It's an update! Yay! And as I said before, time skip, I've decided to skip over the entire nationals thing. I'm bad at writing action AND it doesn't really do anything for the story anyways XP

It occurred to Wanazuki Keshime that perhaps his coworkers did not like him very much.

He could just be paranoid but he highly doubted. Not when it was the fifth time today that the nurse had 'spilt' coffee onto his pants when asked to bring it. But then again they were nurses. Walking needles dressed in crisp white uniforms that gossiped and giggled like little school girls when given the chance. This happened mostly in the staff room. It always gave him a headache, more so than the daily dose he was supplied with. Speaking of which, his hypoglycemia seemed to be subsiding a little. This also brought on a foggy memory of his nephew visiting him with a patient of his. He couldn't remember which one though. His memory was always murky when he was in need of blood sugar. He never had much warning of when these spells would come either. The doctor began feel a certain pity for his nephew that did not grow beyond a corner of his heart; the poor boy always seemed to visit him whenever he had dangerously low levels of sugar. Who knew what obscene thing he had said to him? (He had probably given a biting comment about nuts again.) However, Wanazuki Keshime was not charitable enough to apologize for something he could not even recall. It seemed painfully pointless and a genuine waste of his time. Especially when he had coffee stains on his pants.

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And autumn came. It brought forth its colorful arrays of leaves that displayed itself proudly on the sidewalk only to be blown away carelessly by passing cars and brooms. Yet they still landed on the same ground with the wind, hoping again to be noticed. A true picture perfect moment.

Missed again. And again. And again. And again.

Sighing heavily, Fuji put down his camera on the space beside him as he undid the rubber bands that he had managed to tie around his fingers. He could not hold it properly anymore. It saddened him to not be able to take pictures without the aid of some stretchy strings, but if he still wanted to do it he could not dwell on small losses. Carefully inserting the camera into the plush black bag he had brought with him, he settled himself more comfortably onto the park bench.

It was beautiful day in autumn. It was rare to see such a bright day without the humidity of summer. Actually it was little bit chilly. But the cold was softened by the shining sun that pierced through the festive leaves. It was such a perfect day… perfect day for anything. When he and Yuuta were younger they would go to the nearest market to pick out the new apples together, something they were permitted to do as a chore though it was much too fun to be called that. Fuji smile grew as he reminisced in old memories.

Memories.

The Nationals was over now. They had been over for the past two months. It was surprising how fast time passed in such long periods of time when one day feels like an eternity. And what was even more surprising was how little tennis actually affected him in those months.

He had expected to be invited to watch the games. Predictably, two days after this very thought, he had been invited. But he kindly refused, partly out of the small conceit that his friends might care enough to insist. They did insist. He received phone calls from the various regulars, all wanting him to come. He said no to each and every one of them, somehow proud that he was not going to the event that seemed to have consumed most of his friends. In the end, they gave up. When they stopped calling there was a sting in his body; like he had sadly predicted, they were abandoning him. The irony of this prophecy came back to mock him mercilessly. It hurt his pride that he should be teased this way; he even ignored his sister's tarot readings of good fortune for some time as he found them, at that moment, trivial. Nevertheless, like everything else, it healed over time to reveal a tougher skin to resist the same hurt should it be flung his way again.

Their victory was empty, and he did not go to the celebration party.

Reaching into his bag, he gripped the cell phone awkwardly to check the time. Just before five. He should be going back soon. Fuji surveyed the park warily: there were many people in the park that day, too much for his liking. Public privacy was rare in Japan, if it was possible at all. He often mused that he would have to be a monk to come out early in the morning to find absolutely no one on the streets. There was something else bothering him that would break this serenity. His gait.

It moved faster than he thought it ever would, and in return he deteriorated more rapidly than he imagined. Another part of him was lost: it was clear that he would never play tennis again. Not with his wilted way of walking.

Idaichi Yuki had commented comfortingly that he looked cute. She had more precisely said 'I could eat you up' but Fuji had found it too disturbing for his tastes. That was the only positive feedback he received for his failure to walk properly. His sister had borne it well but not enough to hide the growing sob in her voice as she supported him to the car as if she had been doing it all her life. His mother had burst into tears the moment she had realized it; she held him close to her, never saying anything. He did not mind it though. It was her way of getting things out. After one outburst she would never mention the disturbance again. His father, on the contrary, had no reaction. He maintained a 'stiff upper lip' while remaining silent about his disability.

The reaction that stayed in his mind was Yuuta's.

At first he stared. His eyes remained glued to the foreign penguin walk as if his life depended on it. Then he tore them away forcefully to look at anything except for his brother. The brown orbs frequently strayed away from the person sitting across from him to something above, below, or beside his brother during dinner. He remained silent throughout most of the day, speaking only when necessary. He even avoided his room. Fuji could hear it in the long arc he made when Yuuta approached the door. It was like he was the plague. And maybe he was. He was pushed away because he was better, but now evaded for being inferior. How sardonic…

In the end, everything that happened confirmed one fact: he hated his cursed penguin walk.

It had been enough trouble as it was to walk to the park. The stares had made it almost unbearable. He hadn't realized how unfriendly everyone seemed to the disabled. The stares and whispers… it made him consider vowing never to go out again. There was only a minute solace in that the first try is always the worst, that things become better the second or even third time around. Even than, being optimistic was tiring. He couldn't possibly do it everyday.

Fuji leaned back further, wasting as much time as he could before the park would gradually empty. At least until he made his long tenuous trip to the bus stop. He observed an approaching couple, basking in the feeling of being invisible. He had taken his anonymous status for granted, he knew. It was now harder than ever to blend into the crowd around him as another junior high student. He only became imperceptible when he was sitting, when his walk wouldn't announce to the world that he was glaringly unique.

"A-ano, Fuji-san?"

Fuji turned his head to address the shy speaker, only to be surprised at who it was.

"Hanako-chan?"

The girl opened her mouth, letting out a long stream of breath she had obviously been holding out of nervousness. Slightly flushed, she smiled. "Thank goodness you remember me…"

"Ah? You know him Hanako?"

The former tennis prodigy looked up from his seat to behold familiar green eyes, this time not surrounded by red or rage; merely curiosity. They still held the same determination from the court however.

"Kirihara Akaya."

The junior ace formed a smirk, pleased that he was remembered. And why not? He was perfectly capable in tennis, enough to be remembered if not feared.

"Well if it isn't tennis prodigy Fuji Syuusuke-san."

Fuji did not smile, nor did he have any intention to. The Rikkaidai junior glared down from his position, taking advantage of his height. Hard green met sapphire as both grudgingly sized up each other as if on court.

"Akaya-kun! Please stop. It's…it's rude… We just met and you want to fight already… Onii-chan won't be happy! And-and Sanada-san won't be either!"

Kirihara's grin froze on his face as the truth of the situation struck him. Gradually he lowered the smile until it was twisted downwards in rebellious defeat.

"Che… you won't really tell, right Hanako?"

Hanako waved her hands frantically while shaking her head at the same time. "No no no of course not Akaya-kun! I would never do that!"

The junior scratched his head slightly before giving his companion a goofy smile. "That's good. But that's another ice cream cone I owe you."

Hanako smiled brightly and nodded, not denying the mounting debt of creamy pay that was coming her way. She had found that it worked most affectively on Kirihara a while ago, which was useful since her love for ice cream was putting her allowance money in danger. Even though she though it slightly sadistic, she preferred to call it 'being money smart'.

"Hai! That's another ice cream cone this week."

"Man… you eat so much Hanako. You're going to make me broke…"

The girl only beamed innocently back at Kirihara with a certain mischief in her eyes that Fuji observed for the first time. She was shy but not so to the point of being timid with close contacts.

"Oh please excuse me Fuji-san! I was being rude. And please forgive Akaya-kun. He doesn't mean anything by it. Ano…"

The Seigaku senior chuckled. "Apology accepted Hanako-chan."

"Oh! Um… that's good."

She looked about as if searching for a new topic. She glanced briefly at Kirihara who seemed to get more bored by the minute prior to speaking again.

"Fuji-san… would you like to walk with us for a bit? We're just passing by so… it'd be nice… if you have free time that is…"

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Hanako blinked, not quite sure if she heard the response right. Feeling the blood rushing to her head, she mumbled out an apology.

"I-I'm sorry… but could you repeat that?"

Taken aback by his own response, Fuji paused a moment. "I… I can't walk with you. I'm sorry Hanako-chan."

All three remained silent, two delving in surprise while one watched with perked interest at the seemingly dead-end conversation.

"I see. I'm sorry for bothering you Fuji-san. Maybe we'll see each other again? I mean…"

"Yes of course." Fuji gave his best smile, which succeeded in becoming a good farewell. Hanako parted with a bashful wave as Kirihara passed by with a small nod. Fuji nodded in return, the memories of their own match flowing through his head.

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They had barely walked ten steps before Hanako interrupted their quiet trek.

"Ne… do you think I bothered Fuji-san too much? I mean… I was so bold to ask him to walk with us when I don't even know him… he must think I'm rude."

Kirihara looked down at the shorter girl, green eyes widening at her gloomy look.

"Why? I don't think you were rude."

Hanako pouted slightly. "Well he sounded angry… he was so abrupt with his answer. I think I was bothering him when he wanted some time alone."

She walked on with a slower gait, waiting for an answer. However she yelped in surprise as a hand briskly gave her a rough pat on her head. Fixing her long hair quickly, Hanako glared at her friend.

"What was that for!" she cried out in annoyance.

Kirihara only gave her a nonchalant wave as he continued walking. "It's to stop you from being so depressed. Just leave it. You're always fussing over small things. He's probably just stuck-up, that's all."

Hanako stared at the junior ace as she stopped. But soon a smile broke her previous depression.

"Arigatou Akaya-kun."

He did not stop; he gave her a backward wave while yelling that he would leave her behind. Gladly she ran after him, clueless to the fact that he was secretly congratulating himself on sounding like a cool older brother.

Smiling inwardly, he looked behind him as an afterthought. However he frowned when he caught sight of Fuji.

It seemed as if he had just stood up. He wasn't far from the bench. But… his walking… was just plain weird. It was halting and even from this distance he could see that it was somewhat unsteady. He scrutinized the tennis prodigy, now becoming more intrigued with his previous opponent. He had only known that Fuji had quit the tennis club when he had found him missing from the Finals. He might have known sooner if he paid attention to what his senpais said but it was too troublesome to listen to them on a hot day. His absence hadn't mattered though. Seigaku still won, he thought bitterly. He watched the strange sight intently, noticing that the people around Fuji were starting to pick up on the walking.

"What's wrong Akaya-kun?"

Exerting no effort in turning back, he pulled at his school uniform distractedly.

"Nothing."

Hanako cocked her head in confusion but did not ask; he was easily sidetracked anyway. She hurried her steps as the busy street came into view, missing Kirihara's unhurried response.

"It's none of our business."

Whew! This chapter is actually shorter than the last one but this one took more effort so XP Sorry for the late update. Been totally distracted with no excuse XD

Anyway, uh… this is kind of like a transition chapter… not really. But from now on the chapters will pick up the pace and the story will move faster, with a lot more time skips here and there. Just a warning. I can't really drag it out that much… because it'll get boring… and I'll admit I'm getting just a teensy tiny bit fed up with this fic. BUT! I'll still end it. Don't worry :)