One Thousand Paper CranesYukimura Seiichi
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess, however, sick with an incurable disease. The king and queen sent word as far as the other side of the world, looking for a doctor who could cure her disease, until they stumbled upon a prince, dressed in peasant clothing. 'Fold one thousand cranes,' he had told them, 'and when you have, call me back and I shall cure her.' However doubtful, the king decided to have it done, and true to his word, on the day the kingdom had finished the one-thousandth, the prince had indeed arrived. He placed the cranes in a perfect circle around the princess' sick bay and muttered a few incoherent words. Incredibly, the princess was again a health girl and the whole kingdom rejoiced. 'Do tell us what you said,' begged the king. The prince turned to the lord in confusion, 'I simply told her that I loved her.'"
"Sugoi," exclaimed Arai Yume, patting her best friend on the back as Ryou Tori sat down next to the girl, blushing slightly from reading her story out to the class. Class ended almost abruptly afterwards, and the two stood up from their seats for lunch break.
"Arigato, I just thought of it a few minutes ago…" muttered Tori, a little embarrassed from the attention.
"Demo, it was really good, ne Kirihara?" asked Yume, referring to the boy sitting on the opposite side of Tori.
He twirled a piece of hair in his fingers as he replied,
"Hmm, could I have that story for a day or so? I'd like to show it buchou…"
"Eh? Sure…?" replied Tori, a little surprised at the sudden offer.
"That's right, Yukimura-senpai's in the hospital!" exclaimed Yume, "We should go check if he's ok; I'll meet both of you there after four!"
"Ah, demo, I might be a little late, around five?" said Tori, thinking back to her schedule, "I promised Ann-chan that I'd visit Tachibana-san."
Kirihara waved his hand dismissively,
"Daijoubu, buchou doesn't mind visitors," his eyes twinkled in mischievousness, "Of course, unless Sanada-fuku-buchou is there."
Bidding the tennis regular goodbye, the two girls continued their way to the school roof; Tori removed her origami paper to continue folding her cranes for Tachibana. The rest of the day flew by quickly as Tori dashed off towards the hospital,
"I'll see you in a few!" she shouted towards Yume, who waved before heading in the opposite direction.
Spending over an hour with her childhood friend Tachibana Kippei, she suddenly remembered her promise to Yume,
"Gomen nasai," she apologized, and was met by his smiling face, "I promised Kirihara-kun that I'd see his buchou today."
She bowed politely to him before dropping off her ten cranes and carried her bag out… and stuck her head back in,
"Ano… you won't happen to know which room he was in…right?"
Tachibana gave her a hopeless smile as he shook his head,
"Really, Tori, you forgot to ask?" he only smiled at her forgetfulness, "It should be 2010, a few doors down."
"Arigato gozaimásu" thanked Tori before closing the door softly behind her.
Walking down the white hallway, she arrived promptly on the door with a golden sign of "2010" and a sign that read "Yukimura Seiichi". She knocked softly on the door, and was answered with a "come in".
"Sorry to disrupt you…" Tori started timidly, and Yukimura smiled as he shook his head, "Ano, Kirihara-kun told me out you being hospitalized and so I thought I'd visit…I hope I'm not interrupting your rest…"
Purple eyes closed into a smile as Yukimura offered her to sit down on the side of the bed, since the small room had no chairs,
"No, not at all, in fact, I do enjoy visitors. Akaya told me you were coming, but he didn't tell me you name."
"Ryou Tori, nice to meet you, Yukimura-san," Tori answered, blushing a little at the close contact with the tennis captain, "Ano, I didn't know what to bring, so I was giving Kippei some origami papers, and so I thought you might want some... as something to do when you were bored…" she trailed, pulling some of the colorful sheets of paper out of her bag.
He accepted them happily,
"Arigato, that's quite thoughtful of you. Akaya gave your story; he said it was written really well."
"Arigato," she answered, blushing.
A silence fell over the two as Tori fidgeted nervously before standing up,
"Ano, I shouldn't stay for too long," she said, raising herself from the bed, "Yukimura-san, you should have your rest."
"Iie, I don't mind, please, stay for a little longer," he smiled, "You can help me fold cranes."
"A-Arigato…" she picked up the offered paper and started to fold it carefully. Within a few seconds, she produced a fully folded crane.
"You're pretty fast," said Yukimura, only half finished.
"I was just helping Kippei a few minutes ago…"
Another silence floated in, but this was a more comfortable one, and Tori found herself opening up more to the tennis captain.
"Ano, what's Yukimura-san's favorite color?"
His turned his attention to her,
"Blue,"
Another silence filtered in as Tori finished her 20th crane,
"Ah, I promised Yume to work on our project… Gomen nasai," she apologized, standing up, and bowing to the older student.
"Is that so? Well, I shouldn't be holding you up," he smiled as she bent down to retrieve her bag, "I hope you'll come by some other time."
A light blush lit her face as she nodded, closing the door softly. He was aware of her squeal of "Niou-senpai!" as he chuckled. He would have to ask Genichirou to double the trickster's laps for the next mouth or so.
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"Hm… I wonder if Yukimura-san would like this…" asked Tori, twirling the blue teddy bear key-chain as she made her way to the hospital and knocked on the door of the purple-eyed captain that she had familiarized herself with from the past few months.
"Come in," the voiced flowed through the door.
"Yukimura-san, Konichiwa," she opened the door and stepped in.
He smiled in return, placing the crane he had finished on the desk beside him as he turned his attention to Tori, or rather the key chain she held.
"Ano… I found this at the shop, and I thought I'd get it for you… Since you're operation was tomorrow, I wanted to wish you good luck…" she said, handing him the metal ring that held the soft plush toy.
"Arigato," he smiled, holding it tightly as he watched her almost float to the sink to water the flowers she had brought him a few weeks ago to brighten the room.
"Ryou," he called, earning himself a confused look.
"Mou, Yukimura-san, I told you that you could call me Tori," she tilted her head.
'I can't. Not when I'm like this, I can't stand for you to see me like this,' he thought.
"Gomen, I guess I'm not used to it," he smiled, "I was wondering, how many cranes have you folded?"
Thinking for only a moment, she answered almost immediately with a heart-warming smile,
"I've folded my 500, why?"
"So have I," answered Yukimura.
"So that means that Yukimura-san's operation will be successful," concluded Tori, giving him another smile, "I'd like to see Yukimura-san play tennis again."
"Arigato," he turned his head down to look at the blue teddy bear, "I'll make it for the Nationals. Promise me you'll cheer on the team tomorrow."
Raising herself from his bedside, she smiled at him as she nodded,
"Hai, Kirihara-kun asked for the same. For the operation, you have my best wishes."
"Arigato."
Bidding Yukimura goodbye, she walked out the door and into the snowy streets and Yukimura watched her walk away from the hospital through his window,
"I didn't tell you… again."
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As the Rikkaidai regulars rushed to make it in time for their captain's operation, Tori watched as the final match took place, fighting down her worry as she tried to keep her promise. From the hospital, Niou was the first to catch up with the rolling cart, and noticed the blue plush toy that their captain held so dearly.
"Where's Genichirou?" asked Yukimura, opening his eyes.
Jackal raised a yellow jersey, and Yukimura nodded in satisfaction as he closed his eyes again and was rushed into the operation room, the regulars seating themselves in front as they impatiently waited for the result for the match and operation.
It was almost an hour later when the bald Brazilian had turned his head towards the awaiting members, announcing the results that he had heard from the radio,
"Seigaku won."
A flash of fear showed momentarily on the faces of the rest of the tennis regulars as Renji stepped up,
"That doesn't mean that Seiichi's operation will not be successful. I'm sure he's trying hard… for her."
It was no secret of the mutual relationship that the buchou had with Ryou Tori; in fact, most of the tennis members had acquainted themselves with her, finding her often visiting their buchou.
"Gomen nasai, was I interrupting something?" asked a slightly panting girl, the one that they were talking about only moments before.
The silver-haired trickster blinked, and a wry smirk replaced the worried face,
"We lost to Seigaku; I'm guessing Sanada's coming soon?"
"Hai, I left after he received the medals for second place. Ano, is Yukimura… Was Yukimura-san's operation successful?" she asked, hesitantly adverting their eyes to the now dim emergency light.
Renji placed a hand on the shoulder of the nervous girl,
"Daijoubu, he'll be fine."
She nodded quickly in agreement before taking a seat in the side benches next to her classmate, Kirihara. Sanada arrived almost immediately afterwards, and the eight of them sat in silence as the doctor opened the door, looking around at the awaiting members. Sanada stood up, and the doctor gave him a tired smile,
"He's fine now."
"Can we see him?" asked the edgy Bunta.
"He should be awake, just make sure not to tire him too much," answered the doctor.
Sanada bowed in appreciation, and the doctor continued his way towards the other rooms.
"Ladies first," smirked the trickster, stepping aside for Tori, who stared blankly at him.
"D-Demo… don't you guys want to see him? I'll- I'll just wait outside for a while," answered Tori, stuttering slightly.
"No buts!"
Kirihara not-so-gently pushed her in the awaiting doors, and Tori soon found herself on the other side, like it or not. She glanced blankly at him, his eyes closed as he appeared to be sleeping.
"I guess he fell asleep… I should get going then…"
She was surprised as she took one step away from his bed, when his had had grabbed her arm. She uttered a small "Nya," in surprised, and earned herself a chuckle as her face flushed a deep red.
"Y-Yukimura-san, I didn't know you were awake!"
He smiled as he forced himself to sit up, resting his weight on the end of the bedpost.
"U-Um, I was watching the matches… and um, Rikkaidai lost in Singles 1," she reported, slightly nervous for the upcoming reaction.
"Is that so? Well, I'll have to double the team's training when I get back," his smile turned slightly sadistic.
"Ano, Yukimura-san… you're hand…"
She gestured towards where his hand still clung to her arm, and he let go, almost reluctantly. As she looked up, their eyes locked as Tori couldn't blink, and, by complete impulse, kissed his lips lightly before backing off quickly.
"Gomen!"
Before he had a chance to reply, she had dashed out of the door, almost crashing into the three eavesdroppers, and ran in whatever direction her legs would take her.
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Though the now-healthy captain returned command over the team, Tori had gone out of her way to avoid any contact with any members except for Kirihara, who was oblivious to the tension. It wasn't until Yume and Kirihara had some kind of plan plotted that Yume had mentioned the team.
"Tori-chan," she had whined after school, "The nationals are tomorrow, we should go check out the boy's tennis team!"
Upon even thinking about the blue-haired captain, Tori's face blushed a deep red as she stuttered out the first excuse to mind,
"Ah, I should go see how Fudomine's doing, I haven't seen them since-" she never finished the sentence as Kirihara cut in,
"That can wait, you should see how buchou's been training us!"
"D-demo-"
"No buts!"
And that was how Tori had ended up being dragged towards the boy's tennis courts, her face still flushed as she followed behind Yume. Upon arriving, she had noticed that Yukimura was not playing, but rather standing on the side watching. Noticing he was late, Kirihara tried to sneak in past the gates, but his first step in was greeted by Yukimura's
"50 laps, Akaya."
He sighed as he stepped back out, starting his long laps around the tennis courts. He noticed Yukimura's eyes waver towards the two girls, where Tori fidgeted nervously, before finally saying,
"I-I was going to visit Fudomine today, their first game is tomorrow, so I wanted to cheer them on, Gomen, Yume-chan!"
And just like that, she had run away from him again.
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"Konichiwa," she greeted as Tachibana stepped out from the courts.
He looked at Tori weirdly,
"Why are you here?"
"I heard your first nationals match was tomorrow, so I thought I'd come by to cheer you guys on."
"What about Rikkaidai, doesn't Yukimura want you there?"
She blushed furiously at the mentioning, but shook her head quickly to hide it. Tachibana's sharp eyes had caught the splash of red, however, and hinted that there was something going on.
"What happened on the last day, when Yukimura was let out from the hospital?"
"Kippei!" shouted Tori, and he knew there was something he had missed.
"So?" his eyebrow's slightly raised at her defensive nature.
And so that was how she spilled the story out to him, and his eyebrows furrowed at the mentioning.
"And so you're avoiding him? I don't think it was the best choice."
"Neither do I," muttered Tori, "but what else am I supposed to do?"
"Let him reply," came a girl's voice from behind.
"Ann-chan! You heard it too?"
Tori slapped her head in frustration as the younger Tachibana smiled innocently.
"Onii-san, we need to get home!" she pulled her older brother off.
Tachibana gave her an apologetic smile,
"That would be my advice, take it or leave it."
"I'll leave it, thank you," she glared at the two disappearing siblings.
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"Ryou, what are you doing here?" asked a gentle voice from behind.
She tensed up, standing up from the old oak tree as she prepared to run. He had obviously anticipated this, as his hand reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly before she could move.
"Do you need something, Yukimura-san?" she asked politely, keeping her eyes directed away from his.
"Why… why are you avoiding me?" asked Yukimura, his hand under her chin as he pushed her face up to meet his.
"A-Avoiding? N-no, I just had a few things to do-"
Her sentence ended abruptly as his grip on her wrist tightened. Looking up hesitantly, she was surprised to see his shining eyes now dim with hurt. Although silent, Tori noticed his hard glare,
"Do I need to fall desperately sick again so I can talk to you?"
She winced at the sharp words,
"Gomen nasai, I-I just didn't know what to do…" she looked away, guilt washing over her as she realized how much pain she must have caused the tennis captain.
"Ryou… I… I really did enjoy your company. The first few weeks, I thought of you as a wonderful friend. Then, the feeling progressed as you visited almost everyday, and I realized I depended on you for comfort, and I'd always wait for you to come. When you kissed me that day, it felt great that you shared my feelings, but then I noticed you were avoiding me, and I didn't know what to think. Tori… Daisuke."
And with that, she broke down into his chest, clinging onto his jersey tightly as she murmured,
"Gomene Yukimura, I didn't know…"
He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her trembling frame as he bent down to meet her lips, in which she returned shyly. He let go briefly afterwards, and, to her surprise, turned towards the nearby trees,
"Bunta, Akaya, Niou, 100 laps."
There was a sudden 'thud' before she heard a string of curses and their frantic feet as they tried to escape. Tori giggled lightly, resting her face in his chest as she muttered to only his ears,
"Daisuke, Seiichi."
"Through the story pages they flew, using the cranes of love as their wings until they reached the Happily Ever After at the very last page, only to start a new chapter in their lives… Together."