Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Lady Monozuki: Thank you everyone for being patient with me. I have not had a chance to reply to reviews yet. This past week was absolute chaos. Let me tell you, Thanksgiving plus Black Friday plus working in retail equals complete and utter stress. It's also why this chapter is so late in coming out. I apologize. Thank you to everyone who read and especially to those who reviewed. The chapters will get longer, I promise. Please enjoy!

Chapter Two: Reflections

Atobe sat at the desk in his room, reading over a document. It was something important to a business contract that was faxed to his house at the last minute for approval. It didn't matter. The harder he tried to concentrate on the words, the more his thoughts darted in different directions. The events from earlier took all of his thoughts. Everything from Ryoma's story to Tezuka's….

He crumpled the paper a bit. How could Tezuka could something like that? Yes, the break up was hard on all of them, but god, did he have to do that? Keigo put down the piece of paper and looked out of the window. It wasn't something that he had ever thought would happen to them, let alone by one of them.

Thank god Gen was there to stop him.

He shuddered. Just thinking about what had happened was bad enough, but the thought of what could have occurred lingered in his mind. Of everything though, he couldn't get past how Ryoma reacted, both toward Tezuka and when helping Fuji. Ryoma had every right to hit Tezuka. Hell, he wanted to, but his former lover had rushed up to him and raised a fist. Those golden eyes seriously looked like they were considering it too. But yet…yet, his ex had dropped his hand and used only his words.

It was something that he had never done. As a business owner, he was required to give speeches and present products, but at home, he had never thought to just use his words. He resorted to raising his hand. He ran his fingers through his hair. Then seeing Ryoma as he handled Fuji afterward, it was amazing how the anger had disappeared when someone had needed help.

Even though Ryoma had put up a brave face, Atobe saw the fear in his eyes. He wondered how they were holding up now. Barely two hours had passed, but he still wondered if they were going to be all right.

-Stand-

Tezuka walked the streets in a daze. He didn't know where he was, or where he was going. He had no where left to stay. Ryo—Echizen had told him to not go back to their apartment. What about his things? He had work the next day, he couldn't show up in dirty clothes. He supposed he could withdraw money from his account...

My wallet is there too.

They had taken a cab to Atobe's place since none of them owned a vehicle. The skies grew darker, we droplets began to trickle from the sky at a light pace, but increasing in size. However, he barely noticed. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

They won't forgive me.

Something hard bumped into him. He continued on though, until someone grabbed him.

"Hey! You bumped into me!" the person shouted. He forced himself to focus at the person who was now holding his arm. There were three other goons behind him, all looking as though they had just won the lottery.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. Tezuka tried to yank his hand away, but the grip didn't relinquish. The person cackled.

"You think that you can get away with that kind of apology?"

"I apologized. Let me go," Tezuka said in a sharp tone.

"I don't think so."

A blow to his stomach knocked the wind out of him. He coughed a bit. His instincts took over. After many years of karate training, he blocked the next blow with ease. Tezuka ducked when he saw a swing in his peripheral vision. He spun and swiped his attacker's legs.

One down.

He quickly rebounded, using an upper block to stop them from hitting his head. Tezuka stood at his full height again. He kicked one in the groin, causing them to curl up in the fetal position on the wet pavement.

Two down.

The blocks came naturally, but his already distracted mind caused him to miss a few easy ones. He cursed under his breath from being so careless. There were too many openings. Too many opportunities for—

A heavy blow connected with his skull. His head throbbed from the pain. Another blow to his head brought him to his knees. His vision blurred. Vaguely, he could see red dripping in front of him, mixing with the wetness from the rain.

"Drag him into the alley. We'll finish this there."

He felt his body being moved against its will, but he couldn't fight it. Tezuka caught sight of a metal pole. Its metallic surface was decorated with red droplets. His blood. Now he knew what had hit him. He felt his body being lifted in their air and then tossed. His back crashed into the hard wall. Pain radiated from the new assault.

The blows didn't end there. They took turns between hitting him with their fists, kicking him, and bashing him with a pipe. Tezuka struggled to stay conscious. He couldn't stop them. Was this his punishment for trying to hurt Syuusuke earlier? The blows stopped. Someone searched his pockets.

"Damn, he ain't got no wallet."

"Tch, like I care."

A hand pulled his head up. He stared into black eyes.

"Listen, you piece of shit, if you had just apologized properly this wouldn't have happened. But you pissed me off. I hope you die."

The person let his head go. His skull connected to the ground, adding the pain coursing through his body. Rain poured on his body, piercing through the layers of his clothes, and causing him to shiver.

I deserve to die after what I did.