Sorry for the five months of delay. _ I was supposed to make this chapter about Tezuka but my imagination can't process anything so I changed this two nights ago. I'm really really sorry.

I don't know if Ryoma was OOC here of if he just opened up a bit to Sakuno. -_- Maybe it's both hehehe. Just kidding.

Chapter 14, douzo!

Chapter 14- Gift for the Princess and Her Name

Saturday came and for a big change or surprise, Ryoma was up early. Sakuno was also surprised when she woke up only to see Ryoma sitting on his futon while playing with Karupin.

"R-Ryoma-kun! You're up already?" She said with a gasp.

"You're gonna train with me."

"Eh?"

"I told you that I'll be training you, right? It starts today."

"H-Hai!"

Sakuno stood up then went down the bed. She fixed it before gathering her clothes from the drawer and running to the bathroom. Ryoma looked at the closed door of his room with a confused look on his face.

'What's with her?' He thought. Ryoma continued playing with Karupin when a thought entered his mind.

'Oh, yeah. There's something I have to do.'

A few minutes later, Sakuno returned running with her slightly dry hair flowing behind her. Ryoma looked at her then stood up. Sakuno blushed when Ryoma approached her.

"R-Ryoma-kun..."

"I told you to stop stuttering when saying my name." The prince said as the girl nodded.

"Sorry... Ano... Ryoma-kun?"

Sakuno looked at Ryoma who ran his fingers through her hair then gathered some before placing it in front of his lips. The auburn-haired girl blushed more when Ryoma kissed her hair.

"Ryoma-kun..."

"Let's go."

"B-But I haven't fixed my hair yet..."

"Leave it like that."

"Hai!"

The both of them went out of the house but to Sakuno's confusion, Ryoma didn't bring his racket or any item for tennis practice. Sakuno sighed then looked at their linked hands and wondered as to why Ryoma kissed her hair earlier.

'Did his waking up early have to do something with the sudden change in Ryoma-kun?'

Just like the usual whenever they're walking together, a lot of glares were directed at Sakuno while there were envious glares directed to Ryoma. It wasn't a hidden fact that a lot of boys like Sakuno and Ryoma was irritated as heck because of that. To add more jealousy from the Prince's fans, Ryoma himself was holding Sakuno's hand. Had glares been knives, Sakuno would've been in a critical condition right now.

"Ano... Ryoma-kun? I thought we'll be training."

"Changed my mind." Ryoma simply said.

"Eh? So... where are we going?"

Ryoma just shrugged his shoulders then continued walking.

While they were walking in the silence that Sakuno got accustomed with, they heard people around them talking about the Seigaku Festival. When they stopped at the park, they sat on the bench and looked at the fountain ahead of them.

"Ryoma-kun, do you know about the Seigaku Festival?" The timid girl asked.

"No. What's that?" Ryoma said.

"It's a festival where all the students of Seigaku High will be presenting different things in relation to the school. The classes will present whatever is on the paper they'd pick from the draw-lots."

"Hmm. Is everyone required to join?"

"No, b-but if you're busy, y-you can ask the teacher's permission not to join." Sakuno said as she looked at her lap. Ryoma looked at her and tugged the girl's hair to make her look at him.

"Did I say that I won't join?"

"N-No." Sakuno shook her head gently as she answered.

"Good." Ryoma released her hair then held her hand and stood up, pulling Sakuno to stand too.

Ryoma started walking and Sakuno followed him. They went to the usual fast food chain and Ryoma ordered food for them while Sakuno was sitting on the chair. A few minutes later, Ryoma came back while carrying the tray of their food which he placed on the table.

"Ryoma-kun, what are we going to do today?" Sakuno asked.

'There's no way that this is a date.' She thought while looking at the strawberry smoothie in front of her.

"Nothing." Ryoma said as he ate his hamburger.

"Eh?" Sakuno must've heard wrong. There's just no way that Ryoma would choose to hang out when he's supposed to be practicing or sleeping. The Ryoma she know would rather tire himself out from playing and practicing than doing nothing.

Ryoma quirked an eyebrow at the girl across him. Sakuno was being difficult to read again. He already treated her out. So, what's with the look on her face?

When they were done eating, Ryoma pulled Sakuno to a different location. Sakuno almost gasped when she realized where they were.

"R-Ryoma-kun, ar-are we going inside?"

"Yeah. Why?" Ryoma said in his usual monotone voice.

"B-But that's an accessory store."

"Yeah. So?"

With the finality in his voice, Sakuno was given no choice but to follow the prince inside the shop. It was something that Ryoma wouldn't normally enter, so what's with him going inside an accessory shop?

Ryoma pulled her beside him while he was looking at the accessories. Sakuno was still as confused as ever. She had so many thoughts inside her head and that was distracting her a lot. She has a lot of questions regarding the change in the Prince.

"Ne, show me your wrist." Ryoma said that made Sakuno snap out of her daze and did what she was told.

To her surprise, Ryoma put on a bracelet on her wrist. It had the initials 'RS' dangling on the middle while there were six cherry blossoms on the side. It looked simple yet elegant and for sure, it was expensive.

"Wh-What's this for, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked while blushing. Ryoma looked at her wrist then took the bracelet off and looked at the saleslady.

"I'll be taking this."

"It would be 3000¥." The saleslady said as she punched in the amount of the bracelet. Ryoma took the money from his wallet and the saleslady handed the bracelet to him in a box. Ryoma held Sakuno's hand again then pulled her out of the shop.

When they were out of the shop, Ryoma took the bracelet from the box and looked at Sakuno.

"Your wrist."

"Eh? H-Hai." Sakuno held her wrist up and Ryoma put on the bracelet on her once again. Then, Ryoma held her hand and started walking.

"Ryoma-kun, isn't this for Nanako-san?" Sakuno asked while walking beside Ryoma.

"No."

"I thought it was for her. Th-Then, who's this for?"

"I put it on your wrist, right? That means it's for you."

"E-EH!"

Sakuno gasped and stopped walking. Ryoma looked at her with a confused look on his face. He really couldn't understand her.

"B-Bu-But... why are you giving me something like this?"

"Am I supposed to have a reason when giving you something?"

"I-I... I don't know..." Sakuno trailed off while looking at the pavement. Ryoma sighed and patted her on the head.

"Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno said as she looked at the prince.

"That's a gift."

"Eh? But it's not my birthday."

"I missed three years of it. That's why I gave you a gift." Ryoma answered.

"I guess that I really don't know you quite well, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno said as she smiled.

"What?"

"It's just that... you're so full of surprises. I can't seem to catch up immediately. I'm sorry." Sakuno bowed a little. Ryoma just shook his head and started walking. Sakuno followed him again since her hand was clasped with his.

"Wear that bracelet at all times possible. If not needed, you can't take it off." Ryoma said while looking straight ahead.

"Okay. Ano... what's with the letters on it?"

"You don't know?"

"R and S... RS... Hmm..."

'Just how slow can she be?' Ryoma thought while Sakuno was thinking.

"Initials of my name?" Sakuno answered.

Had Ryoma been an average guy, he would've banged his head on the light post they passed. It was a good thing that he was the Prince of Tennis and was able to hide his emotions well.

'I'll just tell her some other time, though her name was really the meaning of one initial on it.' He thought.

"Just wear that. You can't take it off unless needed, okay?"

"Hai. Thank you, Ryoma-kun. And I really appreciate it." Sakuno said as she smiled her genuine smile. Ryoma smirked after seeing that.

"Hn."

"Koshimae!"

Both Ryoma and Sakuno looked at the person who spoke and saw Shitenhouji's Touyama Kintarou and Shiraishi Kuranosuke. Kintarou ran to the both of them and stopped in front of Ryoma.

"Yo, Koshimae."

"Hn."

"Good afternoon, Echizen and Ryuzaki-san." Shiraishi said while looking at Sakuno and Ryoma.

"G-Good afternoon, Shiraishi-san and Kintarou-kun." Sakuno said as she bowed.

"Sakuno-chan! Long time no see!" Kintarou chuckled as he hugged Sakuno who blushed madly. This earned a death glare from Ryoma and that didn't escape Shitenhouji's Bible.

'Hmm... I never expected that I'd see Seigaku's Rookie with that look. Interesting.' Shiraishi thought.

Ryoma pulled Kintarou off Sakuno and stood before the girl. The red-head looked at Ryoma with a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong with you, Koshimae? I just want to hug Sakuno-chan."

"Don't you dare." Ryoma warned.

"You're mean, you know. What's so wrong about hugging Sakuno-chan?" Kintarou said with a pout.

"Everything."

"Now, now. Kin-chan, stop it. When Echizen's like that, he's serious about not letting anyone hug Ryuzaki-san." Shiraishi said while holding their tennis rackets.

"But... I like Sakuno-chan!" Kintarou exclaimed that shocked the three around him.

Ryoma clenched his fists when he heard what Kintarou said. It stirred something unpleasant within him. He knows what to call that unpleasant feeling and knew that he has to accept it. He, the Prince of Tennis, was jealous.

Sakuno blushed hard while covering her mouth with her hands. She then looked at Ryoma who had a very angry look evident in his eyes. She lowered her hands and looked at Kintarou.

"Kin-chan..." Shiraishi said as he placed a hand on Kintarou's shoulder.

"I like Sakuno-chan as a little sister. I can't help it if I want to hug her." Kintarou said.

"Oh, so that's what you meant." Shiraishi said while Sakuno smiled. Ryoma unclenched his fist and looked at the red-head. Kintarou quirked an eyebrow at Shiraishi then tilted his head sideways.

"Why? What did you think it was? That I love Sakuno-chan?"

"Yeah, sort of." Shiraishi and Kintarou let out a goofy grin before crossing his arms at the back of his head.

"Nah, I don't stand a chance anyway. Besides, she's meant to be with someone else and I don't want to intervene. I'd just be her older brother!"

"Th-Thank you very much, Kintarou-kun." Sakuno said as she bowed.

"You're welcome and Koshimae, protect Sakuno-chan, will you? If she gets hurt, I'll show you no mercy." Kintarou said as he grinned at Ryoma who only huffed and looked away.

"Let's go." Ryoma said as he started walking.

"H-Hai! We'll be going ahead." Sakuno bowed once more before Shiraishi and Kintarou. Then, she walked beside Ryoma when she caught up with him.

"I wish Sakuno-chan luck on handling Koshimae." Kintarou said and Shiraishi looked at the disappearing figures of Ryoma and Sakuno.

"Yeah. Echizen can be so dense at times after all."

Ryoma and Sakuno continued walking until they reached the Echizen residences. The moment they entered the household, Ryoga hugged on the both of them.

"Get off!" Ryoma said as he tried to push Ryoga's arms off him while Sakuno was just blushing madly.

"So, how was your date?" Ryoga asked in a teasing voice that caused Sakuno to blush more. Ryoma growled under his breath and stepped on his brother's foot.

"You don't have to know. Get your arms off, Sakuno!"

Ryoga gaped at Ryoma after hearing what he said that he quickly removed his arms from the both of them. Ryoma called Sakuno by her first name. That means a lot on the prince's part since the only girl he called by her first name was their cousin, Nanako.

Sakuno, on the other hand, blushed beet root while staring at Ryoma with wide eyes. Never in her whole life had she been called like that by the Prince. It was always 'Ryuzaki, Wobbly hips and Twin braids.' Hearing her first name from the prince was actually a very special thing for her. It meant that he finally acknowledged her presence.

"Wh-What did you just say, Chibisuke?" Ryoga said while Ryoma was glaring at him.

"I said let go of Sakuno. You can't hug her without my permission."

"R-Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno squeaked and Ryoma looked at her.

"What?"

"What... did you just... call me?"

"I called you Sakuno."

"Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno covered her mouth as tears started to gather in her eyes. Ryoga caught sight of her bracelet and his eyes widened in realization when he saw the initials on Sakuno's bracelet.

'So, that's what it is. Chibisuke finally got his mind in one piece, but with Chibisuke being him, I'm sure he has some questions in order to confirm it.' Ryoga thought as he smiled.

"Okay, okay. I won't mess with Sakuno-chan anymore. Be sure to get things in one piece, Chibisuke. If you won't, I'll tell her the things that you can't say." Ryoga said as he left the two. Ryoma sighed and ruffled his hair while Sakuno was still on the state of shock.

"Are you planning on standing there all night?" Ryoma asked.

"N-No... but..."

Ryoma sighed and pulled her to his room. Ryoma sat on this futon while Sakuno was standing by the door. The girl was experiencing surprise overload.

"Oi."

Ryoma received no response from Sakuno who was trembling already. The boy sighed and stood up. He approached the girl and looked at her in the eyes.

"Sakuno."

Said girl flinched a little and looked at Ryoma with tears in her eyes. Ryoma doesn't know what those tears were for and he decided to find out.

"Why are you crying?"

"I-I'm not..." Sakuno wiped her eyes so she could dry her unshed tears. When she was done, she looked at Ryoma and smiled.

"Sorry to have troubled you, Ryoma-kun."

"Why were you about to cry?"

"I-It's just that... I was very glad that you called me by my name. I never thought that... I'd ever hear you call me like that." Sakuno was looking at the floor all the while she was answering.

After a pregnant pause, Ryoma tugged Sakuno's hair lightly before settling down on his futon.

"You're really weird." He said as he closed his eyes. Sakuno smiled more while she lay on the bed.

"Goodnight, Ryoma-kun."

Done! Yay! Please tell me what you think of it. Until the next chapter, minna-san! ^_^

~ Sapphire, out.