Here it is!Sorry it took so long! I finally have chapter two up. This story was harder to do than i thought it would be. Hopefully i will be able to continue with it...but i need more reviews! Thanks to all those who have reviewed! It makes me so happy.So here's chapter two! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I dont own Prince of Tennis (it would be nice to own Atobe Keigo)

Out of Reach

Chapter 2: Saved

Pathetic. That was the only word Ryoma could come up with to describe himself. He couldn't concentrate on anything. His thoughts had kept him up most of the night and now, he could barely make contact between his racket and the ball. His opponent didn't seem to mind all that much. Kaidoh, though slightly annoyed at his lack of opponent, seemed to thoroughly enjoy the fact that the freshman couldn't keep up with his snake.

Scowling, Ryoma shook his head to clear his thoughts. Throwing what remaining focus he had left into the match, he smashed a Drive B at Kaidoh to seal his snake. Just as he was about to take the lead, Tezuka and Ryuzaki called for everyone to gather.

Reaching up, Ryoma pulled his cap down and muttered an annoyed "che" as he followed the others toward the side of the court. He stood in line with the other regulars, tuning out the distractions and concentrating everything on the problem at hand. Now that stupid monkey king was even interfering with practice!

As Ryuzaki dismissed them, Ryoma felt a firm hand on his shoulder, preventing him from leaving the courts. He sighed and glanced up into the stern face of his buchou.

"Echizen, is something bothering you? During the whole match with Kaidoh, you were completely distracted."

Ryoma sighed and shook his head. How could he tell Tezuka that it was all Atobe Keigo's fault?

"It's nothing, just a small problem, but I intend to fix it soon."

Tezuka noticed the familiar determined glint in his eye and decided not to push the subject.

"Alright, but make sure you do. You can't afford to be distracted. Next time, I'll have you run laps."

Ryoma nodded, wondering where Tezuka got his affinity for making people run laps. He made his way to the locker room slowly, taking his time before he had to return home.

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Ryoma walked slowly, eyes glued to the sidewalk in front of him. It was quickly becoming dark with a golden glow descending upon the city and Ryoma cursed the fact he had stayed out so late. Momoshiro and Eiji had practically dragged him to the burger place and he was just now making his way home. Finally, he could allow his thoughts to return to their main focus: How was he going to meet Atobe Keigo?

He had already gone over a couple of scenarios, but they each seemed as hopeless as the last. Showing up at Hyoutei would be a little too weird. Even if he challenged him to a match, Ryoma doubted he could manage to hold the racket, much less hit something with it. He would much rather think of something that wouldn't make him seem like such an idiot. However, it was becoming increasingly more difficult tocome up with somethingalong those guidelines.

With his thoughts deep, he didn't notice the footsteps behind him. Nor did he notice the figure that had appeared in front of him until he made contact with the hard body. Crying out in slight surprise, he tried to catch himself before he hit the ground, though it proved too late. He landed and his bag flung off his shoulder, falling to his right.

"Ah, sorry about that. Are you hurt?"

Ryoma glanced up in annoyance at the person before him. The guy's face was partially shadowed from the sunset so he couldn't make out his features. He felt two people grab his arms from behind and lift him up to set him on his feet. Gazing up, he finally locked eyes with the person who he had run into. He was wearing sunglasses with his hair dark and shaggy, falling to frame his face. Ryoma became very nervous all of a sudden. This guy projected a sense of foreboding that gave Ryoma chills, reaching to the pit of his stomach. The two guys behind him still had not let go of his arms.

Ryoma growled slightly and glared back at the one in front of him.

"Well now that I am on my feet again, I am sure that you can let me go on my way."

The leader smirked and placed a hand on Ryoma's head, slightly gripping his hair and forcing Ryoma to see directly into his sunglass covered face.

"Nah, I think that you have something you owe us, crashing into me like that. Don't you think guys?"

The other two gave wicked laughs that filled Ryoma with a sense of dread. They were all bigger than him and with his small body, there was no way that he would be able to take them out, especially with the death grip the other two had on his arms. There might have been a chance if he had his tennis racket, but now that was hopeless given his entrapment.

"Why don't we take this somewhere so we can work out the details in private?"

Once again, Ryoma felt himself lifted off his feet, as the two cronies dragged him into the alley that was located to their right. Their leader followed slowly, like a predator that had cornered his prey. Even though Ryoma was aware of the inevitable, he wasn't going to give his captors any satisfaction. The punk's smile faltered slightly as he gazed at Ryoma. He scowled and shot out a hand to grip Ryoma chin.

"What's with that look? I definitely don't like it."

Ryoma's glare had always had that effect on people. As far back as he could remember, people had fallen apart in front of his gaze. It had also gotten him into plenty of trouble. This proved to be one of those times. He hadn't been expecting the blow, but when it made contact with his face, he had to register the shock and pain he felt. A slight trail of blood flowed from his mouth and trickled down the side of his chin. All he could do was glare up at his assailant.

"I don't like that defiant look in those unusual eyes of yours. Looks like I might have to break you after all."

Ryoma's eyes widened slightly at that statement. Just what did he mean by that?

The grip on the both of his arms tightened and he cringed in horror at the feeling of the leader's hand making its way up the shirt of his uniform, seeking out the creamy flesh there. So this was what their aim was. He felt disgusted as he pulled with all his might to try and break away. It was futile. He felt his head hang in despair, while his vision blurred in panic. The guy's hand was continuing to roam over his body, moving lower. He couldn't give in like this. These guys didn't deserve the satisfaction.

It was then a rather large shadow caught his attention, though barely. The two guys behind him seemed to notice it too, for their grip loosened and Ryoma was able to rip his arms from their grasp. The leader turned in surprise at the interruption to find himself face to face with a huge guy sporting a particular blank expression. Ryoma stopped in surprise at his savior and felt his mouth almost drop open at sight before him. A snap of the fingers echoed off the walls of the alley.

"Kabaji, take care of them please."

"Usu."

Ryoma turned to get out of the way of the unleashed Kabaji but tripped on the debris on the ground. He closed his eyes and prepared for the impact of the ground, but it never came. Instead, he found himself fall into a firm body, strong arms encircling him to keep him steady. Looking up, he fell into the cyan orbs of Atobe Keigo himself. A blush was already creeping up his cheeks but he willed it away and turned his attention to the chaos that Kabaji was creating in the alley.

If he hadn't been through what had just taken place, Ryoma would have felt sorry for them. However, he smirked a little wickedly as the punks' bodies went flying all over the place. As he watched the scene unfold before him, he noticed the death grip he had on Atobe's shirt. Glancing up, he wondered if Atobe noticed, but the Hyoutei captain seemed too busy glaring at the guys in the alley as Kabaji beat the crap out of them. He quickly released the fabric and tried to back away, which would have been successful had Atobe's hand still not have been around Ryoma's shoulder. It only helped in turning his attention to the boy that was leaning into his arm.

"Are you alright?"

Ryoma couldn't form the words; all he could do was nod.

"You were lucky I was walking by. I saw your bag and then what was going on in the alley. Don't worry, Kabaji is taking good care of them."

It was then that he smirked and glanced back as Kabaji was emerging from the alley without a scratch on him. Ryoma was lost for words as he really wasn't practiced in thanking people. He watched as Atobe conversed with Kabaji (though it was one sided), and struggled to figure out what to say. When Atobe turned to him, he surprised Ryoma by placing his hand softly on Ryoma's cheek. Ryoma flinched at the pain of the contact, and reached his own hand up to flick away the remaining blood that had slid from his mouth. Atobe's expression turned grim as he grabbed Ryoma's arm and practically dragged him up the street.

"Come on, my limo is right up here. I will drop you off at home."

Ryoma stopped his persistence and regarded him with confusion.

"I thought you said you were walking by and saw everything."

Atobe just looked at him for a few moments, and sighed.

"I saw it from the limo as it went by. Ore-sama has really good eyesight. I saw the Seigaku printed on the bag. How do you think I can pull off my insight so well?"

Ryoma noted that he referred to himself with praise only once in that sentence. He felt a small smile form on his face. It disappeared as he dropped his head to avoid eye contact with the Hyoutei captain. The words were almost out of his mouth when Atobe decided to pull him towards the limo again. He had to break away once more in annoyance to retrieve his fallen bag.

Once inside, Ryoma glanced at his surroundings. The lavish decorations and comfort made him feel slightly out of place. Atobe had already asked him his address several times before he had snapped out his thoughts to respond. The ride was uneventful as the three of them sat in silence. Kabaji on one side and Ryoma beside Atobe on the other, while the driver sped away towards Ryoma's home. Ryoma was busy trying to convince himself to say something…..anything. He couldn't let this opportunity slip away from him without him taking any action. However, before he could come up with the courage to speak, he found himself looking out his window at his house as the limo slowed to a stop.

"Hopefully you can make it to your front door without getting into any more trouble."

Ryoma glared at the smirking face and decided not to respond to that. He grabbed his bag and slid out of the open door that the driver had so kindly opened for him.

"I am amazed though."

At this Ryoma turned around, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Any other person who had gone through that ordeal would not be as calm as you are right now. But then again, you always seem like nothing fazes you anyway. I guess it can be expected from Seigaku's freshman prodigy. Impressive, though you haven't even thanked Ore-sama properly."

Ryoma stood there in silence. True, he hadn't even thought about the event in the alley that had taken place before Atobe had found him. Now that he let it wander into his mind, he felt a shock that waved through him, almost enough to make him drop his bag. How had he not even thought about it before? What had distracted him that much? As if on instinct, he locked eyes with the one thing that had. Atobe was gazing at him intently from the rolled-down window of his limo. Ryoma knew that this was his last chance to take action.

"Oi, monkey king……. …would you like to meet me tomorrow?"

He took the chance to steal a look at Atobe's face. His eyes had widened a little, but he was waiting fro Ryoma to explain.

"Don't take it the wrong way," he hastily added. "Maybe I can thank you better doing that?"

Atobe regarded him for a few silent moments. Ryoma thought he was going to explode with anticipation. Why would someone like Atobe even consider meeting someone so below him? Ryoma almost turned to leave without saying anything else.

"Wait. Ore-sama likes that idea. Since there isn't any school tomorrow, it might be a pleasant day. Where do you want to meet?"

Ryoma was almost too shocked to respond.

"How about we meet in the park on that bench from the other day? Say…..about 2 o'clock?"

Atobe smirked and nodded. He began rolling up his window. "See you then. Put some ice on that cheek. I cant have you looking like that tomorrow if Ore-sama is going to be out with you."

The limo started up and pulled away. Ryoma watched it till it was out of sight before turning to walk into his house. Lifting a hand to his slightly swollen cheek, he rolled his eyes in annoyance at Atobe's last statement. He hadn't thought about that alley, but he realized it gave him a sickening feeling when he did. He much preferred to think about tomorrow's events, and just how he was going to repay Atobe for saving him.

To Be Continued

So there it is! Chapter 2 down...dont know how many i have to go. PLEASE review so that i can have the will to write more! I swear i will love you forever!

Ja,

Eclair

Previews are really hard...lol...i change my mind too much.