A/N: Hello again! Well, this is WAY overdue and I apologize for those who have been waiting patiently. Thank you for reading and watching and commenting and making me feel like my writing matters. YOU are awesome! Thanks for looking!!

Feel free to comment if so moved. It definitely helps the writing process.

DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimer applies. I don't tend to profit from this....one can only dream!

And now....chapter ten! (^3^)

~*~Chapter 10~*~

The tournament was already in full swing as Uma and the boys made their way up to the courts. Doubles 2 was just finishing when they found seats on the bleachers.

"Game! Seigaku Arai/Inori pair wins, 6 games to 3!"

The Seigaku side cheered and Uma saw Momo do an arm pump. "That's how we do it!" he shouted as Arai and Inori came off the courts. He gave them both high-fives. One win down.

"Ah, Momo-chan hasn't changed at all, has he?" Uma said to herself smiling as they came up to the courts. She sure missed watching the boys play tennis.

"Next, Doubles 1, Seigaku Momoshiro/Kaidoh pair versus Itagaku Koko Ryoga/Ryoga pair!"

"Twins?" Horio asked as he eyed the two brothers from the other team. Both were very tall with a heavy build. They looked very intimidating. Momo wiped his face with a towel and took a quick swig of water. He tossed the bottle to Horio.

"No," he said as he picked up his racket and twirled it in his hands. "They're siblings though. Ryoga Youji is a senior and Ryoga Hiro is a first year."

"Oh, this will be interesting won't it?" Ryoma said lazily as he adjusted his hat and smirked. Momo grinned back. "You better believe it!" he said as he turned and walked onto the court with Kaidoh.

~*~

"Look Rory! Look at all the pretty boys playing tennis!" Gene was beside himself. Once again he had glued his eye to his camera and was snapping pictures left and right. If he was trying to be inconspicuous he wasn't doing a good job.

"Good lord, Gene, control yourself!" Rory said almost exasperated. Gene's gaydar was on full alert. It was rather embarrassing.

"He can't help it, Rory," Uma said laughing as she watched Gene prance around in front of her. "It's like an all you can eat buffet!"

Gene stopped taking pictures and turned back to her, his face in a pout. "Hey, don't be so mean Uma!"

Uma just laughed. She knew Gene well enough to know she was right. As she scanned the crowd, her vision was suddenly blocked by a bright red flash coming straight towards her.

"Hoi! Hoi! Uma-chan? Ito Uma-chan?" the flash called out. Without warning, Uma found herself being attacked by the red flash. Gene and Rory took a few steps back. This strange boy had attached himself around Uma's neck was hanging on for dear life! Just as Rory was about to pounce on the strange boy Uma started laughing and hugged the boy back!

"Oh no way! Eiji-senpai?" Uma asked as she recognized the smiling catty face. Eiji grinned and pulled away. Uma looked around and spotted another boy looking rather sorry coming up to her as well. She smiled. "Oishi-senpai?" she called out waving. Oishi smiled and linked his arm with Eiji. "You guys came to watch?" she asked excitedly.

Eiji smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. "A-ho! It IS Uma-chan! She's back from America!" he said brightly. "It's so good to see you! It's been a long, long time, right Oishi?"

Oishi smiled politely and gave Uma a short hug. "Yes, it has. How have you been Uma?"

"I'm doing well, thank you Oishi-senpai. How's university?" she asked. She knew, from Kaidoh, that many of the original Seigaku players had gone onto bigger and better things than tennis. Oishi was one of them.

Oishi blushed. "I like it." He said confidently. And he did. He had been accepted into the Pre-Med program at Tokyo University and he was sitting at the top of his classes. "It's going very well."

"Great!" She said happily. Then it dawned on her; Rory and Gene were right behind her. She turned back to Rory and Gene who were starring slightly dumbstruck. "Oh, Eiji-senpai, Oishi-senpai, these are a few of my friends from California. They just finished up school for the summer and are here visiting. This is Gene Strauss and Rory Takayuki." She said quickly motioning to each boy. "Gene, Rory, this is Eiji Kikumaru and Shuichiro Oishi, my senpais from middle school."

Gene quickly snapped out of his dumb-trance and eyed Eiji. He broke out into a huge smile. "Eiji? Can I call you Eiji?" he asked quickly as he reached for Eiji's hand and began pumping it up and down. Eiji laughed and scratched his head, not sure what to do. "I'm Gene! Nice to meet you!"

"Ah, Gin-kun is cute!" Eiji said mispronouncing his name completely. He joined in the hand-pumping. He could tell Gene was a nice guy, a little eager, but nice. "You can call me Eiji!" he concluded happily.

"Gene, Eiji-senpai, Gene!" Uma tried to correct to no avail. Both boys were just smiling and shaking hands. In a weird way, they almost looked like mirror images of themselves.

"That's okay, Uma, I don't think Gene-kun minds." Oishi laughed kindheartedly. It was nice to see Eiji slightly baffled by overly aggressive people for a change.

"No, I don't think he does," Uma mused lightly. The two had taken their hand shaking to the next level with playful banter and hugging.

"Eiji, Eiji," Gene sang as he hugged Eiji tightly. "Eiji-kun is kawai!"

"Gin-kun, Gin-kun," Eiji rang back and both boys wrapped their arms around their shoulders and let our hearty laughs.

Rory stood there speechless. Gene would never learn. "Wow," he trailed looking over at Uma who raised her eyebrows with an 'It's Gene, what can you do?' look on her face. Rory smiled and then turned to Oishi who stood quietly by. "Oh! Shuichiro, nice to meet you, I'm Rory," Rory extended his hand to Oishi who took it and shook it back.

"Nice to meet you Rory-kun," Oishi said politely in Japanese. Rory gave him a funny look but smiled nonetheless.

"Just so you know, Oishi-senpai," Uma said quickly recognizing the look of confusion between both boys. "Rory doesn't speak Japanese."

"Ah, that's okay," Oishi said nodding. He turned to Rory, "I'll just work on my English."

"So how are the games going?" Uma asked. Gene and Eiji were still prancing around laughing together.

"They're going very well, actually, Arai and Inori just won the first set." Oishi said motioning to a spot in the bleachers behind Seigaku's team. "Kaidoh and Momo are getting ready to play the Ryoga brothers from Itagaku Koko. Do you want to come sit with us? Fuji is here too."

Uma looked at Rory who nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, that would be great!" she said as the three of them headed towards the seats. She quickly spotted Fuji-senpai's fair head amongst the spectators. She noticed there were very few parents. Uma never did understand the lack of adult spectators. She guessed it was just the way things were done in Japan.

As the group sat down, Fuji turned his attention to them. He smiled brightly in recognition of the new guests. "Ah, Ito-san, it is so good to see you!" He said lightly as he reached out and grasped Uma's hand.

"Fuji-senpai! How are you?"

"I'm doing well. You look nice, today," he complimented. It was then he noticed the other boy standing next to Uma. He opened his eyes completely. Interesting.

"Thank you Fuji-senpai. This one of my friends, Rory, from America," she said, motioning to Rory who reached out and shook Fuji's hand.

"How do you do? I'm Shusuke Fuji," Fuji said politely in flawless English.

"My other friend Gene is occupied with Eiji-senpai. They're over there," Uma said pointing to a spot along the fence where Eiji and Gene were doing a cheer with the students of Seigaku. Rory groaned. Gene was so dumb sometimes!

"Good grief, Gene!" he muttered under his breath. He turned back to Fuji and smiled, "Nice to meet you Shusuke, I'm Rory Takayuki," Fuji grinned. What a nice boy.

"Fuji-senpai, are you hear to watch Seigaku too?" Uma asked settling down next to him.

"Just for a bit, then I am going to watch Yuuta. They are playing right now too, but Yuuta is singles one so I have some time." He said evenly. He had no doubt St. Rudolph would win their match before Yuuta got to play, but he did want to support his little brother.

"How is school going for you?" she asked. It was just like a game of 20 questions.

"It's going very well. I like University life."

"That's good to know," Uma said absently as she watched the players take the court. Boy, Kaidoh sure looked good in white shorts.

"Thank you Uma-chan. How's high school?"

"Oh, you know, it's going, I guess." She said slightly distracted her eyes drifting. "It's kinda weird being back in the Japanese educational system. America's education is….relaxed!"

"Is it?" Fuji asked interested. He wanted to study abroad in America. If it was too easy, then maybe he shouldn't.

"Yeah, but, I'm glad I didn't have to repeat my junior year. I got bumped up to senior status after I took my entrance exams. So, I'll graduate with my original class." Uma concluded. And for this she was very glad. She would have HATED being knocked down a class on her return. Thankfully, Uma was a smart student, so she passed her entrance exams with flying colors. Rory beamed at Uma. She was so smart.

By that time Gene and Eiji had returned to the group all smiles. Fuji introduced himself again to Gene, who about flew away with all the floaty-hearts surrounding him.

"Rory, Gene, how did you meet Uma-chan?" Fuji asked turning his attention to the boys. He was quite interested in learning about their relationships with Uma.

Gene quickly came back down from his floaty-heart high and grinned importantly. "I helped her get to her English class first day of school our freshmen year," He said proudly. Uma groaned. He always took pride in that story. Gene continued on, "and Rory and Uma used to…."

"…I met Uma through Gene," Rory interrupted quickly. He knew Gene would blabber on about ancient history. That was the last thing he wanted to hear about.

Fuji noticed the uncomfortable tension between the three high schools. "Ah, I see," he said slowly and turned his attention back to the game at hand. Interesting.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kaidoh noticed Uma as soon as she hit court-side. And the fact his senpai recognized her right away and ran off to meet her was a helpful hint she came. Not that he doubted she would. He and Momo were moments away from stepping onto the court. Arai and Inori played an excellent game, he got him fired up. The Ryoga brothers of Itagaku were good; scarily good. And they had to get by Itagaku to proceed to the next round. Fudomine, St. Rudolph's, Hyotei, and Yamabuki were the ones to look for this year. They had consistently produced excellent players that had followed up through their middle school and high school teams.

Even though they easily go through their first tournament, there was still a long way to go.

"Mada mada da ne," Kaidoh said to no one in particular which caught Momo's attention.

"What's this? You're imitating Echizen now?"

Kaidoh hissed and grabbed his racket. "Hardly, let's go, Momoshiro!"

"Yeah, let's go!"

~*~*~*~

Rory wasn't a big tennis fan, he never had been, but there was something about Japanese tennis that made him sit up and watch. It was the raw passion in the players' faces and in every movement they made that made him realize that tennis was no laughing matter. The way each player moved, the expression on their faces, the tension between the teams, it was quite breathtaking!

Uma was sitting next to him watching intently following Kaidoh's every move on the court. She hardly said anything but Rory could tell she was zoned in on the game. That was so Uma, not the kind of girl to be outwardly emotional. He had heard the shrills and shrieks from the girls on the sidelines and was glad for small things.

Now Gene on the other hand was having a ball. He was jumping around, cheering and yelling, even though he really didn't know who he was cheering for. Plus, Eiji-kun was there cheering with him and that made it even better.

"Wow, these guys are so good Eiji-kun!"

"They really are Gin-chan!"

"Jeeeeeeeeeeeeen," Oishi corrected automatically, as was his habit over the years. Neither boy seemed to notice so Oishi continued to dissect the game with Fuji as they did in the old days.

"Kaidoh's snake is dangerous! I've never seen such a sharp curve on a buggy whip shot!" Oishi commented enthusiastically as Kaidoh scored game point. Fuji hummed in agreement. Both boys had grown considerably since last year. This could be their year.

"I agree, what do you think Uma?" he asked turning to Uma who was staring intently at the courts. "Uma?"

Uma was dimly aware someone was trying to speak with her. She snapped back to attention. "Huh? What? Oh! Fuji-senpai, did you say something?" she asked distractedly. Beside her Rory stifled a chuckle. Fuji laughed.

"Oh, it was nothing," he said assuredly. Uma sighed. She had missed watching Kaidoh play tennis. He was just so good! Every serve, every volley, every step was like a dance; fluid motion. It was really breathtaking to watch. And his coordination with Momo was almost impeccable.

"Pretty amazing, huh," Rory said lightly as Seigaku took the second game. Uma nodded. "Yes, they are! I'd almost forgotten how intense Seigaku got when they played tennis."

"Uma this is simply too much fun!" Gene gushed as he plopped himself down on the bleachers. He had to take a breather. Cheering with Eiji was too much work.

Uma laughed. "I'm glad you're enjoying it so much!"

"Me too! Those boys are so good! No wonder you were always talkin' them up back home! They are geniuses!"

"Well, they definitely do not know how to give up!" Uma said lightly. She knew Kaidoh was no genius of tennis. He was a genius of hard work and stubbornness. He was driven and focused and knew exactly what he wanted. She smiled. Yes, that's why she loved him.

Rory looked at the expression on Uma's face and his heart sank. Yeah, she had made her decision, he decided; a long time ago too. Rory turned back to the game. What was he going to do?

~*~*~*~*~

Kaidoh was hot and tired. His calf muscles burned and sweat flowed down his face in rivers. But he loved it. It was down to match point. They weren't lying when they said the Ryoga brothers were simply amazing. They had been a challenge from the beginning and Kaidoh Kaoru loved a challenge.

It was his turn to serve. He was serving to the elder Ryoga brother Youji. He had a killer back serve. The Itagaku player had caught both he and Momo off guard more than once during the match. However, Kaidoh knew if he aced this next one, they'd win the game and then Horio could clean up in singles. He took a deep breath and willed his heart to slow down. If he didn't concentrate he'd mess up his serve and then they'd be back to battling it out.

Throughout the game he had been tuned-in to Uma. He knew where she sat, he knew she was watching him intently and he knew that boy sitting beside her was her ex. Oh yes, Kaidoh knew everything.

He stared over at Ryoga Youji, whose face was tight with concentration and…strain. Kaidoh noticed he was leaning to his right. That meant the boy's left foot was hurting. Kaidoh smirked, 'Watch this, American boy,' he thought as he raised his arm to serve. 'This is why she chose me over you…' He swung his racket and connected with the ball…..

…That Ryoga boy never saw it coming.

~*~*~*~

It had been a long exhausting day, but Seigaku had managed to pull it out and qualify for the Regional Tournament by making it to the Final Four. Their semi-final game was to be against St. Rudolph in two weeks, so Kaidoh knew they had a lot to do before then. He was already planning the practice schedule. As the team was packing their stuff ready to head home, Kaidoh felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw his old senpais standing there with smiles on their faces.

"Senpai!" he greeted them quickly. "Thank you for coming!"

"What a great job you are doing Kaidoh with the team. You guys will surely make it to the finals." Oishi said excitedly. He was indeed very proud of Kaidoh and Momo. It was like watching his little brothers play.

"Thank you Oishi-senpai, we do hope to go all the away again this year,"

"And surely you will!" Fuji added smiling. While he was excited for both Seigaku and St. Rudolph, he was a bit concerned about whom he should cheer for in the next game.

Kaidoh nodded in agreement and swung his bag onto his shoulders. The team was making their way to the bus. Momo was shouting something intelligible to him and gesturing wildly with his hands. "If you will excuse me senpai, I must be going, have a good night." And with that, he turned and trotted away towards his team.

"Ah, Oishi, Kaidoh-chan is so grown-up, it's a little sad." Eiji said forlornly. Oishi smiled. "It happens to everyone Eiji! Now, who's up for some sushi? I believe Taka-san said he was working tonight."

Eiji completely forgot to be said, "I am! I am! Let's go!"

~*~*~*~*~

Kaidoh was about to step onto the bus when his phone buzzed. Quickly, he sat down and pulled it out. There was a new text message from Uma.

Congratulations! You are so awesome! (^_^) I am taking the boys home, do you want to meet up for lunch tomorrow? –Uma

Kaidoh smiled. He saw her leave quickly after the game, as to not draw more attention to herself. He couldn't wait to see her up close. Sounds good, meet up at the station around 11:30?

Alright! Bring Momo along too. I'll be bringing the boys. I want you to meet them. –Uma

Kaidoh frowned. Of course she would be bringing them. Okay, Good night! *chuu*

Kaidoh shut his phone and sighed, letting himself relax for the first time that day. Man, he was tired. Good thing Sensei was letting him and Momo go home right away. He didn't think he could stay awake for the debriefing.

"Yo, mamushi-buchou!" Kaidoh glanced up at Momo's face staring straight down at him. He hissed.

"What do you want?" He asked sourly as Momo slipped into the seat next to him. Unlike Kaidoh, Momo was cranked up.

"We did a good job today, didn't we?"

"Yep,"

"We're going all the way again this year, aren't we?"

"You know it,"

"Uma sure looked pretty in that blue jacket she was wearing today,"

"Yes she was…hey!" Kaidoh sat up quickly and gave Momo an evil glare.

Momo was beside himself. He knew that would get his attention. "Oh, man, you should see the look on your face!"

Kaidoh frowned and turned away from Momo, "Shut up!" But it was true. Uma DID look good. Real good. "Hey," he said staring out the window. "Uma invited you and me to lunch tomorrow with her and her friends. 11:30 at the station. Okay?"

Momo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, sure! Sounds fun!" he said brightly as the bus pulled up to Seigaku's gate. Both boys stood up and grabbed their bags.

"Yeah," Kaidoh said sarcastically stepping off the bus. "TONS of fun,"

~*~*~*~

After the matches, Uma and boys headed back home. Gene was reluctant to go, but so happy to have a new Japanese friend to brag about when he got back to America. All the way back, Gene went on about applying to Tokyo University and studying Japanese History. Uma just laughed and Rory rolled his eyes. Gene would never change.

Rory walked in silence. There was a lot on his mind and he needed to get rid of it. But, he wasn't sure how to bring it up. Uma was texting somebody and he assumed it was Kaidoh. Although he tried, he couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy. 'Get a grip Rory!' he thought angrily.

"Hey, guys," Uma said, cutting into Gene's chatter and Rory's moodiness. "We're going to have lunch with Momo and Kaidoh tomorrow, sound good?"

"Yes! I love Momo-chan! And I can't wait to meet Kaidoh!" Gene said eagerly. He looked over at Rory who was frowning.

"Yeah," Rory said finally. "That does sound good!"

Uma sighed with relief. "Good!" And they continued on their way.

When they got back to the house, Uma was there with a pot of tea and some sandwiches. They sat around the kitchen table and relayed the day's events. Well, Gene did most of the talking; Uma and Rory added their own quips when they could. Ayako was so happy. These children had been the best of friends in America and it was so nice to see together again.

~*~*~*~

As she was turning down the covers to her bed, there came a knock on her down. It was after midnight. Gene had immediately dropped off to sleep after tea and Ayako had gone to bed hours before. She had just left Rory and a sleeping Gene in Chiro-nii's room.

"Hey, Uma, it's Rory, can I come in?" came a muffled voiced. Uma opened the door.

"What's up?" she asked concerned. Rory was still fully dressed and he looked ragged. She could tell he was stressed.

"Uma, it's just…." He started slowly. Rory was tired and confused and frustrated all at the same time. He thought that if came to visit Uma it would give him some sort of closure. He and Uma had dated for almost two years. She had been his first real girlfriend. It came as a real surprise to him when she told them she was breaking up with him because her family was moving back to Japan. It had broken his heart. When Uma left he didn't even go to say goodbye. He just let her go, swallowed up by his pain. Now, he felt like a complete jerk. If anything, he felt even worse than before. He could tell she was ready to move on, but he was the one holding her back. He wanted her to move on, he wanted them to have closure; he knew she didn't love him anymore. He had to finish it. He had to let her know.

He stepped into her room and shut the door. "Yes?" she prodded gently.

"It's just I…" And without warning he grabbed her and planted a kiss on her lips. So much for being subtle.

"Rory! What are you doing?" Uma asked frantically, trying not to shout. He had taken her by surprise. He had pushed her onto her bed, kissing her, touching her all over desperately as if trying to preserve her.

"Uma, I missed you, I missed you." Rory said frantically as he held her face in his hands. "Your touch, your face, your eyes…" he leaned in and kissed her again, softly as if it was the last time. "I'm so sorry," he said softly as he leaned into her. "I'm so sorry I let it get this way."

"Rory," she whimpered trying to push him off her. "Rory, please, not now, not like this!" she begged as she managed to sit up in her bed. As quickly as he started, he stopped and pushed himself away from her. He sat on the edge of her bed staring at the floor.

Uma's head was spinning. What had just happened? She sat at the head of her bed waiting.

"You love him, don't you?" Rory finally said after a time. "Kaidoh?"

Uma sighed and sank down next to him. This was it. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned against him. "Yes, Rory, I love him." She said solidly without hesitation. And she knew it was true. As much as she had loved dating Rory, loved him, she still couldn't love him like he wanted her to. "You know I love you too, Rory. I always will. But…"

Rory grasped her hand slipped out of her grasp. He stood up and sighed. She didn't need to say it. He already knew. But now, now it seemed…okay.

"I guess that's it then. That's really what I wanted to know." He said as he headed for Uma's door. Uma stood up and followed him into the hall.

"Is it? Is that all Rory?" She asked. She needed to make sure. She had to make sure.

Rory turned around and looked her in the eye. He smiled, a real genuine smile; the same smile that first stole her heart. "Yeah." He said. "Yeah, it is." Uma smiled in return. "Uma Ito, you are one odd person, you know that? And I'm glad I got wrapped up in it. Thank you," he said as he pulled her close for one last kiss. He let her go and walked back to his room. Somehow he really felt lighter.

Uma watched him go with her hands to her lips, silent tears falling down her face. But she was smiling because she knew, this time he meant it.