Oh god, I haven't been on this website in forever, are these author's notes still a thing? are disclaimers still a thing? .

And we introduce two or three more characters here owo (I don't own them either dangit)

..

PARIS, FRANCE

He scowled almost imperceptibly at the rattle of the chain-link fence. Someone was knocking on it. There were very few people in Paris who he was willing to interact with and he had specifically requested to not be disturbed while he was practicing.

He heard footsteps scuffing slowly across the court, drawing nearer until they stopped on the other side of the net and a familiar voice reached his ears.

..

Sanada stared at the man lying on the ground, trying very hard to ignore him, "You have a room."

"It's nicer out here," Tezuka Kunimitsu slowly sat up upon hearing his visitor's voice, "The hotel feels stuffy."

As soon as their eyes met, they were fifteen again, standing on opposite sides of the net in an impossibly large stadium, cameras flashing, crowds cheering, shouting at each other, screaming for the ball to drop on the other side of the net.

It was Tezuka who finally spoke again, breaking the moment, "Is it safe for you to be here?" he asked quietly.

And suddenly, Sanada was back in his business suit, standing amid tennis balls. His old rival was sitting on the ground again, exhausted from a training session for the upcoming Wimbledon. Sanada rolled his shoulders, suddenly feeling very tight in his blazer, "The French don't care for Japanese law."

"Exceptions do happen," Tezuka slowly climbed to his feet.

Sanada thought briefly about offering his hand, but the other man was already up, "Renji says it's safe."

Tezuka smirked a little as he walked over to the bleachers to grab his water bottle. If Renji said it was safe, who was he to argue? At the rustle of a plastic bag, he looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"The team," Sanada refused to look him in the eye, "For family."

He sighed and gestured for the other man to hand over the bag.

A beat of silence, "Thank you, Tezuka."

"I don't understand it all, but it's the least I can do," Tezuka straightened up and paused for a moment, "Sanada… try to lay low."

Sanada, who had been on his way back out, turned back in confusion.

Tezuka's glasses flashed in the sunlight, "I ran into someone the other day here."

He felt his eyebrows knitting together.

"You told me once," he began slowly, "that you don't want to bring him into this."

Sanada swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "I might not have a choice anymore."

"What is it?" Tezuka strode over.

"I found a way home," Sanada shook his head to steady the quiver that had crept into his voice, "But I need someone… someone who wasn't…" He stopped.

Tezuka stared at his rival? Friend? Acquaintance? He had never seen the other man look so… off.

The rest of the sentence finally came out, quietly, hoarsely, desperately, "Someone who wasn't there."

MOMBASA, KENYA

He raked a hand through sweat-damp hair before smiling ruggedly at the card dealer, flipping his last two chips between his fingers.

"And the probability of losing—"

"Ah, shut it man," Niou Masaharu tossed his chips in.

"—87.3%."

Niou laughed good-naturedly as he stood from the table, "Since you just lost my game for me, how about buy some drinks and you tell me what brings the great data master to Africa?"

Yanagi watched with some amusement as Niou magically produced two perfect stacks of poker chips at the cashier's desk. He lifted one off the top, "Your English still leaves something to be desired."

"No one notices spelling here," Niou grinned, "But handwriting?"

Yanagi snorted in amusement, "As versatile as you were on the courts, I imagine."

"Yanagi? Imagining? Now that's some bullshit if I've ever heard it."

..

"Now," the trickster cracked his knuckles, "I seem to recall you guys telling me about that last failed job? From… what was it again?" He flipped the coaster of his drink over and tapped the embossed company name, "Ah yes, Anylis, who owns everything here. I thought you were supposed to be the smartest one of us."

"I am aware, Masaharu," Renji raised an eyebrow.

"Se. n. pa. i."

Yanagi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the way he enunciated every syllable.

"There's a price on your head here. A big one too," Niou held his glass of amber liquid up to the sunlight and swirled it.

He sighed, "Sanada asked me to bring you in. We need a full team for our next job."

"Fuku-buchou needs a full team?" It was Niou's turn to snort now, "That's a new one. What's the job?"

"It's inception."

Niou spat a piece of ice at him, "Get out."

"It's not impossib—"

"Of course not, it's perfectly possible," the trickster set his glass down, "Just difficult as hell. And you're working with Sanada, oh lord."

Yanagi nodded slowly, "He does lack the imagination… which is why we need you."

With a grumble, Niou leaned in, "What's this stupid idea that you need to plant?"

"We need to convince the heir to Aegis Security to break up his father's empire."

He looked out the window and took a sip of his drink, "You have plenty of motive there, but I figure that personal relationships work best. The guy got any family?"

"I haven't had a chance to start research yet," Yanagi scowled.

With that, Niou threw his head back in a full laugh before snapping back, "I'm not asking for a detailed family tree and pedigree. The guy's the heir. That means he's inheriting the company from someone, so we start there."

His scowl deepened, "There might be something else."

"True, but you gotta start somewhere," he finished the last of his drink, "I'm going to grab Marui. You can come with me, or we can meet you wherever the hell you're setting up base."

"Marui?" Yanagi raised an eyebrow now.

"You don't have a chemist, and I'm sure as hell not trusting whatever concoction you can come up with being injected into my veins."

..

Sidenote: does anyone have any ideas for a story cover? I always just see my own profile picture when I try to work with it and I don't want to inflict that on you guys either rip