Hello all! A belated New Years greetings.

I apologise for the much (x10000) delayed update. There were too many things to handle in real life from the end of December, and have recently gone under the weather yet again.. Luckily though, the storm's calmed down now and I'm feeling better. Thank you very much for sticking with me! Also, for those who have fav'd, reviewed, and add this story to your alert list :)

As for the poll, I'm going to leave it open. Might or might not turn on the result display (aheheh). At the present, the results are (drum rolls, please):

Atobe Keigo - 3

Sanada Genichiro - 2

Yukimura Seiichi - 1

The rest - 0

Let's crack on shall we ;)

(Ah, right. Mild-fluff alert is on)

At the sound of the doorbell going off and Duke joining in the merriment underneath her bedroom window, Akemi knew from the moment she tumbled off the bed with a startled yelp that today wasn't going to start and end well.

Despite every inch of her bedroom was carpeted, the landing was by no means soft, as the throbbing pain on the back of her head could testify for those who should say otherwise.

Wincing as she rubbed the sore spot, she glanced at the clock on the bedside table, making no sense of the clock hands until the fuzzy world sharpened before her eyes. She scowled irritably, noting there were still five minutes before the alarm should ring.

Speaking of which, that accursed doorbell went off again. And all too soon, her mother's voice called from the corridor, asking/ordering her to 'greet' their visitor or risk having her weekly allowance reduced.

She resisted the urge to smack her head soundly on the wall. Unsurprisingly, it was a rather easy task; having no energy whatsoever to crack a decent sized hole in the wall (not that it would actually happen). That, and she would rather not add another bruise.

Without bothering to check who it was from the window, she begrudgingly chucked the duvet off and slipped into a pair of slippers. After hastily combing her hair into a loose bun, she threw on her dressing gown, and left her bedroom.

Akemi plodded down the stairs to the front entrance; all the while grumbling under her breath about 'lost sleep' and 'criminalise disruption of peace at such unholy hour'. She stopped by the shoe cabinet to exchange her bedroom slippers for a pair of sandals.

She then spent what felt like eternity wrestling with the stubborn key at the doorknob (only because she was still half-awake). Right then, she had half the mind to kick the door down in frustration, but after deciding it wasn't worth the scolding, she finally managed to unlock the front door with a satisfying click.

Sighing in relief, she raised her hand to the doorknob but froze midway through turning it when a sense of Déjà vu hit her.

She hesitated for a brief moment; hand still around the cold metal and biting down on her lower lips, but ultimately gave into curiosity.

XXX

His ears twitched at the tiniest click, which was almost drowned out by the howling courtesy of the German Shepard. Sanada, in his Rikkai tennis apparel, lifted his unwavering gaze from the furry animal behind the gates to the front door just as it swung opened, revealing a rather dishevelled Akemi (despite all her effort to calm her bed hair).

He was hardly surprised. After all, she herself had warned him that it would take a long time for her to adjust to this new routine he set up for the both of them. Though he inwardly wondered why she gave his tennis apparel a puzzling look before ordering the happy-go-lucky dog back to his kennel.

Sanada tilted his head in a bow. "Good morning, Akemi-san."

"Good morning, Genichiro-san," she greeted back, slowly. After a dubious moment of silence, she added with a raised eyebrow, "Pray tell, why on Earth are you doing here, and at this time of day?"

Well, that caught him off guard. But Sanada being Sanada, he retained a calm exterior though there was a subtle hint of curiosity when he spoke. "Are we not…heading to school together for the morning practice?"

This time, it was her who was taken aback. "What are you on about?" she asked in an incredulous tone; eyes wide at the ridiculous notion of her getting up at daft o'clock for a morning practice of which she had no part of. Akemi narrowed her eyes dangerously when he hesitated.

Eventually, he gave in after fighting the urge to face-palm; realising she had somehow forgotten about yesterday. Clearing his throat, he steeled himself for whatever reaction she'd throw at him next before giving a short recap on the supermarket incident and then her agreement to allow him accompany her to and fro school every weekdays.

At that, Akemi opened her mouth and looked as though she was about to retort when everything came back in one hurtle. She froze; how that slipped her mind was lost on her.

The stoic vice-captain watched with mild amusement as her face turned paled from the shock, and then steadily changing into various shades of red before settling on a bright colour.

Embarrassed, she spluttered incoherently, struggling to find the right words to defend herself, and whatever was left of her dignity. In the end, she admitted defeat with a long sigh and promptly apologised to Sanada who waved it away without a second thought.

Her shoulders slumped with relief, but also exhaustion. Nevertheless, she opened the gates and motioned Sanada to follow her into her humble abode.

"This is a stupid question, but I'm going to ask anyway," Akemi began, ushering him into the kitchen. She gestured for him to sit on a bar stool before popping the kettle on. "Have you had anything for breakfast yet?" she asked, pulling out a container filled with tea bags from a cupboard.

"Yes," he replied, his eyes following her movement around the kitchen.

She made a thoughtful sound as she poured hot water into a mug. "Here you go." There was a sharp clink as she set the mug of steaming hot tea on the granite bar table in front of him.

Sanada was about to thank her when a plate with a croissant on top joined the mug by its side. He stared uncertainly at the pastry, something which Akemi noticed.

"Eat up. It's the least I can offer you after that blunder," she shrugged in an off-handed manner.

"No, that's okay. I've already forgiven you," he reminded Akemi politely, pushing the plate towards her. "You have it instead."

Her brown eyes narrowed in displeasure at his refusal; lips pursed into a thin line. "I insist, Genichiro-san," she asserted firmly, pushing the plate back with only two fingers. The friction between the base of the plate and counter top created a long ominous scratching noise. "There's a few more left in the basket. It's not like I'm that desperate in looking for forgiveness to starve myself to death," she added in a deadpan voice, resting one hand on her hip.

Sanada must have had caught the meaning, for he wordlessly picked up the butter knife without further protest. "Thanks," he muttered, carefully spreading butter over the warm croissant.

A sigh escaped through parted lips before a soft smile took hold of her features. "You're welcome. Hope you'll like it," she nodded at the pastry, "I baked it last night using an old recipe." Then remembering the time, she quickly excused herself to change and left him to his own devices in the kitchen.

About seven minutes later, she reappeared back at the kitchen with her school bag in her hand.

Sanada nodded at her in acknowledgement before returning to his tea. He had taken off his favourite cap which was now sitting next to his elbows propped up on the table. Akemi noted with delight, the plate before the stoic vice-captain was empty saved for a few crumbs.

Sending him a bright smile, she deposited the bag at the end of the table and turned around to fix herself a quick breakfast.

XXX

Cap back in its usual place on his head, the vice-captain slowed down his usual brisk pace to match her sluggish ones; something she was grateful for. Inwardly, she thanked the stars the slope leading from their road to the city centre was a downhill. Much as she loved the beauty of rugged landscapes, her legs would end up sored from trudging uphill every day to school.

They walked side by side in comfortable silence, and only the occasional small talks and yawns from Akemi interrupted the peaceful atmosphere; a reminiscent of yesterday's morning journey.

A ghost of a smile made way across her lips. Yes, she could get used to this.

And just like yesterday, the two companions were the first to arrive at the tennis courts. As such, Sanada decided to start practise early on his own by the brick wall of the tennis club's own locker room, as he waited for the appearance of his two best friends.

Under the shade of a familiar tree, Akemi sat idly on a bench beside their belongings, swinging her legs above the ground to amuse herself. Bringing the thermo flask to her mouth, she mused on the similarities between his so-called opponent and him.

Both were emotionless, firm, and rigidly built.

Well, being a human being and despite labelled by others as an extremely stern vice-captain, Sanada was far from the cold and solid wall; and she would gladly testify to that, regardless if anyone believed her.

Careful not to spill the hot tea over her school uniform, she shifted in the stiff sitting position to rest her back on their bags.

'I really should think of doing something productive during their morning practice apart from watching their matches and catching up with sleep,' she pondered, absent-mindedly swirling the thermo flask, but only to find (with a disappointed frown) its content was nearly finished. She heaved her back from the bags reluctantly to sit up, recapped the flask and placed it in her bag. Just as she was about to lean back, an idea hit her.

She plunged her hands backs into the bag, humming a cheerful tune, before returning to a more comfortable resting position against the make-shift pillows with a book in her hands.

Aside from Sanada's occasional muffled grunts and the dull sound of tennis ball hitting the wall and ground, the tennis courts were relatively quiet.

As minutes ticked by, her eyelids grew heavier. She paused in between reading to cover her yawn. Despite her effort to stay awake (at least until Yukimura and Yanagi arrived), twice she found herself nodding off, only to be startled awake when she nearly dropped the hardcover book on her face.

The fifth time it happened, her left eye was this close to be taken out by the sharp corner of the book.

Suffice to say Akemi gave up by that point and set the book aside. She shuddered to think what would happen if she had not been quick enough to shield her eyes (well, aside from Sanada freaking out); and to think spilling tea over her front was messy.

Clasping her hands over her stomach, Akemi lifted her gaze to admire the fluffy white clouds drifting across the blue sky. She hummed a song; the lyrics long forgotten except for the melancholic melody still clear in the dusty corner of her memory. Her brown eyes never moved from them staring into the mesmerising abyss above.

When the other two finally arrived, Sanada accompanied them to the bench to drop off their stuff. Neither showed any signs of astonishment when they found a peacefully sleeping form occupying the entire furniture.

After a lengthy hushed deliberation, they concluded it was not worth their blood (recalling of her possessing a black belt in Karate) to rouse her awake, and cautiously placed their bags on the ground at the foot of the bench before heading to the court.

Unbeknownst to them, the five minutes of sleep she lost earlier to Sanada turning up outside her house was enough for her to sleep like the dead. The trio only realised (too late) it when she didn't move an inch from her resting position at the sudden blare of siren from a passing ambulance.

Still, it was better safe than sorry.

XXX

"Slept well?" asked Yukimura at the end of practice, chuckling good-naturedly. His clear blue eyes seemed to twinkle in the sunlight when he did that.

Akemi bobbed her head wordlessly in agreement, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"At the rate you're sleeping, I'm not surprised if you're constantly being followed by the Sandman every waking moment," he said teasingly. He stepped back to allow her sit back up. Inwardly, he was amazed at the fact Akemi did not fire back a retort like she usually did. A small part of him wondered if she was ill.

Careful not to step on any of the bags, Akemi swung her legs from the bench and set her feet on the ground. "Perhaps he goes around under the guise of a second year high school student," she mused out loud, smoothing her tousled hair. She picked up her head to look at a bemused Yukimura. "You know? Big and tall, always looking like a gruff old bear?" She broke off in laughter at the mental image of the stoic vice-captain appearing at bedsides in every home to give his blessings for good dreams.

"I'm sure Genichiro would be delighted to hear your description of him," the captain remarked, his eyes full of mirth.

It was during this moment, Sanada and Yanagi returned from the locker room. Thankfully, neither heard their conversations, or Akemi would have a lot of answering for.

"Care to share the merriment?" the Data Master asked, wearing a curious expression.

Akemi shook her head, eliciting a dramatic sigh of disappointment from Yanagi. Her shoulders trembled with the effort to keep the laughter in. Waving off the offered hand, she heaved herself off the bench, and swung the strap of her bag onto her shoulder.

"Well then, I'll be heading off to my classroom," she smiled brightly at them. It wasn't every day she woke up, and not be cranky and feeling ready to destroy everything in her path. She turned around but a hand resting on her shoulder stopped her from going any further than one step. She gave Yanagi a puzzled look as he retrieved his hand.

"I'll come with you, Akemi-san," he smiled, hefting his school bag onto one shoulder. "There's something I need to pick up from the student council room."

She blinked. 'Oh right, he's the secretary,' she recalled. The room he mentioned was en route to her classroom. "Okay," she replied, shortly.

Both captain and vice-captain were silent as they waved goodbye to the two.

It was awhile after they left when Yukimura spoke up. "Don't worry too much, Genichiro," he said, glancing at Sanada. "Nobody will try anything funny if Renji is with her. I'm certain she can take good care of herself without our intervention," he added the latter.

Trust his best friend to read him like a book.

But the stoic vice-captain was far from being assured. If anything, the creases on his forehead only deepened further as though he could already sense the dreaded premonition creeping down his spine. "You know how fast rumours spread in this school."

Considering the size of the tennis club and the subject, it wouldn't be a surprise if the entire population of Rikkai have heard of the existence of a team manageress, courtesy of modern technologies. Yanagi himself was certain the statistic lay above 80%.

Concerned about the possibility of an 'ambush' or 'confrontation' while he was on patrol, he had asked Yanagi to accompany Akemi at least until they were safe inside the school building.

A ghost of a grimace momentarily crossed his features. "True, but this can't go on for a long time. She'll realise what you're doing sooner or later…and she won't be happy about this," Yukimura cautioned in a rather casual manner.

"So be it," Sanada grunted with a shrug before walking away to start his morning patrol around the school grounds.

His lips quirked upwards in an amused smile as Yukimura set off in the opposite direction towards the greenhouse. How very interesting indeed, the stoic vice-captain had become protective over Akemi. It brought to mind his relationship with his baby sister.

Oh, he knew right from the beginning Sanada harboured no romantic feelings for Akemi, and the latter most likely saw him as a figurative older brother.

But, Yukimura enjoyed teasing them endlessly.

He wasn't going to spoil the fun just by openly admitting this to them.

XXX

When Yukimura speculated Akemi would eventually become aware Yanagi had acted under Sanada's request, he did not count on how quick-witted (a rare occurrence) she could be.

But for the vice-captain's sake (and sanity), she had kept the knowledge to herself, despite the nagging urge to confirm her suspicion with Yanagi whom she bade farewell to outside the student council room.

It touched her heart that Sanada cared deeply for her, though – as she turned down another corridor – she inwardly prayed it wouldn't develop into overbearingness.

As she entered the classroom, the excited conversation between the two cleaning duty partners immediately died down to a hushed whisper as though she brought with her, a funeral procession.

'Wow, that's a happy thought,' she remarked dryly, plopping down on her chair.

Ignoring their piercing stares, Akemi took out her notebook and pencil case, placed them on the table, and placed her bag on the hook protruding from the side of the table. She clicked the top of her pen and set out to improve the notes taken from the previous geography class.

After what seemed like eternity, there was the tell-tale sign of them resuming their duty, albeit in a hesitant manner, judging by the occasional pause of sweeping and the feeling of being watched.

She paused in mid-drawing of a mind-map to breathe a weary sigh. 'It will be a miracle if I survive long enough to hear the final bell ring.'

XXX

'Definitely need a miracle…' she remarked flatly, eyebrows twitching irritably.

Pretending her table was not surrounded by a group of pestering girls proved to be challenging; especially if one could barely see their own handwriting past the shadows casted by the seemingly immobile wall.

"Neh! Please tell us, Akemi-san! How did you land yourself with the dream job?" pleaded a shrill voice that sounded uncomfortably close to her ears.

She bit back a groan, tapping the top of her pen on her knuckle which was slowly turning white from being clenched tightly. Honestly, she questioned their delusional ambitions if they considered being team manageress of a group of tennis otaku was from a fairy tale ending.

Arm propped up on the table, Akemi massaged the spot between her eyes as she felt a headache coming on. She had wanted to smack her forehead on the hard wooden surface, but thought the matter was not worth getting an angry bruise or possibly a bleeding scar over.

But for a brief moment, she wondered if they would leave her alone if she played dead.

Fifteen minutes of agony later, the crowd hastily scattered back to their respective seats/classrooms when Miyagi-sensei appeared at the door with a bemused expression.

As their homeroom teacher took attendance, Akemi dropped her gaze to table. Her lips formed into a thin line as she stared in revulsion at the garish pink envelopes, which were left by the fan girls on their way out, lying haphazardly over her incomplete notes.

Sighing in irritation, she gingerly picked up one of the envelopes as though she was holding something putrid between her fingers. She blinked, recognising the glinting name scrawled across the pink paper.

Curious, she swept a glance at the other envelopes below. There were names of tennis regulars, some more than others, written in glitter gel pens of various colours. It was at that moment, she'd realised how popular that shrewd Rikkai captain was among the female population.

But back to the situation at hand….

'Geez, did Yukimura-san left out postwoman from the job description?' she thought, frowning in displeasure as she swept the envelopes into a stack before slipping them underneath her table.

A part of her wished that the drawer was a black hole instead, sucking out the confession letters, which seemed to have mystically built up in the short period of time she'd left the classroom for the loo during break time.

She glared in frustration at the papier-mâché-esque dam. Her nails dug into the cover of the textbook she was about to place in the drawer when she found the entryway blocked to its entirety, such that the accursed letters were teetering on the edge of falling out. A table vomiting pink letters would have been a comical image for her, if it weren't for the fact that it was her table that looked like it was about to throw up.

Right then, she felt the compulsive desire to tip her table over, or better yet, chuck it out through the opened window.

Sensing the murderous aura whipping about, the unfortunate ones around her began to inch away as far as possible.

Luckily, their history teacher arrived in the nick of time.

Akemi reluctantly sat down. After spending a frustrating moment debating with her inner voice, she decided against placing the letters under her table or chair, for fear of sending them flying across the classroom floor with an accidental kick in the middle of a lesson, and thus earning a disapproving glare from the teacher. Akemi was certain (with a grimace) her name was in the bottom pile of the Saotome-sensei's list, which included the other second year classes.

With an irritable click of her tongue, she roughly shoved the letters as deep as one could get with a full drawer, and placed the book on the floor such that it was leaning against the table's legs. She gave the pink fortress a last withering glare before turning her attention to the blackboard.

But her previous effort was wasted, as bit by bit, the letters crept back out to their original position.

She tried to pay no heed to them, but after spending the most excruciating ten minutes of her life getting her poor stomach poked, she had enough.

The boy sitting directly behind her snapped his eyes up from his notebook, alarmed at the sudden sound (though it was soft) of a chair scraping on the tiled floor. It stopped when the back of her chair was no more than half a centimetre from his table.

Akemi smiled apologetically (and somewhat sheepishly) at him over her shoulder, gesturing towards her bloated drawer.

He nodded curtly in sympathy and returned his attention to the blackboard.

After history class ended, the ever kind Hinata promptly offered up whatever available space left in the class vice-president's own drawer, but even getting rid of a quarter of the load was not enough.

In the end, Akemi was left with no choice but to grin and bear it.

So for the rest of the morning, she sat in an awkward and (not to mention) uncomfortable posture with her upper body leaning over the table in an odd angle as she wrote, only dropping the back-breaking position during the brief breaks between classes.

By the time the bell rang for English, her poor back felt as if it was stretched to its limit. Her joints popped audibly as she clambered from her chair.

She swiftly grabbed her bag and headed towards Yagyuu for the pass. The bespectacled class president gave her a sympathetic smile as he dropped the laminated tag into her hand.

Akemi was very certain when she smiled back she looked like someone had repeatedly ran a tractor over her.

It wasn't a pretty image, and fortunately she was too knackered to dwell on it.

She slid the door shut behind her and leaned against it with a heavy sigh. Brown eyes flickered around the deserted corridor for a moment. Deeming it safe, she pushed away from the door and lightly jogged down the long passageway, only slowing down a little when she reached the stairwells.

Turning around the corner of the landing, she found her way up was blocked by a couple of third years.

From the way they were scowling haughtily at her, Akemi had no doubt the two were fan girls.

'Urgh…I knew I should have stayed in bed,' she thought, dryly. "Umm…can I please pass through, senpais?" she asked politely, putting on the meek junior front.

One of them, a girl who wore her long auburn hair in a high ponytail that reached her waist, shifted her posture to rest her hands on her slim waist with a scoff. "Oh, so you think you have the privilege to prance around the third floor just because you're their team manageress?" she said snidely, raising her perfectly trimmed eyebrows as though to challenge her, tapping her manicured fingernails.

Akemi widened her eyes, perplexed. "Err…no, I'm just heading to the rooftop gar–"

"Well, we don't think so!" the other girl, with a short black hair, interjected with a hiss as though Akemi had not spoken.

She mentally rolled her eyes in exasperation. 'Maybe I should have gone to the library.'

The girl, who spoke first, stepped closer to her but maintained a height difference so that she could, literally speaking, stare down at her when she leaned in. Her watery green eyes, which Akemi could tell was attributed to the contact lenses she wore, roamed up and down her figure, clicking her tongue as she did so.

"Such a sight for sore eyes," she muttered under her breath, audibly though with an intention to vex Akemi, and leant back. There was a pause as though she was waiting for a response, but when there was none, her face contorted in annoyance. "Spill!" she jabbed a finger towards her. "What underhand method did you use to charm Yukimura-kun and the other regulars? Hmmm?" she grinned sinisterly.

'Is she insinuating that…?' Akemi broke off the train of thought, clenching her trembling fists tightly. Furious and appalled at the revolting suggestion she –or any of the tennis regulars for that matter –would sink so low, her face reddened at the groundless accusation.

But the third years mistook the scarlet cheeks as embarrassment at being caught red handed, if the overdramatic gasps of horror and nonsensical spluttering were of any indications.

So fixated at the new piece of gossip material, neither the two realised the double doors leading to the third floor behind them opened.

"Oi! Fujimoto! Kojima!" a masculine voice called behind the two girls, who snapped their heads at their names towards the voice. "Sensei needed help in carrying the books to the staff room. According to the roster, it's your turn today. How can the two of you just up and disappear as soon as sensei was out the door? Where's your sense of responsibility?" he added with a snort.

Akemi perked her head up at the voice, which though sounded familiar she couldn't put a face to it. It didn't help that her view was obscured.

The two girls – Fujimoto and Kojima – spun on their heels, instantly reverting to their flirty and sweet persona, but Akemi was not listening to their made-up excuses, for she had caught the glimpse of the one who spoke between their shoulders in the fleeting moment when the third years' moved.

And it looked as though their classmate saw her, for when he next spoke, his voice was tight and low. "Get back to the classroom before I report to sensei," he warned them. "Now!" he barked when Fujimoto and Kojima were about to open their mouths to protest, startling them into speechlessness.

The girls glared over their shoulders at Akemi, hatred burning in their eyes and no longer the visions of the porcelain dolls they seemed to have modelled themselves after, before whipping their heads pointedly away.

She stumbled back a couple of paces just in time to avoid getting struck across the face by a flying auburn ponytail.

It was a blatant move by its owner who was left further enraged at the failed attempt as she and the other girl sauntered up the steps.

They held their noses high in the air as though they were the victors of a game, and brushed past their classmate who held the door ajar for them. His eyes followed their movements until they returned to their classroom, and turned his gaze to Akemi.

"Mouri-senpai," she greeted him, after an awkward pause, tilting her head in a bow. "Thank you for…err…" she trailed off, frowning at her shoes as she racked her brain to find more pleasant ways to describe how he got rid of the harpies.

"No need," he chuckled, closing the door behind him. Akemi picked her head up with a puzzled look. "One of the duties as class president is to keep my classmates from causing any troubles to other students. I apologise on behalf of Fujimoto and Kojima," he added, pocketing his hands in his trousers' pockets. He walked down the stairs and stopped beside her on the landing. "They can be rather nasty to kohais when it concerns their precious tennis regulars –especially that buchou."

Her curiosity peaked at the sardonic undertone when he mentioned Yukimura; it was similar to when he greeted Sanada at the supermarket yesterday.

She blinked, suddenly remembering she never asked Sanada to enlighten her on the mysterious identity of 'Mouri-senpai' from the supermarket. With all the kerfuffle in the recent hours, the thought of it had not occurred to her – until now.

'Actually…come to think of it,' Akemi rubbed her chin in a pensive manner, eyebrows scrunched into a frown. 'I don't recall Mouri-senpai was mentioned even once in Genichiro-san's extremely brief – and vague – recount of yesterday's incident.'

She snuck a glance out from the corner of her eye at the third year walking slightly ahead of her. Earlier, he had been very insistent in accompanying her to the rooftop garden. He seemed to be a polite, if not, friendly character.

'Do they hate each other? Or was I imagining things?' she wondered, remembering the oddly tense exchange between the two. She knew from past experience (i.e. Atobe), first impression should never be taken seriously.

Eventually, curiosity got better of her.

"You seem to be well acquainted with the regulars…how?" she asked, tentatively. From her vantage point of view, she saw the corner of his lips twitched upwards into a smirk.

"I used to be part of the tennis club," came the short reply and the nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

'Used to be?' Akemi echoed in a mixture of astonishment and curiosity. For a moment, she contemplated on asking him to elaborate, but as they bade each other farewell outside the double doors of the rooftop garden, she decided against sticking her nose into other people's life.

XXX

Before news of a team manageress for the boy's tennis club emerged, Akemi found pleasure in spending her free period catching up with reading and homework at the gazebo, surrounded by the multitude of colours and fragrances the various summer flowers brought to the garden. On a few occasions during cooler days, she would forgo work to stretch out across the soft grass, watching the clouds roll by and the flowers swaying gracefully in the breeze, and listening to the birds chirruping from their safe perches in the trees.

Right now though, she no longer had the liberty to relax.

Shoulders sagged and back hunched, Akemi had never felt so old, and she was only sixteen.

Closing her eyes with a weary sigh, she slowly leant back against the wooden bench, her bag resting by her feet. Finding this secluded spot had not been easy, and when she opened her eyes to check her watch, Akemi realised half an hour of free period had gone since setting foot in the garden.

Akemi glanced over her shoulder at the shabby old garden shed, which failed to serve its purpose as a landmark, seeing as the worn-out paint and weathered wood camouflaged it amid the hedges and trees.

A feeling of nostalgia rose as her brown eyes surveyed the surrounding.

'This is the place where I first met them,' she mused, running a finger absent-mindedly across the wooden surface, remembering the embarrassing moment when she was caught asleep on the same bench by the three oddballs.

She turned her head back to the front and closed her eyes again. For a while, she stayed in that position, savouring the cool breeze that caressed her skin, and slowly wicking away the weariness in her features.

Though when the bell rang for lunch, her worries returned in full force upon realising she was trapped in this place, and judging by the amount of chattering and laughter behind the leafy wall, with no means of escaping the roof.

At least, she was certain nobody would ever find this place.

She pressed a hand over her hollow stomach when a deep rumble sounded.

"I should have brought a bento to school,"she grumbled under her breath, propping up her arms and crossing them over the railing. She laid her head on her arms and stared into the far horizon where the sea was.

A few more rumbles later, her legs were beginning to feel heavier than usual, and she sluggishly sank towards the ground with a sigh of despair. 'How long do I have to suffer?' she wondered, clinging onto the metal bars for some sort of comfort.

Seconds later, she jumped back onto her feet, startled by the sudden rustling of leaves from the hedges, and whipped around on her spot.

For a couple of heartbeat, she stood frozen to her spot with her brown eyes wide and alert. Then instinct kicking in, she moved her body to a defensive stance. She held her breath, waiting for whoever it was to come out, not daring to take her eyes off the shivering foliage.

At long last, the branches were pushed apart. A familiar head emerged, followed closely by the rest of his body as he fully stepped out from the hedge, brushing off the leaves and twigs that were caught in his blue hair.

It was then he noticed Akemi standing with her body facing the side, holding her fists aloft, and (for a fraction of second) looking as though she wanted to punch the daylights out of him before her features visibly relaxed.

Her arms dropped back down to her sides like heavy weights. "What? It's only you?" she said in a deadpan voice; eyebrows drawn into a single line as she stared unamused at Yukimura.

"I sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart if my presence disappointed you," he chuckled, strolling over to Akemi, who drew herself upright. "You look famish; I'm glad the queue at the cafeteria wasn't long. Here, this is yours." She blinked in surprise when he held out a stack of two bento boxes. "It's today's special, Rikkai Katsudon. Oh, and I bought tea too," he raised a takeaway coffee tray with two paper cups to her eye level. "Let's have lunch together. It's a bit unfortunate Genichiro and Renji can't join us, they have committee business to attend," he added the later as an afterthought.

Well, it wasn't as if she would have any chance to eat when lunch break's over.

"Th-thank you," she whispered, relieving the top bento from the stack. "Umm… may I ask why and how?" she requested as they sat across each other on the grass; a small yet respectable gap between the two.

Yukimura crossed his legs beneath him and opened the lid of the bento. "When you did not return to your classroom for lunch, your classmates started to worry." Akemi raised an eyebrow in surprise; everyone in her class was worried about her? "Hinata-san said that you would normally drop off your bag before heading to the cafeteria. After checking the whole place to no avail, Yagyuu-san immediately alerted Genichiro, Renji and I.

We knew for certain, with all the manageress news spreading around, you must have gone to find a safe place to hide.

Reliable Renji's calculations are…we couldn't be certain you'd picked the rooftop garden out of so many. Luckily, we received a tip off from a senpai that you were last seen heading here, and Renji was able to deduce, with absolute confidence, your exact location in the garden after remembering you'd previously used this place.

Though I must say, it isn't really the best place to hide, especially with the rooftop garden being a hot spot for lunch –as you are well aware of it now," he added with a chuckle. She stared at him, awestruck. When his laughter subsided, he suddenly took on a more serious tone, though he still wore a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "How are you feeling, Akemi-san?"

She lowered her gaze to the bento sitting on her lap. "Tired…frustrated…" she muttered, stirring the food with her chopsticks half-heartedly. "…as if I've spent days reaching the top of a mountain only to find I'd climbed the wrong one," she sighed wearily. "Much that I'd anticipated this happening and mentally prepared for it, I can't stop Murphy's Law from kicking me in the shins."

"I see…do you regret being our team manageress then?" he enquired in a genuine manner.

She snapped her head up to stare at him in shock. All those times when she was complaining about it, Akemi had only been joking.

"It's only the second day; I've yet memorise every faces and names of the non-regulars, and you're asking if I've made the wrong decision?" she asked, incredulously. "Weren't you the one who said: 'don't be quick to judge', Yukimura-san?"

The grimness in his features disappeared as his smile returned to his blue eyes, which seemed to twinkle in amusement and (it may have been the trick of light, but Akemi wasn't sure) relief.

"I'll take that as a no." One of her eyebrows quirked up, but remained silent, as he began to speak again. "If that's the case, then I promise you this, Akemi-san," he paused to place his bento box on the grass in front of him and look at her through unwavering eyes. "I'll find a way to bring an end to all these unwanted attentions. All I ask from you is patience."

Akemi broke off the eye contact and gazed down at the half-eaten bento, biting down on her lower lip. No matter how convinced he was of his own words, and how much she wanted to believe them, she remained doubtful whether his method would last. She blinked in surprise when an iris appeared before her vision, and lifted her head with a quizzical expression.

"Just trust me," he smiled sincerely.

After a dubious moment of hesitation, she nodded wordlessly, surprising even herself, though she masked it behind a warm smile of gratitude as she took the offered flower from Yukimura, who was inwardly pleased that the initial phase of his plan had worked out.

A comfortable silence stretched out between the two as they resumed lunch, completely ignoring the racket beyond the hedges.

From time to time, the captain would peer over his bento at his blissfully unaware companion in silent contemplation, a familiar feeling in a corner of his mind knocking against his skull. He hesitated for a brief moment. 'Well, it's now or never,' he thought, reaching inside his blazer.

The hand holding the paper cup froze; her lips barely brushing against the cup's mouth. She had been deep in thoughts, when her ears picked up a scratching sound as though someone was scribbling on paper. She glanced at the person sitting opposite her. Gradually, the shock was replaced by bewilderment. "Yukimu-"

"Hold that flower and admire it like you did just now, please," he hastily interjected, eyes fixed on the sketchbook in one hand, the other moving at an alarming speed.

After a brief hesitation, she complied. He flicked his eyes from his sketch to her, then back to his sketchbook, a small crease of a frown forming on his forehead.

"Umm…may I know what you are doing?" It seemed like a silly thing to ask, because it was obvious to Akemi what – or rather who – he was sketching. It was an unnerving thought.

At long last, she had his attention.

"Hmm?" Yukimura blinked rapidly as though her voice had brought him back to reality, pausing halfway through creating the outline of the flower held between her fingers. When Akemi repeated her question, a mischievous smile crossed his face. "Oh-no, I'll show it to you when I'm finished, Akemi-san. This is only a draft," he patted the sketchbook.

She glared at him, put out that he seemed to have read her thoughts, but was cooperative for the remainder of his rough-sketching.

By the end of it, her facial muscles felt like they were stretched out, as though made out of rubber, and then held in place by C-clamps for millennia.

"You will be the first to see the final product, Akemi-san," he grinned assuredly, pulling the cover over his sketchbook shut.

Akemi merely nodded in understanding, massaging one sore cheek with one hand, while the other held out the empty cup and bento box to Yukimura after he'd insisted on chucking them into a bin for her.

"We should leave at different times. Don't want others to catch us heading out the garden together, right?" he suggested with a sheepish laugh, cautiously standing back up with his arms full. "It would be prudent to lay low for the time being."

"B-but, there are still some people around," she said uncertainly, gesturing towards the general direction of the still-existing chattering behind the hedges. "How are we going to get out of here without them seeing us?" Then it hit her. "Come to think of it, how did you manage to cross the garden unscathed?" she eyed him suspiciously "I heard no fangirls screaming your name as if the end is nigh."

He chuckled at her expression. "Not wanting to sound like I'm bragging, but I know the layout of the rooftop garden like the back of my hand." At the puzzled expression, he continued, "Have you heard the rooftop garden was a project that started out a few years ago at the Middle School department?" She nodded, not dropping the look she was giving him. "I was the one who designed it," he said, smiling in amusement at the dumbstruck manageress.

XXX

There were only a few students using the stairwell by the time she had left the rooftop.

Ignoring the indignant yells, Akemi hurried down the stairs, muttering apologies as she side-stepped those in her way.

She glanced at her watch and cursed inwardly.

Two minutes and the bell would ring.

She had wasted too much time dithering in front of the hedge where Yukimura had gone through before her.

At the landing on the third floor, Akemi caught sight of Mouri standing inside the corridor and leaning lazily against the door frame as though guarding them. He grinned at her after a chance glance over his shoulders, turned on his heels, and disappeared from view.

Her paces slightly faltered and was about to stop when the once slumbering bell above her head erupted into life, sending her into the air in fright.

Cursing again, she slapped her hands over her ears and ran down the stairs, skipping over one or two (safety be damned), and eventually landing with a grunt on the second floor.

Mind in a daze, she didn't see the imposing figure at the door until she literally ran into it.

Akemi stumbled (actually, bounced) back a couple of paces from the impact, stunned. She snapped her eyes up and felt them widened into the size of platters.

What she thought was a brick wall, was in fact Sanada. Though his face was as impassive as ever, Akemi swore a look of relief crossed his features for a split second before his eyes regained the guarded look. He bunched up his shoulders.

Ah yes, the old intimidation trickery.

"Come with me."

That certainly did not sound like a request. But it wasn't a threat as well.

Either way, there was no room for argument as the vice-captain firmly steered her down the corridor, towards her classroom.

Students who were rushing back to their classrooms skidded to a halt and stared unashamedly at them, only scattering away when Sanada swept a glare around the passageway.

'So much for keeping a low profile, Yukimura-san,' Akemi remarked, flatly. Privately, she wanted that amazing ability the vice-captain possessed. She snuck a glance at Sanada.

It seemed a bit ironic for the stern vice-captain, who was known for the (over)usage of his favourite phrase, to go against the school rules. The bell rang five minutes ago, and here he was escorting a girl to her classroom, instead of being in his.

She scowled; he must have been too harsh on himself.

"You don't have to do this, Genichiro-san," she implored. "The bell had already rung; you're late as it is."

Akemi felt the hand on her shoulder stiffened, affirming her suspicion. To defy one's own principle, that person must have a great deal of willpower and resolve.

She cast a worried glance at Sanada, but he only shook his head, silently assuring her with a gentle squeeze before removing his hand.

Finally, they stopped outside her classroom door.

She breathed a sigh of exasperation and turned to him. "I honestly hope you will take a break from that Spartan lifestyle from time to time," she muttered lowly for fear of eavesdroppers despite the corridor being deserted. Behind the classroom door, she could hear the muffled voice of the maths teacher. "But thank you. It means a lot to me," she smiled; a hand over her heart, emphasising her gratitude.

Sanada nodded curtly. He bowed his head in farewell, turned on his heels and started back towards his classroom.

The moment he heard the sound of the door slid to a close, his shoulders slumped minutely; pleased that Yukimura was mistaken when he said Akemi would be unhappy.

So...how did I do with the Akemi-Yukimura bit? (hides behind a tree)

I have another confession to make...this chapter was going to be 14000+ words long if I didn't decide to split the whole document into two chapters.

Good thing though, because as thanks for helping to reach over 4000 views, the next chapter will be uploaded sometime this week! It's closed to finish, and I need to stop adding more, else I may have to split up the document again! T.T Fingers crossed, because Chinese New Year is almost here! Spring clean nightmare! D:

Remember, you can still vote for your fav pairing, and please leave a review if you like! ;)