Akaya knew he shouldn't have stayed up so late. He had been doing his English homework, of course given to him by Yanagi, but after a while he thought he was going to go crazy. So he took a break and played a video game…until four in the morning. When he had early morning tennis practice the next day. Normally Saturdays were for sleeping in, so he hadn't even thought about it the previous night. Now he was sincerely regretting it.
He was on the bus now and on his way to Rikkai, but he could barely keep his eyes open. Only three hours of sleep. He couldn't even remember his own name. He was surprised he had even properly dressed himself and lugged his tennis bag out to the bus stop. At least he was going to be on time to early practice today.
Except when he woke up, he was past the station for his school. Only by a few stops, but he'd slept past it nonetheless. With an irritated sigh, Akaya got to his feet when the bus slowed to a halt. As long as he walked straight back the way the bus had come, he would arrive at Rikkai. He stumbled off the vehicle into the chill morning air and turned to look down the street. He tried to blink himself awake before walking forward. He'd get there eventually.
He walked for about fifteen minutes without any interruptions. The traffic wasn't extremely noisy, and there weren't many people on the streets. It was early on a Saturday morning, after all. But suddenly, when he swayed a bit on his feet, he bumped into somebody else. He hadn't even seen them.
"Hrm…sorry," Akaya murmured as he straightened a bit and bowed.
"It's okay," said a slightly irritated voice. There was a short pause. "Excuse me, aren't you Akaya Kirihara from Rikkai University?"
"Yup, that's me," Akaya mumbled. He jerked his thumb at his own chest. "Gonna be number one someday."
"I see. You're heading to tennis practice now, aren't you?" the other boy asked slyly.
"Yep," Akaya replied, and yawned widely.
"I'll help you there, since you're so tired. Here, give me your arm."
Akaya felt someone tug on his arm and he was nearly being dragged forward. "Don't want you to be late…"
"Yeah," uttered Akaya. He was too tired to argue or ask who the boy was. Instead he just allowed the stranger to pull him along. He didn't care how he got there, so long as he was on time so Sanada wouldn't yell at him.
After another few minutes, they stopped. Akaya blinked and looked around. They weren't at Rikkai. They were at another school that didn't look familiar to him. He looked behind him and saw empty tennis courts lined up behind a fence.
"Wait," Akaya said, brows furrowing over his dazed eyes. "Where are we?"
"Just making a little pit stop. I have things to do too, you know."
Akaya turned around and watched the black-haired boy in front of him fiddle with the doorknob to the clubhouse before them.
"Who are you?" Akaya asked. The other boy let out a quiet and somehow eerie laugh.
"I'm Mizuki, the manager of St. Rudolph's tennis club," he explained, finally turning to Akaya with a smirk. He watched Akaya with dark eyes. "Don't worry, Kirihara. We'll get you to practice soon."
"Uh…okay," Akaya murmured. "St. Rudolph. Didn't you guys play in the… In the what…the…um…"
"Tokyo Prefectural Tournament," Mizuki finished for him. "We played against Seigaku, and…unfortunately lost." He bristled a bit, then said, "But that's okay. We're working hard now so that the next time we face off with them, we'll win."
"Oh. We lost too," Akaya muttered, frowning a bit.
"I'm aware. In the Kantou tournament," said Mizuki smartly. "As well as Nationals."
Akaya's scowl deepened.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "Thanks for reminding me."
"I just need to get one thing…oh, and I need you to do something for me, since I'm being so nice as to help you to practice today," Mizuki explained.
"Whatever," Akaya muttered. He waited outside while the other was inside gathering whatever he needed. Akaya felt suspicious for a moment, but then abruptly recalled how tired he was, and he slumped forward with a groan. All he wanted to do was sleep. He didn't want to go to morning practice. But he would be dead if he missed it.
Mizuki returned a moment later, rambling something about a waiver and shoving a paper and pen into Akaya's hands. He kept explaining why signing it would be beneficial to Akaya personally, but he wasn't even listening. He shuffled over to the side of the clubhouse, lifted the paper against the wall, and scrawled his name and date messily onto the line at the bottom of the page. Mizuki fell suddenly silent after that. Akaya turned to hand him the paper and said, "Can I go to practice now?"
Mizuki smiled as he took the paper from Akaya.
"What a quick decision. Now there's no need to go anywhere but to change," he said, and picked up a duffle bag and held it out to Akaya. "This should fit you fine."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Akaya said, looking baffled.
"Weren't you listening to me?" Mizuki said with a grin. "You just signed a contract to be a part of St. Rudolph's tennis team for a month. Welcome to the team."
Akaya was speechless for a moment, trying to fully comprehend what the other boy had just said. He blinked and stared at the smirking Mizuki in horror.
"Wait…wait, what? What?" he cried.
"I have it in writing, with your…terrible signature right here," Mizuki told him, holding up the sheet of paper. Akaya gaped at it. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. He was probably still sleeping on the bus. Akaya slapped his cheeks, but to his disappointment, he didn't wake up.
"That's not possible!" he wailed in panic.
"It is. Had you been listening to me or had you taken one moment to even glance at the print of this paper, it's titled 'Club Member Exchange Program.' You agreed to be an exchange student, so to speak, for St. Rudolph's tennis club."
Akaya was gawking at him in disbelief and terror. This couldn't be real! There was no way he could have just handed himself over to some other team. After another brief moment of frantic thinking, Akaya whirled around and jammed his hand into his pocket. He fished out his cell phone with shaky hands. If this was really happening, he needed help. He scrolled hurriedly through his contact list and dialed a number, then put the phone to his ear.
"Please pick up, please pick up," he murmured. He glanced back at Mizuki, who was just smiling victoriously at him. He heard a frustrated voice on the other line and immediately interrupted, crying, "Fukubuchou, help me! I just got kidnapped!"
"Is that Sanada? Let me speak with him. You're only confusing him," Mizuki said, taking a step forward and holding out his hand. Akaya shook his head and backed away. Mizuki pursed his lips. "Kirihara, I'm your manager now. Give me the phone."
"Fukubuchou! I'm not lying! I'm not making excuses! It's some weirdo named Mizuki from St. Rudolph! I was really tired and then bumped into him and he made me sign something and I didn't know what it was but I signed it to shut him up and now I'm on St. Rudolph's tennis team!" Akaya gasped for breath. "Help!"
Mizuki suddenly grabbed the phone and, with a bit of effort, ripped it out of Akaya's hand. He straightened his shirt a bit and then put the phone to his ear with a smile.
"Is this Sanada? Yes, good morning. I ran into Kirihara on the street today and he was just so tired, I had to help. He's obviously being pushed very hard over at Rikkai, so I thought I'd provide him with an opportunity to get stronger without being worked to the bone. I explained an exchange program we have here at St. Rudolph. He signed an agreement to stay with us here for a month. I assure you, I'll train him well, and he'll be back to you in four weeks better than ever. There's no need to worry." Mizuki was silent for a moment and then said, "I have the paperwork here." He was quiet again, then put the phone down and turned back to Akaya. "He hung up on me."
"Is he coming?" Akaya demanded.
"From what he said last, I assume as much," sighed Mizuki, and he handed the phone back to Akaya. He smirked and said, "Why don't you go change into your new uniform? I'll get some other things ready."
"No!" Akaya barked. I'm not changing into your stupid uniform!"
"Okay, then. Stand out here in the cold while I prepare," said Mizuki. He turned without a word, resting his elbow in one hand and using his free hand to twirl a clump of his hair. Akaya glared at the back of his head until the boy walked into the clubhouse and shut the door behind him. Akaya turned back around and stood stiffly in the cold. He kept shooting glimpses up for any sign of Sanada. He was sure there had to be some glitch, some way he could get out of this and just go back to Rikkai. But he had signed some legal paper. Maybe he really would be stuck there for a month. That's the last thing he wanted. He wilted a bit and sighed heavily. He would just have to wait for someone to come and help him fix this.
He finally heard a sharp, familiar voice call his name and he looked up to see Sanada walking briskly towards him. Yukimura and Yanagi were trailing behind him.
"Buchous!" Akaya cried. "I think I really did sign something weird…"
"Akaya," Sanada snapped when they finally reached him. "What the hell is going on?"
"Well, I…I stayed up really late last night. Doing, uh…homework." Akaya gestured to Yanagi, who had assigned him the pages to do. "Yeah. And so I was up until like four in the morning! But I remembered we had practice today, so I got all my stuff together and got on the bus. But then…I fell asleep on the bus and missed the stop. So I got off and started walking, like, half asleep. Like a zombie. And then I bumped into this guy who said he'd help me get to tennis practice, but the next thing you know, I'm here and he's talking about how I have to sign some paper. So I did. And then…I called you."
Sanada settled a bit, his shoulders relaxing, but only just.
"Where is that boy, Mizuki?" asked Yukimura calmly. Akaya gestured to the door to the clubhouse, and all three Yanagi, Sanada, and Yukimura walked over to it. Before they had the chance to knock, the door swung open, and Mizuki stepped out, smirking and twirling his hair. His eyes met the others confidently and shrewdly.
"Yukimura, Sanada, Yanagi," he said as he nodding to each of them individually. "I am so honored to have you three visit St. Rudolph like this."
"Mizuki, what's going on with Akaya? What's this document he signed?" Yanagi said, eying Mizuki carefully. The other let out a quiet laugh and held up his other hand. He was holding the sheet he'd given Akaya earlier. It was already in a protective page covering. The other three leaned in closer to read it. After a few seconds, they straightened up, a serious look on each of their faces.
"So he was right," murmured Yukimura, brows furrowing. "Akaya, did you read this when you signed it?"
"W-well…uh, not really. He was talking a lot and I wanted him to shut up, so I just…signed it. I swear he told me it was something else!" Akaya explained defiantly. He shrunk a little when the other three stared at him for a moment longer before turning to Mizuki again.
"I'm sorry, but we're going to take him with us," Yukimura said, and he smiled icily. "He needs to practice with his own team."
"Actually, if you read closely, this agreement was in effect once it was signed by Kirihara. It is an official document provided by St. Rudolph and is enforced by not only our tennis club, but all other clubs at the school." Mizuki gestured to an area on the page that printed what he was explaining. "It is only broken if it's authorized by the captain of our team as well as myself, the manager."
"Why don't you need our permission to steal our regular member?" Sanada growled.
"It is a choice solely based on the individual, especially since attending our tennis club will not affect his regular classes at Rikkai. If that were the case, we would need permission from your captain and manager or treasurer, as well as his homeroom teacher. It says that in section 2.2, here." Mizuki showed them again where it stated these rules, and to the others' discontent, he was right once more. Yanagi scanned the paper and then said, "I'm afraid he's right. Looking over this article proves that Akaya must attend St. Rudolph's tennis club for at least a month. And that signature is definitely Akaya's, so it hasn't been forged."
"Damn it, Akaya," Sanada grunted, looking back at the boy. "Why didn't you read what you were writing?"
"I was tired!" Akaya defended, throwing his arms into the air. "And he was babbling about how it was a waiver I needed to sign so he wouldn't…uh…"
"Akaya, a waiver is the same as a contract," Yanagi sighed, sounding vaguely disappointed.
"I said it was a waiver you needed to sign if you didn't want to miss an opportunity to grow," Mizuki told them. "I explained perfectly clearly what it was. You simply weren't listening. But! Kirihara, this is a wonderful chance for you. I know your goals––I've analyzed you from your past tennis matches, and you want to defeat them, the very ones teaching you to play tennis. Why not join a different team to learn a different method to grow stronger?"
"No, I'm not dealing with this crap!" Akaya spat. He turned anxiously to Yukimura. "Buchou, I want to go back to Rikkai."
Yukimura hesitated, looking into the boy's sincere gaze. But then he said, "Akaya, I'm sorry, but you did sign an agreement. And maybe he's right; maybe some time away will do you good."
Akaya was dumbfounded.
"What?" he wailed. "W-what do you mean? You want me to be here?"
"You got yourself into this mess," Sanada jumped in fiercely. "You can deal with the consequences of your own mistake."
Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi bid Mizuki and Akaya farewell, a bit resentfully to both of them, before walking away, leaving Akaya standing with his jaw dropped. Mizuki watched the three older boys leave, then chuckled gleefully and turned around, taking hold of Akaya's shirt.
"Come on, let's get you changed! You're in for some good practice!" he nearly sang out, dragging the boy away. Akaya only stared after his seniors in hopeless terror.
At the Rikkai tennis courts, everyone was warming up for their practice matches. Only the regulars were playing today, so Marui, Jackal, Niou, and Yagyuu were all jogging around the tennis courts to warm up. They didn't think much about how Akaya was nearly thirty minutes late, since that was often normal on their early Saturday practices. Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi would often wander off to discuss team matters together, so it wasn't surprising that they were missing either. As they began their last lap, they saw the other three walk onto the courts, looking more irritated than ever.
"Hey," Marui panted once they approached. "What's wrong? You all look pretty mad. Did something happen?"
"Akaya won't be joining us today," sighed Yukimura. "Or for the next few weeks. He signed an agreement to play with a different school's club for the next month."
Everyone halted what they were doing, staring at the other three doubtfully.
"What do you mean?" Jackal asked calmly, having not even broken a sweat after the run. "What school?"
"St. Rudolph. Their tennis club's manager, Mizuki, offered a month of practice at their school. Akaya, in his delusional, sleep-deprived state, signed it," Yanagi told them. Everyone heard a muffled snort and turned around to look at Niou, who was standing at the back of the group. His face was set, but his eyes had lit up with glee.
"Unfortunately, all of this is legitimate and legal," Sanada mumbled, glaring at Niou. "It's a program their school offers to anybody for any of their clubs."
"That's dumb!" Marui said, pouting. "Seaweed-head, gone for a month? They can't just steal him away like that!"
"If the paperwork is correct and Akaya signed it, he's bound to that agreement," Yagyuu commented as he folded his arms.
"And he did that…why, again?" Jackal said.
"He had been up late doing homework and was tired," Yanagi replied evenly. They all heard another splutter from behind the group, and again cast their eyes at Niou. His lip didn't even twitch.
"Well, that stinks," sighed Marui as he chewed his piece of gum. "Won't be as exciting with him gone."
"We will continue practice normally without him," said Yukimura. "Please finish your laps, then we'll stretch and start our practice matches."
Everybody responded obediently. Their schedule included: playing a set of practice matches, doing a few laps, and then having individual training time. In the midst of a doubles match between Marui, Niou, Jackal, and Yanagi, Marui turned away for a brief moment to pull out his cell phone.
"Marui, please don't check your phone during a practice match," Yukimura called to him. The redhead looked up and waived both his arms in the shape of a cross, signaling them to stop the match.
"What's up?" Jackal asked as he caught the ball that Yanagi had just hit at him.
"I just got a text from Akaya," Marui said, his brows furrowed.
"What does it say?" asked Yanagi curiously. Marui blew a small bubble as he checked his phone again, then read the message out loud.
" 'Get me out of here! This Mizuki guy is nuts! Please, please, please help!' With an angry face at the end," he announced.
"It's barely been an hour," said Sanada. "Tell him to focus on his training over there and to stop distracting us. He won't be forgiven if he slacks off."
Marui nodded, texting out the response and sending it before they continued the match. Not even two minutes had passed before Jackal was pulling out his phone, as was everybody else.
"He sent a mass text," Niou mumbled as he skimmed the furious message. "He's so whiny."
"Just ignore him," Sanada commanded. "He needs to focus, just like we do! Put your phones away and keep playing!"
"Yes, Fukubuchou!" everyone called out, slipping their phones into their pockets and hurrying to finish their match.
And so it was, for the next twenty minutes, Akaya texted everyone in distress. But nobody responded, and eventually the messages stopped, allowing everyone to concentrate on their practice. They finished up for the day about an hour and a half later and everybody headed home. That's when they all responded to Akaya's messages, explaining that they were sorry and that he just needed to tough it out. Niou, of course, was the only one who replied with a big happy face.
They didn't hear back from Akaya until the next day, when he spammed them with messages about Mizuki and how insane he was. The others tried to reassure him and tell him that he could get stronger if he only focused on it. Monday was the day they really got the brunt of the blow. Akaya was livid at school and stayed silent, even when passing the others in the hall or at lunch hour. After classes, he stopped by the tennis courts to shout at everybody, telling them how miserable he was and how they were awful teammates for not helping him. When Sanada stepped forward to respond, Akaya scurried off to dutifully attend his other tennis practice.
Things continued like this for the next few days. At one point, right in the middle of tennis practice, a wild-looking Akaya sprinted into the courts. He kept shouting, "I'm free! I escaped, I'm free!"
"Akaya!" Sanada roared. He was sick of going over this lecture over and over again. As Akaya was darting past him, Sanada caught him by the elbow. When Akaya whirled around, Sanada was a bit surprised; there were trace amounts of red at the corners of Akaya's eyes. They were bloodshot. Sanada stared at the boy's harsh face for a moment and then spoke in a calmer voice. "What happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened," hissed Akaya with a wide grin. "I turned that guy into mince meat, then ran for my life!"
The words sent a chill down Sanada's spine, and he clenched his teeth.
"You know what I'm going to tell you," he said. Akaya's smile faded, and he glared menacingly into Sanada's eyes. "You want to beat Yukimura, Yanagi, and I, don't you?"
"Yes," Akaya growled.
"And you've been training with us this whole time, haven't you?"
"So?"
"If you practice somewhere we can't see you, we won't know what you're planning," Sanada told him. Akaya gaped at him blankly, but suddenly grinned, his eyes widening with excitement.
"That's a great idea!" he said.
"Then go back to St. Rudolph," Sanada ordered, pointing down the road. Akaya instantly glowered angrily up at the older boy.
"No," he snarled. Sanada scowled down at him, and the two had a stare-off. Unbeknownst to them, a majority of the rest of the team was watching. Even Yukimura was eying the two cautiously. Finally Sanada turned around, keeping his hand clamped to Akaya's arm, and tugged him towards the exit from the courts.
"You have to go back," he said. "It's only one month. You'll survive if you stop whining about it!"
"No!" Akaya wailed. He sounded both infuriated and terrified. "Fukubuchou, don't make me go back! That guy is psycho! He's out of his mind! You don't understand!"
"You signed the paper, you have to live up to those standards! I will not see you run from this like a coward!"
The two argued their way off the courts, off the school grounds, and down the street. But, by the time they arrived at St. Rudolph, Akaya was quiet, pouting silently as Sanada hauled him along by the hand like a child. Sanada strode to the clubhouse door and rapped on it. It opened a moment later, and Sanada blinked. Mizuki stood at the doorway, but he was covered in fresh scratches and bruises.
"Oh," he muttered. He forced a smile. "Hello."
"I am sorry for Akaya's immature actions. I've brought him back so he can properly complete his training at your school," Sanada said, bowing and glaring at Akaya, who bowed a bit.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. Mizuki's eyes narrowed at the boy.
"He's quite a tough one, isn't he?" he commented, smiling. "Put up quite a fight…"
"That's another thing," Sanada said as he straightened. "I am sorry he injured you like that. Are you all right?"
Mizuki nodded, waving his hand to dismiss it. Sanada continued. "If Akaya ever acts out like that again, please don't hesitate to ask for help. We've been dealing with his recklessness for a while now."
"I'm still here," Akaya grunted.
"Again, I am very sorry for your injuries due to his behavior," Sanada said, and bowed again.
"No, it's all right! I trust with your diligent guidance today he'll behave himself," Mizuki said, throwing a dark smirk at Akaya, who grimaced and took a step back. Sanada put a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Train hard," he said to the boy. "Don't waste this opportunity or anybody's time."
"Yes, Fukubuchou," sighed Akaya, slumping. Sanada watched as Akaya walked over to Mizuki, who began speaking quietly, gesturing Akaya towards the school doors. Once they were gone, Sanada left the courts. He was quite upset that Akaya had resorted to his alternate mode to escape. But he shook it off, believing that it was simply an action brought on by his stubbornness. When he returned to Rikkai, everyone was staring at him. He barked at them to return to their practice, and everyone did so immediately. Yukimura approached him and watched him carefully, asking, "Is everything all right?"
"Yes," Sanada replied quietly. "I think Akaya will finally take advantage of this mess he got himself into."
"Good," Yukimura said, relaxing and smiling. "I hope to see some good improvement when he returns."
After the episode that day, everyone noticed a change immediately––but not in a good way. Akaya was silent during school and didn't speak to anybody, and he always looked dazed. He didn't smile or frown or show any ounce of expression. Even when Niou tried pulling a trick on him, he didn't yell at him or get embarrassed; and when Marui offered to buy him lunch, (rather, to have Jackal buy them lunch) he just shook his head and moved on.
One day at tennis practice, Sanada and Yukimura were discussing something by the fence. They heard loud footsteps and looked up to see Marui marching up to them, his normally bright face now filled with anxiety and anger. Jackal was following him, also looking concerned.
"Buchous!" Marui said, stomping his foot on the ground. "We have to help Akaya. Something seriously weird is happening at that St. Rudolph place!"
"Marui, we've been over this," Sanada said, obviously irritated with the topic of discussion by now. "This was his own mistake, now he must face the consequences!"
"Seriously, Fukubuchou? You've seen him, haven't you? He's like…stoned. He never talks to any of us, doesn't eat lunch with us, he doesn't come by to yell at you guys…he doesn't even call or text us to complain anymore! It's been a week. Something really weird is happening. They're like…I swear they're brainwashing him."
"Marui," Yukimura began calmly, but Marui interrupted with a bow.
"Buchou, you know something is wrong!" he cried. "We have to figure out what's going on!"
"I think he's right," Jackal murmured slowly. "I mean, not about the brainwashing, and Marui is blowing it a little out of proportion, but Akaya's been acting pretty weird lately. You both know it. At least have someone check on him to make sure things are okay over there."
Yukimura exchanged glances with Sanada, and after a moment, they looked at Jackal and Marui.
"Very well," Yukimura said. "After practice, take who you will and pay a visit to him at St. Rudolph."
"We definitely will," Marui said, now in lighter spirits. He turned to Jackal, who was waiting expectantly for the next sentence. "You're coming with me. And we'll take Yagyuu, too, 'cause he's smart. And Niou because…well, yeah. We'll all go and make sure they stop brainwashing our Seaweed-head!"
"Brainwashing?" Jackal huffed, smiling. "Really?"
"You got a better explanation?" Marui rebuked, lifting an eyebrow as he chewed his gum a bit more vigorously. Jackal shrugged innocently. Sanada snapped at them, and the two apologized before returning to their practice. Once it was finished and the courts were cleaned up, Marui rounded up Niou, Yagyuu, and Jackal.
"We're on a mission," Marui said, his hands on his hips. "We have to go over to St. Rudolph and make sure Akaya isn't being turned into a mindless zombie!"
"Or that he wasn't abducted by aliens," muttered Niou sarcastically. "Or that they replaced him with a robot."
Marui made a face at him, then continued speaking.
"St. Rudolph is only about a fifteen minute walk from here, according to Sanada. We'll just go over and check on him, then formulate a plan to break him out once we know the situation better," he explained. "Everyone clear?"
Everyone nodded in confirmation. "All right! Operation: Rescue Seaweed-head: Begin! Let's go!"
With Marui in the lead, they headed off the courts and down the street. Marui seemed to be much more energetic than usual, something that Niou voiced first.
"You are in a weirdly excited today," he commented.
"Because this is awesome. We're like spies. Infiltrating the enemy territory because they captured one of our men and brainwashed him until he forgot who he was! And now we're gonna bust him out and take him home with us."
"How old are you, five?" Niou mumbled.
"We need code names!" Marui gasped. "Akaya is 'Seaweed.' Jackal can be 'Coffee.'"
"What? Why?" Jackal inquired.
"Because you're part Brazilian and that's where coffee beans come from…right?" Marui trailed off and thought for a moment before continuing. "Yagyuu can be 'Laser' and Niou can be, uh, 'Yagyuu.'"
"No," rebuked both Niou and Yagyuu.
"Fine, fine! Niou will just be 'Trick.'"
"I'd like to just be Niou, thanks," Niou said.
"I'll be 'Super Genius.' Everybody got those? Good. Now let's keep going."
The others followed the overly enthusiastic Marui down the road until Yagyuu said they'd reached St. Rudolph. They walked around the empty school grounds until they rounded a corner and saw the tennis courts enclosed in fencing nearby. As they approached, they saw somebody exit the clubhouse beside the school entrance.
"Isn't that Akaya?" Jackal said, pointing to the messy-haired silhouette.
"Seaweed!" called Marui, cupping his hands to his mouth. "We've come to save you!"
But when the four approached the boy, who had turned to them, they realized it wasn't Akaya. His hair was the same shade of black and was close to the same wiry mop Akaya donned, although a bit more controlled. He also had some faint bruises on his face and arms. When the boy saw them, he smirked.
"Nfu," he sniffed. "I recognize you four. Rikkai members, aren't you? Yagyuu, the gentleman; Niou, the court trickster; Marui, the genius look-alike; Jackal, the man with the impenetrable defense. I'm Mizuki, manager of the tennis club here at St. Rudolph. What can I do for you today?"
"Are you all right?" ventured Yagyuu slowly. Mizuki pursed his lips, then answered, "You know, I've been having some rough training recently…tennis isn't the safest sport, I'm sure you all know."
The others exchanged unconvinced looks, but didn't press the matter further.
"Where's Akaya?" asked Jackal before Marui could speak.
"Oh, I'm afraid he's doing some special training alone. You can't see him," said Mizuki.
"The hell we can," Marui snapped. "He's our real teammate. We can see him whenever we want."
"Excuse him. Can't we simply give him some extra homework assigned in his class?" Yagyuu said to Mizuki professionally. "His teacher found us on the court today and explained he needed to do one more assignment."
"Oh, I'd be happy to give it to him once he's done training," said Mizuki, and he held out a hand. "He's quite busy."
Yagyuu's brows furrowed and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"I'd rather not have it go through a third party," he muttered. Mizuki's eyes narrowed as he continued smiling at them.
"Well, I'm very sorry, but you'll just have to give it to him later when he's at home," he explained with a shrug. He put a hand to his forehead and watched the four with keen eyes. "I'll be sure to let him know you dropped by."
"Thanks," Jackal murmured. They stood still for a while, an awkward silence passing between them as they stared at one another. Finally, Niou turned and shoved the others towards the exit from the school grounds.
"Trick! We can't just leave," Marui whispered.
"When you're dealing with a weasel like that, you have to know the right tricks," Niou responded. "And will you stop using those names?"
"What are we doing?" Jackal asked.
"Some real spying," Niou responded. He glanced back at Mizuki's form as they got farther and farther away. The four finally walked out of the school grounds. But instead of heading back to Rikkai, Niou turned and steered everyone the opposite direction.
"Where are you taking us?" asked Marui. "Have you been here before, Trick?"
"No," the white-haired boy said, scowling at the nickname.
"But there's always more than one entrance to the tennis courts," added Yagyuu thoughtfully. Sure enough, they rounded the next corner and saw an entrance in the wall surrounding the school. The four peeked carefully around the corner. They were now on the opposite side of the tennis courts. They could barely make out Mizuki's silhouette standing on the other side of the fences.
"He is kind of creepy, isn't he?" Jackal murmured.
"I get a suspicious vibe from him," Yagyuu agreed. "I don't trust anything he says."
"Yeah, 'special training,' my ass! What did that even mean?" Marui huffed. They fell silent for a brief minute. "What now?"
"We wait until Mizuki's out of the picture and then investigate," Niou said. "So much for Mr. Genius."
"Hey, it's Super Genius," Marui corrected Niou hastily. The other rolled his eyes and returned his attention to Mizuki.
"Looks like he's going back into the clubhouse," whispered Jackal. They watched from afar as Mizuki disappeared into the small building.
"Now's our chance," Niou hissed. "Be quick and quiet."
They all snuck forward, hurrying along the cement walkways. They split up, each of them taking a different route to investigate. There wasn't anybody else on the courts, and none of them could hear the sound of a racquet hitting a ball, or anything even remotely close to the normal sounds of tennis practice.
Suddenly, as they were snooping, they heard the door handle to the clubhouse rattle. Instantly they all panicked and darted to the nearest hiding place they could find. Jackal, unluckily close to the clubhouse, had to squeeze between it and the school's outer wall. Niou ducked under the cement barrier around the courts while Yagyuu and Marui hid behind separate bushes. Mizuki exited the clubhouse with a duffle bag and a set of keys. He closed and locked the door behind him before walking into the doors that lead into the school. They were very lucky he didn't see Jackal on the other side of the clubhouse. Once Mizuki was in the building, everyone relaxed. But they waited a while before trying to venture from their hiding spots. They were glad they did so, because a moment later Mizuki walked outside the building. Akaya was following him.
Marui nearly jumped out of his skin, but Yagyuu signaled him frantically to stay hidden. If they were discovered snooping around, they could get into serious trouble. So Marui stayed put, much to everybody's relief. They watched as the two boys walked away from the school and down the sidewalk. Once they were out of earshot, everyone slowly inched out of their hiding places and gathered together beside the clubhouse.
"Damn," Niou sighed. "Couldn't find a thing."
"Something really weird is going on," Jackal said.
"I told you before––brainwashing," Marui declared. Nobody listened to him.
"Maybe there's something in the school that'll give us a hint?" Jackal suggested.
"But there could be a teacher patrolling," Yagyuu said. "We could get caught."
"We could just send one person in," said Jackal. "Less suspicious, that way. We could just explain that we're grabbing something for a friend."
"Akaya's on their tennis team after all, isn't he?" Niou murmured.
"Perfect! Jackal, go investigate," Marui said, waving his hand to the bald boy, who frowned.
"What? But…ugh, fine," he moaned. He hesitated when he turned towards the building. Hopefully he would find something useful without getting caught. He glanced around to make sure the area was really empty before he jogged to the school doors. He threw an unsettled glance at the other three before pushing the door and walking inside the building.
Yagyuu, Marui, and Niou waited outside, crouched by the wall near the stairs leading into the school. After about ten minutes, they began to worry. If Jackal was caught, they were all in trouble. So they nominated Marui to go and check on him. But just as he reached the door, Marui smiled in relief. He stood aside as Jackal walked out.
"Sheesh, what took you so long?" Marui asked him. "You were in there for, like, an hour."
"It wasn't even ten full minutes," Jackal said. "And I didn't find anything. It's just the boys' locker room."
"Then what do we do?" Marui sighed. He looked around at the others, but nobody said anything. "I guess we could just go back and tell––wait…" Marui fell silent, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Wait, wait. They said Seaweed signed a paper, right? That he has to stay here?"
"A one month agreement," Yagyuu said.
"I'll bet you it's around here somewhere. If we got a hold of it and…I dunno, threw it away or put it through a paper shredder, they would have no proof that Seaweed is supposed to be here! He'd be free!"
"That's illegal," Niou said, and smirked. "I'm in."
"Niou," Yagyuu huffed, brows knitting in concern. "I'd rather we not resort to something so primitive."
"You want Akaya back too, don't you?" Jackal said, and when Yagyuu didn't answer, Marui grinned.
"It's decided then! Operation: Get Seaweed's Papers is a go. Where do you think they would keep them?" he whispered, even though there was no need to.
"I didn't see any folders or documents in the locker room except general school promotions and announcements," Jackal explained.
"Most club documents are in the clubhouse, but Mizuki locked it when he left," Yagyuu said. Everyone slumped a bit at the statement. Then they all looked over at Niou, who was fiddling with his ponytail. He faltered when their eyes fell upon him.
"What?"
"You're always dressing up, right?" Mari said. "That means you have to have something on you that'll get us into that clubhouse."
"Like a bobby pin," Yagyuu said. Niou waited in silence, but none of them let up, so he sighed and reached into his back pocket. A moment later, he held up a small black hairpin.
"Wow, really manly," Marui commented. Niou scowled and swatted him in the head before striding over to the clubhouse door and leaning over. He gripped the handle and carefully inserted the pin into the lock.
"Was there anyone inside the school?" Yagyuu asked Jackal as Niou worked.
"Not while I was in there. School probably ended a couple hours ago, so nobody's here," answered Jackal with a shrug. "We're probably safe."
Niou wriggled and prodded the lock for a while. Marui bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet and repeatedly asked if Niou was done yet. Jackal and Yagyuu kept a lookout, just in case anybody from the school passed by. So far, they were still alone. Finally, Niou heard a muffled clack, and he smirked, straightening. He turned the knob and the door swung slowly inward.
"You did it!" cheered Marui quietly. "Good job, Trick! Now let's find that paper."
Niou flipped on the light, and everyone froze, staring around the small room. There were papers everywhere. They were all in neatly stacked piles and pinned symmetrically on the walls, but that didn't make looking for Akaya's one sheet any less difficult.
"We can't go through this," Yagyuu hissed. "We'll be kicked out of our club if Sanada finds out we went through another school's paperwork."
"As long as we leave everything exactly how it was, we'll be fine," Niou responded, walking over to the desk. Jackal and Marui walked inside as well, but Yagyuu stayed outside, looking flustered.
"You keep watch, Laser," Marui whispered to him from the door. Yagyuu sighed irritably and crossed his arms. The other three began to carefully read over the papers. Marui suddenly beckoned Jackal and Niou to one of the clubhouse walls.
"Coffee, Trick, look," he said, and pointed to the paper he'd been reading. "This is talking about exactly what Buchou and Fukubuchou were talking about. But this one isn't signed by Seaweed."
"Looks like this one is old anyway. That Mizuki guy and their captain signed this paper a couple of months ago," Jackal said, directing the others' attention to the dates written. The three then glanced at the other papers pinned on the wall. They were all the same.
"What the hell?" Niou uttered. "These go back nearly an entire year."
"And this one is from last week," Jackal said. "Not Akaya, though…"
"Just what is that Mizuki up to?" Marui wondered. "What a freak! But Seaweed's has to be here somewhere! Keep looking!"
After scanning the other papers along the wall, they finally found the one with Akaya's messily scrawled name written on the line. But in that same moment, Yagyuu frantically poked his head into the doorway.
"A teacher's headed this way," he hissed. "We have to go now!"
"Dammit!" Marui gasped. "Abort mission! Abort, abort!"
Yagyuu moved quickly aside as the other three darted out of the clubhouse. Sure enough, a man in a suit was walking towards them. He already had a suspicious look on his face.
"Hey, you three," he called out. "Those uniforms…do you belong to another school? What are you doing in that clubhouse?"
"Run," Niou whispered, and nobody argued. They all took off running past the tennis courts. The man tried chasing them, but they easily eluded him after all their training. Once they knew they knew that they had successfully escaped, they slowed to a walk as they headed back to Rikkai. After a few moments of silence, Marui declared, "All right! We did it! Now who has the paper?"
Nobody answered him. Jackal looked at Niou, who met his eyes, and then they both glared at Marui.
"We thought you took it!" they exclaimed in frustration.
"I thought you guys took it!" Marui cried out. "Aw, man! All that for nothing! We got so far!"
"Guess we'll just have to tell the Buchous we got nothin'," mumbled Jackal. "If they found out about what we did…"
"Oh, I don't even want to think about that," Marui moaned. They all fell into a grumpy silence after that. Soon they got back to the Rikkai tennis courts, and much to their relief, nobody was there.
"Thank goodness," Jackal sighed as they walked to the benches to grab their tennis gear. "I thought for sure they'd still be here."
"You kidding? It's nearly five o'clock. Nobody stays that late after school, not even Fukubuchou," Marui sniffed. He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. "Guess that means we're still safe!"
"Safe from what?" came a gruff voice behind them. The boys stiffened, their blood running cold. They slowly and fearfully turned around, and sure enough Sanada was standing behind them. He was wearing his permanent scowl under his dark hat, but it seemed more dangerous than usual. They all cowered slightly. "What happened?"
Since the only person who could successfully lie to Sanada was Niou, they ended up explaining what had happened. Except, of course, the part where they broke into the clubhouse.
Marui, Jackal, and Niou were on their knees with their heads touching the ground at Sanada's feet.
"We're very sorry," they said sheepishly.
"That's enough!" barked Sanada furiously. "Is there anything else I need to know about?"
"They picked the lock into the clubhouse to steal Akaya's paperwork," Yagyuu muttered offhandedly. Jackal, Niou, and Marui glowered up at him.
"Traitor," whispered Marui. Sanada's face became very red as he stared down at the three, his eyes like knives carving the very souls from the three.
"You what?" he roared. He rounded on Yagyuu, pointing at him. Yagyuu jumped. "And you! Why didn't you stop them? Do you have any idea how much trouble you could have gotten in if you were caught?"
Yagyuu joined the other three on his knees in less than a second.
"We are very sorry," the four repeated in unison. Sanada stared down at them in disbelief, horror, and rage. He was so livid he was quivering.
"Straighten!" he seethed. The four immediately sat up straight. Yagyuu was already preparing for what was ahead, taking off his glasses and folding them carefully. Then Sanada struck them all hard on the cheek, one after another. They fell back, but recovered, again sitting on their knees, heads bowed.
"You are lucky I'm feeling merciful today," Sanada growled. "Not to mention you were trying to help your teammate…but what you did is unacceptable! If you do anything that stupid and reckless again, you can say goodbye to being a regular and you'll be on court cleanup with the first years! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Fukubuchou," the boys responded, bowing again. Sanada bristled, his dark eyes still locked on them.
"Good. Now get up. You're getting extra laps this week for this screw up, and I don't want to hear any complaining, understand?" he growled.
"Yes, Fukubuchou," they replied.
"Good," Sanada said. "Now give me fifty laps."
"Only?" Niou murmured.
"Around the entire school," Sanada added, eyes narrowing. The others cast Niou an annoyed glare before standing and starting their long jog. Sanada watched them go before exhaling slowly, closing his eyes. He couldn't believe that all four of them had done such a stupid thing. Still, they knew what they had done was wrong, and they were trying to help Akaya. Sanada's thoughts were then drawn to what they had told him about Mizuki. The boy had explained that Akaya was doing 'special training' alone in the school, and how he had papers just like Akaya's pinned up all over the walls of their clubhouse. Sanada's eyes narrowed in distaste. The more he heard about this Mizuki, the less he liked him.
After a while, he saw the boys jog past the tennis courts. Since he knew they were doing as they were told, he headed back to the clubhouse. He opened the door and walked inside. Yukimura glanced up from the table, where he was looking over some papers.
"What happened?" the boy asked in his soft voice. "I heard you shouting."
Sanada let out a growl before explaining everything to Yukimura, who listened quietly and intently to his words.
"I gave them proper discipline, of course," Sanada reassured once he had relayed the story to him. "But I have a bigger concern: that Mizuki. The more I hear about him, the more suspicious I get. I think we may need to investigate a bit further. In a proper manner, of course."
Yukimura was silent for a while, his chin resting in his hand and his grey-blue eyes focused intently on the table. Sanada waited patiently for him to speak. Finally, the other heaved a sigh and looked up at Sanada.
"Have them go back," he said. Sanada blinked, not expecting this. "Have them speak with Mizuki, and if possible, try to work something out to get Akaya back. I'm not too keen on where this is going either."
"Of course," Sanada said, nodding once. "I'll have them return and speak with Mizuki, then."
Yukimura smiled and then added, "So long as they don't pull any ridiculous stunts like today, things should be fine."
"I'll make sure they don't do something tactless," Sanada promised him.
"I'll trust it to you, then," Yukimura said. "Thank you for keeping an eye on them."
Sanada nodded, bowed and excused himself, then walked out of the clubhouse. He made sure the others did all fifty of their laps, and by then it was nearly dark. Yagyuu, Marui, and Niou were all gasping for breath, dropped on their hands and knees on the concrete. Even Jackal, the master of endurance, was panting quite heavily, leaning on his knees for support.
"You'll get these extra laps every day this week," Sanada told them. "And, in addition to that, you will be returning to St. Rudolph to try and get Akaya back."
Everyone stared up at him, but they were too exhausted and out of breath to argue. "According to what you told me, something suspicious is going on with the situation. Yukimura and I both agree that we should investigate––properly––what's happening and make sure Akaya is all right. Do you understand?"
Everyone gave a breathy response and Sanada nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. You are free to go now."
But nobody moved after he spoke. Their legs felt like jelly and their lungs were near collapsing. So Sanada left them, walking back to the clubhouse. He knew they would do as they were told, and hopefully by this time tomorrow, their team would be complete once more.