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

CHAPTER 70: The First Time

"I already said I'm sorry. What else do you want me to say?" Ryoma said, sounding a bit irritable. He was leaning on the wall with his elbows touching the cold stone whilst Ryouko sat all the way on the other side. She gave him a glare every now and then but aside from that, she kept herself quiet.

Ryoma sighed. "Aren't you gonna say anything? Or are you giving me the silent treatment?"

"Hmph." Ryouko replied, tossing her head to the other side. Her cheeks were puffed out in a pout and her lips were tightly sealed. Despite of himself, Ryoma found it a bit cute.

"Fine, fine. I'll go down and get your phone for you." He said. He went to the iron staircase and proceeded to the base.

Ryouko craned her neck to see if he was safely out of earshot. She got up and sighed. "What's wrong with you, Fujioka Ryouko?" She told herself in exasperation and rubbed the side of her neck. It was an accident. It wasn't Ryoma's fault. She shouldn't be punishing him for it. But still... She felt awkward.

"Hm?" She said as her eye caught something on the floor. She went to it and picked it up. "A tennis ball?" She thought as she twirled it on her palm. She was surprised to see something drawn on the other side. "What the heck is this?" She said as she stared at the drawing. "Ryoma no... kao? (Ryoma's... face?)" She cocked her head to one side, blinking.

Instantaneously, she remembered a happening in the past and couldn't help but smile. "That guy... He still marks his tennis balls this way? He's surprisingly childish." She told herself.

All of a sudden, she heard footsteps. Ryoma is already walking up the stairs, the steady 'thunk, thunk' of his sneakers on the steel getting louder. "Well, that was fast." Ryouko commented under her breath.

Ryoma bit his lower lip as he craned his neck to see if Ryouko is waiting for him. He looked at the phone in his hand, split in two with the battery taken out. He didn't have a particularly hard time in finding the pieces. They were right on the grassy ground directly from where it fell. "She'll go nuts if she sees this." He thought.

"What are you doing?" Ryouko suddenly said, coming out from the top of the stairs. Startled, Ryoma almost lost his balance. "Oi, that's dangerous!" Ryouko yelled and caught his arm. She immediately pulled him into safety on the steady floor.

"Bikkurishita. (That surprised me.)" Ryoma said softly, calming himself as he felt the sturdy rooftop under his feet. He turned to Ryouko. "Why did you suddenly pop out of nowhere like that? You almost made me fall." He said in outburst, quite irritated.

Ryouko raised an eyebrow. "I've heard you coming up but you were taking so long." She said matter-of-factly. "Now let me see it." She said as she reached out a hand, palm-up.

Ryoma hid the cellphone pieces behind him. "Well, it's... You might not want to see it. It's broken after all... I'll take responsibility and have it repaired."

"Hand it over." Ryouko ordered, her tone firm.

Ryoma sighed and relinquished the pieces to her.

"Yappari kowareteru. (As expected, it's broken.)" She commented as she checked the battery.

"Oh? She's unexpectedly calm." Ryoma thought. "You're not mad?" He asked aloud.

"Nope. I've gotten over it. You know about my temper. I get angry for five minutes, then I throw a tantrum for another five minutes. Then I'm myself again." She said as she checked the screen. "I can't do anything about it like this... I think it's best to have an expert look at it. If the files and contacts can be restored, I don't care if the phone itself gets scrapped. It's what's inside it that matters anyway."