Chapter 28
"Nani?!" exclaimed Eiji in surprise when Ryuzaki had told the members the news, "Ochibi-chan and Tezuka are absent again?"

"Maybe Ryoma is still with his grandmother," suggested Yuki cheerfully having forgotten that it was a lie.

"Baka," said Rei shaking her head. Kiyoko was silent as she held her racket limply. She missed Ryoma and was very worried. She hoped that his defeat didn't affect him that much.

"Kiyoko," said Yuki putting a comforting arm around her, "I know you're worried about Ryoma but let's just get through practice today. We can visit him afterwards." Kiyoko brightened at the thought of seeing Ryoma later and suddenly began practice with a vigor. Then Rei did something that surprised the regulars except for Yuki and Kiyoko. She was dressed in the girls' gym uniform and had a racket by her side.

"I want to join," said Rei walking to Oishi. Oishi looked at Rei's determined face and couldn't refuse. Rei walked to the girls.

"It's about time you decided to join the practice," said Kiyoko.

"Yeah," said Yuki, "I was wondering if you were getting used to the desk job."

"Well I was never up for practicing until now," said Rei coolly, "I'm going to have to work hard to catch up to the team."

"Let's practice then," said Yuki cheerfully, "Kiyoko and I will pair up and go against you and Eiji-chan."

"Nani? Nani?" asked Eiji hearing his name and wondering what was going on.

"Eiji-chan," said Yuki walking to him, "Will you play with Rei and go against me and Kiyoko?"

"No way," said Rei, "If you two pair up then anyone who goes against you will lose."

"That's because Yuki and I work well with each other," said Kiyoko grinning as the two clapped hands jumping up and down knowing full well that they were invincible if they paired up.

"I won't play with you if you guys pair up," said Rei, "You know I'm more for singles." Kiyoko and Yuki gave a whine before sighing and relenting.

"All right," said Yuki, "Then I'll be with Eiji-chan." Eiji and Yuki grinned at each other.

"Oi! Oi!" said Eiji, "Let's start!"

"I hope you know I won't go easy on you Yuki," said Kiyoko grinning at the girl on the other side. Yuki smiled back.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Yuki as Rei went to serve. She held the ball up and made it arch as she threw it up high and then served it over to the other side. Yuki was caught by surprise but Eiji was on it immediately. He served it to the other court but his racket made nothing but air. Eiji looked surprised as the ball had gone up and twirled before landing to the floor without bouncing back.

"Hey Yuki!" said Eiji to the girl, "What was that?"

"It was the Demon Serve," said Yuki slightly surprised before calling out to Rei, "I didn't think you were serious Rei!" Rei shrugged but Kiyoko could sense something going on. She walked to Rei.

"What are you trying to do?" asked Kiyoko. Rei gave her a determined look.

"The Kanto tournaments is coming up," said Rei, "You two have been slacking off while the other regulars have been pushing themselves into exhaustion wanting to get better. Even Ryoma. Eventually he will surpass you and when he does, there's no telling whether he'll look back." Kiyoko looked surprised.

"She's testing us," thought Kiyoko to herself.

"Don't worry Rei," said Kiyoko, "I'll prove you wrong. And so will Yuki."

"I hope so," said Rei truthfully hoping she did, "I just can't help thinking that your love lives are getting in the way of everything. Love and Tennis do not mix, Kiyoko, remember that." Kiyoko raised an eyebrow. There was more to that comment than met the eye.

"Rei!" said Yuki on the other side, "I'm going to get serious too." She smiled before taking off the weights on her wrists and ankles. She moved them up and down before looking satisfied. She turned to Eiji. "Eiji, take off your weights too," ordered Yuki.

"Huh? Why?" asked Eiji confused though he complied. Yuki walked closer to him so that no one would hear.

"Rei's planning something and I'm sure she wants me to play my best," said Yuki, "You don't want me to let her down do you?"

"Hai," said Eiji cheerfully before twirling his racket around his wrists. The two now smiled at Kiyoko and Rei who looked determined now. Rei went to serve again. This time Yuki was ready as she jumped and smashed it to the other end of the court. Kiyoko returned the ball with ease and Eiji put his acrobatics to work. Now Rei went to the net and returned the ball to the far side of the court. Yuki lunged for the ball and lobbed it to the other side but it was out.

"Yuki, I thought you were being serious," said Rei to the girl. She looked at the girl hoping that Yuki would prove her wrong. She didn't want Kiyoko and Yuki to suffer emotionally just out of worry for the ones they love. They had to be clear minded for the tournament. Yuki punched the ground in anger. How could she miss? She slowly stood up and brushed the dirt from her clothes as she lost her carefree face. She was now serious. Eiji was getting excited. Rei's style was something new to her. The ball curved in an unexpected way. Meanwhile, all the tennis players had gathered to watch since the Captain was not there and there was nothing else going on.

"Hey Fuji," said Momo to the boy, "Who do you think will win?"

"I don't know," said Fuji truthfully. Rei made serve after serve until they had won the first three sets.

"Yuki! What's wrong with you?" asked Eiji worriedly.

"Kiyoko," said Rei, "Switch with Yuki. I want to see how you do." Kiyoko nodded and ran to Yuki asking her to switch. At first Yuki was defiant having wanted to go through the game until the end but she nodded at last. Now it was Kiyoko and Eiji against Rei and Yuki. Kiyoko served first and sent out an extremely fast Ace Serve that even gave Rei trouble returning. In the end Yuki and Kiyoko had lost. They dropped their rackets in surprise. Rei had beaten them. This didn't usually happen. The girls were usually on the same level but now it seemed Rei had either gone up or Yuki and Kiyoko had gone down. Yuki picked up her racket and her bags saying nothing as she walked away.

"Yuki?" asked Fuji to the girl who said nothing as she walked past.

"Yuki!" called Eiji from the court.

"Leave her alone," said Kiyoko with a sigh, "She needs to work out her feelings. Knowing her, she'll probably be gone for awhile."

"Gone?!" said Oishi alarmed, "But what about the Kanto games?"

"She'll be back by then," said Rei shrugging. Kiyoko left the group. She had wanted to go to Ryoma before but she pulled Rei aside beforehand.

"There's something else going on right?" asked Kiyoko, "You're not only doing this for us, you have personal reasons." Rei nodded and leaned back.

"Do you remember when the boys came from the U.S.?" asked Rei.

"What about it?" asked Kiyoko.

"Kosuke told me that I don't have the capability to love," said Rei looking at the ground, "I just wanted to see if he was right."

"And how were you going to do that?" asked Kiyoko amusedly.

"Well, it seemed like you and Yuki were having love problems like me so I wondered if you could overcome your trials, then I could too," said Rei.

"Let me get this straight," said Kiyoko, "You were going to use me and Yuki like lab rats and see if there were instances when we could overcome love?"

"Yeah," said Rei. Kiyoko sweatdropped before laughing lightly.

"Rei," began Kiyoko, "Each and every love you or anyone will ever have is unique in its own way. You're the only person that can find out what's the best for you. You love Tezuka right?"

"Truthfully," began Rei, "I don't know. My feelings are so jumbled up. But ever since Mom died, I've been afraid of opening my feelings to people other than you and Yuki. Tezuka, it feels like he is turning my world upside down and I don't know what to think of him anymore."

"I can't decide for you, Rei," said Kiyoko, "You'll have to do it yourself." With that Kiyoko walked off to Ryoma's house. She had been worrying constantly about him. The way he looked when he was beaten broke Kiyoko's heart. As she approached the temple, she heard sounds of people playing tennis. She hid herself behind the trees as she watched Ryoma and his father playing together. Kiyoko watched him play. It was like he was a whole new person. Kiyoko smiled happily. It seemed Tezuka's winning over him did not ruin him, instead, he seemed to be like a bird who was just learning to fly. He was on his way to finding his own tennis style.

A/N: The End of Part 1! What do you think? Part 2 is coming up soon and its going to be a lot better than this one. Imagine, Kiyoko and Ryoma still haven't confessed to each other even though they clearly like each other. Yuki's growing feelings for Fuji and we still don't know where she went! Rei is still confused on what to think about Tezuka. A lot more challenges are to come for our Seigaku members so stay tuned and find out in Wonderful Beginnings Part 2! I really have to change that name.