A/N: Yo! Yeah, she is suffering a bit but we all know what happens next in the episodes! Anticipations is a good thing!

Disclaimer: Takeshi Konomi was leaning over my shoulder as I was watching the NEW Prince of Tennis (Randomly true!)

Chapter Eighty Five

"I'm so annoyed!" Shikawara lifted her eye-patch to see the state of her skin. Whatever Jinhana did that day, she managed to cut even Shikawara's eyelid, so much so that she had to keep it closed for a couple of days.

The wound stung like a paper cut, and became a persistent irritation across the left side of her face.

The day Shikawara went home, and her father saw the red and torn skin, she had to fight to stop him from sending 'the boys' round or suing the school and Jinhanna. It opened Shikawara's eyes a little. She kind of understood why Fuji wanted to take care of her own business. The interference of others seemed to make the incident hurt the heart more than it should have. More so when she realised the emotion wouldn't go away anytime soon.

She was more than annoyed. She loved her perfect skin, but more than that, Jinhana had destroyed her favourite pair of glasses. Shikawara was stubborn enough to glue the frames and glass together and keep wearing them. Though, her father's exact words were 'Do you want your mother to come out of her grave to thrash me for letting you go to school like some poor person!" Sometimes being a mafia boss' child had its pitfalls. She gave in and didn't wear them, settling for her prescription sunglasses.

"Shikawara-chan, did you mean what you said to Fuji-senpai that day?" Nariko stood beside her friend as she observed her face in the nurses' mirror.

Shikawara lowered her shoulders and sighed. She let go of her eye patch and turned her sight to the cotton wool on the table. "I was angry... Looking back I shouldn't have said it, but Jinhana-senpai broken my glasses and damaged my skin in the most pathetic way." It wasn't that she thought Fuji was pathetic, in her head, she had always wanted a scar from her line of work and not from some jealous school friend. The very thought made her blood boil. "Maybe it just me, but I wasn't brought up to be afraid of people. I don't understand why everyone is walking on eggshells with Jinhana-senpai..." She began to mumble and complain to herself.

Two days had gone since the incident with Jinhana, and she was beginning to question what was wrong with her. Why did she listen to Jinhana insults that she had no worth or say in the matter?

"I hate this..."

"Hm?" Nariko looked across to her.

"Nothing. Never thought I'd be this mad. Stupid girl... Maybe I should let daddy sue her for breaking my glasses."

"Come on, Shikawara-chan, what's special about those glasses?" Nariko was a little worried that she focused more on that than being hit.

"It's relates to my mother... geez."

The two didn't say anything for a while, it was hard for Nariko to spark up conversation after bringing up that touchy subject.

"We're up against Miura Academy again... I hope we can beat them." Nariko said in passing.

Shikawara hit the table making Nariko jump.

"I understand Jinhana-senpai's frustrations with you sometimes!" She turned to face Nariko. "Why do you keep doubting yourself? You've got this far, what's wrong with you?"

Because Nariko hesitated a response, Shikawara apologised for shouting. Her face hurt... and her glasses were broken!

"You have such an amazing style... remember when you covered your eyes and played blind? I've never seen anyone do that before! Even Yokoishi-senpai copied you! And what about the talent senpai brought out of you, the electricity one? You're the only one who trains after school an extra hour. Why do you think that you're so inferior to the rest of us?"

Nariko couldn't match the strength or anger in her friend's eye and looked to the door. "It's not that I feel inferior..." She prodded her cooling patch on her right cheek. "I don't like the thought of losing... and letting others down."

"Then don't think about losing! Think about winning. Only winning. Be sure that if you're teamed up with a nutter like Jinhana-senpai again that you can win over their stupidity. You were great that day you play with Jinhana-senpai when she freaked out, you just needed to know you could win with her in the shadows... If you don't think you can win, nothing I say or what anybody else will ever say will make a difference."

Nariko nodded but there was little confidence in her movements. Shikawara continued with adjusting the eye patch and cleaning the wound on her cheek and forehead before they left the school. Shikawara couldn't get it out of her head that her glasses were gone. It just bobbed about in her mind until she reached the school gates. She stopped Nariko from walking down the hill. "I want to play some street tennis."

"Now? It's late."

"I need to let off some steam." She took her phone out to text her Takahashi where she was going and for him to meet her there, and the two went by foot.

By the time they got there, all the courts were being used and people were waiting in the stands. There were people from in and around the local area. A few faces Shikawara knew but she didn't expect to see Echizen and Momoshiro. Shikawara's stress and annoyance lifted slightly, happier for seeing Momoshiro. She brushed her fringe from her forehead and indicated to Nariko that they would be going over there where the two of them were.

Echizen was on the courts playing a red-headed guy and Momoshiro was in the stands watching with someone else beside him.

"I don't think we'll get a slot anytime soon." Nariko said.

"Who's that girl with Momo-chan?"

It took Nariko a moment to be on the same page as her friend. The bubbly girl with the mousey-brown hair giggled beside him, which in turn made Shikawara move in that direction. Shikawara walked through the courts mid flow of the games towards the two in question. The ball just brushed the back of her head.

"Watch it! Can't you see we're in the middle of a game here!" Kamio shouted, flicked his fringe from his eye.

Echizen lowered his arm and stared at Shikawara irritated. Shikawara didn't care. She shook her head a little to fix her hair in place and climbed up towards the stands. Her annoyance was rising ever more that Momoshiro didn't see her until she was right in his presence.

"Hi Momo-chan." She said, surprised by how sweetly she said it.

"Hey! Shika-chan! Whoa, how's that eye of yours? Looks painful."

"Who is that?" She pointed to the girl but Momoshiro spoke over her and asked why she was here. "Hm? Well... I was... Nariko-chan needs some practise so I wanted to practise with her to let off some steam..."

"Oh, yeah. Worried about your finals match? What school are you up against?"

"They're up against Miura Academy." The girl beside him cut in.

Momoshrio was too busy wondering what school that was to see Shikawara glaring at the girl. Shikawara broke the connection first by closing her eye and turning her back on the girl. "How long before we can have a slot?" She asked Momoshiro.

"I doubt you'll get a turn tonight." The girl butted in again. "Momo-kun and I haven't played yet."

Shikawara felt her eye brow twitch. "Pardon?"

"Yeah, I just need to play an easy game to get myself back in focus." Momoshiro said.

So he doesn't want to play against someone as strong as Echizen, meaning this know-it-all would be the easy match. Shikawara cast her gaze away from the two of them when Echizen called Momoshiro over. They suddenly wanted to play doubles, which left the two girls together, not including Nariko who paid more attention to the games.

"I remember you," The girl said cunningly, leaning down on the bar in front of her. "You're the one who had a nerves break down a few weeks back during the city tournament finals. Have you not recovered from that?"

Shikawara checked the time and gazed wearily ahead of her.

The girl titled her head back "...So... what is up with these little moments of jealously?"

"Who are you?"

"No one special." She smiled.

"You got a name?"

"Yes I do. I don't just give it out to anyone, of course." She laughed pompously, which tempted Shikawara to drag her down to her level.

She whipped out her phone and sent Fuji a text, one of apology. It was only now that she understood just what Fuji was going through and felt the need to express her distaste for a busy-body who was also 'the other woman!'

"Wow, you text pretty fast... is it past your bedtime?"

"Is your school still in the tournament?"

The girl hesitated to reply. "Why would you need to ask that?"

"Confirmation of your ability... or lack thereof."

After some time there grew a confrontation on the courts, which saw Momoshiro squaring off with his opponent. Echizen stood back, bothered by the interruptions.

"What now?" Shikawara asked Nariko.

"The ball hit the line but they called it as 'out' when it was in."

"That's the beauty of street tennis. You have to monitor your own game." Shikawara said while watching the boys get so heated that Momoshrio and the other player walked off. "Better yet..."

Shikawara grabbed Nariko's hand and dragged her down to the courts. She negotiated with the two who still wanted to play to have a 2-1 against Nariko. At least then the evening wouldn't be a total waste. With Echizen and Kamio as her opponent they didn't believe she was able to handle their playability but she surrendered to Shikawara's persuasions and got on the baseline.

"That's wasn't very nice. You don't treat your friends very well, do you?" The girl said once Shikawara returned to the stands.

"You need to mind your own business."

She held her arms up in defence. "Touchy! Or would that be the earlier jealously setting in again."

"The name's Takara Shikawara, who are you?"

She smirked. "An Tachibana... but you can call me An."

"Well then, An-chan, I don't like your eyes."

She sniggered. "My eyes? You say the oddest things."

"You know what I mean."

"What? Oh, I see! Hm. You can't possibly think that because you both go to the same school that you get the first dibs, do you?"

"The problem with Momo-chan is that he's oblivious to a lot of things. I don't need you getting in my way."

"Ohh... my, my ,my. You said that the wrong way round, as you're a little too late in that respect. He's so sweet when he's serious."

Shikawara knew the girl was taunting her and could hear that she was having fun with it. Despite the facts, she was about to lose her cool when her phone vibrated in her pocket. The distraction shocked her out of a sudden rage. She went into her messages box and opened the text Fuji sent her:

"You don't have to apologise, everyone is a little agitated at the moment... Though I didn't know you liked someone. It's unfortunate that you're experiencing the same thing but I want to be a busy body for once and know everything! Who is ' he' and who is' she'! Whatever you do, don't lay a finger on the person; Learn from others' mistakes."

Not what she was hoping for in the text, she certainly wanted to lash out but she'd have to respect her senpai's orders. News spread quickly and the last thing she wanted was to give sensei a reason to expel her. She shook her head and sighed with defeat... but, there was one other way to settle the score.

"An-chan, do you know of that unspoken rule that's hovering around the schools?"

"What rule?"

"The one that says all things can be settled by a game of tennis?"

An waited. "Yeah. I've heard of it. Why?"

"Cause we've got a problem." Shikawara got up and made her way over to the courts.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking? You wanna have a match over...?" She shrugs. "Fine, whatever, but I wonder... Are you able to play with that eye patch?"

"Think of it as a handicap?" Shikawara said. "It won't be a long game."

An was reluctant but for the spirit of it she got up and followed. Shikawara interrupted the game and asked to use Echizen's racket. He gave it up with some force and the three cleared the courts.

"What are we waging?" An asked.

"If you lose, you back off."

"...And?"

"Get ready."

"And if I win?" An won the spin to go first.

"You won't win." Shikawara said.

Though An had a vast knowledge of the sport, she had no physical strength behind her understanding. She served the ball that was weak in comparison to Shikawara's game. Being a young lady who was brought up to 'finish the job quickly', Shikawara wasn't about to have any sympathy for an untrained player. Had she not felt threatened, maybe she would have eased off, but the thought that this girl knew a side to Momoshiro that she didn't made her lose her reasoning.

Once in her hand, Shikawara felt that Echizen's racket was a little heavier than her own, which only added to her efforts. She liked the feel of it in her palm and knew it would add to her returning shots.

The ball travelled to her slowly but she prepared herself to go all out to do her signature one-hit knockout. Shikawara caught the ball on the top-centre of the racket but let it hang on the face of it until she released it with the full swing of her arm. She watched the ball shoot over the net. When it hit the ground it gathered momentum and shot up with great speed that took An by surprise.

With her untrained eyes she wasn't able to react quickly enough. The ball hit An's racket and shot out of her hand. Before it had hit the ground the strings snapped and the frame cracked in three places.

"Uh? Did she just break my racket?" Ibu Shino mumbled.

An held her hand at her chest before rubbing her wrist. She turned back to see that state of the racket realising there was no way she could continue the game. On turning back to Shikawara, she grinned. "You planned that from the start, didn't you?"

'*Koki-chan?'

Shikawara dropped her racket. She clasped her hands around her head in pain. Her eye squeezed the tears out. She bit back from screaming out. That voice... it was so much louder and forceful that she didn't notice when she fell to her knees. 'Shut-up, shut-up!" She whispered harshly. It wouldn't go. It kept calling her by that name.

"Shika-chan! What happened?"

She moved her shaken hands from her head, looked up and saw Momoshiro over her. She wanted to move her hand and wipe her eyes but she couldn't believe that heavy feeling now had a voice and she want to get it out of her head.

"Shikawara-chan?" Nariko knelt down beside Momoshiro and took her hand. "What is it?"

"She's getting closer." Shikawara looked up. When she saw Echizen and An had come over too she couldn't say the real reason. "...Erm, it's just a headache... a migraine. I should have known better then to..."

"You sure it's not that thing from a few weeks back?" An said, hitting a sore spot.

She was in no position to fight back, instead she asked Momoshiro for his shoulder to lean on, but wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest. She covered her good eye into his shirt and worried about that voice.

Seemed as if whatever Umeko did to her that day during practise really did bring that spirit back to the living world. The thought made her squeeze him a little tighter, to An's disapproval. Each day she could feel it getting closer and closer, today being the worse it had ever been. And as much as she tried to suppress it, the more it wanted to come out.

...tbc..

A/N2: Well, I guess that chapter kinda, sorta worked. Anyway, back to the storyline

Chapter erm... 86: There's eye candy and temptation for Fuji at camp!

Thanks for reading (^3^)x