Disclaimer- I do not own The Prince of Tennis or any of its related characters, themes, etc. I also do not own the Alvin and the Chipmunks Witch Doctor song which inspired this story.
So new story yay! I'm about half way done with this so I will be posting very slowly. I like to finish my stories to make them coherent overall and while I'm not done yet I know that the first couple chapters won't change much. So I decided to post because it's been forever and so I can get some feedback as well. This is one of the most ambitious stories I've written in a long time and by ambitious I mean multiple chapters. So anyways I like it and I hope you do too! And I just want to note I know we can't use lyrics in the stories. I don't use any lyrics I just want to give credit to my inspiration.
She let out a sigh as she stared across the courtyard. A look of longing and sadness swept across her face before she put her forehead down on the table, mumbling, "I'm so pathetic." There was another long sigh and a pause before her head snapped back up. "No, no. I'm not pathetic," she reassured herself, "I have to stop thinking so pessimistically all the time. No guy would like a girl who's always so downtrodden, not even Sanada Genichirou."
"That's right Kumiko. Now go over there and ask him for a date!" "Rika," Nakamura Kumiko said with a hint of a whine to her voice, "Don't say things like that." "And that is why you will never go out with him," Nakashima Rika replied, shaking her head with a look of pity on her face. Kumiko threw Rika a glare. "What," Rika shrugged, dismissing the look, "It's not like I just cursed you." "You could have," Kumiko grumbled, pausing a little bit before adding, "I'm just shy."
"What a better way to get over your shyness then by asking him out!" Kumiko and Rika turned to the new voice and smiled as Kurokawa Miharu sat down. "But," Kumiko protested, quick to remember her troubles. "Don't worry we know," Miharu interrupted, "You are shy and stuff like this is hard for you." "Its just sometimes you have to take the initiative with these things or nothing will ever happen," Rika added. "I know," Kumiko sighed, "That's what makes this all the more depressing. I know I've got to do something yet I find myself unable too. Sorry guys I'm in one of those moods." "We can tell," Rika said. "But we love you anyways," Miharu added. Kumiko smiled, "Thanks guys."
Kumiko, Miharu, and Rika had know each other since they were little and that was probably the reason they were best friends. The group was a rather unlikely trio, different in many ways. Kumiko was the shy, somewhat pessimistic one; Miharu was friendly, bubbly, and optimistic; and Rika was open, loud, and crazy, but in a good way. Their opinions and interests varied greatly, but while they had rather stark differences they have many similarities and common interests and they easily balanced each other out. Knowing everything about each other they could put up with Kumiko's depressive moodiness, Rika's extreme craziness, and Miharu's overly optimistic attitude; as that was just them being at their worse. The trio knew Kumiko was usually happy and friendly and could be outspoken, though she was thoroughly embarrassed afterward at her forwardness; Miharu also had her shy side and days where nothing went right and she didn't want to be happy; and Rika could be very calm and knew when to be serious.
The girls were often mistaken as sisters as they all looked rather similar. They would all deny that fact only agreeing that their hair was the same. They all had perfectly straight dark chocolate colored hair. Kumiko's came down a couple inches past her shoulders, Rika's was a couple inches above her shoulders, and Miharu's was at the middle of her back. Kumiko was the smallest of the group at 5'3" while both Rika and Miharu were 5'5". The two taller girls were also both rather curvy and Kumiko often wished she could have a little more curve. Her eyes she thought to be her best feature being a striking light brown, while Miharu and Rika both had varying shades of dark brown. Looking at the two other girls as they talked, Kumiko smiled. Forgetting her troubles, Kumiko joined in on the conversation thankful for her two best friends.
~~~K~~~
If Sanada were the type to sigh he would be doing so right now. Truthfully he didn't want to be here and he wasn't even sure how he was persuaded to come along. "Why am I here again," Sanada grunted. "Because Marui couldn't make it and he managed to get you to agree to come with me while you were distracted studying," Yukimura replied. "Hn," came Sanada's only response, clearly annoyed that he had been so easily duped. "Tarundoru," he muttered to himself. Yukimura only smiled as he opened the door and the two walked inside.
It was a fair sized party and while you didn't have to squeeze through a sea of people you still had to dodge bodies. They had barely walked in when someone said hello to Yukimura. There was a brief introduction and Sanada then stepped off to the side, figuring he probably wouldn't be spoken to anyways. He found some space on the wall to lean against and settled back, focusing on the people around him. Several people stumbled by, a little too drunk considering how early it still was and Sanada rolled his eyes. He really wanted to make Marui run laps right now. Sanada wasn't an avid partygoer but he would accompany Yukimura or Marui if they had no one to go with. He didn't mind helping out his friends that way, however, tonight would have definitely been a night he would have turned Yukimura down. He had too much homework to do and just wasn't in the mood to go out. But when Marui had asked him yesterday, before he knew what was going on he had said yes, and Sanada hated not keeping his word. Still, right now he really wished he had the authority on the tennis team to make Marui run laps.
The three of them joined the tennis team when they started college and it was now nearing the end of their second year. There was about a month and a half left of the spring semester and between his classes and all the traveling and games they had, Sanada was kept constantly busy. Plus, there was also the fact that Sanada was trying to make sure that he would end up with the authority to make Marui run laps. Marui enjoyed letting Sanada know that he didn't have to, and wasn't going to, follow Sanada's orders when he gave them. Those moments just made Sanada want to make Marui run even more.
"You look ready to spend your evening here Sanada," Yukimura said, interrupting Sanada's thoughts as he appeared in front of him. Sanada just shrugged a little, "Might as well be comfortable." "The couch is empty," Yukimura suggested. Sanada gave a nod of his head and the two make their way to the couch. It was a bit of a journey with all the limbs they had to avoid. After the tenth arm he had to dodge Sanada turned to Yukimura. "Again, why are we here? You can't even drink." "I can still socialize Sanada," Yukimura replied almost exasperated, "You can do that too you know." "I'd rather not," Sanada said disdainfully as another early drinker fell in front of him. "Anyways my social life is fine." "How many people do you know in your classes who aren't on the tennis team," Yukimura asked with a tone that said he already knew the answer. There was a pause as Sanada still thought about it before finally answering, "None." Yukimura just smiled a knowing smile and gave a nod of his head before looking a little more serious. "Don't you ever talk to anyone? You get along fine with everyone on the tennis team." "I have no reason to talk to anyone." "It's your face," Yukimura decided not paying attention to what Sanada said, "You should smile more or at least relax your face a bit. People may approach you then." Sanada just grunted and threw Yukimura an annoyed glare.
Yukimura continued to pester Sanada about his lack of social life and Sanada just sat there stoned faced, ignoring Yukimura as he spoke, one of the few times he did so. He was grateful for Yukimura's blossoming social life when someone came over to talk, getting Yukimura off his case. He wasn't quite sure why Yukimura was so concerned with the issue. He never said much before and he knew Sanada was fine with his life.
Sanada's schedule hadn't changed much from high school or middle school even. There was lots of training and discipline and his time between classes was used for studying. Really, Sanada barely had time for a social life. He was lucky to have free time on the weekends, usually having enough homework to keep him busy. "I'm thirsty," Yukimura said, once again interrupting Sanada's thoughts and clearly done with his previous conversation. "Do you want something to drink?" Sanada gave a quick nod and stood up with Yukimura to go to the kitchen.
~~~K~~~
As soon as Sanada walked in the door Kumiko darted off to go find Rika and Miharu. She really couldn't believe it. Kumiko had gone to the party to distract herself from thinking about Sanada, never believing that the object of her affection would actually show up. Actually she didn't even think about it the possibility was so remote. So Kumiko was pretty sure her jaw fell to the ground when Sanada walked in after Yukimura.
After rounding up her two best friends, Kumiko drug them to the living room where they could get a good look. "Wow," Miharu stated once they all got a look at Sanada leaning against the wall, "Just our luck. We bring you here to get your mind of him and he happens to come." "I know," Kumiko whined not sure of what else to say. "Well now's your chance," Rika exclaimed after a minute, breaking the tension, "This is the perfect opportunity to talk to him." "But I don't know what to say." "Just talk to him about class; you have a writing one together this semester right? Or any of your other classes, you've had at least one class with him since we've started school. You can talk about how he did." "But I never talked to him in any of our classes together."
Miharu and Rika just stared at Kumiko with incredulous looks on their faces. "What," Kumiko said defensively. "You mean to tell me that you've had nine classes with him and you have never once spoken to him," Miharu asked with disbelief. "Yes," Kumiko replied in a tiny voice, lowering her head. "So does he even know you exist," Rika asked. "How many people do you know in your classes who aren't on the tennis team?" The trio turned to see Sanada and Yukimura almost upon them, close enough to hear the question Yukimura posed. It was like the world went silent with the pause that followed. All the other noises in the room were gone as the girls waited for Sanada's answer. "None," came Sanada's voice just as the two boys passed them. The girl burst into a fit of giggles, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves. "I'm surprised you're laughing Kumiko," Rika stated. "Well it was funny," Kumiko replied, "The timing was just too perfect." "But that answers that question," Miharu said, "Sanada-san has no idea that you exist." Kumiko just sighed.
The girls continued to stay close by to where Sanada was, mingling with the crowd as Rika and Miharu tried to convince Kumiko to talk to Sanada. They had just come from the kitchen getting new cups of beer and stood on the edge of a group of people, trying not to get too close but also trying to stay out of the walkway. It was just the three of them talking to each other, or more realistically it was Rika and Miharu trying to get their hopeless friend to do something. Rather absorbed in their conversation, they only turned their heads when the fight that was occurring next to them got really loud. Having just looked over none of them had time to react when a body ran right into Kumiko, sending her flying.
Kumiko waited for the ground to greet her and was rather surprised that she was still vertical when she hit something hard. Regaining her balance Kumiko turned to see what she had hit and immediately turned red. Standing there was Sanada covered in what she believed to be was her beer, seeing as her cup was empty. Kumiko just stared for a couple seconds before bursting out, "I'm so sorry! Here let me..." Kumiko trailed off as she moved towards Sanada, starting to fuss when she looked down and realized her hands held nothing helpful. "I'll go get some paper towels," she yelled out as she dashed towards the kitchen.
The silence that had initially gripped the room disappeared as everyone started talking again. That fight that had barely started, fizzled after Kumiko hit Sanada. Most didn't know who Sanada was but everyone could tell he wasn't one to be messed with.
Sanada just stood there, again wishing he could make someone run laps. It wouldn't solve his problem nor have made it never happen but he would feel much better. Maybe he could make that girl run laps. She did spill the beer on him. "Sanada," came Yukimura's voice, "It's not her fault." "That's right," chimed in one of her friends. "The guy pushed her," the other added.
Sanada just grunted, finally looking down to see the damage. The lower half of his red t-shirt and the top part of his dark washed jeans were soaked. Sanada didn't have much more time to reflect on his clothes when there was an annoyed cry from the kitchen. Rika and Miharu looked towards the kitchen confused looks on their faces, and Sanada figured their friend was the source of the noise. After a few minutes with no sign of Kumiko returning, all four of them were staring at the doorway. Just when Miharu took a step towards the kitchen Kumiko emerged holding a roll of paper towels, with her clothes now also wet like Sanada's.
"Oh Kumiko," Miharu sighed sorry for her friend's misfortune. "What happened," Rika asked clearly surprised. "I went to grab some paper towels and when I did the rod holding the roll came off, spilling the cups on the counter and their contents, all over me. But I managed to save the paper towels." Kumiko held up the role of paper towels with half a smile on her face.
"Oh," she cried out when she saw Sanada and remembered the reason for her predicament, "I'm so sorry." Kumiko quickly ripped off some paper towels, reaching forward to help Sanada dry himself. "That's fine," Sanada said taking the paper towels out of her hand. "Sorry," Kumiko said again, backing away and looking down.
"Come on Kumiko," Miharu said wrapping her arm around her friend, "Lets go play beer pong. You're lucky at that." Sanada couldn't help but let out a snort while Yukimura chuckled. Miharu and Rika sent them a couple glares while Kumiko lowered her head even more. "But I still have to clean the kitchen." "We'll do that and then go play beer pong," Miharu responded leading Kumiko away. Rika started to follow before she turned around with a fake smile, "Have a nice night."
~~~K~~~
Kumiko tried not to be so depressed as she shopped. She was out with Rika, Miharu, and her friend Mizuhashi Itoe. Miharu had suggested going out shopping as a way to forget about the party. Kumiko, however, was having a hard time doing that as the party had been a disaster. She didn't even have a chance to be hopeful about anything, before everything went wrong. Not only did she spill beer on Sanada and herself, she then lost at beer pong and had a hideous hangover the next day. Kumiko also didn't have much money to shop with at the moment, so it was making the whole outing rather boring for her, as she and her friends had a penchant for expensive items. Kumiko would rather just be miserable by herself at home.
She was forced to come anyways and presently lagged behind the others as she just looked in the windows. Suddenly, just as she passed the end of the store window, something caught Kumiko's eye. She stopped and turned back to take a better look at the display. Wow that ring is really shiny Kumiko thought. I wonder why I only just noticed it? Kumiko let out a small laugh at herself and then sighed. Oh right, it's because I can't stop thinking about everything concerning Sanada-san.
Kumiko shook her head trying to clear her thoughts and then took a closer look at the ring. It had a silver band with a light pink plumeria flower in the center. The flower was highlighted with dark pink strips on the petals and six small diamonds, one in the center of the flower and the rest on the tips of the petals. Pretty Kumiko thought pressing her hand to the window. She stood there for several moments, debating about going inside. Given the look of the shop the diamonds probably weren't real so it was possible she could afford it. And I have been wanting a ring for my pinky finger. It would be really cute.
"Kumiko," a voice called. Kumiko turned to see Miharu waving at her. "Hurry up we're going in here," Miharu yelled as she pointed at the store. Kumiko glanced at the ring and looked back to her friends. "I'll catch up in a minute. I want to go take a look around." Rika, Miharu, and Itoe all leaned over a bit, looking up to see the name of the store. They quickly looked at each other and shrugged, clearly never having heard of the store before. "Well we'll be in here," Itoe said before turning to walk inside. "Call us," Rika yelled out before the three disappeared. After they were gone, Kumiko looked up to see for herself what the store was called. "Trinkets," she mumbled, a look of confusion and surprise washing over her face, "Interesting." Shrugging it off she went inside.
Walking into the store Kumiko immediately scanned the area. Trinkets is right she thought seeing the walls, shelves, and tables covered in thousands of items. Setting up these displays must be a pain Kumiko added as she examined a small stand right next to the door with at least a hundred different items on it. Best just to go find the ring she insisted to herself after seeing several things on the table she liked. I only have so much money.
Kumiko headed to the window hoping to find the ring nearby. After several minutes of looking around and not finding anything Kumiko began to wonder why she hadn't seen a person. I just want to ask about the ring she thought making her way through all the shelves and tables. This shop isn't that big. Surely someone has heard me. "Hello," Kumiko called out tentatively a little spooked at her situation. She continued walking now, hoping to find a register or the door to the back of the store. "Hello," she called out again.
"Well hello there," came a voice from behind Kumiko, who gave a small shriek and jumped a little turning around. "Oh I'm sorry didn't mean to startle you," said a relatively young and handsome looking man. Kumiko blushed, hands on her chest from her shock, "No, no I'm sorry, screaming like that." Kumiko's hands went from her chest to her cheeks in her embarrassment as she took a look at the man in front of her. She then blushed more realizing how close he was. Wow he's good looking. Must be in his mid twenties at least. I hope my mind is playing tricks on me, he kind of looks like Sanada, only more mature and with short hair.
"Can I help you with something," the guy smiled. Kumiko let out a relieved sigh, stepped back a little, and straightened herself out. His smile is different though. The thought struck Kumiko as funny, that she would even have something to compare the sales guy's smile to. Sanada didn't smile often, but she had seen it and found very it charming. Reality then struck her as she realized she saw it only because she practically stalked the guy. I need help Kumiko thought resisting the urge to groan. "I think I know what you need," the guy said knowingly, "Follow me." "Wha," was all Kumiko got out as the guy passed her by and just kept walking. Kumiko, not really having the heart to say that she just wanted to look at the ring, followed.
The guy quickly went to the counter, pulled out what looked liked a jewelry box though it was a rather obnoxious hot pink and held it out for Kumiko. "Shake it." Kumiko looked at the sale's guy skeptically. He just nodded at her indicating that, yes, he really wanted her to shake it. Kumiko lightly took hold of the box and shook it the tiniest bit before quickly handing it back to him. The guy took the box and set in down in between them. He pulled out a small drawer that was centered towards the bottom of the box and took out a piece of paper. He handed that small strip of paper to Kumiko. "If you say that you the guy you like he'll fall in love with you."
There was a pause as Kumiko just stared at the guy before she finally blurted out, "What? That… that's silly." The guy just smiled again, "I guarantee it will work." Kumiko frowned a little, "How? These words don't make any sense." "Magic," The guy replied. "Magic," Kumiko repeated, disbelief in her voice and across her face, "And wait, how did you even know I like someone. Who's to say he's not already my boyfriend?" The guy just looked at Kumiko as if to say that it was all really obvious.
Kumiko sighed but still stood her ground. "But really magic, what kind of notion is this? Who do you think you are? Magic indeed." "I'm what some people would call a witch doctor but you can call me Kyousuke." Kumiko wanted to fall over. What an ordinary name she thought, having expected something rather exotic since the guy did claim to be a witch doctor. Kumiko sighed again. "I'm sorry but I really just wanted to ask about the ring in the window, I don't want this. I don't even believe it will work." "That's fair, but I guarantee that it will, weather you believe it or not. Though I suppose that if you use it, you at least have the tiniest belief or hope that it will work."
"Right," Kumiko responded, dubious, just wanting to leave at that moment. "I don't want to use it though. I'd rather not. I mean would you use it?" Kyousuke leaned back, clearly thinking about it. "No I wouldn't." See Kumiko almost said before Kyousuke continued on. "I'd use a love potion." A love potion Kumiko thought exasperated, shaking her head a little. Kyousuke kept speaking, not paying attention to Kumiko. "The words would be a little strange because I would use it on somebody I already knew, it would be easy to give them the love potion. You, on the other hand, look like you're having a hard time even speaking to the guy. A few random words said are probably easier then trying to give the guy a drink. You can just run up to him and say them if you want to, it will work."
Kumiko just stared at Kyousuke not really sure what to make of everything he just said. "Tell you what," Kyousuke offered, "I'll give it to you at a discount price of 500 yen." Kumiko raised her eyebrows. Five hundred yen wasn't that bad. But at the same time it's for a strip of paper she thought, it's actually rather ridiculous. "It will work, he will love you." Kumiko bit her lip, not sure of what to do. She hated letting people down and the guy was being very insistent. She would have continued to stand there for a while, thinking over how to say no, when her phone rang. Whatever Kumiko thought getting out her phone and her wallet. She gave him 500 yen as she answered her phone and left.
"Wow Kumiko, took you long enough. Where have you been," Rika asked after the girls met back up. "Just browsing. There was lots of stuff to look at." It's true enough Kumiko added in her head. "What's that in your hand," Miharu asked pointing at the slip of paper. "Oh nothing," Kumiko replied, "Just an ad thing I saw."
"Hey let's go into this store," Itoe interrupted before anything else could be said. She had halted and turned into the store, dragging Miharu with her. Kumiko was glad for the change as she and Rika followed the other two girls. She tucked the slip of paper in her wallet and put them both in her purse.
It's not like I believe it will work or anything. I just felt sorry for the guy. I doubt he gets very many customers. Kumiko's own thoughts began to question her and she shook her head. No, not even the slightest bit do I think it will work nor do I want it to work or even use it. I did just spend 500 yen for that piece of paper. I'm going to keep it for now, that's all.
