I've been pondering and I didn't like the way this chapter turned out so I redid it hee hee sorry, I'm being fickle aren't I? =)

Chapter 11

I sat alone, curled up on the bench watching the others run around the cleared grass field, smiling, and having fun… I watched enviously.

"What's with the sulking pout?" asked a male, his dark hair fell into his silver blue eyes, I smiled weakly. "Okay that just pathetic, if you're going to fake a smile at least do it well." This time I really laughed. "Now you've gone and given away how you feel. Tsk, tsk." I laughed again, what was with him? "So what are you sulking about? Why aren't you running around like the rest of them?"

The sadness and envy returned, he realised he'd struck a nerve. "I'm fine," I assured him. I was fine, I had a harebrained; who moved through woman like a shark through water; but loving father, a brother who had all the wits my father lacked, although I rarely saw my mother but she seemed to genuinely care for me. I had the closest thing possible to a loving family. He looked at me with disbelief, he shrugged and as he did I noticed a fading bruise on his arm. "Where'd you get that?" I asked.

"This? I fell from the monkey bars," he answered sheepishly. "So, you just going to sit there pretending all day?" I bit the inside of my check to suppress what I wanted to say instead I just nodded. He sat down beside me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well since your just going to pretend all day, I might as well teach you how to do it properly. For the first time I wanted to hit someone, he got on my nerves, yet…somehow….maybe, just maybe…

Hinata opened her eyes, her mind too tired to process what they saw through their area of vision.

"That dream again," she said quietly remembering her encounter with the dark haired and light eyed male at the local park almost five maybe even six years ago. "That boy…jerk."

* * *

"What am I doing again?" Hinata asked Oshitari. He leaned in closer to her as he spoke, although Hinata didn't have any romantic feelings for him, there was no denying his accent was extremely seductive.

"Try applying you geom-mu to your tennis," he said softly. "Just try your best and from there we'll figure something out, okay?"

"Sure," said Hinata although her tone said the exact opposite, he was a strange one, not necessarily in a good way either.

"I can't believe I got stuck with guinea pig duty," complained Mukahi from the other side of the court.

"Think of it as a favour from me," said Oshitari climbing up and sitting on the referee seat.

"I'll be sure to collect," mumbled Mukahi still not happy. "You better make this a good match!" he demanded pointing his racket at Hinata.

Arrogant snob, thought Hinata. "Hai," she answered. So, apply my geom-mu to my tennis, such a simple task, why couldn't he give me a harder task? Like how the hell I'm going to do it? She bounced the ball in her left hand as she gripped her racket. It's too early to think, she complained it wasn't even 7 in the morning when Oshitari appeared at the front of her house to train. Why did I agree to this? Oh well, what's done is done, no point in whining… she threw the ball in the air. She hit the ball with her sweet spot on her tennis racket.

* * *

Ootori hid a tired yawn behind his hand as he practiced.

"What's wrong Choutaro? It's not like you to be half asleep at training," noted Shishido.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing," replied Ootori. "I just can't sleep well in a new bed."

"So you get that sort of problems huh?"

* * *

"Oi Oshitari," said Atobe walking to the tensai, he leaned against the referee seat.

"Hmm? What Atobe?" His deep voice matching his captain's tone.

"What do you think you're doing? Since when did you take an interest in Hinata-san?" Oshitari raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I wonder," he pondered looking away and continued to watch the match.

* * *

"Game Mukahi! 3 games to love!" shouted Oshitari. What on earth is this? Gakuto's completely dominating this match and it doesn't look like she's got anything planned. He looked at Hinata as she prepared to receive Mukahi's serve. Perhaps this was just a waste of time? Oh well, it was entertaining to say the least.

As the ball bounced in Hinata's courts she returned it, her desire to run to the net was unfulfilled as Mukahi was already there, if she tried to advance he'd cut right through her. Hinata sighed. Defence has never been my strong point but now my offence has been seal I'm stuck, the ball bounce at her feet and she returned it to the other side. This is a waste of time, I'm tired and I'm hungry be cause I skipped breakfast because of this, stupid Osaka guy…and how the hell and I 'suppose to apply my geom-mu to my tennis'? Mukahi jumped into the air with a back flip and hit the ball. Okay let's see, the Geom-mu is the balance between speed, pressure and strength, too much strength and pressure and the movement is rigid, too little and the sword flies out of your hands and at Niou's head. If your too quick the paper will split but the movement will look inelegant and forced, influid and if not fast enough the paper just flops…so add that all together and you get…damn it…puzzles is more my brother's thing, I'm an act and regret type of girl…act then regret, let's see where that takes me…

Hinata's grip on her racket changed, holding it more like a geom-mu sword than anything else she looked at the coming ball, bringing her grip closer to her body she turned to her side and flickered her wrist in a circular motion first towards her than out where it hit the ball, the exact motion as when she cut a piece of paper.

Silence passed.

"Where's the ball?" asked Oshitari looking around when he spotting it, a faint mark was on Mukahi's side of the tennis court which was not there before; it was at a 90 degree angle with net; yet the tennis ball was on Hinata's side of the court. Mukahi was lost for words, his knees trembling. "What happened?"

Regretting already, thought Hinata but Mukahi wasn't the only one trembling, as was Hinata.

Hinata almost dropped the racket; she swallowed and ran away from the court.

"Hinata-san!?" exclaimed Atobe about to run only he stopped when he spotted Oshitari jumping down from the referee seat and ran towards his doubles partner.

"Oi Gakuto, pull it together are you okay?" he asked shaking Mukahi gently, Mukahi swallowed hard.

"Neh Yuushi, what was that?" A tear trickled down his cheek; his knees gave way, had Oshitari not been holding onto him he would have fallen to the ground. "The ball, it went straight for my face…and then, and then, I dodged but…why am I still trembling? Neh Yuushi, she's a monster, a demon-"

"Gakuto calm down," insisted Oshitari. "You're just shaken; you'll be fine just-"

"Yuushi," whispered Gakuto. "I saw her smile; she was smiling when she hit the ball, as if she wanted it to hit me." Oshitari and Atobe were lost for words. Atobe looked at the court, the ball had moved so quickly even he had trouble seeing it, but what he did see.

Mukahi back flipped into the air and returned the ball, suddenly Hinata's stance changed, her grip on the racket loosened and she held it by placing her index finger inside the triangle, holding it by the 'Y' between the body and handle. A smile appearance on her face as she flicked her wrist in a 'C' shape motion, first rotating her racket towards her body through the first half and away during the second, her index finger served as the centre point and lever.

As she flicked her wrist outwards the ball missed her racket's sweat spot and barely hit the upper frame but the effect was greater than if it was the former, the swift movement of the racket gave the ball a powerful back spin. The ball possessed speed and strength but lacked accuracy, it flew straight for Mukahi's face, he dodged at the last moment. When it hit the ground instead of bouncing it span backwards towards the net, then hopped over the net and back into Hinata's side of the court, the friction caused the smell of burnt rubber in the air.

That technique if harnessed correctly could become a powerful weapon.

* * *

"Hey where'd she go?!" asked one of the Hyotei regulars running through a suburban street, they looked around searching for the run away tennis club member. "Damn it, if we don't find her Atobe will demote us."

"Let's recap, we followed her here and then she turned the corner and then-"

"Vanish."

"What do you think happened?" asked a fourth. "Although I admit I wasn't exactly focused on training but I watched her and Mukahi-senpai play, that last move, after it she just packed up and ran."

"Maybe she's afraid of being yelled at for almost hitting Mukahi-senpai," suggested the first.

"That's you."

"But I didn't see it, nor did anyone I asked, so why?"

"Who knows who cares, we have to find her." The turned a sharp corner when they almost ran into a tall male dressed in a black hakama, there was a small scar just below one eye.

"Ehh, what are you Hyotei rats doing here?" he asked, the way he spoke and acted. He was confident, fearless, disciplined and most of all they recognised him as the current number 1 middle school tennis player.

"I-its Rikkaidai's Sanada," stuttered one.

"Damn it, we were so busy looking for her we stumbled into Rikkai territory," whispered another.

"Get lost," said Sanada, the Hyotei students turned and ran with their tails between their legs. Sanada sighed and entered his home closing the door behind him, walking across the wooden floorboards of his house he opened a sliding door revealing a red eyed Hinata sitting at the veranda starring out at the bamboo water feature being filled with water then collapsing against the stone below it, emptying its content.

Sanada sighed. "What is it you want?" he asked noticing that Hinata's tennis racket sat stuck into the ground of his garden. He sat beside her. "Are you waiting for me to die before telling me?" Hinata didn't even smile at his horrid attempt of humour.

"Out of everyone, I could sit with you and you wouldn't ask any questions, what changed?" she asked.

"Let me guess, something happened and like before you ran here to hide from it?" Hinata flinched at the truth and bluntness of his words.

"You never had any patience for me either," she smiled weakly. Sighing she turned her head and looked at her former senpai. "I'm calling up on that favour you owe me."

* * *

"SHE WHAT?!" demanded Shishido.

"Hush," warned Oshitari as he, Mukahi, Ootori, Atobe and Shishido stood before their coach Sakaki.

"As I just said, I intended for Hinata to move to the boy's tennis team under the new law passed by the JTA to promote gender equality in tennis, but just before I could tell her Yagyuu-san had asked for a month leave from club activities," explained Sakaki.

"Why would she suddenly-?" asked Ootori.

"Which is why I am asking you lot," replied Sakaki. "I've been told an interesting tennis match took place without my supervision." Oshitari and Mukahi exchanged guilty looks.

* * *

"Neh! Hinata-san!" exclaimed Ootori chasing after her as just as she was about to leave the school grounds.

"Is something wrong Choutaro-kun?" she asked.

"Where are you going? And why did you suddenly ask for leave?" questioned Ootori. Hinata looked at him bewildered.

"Is something wrong?"

"You've been acting weird since your match against Mukahi-senpai, are you alright?" Hinata took a few moments before answering.

"I just need a break, that's all," she replied smiling.

"Liar," muttered Ootori. "I can see it in your eyes." Hinata shrugged.

"Believe what you will," she answered.

"What happened? That last move you used, something changed in you…what?" Hinata eyes widened and she looked away.

"I realised a side of myself I never knew I had," she said quietly. "That ball that flew towards Mukahi-senpai's face-"

"It was an accident!" interrupted Ootori, Hinata shook her head.

"That was no accident," one corner of her lip tilted upwards in a crocked grin. "I aimed for his face."

"Hinata," said a low voice, Ootori turned to see a very tall male in the Rikkai middle school uniform.

"Sanada-senpai," greeted Hinata.

"Ready to go?" Hinata nodded, waving goodbye to Ootori she followed Sanada.

"You sure about this?" he asked her, Sanada was almost and entire head taller than Hinata looking down at her, she nodded.

"Yeah, I need help on this and I can't think of a better, stricter person who owes me a favour," replied Hinata.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

The full moon shone down from the sky, despite how late into the night it was the candle of Sanada's family dojo was still lit. Hinata kneeled on the wooden floor of the wide open space, two sand bags on both thighs as she moved her arms and flicked her wrists in the movement of the Geom-mu. As she dance one of the sand bags fell off her knee and a wooden stick wacked her on the shoulder, she flinched in pain as Sanada placed the sand bag back on her thigh and she continued. Sweat decorated her forehead as her arms were weighed down by lead weights.

"Another 10 times and we'll move onto footwork," said Sanada. Several skipping ropes were pressed into the earth with the joining string twenty centimetres above the ground; they were all parallel and less than a meter apart from one another. "I'm surprised, I haven't heard you complain once," he remarked but Hinata didn't reply more of, she couldn't hear him, her concentration solely focused on the task in front of her.