Hi there, sorry for not updating. I'm really busy these days with university and everything. I hope you don't mind waiting because I don't think I can update regularly once a week anymore.

Thank you for those who reviewed the first chapter! I'm glad hearing (reading) your positive reaction toward it. Hope you all will also like this chapter!

BTW, I got the idea about cross-dressing tradition from a side story of an old manga entitled W-Pinch. :D

Disclaimer: Konomi Takeshi owns the Prince of Tennis and its characters. I only own the OCs.

Sorry for bad grammar and typo!

Ch2: Book's Cover

Zaizen and the siblings only looked at each other in silence.

The older Yamato, Tsubaki, started sweating as he gave no further reaction and kept staring blankly at her and Tsubasa.

Zaizen opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but then he shut it again, seemed that he wasn't quite sure what to say. He thought again for a while and finally spoke.

"Let's pretend that I didn't hear anything." He said in flat tone.

Tsubaki was screwed, she was really screwed. She had thrown herself and her precious brother in a big trouble. A secret was meant to be kept, but she had let it slipped out her mouth and told the world about it loudly because of her short tempered nature… not to mention that the person who found out (accidentally heard) about it wasn't a good person at all.

That rude boy, Zaizen Hikaru… Back then he had just walked away and said nothing to explain what he had meant.

Let's pretend that I didn't hear anything.

It was no way for someone like him to simply let this matter go and forget anything he had heard yesterday.

She had heard a lot of bad rumors about him. He got really bad manners and didn't show any respect to others at all, even to the teachers. People said that he had started fights with other boys and was disliked by some of the 3rd graders because of his rude behavior. He also had made a lot of girls cry.

She sighed. Why him? Why must him the one who overheard Tsubasa's secret? She didn't have any idea what that boy would do to her precious brother. Would he used the secret as blackmail material, or would he tell everyone about it?

Not only Tsubasa and herself, her family would also be completely humiliated if people learned about their secret. People would think that the heir of Yamato household was abnormal and liked to cross-dressing. (Gosh, it wasn't a hobby or liking, it was a must in the family!) Thinking about the worst probability that would happen to her family made her shudder.

'Don't be weak, Tsubaki!' She said to herself and slapped her own cheeks softly to pump up her courage.

She should do something! Right, there was no way she would let Zaizen do anything bad!

"What are you doing, Yamato?"

She snapped out of her thought as someone asked her. She looked up at her kendo captain. "Well, uhm, nothing…"

"Don't tell me, you're thinking about your sick sister." The other girl raised a brow skeptically.

Tsubaki could only grin sheepishly in reply. It's no way she could tell anyone else about Zaizen and her little secret, not even to her club captain. It was a problem she should solve by herself.

Anyway, she had solved the other problem earlier: making Tsubasa pretending to be sick home so that he had an excuse not to go to the pool this weekend. At least this could decrease the probability of his secret being revealed to public.

"I just want to remind you not to space out during practice. I'll assign you laps if you do it again." said the captain.

Tsubaki quickly stood up and bowed in apologize. "I'm really sorry, Hayakashi-taichou. I promise it won't happen again."

"Good," Hayakashi Sanae nodded.

"By the way, how do you know that my sister is absent today?"

"You know, your sister is quite popular even among the senior sear," Sanae replied. "The guys in my class were talking about her during the class."

Tsubaki gulped. Could it be that the guys Sanae was talking about were from the tennis club Zaizen belonged to? "R- Really? What else they were talking about?"

Sanae shrugged. "Dunno. I didn't really listen to them back then. Why?"

"Nn, just asking. Well then, excuse me. I gotta go for a while." Tsubaki quickly took her school uniform and run exiting the dojo.

"Wait! Where are you going? It's still practice time!"

She could hear Sanae's shouting even from outside. She was sure that she would get punishment for leaving the practice, but alas she still had something important to do.

If she wasn't wrong, Zaizen was quite close to the 3rd year guys in tennis club. She might be acting kinda paranoid, but what if… what if he had told them about Tsubasa's secret?

After changing her clothing back into school uniform, Tsubaki rushed to the tennis court. It was still practice time so all the tennis club member including a certain boy named Zaizen should be still there. Soon she arrived in front of a huge wooden door that led to tennis club's isolated courts.

Yes, isolated.

It meant that the outsider couldn't go inside the courts. No one could watch any club activity (practices, matches, etc.) either because of the tall brick walls that were built around the courts and clubhouse.

What should she do now? How could she look for him while she couldn't even enter the court? For now, she could only wait for him till the practice ended, or perhaps until he in one and another way left the club. She could only hope that it wouldn't take long…

And it didn't really take that long…

"What are you doing here? Do you have something to do with our club?" Someone asked.

She turned around to see a blonde in yellow and green jersey, who had just asked her out of curiosity. "Sort of... I have a business with one of your club members."

"Do you want me to call him? Just tell me his name." Kenya offered.

She shook her head. "No, thanks. I'd prefer to wait for him till the practice ended." She knew he wasn't really a bad guy type she hated, but still, he was quite close to that Zaizen guy. If Zaizen had really told his teammates about Tsubasa's secret, Kenya should be one among those guys whom he told.

"Well then, if you said so." Kenya shrugged and sipped some juice from a can he was holding.

She looked carefully at any movement he made. So far he didn't do anything strange nor talk anything about Tsubasa. Strange, if he had heard about the secret he would have mocked her about it. Did that mean he knew nothing about it?

"Why don't you go inside?" she asked.

"I'm waiting for Zaizen. We went to buy juice together, however he really took his time in walking and left behind. Once I got here, I realized that someone might ask why I come back alone or where did he go and that will be quite troublesome to explain so I decided to wait for him here." He explained.

"Wait, did you just said Zai-"

"Ah, finally! Here he is!" He exclaimed. "Why did you take it so loooooooong! God, I almost die waiting for your slow feet!" He said approaching a younger boy with short spiky black hair that was just some meters away.

"It's you who walk too fast, beside, I never asked you to wait for me." Zaizen reply sarcastically and earned a smack right on his head. He then spotted her near the club's gate. "Ah."

She gritted her teeth when their eyes met. She walked in fast pace toward him and grabbed his arm. "We need to talk." She dragged him away with her, leaving a half-surprised-half-curious Kenya behind.

"Wait, senpai, where're we going?"

"Didn't I say that we need to talk?" Tsubaki hissed, releasing Zaizen's arm as both of them arrived at a deserted part of school ground covered by trees, where no one would see or hear them.

"Make it quick, I still have practice." he said.

She twitched. This brat, trying to play innocent, huh? He should have known what she was going to talk about yet he acted like he knew nothing.

"About what you heard yesterday…" She began.

"Oh, about that. I told you to pretend like I heard nothing, didn't I?" He replied dryly then walked away. "Is that all you wanna say? I'm leaving then."

"Wait! It's a big secret about my brother's life. How the hell can I believe that you'll tell nobody about it?" Her words made him stop and turn to her. His face looked slightly offended.

"Why will I tell anybody about that? What will I gain by leaking his oh-so-big –secret? None, right? None. I don't even hold a grudge toward him."

"Still, I can't believe someone like you," she continued. "Someone ill-mannered and-"

Suddenly he smacked a tree behind her, pinning her toward it. "I really hate annoying people who judge everything only by the cover. Stop pestering me and get some life, otherwise I might change my mind and ended up screwing your little brother's life." He said in cold tone.

Seeing that the girl in front of him wouldn't say anything to protest, he stepped back and left quietly.

She felt her legs lost their powers to support her body weight and fell down to the ground. "What was that? How could he…"

A little longer chapter that the previous one. Aw, Zaizen is so scary! I'm sorry if he's OOC.

Tsubaki's personality is kinda difficult. She hates most of the boys and always thinks badly about them. On the other hand, Zaizen is easily judged as a bad boy because of his rebellious acts and appearance (especially those colorful earrings).

A new OC! (a cameo, if you read my other story, though she is a minor character there) I think Tsubaki need a friend to talk to, though she can't share her biggest secret.

Tsubaki joined kendo club because she needs powers to 'protect' Tsubasa. (and personally I think kendo is also a quite traditional sport/martial art and suits her well)

And look at our *coughs* lil' curious and innocent Kenya XD Aw, I'm so sorry I didn't have time to write him a birthday fic :(

Hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think. ConCrits are always welcome.