As always I always appreciate those who reviewed, favourite'd and followed :) thanks everyone! I don't know why, I used to be able to freely pen this story - like there is a never-ending spring, fountain of muse and inspiration, but lately it seems that it had been getting harder to write each new chapter and if I do happen to churn out something, it'd seem strange at first glance but at second glance, nothing seems to be wrong. How weird…

… Again, this chapter was a huge, huge challenge. Possibly greater than the one before. I keep getting blocked out by Tsugi and Yukimura when I try tuning into their frequency T_T they simply won't cooperate with me!

*Reposted 4/12/13 with important changes* Sorry for the previous less than quality update. :/ will still be tweaking around as things go round. I'm still not completely satisfied but I'm a little happier with the insertion of the flashbacks.

*Final edit 17/12/13*

Higher than the Wind

Hospital Stay

Pitch black.

Miles, acres… endless stretches of pitch black. For a moment, she thought she had lost her sense of sight.

Then she saw the light.

The glaring, intense light which burst into her sight, like a film of iridescence was suddenly put in front of her eyes, painting her world the shades of the rainbow and whatever colours in between. She reached out for the source of that light, inciting a short-lived fight between her mind which urged to wake up and her brain which demanded more rest. Eventually, her mind won the battle and her brain grudgingly allowed her consciousness to connect to her physical body.

Tsugi's eyelids trembled as she stirred in her slumber.

Slowly, her eyelids were lifted, bit by bit revealing the emerald irises beneath. The soft glow of the fluorescent light above her head was a tad too bright for her eyes which had been accustomed to darkness for too long so she blinked, but no fluid was secreted to ease the discomfort, which was a given since she hadn't rehydrated herself for a while. She squirmed her eyes, her dilated pupils took a moment to become focused again.

At that moment, a soft 'click' was heard when the doorknob was turned, a brown-haired teenage male carefully entered through the door. Groggily, Tsugi turned to the door and her eyes focused on the visitor.

Renji.

"You're awake, Tsugi," Renji dropped his bag and sat himself next to the bed, "How are you feeling? I'll call the doctor over." His facial muscles relaxed, as the wrinkles between his previously tightly-knitted brows were smoothed out by the uplifting of the corners of his lips. He poured a glass of water for Tsugi which she gratefully accepted and while she was drinking, he pressed the bell next to her nightstand. After doing all that he excused himself, "I have to make a call to tou-san and kaa-san to inform them that you have come about, it'll take just a moment. Will you be fine by yourself for a while?"

"Please do," Tsugi smiled wearily at him, she didn't want them to worry too much about her either. With a light, understanding nod, Renji exited the room.

Tsugi began to entertain herself by watching the white ceiling, though, she wasn't idle for too long.

Being part of the largest and most eminent hospital in the district, the employees of the hospital Tsugi was admitted to; the Kanai Sougou Hospital; were highly efficient. The doctor arrived quickly and during the short interval Renji was absent, Tsugi was already done with her check-up. As Renji was entering the room, he met with the doctor who was walking out, the two exchanged polite nods as they crossed path after which the doctor hurriedly went his way.

Typical of a big hospital like Kanai Sougou, he wouldn't be surprised if he was told that the hospital suffered from a permanent shortage of staffs.

"Did the doctor say anything about your condition?" asked Renji as he sat down next to her bed.

"He said that I've already recovered and I can be discharged after two more days, my muscles will probably still feel sore for a couple of days after today but it's a normal symptom after over-exertion," replied Tsugi, and those were her doctor's exact words. A very succinct man he was, the doctor. Her voice was still a little raspy from lack of hydration after a whole day of being knocked out cold. One glass of water was hardly enough, especially after the speed questionnaire she went through with the doctor. He fired questions at the speed of bullet train, so in addition to the multitude of answers she had to churn out, her brain was also forced to work at an uncomfortably high speed that nearly put her under a dizzy spell. Not that she really cared… for Tsugi, there was a much more urgent issue at the moment. "Renji… did we win?"

This question had been on her mind ever since she regained consciousness. The chances of her emerging victorious were low from the start, not to mention she even lost consciousness at the last part… but she was praying, praying hard for a miracle to descend.

Never had she felt such strong emotions towards anything before, or ever been so particular about victory and loss. Tennis used to be just a sport, she had her fair share of wins and losses so the outcome of her match didn't pose much concern to her. Rather than victory, she personally enjoyed the game more than the win. But for her team, her school and herself now, Tsugi was coming to realize the importance of victory.

Tsugi once heard people saying that once a sportsman become blinded by victory and loss, his sports career would be over. She had read many articles regarding the esoteric topic of 'sport spirit', and knew that many of the Conservatives still believed that sports was all about ardor and passion. Tsugi used to agree in them, but her thinking had changed since arriving at Rikkai Dai. Rikkai Dai's culture led her to question whether a drive to excel derived from one's passion for the sports was really so different from a drive born from a thirst for victory. In the end, weren't they both sources of motivation? Why must one be viewed as superior to the other? If she'd give it a deeper thought, arguments about the loss of 'sports spirit' couldn't hold either; sports spirit and the pursuit of victory weren't mutually exclusive, with the exception of extremists of course. With a thirst for victory, the idea of sports spirit was merely rewritten with a different statement.

When Tsugi began playing as a regular, her passion for the sport was intertwined with the club's hunger for victory. The desire to win hadn't diminished her passion, in fact the former had augmented the latter and spurred her to hone her skills. If anything, Tsugi felt that it was Rikkai Dai girls tennis club that made her a complete and true sportsman.

Tsugi looked straight at Renji, but there was no reply from her cousin.

With each passing moment of silence, Tsugi's heart sank a little more. To Tsugi, the silence was Renji contemplating over how to phrase his words for a less than peachy situation.

"Tsugi, please stay calm after hearing what I'm going to tell you, alright?" Renji began and Tsugi's heart already hit rock bottom, "you didn't win your match."

As expected.

Tsugi's head fell limp, head hung down in misery. Renji's words drained what bit of energy she had just recovered, rendering her bright emerald eyes listless. If not for the subtle movement of her chest –evidence that she was still breathing– Renji would have thought that she was frozen in time.

Of course. What was she expecting? Tsugi thought bitterly, how atrocious that she was hoping for a victory after she had a blackout during her match. Even if Umiheiro wasn't able to return her last shot, it would had been an automatic defeat on Rikkai Dai's side because she was unable to continue playing in her state. Of course she would lose, of course…

But it didn't change the fact that she felt horrible. Disappointed. Most of all a heavy, heart-wrenching emotion called guilt swelled up in her heart and ate her up from the inside. Her loss wasn't what bothered her, it was the fact that Rikkai Dai has lost to Shitenhouji for the third time in a row because of her slip up. Her breathing was quick, short and shallow, and just as Renji was about to speak again, another voice came from the door.

"But you didn't lose, either."

It wasn't until Tsugi processed his words in her mind that she looked up, and saw Yukimura standing by the door with a little bunny plushie in his hands.

Dark orange ray from the evening Sun seeped through the window shutters along the hallway and cast itself on the pale-skinned blue-haired teen, painting orange streaks on his crisp white shirt and illuminating him in in a strangely holy fashion.

But Tsugi was much too focused on the message Yukimura was conveying to appreciate the picturesque scene, or to take in the fact that Yukimura was holding onto a soft toy of her favourite animal – something which she only briefly mentioned during their date at the Ueno Art Museum.

Her obliviousness wasn't shared by the other person in the room. Apollo. Renji immediately thought of the Greek God of Music who was famous for his flawless physical beauty when he examined Yukimura. It was really hardly a wonder that girls fall head over heels in love with him, Yukimura Seiichi was truly the epitome of perfection.

'Child of God'. A truly befitting nickname.

"What do you mean, Yukimura?" asked Tsugi, a tiny spark of hope ignited in her soft voice. She tried her best to remain recollected, but her white knuckles were betraying her tumultuous emotions. She hadn't been this nervous since Valentine's Day.

"Umiheiro received your last shot, but she fainted after she returned the ball. The match was a draw," Yukimura explained while glancing at Renji from the corner of his eyes, blue eyes flickering in a lightly… intimidating manner.

He narrated in a light-hearted tone, but the actual scene was far more intense.

– Flashback –

"Tsugi!" Seven hearts rose to their throats as the Rikkai Dai regulars shouted out their teammate's name, their voices matched the uproar in the crowd. Hana gripped the fence tightly, the tiny pieces of barbed wire dug into her skin but she didn't mind it at all. The sharp pain soothed her nerves, bringing back her equanimity.

Before the audience reacted to the downfall of one player, another one fell.

"Natsuki/buchou!" Shitenhouji was bewildered when they saw their captain falling right after she returned the opponent's ball. Miharu gripped her fists. This was impossible... Shitenhouji's invincible 'Queen' would never fall! It shouldn't have been possible!

The umpire made a hand signal for the match to be paused, while professional medics hurried into the court and performed quick check-ups on the two players. A common conclusion was reached on both sides: neither player was fit for match anymore.

To Shitenhouji's disbelief and Rikkai Dai's silence, the match was annulled.

Both Tsugi and Natsuki were rushed into the hospital. Remnants of the commotion completely died down when the sports announcer moved on and declared that they will be continuing with a match between the reserves.

...The outcome of this tournament hadn't been decided yet.

"Senko," Hana stared ahead at Shitenhouji, low voice nearly dispersed by the wind, "don't you lose."

The biggest obstacle in their course to victory had been brought down already, there was no excuse for anything less than a victory.

If their junior could achieve the impossible... then there was no way that they, her seniors, were going to let the school down.

"Definitely," Senko nodded. She grabbed her racquet with a firm grip, entered the court and prepared herself for the decisive battle.

– End of flashback –

Renji looked away, having developed an arbitrary interest in the vase of blue tulips sitting alone on the table.

A draw! With the final stunt she pulled towards the end of her match, this was certainly the best outcome she could have asked for. So they went on to do a match between the reserves? What was a sliver of hope was infinitely augmented now, perhaps, perhaps…

"Did Isseisouen-senpai win?" Tsugi asked, hands gripping the bed sheets tightly. Isseisouen was Senko's family name. Every single nerve connected to her brain was contracted, so tense and tightly wrung that Tsugi felt as though they were going to snap anytime. The pale greens in her eyes deepened when she locked eyes with Yukimura, pleading with him to break the news to her. Please let it be good news –

"She won. Isseisouen-senpai swept her opponent with a score of 6-0," said Yukimura with a reassuring smile. With a light squeeze of her hand, he gently pried her fingers from the bed sheets, "Rikkai Dai clinched the championship."

And good news it was!

– Flashback –

Senko's match was completely one-sided, with the advantage slanted towards Rikkai Dai from the start to the end. Her opponent was definitely a competent player, and she was not at all demoralized by her captain's unprecedented downfall. If anything, like Senko she was highly motivated by the previous match. Yet, it was clear that Senko was not only better than her opponent in terms of skills and ability, but also more ardent and bent on returning with the gold.

The match wasn't a walk in the park, but it'd seem that Rikkai Dai's generation of miracle had arrived.

"Game and match to Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, 6 games to love!"

6-0, a score never seen in the girls National league before.

When the regulars received the championship trophy and gold medals from the organizers, they couldn't say that they weren't happy, yet they weren't as ecstatic as they thought they would be. There should had been an eighth member on the court with them, but their eighth member was currently in the hospital. From the words of the medic, they knew that she was merely exhausted, still, knowing that doesn't mitigate the heaviness in their hearts.

They have thwarted Shitenhouji's third straight win, but the person who deserved the most credit wasn't there to celebrate their victory.

– End of flashback –

"I'm so glad!" Tsugi let out a sigh of relief as all the tense muscles in her body went slack, the anxiousness in her expression faded away, a bright smile on her face. It had barely been five minutes but she felt like she went through a lifetime worth of social drama. But nothing mattered more than the victory of Rikkai Dai, "thank you so much, Yukimura."

"There's another piece of good news. After the finals, a rising star was born in the middle school tennis world," Yukimura placed the plushie on her lap and smiled at her appearance, "Congratulations, 'Illusionist'." Despite the few strands of haphazard bed hair, Yukimura thought that she looked adorable with a bunny plushie. The childish toy accentuated her doe-like eyes; a rare sight to see on a girl best known for her flawless composure – well, Yukimura had always reserved his doubts about that, he had seen her flustered on more than one occasion. He could agree with them that she knew her etiquette, but flawless...the usage of that adjective was a little debatable.

"The 'Illusionist'?" Tsugi reiterated his words slowly as if she was murmuring to herself, there was a strange feeling in her chest, "They gave me a nickname?"

"They came up with a name for your new move as well. 'The Chameleon's Gaze'," he continued, watching as serenity returned to her face. A pity that her child-like expression didn't last, he rather liked it. How strange that a girl who was usually like tranquil water could become that aggressive in the court, how strange and... intriguing. Such a paradox that the more he saw of her the more intriguing he found her to be.

Yukimura looked at her, ocean-blue eyes gently taking in her facial features. He was there at her match, and he saw every last bit of her fierce rally. He had promised Hana that she wouldn't see him – and he kept to his end of the deal. He and Renji were blended into the crowd, so nobody from the girls team knew about his presence. The vigor Tsugi had displayed in her match against Umiheiro Natsuki stirred up memory within him. It reminded him of the first time they officially made acquaintances – when they paired up for the Art project in first year. Strong-willed. Determined. The powerful aura she exuded was something he wasn't unfamiliar with. It was something he himself had always executed on people around him, and now she was executing it on him in return.

Hana accused him of wielding an all too powerful influence over Tsugi, but who was to say that she didn't as well?

A sudden silence fell upon the room as Tsugi mulled over the news. The 'Illusionist'. The taste of the word was foreign to her tongue, a rather exotic taste if she was to say. Tsugi had never thought that she'd one day make her name in tennis, so this sudden fame came as a surprise to her. But she embraced it nonetheless. As compared to the school name, personal fame never occurred as something important to her (1) though, she did relish the knowledge for a moment. Who wouldn't? A nickname was a title of recognition, something which must be earned. Once you gain a nickname in the sport, it was a sign of acknowledgement by your fellow sportsmen of your skills. Overwhelming ability and luck at that. Luck, for there must have been the right opportunity, one that lucidly illustrated a threshold.

For Tsugi, that would be playing as equals with the 'Queen'.

By some strange magical conjuring, it'd seem that she had elevated herself by riding on Umiheiro Natsuki's fame.

"I'm sorry to disturb but visiting hour is going to be over, will the gentlemen please leave? Visiting hours begin at 12pm tomorrow so you can drop by again then," a young nurse came into the room and called out.

"Thank you. I'll visit you tomorrow at about 1 then, Yanagi," Yukimura nodded at the nurse and flashed a stunning smile at Tsugi. He then turned to Renji, his smile unfaltering, "Renji, we should be going."

- To your doom. Was Yukimura's unfinished sentence which the brown-haired teen understood perfectly.

Renji never felt a stronger urge to shrink himself.

"Good bye, Yukimura. Good bye, Renji," Tsugi gave a small wave, completely clueless as to her cousin's impending fate.

Albeit unwilling, Renji took his leave with Yukimura, leaving Tsugi alone in her room with only the bunny plushie Yukimura had left for her as company until the next day.

~x~

By 3 o'clock, Tsugi was starting to think about submitting an appeal to her doctor for an early discharge.

At 12 o'clock sharp, her first visitors arrived. Hana, Heibi, Cho and Senko walked into the room, bringing with them a fruit basket and the gold medal which they kept for Tsugi. Hana handed over the two items to Tsugi with utmost gravity in a ceremonial manner, while Cho gave her a casual light pat on the back. Heibi stared at her indifferently, but her presence spoke more than enough. Senko nodded and gave Tsugi her best wishes. The four then switched places with Rikkai Dai's 'Ultimate Pair' and Kichi who were waiting outside. Himeko and Rei seemed rather awkward, but they both wished her a smooth recovery as well. Her bubbly fellow second year beamed brightly at her and told her that she would be waiting to see her back in school. To all their well wishes, Tsugi accepted them with heartfelt gratitude.

The team left at around 12.30, and as if it was pre-planned, another visitor came in promptly.

"Tsugi, look at what I brought for you!" Geishi had popped by and grinned –a little too ebulliently to be visiting a patient, Tsugi noted– while presenting to her a stack of cards made by the girls from their class. Despite her ambiguous relationship with the school heartthrob, Tsugi's polite nature made it hard for her female classmates to hate on her, "we will be looking forward to your return!"

Tsugi nodded appreciatively, and Geishi left like a whirlwind.

Yukimura arrived shortly after that.

He didn't linger around much, merely peeled an apple for her and explained that Renji was being held up by club affairs and will be not dropping by today. Tsugi was rather doubtful, she knew Renji wasn't the sort to forsake family for work, but she soon shrugged the thought off thinking that it must be something extremely important. Yukimura ruffled her hair with a mysterious smile on his lips which confused her and left.

Then come Yanagi Machi, who brought with her a wide array of soup... might she mention that there was really a little –she wasn't fooling herself, it was anything but 'a little'– too much, and Tsugi was pretty certain that she wouldn't want to see any more soup in near future after the soup feast she just had. Yanagi Machi brought an important piece of news along with her: Tsugi's parents had called and she had informed them about her hospitalization. They were very worried about her and would like her to give them a call as soon as she was discharged.

Tsugi's parents called her on a monthly basis, it was some sort of routine, a planned practice. They would always call on the third day of the month at 9pm Japan time, no later, no earlier. Tsugi nodded and assured her aunt that she would. Yanagi Machi took her leave.

– and the most random group of visitors arrived after that. Tsugi could understand why Sanada was here – they were classmates and had gotten acquainted via students' council duties; Yagyuu as well, since they were in the same committee for Ocean Festival, perhaps even Kirihara for she did tutor him and helped him to at least pass English... But why were Nio, Marui and Jackal all here? Then she found out that Yagyuu and Nio were some sort of package deal, and Marui and Jackal were called in as Kirihara's babysitters. They brought a bouquet of gerberas, a rather pretty bouquet much to Tsugi's surprise, and when she expressed her thoughts on the flowers, Kirihara was quick to brag that he had been the one to choose it while Yagyuu mentioned briefly that the second years shared the costs amongst them. Tsugi smiled and thanked them. Albeit a little tired from the consecutive waves of visitors, the boys team did brighten her day.

Strange, wasn't visiting supposed to be a solemn affair? Tsugi thought that most of her visitors seemed almost a little too chirpy.

She didn't mind the above visitors and the tiredness at all that much, it was the final visitor who touched a nerve within her.

"Mizuki, I appreciate your thoughts but I'm not about to die," Tsugi frowned at the bunch of white chrysanthemums (2) placed on her lap by her ex-classmate. Was he deliberately making a faux pas or was he trying his childish antics on her again? How did he even know which hospital she was admitted into and the room number anyway? This was seriously creepy.

"But Tsugi-chan," there he goes again, Tsugi's nerves twitched, purring like he was the immediate family of a cat, "google said so."

...Right. She shouldn't have expected Mizuki to be discerning enough. Mizuki continued blabbering away, despite Tsugi's obviously disinterest in the whole subject. More than once, twice, trice even, Tsugi had dropped polite hints that she'd like to rest and he should be on his way but either she was too discreet about it or Mizuki was too dense. Tsugi gave up, submitting to her fate and putting up with nearly a whole hour of Mizuki's unbearable one-sided conversation.

Patience was a virtue which Tsugi used to lack - that much was evident in her tutorship of Kirihara, but because she had to constantly deal with the seaweed-hair first year who was a terrible handful, Tsugi's patience was infinitely expanded. So even though the urge to ask Mizuki what did she ever do to him to deserve his constant harassment was clawing at her, Tsugi's face remained still and emotionless as Mizuki talked away.

(Which led her to wonder, did he really need an audience after all?)

She couldn't be more glad when he was invited out of the room by the doctor who had come to perform a check-up on her. He protested, saying that he hadn't delivered the most important part of his speech (after an hour long of talking? Tsugi shook her head in disbelief.) but the doctor threw him out of the room with a straight face. It was then she began thinking about whether she should ask to be discharged early just in case Mizuki dropped by again.

"Discharge? You cannot be serious, Yanagi-san. It'd be best for you if you stay in the hospital for another day," said her doctor with an admonishing look when she put it forward in a tentative manner. Tsugi relented in the stern face of the doctor, he reminded her far too much of grandpa. Previously an atheist, she had taken to praying faithfully in hope that there wouldn't be as much disturbance during tomorrow's visiting hours as today, for she was pretty sure if Mizuki came by again, she'd probably end up extending her hospital stay due to high blood pressure.

... Luckily, it'd seem that God heard her prayer and he didn't.

~x~

"The school has decided to sponsor a school trip for us in celebration of our achievement," Yukimura took a quick glance through the letter addressed to Hana and him, "which location would you like to settle on, Izumi-buchou?"

Their rather unpleasant last meeting hadn't really affected the relationship between Yukimura and Hana seeing that in the first place, they hadn't much of one aside from the obligatory partnership by grace of the common role they played in their respective clubs. Both captains managed their social ties well, but nobody said that they had to be chummy-chummy.

Hana briefly scanned through the options, her eyes didn't even reach the third option as she was instantly captivated by the second.

"My vote goes to this," without any hesitation, Hana pointed to the second option. Yukimura lowered his eyes to where she was indicating with her finger, a tiny smile surfacing on his lips.

"I have no objection, would it be alright if you submitted the application form to the general office? I have an appointment in about half an hour time," Yukimura glanced at the clock and requested.

Hana looked at him skeptically, but Yukimura seemed oblivious to her heated gaze. Slowly, she nodded.

"I'll take it down to the general office, go ahead with whatever you need to get done."

"Thank you, Izumi-buchou."

(1) Another noteworthy fundamental value of the Japanese society is their fierce loyalty to their cause. Japanese are pretty amazing in the sense that for their belief, their organization, they are willing to devote their all.

(2) Usually, white chrysanthemums are given at a funeral...

… Yeahs, so the girls team won, I guess, in a sense I'm just trying to fulfill my own fascination. What the boys team couldn't achieve, I hope that the girls team in my story will be able to do it. Renji was a little OOC yet not OOC here, since he's not the kind to tell you what you want directly, but I don't think that he'd actually joke around when Tsugi had barely recovered. Still… whatever it takes for a dramatic moment and a knight in shining armor to appear right? Ehem. Cheesiness. Cheesiness.

My apologies for the lack of plot development, but as of late… I lost my muse so this is as much as I can do with my tightly packed schedule (outings. Lotsa' them) and upcoming vacation. At least I cleared up the previous cliffy, though I left another one LOL.