Disclaimer: I wish I own the characters of the Prince of Tennis

Ryoma stayed silent as he let Sae cry in his arms. His hand moved to stroke her hair, however, he became aware of what his hand was about to do and stopped his hand in the mid-air. Slowly, he felt her body stopped from trembling and her breathing returned to normal again.

"Thank you very much for saving me. I owe you big time," Sae said as she slowly pulled away from Ryoma. Traces of tears are still fresh on her cheeks but she smiled as she looked at him.

Ryoma found her smile a bit forced but he did not say anything.

"I'm sorry. I got your jacket all wet," the girl's eyes turned to Ryoma's jacket.

"It's fine," Ryoma said without looking at his jacket, "can you stand?"

"I think so," Sae said as she tried to get on her feet. However, her knees felt that they have no energy at all and it thrown her off balance. She closed her eyes tightly as she took the fall but two arms caught her instantly. When she looked up, two golden orbs were staring back at her. Their faces were close- too close- that they can feel each other's breath.

"Ryoma...?"

Ryoma realized their proximity when he heard her call his name. He felt his heart pounding hard and his cheeks getting hot. He knew he was blushing already so he averted his gaze to hide the flush on his face.

Ryoma helped Sae to stand, afterwards, he knelt, his back facing the girl.

"Get on my back." Ryoma's words sounded more like a command.

"Eh? But I-"

"Just get on already."

Sae did not want to bother Ryoma any further but the tone of his voice leave no room for arguments. Sae kept silent and climb on Ryoma's back.

The atmosphere between them became awkwardly silent as Ryoma continue to walk them home.

"I'm sorry. I've caused you problem again." Sae said trying to break the silence.

"You apologize too much." Ryoma sounded calm but the truth is his heart is beating really fast.

"Ryoma, can I ask you a favor?"

"Hn."

"Please don't tell Aunt Rinko and Uncle Nanjiroh about what happened. I don't want them to worry about me any more than they already are. Can you do that for me?"

Ryoma nodded. Even if she did not ask, he was not planning on telling it to his parents anyway.

"Thank you," Sae spoke as she rested her head on Ryoma's back. Ryoma's back felt comfortably warm against the cold night breeze.

Since the victory of Seigaku against Fudomine during the finals of the district tournament, a number of reporters and students from other schools have been visiting the Seigaku tennis court. Even the team's fan girls inside the school increased.

Sae and Ryoma arrived in school together earlier than usual. The two of them being together already became a common sight in school every morning. Unknown to them, several students turned their direction every time they passed by.

"What's the matter?" Ryoma asked when he noticed Sae just staring the inside of her opened shoe locker.

"Um, nothing," Sae immediately closed the locker.

Ryoma looked at her suspisciously. There is something odd at her reaction. Ryoma walked closer to her.

"Let me see," Ryoma grabbed the locker door but Sae tried to stop him.

"What are you doing?"

"You're not a good liar," Ryoma said without taking his hand from the handle. He opened the shoe locker despite the girl's protest.

Ryoma's eyebrows furrowed at what he saw. Inside are the girl's inside shoes full of soil and dirt. A worm even poked out from the left shoe. Ryoma slammed the door close.

"Is this this the first time something like this happened?"

Sae nodded. She caused Ryoma trouble again by worrying him. She shut her eyes when Ryoma turned to her, waiting for him to get angry but... a hand gently patted her head.

"We'll find out who did this. For now, let's find you a spare pair of shoes." She looked at him in surprise. His expression seemed a little softer than usual… or maybe it's just her imagination.

"Thank you but I don't want to bother you any further. I can take care of myself."

"You're not a bother," Ryoma's look straight at her. "Just wait right here."

As Sae waited for Ryoma to return, she looked at her locker once again. She noticed a paper under the shoes. She read it several times as if trying to absorb what is written on it. When she felt footsteps coming towards her, she immediately hid the note on her pocket. The footsteps belonged to Ryoma who arrived holding a pair of shoes in his hand.

Throughout practice, Sae has been preoccupied. She kept staring into space and was caught sighing several times by a certain someone..

"Sae."

The girl was startled when she heard a familiar voice calling her. She dropped the papers she was holding and they scattered on the ground. She immediately picked them one by one.

"C-captain Tezuka, what can I help you with?" Sae asked as she arranged the papers in her hands. Tezuka handed her several other sheets which he picked up to help.

"I need to talk to you."

Tezuka started walking without waiting for her reply. Sae followed him obediently.

When Tezuka was sure that no curious ears could hear them, he stopped and faced the girl behind him.

"What's bothering you? You kept spacing out during practice."

Sae was surprised at Tezuka's inquiry. Was she that obvious? She did not know how to respond to his question. Although she knew the answer, she hesitated if she should tell him.

"I'm sorry captain. It won't happen again." Sae bowed her head.

"I'm not angry and you don't need to apologize." the girl lifted her head. "As your captain, I need to look out for you- for everyone in the team. You could tell me anything especially if this will affect your performance."

Tezuk waited for her reply. However, the girl stayed silent as she fidgeted in front of him.

"I will not force you-"

"I-"

Tezuka's words were cut off before he can finish his sentence. Sae sighed before she continued.

"This morning, I found out that someone messed with my shoes. That someone left behind a note," Sae pulled the note from her pocket and showed it to him:

If you don't want yourself to get hurt, stay away from the boy's tennis club.

Tezuka reached for the paper and examined it. His reaction remained the same but he is feeling furious inside. He crumpled the paper in his hand.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"Ryoma knew about the shoes but he doesn't know about the note."

Tezuka was surprised at her words but it did not show on his face. Somehow, something stirred inside him knowing that she trusted him a little bit more.

"Don't worry yourself over this matter. I will make sure that nothing will happen to you."

Sae nodded as a response.

"Thank you very much. I'm sorry to have worried you captain. I will try my best not to let it get into me," Sae smiled softly at Tezuka.

Tezuka felt that he cannot look at her directly in her eyes after he saw her smile. He averted his gaze before he spoke, "get back to practice."

"Yes captain," Sae ran back to the tennis court.

Tezuka's eyes followed Sae as she disappeared in a corner. As he found himself alone, he rubbed his temples as he thought back to their conversation a moment ago. He may have concern himself more than he should. However, he did say that he needed to look out for everyone in the team and that includes her. It's a good thing that she opened up to him, but to think that someone posed a threat on her to force her out of the team.

"Who would do such a thing and why?" Tezuka thought as he reread the crumpled paper in his hand.

Fuji became worried when he saw Sae following Tezuka somewhere. He tried to shrug it off but his anxiety won him over. He skipped practice and looked for the two.

When he heard Sae's voice he stopped. From the girl's explanation, he learned what happened this morning and the reason of her unusual behavior. When he heard Sae coming to his direction, he panicked and looked for a place to hide.

"Fuji-sempai?" Sae looked at Fuji in surprise, "how long have you been in here?"

"Not too long," Fuji flashed his usual smile. "I heard, Inui was looking for you."

"I see. Thank you."

Sae found it strange to bump into Fuji there of all places but she immediately erased the idea.

That's all… for now

(=^.^=)