Hey all!

Sorry for the long wait. お待たせしました！

Hime-chan here again, back to give you the newest update on "Crush!"

Just curious: do you guys like the direction of the story? I honestly need to hear from my lovely readers whether you want fluff or an actual story (i.e. conflict)! Reviews or PMs are always welcome (as well as story alerts, favoriting, etc.)! (Btw, I'm not going to mention this anymore, but bolded words will always be song lyrics)

So please, enjoy this new chapter and please please PLEASE review!

Disclaimer: none of the Prince of Tennis characters or Crush (the song) belongs to me. They belong to Takeshi Konomi-sensei and David Archuleta and his producing company, respectively.

Crush:

Chapter 4:

-The next day, about 11:00 AM-

Regular POV

The last match of the day: Ryoma was poised at the baseline, eyes narrowed, muscles tensed…Trying his best to focus on the second most difficult opponent: Fuji Syusuke, renowned genius and the Angel from Hell of Seigaku Tennis Team.

On normal days, our young prince would be 100% concentrated on the close-eyed tensai across from him. Yet, while his body was prepared, his mind was anything but focused.

"I'm starting, Echizen," Fuji called.

Ryoma simply nodded, a little absentmindedly. His opponent raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Something's wrong." A thought flashed through the genius' mind, and he grinned evilly.

Now Ryoma was paying attention. For his Fuji-senpai to open his eyes and grin so sinisterly right at him were two very, VERY bad signs.

The upperclassmen served a normal ball, and the match was off. Everyone, including the other regulars stood outside the fence, interested to see how these two legendary figures would do. Or it could end up like it did four years ago: lightning and rain and a complete cancellation. (Ryoma and Sakuno are in their first year of high school right now. She's liked him in this story since 2nd year of middle school.)

But nope—no lightning and no rain. The match continued, 15 minutes, then half an hour. And boy, was everyone surprised by the results half-way through the second set. 6-2, 3-3. (Anyone want to give a shot at who's got what score?)

Yup, that's right. 6 Fuji, 2 Echizen for the first set. 3-all in the second set.

As usual, Tomoka was there to give her support, although not in the usual ridiculously skimpy cheerleading attire. "Go Ryoma-sama!" she screamed.

He ignored her. As usual. But someone wasn't there. Not as usual.

"Sakuno…"

"Game! Fuji!"

"Shoot." Echizen pinched himself for being so distracted. While making a last effort to spy Sakuno, he made eye contact with Tezuka. The stoic captain was staring at him blankly, careful not to reveal any emotion, as usual. Yet Ryoma looked away, afraid of what Tezuka would say later about his performance.

As for the rest of the regulars, at this point, they had all figured out something was weird about the youngest member of the team. But all they could do was cheer him on as much as possible.

"Echizen, you had better win!" (Kaidoh) "Yeah, come on!" (Momoshiro)

"BURNNNINNNG!" "You're giving me really bad data, Echizen…" (A/N: Does that even count as cheering? Well, in any case, that was Kawamura and Inui)

"Ganbare, Ochibi-chan!" (Eiji)

"You can do this, Echizen!" (Oishi)

"…" (Tezuka) (A/N: LOLZ…)

Amongst the crowd of voices, Ryoma aurally strained to find her. "Where is she?"

He served.

"Fault!"

Crap. He threw the ball up into the air again, and as it was falling…

"Fight-o, Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno's voice rang out through the court.

He smirked, and brought his racket smashing down.

"15-Love!"

Sakuno POV (a few minutes before)

I hummed happily as I chopped quickly and arranged the sushi. "I hope obaa-chan will appreciate me cooking dinner today." I smiled.

"Yosh! Time to—" I glanced at the clock, then stopped dead.

"…SHOOT!"

(About 60 seconds later…)

I grabbed what I needed and dashed out the door. Dinner would have to wait.

Ryoma POV (back to present)

"She's here." I thought, relieved. While landing back down after a Cyclone Smash (A/N: anime only I think), I glanced quickly out of the corner of my eye and had to cover my grin.

Panting, with her hands on her knees, Sakuno's hair was kind of all over the place with the wind and what not. I could tell that she had rushed here.

But then again, she had promised to watch. Why's she so late? I was pretty puzzled, but she was here. That was all I needed.

"Game, Echizen."

15 minutes later…

"Game and match, Echizen Ryoma!"

I walked to the net to shake Fuji-senpai's hand. He nodded, smiling as usual. But he knows something—something was odd about how wide his grin was.

"Good work, Echizen."

"You too, Fuji-senpai." After that, I immediately strolled over to the fence door.

Sakuno jumped on me, "Congrats Ryoma-kun!"

I was shocked by the feel of her arms locked around my neck. When did this girl become so confident?

"Th-thanks," I tried to hide my surprise, but I think she noticed my stiffness, because she (regrettably, for me) detached herself from me and immediately began apologizing, bowing over 90 degrees. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Ryoma-kun!"

"No problem," I lied. Of course there's a problem, I feel like my face is on fire!

She beamed, though slightly embarrassed, "Here. Omedetou."

I glanced at the bento box in my hands. Something clicked finally.

"Were you late making this?" I asked, trying to keep the joy in my voice down.

"Y-yeah, sorry. I kind of went overboard, and—well I rushed here as fast as I could, and then I made it, but you were almost don—"

I shushed her. "It's fine. You're here, that's enough." And I subsequently wanted to punch myself. That's so mushy!

I glanced at Sakuno's face. The silly girl, her entire head had become the color of a tomato. Guess that means I said something pretty good to elicit that reaction.

She stuttered, "T-try the b-bento, Ryoma-kun."

"Un," I agreed. I sat down on the grass, handing the box delicately, like it was a treasure…because it was. Compared to the bento from four years ago, where I apparently broke Sakuno's heart (I heard from the senpai-tachi), this one meant so much more to me.

She stood next to me awkwardly, slightly shifting her feet, unsure of what to do.

I looked up at her and smirked like usual. I patted a dry and soft patch of grass next to me. "Sit with me." I ordered as gently as possible. She plopped down gracefully, and I turned to the box in question.

To be honest, I had to restrain myself to untie the handkerchief holding the box together slowly, as I was eager to see exactly what had taken so long.

And boy was I amazed. The box had four wooden layers, each with a certain theme: appetizers, small entrée, main, and dessert.

The top: appetizers. She had set up a western style lettuce salad, spelling out my name "R-Y-O-M-A" in thin carrot slivers. On the side, there was a little plastic container of a slight pink, brownish sauce.

I turned back to my companion. Sakuno was staring at me intently, probably trying to decipher what my silence indicated. "Can I start?" I asked.

She nodded silently, making a hand gesture to begin.

"Ok then. Itadakimasu!" And I partook in the salad, making sure to use the sauce I've never seen before.

"How…is it?" Sakuno ventured.

I faced her. "Sakuno, you're a cooking genius!"

She shook her head. "No way, you're exaggerating. It's probably horrible, so you're lying to make me feel better." She turned her head the other way.

I continued eating, finishing it in 5 minutes flat, then tapped her on the shoulder because she had not moved from the position of facing away from me.

"Hey, look." I showed her the empty layer. She smiled forcedly. "How was it?"

"Like I said, it's great! Except…"

"Except?" Sakuno panicked slightly now, eyes wide.

"I'm curious. Where did that salad sauce come from?"

Silence followed my question. Sakuno had turned away again in embarrassment.

I poked her gently. "Sakuno?"

"It's that bad…huh?"

"…Wait. What?"

"I made it." She twisted her entire body opposite and away from me, having completely misinterpreted what my question's intention was.

I almost slapped myself. Of course, considering her humility, she would take it that way. I forcefully turned her back to me. "Sakuno, listen."

Her eyes focused on the ground still, but it was better than nothing. "Sakuno. That sauce was the best I've ever tasted."

"You're lying."

"No."

Sakuno looked up in surprise at the conviction in my voice.

"It's the best I've ever tasted. I've never tasted anything like it, and that's why I wanted to ask. Now that you've clarified so, I've confirmed that you're a cooking genius. Seriously."

She smiled shyly. "Thanks."

I lifted the first layer off to proceed to the next level of food. And I swear to God that Sakuno has got to be the youngest prodigy chef in the world.

In the second layer, there were three sets of things: a small brownish seaweed salad, onigiri, and several nigirizushi (those are the ones with a slice of fish and a lump of elongated rice at the bottom). There was also a tennis racket shaped lump of wasabi. :)

The awesome thing was that together, they formed a picture of my face. Sakuno had realistically depicted my cap with onigiri, my eyes with the seaweed, and my facial features with the nigirizushi. I finished that quickly, too, all the while extremely amused at her creativity in creating this masterpiece and at her extremely red face while I polished the second layer off.

The third layer was a oyakodon (chicken-egg-rice). The theme in this one was a tennis ball, an edible replica of the balls Sakuno had given to me as tokens of her support—I still have them I think.

The oyakodon was special though, in the fact that instead of having the usual eggs just randomly placed on the rice, Sakuno had neatly piled them into a slight hemispheric shape, and then had placed two crepe-thin omelets on them. The first had the design of the first ball she gave me, a cartoon me. I peeled that one away, and the second was the writing, of "No. 1 in Nationals."

Here, I munched thoughtfully. So I was halfway through the third layer and I was assuming, at this point, that Sakuno had made this for me because she liked me. However, I wanted a confirmation, or I'd never have been able to sleep again.

Why do I keep running from the truth?

All I ever think about is you

You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized

And I just got to know…

"I'll ask." Gathering up my courage, I slowly lifted the third layer off, all the while, trying to phrase my question eloquently.

"Hey, Sakuno, do you—" I stopped there. Because what greeted my eyes in the fourth layer told me everything I needed to know.

Sakuno had used mochi and chocolate in the fourth layer: dessert. Having shaped many glutinous rice cakes and different types of chocolate into logs, she had arranged them into the following: 好きだよ、リョーマくん。(Ryoma-kun, I love you)

I looked at her. "Sakuno, you—"

Cause the possibility

That you would ever feel the same way

About me, just too much, just too much

She twiddled her thumbs. "I know you might not like me, but I hope you can try, just try…" Her voice died off.

And I thought I was afraid of rejection. "Sakuno. Look at me." She lifted her face to glance shyly at me.

I took a final look at the growing woman in front of me. Her hair cascading down her back and shoulders, big innocent eyes, and warm smile would work to bring a grin on my face for the rest of my life—is what I thought to myself.

"Sakuno. Listen well. I'm going to say this once, so it's not my fault if you miss it."

She nodded apprehensively.

I took in a big breath. "I love you, Ryuuzaki Sakuno."

Sakuno POV

EHHHHHH?

"Uh, uh, I—"

"You are the only person who has never blatantly expressed your emotions to me, and I find it hard to decipher you. Yet, your smile, your words, your voice—all are essential to me."

Do you ever think when you're all alone

All that we can be, where this thing can go?

Am I crazy or falling in love?

Is it really just another crush?

I was staggered. Was this Ryoma-kun? If it was, I definitely do not regret loving him.

Ryoma continued, "Sakuno, will you be my girlfriend?"

I felt like I had just been proposed to! What do I do?

"Um…" I started off.

While I was considering how to phrase my answer, out of nowhere…

Ryoma POV

Out of nowhere, I heard cries and voices.

"ECHIZEN!"

"RYUUZAKI-CHAN!"

Sakuno and I simultaneously turned towards the voices. And simultaneously turned red.

Because, yup you guessed it, the older regulars were all there, grinning from ear to ear, plus Fuji-senpai with his trusty camera and Inui-senpai with his partner a.k.a. his notebook.

…And when I say all, I mean all. Yes, including Tezuka-buchou.

I groaned. Please don't tell me they heard all of that.

But yes they did. Momo-senpai jumped out ahead and screamed, "Ryuuzaki-san, say YES!"

The rest of the regulars echoed him, with Fuji-senpai adding, "Wow, Echizen, I didn't know you had it in you."

Tezuka-buchou simply stared at me, then with a gentler gaze, looked to Sakuno and said politely, but firmly, "Ryuuzaki-san, if you like Echizen back, say yes."

Subsequently, everyone's eyes, including my pleading ones, turned to Sakuno. She pondered quietly for several moments, and then blushing, said something.

I sucked in my breath. "Wait, what?"

"Yes." She repeated.

"YATTA!" I cried out, picking her up and swinging her around. She giggled gleefully in her melodic voice while her hair rippled in the wind.

See it's a chance we've gotta take

'Cause I believe that we can make this into

Something that will last, last forever, forever!

Everyone else began cheering as well, with all the regulars crowding around my new girlfriend and I when I pulled her back down to earth with me.

Eventually, they began concentrating on Sakuno, slightly ignoring me. Seizing the chance, Tezuka-buchou made eye contact with me, gesturing slightly with a jerk of his neck to come talk to him outside of the mob.

We walked over to a quieter place where we could speak privately, but I could still keep an eye on Sakuno. Initially, the two of us stood there silently, me not knowing what to say, and buchou simply choosing not to say anything.

Finally, he spoke up. "Take good care of her," he said seriously, even more so than usual.

I raised a questioning eyebrow, silently asking what brought this around. What relationship did he have with her that he would say that?

He looked over at her, and I was immediately surprised. His eyes were extremely kind, and he had a gentle smile on his face.

I waited as patiently as I could. He continued to observe her, as I did, too; our eyes followed her every movement, took in every blush, grin, and giggle. After a while, Tezuka-buchou turned to me and said this: "No one knows this except Sakuno's grandmother. I hope you can keep this a secret."

Now I was really confused. "Obaa-san does?…Sure, I will."

He sighed. This was the most emotional I've ever seen him.

Several silent moments passed, an awkward quietness.

Finally, he revealed what he had been hiding all along.

"I'm Sakuno's brother."

Japanese Mini-Translator Corner:
tensai = genius
Yosh! = all right!
Omedetou = congratulations!
Yatta! = I did it! / Hooray! / All right!
Obaa-san = old lady / grandmother

YAY A CLIFFHANGER!

Lol, sorry you guys but that's where I'm leaving it. Don't kill me. xD

Yes, I know that Tezuka is definitely not her brother in the anime OR manga, but this is my story and this is how I'm planning for it to go. And YES I do know Ryoma is SUPER OOC.

That's where YOU GUYS come in! If you want fluff, just write a quick review saying "fluff" and if you want a story conflict, just write "conflict" or something so I know what the majority of my readers want!

Otherwise, I don't know what to do! Although this story sucks anyways, I hope you guys can give me at least a little feedback on how I've been doing and if you like it or not. Just one sentence is good. Seriously, please?

But I love you all, and a huge bear hug for MadBlossomingPrincess. Thank you dear!

~Hime-chan, over and out.