The First To Lose (Prince Of Tennis)

13

Chapter 13 -- (NOT EDITED)

"Eiji, how do you know when you like someone? How do you know when you love someone? How do you know if it's just infatuation? How? How? How?!"

"Ryo-chan, calm down!" Kikumaru exclaimed, pushing Ryoka down on the bench.

Ryoka sat down, breathing in deeply as she clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly.

"Ryo-chan, why are you asking me all these questions all of a sudden?" Kikumaru asked, sitting beside Ryoka.

Ryoka sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them.

"Well... I saw Fuji, just now," she started, "When I went back to class to take my reference book, he was holding it. And he just looked like..."

"Like?" Kikumaru asked, waiting for her to continue.

"Like he was going to tell me something important. And I really think he was gonna confess to me if I hadn't stopped him. I mean, I know it's kinda unbelievable that a guy would like me but apparently Fuji did and it just got really awkward."

"Then why did you cut him off?" Kikumaru asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "If you didn't then you would've known if he was actually going to confess or not."

Ryoka sighed again and let her long black tresses cover her face from Kikumaru. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she flushed in embarrassment because of what she had done.

"But what would I do if he really did confess to me? I wouldn't know what to say!" Ryoka said uneasily, closing her hazel eyes. "If I said I liked him too, we'd probably start going out. But I'm too young to have a boyfriend! I'm only fourteen and so is he! And if I rejected him, I doubt we'd continue to be friends. And I like being friends with him."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't know," Ryoka breathed, still fiddling with her fingers. "Fuji is my friend. But I felt embarrassed and kinda fuzzy inside when he tried to kiss me yesterday."

"Oh yeah, I remember him telling me that you ran away," Kikumaru said with a small laugh.

"What was I supposed to do?! I'm only fourteen! And I can't have my first kiss with someone I don't love!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Ryoka's cheeks became warmer. As pathetic as it was, Ryoka was one of those people who believed in true love and other corny stuff like that. She decided since she was younger, she wouldn't let anyone but her future husband, kiss her.

"So, Ryo-chan, there might be a chance that you like Fuji," Kikumaru said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How would you know?" Ryoka mumbled self-consciously.

"You said that you felt fuzzy inside when he tried to kiss you. So that meant that you might like Fuji," Kikumaru said professionally even though Ryoka doubted that he actually knew what he was saying. "If you didn't like Fuji then you would've pushed him away and felt disgusted or angry or you wouldn't have reacted at all."

Ryoka pouted, removing the sort from under her long nails. "How would you know all these? Have you been in love before?"

Kikumaru grinned. "Nah! I'm just guessing all these! Because that's what they do in shoujo mangas."

Ryoka giggled cheekily and smirked. "So you read shoujo mangas, huh Eiji?"

"Hey," Kikumaru flicked her forehead, "I wouldn't be able to give you advice if I didn't read those."

"OK, OK, thanks, Eiji-senpai," she said, teasing him.

Kikumaru laughed and stood up. "We better go, practice already started."

~

"Hey, Mum," Ryoka said, fiddling with her fingers. "Can I ask you something? H-How do you know when you like someone?"

Echizen Rinko's eyes widened. Her daughter never really asked her for advice. Especially not love advice.

"Well, is there someone you like? Someone in school?" Rinko asked, excited to make girl talk with her daughter.

"I-I'm not sure if I like him, that's why," Ryoka said shyly.

"If you like someone, you should be able to figure that out yourself. Love isn't all that complicated. You just have to feel it. It's all in the heart," Rinko said sheepishly. This wasn't going the way she wanted it to. She didn't know what to say. Why did I get married to that idiot? Rinko thought, pondering long and hard why she married Echizen Nanjirou.

"Love is a game," Nanjirou cut in, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "And whoever falls in love first, loses. Simple."

Ryoka blinked, processing her Dad's words.

The first to fall in love loses... I think I get it now!

Ryoka grinned and said, "Thanks Dad! I get it now!" Ryoka ran up the stairs finally getting rid of her worries.

Rinko sweatdropped and hit her husband's shoulder. "That means you lost then," Rinko said, smirking when she remembered the day he proposed to her.

"Ew," Ryoma said, gagging at his parents before running upstairs as well.

Nanjirou laughed at his son's reaction.

Ryoma took a few steps back and said, "If she's asking you those stuff then she's probably gonna get a boyfriend soon."

Nanjirou froze and Ryoma smirked, leaving as soon as the damage was done.

"Ohh! She's going to have her first boyfriend at fourteen years old! That's young!" Rinko exclaimed. "Well, it doesn't matter if they're in love." Rinko smirked and walked away, leaving her husband on the floor.

My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend. My little girl is going to have a boyfriend.

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Heyoooooo! Sup. Sorry for the boring chappy I got a little writer's block. Sooooooo, do y'all ship Fuji and Ryoka? But don't forget about Atobe toooooo ya. He'll probably be in the next chap.

Fuji × Ryoka?

Atobe × Ryoka?