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

CHAPTER 144: You Can Never Be Too Sure

Upon arriving in the rooftop, they sipped cups of hot chocolate while taking lots of pictures beside mascots and wallpapers present for the attractions. When they went past the arcade, everyone wanted to check it out and they ended up staying there for two hours. Most of the male Fujiokas above age nine with the addition of Echizen Ryoga, competed fiercely on who could collect the most tickets and bring home the biggest prize. Those who weren't interested enjoyed simple games with the younger kids.

When Setsuna checked the time and found out that they exceeded the hours they previously arranged for the mall trip, he called everyone's attention and announced a huddle to check the head count. After making sure that everyone was present, they made preparations to go home. Everyone was having so much fun and they groaned in disappointment.

"It's alright guys... We can visit the mall again before we leave Japan..." Kaname told them as they boarded the bus home.

"Yes, let's..." Keima mumbled.

"That was a lot more interesting than I thought," Haru commented.

"Malls are fun!" four-year-old Fuyu interjected before giggling adorably.

Unfortunately for the cousins, they were too distracted with the arcade attractions and failed to keep an eye on their precious Ryouko. When she saw all of them bemused and completely preoccupied with the games, Ryouko took the opportunity to pull Ryoma's arm and secretly led him out of the arcade.

Although a bit confused, Ryoma followed her without a word until she pushed him inside a photo booth beside the arcade.

"Hey, what on earth are you doing?" he said, his eyes wide while watching her close the stall and slide the lock close so it would indicate 'Occupied' from outside.

Ryouko heaved a great exhale and a small sigh of relief consecutively before facing him.

Ryoma swallowed hard upon seeing the sudden serious glint in her eyes. His thoughts started running wild.

What in the name of tennis could Ryouko be thinking to drag him off and lock him with her inside such an enclosed space with her cousins outside playing in the arcade? Weren't the two of them focusing on keeping a low profile? If somebody notices both of them gone and the cousins go on a hunting spree in search of their precious Ryouko, the two of them could be found in such a suspicious situation.

He was thinking thoughts along that line for the first few seconds but forgot everything when Ryouko took a step towards him. "Ryoma..." she called, her tone soft and clipped.

The dark-haired boy was not prepared for anything like the sort of situation that he's currently in but he didn't dislike it either. He ended up shutting his eyes tight as she got closer. A couple of seconds passed but nothing happened.

"What the heck are you doing, closing your eyes like that? Have you gotten some dust in your eyes or something?" Ryouko suddenly said and his eyelids automatically sprang open.

"Huh?" Ryoma said dumbly.

"I said, did you get some dust in your eyes? You closed them so suddenly," she told him.

Realizing that he totally misunderstood her intentions, his cheeks went pink and he lifted a knuckle to his right eye. "Yeah, I think there's a bit of dust," he remarked, thankful that she provided a perfect excuse for him to cover up his own shameful imagination.

"Are you alright? Should I blow on your eye?" she asked.

He shook his head abruptly. "No, no. I'm fine," he replied and pulled himself together. "Why did you suddenly drag me in here? If your cousins notice that you're gone..." he told her, leaving off the sentence undone with a shiver.