Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.


One step, two steps, three steps, four. Stop and repeat.

It was too bad Sakuno didn't notice her pattern of walking. If she did then perhaps she would stop and put an end to all the stares directed her way from every person she passed. But this pattern couldn't be helped - she was apprehensive after all.

The night with Mako was long and this morning, she couldn't recall the events and conversation which occurred near the end of the night. There was a dull but sharp pain at the back of her head, which she recognized as a semi-hangover. A lot of money was spent on alcohol last night, way too much.

Her grandmother wasn't very amused a fairly drunk Sakuno stumbled through the door. Sakuno listened to her grandmother's complaints about her this morning and she found it odd Ryuzaki Sumire was lecturing on drinking when she was rather gone herself. It was that day of the week where all the middle school tennis coach's came together and went for a few drinks.

Unfortunately, both the Ryuzaki members were still feeling some effects of the alcohol, such as slurred speech at times and lack of balance – more so for Sakuno, considering she was a rather unbalanced person throughout her life. Now, she was debating whether or not to go to work but she had never missed a day. There was also the amount of work that needed to be completed by the end of her shift and if she missed a day, then the workload would double. Was that something she really wanted to put herself through?

She made her decision when suddenly she tripped over her own feet and landed on the sturdy back of a stranger. The man, who was clearly not happy with a random falling against his back, turned and glared at her although it went unnoticed as she was trying to save whatever dignity she had left.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She bowed and stayed that way for a minute before the man sighed.

"It's fine. Be more aware of your surroundings." Sakuno blinked and glanced upwards, recognizing the man's voice.

"Tezuka-san?"

Tezuka, who was about to walk away, paused and looked over his shoulder. His eyes scrutinised the petite woman and finally recognized her as the granddaughter of his middle school tennis coach and as an underclassman in both middle school and high school. Then there were the times he would randomly see her when he visited the old coach.

"Ryuzaki."

Tezuka watched with slight confusion as her cheeks reddened. Wouldn't she be more embarrassed at falling against his back instead of when he called her name?

"Please excuse me!" She bowed and stayed bent halfway until he sighed and said it was alright. Since he was curious, he asked how she managed to do what she did. Ryuzaki answered with stumbles and mumbles. Tezuka raised an eyebrow – never did the thought of the granddaughter drinking alcoholic beverages cross his mind nor did he expect her to actually tell him what occurred last evening.

The same thoughts ran thought the young woman's mind as well. Although there was a peculiar feeling running through her mind, it felt so natural to tell her old senpai about everything. There was an aura around him which made her feel safe. Eventually she finished her monologue and raised her eyes toward his.

Whether or not he was bored, she could not tell. As per usual, Tezuka's usual stoic manner had not changed from the last time she had seen him.

He didn't say a word…and that felt awkward. It encouraged more conversation and Sakuno went on and on and on. Before she knew it, they were both standing in front of the double doors which led to the reception her workplace. How…did they get here?

Sakuno gawked at the doors for a long while before looking at her companion. He was looking at her from the corner of his eyes in a strange manner. Oh no, he thought she was weirder than the usual!

"I will have to leave you here, Ryuzaki." He bowed and entered the doors.

"…I-I work here too…" She called out weakly. Oh how embarrassing…


"Niou-san, the only people who are aware that I have an assistant are the people in this department and confidentiality is mandatory. Not even my siblings know about her."

"The point is people know. It won't be hard to gain access of that information and all it will take is some chloroform and a buff individual to bring us down. Puri~"

Niou thought about discussing Ryuzaki once again with Fuji. He really did not want to waste his time on her but Fuji's defence for her was not allowing any room for argument. Hostage situations were never good and always resulted in both sides losing something. Niou knew Fuji wouldn't want to risk the woman in any way. This long argument proved Fuji's false persona of not caring for others.

It was one of his weaknesses, whether he did this consciously or not. That was why truly keeping people at a distance would benefit everyone.

Fuji was beginning to feel annoyed. The brown haired man looked to the side and found Sakuno was talking on the phone and writing something on the pad in front of her.

"I don't see the need to monitor her. She won't pose a threat to us, believe me."

Niou didn't say anything, just walked over to where his coat was hung. He didn't argue anymore; it was pointless. It wouldn't take much for her to break, that was a fact. Someone just needed to put a daunting man in front of her and boom, secret accesses to the building were revealed. He couldn't trust Fuji to assist him with the task at hand.

"I'm taking a lunch break."

"Hm? But it seems as though Sakuno-chan has already made you lunch." Fuji said, returning to his laptop, documents and smile.

"I don't remember asking her to make me one."

Niou, now irritated even more, eyed the bento. Why did she keep doing that? By making him a bento, he didn't want, he was either forced to eat it or give it back to her. He didn't believe in wasting food and he loathed that face she made whenever he returned the lunchbox.

Then he would feel the eyes of her friends on his back. It was a bothersome feeling that nagged at him throughout the day. Just once he would like to hear her say something to him whether it was rude or not but that would be asking too much, wasn't it?

He attempted to ignore Fuji's chuckles as he grabbed the lunchbox and swaggered out of the room.


"Did you already buy a present for your nephew?" Akira asked, tossing a file away in frustration. The amount of pay she was given did not do justice to the amount of work she did.

"Not yet, I was thinking I'll get something before I visit Yuri in the hospital." Sakuno replied as she transferred a call to her boss. The receptionist, Mako, hurried by them, dropping a folder. Before she could call to the woman, she was distracted by another call.

"Hello, Attorney's Office, Ryuzaki speaking."

"S-Sakuno?"

"…Yuri-chan?"

Sakuno didn't hide the surprise in her voice, which caught the attention of her friend. It wasn't often that her cousin's wife called.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm well, how are you?"

"I'm doing okay. I was just wondering if you're coming tomorrow to visit the b-baby."

Was it her imagination or did Yuri sounded a little nervous?

"I was thinking of coming the day after tomorrow...are you alright?"

"Yes, perfectly okay. Would it be okay for you to come tomorrow?"

"...Yes, I can do that. I'll see you tomorrow."

The line disconnected and Sakuno couldn't help but frown at the peculiar conversation. Usually Yuri was full of life, not apprehension. Maybe she was anxious about that baby, who was born a month too early. If that was her child, Sakuno was sure she wouldn't have been able to think of anything else but the child.

"Everything okay?"

Sakuno turned to her friend and caught someone staring at her from the corner of her eyes. She was startled when she noticed Niou gazing at her. His green eyes were hard, as if scrutinizing her. It made her very uncomfortable, causing her to blush.

As he walked towards the elevator, he kept his eyes on her the entire time. When he disappeared behind the doors, Sakuno realized something must have gone wrong. Maybe it had to do with the bento she made. She'd have to ask Fuji about it.

As soon as she thought of her boss, a call came from him. He wanted documents that were filed away five years ago titled 'Yamamoto – profile #1'. Exactly seven minutes later, after placing the other folder on her desk, she found them in an old filing cabinet and delivered them to him.

"Thank you."

Sakuno blinked; there was a minor change in his tone from this morning. There was a sense of urgency in it.

"Ano, Fuji-senpai, is something wrong?"

Fuji looked up at her with a smile. "Not at all, Sakuno. Thanks again." She frowned and lingered for about two seconds before leaving the office.

"Be careful."

She looked over her shoulder and sighed when she found him absorbed in his work. Something was wrong with her. First she embarrassed herself with Tezuka, overanalyzed the situation with Yuri, then she was glared at by Niou and now she was hearing voices.

What a day.


It wasn't until after four o'clock that Fuji pinpointed three places Yamamoto would be hiding. The first was a night club in Osaka owned by her uncle, the second was at a small shop located in the red light district and the third was in the middle of the area where all of her murders took place.

Although dangerous to be tracking her, Fuji found this somewhat exhilarating. It was different from his other tedious cases and gave him an elating feeling like the one he felt five years ago. He had to thank Yamamoto for distracting him from that divorce case. It was beginning to get on his nerves.

"Yo."

Fuji nodded at Niou, who had gone to talk with Tezuka, the head of the police squad responsible for the company's safety.

"She's not at the night club or the shop."

Fuji didn't ask how Niou knew the spots he had highlighted, only nodded. That meant she was in the shop constantly watched by the police. The squad would have a difficult time with detaining her – those criminals were much too intelligent to leave any evidence behind.

Silence ensued.

Niou glanced over at Fuji and thought he saw a faint smile pass through his features. It wasn't just any smile but one that indicated that he was having fun. It kind of pissed Niou off - Fuji wasn't the one who was almost killed three different times during this case.

Another reason why he didn't like Yamamoto out of jail was because it meant they had to become temporary cops. They had to do the investigating because the squad in Tokyo was a little brain dead, in their opinion, even if it was led by Tezuka.

"Have you been watching over everyone?" Niou asked. He wanted to be out of this mess as soon as possible because he did not want to have to look over his shoulders every two seconds.

"I asked the president to take care of that."

Niou rolled his eyes when he was sure Fuji couldn't see.

"And?"

"Everything seems normal. Nothing unordinary."

The ringing of the phone caught of their attention. Usually Sakuno would warn Fuji about calls and then he realized it was now post office hours.

"Fuji speaking."

"Fuji-san, my name is Shoutarou. I'm an officer in squad sixteen."

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"I left two folders with the receptionist this morning for you and unfortunately I need them back."

Fuji pointed at the folder at the edge of his desk and Niou grabbed them for him, passing it over.

"Two folders?" Both men frowned. "I only have one."


Sakuno was bored.

She blamed it on her excitement. After ten years of the Ryuzaki family being without babies, her cousin finally had a baby boy. She hoped the footy dog pyjamas were okay for a present. It was hard to pick one out for the little tyke.

A sigh later, the woman leaned back into the bus seat. Her eyes were closing and she welcomed sleep. She had another half an hour to go until she reached the Kanagawa Prefecture. Too bad her cell phone had to wreck her moments of peace.

"Hello?"

"Sakuno-chan."

"Heh? Fuji-senpai?"

"Yes. Sakuno-chan, do you remember the receptionist giving you two folders yesterday morning?"

"Two? I'm pretty sure she only gave me one...what was the other one labelled as?"

"Yamamoto – profile #2."

That sounded really familiar. Sakuno closed her eyes and thought about the events that happened the previous day.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, catching the attention of the few on the bus. She blushed and stammered an apology. "Give me a second, senpai."

With the cell phone nestled between her ear and shoulder, she opened her bag and leafed through the numerous folders she had. In the very back sat the one sought for.

"I have it with me, senpai. The receptionist dropped it on the floor on the way to lunch yesterday afternoon and I completely forgot to give it back."

She heard a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's what we thought. Sakuno, listen very carefully. I want you keep those folders as safe as possible. They're very important papers."

"O-ok senpai, I'll keep them with me."

"Niou-kun will be coming to get them. He left about forty-five minutes ago so he's most likely near the hospital."

"Oh."

"Something wrong?"

"Oh no, no, it's just that he might have to wait awhile. I had to stop to get a gift for my nephew."

"...Okay, that's fine. He'll still meet you at the hospital."

Fuji and Sakuno exchanged goodbyes and hung up. There was one thing which bothered Sakuno: how were they so sure that she had the folder and how did they know where she was going? Niou had already been sent to meet her before Fuji had even called.

She never mentioned to Fuji that her cousins were located in the Kanagawa Prefecture nor did she mention Yuri was admitted to Fujitsu Healthcare…

Sometimes lawyers, no wait, sometimes Niou and Fuji were very scary people – their information network was much too vast. They knew more than they should when they just looked at a person. Now she was curious as to what their thoughts were about her.

She was sure Niou didn't like her very much and she didn't have much of a problem with that. They didn't interact much and the only reason that she made him a bento was because Fuji had mentioned that Niou lived alone and despised cooking. He also let it accidentally slip that Niou always ate out unless he was visiting a friend.

Sakuno didn't think that was very healthy and felt sorry for him…and still felt terrible about that incident during their high school years. What she didn't understand was how he managed to stay in perfect physical condition despite eating out every meal. She ruled out him working out at a gym because he would barely have time for that.

The three of them always arrive at the office at eight in the morning then she leaves at four, Fuji leaves at about six then Niou leaves at around eight. He works hard and she would imagine that he would be too exhausted from work to go to a gym...or maybe she was wrong.

Well whatever the case was, Niou was a hard worker with a not-so-great attitude. His clients always put their faith in him and he always delivered something, whether it was a victory or a very good deal. She heard from her co-workers that Niou was an intimidating man when he was in court.

Sakuno respected him greatly but didn't like him. Was that something like that possible?

She was distracted from her thoughts when her phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

She didn't recognize the impatient voice. "Um, who is this?"

"It's me."

"...Me who?"

"Niou."

"Oh...how did you get my number, Niou-san?" She asked with a frown.

"We both work with the same people."

Oh. He probably got the number from Fuji. She wasn't sure if she liked Niou having her number. He was good looking and all but not the greatest person alive. At times she felt stalker vibes from him.

"Where are you, Niou-san?"

He growled and she pulled the phone away from her ear; that was completely unnecessary.

"At a convenience store, about five minutes away from the hospital."

"Oh...um, I think I'll be another twenty minutes or so. I'm on the last bus."

"...what the hell-"

Sakuno didn't hear the rest of his sentence because her attention was on another person in the train. Sitting two seats in front of her, was a man who looking out the window at the scenery. She was a hundred percent sure that this big guy was walking behind her when she left the company and was inside the same store as her when she was picking out a present.

Come to think of it, they were on the same bus on the way to the second bus stop as well...

"Ano Niou-san..." she lowered a voice to a whisper, "what is it that you and Fuji-senpai want that I have?"

"Names of witnesses to a case from five years back. The. Folder. Is. Very. Important. Don't lose it, you careless girl."

She had never ever heard Niou-san speak in this manner, not that she ever heard him speak, and it was really surprising. Yes, she understood that he was stressed but that is not the tone to converse with someone who makes you lunch every day and never even say a word of thanks.

Suddenly, Sakuno felt very irritated.

"Niou-san, please watch your tone and words."

"What?"

"That is not the way to talk to someone you barely know...And please don't swear! I'll get the folder to you, just be patient! No one asked you to leave the office without talking to me first! Mou, I don't understand why you're making a big fuss about this folder but it can't be that bad!"

She huffed then regretted everything she said. Never before had she spoken to someone in that way and of all the people to speak rudely to, she chose Niou Masaharu, her boss's partner and an individual she slightly feared.

The timing wasn't right either because she had caught the attention of the stalker. When Sakuno looked into his eyes, she felt as though she was never going to be safe again.


Niou was told off by a woman two years his junior. He was told off by a woman who didn't have the guts to stand up for herself. He was told off by a woman he didn't like.

His ego was bruised and frustration was raised.

The reason why he was so angry was because of Yamamoto. He didn't want to experience another near death experience because this time, he might just go all the way. He feared her ugly and fat henchmen were going to rip his apartment apart again, find him in the bedroom and kill him while he slept.

He liked living, thank you very much.

And now, his life was threatened because of Ryuzaki Sakuno. Well it wasn't all her but he liked to blame her. She represented all that was bad but he had gained a little bit of respect for her.

Alright, maybe he shouldn't have lost it at her. Niou just found it incredibly annoying that he was in Kanagawa, far away from his safe zone. It had been awhile since he last lived in this city and if he was attacked here, then that would just be terrific. This was his home away from home and didn't want anything to taint the peace he attained here.

All this was over a document, a piece of paper that could've been taken from a computer if Yamamoto hired a hacker. He sighed loudly which made the cashier looked at him with curiosity. He almost fingered the guy. Almost.

Being a lawyer who had to be a temporary cop was stressful. He didn't even have a gun to protect himself. And he was always given the 'question the witness' job since Fuji was on better terms with the president. The president had a tendency of visiting their department on a daily basis. Niou couldn't control his mouth around his father.

And he knew that if he pushed the right buttons, he would be fired and not given another chance at another firm.

How annoying life could be.

He grabbed a bottle of Ponta and went to the front to pay for it. Then he made his way back to his car, his beautiful green Lexus. It was the love of his life. Grinning, he unlocked the door and sat in the seat, feeling a bit more relaxed.

As he drank the Ponta, he thought about Yamamoto's plan. Intel had managed to go undercover and find out what she was planning to do next and honestly, Niou thought it was obvious.

She wanted to get to him and Fuji, the duo who had put her away in the first place. Then it was said that she wanted to obliterate all the witnesses who testified against her. But someone would always be a witness to murder; the tricky part was encouraging them to come to court.

It was a never ending cycle. The only thing that could be done was to slow her from getting the witness sheet. Then Intel and the cops would comb the city looking for her while she searched for the document. Niou didn't know what would happen after attaining the document.

That was all up to Sanada, Tezuka's Assistant Chief Officer, and Niou was assured that his old vice-captain wouldn't let him die easily.

He grinned again and pushed his seat backwards, intending to have a little nap. His cell vibrated and he sighed. Taking out of his pocket, he frowned when realizing Sakuno had texted him.

'Someone's following me...'

Niou closed his eyes and breathed deeply. If he didn't do this right then she might be taken quickly. It vibrated again and this time, Sakuno sent him a picture.

He punched the seat when he put a name to that ugly face. It was the same guy that broke into his apartment five years ago. The only difference was that he had gotten fatter and uglier. Why would Yamamoto send someone like him to follow the woman? Wouldn't he be too obvious?

'Act natural and come to the hospital as planned. I'll follow you in and don't be surprised if I show up suddenly.'

He texted back and hoped with all his might that Ryuzaki Sakuno knew how to act. A minute later, he received a reply.

'Okay and...I'm sorry for yelling at you.'

He smirked.

'It's fine. I was being a dick.' He frowned, deleted the last sentence and then sent the message.

'Thank you and good luck =)'

Niou rolled his eyes. It was an inappropriate time to add smileys to a text message. He breathed deeply again and thought. What could he do to get them both out of there without resorting to a fight?

A minute later, an idea formed.


A/N: Thank you for the support everyone :) I hope everything is smooth in terms of plot and a big thanks goes to my reviewers~ Constructive criticism is always welcome!