Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis? Not mine. Got that? Great.

A/N: Real life is making it's way to extract me from this story. Because of this, this story has been brought down from my main priority list. I would still update, but with no assurance how often.

I dedicate this chapter to Artic-Fox 14 and Catkac. :D

Warning: There will be OOCness due to circumstances invented by my imagination. Very little shounen-ai, just mentioned.

Here it is, the thirtieth chapter!

Chapter 30: Everything is back to normal.

Ryoma sighed as he walked through the halls. It has been a couple months after the training and autumn was already there. Sachiko had already gone back to their world to continue her studies too. The tennis tournament this year had passed in a blur for him though. They lost some games, but still went out on top. The Nationals were still tough, harder than what they experienced in middle school, but to him, the thrill was gone.

At that moment, he was heading towards the library instead of the tennis courts. He didn't have library duty that day, but he was feeling too lethargic to play tennis, even if it would be light drills because of the approaching cold weather.

Other than his lack of drive to play the sport he knew he was accused of being obsessed about, he was curious about what his self-proclaimed sister was doing for the last few months. She was rarely present in his games, which didn't depress him in one bit. He was used to her being caught up with her own club. She was a member of the drama club, and was the head of costumes and set design, so he expected that she would be busy.

They rarely spent lunch together, so that was a dead end. He had asked Tezuka, but the team captain had only told him that Izumi was present in class. When he asked about student council activities, he was told that Izumi was currently free of her vice-president duties, always having finished them as soon as possible after receiving it. That struck him as peculiar behavior for the lively senior. She was never one to rush jobs given to her. It was too prone to mistake, she had once told him, which she would not tolerate for her to do. He didn't question it further and simply left after that small talk he had with his team captain.

Before his mind could wander off to far deeper thoughts dwelling in his mind, he had reached his destination. He silently entered the library and headed straight towards the counter, where the librarian was currently present. The librarian was a tall and gentle-looking woman with black hair and gray eyes. She was already in her late thirties, but she looked only around her early twenties.

"Good afternoon, Ryoma-kun." The kind woman greeted him. "Good afternoon, Misami-san." He greeted politely. "The cart is beside the stock room. Feel free to busy yourself." The woman named Misami replied with a soft smile on her face. She had a knack for knowing his thoughts, even without saying a word. She had learned to read him throughout the years of his volunteering here. He gave the woman a small, grateful smile before he walked off to the cart full of books.

He occupied himself with returning the books in their rightful places, passing one bookshelf after the other. He made sure to keep his pace slow and steady as to prolong his time there. He absolutely loved being in the library. It was one of the few places he seriously enjoyed to stay in for hours on end. The scent of dried ink and the texture of old paper and rough covers brought comfort to his mind as he sorted his thoughts.

He gazed through the familiar and new titles of books in the shelves he passed as he occasionally returned a book or fixed a misplaced book. Soon enough, he noticed that he only had a handful of books, which saddened him a little. He finished returning the books, and picked out a few books to read.

"Have a good evening, Ryoma-kun." He turned his head back towards the woman behind the counter. She was waving at him with that gentle smile of hers dancing on her lips. "Are you staying long, Misami-san? It is getting late." He asked when he noticed the darkening sky. "I will close up in a few minutes." She answered, before returning to her work. She did not comment when he walked back and sat in a nearby seat next to the counter.

As she had said, she finished her work in a few minutes. He waited for her to lock up and offered to walk her home. "You are so kind, Ryoma-kun." She told him before they walked off to the direction of her home. It wasn't his first time he walked her home, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. She was like a mother figure to him.

Unknown to him, he was seen by his teammates as he walked out the gates beside the older woman. "Hey look! There's Echizen!" Momo exclaimed as he spotted the freshman. They had just finished tennis practice and were just about to leave. "Let's follow him nya!" Eiji said before he bounced off with Momo by his side. Oishi and Taka followed in worry while Inui simply joined in because of curiosity and Fuji joined for the heck of it. Tezuka and Kaidoh ignored them and went their own ways home.

Meanwhile, Ryoma was too distracted to notice his friends following him. Misami, too, did not notice the spying teens, but was getting a little trouble with her bags. "Let me help you carry some of those, Misami-san." Ryoma said as they stopped walking, his hand held out in front of her. "Thank you, Ryoma-kun." She replied as she handed him one of her bags. They continued their walk afterwards.

This action of Ryoma became the main topic of the spying teens. "Ochibi's so nice!" Eiji commented. "I wonder who that woman is though. Echizen seems to be familiar with her." They all looked at Inui who shook his head. They weren't able to get a good look of the woman so far, thus their cluelessness.

On the other hand, the followed pair had started chatting. "Why do you like to stay in the library, Ryoma-kun?" Misami asked out of curiosity. "It is a good place to think and have peace. Why do you like to stay there, Misami-san?" Echizen replied, also out of curiosity. "My grandfather loved reading, and I grew to love it as well. I grew up being surrounded by various books, that even now that I'm older, I still want to be around it. In addition, it gives me closure with my grandfather." Misami sadly answered.

They stopped walking. They were already in front of Misami's house. Ryoma, noticing the older woman's depression, placed a hand on her elbow, catching her attention. She faced him to see amber eyes that held understanding and sadness, but no pity. "He never left. He's still with you, in here." He carefully placed his free hand on the area where her heart was. His fingertips barely touched her as she towered over him by at least two heads in height. He placed his arms back to his sides after a few moments.

She gave him a small teary smile before she pulled him towards her. She enveloped him in a warm hug, one that he hasn't felt in years. He stood still for a few seconds before he raised his arms and returned the hug. "Thank you, Ryoma-kun." She whispered before she gave him a chaste kiss on the top of his head. They pulled away soon afterwards. The smile was still on her face. He tugged on her hand, making her bend forward to level her face with his. "No, thank you, Misami-san." He whispered to her before he, too, gave her a kiss on the top of her head, but with difficulty because of his height.

She was surprised at what he did, but her shock soon disappeared and the smile on her face grew. "I'm glad your okay now, Ryoma-kun. You better go home now. Your parents must be worried." She said in a worried voice, but the smile on her face made it slightly hard to believe. "Hai, Misami-san. See you tomorrow." He replied with a bow before he walked away. "Thank you again, Ryoma-kun!" She shouted after him. He looked back with a small smile on his face. "Thank you too, Misami-okaa-chan!" He yelled back before walking off.

Misami watched him with disbelief on her face before she felt tears well-up in her eyes. 'That boy is just too much.' She thought as she walked towards her home. 'It isn't a bad thought though. It will be just like having another son again.' She thought fondly as she stared at the picture she kept near the staircase. It was an old picture of her with a small baby boy in her arms. 'Another son, eh?' She asked herself as she hugged the photo to herself, tears running down her face.

Meanwhile, Ryoma had headed straight towards the park near his home, still oblivious to the group of teens following him. 'Why did I call Misami-san 'okaa-chan'?' He asked himself and his earlier actions. The woman had reminded him so much of his step-mother. Misami, too, had a departed loved one and loved reading. She also had that warmth he had only felt from his actual mother and his dead step-mother.

"Why is there another one?" He asked out loud to the empty air. He stared at the moon and the starlit sky above him as a cold wind passed by. 'She always loved evenings like this, while okaa-san preferred warmer nights.' He thought as he walked around aimlessly. He sauntered around for a few more minutes before standing next to the fountain.

"Another mother, eh?"

A/N: I hope I didn't make the characters too OOC. Please tell me any typos and inconsistencies, even grammar mistakes (being the "Grammar Nazi" that I am).

Constructive criticism is appreciated in the form of private messages and/or reviews.