A/N: The song which Natsumi sings in this chapter is "My Generation" by YUI. You may listen to it while reading.

Learning to Fly

"I'm sorry to that you had to see all that, Shishido-senpai…"

The ride back from Fukuoka was just as quiet as before, except Shishido was more uneasy this time. After the whole episode at the Aogi's, Shishido didn't have a clue about what to say to Natsumi. At first, he'd let her cry silently, and he'd let her walk in front of him, knowing that she wanted to be left alone. She had finished crying by the time that they arrived at the JR, and that was when the awkwardness started. He didn't dare look at her straight on, but she had her head down anyway. And when she finally broke the silence, his heart jumped in nervousness.

"It's okay, Endou," he said, trying to be supportive. "I've never considered that you were facing such a harsh time…"

The girl let out a sigh. "No, I've never tried to face it until now. I was so absorbed with myself that I forgot everything. And when the problems show up, I ran away immediately. I guess I was scared. I probably wouldn't have been able to do this if you didn't come with me. Thank you."

Shishido blushed at how sincere Natsumi was being. He didn't think that he did anything worth being thanked for. He flipped his brain inside and out for something to say, but he really wasn't good at cheering people up.

"Shishido-senpai… let's not see each other for a while…"

"Eh?"

Shishido swerved his head toward Natsumi at her sudden proposal, finding the girl to be looking straight at him.

"It's selfish of me, but I want to try to live as both Narumi and Natsumi," she said. Her dull brown eyes seemed brighter than before under the setting sun. "I would have to take on more responsibility, and it's even harder now that I have to do it on my own, but I'm going to try. So I cannot have any distraction right now. And when I succeed, everything will be right again and I will be a different me. Maybe when you meet the new me next time, you might be more attracted to me."

Natsumi gave him a playful smile. Shishido couldn't help but return the smile; it seemed like his feelings lately have coordinated themselves according to Natsumi's. He knows how stubborn she is, and she will keep to her words until she either succeeds or fails.

"I will do my best on my side too. I will be back in the regulars when we meet again."

Step 14: Spread Your Wings

The sun has completely set when Natsumi and Shishido finally arrived in Tokyo. The two of them exchanged quiet good-byes and went their separate ways.

Because the Endou estate was too big for the suburbs near the train station, Natsumi has to walk quite a distance to get home. However, Natsumi appreciated this chance to enjoy the night wind. Ever since she came to Tokyo, she hasn't been outside of her home much at night. Back when she lived in Fukuoka, she never went home until very late or early morning. To be honest, Natsumi can't get used to life in Tokyo. The busy streets, the busy people, the bright city lights, she can't keep up with it. She often felt suffocated by the way things happen constantly. But surprisingly, the night was more comforting than she'd imagined. Although there were many people on the street, everyone was minding their own business. No one paid attention to her, no one knew about her, no one was there to tell her to get on top of things.

"Ah… you can't see a single star at all…." Natsumi murmured as she tilted her head back to stare at the sky. Back in her hometown, she would be able to see stars every day. The sky in this city was dark, cloudless, and empty. For some reason, she felt relieved. The city felt more spacious than she ever thought.

"It must be endless…"

When Natsumi neared the Endou estate, she was surprised to see the house illuminated. There were people in the house; she could hear a lot of voices. She became nervous. Who's there? Aren't the servants all gone? Not knowing what to do, the girl lingered a few feet away from the gates. She looked at the wall, and considered jumping over it and climbing the tree to get into her room.

"AH! Sasaki-san, I found her!"

Natsumi jumped when a high-pitched voice thundered behind her and a pair of hands grabbing her shoulders a second after. She looked back to see the head chef, Mrs. Kaori. And when she looked around, a mass of her bodyguards and servants emerged after hearing Mrs. Kaori's voice. One of which, coming from straight ahead of her, was Sasaki-san.

"Natsumi-sama! Where were you for the whole day? Do you know how long we've been looking for you?" Sasaki-san shouted as he came toward her. He took her by the hand and pulled her toward the house. Sasaki-san has always been the strongest man amongst all of her servants, but the hand that he held her with was shaking so much that it threw her off.

"What do you mean where was I?" Natsumi mumbled, thinking that her skill of retorting has softened lately. "You guys are the ones that disappeared first…"

After a short pause, Sasaki-san replied, "We didn't think that you would wake up that early, Natsumi-sama. Everyone went out to look for part-time jobs."

"Part-time jobs?"

"Since Natsumi-sama will be in school for most of the day, everyone agreed to find day jobs that will help keeping the house for all of us and Natsumi-sama." Sasaki-san explained, his voice calmed down greatly and was now the same as before. "We weren't going to abandon the Endou family just because we lost our jobs. Natsumi-sama, we want to stay here because we enjoy serving you, not just because we owe your father so much. There's nowhere else we would rather work for than here; we've considered this place our home."

Natsumi could not respond to all that Sasaki-san was saying. Feeling his grip becoming firmer, she saw him as a strong adult for the first time.

"Besides, there's someone here even more eager to see you," Sasaki-san twisted his head back at his young master. A rare smile hung on Sasaki-san's face, which made Natsumi feel unusually warm on the inside.

Entering through the gates and crossing the front yard, surrounding Natsumi was all of the familiar faces of her servants with relieved smiles. Sasaki-san led her through the door, into the living room and urged her inside. Natsumi steadied her feet as she recognized the man who waited for her in the living room. He stood as tall as usual, as healthy as ever under the luminescent light. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have increased in numbers, but they made him look kind as his smile curled them upwards. Natsumi felt something warm behind her eyes; she bit her lips to keep it hidden back there.

"Welcome home, Natsumi-sama," said Isono-san gently, walking toward the young girl. "I've heard about what happened. As I expected from my young master, you stand up for what's important to you. You remind me of your father; he would be so proud of you."

As if she bit into a lemon, all the sourness poured out from Natsumi's eyes in tears. Her teeth loosened from her lips and she let out audible sobs. It was probably the loudest that she'd ever cried. She felt somebody's hand on her head, ruffling her hair lovingly. Although she couldn't see through her hands, she knew it was Isono-san. She didn't know why she knew, but it felt like a pair of hands that has always helped her up.

"Isono-san…" she said shakily. "You are the man whom father trusted the most. The Endou family has been under your care for more than 30 years…"

Natsumi has always known—that growing up doesn't simply happen through time; it was something that you have to choose.

"From now on, will you lead the Endou Corporations until I become capable of taking this business into my own hands?" Natsumi said, so loudly that it was almost like shouting. "I entrust all of the assets under Endou's name to you. And Sasaki-san, will you take over everything in this house?"

Sasaki-san and Isono-san exchanged a look; both smiled at their young master.

"This is the first time I've seen you lower your head, Natsumi-sama. How you have grown…"

It is not so hard to put down your pride once you have done it once before. On this day, Natsumi stepped into the grounds of Hyoutei Gakuen willingly. Jirou and Ohtori were pleasantly surprised, and Chizu was especially worked up, having heard about what happened. But what shocked everyone even more was that Natsumi didn't come to see Shishido; she came to see Atobe.

"So you're the one that Atobe was expecting?" Oshitari remarked, remembering Atobe picking up a phone call and saying that he will be attending to some business during practice. "That's rare for him to take time out of practice. He's waiting for you at the club's storeroom."

Natsumi nodded as a thank-you, and went her way. Oshitari raised an eyebrow at the way she acted. She has never been very approachable, but she definitely became more aware of other people around her now. He looked toward Shishido, who was rallying with Hiyoshi on a nearby court, who didn't look over this way at all.

Something has changed between these people. The corner of Oshitari's mouth curled up in a discreet smile. Things were becoming interesting.

"Atobe!"

Natsumi called out to the boy who sat on the big armchair with his back facing her. It took her a little time to take in the all of the luxury in the so-called 'storeroom'. It had an air conditioner and TV and everything; Atobe Keigo will always have his way with things, she has learned that.

"Is that how you address someone you're asking a favor from?" Atobe turned around slowly in his chair, looking at her with a sly smile. "Especially a favor as big as this."

Natsumi's eyes widened just slightly. "You already know what happened?"

"Of course. Business relations is always the conversation topic at our dinner table," said Atobe with a slightly mocking tone. "Your aunt—what was her name?—came to us before she went to you, asking us to buy your father's company. My father showed some interest, but neither of them knew that the company was under your name. And after you refused to sign the dismissal form, words spread and eventually I heard about it."

"So that's the world I'm getting myself into…" Natsumi murmured, and looked up at Atobe seriously. "Since you already know what happened, then you must know what I'm going to ask you."

"I may have a clue, but why don't you ask me like how normal people ask for help?"

Atobe was, in fact, happy that Natsumi was here to ask him a favor. He has many people under his feet; everyone knows what kind of power he holds, but the girl in front of him has never asked him of anything. He has known the girl ever since they were children, and even though she was a weak crybaby, she never asked him for help. Just because she liked him, she did anything and everything he told her to do. She became a slave for the tennis club, but she did everything willingly. She might have even enjoyed it! He didn't like that at all. How can somebody be stupid enough to do all of that? And after the car crash and the personality breakdown, she became even more of a lone wolf. So now that she has come for his help, he felt a lot more proud of himself.

He watched her fists tighten at her sides. He knew how much she didn't want to open her mouth and say it, which made it more satisfying.

"Atobe…"

"Ha~? Is that how you address—"

"ATOBE-SAN!"

Natsumi raised her voice, agitated. She glared at his smirk and continued. "Will you sponsor the Endou Corporation? Until I am old enough to take over?"

"And if I say no?"

"Then I have no reason to be here." Natsumi turned toward the exit.

"Stop! Can't you take a joke?"

"Joke?" Natsumi turned around again, with a sneaky smile on her face. "The Atobe I knew never made jokes like that~"

Atobe was at a loss of words. He felt that this conversation happened some time ago, but he shook that idea from his head. Something's different about this girl. Again.

"Well? In turn for this favor, are you going to show some form of appreciation?"

"I suppose I can say, thank you. Other than that I don't have much to give you. I can owe you a big favor in the future if you want."

"No, that's fine, I don't want to seem like the bad guy taking things from someone going bankrupt." Atobe massaged his temple with his fingers. He knew that it's impossible to have a serious conversation with Natsumi, but he always end up digging his own grave.

"Then you shouldn't have bothered asking. Now you look like a dumb bad guy."

"Endou Natsumi… there's a limit of how much rudeness I can take…" Atobe's temple thumped some more from Natsumi's words. But in the end, he can only sigh. "You know, Endou… you can come to our practice more often. Jirou and the other kids won't stop whining, and that dumb sister of his doesn't know how to do anything."

Natsumi stared at Atobe's face for a while, and gave him an understanding smile. "Don't be shy about caring for your teammates. That's not cute at all."

"You're the one that's not cute."

"It only matters if Shishido-senpai thinks I'm cute," Natsumi reached into her pocket, and took out a stack of tickets. "These aren't much, but I wanted to give it to you guys anyway. Seigaku's culture festival is next week. Make sure you and your team come to have fun."

"You think that these tickets can make up for everything I'm doing for you?" Atobe said, but taking the tickets from her hand anyway. "Hyoutei has its own culture festival, you know? And quite an extraordinary one, too, compared to Seigaku."

"We'll see about that," Natsumi moved toward the exit again, waving her hand casually. "Don't forget, go to the event in the quad that starts at noon!"

Atobe watched the girl leave. The sound of Jirou's voice immediately became audible as she closed the door, and a loud thump followed. For once, Atobe was a little jealous of Jirou for being so carefree about everything.

The culture festival is always one of the most anticipated events for students everywhere. Even though they have to stay afterschool to prepare for their class or club's event, they all have fun together. For someone as unenthusiastic as Natsumi, she actually has been secretly excited about this festival. It was going to be the first time for her to step on a big stage with Four Leaf. She didn't feel nervous; she was ready to perform. What makes her excited the most was that Shishido was going to be in the audience. She wanted to show off. She wanted to do her best.

The clock soon hit twelve o'clock, after waiting for what felt like years. Natsumi picked up her acoustic guitar; one that she found in her father's study. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You ready, Endou?" Okada smiled at her with perfect ease. He had confidence in all of his band members.

Natsumi nodded, and exchanged glances with Kigawa and Funegoshi. They both smiled and they all moved behind the curtain. The sun blazed above them and made the stage heated. Natsumi narrowed her eyes, trying to make out how many people were in the audience. The whole area seemed practically full. She wondered where Shishido was standing.

The curtain began to raise. She closed her eyes briefly and breathed a slow breath. When she opened her eyes again, the crowd was cheering loudly. Her gaze moved toward the back left, and saw the boy that she was waiting for. She smiled brightly as Okada's guitar began behind her, followed by Kigawa's drums and Funegoshi's bass.

"The wind blows across the playground, sighing through a small window. Although my expectations have become unpleasant and lonely, yet I don't plan on giving up—"

Natsumi's raw voice came out a little shaky in the beginning, but became steady as she played her own guitar louder. She found her own pace, and dived right into it.

"Hey! Hey, Oishi, look! It's Natsumi-chan!" a certain redhead jumped up and down from the audience, hitting his best friend's back excitedly.

Oishi, on the other hand, didn't mind Kikumaru's abusive excitement. "It's nice to see that she's all better now…"

He looked at the singer on the stage with a small smile. Even though not many people in Seigaku knew about what happened to Natsumi, but words somehow spread to Oishi's ears. He was worried about how she was going to take care of herself, but it looked like she's doing just fine.

"Looks like you've moved even further, haven't you, Endou…?"

"My dream still didn't have any words. No one wanted to say anything to hurt me. Although wanting to know made me cry at night—"

Natsumi sang as loud as she could so that she couldn't feel the hot feeling behind her eyes, nose, and throat. She couldn't help feeling emotional. After this festival, who knows if Four Leaf will ever perform again? The other third years will be busy preparing for their high school entrance exams, and she will have to get on top of things as well.

"Eh? Endou-kun, you want to go into business and economics in high school?" was Koike-sensei's astonished reply after she told him what her plans were. However, he didn't discourage her, but gave her real encouragements. "It will be difficult for sure. But since you have already made up your mind, I'm sure you're ready for anything ahead of you!"

"I didn't look back, from that point on. Because it was me, I could do it—"

"Uwahhhh! Natsumi-chan is soooo cool!" Jirou stood on his tiptoes and waved wildly at the stage, hoping to get Natsumi's attention.

"Jirou-senpai, you'll block the other people in the back!" Ohtori tried to pull Jirou's arms down.

"Che… just an amateur performance…" Atobe commented.

Oshitari looked at Atobe from the corner of his eyes, and then at Natsumi, and then back to Atobe. He smirked and said cunningly, "But compared to the Endou Natsumi we knew before… don't you think she turned much cuter?"

Atobe pursed his lips, and continued to watch the show with an annoyed look on his face.

"Maybe… just a little bit…" he murmured.

"I don't want to become a hindrance. I want to know if there is a solution to always be free—"

Two days ago, Natsumi received a package from Fukuoka. It was a gift from Mrs. Aogi after she'd sent a thank you card over. Natsumi opened it eagerly and found a bag of sunflower seeds inside. Delighted, Natsumi stopped all of her servants' work to plant them together. Even though Sasaki-san said that there's not enough space in the garden to put the sunflowers, Natsumi insisted on planting them. In the end, they planted them in the front yard. Isono-san was horrified to see the dirt all turned over when he got back from the company.

"Now we just have to wait until the sunflowers bloom!" Natsumi said, smiling brightly. "Wouldn't it be nice to see them every morning when you walk out of the door?"

"My dreams could no longer be broken. Waiting all these seasons, I began to walk. The time I spent looking down will be restored. To realize my dreams, to strongly believe that my generation can change—"

The interlude began and Okada's guitar solo took over. Natsumi backed away from the microphone and took small quick breaths. She could feel sweat running down her face. And all she could hear was the crowd cheering and the music behind her. For a second, she felt like she was the only quiet one in the world.

She had been thinking all this time. Ever since she stepped on that train to Fukuoka, she had already been thinking about what she was going to do. When Sasaki-san yelled at her, she realized how much trouble she has been causing everyone. All the people whom she cared about have been putting up with her childishness. And yet, she was too stubborn to admit her faults. She was too proud, but she didn't want to be alone.

She thought about this over and over. No matter how much she disliked it, she would have to grow up one day. And even though Peter Pan is going to be a child forever, she wasn't going to be jealous of that. Maybe it's not that Peter Pan won't grow up, it's because he can't grow up.

And because he can't grow up, he won't know how to love someone.

"It was only the weakness in me that couldn't realize the words of my dream—"

Natsumi looked over toward Shishido's direction from time to time. Every time she looked, her heart would pound faster. When she smiles, he would smile. It was the day that she met him, that she stopped sulking over her new life as Endou Natsumi.

Just before the performance started, she received a text message from Shishido.

"I got back into the regulars. All the best to your show."

"Sixteen, my dream—"

The show was over but the crowd was still cheering. As the curtains closed, the members of Four Leaf exchanged satisfied glances. Natsumi gave each one of them a high-five. Believing that they will all remember this day for the rest of their lives, she said her good-bye and got off the stage. Swinging her guitar bag over her shoulder, she started running through the people. The people whom she passed by said congratulations to her and cheered her on, but she felt like those were all distant from her. The only thing she could think about was her destination—the school entrance.

She pushed through the audience in the quad, squeezed through the ocean of people lined up at the foods and games stands. As she neared the school entrance, she saw the boy with the blue cap leaning on the gate. She smiled through big breaths and called out his name. The boy looked up and returned the same smile. She ran toward him with her arms open wide.

She leapt up in the air, knowing that the boy would catch her.

Today is going to be their first date. Today is going to be the start of a new story.

A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you for reading until the end of this story! It took quite a long time due to my busy schedule, but it has finally come to an end. I hope that you all enjoyed this story! I hope to see you guys again when I write other Prince of Tennis stories in the future!