Disclaimer: Never in a million years will I ever own Prince of Tennis.


Chapter 2: Heaven Knows

Sanada shifted his body slightly, his body feeling well rested. He reached out for his alarm clock and saw that it was 7.40am. He gave a loud yell and nearly fell off the bed. A knock was heard and the door slide open and entered a woman in her mid-forties, though she looked ten years younger from her actual age. She had long straight black hair tied up into a low ponytail and she wore an apron as she was cooking. "Genichirou, what's wrong?" his mother came into the room after hearing the yell. She saw her son running to the bathroom and quickly cleaning his teeth.

"Why didn't you wake me up mother? I am going to be late for school!" Sanada muffled out as his mouth was full of toothpaste. Was it his imagination or did his mother look slightly different than usual? The motherly looking woman blinked repeatedly before letting out a giggle. "My dear, it's a Sunday. If I remembered correctly you don't have classes nor tennis practice today right?" she smiled down at her son. Wait, smiled down? Since when did he have to look up at his mother?

Sanada went to the mirror in his bathroom and nearly choked on his toothpaste. The toothbrush fell out of his mouth and into the sink. He couldn't believe it. Staring right back at him was a younger, smaller version of him. "Are you feeling alright, Genichirou? You suddenly look very pale. You are not catching a cold are you?" his mother voiced out her concern. Sanada quickly regained his senses and replied back with a slight daze, "No… I'm fine mother," he mumbled, toothpaste now dripping from his lips.

His mother ruffled his hair gently. "Well, breakfast is served. Come and get it when you are done." With that she exited the room and closed the door silently. Sanada then quickly rinsed his mouth and gaped back into his reflection. He then quickly ran back into his room and stepped right in front of the usual Gregorian calendar that he hung up to cross out each day. He stared right at the date that indicated the current day. May 28, 2006.

'No…no way. Is this some kind of a sick joke? What the hell is going on tarundoru!' Sanada felt his legs grew weak and he slumped onto the floor. He looked over at his bookcase and saw all of his first year textbooks sorted out neatly according to subjects. He went back into the bathroom and stare right back at his reflection. He took a deep breath and slapped himself on both cheeks, hard. 'That hurts! Tarundoru!' Sanada hissed at the pain and he looked back into the mirror again. There was still no change in his appearance. Looks like this is reality and not a dream.

'Did I really look like that during my first year?' he thought, with a frown marred upon his face. His hair was slightly spiky instead of the usual sleekness and some spikes fell onto his forehead. His face had no wrinkles, unlike when he was in third year when he often frowns and his hands was less calloused.

He took out a change of clothes from his closet and went into the shower area. He needed time to think. The cold water blasted out and Sanada didn't realize that his body was shivering. His heart was still beating wildly against his chest. 'What in the world is going on? I remembered that I went straight to bed after visiting Yukimura…' His hands clenched into fists on impulse and his heart beat even more wildly at realization. He bit his lower lip as his teeth was slightly chattering. 'Oh my god. Yukimura… does that mean that Yukimura is…?' He did not dare believed it. If he really was in the past, then Yukimura must be alive and well. He felt his whole body tremble with mixed emotions. Oh, how he had missed the soft-spoken bluenet.

He quickly turned off the shower and use his hands to swipe his spikes back, and then dry off and changed into a pair of black slacks and a white t-shirt. He glanced around his room. The arrangement of his room was similar to the one from his time, except that the trophy case in this time was more bare from trophies and medals as compared to when he was a third year. His eyes darted to the corner of the room, to where his tennis bag was. With trembling fingers, he unzipped the bag and took out a racquet. It was the same color and same design, except that the grip was slightly thinner due to his smaller palms and the size of the racquet head was slightly smaller. He inwardly scowled. 'Tarundoru! What a small racquet.' His thoughts were interrupted however, when he heard his mother calling him down for breakfast.

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Sanada flumped himself into the mattress of his bed. He was exhausted although he had just woken up. His mother coddled him slightly, often putting more food onto his plate while his grandfather and father still looked strict and stern as always. His nephew was noisy as usual but he was used to it. Hell, compared to the future, his nephew was much better behaved now. Sanada noted that he must instill discipline into his nephew to prevent the young boy from turning into his usual mischievous persona.

He got off his bed and went to the bookshelf and retrieved his diary. Sanada flipped to the latest entry and sat back down onto his bed and began reading. He was thankful that he usually wrote in his diary. He looked at the date and noted that his latest entry was in fact yesterday, May 27, 2006.


May 27, 2006.

Morning practice today was the same as usual. The seniors are still giving us the cold shoulder since we had beaten the whole regular team. Renji predicted that this year, Rikkai would win the Nationals with the three demons on the team. Yukimura agreed with him and we three made a vow that we will be the ones to make history…


'Yukimura is really alive!' Sanada breathed in, not daring to believe it. He was nervous yet desperate to see his captain again. 'Wait, come to think of it, I remembered that I made a wish when I saw the meteor that I wanted to see Yukimura again. Could that be the reason why…' Sanada just shook his head to himself. 'Now is not the time to think about why. Get a hold of yourself Genichirou! Yukimura will be having the surgery around two years time! You have got to do something!'

Sanada sighed and closed his diary. He will read all the entries later. Right now, he must do something about Yukimura. 'If I remember correctly, Yukimura will be diagnosed in his second year during winter, right after he fainted at the station. Does that mean that he may have the illness now but have not diagnosed it as yet?' Sanada stopped breathing. He could do something about it. He could maybe prevent Yukimura's untimely death this time! His thoughts were once again interrupted when he heard his mother calling for him. "Genichirou, Yanagi-kun and Yukimura-kun are here to see you."

Sanada felt a rush of adrenaline in his body as he leapt off the bed. He raced to the door and ran down the staircase. He turned his gaze to the entrance of his wooden house and there were two faces beaming at him. "Genichirou, have you forgotten that we were meeting up for some tennis?" Yanagi waved. He still had his eyes closed but his hair was much longer, nearly reaching his shoulders. Yukimura gave a grin and went up to Sanada and gave him a friendly slap on his arm. "Sanada, what's wrong with you? You look like you have just seen a ghost." Sanada could only stare hungrily at his supposedly dead future captain. Yukimura looked exactly as he remembered. His wavy blue locks framed his face beautifully, enhancing his feminine features. The only difference was that he looked two years younger and he had a more carefree attitude.

"I-I'm fine. Just give me a minute while I go get my bag." Sanada mumbled out, still not daring to face the bluenet. He then walked back slowly into his room and sling the tennis bag around his right shoulder. He said a quick goodbye to his family before heading out with Yukimura and Yanagi by his side.

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They took a shortcut by crossing the park to some nearby open tennis courts. Luckily, there was a free court available and the three Rikkai demons dropped their bags onto the nearby benches and took out their tennis racquets. Sanada tested the grip on his hand and hit a few test swings. He must get used to his current body or he wouldn't be able to play at his best. He looked over at the other two and saw them waiting for him. "Why don't you guys have a one-set match first? I want to warm-up a little." They both nodded in agreement and went into the court. Sanada took a few tennis balls and stuffed them into his pockets. He walked away from the courts and look for a wall to practice against. He found one near a water fountain and he stood about ten feet away from it. He bounced the ball a few times before serving. As the ball bounced back to his left, he ran to it and found out that his body didn't have the proper reach for it. His racquet tapped the ball gently instead hitting it back onto the wall. 'Damn! I'm not used to this body, Tarundoru!' he cursed silently. He was having his 15-year-old mindset but his 13-year-old body.

He took a deep breath and took out another tennis ball from his racquet. He served once again into the wall but this time he managed to adjust his shots based on his body size. He realized that his shots felt very weak in terms of strength as compared to his 15-year-old body. He tried hitting more powerful shots but find that his body lacked the muscle for it. 'Tarundoru!'

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In the open courts, Yukimura and Yanagi were playing equally in skill and strength. Yukimura returned Yanagi's ball easily and ran up to the net. "Yanagi. Is it just me or is Sanada acting different from usual?" the Child of God asked as he waited for the ball to cross his side of the court. The data master's smile faltered slightly. "Oh, Seiichi you have noticed it as well?" The reply made Yukimura snorted lightly. "Of course, I've known Sanada for years. I wondered if something happened?" Yukimura accidentally sent a lob and Yanagi won the point with a powerful smash. He landed gracefully on his feet and brushed off the non-existent dirt from his trousers. "Well, we are talking about Genichirou here," he paused before continuing. "If there is indeed something wrong, I doubt he will confide in us. That's just the way he is."

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Sanada had been hitting against the wall for nearly half an hour. He then proceeded to pick up the tennis balls and stuffed it back into his pockets before heading back to the court. As the court came to sight, he saw that Yanagi and Yukimura were still competing against each other. Yukimura did an unexpected drop shot and won the game. He gave his usual smirk, "Game, set and match. 6-3. It's my win, Yanagi." Yanagi returned a smile, "As expected from you, Seiichi. You didn't even use your Yips."

Out of the corner of his eye, Yanagi saw Sanada standing at the corner of the court. "Genichirou, how was your warm-up?"

Sanada just lightly shrugged. "Same as always."

Yukimura went up to Sanada and gave a light grin. "Want to have a match with me, Sanada?" Sanada raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "No… maybe some other day. You just had a match with Renji. I'll play with you when you are at your full strength." This earned him a pout from Yukimura. "But I still feel fine," the bluenet whined. Sanada gave a sigh and patted the wavy blue hair. "Some other day alright? I promise…" The reason why he didn't want to have a match was due to a few reasons. One of it was because he was still not used to his body and his two friends might get suspicious. Another was because he noticed that Yukimura was breathing heavily and he didn't want the bluenet to overstrain himself. To change the subject, he suggested that they should have lunch now and that he would treat them. The two of them smiled at him and nodded, definitely not wanting to let go of this generous offer. They packed up their racquets and tennis balls and headed to have sushi for lunch.

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After lunch, Yanagi walked in the opposite direction to his house while Sanada and Yukimura walked home together as their houses were in the same direction. Sanada felt a little nervous being alone with Yukimura and chose to stay silent, leading to an awkward silence between them. Then again, Sanada had always been the quiet type so Yukimura didn't notice Sanada's nervousness. He did sense that Sanada was not in his usual self though. "Regionals are coming soon. I can't wait. We can finally play against some proper schools. Although, we still do have the Prefecturals." said Yukimura in distaste. Sanada glanced at Yukimura and felt a sudden urge to embrace him in his arms. He really had missed the bluenet and he had just found out two months ago that he had also fallen in love with him. 'But this isn't the same Yukimura that I fell in love with. The Yukimura I fell in love with had gone through many ordeals.' And yet, why does he find himself desiring this person right next to him?

'Don't be silly. It's still the same Yukimura! Tarundoru!' he scolded himself. Yukimura glanced at the Emperor of Rikkai and tilted his head to the side. "Sanada? Are you listening?" Sanada stared at the innocent expression worn by Yukimura and quickly push away his thoughts. "I'm sorry, Yukimura. I was thinking about something. What were you saying just now?" Yukimura wore a slightly hurt expression and gave a pout. "Sanada… what is wrong with you today? You really are acting weird." Sanada felt guilt overtaking him and he glanced away to avoid Yukimura from seeing his expression. "Sorry… I guess I am a little tired," he hoped that this reason would satisfy Yukimura. Yukimura raised a perfect eyebrow before exhaling. "Well, I guess we have been training a lot since we became regulars. And I know that you, of all people would be training the most. Oh well, I'll forgive you this once." Yukimura's smile returned to his face. "I asked earlier whether you are excited to go to the Regionals."

Sanada shrugged before answering. "Well, it is just the Regionals. It's not like it's the Nationals."

Yukimura nodded. "Yeah, I suppose. Going into the Nationals should be a complete shoo-in for Rikkai; it's whether we can win it."

They continued talking until Yukimura's house came to plain sight. The bluenet turned to the raven and beamed. "Well, thank you for walking me home and for lunch today." Sanada hesitated a little before giving his usual nod. He wished that he had his cap with him to hide his face. He felt that Yukimura could easily read his expressions and look into his mind. They were, after all friends since they were four-years-old. Apparently, he just remembered that he only constantly wore a cap during his third year.

Yukimura gave a final wave before heading going through the side gate of his house. "See you in practice tomorrow then." The stoic Sanada gave a slight grunt in reply before Yukimura entered into the house. Once he heard the door click shut, he exhaled deeply and was taking slow steps to his own home. 'Seeing him alive and well was harder than I thought. I honestly just wanted to cry out for joy and just hold him close. Yukimura is really alive…' Sanada brought up his hand that patted Yukimura's head and stare at it. He could still feel the soft texture of the hair in his hands. "Tarundoru, I am in trouble," he whispered.


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