Two chapters in a week, just as promised!

Thanks for the fav and follows. Don't forget to leave a review at the end ;)

(Afternoon...club activity sessions)

"Hold out your hands, please."

Yanagi looked up from the clipboard he was perusing, and caught a sack before it could hit his face. He raised an eyebrow at Akemi then glanced down at the heavy object, which was on the verge of bursting at the seams, and felt his mouth instantly dried upon realising what the contents were.

Akemi rolled her eyes at the piteous look. "It's not like there's anything for me in there. Sort them out among yourselves will you?" she said airily, waving her hand.

Before he could stop her, she had skipped over to the side of the court where Sanada was observing a singles match.

'She's in a rather good mood,' he mused, rubbing his chin with his free hand.

"OOOHHH! Are those sweets you have there, Yanagi?" Marui asked excitedly, head popping from behind his shoulders out of the blue.

'Good timing,' he smiled, mutely handing over the sack to the unsuspecting red-head, who gasped in delight. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Yanagi turned around and strolled away, humming a tune and twirling his pen between his fingers.

Marui's earlier exclamation had attracted Jackal, Kirihara and a small group of curious first years. They crowded around him as he eagerly untied the string that kept the contents in, gazing down at the sack as though waiting for a magic hat trick.

Eventually, the mouth of the sack slipped open.

Holding their breath in anticipation, they leaned in closer, their heads almost banging against one another.

Then –

A chorus of screams tore through the air, startling everyone (except Yanagi), and causing all matches to halt in various phases.

Akemi glanced over her shoulders at the source of the ruckus just as the unmistakable sound of a vein popping came from the vice-captain. Her eyes followed Sanada, who was stalking towards the hapless boys with a dark, ominous storm brewing over his head.

She tore her eyes away from the scene and glared in annoyance at the unperturbed Yanagi who stood at a safe distance on the opposite side of the court.

Sighing in exasperation, she walked over to where Sanada was giving them a severe dressing-down, taking pity on the freshmen who were trembling like leaves in their shoes.

After the vice-captain finally yielded to her pleas and left (not without a last warning glare), she might have unwittingly gained a few admirers, judging by the awestruck looks she was receiving from the first years (including Kirihara).

"I knew it was a good idea to have you as our manageress!" Marui grinned toothily, engulfing an unamused Akemi in a bear hug.

She breathed a noiseless sigh and shifted her eyes to Jackal with a pointed look.

He gulped nervously at the cold fire burning in her eyes (he was starting to think she's been spending too much time around Sanada) and immediately pulled the redhead off her. "Come on. Our match with the senpais is about to start. We shouldn't keep them waiting," he said, dragging his doubles partner along with him.

Hands on her hips, she watched through narrowed eyes, as Jackal ferried him away like a sack of potatoes, eliciting laughs from the first years.

"That was amazing! Thank you, Akemi-senpai!"

She turned to face the first years, only to leap back with a cry of surprise at their bright, sparkling eyes.

It was – she learnt from yesterday – Urayama Shiita who spoke. The others nodded fervently in agreement.

She chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Y-you're welcome."

As they followed down the path where Jackal and Marui had used, they chattered pleasantly about trivial matters, stopping every now and then to observe the matches before moving on to the next one.

Kirihara excused himself, uttering an apology when Yukimura called him for a match. Akemi caught sight of the enthusiasm burning bright in his eyes.

"Neh? Akemi-senpai?" piped up Urayama, who – apart from Kirihara – was the least timid among the first years.

"Yes?" she responded in a distracted manner, eyes affixed on one of the matches.

"Do you play tennis?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Nope," came the succinct reply.

It was a long while before Akemi realised she was walking on her own, and (she turned around) the first years were standing rooted to the spot nearly ten feet away, staring at her with the same gobsmacked expressions, jaws on the ground and all.

She blinked when comprehension dawned on her. 'Oh right, this is a tennis club…so I am expected-'

"I don't believe it!" Urayama gasped, bounding over to her. "Then why did Yukimura-buchou accepted you as manageress?"

'Not this again…' she bit back a groan.

"That's because Seiichi didn't base his decision on tennis," a familiar voice behind her answered.

"What do you mean by that, Yanagi-senpai?" one of the first years asked, politely. He had to crane his neck several notches to look at Yanagi; the Data Master was (in Akemi's opinion too) ridiculously tall.

"He mentioned, in the announcement yesterday afternoon, something about a personality evaluation test, right?"

The first years nodded in sync.

Yanagi didn't say anything else as he patiently allowed them to dwell on it.

'So like him…' Akemi remarked dryly, though a small smile crossed her features when the first years eventually understood what he was trying to tell them. A weight fell on her shoulder.

"Back to the tennis issue. How about I teach you the basics?"

The smile plummeted to the ground. 'Definitely. So. Like. Him,' she grounded her teeth, as the hand steered her towards one of the vacant courts; the first years eagerly trailing behind them.

XXX

"I-I'm not sure about this…Yanagi-san," Akemi said slowly, twirling one of the club's spare tennis racquet by the handle apprehensively in her hand. "Terrible at sports…" she mumbled to herself.

"Give it a chance," he interjected smoothly, tapping a rhythm on his shoulder using his racquet. When she still looked sceptical, he continued, "Perhaps we should start with the forehand swing. Here, allow me to demonstrate it." He positioned himself so that she had a full view, and swung the racquet, creating whooshing sound as he did so. "There. Now you try it."

She copied his previous posture, pursing her lips in hesitation. 'What am I doing!?' she mentally screamed.

Practising the swinging technique was compulsory for first years (including Kirihara; because no matter how good he was compared to the others, he could not deny the fact he's a freshman) after the warm-up laps. She had never seen any of the senpais and fellow second years done this…

Heaving a sigh of resignation, she readjusted her grips around the handle for a more comfortable position, took a deep breath, and swung the racquet like Yanagi did. Still holding the racquet up over her shoulder, she glanced over at Yanagi with a questioning look.

The Data Master in question rubbed his chin in a contemplative manner. "Hmm…your grip on the handle slipped about a quarter way through the swing, thus accounting for the average 86% error in angle, speed –"

"Just, do another demonstration, Yanagi-san," she glowered, clenching the handle tightly. 'There's no need to ramble on and on about how awful I was!'

One quick glance at her ghostly-white knuckles was all he needed to comply.

Akemi breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead, when Yanagi finally deemed it enough (for now) half an hour later. She lost count on the number of times she had swung that accursed stick. Her poor shoulder felt like it would drop from its socket any moment as she furiously rubbed away the soreness with one hand.

"Improvement: 0.5%," he stated, scribbling in his notebook and oblivious to the death glare he received.

'Monster no. 3,' she huffed indignantly, crossing her arm over her chest as the Data Master returned his pen and notebook back inside the pocket of his jersey, which he had deposited on the umpire's chair.

To her utter horror, Yanagi next 'suggested' she have a go at returning his shots. Before she could voice her opinion, he had (somehow) reappeared on the opposite side behind the net in a blink of an eye, bouncing a tennis ball on the ground.

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on you," he assured, though Akemi felt otherwise. "All you have to do is hit the ball using the same forehand method. That's all there is to it.*" He grabbed the ball and repositioned himself. "The serves will be straightforward. You'll barely need to move around and your skirt won't fly," he said in a casual manner that caught her off guard.

Suddenly becoming more conscious of the fact she was wearing her school uniform (minus the blazer), she hastily smoothed her skirt. She glared darkly at him as her face turned bright red to the point of resembling the shade of an overripe tomato.

Judging by the hopeful glances from the occupants in the adjacent court, they must have overheard Yanagi. But at a warning glare from a passing vice-captain, they hastily returned their full attention to their ongoing match.

Curious, Sanada stopped beside the first years to observe the tennis lesson. The freshmen were shouting words of encouragement, and unwittingly drawing in more spectators to their court.

Right at that moment, it seemed like clinging onto her dignity had become a daunting task.

The Data Master kept his mouth sealed tight as he served. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman with a tennis racquet and a black belt rank in Karate scorned.'

Realising he had made a move, Akemi immediately jumped into position like he had earlier instructed. 'How hard can this be?' she wondered with a frown, swinging the racquet. She blinked in surprise when she felt the impact the ball made with the nylon strings.

Yanagi, the spectators and she watched with bated breath as the ball flew away in the opposite direction, back towards the server, over the net, the Data Master's head, the tall fence of their court and the next.

As it hurtled closer and closer towards the ground, Akemi found herself holding a hand over her mouth in a silent gasp of horror.

There was a dull thud when the tennis ball hit the player who was about to return a volley on the head. The spectators grimaced as the unfortunate target crumbled into a heap on the ground with a loud thump; the tennis ball not far away from his twitching form.

Biting her lower lip in guilt, she slid the 'I-told-you-so' look at Yanagi, who shrugged indifferently as though he had expected this to happen.

Of course he had.

The moment Akemi placed one foot out to the right he knew where – or rather who – the ball would hit.

He cleared his throat. "Let's try it one more time."

And tried they did.

Ten minutes later, their lesson was put to a stop when Yukimura waltzed in (briefly dodging a tennis ball that zipped past his neck) to intervene before things could get out of hand, as he had so nicely put it.

Glancing around, Akemi winced at the gruesome scene.

Despite following Yanagi's advices to a tee, she had not only managed to hit the balls off court, but also knocked out everyone in theirs. In one of them, she spotted the lone figure of Kirihara sprawled across the ground. Unlike the captain, he had not been quick enough to evade the green and fuzzy missile.

Her ears twitched at the spluttering sound from behind her as though someone was trying in vain to stifle a laugh. "T-that w-was t-t-the m-most a-a-awful –"the familiar voice broke off and fell into fits of laughter.

The vice-like grip on the handle tightened.

Clang!

Yanagi and Yukimura turned, wearing the same puzzled looks, from their surveying of her artwork at the sound of a racquet hitting the ground.

"S-stop laughing at once! Niou-kun!" Yagyuu pleaded, tugging urgently at the sleeve of his best friend and occasionally throwing nervous glances behind the fence. Though there was a barrier between them, the aura filtering through the gaps was enough of an incentive for the spectators to back away.

"N-never s-seen anything –!" Niou leapt back with an involuntary cry of surprise, avoiding a fist that could have easily taken out his entire row of pearly whites, and put a lovely dent on his face like Akemi had done with the fence.

Everyone gaped shamelessly at her and the indentation of her fist in the fence, not quite believing what they had seen.

It didn't take a long time for the trickster to regain his composure. "Heeheehee! Missed me! Puri~" he said in a sing-song manner, blowing raspberries.

Her eyebrows twitched irritably at the annoying noise and raised her arm, but someone caught it before she could do any more damage.

"It will cost the club to repair that fence, Akemi-san. Please don't put us in debt," Yukimura implored calmly, letting her arm go. "Plus, you will have to complete a lot of medical paperwork should Niou-kun end up in the university hospital. There's the repair form waiting for you already."

She whipped around, eyes wide in disbelief. "EHHHH!? That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war," he smiled, patting her shoulder before coaxing her to follow him to the locker room where he kept all the documents.

Yes, it's nice to have someone to do something as tedious as paperwork in his stead.

"Hang on a sec," Yukimura said to her upon stepping out of the court.

"Okay," she sighed.

He gave her an appreciative smile before raising his head to survey their surroundings. "All first years to assemble in front of me!" he ordered, crossing his arms over his chest.

There were sounds of hurried footsteps as freshmen gathered neatly in a straight line before the captain.

Akemi blinked, realising a familiar face was missing from the group, until she remembered Kirihara was still out of commissioned. She cast a curious glance over at his court, and was relieved to see him staggering back to his feet with the help of Marui and Jackal.

She returned her attention to Yukimura who began to spoke to the assembled first years.

"I want everyone to collect all of the tennis balls from the courts and return them to the store." "Eh?" she snapped her eyes at him. But Yukimura went on, "Split up into smaller groups of three or four. Additionally, I need one group to check the bushes for four that have landed there."

"YES, BUCHOU!"

Akemi thought her ears might have been blown off by the sheer volume of their voices. The first years saluted him ('Is that even necessary?' she wondered in a deadpan manner) before scattering in different directions.

Hands on hips, she spun on her heels. "Hang on! Those balls were my fault! I should be the one picking them up, not the first years!"

An amused smile crossed his features. "That may be true, but you have a job to do at the moment. Leave the collection to the first years. It would be quicker to have more than a pair of arms and legs, right?"

The moment he said that, the anger vanished from her features in a poof, inwardly catching him by surprise.

She backed away slowly. "If buchou wants the collection done even faster, then it would be wise if I help too, right?"

"That's not what I…"

But she had already turned tail and ran off after the group that was heading to the bushes.

"Oh? So hidden underneath that skin is a crafty sixteen-year old girl?" Yanagi mused aloud, having caught the end of their conversation. In one hand, he was holding his and the club's tennis racquets. "Though I would give 96.5% chances she whipped up that excuse to get out of paperwork after you told her about needing extra limbs."

"True. But there's no denying she was guilty about leaving all the hard work to the first years," he chuckled, watching Akemi as she talked to the freshmen, who had no qualms in having her join them.

XXX

"Mmmm….maybe we should have asked buchou for more details," Urayama said as he knelt down on all fours on the edge of the slate path to peer underneath a bush. "Half an hour and we still haven't found a single tennis ball!" He poked his head deeper and exclaimed, "Ah! There's something in there, but it's too dark to see!"

Despite only a few were around, the trees casted long shadows over the path and thicket (no) thanks to the position of the setting sun.

"Is it?" Akemi muttered. She pulled out her phone from her skirt's pocket, and squatted down beside the first year who was trying in vain to see into the dark. "Well, let there be light!"

On 'light', the bottom of the bush was instantly brightened up, prompting a gasp of joy from Urayama.

"It's a tennis ball!" he exclaimed, stretching his arm into the small gap between the leaves and soil.

The other two first years scurried from their bushes they were inspecting and peered over Akemi's shoulders.

A triumphant grin was the sign they needed.

"Got it!" he declared, pulling out the object and showing it to them.

Akemi gave him a grin of her own. "Great! So that's one down…." she trailed off, the positive mood slipping from her features as she surveyed the area. "…and three more to go," she heaved a sigh, slumping her shoulders. There was too much undergrowth to start with.

Compared to the moody atmosphere hanging over her head, the first years, fired up from their first success, were spread out along the path and searching the other bushes with renewed fervour.

'Why do I feel so old?' she sighed again, shoulders slumping even further. Remembering Urayama was two yours younger than her* (according to Yanagi, the first year skipped the third year of junior high due to his exceptional grades) made the thought more unbearable. She shook her head fervently. 'Best stop dawdling over such trivial matter,' she nodded in determination.

Fifteen minutes later, they managed to find two more.

"One more and we can call it a day," she muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow.

She wandered further away from the first years, scanning the trees just in case the last tennis ball was caught among the branches.

As luck had it, she spotted a-not-so-cleverly camouflaged tennis ball peeping out from among the leaves.

Slowing to a stop before the tree, she glanced up and down it with a contemplative look. She placed one foot on the thick roots experimentally. 'Hmm…it shouldn't be too difficult to climb up.'

Without a second thought, she bent her knees, leapt from the ground with a grunt, and latched her arms around the lowest branch directly above her head. Using the bark as support, she carefully hoisted herself onto the branch and stood on it, arms stretched out beside her for balance.

She breathed a shaky sigh of relief.

'Right…easy does it,' she reached over to the next branch above. Thinner than the one she stood, it bent into an arch under the weight of her hand that was pulling it down, revealing the last tennis ball. A triumphant smile crossed her face as she stretched her other arm as far as possible to reach the ball.

Just as her fingers were about to curl around it, something solid whizzed past her field of vision and knocked her hand away on the wrist, causing her to yelp in surprise.

For a heart stopping moment, she had lost the grip on the branch and was swaying dangerously on her perch, arms flailing beside her in an attempt to regain balance.

When it all seemed about to end badly, she managed to stagger backwards (well, more like skipped on one foot) and spun on her heels, throwing her arms out as she collided with the bark with an 'Oof!'

She hesitantly opened one eye, then the other. A sigh of relief escaped through her parted lips upon realising she was alive and well. It would be humiliating if the first years found her sprawled across the ground, possibly in a pool of blood.

She grimaced at the hideous image.

"Akemi-senpai! What are you doing up there?" a voice from below asked curiously.

She lowered her gaze to see the first years crowding around the tree and glanced at her arms. A faint blush crept up her cheeks as, slowly and painfully, Akemi became aware of the awkward situation she's in.

'So much for preventing an embarrassing moment,' she remarked, flatly. "I-I just thought this tree looked a bit sad and lonely standing here among all the bushes." She patted the bark with her hands. "So I thought; maybe a hug will make it feel better!" she chuckled sheepishly, and perhaps it a bit forcefully. 'What did I just say!?'

Fortunately for Akemi, they were a gullible bunch and took her words for it.

As she made her way down, the last tennis ball was spotted right on top of the bush beside the tree.

'Must have fallen off the branch,' she scratched her chin.

he first years did a celebratory dance before racing back towards the tennis courts with all four balls in Urayama's arms, leaving Akemi behind in her own thoughts.

The corner of her lips twisted up into an amused smile at their childish naivety.

Yawning, she stretched her arms above her head. "Now that's done and over with, time to -!"

She whipped around at the sound of leaves rustling behind her. 'Y-Yukimura-san?' she squinted at the quivering foliage a couple of feet away from her. "NOT!" she cried with a start, skipping back a pace when a grey ball of fur ran across the spot where she was a second ago before disappearing up a tree.

The squirrel, oblivious to the death glare from the human, scratched furiously at an itchy spot and leapt into a small hollow in the bark with a squeak.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Akemi huffed indignantly, giving the hollow where the little critter disappeared into a scowl before following the freshmen.

Five or six steps, she abruptly stopped, feeling the back of her hair standing on end at the eerie sensation of being watched from the shadows.

Brown eyes flickered about; nothing.

Shrugging it aside as her imagination, she continued her walk, breaking into a run the moment she felt it again. Not once her footsteps faltered, even when she realised it had stopped following her the moment she emerged from the shadows. It was only when she was surrounded by the tall fences of the tennis courts did she slow down to a brisk walk.

"Are you alright, Akemi-senpai?" a voice asked, effectively cutting through her daze. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Blinking rapidly to clear her mind, she turned her head to Kirihara who was watching her with a concerned expression.

"What are you talking about, Kirihara-kun?" Akemi laughed sheepishly, waving his remark dismissively. "It's just my natural complexion. Ohohohoho!" she increased her walking speed, leaving a flabbergasted Kirihara behind.

'That was so close,' she sighed in relief. 'What should I do?' she bit her lower lips, her hands fiddling with the end of her tie. 'There's a stalker out there…maybe I should tell Genichiro-san.' She shook her head at that thought. 'No, he already has a lot on his plates as it is.'

She glanced around. The tennis courts were empty, saved for the regulars, and a few freshmen who were left with cleaning duty. 'Is it that late already?' she gazed down at her watch.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She felt her heart dropped at the voice. He was the least person she wanted to bump into at the moment. "W-what gives you that idea, Yanagi-san?"

"You have a habit of chewing your lower lips when something is troubling your mind," he pointed out as a matter-of-factly, gesturing at her with his pen.

And that's why…

"Nothing's troubling me," she lied.

Yanagi raised a sceptical eyebrow at her curt reply, but didn't raise another question. Instead, he rested his hand on one of her shoulders and said, "We're always here if you need help, Akemi-san."

XXX

On one side of the tennis club's locker room, there was a small area with a long outdoor sink for those who needed a quick quench.

Hunched over the sink, was none other than Akemi, who suddenly felt the need to freshen up with a splash of cool water on her face.

Blinking away the water that was trickling down her cheeks, she reached across the sink to shut the tap with one hand, while the other grabbed a clean towel from the side.

As she patted her face dry, her ears picked up the tell-tale sounds of the regulars, who were the only ones left at the end of club practice, locking up the gates of each court.

Sighing in satisfaction, she lowered the towel and tossed it over her shoulder. Careful not to let any droplets drip onto her collar or down her shirt, she squeezed the remaining water off her soaked fringe.

Akemi paused in mid-combing her hair between her fingers when her eyes caught sight of an angry bruise on her wrist. She flicked her hair a few times, unintentionally decorating the wall behind her with water droplets, and brought her wrist to eye level.

A small crease of a frown appeared on her forehead as she inspected the bruise. Though it was small, she had a hunch the object that hit her was a decent sized pebble; enough to scrape some of her skin off, but not so to cause any more than a slight discolouration.

"We're always here if you need help, Akemi-san."

Her mouth parted slightly in a noiseless sigh upon recalling Yanagi's words; she had been unconsciously biting her lower lip again.

'Darn that mind-reader,' she gritted her teeth, channelling all her frustration to her hands as she wrung the poor towel dry. Deeming it had suffered enough in (quite literally) her hands, she folded the now less soggy towel neatly, and turned on her heels.

Before she could even place one foot forward, a faint noise from the bushes behind the sink caused her to spin around on the spot, eyes wide as they stared at the still thicket.

All was silent as she eyed the foliage warily. After a dubious amount of time, she eventually shrugged it off as the wind.

As soon as she had finished that thought, she caught a glimpse of a rubble fragment hurtling towards her. She instinctively moved her head away, wincing at the sharp pain that struck her between the eyes.

The projectile hit the wall beside her, and bounced away, knocking off the brooms that were propped up against the solid structure. Like dominoes, the brooms fell onto the ground one by one with a thunderous crash.

The towel fell from her arms. Akemi staggered backwards, dazed from the pain, until her back collided with the wall. Feeling a warm liquid trickling down her nose, she hastily pressed a firm hand on the spot where rubble the had grazed her forehead.

"Oi, Noda~ What's with the no-" Niou broke off upon seeing Akemi leaning against the wall of the locker room with her back turned towards him. "O-oi. Are you alright?" he asked with a hint of concern.

Her shoulders stiffened visibly at his voice.

Akemi took a deep breath, and waited for a brief moment until she was certain her voice would sound calm when she spoke. "Yes, I'm just feeling a bit tired. That's all."

He swiftly glanced from the fallen brooms, to the rubble fragment beside one of them, before resting on the bright red spots on the ground. His eyes widened in shock as comprehension slowly dawned on him.

"What's going on here?" a gruff voice asked.

Niou turned to see Sanada who had heard the crash too.

One glance over at Akemi, who quickly slapped her other hand over her face, and then at the blood stains set off alarms in his head.

The trickster stepped away to make room for Sanada as the vice-captain hurriedly made his way past the brooms to her side. Niou took this cue to search for the perpetrator around the area, knowing that rubble didn't move on its own.

"What happened?" Sanada demanded as soon as Niou left. He tried to lean in a little without breaking her personal space to see past the gaps between her fingers, but all she dared to reveal were her quivering lips. "Akemi-san!" he barked, startling her though she still kept a firm hold.

It was the first time he had yelled at her.

"L-leave me alone!" she whispered softly. She shuffled away from a stunned Sanada, repeating the same line over and over again under her breath, but was stopped from going any further than five steps by a wall.

No.

It felt too soft to be the locker room's wall; and since when did they grow hands that were restraining her by the upper arms?

"Being alone isn't good…" she heard the voice of Yukimura said. He released the hold, feeling her body jerk slightly against his chest when he placed his hands over hers. "…nor is hiding your suffering, Akemi-san." He curled his fingers around her hand, silently urging her to uncover her face.

Akemi slowly turned her head left then right. His gaze sharpened at the sight of the dark bruise on her wrist before it was concealed by her curtain of hair. Leaning in closer to her ear, he gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "I am a man of my words – trust me on this one," he whispered, reminding her of the promise he made back at the rooftop garden. "Please."

Silence hung in the air, interrupted only by the noises of the other regulars who had joined Niou in the manhunt. Though judging by the frustration in their voices, the culprit had escaped.

Her ears picked up footsteps thudding to a stop in front of her. Through the tiny crevices between her fingers, Akemi could make out a pair of shoes which looked familiarly like Sanada's.

Chewing on her lower lip, she hesitated, feeling her resolve shattering bit by bit. The Rikkai captain seemed to have this innate flair for talking her out of things. She presumed it's his charisma skills honed through years of being both captain and coach.

The corners of his lips quirked up when he felt the stiffness in her body dissipated, but the smile was wiped off his face the moment he brought their hands down, revealing the blood smears across her palms.

She slowly lifted her head, giving Sanada, who was already horrified by the blood, the full view of the dark red liquid running down the bridge of her nose as though she had pinned a ribbon on her forehead.

Letting go of her hands, Yukimura stepped away from Akemi as the vice-captain began to fret, and bent down to pick up the rubble. Turning the fragment in different angles, he examined it closely, noting the jaggedness as though it was broken off from a larger piece with a hammer.

"Stop fussing over me as if I'm a meek little girl!" the voice of Akemi snapped. He looked up from the rubble in time to see her slapped away Sanada's hand.

"Am I rolling on the floor, crying in pain? It's just a –" she broke off at the weight on her shoulder. Turning on her heels, she promptly brushed Yukimura's hand off. "You too!" She stormed away from them, grumbling under her breath; one hand pressing against the wound.

"Let her be," Yukimura said, holding his hand up when Sanada made a move to follow her. He sighed in exasperation. "She needs time to let off steam."

XXX

"Keep chewing and I may end up needing to bandage them too, Akemi-san."

She pulled her teeth away from her lower lip, a blush gracing her cheeks for a brief moment. She scowled irritably at Yanagi who was calmly patching her up. Since she was sitting on the bench, he had to bend his knees into a crouch to reach her forehead.

"Right, this is going to sting a little," he warned, holding up an antiseptic wipe before her eyes. Then with a serious (and almost pleading) expression, he added, "And I strongly advise against punching the medic."

Akemi scrunched up her nose, repulsed by the funky smell wafting to her nostrils. She flinched involuntarily the moment he pressed the wipe onto the cut, digging her fingernails deeply into the wooden bench. Nevertheless, she remained obediently motionless as he cleaned the cut.

"Is this even necessary?"

He arched an eyebrow. "That goes without saying. Better safe than sorry as they say. Unless you want to frolic around town with an infected wound on your head." Akemi paled at the gruesome image. "As I thought," he smiled.

"I was being too irrational…wasn't I?" she muttered after a moment of silence.

Yanagi had been on his way to update his two best friends on the search when she swept past him, head bowed and one hand trying to stem the bleeding. It didn't take him long to deduce what happened after a brief glance over at the sombre atmosphere hanging over Sanada and Yukimura's head.

"Yes, you were."

Akemi grimaced at the frank reply, wishing the bench would just swallow her up. The grip on the bench slackened. She diverted her gaze away; a sure sign of guilt.

He briefly glanced at her then back at his work. "They're not the type of people who bear grudges over such matter,especially not against you," he said, earning a sceptical look. "I know them longer than you do. Remember that." He slapped a small bandage over the cleaned cut.

Just as he heaved himself up to stand and backed away a couple of paces to review his handiwork, Yukimura appeared beside him.

"How was it?" he asked the captain, propping the first aid kit against his rib with one hand.

Yukimura shook his head, the look of disappointment clear in his eyes. "Niou-kun couldn't find any footprints on the soil anywhere near the bushes. Others have tried searching nearby, but either the culprit made a quick getaway, or we can follow your assumption and say they'd fired the rubble using a slingshot from one of the nearby windows."

Akemi's heart dropped at the statement.

Yanagi gripped his chin in a contemplative manner. "Hmm…if that's true, then it will put my theory at 65%. Unless we know the approximate trajectory, then we can easily increase the certainty…" he paused to turn his head to Akemi, who had her head bowed and turned the other way.

Sensing his gaze, she shook her head despairingly. "All I saw was the rubble flying towards me from the left where I stood facing the sink," she stated, one finger brushing the bandage absent-mindedly. "I'm sorry for not being able to give you a more precise description," she muttered softly; her voice genuinely apologetic.

"That's quite alright, Akemi-san," he assured her with a smile. "We can always work out from whatever lead at hand."

She nodded curtly, ignoring the captain's piercing stare.

"Where are the others?" Yanagi asked

Yukimura tore his eyes away from her and chuckled. "They've gone home…after I've ordered them to. Though Genichiro (she felt her heart dulled at his name) is still roaming around the area for clues."

"I see."

There was a moment of silence, broken later by the light shuffling of clothes as Yukimura crouched before Akemi. The Data Master took this as a cue to leave, stating he would be back after returning the first aid kit to the locker room.

Seconds passed then a minute or two, and yet she refused to look at him.

Yes, that ladybird crawling across the leaf was far more interesting than the captain's face.

"What happened to that fiery spirit of yours?"

"…I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered, lowly.

"Oh? Well then…what about that determination to help the first years look for the tennis balls among the bushes?"

"That was guilt," she amended without missing a beat.

"Or trying out tennis with Renji?" He carried on as though she had not spoken. "If I didn't stop you from knocking out everyone unconscious, you would have continued."

"…"

Out from the corner of her eyes, she saw him placed something blue with bits of yellow on her lap. It felt weightless.

She flicked a curious glance at it, blinking in surprise at the beautiful iris sitting on her lap; it was similar to the one safely tucked away in her bag.

With tentative fingers, she picked it up, prompting a warm smile from Yukimura, and breathed in the fragrance. She lowered her arms. "Why?" she whispered softly. A small crease appeared on her forehead as she finally looked at him.

His smile widened. "So far, you're the only person under my captaincy whose trust I haven't earned yet," he paused, "But above all, I want you to trust me not just as a captain, but as a friend too."

Brown eyes glanced from the earnestness burning in his eyes to the flower in her hands.

"Do you know, Akemi-san?" he began, prompting her to look back up. "In the language of flowers, the blue iris represents faith and hope," he chuckled good-naturedly at the look of astonishment. "Early this afternoon, I gave you that iris in hopes you will trust me. This one over here -" he gestured at the flower "- is from the other regulars – though I never mentioned anything about it to them," he briskly added with a sheepish laugh. "You saw – well, more likely heard – their efforts during the search. I think that's a good enough excuse to present another iris to you."

All she could do was stare speechlessly at him through wide eyes; amazement etched all over her face.

He gave her another smile, and stood up. He turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Anything?" he asked Sanada, despite the deep frown on the vice-captain's face.

"Nothing," he grunted tersely. Sanada glanced behind Yukimura at the girl whose head had returned to a bow and was brushing the petals of the iris with one finger. He raised an eyebrow at the flower; having no doubt it was from his best friend. He turned his gaze back to Yukimura and said, "I've reported the situation to the security guards, and have requested they check the recordings of all cameras on that side of the school building. They may find footages that will help us."

"Hmmm…That's quite a lot to go through. You're going to join them aren't you?"

"Tomorrow."

"As I thought," Yukimura smirked. "Well then, I'm going to the locker room to change."

"I'll stay here –"

"Worry not." They turned to see Yanagi in his school uniform walking towards them.

Sanada nodded his thanks, and left for the locker room with Yukimura.

Dropping his bags on the ground, Yanagi plopped down on the bench beside her with a sigh of content. "I can't wait for a hot bath." His random comment was met with silence, and he didn't try to make another one as they waited for the two.

Akemi emitted a heavy sigh and raised her eyes to the evening sky. Light was fading fast; she noted.

Five minutes later, Sanada and Yukimura returned, carrying their racquet and school bags on their shoulders.

"Shall we make a move?" the captain suggested.

Yanagi nodded and stood up, lifting his bags off the ground. She followed his moves, albeit in a slower and reluctant manner.

As they headed towards the general direction of the school gates, they walked in a tight-knit group, with Akemi in the middle as though the boys were her bodyguards.

She kept her eyes firmly on the ground, only relying on the pair of shoes in front of her as some sort of guide. Occasionally, she would shift her gaze from the shoes, to the ground, then to the blue iris in her hands, and then back at the shoes; repeating the cycle for the whole journey.

At long last, she lifted her head upon hearing them exchange greetings with the guard who sat in a rickety old chair outside his post beside the school gates.

The grip on the flower tightened as they walked past the gates. She drew a long sigh of exhaustion, berating herself over her stupidity before she steeled herself for what's to come.

Sanada blinked in surprise when Akemi suddenly halted in her steps, prompting him and the others to do the same.

She hastily turned around on her heels, stepped back a couple of paces, and bowed deeply. "Yukimura-san…Genichiro-san. Please forgive me for being rash back there!"

Silence…

'Maybe Yanagi-san is wrong,' she realised with a horrified expression. She held that bow for the remainder of the silence, which was becoming awkward for her by the second.

Then –

"Didn't I say they don't bear any grudges against you, Akemi-san?" It was Yanagi who spoke. From the tone of his voice, he sounded just a tad hurt.

Knowing it was just an act, Akemi straightened her back and was about to give him an unamused look when she noticed Yukimura and him were smiling mirthfully at her.

Although Sanada was wearing his usual aloof expression, there was a subtle hint of relief in his eyes, as though a heavy burden he had been carrying around all day was finally lifted off from his broad shoulders.

She glanced down at the blue iris, then back up at them. Her cheeks were slowly turning into a bright shade of red.

Chuckling, Yukimura titled his head in a small bow and said, "See you tomorrow morning, Akemi-san…Genichiro." He sent her a fleeting smile and turned around, with Yanagi soon imitating his movements.

The wind rustled the trees that lined the road, showering the two figures standing outside the school gates with leaves. As though on unspoken words, they headed down in the opposite direction, walking side by side in comfortable silence.

At one point, Akemi had brought out the other iris from her bag. Smiling softly, she raised the two flowers to her nose and inhaled the fragrance.

Sanada snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eyes. Noticing she was rubbing her eyes fervently with one hand, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Lowering her hand, she smiled brightly at him.

"Yes, just sand in my eyes."

*Yanagi's own quote. Just added a few words.

*I thought Urayama Shiita is a second year in Junior High like Kirihara, until I rechecked the PoT wikia website after uploading chapter 6, and to my utter UTTER horror, he's a first year…. Though I'm not sure how many noticed that mistake since that was eons ago.

There's a reason for Akemi's outburst. All will be revealed in due time.

Also, the last bit where she said "Yes, just sand in my eyes."? Well, that's a bit of a reference to the previous chapter where Akemi jokingly said Sanada might be the Sandman who constantly follows her around.

Don't forget to leave a review, and see you next chapter! ;)