(I don't own prince of tennis!)

Chapter 10 – Training Alongside

"Wow," Rin began looking through every piece of glass furniture in the room, "it's so pretty! Can I break one?"

Atobe, glaring at Haruka, tried to maintain his composure as best as he could. "Hikifumi, get that girl away from the ornaments before my mother decides to walk in here!"

Haruka quickly ran over to the black haired acrobat. "Rin, don't just jump in and start playing with weird things! You might break something!"

Rin, pouting like a three year old, sulked off towards the side. "That's no fair! Kiyone-chan's actions are not being suppressed by Ayane-chan!"

"That's because," Ayane let out a sigh, "Kiyone is avoiding most of the glass stuff. Besides, I'm sure with his money – Atobe can replace this whole place and make it even better with a snap of his fingers."

Looking around, Oishi then realized that Tezuka wasn't with them. "Guys, have you seen Tezuka anywhere?"

"Saa~, I noticed that too," Fuji began searching the place but found nothing.

Momo bit into a lollipop she had bought from the candy store. "He's with Kurenai-buchou. I saw them head towards the tennis courts awhile ago."

Now, that statement wasn't very appealing to Shishido's ears. "They're beginning to train together now?"

Atobe knew that the kansai prodigy didn't like anybody going near Shizuru since most guys tend to follow her everywhere. "Oshitari, you shouldn't worry too much about Kurenai. She's not made of glass."

"Really, do you think so? If he breaks her to pieces, he's not going to know what hit him," The kansai prodigy adjusted his glasses.

Atobe rolled his eyes. "Good luck then. Ore-sama will have Taki replace you if Tezuka beats you real good."

Shrugging, Oshitari had a sly smirk. "I dare you to do so."

Gakuto jumped on top of the kansai prodigy. "Yuushi, maybe you should step back. Tezuka-san doesn't seem to be the type to bite."

"That's probably the best solution and for once, Gakuto's actually saying something smart." The kansai prodigy walked away in deep thought while Shishido managed to somehow keep calm but his knuckles were turning white.

"Shishido-senpai," Ohtori began tapping his doubles partner's shoulder, "Are you okay? You look like you want to break a wall."

"Yeah," Shishido let his anger go and began walking towards the pool. "You know – that night was a first, for her to get in the pool."

Ohtori, feeling blush rush up his face, began waving his hand dismissively. "Waah, don't even go there, Shishido-senpai! She…she…!"

"There's something going on in there; the only problem is that we don't know what," Shishido picked up a small pebble lying along and began crushing it in his hand. "It's no fair to her either."

Ohtori knew exactly how his doubles partner felt towards their friend. "Yeah but, we can't exactly kidnap her from that house."

Feeling the dust accumulate in his hand, Shishido let out a low hiss. "I know – but, at least help her open her heart because Shizuru's not only hurting herself but everyone around. While acting cool and all, Shizuru forgets what it's like to be a normal middle school girl. Tell me, how many girls do you know addresses their father by the name 'otou-sama' and their snobbish and snooty brothers 'nii-sama'?"

The silver haired kohai had to admit; there weren't really much. "I don't think I know anyone else, Shishido-senpai."

"Exactly my point," Shishido slammed the wall with his fist, "Shizuru's not that man's daughter anymore – she's more his slave!"

Atobe on the other hand was felt his heart twitch in annoyance when the latter saw Ayane speaking with Seigaku's vice captain. The two vice captains were happily chatting away while trying to keep an eye on their hyperactive and somewhat innocently destructive doubles partners. Kikumaru was jumping from place to place while Kiyone was looking at the insects buzzing around in the garden.

Ayane hollereed from one side. "Kiyone, please be careful, you might fall or something…!"

Kikumaru was gleefully jumping up and down also until he accidentally lost balance. Grabbing a fringe of a jacket, the red haired acrobat didn't realize it was a girl he grabbed. "Waaah, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I pulled you down, nyah~! Who are you again?"

Dusting the dirt of her jacket, the tensai gave him an assuring smile. "It's no big deal, Kikumaru-senpai. I'm Nagisaki Mai by the way. Have you by any chance seen my captain?"

Oishi ran over towards the red haired acrobat. "Eiji, don't go off jumping like that! You might fall and worse, you might get a concussion or something…!"

Kikumaru waved his hands with a 'v' sign. "Don't worry about me, aibou! I'm A-okay!"

Ayane, running towards Kiyone, quickly began chiding the girl. "Kiyone, you should stop messing around with the bumblebees in the garden! They could sting you and you could get poisoned…!"

Mai began stifling her laughter. "Don't you guys realize that you both sound alike? You're such worry warts."

Fuji began clicking away with his camera. "It's nice watching people get worried. The scenery here is nice too but I wonder where that stone faced friend of mine went off to."

"How long have you been playing tennis?" Shizuru took another sip from her water bottle.

Tezuka actually had a hard time recalling it but managed to remember is vaguely. "Ever since I was small, tennis has always been a part of me."

For the very first time, Shizuru met someone who had the same passion as she did in tennis. Both of them had one thing in common and that was having the perseverance to pursue whatever they wanted. "It's quite amazing to see how well you can play, Tezuka-san. I'm just wondering though – are you sure your body can take it?"

"My shoulder won't be hindering me if that's what you're wondering," Tezuka stood up and beckoned her. "Our teammates might be looking for us."

Shizuru, following after him, saw someone whom she didn't expect. "Souma-san, I'm surprised that you're here."

"Same goes to you, Kurenai-san. I didn't know that a captain of your standards would be accepted here," The vice captain stood up with a sneer. "Fuuka-buchou is so much better than you! Also – since when did you get this close to Tezuka-sama hm?"

Shizuru didn't particularly care about fan girls. "I wasn't aware that someone issued me a restraining order. Though if someone did address me with such, I should have been informed am I right?"

Before the vice captain could retort at Shizuru, Fuuka stood in between them to stop the fight. "Forgive my fukubuchou, she tends to be very how do I say this – protective and possessive over her senpai."

"It's alright, I understand," Shizuru turned around. "I have to go find my team now, Tezuka-san. See you on the courts."

While watching Shizuru walk away, Fuuka couldn't help but remember those times when she played against Hyotei's Queen of Diamonds. Shizuru was no easy opponent; Fuuka remembered that there were several players in the girls' division that were Nationals material who could match up to the guys: herself, Kurenai Shizuru of Hyotei, Shitenhouji's captain and Jyousei Shounan's captain and if given enough training – Yukimura Ai could also be classified there. "Tezuka-san, you look like you just had a heavy warm up. Are you alright?"

Tezuka didn't say much about his game with Shizuru. "Ah."

But the Seigaku captain had to admit, Kurenai Shizuru brought a game out of him 7-5. Though he never let his guard down, Tezuka knew that one mistake in the game could be fatal especially when playing against someone like Shizuru. Atobe and Shizuru were on two different levels and apparently – it looked like that Shizuru was a pinch bit better than the king of Hyotei himself. "Have you seen the others?"

"Oishi-kun is with Eiji-kun and the vice captain of Hyotei," Fuuka pulled out her racquet. "Girls," –turning to her teammates, "I think we have some training to do. This place is only available for a week. So, do whatever you can to get stronger. We cannot let Rikkai Dai or Hyotei get past us again like last time!"

"Hai, Fuuka-buchou," the Seigaku girls began unpacking their things to start training on the court.

Tezuka, walking away towards his teammates, couldn't help but contemplate on the game between him and Kurenai. He knew that she was the captain of the Hyotei team and from his point of view; Fuuka's chances of winning instantaneously fluctuated between sixty percent and seventy percent. "Souma-san," Tezuka motioned to the female captain.

"Hm, what is it?" Fuuka turned around before heading towards the court.

"Don't let your guard down," Tezuka then after walked towards Seigaku.

Fuuka, letting out a sigh, knew that Tezuka was mainly concerned over their progress. Recalling everything that had happened, Fuuka distinctly remembered the scores after playing against Hyotei. At that point in time, the Ferero-Uchiha pair was Hyotei's best doubles pair while Seigaku's best doubles pair was Hiroma-Kugakiri pair. Both of them were second year that time and they played a game that could last a lifetime with the Hyotei pair winning 7-6. However, she remembered that in the last part of that game, Hyotei intentionally separated the other pair that was initially stronger than the Ferero-Uchiha pair: the Nagisaki-Kurenai pair which was infamously dubbed as the Phantasm Pair. It pissed her off to realize that Singles Three player – Yamaguchi Hitomi was told to lose the game on purpose and also Doubles Two was told to lose as well just so it would reach Singles One. Fuuka had expected to play against Kotetsu Naomi with her infamous Sabre-style tennis.

But she didn't get that last year, instead Fuuka played against someone who was initially a no-namer in the world of Singles players.

Fuuka couldn't get that game out of her head and often times had her guilt eating her because she couldn't bring Seigaku to the Nationals without having Shizuru in the way. However, this year was going to be different; Seigaku this time had several super rookies in their team. Though Sakuno wasn't really considered a super rookie, there was one who could match up to Sanada Momo with very little effort. However, she wasn't going to bring her out just yet. "Fuuka-buchou, are you alright?"

Fuuka looked at Sakuno who seemed a little more than just concerned. "Yeah, I was just thinking about something."

Sakuno had improved over the two months of being among the regulars. Her service was much better and she was turning out to become a good doubles player. However, this didn't mean that the girl could play at Getsugan Kiyone's calibre. Both girls were in the same grade, almost the same stature though Kiyone was a few fractions shorter than Sakuno and the sandy haired girl played better volleys then Sakuno would even if given hard core training. "Fuuka-buchou, I always hear something about Kurenai-san from Jerrard-senpai. Is she really that good? What happens when you play against each other?"

Fuuka stood up with a smirk. "Simple, we play until we can't take it anymore."

Actually, the Seigaku captain didn't know how to answer Sakuno's question especially because she wasn't aware most of the time how their attitudes had drastically changed when playing a game.

What usually happened between the both of them?

The last time she played against the Hyotei captain was a year ago when Shizuru somehow managed to escape the jitters. Though mentally defeated, Shizuru seemed to have the willpower to keep playing and despite having most of her senses cut off, there was something that was helping her. Fuuka actually remembered feeling the effects of her own jitters on herself. However, the Seigaku captain knew that was not the case. Shizuru created her own jitters by sending back every shot without difficulty. "Fuuka-buchou, you should stop troubling yourself with stupid thoughts like that you know," the vice captain twirled her racquet on the floor.

"I'm not troubling myself," Fuuka sighed in defeat, "it's just – our games against Hyotei have always been different. Like the last time – you were playing against Mai and she took you down single handedly. I can't imagine if Kurenai Shizuru decided to enter your slot of Singles Three. I mean – sure, you're part of the top one doubles pair but I remember that the Ferero-Uchiha pair managed to take you down as well. Not only that –this year, Hyotei now has two super rookies who happened to be the best doubles players in the district and can single handedly defeat senior players if taken lightly. Jerrard Vera, I suggest you take them very seriously – both you and Sakuno."

The vice captain flipped her blonde hair with a snort. "Hmph, you know those brats won't be a match for me. I'm the senior playmaker. I can make them play into my hands."

"Ayane isn't that easy to fool," Fuuka remarked offhandedly, "her mind comes up with a plan very easily and I've been hearing rumours that these two could actually come up with Synchro at will. Kiyone isn't exactly as timid and as shy as Sakuno; the girl will probably start top spinning and under spinning just so she can confuse Sakuno-chan. I suggest you work on your doubles play before Kantou Tournament starts. We only have a week here."

Looking around, the vice captain saw Kikumaru and Oishi coming towards them. "Speaking of doubles, the Golden pair's nearby here. Think we can ask them for a little tutoring?"

"That's probably the best option," Fuuka looked at the clip board that her data master had prepared for the team, "we might as well start training because there's a lot of training for us to do today."

Shizuru on the other hand was already starting their training. "Hikifumi-senpai, Momo-senpai, Uchiha-senpai, laps around the court now."

The two seniors immediately complied while Shizuru began her rallying. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity to rally with you, Yamaguchi-senpai."

"I'm glad that I get to tape your actions and experience a game against you. It would be much more data for me," Hitomi began her service.

On the other court, Ayane fired another Kobushi Katana towards Kiyone. "You better learn how to return heavy shots, Kiyone!"

"You on the other hand better learn how to top spin properly!" Kiyone did another slice which forced Ayane to the front.

Mai was playing against Rin. "Wow, you know – I just realized now that we're the fastest players on the team."

Rin, flipping high into the air and giving her a backhand, landed gracefully on the floor again. "Yeah, well, if it weren't for Shizu-shizu's leg and arcs then she would also have been a speed demon."

Haruka on the other hand was running alongside Momo and Isane. "Say, didn't Shizu-chan say anything about collaborating with Seigaku or anything?"

"Well," Momo shrugged while continuing to run, "as long as it's not Rikkai Dai then I'm fine with it really."

Isane watched Shizuru rally against Hitomi while running her laps. "I don't have anything against Seigaku, it's just, I never liked their vice captain's attitude."

Haruka bit her lip when she remembered the name. "Jerrard Vera, she's a pain in the butt. A snarky annoying brat that knows no bounds and the sad thing is – she's a good playmaker. I wonder who her partner is this year."

"You played against her before right?" Isane remembered the Kantou tournament before Shizuru became captain.

Haruka didn't like recalling that game. "We had to forfeit; Vera used her partner like a shield and purposely hit Rin's left eye. Because of that, my partner nearly went blind! I'm just glad though that Naomi-buchou and Shizu-chan were able to take down Seigaku that day. So, how are we going to collaborate with Atobe in training? Knowing him, he's probably a still bit sour about his near loss against Shizu-chan."

Kiyone fired a smash down on Ayane. "Try this new move, Ayane-chan! It's called the 'Getsugan Rocket'!"

Ayane moved back and returned it with a cross court. "That shot won't be a problem for me! Put more effort into it!"

Despite being slightly glad about them training hard, Shizuru couldn't help but always wonder about her game she had against Tezuka. He didn't hold back which was a good thing but the younger captain couldn't help but wonder on how long his shoulder will last. The Seigaku captain had a handicap and played with full effort despite the risk, which was something the female captain admired. "No wonder every girl is head over heels over him. But even I have to admit – I'm impressed by his efforts."

"There is a ninety percent chance that Shizuru-buchou is now occupied with the thoughts of someone. However, her performance has only decreased by only 0.09 percent, I must have more data." Hitomi continued mumbling while sending a cross court towards the Hyotei captain who managed to react instinctively to it.

Ayane stared at her senpai agape. "I can't believe that Hitomi-senpai can keep going on like that while playing with Shizuru-senpai."

Shizuru, firing another cross court shot, moved closer to the net. "You should concentrate on the game and less on the data, Hitomi-senpai."

"But, this is a perfect opportunity," Hitomi continued to mumble while memorizing all the data in her head. "There is a ninety percent chance that you will…huh?"

Shizuru sliced the ball gently which rolled towards the net after the shot. "A ninety percent chance that I would use the Subera Kagerou, am I right?"

"You shifted in the moment you were about to hit the ball?" Hitomi had her business smile. "I shouldn't expect less from the girl who can defy all data."

Shizuru turned around and headed towards the baseline. "I may defy data in a way but not all the time. There are times where I might fall in but know this – there is always a way out to counter the data given. Yes, it is impossible for data to lie unless the one who gives the data or who presents it is the one that is wrong."

Kiyone stopped her volley. "Wow, this is something I haven't seen. Hitomi-senpai rarely plays in games and she's usually trying to poison us or something!"

Ayane watched the captain's expression change from her normal faint smile into a stoic and serious look. "I don't think either girl is going to back down. This is something not many get to see everyday."

Isane, Haruka and Momo pretended to continue running laps while watching the game. "Hopefully, they don't attract attention like the last time," Momo slowed down her pace.

"Yeah, the last time they gained so much attention was because both players were bringing out all their best moves." Haruka watched Hitomi adjust her glasses and begin her service.

The service cracked off the racquet with astonishing speed. "There it is, the Sniper Serve!" Mai glanced at the captain who didn't seem the least bit disturbed by the speeding service.

Closing her eyes, Shizuru recalled the game between her and the Seigaku captain. Despite firing it back, the girl had noticed that no matter what direction she had hit it in, Tezuka managed to make the ball come to him as if it was attracted to him or some sort. "I was saving this technique for the Nationals but, I might as well practice it now."

Taking a few steps back, Shizuru returned it with a heavy top spin which Hitomi was left with no other choice but to return it back to her while Shizuru continued to increase the amount of top spin on the ball. No matter what happened, Shizuru's shots always returned to her without a problem while Hitomi's stamina steadily dropped. "That's it, that's the technique that's been sealed for so long…" Isane could only gape in awe at what she was seeing. "It's the Tsuuro no Shichihenge…" (Road of the Hydrangea)

"The Hydrangea was known for seven changes," Momo watched Shizuru's power increase shot after shot, "this technique was named such because on the seventh shot…"

The ball started spinning immensely and Shizuru fired it back at Hitomi. "The ball will never cross the net," Haruka stared in awe while Hitomi gave her a forehand that smacked into the net only.

Hitomi looked at the ball rolling the near net. "This is a technique that I wasn't completely aware of, Shizuru-buchou. When was the last time you used this technique?"

Shizuru emotionlessly looked away. "I don't know, maybe a year ago before my leg started acting up."

"If this is how you're going to play," Hitomi adjusted her glasses while it glinted, "I think it's time I used this one also…"

Glowing with a different aura, Hitomi and Shizuru were now going to pull out all the stops. "Hitomi-senpai knows how to do…?" The vice captain stared agape at the manager.

"No," Mai shook her head, "this is a different technique. It looks nothing like the Muga no Kyouchi. This technique feels more violent and intense…"

Momo knew that technique after watching a few games from Fudomine. "A technique from the Two Wings of Kyuushu, the Moujuu Aura is a technique that is similar to the Muga no Kyouchi in terms of power but in nature it's much more different."

Rin glanced at Haruka. "Kuwee~, what does the Moujuu Aura do anyway?"

"Being very similar to the Muga no Kyouchi," Haruka watched Hitomi's intent change, "the Moujuu Aura is something allows you to tap into the experiences of your past games. In this case, Hitomi taps into all her former games and has the ability now to copy movements thus making her more unpredictable. The only difference is that in the Muga no Kyouchi, your mind is in a state of 'mu' meaning 'empty, nothing, nada and zilch'. The Moujuu Aura on the other hand tends to make the player more violent and alters the strength and physical capabilities of the user."

Rin stared aghast at her partner. "Does this mean that Hitomi-chan can end Shizuru-buchou?"

"If she runs her out of stamina," Haruka watched Shizuru move towards the baseline while Hitomi prepared for her service, "then, yes. There is a big chance that Hitomi can floor Shizuru at this point."

Hitomi fired a fast service which Shizuru returned with ease by using a backhand slice while Hitomi gave her a forehand towards the corners of the singles court. Both players played silently without exchanging words and the whole court fell into a deadly silence while both players began to play it out. Shizuru's spins got much faster and now, she started ending things in seven shots every time. "Fifteen – love," Hitomi emotionlessly walked back to the baseline.

Shizuru clucked her tongue while walking towards the baseline to receive it again, "I beg to differ – fifteen all."

Hitomi didn't know what she was talking about until the data master saw a ball appear and smack into the net on her side. "Ah yes, you're using the Subera Kagerou now. I have forgotten."

"That won't be the only technique you're facing," Shizuru watched Hitomi begin her service again.

Other than that, the whole team didn't exchange words with each other and Kiyone stared in awe. "Wow, this is so intense. Sure, Yama-yama has the upper hand in terms of experience but in terms of skill and power, Shizu-buchou is the one who has it. Who's going to win?"

Haryja was scared for her kohai's condition. "Shizuru, the last time you used it, you risked your ability to walk and now you're doing it again! Shizuru, stop being such an idiot!"

Shizuru did another Ayame Gaeshi which descended faster with a curve, "Fifteen – thirty!"

Hitomi on the other hand accurately fired it on the edges of the baseline, "Thirty all!"

Shizuru, forcing the ball to come to her, returned it with twice the force the shot had the first time, "Forty –thirty!"

Firing a heavy service, Hitomi managed to knock out Shizuru's racquet from her hand, "Deuce!"

Everyone stared agape at the two players; Shizuru was only using her Tsuuro no Shichihenge and Hitomi had her Moujuu Aura running amok and they were already gaining much attention. "Wow, the last time I saw something this big was a game between Inui-senpai and Tezuka-buchou," a voice came from behind Kiyone.

Turning around, Kiyone saw the same dark haired guy who had called her a 'shrimp'. "It's porcupine head again! What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, everyone's getting disturbed with the explosion," Momoshiro glowered at the control specialist, "duh!"

His doubles partner was standing next to him. "Fsssh, if you guys didn't create so much noise then we wouldn't be here!"

Kiyone was ready to sock the two Seigaku players. "Look," -her tone became suddenly menacing and low, "Shizu-nee is having fun so, stop butting in…!"

Momo put her hand in front of the freshman to stop the fight. "I think you should be minding your own practice. Better leave now or you will not like what I'm going to do to you."

However, before she could say anything, the blue eyed tensai of Seigaku showed up behind her. "But, if you hurt them, you're going to regret that you did."

Haruka stepped in between them. "Enough threatening, we have to somehow make sure that they don't gain much attention!"

Meanwhile, down at the courts, Hitomi took in a deep breath while focusing on Shizuru's trembling left leg. "It looks like your leg can't take it anymore."

The Hyotei captain, inhaling the air sharply, maintained her composure while watching sweat pour down Hitomi's face. "You're not exactly at tip top shape anymore either."

However, Ayane jumped over the fence and went to the courts. "Guys, this was supposed to be a PRACTICE rally only. You weren't supposed to blow each other apart."

"You're right," Shizuru had a faint smile on her face. "I must have gone too…easy on her."

Hitomi threw her hair back. "I think it's time we decide who truly has the most experience."

Ayane slapped her forehead with a sigh. "I hope you guys don't blow up the courts. Guys, we only have a week and it's already near dinner can we please, go eat dinner NOW?"

Shizuru looked at her watch and then at Hitomi. "I don't think I'm hungry. You go on ahead."

"I'm having too much fun to stop," Hitomi put down her racquet with which her aura faded away, "but, I think it's a better idea that we get some food into our system until then."

Shizuru's aura also died down after. "Ah, I guess you're right."

Momoshiro stared agape however at what had happened at the court. There were visible marks all over the place and heavy skid marks from many top spins and their rubber shoes just got even more worn out than they were already. "Saa~, I didn't know that Hyotei was this good in their girls' division. Souma-san should be more careful then."

"There is a ninety percent chance that Kurenai Shizuru-san will defeat Souma-san in Singles with a score of six games to four." Inui continued scribbling, "Ii data."

Kaidoh couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Those are pretty high odds."

"Sugee~, that's so cool, nyah!" Kikumaru popped up from behind.

All of a sudden, a capped boy approached Shizuru with an arrogant smirk. "It's you, the one who was near the vending machine."

"Ah," Shizuru recognized the smaller boy standing next to her. "Echizen Ryoma-san, it's been awhile."

Echizen, looking up with a smirk, pointed at the marks on the court. "I haven't seen a girl do that yet."

Shizuru eyed the marks on the court and responded with a small smile. "Oh, those were there since awhile ago. I think our shots just made them much deeper than they already are."

Then, in the middle of nowhere, both teams heard a loud grumbling. Passing glances towards one another, Rin put her hands up in surrender. "It wasn't me! I swear – I ate a box of Pocky and had five cans of orange Ponta before coming here!"

Momoshiro looked down with embarrassment. "Oops, that's my fault."

Kaidoh snorted with a reply. "You're always hungry, baka peach!"

Ayane didn't like it when people got embarrassed. "It's alright because I don't think any of us had lunch anyway!"

Kiyone, sniffing the air, her ears suddenly perked up when the control master recognized the scent, "Chicken Teriyaki!"

Rin stared at Kiyone as if the little girl had grown two heads. "What in the world-? Why in the world did you just scream 'chicken teriyaki' all of a-hey, that is the scent of chicken teriyaki! Come on, we better get it before it runs out!"

Haruka, staring at Rin in disbelief, the pink haired twin dragon component tried to pacify her partner. "Rin, I know you're hungry but please try to be a better example to our kohai!"

Kiyone dashed for the restaurant "I want cake~!"

Ayane followed after her doubles partner. "W-wait for me, I'm hungry too!"

Shizuru looked at the watch with a sigh. "Did they even bother eating breakfast before we left?"

Mai, shrugging with a sigh, followed after the two doubles partners. "Well, I guess they only had a slice of toast for them to react to Chicken Teriyaki that way."

Getting inside the restaurant, Kiyone saw a line of plates laid in front of her and Ayane could have sworn that her jaw hard dropped. "This kind of food…! It must have cost a mint!"

Kiyone stared at her doubles partner. "Yay, there's cake, mousse, lollipops and-mpf!"

Momo shoved a melon bun into her mouth. "Smeone pull those desserts away now."

Haruka couldn't help but gape at all the food that was laid before them. "Atobe wasn't kidding when he said that the food was going to be luxurious. The best part is – it's low on calories!"

Rin, beginning to sniff the food, the black haired acrobat grabbed a seat right away. "I want the grilled cod fish!"

Isane pulled out a chair slowly and took her seat. "Are you sure we can eat this?"

"I can't believe he spent this much," Ayane was fuming again like always, "how can Atobe throw his money all over the place like this!"

"Ore-sama didn't remember throwing his money around," A deep sexy voice came from behind.

At this, the vice captain visibly paled and turned around slowly to try and regain your composure. "If so, where did you get all this food!"

"Of course," Atobe snapped his fingers and the waiters came in to the dining hall, "do you think ore-sama ordered for low class chefs and waiters? Think again, Kobayagi. He only wants what's best for Hyotei and the team."

Ayane shook herself out of the daze. "Well, you spent enough for three debuts with this kind of food!"

Mai nudged her captain. "Wow, I didn't know that he bought lobster and crab."

Shizuru began counting the plates and as far as she was concerned, there was enough to feed thirty people. The younger captain didn't remember her senpai-tachi eating a lot but Shizuru knew that Shishido did eat a lot and so did Gakuto. However, the brunette didn't feel the least bit hungry despite the energy that was used up during her practice rally. "Thank you Atobe-senpai, for all the food that you bought. You didn't have to buy all this though."

Atobe however remained adamant. "Like ore-sama said, it was no big deal. Ore-sama would never settle for second best."

Gakuto grabbed a cheesecake and shoved it in his mouth. "Seigaku's not coming are they?"

"So, what's wrong with them? I think Kiku-chan's gotten a lot better," Rin knew that this was going to piss Gakuto off.

Gakuto stared aghast at the black haired acrobat. "What are you saying! Are you telling me that Kikumaru's better than me? You better think twice about that, Shimohi!"

Momo wasn't sure whether or not she should sit down and eat. "Maybe we should invite the people over since there's too much food. I don't expect you guys to finish this."

Hiyoshi stared aghast at Momo. "Are you serious, Sanada-senpai?"

"There is ninety percent chance that Momo is actually serious about this and one hundred percent chance that we will not be able to finish the food," Hitomi began scribbling down, "perhaps Inui-san may teach me how he keeps the Seigaku regulars working and running."

Both Hyotei teams paled at what Hitomi had just mentioned; no way were they having poisonous juices for dinner when the food looked absolutely delicious. "No way," Gakuto vehemently shook his head, "Seigaku is not coming…!"

Rin got up from her seat and went off. "I'll go ask Kiku-chan if he and his team would like to join us! See ya in awhile!"

Shizuru began looking around and turned away with a faint smile. "I'm going to go for a walk for awhile okay? Nagisaki, please text me when everyone is here."

Mai didn't like the way Shizuru always used last name reference. "Sure," –she bit her lip, "but I don't think I need to text you anymore."

Shizuru then saw the Seigaku regulars coming in while Atobe twitched as inconspicuously as he could. Again, he found Ayane having a very cheerful conversation with Oishi. "Oishi-san, I'm glad you were able to make it! I hope you don't mind eating very fancy food do you?"

Oishi was a little bit sheepish. "Well, Shimohi-san insisted we come but if we're intruding..."

"Well, I just came because they asked us to," Vera yawned while leaning on Fuuka who sighed at her vice captain's behaviour. "Besides, Tezuka-sama and Fuji-sama are here so, I came."

Fuuka did her best to make sure Vera didn't say much more. "You didn't have to invite us or anything. I mean – it's already bad that we're crashing in the same resort."

Atobe cut Ayane off before she could say anything. "Ore-sama doesn't mind at all. Now, just take your seats and have some dinner."

Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you, Atobe."

Atobe tried his best not to scoff. "Sure, just make sure we get a good game out of you, Seigaku."

However, what dissed Atobe off was that Ayane was happily chatting with Oishi and the vice captain didn't seem to notice how jealous the king of Hyotei was getting. However, Atobe soon noticed Gakuto fuming at Kikumaru who was joking around with Rin. "Hey, that's not true! I am so much better than you, Kikumaru!"

Rin was about to laugh her head off. "Yeah right, you can't even do somersaults properly!"

Feeling that a migraine was coming along, Atobe also saw Hiyoshi was glaring daggers at an oblivious Momoshiro and Kaidoh who were actually subconsciously getting along because Kiyone was in the middle of both of them. "Oooh, so that's why you're called Mamushi! It's a cute nickname! I'm not good with names so... you're Mamushi-chan!"

Kaidoh was shocked with Kiyone's reaction to reptiles. "I," –he was flushed red and confused since the girl surprised him by also taking a liking to reptiles.

Momoshiro knew that this was a good camera shot. "Wow, I've never seen you so flushed, Mamushi! This is good blackmail material!"

Kaidoh, furious at Momoshiro like always, grabbed the spiky haired dunk smash user by the collar. "Say that again, you black porcupine!"

"Ha," Kiyone tried to stifle her laughter while hiding her face.

The two second years stared at the sandy haired girl as she broke into a fit of laughter and all of a sudden, the two forgot what they were fighting about to begin with and soon began laughing with her. Hiyoshi gaped in awe and jealousy as he saw Kiyone get along with two morons (in his opinion) who were the worst of doubles partners (again, also in his opinion). "Kiyone… she's turning into a Seigaku person. Kiyone-chan never laughed like that before."

The queens of Hyotei were actually having a blast; Isane was very timid but Fuji was having fun poking at her while Mai was having her fun chatting with Kawamura also. Jirou stared at Kiyone for a few moments and then nodded off to sleep again but then again, he hid his jealousy pretty well since the teen was sleepy all the time. "Kiyo-chan…"

Despite the fierce rivalry, the teams got along pretty well seeing that Vera had not uttered a word against Ayane or anything. Fuuka and Shizuru didn't utter anything bad against one another and even had a calm conversation. While they were having dinner, the female acrobat of Seigaku, Midori piped up. "Hey, why don't we have a game?"

Fuuka agreed with her with a bright smile. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea! What do you think?"

Shizuru didn't know whether or not she should be terrified or happy. "Ah, I guess… it should help in a way."

Ayane punched her fist into the air. "Bring it on! Atobe, you're joining whether you like it or not."

Atobe, staring aghast at the first year, didn't know what to say. He knew that Ayane was the very playful type but the king of Hyotei never expected to play a child's game with Seigaku – to boot. Nevertheless, his pride forced him to play because backing out – was just going to make Ayane laugh at him even more than she already is. "Alright, what is this game that you're suggesting to ore-sama?"

"Simple," Vera had a glint in her eye, "we're going to do a bravery test!"

They all exchanged glances while Kikumaru laughed. "The only bravery test idea I got is drinking one of Inui's juices, nyah!"

Inui suddenly appeared behind Kikumaru. "Would you like to try some, Kikumaru?"

The red haired acrobat, jumping away in fright, latched on to his doubles partner right away. "Waaah," everyone could've sworn Oishi turn slightly blue, "save me from the evil juice, Oishi!"

Oishi pat Eiji on the head. "Eiji, don't just jump like that. I'm sure Inui doesn't plan to poison us right now."

Vera gave the group a huge grin. "Don't worry, I think I have something all planned out so, wait here and hold tight! Come with me, Kobayagi or do you want to see your buchou win?"

"It's going to be hard to scare buchou witless you know," Ayane let out a sigh while following after the girl.

Kiyone clung on to Isane right away. "Senpai, what do you think they're going to do?"

"I just hope it isn't too bad," Isane let out a sigh in defeat.

Shizuru however was in no mood to be surprised by something like this. "I'm going to go take a walk for awhile, alright?"

Tezuka also mentioned to Fuji. "I'll be going somewhere for awhile."

"Saa~, don't do anything scrupulous," Fuji had a twinkle in his cerulean eyes.

Tezuka turned around and headed out the door, ignoring Fuji's mockery. The moment the two left the room, Oshitari however shifted uneasily while watching Shizuru and Tezuka leave the room together. His fist curled and turned visibly white; the kansai prodigy glared at the door way. "You wanna know something, Yuushi? If glaring was a super power, the door would have died by now." Gakuto peered over his doubles partner's shoulder.

Shishido was a little more expressive of his emotion. "He better not try anything funny…"

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"You didn't want to stay either didn't you?" Shizuru let a small laugh escape her.

Tezuka couldn't deny the fact either since it involved Inui's juice and that was one thing he wanted to avoid. "Ah," continuing to walk alongside the captain, Tezuka was still stuck trying to remember where and when Shizuru was seen. Recalling all his memories, Tezuka remembered not seeing her in one of his games or was it…?

No, there was something wrong.

Tezuka knew that she was someone very familiar but he couldn't nail it until, it hit him like a lightning bolt. That time during the junior tournaments, the Seigaku captain remembered challenging Sanada and saw someone peering from the barbed wires with a great huge smile that the captain couldn't forget.

That little girl and Shizuru looked like each other.

"How could I have been so forgetful?" Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose, "she was there and…"

She gave you a good run for your money, Tezuka. Remember that?

Tezuka, realizing that she was the first girl he had considered 'amazing', quietly berated himself for being so careless. At first, the Seigaku captain had thought that young girl didn't know a thing or two about tennis until they started playing a game. When the two of them played, Tezuka then noticed the difference in style: while he played to win, Shizuru played because…the girl enjoyed it. Her eyes were sparkling like an excited child's when given a new toy. Not only that, the reason why Tezuka recalled that memory only now was because: the girl walking with him now was the same little girl who had made him laugh unconsciously. Everyone knows that Tezuka's a rock but no one knew that a very young Shizuru had made him laugh and smile, like a normal kid. "Kurenai-san, I remember now where I saw you."

Huh? Where did that come from? "You saw me somewhere?" Shizuru gave Tezuka a quizzical look.

"Do you remember…that junior tournament five years ago?" Tezuka didn't want to shock her.

Shizuru, recalling all her memories, then realized that she did face a bespectacled boy and the funny part was – the boy next to her now had grown into a captain she had admired greatly. "Yeah, I… went all out back then, didn't I? Or – am I just assuming things because I'm not very clear on memory."

Tezuka felt a chuckle bubble at his throat. "You did push me to a tie breaker."

However, that wasn't the problem; Tezuka had never realized it before but when the Seigaku captain saw her back then, the young girl was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The fact was – Tezuka got distracted and the boy got knocked in jaw by accident by one of Sanada's shots. "I never felt that way about a girl before… that was years ago."

But little did Tezuka realize that what he felt now was just the beginning.

"You're not the type to space out," Shizuru remarked while kicking a small pebble across.

Tezuka couldn't believe that he did and how fast her eyes were. "Ah."

Before one could say anything, Shizuru felt her phone vibrate. "Hm, I wonder who this could be… hello."

"BUCHOU, JERRARD-SAN, YAMAGUCHI-SENPAI, INUI -SAN AND TASHIKO -SAN ARE GIVING US EVIL JUICES AND A WEIRD GAME TO DO!" A very familiar vice captain screamed on the phone.

Shizuru however was not fazed by the loud screaming of Ayane on the phone. "Kobayagi-san, what exactly are they making you do?"

"They're making us go through this creepy set up of zombies and forcing us watch two horror movies: The Ring and Stephen King's It," Haruka this time was the one who shrieked on the phone.

Shizuru, letting out a sigh, turned to the Seigaku captain. "You have a team mate named Inui-san, am I right?"

Tezuka knew that whenever Inui's name was mentioned, it meant that the data master was trying out some weird juice again. "He's trying his juice on your team members?"

Shizuru let out a sigh. "It seems so. But, I thought they would be used to it by now."

"BUCHOUUUUU/ SHIZU-NEEEE," Kiyone and Ayane shrieked at the same time on the cellphone so loud that Tezuka could hear it. "MAKE THEM STOP, PLEASE!"

Shizuru, slipping the phone back into her pocket, turned around sharply. "It looks like we better head back before the teams get into chaos."

"Ah," Tezuka felt a small smile forming at his face while they walked together back towards the area.

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"BUCHOU," Rin clung onto Shizuru right away, "Yamaguchi-senpai's doing it again! Stop her!"

Shizuru walked over to Hitomi with a small smile. "I don't think we want a repeat of last year do we?"

Hitomi, feeling the seriousness in Shizuru's voice, didn't seem the least bit intimidated. "I made sure that they're edible."

Mai hid behind Shizuru right away. "Now it's the time for you to go through the bravery test!"

The brunette's auburn eyes flashed at the tensai. "You planned this all along."

"Really now," Mai had a cheeky grin like always, "don't worry. It's harmless; in fact, we haven't even started yet because the senpai are waiting for Atobe to finish…what in the world?"

What they now saw was a huge horror movie set up or rather – a thriller movie set up right in front of them and Atobe closed his clam shelled phone. "Arn, ore-sama told you he could get things done easily. Now, we can begin the bravery test."

Ayane slapped her forehead. "You just had to blow everything out of proportion, didn't you!"

Haruka, pulling her fuming kohai away from the king, tried to make sure the vice captain didn't run wild. "Never mind, let's just try to figure out what the bravery test is all about."

"Alright, everyone knows that fear is our biggest opponent right?" Hitomi began scribbling down. "Therefore, Inui-san and I have made a training menu which would help conquer all those fears without a problem. This training course consists of endurance, skill and power and another thing is – you have to go by pair. If one of you lets out the slightest scream – you will have no other choice but to drink our concoction."

Inui held up a beer glass which had neon green, neon yellow and neon pink separated by layers of oil with a business smile. "It's the called the Valour Juice 2.0, a new and improved version of Yamaguchi -san's Valour Juice. This would help you conquer you fears as you enter the path. Now, you will each pick a number and those who have the same number will be partners. There will be eighteen pairs since all in all, we're thirty six."

Oishi stared at it for a moment. "I can't believe it, there it is again!"

Gakuto stared in shock as he saw the multiple layers. "I can't believe what the hell that is! How is it even possible to make a drink that deadly?"

"If you don't scream while doing the test," Hitomi had her business smile, "you wouldn't need to drink it. So, I suggest all of you get a piece of paper."

One by one, the people began pulling out numbers and Ayane gulped. "I'm number six. Please tell me number six is not Atobe Keigo or I so swear…!"

"I'm number six, I guess," Oishi took a look at his paper with a sigh.

Ayane had a bright grin on her face. "I'm sure we're going to be fine! Let's show them what vice captain's do best, Oishi-san!"

Oishi smiled brightly at the younger vice captain. "Yeah, say – who are you grouped with Eiji?"

However, Ayane didn't notice once again that Atobe was getting very jealous of the vice captain of Seigaku. No one else noticed the unbelievably cold aura emitting from the Hyotei king but those next to him kinda felt it even though they were a foot away. "Atobe, don't go on freezing the room. Who's your partner anyway?" Oshitari checked his paper. "Odd, yours doesn't have a number."

Atobe crumpled the paper in his bare hand. "Ore-sama will figure it out sooner or later. I just want to stew in my own juices for awhile."

Oshitari shrugged while taking a look at his paper. "So, is there any girl here who got a number fourteen on her paper?"

"Yeah," Momo walked up to the bespectacled kansai prodigy, "that would be me."

Oshitari let out a sigh. "Aww and I wanted to be paired up with Shizuru-chan."

"No way in the world am I letting you check my captain's legs," Momo glared at her classmate.

Eiji's eyes watered. "Mou~, I'm not with Oishi, nyah! Who's number five?"

"Crap, why am I your partner anyhow!" Gakuto stared aghast at the red haired acrobat of Seigaku.

Kikumaru pouted at Gakuto. "I didn't want to be yours either!"

Rin stared agape at her paper. "Please tell me that I got someone decent for number fifteen, kuwee."

"T-that w-would b-b-be me, Shi-Shimohi-san," a voice timidly called for the black haired acrobat and Rin saw a Seigaku regular walking towards her.

Rin stared her down for a moment. "You're not Ryuuzaki Sakuno are you?"

"Ah," the little girl began twiddling with her thumbs, "I'm Shibuya Rangiku, yoroshiku."

Rin messed up her hair. "I'm sure we'll be fine! Don't worry about it!"

However, at the back of Rin's mind, the black haired acrobat felt a powerful aura coming from the dainty girl. Rangiku, being a foot shorter than Rin who happened to be five four, had an innocent and a nervous smile on her face. "Is this girl whom they call … Seigaku's devil…? But – Shibuya looks like she's about to pee in her pants and run wild for the hills."

"Buchou, who did you get?" Ayane loomed behind the captain and saw a number sixteen on it. "Which one of you got the number sixteen?"

Shishido checked his paper and crumpled it with a scowl. "Damn, I wanted to go with her."

Fuji had a wide smile while he held up his paper. "Saa~, looks like I'm going to be with the most popular girl of Hyotei, ne?"

Shishido wanted to lunge at the smiling genius only to be held back by his doubles partner and Oshitari was pretty much heating up inside. Both of them knew how sadistic the boy was despite his smiling features and no way did the two want Shizuru to become contaminated with the sadism. "Shizuru-chan's innocent and she's about to go sadist on me," Shishido grumbled while stuffing his hands in his pocket.

Shizuru tilted her head to the side. "Um…you didn't have to say that really."

Shishido, scowling at the tensai, turned away with a snort. "Who did you get, Ohtori?"

"I'm with Uchiha-senpai," Ohtori scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, at least you're with Hikifumi-senpai. She's hardly scared of anything! What about you, Nagisaki-san?"

Mai shrugged. "Well, someone tell me who number two is…"

Hiyoshi stared at her agape. "I'm with the cherry head?"

"Well, this should be fun to see you pee in your pants," Mai grinned evilly, causing Hiyoshi to slightly shudder

Vera shoved the paper into her pocket with an annoyed huff. "Hmph, I wanted to be with Tezuka-sama."

"Well," Kawamura was a little taken aback by this, seeing that he was the vice captain's partner.

Fuuka let out a small sigh. "Ah, looks like I'm your partner, Kaidoh-kun."

"Fsssh," Kaidoh however wasn't exactly ecstatic for the bravery test either.

Kiyone was scared to know who her partner was. "Hey, just want to know: who here is my partner? I'm number seven."

"I'm number seven! Wow, I didn't know it would be you, Kiyone-chan," Momoshiro had a cocky grin on his face.

Hiyoshi could have stared Momoshiro down if he weren't shorter than the black haired dunk smash specialist. Kiyone was laughing a lot for the very first time the Enbu apprentice had seen her and what infuriated him was the fact that it was that moron (in his opinion) that made her smile, not him. "Kiyone looks so sweet when she smiles. How come she doesn't do that all the time?"

Momoshiro slung his arm around Kiyone's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll be fine going through that right?"

Kiyone gave him a thumb up and a big smile. "Yeah, you bet!"

Shizuru glanced at the paper for a moment and gave a small smile to the tensai of Seigaku. "I guess we'll be partners then. I hope you're not afraid of ghosts?"

Fuji had a broader smile. "Of course not, I'm more worried about you, Kurenai-san."

Tezuka didn't like the look on Fuji's face. Usually when the tensai smiled like that, it meant that he was planning to scare Shizuru out of her wits. "Fuji…" His eyes stonily gazed at the tensai who had a mischievous smile on. "Saa~, don't worry, Tezuka. I won't scare her. In fact – I think I might be able to drive her to you. What is your number anyway?"

"I don't have any," Tezuka scanned the paper; no number at all.

Atobe scowled at the paper. "Arn~, why doesn't ore-sama have a number?"

"That's because," Hitomi had an evil glint in her eye which was accompanied with a business smile. "Those without numbers have to play as ghosts. There are four people here who don't have numbers, may I see the hands?"

Echizen stared at his paper. "Eh, I don't have a number."

Sakuno trembled a little. "I don't have a number either… does this mean that I…?"

"You have to play a ghost," Inui finished scribbling on his notebook. "Ii data, there was a seventy percent chance that Ryuuzaki would end up as a ghost but there was a ninety five percent chance for both captains to end up as ghosts."

Momoshiro couldn't contain his laughter. "Wow, buchou ghosts! That's something you don't see everyday!"

Oshitari smirked. "Wow, I'm surprised. You were never good in being a ghost, Atobe. You love being noticed."

Atobe, being the king he was, never backed down from a challenge. "Are you saying ore-sama can't handle scaring you people?"

"Believe me," Oshitari's smirk grew even wider with his famous kansai drawl, "you wouldn't even scare people since you want them to bask in your greatness."

That drew the line for Atobe. "Arn~, do you really doubt ore-sama that much? If so, then be prepared to scream like little girls. Ore-sama will make sure that you cry and scream like one too."

Momoshiro looked at his captain who had not changed his expression despite the news. "I think buchou's scary as is."

Kaidoh knocked him on the head. "Shut up baka peach and start going through the course! Who's number one anyway?"

Inui held out a paper. "In this list are the pairs that will be going in: first pair is the Tashiko-Mouri pair."

Midori, the green haired acrobat of Seigaku along with her black haired doubles partner Mouri Enma, gave them a cheeky grin. "Don't worry about us; we'll blaze this test even before you know it!"

Having her black evenly cut bangs shielding her auburn eyes, Enma had a dull look on the face while walking past the other pairs. "This shouldn't be so scary."

Fuuka let out a sigh and Vera tapped her shoulder. "One thing that would probably scare Enma is a pink bunny."

"Yeah," the Seigaku captain watched her doubles pair going inside the pathway. "Enma's a Goth to the point that not even a vampire will scare her. Pink bunnies and fluffy clouds scare her."

Shaking her head, Vera watched Midori suddenly cling on to Enma until they heard a loud scream five minutes later. "ENMA, HOW CAN YOU STILL KEEP SMILING LIKE THAT! THE WOMAN'S HEAD JUST FELL OFF!"

Enma shrugged nonchalantly while she walked out. "It didn't matter; I thought it was cute."

Inui held a glass in front of her. "Drink up."

Midori stared in horror while Enma snatched the glass and gulped it down. Wiping her mouth, Enma didn't seem to react until she suddenly flopped down lifeless on the floor. Everyone stared at the fallen Goth girl while Midori was forced to drink the same thing only to find her body strewn all over the floor. "I'm not going to drink that," Ayane shuddered at the thought of drinking it.

All the female Seigaku regulars stared at Enma as if she had lost her mind while the second pair, the Hiyoshi-Nagisaki pair had to go in. Flipping her red locks away from her face, Nagisaki Mai gave him a very blank look. "So, are you coming with me or not, mushroom head?"

Hiyoshi just followed her in with his own blank look. "Gekokujou…"

Everyone had sweat drops as the two blank faced people entered the maze. The two didn't seem the least bit disturbed until Mai's face paled and Hiyoshi was by no means blank either; the two quickly dashed out in horror and Hitomi held a glass in front of them. "It's your turn."

Mai took the glass with a sigh. "I'd rather drink this than go through that again."

Hiyoshi, staring at the drink for a moment, gulped it down but the moment he even took a sip, the boy dropped the glass and fainted right there on the spot. Now, Kiyone was getting scared. "I don't want to drink that stuff… it looks poisonous."

"Don't worry about the obstacles too much; if you get scared you can always latch on to me," Momoshiro grinned while Kiyone slapped his hand away. "I'm gonna be fine, I think you'll be the one scared."

"Why I oughta," Momoshiro was about to start an argument until they found the third pair running out right away which was Ohtori and Isane.

Isane had an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry; I think we're going to end up drinking the juice because of me."

"It's alright," Ohtori shook his head though he was quite afraid of the juice as well, "I think I'll still be alive after the drink."

One by one, the pairs went down after entering the maze. Shishido was coughing and aiming for the toilet while Haruka tried to steady herself, Vera was coughing and hacking with Kawamura dropping on to the floor like a limp puppet, Kikumaru on the other hand was laughing at Gakuto. "Wow, I didn't know you scream like a girl, nyah!"

Gakuto didn't want to face Rin after all this. "S-shut up, you screamed louder than I did!"

Oshitari on the other hand walked out calmly while Momo was still shivering violently. "Tch, that was so shameful."

Watching them go through, Ayane clung on to Oishi. "I hope we don't end up drinking that juice."

"Yeah, neither do I," Oishi shuddered at the thought of drinking it.

However, the last pair left was now Fuji and Shizuru who were still pretty calm despite the commotion. "Well, it looks like we're the last one standing," Shizuru looked at the floor with a sigh.

Fuji shrugged. "Saa~, I always thought Inui's juices tasted delicious."

Upon entering, Shizuru's crimson eyes noticeably widened as ghosts started flying back and forth. Fuji pretended to keep on smiling but couldn't help but notice the female Hyotei captain's extremely pale face. She somewhat shivered before closing her eyes, mutely counting one to ten. He snickered slightly; Shizuru continued walking until something popped in front of her and cackled in her face, prompting to shove both her hands into her mouth to prevent any screaming. More bats flew as she immediately jumped and hid behind Fuji for a few moments. Seeing her predicament, she pushed herself away from the tensai. Fuji found himself suppressing his chuckle half the time.

"You're surprisingly easy to jump and scare," Fuji chuckled lightly.

"N-no I'm not," Shizuru disguised the quivering in her voice. "I just hate being taken by surprise."

Fuji, noticing a shift in the girl's expression, changed the subject. "Saa~, why don't we play a game while we're here?"

"Like what kind of game?" Shizuru was getting a little interested in the tensai's idea.

Fuji had a wide smile on his face. "A game that needs you to guess whatever I'm thinking."

"Hm," Shizuru gave him a small smile, "alright, let's play."

Fuji looked at his watch. "The time starts, now."

"Is it human?" Shizuru began her questions.

"Yes." Fuji was having fun and noticing that Shizuru was now ignoring everything else around her.

"Hmmm, is the person within our age gap?"

"No," Fuji shook his head.

"So, the person would be definitely somebody I might not now but one of your family members knows right?"

Fuji was surprised by how fast her mind worked. "Hm, good call, Kurenai-san."

While walking, Shizuru and Fuji then noticed Inui holding a torch. "Inui-san," Shizuru shook her head in defeat. "Please forgive me for being so blunt but, I don't think Kiyone would be scared even if the torch were under your chin. She'd be laughing at you and be wondering what you're doing here."

"Hmm, according to my notes - you would have screamed around thirty minutes ago, Kurenai-san," Inui began taking down notes.

Fuji smiled amusingly at Shizuru. "Yes but Shizuru seems to easily know how to redirect her attention fortunately."

"Data is barely consistent when predicting human behaviour, Inui-san," Shizuru shivered slightly, watching a pair of red eyes stare shiftily at her. "I'd like to finish this as soon as possible."

Fuji chuckled slightly. "Saa~, you sound like my best friend."

"Do I?" Shizuru raised an eyebrow at the blue eyed tensai. "I never realized that. I'm sorry, is it offending?"

Fuji shook his head before letting out a small smile. "No, it's not at all. In fact, it's very funny, really. The only difference is - he's not as afraid as the paranormal as you are."

Shizuru shuddered at the tensai's slow smile. I think it's because he has you to constantly scare him witless.

Inui handed them a map. "Good, you're the only two who have gone this far. Follow the map and retrieve the items listed down. Good luck."

Walking ahead and bidding good bye to Inui, the two continued on. "It looks like no one has ever reached Echizen and Ryuuzaki yet," Shizuru began looking at every crook and cranny nervously. "I wonder how they'll scare us."

Fuji opened his electrifying blue eyes. "Saa~, who knows? Maybe they're behind the tombstones or behind a tree."

All of a sudden, something dropped from the tree and hung in front of Shizuru with noticeably long pigtails. Although Shizuru did not scream, her initial reaction involved jumping back into fighting stance. Instead of the Hyotei captain screaming however, Sakuno shrieked which caused Shizuru to wince noticeably from the deafening volume. Fuji chuckled in amusement as Shizuru narrowed her eyes beadily. While the Hyotei captain was desperately trying to calm herself down, she shakily stabilized her stance.

"I-I," Shizuru swallowed hard. "I guess you must be Ryuuzaki Sakuno-san. I'm sorry if I tried to attack you..."

"E-eh, how did you know so fast?" Sakuno couldn't believe it despite all the make-up she had put on. "It's okay; no harm done."

Fuji on the other hand found Echizen sleeping on the job. "Echizen, you're sleeping in the job."

Startled, the freshman jolted up and found himself frightened by the tensai. "Fuji-senpai, what are you doing here?"

Fuji pointed at Shizuru before smiling slowly. "It seems that my partner has a bit of a phobia for things that are paranormal and also who catch her off-guard. Although, she's tolerating it the best she can. I wonder for how long though."

"Just as expected, Fuji-senpai," Echizen shrugged nonchalantly. "You haven't seen buchou yet?"

Fuji began looking around. "That's weird, I haven't seen him around. Maybe he's at the latter part of this course."

Walking away, Fuji and Shizuru continued to look around for the objects. "Saa~, Kurenai-san…"

"Please, call me Shizuru-chan," the younger captain noted immediately, "I'm not very fond of seniors calling me by my last name."

Fuji smiled broadly. "Alright, Shizuru-chan it is then. Tell me – are you not afraid of ghosts?"

"I am actually," Shizuru meekly admitted, "but because I have seen something worse than that – it's not that terrifying anymore."

"This girl is so different from the ones I've met," Fuji was baffled; no girl had acted like this or sounded like an honorific. Shizuru easily adapted to the scenery and ignored the flying bats, headless ghosts and howling laughter that rang throughout the hallway. "She's seen something much worse? Now, that's something I want to know."

However, before he could get to that, the tensai saw very familiar heads peeking from behind the tombstones. "Ah yes," Fuji chuckled softly, "Tezuka, you may be a captain and very good in tennis but if I were your teacher in horror movie acting, your grade would have been an F minus by now."

Shizuru however didn't seem to notice that they were behind the tombstones and Fuji decided to poke her a little. "So, Kurenai-san, are you sure you don't mind me calling you Shizuru-chan?"

"I'm fine with it, Fuji-san," Shizuru nodded with a faint smile.

Fuji, noticing a shift in the air, knew that Tezuka was now listening in. This was just too good to know. "Saa~, tell me: do you have anyone in mind?"

That was totally unexpected for the younger Hyotei captain. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to say is – do you like anyone?" Fuji this time had opened his cerulean blue eyes.

Shizuru, hesitating to answer, turned away from Fuji's electrifying gaze. "Well, there is one guy…"

"Oh, so who is this lucky guy?" Fuji knew that Tezuka too wanted to know the answer.

Shizuru looked up into the night sky. "Well, he's a really good tennis player. This guy inspired me to play better than I usually did and often times, his skills captivated me and his drive to win the Nationals was really something I looked up to. The thing is – the guy is so far away and unreachable…"

"Why do you say that, Shizuru-chan? You have the looks, the brains and pretty much some brawn so, why wouldn't he like you?" Fuji was able to narrow it down to several people.

"It's because," Shizuru hesitated for a moment, "he looks at character; not on physical attributes alone."

Fuji now felt the air freeze; he knew that Tezuka was hearing all this and what Shizuru had said narrowed it down. "So, there are only few people who are like that and Tezuka's one of them. If only I can get more info but first thing's first," Fuji turned to the younger captain, "Shizuru-chan, don't you feel cold in this weather?"

Shizuru rubbed her arms. "Well, it is cold but I'll be fine really."

Fuji then began wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay to feel weak once in awhile, Shizuru-chan. You don't need to be tough all the time you know…"

"Fuji," a stern voice came from the tombstones.

"Arn~, ore-sama knew that grouping with this man was a bad idea," another very familiar voice came from behind.

Shizuru looked towards the tombstones with a faint smile. "Atobe-senpai, Tezuka-san, I forgot that you guys were the other pair of ghosts here in the maze. Though, Atobe-senpai I think you're scary as you are really."

Stifling his laughter, Fuji looked at his watch. "Saa~, now we can get things without worrying so much, ne, Shizuru-chan?"

The younger Hyotei captain picked up one of the things they were looking for. "I think we're taking too long, we might as well find the last piece so we can head back."

However, Fuji's eyes focused on Tezuka's unnoticeable shift in expression. He knew that his captain had heard the entire conversation and was now pondering about it. "Tezuka, you knew her ever since we were elementary. You kept on telling me before that there was no way in the world that someone like her existed. If you continue to act the way you are now then definitely, she won't be able to understand you."

000000000000000000000000000

Returning back was the easiest part of the challenge and Echizen, Sakuno, Atobe and Tezuka were left with no choice but to drink the enhanced version of Hitomi's juice. "I-I-I um…" Sakuno stared at the juice that was smoking out of the small cup.

Echizen just gulped it down. "Che whatever, just drink it, Ryuuzaki."

Inui poured some of it in another bottle. "Those who were the ghosts must drink it out of this bottle I brought from the camp site."

Oishi stared at how big it was. "That's a one litre bottle are you sure that's okay?"

Ayane gave Atobe the drink. "Come on, drink up."

The fact that Ayane gave it to him, Atobe didn't seem to mind. It didn't seem to be so disgusting but the smell was putrid. "Maa~, what's so bad about this drink anyway?"

They watched Atobe drink it down and all stared, waiting to see if he would pass out. To Atobe however, it tasted like a mix of tofu, fish, salted eggs, cream and all sorts of things inside the drink. However, despite feeling a heavy desire to pass out, Atobe's pride wouldn't let him. "I am Atobe Keigo, ore-sama will not fall prey to this stupid drink!"

The moment he downed the entire bottle, Atobe gave everyone a charmed smile, "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoina!"

Everyone stared aghast at Atobe. "Wow, he didn't pass out!"

"Whoa, I wonder what made him stay alive despite that."

Atobe this time threw a glance at the Seigaku captain who hadn't shifted in expression at all. "Let's see how you handle it, Tezuka."

Taking the bottle from a very reluctant Shizuru, Tezuka soon just downed the drink as if it was just normal water. Everyone couldn't believe that despite how disgusting the drink was, the bespectacled Seigaku captain maintained a straight face. Fuji however had a wide smile during the entire ordeal. "Fuji-senpai, why are you smiling like that?" Momoshiro couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved by it.

"Saa~, don't worry, I just added a little something that will help him." Fuji's smile grew broader.

Inui rummaged through his notebook. "I also added herbs that would help Tezuka relax. Other than that – I didn't add anything else."

Echizen lowered his cap. "Hopefully, buchou doesn't find out what we put into it. What exactly did you put in it?"

Fuji opened his cerulean orbs with an evil smirk. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough."

After downing it, Tezuka just put it on the table. "There's training tomorrow at five thirty in the morning sharp."

Everyone stared at Tezuka with a defeated sigh. "Wow, looks like he didn't pass out."

"Maybe he's just got the discipline for it."

Vera twitched at Inui. "How could you poison Tezuka-sama with that drink and not even care!"

"Don't worry," Inui checked his notebook again. "I made sure that it won't kill him."

Hitomi suddenly appeared behind Vera. "My drinks are safe, don't worry. My captain drinks it all the time and she's my guinea pig for these things."

"Waah, who the hell are you!" Vera leapt away from Hyotei's data girl.

Fuuka walked towards Shizuru. "I'm amazed that you got through the passage very well."

"Seeing something much more horrific is usually helpful," Shizuru offered a cheerful smile. "By the way, do you mind introducing some of the girls?"

Fuuka pointed at the blonde haired girl shrieking at Inui. "As you know – that's Jerrard Vera, my vice captain, I think you met her before but you just don't remember."

"She was Ferero-senpai's opponent in the finals," Shizuru recalled the last match Uchiha Isane played doubles in, "then, there's Tashiko Midori am I right?"

"Yes," Fuuka pointed at the green haired girl, "she's our acrobat or, Rin's counter part while Enma seems to measure up to Haruka pretty well. Don't worry, you'll be seeing us in training tomorrow morning and I'm sure that Yamaguchi-san can give you a full listing."

Turning around, Shizuru found Tezuka standing behind her. "Kurenai-san, may I have a word with you?"

Shizuru didn't know what was going on. "Tezuka, are you alright? You look like you're about to pass out."

Without another word, Tezuka suddenly grabbed Shizuru by the sleeves and kissed her while everyone was still there. The whole room fell into a deep deathly silence as the stoic captain held the kiss longer than normal. The Hyotei captain found herself keeling over in shock but desperately tried to keep herself standing.

"Waaah, Tezuka-sama, what are you doing?" Vera was about to faint.

Fuuka's eyes widened while Oshitari's glare suddenly became colder than ever. "Tezuka-san, what are you doing!"

Fuji smiled as if he expected this. "Well, I didn't know that one whole bottle of margarita and vodka would make him go this wild."

"YOU PUT MARGARITA AND VODKA? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!" All Seigaku regulars stared aghast at the plotting genius.

Oshitari started moving forward until Atobe motioned to Kabaji. "Better get him away before Oshitari blows a fuse."

Kabaji began walking towards Tezuka until the said captain stumbled back allowing Fuji to catch him while Shizuru fell to the floor in deep shock. Seigaku immediately tried waking up their unconscious captain while the Hyotei girls crowded around Shizuru. Mai immediately helped her up as the captain continued to stare aimlessly at the ground.

"Buchou, are you alright!" Ayane tried shaking Shizuru out of her daze.

"It was just the alcohol," Shizuru stood up quietly. "I want everyone on the courts tomorrow, five thirty! No exceptions!"

-That's Chapter 10! Hope you review! Sorry if it's a bit crappy.