AN: Sakuno's POV this round. :)

Somehow the issue of cheerleading outfits doesn't come up during the Nationals, and when Ryoma-kun is selected to be one of Japan's representatives after the U-17 camp in various games all over the world Tomo-chan seems to forget about the entire business, thankfully. She cheers him on silently, trying her best to improve her tennis while he further refines his.

It is shortly after second year has started when Ryoma-kun comes back from America again and is welcomed back into the Seigaku Male Tennis Club; it is almost time for prefecturals when Tomo-chan brings up the idea of cheerleading uniforms again.

"Of course, for Ryoma-sama being made a regular again, after his grand return from America!" The pigtailed girl was beside herself with glee. "They have to be extra special!"

Sakuno sighed and hoped that "extra special" in Tomo-speak meant something less revealing this time around.

She literally faints when she sees Tomo-chan's planned cheerleader outfits, blushing from head to toe. The next thing she knows is that she is waking up in the infirmary, dazed with a dull throbbing pain at the back of her head.

"You're awake?"

She turned to see a sleepy Echizen Ryoma rubbing his eyes while sitting on a nearby chair, his cap fallen on the floor.

"Ryoma-kun?" She slowly sat up. "What are you doing here? And why am I here?"

"You were heavy," he said coolly.

"Ehh?"

"You fainted while talking to Osakada. The teacher told me to bring you here."

"Ehhh?" She knew that she was blushing now, imagining herself being carried by Ryoma-kun, of all people. How embarrassing, she thought. "Gomen, Ryoma-kun!"

He shook his head. "Eh, it's not your fault you fainted." He ran his hand through his hair quickly before placing his cap back on his head.

"Demo-"

"Why did you faint anyway? Nurse said you didn't have a fever."

After some failed attempts, she finally stammered out what Tomo-chan and she were talking about before she had fainted.

He grunted. "Remember what I said before?"

"Ehh, Ryoma-kun?"

"About the cheerleading thing?" He sighed. "After Kantou last year?"

Dazed, she tried her best to remember but drew a blank.

"Well, that's fine enough for me, who returned from America" he smirked. He stood up. "I'll give it to you tomorrow. If you're feeling better we should go back to class, Ryuzaki."

"Hai, Ryoma-kun." She nodded at the boy, remembering it was still school time and stood up slowly. The two then told the nurse where they were going and left together. She spent the rest of the day trying her best to remember what he was talking about with little success.

"Gomen, Sakuno" said a remorseful Tomo-chan the next day to the girl at lunchtime as they made their way back to their classroom. "I didn't know you'd faint!"

"Ahh, it's okay, Tomo-chan" she said with a smile, knowing that Tomo-chan really felt bad about her fainting the day before. "I probably had heatstroke or something."

"Well, we can just go back to what we did for the Kantou Tournament last year, if you're too shy, Sakuno."

"Aa," she said softly, "The boys' uniform."

"Let's just ask the boys at their tennis practice then," said Tomo-chan decidedly. "If only Ryoma-sama would lend us his uniform, kyaaa-"

She stilled at that comment, missing a step on the stairs and falling down. Face down on the floor and wincing at the pain of her elbows and head, she hardly heard the worried cries of everyone who saw her fall as she realized what Ryoma-kun had meant the other day.

"Uniform," she thought dazedly, "He offered me his uniform." She forced herself to stand up, smiling weakly at Tomo-chan. "Hai, Tomo-chan, I'm okay."

At tennis practice that day, everyone was watching the last match of the day, Kaidoh-buchou vs Momo-fukubuchou when Tomo-chan decided to bring up the issue of borrowing uniforms.

"Ne, Katsuo-kun, Kachiro-kun, can we borrow your uniforms again for the tournament?"

Katsuo was first to reply, cheerful as always. "Aa, you and Ryuzaki-san are going to cheer for us again?"

"Of course, especially for Ryoma-sama! Ne, Sakuno?" She was then nudged by Tomo-chan, causing her to blush.

Amused, Katsuo nodded. "Well, it's okay, ne, Kachiro?"

"Hai, it's okay with me." The shortest of the former Ichinen Trio smiled at her and Tomo-chan. "You want to borrow mine again, Ryuzaki-san? Katsuo-kun's a bit taller than me, so Osakada should wear his uniform-"

"Eh?" Horio-kun, next to them, suddenly realized where the conversation was going. "Why don't you borrow mine, Ryuzaki? My uniform is better, since I have three years of tennis experience-"

"Nobody wants to borrow your uniform, Horio!" cried Tomo-chan. "Especially not Sakuno!"

"Who asked you?" Horio shouted. "It's not like I'm offering it to you, Osakada! I'm offering it to Ryuzaki!"

"Maa maa," Kachiro-kun tried to placate the two, "No need to fight, Horio-kun, Osakada-san."

"Exactly." Suddenly the Tennis Prince rounded the corner from the other court, a paper bag in one hand and a racket in the other, apparently overhearing the conversation. "Ryuzaki, here." He handed her the paper bag, smirking at her astonished face. He turned to Horio then, the smirk still on his face. "Ne, Horio, let's have a match."

The teen flailed in fear at his words. "Echizen!"

"Let's go," said the Prince of Tennis flatly. Horio was fairly quibbling in fear as he turned to follow the coolly smirking Prince of Tennis.

"What did Ryoma-sama give you, Sakuno?" Tomo-chan and the two boys peered into the bag, their eyes widening as they saw what could only be a boys' school uniform.

"Kyaaaa, Sakuno, you're so lucky!" The rest was blocked by her suddenly covering the girl's mouth. The two boys laughed.

She feels like she has a permanent blush on her face, wearing Ryoma-kun's uniform at the District Tournament. Slightly larger than Kachiro-kun's the year before, she notes, since Ryoma-kun seems to have gotten taller while he was in America and during the U-17 training. Tomo-chan nudges her and Kachiro-kun and Katsuo-kun tease her gamely, all three telling her they're happy for her and that she looks cute in Ryoma-kun's uniform. Horio-kun is silent for once, still not recovered from the match he had with Ryoma-kun yesterday, she thinks, based on the black eye he was now sporting from one of Ryoma-kun's Twist Serves.

She wondered briefly what Ryoma-kun would think of her in his uniform and blushed.

"Even better than the second button, Sakuno!" Tomo-chan cries; if it's possible to blush more, she would. (1)

"Fssh-" says the Buchou from behind them, and they all fall silent. "Have you seen Echizen?"

They all look around them, realizing that the Prince of Tennis was not around. "No, buchou." The Viper looked at the two girls in their odd garb, face blank, then hisses to scare the three males. "Go find him, you three."

"Hai!" With that, the three scatter in different directions to look for the Prince of Tennis.

"Sakuno, I'll go buy some Ponta for Ryoma-sama!" She was then left alone, staring at the signboard with the match-ups. "Mou," she said to herself, "Ryoma-kun is going to be late again."

"I'm not late."

"Ehh? Ryoma-kun?" She turned to see the Tennis Prince himself with his tennis bag slung over his shoulder, looking at her intently.

"Aa, looks good." He nodded, his characteristic smirk on his face as she blushed under his gaze.

"Neh, I want something else other than cookies" he said next, gesturing for her to follow him as he headed towards his Buchou.

"Wh-what would you like, Ryoma-kun? Ponta?" She thought Ponta was a reasonable assumption, since according to Tomo-chan's data it was what he spent his allowance on. (2)

His smirk remained on his face. "Something I can't get while you're in that uniform of mine, else there'd be annoying rumors."

"Ehh?" Her mind went blank. Annoying rumors?

"I'll be waiting for it tomorrow." He smirks again at her, and he seemed to be enjoying the confusion that must be reflected on her face. "Cheer for me, ne?"

"Hai, Ryoma-kun." She could cheer, definitely, especially for Ryoma-kun, and that's why she was here but that didn't seem to be what he wanted as thanks for the uniform borrowing. She wondered who she could ask for help with her confusion. "Mou, Ryoma-kun, don't be so confusing."

While Ryoma-kun was playing in Singles 2, she looked up at Momo-senpai, who was yawning while watching him play. "Momo-senpai, may I ask you something?"

The friendly vicecaptain smiled at her. "Of course, Ryuzaki-chan."

She pulled at his sleeve for him to lean down. She quickly whispered, "Do you know what Ryoma-kun likes to eat?"

He grinned at her. "Echizen?"

"Hai," she whispered, belatedly feeling her tell-tale blush reappear on her cheeks just when it had disappeared a few moments ago. She sighed.

"Hmm," Momo-senpai scratched his head. "Well, we always eat burgers after practice, but something he likes…"

"Something I can make for him," she whispered, blushing deeper if that were possible.

"Ahh," A silly grin was on his face as he looked back at her, touching the sleeve of Ryoma-kun's uniform. "So young, so young, that Echizen."

"Mou, Momo-senpai."

"5-0, Echizen. Change court," the referee said suddenly; they turned to watch a frowning Ryoma-kun walking past them.

"Ganbatte, Ryoma-kun!" she cried out, "Just one more game!"

He smirked at her. "Mada mada dane," Quickly enough, he was on the other side of the court preparing his serve.

"Anyway, Ryuzaki-chan," she suddenly felt Momo-senpai lean down to whisper in her ear, "I know Echizen likes Japanese food very, very much." Her eyes widened, and she turned to him with a smile. "Arigatou, Momo-senpai!"

Their attention was brought back to the match by numerous exclamations, "OI, that kid just destroyed the other guy's racket!" Sure enough, Ryoma-kun was frowning as the other guy sadly looked at his racket which seemed to have gone through a blender.

"Game and Match, Echizen! Seigaku wins!"

They celebrated at Kawamura Sushiya, as usual, and she found herself sitting next to Ryoma-kun while still in his uniform. She smiled to see him enthusiastically eating sushi while chewing what was in her mouth slowly. She wondered what she could cook for Ryoma-kun. Hopefully she had enough supplies at home for whatever she did decide to cook for him, she thought.

"Ne," said the boy next to her suddenly, "what were you talking about with Momo-senpai earlier?"

"Ehh?"

"During my match." He was frowning while picking up the last sushi from the plate, putting it in his mouth slowly.

Well, she couldn't exactly tell him what they were talking about since it was about him, so she desperately sought for something else to say. "Ah, we were talking about our favorite foods, Ryoma-kun. What's yours?"

He continued to frown, chewing slowly. "I like Japanese food."

Just like Momo-senpai said, she thought, and she smiled while touching the sleeve of his uniform fondly.

"So why were you talking about that?"

"E-eto-" She was surprised at how… discontent Ryoma-kun sounded, especially after winning the match for Seigaku and after eating so much sushi.

Eyebrow raised at most likely her stuttering, he stacked the empty plates silently. More sushi were placed in front of them, but she noticed Ryoma-kun ignored such and was instead glaring at a very confused Momo-senpai. She sighed as she took a piece; hopefully Ryoma-kun's mood would improve by tomorrow before she gave him the bento.

She finds him on the rooftop the next day during lunch, looking at the sky. "Ryoma-kun?"

"Ryuzaki?"

She presented him with a paper bag containing his uniform. "Arigatou, Ryoma-kun. I washed it already."

"Betsuni," he says as he puts it down next to him.

"Eto, I made you something as thanks, Ryoma-kun." She blushed as she offered him a bento box and a pair of chopsticks, watching him as he opens it to find tempura, tonkatsu, and rice. "I hope you like it."

His surprised look gives way to one that is pleased as he takes a piece of tempura and bites into it. "Sankyuu, Ryuzaki." He pats the spot next to him, "Eat with me?"

"Hai, Ryoma-kun." She pulls out her own bento box and another pair of chopsticks, and they eat silently on the rooftop.

It is when she takes the empty bento box from him that he speaks again.

"Ne, while I'm happy about lunch, that wasn't what I wanted from you, Ryuzaki."

She hung her head. "Gomen Ryoma-kun, I couldn't figure it out."

He smirked as he watched her put away the bento boxes in her bag. "Warui na, I didn't make it clear."

"So what did you want, Ryoma-kun? I'll try my best to get it for you."

"This." Cat-like, he was immediately in front of her without her noticing, leaning down to cover her lips with his briefly. Her brain immediately shut down.

After, she blushes deeply and she knew that the boy in front of her was smirking as he placed his hand on the wall behind her.

"Ne, I would have wanted it yesterday, but I didn't want any rumors of my being gay to be started." He tugged at her braid, his smirk growing as she squeaked in surprise. "Though your wearing my uniform was very appealing," he says as he leans down again.

(1) The second button of a male has quite a romantic meaning in Japan. Basically, since it is the most geographically closest to the boy's heart, giving this button to a girl is like "confession" or rather, "giving the feelings of the boy's three years of school". Usually given at graduation.

(2) Data from the fanbook and the Wiki. Personally athletes probably shouldn't drink that much soda, but in a world where Tennis can be as violent as boxing and apparently Tezuka's shoulder can heal completely each time he injures it badly repeatedly, maybe calcium storage in bones is different. HAHAHA.

AN: And that's the end of my first twoshot :) Hurrah!

I'd love to have feedback :)

Shoutouts!

sukoshimisu: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you found the first part cute :) Thank you also for favoriting this story and adding it to your Story Alert :) Thank you also for favoriting Prompted Reflections :)

JC-zala: Thank you for your review, it gave me happy vibes :) I'm very flattered that such a well-known author (with so many well-written fanfiction!) read my simple works :) Thank you very much :) Un, I was wondering if the Gakuran was different from the actual common male middle school uniform, because they generally seem the same. ^^; (Though in other animes they usually seem to wear special bandana/ribbons and white gloves with it? Haha.) I'm still slowly reviewing your wonderful series of oneshots, woah. And yes, I'll also check out your other story and review it :) Thank you for the clarifications on the Gakuran :)

LOVEYDOVE RYOSAKU: Thank you for your review :) I hope this doesn't disappoint! :) You're welcome :)

Pixelated Optimism: Thank you for favoriting this story and following it :) Thanks for the review also, I'm happy you liked it :) (I thank the POT anime for actually putting Sakuno in the boys uniform for whatever reason they chose to, haha.)

yana19: Thank you for reviewing Mutual Appreciation, Prompted Reflections and this story! :) (SO HAPPY!) With Ryosaku, it's the little things sometimes that define their relationship and how it develops. (Well, they are 12. Haha.) I'm glad you liked them :) I also wish the stuff in Prompted Reflections would happen, though I'm just happy that apparently Ryoma and Sakuno are walking together at 22 years old, haha, according to Konomi-sensei. Unfortunately Sakuno hasn't even appeared in the New Prince of Tennis Manga, boo. :( Yes, Ryoma is very sly ^^; (With his senpai-tachi, I think one has to be somewhat sly to survive somehow, unless you're Eiji. ^^;)

bowlfullofcherries: Thank you for your reviews on Making Him Happy Again, Prompted Reflections and this story :) And for favoriting Making Him Happy Again and for the follow on this story :) I'm happy you liked them :) (If only there would be more Ryosaku in the manga, sigh.) Thanks for your comment on my characterization :) *blush* I hope your own Ryosaku story's going well :)

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