Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!

...

...

"I wished I could go to Chiba," Hari sighed as she sank down at the floor of An's room.

"Why can't you?" An asked looking over at her.

"Nanjiro and Rinko told me that I can't use the trains since I keep getting lost," Hari pouted.

An giggled making Hari mock glare at her.

"It's not funny," Hari whined.

"It kind of is," An smiled. "But does that mean that you haven't seen your Saeki in a while?"

Hari frowned as she looked up at a mischievous looking An.

"He's not 'my' Saeki," she protested and felt…different from before. But what was it that felt different?

"Of course not," An smirked teasingly flipping a page in the book she was looking at. "And you do not want to see him again."

Hari was full out frowning now as she looked at her friend. She did want to see Saeki, but it was because she wanted to get more help with her technique. She had reached a step where she was stuck and she was in need of help.

Of course, seeing Saeki again would be great. She liked his company but… the fluttering feeling in her stomach was not there as she thought about seeing him again. Her brows furrowed as she took in the realisation but at the same time not understanding what it meant.

She liked Saeki.

Right?

But then Seiichi's face flashed in her mind and she remembered Minoru telling her that Seiichi was coming to Tokyo. Actually, he should be here now if the younger boy was correct.

"-ri-chan? Hari-chan?" A hand waved in front of her eyes making her blink and saw An giving her a curious look. "Where did you disappear to?"

Hari shrugged and smiled as she pushed her thoughts out of her mind for now. She pushed her hair back behind her ear as she did so.

"Just thinking," she dismissed the question. "What about you? Do you have a boy you like?"

An blushed and looked away making Hari grin.

"You do," she cheered. "Who?"

An blushed even more and sat back at the bed trying to avoid looking at Hari who was grinning.

"No one," An protested.

"Right. Even I see that's a lie," Hari said with a look. "Come on, An-chan! Tell me."

An still didn't say anything and folded her hands over her chest and refused to look at Hari.

"An-chan! An-chan! Tell me! Please…."

Hari jumped up on the bed next to her friend and threw her arms around the other girl as she widened her eyes and pouted.

An glanced at her and Hari could see her break and soon she was giggling.

"Fine," An laughed and pushed Hari away. Hari allowed herself to be pushed away and leaned against the wall behind the bed and watched An with a curious look on her face. "I'll tell you."

"Ma?" Hari smiled.

"Momoshiro," An said with a blush.

"Momo-chan?" Hari grinned. "I was sure you would say Kamio."

An blinked at her and shook her head.

"Kamio is just a friend," An said, "he's almost like an older brother. Like Kippei-nii-san."

Hari nodded.

"So, do you plan on telling Momo-chan?" Hari asked curiously.

An shrugged and eyed Hari.

"Are you going to tell Saeki?" she asked back.

Hari frowned.

"Don't think so," she said. "I'm not sure if I like him like that anymore."

An arched a brow. "Oh?"

Hari sighed. "I haven't seen him in a while and…I don't really think about him as I did anymore. I…"

She was thinking about Seiichi instead.

"Are you thinking about someone else?" An asked catching on to her thoughts.

Hari groaned slightly as she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Shirimasen," she admitted. "I'm really confused."

An look at her for a moment and hummed thoughtfully before she jumped up and Hari almost slid to the side when the weight on the mattress next to her disappeared.

"Come on," An said.

"Saa?"

"Come on, Hari," An grinned and reached out and grabbed Hari's hand and pulled her up from the bed.

...

Hari blinked when she realised that they were at the train station. She looked around before she looked at An who was still grinning and had a proud look on her face.

"An-chan? Why are we here?" Hari asked.

"We're going to Chiba!" An declared.

"What?" Hari blinked, "but…"

"You can't go alone because you get lost," An interrupted her, "but I won't get lost, so we can go together!"

Hari snorted but shrugged. She guessed that was technically correct. Besides, she wanted to go and see Saeki and get his help with her motion vision.

"Okay, but why are we going there?" Hari asked when they were seated on the train.

"Because seeing Saeki again will help you figure out if you still like him or not," An said surely.

Hari blinked.

"That's…a good idea," she admitted a little reluctantly.

An grinned and nodded. Soon they were chatting and laughing in a way Hari really missed. It was different to just hand out with a fellow girl and not just boys. It was like that at Hogwarts too. Hari always enjoyed just hanging out with Hermione sometimes; it was just different from how it was when Ron was there as well. Not that she didn't like hanging out with Ron or the other boys from her team, because she did.

...

Hari and An made their way to Rokkaku Middle School where Hari knew Saeki often had an early afternoon practice on Saturdays. She hoped that he had that today as well because she wanted to surprise him. If he wasn't there she would call him and ask where he was, but that would be the boring option.

"I think it's over there;" An said.

"Hai," Hari agreed. "I recognise it now."

They walked further up the hill before they reached the school and Hari noticed that An looked around in curiosity but since Hari had seen it before she didn't bother to study the grounds that much.

They heard the sounds from practice going on before they saw it and from the sounds of things the kids that normally were there watching was there again as well. She smiled slightly at that.

Hari saw him immediately. He was talking to their coach and was smiling like he normally did. His hair was still the same silver-white with darker hair at the bottom, he was still handsome and had a very nice smile, Hari thought as she studied him.

"Where is he?" An asked eagerly.

Hari glanced at her and saw her watching the boys that were now stretching after their practice. She sighed a little.

"He's the one talking to their coach;" Hari said and An looked to the side of the court and blinked.

"He's handsome," she said approvingly. "I like his hair."

Hari laughed and shook her head.

"Come on," she said when she stopped laughing.

...

"Hari-chan!" Saeki smiled when he saw her. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Jiro-kun," Hari grinned and he rolled his eyes at her, "I hadn't planned to."

The others had noticed her now and smiled as they waved at her and she saw them throw curious looks at An who was looking back equally curious.

"YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN FOREVER!" Aoi yelled as he skipped over to them.

"Don't yell, Aoi!" Shudo complained and rubbed his ear. "Hello, Echizen-san."

"Shudo-san," Hari nodded politely.

"But, Aoi is correct," Amane said with an easy smile, "you haven't been here in a long time."

Hari grimaced and Saeki chuckled amused making her glare at him.

"Well, I was told not to use the trains on my own," Hari reluctantly said.

"She kept getting lost using the trains," Saeki added helpfully. "Didn't you, Hari-chan?"

The others laughed and Hari pouted and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away.

"It's not my fault," she muttered petulantly.

"But how are you here now, then?" Kurobane asked curiously.

Hari glanced at An who had stayed in the background while she greeted the team. When she met Hari's eyes An stepped forward and the others took notice of her and blinked.

"ANOTHER PRETTY GIRL!" Aoi grinned.

"AOI!" Shudo snapped annoyed.

Hari laughed.

"This is my friend, Tachibana An," Hari introduced, "she offered to be my guide so I'm not breaking any rules. I'm not taking the trains by myself."

"Sneaky," Saeki grinned and Hari smirked at him. He looked back at An and smiled politely, though. "Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san."

"You too," An smiled. "Hari-chan has told me about you."

Hari frowned as she looked at An and fought the blush that she knew wanted to come. She didn't need to make it sound like…like she talked about him. Saeki just smiled and nodded, though.

"So, why are you here, Hari-chan?" Saeki asked turning back to her.

"I was hoping we could play?" Hari asked. "I could use some help on my motion vision, I think I've hit a wall."

Saeki looked at her for a moment before he nodded.

"Sure," he said. "I have some time."

"Great!" Hari cheered making Saeki smile amusedly at her.

...

Hari and Saeki practised for a couple of hours while An was shown around the neighbourhood by the others on the team when it was clear that the two was lost in their practice and would be for a while. An didn't mind giving Hari some time alone with Saeki because she knew that her friend needed to figure out her own feelings for the boy.

An smiled slightly as she thought about it. Saeki was really handsome with his silver-white hair and pointed chin, but there was also something about the way he acted that was very…attractive. He was kind and gentle in a way that just screamed of someone comfortable in his own skin and that was rare in boys these days.

She wondered if Hari really liked him or if it had only been a crush that faded away quickly when separated for a while. It was not unlikely but An found herself hoping that Hari and Saeki would end up finding out that they liked each other.

Now, An was back at the school and found Hari smiling at something Saeki was telling her both seated on a bench with a bottle of water in their hands. A towel was thrown around Hari's shoulders as well and her hair looked a little wet like she had poured water over her head.

"Hey, An-chan!" Hari smiled when she noticed her. "Did you have a good time? I'm sorry… I got lost in practice…"

"That was why we came here, Hari-chan," An smiled amusedly eyes flickering over to Saeki who smiled politely back at her. "Did you get the help you needed?"

Hari nodded and grinned.

"Jiro-kun is a very good teacher," Hari said.

"You have gotten very good at it, Hari-chan," Saeki said and looked at her. "Have you perhaps gotten help from your team?"

Hari tilted her head as she looked at Saeki.

"Well, I've watched Kikumaru-kun a bit," Hari admitted. "He also has motion vision."

Saeki nodded like he already knew this.

"If he has it then why don't you have him help you?" Shudo asked curiously.

Hari blinked.

"Well, because he was the one who said I had a talent in it," Hari said like it was obvious and pointed at Saeki.

Saeki chuckled and smiled fondly at her.

"Mochiron," Saeki said.

"See, Jiro-kun understands!" Hari said proudly.

...

An frowned slightly as she watched Hari on the train back to Tokyo. She was staring at her hand with a faraway look in her eyes. An followed her eyes and looked at the slender and pale hand that was stretched out in front of Hari but she could see nothing that could explain the look on Hari's face.

Hari sighed as she used the other hand to trace over her knuckles and a small frown settled on her brow before a faint blush coloured her cheeks. An's eyebrows raised up in surprise as she took in the sudden blush. What had caused it?

"Hari-chan?" An asked.

Hari startled like she had forgotten that An was there.

"Oh. An-chan," Hari smiled a little sheepishly. "Gomen. Did you say something?"

"Is something wrong?" An asked worriedly.

Hari blinked before she smiled.

"No, of course not," Hari denied. "Why?"

An wanted to sigh but she withheld it.

"You seemed lost in thought," An explained.

"I guess I was," Hari admitted but didn't deliberate on what she had been thinking about. An hesitated for a moment before deciding not to push her on it.

"So, how was it to see Saeki-san again?" An asked instead.

"It was fun," Hari smiled and leaned back in the seat. "I always enjoy playing with him. He's a good challenge and doesn't get sore about it if I win."

An nodded.

"He seems very nice," An said. "Though, that captain of his is rather loud."

Hari laughed and nodded in agreement.

...

Hari settled on her bed that night and stared up at the ceiling of her room. Her mind was back to the day spent with Saeki and An, but mostly Saeki. She had liked him, or so she had thought. But maybe…maybe she hadn't? Was it possible that she just thought she liked him because An suggested it?

She frowned.

This was so confusing. Did she or didn't she like Saeki? She had enjoyed the time she had spent with him, he was easy and fun to be around. He was a good and patient teacher and he made her laugh.

Yet…

Yet, the butterflies in her stomach were not present when she talked with him. She hadn't felt the blush in her cheeks as he brushed against her. She hadn't felt her heart throb extra hard when he squeezed her hand when they said goodbye.

She looked at her hand and scowled at it.

Why hadn't she felt like that?

Seiichi leaning over her hand and kissing it flashed in her mind and she felt her cheeks burn making her groan. When Saeki had held her hand in his stronger one earlier Hari's mind had immediately jumped to the thought of Seiichi and him kissing her hand and the lack of warmth she felt from Saeki's touch compared to Seiichi's.

"Argh," she groaned and thumped her head against her pillow in frustration.

Why was this so difficult? It shouldn't be because it was her feelings after all. It should be simple for her to figure it out! But no… all she felt was confusion and wondering why she wondered about it at all.

This was all An's fault, Hari decided. It was absolutely and totally An's fault!

...

Hari waved goodbye to Sora and Hira outside of the school having studied with them for a bit after the end of class. She enjoyed spending time with the two twins but had hoped that they had liked pranking a little more, but then again… it wasn't really fair of her to hope that just because she missed the Weasley twins.

Shaking her head at her own thoughts she made her way toward her home but soon noticed a figure that was rapidly becoming familiar to her slouching not too far ahead of her. A scowl was etched onto his face by the looks of it and she suddenly regretted staying behind to study and not joining Ryoma and Momoshiro when they asked her to come and play tennis on the street courts.

She really didn't want to run into the teen right now. Not when he was convinced that she had been the one to prank him (he was correct but that was beside the point) and had decided to get his revenge.

Apparently by stalking her. It was so annoying.

She turned to the right and glanced back and noticed to her dismay that he had noticed her and was walking behind her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance as she sped up but knew that without actually turning to a run he would catch up with her.

What should she do? She could make a run for it but he was likely to catch up because he had such (ridiculous) long legs and that gave him an unfair advantage.

She rounded a corner and before she could make up her mind she found herself yanked into an alley by a warm hand and another warm hand pressed over her mouth to stop any sound coming out.

Her heartbeat sped up and fear spread through her as her mind froze and she was just about to summon up her magic when…

"Quiet," a familiar voice whispered in her ear and she felt herself relax almost against her will and suddenly conscious about the warmth of the body so close to her own, so close that she could feel him pressed against her back.

She saw Akutsu stalk past the alley where she was hidden with a scowl on his face and hurried steps. He clearly thought she had made a run for it.

She stood completely still for a moment longer and barely dared to breathe because he was so close and she could feel his breath against her neck.

Suddenly, just as suddenly as she had been grabbed, she was free and the warmth from behind her was gone. She turned and looked up at Seiichi who was smiling softly at her.

"Hey," he said.

She blinked at how casual he sounded and she swallowed trying to find her voice again.

"Hey," she managed.

"So, why did he follow you?" Seiichi asked a small frown on his face as he glanced toward the street.

Hari exhaled and shook herself out of whatever it was that made her unable to think.

"He's upset because he thinks I pranked him," Hari huffed and turned to walk out of the alley.

Seiichi followed her and easily fell into step next to her. What was he doing here? Had he come to see her? She felt suddenly nervous.

"Did you?" he asked.

"Did I what?" Hari glanced at him already lost in thought.

"Did you prank him?" Seiichi arched a brow at her.

He must think she was stupid.

"Saa," Hari smiled innocently and Seiichi laughed.

"I see," he said.

Hari glanced at him and noticed how open his face looked when he smiled. She looked away.

"What were you doing here?" Hari asked to turn her mind away from thinking about things she shouldn't be thinking about now. "Just happened to be standing in an alley ready to save a girl from a stalking boy?"

She heard him snort and smiled slightly.

"No," he denied. "I was on my way to find you. I hoped to find you as you left your school and just happened to see you hurrying away and Akutsu behind you."

He had come to find her? She ignored the way her heart thumped harder. She must still be affected from trying to escape Akutsu.

"Why did you want to find me?" she asked and was pleased that her voice was steady.

"I wanted to see you and maybe ask if you wanted to spend the day with me," Seiichi said and was she wrong to think that there was a nervous note underneath the seemingly casual voice of his?

"Sure, why not?" Hari smiled as she glanced at him. "But we need to find something to eat first because I'm starving."

Seiichi nodded.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed.

...

They found a small restaurant that served western food and it looked to be a small forgotten place really that was run by an older married couple. The woman was the waiter and she chatted about how she and her husband had opened this place when they first married 39 years ago.

Both Hari and Seiichi nodded politely and listened to the woman talk even as they exchanged glances and had to look away to hide their amused smiles.

Finally, the woman went to give their orders (she had more or less told them what to order and in fear of being impolite they had allowed her to do so) and leaving Hari alone with Seiichi.

"How are you?" Hari asked after a brief almost awkward silence.

"I'm doing better," Seiichi smiled. "I'm here for my rehabilitation check-up and also some check-up with my doctor."

"Yes, your cousin told me you were coming to Tokyo," Hari nodded. "He didn't say why, though, but I guessed it was something like that."

"Oh? Right," Seiichi said and frowned slightly before his face cleared again. "Minoru said he had seen you with a boy, I don't remember the name he told me."

Hari nodded.

"Yes, Ryoga-san and I were on our way back from having gone to see Keigo," Hari said.

Seiichi frowned once more but there came no more explanation on who Ryoga-san was and he did not want to sound like he was trying to figure it out.

"Keigo? Ah, Atobe?" Seiichi asked instead. "You did say something about him when we talked."

Hari nodded and got a look that was a cross between exasperation and fond on her face and he noticed how her eyes sparkled with a gleam that he couldn't explain.

"Yeah, my mum was his godmother," Hari explained, "I never knew that until recently, though. He has had some…troubles with understanding that I'm an Echizen now and not just a Potter."

Seiichi nodded and remembered that she had mentioned this in one of their talks on the phone. They talked some more before the woman came back with their food and drinks.

"Arigato," Hari smiled at the woman who smiled back.

...

"It was good food," Hari smiled pleased when they were outside again and had managed to get lose from the talkative woman inside as they paid their bill. "But she sure could talk…"

Seiichi smiled and nodded but didn't say anything.

They started to walk down the street and toward the river. Hari looked up at the sky and let a smile cross her lips as she took in the still blue sky and the occasional white cloud.

"Watch out," Seiichi suddenly said and his hand was on her arm and steadied her just as she stumbled slightly.

"Ah, thank you," Hari smiled at him and he rolled his eye.

"You're impossible," he said.

"Oi," she mock glared at him. "I'm not."

A calm smile was the only reaction she was met with and she huffed but felt her lips twitch amused as she looked away from him.

"Have you worked out more of your new move?" Seiichi asked after a moment of silence.

"Trying to fish for new information on the competition, Sei-chan?" Hari arched a brow at him.

"Ma…" Seiichi drawled.

Hari laughed lightly as she started to descend the stairs leading down to the river missing the fond and searching look from her companion and the light blush in his cheeks.

"It's going well," Hari said glancing at him before she sat down at the small wall that was separating the path and the river letting her feet dangle over the water and she wished she could reach it but it was too far down. "I love watching the water. I used to do it at my school in Scotland. There was a large lake on the grounds that had this large and really beautiful tree next to it, I loved sitting underneath the tree to do my homework or just stare at the water."

Hari could feel Seiichi looking at her but she had no idea what he was thinking as he observed her with those calm violet-blue eyes of his. She resisted the need to look back at him to see just what kind of look he had in his eyes.

Seiichi was watching the way her face seemed to come alive as she talked excitedly about a place that meant a lot to her as she waved a hand to help explain what she meant.

"Sounds like a good spot," Seiichi said when she fell silent. "Do you miss it?"

A shadow fell on her face and the smile slipped away as she looked at the river. Even from where he was sitting he could see that the green eyes of hers had darkened with unknown (to him) emotions.

"That's complicated," Hari eventually said.

Seiichi watched her closely wishing he could take away that dark pained look that was on her face because she wasn't meant to have that kind of look. She was meant to be laughing and smiling. Though, he wasn't sure how to break her out of it.

"I guess," she continued unaware of his thoughts, "I miss the few friends I made there, and while the school was beautiful and the grounds really breathtaking, I don't miss it."

"I see," Seiichi said even if he didn't. Not really. He had a feeling that she was holding something big back, but he didn't blame her. He hadn't a right to her secrets. Even if he wished she would trust him with it.

Hari glanced at him and suddenly smiled and her face lit up again and the darkness that had been there vanished like it never had been there at all.

"You really are easy to talk to," she said and he had a feeling that there was another layer to the statement but he couldn't really say what it was.

She glanced at the clock and grimaced.

"Ouch," she said.

"Something wrong?" Seiichi asked.

"Only the fact that Nanjiro will be wondering where I am," Hari sighed but she made no sign of getting up as she leaned back and stared up at the sky that was now darkening and the sun was almost gone.

"Ah, curfew?" Seiichi asked.

"Nah, not exactly," Hari shrugged, "but he gets a little…restless if I'm not home and Ryoma is. He will think I'm out with a boy."

Seiichi arched a brow amused.

"Well, you are," he said.

Hari nodded.

"Yeah, but he's rather…overprotective type," Hari grimaced. "I rather not deal with it."

"I feel like I should apologize," Seiichi said.

"You really should," Hari nodded seriously before she laughed and he smiled slightly.

...

They walked toward her house together and Hari listened to him talk about his team and how they trained and how the training had been interrupted by Marui Bunta when someone had accidentally hit his cake with a tennis ball.

"Sounds like fun," Hari observed amusedly when he finished telling her the story.

"It was a mess," he said with a long-suffering sigh. "I have no idea how my team ended up like that."

Hari glanced at him with a wry look.

"You don't want them any other way," she said, "just admit it."

He frowned at her but she just gave a cheeky grin back.

Hari paused when they reached the gates leading up to her house and she noticed that he glanced at the gate and the nameplate with the name 'Echizen' written on it before his violet-blue eyes found her again.

"Thank you for walking me home," Hari said suddenly a little shy.

"No problem," he smiled softly. "Thank you for spending the rest of your day with me."

So formal he was, Hari thought amused but also a little pleased.

"It was fun," she smiled.

He nodded in agreement. "It was."

"I…" Hari started to say but then the front door opened and she felt her eyes widen slightly.

"Hari-chan? Is that you?" Nanjiro's voice called out.

"Yes! I'm here!" Hari called back.

"Where have you been?" He called.

"Just out, I'm coming!" Hari called back and turned to look at Seiichi and whispered, "go…"

She didn't want Nanjiro to catch them together because he would go into interrogator mode and that was not something she wanted to put Seiichi through. Seiichi smiled and gave her a look before he grabbed her hand and kissed it as he had done before. But…did his lips, so soft and warm, lingering longer on the back of her hand than before?

"See you," he whispered and reached out to push a strand of hair out of her face with the hand that was not still holding hers before he let go and backed away.

With one last look she turned and slipped in through the gates and toward the house where Nanjiro was waiting in the doorway with a suspicious look in his hazel eyes.

...

"How was it in Tokyo?" Sanada asked when he sat down next to Seiichi on the bench overlooking the practice.

Seiichi glanced at his best friend who was not looking at him and was trying very hard to not show how anxious he was to know how his doctor appointment had gone. He allowed a small amused smile to cross his lips.

"It was fine," Seiichi said calmly. "It's stable."

"So you still can't train properly?" Sanada asked.

"Not yet," Seiichi said.

Sanada nodded and didn't say anything else but he didn't get up to join the others either. Seiichi remembered Hari telling him that he would not want his team any other way and as he took in the seriousness and hard work they put into their practice he had to agree with her.

"So," Sanada started a little awkwardly and shifted on the bench, "did you see her?"

Seiichi glanced at him and noticed that Sanada was watching him from the corner of his eyes.

"Hari-chan, you mean?" Seiichi asked despite knowing the answer.

"Hai," Sanada said.

"Yeah, I saw her yesterday," Seiichi said and seemed unaware of the smile on his face but Sanada saw it.

"Oh," Sanada said.

Seiichi glanced at his best friend and wondered if he should put him out of his misery or not because it was clear that he wanted to ask more but his stoic nature didn't really allow him to.

"I went to see her when she was finished with school," Seiichi decided to take mercy on his friend. "I saved her from Akutsu."

"Akutsu?" Sanada frowned as he turned to look at Seiichi. "Akutsu Jin?"

Seiichi nodded and frowned slightly, "yeah. He was following her and she was trying to get away from him." He didn't like that.

"Why was he following her?" Sanada asked with a frown.

"She said it was because he thought she had pranked him," Seiichi said.

"And did she?"

"She wouldn't admit it, but I would say yes," Seiichi nodded.

Sanada shook his head. "Crazy."

Seiichi nodded in agreement but the fond smile on his lips told another story. Seiichi rested his head in his hand as he looked over the tennis court. His mind was still on the day before and how easy it had been to talk to Hari, it always was.

But there had been something different yesterday as well. There had been something more beneath everything they had done and said, he could feel it. He smiled slightly as he thought that maybe she was ready for him to actually ask her out…

He remembered the blush in her cheeks when they said goodbye and how her eyes widened when he kissed her hand, she did that every time he kissed her hand and it never got old, and how soft her hair felt in his fingers and how he wanted to pull his hand through her hair…

He shook his head to clear it and suddenly aware that Sanada was watching him with a pensive look on his face and that the others had joined them.

"Are you thinking about cake?" Marui asked.

"Stupid!" Yanagi Renji scolded and swatted Marui over the head.

"Ouch!" Marui groaned and rubbed his head. "Why did you do that?"

"Don't disrespect the Captain!" Yanagi said.

"Yeah, yeah," Marui pouted.

Sanada sighed next to Seiichi who just had a mildly amused look on his face.

"Puri!" Nio Masaharu said as he looked at Seiichi with a curious look.

"Mou ii," Seiichi said calmly and stood up. "I want you to…"

He continued to give them instructions for the practice and set up practice matches for them after they finished their training menus. Just as he was finishing giving his instruction did his phone start ringing and he waved them off as he pulled it out of his bag.

"Hello," he said as he arched a brow when his team still stared at him. "I'm back at school, yeah."

"Come on!" Sanada barked out as he pushed Marui who was closest to him. "Get going."

"Who is he talking to?" Marui asked eying his captain with a speculative look.

"…" Sanada just stared at him.

"You know," Marui accused.

"The data is on the side of Sanada knowing," Yanagi quiet voice added.

"Puri!" Nio nodded.

Sanada glared at them and they turned back to what they were supposed to be doing while Sanada cast a glance over at Seiichi who was talking on the phone. During practice. Something he never did. He shook his head as he focused on his own training menu.

...

"Did you get in trouble for being out late?" Seiichi asked as he sat down.

"Nah, but Nanjiro is certain that I'm hiding something from him," Hari laughed and Seiichi smiled amusedly.

"Well, aren't you?" Seiichi asked.

"He'll live," Hari said unconcernedly.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Seiichi asked and not because he was hurt or anything because she hadn't told her adoptive father about him or anything like that, he was just curious as to why.

"He tried to get me to start homeschooling when I joined the boys' team in tennis and realised that there would be boys' on the team," Hari deadpanned.

"Ah," Seiichi said amusedly.

"You're laughing," Hari said and he could hear the pout through the phone.

"I wouldn't dare," Seiichi denied.

"Hmph," Hari huffed. "Whatever. What are you doing now? You said you were at school?"

"Practice," Seiichi said.

"Oh? I disturbed you, then," Hari said apologetically.

"No, it's fine," Seiichi said even knowing that he should be paying attention to the training his team was doing but he wanted to talk to Hari. Besides, the team would be fine without him for a little bit. It wasn't like he could join them in the practice anyway. "They know what to do and I can observe them even as I talk with you. Have you been at practice already?"

"It's raining," Hari said with a sigh, "so Ryuzaki-sensei told us to stop. She even interrupted Ryo-chan's practice match against Shu-chan. It would have been fun to see who won."

Shu-chan? Seiichi frowned slightly before he realised that it must be Fuji she was talking about. He felt a twisting sensation in his stomach as he realised that she had a nickname for her teammate as well.

"Sei-chan?" Hari's voice sounded. "You there?"

"Yeah," Seiichi said. "Sorry. Just got lost in my thoughts."

They talked a few minutes more before she said she had to go and they ended the call leaving Seiichi smiling and a plan forming in his head. It was time for him to act and do something because he had made up his mind. Echizen Hari was going to be his.

...

...

AN: What do you think? XD It's not my best one, I know. This one took forever to get ready and I struggled with the pacing of the chapter. Well, anyway, the chapter is up and I hope you liked it! :)

Thank you for reading and supporting this story! I know it's been a little bit since I updated but I've been really exhausted lately and not really had the extra energy to write much. I'm getting better now so hopefully, I will be able to write more. XD

Japanese words used:
Ma - Well
Shirimasen - I don't know
Saa - filler
Hai - yes
Mochiron - of course
Gomen - Sorry
Arigato - Thank you
Mou ii - enough