­Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimers Applied

Warning: (This was supposed to be on the first chapter) Sakuno's stronger personality is extensive.

A/N: Hey! So I finally had the chance to update. It was pretty difficult since I didn't know what the story looks like but thank God one of my readers gave me an idea and miraculously, I could already picture out the scenes. So thank you very much for all your reviews and ideas. Before anything else, may I please remind the readers that this is an Alternate Universe. Happy reading.

Thanks to: Akemi-chan for editing.

--

You've got a job to do, and because you've got a job to do, you've got to focus on that, so you don't have time for personal considerations.

~Dick Cheney

--

Recap

"I was really beginning to think that you're his baby junior," she joked and felt herself starting to relax.

The boy gave him an indecipherable look and replied, "What if I say I am?"

For some odd reasons, she could feel tears slipping from her eyes.

End of Recap

0.0

Chapter 2: Professionalism

The thought kept pestering her to no end. So, Echizen Ryoma already had his wife and an uber cute and handsome junior. She didn't care. She didn't give a damn whether she was nothing but a babysitter or a… child-sitter. She would do her job professionally since she badly needed it for college.

She sighed as she stared at her new room. This would be her home given that she was expected to take care of the young master twenty-four/seven. That only meant that there would be a higher percentage she would get to meet her prince (or someone else's, correct?), thus, giving her higher percentage to meet his wife with all her beauty and glory.

She was surer that Mrs. Echizen would be one with attractive and beautiful black eyes, long and flawless legs, and she must have attained the vital statistics of Barbie herself. And who was she to compare? A detestable creature with graceless feet and a flat chest.

Another big sigh escaped her lips.

As she started to unpack her things, her private time was suddenly interrupted when the door of her room suddenly opened. She spun around to confront who the intruder was but was surprised to see Ryoma- the junior, at least.

"Oh," she could only mutter, stunned to see her guest. "Do you need me for anything?"

"Just paying a visit," he replied as he sat on the bed adjacent to her.

Sakuno couldn't help but smile, for a nine-year-old; he sure was odd. "Do you want me to read you a book?" she offered.

"No," he said absentmindedly as he stared at the patterned walls of the room.

"Okay," she answered and begun to sort her things out yet again. "Uhm…," Sakuno continued though hesitantly. "How's your father doing?"

His eyes were bored and distant as he spoke, "Hn?"

"I mean, it's been a long time since I've…spoken to him. So I guess—"

Her words were cut when he suddenly lie on the bed, his right arm placed to cover his eyes from the fluorescence, "You do like him a lot, ne?"

"It's not like that," Sakuno said defensively. She shouldn't have asked.

"What is it then?" he asked with obvious suspicion.

Her brows creased, Just why did he suddenly have to be so pushy? "Forget it," she said surrendering.

"He's fine," he shrugged. "He's in…London."

"London?" Sakuno queried; confusion and curiosity evident in her tone.

"Yea… press conferences and endorsements," she didn't know, but was it his voice that shook just a while?

"Hm…but according to the news he's in Australia, anyway, it's good to know that he's doing well."

She just knew he was lying.

"Yea," he said as he stood up. "Be early tomorrow, you need to prepare my breakfast and…come with me to school."

"Eh?"

Before she could have complained, he was already out of sight. Weird. She knew it was her job to take care of him, but Kyoko-sensei never mentioned anything with regards to school. Perhaps she forgot? But it was summer that roughly translated there were no classes. And as far as his attitude was concerned, he rather be independent than burden himself with a chaperone.

She sighed, tomorrow was a blur. But then she realized there wasn't much to be agitated about. All she had to do was her job and then she would get her wage for college. No biggie. She smiled and the next thing she knew it was morning.

0.0

The next day wasn't very difficult. She just needed to get up early and wake Ryoma, serve him his breakfast and wait 'til he was finished. That was what the things she was ordered to do. The child was kind enough to let her sit and eat with him. He was, she wondered why, unusually very kind that day. Her impression was pretty much wrong she realized. He wasn't as cocky as she thought after all.

Ryoma, she noted, was still child at heart. She could see that as much as how mature he viewed himself or tried to be, there was still the fact that he was childish. He loves to pout and make faces, she noticed, though she barely caught him. And most of all, he was fond of lying.

She didn't find it hard to deal with him and he wasn't one to order things around. Ryoma loved being independent. She was curious over the reason as to why his parents even bothered getting him a babysitter. That was, she realized when she found herself being useless.

"Ne, nee-chan."

Sakuno spun around to see the junior leaning on the doorframe of her room, "Can you please knock?" Odd, she perceived, the way he addressed her. "And what did you just call me?"

"The door is open," he said, disregarding the maiden's last question, as he walked across the room. "And you promised me you'll come to school today."

"I did?" she asked, rummaging her brain but couldn't recall anything.

He sighed, "Make yourself useful, you aren't doing anything here at all."

She couldn't help but gape; this child sure had the most abnormal mood swings. He's a kid Sakuno. You're mature…maturity…professionalism.

"I need a favor," he added now gently, almost a whisper.

Her brows rose exaggeratingly, "And that's how you ask your elders for favors?"

He huffed as he rolled his eyes, "Please?" he replied sarcastically.

She couldn't help but laugh at his sudden cockiness, "All right, what is it then?"

And this was when she found the word 'professionalism' truly irritating and pretty difficult to handle. Be my girlfriend. A nine-year-old kid just asked her to formally be his girlfriend. The funny thing was…she said 'yes'. She couldn't fathom how on earth their conversation led to such but since he had a good point of making her understand she would be getting her money for college effortlessly, in which she found herself very guilty, she said the horrid words of approval carelessly without so much of a second thought. She couldn't believe how she put herself in a foolish situation.

"Wait a minute, yo-you're serious?"

"Yes," he said confidently with his annoyingly adorable smirk.

"Have you even computed for the age gap?" she replied unbelievingly, her pitch getting higher if possible.

He eyed her seriously, inclining forward so that their faces were just inches apart, "As old saying goes, 'age doesn't matter,' " he spoke surprising her further when he gave her a quick peck on her cheeks, causing her to blush furiously. "We're here," he said, amused, and opened the door of the car, leaving the dazzled Sakuno behind.

She tried not to fall flat; the child sure knew how to flirt exceptionally. "Wait, I mean," Sakuno staggered, following his lead. "Th-This relationship you're talking about couldn't get any serious," she couldn't help but wince at the thought. "…Doesn't it?"

He glanced behind and smirked yet again, "What do you think?"

"Oh please, Ryoma-sama," she said incredulously. "What do you need a girlfriend for?"

"To keep me away from nagging fan girls," he said nonchalantly.

Like father like son?

So the kindness that he showed earlier was a mere cover up for the stupid plan he had right now. "But you see, there are a great deal of beautiful girls out there, younger than me and who suits you," she stated more importantly.

"Ryoma-kun!" just in time did a long brown-haired child interrupted their exchange.

He shrugged and looked at the girl approaching them as if she was the most tiring thing he had ever seen, "See?"

"But I think she's cute," Sakuno commented as she waved at the child moving towards them affably.

The little girl stopped when she reached them and move closer cautiously towards Ryoma to whisper, "Who is she?" she asked confused of the older woman's sudden appearance.

"Meet my girlfriend," he introduced proudly that caused Sakuno to cringe. "Her name is Ryuuzaki Sakuno," he added and grabbed his girlfriend's hand.

The girl was taken aback and she sure looked dejected, "H-Hi," she said almost inaudibly. "I am…Tsukade Kaiya, it's a pleasure to meet Ryoma-kun's… girlfriend."

She forced a smile from her words only to be shattered by Ryoma's response, "You shouldn't call me by my first name in front of her."

Kaiya blushed, humiliated and muttered the words of apology then left before Sakuno could have interfered. Ryoma was indeed harsh towards the poor girl. She couldn't grasp how did he come to hate her but as a responsible 'nee-chan' and a very professional babysitter, she thought she should do something about it and help Kaiya.

"Echizen Ryoma," she called and was rather ready to lecture him.

"Hn?"

She put a hand on her hip to show how serious she was, "What you did is very kind," she said sardonically.

"I know," he replied and tugged Sakuno's other hand to lead her through the halls of the school.

"What did you do that for?" she asked, pretty much irritated about the fact that it didn't seem to be a big deal that Ryoma had hurt his friend, or so she thought to be his friend.

"I'm nine, and I'm not interested about what she wants us to be," so irrefutably Kaiya did like him.

Sakuno grimaced, "But you should at least treat her well."

"I don't have time," he answered irrelevantly.

"And yet you have the time to offend her," Sakuno retorted, her forehead creasing deeper.

"Why are you so upset about it?"

"Don't you know that—" the onset of her supposed-to-be-long-sermon was cut in mid sentence when he opened one of the random doors inside the corridor.

He turned to look at her, "I'll be attending class," he spoke. "You can walk around the school grounds, just make sure you won't get lost," and before she could have replied, the door was already shut close.

Sakuno frowned. She knew she was just a babysitter but couldn't the child be a little bit more respectful? And she wondered why she was brought there in the first place. She would rather help Kyoko-sensei with household chores than be a girlfriend of a nine-year-old child and afterwards being insulted and ordered to walk aimlessly around a school.

She sighed; maybe she picked the wrong job. She thought what she was doing right now was not worth the payment. Though a lot might be against the idea, she still wanted to deserve the wage she would be getting even if her job was just babysitting.

As she took her stroll, she found Kaiya sitting on one of the isolated benches near a cherry blossom tree. Now this was her chance, she would blurt that brat's secret about his 'keep-me-away-from-other-girls' plan. She stopped, how about professionalism? She shook her head; she wouldn't let poor Kaiya suffer just because of Ryoma's selfish reason about not having the time to understand her situation.

"Kaiya-chan!" she called. If she wanted to be friendly might as well call the girl with her first name.

Kaiya's head turned and spotted the beckoning Sakuno, the latter was surprised by the girl's curt nod and disregarding her presence after. Perhaps she was still disturbed about their earlier encounter. With all her courage, she dragged herself toward the little girl and sat across her.

"Hey," she smiled when she saw a tennis bag perched atop the table adjacent Kaiya's elbow. "You play tennis?" she inquired.

"Yes," she replied shortly and sighed, her face down as if she had the biggest problem in the whole world.

Unrequited love, in the words of Echizen Ryoma junior. "What are you guys doing here during summer?" she continued.

"Classes," another depressed sigh escape the child's lips. Obviously.

Sakuno puckered her brows, this was tougher than she thought it was, but she still had to try, "Aren't you supposed to be in your class with…the others?"

"My classes are earlier than theirs," Kaiya said and started to grab her things attempting to leave.

"Wait," the little girl's escape was seized when Sakuno clutch her arm. "Okay, I'm getting this straight. Please don't tell Ryoma about anything, all right?"

"Let's hear it," she said sternly her hands placing in front of her, acting businesslike.

"Ryoma and I aren't really in a relationship," she said in one breath feeling the guilt of betrayal getting the better of her.

"Aren't really in a relationship?" the girl repeated to confirm, a gleeful smile tracing her features.

Sakuno nodded and was surprised at how Kaiya had managed to renew her cheerful self at once, "Yes," she continued trying to relieve herself from the stress of explaining things to a nine-year-old girl, "But I think it will be better if you'll just remain friends with him," she just hoped this would work.

"Because he likes you?" she replied, her eyes accusing.

Sakuno laughed. Kids… maturity…professionalism. She repeated to her self all over again to make sure she wouldn't lose it, "It's not like tha—"

"But I think he does," Kaiya insisted, jealousy apparent in her tone.

Sakuno cocked a brow and asked, "Why would you think that?"

"The way he looked at you…and the way he held your hand just a while," she explicated making it to a point that Sakuno could understand her bitterness.

Now things were getting worse, the child was resenting her for the fact that Ryoma stared at her differently and the manner he held her hand was just as distinct. And she was nine-year-old girl. If only she could understand that the boy she admired wasn't the only person in this whole wide world. She heaved a big sigh. She was losing it- maturity and professionalism. The girl wouldn't just give up. The fact that Ryoma had just flirted with her in front of this poor young lady made things worse and it was vexing her to no end for some odd reasons.

"Look Kaiya-chan," Sakuno said. "You might not notice but Ryoma got some eye problems just this morning, maybe that was why he stared at me differently. And about the way he held my hand…" she paused to think of an excuse. "His palms were sweating and he was just uncomfortable you know," she wanted to laugh at her lie but she prayed to God that the little girl would believe her.

"Really?" she beamed.

Sakuno's mouth fell open, the child just accepted her story, "Yea," she could only mutter.

"Oi," a familiar voice called from behind.

"Ry-Ryoma-kun!" Kaiya exclaimed and run towards the young lad.

"Didn't I tell you not to—"

She laughed delightedly, "Go-men-ne-E-chi-zen-kun." She stressed out each syllable amusingly as if to provoke him, but it startled him better when she gave him a quick peck on his cheeks the way he flirted with Sakuno before this morning.

"O-oi," he was about to protest but she was already gone- running away.

Sakuno couldn't help but burst in laughter. "So Echizen-sama, how does it feel?" she taunted.

0.0

After the incident, the little prince decided not to talk to his babysitter. Sakuno knew he was so embarrassed for his own good. She turned to smile at him and hilariously, he pouted. How childish. She kept on nudging him but he would refuse to talk, he evaded her eyes and she couldn't stop herself from teasing him even more. She tried to imagine the older Echizen Ryoma like this, which, she thought, was probably too unusual.

"Sorry," Sakuno whispered. "I'm not really a good liar am I?"

He shrugged, "It's not what I'm thinking about."

Sakuno tilted her head to the side, confused, "What are you thinking then?" she asked.

"Do you want to talk to…my father?" he offered.

"E-eh?"

...To be continued

Date Published: April 6, 2009 (Belated happy birthday to Akemi-chan)

Edited: April 20, 2009

--