Ryoma and Sakuno were now both seventeen, and Ryoma had been gone the past two weeks playing in Wimbledon. Sakuno had been pretty lonely these past two weeks, and could not wait until Ryoma came back. Every night she would watch him play on t.v. and then after she saw him win, she would call him and leave him a message, congratulating him on the win he just had. And every night, Ryoma never failed to call her back and leave her a message to thank her and say goodnight.

Even though they would leave each other messages every day, Sakuno would replay his message and listen to it in between every class. She would even listen to it again as she walked home from school.

After Sakuno finished her homework, she decided to cook dinner so she could eat while she watched Ryoma play in the Wimbledon finals. As she was making her sushi, she again took out her cell phone to listen to Ryoma's last message:

"Hi, Sakuno. Thanks for watching my match. It means a lot, you know. I actually…ah…umm…I always listen to your previous message right before I play my next match. It…It makes me feel like you're right here with me cheering for me. Well, you have school tomorrow, so I should probably go so you can go to bed. Ja, goodnight, Sakuno."

Every single time Sakuno listened to this message, she would smile brightly at the part where Ryoma tells her he listens to her message right before his match. Hearing him pause in between words because he would get nervous and embarrassed about admitting that secret made her heart melt with happiness.

Finishing making her sushi, Sakuno carefully walked into the living room with her plate and glass in her hands. Setting her dinner on the table, she grabbed the remote and quickly scanned the t.v. to the station that was airing Ryoma's match. Then she curled up in a blanket and sat down on the couch with her cell phone in hand, ready to call Ryoma to congratulate him on his win.

As expected, Ryoma won his match. He was now the champion of Wimbledon! Quickly dialing Ryoma's number, Sakuno could barely contain her excitement. It seemed like five hours instead of the five seconds it takes to get to his voicemail to leave a message.

"Congratulations, Ryoma-kun! I'm so happy for you right now! I can't believe you just won Wimbledon; you really are truly amazing, Ryoma-kun. When you come back we will have to celebrate your victory. I can even make your favorite Japanese meal. Can't wait to see you soon, Ryoma-kun!"

Sakuno closed her cell phone after finishing her message and continued to watch the championship ceremony on t.v. Ryoma was doing his victory lap around the court, carrying his golden trophy. As Ryoma was getting ready to walk off the court, he stopped to sign some autographs for his fans, which were mostly girls.

Even through the television, Sakuno could hear ear-piercing, high-pitched screams of his fangirls in England. She rolled her eyes at the immaturity of those girls. However, she could not help but to feel a bit jealous of them as they were right there in England with Ryoma to congratulate him right away. Sakuno wished she could have been the first person to congratulate Ryoma. She wanted to be the first to tell him how proud she was of him. She wanted to be the first person to hug him after he won the championship. Now, here across the ocean, Sakuno watched on television the fangirls pushing and shoving each other to try to touch Ryoma's hand as he was signing autographs. Pure jealousy seeped into Sakuno's skin as she wished that she could be any of those girls to touch Ryoma's hand.

"Mou, I wish I was there with you, Ryoma-kun," she whispered to herself, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to fall. Not being able to hold them in any longer, Sakuno silenty cried herself to sleep on the couch.

Sakuno woke up the next morning with the sun shining through the window on her face.

"Wow, I must have fallen asleep on the couch last night. I'm surprised Obaa-chan didn't wake me up to tell me to go to my bedroom," Sakuno talked to herself.

"Well," Sakuno's grandmother came in around the corner from the kitchen, "I just couldn't bring myself to wake you up. You looked exhausted last night. Did you stay up late watching Ryoma's match on t.v.?"

"Yeah, I did," Sakuno replied, remembering those fangirls trying to grab her Ryoma.

"I've heard from his father that Ryoma's flight lands at nine this morning. I'm not sure if he's going to go to school or if he's going to go home to sleep, but either way, you still have to go to school. You should get going on getting ready because you have to leave in twenty minutes."

"Ahh! I only have twenty minutes?!" Sakuno hurriedly got to her feet and rushed up the stairs to change into her clothes. She quickly brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and put on some light make-up before rushing out the door.

"Sakuno, what about your breakfast?" her grandmother yelled right as she ran out the door.

"I don't have time for breakfast Obaa-chan! I gotta go! Bye!"

Running her whole to school, she made it to her first class with five minutes to spare. Sitting down at her desk, she saw that there was a magazine that someone left there. It was titled "Sports Weekly," with Echizen Ryoma making the cover page. Catching her interest, she decided to page through the magazine to find the article on her boyfriend.

Finding the article, she was about to start reading when she noticed more pictures to the side of the page of Ryoma. Taking a closer look, she realized there were three pictures of him.

The first one was of Ryoma holding his Wimbledon trophy up victoriously. Sakuno smiled as she saw that he wore that smirk of his on his face.

The second was of Ryoma being surrounded by fangirls. He was in the center of what looked like a circle of fifty girls. The caption underneath read: How many girlfriends does Ryoma have? Sakuno wasn't too happy with that picture.

The last picture was of a fangirl kissing Ryoma on the cheek. Again there was a caption: Is she the one for Echizen Ryoma?

Seeing the last two pictures got Sakuno upset. Even though she realized that Ryoma didn't look all too happy himself in those pictures, Sakuno still couldn't help but to get a little flared up. "Stupid fangirls," she muttered.

"I agree," a familiar voice said from behind her.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" she gasped, surprised. "How are you here already? Obaa-chan said that your flight wouldn't get in 'til nine."

He just shrugged and said, "Plane got in early." Then he smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Ryoma—"

"Everyone to your seats!" the teacher ordered the classroom, announcing the beginning of class.

Quickly, Ryoma and Sakuno ended their hug and sat in their desks, continually checking the clock until lunch break.

Finally lunch time arrived. Walking down the hallway to the cafeteria, Ryoma held Sakuno's hand.

"You know that you're hanging out with me after school, right?" Ryoma half-asked, half-demanded Sakuno.

"Of course," she giggled.

"So, why are we going to the cafeteria again? You usually bring a bento from home."

"Ano, I woke up late this morning, so I didn't have time to make one," she said sheepishly.

"Hn."

They walked for a few more seconds in silence.

"It feels good to be back home," Ryoma admitted to her.

They approached the cafeteria door, and walked in. However, right as they walked in, all the girls looked up and realized that it was Ryoma.

"AAAHH! It's Ryoma-sama!" they all screamed and ran towards him.

The fangirls all started to push and shove each other to be the first one to reach him. In the process, they ended up pushing Sakuno away from him.

When Ryoma felt Sakuno's hand slide from his grip, his eyes widened and tried to grab her, but there were too many fangirls in the way.

Tomoka, seeing her Echizen Ryoma club members getting out of hand, decided to help out Sakuno by standing up on a lunch table and screaming, "IF YOU GIRLS STILL WANT TO BE MEMBERS OF THE ECHIZEN RYOMA FANCLUB THEN YOU BETTER START TO SHOW SOME RESPECT TO HIM AND BACK OFF!"

All the fangirls sweat-dropped when they heard their President yelling at them. Still wanting to be members of the club, they all backed off and walked out of the cafeteria. Tomoka even left with them, wanting to give Sakuno some alone time with Ryoma since he just got back.

After watching all the girls leave, Ryoma looked over at Sakuno, who was still lying on the ground from being pushed. He saw that Sakuno was glaring at all the girls who just left.

"Che, stupid fangirls," she muttered again as she crossed her arms childishly.

Ryoma chuckled, "Looks like I'm rubbing off on you." Then he offered his hand to help her up.

After he helped Sakuno to her feet, she started talking again in a sarcastic tone, "Seriously, do they really not see me standing right there? They're always all over you! It's ridiculous!"

Never seeing Sakuno upset over his fangirls before, Ryoma didn't know what to do to calm her down. Not that he was trying to calm her down immediately anyway; he was enjoying seeing her all worked up like this. It rarely happens, and this was a special occasion it seemed like.

"Mou, they're always trying to get your attention. And it's annoying…" Sakuno trailed off, finishing her ranting.

"Hn, I suppose since you're always with me, you're around them almost as much as I am. You need a break from those fangirls as much as I do. And that is why we're going for a walk on a secret trail I found after school to get away from everyone."

*Ring!*

The bell signaled that lunch was over and another class was about to begin.

Ryoma bent down to kiss Sakuno on her forehead, but right as he was about to kiss her, students started to walk to their next class, and, once again, he was noticed by his fangirls.

"IT'S RYOMA-SAMA!" twenty girls screamed.

"Ugh," Ryoma groaned because the fangirls just ruined his and Sakuno's moment. Gently pushing Sakuno away from him and towards her next class he said, "We should probably get going to class so we won't get trampled on again. See you after class, Sakuno." Then he sprinted off towards his classroom, trying to evade his fangirls along the way.

Sakuno sighed, for those fangirls have stolen Ryoma's attention away from her again.

It was after school and Ryoma was waiting for Sakuno by the tennis courts. Spotting Sakuno walking towards him, he started to walk towards her as well. Grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him he smirked, "I've spent way too much time away from you."

Sakuno blushed as Ryoma kissed her lightly on the lips.

"C'mon, let's go." He grabbed her hand and led her towards the park to the secret trail.

They walked along in their comfortable and familiar silence. That was until Sakuno realized that Ryoma took a left at the intersection instead of taking a right towards the park.

"Ryoma-kun, weren't we going on a trail?" she asked, confused.

"After-school snack first," he said as they walked into an ice cream parlor. "You can have a seat. I'll order."

Sakuno walked over towards a booth. Noticing a magazine stand by her seat, she decided to look at the magazines inside. She saw a cover with Ryoma on it…with another girl. By the looks of it they were at a beach. The girl on the cover was walking side-by-side with him along the shoreline. And if that wasn't enough to make Sakuno upset, that girl was wearing a skimpy bikini. Sakuno really had had enough with all of Ryoma's fangirls, and this picture seemed that Ryoma really didn't mind them after all.

Glaring at the magazine cover, Sakuno didn't even hear Ryoma walk over with their ice cream.

"—kuno. Your ice cream is gonna melt if you don't eat it. Why are you glaring at the magazine rack?" Ryoma interrupted her staring, or more like glaring, contest.

"Who is that girl on that cover?" Sakuno asked icily as she pulled the magazine out and shoved it in front of Ryoma's face.

"Ugh, stupid paparazzi. Why do they always do that?" he complained.

"Do what, Ryoma-kun? Ruin your secret dates with other girls while you're in another country miles away from your girlfriend?" she yelled.

"No, Sakuno, you don't understand—" he tried to explain.

"Is this picture real?" Sakuno interrupted.

"Well…sorta," he said with pleading eyes. "But part of it is photo-shopped."

"Oh, let me guess, the photo-shopped part is the airbrushing on the girl, right?" Sakuno said sarcastically.

"No, Sakuno, it's more than just that," he was starting to panic as he saw that Sakuno kept interrupting him and not letting him explain. He started to panic even more when he saw tears spilling over Sakuno's face.

"I can't believe you led me on this entire time!" she screamed.
"But, Sakuno, listen! Let me explain!" he yelled.

*SLAP*

Ryoma's eyes were wide open. Did Sakuno really just slap me? he thought, surprised. He rubbed his cheek as he saw Sakuno crying and running out of the ice cream store.

Getting a hold of his senses after he got over the shock of Sakuno slapping him, he ran after her. "Sakuno!" he yelled. "Please, wait! Let me explain!"
Sakuno stopped running and turned around. "What is there to explain?! It's clear in the picture!"

"No, no, it's not clear. It's not true. That girl is—"

"It's Ryoma! There's my boyfriend!" a girl called out from the distance and ran up to him. The girl was being followed by a crowd of photographers and reporters. "Here he is," she said as she was standing right up next to him.

The reporters and photographers gathered all around Ryoma and started bombarding him with questions.

"Is it true, Echizen?"

"Is this supermodel really your girlfriend?"
"Did you two hook up while you were in England playing in Wimbledon?"

Ryoma pushed his way out the crowd and yelled out, "Sakuno! Wait! I don't even know what's going on!"

Sakuno stared at him for awhile, tears still streaming down her face. Then she cried out quietly, "Baka." She ran towards the park and into the woods. Finding a trail, she started to run along that so she wouldn't get totally lost.

Running through the trail, she heard thunder in the distance. Right as she was about to decide to slow down, she heard Ryoma running after her, so she sped up again. She really did not want to face him right now.

"Sakuno! Stop! You don't have to stop to talk to me, but at least stop so that you won't be going further into the woods right as a storm is about to come! Stop!" Ryoma ran after her.

Not believing Ryoma and knowing that she would have to talk to him if she stopped, Sakuno gave herself another push and ran faster.

Seeing that Sakuno wasn't slowing down, Ryoma decided to give it all he got and use his tennis speed and strength to catch up to Sakuno. "Sakuno!"

Sakuno could hear him gaining on her, but she wasn't going to give up. Gasping for air, she kept pushing herself to keep running, trying not to trip on the tree roots that were jutting out of the ground. Rain was starting to pour down while the thunder still rumbled in the distance.

Ryoma was right on Sakuno's tail. Waiting for some flat ground to tackle her so that they wouldn't fall on any protruding roots out of the ground, he kept close to her. Finally, spotting some flat land ahead, he dove towards her and tackled her onto the ground.

"Ryoma-kun, let me go!" Sakuno tried to wriggle out from underneath him.

Turning her over to face him, Ryoma straddled his legs on both sides of her and pinned her wrists above her head with his hands. Sakuno was kicking and moving around, still trying to escape his grasp. Ryoma was having a hard time maintaining his grip since they were both soaking wet from the down-pouring rain, but he managed to keep his grip tight.

"Sakuno," he started, breathing heavy from all the running they did, "just listen to me. Please, just listen to me." He sounded desperate as he repeated his last sentence.

His desperateness caught Sakuno's attention, and she stopped squirming around, looking straight at him.

He took this as his cue, and explained to her the picture. "That picture on the cover, the picture of me on the beach itself is real. They took that real picture and then photo-shopped that girl in, making it look like I was at the beach with her. But, Sakuno, I wasn't with her at the beach. You have to believe me, Sakuno. I was at the beach training by myself, and the paparazzi saw me and took my picture, and then they photo-shopped that girl in there. It's just a rumor."

He then stopped momentarily to take a breath. Then he continued, "Sakuno, I would never, never, cheat on you. You are my girl. I love you, Sakuno. I love you! Do you understand me?!"

Sakuno stared at him, shocked. It was all just a misunderstanding, but seeing the fear in Ryoma's eyes of losing her made Sakuno start to cry silently. He didn't stop running after her because he didn't want to lose her. The fear in his eyes told Sakuno that what he was saying was the truth.

"I love you, Sakuno. Do you understand me?" he repeated again in a softer voice, his voice almost cracking. He was staring deep into her eyes, never breaking eye contact. Sakuno could feel the warmth of his breath on her face as his breathing never slowed down since they stopped running.

As the silence ensued, his grip on her wrists tightened out of nervousness.

"Sakuno…" Ryoma was almost crying. "Sakuno," he whispered, "Please, I'm telling you the truth."

Sakuno was still speechless as she stared straight back into Ryoma's eyes.

"Sa-ku-no!" he cried, shaking her gently with each syllable he enunciated. "Sakuno! Do you believe me?" Ryoma was full out crying now, and he looked like he was in extreme pain.

Not being able to handle seeing Ryoma in pain, Sakuno quickly shook her head "yes" and breathed, "Uh huh."

Ryoma breathed in, trying to stop his crying momentarily. However, now out of happiness, he shed quiet tears of joy. "Sakuno, I love you!" And then Ryoma kissed her passionately still on top of her.

They had to break their long passionate kiss to let Sakuno breathe, but Ryoma kept on planting kisses all over her face and neck.

"Sakuno," he kissed her forehead.

"I," he kissed her cheek.

"Love," he kissed her other cheek.

"You," he kissed the corner of her lips.

"So much," he kissed her neck. He then continued to kiss her all over her neck.

Hearing footsteps in the distance, Sakuno glanced over in that general direction.

"Echizen!" a voice called out. Gasps were heard as more people were gathering over. Camera clicks were and flashes were shooting non-stop.
"Echizen, is this your girlfriend?" one asked.

"How long have you two been going out?"

Not wanting the paparazzi and reporters to interrupt his moment with Sakuno, he chose to ignore them and continued kissing Sakuno.

Sakuno, becoming very self-conscious and embarrassed about Ryoma kissing her while the paparazzi were taking pictures, stuttered, "R-R-Ryoma-kun, th-there's p-people h-here."

"Hn, I don't care," he managed to get out while he slightly lifted his lips off her neck and replaced them on her lips, kissing her passionately again.

Cameras flashed furiously. However, Sakuno could not resist the passionate kiss Ryoma was giving her, and she combed her hands through his hair. Soon, she forgot all about the paparazzi and reporters.

They kissed for so long, that the reporters and paparazzi were long gone before they started their way back home.

The next day after school, Ryoma was making his way over to Sakuno's house. He walked on in and found Sakuno cooking in the kitchen.

"Hi, Sakuno," he said as he hugged her and kissed her on the lips.

After they broke apart, he tossed a magazine onto the table. "How do you like this magazine cover?" he smirked.

Confused, Sakuno sat down at the table and picked up the magazine. The cover was of her and Ryoma kissing in the rain passionately in the woods from yesterday. Her face started to turn red as she saw how intimate the position they were in when they were kissing: Ryoma on top of her, pinning her down.

"R-Ryoma-kun! Mou, this is embarrassing!"

Ryoma laughed, "Well I, for sure, didn't mind it yesterday."

Then he grabbed her hand and led her into the living room saying, "C'mon, let's relax and watch some t.v." They sat on the couch with Sakuno resting on him.

Becoming immersed in the t.v. show they were watching, they heard Sakuno's grandmother walk in through the kitchen patio door from outside.

All of a sudden, they heard Sakuno's obaa-chan angrily and threatenly yell out, "ECHIZEN RYOMA!!!!!"

Sakuno and Ryoma faced each other and simultaneously said, "The magazine."

They both got up from the couch and Sakuno quietly said, "You should probably go fast before Obaa-chan sees you. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

Ryoma quickly kissed her before he grabbed his shoes and ran out the door.

While he was running out, Sakuno's grandmother yelled out the door, "ECHIZEN RYOMA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY GRANDDAUGHTER?! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU WILL BE IN SO MUCH PAIN!" Then she threw the magazine at him.

Ryoma caught it and continued running home. He looked down at the magazine cover and wasn't able to hide the wide grin covering his face as he looked at the picture of him and Sakuno, knowing that everything between them was back to how it should be.