Oblivious

By Chiyosa Midoki

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis isn't mine.

A hyperactive redhead entered the store, eager to find the object of his quest. Upon noticing that there were not so many people inside of the it, he began rummaging through the shelves, displays and cabinets, trying to locate the equipment he hid in the shop the last time he was there.

"Gah! Where did I put it?" He frantically walked around the canopy once again, this time, briskly walking to the opposite side of the tennis store. When he knew it wasn't there, he stood in the middle of the room, crestfallen.

"Now I'll never win!"

"A-ano.."

Tooyama Kintarou looked up to see a girl with ridiculously long braids in front of him. His brain processed what his eyes send in, and with a slight flicker of his eyes, it twinkled with recognition. "Rice-ball girl!"

When Sakuno flushed, the redhead's smile grew. "E-erm, Tooyama-san?"

Kintarou quickly hugged the girl, for a while forgetting about his predicament. "That's me!"

Sakuno turned beet red upon the close contact. "C-can you please let g-go of me, T-Tooyama-san?"

Realizing the situation they were in, Kintarou let her go and scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, rice ball girl. Haven't seen you in while, I guess. Do me a favor and call me Kin-chan instead!"

Sakuno nodded and smiled before asking, "What brings you to Tokyo?"

Lightning hit him hard when he remembered. "Oh! I was looking for the grip tapes, because I hid one of my favorites in that spot over there the last time we went here," he explained with wild gestures. "I guess the manager person relocated things."

Sakuno was in thought for a while. Then she suddenly looked down on her hands, a habit she had developed when she was thinking hard. She suddenly realized that she was holding a grip tape. "O-oh!"

"What is it?" Her companion asked, alarmed.

"The grip tape section is on that way." She said, leading them both, all the while trying to remove her blush of embarrassment.

After grabbing the object, Kintarou happily jumped up and down, glad that his favorite tape wasn't still out of stock. "Thank you rice ball girl!"

Sakuno smiled at him before they went to the counter to pay there things. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Sakuno. Ryuzaki Sakuno."

Kintarou grabbed the nearest bag to him before slinging it to his shoulder. "Well, it's nice to see you again, Sakuno-chan!"

With that, he fled. Sakuno smiled before she grabbed the other paper bag left on the counter.

Neither of them realized that their bags had been switched.

She was late. Again.

Ryoma stood outside of Seigaku's gates, waiting for the Ryuzaki girl. They were supposed to be having the time of their lives eating on that posh restaurant he had managed to get them into. The fifteen-year-old unconsciously tapped his foot, as he looked on his watch for the nth time that day. She told him that she would be missing out on his practice that day with the team because of her "gift" for him. But really, all he wanted was to spend some time with her. Not that he'll admit that out loud.

It was his birthday, and his girlfriend was late.

Ryoma looked up the sky, wondering where she could've gone that took her that much time. The thought of her getting into trouble suddenly crossed his mind, but he dismissed it right away, aware that she could take care of herself. Or so she say.

If she does't get here within the next three minutes, I'll go look for her.

It was not every day that Echizen Ryoma was worried, no. People were afraid of him. And touching even one small hair on top of one Ryuzaki Sakuno's head would mean war. He silently thought of ways to get rid of that brave little soldier who dare cross his line.

30 more seconds….

As if on cue, Sakuno arrived. The first thing that Ryoma noticed was her tense shoulders, and the light smile on her face. He seemed to be missing the fact that her hair was in disarray. "What took you so long?"

She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that the lad in front of her was annoyed. She smiled apologetically, before bowing several times. "G-gomen, Ryoma-kun…"

He removed every bad situations from his head, before he grabbed her hand and led her away from the gates. Sakuno immediately flushed. "C'mon, tell me about it later."

But they didn't got near their station when Sakuno took a peek on the paper bag, only to realize that it wasn't her purchase on it. She dropped Ryoma's hand to take a better look inside the bag. "Oh no…"

"What is it?"

Nervous smile. "R-Ryoma-kun, do you know where the train to O-Osaka is?"

Ryoma raised both of his eyebrows in surprise. "Osaka? Why?"

Sakuno nervously glanced around, trying to locate the active redhead. "It seems that K-Kin-chan-"

Before she was even done explaining, Ryoma already had a glare on. "Tooyama of Shitenhouji?"

Sakuno then realized the danger of the situation right away. Kintarou was Ryoma's rival, and there was no doubt that the mere sound of his name would anger him. She carefully chose her words. "U-uhm, hai. We met by the store this morning. I helped him look for the grip tapes."

But she didn't know that whether she chose the right words to say, or not at all, Ryoma would still fume. "Was he the reason why you were late earlier?"

Before she could answer though, somebody engulfed her into a tight hug. Ryoma's eyes slanted before their color turned dark hazel. He had tipped his cap down to hide his murderous glare.

"K-Kin-chan!"

"Hey Sakuno-chan. Did you know that our bags got switched?"

"H-hai..." She quickly exchanged their bags. She was then pulled back on Ryoma's side.

Kintarou saw Ryoma right away, but he was oblivious to the intense glare that the lad was sending him. "Koshimae? What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering though, he challenged him instead. "Play a match with me."

Kintarou grinned. "I'd love to, Koshimae, but-"

"Now."

Sakuno and Kintarou looked at him with confusion, but nonetheless, the latter continued to smile and ran to the nearest courts he had remembered that was located near the stations.

"R-Ryoma-kun-"

"It'll take about fifteen minutes. I want him writhing in pain as a birthday present."

It was the first time that Ryoma got his calculations wrong.

It took only ten minutes, instead of fifteen.

He didn't use his trusty twist serve. He used something much stronger than that, which caused his opponent's racquet to break.

Three broken racquets later, he used the tornado smash without a valid reason, which led to the present situation.

"K-Koshimae, you've gotten real strong..." Kintarou crawled his way back on the other side of the court, while Ryoma simply titled his cap upward. A smirk graced his lips.

"Another set?" It sounded more like a statement, rather than a question. Sakuno, who can clearly see Kintarou's condition, decided to stop Ryoma before he could even have the chance to kill him. Which he really can do, when given the right motivation.

"Ryoma-kun, stop! He's already torn." With that, she fled his side and got near Tooyama, trying to help him up.

He scoffed.

"I'll go get some ice." Sakuno declared before she left the tennis court.

When she left, Kintarou quickly brought himself up with all the energy he had left. Grabbing his grip tape and his bag, he quickly said to Ryoma, "Koshimae, let's c-continue this again one day. I still want to live..."

Ryoma smirked once again before he silently spoke, "Stay away from her."

Kintarou heard him and nodded. He smiled before he dashed off, limp, towards the next train going to Osaka. "See ya, Koshimae!"

Now he began to wonder if that Tooyama kid was only playing him, or not.

"Where's...?"

He turned to see Sakuno, carrying a bucket of ice. He shrugged then proceeded to sit on a lone bench.

She sighed before sitting next to him. He placed an arm around her, as she carefully removed his cap and wiped off the sheet of sweat that had formed on his face. "What got you so pumped up?"

He continued to close his eyes. Seeing as that he wouldn't answer her inquiry, she voiced out her observation. "You know, I first thought you were j-jealous..." She blushed.

Ryoma opened one eye to peek at her.

One eye full of amusement.

She placed her head on his shoulder.

"...But then again, Kin-chan was your rival years ago."

He stared at the court, where he had previously played with Tooyama. "Ne."

Sakuno looked up. "Hai?"

"Stop calling him that."

His lips twitched upward when he heard her gasp. "W-what? Why?"

"Just do it." With that, he kissed the top of her head before grabbing her arm and dragging her to the restaurant they were supposed to be at by now.

If only she knew how much relieved he felt when that Tooyama kid agreed to stay away from her.