Hye! I am back with the new chapter as promised. I am sorry for the delay guys. I hope you like this. Domo.

Notes: I am updating because of reasons; Yesterday was my birthday (Nov. 21) and today is one of my fave. Seiyuus' birthday, Junko Minagawa-san. (Nov. 22). Thank you very much. I'll reply to your reviews soon too... Thank you once again... :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never ever will.

Chapter 25: Not so typical days

Chapter Summary: Everything went well just like the ordinary times. She only hoped that it would continue as long as she could.

She felt light that morning. The court was quiet and she felt like practicing that day. Since she used to be a member of that club, the teachers didn't mind her to play there as long as it was still school hours. She couldn't do beyond that unlike the regular members of the club.

Dropping her bag on a bench, she started on the wall and hitting the ball back and forth.

"Pretty serious now, aren't we?"

She hadn't rallied for long when she heard a familiar voice behind her. The tensai was watching her there, with his signature smile and such. Sakuno smiled back and raised her racket as a gesture that she was warming up;

"I kind of missing this place," She said and looked around, "It's been a while."

"That's right," Fuji agreed and mimicked her action, "Don't you want to go back here?"

Sakuno reconsidered this but decided against it, "I preferred my art club than this. I only love to play. I don't think I am fit to join any competition and such."

"Don't look down on yourself," Fuji said walking closer to her, "You know how good you are."

"Yeah, I can win at least one game." She chuckled when she remembered a game she had with Ryoma. It was too late to realize when Fuji also reacted at that.

Somehow, he knew what she was talking about.

"Things are doing well between you two, am I right?"

"Fuji-senpai." She whispered his name. He loved her and she knew it but he was the reason why she was back with Ryoma. They talked about before and he seemed to be fine with it.

"I just want you to be happy," He looked at her and smiled once again, "If he hurt you just come to me and I'll teach him a lesson that he'll never forget."

"Senpai," His words made her smile at least, "It's not like you to threat him like that but I appreciate the offer though."

"Saa," Fuji nodded, "We are alike, I guess."

She couldn't help but giggle at that. Fuji was an understanding person. She was glad to have a senpai like him.

Later on:

The first half of the class just ended and everyone went to their own activities. She was fixing her things when Ryoma spoke beside her;

"Where are you going to eat?"

"E?" She looked at him curiously.

"It's about lunch."

"Oh, probably at the cafeteria," She said as she was done packing, "Tomoka-chan's already there so—"

"Let's eat at the rooftop."

"E?"

"Let's eat at the rooftop." He repeated. He walked ahead after saying that.

Sakuno just watched him for a few seconds before she finally followed him. Ryoma seemed prefer to do the old habits they had before. Was he trying to revive what they had? She used to bring bento for him during lunch. She had one because he had asked her last night.

It was like the old days.

xxx

They ate silently on the rooftop. There weren't enough students for it was already lunch time. No wonder that they could keep the place to themselves.

"Let's go out this Sunday." Ryoma suddenly suggested making her stop from eating.

"Go out?" She looked at him and asked curiously, "Where to?"

"Anywhere you want to go." He said opening his can of ponta this time and took a sip first before continuing, "Tell me where do you want to go?"

"E?" She blinked at him and thought really hard, "A-anywhere is fine actually. I am okay… as long as I am with you." Her food was abandoned when she was just staring at it. She wasn't aware that she was smiling a little when she said her last words.

"I won't mess up this time."

From her lunch, she shifted her gaze to him and saw him staring seriously at her. That alone made her blush a little. She knew what he was talking about.

"I won't repeat the past. That's for sure."

She stared at him for a few seconds before she smiled at him, "You don't have to prove anything. You have proven me enough, Ryoma-kun."

He mimicked her and observed her for a few seconds, "Since when did you become so serious like that?"

"What?"

"You don't stutter that much now."

"E-eh?"

"You seemed inspired."

"A-and you became talkative!" She butted in before he could say another word, "Mou! You just ruined the moment." She looked away and pouted a little, "I've only changed… somehow."

"You have."

Ryoma leaned to the fence behind him as she looked at him. He didn't tear his gaze as he continued speaking and it made her speechless for a few seconds.

"You have changed for the better."

The wind welcomed them and it brought calmness in the area they were in. She knew that was blushing but she brushed it off before she leaned to the fence as well. She looked at the entire rooftop in front of them.

"I am glad I did."

They stayed still like that for a while before Ryoma reached for her hand and placed it to the space between them. She looked at him but he was looking ahead of them. He was just intertwining their hands together and she felt the warmth their hands were bringing to each other. Mimicking him, she looked at the area around them and realized how peaceful it was for the just the two of them there.

It only ended when the bell rang signaling that the lunch was over. Sakuno stood up and dusted her skirt.

"Ryoma-kun, we should go back," She turned around and offered her his hand. She smiled when he accepted it, "I guess that none of us will be la—"

What she wasn't expected of him to do was when he pulled her to him instead of pulling himself up to her. He reached for her nape and surprisingly kissed her afterwards. She gasped when he did that. his movement was all so sudden that she could react at first. If it wasn't for her hands that were on his shoulder and on the ground, she would have been sitting on his lap while kissing her. After the initial shock, she abashedly responded to his kiss that lasted for thirty seconds. She knew that she was blushing when they parted. Ryoma placed his hand to her cheek that was previously holding her to her nape.

"We're okay."

She was able to smile after he said that. She didn't remember how many times he had asked her that but she knew that he was just making sure of their relationship. That nothing would go wrong. He wanted everything to be okay. She closed her eyes and stood up and this time, she would make sure that she would pull him up instead;

"We really should be going now if we don't want to be late."

She could hear him asking for her confirmation but she just chuckled at him. Ryoma could be dense sometimes but it was fine for her. No wonder that she liked the guy and she realized that she still did after all.

Later on:

"Will you go later?"

She looked at her best friend who whispered to her ear. Looking at her, she gave her shake of the head, "Ryoma-kun and I will go home together today so I can't."

Tomoka sighed as she careful enough to speak her thoughts to her. Even though Ryoma was on his desk sleeping his time away, she didn't want him to hear anything. Who knew, maybe he was just feigning it. She leaned closer to her once again, "Why don't you just let the two meet?"

Sakuno leaned closer to her as well, "You know that he doesn't want to meet anyone."

"But he knows us."

"It's different."

"How is it different?" Tomoka retorted, "He didn't have the problem of meeting you. Meeting me."

"I met him accidentally. He was originally introverted," Sakuno defended, "I'll respect his decision."

"Well, duh," Tomoka said exaggeratedly, "You are going to introduce your boyfriend to another guy. What's wrong about that?"

"M-maybe I should do that," She reconsidered. For what happened between them before, she didn't want to have a misunderstanding if Ryoma would see her with another guy. Not that their relationship was just catching up from before, "but not now. I'll ask Kanata-kun first."

"What?"

"I let you two meet before I thought that he would feel lonely once I leave Japan," Sakuno said before she could stop herself, "I asked permission to him so that you two could meet."

"You already predicted that you would leave Japan, huh?" Tomoka said leaning away from her. She had the time to observe her there.

"It's just an instinct. Just in case that I'll really leave," She looked down and stared at her intertwined hands that was on top of her desk, "Kanata's kun's my special friend. He was there when I was down. I don't want to leave him the way he was before," She looked at her seriously, "He had no friend Tomoka-chan. That's why I am thankful that you became friends with him."

"That's why we should introduce another one to him," Tomoka said getting the hint, "You cannot keep him forever."

Sakuno blushed this time, "I-I am not!"

"Hai! Hai!" She said nodding in the process, "Just do it fast." She walked back to her desk. That left Sakuno into thinking. Tomoka had a point. Kanata should meet more friends than them. She thought that it was about time that the introverted boy must leave his comfort zone.

And somehow, that was what she was going to do next.

Later on:

He was walking her home typically, like what they used to do. His girlfriend was just walking silently beside him. Sakuno was being quiet and she wouldn't mind holding hands with him. Truth to be told, he had never done it in public, let alone with Honoka. Ryoma was never the expressive type when it came to romantic gestures. Sakuno and Honoka understood him. Somehow, things weren't the same he wanted to be. He was supposed to be satisfied with the getup.

But he wasn't sure anymore. Looking at the girl beside him, he knew that he wanted them to be something new.

"Ryuzaki, do you have something to do this afternoon?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"E?" She looked at him curiously before she tried thinking.

Tell me you don't have anything to do. Tell me you don't. He prayed silently while he was waiting for her answer.

"I don't have anything to do."

Good. "Is that so?" He said instead before pulling their intertwined hands to a different direction.

"Ryoma-kun? Where are we going?"

"Out." He said shortly. That was right. He didn't want the day to end between them. There were so many thing to do and he would never end the day like that. he could hear Sakuno try to explain something but he ignored her.

One thing that he was sure of, he wanted to spend more time with her.

At the park:

She didn't know what the tennis prodigy was thinking. They were sitting on a bench eating meat buns while resting. Ryoma was quiet as he ate his part. There were people roaming around the park but he couldn't careless.

"What's the matter, Ryoma-kun?" She asked as she couldn't help herself.

The tennis prodigy chewed on his bun first before looking at her, "What do you mean?"

"This…"

"…This?" He repeated as if he wanted to confirm it.

"Well, we were supposed to go home but you…" She said as she looked ahead of them. Her voice somehow disappeared and she couldn't continue her words. Ryoma was making it hard for her.

"I am filling up the time."

Blinking, she looked at him only to see him looking back at her. His expression was serious but his eyes were fondly staring at her hazel ones.

"I want to spend more time with you," He said forgetting the buns between them as he continued staring at her, "I should've done this before."

"Ryoma-kun."

He blinked as if breaking the magic in the process. Ryoma sighed before he looked away and stared straight ahead of them, "You are leaving soon."

Sakuno's eyes widened as she stared at him. He couldn't be thinking it, right? Not even her came that thought to her mind. She didn't know how long she had been staring at him when he looked back at her , giving the same expression he had before.

This time, her eyes never ceased to wide as she listened to what he was saying.

Night:

The ceiling felt so wide and… impossible to reach, if he meant it hypothetically. He didn't know how long he had been staring at the ceiling of his room. Karupin was long purring to his side and he absentmindedly stroking the feline's fur. The room was awfully quiet. He could hear his cat's breathing and purring in every stroke he did. He even heard his own breathing as he breathe.

The night was dark and he didn't know why was he so wide awake. The people from his neighborhood were long sleeping and he bet that his parents and cousin were also sleeping at that moment. Sighing, he sat up and looked around. He was a bit irritated of not being able to put himself to sleep.

Who was to blame but him anyway.

His conversation with his girlfriend before they parted ways made him a bit… uncertain. He never had a problem with sleep before. Just now.

He just hoped that Sakuno wouldn't be feeling the same thing.

Being a bit irritated, he got off of his bed and carefully walked out of his room. He went straight to the kitchen and drank a glass of water. Somehow, a cold wind welcomed his skin making his eyes close for a short while. Looking to his left, he spotted the window at the top corner of the wall. The window was opened. He mentally cursed his father for letting it open in the middle of the night.

Sighing, he went back to his room and went out again after a few seconds, carrying his racket and tennis balls. Sensing that sleep would deprive him for a few hours, warming up would kill his time to stay awake.

Next morning:

He yawned.

She saw him doing it… for several times. Blinking twice, she managed to observe her boyfriend. Ryoma was sleepy for some reason. Looking ahead, she thought all the possible reasons why he stayed late last night, though she was thinking that conversation they had before they parted.

Ryoma remained quiet and she didn't know what to talk about with him. At least she would try to initiate a conversation. Anything, and come what may as she opened her mouth to speak;

"Ochibi!"

Sakuno distanced herself from him as Eiji and Momo approached him, with the latter head locking the younger.

"I know that you want to be alone with your girlfriend," Momo teased looking at her in the process before he looked back at the already irritated kouhai, "but we have a practice to do."

"Sou ka, sou ka," Eiji nodded before lookinh back at Sakuno, "Gomen, Ryuzaki-chan, we will steal your lover boy from you for a while nya!"

"Who's the lover boy?" He said trying to pry himself away from his senpai, "Let go of me!"

She chuckled awkwardly as she watched them. From the corner of her eye, she spotted someone not far from them.

It was Honoka Kanzaki. Looking at their direction. With a different expression. The pigtailed girl was looking specifically at her. She was unreadable yet… calm. Sakuno didn't know what happened to her after they had a brief conversation the other day. She felt that the time stopped for a while until she looked down and slowly left the area.

Honoka seemed to be okay and she hoped that she was really okay… after what happened.

"Sakuno!"

The other pair of eyes looked at the last person who called her. Osakada Tomoka walked towards their direction… with Fuji towing behind her.

The place seemed to be narrow when they met in that particular area. It felt suffocating in her imagination. Fuji and Ryoma were only staring at each other and never said a single word.

"O-okay, let's get started to practice," Momo said pulling Ryoma from his collar neck.

"I can walk senpai!" Ryom retorted but Momo didn't listen to him.

Sakuno saw Fuji sighed as they both watch the two. The rest smiled following them. Sakuno also sighed because of relief.

"Come on, Sakuno," Tomoka said catching her attention by yanking her hand to her elbow, "Sensei asks for you now."

"E? Why?" She looked at him curiously.

"Well, duh?" Tomoka almost rolled her eyes as she looked around, "I just heard about you being accepted to study in London and now they are planning on how to make your papers work fast. So that you can leave?" She explained as if it was the natural thing to do.

Even though she was already aware of that, coming from a different person was still a shock for her. She was right. They were working on her papers so that she could leave soon. The school break was also approaching so they needed to do it fast.

She would be a representative and a regular transfer art student in London for the next school year. No wonder that people around her were fussing about it. Now that she thought about it, she looked at her boyfriend who was being towed by his senpais.

…Only to be seen him staring directly at her.

The wind blows right after that. the area was supposed to be crowded but she felt like it was just the two of them, standing not far from each other. They were a few distances away from each other but it felt like miles just to get near.

It felt like the distance was never within reach. A memory filled the both of them as if they could see nothing but just their own presence.

xxx

Her eyes were only staring at his amber eyes. Her heart pounded so fast and she didn't like the way their conversation was going. It took several seconds before she was able to reply to his words.

"Four years is just fast. You'll never know when it's going to be finished," She said looking away as she couldn't take his stare anymore, "Y-you'll never realize, maybe tomorrow is my last day in London and then I'll go back to Japan."

"…"

"…"

"…"

Her expression became wary as she continued speaking, "Ryoma-kun, I'll leave because it's my dream. You knew that before we…" She looked down as she couldn't continue her words. It was awkward it she brought that up.

"London is far. Farther than America."

Sakuno stood up forgetting the bun completely. She placed her hands behind her back and her back was also facing him. Staring ahead, she found the street lamp interesting to watch, "Letters and e-mails. We can do that," She looked at her shoulder and smiled meekly, "just like before."

Ryoma suddenly stood up making her flinch a little, "That was all in the past. I thought everything would be fine doing just that," He walked closer to her and she didn't move from her position, "I thought it would be fine."

She took a step backward but it didn't help her when he reached out to her and slowly hugging her in the process. Blush crept to her face when he did that.

"But I realized that all this time," He whispered gripping her shoulders as if to keep her secure there. His next words made her speechless and would stay speechless for the long night.

"…I don't want you to leave after all."

Done! How was this chapter? I think I am close to end the fic. I am pretty close to reach the end. What will happen next?

Reviews please! For the people who only love RyoSaku. I accept constructed criticism as long as it can help me improve but not to pull me down. Anyway, that's a challenge for me. The more I've been challenge the more chapters I can write. :)

Next chapter: Toughest Desicions