A/N: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

The sirens disturbed the silence of the night ten minutes too late.

Before jumping off the tree branch, a young woman looked over her shoulder. Behind her, the bleak prison that kept her isolated stood proudly. She was the third escapee since it was built. Smirking at her accomplishment, the woman jumped and flipped, landing perfectly on her feet.

But the impact had her knees trembling. She scowled.

The results of five years of neglecting training, this was.

Her green eyes surveyed the grounds, seeking her ride. As silent as possible, a red sports car crept out of its hiding place from behind thick bushes next to the prison. With a smile, the convict ran towards it as quickly as possible.

"Yamamoto-sama!"

Her faithful dog cried, pleased to see her face to face after five years. She slapped him and instructed him to drive.

"You know not to say my name where it isn't safe."

"I-I'm sorry, mistress..."

"Drive."

Yamamoto hated wasting her words on the dogs that were beneath her. She was the daughter of the most powerful drug lord in Tokyo and almost no one matched her in status. Soon she would inherit his business and rule Tokyo. No one would be able to touch her.

But filthy things kept getting in her way of her goal. That's why they had to die.

She would continue her life where she left off five years ago.

Annoyingly enough, there was one task that needed completion. She needed those two to be silenced forever. She would not allow them to repeat what they did to her five years ago.

Sometimes Fuji pondered on where the motivation to protect this firm came from.

There wasn't a strong bond between himself and the President nor did he care too much for his clients, people who trusted him to attain justice. Only very few people were allowed into his heart. If not bonds or relationships, then it must have been the challenges this company offered.

This particular law firm had a note worthy victory rate of the cases taken in. 80% of the cases the lawyers decided to fight resulted in triumph. That was good. The best part of these victories was that 53% of them were attributed to him and Niou Masaharu. They were the best in the city.

But such accomplishment equalled to hate from the accused.

Fuji chuckled quietly – you win some, you lose some.

Ah, maybe that was why he protected this firm's reputation. He was part of this firm and any negativity towards it ruined his reputation as well. It made sense. However, he was always curious as to why Niou Masaharu put in a hundred and ten percent in his work.

Even if it was the Masaharu firm, Niou didn't consider this establishment a significant part of his life. He treated it as if it was any other company. Maybe Niou was the type of individual who would always put extra effort into anything he did?

Maybe time would tell. Fuji also hoped time would help his current case.

Today, and for the past five days, he had been hired by some politician who wanted a divorce from his disloyal wife. The wife denied this infidelity, making everything much more complicated than it needed to be.

But if it wasn't complicated then he wouldn't have a job, right?

"Fuji-senpai, these are for you."

Fuji stopped typing on his laptop and returned his attention to the person standing in front of his desk. He smiled at his assistant, who just placed a folder labelled 'Yamamoto' and a bento on the corner of his desk.

"An officer just dropped it off."

"Ah, thank you, Sakuno-chan."

She smiled, nodded and turned to leave the office. He observed another bento in her hand and that she hesitated for a second. His blue eyes watched as she sighed and walked over to the other desk in the spacious room.

Fuji chuckled quietly again.

His career trained him to completely read an individual – from body language to spoken. The undertones of this job were to break these individuals. The conclusion he reached about Ryuzaki Sakuno was that she was a person who was easily readable and easily breakable. Her weak points and strengths were obvious to him. The blame was to be put on Tezuka. Fuji was close to Tezuka, who was close to their tennis coach who was the grandmother of his current assistant.

She had a shy demeanour, hiding her inner strength; a pushover who told off others when angered. Her cooking was excellent and her creativity was one to envy. The one thing that intrigued Fuji the most about her was her kindness towards others.

Sakuno didn't seek revenge on those who had done her wrong, no. The only reason she would ever reprimand another is if that person had wronged someone she cared about.

There weren't that many people who thought much of her, because of her shyness, and there were less that disliked her. But in this high profile department, there was one individual who greatly disliked her.

His name was Niou Masaharu.

Despite being friends with her, Fuji didn't feel bad for Sakuno. Instead he found it fascinating how two people with contrasting personalities interacted. The only thing is that the two never mingled, just bowed or nodded when the other was around. It spoiled Fuji's fun.

Well, Sakuno had another two months with them until she returned to university as a full time student. Perhaps something interesting would happen between the two during her break.

It took Niou ten seconds to walk from the elevator to his office.

To this day, it surprised him how many people were able to get a somewhat decent conversation out of him during that time. Half of the women in the office tried to get his attention and the men always gave him casual invitations for drinks.

He wasn't particularly fond of these people because of their true nature. They were slobs who shouldn't have been considered for this top notch department. They belonged to the lower levels of the building. The ones that didn't make any attempt to speak with him were the motivated workers. These people were the ones that took their job seriously and he had respect for.

"That's great! Do you know when she's going to deliver?"

"I think next week."

Ignoring the woman who was attempting to converse with him, Niou's emerald eyes skimmed the office until resting on a certain women. Sitting about two meters away his and Fuji's office and speaking with another, was Ryuzaki Sakuno.

She was smiling and a tint of pink coloured her cheeks. Her hair was tied in a bun with a couple of strands framing her face. Yeah, she was pretty but that was all she had going for her.

Ryuzaki, in his opinion, was a bothersome girl. He hated how she needed someone to constantly defend her. The first interaction they ever had was not on good terms. She was useful at one point in time but not anymore. Unfortunately for him, he had to continue seeing her on a regular basis since she was Fuji's assistant. How that man put up with her was beyond him.

Then again, a lot of things Fuji did were beyond comprehension...and not in a good way either. Niou was a little relieved he had Fuji as an ally rather than an opponent. True, Fuji was a good challenge – he learned this in middle school - but it was better this way since his dad's company profited from both their skills.

How many law firms can say that they had a success rate of 80%?

Niou didn't realize he was still smirking when he entered his shared office.

"Good morning, Niou. Why are we so happy today?"

His eyes fell on Fuji but he didn't answer. There were times when it was best not to answer Fuji. That guy would look too deep into it, just like a woman would. As he walked towards his desk, Fuji continued the one-sided chat.

"You're ignoring Sakuno-chan again." He sighed softly and turned look through the doorway to the woman who righted herself after bowing. He nodded at her, completely forgetting their daily routine.

"She's not so bad."

Again, Niou chose not to reply.

Four hours of silence ensued as both lawyers immersed themselves in their work. Occasionally some conversation was exchanged but nothing that lasted more than five minutes.

At twelve o'clock sharp, Sakuno warned Fuji about a visit from the president. When he stormed into the room, Fuji stood and bowed.

"Yo." Niou said in a casual manner. He didn't see the need to treat his dad as a high and mighty person.

"Good morning, sir. How can we help you?" Fuji asked, attempting to draw out his boss's good side.

The president was not a pleasant person to his allies or to his enemies. His oblong shaped face was always some tint of red due to his constant anger and at the moment, his face was coloured crimson.

Niou smirked at his father and continued his email to his best friend, Yagyuu.

"Tell me, do you remember the Yamamoto case?"

Niou raised an eyebrow, his attention caught. That was the case both he and Fuji worked on together five years ago and it was that case which created a successful career path for them. He walked over towards Fuji's desk, leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"It's hard to forget that one." Fuji replied with his trademark smile.

Yamamoto was a psychotic woman who proved to be quite the challenge for them. She killed twenty people and unfortunately, was the daughter of a famous drug lord. She had attained many connections due to her father's line of work. That meant witnesses and evidence disappeared without a trace.

It took them almost a year to bring her down but they convicted her with grace in the end. She was sentenced to one hundred and fifteen years in prison. It was an impossible feat to accomplish considering the penal system usually put murderers away for nine years at the most.

Other lawyers suggested condensing all her offences into one big case. Niou and Fuji did the opposite. They attained what could be considered justice for every murder she committed.

"She escaped last night and I'm sure you both know who'll be her first victims."

Fuji didn't say anything but conserved his smile.

"And what are you doing about it, president?"

Niou asked in a mocking manner.

Satori looked at his son with distain, not liking that Niou kept his hair shaggy and long instead of short like Fuji's. He couldn't do anything about it since Niou never listened to him. His obedience was with his mother. In addition, Niou made a tremendous contribution to the firm.

Satori learned a long time ago that a discontent Niou was a dangerous Niou.

"I've hired extra security and the police are keeping watch over the area. Be careful."

Niou knew there was so much more going through his father's mind as there were many thoughts in his mind.

He despised Yamamoto with every inch of his soul. Because of that psychotic woman, three attempts were made on his life while she was on trial. Out of the three attempts, two were lethal and he had been hospitalized.

She had even managed to threaten his siblings. Thankfully his sister had married and left the country by the time the trial commenced. His brother, on the other hand, was not so lucky. It took him a year to recover from his injuries.

Fuji's assistant was a sweetheart compared to Yamamoto. And that was really saying something.

After the president left, Fuji sighed. "Saa, a year of dedicated work wasted."

"You don't seem surprised."

"Neither do you, Niou. We knew this would happen someday. She was his daughter after all."

"...She's not going to do everything in a flashy manner." That was why it was intricate to catch her. She never made a big scene before she struck; her movements were subtle.

"And that means working from the inside." Fuji frowned and Niou understood why.

The next few days were going to be difficult. Everyone in this department was hired by Fuji so naturally, he would be more trusting towards them than Niou would. It was a matter of pride.

Niou glanced at the workers through the glass wall that separated them. He knew people all too well. Money and threats went a long way. In a heartbeat, company secrets would be lost; secret accesses, codes, and weaknesses of the building could be revealed.

But who would they target...

His wondering eyes rested on Fuji's assistant. She was the most obvious choice, considering she was the one who worked directly with him. Because she had a connection to Fuji, she had a connection to Niou. He was sure Fuji decided to tell her little things about him, just to annoy him. If any of Yamamoto's crew got a hold of any sort of information, they could work wonders.

"Her loyalty is absolute, Niou." Fuji insisted after following his gaze.

"I do not doubt her fidelity. She can be used without knowing it." Or worse.

"She doesn't talk to strangers and she's walked to her car by either me or the security guard. Also, Sakuno-chan lives with her grandmother and that woman will not allow any kind of kidnapping on Ryuzaki property, trust me."

Niou could feel his temper raise a notch. This was why keeping a distance from others was necessary. Caring for others made you blind and weak.

"~Puri!"

He walked over to his own desk, knowing he was right.

Trusting Fuji was out of the question. He was annoyed that he was going to have to keep tabs on the woman. He was hoping Fuji would agree with his theory and volunteer to take responsibility of Ryuzaki.

His frustration grew when he realized he was eating from the bento the assistant made for him. He was planning on returning it to her and asking that she didn't do this anymore. He was content with eating out every day.

Fuji laughing didn't make matters any better.

Sakuno felt a chill run down her spine. She shivered and glanced around the office, wondering who was giving her the evil eye.

After finding everyone occupied with their work, she assumed it was Niou.

She wasn't sure what it was she did recently to harm him. She barely even spoke with him! He couldn't have been holding a grudge from that time in high school, when he sprained his ankle due to her accidently pushing him down the stairs. Niou wasn't able to play properly for three months. It was a terrible accident and she offered to do his chores for him.

Oh, that was probably the reason why she made him lunch every day. The guilt must still be there. Some day she wished to confront him but that would be ridiculous. Sakuno didn't need to be a genius to know Niou would rip her apart and have her cry in five minutes flat.

He was a lawyer, after all, a frightening one.

She then chuckled at the absurdity of her wish. Never in her life would she accumulate such courage to do that.

"...zaki-san!"

Sakuno startled when she heard her friend yell in her ear. Turning around, she found Akira-san leaning backwards from her desk and pointing at her phone.

"It's been ringing for awhile."

She gasped and returned her attention to work.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno speaking, how may I assist you?"

"Ah, Ryzaki-san."

"...Mako-san?" She knitted her eyebrows, confused as to why the receptionist would be calling her.

"Um, Ryuzaki-san, would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

...This was weird. But since Mako asked so politely, Sakuno couldn't refuse her. After two minutes, both agreed to meet at the elevator in ten minutes.

"What did she want?" Akira asked, not taking her eyes off of her computer.

"She wanted to have dinner with me."

"I'd have never guessed she swung that way. It would make sense as to why that woman isn't married yet." Sakuno grinned uneasily at Akira's jeering comment. It wasn't a secret that Mako and Akira didn't get along.

She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to escape the semi-tense atmosphere Akira had created. Instead, she listened to the clicking sounds of the keyboards, the ringing of telephones and the popping of the coffee maker. She was becoming very attached to this place and was not looking forward to the day she left.

After opening her eyes, Sakuno glanced around and rested her brown irises on Niou and Fuji's office.

Now that she thought about it...something was off. It was nearing six o'clock – she decided to leave later than usual and finish off some paperwork for Fuji – and not once did either Niou or Fuji leave their office. At around twelve thirty, Niou would leave for his lunch break or Fuji would go around the department, talking with everyone.

It wasn't the first time they both didn't do as expected but it was the first time when both of them didn't follow their usual routine. Sometimes Fuji would have so much work that he didn't bother to leave his desk and Niou would leave or Niou would have too much work and Fuji would come out to converse with everyone.

It was strange and Sakuno assumed the break in routine had to do with the president's visit. But what could he have said that would've had so much effect? All the unpleasant man usually did was slate the department.

But this wasn't any of her business, was it?

Sakuno shook her head and started to pack up, intent on meeting the receptionist on time. After waving goodbye to Akira, she quickly walked towards the elevator. Halfway there, she managed to bump into Niou. Needless to say, Sakuno was quite surprised.

She looked over her shoulder at his office then back at him. Her lips were moving but no sound came out. Upon realizing that she just embarrassed herself in front of the one person she desired respect from, her cheeks reddened.

As she bowed, hoping to hide her blush and somewhat redeem herself, Niou snickered. She blushed harder. She couldn't look him in the eye as she rose and walked past him.

His lingering gaze on her went unnoticed by anyone.

The meeting with Mako was short and awkward, making her forgot about the incident. The awkwardness distinctly rose during their walk and even more at dinner. But after a few drinks and a filling dinner, the discomfort between them all but disintegrated.

Soon Sakuno was talking about her cousin's wife who was about to give birth to a premature baby and Mako was telling Sakuno about her kids and the amount of debt she was in. Then, Sakuno felt like discussing her problem with Niou and she did.

"And that's the gist of it, Mako-san. I just don't know how to handle him."

Mako, who was a little red in the face, thought for awhile before replying. "Why not ignore the jerk? What I can tell you from my experience with men is that they always expect you to follow them. They want a whole herd of women following."

Sakuno, who was also a little red, frowned. "Mhmm...I don't think Niou-san is that kind of person, Mako-san. He just doesn't seem very fond of me."

"Even after you make him lunch?"

"Even then."

Mako sighed. "The best way to handle him is to ignore him. The way I see it, Niou-san is always receiving some degree of attention from anyone in the department. He's good looking and has such cool attitude..."

Mako left off, hosting a smile as though she was indulging in a familiar fantasy. Sakuno softly coughed, bringing Mako's attention back to the current situation.

"If you ignore him, he'll just have to revaluate you!"

Since Sakuno wasn't exactly in the right state of mind, she considered Mako's suggestion illogically and agreed.

She didn't consider that her ignoring Niou could be taken in the wrong way nor did she anticipate the danger that would go hand in hand with ignoring Niou. From time to time, Sakuno made bad decisions.

It was a good thing that she had two lawyers watching over her, whether they wanted to or not.

Lily: Phew, this has been on my hard drive for over a year now! This is a new genre for to me write and always, constructive criticism is always welcome :)