Disclaimer: I own nada…except for Kiyokawa.

Kiyokawa beamed as she entered her house. After greeting her mom, she retreated upstairs to her room. Glancing out her window she saw that Tezuka was still standing outside of her house and he appeared to be talking to someone. She craned her neck to get a better view and she was surprised to find the remaining eight members of the Seigaku regulars lying in a heap at the corner of her street. "Oh sure you had to pick up something for your sister Eiji-kun." She thought sarcastically. "You just wanted to spy on us you little sneak." She smiled. "Thanks." She whispered, watching the team disperse before flopping on her bed.

Tezuka stalked away from his teammates toward his house, not necessarily angry at them, but slightly annoyed that they felt the need to follow him just because he happened to be walking with a member of the opposite sex. So what if he walked home with her? She was Eiji's friend and he told him he would see her safely home and that was it. So why did he ask her to play tennis with him? Why did he feel the need to protect her from Atobe? Eiji would be mad at him if anything had happened to her. That was the reason. "Stop lying to yourself. Why would the entire team be following you if they didn't see what you're refusing to see?" His conscious told him. "I think you're starting to like her." Tezuka shook his head to clear his thoughts. Girls were too confusing and nearly all of them too hyperactive for his tastes; maybe that's why he never bothered with them. He could tolerate Kiyokawa though. Well, maybe tolerate was too harsh of a word, but he found himself at least able to talk to her, even how minute it happened to be, and feel relaxed in her presence. He looked up and saw that he had walked straight past his house. Since when did he live so close to her? Tezuka mentally chastised himself for thinking too much and headed inside to take a shower.

Kiyokawa woke up the following morning feeling more rested than she had the past couple of days. Changing into her uniform, she grabbed her schoolbag, kendo bag, a piece of toast and headed out the door. As she neared the gate, she thought she saw the silhouette of someone standing outside it. Curious, she opened the gate half expecting to see someone from the kendo club but instead found Tezuka standing there, seemingly lost in thought. "Good morning Tezuka-san." She said, trying to hide her surprise. Was he waiting for her or did he just happen to be walking by the moment she left her house?

Tezuka blinked, coming out of his thoughts and looked down at the blonde haired and green eyed girl standing next to him. "Good morning." He greeted her simply. "Shall we go?"

Kiyo didn't have time to reply as Tezuka walked past her, heading toward school. She tried to muster up enough courage to ask him if he wanted to walk to school with her and felt relieved when he assumed they were walking with each other. They walked in silence for a few blocks when Kiyo asked, "How is practice coming? I mean, do you think everyone is ready for the match against Yamabuki?" Great. Practice was probably the last thing he wanted to talk about.

"There are still some things we need to work on, but I'm confident we will have little trouble defeating them. We have Nationals to go to and we can't afford any careless mistakes." He replied.

"What was that about Nationals captain?" Asked a voice behind them.

The pair turned around and found Echizen and Momo. Kiyo smiled. "Good morning Momo-chan, Echizen-kun." She gave a small bow.

"Morning." They greeted her back and fell into step with Tezuka and Kiyo.

The conversation floated between the upcoming match and Echizen poking fun at Momo. The four of them reached the school and changed into their indoor shoes. "I gotta talk to my kendo coach about something. I'll see you guys later." Kiyo said, excusing herself.

Echizen waited until Kiyo was out of earshot and turned to face Tezuka. "You might want to watch out for Atobe…captain." He said, turning to walk toward class.

Tezuka stared at the freshman, searching for the hidden meaning in his piece of advice. Whatever it was, he could not find the exact answer in Echizen's amber eyes.

The next week and a half flew by, with Kiyokawa balancing her time between the regulars and her friends from the kendo club. Tezuka and Kiyo had been walking to and from school on almost a regular basis and the match against Yamabuki was the upcoming weekend. However, Friday did not bode well for Kiyokawa. After practice, she ran inside the school to grab her math book, trying to hurry as to not keep Tezuka and Eiji waiting too long. She was about to leave when she heard her name being called down the hallway. She turned to see who it was and saw Yanagawa, Makoto, and Ayumu, three girls from her grade and members of the Go club heading her way. She rarely talked to them and wondered what they needed her for. "Hello Kiyokawa." Ayumu said snottily. "The three of us have a little problem that we need to discuss with you."

"And what problem would that be?" Kiyo asked warily.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu. You've been awfully friendly with him the past couple of weeks, with walking to school with him and eating lunch with the boys tennis team and all." Ayumu replied, a smug look on her face.

"And quite frankly we don't like it very much. An ugly thing like you doesn't deserve to even look at someone like Tezuka-sama." Makoto chimed in.

Kiyo's eyes narrowed. She knew they were three of the most popular girls in the school, but that did not give them the right to govern her like that, much less call her ugly. "Who I'm friends with does not concern you. The three of you have no right to tell me who I can and cannot be friends with. Now if you'll excuse me Tezuka-san and Eiji-kun are waiting for me." She replied bluntly, turning toward the door.

However, Yanagawa got in her path. "We can't let you do that. Makoto already told you. You don't deserve him. Now stay away from Tezuka-sama or you'll regret it."

"Out of my way." Kiyo said through clenched teeth, moving her left hand out of the way before Yanagawa had a chance to grab it. However, she didn't anticipate Makoto and Ayumu grabbing her from behind.

Yanagawa covered Kiyo's mouth with her hand and sneered. "No." She looked at Makoto and Ayumu. "Let's lock Ugly in the broom closet. No one will find her for awhile and Tezuka-sama will hate her for being late."

The three of them laughed as they dragged the struggling Kiyo the short distance down the hallway towards the broom closet. Try as she could, Kiyo could not free herself from the grip of the three girls. One opponent was easy enough to anticipate and read movement from, but three was another story. Not to mention they were stronger than they looked. Opening the door, they tossed her inside and slammed the door in her face, placing a chair from a nearby classroom underneath the knob. "Enjoy your stay in there Ugly." Ayumu said in a singsong voice.

"Let me out!" Kiyo cried, pounding on the door with her fists. Kiyo could hear the roaring laughter of the three bullies fade as they walked further down the hall. Knowing that no one else was in the school, she slumped on the floor of the closet and felt two hot tears trail down her cheek. I'm sorry Tezuka-san, Eiji-kun."

Tezuka and Kikumaru stood outside waiting for Kiyokawa. "Nyaa, Kiyo-chan is late. She said she just had to grab her math book real quick. She should be here by now." Kikumaru mused aloud. "What should we do Tezuka?"

Tezuka narrowed his eyes as he saw three figures leave the school. "I'll go look for her. Wait here." He replied, setting off for the school.

Kikumaru knew better than to argue, so he sat on a nearby bench and said, "Just hurry ok?"

Tezuka nodded and headed in the school. He searched the upstairs classrooms, lunch area, and the front entrance with no luck. He rounded a corner and yelled, "Kiyokawa!" Hoping she could hear him.

Hearing her name, Kiyo stood up and began to knock on the door again. "I'm in here!" She yelled. "The closet. I'm locked in."

Tezuka heard a muffled cry and rushed to the door of the closet. Moving the chair aside, he opened the door to find a puffy-eyed Kiyokawa with tear stains on her cheeks. Kiyo couldn't help but feel embarrassed as Tezuka looked at her. "Who did this to you?" He demanded.

Kiyo felt a fresh batch of tears flow down her cheeks as she looked at the floor. He sounded angry, though not at her. Of all people to find her like this, especially in a moment of weakness, it had to be him. "Yanagawa, Makoto, and Ayumu, the three popular girls from Class C." She answered meekly.

Tezuka stared at the girl before him. She looked so fragile and he couldn't help but feel a pang of empathy towards her. He knew exactly what it felt like to be bullied. "Why did they do this?"

"Because….because of you." She looked up at him. "They said someone as ugly as me doesn't even deserve to look at you. They're mad that I talk to you and the rest of the team and they want me to stay away from you or I'll regret it. So they locked me in there thinking you would hate me if I didn't show up to walk home"

Tezuka took a moment to let her words sink in. They were jealous of her, just like his senpai was of him during his freshman year. Reaching out his hand, he lightly brushed the tears from her right cheek. "They'll regret it if they think words like that are going to keep me away from you." Tezuka couldn't believe what he had just said. Attempting to change the subject, he guided her towards the door. "Let's go home."

Kiyo nodded and pulled her already damp handkerchief out of her pocket and started to dry her tears. "Tezuka-san? Don't tell Eiji about this right away ok? And thanks for coming to look for me."

He nodded and the two of them exited the school.

The following morning, nearly half the school knew Kiyokawa got locked in the closet the previous evening. Everywhere she went she heard some form of snickering or whispering. Feeling miserable, she changed into her outdoor shoes to head home. Practice had been cancelled due to her coach becoming ill earlier in the morning. She was about to walk out the door when Yanagawa, Makoto, and Ayumu cornered her. "How was your stay in the closet Ugly?" Ayumu asked sweetly.

"Who came to your rescue? Prince Charming?" Makoto added, laughing.

"Tezuka-san did." Kiyo replied bluntly.

The three of them shut up. "I thought we told you…" Yanagawa sneered.

"Told you what Kiyo-chan?"

Kiyo turned around and met the smiling face of Fuji. A renewed sense of confidence filled her. "Oh, they want me to stay away from Tezuka-san because I'm ugly and don't deserve to look at him."

"Saa." Fuji nodded, smile fading and his eyes opening. "Well, if she has to stay away from Tezuka then she has to stay away from the rest of us and we won't allow that." Fuji said to the trio.

The three gaped at Fuji, obviously surprised to see the serious side of him. "Let's just go." Makoto said, hurrying the other two out the door.

Kiyo couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks Fuji-kun."

Fuji smiled again. "Our practice is short today because of the match tomorrow and everyone is going to see a movie after to relax. Wanna come?"

"Sure." She replied, following Fuji to the tennis courts.

Kiyo returned home quite happy that night. The movie was hilarious and Momo accidentally dumped half of his pop on Kaidoh's lap. As she lie in bed, she thought of the words Tezuka had said to her yesterday, "They'll regret it if they think words like that are going to keep me away from you." She hadn't thought much of them when he said it, mainly because she wasn't entirely sure she had heard him right. Regardless, it meant he at least thought of her as a friend. "If it's more, time would have to tell." She thought, rolling over. "I have a big day tomorrow."

AN: Sorry I haven't been updating as much. Between FFXI, a job, and friends it's hard to find time to write. That is if anyone is reading this at all. XD