Yes! I updated! I'm alive!

I am really, really, sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to update very often anymore. School is crazy, and I spend all my time doing homewok, studying, reading a book, or sleeping. I was only able to update now because it's the term holidays.

Anyway, I'd like to thank the reviewers:

Naru-chan3000

ilikepie123

CrimsonMoon2009

ShamelesslyUsed

Beccann

Lord Of The Plushies

Lady-x-Exorcist

"Haha! Take that, Chibisuke!" Ryoga laughed at him as he smashed the ball into his court.

Ryoma growled in reply. Racing towards the ball, he jumped sideways to reach it, and returned it just in time.

Ryoga just laughed again and it hit it back easily.

The rally went on, with Ryoga taunting him every now and then, but Ryoma felt ecstatic. Playing tennis against a good opponent always made him feel that way. He might have been losing, but he felt in top of the world. When he was on the courts, he knew what he was doing, and, more importantly, he loved what he was doing. At times like this, he never wanted to stop playing.

"Ne, Chibisuke, isn't this fun?" Ryoga asked, grinning widely.

Ryoma smiled at him and nodded. "Uisu!"

The door opened, and the doctor came out. Everyone immediately got up from their seats.

"Is Echizen Ryoma's family here?"

Nanjiroh, Rinko, and Nanako stepped forward.

"I would like to speak to them first." The doctor turned back.

Nanjiroh and Nanako made a move to follow him, but Ryoma's mother stopped them. "You can tell us all together," she said firmly. Seeing the doctor's look, she added, "Please. They've been waiting longer than us."

The doctor hesitated then nodded. The regulars looked at Rinko gratefully.

The doctor cleared his throat, and then spoke.

"I believe that I have told you all about Echizen-kun's previous condition. But only a few of you: his family, Tezuka-kun, and Inui-kun know the details."

The majority of the regulars started to question this statement, but Tezuka silenced them with a look.

"So, for the benefit of the others, I shall start from the beginning.

"When Echizen-kun was hit by the car, the impact mainly landed on his left arm, because, apparently, he attempted to shield himself with it. When it rode over him, it damaged his arm further.

"The damage was very bad, and he suffered a comminuted fracture; that is, his arm fell to pieces. We managed to heal most of it, but, a certain part near his elbow was too close to a very important nerve to risk it. He would be able to do small things with his arm, but anything more would shatter it again.

"Echizen-kun has put a lot of stress on his arm, but, miraculously, it didn't harm him as much as I might have expected. But, when he got hit by a ball, his arm couldn't take it and shattered again."

Everyone shared uncomfortable looks, and Momo clenched his fists tightly.

But the doctor held up his hands. "It's not as bad as you think it is. In a way, it might have helped him."

Kikumaru looked confused, and Oishi opened his mouth to say something, but doctor went on.

"The ball caused the pieces to move slightly, very slightly, and so we think it is safer to attempt to heal his arm completely, but, even with this stroke of luck, the risks are very high. If one small thing goes wrong, it can damage Echizen-kun's entire nervous system."

No one knew what to think anymore.

"If we attempt the surgery, and it is successful, he will be able to move his arm freely, play tennis, and we won't have to deal with problems like this again." The doctor wrinkled his nose. "But, if it isn't successful, he will not be able to move his arm ever again, and won't be able to feel anything with it, and it is quite possible that he will have brain damage.

"So the question is, will Echizen-kun accept the surgery under these risks?"

No one spoke. There was no point in saying anything. Not when they didn't know what to say.

The question wasn't whether Echizen would accept the surgery or not. The question was, did they want him to?

"Oi! Chi-bi-su-KE!" Ryoga sang out, before pouncing on his brother and tackling him to the ground.

Ryoma pushed himself up and gave his brother his best death glare."What?"

"Dad wanted me to tell you that he wanted a match."

Ryoma's eyes lit up immediately, and he stumbled to his feet, then ran to his room to get his racket.

When he came back, he found Ryoga looking at him in amusement.

"What?" he demanded.

Ryoga shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking..."

Ryoma looked at him expectantly.

Ryoga snapped his fingers triumphantly. "That's it! From now on, If I want you to do something for me, I just have to promise you a match and you'll do whatever I want, right?"

No comment.

Ryoga grinned like a lunatic, and Ryoma rolled his eyes.

The doctor looked at them all for a while, and was about to go back inside the room, but a nurse came out instead. She looked around nervously, and then whispered something to the doctor. He raised his eyebrows slightly, the nodded, and the nurse went back inside the room.

The doctor turned towards them again. "He's awake."

One of the shortest chapters so far. It was mostly just an explanation of Ryoma's condition.

I'd written all of the chapters of this story at the spur-of-the-moment, and so, this chapter, I had to stitch together all the stuff I'd written and make it make sense somehow. I researched all kinds of broken arms, the complications of surgery, and even read some news clippings. It was BORING.

Anyway, please review!