~Chapter 1: The Captain's Little Sister And Her Secret~
~RING RING RING~
An alarm clock suddenly rang as it awoke the person from under the covers of the bed. An 11 year old girl slowly arose from her bed with her hair covering her shoulders and face as she rubbed the back of her right hand over her right eye to get some of sleep out of her eyes before sweeping her hair away from her eyes.
"Ohayo," she greeted before a yawn escaped from her mouth. She looked over to her bedside clock. "7:05am..." she read. It took her 5 seconds to realize that she has to be up at 7:00 am sharp if she doesn't want to be left behind.
"Ah! I'm late!" she rocketed out of bed and went to the connected bathroom to brush her teeth, shower and changed into her school uniform and grabbed her bag before rushing out of her room and slid down the banister.
"I'm here!" the girl cheerfully said as she entered the dining room and sat beside her older brother, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who was eating peacefully while their father was reading the morning newspaper. "Sorry, I had forgotten to set my alarm last night so I took the shortest route down."
"I can hear that, Kuniko." Ayana said as she placed a plate of pancakes on the table. The girl sheepishly smiled while twirling a loose strand of her hair. Her mother sighed as she helped her daughter brushed her messy bed head. She took a step back and inwardly giggled at the resemblance between sister and brother as they sat side by side.
Many would say Kuniko looked so much like her brother, or she looked like a spilt image of Kunimitsu when he was her age without the spectacles. Appearance-wise, she wouldn't say for their personality; Kunimitsu is the protective brother with a strict and serious nature while Kuniko is the happy-go-lucky girl with a carefree nature.
"Itekimasu!" Kuniko called before running after her brother and they walked together in silence to school.
After that, they headed for the tennis courts. Kuniko waited for her brother who's changing in the boys' tennis changing room. As she waited, she watched all of the members doing their usual routine, warm ups and exercises. Then she heard a few passing girls who were members of the girls' tennis club, and who she remembered as classmates of her brother.
"Oh look. There she is again." the girl with her dark hair in a bun whispered. "I heard she's actually related to Tezuka-kun."
"Seriously? Well, she does look a lot like him when he was a freshman." her friend who has cropped burgundy hair whispered back.
"And that's where the similarity ends. I heard she isn't as special as Tezuka-kun; average grades and average athletic skills. And strangest of all, she doesn't play tennis."
"No way!"
Kuniko sighed. She's used to this kind of rumors; it's a wonder how long these rumors went on. To be honest, it's not that she doesn't play tennis, but she had refused to play the sport. Not that she hates it but ever since that incident, she had never touch a racket, let alone a match. And she can't helped that her IQ is average, unlike her brainy brother.
She heard the door opening and out came her brother so she quickly masked her sadness away with a smile, something she had perfected for many years.
"Let's go." he simply said before walking away with his bubbly little sister skipping along, unaware of the conversation that had happened moments ago.
After school,
"Niko-chan!" Sakuno called. Said girl turned to her with a smile. "Are you heading towards the tennis courts?"
"Hai, I promised Kuni-nii that we'll walk home together after practice. He's still concerned after what happened last month." Kuniko replied as the two girls walked out of the school building and towards the courts. "Where's Tomoka?"
"She went home. She said she had to babysit her two brothers."
"Must be a pain, huh? Hey, I heard you're being selected to join the Regulars if you win next week's ranking tournaments."
"E-Ehh? B-But I'm not that good yet!" Sakuno stuttered as she gripped her bag even tighter. "I mean, I'm still a newbie."
"Oh please! I had witnessed the girls in the club and none of them can come as close as you in terms of play. I mean, you had improved a lot than last time."
Sakuno blushed, "A-Arigato, Niko-chan. Nee, I heard about this new store down at the Main Street Market so I thought about checking it out tomorrow since I don't have any club activities. You want to come?"
"Un! Kuni-nii has Council work after school tomorrow and there's no club activities for the Boys' either so he said I should go home myself but call our parents if I need to do something first. Is Tomoka coming?"
"Hai, she said her brothers are going on a school field trip so she's free."
"Ja, we'll wait at the school's gate right after school, alright?"
The two girls separated as they neared the courts with Sakuno going towards the courts where the girls' club are while Kuniko went towards the one with the boys' club. Kuniko took her usual spot on the bench where the Regular Manager, Inui Sadaharu, is standing beside... and seems to be holding another of his awful Inui Juice which, by the way, is a sick red with tints of green.
"Ano... Inui-senpai? What is... that?" Kuniko asked.
"This? This is a new recipe I had just whipped up..." he raised the glass up so the sun glistened on the glass jug. "Penal Tea."
'I can tell it's a 'penalty' from the drink store...' she thought as the members and Regulars ran as if their lives depended on it... which it is if they want to risk drinking that... disgusting excuse of a drink. I know I would...
"Ano, Inui-senpai. About today's training..." she reminded.
"Ah, sou na. I think it's about time too. Tell everyone that after their practice matches, we'll start training them on speed and control." he said. "It's also the perfect opportunity to test my next new recipe."
Confused, Kuniko looked down at his side to find another jug. This time, it's filled with a yellowish liquid. 'I'll pretend that I did not see it...'
Anyways, after that, the Regulars were paired against each other for mock matches; Momoshiro Takeshi VS Kaidoh Kaoru, Kawamura Takashi VS Fuji Syuusuke, Kikumaru Eiji VS Echizen Ryoma, and lastly Inui Sadaharu VS Oishi Shūichirō. Kuniko watched the matches with a smile when she heard whispering behind her.
"Isn't that...?" a Second year whispered.
"Ah. Buchou's little sister. I heard she doesn't play tennis yet she became our manager." his friend whispered back. "Looks like she just won favors with buchou. I mean, you can't be the manager, if you don't play tennis."
"Ah, you're right. Geez, and I thought she was someone special when I first saw her. Being buchou's little sister, and all."
"..." Kuniko looked down to the ground as she heard the whispers. 'Ok, calm down. They don't know the real reason... so there's no point getting emotional over this...' Kuniko didn't realize her hands were clenched very tightly or her eyes were tearing up so she quickly wiped her tears away before anyone else sees her like this.
"Hoi? Kuni-chi, are you crying?" a certain energetic red-haired Regular asked.
"Iye, Eiji-senpai. I've got something in my eye, that's all." she lied.
The red-haired stared at her for a while before speaking, "Nee, Kuni-chi, it's ok to say it out."
This shocked the bronze-haired girl, 'did he saw me crying?' It wouldn't be surprising since said Regular has the best eyesight on the team. He could see moving objects so clear that in his eyes, they're not even moving at all.
"If you're tired, then you can ask Tezuka to let you take a nap. I'm sure he wouldn't mind nya~"
Or maybe not.
Kuniko inwardly sweat-dropped before faking a nervous laugh, "Ehehe... busted. But I'm ok. So how did the match go with Echizen-kun?"
"I lost to Ochibi on a tiebreaker." he childishly pouted which, she admitted, fitted his immature nature.
"Ah, that's too bad. Maybe you'll get him next time, Eiji-sempai." she encouraged.
"Nya~ Arigato, Kuni-chi!" the childish redhead hugged the girl before letting go. "I better get back to practice or Inui will give me his Inui Juice."
Kuniko cringed at that and nodded as the acrobatic Regular rushed back to the court. Then she noticed the freshman rookie coming towards the bench where most of the Regulars' things are.
"O tsukaresama desu, Echizen-kun." she said, which the rookie nodded at before sipping from his drink.
"What's on today's menu?" he asked.
"Inui-senpai had scheduled a training regime after everyone finished. Something about colored cans or such." Kuniko replied, her pointer lightly tapping her chin as she tried to remember the training schedule. "Ah. There's also something about trying out his new Inui juice recipe..."
"New?!" the rookie Regular exclaimed.
"Hai... I just saw it with him just a few minutes ago with his 'Penal Tea'." Kuniko said. "And you don't want to know what is inside..." she finished with a sweat-drop.
"...Forget that I even asked." Ryoma tipped his signature cap down.
"That's enough! First Years, pick up the balls! Second Years, clean the courts!" Tezuka ordered.
"Hai!"
Kuniko watched as the club members scampered around, doing their duties while the Regulars' stood in a line in front of their captain and coach. With the Kanto Regional Tournament around the corner, Seigaku has to step up their game if they want to reach the Nationals. Apparently, they'll be playing against Hyotei Gakuen; a very typical rich private school in Tokyo, which is also home to the Hyotei Tennis Club.
Kuniko's sapphire-blue eyes twitched slightly at the thought of the tennis club, or rather the captain. Atobe Keigo, the severely narcissistic and arrogant Third Year irked her to no end when she first met him that one not-so-fateful day. She was out with her friend, Tachibana Ann of Fudomine, to the nearby Street Tennis Courts where they first set eyes on the captain... and let's just say, his first impression is not so very good.
To make a long story short, Kuniko was not happy with his flirty attitude.
It was a good thing the captain's sister and club manager, Atobe Ruriko, came to their rescue and reigned in her brother back to school.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when her phone vibrated. Taking it out of her skirt pocket and flipping it open, she blinked in surprise that caller ID is of the Hyotei's tennis manager. The two managers decided to keep in touch so that Kuniko would know who to call if the narcissistic captain decided to hit on her again, and everybody who knows the Atobe siblings knows the fact that the Second Year manager always has her brother wrapped around her little finger.
"Hello?" Kuniko answered the call. "Ruriko-san? Is something the matter?" A pause.
By now, the Regulars plus the coach and especially the captain are giving their attention to their First Year Manager. It's not surprising that the Hyotei manager is calling the freshman seeing as the two are good friends, despite the former being one year older. But the one thing that irritates them, more so with the captain is the fact that Atobe had been trying to get fresh with her. It wouldn't be surprising, seeing as Kuniko is a pretty girl but the bronze-haired girl tends to shy away from the spotlight so not many boys notice her, save for one (or two).
"Eh? The day after the Kanto tournament? Un, I'm free. Why did you ask-" Realization came to the young girl before an anime tick mark appeared. "I'll flat out refuse him in just one micro-second." she gritted. "Tell him that." With that, she ended the call and sighed in exasperation.
"Saa, another date invitation from Atobe?" Fuji Syusuke, the tensai, stated since he knew the answer, judging by the frown on the usually bubbly girl.
"Ruriko-san said that Mr. Narcissistic has invited me to a fancy restaurant since he's pretty confident on them winning." she then turned to the boys with a serious look in her eyes, reminding them that this bubbly girl is also a Tezuka. "You guys better not screw this up."
"Eh?! You mean, THAT Atobe Keigo?!" Tomoka exclaimed.
"Ruriko-san's older brother, right?" Sakuno asked.
"The one and only." Kuniko replied.
The three girls are currently resting in a cafe on a sunny Saturday. The three girls had came to the Market Street for a bit of window-shopping in Sakuno's request. Despite being the last work day of the week, the street wasn't as crowded as expected so the girls took their time to window shop. Kuniko had just retold yesterday's event to her two best friends, much to their amusement.
"Uwah, Atobe-san's just getting bolder and bolder." Tomoka said. "Before you know it, he'll be sending you flower bouquets and chocolates to your doorstep."
"If they can get past Kuni-nii and Tou-san, that is."
"That's right. Niko-chan's Nii-san is very protective of you so I don't think he'll appreciate those gifts." Sakuno said.
"If anything, Kuni-nii would use the ashes as fertilizers." Kuniko joked before turning serious. "But despite that, I'll have to admit that Atobe-san is a very good player. He could be on par with Kuni-nii, maybe even more. We'll have to step up our game if we want to win." Tomoka and Sakuno shared a glance before trying stifle their giggles. "Nani o?"
"Sorry, but just now..." Tomoka started.
"Even though you kept saying you quit the sport, you're still as passionate as ever, Niko-chan." Sakuno finished.
The bronze-haired girl flushed a bit. "B-Baka, of course I have to. I-I'm the manager after all. And besides, if Seigaku can't win against Hyotei, I'll have to take up Atobe-san's offer!"
"Hai, hai!"
Kuniko looked up from her novel when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "It's open." The door opened to reveal the Seigaku captain. "Kuni-nii, what's up?" she asked as she bookmarked her book before putting it away, knowing her brother wanted to talk.
The older brother sat down on her bed while the younger sister sat up from her lying-on-her-stomach position. The two sat in silence before Kunimitsu broke the silence. "The coach had asked if you want to join the team."
"Eh?"
"Ryuuzaki-sensei had received a message from the Tennis Association that the Kanto Tournament will be an Inter-Gender Tournament, to promote girls to play tennis. The team must have at least one female player to join, and she chose you as the player." Kunimitsu turned to his sister.
"Why me? Why not the Girl Regulars?"
"They're busy preparing for the District Tournaments*." he explained. "You don't have to play. They didn't say the female players must play in a match."
"I see..." Kuniko said. "I'll think about it."
"...Kuniko. Whatever happened that day is not your fault. Remember that." Kunimitsu said before ruffling his kid sister's hair a bit. "Besides, I missed my practice partner."
Kuniko just pouted. "Mu..."
* - I'm not sure if both Girls' and Boys' had different tournament dates but since I don't see any in the anime or manga, I'll just assume they do.