Chapter twelve! I'm so excited! Ohh! Ohh! Okay, before I get too excited and I can't type, there is a bonus chapter at the end of this chapter. I'm not quite sure why I added it as a bonus chapter because it ties in with the story. (Opps, blew it.) Anyway, don't just brush through it like you do this author's note. I worked hard and I think it is pretty good. Actually, after I finish this series I was thinking about doing a sequel (Actually, I'm not sure what to call it, as most of it will happen before this) all about Kiri and her life. I think that would be really fun because Kiri is one of my favorite original characters in this story. Tell me what you think! Okay, too excited to type more. Bye!

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"Excuse me?" Shira said, her sister backing her up, "We're not open, how did you get in here?"

"Hmm?" Ashi asked, "Oh, through the door. How else?" He smiled in his picturesque way, but Sharr wasn't fooled.

"We're closed, it says so on the door," she said, "You couldn't have missed it if you came through the front door."

"A little birdie told me the Seishun regulars were having a pool party, and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity!" he said, carelessly.

"Opportunity?" Oishi questioned. Ashi laughed, covering his mouth politely as he did so.

"Terribly sorry, you couldn't know, I haven't even introduced myself," He bowed elegantly and Ryoma was reminded of one of the reasons he hated him so much. "My name is Ayashi Seikaku, and I am a regular at Kakinokizaka East Junior High." (Note: The school was chosen at random. I was looking for a random one in the fourth manga volume and that was the first one I saw. Destiny! (Just kidding))

"I know that school!" Momo said, pointing at Ashi, "One of your regulars got all uptight with An Tachibana and Sakuno because of his shoes."

"Him?" Ashi asked, "Oh, I replaced him. I just moved back here."

"Good," Momo nodded, "I didn't like him, he was an idiot."

"I agree," Ashi nodded as well, folding his arms as he did so.

"And, back to why you're here…" Cara sweat dropped. Ashi unfolded his arms, slamming his fist into his open palm.

"Ah yes!" he exclaimed, "Of course!" He smiled, "I'm here to spy on Seishun!" He glanced at Shia. "And I wanted to see Shia in a bathing suit," he admitted. Shia blushed and self consciously pulled her towel around her.

"So you're a sneaky pervert?" Christine inquired, "What are you, Kiyosumi Sengoku?" Ashi laughed and snapped his fingers.

"Only half right! You don't get a prize for that!" he smiled, waving his finger at her, "I'm Ayashi Seikaku, remember? Besides, I've seen her in a swimsuit before, I just wanted to--"

"That's enough," Ryoma said, authority carried in his young voice. Ashi's facade dropped.

"The little man is going to give me orders, is he?" he asked, smiling in an odd way, "Can you live up to previous threats, eh?"

"You'll see just how well I live up to them if you cross the boundaries," Ryoma smirked and Ashi laughed.

"You know, I planned to stick around longer, but I think I'll leave the job half done and leave a message as well," he turned to walkout, but raised a hand to shake his index finger at Ryoma over his shoulder. "Wo bu mi, Ryoma-kun." He walked out without another word and Ryoma quickly translated the Chinese (Is it really? I think so…) in his head, 'I shall not waver?' He didn't like it.

"Er…" Shira said, "That was really… Interesting…"

"How do you know kids from another school, Shia?" Sharr asked.

"She had to come from somewhere, meaning another school," Cara put in. Shia shook her head.

"I never went to school with Ashi," She said, "I was really young then, not even in kindergarten."

"Then how do you know him?" Oishi asked curiously.

"We lived in the same prefecture as kids and he's only a year older then me so we played a lot. He taught me everything I know." There was a slightly stunned silence, Shia continued, "That includes being a copycat."

"So, he can do things after only seeing them once?" Momo asked the obvious question and Shia nodded, but then shook her head.

"He's actually better then I am. I've seen him do moves he has never even seen, just heard about," she said.

"And now he wants to play Ryoma?" Christine asked, "How come we never get challenged by good rivals like that!"

"Don't kid yourself," Kiri warned, "We have plenty of worthy rivals this year." Ryoma ignored them as the girls, minus Shia, talked about previous seasons and the upcoming one. He turned to her.

"Did he teach you the Devil's Serve?" he asked and Cara's ears perked up.

"That stupid move!" She snapped, "He can't do that, can he!" Shia shook her head and Cara sighed.

"No, he showed me how, but he said that it put too much strain on his arm," Shia said. Taka looked confused.

"But wouldn't it put the same amount of strain on your arm?" he asked. Shia smiled warily.

"No," she said, then strived for the right words, "My bone structure is… Different… I don't feel the strain at all. It doesn't affect me." Kiri looked at her with cold silvery eyes and then shook her head. Shia looked confused at the gesture. "Do you think I would purposely do something that will hurt me in the end?" she asked.

Kiri didn't continue on the subject. "It is about time for everyone to go," she said, indicating the clock behind her, which read 10:30. "I don't think I need to remind the girls, but we do have a tournament next weekend. Extra practices will be held tomorrow morning and on Sunday. The starters will be required an extra hour of practice in after school sessions and an extra half an hour to morning practices. Friday will be an easy day, only an hour of practice after school and an hour before. Now go home and get some sleep." No one moved for a moment. Then Sharr and Shira threw Shia into the pool, seemingly to signify that the night was over. Soon everyone had said their goodbyes and the night was really over, as Nanjiro picked Ryoma and Shia up, doing a beautiful job of acting like it was just a good deed. The girls' team initiation dares were finally over and done with.

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Bonus Chapter: Skin and Bones

She put her entire being into those final moments, her last breath being one of relief. It was a release of everything that had happened before. If this was dieing then it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone said it was. There was no pain. Actually, there was a lot of pain, terrible, physical pain, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. She had dealt with pain all of her life. The pain of an empty stomach, and the bruises where the other street kids had beaten her. The pain she felt in her joints, which seemed overly large, surrounded by her twig-like arms, where the muscles had deteriorated from the lack of food. Then there were the scratches she had gained over things as small as half a piece of bread. It hadn't been enough, she was going to die. Somehow this didn't seem so terrible. This life on the streets was her torment, and death seemed the only possible salvation.

That was when she heard it. On the brink of death the sound reached her ears as music, though she didn't know why, or what it really was. Thwack. Here, in the lowest point of her life, she heard it, like the chime of a small bell, pleasing to her mind and almost soothing. Thwack. And what a strange noise. Thwack. She didn't know what it could be, but it intrigued her, enough for her to raise herself up enough to crawl, for walking was not even an option, in the direction of the resonance. Thwack.

She reached a fence and pulled herself up, her muscle-lacking arms shaking with effort it took to raise her body, even though it was so small. She stood, leaning primarily on the fencing, with her petite legs quivering with the strain of holding up her own body. How had she gotten like this? She was intelligent; she knew the thoughts of those around her as well as she knew her own. Why hadn't she used that to her advantage, to get more food, to win more of the fights? There was no answer for her then, and it didn't matter. It didn't matter how she had gotten there, she was there. All that mattered right then was what she saw before her, it was among the most amazing things she had ever seen.

There was a full grown man standing inside the fencing, holding something oval with a handle and strings. Racket. She had heard the word before, but not seen one before now. He swung this racket and hit a small round ball across a low net. There was a boy to, holding the same kind of racket and was hitting the ball, though not as hard as the man. None of this was the most amazing thing to her, however. It was the fact that they were playing together, this man and this boy, and smiling. She had never seen a man beam at a child like that, or a child return the look. She had never seen them look so sincere. So alive. That was when he looked her way, the boy.

"Look," He pointed at her, and the man caught the ball and followed the direction he was pointing until he saw her. He muttered something, covering his mouth as he did so and she realized just dead she must have looked to these living people. Of course, she was a breathing corpse, how could she look any different? These people breathed and had lives, not only living to survive but living for others, for happiness. For love. What is love? Something in her mind asked, and she didn't have an answer.

They came to her before she realized, before she could run. That was a laughable thought, being able to run from these people when she had to grip the fencing just to stand? Not possible. Not in the least. The boy looked only to be a few years older then her. He looked at her in wonder through the fence, pointing to her, and then to himself. He shook his head, the differences were too great. They couldn't be the same.

"Who are you?" He asked, "Why do you stand there and watch? Why don't you play with your parents?" Parents? The word was new to the girl, she didn't understand. The man put a finger to his lips and the boy was silenced.

"Are you lost?" He asked, but she was too afraid to answer. He tried something else, "Can you understand? Do you speak?" She nodded the first time and then, quietly, answered 'yes'. He repeated his first question, "Are you lost?"

"No." He hadn't thought so, and the girl knew it. She asked her another question.

"Where did you come from?" She pointed behind her, to the street. He had already known that to. "Where are you going?" She didn't think about it. She didn't have to. She pointed upward. He understood. "Do you want to go?" he asked. She nodded. And then she shook her head.

"No." She didn't want to go there, not yet. She was only five; after all, it wasn't her time yet. She had just wanted to escape pandemonium. She wanted to escape the streets, her cemetery, where she was already being buried alive. "Not yet." He smiled, this was the answer he had wanted and it was the most he had gotten her to say so far.

"What is your name?" he asked. This was a curveball. What was her name? She hadn't used it in so long; no one had been there to call her it. What was it again? Was it long or short? Was it odd or did it fit her perfectly? She couldn't remember.

"I don't know," She answered truthfully. The man didn't seem too surprised.

"Do you want something to eat? Will you come with us and be safe?" he asked and she nodded. She couldn't resist when he mentioned food, all of her normal habits of being untrusting disappeared. This man could feed her. This man probably had shelter for her. This man had a young boy she could play with. She could try and use this racket and get good at it. It would feel wonderful to be good at something again. She nodded, and was crying before she knew it.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," She continued it like the most sacred of chants, as if it possessed a magic all its own, because, in a way, it did. "Yes, yes, yes, yes…" The man smiled, came out from the inside of the fencing and picked her slight, frail body up in one powerful arm, the boy holding onto the other hand, and she fell asleep there. It had never felt so good to sleep and she had never fallen asleep with such certainty that she would be able to wake up again.

This was a new life for her. She would grow, attend a normal school, and prove her intellect. Countless doctors were amazed at the way she would come back from the brink of death and still have all of her intelligence which should have, by all means, deteriorated over the years she had spent starving in the streets. She would still have to go to physical therepy twice a week, but she would be much closer to normal. She would indeed become good at tennis, with the help of her adopted father, Aiyoshi and her older brother Hiroyuki, winning her first tournament at age six. She would never lose her street smarts and the ability to analyze people. Her sense of knowing what others were thinking would only grow over the course of her life. She would become strong, she would become talented, and she would become quick. Most of all, however, she would become Kiri Yamatashi, captain of the girls team at Seishun Gakuen Middle School.

"Kiri?" Raina asked, as the other girl leaned over her own desk, scribbling notes on that day's practice. Kiri made a small noise to let her know she had heard and Raina went on, "You know that seventh grader, Shia Raiku? The one that keeps watching the boys practice?" She made the small noise again, "She reminds me of you." Kiri looked up, her eyes emotionless.

"Like me?" She asked, then looked out the window, her twisted, odd smile coming to her face, "Hmm. Yes, just a little…" A week and a half later Shia Raiku would become the first seventh grade starter for the girls' team in nearly three years. Yes, they were very alike. More, perhaps, than even Kiri herself realized.

Bonus Chapter: Skin and Bones

End