Hye! I am back with a next chapter. Thank you guys for supporting my fics. You are numbered and I really appreciate you. I hope that you like this chapter too. Thank you very much.

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

Chapter 11: Difficult Crossroads

Chapter Summary: After the busy week, they went back to normal activities. Even the unexpected things happened during those normal days. Find that out.

The days went back typically after the following week, tennis trainings, morning rituals and cleaning duties. Most of the students didn't like to go to school yet but they didn't have the choice but to go. Sakuno sighed as she noticed that on Monday morning. They were going to be busy for the exams since the event was over.

She was going to be busy as well.

Her deadline for submitting the painting was approaching and she mustn't slack off. She was only halfway done. Her paintings were really hard to do and she wasn't able to focus on it when she was practicing for the play.

Now it was time for her to focus on her forte.

"Did you know? Echizen-san and Kanzaki-san just broke up."

Her feet made her stop from walking to the club room when she heard that. She turned around to the students who were gossiping at the corner of the corridor. She could've misheard that, right?

"Yeah, I heard," The other student gossiped back, "They didn't go to school together today. Kanzaki-san was not even talking to Echizen-san this morning. It seemed like he was not bothered about her talking to other guys."

"I wonder what happened," the first one replied, "I heard they broke up after the play."

"Maybe…" The other student whispered it to the other one.

She couldn't hear them anymore. Blinking, she slowly turned around and continued walking away. The news made her curious. It wasn't about what happened at the last scene. She knew it wasn't. They were fine at the victory party on the beach as they saw them. Though, she noticed that they didn't talk to each other when they went home that day.

Something happened between them during their short party.

The gossip spread silently as she walked her way to the club room. Why were they murmuring that when she passed by? She was beginning to bother herself with that news. What would Ryoma and Honoka do when they heard these gossips around?

She was actually bothered too. Ryoma was her friend and she felt upset about that. Yeah, she was really upset about that.

She was able to reach the club room saving herself from those gossips. Drawing a deep breath, she leaned her back to the door with her eyes closed. She felt like she survived a high tide that day. It was just early in the morning and she was already bombarded with those rumors. She must forget those and focus on her project.

Remembering her mission, she opened her eyes and decided to finish her painting. She halted from walking on her way to the chair to paint when she spotted someone inside the room.

Echizen Ryoma was on the bench lying and only sat when he noticed her presence.

"R-Ryoma-kun? What are you doing here?" She asked after the short shock of seeing him there.

Ryoma casually shrugged his shoulder before he answered, "Resting?"

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing?" She said walking towards the chair and placed her painting there.

"I'll go there later." He said before he went back from lying position.

She didn't reply to that. She stared at her canvass and thought of how to continue painting it. They were always like that when he visited the club room and would directly go to the bench and take a nap without saying another word. She was used to him appearing in the club room like a mushroom and spent time without exchanging words to each other.

"We broke up."

She stopped from thinking when she heard that from him. Hearing those gossips was already bothersome but hearing it from the tennis prodigy himself was awkward. It wasn't the right thing to discuss about especially between them.

"I… heard about it… from the students." She said not looking at him.

"News spread so fast." He casually said but she could hear a faint grunt from him.

"I am sorry about that."

"Not your fault." He replied.

"I hope you can fix your problems with Honoka-san." She said without even thinking what she was saying and it was too late to take it back.

"Do you want us to be together again?" He said going back to his sitting position.

She looked at him with surprise and replied, "You love her. Of course it is normal to do that!"

"Ryuzaki—"

"You shouldn't be here. You should be talking to Honoka-san instead," She said feeling a little frustrated. Somehow, she didn't like what he answered to her, "You must fix your problem!"

Ryoma stared at her for a few seconds before he stood up and walked to the door, "You are right. I should fix this."

She was somehow shocked at his reaction. She didn't really expect that at all as she watched him to the door.

"Thanks." He murmured before he closed the door behind him.

She sighed once again when she was left alone in the room. She felt hollow after she said that. Was that what she really wanted to tell him? If it was, why was she feeling odd at that moment? Looking back to her canvass, she tried to continue painting but it was useless.

She didn't want to admit but she was really affected of their break up.

Meanwhile:

"It was really true that Echizen and his girlfriend broke up, huh. I can't believe it."

Fuji's attention got the best of him as he looked at their unibrow kouhai, "What are you saying Horio? Echizen broke up with Kanzaki-san?"

"F-Fuji-senpai!" Horio jumped from his location when he heard his voice. Momo and Eiji were behind him. They were inside the club room and were currently changing for the tennis attire. The kouhai was talking to his fellow kouhai, "That's what we heard this morning? Didn't you hear the news?"

"I actually refused to believe that."

"I am afraid that Horio-kun's right, senpai," Kachiro commented, "We seen it with our own two eyes a while ago."

"Yeah," Katsuo supported, "They didn't go to school together and when they met in the locker, they didn't even talk to each other."

"Maybe they are just having a quarrel." Eiji thought as he placed his hand to his chin.

"It wasn't what I saw," Horio said, "Echizen went somewhere like he didn't bother checking on her. Kanzaki noticed this and wore a crestfallen reaction on her face."

"They broke up," Momo whispered as he couldn't believe what he was saying, "They broke up."

"That's what I said, senpai." Horio narrowed his eyes to him.

"I know, maybe Echizen finally knew that she wasn't worth him." Momo commented.

"That's a little cruel, Momo-chan-senpai," Kachiro said scolding him a little, "We don't know what really happen to them."

"He's right, nya~" Eiji agreed, "Let's not jump into conclusion."

Fuji just listened to their conversation. Eiji was right; they shouldn't be jumping into conclusions. He himself didn't want that either. He wondered if Sakuno heard about the gossip. Judging from the news that they received today, he had the instinct that she already knew. They hadn't talked since the encounter on the shore.

He needed to talk to her and fast.

His reverie was cut when Tezuka entered the room and called their attention, "In the court in five minutes. For those who are to come last will run laps for 10." That was all he said before he went out once again.

"Got to go to the court," Eiji said dashing to the door, "I don't want to run laps… yet."

"Me too." Momo said following his kouhai to the door.

The trio followed as well and Fuji didn't mind it. The others were already outside. Running laps would be okay for him than to think about those rumors they were hearing.

Later on:

The class ended silently that afternoon. Sakuno didn't have anything to do so she thought of finishing her painting today. She wanted to finish it as soon as possible. Tomoka went home right after the class. Her best friend wasn't able to cheer for the team that day for she would babysit her brothers once again today.

Sometimes, she wondered about having a sibling or two. But she knew that it was impossible now. She was glad that she was friends with Tomoka and treated each other as sisters. She was glad of having her.

She was close to the room when she suddenly stopped. Kanzaki Honoka was leaning on the door of the club. Her arms were crossed to her chest and her eyes were closed. Sensing her presence, the girl opened her eyes and looked at her.

"H-Honoka-san…" She muttered walking closer to her.

"Are you happy now?" Honoka coldly asked her.

She stopped for the second time, "What?"

"We are not together anymore," The girl glared at her, "Good for you."

"Honoka-san," She started, "I know you can still save your relationship. Talk to him—"

"Don't be humble," Honoka said stopping her words, "I know that you wished for this."

"I—I never—"

"I am not going to give him to you, remember that," Honoka warned as she moved away from the door and walked past her, bumping to her shoulder in the process, and not missing to say her final words, "I'll make your life miserable. That's for sure."

She was stunned at her position. What did she mean by that? Why was she saying those words to her? She turned around and tried to convince her at something, "Ryoma-kun's only a friend to me now. I-if anything, I would like the two of you to be together once again."

Honoka stopped for a while and looked at her shoulder, "I hope what you say is true, Sakuno-san." She continued walking away from that area after she said those words.

Blinking several times, she gripped her canvass really hard. She knew from Honoka's expression. It only resulted that they didn't speak properly earlier if Ryoma did look for her to talk. She was like her before.

Depressed.

Hurt.

Couldn't move on.

She just couldn't believe that they were hurt by the same guy. The thing she didn't understand at Honoka's case, why did Ryoma break up with her when the latter was really in love with her? A pang was felt on her chest when she thought of that. Her heart pounded irrationally at that moment.

She couldn't think anymore yet her heart wasn't acting on itself anymore either.

After thirty minutes:

She dropped her paintbrush frustratingly on the table. She couldn't think straight. The conversation she had with Honoka thirty minutes ago affected her. And not only that, she had been distracted since morning and she couldn't concentrate to her real job.

She couldn't take the risk of ruining her work. A distorted mind could make the work unsuccessful. Standing up, she decided to stop painting for the day. Her inspiration wasn't invading her today. She thought of going to the place herself when she had the time so to have a peace of mind. She cleared everything and grabbed her bag.

Walking on her way home, she spotted a familiar figure standing near the gate. When she was closer, the person looked at her direction and smiled at her.

"Fuji-senpai…" She smiled back when she recognized the tensai, "What are you doing here?"

"Practice is finished earlier today," Fuji said standing straight and looked at her, "I thought of waiting for you here."

"E?" She reacted as she blinked, "W-why?"

Fuji smiled at her once again, "You don't mind if I take you home today, do you?"

Her memory with the tensai rushed to her brain immediately. She felt that her cheek turn red as she remembered it. She looked down before she replied, "I—I don't mind. Arigatou, senpai."

"Shall we?" He said gesturing her to walk ahead.

Sakuno nodded as she walked ahead. Fuji followed her and walked silently. They stayed like that until Fuji broke the silence.

"When do you want me to teach you tennis?"

"E?" She looked at him surprisingly.

Fuji shrugged, "My offer is still on, Ryuzaki-chan."

Fuji offered her to teach her tennis. She remembered that, "Maybe when my project is over," She looked ahead as she remembered her painting, "I… I can't play tennis for a while but it doesn't mean I'll stop from playing."

"Sou ka…" Fuji replied as he looked ahead as well, "I'll remember that."

They continued walking silently after that short conversation. They were almost near her home when Fuji suddenly stopped. She looked behind her and frowned, "Doushita no, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji didn't talk for a while. He was just looking at her. She only noticed that his eyes were already open. She also remembered how beautiful those eyes were when she had the chance of staring at them closely.

"Ryuzaki-chan… about the last time…"

Her eyes widened when he started speaking. She felt that she stopped breathing as she was just staring at him.

"I wanted to apologize," He said scratching the back of his head, "I couldn't stop myself from doing that. Gomen," He smiled slightly abashed and it was rare for him to show that, "but I just couldn't help it."

Sakuno saw how Fuji became serious as he continued staring at her;

"You are still in stage of moving on from him but I still want to say this," He said catching her eyes before he continued speaking, "I like you, Ryuzaki-chan. I hope you give me a chance to you."

Somehow, she anticipated his words minutes ago but hearing it from him still surprised her. She respected the tensai but she didn't know what to feel right now, "I… I don't know, senpai… I-it's just… I am not ready to enter a new relationship for now."

"I can wait for you too." He insisted.

"I-it's not like that either," She looked at him trying to make him understand something, "You're Ryoma-kun's senpai and friend. I don't want you two…" She thought that it would be fine to say that. She and Ryoma had a past and Fuji was their friend. She just couldn't take the logic of dating her ex-boyfriend's friend.

It wasn't seemed right at all.

"…"

"…"

"I understand what you are saying," Fuji said after a minute of silence, "He's my friend yes but I am going to be fair when it comes to you."

She looked at him and saw how serious he was.

"I'll court you when you are ready, Ryuzaki-chan," He said reaching for her hand that made her flinch, "I'll let him know that I will if that would ease your worries."

Her heart skipped a beat after he said that. She didn't even know how she reached her home. Fuji bid goodbye to her as they reached home. She remembered inviting him for a cup of tea but the latter refused and went home as well. A lot had happened in just one day. She feared of what would happen next.

She didn't even what to know.

Few days later:

News hadn't died down between Ryoma and Honoka breaking up few days ago. Honoka started to change and began ignoring the people. She caught her taking several glimpse from the tennis prodigy but he acted like he wasn't really noticing her.

They were not okay yet. She hoped that everything would be fine for them.

Lunch Break:

"Ryoma-kun…"

He was on his way to the roof top for a short nap when Honoka called him. He let her approach him as he was just standing at a corner.

"What really happened to us?" Honoka started, "Can't we go back to the way we used to be?"

He had thought about that a few days ago but every time he was doing that something wasn't right anymore, "I don't know." That was the only thing he could answer her.

"Aren't you love me anymore?" She asked frowning in the process.

He asked to himself either. Did he really love the girl? Was it really love that he felt for her?

"I loved you."

"What about now?" She said reaching for his sleeves, "Do you still love me? I—I don't care if you love her too because I know that you love me more. I can forgive you for that."

"Honoka," Ryoma started but what was he going to say. He was not good at expressing himself when it came to this kind of conversation, "That's not fair."

"What do you know about being fair?" Honoka retorted, "You are not being fair from the start," She was upset and she couldn't stop herself from speaking, "You don't stand a chance to Sakuno-san anymore. Fuji-senpai likes her and he confesses to her already so back off!"

His amber eyes widened when he heard that from her. He already knew that but he didn't know about the confession. What did Sakuno say to his confession? Did she answer him already? Were they dating now? He looked at Honoka with his casual expression.

"It's not my business to deal with," Ryoma said shoving her hands from his sleeves and walked away from her, "She can date whoever she wants. It doesn't connect to our relationship."

"It does!" She said shouting a little, "She is the reason why we are breaking up!"

"She's not…" He said still not looking at her, "I am the reason why we are breaking up. Gomen." With that, he continued walking away ignoring her there. He postponed going to the rooftop as sleep had already forsaken him. He went to the court to have some rallying on the wall and to ease out his hidden frustrations inside him.

After Class:

She decided that she would go to the hill that day. She was not going to paint in the club room. Walking on her way to the room, she busied herself with her bag before she opened the door to the club.

Ryoma was already there and she was not surprised to see him inside. She made a quick bow and went straight to the chair. Ryoma was watching her packing her things.

"What are you doing?" He asked the obvious.

"I am going to paint." She answered not looking at him.

"Aren't you going to do it here?"

Shaking her head, she took a glimpse at him before she went back to her things, "I can't concentrate here. I need somewhere… peaceful. The venue maybe."

Ryoma didn't say anything after that. When she was done packaging her stuff, she looked at him and smiled a little, "I'll be going ahead. Can you lock the door if you leave the room? I'll see you tomorrow." She walked on her way to the door and reached for the doorknob.

"I want you back."

She stopped from opening the door wide when she heard that from him. Her heart was beating really fast and her eyes were really wide at that moment. Save her cheek from getting red.

"What will you do if I say that?"

She didn't reply for a few seconds. Was he testing her? She didn't know. They remained silent for a few seconds before she slowly looked at him and smiled genuinely. She shared the first thought that came into her mind;

"Thank you, I appreciate that." With that she opened the door widely and closed it behind her. She didn't have time to think more problems at that moment. She only hoped that Ryoma understood what she meant by that.

Done! How was it? Something is about to happen in the future. I don't want to say anymore. Thank you for reading this… :)

Reviews please! I need to hear your thoughts… domo…

Next Chapter: Of Paintings and Tennis Balls