Green Eyed Dollar (Prince of Tennis)

Chapter VII: Unusual

"Today, I've met the girl of my dreams."

- A certain silver haired male

Yukimura had begun his day earlier than usual; he arrived at school thirty minutes sooner to go over practice schedules. The day before, Kirihara had been late once again, earning him 50 laps as punishment. The laps had ran over into their practice time, setting his training back by a day. And again, Kirihara hadn't given him any reason; just that he lost track of time for the second day in a row.

As he was finishing up rescheduling the next few practices, the door clicked open and the rest of the second years walked in with a resounding 'good morning.'

"Yukimura? What are you doing here so early?" Sanada asked.

Sanada had come by the club room surprised to find it unlocked and even more so that Yukimura had arrived before him. It was usually Sanada's responsibility to unlock the club room and grab the key to unlock the locker rooms. The other second years also arrived around the same time and decided to keep their vice captain company.

"Just revising practice schedules," Yukimura said as he organized his notes and stood up.

"Is this because of yesterday?" Yanagi asked, his brows furrowing.

"More or less." Yukimura had on that smile of his. The one that meant 'I'm really going to kill him if he's late again.'

The other members ducked away in fear of getting caught in the crossfire. If they stay silent, maybe Mura won't notice them.

Yukimura grabbed the locker room key and left the club room behind him. The second years followed suit with Sanada locking the door behind them then making his way back up to the front besides Yukimura.

"Yanagi. Keep an eye on Kirhara for today. I want a report before afternoon practice."

Yanagi gave a silent nod. He himself was curious as to what had their usually punctual kouhai running late. The other members too, though they wouldn't admit it, were just as curious and anxious to know more.

"What if he's late again today?" Sanada was the one to voice the question on everyone's mind. Though whether he's brave or stupid is another matter entirely. "Would you like for me to handle the discipline?"

"He. Better. Not. Be. Late." Yukimura emphasized each word as his smile grew more serene and even more chilling.

All of the second years, including Sanada, gulped in fear as they felt a chill run down their spines. They silently prayed Kirihara would be on time today, for his sake.

The group proceeded to the courts immediately following the locker room. None of the second years dared waste any time getting into their practice uniforms and out onto the courts less they incur the wrath of their captain. Especially not today; or this week; or to be on the safe side, this month.

As the last of the regulars left for the courts, Kirihara walked in along with a handful of club members to get changed.

"You better hurry!" Marui whispered harshly to Kirihara on his way out.

On the courts, the regulars were the epitome of the perfect role models. This was the smoothest practice they had ever ran with the regulars following procedure to a tee. They didn't need to be told to help out the other club members and no one, not even Niou nor Mori, messed around on the courts. Mori knew better to than to piss off Mura.

Even though the responsibility of cleaning the courts after practice belonged to the first years, the regulars helped gather the tennis balls and cart them to the storage room.