A/N: I'm sorry I couldn't post this chapter last week. It was more difficult to do than I first expected. I rather postponed the posting date than making you read the crap that it was. I'm sorry again. For amend, here you have two chapters at once. Please, leave a review for each chapter. Thank you.

And sorry again to failing your expectations… Please, forgive me.

Before that, I'm answering stuff.

From Rowan: You said in an earlier chapter (I think chapter 2) that Ryoga was Nanjiro's best friend's son, whose parents had died in a car accident. Now, you indicate that the parents were murdered. This seems somewhat contradictory, although it COULD be plausible but you should expand just a bit. Also you'd have to explain why the family did not attempt to question Nanjiro about the location of the missing son if he was in fact the best friend of Ryoga's parents.

In the chapter 3, I wrote that Ryoga was Nanjiro's best friend's son, who died in an accident care with his wife, leaving Ryoga orphan. In the chapter 34, you learn that Ryoga's parents were murdered and that he's Yagyuu's cousin, Yuuji Ryou.

From the outside, Ryoga's real parents' car accident was a normal car accident when it was actually a murder disguised as an accident. The police couldn't find anything because the murderers did a good job cleaning everything behind. Nanjirou knew the truth about the "accident", but the most important thing back then was to hide the fact that Yuuji Ryou was still alive. Nanjirou brought the young boy with him from Vermont to California. Rinko, being a lawyer, pulled on the strings on her connection to immediately have the boy becoming Echizen Ryoga and to have Yuuji Ryou "disappeared" and assumed "dead". Usually, if a member of your family is "dead", you let him "die". Only Yagyuu was stubborn and refused to admit that Yuuji Ryou was dead. For him, there was no way Yuuji Ryou, a guy who always had too much luck and good fortune, would "die" so easily. Daring to suddenly "disappear" and leaving a whole bunch of troubles for him to deal with, Yagyuu refused to let that bad sort ass of Yuuji Ryou to get away.

To tell the truth, when I first started Ryoga's story, I never intended to him be a relative of Yagyuu. But as I built up the story, I needed to have Ryoga's role to be more important for the next plot of the story.

So now, let's return to the story. It's Fuji's big time show!

Midnight.

Fuji closed the door to the bathroom behind him. As he was going to return to his room, a rush of wind blew in the hallway.

Feeeeewww…

'Huh? Someone left a window open?' Fuji wondered.

The wind flew against his legs, embracing them. It was like it was calling Fuji to go with it. Without questioning, Fuji let the wind carried his legs where it wanted him to go.

Wooooooooooooooooooo…

Fuji walked through the hallway. The wind leaded him pass the door of the bedrooms of his team mates. Kikumaru's and Ooishi's room… Gakuto's and Shishido… Momoshiro's and Kaido's room… Inui's and Yanagi's… Marui's and Niou's… Kirihara's and Ootori's… Yagyuu's and Oshitari's… Tezuka's and Sanada's… Until the last room.

Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwww…

The wind leaded Fuji through the stair balcony…

Woooooooooooooo oooooooohhhhh…

…Through the other end of the hallway…

Woooooooooooooo…

The wind stopped in front of a room.

Fewwww…

It entered through the small gap of a slightly opened door. Fuji followed it. He put his hand on the door knot and slowly pushed the door open. When he entered, the wind dancing around in the room.

Fewww… Fewww… Fewww… Feeeewwwwwwwww…

It swirled on itself a last time, as a last greeting to Fuji. Then, its mission accomplished, it escaped through the window, blowing in the curtain flying.

Woooo!

Fuji walked to the window and closed it, feeling a little strange. When he turned on his heels to leave the room, the first thing which came into his sigh was a girl lying in her bed.

'Ryoma-chan!'

It was Ryoma's room. The wind had leaded Fuji into Ryoma's room.

Ryoma was sleeping, but her face was slightly grimacing. Fuji went to her to see the ice pack on her forehead completely melted. He removed it and placed a hand on her forehead. It was still hot. She needed a new cold pad, but she couldn't do it herself. Was this the reason why the wind leaded him into her room? Fuji saw a basin of water on the table next her bed. He took the towel placed next to the basin. He dipped it in the cold water, wrung it, and then placed it on her forehead. Her features immediately relaxed. The newly changed cold pad must have felt very good for her poor burning head.

Fuji sat on her bed, watching her sleeping face. Poor girl. After taking care of everybody's cold until they became better, it was her turn to catch a cold. From what May told them, she must have carried the cold inside her for more than a day. But because she didn't treat it and didn't rest as she should, the cold turned bad and became a fever. Fuji guessed that she caught the cold at the same time as everyone. But instead of resting like they did, she took care of everyone except herself, which was why the cold turned out bad.

Fuji watched her now relaxed face.

'Echizen Ryoma, you are sure an unusual girl.'

It was the first time that Fuji met someone who of other people before oneself. Taking care of everybody until oneself fell sick. Fuji never believed that this kind of person could exist in the real live, but Echizen Ryoma just gave him proof of the contrary. And this wasn't the first time that he had to change his opinion about her. Usually, when Fuji Syuusuke had stated his mind on something or about someone, he was never wrong. If there are people who doubt about his judgement, they would have to recognize that he was right later. It was thanks to that sharp observation and analysis skills of his that Fuji Corporation Group stood where it stood today. Fuji Syuusuke was never wrong about anything, but Echizen Ryoma had broken that fact. What was she? What kind of person was she? How did she do to have Fuji Syuusuke make a false analysis about her?

'Who are you really?'

First, she was a disrespectful young boy, who didn't know his right place in front of Fuji Syuusuke. That boy dared to stand against him and frankly stated his mind when the Fuji Syuusuke was at fault. No one ever did that to him before. Fuji really thought she was only a cocky head, who needed to be taught a good lesson of respect toward him. Maybe winning Seiyou Academy scholarship when she came from the common world had inflated her head. She even dared to play against a senpai and won instead of letting the senpai win. That Echizen Ryoma boy really didn't know to stay at his rightful place in Seiyou Academy. And Fuji absolutely despised that kind of person, believing oneself to be better than anyone when you're nothing.

Fuji Syuusuke was never wrong in his judgement about people and people always trusted his judgement. However, this time, about Echizen Ryoma, it didn't go in the same way. His friend, Kikumaru Eiji, who had never doubted him before, had disapproved his judgement about Echizen Ryoma. When they barely met, Kikumaru immediately took a liking into the youngster. He even gave the freshman a permanent nickname and glomped the kouhai every times they met. What kind of black magic did Echizen Ryoma use on the cat boy to have him go against his friend?

'You had my friend turned against me for you…'

However, Kikumaru wasn't the only one who sided with Echizen Ryoma against him. Yukimura Seiichi also took the young one under his wings. Yukimura never favoured anyone or treated anyone in any special way unless that person was really worthy to be treated so. Yet, Yukimura was very protective and caring for the cocky and bratty Echizen Ryoma. And Kirihara Akaya, the wild beast who never listens to anyone, was like a tamed puppy in front of the cross-dresser girl. Yukimura once said how he found it incredible that Kirihara had chosen a big sister into his female kouhai. Usually, when Kirihara was being stubborn, he wouldn't listen to anyone, unless it was Yukimura or Fuji. But Yukimura rarely reprimanded Kirihara and Fuji never said a word when Kirihara behaved bad, which left Kirihara to act spoil whenever he wanted and as much as he wanted. But since Ryoma arrived, Kirihara had found a new master, who wasn't as nice as Yukimura and wasn't indulgent like Fuji. But if Kirihara angered Ryoma or did something he shouldn't have, just seeing the girl popping a vein on her forehead was enough to scare him out. And only one word from her would immediately have Kirihara to repair his mischievous. Fuji knew Kirihara highly admired him and would to anything to please him. However despite knowing that Fuji didn't like Echizen Ryoma, Kirihara overlooked Fuji's opinion for the first time. He had chosen Echizen Ryoma over Fuji Syuusuke.

'You possess a strange power to change people around you…'

Kirihara was the perfect example. Before he knew her, Kirihara had a big problem about his personality. Whenever he was driven in pinch during a match, he would lose his mind and his conscience snapped. He would become Devil Akaya. Unlike the normal Kirihara, who played to win, Devil Akaya aimed to destroy physically and psychologically his opponent. And when Kirihara turned into Devil Akaya, no one could do anything to stop him. During these times, only Yukimura's voice could reach him and only Fuji could awake the normal Kirihara back. However, Yukimura and Fuji put together couldn't do what Ryoma did for Kirihara. She had sealed Devil Akaya away!

Truth to be told, Kirihara never wanted to hurt anyone, but he had no power once Devil Akaya surfaced. However, no one wanted to believe him when he said that he really didn't want to hurt people, especially the one who were Devil Akaya's victims. They feared him. It came to a point that no one wanted to play with him anymore again because of their fear of Devil Akaya. Eventually, they avoided getting near to Kirihara. Though Kirihara never said anything about that, Yukimura knew how much Kirihara felt hurt when he saw people deserting him.

Kirihara never wanted to hurt anyone, but he just had no control over Devil Akaya. However, no one wanted to believe him when he said that. No one. Except Echizen Ryoma.

During a match they had against each other, Kirihara was driven in pinch by Ryoma and he lost himself to Devil Akaya. Kirihara didn't know what happened after he snapped, but when he was back to himself, he saw her on the ground, her left knee bleeding. Horrified, he had broken and had apologized non-stop to her, saying that he didn't want to hurt her. But inside, he already told himself that she would never believe him, just like all the other victims of his devil side. But she gave him the most unexpected answer.

"I believe you," Ryoma simply told him. Kirihara thought he was hallucinating. But Ryoma repeated again. "I believe you, when you said you never intended to hurt me."

Echizen Ryoma, a girl from the common population, believed him. But it couldn't be true that that girl would believe him after that he horribly injured her, to the point that she couldn't stand on her two feet. But she proved to him that she really believed him. After she had recovered, she had challenged him again. And she seriously played against him while she was perfectly aware that he could become Devil Akaya at any moment. Alas for him and for her, Devil Akaya resurfaced again, injuring her again.

When Kirihara returned back to himself, he saw the proof that she really believed him: she was on the ground again. And that time, her two knees were bleeding. Kirihara had felt like he had a knife stabbing his heart and at the same time, a ray hope warming his injured heart. She was the very first person outside of the Rikkaidai regulars who saw him as Kirihara Akaya and not only as Devil Akaya. He broke. He jumped over the net and ran straight to her. He tackled her on the ground, squeezed her in his arms in a Kikumaru-mode death-grip-glomp and cried like a baby against her. She had threatened him that if he wet her shirt, he would have to pay her a new shirt, equalling ten thousand times the shirt original price. But Kirihara didn't release her and continued to cry, soaking her. At the end, she gave up and let him cry as much as he wanted on her, patting his head. After that day, Kirihara came up with a decision: this girl would never be hurt by him again. To be sure that would not happen again, Kirihara learned to seal Devil Akaya away.

It only took the three words "I believe you" to seal Devil Akaya, but no one had thought about them. Not even Yukimura and Fuji.

That was when Fuji saw the limit of what he could do; a limit of his talent and power. Kirihara would now listen to Echizen Ryoma instead of taking Fuji's opinion word by word.

'Of course I know everyone has a limit of what they can do, but I can't believe that it would be a girl from the common world who would make me realize my own limit.'

Force to admit, Fuji had to review his judgement about Echizen Ryoma. There must be something truly special about her that attracted Kikumaru Eiji, Yukimura Seiichi and Kirihara Akaya and the rest of the regulars to her. At first, Fuji was very bitter about the idea that he had to correct a judgement he'd made. His pride didn't take it very well that a simple girl from the common civilization had brought him to doubt about himself AND had him to re-evaluate a judgement he previously made. She got him to lower his pride. It was very humiliating and frustrating.

'I refused to let a girl from the common world to correct any of my judgment.'

So Fuji decided to study her, to observe her more. He was determined to find out what underhand trick did she used to gain the regulars' acceptance and friendship.

But as he watched her mingled everyday with the regulars, Fuji was surprised to find himself be amused by her: her outbursts over Kirihara's, Marui's, Niou's and Ootori's childishness, her determination to win against her opponent on the tennis court, the thrilling feeling to watch her play, her reaction each time she fell victim to Kikumaru's death-grip-glomps, her incredibly genius mind at work and stamina when she wanted to escape from Inui's juice treat (threat!), her obedience to Tezuka when he assigned her laps - even reluctantly -, her stubborn refusal to call Atobe by any other name than 'Monkey King' and Atobe's funny reactions, and et cetera. Even though Fuji would not admit it, she was entertaining to watch. And also surprisingly, Fuji found himself laughing time by time while observing her. As he thought about it again, Fuji realized that he had a lot of fun whenever she was around. Fuji didn't remember the last time he laughed so much or feeling this kind of enjoyment, but he still refused to accept the existence of Echizen Ryoma among the regulars. He refused to be fooled by the young female regular.

And then, something happened that showed him Echizen Ryoma's true kind heart: Yuuta's behaviour toward him.

Yuuta started to talk to him again.

Fuji opened his eyes, watching Ryoma's sleeping face.

A/N: If the chapter 40, second par of Fuji's reflection, is not posted in the next hour, it will be before the end of the day. And please, review this chapter. Thank you.