Raising The Bar

By: Smash41KMF

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis, but I do own this story and Kathryn!

Chapter Seven: My Unease

Hiya guys and peeps, I'm back and I'm feeling great about this story, I love Fuji and I love the thought of how he's so sweet, oh it'd be so great if he were really real, I'd sooooo call dibs!

Meanwhile, Atobe sat in the back of his limo in a slight daze, while his advisors argued about whatnot about the diner he had gone through with buying, thanks to the words of a brown-eyed girl by the name of Kathryn Hikaru.

He didn't know what it was that made him change his mind, in fact, for a split second he regretted what he had said, and he was just about to open his mouth to tell his advisors the same thing, when the sound of Hikaru's voice shattered all thoughts of opposing his decision.

' She sounded so sincere, as if she was talking about her own experience, maybe she was... But could I really do that? Tear down all those memories? The place was a dump, but... could I really be able to go on with those plans, knowing what I would be destroying? Maybe she's right... but why am I listening to her?' he could help but repeat their conversation over and over inside his head, each time his brain would scold him for listening, but whenever he moved to cancel the plans, he'd feel his stomach lurch, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

In the end he resulted to just turning his head and staring outside at the passing street signs and commoner people. However, no matter how badly he wanted to deny it, he still couldn't keep Hikaru off his mind. She was...different from the rest. She didn't seem to care who he was, and she didn't back off when he challenged her objection. In fact, she brought forth a rather firm arguement, and now that she had won the first part, Atobe couldn't help but feel eager to see what she would do next.

There was only one problem, and Atobe groaned at just how idiotic it really was: He knew nothing more than the girl's name. So how was he going to contact her in order to discuss 'their' diner?

" Is something wrong, Atobe-san?" he head supervisor, Hiro Tokia, asked and Atobe had raised his head to answer, when he froze at the sight in the window to Hiro's right.

" Stop the car!" he commanded, and the limo came to an abrupt halt. " I'm getting out."

" But Sir! Your father-" Hiro protested, but Atobe ignored him and opened the door for himself.

" My father can wait." Atobe hissed as he stepped out and slammed the door shut behind him, telling the driver to leave, and that he would catch up with them later.

"But Atobe-san-" Atobe glared at Hiro through the open window, and Hiro sighed, before looking away, and confirming for the driver to leave as the younger boy had requested.

As his limo drove off, Atobe let out a sigh and took a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets as he turned on his heels and walked to the corner of the street, just as a teenage girl and a little boy came into view. He smirked and clapped his hands together, catching their attention, before smirking even wider when the girl froze and puller the younger boy closer to her side.

" Oh, come now, no need to be so defensive!" he called cheerfully, catching the little boy's eyes going from himself, up to the girl, and then coming back to glare at Atobe. " It's good to see you again, Hikaru-san."

I froze as soon as I saw the smirk on his face, and my first reaction was to make sure that Sam was still beside me.

" What are you doing here, Atobe-san?" I asked sharply, knowing that he would have left as soon as I did, and that, based on his uniform, he didn't go to Seishun.

"Well, I was actually on my way home, when I realized something," he replied, smirking wider and I felt Sam's arms wrap tightly around my waist, and I rested my hand on the top of his head, protectively.

" Care to share just what that might be?" I replied, slightly annoyed that he was purposly stalling.

" I know absolutely nothing about you other than your name, and-" before he could finish, I felt Sam's grip on me tighten for the slightest bit of time, before relaxing a little as he interrupted Atobe.

" That's all you need to know!" he shouted, and I blinked, looking down at him as he fisted the hem of my shirt, and pressed his cheek into my side and glared at Atobe.

" Pardon?" Atobe replied, obviously as surprised by Sam's outburst as I was, but Sam didn't seem to back down and it worried me.

" You don't need to know anything about nee-chan! Just stay away from her! She's Aniki-Fuji-san's, so just go away! Nee-chan, can we go now?" I looked down at my brother and gaped, before glancing back at Atobe, who seemed to be just as baffled as I was.

" Come again?" I blurted, still trying to process what the 10-year-old clinging to my side had said, and before he could answer, just out of the corner of my eye, a blur of light brown came into view, and I groaned inwardly.

" Hikaru? Sam?" he blurted, and I turned around, putting on a mask to act as if I hadn't seen him there.

" Oh! Sh-Shusuke!" I exclaimed lamely, and he raised an eyebrow, just about to repeat his question when another voice penerated his ears. I flinched.

" Fuji?" Shusuke visibly stiffened, and leaned over to look past my shoulder, before snapping his attention back at me.

" Atobe?" he said, as if it were a question directed towards me, before looking down at my lowered head. "Hikaru, why are you with Atobe?" he asked, and I stared at the ground, shuffling my feet uneasily, unsure how to respond without really having to say anything. (Note: that's impossible, so... I'm screwed...) Then, when i finally decided to open my mouth, he just had to interrupt me.

" Hikaru-san and Ore-sama were simply having a small chat about some...business... Well, at least until you, Shusuke Fuji, so kindly interrupted our most civil discussion." I turned back to see Atobe standing with his arms folded across his chest and his shoulders stiff; the entire stance made him look taller, stronger, bigger, than Shusuke, who was about his height, perhaps slightly smaller.

" And exactly what 'business' might you have with Hikaru?" My head whipped back around for me to see Shusuke's eyes open, his pupils looked like they flashed pitch black for a brief second, only to be gone the next when he saw me looking at him. His eyes softened slightly, but they still held their previous uneasiness, only on a milder scale. I gave him a half-hearted, crooked smile, before glancing over at Atobe, who seemed both amused and irritated by Shusuke's response. He frowed, and my stomach twisted uneasily as my grip tightened slightly on Sam's hand.

" That, Fuji, is not of any your concern." Atobe growled, looking directly at Shusuke now. I swallowed inaudibly as Shusuke's jaw tightened, and his grip on his tennis bag tightned.

" Atobe, so long as she's a friend of mine, I believe that it is." he replied tightly, and I took the smallest of steps backward, tugging on Sam's hand to follow. The boy hesitated, looking at me and then between the two boys and back, before raising an eyebrow. I smirked, holding up two fingers in a peace-sign-like fashion, before nodding my head behind me as slightly as possible and winked at him. Sam's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, obviously ready to protest or tell Shusuke that they were leaving, but I put a finger to his mouth, silently quieting him. Sam paused, before nodding ever-so-slightly and grinning.

" Ha! You may think you're a genius, Fuji, but remember... I still have Yuushi. I know you'tr kind; you cannot fool me." I heard Atobe's voice hiss, and I resisted the urge to turn back and watch Shusuke's reaction, but I had promised Sam that we'd leave, and I wasn't planning on breaking it. I sighed inwardly, as I leaned down and carefully inched, step by step, away from Shusuke and Atobe, our goal was to slip into the woods without being seen. If it were possible, I probably could have cut the tension in the air between them with a knife, and I really didn't feel like getting caught up in it either. However, I couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected that the two of them could so easily forget about me. Oh well, they'll figure it out soon enough.

" I sorta feel bad for leaving them, Kat-chan." I looked down at my little brother and smirked.

" They'll figure it out soon enough, but don't worry about it, they'll get over it." I said with a shrug, and Sam paused, but then continued to walk, nearly pulling me along as we rounded the corner of our street.

We entered our house no later than say... ten minutes after, laughing at the prank we had just pulled; I, myself was eager to see how Shusuke reacted when I see him tomorrow.

We walked further into the house, noticing how quiet it was, and I felt my stomach churn uneasily as I told Sam to go put his things away. The quickly scribbled note on the table did my stomach in, and the previous queasy feeling was replaced with one of frustration and hurt.

' He promised that he'd be home, if not for me than at least for Sam.' I looked down at his note with a expression of pure hatred, before I crumpled it up and threw it in the wastebin before Sam would be able to see it.

Just then, he walked into the room, looking at me innocently, and I could almost feel my heart breaking inside. " Nee-chan, where's Daddy?"

I looked down at my brother and pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly as I whispered, " I don't know, Sam... I don't know."

Meanwhile...

" You don't know me." he growled, taking a step towards Atobe dangerously.

" And you don't have the right to choose Hikaru-san's acquaintaces." Atobe hissed, standing firm. Fuji scowled at the fact, and Atobe bit back a sneer.

" True, but I don't trust you." he hissed, blue eyes cold and dangerous. " Not with Hikaru, not with anything."

" I never said you had to trust me." Atobe repiled through his teeth as he and Fuji stood almost nose-to-nose. " But this isn't your choice, it's hers."

" What did you offer her?" Fuji growled coldly, and Atobe's eyes narrowed.

" Something you wouldn't have knowledge of." he replied and Fuji frowned.

" Enlighten me then." he hissed, and Atobe rolled his eyes.

" Ask her yourself, Fuji." he snarled, stepping back and looking to the side where Sam and Hikaru had been standing. He frowned, before smirking, and taking another step back, turning on his heels and calling over his shoulder. " If you can find her that is." he shouted mockingly, and Fuji cringed, turning around to find Hikaru and Sam where gone. His heart stopped at the realization as he recalled Atobe's mocking words. ' If you can find her that is.' He froze at the words, grieving something far beyond the innocence of the words.

" Atobe!" he shouted, causing the other boy to look over his shoulder. " Just... don't do anything stupid." Fuji sighed, and with that, Fuji took off in the direction he had seen Hikaru had been facing the moment he watched Atobe round the corner and walk out of sight.

Okay, I know it's been awhile, but I've been CRAZY busy! Anyways, here's a little longer chapter. Tell me what you all think!