It was a bright and sunny day at the high school tennis court. The sun shone brightly under the clear blue sky, casting a warm light over the green court. Ryoma and the trio had just finished changing into their sport school attire and were chatting outside the court.

As they looked around, they spotted their coach approaching them with a smile on his face. The coach, a kind and gentle man, waved at them and greeted them warmly. His name is Jun Mizutani.

"Hey guys, long time no see." Said Mr. Jun.

"Coach, we missed you." Said Horio.

Mr. Jun laughed. "Well, me too." Then he looked at Ryoma. "You must be Echizen Ryoma. It's an honour to have you here. I'm Jun Mizutani, the coach for boys' tennis club."

He was happy to see Ryoma, the tennis champion who had won many competitions in the tennis world, joining the high school tennis club. He had been seeing Ryoma a lot in the sport magazines.

Mr. Jun looked around and said, "looks like there weren't many members signing up", which made the trio feel somewhat disheartened.

However, he remained positive and encouraged them not to give up. "That's okay, we still have time. I'm suggesting that we try to promote tennis to the first-year students to increase the club's membership."

The trio agreed, and Ryoma listened quietly to their conversation. Suddenly, the coach had an idea.

"Actually, I think I know how we can attract the students to join. There is going to be a mixed-doubles tennis tournament soon and I'm suggesting you guys ask the girls from the tennis club if they are interested in joining to play with you guys." Mr. Jun said.

"That's a good idea." Horio said and looked at Ryoma. "Echizen, can you help us?"

Ryoma silent for a while then answered, "You know I'm suck at doubles." He still remembered the first and last time he played doubles when he was in Junior High and he was really struggled at it.

The trio then gave him puppy eyes looked, made him sweat-dropped. He sighed and gave up. "Fine. I'll try." His answer made the trio beamed.

"Then, I'll go ask the girls tennis club's captain." Kachiro immediately ran off to speak to the girls' captain, leaving them behind.

The coach turned to Ryoma and expressed his concern, knowing that Ryoma had never played doubles in a tournament before. "Are you sure, Echizen?"

Ryoma responded, "it depends on who my partner is." He thought if the girl was good in tennis, so why not.

At the girls' tennis club, Sakuno and Tomoka were engaged in a friendly rally. They were both known for their exceptional tennis skills at the girls' tennis club, always engaging in friendly but intense rallies that drew the admiration of their teammates. They stopped when they spotted Kachiro talking to their captain, Ai Enma, a fierce-looking girl with black hair, but was actually quite gentle despite her appearance.

Sakuno and Tomoka watched as Ai called Sakuno over. Tomoka followed Sakuno. When Sakuno and Tomoka arrived, Ai asked Sakuno, "Ryuzaki-chan, you had participated in tennis tournaments before, right?"

Sakuno confirmed that she had, recalling how her grandmother had always encouraged her to join women's division tournaments, and she wasn't too bad. She usually got the third or second place.

Ai then explained that the boys' tennis club needed help from the girls' club for the mixed-doubles match.

Sakuno hesitated, "I don't think I can help. Actually I had never played doubles before."

Kachiro reassured her, "Don't worry, same with us too. Why not we try train together?"

Tomoka also encouraged Sakuno. "Sakuno, give it a try and do your best. This will be a great experience for you."

Ai nodded, agreed with Kachiro and Tomoka.

Hearing the encouragement from her friends, Sakuno finally agreed, "Should we practicing now?" She asked.

Kachiro said, "Yes, the earlier the better." They set off to the boys' tennis club. When they arrived, Sakuno looked around and felt a bit surprised when she saw how empty the boy's tennis club.

"Ryoma-kun, here is your partner." Kachiro said while pointing at Sakuno who still looked around. But hearing what Kachiro said, made Sakuno froze. She was surprised to learn that her partner for the competition was none other than Ryoma.

"Wait, my partner is Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked.

"Yeah, only he had the experience for tournament." Said Horio. The trio looked at Sakuno with puzzled look.

"B-but I am no match with Ryoma-kun's level. I'm not sure if I can keep up with him." Said Sakuno, still felt hesitated.

Ryoma sighed. "How can you say that when you don't even try?"

Sakuno made worry look. "Well... I..."

"Let's give it a try. Rally with me." Said Ryoma.

"Y-yes." Said Sakuno, then followed Ryoma to the inside the court.

As Sakuno and Ryoma took to the tennis court for their match, the tension in the air was palpable. Sakuno couldn't help but feel a little nervous playing against him. But as the rally began, Sakuno quickly realized that playing with Ryoma was not as intimidating as she had thought. Ryoma started off by giving her a simple serve, allowing her to warm up and get into the rhythm of the game.

As the rally progressed, Ryoma began to increase his strength bit by bit, carefully analyzing Sakuno's movement and strength. Sakuno was impressed by Ryoma's ability to adapt to her playing style, and she pushed herself to keep up with his fast-paced game.

The two players moved across the court with grace and precision, each exchange more intense than the last. Sakuno found herself caught up in the thrill of the game, her competitive spirit driving her to give her all against Ryoma.

As they continued to rally, the coach watched from the sidelines with a proud smile on his face. 'Looks like this year will be entertaining for both boys and girls tennis club.' He thought. The trio also watched them with amazement.

Ryoma and Sakuno stopped for a while. Ryoma then said to her, "Interesting, you have improved a lot since Junior High. You have great precision and control with your shots. I'm surprised."

Sakuno blushed at his comment. "T-thank you." She still remembered how hard to hit a tennis ball few years ago.

"We should stop for today, let's try play doubles tomorrow." He said when he looked Sakuno was kind of out of breath.

Sakuno nodded and followed Ryoma to the outside of the court. Kachiro quickly gave them clean towels and water to drink.

"See, I told you two would be a great pair!" Kachiro said with a smile. Sakuno just smiled back at him, while Ryoma with his poker face.

As the club meeting came to an end, the members all changed back into their school uniforms. Ryoma, Sakuno and the trio walked together towards home, chatting and laughing along the way. Halfway there, Horio suddenly asked Ryoma and Sakuno, "Uh, are you two heading to the same direction?" Kachiro and Katsuo also looked at them.

The question made Sakuno flinched. Ryoma remained silent, his gaze fixed on Sakuno. He remembered how she had asked him to keep their living situation a secret.

Sakuno smiled wryly and answered, "Yes, we are."

Horio nodded understandingly and bid them goodbye before heading off towards his own way with Kachiro and Katsuo left them both alone.

Sakuno looked at Ryoma with a mixture of regret in her eyes. The secret they were keeping weighed heavily on her conscience, and she couldn't shake the feeling that it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down.

"I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun", she whispered, her voice barely above a hush.

Ryoma tilted his head in confusion, his expression betraying none of the worry that gnawed at Sakuno. "For what?" he asked, genuine confusion evident in his tone.

Sakuno swallowed nervously, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "For dragging you into this mess", she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. The weight of their secret pressed down on her like a ton of bricks, threatening to suffocate her.

Ryoma's response was unexpected. He simply shrugged, his expression unreadable. "It doesn't matter to me", he said nonchalantly.

Sakuno felt a surge of relief wash over her at Ryoma's words. Then she said, "I wonder if it's okay to just tell Tomo-chan, Horio-kun, Katsuo-kun and Kachiro-kun."

"It's up to you." Ryoma still didn't understand why they should kept it as a secret. For him, even the whole school or whole world know, he never cared.

They continued walking in comfortable silence until Ryoma asked Sakuno, "so how many tennis tournaments you had participated in?"

Sakuno thought for a moment before replying, "I only been in a few, maybe five? but none of which I had won first place in." She laughed softly and said "I think I'm still mada mada dane." She continued giggle.

Ryoma smirked in response.

When they finally reached Sakuno's house, her grandmother, Sumire, greeted them with surprise at seeing them return together. "Oh my. You two are back together today?"

Sakuno just smiled while removing her shoes. Then Sumire just ushered them inside to rest.

As they headed to their respective rooms, Ryoma stopped Sakuno, "Ryuzaki, can I have your LINE contact?"

Blushing slightly, she asked, "M-my LINE contact? S-sure." she agreed and handed him her QR code on her phone.

Ryoma scanned it and said "thanks". Ryoma kept his phone inside his pocket pants.

"You need more stamina for upcoming tournament. Let's go run together this weekend." He said.

Sakuno blushed even more but agreed.

"Ja, Ryuzaki." Said Ryoma as he disappeared into his room.

Sakuno just smiled looking at him and she went inside her room. She changed to casual clothes and lay on her bed. As she lay in bed, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of what new things awaited her with Ryoma here in Japan.