Tennis no HimeSama

Chapter Seven: Meet the Accusations

His head hurts. A lot.

"EEECCCHHHIIIIZEEENNN!"

He strained his ears as he heard an incoming stampede rushing towards him. And also, to put things into some complications, he bumped into something and a scream echoed in his ears. He could develop an ear infection from this. His eardrums suffered too much intense bouts of high fluting decibels.

"Ow…I think I'm going to have a headache for this…" he muttered as he felt a searing pain from his head. He must have a bump on his head, the same size as a tennis ball. He decided to open his eyes and looked down at the object or person that he bumped into.

He opened his eyes and saw Ryuzaki lying underneath him. She was also knocked out cold. 'Due to the crash,' he smugly thought. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She even looked cute sprawled out underneath him. 'Whoa, slow down. Don't go there yet Echizen,' his mind scolded at him. It would be dangerous territory if he accidentally knocked out Sumire's granddaughter. He'll face an early-married life and he still had a world championship to think of. Not that he minded impregnating a sweet and shy girl like Sakuno.

He continued to stare at her face and decided to dart his eyes downwards to her neck, always wondering how smooth and soft the skin exposed under her collar. He leaned down to nestle between her neck and shoulder and inhaled her soft yet feminine scent. He smirked during one particular moment, when they were having lunch on the school's rooftop…

Sakuno presented him with her homemade bento and they feed each other in turns using only one pair of chopsticks. All the while Ryoma kept staring at her hair that she let loose and the deep brown waves were slightly highlighted by the afternoon sun's rays. He was staring at her for the longest moment that he didn't notice Sakuno stuffed him with food in his mouth.

"Ryoma – kun, what're you staring at? You choked down on your food," she expressed concern as she gave him a can of Ponta which he downed all in one gulp. She giggled that he glared at her for a moment then he leaned on his back as he observed the blue sky high above them. He didn't move when she crept closer to him, resting her head in his shoulder and sighed. He wrapped an arm loosely around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

Minutes passed and both were contented in watching the fluffy white clouds soaring freely in the sky while enjoying the presence of another's company. Sakuno smiled to herself as she leaned a bit more into him. It had always been this way; everyday, they would meet at the rooftop for lunch and do some sky gazing. After class, she would attend her tennis club activities while he manage the famed Seigaku Tennis Club Men's Division. Speaking of tennis activities…

She spoke first. "Ryoma – kun?"

"Nani?"

"The Kantou Tournament for our Girl's Division would be in a matter of weeks. I was wondering if you know that our team's manager is taking a leave and Obachaan is trying to look for a substitute," she said and looked at his cat – like eyes. He stared at her with a feral look that made her knees melt whenever he looked at her.

He thought about it for a while. "Hm, I guess Ryuzaki – sensei informed us of that last week. But I didn't pay much attention to it." He smirked when Sakuno sat up abruptly and pouted prettily at him. He tried to reach up to her but she dodged his attempts to grab her into his arms. "What're you so upset about, Ryuzaki?"

Her cheeks puffed out in anger, one he did find cute. "Eh? So I'm Ryuzaki now?" He made another attempt to grab her but she dodged his efforts AGAIN. Growling softly under his breath, he leaned forward and grabbed her by her waist. She yelped as she tumbled down with him onto the floor, with her on top of him. He winced as he felt a stinging pain in his aching back. "Ow…"

Ryuzaki whimpered above him. "It's your fault," she mouthed, still pouting. He raised a hand to stroke her silken tresses, parted a portion of her hair so that her right ear was exposed. He leaned towards her as he whispered in her ear. "Gomen, Sakuno." She shivered slightly but she soon relaxed and rested on his chest. She enjoyed hearing the loud thump of his heartbeat as she closed her eyes for a moment to savor the moment.

"Anou ne, Ryoma – kun, are you going to watch the Kantou Tournament? I mean if you're not planning to dictate your team to do drills all week," Sakuno blushed as she waited for Ryoma's answer. According to Tomo – chan's fan club news, Ryoma was an exact replica of the renowned Tezuka – bucho who lived to give the regular members a living hell. He rarely had time to meet up with her; they would usually meet behind the school after practice and walk home together.

"Maybe," was all he said as he buried his face in her hair. He inhaled her scent before mumbling, "Your manager took a leave of absence, am I right?" When she nodded, he placed a chaste kiss on her temple before releasing her. He sat up then raked his fingers through his hair in attempt to straighten it then glanced at Sakuno who was also fixing herself. He offered a hand to help her up, then proceeded to pick up their empty bento and interlaced his hands through hers. She let out a shy smile at his gesture and he squeezed it before releasing it then opened the door. Upon entering, he turned to her.

"Ryuzaki."

She looked at him. "Nani, Ryoma – kun?"

"I might be the new manager for your team starting this week."

Before she could react, he already left. Her brown eyes widened at what Ryoma had said. Did she hear it right? Did her grandmother assigned Ryoma – kun to be the substitute manager for their team? Her well – shaped brows furrowed in deep thought then realization hit her. Ryoma will be susceptible to all the attacks and charms of her teammates!

She started shaking her head. "No way." Then they would keep their relationship in shadows again. Sometimes she understood Ryoma's lack of spontaneity in his display of affection, but she often hoped that someday, he would be ready to tell the world that she was his girlfriend. She sighed as she went to follow him back to class. Hopefully, it would be soon.

Ryoma noticed that Sakuno's brows furrowed as if she was under deep thought. He then noticed a white furry object sandwiched in between them. He almost hit his head on the wall that he finally noticed it was Karupin and apparently, Ryuzaki was holding on to the poor cat when they crashed into each other. He rubbed his head wryly as he tried to sit up but found out he couldn't so he decided to lie down for a while. Ryuzaki gave a low moan and opened her eyes to find Ryoma looming above her. She blushed realizing that she was still holding the cat he was searching earlier. And it looks like the cat is unconscious. She prayed that it was not thoroughly squashed. "R – Ryoma – kun..."

"Looks like you found my cat," he replied dryly as he still continued to rub his head. Sakuno smiled meekly as she placed Karupin aside and stroked Ryoma's cheek. He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes as he savored the warmth of her hand. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and with a smirk, he leaned closer to her for a kiss when suddenly the door opened wide and they heard loud tapping of footsteps.

Ryuzaki blushed then gasped as she saw a tower of seven people glaring at her and Ryoma. She squeaked as she quickly identified the intruders and then she also realized that they were caught in a not so good moment together. Talk about a shocking reunion.

"And it also looks like we found you," Momo gritted his teeth as he caught them entirely 'red – handed'. The six remaining guys behind him nodded, even the still gagged and bound Tezuka. They finally caught Echizen manhandling Ryuzaki – chan and by the looks of it, they arrived just in time.

Ryoma turned to look behind his back and wasn't even surprised that he was face-to-face with his senpais' furious faces. "Momo – senpai. And you guys, what the heck are you doing in my house? No, scratch that, what the heck are you doing here barging into my room?"

Kikumaru glared at him. "Nyaa, what do you think Ochibi? And you have the nerve to act calm in this situation! Just look at what you're doing to Ryuzaki – sensei's granddaughter right now." He pointed at the still stunned Sakuno. Ryoma still didn't get a hold at what he was saying so he just shook his head annoyingly.

Inui broke out of the group and stared at the entire bedroom. He made quick flips of the page in his notebook and began to write like a possessed madman. "Hmm…the entire surroundings are quite messy, there are presence of some sort of a restraint that happened here." He turned to Echizen, shaking his head. "The bed is also mussed and it seemed to be used just recently. Interesting data."

Taka – san looked flabbergasted. "No way, Echizen couldn't…"

Kaidoh let out a hiss while Tezuka managed to remove himself from his binds and gags and glared at his regular teammates who were acting as if they had witnessed a horrible crime. Oishi went to Echizen and shook him by the shoulders.

"Echizen! Why! Why did you do this to Ryuzaki – chan! Didn't you know you soiled a pretty maiden's innocence? Even if you're one of the most important teammate we ever had, I can't forgive you!" Oishi wailed as he shook Ryoma rather viciously.

Kikumaru went to Oishi's side. "That's right Ochibi! How could you!"

Ryoma blinked at what his teammates were accusing him of. He and Sakuno looked at each other then blushed bright red as they saw the compromising position they were in. He was still lying on top of her; his body wedged in-between her legs while she lay sprawled on the floor and the unconscious Karupin slumped next to her side. Both of them went redder as they found out how embarrassing it was to get caught in their circumstances and in front of the senpais too.

He looked at Ryuzaki and gulped as he saw she was in near tears. Probably due to embarrassment, he mused. He sat up, ignoring the soreness of his body as he helped Sakuno to get up from the floor. He ran a hand through his hair as he began to think of something to say.

Inui observed the heightening scene in front of him and was a bit disappointed that Kaidoh, Tezuka and Taka – san were not contributing efforts for him to gather more data. His glasses gleamed when he saw Ryoma's tennis racket lying on the floor. He picked it up and walked towards Taka – san who was restraining Oishi from overreacting.

"Oishi, control yourself! You shouldn't be so violent towards Echizen," Taka – san cried out as he finally pried Oishi's hands away from the young man's shoulders. Without a word, Inui shoved the racket in Taka – san's hand and after a blink of a second, Taka – san morphed from a quiet soft – spoken guy into a raving lunatic. He growled as he swung the racket violently, the regular members stood back in horror.

"ECHIZEN! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RYUZAKI – CHAN!" Taka – san roared as he swung the racket dangerously close to Echizen. He backed Sakuno against the wall to protect her from the raging senpai's attacks. The situation is getting worse and oh boy, if he didn't put a stop to this madness, someone would get hurt. Someone like his girlfriend, for instance.

But Sakuno beat him to it. She hurled herself in front of Ryoma, shielding him from Taka – san's attacks. First of all, it wasn't his fault for all the crazy turn of events. It was just an accidental bump for Pete's sake. She decided to speak out the truth so that Ryoma would come clean from their accusations and to be free from their suspicions. She closed her eyes, unable to control herself from uttering a squeak as Taka – san was about to hysterically tackle her with a racket.

"RYUZAKI - CHAN!" The regular members shouted at the top of their lungs as the racket went rocket straight, aiming towards Sakuno's body.

"Kuso!" Ryoma cursed under his breath as he grabbed her by the waist and stopped the racket with his free hand and grabbed the grip firmly with his fingers. Taka – san immediately snapped back to reality, his hands unclenched and he let the racket drop down on the floor. He looked at his surroundings then to the couple breathing heavily in front of him. "Wh – wha…what happened?"

"You…you almost killed us, Kawamura – senpai," Ryoma muttered in between breaths. Sakuno hid behind his back, suddenly afraid of the once nonviolent senpai. Taka – san blinked once, twice, then focused his attention to Ryoma and Sakuno. He blushed sheepishly, as he finally realized what he had done.

"Gomen Echizen, Ryuzaki – chan. I was not myself today. Maybe it's because I got tired from training you know, about the drills. And also," he peered at Ryoma with his kind eyes. "I also got shocked from well…about you guys…you know…"

Ryuzaki stepped away from her hiding spot behind Ryoma's back as she smiled slightly at Taka – san. "It's okay, Kawamura – senpai. Don't worry about it."

Momo waved his hands exasperatedly in the air as if bringing their attention back to where it began. "Hello! You guys! We're supposed to teach Echizen lessons about youth remember? Look at what he had done to Ryuzaki – chan, she almost fainted!"

Kaidoh hissed. "She got scared because Kawamura – senpai almost hit her with the racket. And you're always exaggerating about youth, you're no longer a youth anyway!"

Momo glared at him. "If you want to pick a fight Mamushi, just say so!"

Oishi stepped in between the two of them. "Stop it you two!"

"Nyaa…what are you guys doing? You're not supposed to fight; we're on a mission to save Ryuzaki – chan from Ochibi's wiles!" Kikumaru whined then pointed a finger to Echizen. "Prepare yourself, Ochibi!"

Echizen gave a snort. He glared at Inui who was smirking at himself as he wrote more data in his notebook, finally satisfied in collecting more 'irrelevant' data. Tezuka shook his head as he continued to watch the scene; everything was getting more and more interesting. Kaidoh decided to go out of the room and slouch on the couch. It was amazing that inone single day, he suffered multiple bouts of headache.

…………

Realizing that everything was out of hand, Sakuno stepped in to face the senpais. She was still shaken that the senpais thought something happened between her and Ryoma – kun, and the embarrassing display they had on the floor. She clenched her fists as she addressed their senpais.

"Senpai – tachi, what you are thinking is a mistake. Nothing happened, I swear." She stole a glance at Ryoma whose cat – like eyes looked at her as if she had the word "Guilt" written on her forehead. She apologized silently to him for causing him a lot of trouble in one day. And it was all because she wanted to meet Nanjiro – san. "It was all my fault. Ryoma didn't do anything wrong."

"WHAAATTTT?" The senpais reacted violently, much to their horror. They were still thinking of some perverted things that Echizen might've done to Ryuzaki and so they think the poor girl was forced to speak the truth. They thought Echizen had threatened her when they were trying to pump the truth out of them.

Kikumaru looked at Sakuno, aghast after they have heard her sudden confession. "Are you saying that Ochibi didn't started it? You did?"

Sakuno, nodded meekly, unaware of the greenness minds of her senpais that were obviously thinking unholy thoughts, regardless of what she was trying to point out. "Yes. I did."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Momo – chan senpai wailed as he heard Ryuzaki's confession. Oishi brushed up stray tears that were coming out of his eyes while Taka – san comforted him. Kikumaru glared at their Ochibi while Tezuka and Kaidoh shook their heads. Obviously, they already know that nothing happened between Echizen and Ryuzaki, it's just that their teammates are simple – minded and perverted human beings.

Inui grinned evilly, his glasses shining as he continued to jot down new information in his notebook. "Hmm, so Ryuzaki – chan finally admitted that there was something that happened and she was the perpetrator? This is truly an interesting data."

"Inui! I told you to stop writing data about Echizen's private life!" Taka – san yelled in exasperation.

…………

Ryoma stared at his senpais, piecing out information why they were putting the blame on him. His eyes widened a fraction of a second, as he finally understood what his senpais are trying to say. He smirked when an idea popped inside his head. He glanced at his 'too honest' girlfriend, thinking how she would react once he commenced his idea. He hoped she would get along with his plan.

Letting a sigh, he walked over to Ryuzaki, ignoring his senpais' glares whirled her around to face him. Sakuno was a bit surprised by his actions that he bent over and touched her forehead with his own. "Gomen, Sakuno – chan. I guess we couldn't hide it any longer."

She was confused. "Eh? Wh – what are you saying, Ryoma – kun?"

Trying not to laugh, he leaned a bit closer to her, wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. She was caught off guard at Ryoma's sudden display of affection that she saw the horrid looks of their senpais and Inui – senpai's informative look. Ryoma continued to nuzzle her and then Sakuno felt a slight pain on where his lips met her skin. He then murmured close to her ear and loud for his senpais to hear. "I forgot to lock the door when we were in the heat of things, I guess I was too engrossed in your beauty that I forgot to keep my displays of affection to you in private."

Momo pointed an accusing finger at Ryoma, his expression of a man who discovered something terrible. "Echizen! How could you? You forced Ryuzaki – chan to admit that it was her fault but it was really yours all along! How could you do such a thing to her?"

Ryoma pulled off a bit from his embrace to Sakuno but kept his hand around her waist. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He smirked inwardly at his senpais' shocked faces. 'If that's what you want out of us then you'll get it. Payback time,' he thought smugly. Oishi – senpai looked as if he was strangled and Kikumaru was having his "Nyaa, Ochibi how could you?" expressions. Taka – san was a bit worried that Momo might harm Echizen while Kaidoh and Tezuka heaved sighs.

He continued. "Since you caught us in a bad position, you now know what's going on between Sakuno – chan and I right? So you have no reason to sneak in on us anymore now that you found out the truth." He could feel Sakuno tensing up next to him. He squeezed her to lend her strength since she finally got his idea and decided to play along.

Momo was still uncertain. And he was also angry at Echizen's sudden impulse of youth. "Yeah, but how could you? You guys are…"

Ryoma sighed as if he was getting bored at their slow – paced conversation. "Young, impulsive and aggressive. I already know what you're trying to imply Momo – senpai. And I promise to take her home unscathed. Except for a few bruises that is."

"WHAT BRUISES?" The senpais asked in unison, their voices echoing throughout the entire household.

Ryoma sighed as he pushed a part of Sakuno's collar and revealed a reddened mark to his suspicious senpais.

It was a hickey.

The senpais blushed as they finally got what they were supposed to get and it was a shocking revelation. Inui let out a satisfied smile as he closed his notebook and smiled at Echizen. "For a boy, you know how to do things an adult can. Needless to say, I'm quite envious of you."

Kikumaru stared at Inui. "You don't mean that, don't you Inui?"

Inui's glassed only gleamed.

Tezuka coughed and everyone looked at him as if he suddenly existed in their presence. "So now you got what I mean? You should've left them alone with their lives." But he was also thinking about the same thing as the others are.

Ryoma let out a laugh. "I couldn't believe you senpais are so worked up in finding out what I'm doing in my life." He glared at Momo. "And I know for sure that it was you who started this, Momo – senpai."

Momo glared at him. "You're the one to talk, Echizen. I can't believe you're capable of doing something like that horny monk we keep on bumping into all the time!" He gave Sakuno a reassuring look, meaning that he wouldn't push on the topic further. Why not? Echizen already made his point already. He and the Ryuzaki girl had been secretly going out behind their backs and who knew just how long they had been that way.

Oishi let out a sigh of resignation. "I guess we had no right to meddle in Echizen's private affairs. We apologize for barging into your house."

Kikumaru looked flustered as he added, "Yeah! And for not telling us right from the beginning that you and Ryuzaki – chan are now an item!" He crossed his arms and pouted. "That's not fair, keeping secrets from us like that."

Echizen gave a small smirk. "Gomen, Kikumaru – senpai."

Taka – san was happy that everything was settled down. He turned to Inui and winced when he saw that he still continuing to take down notes, even after clearing Echizen of their charges. He looked at the young couple who was being congratulated by Oishi and Kikumaru. He would've made a bet that Echizen wouldn't allow Ryuzaki – chan to dangle anymore in his hand. If he passed that bet to someone else, he'd easily win.

…………

"Well then, shall we go?" Tezuka asked the gang as they stood outside the front door of the Echizen home. Ryoma had already explained to them the reason Sakuno was there; all the while Kikumaru and Momo began to tease their Ochibi at his newfound love life.

Oishi waved goodbye at them. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

The others waved at them goodbye in unison, including Tezuka who only raised his hand to bid farewell while Kaidoh hissed. Ryoma gave a brief wave and ushered Sakuno inside, closing the door in a firm click behind them. He watched her sit on the sofa and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Sleepy?" he asked.

"Just tired." She looked at him through her half – closed eyes.

He went to her and stroked her dark brown tresses lightly. "Want to go upstairs and rest?" He glanced at the clock in the living room and frowned. 'Nanako and Okaasan will be here soon…'

Sakuno pulled the hem of his sleeve and he turned to her. She bit her bottom lip playfully as she watched him question her gesture. "Your cat is so cute," she commented as she stared at Karupin who finally regained consciousness and was walking towards them. He made circles under Ryoma's feet before sitting down and gave a soft mewl.

Ryoma gave a smirk. "He's a lazy cat. I believe he played outside when I carried you into my bedroom. He must be curious in getting to know you." The cat mewled in response as he picked it up like a baby. "He has a 5-minute attention span."

Sakuno nodded eagerly and she held up her arms in a silent request that she wished to hold him. Ryoma eased Karupin into her arms and she cuddled him close. "Aww…he's so cute." But her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something offending. "But he needs a bath." She stood up from the sofa and looked at Ryoma – kun. "Let's give him one!"

Ryoma didn't choose to deny her request when she asked him where the bathroom is. He started to shake his head wryly as he watched her disappear from the hall and headed to the bathroom. He hated to tell her something about his cat and he wondered how she would react once she would start splashing his cat with a tub of water.

Karupin hated baths.

Author's note: The much-awaited Chapter 7 is here! I suffered a case of Writer's Block but after hitting my head accidentally into a wall, I recovered some new ideas in my head. Once again, reviews, comments, and suggestions are most welcome. Arigatou for the previous reviews! Ja!