Disclaimer: I do not own Pocky or the song from Disney's Cinderella

One hot September morning, Rikkai High was a scene of organised chaos as every member of the boy's tennis club descended on the tennis courts for a spurt of adrenaline before classes commenced. It was unusual since morning practices were typically dedicated to the eight esteemed regulars. But after much discussion, the afternoon club activity session was shorten to one and a half hour to accommodate the preparations for the upcoming, highly anticipated Rikkai Ocean Festival.

That was the decision of their wise captain, Yukimura. His announcement made a few days ago was not met with any grumbles despite the prospect of getting up earlier than usual since this arrangement was only temporary.

Though on this particular day, muffled complaints drifted about as the sweltering heat from the morning sun beat down on their necks.

Even the stoic vice-captain couldn't help but glare from under his cap at the cloudless sky. His stern gaze flickered to the four non-regulars running laps around the courts (under his order as punishment for losing their matches) before resting on the lone figure standing idly in the shade of a tree. He frowned deeply, a look of contemplation with a subtle hint of concern briefly crossing his features. But he shrugged it off shortly after and turned his attention back to the match he's supervising.

The figure stepped away from the shade to greet the four as they staggered to a halt at the phantom finish line marked by the tree.

"O-over!" one of them gasped between breaths, wiping the thick film of moisture off his brow. "Th-that's fifty laps – over! I thought I was going to faint midway through!" His friends, similarly out of breath, nodded jerkily in agreement. He blinked in surprise when a bottle of chilled drink was offered to him. He lifted his head to see their manageress standing before him.

"For your hard work," she explained. Though she fared much better due to the shade provided by the tree, her discomfort was clearly shown on her slightly creased forehead and droopy eyelids.

His tired features broke into a large toothy grin as he eagerly took the offered drink. The coolness of the bottle was a welcoming sensation as he unscrewed the cap.

"Thank you, Akemi-san!" he gushed before downing the whole content.

"Don't mention it," she shrugged absently, scribbling on her clipboard (a belated welcome gift from the club; Yanagi's idea).

"Eh!? That's unfair manageress-san!" one of his friends moaned, flailing his arms about in protest. "How come he gets to –"

A dull thud at his feet interrupted before he could get his whole words out. He dropped his gaze and jumped with a half-hearted cry at the sight before him.

"A-Asano? Oi!" He hastily knelt beside his doubles partner and prodded the unresponsive body a few times as the other two gathered around.

Akemi didn't look up from her notes, remaining unperturbed even when the true identity of the chilled drink was exposed after one of them decided to give the empty bottle a good sniff.

"Th-this isn't tea! It's that vile ginger ale!* Y-you –"

"He was the last to cross the finish line. You know very well the punishment for that, Saito-san," Akemi interjected smoothly, pausing to scrutinise the stopwatch she had been holding behind the clipboard the entire time. She resumed writing on the clipboard and went on indifferently. "However if you do not wish to end up like Asano-san, I kindly advise all of you to finish the laps within the time limit after your short break."

"What!?"

"Are you insane!?"

"But we've completed fifty laps as instructed by Sanada!"

"Congratulations on your achievement," Akemi dully retorted, turning the clipboard around so that they could view the sheet of paper attached to it. "But I must say the time for all of you to reach the finish line is horrendous. I'm being lenient here by giving you three to catch your breaths before we start anew. Furthermore…" she trailed off; slightly taken aback when she felt an object lightly hit the back of her leg. She lowered her eyes to the ground just as a tennis ball rolled to a stop by her feet.

Of course, it had to be a tennis ball.

"Oiiiiiii! Akemi-san!" a voice nearby called, prompting her to glance over at the court behind the three boys to find her senpai waving his racquet above his head. He appeared a tad sheepish – no doubt the person who hit the ball off court. "Do us a favour and return the ball!"

No sooner had he said that, a green projectile burst through the wired fence and struck the hapless chap solidly on the forehead. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, his body started to tilt perilously backward and hit the ground with a resounding thud.

While his opponent rushed to his aid, the three standing numbly beside Akemi were staring at the prominent gap in the fence where the ball had gone through in morbid fascination; momentarily forgetting the presence of their friend lying unconscious at their feet and the manageress innocently reconfiguring the stopwatch.

Eventually, they slowly and mechanically turned back to Akemi. Drat – they had forgotten about her fighting prowess (and not to mention inhumane strength).

Sensing their incisive staring, Akemi looked up from her clipboard at their ghostly pale features and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"RUNNING!" they immediately chorused, kicking a cloud of dust as they scurried away from her as far as possible.

Pleased that something had gone right this morning, Akemi clicked the start button and was about to retreat to the shadow of the tree when she spotted a freshman nearby.

"Urayama-kun! Can you come over here for a moment?"

Grinning, the aforementioned freshman nodded enthusiastically and was standing before her in a blink of an eye.

"What can I do for you, senpai?" Urayama almost broke off abruptly with a gasp of surprise, having noticed the unconscious form of Asano on the ground. Before he could ask, the stopwatch, clipboard and pen were wordlessly shoved into his hands. He cocked his head in puzzlement at the objects before turning to Akemi. Now that they were standing this close, the bloodshot eyes were blatantly obvious. "Are you feeling alright, Akemi-senpai?" he asked, worriedly.

Akemi merely waved it off. "Take over for me while I break for five minutes."

After giving him the instructions, an exhausted Akemi left the freshman to supervise the penalty run. Urayama stared after her retreating back, feeling even more confused by her curt undertone. But he later shrugged it off, thinking the heat was somehow to blame.

And Akemi – if she somehow had the power to read his thoughts – couldn't agree more.

'It's too damn hot today,' she drew a long sigh, briefly glancing up at the azure sky where a large disc was visibly hovering above the school. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she removed an unopened pack of Pocky from her skirt's pocket. 'Is it really September this month? Or is Kanagawa stuck in eternal summer?' Scowling irritably, she scuffed the ground with the toe of her shoes.

At times like this, she really missed the British weather (no matter how unpredictable and grey it always got up North). Well, it's not like there's anything she could do but moan about the unbearable heat.

While heading to the vending machine, she bumped into the Troublesome Trio. They were each carrying an armful of canned drinks. She barely looked their way as the parties passed each other, only managing a grunt of acknowledgement.

Kirihara waited until she was out of ear-shot before turning to Marui and Jackal. "Akemi-senpai seems to be in a mood today," he breathed; slightly worn-out from the heat and the cans weighing his shoulder joints down.

Their footsteps faltered a little as the double partners glanced over their shoulders to see their manageress inserting a coin into the machine; a stick of Pocky held between her teeth as she picked a drink. Her movements were rather sluggish and indecisive.

"Hmm…maybe she's feeling tired?" Jackal reasoned. "The heat does that, you know."

A look of comprehension crossed the redhead's features. He bumped a fist on his palm. "Maybe she's on her monthly," Marui suggested instead, looking somewhat confident and pleased with his deduction.

On the contrary, his team mates (especially Kirihara) found the notion rather revolting as they stared at him like he had sprouted an extra head. But before any of the two could voice their disgust and shock that the redhead had the gall to casually bring up the (probably worst ever) taboo subject, a cool feminine voice floated over to their ears.

"If I am on my monthly, as you said Marui-san, you three would be dead on the floor," Akemi said light-heartedly, strolling past the three without so much as a glance, or a flinch at the loud clatter. She took a long sip from her can, savouring the lemony tinge in the iced tea; unperturbed by the fuss behind her as the Troublesome Trio frenziedly scurried after the cans rolling across the ground.

Yanagi, who was watching from a distance, hummed deeply. He had of course noticed their manageress acting strangely from the start of their morning practice, but kept quiet about it so that he could observe her moves. Now, he's just going to give in to curiosity and turn to the best person for answers.

His arms crossed over his chest, and cap pulled down to cast a longer shadow over his face, Sanada scratched his chin pensively. Well, there's no harm in letting his friend in on his concern for a certain neighbour of his.

"She came over to my house this morning just as I was about to leave…"

XXX

(Sometime earlier at the Sanada's Residence)

"I'm leaving!"

"See you later, old man!" the smug voice of his nephew, Sasuke, called out.

"How many times have I told you to respect your elders?" Sanada retorted hotly, irked for the umpteenth time at his nephew's blatant immunity to his fearsomeness.

Then again, this was the son of his older brother – or as people called him, the cooler sibling of the two. Fortunately, Sanada was not the type to be bothered by frivolous matters such as that.

But it didn't make the throbbing headache beneath his skull any less painful when his nephew straightforwardly told him (gasped more like since he was in stiches) that he had unwittingly referred himself as an elder.

Biting back another retort, Sanada inhaled deeply to calm himself and slid opened the front gate. He almost stuck one foot out when he realised that somebody was standing right in front of him. Baffled by the unexpected visitor, he blinked rapidly; brain suddenly refusing to work. For a dubious moment, Sanada sputtered nonsensically, one hand still clutching onto the gate as he wondered if the person before his eyes was Noda Akemi or perhaps this was a work of his nephew (i.e. prank).

Akemi met his gaze unwaveringly, one hand resting casually on her hip; ironed school uniform on and wavy black hair falling neatly past her shoulders.

Something's not right.

"You're dressed? Good, let's go." She spun her heels, and without waiting to see if he was following her, started down the slope towards their school.

He stared after her retreating form, feeling absolutely stumped.

Something's definitely not right.

XXX

(Present)

"What time was it then?" Yanagi queried, recording everything down in his trusty notebook.

"5:30 am."

The scratching sound of his pen stopped abruptly. The Data Master shifted his attention to the stoic vice-captain.

One look and he knew they were thinking along the same line.

"The world must be coming to an end."

For sake of the universe, Sanada hoped that would never be the case.

XXX

On one side of the clubroom, there was a steadily heaving lump shoved against the wall where the shadow cast by the roof above was a respite for the Trickster who had 'mysteriously' disappeared from the courts earlier to escape the scorching heat.

Thus, this is where Akemi found him curled up on the floor and having a snooze.

"OW!" a now wide-awake Niou yelped, hastily shuffling to his feet. Glaring darkly at Akemi, he rubbed the sore spot where she had roughly prodded with the broom in her hand. "The heck did you do that for!?"

"Practice is drawing to a close," Akemi replied tersely, scowling at her fool of a classmate; another stick of Pocky between her teeth. "Yukimura-san has an announcement to make, and he asked me to fetch you."

"Fine! Fine!" Niou grunted, dusting the dirt off his clothes as he briskly stalked past her towards Yagyuu who was waiting for him.

"Bossy cow – GARHG!" he cried in pain, now holding the back of his head where the broom had struck him. He wheeled around, eyes ablaze with fury as Akemi casually walked away from the clubroom. "Th-that b–"

"Language, Niou-kun," Yagyuu immediately chided, pushing his glasses up. Inwardly asking for forgiveness, he grabbed the back of his best friend's collar and proceeded to drag him towards their assembly area.

XXX

It was becoming more and more apparent to the tennis regulars lining up behind The Three Monsters and Akemi that something apart from the heat was bothering their manageress who was half-listening to Yukimura's announcement.

But it wasn't just them.

The rest of the club members were starting to feel rather disconcerted by the incessant loud crunching noise coming from the front; taken aback by the shocking display of discourtesy towards their buchou.

Even the eagle-eyed Sanada who was watching them closely like lab specimens under a microscope could hardly stop himself from frequently stealing glances over at their manageress standing on the other side of his best friend. They might not be the best of friends, but the vice-captain knew Akemi at least respected Yukimura as a captain.

That respect seemed to have gone on holiday.

Outwardly, the Rikkai Captain appeared unfazed by the tense atmosphere and incisive noise beside him as he calmly went on thanking everyone for their hard work. But even for someone as composed as he had a limit.

SNAP!

A wave of flinches swept through the assembled members when the protruding part of the Pocky stick was broken off cleanly in half.

"Why are you wasting precious time looking at me, Yukimura-san?" asked Akemi, indifferent to the stares she was getting from all four corners; the broken Pocky stick in one hand. "The day is growing old and the wonderful sun shining above our heads is doing wonders accelerating that. And may I add our homeroom starts in less than half an hour. Unless you want all of us to get into trouble with Genichiro-san and the discipline committee, I suggest you continue with your rambling."

'Who is this girl!?' 'She didn't even stop to breathe!' (Thoughts popping up from the sidelines)

Yukimura chuckled sheepishly, scratching his chin. He might as well get his point across – politely (yes, her sharp tongue didn't go unnoticed when he requested for the favour earlier). "Well, the thing is. You're chewing rather loudly, Akemi-san. If you can please…" he trailed off when Akemi slid him a look.

SNAP!

"Continue," Akemi pressed evenly, holding two smaller sticks in her hands; eyes turned back to the front. Her unspoken metaphor effectively struck a chord in the good captain's head.

Yukimura wisely took a leaf out of her book and resumed addressing the assembled members.

"Well then, let's move on to the Rikkai Ocean Festival. I'm hoping to look through the completed draft for our play and…"

XXX

Despite what she said earlier about time, Akemi opted to use the longer route to class since the path was well shielded against the sun by the trees.

Yawning widely into her hand, Akemi readjusted her grip on the strap of her schoolbag. She cringed, inhaling sharply at the dull throbbing pain shooting up her shoulder. Although the school nurse had cautioned her against overexerting herself for the next few days, the bruise was long gone, and she could roll her shoulders without feeling like someone was heartlessly stabbing a large needle onto her back.

Still, there was the occasional spasm to remind her of that injury she received on that faithful day.

She drew a long sigh, which turned into a half-hearted yelp when someone deftly snatched away her bag.

"Hey!" Akemi protested, flailing hands fruitlessly reaching for her bag Yanagi held well above his head. She glared reproachfully at him. "That's unfair! Give it back!"

Chuckling, the Data Master merely hefted her bag onto his shoulder. "No matter what you'll say, your bruises are still healing – I can tell as much. Come on, let's head to class," he briskly added when Akemi opened her mouth to protest.

No amount of glaring at him worked, and (Yanagi observed) she was too tired to argue with him. It would be pointless anyway. Eventually, Akemi conceded defeat and begrudgingly followed his lead.

Yanagi snuck a glance at Akemi, who was scowling at her moving feet. Since knowing she's not a morning person (self-confessed), he had once timed how long her foul mood would last. He concluded that it always disappeared near the end of morning practice. With the recent change of schedule though, she was forced to uphold her duty as manageress, sacrificing some napping time to oversee the training.

He checked his digital watch. A look of surprise fleetingly crossed his features. 'I stand corrected. Her morning crankiness has lengthened by 3 minutes instead of 2.5.' He gripped his chin, contemplating on whether to ask, but in the end, curiosity got the better of him.

"I'm sorry?" Akemi asked through a yawn that lasted for quite a while. She reddened at the weird look he gave her.

"I was going to ask if you slept well last night, but I suppose that's unnecessary."

Reddening further, she sputtered incoherently for a few moments. No way was he going to dig deeper! Not in this life or the next.

"K-keep your nose out of my business!" she blurted hotly, turning her head pointedly away with a huff.

Throughout the rest of the journey, Yanagi prudently decided against restarting a conversation with her, especially since he could sense her fuming aggressively behind.

'Interesting. In addition to being snappier than usual and seemingly undaunted by Inui's Juice (he was observing her from the get go), she's highly defensive for some weird reason. Could it be what Akaya told me? Hmm…I'll need more solid clues before coming to a conclusion. For now, I'll keep quiet lest someone disrupts the natural order.'

XXX

True to Yanagi's observations, Akemi's foul mood always faded during morning practice, never bringing it to class with her.

It was a relief for her four classmates (specifically, two non-regulars, plus Niou and Yagyuu) of hers sitting well away from the ragged form of their manageress.

But Niou and Yagyuu noticed something else that's slightly familiar throughout classes – her can't-be-bothered-with-anything attitude, which quickly got her into trouble with the history teacher upon realising the pages of her textbook remained inert since the start of lesson half an hour ago.

Was there a crueller punishment than writing a two-page essay on an obscure subject she hardly knew?

Why yes

Akemi thought so, as she rifled through the books in the history section of the library and left the place for the rooftop garden, juggling a stack of tattered-looking books in her arms as she climbed the stairs (with difficulty of course). It was English period, a.k.a. her free period…or what was supposed to be her free period would be spent on getting the essay done.

Could her day get any worse?

Without a doubt

As Akemi found out when she was nearly fried by the noon sun. Grumbling to herself, she retraced her steps back to the library; the stack of books tilting perilously at an angle as she carefully descended the stairs. Yet, no matter how cautious she was, the top one had to be traitorous.

Fortunately, someone caught the book before it could fly down the rest of the steps and make it difficult (as if it wasn't enough) for her to retrieve it.

She blinked away some of the sleepiness and narrowed her eyes at the face that vaguely resembled Yukimura Seiichi. Seconds later, turned out it really was Yukimura Seiichi.

He smiled warmly in greeting, tapping the book on his shoulder. "You look like you need help carrying those, Akemi-san." Without so much as a by-your-leave, he nicked the top half of the stacks, leaving only two books in her hands. "I presume you're heading to the library," he casually said, already starting towards the general direction.

Sighing in resignation, Akemi hastily climbed down the stairs and soon fell in steps with him. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" she asked, one eyebrow raised in an arch.

Yukimura mutely pointed at his breast pocket where a corridor pass she overlooked was clipped onto.

"But why were you coming down from the third floor?"

"The second floor's toilet is shut for cleaning, so I had to 'sneak' into the seniors'," he quipped; a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Akemi chuckled dryly in return. "You? Sneak? Senpais or not, I'm sure even a huge crowd bursting for the loo will eagerly part way for the Child of God to use the golden throne."

His laughter died down a few notches as they rounded a corner. "Speaking of throne, I've read bits of your work. I must say, I'm impressed by your level of imagination."

A blush crept up her cheeks. "Is that an insult?" she demanded indignantly.

The draft for their play Yukimura mentioned during the announcement was in fact written by her after hearing him discussing possible plots. Being a novelist was always her dream since young. She knew playwrights were different and (not to mention) challenging. It was hard to resist though. Eventually, she'd caved in to that nagging temptation and asked if it was possible for her to write that play, pledging to complete the draft in good time and pass it to him for the final review.

But she had been extremely adamant he and the other regulars kept that hush-hush from everyone, including the rest of the tennis club. Her reason was left unknown.

"On the contrary, it's a compliment," he assured, chuckling softly. "I really look forward to reading them at home." Pausing in front of the library's door, he turned to her, a smile tugging at his lips, but there's a lack of his pervious cheeriness behind it.

"I'll be honest with you, Akemi-san. You didn't have to sacrifice sleep for the play," he briefly studied her dishevelled state, "It's ill-advised to ruin your health when you had plenty of time to complete the draft. I understand the sentiment if you didn't want that spur-of-the-moment inspiration to go to waste. But sometimes, you need to stop and breathe for a moment when you've reached your limit."

Akemi narrowed her eyes. "I find it ironic coming from you of all people, Yukimura-san."

There's something she wanted to leave unsaid and unknown to anyone but herself; the Rikkai Captain realised. But sensing he was treading a fine line, he left it at that after muttering an apology. Inwardly, he was surprised when Akemi forgave him rather quickly. But perhaps she wanted to settle it before her headache grew exponentially.

"If you're unwell, you really should drop by at the nurse's office," Yukimura advised concernedly as Akemi massaged her temple with a pained expression.

She winced sharply; dread briefly flashed in her eyes as the horrifying image of Nurse Sakamoto harshly scolding her for being ignorant of her health came to mind. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever close to death," she threw up one hand, "And no, you are not getting Genichiro-san – or anyone for that matter – to drag me there," she warned, adding a glare for emphasis.

"You may have unwittingly given me a good idea, Akemi-san," the Rikkai captain cheerily informed; a different glint that sent shivers up her spine in his eyes.

Akemi didn't like that grin or that look (whatever that was) he was giving her one bit. It was like he's conspiring against her. So, in a blink of an eye, she snatched the books from his hands and began to retreat backwards on her feet.

"A-aren't you supposed to be in class?" she tried to dissuade him; her back brushing the door.

His grin only grew wider. "Remember my words. I am your buchou."

"That's just abuse of power!"

With one last huff, she slammed the door in his face.

Chuckling to himself, Yukimura calmly started towards his classroom as the unmistakable sound of the librarian telling the manageress off for disrupting the peace and Akemi apologising profusely drifted from behind the closed doors.

XXX

No amount of binging on caffeine could rid the headache and fatigue.

And the afternoon heat wasn't helping at all despite the shade of the trees.

"Umm…Akemi-san," Hinata started nervously, hesitating a little as she watched her friend downed the fifth coffee; her bento box resting on her lap. "It's bad to drink more than two cups of coffee a day."

They were having lunch outside in the school grounds since the level of noise in the cafeteria and classroom made the throbbing pain in her head even worse. It felt like an angry bee was buzzing inside her skull.

The girl in question lowered the paper cup from her lips with a loud gasp, making a face at the lingering strong bitter tang numbing her taste bud. "You're right, Chitose-san," Akemi agreed, setting the emptied cup firmly on the ground with the rest of its buddies and reaching for her water bottle. "It's disgusting."

Hinata chuckled sheepishly. "Well, you didn't use the sugar after all."

Akemi merely shrugged her shoulders, bringing her half-eaten lunch to her lap. Truthfully, she was hoping the awful bitterness could knock the angry bee and some of the sleep off.

If anything, they only worsened as the hours dragged by and she found herself standing outside the library again afterschool.

Kirihara and Marui, who were engrossed in the freshman's homework, jumped in their seats when Akemi plopped into a chair opposite them.

"Senpai!" whispered the Junior Ace, alarmed by her shabby state. She could hardly keep her eyes opened, much less move a single muscle.

Akemi sluggishly dropped her head on the table. "Sorry, I'm late. I got lost and ended up at the university department."

They only blinked in astonishment at her frankness, and the possibility that someone wearing the high school uniform was able to gain entry into the university department (high school and junior high school students are not allowed unless given permission from their homeroom teachers) …

…until she admitted a security guard led her back before she could set foot through the university's entrance.

"Neh, Akemi-chan. Are you alright?" Marui asked, standing up from his chair and trying to get a good look of her face.

She waved one hand lazily. "I'm fine…fine and dandy," she insisted, though they were far from being assured.

Kirihara jerked uncomfortably when she groggily lifted her head to glance (somewhat) at him through droopy eyelids, then at the papers strewn messily across the table, and finally back at him.

Since Akemi was not in any committee and considering her English competency, she was assigned to tutor the freshman by his English teacher. The half hour and fifteen minutes before club activity were thus spent in the school library (with Marui as company), reviewing Kirihara's homework and giving him extra (much to his dismay) – just a couple of examples to help improve his dismal grades.

"Don't forget, I want it done and ready to be marked by tomorrow afternoon," she'd instructed as they headed down to the tennis courts together after another gruelling session yesterday afternoon.

"Osu!"

The hapless freshman had 'forgotten' about it (bought a new game after club practice and spent the entire evening levelling up), and earlier begged Marui for help.

"Kirihara-kun."

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yes?" he stuttered; knees trembling violently underneath the table as gruesome images of his merciless senpai snapping his neck like she had with the Pocky sticks this morning (that would forever stay with him as long as he lived) flashed before his eyes.

"I won't be checking your assignment." (She's too bushed)

He deflated instantly in his seat, a long whistling noise issuing through his parted lips.

"But –"

He stiffened in horror at that dreaded word, staring wide-eyed as Akemi removed a ridiculously thick (in his own words) novel from her bag and slid it across the table.

"– I want you to read this, pick twenty words you don't understand, write down the definition and synonym – use a dictionary – and a short sentence each." Despite feeling absolutely drained, she still remembered her duty as tutor.

"Twenty!?"

"You have the weekend to complete this –" her eyes flicked to the papers "– and yesterday's assignments, Kirihara-kun. Need I say more?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Complain any longer and I will give you more than twenty!" – her unspoken threat.

He shook his head frantically.

"And you will hand both of them to me next Monday. Understand?"

"Y-yes, mam," he relented after a moment of hesitation, gazing miserably at the book. He glanced over at Marui, who shrugged his shoulders, and sighed despondently as he started working on his neglected assignment.

Silence stretched between the three of them as minutes ticked by, interrupted by the scratching noise of Kirihara's pencil and the occasional flipping of papers, and the other students idling about.

At one point, Marui and Kirihara glanced over the table, looking equally worried as Akemi yawned widely into her hand. The two tennis regulars briefly exchanged glances, but for good measures, Kirihara elbowed the redhead. There's no way he's going to risk his neck.

"Akemi-chan."

"What is it?"

"Did you get enough sleep last night?"

A tired grunt was his answer.

XXX

(End of club activity)

"…You didn't have to sacrifice sleep for the play…"

"Did you get enough sleep last night?"

Sleep?

What's that luxury?

Akemi wondered as she oversaw the first years carrying the baskets filled to brim with tennis balls back to the clubroom. 'More like, I couldn't sleep at all.'

"All balls are accounted for?" she asked after the final basket was placed in one corner. Her hand was barely moving across the clipboard. Was it really a ball-point pen she's using, or an iron rod?

"Y-YES! YES, SENPAI!"

She paused in midway of drawing a tick, and looked up from the inventory list at the first years with a puzzled expression.

"Why are all of you shaking?"

"YES, SENPAI!"

Akemi rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Forget it," she sighed. "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you on Monday. You are all dismissed."

"YES, SENPAI!"

They bowed sharply from the waist down with staggering precision and trooped out the clubroom in single file, leaving behind a rather flummoxed manageress. Thank goodness, she had thought of covering her ears before they could blow her eardrums to bits.

A sigh of exhaustion escaped through her parted lips as she followed after them in a slower pace. But instead of going straight to the courts, she turned left for the outdoor sink beside the clubroom. There, she filled up her bottle (had it with her all the time) with the cool water gushing down the tap.

'I'm really tired of this gag,' Akemi vented a sigh, rubbing her temple where she could feel the dull throbbing pain. She had something for the headache not long ago. Now, she's just waiting for the medicinal effects to kick in before she kicked the bucket.

'It's like they're conspiring against me,' she frowned deeply as she turned off the tap. 'What's with them today?'

It wasn't just the freshmen though. Her fellow second years and even the seniors were acting strangely around her during club activity. It was mostly along the line of carrying out her requests/instructions without a peep. But everyone seemed extremely vigorous and rigid at the same time too. Was that even possible?

Yet, they offered her no explanations.

(Needless to say, Akemi had no recollection of this morning's practice. Everything since the start of day had blurred into one fuzzy image.)

Taking a few gulps, Akemi mulled over the peculiar behaviours as she headed towards the courts.

'Maybe I'm just being paranoid.'

Akemi shrugged her shoulders, deciding to put it out of her poor head, and relished in the refreshingly cool water trickling down her throat instead and the wind that was picking up gently. She closed her eyes, savouring in the soothing sensation.

'Mmm…nice breeze…Hang on. What is this strange, deep rumbling sound?'

The trees around the tennis courts rustled noisily as the wind strengthened and the rumble grew louder until it was almost deafening. A shadow fell over the tennis courts when a sleek, black helicopter made its appearance. It hovered above ground, its spinning twin rotor blades a blur in the sky, as a rope was thrown out and a figure soon emerged from the side of the helicopter.

Akemi felt her eyes widened, watching the figure skilfully abseiled down several tens of feet through the air in full view of the equally dumbfounded stragglers mingling about.

With a grunt that was drowned by the rotor blades, the visitor landed on the ground seconds later and began the task of detaching the equipment from his body. After safely depositing its passenger, the helicopter soared a little higher before flying away from sight.

Whispers broke out around them, disrupting the short-lived silence that followed the helicopter's departure.

A haughty smirk crossed his lips. Unfazed, the visitor lifted his dark blue eyes to meet the soft brown ones that were staring fixatedly at him. If anything, the sight only made the smirk grew until he was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Akemi didn't – couldn't – move from her spot as he casually strolled towards her.

Everything…everything's coming back…

Suddenly, her mind registered the looming face of Atobe Keigo, snapping her out from the trance-like state. She started to backpedal discreetly.

"Amazed?" Atobe chuckled amusingly; hands in his pockets. He paused abruptly in his steps, noticing the troubled expression before she deliberately looked away.

Akemi furtively glance his way (more like his well-polished shoes) and hastily turned around, only to leap back when she nearly bumped into Atobe who had suddenly reappeared behind her. She briefly stumbled back, eyes flickering about nervously for an escape route. She meant to turn left, but the Hyotei Captain merely blocked her path. Whenever she tried to move away, he would stand in her way.

From a far distance, the Rikkai tennis regulars were silently watching the strange dance routine in utter bewilderment. Only Yanagi seemed unperturbed by the bizarre turn of events as he jotted everything down in his notebook at an alarming speed.

Atobe was getting increasingly annoyed at her antics (and that's the understatement of the century). First, she'd run away at the sight of him yesterday afternoon for some weird reasons unbeknownst to him. Second, she didn't pick up her phone or replied to any of the string of angry texts screaming for answers since then.

So, he came all the way here from Hyotei (disappeared early from practice) to confront her.

And now…

Now…

She wouldn't even look at him.

This wasn't a display of a shy high school girl around a good-looking guy (his addition) – he knew that much.

"Oi, Akemi."

A curious flinch.

"H-h-h-hello."

"What's up with you? Why are you not looking at ore-sama?"

"Eh? I-I don't know what you're talking about," she chuckled sheepishly.

One of his eyebrows was twitching madly now. "You're a terrible liar!"

Anger and embarrassment briefly flashed in her eyes, and for a moment she looked as if she was about to retort when –

"Oi! Hyotei brat!"

Atobe calmly turned around to see two non-regulars (actually, Akemi's senpais) standing behind him. They cracked their knuckles ominously, looking positively irked. Yet, he remained unperturbed.

"Oh? You dare disrespect ore-sama, peasants?" he challenged, smirking derisively.

"Even if you're a rich brat and the snobby captain of Hyotei, we won't forgive you for upsetting aneki."

"Harh? Aneki? Who the heck are you referring to?" He started to turn back. "Ore-sama's just –!?" Where a girl was standing beside him was now an empty spot. He glanced frantically around. "What the!? Akemi!?"

One of the non-regulars casually pointed over his shoulder.

Atobe only caught a glimpse of the end of a black curtain of hair disappearing round a corner before his mind registered who it was.

"Wait! Akemi! Ore-sama want answers!"

XXX

(That night…at the Noda's residence)

A shiver crept up her skin as the ruthless icy cold wind whipped at her face.

Suddenly, a wave of warm air surged through the darkness, banishing the cold wind from the void.

Akemi smiled in content, snuggling deeper into the warmth enveloping her in a possessive embrace.

Badump. Badump.

She frowned, puzzled by the familiar rhythm of a heartbeat; even so when she felt something gently nudging her ears. Slowly, she became aware of the pair of strong arms wrapped around her form, and hot breath lightly tickling her exposed forehead.

Akemi jerked away with a startled cry, blushing furiously when the arms easily pulled her back. Her head was tilted upwards and she found herself staring into a pair of dark blue eyes that seemed to read right into her soul.

A familiar smirk tugged at the lips for a brief moment.

Blood drained from her face as the puckered lips leaned in, and alarmingly more rapid when the fair face before her began to morph into a terrifyingly familiar one that…

…resembled a frog's head…

…came from her other dream…

Both (unfortunately) deeply associated with Atobe Keigo…

Akemi shot straight up in her bed with a loud gasp. She glanced frantically about. Recognising the dark interior of her bedroom, she breathed a sigh of relief and plopped back down; a hand resting over her forehead. Panting heavily, she tried to convince herself that was only a dream. Well, more like a nightmare – a horrid…horrid one to boot.

She scowled at the ceiling, pursing her lips into a thin line with an agonised look; her dinner swirling uncomfortably in the pits of her stomach.

She was definitely wide awake now (no thanks to the nightmare) and doubted sleep would come easily anytime soon. So with a weary sigh, she flicked the table light's switch on, flooding her room in a soft orange glow, and grabbed a well-used notebook from her bedside table.

Leafing through her pages, Akemi was rather stunned by her near illegible handwriting on most of them. There were strike-lines through texts here and there, a few crosses that covered entire pages, hastily drawn circles around words in red ink, and the occasional doodles. The draft currently in Yukimura's possession was a print out of the document saved on her laptop. No doubt, her childish doodles (art was never her strongpoint) would provide hours of endless amusement for the Rikkai Captain if she had submitted the handwritten version instead.

'The White King was supposed to regain human form after a tree crashed down on him. But why…..WHY DID IT END UP AS A KISS!? Oh, brain! You ridiculous organ! Feeding me weird dreams! I shouldn't have included that in the draft. It's all Yukimura-san's fault!' she scowled irritably at the translucent image of the smug-looking captain projected onto the pages of her notebook by her trusty head. 'He was the one who suggested hexing the King in the first place.'

Adapting Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the book's sequel (Through the Looking-Glass) for the stage play was originally the Rikkai Captain's idea too, but he wanted to give the plot a twist that would catch the audiences off guard. Therefore, he'd decided to loosely base the production on the two books and other popular fairy tales instead. When Akemi volunteered to write, she was granted liberty to develop the storyline to her fancy despite being given a list of his ideas for the play.

But tonight, Akemi 'conveniently' disregarded that fact just so she could put the blame on someone else.

It was easier that way and less of a pain for her head.

'Perhaps days of labouring over that draft, I ended up in a dream where the characters come to life. Nope, that still doesn't make any sense. Urgh…it must have been that curry I had for lunch.'

Groaning in dismay, she closed the book and returned it to the bedside table. Sitting amongst the clutters was an old-fashioned portable radio bought from a charity shop ages ago. After a moment of deliberation, she grabbed the radio and started blindly browsing through the stations until she came upon one that was spewing out music from the 50s.

Satisfied, she put the radio back in place and rolled over to her side; a tiny smile on her lips as the deep crooning voice of Dean Martin gradually wicked away the worries. Her eyelids grew heavier as minutes ticked by. She started to tune off the DJ's voice as he ended the weather forecast for tomorrow with a mockingly cheery tune (clear skies and sunshine again for the east coast of Japan).

"These next classic hits from Disney's animated films should bring out that sweet nostalgia from both you old and young listeners alike. We start with Cinderella. Enjoy everyone…"

Akemi yawned widely, stretching her arms high above her form.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep.

(She froze; brown eyes filled with horror wide opened)

In dreams you will lose your heartaches, whatever you wish for you k –"

XXX

(Next day…Saturday…outside Ueno Station, Tokyo)

Humming a tune, Atobe gave his reflection on the pristine glass doors a thorough check for the fifteenth time, needlessly adjusting his blazer and smoothing his hair (sending a couple of girls walking nearby swooning).

His reflection grinned toothily back at him; pearly whites glinted in the sunlight.

No flaws. Everything's perfect as always.

Smirking in satisfaction, he turned away from the noticeboard and perched on the railings.

After convincing himself repeatedly that Akemi's cannot-be-expressed-in-words behaviour yesterday and the day before was due to something weird she had for lunch, Atobe took a huge gamble and left his stately manor two hours ago in a limousine to meet up with Akemi outside Ueno Station. They'd made plans to visit the National Science Museum, which was just around the corner, following the success of their trip to Tokyo Skytree last week. He had offered a ride, but she insisted on getting to Tokyo on her own, saying she didn't want to impose on him anymore since he agreed to take her around Tokyo (actually his suggestion).

Atobe watched the bustling scene before him with a bored expression. The station's entrance was bursting with people coming to and fro, but mostly out from the train station for a fun-filled adventure at the nearby Ueno Park.

It was another gorgeous day.

Gorgeous in the sense the sky wasn't pouring.

It's definitely barbecue weather alright.

"Everyone~ Please remember to stay well hydrated and carry a bottle of water with you at all times!" a cheery voice blared from a speaker outside the station.

"Oh my gosh, it's roasting out here! I'm already sweating so much, it's disgusting!"

(Atobe agreed from under the shade of a tree)

"Isn't that your fault? We could have come next week. But, nooooo."

The Hyotei Captain drowned out the voices of the two arguing young couples as they strolled past him; the wife pushing a pram before her and the husband carrying all the picnic stuff.

Eyes on the sea of people, he raked a hand through his slightly damp hair with an exasperated sigh a minute later and spared his watch a glance. 'Another 5 minutes.'

His eyebrows began to twitch madly as 15 minutes ticked by; arms crossed over his chest.

'She's more than an hour late! That girl!' Atobe pushed himself off the railings; a look of exasperation on his face as he whipped out a phone from his pocket. 'No…please. Say she didn't take the wrong line again.' It happened on the first trip. Rather amusing when he received a distress call from Akemi 20 minutes after their designated meeting time, begging him to rescue her.

Right now, the inner-Atobe was shrieking in unadulterated anger.

'Heavens know how she survived in Britain!'

RING. RING. RING. RING. RING

"Come on….Answer the phone!" Atobe seethed through gritted teeth, tapping his finger irritably on his arm as the persistent ringing continued for what-felt-like years. Then –

"'ello?" a groggy, slightly thick voice answered.

"….Akemi….Please don't tell ore-sama you're still in bed…"

The Rikkai student never gave him a yes or no. Instead, she abruptly ended the call after a few moments of stunned silence (from both ends).

Atobe stared at his phone's screen for the longest time; mouth agape and eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

'D-did…did she just…hang up on ore-sama?'

Little did the Hyotei Captain know, getting hang up was the least of his worries as Akemi's peculiar behaviour took a turn for the worse next week.

*Ginger ale is the juice Yanagi and Inui created and brought to Rikkai for 'testing' prior to the U-17 arc in NPOT.

Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!