Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Mochi's note: As promised, some Sakuno-Ryoma moments to hype things up. (:

p/s: the title is a bit random but i really it was apt. :P

Chapter 4: Mada mada dane

Eh? Green hair… Is that him? Why is he here? This doesn't make sense… Oh wait, there's something different about his eyes… Had the colour of his eyes been olive green all along? No… I'm pretty sure the colour of his eyes was brown… Huh? Is he wearing contact lens then? But why would he-

"Nee, can you hear me?" A hand was waving before Sakuno's eyes.

Sakuno stopped letting her thoughts run and stared blankly into the face that was hovering on top of her.

"Hmmm… Did the ball knock out her senses as well?" Ryoma mumbled.

Upon hearing this, Sakuno managed to make sense of the situation around her. "E-EHHH! G-GOMENNASAI!" She exclaimed and sat upright immediately, crossing her legs under the blanket.

"You feeling alright now?" Ryoma asked.

"H… Hai… I'm so sorry to have troubled you." Sakuno looked down and replied softly as a blush crept across her cheeks.

"It's fine. Are you well enough to get down?" Ryoma asked as he stood up and picked up Sakuno's bag from the sidetable.

"H… Hai…" Sakuno shifted herself to sit on the edge of her bed and bent down to wear her shoes. "I should be getting back to class too."

"Class? It's time to go home." Ryoma replied.

"EHHHH?" Sakuno sat up again. "B-but I thought I fainted in the morning…"

"Yes, you did. But you remained asleep even though Ryuzaki-sensei and the other girl tried calling your name to wake you up. The nurse deduced that you were suffering from fatigue and told us that we should let you sleep for as long as you want. So we left for our classes then." Ryoma explained.

"Ah… I didn't manage to finish my homework until 12am… And even when I've gone to bed, I was too excited and nervous to go to sleep so-"

"Nee, you ready to go?" Ryoma asked at the door of the infirmary room. He obviously was not listening to her reply.

"H-Hai!" Sakuno tied up her last shoelace clumsily and ran to the door just as Ryoma started walking off. "Arigatou," she thanked him as she took her bag from him. "Ah demo, I need to wait for Obachan to go home… Oh and where is Tomo-chan?"

"Ryuzaki-sensei still has some paperwork to do so she asked me to walk you home instead. And Tomo-chan is that noisy girl right? She said something about going home early to babysit her brothers, I think." Ryoma answered.

"AH! In that case I can walk home by myself. It's not far from school and I've already troubled you so much…" Sakuno lowered her head in embarrassment as they walked out of the school.

"Makes no difference. Your house is on the way anyway."

"Eh? You've been to my h-, I mean, my grandmother's house before?" Sakuno asked in surprise.

"I was there to visit Ryuzaki-sensei earlier this year with Oyaji when my family came back from America." Ryoma explained.

"Ah Souka…" So he had been living in America before he came to Japan? Sakuno pondered over this new knowledge. Oh! Sou ieba!*

"E-Echi-" Sakuno stuttered. She found herself unable to finish the name even though she was not sure why. I guess that word is just too familiar, she thought.

"Huh?" Ryoma turned his head to look at her.

"Ryo- Ryoma-kun! C-Can I call you this instead?" Sakuno blurted out.

"Betsuni ii kedo."** Ryoma shrugged and turned his head back to the front.

"Arigatou! Ah and I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ryuzaki-"

"Sakuno."

"Eh?" Sakuno blushed upon hearing her name being called directly and turned to look at Ryoma in shock.

"Your name is Ryuzaki Sakuno right? Ryuzaki-sensei and that girl were calling you 'Sakuno' when they were trying to wake you up."

"Ah… Hai… Ryuzaki Sakuno desu…" Sakuno answered softly, not too sure why she was feeling a bit disappointed.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Sakuno remembered what she had wanted to ask Ryoma.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun... Do you have a brother?" Sakuno asked cautiously.

"No. Why?" Ryoma replied and turned to look at her.

"Ehhh no! I'm just asking!" Sakuno smiled nervously and anxiously waved her hands, wishing hard that Ryoma would not bother to probe any further.

"Hmmmm," was all he said. He was never one to care much to begin with.

Phew, Sakuno sighed in relief and started thinking about something else to ask or say because it was too awkward walking in silence just now. How about asking him why his family came back to Japan all of a sudden? But that may be too personal. Or-

"Nee, isn't this Ryuzaki-sensei's house?"

Sakuno stopped abruptly and realised that she had overshot her grandmother's house by a few steps.

"Eh… Hehe.. Right! Ryoma-kun, you have a really good memory!" Sakuno laughed awkwardly as she retreated to her doorstep.

"It's written there," said Ryoma, pointing to the sign on the wall:

'Ryuzaki'

Sakuno turned to look at what Ryoma was pointing and felt her face went red with embarrassment when she saw the sign. Before she could compose herself, Ryoma started to walk off.

"Mada mada dane."

Upon hearing this, Sakuno looked up and shouted after him. "Ryoma-kun, kyou wa arigatou gozaimashita! Mata ashita!"***

Ryoma merely raised his right hand and continued on.

Hmm, I wonder if one of the things which Tomo-chan wanted to update me about was regarding Ryoma-kun. Ah and I wonder if Ryoma-kun is in my class too! She thought and smiled as she watched Ryoma's back view and when he was finally gone, she entered the house.

Translation:

*Sou ieba: Speaking of which/ That reminds me

**Betsuni iikedo: Well alright/ Why not

***Kyou wa arigatou gozaimashita: Thank you for today (Mochi's note: if i'm not wrong)

***Mata ashita: See you tomorrow

Mochi's note: Just some details left to be polished for the next few chapters before I post them up. (: