this the other night. This will be handy, isn't it?" He smirked as he looked at her.

She gasped as she gripped her hands on both sides. "W-why are you doing this?" She looked down after saying that.

He didn't say anything. He walked closer to her and handed her bag. She accepted it unwillingly.

"Let's start!"

She flinched when he heard her spoke. She realized that Ryoma was already on the other side of the court. "R-ryoma-kun, I-"

"Stop wasting my time as you already did." Ryoma retorted. He was beginning to get irritated.

She startled. She took out the racket inside her bag and started positioning.

Ryoma saw her position. He pinned his hat down as he realized something: she can still adopt our last training. He smirked without her noticing.

Ryoma served first. The shot was normal but Sakuno didn't hit it. "che" He retorted. She was definitely losing her motivation. He noticed. The girl was not actually participating. They continued the match, Ryoma won the first set.

"I won't consider that I won, you're not giving your best." Ryoma exclaimed as he dribbled the ball.

Sakuno just looked down. He was right; she's not giving her best. In fact, she was thinking of losing on purpose.

"Only worst than coward and stupid whose going to lose HER match on purpose." Ryoma retorted as he read her thoughts. "Are you going to be like that, not doing your best? Giving up without even trying?" He stopped dribbling the ball. He looked at the startled innocent girl.

"But, I-I only put everyone in a complicated situation… T-that's why running away is my only solution-"

Ryoma got pissed on her answer. He gave her a quick shot, a twist serve to be exact. Sakuno was able to block it despite her confused expression. She fell down and her racket flew over her. Ryoma glared at her annoyingly. He was a bit surprised to witness her blocking his shot. It was not that strong anyway but she did excellent on that one. "You are able to block my twist serve; I bet you didn't notice that."

Sakuno was shocked. Yeah, she blocked his special move. She did that out of reflexes. She looked at the prince. He was still staring at her but his glare was not stern as before.

"If you can block my attack like that, do you still think that running away was your only solution?" He asked the girl.

She opened her eyes wide. She realized something. Is she really acting the way she was now? The person who was sitting on that ground wasn't her. She was not the type who easily gives up without even trying. She lowered her head and whispered: "Tennis is not actually the reason why I am running away."

Ryoma was so alert that he heard her whispered words. He saw her cry. "I love the game so much, but something is hindering me to play the game. I hate this and it is so hard for me." She said blurting out her feelings at that moment.

"It's not something… it IS someone." Ryoma proclaimed as he placed his racket on top of his shoulder.

Sakuno looked up to him. The boy was still standing on the other side of the court with his eyes closed.

"If you are thinking what happened yesterday, then find ways to solve it." Ryoma looked at her. "If you are thinking about the deal, don't worry about me."

She caught her tongue and her eyes widened. He continued: "Play the game with all your heart, like how you defended it to me."

She stayed still for a moment. He then saw her smile afterwards. She wiped her tears and she stood up. "Y-you are right. I-I shouldn't give up like this. I won't run away anymore."

Ryoma smirked.

"T-Thank you, Thanks a lot Ryoma-kun." She smiled while she was closing her eyes.

He nodded, and then held his hat down once again. He was a bit surprised to see her reaction like that. She was different at that moment.

"I need to settle things. I won't depend to you, to Fuji-kun or to anyone else. This is my battle that I need to face." And for the other one as well. She blush she when thought that. Ryoma saw her expression. He knew what she was thinking… somehow. He got pissed for some reason.

"Let's continue the match." He proclaimed.

"e-eh! B-but you're bet-"

"Why are you bothered? As if you can win against me… " He smirked.

Sakuno pouted. "Mou, you can still tease me even on a heated situation."

"Consider this as your punishment for not attending our practice training last night and tonight." Ryoma said as he prepared himself to serve. "You have to make up for my time that you wasted."

She couldn't react. He ordered her to get her racket and continued the match. The winner would be obvious. Sakuno thought while having a game with him. I really owe you a lot. Ryoma-kun. I hope can make it up to you. They played there and trained each other to satisfy their time.

Next Morning:

"Obaa-chan, I am really sorry about what happened." Sakuno bowed in front of her grandma. They were in the club room already. She stayed for another night in Tomoka's place and decided to meet her grandma in the school premises today. She asked Ryoma to take her to Tomoka's place and not to her house.

She knew that Tomoka did something that Ryoma was able to find her there. She told her best friend everything. Tomoka was shocked at first but regained herself afterwards. You should have told me that earlier, you big idiot. You are so filled of mysteries. Tomoka said as she slapped her back really hard. She made her promise not to blurt it in front of everyone.

"Hey, It's ok. I am not upset. You asked permission to me in behalf of Osakada so I allowed you." Sumire said as she tapped her on her shoulder.

Sakuno felt guilty because of her understanding capacity. She hugged her tightly. "Thank you… for understanding, Obaa-chan."

The door suddenly opened and a certain tennis tensai appeared in front of them. Sumire saw how her granddaughter reacted the moment she saw him. The guy was a bit stiffened when he was staring at her. It was awfully quiet. Sumire feigned a cough to catch their attention. Fuji was the one to regained first.

"Ohayou guzaimasu, Ryuzaki-sensei." He said.

Sumire just nodded and then went to the door. "I guess you both need privacy," Sumire said to them but before she turned the doorknob she said something: "but that doesn't mean I'll let you both do whatever you wanted to do." They two were shocked as they watched the old lady exited the club.

They were left alone. No one said a thing. Sakuno couldn't look at him. She was blushing hard as she still remember that night. T-this is definitely awkward. She thought. She flinched when Fuji talk:

"Say, Sakuno-chan, about what happened last time… " Fuji started. He saw how she reacted. "I've been thinking about it."

Sakuno was about to say something but he interrupted.

"I'm not going to forget about that, even if you ask me to because that will never happened." Fuji said taking a step forward.

Sakuno looked up to him suddenly. She blushed when she looked at his face. She averted her eyes after that. "F-fuji-kun, I-I-"

"I am sorry for being harsh to you but I am not going to say sorry for what I did." Fuji said as he walked closer to her, carefully, because he could feel the uneasiness that she had for him. He held her hands and felt relieve that she didn't shake them. "I am just hopelessly falling for you and you can't stop it, I can't also stop it myself."

"F-fuji-kun." She said. She was able to stare at the tensai.

"And I promise that I will ask permission to you next time, if you let me… " Fuji was on his teasing mode again.

Sakuno turned bright red after that. "Y-You old teaser." She smiled despite the color. "I-It's okay. Y-you didn't do anything wrong. Y-you had just proven your feelings for me." She said, not looking at him.

"I am glad that you are smiling now. I am worried about you. I… thought that… you are going to avoid me… after I… kissed you." Fuji was a little embarrassed when he said that.

Sakuno flinched and felt guilty when she heard that. She was actually thinking of avoiding him and Ryoma as well. But a certain tennis prodigy changed her mind from doing so. She looked down and tried her best to deny what he said. "T-that's not going to happened F-fuji-kun. I-If I did, I would have been here talking to you right now."

Fuji thought what she said. "You are right, stupid me." He chuckled. He became serious after that. "Thank you for not avoiding me and not getting mad on what I did."

She smiled. "Y-you are very kind and I respect you a lot. I-I will be the one who will be so rude if I started to avoid you." She felt embarrassed after saying that.

"Please don't avoid me… no matter what, Sakuno-chan." Fuji requested her.

"I-I will never do that, I-I promise." She said those words from the bottom of her heart. She stood in front of him and lowered her head:

"T-hank you for taking care of me t-the other day," She said. "I-I really had fun."

Fuji was a bit shocked. She's back to her old self. Thank goodness. He thought. Then he smiled at her when she lifted up her head and he held her right hand.

"My pleasure… " Without warning he kissed the top of her right hand.

Sakuno turned bright red on his actions and reacted:

"E-E? Y-you promised that you will ask permission to me when you are doing something like that?" Sakuno panicked as she pulled her right hand away from him.

"Kissing you on the hand is entirely different from what I am talking about." Fuji smiled devilishly.

She remained red; it was redder to be precise. "S-stop teasing me already, F-fuji-kun." She was able to pout after she said that.

Fuji just laughed after that. She just stared at the laughing tensai. I am glad that we are okay now… too. I am relief that I was solving my own problem slowly. There is only one problem left. And it is all thanks to them.

Sakuno joined his laughter afterwards. They were in that situation when the regulars entered the room together. They were stiffened at first, trying to recognized who was the person in front of them. Ryoma was just standing in the corner, with his eyes closed, smirking. "che"

Eiji was the one who broke the shock. "—Ah, it's Ryuzaki-chan! She returned!" the acrobatic player shouted obviously.

Everyone laughed on his delayed reaction. "We know and we can see her Eiji." Oishi said.

"Ryuzaki-chan!" Eiji jumped on the little girl that made her shiek from shock. "I missed you, don't leave like that."

"DON'T TOUCH HER!"

Everyone looked at the persons who said those lines… in different directions.

"Wow! Echizen, Fuji-senpai. Did we hear you both right. You protested at the same time." Momoshiro exclaimed.

The two was shocked on their actions as well. They looked at each other and shifted their sight later. Everyone just laughed while Inui wrote the 'data' they just witnessed. Eiji was smiling mockingly as so as Momoshiro. Ryoma noticed that.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing… " Eiji shrugged.

Eiji was still hugging her. Sakuno talked: "U-uhmm, Kikumaru-senpai. P-please let me go now. B-besides, I was away for a day a-and I won't leave—I won't go anywhere." She said trying to convince the acrobatic player.

Eiji bought that. He released her. "Just don't go off alone again. There were PEOPLE here who will be upset if you did."

Fuji and Ryoma both reacted.

"I won't deny that, certainly." Fuji said. Ryoma just remained silent.

"H-hai. T-thank you." Sakuno bowed down.

Tezuka and Sumire entered the room indicating that the practice will start soon. Classes were over as the summer break began but not for the students who will join the festival and the nationals.

"It is time to get serious! Everyone, run 50 laps in the oval," Tezuka turned to Sakuno. "You should run too, Osakada and the freshmen trio were outside waiting for you."

Sakuno nodded. "H-hai." She remembered Ryoma's tips. She walked to the door but before she went outside, she looked at Fuji and then to Ryoma. She smiled to the both of them and exited the door.

Fuji smiled while Ryoma just smirked. No one knew what those two were thinking. But they knew that the negative aura was just hiding between them.

The training went well, not just that day but for the following days. Her secret training with him was still remained a secret. Luckily that the court was definitely out of the other's way that's why they can practice all the time they want. Her curfew was only 11 pm since Ryoma was accompanying her, Sumire was okay with that. The days went by smoothly until that another fated day came:

It was two weeks before the competition:

Practice has just ended and everyone went home. Tomoka stayed for a while, helping their sensei for the upcoming festival. Being the president of Ryoma's fan club and a member of her own club was pretty hard. She was practicing too. She decided to join the competition after she heard that Sakuno was joining as well. There is a possibility that they will compete in the game but she won't go easy on her best friend. She was on her way to the girl's club to get some stuff for tomorrow's activity. They will be practicing on the actual filed tomorrow. She was almost near the club room when she heard some voices… inside.

"She doesn't give up. She keeps on practicing." She heard a girl said. She was a bit suspicious so she listened closely.

"Yeah, senpai, No matter what we do, Ryuzaki-chan won't back out. We sent a lot of warnings and threats but she didn't budge." She flinched when she heard her best friend's name. She looked at the small opening. They were on a higher level. She recognized their looks as she could see them everyday.

"Quit whining! We all know how strong she is. She has a lot of backups especially the boys club," The girl with the long hair said. "and Ryoma-sama as well."

"If she keeps hanging around them, it will be difficult for us to separate them." The girl with pigtails said.

"That's why she should enjoy her time with them. Because when we finally defeated her in the competition, she will have to say good bye to the senpais and to Ryoma-sama as well." The girl smirked.

Tomoka was shocked on what she heard. She became furious that she felt her blood rise up to her head when they laughed lowly and wickedly. She was about to confront them when suddenly grabbed her hand and covered her mouth. The situation was really fast that she couldn't react on her kidnapper. She was brought in an isolated area that students rarely pass by. She began to startle and was about to panic when her kidnapper spoke:

"You are overreacting. It's just me."

Tomoka was stiffened. When she calmed down, her kidnapper released her. She looked around and confirmed her guess.

"R-ryoma-sama… " She couldn't believe it. It was the first time that he held her and a bit disappointed that he held her in a harsh way. She put the thought aside. "W-what's going on, w-why did you stop me? They are planning something bad to Sakuno-chan." She said to her idol.

"I know, so you don't have to tell me that," Ryoma retorted. "…she is also doing her best to win the competition."

She was shocked. "Y-you knew about this?... "Tezuka and Fuji were also with him but she could see that they were having the same look as she does.

Tezuka asked out of curiousity. "What's going on here?" They were about to go the girl's club room as well in favor of Ryuzaki-sensei for some errand. Ryoma was reluctant since Fuji was going to but forced to go when their coach insisted him.

Ryoma chose to be silent at first. Everyone was looking at him, with curiosity on their faces. He sighed as he pinned his fila hat down and finally revealed everything:

"Sak—Ryuzaki is competing to win the game or else she won't talk to us anymore. That's their deal."

Everyone was shocked. Sakuno was having hardships and she was keeping it alone for herself. Tomoka looked down. Fuji broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell us? Why did you keep it to yourself?"

"Because she asked me to," He replied back. "She didn't want to bother anyone that she hid it to herself. I just happened to be there when the girls confronted her that day."

"How can she be so selfish? It's like we're not going to help her." Fuji reacted.

"That's the reason why she kept it. She didn't want anyone to help her. She needed to fight for herself."

Fuji gripped both of his hands. He felt guilty that he only thinks of himself these past few days not knowing that Sakuno was actually having a hard time. I was actually the selfish one here. Darn it.

"Now that you know, I want you all to keep this a secret for now."

"What?" Everyone reacted at the same time.

"For her sake, do keep it a secret for her sake," Ryoma said. "If you are worried about her, do that."

Everyone became silent. Tezuka couldn't paint his face but he knew that he was furious. He looked at Fuji. He saw how mad he was at that time. He told him something:

"I've been practicing with her every night in an isolated court," Fuji looked up at him. "You can practice with her in the morning but not at night, you know the consequences if you appear that time."

Fuji stared at him and seriously said: "I knew, I saw you one time that night but I didn't know that you were practicing back there."

Ryoma turned to be shocked.

"Since the case was that, I will be training her in the morning. I act as if nothing happened. I don't want to worry Sakuno-chan. I will make her win the competition." Fuji said with determination in his eyes.

Ryoma didn't say anything but he knew that he agreed. It was for the sake of the girl that he will cooperate on this just once.

"I-I will withdraw my register. I don't want to compete if there was a bet like that." Tomoka suddenly decided.

"She didn't want that. She will know something if you suddenly withdraw. Continue with the game" Fuji said to her.

Tomoka just stared at them. She saw Ryoma nodded. "She wanted you to join and have fun at all cost."

Tezuka tapped her shoulder. "Just don't let your guard down."

She looked at the boy's tennis club captain and smiled. "H-hai."

"Thank you buchou, for keeping this up." Ryoma looked up to him.

"Make sure that she will not fail." Tezuka ordered him. Ryoma nodded as a sign of agreement.

Tomoka was all fired up once again. She looked around to see if no one was nearby. When she confirmed that the coast was clear, she jumped in the midair while saying her words:

"Let's support Sakuno-chan on winning the competition without her noticing!"

The tennis prodigies smirked on her action. Ryoma in fact was not at ease now that Fuji knew their 'secret' he hate to admit it but he must trust his senpai on his words that he will not do anything to make the girl upset. Knowing the senpai, he will not definitely do that. He really likes the girl so he won't make her upset. 'Like...' Thinking about it made Ryoma pissed for an uncalled reason.

xxx

Tomoka saw Sakuno in the boy's club room. She's not leaving yet? She thought. She knew that she was having her training with Ryoma later. That thought alone made her so excited for her best friend but she suppressed that feeling so she wouldn't know anything.

"Sakuno-chan, you are not going home yet?" She asked her.

"Err, I-I was about to when I finish this. I will go home now." She said as she began packing all the tennis bags that was used earlier. "I just can't leave Obaa-chan do all the work, can't I? She giggled weakly.

Tomoka was stiffened. She couldn't say anything but she can do something. She went closer to her best friend and hugged her tightly without warning. Sakuno was shocked.

"T-tomoka-chan? W-what's wrong?" Sakuno asked.

"That's why everyone was worried about you… " Tomoka just whispered that to herself and because of Sakuno's natural clumsiness, she didn't hear that.

"E, W-what did you say? Tomoka-chan?" She tapping her best friend's back.

Tomoka released her. "Nothing, just do your best okay." She said. "And I won't go easy on you on the competition, you hear me?"

Sakuno became alert. "The same goes for me."

Tomoka left her after saying good bye. She saw her sighed from the window. She was indeed worried about her best friend but she will do anything to help her win the match. She may see a possible, tiny hope of the competition for her but she will do her best to grab that little hope for her.

"You messed up with the wrong girl." Tomoka said as she concentrated in her thoughts as she was walking home.

Done again! Everything revealed to Tezuka, Fuji and even Tomoka. Things will heat up after this chapter. Tell me is my story progressing… well even though I am on the tenth chapter already? Tell me what you think. Please leave a review here. I want opinions and I will reply to you. Don't worry.

I really appreciate if you will leave a message and comment on every chapter. Thanks.

Umm... I've been dying to find the karaoke version of We love Seigaku ~Arigatou wo Komote~ but I can't find it. If anyone knows where can I download this version please pm me. I've been asking for help but no one seems to help me. I'm sorry but I am kind of... desperate. I need your help... onegai. Thanks a lot. ^_^

Next Chapter: Resuscitated Hopes