After the Climax

They crashed against the lockers, lips sealed to each other, hands caressing, legs stumbling, bodies trembling.

The shorter of the two boys pulled his mouth away just long enough to utter, "What the hell is this."

He received a rowdy laughter as an answer, along with amused words. "I would think you would be old enough to know what this is. But perhaps ore-sama is mistaken, and ore-sama should leave, if you are still as young as your height seems to suggest."

"Shuddup, monkey king," Ryoma answered and pulled Atobe back to another kiss. Any answer Atobe might have given the boy disappeared from his mind as Ryoma trailed kisses along his jaw.

Ryoma sat on a bench in the locker room of one of the public courts of the city, staring at his shirt. He didn't look at the other boy who was also getting dressed, not too far from him.

Yesterday had been the last day of his first year in high school. Buchou, Fuji, Kikumaru, Oishi and Inui were gone; they had graduated from high school, leaving Ryoma, Momo and Kaidoh behind them, most going to finish their education in college, others to pursue other interests in life. Like a professional tennis career.

Like Buchou.

That's what irked Ryoma the worst. Tezuka was leaving him in Japan, and going pro. He couldn't play him anymore, not like when Tezuka was still in high school, and in the same club. Tezuka was leaving him behind, taking with him the only chance he had to play a decent opponent anytime he wanted. Well, almost anytime, anyway.

In a way, Buchou leaving had caused the situation he was in now.

Pissed, Ryoma had been scowling the public tennis courts hoping for a decent opponent. He had smirked after seeing Atobe Keigo in a secluded court, practising, by hitting a wall. After a few snark comments from both, they ended up having a match. A long match. A good match. A thrilling match that made Ryoma's heart race and his breath hitch.

They ended at 6-7, Atobe's favour, and Ryoma wasn't really all that sorry.

He was just happy that he got to play on opponent that could actually beat him. Maybe he wouldn't die of boredom after all. Maybe he could convince the Monkey King to play him again.

He opened his mouth to ask just that, but when their hands touched, all thoughts besides the feel of Atobe's skin on his skin, the other boy's smirk, the vein pulsing on his neck, the slightly tanned skin and muscled body, disappeared from his mind.

He wasn't sure witch one leaned in first. He knew he was the one who pulled Atobe to the locker room.

He hadn't expected this. And he had absolutely no idea what to think about it.

All he knew that he had probably ruined his chances of having a decent opponent by screwing with him.

Damned teenage hormones. Damn them to hell!

He scowled, and finally pulled the shirt over his head. It stunk of sweat.

Not surprisingly after their game. He really should have brought a change of clothes with him, even if there weren't any showers in the changing rooms, despite the lockers.

Which was stupid, really. Who builds locker rooms with out showers?

He threw a glance around the locker room, looking for his cap, then remembered that Atobe had knocked it of his head at the courts, at some point when they were stumbling to the direction of the locker room.

Really, the shack shouldn't even be called a locker room. It had no showers! A proper locker room had showers!

Frustration over not having his cap finally caused him to mutter, "Stupid monkey king, for losing my cap." He was shocked, when the desired article was placed on his head, by the just insulted Atobe Keigo.

Bewildered he lifted his gaze to dark blue eyes, and to a face, that was curiously blank. It occurred to him that perhaps even Atobe was just as bewildered as he was. Maybe he could still have a chance at having a game with him every now and then.

Before he could ask, though, Atobe had turned on his heels, and left.

Ryoma decided it would be a nice change in routine to see how many dents he could make on the lockers. A scientific experiment, of sorts. Just to see how long it would take until his hands went numb.

Tezuka was leaving tomorrow.

So of course everyone decided they should send him off by having a last meeting with the whole gang at Kawamura's sushi store. They had frequented the sushi store more often after Kawamura and the other third years had started high school. No one was sure how it ended up as a tradition to meet there every two weeks, but everyone was glad it had happened. It gave the former third years and juniors, plus Ryoma, a chance to meet every once and a while, even if they were in different schools.

Taka had stopped playing tennis after junior high, just like he had said and started to study harder on becoming a sushi chef. Everyone else had stayed with tennis, although Fuji had leaned more and more towards his second love, photographing, during his third year in high school. Ryoma knew he intended to pursue studies of it in college.

The golden pair had decided to stick with tennis, and were contemplating on joining Tezuka at the pro circuits. But they were still considering their options.

Inui, when asked, had stated that he intended to graduate from college, and perhaps continue on with a tennis career after that. What Inui was planning on studying, Ryoma had no idea. Probably something to do with chemistry, if his love for creating juices indicated anything.

As for Momo and Kaidoh, the future was not something they had to contemplate for another year.

Thoughts of his afternoon game with Atobe and what happened after it were still swirling in Ryoma's head when he slid open the door to Kawamura's. He found the place almost empty. He was the first to arrive.

"Echizen!" Taka greeted him from behind the counter. His father smiled at his son's former team member and a regular costumer. Ryoma greeted them both with a smile, and sat on a stool in front of Taka.

"Can I have a ponta, Kawamura-sempai?" Ryoma asked. "It looks like we'll have to wait for a while until the others come."

"Sure, Echizen, just give me a sec." Taka answered.

"You go and join your friend, Takeshi." Kawamura-san told his son. "Remember you're taking today off to say goodbye to your friend and celebrating your own graduation."

"But dad, you might need help!" Taka tried to resist.

"Don't be silly boy, I've been making sushi for years. Besides, the shop's closed today for your celebrations. I think I can handle making sushi for nine boys, even if the bottomless pits that call them self's Momoshiro and Echizen are with them." After saying this, Kawamura-san smiled at Ryoma, showing that he was only joking. The boy smiled back, not taking offence.

Taka took off his apron and joined Ryoma in front off the counter, handing the boy his ponta, just in time for Inui and Tezuka to arrive.

"Ah, it appears we are early." Inui commented, an adjusted his glasses. "Hello Echizen, Taka-san, Kawamura-san." Inui greeted, and Tezuka followed in his suite.

Ryoma glared at Tezuka. For some odd reason, which he could not be sure of, everything that had happened with Atobe, was somehow Tezuka's fault.

Tezuka quirked an eyebrow after facing Ryoma's glare, and Ryoma quickly adjusted his face in to a bored expression. Even if it was all Tezuka's fault, he couldn't tell his former captain that, or he might have to explain what, exactly was, Tezuka's fault.

And that secret would go to the grave with him. And to Atobe's. That's right, he wasn't the only one who knew about it. Atobe had been there too. What if Atobe told someone? He had almost forgotten about the egoistical diva. And that just showed how shocked he really was. I mean, how could you forget someone like Atobe? Not that easily.

"O'chibi!" Ryoma almost fell from the stool as Kikumaru collided with him, knocking him out of breath.

Years of practice had taught him how to handle Kikumaru-sempai's hugs so he didn't get crushed, or be denied of air, but all that was forgotten when he was caught of guard like this.

"Yudan sezu ni ikou." Tezuka informed him. Don't get careless, indeed. Who would have thought that Tezuka would show that he actually does have a sense of humour after entering high school.

"Thanks Buchou." He gave a muffled answer, face buried in Kikumaru's chest.

After Kikumaru released him, he was seized in a headlock by Momo, and the spike haired kid repeated his captain's words. "That's right Echizen, can't get careless, you can't."

"Fshuu!" Kaidoh hissed from behind them.

Momo released him after shuffling his hair. From the corner of his eye, Ryoma could see Oishi's worried gaze, and smiled at him, to show he was alright.

After the others drifted off to sit around the tables they had adopted as their own, Fuji appeared next to him. The tensai set a hand on his shoulder and asked, for once, not smiling, "Are you alright, Echizen. You seem a bit… dazed."

Dazed was one way of putting it, I suppose.

For a moment he considered telling Fuji what had happened earlier. He was one of the trust worthiest of the group, and could probably help him get some clarity on what he'd done, and why. "I'm fine." He finally said. The embarrassment finally won out. He wasn't going to tell anyone that he'd just fucked with the monkey king.

Fuji didn't seem convinced, but smiled anyway, and let the matter drop.

The night went along the normal way. Momo and Kaidoh bickered; there was nothing new about it. They got along a lot better these days, they even formed as decent doubles partners, but some things just never changed.

While Momo and Kaidoh were bickering amongst each other, Eiji and Ryoma continued with their own tradition, and that was to steal the other two's sushi. When they finally stopped bickering, the two sushi thieves had already emptied their plates. The others laughed happily, just like every other time this happened.

Not until Oishi asked when Tezuka's flight was leaving, did they remember that this was not a usual get together, but a farewell party for their captain.

"You're travelling with, Atobe, right?" Fuji asked, and Ryoma's chopsticks stopped midway to his mouth. He turned to stare at Tezuka.

"Yes, he's travelling to France to meet some of his relatives who are living there. Since our departure coincides, we decided to travel together." Tezuka answered, and threw a sideway glance at Ryoma, frowning his forehead, wondering at the boy's strange behaviour today. He now suspected it had something to do with Atobe, and intended to ask Hyotei's graduate about it when they met tomorrow. He knew from experience that he would get nothing out of Echizen.

Finally they started to leave for home, one by one. Ryoma was one of the last to leave, and he stood in front of Tezuka, glaring at the older boy. "Two years, Buchou. I'll be in the circuits when I finish high school. Be prepared to get beaten."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Tezuka promised, with a slight smile.

They shook hands, both resolute to meet again, at other ends of a tennis court.

Finally, Ryoma smiled. He might have to wait a couple of years, but he was sure the wait would be worth it.

Tezuka greeted Atobe at the airport gates. The other boy had arrived with a limo, but proceeded in carrying his own luggage. "You travel lightly, Tezuka, considering you are leaving Japan for a very long time."

"I do not need much." Tezuka answered, shouldering his own bag, and comparing it to Atobe's luggage, witch compiled of two suitcases and a carry on bag.

Tezuka did not remember to bring up the matter involving Echizen until they were in the air. Atobe was sipping his drink, sitting leisurely in the window seat.

"Echizen was acting quite strange yesterday, and I thought you might know something about it."

"Echizen?" Atobe turned to look at him wide eyed. "Why would you think I would have anything to do with that brat?"

"Just a thought." Tezuka said, but continued to stare at Atobe, until the other finally gave in.

"Fine." He snapped finally. "I saw him yesterday. We had a game. That's all." Atobe, thinking the matter closed, returned to his drink and sight seeing.

"Was it good?"

Atobe sprayed the drink from his mouth on himself, and the back of the seat in front of him. "What?!" He yelped.

"The game. Was it good?" Tezuka asked again, frowning.

"Ah, the game." Atobe composed himself, while trying to wipe the drink off with a handkerchief. He smirked without even noticing, and answered stretching his words. "It was… very satisfying… Wouldn't mind, doing it again, sometime."

"That's good." Tezuka said, although a little perplexed at Atobe's behaviour. "I'm a little worried that he might get bored for lack of challenge, and do something foolish."

"And we mustn't let that happen." Atobe was feeling giddy. "I'll make sure the brat doesn't get bored once I get back. Don't you worry, Tezuka. Just leave Echizen to me."

"Thank you Atobe. I know this is the second time I've asked for your help when it comes to Echizen, but- "

"Don't worry about it, Tezuka." Atobe waved a hand at him. "It's no trouble at all. Trust me. It's a pleasure." He smirked, and drained the last of his drink. "Such a nice view, isn't it?"

Tezuka didn't know what the fuck Atobe was talking about. All he could see were clouds.

A little over a week had passed since the first day of the new school term and Ryoma had taken to the new but still somehow familiar routine quite easily. It wasn't all that different from before, really, not even tennis practices, even if it was a little strange to call Momo buchou, and go trough practice not even once receiving one of Eiji-sempai's death hugs, or Inui's lethal juices.

But Kaidoh still hissed and glared at everyone, and Horio exclaimed his excellence. Not much had changed since junior-high, and somehow, that made Ryoma feel better.

It really hit him that things were different, when they were supposed to meet at Kawamura's, like before, and Momo told him that he was going on a date, and Kaidoh said he had plans with his family. After that, Ryoma really saw no need to go either. He had seen Taka just a couple of days before, anyway.

So he went home.

After finishing his homework, he felt like playing, but his father wasn't home. He considered calling Fuji, but found the thought of a game with the tensai annoying. Almost as annoying as playing against Inui and his data tennis.

He was holding his phone, thinking of who to call, when it started ringing. He took one look at the name flashing on the screen, frowned, and pushed the end call button. He did the same when it rang again. After the fifth time, he decided to answer, but kept the phone at a distance from his ear. A good precaution, considering the volume of the voice that yelled, "Hey Echizen, I think there's something wrong with your phone! It kept disconnecting my call!" Aoi Kentaro's voice shouted from the phone.

Ryoma rolled his eyes and asked, "What do you want? I'm busy."

"Come play tennis!"

Ryoma's frown deepened. He considered his options. Kentaro was extremely annoying, but on the other hand, he could play a good game. Still, he was annoying.

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Fine," Ryoma finally agreed.

"Great! I'll come and get you! Where do you live?"

"NO! I mean, I'll meet you there. Where are you?" Ryoma definitely did not want Aoi Kentaro to find out where he lived.

"The tennis club next to the university where Saeki and your sempai Fuji goes! Know where it is?"

"Yeah. See you there." He hung up before he could hear Kentaro's excited shouts. From experience he knew, they were to be expected. And he did not want to loose his hearing again because of Kentaro.

He quickly pulled some pants over his tennis shorts, zipped up his jacket, put his shoes on, donned his cap and zoomed out of the house, grabbing his tennis bag on the way. He ran to the bus stop and arrived just in time to see it disappear behind a curve.

Fuck! There wouldn't be another bus for half an hour. Sighing, he started to walk. If he walked to the station which wasn't that far, he could catch a bus from there.

He was just about to cross the street, when a black limo drove right in front of him. Huffing, he started to go around it, when the door opened, and Atobe stepped out. That's right. Atobe. With a freaking disturbing smile on his face.

"Need a ride?" Atobe asked, continuing to smile.

"Why'd you think I need a ride?" Ryoma glared at him.

"Because, I just saw you miss the buss. Come on, I'll give you a ride. Where are you going?"

"Why would you want to give me a ride?" Ryoma asked, feeling a little paranoid. And the smile on Atobe's face wasn't helping his paranoia. If anything, it was making it worse.

"I saw you were in need of a ride, and decided to be generous." Atobe answered, but when that didn't get Ryoma to step any closer to the limousine, he continued. "And I promised Tezuka I'd keep on eye on you."

"Buchou?" Ryoma's glare turned in to a confused look.

"That's right, your buchou. He was concerned you might do something stupid if you were left alone by your self." Atobe was twisting Tezuka's words a little, but what Tezuka didn't know, wouldn't hurt him.

"And he asked you to look after me?" Ryoma didn't believe it for a second.

"Why wouldn't he?" Atobe asked, quirking an eyebrow. "He has no reason to doubt my capabilities in looking after a brat like you."

Atobe was right. Tezuka had no reason to suspect Atobe being anything other then trustworthy. It's not like Buchou knew about the… incident, as Ryoma had started to call it. The Incident That Never Happened.

While Ryoma had been going over the The Incident That Never Happened, and his Buchou's strange request to the monkey king, Atobe had managed to steer him inside the limo. Ryoma snapped back to reality when the car started moving.

"What the hell!" He exclaimed, and found Atobe smirking at him.

"So, where are you going?" Atobe asked.

Ryoma told him his destination, and Atobe bent over him, to convey it to his driver through the intercom. Like he just couldn't use the one on his side? Right. Ryoma frowned a little deeper, and pulled his cap lower.

"You know, I've decided I really don't like this cap of yours." Atobe informed him, before snagging it from his head. Ryoma yelped, and dived after his cap.

And landed right on Atobe's lap.

Atobe's hands circled his waist, and distracted him from his original goal to save his cap, but Ryoma still had enough control of his mind to try and pry them of. Though all sense fled his mind when Atobe's other hand moved behind his neck, and their lips connected. Ryoma tried very hard not to respond, but gave up pretty quickly, and buried his fingers in Atobe's hair.

He didn't actually notice when Atobe opened his jacket, or when he had tugged Atobe's shirt open, and was too busy licking on the other boy's neck to protest when Atobe started to slide his trousers off.

He did protest when the car stopped, and they were thrown to the floor.

"Get off me!" He shouted, and tried to push Atobe off him.

"Why? I find this position quite comfortable." Atobe whispered in his ear.

"You would! But you're not the one being crushed. Now, get off!" He pushed Atobe a second time, and this time, he got off Ryoma. "Where's my cap?" He demanded to know.

"Here." Atobe, who was sitting on his seat placed it on his head, and leaned closer to look him in the eyes. "Though it doesn't suite you. I think I'll have to steal it again, another time."

Ryoma just huffed, grabbed his bag, and got out off the car.

"Play with me tomorrow?" Atobe shouted the question after him.

He turned, and looked at the older boy for awhile. He really wasn't sure what to answer, not after what had just happened. The sane thing to do was to say no. But he really wanted to play with Atobe.

After a couple of scowls, most of them meant for him, although they were all pointed at Atobe's direction, he agreed. "Fine."

"Same place as before?"

"Sure."

"Be there at noon." After that, Atobe closed the car door, and the limo drove off.

Who knows how long Ryoma might have stared after the limo, if a loud voice hadn't yelled, "Echizen! Hey, Echizen! Was that a limo! Did you just get here with a limo! Great! Whose was it?"

"You're still too loud." Ryoma mumbled, and decided very wisely to ignore the question at the end. The last thing he needed was Aoi telling everyone that he'd seen Ryoma getting of Atobe's limo, looking, well, not so great.

Ryoma pulled his cap deeper on his head, and continued walking, after peeking around another corner and seeing no one he knew.

He wasn't exactly sure why he didn't want to meet anyone he knew. It's not like he was doing anything worth hiding. He was just going to play some tennis. With the monkey king.

Maybe that was it. Atobe.

Still, he was only going to meet the monkey king to play tennis. Nothing more and nothing less. What happened yesterday, and before that, wasn't necessarily going to happen again.

Just a friendly match of tennis.

Okay, maybe the friendly part was pushing it a little too far. It was the monkey king, after all. With his arrogant smirk, flowing hair, tight ass, and -

"O'chibi!" Ryoma jumped. Literally. He could've sworn he lifted at least a feet from the ground, when he heard Kikumaru's voice.

He got tackled to the asphalt by on over excited red head. That's twice in a row Kikumaru had been able to surprise him with his glomps. It was just about time for Tezuka to appear with his catch phrase.

"Saa, Echizen, I thought Tezuka told you not to get careless." Fuji's smile was evident from his voice, even if Ryoma couldn't see his face.

"Eiji! Please be careful!" Oishi shouted, worry in his voice. "Are you alright Echizen?" He asked, after helping him up.

"I'm fine, Oishi-sempai." He brushed his jacket and trousers, and righted his cap.

"We were going to go play some tennis. Would you like to join us?" Oishi asked.

"Yeah, we could play doubles! O'chibi could team up with Fujiko against Oishi and me!" Kikumaru shouted, and Ryoma covered his ears.

"Is something the matter with your ears?"

"It's nothing, Fuji-sempai. I was with Aoi Kentaro yesterday." He said, as if it explained everything. And it kind of did.

"Well, why don't we go to the street courts, and you can tell the whole story on the way." Fuji suggested.

"I cant, I have to go somewhere."

"You going to play tennis with someone?" Kikumaru asked.

"No, of course not! Why would you think I'm going to play tennis with someone?" Ryoma laughed nervously. He got strange looks from all the three.

"Because of the tennis bag you're carrying on your back." Fuji answered him.

Right, the tennis bag. He'd completely forgotten it.

"Well, I'm not going to go play tennis. And definitely not with someone. No. I'm just, well…" Walking my racket out, would sound pretty stupid, right? And it probably wouldn't work. Hell, need a good excuse, think, think. He had a racket, right? So something to do with his racket. "My racket," he finally stated. "Yeah, my racket needs…"

"Oh, are your strings are loose?" Oishi helped him out. Great pal, Oishi. Ryoma had always liked him.

"Yeah, that's right! The strings are loose!"

"We could come with you. I know a great place, not too far from here, and after your racket is fixed, we could come back and play." He never really liked Oishi with all his mothering.

"No! I mean, well, it's not just the strings, the whole thing needs work, I mean, replaced. Yeah, that's it, everything need's replacing. Hell, I might even have to get a new racket! " He was grinning like an idiot, and he knew it. Why didn't he just say he was going to meet someone and play tennis with them. They would've left him alone if he had plans with someone.

But noo, Ryoma had to be clever, and come up with a plan. Which was currently going down the drain. It was time to run. "Oh, look at the time!" He waived his hands, not even pretending to look at the clock. "Time sure does fly, when you're having fun! Well, gotta go!" He run away, leaving three very confused and worried boys behind him.

"Eeh, Fuji. You get the feeling he's hiding something?" Eiji asked his friend.

"Definitely," Fuji said, blue eyes gleaming.

"Let's follow him, nya!"

"Eiji, we can't! Fuji!"

"Don't worry Oishi, nya! We won't get caught!"

"That's not what I meant." Oishi sighed, but gave up, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. And after the way Ryoma had acted, he admitted he was a bit worried about the boy.

It was pretty much like the first time. They exchanged insults, and started to play.

Halfway, Ryoma's breath was hitching, and it wasn't just because of the game.

Atobe smirked, like he knew exactly what Ryoma was thinking. Chances were the bastard probably did.

The smirk wasn't helping either. Instead of annoying him, like usual, the smirk affected him in a whole other way.

Cursing under his breath Ryoma bounced the ball a couple of times, before giving the monkey king his twist serve, which he got right back.

"They're just playing tennis." Eiji felt cheated. He had been expecting that they discover some deep, dark secret. But all Echizen was doing, was playing tennis with Atobe. Although, that in itself was strange. How did those two end up playing tennis together?

"That doesn't look like a hand shake to me." Fuji commented, snapping Eiji's attention back on the courts.

His jaw fell.

After a very long, and a bit stretched silence, Oishi voiced out his thoughts. "Maybe we should leave."

"Oh, come on, Oishi! If they were going to do anything more than that, they'd take it… indoors."

"You were saying?" Oishi could be sarcastic when he wanted.

"You're right, Oishi. Maybe we should leave. Right Fujiko, nya?"

"Well, it's not like we can see anything anymore." Fuji shrugged. "We might as well leave."

"Fuji!" Oishi shouted, shocked, while Eiji just giggled.

There weren't any showers in the locker room, true, but there was a toilet cubicle, and a sink. Ignoring the toilet, Ryoma walked over to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. He lifted his head to find a half naked man staring at him in the mirror. Their eyes locked through the reflection, and for a moment, they just stared at each other, until Ryoma broke the contact.

He refused to look at Atobe when he put his clothes back on.

"Again next week?" Atobe threw the question after him, when he was almost outside.

"Mada mada dane, monkey king." Ryoma smirked at Atobe over his shoulder. He heard laughter from behind him, but kept smiling, nonetheless. Despite his comment, they both knew he'd come next week.

After what he'd seen, Fuji decided to spend some more time with his former kouhai.

The three of them had decided it was best not to mention it to anyone, or bring the matter up with Echizen, unless the kid brought it up himself. But Echizen never mentioned Atobe, and didn't seem fazed if his name was mentioned. He just continued as usual. Going to Kawamura's for some sushi, hanging around with Momo at the street courts, bantering with other players from rival schools, or eating burgers after school.

After hearing from Momo that Echizen had declined his invitation to join the others to get some ice cream, Fuji excused himself with the pretext that he needed to go see Yuuta, and went back to the courts where he, Eiji and Oishi had followed Echizen.

His hunch paid of, and he watched the two play and what came after it, which wasn't all that different from the last time.

Next week, he didn't even bother to check up on Echizen. He just returned to the courts at the same time. He decided it was time to confront Echizen, since the kid hadn't told any of them about his meetings with Atobe.

Atobe was leaning against the wall, hands circled around the boy who was sitting between his legs, his head resting on Atobe's shoulder. He kissed the boy's forehead gently, and heard Ryoma grunt about the lack of showers. He smiled, face buried in Ryoma's hair. "We don't need to meet here every time." He suggested, and was startled when Ryoma fled from his arms.

"No!" The kid shouted.

"Why not?" Atobe asked.

"Just… Nowhere else." Ryoma pulled his clothes on, not bothering to splash him self with water by the sink, like every other time. Meeting Atobe somewhere else meant that he was seeing Atobe for some other reason than tennis. And he wasn't ready to admit that to anyone, not even himself.

But before he left, he looked at Atobe, who was still sitting on the floor, and asked, "Next week?" Atobe nodded, and Ryoma didn't notice the slightly hurt look, still lingering on the others face.

After Ryoma had left, Atobe buried his head in his hands, and yelled out from frustration.

Ryoma was shocked when Fuji joined him at the path. He glanced quickly at the direction of the court where he and Atobe had been playing. Fuji just smiled his serene smile, all too knowingly, for Ryoma's comfort.

"Fuji-sempai," he greeted the other boy.

"You really don't need to look so startled, Echizen. I already know about you and Atobe, and so do Eiji and Oishi." Fuji told him.

"You do? How?" He stumbled, but Fuji's hand on his arm kept him from falling.

"Remember the time when you saw us, and said you had to go and get your racket replaced?" Ryoma nodded, face red with embarrassment. It really wasn't one of his brightest times, or fondest memories, but he remembered it. "Well, we decided to follow you, and saw the whole thing."

Ryoma was shocked. For a second. Then he remembered who he was thinking about. It really shouldn't surprise at all. "Che." He exclaimed in a sour voice.

"So?" Fuji raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"So what?"

"Well aren't you going to tell me about you and Atobe?" Fuji opened his eyes, and stared at him a little too long for his comfort.

Ryoma shrugged. "What's to tell? We play tennis."

"You did hear me when I said we saw the whole thing?"

"So? We're just playing tennis." Ryoma answered stubbornly.

"Is that what you see the two of you as? Tennis partners with perks?" Fuji asked in a disbelieving voice.

Ryoma considered it, sounding out Fuji's words in his mind. Finally he nodded. "Yeah. Something like that." Fuji was left staring at his back, stunned.

After finding out about their relationship, Fuji never thought he'd end up feeling sorry for Atobe Keigo.

Sanada didn't usually pay much attention to his former tennis rival, present fellow student at the University of his Choice, but even he couldn't ignore the fact that there was something really wrong with Atobe. The diva just didn't seem to posses his usual flare.

I mean the smirk was still there, the flipping of the hair, and everyone still seemed to fall all over themselves at the snap of his fingers, but something was… just not right.

Sanada knew it was a really bad idea, and they weren't exactly friends, but… Well hell, he was curious. What could bring the mighty king of Hyotei to his knees? Or something like that.

Sanada had always been a little over dramatic. Deep, deep down. And he never could say no to a juicy piece of gossip.

The perfect opportunity presented itself when he noticed Atobe sitting alone at one of the benches in the university grounds. After a little hesitation, he sat next to Atobe, who quirked his eyebrow questioningly.

"Something bothering you, Atobe? You've seemed a bit down lately?" He got right to the point, causing the eyebrow to skyrocket.

Atobe flipped his hair, and Sanada saw the beginnings of the 'ore-sama' rant forming on the diva's face, when Atobe suddenly just seemed to inflate. "Ah, the hell with it," Atobe scuffed, and just rubbed his temple with his long fingers. "I'm too exhausted to banter with you, right now, Sanada."

"I might be insulted, if I weren't so pleased." Sanada told him. "Mind telling me what's bothering you, so I can pray for it to continue for a little while longer? It's been strangely peaceful for couple of weeks now, and I find the situation pleasing."

"Don't even try to lie to ore-sama, Sanada. You're just bored." Atobe stated, mildly amused.

"Perhaps," Sanada answered, admitting to himself the truth behind Atobe's words.

"Besides, it's not a 'what', but a 'who'." Atobe continued, and Sanada was surprised that the diva was actually speaking to him about it.

"A who?" he prompted.

"Yes, a who. You now have my permission to gloat." Atobe closed his eyes, and his fingers continued massaging his temple.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sanada said.

"Really?" He was amazed at Atobe's ability to stretch a single word to such an extent, that it became almost a sentence on its own.

"Really. I want to know more." He got a barking laugh out of Atobe.

"Fine. Talking to someone might actually help."

"Really?" Inside, Sanada was dancing with glee, holding pom-poms. Outside, you'd never guess it.

"But I'm not relieving any names. I doubt he'd ever forgive me." Atobe frowned at thin air, but Sanada snagged on to the definite clue.

"So it's a he?"

"Like you didn't know?"

"Well, I wasn't really sure until now. Puts a whole new meaning on your fixation with Tezuka at junior high, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does, doesn't it?" Atobe smirked at him, and Sanada found himself coughing, trying to hide his uncomfortable ness. "Believe it or not, I was never in to Tezuka in that way. It was pure rivalry." Sanada really didn't know why that made him feel better. Maybe it was because of - "But I can't really say to same for you." Okay, the uncomfortable feeling was back. "I never even considered you as a rival." He shot Atobe an evil glare that would have made the hounds of hell flee. But Atobe was used to them by now. He'd received plenty of them when they'd started attending the same university.

"Just get on with it." He glared harder.

"Touchy, are we?" Atobe snickered, but proceeded, either way. "Really can't tell you how it started. It just happened. We were playing a game and it just, happened." To emphasize his point Atobe waved his hands to the sides.

"So he plays tennis?" Sanada asked.

"Yees! I thought you were here to listen, not to interrogate me." It was Atobe's turn to glare.

"Sorry. Please continue. I'll try not to interrupt you again."

"Good." Atobe glared at him a couple of more seconds to make sure he was paying attention. Finally he crossed his arms on his chest, and turned his gaze inwards. "It started out just as an amusement. We'd play a game every now and then, just to keep the boredom a way. But it quickly turned in to something more, for me at least."

"Ever considered he might just not be in to you in that way?" Sanada suggested.

"You actually think we just play tennis, ahn?" Atobe asked him, quirking an eyebrow, looking quite serious.

Sanada was having another coughing fit.

"So you're saying you're having, hnh…"

"Sex, Sanada. It's a three letter word. With your education, you should be able to say it."

"Well I don't see what the problem is, then? If you're having sex, that means the attraction is mutual, right?"

"The problem isn't sex, Sanada. It's that every time I suggest we do something else than play tennis or screw, the brat almost has a panic attack. It's like he doesn't care about anything else but tennis! I know he's always been like that, and Tezuka always told me he was single minded but really, you'd think that after-" Atobe suddenly stopped in the middle of his rant, and turned slowly, mouth still open, to look at Sanada, realising he'd given Sanada a little too many clues. "Shit!"

"Let me get this straight." Sanada grinned. "Someone who Tezuka seems to know, well enough to comment on his character, who's a brat, and who doesn't care about anything else except tennis." He turned to look at Atobe. "Very vague, Atobe. I wonder who it could be."

"My migraine is getting worse by the second." Atobe had returned to rubbing his temple.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal. I think you just need to give him some time." Sanada commented.

"You're actually helping?" Atobe asked, genuinely surprised.

Sanada shrugged. "Why wouldn't I. It seems like you actually care about him."

Atobe sighed, and let his hands fall on to his lap. "So it would seem."

Sanada left Atobe to stare in to space, feeling good about him self. After all, he had just done his good deed of the day. He came to regret it soon, though, when a smirking Atobe was back to normal, annoying the hell out of Sanada about his prowess in everything, including the subjects of every class he had with Sanada.

And let's not forget about the 'chats' they had, after Atobe found a good listener and a confidant in Sanada. After hours of complaints and whines on how unfair and insensitive Echizen could be, Sanada was ready to kill himself. But when Atobe started to talk about his and Echizen's 'activities', Sanada was seriously contemplating on how he could blame murder on self defence. Or perhaps temporary insanity would be more convincing?

He voiced the question to Atobe, and as an intelligent young man, Atobe got the message. And everything was perfect, until next Monday. Apparently the brat had scoffed at the diva's attempts to deepen their relationship, and now Atobe was spilling his heart out to Sanada.

Echizen was going to pay. Dearly.

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet?"

"The loser does what ever the winner wants."

"Che, you eager to get rid of your hair, for the second time, monkey king?"

"You wish, brat."

Fuck! Ryoma leaned on his hands, kneeling on the ground, still clutching his racket. Where the hell had the monkey king been hiding all that strength? It seemed as Atobe had been holding out the whole game, just so he could beat him at the very last moment. And that's probably exactly what he'd been doing, when Ryoma had been playing all out from the beginning.

"Come on." Atobe pulled him up from his arms.

"So I lost." He said.

"You did."

"What are you going to make me do?"

"Let's talk about that later." Atobe said, and tilted his chin upwards, so he could look at Ryoma in the eyes. "I have other things in my mind right now."

"Like what?"

"You."

This time they were laying on top of Atobe's towel, that he'd spread on the floor, just moments before pulling down Ryoma's pants. It wasn't long after that when his knees went week, and he was clutching Atobe's shoulders for support.

And it didn't exactly stop there.

He had some explaining to do when he got home, Ryoma thought, after glancing at his clock. He tried to get up, but was pinned down. "Not again! I'm already late. Dad's gonna be pissed! Forget about him! My mom's gonna kill me! I told her I'd be back in a couple of hours."

"I'll drop you off." Atobe spoke, with his mouth nuzzled at his neck.

He tried to push Atobe off, but after failing, he gave up. Atobe pulled him against his chest. "What, you just wanted to cuddle?" Ryoma laughed and let his hand rest on Atobe's side.

"Yes." Okay, he hadn't actually expected Atobe to answer that with out an insult.

Scowling, he tried to wriggle his way out of Atobe's embrace, but the other boy's arms just held on more tightly. "Is it really so terrible to just lie here for a little while?" The plea in Atobe's voice made him stop wriggling, but he was still a little tense in the embrace. Eventually though, when Atobe didn't let go, he relaxed against the other. Tired, he closed his eyes, and was sleeping before he even had a chance to think about it.

Atobe smiled contently, and pulled Ryoma even closer to his chest. He reached out, and pulled another towel over them. He leaned back, using his bag as a pillow.

He might have fallen asleep as well, if the door hadn't opened, and Fuji hadn't stormed in. Atobe stared at him wide eyed; waiting for cries of outrage, or shock, but Fuji just smiled, and stood there. "Well isn't that cute." Fuji chuckled. "Wake the baby up, and get dressed. We need to talk to him."

"We?" Atobe questioned, but got his answer, when Kikumaru entered, followed by Oishi.

"Did you find O'chibi, Fujiko?" The red head's gaze fell on them, and he squealed, "Aaah! I did not need to see this! Oishi, save me!" Kikumaru buried his head on his partner's chest, who had turned beet red. "The evil monkey king is corrupting O'chibi!"

Atobe growled at the last statement. He hadn't known that Ryoma's rude name for him had spread to his former team mates. And he was corrupting Ryoma? Yeah, right. If they only knew… "Be quiet! You'll wake him." He snapped.

"Well, that's kind of the point." Fuji said, while continuing to smile serenely.

Atobe frowned, but began to shake Ryoma, to wake him. "Oi brat. Wake up."

"Not again monkey king. We've already done it like a million times, and I'm too tired." Ryoma mumbled, making Atobe smirk and Oishi's blush grow deeper. Kikumaru squealed again, which woke Ryoma up.

"Kikumaru-sempai, Oishi-sempai, Fuji-sempai." With every name, Ryoma blushed a little more. "What are they doing here?" he asked Atobe.

"How should I know? They're your friends. Ask them." Atobe was amused beyond words and a Ryoma who'd just awaken was extremely cute.

"That makes sense. So, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, Echizen, maybe you should get dressed first?" Oishi suggested, a little blush still lingering on his cheeks.

Ryoma glanced at him self and shrugged, but started to gather his clothes and put them on. "So, you gonna tell me why you're here?" He asked, pulling a shirt over his head.

"We came to tell you that Tezuka's back, and we're all going to meet at Kawamura's." Fuji told him.

"Tezuka's back?" Atobe asked. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"A cousin's wedding, or something like that." Fuji waved his hand, looking indifferent.

Atobe looked at Ryoma and noticed how the boy's face had lightened up at the mention of his former captain, and how much more eagerly Ryoma was gathering his things. He didn't like it one bit. "Don't go," Atobe said, rising to lean on his elbows.

"What?" Ryoma lifted his gaze from his bag to face to him.

"We made a bet. And I'm telling you I don't want you to go see Tezuka."

"I don't believe you." Ryoma looked furious.

"No, I don't believe you!" Atobe snapped and stood, wrapping one of the towels around him. "I have to twist your arm, just to get you to stay with me for five fucking minutes and one mention of Tezuka and you're practically running to him and you're not even screwing him!"

"Oops, looks like we started a lover's quarrel." Fuji chuckled, and lifted his hand to cover his smile.

Ryoma glared at Fuji, but directed it at Atobe in a second. "Fuck you, Atobe Keigo! You have no say in what I do!" He yelled, and stormed out, his bag still half open. He only stopped to snap at Fuji, "And we're not lovers."

"Like hell we're not! This isn't over Ryoma!" Atobe yelled after him, and tried to follow him, but was stopped by Fuji. He stared at the other boy furiously.

"You might not want to follow him, wearing just a towel." Fuji suggested.

Atobe was still fuming but conceded that Fuji was talking sense. He returned to get dressed, but didn't hurry, knowing that he couldn't catch up with Ryoma anymore. The kid was probably on his way to see his precious captain by now.

When he was dressed, he saw that the trio that had started all this, was still there. Oishi and Kikumaru looked hostile, clearly feeling protective of their younger friend. But that wasn't what made him furious. What made him furious was Fuji's expression that looked pitying. He was Atobe Keigo; he didn't need anyone's pity.

Chin up, he walked past them.

Once Atobe had left, Oishi sighed. "I really don't know what to think about all this."

"We just need to let them work it out for themselves." Fuji said. "Although, I feel sorry for Atobe."

"Nya, how could you feel sorry for him, Fuji? He's the one corrupting O'chibi!" Eiji shouted.

Fuji just smiled at his friend. Eiji continued to fuss over things, while Oishi looked at Fuji questioningly. "Oh!" He breathed, after Fuji's words made him see things in a different light.

"He's not coming." Momo said, after he'd putt his phone down.

"Why not?" Taka asked.

"Says he's sick." Momo answered. "But he seemed fine at practice."

Three boys shared meaning looks, that weren't noticed, except for one pair of concerned hazel eyes.

Tezuka waited until almost everyone had gone home, before approaching Oishi. "Oishi, what's going on with Echizen?"

"What do you mean, Tezuka? You heard Momo. He's just come down with something. I'm sure he'd be here other wise."

"I saw the look you gave Fuji and Eiji. There's something else going on, and I want to know what." Tezuka demanded, with a stern look on his face.

Oishi sighed. "It really isn't my place to say anything. I'm sorry Tezuka."

Tezuka frowned after his friend, as Oishi joined Eiji to go home. Soon the only ones left were him, Fuji and Taka of course, since they were at his father's restaurant.

But unlike the last time, Taka was working for his father, clearing tables, and serving sushi for the customers.

Tezuka sat back to his seat at the table, across from Fuji. "You could have asked me." Fuji told him. "I don't mind telling."

"You don't?" Tezuka was surprised. He'd asked Oishi, because he was his closest friend, and he'd never expected Fuji to tell him, and Kikumaru… Well, he hadn't thought he'd get an answer that he could understand out of Kikumaru.

"Well, there really isn't anything we can do about it, but I don't see why you shouldn't know. Oishi is just over reacting, like always."

"You saying something like that make's me think that Oishi isn't over reacting." Tezuka replied dryly, making Fuji chuckle.

"Well, we found out a couple of weeks after the term started, but it's probably been going on for a while before that." Fuji stared at his tea eyes half open, revealing a glint of blue.

"What has been going on for a while?"

Fuji opened his eyes completely and looked at him, before continuing. "Echizen's been seeing Atobe."

Tezuka frowned. "I know that."

"You do?" Fuji looked shocked.

"Yes. Atobe told me they'd played the day before I left, and I asked him to look after Echizen." Tezuka told him, wondering why Fuji and Oishi seemed so worried.

"No, you don't understand Tezuka. I mean Echizen has been seeing Atobe."

If Tezuka had been drinking his tea then, he probably would have chocked on it. "You mean like dating?"

"Well, screwing around might be more fitting when it comes to those two." Fuji elaborated.

This time Tezuka did choke, even if he wasn't drinking anything. "What?" He groaned.

"Well, as far as I know, they meet every Saturday, play some tennis, and then disappear to the locker room. And they spend far too much time there, if they were just changing clothes."

"You could still be mistaken."

Fuji shook his head. "They don't exactly wait until they get out of sight before they start." Fuji told him.

It took Tezuka a few minutes to get his head around the idea, and they spend them in mutual silence.

"Well that explains Atobe's strange behaviour on the flight to France." Tezuka finally ended the silence, now understanding the double meanings behind some of Atobe's remarks.

"So you think it started before you left?" Fuji asked.

"It would make sense, considering how strangely both of them acted." Tezuka sipped his tea.

Fuji frowned thoughtfully. "Now that you mentioned it, I remember that Echizen seemed a bit distracted when we all met here the last time."

"It's still weird." Tezuka remarked. "I mean the two of them. Not a likely pair, is it?"

"Well, I don't know." Fuji shrugged. "Somehow they just seem so perfect for each other."

"Not to me." Tezuka said. "But that still doesn't explain why Echizen wasn't here today."

"It was a bet." Fuji answered.

"Huh?"

"Apparently Echizen lost a bet, and Atobe didn't want him to come and see you." Fuji's mouth quirked to a slight smile. "I didn't think Echizen would actually do it. Not after the argument they had."

"They argued?" Tezuka asked. "No, more importantly, why wouldn't Atobe want Echizen to see me?"

"I think he was jealous."

"Of me? Why? Does he think I'm after Echizen?" Fuji could hear from Tezuka's voice that he was shocked of even the mere thought.

"No, not like that. I think he just doesn't like the fact that Echizen would rather see you then cuddle with him."

"Cuddle?"

"Yes, you know, it's when you-"

"I know what it means Fuji, I was just asking how- Wait, don't answer. I don't want to know."

"You didn't even ask anything, Tezuka." Fuji spoke softly, with a hint of smile in his voice.

"I know. Still, don't answer."

"If you insist."

"I do."

Ryoma stomped in his room, walking from one end to the other. Too bad it didn't take very long to get from one end to the other, since the room wasn't that big. He'd just gotten off the phone, and didn't think that Momo was fooled by his fake cough.

"Shit!" He yelled, and threw his phone, which fortunately landed safely on the bed. But that didn't make Ryoma happy. He wanted to smash something that would make a loud noise when it broke.

Finally he settled on hitting his head on the closet door but stopped soon, because his head started to hurt. Rubbing his head he sat on the floor, picked up a tennis ball that was on the floor, and started throwing it against the door. He stopped that too, when he realized the noise might bring his parents up to his room. He wasn't in the mood to face either of them right now.

He shouldn't even be home right now. Instead he should be at Kawamura's, like everyone else, talking to Tezuka.

Why the hell wasn't he?

He had absolutely no reason not to go.

He squeezed the tennis ball in his fist, until his hand cramped.

Why would Atobe demand something so ridiculous from him, and why was Ryoma doing it?

Ryoma frowned, staring at the floor, and didn't feel like answering the questions he had asked himself. Not yet, and maybe never.

And it really didn't matter if he saw Tezuka today or not. It's not like the other boy had time to play tennis when he was already leaving today. Or at least that's what Momo had told him, when he'd tried to get Ryoma to join them.

"Stupid monkey king," Ryoma muttered to himself, crossing his arms and glaring at the innocent floor.

Bored at glaring at the floor, Ryoma decided to go out. For once, he left his tennis bag home, and headed towards the park. Who knows, maybe some fresh air would make him feel better.

So, he now knew that fresh air didn't help, no matter how many people insisted on its healing capabilities.

"Echizen?" He was startled, when he heard the familiar voice, which he had not expected to hear today, even if he knew that the owner of the voice was back in the country.

"Buchou? What are you doing here?"

"Going home," Tezuka answered, and sat next to him on the park bench. "Besides, shouldn't I be asking what you are doing here? Last I heard you were sick. So shouldn't you be at home?" Tezuka asked with a slight smile.

"Well, I was feeling better, and thought…" He let his words fade, not sure how to explain his absence from Tezuka's impromptu welcoming party.

"It's alright, Echizen. Fuji told me." Tezuka decided to spare to boy from trying to come up with a good lie.

"He did?" Ryoma asked. "Wait. What exactly did he tell you?"

"About you and Atobe. And what happened today." Tezuka answered.

"Oh. Okay." They stayed quiet after that.

Until Tezuka asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Good." Tezuka's voice sounded so relieved, that Ryoma burst out laughing. Tezuka glanced at him, and started laughing too.

"I don't fucking believe it." Atobe's voice cut trough their laughter, and halted it in an instant.

Ryoma stared at Atobe, and looked guilty, like Atobe had just caught him doing something wrong. Which wasn't true, of course. He hadn't even gone to see Tezuka, but they'd met accidentally.

With every thought, Ryoma grew more furious, and he remembered why he'd left home in the first place. It was because he was mad at Atobe. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't play innocent! Not only are you here with him, but it looks like you're having the time of your lives!"

"So what! It's none of your business who I hang around with!"

"I ask you for one thing, one thing, and you can't do even that!"

"Well consider more carefully what you ask, and I might actually do it! Who the hell are you to ask me not to meet My Buchou? And to think I actually went a long with it!"

"Sure you did! That's why you're here with him, laughing your asses off!"

"Actually he did. We just met here when I was on my way home." Tezuka felt that he needed to intervene.

"You did?" Atobe asked Tezuka, in a normal voice.

"You didn't have to tell him!" Ryoma yelled, not really sure why. He just felt like yelling at everyone.

"Yes." Tezuka was ignoring Ryoma. "So how's University?"

"Fine. Not that different from high-school, even if it is a little strange seeing Sanada and other familiar faces from former rival schools, at the halls." Atobe followed Tezuka's example.

"Oh, fuck you both!" Ryoma screamed, and stomped off.

Atobe looked after him, and turned back to Tezuka to ask, "So, you probably want some kind of explanation?"

"No need." Tezuka answered. "You're going to loose him, if you don't hurry." Tezuka gestured towards Ryoma's retrieving back.

Atobe smirked at Tezuka, and ran after Ryoma. When he caught up with the kid, they weren't in the park anymore but in a street that was filled with shops and people on their errands. Despite the people around them, Atobe grabbed Ryoma's arm and whirled the other to face him. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He said.

"No, it's not okay." Ryoma glared, and pried himself out off Atobe's hold.

"Will you just wait a second?" He shouted after the boy, who had started walking a way from him.

"Why should I? We have nothing to talk about." Atobe was walking beside him now and was glad to see that Ryoma was slowing his pace, even if he wasn't stopping.

"Why won't you just admit that my tennis skills aren't the only reason you come every Saturday? Our lives would get a lot simpler if you did that, don't you think?" Atobe asked, sighing tiredly, not really expecting an answer.

It was a while before he realized he was walking alone. He searched for Ryoma, thinking the brat had run out on him. Instead, he found Ryoma a couple of feet behind him, staring straight a head off him, eyes glazed.

"Ryoma? Ryoma!" He repeated the boy's name, worried.

"Fine." Ryoma finally said. "There might be… other reasons, besides tennis…"

Atobe pressed a hand over his eyes, and drew in a deep breath. "That's really all I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?"

"What else you want?" Ryoma glared, again.

The brat really does like to glare, thought Atobe. "I'll settle for what you said, for now." Atobe said, and wrapped his arm around Ryoma's shoulders. "Look, there's an open coffee shop. Let's go. Ore-sama shall buy you a cappuccino."

"Che. I like latte a lot better."

"What, no ponta?"

"Who drinks ponta in a Café? Mada mada dane, monkey king."

xxxxx

xxx

x

Omake

"He's horrible! I can't believe he cheated on me!" The girl cried, clutching on Sanada's shirt.

Sanada patted the girl's silken hair, marvelling on its fruity scent. Never had he expected to get so lucky. Here, in his arms, was the girl of his dreams. "You deserve better, Yoshida-san." Like me, Sanada added in his mind.

"You are so sweet, Sanada-kun." The girl sniffled. She wiped her eyes, and lifted her chin, so their eyes could meet. The girl's brown eyes were a little red and puffy from all the crying, but Sanada didn't mind. She was always beautiful in his eyes.

They gazed at each other; Sanada leaned towards her, the girl's lips parted slightly. The tears still gleamed in her eyes, making her even more beautiful. She leaned in to his touch when Sanada caressed her cheek.

"Ore-sama demands attention!"

Oh no, he did not just say that! Sanada was sure he would have been laughing on the ground because of Atobe's wording, if the diva hadn't just spoiled his first, perfect chance, to kiss the love of his young life.

He glared at Atobe, who was standing in the doorway of the empty classroom, hands crossed across his chest, foot tapping the floor impatiently.

"Atobe-kun!" Yoshida-san shouted and stepped quickly away from Sanada. She glanced at Sanada, trace of tears still present on her cheeks. "Thank you for speaking with me, Sanada-kun, but I must leave now. My next class is starting soon."

She left the classroom, taking Sanada's heart with her.

"Atobe!" There was a dangerous edge in his voice, but as usual, Atobe seemed to be completely oblivious to it.

"I must speak with you, Sanada." Atobe seated himself at the nearest desk. "It's about my precious Ryoma-chan."

When isn't it?"Ryoma-chan? Let me guess. He heard you call him that, and blew up at you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sanada. This is far more serious." Atobe flipped his hair arrogantly, but a depressed look that Sanada had began to associate with Echizen Ryoma, crept up on Atobe's face. "He does not love me."

"How do you know that?" Sanada asked, like every other time, knowing he'll end up regretting it. But his curiosity was stronger than his sense of self preservation.

"He wasn't even jealous when I flirted with Fuji!"

"Why were you flirting with Fuji?" He asked, guessing what the idiotic answer would be.

"To make him jealous, of course!"

Ah, there it was. Who else could be so unbelievable stupid, in such an unbelievably predictable way?

---