The Big Bad Wolf

"I really like girls with ribbons," it was then that Little Red Riding Hood realized that the big bad wolf was leaning in dangerously close to her.

It was the first time she had actually done something right inside the kitchen, baking, at that. She was always banned from the place, like there was a 'pandemonium-brewing-machine' sign plastered on her forehead. And this is the first time that she would be able to prove herself worthy of being inside a kitchen.

She remembered the first few times she drew humans. That annoying human scribble which everyone thought was a cockroach. She remembered how she cried because of it. But only one person was able to appreciate the human cockroach as a work of art. It was her grandmother, who one day hung that drawing on the fridge's door. Her grandma, who was always proud of her.

This time she wanted to give what she baked to her, hoping that she at least would be proud of it. The only problem was, grandma didn't live with them anymore, she had moved into Kanagawa, which she said had more than everything she ever wanted in Tokyo. She had cried the next few days after she left.

Tachibana An let out an exasperated sigh. Getting lost was not in her character but Kanagawa was so unfamiliar. Now it struck her that it was a stupid idea to go out there alone and not supervised. Adding up to the fact that she looked even more idiotic with the basket of sweets she was holding while walking aimlessly at the said place.

Wandering around had lead her not far away from a certain school she ought not to remember. She narrowed her eyes on the school's main entrance, which also held the sign she didn't want to see.

Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku.

The last time she remembered, that certain school had knocked their team down. It was as if Fudoumine was just a little ant caught by a lion. In An's head Rikkai Dai was a synonym to destruction and arrogance, and she had stuck to that belief.

Not minutes after, students were swarming out of the school, clad in the cerulean blue uniforms that had the Rikkai pride in each of them. Pulling out a small note from her jacket, she winced.

"Asking for directions wouldn't be such a bad idea…"

With that thought out, she headed inside the campus, carrying a small basket of sweets while wearing her navy blue sailor uniform, sporting only a red jacket to hide the Fudoumine pride while she entered Rikkai Dai.

It looked bigger than she thought. Students were all over the place, minding their own business. It really was different from Fudoumine, which had students that knew who each and everyone was, and was full of loud and outgoing personalities. One that included herself, of course.

Rikkai Dai, on the other hand, had this sort of feeling that it didn't want outsiders around. It had this unfriendliness feel to its students. An couldn't even find anyone worth talking to. Or rather…she couldn't find anyone who thought that she, herself, was worth talking to.

She sighed, yet thought of the bright side. It wouldn't really hurt to wander around a little bit more, would it? She took a glance at her wristwatch, informing her that it was 3:13 in the afternoon. An rested her eyes for a second. Maybe walking around such an unfamiliar school, which turned out to be a rival school as well, wasn't such a good idea. She couldn't even find anyone whom she could ask directions from.

Walking around a bit more led her through a corner, which she decided to go through. She didn't believe that she was lost-- she always thought that it was her wandering around that lead her into places…not from trouble, mind you.

Crashing with someone wasn't in her plans either, as she almost did though, if it weren't for the other person's fast reflexes, her basket would've looked like it got hit by a road roller by now.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, giving a small bow. When she looked up to him she was greeted by his bright yellow jersey, emblazed with the Rikkai Dai's emblem…and the mop of bright red hair he was sporting. It almost slipped her mind to scowl.

The guy, on the other hand, greeted her with "Are those sweets?" as he eyed the basket she was holding. An had to blink twice to register that question in her mind.

"Excuse me?" She didn't expect someone to be that casual to her, it was actually she who usually set that forte off.

"Are those sweets?" He repeated, now pointing at the said basket to be more specific.

"Umm…yes?" She answered with a tinge of doubt. But she wasn't planning on fooling around with him any longer. "What's it to you?"

"That's great, I've been craving for some," He replied, giving her a cheeky grin as he brushed his crimson hair off with his hand.

An could only raise an elegant brow; as if she would give these to him that easy. She had given off everything she had just for these morsels and no stranger is going to take that away from her.

"I'm really sorry but I'm kinda in a hurry," she excused herself and turned the other way around, hoping that he'd let her be.

But before completely turning away, what she saw from the corner of her eyes was an extended hand, followed by a straight to the point "Hand 'em over."

An looked over her back, pissed. Determined to brush him away, she gave a sour reply, "I don't even know you."

What happened next was what An considered out of hand. The guy had actually took hold of her wrist and pinned her against the wall.

"I'm Marui Bunta, the only genius of this school's tennis team, you might have heard of me from somewhere over the rainbow, and I'm crazy over sweets," He initiated, leaning a tad bit closer to her. An felt her own grip tighten on the basket she was holding. "Now would you give 'em to me?"

She smirked then after, glared at him, "Well this is for you, Marui Bunta. I'm not going to be inside the trap of a big bad wolf such as yourself so if you'd just let go of me, I'm sure things wouldn't turn as sour as they should be."

"By saying that you do realize you've introduced yourself to me as Little Red Riding Hood, don't you?" He gave her a smirk as she eyed her from head to toe, also taking note of the red jacket she was wearing. An could only scowl.

"My name is An," she drawled, effectively making him laugh aloud. If the basket wasn't for her grandma, An would've intended it as a hammer especially for this guy and she would've hit him by now.

Not being able to contain herself anymore, she went off, "Fine then, big bad wolf, since I'm the innocent girl with the basket, would you be as kind to give me the wrong directions?"

This time it was Marui's turned to arch an eyebrow as she showed him a note that contained a certain address, and then smirked. "Okay then, An-chan…"

She shivered as the redhead mentioned her name, and also because of the fact that the latter was becoming dangerously close to her. She could already feel her cheeks burning as his lips inched closer to her ears.

"I really like girls with ribbons."

With that being said, Marui pulled off, taking the basket with him and off a flustered Little Red Riding Hood.

"I'll be taking these with me, okay?" He said, patting her head softly as he shook the basket in front of her. Then he walked off, twirling the basket around his finger.

"Oh, and Tachibana-obaa-san's house is only about three blocks away from here," he waved goodbye, and without even bothering to turn back to her, he continued, "And if it helps, there's a bakeshop next to her house just in case you need sweets."

It took her a full span of thirty seconds to snap back to reality and the big bad wolf was already nowhere to be found.

She clenched her fist as tight as she could, it was as if she was manipulated for a while, and then it was actually happening. She liked it better when people called her using her first name but there was something about this Marui Bunta that she can't help feeling repulsed by.

And her cheeks still felt hot, dammit.

Not later she arrived at her grandma's place, carrying a medium sized box of strawberry cake. The old lady greeted her with a smile, and a hug while she was only a second away from fuming it all out. She hander her the box, in which the latter accepted with gratitude.

"You always find the time to buy things for me, An-chan," The old lady smiled, "You're really sweet."

"Not really," she replied as she scratched her head. If not for that pompous, sad excuse for a human being, Rikkai Dai student, Marui Bunta, her answer to her grandmother would've been 'I baked it on my own, and especially for you, grandma.'

Not a few weeks later, An was found in her grandma's doorstep, bringing in another basket of her self-made pastries. And from the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of a mop of red hair, a blown green apple gum and that horrid puke yellow Rikkai Dai uniform.

She wanted to make sure that it was him and so she turned to face the bakeshop beside her grandmother's house.

And what greeted her was Marui Bunta, clad with a really annoying smirk as he eyed her from toe to head, and noticed the star embroidered crimson sheath she was wearing. A snort was heard afterwards, as he took note of the silk white lace that was keeping her hair in place.

"Oh hey, little red riding hood, just in time, I've been wanting to see if you've actually made something edible by now."

She wanted to make sure that it was him standing not a few meters beside her. In that way, she wouldn't think twice about throwing the basket towards him and hitting his damned head.

And she bought those expensive ribbons for who again…?

Disclaimer: Disclaiming that sad excuse for a human, Marui Bunta and Tachibana An. I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Little Red Riding Hood.

Notes: I'm still not sure whether An's birthday is today or March 21st, but I wasn't able to celebrate it last March and so I thought now is the proper time. Oh, and Happy birthday to Akiko Kimura (An's seiyuu) as well! Reviews are loved. Please and thank you. 062809.

This is unbeta-ed because I'm gonna be late for school. -runs off- Please forgive the typos and such. m(_ _)m