WARNING: There are spoilers for the match between Tezuka and Atobe in this chapter. You have been warned.

Standard disclaimer..Kiyokawa is mine everything else isn't

Tezuka marched to the court; the match now having a second purpose. He greeted Atobe at the net, shaking hands with him perhaps a little too hard. "Oh? It seems as if your princess has hurt herself." Atobe smirked, stealing a glance at Kiyokawa. "You know, I could have my doctor take a look at her. He's right over…"

"She's fine. Let's end this." Tezuka replied curtly.

"Tch." Atobe scoffed, walking to his place on the court. "This match will be far from quick." He mumbled to himself.

Kiyokawa watched with baited breath as the two boys shook each other's hands; the animosity between them permeating the Seigaku bench. They exchanged words and she felt Atobe's eyes on her briefly; knowing at once they were not wishes for a good game. She bit her lip nervously as Tezuka and Atobe took their sides of the court. "Good luck Tezuka." She thought as the ball collided with the racket, signaling the first serve of the game.

The match seemed to drag on for hours. The pain in her ankle took a backseat to the intensity playing out before her eyes. Although both Tezuka and Atobe were seemingly matched in terms of skill, something did not feel right to Kiyokawa. The Hyotei regulars, save for the narcoleptic Akutagawa, appeared shocked that Atobe was losing, though he did not seemed perturbed at all. "Nya, Kiyo-chan is something wrong?" A concerned Kikumaru asked the girl.

The blonde nodded. "I know I don't know a whole lot about tennis but something doesn't feel right. It's as if Atobe is planning something. Everything he's doing feels intentional."

Oishi furrowed his brow. "He couldn't…but his elbow is healed." He said quietly.

"What about his elbow?" Kiyo asked.

"Two years ago, when we were freshman, one of our senpai got angry with Tezuka for playing with his right arm during practice. You see, Tezuka beat everyone with such ease that when he found out Tezuka was left handed he felt mocked and smashed his left elbow with his racket. He was going to quit the club until our captain convinced him otherwise. Tezuka was having problems with it up until recently when the doctor declared him fully healed. Atobe might be trying to injure it again, that's why he's dragging out this match."

"That's not the only thing wrong with this match." A voice chimed in. "Atobe still hasn't used his 'unbelievable smash'."

The group turned around to see who the voice belonged to and came face to face with a Rikkaidai uniform. Yanagi Renji, Inui's childhood friend, stood there observing the match as well.

"What do you mean 'unbelievable smash'?" Kiyo asked.

"At the All Junior tournament he hit what he called the 'Rondo Towards Destruction'. He hits his opponent's grip forcing it out of their hand and the ball to come back at him as a lob, allowing him to smash and gain the point."

A gasp from the crowd forced Kiyo's attention back to the game. Tezuka had lobbed it high, and after what she had just heard, she fully expected the next hit to knock Tezuka's racket out of his hand, but Atobe lightly returned it. Momo heaved a sigh of relief, but Hyotei seemed confused. Atobe just smirked. Kiyo looked at the other members of the team and felt a sinking feeling enter her stomach. The smile had disappeared from Fuji's face and his eyes had opened. Even Ryoma's usually calm demeanor had been shaken by something. "What's wrong?" Kiyo asked carefully, her eyes flicking between the two boys.

"This is bad. If this match were to end quickly Tezuka would be fine, but Atobe is dragging out this match on purpose. He knows Tezuka's elbow is healed, but he's not aiming for that." Fuji replied.

Kiyo's eyes widened. "Then what is he aiming for?"

Atobe smirked as the referee declared the point his. Both he and Tezuka were covered in sweat; their polos clinging to their lithe frames as the game wore on. Atobe laughed to himself. "If this match were to last only twenty minutes Tezuka would be fine. I can defeat anyone in thirty minutes, but not you Tezuka. I can destroy you in an hour and I want to play you for at least two. I had no intention of hurting dear Kiyo-chan; that was purely accidental, but you. Beating you isn't enough. I have every intention of destroying…"
"His shoulder." Fuji replied. "Atobe wants to destroy his shoulder, not his elbow. Tezuka had anticipated this would not end quickly. He's chosen winning over his arm."

"But..that's insane." Kiyo said, her eyes full of concern.

"Oi! Kiyo." Atobe yelled, her head snapping to meet his gaze. "Tezuka's arm can only last an hour and this match is going to last much longer than that. Hope you enjoy watching the fall of your prince." He winked.

Kiyo clenched her fist, anger flaring in her eyes as she opened her mouth to retort; a determined look from Tezuka telling her it would be alright. Shooting a nasty look at Atobe instead, she sat back and the match resumed.

Knowing Atobe's true intention made watching the match that much harder for Kiyo. The two were tied with six games apiece and Tezuka lead the current game 40-0. With one more serve to go, Kiyo watched as Tezuka fell to his knees. His shoulder had finally given out. Jumping to her feet with the rest of the regulars, she was stopped short by the searing pain coursing through her leg. "STOP IT!" She screamed. "You're hurting him!"

"Stay where you are!" Tezuka commanded his team, picking himself up and walking up to the bench. Taking a drink from his water bottle, he started to march back to his position on the court, only to be stopped by a concerned Oishi.

"Are you doing this to fulfill the promise you made to our captain two years ago?"

"I will win." Tezuka replied.

"Hey, Captain. Beat Atobe just like you beat me." Echizen said, giving up his position of bench coach to Oishi.

Tezuka nodded and took his position.

Kiyokawa watched as the freshman grabbed his racket and headed towards the practice courts; Momoshiro in tow. "That doesn't look like a good sign." She thought to herself.

While Momo and Echizen were doing their warm-ups, a large cheer erupted from the crowd. The two stopped, looked at each other, and rushed back to the court. Unfortunately it was Hyotei doing the cheering and not Seigaku. The match had gone into a tie break. Atobe lead 36-35. One more point in his favor and the match would be over. Kiyokawa watched nervously, her hands wringing the end of her skirt. Her eyes widened as Tezuka performed a move she got to witness first hand: his Zero-Shiki drop shot. A smile spread across her face as she knew the outcome of the shot. Her smile soon fell as the ball did not roll back to the net like it was supposed to. Atobe returned it with a drop shot of his own. At that instant, the world moved in slow motion. Tezuka was able to reach the shot, but it slammed into the net. Atobe had won. "No…" Kiyo whispered, her hand coming up to her lips as Tezuka's arm fell limply to his side.

Hyotei roared with cheers of victory and Atobe stood there with his racket held high in the air, lapping at the attention. Kiyokawa glared daggers at him, furious with what he had done to Tezuka. As if on cue, he met her gaze and grinned, blowing a kiss at her before turning to go back to his bench.

Turning her attention back to the Seigaku team, she watched Tezuka speaking with Echizen before he walked over and sat down beside her. She didn't have to ask how his shoulder was. She knew he was in pain even though he gave no indication he was. They sat that way for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything. Kiyokawa was about to ask what was to happen next when Tezuka answered for her. "It's up to Echizen now. We have two losses, two wins, and a no game. The alternates will determine the outcome of this. We need to get you to the hospital and have that ankle looked at."

Kiyo shook her head. "I'd say you're in worse shape than I am. If anyone needs to get to a hospital it's you." The corners of Tezuka's mouth lifted a little. "And the only way I'm going to one is if you're with me."

Tezuka stared at the girl, somewhat surprised with her forwardness. Turning back to the court he sighed softly. "Once this is over we go."

"Ochibi!"

"Nice one Echizen!" Momo exclaimed, slapping the freshman on the back.

Echizen had pulled through, claiming the game and match 6-2, subsequently shocking the Hyotei team with his abilities. Sakuno walked up to the boy, her cheeks tinged with pink. "C-congratulations Ryoma-kun." She stammered, quickly looking at the ground.

"Tch." Ryoma replied, pulling his hat further over his eyes. "Mada mada da ne."

The team couldn't help but laugh. "Alright alright." Coach Ryuzaki said, trying to calm her excited team down. "We can celebrate all we want but first we need to get you two to the hospital and have those injuries looked at." She indicated to Tezuka and Kiyokawa.

Tezuka stood, offering his right hand to Kiyokawa. Flushing slightly, she took his hand as he helped her up, teetering on one leg as she tried to regain her balance. "Kiyo-chaaaaan you can't walk like that. Let me carry you. That is, if it's ok with Tezuka." Kikumaru said, shooting a sly glance at his captain. Tezuka simply nodded and Kiyokawa climbed onto Kikumaru's back. "Let's go!" He exclaimed, taking off at record speed.

"Eiji! Be careful! You're going to drop her that way." Oishi shouted at his doubles partner's retreating form.

"Everyone, let's go." Tezuka said, setting off after Kiyokawa and Kikumaru.

AN: Well I said this was going to be the final chapter and it turned out to be longer than I had anticipated so I'll err on the safe side and say there will be no more than one or two chapters left. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I hope to have the next one up soon.