Disclaimer: I don't own PoT!

I'm really sorry for updating so late! It was a hard chapter to write and I really gave it my all. If there's any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out as I will edit them and and post fixes!

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"Yes Sanada, a girl who is not a dire fan is talking to you. You don't need to act like I either, A, don't exist, or B, am icky," I drawl, rolling my eyes and tugging Marui along with our hands that were encased in handcuffs.

Sanada grunts and looks away, not sure how to respond. I shake my head at his attitude.

We stroll back into the park, with Yukimura at the rear. Something was seriously wrong with the tennis team captain today. He seemed out of breath and didn't even smile as much as he did normally.

I ignore the fangirls who ran up to the group, only to see me handcuffed to Marui. I didn't even have to pretend to not be slightly disgusted at the amount who burst into tears.

"Girls, I'm still single. Niou just played a trick on us," Marui tries to placate them.

The wailing did not stop.

"Ah, Rikkaidai," a new voice floated over the crowd.

"Inoue-san," Sanada nodded to a reporter.

"How is the favorite for nationals playing today?"

"We seem to be in good condition," Yukimura replies slowly.

"We are trying new combinations in the final," Yanagi adds.

He gazes over the group and his eyes lay on me, "Hm, and who is this?"

"My name is Furuya Yumi," I lie, avoiding the direct view of the reporter. I had enough experience with reporters in the US and knew to avoid them. My brother had awful incidents with them.

"Nice to meet you, Yumi-san," he nods as the rest of the regulars look at me, puzzled. "I swear I have seen you before."

My cold, fake smile freezes on my face, hoping that he wouldn't recognize me from neither the swimming world nor the tennis world.

"She's lying," Sanada states. "Do not lie to your elders, Klysen."

I narrow my eyes, evading the reporter.

"Klysen? As in Klysen Shin Jasper? The one going to the French Open?"

Oh no.

"Could you be his sister?"

"Yes," I wince.

"It's been a while since you have been in the tennis community. You used to be legendary together in the US until you stopped playing," he says, writing down his discovery.

I shrug, "Tennis was his thing, not mine."

"Rumor is that you completely retrained your brother. And what did you think about your brother walking out on his most recent tournament?"

My mask takes over, "I am so sorry, Inoue-san," I say with a bow, fury simmering on the surface as I pushed away the memories. "I am afraid that I must go."

He nods cheerily, "Well, it's nice to meet you!"

I stomp off to take a breather, nearly forgetting Marui is attached on my wrist.

"Oh for god's sake, how am I even supposed to go to the bathroom with us attached?" I moan.

Stupid Niou. Stupid, brainless, idiotic Niou. What made him think this is a good idea? Handcuffing me to a girl?

And we ARE NOT going on a date next week.

I look at Klysen, talking to the reporter. Her poorly concealed wrath was written in her eyes as they flashed menacingly. She stomps off with me attached at the wrist.

"Oh for god's sake, how am I even supposed to go to the bathroom with us attached?" she gripes.

I feel blood rush to my cheeks and I know my face is slightly pink.

"Well, um, I could just stand outside of the stall. If we maneuver…."

She shoots me a glare that tells me to shut up or die. I snap my mouth closed, not wanting to anger the lion I was attached to.

"Um, Klysen-chan?"

"What?" she snaps.

"Are you alright?"

She sends me a dazzling smile that masks her anger, "Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrug. I wasn't going to force her to tell me. She had the uncanny ability to be bipolar. An hour ago, she was feeding me with chopsticks and now she was dragging me around by my wrist. To be fair, I should not have said anything about the concert, but I couldn't help but be a bit excited.

I look up at the rumbling clouds overhead. Lightning flashed across the sky as a few drops fell on to my skin.

"We should probably get under shelter. It might start raining hard," I said out loud.

"It won't," she reassured. "Besides, even if it does, have you ever danced in the rain?"

"You're nuts."

She flashes me a grin, "Never said I wasn't."

I snort, "You should come with a warning label. 'A bit crazy.'"

She playfully shoves me with her unchained hand. I fake stumble and drag her a few feet with a smirk.

Blowing a gum bubble, I gently tug at the handcuffs, "Come on, we should probably get back to the team. Unless if you want Niou to make fun of us."

I don't get how he does that. I swear I was mad five minutes ago. I laugh at another joke that comes out from the redhead's mouth as we stroll back to the tennis courts that I had dragged us away from.

"Nice to see you guys come back," Yukimura sends chills up our spines.

Marui shrugs with a grin in response for both of us. We follow the team into the court and Marui and I sit on the team bench. I guess now that I was chained to a team member, I was allowed on the tennis court.

I glance across the net at the opponents and freeze. The uniforms were the same ones as that of the guy who harassed me earlier this morning. My eyes trail along the other team's bench, searching. The person that I had sprayed with pepper was sitting on the bench, a murderous countenance flashing on face.

"Oh no," I whisper.

"The irony," Marui's mouth twitched.

Be careful, Yanagi. Be careful, Jackal.

The two teams bowed to each other at the net while the referee ordered the two captains to shake hands. The guy I had sprayed stepped up and crushed Yukimura's hand as I winced.

"I am sorry everyone," I murmured to the Rikkaidai team as they gathered at the team bench. "I didn't think my actions would have such an effect."

"It's not your fault," Yukimura's eyes flashed as he spoke slowly. "Chances are that they would be like this regardless of you spraying the captain with pepper."

"Let us handle it," Yanagi said as he and Jackal gripped their tennis rackets and walked on to the court.

"Rikkaidai's Yanagi-Jackal pair versus Iwakki Kuokuo's Mori-Okada pair! Okada to serve!"

The silver-haired teenager bounced the ball a couple of times before throwing it high in the air. The ball flashed and suddenly disappeared. I blinked, trying to trace where the neon-green ball could be.

"Fifteen-love!"

"Did you see that?" I asked, prodding Marui.

"I think the better question is did anyone see that?" he said back, eyes wide.

Jackal turned back around to face his sneering opponents and lowered his hips. The opponent slams into the ball again and I scan the court, catching a flicker of the ball this time as I was expecting it.

Jackal seems to have caught a view of the ball too as he swings and catches the ball off-center.

"Net! Thirty-love!"

He blinks and looks at his racket, swinging it a few times.

"Relax Jackal, I've analyzed it," Yanagi calls out.

"As expected of the 'Master,'" Marui murmurs, smiling.

"Master? You guys really suck at nicknames," I retort.

"Just watch," Marui shoots me an exasperated look.

I grin at his annoyance as Yanagi steps forward and backhands the ball across the net. The opponents cannot move as the ball lands on the perpendicular lines of the corner.

"Thirty-fifteen!"

I look at the Rikkaidai duo's opponents, "They're smiling. Why are they smiling?"

"We're Rikkaidai. If they smile or not, we will beat them six games to love," Marui clutches his unchained fist.

"You guys underestimate your opponents," I reply, remembering the first thing my brother truly taught me in tennis.

Okada hits a light serve this time, and it floats, almost lazily over the net. Jackal swings at it and the ball barely bounces off the racket. Okada smirk.

"For King Rikkaidai," Okada leers, "you're not very strong, are you?"

Jackal grits his teeth and Yanagi seems relatively unperturbed.

"Marui? Where is Okada getting his power from?" I ask, my brows furrowed.

"I think it's from his whole body because he doesn't seem very muscular. He's twisting his body with every shot, which means that he's being more efficient, but also using a lot of stamina. But they seem to be planning something," the redhead answers, blowing a gum bubble.

"Jackal and Yanagi aren't even close to playing at their full power, are they? Are they even playing at half their power?"

Marui shoots me a lazy grin, "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

I lean back on the palms of my hands, legs crossed and my laces of my boots clicking against the leather. I wonder out loud, "Did Jackal even play me at half-strength?"

Marui purses his lips, "Yeah, more than half. But not at full. It was a lesson in humility for him."

He bounces his legs up and down impatiently and I smile, "You want to be on that court with Jackal right now, don't you?"

He twists up half of his mouth, "Didn't think it was that obvious. But yeah."

"One game to love!" the referee calls in Rikkaidai's favor.

"Have you two achieved Synchro yet?" I drum my fingers against the wood of the bench.

"You know what Synchro is?"

"Yeah. Answer my question."

"Answer mine first," he answers defiantly, blowing another gum bubble and chewing.

"I hate to break up your lovely conversation," Niou drawls sarcastically, "but do you mind watching the match and talking at the same time?"

Marui and I narrow our eyes at the same time. "Be quiet," we chorus.

Sanada glares at us and Marui instantly shuts up and turns back to the game. I smile and wave at the uptight vice-captain, making him look away instead. Niou snickers, "Impressive. Klysen already controls Sanada."

Sanada pretends to not hear and I grin.

"Fifteen-love!"

Marui pokes my arm while watching the match, "Fine, I'll answer. We haven't, but we've never really ever been threatened during a game. Your turn."

"I may or may not have achieved Synchro."

"Wait what?"

I chuckle at his aghast expression.

"With my brother. He plays singles now, though. I wasn't cut for the tennis world."

"You're kidding me right? You're not cut for the tennis world but you achieved Synchro?"

I shrug, "I quit years ago to focus on swimming. My brother is a better singles player anyways."

"Thirty-love!"

"Okay, my turn. Have you ever played tennis seriously?"

I wrinkle my nose and think, "No. I don't think so. I'm not sure I even know how to. Playing Jackal was as close as I get to playing seriously."

"Forty-love!"

He shakes his head, "So basically, you don't even know your own potential."

I groan, "You sound like my Dad."

"No dating until you are thirty. Ask your mother. Money doesn't grow on trees," he mimics a stern tone that most Dads have.

I laugh.

"Two games to love!"

"Do you swim seriously?" he questions, watching Jackal slice a ball.

"I think so. I might. But I don't really know."

"Well why do you swim?"

"The same reason why you play tennis. It's just what I do," I tilt my head to the side, watching Yanagi mumble incoherently to himself.

"But I take tennis seriously."

"Fifteen-love!"

"Then I must take swimming seriously. Will you swing a thousand times just to perfect your backhand? Will you spend hours meticulously working on ball control."

"Yes," Marui answers without hesitation.

"Well that's how swimming is for me. I'll spend hours just for the feeling of flying across the water."

"That's different though. We play tennis for satisfaction, for winning. Not for an emotional fulfillment."

"Is it? Is it really different?"

He doesn't answer.

"Thirty-love!"

"See?" I counter. "You don't really know if it's different."

"What are you two talking about?" Akaya plops down beside me while his eyes are focused on the court.

"If tennis is fun or not," I reply.

"Of course it is," the second-year ace answers.

"Then why have you not achieved the Pinnacle of Perfection?" I point out, knowing that I had won the argument.

"Forty-love!"

"What do you mean?" Akaya frowns.

"The final door, right? Aren't you supposed to achieve it when you're having fun while playing and not really concerned about winning or losing, just like you did when you first started tennis?"

"Under that logic," Marui says slowly, thinking, "haven't you already unlocked it?"

A smile flashes across my face, "Who said I had to unlock it? The idea never left me. Well, except for when I played Jackal."

"Impressive," Niou comments, cutting into the conversation. "But that means you don't have the any of the other doors."

I shrug, "Don't need them. Don't want them."

"Three games to love!"

"Why not?" Akaya questions.

"I already helped my brother unlock them, which was good enough for me."

"All three?" Akaya says, his eyes wide.

I shrug again, "We got the idea from some people who taught my brother how to play in the US."

"Who taught him?" Marui prodded.

I flashed him a cryptic smile, not answering his question, and I turn back towards the game. The opponents were down three games as they continued to smile and Okada returned a slice Yanagi hit at him. Okada's legs twitched. I glanced at Okada's forehead and the swing of his racket.

"Okada is faking," I murmur.

"What are you talking about?" Marui frowns. "He couldn't possibly fake losing three games."

"Really? Because he's not sweating much. He would be sweating more if he was struggling, but he looks like he just warmed up."

"It's about time you two fools realized something was up," Niou drawls, rolling his eyes. "Just because you guys are chained together doesn't mean you share one brain."

Akaya laughs.

"Fifteen-love!" the referee calls as the ball rolls away on the opponent's side of the court.

"Ne, Nodoko. It's time we played seriously," Okada declares.

Play seriously? What were you doing up until now?

"You may be right Okada," Nodoko grins ferally.

Okada and Nodoko lower their stance into a crouch as Jackal serves with a shout of "Fire!"

Nodoko suddenly springs up and drags his racket across the court, before hitting the ball. Yanagi slams his racket into the ball and his hand begins to shake. The Data Master opens his mouth in shock as the ball blows away his racket.

"Fifteen all!"

His hand continues to tremble as he walks over to the tennis racket and picks it up.

"They call us the Tiger Pair, you know," Okada sneers as Jackal serves again. Okada lightly taps the ball and Jackal swings at the neon-green sphere. The ball makes an impact with the racket and bounces off the strings towards Jackal's face. It smashes into his cheek.

I gasp as Marui grips the edge of the bench and yells, "Jackal!"

"Fifteen-thirty!"

"You didn't seriously think we were that weak, did you?" Nodoko grins. "The team as a whole isn't ready to take 'King Rikkai' on but we are. We don't really care how we place in districts, as long as we can move on to the Prefectural Tournament. If we can take down a few members though, we're all for it."

Jackal's hand rests on his cheek and I wince at his expression as his face starts to swell slightly. Yanagi clenches his jaw.

"We'll see," Yanagi grips his tennis racket and walks to his position.

"Fire!" Jackal yells as he uses his body to force the ball to fly over the net. Okada springs up from his crouch, not unlike a tiger, and strikes the sphere nonchalantly again.

Jackal swings at the ball, but as soon as the ball collides with the strings on his racket, it bounces towards his torso. He grimaces as it hits him square in the chest, knocking the Brazilian down. The fangirls scream and cry at their fallen hero.

"Fifteen-forty!"

"I don't understand," I murmur. "He's barely touching the ball. How and what kind of spin is he putting on it to make it hit Jackal after impacting the strings of his racket?"

"I don't know," Marui snarls," but I don't care. He has some nerve to hurt people like that."

I couldn't even try to calm down the redhead because I felt just as fired up and mad.

"I just hope he's alright," I concur.

"Fire!" Jackal screams, frustrated, as he serves.

The ball goes untouched.

"Thirty-forty!"

The Brazilian tosses the ball up again and slams into it with a "Fire!"

"Forty-forty!"

And again.

"Four games to love!"

Okada and Nodoko shrug as former tilts his head with his hands on his hips, "We just wanted to give you a little taste of our true power. Don't worry, we'll be nice for the rest of the match."

Next to me, Akaya looks murderous, "How dare they?"

"Calm down," I order. "You can't do anything by getting angry."

"The opponents are probably tired too," Marui frowns. "They played matches earlier."

"They're good actors," I agree, narrowing my eyes at the sweating, ferocious pair.

Okada tosses the ball up and hits it, sending it flying. Yanagi easily rallies it back and the Iwakki Kuokuo pair don't even move.

"Fifteen-love!"

"That was easily within their reach," I seethe. "Don't tell me they are throwing the rest of the game."

"They must be," Marui reasons. "They know that Yanagi will figure out a way to counter their moves so they have to stop if they want to win in the future tournaments. They're already moving on, so they must not care."

"Despicable," Sanada rumbles.

Yagyuu pushes his glasses up his nose and folds his arms across his chest, his spectacles masking his emotions.

"Thirty-love!" the referee calls. I missed Rikkai's point because I was so occupied with everyone's reactions.

I didn't even feel as if I was obligated to try to watch the majority of the rest of the game, as I was so disgusted.

"Forty-love!"

I hear the bouncing of balls and the slaps of tennis rackets and the squealing of fangirls as I shut my eyes, trying to wipe away my revulsion.

"Five games to love!"

"Keep your eyes closed," Marui warns. "It's not worth watching anymore. Iwakki Kuokuo's pair is either barely hitting their serves or letting our returns go through, both on purpose."

"Fifteen-love!"

I breathe in and twist my back so that my back pops, letting my spine loosen.

"Thirty-love!"

I open my eyes to the frowns of Rikkaidai and the mocking smiles of Iwakki Kuokuo.

"Forty-love!"

Exhaling, I fix my stare on both Okada and Nokodo as they pretend to miss the ball.

"Six games to love!"

The Iwakki Kuokuo pair walk up to the net, ridiculing the Rikkai pair with the grins stretched across their faces. Yanagi and Jackal didn't look like they wanted to shake the deceiving pair's hands but did so anyways, their faces reflecting their murderous rage.

I stood up.

"What are you doing?" Marui asks.

I refuse to answer as I drag him from sitting to standing and over to Yukimura's bag.

"May I?" I ask Yukimura.

He arches his brow, realizing what I was intending. He nods, not bothering to answer verbally.

I unzip the bag and dig around for a plastic box, ignoring the stares of everyone else on the team. I enclose a box full of bandages and other first-aid supplies in my hand and pull it out.

"Jackal!" I wave over the Brazilian as he stomps towards the bench.

"What?" he growls.

"Sit," I push him down on the bench as Marui pokes my shoulder, still asking me the same question.

I pull out the instant cold pack, drop it on to the ground, and stomp on it, effectively making it cold. Picking it up, I place it on Jackal's swelling cheek.

"Thank you," he murmurs, downcast, clutching at the cold bag of chemicals.

"Well," Yagyuu claps his hand on his knees and stands up, drawing his racket from his bag. "I suppose it's our turn."

Sanada grunts in agreement and pulls his cap further over his eyes while grabbing his own racket and stalking off towards the court with Yagyuu in tow.

I simply punch another cold pack and give it to Marui to hold to Jackal's chest, feeling as if Jackal's pride had been ruined enough for the day and that I would just ruin it further if I gave him too much attention.

"Rikkaidai's Sanada-Yagyuu pair versus Iwakki Kuokuo's Kita-Maki pair! Sanada to serve!"

Sanada wastes no time in serving and letting the ball fly past the opponents.

"Fifteen-love!"

"Sanada's mad," Marui remarked. "It's not so much that Jackal got hurt but the fact that the opponent's messed with us."

"Anyone would be frustrated," I pointed out as Sanada slams into the ball again.

"Yeah, well he's still being merciful," the redhead commented.

"Thirty-love!"

"How so?"

Sanada tosses the ball up, and in a blink of an eye, the ball disappears.

"Forty-love!"

The ball rolls away on Iwakki Kuokuo's side.

"That's why," Marui twists his mouth. "He hadn't used the Invisible Serve from the start."

My eyes widen, trying to figure out how I was unable to see the ball.

"But…h..how?" I stutter as the vice-captain crashes his racket into the neon-green sphere.

"One game to love!"

Marui hands Jackal the second cold pack and plops down on the bench, pulling me down as well.

"That's vice-captain for you," Akaya grins. "He's one of the strongest people on the Junior High circuit along with Yanagi-senpai and captain."

Kita tosses the ball up and barely hits it into the other court. The Iwakki Kuokuo pair look terrified.

Niou cuts in, "We're the strongest team on the circuit, Bakaya. Of course we have some of the strongest people," he rolls his eyes.

"Fifteen-love!"

"But there is a reason he's called 'The Emperor,'" Marui explains. "He's just that good."

"Hm," I tap my fingers against my chin, watching the nonexistent rally between the two pairs.

"Thirty-love!"

Niou groans and stretches his arms, "This is unbelievably boring and predictable."

"Forty-love!"

The corner of my mouth twitches, "And yet your fangirls haven't stopped screaming since this morning."

"Two games to love!"

"Ah well," Niou grins lazily, "they do that regardless if we want them to."

"Funny," Jackal retorts. "You can control them the best."

"Fifteen-love!"

"They're both terrified of you and yet they adore you at the same time," Marui agrees.

"They would do anything you asked them to," Akaya nods.

The Trickster throws his hands up in defense, "Sorry, can't help that people respect me."

"Thirty-love!"

"That's not respect," Marui begins.

"That's just worship," Jackal concludes.

"Seventy-six percent chance that the fangirls would commit a crime if you told them too," Yanagi analyzes.

"Forty-love!"

Surprisingly enough, my ears had gotten used to the screeches surrounding the court very quickly. It almost seemed normal on a slightly cloudy April day for the shrieks of almost a hundred girls and a few boys to be part of the background noise.

"Three games to love!"

I yawn and cover my mouth, not wanting people to see my tonsils, while the chain that connects me to Marui clinks. It was slightly warm outside and the monotonous game was making me a bit sleepy. I shook my head to clear the haze from my head and brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

"Fifteen-love!"

"I feel you," Marui whispers. "I want to sleep too."

"Stop telling people you want to sleep with them," Niou frowns. "That's not how you do it. I'll help you in that aspect if you want."

"Thirty-love!"

Marui blanches and I chuckle, knowing Niou's joke was harmless.

"Niou?" I said with a smile on my face.

"Hm?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Forty-love!"

"I want you to know that if I ever have the authority to make you run laps," I tilt my head and let the sweetest tone I could muster flow from my mouth, "you're going to die running for handcuffing us."

He grins back, clearly amused.

"Four games to love!"

"Ninety-three percent chance that Klysen-san would make Niou run until he collapsed," Yanagi declares.

"One hundred percent chance that she'll never get to," Yukimura narrows his eyes with his small smile plastered on his face.

I smile, "Never say never, Yukimura."

"Fifteen-love!"

I rubbed at my left shoulder, trying to will the dull ache to dissipate as I had ignored it all day. I rubbed my index and middle finger at the pressure point between my shoulder and neck and let the tension lift off my left shoulder. I wish I could do the same to my right, but the handcuffs prevented me from doing so.

"Thirty-love!"

I exhaled, my shoulders feeling much lighter. I only wish I could tape them up.

"What are we going to do after the match?" Akaya asked.

"Practice," Yukimura shrugged. "There's nothing challenging about this tournament, even though we had a couple of setbacks."

"Forty-love!"

"So cruel," I murmured, smiling. "Even I get breaks after meets. My coach says I'm off today because I need to rest."

He glares at me, somehow while smiling, "There's a difference between the tennis team and a sole swimmer."

"Really? Enlighten me," I smile back, not backing down from an argument.

"Five games to love!"

"First off, we're a national-level team," he narrows his eyes, not turning away from the game.

"I'm a high leveled swimmer," I counter, not wanting to say on what level I was on in the US.

"Maybe, but we're a team," Yukimura continues.

"Fifteen-love!"

"Swimming is strictly an individual sport. Tennis is both individual and played as a team to advance," I contradict.

"Tennis is actually respected," he smirks.

"So is swimming. Matter of fact, internationally it's more respected than tennis."

"Thirty-love!"

"Enough," Yanagi interrupts. "Yes, although we do deserve rest from time to time, now is not the time to have this conversation."

I deflate from Yanagi's scolding.

"Forty-love!"

"If it makes you feel better," Marui speaks softly so that only I could hear, "I agree."

"I want a break sometimes too," Akaya frowns, whispering.

"Game and match, Rikkaidai! Six games to love!"

The fangirls scream their approval and jump up and down. The Iwakki Kuokuo shake Sanada's and Yagyuu's hands, and trudge away to their bench, heads low. Sanada and Yagyuu return, the first with with his mouth in a firm line and the second relaxed.

"You're next, Akaya," Sanada said.

The second-year ace jumps up and rustles around in his bag for his favorite racket. Pulling it out, he nearly prances on to the court, eyes ready for battle.

"I will crush you," he threatens out loud. The opposing team's player steps on to the court, swinging his racket, smirking.

"Just go ahead and try," he leers, his face half-red.

The person I had sprayed with pepper spray this morning flips his racket in the air and catches it, sneering.

"Rikkaidai's Kirihara versus Iwakki Kuokuo's Matsuo! Matsuo to serve!"

Matsuo slowly walks over to the position behind the service line, "Tell that pretty girl with your team that you will pay the brunt of her actions."

My eyes widen as his words register.

"No…" I whisper, mortified at what he would do.

"It's alright," Marui soothes. "He knows how to take care of himself."

Akaya licks his upper lip as Matsuo tosses the ball up and cuts it, letting it flash in the air before bouncing on Kirihara's side. The junior ace sends it flying back as a fast rally takes place before my eyes. Suddenly, Matsuo seems to disappear.

My eyes roam the court, searching for the Iwakki Kuokuo representative, while I worried for Akaya. Akaya smacks the racket against the ball and suddenly Matsuo springs up and hits it back, nearly hitting Akaya. Akaya hits it to the corner and Matsuo doesn't even move.

"Fifteen-love!"

"Oh dear me," he smirks, hand over his forehead dramatically. "It looks like I missed."

I hissed, "Don't tell me he was trying to hit Akaya."

"Violence versus violence?" Marui's eyes widen.

What does he mean violence versus violence? Akaya couldn't possibly…

"Rikkaidai will win," Yanagi reassured. "Don't worry about Akaya. You should be worried about Matsuo."

Matsuo sends a flat serve flying and sprints towards the net. Serve and volley player, hm? Akaya lobs with a topspin, so that the ball drops right inside the line.

"Thirty-love!"

"This is dangerous," Marui murmurs.

"Yeah, this guy could hurt Akaya," I agree, brows furrowed.

"No, not that. He shouldn't come up to the net unless he wants to get hurt," the redhead bobs his head.

I look at Akaya, who licks his upper lip again. He looked strangely….demonic.

"No…" I whisper. "No, he can't."

The memories of my brother come rushing back to me. His easygoing nature outside of the court hardened into a scary, even devilish nature inside. I turned a blind eye to what happened to his opponents before, until it happened to me. He swore that it was an accident but I didn't believe him, so I forced him to change. Don't tell me that Akaya was the same way.

A call of "Forty-love" snaps me out of my recollection.

Matsuo serves the ball and runs up to the net again. The volley exchange ends with Akaya springing into the air and smashing the ball.

Straight into Matsuo's knee.

"Akaya," I gasp, feeling bad for Matsuo even though he had harassed me earlier. I felt worse for Akaya, knowing exactly how he felt because my brother was the same. The crazed look on the junior's face had replaced his earlier easygoing nature.

"One game to love!"

The court stayed silent as Iwakki Kuokuo's bench looked furious, watching their player fall on to the ground while clutching his knee.

Matsuo grabs his racket, pushes himself back up, and cackles.

"This doesn't seem right," Niou wrinkles his nose. "Normally Kirihara is the one who is laughing."

"Oh," Matsuo pants, lifting himself back to full height. "You'll pay. You'll pay for what you just did and for that little girl."

His words sent a chill down my spine. Akaya simply smirked and walked behind the service line, ready to serve. He sent the ball flying over the net and Matsuo slices it back. The ball bounced on Akaya's side and Matsuo laughs.

I watch, horrified, as the ball bounces irregularly into Akaya's wrist. It didn't seem to hit very hard, but you never know.

"Love-fifteen!"

Akaya frowns, checking his wrist and then smirks, "You'll have to do better than that."

The two players sneer at each other, before Akaya serves again. Matsuo slices back, and this time Akaya stands farther away from where the ball bounces before returning, letting the ball bounce on the opposing court safely.

"Fifteen all!"

Akaya slams into the ball, leaving a dark mark on Matsuo's side of the court.

"Thirty-fifteen!"

"No touch ace," I murmur.

"But was that on purpose?" Marui adds.

Matsuo seemed to be sweating a lot for the second game and Kirihara's usual demeanor seemed to be completely gone.

"Forty-fifteen," the referee called at another no touch serve.

"Matsuo is throwing the game," Niou observes. "He can't keep up with Kirihara's tendencies. It's not the play that's draining him, it's the mental game."

"Two games to love!"

Kirihara walked to the service box as Matsuo chugged water down his throat. He gulps and gasps as he returns to the line to serve. Tossing the neon-green orb up, he slams into it, making it fly over the net. Akaya backhands it powerfully, sending the two into a long rally.

I try to follow the ball as I feel more and more lightheaded as Akaya and my memories of my brother meshed together. The only thing that seemed to be missing was the bloodshot eyes. I dabbed at the beads of sweat on my forehead and unzipped my jacket, feeling slightly dizzy. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest.

I watched as three more games zipped by, with both of the players attacking each other's bodies. Neither backed down as they smirked at one another, flakily apologizing if they managed to connect with a limb.

Matsuo hit a high lob and Akaya tried to backpedal to reach the ball. He extended his racket out, barely connecting before falling on his side, next to Rikkaidai's empty coach bench. Oddly enough, I couldn't figure out why no one was filling it. Normally it would be the captain, but Yukimura wasn't sitting in his rightful place.

"Akaya," I gasp at the fallen player.

Sanada folds his arms across his chest as the rest of the team waited anxiously. I took deep breaths to try to calm my racing heart, which beat erratically at the tennis player that acted so much like my brother. I stood up, dizzy, trying to shake the haze.

"Klysen-chan?" Marui questioned.

Akaya stood up, pushing himself off the ground and cackling. My blood froze at the sight of his bloodshot eyes and I scream.

The unusual girl beside me yells, "AKAYA!" I look up just in time to see her wobble on her feet and her eyes flutter closed as she falls to the ground. Shooting out my empty hand, I catch her before she hits the ground and she lies nestled against the arm around her waist.

"Klysen-chan?"

No response. I shake her slightly.

"Klysen?"

Yagyuu frowns, "I'm calling the ambulance. You stay with her."

I put the back of my chained hand on her forehead, making her arm move around with mine. It was normal to the touch but something seriously looked wrong with her.

"Well, I intended for you two to get closer, but I didn't think you would turn into her knight in shining armor just yet," Niou grins.

His comment makes me snap and I seethe, "Do you think this is funny? She could seriously be sick!"

Niou backs away with his hands in the air, "Touchy, touchy."

Kirihara sprints over to the bench as his bloodshot eyes slowly fade, "Jade? Jade!?"

"Get back on the court," Sanada commands. "We'll take care of it, just win the game."

Of it? Sanada didn't even treat her as a human.

I sat down with my arm around her waist, her leaning against me and I slowly lowered her head to the bench so she lay supine. I poured water on to a dry, unused towel and patted it against her face, hoping she would wake up. Yet, no response came from her.

Yagyuu gets off the phone and tosses is back into his bag, "They should be here within five minutes."

"Six games to love!" the referee calls after Kirihara slams the ball onto the opponent's side. "Rikkaidai Fuzoku is the winner of the district preliminaries!"

The fangirls cheer and I ignore the ones calling my name, focusing on the pale female that was unconscious. I brush away a lock of hair on her brow by instinct and then turned pink, hoping that no one saw me do that. I glance up and Yanagi is turned towards me with his eyebrows raised, even though his eyelids remained shut. I wouldn't put it past the Data Master to analyze everything about the situation.

Her steady breathing was reassuring as I patted the wet towel against her temple again; she was still pale, or at least, paler than usual.

"Niou!" I call to the Trickster.

"What?" he jogs back over.

"Do you actually have the key to these handcuffs?" I whisper.

"Yeah, it's not at home. It is in my bag. I just wanted an excuse to keep you two uncomfortable," he shrugs.

I ignore my irritation and sigh, "Well, act like you don't have it. I'm using it as a reason to go in the ambulance with her."

He opens his mouth and before he can say anything I add, "Don't say anything funny. Seriously."

Niou nods, looking over my face and sees me completely seriousness, which rarely occurs.

"If you have anything to say, you can say it at the hospital. We probably need to take Akaya there anyways because he went into his mode."

Niou nods again, "Yeah, I'm surprised Akaya used it."

We pause, realizing we called our junior-ace by his first name.

"Well, we're really close to him anyways," both of us say at the same time, shrugging and we grin at each other for thinking along the same lines.

Two paramedics rush on to the court with a gurney. I was surprised that I didn't hear sirens, but she didn't seem to be dying, so that would explain the lack of urgency.

"What happened?" one asked me, "And why are you handcuffed to her?"

"Ah, that would be my fault," Niou frowns. "I was playing a prank on the two."

"She was watching the game and seemed to be shocked by something. She started shaking and then lost balance and fainted," I included.

"She's out cold," the other paramedic observed her eye movement by pulling her eyelids open. "This is more than just shock. I would estimate that she is greatly stressed and she's been under serious trauma."

Trauma? What trauma?

The two paramedics lift her on to the gurney and I walk beside the stretcher, my wrist still chained to hers.

"Captain!" I call to Yukimura. "Bring Akaya to the hospital to check on his mental capabilities. I'll see you there."

He just nods as Kirihara whines, "Can I go on the ambulance too? Please?"

Sanada shakes his head, "No."

The sounds from the court fade away as the gurney is wheeled away towards the ambulance at the front of the park. The team we faced during finals was jeering at her condition and I wish I could punch one of them in the face. Knowing Niou, he would probably cause problems for that team for me.

A third paramedic exits the ambulance and aids the first two in pulling the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. I climb in as they pull her in and sit in an empty chair next to the stretcher while they close the ambulance doors and the vehicle drives off.

The third paramedic snorts, "I've seen a lot of things, but I haven't seen two people handcuffed together being in the ambulance."

I close my eyes and grimace, "Our friend thought it would be funny to chain us two together."

I block out the first two paramedics explaining to the third her condition and one of the three pulls an oxygen mask over her face and elevates her feet. "It's so more blood can go to her head," he explains.

I breathe in deeply, thinking of the girl who fed me earlier, talked to me, played with the team. The picture of her holding her hair back and her icy blues kept surfacing in my head even though I tried to block the memory. The chatter of the paramedics fill the silence as I remained quiet, wondering what was wrong with the girl who seemed to be changing how the Rikkaidai tennis team worked.

"Does she do any drugs? Drink alcohol? Is she physically active?" one asks, probing into her background.

"No drugs or alcohol that I know of," my eyebrows furrow. "She plays tennis for fun and she swims competitively. If I'm not mistaken, she's on a national level, especially in the US."

"The US? Did she recently move here?"

"I believe so," I reply.

The paramedics exhale. One mutters, "Just great."

Another explains, "It's going to be harder to figure out her medical history if she's from another country and hasn't sent her files to any doctors or hospitals here. We might not even know her emergency contacts here. Does she even speak Japanese?"

"Yeah, perfect Japanese," I answer.

"Hm."

The ambulance slows to a stop and nurses and other paramedics open the doors of the back and pull the stretcher down. I get out at the same time and walk along the gurney which was jostled by every crack in the concrete as they wheeled it into the emergency section of the hospital.

"Give her a separate room," one of the paramedics advises. "We suspect complications other than fainting. She seems to be under stress, shock, and trauma, possibly from a memory in the past."

"What is her full name?" a nurse asks while changing the direction she wheels the stretcher in. "The doctor needs to see her full medical history."

"Klysen Jade," I respond. "She moved here recently. I don't know if her medical history is here."

"Three, two, one, lift!" the nurses lift her body onto a bed in an enclosed room. "Let's put an IV on her and check her blood sugar and hydration levels."

The nurses bustle around her, poking her with needles and drawing blood. I sit on the edge of the bed and find myself holding her hand that was chained to me, wincing at the hospital's smell.

A nurse bursts into the room, "We found her medical files. She sent copies of them here before she moved. We have a copy of her insurance and her emergency contact is listed as the Atobe family."

The other nurses snap their head up.

"The Atobe family?!" they chorus, surprised.

I wasn't shocked at all. After all, she said they were childhood friends and that their parents used to be close.

The nurses started arguing over who should call the famously rich family and I closed my eyes, irritated. No matter where you went, there would always be the fan girls.

The nurses finally finish fixing in the IV line and file out of the room, still bickering about who should call the Atobes. A doctor slips into the room and checks the status of Klysen and reads from her medical file.

"Are you family or friend?"

"Friend," I reply.

"Well, she's had trauma and shock. And she has not gotten her most recent treatment for her condition."

I frown, "What condition?"

"She has focal nodular hyperplasia. In other words, she has a tumor in her liver. It's been recorded as benign but it has been known to turn malicious in other female patients her age. We require MRIs and sonograms to make sure that the tumor doesn't turn into cancer."

I blink, letting the words soak into my brain. Cancer? Tumor? I squeeze her hand that I was chained to, the one lacking the IV, and rub circles with my thumb on her pale and surprisingly soft skin. "Will she be alright?"

"She should be fine if we continuously test her. She should have had her last exam four weeks ago, but she skipped it. We have to test her every two months, but since she is a minor, we need the confirmation of family or guardians before we test her. She doesn't seem to have any here, but the Atobe family is listed as her temporary guardians in Japan."

The words coming out of the doctor's mouth seemed to spin around me, making me confused. A single, "Ok," is all I could manage in response.

"Currently people are calling the Atobe family so we can test her and check her status. Until then, everything is on hold."

I nod and the doctor leaves the room with long strides. I brush away stray strands that lay on her face and I hear soft knocks on the door.

Glancing up, I see the team hovering on the threshold. A grin stretches over my face at the familiar people.

"Ne Marui," Niou grins, "you seem to be very happy with your position. By the way, we brought your tennis bag that you left."

My smile drops off my face as I recall the words that I told Niou earlier, that he could tease me as much as he wished in the hospital.

"Did you hear anything the doctor said?" I ask, ignoring Niou's taunts.

"No. Why?" Jackal responds.

"No reason," I reply, thinking that Klysen probably wouldn't want people to know. "They're calling the Atobe family because they're her emergency contact."

Sanda wrinkles his nose at the mention of the egotistical Atobe.

"Yo Niou, you think you can unlock me now?"

He smirks, "What if I don't want to?"

Regardless, he jabs the key in the handcuff locks and frees my wrist from the chain that bonded me and Klysen together. I rub at the chaffed skin and toss the metal at Niou's face. He dodges it and chuckles.

A nurse peeks in, "Can everyone in this room please leave for five minutes? I have to change her into a hospital gown."

I reluctantly get up, wanting to stay beside the unconscious girl, and walk away from the hospital bed, following the regulars outside the door.

"Have you checked on Akaya yet?" I ask.

"Yes, he's fine," Sanada replies. "Yukimura is with him and they should be coming down any minute."

"Niou-san, stop trying to peek through the door's window," Yagyuu warns.

He smirks and puts his hands behind his head, turning away from the door.

Akaya briskly walks into the area, Yukimura at his heels placidly smiling. Akaya is frowning, "How is Jade?"

Everyone turns to me and I shrug, "She has an IV and has to go for some tests. Basically, they said she needs rest," I fib.

A pause fills the air and Yanagi helpfully interrupts, "Ninety-three percent chance that Maui is lying."

I blanch, caught.

The nurse saves the day by opening the door, "You can come back in."

I'm the first one through the door and beside Klysen, not wanting to look at Yanagi or Akaya. The others talk about the matches today and I interject comments time to time. My right hand feels empty as I sit on the edge of the bed, the same way I had done before. Her hand was inches away and yet I had no excuse to touch it again.

"Why are we here?" Sanada questions.

"I think because Marui and Akaya want to be here," Jackal cuts in.

Blood rushes to my face.

"Also, she practices with us. It was the right thing to do," Yagyuu says, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Sanada doesn't respond, unsatisfied.

"We're staying until Atobe gets here," I say firmly.

No one bothers to argue with me. Akaya sits on the other side of the bed and bobs his head up and down in agreement. I could tell something was bothering him.

"We're staying until Atobe gets here."

The words reverberate in my head as I try to figure out why everything was black. I could not move and I felt like I was tightly binded and my eyelids were glued shut.

This must be how mummies feel. If they could feel anything, that is.

I felt someone gently touch my right hand and the light chatter around me. Where was I?

We sit for about two hours, talking about tennis until Atobe Keigo bursts into the room.

"Out of my way!" he snarls, waving his arms. Akaya actually obeys and gets off the side of the bed and Atobe pushes a chair to her right side. He dumps something on the bedside table.

He grabs her hand, "I hope you can hear me. Mom and Dad already signed the release so you'll be okay. I brought lilies because I know they're your favorite and a picture of Portland because I know you miss it."

Atobe glances up and looks around the room, "Why are you all here? Get out."

I narrow my eyes, "I'm not leaving."

Jackal touches my shoulder, "We should go, Marui."

I sigh resignedly, knowing that he was right. The regulars exit the room before I rise from the bed. Suddenly, I feel a soft hand around my wrist.

"I hope you can hear me. Mom and Dad already signed the release so you'll be okay. I brought lilies because I know they're your favorite and a picture of Portland because I know you miss it," says a familiar voice.

Keigo? He never speaks in Japanese to me unless if he's worried or upset.

"Why are you all here? Get out," he commands.

I try to pry open my eyelids and fail again, wondering how I was ever going to be conscious. I could feel myself getting tired while I tried to move my hand. My eyelids felt so, so heavy.

"I'm not leaving," Marui says. I had recognized his voice a while ago.

"We should go Marui," says the deeper voice of the Brazilian.

The whole Rikkaidai tennis team was in my room. If any fangirls found out, I would be in so much trouble but I did not want Marui to leave. The team had commented how Marui was with me in the ambulance and had not left, even when Niou took off the handcuffs.

In my panic, I tried to lift my heavy eyelids again and this time I succeeded. Marui was getting off the bed and I shoot my left hand out and try to grab his arm.

"Marui," I croak, my throat dry.

"Klysen?" he turns, his eyes wide.

"Sapphire, you idiot," Keigo growls at me in English.

I let go of Marui's wrist and he sits back down on the edge of my bed, smiling. I turn my head towards Keigo, "Why am I an idiot this time?" I smile and reply in English, clutching the cup of water Keigo handed me.

"Why didn't you tell me about your liver?" he barks at me.

My smile drops off my face and I attempt to sit up while I sip at the water, spilling half the cup over myself. Marui shifts my pillow so I could rest against the headboard.

"Marui?"

"Yeah?"

"I assume the doctor already told you about my condition, didn't he? Does everyone else on the team know?" I ask, my face turning into a mask.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. He did but no one else on the team knows."

"Good," I reply, and turn toward Keigo. "The only people who knew about my liver was my family, and I intended to keep it that way."

He stands up, agitated. "You don't get to choose that because you're in Japan now," he says angrily, switching back to Japanese.

"Are you trying to control my life?" I arch a single eyebrow, feeling my rage rise at what he was dictating.

"If it keeps you safe, then yes!" he yells back. "Your family isn't here anymore and your parents are dead."

My last thread of patience breaks. "How dare you. My parents are not dead. They are not dead." I spit at him, shouting back. "My family name is Klysen. Do you know what that means? It means that my brother and I are inheriting a major company in the future. It means that I have the ability to control my own life. IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN NEVER HAVE POWER OVER ME."

I breathe heavily at my outburst and Marui is holding me down on the bed, making sure I don't get up.

"Get out," I snarl at Keigo, not answering my tirade.

He storms out of the room and bangs the door closed as I struggle to get my blood pressure down and I turn towards Marui, who was looking at me with concern and surprise and I sigh.

"Sorry," I mutter. "Is the rest of the team still here?"

"It's fine, I just didn't expect you to be so….fiery," he grins. "They should be right outside the door," he adds, sitting back and letting go of my shoulder.

"No offense, but do you think I can talk to Akaya and Yukimura privately?"

He gets up, "Sure. I will send them in."

He walks out the door and I can't help but feel empty inside. Akaya and Yukimura enter, the first full of energy and the second one looks strangely drained.

"Sit," I demand, gesturing at the empty chair. Yukimura sits and Akaya plops himself down on the edge of the right bed.

"Akaya?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous your tennis is?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

He sighs, "It's the only way I can be strong."

"You play like my brother does," I exhale. "He used to play like that. He said he never wanted to play me because he was afraid that one day, he would hurt me. I laughed back then, not believing him, until he did when I played him. The only time he did not play like that was when he played with me in doubles, so I retrained him to act as if he was playing doubles with me. Not only is he calmer on the courts now, but he has gotten over his anger and plays better. He's playing in the French Open soon."

"I've tried to stop. I can't."

"I'll train you until you can. That excuse is unacceptable," I groan, stretching my sore shoulders. "You're not playing like that anymore."

His emerald eyes shine with happiness, "Thank you, Jade," he chokes out.

I nod, "Go get some fresh air," I jerk my head toward the door. "You need some time to yourself."

He smiles and leaves the room, leaving Yukimura shut in a room with me.

"You are a fool," I say bluntly.

He lifts an eyebrow, prompting me to explain.

"You think no one can recognize that you're speaking slower, not comfortable walking, and weaker in general. If you don't get treatment while you are in this hospital, I will personally ask for the nurses to restrain you and do a basic checkup."

"I am not weak," he denies leisurely, not bothering to smile.

"Why aren't you smiling like you normally do?"

He shrugs, "Don't feel like it."

"Or you can't," I retort.

"I think we are done here," he stands up and walks towards the door. He looks very pale and his legs shake. Suddenly, his muscles become tense and he falls to the ground.

"Yukimura? YUKIMURA!" I scream. The door bursts open and I crawl over to the red button next to the headboard of the bed. Slamming my fist on it, sirens go off in the hospital room and tennis players and nurses run into the room.

I hear a cry in the room and fling the door open, not expecting to see Yukimura lying on the ground. It was odd enough when she yelled at Atobe in front of me, but I didn't expect Yukimura.

"Yukimura?!" Sanada exclaims, sliding on to the ground next to Yukimura, cradling his head.

"Captain!" Akaya shrieks.

I jump over the captain's body to catch Klysen, who was about to fall out of the bed after punching the nurse call button. I grab her arms as she topples out of the bed and on top of me.

"Don't worry about me," she pants. "Your captain is in a lot more danger."

The nurses are lifting him up on to a stretcher and wheeling him to the emergency room, the regulars frantically milling around the gurney.

"He has enough attention right now," I frown, worried. "The other regulars are just going to be in the nurses' way. It's best that I stay here."

"Funny," her mouth twitches. "Most people are irrational when they panic."

"I am a genius," I give her my usual response. "I am always rational."

She laughs, despite being on top of me, and then realizes her position and a red blush spreads across her cheeks.

"Sorry," she gasps and attempts to lift herself off and fails, as I am still clutching her arms.

I let go, my cheeks now mirroring hers. She pushes herself off successfully and fixes her thin hospital gown. I spring to my feet as she slides back into the bed. A nurse walks in and checks on her IV line attached to her hand.

"Well, nothing seems to be wrong. You did a good job on getting your friend medical attention in time. It's a good thing that you're awake now."

"Ah, thank you," she bobs her head.

"Well, you're due for your sonogram and MRI. We will send you down into radiology in a while, alright? I assume you know the drill about not eating before."

"Yes. May I ask for a favor?"

"Of course," the nurse replies.

"If you have a supply of athletic tape, could you possibly tape both of my shoulders?"

She wants her shoulders taped? How much pain was this girl in?

"I'll go and try to find some. Drink plenty of water before your sonogram."

She leaves and my curiosity gets the better of me, "Why do they give you a sonogram if you're clearly not pregnant?"

"She's pregnant?" Niou's face reflects horror as he and the other regulars stand in the doorway.

"The doctors sent us away from Yukimura. They're assessing him right now," Yanagi explains. Everyone seemed extremely worried at Yukimura's state, and even I concerned about the fragile state of the captain.

"Jade, you're pregnant? Do you even know who the father is?" Akaya cries out, terrified.

Klysen and I look at each other and we burst into peals of laughter.

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