Disclaimer: Prince of tennis does not belong to me.

Note: I know I said I'll update in around two weeks. And then I said I'll update by yesterday. So I guess I'm around... 19 hours late? I'm really sorry for the delay. Hope you like it!

If Yukimura was expecting her to say something, it would definitely not be the sentence she had just uttered. As your fiancée? Stay away from Ryoma-san? Who does she think she is! He had just accepted her request to have an engagement and now she's throwing her weight around, demanding him to do things. Why he ought to…! As the words processed in Yukimura's brain, he couldn't help but feel shocked, and a little angry. What made her think that he would concur to her ridiculous request? Yukimura lifted his head and looked at the girl- no, lady, in front of him. Miyoshi sat in her chair, lost in her own thoughts. She looked like she was reminiscing for a moment, before looking slightly bitter and angry. After awhile, a determined look replaced the other emotions.

What was she thinking?

He roughly remembered how they first met. At a Christmas party he attended when he was younger, he was trying to escape from the cooing adults and the fawning fan girls that were getting slightly annoying by hiding in the tastefully designed garden. He was admiring the tree sculptures and exotic plants when he saw her sitting on the ground crying, looking slightly dishevelled. When he came closer, he realised that she had injuries on both legs and one of the wounds was bleeding slightly. Not knowing what to do, he offered his hand to her and helped her up. He helped her to the ball room where she was immediately fussed over by everyone, who were appalled by the fact that someone got hurt on such a joyous occasion. He remembered walking off after that. It was a few days later when school started again that Shishido came up to him and thank him for helping Miyoshi that he found out that they were cousins.

According to him, it seems that she had been nursing a crush on him ever since then. It didn't really bother him at that time, seeing that girls around that age always had passing crushes or infatuations on one boy or the other. However, as the years go by, he couldn't help but notice that her crush did not fade and she was still crushing on him. Many a times throughout the years she attempted to draw him into conversations of one topic or another. After many failed attempts at starting and holding a conversation, she found out that talking about tennis would be a conversation that interest him the most, and thus would be a conversation that would last longer. Hence, she had tried to start a tennis conversation with him, but halfway through, she was lost and didn't know what he was saying. What was a twist serve? How do you return a buggy whip shot? Who are the people that are renown in the tennis world? Without actually playing tennis, it was impossible to know all of these. Apparently, Miyoshi realised it as well. He had heard from Shishido that she had her mother hire famous tennis instructors and stars to coach her on tennis so that she would be able to have something to talk about with him. She also subscribed for various tennis magazines so that she was informed about all the happenings in the tennis world. Her effort to learn tennis so that he would notice her was quite touching, and he would probably have chosen her as a potential fiancée as she wasn't all that ugly, in fact, she was quite pleasant to the eye and had many a guy chasing her. The fact that she was a cousin of a close friend of his didn't hurt as well. If only he had never met Ryoma. If only.

But the fact that he met Ryoma wasn't going to change just because of all her efforts to make him like her. Besides, if he, like she claims, has feeling for Ryoma, it would mean that he would be batting for the other team. For many nights Yukimura lied in his bed, staring at the picture, trying to analyze his feelings for Ryoma. How was someone gay supposed to have feelings for the opposite gender? Was he gay?

Since young, Yukimura never had any inclinations towards any particular gender. Sure, he flirted a bit with Fuji and Atobe, but it was only to disturb Tezuka and Sanada. Like most of the girls in school – whether they were open about it or not- wasn't homophobic and it didn't disturb him much when he sees two guys flirting with each other. He knows as the squealing the girls did when the guys groaned when Yukimura flirted with the guys was evidence of that. If he were to announce that he was gay, Yukimura knows that the fan girls will grieve for a day or two, but they will still support him after grieving for a day or two. Provided he was gay of course. But he was exactly straight either, seeing that he didn't have crushes on his female classmates or enjoy ogling over scantily clad girls in magazines. In fact, it disgusts Yukimura how some of his classmates could read trashes like that. Giving them this kind of magazines was like giving a colouring book to a child, it was like Christmas come early. Big boobs and a model's figure didn't seem to attract him much.

Therefore, when Ryoma first appeared, Yukimura was overwhelmed by the feelings that came over him. He never had a crush before, but the increasing heart rate, the shallow and fast pulse and the need to protect – it sounds like the feelings that the knight in corny romance novels experience when they encounter princesses in high towers before they ride on their fancy white horses and live happily ever after. Like the stories Fuji's sister, Yumiko, read. Could he really be gay? For Ryoma? Or was he just Ryoma-sexual? Were the feelings he had even love? Could it be just a need to protect a junior? He tried to identify the emotions that he felt, and the few he could name were protectiveness, adoration and a need to have him close at all times. There was also a darker emotion that he felt, when other people get too close to Ryoma for his comfort; a feeling that makes him want to rip the hands off Ryoma and make sure no one touches him. The scares him more that the other emotions he feels, seeing that this is one he cannot identify.

He once subtly directed a conversation with Syuusuke towards crushes and infatuations. He guessed Syuusuke knew what he was doing, but chose not to voice his thoughts. When Yukimura asked him what love was like, Syuusuke said with a soft smile on his face that love cannot be described by words. It is different for different people. To some, love might be the need to be with each other all the time; to others, love may be the emotion that clenches their heart when they see the happy smiles on their love ones face. This made Yukimura think even more. After thinking it over again and again, he had decided that whether he had romantic feelings for his cute little junior or not, he definitely wasn't going to let anyone bully him. This protective feeling would be akin to that of what Syuusuke felt over his little brother, Yuuta.

That's why whether he has a crush or not, he would definitely not let Miyoshi do anything to him.

The atmosphere lapsed into an uncomfortable tension which can be felt by both parties. In fact, the silience was so stifling that it was almost hard to breathe. The knock on the door was welcomed by both Yukimura and Miyoshi as none of them were planning on talking first.

"Are you alright in there? I'm about to leave for a meeting and wanted to check if everything's alright." Miyoshi's mother said, raising a brow at the stiff posture the both of them were in. "You children are here to know each other better. It would be okay to relax a little and not be so formal. I'll get someone to refill your tea; it has probably gone cold, seeing that you are not touching it." Not bothering to wait for a reply, she turned and walked off after saying, "You better not go home too late Yukimura-kun, your parents might worry."

Just like how it was before, the atmosphere grew tense again. Unable to bear the silence anymore, Miyoshi tried to keep her face expressionless and voice emotionless. "So what do you think, Seiichi-kun?"

Yukimura didn't look at her. He picked up his now warm tea, stirred the drink a little before taking a sip. A technique he'd learn from his father was to stall. The lack of response would make the opposite party squirm in discomfort. Only after finishing his tea did he grace her with a reply. "I do hope you know that it would be impossible."

"Why?" The response was immediate, although it was clear that Miyoshi was trying to control herself.

Yukimura shot her an incredulous look; was she slow or something? "We are both from the tennis club. More than that, we are also from the same group of friends." Yukimura paused for a while before continuing. "Didn't you know that?"

Miyoshi flushed a pale pink. "Of course I do! But he's a first year. Can't you have him kicked out or something? I'm sure that there are plenty of talented players in the club that are not already regulars."

Yukimura felt a surge of irritation towards the girl. "Ryoma-kun earned his place as a regular on the tennis team and I'm not about to take his position away from him just because you don't like it."

Miyoshi considered the situation and thought. Seiichi-kun must think that I'm a bratty little girl to demand him to drop Ryoma-san from the tennis team. But although Ryoma-san is a good player, he is not irreplaceable! There are so many better players than him! Still, if i continuing insisting, not only will he take Ryoma-san's side, he will also reconsider the deal we made. There must be something I can do...

Yukimura narrowed his eyes a little when he practically saw a light bulb light up in her head. What is she up to now?

"Seiichi-kun, let's make a deal."

Yukimura walked out of the Tenzu household and headed straight to Atobe's house. They should all be there since its Friday today. The deal Miyoshi offered was very tempting, and he had accepted without second thoughts. Now that his mind was starting to clear, he was starting to regret his rash decision. I should have discussed it with the rest first. Going on and accepting it like that, what was I thinking?

Several cabs passed him by, but he didn't bother to flag them, despite the journey to the Atobe's was quite far. The walk there would provide him the time to think about the current situation. It wasn't that he was afraid that he would lose the bet, but he wasn't sure what kind of people they would be dealing with. Who will she hired to make her so confident? What made her so sure that she would win the bet? The confident look on her face wavered his believe slightly, and it made him not as confident that he would definitely win as he was when he agreed to the deal. Not only that, he wasn't even sure of his feelings for Ryoma. He knew there was attraction but was that love? Was this feeling that he was so uncertain about worth the risk of taking this bet?

So lost in his thoughts, Yukimura didn't realise there was someone in front of him when he bumped into a boy carrying a cat, causing the cat to give out a loud meow before falling down with his owner.

Startled, Yukimura immediately bent down and offered a hand to the boy, apologising for his carelessness. It wasn't until he looked at the boy in the eye that he realised he had banged into Ryoma, with an angry Karupin in his arm. He could see the surprise mirrored in Ryoma's eyes as he loosened his grip on Karupin unconsciously; not enough to drop him, but enough to send it into a panic attack. The poor cat was meowing loudly, scratching at Ryoma's neck frantically. Yukimura instantly grabbed Karupin and made several calming gestures, and the feline was soon purring contentedly. Ryoma raised a hand and gently brushed his finger against the scratches Karupin made, wincing at the pain. He lifted his hand and saw droplets of blood on his finger.

Seeing this, Yukimura gently grabbed his finger and said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I feel really bad about this. How about this? I'm going to Atobe's house now, and you can come with me. There are medical supplies there and I'll help you clean those scratches."

Thinking for a while, Ryoma nodded and they began walking to Atobe's house quietly, occasionally having a conversation or two.

Ryoma was freaking out, though it wasn't obvious. It was like Tezuka having a crush or Atobe having a bad hair day... Point being that nobody could tell. He kept having this weird feeling that something bad is happening, or going to happen. When he was playing with Karupin at home, he kept thinking about Miyoshi and the fact that she was going to marry someone that he respected a lot. Seiichi-sempai.

Since training had started, he had grown closer to him. In fact, he had come to respect him more than his father... which was not saying much. But till today, he was the person he respected the most and would never think of disobeying. To say the truth, if he ever thought that way, Ryoma would even think he had feelings of a romantic nature towards his captain. But sadly, Ryoma wasn't someone who considered people romantically. Though he wasn't sure why his heart twinge when the girls in his class gossip over how Yukimura was taken, he did know that whatever he have of his Rikkaidai captain was precious and important to him. Therefore, it wasn't surprising to say that he was currently freaking out, trying to find the lost photo of his that he had spent many nights staring at.

Searching his whole house leaving nothing unchecked, Ryoma decided to retrace his footsteps. Perhaps he had dropped it on the way? He wasn't really paying attention the whole way back so he wasn't sure where he could have dropped it. Could he have dropped it in school? The thought of the stalkerish female finding the photo left chills crawling down Ryoma's spine. I can't be this unlucky, can I?

Nevertheless, he decided to start his search for the photo, bringing Karupin with him for moral support. He walked around the exterior of his house for a couple of minutes before retracing his footsteps. So intent on searching every nook and cranny he was, Ryoma didn't notice a tall slender male walking towards him and when he did, it was too late.

His butt hit the ground, causing the wind to be knocked out of him. Karupin gave a loud meow and instantly, Ryoma moved his hand up to pet her. A pale hand was offered to him and when he looked up, he was surprised to look into his captains shocked eyes. Unconsciously loosening his grip, Karupin let out a sharp cry and started scratching everything in sight, his neck being one of the unfortunate things. After Yukimura took hold of Karupin, Ryoma lifted his hand up, cringing slightly when his finger came in contact with an open wound. Withdrawing his fingers, he saw blood on his fingertip.

A concerned Yukimura looked at his cut and offered to treat them at Atobe's house. Ryoma couldn't reject, seeing the apologetic expression on his face. They were walking halfway when Ryoma lifted his arms and said. "I'm alright now. Thanks for helping me calm him down." What Ryoma didn't mention was the irrational envy he felt towards the feline when Yukimura stroked her, cooing softly at the cat. He thought it was weird to be jealous of a cat but decided to brush it off as temporary insanity. Gently holding the cat, Ryoma adjusted it into a comfortable position and started petting Karupin. It was after that that they lapsed into a comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to break the mood.

It was after some time that they have finally walked up to the Atobe manor, and was buzzing the bell.

A voice came from the intercom. "May I ask who is it?"

Yukimura replied. "Yukimura Seiichi and Echizen Ryoma"

Immediately, the gate swung open and the voice said. "I'll inform Master Atobe of your arrivals."

"Thank you."

Ryoma was a little fazed by the size of this place the Atobes call home. The entire walk to the main house was around a hundred times the distance he had to cross to reach his house.

Yukimura chuckled at the awed look on Ryoma's face and playfully slung an arm around his shoulder. "Amazed already? Wait till you see the inside of it."

Ryoma didn't need to be told to know it would be tastefully decorated. Unconsciously leaning into the half-hug, Ryoma grabbed on tighter to Karupin. As the main door opened, Ryoma was stunned by the details on each and every aspect of the house. The chandeliers and the long flights of stairs reminded Ryoma of the castle the beast in Beauty and the Beast live in. Well, it was just as big and twice as magnificent. They were brought to one of the games room that the tennis players claimed to be their 'headquarters'. The choice of room was obvious as all the latest games and gadgets were located everywhere in the room. There were a couple of huge sofas that could fit around 5 people and two televisions. Although Ryoma didn't understand the fun of video games, he couldn't help but admit that this room would be a dream place for the students their age.

Ryoma was going to tell Yukimura something when an arrogant voice drawled out:

"So you have finally brought the brat over. I thought he would never come."

Well, that's the end of this chapter. I'm so sorry that I updated this only now. The deal that Miyoshi made should be revealed... next chapter? Should be. Hope you liked it. (:

Oh! And this chapter is not proof-read. Hope you don't mind.

Life Beyond Wishes