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

CHAPTER 118: Accidental Kiss

The night is peaceful inside the residence of the Echizen Family. Nanjiro is laying around as usual while his wife gets dinner ready. Rinko was not supposed to be home for a week but as the case she was working on was wrapped up earlier than she thought; she went home to her two boys. Meino Nanako, Ryoma's only cousin is spending the night for a college excursion that is taking place near their town. She set up the table diligently while passing Rinko plates and bowls every now and then. The only child of the house is upstairs and he hadn't been down since he came home from school two hours ago.

"Ara," Nanako said thoughtfully, staring at the stairs leading to the second floor of the house. "Ryoma-san is taking quite a long time up there. Should I call on him since dinner is almost ready," she added.

"Don't bother," Nanjiro remarked, jotting down answers on a cross-word puzzle on the newspaper. "The chap's probably still in the bath. He'll crawl down once he's done."

Nanako gave a small laugh of amusement. "Ryoma-san really likes taking long baths huh?"

"He does; ever since he's little," Rinko answered, draining the oil from the tempura she was frying. "And it doesn't help if you give him onsen bath salts for a souvenir. He must be trying out the pack that I gave him earlier."

"I don't know if that bloke's really my son or the offspring of a merman," Nanjiro commented, rolling his eyes.

"Ara," Rinko said, setting down the plate of golden-brown tempura on the center of the table. "It was rather convenient for me to cheat on you the year before Ryoma was conceived. You were so busy with your career back then. We also lived near the ocean so finding a merman to cheat with isn't that much of a challenge. It was romantic, like a reversed version of the Little Mermaid."

Nanjiro flipped his newspaper over and glared at his wife. "Rinko-chan, if you're gonna make a joke, why don't you make a more believable story? And have you ever heard of a merman who swims in warm water?"

Nanako laughed at the way his Aunt and Uncle bickered. She is also an only child like Ryoma and Rinko is the only sibling of her mother. She looked up to this couple as her second mother and father and really liked to think of Ryoma as her own little brother. The Echizen Residence is rather lively when all four of them are present.

"Mreow," came a soft mew from her foot. She looked down on Karupin who is swishing his tail side by side and placing a paw on Nanako's big toe. He seemed to sense what Nanako is thinking and looked upset that he was being left out of her thoughts.

She bent down and gave its head a pet. "Five. Rather lively with five, don't you think Karupin-chan?" she corrected herself and smiled. Karupin purred in satisfaction, letting itself be petted.

Meanwhile, inside the bathroom of the second floor of the house, a head of black hair floated on the surface of the glimmering bath water, ripples blossoming from underneath for a few seconds before Echizen Ryoma burst out, splashing water everywhere. He coughed and gasped for air before shaking his head vigorously like a puppy shaking off water from its body.

He breathed in and out for a moment before slinging a hand over the edge of the bathtub. "I thought I was gonna die," he gasped.

Death by drowning from falling asleep while taking a bath, what a ridiculous thing to be written on one's death certificate. After catching his breath, he wondered how long he had been in the tub. Lifting one hand, he checked his fingers. They looked more wrinkled than the skin of bitter gourd that Fujioka Ryouko loathed.

Ryoma mentally slapped himself for that thought. Why, just why is it that even looking at his wrinkled fingers makes him think of something related to Fujioka Ryouko? Hasn't he been pissed off enough with thoughts of her for the whole day?