Tennis no Hime-Sama

"Man, what a day,' Sakuno said to herself as she rubbed the back of her neck. Today's tennis practice was tiring especially with Echizen Ryoma being surrounded by giggling girls. As usual, Ryoma won the game although she managed to keep up with him. It ended 7-6, which wasn't so bad.

"That means I'm catching up to Ryoma-kun," she smiled as she head to the street tennis courts. The sound of a tennis ball being hit caught her attention, so she decided to know where it came from. Surprise marked her features as she saw Echizen – bucho swinging his racket, hitting the ball with his eyes closed.

Sakuno bit her lip. 'Well, not that much catching up. Only Ryoma could hit tennis balls using only his sense of hearing.' She was so absorbed in watching him play when he suddenly stopped.

"What?"

Sakuno blushed, finally realizing she was discovered. "Um……..n…nothing."

Ryoma turned to face her. "What is it Ryuzaki?"

"Well…I…I just want to see how much you've gone far through your practice," she answered out – of – the – blue. He sighed as he swings his racket impatiently.

"That only applies to you, Ryuzaki. Mada mada dane."

There. There's that deafening quote again. Sakuno sighed as she contemplated his words. For the past few years she took that quote as a challenge to improve her tennis skills. But it seems she was still miles away from beating Ryoma, and stopping him from saying "Mada mada dane".

"Ryuzaki."

"Nani, Ryoma-kun?" she asked. Whenever they're in public, she would address him by his first name. He didn't mind anyway, so long as she address him formally as 'bucho' during club activities.

"Improve your backhand. Starting tomorrow, you will only use backhand strokes whenever we practice until you get a hold of it," he informed her as he continued to hit the ball with his racket.

"Hai, Echizen bucho". Now that was new.

Ryoma finally stopped his practice. He stepped out of the court and headed to the bench where Sakuno was sitting. She handed him with a towel taken from his own bag and he accepted it with a nod of thanks.

Sakuno smiled at him as he removed his cap and wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. "You practiced hard today. I wonder if you would even let your teammates see you getting soft," she commented.

"Of course. I'm their captain. Having weaknesses will burden the whole team," he replied.

She smiled again. "You look like you're worrying about your team, captain. What will Tezuka-bucho say if he finds out that his prodigy is giving the regulars a hard time just as he did when you're still a freshman?"

He shrugged. "It's for their own good."

Giggling, Sakuno stared at Ryoma's face and reached a hand up to wipe a drop of sweat from his forehead. He turned to her and gave a small smirk.

"When will I meet your father again?" she asked sweetly, lacing her fingers against his. He shrugged again.

"I don't think it'll be a great idea," he stated flatly.

"Why not?"

"Because he turned my life upside down. It'll be the same for you too."

She pouted. "I don't think Nanjiro-san would turn my life upside down like you said. He's a good man."

"A lecherous, perverted, good – for – nothing man. Yup, he's good alright," Ryoma added.

She swatted his arm playfully. "That's terrible! You shouldn't say things about your otosan, Ryoma – kun."

He squeezed her hand in response and then released it. Standing up, he retrieved his jacket hanging from the bench and slung his bag over his shoulder. Putting his cap back on his head, he glanced at Sakuno. "Let's go."

"Huh? Where?" she asked, one brow raised.

"Just come with me," he replied smugly, grabbing her hand and dragging her along.

If she wants to meet his father then he'll be damned sure that she will. For now, he'll just hope and pray that his stupid oyaji won't screw himself up in front of Sakuno this time.

'Control yourself,' he thought over and over again. 'No arguing…no arguing…with oyaji…'

Oh boy.