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

CHAPTER 141: A Day Out With Family and Friends

"Hmm..." Ichidou murmured under his breath, staring at the three sets of clothes on his bed. The first outfit consisted of a pale pink long-sleeved polo shirt with a collar and a red vest to be worn over it paired with white trousers; the second one is a beige patterned oversized wool sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans and the last one is a bit more formal with a white polo shirt, a smart black jacket, a solid-colored necktie and brown slacks.

He lifted a hand to his neck and gave it a scratch. "Why is this difficult?" he mumbled, frowning. Taking the pink polo shirt and the wool sweater, he went towards the full-length mirror and held each to his torso one at a time. Not really satisfied with what he saw, he threw them back to the bed.

"Ahh, let's just wear whatever... It's just lunch with a couple of girls..." he said dismissively and selected the third outfit. After all, nothing can go wrong with formal attire and it's what he usually wears when going out for lunch and dinner meetings.

As soon as he finished changing, he went down. "Morning..." he said upon seeing Licht and Ryouko in the living room.

"Morning," Ryouko greeted back without looking up from her phone. Looking at her outfit, it clearly showed that she's going out. The casual shirt under a pastel green hoodie and comfortable pants suggested that it's only a casual outing. "We already had a light breakfast. There's some sandwiches left for you," she told him.

"I'll pass... I ate so much last night, I still don't feel hungry..." he answered. "Are you going out?" he asked nonchalantly for confirmation.

"Yep," she answered. "I'm going to the mall with Ryoma and Ryoga-nii to buy gifts."

"Gifts for what?" he said as he poured himself a glass of water from the table and sitting down opposite from where she sat.

"Apparently, Ryoga-nii wants to buy Ryoma gifts for every birthday he missed and because I had the same birthday as him, I'll be treated to one as well. It was also Ryoga-nii's seventeenth birthday on the twenty-third so we'll buy him a gift for that..." Ryouko explained, still scrolling on her phone.

"How come there's so many people here born on December?" Ichidou commented, thinking of Miyako and her friend.

"I know right? It's a funny coincidence," Ryouko remarked before finally taking her eyes off her phone screen and looking at him. "Well, it looks like I'm not the only one going out... Do you have a meeting? Christmas just ended, the company ought to relax a little..." she told him.

"I'm not going out for business but rather lunch with a friend," Ichidou answered, putting the empty glass on the center table.

"You don't have to smooth it out like that. Who is it that's making you work this early after the holidays? I'll give them a piece of my mind," she said.

"I appreciate the concern..." Ichidou replied, smiling slightly. "But I'm really just going out for a meal with a friend, so don't worry."

Ryouko was silent for a moment and only stared at him. "You... have a friend here?" she remarked, unable to mask the disbelief in her voice. "For real?" she added with a tone that was somehow familiar to Ichidou.

"Why are you reacting like that? Are you making fun of me?" he said with a fake smile, a bit pissed off. He finally remembered where he heard Ryouko's tone just now. It was during the time that Licht also questioned him about having friends. He admits that he's not the most sociable person as he preferred keeping his social circle comfortably small, but did they really have to rub it on his face?

"No, I'm not. I was just genuinely surprised," Ryouko told him. She got up from her seat, approached him, made him stand up and out of the blue, gave him a hug. "This is a pleasant surprise. Quite an improvement. Do introduce this friend of yours one of these days..." she said and petted his head. "Our Ichi is growing up, actually having friends outside the family... I'm so proud..." she added.