Chapter 1: Dream
Where am I?
Ryoma glanced around and was startled to see his mother sitting on his left. She smiled at him before leaning down to whisper in his ear, "You look more nervous than the groom, Ryoma."
Ryoma blinked.
Oh, that would explain why we are in a cathedral and the formal suit I'm wearing…wait. A wedding? Why can't I remember a thing…
Ryoma tugged on his tie which was a little too tight for his liking. He was about to question his mother about the weird situation when someone tapped on his shoulder from behind. He turned and found himself looking into the face of someone he had not seen for two years.
"Mo…Momo sempai?"
"Oi ochibi, are you that nervous?" A certain red-head beside Momoshiro teasingly questioned.
Ryoma took a good look down the row of familiar faces. Momo sempai with that same spiky dark blue hair, those brown eyes always twinkling with mischief and that same old cocky smile. The ever-cheerful Kikumaru sempai with that red hair and cheeky grin of his. Oishi sempai, fukubuchou and mother hen of Seigaku with his weird hairstyle. Fuji sempai, the ever-smiling genius who can be scary on the court. Kawamura sempai, tall and muscular with brown hair who is a very well-mannered but changes personality when playing tennis. Inui sempai, the tall and bespectacled senior who is sly and loves to get data of his opponents. Kaidoh sempai who always wears a bandana and is mostly frowning, scaring most people off with his I'm-pissed-off stare.
What's going on?
Fuji must have noticed the bewildered look on Ryoma's face and spoke up, "Echizen, are you ok?"
"I…" Ryoma was interrupted by Inui who spoke up with that I-know-everything tone of his, holding up his data book in his left hand while pushing up his famous rectangular black rim spectacles with his right index finger, "My data tells me that Echizen is 100% nervous."
Yeah, and my common sense tells me that Inui sempai is 100% bonkers. How can I be nervous about something I know not of?
Ryoma resisted the strong urge to snap at his sempai but settled for a glare instead.
"What kind of data is that Inui sempai? You're just making that up aren't you?"Momoshiro retorted to an annoyed Inui.
"Fshuuu…At least his data proves useful for his tennis unlike your reckless playing on the courts."
"What?! Picking a fight, mamushi?" Momoshiro countered, standing up to face Kaidoh who was seated at the other end of the row.
Ryoma managed not to roll his eyes and turned to face the front.
I give up. It is just a dumb dream that I'll wake up from soon.
He heard Oishi trying hard to stop the two from their usual bickering but to no avail.
"Momoshiro, Kaidoh! Cut it out! This is your Captain's wedding!" Oishi's order had his two kouhais quieten down and looking somewhat apologetic.
The other kouhai, meanwhile, sat frozen in his seat not knowing how to react to the new information.
Buchou's wedding? I must be going nuts.
Making a quick decision on the spot to play along with his dream, Ryoma turned to face his sempais and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "Who's Buchou marrying? Do we know her?"
"Nani? What?" Ryoma became annoyed when all his sempais just stared at him in shocked silence. He sighed and turned to face the front again.
He fidgeted in his seat trying to make himself comfortable though he just wished to wake up from this weird dream of his.
Maybe I can force myself to wake up…like pinching myself hard. Ouch!
Ryoma jerked in his seat at the pain he had inflicted on himself, hissing out a breath. He looked up to see his mother's questioning glance, and he blushed, feeling extremely foolish.
Oh well, I guess the dream will end when it is time for me to wake up.
Ryoma decided to check out his surroundings. They were in a cathedral hall, with murals decorating the walls and, colourfully stained glass ceilings. The wooden rows of benches that were seated on by the wedding guests were covered in white cloth, and white roses were decorating the sides of the benches as well as the entrance door's handles. From the pure entrance doors is a pathway, with rows of seats on its both sides, covered with a red carpet leading straight to the front of the hall where there is a wooden table, also covered with a white cloth. On it was a basket full of red roses as well as a cushion approximately the size of an A4 size paper. Upon further scrutiny, Ryoma noticed the two simple rings on the cushion, sparkling under the light from the hall's lamps as well as the natural light let in by the stained glass.
Just then, Ryoma spotted Tezuka entering the hall from one of the front side doors with a man who he presumed to be the priest. He would never admit it, but Ryoma missed his Seigaku friends. The times they fought together as a team, the times they did stupid things like following a fellow teammate to spy on him and all sorts of things they went through fulfil. It was with his Seigaku comrades that Ryoma grew, not physically unless you note the numerous bottles of milk he was forced to drink so that he could grow taller (not that it mattered since he will still the shortest, and he will always be ochibi). Tezuka Buchou's discreet way of encouragement and strong leadership had also helped the team a lot, and Ryoma did owe to his ex-captain for helping him step out of his father, Echizen Nanjiroh's, shadow and making him want to become much stronger, to be Seigaku's pillar of support.
"Tezuka buchou," apparently everyone had noticed Tezuka's appearance, and the hall was full of whispers.
Ryoma was too busy studying his buchou to pay attention to anything that Momo sempai was saying into his ear. Tezuka looked the same.
I must be going bonkers to dream of Buchou smiling.
Ryoma rubbed his eyes and peeked through his fingers to find that his Buchou was now looking at him with an expression Ryoma couldn't identify. Concern?
"Minna-san, please rise to welcome the bride," the priest announced as the mini-orchestra which had just appeared in front was now playing the wedding march. As the entrance doors start to swing inwards, the guests all stood and faced them, clapping with enthusiasm. Ryoma followed suit, not knowing how weddings went about. It was quite magnificent, the doors swinging open to allow the flower girls to enter slowly, and letting the evening sunlight streaming into the hall. Ryoma was not the kind who concerned himself with such things, but he was curious as to who Tezuka Buchou was going to marry. It didn't occur to him that his Buchou was a little too young to be getting married. Or as to why his mother was a guest in the front row with him at his Buchou's wedding.
Since Ryoma wasn't very tall and he was in the front row, he couldn't see the bride walking down the aisle. He inched a little to his left so that he was slightly on the red carpet and stared at the scene before him. And stared. Stared as he watched his father lead Misaki, his cousin who he treats like an older sister, in a bride's gown. And continued staring even when Misaki glanced his way, her face fell, and her steps faltered at his expression. Ryoma did not notice that everyone had stopped clapping and was looking at him. He did not catch the worried looks exchanged by the bride and groom.
What in the world is going on?!
Ryoma shot into sitting position on his bed, shaken by his dream. He stared blankly into space for a few minutes, trying to digest what had just happened, or at least in his dream. He shook his head as if to clear his mind, tossing his dark green hair away from his face. His brownish gold eyes seem to gleam as he gathered his thoughts; the dream had reminded him of many things. Misaki, who had moved to Kyushu the year he went off to America, was back as well. She had arrived two days before Ryoma. He was surprised but was extremely glad. He would have been lonely without Misaki since his older brother was always away. She had stayed with Ryoma's family for as long as Ryoma could remember. His uncle and aunt had died in an accident when Misaki was two years old. Ryoma and his parents were taken by surprise when she announced that she wanted to study high school in Kyushu, leaving them and her friends behind, going to somewhere unfamiliar alone. Her reason for the sudden plan was that the figure skating facilities and training were better and more advanced there. However, she was now back in Tokyo to continue her last year of high school. Ryoma felt that Misaki seemed to have changed much since he last saw her. Not that change was terrible, but Misaki seemed to be less cheerful than usual and much quieter. When questioned by Ryoma, she had just shrugged and said that the stress there from training and school was too much to handle. This seems to answer why she was back in Tokyo and why she seemed different. However, Ryoma had his doubts that stress was the only factor that had Misaki returning, but he decided not to probe.
The dream had also reminded him that he was going to meet his Seigaku comrades after not seeing them for two full years. Two years ago, after Seigaku had won the National Championships, Ryoma had flown off to the States to start playing tennis as a young professional. Tezuka Buchou went to Germany for a full year of rehabilitation for his injured left elbow. Kaidoh sempai had become the new Buchou, and Momo sempai the fukubuchou as the rest of the regulars graduated from middle school. Now, Ryoma was back to fulfil a promise he had made with the rest of the regulars-to meet again in Seigaku High tennis club as regulars.
The morning alarm broke Ryoma's train of thoughts. He sighed as he got out of bed to get ready for his first day as a high schooler.
