A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and is following this story. It means a lot that people might actually like this! Another reminder that this will eventually be yaoi with a main pairing of Yukimura/Ryoma. There will probably be other pairings too but if there is one you really want to see (that doesn't involve Yukimura or Ryoma) then please suggest and I'll see what I can do.

Just a quick note: I know that Sanada's "tarundoru" roughly translates to quit slacking/try harder but I get the impression that now he's nearly eighteen he would use it other than related to tennis and it kinda seemed to fit where it's used in this chapter. Please don't flame and reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter Two: Gakunenmatsu

Now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning
Winston Churchill

It was a surprisingly sunny March morning at Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku Kou. It was a morning that found one Yukimura Seiichi sitting at his desk in one of his favourite classes; English. It was the last week of classes before the end of the year and rather than paying attention to the lesson that his sensei was giving, he found himself staring blankly at the clear page before him, his thoughts elsewhere. He wasn't normally one to space out during class time, particularly in one of his favourites, although when he did it was safe to assume that he was thinking about tennis. It was no surprise perhaps that he was a regular player for the tennis team considering that there was only one person that had ever defeated him. Tennis was almost as essential to him as breathing, it was a part of him that he could not live without.

Yukimura glanced up from his book at the sensei in front of the class before then focusing his attention out of the window on his left. He rolled his pen in his grip to give the appearance that he was indeed taking notes down on the lecture that he was supposed to be listening to, should his sensei look in his direction. Yukimura's mind couldn't be further from it. It was the penultimate day of the school year and he couldn't help but wonder what the next year would bring for him as it would be his last one. He would once again be the boys tennis team buchou and he would again be going for Rikkai's third straight title in the Zenkoku Taikai. The parallels between the present and the same time three years before made him think of his final year at Rikkai Chuu, namely the appearance of one Echizen Ryoma of Seishun Gakuen. Yukimura was more than a little disappointed at the fact that the other male would not be competing against him this year.

Ryoma had managed to do something that no-one else could and that was making Yukimura question just what tennis actually was to him. Rikkai tennis was to do all you could to win, no matter the cost. His own tennis had adapted to work in tandem with that ideal. Now though, Yukimura knew that there really was much more to tennis than that. He remembered the promise that he made to himself after his defeat: the first time he would play tennis just for the sheer joy of the sport would be with Ryoma. He wasn't sure what made him make such a promise, but he felt that he at least owed the boy that much for allowing Yukimura to finally be able to let go of the pain and the resentment he had felt when playing after his illness. That, and there was something exciting and thrilling about playing the other boy. His thoughts often wandered towards Ryoma at seemingly random times, although there was always some sort of trigger to it. It had been happening more lately, as more seemed to remind him of the greenette. Yukimura smiled slightly at the fact that the trigger this time seemed to be the English language itself.

Unfortunately, his sensei had noticed the change in Yukimura's demeanour and the fact that he was no longer paying the attention that he should, and so his musings were cut short.

"Yukimura-kun, please answer the second question on the board."

Yukimura smiled pleasantly at his sensei as he stood up and quickly scanned the relative question before politely answering in English, "Mister Smith and I will be going to Mount Fuji tomorrow afternoon at three." He sat down immediately after finishing, smile still firmly in place.

"Thank you, Yukimura-kun that is correct," the sensei merely replied before swiftly moving on with the lesson.

Yukimura himself had the urge to smirk and say, "Mada mada dane", but swiftly stamped that down. He almost imperceptibly sighed. Clearly his previous trail of thought was still very much at the forefront of his mind. Yukimura Seiichi was a polite student who did well in class. Yukimura Seiichi was the boys tennis buchou and a prodigy in the sport. Yukimura Seiichi was not a brat and he would be damned if he suddenly acted like one, namely a certain other tennis prodigy, regardless of how amusing it could potentially be to see everyone's reactions.

His sigh had not gone unnoticed however, by the person at the desk next to his own. The student glanced briefly in concern at the blue haired youth to his left before going back to their own note taking, resolved to talk to Yukimura once the lesson had finished.

The bluenette in question had now taken to gazing out of the window again. The grounds of Rikkai appeared much warmer than he knew they actually were. Yukimura noted the clouds moving in from the south, not white and fluffy in appearance but rather dark and angry. He doubted that they would stay away until the end of the day but he hoped that they would at least prevent from precipitating until after tennis practice, especially as it would be the last one until the new school year.

The shrill sound of the bell signalling the start of the lunch break broke Yukimura away from his outside study. He quickly slotted his English book in to his bag, intent on quickly moving to an isolated room to spend his break until he was back to his usual self, when he then felt a presence to his right.

"Seiichi, let's go and eat somewhere else."

Yukimura would have sighed but rather he acquiesced to the taller male. They made their way through the corridors of the main building for the juniors, generally managing to avoid the members of their fan clubs. Of course, this had nothing whatsoever to do with the looks that the elder male was shooting at anyone who so much as attempted to come near the duo. He led the way through the building until they came to the wooden double doors that led out on to the grounds.

"Where are we going?" Yukimura questioned.

"The clubhouse," he received in reply.

"Saa."

Upon reaching the clubhouse in question, Yukimura entered quickly and seated himself upon his favourite bench. He withdrew his bento from his bag and focused his attention upon removing the plain blue cloth that it was wrapped in, rather than the student in front of him. There was no way that he would make the interrogation he was sure that would be coming too easy for the other male. After all, torturing him so was one of his favourite pastimes.

The other occupant of the room remained standing, not quite sure how to start. He eventually decided that for this instance, as all that had gone before, the direct approach would be the best, especially as he was not one to beat around the bush either.

"You seemed rather distracted today," he began. "Is there something that is troubling you?"

Yukimura removed his attention from his task and gave it to the male as he spoke, a gentle smile present upon his face. "What would make you say that, Genichirou?" Yukimura replied amicably in his soft, almost feminine voice.

Sanada almost sighed in irritation. He sometimes wondered why he even bothered trying to work out the inner workings of his best friend's mind. They had known each other for thirteen years and yet he could still never tell just what exactly was going on within the other's head. In fact, sometimes he was glad of such a thing as there were things he really did not want to know, but at this exact moment it irked him.

"You are becoming distracted more and more lately and earlier you actually sighed. I know you, you do not sigh unless there is something troubling you, Seiichi," Sanada simply stated.

Yukimura inwardly smirked at his friend's bluntness. Only Genichirou and maybe Renji would dare to confront me over something so trivial, he thought. The bluenette didn't really want his friends to know the real reason behind what had been occupying his thoughts lately, purely for the reason that he first wanted to discover himself why he kept thinking of the old Seigaku super rookie. He had perfected his mask a long time ago and couldn't help but bring it out now.

With a feint smile on his face he stated, "It's just end of the year blues, nothing to worry about."

Sanada was more than a little sceptical as Yukimura had had never had such a thing before.

"Besides," he continued, "It will be sad to see our senpai-tachi leave, no?"

Now Sanada was convinced that his friend was lying to him. If there was anyone that he knew wouldn't be upset at the seniors leaving it was Yukimura. Sanada knew that the other male detested the way that their senpai-tachi treat him in and out of the tennis club. He studied the younger's face carefully. He was used to Yukimura having a smile almost as ever present as Seigaku's Fuji Syusuke, and just like the sadistic tensai, Sanada knew that it was a mask the majority of the time. If he was one to quantify things as the data master Yanagi Renji was, he would hazard a guess that 93% of the time, even when alone as the two of them were currently, Yukimura would maintain his public façade.

"Tarundoru," he muttered.

Yukimura looked at him in confusion thinking, Did I seriously just hear that right?

"Tarundoru," Sanada repeated.

Yukimura's confusion turned in to incredulity. Sure, he had heard Sanada say the phrase many times, even when it wasn't being related to tennis, but never had it ever been aimed at him. Needless to say that the blue haired youth was in a mild state of shock, causing him to do the one thing he prided himself on not doing; stutter.

"Ta...ta..."

"You don't have to lie," Sanada interrupted. He lightly clenched his fists at his sides, his bag now laying on the floor forgotten. "If there is something on your mind and you cannot talk about it then just say that, I'll understand. Just don't lie to me, Seiichi."

Yukimura suddenly felt something that he was not used to; guilt. He didn't think that keeping things to himself like he had would cause such worry for his childhood friend. He felt incredibly bad that Sanada was feeling that because of him, and it wasn't only that. They had promised when they were little that they would never lie to each other and being who they were, they had actually kept that promise until he himself had just broken it. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Even when he had been in the hospital he had never outright lied to Sanada about everything that was going on, and yet he actually had over something so seemingly insignificant. He placed his bento beside himself, looking Sanada in the eye. Yukimura could see just how much he had hurt his friend over his dismissal over Sanada's concerns.

"Gomennasai," he said softly, almost too quietly for the stoic male to hear.

"Hontou ni gomennasai, Genichirou."

Sanada's frustrations instantly dissipated at his friend's apology.

"I hadn't realised just how much I was actually worrying you," Yukimura continued, completely dropping his mask as he looked at his friend.

"Do not worry about it, Seiichi."

"Demo!..."

"Ii da yo. I understand, just know that I am here...okay?"

Yukimura remained silent before breaking out in to a gentle and genuine smile.

"Aah," he replied as he patted the space next to him on the bench, indicating for Sanada to sit. The brunette in question acquiesced gladly, picking up his neglected bag as he went. He removed his own bento before they both intoned, "Ittadakimasu," and began to eat.

Yukimura took only a single bite from his onigiri before ceasing. He had wanted to sort out his distracting thoughts before discussing them with Sanada, but after the conversation that they had just shared, he no longer knew if that was the best thing to do or not. He had thought about it in the past and he was still unsure as to why he felt the way that he did. He had been mulling things over for months now and he hadn't been able to solve anything. Perhaps talking to him will actually help me to sort things out.

"Ne, Genichirou, do you remember when we lost in the finals to Seigaku?"

"Aah," Sanada confirmed, more than a little curious as to why the bluenette would question such a thing. He himself would never be able to forget that bitter-sweet day. The thrill of finally accomplishing his goal of defeating Tezuka Kunimitsu, and yet the crushing disappointment of being unable to secure a third straight title for Rikkai. Could this be what has been bothering you, Seiichi? The fact that next year seems as if it is going to be an almost complete copy of those conditions?

"Well, I've just been getting a sense of déjà vu, I guess you could call it..." Yukimura paused, unsure of how to exactly word what he wanted to say next.

Sanada merely waited patiently, partially glad that Yukimura seemed to be wanting to discuss what was troubling him.

"No, that's not totally true," the slender male continued, "I guess you could say it's the fact that next year won't be a repeat of before that is bothering me."

Sanada was now more than a little confused at his friend's words. He initially thought that perhaps Yukimura was concerned over the possibility of losing during the Nationals again to Seigaku and that he wanted to prevent that at all costs, but now he was entirely too confused. It seemed to be the reason behind it, but at the same time it wasn't? Sanada's face clearly showed just how lost he was.

Picking up on his friend's feelings, Yukimura tried to elaborate, "I...I want to play him again."

"Him?" questioned Sanada, still completely clueless.

"Hmm...ano bouya...Echizen Ryoma-kun."

A boy with emerald tinted hair beneath a white cap sneezed. He glared at the air conditioning unit above him. I don't know which is worse, the fact that I might be getting a cold or that someone is probably talking about me, he grumbled in his head.

Sanada blinked. He had not expected such an answer although it did make sense to him. It was through defeat that one became stronger, he himself was living proof of that, so it was totally understandable that his friend would want to defeat the younger male.

"I understand that you want to defeat him, Seiichi but that is not possible when he is not even in Japan."

Yukimura audibly sighed He should have known that Sanada would not be able to fully comprehend his mentality on the matter. It was true that talking with his friend had actually helped him to understand why he was brooding over things, but clearly there was a limit to such a thing.

"It's not about defeating him, Genichirou. In all honesty, it hasn't been about that since we played."

"I don't understand," the brunette vocalised.

"I'm not really sure how to explain it to you. I don't really fully understand it all myself," Yukimura explained to his friend. "It's not about winning and losing with him, there's more to it than that. It's the exhilaration, the thrill from playing with him."

There were some things that rarely happened to Sanada and being made speechless was just one of them. He more than understood the passion that rose within when playing a certain calibre of opponent in tennis, but for him it had always been coupled with the need to defeat whoever it was that he was facing on the other side of the net. He had thought that it was the same for his friend as they were the embodiment of everything Rikkai.

Yukimura looked at Sanada hoping that his friend had some sort of explanation or advice for him, despite knowing that chances were he wouldn't.

"I don't know what to say, Seiichi. I never knew that you felt like this. I...I don't know how to help you with this because like I said, he is not in the country and he won't be."

"I know that!" Yukimura exclaimed, his voice raised. "I know," he continued softly, "I keep telling myself that but it doesn't seem to make any difference."

It was now Sanada's turn to sigh. He had absolutely no idea how to help his friend and so he did the only thing that he could think of to do. Sanada put is hand on Yukimura's shoulder, the bluenette looking up at the contact. "There is nothing that you can do at the moment, Seiichi. You will be able to play him again one day, but for now you need to concentrate on what you can do," he said, leaving the 'as the boys tennis buchou' unspoken.

"Aah, you're right, Genichirou." Yukimura then smiled at his friend, noting the lateness of the hour as it was displayed on the clock behind him. "Saa, perhaps we should head back, the break is nearly over."

Sanada merely nodded in agreement before beginning to pack away his mostly uneaten bento, Yukimura mirroring his actions. They walked to the door in silence, the slender male feeling somewhat better for having voiced his thoughts. He should have talked to Sanada weeks, no perhaps months ago when things had first started to seriously trouble him. His friend always spoke sense and was right, there was realistically little to nothing that he could to rectify the situation. He would concentrate on the year to come and play his best to win. He would do what he had previously failed to do and lead Rikkai to a third straight National title.

He opened the door of the clubhouse to be greeted by a horrible sight; rain. The skies had opened and unleashed a verifiable fury upon the earth. Yukimura and Sanada looked up in despair, noting that there was little to no chance of the rain stopping by the end of the day, let alone with enough time for the ground to dry some before tennis practice.

"It looks like practice will have to be cancelled," Yukimura said sadly as the rain continued to fall.

Rain fell in a torrential downpour as the doors of one of terminals at Tokyo's Narita airport slid open to accommodate someone walking through carrying a personalised bag upon their shoulder, along with a case being wheeled behind them. They looked up at the charcoal clouds above feeling disgruntled.

"Mada mada dane."