A/N: Finally Chapter Nine! This story's going on a roll! Almost three and a half thousand views already and over fifty thousand words! I can't believe I've made it this far without any major problems yet! I have to thank everyone who has given their support to this story so far- you've been my inspiration to keep updating, and I love you all! Special mentions to:

aehlta: Yeah, I know, my romance is very cheesy. But hey, it's what the readers want, and I can't be bothered being original but disliked. Thanks for reviewing all the time anyway and putting up with my sfjndkfnkjdfn (I don't have a word for my writing), I really appreciate it!

VanillaAnime: Thank you so much! You are by far my best supporter out there! Thanks for reviewing my other story too :) Oh, and thank you for your lovely reply- it really made me so happy!

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And to everyone else who has been reading and supporting this story, thank you all for your time!

This chapter is dedicated to MatchMakerSawa-chan, for messaging me and making me feel like I am actually an awesome writer (which I'm not, but thanks anyway). Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

Smiles had always been a part of Rei's life. They were what she hid behind when she needed to, masking her pain in a cloud of fake, brilliant smiles.

In a way, you could compare it to a fake diamond, a sparkly bauble.

To an inexperienced and unfamiliar eye, it looked exactly the same. Rei always had a smile on her face, regardless of the situation she was in.

But to someone who knew, it was different. Vastly so. The difference between Rei's fake and real smiles was obvious- the real was beautiful in its imperfection, beautiful in its almost painful honesty and carefreeness.

The fake was forced, a twisted brilliance.

Every now and again in her life, the fake appeared ever more often on her face, brilliantly crafted to protect her from the pity and whispers of others.

But now, as Rei walked with Tezuka, it seemed to only be a shadow from her past, something that she was finally beginning to forget.

They weren't talking about anything important. Actually, they were talking about the most trivial of things- what the homework was, about the upcoming Kantou tournament- but the feeling was still there.

"So is all the homework for maths just the first two pages of the worksheet?"

"Yes. But not the last question- sensei said to leave that one for class tomorrow."

Rei sighed and hit herself in the face with the paper in exasperation. "Great, I'm going to have to spend at least half an hour on this stupid maths homework- why tonight out of all nights?"

Tezuka's curiosity was awakened. "Why tonight in particular?"

"Ah, I have to drag Sora out dress shopping tonight." When he just looked at her confusedly, she elaborated. "You know, for the upcoming Valentine's Day dance? Yeah, normally I wouldn't bother, but Sora has such a letdown fashion sense, so I have to take her with me."

"Aa." He didn't know really what else to say. This was not a topic with which he was in the least comfortable.

Luckily, Rei just kept talking. "I heard from Yuki that we have to find partners for the dance- what a drag. It's going to be so hard to find someone who's willing to go with me…" she sighed.

"Is that true?" Tezuka suddenly had a very bad feeling about the dance. He hadn't heard the publicity director say it was to be partnered- maybe he had just been zoning out. Still, if it was true, he would not have a good day at school tomorrow, what with all the fangirls that would be swamping him.

Rei nodded in answer to his question. "Yeah, Yuki's younger sister is on the student council, and she told her."

That explained it. The tennis captain internally shuddered to think of the mayhem that would ensue tomorrow- hell, he would probably have to hire a full group of bodyguards if he wanted to keep the fangirls away from him.

He sighed silently, adjusting his glasses again. It couldn't be helped- he would just have to think of a solution sometime before the next day.

He vaguely registered that Rei had stopped, and he realized that they had reached her apartment. She smiled brightly at him with that crazily tilted smile, and said, "Well, see you tomorrow, Tezuka-san? After I come back from the official draw, of course."

He hadn't remembered that. "Aa. See you after that."

She smiled even wider, before putting a hand on the door handle. She suddenly frowned, and looked down at her feet, before bending down and picking up a white object that Tezuka recognized to be an envelope.

She seemed to already know what it was. Her smile became slightly forced, and she glanced up at him. "Ah, Tezuka-san, you don't have to wait for me. I know you have to get home, and it's getting dark."

Tezuka knew she was right. "I'll be going then."

She waved absently at him, and as he walked back out onto the street and looked over his shoulder, he saw her slowly opening the envelope and pushing the door open with her back. The door shut behind her, and he was left alone on the darkening street.

Ryoma was not very pleased.

After finding out that his senpais had been eavesdropping on his practice with Sakuno, he had proceeded to realize that the bruise from Sakuno's shot on his forehead wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

It was incredibly irritating.

As he silently walked beside the pigtailed girl, his thoughts wandered to the improvement she had been making in her tennis skills. He could see that she had a lot of potential, and a strange feel for the ball, even if she didn't know it herself.

"Um, r-Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma glanced up from beneath his cap to look at the furiously blushing Sakuno. He didn't understand why she was always so red and…shy around him. What was there to be so embarrassed about?

"What?"

She blushed even more, until her face looked as though it was about to overheat. "Um, you k-know about the d-dance…"

"I'm not going." As if he was going to waste his precious time going to such a useless thing. Ryoma had never been one for social events, and he was not about to start now. He couldn't believe that Tezuka had been the one to approve it. Talk about weird.

Sakuno looked down in a queer mixture of disappointment and shame. She should have known that Ryoma wouldn't want to go to such a thing. "Ah…never m-mind then…"

They walked in silence for a while, before Ryoma suddenly looked up. "Hey, Ryuzaki."

"Y-yes?"

"What were you going to ask?"

She turned crimson again. "A-ah…that is- I was going to-"

Ryoma sighed impatiently, and tapped his racket on his shoulder as he walked. Out of nowhere, Sakuno stopped, and he turned in surprise to look at her.

"P-please go to the d-dance w-with me!"

"…" It was definitely not what he was expecting. But he couldn't deny that it made him feel sort of good.

Sakuno felt so mortified. She had just asked Ryoma to go to a stupid dance that he clearly didn't even want to go to! What was she thinking? Just as she was about to apologize for bothering him, he spoke up.

"Fine."

"I'm so sor- what? R-really?" Hope was beginning to flood her eyes, and Ryoma found himself smiling slightly in spite of his dislike of dances.

"Yeah, why not."

A shy but ecstatic smile spread across Sakuno's face, and she was by now flushed a rosy red, almost the colour of his racket. "T-thank you so much!"

He smirked and pulled his cap down a bit lower over his eyes, before starting to walk again, leaving a flustered Sakuno behind. "Mada mada dane."

"r-Ryoma-kun! H-how was that mada mada dane?"

Bored was the only word that could describe how Sora was feeling in that moment. There wasn't really any other word that could cover it.

As she watched Rei shunt through a rack of dresses, examining the different choices. She failed to hide a stifled yawn behind the back of her hand, and of course, Rei noticed. "Sora, aren't you going to come and look?"

"What makes you think I'm interested?"

The dark haired girl pouted. "Come on! Don't you want to go to the dance with a boy?"

Sora hmphed. "Excuse me, who do you take me for?"

Rei smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I guess I forgot. But still, what if Oishi asks you out?"

The blonde girl did a double take, eyes wide behind her glasses. "What was that about Oishi?"

The other girl momentarily stopped shuffling through the rack and looked a bit surprised and guilty. "You don't know yet?"

"What?"

When her friend didn't say anything, but just looked guilty, Sora narrowed her eyes in growing suspicion. Rei never just shut up like that. "Rei…what were you about to say?"

"Nothing, nothing!" As Rei frantically shook her head, trying to cover up her slip-up, she immediately sought for the nearest distraction. "H-hey, look at this dress!" She seized the first one her hand touched, which happened to be a frilly pink, floor-length one. "I think it really suits you!"

"…" A lifted eyebrow, a narrowed pair of eyes. "Rei, look at it."

Rei did as she was told and immediately realized her mistake when she saw the dress. As hastily as she could, she hung it back into its place, and shrugged with a guilty smile. "Oops?"

Sora decided to let it slip just this once. "Yeah, that about sums it up." She rolled her eyes and smirked at her best friend.

But still, she allowed herself to be dragged into examining the outfits with Rei- into a world where "Do you like the black?" or "Knee-length or ankle?" or "Do you think that the white heels or the red flats match this dress more?" made all the difference in what lay ahead.

Noise, noise and more noise. That was all Tezuka could hear, ringing in his ears as he tried uselessly to concentrate on the textbook in front of him.

"Tezuka-kuunn! Please go to the dance with me!"

"He's not going to go with an ugly b***h like you! Back off, he's mine!"

"No, he's going with me, aren't you, Tezuka-kun?"

He massaged his temples tenderly, wishing that the class would end so that he could escape. But he realized that that wasn't really going to help matters.

"Ne, Tezuka?"

He looked up at the sound of his name to see Fuji making his way through the crowd towards him, bringing with him a trail of adoring girls- and boys- as he fixed his closed eyes and angelic smile on Tezuka.

Normally, he would have suspected an ulterior motive- but drastic cases called for drastic solutions, and Tezuka was not about to ignore a way out from the noise of the classroom. He quickly got up, and nodding to Fuji, headed outside of the classroom.

As he turned around in the hallway, the tensai followed him, and closed the door quickly and firmly behind him, shutting most of the desperate fangirls inside.

"So, Tezuka, I see you have already found out the true extent of your popularity…"

"Hn." Tezuka's monosyllabic reply was even more brief and curt than usual, because of a few things in particular. First among them was clearly the crowd of fangirls almost blasting his ears off with their screaming. That had already ruined his day from the minute he stepped foot inside the school gates.

But the second was the empty seat in the back row that had been irritating him all day. Rei, as he already knew, was absent for the official draw of the Kantou basketball tournament- she wouldn't be back in school until just before lunch. That he could put up with- but every time he tried to find an excuse to get away from his fangirls, the option of going to talk to her was no longer there.

Of course, he didn't realize the danger he would be putting her in if he had done that while she was there in the presence of his many fangirls.

But what he didn't know didn't hurt him, at least in theory. But it had been stuck in the back of his mind for the entire day, and he didn't know how to get it out.

"Are they all bent on getting you to go to the dance with them?"

"Aa." Tezuka found himself nodding an affirmative to Fuji's question, which made the smile on the tensai's face grow wider.

"Tezuka, I'm quite disappointed in you. Have you still not found a solution to your very irritating problem yet?"

Tezuka could feel the corner of his eye wanting to twitch, and he tensed his shoulders at Fuji's comment. It was so annoying, how in control of every situation Fuji was.

At the other boy's silence, Fuji smiled wider again. "Really, Tezuka, don't you ever think about a better way to get out of troublesome situations than just ignoring the problem and pulling out your poker face?"

"…"

Fuji shook his head. "Your silence wounds me. Would you like me to explain in further detail, or shall I just go away and leave you to your doom?"

Tezuka was incredibly tempted to take the latter choice- but he was not pleased about his current situation, and even Fuji's sadism was a better option than being mauled by fangirls.

"…explain."

The tensai looked pleased. "Saa, I knew you would come around eventually. You know, Tezuka, you are really stubborn at times…"

"Fuji."

"Hai, hai," he chuckled. "Well, shall I tell you how I solved the problem?" When Tezuka just remained silent, he took that as an affirmative. "I asked someone to go with me to the dance."

"…" For once, Tezuka was unable to speak- how was that supposed to make things better? Fuji had gone insane- asking one of the girls to the dance would just drive his fangirls even more crazy.

But the tensai seemed to know what he was thinking. "It's not as bad as you think, Tezuka. Think about it- your fangirls will eventually back off once they know you're taken-" he noticed Tezuka visibly stiffen at this, "-and you will be left in peace. Everyone's happy- well, except maybe your fangirls, but still, you get my point."

Tezuka was starting to see Fuji's point. "I don't have anyone to ask."

Fuji could almost smell his victory. "But isn't Wakanari in your class?" His smile became cryptic. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind going with you to the dance- and she's not a fangirl…" His voice trailed off suggestively.

The other boy was really considering it. Of course, he didn't want to go to the dance, but as student council president, people would expect him to turn up. And Rei was the only girl he felt comfortable enough with to ask her to be his partner.

Tezuka decided, then and there, that he hated dances.

"Hn."

With that, the conversation was finished. Fuji knew better than to push Tezuka any more at that point- although he was already plotting to tease his friend some more later on.

"Just think about it, Tezuka."

Tezuka had already opened the classroom door, and with a barely discernable nod of the head to Fuji, he headed back in.

"….and so we welcome all of the schools here today…"

Rei stifled a yawn behind her hand as she watched the opening ceremony with a bored eye. She really didn't see why she had to turn up- wasn't Sora enough to pull out a measly piece of paper from a box? It's not like she was going to actually do anything anyway- the entire procedure was, in her opinion, a waste of time that could be used doing something else.

But Sora had been adamant- she had to go and represent Seigaku as the vice-captain. She had been clear about it- there was no choice in the matter.

So Rei had found herself slouched in her chair, counting the minutes until the ceremony was over. Beside her, Sora sat ramrod straight in her seat, listening attentively and with perfect uniform.

But there was one good thing that came out of coming- Rei could see the competition they would potentially face in the Kantou tournament.

"…and now, we will commence the official draw!"

As the schools were called up one by one, Rei watched the captains and vice-captains carefully through half-closed eyes, feigning drowsiness. She didn't want to look like she was interested in other teams- that was just not her.

She saw Hyotei, which was a relatively good team seeded third, draw the number 13, and she mentally made a note to try to pick a number that was nowhere near that. But it wasn't like it would help- she had the worst luck in the world.

The second seeded Fukuoka Daiichi were called- their captain and vice-captain were both well-known and dangerous players. Rei had heard of both.

Ikeda Setsuna, captain. She was a point guard like Sora, and she was definitely the most fierce looking person that Rei had ever seen. She was tiny- probably smaller than Shizuka, who stood at one hundred and sixty-five centimetres in contrast to Rei's one hundred and seventy-one- but the aggressive look on her face more than made up for her lack of height.

Her vice-captain was Akita Harumi, a power forward. She was easily almost as tall as Yuki- in fact, she could even be the same height. Rei felt a tinge of concern as she watched- Fukuoka Daiichi could be trouble.

Setsuna, with an indifferent scowl, pulled out a number, muttering, "Tch, this is such a drag" as she did so. All of the watching teams collectively leaned forward as a whole, hoping that Fukuoka's number was as far away from theirs as possible.

"Number two, Fukuoka Daiichi!"

The captain who had drawn the number one for her team gasped in shock, and she turned absolutely white in the face. Her vice-captain, sitting next to her, looked positively sick as she excused herself hurriedly and ran to the bathroom.

Sora's thoughtful frown deepened, and she crossed her arms. Hopefully, they would pick a number on the opposite end of the draw.

"First seed, Seishun Gakuen!"

"Come on, we're up," Sora rapped Rei on the side of her head with her knuckles as she stood up, and strode out to the aisle. Rei followed, rubbing her head ruefully.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard."

Sora just clicked her tongue impatiently. When Rei joined her, they proceeded to walk down the aisle of stairs to the raised platform. Murmurs filled the room as the other schools eyed them warily.

"Hey, I heard those two are both Nationally-ranked…"

"No way! They're both so small!" Rei's eye twitched at that one.

"Seigaku's seeded first…"

"Yeah, they made it as runner-up at Nationals last year…"

"…who to?"

"Didn't you hear…?"

Rei did not appreciate the comments she was overhearing, but a sharp nudge from Sora reminded her that she needed to maintain their image in front of other schools.

As they reached the box with the numbers, the announcer gestured for them to pull a number out. Rei looked on nervously as Sora slowly slipped her hand in and reached for a number.

Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed upon them- Rei could feel them burning into her from all around the room. Even Setsuna and Harumi, the famed duo, were watching them carefully and meditatively.

Sora finally withdrew her hand, a small slip of paper clutched between her fingers. Slowly unfolding it, the blonde captain wore an inscrutable expression as she read the number.

Everyone in the room was silent, the tension rising as they watched Sora's face for a hint of a reaction. Rei was feeling more and more jittery as Sora leaned across and handed the paper to the announcer.

"Number eleven, Seishun Gakuen!"

"Man, I can't believe we might have to play Hyotei in the second round," complained Rei, as they headed back to school.

Sora nodded. "We'll just have to practise and hope for the best. There's no reason we can't beat them- we're seeded higher and have a better team."

"I guess…at least we're on the other side of the draw to Fukuoka Daiichi. If we got them…"

The blonde agreed with her friend wholeheartedly. Both Setsuna and Harumi were excellent players, as she would know from past experiences, and there was no doubt that their team was just as good.

"No use thinking about it now," she said briskly as she walked towards the gates of the school. "We'll just have to manage."

As the two girls walked back into the school building, the sound of their echoing footsteps seemed unnaturally loud to Rei. She wasn't used to seeing the hallways empty like this- she winced at every sound that was magnified.

As the two girls headed towards their respective classes, Rei passed by a noticeboard on which a bright, horrifically pink poster was tacked. She stopped temporarily to have a look, realizing it was for the Valentine's Day dance.

Now that she was thinking about it, she didn't actually have anyone to go with. Of course, a few boys had come up to her hopefully, but she had apologized without thinking, saying that she was sorry, but she couldn't go with them.

But the day was drawing closer- and she didn't really want to go alone when all her friends probably had partners already.

She smiled secretively as she thought of Sora and Oishi- they might not have noticed, but she had seen the more than frequent blushes of the shy third-year and the smiles that Sora had on her face more and more these days.

It was pretty obvious to anyone paying attention.

Rei huffed as she returned to her own dilemma. She would have to find a partner soon, or Shizuka would drill her. And she was not looking forward to that. Which reminded her- she wasn't looking forward to her teacher lecturing her for her tardiness.

As she headed back to class, she dismissed the matter from her mind. It wasn't like she had no time left, anyway.

Knocking swiftly on the door, she entered the classroom and murmured a quiet apology to her teacher for being late, who just nodded impatiently and told her to take a seat. As she made her way to her customary seat in the back row, she caught Tezuka's eye in the front row, and she smiled at him. He nodded back in greeting, and as she walked past him, she couldn't help but think about how much their friendship had grown in the past month or so.

Just a few weeks before, she wouldn't even have said anything to him in passing except for maybe a murmured hello or an absentminded nod.

It was strange to think about how much a part of her day her friendship with him was becoming. She was grateful for it- his presence wasn't the same as Sora's, who was blunt and always straight to the point- it was more calming, and- she didn't know how to explain it, but she always felt better after talking to him.

A half-smile appeared on her face as she thought back to their conversation the day before:

"Really?"

"Really."

Her face had taken on a soft, unfocused look- she was fortunate that the teacher had not looked over to the back row- if she had, she would have immediately seen the lack of attention that Rei was giving to the lesson.

As it was, she didn't turn from the board, and what she didn't know never hurt her- Rei was safe for the moment.

The bell rang soon after that, and the entire class jumped up, eager for lunch. Rei was still gathering up her books when Tezuka walked over. She looked up, startled but happy to see him. With her familiar lopsided smile, she greeted him. "Tezuka-san! How was your day?"

"Aa, it was fine."

As they slowly walked out of the classroom talking, Rei felt as though a barrier had disintegrated between them.

"How was the draw?"

She blinked. Oh, he was asking about the Kantou tournament draw. Right. "It was alright, I guess…" Her voice trailed off, and Tezuka looked up with a slight hint of curiosity in his eyes. "But we're drawn to play Hyotei in the second round if everything goes as planned…"

"Hyotei?"

Rei nodded. "Yeah, they're seeded third, so that's not really good for either of us…but we'll manage. We're the first seed, after all!" She laughed, before continuing her talk. "But we're lucky that Fukuoka Daiichi's far away from us-"

At Tezuka's questioning look, she explained. "Oh, sorry, I forgot that you didn't know. Talking with you makes it so easy to forget things…"

The set of Tezuka's jawline softened ever so slightly. "Aa."

"So where was I? Ah right! Fukuoka Daiichi's the second seed, and they've also been to Nationals before. Their captain and vice-captain especially-" Rei felt a shiver go up her spine as she remembered them, "- they're something else."

"Are they good?" Tezuka was surprised to see Rei looking so worried- he had gotten used to her carefree smile and casual confidence.

"Yeah…I've played against the captain before, and damn, was she scary. Ikeda Setsuna's her name," she added for Tezuka's benefit, "and she may be the tiniest player I've ever seen, but man, does she pack a punch…"

"She must be good if you say so."

"Oh, she is! And her vice-captain, Akita, is completely different, but she's just as scary!"

As Tezuka listened to Rei ramble on about how intimidating the Fukuoka team was, his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had with Fuji earlier in the day.

"I asked someone to go with me to the dance."

"…"

"It's not as bad as you think, Tezuka."

"I don't have anyone to ask."

"But isn't Wakanari in your class?"

"…Hn."

"Just think about it, Tezuka."

Now that he thought back to their conversation, he could see the logic in Fuji's point. He supposed that not everything that the tensai did was twisted and had an ulterior motive- although this probably did- and he was right this time.

Asking someone to go to the dance with him would be a lot easier than having to put up with his fangirls' crazed behaviour any longer.

"Wakanari."

Rei turned to him, smile on her face. "Hmm?"

He just looked back, contemplating his choices. "…nothing."

She didn't look like she fully believed him, but she didn't question him, for which he was grateful. "If you say so…while I still remember, what did I miss in class today?"

The change of topic suited him, and soon enough, they were talking steadily again. But the thought was still there in the back of his mind.

Sora was standing at her locker, putting her books back carefully into order when she heard a voice behind her. "Um…Igarashi-san?"

She turned to see Oishi standing behind her, looking embarrassed and with flushed cheeks- she honestly didn't understand why he always turned so red- as he looked nervously at her. "Yes, what is it, Oishi?"

"Um…I just wanted to ask you about…about- today's homework!"

The blonde raised her eyebrow at his stammered explanation, but decided to let it slip by her this time. After all, Oishi looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

"You don't know what it is, I'm guessing?"

If it was even possible, Oishi flushed a deeper red than before, his face virtually giving off steam. "Um, yeah…I guess…"

Sora laughed. "You don't have to be so nervous about it, Oishi. Relax, you could have just asked me." As he looked even more embarrassed, she checked her folder. "I'm pretty sure it was just the pages we were doing in class today for maths."

He nodded eagerly. "Ah, that's right! Arigato, Igarashi-san!"

"You're welcome. Next time, just ask."

As she turned back around from her locker, she was surprised to see that he was still standing awkwardly there, with that queer look of nervousness on his face.

At her pointed look, he stammered something again. "Um- I have to ask you…something…"

Sora looked at him askance, but not without amusement. "What is it this time, Oishi? Don't tell me you've already forgotten what the homework was that I just told you."

His faced turned a shade of red that seemed to be unnatural and inhuman- Sora didn't even known it was humanly possible to turn that colour. "That's-!"

Sora laughed at his speechlessness. "I'm kidding, no need to be so embarrassed. What is it?"

"Um…um…"

Sora had just lifted her hand to adjust her glasses while using the other to close her locker when he finally mustered the words to ask the question.

"Um…can you go to- the dance? Um, I mean, with me?"

"…!" She spun around, almost hitting herself in the head with the door of her locker, and looked incredulous and disbelieving. "What did you just say? Did I just hear you asking me to go to the dance with you?"

Oishi immediately started apologizing frantically, bowing and speaking with a completely bright pink face. "Gomenasai for the sudden question! I didn't mean to startle you like that! You don't have to accept if you don't want to-"

By now, Sora had calmed down sufficiently, and she began to feel self-conscious of the many curious pairs of eyes that were becoming fixed on the two of them. She tried to stop Oishi from continuing his stream of apologies.

"Oishi, it's okay! You don't have to apologize!"

Luckily, he stopped with the gushed words, and he fell silent, looking extremely awkward, just as Sora did.

"…well, this is awkward."

Oishi shuffled his feet, unsure of what to say in the strange situation. "Well, just forget I ever said anything-"

"Are you sure about that invitation?"

He turned back to Sora with wide eyes. "You mean you're saying yes?"

She looked at him weirdly. "I didn't say that…" He immediately deflated, looking disappointed and ashamed of himself.

"Sorry…I guess I'll be going then…sorry for troubling you…"

Sora held out a hand to stop him before he could leave. "Oishi, you're assuming things way too fast here. Slow down for a second." She looked at him through her glasses, gaze inscrutable. He felt the need to look away from those piercing eyes that seemed as though they were reading everything about him.

"…alright."

"Huh?" was his intelligent response. Oishi was shocked- he hadn't expected her to actually agree after the stunned reaction to his question.

The basketball captain rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said clearly, "I'll go with you to the dance."

A smile broke out on his face- in spite of all the eyes on her, Sora found herself reluctantly smiling as well. Oishi could be very endearing in his own way- honestly, she found him a lot more attractive than Tezuka.

Now, she could never understand what all hundred and eight fangirls of his saw in him- she definitely didn't see anything she particularly liked in a guy. Sure, he was good-looking and she respected him as a captain and fellow student- but the poker face was extremely off-putting.

In fact, she didn't know what Rei saw in him.

Oishi, on the other hand, was a lot more relatable. He was shy, but cutely good-looking, and was obviously eager to please.

As he thanked her and literally ran off- probably to tell his friends- she found herself watching after him with a- god forbid it- fond smile on her face. She was never fond of things- just ask her teammates. Even to Rei, her closest friend, she rarely ever showed open affection. It just wasn't her way.

So what was this?

Oh well, she shrugged, and closed her locker, ignoring the eyes fixed on her back, the matter could wait. For now, she had to go and find Rei to ask her about what she thought.

Besides, she owed her one. Rei could be very perceptive when it came to the relationships of others, but completely dense when it came to her own.

What were friends for except to torment each other?

Sitting at the cafeteria table with Horio was not a fun experience. In any situation.

Ryoma pretended to not listen to the annoyingly loud voice of his friend, but he couldn't completely tune it out. The incredibly irritating sound was beginning to get to him- he felt the sudden urge to get up and just walk out of the cafeteria.

After dumping his tray of food onto Horio's head, of course.

Luckily for the other freshman, Sakuno and Tomoka turned up at that point, placing their trays onto the table and sat down. Tomoka immediately started talking in her loud voice, fawning over Ryoma as usual.

"Ryoma-sama! Are you going to be at practice this afternoon? Sakuno and I will be there to cheer you on as usual! L.O.V.E. RYOMA-SAMA!"

Sakuno blushed as her friend drew the attention of what seemed like at least half of the students in the cafeteria with her raucous cheering. She ducked her head embarrassedly as she watched Ryoma stare with an expression of boredom and irritation at his food.

"Um…r-Ryoma-kun?"

He looked up. "Huh?"

But before she could say anything, Momoshiro suddenly turned up behind the freshman regular and seized him in a headlock, ruffling his hair. "Momo-senpai! Leave me alone!"

The second-year only laughed good-humouredly as he hit the boy lightly on the back of the head. "Oi, Echizen, I hear someone got a date to the dance- care to tell your senpai all about it?"

Tomoka was immediately on her feet, eyes wide. "Who? Who? Who dares to take my Ryoma-sama from me?"

Horio was in a similar situation, staring at his friend. "Echizen got a date? Impossible! Now I have to step up my game, or I'll look bad…"

Ryoma just adjusted his collar, ignoring his friends. "Yadda." Sakuno just stared at her tray, cheeks reddening and embarrassment stopping her from looking up. What would Ryoma think of her?

Momoshiro was bent on getting it out of Echizen. "Come on, brat, tell us who it is!"

"Ryoma-sama! Tell me who stole you away so I can wreak my revenge upon them!"

"…scary…"

Ryoma just turned away, refusing to say another word. After a few minutes of intense questioning and threatening, Sakuno finally had enough.

"Stop!" As everyone turned to stare at her, she stammered, "H-he's going with m-me, so d-don't bother r-r-Ryoma-kun anymore!"

"…Sakuno! Why didn't you tell me! We have to find you a dress as soon as possible! And shoes! Oh, and jewellery! And we have to take you to a salon!" As Tomoka began to go on a rant again, Sakuno looked extremely embarrassed, as though she wished she had just kept her mouth shut. "t-Tomo-chan…"

Momoshiro and Horio were teasing and bugging Ryoma, who just looked away with a slightly pink flush to his cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier, Echizen?"

"Don't worry- all you have to do is impress her, turn up with roses- red, of course- and pick her up from her house and ask her to dance-"

"Yadda."

Horio stared at Ryoma strangely. "Hey, Echizen, I heard from Tomoka that you went off with Ryuzaki yesterday after practice…"

Momoshiro almost laughed his head off. "Yeah, they did! And guess what they went to do? This brat was helping Ryuzaki with her tennis! Heh, the only thing in his head is tennis, tennis and more tennis!"

"She could have just asked me…with my two years of tennis experience, I would have made a much better coach…"

"Echizen, are you going to ever ask Ryuzaki out on a date or not? You know if you don't hurry, someone else will get her!"

"Momo-senpai, talk to me when you find a date to the dance. If you ever do."

"Oi, watch what you're saying to your senpai, brat!"

"Mada mada dane."

Rei was sitting under a tree outside, breathing in and enjoying the breeze. She would have normally been sitting inside the cafeteria with Sora and a few other friends- but today, she had felt claustrophobic, with all of the people crammed into the room.

Of course, the fact that everyone was talking about Valentine's Day didn't help much.

She stared out at the grounds, absentmindedly fingering the letter that was open in her hands.

My dearest daughter,

It has been a long time since I last saw you face-to-face, and many things have happened since we last met. I am now engaged, as you may have heard- when you meet her, you'll see that Mai is actually a wonderful woman. You would get along well with her. How are your studies going? I trust you are well. Come to visit us soon.

Father

She thrust it back into her pocket harder than intended, the paper crumpling between her fingers. She didn't want to think about it right now- she wouldn't.

"Wakanari?"

She turned to see Tezuka approaching from the direction of the main building- an involuntary smile appeared on her lips.

"Tezuka-san! I didn't expect to see you out here at lunch."

He sat carefully beside her, back ramrod-straight and crossing his legs in a very traditional manner. It made Rei feel suddenly very childish, but she found that she didn't particularly dislike the feeling.

"I wanted to find some quiet."

She laughed. "The fangirls bothering you again?"

"Aa." Rei found his uncomfortable look very funny- it wasn't every day that Tezuka Kunimitsu willingly shared some of his problems with others.

"Well, I'm sure they leave you alone after a while. The dance isn't too far away, after all- just a week or so?"

He nodded in confirmation, and they both sat in a comfortable silence for a time, Rei absently braiding her hair, and Tezuka just sitting there.

It was a strange moment- Tezuka was watching Rei's slender fingers dart skilfully to and fro as she played with a strand of her own hair. It suddenly seemed like the right time to him- he didn't know why, but it just did.

"Wakanari."

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" The question was not phrased as a romantic advance- he saw Rei as a friend that he could rely on. For now, that was enough for him, and it was enough for her as well.

The lopsided smile made a reappearance- in that moment, Tezuka thought she had never looked so sincerely real.

"Really?"

"Really."

And they shared the look that had become so familiar to both of them in its heartfelt sincerity and understanding.

Walking across the courtyard, Sora stopped in her tracks as she saw the two of them sitting there, close but not touching. She had been looking for Rei- but now that she had found her, she had no desire to ruin the moment.

A soft smile touched her lips as she turned away, and headed back into the main building.

Another pair of eyes was watching the two- up in a window, the sun glinting off the glass as the figure shifted slightly, eyes narrowing against the dazzling light- or was it something else?- as they looked on.

Back outside, Rei held her hand up to block a sudden burst of blinding sunlight, shielding her eyes. After a moment, she let it fall out to the side, lying on the ground.

Accidentally, her fingers brushed Tezuka's, just for a second, before she pulled her hand away.

Neither of them fully noticed.

But it was a step in the right direction for them.

A/N: Finally finished! This chapter is the longest yet- over seven thousand words! Alright, so the RyoSaku is coming along nicely, as well as Tezuka and Rei's relationship. I'm sorry for the not very good chapter- I promise, I will make it up in the next one. Next chapter is the long awaited Valentine's Day! (and it will have an appropriate amount of excitement) There will be a lot of development in Chapter Ten, so look out for it! While you're waiting, please review! Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! The number of reviews was more than the previous two chapters combined! To the rest of you, I'm begging you on my knees. -_-