Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Chapter 2

The Secret is Revealed;Part 2

The morning sun rose dutifully on the horizon; casting bright streaks of red and orange across the vast, winter sky. A chilling breeze blew through the air; causing bare tree branches to sway with the steady rhythm of the wind. Birds chirped from the treetops, the ultimate sign of morning.

Rhythmic footsteps sounded above the wind. The crunching sounds of shoe on snow signaling the presence of someone heading down the tree lined path. The footsteps were accompanied by a steady breathing, on the verge of becoming a steady panting. This could only mean the person must be on their morning jog.

Atobe paused his jogging, slowing down to a brisk walk. He was dressed in a casual pair of grey sweatpants and a plain grey hoodie to shield him from the cold. Each breath he took caused a puff of frosty air to form in front of him.

Glancing at his watch, he broke back into a jog. He still had to go home and have a shower before tennis practice, which would start in about an hour. Tennis practice had been moved to 10 am every day of the week; at least until Winter Holidays were over and school started back up again.

He reached the gates to his house in record timing.

His frozen fingers moved nimbly over the keypad beside the gates. Taking a step back, he waited as the two large gates were swung open, before heading over to the front doors, where he did the same.

Stepping inside the house, he quickly kicked off his shoes before heading upstairs to his room. Along the way he was greeted by multiple maids and butlers, all in charge of keeping the house in pristine condition.

A similar keypad to the ones on the front door and gates, was attached on the wall beside his bedroom. Typing in a different password then the ones used for entering the house, he waited a second before a click could be heard.

Without hesitation, he opened the door to his room, shutting it behind him with a resounding 'click'.

No sooner had he lain down on his bed, when a knock was heard against his door. With a very ungraceful groan, he forced himself to stand back up. Opening the door, he all but glared at his personal butler; Takatsuki.

"Yes, what is it?" He questioned.

"Your father wishes to speak to you," His butler explained, polite as ever. "He insists that the matter is indeed urgent."

Atobe nodded. "Tell him I'll be right there."

Shutting the door, he strode over to his walk in closet, where he picked out one of his many pairs of the Hyotei Tennis Uniform and laid it down on his bed. After making sure he had all the necessary stuff ready for practice, he quickly headed down to his father's study.

Knocking tentatively, he opened the door and stepped inside. "Takatsuki, said you wished to speak to me," Atobe glanced at his father who leaned back against his chair, wine glass in hand.

"Take a seat," His father ordered, to which Atobe instantly sat down in one of chairs across from his father's desk.

He glanced up at his father, who took another sip of wine. Atobe couldn't help, but try to think of why his father had called him there. Was he in trouble for something? Try as he might, he couldn't remember anything he could have done wrong.

"Remember when you were younger, when you still lived in England and had just met young Kabaji?" His father asked.

"Yes," Atobe nodded, confused. He still couldn't figure out what his father was getting at.

"Remember when I left for America for a couple of months?" Once again Atobe nodded. "Well, the reason I was gone so long, was because I was searching for a suitable spouse for you. For a while I could not find anyone that I thought would interest you."

Atobe's eyes narrowed and he had to resist the urge to glare at his father. He had started to get an idea of where the conversation was heading and he didn't like it.

He didn't like it one bit.

"I was about to give up and head back to England. Then one day, I met an old acquaintance of mine, Echizen Nanjirou, I'm sure you have heard of him, no? Well his wife was actually expecting her unborn child in a matter of days. " His father paused to look over at Atobe, who stared right back at his father.

Atobe indeed knew about Echizen Nanjirou, or more commonly known as Samurai Nanjirou throughout the tennis community. "What are you getting at father?" Atobe questioned, tired of his father's pointless rambling.

"He agreed to engage his unborn child to you."

Atobe froze. Arranged marriage? Of course it wasn't unheard of. Especially in high class families like his own, but still! He forced himself to remain calm. After all, he knew his father would never let him live it down, if his 17 year old son was caught throwing a fit.

"Arranged marriage?" He kept his voice calm, showing no signs that the news had surprised or bothered him.

"Yes," His father nodded, resting his elbows on his desk, folding his hands together, and resting his chin on his hands. "It was agreed that when the kid turned 15 that he or she would come live with us in Japan." His father paused, causing Atobe to look up. "He turned 15 last week."

"I see," Atobe murmured. He couldn't help but notice how his father had said 'he' at the end. Not that it mattered to Atobe.

"He's set to arrive in about an hour at the airport. I would like you to go pick him up. Takatsuki will have a limo waiting for you in the front."

Atobe nodded and stood up, leaving the room and heading outside. His butler opened the door to the limo for him and he slipped inside, the door shutting behind him.

Taking out his phone, he dialed Oshitari's number to inform his vice-captain that he would be late, and until he arrived, Oshitari would be in charge.

All in all, he had completely forgotten that he was still wearing his sweatpants and hoodie from this morning.

A/N

So I've decided to start up all my stories again. Starting with this one. This chapter was initially going to be a whole lot longer, but since I cannot exctly remember where I was going with the rest of this chapter, I've decided to post this to give me some time to organize my thoughts for this story.

Please Review and tell me what you thought. I really, really, really appreciate constructive criticism. If you didn't like it tell me why and if you did tell me what you like.

Well I hope you're enjoying it so far ^^