Ryoma swung his racket with a victorious grunt. The tennis ball soared with the sound of a jet, hit the wall before him, and left a dark spot on it. It bounced back with just as much force, and Ryoma continued to return it. Sweat glistened on his forehead and soaked his back. His breaths came in ragged gasps. Yet he still swung that red racket, still kept that fierce determination in his eyes.

It seemed like hours before Ryoma stopped. He caught the ball on his racket and halted its spin, his head lowered as he tried to catch his breath. Ryoma looked up and saw with pride the number of black marks he had left on the wall. The tennis ball was frizzy and beaten, and seemed just as tired as he was. The satisfied grin did not fade as Ryoma reached into his bag and pulled out a towel. He removed his hat to dry off his head. Enough for today, he thought happily.

Ryoma carefully repacked his tennis gear, draped the towel on his shoulders, and headed home.

Ryoma's room was pleasantly cool after his hard workout. He flipped his hat off and tossed it. The trademark hat landed somewhere on the floor; the normally tidy tennis player did not care where. With a sigh, Ryoma ran a hand through his hair, allowing more air to dry his scalp, before falling back onto his bed. It took great effort to pull his feet up with him, and even more to peel the socks from them. He angled his face towards the air condition vent and relished in the cool wind it emitted.

He needed to shower, really, but he could afford these few minutes of peace. Ryoma gazed at the ceiling, his eyes slowly closing.

Perhaps hours later, Ryoma woke to his father shouting at him.

"Ryoma!" called the old man. "Oi! Ryoma!"

Ryoma groaned as he opened his eyes. Why now? What did that old man need now? With a snort, Ryoma decided to ignore him. Nanjiroh could sweep the back porch himself.

Moments later, Ryoma's door was pushed open. Lazily, the exhausted boy flicked his eyes to the door, expecting to see his father.

What he saw was definitely a surprise.

Sakuno was standing in his doorway, a deep blush rising in her cheeks. "R-Ryoma-kun," she stammered.

Ryoma stared at her. "What is it?" he asked, returning his gaze to the ceiling.

"Ano," began Sakuno, "my grandma wanted me to bring you… something." As she spoke, she leaned against the door. It closed with a light click.

Clueless as ever, Ryoma thought nothing of it. He turned his head to meet her eyes. "Well come here then."

Sakuno seemed even more nervous than usual as she hurriedly stepped over to where Ryoma was lying. She sat herself down by his legs and refused to meet his gaze.

"What is it?" he asked again, sitting up a little.

Shamefully, Sakuno kept her eyes fixed on the carpet and blushed profusely. "I, um, I lied," she admitted.

Ryoma cocked his head to the side. It did not matter to him whether she had lied. The why was what concerned him.

"It was… me who has something to give to you," Sakuno went on, and as she spoke, her face grew even redder.

Ryoma made a face. "What then?" Really, she was drawing this out too much. Whatever it was, she should just get it over with.

Sakuno seemed to straighten up, as if giving herself a mental pep talk. "Right," she whispered to herself.

And then Sakuno was on top of him.

Ryoma tried to flinch away at her sudden proximity, but alas, he was on the bed. There was no escaping her. "Sakuno—I mean, Ryuzaki!" he exclaimed.

"You called me Sakuno," the auburn haired girl stated. Her blush had not faded, but rather fueled her behavior. She leaned closer, so that their noses were nearly touching. "Do it again," she breathed.

Her breath was warm and tickled his lips. Ryoma could feel her all along his body, while his gaze was lost in her pure chocolate eyes. And before he could stop himself, the name had left his lips.

"Sakuno." It was a whisper, a plea.

Sakuno's lips split into a marvelous grin, and then she pressed said lips to his.

It was heaven, bliss, wonderful, it was—a kiss with his coach's granddaughter?

Ryoma jerked backwards, pushing her away. "Hang on, Sak—Ryuzaki, I don't think—."

"Shut up," Sakuno said firmly, and her tone surprised him. Her right hand slid from where it rested above his head, trailing down his body.

"What are you—?" Ryoma began, worried, but Sakuno cut him off again.

"Sh!" she snapped. "I told myself I would do it this time. There's no going back now." Her fingers reached the hem of his tennis shorts and grabbed it.

Ryoma's face went ferociously red. "S-Sakuno, stop!"

But Sakuno had stopped listening to him. She pulled his loose shorts down easily, revealing the blue boxers he wore beneath.

"I don't want this," Ryoma tried.

To his immense shock, Sakuno touched his bulge with one dainty finger. "Your body does," she argued.

Ryoma cursed his hormones silently and tried to squirm out from under Sakuno. He should not be doing this. If Ryuzaki-sensei found out, she would… he shuddered to think of what would happen.

Unfortunately, the squirming just made it easier for Sakuno to pull his boxers off. He froze, because he was very naked and very hard in front of a female, and he never had been before. It was scary. What if she suddenly decided she did not like what she saw and left him like that? Oh, how humiliating!

Ryoma stopped mid-thought. Oh God, did that mean he actually wanted this? He swallowed dryly and had to admit it to himself. He most definitely wanted it.

Sakuno had paused a moment to stare at his erection. She took a deep breath, leaned down, and kissed it.

Ryoma clenched his teeth together. It was exciting, terrifying, and wonderful. Sakuno glanced up at him and smiled at his reaction. Slightly more confident, she went back down. Her tongue flicked out and licked his penis. Ryoma's legs tightened up in anticipation. Sakuno finally parted her lips and enveloped him in her mouth.

Ryoma fell back against the pillow. He could feel every movement of Sakuno's lovely pink tongue against his manhood, licking the veins and delicately running over the sensitive skin. Slowly, slowly, she worked her mouth up and down its length, pressing a kiss at the tip every time she reached it. Ryoma gripped the edges of the bed to keep from crying out. His hands clutched the sheets like a lifeline.

"Sakuno," he hissed continuously, because it seemed that every time he said her name, she grew more enthusiastic. Ryoma's eyes rolled back in pleasure, and his hands instinctively reached for her head. He wove his fingers into her hair, gasping as she worked magic on his throbbing member. It was too much. He could not take it any longer.

"Sakuno!" Ryoma shouted, and he lurched into an upright position.

Ryoma blinked in confusion. There was no Sakuno in his room with him. His tennis shorts were still on. Karupin, however, was staring at him in confusion. "Mrow?" asked the cat.

Shocked, Ryoma glanced at his lower half and swore. He hated those damn dreams. Furious with himself and his hormones, Ryoma thrust himself off the bed and headed to the bathroom. He needed a cold shower, before his dad saw him.

A glance at the clock told him it was nearing four in the morning. Ryoma swore again, stumbling a bit in the dark. Stupid, effing hormones. And with Sakuno, no less! Ryoma scowled as he undressed and got in the shower. Really, his fantasies should have higher standards.

A frown overcame the prince of tennis's features, as he had encountered an emotional problem. It seemed that he really, really liked his coach's granddaughter.

"Ryoma-sama!"

Ryoma turned around. He was outside, making his way to the changing rooms to get ready for practice. Chasing after him was Tomoko, the extraordinarily annoying girl, and with her was—oh God, no—Sakuno.

Just breathe, keep calm, Ryoma told himself. He did not reply to Tomoko, and instead focused on everything except Sakuno.

"Ryoma-sama," Tomoko repeated, grinning avidly, "Sakuno here was just telling me about a wonderful dream she had last night, and you two were—."

Sakuno took a flying leap and clamped her hands around her friend's mouth. "T-Tomo-chan!" she cried, blushing furiously. "You can't tell him that!"

Ryoma felt a blush rise in his cheeks. No way. There was no way they could have had the same dream. Dare he ask…? "What sort of dream?" Though his tone was steady, the rest of him was shaky.

Tomoko managed to rip Sakuno's hands off her mouth. "A very sexy—."

"Tomo-chan!" screamed Sakuno.

Oh Lord. The dream was coming back at Ryoma full force. If he didn't get out of there, he was going to embarrass himself big time. Swallowing, Ryoma strategically dangled his book bag on his arm so that it covered the front of his pants. "I have practice," he stated, and it sounded more biting than he had expected. On that note, Ryoma turned on his heel and stalked away.

He entered the changing rooms as quickly as he could without seeming suspicious. With a sigh, Ryoma collapsed on the bench by the door. He was alone, for the time being. To be safe, he pulled his English text book from his bag and set it on his lap, trying to appear as if he were studying.

To Ryoma's utter horror, the door to the changing rooms opened that instant, letting in Fuji, Momo, and Eiji. They were having some sort of humorous conversation, but Ryoma could not focus enough to listen in. His mind was still full of images from last night's fantasy, and the bulge in his pants would not go away.

"Hey, Echizen!" greeted Momo. He sat down heavily next to Ryoma, too close for comfort at the moment. Momo even knocked the English book that was saving the young player his dignity from his hands. "So—." He paused and looked down. And then he started laughing.

Eiji and Fuji looked up curiously. "What's so funny?" asked Eiji.

"Echizen has a problem," Momo explained happily.

Ryoma had snatched the book off the ground and hidden his "problem," but his blush had gotten much worse. "I'm not feeling well," he stated, glaring at his book.

"And so you're studying?" asked Fuji. He cocked his head to the side. "With the book upside down?"

Ryoma gulped as he realized his mistake. "Home remedy," he amended quickly.

"Oh, sure," chuckled Momo.

Eiji suddenly leapt with excitement. "I got it!" he cried. "Chibi is having a man moment!"

"Eh?" said Fuji.

"Did I hear Echizen is having a man moment?" said Inui, who was just walking in. His glasses glinted menacingly.

Ryoma's face became one of pure horror, and his blush did not help. Was everyone going to know about this by the end of the day? Oh dear God how bad could this get?

Well, with the tennis team involved, one could pretty much guarantee a high level of badness.

Eiji was leaning out the locker room door, shouting to the rest of the team. "Oishi! Taka-san! Tezuka! Come here, quick!"

Poor Ryoma's face was past red and well into purple.

"What is it, Eiji?" Tezuka asked as the three entered the locker room.

Eiji pointed at Ryoma proudly. "Chibi is having his first boner!"

Ryoma flinched with embarrassment. And what was this about first? Oh, Eiji was so going to get it in practice today… as soon as Ryoma could stop thinking about Sakuno.

Tezuka went slightly pink and focused on a spot on the ceiling. Oishi, because he's Oishi, blushed profusely and flinched away. "Eiji! Why did you bring us all in here then? That's so mean! Especially for the first time!"

"It's not the first," growled Ryoma.

Momo cackled at this, throwing his arm around the younger player. "Oi, hear that? Not the first! He's such a man!"

Ryoma grimaced at his senpai's closeness. "Get away from me!" he exclaimed.

Takashi was nothing short of embarrassed. "S-sorry, Echizen! We, um, we'll leave now, yes?"

"Here, Taka-san," Fuji said, offering the other boy his racket. A sadistic smile lit his face.

Blinking, Takashi took the racket. It was as if someone had lit a fire in his eyes. Suddenly he jumped in front of Ryoma and brandished the racket in the younger boy's face. "OI, WIMP! TAKE YOUR ERECTION LIKE A MAN! YOU CAN'T BE SCARED OF GIRLS, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM BURN! YES, BURNING LOVE!"

Ryoma had jumped back in fright, his legs crossed and his hand shielding his face. "Not so loud!" he hissed.

"C'MON, BABY!" Takashi continued to shout. "BURNING SEX!"

Inui had his notebook out. "Probability of Echizen seeing a cute girl: sixty percent. Probability of daydream: twenty-two percent. Probability of—."

Ryoma could not believe how worked up the team was getting over this. He was equally shocked that he was still hard as a rock. Why wasn't it going away?

Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone fell silent to stare at the newcomer. Kaidoh walked in silently, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Oi, you slackers," he said with his villainous glare, "don't you have a practice to get to?"

There was a pause in which Kaidoh stared down the rest of the team. Intimidated, they filed out of the locker room, their rackets on their shoulders.

Kaidoh shut the door after them, his eyes closed in frustration. Ryoma swallowed, thankful that the team was gone yet angry at how horny he was. It was not fair. Why couldn't it just stay down?

Quietly, Kaidoh shuffled over to him. Ryoma kept his eyes on the ground, trying to blink away images of Sakuno lying on it, waiting for him.

Suddenly, without saying a word, Kaidoh held out his hand. Ryoma looked up to see a photo in his senpai's hand. The back was to him, so he could not see what it was of. Kaidoh himself had his eyes shut again, but his face was pointed away from Ryoma.

It was with great care that Ryoma took the picture. Cautiously, he flipped it over.

And wished he hadn't.

After a moment of silence, Kaidoh asked in his low voice, "Did it work?"

Ryoma nodded fervently. "T-too well," he replied. Shaking, he handed the photo back to Kaidoh, who was making a point not to look at it as it reentered his bag pocket.

"Good." Kaidoh pulled a towel from his bag, draped it over his shoulders, and exited the locker room.

*good god, I love Takashi.*