Disclaimer: I don't own Tennis no Oujisama.

*******Chapter start*******

Sakuno couldn't believe her eyes. A white Fila cap, followed by a head of tall spiky hair and a red-head was visible. 'It couldn't be…'

Sakuno got up and dashed towards the gates. All coherent thoughts of waiting for Hyotei's tennis practice to end before leaving school left her mind. The only thing she had to do now was to make sure that they were not the people she thought they were. After all, why would they come here? There was absolutely no reason to. Sakuno doubted her grandmother was so protective that she'd send her students over to check up on her, even though it was her first day in her new school. But still, she thought, her heart warming, even if her grandmother did, she couldn't very well blame her now could she? In her haste, she bumped into someone which sent her falling down onto the pavement. She closed her eyes, silently praying that the person she bumped into wasn't who she thought.

"Oi, Echizen! Why did you go and bump into a girl, huh?"

"Nya ochibi! You should apologize to her already!"

"Che, you're too noisy, Momo-senpai, Eiji-senpai."

Sakuno squeezed her eyes shut. She knew it was no use praying now; after all, those voices were ones that she had heard daily for the past few months. And she knew the owners of those voices so well.

Echizen Ryoma, cocky tennis prodigy of Seishun Gakuen on the other hand, was in a state of mild annoyance. He had been picked out by Ryuuzaki-sensei to deliver a letter to Sakaki-sensei, the coach of Hyotei Gakuen's tennis club. His ever-loving senpais, namely Kikumaru Eiji and Momoshiro Takeshi had decided to accompany him to Hyotei. But he knew that the main reason they did that was because they wanted to see Sakuno. Not to mention spy on Hyotei's training session. Ryoma had asked why the heck they would want to do something like that, and Eiji replied in that somewhat annoying sing-song voice of his. "Nya, ochibi-chan! We have to know what our rival school is up to! We're bound to have to go up against them you know! Hyotei did get fifth place in the Tokyo Tournament!" After that, his two senpai's had, annoyingly started cat-calling and saying that the reason he didn't complain about the task to Ryuuzaki-sensei was because he would be able to see Sakuno-chan. Well, in truth, that was part of the reason Ryoma didn't complain. The other part was that the school was considerably close to his mother's office, and seeing that he didn't need to waste even more of his pocket money for transportation fees, he agreed to it without complaint.

When he looked up, he definitely didn't expect to see a familiar face. And familiar twin braids, one of which had accidentally gotten itself ensnared in a nearby branch and the other was unconsciously gripped in his hand. 'Ryuuzaki……'

'Baka Sakuno! Clumsy Sakuno!' Sakuno had squeezed her eyes shut. Upon decided, Sakuno slowly opened her chocolate-tainted amber eyes.

-

And directly gazed into the hazel-gold eyes of Echizen Ryoma. Her breath hitched in her throat. To think, that she bumped into her crush and gotten his uniform dirty as well……The thought was too embarrassing, though Sakuno was quite sure that Ryoma was used to her clumsiness by now. Before she was able to open her mouth and say out sorry, she was jumped on by an overenthusiastic Eiji. His loud greetings weren't heard clearly, for Sakuno, being partially choked by Eiji could barely breathe, let alone hear.

"Oi, what are Seigaku doing here?" "Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno gave a backward glance, horrified to see that around half of the Hyotei tennis team regulars were standing there, watching the exchange between her former senpais and Ryoma-kun. "Senpai…..."

Eiji released his tight embrace on Sakuno, but Ryoma didn't let go of her braid. He continued to glare at the Hyotei regulars, mainly Choutarou who had called Sakuno as Sakuno-chan. He didn't like it. Not one bit. Even he didn't call her that, and out of all her friends who were guys, he was the closest to her. Only overly affectionate guys like Eiji-senpai called her as Sakuno-chan. His normally cold hazel-gold eyes had a spark in them.

"Are you Hyotei's tennis regulars?"

"So what if we are?" Gakuto's tone had switched to an arrogant one. The sneering look on his face wasn't very pleasant either. Momoshiro bristled. "Oi, there's no need for you to act so arrogant is there? Yarou……"

Sakuno was at lost at what to do. Her seniors from two different schools were about to start a cat fight which would probably turn ugly, and no one would be able to stop them. The only three who could, were unfortunately not here.

"What are you doing, ahn? Ore-sama leaves you alone for not more than five minutes and you already start a brawl?" Glasses flashed. "For once, I agree with Atobe."

Sakuno looked up, relieved that she didn't need to do anything to stop a possible fight between her senpais. Up till now, she hadn't noticed that Ryoma's hand was still grasping her braid. But quite a few others had noticed it, of course. Atobe let his eyes linger on the captured braid for a second longer before turning his attention to the Hyotei regulars excluding himself, Oshitari and Kabaji. Hiyoshi wasn't there for he had to go to a last minute meeting amongst the students who were part of the school newspaper's committee.

"Tomorrow, all of you will be running 30 laps. First and foremost because of provoking students from other schools." turning his back on the regulars, he surveyed the Seigaku students. Sakuno was still frozen at her spot. "What are Seigaku doing here? Are you here to give a message?"

Momoshiro, the first to recover, responded. "Hai. Echizen has the letter."

Atobe turned to gaze at the freshman while putting out his hand. Tales of Echizen Ryoma had already reached him. The famed prodigy of Seishun Gakuen just sullenly glared at the silver-gray haired diva. He finally let go, reaching into his bag for the letter. Ryoma handed the letter over, his glare challenging. He left immediately after handing the letter over, not sparing a backward glance.

Sakuno was downcast. Atobe didn't say anything, merely helped her up whilst Oshitari gave the rest of his teammates a severe scolding, even though he wasn't even vice-captain. 'Then, again, unofficially he is.' Shishido didn't even listen to him. He had tuned out most of the lecture given, and focused on replaying the events that had happened earlier.

'Seigaku huh? They didn't seem like a very strong bunch to me, even though I saw those matches between us and them last year. Their vice-captain then – Tezuka, was it? – beat our captain. But then again, Atobe, also vice-captain last year beat their captain. I hear they're a stronger bunch this year. Wonder if it's true.'

"Shishido-san!"

Shishido broke out of his reverie. As expected, it was Choutarou who had called him. Turning around, he noticed that everyone else had already left, and the only people visible now were Atobe and Sakuno, and even they were a long way down the road. Choutarou was standing beside him, patiently waiting for him.

The Silver Pair walked back home together as they always did, stopping at the bookstore along the way. Shishido because he wanted to buy the newest issue of Shonen Jump, Choutarou because he wanted to check if the new violins book his mother ordered had arrived yet. Shishido glanced at the cover.

"5th grade violin pieces? Does your mom have a new student?"

Choutarou nodded in confirmation. "Kaa-chan did say that. Apparently her new pupil used to learn the violin. And she's quite talented, that's why Kaa-chan agreed to take her on, instead of the usual students she teaches from the 1st grade."

Shishido snorted. "Must be a first for her."

Choutarou nodded. "It is. And her new pupil will be coming on Friday. Kaa-chan also said that you can sleep over this Friday, if you want to, that is."

Shishido gave an absent-minded nod. He had been staying over so many times at Choutarou's house that it could practically be called his second home. Having a rich boyfriend whose family owned a large part of the Ohtori Group of Companies shares did have its perks. His parents didn't really bother, as long as he came back for at least an hour or two a day.

******* Night, around 9.30pm – Ryuuzaki mansion *******

"Sakuno~"

Sakuno, concentrating on her Maths tuition homework, didn't really listen to her mother. "Hai?" she answered rather impatiently.

"Sakuno, I found an excellent violin teacher for you! And you're so lucky, since she only teaches that she has thought since their first or second grade! You should take back your violin lessons you know; you're already up till the 5th grade. Just 3 more grades then you don't need to go for violin lessons anymore!"

Sakuno, whirled around. "Kaa-san? What did you say?"

Ringo gave an aggravated sigh. "Sakuno, weren't you listening? I said, you're going to continue your violin lessons. And your new teacher is excellent, in fact, we were lucky to get her to teach you."

Sakuno gave a sigh. "Kaa-san, next time, please tell me when you're going to sign me up for something. I might not have free time then you know."

Ringo smiled radiantly. "That's why I asked Keigo-kun about your schedule! I put it on Friday 6.30pm. Of course, that's only temporary. You can set the time and date for your classes with your teacher after the first lesson. And go to your room now. Take a rest. Tomorrow's only your second day of school; you don't need to work so hard for this week."

Sakuno nodded. "Arigatou, okaasan."

After clearing her stuff, she headed to her room. She had just thrown herself onto her queen-sized bed when her cell phone rang.

"Hitohira no hanabira ga yurete iru boku no tonari de ima
Machigatta koi datta sonna koto omoitaku wa nai" *

"Moshi-moshi?"

"SAKUNO~"

Sakuno winced at the loud voice of her best friend. "Tomo-chan."

"Sakuno, how are you? It's been three whole days since I last contacted you! How are you at Hyotei? Did anyone dare to hurt you? If so, I'll go over there and give them a piece of my mind!"

"Tomo-chan, I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm fine."

Tomoka gave a disbelieving snort. "Really? You know the rumours of Hyotei. How vicious all those girls are, especially when it comes to that Atobe guy."

"Anou, Tomo-chan……"

"Yes?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine. So don't worry so much, okay?"

"Hitohira no hanabira ga yurete iru boku no tonari de ima
Machigatta koi datta sonna koto omoitaku wa nai "

Sakuno looked at her phone. "It's Ann-chan. I'll put her through."

Click. "Sakuno? Is that you? How are you at Hyotei?"

"She says she's fine, but I don't believe her one bit. Who knows what's going to happen if she happens to run in with that Atobe guy from Hyotei?"

Ann's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "You're here as well? And what do you mean by that? Isn't he living with her right now? I would think at the very least he'd stop the students from doing anything bad to her."

"NANI?!"

Tomoka's shrill volume made Sakuno drop her phone onto her bed, using her pillow to cover her ears in the process.

"GOD! Stop screaming you crazy banshee! Didn't she tell you about this?"

"I was going to, but then you called, Ann-chan."

"Oh. Sorry."

"WHAT? HOW COME YOU TOLD HER AND NOT ME? (Tomoka covered her cell phone - HOLD IT! I'M TALKING HERE!) Damn, I have to go now. My mother's calling me. We'll talk tomorrow, Sakuno."

Click. And Tomoka was off the line. Sakuno could practically hear Ann tapping her feet on the floor, waiting for a synopsis of sorts of her first day at school.

"Well, Sakuno? I'm sure you know what I want you to tell me."

Sakuno relented, telling her everything that had happened, from the glares sent to her by Atobe's fan girls, to the happenings in the cafeteria, and even the after-school meeting with her Seigaku-senpais. When she ended, Ann had a tough time processing everything.

"I can't believe how arrogant Hyotei is!"

Ann's voice barely suppressed the emotions running high through her. Anger. Frustration. Indignity. Sakuno was quite sure if she said something now, it would only further anger Ann.

"I can't believe it! Who the hell do they think they are?! To make the entire school's students stand when they enter a room, just because they're the student council? What sort of twisted school is this?!"

Hurriedly, Sakuno cut off the line.

"Ann-chan, gomen. I have to go now."

And Sakuno cut the line off, leaving Ann to continue complaining and ranting on the phone to absolutely no one. Eyes starting to close, Sakuno only wondered why her grandmother wanted to send Ryoma-kun, of all people to deliver a message to the tennis coach of Hyotei.

*******Echizen Ryoma*******

Echizen Ryoma was furious. Very furious. And the source of all that anger? A certain twin-braided girl with beautiful amber eyes and long brown hair who's his tennis coach's granddaughter and goes by the name of Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

He had walked into his mother's office after giving his name to the receptionist. The numerous exclamations of what a cute boy he was when he passed the employees of his mother's firm only made him scowl far more fiercely than normal.

Echizen Rinko, for all her husband protests, is in nature a sweet and lovable person. Of course, one mustn't forget that she has a jealous streak when it comes to her husband. She is also very attentive when it comes to her sons. Especially the younger, since he had temper-management problems. So when she heard a loud slamming of her door, she looked up, fully prepared to ask whichever employee that came in what had possessed them to slam the door so hard. She stopped short however, at the sight of her son with a black aura surrounding him. He sat himself down on the loveseat for clients, and muttered a near inaudible "Konnichiwa".

She wondered what it was that could make her son so upset, from losing a tennis match to his father to getting embarrassed by his father in public to his father forcing him to read all those porn magazines of his. Yes, Echizen Rinko trusted her husband to take care of her son, not that he needed much taking care of, but still, Ryoma was a young boy of 12, after all. Her husband's unhealthy habits were particularly bothersome and she had initially given Ryoma Karupin so that her husband wouldn't continually nag her son to join him in reading those porn magazines because he has too much free time. Even though she regularly got rid of her husbands porn magazines, they were still commonly found around the house in places where she would've never guessed. And if anything got Ryoma into a bad mood, she always blamed it onto her husband. Why? Because it was the easiest thing to do, that's why. And normally the cause of his bad tempers were her husband.

But something was off. In addition to the black aura, there seemed to be something else. Jealousy, it seemed. Unknown to her son, Echizen Rinko gave a smirk. The smirk that he often gave to someone that he was sure he could beat without any effort at all.

'Jealous? Ryoma jealous of someone? I highly doubt it's concerning tennis skills this time. A girl perhaps? But question is, who?'

********Oshitari Yuushi*******

"Yuushi-kun, that's not the way you should be playing 'Canon in D'."

Oshitari stopped. He knew that he should be concentrating solely on the piece, but his mind kept wondering back to the incident after school. The burning, jealous look in the young boy who was grasping Sakuno's braid, and Atobe's seemingly indifferent look. There was something strange in Atobe's eyes. Not jealousy or something of the sort, but more of a type of protectiveness, like how one would give a loved pet.

He gave a dejected sigh. If Atobe wasn't going to feel anything more for Sakuno other than brotherly, the rest of the school year wasn't going to be so fun anymore. But still, Sakuno was casted as the lead female character in the play, so that should still be interesting. Especially since this play was a romance one.

Oshitari gave a smirk. If he played his cards right, this year is going to be interesting, and his teammates were going to suffer at his hands. Especially his dear, narcissistic buchou. With that thought in his mind, he raised his violin, letting the music flow within his mind and his house.

******* Mukahi Gakuto *******

"GAKUTO!! YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT AND CLEAN UP THE MESS YOU MADE IN MY ROOM!!"

Gakuto scoffed. Hell yeah he was going to listen to his elder sister. As usual, his parents weren't around. And just because they weren't his dear eldest sister was able to lord over the household. He was only a year younger than she was; honestly. Has she ever expected him to take her seriously?

"GAKUTO!"

Yup. It seems she does.

"……………………"

"Uso ni mamireta
sekai wa ima yuki no naka
reido no Kiss mo
moeru you ni atsui no ga
bokura no shinjitsu"

"Yuushi?"

Gakuto frowned. Why was Yuushi sending him a message when they just met not more than an hour ago? When he read the message, his face split into a grin. Oh yes, he was going to help in this, no matter what sort of painful ending he'd get in the end…….

"MUKAHI GAKUTO!"

And if his sister still thought he was going to listen to her, hell be damned the place he was going to kick her into……

*******Tachibana Ann*******

Tachibana Ann growled. She hated Kamio at the moment. A LOT. He had the nerve to mess up her chances with a really hot, really cute guy earlier. She would've punched Kamio in the face if only she didn't remember at the last minute Kamio was her brother's teammate, and they still needed him for the Kantou tournaments.

She smacked her head with a pillow, putting all the cuss words she had learnt to good use. She was already having enough of a headache at school., what with the number of assignments and homework her crazy teachers gave, and the high expectancy of her senpais for her future tennis competitions. The Fudomine girls' tennis team had a few decent tennis players, and they were already in their semi-finals for the Kantou tournament.

She was slightly happier when talking with Sakuno. At least, until the banshee screamed and Sakuno told her about what had happened at Hyotei.

"Ann? You had better go to sleep now. Don't forget about the exams that are coming up. Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi."

Ignoring her brother's sound advice, Ann logged on to her MSN account, determined to forget all of the worries she was going to face.

*******Inui Sadaharu*******

The mad data analyst of Seigaku was at it again. He was concocting yet another one of his infamous 'juices'. Smirking evilly, his mind wandered back to his encounter with his fellow teammates.

He had followed – fine, stalked – his fellow regulars when they went to Hyotei to deliver the letter. It was a good opportunity for data-gathering! What else could he say? At the same time, he could spy on Hyotei's tennis practice session, if it was still on-going. Then the data collected would be very useful indeed, for they were going to face them sooner or later anyway.

Sadly, the latter part was unable to be fulfilled, but in it's place, he had gotten some highly intriguing data of his fellow teammates. Especially a certain cocky freshman's reaction when Sakuno's new seniors appeared. The one with the blue cap was Shishido Ryou; he got dropped out of the regulars and somehow earned his place back. The red-head was Mukahi Gakuto; the tall silver-haired kid was Ohtori Choutarou. The droopy blonde guy was Akutagawa Jirou, if he wasn't mistaken. He was Hyotei's second best singles player; his volleying techniques were modeled after Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku Chuu's Marui Bunta.

Then to his immense delight, out came Hyotei's diva, Atobe Keigo! Cackling happily, Inui still could barely believe the good luck he had. Even though it was only a second longer than an average person would look, that second was still there. Scribbling furiously in his data book, Inui made a mental note to check out what sort of relationship that Sakuno had with him. Then Hyotei's tensai, Oshitari Yuushi gave a lecture to his fellow teammates. They definitely seemed to regard him as vice-captain, even though he wasn't named.

He didn't dare stay long, because Ohtori of Hyotei had sharp ears (1) and would probably hear the scratching of his pen against paper. His hiding place was quite close to them after all. Inui still couldn't quite forget the look in Echizen's eyes. For his junior to act like that, he definitely felt quite a bit for his former kouhai.

*******Perfect Pair*******

"Mitsu?"

Tezuka looked down to see the normally smiling, eyes-closed tensai staring up at him with his turquoise eyes open. The ever-present smile on his face was gone as well, replaced, instead, by a very worried look. Tezuka was quite certain that if he was a girl, he would practically be squealing at the cute look on Fuji's face right now.

"Mitsu? What's wrong?"

Tezuka shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong. I just thought of something, that's all."

Fuji's smile returned; it was a devious one, this time.

"Were you thinking of me?"

Tezuka blushed slightly. He sputtered a bit on his next words.

"N-no! You're right next to me, why should I?"

"Mitsu! You stuttered! You were, weren't you?"

Fuji with his closed-eyes smile, Tezuka concluded, was stubborn, intelligent, easily jealous, somewhat happy-go-lucky, insane, lovable and a complete mystery to him. Why he had such a boyfriend, he didn't really know himself. Still, Tezuka did love Fuji. And Fuji loved him possessively. Like that one time a couple of fan girls had thrown themselves in front of Tezuka (literally), he had held Tezuka in a vice-grip (amazing how one so slender can make another who is around 15cm taller than him and weighs considerably more drag that other around without so much as breaking a sweat, no?) and literally jumped on him when they reached the empty classroom. And so, it happened that Ryuuzaki Sakuno-chan had accidentally walked in on them while they were kissing somewhat aggressively. Of course, explanations came later after he and Fuji had –ahem- finished their business. Ryuuzaki-sensei's granddaughter though, had caught him off his guard when she apologized repeatedly for intruding on them.

After that, Fuji had asked why she wouldn't exploit them. Her answer had been simple.

'Fuji-senpai, one shouldn't tell other people secrets of their friends. That would be betraying the person's trust.'

From then on, Fuji had taken great care to make sure Sakuno wasn't bullied by her senpais, not-so-subtly pushing Ryoma onto her, as he had thought with childish glee that the both of them would make a great couple. Tezuka had intervened half-heartedly, but stopped later when he saw the maniacal gleam in Fuji's eyes, that meant he was not going to stop no matter who was going to stand in his way. Eiji and Momoshiro were also helping.

Sakuno never really realized that Fuji-senpai was the one that started the rumours that Echizen liked her. Nor did she know that he was the cause of fan girl attacks and the reason why those fan girl attacks stopped when she was in Seigaku. Lucky Ryuuzaki-sensei didn't have any proof or idea about who was behind this; Tezuka was quite sure he would be picking up pieces of Fuji if Ryuuzaki-sensei did find out. The "Ryuu" in her name was there for a reason (2). Ryuuzaki-sensei seemed like a fire-breathing dragon when her granddaughter was injured by someone.

"Mitsu!"

Tezuka blinked, startled. He had been thinking so thoroughly that he forgot that he was walking Fuji home after a date.

"You're spacing out so much today after the date. Are you sure there isn't anything wrong?"

"No, just remembering things."

"Sa, I should have expected that. After all, being a model student, member of the student council, captain of the school tennis club and my boyfriend must be taxing, ne?" Giving Tezuka a peck on the cheek as a thank you for walking him home, Fuji lightly skipped to his doorstep, waving merrily at Tezuka and calling out "Sleep tight, ma chéri! See you tomorrow!"

And with that, Fuji Syuusuke stepped into his house, leaving Tezuka to stand there and blink at his eccentric ways.

******* Misaki Unohana *******

"Misaki-sama, are you ready?"

Misaki, 1st year representative of the Atobe Keigo fan club had long, silky, blonde hair and sharp features. She was of mixed blood, for her mother was French, and her father had French grandparents. Her jade green eyes spoke of intelligence and persuasiveness. Friends, associated, students and adults alike was sure that when she grew up she would become a beauty.

Tonight, she was attending a gathering among some of the elite; royalty, owners of prestigious companies, famous artists, the likes. She called out. "Just give me another minute and I'll be ready."

Trotting out of her room a moment later in her black heels, she ignored her butler's offer of a fur overcoat and strode out to the awaiting white limo purposefully, the picture of pride, arrogance and wealth. "Suzuki, you know where to go, so step on it."

Suzuki complied, far too used to the young heiress's arrogant behavior. Driving silently all the way to La Dérame Hotel, he noted his lady's discontented look on her face. She was spoilt, far too spoilt to his and a lot of people's liking. He had overheard Misaki's friends talking about her. Jeers and insults were thrown at her, and several had made cruel comments about her taste of clothes and personality. Suzuki had at first been quite shocked, then it slowly ebbed away, and he sealed these sort of talks into the part of his mind that pretended he had never experienced, heard, or talked about this. The ugliness of the upper-class had always disgusted him, but that was how they were born.

As he pulled the limousine to a stop and opened the door for his master's daughter, he watched her go up with pity. These people would never know what real life was, he was sure.

*******Imai Ami*******

"ÁMI!!! PLEASE, GET DOWN HERE AND BABYSIT YOUR BROTHERS! IF I DON'T GO NOW, I'LL BE LATE AGAIN FOR THE MEETING!"

Ami calmly ignored her mother, straightening her books in the bookshelf. She lingered for a moment at a favourite book, "Chinese Tales Retold". Several of the stories in it spoke of children who were filial to their parents, however cruel, selfish, mean they were. Ami pondered over whether to give it to Kiseki. It might hopefully soothe her feelings of resentment towards her parents.

After hearing her mother yell for her for the third time, Ami walked downstairs to a scene of chaos; her younger brothers had managed to smash a window, and their dog was bleeding from walking onto shards of the broken glass. Cautiously treading on the ground to avoid any other bits of glass, Ami made her way to the dog, picking it up and locking it in the kitchen. She then proceeded to treat her brothers' cuts. She convinced them to sit quietly and finish their homework, before cleaning up the place with her mother.

"Ami……"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry, so sorry for leaving you alone here like this every time."

"Kaa-san, it's okay."

"I know, but I still feel guilty. If your father was still here……."

Ami kept quiet. Her father was a tender topic in the family. His death a couple of years ago had turned their once jovial family into a more solemn one.

After her mother left, Ami sat down on the couch. Her younger brothers were amusing themselves by playing their own games.

"Ami! Don't worry, your dear, strong father will protect you from all these things! Be gone, evil spirits that haunt my daughter!"

HIGH – KICK!

"ITAI! AMI-CHAN! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR OWN FATHER?"

She missed him a lot. Her mother probably missed him even more than she did. Her father's eccentric, yet jolly ways; how he always greeted her in the morning, at exactly the same time like an alarm clock so she wouldn't be late for school; his generosity that made people admire and love him; and his great love for her mother; whom he had died to save.

She pulled her legs up to her chest, burying her head in it, not letting the tears flow, because she was sure her father would never be happy if he saw her crying.

*******Hino Kiseki*******

He slammed the door to his room shut, furiously locking it then hurtling one of his shurikens towards the window. The shattering of glass and feeling the slivers of glass embed themselves in his flesh calmed her. The hurt he felt in his body was not yet equivalent of that to the hurt he felt in her heart and mind.

Picking up one of the daggers, he slashed his arm with it. Watching the blood flow to the floor, drenching her snow white carpet and changing it to the same colour of his blood, Kiseki, whose true name was Kana, slumped to the floor, holding her shoulder in her hand. He ignored the screams and shouts of his servants; ignored their movements as they proceeded to move him to the doctor's room on a stretcher; ignored the pain of the medication that the doctor put on him; ignored the medication he told him to take immediately; ignored the dull throbbing of her heart; ignored the memory in his mind that had tore her once happy life apart.

"Kana-sama, if you do not take your medication now, I will get some of the servants to hold you and pry your mouth open and force it down your throat."

Cold, so very cold. His parents never cared for her, so why should he expect a stranger, though a doctor to care for her? The snide remarks that his cousins said loudly, deliberately for him to hear served to make her emotionally detached. His popularity in school was nothing to him; only an outlet so that he did not need to show that 'she' was actually a 'he'. Ami had dented the wall he had set up for himself, to protect himself from the outer world, but she could never fully comprehend the situation. His grandmother, well-respected among those noble clans, after finding out his weak body had made him cross-dress, for she was a firm believer in superstitions.

He had laughed at the irony of his given name. Kana.(3) He was obviously not what his name meant.

Returning to his room, he found that in a mere hour's absence, his room had been cleared back to normal. Only the glass was gone. The cool night wind caressing his face was refreshing. Kana headed into the bathroom, splashing his face with water. Looking at the full moon outside which constantly taunted him to try and break free of this world he was born in, he cursed it. Numerous plans he had made to escape the life he lived all ended in his father's servants dragging him back into that ice-cold household.

For now, all he could do was wait. Wait and plot, until the next time, so he could successfully escape from the Hino clan's roots once and for all.

******* Chapter End*******

A/N: I don't understand what the heck happened, since my email account only received like, two reviews on my story, and when I went to reread it the second day after I posted it, I found I had more than two reviews. Thankfully changing email accounts saved it.

1) Konomi sensei had made it a fact that Choutarou has sharp ears and perfect pitch in his fanbook, I believe. I got the information from the net of other fans.

2) "Ryuu", in Japanese means dragon.

3) Kana is a Japanese boy's name which means power.

Oh, and on a side note, I was rereading the past chapters I had posted, and Sakuno is actually 12 in this fic, and this is following the normal timeline. I don't think anyone noticed, but just in case, I'm putting it here. The Author's notes will also be permanently moved here.

Also, please tell me; I need ideas on the school play that will be playing a big role later on. My friend said doing "Romeo and Juliet" would be better, whilst I thought of doing "A Midsummer's night Dream". So can all of you please vote for which play you would like better? Or if you have any suggestions for other plays to put inside, tell me in a review or PM me. I thank all of you once again for reading this. Arigatou gozaimasu!!