A/N: hey! this is my first prince of tennis fanfic to be posted here... by the way, thanks for Mrs. Hatake Itachi... the idea (or mostly the first chapter) is from her story, first come, first serve of the series of stories from Book of Love Prince of tennis Style... i just revised it... hehe... arigato gosaimasu! here ot goes...

Disclaimer: i don't own Prince of Tennis... and i don't own the character Ayako...

Chapter 1: Blinded from the Start

"Sakuno, are you sure there's nothing I can do to stop you from going

"Sakuno, are you sure there's nothing I can do to stop you from going?" Tomoka, her best friend, asked her.

"Gomenasai, Tomo-chan. I've made my decision already. I won't be able to make it through if I go to Ryoma-kun's wedding. I won't be able to take the pain," Sakuno replied, looking down at the floor.

"But Sakuno, you can stay at my place, or maybe at your cousin's place or any of our old friends place. You don't have to go to America just to avoid Ryoma!" Tomoka reasoned with her.

"Knowing Ryoma-kun, I'm sure he'll go looking if one of his friends went missing, especially on his wedding day. And he has so many resources. The only way I see that he couldn't find me is if I go to America. He wouldn't be able to follow me there," she said.

"But Sakuno!" Tomoka whined. "My wedding's just a few weeks away! You have to be there! I can't get married if you aren't there. I can't find anyone to replace you as my maid of honor!"

"Tomo-chan, I promise I'll be at your wedding," Sakuno said. "And besides, I can't totally forget Japan. I still have someone waiting for me here," she added.

"Well, okay. But make sure you'll come back," Tomoka said then hugged her tight.

Sakuno became quiet then said, "Tomo, I have a favor to ask. While I'm away, can you take care of him for me? I don't know who to ask. You're the only one I can think of when it comes to him."

Tomoka's features softened and said, "Sure! I promise I'll take good care of him for you. But Sakuno, have you told him that you're leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about it Tomo-chan. And I told him already that you'll be taking care of him for the meanwhile," Sakuno replied.

"You take care of yourself, okay? Because you still have a wedding to be maid of honor in," Tomo said then they both chuckled.

They hugged one last time and when Sakuno finished packing her things; she went to the car and left, leaving with her the memories and emotions that haunted her.

At the church…

Ryoma was getting ready for his wedding with his best friend and sempai, Momo. He had been stunned then suddenly overjoyed when Ryoma told him that he was marrying Ayako and up until now, he hasn't been able to ask Momo why his reaction was like that.

"Echizen, I'm just going to go out and talk to the receptionist, 'kay?" he said then he left.

Outside…

"Where could that receptionist be?" Momo said.

"Hey, Momo!" Eiji called him. Worry spelled all over his face.

"What's up?" Momo asked.

"It's about Sakuno. Nya, Ochibi is so mean! He hurt her again!" Eiji said.

"Why? What happened to Sakuno?" Momo asked, starting to worry too.

"Waahhh!! She left an hour ago because Ochibi is going to marry somebody else! She's going to America! She's at the airport now!" Eiji wailed.

At this, Momo paled and left Eiji there, wailing. He went to the receptionist and talked to her about the wedding but still, his mind was in the issue about Sakuno's departure.

Inside the groom's room…

After a few minutes, Momo returned but he seemed different and Ryoma wasn't the type of guy not to notice if it's about his friends. Momo seemed so spaced out so he planned to find out what happened.

"Momo, what's up with you? First, you were so excited and a bit spaced out and now you're so depressed and more spaced out," he said.

"Nothing," Momo replied.

"I don't believe you," Ryoma said and looked at him knowingly. "You're not the type of guy to answer in just one word. And you're too quiet," he said.

"I told you I'm fine!" Momo snapped then he suddenly apologized at a stunned & shocked Ryoma.

"Gomenasai, Ryoma. It's just that, I'm really worried about Sakuno," he said.

At that said, Ryoma suddenly froze and became more worried, not for his friend but for Sakuno. 'What could have happened to her? Wait, how come I'm this worried for her? I've never been like this towards anyone, not even Ayako. What is wrong with me?'

"Tell me, what happened to Sakuno?" he asked.

"Don't worry your head off. Nothing's wrong. You have your own wedding to think about," Momo replied. Really, is Ryoma that dense? He would've told him if only he didn't want to spoil Ryoma's wedding day. Everyone knows he loves Sakuno besides, well, him. He gets jealous when guys flirt with her and they even nearly never come out alive. And he's always been with her ever since what? Junior high? And Ryoma's never ever been that kind to any girl except Sakuno. He's even a bit cocky towards Ayako.

"I still don't believe you, Momo. Tell me what happened!" Ryoma snapped.

"Do you really want to know what happened?! Well, she left! And it's all because of you! Are you happy now?" Momo shouted at him.

Ryoma stood there; stunned, speechless, shocked. Stunned for Momo shouted at him, speechless for he was the cause of Sakuno's flight and shocked because he was feeling something inside of him that's totally different.

Ryoma's POV

Why am I so worried about her? I know I like her but I love Ayako. That's why I'm gonna marry her… right?

Flashbacks suddenly appeared in his mind and realization struck him like a fast bullet train. He is so stupid! He has to get her back!

End of POV

"Momo, tell me where she is!" Ryoma shouted, holding Momo by his collar.

"Why should I tell you? Do you want to hurt her again?" he replied seriously.

"Did I… hurt her that much?" Ryoma let go of Momo then his face suddenly saddened for the first time in front of someone.

"Echizen…" Momo looked at him and patted him on the back.

"I'll tell you where she is if you give me one good reason for me to do that," Momo said, feeling sad for his friend. Hey, maybe he's finally figured out his feelings for her.

"I need to tell her I'm sorry for hurting her and for being such an idiot. I need to tell her that I love her and that I want to spend the rest of my life with her," he said.

Momo was a bit stunned but he knew this was coming. He knew that someday, Ryoma would wake up and realize the truth that he loved Sakuno before he made the biggest mistake of his life.

"She's at the airport," Momo finally said.

Ryoma looked up at him and saw Momo smiling at him. He stood up and gave Momo a brotherly hug before he started running off. But then he stopped.

"Momo, can you do me another favor? Can you postpone the wedding today? And also, tell Ayako the reason why I can't marry her. If she doesn't listen, tell her I'll talk to her tonight," Ryoma said.

"Sure thing, Ryoma!" And he went off running to the airport after hearing Momo and the others cheering and shouting behind him, "Go Ochibi, nyah!" and "Go get her, Echizen!" and "Stop her now before it's too late, BURNING!!"

At the airport…

Sakuno was patiently waiting for her flight going to America. It seems that there's been a problem that caused her flight to be delayed for almost 2 hours. At first she was patient and a bit optimistic about the delay but now, it was starting to annoy her to no end.

'Why did my flight have to be delayed? I think the gods are against me,' she thought. 'Why? This delay is just making me more nervous about leaving. What could be happening now at Ryoma-kun's wedding? Waaahhhh!! It's just hurting me more on the inside. I have to stop thinking about him. But how? With this delay, it just brings back painful memories of Ryoma-kun leaving for America for his tennis tournaments so how can I forget him?'

While Sakuno was busy with her thoughts, someone was frantically looking for her in the crowded airport. And he was getting pissed off. I mean, really pissed off.

'Where could she be? Damn, that nosy reporter! He just delayed me in looking for her. If she's already on that plane, I'll make him pay. He'll wish that he never bumped into me. Now, where the hell could she be?! I…'

He was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a petite woman with long auburn hair sitting alone on the bench, looking all flustered with waiting. He smirked and said to himself, 'I hope my plan works or else I'm going to go crazy.'

Meanwhile, Sakuno was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice that someone walked up to her.

"So, you're leaving me without even saying goodbye?" she heard the person say. She recognized the voice so fast that she didn't even notice that she already stood up. (A/N: Ryoma was a few steps away from her so he's not exactly in front of her. Because of she was, she would've bumped her head on his.)

"Ryoma-kun!"

Ryoma smirked. He still did have the power to make her blush. And right now, she was blushing mad.

"I mean... uhmm… Echizen, wha... what are you doing here?" she quickly said while looking down on the ground.

'Oi, what happened to Ryoma-kun? So, she's trying to ignore me, is she? Well, let's see if she can continue that game of hers.' Ryoma thought.

"Why did you decide to go to America, and now of all times?" he asked her instead.

"It's none of your business, Echizen," she replied as coldly as she can.

"Well, it's my business now because I'm here to stop you from leaving," he said, staring at her.

"Why would you stop me? And isn't your wedding going to start in just a couple of hours? You should be at the church preparing," she said.

"What wedding? If I have wedding, I'll be preparing now but since I'm here, then there's no wedding," he replied.

"What are you talking about, Echizen? You do have a wedding and you're marrying Ayako. Didn't you propose to her? Didn't you tell her you love her? So go to her and don't stop me from leaving. In the first place, why would you even bother doing that?" she said, forcing out a fake laugh.

"Simple. Because you're important to me," he replied.

"And since when did I become that important to you that you had to miss YOUR wedding?" she replied. "And since when did you even care?" she added, barely audible but still Ryoma heard it.

"You were already that important to me but I was just stupid not to notice. And for your information, since the first time we've met, I already cared," he said, walking closer to her. "Why did you think I saved you from those guys from the train? Why do you think I always accompany you and teach you tennis even though you were the worst tennis player I have ever seen?" he said.

At first, she was starting to feel a blush creeping up to her face again. She mentally scolded herself. 'Oh my gosh! He's too close. I can feel my heart beating faster than ever. But…wait! What did he just say?!' and she remembered Ryoma saying, "Why do you think I… teach you tennis even though you were the worst tennis player I have ever seen?" At this, she started to feel her cheeks feeling hot, not because she was blushing but because she was mad at him. 'How dare he mock my tennis skills!'

"Echizen, if you're just here to mock me about how I play tennis, then you better go home and leave me alone!" she shouted at him then pushed him away.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about, Sakuno?!" a confused Ryoma said.

"Oh, you always have to be Mr.-High-and-Mighty! You're better than everybody else. Everyone is just mada mada dane," she replied sarcastically.

"What the?! What are you talking about?! I don't understand anything you're saying!" he said, starting to get pissed off again.

"Oh, now you forget! Didn't you just say I'm the worst tennis player you've ever seen?" said an angry Sakuno.

"What?! I didn't say…" and he stopped when he remembered that he did mention that. 'Shit! Me and my big mouth!' he thought.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just…" he said, trying to convince her. But she didn't listen.

"Stop it! Just leave me alone, Echizen. I don't want anything to do with you anymore!" she said, walking away from him.

"Sakuno, come back! I said I'm sorry! Will you just give me a chance to explain?" Ryoma said. Then he grabbed her hand, facing her to him.

"What do you want to say? That I'm a no-good tennis player? That I'm such an idiot for waiting for you for all this years? Well, I'm done. Just leave me be. Please," she said, her eyes starting to water. Then Ryoma let her hand go.

'I hurt her again…' he thought, looking at the ground, eyes covered by his bangs.

Sakuno just looked at him, sadness in her eyes but she knew that she had to leave him because he loves someone else. She's just an important friend to him that's why he's doing this. And with that, she started to walk away, leaving behind Ryoma Echizen, the Prince of Tennis.

end of chapter