I stood inside the tennis club room , facing my ex team mates . Kikumaru-senpai and Kawamura-senpai stood up from their seat and stared at me while the fuji-senpai and the others just sat down at their places , as if they were already expecting me to be here. The whole room was quiet . Kaidoh-senpai and Oishi-senpai stood beside me and shot glares at them . Well , only kaidoh-senpai shot the glares . Oishi-senpai just stood there and looked at them . My eyes set on Momoshiro-senpai who was sitting down at one corner of the room . His eyes met mine and the both of us ended up glaring at each other .

"Echizen ! Why the hell are you here ?!" a voice broke the silence in the room . Horio walked out from the shadows and looked at me with a angry expression .That's my line , why is he here ? What did I ever do to him ? Does he have a grudge against me or what ? I said nothing . Four more shadows came out from behind him . Who you ask ? You guessed it . Katsuo , Katchiro , Osakada and Ryuzaki was standing there . Well , this is a reunion ... All of us are here .

"What is this ?! Sensei ! Why is Echizen here ?!" Kikumaru shouted as he turned towards Ryuzaki-sensei .

"Echizen is going to be a part of the team . That's why he's here . Is there a problem ?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked as she fold her arms .

"But sensei !" Kawamura stood by Kikumaru senpai .

"If anyone of you have a problem with this arrangement , feel free to leave . The door is wide open ." Ryuzaki-sensei said in a stern voice and gestured her hands towards the door . The both of them looked at each other . They hesitated for a while but gave up soon after and sat back down .

"Now Ryoma , Oishi , Kaidoh , why don't you guys take a seat ." Ryuzaki-sensei told us . I walked over to one of the empty chairs and sat down . Ryuzaki-sensei stood in front of us and handed us a piece of paper each . What this ? A holiday inn ? Huh ?

"Sensei , what is this ?" Oishi-senpai asked . Yeah , I want to know too . Aren't we going to talk about the tournament ? If she's asking us to go on a holiday and bond with each other to strengthen team spirit , i'm out of here !

"Since all of you are having your summer vacation now , we'll use this time to go on a training camp . This camp will help us to strengthen the team's bond and spirit . It'll also be a great training for the upcoming tournament ."

I slapped my palms on my forehead and looked down . I knew it ! This is her style after all ! This is ridiculous ! I said I was going to take part In the tournament but i'm not going to participate in her team bonding activity ! I rather practice tennis alone ! I stood up from my seat and walked towards the door .

"Ryoma , where are you going ?" She called out to me .

"I'm not going to take part in this ridiculous team bonding activity …" I told her in a cold voice .

"Ryoma... this training camp is important for us . All of us . If you're not there , its meaningless .."

"It's meaningless for me to go … Team bonding ? Team spirit ? I don't believe those nonsense .. Tennis is just tennis .. Team bonding and team spirit has no effect on how one play tennis .."

"Ryoma..."

I closed my eyes and walked towards the door . But then , a hand grabbed hold of my arm . I turned around and saw Fuji-senpai

"Echizen.. why don't you just participate in this camp ?" Fuji-senpai asked me . I shoved his hands away and took a stepped back . What the hell is wrong with him ? He's been acting really weird . And at the school festival too !

"Echizen .. don't you want things to return to how it was before ?" He came over and whispered in my ears . I used both of my hands and pushed him away .

"Why do you care ?" I glared at him .

Its fine . Its fine with how things are now . I don't need anything more . I can play tennis again . I have Kaidoh-senpai and Oishi-senpai by my side . It's more than enough . I don't need things to go back to the way it was . I'm already very fortunate . And , I have her …

"In any case , I-"

"Takanishi Chiyo right ? She's really cute ." My attention diverted to Inui-senpai as he said those words . He was flipping through his notebook as usual .

"Not to mention , she's popular among the guys in the school . She's kind , cute and good at cooking . Her parents passed away when she was young . She lives in an apartment near the station few blocks down the street . She works part time at-" Before he could say anything else , my hands was already grabbing him by his collar .

"What the hell are you doing to Inui ?!" Some of the others shouted but I didn't care .

"Where did you get that information ?" I asked him . He smiled at me and pushed his spectacles up .

"I knew you'd be like this when it comes to her . I have more information you know ? And she's also gullible . If I use these information to threaten her , who knows what will happen .Heh , maybe I'll ask her to be my girl ." He smirked at me . My fist tighten . D-damn him !

"Inui !" Oishi-senpai shouted .

"Inui-senpai ! You !" Kaidoh-senpai stood up .

"Just what the hell do you want ?!" I shouted . He held his notebook up . "What ?"

"This notebook contains all the information I have on Takanishi Chiyo . If you participate in this training camp , I'll give it to you at the end of the camp ."

I looked at him . I released him and pushed him back on his seat .

"...I just have to attend the camp right ?"

"Yes ."

I turned around and placed my hands in my pocket .

"You better keep your promise ..."

"Of course .. Fuji will be my witness . Won't you ?" He looked at Fuji-senpai . Fuji-senpai kept quiet for a while and then , he gave inui-senpai a slight smile and nodded .

"Inui-senpai …" I called out to him .

"What is it ?"

"If you dare touch her .. I'll kill you.." I won't forgive you if you dare to hurt her ! I walked back to my seat and sat down .

"Okay , I didn't really know what happened but , since that's all cleared up , we'll carry on with this meeting . Its going to take quite a while so please bare with me ." Ryuzaki-sensei said . Geez , how long can this take ? I'm sure its going to be just ten minutes ..

3 hours later …

Oi oi ! It's been three hours ! How long is this meeting going to last ! I looked down at my watch . It's already 4pm ! Oh my god , will her meeting go on till 6pm ?! Sigh ..

"Echizen ? Is something wrong ?" Oishi-senpai whispered to me .

"No .. its just that …" I looked towards the door . I wonder if she's still waiting outside . I should have told her to go home .

"Are you worried about Chiyo ?"

I twitched . How come he knows everything ?

"Don't worry . Its already been three hours . She probably went home already ."

No , this is her we're talking about ! Knowing her , she's probably still waiting outside . I looked out the window . I search around to see if she's there but , I only saw my bag on the bench . Hmm , maybe she's not that stupid either . But somehow , why do I feel so …

"Ryoma , are you listening ? I know you're getting restless . The meeting is going to end so please wait a little more ."

"..Fine.." I'm not restless . I'm irritated !

"After this meeting , I hope the eight of you will cooperate well with each other during the training camp ." Ryuzaki-sensei said .

"Wait a minute sensei , there's more than eight of us here ."

"Ah , right . Looks like I haven't told you . You guys must have been wondering why there are more people here . Well , they're here to help out with the training camp ."

So that's why they're here .

"Sakuno and Tomoka will be the managers of the inn that we'll be staying in . They'll also be in charge of the meals and cleaning . Horio , Katsuo and Katchiro will be in charge of taking care of the tennis courts and making sure they are in top condition before we use the courts ." She explained .

"Eh , but sensei , then there's nine of us left ! I thought you said there was only going to be eight of us ?"

"Oishi is not going to be on the team as a player but , he'll be helping out in taking care of the injured and making sure non of you get hurt or sick during the camp ."

I looked at Oishi-senpai . He smiled at me .

"You didn't say anything about this .." Kaidoh-senpai said .

"I wanted to give the two of you a surprise ."

"Hmm... So does that mean the meeting is over ?" I turned towards Ryuzaki-sensei .

"Yes , Its over ."

Great . I stood up and headed towards the door .

"Wait Echizen , lets go together ." Oishi-senpai called out to me . He came over to me and opened the door . Kaidoh-senpai came over as well and walked out of the room . After Oishi-senpai walked out , I followed behind . Bump ! Ouch !

"What the hell ?" I took a step back when I realized that I bumped into Oishi-senpai . "Oishi-senpai , why did you stop all of a sudden ?" I walked in front of him . He pointed his hands towards the direction of the tennis court .

"Echizen , look."

"Huh ?" I turned my head towards the direction of where he was pointing at . There , I saw her .Ms weirdo.. She was leaning against the tennis court fence. She looked at me and waved her hands . She was waiting for me all this while ?! Its three hours . Three damn hours ! Not Three minutes ! Why would she wait for me ? I thought she went home … She made her way towards me . As she was about to say something , Fuji-senpai and the others walked out of the club room .

"Echizen , why are you standing at the door ?" Fuji-senpai asked me . But , I never look at him or say anything to him . The only thing on my mind now was her .

"Ryoma , is the meeting finished ?" she asked me .

"You didn't go home ?"

"Huh ? Why would I go home ?" she looked confusedly at me .

"The meeting lasted for three hours … so I thought you may have went home already ."

"I said I'd wait for you right ?"

"But .. seriously ? Three hours ? You'd wait for three hours ?"

"I'll keep waiting even if the meeting last 6 hours . Because , I said I'd wait for you to go home together ."

"..You idiot ..." I hid my face under my fringe . For some reason , my heart is beating fast . I knew that my face was red . I kept asking myself , when did I have such feelings for her . I thought I would never feel something like this again .

"Oh ! Chiyo-chan ! What are you doing here ?" Momoshiro-senpai's voice brought me back from my thoughts . I looked up and turned towards him .

"Ah … Momoshiro-senpai ..." she said in a low tone.

"Hi Chiyo , it seems like we meet again .." Fuji-senpai smiled . The others walked out of the room and looked at us with a surprised look .

"Ah , Chiyo ..." Horio spoke . I looked at her . She didn't say anything . Inui-senpai stepped out from the crowd and walked towards her .

"Hello , Takanishi Chiyo . We meet again ."

"Ah.."

"Hey weirdo .." I called out to her to divert her attention back to me. She looked at me . "Waiting out here for three hours , aren't you tired ?"

"Well I'm not exactly tired ." she replied .

"Then , are you hungry ?"

"Ehh .. I'm not ." *Growl~* her stomach growled . I stared at her with my eyes wide open . Her face turned red . "That wasn't me ! *Growl~* " Her stomach growled again . I turned around and covered my mouth and laughed .

"Ah Ryoma ! Stop laughing already !" She came over and pulled my sleeve with her face red . I looked at her face . I tried to stop laughing but her flustered face just made me laugh more .

"Neh Ryoma ! Ryoma !...Sheesh ! I bet you're hungry too ! You didn't eat lunch as well !"

"Huh ? I'm not- *Growl~* " Now , it was my stomach's turn to growl . Ah crap .

"Hehe ! See , you're hungry too !" She laughed .

Without saying anything else ,I grabbed her hands which surprised her . "Come on lets go.." I pulled her away from the club room and took my bag from the bench that was next to the club room .

"Kaidoh-senpai , Oishi-senpai , We'll be going ahead first ." I pulled her towards the gate of the school .

"Ah Ryoma ! Slow down !" She shouted and the both of us headed out of the school .

Meanwhile ..

"Hey , Momo . Are the two of them really just friends ? They're acting as if they're going out with each other ." Kikumaru asked . Momoshiro said nothing . Fuji on the other hand , smiled to himself and walked towards inui .

"Inui , you did that on purpose didn't you ?"

"What are you talking about Fuji ?"

"To make Echizen take part in the training , you used that girl , didn't you ?"

Inui smiled at Fuji .

"From what my data says , it seems that Echizen really cares for her . She's important to him . I just used that fact to make him participate in the training camp ."

"So you became the bad guy.. Heh , as expected of you Inui ."

"Heh , don't you want to know the truth about two years ago ? If he takes part in this camp , there's a chance we'll know something ."

"Your right."

"What are the two of you talking about ?" Kikumaru asked . The both of them turned around and smiled .

"Nothing much .. Saa.. Lets go home ." Fuji said .

Back to Ryoma …

"Ryoma , can you slow down a little ? I can't catch up ." Takanishi-san called out to me . I stopped walking and released her hands .

"Sorry .." I just did that without knowing what I was doing .

"Its okay . Hehe . So what do you want to eat ?" she asked .

"...Anything is fine ..."

"Oh come on ! There must be something you want to eat ."

I stood there and looked at her . I thought about it for a while .

"Well … I guess .. there is something ..."

"Yeah ?"

"Your...cooking..." I covered my face . Ah , this is so embarrassing ! I'm out of my mind !

"You want me to cook ?"

I gave her a slight nod . She stared at me for sometime . Then , she broke out in a big bright smile and grabbed on to my wrist .

"Then we have to do some shopping ! I ran out of groceries so if you want me to cook dinner , we have to buy some ingredients ! Come on !" She pulled me towards the direction of the supermarket .The both of us reached the supermarket . She took a basket and walked inside .

"So what do you want to eat ? I'll make it for you !" She asked me .

"..Just something normal ..." It doesn't really have to be something classy .

"Okay , how about Omelet rice ? Its simple and nice !"

"That's fine I guess ."

"Okay ! So first we need eggs ! Now where is the egg section ? Ah there it is !"

"Wait a second weirdo …" I went over and took the basket from her . "I'll carry this .."

"Eh ?"

"Its the least I could do ...Since you're going to cook for me and such .. And i'm also a guy . I can't let a girl do all the work ." I looked at her only to find her staring at me again .

"What ?"

"Hehe nothing ! I just thought that you might make a pretty good boyfriend ."

Wha-?!

"Ah ! Just get on with the shopping already !" Seriously .. just what is she trying to say ?

"Okay Okay , Hehe !"

After shopping for the ingredients , we headed towards her apartment . As we passed by the corridor , we saw the landlady again . She gave us a wink and a chill ran down my spine . God , she gives me the creeps ! I hurried towards her apartment and we went in . Her cat , Kiki , came out and greeted us . I bent down and patted the cat . She gave me a meow and starting rubbing herself against my leg .

"I'll go and prepare the food . You can wait in the living room . In the mean time , you can watch TV if you want or play with Kiki !"

"Okay."

She walked into the kitchen and so , I headed towards the living room and sat down on the sofa . Kiki jumped up on to my lap and curled up on my lap . I took out a book from my bag and started reading . After about 30 minutes , Takanishi-san came out of the kitchen with two plates .

"Hey , dinner is served !" She shouted . I walked over after placing Kiki down on the sofa and sat down .I took a bite of her omelet rice as she asked me to try it . After one bite , I took another bite and another , and another until the plate was empty .

"So how was it ?" she asked .

"...do I have to say it ?"

"Geez .. you never change .. So how did the meeting go ?"

"Hmm , we decided to go on a training camp for the week .." Although I was forced to go .

"Wah ! That must be fun !"

"You must be joking .. How can a training camp be fun ?"

"Hehe , so when are you going ?"

"This saturday …"

"I hope you have fun Ryoma !"

Huh ? Who's going to have fun at camp like that ?

On Saturday …

Yawn~ Why must we meet so early in the morning ? I looked down at my watch . It's only 8 am ! If it wasn't for Inui-senpai and his trick , I would still be in my bed and sleeping ! Argh , i'm the pathetic one . It's because I developed feelings for her . Sigh . Echizen Ryoma , you're hopeless… I reached the meeting point and was greeted by Oishi-senpai and Kaidoh-senpai .

"Yo Echizen ! You're unexpectedly early ." Oishi-senpai waved .

"Ah .." I yawned . After another 5 minutes or so , the others arrived . Fuji-senpai saw me and gave me a smile . Okay , now i'm starting to think he's gone mad . A bus drove up the road and stopped beside us . From the bus , Ryuzaki-sensei walked out .

"Looks like you're all here ! You guys ready to set out ?"

"Yes !" The others shouted . Do I have a choice ?

"Well , if you guys are ready , you can board the bus ."

I stood there and watched Fuji-senpai and the others board the bus .

"Echizen ? Aren't you coming ?" Oishi-senpai asked when he saw that I was not moving .
"Ah .. I just need to do something first ..." I told him . What am I waiting for ? I guess I should text the weirdo that i'm leaving for Karuizawa . I took out my phone and started typing a message . As I was about the send the message out , I heard someone calling my name . I shifted towards the direction of where the voice was coming from . From afar , I saw someone running towards me .

"Ryoma ! Hold on a minute !"

I looked closer . No way . The person ran up to me and panted .

"Chiyo ?!" Oishi-senpai shouted . The others that were in the bus looked out from the window as they heard Oishi-senpai shouting her name .

"W-weirdo ?"

"Looks like I made it . *Pant*" she panted .

"What are you doing here ?" I asked .

"To see you off ! Hehe !" She laughed .

"Huh ? I'm not even going any where far . Its just karuizawa ."

"Heh ? But we won't be seeing each other for a week .. I just want to see you before you leave ..Can't I do that ?" she blushed . To me , those words landed a blow on me . Those words are fatal . I could feel my face getting hotter .

"Well , I don't mind ..." I actually wanted to see you too .

"You'll be fine right ?" She asked .

"Huh ?"

"I heard that the road to Karuizawa is really steep . An accident happened there recently so .. i'm a little worried ." She looked worriedly at me as she clenched her hands near her chest .

"Che , it'll be fine .." I said . She continued looking at me with a worried . Then , she placed her hands behind her neck and removed something that was hanging around her neck . She walked over to me and placed her hands around my neck .

"Weirdo ?!"

"Don't move ! I can't put it on if you move !"

"Huh ?!" Put what on ?! I heard a soft click and she took a step back . I looked down on my neck and I saw a small red packet hanging around my neck . I touched it and looked at her .

"What's this ?"

"Its my good luck charm ! It's been with me since my parents passed away . It helped me pass many obstacles and problems . I always carry it with me . And now , i'm lending it to you ! It'll keep you safe !"

"Why ?" I don't get it .

"Huh ?"

"Its precious right ? So why are you giving it to me ?"

"Because...I don't want anything to happen to you… I want you to stay safe ."

I stood there and stared at her . For some reason , I can't help it but be happy on what she told me . I smiled and walked towards her .

"Ryoma ?" She called but I ignored her . I used my hands and shifted her fringe to the side . I leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead . She never said anything . I felt eyes looking at us and I could hear gasp coming out from the bus . I pulled away from her slowly and gave her a pat on her head .

"I'll take good care of it . So don't worry so much . I need to go now . I'll text you when I reach ."

"A-ah.." she gave a soft reply .

I walked to the door of the bus and boarded it . I took an empty seat next to the window . Before the bus go , I looked outside the window . Takanishi-san's face was flushed red . Pfft . Baka . With her blushing face , she waved at me as the bus started up . I waved back at her and the bus took off. On the bus , I felt eyes on me . Horio , Katsuo , Katchiro, Osakada , Kikumaru-senpai and Momoshiro-senpai were glaring at me , Fuji-senpai smiled at me . Inui-senpai jotted down notes in his notebook . The others , well ,just stared . Geez , what is their problem ?

"Echizen … you're quite bold .." Kaidoh-senpai blushed . Geh , Why are you blushing ?!

"Echizen , you were really cool out there !" Oishi-senpai shouted as he patted my shoulder from his seat that was behind me . Sigh . Seriously ?They're both older than me and what ? They think that was bold and cool ? Geez , shouldn't they have more experienced than me ? I felt my phone vibrating . I flipped it open and saw a message from Takanishi-san .

"Have a safe trip Ryoma ! I'll be waiting for you to come home ! Hehe :D Don't fall sick !"

Pfft ! Idiot .. I text her back .

"Baka ~!"

I'll definitely come home . To where you are .

Yay ! Chapter ended ! Erm this chapter I hope it was alright . I really really tried to made Chiyo and Ryoma closer than how they used to be . Oh well I added a cute scene at the end ! Hehe , He kissed her on the forehead ! XD Okay whatever . So there you have it ! Chapter 21 ! So sorry for not updating in a long time ! I went on holiday at a beach resort to celebrate XMAS ! Wee ! Soo happy but whatever . Next chapter will be out soon ! Promise ! I still have to update my other stories so bare with me TY :D Oh and my english is not that awesome so if there are any grammar mistake , please close on eye . I'll try my best to avoid it at all cost ! Thanks for the support people ! Love you guys ! Hearts !

Disclaimer : I do not own POT ! :D