36 Drabbles

2: Practice

"Dear Prince, let's meet up. Dear prince, we don't need a reason. Dear Prince, try your best. Dear Prince, I love that place!"

Ryuzaki Sakuno's head was ducked down, cheeks burning as she scurried past the trio of singing boys. Her grandmother had found the page where she wrote the lyrics of her song, and Tomoka heard her sing it multiple times. Together, the both of them taught it to the tennis club, and now it unofficially became their theme song. Horio was always singing it, and he sang it especially loud when Sakuno was nearby. Even worse, Katsuo and Kachirou followed his lead and sang with him, the three of them getting others to join in until Sakuno couldn't hear herself think anymore.

Ah, Horio, Katsuo and Kachirou… Two years ago, they would've been called the Freshman Three (since they all seemed to be glued by the hip), but many other names have long since replaced that title ("Double Trouble", and "Four Years"). Kaidoh-senpai and Momo-chan-senpai did a good job in shaping them up for the new captain.

The new captain… Echizen Ryoma. Tennis genius, international professional tennis star, third year at Seishun Gakuen, heartthrob of the school, pillar of Seigaku, and keeper of her heart.

Now the blush staining her cheeks was for a totally different reason. It had been a month since Sakuno first bumped into him; a month since he started eating her lunches. An entire month of just him and her, the roof, and a boxed lunch. So it was a surprise when Ryoma told her to meet him under the sakura tree near the tennis courts for lunch. That area was always crowded with students (Sakuno would know; she ate there with Tomo and the Senior Three in junior year), and Ryoma hated overpopulated places. It was very confusing.

Sakuno's pace hurried as she saw the falling pink petals. A few girls turned to glare at her (being Ryoma's personal chef had downsides), most of them third years and second years, some of them first years. Sakuno ignored them, clutching two bento boxes and finally arriving where Ryoma lay lounging under the sakura tree. (There was a wide berth of space between him and the other students.) A faint blush still painted her cheeks as she lowered herself to sit beside him. People began to whisper as Ryoma sat up, reaching for the second lunch box. He was acting as if they were still on the roof, tossing bits of the onigiri into his mouth. Sakuno just hoped he wouldn't do that.

"Sakuno-chan! RYOMA-SAMA!!"

A wave of relief crashed over Sakuno, and she turned to greet her best friend. Behind the loudmouthed girl were Horio, Katsuo, and Kachirou. Ryoma just gave them all uninterested glances, before going back to his lunch. Tomoka took a seat beside Sakuno, and Horio beside Ryoma. Katsuo and Kachirou filled the remaining spaces, forming a circle. The five of them launched into a loud, boisterous conversation, drowning out the sound of the whispers.

"Horio-baka! You made me drop my bread!" Tomoka screeched, waving the dirt-covered bun in the third years face. Horio, furious she was blaming him for something he obviously didn't do, began to shout back with the reasoning of "I have four years of tennis experience!" Sakuno giggled, finally getting comfortable despite the glares she was getting. She could still feel them boring holes in her back, but the sight her friends made was too distracting to really notice them. That is… until Ryoma entered the picture.

Before, he was much to preoccupied with eating Sakuno's homemade lunch that he took no part in the ridiculous display of idiocy before him. He just nonchalantly sat back, shoving clumps of rice and egg into his mouth to fill his tummy. But soon he found he was done, and finished swallowing before quietly packing away the bento. Not caring, or maybe not noticing the stares he was getting, Ryoma lifted Sakuno's bento away from her, which was currently sitting on her lap, placing it on one side of her. Sakuno blinked, a bright red blush appearing over her cheeks as Ryoma sat down in front of her, interrupting the fight between Horio and Tomoka, and laying his hat-free head on Sakuno's lap, plopping his Fila cap over his face to catch some shut-eye. Sakuno was only able to sit there, frozen as Ryoma napped on the ground using her as a pillow.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno whispered fiercely, feeling the furious waves of emotion from the glaring fangirls. "I-isn't it better to do that when we're alone?" She asked him, hoping he'd get the hint and get off her lap so she wouldn't be mauled to death by crazy fangirls. Ryoma lifted his cap a little, giving her a cocky smirk. He sat up, Sakuno sighing in relief as he did. But then he got really, really close to her. So close, she could feel his breath on her face and see nothing but the gold in his eyes, filled with naught but confidence.

"But that was just practice." He whispered back, just to mock her. Sakuno's eyes grew very wide, and she was a little confused by his statement. He knew, because a cute "huh?" sounded from her pink lips. If possible, Ryoma's cocky smirk became even more cocky and predatory. "Practice, Ryuzaki" he said, emphasizing the 'practice'. "Practice so you won't get all nervous when I use your lap as a pillow for lunch." Though he was explaining it to her, Sakuno still didn't get it.

"But, Ryoma-kun, I don't get nervous if you use my lap as a pillow. It's only… in front of so many people…" She trailed off, biting her bottom lip in the cutest way. Ryoma chuckled, and Sakuno was suddenly nervous at his mischievous expression.

"That's what the practice was for, Ryuzaki." And without another word, Ryoma turned around and laid his head back on her lap, covering his face with his Fila cap and drifting to a light nap. Tomoka, Horio, Katsuo, and Kachirou saw the affect Ryoma's words had on the shy girl. Her entire face was blushing, extending even to her ears. Tomoka tried to give her some water to cool her down, but the girl was unresponsive.

'Practice…Mou, Ryoma-kun!' Sakuno thought, puffing her cheeks out and glaring at the Fila logo on the white cap. She never knew that what he really meant was practice for the future, when he would come home from a long day of training or a big match and lay down on her lap on the couch, relaxing in his her presence and drifting to sleep as she combed her delicate fingers through his messy hair. Practice, for when she became pregnant and during her early months he lay on her lap to put his ear and hands on her stomach, trying to feel a reaction from the baby.

Practice… for the rest of their life together.

A/N And the second chapter is out! It's a little shorter than the first chapter, but these are supposed to be drabbles. Well, two finished, thirty-four more to go!

My inspiration for this chapter was varied. At first, I wanted to do a "kissing practice" theme, but I found that cliched and overused (no offense to anyone who wrote a fic like that!) I wanted to do something different, so I started to think about other things that could be incorporated in the theme "practice". Napping on her lap seemed like a good idea, because I could see Ryoma doing that (he's very cat-like, so he probably naps a lot). The last part about the future kinda came to me as I was trying to find a way to finish it off, lol.

Anyways, please enjoy and tell me what you think!

Snowflake Flower