"What is a little freshman doing here?" a young man asked Taichi, with a not-so-kindly expression. His two friends behind didn't look too nice either.

Taichi stood there, holding a box in his hands, smiling at them "I'm looking for my friend's place, desu! He had to move out form his apartment, but he got a new place not far from his old one. I just have trouble finding it, desu." Taichi was still dressed in his tennis clothes, since he didn't have the time to change into his normal ones.

The alley they stood in was dark and a bit wormed out. All the other times Taichi had been at Akutsu's place he had always followed Akutsu, and never really met the other people who lived around that area. The man with the not-so-kindly expression took the white box from Taichi and opened it.

"Uh! Please be careful with that, desu!" Taichi tried to reach for the box, afraid that the man might drop it.

The man closed the box and grinned down at Taichi. All thee of the men held their rackets, and were either juniors or a seniors. At least Taichi was pretty sure about that. "I think we can help you find that friend of yours. We know everybody who lives around here"

"Really!? Thank you, de-"

"Waiiit wait wait~ I said we could, not that we would. Play a match against me." He took one of his friend's racket and tossed it to Taichi "If you win, we will help you."

Taichi was sure they weren't as tough as they looked like. He smiled widely at them "Alright, desu!"

Meanwhile, Akutsu laid in his couch, trying to pay attention to the tv. His hand slid down to his pocket and picked up his phone, trying to tell himself he was only looking out of boredom. No new text messages. No missed calls. He put the phone back in the pocket.

He rarely checked his phone, but today he had looked at it maybe a little too often to be counted as a normal behavior. When his phone vibrated he quickly pulled it up again, only to see a text massage from his mom. He didn't even brother reading it. He could read it later.

-

Taichi had been wrong about these guys. The guy that had challenge wasn't gentle in his play at all. The score was 4-0, and already from the beginning the man made Taichi ran for the ball the whole time, make him losing his stamina, and now he was using Taichi as a target plate instead, shooting hard shoots against Tachi's knees and his gut. Taichi was exhausted from the running and could hardly protect himself from the mean shoots.

The ball hit him in the gut and made him fall backward. He whimpered at the pain and looked up at his opponent "I-I don't want to play anymore, desu... I think I'll for my friend's place on my own instead." The guy shoot another ball that flew pass just an inch from Taichi's face.

"Giving up already? We haven't even decide what happens if you lose" The man did a cruel grin. They had promised Taichi a reward if Taichi won, and of course the man wanted to have his own reward if he won, which he knew he would right from the beginning. "Then I'll take that box of yours. And you come with us"

"W-what!? That's not fair!" Taichi got up on his bruised legs, started to feel uneasy. When he agreed on this match he thought he had nothing to lose. But now he had. He couldn't let them have that white box.

"So will you continue or not?"

And with that, the game continued. Taichi was either trying to chase the ball or escape from it. Once he managed throw himself at the side and got the ball, but the ball didn't get over the net. "5-0", said one of the other guys. Taichi laid on the ground panting. His legs hurt and was too tired to get up.

"Shall I take that as a 'I give up'?"

Then Taichi heard his phone ringing from his bag that was placed on the ground beside the court. He forgot the turn it off before the match. Before he could get up, the guy he was playing against picked up Taichi's phone.

"Hello, sorry but the owner of this phone is busy getting his ass kicked in tennis. Try again later or you can come over and I will run all over you too"

"...Sure"

The voice in the other side of the line didn't sound like a freshman. The man pulled the phone away from his ear to see 'Akutsu-senpai~!' on the glowing screen. Suddenly his face was full of horror, and he dropped the phone to the ground "A-A-AKUTSU!? THAT AKUTSU!? GUYS, LET'S RUN FOR IT!" Soon the three young men were out of Taichi's veiw.

His phone was still laying on the ground, and with a little will power Taichi managed to get over to his cell phone. Akutsu still hadn't hung up "Mochi mochi Akutsu-senp-"

"Where are you?"

-

It didn't took long before Akutsu arrived to the tennis court, where Taichi sat, trying to stop his knee from bleeding. Taichi smiled widely as the taller man walked over to him "Akutsu-senpai! That was so cool, you just needed to say like one word desu and everybody ran away a-a-and A-Akutsu, what are you-" he yelped when Akutsu suddenly picked him up in his arms as his green headband fell down in front of his eyes.

"What were you even doing here, stupid brat..." he mumbled, turning around to leave the court with Taichi.

"Wait, Akutsu-senpai! My box, desu!" Taichi pulled up his headband again so that he could see again

Akutsu arched an eyebrow, then looked to where Taichi was pointing to see a white box laying there. "What do you have in that box?"

"You'll see soon"

-

Taichi sat in Akutsu's couch while Akutsu cleaned his bleeding wound. He whined now and then as the tissue touched his knee. When Akutsu had finished he put the tissue aside and placed a patch on his knee. Taichi glanced at Akutsu. Then he looked down. Then glanced up again.

Akutsu glanced back at Taichi, almost glaring. "You could just have send a text that you wanted to visit me..." He didn't sound happy. "Brat, do you even know what could happen if I didn't call?"

Taichi looked away a little ashamed "I wanted it to be a surprise..."

Akutsu couldn't stand Taichi when he was down. It made him feel guilty. He turned away his eyes "...Thanks for the cake anyway." A half eaten cake stood in the open white box next to the couch. Suddenly he felt small arms wrapped around him, looking down he saw Taichi with his head borrowed into Akutsu's strong chest.

"Happy Birthday Akutsu-senpai"

He wrapped an arm around the small boy. "Stupid brat..."