"So, how would you like your popcorn?" The girl at the counter winked flirtatiously, playing around with her hair, standing straight as ever. Ryoma rolled his eyes. A minute ago the girl was slouching all over the place, giving people her pissed-off glare, but when it was his turn, her attitude changed immediately, her sweet smile coming in from nowhere. "Sweet, or salted?"

Hmm, Sakuno would like sweet popcorns, right? Sweet popcorns should be the most popular popcorns among every teenage girl, shouldn't it? Girls like sweet stuff don't they? "Sweet." Ryoma said.

"Sweeet..." The girl smiled coyly, tapping exaggeratedly at her cashier-computer thingy. "...popcorn coming up." She took her time in taking out a popcorn box, taking every chance to glance and smile stupidly at him. "So," She said while gently shoving the popcorns up the box. "You like to eat sweet stuff, huh? So do I." She winked once more at the last sentence. "Guess we have a lot in common."

"I don't think so." Ryoma commented curtly. "I prefer salted popcorns, I just bought sweet popcorns 'cause my girlfriend wants it." He was not sure about Sakuno really wanting the sweet popcorns, but it was a good strategy to bring up about her anyway, to stop this girl from dreaming. It worked somewhat, when the girl started frowning, and shoving the popcorns into the box more violently.

"Well, your girlfriend is not being very thoughtful then." She said matter-of-factly. "If it was me, I'll go along with any flavour that you like."

Okay, this is really getting very irritating. He had been stuck in front of this lady for quite a while now. Ryoma heard his voice getting harsher as he spoke. "Could you just hurry up and give me my popcorns? Like now?"

The bad attitude of that girl was coming up again. "Hey, it's not easy working here you know, you can't just rush me because you have a date." She spat belligerently, and almost literally threw the popcorn box at Ryoma. "That's one hundred yen (A/N: I made it up)." She said, voice filled with hurt and animosity. She was slouching and glaring again. Ryoma sighed. Oh well, at least the girl was not as annoying now. He dug for his wallet, while the girl continued in her determined glare at him.

He carried the popcorn and the tickets, and walked to where Sakuno was supposed to be.

Hmm, did she go to the toilet or something? He frowned when the spot Sakuno was standing was empty. Nah, Sakuno wouldn't leave him like this. The Sakuno he knew would wait even if her bladder was hurting until Ryoma came back. Ryoma checked his watch. 30 minutes have passed, guess the queue was really freaking long. Maybe Sakuno did go to the toilet... Ryoma sighed. He should have just queued with Sakuno, then that girl would not try that hard in annoying him, and he would have held onto Sakuno's hand just a while longer... Sakuno's hands were really small and smooth, and it felt so good to have it enclosed within his hand, caressing it... He'll just wait here until Sakuno comes back, then.

Okay, it has been five minutes already... Ryoma frowned. He knew a girl usually takes longer in the lavatory, but... He looked around. Come to think of it, this spot that he left Sakuno was rather dark and isolated. Can it be...it can't be...that Sakuno got attacked?

Ryoma could feel his hands sweating, as the popcorns suddenly felt like dropping. Damn this...okay, keep calm, Echizen Ryoma, you don't even feel nervous in front of a pro tennis player, why are you feeling nervous now, damn it? He bit his lips to stop it from trembling slightly, and wandered around the cinema. Damn it, where could Sakuno be? There were so many frigging people in here, Sakuno would not stand out at all. Should he call out? No wait, that'd be too embarrassing.

Right, I should call her… Ryoma thought as he took out his phone and dialed the said girl.

You have reached xxxxxxx…

Fuck. She's not picking up her phone. Sakuno is not picking up a phone call from Ryoma. This totally means something. The rate of Ryoma's heartbeat increased drastically. Goodness, something just might have happened to Sakuno, what should he do? Damn it, he really shouldn't have left her alone. What the hell was I thinking to leave a girl alone like that?

He rushed out of the cinema, feeling stupid with a packet of popcorn in his arms and wandering around aimlessly. "Excuse me, have you seen a girl, slightly shorter than me, with braids, with a blue t-shirt and black shorts?" He asked a random passer-by.

"No, sorry." Great, that was kind of expected, but still...that was the only thing he could do. He felt so lost. Never in his life had something like this happened to him, other than that time Karupin went off all by himself, and at that time he was equally lost at what to do either. He was so useless... It was Momoshiro-sempai that helped him in the end. But now he's alone, and he's wandering around uselessly, freaking out and having no idea what to do.

His hands trembled, and a few popcorns dropped to the ground. "Sakuno!" He shouted, ignoring the stares he garnered from it, ignoring his previous stand on not wanting to embarrass himself. He wished all those people staring at him would just disappear right now they were fucking blocking his view. "Sakuno, where are you?"

XxXxX

"Nya, that Ochibi rejected our offer yet again!" Eiji said, kicking the stones on the pavement. "We can't even meet up for an outing anymore, and after this week, our intensive schedule will begin, and we will never be able to go out again."

"Well," Oishi said, trying to cheer the red-headed guy up a bit. "At least we are all still here."

"It isn't the same without Ochibi!" Eiji pouted, while Oishi tried to calm him down.

"I really wonder what he is doing." Fuji said.

"I want to know too." Inui added, taking out his notebook. "All the weird rumours have been messing with Echizen's data, I can't even make out a perfect percentage anymore."

"Come on, let's hurry up before we miss that movie." Kawamura said.

"Why do we have to watch that stupid movie viper suggested?" Momoshiro said unhappily.

"Pshh, you have a problem with that?" Kaidoh answered rudely, and a fight started once again.

"Nyaa! It's weird to not have Ochibi with us in this outing nya! Where is he?"

"Hehe he might be in that bar doing stuff we don't want to know about..."

"Ahhh! Shut up Fuji! Don't say such things with a face like that!"

"Hehe, I'm just quite jealous that he went to the bar before I did..."

"..."

"Fuji-sempai, in case you don't know...I was the one who brought Echizen there..."

"Fufu, then I must say you have learnt well from your sempai..."

"Fuji what are you talking about?"

"Fufufu…"

"Nyaaa, I still want Ochibi!"

"Oh come on, are we watching the movie or not?"

"Yeah but I want to watch it with Ochibi!"

"Wait." Kawamura stopped the group. "Who's that?"

"Who?" The regulars of the Seigaku tennis club stopped their ruckus and looked at the direction where Kawamura was looking at. There was a girl and a man, dancing around the secluded field.

"Geez, what are they doing?"

"Yeah, doing private stuff like that in public, they can't do this, they just can't…"

"I think the girl is in trouble." Fuji said, his tone getting serious.

"Let's go." Tezuka said, and the gang went forward to the couple.

"Ehhh, Sakuno-chan!" Eiji exclaimed when they got close. The man was holding Sakuno rather forcefully, with Sakuno wincing uncomfortably under his grasp.

Sakuno's eyes lit up when she saw the seniors. "Sempai-tachi!" She exclaimed back.

The man let go of Sakuno. "Hmm, so you're busy, Sakura, then, I'll just leave you alone for now." He left abruptly, disappearing almost immediately.

"Sakuno-chan, are you alright?" Fuji asked, concerned.

Sakuno nodded her head, biting her lips to hold back her tears. "Y…yeah…thank you…for helping…"

"Was he harassing you, Sakuno-chan?"

"Damn that pervert, should I run to him and report him to the police?"

"How dare he harass a girls' tennis club member! It means messing with us too!"

"Are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

Sakuno shook her head, unable to speak.

"You sure?"

Sakuno nodded. The rest looked at one another, unsure what to do. Everything was happening so suddenly, and this was also the first time they encountered such problems. Even Tezuka seemed dumbfounded. Oishi scratched his head, and asked tentatively. "Hey, erm, we are going to the movies now, do you want to come along with us?"

"…Movies…?" Sakuno jerked up, suddenly alert. "Ryoma…I need to find Ryoma!"

"Ryoma?"

"Yeah!" Sakuno exclaimed, digging out her phone. "Ryoma must be waiting for me…" She mumbled as she typed in a number in her phone, tears slowly tracing her soft cheeks.

The seniors looked at one another. Ryoma? Why is Ryoma suddenly in the situation? They watched as Sakuno held the phone in her hand, with the other hand wiping her cheeks anxiously.

"Ryoma!...I…I don't know…sob sob…I think…sob…I'm somewhere outside the cinema…sob I don't…sob…know…The…sempai-tachi…" Sakuno slobbered incoherently in between sobs.

Fuji sighed, and took the phone from Sakuno. "Echizen?"

"Fuji…sempai?"

"Sakuno was harassed by some other guy."

"She…she was? Is…is she alright now?"

"Yeah, we saved her. Are you two together?"

"Yeah…we were meant to watch a movie together."

"Hmmm…" Fuji smirked. "We'll bring her to the cinema." He ended the phone conversation, and continued his smirk as everyone stared at him curiously. "Seems like Ryoma rejected us because of a date." He said.

XxXxX

Ryoma could feel his tears coming out, waiting at the side of his eyes, waiting to burst out crying. He could not remember when he last cried, he had never cried as long as he remembered. He felt so useless now, standing in the middle of nowhere, holding back his tears, not knowing what to do.

Where is Sakuno? If Sakuno was attacked or robbed or…even worse…raped, it would be all his fucking fault! Why did he leave Sakuno all alone there? If they had stayed together all the time nothing would have happened to Sakuno. Now what should I do? I can't find her, I don't know how to find her, what if she's somewhere in pain and shouting for me, and I'm stuck here not knowing where she is? What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?

Ryoma could feel tears trickling down his cheeks. He wiped it off aggressively, and tried calling Sakuno again.

It failed again, of course.

"Why are you standing here? Are you dumped by your girlfriend or something?" The annoying girl that sold him popcorn stood in front of him, smirking.

Ryoma glared at her. He wanted to curse her and tell her to get the hell away, but he didn't. Sakuno was more important than anything. "Have you seen a girl, slightly shorter than me, with braids, with a blue t-shirt and black shorts?"

The girl snorted. "Why would I know where your girlfriend is?"

Ryoma slumped to the wall near him. Yeah, why would she know? Why would anybody know? He should be the one that know where Sakuno is better than anybody else, so why was he asking people?

Then who should he ask? Who the hell would help him?

His phone rang. Ryoma grabbed it almost immediately, and nearly fainted on the spot when he saw Sakuno 3 flashing on the screen.

"Sakuno? Sakuno, is it you? Where are you? Okay, okay, calm down, where are you? What happened to you? What? Slow down, I can't hear you, I…what? What about the sempai-tachi? Sakuno?" Ryoma asked frantically, feeling relieved and worry gushing through him at the same time.

"Fuji-sempai? She…she was? Is she alright now? We were meant to watch a movie together… Really? Thanks, Fuji-sempai." Ryoma ended the phone conversation, looking dazed. He couldn't believe it. How could his seniors appear so miraculously? Were they god or something? The last time he lost Karupin, it was also his seniors that helped him in the end. Why was he so useless that he needed his seniors for help every time? He can't even protect Sakuno himself, he needed the seniors to help him, why was he so useless?

"Ryoma!" Ryoma jerked towards the sound, the sweet ringing sound that he had wanted to hear the past twenty minutes or so.

Sakuno was running to him. She was saved…she was alright… He hugged her tightly when they collide. She was real…she was finally here, by Ryoma's side…

"Oh god, are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" He asked, burying his head into Sakuno's hair, as he let his tears flow down in relieve. "I was so worried about you…This is all my fault, I shouldn't have left you alone…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Sakuno…"

Sakuno hugged him back, hiding in his arms. "It's…it's not your…fault…I'm just…glad to be here with you…again…" She was crying really badly, and Ryoma's clothes were dirtied real badly, but he did not mind. Sakuno's back, that's all that mattered.

"Ahem."

Ryoma lifted his head. His seniors were standing in a row in front of them, watching them rather awkwardly. He blushed slightly. "Erm…thanks for helping Sakuno…"

"It's alright." Oishi said, smiling. "I didn't know you were dating with her."

Ryoma looked down. "It's a failed date…we missed the movie…"

"R…really?" Sakuno said, looking up. "I…I'm sorry…"

"It's alright." He said, brushing Sakuno's hair. "As long as you're safe…" He said, kissing her hair gently.

"Ahem."

Ryoma lifted his head again. "Sorry." He apologised. "Sempai-tachi, are you guys also watching a movie?"

"Yeah, we are. Since you missed your movie, want to watch with us?"

"Nyaa, Ochibi is watching with us yay!"

"We'll let you two sit together, don't worry."

"It's going to be a wonderful date, don't worry, Echizen!"

"Next time don't let your guard down."

"Yeah, it's not good losing Sakuno-chan, it's really not good."

Ryoma smiled. "Thanks, sempai-tachi." He leaned down to give Sakuno a deep, sweet kiss.

XxXxX

Sorry, it's a bit rushed :P I know I suck I update so slowly and in the end when I updated it's so hopelessly rushed like this one. Please forgive me. Merry belated Christmas and Happy belated New Year though. ^^