A/N: Thank you so much for the epic support minna-san! Special hugs to those who showed it! T_T I want to give all of you nice bear hugs~! 3

OT: *sigh* I realize I have to take Ryoma X Reina out of hiatus soon (told'ja it was short). I hope the slump would stop soon as well, especially for those few angels, some of you are here I know, who are waiting for the update! I love that story but it's in a slump when it's in a slump. T_T

Anyway, if there are readers of RxR here (including those nice people who will read despite all these problems) please tell me your thoughts on the chapters! I'm just guessing here of what might be causing its decline for the past few chapters... T_T

HELP MEEEEE! Please? Thank you. XD

DISCLAIMER: I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

…

CHAPTER 9: Rankings

'Why would Echizen Ryoma wear a wig?'

Sanada stared at that area at the temples. Something was not natural—in fact, with close inspection and good eyes, he could see the well-hidden pin. The hair inside and the wig was made of the same type of hair, so it was especially hard to tell. Maybe he had been lucky, in fact, if that was what one called it, that the wig had been displaced so much during the game and his sudden slumbering so he was able to see.

But when he realized where his hand was going, he froze. He found the wig because he was touching the boy's hair unnecessarily, and now he was planning on actually taking it off? Did he have no manners? He of all people should know how important personal space was.

His eyes twitched as he forced the curiosity away (not easy) and cleared his throat to try to wake Echizen up (again). But he couldn't bring himself to shake the boy harder. He ignored the fact that he actually liked watching him sleep, and mused at how tired he probably was to let his guard down like this.

He just let out a deep breath, and Echizen shifted a few seconds later. By instinct he put his hand down...

.

.

But..., somehow his hand ended up somewhere… disconcerting.

His hand landed on his—her—his chest area.

It was very... small, and he had a feeling it was being covered, but a direct touch could reveal it all.

His face entered several shades of red and his hand flew to the opposite side. His brain malfunctioned, and continued that way for a very long number of minutes.

Frankly he wanted to step away to compose himself but at the state he was at that couldn't happen unless he wanted to drop her down the cold wood seating they called 'bench'.

So he stayed at the awkward position of having an unknowing girl resting on his shoulders. He was surprised she hadn't heard the beating of his heart.

Wait a minute…

What could a small girl be doing as a bodyguard? Didn't she say something about the tradition only for the boys of the family?

If so, then just what was going on?

His head reflexively turned to look at her, but was quick to look away composure he gathered immediately got sucked away every time he did so, anyway. And... he seemed to be doing that a lot these past few days and now he could tell it would only happen more frequently.

And so once again, he let out an extremely deep breath, relaxed his back (which was, again, not easy) and tried to calm.

Inhale

Exhale

He would just have to wait for her to wake up.

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

Yukimura Seichi was sitting, crossed-legged, on the living room, and drinking tea. It was a little past 11 already. He coincidentally went down to get some water (which ended up to be tea), considering he was just lying down the bed for more than an hour.

His mind wandered to the events these past few days, with the new activities in the club helping in distracting him.

It didn't really help much, since every single day he would catch Ryoma and Sanada talking somewhere inconspicuously. Couldn't that boy sense he was uncomfortable? Uncomfortable because he wasn't doing his job properly, of course, and Seichi knew he had not lacked in giving reminders.

Frankly, he thought Ryoma would be in his bed with Karupin sleeping soundly. He didn't realize being there after the door bell was rung would prove him wrong.

"I'll get it~" It was Rinko-san, followed by the maid. Rinko usually went home to her husband during Fridays, but it seemed she extended her stay a bit. Once again, he would find out precisely why a little too quickly.

The door opened, and he could hear faint voices. It was low, and vaguely familiar. Rinko's voice sounded glad and embarrassed at the same time. Yukimura placed his tea down the coffee table and stood up.

It didn't even take him 5 steps and his eyes widened at what he was seeing.

He was seeing something very disconcerting indeed.

…

Pause

Sanada... did not expect this at all. He knew if by some chance Yukimura would see them (especially with him carrying her bridal style), he would look surprised, but this was something mixed with the annoyance he probably felt when he found out what Echizen felt for her master.

Was the feeling mutual?

Not to mention they were living together.

Maybe it was a bad idea to get her home, after all.

"Let me get him." Yukimura said with his usual calm façade, but it nevertheless made even him twitch a bit.

Did Yukimura know of Echizen's secret, he wondered. Well, he should. But then again, he didn't know she could play tennis now did he? That mere fact made him feel elated, more so than proper. It was like in Echizen's list of people to trust, he was ranked higher than Yukimura, her own master—a man she had known for so long.

A man she cared for.

"Sanada." Yukimura called again, looking at him warily, and extended his hand further. Sanada of course was not insane enough not to give Echizen to him. When Yukimura was already carrying her, he looked at her for a moment with rather cold eyes. He turned around and started walking. But before Yukimura was a meter away, he halted his steps, and slightly titled his head towards his direction.

"Come in Sanada." He said. "We need to talk."

…

Sanada watched as a brunette woman around her 40s lead him to the living room. She asked the maid to provide him some drinks after thanking him, wherein he told her it wasn't a problem, and soon she followed Yukimura to wherever he went.

A few minutes later, Yukimura came down looking calm. And yet, to the observant Sanada it looked forced. And his senses were heightened, too, due to adrenaline. Why so much was enticed, he wasn't sure yet. Maybe he unconsciously thought Yukimura was holding a hammer behind his back?

"Thank you for bringing my bodyguard back. Wherever he went." He said, in his usual tone-of-voice and with no hammer at hand.

"The tennis courts."

Yukimura batted an eyelid before crossing his arms. "Pardon?" as if he didn't know what he meant. But Sanada decided to admit it, anyway.

"We were playing a match."

Yukimura stiffened further, and Sanada could almost see a hammer materializing in front of him- ready to strike.

"Why?"

But Sanada knew Echizen (nor Yukimura) would appreciate him telling this secret, so he rummaged for lies. "I slipped up on what you plan to do to determine the regular players." He said. Earlier that day, Yukimura said he wanted to have ranking tournaments for the latter part of next week instead of the old system of beating two regulars. "He… wanted to join. He's no longer a freshman, after all."

"Why hadn't he told me any of this?"

"He wanted to surprise you." Somehow that tasted rather bad in his mouth. He was not going to repeat that. "And he was unsure to try out in public when he wasn't sure of his skills yet."

"And he is, now?"

"Hai. Please give him a slot."

"..."

"..."

"I'll think about it."

It was then, after yet another moment of silence, that Sanada stood up and took his leave. "Now, I have to go home. Thank you for having me." He uttered stoically as he extended his hand. Yukimura stared at it for a long second before doing the same. They shook hands as curtsy.

And it did not feel congenial at all.

…

Yukimura stood at the door's threshold and watched him go, and this uneasy feeling wasn't diminishing at all. He sighed and went back to Ryoma's room again. As expected, his mother was there and he was already dressed up in his sleeping attire. Karupin layed down by his head.

"He's sleeping soundly. He had been losing sleep these past few days."

His eyes twitched and he a frown quickly crept up his face. "You mean they've been meeting for days?"

"I…" Rinko paused.

"Probably." And sighed.

"...Yes."

Yukimura's eyes widened and tilted his head away. When he couldn't pull his mask back, he turned around and gestured to leave. But then Rinko called his name firmly to stop further thoughts.

"Seichi." She said, making him pause his steps. "Don't blame him."

Seichi didn't say anything.

"He wouldn't do anything to hurt you." He knew that all too well. But still, why would she say that?

"He was supposed to protect me, after all." He added, just to be sure. Frankly, he didn't know what he was expecting.

"You were his friend, Seichi. He still thinks like that. Even if you don't."

He stared at her for a while and smiled his angelic, and fake, smile which he fortunately managed to muster in the nick of time. "Of course I think of him as a friend, Rinko-san, what are you talking about?"

And he could tell the aura around the demure woman changed, quickly from perplexity to that of downright annoyance.

"You're lucky I can't blurt everything out right now, but even if my Ryoma would remain loyal to you for as long as he could, there's still a possibility he will be taken away."

"Like being pirated by some other rich kid?"

Rinko only sighed, and mentally he was doing so too.

"Suit yourself." Was all she said, before heading out the door. This time, Seichi fixed his eyes- not following Rinko at all, and looking as far away from Ryoma as possible.

He thought that this denial game could go on forever.

Yukimura sat down beside Ryoma's bed, opposite to the side his cat occupied. He absent-mindedly touched the boy's soft cheek, and then it proceeded to his forehead.

Denial, eh? He knew he, through the years, had been denying a lot of things. Most of which were issues that never even reached his consciousness, as if it was a defense mechanism his brain initiated.

While some thoughts… he continued to entertain. Thoughts that he'd rather not pursue, and yet he let be for his own guilty pleasure. There was only one such thought he could name so easily though, as it attacked his well-trained little head everyday.

The thought of Ryoma having those kinds of feelings for him.

His hand caressed Ryoma's cheek gently, and he whispered "Why is it so hard?", but neither Ryoma nor Karupin flinched. As he watched the boy's slumbering state, feeling his breath, he leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Why... was it so hard to just dismiss those feelings. He was not dense, he never was, he was just quick to consider thoughts as if they didn't exist—afraid of what they might do to him. 'Afraid' though was not the right term, at least not that he would admit it.

At the moment, he only considered Ryoma's feelings for him and not his feelings or even what they could mean. He did not fancy Echizen Ryoma was a thought that never came to mind again, and yet never ceased to manifest itself.

This was all one sided, he said to himself, and it was one reason why he never 'dared' to fire him directly.

And once again, the thought of him denying that last thought never came to mind—dismissed by his over-protective brain like a fly.

And yet, his mouth continued to blabber things on its own.

"Why do you make it so hard, hm, Ryoma?" he said, not quite sure what it meant, himself.

And after separating a bit, he basically stayed there in that position not knowing what to do next—only his elbows supporting his weight. No, actually he knew, but that option (walking away) was not particularly appealing at the moment.

He wondered what part of his brain was working at the moment.

He felt Ryoma's breath again, and he continued to watch his expression that told him he was in peace. He did not want to disturb anyone, and further humiliate himself, but there was a part of him that wanted to join Ryoma wherever he was. And unconsciously he leaned down again to place another kiss on his other cheek—but this time with a little more pressure, and a little longer.

He did not notice the quick escalation of warmth that started to envelop on the younger boy's soft skin.

And when he tilted his head back up and opened his eyes—his heart stopped.

Ryoma's eyes were wide open in shock and a beautiful shade of red covered his face. Frankly, Seichi almost leaned back down again.

But he wasn't a Yukimura for nothing.

Plus there was no way he would admit what he was doing, even when a large part of him just wanted to burst out. And what exactly would burst out was a thought he never tried to venture in. For he knew, consciously or not, that he might never come out.

He stared at Ryoma, whose expression hadn't changed. Yukimura was the opposite, and he was quick to compose himself.

He, Yukimura Seichi, had always been into being the best—never losing. One strategy was not venturing into anything you might never get to conquer at all. And at the moment, he didn't feel like a winner at all either. This side of him was a weakness.

So, Seichi sat back up and combed his long hair (nonchalantly) to his ear. "I was checking if you were really asleep when I slipped."

"Ah." Was all Ryoma said, and he didn't know what he could make of that. Seichi knew it was a stupid response coming from him, but he could make anything sound viable. But unfortunately, that time, he wasn't able to make it sound all that much believable. Ryoma's face was suddenly unfathomable.

"You must be tired to slip like that. I'm awake now?" The boy said and sat up straight. But as instantaneous as everything that day, Ryoma's eyes suddenly widened, letting Seichi see even closer his gracious golden orbs, at a recollection and he quickly looked around. He frowned at this, Ryoma was probably looking for Sanada.

"Sanada carried you home. He had already left."

"He did?!" His eyes widened at Ryoma's reaction. Seichi had never seen him looking this embarrassed before. It was... cute, and made his heart thump, but he quickly forgot about it as he was not its cause.

"Hai. That's all I have to say. Surely my knowing this now know the implication of your actions?"

"G-Gomen Nasai."

"Sanada told me everything."

Ryoma stared at him incredulously, and this only fuelled his anger more. What was with that shocked but sceptical expression? Did he trust Sanada more than him? Not that he should be surprised, considering how had been treating his guard, but that was not an excuse.

Right…?

"But I want to hear it from you, in case you lie."

Ryoma looked at him warily, in case he was just trying to pull the truth out of him. His eyes twitched at this, but he recalled Rinko's statements, and decided against walking away. At the moment, he would probably look immature. Not to mention doing so would show he was bothered by Ryoma's actions, and that state of weakness could not be seen.

"I was practising tennis with him."

"I see." He nodded. "I presume you think of him as a better opponent than I am?" he asked as congenially as he could, just to show how 'unaffected' he was. Ryoma seemed to have bought it.

"I didn't want to bother you."

"I see. Well, in any case I decided to give you a slot."

The boy blinked. "Pardon?"

"A slot in the ranking tournaments." He said, and Ryoma stayed silent then, thinking he must have been surprised to be given a slot. He must be happy. Yes, Seichi knew that he was a nice boy, so naturally he'd be aiming to even make his body guard happy from time to time.

Surely, this little inconsistency in attitudes wouldn't prove that much of a problem, yes? And hopefully the boy would forget all about his embarrassment earlier on, too. And embarrassment that he was having a hard time forgetting.

He realized he needed to go to bed.

"Mah, I will announce it tomorrow on the team, rest so you will give us a good show." He paused and stood up, wearing that sophisticated aura that never failed him. "Oyasumi."

"...Oyasumi."

And with that, Yukimura Seichi closed the door for the sake of his sanity.

THUMP

.

Echizen Ryoma stared at the door with an initially unfathomable expression. When she was certain no one was magically going to enter the door, her wall fell down immediately—revealing the reddest face she might have ever worn.

"Why do you make it so hard, hm, Ryoma?"

It started there. It had been vague and she barely remembered the words, but her consciousness started to return then. And being the heavy sleeper that she was, she just concluded the abnormal weight on her cushion was just a heavier Karupin suddenly having a twin.

But then she felt something warm on her cheek. Her eyes widened, but did not have the reflexes to move any more- she was frozen completely. All she saw was shiny blue hair, but there was only one person who could own that.

She told her heart to calm, otherwise it would stop beating entirely. It didn't though, and when Seichi parted from her it certainly wasn't any easier on her heart.

He had his lids semi-closed for a moment, revealing a face as flushed as hers was. With eyes filled with care, longing, and… love?

'There was no way that was an accident.' She mused, and once again her face got redder.

She covered herself with her thick blanket as if embarrassed that the heavens would see her face.

But then, she stiffened.

She knew she could have just imagined those things. Dreams were made to be vivid, after all. They had always been like that, making people experience things they might never experience in real life.

But something wouldn't change. And even if she forced all the hopeful feelings out of her system, there was something she would relish. At least for the moment. She wanted to indulge in it for now. She never knew when it would come again, after all…

That feeling of inexplicable happiness.

.
.

END OF CHAPTER IX

Coming Soon:
CHAPTER X: Games

REPLIES TO ANGELS

BrokenBlackCat- Belated Happy New Year~ And yes! Sanada is nearing the truth. XDD Thanks for the comment!

WhitewingsFlutter- Ahahaha. Thanks for the comment! Here's some aspirin if you're having a headache. XDDD And A yuki POV here~ hehe

TunaForDesert- Oh no problem, and this is definitely noted! lol. Let's just think he has a soft spot for them. lolol. And Yes, you should go back to our fandom soon! We go out too much. Oh yeah, we got a new admin! She moves out a lot, too. *cackles* Thanks for the review, btw~!

DragonFire Princess- Oh, here it is! And barely 2 weeks since the last update, too! Heheh. Hope you like what happened next~

TPOK- Right! lol. Sanada'll be the first to know in the team. Gehehe~ And I'll definitely Try and make him more lovable. Sanada of this story is for the fans after all. XD And thanks for the review~!

Guest [12/28/12]- Here! hehehe. I dare say it came out pretty quickly, no? *Cackles proudly* Thanks for the comment~!

shanagi95- She will, she will! Hard to imagine Ryoma not being awesome in the canonical way, after all. XD I think it'll be in the next or the chapter after. Thank you for the comment~ ;)

Darkspider- Thank you for the review! And really, the fact that you wanted to review every chapter was touching enough for me. T_T Thanks~ And I do love it when people review every chapter. lol. And my goodness, I hope you get through those trials in life soon! Hope we could, somehow, help you relieve the stress. I'm interested in your suggestion on Seigaku. So far I dunno how to put it in, but we'll see! XD

deadlycute17- Thank you for the review~! XD Glad you thought so and I swear to do my best in keeping it cute and lovable! Hehehehe

FudoYuki- Yep~ Hehehe. And who wouldn't want to make things complicated? Especially for Yukimura? loooool. Thanks for the comment~!

ELIZABETH-of-darkness - Yay! One of my wishes came true~ (for a silent reader to leave a feedback) hehe. And I'm so totally a big fem! Ryoma fan too (as you may have noticed *cackles*) and I was the same! I kept reading every fic in my time even if they weren't as good as the established ones lol. Thx for the review, btw~

Yuki Masaharu- Thank you for the review~! And I shall promise to the kami of all Otakus that I will try my best to keep the story as good as it is so far, or hopefully even better. XD

MintLeafeon- Tenenen - It'll be Sanada~! haha. Oh Sanada really does care for Ryoma. Actually, I see too much of my beloved Mitsu in him. Hahahahhaa. Ah, thank you for the comment~! XD

Kupuruu- Lol. Sorry!It's sensual, definitely. I just like Sanada/Tezuka types so much I had to put these scenes in! haha And thanks for the comment! XXD

kikumarucat- Gahehehe. He's an unfortunate guy, isn't he...? [Insert Evil laugh here] Let's laugh together! Lol. Thanks for the comment, btw. XD

AnGell12- Hai~ That's why this story'll probably be more than just 20 chapters. Not sure how to make them fit in well yet, but I hope the ideas'll come. And thanks for the review~!

FranscoiseLaraLapis- Hahah. I think they're already on their way to being BFFs. *cackles* Free cheers for the awesome friendzoned guys~! lololol. I love those guys. haha. And thanks for the review! XD

Yuu- Thank you for the review~! XD Glad you thought so! ;)

Rosaliar Tiri- I don't watch KHR (yet) but I totally get why you shift there a lot. hahah. But stay here! lol. Or you can have like 2 fandoms at once right? Hehe Anywho, I'm glad that you still saw the sensual pair here! Many of the readers (and partly including me lol) are bending towards the cap pair now. haha. And thanks for the review~

DigimonLoveForever- Yep! This'll be Sensual. haha. I just love cap/pillar pair type of moments I couldn't help thanks for the review, btw~

Natasya Ivashkov- Thank you for telling me! T_T I'm glad you'll stay tuned. I'm relieved. XD

...

Thank you so so so much for reading this far!

But if you're not in a rush, please pause for a moment before going anywhere...
For I would love to read your thoughts! Whatever they are, they are important...! XD