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

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or its characters. This is purely a fan made story.

Chapter 4- Traitor

"That's him."

"You sure?"

"Yes, yes, he's the brother of a genius tennis player who used to play for us."

"Really? Amazing."

"You think he's any good at tennis?"

"He must be. I mean, he is the brother of a tennis prodigy."

That was the kind of gossip Yuuta had to deal with in his first week back in Seigaku. He was sorely annoyed, but mentally prepared himself. He had matured a lot in the past year. Watching his brother win a championship fueled him to improve even more. Yuuta, although he would never admit it, actually had a very similar personality to his brother (minus the sadistic side). He was immediately accepted by the other club members, partly because of the fact that he was the brother of an old Seigaku champion, but mostly because he was easy to get along with.

It was a Friday afternoon, and practice had already finished. Yuuta had just stepped out of the school gates to head home when he felt a chill all of a sudden, the feeling that he was being watched. He looked around but didn't see anyone, so he just shrugged it off and continued walking. He then heard his name being called and he turned around to see Momo with the ex-freshman trio. They were on their way out as well.

"Oi, oi, Fuji-san, you hungry?" Momo shouted.

"Sure." Yuuta responded blankly.

"Me and the three amigos here were gonna grab a burger, you wanna join us?"

"Hmmmm…." pondered Yuuta.

"Awww… come on. It would a great chance to bond with your new teammates." Momo grinned.

"Fine." Yuuta conceded.

"Great." Momo roared. "Let's go. I'm starving. S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G!"

"Momochan-senpai is always hungry." snorted Horio. Everyone laughed.

Yuuta learned a lot about his new teammates by the time they were done hanging out. He learned that Kachiro's father taught at a tennis club, that Horio had three years tennis experience, that Momo could eat ten burgers at a time without slowing down at all, that Kachiro and Katsuo were doubles partners, that Horio had three years tennis experience, and a bunch of other stuff he found amusing.

"No wonder aniki liked Seigaku so much" he thought to himself. "These guys are something alright."

Later that evening when Yuuta got to the front of his house he discovered that someone was waiting for him there.

"Good evening Yuuta-kun, did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Mizuki-san…"

"When I heard from Akazawa that not only had you turned down the captain position, but you even quit the team, I honestly thought it was a joke."

"Mizuki-san, didn't Akazawa-buchou explain to you why I had to leave…"

"Enough of your lame excuses. I trained and groomed you to become a top level tennis player, all so that you could lead St. Rudolph to the nationals. And this is how you repay me?"

"Mizuki-san... Sorry but…"

"Didn't I say enough with the excuses."

"You're being unreasonable you know."

"I'm the one unreasonable, huh? Am I the one who abandoned and betrayed my team when they needed me most?"

"I didn't abandon my team. I just had to leave because of circumstances."

"Using your family as a shield, how shameless of you Yuuta-kun. Why don't you just admit that you joined Seigaku because that would mean an easier route to the Nationals? That you can't handle the responsibility of leading a team with no special players. Huh?"

"Is that what you really think, Mizuki-san?"

"That is what I think, Yuuta-kun. Coward, traitor."

"Excuse me." Yuuta brushed passed Mizuki and turned the knob to his house. "I thought you knew me better than that Mizuki-san. I'm sorry, if I didn't live up to your expectations, but I learned that I must stop worrying about what others think of me if I wish to live my own life."

He then shut the door, leaving a silent Mizuki to his thoughts.