Tennis no Ojou-sama: A Prince of Tennis Fan Fiction

CHAPTER 20: A Playgirl and An Ice Princess

"Training sessions with the seniors and juniors every lunchtime?" Ryoma said, trying to hide his surprise.

"That's right, Ryoma-kun. The upperclassmen tried to petition against our participationin the ranking matches so Ryouko-san solved it that way." Mizuno said.

"I feel bad for Ryouko-san. They said she even bowed her head in front of the senpais to ask to withdraw their petition." Kachirou added with a troubled expression.

"Ryouko-san's trying too hard." Horio commented. "I like it that she's taking our side and all, but something doesn't feel right..." He added.

"That's why we should do our best!" A voice behind them said.

It was Shimada Ritsu.

"Who are you?" Ryoma asked.

"Echizen-kun... I always talk to you during practice. I'm Shimada, remember?" Ritsu replied in exasperation.

"Well, going back to the topic, Ryouko-san is trying hard to protect our shot at the rankings. She's also doing her best in training us. We should not disappoint her. We have to get good results, so Ryouko-san's hard work will not be in vain and no one will dare say that she wasted her time on us." Ritsu said with determination, his eyes looking far away to the distance.

Ryoma and the others looked at where he was looking, wondering what he's staring at. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"By the way, where's Ryouko-san?" He added as he wiped away the dreamy look on his face.

"Right now, she's with Miyano-senpai, a junior. It's his schedule for one-on-one instruction. They're in the court." Kachirou answered.

"I see." Ritsu said thoughtfully. "I better go there then." He added.

"Why are you looking for her anyway?" Horio asked.

"Oh. That." Ritsu said. They were surprised to see him blushing.

"Actually... I made a lunchbox for Ryouko-san. She might be having trouble with lunch since she has training sessions with the senpais." He said, his face getting redder. They all saw that he was clutching a blue bentou box.

"She brings her own lunch." Ryoma told him.

"Really?" Ritsu said, disappointment written all over his face. "Well... I'll still try to give it to her anyway. She might want it." He added.

Ritsu turned around to leave. "I'll go now. See you around."

Miyako and Mami who were listening from a corner, giggled.

"Did you hear that? He made lunch for her. Not many boys do that nowadays..." Miyako said, delighted.

"Yup, yup. Shimada-kun is also cute. His personality isn't bad either. Trust me, I was on the same class as him in elementary. It looks like his crush on Ryouko-chan is severe." Mami commented.

"Hmmph." Ryoma said irritably and placed his chin on his palm. He gazed out the window. The courts were visible from their classroom. He saw Ritsu running towards the courts where Ryouko and Miyano-senpai were talking.

The two girls went to the windows, blocking Ryoma's view. "See, see. There he is." Mami said and pointed at Ritsu.

"Let's see if Ryouko-chan will accept his bentou." Miyako said and giggled.

Ryoma craned his neck to see above Mami and Miyako's heads. Miyano-senpai and Ryouko were conversing, with Ryouko doing most of the talking and Miyano-senpai nodding in response. Ryouko swayed her arm, flicking her wrist sharply as she did so. It looked like Ryouko was correcting his swing style.