A/N: You guys just love to push me over the edge, don't you? lol! Since I got a few reviews and some personal messages regarding this ("Please! Continute!), I decided to get myself back in this game.

Oh, and to the person who reviewed saying that Nick should be fleshed out a bit more, I was saving that moment for this chapter. I wanted people to think he was too good to be true.

Standard Disclaimer applies.

"Match point!" The senior coach announced as Nick stared Kyoko down on the opposite side of the court. The girl swallowed hard as she firmly gripped the ball she needed to serve. The entire match was one sided, Kyoko only getting a few points. She felt humiliated to the extreme.

'How?' she asked herself. 'Not even us seniors know how to handle that kind of power. It's not a power shot, but it acts just like one. Is this boy even human?'

"Take your time." Nick's statement pulled Kyoko out of her thoughts. She just looked at him, surprised that he wasn't gloating his inevitable victory.

'Okay. I really don't understand him.'

"Is something wrong, Kyoko?" The coach asked.

Kyoko shook her head. "No, Coach Emily." That was actually a lie. She didn't want to lose her 2nd rank in senior singles like this. "It can't be helped." She sighed and then served the ball. Nick quickly dashed to the ball and hit it back, but Kyoko didn't move. The ball simply went past her without any trouble.

The senior coach just stared at her student for a moment, amazed that Kyoko just gave up. "Uh..." she stuttered, but finished, "I guess Nick is the winner."

The blue haired boy just stood there, confused. True, he was winning games like a breeze blew by, but no one just gave up as she did. As Kyoko solemnly walked off, Nick felt irritated. The win was hollow. The 'all or nothing' play he usually gets from his opponents wasn't there. In fact, the more he dwelt on it, the more irritated he became.

"That's IT!" He yelled and stormed over to Kyoko. Many players there stared after him, but the target of his yelling didn't budge an inch as she started to sit down on her usual bench. However, she was forced to halt as he arm was pulled towards the infuriated tennis player. "Why did you do that?"

Even in this position, Kyoko's eyes didn't change. She simply glanced at Nick for a moment with pity. "It wouldn't have mattered anyway."

"So you would just give up?"

"Why waste energy on a hopeless task?"

Nick scowled at the statement. "Why, huh?" His grip loosened, piquing Kyoko's curiosity. She looked into his eyes, finding that neither his happy gleam or angry fire was lighting his green irises. Instead, they seemed sad. "Hopeless..."

The now 3rd ranked senior felt something from Nick. It was strong and piercing, making her feel sick to her stomach. 'Something's wrong,' she thought as she motioned Nick to sit with her. "Did I... say something wrong?"

"No." Nick's voice cracked as he spoke. Something was obviously wrong by this point, enough to make the coach come over.

"Kyoko, Nick, is everything okay?"

Kyoko thought for a second, wondering if a coach would be the best thing for Nick or not at this point. "It's fine," she told Emily. "I can handle this."

"Are you sure?" Kyoko nodded reassuringly. "Well, if anything gets out of hand, just call."

"Yes ma'am." With a nod from Emily, she turned and walked away, leaving the two to talk. Once making sure everyone was out of earshot, Kyoko asked, "Nick, what's wrong?"

The boy glanced at her, tears starting to form in his eyes. "It's... hard to talk about."

Kyoko wiped a tear that started to fall, trying to be a friend. "It's okay. Take your time."

"Jordan?" The white haired player opened her eyes at the wake up call, kind of surprised that she wasn't up first. More knocks came from her door before her name was called once more, making her sit up. "Are you in there?"

"Come in," Jordan said while fighting back a yawn. The door opened, showing Clay fully outfitted for a tennis match at anytime. "Clay? What are you doing here?"

"Well, for one, checking to make sure you're still alive. It's nearly noon, you know."

The girl gave a look of disbelief. "'Nearly noon?' No, I'm always up before nine."

"Have you checked the clock?" She wasn't amused, but she decided to humor the doubles champ and glance at the digital clock on the other side of the room. It read 11:47.

"Oh my gosh! How did I sleep so late!" Jordan dashed out of bed like the building was on fire, quickly grabbing her clothes and started to get dressed, but then remembered Clay was still in the room. She blushed, noticing how close she was to being indecent, and then started pushing Clay out.

"Hey! What's with the pushing?"

"I'm getting dressed here! Unlike you boys, girls need privacy!"

"But is the pushing-"

"OUT!" With one final shove, Clay lost his balance and tumbled out into the hall followed by a loud slam from Jordan's door. A few heads poked out of their rooms up and down the walkway, curious as to what the commotion was about.

The brunette player looked around, noticing the attention, and blushed while standing up. That was probably the first time he was kicked out of a room, much less a girl's room. Not even Ace gave him that kind of trouble. "I guess the news'll have to wait."

"I can't believe I overslept," Jordan openly stated as she started to pull on a pair of shorts, but ceased once she realized what she was doing. "No, not shorts!" Glancing around, she noticed her tennis skirt was on the other side of the room, but almost as soon as she stood to retrieve the piece of clothing, she tripped. The impact hurt and the rug on the floor didn't feel well against her bare skin. During her time on the floor, the white haired player felt like a total klutz.

'Maybe I shouldn't play tennis today,' she thought and turned over to look at the ceiling. If she couldn't even grab a skirt without tripping, how could she hit a drop shot close to the net? Looking down, her shorts were still clinging to one of her legs just begging to be worn. A defeated look crossed the girl's features before letting out a small laugh. "I guess I'll take the day to get to know the campus."

In the café, talk was buzzing about one subject: Nick. When Jordan entered, his name kept coming in her ears every other second no matter where she stood. Instead of breakfast food, the bar contained a lunch selection, but she expected that. She took what she considered a 'brunch' selection and tried to find a table.

Instead, the table found her. "Jordan! Over here!" The girl's dark brown eyes snapped over to the voice's direction, but she relaxed when she noticed Ace was waving to her, a smile on the champ's face.

"That doesn't look like tennis clothes," Clay pointed at as the white haired player came over. Her attire was different compared to her last set of clothes. She wore slightly tight shorts and a yellow shirt under a denim jacket, not exactly something you'd ware on the court to say the least.

"I'm not playing tennis today," Jordan stated as she took a seat. "I was a bit of a klutz as I tried to get dressed."

"Why should that stop you?"

"If I act like that on a court, how am I supposed to win?"

"Just let your other side take over! Once you grab a racket you're all, like, 'no holding back' or anything! Seriously, I-" Clay was interrupted as a certain hand slapped him in the back of the head.

"Don't mind him," Ace said with a mix of laughter and irritation. "If you don't think today's a good day, don't worry about it."

Jordan giggled at the scene while picking up her sandwich. "Thank you."

"But have you heard about Nick recently?" Ace received shake of the head. "He lost against Roy in the Senior courts."

"Why is that so surprising?" Jordan asked after she swallowed her food.

"Roy used an ability like your own." The white haired girl stopped in mid-bite, shocked at the words she just heard. "The new training machines are here and ready to be opened, but Roy was the first to try them out due to a volunteer project. When he came out, he gain the ability to rapidly chain hits near equivalent to a power shot."

Jordan dropped her sandwich, but didn't move an inch. The idea that her own ability can now be used against her frightened her more than even she expected. "How was he after the match?"

"Exhausted," Clay answered. "He may have won the match, but seeing him walking to the lodge, he doesn't look like he'll be playing anymore matches today."

"And what of Chris?" Ace looked at Jordan's eyes closely. They were still a deep shade, but she was talking like she does on the court. "Is he okay?"

"He was shaken, to say the least. If he was willing to play another match, his chance left when Roy entered his dorm."

This time, Jordan's eyes changed. Her head snapped up to an authoritative position, and the doubles champs were suddenly on full alert. "Who has clearance to train for these abilities?"

"Varsity," Ace answered as calmly as she could. "No one lower."

"Are there certain types?"

"According to the a person's play style, I heard," Clay answered. "Like, if you play with power, you can chain a bunch of hard shots."

Jordan's eyes switched back, trailing away as she entered her own thoughts. 'So, Mom was on to something."

Ace noticed something important was on the girl's mind. The whole scenario must have been a total shock to her, but it was already in motion. The least the champ could do was let herself be someone to talk to. "Jordan..." Ace spoke softly, alerting Clay about the moment going on.

"Uh... Should I go?" Clay asked, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"No," Jordan answered, pushing herself out of her chair. "If Ace doesn't mind, I'd like to walk around during the conversation." Ace nodded, following Jordan out of the café and leaving the brunette alone at the table.

Clay just sat there for a moment, feeling a little out of place in this whole situation. He was a varsity player in doubles, meaning he could train with those machines to gain those abilities, but that would mean participating in whatever was hurting Jordan, and possibly Nick too. The last thing he wanted was to be an enemy to a couple of new people that he actually liked.

"Clay, was it?" Clay jumped at the sudden voice, not expecting anyone to appear in such a short time. Once he focused, he saw a dark blue haired boy with a serious look on his face. "Mind if we talk?"

The walkways of the Academy was mostly clear, easy for a couple of girls to have their conversation without any eavesdroppers. Ace kept silent as she and Jordan strolled the grounds, waiting for the new girl to talk on her own. Jordan, on the other hand, was waiting for Ace to ask a question regarding how she felt. If Ace was interested, she didn't want to give more information than was necessary.

However, after some time, Jordan broke the silence. "You're wondering how I feel about this, right?"

Ace shrugged, not sure that was the right way of saying it. "I could probably guess how you're feeling. To suddenly hear that anyone can gain an ability that you thought only you and a few others could do would be very shocking."

"Well, I wouldn't say 'shocking' is a best word. I'm surprised, but even my mother guessed this could happen."

Ace's eyes widened at the mention of a parent. "Your mother?"

Jordan nodded. "She called it one's 'inner power.'"

"This 'inner power' is like the core of your strength released to push you beyond your limit," Nick explained to Clay. The doubles champ was surprised such a subject was actually recorded in science, and he was more surprised that Nick was studying this when he heard about it.

Clay leaned back in his seat, collecting what he heard from the rumors around the campus. "So those who are set in a type of play style has their abilities enhanced for some time?"

"That's a basic way of using it. However, it can be pushed farther than that, but it takes a lot of energy."

Clay was surprised to hear this. The idea that your very essence could be used to enhance your game would drive some power hungry players to use every ounce of energy they have in a game. But if that was the case... "Could it be possible to die from overuse of it?" Nick nodded, making Clay swallow hard. "So... How did you find out you could do it?"

Nick chuckled a moment, before shaking his head. The idea of telling the same story twice in one day was not something he enjoyed, but it couldn't be helped at this point. "My father didn't consider me play tennis worthy of his time. He stuck me to the books whenever I tried to do something for myself. He wanted a genius son, but I wanted to play tennis. One day he found me playing on the courts, and tried to pull me out. I told my opponent to keep playing, and they did. My mind was totally focused in the game even though he was screaming in my ear."

"Before I knew it, I was hitting the ball so hard that it would leave dents in the pavement," Jordan said, telling Ace her story. "I just kept hitting it again and again, each time with more force than before. I couldn't control it. Then I fell to the ground out of exhaustion and my mother took me in her arms. She looked frantic, even for a doctor. Since then, she started studying the hidden potential of the human body."

"That's when she found this 'core' of energy?"

Jordan nodded. "She called me a tennis prodigy. That was the day she considered signing me into the Royal Academy."

"He called me a hopeless freak," Nick spat. "He disowned me, and left me in an orphanage. But it didn't take long for a couple to catch wind of my story and adopt me. The 10 year old freak was then taken in by people who always kept a positive outlook and an open mind. About four years later, they wanted me to enjoy my gift and signed me up for this place." Nick motioned all around him, regarding the Academy. "At first I thought it would be too easy, but now..."

"We have some serious competition." Ace quietly giggled at Jordan's competitive nature. It reminded her of when she and Clay made a promise to make it to the Island Open last year.

"I bet you do," Ace stated playfully. "Just don't be too surprised when you find me knocking balls around you right and left."

Jordan laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it." Looking at the sky, Jordan noticed the Sun was at a later hour than she expected. "But I guess that will have to be during another day. I won't have enough time to change and get started up the ranks."

"Hey, why not come to my dorm?" Ace suggested? "We'll have some fun of our own until the day is done."

The white haired player smiled, accepting the offer, but before they started off, she had something to say. "Ace..."

Ace looked back at her, slightly worried when hearing her tone. "What is it?"

"Thank you," Jordan said. "Thanks for being a friend."

Ace didn't say anything as she took Jordan's hand, almost dragging her back to the dorms as they laughed on the way.

"Well then," Clay said, an adventurous tone starting to form in his voice, "how about I help you?"

Nicked gave a dumbfounded look. "You help me?"

"Yeah. Just because I'm not ranked in Senior singles doesn't mean my doubles ranking in varsity won't get me in the training area." Nick smiled, liking where this was headed. "I'll get in there, unlock my inner power, and then you and I will train together until you're able to work back up the ranks without any trouble." Clay suddenly stuck out his hand, surprising Nick for a moment. However, his next word allowed Nick to have a say in the matter. "Deal?"

Nick stared at Clay's hand, thinking it over for a second. Then, with a big smile on his face, he grasped the brunette's hand with all his might. "Deal!"