Painting Your Colors

Pairing: Tezuka X Sakuno

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Prince of Tennis

"…" speaking/conversation

'…' thoughts

oOo time pass

---- Perspective change

Author's Note: Well, here is the fourth chapter. Enjoy d.Just a note..but I won't be updating very soon because I'm going on to Philadelphia for the next few days. Hope you guys understand. I'll try to update the fifth one ASAP.

Chapter Four

The luminescent of day was peaking up behind the sea's horizon line of the eastern hemisphere, shedding its early crimson colors into the clouds. And the sun's rays were sneaking through the diaphanous curtains of the Ryuzaki's residence, setting life to a new day for Sakuno. Albeit it was still very early in the morning, the household was already bustling and hectic.

"Sakuno! Are you ready?!" came a deep feminine voice in the distance.

"Ah! Almost Obaa-san!"

"You better hurry up or you're going to be late for school!"

"hai hai!!!" Sakuno replied with panic marring her voice.

Sakuno glanced at the clock: 7:44 a.m. It gave her exactly 16 minutes. She ran out of her bedroom with a beige backpack messily slung over her frail shoulders while simultaneously, she adeptly braided her auburn hair, which stretched a little below her waistline. Her grandmother greeted her at the front door, handing out her toast for breakfast and money for lunch.

"Arigato Obaa-san! Don't forget to eat your vitamins!! Iteki masu (1)!" Sakuno called out as she rushed out the door. Ryuzaki Sumire chuckled and shook her head as she saw her granddaughter's back getting further away. She closed the door and went to the kitchen to take her vitamins that she detested.

oOo

Despite the fact that Sakuno ran here with all the energy that she could muster, she still arrived to school late. So when she stood before the front entrance, she had to deal with the wrath of the notorious Hattori Sensei. As Sakuno heard the old teacher lecture her, she bowed her head and shut her eyes tightly. She really didn't have the heart to hear such harsh words spat at her early in the day. She heard the bell ring which meant that homeroom was over and first period was starting. She had art, her favorite subject, first period. Her day was already going down the drain.

"Hattori Sensei."

Sakuno almost spontaneously shot her head up when she heard a familiar baritone voice. She turned her head to register the face, but instantly sunk her head even lower, nuzzling her chin into her chest when she came in full contact with the piercing gaze of Tezuka. She felt heat rise up in humiliation. She really didn't want him or anyone to see her being scolded like this.

"Ah Tezuka" Hattori Sensei said with a welcoming gesture to the student council president. It was obvious that the teacher favored him.

"Sensei. May I talk to Ryuzaki for a moment?"

"Umm…okay. Just wait," he said as he focused his attention to Sakuno again. "Ryuzaki, you got lucky. Just be glad that I didn't go hard on you because you're rarely late. But be sure that you aren't tardy…Hey! Come back here!" Hattori Sensei let her go and continued his castigations to the other students that was in the same situation as Sakuno was just in.

Sakuno was relieved but confused. There shouldn't be a reason for Tezuka Senpai to call for her individually. She questioningly looked up at him to find an answer but only saw his back getting further away. She hastily moved her feet to catch up to him. He then suddenly stopped and turned to face her, which caught Sakuno by surprise and made her bump into him. Instantly, a fierce cooling water smell carried itself into Sakuno's nose. It was a very charismatic smell, imprinting placid but strong images and colors into her mind. She almost fell into a daze, but caught herself. She managed to become composed and finally called out his name.

"Tezuka Senpai?" she questioned with a barely audible voice.

"Ah"

"anou..what did you need to tell me?"

Tezuka gazed down at her and suddenly began to fish through his uniform pant's pocket. Sakuno studied his action with confusion. He finally seemed to have found what he was looking for because he took his hands out and stretched it towards her. Sakuno's head fell to the side in question. She was caught off guard and didn't know how to respond to his action.

"umm. Tezkua Senpai. What is it?"

He then opened his hand and allowing her to see the object. It was a plain black hair tie. She didn't know what he wanted her to do with it.

"It's yours." Tezuka tersely explained. He didn't bother to say anything further. He just forced the hair tie into her petite hands and walked off.

A crease folded in-between her eyebrows. She was about to call him to ask how he had it but she heard the second bell ring. She immediately changed her mind and sprinted to her class.

oOo

When Sakuno arrived, her art teacher, Nanase Sensei, just seemed to have finished an announcement. Everyone gave her a quick glance, but didn't say anything.

"Gomen Nasai (2), Nanase Sensei for being late" Sakuno bowed apologetically.

"Sakuno. Glad that you can join. Class, now go and make art. Sakuno, can you come to my desk after you get set up? I need to discuss with you about something."

Sakuno agreed and she went to her desk to put her stuff down. When she sat down, she was greeted by a rather sharp effeminate voice.

"Sakuno!!! Why were you late??!"

It was Tomoka. Sakuno smiled and briefly explained what happened without adding the detail with Tezuka Senpai. She didn't want her friend to make more of a ruckus.

"Really??? Then I guess you didn't make a bento for lunch today! Darn it!! I was looking forward to it!"

Sakuno chuckled at this comment. Tomo-chan was always spurting out random things.

"I promise I'll bring one tomorrow, Tomo-chan. I need to go to talk to Nanase Sensei. I'll talk to you later."

"Yipeee! Hai. Ja ne!"

Sakuno waved at her friend and walked up the teacher's desk, which was situated at the corner. Her sensei seemed to be in a deep thought. Sakuno hesitantly called out to get her attention.

"Sensei"

"Oh! Sakuno. Please sit down." Nanase Sensei gave a frank smile and pulled up a chair next to her desk. Sakuno willingly sat. Nanase Sensei was Sakuno's favorite teacher. She was renowned for being the most affable and passionate teacher in the school. She always treated her student well and always tried to understand them first before judging them.

"Sakuno. I just got an e-mail notifying me about a Juried Art Exhibition. They are allowing me to pick one student and I would like for you to be the one. I know you don't like entering into competitions, but your talent is far too outstanding and proficient to just waste as a hobby."

Sakuno shifted in her seat. She always felt uncomfortable with these kinds of topic. She hated entering into competitions for unknown reasons. She just didn't want art to become a factor of stress especially when Sakuno actually used art for outlet. She didn't want to be pressured plus she didn't want to seem boastful. Sakuno occasionally received acerbic comments from the older groups saying that she was a show-off. It was true that Sakuno did enter few competitions and won several awards, but it was only because of her teacher's strong exhortations. Sakuno always yielded when her teacher approached sedulously, hoping that Nanase Sensei would let her free next time. It never happened.

"Demo (3) Sensei. I don't know Sensei. I'm busy and…"

"Sakuno. This is not just a regular competition. It is neither regional nor national. It's international. And if you win, it's guaranteed that you will get flocks of scholarship and scouts. I know that you feel uncomfortable but I want you to enter for a reason. I have seen so many students with magnificent style, but none that expressed such depth in the canvas as you do. Just dwell on it for a bit. There is an entrance fee, but I'll try to convince the principle to compensate. I don't have much detail but I'll update you on after I research. I heard, though, that this year's exhibition is going to be held at Sydney, Australia. The school will be sponsoring you with the ticket fee and you don't need to worry about missing school days. It's during summer vacation."

Sakuno's eyes widened with surprise for a second. Sydney…A memory flashed into her head that made her wince. It was a memory that consistently haunted and tortured her throughout her sleep.

"Sakuno? Are you okay? You just turned pale." Nanase Sensei asked with concern. She reached out to feel Sakuno's head to check for a fever.

"Hai Sensei. Gomen. I'm fine. Just a minor headache." Sakuno gave a candid smile and assured her. At this, Nanase Sensei removed her hand and sighed with relief.

"Oka.."

"Ding!" The bell for second period cut her off.

"Oh my! Already second period! Too short, too short! Anyways, just think about it, Sakuno and inform me right away when you make up your mind. Oh yeah! The theme is colors. Very broad but difficult. If you plan to enter, then think about your composition to depict the theme. Anyways, hurry up before you're late to second period also."

"Hai Sensei. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Sakuno gave a polite bow, packed her stuff and stepped out to the corridors of the school. Her eyes reflected sudden determination. She already knew her answer. She was going to enter. Sydney… It was the place where her parents and she went for summer vacation almost 8 years ago. It is the last happy memory she has of them before they passed away by a car accident on the way home from the airport. It was the place she had wanted to visit for the past 8 years. This was her chance. She would start searching for her idea starting from now.

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"20 Laps around the court for warm-up now!" Tezuka barked. It was after-school meaning tennis was just starting. Despite the ruthless rain yesterday, the weather today was perfect for sports. It wasn't cruelly hot or intensely cold. The temperature was moderately cool and the sky was devoid of clouds. He folded his arms as he watched his teammates growl under their breath but still were running the 20 laps he commanded.

"Sakuno!!! What are you doing? You're not going home?"

Tezuka heard a familiar voice in the distance. The voice was rather aggravating and annoying and he would've ignored it without a second thought, but for some reason, it captured his attention.

"Ah! Iie (4) Tomo-chan! I have to do something right now"

Tezuka recognized this voice also. It belonged to Ryuzaki Sakuno, the girl who caused much of an inconvenience last night and this morning. His eyebrows came closer together when the memory of last night, after he arrived home, replayed in his head.

Flashback

Tezuka was changing out of his slightly wet uniform when something fell onto the wooden floor. He examined it and discovered it to be girl's hair tie. He was a tad confused as to where and how he had this under his possession until a familiar lavender scent traveled up his nose.

'It belongs to Ryuzaki Sensei's granddaughter'

It must have fallen out into his uniform blazer while he was carrying her. Tezuka felt quite annoyed at this point and was about to throw it away when the girl's face flashed in his head for about a millisecond. He was taken aback at this. He stared at the plain hair tie again and changed his mind. He didn't know what held him back, but he decided to give it to her the next time he saw her.

End of Flashback

"Sakuno! You're so busy, never having time for me!!! We haven't hung out for the longest time ever" The girl named Tomo-chan was wailing. It aggravated Tezuka's eardrums a bit.

"Gomen Gomen. I promise we'll hang out tomorrow. It's something really important that I need to do."

"pshh! Fine! But you need to promise"

"Promise"

"Okay, Sakuno. See you tomorrow in school!"

"Ja ne Tomo-chan."

The girl with the agitating voice seemed to have gone home. He averted his attention to the girl with the long pigtails, but making sure that nobody was noticing that he was. She stood at the front gate of the school, probably looking out for her friend. Suddenly, she turned around and ran off somewhere. It seemed as if she was in a hurry.

"Buchou!"

People were finishing their laps. Tezuka immediately tore his gaze off of the girl that was diminishing in size as she was getting further away. He couldn't understand why he had paid such specific attention to her. He usually didn't associate with unnecessary things. But he didn't dwell on the thought too long as the rest of the people lined up in front of him.

oOo

The sun was now burning itself up furiously behind the horizon line, as it was biding its goodbye. The world around Tezuka Kunimitsu was streaked in intense hues of dark red overpowered by the falling of the sapphire night. Again, Tezuka was the last person to leave the courts. Practice ended a while ago, but he needed to discuss with the coach about few matters concerning the team and finish up on few student council works, so he sent away his friends who said they would wait.

Tezuka took long strides as he walked toward the back entrance of the school. It was a shorter route to his house if he used the back door rather than the front. He gave the building one last look for any lights and was satisfied when he didn't find any. He hated this part of being the student council president. He was content enough for holding such prestigious place in school but it ensued with obligations he had to execute such as making sure everything was in correct order. He was just about to exit the door when he heard a bustling in the school garden. He hesitated for a second but continued to make his way home. He wanted to overlook it for a rabbit but couldn't when he heard a whine. He definitely couldn't ignore it. With annoyance, he quickened his pace to find the origin of the sound. This was the second day in a row that something impeded him from going straight home and rest after an arduous day. He hated obligations.

Tezuka saw a feminine figure on the garden bench with her head facing the sky. She was sighing as if she was desperate and a small whine escaped her lips. He assumed that she was frustrated but wasn't sure because it was too dark to make out her facial feature. He approached closer and when he finally did recognize the owner of the body, he arched his eyebrow in complete annoyance. It was Ryuzaki Sakuno…again.

"Ryuzaki?" He called out without hesitation this time. But she didn't reply. Her eyes didn't detach from the darkening sky. 'Is this some kind of trick?' he thought.

"Ryuzaki." His voice was more stern and constrained. It was also a notch louder to get her attention that was now fixated to something outside of reality.

"…Tezuka Senpai?"

Again, the same voice and the same reaction he heard yesterday.

"Ryuzaki. School is closing. You should get going."

"Ah hai! Gomen Senpai for causing you trouble again. Honto ni Gomen Nasai!"

The girl hastily got up from the wooden bench and bowed her head several times, allowing her braids to fly all over the place. Tezuka didn't answer to this but just waited until she finished collected her belongings and walked forward.

When she got near Tezuka, he turned back to continue his way home. But he stopped once again when he didn't hear footsteps following his own trail. He faced Ryuzaki Sakuno who, for some odd reason, halted. He pierced into her eyes and found it to be glistening with something…fascination?...discovery?

"Why ar…"

"Tezuka Senpai! Will you be my model?"

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Author's Note: Hope you liked the fourth one. Some people were complaining that last chapter had no purpose so I tried to add a chapter that was..I guess..more progressive? But I don't really know how that went T-T...Thanks for the review people. I appreciate it! It really is encouraging...I really hope you guys like how the story is going because to tell you the truth, I'm making the story up along the ways, so I don't even really know how it's going. Hope it wasn't too long!!! And I promise that there will be more of an interaction between Tezuka and Sakuno in the next chapter..If you guys hate the chapter..please tell me in a nice way because then, I will try to fix it if I have the time.

(1) Iteki masu-Don't really know how to explain it. Something said when leaving your own house

(2) Gomen Nasai/ Gomen-Sorry

(3) Demo-But

(4) Iie-No/It's okay