Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis; I just own Sakura and Kenichi.

Author's Notes: I haven't died, although I know that some of you were about to search me out and kill me. Sorry, for taking so long, but when I found Phoenix, she wouldn't hand over her notes for this chapter. Well, not until I finished doing the rough draft of "Musings in Water." That and she was really busy watching Roswell, the first season is now out on DVD (Phoenix starts jumping up and down in joy of at the idea of more couples in other words she's a complete Dreamer/Candy/Stargazer girl; she didn't mind Lamptrimmers either).

I had to move during the month of May, not once, not twice, but three times. Yeah, not fun, and I'm still unpacking. On the other hand I did get the chance to work at AX and got some Prince of Tennis pencil boards. Yea!

For all of you thinking that I was going to attempt to pair Fuji with Sakura, think again. I convinced Phoenix that have them talk wouldn't work, although I think it would be interesting to see what two schemers would discuss. Oh well, on the other hand she did have an idea about two other characters having a long talk, but about what, just scroll down and find out.

Akira/Hitori: I'm trying to write quickly, but really, if Phoenix doesn't want to share I'm left staring at a blank sheet of paper. It's actually kind of fun.

Rebecca: I promise I won't pit the two together, but I think that Sakura and Fuji have a lot in common; both are schemers. Bring in people for Oishi and Fuji, hmmmmmmmm, oh, Phoenix is getting that look again. I might have to start a new story, no promises though.

H0shiko: I'll try.

Mithrandir89: Thanks for the support! As I told h0shiko, I'll try.

Jenn-chan: Oy, oy, oy, my errors! Sorry, sorry, as I told others, I try my best, but things get lost through the cracks all the time.

Beriath: Glad I could enlighten you on the use of an Epipen. I'll try to get Sakuno to talk, but it's hard because I don't want either of them seeming to OOC. Kenichi was originally supposed to have one purpose. Make Tezuka aware of his budding feelings for Sakura, be his foil, his modeling equivalent, and he was only going to be in one chapter. However, Phoenix and I did some talking and decided that the character has one last contribution to make.

Cinpii: Ai!!! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I misspelled/typed your name. Oy, oy, must stop typing and posting at four in the morning (bet you think I'm kidding, I'm not). Kenichi has a purpose, really he does, and if I ever get Phoenix to hunker down, I probably would be able to write more about Sakura's past. About the 'pok' reference, I will admit that when I first read your fic I stopped and thought about it. I use to play tennis, which is one of the reasons why I really like this anime. The more I thought about it; the more I realized that your description is pretty accurate. I can't promise you anything, but I hope that my Ryoma and Sakuno scenes are up to your standards.

Katy-beth: In the anime, I'm pretty sure that the return address is also New York, however in the manga, there is a reference to Nanjiroh and his family living in L. A. So I took the manga ref. I'm going to be using it later as well, which is why I decided to remain constant in that respect. Heh, so I wasn't the only one who thought Tezuka's girlfriend (if he can ever get the time to get one), should be older than him. Glad to know. About Nanjiroh, well, not in this chapter, but maybe the next.

Chibi Tenten: Well, hmmmm, who should reveal first. Nope, you're just going to have to read to find out.

Waiting….: well, sorry for taking so long, but I had some packing, to do. Three times over.

Chapter 10 - Talk

Ryoma glared at the smug Akutsu and instinctively took Sakuno's hand to pull her a little bit behind him, just in case the older boy felt like hitting a couple of more rocks at them. They stood in silence while the tension of their upcoming match hung in the air. "So are you too scared to talk shrimp? Do you need her to fight your battles for you?"

"Leave her out of this." Ryoma spitted out.

"She's kind of cute. Hey, girly, wouldn't you rather be with a winner?"

A spark of anger coursed through Ryoma. What the hell? Who are you calling loser, you jerk? However, before Ryoma could retort, Sakuno answered, "I'm with the winner you, you big bully!"

Her words made Ryoma feel slightly light headed. Well, you knew she liked you, you idiot. Why are you surprised? He was surprised because he didn't think Sakuno would stand up for herself. Usually he was the one who would get her out of a bad situation. Looking at her, Ryoma noticed that she was shaking slightly and her eyes were attempting to hide her fear. Damn it she doesn't need to deal with Akutsu's tactics now. On the other hand, Sakuno's comment made Akutsu livid, and Ryoma enjoyed seeing him upset. "I think she has good instincts, don't you Akutsu?"

"Hmph."

Finally, Ryoma smirked. "You'll make a good stepping stone for me," the younger boy stated. With that, he walked away from the older boy, giving Sakuno's hand a gentle tug so she'd leave with him. They made their way to the rest of the team hand in hand, until they reached the other players. Sakuno dropped her hand as Tomoka ran to her best friend, and Ryoma walked to the court.

No one saw them holding hands except for Sakura, who had happened to turn her head and saw her cousin with the player. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she watched them. Then Sakura noticed the various cuts and bruises on Ryoma's arms and legs. He didn't have them when she saw the team on Tuesday, and Ryoma was wearing his school uniform when he visited the day before. She frowned at the injuries, and her expression didn't escape Fuji or Oishi.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Oishi asked her.

She pointed to Ryoma, "When did Ryoma get those cuts? He was fine on Tuesday."

Fuji's eyes opened and his smile disappeared, "How like him not to say anything; I suppose Tezuka didn't say anything either yesterday." Tezuka remained silent. "Echizen claims he hit a door. However, we all know that's not the truth." Fuji concluded darkly.

Oishi picked up the narration, "Akutsu Jin, a player for Yamabuki came to the school. His purpose was probably to cause some trouble for the club, and he's responsible for the injuries on a couple of our club members. One of them said that Akutsu hit rocks at Echizen, of course, Echizen won't confirm the story so we can't complain to the tournament officials."

"Ryoma wants to give payback by himself," she guessed, and Oishi nodded. Sakura sighed and muttered something, but the players couldn't understand her. She watched as the two players went into the court, heard both players' exclamations. Something caught her attention, and she narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything; then she turned and started to walk away.

"Aren't you going to watch Echizen's match?" Oishi asked, confused by her actions.

She looked back and gave them an impish grin, "No, he can't stand it when I watch because I end up telling him everything he did wrong strategically. I'll be back before his match is over though." She then continued to walk somewhere out of their sights. Once she found a relatively quiet place, she sat by a tree and closed her eyes to relax a bit. Soon she felt that someone was blocking the sun on her face and opened one eye to see who was there. Kenichi was standing over her holding a can of green tea to her. Sakura took the offered can while he sat down next to her. "Ken, we need to talk, what the hell were you doing back there?"

He shrugged, "What? It's not like I lied, just omitted some truth. I mean I only met Selene, the model, last year, and you won't let me call you Sakura, who would have figured you'd be the type to hold a grudge?"

She smirked, "I get it from my grandmother, besides that's what you get for calling me 'Moon Diva' for three years."

Kenichi nodded, "Anyway, you know that I'm going college at Columbia in the fall. Who's going to make sure that the paparazzi and other press hounds don't harass you next summer while your father is at the grand slams? Your grandmother will be busy with school tourneys, your other friends have school, and you don't have any other family in Japan. You already rejected all of my friends; I figured I'd try to find one of your own friends to look out for you."

"Ahh, you were trying to take care of me. That's sweet, but you don't need to."

"Yes, I do. I was the one who told my father that the headshots would be a fun experience. If I kept my mouth shut, you wouldn't be in this mess; your cousin wouldn't be in this mess. Okay, enough with this discussion, I want to know if you're going to tell him."

"Tell who?"

"The tennis player that you like, I know that he's one of your grandmother's students. Sakuno let it slip when we were walking over. Come on; we're good friends, and didn't we promise not to have secrets between us? I won't badger you into giving me a name, but I want to know if you're going to tell him how you feel."

"Sure, I am. I'm going to tell him tonight." She said lightly as she opened the can.

"Really?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, you idiot! Why would I tell him tonight when I'm leaving tomorrow? What am I suppose to say? 'Hey, I thought you should know; I've cared about you since I was ten. I hope we can be more than friends. While I know that you'd probably want some time to figure out how you really feel about me, I think you should know that I'm leaving tomorrow so can you give me an answer before I leave?'" She said sarcastically.

"What? Afraid he'd reject your feelings?" he teased.

Sakura fell silent for a moment and looked down at her drink, "No, I'm afraid he may feel the same way."

Ten minutes had passed, and it was still unclear who would win the match between Akutsu and Echizen. By this time, Sakuno started to get anxious about where her older cousin was. Everybody else seemed to be focused on the game, but Sakuno had noticed her cousin leaving earlier. Why isn't she here? Doesn't she want to see Ryoma-kun play? She turned her head side-to-side checking to see if Sakura would show up, but still nothing. Finally, Fuji noticed Sakuno's behavior and asked what bothered her. Upon learning the source of her anxiety, he told the girl what Sakura had said before she left. "Oh, but don't you think someone should go and find her before she misses Ryoma-kun's match? I mean she's leaving tomorrow; I'd think she wouldn't want to leave without seeing him play."

Sakuno's words surprised Tezuka. He forgot that Sakura was only in Japan during her spring break and had to return to the United States. Why do you care if she leaves tomorrow? You'll probably see her again in the summer anyway. Nevertheless, a part of him was unsatisfied with that answer; I don't want her to go, and that admission definitely stunned him. He began to wonder why he'd even admit that when Fuji suggested that someone should go find Sakura. Oishi agreed to the idea, and volunteered to go and look for the girl, but it seemed that Fuji had other plans. "Why doesn't Tezuka go? Echizen will notice him leaving and feel the need to pressure Akutsu into a mistake." (He's so bad!)

"You mean like Tachibana did in our match against Fudomine?" Oishi asked.

"Exactly, plus, he can invite Sakura to Kawamura's afterwards to celebrate, so we can give her a good-bye party too." Fuji stated with his wide smile, hiding his true feelings. Tezuka fought the urge to hurt the player, first to be roped into visiting yesterday, and now this? He was the captain; he couldn't leave, what kind of message would he be sending?

"Please Tezuka-sempai; I'm worried the press might be bothering her." Sakuno added doing her best imitation of a puppy face.

Not wanting to hurt the younger girl's feelings, Tezuka nodded and left to go find Sakura. He didn't go very far when he began to hear voices, specifically her voice and Kenichi's voice. Thinking about the other model, Tezuka scowled. He remembered feeling envious of the model, and this time he wasn't very surprised to admit it. He was jealous about how comfortable Sakura was around Kenichi. He recalled their conversation earlier, and noticed that her eyes weren't so guarded when the two talked, but as soon as Kenichi had left and Oishi asked his questions, the walls were back up. Why does it bother me that she won't talk to me? It's not as if I like her in that way. I don't. He paused for a moment; he really didn't care for her like that did he? He couldn't. I don't need this; I don't want this. Sakura is a friend; I'm just concerned about her well-being. He firmly kept telling himself those thoughts, but an annoying little voice wouldn't let the topic drop. Why are you upset when she's with Kenichi? Why do you want to know what type of relationship they have? Why does it bother you to think that she smiles at him the same way she smiles at you? He shook his head a little. Tezuka effectively squashed the ideas running through his head; he would find Sakura, tell her that Sakuno was worried, and then get back to the match. More importantly, he wasn't going to eavesdrop on her conversation...well, maybe a little.

"Well, actually I was thinking more along the lines Hades and Persephone." He heard Kenichi telling Sakura.

"At least Hades had his wife for six consecutive months. How can I ask someone to expect less? Besides that can you imagine the hoopla?" Sakura stated. "Paparazzi at every tourney, stupid photographers popping out of the bushes, what if one of them decides to ambush him right before a match and something happens?"

"I think you're over analyzing. Besides, if he's as serious as you say, eventually he'll be in the media like you." Kenichi stated calmly.

"Yeah, but it'll sports orientated most of the time, unless he proves to be really popular and then...oh god, the fan girls. I'm going to have to deal with fan girls."

"He'll have to deal with your demented fans too."

She groaned at that remark, "Don't remind me. Besides, I'm not emotionally mature enough to start a relationship. I'm not; I have emotional baggage, and I don't like to open up. I mean I'm not sure I can accept the fact that I'll always be number 2 in his life, because that's what I'd be right now, and I'm sorry but I want to be the most important thing to him. It's the stupid, romantic, naïve side of me, but I want the romantic dinners, walks on the beach, the whole shebang, because I that's who I am, and he can't give me that."

"Are you sure about that?"

She hesitated for a moment, "No," She thought for some more and then spoke again, "I don't know. Besides, what if I'm only just attracted to an image, not the real person? I haven't been around for a couple of years, things change, people change." She stated forlornly.

He gave her a hard stare, "Okay, it's official, you're babbling, we're dropping the subject. Come on, we've been out here for over 10 minutes; Sakuno must be worried about you." Well, it appeared that Tezuka didn't need to interrupt Sakura's conversation after all, although, he now was very curious to find out the identity of the person the two were talking about.

"Hmm, you're right. I'll just go and throw these cans away, can you wait for me?"

Kenichi nodded and Tezuka watched her walk away from them to find some trashcans. Then Kenichi looked up and saw the tennis player. Damn it! Does he know that I heard them? The model just gave him a funny look before walking towards him. "You're the team's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu aren't you?" When Tezuka answered in the affirmative, Kenichi became pensive. "You met Sakura when she came for her aunt's and uncle's funeral right?" Tezuka was very curious to why Kenichi was interested, but nodded anyway. However, before Kenichi could ask any more questions, Sakura came by them.

"Is everything all right Kunimitsu-kun?" She asked concerned by his presence. It was unusual for the team captain to leave when one of his team members was still playing.

"Nothing's wrong; Sakuno just got worried that the press might be bothering you, and asked me to find you."

She smiled at him, "Oh, I was just talking to Ken-san, and we were on our way back anyway."

"...Fuji wanted to invite you to Kawamura's sushi restaurant tonight to celebrate. He also said something about a good-bye party." He told her, fulfilling his task.

Sakura's eyes furrowed a bit, "I need to pack..."

Words tumbled out of his mouth before he realized it, "It would be nice if you'd join us one last time before you left."

Her eyes widen at his admission, but she quickly changed her expression, gave him her soft contented smile, "Okay, I guess I can put off packing for a bit. We should get back before Sakuno really starts to worry."

They returned to hear Echizen tell Akutsu that he wasn't going to get another point off of him. This time Sakura watched the match with her younger cousin, away from the team captain and his friends. Stealing a glance, Tezuka saw Sakura correcting Horio about some tennis shot; and she explained the mechanics behind Ryoma's Drive A volley to the other students. Horio and some of the other first years finally noticed the way Sakura was dressed and made up.

"Ryuzaki-san, why is your cousin dressed up like Selene Lee?"

Tomoka slapped his head, "Because she is Selene, you dummy."

Horio looked at her like she was crazy. "That's a nice joke Osakada, really, why is she dressed like that?"

This time Sakura answered seriously, "She's not joking Horio-kun."

Tezuka watched with some degree of amusement as the first years began to realize that Sakura was telling the truth. Horio almost shouted out in shock, but luckily both Sakura and her younger cousin had quick enough reflexes to cover his mouth. Sakura whispered something into his ear, and although Tezuka could only speculate, he suspected Sakura was trying to warn him about disrupting the match. He felt as if someone was watching him; so he turned his head only to find Kenichi studying him. Noticing that he had been caught, Kenichi spoke quietly to Tezuka. "We probably should talk, in private. Do you have time after the match?" Puzzled by what the model could possibly want with him, Tezuka nodded and then returned to watching the match.

About another 5 minutes past before Ryoma finished Akutsu off. A triumph Ryoma smirked as he made his way to his teammates. However, the smirk faded when he saw Sakura's neutral face. Neutral is not good; neutral usually means she thinks I could have done better. Keeping his face equally expressionless, he waited for her criticism. Instead she only asked a question softly, "Are you always so vocal when you want payback?"

Clearly, this wasn't what he expected. "Is that so bad?"

"Only when you're not sure you can deliver." Again with the soft voice, Ryoma hated it when she did that. It made him feel…silly.

"I wasn't unsure," he told her defiantly.

She gave him a hard stare and the two of them become locked in a battle of wills. Deep down, Ryoma knew that she was right, although he could spout out the trash talk; he wasn't as confident this time. He actually wasn't certain of the outcome; however, he wasn't about to let her know that, or the rest of team for that matter. They remained like that for a couple of more moments before Sakura raised her chin a bit and then turned away. Yet, it didn't mean that Ryoma won the argument, and they both knew it. She was allowing him to save face to his team and classmates, and wouldn't mention this ever, but Ryoma was grateful for her decision to drop it. However, before Sakura walked away she turned back and took Ryoma's cap before he could react. "Sakuno needs this." She told him flatly.

Ryoma winced; in other words, I'm taking this because you're being stupid. If you're nice, you may get it back.

She completely ignored the shock faces of the other first years as she deftly replaced Sakuno's cap with the new one and placed the old cap on her own head. Then Sakuno unzipped the tennis bag she was holding to reveal a windbreaker, which Sakura took. Then Sakuno took out a small pair of sunglasses and a hair tie for her older cousin, before handing her the tennis bag. Although it wasn't a complete transformation, it did give Sakura the appearance of being a visiting player to the tennis garden. She looked at her younger cousin, "You sure you don't want to walk with Uncle and me?"

"Yes, I want to go back with the others. I'll be okay." Sakuno assured her.

The model then turned to Kenichi, "Didn't you have a shoot to get to?"

"No, that got canceled too, I think I'll take the long way home."

Sakura just looked at him for a minute before shrugging and left with her waiting father to exit the garden. When she was out of sight, Kenichi went towards Tezuka and the captain knew that the other model what the other model wanted. Kenichi asked where they were going, and Tezuka told him, after which the other teenager announced that he was heading the same way and would Tezuka mind terribly if he went with him. The tennis player only shrugged to show that he didn't mind the company. As they were leaving, Kenichi pulled the cap on Sakuno's head farther down, "Can't let them see your eyes." He told her as he past. The group headed towards the exit, but noticed that the press was still there, so Tezuka, Oishi, and Ryuzaki-sensei went towards them to confront them, while Sakuno and the others made their escape.

While the others were on the bus heading to the district where the sushi restaurant was situated, Ryoma finally noticed that Sakuno, her cousin, and his old coach had came to the match. They didn't leave Karupin alone did they? "Oi," he stated trying to get Sakuno's attention as the other first years and Tomoka took a nap on the bus. She turned to look at him, "How's Karupin?"

"Oh, we took him back to your house before coming. Thank you again for bringing him over." She told him. An awkward pause reigned over them. Ryoma once again felt some new emotion, which he couldn't quite identify; it was similar to what he felt when he visited her the day before. Sakuno just felt embarrassed, but she was also feeling a bit afraid. She had to tell him what her uncle and grandmother decided this morning, yet Sakuno didn't know how to say it. She hadn't even told Tomo-chan yet. So she just sat there, biting her lip as she watched the tennis player out of the corner of her eye, while Ryoma was doing the same thing.

Sakura told her father about the invitation to the sushi restaurant and ask for his permission to go. He looked at his only daughter somewhat surprised by her request. "You know; you didn't exactly need to ask my permission, I had a feeling you would want to go."

"I'm aware of that, but I also thought you may have wanted me to ask anyway instead of assuming." He nodded at her soft observation; he was keenly aware how much his daughter had grown/changed in the past years, and to be completely honest with himself, he was somewhat saddened to realize that she was almost an adult. As if sensing her father's thoughts, Sakura gave him a large smile, "Don't worry Daddy, I'll never stop being your Lena-chan."

He grinned at her thoughts. "How you're able to guess what I'm always thinking never ceases to amaze me."

"Oh, that's simple; I'm your daughter. It's my job to know what my father is thinking about."

Her father chuckled at that remark, before growing a bit somber again. "Sakura, you wouldn't mind if we took our time to the restaurant, do you?"

"No, Daddy, I wouldn't mind visiting Mother, Auntie, and Uncle before we go." She informed him, taking his hand.

He smiled at the child-like way she responded to him and just led the way towards their destination.

Tezuka emerged from the crowd of photographers to find that Kenichi was still waiting for him. Pretending that he didn't really notice the older teen, he began to walk towards the bus stop. Kenichi respected his decision and just followed him in silence until they boarded a bus. He waited until the bus was relatively empty before he even spoke, but once he started, Tezuka found that he couldn't ignore the model, how could he when Kenichi's first words were, "Don't break her heart."

Sakuno was beginning to feel desperate. Although, they were still about 20 minutes away, she felt the need to tell someone, anyone, what she knew. Why couldn't it be Ryoma? Besides, she rather he hear it from her than someone else anyway. Why was it so hard to talk to him? Well, it could be because he's very unapproachable, and he's oblivious to everything besides tennis? She swatted away the cynicism in her mind, if she wasn't careful she'd become bitter before she was her cousin's age. "Ryoma-kun-" she began.

Meanwhile, Ryoma was trying to understand why being close to Sakuno was making him feel giddy. He had been around her several times. Some of those times he had been alone with her, and never, and he meant never, had he felt this confused before. So, what had changed? What made yesterday and today so different? He took a peek at the brunette sitting nearby. Okay, so she's cute, a lot cuter than most of the girls I know, but she's still clumsy. But that only makes her cuter. Danm! I hate it when the old man is right. His father had hinted that he was getting to be the age when he'd start to notice girls, but at the time Ryoma only scoffed at him. So deep in thought was he that he didn't even realize Sakuno was speaking until he caught some random words which shocked him, "Wait a minute, what did you just say?" He asked suddenly, surprising the girl.

Sakuno only stared at him, how could he be confused? She figured that he might not have really been listening to her because he must be tired from his match. "I said, Grandmother and Uncle think it might be best if I leave for the United States with Uncle at the end of the week."

Jadeling Notes: Ummm, yeah, I think I'll just stay over there.