A bit of Tezuka’s family background.
In one of the few speeches Kunimitsu’s father made that Kunimitsu’s grandfather approved of, the man declared, "Everything is about connections – who you know, you notices you, and especially who you can rely on." His grandfather had declared the rest of the speech to be garbage, but that was hardly unexpected.
Ryouma gets an offer.
Ryoma looked at the boy across from him skeptically. "Not that I think you’re lying, but remind me why you’re doing this again?"
"Call it sibling rivalry," Michael replied shortly.
Michael talks to Tezuka.
Tezuka was taking a break and drinking some water when he noticed the angel approaching.
Tezuka’s rules about angels.
Tezuka adjusted his glasses and gave Ryoma the quiet, grave look that meant that the boy had done something that was not, as it were, directly forbidden, but that Ryoma certainly should have known better, given his buchou, the world, and the heavenly host. "Echizen," said Tezuka calmly, "What have I told you about dealing with the heavenly host?"
Michael encounters Setsuna at Fudoumine.
“I thought all of you left,” Setsuna continued. Despite his words, he was smiling easily, standing in his favorite slouched position. “So what’s up with you being here?”
“Belial is playing with souls, and I don’t want him to get a lot,” Michael replied shortly.
Ryouma gets off on the wrong foot with Kurai.
Ryoma caught the demon girl looking around after Fudoumine practice. He estimated that he’d end up running about forty laps for this, but decided that it was probably worth it. “Hey, you,” he called.
Ryouma makes some suggestions to Lucifer.
Ryoma was sitting on the porch at home when a tall man strolled into the yard and stood in front of him. He decided that the man was probably someone that he could get along with…or, rather, someone that he wished played tennis.
Tezuka finds out what Ryouma’s been up to.
Tezuka Kunimitsu decided that he was having a bad day when Echizen walked up to him with that look in his eye; the one that Echizen had picked up from Fuji.
Tezuka talks to relatives about his problems.
“Pfft. You make me feel old. I’m Hiiragizawa Eriol, though you’re free to call me ‘uncle’ if you like.” Something about Eriol’s purely friendly smile made Tezuka uneasy. He wasn’t sure precisely why he wanted to have a wall at his back at the moment, but he forced himself to ignore the urge and go on.
Eriol visits Seigaku, much to Tezuka’s dismay.
Tezuka could have predicted that Eriol would walk right up to Fuji. He also could have predicted the sweet smile that would grace Eriol’s face when said meeting occurred. He had not, however, predicted that Fuji would smile and greet Eriol as if the man were an old friend.
Eriol visits Hyoutei and makes Atobe an offer.
Hiyoshi noticed the stranger first, and decided that he’d regret it for the rest of his life. This was especially true since the last time a stranger had appeared on the courts, Jirou had run off with him and there had been some business about an antichrist, the explanation for which Hiyoshi was determined to ignore.
Someone takes an interesting walk.
He supposed that he should be doing something more active than walking down the street, but with all the confusion lately, he didn’t see that he had many options other than to entertain himself. After all, Ryouma was busy testing his limits on his own somewhere, and all his other playmates seemed to be wandering off in the wake of the Nationals.
Ryouma makes Moonlily an offer.
To whom it may concern. Echizen Ryouma proposes for those Grigori who feel an interest that they claim their own place in the emerging realm of heaven/hell.
Ryouma finally catches Tezuka.
He hadn’t just been making excuses when he told Lily that he couldn’t come to Echizen’s “Hi, I’m Dead Too” party, as the man had called it.
Ryouma takes a vacation.
Ryouma nodded politely to the group that had gathered at his request. Several hundred years was enough to let someone get used to the same faces and personalities, he’d found, and so he knew almost every one of the assembled very, very well. Especially since he’d played tennis with them for several hundred years. He tugged at his cap, a habit that even death hadn’t been able to banish, and sighed.