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After paying the bill – a matter which caused much conflict and in the end we halved it – I told him I needed to get home already. And he, like the absolute gentleman he was, refused to let me walk home alone.

"I will repeat," I said as we got to the entrance of my building. "You don't need to walk me up. And just for your information, there were no accidents the last time."

Unsurprisingly, a smirk marred his face. "Ore-sama doubts you would have told me if something had happened."

I flinched at his the utter trueness of his statement and hoped to whatever Kami was up there that he didn't see me do it. A glance at his face said he did. I pouted. "Well, be realistic, Atobe. Why would I tell you if anything like that had happened?"

His hand went to his face in a way that I saw he did during tennis practice. I made a mental note to ask Yuushi what that meant, exactly. "Perhaps, you actually like it when ore-sama teases you." He drawled.

I gave him a tight-lipped smile, repressing the urge to give him a good one. There was the comforting weight of my book bag at my side. "You're joking," I deadpanned.

"You're not answering," he said simplistically, lowering his hand from his face and replacing it in his uniform pocket.

"Perhaps I've been overestimating your level of intelligence if you actually need me to dignify that with an answer," I shot back at him drily.

"Likewise, I might be overestimating your level of intelligence if the thought that you were overestimating ore-sama's intelligence even momentarily crossed your mind."

That was new.

I had to admit that I really did not expect that answer.

Damn him and his overgrown ego.

Scowling, I leaned on the wall and crossed my arms. "You." I said with the most venom I could muster at the moment.

He laughed haughtily and assumed a similar position on the wall next to me. "Me." He intoned in a self-aggrandizing way. I slid my foot over and kicked him lightly in the shin. He didn't even twitch.

"Tell me, Takashina," I turned to face him, wondering what the reason for the sudden name-change was. "How much do you hate ore-sama?"

I was honestly taken aback by that question. It simply registered in my head in the beginning that he couldn't be bothered to ask me anything like that. That he simply assumed everyone loved him...nghh…he still probably does.

I gleaned nothing from the way he said it. But I sure as hell got pissed when I saw the expression on his face. Damn him and his infernal smirk.

"I'll be honest with you, Atobe," It felt like the best way to go. "As much as I want to tell you that I do, hate you, I mean, I just don't. I think that I don't know you well enough to hate you. So the answer to your question is probably no. Well, not yet, at least. I'll keep you posted. But on a side note, just because I don't hate you, it doesn't mean I don't want to kill you. I really, really do."

He seemed to seriously consider that for a second before he turned back to me. "Ore-sama thinks only you are the only person that would actually want to say that to ore-sama's face," he drawled coolly, still with that smirk.

"I accept your humble gratitude with regards to finding me." I chimed. Atobe smirked wider. "What made you bring it up?"

He shrugged his sculpted shoulders. My appreciation of the athletic human body will be my downfall. "Your friends all seem to love ore-sama," he drawled, throwing a sarcastic glance in my direction.

Another thing that I had to admit was that that was true. An understatement even. All my female friends were in his fanclub and my guy friends held the regulars in some crazy high respect – much like majority of the school population. My peers were fans of the Hyotei tennis club, undoubtedly. And I never failed to make a joke out of it to them. "So that makes me a bumbling mass of incoherency by association?" I quipped. "You should rethink that mentality." I was right about thinking that he assumed everyone loved him, though.

Atobe ran a hand through his hair 'suavely.' "That's harsh," he said amusedly.

"But you're right," Blech. Shouldn't have said that. Was it my imagination or did his head just swell? "They do love you. But do you think I do?" Don't get me wrong. I love my friends and all that but it was seriously true.

"Quite obviously not," he grinned. "I was just wondering what made the big difference between you and them."

I smiled politely at my neighbor as she passed us as Atobe inclined his head in greeting. The kindly middle-aged woman grinned at me in return while shooting a curious glance at Atobe. Half the building would know about him by tomorrow. "Nothing big, really," I answered him. "I was just disenchanted by men, I guess." I told him the reason that most made sense to me. "Or seriously, you're just not my type."

He chuckled curtly, giving me another amused look. "Being friends with Oshitari and having been in ore-sama's presence," he started and I knew where it was going. "What about us could possibly have disenchanted you?"

"About you? A lot." I smiled. "About Yuushi? Nothing. I've developed an immunity to Yuushi."

"Then, you don't find ore-sama attractive?" He asked, eyebrow mockingly raised as if it was the most shocking thing in the world.

I was getting really sick of my honesty because I found that that question was similar to asking if throwing yourself into the sun would burn you; because Atobe was, without argument – even from me, attractive. Now, I wasn't about to tell him about my mental analogy there but I was still assuring him of my sexual orientation. "I definitely see the appeal," I began and with that, the huge smirk was back on his face. "But some of it just doesn't appeal to me."

After saying that, I pushed myself off the wall and straightened up. I really needed to get going if I could still practice for my customary three hours and still get to do all my homework. "If we're done with Q&A, I really need to get up."

Atobe smirked infuriatingly and ran another (infuriating) hand through his (infuriating) hair. "You're dismissed."

Shaking my head, I watched as he straightened up as well and adjusted his bag on his shoulder. Before I could say anything to him he had his back turned to me and was on his way.

I sighed and shook my head again before making my way to the elevator.

Maybe it was time I stopped pointing it out since it's become practically a normal thing now. I woke up early again. I didn't get what was wrong with my body clock but it's been changing up my formerly normal hours.

So, after dragging myself out of bed to throw on my uniform and brush my teeth, I found myself on my way to school a good hour and a half before the morning bell.

My schedule for the morning had been mapped out in my head. Get to school. Buy bread. Eat bread. Go to library. Find Sakaki-sensei's scorebooks. Sit in library and look through scorebooks.

It was all pretty simple when you thought about it like that. And really, it was. Life was good that way. I figured Atobe didn't need me there every day. Hell, did he even really need me? I thought I was there to annoy him.

Akazawa-sensei had yet to tell me the schedule of the competition but he messaged me to start looking for other pieces to play for the second and third round. Pure optimism. In his exact words, 'start looking for other pieces to play for the second and third around, assuming you get that far.' The man looked nice but he knew how to get blood pumping.

I was already at the last thing on my morning schedule when the devil walked through the double doors of my temporary sanctuary.

"What are you doing here?" I groaned. He looked at me curiously. I saw the files in his hand and sighed inwardly. It was like Atobe and his paperwork were following me.

He set the papers in his hand down on the table next to my folder. "Ore-sama needs a few references to finish the papers." He disappeared behind a row of shelves.

It wasn't as if he was asking me to help him, so I gleefully returned to the scorebooks in front of me. Five minutes later he came back and reclined in the seat next to me. Twitch.

My sanctuary, I moan mentally, flipping a page of the book. "There are other seats, you know," I mumble heavily.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk, but he doesn't give any other indication that he heard me. There was a long silence in the air wherein the only sounds you could hear were the flipping of the pages in his book and the scratching of pen on paper. I sat there with my eye twitching at regular intervals. A while longer and he pushed a book aside before grabbing for another one. I jumped in the middle of turning a page when his drawl rang out through the relatively empty room.

"You're in ore-sama's seat," He drawled, looking at me coolly with a flip of his hair before returning back to his book.

I blinked my wide eyes slowly. "I see," I replied sedately, still looking at his profile with a wide-eyed stare. Is that why he was sitting here? Because this was his spot? I looked around the room at my surroundings. Window seat, direct light, next to the thermostat…it was a nice spot.

He chuckled curtly, still not looking at me. "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na," He declared.

My brows furrowed in confusion and agitation. "Why?" I enunciated slowly, setting my scorebooks aside. There would be no reading accomplished with this guy around.

"I'm is letting you stay in my spot," He condescended to say, looking me in the eye but not moving his head. Do I even have to mention the smirk? "Ore-sama's generosity is simply astonishing. If you were anyone else, I would have directed you to move elsewhere."

I raised my eyebrow at him sedately before gathering my things and standing up. I could feel his eyes following my every movement and I resisted the terrible urge to laugh out loud because that would ruin the effect.

"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously as I reached for the door.

"Walking out on your prowess," I answered coolly before turning to him with my own little smirk plastered on my face. I could see the shock and confusion slowly manifest on his face before I gave him a mocking wink as the door closed behind me.

The second it was fully shut I broke down laughing, leaning heavily on the wall next to the library door. At this point, I didn't care anymore if he could hear me laughing. The job was done.

Kami, I love leaving him in shock.

Predictably enough – or unpredictably enough, depending how you look at it – Atobe did not try to find me during the day. Mukahi came and went whenever he could as always to chat with Yuushi and sometimes Taki but I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since our encounter this morning. And like I said, life was good that way.

"You're not going to practice today, Mai-hime," Yuushi said as I was packing up to leave in a bit of a hurry. The last bell rang a little late and if I didn't leave soon I'd be late for my lesson with Akazawa-sensei.

I smiled at him quickly before waving at my friends who were on their way to tennis practice themselves. "Yeah, I have to go somewhere today," I explained, slinging my book bag onto my shoulder.

Yuushi nodded before grabbing his own tennis bag while I walked towards the door. He jogged up next to me. "I'll miss you terribly," He exaggerated, dramatically clutching his heart.

"I feel your pain, but you'll live," I chuckled, walking briskly down the stairs. Yuushi kept up effortlessly.

At the entrance of the building, I quickly threw on my outdoor shoes and jogged to the door. "Where are you headed?" He called after me.

I'd love to tell him all about it but I really was in a rush. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow!" I announced. As an afterthought I added, "You and only you."

When he caught that last bit, Yuushi smirked and nodded in understanding. Whatever I was to tell him tomorrow would not reach his captain's ears.

It occurred to me that I had another problem when I stepped onto the grounds of Seigaku. I didn't know where the music rooms were.

Damn it.

I sighed and went around the building much like I had the previous Saturday and came across the tennis courts. Once I was close enough to see them, I noticed Momoshiro waving his arm frantically at me so I returned it with a small wave of my own as I approached.

I stopped on the sidelines of the court, facing Momoshiro through the metal fence.

"Yo," he grinned. "You came, Takashina-san."

I smiled. "Yep, of course I did. I have practice, too, remember?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, good luck with that. Will you come by after your practice?"

"Most probably," I assured him. It seemed like a good idea for break time in between piano practice here and at home. "But, I kind of have a problem, Momoshiro-kun." I added sheepishly.

He looked at me alertly, eager to be of service. "What is it?"

"Do you mind telling me where the music rooms are?'

"Not at all, I'll bring you there," he said cheerily. "Hold on a sec."

I followed as he walked along the edge of the sidelines to get to the door of the metal barrier. We met with Echizen during the short walk and he – apparently suffering from boredom – decided to accompany me and Momoshiro to the music room.

"Takashina-san," Echizen said as we walked. Momoshiro and I turned to him simultaneously.

I cocked my head towards him curiously. "Hai?"

"So, you really know Atobe, then?" He asked with an amused tone, staring up at me.

I grimaced openly. "Sadly," I breathed.

"I know, right." He replied, sharing a snicker with Momoshiro.

I raised my eyebrow at the two of them, a smirk beginning to form. "Tell me, what do you know about Atobe?"

We made it to the right music room (on time, thankfully) in a fit of laughter. I didn't think there was so much to be learned from these guys about one Atobe Keigo. Oh, the things I could do with the information. Cue cackle.

They saw me off at the door and I told them I'd see them again after my practice was over. Shutting the door behind me, I placed my bag on a free desk and as if on cue, Akazawa-sensei walked into the room through one of the numerous doors carrying a stack of papers.

"Oh, good," he announced joyously. "You're on time." He set the papers down on the piano stand. "Let's begin. Are you ready?"

"Hai, sensei." And just like that, my first official practice started.

Akazawa-sensei really wasn't the kind of man to mince words. He tells you when you're wrong; he tells you when you're right. His commentary was short and to the point. All in all, he seemed like a very efficient mentor for my current situation.

I was clearing my things up when he approached me with a letter and set it down in front of me. "I told you the other day that the preliminary round has been moved up and will occur in a month." He elaborated with a smile. "It will be held at this theatre. This paper is the list of guests you will be bringing. Kindly return that to me in two weeks. Is everything clear, Mai-kun?"

Smiling back at him, I took the envelope and bowed politely. "Hai."

"Good," he said, pulling on the lapels of his coat. "I'm sure you'll do wonderful. You're free to go."

"Thank you very much, sensei." I bowed once again before closing the door and making my way towards the tennis courts.

I stretched my arms over my head as I approached the courts. Seeing Oishi on the sidelines, I stood a few metres behind him so as not to disturb anyone. There was a doubles match inside the courts between Momoshiro-Kaidou pair and another pair of guys I wasn't familiar with. Their uniforms were different from Momoshiro's and the other regulars' so I assumed they were the less experienced members, which was ultimately pretty obvious judging by the way Momoshiro and Kaidou were creaming them while simultaneously arguing.

"What do you think?" Fuji suddenly said from beside me. How did I not notice him there? Creepy.

I looked at his smiling face and then back at the match – mainly because his smiling face sent chills down my spine. "They don't get along much, do they?" I stated.

Fuji chuckled softly. "No, they don't. They've been like that for as long as they've known each other."

"I can imagine."

"Would you like to take a seat?" He asked me. While he still freaked me out a bit, he seemed really nice. He also seemed killer on the courts if the non-regulars' constant refusal to play him was of any indication.

Since he had no one to play against, he joined me next to my seat which was next to Tezuka's on the bench he had offered me earlier. Fuji was surprisingly easy to talk to. He just kept chatting lightly about tennis and halfway through I found myself bringing out scraps of paper so he could draw diagrams on them to supplement my learning process. Tezuka was quiet majority of the time, doing some racquet maintenance and the like. He only really talked when Fuji said or asked something that needed his interjection. But from what I could see, these guys loved tennis. And if they had Atobe's parents, they would also be candidates for the 'spending rest of life married to racquet' speech.

Taka-san, – as he asked me to call him – Oishi and Eiji passed by a lot of times to chat quickly or explain something. Eiji even stopped to make an elaborate doodle of his face on a piece of paper that Fuji was writing on for which Fuji stared at and chided him in such a way that made the red-haired acrobat laugh nervously and slowly back away.

"Will there be any tournaments soon?" I asked, putting another used piece of paper full of diagrams into my file and getting ready to leave. The regulars were packing up already and the non-regulars were clearing the courts.

Fuji shook his head. "The tournament this year started ended in the summer. It'll just be a few friendly matches because the third years have University exams to worry about."

That made sense. It also explained why the people at Hyotei were so high-strung last term. The tournament was still ongoing. I really needed to pay attention to these things.

"How about you, Takashina-san? You're here practicing for a musical concours, right?" He inquired.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

"Good luck with that," He smiled and for the first time I didn't shudder. "I hope you win."

"I hope so, too."

Momoshiro ambled up to us with Echizen in tow. "You're leaving, Takashina-san?"

"Piano practice awaits me when I get home, I shouldn't keep it waiting," I stand and give them a small wave. "Thanks for today!"

"Not at all," Fuji offers, waving as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow if you'll still have me," I say, slowly walking backwards.

Oishi interjects. "You're free to stop by anytime you'd like."

"Thanks again!" I call back towards them with a final wave – and I even see Tezuka nodding in acknowledgement – before turning around and walking towards the gates so I could get home.

Once outside, I dig my phone out of my bag and turn it on (I have to turn it off during practice)to see that Yuushi had sent me a message.

Whatever you did to Atobe this morning, you are one of a kind.

Somehow it made me regret not going to practice to see his reaction. Just a little, though. Seigaku practice was fun and Momoshiro and Echizen's stories about Atobe himself made it worth missing the undoubtedly comical scene he made.

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