Title: Resentment

Characters: Yanagi Renji, Mouri Jusaburou

A/N: This started off as a third person story, but I eventually morphed it into a first person story. I'm basically avoiding continuing my Atobe and Yukimura fic by writing other things since I'm stuck trying to work out the next set of events for that one.

You did not need data to know Mouri Jusaburou was a troublemaker; his unruly, school policy-violating appearance easily conveyed that. Standing at a rather impressive 191.63 cm, he was taller than anyone else at the school—including the faculty. He had this unnaturally crimson red hair, a strange Kansai and Tokyo dialect and loved to do anything but study and attend tennis practice. He was a genius, after all, and that meant he got special treatment. I would never dream of getting away with half of the things he has gotten away with simply because of his status.

And yet, I still found myself chasing after him; even when he was so far out of reach.

I hated that he was never around. I hated not having data on the one person I desperately wanted to know more about. I hated playing with such a wildcard on the team. I hated how he never gave a single damn about anything. I hated how infuriating it was to run around campus just to drag him by his feet to the tennis courts, only for him to fall asleep within seconds and do nothing. I hated how everyone around him, save for Seiichi and Genichirou, was okay with the arrangement that had been created and accepted by all of Rikkai, simply because he was a genius.

But, worst of all, I hated the fact that I fell in love with Mouri Jusaburou.

It was exactly 3 days, 19 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds before the start of the first round of the Kanto Regionals when I first knew I was falling hard for him. Mouri-senpai was skipping practice, as per usual. On orders from the team captain, I was sent to go find him. I knew he'd be on the rooftops of the main building, in his tiny, hidden alcove, based on some reports from the public morals committee.

Mouri-senpai was snoozing peacefully amongst the many stray cats that had gathered. There was something hypnotizing about his serene expression. I almost wanted to leave him to his devices, but an earful would await me if I didn't return with him in tow.

I knelt down and roughly jostled his shoulder. "Mouri-senpai, please wake up. It's time for practice."

He opened one of his eyes and glanced at me. "You're not Nishiki."

"I am Yanagi," I answered. "The captain sent me to come get you."

Mouri-senpai sat up from his spot and reached out to ruffle my hair. "I never knew we had such cute kouhais on the team!" he laughed.

"Please refrain from doing that, senpai."

He pouted slightly as he forced himself up. "My, aren't you an interesting one! Does the captain really think he can convince me to show up by sending our most adorable kouhai to fetch me?"

I was unsure of how to respond to that statement and bit my lip instead.

"Cat got your tongue?" he chuckled.

"Do not be absurd, senpai," I reassured.

I watched as the grin on his face began to grow more eager. "I like you, Yanagi! You're much more interesting than Nishiki."

I felt my eyebrow raise on its own. "I fail to see how—"

Before I could even blink, I felt something press onto my lips. Mouri-senpai's closed eyes were right in front of me as he smirked playfully. There was a gentle nudge from his tongue, as if he wanted to insert it into my mouth. I kept my lips tightly pursed together. Surprise wouldn't even be enough to describe the level of exacerbation I was feeling at that exact moment in spacetime. I wanted to push him away from me, but I was frozen in place—afraid to do anything.

Mouri-senpai eased up soon afterwards. "Man, you really are nothing like Nishiki! He would've sacked me by now."

My face was flush as I reached up to touch the spot on my lips that he had kissed. "M-Mouri-senpai..."

"Aw, don't tell me that was your first kiss," he teased as he leaned forward again and cupped my face in his large, soft hands. "If I knew, I would've made it more special!"

This time, I jumped back before he could do anything else. "I-it's t-time for p-practice," I managed to stutter. My face was now an uncomfortable shade of uneasiness and embarrassment.

There was a slight twinge of disappointment in that bastard's eyes as he smiled. "Alright. I'll come just for you, my lovely kouhai," came the flirtatious wink.

I could not focus at all throughout practice that day. All I could think about was that kiss out of nowhere from him. He stole my first kiss from me. A memory as significant as that is stored in the hippocampus region of the brain, making it near impossible to forget. Even the vivid, minute details of the cracks in his chapped lips and lingering scent of glacial acetic acid were things that I could recall, even to this day. Mouri-senpai was on the other side of the courts, nodding off into another slumber. Collecting data on a person in that state is near impossible.

When practice ended for the day, Seiichi and Genichirou came up to me, worried expressions plastered on their faces.

"Is something wrong, Renji?" Seiichi asked innocently.

"No," I denied. "Sorry, Seiichi. I am just not feeling well."

Genichirou let out a small huff. "Now is not the time to be distracted. Kanto is only days away."

"You are right, Genichirou," I admitted.

Just as we began to head inside the club room, Mouri-senpai waltzed by us, winking flirtatiously and blowing fake kisses at us.

"See you in a few days, my lovely kouhai!" he chimed before skipping away.

Both Genichirou and Seiichi raised an eyebrow, but thought nothing of it.

"If he has that much energy, perhaps he should use it properly," Genichirou commented.

"Seeing him like that infuriates me," Seiichi added. "All that talent and he does nothing with it."

"A shame," Genichirou continued.

My heart was pounding furiously in my chest and there was no sign of it stopping. All I could dream about that night was the same kiss repeating itself over and over again—like a broken record.

It was at that moment that I realized I was falling in love with my insufferable senpai, Mouri Jusaburou.

When we had reached our second year, Seiichi had managed to make himself the captain of the team. With the third years graduating and no second years to pass the captaincy down to, it was the ideal condition for him to assume the role. Had Mouri-senpai been around, things would have been a lot more different. I still continued my daily routine of trying to find him on campus and drag him to practice. He continued to avoid me by planning around my movements. Seiichi and Genichirou grew increasingly more frustrated with his habits, but had to acknowledge that he was a critical member to the team. There were several unsuccessful attempts to kick him out of the club, but our mysterious advisor would always send cryptographic messages that told us not to.

I found Mouri-senpai sneaking out of the west entrance after school one day and ran up to catch him. It was unusual for him to be taking that exit since it was the one that Genichirou would often be stationed at.

I grabbed a hold of his wrist as I approached him. "Mouri-senpai, where are you going?"

He instantly turned his head and smiled at me. "Yanagi! Just the kouhai I wanted to see."

"Practice is going to begin soon, senpai." I tugged lightly on his arm to get him to follow me.

Mouri-senpai shifted his hand up from my loose grip and grabbed a hold of my hand instead. I felt the small calluses on his palm from where he gripped his racket. "I got something better to show you instead."

For a reason I cannot recall, I decided to follow him out the west entrance and towards the station without protesting. We boarded the next train that went right into the city. The entire journey there, he did not let go of my hand. He held it rather tightly that I felt my metacarpal bones slowly starting to crush themselves. My chest was pounding feverishly as I anxiously sat in silence beside him.

"What are you all nervous about? We're just going on a trip!" he laughed, which only made my cheeks flush a brighter crimson.

We got off in the middle of the shipping district in the city. He dragged me out of the station, but not before grabbing two small booklets by the tourism pamphlet section on the way. He handed one to me with glee.

"Race you to see who can complete it first!"

I took a look at the booklet and flipped through the pages. It was for a stamp rally event that the district was holding with some interesting prizes to be won. By the time I looked up, Mouri-senpai had already started running all over the place, collecting stamps from all of the participating vendors within my line of sight.

I knew I could have just turned around and left him here, but a part of me wanted to chase after him as well. I ran to catch up to him, but he was bouncing all over the place with a childish fervour.

"Mouri-senpai, wait!"

He immediately stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Can't keep up, Yanagi? I was hoping you'd be better than Nishiki!"

"Why did you bring me out here, senpai?"

"Training, of course!"

"Training?"

"Stop asking so many questions and just come along!" He reached for my hand again and began to pull me along.

I had no clue what he meant by training, but he had a surprisingly strong grip on my hand and refused to let go. Mouri-senpai looked excited to show me around the entire area all while adding to his growing collection of stamps. I found myself struggling to keep up with him as he hurried around. He noticed I was starting to fall behind and continued to push forward despite my faltering.

"C'mon, Yanagi! You'll never be able to play singles if you don't have stamina!"

"Playing tennis— and— running around— the shopping district— are not— the same," I replied in between breaths.

"Man, you're really out of shape! Are you sure you're one of the 'Big 3'? There's no way the other two would get this tired!"

I took one large breath and recollected my composure. "I fail to understand how this classifies as training, Mouri-senpai."

He pretended to wipe away his fake tears. "And I thought you were the smart one..."

He perked up immediately afterwards and we continued to make our way through the district. Mouri-senpai carefully weaved his way through the crowds of housewives and other students, contorting himself into physically impossible states just to avoid touching any of them. I continued to follow him until he had completed the last stamp in the book.

"C'mon, Yanagi! We gotta get to Hankyu before they run out of prizes to be won!"

Knowing that the end was in sight, I used what was left of my energy to keep up with him. He was running faster than I had ever seen him run before all the way to the department store entrance. Upon arrival, he almost collided with the front-of-store workers as he rushed through the sliding glass doors. I uttered a small apology as I followed him through. The prize exchange station was right in front of the entrance of the building. Mouri-senpai slammed his completed booklet on the counter, starling the poor part timer on the other side.

He turned to look at me and grinned. "How long was that?"

"27 minutes, 54 seconds," I instantly responded without realizing that I was keeping count the entire time. Why did I keep track of time like that?

"See? I knew you were the smart one! And, that's my personal best as well!"

The clerk behind the counter flipped through the booklet hastily to verify the contents before taking it away. They then pulled a box from underneath the counter and placed it in front of Mouri-senpai.

"Please pick one," they said as they gestured towards the hole at the top of the ornate box.

Mouri-senpai stuck his hand in and rummaged around before pulling out a stick with the number '44' written on it. "Wow, what a terribly unlucky number..."

"Congratulations, sir! You have won one of our Usainu plush keychains!" The clerk bent underneath the countertop once again and popped back up holding a strange rabbit-dog hybrid object.

Mouri-senpai was disappointed, but put on his best fake smile. "Cool!" He held out his hand to accept the small toy-looking thing. "Let's go get some food, Yanagi!"

"Mouri-senpai, we really need to—"

"Oh, who cares about practice? You should do it when you feel like it; not because you have to!"

Without another word, he grabbed my hand once again, only this time, he interlaced his rough fingers in between mine. I was taken aback by the gesture, since I have only ever seen couples hold hands like this.

Were we a couple? Was this how relationships worked? I wasn't sure, but now my shortness of breath was definitely not caused by the running.

Mouri-senpai brought us to the cafe at the top of the department store and proceeded to order an overpriced strawberry parfait for himself. I declined to order anything, except for a glass of water. He looked slightly disappointed when I turned down his offer, but did not make a fuss about it.

"I should take you out more often for these kinds of things! You're more fun than the others," he laughed.

I tried to hide my face behind my glass of water. "Was it really necessary for me to accompany you, senpai?"

"Of course! You're my favourite kouhai, after all."

I was his favourite? Me? I could not believe it.

Mouri-senpai could read the confused expression on my face. "Have more confidence in yourself, Yanagi! Between you and the other two, I picked you, didn't I?"

"M-Mouri-senpai..."

A thought came to his head as he fished out the small charm he had won earlier and handed it to me. "Keep that; I hate Usainu and it suits you a lot more."

"What am—"

"Put it on your tennis bag, silly! Here," he took the charm back, got up, walked to my bag and attached it to one of the zippers, "now, you have no choice but to accept it!"

"Senpai..."

"You're welcome!"

I turned to look at my bag and the dangling charm that swung precariously on its own. It was cute, but very strange. Mouri-senpai took a large spoonful of his parfait and swallowed it without even chewing.

"I think Sanada likes that character, so don't tell him it's from me," he smirked.

"I... I will keep that in mind..."

The conversation died rather quickly as the air stiffened. I could tell Mouri-senpai was growing increasingly uncomfortable as I tried to look elsewhere to avoid eye contact. My heart was pounding furiously—more than its normal 149 bpm after a tennis match. I felt my face flush as I stifled a cough to hide behind my hand.

He set down his spoon and wiped his face with the provided napkin. "Ready to go?"

I nodded quickly as I stood up from my seat.

Mouri-senpai looked amused. "I know you want to beat the rush, but calm down a little!"

He took my hand yet again and led us down the escalators and out the entranceway into the department store. From where we were located, the station was just across the street. Mouri-senpai made us jaywalk to avoid having to walk to the nearest crosswalk, which would have added another 4 minutes and 53 seconds of awkward and uncomfortable silence. We tapped through the gates and made our way to the platform. This was where we were going to part, as we lived in opposite directions.

As my train pulled into the station, the doors flung open and the people packed in those cars started funnelling out. It was during that moment that Mouri-senpai grabbed me, kissed me passionately once again, and pushed me into the car as the doors started closing. There was a forlorn expression as he waved to me from the other side of the door as my train pulled away.

I didn't have time to process what had happened until I arrived home. The kiss, while very familiar, felt distant. Something about it was different from the time he stole my first kiss. It felt sad and complicated. Still, the events that occurred that day showed me that my feelings towards Mouri Jusaburou were feelings of attraction and infatuation. Our impromptu trip made me wish I could spend even more time with him. I could no longer lie to myself—I was smitten by him and I wanted to tell him.

I just did not expect that today would be the last time I ever saw him on good terms.

When Seiichi fell ill, it felt like the world was slowly falling apart. My best friend was sick—possibly dying from an unknown ailment with a mysterious root cause that even the best doctors struggled to figure out. Team morale was lower than ever before and Rikkai's third consecutive championship was now up in the air. I did not know what to do. I am not the type to get anxious, but it was the first time I experienced such a feeling.

The day Seiichi was hospitalized, I stopped seeing Mouri-senpai. He had disappeared from campus and was barely attending classes. He never showed up to his secret rooftop spot after that day and stopped bringing his tennis bag with him. He was nowhere within the shopping district with the stamp rally he loved. I don't know where he had disappeared to, but I was desperate to find him. For him to run like this was highly unusual.

I wondered if he was handling the news alright. I decided to call him one day after practice, since he was difficult to locate and still had not shown up. To my surprise, he picked up instantly.

"Yo, Yanagi!" His voice sounded just as cheery as it normally did.

"Mouri-senpai, where have you been?"

"Nowhere in particular, my lovely kouhai," was his lighthearted response. "Why are you calling? Worried about your dear senpai? You're so sweet!"

"Senpai, you have not been at practice nor on campus since Seiichi was hospitalized. Are you alright?"

There was silence on the other end, followed by a sigh that was barely audible. "Why would that bother me? He's just sick. He'll get better."

I could sense the coldness underneath his intonations. I was appalled by his response. "How could you say that about him?"

"It's the truth, is it not? Sick people get better. It's not like he has cancer."

"Senpai!"

"Is that all you wanted to talk about, Yanagi?"

Something was wrong, but I was too afraid to say anything. Mouri-senpai took the silence as a hint and hung up. I continued to keep my phone to my ear as I listened to the dial tone on the other side, still trying to recover from the shock.

I did not attempt to reach out after that.

By the time the graduation season arrived, nothing had really changed. Seiichi continued to get worse. Practice continued on as per usual. I would always visit the hospitals on Tuesdays instead of attending practice to help out. Mouri-senpai never came back. I stopped hoping that he would come back some day. I had to accept that he had abandoned us—that he abandoned me.

On one of my routine visits to see Seiichi, he wanted me to take him out of the hospital and into town instead. He was feeling better than usual and his medical team was confident in my ability to help him—should anything occur—that they granted him a day pass. I obliged, knowing that he would get vengeance on me in my sleep if I did not get him away from the smell of isopropyl alcohol. We took a taxi into the city since the stress of public transit was not a good thing in his condition. When we had arrived, I got out first and ran over to help him out of his seat. He leaned on me as we took a walk down the lively streets, chatting away about various non-tennis topics.

"It feels so nice to be able to smell something other than a hospital," he sighed. "Tell me, Renji, what's been on your mind lately?"

"Nothing in particular, Seiichi. Why do you ask?"

He glanced up at me before placing his head back down on my shoulder. "There's something different about your eyes. I can't quite place my tongue on it. It's almost as if you're missing something."

It was true that I was still heartbroken about Mouri-senpai, but it was not something I wanted to tell him about. I didn't want to tell anyone about it.

"I am fine, Seiichi."

"If you say so."

We stopped at a small cafe with outside seating when Seiichi felt too tired to stand. I went inside to order a hot chamomile tea and croissant for him as well as a cold glass of barley tea for myself. When I returned to the table, Seiichi was still glaring at me with concern in his eyes.

"Renji, did someone break your heart?" he asked, out of the blue.

I felt myself choke on the tea and began to cough.

"Who is it? Maeda-san? Yoshida? That quiet girl from history?"

"Seiichi, I can assure you that I'm—"

I lost my train of thoughts the moment I saw him in the distance. Confused, Seiichi also turned around and saw Mouri-senpai not too far off. It was time for tennis practice for the high school division and he was nowhere near the campus. There was another person beside him acting extremely touchy and comfortable with him. Seiichi's hand on his porcelain cup began to tremble and clank on the saucer as his confusion turned into frustration and envy. I could tell that he wanted to cry.

"That is the eighth time this month that I've seen him here instead of at practice," he cursed. "Why the hell did God pick me to be sick? Why couldn't it have been him instead?"

"Seiichi—"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I just get angry every time I see him. I wish that was me with that body instead of this sick one I got stuck in."

The pain in my chest came back. I was seething in jealousy and depression. He never did like me, did he?

"I haven't seen her before," Seiichi commented as he took a sip of his hot drink.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just that there's this rumour going around about him. They say he's gay, but I've only ever seen him with girls."

"Really?"

Seiichi looked a bit surprised. "Out of all the people across Rikkai's three divisions, I was certain you would have heard these rumours by now."

"I would have thought so as well..."

"Could it have been you, Renji?"

I coughed. "Why would it be me, Seiichi?"

"He would only ever come to practice if it was you who went to go get him," he snorted. "Wouldn't it be funny if it was you?"

"Not in particular."

"Oh? Do you like him?"

I paused for an uncomfortable amount of time. It would be a lie to say that I did not like him, but it would not be the full truth if I said that I did. I loved him, but he broke my heart.

"As a teammate? No—he was the worst person to ever work with."

I could tell by his defeated expression that he believed I misunderstood what he was asking me. It was the last time we ever spoke about Mouri-senpai.

Seiichi survived the surgery that would give him the use of his body back on the same day we lost the Kanto Regionals. Was it a trade-off with God that we lost in exchange for his life? I am still not sure, but the bitterness from the defeat did not last long. Seeing him smile, albeit a very weak one, was enough to make us temporarily forget what happened.

It was not long before he started rehabilitation to gain back the use of his body. Seiichi struggled day in and day out just to be able to walk without the need for a supporting rail. He painfully worked both his arms until he was able to lift a glass of water by himself. I watched him overextend himself as the days turned into weeks and held him in my arms when he broke down from the exhaustion. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of being able to play again and the looming Nationals slowly creeping up. Before we knew it, Seiichi looked as if he was getting back to his former self. He was going to make it in time for the tournament.

As per usual, the entire team came to visit him on Thursdays, where we would meet up on the rooftop. Marui would always bring cake, even though Seiichi would never eat any of it. Yagyuu brought Seiichi's schoolwork and flyers for various art and writing contests to encourage him to submit something. Niou would always show up as someone else to test out his illusions and to try and make Seiichi laugh. Genichirou would always stand closest to Seiichi, telling him every minute details about what occurred that week in the club. Akaya would always try to jump onto Seiichi, only for Jackal to pull him off before he injured him further.

And, as for me, I stood as far as I could from the crowd and observed. It was all I could really bring myself to do. There was some method to the chaos that unfolded before my eyes every week and I did not fit into it. I was more than content watching and interfering when things started to get out of hand, but otherwise, I just observed. Collecting data is a never-ending task, even if they are my teammates.

Near the middle of Seiichi's intense rehabilitation schedule, the team had gathered once again for our weekly meeting. Seiichi looked a lot happier than usual and did not look as devoid of energy. I decided to ask him about it because he had never looked this lively since he got admitted.

"Seiichi, you look lively today. Did something happen?"

He eagerly nodded his head. "I've been visited by the Sports Drink Fairy."

There was a moment of silence before it finally sunk in.

Marui looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Huh?!"

"Is that like the Tooth Fairy?!" Akaya asked excitedly. "Wait, what do you need to leave under your pillow to get the Sports Drink Fairy to visit you?"

Niou smacked the back of Akaya's head. "You idiot, there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy."

Akaya rubbed the spot where he was struck. "What the hell was that for, Niou-senpai?!"

"Niou! Akaya! Stop creating a commotion and bothering the people in the hospital!" Genichirou snapped, not realizing he was also contributing to the commotion.

Yagyuu cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Yukimura-kun, what is it that you are referring to?"

"I said what I said," he smiled. "It's a fairy that brings me a sports drink."

"A fairy that brings sports drinks?" Jackal parroted back. "I'm sorry?"

Seiichi chuckled for the first time in over a year. "Every time I return to my room after rehab, there's a cold sports drink waiting for me."

The others started glaring at Akaya and Niou—the two biggest culprits that could have been responsible for the joke.

"It wasn't me!" Akaya defended himself.

"Me neither," Niou casually stated with his hands up in the air, as if he was surrendering.

"W-wait! D-do you think it's a g-ghost?!" Akaya shouted back, only to earn another strike from Genichirou to the back of his head.

Seiichi laughed. "I don't know who's doing it, but it feels like they're pushing me forward, telling me to keep trying."

"Sounds like we got ourselves a mystery," Niou pointed out.

"I thought this was one of your tricks, Niou-kun," Yagyuu commented.

"As if. Why would I do something like that?"

Seiichi turned to look up at the glaring sun in the sky and basked in the rays. "I hope I get to meet that fairy someday."

"Is this some kind of cultural thing I don't understand?" Jackal mumbled under his breath.

The revelation was quite intriguing to me. I have been at Seiichi's bedside long enough to know the exact schedule of everyone who passed through his room. There was no one that would go in while he was in rehabilitation, so who—or what—was placing the drink in his room? I decided to investigate one day by lurking in the halls while Seiichi was out. Surely, this 'Sports Drink Fairy' would come pay him a visit while he was working away, getting his body back into shape.

The fairy never did come that day, which broke Seiichi's heart just a tiny bit. The next day, I came to see him again after he had completed his rehabilitation for the day. Seiichi greeted me with an even bigger smile than before. There were now two bottles of cold sports drinks waiting for him on the table beside his bed.

"Renji! The fairy came back today!"

"I... I can see that..."

Seiichi held up a small note in his hands. "Look! They even left this today. Analyze the handwriting and see if you can figure out who it is."

I accepted the tiny piece of paper. On it was a small apology note. "'Sorry 'bout yesterday. Here's 2 to make up for it!'" I stared at the strokes, but the writing was not familiar to me at all. "I'm sorry, Seiichi. I cannot distinguish who wrote it."

There was a twinge of disappointment in his eyes. "It was a long shot, but thanks for trying." He took the note back and looked at the diction of it. "I swear I've seen this style of speech before."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There's someone I know who speaks like this, but I can't remember who."

I took the note back and analyzed it again. Seiichi was right, but I have no clue as to who it was either.

"You feel it too, don't you, Renji? We do know someone who speaks like this! But—"

"'Who could it possibly be?' is what you wanted to say," I finished.

"I wonder if I'll ever meet them," he lamented. "Oh well. They're telling me to push forward, so I have to do it for them as well!"

Seiichi continued to power through until the date of his discharge. We never did find out who the 'Sports Drink Fairy' was. Whoever they were, they sure knew how to move around without leaving a trace behind. I am indebted to them for motivating Seiichi through such tumultuous times and I will repay them some day.

I wasn't expecting Mouri-senpai to reappear again at the U-17 training camp and certainly not as the No. 10 representative. I did not think much of it until after I had arrived at the U-17 camp, went through grueling training and defeated Akuto-niisan to steal his spot in the Top 20. It was when the aggressive Byoudouin Houou and the "Genius 10" appeared when I realized where he had gone.

Mouri-senpai had transformed into something completely different. The amount of information radiating off of him was intense, yet completely enigmatic. Even with my current abilities, I could not even begin to fathom what any of it meant. I wonder just what exactly happened to him after that day Seiichi and I saw him.

The match against Atobe and Niou did not reveal much at all. The grueling three sets only gave me more information on his partner—the towering Ochi Tsukimitsu—than it did on himself. Mouri-senpai had somehow evaded any and all of my data collection methods. It was frustrating being given this rare opportunity to study him and not be able to. Even when he and Ochi-san lost to the strongest middle school doubles pair, I knew that it was just an act. Mouri-senpai could have easily defeated Atobe and Niou if he did not dislocate his shoulder to overcome Atobe Kingdom. In fact, he did not need to dislocate anything to overcome it—he was toying with me again.

I had to confront him after that match. I hadn't seen Mouri-senpai for more than a year by that point and I felt the need to get my feelings off of my chest. I wanted to know what happened that day he made me skip practice. I wanted to know about his feelings during our last kiss. I was tired of bottling up more than a year's worth of frustrations and regrets. As I made my way through the camp to find him, I ran over the various scenarios that I had spent months mulling over. The best thing I could do is approach him without anger and to give him a chance to explain himself. The 58 notebooks of calculations I had done concluded that this was the best way to act in order to get the best results. I still wanted to make up with Mouri-senpai and put everything aside. Perhaps even start a friendship of sorts and go from there—there was a 63.2 percent chance of that happening.

The only thing that I failed to factor into my calculation was his boyfriend.

Was it betrayal I was feeling? Heartbreak? Envy? I was not sure, but I felt my chest tightening the longer I continued to watch. Mouri-senpai looked like he was genuinely happy and enjoying himself. I had never seen him in such a state before. He looked more radiant in that moment than he ever looked the entire time he was at Rikkai. It was infuriating and crushing. It should be me that Mouri-senpai was kissing so passionately—not some person he barely knew for just a bit more than a year. I knew it was too late to even think about being in a relationship with him, but I could not help but feel the strange mix of emotions that I could not put into words.

Mouri Jusaburou was a selfish bastard. He never did care about us. He never cared about me.

That moment in time had now burned itself into my hippocampus—right beside the only other memories I wish I could forget. Even now, I can still feel the phantom tingling sensation of his lips pressed onto mine. I'll never forgive him for stealing it nor will I ever forgive him for abandoning us. I deeply resent Mouri Jusaburou.

It was not a surprise to me when I was selected to replace Ishida-san on the team following his unfortunate injury. Unfortunately, my debut would be in the Doubles 1 match in our quarterfinals match against France. Coach Mifuune had informed me that Mouri-senpai was going to be my partner. As much as I disagreed with this choice, I could not protest. He was the coach, after all. I knew I had to play this match by myself, but I was prepared this time. I had extensively studied France's prior matches and had gathered all of the data I could possibly get. I, Yanagi Renji, could not possibly lose this upcoming match—even if I have to play it by myself. I just had to anticipate that Mouri-senpai would not act in a way that would get in between my perfect calculations.

It had been a little over a month since that day. He kept his distance from us, but he showed up for practices now. He never showed anything of note, which made me wonder why he was even a member of the Genius 10 to begin with. All of the other nine players had their own unique abilities, but Mouri-senpai had nothing of interest. Nothing about him stood out—unless you counted his ability to dislocate any joint of his at will. His stamina was low. He did not know how to pace himself. His shots did not have power behind them. His technique was standard. He gets easily carried away when he enters a match. Nothing about him was redeemable.

I was not anticipating meeting him again in the hallways of our World Cup accommodations. It was my fault for not predicting the chance encounter. He did not look like he wanted to see me either as we silently walked by each other.

"H-hey, Yanagi," he called out to me.

I did not turn around, but I stopped walking.

"H-how's Yukimura's condition? Is he doing well?"

I suppressed my anger to respond curtly. "Once the tournament is over, he will undergo another surgery to recover completely. There's no reason for you to lose sleep over it."

Who was I fooling? That bastard never once visited Seiichi in the hospital. He never cared. Why did I even bother to tell him?

"Whew, that's great! I was really worried!" he sighed. I could sense the smile on his face.

"Worried?" I turned around to glare at him. "You, who would not even take the time to practice properly, were worried?"

He gulped as his expression changed.

"Seiichi could not even play tennis, no matter how badly he wanted to. We've seen his struggles firsthand, every single day!"

By this point, I knew I was just scapegoating my anger through Seiichi's frustrations. I wanted to tell him how much he hurt me, but I was not thinking as I continued to yell at him.

"You always had the opportunity to play tennis to your heart's content, yet you would slack off all the time. How do you think Seiichi felt looking at that?! Do you even know how much pain he was in?! Do you even care?!"

Mouri-senpai was grimacing, but held his tongue.

"No matter how many years pass, I will never forgive you," I finished as I turned around to head back to my room. "Don't you dare utter Seiichi's name ever again."

By the time I returned to my room, I decided to crawl back into bed, even though it was midday. I got underneath my sheets and curled up into a fetal position. For the first time in what seemed like three painfully long years, I cried. I was frustrated that I did not say more. I was heartbroken from losing my first love. I was relieved that I was able to see him again. I was resentful of everything that happened. I longed to be with him again. If I knew love would be this complicated, I would have never allowed myself to fall for him.

It was the dreaded match day and we were up against an aggressive-looking blonde with a pompadour and a person tinier than Echizen and Tooyama. My data on them was not complete, given that I knew they were hiding something, but also because I had no data on my partner for the match. I could not possibly collect the data of three people all at once while trying to calculate my next best shot. I would have to focus my efforts on our opponents and make sure that Mouri-senpai could not receive the ball nor get in my way.

The smaller one—Jonathan St. Georges—was also a Data Tennis player. He is the biggest threat that I would have to be concerned about, right after Mouri-senpai. Of course, I was confident in my skills and I do not allow others to steal my data easily. The only problem was, in a doubles situation, my data can unconsciously pass through my partner, who can then pass it onto my opponents. Regardless of how I manipulate my data to prevent this, if Mouri-senpai transmits that information to the French, it would end this match before it even began.

We had won the first service and I was not taking my chances by letting Mouri-senpai serve. France did not put up much of a fight, which was not what I predicted. We claimed the first game, but could have easily lost it due to Mouri-senpai's risky style of play.

"Nice one, Yanagi!"

"I would appreciate it if you did not attempt risky poaches," I told him rather coldly.

The next two games went easily to us, but my frustrations grew more and more. Mouri-senpai looked as if he did not care one bit about the game. He always tried to interfere and get in my way. I could not help but remember what happened the day before. Was I being too harsh on him? No. He needed a reality check and he needed to tone down his arrogance. He needed to learn that what he did to Seiichi was unforgivable.

He needed to learn that what he did to me was unforgivable.

We were now one game away from winning the first set. France did not reveal anything of note the entire time. I knew it was due to them playing passively in order to collect our data, but I, Yanagi Renji, do not let others steal my data that easily.

I returned to the bench to rehydrate, but, instead of my usual water bottle, there was a sports drink waiting for me instead. I looked at the beading condensation running down the side of the plastic, which sent a wave of memories through my head.

Impossible! When Yukimura finished with rehabilitation every day, the fairy that inspired him with sports drinks was... him?!

"Hey, Yanagi," Mouri-senpai called out, snapping my attention back to the present. "You plan on playing this whole match by yourself?"

How could this be? Mouri-senpai never cared about us. He was the 'Sports Drink Fairy'? I could not get over my shock. He was watching over us this entire time? He cared about us? There were so many questions, but now was not the time to focus on the past.

He reached his arms up into the air to stretch them out. "Your talent in doubles shines the brightest when you control your partner, right? Just like you controlled that kid with the red eyes."

"You were watching over us during the Nationals, were you not, Mouri-senpai?"

Mouri-senpai held his finger up to his lips, gesturing for me to quiet down. "That's enough talk for now. C'mon, only one more game for the first set. Relax, okay?"

Without even realizing it, I was smiling. "Yes, sir!"

I could see the looks of relief on Seiichi and Genichirou's faces as we got ready to finish the first set. Though we were ready, the atmosphere on the court had suddenly changed as Delacroix began to take his serve.

The rest of the game passed by in a blur, but I felt closer than ever before to Mouri-senpai. He truly was a strong and terrifying player and he did deserve his spot in the Genius 10. After the match, I ran up towards him after I caught a glimpse of him sneaking out of the locker room. I had to confront him after everything that happened. I had to know how he felt about me.

"Mouri-senpai."

He froze in his tracks and slowly turned around. He was visibly sweating and shaking a little. "Y-yo, Yanagi!"

"You knew I was in love with you, didn't you, Mouri-senpai?"

His wide, cheeky grin was enough to tell me that I was right. "I didn't guess wrong, did I?"

I felt myself wanting to cry.

"You're not still mad, are you?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Thank goodness," he sighed, relieved. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd always hate me for what I did."

"Why did you do it?"

His expression softened. "Me falling in love with my kouhai? Sounds like a recipe for disaster! How could I compromise the team like that?"

"Mouri-senpai..."

"Don't get me wrong, Yanagi," he began. "If I was able to accept my feelings back then and be more selfish, we would totally be a thing now! Oh, but there was no way Sanada would let such a scandalous relationship occur between two club members like that. He'd kill me!"

"I am unsure if that is a compliment or an insult."

He smiled warmly. "I guess we're about three years too late getting to this point, huh?"

"Yes, it is rather unfortunate."

There was a sheepish grin beginning to grow on his lips. "If things don't work out with Tsuki-san, you'll be the first to know!"

"The probability of that occurring is 0.026 percent."

"You've been spying on me too?"

"As Rikkai's strategist and an All-Japan junior representative, I, Yanagi Renji, will not falter with my data collection," I reaffirmed my conviction.

Mouri-senpai wrapped his long, slender arms around me in a tight embrace. "Making up for lost times, I see! You really are adorable, Yanagi."

I found myself smiling for once as I reached my arms up to reciprocate. "It was really nice to play with you once again, Mouri-senpai."

Mouri-senpai lightly kissed my forehead. "Don't let Sanada find out," he whispered into my ear, causing a chill to run down my spine.

I could see Ochi-san's towering frame slowly approaching us from behind. "You should be more concerned about yourself, Mouri-senpai."

Mouri-senpai felt a tug on the back of his jacket collar, forcing him to let go of me to turn around. "Tsuki-san!"

Ochi-san said nothing as he turned right back around and began to walk away.

"I'll see you around, my lovely kouhai," Mouri-senpai sang as he ran towards Ochi-san. "Tsuki-san!"

I did not notice Akaya running up behind me until he pounced on my back, almost knocking me over.

"Yanagi-senpai, please protect me!" he cried as he clinged onto me like his life depended on it.

"Akaya! I told you not to interfere!" came Genichirou's bellowing voice.

"It's fine, Genichirou," I responded as I shifted Akaya's weight to a more comfortable position. "What are you all doing out here?"

"We're going out to the shopping centre and wanted to see if you're coming too," Niou stated.

"It's not the same without you there, Yanagi," Marui added. "Plus, you gotta celebrate that win in Doubles 1!"

"I suppose I do not have much of a choice." I turned my head to look behind me at Akaya, who had his eyes shut tightly. "Akaya, please let go. I promise I am not going anywhere."

"Damn right, you aren't!" he shouted as he slid off of my back.

"What were you and Drink Fairy-senpai even talking about?" Seiichi asked.

"We were apologizing."

Seiichi tilted his head to the side. "For what?"

"Something that happened years ago."

"It was him, wasn't it?" There was a sly smile on his thin lips.

I did not care to indulge him. It was a closed chapter in our stories. Whatever happened between Mouri Jusaburou and I would forever remain a secret between the two of us.

Farewell, my first love. Thank you for everything, Mouri-senpai.