Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis and Gundam Seed Destiny

Holiday Interlude

Chapter One: The Boy with Pale Eyes

Ryuzaki Sakuno walked down the street on a lovely sunny day. It was the holidays and she was staying at the Yukimura household.

That day, Miyu had to go and visit some relatives on behalf of her family. Yukimura had tennis practice and was at school. Therefore, Sakuno had the whole day to herself.

She walked down the street looking at whatever pleased her and enjoyed getting to know this place she now called home.

The weather was beautiful and she hummed quietly to herself. Suddenly she noticed a commotion up front. It was at an ice-cream stand that she would go sometimes with Miyu.

She quickened her steps and went to find out what was happening, curiosity being a female curse.

She reached the stand and saw that it was a boy arguing with the man behind the counter. The boy looked like a foreigner with his light hair and eyes.

It seemed as if the boy tried to pay with foreign money and the man did not accept it.

He also accused the boy of trying to fool him with false money because how could he tell if the foreign currency was real or not.

There were other people around, watching and no one came forward to help.

Sakuno felt sorry for the boy and besides, the boy was not even speaking a foreign language. She could understand what he was saying because he spoke very clear Japanese.

Sakuno normally stayed away from conflicts but since leaving Tokyo, she found that she had gained a bit of backbone and she stepped forward.

She said in a soft voice, "A-ano…"

No one heard her and she spoke louder, "Ano, let me pay for him."

The two arguing people stopped and looked at her. The boy frowned and glared at her, "I don't need your help!"

However, the man gratefully said, "That would be great, thank you. He was interrupting business."

The boy was annoyed and said again that he did not need the help but the man said, "Then do you want your ice-cream?" The boy was taken aback and he reluctantly nodded.

He did not have any Japanese currency because he was visiting with other people and he left his purse with them at the hotel.

He had woken up early and went out to explore but he had gotten lost and he was now hungry. He searched his pockets and had found only foreign money.

He thought that it would not matter but now, he knew better. The man accepted the money Sakuno handed him and gave the boy his ice-cream.

The boy did not want to take it but he really wanted the ice-cream so he took it grudgingly and walked away from the stand, licking it.

Sakuno did not think and walked away with him.

The boy glared at Sakuno when he saw her following him, "Hey, I didn't ask for your help and I'm not going to pay you back!"

Sakuno was surprised, "Huh? I-I wasn't going to ask you to pay me back…"

The boy looked disbelieving and Sakuno continued hesitantly, "I-I thought… eh…"

The boy got annoyed at her timid tone of voice and interrupted, "What? Speak up! I can't hear you!"

Sakuno burst out, "I-I thought that you might need help!" They were both surprised at her outburst.

Sakuno blushed and turned to go, mumbling, "S-sorry, I guess I was too nosy…"

The boy caught at her wrist, "Wait!" Sakuno turned to look at him. She did not expect him to detain her.

He smiled winningly, an innocent smile that should have been suspicious because it was so innocent. Sakuno, of course, did not think of that and smiled back without thinking.

The boy announced, "I'm hungry."

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Sakuno watched as the boy wolfed down the hamburger and fries at a ferocious rate.

She sipped her chocolate milkshake quietly, wondering who this boy was.

He looked to be about her age or maybe a bit younger, she guessed and also looked quite cute. She wondered if he was visiting Japan or if he just moved here. She was glad that he spoke Japanese because her English was not very good and she did not know any other language.

When the boy finished eating, he leaned back and sighed happily.

He looked so contented that Sakuno giggled. He immediately turned defensive and growled, "What's so funny?"

Sakuno was taken aback by his abrupt change in attitude, "Ah, I-I just thought you looked contented... with the food, I mean."

The boy blinked, "Oh, that, yeah, thanks." He was back to being normal again, meaning that he was not aggressive now.

Sakuno was relieved and wondered if she got herself into trouble. However it would be very bad of her to try and leave him by himself now. Therefore, she got up her courage and asked, "Eh… ano… what do you want to do now?"

The boy looked at her and said, "I don't know. I'm actually lost."

Sakuno looked distressed because to her, being lost was a very nasty thing, despite her wide experiences in being lost.

She said, "Oh no, where's your family? Do you have their phone number? I can lend you my phone if you want? Oh dear, they must be very worried about you!"

She totally forgot that she was speaking to a boy who looked to be about her age and started to see him as a little child who needed care and guidance. The boy did not seem to care either way.

He said, "Worry? No, they wouldn't worry about me. They know that I can take care of myself. If it was Stellar who was lost, then they would be worried.

She spaces out so much that she fell from a cliff once when we were by the ocean. It scared the hell out of everyone, especially Shinn."

He did not seem to notice that his companion did not know the people he was talking about and went on, "It was actually quite funny. Everyone was panicking because Shinn just went and jumped after her.

Sting was cursing and Neo was talking on the phone to get a boat because there was no other way to get down to the ocean where they fell. It was a really long way down and Stellar couldn't swim.

Well, kaasan was worried too and I didn't like that but on the whole, it was really funny." ('Kaasan' is a shortened form of 'okaa-san', like 'mum' for 'mummy')

Sakuno was confused now. She sifted through what she heard and came up with, "A-re? Someone fell from a cliff and another person jumped after her and you found it funny? Are these people your friends or family? Shouldn't you be worried too?"

The boy looked at her as if she was deranged, "Why should I be worried? Shinn jumped after Stellar, didn't he? He takes care of her all the time, so I didn't have to worry about her.

Besides, she's capable of looking out for herself. She's an idiot sometimes but she fights real well! Especially with knives."

Sakuno was completely lost now. She had no idea what the boy was talking about.

She asked, "Eh… so… S-stellar was alright because someone… ano… Shinn… took care of her?"

The boy clapped his hands, "You got it! Well, you're not as stupid as I thought."

Sakuno blushed with pleasure at this absurd praise.

They had totally forgotten what she was asking in the beginning now and the conversation turned into the boy's complaints about these people he knew.

Sakuno also seemed to miss the words that stood out disturbingly from the boy's conversation. Words such as, 'fight' and 'knives'.

Still, if Miyu was here, she would just shake her head and say, "It would just be like Sakuno to totally miss the point."

The boy, for Sakuno still did not know his name, not that they realized it because the boy also did not realize he did not know his companion's name, started to fidget.

He got up and said, "Let's go to the game centre!"

He did not act as if he was a stranger to these areas and Sakuno did not remember that he had said that he was lost in this place.

The two of them just got up and went outside the fast-food shop and started off in one direction before they realized that they did not know where the game centre was.

The boy did not know because this was his first time in the area and Sakuno did not know because she did not go to game centers.

The boy said, "Say, where's the game centre?"

Sakuno was taken aback again, "Eh… I don't know. I've never been there."

The boy looked annoyed, "Huh? Not been to the game centre before? What are you? Odd?"

Sakuno looked insulted, very rare for her and she defended herself, "Well, I don't like to games like those ones at the game centre and my friends don't go. What's wrong with that, mou!"

She looked as if she might leave and the boy very quickly smiled his winning smile and said, "Ah! Warui, warui! Don't go! It's boring with no one else. Ne, let's go to the game centre, ne, ne?" ('Warui' can be used to mean 'my bad')

Sakuno looked at him with an injured look and the boy continued to smile sweetly at her. She said, "Then you won't be nasty and say that I'm odd again?"

The boy said, "I promise, ne? Let's go!" His voice turned into a bit of a whine and when Sakuno nodded, he grinned and then said, "So, where's the game centre… let me ask someone…"

He looked around and saw a few punks by the side of the street. His face lighted up and he said to Sakuno, "Wait here. I'll go and ask those people."

Sakuno said, "But they look really scary? Let's ask someone else, ne?"

The boy chuckled, "Scary? Nah, they're just pretending. I can tell, wait here. Don't go!" With that, he hopped off and Sakuno could do nothing but stand where she was and wait for him.

The boy stopped in front of these punks with their strange hair in spikes and odd colors and tattoos and cigarettes.

In Sakuno's eyes, they looked large and mean. In the boy's eyes, they looked like toys.

He said, "Hey, you there! Tell me where the game centre is! Oh, by the way, I need some money!"

He did not forget that he had no money. While he did not mind Sakuno paying for him, he also thought that she did not look rich and it would be better to have some in his own pockets in case she ran out.

He had not been brought up to feel thankful for much and when he could take advantage, he did.

The punks looked incredulous at this pretty lad who was smiling up at them. They did not notice the dangerous sparkle in his pale eyes.

One of them caught hold of the boy's shirt and dragged him close, "Huh? Kid, who'd ya think ya're talkin' to? Huh?"

The boy sighed and said, "I was under orders not to cause a scene but don't push me. Tell me where the game centre is and hand over your money."

The punk let go of the boy's shirt and looked at his mates, "He's a cracker. Let's go ov'r to the alley. Show 'im his place."

The boy was annoyed but he brightened up when he thought that in the alley, there would be no one to see and he could have some fun.

He personally did not care if he caused a scene but he promised Kaasan that he would be a good boy. The punks started to push him towards the dark alley nearby and he went willingly.

Sakuno was shocked and scared and she rushed up and pulled at one of the punk's arm, "W-where are you taking him? P-please let him go!"

The punk looked down and shoved Sakuno away, not thinking her pretty enough to worth his attention, "What's yar problem, ya bch? Huh?"

The boy did not care for people but this girl had been nice to him, though he thought that she was stupid.

He did not suffer to see his companions being shoved around like that. For the time being, he considered this girl his companion and thus, he was much angered.

He flicked his arm free of another punk's hold and went to Sakuno side. He lifted her up and said, "I'll be fine, just stay here and wait. I'll be really quick, ne?"

Sakuno tried to protest, "B-but…" The boy said firmly, "Listen to me! Stay here and wait for me!"

His tone was authoritative and Sakuno nodded. She stood up with his help and he went off into the alley with the punks.

Once they were in the shadows in the alley, his expression turned dangerous.

He said, "You should've just told me what I wanted to know and handed over the money. Now, you've made me angry."

He smiled cruelly and the punks were suddenly scared.

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Sakuno waited anxiously and she thought that maybe she should get the police but the boy told her to wait.

She instinctively trusted him because she could feel that he really did have confidence in his abilities to handle the matter. However, her logical mind told her that was impossible.

How could such pretty boy deal with those large and aggressive punks? Still, her heart told her that he was not lying and she waited.

Soon, she saw the boy come out from the alley. He was smiling happily. Not a hair was out of place and she ran to him, crying with relief, "You're alright! A-are you hurt? What did they do?"

The boy was extremely surprised when he saw that she was really crying, just because she was so worried for him. His heart felt a rare warmth that he only felt when kaasan was petting him on the head.

He grinned a child's grin and said, "I'm fine. They told me where the game centre is! Let's go!"

He grabbed Sakuno's wrist and marched off, dragging her after him.

She was so surprised that she forgot her tears and wanted to call out to tell him to slow down. It was then that she realized she did not know his name.

She called out, "Ne, my name's Sakuno, Ryuzaki Sakuno! What's yours?"

The boy looked back at her and grinned, "Auel, Auel Neider, Sakuno!"

Sakuno did not know and would never have guessed but back in the dark alley, the punks were lying in a bloody heap, moaning in pain and shock.

No, she did not know and probably would never know.