A/N: Wow…well I hope you like this, because a lot of work has been put into it. This new series will mostly focus on the adjustments of everyone in the Prince of Tennis series about five years later. Ryoma and Sakuno are in their last year of high school, Momo and Kaidoh are in their first year of college, and the rest of the regulars (with the exception of Kawamura Takashi, though he'll make appearances) are in their second year of college.

Disclaimer: I am but a college student trying to keep my GPA high enough for law school. I don't own Prince of Tennis.

"21 to 20! Advantage, Ryuzaki!"

Takahashi Reiya couldn't breathe. Her hand clenched her tennis racket tightly as she was hit by another coughing fit. I can't lose! She thought desperately as she tried hard to take deep breaths. From the other side of the net, Ryuzaki Sakuno waited patiently. She felt sorry for her opponent enough to wait until she had stopped coughing to serve but…not enough to deliberately lose the match. Not after she had worked so hard to get here.

This is only the district tournament, why are you losing?

Reiya waited for the serve. When it came, she was prepared and quick as lightning, the ball bounced past Sakuno before she had time to react.

Fuji Syusuke, Inui Sadaharu, and Oishi Syuichiroh watched the match, unsure of who they should root for. On one hand, they had all worked hard to train with Sakuno, but on the other hand, they knew Reiya as well. "Tezuka's girlfriend is strong," Oishi remarked.

"She won't last. This deuce has gone on for more than forty points According to my data, she suffers from respiratory problems. That, adding on to the humid weather," Inui replied, looking up at the muggy sky, "and the fact that this match has dragged on for almost two hours…the data adds up. No matter how good Reiya-san is, there is a 99.9 chance she will lose."

"She's also not Tezuka's girlfriend anymore," Fuji added.

Inui's glasses flashed in irritation. "Why didn't I know that?"

"He broke up with her three days ago. You know how Tezuka can be with his personal life. We didn't even know he had been in a relationship for a year."

Inui stopped scribbling and flipped back a couple of pages. "Three days ago, Takahasi-san had an asthma attack. She was distracted and forgot to use her inhaler before she started tennis practice and overworked herself."

"How do you know these things?" Oishi asked.

Inui's glasses flashed triumphantly. "Inui juice is magic."

Oishi fell down as Fuji smiled. "He always makes sure to know Sakuno-chan's opponents."

"22 to 21! Advantage, Ryuzaki!"

Reiya coughed again while bouncing the ball. She knew her body couldn't take any more, but she was so close…she ignored the ache in her lungs and her heart, the tingling in her face and her fingers, the pain and effort it took to take a breath, and turned to her left side.

Sakuno warily watched the other girl. She had used this serve before, and it was unexpected. Every time it bounced in, but sharply turned unpredictably to either the right or the left.

"Reiya-san's special serve," Inui scribbled. "There's an 85 chance it will bounce to the right. She tends to favor that side."

Reiya threw the ball up and hit it. The moment the racket hit the ball though, she realized that she had used up too much energy with her special serve.

"Fault!"

She gritted her teeth with annoyance. Her serves usually always went in. No more fancy tricks though, she reminded herself. Just win!

She served regularly this time, but it was a safe, easy serve and Sakuno easily hit it back to the other side. Reiya ran to the side and coughed as she barely received it.

They rallied for a while, Reiya obviously tiring as the rally continued. I need to finish this! She thought fiercely, as she approached the net. Sakuno saw her chance and lobbed the ball upwards.

Stupid, Reiya thought as she read the arm movement easily and had already moved back towards the baseline. It was going out anyway…

…until the ball hit the baseline perfectly. Reiya moved quickly to return it, but she wasn't quite sure how much she would last.

Sakuno took a deep breath as the judge called another deuce. She carefully bounced the ball and served, watching in sweet satisfaction as the ball twisted slightly at the last minute. Reiya barely hit it back. Sakuno concentrated as she watched the ball bounce. Her opponent had been caught off-guard with the serve and she needed to end this game before fatigue took over. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted an opening on the right side of the court. Mustering as much strength as she could, she leapt forward and smashed a forehand cross-court.

A racquet clattered towards the fence. Reiya stood, momentarily stunned as she stared down at her empty hand. She coughed again, and went to retrieve the racquet. As she bent down and coughed, she watched a splash of blood drip onto the tennis court. Calm down. You can win this! The voice inside her head encouraged. But she wanted to give up. Her face was tingling, she could barely stand, and her chest ached from the lack of oxygen. She had already pushed herself beyond the limit.

From the sidelines, Ryuzaki Sumire frowned and looked across to where the St. Augustine's coach was sitting. Did she really not notice that her player could barely stand? Sumire wondered. Every minute that passes by, the closer Reiya was to a complete physical and mental collapse. She should have pulled her out the moment the girl started coughing and wheezing.

"Advantage, Ryuzaki!"

Reiya wearily threw the ball in the air. Despite her obvious handicaps, the ball dropped perfectly into the corner, catching everyone by surprise. Sakuno hit it back and they started a heated rally.

"I'm amazed she can still stand, much less hit the ball," Oishi murmured.

"Right now, it's straight adrenaline. She'll crash once she stops moving," Fuji said solemnly.

Sakuno gritted her teeth as she hit the ball. Reiya's talent and strength was beyond what Sakuno normally played against. It's almost like playing against Ryoma.

Reiya watched the ball bounce across the court and stretched out her hand. Her vision was blurred and she couldn't think and all of a sudden, she knew that she had lost even though she had reached the ball. Her hand trembled as coughs shook her, the racquet slipped out of her hand and she collapsed on the court.

"Game and match, Seigaku's Ryuzaki, 7-6."

Sakuno gave a huge sigh of relief as the Seigaku fans burst into cheers. She beamed and waved at her screaming teammates until she noticed that her opponent hadn't moved. Fuji, Oishi, and Inui were already running onto the court.

Reiya laid on the court, not wanting to move. Something wet had landed on her hand when she last coughed but she didn't need to open her eyes to know that it was blood again. She didn't care about the aches in her body, she had gotten used to the pain a long time ago. Instead, the reality of the situation sank in. She had lost.

"Talent is replaceable. Anyone who loses a match automatically loses their regular spot."

Distantly, she heard Oishi's voice, full of genuine concern ask, "Takahashi-san, are you alright?"

She opened her eyes to see him, Fuji, and Inui hovering over her with worried expressions. Not surprisingly, none of her fellow St. Augustine classmates had bothered to run onto the court.

"I'm fine," Reiya said irritably as she stood up shakily. She waved off the medics that had arrived and were hovering around nervously. The last thing I need is more tests.

"You coughed up blood, you should go to a hospital," Oishi was saying.

"I'm fine."

Inui frowned. "At least let the medics attend to you," he suggested.

"I'm fine."

Fuji's eyes were open and staring at her. "You need to go to the hospital."

"No, I'm fine," Reiya snapped. "Why do you guys care, anyway? You don't owe me anything, and you don't know me well enough to tell me what to do." Grimacing at the sharp pains her outburst had caused, she walked painfully past them. A year, she thought bitterly. We dated for a year and his friends never knew I was his girlfriend until we broke up.

"Let her go, Oishi," Fuji said quietly as the dark-hair boy started to go after her. "She's right. We never really knew her."

"But she should really go to the hospital!" Oishi protested.

"It's her decision," Inui echoed, scribbling messily in his notebook.

Sakuno hesitated as she approached Reiya. "Are you ok?"

Reiya stopped. "What?"

"I- uh…I was just wondering if you were ok."

"Yes. Thank you," Reiya said curtly, walking past her.

Sakuno let out a deep breath. "Wow, it's like talking to a female version of Ryoma," she muttered, walking back to the bench.

"What?"

Sakuno jumped. "Ryoma! When did you get here?"

"About half an hour ago, did you not notice?"

"No…"

Sumire smiled as Ryoma let out a frustrated sigh. "You are so clueless," he scolded gently. "But congratulations."

Oishi's ears perked. "I thought I heard Echizen."

"He'll be too distracted by Sakuno anyway," Fuji pointed out, as Inui scribbled away in his notebook while muttering about how there was a 100 chance that he would always show up to Sakuno's games. As they were walking towards the Seigaku crew though, Fuji couldn't help but hear some of the St. Augustine girls laughing. "Well, well, it looks like the prodigy has finally been beaten," one of the girls said, practically skipping in delight.

"I know, I can't believe she lost. I mean, how pathetic do you have to be to lose to a number three singles player? And I hear that Ryuzaki girl normally plays doubles too. I mean honestly, I knew those rumors about her being a tennis prodigy were fake…"

Oishi stopped as his friends passed him. There was something about the way Reiya was walking towards the bench…her eyes were glazed, her face was pale, and she seemed at any moment ready to…

Oishi's eyes widened as he watched the girl suddenly start to fall. Dropping his backpack, he sprinted towards her and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Oishi shook the limp girl, but there was no response. People started to swarm around, murmuring.

"Someone call 911!" he yelled, as he frantically searched for a pulse.

There was none. Reiya wasn't breathing.

A/N: Oh….the drama! A lot more new characters will be introduced and I already have most of the second chapter done. As always, reviews are always appreciated!