Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ ◄:� S A K U N O Chronicles �:► ❯ Sakuno doko wa? ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Dapat ko bang ulitin ito nyah? I own everything Prince of Tennis… MINE, MINE, THEY'RE ALL MINE!!! Bwahahahaha… now back off!!! (clings desperately to the bishies before getting shot)

Seeing as how I haven't seen all the episodes YET and have never read a single Prince of Tennis manga, please forgive any and all inconsistencies in this story da ne. As I'm typing this, I've seen only up to episode 73 so far, and episode 87-88 at the prompting of my friend who told me that it was a chibi episode. For the sake of your sanity and mine, please consider this as a bit of an AU.

â™¥ TATLO â™¥

The huge public clock read 3:02 in the afternoon.

“I can't believe Sakuno's not here yet,” Tomoka silently fumed, irritated that she had to stand there and wait for her bestfriend with her of all people. She couldn't believe she agreed to do this. What was she thinking when she said yes anyway?

Ann stood next to the girl, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor. She would have never agreed to come here if Sakuno hadn't insisted that she give the other girl a chance. From what she could tell, it seemed like the girl didn't like her. The feeling was mutual, she didn't need to force herself on anyone who didn't want to be friends with her, and she had enough friends already. She was just doing this for Sakuno's sake, and not for the loud-mouthed girl.

“Maybe she got lost again,” they both said at the same time, eyes meeting and then looking away again, not really feeling like conversing much.

How had it come to this? Sakuno couldn't help but wonder as she sat rooted to the spot, not daring to move a single muscle, lest she disturb the sleeping person who decided to use her as a human pillow.

She looked at her stop longingly, from her position on the seat. Ann-chan and Tomo-chan were probably be there by now already, and she was late as usual. They would understand of course, because they knew her tendency to get lost a lot. She had to wonder where she was when Kami was handing out a sense of direction. She was probably stuck on a bus, acting as a pillow because she was too scared and too timid to protest otherwise.

She hoped that Tomo-chan and Ann-chan wouldn't be too mad at her for being very late this time.

Sakuno let out a sigh as the mall faded out of her view.

“Mou,” the girl silently cursed her luck. She really wanted to go to the newly opened Build-a-Bear Workshop store at the mall today. She saw the commercial on television and the idea of building your own teddy bear was just too good to pass up. She also thought it would be a great opportunity for her only two girl friends to get more acquainted with each other. She couldn't help but feel like they didn't like each other somehow and she wanted to resolve whatever it was that was bothering them.

It would have been easier if she didn't forget to bring her cellphone. She mentally banged her head on an imaginary wall. If her friends tried to call it, they'd be directed to her voice mail, since she forgot to unplug it from the outlet in her room.

Her left leg was starting to go numb, but she was afraid to make even the slightest movement. She wondered if how those guards at Buckingham Palace could do it. From what she saw on movies or television shows, they didn't move even when you made faces at them or attempted to make them laugh. Didn't their legs go numb like hers was doing now? How do they do it?

At least he wasn't pulling on the braid that he clutched tightly between his fingers; she glanced at the boy who had intruded on her personal space. He had a very firm grip on her hair, further cementing her lack of escape routes.

“Oy, is that you, Tachibana no imouto?” a loud voice said from behind the two girls who were trying their best to ignore each other.

“Momo-senpai?”

“Momo?”

The girls said as they turned to who it was.

Momoshiro Takeshi approached them with a friendly grin in his face. “Yo! Out shopping? I didn't know you two were acquainted.” Momo turned to Tomoka, “Hey Osakada.”

Ann's face soured, “We're not shopping together, and we're just waiting for Sakuno. We were supposed to go to that new Build-a-Bear Workshop that just opened on the third floor.”

“That's right, I wouldn't be caught shopping with her,” Tomoka jabbed a thumb in Ann's direction, “even if you paid me to anyway.”

“What was that?” Ann couldn't believe the girl said that to her, and in front of Momo! If she wasn't Sakuno's friend… “Well, I wouldn't be caught shopping with you even if my life depended on it! Momo you're coming with us so that people don't assume she and I are friends or anything like that.”

Startled at the sudden attitude displayed by the normally friendly girls, Momo took a minute to process what Ann just said. “What?” He blinked rapidly and scratched his head.

“You're coming with us, Momo-senpai. I don't want to be stuck waiting for Sakuno alone with this girl, since people might think she's my friend.” Tomoka told her senpai, then stepped closer to him.

Ann, not to be outdone, stood on the other side of the tall Seigaku Regular and clutched his arm. “You can call it a date, just until Sakuno comes,” she told Momo.

Momo felt like passing out, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. All he wanted was to go to the arcade and hang out with Kikumaru-senpai, who promised to treat him to burgers after. He didn't sign up for anything like this. “Anou…” the girls were glaring at each other across of him, and he jumped as Tomoka grabbed his other arm as well. “I'm supposed to meet Kikumaru-senpai in the arcade…”

Ann looked up at him, “So you're just going to leave me here with her?” Her face looked pale, her eyes sad.

Momo felt bad.

Tomoka did the same. “Momo-senpai, you can't leave us alone!” Her eyes were pleading, and he didn't really want to shove them off of his arms, their grips were tight.

“Anou…” the dunk-smash master said, at a loss for words. “I guess… I guess I could call Kikumaru-senpai and tell him I'm going to be a little delayed.”

The girls brightened at the suggestion and released his arms long enough for him to dig through his pocket for his cellphone.

Scrolling through his contact list, he called Kikumaru, who answered in a few rings.

“Moshi-moshi?”

“Ah, Kikumaru-senpai? It's Momo.”

“Momo-chin! Where are you? I'm in front of the arcade already.” Kikumaru said impatiently.

“I'm in the entrance, near the fountain,” Momo replied, “I'm sorry but I think I'm going to be delayed for a few more minutes, I'm going to accompany Osakada and Ann while waiting for Sakuno.”

“Eh? Did you set up another date when you forgot that we were supposed to go to the arcade, Momo?” The acrobatics specialist sang over the phone, unable to keep himself from teasing.

Momo was blushing as he replied. “NO! It's nothing like that, Kikumaru-senpai!”

“And with TWO… no wait, THREE girls? And with Ryuzaki-chan no less? Aaah Momo, what's Ochibi going to think about that, huh?” He demanded in a chastising tone of voice.

“Ki-ku-ma-ru-sen-pai,” Momo could feel even the roots of his hair blush, “I said it's NOT LIKE THAT!” He almost screamed into his cellphone.

Kikumaru burst out laughing at the other end of the line, he was imagining how embarrassed Momo probably looked by now. “Hahahahahaha, I'm just teasing you Momo, you're easier to bait than Oishi.” Cat ears were almost visible from the top of his head.

Momo cleared his throat as he tried to tamper down his blush. “Is that all right, Kikumaru-senpai?”

Kikumaru didn't mind. “Yes it's okay. I'll see you in a bit, ja.”

Momo faced two curious faces as he hung up the phone.

“What did Kikumaru-senpai say?” Tomoka asked, wondering why Momo-senpai had a furious blush on his face.

“Ah, he said it was okay for me to stay here for a while. He's probably going to go play until I come.”

“So you have a date with him after your date with me?” Ann said casually.

The heat crept up Momo's cheeks again. “We're not on a date!”

“Such a cute couple.”

“Young people these days…”

“Aw, isn't that kawaii?”

Sakuno couldn't help but blush as snippets of people's comments floated her way. Some of them would blatantly stare, some would discreetly observe from the side of their eyes, and some just didn't care.

She wished they wouldn't stare at her so much.

Why me?

The person - er - boy - with his head on her lap looked a little familiar, as if she'd seen him before, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

He'll wake up in a few minutes.

“That's so sweet...”

“I wish my boyfriend was as sweet as that.”

Sakuno wanted to cover her face with her hands. He's not my boyfriend! I don't even know him!

Just a few more minutes and by the time the bus stops at the mall again, I'd be able to get off.

She couldn't really blame him. The motion of the moving bus was sleep-inducing. It also wasn't his fault that she chose to sit at the very back of the bus, which he already occupied.

It was bad enough that she took the wrong bus the first time.

She took little notice of the boy at first, whose head was dropping every so often, indicating that he was probably half-asleep or in dreamland already. The motions of the bus would push him forwards, backwards and sideward. He had more balance asleep than she had awake.

She couldn't help but glance at his sleepy dance to the tune of the bus' rhythm, and got slightly concerned whenever he would pitch forward, as if to sprawl on the floor. He managed to stay seated in his precarious position.

After a couple of stops that played havoc on her busybody self, Sakuno scooted closer and reached out. Her intent was to at least get him into a more comfortable and safer position that wouldn't send him flying if the bus driver suddenly hit the brakes.

His shoulders were broad, his arms were probably the size of her legs. He had unruly black hair that gave him a roguish look despite his slumber.

She wondered what color his eyes were.

She was going to shift him to the other side, nearer the window and the seat in front of him, and maybe shift his legs a bit so they weren't awkwardly twisted in that angle.

She managed to partially move him over just as the bus turned at a corner, causing him to fall towards her, with his head in her lap.

Sakuno blushed; a furious crimson staining her pale cheeks at their position. Never has she been this close to a boy before, and a total stranger at that.

The stranger seemed to like his new position, a lot, if his snuggling into her leg was any indication. His legs curled on top of the long backseat as he assumed a fetal position and his right hand gripped the hem of her skirt, nose rubbing against it.

She knew she should have awakened him and asked him to let her go, but when she reached out to shake his shoulder, a long braid fell forward, tickling his nose with it. Long fingers uncurled as he grabbed the braid with his left hand, fisting around it.

Too embarrassed by the closeness they shared, Sakuno figured he'd wake by the time the bus made its stop at her destination. Her voice refused to cooperate whenever she would decide to take the initiative to wake him up.

So she was stuck. At least for now.

The next time the bus stopped at the mall, he would wake for sure and she would be free.

As the rocking motion of the moving vehicle lulled her to sleep, one thought was in her head.

I hope Ann-chan and Tomo-chan won't be too mad at me for being so late…

“Yo, Momo!” Kikumaru greeted as he spotted his tall friend.

The three people waiting for Sakuno in the fountain turned to look at the newcomer.

“Kikumaru-senpai!” Greeted both Tomoka and Momo. Ann gave him a friendly smile which he returned with a full-blown grin, making Momo be wary as to why he was here.

“I thought you were going to wait for me in the arcades?” Momo couldn't help but ask.

“I got bored,” Kikumaru replied, hands held behind his head. “It's not fun to play alone nyah,” he pouted. “You should know that Momo, you're here double dating and waiting for your third date, while you left me dateless!” He accused, cat ears and all.

“W-what?!” Momo sputtered. “I'm not on a date, Kikumaru-senpai!”

“Yes you are, you're on a date with me until Sakuno arrives, don't you remember?” Ann reminded him.

The gleam in Kikumaru's eye rivaled that of Inui when he was trying to force down one of his juices down the Seigaku Regulars' throats. “And he didn't even tell me!” He turned to Ann. “Momo was keeping it a secret from me, his beloved senpai!” He shook his head in disappointment. “And now he looks like he doesn't even want me here,” he quivered his bottom lip for effect.

“It's nothing like that, Kikumaru-senpai! If you don't mind waiting, we can all wait together if you want.”

“Yay!” Kikumaru practically purred in satisfaction, like a cat that just got some cream. “So we're waiting for Ryuzaki-chan?”

The girls nodded.

A glance at the clock again and “She's only about thirty minutes late.” Ann said.

“Which is nothing to be alarmed about,” Tomoka finished as the group lapsed into a companionable silence.

A couple of minutes passed in silence before Kikumaru started fidgeting.

He began to tap his foot impatiently after the five minute mark.

The redhead was pacing in front of the group after ten minutes.

And at fifteen, he couldn't take waiting anymore. “I'm hungry, aren't you guys just a little bit hungry?”

“No, not really, I could wait until Sakuno gets here to eat.” Ann shrugged.

Tomoka shook her head. “Yeah, kinda, but we have to wait for Sakuno, Kikumaru-senpai!”

“I could use something to eat right about now,” Momo said as he nodded, “but if we leave, Ryuzaki-chan might come.”

“So why don't we just get some pretzels and drinks and eat them here?” Kikumaru whined. Waiting here doing nothing was boring.

“I guess we could do that…” Momo agreed, he could use something to eat and drink right about now.

“Great, now go get them while I go wait with the girls here, eh Momo-chin!”

Momo's eyes bugged out. “What?!” He was tricked!

“Go ahead,” Kikumaru waved him off with his hand.

Momo's shoulders slumped as he took everyone's order and then trotted off to retrieve the food.

Sakuno was nowhere to be found even after the group finished their light snack.

She was over an hour late by then, which made the girls a little bit uneasy. Usually, if Sakuno was this late, she'd call them and apologize, explain the reason why she was running late.

As if by some unspoken agreement, Ann fished out her phone and dialed Sakuno's number, getting her voicemail instead. “Sakuno, when you hear this message, call me back ASAP. You didn't forget about our date, did you? Even a couple of your senpai are here with me and Osakada waiting for you.” She paused, frowning. “You didn't get lost again, did you? Anyway, just call me back and let me know where you are.”

“Was that Sakuno's voicemail?” Tomoka asked after Ann hung up.

“Yes,” Ann nodded. “I was getting worried…” She trailed off, looking thoughtful, “Isn't it odd that I get redirected to her voicemail when she would normally call us to apologize for being late?”

Tomoka looked thoughtful. “Maybe her battery died?”

“Or maybe she forgot to bring her phone,” Momo said.

“Or,” Kikumaru's eyes widened, “she got kidnapped on her way here and the kidnappers turned her cellphone off so we couldn't trace the signal to find her!”

“Kikumaru-senpai!” Momo scolded, “I'm sure that's not what happened,” he said as he patted the girls' shoulders to assure them.

“How do you know for sure, Ryuzaki-chan isn't here right now, is she?” The redhead exclaimed, knee-deep in his belief at the possibility. “I should call Oishi, maybe he knows!” Nimble hands didn't have to scroll through his contact list, he had his doubles partner's number memorized.

“Moshi-moshi?”

“Oishi!” Kikumaru basically screamed into the receiver, “Ryuzaki-chan has been kidnapped!!!”

A huffing and puffing Oishi glared at his doubles partner, “That's huff not huff a very huff puff nice thing to do, Eiji.” Puff puff puff. He got all worked up for nothing.

He was winded from the impromptu sprint he did after receiving such news.

Oishi was out shopping some food for his tropical fish on the same exact mall Kikumaru and the others were waiting at the moment he received the call. However, the pet shop was on the other side of the other wing of the mall, which was a considerable distance away from the fountain. And it was all for nothing!

Eiji had given him false alarm. The girl wasn't kidnapped, she was just late.

“But Oishi, this is an emergency!” Kikumaru exclaimed loudly, causing several people to glance at their direction. “What if she's stuck in a locked room right now, with nowhere to run? What if someone kidnapped her while she was waiting for the bus?”

“Eiji.” Oishi warned, the girls looked stricken at the possibility of what could have happened to her friend.

“Maybe she was attacked by vicious dogs!”

“Eiji!”

“Or mauled by killer bunnies!”

“Ei-ji!”

“I didn't know there were killer bunnies in Japan?”

Oishi shot Momo an annoyed look. “There aren't. Eiji, will you stop that?”

“But Oishi!” His doubles partners clutched his shirt in panic, “What if she got kidnapped by the Yakuza?!”

Ann and Tomoka gasped.

Oishi had a pained look on his face.

“Maybe… she got lost on the road of life and had to help out a grandma from a tree..?” Momo offered, earning him a glare from his fukubuchou.

“I see that Eiji's not the only one who has been watching too much anime lately.” Oishi pinched the bridge of his nose in dismay. “Those situations are worse than Echizen's excuse.” He was referring to the `I had to help a pregnant lady' excuse by their teammate.

“But Oishi!” Kikumaru exclaimed, waving his hands in the air like a deranged penguin on crack, “That really happened to you, so what if it happens to Ryuzaki-chan, too?”

The fukubuchou considered this for a short moment. “I think we can safely assume that Ryuzaki-chan didn't get attacked by vicious dogs,” Kikumaru opened his mouth, “OR,” Oishi continued, “get mauled by killer bunnies. Much less getting kidnapped by the Yakuza,” he couldn't help but sigh in defeat, “while helping a pregnant grandma from a tree.”

“A pregnant lady AND a grandma from a tree,” Kikumaru dared to correct.

“Either way,” Oishi ignored him, “maybe she's just lost. Took the wrong bus or something…”

“That sounds more like Sakuno,” Ann agreed, looking a little relieved.

“But what about the bunnies?” Kikumaru insisted.

“What bunnies?”

The group turned to look at the newcomer, Fuji Syusuke. He was dressed casually, with a sweater wrapped around his shoulders, giving him a preppy look.

“Ryuzaki-chan got mauled by attack bunnies when she got lost on the road of life because of vicious killer dogs who work for the Yakuza that chased her while helping a pregnant lady get to the hospital after rescuing a grandma who was stuck on top of a tree!”

Fuji's crystal blue eyes opened in alarm, concern flashing through them and then closed again, his brow knitting in confusion. “… what?”

“Ryuzaki-mmm!” Kikumaru's explanation was cut off by Oishi's hand clamping on top of his mouth.

“It seems like Ryuzaki-chan was supposed to meet Tachibana and Osakada here today but she's running a lot late.” Oishi tightened his grip on his struggling partner. “Past one hour now exactly… and disregard anything Eiji said, especially the one about the bunnies.”

Kikumaru glared at his partner as he was released, but said nothing.

Fuji considered this. “She has a habit of being late… maybe she took the wrong bus. Did you try calling her cellphone?”

Several heads nodded.

“We get redirected to her voicemail,” Tomoka supplied.

“Low battery probably.”

“Or she forgot to take it with her.”

“I still say bunnies.” Kikumaru bristled at the glares he received. “What? You have a problem with bunnies?”

“There is little to no possibility that Ryuzaki would be attacked by killer bunnies in modern day Japan, in the middle of the city, Eiji.”

Almost everyone clutched their chest in surprise at the sound of Inui's voice. Fuji was the only one who didn't jump like a startled rabbit at the sudden appearance of the data man.

“When did you get here, Inui?” Oishi asked, massaging his poor heart.

“Just a few minutes ago, why?” Inui adjusted his glasses as he looked at his notebook. “Furthermore, the chances of Ryuzaki getting kidnapped by the Yakuza are less than .03 percent, not counting the probability that someone she gets into contact with is somehow connected to the organization. And the likelihood of her being harmed by killer dogs and vicious bunnies are lesser than the Yakuza percentage.”

“Why are you here, Inui-senpai?” Momo couldn't help but ask.

“I had to purchase additional notebooks and backup pens from the bookstore,” Seigaku's data man explained as he held up a bag printed with the bookstore's logo. “I couldn't help but hear your conversation and have already calculated the facts, reaching the conclusion that Ryuzaki is lost. There is a 90 percent chance that she took the wrong bus. She probably realized her folly approximately thirty to forty minutes later and got off of it, an 80 percent chance that she took the correct one after that.”

“So you're saying that she should be here…”

“… Any minute now,” Inui confidently answered, all the data already calculated in his brilliant mind.

“Can your data tell us why we get redirected to her voicemail, Inui-senpai?” A worried Tomoka asked.

Inui looked at his notes. “There is a 75 percent chance that her battery ran out, and an 88 percent probability that she forgot to bring her phone with her, in her haste to get out of her place of residence.”

“So we just wait for her here, right?” Momo voiced out what almost everybody was thinking. “She'll be here any minute now, right?”

“Right,” several voices agreed.

“Hey,” Fuji said, “is that Tezuka?”

kouhai - “junior at work or school”.

Thank you for all your reviews. 8) They inspire me to get off of my lazy butt and update. XD

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