Author's Note: As always, hugs and kisses to the awesome reviewers: SilverSapphire34532, Trixter, BloodyRites, hehe, Fierce Naga, Guest, and Arfold! Separate replies for you lot at the end of this chapter. And, of course, much love to those who have favorited and alerted this humble fic of mine.

So I lied about the Traitor appearing. Rated T for mild language.

Recap:

Niou and co. – freshmen
Ono, Kobayashi – juniors
Sonoda, Furuki, Kiriyama, Asao, unnamed captain and vice-captain of the tennis team – seniors

Trap 4
Eyes Eyes Baby

『 5:00 A.M. 』

When the LED screen flashed five, a series of high-pitched beeps echoed in the darkness.

An arm popped up from under a mountain of pillows and jabbed at the alarm in hysterics. After a whirlwind of movements and yawns, Ono had her bed properly made and was headed straight for the bathroom. She was on autopilot. The lukewarm shower was a slice of heaven, and a critical portion of her daybreak as she gradually regained awareness with the continuous surge of water splattering on her head.

She poured copious amounts of the bath liquid in her hands and lathered it on her body, the scent of chamomile overwhelming her senses, making her even more hyperaware, and her thoughts taking on its usual route of recounting all that she has accomplished the previous day. Then the gears in her mind shifted, whirred at full speed as she went over her mental to-do lists and reassessed her daily priorities.

Ono Sakurako was good at a lot of things, but if there was anything she was most noteworthy of, it was her mindfulness of her every action, her every step. This, of course, initially required a great amount of fortitude on her part, but time had tempered this habit into her system. It was clockwork now. It was as natural as breathing.

She was in full control.

『 5:20 A.M. 』

She allotted approximately twenty-five minutes to get herself to look immaculate in her Rikkai uniform. It took her ten minutes to blow-dry and fluff her bob. Five to don her blue ensemble and smooth out unwanted wrinkles on the pleats of her skirt. Another five to apply her light make-up and make sure it's just the right amount of nude to keep the faculty off of her back. The remaining time she used to check herself out in her full-length mirror.

A serene smile. A smoldering gaze. A flirtatious wink.

She looked good. She felt good. Now it was time to do good.

『 5:45 A.M. 』

The rich, dark sound of John Coltrane's saxophone bounced off the cream-colored walls of her room. She was seated by her desk, poring over her neatly-scribbled notes in preparation for her morning subjects—English, Japanese Literature, and her third language of choice, French. She was resolute and prolific in her task, and once finished, proceeded with perusing through sheaves of budget proposals over a steaming hot cup of black coffee. One, two, three boxes ticked off of her to-do list, and she felt like she was Queen of the world.

The playlist on her iPod was back to Track 1.

A quick glance at her digital told her she had to get going.

『 6:45 A.M. 』

She pushed the metal shutters upward. Dark shadows slithered past the racks and the upright by the corner as the morning sunlight flooded through the glass panes of the music store. The new boy was busy prepping the counter for his morning shift, stacking the massive amount of reserved CDs on the shelves behind him. She laid out the ground rules to him in her no-nonsense tone, and explicitly told him to tell her aunt not to wait for her in the evening.

Now that she conquered her morning routine, she stepped out into the morning, ready to take on the world.

『 7:30 A.M. 』

The train was halfway to the Nishishinjuku station (1), and she was browsing an article about the Greek economic crisis on her phone when the little message box popped up in her screen.

From: Mom
Subject: How are you

Will you be coming home for the weekend? Your dad's planning a little something for you.

What took about two hours and a half to build and cement was instantly flushed down the drain—her good mood displaced, she had no hesitations of letting the little bubble of anger erupt in her chest as she typed her reply.

To: Mom
Subject: Hi mom

Mid-terms are coming up. Plan to study during Golden Week as well. Stop referring to him as my da—

She quickly erased the last bit and pressed 'sent', her grip on her phone not easing, as she attempted to regain some semblance of self-possession. There was an effort to read the article again, but the tiny claw of guilt gnawed at her insides, and eventually she typed,

To: Mom
Subject: I'm fine by the way

I love you

The train slowed to a stop. Someone spoke in the intercom, the doors slid open, and more people rushed in. Students in different uniforms crowded in the aisle, and clutched the circular handles dangling from the ceiling. Ono offered her seat to one of the older ladies and made herself comfortable against a metal pole. Now that she was only a few stations away from Kanagawa she identified several of her schoolmates in the line, mostly members of the sports teams. A few curious glances were flung her way. She paid no heed to them, but her eyes were quick to scan the scene for any sign of silver.

There was none.

Ono felt a wave of relief wash over her. Then she mentally berated herself for feeling so threatened over a freshman.

"Good morning."

She jumped when she found Yukimura standing beside her. He was not in his Rikkai uniform and was instead donning his tennis jersey and a white cap. Amusement danced in his eyes when she tried to compose herself, his smile widening pleasantly when she began to laugh at her silliness for having been so surprised.

"Good morning. On the way to practice?"

He smiled in confirmation. "The District Preliminaries are in two weeks." His eyes darted to her face. "Do you play tennis, senpai?"

Her face scrunched up like she had smelled something repulsive, which Yukimura found rather comical. "I fail at anything that requires me running around. I was born with two left feet, I think. You should see me in P.E. class."

Yukimura's smile was surreptitious. "I did hear interesting stories from Marui."

"Oh, no." She shyly buried her face against her arm.

He laughed, but in no way mocking. "I'm sure it wasn't as bad as he said it was."

Ono lightheartedly waved off his weak attempt to make her feel better. "It's fascinating to watch you play though. You all are very good." A calculated pause as she caught his gaze and held it firmly to prove her sincerity. "You most of all. I now understand why they refer to you as the Child of God. The way I see it, you'll have no problems usurping senpai from his captaincy."

His expression bordered between pleased and unassuming. "I won't go that far."

"Ah, but unless you've played your captain, you really have nothing to discredit my theory," she smartly replied, which earned her another bout of amused chuckles. "I've always wondered why those gaggle of girls would religiously flock towards the tennis courts after school. It was hilarious to me at first, but I definitely see the appeal in it now," she admitted, returning her gaze towards the scenery, where the panoramic view of Tokyo Bay sped past them.

"As long as they don't disturb practice. The cheering boosts the team's morale." Yukimura turned to look at her again. "I'm sure senpai's presence in our games would increase it even more."

She tilted her head downwards, as if embarrassed. It did not escape her attention that the warmth in the pit of her stomach was back, if that was any indication of a genuine flustered reaction. Damn Yukimura.

"I'll be there to see you win, then."

"Excellent," His smile was a notch higher.

They reached the next station. Ono was pushed helpless against one of the walls as more people trickled in, and Yukimura was gracious enough to shield her from the sudden onslaught of bodies. Her face was delicately pressed against his shoulder, as it would have been much too uncomfortable to have him completely face her that she would have had buried her face on his chest.

She was content with the arrangement.

The rest of the transit passed in comfortable silence, her eyes fully trained on her junior's side profile. Ono had always thought he was incredibly good-looking, and now confirmed he was more so up-close. As lascivious as it may sound, she was no stranger to close proximities with the opposite sex, but she couldn't help but notice that there was something subtly feral about Yukimura that made his presence even more intriguing. When he flicked his eyes towards her, she merely smiled at him, and was slightly thankful for the distraction when she felt the vibration in her pocket.

From: Mom
Subject: That's good

I love you, too, sweetie. Come home soon.

Then right below her message was an attached picture of an elaborately-decorated chocolate cake, with real strawberry toppings forming a heart on the surface. In the middle of the shape, a wispy Happy Birthday, Ako! was written in white icing. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and this time, she did not nothing to suppress the warmth that ballooned at the pits of her stomach.

Yukimura watched her quietly, taking note of the change in her demeanor. Her shoulders were more relaxed, her expression less guarded as she continued to stare at the screen of her phone. He flicked his eyes towards the window, and saw the reflection of the message.

When she looked up and caught him looking at her, she gave him a blinding smile, and it was a lot different from what he was used to—it was softer, more blithe, more real.

They finally arrived at their station. It was easy for them to alight the cart since they were near the doors, and together, they walked to Rikkai in companionable silence, with Ono managing to keep up with his strides. When they neared the gates, a group of juniors spotted Ono and had cajoled her into walking to school with them, but not before not-so-discretely ogling Yukimura who had silently stood by her side all this time. She politely excused herself. The last thing she saw was the oddity that were his eyes before she disappeared into the crowd.

His irises were so blue, so unfathomable she felt like she could drown in them.

ENERGY-SAVING RULE

As a result of the 25% increase in energy costs all over the metro due to the repercussions of the Fukushima Power Plant Disaster (2), there will be a strict implementation of a curfew for after-school activities every MONDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY in the next few months. All lights in the gymnasium, the swimming pool, soccer field, and the indoor and outdoor tennis courts will automatically be shut off by 5 PM. Any club member found loitering around the campus without a permit from their respective advisers will be apprehended accordingly.

Rest assured that the administration and the Student Council are currently working hand-in-hand in finding an alternative to the current situation.

Hoping for your kind understanding,

Sonoda Akihiro
Student Council President

Noted by:

Masafumi Wakaba
Principal

"What are you doing?"

Niou ignored Yagyuu and continued to crumple the paper in his hands, before aiming the paper ball at one of the unknowing freshmen walking past the tennis courts. It him squarely on the head. When the victim looked up at the bleachers, Niou had swiftly turned on his heel, as if the sky was the most fascinating thing that begets attention, making Yagyuu seem like the culprit. The Gentleman could only sigh as their schoolmate regarded him in confusion, who eventually decided against pinning the blame on him because this was Model Student-slash-Class Representative-slash-Gentleman Yagyuu. The unlucky victim of Niou's boredom simply turned away as if nothing happened.

"Such a formidable reputation you have," Niou said eventually, which only caused Yagyuu to regard him in silent admonishment.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you slipping in late during morning practice," Yagyuu declared as they left the bleachers and made their way past the growing crowd in front of the bulletin boards.

The Trickster was silent and appeared to be completely unfazed by being called out. Yagyuu's lips thinned when Niou looked intent to refuse to let his guard down, and in a way, it was disheartening how adamant his partner was to keep whatever it was that was distracting him a secret. Yagyuu was not oblivious to the way Niou's gaze possessed an uncharacteristic intensity which he only usually saw within the tennis courts or whenever he was faced with a challenging math problem. Niou has been more withdrawn, his presence more fleeting as of late that Yagyuu was more than willing to drop the Gentleman pretense to pry further.

"Hey, freshman!" It was one of their seniors in the club. Yagyuu halted in his steps to acknowledge the call, but Niou kept walking, expectedly incensing the upperclassman. "Hey, rat-tail! Hold up!"

Niou was undeterred, and only when Yagyuu calmly gripped his shoulder did he pause. "It wouldn't be wise to get on his bad side. Not this time, Niou-kun."

The senior caught up with them eventually. "You respond when an upperclassman calls you, doucheface!" When Niou merely stared at—more like through him, like he was thin air, their senior huffed, and roughly pushed a stack of papers against his chest. "Pass this on to the captain. If I don't hear from him, you're deadmeat." He turned to Yagyuu. "Keep an eye on him."

"These are cancelled order forms for equipment," Yagyuu muttered, perusing over the sheaf of paper, as they walked towards the clubroom. "…dated last week."

Niou shrugged, slipping his hands inside his pockets.

"Why would the captain cancel these orders right before the tournaments?" Yagyuu whispered.

"Not rocket science." Niou motioned towards the closed clubroom door when they arrived. They could hear bits of the muffled conversation.

"—ing Sonoda's behind this!"

Yagyuu could only adjust his glasses atop the bridge of his nose, and without further preamble, pushed the door open. The captain, vice-captain, Yukimura and Sanada were seated on the couch facing the large whiteboard plastered on one of the clubroom's walls, where Yanagi was currently stationed. A plethora of diagrams and words were scrawled in the Data Master's neat handwriting.

"Will all due respect, vice-captain, as fascinating as it is to find out who's responsible for this mess, I think we should discuss what we need to do to remedy the situation," Yukimura spoke quietly, which ultimately stopped the senior's whining.

"We are losing our focus," Sanada crossed his arms and glared at nothing in particular. "We cannot get careless because of these distractions."

"Our current numbers are dwindling by the day. We started out with one hundred twenty-six members, but we're already down to sixteen freshmen, eighteen juniors, and fourteen seniors, a total of forty-eight members. We're not even midway into the season. This is an alarming rate of member drop-out, captain," Yanagi looked up from his data notebook.

Like Sanada, the captain had his arms crossed, and it would be no surprise if twin laserbeams were shot out of his eyes at the intensity he was glaring at the diagrams drawn on the whiteboard. "We only have two days a week to practice until six because of that energy-saving bullshit we have to comply with, and the rest of the days we're reduced to a one-hour training period. What the fuck do they expect us to do in those hours? File our nails and look pretty?" He exhaled angrily, as if by doing so would release all the stress he was currently in.

"There's no time to waste. Like you said," the vice-captain muttered, glancing at the blue-haired freshman. "We have to find a remedy. If we are short on time, we simply have to double our efforts."

"I understand that we have to make up for the lost time, but it would only be detrimental in the long-run if we stick with such a dangerously rigorous training regimen," Yukimura countered yet again. "We don't want to risk anyone getting injured right before the tournaments." Then he turned towards the doorway, where both Niou and Yagyuu stood silently.

The captain followed Yukimura's gaze, and frowned. "What do you want?"

Yagyuu held out the stack of papers. "We apologize for intruding, captain, but Miura-senpai asked us to give these to you."

"Leave them on the table." It was their cue to leave, which Yagyuu quickly picked up. He was on his way out, when he realized that Niou was still lingering around the room, the Trickster's gaze fixed on some announcements in the corkboard fixed by the door.

"Is there anything else?" the captain snapped.

Niou turned. "Why don't we let Yukimura represent us in the Council?"

After the buzz over Kiriyama and the pranks directed to her have abated, the rest of Ono's school days were blissfully busy. Aside from preparing for the career assessment tests and breezing through her lectures, she had the fast-approaching mid-terms, piled up paperwork in the Council room, and the special year-end project she was working on to preoccupy herself with. But instead of having herself snagged by the snares of a busy schedule and the amounting stress that came with it, Ono was unbound and light on her feet, thoroughly rejuvenated by it all.

A busy schedule kept her from thinking about useless things in the person of a silver-haired freshman, who had eerily receded in the shadows these past few days. She had to admit that it was good to get him off of her back now that things have become more hectic. Although she had initially wondered whether he was simply bidding his time—waiting for her to put her guard down before he finally pounced—she was more disposed to believe that it was because the current issues of the Tennis Club have finally taken its toll on every member, and that included him.

In any case, hail or sunshine, Ono was in her element.

She earned nothing but pleasant greetings when she dropped by all the clubs, both old and newly-reinstated, after dismissal—the Art Club, with their truckload of canvas and paint, the Gardening Club with their loam soil and exotic plants shipped specially from the tropical islands, to name a few. The Club Presidents, most of them her seniors, had welcomed her with bright smiles and open arms when she appeared in the doorway of their clubroom, and had thanked the Council profusely for their good faith and boatload of funds. The smaller, less popular clubs have paid their greatest gratitude because for the first time in years, they stood a chance against the colossal numbers of the more popular clubs.

There was a subtle shift in Rikkai, and the general populace embraced it.

The Tennis Club was not exactly on the same boat.

A terse silence hung over the locker rooms after afternoon practice. Half of the freshmen occupied the shower stalls while the others waited.

"What's wrong?"

It was Yukimura who broke the silence, and regarded the Strategist with a look of concern. Yanagi's head had popped out from behind the stall door and looked like he was paying close attention to something. It was only then the others noticed the eerie silence that had befallen the locker rooms, devoid of even the patter of water. A moment later, the stall door beside his had also flapped open, revealing Jackal with soap suds on his head—why he even shampooed nonexistent hair was beyond anybody.

"No water coming out from the shower." It was never a question for Yanagi, in which Jackal nodded his assent and sighed.

Niou shamelessly stepped out of the showers in his white towel—his torso glistening with unwashed soap—grabbed his water jug from his duffel, and then locked himself back inside the stall.

"Aaaah, what the hell!" Marui whined, slumping his head, defeated against the wall. "And I really wanted to have a shower before going home."

Perhaps the only consolation everyone got that afternoon was Sanada calling out everyone's attention from his stall to require some form of assistance. Because he was in the middle of washing his face, and anti-dandruff shampoo really was painful when it got to your eye.

There were two notable things that occurred in that afternoon's Student Council meeting. One, was that the representatives of the Tennis Club looked mutinous and were, for some reason, producing a very severe pungent odor. Two, and more importantly, was when the formal and organized discourse about each club's calendar of events had escalated into an explosive argument between the different clubs regarding budget allocation, Ono looked impeccably unperturbed in her seat, her hands perfectly clasped on top of her desk as she watched everything with furtive enjoyment.

Sonoda, who was seated beside her, had risen on his feet a dozen times in the past hour with hopes of attempting to establish some semblance of order in the room—attempt as the operative word. Kobayashi and Furuki, who were seated on her right, were both preoccupied with their respective tasks: the former who was steadfastly typing away on her laptop, keying in all the pertinent points of the conversations for the minutes, and the latter, currently engaged in a heated verbal battle with the tennis captain.

"What do you mean there are no funds?!"

The tennis captain slammed his fists on the table. The rest of the club presidents had been silent all this time and tried to look less smug, lest they became the subject of his anger. The first quarter of the meeting had been smooth-sailing, with the rest of the occupants of the room in total agreement to their share of the pie—after all, it was for the first time in years that they had enough money on their plate. Then it was the boys tennis team's turn, and suddenly everything veered off-course. Everyone was on edge and mostly feared not for themselves, but for the small desk that had been the recipient of the captain's repeated thumping. They won't be surprised if it was going to be splintered in half any time soon.

"I see two more fountains being built—who the fuck needs fountains?!—and you tell me we don't have funds?"

"We have good reason for the construction of those," Furuki barked. "But that's beside the point. We've already talked about the budget cut. And you agreed."

"I never agreed to having my team practice in the dark! We didn't even have water coming out of the showers! At least give us the basic necessities, for fuck's sake!"

"That," the Treasurer sighed, rubbing his temples. "…is not within our jurisdiction, unfortunately."

"Not within your jurisdiction, my ass!" He pushed his chair backwards and stood up. "I've had enough! Let me to talk to the Board. I'll make a direct appeal."

"The Board's decision is final!" Sonoda snapped, also getting on his feet.

Compared to the tennis captain's brutish countenance, Sonoda looked like a bumbling fairy king. But Ono had to hand it to the guy, at least he was trying.

"I'm afraid getting at each other's throat won't solve anything." Ono's voice had mellifluously cut through the palpable tension that hung over the room. Everyone's eyes was suddenly on her, and she took this as sign to proceed. "Senpai, it's a real shame that the tennis club has to deal with all this crap while you're in the middle of preparing for the tournaments—"

"At last, some sympathy!" The tennis captain interjected.

"—but the Council can only do so much. Even we don't have access to the financial reports on the school's utility bills." (3)

"You say that you don't have access to financial reports, but how about Sonoda? Isn't his father a member of the School Board?" It was the tennis vice-captain who spoke this time.

"What are you getting at?" When Sonoda had risen from his chair again, Ono gently grasped his upper arm and pushed him back to his seat.

"Senpai, if you are implying that the President had a hand in the utility problems your club is experiencing, then that is a grave accusation," Ono said simply. "And what reason," she paused, smiling ever so thoughtfully. "…would the Council have for sabotaging the Tennis team?"

There was a long silence.

"I promise we'll make another appeal on your behalf once we meet with the Board this summer. All we ask of you," she continued, raising a hand to signal the captain to let her continue when he looked ready to interrupt her again. "…is to be patient."

She smiled her winning smile.

"I am confident you will not let these trivial things stop you from winning the Nationals," she said positively, and added, "Also, if I may raise one last advice. Perhaps it would be more prolific for both sides if there is someone who could represent the Tennis team when we talk to the Board."

The tennis captain sighed, ruffling his hair in defeat. "So it all boils down to this?" he asked, looking at Yukimura, who was clearly amused with everything.

Ono did not say anything and simply waited, her smile seamlessly intact.

"How fearsome," Yukimura told her once the meeting was adjourned. After speaking with their tennis captain, he fell behind the rest of the committee members and club presidents who were now making a beeline for the exit. Both Sanada and Yanagi watched their exchange with blatant attentiveness.

"I only have everyone's best interest in mind," she replied simply. "I look forward to working with you, then, Honorary Member Yukimura." She looked up after stacking the papers on the table, and smiled up at her junior.

Yukimura smiled and then softly sighed, as if utterly defeated. "I seem to have no other option."

Ono stilled.

He was quick to notice the change in her demeanor. "Is there something wrong?"

She continued to stare at him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"Senpai?"

She snapped out of it. "What time did you arrive in school today?"

"Around quarter to seven," His eyebrows quirked. "Should I be concerned about anything?"

"No, no. It's nothing," she assured, pleasantly waving him off.

While Kobayashi bombarded both Sonoda and Furuki with questions regarding their career assessment results as they made their way towards the school gates, Ono was quiet and left to her own thoughts. The gears in her mind were working an extra mile as she contemplated and second-guessed herself about the events that took place that morning. She replayed the scene in her head. Despite the plethora of hows & whys, there was one fact that recurred in her mind:

Yukimura Seiichi's eyes were warm, and were very, very brown. (4)

Author's Note: This chapter was originally 15 pages long, but I was not satisfied with how things were super fast-paced between Niou and Ono. Build-up, people. Plus it lacked cohesion. I've lost count of how many times I've rewritten this, tbh. It was difficult, truly. And dialogue can be such a pain in the ass, y'know? Mine always comes out so awkward alkjalfkjasa.

P.S: Did you scroll up to check out what's up with Yukimura's eyes? I don't know if I was pushing it, but hopefully I got the desired effect. Which was to baffle you guys, lol. Unless. You noticed from the beginning? If you did, here's a virtual cookie. :)

Extras:

(1) Station Ono gets out of every day from Tokyo to Kanagawa. We can assume that Niou lives somewhere in between.

(2) The article entitled, "House electricity bills surged 25% after 2011 nuclear disaster" on kyodonews is unfortunately not available unless you are a subscriber. Which I am not. But. Electric bills did increase as a consequence of the Fukushima Power Plant disaster which affected the entirety of Tokyo. For my story's purposes, I shall extend it to Kanagawa. Because Ono needs an excuse, too, tbh.

(3) I have no idea if this is really what happens in Japanese Private High Schools? I did encounter an article on the transparency of financial reports in Public High Schools but not in Private HS/Unis in the US? SO. Or is this something supposed to be obvious to everyone. I dunno, haha. I try, guys. I try.

(4) Anime!Yukimura has blue eyes, but manga!Yukimura has brown eyes. Sticking to the manga yet again… because plot device.

Replies:

SilverSapphire34532: I liked that part, too! Hope it wasn't OOC or anything, haha. Hopefully, this chapter was to your liking as well!

Trixter: Humor's definitely not my strongest point, so I'm really glad you found it funny. And you're right, this chapter was totally Ono's, yes? Thank you for your kind thoughts and enthusiasm for my story. I really appreciate it. :)

BloodyRites: Oh, yeah. Thank you for that tip about Ono's response to Kiriyama being confusing. What I really wanted to show was Ono's blackmailing skillzzz. I guess I'll just edit it again some time to make it clearer. I'm also happy you find my characters intriguing and interesting! Hope you liked this one! Especially the part when we were given a glimpse of Ono's conflict with her family. :)

HEHE: Thank you for enthusiasm! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

Fierce Naga: Your review gave me butterflies. I like butterflies. Ono's dichotomous personality is admittedly very difficult to write, so it makes me very happy that you like how she's turned out so far. Niou, I admit, is still a tad shady for me. Even more difficult to write than Ono, given that we see so little of him in the tenipuri anime and manga, so I started writing this fic with little confidence in his character. I do have something planned for him, and it'll be a tad bit different from the usual showy Niou he's portrayed as in other fics, so I really appreciate your enthusiasm towards how I'll shape him. As for my writing style? THANK YOU. I try. :)

Guest: I'm glad my story's wordiness did not deter you from reading up this point haha! And yessss I am gunning for something more realistic, so I'm happy it was not lost on you. Thank you for reading and leaving a review!

Arford: Hopefully this chapter was to your liking! More updates in the future, but no guarantee it will be soon. :))