Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis :(
This story is set between Average Life of a Teenager and Romantic Life of a Teenager, you don't need to read this to read RLT but I suggest it. :)
If you notice any grammar, spelling, plot errors, OOC-ness, anything please let me know :) Reviews are always nice too.
.-.
"Look at me now, look at me now." I grabbed my phone as I groaned aloud. Despite sleeping all night, like a rock I might add, I was still utterly exhausted. My body ached with the effort it had to put in day after day. And today was early practice.
Shuffling through my morning routine I stepped outside in the already humid summer air and walked to my boyfriend who waited by my house. Sanada Genichiro didn't seem to notice the heat that was already frizzing my straight, red hair. He's used to such temperatures; I'm still not despite living here for about three months.
"Good morning." Sanada says casually as we walk together.
"'Morning." I grunt back.
He says nothing in response to my bad attitude, not that he says much anyways. I think he's realized it's better to just let me groan and complain to my girlfriends. We walk in silence down the road to our school Rikkai High School. There we go our separate ways; both of us are on the tennis teams (boy's and girl's respectively). Everyone around me is as cheery and bubbly as they usually are on morning practice. Mori Kiyomi, my best friend and doubles partner, practically drags me through my morning jog. I'm so sluggish but the jog wakes me up and I'm able to put in more effort throughout the rest of practice where Kiyomi and I practice our latest formation, I-Formation. We mastered the Australian Formation a while back, using our speed and flexibility to our advantage.
After practice and a quick shower, it's time for school. School isn't particularly hard for me, it's just tedious. I collect homework from just about all my classes; it's as if they know how busy and chaotic my life is right now. Math, English, geography, history, and art all give me homework and/or a test to study for.
With a backpack crammed full of books and notebooks I head to the music room. Since I'm technically in band instead of chorus I need to come after school to learn the songs I need to learn for our concert which is in two nights. Not only that the Kanto Tournament is right around the corner so tennis practice is longer. All this combines to a tired, cranky, and miserable Kokawa. My music teacher smiles at me, he understands my predicament and usually makes me practice at home and then he'll correct me from there. I stand and sing a song I memorized and he helps me with my breathing and pitch and tone. I don't really understand much but I can imitate the notes he wants me to hit pretty easily. We sing together for a while and he talks me through a few things before I'm free to go. My throat is warm when we're finished. Racing outside I change as fast as I can and jump into practice.
Thankfully my Buchou understands the need I have for the music lessons and excuses me. She also expects me to practice on my own time. So I try to make up for lost time and while I play tennis I run more than necessary and bend at my knees more, my knees are one of my weak points. Practice gets out at sunset; just late enough everyone can scurry home and eat supper. Buchou tells us we're doing well and we'll be prepared for the Kanto Tournament and then we all run off.
Sanada is waiting for me after my super speedy shower. He's staring up at the sky, the sun leaves an orange-yellow glow on his skin and his black cap. When I step up to his side he glances at me and we wordlessly head home together. My whole body is throbbing, my back aches from carrying my backpack, my voice hurts from singing, and the rest of my body is sore from tennis practice. I want to cry but I won't, I'm the one who got myself into all this stuff.
"Aa, Kokawa." Sanada grabs my arm and moves me suddenly. I stumble into his chest and look to see I almost walked into a mail box.
"Sorry, thanks." I murmur.
"Aa." Sanada releases my arm and we continue walking. "Are you alright? You've been… off lately."
"Just a lot going on." I give him a weak smile. Sanada lets out a grunt and glances down at me. "I get a lot of homework right now… and then practice is so long and exhausting… and I have my singing lessons now. Oh, you'll come to the concert right?"
"When is it?"
"Friday night." I tell him.
"Aa." Sanada nods his head and I take that as a sign he'll show up. Sanada's not one to reveal his emotions so I usually have to read between the lines or make sense of the various ways he says "Aa". Sanada isn't all that hard to read; he tugs on his cap when he's embarrassed, he grunts more when he's frustrated, and he takes deep breaths when he's disappointed. All things I've learned from watching him. I like picking out people's mannerisms, it's interesting and I wonder if I have any that give away my emotions when I'm trying to hide them.
When we reach my house Sanada says goodbye and walks off just as stoic as ever. Maybe he'll come out of his shell soon and be more romantic, that's a little too wild for Sanada. I'm giggling when I saunter through my house, images of Sanada chasing after me with a box of chocolates and a rose is too much for me to think about.
"I guess someone had a good day." Josh drawls as I pass him in the hall.
"No the day actually sucked." I tell him as we walk to my room together.
"Did your boyfriend finally kiss you?" Josh guesses as he flops onto my bed, plucking carelessly at my guitar.
I blush and stutter, "N-no." Sanada's still getting used to holding my hand; I can't even imagine what he thinks about kissing.
"Whatever. Get over here to practice." Josh demands playfully.
I give him the sheet music and he starts to play guitar. I sing to the song and Josh corrects me on a few things. Josh might not be a professional musician but he knows his stuff and that's good enough for me. After I run through the few songs I need to touch up on I get to work doing homework. I have a long essay due for English so that's first, then it's on to math and history homework. Lastly I work on my geography homework. Josh vanished by the time I reached my math homework, said he was going to cook or something.
Homework all done I start to jog up and down the stairs as fast as I can. My muscles strain from the effort and I only hope it'll strengthen my knees up. Determination would have kept me doing that all night but Josh yelled at me telling me I was making too much noise, so I give up and get a light supper. Mom's not home, not that it makes much difference, eating cold rice and a bowl of fruit is lonely. Dishes all washed I head back to my room and practice swings, forehand and backhand. My body aches and my head hurts but I keep moving I have to be in top shape for tennis. I can't let Buchou or Kiyomi or the team down.
My bed welcomes me like an old friend, wrapping me in its fluffy folds. Sleep drifts to me like a butterfly and I'm knocked out cold before I can say "tennis". I don't remember dreaming that night, nothing but blackness, I certainly slept well. My body is still sore when my phone sings to life. Hot water scalds my body as I take a warm shower; I sigh and step out of the tub dripping wet but awake.
.-.
School is the same deal as yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. I'm ready to curl up and die in a whole after hours of classes, lessons, and lectures. My voice is sore from putting so much heart into my singing, my body aches from pushing myself so hard in tennis.
"Let's go to the arcade!" Kirihara tugged on my arm after practice. His large green eyes peered up at me childishly. Saying no to Kirihara is like kicking a puppy.
"Augh." I groan but nod my head anyways. Kirihara cheers, grabs my hand and pulls me away. I give a lazy wave to Sanada and allow the curly-haired boy to drag me off to the nearest arcade. Since I could have told Kirihara no I'll take the blame if I can't get any of my homework done, I'll try though.
"Loosen up!" Kirihara shakes my shoulder as we near the arcade. The bleeping of the arcade and the cheers and cries of students fill my ears long before we reach the arcade. Inside is a sweltering hot mess of bodies. Kids from all ages cram into the small area all looking for some game they can play. "Let's play this one!" Kirihara bounds to a stop in front of a particularly bloody video game.
"No, let's play a racing game." I tell him.
"They're too expensive." Kirihara pouts glancing at the rather empty set of racing games with the sit in cars.
"My treat." I give him a nudge and he takes off like a rocket. I'm much less enthusiastic than he is as we sit in two cars and set up a game together. The second the game starts my competitive side comes out and I'm cheering and yelling just as loud as Kirihara. Maybe all I needed was to take a day off.
It's dark when we leave together, I won't be getting any practice in today but my friend's enthusiasm and excitement is more than enough explanation. I can't be business all the time. Kirihara gives me a huge hug before we part ways. We hold each other too long; his warmth spreads through my body and when we finally separate my body is oddly cold. Kirihara looks at me for a minute, biting the inside of his lip like he wants to say something.
"Yes Kirihara?" I ask sweetly.
"Ah… how's things going with you and Fukubuchou?" He asks awkwardly.
"Fine." I tell him, "You know how stoic he is." I shrug.
"Yea." Kirihara laughs nervously before his eyes dart around. "I-if you ever need someone… I'm here y-you know that right?"
"I know." I give him a huge hug, "And this is exactly what I want."
He perks up instantly and pranced away. I giggle to myself as I head home, my body is oddly light despite the weight of my backpack and I feel recharged. Normally walking home at night would freak me out but I haven't seen Aki since Josh punched him in the face. It's like a weight's been lifted from my shoulders and I almost feel like skipping myself. I'll need to tell Kirihara thanks tomorrow.
The Jaws theme song starts to play and I perk up, it's Sanada! He never calls me. Why is he calling me? Sanada doesn't really know how to use the phone… I answer tentatively. "HELLO?" Sanada bellows from the other side.
I can't stop myself from laughing, "Sanada… you don't need to be so loud, I can hear you just fine."
"Aa…. Aa… ok." His voice instantly goes back to its normal volume; the deepness of his voice is only amplified over the phone. Shivers run down my spine. "S-sorry." He's so cute when he gets embarrassed. "D-did your d-" I can physically hear Sanada swallow, "date go well?"
"Yea, I really needed something like this." I tell him honestly. "Kirihara's a good kid."
"Aa." There's a short pause, "Are you home yet?"
"No. I'm still walking." My feet thump against the pavement.
"Aa, be safe."
"Aren't I always?"
"Aa." Sanada sounds almost bored.
"Do you want me to call you when I'm home?"
"No." Sanada says.
"Alright." We make idle chit chat all the way home, mostly it's me talking about random things.
.-.
My knees are shaking from under a short black dress. My hands claw desperately at Sanada's arm as we walk towards the auditorium. Sanada came early to support me because I was practically in tears I was so stressed out. I felt my body shake and my knuckles turned white. Sanada kept sighing but said nothing when I started to cut off circulation in his arm.
"I don't want to do this." I hiss, "I'm too nervous. I'll puke all over them. I'll faint! I'll lose my voice. No, no, no. I can't do this."
Sanada tenses and for a second he steers me away from the auditorium and to a dark nook in the school. "Kokawa, you're doing this. You can't back out. You'll do just fine." He's using his Co-Captain voice with me that just makes you want to agree regardless of whatever it is he's saying. "Besides… y-you l-look b-b-… beautiful." He whispered the last part so I barely heard him, but I still heard him. We both blush and look away like little children.
"Thanks." I fidget with the end of my knee high black skirt. I wasn't particularly fond of this dress, it emphasized my boobs and waist too much for my liking and my mother paired it with black boots that went to the middle of my calf. Sanada likes it that's good enough for me. After a deep breath I grab Sanada's hand and hold on for dear life before we head into the auditorium together. We have a short goodbye and I run off backstage where the chorus and band are gathered. This will be the fourth time I've ever actually sang with the rest of the chorus and the nerves flutter in my stomach. What if I'm not good and sing the wrong words? What if? What if?
Kiyomi plants her hands on my shoulders. With her staring me down I take a deep breath and calm myself. I'll be fine. "We'll be fine." She tells me and I just lamely nod my head. Together we find a quiet corner and meditate. All around us is chaos; people running around joking and teasing, girls warming up their voices, kids plucking at their instruments and a last minute tune up. I close my eyes and push everything away with my hand clinging to Kiyomi's for dear life. All too soon the music teacher steps into the room and organizes the chaos.
My knees are shaking as I stand with some blond haired girl who has a very pretty voice. She's a tad childish but when she sings everything changes. My hands cling to the hem of my skirt, why can't it be longer to hide my knees? The girl, I think her given name is Maiko but I can't for the life of me remember her surname, touches my arm gently and gives me a decent smile. "Don't worry, if you mess up the rest of us can cover for you, but only if you'll cover up for my mistakes." She makes a lame attempt to wink and ends up blinking both eyes. "Sorry I can't wink." And she starts to laugh. It breaks the tension and I giggle with her.
.-.
Lights shine too bright into my eyes but it makes it so I can't see anyone in the audience. Just us on stage. It relaxes my nerves; behind the back of a tall girl, Maiko and I intertwine our pinkies, a small gesture or reassurance for the both of us. Maiko says she's been in many plays and been on stage before but she still gets butterflies in her stomach. We're on the fast track to friendship.
The band starts up and words start flowing from my mouth along with about twenty other students. From what I can hear we sound good, really good. A harmony plays and Maiko and I both sing the same parts to every song. When I sing the wrong note or Maiko misses a word we squeeze our pinkies together. We're fine nobody noticed. Nobody yelled out "Kokawa Amaya sang the wrong note!" or anything drastic like that. I doubt anyone could pick out my voice anyways.
Then the next thing I'm aware of I'm singing alone. Everyone around me takes a step away from me and I feel an extra bright light on me. Panic rushes through me but I squelch it and sing as best as I can. My brain races, there's a long, high note I can never hit right and nobody is here to cover for my mistake. Focus. This is like tennis. Focus. I hit the note and keep it straight though the part. I did it! Applause fills my ears as everyone steps back into place. Maiko's pinkie wraps around mine and she squeezes it so hard I'm sure it's cutting off circulation.
My spirits are on high and I let myself go. Lyrics just flow from my mouth and I feel so incredibly happy. I'm so free. This is almost as fun as tennis. Almost. Kiyomi and I link eyes often and I can't stop myself from smiling. All these weeks of excruciating, chaotic, and long nights have paid off. No longer would I have to worry about singing for hours hoping that I'll memorize the lyrics. We finished the last song and people burst out in cheers. I could barely hear myself think with how loud the audience is. Maiko and I hugged each other as the students rush backstage before everyone vanishes to go mingle with people. Kiyomi races over and launches herself full force into my back knocking me forward into Maiko. The three of us are giggling as we head out into the hallways where people and families mingle and chatter.
All I have to do is look for a tall person to find Sanada. My eyes skim and land upon a mop of black hair, I rush forward and wrap my arms around his side. The entire tennis team was standing there and they all clapped and hugged me and congratulated me. Sanada wrapped his arms around my waist and said congratulations in his deep voice. Kiyomi races up beside me, her parents and Momoshiro in tow. At that moment Maiko came over and hugged me too.
"I'm so happy we got to meet." She smiles.
"Of course. We'll have to keep in touch." I tell her.
"Yea!" Maiko whips out a small pink cell phone and handed it to me. I tapped in my information and handed it back to her. "Sweet, I'll text you sometime!"
"Sweet!" And with that she pranced off.
People pressed all around, I cling close to Sanada. Too many people. Someone bumps hard into me, shoving me into Sanada, the person doesn't even say sorry. My heart starts to hammer inside my chest as people move too close to me. To get away I slide in front of Sanada and wrap his arms around my shoulders. Kirihara glances at me, Yukimura smiles.
"Let's go get something to eat." Marui announces. "To celebrate!"
"Yea!" Kirihara, Kiyomi, and Momoshiro all agree.
So it's decided we'll all go out to get sushi. Kiyomi bounces on the bus chanting "sushi" over and over again. Even though Momoshiro is really an outcast in the group nobody seems to care, Imai keeps whining about how she should have told Eiji to come if Momoshiro was able to come, we just ignore her.
Sushi is delicious. The atmosphere is amazing. Everyone is enjoying themselves, laughter fills my ears. Someone starts up a karaoke machine and Marui and Jackal start singing. Niou boos them. Sanada's eye twitches as their off-key voices irritate everyone. I giggle and pat his shoulder telling him it's ok. For hours we sit there and eat, sing, and chat. Stuffed with sushi I lean against Sanada and watch all my friends giggle and joke around. With Sanada's arm around me I'm glad I moved here and met all these wonderful people.
With a sigh I close my eyes and left myself swim in this moment. Moments like this make everything worth it; make all the tears and agony and pain of tennis worth it.