"So I was the person she was looking for." Naoki shook his head as he put away the dishes. "We only ran into each other a few times throughout high school. I never thought I made such an impact on her."

"Believe me, you make quite an impact," Kotoko teased. "I should know—remember, you fell on me after the relay race."

"Haha," he said without humor then bent down and kissed her quickly to show that he wasn't angry at the reminder.

"I just wonder what her next move is going to be," she mused.

"Better that you worry about what my next move is going to be," Naoki declared before sweeping her off her feet and bouncing them both onto the bed.

"Oh, I never worry about that," she assured him as she placed both hands on his cheeks and kissed him loudly.


Matsumoto's strategy was apparently to force her way into Naoki's presence as much as possible. As their courses of study were in two separate buildings, the most convenient time was during lunch.

"So why do we all have to suffer with this bitch's company?" complained Jinko.

"What a fascinating character study she makes," marveled Aoki, who, along with medical student Sonada, frequently joined them. "Despite her appearance, I'm having doubts about her being heroine material."

"Doesn't take a genius to figure that out," Satomi groused. "I wonder if Watanabe-kun has learned to write a cease-and-desist order yet?"

The acknowledged couple of the group communicated with hand motions and facial expressions as Matsumoto carried on a monologue, each item extolling her superiority. Naoki almost sighed in relief when they were interrupted; that is, until he recognized the booming voice.

"Irie! I heard that you were here at Tonan U!"

"Hello, Sudo-sempai," he greeted him in a subdued tone.

"Who's this?" Kotoko whispered.

Overhearing, the mustachioed macho male puffed out his chest. "Only the assistant captain of the tennis team here. We have a lauded tradition of winning. Hoo-rah!"

"Ugh," Satomi leaned into Jinko. "Is it just me, or is he even skeevier than Kin-chan?"

"It's not just you," she replied, lip curled in distaste.

"Now, Irie," he pulled a rolled sheaf of papers from his back pocket, "just put your name and phone number down on this list, and we can continue our streak."

Naoki shoved it away. "I'm not interested in playing college tennis, Sempai."

"What?" He faked a heart palpitation. "You have been ranked in the top 15 for the past four years! That is just a waste of talent."

"I have a new interest." He said firmly, "You'll have to find someone with more time than I have. Now, if you will excuse me?" He disposed of his trash and headed to his next class, Sonada at his heels.

"Don't think you'll escape me so easily!" he hollered after him. "Drat! I'll have to try and find some other way to get him on board."

Matsumoto rose and took his arm. "Perhaps I can offer you a few ideas, if you'd like to walk me to the business building."

Sudo did a double-take, finally focusing on the beauty before him. "Charmed, of course! Allow me to introduce myself, Sudo Kousei. And would you also perhaps be a business major? I am a second year and would be more than happy to guide you towards the easiest professors. Perhaps over dinner?"

Her smile faltered, but she quickly recovered. "It might not take that much time. But let's leave so that we can have some…" she glanced at the interested table "...privacy for our negotiations."

As they walked into the sunshine, Aoki voiced what all of them were thinking. "I have a bad feeling about this."


"You say you have an idea to help me convince Irie to join the team?" Sudo sauntered next to Matsumoto, proud that the campus could see the woman at his side.

"Not so much of an idea," she hedged, "but I would recommend that you continue to apply pressure. Do not let up until he agrees."

He scratched his head. "What'll that get me, except to irritate him? And he can be pretty cutting in his remarks if you bother him."

"What you get is me," she smiled widely, backtracking when she spied a lustful spark in his eyes, "on your tennis team. Matsumoto Yuko," she held out a hand. "I have been in the final four for the past two Interhighs."

"Ah! I thought you looked familiar!" He waved a finger. "You used to wear your hair up in a tight bun."

"Yes," she said, "until it got so long that it gave me a headache before the second match was over. But never mind that!"

"It's just that I thought it was so sexy…"

She shuddered and moved a few centimeters away. "Look, just so you don't get any strange ideas about me: I'm wanting to separate Irie-kun from that ditzy baka who thinks she can be his girlfriend. Tennis practice should take a lot of time and allow me to present my case—so to speak—without her around."

"You're attracted to that cold man?"

She glared at him from under lowered eyebrows. "I prefer the adjectives 'calm, cool and collected'."

"Hmm...okay then," he agreed quickly. "I'll attack him again. I've got a few things on him that I bet he wouldn't want his parents to hear about."

Matsumoto gave him a quick nod. "Whatever works!"

As they continued their progress towards the business building, Sudo's mind raced. Joining the tennis club will mean that Matsumoto will be in close contact with me, so I'll be able to show her my brand of charm. But how to provide a barrier to Irie during practice sessions? Hmm?


"You look pleased with yourself, Yuko-san."

"Do I?" Matsumoto considered that perhaps she was glowing with happiness. "It's just that I finally tracked down my quarry, Sei-san."

Her neighbor's shoulders sagged. "You've had better luck than me, then. And for the life of me, I don't see what this piddling college has to offer to lure him away from Todai."

She turned to him. "You know, even though we attended the same high school and were both honor students, we never ran in the same circles. Who are you so intent on locating?"

"Never mind," he waved away her question, "you wouldn't know him. He is way above even your—at least, in this setting—superior brain."

Her lip curled. "Is that an indirect way of insulting my intelligence? Well, Mr. Super-Smart-But-Dumb, let me give you some advice." She pressed a perfectly manicured fingertip to the page of his opened book. "No matter how elevated your quarry, he still has to eat. Try the cafeteria; that's where I ran mine to ground."

His mouth gaped for a moment. "I never thought about that. He is human, after all."

She shifted her chair half a meter away. "He is," she muttered, "but I'm not so sure about you."

Not even noticing, he rubbed his hands together in glee. "My competitor, my rival, my nemesis! Soon we will battle once more, and this time I will be the victor." Raising an arm above his head, he cried, "There can be only one!"

"Damn." Matsumoto stood and moved all of her paraphernalia to a table across the room. "Maybe I should have stuck with Aihara."


Kotoko rolled on the bed, breathless from giggles. "The famous Irie-kun watched AVs in the sports room at high school?"

"I'd really rather that not become public knowledge. Especially to my mother. She would leap on it as a reason for me to move back home." His voice rose in an imitation of Mrs. Irie. "'Such a lack of judgment makes me doubt your father's wisdom in allowing you to live on your own.'"

"Your secret is safe with me," she chortled.

"It better be."

He reached over and ran his fingers across her ribs, smiling when she squealed, "Don't worry—no one would believe me even if I told them!"

Naoki pushed hair off his forehead and gave a short laugh. "I don't know why Sudo-the-Demon thought that would be enough to blackmail me into joining the tennis team. He'd be the one to come off with the dirtier hands if it got out."

"So none of the coaches found out?" She sat up cross-legged once her bout of hilarity ceased.

"Oh, they knew, but Sudo was enough of a pain in the ass that they left him alone. I mean, he helped the team with its winning streak, so they trusted that he wouldn't go too far out of bounds."

"Yeah, I can see that he's a little difficult. Although," she chewed on the edge of a thumbnail, "you probably should get some physical exercise instead of immersing yourself in studies all the time."

He smiled lazily at her. "Are you planning to join me in the medical department, Doctor Aihara?"

She flushed. "Not exactly."

He sat up straight and leaned her direction. "What is it, then?"

"Oh," her eyes dropped, "I was more thinking about something like a health coach, maybe for good eating and exercise habits. And considering all my accidents, maybe a few courses on first aid or rehabilitation."

"Hmm." Naoki considered her words. "That's kind of a cross between physical education and medicine." He grinned. "We might see each other in the halls after all."

"Well, it's just an idea."