Contradictions

Chapter 12 -- Love

Flashback:

"U-uh...." Ann looked around nervously, "T-they are planning some-something for... uh.." she whispered the last part and the others leaned in to hear, "they're p-planning on d-doing something b-bad... really bad.. on S-Saku-chan...""C.B.B...? Osakada...? Plan...? Sakuno...?!"

"What?" Most of them mumbled right after she finished.

I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS!

Hello again minna-san! I apologize for not updating in.. half a year.. I think? I am so sorry! But I had trouble with what to put in this chapter... forgive me! .
Anyways... I don't know if some people even remember this fiction.. but hopefully, to the people who still read this, that you'll all like this chapter! (:

Thanks for everyone who reviewed!!

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Having sneaked away from his senpai-tachi, and sneaked after the auburn-haired girl, our Prince waited for a certain girl. He didn't go inside the bathroom of course, but he waited outside in the hallway. He thanked God that the men's bathroom was also in the same hallway, because if not, he would really seem like a pervert (a good-looking pervert at that! :P).

Ryoma uncomfortably paced around the hallway, as people passed by him, giving him wierd stares. Aside from teenage girls, who gave him flirty smiles. He sighed, "Can't she please hurry it up more...?" he thought as an elderly woman who came out from the bathroom gave him a suspicious look then walked away. "She might even tell the staff about some 'suspicious-looking-guy' pacing around outside the bathroom doors." he had put on his hood, after a couple of girls passed by him giving him the same flirty smiles. But now, he looked even more suspicious than just some guy waiting outside the bathrooms.

When the girl he was waiting for finally came out of the bathroom, he couldn't help to smile from relief. Then when she noticed him and stared curiously at Ryoma, who was also staring back at him, "Ano.. R-Ryoma-kun! You guys also followed us here?! Oh- eh.. ahh.. I-I meant-" she started stuttering and turning pink.

He raised an eyebrow, "You knew we following you two? Since when?"

Sakuno nodded, "H-hai.. um.. since we were in the park. I-I admit.. you and the senpai-tachi r-really can't stay really quiet for more than a couple of minutes.. aside from Tezuka-senpai," she giggled, "May I ask w-why you guys were following us?"

He remained quiet for a while, thinking of a proper answer without having to tell her he was jealous. A minute passed and she opened her mouth, about to say something, but he cut her off, deciding on ignoring her question. Ryoma took her hand and moved her away from the door and closer to him, he leaned in, his cheek was almost touching hers and his hand took one of her braids and undid her braid, "I like it better when you leave your hair down," he muttered in her ear and stepped back, he took her other braid and undid it too, he smiled a small smile, "much better..."

The poor girl had her heart beating so fast, with her face redder than a tomato, "A-ah.." was all she managed to say, though she wanted to say much, much more. It was too much for her, the world seemed to stop as soon as he took her hand, his face so close to hers, his hands undoing her braid, and then that smile. "O-oh.. my.. God.. I... wow.... so... shocking..." It was a small smile, but that same smile took her breath away.

Ryoma hid his amusement to her reactions, wanting to grin. "Cute." he thought. "Ryuuzaki," he called her.

Sakuno looked at him, her face still slightly red, "H-hai, Ryoma-kun?"

"I don't like Fuji-senpai being so close to you." he said to her, quite bluntly too.

"Eh?" she was surprised at what he had just said, very surprised.

He walked past her, saying, more like ordering, "Meet me in the shop right beside this restaurant after you tell Fuji-senpai that you're going home. If he says he'll walk you home tell him it's fine and that you're going to see a friend or something. Jaa'."

She stared at his back until he turned and left the hallway. Sakuno immediately ran back to the women's bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, her face was still red and her hair was a bit messy. She blinked and couldn't help but smile, she combed her hair with her fingers, fixing her messy hair. "W-was that really Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno headed out the door and towards the table Fuji was.

"S-Syuusuke-senpai.. sorry for making you wait.. but.... C-could I go home right now? I'm not f-feeling that well..." she said, sounding a bit nervous and embarrassed. Her face still slightly pink from what happened earlier.

Fuji raised an eyebrow, Sakuno gulped mentally, "I reaalllly don't like lying to Syuusuke-senpai.. He could practically see if anyone if lying.... It's kinda freaky..."

"Yes, but... I'm sorry I can't walk you home..." he said, "Yuuta just called before you went out and asked me to visit him in his school with some things he wanted, or.. I'll just come with you and-" Sakuno cut him off.

"N-no! It's alright! Thank you for today! I had fun! Say hello to Yuuta-kun for me!" Sakuno bowed to him and smiled, "Sorry for.. what happened by the way.... See you, Syuusuke-senpai!" She bowed again and ran off, feeling guilty that she had lied to her caring senpai who gave her his sister's shirt so she won't get sick then running off to another guy who was his kouhai, "I.. feel so bad...."

Sakuno stopped outside the door of the restaurant, "Which shop is it?" she ran to the shop on the right side of the restaurant and entered, it was a pet store. She looked around, seeing about 3-5 little kids and 3 elderly people, but not Ryoma, she wondered why Ryoma could be in there anyway, then remembered he had a cat, Karupin, she smiled as she remembered the cat.

She looked in the "Cats' Section" of the store and happened to actually find the person she was looking for, he was looking at kittens, they looked like mini Karupins. He was playing with them, he had something similar to what he plays with Karupin at home and he used it to tease the little cats. And one more surprising thing, he was actually smiling, it wasn't a wide smile or anything.. just a small, sweet smile.

She grinned, "Ryoma-kun!" He turned to the source of the sound, his smile gone and was replaced by his indifferent facade.

"Ryuuzaki," Ryoma nodded at her and motioned her to come stand beside him.

She walked to him and asked, "W-why did you want me to come here?"

The boy was quiet for a while, as he continued to play with the kittens, ignoring her question again, "What do you think of these kittens?" he asked.

She sweat dropped, "Another question ignored eh?" , "I think they're all cute, they look like the mini-version of your cat. 'Karupin', right?"

He nodded, "Yeah." He opened the cage and took out one of the kittens, then closed the cage again. He petted the kitty with his hand, "Karupin was this small when we first got her(Karu's a girl.. right? I'm not too sure..), and I was 7 years old at that time," Ryoma handed the kitten to Sakuno, who gently carried it and smiled.

"He's so cute. I wonder if Baa-chan will let me get a pet who doesn't need an aquarium," she thought out loud and with a sweet smile on her face.

Ryoma couldn't help but smile, "Do you want to get him?" he asked.

Sakuno looked up at him in surprise and nodded with a pout, "Yeah.. but I don't think Baa-chan will let me."

"Actually, Karupin might get babies soon, I was here to look for things that she might need. Do you think your grandma could let you have one of them? If not, you could just drop by my house to look at them anytime if you want," he suggested.

She looked more surprised, "E-eh? But.. wouldn't that be troublesome for you? I-I mean.. if I always come over and see.." she looked at the kitty and continued to pet it gently.

"It'll be fine, my family would probably be happy to see you," he said, "Specially that perverted Oyaji.. He'd probably tease me non-stop every single day though.. But it'll be worth it, if I could see her a lot more." "Besides, you could also play tennis with me there too. I'm sure your grandma will be fine with that, she comes over from time to time too."

"Really?" Sakuno brightened up, "T-then, I'll go ask Baa-chan when I get home today," she smiled widely at him and noticed something, "Ryoma-kun, I don't think I've actually heard you talk this much before."

He looked at her, kind of shocked, "Hn.. I guess," his cheeks turned a bit pink and he turned away, not wanting her to see.

Sakuno noticed his face, and she giggled, "How cute, even Ryoma-kun could get embarrassed."

Ryoma turned to her and pinched her nose, "I'm not a robot you know, I'm also a human being," he said with a smile.

She blushed, turning more than 10 shades of red and pink, she had seen him smile more than three times in a day, plus hearing him talk to her so much than before, she giggled, "Yeah, even Ryoma-kun could get embarrassed too, eh?" as she pinched his cheeks with a grin.

Just then, an elderly couple walked into the section and smiled, "Aw, aren't they a cute couple. It's so nice to be young again," the woman said to her husband who nodded.

The two let go of each other and blushed madly then looked away, Sakuno opened the cage and gave the kitty one last pet before putting him back.

Sakuno looked at Ryoma, whom she found was looking at her, she smiled sweetly at him, "Ryoma-kun, call me Sakuno, 'kay?"

He smiled back, "Hn, Sakuno."

She was shocked at how much him saying her name affected her, her face heated up once again and she looked down at her feet, "Such.. a familiar feeling..."

"Sakuno, do you want to come over and see Karupin?" he asked.

She quickly looked up at him, "Hai! If it's okay, that is."

"I asked you because it's okay, don't be so formal anymore," he said as he started to walk away, "Come on, I just need to buy some supplies for Karupin."

"Okay," she followed him with a smile plastered on her face.

When Ryoma had finished buying Karupin's supplies, the two were walking together, but Ryoma was in front of Sakuno, so nobody thought Sakuno was walking with him. Suddenly a drunk guy, around his mid-twenties walked up to Sakuno and said, "Hey babe, want -hiccup- to come with -hiccup- me?" he grabbed Sakuno's wrist and pushed her to the wall.

"R-Ryoma-" she called him but was cut off by the drunken person.

"Ryoma? Who's he? Well -hiccup- whatever, you're quite -hiccup- cute y'know?" his arms slid around Sakuno's petite waist, "-hiccup- Hot too, how old -hiccup- are you, babe?" he asked as he leaned in towards her.

Sakuno's eyes teared up, "L-Let go! Stupid jerk! You're drunk! You're probably more than 10 years older than me! Lemme go you freaking bastard!" she tried to push her away, not caring if anyone she knows hears her swear.

When the guy opened his mouth about to say something, he was suddenly flown away as a fist landed on his face, "Fuck off, she's with me." a voice said, and it sounded awfully angry, "Come on, Sakuno."

Her heart beat faster and tears fell from her eyes, showing her relief, "Ryoma-kun! I thought you didn't hear me call out your name! I-I..."

Ryoma sighed, "Honestly, I didn't even know you called out my name.. Sorry about that... But I heard you yell out and swear, that's when I saw him," he said, still looking a bit pissed off, "As soon as I saw the bastard even that close to you I wanted to punch him alot more than that. Well.. enough about him, are you alright? What did he do to you?"

Sakuno smiled at him, "H-he just put his arm around my waist... You stopped him from doing anything else.. Thank you, Ryoma-kun!" she said.

He took her hand and intertwined his with hers, "Now, no one can take you away from me," he said as his other hand brushed her bangs away from her pretty face and he leaned in, closing the space between them as their lips met.

She was surpised as hell when he did that, but she was happy, she closed her eyes then they pulled away from eachother, "R-Ryoma-kun..." she mumbled as she looked at him.

The two blushed again and looked around, noticing that some people did see them, "Sorry, I couldn't help it." he said as he continued walking, his hand still holding hers.

"I-it's fine.." she replied, looking at the ground as she walked beside him. Sakuno felt his hands tighten his hold on hers.

"Oh yeah, is your grandma gonna be fine with you still out? It's probably almost around 7," Ryoma asked her, acting as if nothing happened just a few minutes ago.

Sakuno noticed that it was getting dark, "Yeah, I think she trusts Ryoma-kun alot. She knows I'll be fine if I'm with Ryoma-kun," she replied.

"Hn, but your grandma doesn't know you're with me," he reminded her.

"Oh.. that's right, I'll call her right now," Sakuno took out her phone and dialed her home phone's number.

"Hello?" - Sumire

"Baa-chan!"

"Oh, Sakuno! Where are you?"

"I'm with Ryoma-kun right now. We're-"

"Ryoma's with you? Are you coming home right now?"

"Hai, he's with me. But no, we're going to his house right now and-"

"Really...? Well, let me talk to him."

"-sweatdrop- O-okay..." Sakuno sweatdropped and handed her phone to Ryoma.

"Hello?" - Ryoma

"Ryoma! Where are you taking my dear granddaughter?"

"I'm taking her to my house, she wants to come and see Karupin."

"Oh alright. Be careful to NOT DO ANYTHING to her."

"-sweatdrop- I won't.. I-"

"Be sure she's safe and away from your father."

"Don't worry, of course I know that."

"Hahaha! That's right! Well take care of her! Let me talk to her now."

"Hai.. Jaa' sensei," Ryoma hands the phone back to Sakuno.

"Baa-chan?" -Sakuno

"Sakuno, becareful, alright?"

"Hai, don't worry Baa-chan."

"When are you gonna be home?"

"Um.. Maybe around 8:30 or so?"

"Okay. Let me talk to Ryoma again."

"Okay." Sakuno gave her phone to Ryoma again.

"Sensei." -Ryoma

"Ryoma, I don't really care when my granddaughter comes home, it's not that I don't care about her. But as long as I will see her again tomorrow, safe and sound and without a scratch."

"Hai.."

"And.. don't let anyone else walk her home. And definitely not your father or Ryoga, if he is even there."

"I don't even want those two to be in a 1 meter radius of her."

"Hahaha! Good! That's good! Well, make sure you walk her home safely. Let me talk to her again."

"Hai, bye sensei." Ryoma hands back Sakuno's phone.

"Hello?" -Sakuno

"Sakuno, I'll see you when you get back, okay? Bye!"

"Okay, see you later Baa-chan. Bye bye!" Sakuno closes her phone and puts it back in her pocket.

"Sorry about that, Ryoma-kun. She was probably saying 'Make sure she's safe and sound' or something like that right?" she asked him.

He smirked at her imitation, "Yeah, something similar."

After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived in front of his house. Ryoma opened the door and simply said, "Tadaima."

Sakuno entered after, "Sorry for intruding.." she nervously said.

"Ryoma-san! It's dinner time in half an hour could you-" a girl with dark blue hair in her early twenties stopped as she saw a girl behind him and gasped, "Oh my! Obaa-san! Ryoma-san brought home a girl!" she announced.

After a few seconds you could hear someone running towards them, "Really?! What's her name?" a woman's voice yelled out and someone appeared behind Nonoko, "Oh! It's Sumire-chan's granddaughter! Sakuno-chan, was it? It's been a long time!" a woman with brown hair tied up in a bun excitedly asked.

Ryoma sighed, "Okaa-san, Nonoko-neesan, you're scaring her," he said to them.

Sakuno sweat dropped, "M-my name is Ryuuzaki Sakuno. It's nice to meet you." she bowed.

"I'm Ryoma's mother, Echizen Rinko. And this is Ryoma's cousin, Meino Nonoko," Rinko said to her with a gentle smile.

Nonoko noticed that they were holding hands, she grinned widely, "Is she your girlfriend?!" she asked.

The two teenagers froze and their cheeks heated up. "N-no!" they both said at the same time and let go of eachother's hands.

Rinko laughed, "Alright, alright! Sakuno-chan, Ryoma, you two could come down later and eat dinner together okay?"

"Eh? But-" once again, Sakuno was cut off.

"Hai, we'll come down and eat when it's ready. Do you want me to come to the temple and call the pervert?" Ryoma asked.

"P-pervert?" Sakuno asked out loud, curious of who he meant.

Rinko and Nonoko laughed, "Right, it's his father. He calls him that alot because he always reads those "news papers" which has pictures of girls in them," Nonoko explained.

Sakuno blinked and then looked at Ryoma, "R-Ryoma-kun's father?"

"Hn. Follow me. Let's go to the temple," he said as he took off his shoes and carried them, "Take your shoes with you too."

Sakuno nodded and then followed him. She saw Nonoko and Rinko enter the kitchen, probably continuing to prepare the food. Ryoma went to the backyard and put his shoes back on, Sakuno did the same and they continued walking. They walked through a bush and then Sakuno tripped over a rock hidden under dried leaves, "Eh?". She saw Ryoma turn around and then she accidentally pushed him down with her.

The two found themselves in a very awkward position. Sakuno was on top of him, their faces were only centimeters away from eachothers, her hands were on his chest and his knee was in between her legs. Ryoma's eyes were staring at Sakuno's chocolate brown eyes, "Sakuno..." he muttered her name.

"His eyes.. I've never noticed before.. but they're so... captivating.." She was staring back at him, "R-Ryoma-kun.." she whispered back.

Ryoma slowly started sitting back up, his eyes never leaving hers. Just then, something jumped on Sakuno's head, which made her kiss him. Their eyes widened, then soon calming down, Ryoma wrapped his arms around her and slowly and gently deepening the kiss. The kiss lasted about a minute before the two pulled away from eachother and sat up slowly. Sakuno stood up, followed by Ryoma. The two were madly blushing again.

"Meow!" a cat jumped up into Sakuno's arms, earning a gasp from the girl.

"Karupin!" Sakuno exclaimed, "S-so it was her who jumped on my head..." she whispered, hoping Ryoma didn't hear her. But unfortunately for her, he did. He smiled when he heard her and petted Karupin.

Karupin jumped from Sakuno's arms to Ryoma, "Karupin, go back inside, I don't think you should even go up and down the temple right now. We'll be back later," he said and the cat obeyed her owner as soon as Ryoma put her down.

Sakuno smiled at his actions. He took Sakuno's hands again, "Let's go." "No... I don't like her... That's one thing I'm really sure of..... I.. love her."

She blushed slightly, "This feeling.." she laughed quietly, "I'm in love with the same person again..."

Her laugh caused Ryoma to look at her, Sakuno noticed, "Haha, it's nothing, Ryoma-kun!"

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"Oh yeah, Obaa-san, should we have told Ryoma-san that Ryoga is here?" Nonoko asked Rinko.

Rinko laughed, "Yes, but I think it'll be fine. He looks too happy to even get annoyed by that."

Nonoko laughed, "Yes, hopefully!"

-+Chapter End+-

Pleeasee don't hurt me! I am very sorry for not updating in such a long time, but hopefully many people liked this chapter! I was hoping that RyoSaku moments would make up, even just a bit! And this chapter.. I'm pretty sure was the longest one so far.. hopefully it did make up! Did it?????

Well, anyway, please continue on reading if you guys still like it! (Hopefully! :D) I'm really trying on updating faster, so please wait for the next one!

Luv you all and please review!!!