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

CHAPTER 137: Christmas Plans

It was after a couple of weeks of torturous training that the winter assessments of the Seigaku tennis club started and yielded results. After the members were re-evaluated and individually placed in a category according to their play styles, they were given specialized programs to further hone their skills with specific exercises that focuses on strengthening their forte and further empowering the fundamentals that they lack. Ryouko and Inui orchestrated the programs, spending a whole lot of their training time consulting each other with better ideas to include in the training regimen whilst the review and approval were done by Ryuzaki-sensei, Tezuka, Oishi and Fuji. Momoshiro, Kaidoh, Ryoma, Arai and a couple other juniors were made to watch the whole process for that would ultimately be their job once the third years graduate. As spring approaches, the time for the seniors to leave the club neared day by day. It is a reality that they cannot escape from thus, Tezuka said that they must prepare for it beforehand.

The club was able to settle all of their matters just in the nick of time because talks about the preparations for the holidays were slowly heating up. The days flew by fast and before anyone noticed, the annual Christmas parties, celebrated on the night of the twenty-fourth of December, are only a couple of days away. Winter exams were over and the excitement levels of the students rose for the merry-making and the promising holiday vacation.

However, Ryouko couldn't say that she had been satisfied and happy with the last couple of weeks. She was insanely busy with the program design since a big part of it was her responsibility yet she still had to deal with the annoyance of seeing Ryoma's fangirls do their thing with additional gusto, possibly because of his upcoming birthday. but truth be told, the fangirls would have been fine, for Ryouko was slowly getting accustomed to them. It was actually just a couple of girls who had been bothering her the most.

Ryouko had placed the matter at the back of her mind but the past days made her remember that Ryuzaki Sakuno had told her about her feelings for Ryoma during the inter-school tennis camp.

Ryouko was not at all feeling threatened by that though the thought irritates her a little. However, that same Ryuzaki Sakuno had been a thorn by her side by hanging around Ryoma's premises quite persistently each day. Ryouko doubted that Sakuno had the courage to exhibit her current actions and suspected that her brown-haired friend with the signature pigtails may have played a crucial role for Ryuzaki Sakuno's change in behavior.

Ryouko's high spirits for the prospects of spending the holiday and their thirteenth birthday together with Ryoma had been dampened by flares of irritation each time she sees him talking with Ryuzaki Sakuno. For some reason, it annoyed her that he seemed to be showing a particular consideration at dealing with Ryuzaki compared to other girls and she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable about it. She wanted to ask the reason why he doesn't seem to blow her off as coldly as he does to most girls but she couldn't seem to bring up the matter during their nightly talks.

In addition to that, something gnawed at the edge of Ryouko's mind. It had been three weeks since they started dating yet, she seem to not feel a big difference compared to when they were just friends. It might only be because they were too busy to spend time with each other but still... the feeling wouldn't leave her alone.

"Cool your head," she told herself after washing up on the night of December twenty-second. She splashed water on her face and stared at her reflection with the droplets dripping and rolling off her skin. "You're being overly sensitive, and you're tired from all the work in the club. Let's take it easy," she added.

As she got ready for bed, she received a call from Ryoma. She gave a slight smile as she took the phone and pressed it to her ear. Perhaps once she hears his voice, the unsettling feeling on her chest would subside.