Disclaimer: Takeshi Konomi created Prince of Tennis. Anything you recognize – I don't own. Anything you don't – I do own.

AN: To clarify everything, everyone in PoT anime who is a freshman in Seigaku Jr. High is a senior in Seigaku High School. Fuji, Eiji, Tezuka, Oishi, Takeshi, Inui, Momo, and Kaidoh left for either college or university. Anyways, thank you Rachel for editing, encouraging, and putting up with my disapproval of "typicalness". Thank you Kelly for proofreading my screwed up grammar, listening to my rants about lack of ideas. Can't wait to write our one-shot!! Hehehe. Here's my second chapter from Ryoma's POV and a little from other people's POV, read and review!!! =]

Pieces of My Heart

Chapter 1 – Guilt

Golden eyes hungrily taking in her form, the normal blank expression upon his face was replaced by a small, true smile. By the intensity that he was staring at her, one would think that he was trying to bore a hole into her back. For once, Echizen Ryoma was paying attention to something in English, his best subject. Too bad for the teacher, that the "something" doesn't seem to be the blackboard or himself. Ryoma's eyes roamed over her again as she bent down to pick up her fallen pencil. When the gaze came to a stop at her delicate, defined features. Ryoma suddenly found out that his gaze couldn't be torn away from those cinnamon brown eyes.

As a new realization came to mind, Ryoma frowned. Big mistake, as upon seeing his grumpy expression, Sakuno lowered her eyes from his and turned back to face the teacher. Once her back was safely turned around, his eyes seemed to lose all of the guards around them. Disappointment mixed with longing was apparent in his eyes.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan." Tomoko, who sat beside her, whispered.

"Hai?" The object of his intense staring turned her head just enough to answer her best friend.

"Can you lend me your math textbook?" the loud and hyper girl said, actually trying to be quiet for once. "I forgot to do my math homework, and since we have math next, I really need to finish it."

She smiled an amused smile. "Sure," she said, as she got the thick textbook from her binder. Sakuno waited until the teacher turned around and quickly handed it to Tomoko before taking the pen into her hand again.

He knew it would sound stupid, but he was actually jealous of a pen and a math textbook. The way that Sakuno lightly brushed over the textbook and how her hands tightly clutched her pen just...bothered him. It should've been /his/ hands that were clutching hers, /his/ fingers lightly tracing over her skin, and /his/ face that she was smiling to.

But it wasn't.

If he could have changed what he had done, he would have. Ryoma would've taken back all of the pain he caused her and put it upon himself. But he couldn't. No matter how much he wished to retrace every single wrong move he made, he couldn't. That didn't change the fact that he wanted to take all of that shame to the grave. Neither did it change his wanting to kill himself for hurting her. People told him that what has been done, has been done. It's over, and now there's nothing that he can do about it. He thought so himself. Still, he couldn't deny the fact that he owed her an explanation. It had been a long time since that day, six month and a week to be exact. He still hadn't clarified it to her yet. He wanted to, he really did.

Except that he couldn't.

If Momo-sempai and Kikumaru-sempai were still here, they would have died to see the day that Echizen Ryoma admitted he couldn't face someone. But to him, Sakuno wasn't just a 'someone.' She was the one that broke down the walls around his heart, one by one, even though he hadn't even planned to let her go near them. She was the one that made home cooked meals with her loud best friend for him, feeding him all of her best cooking. She was the one that was horrible in English, a subject that he excelled in, but was too shy to even ask for his guidance. And most of all...

She was the one that he had fallen in love with.

He offered his help after a rather long wait. But then, a person could only be patient for so long. Her eyes looked up to him shyly when he greeted her, and brightened when he told her that her English really sucked and that she desperately need his help. Normal people would've turned angry and snapped at him after a comment like that. Sakuno didn't. After a long time of trying to talk to him, she understood him. She knew that he wasn't a guy of words, and sometimes, his arrogance got the best of him. She knew that most of the time, his insults were his way of protecting his pride. He didn't want her to know that he was watching her, of all the people in the class. Not many people were like that. In fact, only a few people really understood him. Fuji did, Tezuka did, Eiji did, and Momo did.

Those people were his best friends, his ex-teammates, and his confidents. To tell the truth, Sakuno was none of that. He didn't share the deep friendship connections he shared with Fuji, the likeliness he shared between himself and Tezuka. She wasn't outgoing enough to hug everyone like Eiji did, particularly to him, nor did he have the competitive streak he had with Momo.

But they understood each other.

Of course, that was before the day that he made the bet about her. He had been sure that she would have noticed that something was wrong with him ever since. Even though his words were absolutely sincere, Ryoma still couldn't get the guilt out of his system. She, of course, being naïve and inexperienced, believed him wholeheartedly. Rarely, she would catch a glimpse of guilt in his greenish golden eyes, but she would dismiss it as soon as he smiled.

He felt really guilty after that.

Yes, you heard it right, Ryoma actually felt guilty. Wow, he actually had a heart. But whom are you trying to kid, she was the one that showed him that he was capable of loving. They had been friends for a while before the bet, so he could use that to his advantage, right? Ryoma wasn't evil, the other guy had been gloating and bragging to other people that he had enough charm to seduce her. After listening for a while, (It wasn't actually eavesdropping, Renko had been talking so loud that the whole universe could hear him), Ryoma had to interrupt. Anger was boiling through his veins, and his eyes started twitching in annoyance. Who does Renko think he is, talking about Sakuno like that? And of course, Renko just had to have insulted his male pride by telling him that he, too, had been longing after Sakuno. He can't deny that. He did like her then, that change to something more after a while, but it was a whole different story. Again, Ryoma's arrogance and ego got the best of him, and in a spur of the moment thing, he made the bet with Renko. If he couldn't seduce Sakuno in six months, Renko would get his tennis racket and go after Sakuno himself. Sure, that tennis racket was special to him, but not that special that he was willing to trade Sakuno for it. Nothing is that special. Besides, there's no way that Ryoma would let a creep like him to go near her. Never.

Too bad /she/ doesn't know that.

Well, nobody can really blame her, after all, no one really told her the whole story, not to say that she was willing to hear it for the first few months. Not a lot of people knew about the bet, and even less people knew about the truth. In fact, only he, Renko, his close friends, and –

"RING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The sharp bell signaled that English was over, and it proceeded to break Ryoma's thoughts and concentration. "EVERYONE, THERE'S AN ENGLISH TEST NEXT CLASS ON THE NOTES WE TOOK TODAY!!!" The English teacher proceeded to shout over the noise before everyone left. He glared at his notebook, which had nothing on it since he was daydreaming instead of copying down notes (not that he needed them though). Standing up wearily, Ryoma gathered his books just fast enough to catch a glimpse of her before she walked out of the door. Quickly, he too walked out of that door to get to his next class.

Dodging people carefully in the crowded hallway while trying to walk, Ryoma's eyes widened with alarm as he saw Sakuno crashing into someone due to the fact that she was looking down. Almost on instinct, Ryoma stepped out and was about to run for her when he realized something. They weren't dating anymore; in fact, she didn't even want to see him. The pain in his head was as harsh as when it first hit him about six months ago. He stopped suddenly, causing people around him to look questioningly at the current tennis prodigy of Seigaku High School, since Fuji Syusuke had left for university.

It was the sight of Sakuno in another guy's arms that had really shaken him up. The person whom she crashed to turned out to be the vice- captain of the tennis team: Kazami Haiyato. He steadied her in his arms and smiled down at her sheepishly. From where Ryoma was standing, that image did not look right at all. First of all, Kazami should not have his arms around Sakuno's waist simply because they had crashed into each other. Second of all, he shouldn't smile down at her in that way with a flirtatious undertone. Third of all, Kazami DEFINITELY shouldn't hold Sakuno for that long, like in those sappy romantic movies where couples in love held on to each other for thirty minutes.

Okay, maybe he was being a bit too possessive. But this isn't just anyone. It's about Sakuno, so naturally, he was concerned. His sharp eyes could make out Kazami's lips moving, so that meant they were talking. Ryoma practically glided over as silently as possible to hearing distance, just to listen to their conversation.

"Gomen, gomen, Ryuzaki-chan." Kazami apologized, although he didn't look like he was sorry.

"No problem, Kazami-san." She replied. "It was my fault for not looking."

Kazami smiled gently, finally letting go of Sakuno's waist before straightening up himself. He gathered his and Sakuno's books from the floor, where they were scattered around as a result from their crash. "There," he said brightly, "no damage done." The first warning bell rang and he stepped away from Sakuno before handing back her stuff. "Be careful, Ryuzaki-chan," he warned, giving a small wave and smile as he walked off to his next class.

Sakuno smiled a little to herself. Kazami was totally harmless and she was sure that rest of the female population agreed as well. With messy dark hair that glistened in the sun and gentle golden eyes, he had more than enough to make a girl look twice. Not to mention his height, with an amazing 185 centimeters, he could easily tower over anyone. An all around nice guy and an excellent student, he was doubtlessly one of the top choices for valedictorian for the end of their school year. His generous title of the vice-captain of the Seigaku tennis club didn't hurt either. Of course, practically nobody could beat the captain, as it was Ryoma after all.

Don't think about him, she scolded at herself gently. Things are finally going better now, with her grades rising, being more and more like her normal self, and even just talking to Kazami. It was not the time for Ryoma. She shouldn't be going down that road again anyways. Although, there was something that had been nagging at her mind... Now you mention it, there were some apparent similarities between Kazami and Ryoma. For one, they both have dark hair, although Ryoma's was more taken care of than Kazami's. Second of all, the rich gold eyes were doubtlessly one of the physical traits those two shared. On the tennis court, they shared the same ambition and stubbornness. Though Ryoma was almost unbeatable now, he had found a VERY worthy opponent in Kazami. How did she know? Well, she used to watch the tennis club all the time before, when she and Ryoma were -. Sakuno stopped her thoughts abruptly and turned around to get to her next class. No thinking about them, don't compare them with each other. Too bad the similarities end there, she thought. The thoughts of those two very, very attractive guys began again, almost bitterly. While their physical features were almost the same, they couldn't be any more completely different people. Ryoma is distant, cold even. Kazami is friendly and pleasant. He is also an attentive student, one of the teachers' favourite. Ryoma was the type of person that sleeps in class or just gazes off into space. The only reason that the teachers haven't failed him yet was because of his abnormally high test and assignment marks, as well as the fact that he always did his homework.

"RING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The second warning bell rang, and Sakuno quickened her pace to her math class, not noticing Ryoma, who was walking to the science room after she left the spot where Kazami and her had stood. Of course, she didn't notice the grumpy expression on his face either. As they both left for their last class on that Friday afternoon, neither of them gave in to the urge to look behind them.

Clueless cinnamon brown eyes blinked at the notes. To her, the strange characters in English barely made any sense and the only thing she understood was the Japanese translations she wrote beside them. Groaning while putting her head in her hands, Sakuno wondered how on earth her sensei expected anyone besides Ryoma to get anything close to an A on this test. She was good with practically every single subject, but she really sucked at English.

For the past six months, her average was always dragged down because of her horrible English mark. What went wrong? She used to get at least decent marks on the difficult foreign language before. Well, her conscious reminded her, that was when Ryoma tutored you in it. Realizing that it was like the millionth time that he triggered some sort of memory in her mind, Sakuno forced her mind to take a turn back to her studies. Groaning in weariness again, she also remembered that not only does she have an English test the next class, she also has a math test on geometry on the same day. Great, just great, her conscious said sarcastically. Not only do you have a test on some stupid adjectives in English, you also have an exam on your worst math subject, on the same day.

"Argh, this is going to be a long weekend of studying." She said to herself. Sakuno wasn't the genius type, like Fuji or Ryoma, but she earned her good grades from working hard and paying attention in class. She wondered how the hell she could finish studying in just a weekend, how she wished that Ryoma was there to tutor her in Eng-.

/Stop. Rewind./

/Oh. My. Gosh./

She did not just wish that.

She /did not/ just wish for him of all people to tutor her. That's right, Sakuno didn't need Ryoma to help her in English, or so she thought. She could ask other people, like...um...someone else who was good at English.

The thing was that she didn't know anyone else who was good at English.

The only option she has left: go to the library and find a /Japanese/ book to help her study. So she did just that. Sakuno got up, got her bag and went out of the door.

On the way there, she passed through the familiar street Ryoma's house was on. She bit her lips; there was no way she was going to swallow her pride for something that he did wrong. With a firm shake of her head, she walked off, just glancing back at his house, or rather, his window to be exact. But it was too far to see anything. The sunlight reflected onto the window, making it impossible.

She was about to turn, but a familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey, Ryuzaki-chan!" Kazami Haiyato yelled across the street.

"Kazami-san?" she questioned, wondering what he was doing in this weather, as it was pouring like crazy.

"Hai," he grinned sheepishly, "what are you doing here?"

Sakuno was surprised, for she running into Kazami a lot lately. "Um...I was going to the library to study for the English test. How about you?"

"O...I was just going to return some overdue library books," he responded, "come on, by this speed, we are going to be soaked even with an umbrella."

"H-Hai." Sakuno didn't protest as he gently led her away by holding on to her wrist. It had been a long time since anybody had done that to her since she ignored most of the guys in Seigaku High. Sakuno felt Kazami quicken his pace, so she kept up to him without breaking the hand contact. It felt nice, having a warm hand on hers. As they stopped in the lobby of the library, she sighed in relief. Finally, the walk in the rain was over.

"Hey, Ryuzaki-chan?" Kazami spoke up. She jumped a little since she got used to the silence they had when they were walking.

"Um?" She was distracted and she was not going to deny it. There was something bugging her, but she couldn't figure out what.

"Want me to help you on your English?" He offered generously. "I am pretty good, not the greatest, but still decent."

Now, Sakuno was really surprise. Besides the polite "hi" and "bye", she and Kazami were basically strangers to each other. Was she that obvious that she needed help in English? Still, he offered, and she wasn't about to let a free English course go away.

"S-Sure." She replied meekly. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not." Kazami responded. "I have nothing else better to do anyways. Besides, it has been a while since we last talked, so it's a good time to catch up."

She nodded mutely, not bothering to remind him with the fact that they had talked just this afternoon. That was the last thing she was thinking about. The nagging feeling in the back of her head was still there, troubling her. Sakuno followed Kazami into the English books section of the library, not noting the piercing blue gaze or the bright blue stare two people were shooting her and Kazami.

The former prodigy of Seigaku High School stood beside his normally hyperactive friend. He wasn't smiling, but he was frowning. That was normally a bad sign.

"Hoi!!! Did you see that!!!" Kikumaru Eiji yelled, causing the bystanders to look at them. Shooting them an apologetic look, he lowered his voice a little. "Ryuzaki-kun just went in with the vice-captain!!!"

"Saa...I saw." He replied calmly. Fuji Syusuke knew that Ryoma still loved the girl with the braids, and that the feeling was mutual between the two. He saw Kazami holding her wrist, unwilling to let go.

"Mou!! We need to go and look after Ochibi's girl!!!" Eiji tried to drag Fuji to where Sakuno and Kazami went. "What are you doing, Fuji? Don't you know that we need to go and look after Ryuzaki-kun, nya???" Eiji whined. "Come on!!! We are going to talk to them, bother them, whatever! Nya, we can't miss this!!!"

Fuji could tell from the way Kazami was holding Sakuno possessively that it wasn't just a friendly feeling. Eiji was right, there's no way they can pass this chance by. "Saa...let's go."

As Eiji dragged him to where Sakuno and Kazami went, Fuji fixed the smile back onto his face. There's nothing wrong with talking to them, it was just going to be a friendly chat. Ya right.

Besides, he thought, a beautiful smirk gracing his lips, it would be fun to watch Kazami suffer out of annoyance.

AN: READ AND REVIEW!!! Yay, I got 8 reviews for the prologue!!! Whew...I finished writing the first chapter!!! =] It took me longer than I expected, sorry. I just couldn't resist to put Fuji and Eiji in there. After all, they are the 2 of my favourite characters!!! I think the next chapter is either going to be in Fuji's or Eiji's POV. I have no idea when the chapter should be out, but I am working as fast as I can without rushing the plotline. Anyways...thank you Kelly and Rachel again for proofreading and giving me ideas. TT