Author's notes: Sorry it took so long for the update!

This idea had been in my head for some time but took quite long to materialise... Hehehe... Gomen ne...

I was on holiday, but I was busy watching animes... Not a really good excuse but... Also, I had some kind of writer's block! Now is that a better reason?

School is starting soon unfortunately but I will continue to write little by little. Some time must be put for rest and I will use it to continue writing!

This fic...is as complicated as it sounds. Lol. There are 3 pairings here, but full of unrequited love.

Enjoy this fic and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

Pairing / Characters: Katou Kachirou x Ryuuzaki Sakuno, Katou Kachirou x Osakada Tomoka, Echizen Ryoma x Ryuuzaki Sakuno

Genre: Romance / Angst

Complications of Love

It was 3.20pm at Seishun Gakuen. Classes had officially ended twenty minutes ago. If it was any other day, students would still be lingering around in the classes, talking to each other or just simply sitting there. However, today was the day most clubs would have their activities, therefore classes were mostly empty, only leaving behind those on cleaning up duty.

"Yosh!" Tomoka let out. "Just a bit more and I am done! All I have to do is to wait for Sakuno to return and then we can go see Ryoma-sama in tennis practice!" She said as she placed her hands on her waist, satisfied at what she had done.

"Osakada-san!" A voice called from behind Tomoka. Upon hearing the voice, she immediately stiffened. She knew the owner of the voice, she would know it anywhere. She could feel her heartbeat quicken and the pace of her breathing becoming more rapid. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she turned around as normally as she could.

"Kachiro, what are you doing here?" Tomoka said in her usual loud and domineering tone.

"I'm just looking for Ryoma-kun." Kachiro replied, glancing around the empty classroom. "Is he on duty?"

"Yeah, library duty." Tomoka replied, trying to keep her gaze on Kachiro without blushing.

It has been two years since Seigaku Tennis Club won the National Middle School Tennis Tournament with Echizen Ryoma as their young ace. Since then, the tennis club had flourished and its reputation as being one of the best schools for tennis spread. They had a lot of talented first and second years and therefore, it was getting difficult for the third years to hold onto their position as regulars. However, this was the one thing that strengthened the club.

"I see." Kachiro commented with a smile on his face which made Tomoka's heart skip a beat. "By the way…" he continued. "Is Ryuuzaki-san around?"

The last comment was like an ominous weight pulling down on Tomoka's left chest, resulting in a faint but nagging pain in that area. She brought her hands to her back where she kept them hidden from the young man in front of her.

"It…It's none of your business isn't it?" Tomoka replied. Her hands hidden behind her were clasped tightly, as if to quell the pain spreading across her heart. She knew it; she had known from a long time ago that Katou Kachirou was in love with her best friend, Ryuuzaki Sakuno. Of all people, she had to fall for someone who had a crush on her best friend. It was pretty obvious from his mannerisms that he admired Sakuno romantically, although he knew her crush on the tennis prince, Echizen Ryoma never wavered. Kachirou was resigned to being second best to him in tennis or in love, no matter how much effort he put in or how much he improved. After all, he admired him greatly and did not mind even if he lost to him in so many areas. Even though Kachirou had felt that he had no chance at all, he continued to harbour romantic feelings towards Sakuno. He may not be able to be together with her, but he had the right to continue to like her.

"I suppose so…" Kachirou laughed sheepishly. "So will the both of you be there during practice today?" He asked, his eyes shining.

Tomoka saw that shine in his eyes and her clasped hands behind her clasped even tighter. The meaning behind the shine, she knew it very well. That shine was not for her, no matter how much she hoped it would be.

"O…of course!" Tomoka said in a voice she hoped that was as loud and energetic as her usual one. "We are going to support Ryoma-sama!"

"I see." Kachirou smiled that charming smile that had caught her heart. "You know, I have gotten much better at tennis! See you at practice!" he smiled and waved as he left the classroom.

Tomoka watched as the back she had always watched silently gradually disappearing from view. The clasped hands behind her back loosened their grip and fell limply by her side.

"I know…I know that…" Tomoka let out in barely a whisper. Her usually bright eyes were downcast. She knew, of course she knew. Her gaze had shifted from Ryoma to Kachirou a year ago. All the time she had been watching him in secret, but his gaze never met hers. His was always on the pretty girl who with twin braids and also her best friend. She noticed how his tennis form improved, how many games he won and the different moves he had. She observed how he got more muscular, the broadening of his shoulders and how he began to take on a more manly form. She memorised the different shines in his eyes, the different smiles on his lips and the different features on his face. But he never saw it the same way as her. Never. His eyes were on the girl who only had the tennis prince in her vision.

Tomoka could only laugh at the irony. All of them were in love with someone out of their reach. They were entangled in a messy web without anyone knowing the way out. She wondered how much more complicated love could become. How much more can she take, keeping her jealousy at bay? As Tomoka thought about it, the tears that flowed only when she was alone rejected her pleas and cascaded down her red cheeks.

The corridors were empty and so were most of the classrooms on the level where the third-years' classrooms were. Ryuuzaki Sakuno leant against the wall of the classroom next to hers. She had heard the conversation between Kachirou and Tomoka and the subsequent sobs of the girl. Every sob that emerged was like an invisible dagger piercing her heart. She was hurting her friend indirectly, she knew that, and it hurt her as much as it hurt Tomoka.

Sakuno had long returned from emptying the trash bin. However, she had caught sight of Kachirou going into her class and dashed into the nearest empty classroom, which was the one just beside theirs. Dense as she was, she knew the feelings Kachirou felt for her went beyond that of friends. She also knew her best friend Tomoka was in love with the very person who liked her.

Sakuno did not know exactly how Tomoka felt, but she was sure her bitterness was maybe twice that of hers. An unrequited love was difficult, she knew through first-hand experience. Complicating it with the fact that you are not the one in his heart, but your best friend is makes it even harder.

Tomoka was loud and outspoken in many ways, but the emotion called love was something new to her. She did not know how to approach it, nor did she know how to handle it when it first came knocking on her doors together with teenage. Sakuno was slow, however as time passed, she realised that she acted around Kachirou differently. In their first year, she was still barking at the freshman trio and ordering them around without a care in the world. When it came to the second year, Tomoka's attitude towards Kachirou changed. She still barked at Katsuo and Horio but it was a different case when it concerned him. She would start to fidget, use her hands to comb her neat hair and speak in a much softer and gentler voice. Sakuno could tell she was trying to act as normal as she could in front of him, using strong language and upping her volume. That was when she knew, for the noisy Tomoka was muted in front of him.

Kachirou was a sweet boy, not particularly cool and handsome like Ryoma, but cute in his own way. He had the occasional love letter in his shoe locker and blushes from girls whom he passed walking down the corridors. Sakuno thought her relationship with the freshman trio had stayed the same all this time. Plus, her crush on Ryoma was as clear as day, although she did not like to admit it explicitly. Therefore, she never thought Kachirou would develop feelings for her other than just ordinary friends. He would talk to her and give her presents from time to time which she all took to be a normal friendly gesture. However, once she knew of Tomoka's feelings, it became more and more evident to her that Kachirou did not treat her as just a friend. His feelings went deeper than that, much, much deeper. Sakuno found herself in a very awkward position. If she rejected him outright or evaded him purposely, Tomoka would blame herself for everything and hide her feelings even further. She also did not want to lose the friendship of Kachirou who was an important friend to her. Thus, she tried to act as normal as possible. However, she would always try to create chances for Tomoka to talk with him and also avoid him as much as possible. Secretly, she was glad he had not been frank with her about his feelings for she knew she would be unable to handle.

Sakuno listened as the sobs gradually softened. Making her best friend cry like this made her feel guilty. She could not bear for anyone to be hurt because of her. However, the equations of love were complicated and in many cases, do not balance on both sides. She was sorry for Kachirou, for her heart pined for only one person. The person she may never get in her lifetime.

A light breeze picked up and slightly ruffled the hair of a cat-eyed boy. In his hands he had a can of Ponta and was currently drinking from it. When he was done drinking, an expert flick of his hand sent the empty can straight into the recycling bin.

Echizen Ryoma, 15 years of age, was the epitome of manliness in Seigaku ever since his seniors had graduated. Fangirls tailed him by the dozens and a single drop of perspiration that fell from him would send them swooning. While he was taking his Ponta break, he spotted Kachirou and Sakuno walking along the corridors from the corner of his eye.

Ryoma possessed eyesight to see fast objects coming at him and it was advantageous in his tennis game most of the time. Over the time span of three years, not only did his sight for moving objects improve, but also his perceptiveness.

Kachirou was now a regular on his team. His tennis skills had definitely improved and Ryoma knew it was due to the tremendous amount of hard work he had put in. He would continue to practise outside of normal practice time and was unafraid to challenge anyone stronger than him. Because of that, his tennis skills improved by leaps and bounds and in his third year, was able to rise up the ranks to become a regular. Kachirou was still "Mada mada dane" in Ryoma's standards, but he respected his tenacity in never giving up.

Ryoma was not the cold-hearted tennis prince many made him out to be. He cared for his team and could tell if there was anything different about them, although he did not show it. He could see Kachirou's line of vision always landing on the same girl, Ryuuzaki Sakuno. She and the noisy girl were now in his class, therefore when Kachirou visited him in his class during breaks, he noticed the brightening of his eyes whenever she was around. Soon, he was able to detect Tomoka's feelings towards him.

Ryoma didn't want to piece everything together; it was way too challenging. Plus, he had other things on his mind, like tennis, defeating his oyaji and Ryuuzaki Sakuno. The shy, chocolate-eyed girl was always around him, but she never acted like any of his fangirls did. He knew how she supported him in her own way and that her feelings towards him had extended out of the reach of friendship. He did not know exactly what he felt towards her, but was sure she had a place in his heart. Ryoma didn't know what it was supposed to be. To him, it was something that might become clearer as time passed.

"Love is…complicated." Ryoma couldn't help but let out.

Author's note: To give a summary to those who are confused, here is an overview of the relationships:

Kachirou: Likes Sakuno but knows that Sakuno is in love with Ryoma.

Tomoka: Likes Kachirou. Knows that Kachirou is in love with Sakuno and that Sakuno is in love with Ryoma.

Sakuno: Likes Ryoma. Knows that Kachirou likes her and that Tomoka likes Kachirou.

Ryoma: Know that Kachirou likes Sakuno, Tomoka likes Kachirou and Sakuno likes him. Unsure of his own feelings.

In short, Ryoma knows everything and Kachirou doesn't know everything. Is that easier?

Happy Belated Christmas and Happy 2009 to everyone!

Please read and review!