Hi! I am excited right now… err… I mean when I was writing this fic. This fic was requested by a good reader of my fics… Eiko-chi. This is gratitude for giving such a wonderful idea. Thank you very much…

To Eiko-chi: I hope you like this. I made some changes but not that noticeable I hope. Since I was excited about writing this, I usually forgot what to write. I hope that this wouldn't mess up. Thank you once again.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never ever will. Sigh…

Note: This fic is about 'supposed to be happened scenes' before and after the National tournament. But it never happened. Well, me and Eiko-chi can dream, can't we? Tee hee hee. ;p

Predestined Partners

Summary: She never expected that she would be given a privilege before anything else. Was it fate or one time dream only? Find that out.

She flinched when she heard the ringing tone of her phone that morning. Her thoughts about her grocery shopping that morning were suddenly interrupted as she looked at her phone. Her brows twitched as she reached it, "W-who's this?" Curiously, she answered the phone wondering who the caller was, "H-hai, Sakuno desu."

'Yo.'

Time seemed to stop when she recognized that voice. She just couldn't believe it that she paused for a long time.

'Moshi, moshi? Are you there?'

The voice immediately brought her back to the reality and held her phone tightly, 'R-ryoma-kun! I—I—how…?'

'Heh,' He grunted on the other line, 'Calm down. It's only me.'

She stopped panicking but her mind wasn't. O-only you? H-how can I calm down if you are the one calling me? A-am I dreaming? W-why would he be calling me right now?

'Ne…'

'H-hai?'

'Get your racket and come out.'

'E-eh?!'

'Hurry.' With that he ended the call leaving her dumbfounded.

Sakuno looked at her phone and thought hard. She didn't know what was happening and her heart was beating really fast. How did he get her number? Tomoka, perhaps? And it was stupid of her to answer her own question. But she had the instinct that she should follow him. Grabbing her racket, she quickly made her way down the stairs and out of the house.

Only to be stopped from going.

He was actually there, standing in front of their porch, holding his tennis bag and his phone with his left hand. She almost jumped when he looked at her and gave his trademark smirk.

"R-ryoma-kun…" She walked a little closer at him while blushing a little, "W-why are you here?"

The young tennis prodigy looked at her first before pinning his hat down before replying to her question;

"I am here to watch the National Tournament."

Blinking her eyes twice, she remembered the upcoming tournament, "T-that's right, t-the tournament is approaching," She looked back at him, "I- I thought that you are still in America?" She waited for his words but he didn't answer her. Instead, he walked away from her not missing to look back.

"Come."

She stared at him before deciding to follow the boy. Ryoma had lack of communication to others so having a normal conversation with him was useless. In the end, she obediently followed him.

Few Minutes later:

"Let's play."

She was shocked when he said that. Her shoulder became restless as she stared at the boy who was fixing the string of his racket. The boy had brought her to a tennis court which was near her vicinity. What was the boy thinking? Asking her to play him? That was impossible for her?

"R-ryoma-kun. Y-you know that I can't play that well," She flailed her hands really hard, "I—I don't want to disappoint you."

Ryoma looked at her and said, "How can you disappoint me if we haven't even started yet?" He faced the court and gestured her to the other side, "It's been a while. Let me see you play."

"B-but…" She looked down as she still hesitated. The previous match between them was pretty embarrassing. It wasn't like that she hadn't improved after all this time but knowing that he would be practicing really hard, she knew that she still had a long way to go.

"Just play all you want," He said cutting her from her reverie, "and you will not disappoint me."

She looked at him. Ryoma had the countenance to boost someone's spirit. Because of that, she finally agreed to play him.

xxx

He had been observing her for quite a while now. And he needed to admit, the girl had improved. The way she held her tennis racket was firm. Her concentration of his hits was remarkable as she could hit several back at him. And most of all, she could return some powerful hits making him lose a game from her.

But still, he remained invincible. He won the game with the score of six games to one. Both of them were breathing irregularly and he mentally enjoyed their match.

"Nice game." He said catching her attention.

Sakuno blushed as she gripped her hands to her chest, "Y-you are still great," She gave him a warm smile, "but I really had fun. Arigatou, Ryoma-kun."

Somehow, that made him overwhelm… and felt embarrassed a little. He pinned his hat down and turned to her sideways, "Domo," He shortly replied. And then thought of something, he just couldn't end this match like that, could he? He looked back at the pigtailed girl from the corner of his eyes.

She was giggling. He smiled a little without the knowledge of the girl. It was good that she enjoyed the game unlike a while ago. She didn't have the confidence to play him but when they started playing; she sort of forgot her insecurities and completely focused on the game.

"Saturday morning."

"E-eh?"

"Meet me here on Saturday morning," He faced her this time, "Let's have another match by then."

"W-what?! B-but I-"

"I'll teach you while we play." He assured her. If he told her that he wanted another match. He knew that she would have the same reaction a while ago so he suggested his trump card. And that was to teach her. He was willing to do that anyway, for he enjoyed playing her after all.

"H-hai." She finally agreed not missing to blush really hard.

Friday Night:

She couldn't sleep that night because of the practice tomorrow. Ryoma would be teaching her tennis tomorrow morning. He said that he wanted her to improve her tennis skills and his tips would be really helpful for her. Thinking about the invitation, she couldn't help but buried her face on her pillow. She was nervous and excited at the same time.

I am… going to see Ryoma-kun tomorrow morning. A warm smile crept to her lips as she thought of the tennis prodigy. Her blush never left her as well. She almost jumped from her bed when she heard her phone ring. She immediately grabbed it and answered the call without checking the caller;

'Moshi, moshi.'

'Uissu.'

She felt that her heart skipped a beat when she heard the voice. Distancing her phone to her ear, she checked her caller before confirming it, 'R-ryoma-kun?'

'Un.'

Blush appeared once again, 'Ryoma-kun, why did you call?' she could hear him sigh before answering her;

'About tomorrow… we need to postpone it.'

'E-eh?' She blinked her eyes twice. A sudden guilt and disappointment dawned on her, 'M-may I ask why?'

'I am going…' He started before continuing, '…to participate in the tournament.'

She was shocked and yet happy for him. Feeling sad that he wouldn't be able to teach her but she was happy because she was able to see him play for the tournament, 'S-sugoi, Ryoma-kun. I am glad that you can join in the tournament.'

'Gomen.'

'I-ie! That's fine; I'll be supporting you there.' That was her true feelings. She had been supporting him especially when he played.

'Un,' He felt satisfied, 'I'll see you at the tournament.'

She agreed at him and ended the call afterwards. Staring at the phone, she dejectedly sighed. She wouldn't be able to play a match with him but she could see him play at the tournament. Ryoma would be busy during the tournament and she knew that she couldn't talk to him privately anymore. Thinking back from the previous days, she had given a privilege to see and talk to him in person. Playing tennis with him was a bonus for her.

She felt like they had a secret meeting the moment he returned to Japan. She thought that it was alright. Meeting Ryoma before the tournament was enough for her. She would be supporting him from the bleachers and hope that Seigaku would win the tournament.

Tournament;

The tournament began with the surprised entrance of Ryoma in the group. Well, he never showed himself until the day of the tournament. Oishi got injured resulting for Eiji played singles. Each round was pretty tough as they competed with different teams.

The team from Okinawa Prefecture, Higa Middle School was pretty rude as they defeated Rokkaku in the first round. They were using dirty tricks at first but managed to change when they faced Seigaku in the second round. But this time, they were defeated by Seigaku and advanced to the next round.

Hyotei academy was the second team that Seigaku competed in the tournament. The team was officially invited by the host city of the tournament which was Tokyo and able to join and compete for the National tournament. Just like the previous match, Hyotei was difficult to defeat but Seigaku was able to win against the team.

The one of the strongest teams in Kansai region, Shitenhouji Middle School was up next in the line for the semi-finals round. They defeated Fudomine in quarterfinals making them face Seigaku for that round. Once again, Seigaku won and advanced to the finals at the singles two round. The match ended with a little bonus of the two rookies of both teams who made a little 'show' before having their own ways.

The team in Kanagawa prefecture's best middle school, Rikkaidai proved their skills as they won the Japanese National Tournament for two consecutive years. They wanted to win for the third time but their hope crushed down when Seigaku took the title from them, Thus, making Seishun Academy the New Champion for the National Tournament for that time.

During the finals round, he had lost his memory due to the trip he and his father had gone to. He only regained them when his senpai and his friends helped him remember. The pigtailed girl was visibly worried about him so she went and looked for him. The time that she found him, he had already regained his memory and readied himself for the final match, telling her to save her words after he won the tournament.

…Which he did.

The victory was memorable especially for Ryoma who defeated Yukimura at the finals and made his team the champion. The rest of the team lifted him up and tossed him for several times. He, who was the ever stoic, cocky and stubborn tennis player couldn't take it after all. As he was being tossed upward, he smiled and then laughed for the victory that they were receiving at that moment.

From the bleachers, he could see her smiling and crying for joy. She was crying because she was happy. As he was being tossed after bursting out like that, he secretly looked at her making sure that she would notice; he gave her a smile. She did notice as she blushed and then looked down. She was saying something at him and having a strong comprehension towards small things, he understood her. He had that on his thought as he continued celebrating with his teammates;

Congratulations on winning… Ryoma-kun.

The victory party at Kawamura's:

Everyone was there at Kawamura sushiya. The reporters, the ichinen trio and even the cheerleaders, meaning she was invited as well. Why not, she was after all their coach's granddaughter. The crowd was noisy but she wouldn't mind that. She was sitting next to Tomoka while her best friend was actually sitting next to Ryoma. Horio was sitting next to him and kept bragging about the regulars' moves and stunts. Ryoma was bored already, tired of hearing Horio's persistence… forcefully. He looked around the restaurant as he accidentally stared to his right side, where Tomoka and Sakuno were sitting.

Sakuno was currently talking to the photographer, Shiba Saori and Inoue Mamoru, the journalist for the Monthly Tennis Pro magazine at that time, hoping that they could learn info from her. She was just smiling as she tried answering their questions as far as she could. Ryoma smirked at the scene that he didn't know someone was already watching him.

"Ochibi!" Eiji suddenly glomped at him from behind, "Who are you looking at, huh?"

"S-senpai, let go!" Feeling irritated at two things. One, Eiji had begun crashing him from his hug. Two, he was caught staring at someone, "O-oi! Let go!"

Eiji had pulled him away from his seat and started teasing him, "You did great at the game, try looking cool at romance, nya."

"What?!" He retorted as he tried struggling from his grip. But couldn't, no longer when Momo joined in.

"You are right, senpai," Momo said then he looked at him, "Don't let the girl wait for you."

"What are you talking about?" He asked innocently.

"Don't be such a coward," Momo said, "Just confess your undying love to Ryuzaki-chan before you go back to America."

Upon hearing that, he instantly looked at the girl who was beet red right now. Another set of tease dawned inside the place. Sakuno was indeed red and tried looking normal in front of them but he noticed something and somehow, he knew what it was. He looked away as he was not wearing his hat at that moment. He was blushing… well just a little but he wouldn't let his senpai embarrass him like that.

"Why don't you confess to Tachibana-san's sister first before telling that to me?" He smirked at Momo who became red when he said that and then looked at Eiji afterwards, "Find yourself a girl first senpai, you are far more experience than me."

Both of them blushed and stunned at his remarks. He used that chance to escape from his grip and walked away from them. Tables turned to them.

"Now what? The mouse plays even though the cats are still there?" Fuji teased the two that made everyone laugh.

"Hey, cut that out!" Momo said and he looked at the young tennis prodigy, "You'll pay for this."

Eiji agreed at Momo as he too looked at the boy, "Yeah, yeah."

Ryoma stuck his tongue out, "I prefer to be the cat though." With that he went back to his seat and grabbed his bag. They watched him walk to the door;

"Oi! Echizen, where are you going?" Momo said as he stared at him gesturing to the door.

"Practice."

"Already?" Oishi said this time, "Just take a break for a while."

"Yeah, have some fun, will you?" Horio said this time.

"Fshhuuu."

"Heh," He closed his eyes ignoring them. But he only opened them when he was at Sakuno's side. He gave her an assuring look making that she would understand. After seconds of staring he continued walking his way to the door and left the place.

"Ochibi, is such a tennis freak, nya." Eiji said as he looked at the door that Ryoma exited.

"He is, really." Oishi agreed as he sat beside his partner.

Kawamura smiled at them, looking at Tezuka and Sumire. The former was quiet all the time while the latter kept grinning at them. Somehow, Sumire was too overwhelmed at their victory that she didn't care their actions and movements at that moment.

"Guys, it's on the house, okay. Eat as much as you want." Kawamura said catching their attention.

They rejoiced when he said that. Inui wrote something in his notebook as he noticed something. The pigtailed girl stood up and told her best friend that she was going somewhere. He smirked, "Ii data."

Fuji noticed it too. The girl left the place. Even though, she didn't reason out, he knew where she was heading. Fuji smiled as he kept it to himself, giving them the credit for that day.

Later on:

She ran as she went to a certain place. She didn't know why but she knew that Ryoma wanted her to follow him, which she did. As she reached her destination, which was the tennis court, she saw him there, already rallying on the wall.

"What took you so long?"

A blush crept to her face when he immediately noticed her appearance, "G-gomen… I—I don't know what to reason them."

"Un."

She entered the court and walked at a safe distance from him, "U-uhmmm, Ryoma-kun… w-why did you… call me?" she wasn't sure if her question was right.

Ryoma caught the last returning ball with his racket before facing her, "I want to have a match with you… before I go back."

Upon hearing that, the feeling she had a while ago returned to her, "O-oh I see." It was sadness. But she didn't stay upset as she remembered something, "B-but I didn't bring my racket with me."

"It's okay," He said walking closer to her and handed his own racket that he was using a while ago, "Use this for the meantime."

Looking at the racket, a blush appeared on her face. Then, she looked back at him. He was giving her that expression that she couldn't reject. Without saying a word, she slowly reached for his racket and stared at it. Then she noticed the racket, "T-this was the racket that you used at the tournament, right?"

Ryoma nodded at her before walking to his bag and pulled another red racket there. He placed himself at the other side of the court and stared back at her, "Let's start."

She was trembling when she looked at him. She didn't know why she had that feeling right now. And it was stupid of her to appear like that in front of him.

"Stop being tense when you're around me," He said cutting from her thoughts, "Have fun playing with me today."

She looked at him and thought for a while. Blinking twice, she finally gave him a warm smile and replied, "H-hai!"

Ryoma pinned his hat down, "I'll be serving for the game."

Then, they started rallying for a while. He reminded her of the things that she should do to keep her hits intact. Due to her persistence, she was incredibly improving. Watching him play on his every match might be a good idea that she had progressed for the better. He mentally smiled as he thought one day… when they met each other again… she could be a great, promising tennis player.

Sakuno was panting. It was the last game of the match and she was serving for the final point. She knew that she wouldn't be able to surpass him but she did enjoy playing with him that day. After several instructions and tips during their game, she had learnt a lot from him. Dribbling the ball to her side, she thought everything that was worth memorable;

You sometimes surprised me with your sudden appearance. Everytime you did that, I couldn't help but got nervous. You made my heart beat fast and I couldn't breathe when you're around. Her face became red as she thought that. I guess that I really admire you a lot. I admire all of you, your skills, your catchphrase, your expressions and even your cocky demeanor attitude. And I am… going to miss you… now that you are leaving again. She looked at him who was waiting for her serve. She slowly breathed as she tossed the ball in the air. If you are going to leave…

Ryoma stared at her position.

I want to…

She placed the racket behind her shoulder as she jumped.

Give you something…

His amber eyes widened when he saw that.

…For you to remember me.

POK!

The ball went to the other side of the court, spinning on the ground first, before bouncing upward to Ryoma's direction… which was aiming to his face. He was surprised but that didn't mean he lost his guard. In that nick of time, the boy had hit it back before it hit on his face.

Sakuno's eyes widened as she realized what she did a while ago. Shock absorbed her that she was not able to hit it back, earning a point to the boy and winning that one set in the end. Ryoma looked at her who was still shocked;

"Nice serve!"

Blinking really hard, she looked at him and said, "R-ryoma-kun… t-that serve…"

"Un," He gave her an odd smile, "That's my twist serve."

She blushed really hard. It was really rare for him to smile like that, especially for her. She stood straight as she couldn't believe what she had done, "I—I did a… twist serve?"

"Heh," He looked at the direction of the ball at her side. It stopped bouncing for a long time. The hit wasn't powerful as his but he knew that she could do better than that… if she could practice that serve. The girl could reach farther than this as he thought… well, he was confident that he was still great 'till then and overly surpassed everyone with his genuine talent. He gave her a smirk as he looked back at her, "Go for it Ryuzaki."

"E-eh?" She quirked an eyebrow up to him, still stunned from his words.

"Make sure that you're in," He simply replied to her unasked question, "The girls' regular team, I mean."

She held her breath as she hugged the racket that she wasn't aware that it was Ryoma's. The tennis prodigy had high expectations of her in the future. She nodded, closing her eyes in the process as she smiled, "H-hai… arigatou, Ryoma-kun." It was unpredictable but the twist serve was his final lesson for her.

Ryoma pinned his hat down for the umpteenth time. He was blushing… a little because of her expression at that meantime. Well, Sakuno was blushing all the time making her cute in his eyes. Ah! He was not going to admit that… err… yet. He walked to the bench, "Let's call it a day."

Sakuno responded and followed him. Then, she remembered the racket that he lent to her. Fidgeting at his back, she tried to get his attention, "Ummm… Ryoma-kun, thank you for lending me your racket."

She handed him the racket but Ryoma just stared at it before returning back to his things and continued packing them, completely ignoring the red racket in her hands.

"Umm, R-ryoma-kun, y-your rac-"

"Keep it."

"Eh?!"

"Take care of it." He said as shortly as that.

She was shocked at his words, "W-what? But Ryoma-kun… this racket… this red racket…"

"It's a gift. Just keep it."

She was really surprised at his words. Staring at the red racket in her hand, her vision had become blurry. Ryoma was just giving his precious racket to her. Biting her lower lip, she thought that it was too much for her, "B-but…"

Ryoma slung his bag to his shoulder and looked at her priceless expression, "I have been taking care of the tennis ball that you gave me so take care of that for me in return."

Blush was actually betraying her at that time; she was blushing while Ryoma was looking at her. As if on cue, she calmed herself down as she nodded and gave him a smile, "Arigatou… Ryoma-kun… hontou ni arigatou," Looking down, she shyly yet slowly hugged the red racket to her chest, "I-I'll definitely take good care of it."

Unbeknownst to her, Ryoma's amber eyes were slowly dilated as a faint blush appeared on his face. He quickly pinned his hat lower and turned his direction sideways, "Un."

"N-ne, Ryoma-kun," She looked at him catching his attention. Her blush hadn't lessened yet, "W-would you mind if… if I send you letters… while you are in America?"

He stared at her for a while not missing to raise an eyebrow. He closed his eyes for a while as he fixed his hat from pinning it down and opened his eyes once again, looking straight to her eyes. With his hand which was still on his hat, he gave her an assuring smirk, "I will be waiting then."

She smiled between blushes. His answer made her heart pound like crazy in her chest. He was her crush after all, the person that she admired ever since they first met. She wouldn't be able to see him for a while but exchanging e-mails might a good idea for them. Besides, she was sure that he would be returning back to Japan before she even noticed.

Fast Forward:

Time passed and a lot had changed. Sakuno was currently at the airport waiting for a certain tennis prodigy. Somehow, he had told everyone that he would be coming back to Japan to accept the U-17 training camp selection. She also knew that today was his arrival. A smile crept on her face as she gripped the cylinder case to her chest, the proof of everything that she had been through. Blushing, she thought of him once again;

I—I wonder if he would notice. I—I just want him to be the first to know.

Thinking something embarrassing, she lost track making her lose her way at the airport. Looking around she started to panic;

"M-mou! I am in a pinch!" She said panicky but began murmuring to herself, "but I wonder if it's okay for me to be here… waiting for Ryoma-kun."

She began looking around and asked someone, "Ummm, excuse me? I-is this the arrival area for the International flights?"

The person being asked looked at her and smiled, "I am sorry but this is the departure area."

"O-oh… I see," She replied. She then bowed in front of the person and said, "Thank you." With that she continued walking around the place. She couldn't believe that her natural flaw was attacking her right now. Of all things, why would she be a navigationally-challenged type of a girl? Her thought was cut when she felt something light fall on her head.

"Seriously," the voice said making her to look at the person, "You sure have NO sense of direction." Then, the person looked back at her with a smile on his face.

"Ry…Ryoma-kun!" She blushed as she looked at him touching her head in the process. The boy had placed his hat onto her head totally surprising her, "Y-you're back. Welcome back!" She bowed in front of him.

Ryoma just smirked and then noticed the case that was in her hands. Without asking, he suddenly grabbed it from her. Sakuno panicked as he opened the case in front of her;

"Hmmm, what's this?" He said still looking at the paper. It was actually the Certificate of Commendation, about her winning 3rd place in the Women's charity division.

"Ah! That's!?" She fidgeted as he still observing the certificate. Blushing, she looked down, "I—it was only a small match, b-but… but just like how you taught me…"

Her eyes were closed as she reasoned to him. So she didn't see Ryoma's reaction and that he was looking at her now;

"I—I practiced really hard—a-and-"

"You still have more to work on," He cut her making her to look at him. She was shocked and she knew it. It wasn't enough for him. She bit her lower lip.

"But…" Ryoma turned around and smiled that she didn't know. He was still holding her cylinder case, "Considering the fact that it's you…"

Her eyes widened when he raised a hand and said what his hand was saying, "…Great job for doing your best."

She blushed when he said that. He praised her. Her effort and hardships were worth it. She was very happy. Ryoma was still walking away from her, noticing that she was not following her, he looked at his shoulder;

"Well, come on," He said gesturing his head outside, "Let's get you home."

She returned from her reverie. Right, he was planning to join the training camp and he would be very busy for the next months. Walking her home might be good for the both of them… because it took for them to have a little reunion like this. Satisfied, the thought they met before that camp was enough for her.

"Hai!" She caught up with Ryoma and smiled at him when she finally did. Together, they exited the airport wearing different sizes of smiles. They were thinking the same thing, unconsciously;

Their meeting today was only a secret between them.

Done! How was it? Was it fluffy enough, I don't know. Guys, I inserted pairpuri scenes here and I hope if you don't mind. I created the scenes from the pictures of pairpuri from the way I understand and remember. (Never had a time to look for it on the internet, I hope that scene didn't fail me.) I do not own it so credits for the original owner. Konomi Takeshi-sensei is one of a kind. Make more cannon of them, I am truly wish for that.

Thank you very much.

Well, Eiko-chii? (honorific), how did it go? Did I deliver the scenes to your expectations? I hope I did? I sort of included pairpuri at the end. But I guess it wasn't the exact scenes. I sort of forgot it now. Tee hee hee. Thank you very much for sharing this. This fic is dedicated to you… ^_^

Lovelots, MitsukiJunko… ^_^