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

CHAPTER 58: You and I have to talk

Ryouko was seated in the farthest seats at the back of the bus, her eyes scanning over the document given to her. It contained the names of the teams and the obstacles they were assigned to. Suddenly, somebody's shadow blocked the light. She looked up.

"Oi." Atobe Keigo said, looking much more hostile than he usually was.

"What?" Ryouko asked.

"Change the obstacle I'm assigned to." Atobe said simply, one of his hands placed model-like on his waist.

"Not happening." Ryouko answered and went back to reading.

"I am so not doing it." Atobe said firmly.

"You are doing it, whether you like it or not." She replied, her demeanor totally nonchalant.

"You horrible girl. You planned this, didn't you? You placed my name there, didn't you?" Atobe said, his tone accusing.

"Why on earth would I make such effort to do that? You're not that important." Ryouko answered, getting a bit annoyed.

"What's happening there?" Sanada said from one of the middle seats.

Atobe looked over his shoulder. "Ah? None of your business, that's what." He answered.

"It's alright, Danchou. He's just being the jerk he always is." Ryouko told Sanada.

"I think you should go back to your seat, Atobe. The bus is moving and it's not exactly safe to be standing around." Yukimura said, making the excuse so Atobe would leave Ryouko alone.

"I'm a frigging tennis all-rounder. You think I can't keep my balance or something?" Atobe replied. At that moment, the bus drove over a bumpy expanse of land and the bus rocked.

"Whoa." Some of the team members said and grabbed on the safety handles attached to the back of the seats in front of them. Atobe, the great 'all-rounder', lost his balance and was propelled forward, directly towards the girl he was talking to. His hand automatically grabbed her left shoulder and the backseat on her right to stay on his feet. His face was inches away from her left cheek and his eyes widened in surprise. Ryouko, however, was looking far from shocked.

She turned her face on her left, which made him lean his face away a few more inches backwards by impulse. "Nice balance you've got there. You know, it might be fun seeing you cross that balance beam but even if I want to change the obstacle you'll be doing, I can't. It was randomly selected by the organizers of the camp." She said.

For once, Atobe was rendered speechless. The shock of the distance they have between them at that moment stunned him. He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and realized that all the team members were looking at them.

Ritsu and Senri, for once in their lives, were doing something similar. They were glaring at Atobe with pure loathing. Hiyoshi sat back on his seat and faced forward, pretending that he didn't see anything. Ibu did the same, but his own eyes were betraying him by giving side glances above his shoulder.

"Just how long do you plan on staying like that?" Sanada suddenly said, standing up from his seat, his arm rested on the backrest to face at the back of the bus.

Atobe looked a bit disorganized. Ryouko pointed at his hand resting on her shoulder. "I wish to have my shoulder back if you please." She told him.

Atobe immediately took his hand off and straightened up. "Ha! Take it. No one's stealing it or anything." He said, scoffed and went back towards his seat at the front.

Ryouko sighed helplessly and shook her head. "What a hopeless case... Will the Atobe Industries be alright with a next-in-line like that? What an immature spoilt brat." She thought.