Despite being a weekend, the nearby courts from the boarding house is empty besides the girl who decided to practice. The sound of a tennis ball smashing against the wall can only be heard. Eyes determined and with her form, significantly better than five years ago, Ryuzaki Sakuno rallied against the wall. Her body glistened with sweat as she moved.

Even after the Prince of Tennis left Japan, she still continued to play tennis. Over time, she improved bit by bit that by the end of middle school, she graduated as a regular. Tomoka used to ask her why she still played until the end high school. And though she was being honest in telling that she has really grown to love the sport, a small part of her says otherwise. There was this little hope that by continually playing tennis, it would eventually lead her to him.

She held onto that. Sakuno tried to follow his advice, except for cutting her hair which by his standards would still be too long.

"Ne, I didn't think you'd be out here practicing." a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind, making Ryuzaki's thoughts disappear.

Distracted, she missed to hit the ball bouncing from the wall. It sprinted near the newcomer who caught it with his red racquet swiftly. Echizen Ryoma smirked as he bounced the ball in his racquet, an opened grape Ponta in his other hand.

"R-Ryoma-kun, I just thought of practicing..." she unconsciously blushed and turned her head down, looking at the ground. "What if my form looked like I didn't improve at all? And Ryoma-kun had to see that... Mou."

"What's so interesting about the ground anyway?" the tennis prince commented bluntly, taking notice of her peculiar mannerisms around him.

"N-Nothing really," she felt so embarrassed, "Sorry."

With that, Sakuno took the courage to look at Ryoma, who to her surprise, fished out a cherry Ponta from his pocket.

"Take it." he mouthed.

"Arigato, Ryoma-kun." she accepted the drink with a thankful smile.

"It's nothing. It's not my flavor anyway." he said nonchalantly as he took a sip of his own grape Ponta and emptied it.

He then, started to wall practice as Sakuno just stared at him in awe, while drinking the cherry Ponta.

"Sugoi! Ryoma-kun has gotten even stronger!" she thought as Ryoma continued to return his shots perfectly, as if it was nothing.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun, can I ask you something?" Sakuno asked as Ryoma replied, "Sure, I don't mind." while continuing to rally with the wall.

"R-Ryoma-kun, how's your life here?" she asked as Ryoma suddenly looked at her, with his brows furrowed as if curious on why Sakuno asked that.

"I guess it's fine. I'm already a pro." he replied casually as he continued to practice.

"Eh? Then how come there are no paparazzi anywhere? Why is it that Ryoma-kun still lives here peacefully?" she thought.

"Thompson University has a very high security system for students like me. They don't allow suspicious people in the university... Especially, on the students' boarding houses." Ryoma then, spoke as if to answer Sakuno's thoughts, "Plus, Kate's aunt owns the university and makes sure that everything goes fine."

"Eh? Kate-san's aunt is the owner?" Sakuno asked, astonished at Kate and her Aunt Ada's connection, "Ada Thompson?"

Ryoma looked at her for a bit as he rallied, surprised at her question. But still, he replied. "Hn."

"Wow. We live in such a small world." she realized, "I should've realized it since they both had the same surname, Thompson."

"Ne, Ryuzaki, let's play." Feeling bored, he caught the tennis ball with his hand as he smirked at the girl.

"Demo, Ryoma-kun..." she felt fidgety, not really confident at her skills, "Your tennis is way beyond my level."

Ryoma only flashed her an incredulous look before he replied, "It's not really a match. Just think of it as me, checking your form and progress."

Her eyes lit up at his proposal. It seemed to be like a repeat of his tennis tutorials back in middle school. She nodded in agreement, enthusiastic as she moved to the opposite court from him.

"Just so you know, Ryoma-kun," she told him, "I'm not as bad at tennis as before."

"Heh." he replied with an amused grin, "Let's see."

With her precious red racquet in hand-- the same racquet that Ryoma gave her from years ago before he left Japan, she got into position.

Ryoma served an underhand serve which Sakuno returned easily. Pleasantly surprised at her form, the boy hit the ball back with more force this time. Each time Sakuno returns the ball, Ryoma hits back with harder to return balls, gauging her abilities as the rally continued.

As expected, the first game ended with Ryoma's win.

"Heh. Your form has gotten better, Ryuzaki..." he complimented, a rare feat she achieved.

"But your hair is still too long." Ryoma teased.

"Mou, Ryoma-kun... the length of my hair has nothing to do with tennis!" she was still stubborn with her hair. But even with his last comment, Sakuno can't help but feel happy.

Being recognized by him, and just having to play with him meant a lot. She can't even count how many times she's ever dreamed of this time.

They continued to rally until lunchtime. When both sides are too tired to continue, they both sat in a bench, just inside the tennis courts.

Sakuno then, pulled out her homemade sandwiches and took a glance at Ryoma, who pulled out a towel and placed it atop of his head. He catches his breath, though not as much as how she panted.

"Ryoma-kun... eto...would you like some sandwiches? It's already lunchtime and y-you might be hungry." Sakuno offered, a tinge of red in her cheeks. Her heart beat like crazy, and she wasn't sure if it was because of tennis or something else.

"Domo." he grabbed a sandwich from her bento box and took a bite. They ate in silence and later, Ryoma suddenly stood up.

"Ryoma-kun, where are you going?" Sakuno asked, puzzled.

"Ponta." he simply replied as Sakuno, to his surprise, also stood up and volunteered to get his Ponta.

Sakuno herself, didn't know why she just volunteered. But she gave credit to the thought of wanting to prove herself as capable. A changed person who just doesn't get lost easily anymore. She owed the sudden confidence to her receiving of his compliments about her play earlier.

"I will get you Ponta, s-so, Ryoma-kun...just wait." she simply stated, then she ran as fast as she can, hiding her embarrassment at her bold declaration.

"Wait, Ryuzaki...I," he actually wanted to tell her something, but Sakuno already left the tennis courts, leaving the Tennis Prince speechless. But knowing how out of character it is for him, he only sighed. Then, he stood up and decided on doing some wall rallying while waiting.

"Will she be okay? Ponta isn't available in any vending machine here. That's why I always keep stock at the fridge. Well, she's probably gonna notice it anytime now." he thought.

Turning to a corner away from the courts, she peeled her eyes for any signs of a vending machine. She scanned the area, and then finally found what she was looking for from the far end of the small walkway.

"Ponta... Ponta..." she muttered under her breath as she checked out the offerings of the machine. Her fingers touched the transparent plastic as she sorted out the different kinds of juice, coffee, soda, and sports drink inside. But to no avail, she can't find the white can of grape soda.

"No Ponta?" she eyed the vendo suspiciously. "Why is it that there are no available Ponta in this vendo? Well, I should try the other vending machines." she thought.

Sakuno then, moved on farther in search of that certain drink. Still, two streets away from the tennis courts, she had no luck in finding any Ponta.

"Geez, where could they be hiding all the Ponta?" she continued to wander off.

As she continued to miss out on finding Ponta, she can't help but think of her middle school memories that the soda managed to be involved on.

That time where Ryoma brought her to the racket stringer and gave her cherry Ponta as a peace-offering. Rather than her, getting angry at him for asking why she turned talkative, Sakuno felt guilty over putting him on the spot and running away. So she was touched when he took the initiative to break the impending awkwardness that the day may have brought later on.

Ponta was also present on the day she talked to him for the very first time. She offered him a drink as an apology for giving the wrong directions-- but since it turned out that she didn't have any change, he was the one who ended up treating her to a can of the soda. Her cheeks still burned in embarrassment whenever she recalls that particular moment. Her first impression to her crush must have been that of a terrible klutz.

It was all very juvenile, looking back at it now. But it is not a stretch to say that Ponta had appeared in almost every moment she used to talk to him.

"Eh?" as she was checking the last vendo, she felt a water drop on her arm. Looking up at the sky, she saw looming dark clouds. She reached out her palm to the sky, and surely, small raindrops started to drop.

Judging the darkness of the sky, it would only be a matter of minutes before the impending rain starts. If she doesn't go back to the courts now, they can get caught in the rainfall. She sighed, thinking about how she failed to find at least a single can of Ponta from the vendo machines she found... and she has taken a long time in setting out to find a single can.

Turning back to where she believed she came from, panic registered in her face. She was too occupied with her own thoughts. Realizing that she just found herself in an unfamiliar area, she can't help but murmur.

"A-Am I lost?" she sweat-dropped, looking around the place to find for clues.

When the rain poured, it was pure luck that Sakuno found herself a waiting shed.

Sitting boredly in the bench inside the tennis courts, the tennis prince noticed the dark clouds hovering the atmosphere.

"It's been almost an hour since she left."

Since Ryuzaki volunteered to finding Ponta, he's been stuck there, waiting for her to come back. He had already napped for half an hour, only to wake up that she was in fact, still not around. He actually worried at first, recalling that she gets lost easily. But when he played a match with her and saw how she improved, he assumed that she must have fixed her clumsiness over directions.

All of those things don't matter now. Wanting to escape the coming downpour, Ryoma put his racquet and tennis ball back from his tennis bag. He looked around, trying to locate Ryuzaki's tennis bag if she had one. But lying on ground is only a small, brown, cartoonish bear-designed single racquet case. Portruding on the opened zipper is a neon tennis ball with a caricature that evoked nostalgia in him: a small chibi version of his capped head.

Without wasting any more time, he arranged her racquet and ball to fit inside his much bigger tennis bag. He tried to remember all the nearby vending machines before he set out to look for the girl's whereabouts.

Sakuno can only stare out at the heavy rain under the shelter of a waiting shed.

"How can I go back now?" she hopelessly turned her head to look at the still dark sky, in hopes of a sign that could indicate the stop of the downpour.

The skies still appeared grim and she can only sign in defeat while she stared out at the near enough vicinity still visible amidst the heavy raindrops. She actually thought that it was just her mind playing tricks on her when saw a silhouette of a boy wearing a cap. His large tennis bag slung in his back.

"Ryoma-kun..." is all that she could say when he arrived. His dark green locks are drenched while his golden eyes didn't hold much expression.

Upon seeing Sakuno's visibly worried face, he put his Tennis bag down and pulled his dry jersey jacket out. She reluctantly accepted the jersey as he handed it to her.

"You can use that to cover yourself. The rain isn't going to stop soon, so we'll have go home now."

"B-but what about you?"

"I'll be okay. Just use it."

Without any opportunity to protest, he already zipped his tennis bag and set out in the rain again, with a Ryuzaki Sakuno huddled inside his jersey that became a make-shift rain coat

"Ryoma-kun offered me his jacket..." she can feel her insides warm up at his gesture. But still, she felt troubled that he had to find her in the rain.

"What are you waiting for?" he questioned, an eyebrow arched up at the girl who still stood inside the shed, in her thoughts. Hearing his question, she set out in the rain too, trying to keep up with his pace.

"Arigato, Ryoma-kun." she shyly thanked him.

"For what?"

"F-For lending me the jacket and all..." she felt truly grateful.

"It's nothing..." he replied and continued on his thoughts, "...compared to Ryuzaki-sensei's wrath if she'll ever know that I let her precious granddaughter get sick."

"Ryoma-kun may call it as 'nothing' but for me, it's not nothing at all." she whispered, the sound of the rain was enough for him not to hear, "He may appear to be cold, arrogant, and.. sometimes dense, but he is really a caring person."

"Ryuzaki-sensei called earlier." he announced out of the blue, making Sakuno surprised.

"W-What d-did she say, Ryoma-kun?" she asked curiously, wishing that her grandmother didn't ask Ryoma for any favors. She felt like a burden enough to have him save her everytime.

"She'll kill me if anything happens to you." he sounded nonchalantl as their boarding house started to get visible.

Sakuno felt really... really embarrassed by what her Obaa-chan said to him. She flushed and her little heart just may explode if nothing was done with her so-called Blushing Disease.

"Obaa-chan?! It's not like Ryoma-kun is held responsible for the irresponsible things I do!"

She slowly walked now, compared to her companion who held his pace and got to their door quicker. He can see his back slump a bit as he went inside. But she was still shocked as to what happened next.

Ryoma collapsed. There was an audible loud thud as he fell on the floor.

"Ryoma-kun!" panicking, she ran as fast as she can, not minding whether the rain soaked her anymore.

When she finally reached him, she immediately tried to lift his head up. Sakuno tried to will away the nervousness and dread brought upon by seeing him collapse. His body was sopping wet and few of his bangs messily clung in his face. Touching his temperature and vital signs, she prayed that it was nothing serious. He was burning up with a possible fever that rendered him unconscious.

"G-Gomene, Ryoma-kun. It's all my fault." Tears fell from her cheeks as she tried to support Ryoma with all the strength she needed to get him to his room upstairs. It was probably adrenaline that enabled her to do such a thing.

Inside his room, he let his body lean on her for balance as she snatched on the nearest clean shirt and pajamas that she found by his closet. His body falling heavy on her as she tried to maintain standing, she removed his clothes. It was a miracle that she didn't move clumsily at all. With smooth movements delivered possible by not wanting his condition get worse, she successfully dressed him up. Sakuno, then, laid him on his bed comfortably before she went downstairs to get a wet towel for his forehead and some medicine.

When she sat at the side of his head to assist him in taking his medicine, it was only then that she realized everything she just did.

She suddenly felt ashamed that from neck up, she felt herself burn. Sakuno shook her head, trying to not think of his perfectly toned body that her hands thoughtlessly brushed upon when changing his clothes. And he had this unguarded expression that was almost too innocent when you know how an Echizen Ryoma behaves when he's awake. There's this shameless quenching in her heart that she would very much like restrain.

She stood up, just as when a half-conscious Ryoma finished on sipping water. She watched how his cheeks flushed because of the fever as he continued to sleep.

Hyperventilating, she looked away from him. Sakuno finally noticed what his own room looked like. The walls were light peach in color, and his windows had navy blue curtains. Like her bedroom, he had a desktop computer and a messy study table. He also had custom shelves where she figured that he was just temporarily displaying his trophies and certificates.

On the wall in front of his messy study table leaned a small photo book. Sakuno felt guilty, snooping around. But her curiosity is killing her. Reasoning to herself that she was just taking a peek, she picked it up to open. The pages were arranged so that there was only a single picture per page.

The first picture she saw was Ryoma, half awake, with his face doodled with creepy drawings, throwing Kate and Kevin a death glare. Sakuno giggled, "The three of them looked so cute together."

The second is Ryoma's family picture, "Ahhh, so this is Ryoma-kun's family." she thought as a man on the picture caught her attention. "He looks like Ryoma-kun... an older brother or a cousin perhaps?"

The third picture's page appeared thick, what with another photo's edge sticking out from behind it. This time it was a photo of Ryoma and the former Seigaku regulars in the mountain. A soft smile adored her lips as she realized that he has not really forgotten their senpais at all.

Now turning curious at the photo under the Seigaku regulars one, she carefully pulled out the picture from behind. It was an image that made Sakuno's face even redder that before.

"What's this picture doing here?!" she stared at the accidental picture of Ryoma with her. That picture where Ryoma had an eye injury from his previous match with Shinji Ibu. Sakuno never thought that Ryoma had a copy of that accidental picture.

"Maybe Shiba-san gave that to him... Mou, it's really embarrassing." she put the Seigaku photo back, atop their hidden picture.

What are the odds that he really kept the photo and put it up? In another world, Ryuzaki Sakuno may have confidently thought that somehow the Prince of Tennis thought about her. But seeing the other photos on the album with random snapshots of his middle school, she might as well be just another school memory.

Just then, the house's telephone rang. Sakuno immediately moved downstairs to answer the call. It was probably her Obaa-chan anyway.

"Moshi moshi?" she answered, not realizing that she didn't speak English.

"Ryoma, we're gonna visit tomorrow." a woman in the other line replied in Japanese.

"Umm, ano, Ryoma-kun is sick right now..." Sakuno informed kindly.

"Nani? By the way, who might you be? I'm Ryoma's mother, Rinko."

"Ah! Souka, Ryoma-kun has a fever. I'm his house mate, Ryuzaki Sakuno." the girl politely replied.

Sakuno swore that she heard a voice from the other line saying, "Oh, seishonen's got a girl living with him!" plus a loud thud and 'Ouch' after that.

"Oh, Sorry for that, Ryuzaki-san. Thanks for taking care of Ryoma."

"I think our visit is gonna be interesting!" Nanjiro commented as Rinko ended the call.

A/N: Edited/Revised July 2020