I know I'm late again, guys. ^^; I'm sorry. I'll try to stay on track. Please enjoy this next chapter!

I don't own Prince of Tennis.

Every Saturday for the past month, Niou had spent half an hour in that hotel room with the detective. It was a nice change, compared to the rest of the week. He still hadn't uttered his real name, or the others real names. He hadn't said anything about locations, and he felt kind of bad about it. Yagyuu was wasting his time with him while he could be doing something more productive. But the detective was patient. Not to mention kind. He finally convinced Niou to eat something. And when Yukimura didn't notice, Niou kept it up.

"This one." Yagyuu pointed to a particularly ragged scar on his stomach.

Niou traced his finger over it. "Got it when I was pushed through a plate glass window."

"By...?"

He looked up and grinned. "Nice try."

Yagyuu smiled softly and touched a scar on Niou's chest. "And what about this one?"

"Just another mark from being beaten with a bull whip."

Yagyuu leaned back against the pillows and Niou pulled his shirt back down to cover his torso. It wasn't long before Niou spoke up again.

"Hey, Detective Yagyuu?"

"Hm?"

"Am..." Niou's brow creased. "Am I gay?"

Yagyuu choked a little on the water he was sipping on. After clearing his throat he looked at the younger boy. "What do you mean?"

"Well... All I've ever known is sleeping with guys. And although I certainly don't enjoy it, it's not because I'm sleeping with guys. It's because I'm sleeping with guys I don't want to sleep with." He looked down at his hands in his lap and leaned against the pillows beside Yagyuu. "I don't know what that means."

Yagyuu was silent for a moment. "Does it matter?"

Niou's eyes snapped up. "What?"

"Does it matter if you're gay or not? It's not something you can control. It's just a part of who you are. So what if you like guys instead of girls? Who's business is it?" He smiled gently. "Be who you want to be." After a pause, he added, "and if it makes you feel any better... I'm gay."

Niou smiled and leaned his head against Yagyuu's shoulder. Yagyuu reached up and stroked the younger boy's hair. His captain had warned him about this. About getting too close. Too attached. But what was he supposed to do? This boy needed him. He wasn't going to shove him away when he needed a little bit of comfort. He wasn't going to give the boy a cold shoulder. There was no way in Hell that he was going to make this boy feel any more unloved than he already did.

After a moment of just sitting there like that, quiet and content as they were, Niou straightened up and stretched. "I should probably be going. I haven't made enough yet to keep Him happy."

Yagyuu reached up and tucked a lock of bleached hair behind Niou's hair. "Be careful."

Niou blinked, then smiled and nodded. "Always am." He shrugged on his jacket and walked to the door. He pulled it open and, without turning around, said, "My name... Niou Masaharu." Then the door clicked shut behind him.

"Run it again." Yagyuu snapped.

The annalist glared up at him. "I've ran it six times. Running it a seventh isn't going to magically make more records pop up. This is what we've got. From the age of twelve to the age of fourteen, he's been arrested three times. He made bad grades in school except for math, in which he always made an A. All the records stop right around the age of fourteen. Then there's nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Ce-"

"I get it." Yagyuu said in between gritted teeth. "I fucking get it." He straightened up and stalked away, muttering softly under his breath.

Niou Masaharu did exist, though. And Yagyuu was going to pay a visit to his mother.

...After he got some coffee.

Finally, Niou gave Yagyuu a bit of information. Please review!