Author's Note: Woah guys. 3 year long hiatus. I'm terribly sorry for those who wanted to have quicker updates! Let's get this started (again)! I'm gonna start including the song/s I've listened to while writing the chapters ;)

Song: Renai Circulation by Kana Hanazawa

Chapter 5: Assumptions

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Fuji Syusuke, 3rd year high school student, knowingly smiled at the interesting turn of events. To say that he was amazed about the unraveling scene before him was talking lightly. He looked at the extremely relieved face of their vice president as he continued congratulating their resident data gatherer, Inui Sadaharu, for the recently revealed change in his relationship status. He also saw how his redheaded friend unrelentingly teased the bespectacled teen upon seeing the uncharacteristic blush on his cheeks. It was very entertaining to say the least, especially upon seeing their captain's somewhat shocked expression. Yes. He considered Tezuka's raised brows as a sign of shock.

"I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to have a female manager," the resident tennis genius said his deep blue eyes crinkling in amusement. It was enough to change Inui's surprised expression into that of complete and utter disbelief.

"That's-"

"Wow! You're so sly, Inui, nya!"

"Congratulations, Inui! Although it was very surprising, I know you'll take good care of her," Kawamura kindly uttered lightly patting Inui's shoulder as a sign of support.

Tezuka, once getting over his initial shock, merely nodded not knowing how to react to the matter at hand. He sure as hell didn't want to get involve in their personal affairs. It was enough for him to deal with his hyperactive teammates every single day. He signaled to Fuji that he was going on ahead to get lunch. The latter just grinned at his behavior.

"Well, now that everything's settled. Let's get some lunch. I'm starving!" Oishi heartily laughed quickly following the direction where Tezuka went.

"Me too!" Kikumaru Eiji jumped and tugged a smiling Kawamura leaving behind a stunned Inui and an amused Fuji.

"I..What..There's..,"Inui stumbled over his words still reeling from the shock of it all. How the hell did they get to that conclusion?!

"Here you go."

Inui stared at the lunch box Fuji was handing to him. He didn't realize that during the chaos he had forgotten the homemade bento that Ryuzaki made for him. The brunette placed the lunch box in his open hands while chuckling as he walked away not waiting for a response from Inui.

It was a good thing though because Inui didn't have a proper response at all. He was too dumbstruck to even form a coherent sentence right now. He felt his legs give way and found himself staring at the retreating figures of his teammates. He stayed like that for a few minutes before deciding to leave the premises for fear of having his teammates sitting at the table where they left him.

It was enough to know that as Inui briskly sprinted away,his emotions can be clearly seen in his utterly illegible chicken script handwriting.

Date: X月 X日

Time: 12:17PM

Location: Cafeteria

Subject: Mass insanity and complete nonsense being exhibited by Seigaku regulars sans TM, RE and KK

Observation: IhavenoideawherethehelltheygotinformationaboutmyrelationshipwithRyuzakiandIneedtoclearitupwithherbeforeanythingelsehappens.

Sakuno was enjoying her peaceful lunch with some of her classmates outside. They were sitting under a large tree, basking in the cool shade and enjoying the breath of fresh air surrounding them. She laughed at one of her friends' jokes when suddenly her best friend, Osakada Tomoka, was seen running towards them like her life depended on it.

"OH MY GOD! YOU CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST HEARD AT THE CAFETERIA! OH MY GOD!"

They all looked at her expectantly as the brunette tried to catch her breath from all the running she did. Sakuno let her take a sip from her water canister to help ease her friend's condition.

"The Seigaku regulars were congratulating Inui-senpai! Hehasagirlfriendohmygod!"

Words of shock and surprise filled the group. It was such an unexpected announcement. Everyone in school knew how busy the Seigaku tennis club regulars were and the fact that one of them had a girlfriend was beyond explanation. Sakuno was also dumbfounded. She remembered seeing her bespectacled senpai a while ago and gasped in horror. She gave him a homemade lunchbox today! What if his girlfriend saw them? She was reeling with guilt and an uncomfortable feeling settled at the pit of her stomach.

"Who's the girl?" one of their classmates asked. Sakuno paused her momentary mental breakdown and listened to the conversation.

"I wasn't able to hear the name but, they were congratulating him! And Inui-senpai was blushing! It was so cute and romantic!" Tomoka squealed followed by fits of giggles from the girls. They continued discussing Inui's love life, sharing names of girls who they thought was his significant other and different assumptions on how this matter developed. The conversation continued even as the bell rang signaling the end of their lunch break.

Sakuno quickly gathered her belongings and bit her lower lip still feeling guilty for putting her senpai at an awkward predicament. She decided to rectify the situation and head to the tennis courts later after class. She fervently hoped that her unnecessary actions did not cause him any inconvenience. She was still thinking of ways to convey her apologies to her senpai when her friends suddenly gasped and squealed in delight. She looked up to find the object of her thoughts standing a few feet away from her.

Despite the collective outburst and unabashed staring of her classmates, Inui Sadaharu calmly cleared his throat and walked towards Sakuno. He definitely looked at ease like his presence here at the freshmen hallway was an everyday occurrence but deep inside he was in turmoil to a point that he was busy silently reciting the periodic table of elements to steady his thundering heartbeat.

"Ryuzaki, I need to speak with you if it's not too much of a burden," he whispered not wanting to attract too much attention although it was all for naught since numerous pairs of eyes were already focused on their interaction.

"Go on, Sakuno! It's free period anyway since Takeda-sensei's on leave today!" Tomoka cheered, took Sakuno's belongings and quickly pushed the brunette towards Inui. She had no idea what they were going to talk about but she could just question her childhood friend about it later. And even though it was unlikely, she might even get juicy information on their upperclassman's new relationship. There's no harm in trying, ne?

"Ah.. Okay, senpai," Sakuno nodded before briefly conveying her gratitude to her pigtailed friend. She quickly fell in step with Inui who gestured her to follow him. Both teens were silent on the way, too preoccupied with their chaotic thoughts to start up some casual conversation.

Upon noticing that they were finally alone in one of the hallways of the school, Inui unceremoniously turned around wanting to clear up any possible misunderstandings. He was too immersed in his thoughts to calculate that Sakuno was also distracted by her musings and wasn't able to stop herself from bumping into him. He held her shoulders to steady her frame, her face firmly pressed into his chest.

Sakuno's embarrassment was clearly evident in the way she quickly untangled herself from his grasp. She just wanted the ground to swallow her whole for everything that happened to her this fateful day.

Despite feeling a bit uncomfortable from missing the warmth Sakuno's close proximity gave him, Inui chuckled at their behavior.

"We really do keep bumping into each other these days," he joked and was relieved to see her smile, her eyes conveying appreciation for his attempt in trying to ease their awkwardness.

"At least this time it didn't result to anyone getting hurt," she giggled her previous panic-filled thoughts leaving her mind. She wasn't aware that her actions caused Inui to question his physical well-being at this moment.

'I really need to go see a doctor if my heart palpitations continue throughout the day,' he silently mused trying to conquer the uncomfortable way his heart was thundering in his chest so that he can start clearing things up with their coach's granddaughter.

He was about to speak but promptly shut his mouth upon realizing the absurdity of what he was planning to say.

Hello, Ryuzaki. I just wanted to inform you that somehow my teammates were informed that we are in a romantic relationship. I have no idea where they got the information or who would spread the ridiculous rumor but don't be mistaken! I don't mean to say that being in a relationship with you is ridiculous- He mentally smacked his forehead for his ludicrous thoughts. Now wasn't the time for foolish musings. He glanced at Sakuno who was now deep in thought before taking a deep breath.

"Ryuzaki," he called. Sakuno curiously stared at him. Her facial expression conveying that of innocence and expectation of what was about to transpire.

"I don't know if you've heard about what happened at the cafeteria," he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. An uncharacteristic blush adorned his features.

Recognition flooded Sakuno's eyes before she spoke softly, "I heard about it, Senpai."

"I'm sorry if my actions at the cafeteria caused you some inconvenience," she bowed apologetically. Inui was caught off guard by her sincere apology. If there was anyone who had to apologize it should be the person who spread the ridiculous rumor in the first place.

A few floors up, Oishi Shuichiro felt something cold envelope his figure causing him to shiver and sneeze lightly.

"Nya, Oishi! Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. It was probably the wind," Oishi laughed.

"There's nothing to apologize about, Ryuzaki. It was just a misunderstanding," he gently admonished the young girl who nodded at his words.

"Ano.. I don't know if it's my place to say this, Inui-senpai. But I'm really glad about the news,"she smiled brightly oblivious to the effect her innocent and easily misunderstood words had on Inui's mentality.

What? WHAT?

Inui's shocked open mouthed expression was enough for Sakuno to blush herself silly for being too forward with her senpai.

"Ano! I.. I didn't meant to be straightforward, senpai! It's just that I'm just happy and," Sakuno frantically tried to explain herself but Inui cut her off.

"Really? You're happy about it?" he was gobsmacked. The third year tennis player was itching to get his pen and notebook to write down everything that was happening right now.

"Of course, senpai. I don't think there's any reason for me to feel otherwise," Sakuno's brows furrowed in deep thought. She had no idea why the bespectacled Seigaku regular would think she wouldn't be happy for him and his new relationship.

"I...Really?" Inui asked again.

Sakuno giggled at him upon realizing that he had the same look of disbelief on his face when she accepted the position as their manager for the Seigaku tennis club. Speaking of which, she had yet to tell him about the conflict with her duties as a student assistant at their library.

"Really, senpai! I'm really happy about it," she smiled. "Ah.. Also, I would like to discuss something with you. It's about my duties as your club manager. I forgot to mention it before but I'm also a student assistant at our library."

Inui still not believing her reaction shook his head to clear his thoughts to focus on matters which he would not have trouble grasping. In the end, he decided to rely on his sharp memory to take down all the details that happened between them and come up with possible calculations and theories about it.

"Ah, yes. I remembered. I saw you at the library often and you also helped me that one time," he cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. He also took note of the surprise on her face when he mentioned their encounter last year.

The sound of the school bell ringing interrupted their conversation.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Inui-senpai! But I need to get back to class, we have an exam today," she bowed apologetically not really wanting to end her time with him.

Inui chuckled and waved his hand. "It's not a problem, Ryuzaki. We can talk about it later after class. If it's alright with you," he suggested.

Sakuno beamed at his idea and nodded in agreement before hurriedly scurrying back to her classroom. Unbeknownst to her, Inui was still looking at her retreating form his mind was running a mile a minute from their encounter.

"I'm heading to the infirmary," he sighed placing his sweaty hand over his constricting chest. He took out his notebook and jotted a few things down before closing it immediately. His steps echoed the deserted hallway while he was mentally reciting all the symptoms he observed in his state. It was a good way to distract him from his previous thoughts about a certain auburn haired girl.

Ryuzaki Sakuno File No. 72

Possible relationship with me = Happy?

Needs verification.

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Author's Note: I'm having fun with Inui's priceless reactions. It's not everyday we get to see him so caught off guard lol.

Reviews? :D I'd really love to hear from old and new readers who gave their precious time for my humble story. ^^