Chapter Ten: Exhaustion

Disclaimer: I don't own prince of tennis or any of the characters belonging to it.

Exercise.

Even to this day, I cannot believe that I spent one of the days of my weekend doing… exercise? Oh the irony.

"Nice sunglasses." Jackal commented, not sounding sarcastic. I'm actually rather amazed that he didn't sound sarcastic.
"I got you a pair as a thank you gift for helping me out."
"Thanks, I've been really wanting some sunglasses." He smiled. "Seriously, though. I really have been wanting a pair of sunglasses. Thanks. Let's warm up."

The thought of running around like a lunatic until I was exhausted had never seemed like a positive concept to me, since well… There's no way of sugar coating it. I'm lazy, so I've never liked the concept.

We ran round, rather slowly at first, then stopped to stretch.
Jackal had said that he'd leave me behind if I was too slow, but I could tell that he was matching my pace, which made me quite happy.

"I'll treat you to some lunch after this." I said, grinning.
"Are you hungry?" He asked.
"Nope."

People looked in our direction, slightly baffled. I can only imagine what I looked like.
Jackal was getting serious, starting to go at his usual pace, and my legs were going numb.
The wind hit against my face, cooling me down, though my body burned as my breath went shallow.

I felt as though I was going to throw up. Jackal looked back, me being a few paces behinds him. I nodded at him, telling him 'I can go on' without any words.

He nodded back at me, and we continued running.

I don't know how long we ran, but by the end of it, I didn't feel like eating. I laid down on some grass, looking up at the sky, gasping for air. Jackal was also sweating, but nowhere near the amount that I was.

He's not human. Was the conclusion I came to.

"If you'd like to, we can go running again. It won't be as bad once you get used to it." Jackal smiled slightly.

He was enjoying this.

The world seemed so dark with the sunglasses. At least he couldn't see my eyes. My thoughts spun round in a tangent as I tried to get my breath back.
After taking a deep breath I gave him a thumbs up, not having the energy to say anything. It was like mornings all over again, but worse. My body felt like it weighed a ton, all my energy drained.

"We should eat something to get you blood sugar levels up." Jackal held his hand out, smiling. "C'mon, let's get lunch. You're paying, right?"

We sat in a café, looking slightly suspicious.

Unless, of course, two people wearing sunglasses is considered normal. Especially when it had started raining. My track suit bottoms seemed to cling to me as my baggy top seemed too tight. Jackal happily drank some coffee whilst I ate some cake contently, my arm seeming to weigh more than it should.

Jackal looked down at his phone, sighing slightly, though he didn't look annoyed. "I got a text from Bunta and Akaya. They say 'meet us at the arcade. Bring Kurani-san as well, if she is still alive.' Shall we go?"

"Ugl-" Smack! "What's with the glasses?" Akaya impatiently asked.

I grinned, ready to kill Akaya. "Want to die? No? Then show some respect! Oh, wait a sec, I'm going to the toilet."

The bathroom was… Actually, I think I'll pass on trying to describe the bathroom.
It was a bathroom. The end.

Anyway, I pulled out the bobble that had been holding up my hair, allowing my fringe to fall back onto my face. I took of the sunglasses, amazed at the brightness of the world.

I walked back out, a tad amazed. The three of them were playing a shooting game, and it was quite funny.
Akaya impatiently shot everything he saw, including his comrades, whilst Jackal complained slightly, telling him to have more patience. Marui blew bubbles with his gum whilst playing as well, getting slightly frustrated. I smiled happily.

Friends… huh?

I then sank into the realization of what I had put on stake. It sent shivers through my body, bringing back the feeling of me being sick.

"Kurani-sempai, want to have a game? Or are you too scared that you'll lose?" Akaya's personality shifted completely. I cracked my knuckles, hitting him on the head. "Like hell I am! Hurry up or I'll start the game without you!"

"So you spent the majority of yesterday in an arcade…. Playing shooting games?"

Yukimura smiled, being entertained in the things that I had done after jogging. "And you had to go home because you were so exhausted?"

"Please stop repeating what I say." I said jokingly. "Let's try again, already."

I clipped my fringe out of the way, closing my eyes. Like usual, Yukimura counted down, and I opened them. My body shuddered, my breath quickening…

"What did you bet with your brother?" Yukimura interrupted my panicking state. I took a deep breath in, trying to stay in control.
"U-um…. If he wins… then… uhm… I'll have to stop being… friends… with… everyone… and…."

At that point, I passed out. New record, though!

"You were saying?" Yukimura said. I put a cushion over my face.
"I betted that if I lose, I'll have to leave Japan, go back to England and back to way I was before. No Japan. No Rikkai Dai. No frien-"
"Look at me when you say something like that." Yukimura seemed mad. "At least look at me when you say something like that. Please…"

I lifted the cushion away from my face. Yukimura looked sad. He wasn't looking at my eyes, instead down at the bed.
My heart throbbed in my chest, my body not able to feel anything but sorrow. My breathing began to deepen, my chest hurting more and more with every breath. Every time I blinked brought me closer onto the verge of tears.

I cried, for the first time in a while, and I wasn't sure why. "Sorry. I'm really sorry."

The new, exciting world that had surrounded me was far too precious, that the thought of going back to a life of solitude was… I didn't know how to phrase it. It'd be... It'd be the worst thing to ever happen to me. I thought.

"Then don't lose." I looked up again, my tears stopping. "Win Kurani Akiza, win."

I smiled. "Thanks, Yukimura-san."
"Seiichi. If I have to call you Akiza then call me Seiichi."

I rubbed my puffy eyes, smiling.

"Oh yeah, I think you've conquered your fear. You haven't passed out and you've been looking right at me."

My jaw dropped, and I was overcome by sheer joy. I hugged Yukimura, smiling like an idiot.
"Thanks, Seiichi-kun!"
Sugar cookies… I let go, but Yukimura hugged me back, extremely happy himself. "Congratulations. Shall we ask someone else to help out, so you can completely get over it?"

I let go, leaning back. "Wait… It's not over?"