Chapter Eleven

It's all a matter of perspective.

A seemingly long week of the transferee's struggles has finally passed. For the first three school days, Yume has to accomplish some make-up exams while having to deal with the annoying self-proclaimed queen following her everywhere the whole week. If not for her new found friend, she would probably have to look for alternate routes to home just to lose the great Shizuoka Fumiko. Nevertheless, she has gone through and survived the hellish week.

'I walk alone, walk alone, I walk a…'

With her eyes closed, Yume nods along the beat of the banging drums in her beloved band's song. She is lying on her bed with nothing to do.

"Yume-chan!"

'... my shadow's the only one that walks beside me…'' She shouts along the singing of the man through her earphones.

Suddenly, the bedroom door swings open. There appears her friend a.k.a. butler. Zaki sighs upon the sight of a useless and lazy human being before him. He walks towards the bed.

'... my shallow heart's the only thing's that beating…'

He pulls the plug out of her left ear. Yume looks at him questioningly. "Oh, Zaki? What is it?"

Once again, the butler sighs. "Isn't there anything you could do that would render your life more productive?"

Yume blinks. She pouts. "That's rude, Zaki. It's not like I actually chose this life myself. This life chose me." She looks at him with an annoying grin as if waiting for the man to laugh.

"That's very unfortunate," he deadpans. "Don't you have friends to hang out with?"

"They're all out doing their own business." She closes her eyes and lazily turns to her side. "My friends, they're… in some kind of a preparation for a tennis competition or something."

"Oh. A competition?" Zaki sits at the edge of the bed as if there is a spark in his interest.

"Yeah. It's an interschool competition. I think it's going to be at Tokyo."

"Really?" He rubs his chin as he stares at the ceiling. "Aren't you going to watch?"

She sighs and lies on her back. "I'm not so sure."

"Why?" He smirks at her. "Is it because Prince Charming is there? That Atobe kid is a tennis person, am I wrong?"

Yume frowns. "Ugh… can we not talk about him?" In the tone of her voice, she outright dismisses the topic.

"Why? Did something happened?" Zaki suddenly has a worried look on his face. "Were you able to see him? Did he hurt you?" A hand is comforting her shoulder.

"He changed… but not for the good."

"Yume-chan…"

"I mean, he doesn't like me anymore. I guess he wanted to stop being friends with me."

In his eyes, the young girl looks so pitiful. Zaki has always been there when she was still a little kid. Now, Yume seems to have grown up and realize the not-so-good things in the world. While tears are absent, he badly wants to dry them up.

He sighs and smiles. "Who needs a hug?"

Yume looks at him. "Not me." And, she bursts into laughter. "Why the worried look on your face? I'm very much fine now, you know."

"Wait, what?" He frowns in confusion.

"Things like that, they just happen. I mean, it's not really a good thing to dwell on events like that, right? People just come and go - it's a fact of life. If we do not learn to accept that fact, we'll ruin ourselves. So, Zaki, don't worry about me." She wraps the confused butler in her arms for a very short moment and gives him a pat before letting go. "I'm on my way to moving on and I'm doing very well." She nods.

"That's- You're… unexpectedly optimistic," he utters in disbelief. "Y'know, you are supposed to… let's say, burst into tears, get really angry and cry harder."

"Well, that's quite offensive."

"You used to be like that, though."

She raises a brow. "Didn't you ever think that I'll soon grow up?"

He takes a breath, still looking at her confusion. "I'm just gonna walk out."

Yume laughs. "And please close the door. I'll be changing my clothes."

"For what?"

"I'm going to Tokyo."

"For what? I thought you-" Zaki suddenly stops in realization. "Ohhh… I hate it how you started to play me like this."

And, Yume laughs at his confusion.


He stares outside the window, gazing upon the fluffy clouds float across the blue sky. Then, he remembers how it used to look like.

"That looks like a rabbit!" A girl points, with her chubby little finger, at a fluffy cloud isolated from the other small feather-like clouds.

He hides a little smile. "No. It's a frog."

"What are you talking about?" She pouts as he looks at him. "That's a rabbit!" The girl turns to point again to the fluffy clouds. "There's the body. And that's the ear. That's ano-"

He chuckles at how she easily becomes annoyed and how she always insists on what she thinks. Her long, black hair is noticeably dirty and messy as they are lying down on the grass. There also is a little bit of mud on her cheek and few bruises on her arms.

She has always been clumsy and quite an irrational person. This girl is inclined to do things on impulse. Never has she done anything that would give her parents something to boast during meetings and parties.

She has always been an amusing person for him but people like her will never be a candidate for his romantic liking. But her eyes that are full of life keep her an exception.

"Oi, Kei-chan! Were you listening?" she says, annoyed.

He merely gives a smirk. "Why? Is there anything intellectually important contained in your boring speech?" he teases.

She hisses. "I hate you."

"Can't accept that you're wrong?"

"I'm not wrong! You're the one who's wrong. It's far from being a frog. The cloud is a rabbit!" she insists.

He grins. "I know."

As she is already on the verge of exploding, she is baffled on the sudden change of the young boy's opinion. "E-Eh? But why did you-"

"You're amusing when you get annoyed."

She sticks out a tongue. "You're stupid, Kei." And she suddenly stands up from the comfort of the grass bed. "I hate you!"

He laughs loudly as she runs away.

A foolish smile forms in his lips. Oh, how he remembers how it used to be really funny when his dear friend starts running away after being defeated in a short and silly argument. The next day would always be her coming over to hang out with him as if nothing had happened.

"Oi, Atobe," calls his teammate.

Atobe wakes up from his thoughts. "A~n? What is it, Oshitari?"

Yuushi and Mukahi are staring at him like he is someone mad crazy. "We've been waiting for you outside and you're here smiling at the window," Yuushi explains.

"Are you really sure you're prepared to play today?" Mukahi asks haughtily. "Can you even beat anyone in this state?"

Atobe smirks and flips his hair. "No one can ever defeat the great Ore-sama."

"And, he's back to normal," Yuushi utters.

They head out of the limousine where the other Hyoutei tennis club regulars are waiting. While a sudden breeze blows, the regulars look at the competition grounds. By the looks of other teams already warming up, some players jogging around, and people from the staff carrying boxes around and cleaning up the courts, this will be a very busy day.

He smirks as he looks up. "It's a frog as it has always been," Atobe says to himself as he gazes at a big fluffy cloud.


Marui yawns and stretches his arms out as he sits on a bench where his teammates are gathered round. He reaches for his cellphone in his pocket.

'You comin', right?' he types in his keypad and reaches for the button to send it.

"Is that a girl?" The man, who has dark complexion and shaved head, sitting beside Marui asks as he peeks at the redhead's phone.

Marui winks at him. "She's a friend."

The other man gasps. "A she? Marui, does this mean… you have a girlfriend?" he says in quite an utter shock but mostly envy.

Marui laughs. "Jackal, Jackal, Jackal… you'll soon find someone, too. Just be patient."

"Marui-senpai has a girlfriend?!" A young boy with short and messy black hair appears, also trying to have a peek in Marui's phone which the redhead did not even try to hide. "Really?"

The redhead's laugh grows louder as he pats Jackal's back. Jackal, on the other hand, looks at him in concern, wondering what seems to be funny in the current situation.

"I've always been with you, Marui. Never have I ever seen you actually dating someone," Jackal mutters.

Still in amazement, Kirihara asks, "Senpai, how does it feel like to have a girlfriend?"

"It's fun," Marui replies halfheartedly.

"And? What kind of girl is she?"

"She… always listens to what I have to say. We send messages to each other everyday."

"What school is she from? Where does she live? How old is she?" Kirihara asks enthusiastically. His green eyes barely blinks in excitement. "Is she Japanese? How tall is she? Do you see each other often? Does she-"

A chuckle is heard from behind. "I highly doubt that anything from your discussion is ever important in today's agenda," a man with short blue hair cuts off Kirihara's continuous and nonstop queries.

"Yukimura-buchou!" Kirihara shrieks as he sees their smiling captain.

"I was waiting for you guys to notice that we're still in the middle of a meeting. And, I was really willing to let it go once you quiet down," Yukimura Seiichi simply smiles at the three regulars and continues, "But you chose to continue on."

Jackal, Kirihara and Marui frown. They stand up altogether and bows down low. "We're sorry, Yukimura-buchou!"

Their vice captain, who was wearing a black hat and dark hair, comes up to the three. "Jackal! Akaya! Marui! Fifty laps around the courts!"


"Oh?"

"It's a 'Bye,'" says Hitouji upon seeing the day's lineup of matches.

The Shitenhouji tennis regulars team has just arrived in the venue of National Tournaments preliminaries. A board is positioned near the entrance whereas the lineup for the first day is posted.

Zaizen says, "This is boring…"

"There's nothing we can do," Koharu replies, "All we have to do is wait."

Osamu chuckles. "Then, should we go and have a look around the games?"

"I wanna go have a date with Koharu!" Hitouji proclaims. He looks at his partner and smiles. "Where would you want to go, honey?"

"Kya~" Koharu squeals as he clings onto his partner. "Yuu-kun~ Anywhere's fine as long as I'm with you."

Hitouji's face brightens up and hugs Koharu. "Koharu~"

"Yuu-kun~"

"Koharu~"

As the two males rub their bodies with each other, the remaining regular members are of mixed reactions. Shiraishi, Koishikawa and their coach Osamu are watching as if there's nothing they could do about the public image of the so-called "lovers." Meanwhile, Ishida simply closes his eyes with a calm and reserved look, however, with a noticeable raised brow implying that he is somewhat disturbed. Kenya laughs at the sidelines.

Zaizen, on the other hand, does not even try to hide his disgust for the odd display of his upperclassmen. "You're disgusting."

"Oh, please," Koharu says teasingly, "Zaizen-kun just needs a little love."

"Please don't even attempt to put my life on the spotlight."

Kenya places his arms over the second-year regular. "Zaizen, don't you think that maybe all you want is a little romance? I think you should start looking for a girlfriend."

"Says someone who has a girlfriend," Zaizen deadpans.

"Hey!" Kenya defensively utters, "That's a very sensitive topic."

"I wasn't the one who started this."

"There, there, Kenya." Shiraishi pats his friend's shoulder. "You'll find someone soon."

"You people just have no idea how it feels like being heartbroken," Kenya says.

"Right, right… Senpai, all you need is a little romance," Zaizen says. "The kind that reciprocates, though."

"Hey, you-!" Kenya is just prepared to punch and stomp on his doubles partner. Fortunately, Shiraishi and Koharu are just as ready to stop him.

"You, little kids." Osamu chuckles. "Kenya, you'll get over it soon. Don't worry about it."

Kenya sighs. "I need Kazuyoshi-kun. He is the only one who understands me."

"Kazuyoshi-han is coming," Ishida replies, "He told me yesterday."

"Ehhh?! He didn't tell me anything. I'm his best friend and I'm not even aware."

"..."

"Best friend? Since when?"

~ End Chapter ~

A/N: Hello! It's been very long since I last posted an updated. I am really sorry to keep you guys waiting. College life really is hell, I'm so happy to have survived the semester. Anyways, before this year ends I give you this chapter update. Happy holidays! Please leave a review, feel free to criticize my work. ^_^