(I don't own Prince of Tennis!)

Chapter 15 – The Pillar and the Queen

Tezuka and Shizuru went to the court quietly while the whole place was engulfed in a deadly silence. "Arn~," Atobe leaned against the wired fence with anticipation. "Ore-sama wants to see now who is stronger between the two of them. Is it Hyotei Gakuen's queen or my rival…?"

Oshitari watched Shizuru and Tezuka do the usual courtesy handshake before reporting to the baseline. "Shizuru, be careful. He may not be vengeful like Fuji but this guy is extremely talented."

Gakuto waved excitedly to the smaller girl. "Good luck, Shizuru-chan!"

"Win one for Hyotei," Kiyone cheerfully chirped.

Ohtori gave her a thumb up. "It's all for one and one for all, Shizuru-chan!"

"It seems like we're going to attract a crowd again." Nodding at her cheering friends, Shizuru smiled faintly, "May the best tennis player win."

Tezuka nodded stiffly before going to the baseline. "Ah."

Oishi raised an eyebrow at Inui who was scribbling and muttering about something about collecting data. "Inui, what are you doing? Is that a whole bunch of new notebooks you bought the other day?"

"I need more volumes for data about Tezuka especially when Kurenai is included in the equation," Inui mumbled while scribbling down.

Kaidoh stared at his doubles partner. "Well, at least he's not stalking anyone."

"You forgot that he does it any time of the day," Kawamura sheepishly noted. "Then again – the weather doesn't look too great now."

Fuji glanced at the silver lined skies. "Yeah, we might have to postpone it if that's the case."

"Then again, Tezuka isn't the type to stop playing just because it's raining," Oishi remembered their freshman years when Tezuka was yet to become a regular.

Echizen leaned lazily on the tree. "Wake me up when the match is over."

Momoshiro sweat dropped at Echizen. "How can you be lazy at a time like this?"

Hiyoshi leaned against his fists. "Well, let's see what the queen of Hyotei can do."

Beginning her service, Shizuru lowered her stance immediately when she saw Tezuka fire a forehand straight at the corners. Flashing there almost instantly, Shizuru backhanded it towards the right corner. "How did she move that fast?" Gakuto stared agape. "She makes Shishido look like a snail!"

Shishido slugged the magenta haired acrobat. "Shut up, Gakuto! You can barely even move as fast as Kabaji!"

"Yes I can," Gakuto lunged at Shishido to wrestle with him.

Oshitari slapped his forehead. "They just don't understand the concept for Shizuru's Shunpo." (Flash step)

Mai noted the bouncing movement and also Shizuru's difference in ball impact. "By lessening the power in the upper torso, Shizuru can transfer almost seventy percent of her energy into her legs. Doing this, she can dash instantly as if she was 'flashing' towards that place. However, I think this is only one – eighth of her real speed."

Hitomi noted while clocking how fast the kohai captain was going. "Her reaction time has increased to 0.003 seconds, that's almost impossible to do."

"Well, she did do a lot of things that not many players can," Haruka remembered the times the kohai was a freshman. "She really made Naomi-buchou run for the ball using that same speed."

Shizuru did a top spin which clipped the net on purpose while Tezuka lowered his racquet. "Here it comes," Inui adjusted his glasses. "The Zero Shiki Drop Shot will now make its appearance."

The ball glided towards one end until Shizuru appeared right at the net. "You might want to do that shot cross court next time."

Volleying it across, Shizuru forced Tezuka to move forward and both began doing an intense volley. Their exchanges increased in speed until it was invisible and people could only see the ruffling of the net. "Wow, even I can't volley that fast yet," Kiyone watched her captain volley cross court and top spin once in awhile.

Ayane jumped up and down in her chair. "Go get 'im, buchou!"

Shizuru sliced the ball down causing it to disappear on Tezuka's end. "Fifteen – love," Shizuru retreated to the baseline. "We had twenty exchanges, didn't we?"

"I didn't bother counting," Tezuka didn't understand what she meant.

Shizuru noted gently. "During the volley, we had at least twenty exchanges there alone. I lost count after ten."

"They had twenty exchanges," Ayane gaped at her captain and Tezuka. "That's almost downright crazy!"

Rin latched onto Haruka. "Ne, Haru-chan, who do you think is going to win?"

"It's too early to tell," Momo folded her arms while watching Shizuru beginning with a fast service. "Both she and Tezuka are highly skilled and it would take them almost all their capacity to defeat one another. There are too many things to consider."

"That's quite an assumption but I think Kurenai might have this well in hand," a red haired captain appeared behind the Hyotei team with the other regulars.

Kiyone hid behind Ayane. "Yipe, it's Seigaku's Souma Fuuka! What are you doing here?"

"What I should be asking is," Vera pointed at Ayane's chest. "What is Tezuka-sama and Fuji-sama doing among you low class people?"

Enma closed her black notebook. "Then again, this could be a training session that the two captains agreed on."

Midori watched Shizuru do a backhand smash, pointing excitedly. "Wow, look at that kid fly!"

Rin glared at her green haired counterpart while Hitomi stared at her own counterpart. "The Seigaku girls are pretty good only to have a fan girl as their vice captain. Then again – they don't know exactly how to deal with our rookies and matchless stars."

"You seem to have noticed the difference, Yamaguchi-san," the data girl of Seigaku noted while scribbling down as well. "I get a lot of useful data form Kurenai-san's style."

Hitomi smirked while tilting her glasses. "But, you don't know exactly how to use that data, do you?"

The Seigaku data girl stared at her counterpart while Hitomi scribbled down continuously. "Kurenai-buchou's data is very inconsistent. However, it climbs up and doesn't shoot down in terms of performance. Among all the girls, she is the hardest to read next to Uchiha Isane. So, you might want to consider several variables before setting up a basis for her playing style."

Momo stared at her classmate. "Hitomi, how do you manage to argue like that while taking down data?"

"Simply put," Hitomi closed the notebook gently. "However putting my data gathering methods aside, Shizuru-buchou has changed for the better if you haven't noticed."

Mai turned to her blonde senpai. "What do you mean 'changed for the better'?"

"Her style has changed and not only that – her performance has increased drastically ever since she came across Tezuka-san again," Hitomi's eyeglasses glinted. "I need more notebooks to keep track of her progress so I can send it to Naomi-senpai. She would like to know how well her protégé is doing."

Haruka noticed Rin trying to choke Tashiko Midori. "Oi, sit down, Rin-Rin! Don't strangle her just yet!"

"We didn't even invite the Seigaku girls here except the guys' team," Rin protested to her doubles partner.

Haruka slapped her forehead. "That doesn't give you any right to strangle your counterpart from Seigaku!"

Oshitari folded his arms with his usual poker face but Atobe could tell that the kansai prodigy was annoyed. "Oshitari, you've been annoyed with Tezuka haven't you, arn~?"

"Atobe, I don't need your antics right now," Oshitari glared at Shizuru's bespectacled opponent.

The captain smirked while running his fingers through his hair. "Ore-sama doesn't understand why you're still acting like sulking old man. Kurenai's able to defend herself from fan boys no? Also, Tezuka's not much of a bad person."

"Tell that to someone who knows him more," Oshitari turned away from the icy eyed captain. With this, the kansai prodigy silenced the king of Hyotei with just one line.

Atobe was a little puzzled by Oshitari's sudden bad mood however, he somewhat understood it. Oshitari grew quite close to the younger sophomore but as far as an older brother. One thing Atobe was aware of was how many guys had confessed to her only to end up tortured mentally and somewhat, cracked. Some even ended up avoiding her every time Oshitari appeared behind Shizuru. The kansai prodigy probably made up for the brothers she could never have. "Ore-sama is wondering how long you're going to keep shielding her. Kurenai's not a lost puppy."

"What I do is none of your concern," Oshitari did his best to maintain his poker face around Atobe.

Shizuru and Tezuka on the other hand were still rallying it out. "I can't believe that we're still on the second point," the brunette female smiled while firing a cross court backhand. "Honestly, there is no one who could give me the thrill in tennis the same way he can."

Tezuka didn't know what to say about the younger captain because he was too busy trying to gain the next point. She returned every shot that he had sent her including the Zero Shiki Drop Shot which was almost impossible to return for most players. For a moment, his hazel orbs and her auburn eyes met each other at the net and began another intense volley. "How could they play like this? It's almost as if they were playing in the Finals in the Nationals," Momoshiro began scratching his head.

"Tezuka has always been like that," an old voice came from behind. "That also leaves the question – what are you boys doing here watching?"

Fuuka smiled to Seigaku's old coach. "The Hyotei girls wanted to test their limits against someone stronger. I guess the boys' team can't exactly keep up with them."

Atobe fumed upon hearing that but ran his fingers through his hair to calm down. "Ore-sama will not be annoyed by that snide comment."

"Actually, what they say is true in a way," Taki noted. "I mean – this is THE Kurenai Shizuru we're talking about. Undefeated in grade school and now virtually undisputed in middle school."

"Kobayagi-san is pretty strong too for a first year," Kabaji noted quietly.

Jirou bounced happily while remembering the exchanges in the Doubles One match. "Kiki-chan isn't too bad either, Atobe! You should have seen how cool her spin shots were!"

Shishido watched Shizuru's speed increase. "She may have gotten you on a lucky shot but heck, if she can prove something now – you're in for it now."

Without being noticed, Oishi slid over to Ayane. "Hey, that was a great game you gave us back there."

"You weren't too bad yourselves," Ayane cheerfully noted while drinking a bottle of C2. "You guys would have pummelled me and Kiyone if we didn't come up with a new formation."

Oishi however wasn't really listening anymore while he watched the water from the side of the C2 bottle slip down to Ayane's skin. It glistened like little crystals and Oishi couldn't help but blush madly. "Ah, Kobayagi-san, you're shirt is getting wet by… by… the…"

"Oh, its okay, I'll change later. By the way, please address me as Ayane-chan," the tangerine haired captain smiled cheerfully. "You make me sound old."

The two ended up exchanging laughs while the female vice captain ignored Atobe's glare again. However, unlike before, Atobe intentionally threw a towel in her face. "Kobayagi, clean your face."

Swiping it off her face, Ayane glared at Atobe. "What the hell is your problem? You could have at least tapped my shoulder instead of throwing it at my face!"

Atobe turned away while trying to keep his temper in check. "Ore-sama has no reason to explain himself to you."

"Oh, I think he does," Ayane stood up while grabbing him at the collar of his jacket. "You have three seconds, my oh almighty ore-sama."

Atobe didn't like arguing with her but, it stung when he saw her cheerfully laughing with Oishi. He never got that with Ayane and often times or always, the two ended up fighting each other. "Just clean up," the king of Hyotei hissed before leaving.

Groaning inwardly, Ayane glared at Atobe's fleeting figure but couldn't help that she saw something in his eyes. Was it jealousy? Did he want so say something? Why did he have to glare and be so cold towards Oishi when they were simply having a conversation that had no harm in it?

Unless…

"That's impossible," Ayane shook the thought off immediately. "Atobe's just used to me diverting all my attention to him."

When Atobe went back to the bleachers, Gakuto nudged him. "That was pretty smooth. I would have given you an F minus."

Oshitari looked up, smirking at his captain. "You didn't do it right. At times like these, she's going to pummel your face into the floor hard."

Atobe glared at the kansai prodigy. "You're not doing much success either, Oshitari. Go watch your stubborn kohai or something."

Shishido raised an eyebrow. "Well, look at the mirror before you say the word 'stubborn'."

Finally, they heard a loud crack at one side of the court. "Fifteen all," Tezuka managed to smash at the corners of the singles court.

Fuji watched Shizuru return to the baseline. "Both of them have physical handicaps, interesting. Not only that, it's on the same side of their body."

Kikumaru gaped at Fuji. "Nyah, how did you know that, Fujiko? You're so creepy, nyah!"

"It's true," Fuji pointed at Shizuru's swollen left knee and Tezuka's swollen left shoulder. "Both of them are ignoring the pain and are going all out in this one match. Let's hope that Tezuka can still play a decent game against the other schools when this is Singles One over."

Soon, Kaidoh felt a drop hit his nose. "Say, is it just me or is it beginning to rain now?"

Momoshiro looked up into the sky. "Yep, we're getting rained in."

"Hey," Ryuuzaki-sensei called the two captains from the bleachers. "It's raining out here and no way am I letting you continue a game."

Sakaki-kantoku also happened to pass by with Ryuuzaki-sensei. "Kurenai, pack it in. We cannot afford a player to get sick in the middle of the season."

However, the two captains didn't seem to care because the ball was still flying across. Thunder cracked and Shizuru fired another backhand. "Geez, I hate it when things get rained in."

Driving it down the line, Tezuka couldn't help but agree with the captain. "Ah."

Ayane called out from the benches. "Buchou, I know you're crazy but please get under the roof! You look like something a cat dragged in!"

Shizuru ignored her Vice Captain once again and continued top spinning the ball. "Because the court is wet, the ball has a tendency to spin away or stay at the same spot. This should work to my advantage; Tezuka-san can't flash as fast as I."

However, the ball suddenly returned to him despite firing a short shot. "Tezuka Zone," Shizuru flashed forward again and feeling her legs tremble painfully. "Looks like I might have to wrap this up right now. Although, I have to admit; this is a great game."

Tezuka saw that she wasn't the type to back down either. Despite the rain drenching her clothes, Shizuru kept on returning the shots and even accepted the challenge to see who would drop first. It was his Tezuka Zone versus the Shunpo; no one expected the two to bring out the best out their best moves in the rain nonetheless. However, he couldn't look away from the graceful figure that stood at the opposite end. "Oi Shizuru," Mai called from the benches, "I know you're completely obsessed but isn't this going a little too far?"

Ryuuzaki could only smirk at the girl who was really making Tezuka have a hard time. She remembered the time Souma Fuuka and Tezuka Kunimitsu got into a match and things weren't the same. Fuuka couldn't break the zone but she did nearly give Tezuka the yips. But experience was a better teacher and Tezuka won: seven games to five. What unnerved her however was the growth rate of both captains. She noticed that Souma Fuuka wasn't progressing nearly as fast as Shizuru and they were already at the same playing level. Last year, Souma Fuuka was dubbed as the Queen of the Court until Shizuru popped out of nowhere and exceeded the Seigaku captain. "Tezuka, Souma, both of them were being driven off by this one second year girl from Hyotei. Sakaki didn't say anything much about her either."

Finally, the ball slipped away from Tezuka causing him to break his zone and go after the ball. "Thirty – fifteen," the crowd stared in awe at the two amazing (or maybe even crazy) captains who were playing in the rain.

"A single rally between Tezuka-san and Kurenai-san lasted for thirty minutes," Kawamura stared in awe at his captain. "Really, just how strong is she anyway?"

Momoshiro pointed out. "Good enough to make buchou wince at his shoulder for a moment."

The rain got harder and Ryuuzaki began stepping on to the court. "Hey, you both better get inside! You're going to get sick that way!"

Shizuru didn't want to stop. "Finish one game or do we stop already?"

Tezuka returned to the baseline as a sign of consent. Once again, the two began an intense rally again with Shizuru backhanding the ball single handed towards the corners of the singles court. Tezuka fired it back with double her power but she nullified it with a spin easily. The two continued to rally until their sight was beginning to fog up. "Hey you guys," Oishi panicked a little. "Tezuka, I don't think you should continue. The fog's getting worse!"

However, the two captains ignored the warnings and used their ears instead. Their feet moved fast despite the slippery court and Shizuru though nearly losing her footing managed to use the water to her advantage. Sliding with the water, she exerted less effort to go after the ball. Tezuka didn't notice this but Shizuru's shots became heavier every return. In fact, the rally's speed made the ball look like it disappeared forcing them to listen and whatever motion sight they had left. Tezuka forced her in a volley in order to accurately tell where she was but he could only see a shadow. Like Shizuru's end, the girl was forced to rely on her sense of touch and hearing to tell where the ball was. Thunder cracked in the sky and their teammates were now thinking whether or not they should stop the two from playing and getting sick before the tournaments. "Buchou," Isane called out. "Finish the game already!"

Echizen and the others were already going in while Fuji and Oishi decided to wait for Tezuka to finish up. "Saa~, Tezuka never knows when to give up, ne, Oishi?"

"Yeah," the vice captain didn't know whether that should be a good thing or bad.

Shizuru scored the next point with the Subera Kagerou bouncing lower than normal, "Forty – fifteen!"

Tezuka sliced the ball with the shot rolling back towards him, "Forty – thirty!"

Shizuru backhanded the ball but Tezuka sent it back with double the force while the racquet flew out of Shizuru's hand, "Deuce!"

Oshitari got out his umbrella from the bag. "Shizuru, how can you play in weather like this?"

Atobe watched her continue the match while maintaining the consistency of her shots. "So, this is why Kobayagi respects her so much. Rain or shine, she will continue to train even if means throwing away her own health."

Tezuka's shot landed right at the corner of the service box. "Advantage receiver: Tezuka!"

Shizuru sliced the ball downwards causing it to spin away from Tezuka awkwardly, "Deuce!"

However, Tezuka returned it back with a powerful forehand aiming for the right corner. "Advantage receiver: Tezuka!"

Shizuru instead of smashing spun around with a slicing drop shot, "Deuce!"

Ayane gaped at the news. "My golly, that's three deuces in a row!"

Mai shook her head, shrugging. "Well, you can't stop her."

Haruka listened to how fast the rally was going and her eyes widened. "Even if I can't see, I can tell this game is something that the world would gladly give a hundred bucks for."

Tezuka fired another smash down right at the corner. "Advantage receiver: Tezuka!"

"That's the third time we heard that statement." Shrugging, Momo folded her arms while waiting for her captain.

Another smash cracked off, "Deuce!"

Slamming her head on her racquet, Ayane began pulling her hair. "That's the fourth deuce already! When will their game ever end?"

"I'd like to know the same thing." Kiyone hung onto Rin in fear of being blown away.

The ball was moving awkwardly now because of the turbulence but the two didn't care. They were in their own world of tennis and the thunder didn't even bother the two. "This game is something I would remember for the rest of my life. This is the only time I actually met my match," Shizuru slid to the other side quickly.

Tezuka couldn't help but think the same thing. Not many girls were this crazy about tennis and she was one of the very few who had the same mindset as he did. She wasn't careless but something was bothering him. Does she always smile faintly whenever people talk to her? Or rather – was that a form of intimidation for her? "Kurenai Shizuru, you're…really…different…now. Your playing style alone says all that."

"Saa~, Kurenai may have the skill but there's one thing she doesn't have," Fuji smiled while everyone turned to the Seigaku tensai.

"Tezuka has always been training hard sometimes people may deem it unreasonable," Oishi sheepishly laughed a bit.

Fuji pointed out as Tezuka fired a strong backhand. "Well, but his training in unfavourable conditions are coming handy here, ne?"

This time, Shizuru fired the Subera Kagerou but Tezuka managed to out power her in both rallies with one backhand. "Game, Tezuka: one game to love!"

Sakaki hovered over the fence. "Alright, pack it in, Kurenai."

Seeing that there was no point in arguing with the coach because Kabaji had an umbrella over her head, Shizuru sighed while smiling ruefully. "It looks like we'll have to keep ourselves in suspense."

Tezuka couldn't help but smile. "Ah, I guess."

Shishido and Ohtori got onto the court while the capped regular gave Shizuru his jacket. "I don't want you doing that again! I know you want to become strong but, check if you can survive a storm!"

Smiling faintly again, Shizuru followed Shishido and Ohtori off the court with Sakaki while Oishi held an umbrella over Tezuka. "So, how did it feel like playing against a girl?"

"It was different," Tezuka watched her figure vanish behind the fog. "I didn't know it was foggy for this year."

Fuji headed for the hotel rooms. "I think we better get going unless we want to get soaked and sick."

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Drying her hair, Shizuru glanced at her racquet before recalling the recent exchanges. She looked at how soaked her clothes were and sadly smiled. "You know – if it weren't raining, I think he would have had the upper hand in the game either way."

"You actually had him cornered already," Mai removed her earphones. "How can you say that he had the upper hand when you were making him run all over the place?"

Shizuru stood up while opening the window. "The Tezuka Zone allows the ball to return to him every time and I was already at my limit with the Flash Step."

"But isn't the Shunpo less straining than the Tsuuro no Shichihinge? At the same, doesn't it have the same effects of the Tezuka Zone?" Haruka remembered the time Hitomi and Shizuru broke into a wild rally. "I mean, the ball is returned either way because it's sucked into the zone."

Hitomi flipped the pages of her notebook. "The Tsuuro no Shichihinge and the Tezuka Zone may have the same concept but their functions are very different. For the Tezuka Zone, Tezuka-san puts a heavy spin on the ball to the point it will keep coming back to him therefore – straining his shoulder. The Tsuuro no Shichihinge however focuses energy on the legs and therefore allowing Shizuru-buchou to make long trips seem short and also, she does a top spin making it stronger with each shot. Most of the time, her opponents cannot return the seventh spin shot since it doesn't cross the net after that."

Kiyone swung her legs while hanging. "Well, at least we left it at a tie."

Ayane slammed the door open. "The nerve of Atobe, that man deserves to get trampled!"

"What did he do this time? Well, you do say that every time something goes wrong." Kiyone rested her chin in her hands, "so, what?"

Ayane growled while throwing out her clothes. "What kind of man asks you clean your face by throwing a towel in your face while you were having a decent conversation with a friend?"

"Well," Rin shrugged while hanging upside down. "You have a jealous Atobe and maybe even Gakuto might do something like that."

Ayane sighed while slumping on the chair. "Anyway, forget about me. Did you want to kick Tezuka's butt for kissing you like that?"

"Kobayagi, if I were heartless – I would have made you run laps in the storm until I told you to stop." Shizuru began reading a book.

Mai lowered the book. "That still doesn't answer the question. Thing is – do you have feelings for him?"

"We only met for a few days," Shizuru continued reading.

Kiyone bounced over. "Yeah, how can she develop feelings if they only met for a few days?"

Smiling, Isane put her hand lightly on Ayane's shoulder. "Besides, I don't think it's something that buchou wants to talk about anyway."

"You know – Oshitari's been trying to make passes at you," Momo remembered the bravery test they did a night ago.

Rin shrugged while snatching a lollipop. "He does that to every girl he can find! As long as she has nice legs, he's going to keep on looking at her and trying to get attention."

Hitomi smirked. "Well, enough about buchou, Kobayagi-san seems to be caught in a love triangle."

Ayane stared at her senpai-tachi, flustered. "Wh-what are you guys talking about? I'm in no mood to discuss about Atobe or anyone for that matter!"

Kiyone smiled evilly. "Oooh, Yane-Yane is getting 'too close' to Oishi-san. You can practically see hell freeze over when Atobe sees what's happening."

"As if I need a brat to control my actions," Ayane folded her arms, pouting.

Shizuru laughed softly. "Don't you think it's about time that you admitted it yourself?"

"Says the captain who can't express her emotions properly," Ayane snorted at Shizuru.

Mai shrugged. "Hey, she has a reason for that. Anyway, buchou, I think we should have a game of truth and dare!"

Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Give me a good reason why we should."

"Stop being an old lady," Ayane nudged her while they got in a circle. "Alright, Kiyone, choose one – truth or dare?"

Kiyone pouted. "Mou~, we should have the guys do it, not us!"

Mai leaned back smirking. "Yeah, imagine Oshitari being dared to do something really not him."

"Wait," Haruka nudged her buchou. "Why don't we have a little thing…?"

Rin clapped her hands together, "A confession forum!"

Mai and the others stared at the Dragon pair awkwardly. "What the hell is that?"

Isane stared aghast at the two. "Ohmigosh, no, we're not having that again! I mean…!"

Hitomi shook her head sadly. "Naomi-buchou had an idea of playing strip pusoydos that night."

"Pusoydos," Kiyone recalled the card game Shizuru and Ayane taught her. "You mean that one with the two as the highest card and diamonds as the highest suit among them?"

Momo shuddered at the thought. "Good thing that buchou isn't the type to down five tequila shots in one night."

"Tell you what," Haruka made the rules. "The person who is about to confess has to give clues and the people have to guess who that person is, alright peeps?"

Rin nodded while grabbing a fistful of potato chips, staring intently. "Okay," Haruka inhaled deeply. "This guy… he's tall, muscular and well – let's say he's not from Hyotei Gakuen."

Kiyone jumped up excitedly. "Is it Akutsu?"

Rin stared at her. "No, of course not, is it?"

Haruka shook her head. "He's one of the best doubles players around and okay, he's not…"

Ayane snapped her fingers, "Aha, its Jackal right?"

Hitomi was ready to write down some data when Haruka hid her face. "Bingo, one point for the Queen of Hearts," Ayane punched the air. "Do you have anyone, Momo-senpai?"

The female Sanada sighed while folding her legs. "He's kinda… a playboy."

"Oshitari Yuushi," Mai snorted while restraining her laughter.

Momo shook her head. "Nope, he's worse than Oshitari Yuushi."

Rin jumped up freaking out. "You… you mean you like Sengoku Kiyosumi!? Are you alright?"

Hitomi began scribbling down. "Haruka has something for bald men and Momo now has something for playboys. I'm getting interesting data here."

"You're not to share with anyone but us," Shizuru noted to the data master. "I'm not saying anything."

Mai leaned towards the vice captain. "I'm more interested in Ayane's choice of guys. So, who is the lucky man?"

Ayane blushed furiously. "N-nobody, I don't have anyone in mind!"

"Souka," Mai tapped her chin. "What about you, Isane-senpai? Do you have anyone in mind?"

Isane shook her head confidently. "Nope, I'm clean and crush-less."

They all stared at her with a smile until Hitomi spoke up. "Isane-chan has a crush on Shishido Ryou and often times, becomes jealous when he diverts his attention to Shizuru-buchou. At times, Isane-chan would stay at the fence and watch him practice with Ohtori-san."

Isane blushed furiously. "Where did you get that information from?"

The whole group burst out laughing while Isane nodded somberly, hanging low. "Actually, he did reject my chocolates last year."

Then, the laughter died out immediately. "What is wrong with that man," Rin ate chips.

"Shishido-san said he liked someone else," Isane scratched her head sheepishly. "In fact, we all know her very well."

Haruka and Rin exchanged glances. "If we do know, can we tell her to back off?"

Isane smiled bitterly. "Not if you want laps from her."

The two got hit by a lightning bolt and all eyes went on the auburn eyed captain. "What? What did I do?"

They all fell on the floor sighing at their ever dense captain. "I wonder how you manage to live without making such a fuss," Mai scratched her head.

Shizuru stood up. "Oh, I have to go check something."

"Oh no, you don't," Ayane yanked her captain down. "You're not leaving until you tell us who has smitten you."

All eyes fell unto the Hyotei captain while she started. "Well, he's a tennis player."

"Obviously," Ayane wanted to smack her. "Get real specific details!"

Shizuru tried to get up but Mai grabbed her down again. Sighing, Shizuru mumbled while looking away. "He's a captain…"

"He is what now," Rin leaned to hear her captain.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Dear, did you just say he's a captain? Please tell me it's not Atobe!"

"It's not," Shizuru looked away blushing with a small smile. "Besides, it's one-sided. He won't know and no one will ever know."

The clues Shizuru gave were very vague, how the heck were they supposed to find the guy if she won't even say anything about him?

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In the other room, Seigaku was fixing up and Tezuka just finished bathing. Fuji leaned against the chair while glancing at some pictures. "Saa~, you know – I get to see nice conversations between you and Shizuru-chan. You two seem to have a lot in common, mind telling me what?"

Tezuka twitched when Fuji called her 'Shizuru-chan'. He wasn't even able to call her 'Shizuru-chan' yet. "It's nothing important, Fuji."

"Why," Fuji's cerulean eyes stared straight at Tezuka, "is it that big a secret, Tezuka?"

He hated Fuji's teasing about this. This had gone as far as elementary school because Tezuka always waited for the same little girl to appear in the tennis courts. Without fail, she would appear and they would play. However, there was something that grew after a long time. Tezuka often didn't show it but kept a small keychain in form of an Iris flower that was attached to his wallet. He never got rid of it and didn't want to but Fuji was starting to make a habit of even hiding it somewhere to the point Tezuka gave him more laps than he normally would. "Fuji, that's enough. You shouldn't stick your nose into many things that don't involve you."

"Oh but it does involve me," Fuji raised an eyebrow. "Because my best friend is a rock and I'm here to make sure he confesses."

Tezuka preferred doing things his own way without Fuji butting in. Because most of the time, Fuji did things that could make people wish they were dead if they interfered or make things come out sadistically pleasing for him. There was an article about this and Tezuka remembered reading that most tensai contribute to their captain's growth of white hair.

Whoever wrote the article must have been right.

Inui appeared behind his captain. "There's a ninety percent chance that Tezuka will now walk out the door and bump into Shizuru-chan."

Now, another person was calling Shizuru by first name and Inui didn't even know her. "Inui, eighty laps…now," Tezuka rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Kikumaru bounced onto Oishi's back. "Nyah, buchou likes someone? Who is it, Oishi?"

"I'm not very sure who it is really but Fuji knows," Oishi pointed at a smiling tensai.

Momoshiro shoved more cookies into his mouth. "Wait, so Tezuka-buchou likes someone from the girls' team?"

Fuji, you're going to die one day.

That was the only sentence ringing in his ears over and over again. Tezuka remained completely unaffected but if he was more uncontrolled, things would have been more different. First of all, he couldn't even understand what he was feeling towards her. Every time he saw her with Shishido and Ohtori, Tezuka felt his blood boil and when she was under this pool of sunlight he heard his heartbeat echo loudly in his ears. But because the captain was good in controlling his emotions, Tezuka managed to let people ignore that issue. "Minna," his jaw twitched visibly. "Once the rain stops, you're all doing a hundred laps."

The regulars dropped their jaw at their captain. "Saa~, you're being mean spirited today, Tezuka," Fuji clucked his tongue.

Oishi drew aside the curtains. "It looks like the rain won't stop for awhile."

Before the captain could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Momoshiro opening the door found Souma Fuuka informing them. "There's hot chocolate downstairs with a warm fire. You guys might need it since we're up here in the mountains."

Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you, we'll head down later."

The moment Fuuka closed the door, Fuji resumed to teasing Tezuka. "So, do you think she'll be there?"

"Fuji, not now…" Tezuka wished he brought more aspirin with him.

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In the other rooms, Oshitari sat back and began contemplating on how he would approach the situation. How would he get a tennis obsessed girl like her to notice his reasons why guys started avoiding her? Oshitari had tried a lot of things including going with her to lunch and making sure most guys backed off, pulling her away from a guy he deemed "unlikeable" and even telling her flat out that the guy was the worst person she could end up with. If it were tennis, she would have pin pointed all the details immediately without fail. Oshitari leaned against the back rest of his chair, contemplating on how to tell her that there were some guys who could take advantage of her. Shizuru often would ask why she ended up hanging around third years more than her own batch when she didn't even know much people from the senior batch. Knowing her kind personality, Oshitari simply pat her head and would tell her that the people from her batch were "too immature".

"Arn~, ore-sama is wondering how long you're going to scheme against Tezuka. Besides, there's nothing you can do for now."

The kansai prodigy leaned back to listen to romance music. "Well, I'm not plotting. I'm just annoyed that he was the one who stole Shizuru's first kiss."

Gakuto began shoving chocolate pudding into his mouth. "Yuushi, I know you're really close to her but she needs to get some guys in her life you know!"

Sighing miserably, Oshitari stood up while heading towards the door. "There's hot chocolate downstairs and a warm fire. Though, I didn't know it rained this much during summer."

Hiyoshi beckoned Ohtori. "Are you coming with us downstairs or staying here?"

"Well," Ohtori noticed Shishido crumpling paper balls and throwing it at the wall. "Senpai, I don't think imaging a TV to be Tezuka-san and trying to clobber a TV with paper balls is a good idea."

Shishido glared back while giving another a fast pitch. "Argh, it's just--! Of all guys, why did it have to be some... guy from another school!?"

Oshitari shrugged while closing his iPod. "Well, he was drunk... But I do think that someone else had a hand in this."

Ohtori stared quizzically at Oshitari. "What do you mean senpai?"

"Think about it," Oshitari pointed out. "Tezuka drank it without knowing someone spiked it up. That usually doesn't happen, considering his personality. Someone who knew him pretty well gave him quite a dose when he downed the drink. This narrows down the suspects to one person..."

Gakuto popped up with an idea. "It's Kikumaru!"

Everyone stared at the acrobat as if he were crazy. "You idiot," –Shishido threw a paper ball at his head. "What makes you think Kikumaru knows a thing or two about alcohol!?"

Oshitari stood up. "I'm going to get hot chocolate. Is anyone coming with me downstairs?"

"I need a rest from insanity," Shishido sauntered out the door right past Oshitari.

Walking outside, the two sighed to themselves, trying to figure out the mess. Shishido couldn't believe that THE Tezuka Kunimitsu had the balls to actually kiss her, curling his fists tightly. How long had he known her? Shizuru, Ohtori and he were known as the Silver Trio ever since the first year. How it became Silver Trio, no one knows but they were close. Shishido beat up bullies who harassed the two younger ones but Ohtori got his fair share too. Shizuru on the other hand happened to be the one who calmed down the two from knocking out the lights of the upperclassmen.

"You know," Shishido kicked a random dust bunny. "I wouldn't have minded if you or I accidentally got her first kiss. Ohtori's fine too but heck, why Tezuka!?"

"Well," Oshitari shrugged nonchalantly. "There are times that life decides to kick you in the face. This happens to be one of them."

Shishido grumbled at the kansai prodigy. "Yeah, I kinda know what it's like to lose."

Finally, the two stopped at the fireplace where Shizuru was covered by her regular's jacket with a cup of hot cocoa in her hand. "I can't believe its summer now and it's becoming this cold."

"You need some company?" Oshitari took a cup from the tray and sat next to his kohai.

Shishido grabbed his own cup and sat next to Shizuru on her left. "I can't believe you played in the rain. I know you and Tezuka are crazy but at least you two captains have something in common."

Shizuru smiled faintly. "Well, I guess but, I really wanted to finish my game with him. He's one of the few to bring out my fullest potential in a game."

"I guess," Oshitari had to admit; Tezuka was no easy cookie. Shizuru may have not played in conditions like that but, her stubbornness really gave him quite the heyday. "Shizuru-chan, you do remember what happened that night of the bravery test right?"

Shizuru swirled her hot chocolate. "Yeah, but... it's nothing really..."

Shishido would have face palmed himself if he could. "Geez, you just got kissed by a statue and you're not affected!? Come on, why from Seigaku!?"

"I don't see what's wrong with that," Shizuru tilted her head innocently. "I mean, it's just a kiss."

Oshitari inhaled deeply before starting. "Shizuru, most girls would panic over something like that."

Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Hm, what do you mean, Oshitari-senpai?"

Again, her density prevailed over the rest. Oshitari knew being a hopeless romantic would have somehow rubbed off on her but, it didn't. "Shizuru, a first kiss is something that a girl would remember for the rest of her life. Once that person kisses a girl, a girl wouldn't forget the man who stole that from her."

Shishido nodded vigorously. "Yeah, why do you think we're around you all the time?"

"Because you're my friends and we hang out together," Shizuru sipped her drink again, causing the two to sweat drop.

Oshitari ruffled her hair affectionately. "Yes we are, yet somehow... I don't think you got the message why we're talking to you about this."

"Buchou," a loud voice echoed from behind. "Yamaguchi-senpai is trying to feed us juice again!"

Sighing, Shizuru walked towards the source. "I'm sorry about this, Oshitari-senpai. I'll get back to you as soon as I spare my teammates from LBM."

Oshitari watched her fleeting figure while Shishido leaned against the sofa. "Damn, one way or another – I'm not having Tezuka as her boyfriend."

"Being over protective over the buchou has its quirks," Oshitari smirked, turning away. "You know – Kobayagi-san might have done that on purpose. You do know what she thinks of both of us."

Grunting, Shishido leaned against the fence. "I wonder – who would she really consider as a nice boyfriend for her captain?"

Oshitari shrugged. "Well, she is the mother hen of the Hyotei team."

"But she's not even Shizuru's mother for crying out loud," Shishido wanted to bang his head.

The kansai prodigy walked away from Shishido. "Look, as soon as the opportunity arises, I'll take it. I expect you to not be there."

Shishido glared at him, "As if I'm going to allow you to go after Tezuka without me!"

"I wouldn't even dare try to," Oshitari smirked before standing up. "After all, she may be a queen but she's still our sister."

Shishido couldn't help but have a wider smirk. "Well, so how do we make sure he stays away?"

"We're not going to ward him off," Oshitari tapped his chin. "More or less, we're going to show Seigaku what happens when they mess with our kohai."

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The next day, the teams resumed to training on their own. Ayane had been firing pile drivers at her partner ever since that morning. "You know, I simply don't understand why buchou doesn't see that Oshitari-san is making moves and even hinting! I don't think he's even going to stay faithful to her!"

"You can't decide who buchou's boyfriend is going to be," Kiyone sliced it down towards the net. "Besides, buchou can take care of herself fine."

"Ayane, you're probably overreacting again," Mai forehanded the shot cross court. "You know – I wonder, what if we set her up on a date?"

Hitomi, scribbling down some data, perked up at the sound of that. "Hmm, but with who shall we set her up with?"

Haruka fired the Dragon's Tail towards Rin. "Maybe we should set her up with Shishido-san. She's a tomboy and he likes sporty and boyish girls."

Rin back flipped and sent it back at Haruka. "Nah, maybe we should try someone outside of Hyotei. I mean – maybe we should get Sanada-san or maybe even Yagyuu-san. Any girl would die to have a Gentleman as her boyfriend and anyone would want to have the Emperor as their guy."

"Are you crazy? That man knows nothing," Momo smashed towards Isane. "Genichirou's a total piss off when it comes to dates. Yagyuu fine but Genichirou, please… eat my socks first."

Kiyone shrugged while spinning the ball again. "Maybe we can get Fuji-san?"

Everyone stared at the smaller girl as if she was crazy. "What? You want her to date a sadist," Ayane raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, think of it this way," Kiyone tried firing a baseline shot. "Maybe she can relate with him somehow."

Isane shook her head. "I doubt it, maybe Tezuka…"

"No," the whole team screamed at her in unison. "He's a total rock," Mai gaped at her senpai.

Ayane shook her head. "We're supposed to have a guy who can help her express herself not turn herself into a statue."

"You're just saying that because you don't want the prophecy to come true," Kiyone winked.

Ayane glared at the smaller girl. "What prophecy are you talking about?"

"The day you date and love Atobe is when pigs fly and buchou gets a statue for a boyfriend," Kiyone mimicked. "Remember that statement?"

Ayane backhanded the next shot hard. "Well, it's still impossible! Pigs cannot fly!"

Hitomi mumbled quietly while scribbling down a plan. "I shall borrow Atobe-san's jet and throw pigs off it."

"Pigs jumping out of planes don't count," Ayane screamed at her data master senpai. "What about Oishi-san?"

"That guy will make her grow even more white hair," Kiyone rolled her eyes. "Can't you ask her what she likes in a guy first!?"

All the senpai stared at her first and then Haruka burst out laughing. "Are you kidding me? She would never tell us even if her life depended on it!"

"You know what's weird," Ayane hit the ball linear. "Shizuru-buchou doesn't want to love someone and yet, she wants someone to love her. I don't get buchou anymore."

Mai rolled her eyes at the vice captain. "After being betrayed by her family, it's no surprise. Give her time; things are not going to happen overnight."

"Betrayed is such a strong word," Hitomi began scribbling down a larger training regimen for the regulars. "I prefer the term – deserted by her family."

"Another thing is that you guys shouldn't be slacking," a soft voice reprimanded the girls.

They all whipped around to see Shizuru back from her laps. "Oh, we didn't know you were there buchou! We were still rallying with each other."

"Still, that means you should keep up the pace. Your performance slipped a bit," Shizuru bluntly stated while walking towards the other court. "Rin-senpai, please rally with me."

"Alright," Rin shrugged and went over to the other court.

Hitomi began writing down. "Ayane, work on your foot speed and Kiyone must work with her upper body disadvantage. I know you're more 'serve and volley' but times now call differently."

Rin, serving the ball, watched Shizuru easily keep up with her acrobatic play. The younger captain backhanded it cross court while Rin jumped forward to volley it. Dashing towards the net, Shizuru sliced the ball under causing the ball to vanish for a moment while Rin dived for it again. "Buchou, I noticed that you are a lot more cheerful."

"Really," Shizuru forehanded the ball right down on the line. "What makes you say that?"

Rin shrugged while volleying it again. "Well, you talk a lot more. That's one sign."

"Perhaps Tezuka-san's kiss had affected her demeanour," Hitomi began scribbling down. "I need more data."

Shizuru blushed madly accidentally making the shot stronger than it should. "Guys, I don't think you want to run laps more than required, do you?"

Rin bounced over after promptly missing the shot. "Aww, look at her, she's so cute!"

"I have to admit, buchou. I won't be surprised if you two became best friends," Haruka smirked at the younger.

Kiyone began gazing into the sky. "You know, maybe it's possible that you two might end up together, ne, buchou?"

Shizuru turned away. "Guys, that's downright impossible. Stop making such weird assumptions and continue training."

Mai pointed out, smiling wickedly. "I bet you're still hung over by Tezuka-san's kiss aren't you?"

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Meanwhile, the team didn't realize that Tezuka was passing by from the rest room and had heard every word that they have said. He couldn't see the girl's reaction due to the large hedges but Tezuka didn't expect that she was the one who got affected. A bittersweet smirk appeared while he finally was able to recall the last part of his memory. Tezuka knew that Fuji had something to do with this and maybe even Inui. "I kissed Kurenai-san that day?"

Tezuka continued walking, having a small glimpse of the girl who looked like she wasn't even affected. Was it density or maybe her mind was too focused on tennis to even feel anything towards that kiss? Breathing in relief, Tezuka couldn't help but feel that deep inside his mind he wanted a reaction out of her. That last game didn't show any changes either in her behaviour but then, he did notice that her smile became a little different. Usually, he would see a faint smile but Shizuru's smiles now became shyer, not the usual cloying and irritating one he sees on fan girls. Tezuka felt his mind race wild for the first time and when it came to things like this, Tezuka knew that there was only one person who had advices for this.

Though it pained him to do it, Tezuka knew that he was going to kick himself after asking Fuji on how to deal with a problem like this.

Upon opening the door, Tezuka saw Fuji adjusting the strings of his racquet. "Ah, Tezuka, just the person I wanted to see."

Once Fuji said that, Tezuka knew he was in for it. "Fuji, what did you do that day?"

"What day?" Fuji smiled innocently at his captain.

Tezuka rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You did something to my drink, didn't you?"

Fuji shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"Fuji," Tezuka didn't like where this was going.

Echizen got downright to the point. "He got you drunk," the capped rookie smirked.

All the Seigaku regulars clamped their hand over Echizen's mouth. "Don't say anything, Echizen/ochibi!"

Tezuka glared at Fuji. "I'm pretty sure that you did something."

Fuji's eyes opened while he slyly smiled. "Perhaps, a game if you win would get me to tell you everything."

Tezuka didn't hesitate in accepting the challenge. Walking over to the other side of the court, Tezuka waited for Fuji to serve. "What exactly happened back there?"

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Atobe on the other hand was troubled by two things. Shishido was running wild again as in he blew up tennis balls for pent up aggression issues and Oshitari was pissing him off more than usual. Not only that, another freshman was occupying his thoughts most of the time.

"The day I date Atobe Keigo is the day pigs fly and buchou gets a statue for a boyfriend!"

That statement echoed in Atobe's mind over and over again. The king couldn't remember what he had done to make her hate him so much. "Ore-sama has a pleasing personality so, why is it she hates me so much?"

That never bothered him until now. Ayane had been insulting him ever since her first year and she never swooned. In fact, when given the choice, she'd rather jump into a pool of nerds than to kiss Atobe. Ayane always flared up at the sight of him and finding the reason was exhilarating. "Busy thinking about the girl who wouldn't move," Oshitari smirked at Atobe.

"Oshitari," Atobe glared at the kansai prodigy, "I don't need your snide remarks right now."

Wow, he actually forgot to use his favourite pronoun. Oshitari took note of that while pestering him. "Atobe, you do know that we have Kantou Regionals coming up right?"

Gakuto passed a glare to the other court. "Stupid Kikumaru, thinking he's so much better than me! Not only that, Kikumaru's getting all the attention of Rin-chan and Shizuru-chan!"

Ohtori sighed at his scowling senpai. "Shishido-senpai, I think that's the fifth tennis ball you blew up."

Shishido picked up another ball and began his service. "Well, of course I'm annoyed! Ever since that… that… guy kissed her, she's more… more…!"

"Cheerful," Hiyoshi noted while hitting the shot towards Kabaji. "Mai-chan told me everything. She smiles a lot more now."

"What's frustrating is that," Shishido forehanded towards Ohtori. "How can a stone faced guy like him make her smile like… like… Agh, forget it!"

Atobe brushed his hair back. "Well, we will defeat Seigaku. No matter what happens, the winner will be Hyotei!"

Kabaji fired the shot towards Hiyoshi, "Usu."

Hiyoshi recalled Kiyone laughing with Momoshiro and Kaidoh, "Gekokujo."

Gakuto recalled Rin's new nickname for Kikumaru. "I'm gonna make that guy eat my dust!"

Oshitari didn't say anything but his eyes started reflecting something that said something like. "This ought to be interesting."

Shishido backhanded towards Ohtori. "We're gonna show them what 'undefeated' means, Ohtori!"

Ohtori couldn't believe that his senpai were so fired up and it was one month before the games. Then again, Shishido looked like he had a reason to be and Atobe wanted to get even with Shizuru. After all, the girls have been winning one game after the other and there wasn't even much resistance except against Seigaku or Jyosei Shounan. Ohtori remembered everything Shizuru had told him about who she deemed as 'challenges' to the team.

"Jyosei Shounan and Seigaku put up really good fights. Rikkai Dai's okay but those two are the ones I cannot play normally against. Yamabuki, Fudomine, St. Rudolph and the others don't do that much damage. But that's only in the Kantou region because last year, Shitenhouji put up a harder fight than Jyosei Shounan."

Ohtori sighed while firing another Scud Serve towards Shishido who returned it easily. Shizuru and the others were training hard and the boys' team were soon being over powered. "I have to keep getting stronger. Otherwise, Shizuru-chan will be so pressured."

Atobe stretched his neck while slinging his jacket over. "Kabaji, let's go. I need to talk to Kurenai about something."

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Putting back her sweaty shirt, Shizuru pressed her finger against her lips. The kiss still left an impression and the captain couldn't help but blush. Shaking her head, Shizuru walked out the dressing room while trying to calm down and sort out her thoughts. By sheer dumb luck, she ended up in the gardens of the training camp they were in. The cool wind brushed past her face until Shizuru heard some of the leaves rustle behind her. "Ore-sama has something to ask you," a holier-than-thou voice echoed from behind.

Shizuru found Atobe leaning against the tree. "I see you haven't found a way how to communicate with Kobayagi-san properly."

Rolling his eyes, Atobe ran his fingers through his hair. "Ore-sama wants to know if there are other games that Kobayagi is good at."

"Getsugan-san is the one you should be asking not me," Shizuru noted while watching the leaves flutter from the tree.

Atobe raised an eyebrow and noted. "Oshitari's been riled more lately. Do you think it has something to do with that night?"

"Atobe-senpai, just because Tezuka-san was drunk gives Oshitari-senpai no reason to be mad at him. I don't think he even knew Fuji-san spiked his drink," Shizuru remembered Fuji's sly smile when he was holding the disgusting bubbling liquid.

Atobe smirked at the younger captain. "Well, tell that to Oshitari. He's been irritating ore-sama more than ever since that incident happened."

Shizuru smiled faintly. "So, you want games Kobayagi-san can play well right? Well, asides from tennis – there's badminton, volleyball and also deck tennis. Are you seriously going to try and play?"

"Do you have any idea what that vice captain of yours is doing to me?"

"Other than insulting you," Shizuru smirked, "pray do tell."

Atobe wanted to say that the vice captain had been driving him crazy in other aspects but stopped short when he saw the younger captain's smirk. "Oshitari is a bad influence to you."

"That's what Shishido-senpai always tells me," Shizuru noted while watching a bird land on her shoulder. "So, what do you plan to do for Kobayagi-san?"

"I was thinking…"

-That's chapter 15! I wonder what Atobe is going to do for Ayane! Please review!