(A teenage girl walks into the spotlgiht on the stage holding a remote an notebook.)
Lost: (bows) Konichiwa! Arigato for coming to my story. I hope you enjoy it. (bows)
(Lost presses a button on her remote and jumps off the stage as a screen flickers on.)
"You need to get your arm treated." A young boy stated to his sempai as they sat under a willow deep in the park.
"I have to go to Germany." He whispered over the silence that had descended on the two pillars.
"Why?" the younger boy asked.
"It's the only place that I can get my arm treated properly." The older boy explained. An uncomfortable silence fell as the kohai pondered this statement.
"Then go." He whispered. The elder turned to him in shock. He expected to be asked to stay, to get it treated here. Anything to not have to leave the young man before him. "If you must go, then go, Just promise to return, to not forget."
"I could never forget." The elder whispered. The pillars embraced before parting to their respective homes.
RAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYN
A few months later the two were once again in the park. Neither had spoken a word since they had arrived at their spot. The two never had to speak a word to really know what was being said. Many times their meetings went without any words at all. Tonight, the elder broke the silence.
"Thank you." He whispered.
"Nani? What for?" the younger asked in confusion.
"For letting me go." The kohai just smiled up at his sempai.
RAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYN
Just barely two months later the duo once more had to break the silence that would normally surround the spot.
"The US Open is beginning in two weeks." The kohai stated. The elder said nothing before standing abruptly and turning away.
"I'm assuming you're going to participate in it?" he asked calmly.
"Yes." The younger whispered almost to the point of not being able to hear the word being spoken. A tense silence fell over them. Then the sempai walked away, leaving the kohai to watch after him as the rain that had been threatening to pour all day began. "Don't you want me to go? Don't you want me to become better like I had wanted for you? Don't you want me to return to you? Don't you want me to remember you? I don't know when I can come back. I don't know if I'll want to come back if you aren't here anymore." The kohai whispered into the rain as he tilted his head to the sky. "Don't you care for me anymore? I know there was a distance in us from Germany but does that mean your support is gone?" The kohai then walked away from the tree, tears mingling with the rain.
RAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYN
All of his sempais had come to see him off, all but one that is. The group met at the school where the kohai was grapping the rest of his things.
"Be careful over there, okay?" the mother of the group requested.
"Hai, I will sempai," the kohai responded nodding his head.
"Aww, our little guy is finally leaving us! Waaa!" Another senpai yelled, glomping the youngest boy.
"You gave him sugar didn't you?" the kohai accused his mothering sempai from the smothering hold. The elder boy rubbed his head and laughed nervously before prying his friend of the young boy.
"Sa, we made this for you, since you aren't sure when you will return." The always smiling mild mannered sempai said, handing the kohai a book. The boy opened it to the first page, only to see the smiling faces of his friends with the sunrise having just finished behind them.
"Arigato, sempai, it was very thoughtful of you." The kohai stated. The smiling sempai pulled the younger boy into a small hug, creating a chain affect of hugs from all the sempais, even the ever glaring second year.
"You promise to return don't you? Even if it takes years?" the hyper sempai asked.
"I promise, sempais, I'll return as soon as possible, with a US Open trophy in my hands."
"Are you so sure you can achieve that?" the smiling one asked.
"Of course I can. I have you guys behind me." The kohai stated, smirking. "Mada mada da ne." Was the parting words from the kohai as he turned to his taxi.
"Mada mada da ne!" the group of elder boys shouted back from the clubroom entrance.
RAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYN
It had taken three years but the kohai had returned. It was the same day he had first come to Japan in his first year of junior high. Now he was a first year in high school. The first thing he did was go straight to the courts to see all of the old regulars minus the captian.
He smirked at the thought forming in his mind, as he studied the slaking students. In his best impression he shouted.
"30 LAPS EVERYONE! STOP SLACKING!" Everyone snapped to attention and began to run with a parting "Hai, Buchou!" from everyone's mouths. The only one not to run was the smiling sempai from three years back.
"That was cruel." The sempai called to the kohai. The rest of the regulars stopped running and turned to the smirking boy with the white cap.
"Oi, gaki! What was that for?"
"Baka sempai, it was funny."
"Funny? I'll show you funny!" the childish sempai grabbed the kohai in a headlock, taking off the younger and much shorter boy's hat before ruffling his hair.
"Aa, Sempai, cut it out!" The rest of the sempais also greeted the younger boy.
"Ah, I have something for you." The younger boy stated, pulling open his bag. Out of it he pulled two trophies, one from the US Open, and another that had a pillar with a tennis player on top. On the base was written. 'To the best support a pillar could have.' Underneath it was written all the players names.
"What is going on?" asked a voice from behind the group.
"Sa, Buchou, we were just welcoming our youngest kohai back." Fuji responded.
"Fine, not get back to practice, we have a match soon." The buchou then walked away to see how the rest of the team was doing.
RAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYNRAYN
That night, the two pillars once again met under the tree in the park.
"You came." The younger said in surprise.
"And you came back." The elder replied. There was silence as each wondered how to breach the wall between them that had appeared from their last meeting.
"Why?" the kohai whispered. "Why did you walk away? Why did you not see me off with the others? Why did you not ask me to remember and to return?" the kohai turned away from his sempai as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Because there was no need to." Was the awnser. The kohai whipped around in shock.
"What do you mean no need to?! If I hadn't asked you to remember and to return you would have stayed in Germany, or gone on to America! Why was my situation so different? Why?" The kohai demanded to know. The sempai turned to the young man in front of him.
"Because you were the only one that had needed me to return. Everyone needed you to return, not just me."
"Buchou……" the kohai whispered.
"You are the only thing supporting that team now, Ryoma. They only need me for guidance, not for strength. But you needed my strength still when I left to Germany. When you left for America, you didn't need my support anymore. Even now you still don't need my support. You don't need me for you tennis." The sempai then turned to walk away and this time, the kohai grabbed his hand.
"Who said I needed you just for tennis? Who said I don't you just for life?" the younger boy whispered. The elder turned back to him fully and, surprisingly smiled. The younger stood on his toes and brushed the others lips softly.
"I am still mada mada da ne, after all."
(The screen flickers off and the spotlight reappears. Lost jumps back onto the stage.)
Lost: Well, there's the story. Please message/review and tell me what you thought of it. Arigato! Until next time, Ja ne!
(Lost jumps off the stage and all the lights flicker off)