Hye! I am back again with the new chapter. I hope you all like this as well. Thank you very much... :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never ever will

Chapter 16: Crystal Clear

Chapter Summary: they were really enjoying themselves despite their own secrets to keep. Will it still be the same after that night? Find that out.

The first night of the trip ended well so far. He walked the girl to her room after they gathered and gave the materials to their instructor that day. Without saying a word, the girl just smiled and bowed at him before she closed the door in front of him.

Really, the girl had an attitude now.

He knew that she wanted to get away from him but he never expected that it would be that much. He couldn't blame her after all for, he was the one who made her like that. At least, she could smile at him. His hope was not diminishing from him and that was all he could hold on... for now.

Ryoma made it way back to his own room. He pushed open the door only to find Momo, Horio, and even Kaidoh playing throw pillows against each other. Veins appeared from the top of his head. That was right. He was paired with his seniors in the room along with his classmate Horio. The room was good for four people. No wonder that he was with them.

"Oi, Echizen," Horio called when he noticed him standing at the door, "What are you still doing there? Come on in and join us." He said as he threw a pillow at his direction.

Ryoma casually dodged it before he walked towards the bed, "Not interested."

"Don't be a Kj!" Horio threw another pillow but Ryoma caught it with his hand.

"I am not," He said as he threw it back at him and being the genius, he hit him bullseye on the face, "...yarujan."

The rest laughed at Horio's furious reaction as he started to walk away to the balcony. The place was really quiet that night and only his roommates were the ones noisy around the vicinity. He could hear Kaidoh and Momo started bickering against each other and Horio seemed to be cheering on them. He sighed as he realized a bunch of idiots was with him for two nights. How he wished to have a change of roommates.

Katsuo and Kachiro would be fine though. He wondered why he wasn't roommate with them. Tezuka and Oishi would be fine as his roommates, despite the encounter he had with his Captain, he still prefer to become roommates with him. Except for Fuji, they would become partners but he didn't know how awkward it would be between the two of them now.

Despite everything, he still respected them, even though he didn't show it to the whole team at all.

"What are you doing here?"

Even though he didn't look behind him, he knew who it was. He waited for his senior to lean on the balcony before he decided to reply to him;

"You guys are annoying."

"Are you still at it?!"

"I guess I am not satisfied with it," Ryoma said as he looked at his senior, "Ne, Momo-senpai, can you hit me?"

"E?" He blinked for several times before he didn't think twice as his fist met his face making Ryoma almost out of balance if only not of the balcony he held on.

"That was fast." Ryoma said as he held his chin for support.

"Ah... I feel better at doing that," Momo stretched his arms as he looked back at him, "What are you going to do now?"

He fixed his standing position and looked ahead, "To win her back of course."

"Hai, hai, we all know that," He said as he mimicked what he was doing, "How are you going to do that?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

He only nodded as he looked ahead.

"Wow, Echizen! That is such a brilliant idea," Momo said and smiled at him, "I'll support on you for that."

"Very funny, senpai."

"Don't ask for my help, Echizen," Momo became serious after that, "I am not going to help you."

"I know and I don't need your help."

"It's good that we're clear on that."

Ryoma just nodded after that. Silence welcomed between them. He wouldn't mind having that kind of atmosphere. Deep inside, he knew that he owed something to his senpai. He was rude to everyone even their coach was not an exemption to him.

"Don't screw up this time." Momoshiro said after the short silence. His senpai was never the silent type as he realized it.

"I won't."

The Next Day:

The materials that they gathered would be for the event of the night. The students decided to build a tent in the forest as their starting spot and to spend the night after the activity. Sakuno couldn't help but to cooperate with the activity. It wasn't that they were alone in the isolated area in that place. They were gathered together within range. She could see Tomoka and Horio building their own tent and as usual, bickering was their breakfast that morning.

They would spend the whole with their partner until the activity was over. The activity had already started and it would end until later, though there wasn't a specific time when.

They others started building their own tents as well. She could see Ryoma looking at the corner where Honoka was building her own tent with her partner. They didn't know who her partner was but it seemed that he was enjoying her companion. The boy sighed after that before he looked back at her direction. Sakuno didn't expect that he would do that. She looked away and continued building their tent.

xxx

"Hoi! Hoi! Fujiko-chan! Look I got fish!" Eiji said showing the fish that he caught from the lake, "Let's eat them."

Fuji chuckled as he looked at his best friend, "Eiji, you are supposed to share that with your partner."

"Ah, right," Eiji said looking around him, "Now, where is she?"

"Saa... you lost her?"

"What about you?" The acrobatic player looked back at him, "Where's your partner?"

"She's gathering the other materials we picked yesterday," The tensai said, tying the rope to his tent, "I am almost done with our tent, you see."

"Sugoi, Fuji!" Eiji beamed at him, "I think I should go back and look for my partner. I don't want her to scold me, nya!"

The tensai chuckled at him once again. His best friend never ran out of energy no matter what he did. He looked around and observed the place. Some of the students were almost done doing their tents as well. He could see some of his teammates with their partners. Sweat drops appeared to his head when the girls looked at him and didn't hesitate to show their admiration towards him. There was no doubt that Tezuka, Oishi and even Kawamura would be experiencing it too.

Momoshiro and Ryoma would be as well.

How is she with him, I wonder? Fuji thought of her when he remembered his kouhai. Being the popular boy in school, it was no doubt that they would attack him with their fan girling activity. He didn't want to think it but he knew that Ryoma would handle them. Sakuno was with him and thinking about it made his heart stricken.

Sighing, he continued doing his tent and tried to forget what he had just thought. He aimed to finish their little nest before his partner arrived for their materials for the night.

Later on:

They cooked their breakfast and lunch in that area. Since the lake was close by, their professor allowed them to catch more fish. Aside from that, they were not allowed to go round the place. Secretly, Ryoma was lucky because Sakuno was definitely a good cook. He restrained himself from smirking when the trios, Tomoka, Momoshiro, Eiji and their partners started drooling at their food. Sakuno wanted to give them some but their instructor clearly told them that they should eat what they cooked.

The afternoon came and the team-building was commenced within the group. The partners were paired with another three partners to create a group and they started their activity for that day.

They played games that the partners were allowed to join. It was tiring but they had fun. The team-building lasted for four hours. At exactly six in the evening, they began making their dinner. Sakuno did enjoy the games and good thing she went to the trip or else she wouldn't be experiencing it. They were in the middle of eating their dinner when the professor called their attention;

"Listen minna," The instructor said with the megaphone, "We will do the last activity of the night."

"Whaaaaat?"

"There is one more?"

"I am tired."

"Can we do that tomorrow?"

They could hear different rants from different students but the instructor seemed to ignore them and continued;

"The last activity for the night is the test of courage!"

Sakuno could ignore the rants of the students while the others were excited for the last activity. However, she wasn't excited at all. It was the test of courage. She was never been good at that. How was she going to participate when she was scared of it in the first place? The instructor was telling the mechanics but she was not listening to it anymore. She was worried about the activity of the night.

"Daijoubu?"

She flinched when a hand was placed on top of hers which were on her lap. Looking to her side, Ryoma's expression was serious as he was looking ahead of them.

"You're with me. Don't worry."

Looking at their hands, she knew that she must shake her hands from him but for some reason, she couldn't do it. He was with her but she couldn't bring herself to nod at him. Just like him, she just looked ahead of them.

xxx

The test of courage would start at nine in the evening so they had two hours to prepare for the activity. She used that chance to approach Tomoka and told her feelings to her best friend.

"You can do it," Tomoka said giving her enough boost, "This is not a scary place."

"I know... I am not that worried. At least I believe that but..." She couldn't continue her words. Sakuno was still scared but she knew herself that she was not that scared. The fact she would be with the tennis prodigy worried her the most and she wanted to slap herself for being able to convey that.

"Don't worry about that," Tomoka said as if she read her thoughts, "Just kick him to-you-know-where-it-hurts if he did something suspicious towards you."

Sakuno couldn't help but blush at that, "Mou! Tomoka-chan!"

Tomoka laughed at her reaction, "You worry too much. Everything's going to be fine, okay. We will not be far away from you. Don't you worry."

After the minutes of persuasion, Sakuno was convinced at her best friend's words. Breathing deeply, she believed that she could overcome her fear. That was the reason why they would do this test. It wasn't that bad to try it at all.

Later on:

The test of courage started after some brief instructions. The others had started to walk through the dark path of the forest. The mechanics were fifteen sets of partners would walk through the different dark paths and must follow the road from their maps until they reached the end line. The next pair would follow after fifteen minutes just to make the test a bit more exciting.

No partner could meet along the way, much to Sakuno's dismay. Of all the people she could lean on was Ryoma who was her partner. They were waiting for their turn to leave the starting line. She couldn't help but keep looking around.

"Calm down. You're with me." Ryoma called her attention.

"I know, I am not that scared." She answered to his words that she heard twice that day.

"Really?" He sounded unconvinced.

"Really!"

"Next!" Their professor shouted and before she realized it was their turn to leave. Ryoma looked at her and frowned.

"Ready?"

She gulped and nodded not really trusting her voice to speak. They entered the dark path together.

Fuji watched them leave the place and he couldn't help but feel worried about the girl. He knew the girl's fear of darkness and he hoped that everything would be fine until the end.

"It's odd."

Hearing his best friend behind him, he looked at Eiji who was staring at the sky, "What's the matter?"

"I can taste the air. I think it's going to rain." Eiji said frowning in the process as he was still looking at the sky.

"Are you sure?" He wanted to react at his statement about tasting the air but Eiji was serious at he was looking above.

"I hope it goes away but I guess I should tell the professor."

Before Fuji could stop him, the acrobatic player was already approaching one of the professors leaving his partner on the line once again.

"What's the matter with him?" Oishi asked him who was just behind Eiji on the line and was staring at his doubles' partner.

"Saa... he said that it's going to rain but I hope it's not." He commented as he stared above as well.

Several minutes later:

Red eyes, white ladies, spiders and cobwebs, skulls, zombies, claws and anything scary welcomed the partners as they entered the dark paths. Sakuno tried to remain calm despite that all of her hair from her entire body stood up.

She never imagined attending such test. It was true that somehow, she managed to overcome her fear of the supernatural beings and such. She just couldn't understand why she was feeling that way. She shrieked when someone moved behind her. Sakuno almost jumped when someone held her hand.

"Relax, it's me."

From the owner of the hand, she looked up and stared at Ryoma. He nodded first before he turned around and continued walking pulling her hand with him. Sakuno looked at their joined hands. Her heart started to pound the moment she realized it was his hand that was holding her. The place was really dark and scary but somehow, Ryoma made her feel that it wasn't.

"It looks like it's going to rain." Ryoma suddenly said.

Sakuno looked up and noticed the cold breeze. It was different from the cold that people feel at night. Not long before, droplets of rain started to fall.

"We should hurry back." The tennis prodigy muttered as he hastened their walk.

The path became slippery because of the droplets. The fall was light but that didn't escape the ground from being slippery. Sakuno was beginning to worry. Of all the time, why would it have to rain at that moment? Her heart was pounding wildly inside her chest. She wasn't thinking about it, was she? And just when she tried to ignore it, it suddenly came.

The sky roared loudly after the lighting cut the dark path above. The impact was frightening as the rain poured completely between them. She shrieked louder than the first one and before she knew it, her face was leaning on his chest.

"You are still the same."

Ryoma was hugging her at that moment.

Her eyes widened as she realized his voice speaking to her. She could feel his arms tightening around her, securing her there. He made her feel safe in his arms, the thing that she wanted to feel last. She never wanted this, not after what happened between them. She feared it. She feared that this day would come. Realizing it, she pushed herself away from him. The rain was heavy but she could still see his reaction when she released herself from the hug.

He was surprised at the sudden movement.

"Y-you are wrong," She said as she walked backwards. She was flushed due to fear, worry and fatigue, "I am not the same anymore."

"O-oi!" Ryoma reached out to her but she didn't let him.

"You are wrong!" With that she ran away from him closing her eyes in the process. She could hear him calling her name but she ignored him. She ignored the rain, the slippery ground, the scary things and the dark path around her. She ignored them all. The boy was a fast runner but with the weather, she doubted that he could catch up with her any minute now.

It was clear now. At first, she couldn't understand why she was feeling something weird inside her. No, she actually knew it but she didn't want to admit it. Sakuno feared it in the first place. She feared that it would come one day. She feared that it would happen again.

She feared that she might have fall for him all over again.

Her foot almost tripped and good thing she managed to balance herself. She gasped audibly when she realized where she was. Standing on a steep ground, a few feet away from her was the cliff and ahead of her was the large amount of water. The cliff was too high but she could hear the waves below it. If she hadn't tripped, she would have fallen down that cliff and it would be the end of her.

She walked backwards as she placed her hand to her chest. Her heart was still beating rapidly from running and probably from the realization that she almost ended her life there. Footsteps could be heard behind her. She turned around only to see Ryoma finally caught with her.

The rain drenched the two of them. Her hair despite the braided pair was soaked and heavy from her head. Her clothes were also dripping with droplets of heavy rain. She felt heavy all over. His locks started to curl behind his soaked hat. His face became soft and moist from the wet rain. His attire was also covered with mud and water. Ryoma must have followed her despite the muddy road that it stained his pants and shirts. He didn't care as he was panting.

"Why did you run?" He said after a few minutes of panting.

"I don't know. Don't ask me." She answered as she shook her head. She started to walk backwards once again... away from him.

"I promised you. I am not going to do anything to you." The boy said walking closer to her.

Sakuno hugged herself as she closed her eyes, "I knew that was a bad idea. I didn't want to be here in the first place."

"What are you so scared about?" His eyes narrowed as he stared at her frail figure.

She wanted to say 'you' to him, that she was afraid of him but she couldn't find her voice to speak. The rain brought cold to her body and that didn't help her to calm down a bit. It only made it worsened. All she could think was to go home. Not really trusting herself to speak, she only shook her head to him.

"Ne, it's alright," He said as he looked behind her, "You need to calm down."

"Ryoma-kun..."

"You have nothing to fear. Let's go back." His eyes softened when he said that. He offered her his hand as he continued walking closer to her.

Somehow, his words seemed to calm her down a little. She took a deep breath so that her heart would stop panicking as well. She was in the process of raising her hand to reach for his when the lighting struck the sky once again. Her eyes dilated as well as his amber eyes. The light reflected Sakuno's back while Ryoma's face became clear. Seconds later, the sky roared once again, louder than the first one. Sakuno covered her ears, closed her eyes and shouted.

Her fear of thunder didn't lessen a little. With one swift move, her foot slipped as she moved backwards. Everything went slow motion. She lost the gravity as she stared at Ryoma's shocked reaction.

"RYUZAKI!"

Sakuno saw him jump from the cliff. His expression was open at that time. The last thing she saw was the sky, like it was leaving her far away as if she wasn't able to reach it. Her mind was blank at that time, the moment her feet left the ground, but she felt his strong hand covered her head while his other hand was securing her to her waist. His face and body protected hers as they met the deadly sea below them.

The night was oddly quiet despite the rain and no one knew what would happen if the storm would be over anytime soon.

Done! CLIFFhanger? Tee hee hee... What will happen next? You'll find that out in the next chapter.

Tell me your thoughts please... domo...

Next Chapter: Vanishing Hope