AN: I'm sorry for updating so late… :D;; my muse… it's very temperamental XD; But I was in the writing mood, and didn't want to do my Chem. homework so I decided to continue writing this. I actually started it sometime around July 5th, if I'm not mistaken, and it's been more than two, three months later since I finished it XD;; Forgive me! I hope you all like it; it's an AU and Ryoma/Sakuno might be a little OOC u.u; but oh well! Review please!

Window Seat

Strawberry'd

23 September 2005

Ryuuzaki Sakuno looked around the terminal with wide, unbelieving eyes. It was her first time on a plane since she was small and she hardly remembered anything. Taking the end of one long braid, she twisted it anxiously with her fingers. She hoped that she would get on the plane safely… and that the plane wouldn't leave without her… and… Her eyes widened at the thoughts that bombarded her. So many things could go wrong! She had offered to go by herself so not to put others at a discomfort, but she was new to the whole airplane thing.

Sakuno was a business woman. She was one of the accountants of a high corporation, and it was required for her to head overseas to America for a business conference. Of course, Sakuno had never been to America, or on a plane, but her co-workers thought she could manage. I'm glad they think I'm capable… but am I? Her worried thoughts filled her to the brink of panic.

"Plane 1429 going to America now boarding." A mechanical-sounding voice crackled onto the speakers, startling Sakuno.

"Plane 1429…" She mumbled under her breath. "That's my plane!" She grabbed her luggage and purse, making sure her ticket was still there (for the umpteenth time), and dashed off to Terminal C.

Once there, Sakuno sighed. She had gotten so confused with all the things she needed to do before actually boarding. There was Customs, and the Luggage Thing. Albeit Sakuno's English wasn't that bad, so much had happened in such little time to leave her dizzy and confused. But now it's the easy part, she thought. Just sitting on the actual plane and leaving the rest up to the pilot.

Tugging along her carry-on bag, Sakuno stared openly at the many sights to see in the airport. She felt like a tourist in her own home country, but she couldn't help it. There were so many different shops, and stores, and restaurants, and it was all overwhelming.

"Last call for Plane 1429 going to America. Last call…" The announcer said over the speakers. Sakuno was already safely in line, and she breathed a sigh of relief. No being left behind for Ryuuzaki Sakuno!

Strangely enough, Sakuno didn't get lost today. Well, that little bit with the wrong taxi didn't count, and sure, she had to ask that nice lady where Terminal C was, but other than that, she was relatively correct-direction-full.

Soon, it was Sakuno turn, and she gave her ticket to the person who took them. She didn't really know the names of the people who did the whole airplane-thing. She glanced at her ticket stub. Seat D-14. She went up and down the aisles, looking for the seat assigned to her. After a minute or two of walking, she found her seat. It was next to a young man around her age, with a white cap pulled low on his head. She was one seat away from the window.

Sakuno felt a little nervous sitting so close to a complete stranger, and a man at that. She told herself to be brave and sat down. She then promptly got back up, remembering her bag. She looked around at the other passengers to see what they were doing.

Apparently, there was a small compartment above her seat where she might put her bags and such. Sakuno was a slender, short woman, and the compartment was way up there. She despaired at reaching it. Raising her arms above her head, she stood on her tippy-toes and stretched.

He had been on that plane for at least 15 minutes already. When are they going to fly the damn thing? He thought annoyed. He pulled his hat lower on his head and closed his eyes.

Ryoma's brief nap was interrupted by a girl sitting down beside him. Great, just what I need. Another simpering fan?

He tried to ignore her but couldn't as she stood back up. What was she doing? From the recesses of his hat, Ryoma slightly opened one eye to stare at the girl. She had a long braid that hung down her back. His first thought was: That must be inconvenient on roller coasters. Then he shook his head and tried to go back to sleep.

"Ah," A soft voice cried out. Ryoma opened his eyes unwillingly. The girl was trying to put a bag in the overhead compartments. She was too short to reach it but didn't care, he supposed. As he stared at her, he realized how her arms raised over her head lifted up her shirt. A blush settled on Ryoma's face as he could not take his eyes away from her flat stomach.

He swallowed and stood up. "Can I help you with that?" He asked, forcefully shoving the blush off his face. The girl lowered her arms (thankfully) and stared at him, her brown-red eyes wide, red mouth slightly open. She was a sight, with her bag just on top of her head.

Ryoma could not say she was not pretty.

"Your bag. Do you need help putting it up?" Ryoma repeated.

"Oh! Yes, please, and thank you!" The girl answered, holding out the bag to him. With ease, Ryoma put the bag into the compartment.

"Thank you again!" The braided-girl said, cheerfully. "I'm Ryuuzaki Sakuno!" Ryoma nodded in response and gave a noncommittal grunt. He sat down silently, and no, he was not thinking of the girl's bare stomach, thankyouverymuch.

Ryoma thanked whoever was out there in the spiritual world. If she had been tall enough to see the compartment, she'd have seen his tennis bag, put two and two together and completely ruin the peace and quiet of his vacation. For this young man here, sitting next to our very own Ryuuzaki Sakuno was Echizen Ryoma, tennis pro extraordinaire. Just finishing a large tournament in Japan (and winning it), he decided on a short vacation in America.

"Wow!" The girl said, as she glanced in the window next to Ryoma. "Look at all the other planes!" She was usually a quiet girl, but the excitement of her first (memorable) flight left no room for shyness.

"This is your first flight?" Ryoma asked, a little surprised. Who in this modern world never flew on a plane before?

"Yes." She nodded shyly.

Ryoma, in a (rare?) act of kindness, waved his hand near the window. "Do you want to trade seats then? You can get the window seat."

"Oh, no, I couldn't." Sakuno drew back from the window she was so fascinated with.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Well…" She really did want to sit next to the window. "If it's ok with you."

He nodded and stood up. Sakuno did as well. They traded seats and Sakuno could hardly sit still. Her nose practically pressed against the glass, Sakuno stared out in awe. Ryoma smirked a little at the sight. He heard a little squeak from her general direction as the place started to ascend. Higher and higher they went… and the more and more the girl started to babble.

"The people are so small! And look, you can see the ocean, and Japan! All of it! Wow, it's so tiny! Ohmigosh, we're in the clouds now! Don't you just want to touch them and see if they're really as fluffy as everyone says?" Her voice was excited and animated.

Ryoma could only nod every now and then. It wasn't his first flight so he didn't find it as thrilling. "Actually, clouds are damp and wispy. You can't really feel them."

Sakura paused. "Ah." She didn't let his words penetrate her excitement though. "Look, birds!" After a couple of minutes or staring out in awe and the like, Sakuno quieted down, much to Ryoma's relief.

Half an hour passed, and Ryoma felt the familiar feeling of drowsiness. He had been watching the movie playing, but he had already seen it and was bored. Sleep would be welcome. Of course, sleep was not meant for him today. A disconcerting buzzing came from around his leg. Involuntarily, Ryoma jumped. A cell phone…?

"Oops." Sakuno reached down under his seat (because they had switched seats, remember?) and fished out her bag, her hand coming too close to Ryoma's leg for comfort. She tugged it out and brought it onto her lap. Taking the stylish silver palm pilot from it, Ryoma could spy the words "you've got mail" on the screen.

"I wonder who it is…" Sakuno said absentmindedly, as she opened the window and proceeded to her email.

Ryoma was surprised with the girl beside him having a palm pilot. She didn't seem like one who was always buying the newest models and versions of things and thanks to a few senpais like that, Ryoma knew that that was the newest version to have come out.

The message was long, Ryoma noticed. She scrolled down and down and it wouldn't end. All the while, Sakuno kept murmuring things under her breath. Ryoma closed his eyes and tried to ignore her.

Finally, she closed her palm with a 'snap' and placed it in the pocket near the armrest, lest she get another email. She then rustled around with her purse for a bit and crossed and uncrossed her legs repeatedly, fingering her braid. She sighed wearily and Ryoma could not contain his annoyance any longer.

"Could you please stop doing that?" He snapped and opened his eyes, fixing them on her pale face.

"A-ah, g-gomen!" She flushed and dropped her braid immediately.

"Whatever."

Sakuno tried to train her attention on the screen playing the movie, but her eyes always wandered. She tried to read the magazines placed in the side-pocket but those were uninteresting and Sakuno got bored easily. She glanced at her companion and studied his face for a bit. She blushed at just staring at the way his hair fell into his eyes, so she shifted in her seat to face the window again.

Watching the world above the clouds was something Sakuno enjoyed a lot. It was such a different experience, and it was so exciting that Sakuno forgot all of her previous anxiety and nausea. Even her shy and timid nature was whisked away by the novelty and exhilaration of the flight.

"Um…" Sakuno started nervously, a hint of red on her face.

Ryoma's eyes opened slowly and he turned to her. "Yes?"

She smiled weakly. "Sorry, I need to go to the bathroom, and, um, I need to get by?" She blushed.

Of course, now that the newness of her first airplane ride drained away, Sakuno's shyness came back, full force.

Ryoma closed his eyes in exasperation. Does this girl blush at everything? He wondered. Although it does look cute… He stood up and tried to let her pass. Today was so not Ryoma's day. He was in coach and so there wasn't a lot of leg room sitting down, never mind enough room for two full grown adults. Sakuno squeezed pass the tennis player, almost pressed fully against him. She walked down the aisle to the bathroom with a red face. Ryoma sat down with an equally red face.

Soon after the girl left, Ryoma felt the embarrassed red tint on his face fade away. It was interesting, he supposed, how he could fall asleep so easily when she was there, but now that she was not, he couldn't get some shuteye at all.

His eyes wandered around the place until it landed on Sakuno's discarded palm pilot. Simply out of curiosity, Ryoma picked it up and started to rifle through her address book. Ryuuzaki… wasn't that her last name? Why did she put herself in the address book?

Ryoma raised an eyebrow at that, but nevertheless lightly touched upon the screen. Name, age, address, and email popped up. Ryuuzaki Sakuno, 20… Twenty? Ryoma looked surprised. She was his age? She seemed younger…

Address… email… Ryoma paused. Email… eh? Taking out a pen from his jacket pocket, Ryoma, on a whim, scribbled down the girl's email. He chuckled quietly to himself, a little surprised at his own daring.

He quickly put the device away, just as the owner was coming back. They went through the… interesting process of getting back to their seats, and in about 15 minutes, the place landed in New York, United States of America.

Ryoma took down Sakuno's bag for her, and then took his own as well. He tugged his cap and then nodded to her as he walked past. Sakuno watched him go, a weird feeling in her stomach. I didn't even get his name… she thought, not undejectedly.

A week later, Sakuno opened her email to find one unread message from an "Echizen Ryoma".

Who could that be? She wondered as she clicked on it.

And wowwww! I'm finally finished! That was like, super long! Lol, well, ending notes? Er, a bit ooc, grammar, spelling, all that… it's pretty bad. XD; It's 12:44 AM when I finished, so I'm a little tired… Hmm, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to some reviewers who had a comment, this isn't a multi-chaptered fic. It's just a collection of random, pointless one shots that have no connection to the other ones. :D; Sooo, yep. Thanks for reading, and please review!

Oh, and sorry for taking so long to update. :D;;; Also… this was dedicated to cherrixwolf who is my twin XD! Love you!