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

CHAPTER 128: Constantly On My Mind

The sky outside was only dimly-lit by the peeking sun when Ryoma was suddenly woken by a pair of feet prodding him by the side.

"Oi," came a voice coming from above. "Ryoma, it's almost six o'clock," it added.

Ryoma removed the covers from his head and opened one eye sleepily. "What?" he asked.

Ryouko is already wide-awake, sitting on the bed with both legs dangling down towards him. She looked much better compared to yesterday. Her voice still sounded a bit hoarse but it's on the verge of returning to normal.

The night had not been sleepless, but he had to get up twice to help Ryouko take more medicine and make her replenish her fluids. He also changed the cold patch on her forehead which she had already peeled off five minutes ago.

Ryouko gave the side of his stomach another light kick. "You should get up or you'll be late," she remarked.

"Late for what?" Ryoma said.

Ryouko raised an eyebrow at him. "School, you dummy... Are you still in dreamland or something?" The way she's being sarcastic, you wouldn't know she had been sick the night before.

Ryoma sat up and ran a hand through his tousled dark hair. "I'm not going to school today," he declared.

"Why?" Ryouko asked.

He threw her an annoyed look as if demanding why she's even asking such a question. "There's a sick person in the house. Do you think I can go to school in peace? If I'm not gonna stay here, who's going to watch over you and help you recover?" he told her matter-of-factly and gave a yawn as he got up. "You thirsty? I'll get you a glass of water," he added.

Ryouko watched him move sluggishly and gave a look of exasperation. "Oh come on... Stop exaggerrating... I'm more or less feeling fine. The fever's gone and I'm no longer feeling dizzy. Even my throat is starting to recover. Just a day more of rest and medicine, I'll be as good as new. You don't need to miss school to nurse me," she said.

Ryoma handed her the glass of water with a narrowing of his bronze-gold eyes. "'A day more of rest and medicine', exactly," he replied, quoting her words. "You're still recovering so it's definitely necessary for me to stay and make sure that you recover properly. I can't possiby make you take care of your meals while I am away, now can I?"

"Well, as a matter-of-fact, you can't take care of my meals either," Ryouko pointed out before taking a sip of water.

Ryoma frowned at her obvious dissing of his skills in the kitchen. "Did I say anything about me cooking? I'm gonna go out to buy food okay?" he said, rolling his eyes.

Ryouko smiled at his annoyed tone and put the empty glass of water on the bedside table. "Really, Ryoma... Don't miss school just because of this..." she replied, sounding serious all of a sudden.

"In my current condition, I'll be fine by myself. I'll be staying in the living room so there's no chance of me getting injured going up and down the stairs. There's plenty of food in the refrigerator and pantry that doesn't need any cooking. You'd be gone for only nine hours at most. I assure you that I'd be fully-recovered by the time you arrive," she remarked, providing no chance for him to say a word of protest.

Ryoma was just about to open his mouth when she beat him into it. "Besides," she said, further fuelling her argument. "It'd be weird for you to suddenly miss school. You can't call in sick since that would be more suspicious. If someone suspects you, I might get caught, you know..."

Ryoma looked thoughtful as he considered the possibilities. Ryouko has a point. Licht and Ichidou told him to stay where he is which he told the senpais yesterday, so he can't really just say that he missed a day of school because he wanted to find the missing Ryouko. And if he's gonna be going in and out of the house to buy meals and stuff, he would definitely be seen.