Seigaku's pillar of support, he thought silently.

Not me but he is still far from it and he is not willing to do it either, Tezuka thought and sighed. It was dawn and Seigaku's buchou, Tezuka Kunimitsu, deep in his thoughts, was already heading towards the tennis courts. As expected from Tezuka, reaching there one hour before training starts was just like him.

Like Atobe, Tezuka came from a wealthy family but fortunately, did not possess the arrogant quality in him. Always stoic and reserved, he seldom spoke a word. However, inside his head, he was always thinking of tennis, of Seigaku,of Echizen.

His limousine jerked to a stop.

"Pick me outside the school gates at exactly 5pm." It was a sentence never forgotten.

"Yes Master." The chauffer replied seriously and constantly reminded himself not to forget. He did not want to receive another scolding from his master.

" Tezuka!!!" "Tezuka!!!" Without fail, the high school girls were already stationed near the school gate, giggling and admiring at him from a distance.

He strolled to the tennis courts, annoyed. There was no one at the tennis courts.

Whats all this? All of them owe me laps today.50 at least, he frowned. Just then, a track student his classmate past by. Shocked at the complete absence of his team, he asked what this was all about.

Grinning, the track student replied,"Don't you remember that today is the school' anniversary day?"

"Thanks,"he replied and gave an approving nod. Certainly, he would not forget this day. Every year, his father donates a large sum of money to his school to show his appreciation and of course, his wealth. The Buchou frowned once more. This is bad, he thought. On every anniversary day the school celebrated, there was always something which happened to him. It often … … He could not decide whether it was good or bad.

Hurriedly, he went to the hall where the event usually takes place.

"Ah."

There was nothing and nobody there. He sighed and decided it would not be smart of him for him to go around looking for the school. He decided to practice his zero-shiki drop shot at the hall. He hit the ball,ever serious. Minutes ticked by and when he was finally warmed up to hit his famous shot, a baseball hit him hard on his head. Stinging pain flooded across his head and he groaned. Losing his balance, the tennis ball which he has used full power to hit returned at once and hit him right at his stomach. He glanced around with a slightly irritated look and spotted a shadow on the second level of the hall. Just as he was about to leave for medical aid, the hall brightened up. He winced and just then, countless streamers of assorted colours floated down onto his shoulders and tennis bag.

"Buchou!"

"Tezuka!"

"Kunitmitsu!"

Loud and exhilarated voices echoed through the hall.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUNITMITSU!" Surprised, he looked up. His eyes for once, widened a little for there his father was standing.Beaming, his father said," Without fail, a a surprise on every birthday! This year, an indoor clay tennis court outside your bedroom, how about that?"

Tezuka, quickly regaining his composure, replied" Thanks father."

He was just about to ask his teammates to return for training when Oishi suddenly said," We have a special gift for you."

"Echizen!"

Echizen, with his gleaming white cap on, appeared at the other end of the hall.

" Buchou" Gripping his racket tightly, he served a scud serve,a speed of 220km/h, towards the buchou. It was not a normal scud serve, his captain immediately realized. With ease, he fished out his racket and blocked his face from the ball.

" Tornado serve, buchou. How was that?" Echizen,without fail, arrogantly boasted.

Tezuka smiled. However,he quickly switched back to his stoic face," I think you need to work on your arrogance. It is getting worse. No player in the century improves with arrogance… …"

Next, the other Regular members started giving their respective gifts to the buchou who was definitely pleased, yet unwilling to show it.A arm sling from Oishi, a secret recipe to boost strength from Inui, a Jack in the box from Eiji, a grip tape from Fuji, a All-you-can-eat-sushi-buffet from Kawamura ( Immediately, he remembered how Taka's san father had called him a teacher and how his father was so startled when he told Taka san's father that he was the captain), a book on how to train stamina from the second years. It was one of the best birthdays he ever had."No tricks.Good."

It was then that he actually realized how much he worries about the team that he could even forget that his birthday falls on the school's anniversary day.

"A cake for you, Tezuka" Fuji, with his sweet smile and closed blue eyes, whispered.

"Argh!"

With no time to react, the cake was already slicing through the air,. Pllappp!

Tezuka, slightly annoyed, snifted.

Oh yes, it was durian, the fruit he loathed most. Yes, the BEST birthday I ever had……