Raising The Bar

By: Smash41KMF

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis, but I do own this story and Kathryn!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Blue Eyes and Blue Skies


Hiya guys and peeps, I'm back and I'm feeling great about this story, I love Fuji and I love the thought of how he's so sweet, oh it'd be so great if he were really real, I'd sooooocall dibs!

By the way, thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed, favorited, or alerted my story! I love you guys, and thank you sooooo much!

By the way! Atobe will also be going in and out of being ooc, but he'll be mainly ooc with only Hikaru, and perhaps Sam later on, but with everyone else, he'll be the good old atobewe all know and love! Anyways, Enjoy!


I didn't care who saw me, if anyone saw me really, because all they'd see was a girl-running away from the pain and the heartaches on the world; seeking shelter under false hopes. They'd see the tears running down her cheeks, the trembling of her botto lip, and the expression of hurt and betrayl in her wet eyes, but nothing else. They would not see the true reason, only assume it was due to a bad break-up or a confession of unrequited love, but it was no such thing.

Those watching would only feeling misaimed sympathy or engage in silent ridicule of her naivity and ignorance; but she could not cover her fragile feelings with the common lies of it being an unfavorable break-up for they were never really together, nor a rejection for he was always the instigator. She held no claim to him, they were barely on the basis of being friends, they were simply business partners if anything; giving her no reason to hold anything pertaining to their personal lives against him...

'But if I mean so little to him, why does he go out of his way to help me so often?' was the only thought that had entered my brain since I left the cafe.

'If I'm such a negligence... why is he always kind and... well... there for me...?' I didn't understand, there was something missing, but I couldn't figure out what it was and I found myself coming to a halt in the middle of the park, suddenly unable to think clearly as I felt a familiar hand rest on my shoulder, turning me around.

"Penny for your thoughts, Hikaru?" I gave him a faltering smile as I lowered my head slightly and he led me over to one of the benches and sat down beside me.

"It's about Keigo..." I mumbled, and he nodded, coaxing me on, to continue. "But please, it was a stuoid thing to get upset over, it was my fault, not his..." I added, and he remained silent, something I appreicated.

"Maybe he was just trying to protect you." I shot him a sideways glance, of all people, I would have never expected him to say that at a time like this, however comforting it was.

I sighed, shrugging my shoulders and looking up at the fading blue sky. "But he still kept it from me and he wouldn't answer me when I tried to ask him questions..."

"Perhaps he wasn't sure how to answer you, or what to say without hurting you even more...?" he offered and I shrugged again, before pushing myself off the bench and standing up.

"But it hurt even more when he didn't tell me anything, Shusuke..." I said softly, looking over my shoulder as the boy stood up and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me into a warm hug.

"Then it's his fault too, Hikaru; stop blaming just yourself." he whispered, and I bit my lip as rested my forehead on his shoulder and hugged him back, openly welcoming the gesture of comfort.

"I'll try, but I make no guarentees, Shusuke." I replied hugging him tighter as a few tears found their way on my cheeks and he reached up to wipe them away with his thumb. However, when he finished, his hand remained in place, holding my cheek, and I bowed my head slightly, making him chuckle softly, leaning forward and kissing the top of my head, before stepping back and taking my hand in his gently.

"That's okay, but I think I should be getting you home, aren't your aunt and uncle getting home today?" he asked, and I blinked before a hand flew to my mouth and my eyes grew.

"Oh no! I completely forgot! I have to be home by six, Kunimitsu is going to kill me if I'm late!" I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, before holding his hand tightly and taking off in the direction of the Tezuka residence, with Shusuke laughing behind me. "This is so not funny, Shu!" I called back as we rounded the corner and kept running.

'I'm sorry, Kunimitsu!'


Meanwhile, Atobe hit his head on the table and cursed as he, Yuushi, Gakuto, Shiraishi, Renji, and Jyuun sat in the cafe, scolding him for his stupidity.

"How could you not tell her! It's obvious you've grown attached to her, so why doesn't she know anything about you?" Gakuto exclaimed, throwing his hands on the counter, glaring at Atobe.

"Gakuto has a point, Atobe," Ryou added, glancing at the others before continuing, "She should know who you really are, before this gets anymore serious than it is."

"I agree, although my calculation cannot predict these types of things, it'd only be the safest decision for the future." Renji said, looking over at Shiraishi who sighed.

"Dude, if she really does care for you, she won't care! She'll care about the Atobe she met, not the one she doesn't know, but that also means you'll have to learn to be the same with her as you are with your friends... with a slight alteration, but seriously! You can't blame her, can you?" They looked to Yuushi who sat beside Atobe and shook his head.

"You messed up, it's a good thing that you understand that, but if this is what will happen whne she gets upset by you, you can't lie to her." Yuushi sighed, glancing across the table to Jyuun, who had remained quiet throughout the entire conversation since Hikaru had left. Beneath the table he gave her foot a slight nudge and she lifted her head to look at him with a slight indifference, but mainly unease.

"You wanna add anything, before I go mess up again?" They all looked to Atobe, and Jyuun bit her tongue angrily. She had no idea what had drawn Hikaru to the pathetic rich prick that now stood in front of her, but she wasn't about to sit around and find out, not this way.

Jyuun pushed herself to her feet, her head down as she sighed, before directing her attention towards Atobe, her green eyes narrowing harshly as she spoke. "Hikaru is not another one of your #!*% toys, Atobe... She's going through a lot and I don't think she needs you to make that any worse by breaking her heart." She growled, now standing beside the table as she continued, despite the discourage expression that was evident on the senior's face. "However, it seems it's too late to prevent that, so all I can say is this..." Jyuun lifted her head again, this time making eye contact with Atobe as she spoke in a bone-chilling tone. "If you screw up when she needs you, I will personally hold you accountable for all her pain..." She growled, turning on her heels and propmtly walking out of the cafe without another word.

She was going to find Hikaru and make things better, well, as best she could at least...


The boys watched her go, before turning back to look at a pale Atobe.

"Dude... you are so dead." Shiraishi said, and the others sighed at the obviousness of the statement.

"Shut up, man! I don't think you're helping the situation!" Gakuto hissed, elbowing the other boy as they all waited from Atobe to respond. However, when he did, it wasn't necessarily what they had expected. At all.

Atobe pushed himself to his feet and left the table without a sound or word. No witty comment, no superior statement, he didn't even say where he was going, or what he was planning to do.

Ryou blinked, and they all looked to Yuushi, who only sighed, shaking his head as he chuckled slightly. Gakuto looked at Renji, "Renji, what just happened?"

"I'm not quite sure, Gakuto... That was not what I was predicting." he said, pausing in his writing to look at the other puzzled boys around the table, before glancing at Yuushi and returning to his book, "What about you, Yuushi?"

"Yeah, I already got the feeling." he replied and they all gave him a curious look.

"What are you talking about? What's with Atobe?" Shiraishi asked again, and Yuushi sighed.

"That girl is already starting to change him..." he said simply, and Renji droppped his pencil, while Gakuto and Ryou coughed in surprise and Shiraishi choked on his water.

"WHAT?" they shouted, and Yuushi simply smirked, shaking his head as he slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up.

"She's showing him what the world is really like outside of his little egotistical bubble, and it's already starting to humble him." he answered, starting towards the door and adding over his shoulder as he leaned against he th eajarred door, "And it hasn't even been a week since he met her."

With that said, he left his teammates sitting in confusion and set out to stop his best friend from doing something stupid... again.


It was barely quarter if six by the time Shusuke and I had reached the house, mainly because I had to slow down from him to keep up... and the fact that I took a couple wrong turns here and there. We came to a stop in front of the gates to my cousin's house, and I turned around, hugging him in one swift motion, causing him to laugh and hug me back, ruffling my hair playfully.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Shusuke." I said softly, releasing him and taking a small step back as he offered a gentle smile and a nod.

"You're welcome, but hey, can I ask you something?" he said softly, lowering his head beside my ear as I stood patiently.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked, but before he could speak, the front door opened, and I saw Kunimitsu stand on the porch, raising an eyebrow, before awkwardly going back inside.

"Five minutes." he said, and after that he disappeared back inside and I turned back to look at Shusuke, who smirk at my cousin's actions.

"So, where were we?" I said with a small laugh that he joined, before continuing with his question.

"I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me to the Autumn Festival tomorrow..." he said hesitantly, and I paused, looking away to think it over.

"Ummm, I'm not sure... I barely know anyone here..." I said softly, and he gave me a soft, pitying smile.

"It's alright, it'll be fun, I promise!" he reassured me, reaching out and holding my hands gently, "Besides, if it's any consulation, you'll have Jyuun, me, and the other guy there too! Please?" he gave me a hope expression and I giggled, hanging my head and giving in to his pleading.

"Okay, I'll go." I said, smiling as he stepped back and held me at an arm's length.

"So, I guess I'll be picking you up then?" he asked, "At say... three o'clock?" he said softly, and I smiled, nodding in agreement; opening my mouth to respond, when I felt him pull me in and press his lips to the corner of my forehead. "Great, I'll see you tomorrow." he said promptly, releasing my hands and walking off as I walked to the front door in a daze.

Now that was not what I was expecting.


Okay, so this wasn't the easiest thing for me to figure out how to end, but it was going on forever! Thanks, been crazy busy! Sorry for the lateness!