Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

New Beginnings
[18] Hint of Spring

While the world was busy reintroducing demons, Tezuka was busy writing and rewriting names into blank boxes for the ranking matches next week. Losing a Regular so late in the season is never a good thing and it made the task a lot harder than usual. He had thought about cursing Higurashi but then remembered the three ropey scars that had decorated her back and thought better of it. Not to mention the so-called "spar" she had with Wakagami.

"Our next match is with Hyotei," Fuji commented, voice soft and breath tickling Tezuka's ear.

The tennis captain forced himself to remain completely calm as if he was expecting the tennis genius' presence. It was only out of sheer will and the fact that he had known Fuji for two years did he manage to succeed. It wouldn't do to show one's weakness in front of a man like Fuji who took it upon himself to learn everyone's weakness and somehow use it against them in order to amuse himself. "Fuji," Tezuka greeted, his tone clipped in annoyance.

"Saa," Fuji sighed, amused. "And to think I wanted to surprise you."

Tezuka was not impressed. "What do you want? I have work to finish."

"Of course you do," Fuji agreed and took a seat across from Tezuka who was currently reminding himself to remain as calm as possible. "It's just that… well… you see, we've been thinking…" When Tezuka didn't comment, Fuji's lips twitched upwards in amusement. "You've been acting weird lately," he continued. "But since she's so popular, it's no surprise, really. It's hard not being the only one with a crush on Higurashi-san, ne?"

Unable to help himself, Tezuka's mouth dropped opened slightly in shock. "What?"

"Your crush on Higurashi-san?" Fuji repeated, smiling teasingly, his eyes still closed. "Everyone has noticed; you didn't think you were hiding it, did you? You've been staring at her every chance you get."

It was true that Tezuka's gaze had been drifting in Higurashi-san's direction more so than usual—she has, after all, always been an unusual person even before he found out her secretes—but it was most certainly not because he had a crush on her! Only days ago she had revealed to him that humans weren't the only above-intelligent creatures on earth and that the world may or may not be ending. Of course he was going to stare at her! He was still trying to process everything! "I do not have a crush on her," Tezuka protested firmly.

"Of course not," Fuji agreed, blue eyes sliding open. Tezuka had to resist the urge to flinch and wondered if it was better to pretend he did, after all. "That's what I told them. After all, we both know the real person you like is he—"

"Fuji!" Tezuka said, his voice sharp.

"Saa," Fuji chuckled, eyes sliding closed again. "You're absolutely no fun at all."

There were only a few times in his life in which Tezuka ever panicked. He was usually so level-headed about everything that even when his arm gave out back in middle school, he was more worried about the outcome of the match than his own arm knowing that it would heal—it may take months, perhaps but ultimately, it would heal. The only times Tezuka does panic was when Fuji was involved. No, seriously, Tezuka was pretty sure the other tennis player was the reason behind ninety percent of his panic attacks.

The question, however, was how? How in the world had Fuji found out? Tezuka had kept it a secret hidden so well that he hadn't even confirmed the identity of his crush to himself, much less anyone else. So how, how, how had the genius found out? Did he act different? Did he somehow accidently allowed it to slip? How could he have gotten so careless?

Lips pressing in a thin line, Tezuka gathered the papers with the ranking boxes and slipped them into his folder. "I'm leaving," he announced, voice tight.

"Of course," Fuji replied, as if the stiffness in the captain's form was not his fault. "Would you like to head home together?"

"No."

With his two packs slung over a shoulder, Tezuka breezed past the tennis genius, not caring that he was being unusually rude. Tezuka honestly didn't think he would be able to handle Fuji on top of everything else that was going on. When he was satisfied that Fuji was not following him, Tezuka stepped outside the school building and allowed himself a breath of fresh air.

Instead of heading home like he should have, Tezuka found himself making his way towards a familiar tennis court. He slipped both his school and tennis bag from his shoulder, placing them carefully on the ground next to the fence before pulling his tennis racket out. A flash of brown caught his eye and he turned towards the bracelet Higurashi-san had given him. How was it that something so simple and innocent was able to hold back something that made up something as deadly as Wakagami's very being?

Tezuka got up, exhaling deeply as he gave his arm an experimental flex as he made his way towards the abandoned court. Without an opponent, Tezuka could do nothing but practice serves but even that was enough to make him forget about the current reasons to all his stress. He took a breath, throwing the tennis ball high into the air and served, striking it with more force than necessary. A crackle filled the air and Tezuka looked down with a frown, staring at the bracelet. Higurashi had told him that it would hold back whatever was taking over his arm but Wakagami had also stated it was getting stronger and the bracelet would be rendered useless sooner or later.

It had only been a few days since he had first gotten the bracelet. Had the so-called demonic energy been taking over his arm sooner than anticipated?

His frowned deepened. Keeping an eye on the bracelet, Tezuka reached into his pocket for another ball. He served again, a familiar, yet unnatural tingle danced around his wrist as he struck the ball. Electrifying crackles filled the air and Tezuka was so distracted by it, he did not notice a second figure on the court, opposite of him, hitting his serve back with ease. Tezuka exhaled sharply as the ball hit the ground with a loud crack.

He looked up, raising his eyebrows slightly in question. "Echizen," he greeted.

"Buchou."

They stood there, staring at each other awkwardly for a moment. Well, Tezuka certainly felt it was awkward… Echizen, on the other hand, looked as nonchalant as always, a small smirk decorating his lips. Tezuka cleared his throat, "What are you doing here, Echizen?"

"Kagome's boyfriend's over," he answered, reaching out and picked up a stray tennis ball with is racket. "He's even louder and more annoying than my dad."

Tezuka raised his eyebrows. He had seen the way Echizen treated his father and even heard him complaining about the former tennis pro on more than one occasion. For him to consider someone more annoying than Echizen Nanjiroh was quiet astonishing. He was also pretty sure that Echizen was not talking about Wakagami. The older man—no, demon—was probably the quietest person he had ever met. But if it wasn't him, Tezuka couldn't think of anyone else, not that he was completely familiar with all of Higurashi's acquaintances. But if it wasn't Wakagami, Momoshiro was the only other possible person that he knew of. Momoshiro was interested in Higurashi and if anyone was louder than Echizen-sama, it would definitely be—

"Buchou," Echizen said, bouncing the tennis ball on the edge of his racket. "A match?"

Tezuka had to fight in order to keep a smile off his face. "One set."

Echizen was grinning fully now. "Rough or smooth?" he asked, catching the ball and stuffing it into the depths of his pocket.

"Rough."

Echizen spun the racket and watched as it landed in Tezuka's favor. "Che," he scoffed, picking his racket up again.

They got into position and Tezuka could feel his hearth pounding in anticipation. Every time he played with Echizen, it felt like fire was coursing through his very body, leaving ashes in its wake, readying itself for yet another rebirth. Tezuka didn't think he would ever grow tired of playing Echizen and hoped that they'll never stop playing.

He served, throwing everything he had into the ball. Echizen expected nothing less and it would be an insult to the younger man if he held back. Tezuka was not surprised when Echizen reached the ball faster than he thought possible, returning it with a return ace. The ball blazed past him, leaving him unable to react and a smudge on the court upon impact. Tezuka stared at the smudge and narrowed his eyes; Echizen's shots were getting stronger.

Tezuka served again and Ryoma's return shot was even faster than the first one but this time, Tezuka was ready. He grunted underneath the weight of the ball but forced himself to hold onto his racket. His arm muscles rippled dangerously but Tezuka sent the ball back over the net, doubling both its speed and power.

Another crackle filled the air and this time, Tezuka could feel a sharp sting as pink sparks shot to the surface of the bracelet and coming in contact with his skin. He ignored it; he was already used to pain shooting up his arm when he was playing tennis. Besides, a little bit of pain was no reason to call of a match with Echizen.

Forty minutes into the match and Tezuka couldn't remember why he had come to the tennis court in the first place. In his current world, while he was playing a match with Echizen, demons no longer existed; Fuji no longer knows his secrets and decided who to put in the ranking matches no longer mattered. In this world, all that mattered was a ball, two rackets, a net and Echizen. Nothing else existed.

At match point—in his favor—Tezuka dashed forward, racket lowered and ready. Echizen's eyes widened, understanding flashed through his gaze and Tezuka knew the younger man had a good idea about what he was about to do. He dashed forward but it was already too late; Tezuka had already sent the ball back over the net.

Missing by mere inches, Tezuka watched as Echizen eyed the ball, watching it roll backwards into the net. When his gaze traveled upwards and held Tezuka's, the tennis captain was all of suddenly reminded of their very first match. His imagination went on haywire and he could feel his heart, still pounding hard against his chest in ways that had nothing to do with the adrenaline flowing throughout his body.

"Buchou," Echizen breathed, panting hard.

"Good game," Tezuka said, still breathing hard as Echizen slowly climbed back up onto his feet. He reached a hand out over the net.

"Mada mada dane," was the tennis prodigy's only response but he said it with a familiar smirk that made Tezuka's chest tighten with tension. Nevertheless, Echizen also reached out, clasping Tezuka's outstretched hand within his own.

Upon contact, another crackle filled the otherwise quiet air, loud and piercing. A single blue spark danced out from Echizen's hand and onto Tezuka's. The spark sent sharp pain as it came in contact with Tezuka's skin who hissed at the surprise, grip tightening around Echizen's smaller hand. They stared at the spark and as if it were a catalyst, the spark called forth others, pink in color. They crackled around the bracelet, and with one final crack, the barrier surrounding the bracelet gave out and the thin material snapped.

Hands still interlocked, Echizen stared at the fallen bracelet for a moment. Finally, he looked back into Tezuka's eyes. "Kagome's not going to be happy.," he said.

"Ah."

Echizen frowned. "Che, she said it would hold for a couple months. It didn't even last two weeks."

"Let's just kill him. We don't need another Naraku."

Sesshomaru scoffed. "Foolish half-breed. If Sasabe wanted to make an enemy of us, he would have attacked us beforehand, not warn us of upcoming danger."

"Well," Miroku interrupted. "He didn't exactly warn us, per say but I do see your point. Besides, Inuyasha, he seemed to know more about what's going on than any of us."

Inuyasha huffed. "The bastard probably wants us all together so he doesn't have to go around hunting each of us down."

"Obviously."

Inuyasha glared, "Yo, asshole—"

"Inuyasha," Kagome interrupted. "Please."

"Feh."

Sango rolled herself into a more comfortable position on the couch. "We're going to have to meet him, that's obvious. And from what I heard from Kagome, if Sesshomaru's with us, we won't have to worry about getting killed if things do go wrong."

Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean, you heard from Kagome?"

Kagome paled as Inuyasha turned his attention towards her. "Um…"

"Well?"

"The priestess and I sparred," Sesshomaru inputted. His eyes held an amused glint as he took in the half-demon's shocked appearance.

"What?" Inuyasha whipped his head to face his half-brother. "What do you mean sparred?"

Sesshomaru gifted him with a flat look, "You honestly need me to define that word for you?"

"You fuckin' bastard! That's not what I—"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome interrupted, hoping that her aunt and uncle could not hear them. Then again, Kagome was sure that Rink would probably prefer it over the dirty-talk Nanjiroh seemed so fond of. "It was just a spar! Calm down!"

Inuyasha glared for a moment, eyes darting between Kagome and his half-brother. He snickered, "Just a spar, my ass. I hope you kicked his ass, Kagome."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "No one kicked anyone's ass."

"It's quiet amazing though," Miroku murmured, catching everyone's attention. "Even if it was a light spar, I would expect some cuts and bruises on your person, my lady."

"U-uh…" Kagome stammered. "Well, of course I had some…"

Sango raised her eyebrows.

"My saliva has healing properties."

"Your saliv—" Sango flushed as the image.

"Your saliva?" Inuyasha repeated with a screech, whipping his head around again. "What the hell do you mean—" He cut himself off, "Never mind, I don't want to know." He shuddered at the mere thought about Sesshomaru's saliva coming in contact with Kagome's body. He didn't need them to tell him exactly what had happened. He could do without the image, thank you.

Miroku chuckled. "Kagome-sama must be a very happy woman, indeed."

Kagome flushed even harder.

"Am I interrupting something?" a voice interrupted, making everyone direct their attention towards the two figures standing in the archway to the living room.

"Ryoma! How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Ryoma said, staring at the demon lord. His face was scrunched up slightly; he had just learned something about his cousin that he didn't exactly want to know in the first place.

"It's not what you think," Kagome assured, her voice coming out in a quick rush. "Really!" Much to her continued embarrassment, her face was getting heated again, which wasn't doing much to back up her previous words. She gave a quick glance at the taller figure standing next to her cousin, his face a smooth indifference. "Tezuka-san," she greeted stiffly, hoping for a distraction.

"Higurashi-san."

"This the captain?" Inuyasha asked, sitting up, his gaze drawn to Tezuka's left hand.

Kagome glared and ignored him. "Tezuka-san, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is Tezuka-san, and yes, he is the captain."

"Keh," Inuyasha huffed with a snort. "Looks like wuss."

Tezuka blinked.

Kagome glared harder for a moment but shifted her gaze onto the floor, measuring with her eyes its sturdiness. She noticed Sesshomaru shifting away from him, realizing what she was thinking. "Sit," Kagome hissed out and watched in satisfaction as Inuyasha's face crashed into the ground, his swearwords muffled by the carpet.

Once satisfied that Inuyasha had earned his lesson, Kagome turned her attention back to her cousin and the forbidding captain standing slightly behind him. She was unsurprised to see his lack of reaction; he had, after all, not reacted when he saw Inuyasha, twitching dog ears and all. "What's up?" Kagome asked, "I thought you were going to be out later."

Ryoma turned and looked at Kagome. "Something came up," he admitted.

Kagome frowned and then narrowed her eyes in concentration. With Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in the room she was unsurprised that she hadn't felt it before but there was a third, much more faint, but unmistakable demonic aura in the room. She gasped as her eyes landed on Tezuka's naked wrist. "What happened?" she demanded. "That seal was supposed to hold for at least a month.

"The seal broke?" Miroku asked in shock, sitting up.

Ryoma ignored him. "We were playing tennis."

"What kind of hell kind of tennis were you playing?" Inuyasha asked, having finally pulled himself into a sitting position. He was rubbing his nose, wincing as he hit a tender spot.

"Interesting," Miroku murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Sesshomaru got up from his seat, making his way towards the two tennis players.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

The demon lord came to a stop when he was standing next to the priestess. He eyed the amber-eyed human for a moment before reaching a clawed hand towards him. Ryoma narrowed his own eyes but despite his instincts warning him away, he stood his ground, unflinchingly.

As soon as he got close enough, blue sparks jumped off Ryoma's skin and onto Sesshomaru's, attempting to warn the demon off.

"Hn."

Ryoma and Tezuka stared wide-eyed at the sparks. They had seen it before, when Ryoma had come in contact with Tezuka's hand for a handshake but they had both thought it had come from the seal somehow. To think that Ryoma was the one to caused it…

"You are exerting demonic energy right now," Sesshomaru said, eyeing the tennis captain. He then turned his gaze towards Ryoma, "And you are unable to control your own powers. Yet, they're not even making an attempt to purify him." He tilted his head. "You cousins are more alike than you think."

Tezuka blinked.

"Even more interesting," Miroku said, gleefully.