Title: 5 Times Osakada Tomoka Confesses

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any recognisable characters from Prince of Tennis.

Summary: five times Osakada Tomoka offered out her heart and the one time someone accepts.

A/N: Grammatical errors, most probably. Sorry for that. :3

ichi

She was five.

Even at five, she was a precocious little kid. Prefer to run and play around in the mucky mud than to play house and dolls with the other girls in her class.

She wasn't very popular with the kids in her class, but she's fine with that. She preferred to be alone anyway, and make up stories about knights ("I'm the white knight!" she brandished her toy sword, which was simply a twig she found lying around) that saves damsels in distress ("I'll save you, my princess!" she picked up the ragged doll from the low branch).

One day, her doll went missing.

A teacher found it. He was nice to her and asked to play with her.

She didn't know he was a teacher until she asked.

("Are you like Kushina-sensei then?" she asked and he simply nodded)

She liked him very much. The boys in her class were never nice to her.

So she said, "Minato-sensei, daisuki," with a flower in hand (because that's what knights do in fairy tales).

He laughed and called her precious.

She didn't like him after that.

ni

She was seven.

At that age, she started to feel lonely so she tried to be like other girls, that plays demurely in their spot and talk about cute things (she's still a girl).

At home, her mother had already taught her how to take care of the house because with her pregnancy, her mother couldn't really mind the house like she used to and she has two little siblings in tow. So she's used to cooking for the family.

At the age of seven, the bento she usually brought to school was made by her. The girls flocked her for it. She thought this is what having friends feel like.

In amidst of the sea of girls, one boy came up to her asked for some of her onigiri.

She gave him one.

He said it was delicious, with his boyish smile. She felt warm all over.

The day after that, he began asking her for some of her lunch and this went on for quite a while.

On Valentine's Day, she gave him home-made chocolates. Along with it, she gave him her confession.

He said he liked another girl already.

Starting from that day, she ate alone on the school rooftop.

san

She was twelve.

It's the year that Ryoma Echizen moved to Japan and enrolled into Seishun Gakuen. She became one of his fangirls quickly.

She cheered and yelled and was pretty much his number one fangirl. She didn't see anything wrong with it (since half of the first year's population pretty much did the same thing).

Each and every tournament he's in, she'd be there giving him (and the team too) her full support. That's how dedicated she was to him.

Valentine's Day came again that year. She made chocolates again.

His table was full with chocolates from other girls. She simply placed hers on top of the others and slipped her note under his table.

She realised the next day he wouldn't read some sappy love note from a girl.

She told herself she's being silly liking him.

yon

She was fourteen.

The year before, Ryousuke-kun from the next class asked her to be his girlfriend.

She said yes.

He's nice and cute and walks her home and she thought maybe she likes him a lot.

On one of their dates, she said she loved him.

He broke up with her the next day.

go

She was eighteen.

For some reason, Echizen Ryoma stayed in Japan when he could have moved to the US and become a legend like his dad was.

When she asked him about it, he replied that he can do that after high school.

She thought the little crush she had on him a few years back was just a crush. Seeing him again made her feel warm all over.

She's not the same girl she was at twelve, but she felt like it every time he talked to her at random moments.

She figured she still likes him even if she knows he'd never return her feelings. Being his friend is good enough. Furthermore, she cares too much for Sakuno to even say anything to the boy. Seeing her friends happy somehow made it all worth it even if it meant sacrificing her own feelings.

At graduation, she gathered up her courage and went up to him. She at least wanted to get this behind her and move on

"I like you, a lot."

He didn't say anything.

"I don't think you'd like me too, but I just want to let you know."

She left the ceremony after that.

+one

She's twenty-three.

Somehow she's now a teacher at Seishun Gakuen. She can't get away from the school, so it seems.

The class she teaches is the same class she was when she was a student there.

When the school announced that Ryoma is coming to visit, she froze in her seat at the meeting.

When he arrived, she can only see him from afar.

(Not that she wants to meet him after that her confession years ago.)

When she's about to leave the school, someone stopped her.

"To—Osakada-san," he greets her.

He still gets to her even after all these years. She chuckles. "It's okay to call me 'Tomoka', Ryoma-kun."

"Tomoka-san," she smiles at the name, "do you want to get a drink? I haven't seen anyone in a while, so I'd like to catch up."

He has come a long way from the bratty 12-years-old he once were to this man that cared enough to carry Seigaku to another championship after his seniors have moved to high school and university (she just knew this after talking to him before their finals in high school).

They talked about the other regulars and their other friends.

When it's time for them to part ways, he says, "You didn't let me reply before."

Somehow she knows what he's referring to. So she shakes her head

"Because I know the answer already," she says, eyes unblinking.

In front of the cafe, he leans in and kisses her.

"Is that it?" he asks after he broke the kiss.

For once, Osakada Tomoka is at a loss for words.

He kisses her again. "If you want to take things slow..." he murmurs on her lips.

She laughs into the kiss.

For all the time she had prepared herself for disappointment, she gets her own fairytale at the most unexpected moment.

{}

Owari

Because I think she's not getting enough love in this fandom. Or, am I wrong?

Because it could happen and it would be lulzy when they have kids.

Thank you for reading. :D