A/N: I do not own Prince of Tennis and Carly Rae Jepsen's one hit wonder.
CALL ME MAYBE
Whenever people in Seishun Gakuen hears the name 'Matsui Sachiko', there's only one thing that pops up in their mind – cheerleading. Sachiko has been carrying the torch of the championship of cheerleading competition in Kantou Region for almost three years. She brought the fire of competition back within the whole team ever since she passed the audition and became part of the squad. She had the passion and the moves that can initiate a whole cheerleading squad in a snap of a finger. Her flexibility and ability can lead a big army of enthusiastic people who sways pompoms and flags can be contagious that even those who weren't familiar with them will be swayed by the beat.
However, the petite Third Year cheerleader wasn't always the fervent girl that she is. Sachiko had her down moments. She had her frustrations and one of them was talking to Seishun Gakuen's half of Golden Pair, Eiji Kikumaru.
Although, Sachiko had a lot of chance like being his seatmate when she was in second year, she didn't have a chance to approach the bouncy red-headed boy. She always lost her words whenever she was in front of him, or she sometimes become unusually clumsy that she brings embarrassment to her ego. She had a big crush with the tennis player, that she even tried talking to her seatmate, who is also Eiji's doubles' partner, Oishi. But, it was no use. Everything she does to get his attention becomes a mess.
And, she was hopelessly. It was her last year in Seigaku and she wanted to at least, hang-out with her long-time crush even for just one chance. She was willing to take risk or whatsoever to talk to him, or even just to say hi to him.
"But, Kikumaru won't bite you. I am sure he will like you the moment you talk to him. You just have to approach him, Matsui-san. " Oishi commented in his seatmate who starting at him with his big brown eyes.
"You don't get it, Oishi-kun. I can't do it. You just say it was easy, but it isn't. Whenever I am near with Eiji, I am losing myself. I lost my concentration. I lost my mind. And, it becomes a mess. It'll be my last chance to at least, know him. Even for just few minutes. Please, Oishi-kun!" Sachiko had her hands together just like she was praying in front of Oishi.
Oishi sighed. His classmate was really desperate, and he definitely knew the reason why. Sachiko will be leaving Japan after their graduation because of a cheerleading scholarship she got in one of the universities in California. Oishi didn't want a good friend like Sachiko to leave Japan with regrets. He thought deeply, until a spark came in his eyes.
"I got an idea."
Sachiko's eyes brighten up and gave the Vice-Captain a big bear hug.
"Does anybody know who put this letter in my locker?" Big-eyed Eiji asked everyone in the tennis club in a jumpy mood. He was waving a white envelope that he discovered in the top of his uniform.
Seigaku Boys Tennis Club were preparing diligently for the upcoming Nationals. It was an exhausting afternoon and everyone was out of strength except for the acrobatic tennis player. He continued waving the white envelope until Momoshiro Takeshi snatched it away from him.
"Oi, Momo! That's mine!" Eiji was jumping all over the taller second year, trying reach the envelope away.
"Senpai, let me see it first. Maybe, I can recognize it by its handwriting." Momoshiro slowly tear off the envelope and went on reading the letter.
Momoshiro suddenly went quiet, which made everyone curious. Eiji suddenly snatched away the letter and kept it in his pocket. He let out his tongue as he began skipping away from the second year.
"Neh, Momo-senpai… what was the letter all about?" The first year Ryoma, asked curiously to Momoshiro.
Momoshiro grinned. He actually knew who was the letter sender. He knew by the handwriting because there was only one girl in Seigaku who draws a stick figure with pompoms in its hand and he was 100% sure about it.
Sachiko and Eiji had been exchanging letters unknowingly for almost a week already. Eiji was having fun replying with her letters because he thinks that the one who was writing was as cute as he was. He told Oishi that he thinks the girl was pretty and tall. Much to Oishi's dismay, he just wanted to leave the height issue behind. Sachiko, on the other hand, was enjoying the exchange of thoughts so much that she can kill Oishi in a hug every morning.
One day, an accident happened during a cheerleading practice. Sachiko got a bad fall from an exhibition that gone wrong. She had her calf fractured and was to be confined in a hospital for a month. She was also told to stay put in their house for another month for her fractured calf to give a rest. It was also the day when Eiji mysteriously stopped receiving letters from his mystery friend.
Eiji had been asking a lot to everyone if they knew who the sender was. He was incredibly worried on what would be the whereabouts of his 'friend'. Not to mention, that he was having intimate feelings for 'her' despite the fact that he didn't even know her personally.
"Oishi, do you have any idea who is the one writing these letters? She didn't have any replies with my past two letters!" Eiji sulked in the corner of the tennis locker room, looking so gloomy and depressed.
"I actually have no idea, Eiji. If I knew who she is, I would have told you." Sweat drops were forming in Oishi's forehead as he tries to remind himself that he should not spill the beans about the sender, or else, he'll killed by Sachiko herself.
Eiji sighed. He sat slumpily in the bench and ran his hand to his hair. He desperately wanted to know the girl. Moreover, he wanted to meet her. He wanted to take her to amusements parks, show her his acrobatic moves and invite her to the Quarterly finals of the Nationals. He wanted her to be in his side… especially that he will be soon playing with Oishi in a doubles match. He wanted to show her what she can do, and he wanted her to be there when they win the Nationals.
Oishi, being so worried about his doubles partner, finally gave up. He can't bear the thought that his good friend was going through a crash, just because of a mysterious disappearance of a pen pal. Although, he was going to break the promise that he had with Sachiko, he was going to make it a little easier for her.
"Eiji, don't be sad. Let's ask Inui if he can help us out with your problem." He sat down beside Eiji and tapped his shoulder.
The red-head looked at Oishi with tears forming in his eyes and with a sad smile.
"IN A HOSPITAL?! ARE YOU SURE OF THIS, INUI?" Eiji exclaimed.
"There is a 100% that you will be reacting like that." Inui stated. He pushed his glasses as he tries to pull out his green notebook from his sling bag. He hastily flipped the pages and stopped in one of it.
"I got this information from a reliable source* that this handwriting and signature belongs to a Seigaku student. However, she had undergone a surgery one week ago and was advised by the doctor to stay for another week in a hospital for a therapy."
Eiji sighed. What happened to her, he thought.
"She could have told me…" Eiji mumbled.
"Fortunately, when Inui gave me the name of the student, I luckily got her number from a classmate in my section." Oishi slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He gave it to Eiji which the bouncy boy excitedly and nervously snatched to him and read it aloud.
"Isn't this…?" Eiji looked at Oishi with big eyes. He knew that this girl was Oishi's seatmate and Math homework partner. Eiji also knew that this girl holds a big reputation around the school grounds.
Oishi shrugged his shoulders. He was trying his best not to tell Eiji the whole story. He didn't want him to know that he knew all along who was the mystery letter sender, although, Momoshiro and Fuji already knew who she was beforehand. (Eiji kept on showing the letters to them, so the rest of the Seigaku Tennis Club knew the story.)
Eiji hastily picked up his mobile phone, dialled the number written in the piece of paper. He gulped as the phone on the other line rang. A sweet, serene, but sad voice answered.
"Matsui Sachiko, speaking. Hello, who is this?"
Eiji stared at Inui and Oishi for a few seconds. He was quiet. He felt his stomach was going to flip out soon. He can feel his cheeks were going red and he suddenly lost his words. He just can't believe that it was cheerleading team's Sachiko who was sending those letters.
"Ah, how are you, Matsui-chan?" The red-headed answered, stuttering.
For that one week while Sachiko was taking up her therapy for her fractured calf, Eiji was there every end of the session – but, in a form of a phone call. He was there to comfort her and made her feel better. She, in return, listened intently to his daily rants about how hard Tezuka was to him in giving laps, on how Inui makes him drink his horrendous juices after their practices and how he improves his stamina and endurance for the upcoming finals. Sachiko found everything to be so surreal, that she was talking to Eiji. But, she wasn't sure if she can talk to him face to face. She didn't want to embarrass herself again.
Before the day of Sachiko's discharge to the hospital, she called up Eiji to tell him about to be released from the facility. However, he wasn't answering the call. Sachiko thought that since, tomorrow was one of their important matches for the Nationals, she didn't bother to call him up again. Instead she called up Oishi and asked him a big favour.
It was a sunny morning, and the whole tennis club was energized. They were again ready to win another set of matches to go up to the Finals. And, for the Golden Pair, it was their comeback.
Eiji was bothered by the thought that Oishi kept on receiving calls from someone he didn't know. His partner won't even say a thing about who was calling and what was it all about. Oishi kept on telling him that it was a good friend of him, and was saying a good luck in their match. Unluckily, Eiji wasn't convinced on what his teammate was telling him.
While warming up for their match, Eiji received a text message coming from Sachiko, saying that she was been discharged from the hospital. He immediately told it to Oishi who was busily texting somebody in his mobile phone.
"Neh, Oishi… would it be good if I invite her to watch our game today?" The child-like boy asked happily his partner. Oishi gave him a shrug which was unusual for someone like him.
Eiji pouted his mouth. His partner was keeping something from him. He wasn't sure what was it, but he was determined to find it out.
"Kikumaru-Oishi Pair, 6-4"
The bouncy acrobatic bounced his way to his partner, giving him a big hug as the umpire announced the winners. The Golden Pair made it again, and this time, they were bigger, stronger and together as one.
To the surprise of everyone, including the audience, the whole tennis club wasn't expecting the whole Seigaku Pep Squad to be present in today's match. Oishi smiled at the Vice-Captain of the squad, as he approached the lady.
"Thank you very much, Atsuki-san." He bowed down as sign of respect.
The brown-haired girl smiled sweetly as her response to Oishi. Then, they made way to Tezuka and Coach Ryuuzaki for a courtesy call. According to Atsuki, it was their captain's sign of respect and support for the tennis club and at the same time, a certain sign of gratitude for the red-headed tennis member. Upon learning this, Eiji can't help but to blush and shyly thanked the lady.
"It was nothing, Atsuki-san. Matsui-chan was nice to me, and she helped me improve my endurance while she was in the hospital." Eiji responded.
The tall girl smiled and shook her head. "It was more than that, Kikumaru-san. Besides, I am just obeying my captain's order. She is scary when she is angry, and I don't want that when she returns. Anyways…"
Atsuki suddenly pulled a brunette petite girl from the middle of the cheerleading squad. She was wearing a shy smile, but her brown eyes were sparkling just like the sunshine. She was wearing a brace in her left calf, where she was being cautious about it. She slowly looked at Eiji. And, she was just staring at him.
"Here we go again." Atsuki ran her hand to her hair as she gave her captain a light push that made her went out of her balance. She suddenly reached out her hands to call for aid, and came the red-headed member of the Golden Pair.
Known for his speed, Eiji suddenly came to her aide as he supported her shoulders. The petite girl unintentionally wrapped her arms around his waist for assistance while wincing in pain.
"Kikumaru Eiji, and you are…?" Eiji adorably inquired to the girl.
"Matsui… Sachi…ko." Sachiko answered, in stuttering manner.
Eiji smiled and carefully placed Sachiko in standing position, but he kept his arms around her for support.
"I swear that the last phone call that we had will be the last, right?" Eiji winked.
Sachiko tucked her loose hair in her ears and shyly nodded. Then, she glared at Atsuki, as if she was stabbing her with a knife. The cheerleading squad vice-captain had scary thoughs of her doom after their captain returned from her injury.
*Author's Note: You'll find out who is Inui's reliable source in the next couple of song fics.
