Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ ◄:� S A K U N O Chronicles �:► ❯ This is not a date desu. ( Chapter 8 )

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

â™¥ WALO â™¥

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A tall boy with a white towel wrapped around his head was rubbing his right arm as he joined his teammates for some tennis practice that afternoon.

“Is something wrong with your arm, Ishida?” Tachibana Kippei asked his teammate, concerned. He was worried if Tetsu's arm was paining him because of his Hadoukyuu use.

“Nothing's wrong with my arm, Tachibana-san!” Tetsu replied, looking around nervously. Kippei's brows furrowed at his behavior, but he decided to let it go for now.

Kippei continued with his warm-ups as Tetsu joined him, the doubles partners Tatsumori and Kyousuke coming afterwards. Both were also rubbing the patch just below their right elbows. They displayed the same behavior as Tetsu when their captain asked them, looking around nervously, as if watching out for something, before they vehemently assured him that nothing was wrong.

He suspected that they were hiding something from him, and he didn't really like it that they weren't telling him the truth, but he was at a loss at how to get it out of them without resorting to physical force or short of ordering them to tell him because they were so tight-lipped about it. His silent prodding wasn't effective; they were extremely guarded about whatever it was.

There was one moment when Ibu came with Kamio, muttering about the pain in his arm and how he should remember to stay away from girls and their moods, but even Ibu had been tight-lipped when he asked him as well. That confused Kippei even more. Why would Shinji refuse to talk about something? When had he ever refused to talk about anything? He always had problems controlling Shinji and his perchance for speaking his mind, despite the inappropriateness of it.

Practice eventually finished and all his Regulars went home in the speed of light, like kicked puppies with their tails tucked in between their legs. Kippei was left totally bewildered by the whole thing, but endeavored to keep it out of his mind by the time he went home.

Ann was in the kitchen when he got back, and he noticed the sour look on her face. Ever the concerned older brother, he inquired if there was something wrong with her. He was more than a bit startled when Ann snapped back at him.

“What makes you think there's something wrong with me!?”

The fierce frown, melded brows and vicious snarl on her lips were telltale giveaways, but he didn't mention it. “I was just asking,” was his calm reply, hoping to make a quick exit.

Ann wasn't done with him though. Even though he was older than her, she was a girl and more than a bit spoiled. He could be partially blamed for it, he guessed, but he liked catering to his sister's whims… if she wasn't in a raving mad mood, that is. “All day today everyone's been asking me that and I'm sick and tired of being asked that!!!” He was taller than his sister by several heads, but he still felt like cowering in fear when she advanced upon him like a fox circling her prey. “Do I look okay to you, huh!?! DO I?!?!!” The veins in her head were visible from the strain of trying to hold her temper in check.

“I wasn't saying anything!” Both of his hands were held up in surrender as he slowly tried to creep out of the room. There were times in a man's life when he realized that the best option was to retreat, and this was definitely one of those times. His live-to-fight-another-day strategy always worked when dealing with his younger sister.

The next day, Kippei went to school rubbing his right arm as well. Nobody pointed it out or asked about it, but he now understood. It was never a good idea to cross a girl with PMS.

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Tomoka didn't seem to want to discuss her snit with Ann the next day, so Sakuno didn't push it. She was concerned about how her two closest friends were getting along with each other, but she didn't know what to do as of yet. If she talked to Tomo-chan about Ann-chan, she was afraid she might take it the wrong way and think that she was favoring Ann-chan over her. The same dilemma faced her if she did the same to Ann-chan. She didn't want one friend to think that she favored the other; she both cherished them the same.

The extra tickets Sakuno got as gifts from her cousin were supposed to be for Ann and Tomoka, but Tomoka couldn't come. She had babysitting duties. She made Sakuno promise to get a picture and an autograph from Eyes Rutherford though, so Sakuno was determined to get those come wind or high water. Thank Kami for backstage passes or it would've been difficult.

She already decided to give her first extra ticket to Shinji-kun, since he was inadvertently left out of their previous activity, and now Sakuno had another extra ticket.

What should she do with it?

She pondered on who she should give it to.

It was clear that Kippei no nii-chan didn't like Eyes Rutherford's music. It would take an act of God or extreme blackmail from his little sister to force him to go and he wasn't going to have a good time anyway, so why bother forcing him to go?

She figured her Syusuke-nii was probably going to give his extra ticket to one of his siblings and she wondered if they were coming with her and Ann-chan. She found him during lunch and asked him if he wanted the other extra one, for his other sibling, just in case, but he refused, saying that he only needed one.

It would have been easier for her if Syusuke-nii took it. The only thing that he asked her is if they could go together, which she happily said yes to, of course. The more, the merrier was what he said and she agreed.

Tomo-chan was telling her to ask Ryoma-kun, but it'd be a million years before she could do such a thing. She didn't want to take him to a concert because it would look like they were going on a date, even though they weren't, and she definitely didn't want to be the one to ask the boy out on her very first date, even though it wasn't really a date. The boy should be the one to ask her, not the other way around… even on not-dates.

The same also applied if she asked Akaya-kun. They weren't really close, in a Shinji-kun, Tomo-chan or Ann-chan kind of way, and the thought of asking Akaya-kun out to a concert, even if it was with a bunch of other friends, caused her cheeks to heat up for some reason. No, she couldn't ask him. She'd have to think of someone else.

Sakuno pondered this the whole day, causing her to look like she was in very deep thought. It would be a shame to waste the gift.

She was on her way to buy some juice for lunch when she literally bumped into the idea. The collision must have sparked her brain cells into life. “Momo-senpai!” Her eyes shone brilliantly as she looked at the tall sophomore. Ann-chan would definitely like it if Momo-senpai went!

“Ryuzaki, you should watch where you're going.” Horio couldn't believe how clumsy the girl was at times.

“Are you alright?” Momo was with the freshmen trio, just minding his business and wishing that the line would go faster because his stomach was starting to eat itself from the inside when she bumped into his back. That was odd… was it just him or did she look really happy to see him?

“Momo-senpai!” Sakuno repeated, too caught up in her idea to notice that all Kachiro, Katsuo, Horio and Momo were looking at her funny. “Can I talk to you for a moment?” Once the idea took root in her mind, she liked it more and more. If she gave the last ticket to Momo-senpai, Tomo-chan wouldn't get mad at her for not asking Ryoma-kun out, and she wouldn't be tempted to give it to anybody else; especially to a certain someone from another school. Added to that, she was sure that Ann-chan would also have a great time if Momo-senpai was there.

Momo's stomach rumbled, reminding him that he was on line for precious nourishment. “Sure. Can we do it while I'm standing in line?” Sakuno nodded, too excited about her genius idea to care about where they were going to talk. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Are you free this Saturday?” She asked.

Horio's ears perked up while Kachiro and Katsuo exchanged glances.

Momo didn't notice the actions of the ichinen trio. Two more students got their food and now he was closer to his goal. “There's no club practice this Saturday,” he absent-mindedly replied as he calculated how many burgers he should eat for lunch today. “So I guess the answer is yes, I don't have anything else to do so I'm free.”

Sakuno clapped her hands together happily. “Would you like to go to a concert on Saturday?”

“With you?” Horio, ever the gossip, pried.

“Yes,” Sakuno answered, not really paying attention to him. She just had to get Momo-senpai to agree. It was for Ann-chan!

“Like on a date?” Horio pressed even further, curious as to why Ryuzaki was asking Momo-chan-senpai out.

“Bwuh?” The word `date' snapped Momo out of his food-fixation, and he realized just who he was talking to… who had just asked him if he was free this Saturday… and did she say concert!? Was little Ryuzaki, their coach's granddaughter and (in his mind) unofficially Echizen's, asking him out for a date? … Did she mistake him for Echizen?

At the same time that Momo realized it was actually Ryuzaki who was asking him if he wanted to go to a concert on Saturday, he also caught on to the big ears and eyes that were tuned into their conversation.

Horio looked very interested, and even though his other two companions were trying hard to hide it, they were intently listening as well. A quick look around made Momo breathe a sigh of relief; a certain freshman wasn't there. Realizing that this talk of theirs should be made away from prying ears, he dug through his pocket and handed Kachiro some money. “Get me one orange juice, a soda and burgers with that, will you?”

The boy accepted the cash and nodded, a bit disappointed that Momo-senpai didn't seem to want them to listen in on their plans… not that he was a gossip like Horio, of course. “Hai, Momo-chan-senpai!”

“I'll be right back,” He said as he left the line, grabbed Ryuzaki's wrist gently and led her away from the curious boys. “Save me a seat in the cafeteria, I'll be right there okay?” He called over his shoulder, carefully dragging the girl behind him.

Sakuno went dizzy from all the corners that Momo-senpai took, looking at each side and behind him fastidiously. He looked kind of paranoid even, like someone was hunting him or something. They stopped when he found a spot to his liking, behind a tall potted plant, and she got a little concerned. Did Momo-senpai take her to this corner of the school - one which she didn't think she'd been to before - because he didn't want to go? Oh no! She had to convince him to come, no matter what!

“Ryuzaki…” Momo shuddered to think what he could have done to make Ryuzaki ask him out to a concert. He didn't really know the girl that much. To his recollection, they haven't even spent a lot of time together to properly bond. He was well-liked by a lot of people in different people, but he didn't want Ryuzaki to like him enough to ask him out on a date. If Echizen found out… “What was it you were asking me about again?” He asked slowly, trying to think of ways on how to let her down gently and save himself from a flogging at the same time. Curse his good looks and charming personality!

“Would you like to go to a concert on Saturday?” Sakuno asked hopefully, mentally crossing her fingers together. Please, please say yes, Momo-senpai!

“Errr…” Momo couldn't directly say no to those big, pleading puppy dog eyes of hers. “Wouldn't you rather ask, um, someone else?” Like Echizen…

Sakuno shook her head, making her braids swing behind her. Why didn't Momo-senpai want to go? “But it'd be fun if you went, Momo-senpai!”

Momo grimaced. He had no experience in turning down girls who asked him for dates because… well… honestly, he's never been asked on a date like this before. Ann-chan sort of just made him do whatever she wanted to do when she claimed that they were going on a date, but he really didn't consider those real dates… and they were with others… and well… that was with Ann-chan… “But you really should go ask someone else. Really,” he said slowly.

Why was he making this so difficult? “Tomo-chan can't go and we have one more extra ticket.”

“We?” Momo's brows furrowed.

“Ann-chan, Shinji-kun and I.” Sakuno replied. Then remembered to add “… With Syusuke-nii and one other.” She wasn't sure who his guest would be.

In the midst of visions of Echizen making him eat tennis balls for breakfast if he found out about this conversation, something clicked in the Momo's mind. “So this isn't a date?” He sighed in relief when Sakuno looked puzzled at his question. He wasn't going to end up with a black eye like Horio after all! And then something she said caught his attention. “Ann as in Tachibana's little sister?”

Sakuno nodded, puppy dog eyes in place. “Would you like to go, Momo-senpai? Ann-chan would like it if you came.”

A concert and a chance to be with Ann-chan. Momo's blood rushed to his face. “But it's not going to be like a d-date or something like that, right?” If they were going with other people and Ann-chan wasn't the one who asked him, then he wasn't going on a date with Ann, right?

Sakuno's dormant sneaky side rose to the surface. She was surprised it was even there. “Of course not, Momo-senpai.” Anyone would believe an angelic face like that. And she was doing all this for the good of her dear friend! “We're going with lots of other people so it's not really an official date.” A little voice sniggered inside her head. It was a group date, or you can see it as her and the others being Ann-chan and Momo-senpai's chaperones, but he didn't need to know that.

“I-“ a chance to be with Ann… Can you say lucky? “I guess I could go then…” Momo considered after half a second, still red in the face. Will Ann see it as a date?

“Yay!” Sakuno clapped her hands together in glee, not giving Momo a chance to change his mind and happy that she solved her ticket problem. “It's this Saturday and we're meeting each other in the entrance at around six thirty.” She pulled the ticket out of her pocket and handed it over to him.

“Thanks.” Momo nodded absentmindedly as he stared at the space somewhere above Ryuzaki's head and they parted ways, not really sure if that all happened. If it had been anybody else but Ryuzaki, he would suspect that they were trying to match-make him with the girl from Fudomine. But it was shy little Ryuzaki! Was she even capable of thinking devious thoughts? Because she certainly didn't look like it. Shaking the suspicious thoughts from his mind, he pocketed the ticket and went to the cafeteria in search for Kachiro and his food. The freshmen trio were already there, sitting with Echizen. “Yo!” He greeted and took a seat.

Echizen returned his greeting with a nod while Kachiro pushed Momo's food towards him.

“There you go, Momo-senpai.”

“Thanks, Kachiro!” Momo happily dug into his food. He was starting to get excited about spending some time with Ann-chan in a non-date and it was fueling his appetite.

“So how did it go, Momo-chan-senpai?” Horio inquired, watching his senpai carefully and keeping Echizen within his line of sight at the same time.

Something resembling `It went fine' escaped Momo's lips in between burger bites.

“Did you accept?”

Kachiro and Katsuo exchanged glances. They knew it was odd how Horio refrained from mentioning what they witnessed to Echizen when they joined him at the table for lunch, but now they had an idea as to why Horio put it off.

Momo shrugged, still eating, and then nodded absentmindedly. What should he wear on Saturday? Will Ann notice if he wore cologne, he wondered. Kamio wasn't going to be there, was he? Ryuzaki didn't mention Kamio so he must not be going. Oh god, he hoped not. He just wanted a night of leisure. Kamio was cool, but they argued a lot. Thrice as much if they were around Ann. Wait, what concert was it anyway? He never thought to ask. His mind sort of just blanked out at the mention of Ann's name.

“So you're going on a date with - OW!” The boy crouched low as he rubbed his leg, his eyes - one of them with a black circle surrounding it - widened into saucers. “You kicked me!” His voice was full of disbelief.

Kachiro met his friend's incredulity with a rare hard glare, silently telling him to keep quiet about what they witnessed earlier. He didn't want his Momo-senpai to end up with a black eye like him.

Horio didn't take the hint. “As I was saying,” he glared right back at Kachiro “before I was so rudely interrupted, Momo-senpai, does that mean that you're going on a date with - ITAI YO!” This time, the boy jumped as the table did, his pain doubling from getting kicked on the same spot twice and hitting his knee on the table at the same time. It was difficult to intimidate a person with a menacing glare if you had tears in your eyes, so Horio settled for a whine. “Why did you do that!?”

Katsuo was the culprit this time. His foot just automatically pitched forward to hit him when Horio was about to spill Momo-chan-senpai's secret. If Momo-senpai and Ryuzaki were dating, it wasn't their place to tell Ryoma-kun. In his opinion, Horio should shut up before he got matching black eyes to match the bruises on his shin. “Ixnay on the ateday, Horio-kun.” He said with a mild but firm shake of his head.

Have his friends gone mad?

Kachiro was also shaking his head at him and he wasn't exactly excited to get a third kick.

Horio sighed; his friends were such party poopers. Weren't they curious as to how Echizen was going to react if he found out that Ryuzaki asked Momo-senpai for a date? Not looking forward to having a permanent mark of a foot on his shin, Horio kept his mouth shut.

Ryoma didn't notice anything amiss, despite the kicks that Horio received. Sometimes, he wanted to kick the boy as well. Lunch went off without a hitch as classes resumed afterwards.

Horio was in a bad mood all afternoon, but he waited until club practice to get back at his two so-called friends. The front part of his leg still felt raw. He was actually going to share the information he got recently with his friends freely before, but they deserved to be punished after what they did at lunch time.

He waited until it was only the three of them in the club room until he spoke. “Do you think Ryuzaki looks like Ryuzaki-sensei, even just a little bit?” They were early, since it was their duty to set up the nets and gather all the balls and equipment for the senpai-tachi and regulars.

Katsuo shrugged. “Maybe.” He didn't really notice these kinds of things, especially about their sensei or their sensei's granddaughter.

Horio was looking at him, expecting an answer so Kachiro shrugged as well. “I… guess.”

“And have you ever seen Ryuzaki-sensei with her hair down?”

“Hm…” Kachiro tried to recall of a single time, but couldn't come up with anything. “No.”

“Ryuzaki sort of looks like Ryuzaki-sensei, doesn't she?” Horio pressed, forcing them to reevaluate their earlier answers.

“I guess,” they both answered, unconvinced and wondering why Horio was asking them this.

“Did you know that Ryuzaki-sensei was a very attractive woman when she was younger?”

“No,” Katsuo blanched. He didn't care if Ryuzaki-sensei was a famous supermodel in her younger days; she was his sensei and that was that. The words `attractive woman' and `Ryuzaki-sensei' were never to be placed in the same sentence, in his opinion. It was just plain creepy. And whatever Horio was aiming at, he wanted no part of it.

“Aren't you the least bit curious that I have a picture of a young Ryuzaki-sensei?” Why weren't they interested like they should be? This scene played out differently in his mind than it actually was doing right now.

“Not really,” the other two freshmen answered.

The door opened just as Horio took out a picture from his bag and waved it in front of the two. “Not even when I have this?” A hand grabbed the picture from above in mid-wave. “Hey!”

“What's this nyah? Ooooooh… is this your girlfriend, Horio?” Kikumaru was staring at the attractive woman in the picture. “She looks kind of familiar nyah?” He couldn't recall where he's seen her before. “She's very pretty.” This couldn't be Horio's girlfriend. Not only was she way older than the both of them, she also had the face of an angel with the body of a swimsuit model. He had nothing against Horio, but the boy wouldn't be able to get a girl like this with the way he was right now in a mabillion years.

“Anou…” Katsuo looked a little uncomfortable “Eiji-senpai… that's um…”

“That's not my girlfriend, Eiji-senpai!” Horio was appalled at the thought of him dating Ryuzaki-sensei. “But she's pretty, ne?”

“Look at that long, shiny hair!!!” Kikumaru nodded.

“Pretty eyes.”

“And those big—“

“What are you guys talking about?” Oishi was curious about the photograph that Horio and Eiji were fussing over. They were fawning at it so much that they didn't even notice him and Kaidoh come in.

Kikumaru presented the photograph to Oishi. “She's so pretty, nyah?”

Oishi blinked at it. “Uh… yeah.” She was very pretty but why did she look so familiar? He couldn't put a finger on it, but… “It kind of looks like…”

“You think she looks familiar too, huh Oishi?”

The fukubuchou squinted more at the pretty face. “Isn't that—“

“What are we looking at?” Fuji asked as he came up behind Oishi and Kikumaru.

“A picture of a pretty lady” Kikumaru held it up to Fuji's level so he could see it, “courtesy of Horio. Doesn't she look familiar?”

Even Kaidoh was curious about it enough to crowd behind his senpai-tachi. “Fsssshuuu… She kind of looks like Ryuzaki… a little…” He didn't like the looks they gave him so he turned away before his teammates could detect the blush on his face. What? He couldn't help it if he could see the similarities between the lady in the picture and the petite freshman. This was just one of the many reasons why he should just keep to himself. People looked at him weird if he attempted to get involved in conversations. It wasn't like he never spoke to anyone or anything, so they really should stop staring at him like he's grown an extra head just by offering his opinion. Thankfully, they returned to looking at the picture and went back to paying no attention to him.

Horio was in total agreement with the Snake expert. He would bet his tennis experience (the whole two years of them) that if Ryuzaki-chan grew up and became even half the lady that her grandmother was in the picture that she would be very attractive. Maybe she wouldn't be so tall, considering how petite she was, but she would still be a total babe, in his humble opinion. Whoever she ended up with should be lucky. And if Echizen didn't realize it within the next few years or so, he might just lose his chance.

“Nyah?” Kikumaru peered closely at the picture. “I think you're right, Kaidoh. If Ryuzaki was older,” Ryoma came inside the club room just to hear the end of his sentence “I could see her looking kind of like this. Hmmmm… What do you think, Ochibi?” The photograph made its way in front of the boy.

“I don't know, Kikumaru-senpai.” Ryoma said indifferently, minding his own business. Were they tennis players or were they gossip mongrels? What the heck were they talking about now anyway?

“When Ryuzaki grows up, do you think she'll be as pretty as this onee-chan in the picture?” Kikumaru pressed, determined to get an answer from the boy.

Ryoma ignored him, as usual, not falling to any of his baits.

“Are you saying that Sakuno-chan isn't pretty right now, Eiji?” Fuji said with a hint of humor in his voice.

“Ochibi doesn't seem to think so nyah?”

“That's because Echizen can't appreciate anything fine that comes his way if it doesn't involve tennis.” Horio huffed, getting into it. Ryoma glared at him.

“What are you doing?” Everyone turned to the voice of their captain who was standing in the doorway, perplexed as to what held the group's curiosity. Why weren't they getting ready for practice?

“We're looking at Horio's girlfriend's picture.”

“Ack! She's not my girlfriend, Momo-senpai!!!” Horio protested, waving his hands agitatedly.

Fuji laughed softly as he picked up his racket. It was fun to torture his teammates once in a while. “Why don't you show Tezuka the picture?”

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“Remind me never to share anything with you guys ever again.” Horio collapsed unto the ground as he breathed in precious air like a deprived fish out of water. Kachiro and Katsuo collapsed beside him, too tired to complain.

“Remind me to never look at any pictures of your girlfriend that you bring to school, Horio.” Kikumaru's stamina was sorely tested when Tezuka ordered them to run thirty laps across the grounds. “Especially if it involves having Tezuka see that it's actually a picture of a young Ryuzaki-sensei. You know how he gets when the sensei is involved! They're like… practically family or something… with the way he acts.” Well, Ryuzaki-sensei was like family to them all, but Tezuka must be taking it a step higher since he's the captain… or something like that. He fell into the eldest son role perfectly. A little too much, in Kikumaru's opinion, but hey, he wasn't the buchou so what did he know, right?

Kikumaru shuddered and made a mental note never ever to comment on how attractive someone's picture was unless he knew for certain who they were. Just thinking about how he found Ryuzaki-sensei pretty sent chills down his spine.

Feeling the need to impart some senpai advice based on his observations, Inui had some words to share, too. “Neither should you speculate on how desirable Ryuzaki-chan will be in the future if she were to follow in her grandmother's footsteps if Tezuka is around.” Nimble fingers straightened the crooked glasses on the bridge of his nose as he consulted his trusty notebook. “There's a ninety-two percent chance that you will feel Fuji's wrath if you say anything remotely inappropriate about the girl, but the chances of Tezuka making you run laps on top of that is a sure one hundred and twenty percent.”

“One hundred and twenty percent?” Kikumaru shot him a speculative look, thinking that maybe those thirty laps did damage to his brain. “That data makes no sense.”

“Neither does Tezuka being reduced to acting like Oishi when it comes to Ryuzaki -“ He paused. “ … Ryuzakis.” Inui argued.

“He doesn't really act like Oishi, Inui!” Kikumaru doubted his own words. “… Does he?”

“Not by Oishi standards but by Tezuka standards he does.” Their buchou was not only a great tennis player, but he was a master in masking his emotions as well. The word `caring' didn't normally mix with `for a little girl' or `her grandma' in his vocabulary. Not until you throw in `Ryuzaki', that is. That word changed the dynamics of their reserved captain.

“Hmmmm…” Kikumaru was now nodding thoughtfully tapping his chin, seeing Inui's point. “He isn't as emotionally constipated, now that I think about it. He doesn't fuss like Oishi-mama, but then who does, nyah?”

“You know, it's rude to talk about people especially if they're right in front of you,” Oishi frowned at their conversation. “And I don't fuss!” A sliver of doubt crossed his face. “I just care a lot, that's all!”

No one offered to assure him that he wasn't fussy but everyone shuddered as one. “How should I know Fuji-senpai was going to sell us out to -“

“Hush, Fuji's coming!” Oishi silenced Horio, giving the approaching Fuji a hesitant smile.

“Up for another ten laps, gentlemen?” Seigaku's sadistic tensai teased his teammates.

“NO!!!” The group shouted as one.

Ryoma couldn't help but shake his head and think that his senpais needed new hobbies to occupy themselves with other than thinking up ways to afflict suffering, spy or pry into others' business.

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The next few days leading up to the weekend were pretty much routine for Sakuno. Tuesday and Thursday were spent with Fuji and Friday was spent with Shinji. Saturday came too soon and although she felt bad for Tomo-chan not being able to come, she was excited to see her idol at the same time.

Since the concert was going to be held at night, Sakuno ditched her usual pink attire and settled for a darker shade of purple this time. It wouldn't hurt to look her best, especially if she was going backstage and “take lots of pictures”.

Fuji and his companion picked her up early to meet up with the rest of their group and he teased her mercilessly about dressing up, insinuating that she had a date. She protested, of course, and she didn't dress up to impress anyone in particular at all. Her simple dress just looked dressier than it usually did because of the night sky.

They had no problem spotting Ann amongst the crowd when they reached the concert venue. “Wow Sakuno, you're right on time!” She was standing with a red-faced Momo as she waved her friends over.

“Syusuke-nii picked me up to make sure I got here on time.” Sakuno explained to her friend. She was surprised to see the buchou with him instead of Yuuta-nii but didn't make any mention of it to the tensai.

Momo expected Fuji-senpai to be there, but not Tezuka-buchou. The guy didn't seem to have been forced into coming though. His respectful “Buchou!” was returned with a friendly nod. Momo wondered if he should take make small talk, but he didn't know what to say aside from anything tennis-related.

Fuji suggested they take their seats so they wouldn't have to rush with the crowd later on. Everyone agreed so they made their way towards the front row, where their seats indicated on their tickets were. As they were about to take their seats, someone called out from behind.

“Tezuka?”

All eyes turned to the sound of the voice and were met by a smirking face of Atobe. None of them were surprised to see his shadow Kabaji with him. “What a surprise to see you here.” There was a chorus `Atobes' and a single `Atobe-san' from Sakuno as the guy made his way to them. “Taking your girlfriend out for a date, I see.” Atobe said as he saw Tezuka's little girlfriend in the group. Aw, how cute.

Sakuno was embarrassed. Did he still believe her to be the buchou's girlfriend? “Anou… ummmm… Atobe-san…”

“It looks like we're sitting on the same row,” Atobe continued, cutting off Sakuno's attempt to correct him.

Ann rolled her eyes at the peacock. “You're just going to waste your breath explaining the truth to him. Maybe if we knock him over with a mallet on the head…” She whispered at Sakuno who laughed nervously. Sakuno wasn't sure if her friend was serious about it or not.

“Maybe he can't handle the truth.” Momo quipped.

“Why does Atobe think that you're Tezuka-san's girlfriend?” Shinji took his seat beside Sakuno. Ann was on Sakuno's other side and Momo sat beside her. Fuji was sitting next to Shinji, ignoring the frigid glares that Tezuka were shooting his way because he got stuck with sitting next to Atobe. Kabaji took Atobe's other side.

“That's because he's retarded,” Ann replied easily, causing Momo to laugh.

Atobe didn't mind sitting next to Tezuka, but he wondered why his girlfriend wasn't with him. “Shouldn't you be sitting beside your girlfriend?”

Tezuka didn't respond to his question, but Fuji did. “Their love is so strong that they don't need to sit together to watch a concert.” If Tezuka had heat vision, Fuji would have been incinerated in a heartbeat. “Sakuno-chan,” he waved in exaggeration to the girl who was sitting only a seat from him “you want to exchange seats with me? I don't want Tezuka to feel lonely.” Good thing Tezuka couldn't order him to run laps after school hours.

“Uh…” Sakuno smiled painfully at his warped sense of humor. “I'm alright, sitting here, Syusuke-nii.” Her grip on her armrest tightened; they'd have to use crowbars to pry her hands loose. She didn't dislike Atobe-san; she didn't dislike him the slightest bit at all. She just liked her seating arrangement more than she didn't dislike him, that's all.

“Should we get some snacks and drinks right now or just wait until the break to get them?”

Atobe shot a distasteful look at Momo. “This is a concert, not some movie, you idiot.”

Ann patted Momo's hand. “We can get something to eat during the break. We could even invite him and then slip some laxatives into his drink if you want.”

Huffing at the way the commoners talked about him, Atobe turned his full attention to the people sitting closest to him. There were still several minutes left before the concert was going to start and he wanted to make small talk. Maybe even flaunt his superiority over Tezuka a little.

Tezuka was gritting his teeth all the while Atobe was conversing with him. His replies were curt and precise. Fuji divided his attention between two conversations: one with Atobe and Tezuka; the other with Shinji and Sakuno. Was it fate that led to him having to take Tezuka instead of Yuuta tonight, he wondered. He was certainly looking forward to the rest of the evening.

Several minutes later, the group fell silent as the lights dimmed and a spotlight focused on the middle of the stage. A wispy bishounen with silver, flowing hair sat down in front of the piano, his crystal blue eyes filled with intensity. As his fingers made contact with his instrument, he wove a tale of pure musical masterpiece, enrapturing the audience.

The girls were listening intensely to the music, as was Fuji. Shinji was also captivated by the moving performance, but his sharp eyes didn't fail to notice how Momo would sneak a glance at Ann once in a while or how Atobe would crane his neck a bit to sneak a glance towards his direction, eyes full of curiosity. This would then cause Tezuka, who sat next to him, to shift uncomfortably, probably thinking that the guy was looking at him instead of someone beside Shinji.

How interesting, Shinji couldn't help but think as he let the music wash over him.

After the concert ended, the group, together with Atobe and Kabaji, made their way towards the backstage. Atobe's perfect eyesight spotted a familiar cap-wearing tall head in the crowd and he called out, attracting the boy's attention. The boy and his shorter companion made their way to the group, and the others could almost feel the competitiveness in the air crackling.

“Atobe,” Sanada Genichiro, vice-captain of the Rikkaidai Tennis Team acknowledged. It wasn't the first time that they've seen each other in a musical event since they've been to one other before. Their tastes in music seemed to be the same, surprisingly. What he didn't expect was to see Tezuka here with him. He greeted the people from Seigaku and the other two from Fudomine politely, pinning a hard stare at his rival. “I didn't know you liked this kind of music, Tezuka.”

Tezuka half shrugged. He didn't feel the need to share his taste in music, nor did he feel the need to divulge that he wouldn't be in this concert if it wasn't for Fuji's ticket which was from Sakuno, who got it from her cousin as a gift. He was a silent Eyes Rutherford fan, and he preferred to keep it that way.

“He's accompanying his girlfriend and her friends out.” Atobe offered to explain, enjoying the fact that he knew more about his rival (not Sanada's) more than Sanada did.

No one made to correct Atobe on his misassumption since he was a hopeless case. Even Sakuno didn't get as red in the face as she usually did anymore. She was kind of used to it after sitting through the whole concert with Atobe-san's eagle eyes trained on her and after his comments during the break.

“Girlfriend?” Sanada's brow rose in question, sneaking a quick look at the girls with them. There were only two females and he wondered which one was Tezuka's girlfriend. His tennis rival had a girlfriend? How come he didn't know that? His kouhai, whom their buchou gently forced to come with him to the event (in an effort to help explore his gentler side, since it did wonders for his tennis), made choking noises beside him.

“And you look familiar,” Atobe addressed Sanada's companion off-handedly, belatedly noticing that he was with the guy. “Doesn't he look familiar, Kabaji?”

“Ossu.” Kabaji could recall meeting the boy and actually knew his name, but didn't feel like saying anything else. It was easier to just agree with Atobe.

“My name isn't hard to remember.” The boy replied, annoyed. “It's Kirihara Akaya. Ki.ri.ha.ra.A.ka.ya. K-i-r-i-h-a-r-a A-k-a-y-a.” He spelled out for Atobe's benefit. “Got it memorized?” His glare was brushed off as if it was nothing, and he guessed his millionth introduction as well. How hard was it to remember his name? What did he have to do to make people keep it in mind - declare himself to be an official rival of Tezuka? Trying to implement his senpai's and buchou's advice, he tightened the reigns on his temper, breathed in and out deeply, then focused on more positive things. “Sakuno-chan!” He nodded to Shinji and Ann as he strolled over to the girl with the braids. He felt better already, getting closer to her. “I didn't know you were coming here tonight!”

Sakuno blushed. “My cousin gave me the ticket…” Was it just a coincidence that she was considering giving the extra ticket to Akaya-kun before she had the brilliant idea of inviting Momo-senpai instead or what? Maybe it was a sign…

He leaned forward, dropping his voice just for her ears to hear. “My buchou ordered me to go with Sanada-senpai and I didn't really want to at first.” He didn't even know who the heck the pianist was. “But now I'm glad.”

Ann's PMS was over by now, so she was back to her normal friendly self. “Would you like to come with us backstage?”

The others didn't have passes but Atobe was confident that they were going to be allowed in. He claimed he was acquainted with the pianist and no one dared to disagree with him, since it might just be true.

“We see each other in social gatherings,” he explained.

Sure enough, all Atobe had to do was introduce himself and they were all ushered in to see the idol. The backstage passes that Kazuma got for his cousin weren't even checked. The girls tried to be discreet as they fixed stray hairs out or tried to straighten rumpled clothing. Sakuno and Ann weren't the only ones who brought their cameras with them, Fuji did as well, but only Sakuno had an Eyes Rutherford Calendar with her. She was to have it signed personally for her dear friend, under strict orders from Tomoka, and she was to take lots and lots of pictures of him. She felt like a total fangirl. Embarrassing was an understatement, but she had to do it for Tomo-chan, who wasn't able to come tonight.

Akaya was eyeing the calendar distastefully. It was bad enough that the guy was talented (it was a miracle that he didn't fall asleep during the concert) and he looked like a girl (a lot of girls tended to prefer guys who looked effeminate), but it looked like Sakuno was taken with him as well.

Great. Just great.

She wasn't as fidgety in her apparent excitement as the Tachibana girl, but she had the guy's calendar for crying out loud.

No matter how good a tennis player he was, he just wasn't talented in piano or musically gifted, for that matter. He liked to sing karaoke once in a while and was actually quite proud of his singing voice, but he was as much an expert in piano as he was informed in the mating habits of the Beluga Whale. And he knew absolutely nothing about the creatures.

Did she like pianists more than she did tennis players? Is that why she didn't act like a fangirl despite being in the presence of some of the best junior high team captains in Japan? Is that why she seemed so unaffected of Atobe's self-proclaimed greatness? Because she preferred pianists to athletes?

All the thoughts running through his head was making his left brow physically twitch, and he wasn't even aware of it.

Sanada was curious about his kouhai's behavior. Kirihara seemingly forgot all about him when they joined the bigger group. If not for the prompting of Yukimura, he would not have taken the boy here tonight. He could never deny a request from his captain, so he dragged the boy here, much to his protests, and forced him to sit through hours of watching the musical prodigy perform on stage. He didn't fall asleep during the performance, but he looked extremely relieved when it finally ended, jumping out of his seat with more enthusiasm than he showed the entire evening. Clearly, he looked forward to going home and didn't bother to hide his excitement about it.

His enthusiasm level increased drastically when they spotted familiar faces in the crowd. He assumed at first that it was because of the Seigaku captain. The boy was rather competitive, and he took it upon himself to work hard towards defeating the guy that his senpais had their eyes on. He wasn't surprised to find Atobe there too, but he couldn't deny being surprised at finding him together with Tezuka.

He never pegged Tezuka as a guy who already had a girlfriend. Not that he thought Tezuka was gay or anything, the possibility just didn't occur to him before. It was an unexpected development.

He still had no idea which one was the girlfriend. He couldn't decide if it was the girl with the shorter hair or the girl with the braids. The girl with the short hair looked like she was with Momo. The girl with the braids looked a bit plain at first glance, but she looked cuter every time you looked at her. It was like looking at a puppy. A bit on the shy side and she had a habit of stay behind someone, as evident on how she managed to hide behind the other girl, Shinji, Fuji and even Tezuka whenever Atobe talked directly to her.

Atobe looked a bit bothered by that. Maybe, Sanada presumed, because he wasn't used to such reception from the opposite gender. Females tended to flock towards him, shouting his name in adoration or falling in his feet. Usually. The short-haired girl, he remembered as Tachibana's younger sister, looked irritated at him, preferring Momoshiro's company better, but the girl with the braids looked like she was in pain every time Atobe would strike up a conversation with her.

“So you're Azuma's cousin?” Atobe tried once again to talk to Tezuka's girlfriend. Did he have a hair out of place or manage to grow an extra head lately? Why did she look at him unlike any female has ever looked at him (with the exception of Tachibana's little sister) whenever he turned his attention to her? He wasn't going to bite but his neck was sure starting to get a crick from having to have to look passed the wall of Fuji that she was standing behind. How Tezuka managed to go out with a shy little butterfly like her was a mystery.

“Hai.” Sakuno replied, unconsciously clutching Fuji's sweater closer. Why was Atobe-san talking to her? Not even buchou's back was big enough to hide her. Syusuke-nii provided good interception though, so here she was right now, attempting to burrow her way into his side. She would seek refuge beside Ann-chan, but she didn't want to interrupt her not-date with Momo-senpai. The two of them looked like they were lost in their own little world whenever they talked to each other, and she didn't want to pop their little love bubble to seek refuge behind her friend.

“Ore-sama has met him several times. He's a great baker.” Sakuno smiled in agreement. “Does it run in the family?”

“Oh not at all.” Sakuno's eyes widened. “My baking skills could never compare to Kazu-nii's.”

“Hm,” Atobe was starting to run out of topics to talk about.

“Sakuno-chan is being too humble. Don't you think so, Tezuka?”

“Aa.”

“Kazuma-san is a professional baker, but his culinary skills can't compare to Sakuno-chan's.”

Atobe quirked a brow at Fuji. “Maybe Ore-sama should have a chance to decide for himself. Wouldn't you agree, Kabaji?”

“Ossu.”

“If you went to Seigaku she could probably pack you a bento, but you don't.” Fuji looked at Atobe with pity.

“I'm curious as to what Sakuno-chan's bento tastes like.” Akaya wondered what cuisines she liked to cook.

“She packs a special bento for me during practice because Kamio sniffs it all in five minutes if Ann-chan hasn't already beaten him to it. Ann-chan can be very possessive when it comes to her bentos. I doubt if Kamio even remembers the meaning of the word friendship when he starts eating them.” Shinji frowned in disapproval at his friends' behavior. They acted like starving vultures as soon as the bento boxes were opened, that's why he made it a note to hug his bento close during Fridays. Everyone suffered through a three-hour mumbling from him when they deprived him of more than three bites the first time, so Sakuno packed him a separate special bento each week afterwards, just to be on the safe side.

Now Atobe was more curious than ever. He also didn't want to be the only one who hasn't had a taste of the girl's bento, since it was popular among his rival teams. He doubted if she cooked better than the finest chefs that his money could afford, but he didn't want to be left out of the loop from anything.

“Will you mind if I go to practice with you this Friday?” Akaya's question grabbed Sanada's attention. While it was true that they had a day off this Friday, he didn't know that Akaya was willing to spend it mingling with people from other schools.

“If you want to, you're welcome to come. It's a free country. You might want to ask permission from your captain first though.” Shinji replied.

Atobe couldn't help but notice and get annoyed that Tezuka's girlfriend didn't feel the need to hide behind anybody whenever anyone else but him talked to her. Her surprised face was clearly visible without the hindrance of Mt. Fuji. “You won't get in trouble for it, will you?” She snuck a quick glance at Sanada.

“Nah,” Akaya grinned. “I'm curious to see how good you are with tennis.” And he also wanted to taste her bento.

No one laughed but Sakuno felt very embarrassed. “I-I'm not very good with tennis at all.” She would bet that even the roots of her hair were blushing right now. Not even Inui-senpai's juices were helping her tennis skills, but they did taste great, once you added Kanmuri-kun's special ingredient in it.

“Where is this “practice” held at?” Atobe questioned. If they were freely inviting what's his name then they wouldn't mind inviting him too, would they? Shinji gave him the address that he recognized. He'd been there before, he remembered.

A second later, a redheaded guy and a guy with brown hair came in, followed by Eyes Rutherford himself. All thoughts and talk about tennis were forgotten and even Ann broke away from talking to Momo to take pictures and get the idol's autograph.

Sakuno looked ill at ease as she handed him the calendar for him to sign, but she lost some of it as she gave him specific instructions on what to do with it and whom to address it to. Tomo-chan would have her hide if she didn't. Fuji was snapping pictures left and right with both his and Sakuno's camera all the while, in which Sakuno was thankful for. Tomo-chan was going to be one very happy fangirl come Monday.

They even managed to take several group pictures with everyone. The two guys, who they all assumed to be Eyes' friends, were gracious enough to take it for them. They stayed and talked with him for close to an hour before his cellphone rang and he had to go.

No one but Atobe's entourage was there to greet them when they exited the stadium, and once again, his offers to give them rides were denied. He rephrased it to giving them rides up to the station, in which they finally caved and piled into his luxurious limo.

At the train station, Sakuno once again found herself going home with her two senpais. Ann was with Momo and Shinji while Akaya went with Sanada, but not before he arranged some sort of schedule with Shinji.

Tezuka visibly relaxed when they got into the train. Aside from the lone passenger snoozing in the far corner, they were alone. He enjoyed the concert, but sitting next to Atobe was stressful.

Fuji took out his digital camera and looked at his pictures with Sakuno. She praised him on the quality of the shots taken, boosting his pride in his photography hobby. Even Tezuka agreed that they were good shots.

They dropped Sakuno home first and she waved goodbye, wishing them a safe journey home along with several thank yous. After a quick shower, Sakuno changed into her nightclothes and prepared to tuck into bed, smiling at the concert paraphernalia on her desk. She should put them in a memory box. In memory of her first concert.

All in all, it was a tiring day, but she had fun.