A/N: I apologize that it's taken so long to update this story. I think NaNoWriMo got the better of me and I only updated a few things last month. Good news, I hit the 50,000 word goal for the month and have a good chunk of my second novel done…AND…I'm back to updating my fanfiction as regularly as possible. This month is a little crazy with the holidays, but I promise to update as much as possible. If I were to do a Christmas story for PoT, who should the pairing be? You vote to decide. It can be anyone, and I can include multiple pairings (Alpha, Perfect, Golden, Silver, Adorable, Royal…etc). You tell me what pairings to include and who – if anyone – should be paired with Sakuno and I will write it around Christmas time. The results will be revealed when the story is released. Highest votes win. Just put your requests in a review; and I accept guest reviews, so anyone can vote.

Are any of you curious about who Niou's sister's senpai is? Or do you have an idea of who it can be? Did I give enough hints in the previous chapter? Enjoy the new one!

Chapter 11 – A Line of Suitors

Sigh. It seemed that ever since the previous night Sakuno had been doing a lot of that. Cooking for today…sigh. Finishing up some homework so she would have time for the tournament and Niou over the weekend…sigh. Getting ready for bed…sigh. She even woke up sighing, which caused her grandmother to give her several concerned glances, "Are you all right?"

"Fine! Eto…I'm okay. Don't worry obaa-chan," Sakuno gave her guardian a forced smile.

Instead of listening to her granddaughter, Sumire felt her forehead in order to make sure there wasn't a fever. None was found. Did his possibly have something to do with all of the drama going around the school or what happened at the gate the previous day? It was amazing how fast word reached her when it was her granddaughter or tennis team involved. "Do you need to stay home today?" She asked curiously waiting to see what the young girl would say.

Falling into her grandmother's trap, she quickly declared, "No! I'm fine. I want to go and watch the tournament."

"To watch the tournament or to talk to that boy from Rikkai Dai?" A knowing smile appeared on Sumire's face. She remembered what it was like to be young, however, she wasn't sure she could trust someone dubbed the trickster of Rikkai Dai. But then again, she found out most, if not all, of what happened between Sakuno and Ryoma, and Niou was helping keep a smile on her granddaughter's face. That counted for something in her book. Plus the girl's tennis coach had already commented on how much Sakuno's tennis had improved this week. Her granddaughter had said she had been given some pointers from Niou and it appeared whatever that boy had done to help, had worked.

"Eh? T-T-To watch the tournament!" Her face was practically glowing and looked like a bright red beacon.

She would let it go for now, but that did not mean Sumire would not watch everything with a sharp discerning eye, "I don't want you walking off on your own. You need to stay close because you are still not completely off the hook from skipping school."

"Hai, obaa-chan!" Mentally, Sakuno crossed her fingers that Niou would come to find her. She had run away the day before and wanted to talk to him. It was weird. The night before she had been disappointed when he never showed up out of the blue – not that she blamed him because she had been the one to be hurt and runaway – and yet, when it had been Ryoma in the past, she was always satisfied with what she could get…like a dog satisfied with scraps. She deserved better than that! And now that she had taken a step back and really looked at everything that had happened, it was glaringly obvious that she and Ryoma were never together in the first place. Why couldn't she have seen that before she made a fool of herself? In fact, the reason she ran away was because she was embarrassed more than she was heartbroken. She knew that now, and even today, almost a week after everything happened, she still couldn't say that she was truly heartbroken. It stung a little, but she didn't feel like wallowing in self-pity any longer. So much had changed, and she liked to believe that she had grown and matured – even a little bit – through this whole experience.

Gathering up the food items and drinks she had prepared, Sakuno left with her grandmother. She really would prefer not to get lost on the way because Niou very well could be waiting on her. Was it wrong to be so excited about that? She didn't think so…that is if the butterflies didn't kill her first. Her stomach felt like it was doing the cha-cha.

Niou's house…

"Masaharu, don't leave without me! I'm coming to your tournament!" Naoko shouted from her room. She could hear her brother getting ready to leave and wanted to be sure that he allowed – she was actually coming whether he liked it or not – he allowed her to accompany him.

Now was the time to make a break for it if he wanted to…the word survive came to mind first and he decided it wasn't too far off the mark. As it was, he had a feeling he was going to be facing an inquisition the moment he got to school to meet the others. Grabbing his tennis bag, he ran down the stairs, grabbed his shoes from the shoe rack by the front door, and flew out the door without putting them on. Did he make it? He prayed to all the kami in the universe that he had. Out of the people who intimidated him, his sister ranked number one. He felt sorry for any future boyfriend and husband she might have.

Two blocks from his house, he finally stopped running and ducked into an alley to put on his shoes. Any rocks or debris he might have trampled, he didn't feel it because he was focused on getting away. Pain? Who cared? Cuts? Thankfully he didn't have any, but they would have been worth it if it meant he had escaped.

Tying his shoe, he slowly got up and decided it was best to check and make sure the coast was clear. He looked right…nothing. He looked left, because there was always the off chance she could have passed him and was headed in the direction he needed to go…and he almost screamed. Standing there filing a nail and appearing utterly board was the very person he was trying to ditch, "Nee-san! What are you…?"

She held up a well-manicured hand and smiled, the kind of smile that if Yukimura or Fuji were to use would mean death was on the horizon, but surely she wouldn't kill her own brother. Right? "I told you to wait for me because I wanted to see you play today. It's been a while since I've been able to watch my favorite otouto play, and according to my senpai, something big is going to happen today!"

And there it was again. Who was this senpai that seemed to making all of these wild – yet true – predictions? Well, he wasn't sure about the something big, but she was right about a girl…only Sakuno wasn't just any girl, and he refused to allow his team or his sister to interfere or possibly corrupt whatever this was. Knowing them, they would tell stories and she would run for the hills, which was the last thing he wanted to happen. Decision made. If needed, he would ignore and hide from Sakuno during the tournament so that no one saw them together. Mean? Possibly, but he had to do what he had to do in order to keep her to himself…at least until he knew exactly what lay between them. "You know you have another younger brother… right? Puri," he crossed his arms over his chest and tried to appear somewhat defiant.

"Come on or you'll be late!" His sister started to pull him towards the school laughing at his accusation.

His eyes darted to the sky to see if there were any crows flying overhead. Nope. It was clear and empty except for a lone plane flying high into the sky, and yet, he still had a sense of doom settle into his bones.

And then they arrived at the school courts. All eyes turned towards him and the older sister that was hanging on his arm as if it was a lifeline. He could see the questions in their eyes, and he said nothing because his sister was right…it would be fun to play with them a little. It wasn't like he hadn't pull pranks on them before. This was just standard operating procedure for someone part of the Niou family.

"So…so did you two work everything out?" Marui hesitantly asked. He desperately wanted to know who that girl was. Unlike Yanagi, he wasn't so sure that she was a relative. Silver hair to black hair. Blue eyes to green eyes. The only thing they had in common was their facial shape. Of course with as much makeup as she was wearing, it was hard to see if the bump near her lip was a beauty mark or a pimple.

"Puri. Hai! We will be together and love each other until one of us dies and even beyond the grave," he smirked.

The redhead turned to the data tennis player and said in an accusatory tone, "I told you!"

"You love your family forever if you are on good terms. That does not change my percentages," Yanagi stated. "Facial analysis says that they are 82.3% family."

"That's different from yesterday."

"I was not able to finish the facial calculations until last night."

Sanada felt as if he was close to losing it and yelled, "Torundorou! We are not hear to talk about Niou's relationship with a girl! We are here to go to a tennis tournament! Defeat is not an option! We will be victorious!"

"Hai! Go Rikkai Dai!" The other tennis players shouted together.

Tennis tournament…

Today was an invitational meet and was being used by many schools to prepare for other upcoming tournaments leading to the Nationals – everyone's dream. Rikkai Dai had already won and wanted to remain on top; and Seigaku wanted to rise to the top and prove that they were once again a powerhouse. The two schools would be rivals until the end of the season…and maybe they were competing in more than just tennis. Maybe they were also rivals in love?

Sakuno's head whipped from side to side and she was almost left behind on more than one occasion. After arriving, she barely acknowledged Ryoma and immediately started to look for a mop of silver hair. Her attention so focused, she tripped over her own feet and Tezuka had to catch her.

"Ryuzaki-san, pay attention," Tezuka chastised.

"H-Hai. Gomen, buchou!" Her face was bright red as she took a step backwards and bumped into another person. Turning around, she was already bowing and apologizing, "Gomen!"

Chuckling, Fuji patted her head and rested his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry. No one was hurt. Just be careful. We wouldn't want you to get lost or injured." In the distance, he noticed the unmistakable yellow jerseys. Rikkai Dai had arrived and if he wasn't mistaken, Niou was looking right at him. Leaning in closely, he whispered, "Make sure you stay close."

She had tried to listen to him and take his advice, however, her attention was focused on finding the person she wanted to see and never found. When she lagged behind a fourth time, Tezuka and Fuji made sure to stick close to her so that she would not get lost. The last thing they wanted was for the Rikkai Dai prankster to get her in even more trouble. And when she was chastised again for lagging behind fifth time, she stopped looking around and began to pay attention to her surroundings. The last thing she wanted was for Tezuka and Fuji to be late to the courts all because of her ineptitude.

Where was he though? He was supposed to be here today, and she even made him a special batch of cookies to give to him, but if she didn't see him, how was she supposed to confirm their…gulp…date…for tomorrow?

Arriving at the tennis courts, Sakuno believed it was safe to look around for Niou, but that only led to more problems. If she locked eyes with someone, she would blush and then drop her gaze quickly. This happened on more than one occasion and the guys whose gaze she captured believed she was shy and flirting.

When the first guy appeared, Sumire was able to get rid of him fairly easily. The second, Momo and Kaidoh dealt with. The third, Tezuka only sent a glare and the guy ran away. The fourth, Arai and a couple other second years got rid of him when they dumped a trash bin over him. The fifth…well by this time, Ryoma commented, "These guys are stupid and have no tennis talent. If they had any skills, they would be more focused on the upcoming tennis match!" After that, the non-regulars huddled around Sakuno so that no one could approach her and the only thing she could see was either them or the tennis court. No longer could she search for Niou.

The human shield kept almost everyone at bay except one man. He believed he was better than everyone else and had noticed the shorter girl with twin braids earlier. When the members of the Seigaku team crowded around her, he thought it was vastly entertaining; and although the wall may work on others, he knew it wouldn't work on him. With a snap of his fingers, he declared, "Come Kabaji, Ore-sama has to meet his destiny."

Atobe hadn't been the only one watching what was happening. At a nearby tennis court, Niou had seen the line of suitors and it irritated him. No, more than that…it pissed him off and he wanted to do something to each and every one of those guys that dare approach her. He was already agitated from when he watched Fuji manhandling her…and now this?

Seeing a Hyotei player making his move towards the Seigaku wall, Niou couldn't take it any longer and started to make his way towards Sakuno – even with his fukubuchou yelling at him not to leave. He just didn't care any longer and had to put a stop to the non-stop stream of guys. What did she think she was doing?

Naoko watched her brother closely and noticed his attention was drawn to another court in the short distance. Could it be the girl was over there? She started to follow him and then she saw someone she had not been expecting to see. "Senpai, I didn't realize you would be here today," she called out.

Smiling widely, an older woman answered, "I came to watch my brother play for Seigaku. Did you find the girl?"

"No, but I have a feeling, I'm about to," she snickered and looked off in the distance just in time to see her brother cut off another student. "I think things are about to get interesting. What do you think?"

"I did say something big would happen," the senpai giggled and together with her friend and former kohai, they walked towards the commotion.