I dedicate this chapter to ChitoseSenri-senpai and Cysil-Requiem, for being the ever-loyal fellow ffnet authoresses (fangirls) of one Yanagi Renji.

This chapter is Platinum-less, which might actually be good, since I can focus on the other members of Rikkai. It is kind of Yanagi and Kirihara-centric, since I feel that the two of them need to have a story too.

Disclaimer: Do you see NiouYagyuu action in the anime? I don't.

Warning(s): Sombre mood, emo!Yanagi and emo!Kirihara, Inui (I fail to see how he is dangerous in this but I shall put this here anyway) and slight OOCness if you see it that way…add more if you deem fit.

Perhaps he had made the wrong decision this time.

Yanagi had been certain that Niou would have been able to tackle Riko Kiyami and have her out of the school voluntarily within two weeks at the most, and look how that turned out. His top Maths teachers were barely on speaking terms and he was receiving more and more complaints about…that woman.

It really made him wonder, how he could have overlooked something like that. Looking back, he should have expected, even anticipated something like this happening, but no. Something inside him stung. Yes, he was guilty for causing the rift between the newly reunited couple but that was not quite what nagged at him. It was the realization that he could not quite see or predict everything anymore.

He was once the Data Master of Rikkai, with the most flawless data tennis style among his age group, outclassing even Inui (that Kantou match was an exception), ensuring no one else would even hope of standing on even ground. The brunette could predict how everything would go, even certain events everyone least expected. The praise he received for his accuracy and perception stroked his pride, and even though he never let it get to his head, he did not allow anyone to insult him using what he was so proud of. The data made him unique, made him stand out, and perhaps deep inside, he actually loved that.

Maybe these 11 years, and perhaps even longer, were a dream. Yanagi had been living in a dream since the day he picked up tennis and he was only waking up now. The hammer of time had shattered a hole in the otherwise perfect, but fragile shield that he had built up. How could he not have realized that there was such a big, gaping hole there until then? It was completely illogical.

It was with shock that he found that he had been living in the past. The racket frame that he had not touched for years was still in a drawer in his office desk. He still had a few of those old notebooks and club records lying around on one of the shelves.

Suddenly, the air around him had a hard time getting into his lungs.

Yagyuu was not the one who had been living in the past- he was. And that very fact was breaking him.

Perhaps that conversation with Akaya had finally knocked some sense into him, splashed the ice cold water he so needed onto his face. Even the little immature brat had grown up, more mentally than physically, and moved on. Yukimura had put down tennis, what had been his life, and also moved on. Yanagi too, had put down tennis. But he had not done so with the same resolve that his ex-captain did. He felt like a baby- grubby little hands desperately clutching onto something that would slip away sooner or later.

These thoughts perturbed him for the entire day, and it passed by in a blur. Next thing he knew, the sky was a brilliant orange and he was on his way home. The brunette checked his phone- something he had not done so since morning, and smiled.

There was a text from his fellow ex-data player from Seigaku, Inui Sadaharu. How long had it been since they last had contact, a few months?

It was night by the time he had completed his essential activities for the day, as he picked up his home phone, dialing from memory.

"Moshi moshi, Inui Sadaharu speaking."

He did not sound like he had changed much.

"Good evening, Sadaharu."

"Renji?" there was surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes. It has been a long time since we phoned each other like this. How have you been, Doctor?"

As childhood friends, one often saw the sides of another that he often did not show to others and kept hidden. Yanagi smiled a little into the receiver as he heard a slight chuckle on the other end.

"Indeed, I believe it has been 3 months and 13 days since then, Professor. I have been fine."

Crisp and to the point as per usual.

"I guess we have both been busy with our jobs…don't even have time for tennis anymore. It seems almost sad how it has disappeared almost completely from all our lives."

"There is a 98.2 percent chance that you called to ask me something."

Yanagi paused as he toyed with all the different ways of posing his question.

"I did, Sadaharu. I wanted to ask if you were in a relationship."

That…came out much easier than expected. It seemed the other side was in deep thought, and feeling awkward himself, the brunette was about to apologise and hang up until he heard the other speak.

"Don't hang up, Renji. To answer your question, yes, I am indeed in a relationship."

They were once best friends, doubles partners. They too were once rivals, two sides of a coin attempting to overthrow the other. Then they became long distance friends, the kind you know you can call up even at midnight and they would not get mad. With their different locations, such a friendship could only be maintained this far, and over the years…Yanagi felt that the distance had only widened.

He expected it, really. It was not the feeling of regret the attacked him, because the two were purely platonic friends and nothing more than that. Only, to the Master, he somehow got the feeling he had lost the friend he truly knew somewhere along the way.

"I see. Congratulations, Sadaharu. If I may ask…who is the lucky person?"

His voice never wavered. That was the way they had always conversed over the telephone how it was going to remain. The two always knew what to say, what to answer, and what to expect.

"I had the idea you should have known before calling me. I am rather disappointed."

Inui's tone was playful and teasing, though it only served to pinch something in his friend's chest.

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry."

No he was not sorry. He had just woken up without a single idea of what was happening around him. His fellow ex-data player must have noticed the slight change in his tone, however.

"…Renji? Are you alright?"

As if he could be alright the way things were now.

"I'm fine. Maybe just a little tired."

Yanagi Renji was the biggest liar in history. At least, the other great liars in history had a reason to lie. The Seigaku alumni cleared his throat.

"You have always been a bad liar. At least remember that."

For some reason that statement pinched a lot less than the other one.

"I never forgot, Sadaharu. Maybe it's because I never forgot, that I'm feeling so miserable right now."

Yanagi clenched his left fist, observing the movement of the muscles underneath the skin.

"Perhaps you have confused what being confused and what being miserable means."

The brunette cracked open an eye to stare at the mirror that sat atop his study desk. He looked pale with all that fluorescent light coming from the table lamp, much like a mannequin. And his eyes…they were staring back at themselves, the brown orbs dancing about with shreds of emotions.

"To transcend the past…why can't I do it?"

It was what he had told Inui during that match in the Kantou finals.

"You can't."

Inui Sadaharu was known for being a brutally honest man when it came to opinions. His ex-doubles partner was his direct and utmost opposite…Yanagi mused to himself. He had wished that the other would have at least tried to have more tact.

"Not unless you remember. It is easy to see that you are not one to let go of the past so easily, but what I see right now is the complete opposite of what you see. You think your problem right now is not being able to let go of the past. I suppose I don't deny that, but I thought I ought to tell you. I have that problem too, and so does everyone who has ever had a childhood, a past just like we did."

What did he mean it was not because he could not let go of the past?

"I can't move forward like this."

"Yes, you can't. A past is not meant to be forgotten…only surpassed, and transcended like you said. Professor, you need to realize that you are not alone in this."

"I've always been alone."

Alone was a very subjective word. As he looked around his room, then his ceiling, and heard just how empty his apartment was, he knew no word could better describe it. He was in no way isolated. Just…lonely.

"I thought so. Though before anything, you might want to search through that head of yours, if only to find that you never had empty air around you."

The Nationals. The three consecutive victories. Their dreams, their goals. There had never been empty air around him. It was always one of his team standing beside him, filling up his voids.

Seiichi, at that time when he forcefully plucked Yanagi's notebook from his hands and told him to memorise everything instead.

Genichirou, at that time when he had stood uncomfortably close to the brunette, only taking off after he had handed something to Yanagi. That something had been the notebook Yukimura confiscated.

Marui, at that time when he still had stamina issues, when his eyes burned with that vigor and he kept on going with those abnormally heavy weights. He never reached Jackal's level, but he had been well on his way.

Jackal, at that time when his skin colour gave him social issues, and Marui was his only close friend.

Yagyuu, at that time when he had been dragged by Niou to watch the tennis club in his first year, and also that time he finally joined, extending that polite smile of his to every member of the team.

Niou, at that time when he found entertainment in scrawling 'puri' all over Sanada's beloved family stone, as well as when he spiked Marui's cake with pepper. The Master had been the one to keep count as the Trickster ran all of (nah, he ran the other half the next day) the 500 laps.

Akaya…oh yes Akaya. At that time, he had been that reckless first year who seemed to set his goals too high. He had fallen like so many others at the Troika's feet, but unlike the others which he refused to be classified with, he stood back up and challenged them again and again. There was no stopping him until he reached where he wanted, and that was the top. Akaya had been childish, and only started caring for his grades when his club membership was in jeopardy and that time Niou…had left. The boy really looked up to Yanagi. To him, this senpai was not just a senpai. He was a mentor, a brother, a teammate, a rival, and even his parent. Other than Jackal, he was the only one who had the ability to calm the younger one down.

Maybe, just maybe…that was what brunette missed. He wanted to feel needed again. He wanted someone to look up to him, knowing why and how he got to where he was. His team had filled his voids back then. Yet one by one, they were becoming empty once more.

The man smiled a little bitterly.

"Yes. I never had empty air around me."

"So you realized."

"And Sadaharu…the one you're dating is Kaidou-kun, is it not?"

If Yanagi's eyes had been open, they would have been glinting mischieviously. Inui coughed.

"I do not deny that. I suppose my data has yet to beat yours."

"I would not be too sure about that. I just based my prediction off what I knew from years back."

"Oh really? Still, you had to have skill to even obtain that piece of information in the first place."

It was then Yanagi looked at his digital clock, the blinking colon spreading attention to the numbers beside it. He had not called his childhood friend at a time that could be considered early, but they had to have chatted for long if it was already past midnight.

"…it's late. How about we continue tomorrow, if you still need some advice?"

He had not felt this kind of calming reassurance in a while.

"I would like that, and thank you for listening to my nonsense. I appreciate it."

"Nothing you ever say is nonsense, Renji. Do have a good night, and sleep well."

Even after he had echoed Inui's greetings and put the cordless phone back onto its cradle for a well deserved recharge, the view of his entire room from his bed only felt more daunting. The space was filled, yet not filled at the same time.

The brunette could be sure, while he had not been and never would be alone, that he had definitely been left behind.

xXEternallyXx

Akaya rarely ever had problems with typing out his articles nowadays. With all the experience under his sleeve, there was no wonder. It was like breathing to him. He had loved Japanese back when he was still schooling, and acing it had served him in ways he had not thought possible.

He wished it would serve him at that very moment when he needed it though.

He was staring at a blank screen, a new document. If it had been any other assignment he would have already finished up the working title and got at least half the stuff down. Unfortunately, his mind was, at that period in time, just as blank as the empty page he was staring at. Just what was stopping him from writing that article about their all-star cohort with Rikkai at the epitome? All that content was there, in his head and yet he could not write.

Kind of seemed like something his Yanagi-senpai would be good at.

The man stopped, wondering what had given him that random thought. He had not thought about the Data Master in particular for years, so what made the difference? Was it that short talk they had on their way home from the meet-up? Possibly. Akaya had never noticed how much the other had grown. Yanagi's hair was still cut in that same style, but his face was more angular, his height probably a slight bit taller, and those eyelashes longer.

Great, now he was thinking about his senior's long eyelashes. What was wrong with his brain?

Come to think of it, the ex-treasurer of the Rikkai tennis club always tutored him whenever possible. Back then, it had always been instinct for him to shoot any questions he might have had to the other, and have perfect answer key-worthy answers thrown back at him. Akaya relied on his senior so much, it was bordering on stalking. Yukimura even joked once that he was practically attached to Yanagi at the hip.

Argh, he was supposed to be doing his article, not daydream about what was past! Why was everything so nostalgic?

His study room was not big, but still a decent size. It was organized, yet messy at the same time. Hidden in the far reaches of one of his shelves were his takeaways from his time as Rikkai's sophomore ace. Gold medals, gold plates…rusty from not being polished regularly, but in good shape nonetheless. He bit his lip a little, gazing upon the Nationals picture that had Yukimura's artificial smile, and Yanagi's vacant one.

Akaya supposed he really needed help with his article this time round. It was definitely within his ability to complete it all on his own, but then it might not be at its best. The one of the Troika that he was closest to, Yanagi, would know what to do. He always knew what to do. It never once crossed the man's mind that so many years of little to no contact between them could have placed distance between what was once so close-knit.

He sent a text.

"Yanagi-senpai, when are you free?"

The reply came back in precisely 5 minutes.

"In the late afternoon for the rest of this week, though I have to train for the matches. You needed some assistance, Akaya?"

Tch. Still so annoyingly perceptive.

"Yes. The article would be way better if you had a part to play in it."

This time, it was 3 minutes. Akaya refused to discuss further about the matches. As if his daily routine was not tiring enough.

"Very well, if you do think that way. My place or yours?"

The green-eyed man had to blink, rub his eyes, blink twice, and then read the message again. Unfortunately, the contents had not changed. What was the other trying to do, use a pick-up line?

"Um. Yours then."

One minute.

"Of course. Friday, at around four."

Akaya really did miss those days when Yanagi attached something personal like a "Don't be late." Or a "Do remember." It made the one he respected seem that much more human and caring. That previous message could have been teasing him, but when it was teasing in the form of pixels on a screen and not a poke to the forehead…it just did not feel the same.

"Thanks a lot, senpai. Will see you then."

He chose to ignore that part, because it no longer mattered.

The curly-haired raven was in a trance for what seemed like a few minutes, and only snapped out of it when he suddenly remembered he should at least try to finish the starting paragraph of the article. Hm? It seemed like he had already typed something.

Rikkai won three consecutive Nationals championships, and it was because of sheer effort, blood and tears.

It sounded suitable, but it would be better for him to erase the second part of the sentence and replace it with something else.

They could not have done it without the famed Three Demons, namely Yukimura Seiichi, the captain, Sanada Genichirou, the vice-captain, as well as Yanagi Renji, the club treasurer and the unofficial manager who was also my mentor.

My mentor.

"…my mentor." He murmured. Everything about what he had just written would have reduced his superior to tears. The tone was wrong, the speech was wrong, and the sentence structure was bull. Akaya felt reluctance stir inside him as he emptied the whole page of all its contents.

Why did you delete everything, Kirihara Akaya? It was all true.

xXEternallyXx

Looking up at Yanagi as said person opened the door, Akaya wondered just what had changed. It could have been a casual end-of-the-school-week-day when the raven would go over to the brunette's house, and the older would smile one of his rare smiles as he led his rambunctious junior in, knowing he was going to finish only half of his intended work at the most for the day. It would have been a day without uniforms, when both could be themselves and love life as it was. They would both be wearing casual clothes, playfully insulting each other's fashion sense.

It really did not feel different. Only, there would be no more worries that a family member of his senpai would interrupt their happiness bubble time, reminding him that it was already evening, and asking if he would like to stay for dinner. He only ever did once or twice, when there were major exams coming and Yanagi was his lifeline.

They exchanged nothing more than the usual greetings when one went over to another's house for the first time.

"Hello Yanagi-senpai…I'm sorry to bother you with something like this."

"Hello senpai! I have this English homework that I really can't understand…you can help me with it, right?"

"Oh hello Akaya. No, it's no trouble. I would probably have asked to add to it anyway."

"*sighs* I would…though it might benefit you more if you tried it all first, and only asked what you completely did not understand."

"I see. I would have done it myself, but I just could not think of what to write…"

"*nervous chuckle* You saw right through me, Yanagi-senpai…but you would be able to do it so much better!"

"That happens sometimes. Maybe if we both worked on it together, it will come to you."

"Of course I would, Akaya. I'm older than you. But you have a much more vivid imagination than me, and your assignment might actually be better if you were to work on it alone."

No more words were exchanged until both were comfortably seated in the Master's study room. Meagre sentences they had exchanged, yet so much meaning had been lost. It was all normal, far too normal. Akaya had never seen their senpai-kouhai ties as anything other than normal, but it was as if the very word had taken a whole other meaning, as he sat watching Yanagi pull out stacks of papers from nearby drawers.

Those papers were club records from that time. There were some folders that contained typical club things. Sanada probably took those to update Yukimura on the club when he was still hospitalized. There were also some other thick files. 7 exactly. The younger man flipped through them casually.

They were detailed reports on the progress and performance of the ex-regulars. One for each of them.

Some of the pages were yellowing, but everything was still legible. The statements were all handwritten by Yanagi, with the occasional inputs by the other two of the Troika. He could see the elegant script of their ex-buchou, as well as the neat scrawl of their ex-fukubuchou. The one he was reading happened to be Yagyuu's folder. The folder was slightly thinner than the rest, probably because the bespectacled senior joined only in his second year. There were random post-its and bits of paper, foolscap, slotted between all the filed papers. The folder contained things like training menus, special diets, predicted rate of progress, and all that.

Akaya knew he was getting distracted, but curiosity got the better of him. It was not as if the one sitting opposite him was stopping him anyway.

He found his very own folder. The one labeled neatly with his kanji. It was interestingly thicker than any of the other files by a considerable margin, even though his time in the tennis club could not have been any more than Niou's doubles partner. Apparently, his contained many, many notes on his progress.

"Half of those were written in regards to your Devil Mode, and that is why yours is so thick."

The green-eyed man looked up at his senior, who had not looked away from typing his document even once since his computer had booted up. Akaya took another glance at his folder, noticing all the birthday cards he had made for Yanagi stashed away in there, before closing it and placing it at the very top of the stack. His curiosity was piqued, but he forced himself to push that stack to the side.

"You…didn't remind me."

"I didn't remind you about what, Akaya?"

Would it have been too much to wish that he was a computer screen, just so his senpai would look at him while he was speaking?

"To work on the article! It's already been an hour!"

The brunette finished typing his latest sentence, and turned to face his junior.

"I saw how you were so engrossed in reading what I brought out, and did not find the need to disturb you."

If it had been him in his third year, letting his junior carry on being distracted from work would have been the last thing he would have done. Underneath the table, said junior's fists were gripping onto his jeans so tight the fabric was crumpled.

"Why did you even bring all that out? Most have got barely anything to do with writing the article."

"I thought you might have wanted to read them."

"Why did you bring all of these, Akaya? You know we won't have time to even read half of that."

"But senpai…I thought you might have wanted to read them too!"

What was happening? It should have been Yanagi telling Akaya to stop skiving off and finish off his work before he even thought of play or any distractions. It should have been Yanagi telling Akaya to focus during their rally if he truly wanted to win. It should have been Yanagi telling Akaya that he should try standing up on his own, smiling proudly, and saying that he had what it took to ace all he wanted.

Please stop it. Just stop it already.

"I…see. Thanks. I appreciate that."

Could he have told a bigger lie? Sure, some part of him may have appreciated that he had the opportunity to read what the Master would have otherwise kept hidden, but that was all. It was not something he needed. He saw no reason in thanking his senpai for something like that, especially if it posed such a distraction to the task at hand.

The rest of the night must have passed rather splendidly. Akaya did not remember much of what they did, albeit Yanagi's slightly furrowed eyebrows as he scribbled points down and turned them into perfect paragraphs. The shorter man was thankful he had his years of expertise to fall back on, as only then could he let his mind wander as he let his mouth do all the work of answering any questions his senior might have had, as well as adding his own inputs.

Every minute spent in that room, or in the vicinity of the other for that matter, felt so stifling.

The man in front of him was no longer the senpai he so cherished, the older brother he never had. He was the young, smart principal of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Chuu. He was no longer Yanagi-senpai.

He was just Yanagi Renji.

"I thank you for being focused today, Akaya. It has been a rather smooth process, although we have yet to complete writing the article."

Focused his ass. He did not even know what had been written in the document.

"Yeah. Maybe we could find some time soon to complete it."

So that was it. Was the perceptive Data Master of Rikkai no more?

The analog clock was the only indicator of how much time had gone into the article. Once again, both occupants of the house trudged silently to the door. Akaya could no longer take his pent up feelings and he whirled around, surprising the other.

"Yanagi-senpai, are you kidding me?"

The atmosphere was suddenly tense, and if anything, Yanagi seemed stunned.

"I thought I knew you. You were the senpai I respected the most. You were the one I saw as practically my third parent. What happened over the years?! Are you seriously happy with the way things are now?!"

Who the heck was the one possessing his mouth, making him say all that?

"Akaya…"

"What happened to the data you were so proud of?! You didn't even notice that I barely paid attention the whole time you were talking to me! And what about those times you told me one should not get distracted when there were things needed to be done?! You are a hypocrite!"

The brunette's eyes were wide with an unidentifiable emotion. It could have been surprise, or it could have been guilt. Akaya looked down, hair obscuring his face from view.

"He was my dearest Yanagi-senpai, whom I looked up to even more than Yukimura-buchou. Maybe it was futile hope, hoping everything could have been the same."

It was as if he was talking about a whole other person altogether, as he looked up at Yanagi, a shiny bright green meeting a chocolate brown.

"Great to see how you have even bothered entertaining me with your oh-so-brilliant façade. I want to thank you for that."

That intense stare unnerved the taller man. He had not seen one like that since a time so long ago he could barely remember it. By the time he next looked up, his junior was already at the door, his shoulders very obviously shaking as he took one last backward glance.

"I hate you, Yanagi-san."

The sarcasm that dripped steadily from that mere statement was acid. It was corrosive, leaving an unpleasant burning sensation. Yanagi was not one for crying, and he rarely ever did. Yet how could he possibly explain that wet patch on his pillow that never seemed to dry?

Kirihara Akaya could not keep his thoughts from going back to his senpai, and how hurt he looked when he was having his outburst. He wanted to go and hug his brunette senior, and tell him he meant none of that. He wanted to believe that nothing like that happened and that they actually parted with happy thoughts.

He was hurt. Yanagi had hurt him. He had let go of his hand, and went on without him.

A scene like that would have been the norm when both were still students. Akaya would get mad because of something small and stomp out of the house, proclaiming loudly just how much he hated the other. Yet they would definitely make up the next day, via a phone call or a heart to heart talk. Those were the days when the raven knew that he could not stay angry at his beloved senior forever, and the brunette knew he could always forgive his closest junior.

That would have been the way things went, 11 years back. Too bad, it was 11 years into the future from that time, and things had already changed too much.

It was like gold dust thrown to the wind.

*hides behind Chitose-senpai*…would it be too much if I ask you guys not to kill me again?

I see Yanagi as someone who wants to feel needed in his team, seeing as how he always seems to blend into the background all the time, even with tennis skills of that calibre.

Anyways…should I continue on with the love drama from the previous chap or should I just spam Alpha for the time being? Tell me what you think?

Please Review! Reviews are the air we authors breathe, the food we authors eat, the water we authors drink! Don't let us die just like that!

Comments and Constructive Criticism please? We all love the 3 Cs! XD

Thank you very much for reading, will update soon.

Posted: 21/05/2012 (dd/mm/yyyy)