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

The stranger received a punch on his face making him fall to the floor. He was pulled from the floor and was pushed down on the teacher's table.

"Captain!"

"T-Tezuka-san… what are you doing here?" the guy answered in a quivering voice. Tezuka held Satoshi's arm behind on his back.

"It is I who should be asking that question, Satoshi!"

"W-we…I-I was just…" the guy named Satoshi struggled to find the words to say. Tezuka pulled his arms further making him flinch in pain.

"Are you alright?" the stoic captain's voice softened as he turned to the girl who seemed to have just recovered from shock.

Sae simply nodded as a response but her expression says otherwise.

"Did he do something to you?"

"That guy… he said he is the person behind the note found in my shoe locker."

Tezuka glared at Satoshi after hearing Sae. He became furious and wanted to punch the guy again hard on the face. His grip on Satoshi's arm tightened making the guy wailed in pain. However, a gentle hand stopped Tezuka.

"Captain," Sae looked at Tezuka with serious eyes, "just let him go."

Tezuka was surprised at her request.

"Are you sure?"

Sae remained silent for a moment before she nodded.

Though hesitant, Tezuka released Satoshi's arm. The latter frantically ran out of the room.

In Tezuka's mind, he wanted to make the guy pay from hurting his junior moreover his member.

"Don't worry Captain," Sae gave him an assuring smiled as if reading what he was thinking, "I don't plan to let him off the hook that easily."

Ryoma saw a third year leave their classroom. The guy ran to his direction with a frightened face. Ryoma felt his chest tightened as he remembered a certain girl that could still be inside that room. Unconsciously, his strides suddenly became bigger and faster.

However, he was surprised at what he saw from the open door.

"It's a good thing that nothing happened to you," Tezuka breathed a sigh of relief as he held Sae's small body in his arms. His mind almost went blank when he saw Sae's expression as she was being assaulted by some guy.

"I'm sorry if I caused you to worry about me, Captain," Sae said in a sad tone but was replaced by a cheerful voice as she continued, "but I'm fine now. You don't have to worry anymore." Sae said as she was being held close by their captain.

"No," Tezuka said in a firm voice, "just let me worry." Tezuka cupped her face in his hands, "it is my duty to worry about you."

Sae's heart skipped a beat at Tezuka's words.

"He's just worried for her as the team's captain… right? Stop thinking too much." Sae tried to convince herself as she continued to stare deep in his eyes.

"Um, i-it's getting late," Sae averted her gaze, "I-I should go now. I shouldn't let Ryoma wai-"

"Echizen?"

Sae thought that Tezuka was referring to her but she saw that the captain was looking on the other direction as he mentioned the name. She followed his gaze and saw a person standing at the door.

"Ryoma! How long have you been standing there?" Sae said as she ran to Ryoma.

As if he was called back to earth, Ryoma's expression looked like he just found out something he shouldn't have. Ryoma's eyes traveled to Tezuka's but the captain's expression remained the same.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sae shook Ryoma's shoulder.

"I've been waiting for ages. Is that the book?" Ryoma's eyes was fixed on the book on Sae's arm.

"Sorry it took too long. Let's go," Sae turned to Tezuka, "thank you very much captain. See you tomorrow." Sae turned to leave and walked ahead of Ryoma.

Ryoma took a glance at Tezuka before he followed the girl. But then, he stopped when he saw something drop on the floor. It was an old photo of a girl and a boy standing side by side. Ryoma kept staring at the boy in the picture since the boy looked strangely familiar.

"Ryoma! What are you doing?" Sae called to him in a distance.

Ryoma immediately hid the picture in his pocket and followed Sae.

Tezuka saw the two walked out of the school gate. He did not understand why he acted the way he did earlier. In normal situations, he handled problems calmly and analyzed them carefully but what happened earlier was the reverse. He let his emotion affect his action. Is it because she was involved? No, it cannot be. She is just his junior and nothing more.

"Nanako-nee-san, do you know why Sae is staying here with us?" Ryoma asked out of the blue when he found Nanako alone in the kitchen that night.

"Sae? Hmm, let's see," Nanako looked at the ceiling and thought for a moment, "I think she got a problem from her previous home."

"Problem?"

"Yes. From what I heard, Sae used to live alone. But a burglar got in their house and almost hurt her. For her safety, her father decided to let her stay with us."

"Where is her father?"

"He is working abroad."

"And her mom?"

"Her mom died a few years ago."

Ryoma remained silent. He did not know that she had it rough.

"She is a strong-willed girl, don't you think?" Nanako turned to Ryoma, "why do you suddenly become interested in her anyway?"

"None of your business."

Nanako smiled seeing how Ryoma became deep in thought after their conversation.

Sae could not sleep that night. An event from the past kept her awake as she recalled it from that afternoon's incident.

Flashback

Sae just came home from school one afternoon.

"I'm home," the girl greeted.

She already knew that no one else is home but it became a habit of hers to utter a greeting after coming home from school. Ever since her mom died three years ago, she has been living on her own in their what they used to call home. Her father persuaded her several times to go with him in America but she always turn down the offer.

Her parents divorced when she was six years old. It was never clear to her the reason of their separation but every time she asked, both her parents would always find a way to dodge the question. Eventually, she gave up the idea but as far as she knows, they remained good friends and not one of them remarried since then.

She used to live with her mom, though she visits her dad, who works in America, whenever she got a chance.

That day, she came home later than usual because of the student council meeting where she has been a member since the start of the school year. However, even before she could take her shoes off, a hand covered her mouth and something cold touched her neck.

"Hey girly, don't scream if you don't want this knife cut your pretty neck," a man wearing a black mask whispered in her ear. Sae nodded while she was still held by the man.

The mask man signaled his accomplice to enter the house. Sae watched as the other man opened every drawer he could find and when he saw something that caught his interest, he would empty it in his sack. On the other hand, the man holding her was busily tying her in a corner. He placed a tape on her mouth to prevent her from speaking but his hand suddenly stopped as he had a good look at her face. He placed his hand under her chin and moved her face, studying her.

"Hn? You're not bad. Not bad at all."

The man's piercing gaze sent shivers down her spine. She turned her face away to remove his fingers from her chin.

"Hey, why don't you stop flirting and help me instead," the man's companion called out to him.

"I get it," the guy in the black mask answered lamely. But before he walked away, he shot Sae a nasty look from her face to her chest down to her thighs and legs. "You don't know how you make me feel just by glaring at me like that," the man laughed.

It only took a few minutes for the burglars to get the valuables they wanted. From the way they move, it was obvious that they are skilled in what they do. They were about to leave when the man wearing the black mask carried Sae on his shoulder. No matter how much she struggle, the man's held at her remain.

"What are you doing!?" his partner asked in an annoyed tone.

"Relax. I'll just play with this cutie a bit."

"We cannot bring her with us!"

"Oh, just this once."

The other man's eyes narrowed but eventually sighed in defeat.

"Do what you want."

Sae became afraid for her own life. She knew what the man was planning.

"Freeze!" a cop was standing at the door when the two burglars was about to leave.

Luckily, the neighbor happened to passed by and saw from the window the suspicious actions of the two men.

End of flashback

That's all… for now.

(=^.^=)

To LeoniaOtaku: Thanks for liking this story. Though I do think I still have a long way to go in writing, hearing praise from someone makes me happy. Also, sorry if the chapter did not go the way you wanted but I still hope you like it.