Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi.

~xXx~

"Stay with me a little longer

I will wait for you

Shadows creep

And want grows stronger

Deeper than the truth."

—Ruelle, War of Hearts

~xXx~

"Morning!" Airi called, yawning as she haphazardly braided her light brown hair. She stopped when she reached the kitchen, said, "Oh, you're here, Mune? I didn't know you'd be stopping by. Is Keigo-senpai here, too?"

Kabaji, who sat poised with a cup of tea at the table, shook his head. "At school early. Some business to take care of," he answered, sliding a plate of toast over to her.

Airi smiled back at him fondly. Though Kabaji's replies were short and succinct, he was unswervingly honest and kind. In a world full of people that used and were used, it was nice to have someone pure.

"Classic Keigo-senpai. He probably had an early morning hair appointment or something," Airi joked. She winked at Kabaji over her cup, added, "Of course, hopefully this time he won't accidentally get a perm."

The quiet boy briefly grinned back, before his expression returned to its usual seriousness. Leaning forward, Kabaji said, "Are you ready?"

Airi didn't need to ask to know what he was referring to. With a smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes, she replied, "What do you think, Mune?"

And with that, she promptly announced that it was time to go and skipped off.

~xXx~

"Onee-chan! The less attractive brother is here!" Sorano Nishiko called loudly enough for the heavens to hear.

Tsukiko privately rolled her eyes to herself. "Thank god for you, Nishiko," she muttered under her breath. With a resigned sigh, Tsukiko grabbed her tennis bag and headed for the front.

Sure enough, Shishido—ahem, the less attractive brother Shishido Ryou—stood waiting for her in the mudroom, appearing to be relatively unfazed by Nishiko's rather bluntly put statement.

Secretly though, Tsukiko thought Nishiko was wrong. Maybe the older Shishido brother was the textbook example of the tall, dark, and handsome stereotype, but the younger one wasn't too bad either. Plus, at least the younger brother wasn't a womanizer.

"Good morning, Shishido-kun," Tsukiko spoke around the hair tie in her mouth. "Would you like something to drink?"

Shishido nodded back in greeting, and then shook his head. "We'd better get going soon, or else that sister of yours won't stop insulting me," he responded dryly, eyeing Nishiko in annoyance.

"The pleasure's all mine, lesser brother," Nishiko proudly informed. At sixteen, she was only a year and a half younger than Shishido and her older sister, yet her mouth still worked like a middle schooler's.

Tsukiko rolled her eyes again, clasping Shishido on the wrist and dragging him out the door. "Bye, Nishiko!" She laughed, ignoring the sudden urge to slip her hand lower so it fit into Shishido's.

When they first became friends, they had already been too old for it to be acceptable for boys and girls to hold hands without it meaning something else. And sometimes, Tsukiko wondered what it would be like to hold his hand. But purely out of curiosity, of course. Because after all, Shishido had yet to get a girlfriend, though he could definitely get one, what with all the confessions he received on Valentine's Day. Tsukiko had never asked why he rejected all the girls, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder.

She regretfully removed her fingers from his wrist once they started walking on the sidewalk. Either he didn't care, or he didn't notice, because he didn't say anything about it.

Instead, Shishido said, "Mom wants to know if you're free for dinner today, since you couldn't come yesterday. She still feels bad about making you deliver my lunch."

"Oh yeah, sure," Tsukiko nodded as she mentally went through her schedule. "Of course, the tryouts should only last for a few hours, and then I've got to buy some more grip tape, but then…oh…" She trailed off at a sudden realization.

Shishido cast a quizzical look. Apologetically, Tsukiko bowed her head and explained, "I actually have a date tonight. With Naito, you know, our class rep from last year."

For some reason, it felt awkward to talk about other boys with Shishido. Tsukiko had had a few boyfriends here and there, but she'd never really discussed them with him before. It was kind of like some unwritten rule between the two of them, and she wasn't sure if it was the best rule or not. "So I'm sorry about this. Tell your mother that tomorrow night would work well, though," she apologized.

"It's not a big deal," Shishido carelessly lifted and raised a shoulder. "It's just a dinner. Mom gets it."

Tsukiko, however, was not fooled. She caught the way his jaw tightened just a little bit, and that was enough for her to wish that she were available tonight.

Before she could offer some other solution, Shishido cleared his throat and offered her a small smile. "Really, Sorano, it's fine. Besides, I could always tempt Nishiko over by telling her that Aniki's home," he joked.

Tsukiko shook her head and smiled back. "Good luck with that, oh lesser brother," she laughed.

Maybe there were some taboo topics of discussion, but Tsukiko wouldn't trade her friendship with Shishido for anything in the world.

~xXx~

"Crap," Chizuru muttered under her breath. She was simultaneously trying to juggle her ever present stack of books while jiggling open her locker, but as luck would have it, the door just had to be stuck today.

She really did have the worst luck, didn't she? First the whole allergic reaction yesterday, then Etsu's blatant shunning of her, and Chizuru didn't even know if she was actually on the track team or not. And now this unfortunate situation happened.

A hand tapped her on the shoulder, followed by a gentle voice. "Here, let me help, Kataoka-san," Ootori Choutarou kindly eased her aside. With a forceful tug, he managed to yank open the jammed locker door. "And there we go."

Chizuru, meanwhile, didn't know what to say. Isn't this awkward for you, Ootori-kun? "Oh, thanks," she nodded, avoiding all eye contact with the tall boy.

She began to place her books inside the locker, but to her surprise, Ootori didn't move. Why are you still here? Chizuru turned, said, "Is there something you need, Ootori-kun?"

Ootori suddenly looked very, very, shy. He stood a solid eight or so inches taller than her, but the way his shoulders leaned forward made him look shrunken. "Well, I just thought it would be the right thing to help you out," Ootori began. Chizuru could tell that he was choosing his words carefully, like he was afraid of saying something wrong. "And if you ever want to talk, well, I'll always be open for that," he added, his amber eyes apologetically meeting hers.

Chizuru didn't have to see it to know that her face was as red as the tomatoes she was so allergic to. She stared down at her feet awkwardly, wondering what would be the best way to approach the situation. Finally, she mumbled, "No, it's okay, Ootori-kun. You don't need to explain yourself, really."

"But," Ootori frowned, "I feel bad just breaking up with you like that. We can still be friends, Kataoka-san, and I don't want you to think that you weren't good enough for anything, because it wasn't that."

At the words breaking up, Chizuru could feel her face burn even more. Even though it had already been two months, and even though she knew that high school boyfriends and relationships really wouldn't matter in the long run, it didn't change the fact that it hurt to get dumped. Especially when someone as sweet as Ootori dumped you and they didn't even tell you why.

Clearing her throat, Chizuru shook her head. But before she could say anything, they were interrupted by the arrival of two more people.

"Morning, Choutarou," Shishido greeted, slapping a hand down on the taller boy's shoulder. His brown eyes slid over to Chizuru, narrowing slightly when they landed on her. "Kataoka," Shishido nodded curtly.

"Good morning, Shishido-senpai," Chizuru hastily bowed her head. She thought of the way he had pulled her out of the situation with Yachi the day before, and she hoped to god that he wouldn't bring it up now, especially not in front of her ex.

Unsurprisingly, Sorano Tsukiko, the captain of the girls' tennis team, was with Shishido. Tsukiko greeted Chizuru warmly, and then quickly excused herself to go to her locker. Chizuru couldn't help but notice the way Shishido glanced back at the older girl, and for some reason, Chizuru felt a pang in her stomach.

Get a grip on yourself, idiot, she scolded herself. Chizuru turned back to Ootori, mumbled, "Thanks again for the help, Ootori-kun. I'll see you later, I guess," and dashed out of the scene as quickly as she could.

~xXx~

There were, Atobe knew, long days ahead. Days of anxiety over future plans, stupid little spats over love, and god knew what else there would be. All that mattered was that he both did and did not want it all to be over already.

But the year had only just begun. Those days would have to last for quite some while.

There was a knock on the door of his personal study, and for a moment he thought it was she. But then the knob twisted before he could reply, and the face that peered in wasn't nearly calculating enough.

"Hey, Keigo-senpai," Airi called in English rather than Japanese. "I just though I'd drop in to say hi before class started."

She plopped herself down in the chair opposite Atobe's desk so naturally that he would have thought it were her office rather than his. That was just the thing about Airi; no matter where she went, you always had the feeling that she belonged. Maybe it was something in the way she always smiled, or perhaps it was because of her warmth. Either way, Atobe was rather fond of his childhood friend.

"Where's Kabaji?" Atobe inquired, though he guessed that Kabaji was probably already seated at his desk in 2-A and carefully jotting down notes.

Airi shrugged. "Already in class like the model student he is. Don't get your hopes up that I'll be like him, though."

Atobe rolled his eyes. "There never existed any hope," he commented dryly, reaching over his desk to ruffle her light brown hair. "And your braid is as messy as always, I can see."

"Only you care about that, Keigo-senpai," Airi laughed, but she took out the hair tie anyway and unraveled the sloppy plait. "So anyway, you got any advice for me before tryouts today?"

"Don't lose," Atobe replied vaguely, smirking at Airi's exasperated expression. "You shouldn't have any problem making the team though, really. Some of the third years are very good, but there are very few talented underclassmen. Just keep your cool and try not to break any more racquets."

"That was one time—oh, whatever," Airi shook her head, clearly not willing to get into a quarrel over something as trivial as that. "But the real important question is," she leaned forward with a smirk. "When am I going to meet that girlfriend of yours, Keigo-senpai?"

Atobe's blood froze to ice. "We broke up," he snapped flatly. He hated to raise his voice at Airi of all people, but when it came to his recently ended relationship, Atobe no longer cared. "You'll meet her anyway, but we're not together anymore. Haven't been for a few weeks, actually. So just don't mention me, if you don't mind."

Airi rather coolly raised a brow. She finished her braid—only marginally better than the first—and said, "Alright then. Thanks for sharing."

Then she got up and left, leaving Atobe flooded with guilt.

~xXx~

As far as Shun was concerned, vice-captains shouldn't have to participate in tryouts. Hell, returning members shouldn't even had to try out, but of course on the off chance that there did happen to be fresh new talent, they had to play to reclaim their spots.

But on the other hand, fresh new talent was as rare as finding Akutagawa Jirou awake. Winning 6-0 may have been fun the first match, but now Shun was just finding it all rather tedious.

"I'm the vice-captain! Why do I need to do this?" she'd complained to Tsukiko earlier in the locker room.

"Well I'm the captain and I still have to," Tsukiko had pointed out. "Come on Shun-san, I bet it won't take you more than forty minutes to finish everything."

And then Tsukiko had sent her a smile as bright as the sun, and damn, if that wasn't quite a sight.

So here Shun was, with four out of five matches done and awaiting her last. She didn't know who she was playing but it wasn't like it mattered, anyway. Her position was already secure—as if anyone had doubted that before.

Unable to help it, Shun glanced over to Court 2, where a certain red-haired captain was in the midst of a match against the tall and elegant Fukumitsu Erena. Tsukiko appeared to be losing, but she didn't seem to mind. Not many could overthrow Erena, after all.

"Hey, Himura," a voice startled Shun out of her thoughts. The vice-captain glanced up to see a girl with copper brown hair and startlingly violet eyes. "You ready to start?" The girl asked, gesturing over to a vacant court.

Shun's only thought was, Oh shit.

~xXx~

The ball came back faster than it had before, but to Airi, it was still relatively slow. After growing up with Atobe and Kabaji, shots like this weren't too much of a problem. She took a single step forward and neatly caught the ball in the air, volleying it straight at the opposite corner.

"Game and match, Yoshida! 6-1!"

Airi grinned. With that victory, she knew that she'd just made the team. And by the looks of it, so did Kataoka Chizuru.

"Nice job," Airi said, extending out her hand for Chizuru to shake. "Are you feeling better from yesterday?"

Chizuru looked confused as she grasped Airi's outstretched hand. "Sorry, but what do you mean? Have we met before?" The auburn hair girl asked in bemusement.

Airi stifled a chuckle. She hadn't recognized Chizuru at first either, considering the fact that the other girl was no longer covered in hives. But Airi knew that it was definitely the same girl she'd helped get to the nurse, because Airi had never met anyone else with eyes as weary as Kataoka Chizuru.

With a cheeky salute, Airi explained. "You had that allergic reaction yesterday and ran into me, so I brought you over to the nurse's office. Does that strike a bell?"

Chizuru's reaction would have been kind of funny, had Airi not immediately realized that this was a girl who got embarrassed too easily. The auburn haired girl's eyes shot down to the ground, her cheeks flushed with something like shame. "Oh, yeah…thank you for helping me, Yoshida-san, but I couldn't exactly recognize you because, well, I was kind of…"

Crying your heart out over something cruel, Airi guessed. The thought of someone being purposefully derogatory to Chizuru—who seemed so sweet and harmless, if not totally insecure—made Airi's blood boil, and she was overcome with the feeling that she needed to protect Chizuru. Not to baby her, per say, but to let her know that she was worth so much more than she thought, that she was an amazing person.

Then again, Airi barely knew Chizuru. She didn't know if she could be that person, at least not yet.

Instead, Airi settled for clapping the other girl on the shoulder and saying, "I'm glad you're okay now."

Chizuru's mouth parted slightly in surprise, but then she smiled back—shyly though, like she didn't know if it were acceptable for her to do so.

Airi supposed that she'd like to be that person for Chizuru. Because didn't everyone deserve to be happy?

~xXx~

"Game and match, Akechi! 6-3!"

Anna narrowed her eyes as she shook her opponent's hand. "Good job, Akechi. That was pretty fucking terrifying," Anna remarked with only a bit of reluctance.

Yuuka tilted her head to the side. "Your forehand's only gotten stronger, but I'd recommend touching up on those volleys of yours," was Yuuka's only comment before she strode away.

Anna sighed. Akechi Yuuka was the smartest, most terrifyingly calculating player Anna had ever met, and she absolutely hated it. Every time she'd tried to smash the ball to the opposite corner, Yuuka had already been waiting to receive it. It didn't matter what Anna had tried, but nothing worked. She supposed that that was just how it worked when you played Yuuka—no, when Yuuka played you—but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

It was strange, but Anna couldn't actually bring herself to hate the other girl. Anna disliked most people, and most people disliked Yuuka, but somehow they had a sort of grudging respect for each other. Maybe even a friendship, if one would call it such. Anna didn't know exactly how to define their relationship, but she supposed she wouldn't mind being considered Yuuka's friend. Because god knew that that girl needed as many friends to support her as she could get.

Anna went over to report her score, but it turned out that Yuuka had already done so. She scanned over the rest of the block, satisfied to see that everyone had finished the matches, and with only one loss, Anna had made the cut. Yuuka had dominated the whole block with five wins and zero losses, but no one else had even come close to beating Anna.

"Congratulations," Tsukiko gave Anna a thumb up. "I'm looking forward to being on the same team as you, Anna-san."

"Thanks," Anna grinned in return, willingly breaking her hardened exterior on one of the few rare occasions. "Are the others done yet?"

Erena, who sat next to Tsukiko at the table, was busy examining the blocks. "We just finished up as the Block C victors, and then you and Yuuka won A. I think B is just about done, and then there's only a few left in D. Looks like the results are fairly predictable, though."

"May I?" Anna asked, to which Erena responded by handing her the papers. Anna scanned over the remaining two blocks, recognizing a few names here and there. "So Kataoka won D, as well as—oh, who's this who beat her? Yoshida Airi? I haven't heard of her before," she remarked, glancing up in curiosity at Tsukiko and Erena.

Tsukiko shrugged. "I think she's a transfer student. The short one, I believe, with the messy braid. She's got quite the volleys though."

"She gave Kataoka a hell of a lot of trouble," Erena remarked grimly. "Kataoka plays well when she's in control of the point, but that Yoshida…it's like she's made of fire. It's really quite something to watch."

Anna raised a brow in surprise. If Erena was saying that someone was impressive, then that had to mean something. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for Yoshida Airi, whoever this transfer student happened to be.

"And it looks like…oh wow. Himura and Katsura in Block B? That's a match I'd like to watch," Anna whistled lowly. She knew that Shun was vice-captain for a reason, but Katsura was just…well, even Yuuka made more sense than Katsura Ikue.

"You still can. They've been battling it out for the past thirty minutes, actually, and don't seem close to done yet," Tsukiko checked her watch. "Make that thirty-five minutes, actually. Want to go watch?"

"Definitely," Anna agreed, her curiosity getting the better of her. "You coming too, Erena-san?"

Erena shook her head, waving the two of them off. "Someone needs to record scores. Besides, I don't need to watch to know that it's an excellent match."

"If you say so," Tsukiko shrugged, already heading off for Court 2. "Come on then, Anna-san. Let's go see what's happening."

~xXx~

"Game, Himura! 5 all!"

Shun gritted her teeth in frustration. What the hell was that? She thought, staring at ball that Ikue had just hit. It hadn't moved an inch from the spot it had landed—hadn't even stopped spinning, either. As if some kind of magnet was on the one spot, completely preventing the ball from moving.

But the ball was out. There was only a thin sliver of purple between the ball and the line, but it was definitely there. The ball was definitely out, but if it had bounced away, the umpire would have called it in. Had Ikue meant to spin it in, only for it to miss by the smallest bit?

No, Shun realized as she looked up to meet Katsura Ikue's violet gaze. No, that was not it. The corner of Ikue's mouth lifted up ever so slightly, then dropped down to its usual neutral position. But Shun had seen it, and that was enough to prove her suspicions.

Ikue had hit the ball out on purpose. There simply was no other explanation.

Dimly, Shun was aware that everyone had gathered around the court to watch. She and Ikue was the last match of tryouts, and the boys had finished quite some time ago so they were all here too.

She glanced around the crowd quickly, only really picking up on a few people. There was Atobe, his eyes narrowed as he studied Katsura Ikue. Over by the right were Kabaji, Chizuru, and a girl that Shun vaguely recognized to be a new transfer student. She saw a flash of blood red hair next to a blue cap, then a head of golden hair by a pair of eden eyes. Eyes that Shun feared and hated at the same time. Eyes that said, I know your secret, and it is not safe with me.

Exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding for so long, Shun leveled her gaze with Ikue's. She'd only played the other girl twice before, and with completely varied results. Once Shun had lost dismally, then the next time she won spectacularly. But she knew that neither result actually meant anything, at least not to Ikue.

Of all players, Ikue terrified her the most. Not even the completely dominant Erena, not even the fiercely aggressive Yuuka could scare Shun as much as Ikue.

Shun took a deep breath, and then prepared to serve. She had no idea what the result would be, but all she knew was that she still had a long battle ahead. Or maybe she didn't. You never knew with Ikue.

~xXx~

"How interesting," Atobe murmured under his breath. "This match is certainly not going as expected."

When Tsukiko had mentioned earlier during their captains' conference that these two would be playing a match, Atobe hadn't thought much of it at first. He found Himura Shun to be an excellent player, no doubt about that, but her reserved and solitary personality rather irritated him. As for Katsura Ikue, well, he'd heard of the name and knew her face, but had never given her a second thought in all the years they'd gone to school together.

Now, however, he wished he hadn't been so flippant towards her. For Katsura Ikue was certainly something, indeed.

He studied her appearance as she took a break to get a drink. She was fairly tall, with a rich olive complexion and eyes an unusual shade of purple like the viola mandshurica he'd seen his mother attempt to grow. When she turned back to the court, he noticed with surprise that the underside of her copper brown hair, exposed by her ponytail, was dyed with stripes of deep blue and emerald green. He found it to be rather tastefully done, but the memory of someone else with dyed hair left a bitter taste on his tongue.

Stop, he scolded himself. You're being a melodramatic idiot.

On the opposite side of the court, Shun served. She wasn't that powerful on her groundstrokes, but Shun certainly had quite a serve to her. It zipped low and quick, barely clearing the net without touching it. Ikue bent down to receive it, sending the ball back over the net with so much backspin Atobe was surprised it didn't just go backwards on impact with the racquet. Not even Himura Shun, the former track star sprinter, could get to the ball on time as it skidded right back into the net.

"Love-fifteen!"

The next point wasn't nearly as breathtaking. Shun's serve was nearly identical, but this time Ikue mishit it so badly that the ball flew over the fence. Some of the first years laughed, but Atobe was not fooled. And by the tight-lipped expression on Shun's face, neither was she.

As if sensing his stare, Ikue turned her head to meet Atobe's eyes. He was yet again struck by how shocking of a color her eyes were, how singularly unique. Atobe didn't know if he could call her beautiful—attractive, definitely, and perhaps pretty—but those eyes were definitely something.

Ikue coolly stared up at him. Anything you'd like to say?

Yes, in fact, he had quite a lot he'd like to say. For example, what in your gene pool gave you those eyes? Or, why dye only the underside of your hair?

Most importantly, why do you continue to throw points when you so clearly have all the control?

But before he could, she had already turned her back to him.

"Interesting," Atobe spoke aloud, savoring each and every syllable. "Interesting."

Airi shot him a confused look. "What?"

He ruffled her hair without taking his eyes off the figure below. "Nothing you need to worry about, Airi. But if I were you, I'd watch out for these two. They're both quite…dangerous, let's say."

~xXx~

Later that afternoon, when most had already left and the locker room was deserted, Erena, Shun, and Tsukiko were busy finalizing the team.

"So," Tsukiko said, clicking her pen open. "We take the top player from all four blocks first, and it looks like that's you two, Yuuka, and Yoshida Airi-san," she recited as she wrote the names down. "Then there's me, the captain, and I think after her match with you today, Shun-san, Katsura-san's a definite choice."

Shun, who still seemed a bit frazzled after he last match, simply nodded, her mouth pursed in a thin line. She had won her match 7-5, but Erena could tell that the vice-captain was not happy about it. And if Erena were in her place, she honestly wouldn't be happy, either.

"That's six," Erena joined in, hoping to dispel the dissatisfied air surrounding Shun. "Hayashi-san beat everyone in C besides Yuuka, so she should also be on the team."

"Agreed," Tsukiko nodded as she scribbled down Anna's name next. "And for the last place…well, I think we should choose Chizuru-chan."

"Sure," Shun agreed at the exact same moment Erena said, "No."

Tsukiko lifted a brow in skepticism. "Beg pardon, Erena? Why not put her on? She got second in her block," the captain pointed out, her voice unusually icy.

Erena hesitated. She knew that Tsukiko had a soft spot for demure, quiet Kataoka Chizuru, and Erena liked the second year enough. But it was just…Chizuru lacked so much that she would need to really thrive. She was consistent, but played as a pusher and didn't have the confidence to hit winners. It wasn't just that, either, but also the fact that Erena didn't know if Chizuru could handle the load. Being on the tennis team was a big commitment for Hyotei students, and Chizuru already had so many other commitments—piano, her academics, track, and whatever else she happened to load upon herself. Erena was worried about the younger girl, pacing around with trepidation when the day came that she would burn out.

"I think Kataoka should be with us," Shun spoke up for the first time. As the former track star, Shun had been on the track team with Chizuru for years. "She's definitely a ways behind the rest of us, yes, but she's got the drive to get better."

"I'm not denying her work ethic," Erena hastily interjected. With two against one, all of her efforts would be futile, but she wanted to get her point in anyway. "I just don't know if she herself can handle all the stress. Look at her already—every time I see her she looks like she's about to fall over. Does she really need to deal with one more thing on top of all that?"

Tsukiko's eyes softened for a moment, and then just turned plain sad. "I think," she said quietly, "that Chizuru-chan signed up believing that she can handle it. And maybe she's wrong, but I'm not going to insult her by telling her what she can and can't do. Right now, the results say that she can do it. What happens in the future…well, I guess that's up to her."

Erena wanted to protest, but she supposed that Tsukiko was right. "Fine," she sighed, slumping back against the wall. "Then that's our team."

~xXx~

"A moment please, Katsura Ikue," Atobe stopped the violet-eyed girl on her way out the school gate. "I'd like to discuss something with you, if you don't mind."

Ikue kept her calm composure, her face smooth and neutral the whole time. "Yes?" Her voice was huskier than he'd expected, but still distinctly soft. She wore white converse, but they were so doodled on in black ink that it took Atobe a while to recognize the brand.

An artist? "You can really play so much better, can't you, Katsura-san?" Atobe demanded, choosing to get straight to the point. He took a step closer to her, said to her unflinching eyes, "You could plow Himura straight to the ground, and yet you didn't. So I would like to know why."

"Oh really?" Ikue replied, only one corner of her mouth lifting upwards. "And why would you assume that, Atobe-san? I don't believe we've ever spoken before, so what makes you think you know?"

It was interesting, Atobe mused. He was used to words just like those, but in a more sarcastic, accusatory tone. But Ikue didn't appear to be either. She was elusive, but not cruel, mysterious, but not cold.

With a slight shake of his head, Atobe continued, said, "Interestingly enough, Katsura-san, it is because I don't know that makes me believe I am correct."

Ikue tilted her head to the side, and he caught sight of the blue and green stripes on the underside of her hair. "Maybe you're not always right," she smiled ruefully, breaking her detached front for the first time. "But I supposed you are, this time at least."

Atobe wanted to ask more, wanted to know more about this girl. So she had thrown the match on purpose, but why? What would she gain from that? Why did she care so little about winning? What was that half-smirk thing she did so often?

But then he saw a figure standing by the school, and all his words were shoved back down his throat. Even after all the hatred, all the anguish, he would still choose that figure standing in the fading light over anyone else. Anyone.

He dipped his head politely to Ikue. "I'm sorry for the abruptness, Katsura-san, but I'll have to end the conversation for the day. I have another matter to attend to."

Ikue's gaze flickered over to where he was looking at. She nodded knowingly, said, "Well then, I suppose you do," with a certain type of refined, enigmatic air that he wasn't aware existed.

Then again, he supposed it didn't matter at this moment in time. Without another word, he strode past her to reach another.

~xXx~

"Keigo," she said, lifting her chin just the slightest.

Atobe had no idea if that gesture was out of contempt or not, but he chose to ignore it. "Yuuka," he greeted back, lowering his head respectfully.

He hadn't seen her up close since they'd broken up—sure, he occasionally saw her in the halls at school or during practice, but this was their first conversation in three weeks. She looked the same as always with her flashy purple to pink ombre hair and cold green eyes, but it suddenly dawned upon Atobe how short she actually was. What, was she maybe five-two, perhaps five-three? He'd never noticed, considering how it always felt like she was the one looking down on him.

"What do you want?" Atobe demanded, not quite sure he trusted that look in her eyes. "Here to taunt me over the way things ended? If so, that would be terribly naïve and childish of you."

Yuuka shrugged. She glanced over to the gate, where Katsura Ikue was making her way out, the blue and green on the underside of her ponytail flashing in the fading light. "Katsura, huh?" Yuuka commented, smiling just the slightest bit. "Makes sense."

Atobe felt the blood rise to his face. "Does it?" He snapped with more force than necessary. "Or is this just you trying to get under my skin?"

"So would that be working?" She shot back, dodging the question as easily as a spring breeze. "Because you seem pretty pissed off right about now."

Gritting his teeth, Atobe resisted the urge to grab her by the collar and throw her away to the next country. "This conversation is pointless," he declared, turning his back to her so he could leave. "I'd rather not deal with you right now."

"Right," Yuuka's lazy drawl caused him to stiffen on the spot. "Of course you don't, because why else would you come over here when you were just in the middle of talking to a pretty girl?"

Atobe scoffed. Without facing her, he replied, "If I knew the answer myself, I'd say it. But I don't, for once. Count yourself lucky on that, Yuuka."

"But don't you know, darling Keigo," her voice echoed past him. "I have no luck."

~xXx~

As usual, Shishido was the last one in the male changing room. Unlike some of the others who rushed to shower and change so they could get home, Shishido preferred to take a long run around the vast school grounds first and then head back.

Faintly, he heard the door to the room open. Figuring that it was just Mukahi or Jirou, Shishido didn't bother turning to look.

And then, he suddenly felt an arm loop around his neck at the same time a hand covered his eyes. "Guess who," an unmistakable voice laughed when he jumped in shock.

Shishido smiled just a little bit, shaking his head in disbelief. "Didn't you have a date today, Sorano?" he reminded, not yet ready to get out of her grip. They rarely hugged and usually weren't the type of people to initiate physical contact. So this now, although a bit strange, felt nice.

"Well, about that," Tsukiko's voice was playful as she finally removed her hand from over his eyes so she could sit down next to him. "I told Naito that we should postpone it. You know, because I'm just so busy with tennis and all."

Her smile was so genuine, so unforced, that it took all of Shishido's strength not to beam back. Instead, he shook his head again in amusement this time, said, "It's just a dinner, Sorano, my mom would understand if you'd rather go on that date with Naito," he pointed out.

"And it's just a date, Shishido-kun. Naito's fine with a little rain check. Now come on, it's been a while since I've last had your mom's cooking," Tsukiko tugged him up by his wrist again like she'd done earlier that morning. "You wouldn't keep a girl waiting, would you?" she teased.

"No," Shishido agreed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. You are entirely too good to be true. "I guess not."

She held onto his wrist until they passed the school gate, then dropped it when other people appeared on the streets and sidewalk. But he could still feel her slender fingers long after she'd let go, and when their elbows brushed countless times over dinner that night, he wondered what it would be like to hold her hand.

~xXx~

The next morning, a large crowd gathered around the athletics bulletin board in anticipation for the results. Airi used her shorter height to her advantage as she squeezed through the throng, only a little nervous to find out her fate.

Hyotei Academy Girls' Tennis Team

Sorano Tsukiko, captain (3rd year)

Himura Shun, vice-captain (3rd year)

Fukumitsu Erena (3rd year)

Akechi Yuuka (3rd year)

Katsura Ikue (3rd year)

Hayashi Anna (3rd year)

Yoshida Airi (2nd year)

Kataoka Chizuru (2nd year)

With a grin, Airi privately congratulated herself. Sure, she was happy and pleased with herself for making the team, but that was only half the battle. She didn't know any of the third years, but Airi made it a goal for herself for to become better with their help. After winning titles on the London Junior Circuit, Airi knew that the only way to get away was to make friends.

She stole a glance over to her left, where Kataoka Chizuru was staring at the lineup with an open mouth. Chizuru was, without a doubt, surprised to see her name, and for that Airi reached over and gave her a hug. The other girl stiffened for a brief moment, before relaxing.

This, Airi thought, was going to be a great year.

~xXx~

End

~xXx~

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! And, well, that's really I can say about that matter.

As you can see, there are some small changes here. Ikue's name has been changed from Shiina Ikue to Katsura Ikue, which is really just a preference thing for me. She's a bit different from how you may remember, but she's still Ikue through and through.

Anyway, please review and follow if you like what you're reading! I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner, but no promises.

Love, Cara