This chapter is considerably shorter than the last one so hope you don't mind too much. I had fun with the Seigaku characters in this little chappie.

Please enjoy!

"You didn't know that?"

He looked almost pained to say what I already knew but he managed to get it out anyway. "No."

The corner of my mouth pulled up in a goofy smirk at his admission. He actuall didn't know something, I cackled mentally. It's a simple pleasure, really. "Awesome."

That earned me a glare that would've had me cackling in real time if it weren't for the fact that I was really too tired to do so. "This didn't come up in conversation," he said with a questioning edge.

I shrugged. "It really did seem like something that would come up in my file."

He brought his hand up to run it through his hair in frustration. "You should know that ore-sama didn't read everything on that file. Ore-sama isn't obsessive."

"Glad to know." I said, plopping down into the chaise lounge directly behind me. "And I did tell you that first time when you brought me home that my parents were out."

His hand stayed in his hair as he sighed and looked at me as if he were conversing with a ten-year-old. "Needless to say, ore-sama understood that in a different context."

I was already laying flat on the chaise, looking up at him as he walked around to stand by the headrest. "That's your problem, then, Atobe-sama."

"Does Oshitari know you live alone?"

"Of course Yuushi knows. He helped me move in."

By this time, he was leaning haphazardly on the headrest as he scanned my living quarters. Hey, I liked my place. It was large, technically too large for one high-school student to live in but it was mine and I'd be damned if he found something decent to criticize. I wanted to sleep and he was being a hindrance to that wish, I would show no mercy if he even tried to say anything remotely irritating.

At my saying that Yuushi knew, his eyes glanced down at me for a second before he straightened himself and shrugged. "You don't seem to be in a state to hold a proper conversation with ore-sama. We'll talk about this when you're feeling more...alert."

I chucked one of the boots in my hand at him arbitrarily and he caught it with a smirk and put it on the floor next to me. "I'll see you, then." He drawled, walking back to the front door, slipping one hand into his pocket, looking at me over his shoulder, and then shutting the door behind him. This guy just lives to be dramatic, was my last thought before I dropped my head back onto the cushions and succumbed to the blackness.

The next morning, I woke up with a start. And a fall.

Picking myself off the ground, I managed to make my way to the kitchen to grab a snack, not caring that I was still in my dress and make-up. Once I had rummaged through my refrigerator, I hopped onto the counter, my bare feet dangling over the edge as I glanced at the clock nearby.

Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I was happy to note that there was no need to rush into doing anything and I could take my time snacking before I did a quick practice and got myself to Segiaku.

I mulled over the events of the previous night and smiled to myself when I remembered his parents. I wiggled my toes around when I recalled our little dancing episode and proceeded to hop of the counter and meander into the bathroom to wash my make-up off.

It then occurred to me that he would undeniably pick up where we left off and I would have to explain to him a living situation that I had thought he was already aware of all this time. I sighed and stepped into the shower, hanging up my new dress and making a mental note of having it properly dry-cleaned when I got the chance.

After all, it was still a really nice dress.

Right as I rounded the corner that would lead me to the Seigaku gates, I saw a car pull up in front and a familiar brunette step out. As I reached him, I caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman waving at him from inside the car. "Take care, Syuu-kun," she called as she sped off down the street.

I stood a little ways to the side and cracked a smile at Fuji sedately waving goodbye at the car.

"Syuu-kun?" I chirped, amusement laced in the two syllables of his newfound – well, to me – nickname.

He turned, noticing me for the first time and his usual smile which used to creep me out. Now, I found it rather endearing. "Takashina-san, welcome back," he greeted as per usual.

"You can stop greeting me like that." I told him with a playful smile as I walked over. "I will be here time and again, you will simply get tired saying it. This is me stopping you before you do."

He smiled wider and motioned for me to walk with him inside. I happily obliged. "If you insist," he chuckled.

"Before you lead me off topic," I chided. "I am rather curious as to that mystery lady with such a cute nickname for you, Syuu-kun."

Fuji laughed good-naturedly and sent a smile in my direction. "Care to guess?"

"Your sister?" I hazarded.

"Right on the mark." He said lightly. "What gave it away?"

"Both of you exude an otherworldly beauty." I grinned.

His smile widened. "How flattering. Perhaps you'd like to call me that as well?"

"Oooh, I'll take you up on that offer, Syuu-kun!"

He chuckled. "Do you have any childhood nicknames to offer me?"

"There's not much to do with my single syllable name, fortunately."

We had just about reached the entrance of the tennis courts when Fuji placed his tennis bag down. Giving my watch a glance, I waved at Momoshiro before taking off in the direction of the music room.

Akazawa-sensei reminded me about the guest list as I left and I made a mental note to ask Yuushi when I got back to school on Monday.

Just as I was tacking that mental note onto the corkboard that was my brain, Eiji suddenly appeared behind me and clapped his hands onto my shoulders. Successfully scaring the hell out of me and making me lose my balance which would have caused a collision of my face and the ground if not for the offending hands on my shoulders. "Mai-chin!" He exclaimed cheerily, apparently oblivious to my (almost) distress. Well, no harm, no foul but...Mai-chin?

"Eiji," I heard Oishi scold the red head who still had his hands firmly placed on my shoulders. "It's not appropriate to do that so suddenly to people. What would you have done if Takashina-san got hurt?"

I used the hand that wasn't holding onto my bag to pat the back of one of Eiji's own hands with a light chuckle. "Oh, that's alright, Oishi-kun. I believe that as long as there is no blood shed, it doesn't constitute as hurt."

At my blithe response, Oishi began fawning like a mother hen. I looked on amusedly before Eiji began herding me away with the hands on my shoulders. Once we had gotten to my usual bench, he applied pressure which I took as an offer to sit down. Just as I did, he released me and flounced off someplace in a rush. Beside me, I found a beaming Syuu-kun.

"Hi, Syuu-kun," I said humorously. "Figured out a sickeningly adorable childhood nickname for me yet?"

He shook his head lightly. "For now, I'll settle with a simple Mai. Although I believe Eiji has decided on one of his own nicknames for you."

As if on cue, Eiji bellowed out an energetic "Mai-chin!" that had me looking around for its source. Looking ahead, I suddenly came face to face with Inui, a mischievous glint in his eye – or rather, glasses – and a notebook in his hand. I gulped involuntarily.

How I found myself at the center of the Seigaku regulars sans Tezuka – well, kind of sans Tezuka, after all, he was sitting on Syuu-kun's other side the whole time – I will never know. Even Kaidoh had materialized behind Inui at some point or another.

"So, Takashina-san," he started suddenly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I have a few things to clarify with you."

I raised an eyebrow at that but found myself nodding anyway. "Clarify away."

"Is it true that..." And he proceeded to prattle away details of my life from the very hour of my birth to the most mundane things that I could barely even remember in a manner which belied his initial statement of having 'a few things to clarify' with me. He had my family history down to the number of times I fell down the stairs like no one should know. For some reason, there was this impending sense of dread that encompassed me as he reached my Hyotei schooling. And then it occurred to me that with all the information he had, he most probably – almost definitely – had that itsy-bitsy piece of information that was the crucial point of my current social life, as sad as that may be. "And..." He trailed off and I looked up at him as he fiddled with his glasses again. Taking a deep breath and bracing myself for the direct association between me and A – "...that's about it." Well, that took the wind right out of my sails, I laughed heartily in my mind.

I collected myself before I proceeded to laugh out loud in no small amount of humor. "I have to admit, Inui-kun, that was kind of freaky."

Eiji chuckled behind. "He gets that a lot."

Inui simply replied with a smirk and another glint of his glasses. "Is my information correct?"

"Scarily so." I admitted. "Right down to the things I don't even remember."

After Inui's stalker narration of my life which I took surprisingly in stride as compared to Atobe's own version of invasion of privacy, the regulars got to work actually practicing under the watchful eye of one Tezuka Kunimitsu, who, surprisingly enough, actually listened to the stalker narration of my life. Not like he had any other choice. All his regulars were listening to the tales of the girl who fell down a well. And this girl was not part of any horror movie installment.

For once, Fuji had actually been paired up with an unsuspecting second year and I was left to my own devices. As I looked on, I realized that the non-regulars were getting creamed and it was a series of sad matches one after the other. Their practice gave me a bit of time to ponder over how to tell Atobe about the living situation which was just reiterated to me minutes prior as part of Inui's detailed findings. There was always presenting it to him like Inui's data just did. Another part of me simultaneously dissected how Atobe's utter arrogance had poised me to hate him from the get-go. Considering the extenuating circumstances that had occurred from that get-go my debatable hate-dislike of him could work for the good or the bad. This intense reflection was interrupted, however, by the arrival of two red headed girls a few years younger than me.

"Who are you?" The brasher-looking of the two girls addressed me. I was amused by her blatantly hostile tone. Also, I saw her glaring at me the past few practices. I suspected she was one of the fangirls.

"Tomoka-chan!" The other girl scolded abashedly.

I tilted my head at them kindly. "Takashina Mai, yoroshiku."

The girl who I now knew as Tomoka brushed her friend's chiding off and placed her hands on her hips stubbornly. "What's your business here? What's your relation to the tennis club, Takashina Mai-san?"

"Just a bystander." I answered, smiling mildly.

A moue made its way to her face as the other girl in the braids simply tried to tug on her friend's collar and drag her away.

Her brow furrowed as I continued to smile up at her from my seat on the bench. Three boys about her age and dressed in sports attire approached us then, and the one that oddly reminded me of Oishi spoke up. "You're from Hyotei, aren't you?" His voice was polite but obviously curious.

"Yeah." I confirmed honestly. I mean, there was no hiding it, after all. I often watched practice in my school uniform.

"Are you a spy?" One of the other boys, a light brown haired kid, exclaimed rather loudly.

I swept my French braid over my shoulder absently. "No, not a spy, I don't think I know enough about tennis to be a useful one." I offered, hoping it would appease them.

The loud boy puffed his chest up suddenly. "Hohohoho, so very unlike this Horio," he pointed at himself ostentatiously. So his name was Horio, I remarked quietly in my head, amused at his flamboyance. "who has had years of tennis experience! You Hyotei people – "

This is where he was abruptly shut up by the rest of his friends excluding the redhead in braids with a passionate "Shut up, Horio!"

The girl, Tomoka, returned her attention to me. "Anyway, Takashina-san, you're not here to spy on us?"

"Nope."

"More importantly, you're not here to try and steal Ryoma-sama, are you?" She said intensely, folding her arms across her chest.

I blinked. "Wouldn't dream of it."

That seemed to settle it.

Since it was established that I was neither a spy nor a thief intent on stealing away Echizen Ryoma's heart, the five first years, as they had informed me, properly introduced themselves before gathering around me, much as the regulars did earlier, and asking all sorts of insider info about Hyotei that I was not exactly inside enough to know. They decided on interrogating me about, not the players' tennis, but their, apparently intriguing, personal lives.

Tomoka, who introduced herself as Echizen's number one fan, leaned close. "How about that jerk captain, Atobe Keigo?"

I promptly choked on my own spit as I tried to stifle my laughter. "What about the jerk captain Atobe Keigo?"

"Is he really as much of a jerk as they say he is?"

"How much is that?"

"Well," she was just about to answer when the other girl, Sakuno, interrupted with a broken 'excuse me.'

I turned to her curiously, wondering what she had to say about Atobe. She fiddled a little with her braid as she spoke to me. "I don't think he's such a bad person, Atobe-san, that is."

Raising my eyebrow imperceptibly, I urged her to continue while the other four freshman suddenly looked as if they were trying to remember something. "Well, he did help Ryoma-kun during the Nationals a few years ago..."

I inched closer to her, even more curious about how Hyotei's dear Atobe-sama helped his sworn rival school in something as national as the Nationals. Sakuno continued to relate the events three years prior involving Atobe, Yuushi, a helicopter, and a rather complicated story of Echizen having amnesia. Although, I have to admit one of my favourite parts of that particular story was when Tomoka interjected to tell me about Atobe's hair mishap, even though I already knew about it. It was just so funny no matter how many times I thought about it. There was also that bit about Taki in there that I remember from Momoshiro's account of it as well. I tacked on another mental note to mention that little event to Taki when I got the chance. We've been hanging around together more often as of late. It would seem that my back-up babysitter when the regular regular member ones weren't around was Taki.

After Sakuno's recap of those momentous events, Tomoka scoffed in defeat. "He wasn't a jerk at that moment, I guess. If I wasn't your best friend and he wasn't Atobe Keigo, I would think you had a crush on him."

Sakuno blushed hotly. "Tomoka-chan!" she exclaimed, garnering laughter from her friends at her none-too-timid denial. I chuckled jovially as well.

"Don't worry about it, Sakuno," Tomoka appeased. "No one in their right mind would ever want to be that guy's girlfriend."

I paused for a second in my chuckling before I laughed even harder at her statement. It made me wonder what kind of wrong mind I was in at the time.

Revenge. My thoughts cackled wildly. I smirked. The best mind to be in.

"Ne, Mai-chin," Eiji came up to me as practice was just about finished. The freshmen had cleared out, the girls to fawn over Echizen, the boys to do their freshmanly duties.

"Yeah?"

"You can call me Eiji." He smiled charmingly like he always does. This sudden statement probably stemming from the number of times I called out Syuu-kun in that name. Momoshiro had already approached me and told me to call him Momo-chan. A name which I simply just couldn't oblige him so I settled for a simple Momo.

I smiled. I've been strangely euphoric today. "I hope it's alright but I already call you Eiji."

His face changed to that of a cat's as looked at me. "You're right. You do call me Eiji." He chuckled. "Well then, carry on!" He said energetically as he marched off.

I actually stayed until the regulars themselves started to leave this time and discovered that I lived in the same general direction as one stoic buchou, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

I waved at the others as he bade them goodbye in his own way, before beginning on our trek towards the train station. There was an amiable silence between us as we continued to walk down the sidewalk at dusk. Yuushi would call the scene romantic but I simply couldn't fathom any sort of romance being associated with the human being next to me so it was simple enough to brush it off. I paused as a thought entered my mind.

Noticing my pausing in the middle of the sidewalk, Tezuka followed suit and politely halted his steps as well. "Is there anything wrong, Takashina-san?"

I smirked. "Do you know of a hardware store nearby, Tezuka-san?"

He looked as if he wanted to ask but, in the end, didn't and imply obliged my strange request.

After our little detour at the hardware store, we went straight to the train station and had to part ways after two stops.

Tezuka'll probably have a hell of a time wondering why the hell I bought a tether.

So, this chapter was mostly about developing Mai's relationship with the Seigaku characters. I hope you liked it. The reason why Inui didn't mention her fake-relationship with Atobe will be revealed in the later chapters.

I hope I can have then next chapter up soon, same goes for MDMA because I'm really focusing on this one first but I'll definitely update that soon as well!

I hope you liked the chapter! Your reviews are awesome everyone, so keep 'em coming! They just absolutely make my day when I read them.

Tell me what you think! READ and REVIEW, please!