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

CHAPTER 135: Formal Dating

Waiting for classes to be over couldn't possibly be as painstaking as that day for three of Class 1-2's residents, but their reasons for such impatience are completely different.

"I want to get on the court as soon as possible!" Ryouko said inside her mind. It was just after Ryoma mentioned a tennis game that Ryouko realized how desperately she needs tennis as her leverage. Tennis would surely help her get back on track. Everything would be fine as soon as she gets her hand on a tennis racket.

On the other hand, Ryoma's thoughts are on a different page. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible!" he told himself, dotting on a blank page on his notebook with a ballpoint pen and almost boring a hole on it. He felt as if he would back down on his original plan if time keeps on delaying everything. Asking Ryouko to formally date should be easier than admitting to his feelings, however... he just cannot stop himself from being nervous.

Just a seat away, there is another who is also being tortured by the wait. "I want to follow them as soon as possible!" Mami screamed inside her mind. "Classes are a bore, classes are a hindrance! To hell with school!" she thought unreasonably, tapping her foot under her desk impatiently.

At last, the bell rang that signalled the end of the final class. Ryoma gestured to Ryouko that he would be heading out first and she should follow afterwards. If they kept on going home together from school, people might get certain ideas and that might increase the chances of creating another rumor. Goodness knows that they don't need another rumor to circulate around campus.

They conversed casually and Ryoma slipped a note on Ryouko's hand before he went out. He wrote that they should go to Den's tennis dome separately and meet by the entrance to avoid suspicion.

Meanwhile, Mami didn't notice anything strange with their conversation and missed Ryoma's note-slipping because Horio blocked her view. She was bewildered for a second that Ryoma and Ryouko are going home separately. What could be going on? She was sure they would head home together and go somewhere.

"Hmmm..." Mami hummed suspiciously and pulled on Miyako's arm. Miyako turned to her curiously and Mami proceeded to whisper something in her ear.

Shuu noticed the two girls whispering about and narrowed his eyes. His gut tells him that Mami is up to no-good once again. He gave an internal sigh. And here he thought she's behaving quite quietly these days... So it was the calm before the storm... Well, whatever it is about, he'd be sure to stop her this time before she causes trouble to whoever is the current target of her schemes.

Mami's scheme was pretty simple but it required the manpower of at least two people. Since Ryoma and Ryouko are going home separately, one should follow Fujioka Ryouko and another should keep an eye on Echizen Ryoma. If Mami's instinct proved true, they would be meeting together somewhere.

Miyako understood what Mami told her and gave a thumbs up. She volunteered to tail Ryouko, and Mami would be the one to follow Ryoma.

One might wonder why Mami and Miyako are overly interested in Ryoma and Ryouko's private lives when they supposedly has nothing to do with them nor do they have a right to meddle in their affairs.

The two girls have their own reasons that justified their actions. For Mami, those two are a source of artistic inspiration. By observing them, she could create better plots and scenarios for her stories and playwrights. As for Miyako, she was just in for the fun of it. A common ground between the two is their curiosity about Fujioka Ryouko's love life that stemmed out from being friends with her. To sum it up, they're just playing around. Ryoma and Ryouko would surely be frustrated if they learned about what the two girls are up to just to satisfy their own selfish motives.