Pure Essence: Wheee! Chapter 2 finally here! I'm really obsessed with the couple right now so I'm trying my best to update as soon as possible so I can get the action along! Thank you all for the reviews! I really appreciate it. Your reviews are a part of my motivation for continuing. So keep reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

English Classroom
9:15 A.M.

Sakuno sighed in defeat as her sensei continued to ramble on and on in English. 'Mou…I don't get any of this…'

Frustrated and given up, her mind lost its attention on the lesson. Searching for something more interesting, her eyes wandered outside of the classroom window.

Outside, she could see Seigaku's tennis court. She couldn't help but wonder if Ryoma was late for practice because of this morning's incident. If he was late and got scolded for it, she would feel extremely guilty. After all, it wasn't his fault that she was so clumsy.

In a distance, she could see Fuji-senpai and Kawamura- senpai talking on the tracks. Scanning her eyes around the tennis court, she named each regular as she saw them.

'Fuji-senpai, Kawamura –senpai, Kikumaru -senpai, Oishi - senpai, Tezuka- buchou, Inui-senpai, Kaidoh-senpai, Momoshiro – senpai, and…' she stopped and frowned. All the Seigaku regulars were there. All – but Ryoma.

Disappointed that she didn't see him, she returned her attention back to class.

POK… Thump

POK… Thump

POK… Thump

The continuous sound of his tennis ball hitting against a wall and bouncing off the ground gave Ryoma peace and comfort. He was finally able to get away from his nosy senpais who kept on questioning about where he went and why he was late for practice this morning.

He couldn't possibly tell them that he brought Sakuno to class. (A/N: More like dragging to me) If he did, he could already imagine Kikumaru-senpai giving him a headlock and Momo-senpai saying "So young, so young" over and over again although he had no idea what that was suppose to mean.

Ryoma pulled his cap lower as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face. The sun shone down on him mercilessly and on top of that, playing tennis on such a hot day wasn't helping much either.

He stopped hitting when the heat became unbearable.

'It was cold this morning…' he thought inwardly as he made his way to the tennis courts. Ryoma looked around his area trying to find a water fountain. Unable to find one close enough to him, he decided that the shortest way was to drink from the fountain inside the school.

He walked silently through the same path he had pulled Sakuno into this morning. Thinking back, he wondered why he did what he did.

Why had he held her hand when he pulled her out of the crowd? He didn't know.

'Perhaps it was a reflex' he told himself.

A reflex for what? To protect her from getting jumped by his crazy fan girls?

'Maybe'

Pushing his thoughts aside for the moment, he noticed two pink rubber bands on the ground near the school entrance. Bending down, he picked them up.

'This belongs to Sakuno' he thought as he recalled her saying that she had lost them.
He quickly stuffed them into his shorts' pocket and made himself a mental note to return them to her later.

For now, his main destination was the school. He needed water. Badly.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The school bell rang, signaling the end of Sakuno's English class. Sakuno couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief.

'Ah… It's over.' She thought as stretched her tired body. 'Demo…I have homework…' The problem? She didn't understand a thing in class. How was she suppose to do her homework?

Sakuno frowned. She didn't like English one bit! It definitely ruined her good morning.

Letting out another tired sigh, she ran a hand through her wavy hair, in attempt to make it more neater looking. 'I hope I don't look too bad.'

Sakuno looked up at the hallway clock. Realizing that the late bell would ring soon; she quickly went to get ready for her next class.

The fountain handle was twisted rather harshly at Ryoma's eager attempt to get water. As water began to spurt out, he quickly let the cool liquid fill his thirsty mouth. He drank just enough to satisfy his thirst.

Then, he took off his hat and set it on top of the fountain. He bent down and let the cool water wet his face, washing the sweat away with it.

"Ah…" he breathed as the water ran down his face. The coolness of the water felt good against his heated and sweaty face.

When he was done, he twisted the handle of the fountain to shut it off. Then he grabbed for his hat.

Ryoma didn't bother to wipe his face. He let the hot air dry it for him. Putting on his hat, he made his way up the stairs.

The bell had rang a few minutes ago. The tennis club members had probably returned to class – without him.

Ryoma knew that he was late to class. 'It doesn't matter' he thought 'It's just English.' He could ace his English class anytime - even, if he wasn't there everyday. He learned almost everything back in America. Everything they taught here was easy and it bored him to no end.

Ryoma debated whether to go to class or not. In the midst of it, he let out a big and tired yawn.

'I think I'll skip class' he decided as he made his way to the roof to sleep.

Sakuno packed her books quickly and ran out of the classroom. 'Finally!' she thought happily, 'It's Lunch time!'

She had waited so long for this moment. Her classes made her sleepy, bored and not to mention hungry.

She ran in the direction of the cafeteria and stumbled a few times. When she was almost there, she suddenly halted. 'Chotto Matte…' she thought nervously. There are probably many girls from Ryoma's fan club there. She couldn't possibly go in there especially after what happened this morning.

She sighed.

Could the morning be any worse? Sakuno contemplated what to do nervously.

She could eat in an empty classroom secretly. But, if she was caught, she'll be in trouble for breaking the "No food in classroom" policy.

There is another place she could go…

'The roof!' she thought and clapped her hands together happily. The roof was quiet, breezy, and the perfect place to eat her lunch without any disturbances. She turned around and headed for the stairs that leaded to the roof.

'Gomen Tomo- Chan…' she apologized silently to her best friend. She had told Tomoka that she would be sharing her lunch with her today. But, since she didn't want to enter the cafeteria, she couldn't. 'I'll make lunch for you tomorrow.'

When she reached the roof, she opened the door. It made a very screechy noise, causing Sakuno to shudder. The sunlight blinded her eyes and she needed to blink a few times to adjust to the bright surroundings.

She took a few steps forward and the door closed behind her with a loud "Thump".

Sakuno looked around. There wasn't anyone here. She was glad. She kneeled down on the floor and began to unwrap her lunch.

"I thought you usually eat in the cafeteria"

Sakuno turned around quickly. "R-Ryoma –kun!" She was almost sure there wasn't anyone on the roof when she checked. "I didn't hear you come"

Ryoma gave her a bored look. "I was here before you," he simply stated.

"Oh." Sakuno wondered why she hadn't seen him when she came in. He must've been against the wall where the door was located. That was the only way she could've missed him.

Sakuno continued to unwrap her lunch. She opened the cover and looked down at her home- made lunch. It looked good. The lunch was made for two people - Tomoka and her. There was no way she could eat all this by herself. She glanced at Ryoma at the corner of her eyes.

"Ryoma – kun" she called.

He looked up. "What?"

"Ano…Did you eat lunch yet?"

Ryoma pulled his cap lower and laid on his tennis racket bag. "No."

"Eto…Would you like to share my lunch?" she asked. "I made extra." Sakuno didn't want to tell him that she made extra because she planned to share it with Tomoka. If she did, he'll probably ask her why she wasn't sharing it with Tomoka instead and thus, bringing back the topic of what happened earlier in the morning.

Ryoma looked at Sakuno in the corner of his eyes. Sakuno blushed at his gaze.

"No." He rejected. It's embarrassing to share the same lunch with a girl.

"Souka…" she muttered just as Ryoma's stomach betrayed him. Sakuno caught the sound of his stomach rumbling. Her lips broke into a smile and she laughed silently. "Demo Ryoma-kun, I think your stomach has a different opinion."

Ryoma quickly got up and headed for the door. Sakuno immediately stopped smiling. Is he leaving because of what she said?

"Where are you going, Ryoma-kun?" she called after him before he closed the door behind him.

Sakuno gave him a sad look. She didn't want to be alone. She really hoped she didn't say anything wrong to cause him to leave.

"To grab some Ponta." He said and left.

Sakuno sat on the roof alone. She stared at the closed door. 'Mou…' She didn't feel like eating anymore. She really wanted to spend some time alone with Ryoma.

He was always so cold and hard to approach. She would be happy if he was just a little nice to her. 'Like this morning' she dawdled.

Giving up at the thought of Ryoma, she returned her attention back to her long forgotten lunch. Quickly, she took out her chopsticks and was ready to pick up a sausage when the roof door opened again. Sakuno winced as the door made the screechy noise again.

Turning around to see who it was, she gasped. Ryoma stood by the door drinking his Ponta. She stared at him with wide eyes. 'Ryoma-kun…came...back?'

Ryoma stopped drinking and looked at Sakuno.

"Why are you staring at me?" he stated and took another sip from his Ponta.

"I thought you left," she whispered.

"I said I was going to grab some Ponta. I never said I was leaving."

She blinked. He was right. He never said he wasn't coming back. So why was she so surprised?

"Here." Ryoma opened his tennis bag and took out an extra can of Ponta. He threw the can of Ponta to Sakuno and she clumsily caught it.

"A-Arigato…" she put the Ponta beside her lunch. When he went back to his resting spot by the door, she quickly put half of her lunch onto the cover of the lunch box. She took out an extra chopstick that was reserved for Tomoka, and brought the lunch to Ryoma.

"Ryoma- kun" she tapped on his shoulder. "Here. I'll give you some of my lunch as a repayment for your Ponta."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "I said I don't want it"

Sakuno looked sad for a moment. "Souka…"

Seeing her expression, he took the lunch from her hand.

"Eh?" She looked confused. Ryoma pulled his cap lower.

"Thank You" he thanked her in English.

Sakuno seemed stunned for a second. 'Ryoma-kun accepted my lunch?' She gave him a "You're Welcome" smile and went back to her part of the roof.

'Strange Morning' she thought and took a sip from her peach flavored Ponta.

Pure Essence: To be continued. I thought I had nothing to write for this chapter. I didn't expect it to come out this long. Lol. Well… I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

(star) He calls Sakuno by her first name when he's thinking. He doesn't need to be so respectful with names when he's thinking right?

Review! Review! Pleaseeeeeeeee?