Disclaimer: 1) I don't own Prince of Tennis. 2) Due to some unpleasant themes and potentially offensive content, parental advisory is recommended.

Dedication to a very good friend of mine for helping me through the nitty gritty details. Thanks JTP!

"Would you...like to hear a story?"

At Sanada's kind reply, Kimiko brought him over to a nearby bench in the school's courtyard, and gestured for him to sit down. She fell silent again and looked down at their hands, musing. Sanada waited patiently...or as patiently as he could manage. He had held on for this long, a few minutes wouldn't kill him.

A few minutes passed. And yes, though he was still alive... Sanada almost began fidgeting like a young child, when Kimiko finally began to speak.

Initially, the words came out choppily, like a machine first set to work. But as she saw Sanada listening with undivided attention to her, quietly, respectfully, her inhibitions flew away and the memories came pouring out like a torrent of water.

She explained how she and Daemon met. How she fell in love for the first time. Their first date. Their first kiss. Everything.

"And then-" Kimiko was about to continue when she caught sight of Sanada's face. He also noticed her glance at him, and in a strained voice, ushered her to keep going. "Go on."

"Genichirou. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Again, she thought. That same voice.

Something hit her then, forcing her to restrain an imminent giggle from bubbling up in the back of her throat. Almost gleefully, Kimiko asked, "Genichirou. Are you jealous?"

"No." This time a stern reply came back quickly. Too quickly.

Kimiko's grin grew wider. Sanada did not say anything; he simply averted his gaze from hers.

She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. He stifled a grunt of surprise and looked at her with slightly widened eyes.

Showing him yet another cheeky grin, Kimiko said, "What are you getting so worked up for?" She lovingly ran her fingers along his jawline and, gently pulling his chin down, forced his eyes to meet hers.

"Daemon was never part of me, and he never will be. That Prince Charming is gone. For good. But you..." her eyes shone as she continued, "you will always have a part of me. I am yours."

He took her hand from his face, almost cradling it in his much larger one. "And I am yours," he said plainly in response. But that was enough for her. Kimiko knew that behind those words was so much more emotion than even she could possibly imagine. And although he may not ever say it, he told her through his own ways. He always did. She smiled to herself before deciding to continue with the narration.

"So...you now know the sugar and spice part of the beginning...but it didn't turn out the way I-or my parents, or Seiichi," she added, "thought it would."

She paused, gathering her thoughts. This time, Sanada was completely willing to wait. He squeezed her hands assuringly, giving her time, giving her strength.

Kimiko smiled gratefully, gently returning the gesture. "Everything was going well," she said, "and one day, he promised to bring me to the amusement park nearby that had just been finished."

Sanada was slightly confused, but nodded. That much he could comprehend-just a regular date (as much as the idea of Kimiko going on a date with someone else displeased him greatly).

"So...he came to pick me up, and my mom saw me off with him around noon, after lunch. And we got to the park with no problems, spent an entire day playing and laughing-" Sanada's brow furrowed deeply at this. Kimiko chuckled and kissed his cheek again.

"But on the way home, we ran into a group of Daemon's friends. He introduced me to them, and one of them invited us to a drink or two. I didn't really want to, since it was getting late, but the guy was quite insistent on treating us...you know, to celebrate our engagement."

As Sanada felt a bad premonition about the oncoming event, he noticed Kimiko beginning to shake, her fingers twitching ever so slightly in his palm. He held her hands in his, and she nodded in thanks.

"So, he brought us over to the nearest bar, and we ordered our drinks. I at first had a oolong tea, but somewhere along the way, someone must have mixed up my drink, on purpose or by accident-it's not like it matters." Kimiko's tone turned bitter.

"Not now, and definitely not then, I couldn't hold my alcohol, and I felt myself falling asleep after feeling woozy for quite a while."

"And Daemon...?" Sanada's voice was hard, at this point. He could imagine where this was going.

"He was awake still when I passed out. Drunk, yes. Passed out, no."

"And when I woke up," she choked, but clenched her fists and stopped herself from crying. She was determined this time, just this time, not to cry. She wouldn't let Daemon get the best of her. Not now. "When I woke up, I was sprawled on the ground in an alleyway-they were gone. He was gone. And the only thing I had left was my purse with nothing left in it."

Sanada stood up. Kimiko hurriedly jumped up from the bench as well, worry etched across her face when she saw the pure fury burning in her boyfriend's eyes. Though he was careful not to squeeze his hands, seeing as her hands were in his, every other part of him was rigid with anger.

"Hey." He did not look at her.

"Hey," she coaxed, turning his face to her. "Calm down. It's okay. I'm okay," she soothed.

"How can you be?" Sanada roared. "He-that monster-"

"I know," she murmured, "I know." It was as if their roles had been reversed-the victim was now the one comforting the listener. Sanada restrained himself. Keep calm. Keep calm. As if she knew he was fighting the anger threatening to overflow within himself, Kimiko wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm here now. I'm okay," she repeated. Somehow-God knows how-Sanada regained control over his emotions, and sat back down, letting out a breath that he had been unknowingly holding.

After he settled back down, Kimiko intertwined their fingers and kept going. "Because of that, Mom and Dad were furious-they canceled the engagement, and flew me back to Japan..."

"Along with Seiichi," Sanada added.

"And Mitsu-kun," Kimiko added. "We had already been a trio with a reputation throughout the neighborhood, but after that..." she smiled ruefully. "we were pretty much inseparable, particularly because they were worried about me having to get used to Japan again. In the end,-"

"Wait." Sanada held up a hand to stop her, causing Kimiko to look in confusion at him.

"Yes?"

"When was this?"

"Oh." Kimiko thought for a bit. "Well, we're third years right now, right? So that would make it...about the summer between middle school third year and high school first year."

"An arranged marriage as a middle schooler?" Sanada could not keep the incredulity out of his voice.

"Genichirou, you know as well as I do how important continuing the bloodline can be for traditional families. You're lucky you didn't have to, but that's probably because you're a male."

"I suppose so..." Sanada grumbled. As much as he understood the logic, it didn't sit well with him. Or maybe the fact Kimiko had to marry didn't sit well with him. Either way, it was not okay.

Suddenly aware that Kimiko was waiting patiently for him to finish digesting the information, he gestured to her. "Sorry, keep going. You were saying?"

"Right. So, in the end, I didn't get married, I came home to Japan, and never saw that..." she caught herself before a very colorful word could escape, "man again."

"But how were you..." Sanada tried to find the right words, "okay?" He struggled to find a more appropriate word, and at the same time maintain a diction that was sensitive to her feelings.

"I wasn't." She said quietly. "Not for a long time."

Her gaze lifted up towards the sky, her eyes following the slowly moving clouds. "Not for a long time..." she repeated. "Seiichi and Mitsu-kun really must have had a hard time making me open up again. It was hard for them...and for me. For at least a year, I avoided contact with any boys or men except for them-actually, even them, in the beginning. Because until a year had passed, I wholeheartedly hated any male-for exactly that. It really sucks to admit this now," she grimaced, "but in my eyes, at the time, being male was a sin."

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