Author's Note: In honor of Halloween, I figured I should probably give this story a much needed update. I think Ryoma's perspective should do it. *wink* Enjoy!

Summary: Sakuno was avoiding him. Ryoma decides this is not to be tolerated any longer. (AKA Ryoma uses the test of courage to hunt her down and gets more than he bargained for.)

Warnings: Potentially more grammatical errors, typos, and odd phrasing. Also features Ryoma failing to think clearly when around a pretty girl.

Prompt: Some Nights by astraldrop11

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is still not mine. Big shock.

The Hunter

Sakuno was avoiding him.

Ryoma watched her in class as she chatted with her loud friend Osakada and a few of their other classmates. Her long auburn hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and shook as she laughed with them. It had been weeks since he had seen her laugh like that and even then it wasn't around him.

She wasn't a spiteful person. If anything Sakuno was overly nice. She was friendly with all of their classmates, voluntarily offered people her notes if they were sick or missed class. She never had a bad word to say about anybody.

Yet, for some reason he was being singled out. While Sakuno didn't exclude him from conversations, she rarely spoke to him unless they were talking as a group. Even then, she would barely glance at him. Tennis games weren't much better. And not just because she refused to bring him food anymore. Sakuno would come to his matches, but only to support the team. Apparently having the old tennis team reunited in high school was the sole motivation she had for attending.

But even that wasn't enough incentive to keep her coming to watch the practices though.

The few times Sakuno did show up, it was only to accompany her friend Osaka. The pair would stand at the fences, gazing at the upperclassmen before whispering to one another and giggling. He ignored it at first. They weren't the only girls who did it. Yet, a few weeks went by and it started to get more and more irritating. The giggling was distracting. Finally one day he positioned himself on the court closest to the fence so he could listen in on their little conversation to find what could possibly be so amusing.

Kaidoh.

They were coming to watch Kaidoh play.

Years ago, his father had teased him that the coach's granddaughter had a crush on him. Clearly, the old man was vastly mistaken and Sakuno's tastes ran in a different direction.

Not that Ryoma cared.

He didn't.

Not really.

Ryoma just couldn't figure out why someone all sweet and innocent like Ryuzaki would fall for a guy like The Viper. Kaidoh was rude and hot-tempered. Ryoma couldn't even remember a time when Kaidoh had even talked to her so why Sakuno fell for a guy like Kaidoh made no sense at all.

Two months later, Ryoma was still no closer to understanding the stupid girl until he heard the latest gossip.

Kaidoh-sempai was dating someone. And it wasn't Sakuno.

It was Osakada.

Suddenly everything made more sense. Sakuno wasn't attending games and practices to watch Kaidoh. She went to support her friend Osakada. Sakuno had just been an accessory to the matchmaking.

It should have satisfied him but instead Ryoma just felt more frustrated. If Sakuno wasn't infatuated with Kaidoh then why was she acting so bizarre lately? She rarely spoke to him. On the rare times, their families met up, Sakuno remained steadfastly at her grandmother's side and didn't even glance his way.

Ryoma would have kept ignoring it except even the Old Man had noticed the oddness of the situation and demanded to know what he had done to upset sweet little Sakuno-chan. And if the crazy pervert noticed something was off, then Ryoma was definitely not imaging things.

Sakuno was avoiding him. And one of these days, he planned to corner to find out why.

Then came the day when the class agreed to hold a secret test of courage. Ryoma hadn't been very interested until they decided to up the stakes and hold it at an abandoned shrine. Ryoma wasn't superstitious but he knew more than a few of his classmates would be. He had no doubt a few of them would be terrified by the thoughts of "ghosts" roaming around. At the very least watching his classmates squirm might provide him with a little bit of entertainment. And if he got bored, Ryoma could always just leave.

But when they turned to ask Sakuno if she wanted to attend, he couldn't help but snort. Ryuzaki doing a test of courage was ridiculous. She wouldn't last five minutes and he said so to the entire class.

Then she had the gall to surprise him.

"I could too," Sakuno protested indignantly.

She rarely even spoke to him these days and here she was contradicting him in front of everybody.

"You honestly think you can manage it," Ryoma asked, wondering how far she would press the issue.

Sakuno's eyes flashed. "I might even do better than you, Ryoma-kun," she replied.

He blinked. That was a challenge. Shy little Sakuno was issuing a challenge to him, the Prince of Tennis? Things just became more interesting.

Ryoma watched in curious disbelief as Sakuno agreed to the challenge. Then he realized she had just presented him a golden opportunity. Sakuno might have been avoiding him at school but there was no way he wouldn't be able to take advantage of the isolation the shrine offered and corner her for some answers.

Little Sakuno had escaped him one time too many and she wasn't getting away again.

Except she did.

Repeatedly.

If Ryoma thought was avoiding him before, it was nothing compared to now. He couldn't even find the damn girl. Ryoma snuck through the brush, cursing the small slip of a girl that continued to elude him. If Sakuno had gotten taken out of the competition before he could find her, he was going to be pissed.

There was no way anyone was going to find her before he did. He wanted answers. And Ryoma got what he wanted.

He nearly caught her an hour ago but just before he reached her, Ryuzaki and Osakada took off running right into a trap. Then twenty minutes ago, he was getting close but before he could close in, Sakuno had snuck away and all he found was an empty hiding spot.

Still Ryoma thought he might have a lead on her now. When Ryoma had lost sight of Sakuno the last time, he tried checking around the shrine. He should have known better. Sakuno wouldn't risk going near there. In fact, most of their classmates were giving it a wide berth out of superstitious dread.

Fortunately, he spotted a girl near the camphor trees. Ryoma couldn't tell from a distance if it was Ryuzaki since she was hidden in the shadows but it was definitely a girl with long hair. He snuck in closer for a better look. Ryoma was just close enough to confirm it was indeed the girl in question when she took off running.

Ryoma cursed and sprinted after her. He wasn't wasting another hour tracking her down again. Her short strides were no match for his longer ones. He caught her near the footbridge. Sakuno took in a sharp breath ready to scream so he covered her mouth before anyone could hear.

"Ryuzaki," he said.

Her body stilled against his. Ryoma could feel the heat of her body through the front of his shirt. It took a second before he realized the intimacy of their position. One hand gently enclosed on her wrist. The other used to draw her close. From a distance, people would think they were in a lover's embrace.

Ryoma removed his hand from her mouth and put some distance between them before glancing around to see if anyone was coming. He didn't see anyone in immediately proximity but they needed to move. The footbridge was too open.

Ryoma drew her deeper into the shrine grounds. Sakuno followed behind him quietly. He kept a hold of her wrist to prevent her from wandering off. Sakuno had the knack for getting lost in the smallest of territories. He had planned to lead her to the shrine itself to ensure their conversation remained private, when he saw a flashlight's beam approaching their direction.

"Ryoma-kun," Sakuno gasped from behind him.

He quickly hid them behind some shrubs.

What Ryoma didn't count on was Sakuno holding onto his hand for too long and dragging him down nearly on top of her. Only quick reflexes allowed him to avoid crushing her. Ryoma landed hard on his knees, his arms spread on either side of her waist to hold his body upright. Sakuno was nearly on her back beneath him.

He froze.

If someone thought their position on the footbridge looked intimate, it was nothing compared to now. Her legs were splayed around his own as he knelt in the center; his body hovered over hers like a predator trapping his prey. Even with the darkness of the hour, Ryoma could still see the wideness of her chocolate brown eyes. Sakuno licked her bottom lip and Ryoma was drawn to the sight.

"Ryoma-kun," Sakuno breathed softly.

Ryoma scrabbled away. Taking a seat a safe distance away, he wondered what in the world had just happened.

This was Ryuzaki.

His old coach's granddaughter.

Ryoma only chased her down for answers. So why was his heart-racing like he had just found her posing like one of those schoolgirl's in his old man's dirty magazines?

"I'm telling you I heard something," a voice said at the footbridge. Before Ryoma could order her to stay down, Sakuno turned to peek over the shrubs they were hiding behind.

He took a moment with her distracted to stare at her, still trying to gain his bearings.

This wasn't the girl he remembered. There was no blushing in his presence or timidity when encountering unfamiliar situations. She wasn't even dress the same. Her long hair was pulled back and woven into a single braid. She wore a dark long-sleeved shirt. Instead of her skirt, she wore a pair of form-fitting black pants.

Very form-fitting pants.

An unfamiliar heat rushed to his face so he directed his gaze elsewhere.

"It's gone now," another voice from the bridge said, "Let's split up. You check this side and I'll head to the other. If we want to win this, we need to hurry to round up the stragglers."

Sakuno knelt back to the ground and looked back over at him. He looked back at her still trying to reconcile the two different images of Sakuno he had in his head: the shy girl who used to cheer for him and the girl sitting before him who dared to undertake a test of courage and last longer than the majority of their classmates.

Then she shifted nervously and the spell was broken. "What is it?" Sakuno asked clearly flustered.

"Let's move," Ryoma said instead, rising to his feet.

He could see her hesitation and it bothered him. Sakuno used to listen him. She used to trust him implicitly. Why had she changed?

"Ryuzaki," he said again, his voice harder and more demanding, "let's go."

Sakuno sighed but this time she rose to follow him. She walked so quiet; there were times that he wondered if she was still there. A part of him wanted to grab her hand just to make sure she didn't slip away but he resisted. Hand-holding was the last thing he needed to do when he already felt so off-balance around her. Still as they moved through the grounds, Ryoma kept a close watch on Sakuno to ensure she didn't escape him again.

Ryoma found a quiet spot near the tamagaki gate that surrounded the main shine. The proximity to the shrine meant no one would stumble over them as they had their private discussion. The last thing he needed were more hecklers in his life. His old man already teased him merciless wondering when he would find a girlfriend. If any of their classmates ran across them, there would be questions about why Ryoma was sitting with a girl in the dark especially since he rarely hung out with people that weren't his teammates.

Sakuno used to be one of the few people he didn't mind being around. She was quiet, didn't mind if he didn't have anything to say. She encouraged to be a better tennis player but never pushed him to change his personality. She just accepted him as he was.

Which is why he couldn't understand what had changed between them. One day she standing at the fence cheering him on to victory and the next day she just disappeared from his life. It was like the Sakuno he knew was replaced by a girl he didn't recognize.

There were still trances of the girl he remembered. Sakuno still struggled with English. She played on the girl's tennis team, wobbly hips and all. She even still clung to the childish pink watch her grandmother gave her that most kids would have discarded out of embarrassment years ago.

Before Ryoma realized what he was doing, his hand brushed the watch in question and Sakuno squeaked.

Apparently Sakuno was also still very jumpy in the dark.

"What are you even still doing here?" he asked dryly, "you hate these things."

The Sakuno he remembered couldn't stand scary things. The tiniest of spiders would send her scrabbling away. People talking about horror movies had her cringing. So why in the world would shy and sheltered Sakuno voluntary enter an abandoned shrine for something as ridiculous as a test of courage?

She wasn't answering so he took a moment to see if it was something in the area that had caught her attention. When he didn't detect any threats, he turned back to her and caught her gaze. The moment he looked at her, she dropped her head. While Shy Sakuno was more familiar, it wouldn't help him gain the answers he sought.

"Well?" Ryoma asked again.

Sakuno shrugged but still wouldn't meet his eyes. Ryoma huffed. The girl was utterly frustrating. He would never figure her out. Sakuno used to follow him everywhere. And then once he finally became used to her presence, she vanishes. Then she bold as can be, she challenges him in front of a roomful of people but the moment they're alone and Ryoma confronts her, Sakuno reverts back into a wallflower.

Girls made no sense.

And Sakuno made the least sense of all of them.

Legs pulled close to her chest as she rested, it was obvious she was tired. The way she kept looking at her watch to check the time meant she was clearly ready to go home. So why didn't she?

Sakuno didn't have anything to prove. Most of their class was already out of the competition; no one would think less of her if she lost now. If anything people would probably be just as surprised as he was to learn that she made it for so long. So why did she continue? Why didn't she just give up?

Ryoma certainly didn't know what her motivation could be but something was clearly driving her to not give up. And whatever it was, he had to admit he respected her a little for it.

"Still think you can win this?" he asked quietly.

Sakuno huffed and settled for sending him a disgruntled glare that had the force of a drenched kitten. Ryoma struggled not to smile.

"I made it this far, didn't I?"

"Still have a long way to go," he commented.

Sakuno sank deeper within her light jacket as if his words reminded her of how cold the air had become outside. "I'm not as weak as you think," she said.

Her words were quiet but something in her tone caused him to take a second look. She was right. She wasn't as weak as he pegged her to be. Like it or not, she had surprised him tonight. He had made the mistake of underestimating her. Had they been playing on a tennis court, he could have paid dearly for his miscalculation. Ryoma looked curiously at the girl who caused him to make such a mistake. Oblivious to his attentions, Sakuno sat frowning, her body tightly curled. She had wrapped her arms around her legs to ward off the chill, but it wasn't enough to stop her shivering. Ryoma wouldn't be surprised to hear her teeth chattering in another minute.

"Let's move."

"What?" Sakuno whispered. "Shouldn't we stay in one place?"

Ryoma hesitated. He didn't want her to think that he was soft on her but he wasn't going to sit listening to her shivering all night. "Only if you want to get caught," he lied, "They're coming."

Sakuno lifted her head to listen. "I don't hear anything."

Ryoma glared at her. This was easier back when she used to just listen to him and didn't question his motives. Something in his expression must have translated though because Sakuno eventually shuffled to her feet. Satisfied, Ryoma turned and started heading to the shrine. The walls would shield Sakuno from the wind and prevent her from catching a cold. Plus, it had the added bonus that she would be too scared to run off without him once he started questioning her about her weird behavior the last few months.

But the moment he started leading her into the Honden, the main shrine, she began fighting him again. He noticed the instant Sakuno stopped following him. Frustrated, Ryoma reached back to grab her wrist and yank her forward. He didn't have time for this. It was getting late. He didn't have much time left for him to talk to her uninterrupted.

"What are you thinking?" she hissed. He looked around to see if anyone might have heard, but fortunately the shrine was just as deserted as it was earlier. "Ryoma-kun," Sakuno protested, twisting her wrist to try to loosen his hold, "we can't go in there."

"Why not?"

"It's abandoned."

"This whole place is abandoned."

"It's sacred."

"You just said it was abandoned."

"We don't even know what's in there."

"Besides empty rooms to hide in?"

Sakuno was silent for a moment. He hoped he had finally convinced her to just trust him when she uttered one last protest. "What if we get lost?" she said finally.

Ryoma stopped walking and just stared at her. Sakuno fidgeted under his gaze and then glanced nervously at the building before looking back at him.

"What?" she asked.

"That only happens when you lead."

"Hey!" Sakuno protested angrily. He braced himself for another unnecessary argument when she began to giggle. Ryoma felt himself relax. "Ryoma-kun might have a point," Sakuno conceded with a small grin.

"Might?" he teased.

"Oh hush," she said, still smiling. In that moment, it felt like he had the Sakuno he knew back with him. Sakuno didn't become defensive if he pointed out her shortcomings. She didn't run off in tears if his words came out sounding more gruff than gentle. She just accepted his prickly nature with a smile and a shake of her head.

And this time when Ryoma started walking into the shrine, Sakuno fell into step behind him.

Truth was… he missed her a bit over the last few months. He had other friends of course. Ryoma was friends with the members of the tennis team. But their friendship was born out of rivalry. When he was with Sakuno, Ryoma could simply relax and be himself. He didn't have to constantly be on his guard. He didn't need to plan his moves three steps ahead of everyone else. Sakuno was the only person outside his family that saw him just as he was. Ryoma hadn't realized just how much he had grown used to her gentle, accepting nature until it was gone.

Then he heard her trip behind him.

Ryoma tried to muffle his snickering but he doubted it did much good. When he heard Sakuno's annoyed huff, his snickering grew louder. Ryuzaki hadn't changed a bit after all. Once a klutz, always a klutz.

Once they were inside the house, Sakuno grew even quieter. She kept looking around the room as if the devil himself were going to leap at her from the shadows. When she stepped on a creaky floorboard, he thought she was going to jump through the roof. Ryoma was about to tease her jumpiness when she did something unexpected. She shuffled close to Ryoma.

Suddenly he remembered holding her against his body at the bridge and the way he could nearly hear her heartbeat overlapping his own.

"Ryoma-kun," she pleaded, voice so desperate and needy it had him thinking entirely different thoughts, "can't we find another place to hide?"

He was so busy remembering the moment earlier with their bodies posed just inches apart, that he nearly stepped through a broken floorboard. He tried to shake his head to dispel the images and concentrate on something else.

"I thought you wanted to win," he replied evenly as he steered her around the broken floorboards he nearly fell through. "The hunters don't come in here."

Reminding her about the hunters was supposed to help refocus on the reason they were there. They came for a test of courage. Instead, his reminder only emphasized the fact they were alone. Ryoma kept replaying the image of her splayed out beneath him as she whispered his name.

His heartbeat picked up again. Ryoma needed to stop. He needed to be alone to think.

Sakuno ran headfirst into Ryoma's back. "Ryoma-kun," she grumbled as she stepped away rubbing her nose gingerly, "why did you stop?"

"Here," he said, gesturing to the hiding spot he found for her.

"What?"

"Go inside."

She looked back and forth between the closet and Ryoma. His jaw tightened. Ryoma needed to be rid of her for just five minutes so he could think rationally and calm down.

"It's a closet," she said blankly.

"It'll do," he growled.

Huffing, Sakuno stepped inside. But then he did something he wasn't supposed to. He followed her in. "You can't hide here too," she protested, "There's no room."

She was right of course. There was absolutely no room. He supposed to stash her here so he could take a quick break to get his mind back under order. Then he would come back and question her. Instead his body was leading a mutiny against him.

"We'll be fine," he heard himself say as he closed the door behind him.

He must have been crowding her because Sakuno tried shifting away to create space between them. Instead she ran into a broom stuffed at the back of the closet and knocked it down. Sakuno froze. Ryoma tensed. They stood in complete silence, waiting for someone to come investigate the crash. When a few minutes went by and no one appeared, Sakuno started to relax. Ryoma remained just as agitated as before.

The only thing he could think about was Sakuno. The way she stood, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the next. The way he wished her hair was down and loose for once spilling off her shoulders and down her back. She smelled faintly of strawberries and vanilla and he fought the urge to draw her close and surrounded himself with the scent. When Sakuno pulled out her cell phone, the screen lit up casting a faint blue glow around the small space and highlighting her face most of all.

He stared at her lips. Remembering the way she licked the bottom one before whispering his name so breathlessly as they hid from the hunters. Ryoma's hand came up to cover the screen. "Shut off the light," he whispered. Sakuno nodded and put her cell phone away casting the room back into darkness.

She was tempting him and driving him mad in the same breath and she didn't even know it.

Then she started giggling.

They were small at first: innocent little giggles that bubbled and tumbled from her lips. Soon though, her shoulders shook as she laughed harder and freer. He didn't know what had sparked the laughter and he didn't care. In that moment, he fully and truly realized just how much he had missed this. He had missed her. And he didn't want to let it go again.

So he kissed her.

And soft lips yielded under his own.

This is what he wanted, Ryoma realized in between kisses. He wanted her focused on him forever. It was selfish he knew. To demand so much of Sakuno and give so little in return. But the idea that he could lose her to someone else, anyone else, was intolerable. The last few months of being kept at arm's length were nearly unbearable and now he finally realized why.

Somehow he had fallen for her.

And Ryoma hadn't even realized it until now.

Then Sakuno pushed him away. "What's going on?" she asked breathlessly.

Ryoma didn't respond. He couldn't. Her fingertips lingered on his chest from when she pushed him apart and all he wanted to do was close the distance between them. He knew now what he wanted. And he would refuse to give her up. He watched Sakuno pull out her phone to use the light from the screen to illuminate the space. Her brown eyes were still wide with wonder. And her lips looked full and begged to be kissed.

"You've been ignoring me, Sakuno," he said finally, slowly closing the distance she put between them, "it's time we change that."

Outside the war raged on but inside the abandoned shrine, Ryoma had cornered his prey.