Hello! It's been a bit longer than I expected because I got caught up in my other story. Gomen, ne? I'll be better, I promise. I hope this chapter makes up for it, because it's a good one! Shall we? Uhm, there's no specific match in this, but it does mention the outcome of the Fudomine match, so there's spoiler potential if you haven't seen it (in which case I suggest you stop my story now). Onward!

The Kawamura family sushi shop was alive with chatter as the Seigaku tennis club celebrated their victory. Miki watched all of them carefully, particularly Kawamura and Echizen, from her seat in the corner. She decided to turn down sitting with them as it was their victory, not hers. Their laughter and smiles were enough to make her feel better, despite all the tragedy from earlier.

Miki's eyes danced over Echizen's eye patch with worry. She'd worn a similar one years and years ago, though hers wasn't decorated with signatures from friends and peers. Silently her fingers moved to her right eye, hidden by her bang. She lowered her hand before anyone noticed.

Kawamura walked by with a tray full of delicious-looking foods. "Ne, Kawamura-sempai?" Miki asked quietly. He looked around for a moment before he noticed her sitting in the corner.

"Hai, Miki-chan? Why are you sitting alone?"

She smiled up at him. "I'm just watching everyone celebrate. But are you well enough to work? You hurt your wrist pretty badly." Her eyes flickered to his bandaged wrist.

"Daijoubu! My wrist it fine. It's a shame that I couldn't keep playing, though." He turned his head when Momo yelled for more food "Gomen, I have to go. Join the others, ne?"

"Ne, ne, Miki-chan. Kochi!" Kikumaru called to her. She smiled and got up to join him at his table. He held out a piece of sushi on chopsticks and offered it to her. "Try it, you'll like it!" An evil cackle followed this statement and Miki narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's wasabi sushi, isn't it Eiji-kun?" she asked simply. His face fell and he pouted, dropping the food into her outstretched hands.

"Awww, how did you know?" he whined.

She rolled her eyes. "You offered me food. That in itself is reason enough. You never give up something you could eat!" Then she popped the sushi into her mouth and chewed it happily. Everyone but Fuji looked at her strangely and she smiled. "Nani? Fuji-sempai gave me some last year and it was really good!"Kikumaru fell over onto Momo, who rolled his eyes and chuckled.

A hiss from across the room drew Miki's attention to Kaidoh, who appeared to be enjoying his sushi quietly and in peace. Miki grabbed a plate from the table that nobody had touched and carried it over to Kaidoh's table.

"Omedetou Kaidoh-san!" she sang happily. "Do you want some more anago?" He glanced up at her with his sharp eyes before continuing to eat. Undeterred, she placed the plate in the middle of the table and sat across from him. Slowly she began to eat as well. The Kawamura family was truly gifted in making sushi!

A strange feeling make Miki look up. Kaidoh was staring at her with a strange expression. "Nani?"

He hissed quietly. "You make noises when you eat."

"Oh!" Miki exclaimed, covering her face with a hand. She put down her chopsticks and inclined her head to him. "Sumimasen, I didn't know I was doing that!"

"Not like that," he continued quietly. "It's like a... purr. Like you enjoy the food."

A blush creeped over Miki's face and she hid behind her hair. How do you respond to a statement like that? An awkward silence passed between the two as Kaidoh ate, hissing occasionally.

"You know, you do it to," Miki finally said, breaking the silence. He looked up at her in confusion. "Make noises. Every few bites you hiss quietly. I guess we're both like animals, ne?"

He smirked and threw another piece of sushi into his mouth. Almost playfully he hissed and Miki laughed at his exaggeration.

Echizen walked past the table to the door and Miki got to her feet. "I'll be right back, ne? I want to congratulate Echizen-san."

By the time Miki closed the door behind her Echizen was already yards away and speeding his pace. "Ne, Echizen-san! Chotto matte kudasai!" she called, running to catch up with him. He didn't stop or turn, but he slowed to a leisurely walk and Miki started walking beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"My eye is fine."

There was a pause before Miki replied. "I wasn't talking about your eye."

Echizen stopped. Her face was not playful or happy as it had been in the sushi shop; a serious expression had taken it's place. Slowly, she brought her hand up and swept her bangs behind her ear. Echizen's eyes widened.

A shiny pink scar stretched from her right temple down through her eyebrow and across her eyelid to reach the bridge of her nose. "I wasn't asking how your eye was, I was asking how you were," she repeated. "The damage an eye injury leaves behind is all mental. Here." She held out a tennis ball. "Throw it to me."

He gently tossed in the air to her and watched it land in her outstretched hands. He didn't miss that her right eye blinked violently when the ball fell past her face.

A sad smile graced her lips as she saw recognition pass his features. "I left during your game because I knew what would happen. You're too stubborn sometimes. Just be careful about your eye, okay? People will take advantage of it if they know."

"Does Kikumaru-sempai know about your eye?" he asked in return.

"He knows more than I'd like him to, but yes, he knows. He, Fuji-sempai, and Oishi-sempai are the only ones who know. I don't care if you tell people, but warn me first, please?" She offered him a smile, but his eyes were focused behind her.

"I think they already know."

Suddenly alert, Miki heard noises behind her and turned to see the entire team, save Tezuka, behind her. Even if they didn't hear her talking to Echizen, they could see her scar clearly. Their stares were of hidden pity, to her dislike. She turned back around and noticed Echizen had continued walking and was a block away.

With a heavy sigh she walked back to them. Momo was the first to speak. "What happened to your eye?" he questioned loudly. Someone nudged him in the ribs and he grunted.

"Ano," she began, "I'd rather tell this story another day. Celebrate. Eat. You guys deserve it after how you played today."

Miki waited until everyone returned to the shop and continued eating and having fun before she slipped away and headed home. She didn't mean for everyone to find out that way, nor to put a damper on their spirits. But she had plans for the next day. A green piece of fabric stuck out of her camera bag and she tugged it with a mischevious smile.

"Ah, how food makes one let their guard down."

: The Next Day :

Kaidoh growled in frustration and left his house for school. His hand strayed to his bare head and he ran his fingers through his hair. The trademark green bandanna was missing. Bandanna or no, though, he had morning practice and had to leave early or face punishment.

On his way Kaidoh saw Miki walking to school with an extra bag over her shoulder and her gray kitten sitting on her head. He hissed quietly and walked away.

Miki smiled, hearing Kaidoh hiss, but ignored it and quickened her pace. She had to beat him to the locker rooms or her surprise would fail, and that would be tragic. The bag hanging from her shoulder rustled as she walked faster and Kumo turned his head every which way, taking in the sights.

Fuji and Tezuka were the only people there that morning when Miki arrived. She waved to the two and sent them a smile before stealthily making her way to the entrance to the boys locker room. The door was always open but she waited under the window until everyone had left. Quickly, before anyone else came back, she sneaked in and placed a green bundle in Kaidoh's box before slipping back out. Then she placed Kumo on the ground, fastened a leash around his collar, and went to talk to Fuji to create an alibi.

:: Kaidoh's POV ::

Kaidoh arrived a few minutes later in a foul mood. How could he have lost his favorite bandanna? It was sitting in his school bag at the sushi shop the last time he remembered seeing it. That baka Momoshiro probably stole it. Bastard.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kaidoh-san!" a cheery voice called from across the tennis courts. He glanced up and saw Miki-chan waving at him with a leash in her hands. His eyes followed it down to Kumo, who was weaving himself in and out of her legs in his attempt to capture a butterfly fluttering low to the ground. A small smirk started to form on his face but dropped when he remembered his bad mood. He vaguely noticed Fuji and Tezuka standing beside her before continuing into the locker room.

"Nani?" he muttered when something green sticking out of his cubbyhole caught his eye. Moving closer allowed him to see that it was, not his bandanna as he hoped, but a box wrapped in bright green paper. 'Kaidoh-san' was written neatly on a card attached to the front. Curiously, he moved the paper and opened the box. There, in the box, was his bandanna, folded and clean of the mud he'd gotten on it at the match the previous day. Two cups of yogurt were sitting next to it, still cold, with a small spoon balancing on top. Another note was wedged between the yogurt.

Omedetou Kaidoh-san! I hope you're not too mad about your

bandanna, but I wanted to do something for you as a congratulations

for winning the match the other day. Boomerang snake wa sugoi!! But

just in case you were upset, I added the yogurt. Did you know Inui has

a creepy amount of information about you in his notebook? I'd be

worried, but since I'm not on the tennis team he's not investigating me!

Well, ja!~Miki-chan =^.^=

Heat creeped into his face and he was never more thankful that the locker room was empty. The attention she'd given him as of yet was strange enough, but to go this far? He didn't understand it.

"Kumo-kun!" a voice called from outside and Kaidoh looked out the window. Kumo had gotten off of his leash and was pursuing the butterfly down the road while his owner started to chase, only to realize too late that the leash was still tangled around her legs. She fell to the ground and made a loud noise of exasperation.

"Daijoubu, Miki-chan?" Fuji asked with his trademark smile. She glared up at him and gestured to her legs. He chuckled and helped her untangle the leash. Some weird sensation bubbled inside Kaidoh and he found himself glaring at Fuji.

The second she was untangled Miki darted after Kumo and out of view. Fuji and Tezuka shared a glance and started talking about something in quiet voices. Kaidoh shook his head and turned back to the box Miki had left for him. Still confused, he withdrew his beloved bandanna and one of the cups of yogurt. He tied the bandanna around his head and shoved a spoonful into his mouth. He'd never understand, but at least he got yogurt!

"Ohayo, Kaidoh," Inui greeted as he walked into the locker room a few minutes later. Immediately he noticed the discarded cup of yogurt in the trash and the unusual box in Kaidoh's cubbyhole.

"Ohayo, Inui-sempai," Kaidoh grunted before picking up his racket and leaving the room.

"Hmmm." Inui opened his notebook to Kaidoh's section and documented the strange occurrences. He closed his notebook and stood when he noticed a piece of paper on the ground. It was the note Miki left in the box she gave to Kaidoh. "Interesting. Very interesting. If she's becoming such an influence on Kaidoh, I think I need to start gathering some information on Miki-chan."

Dum dum duuuuum! Hehe, I love Kaidoh. Really I do. Oh, a bit of forewarning, Inui is not really Miki's favorite person, so sometimes the story isn't going to be nice to him. I personally have nothing against him, but it's for the sake of the story. Well, thank the reviewers time, ne?

hemiyami: Good, good, her past is supposed to be interesting. I'm so excited about all of the fun I'm going to have keeping her past a secret but giving out hints about it. I'm sorry if your past is bad, too, though. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reviewing!!

Moonlitelover: Hehe, it's a secret! It'll be revealed bit by bit. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

strawberrypockygrapeponta: I agree, yay Kaidoh! I was going for intrigue, so I'm glad. It's good that you noticed something is special about Miki's eyes, because they are special, but I can't answer any questions. Patience! You'll see eventually. Thanks for the review!

Cullen-Girl-4-Life: I love Kaidoh and he's my favorite character too! I was really sad that there aren't so many Kaidoh stories unless they're one-shots or have him really OOC. I'm trying hard to keep him in character and this will definitely last more than a few chapters. I'm glad you like the story though ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!

Well, until the next post, ne? It might not be next weekend because Friday's my sister's birthday, but I'll try really hard to post another chapter or two before Christmas. Ja mata!