AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who know the author Ren Estera, go pester her to update Fine Line. XD. Also, for those who will be so kind to review will be getting a preview of the next chapter if you're interested. And I am also looking for a beta reader. So, if you're interested, please let me know. Nothing else to say, but happy reading~
Disclaimer: All Prince of Tennis character belong to Konomi Takeshi.
ONE ~ It's the Least I Can Do
A barely audible knock from her doorway disturbed her from her reverie. She had been daydreaming again about random scenarios for her story drafts that she had jotted on paper not too long ago.
"Hikaru-kun, are you awake?" Her brother's muffled voice came from the opposite side of the closed door.
"I'm awake."
Yagyuu Hiroshi, famously known as The Gentleman, opened his sister's door. His dark violet bangs hovered over his opaque glasses as he stepped inside, "Why don't you come down for breakfast?" he asked.
Her elbow was propped on her wooden table, her head leaning against her palm. She resumed twirling her pencil using nothing but her thumb and index finger as she turned to face him, blowing her dark brown bangs out of her jade eyes, "Not really hungry."
"Still, you should eat something at least. Come downstairs. I'll make you something." Hikaru sighed, not wanting to leave her current train of thought. She stood up nonetheless and reluctantly ambled towards her patient brother. He stepped aside, allowing her to pass first. As he trailed behind her, he habitually pushed his glasses upwards using two fingers, "Don't forget that my friends are coming over for dinner tonight."
"I didn't forget." The first person to pop into her head was Niou Masaharu, the notorious Trickster and her brother's best friend. Niou had been her math tutor throughout junior high and high school, and Hikaru had grew extremely fond of him over the years. Not only was he mischievous but somewhat playful as well, and she liked that. She didn't remember when her crush first developed. Perhaps it was during the first year of high school, when he kissed her on the forehead as a reward for getting a near perfect score on her important math exam. All in all, her heart fluttered every time he was near, and she had no control over it. "In fact, I'll help you cook tonight!"
"No… no, that's quite alright," Yagyuu replied calmly as he carefully untied the knot on the packaging surrounding the loaf of bread. Hikaru jumped onto a chair, swinging her legs back and forth like a five year old awaiting her daily meal. As he tossed two pieces into the toaster, Yagyuu recalled his sister's last horrific cooking incident. The entire house smelt like oil, and the greasy substance clung to everything it could get its grimy hands on. Never again did Yagyuu trust his sister in the kitchen alone. "I can handle it. You can keep them all company while they wait."
"You're cooking for…" Hikaru paused and counted the former tennis team regulars using her fingers. "Eight other people though, including me," she finished flatly. "You'll need the help."
Yagyuu opened the toaster, dragged the bread onto a clean plate and smeared the slightly burnt top with butter. "Trust me, Hikaru-kun, I can handle it."
Hikaru shrugged, "Well, if you say so."
The rest of the morning went smoothly as Hikaru offered her opinions on what she thought would be good for tonight's dinner. Yagyuu listened intently, recognizing most of the dishes she had named as being some of Niou's favourites.
After she finished her breakfast, Hikaru rushed upstairs with a cup of water, and Yagyuu settled on the couch and picked up the educational novel he borrowed from Yanagi a week ago.
Meanwhile, with the sunlight filtering through her blinds, Hikaru was absorbed in her fantasies. She sat at the edge of her seat, tapping her pencil against her chin and staring blankly at the random words on her paper. It wasn't like her to hit a dead end. Usually, she would be able to conjure multiple ideas in minutes. But right now, her mind was blank.
Suddenly, the loud and continuous vibrate from her cell phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Hastily, she answered it, "Hello?"
"Hey, Hikaru, you busy right now?" It was Kirihara Akaya, former Junior Ace of the Rikkaidai Fuzoku tennis team and Yagyuu Hikaru's best friend. He was known as the devil on the tennis courts, but off courts, he was playful and a tad devious according to Hikaru. It was strange how they became so close due to a video game that occupied their time for hours and hours when Yagyuu's friends visited the first time. They clicked almost instantly.
"Not really," Hikaru said, dropping her pencil, "Why?"
"I'm heading to the arcade with Marui and Jackal-senpai right now. Come so I can kick your ass at air hockey again!"
Hikaru rolled her eyes, "If I go, Marui-senpai is just going to max out my credit card again by taking a 'quick' stop at some sweet shop." There was a brief pause before she continued, "Also, I'll have you know that I can kick your ass at air hockey any day, brat!"
"Hey! Who are you calling a brat? We're both second years, and you're younger than me!"
"By only a couple months," Hikaru said flatly.
Akaya's rambling was abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice, "Oi, oi, Hikaru-chan, don't exaggerate! I have never maxed out your credit card before!" She instantly recognized the smooth voice belonging to her playful redheaded friend, Marui Bunta. He was carefree and extremely laid-back. Not only that, he was also playful and had an overwhelming infatuation for sweets of all kinds. Hikaru remembered the first time they talked; it was two years ago when she was in her last year of high school, and Akaya had brought two unexpected visitors to tag along on their venture to the arcade.
"I'm not exaggerating," Hikaru teased, "Well… maybe a little bit, but you get the gist."
Marui rolled his eyes, "I did promise you that I would pay you back one day, didn't I?"
"And have you?"
"Um… well – not exactly," the redhead muttered. "But if you come, I'll be sure to treat you to some delicious sweets~ how's that? Can't resist now, huh?"
Jackal sighed quietly, who Hikaru assumed was standing beside Marui. To this day, it still struck her as odd at how the calm, patient, Brazilian boy became such good friends with a somewhat hyperactive redhead that, despite being the oldest, needed just as much babysitting as Kirihara Akaya.
"Really?" Hikaru asked.
Hikaru heard Akaya gasp loudly, "Are you serious, Marui-senpai? That's not fair!"
"My wallet can only take so much, you know," Marui replied lazily.
"Did you even bring your wallet?" Hikaru heard Jackal ask suspiciously.
"I'm sure I did," Marui said slowly, obviously unsure. "Anyway, we'll be waiting at Sweets Galore."
"But I wanna go to the arcade first!" Akaya protested.
"I am deprived of sugar," Marui stated flatly, "And I need energy so I can kick yours and Hikaru-chan's ass at air hockey."
Hikaru frowned, "You'll be eating your words soon enough, idiot."
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to beat you with my genius-like skills~" On that note, Marui rudely hung up, just before Hikaru could lecture the self-proclaimed genius.
Hikaru swiftly grabbed her small brown bag and dropped her phone inside. She rushed down the steps, ignoring a confused Yagyuu Hiroshi as she slipped into a pair of socks before her favorite pair of boots.
"Hikaru-kun, where are you going?" Yagyuu asked, raising a brow.
"Out," Hikaru said, without paying much attention to her brother.
"Well, you're certainly not going out dressed like that," Yagyuu said, loudly. "Go upstairs and change into the proper attire."
Her hand was already on the doorknob, but due to her brother's unusually loud voice, she glanced downwards. She was still wearing her baggy neon green sweater, and her matching shorts was a bit too short to be considered appropriate in this chilly weather. Hikaru blushed, not realizing that she was about to step into the cold in her favorite pajamas. Yagyuu shook his head as his sister rushed upstairs.
After minutes of rummaging through her messy closet, Hikaru ran down the stairs, dressed in an off-shoulder long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. Yagyuu watched as she, once again, slipped into her favorite pair of boots. "Be sure to be back by five," he said.
"Don't worry," Hikaru grinned, "I'll be with Akaya and them!"
Yagyuu didn't get a chance to say anything more as she slammed the door behind her and was already rushing down the street, slipping into her jacket that was draped over her shoulders.
Hikaru arrived in front of a giant sweets shop that looked as though it was made entirely out of candy. Not to mention, it looked pretty pricey She pushed open the glass door and stepped inside. Loud chatter and laughter echoed throughout, and many parents were carefully watching their seemingly sugar deprived children. Hikaru's eyes were solely fixed on the nicely decorated pudding cups that were sitting on a sleek silver platter. She was just about to grab one when a loud familiar voice snapped her out of it.
"Hey, Hikaru-chan~ that was fast!" Hikaru turned around. Marui Bunta had a tray consisting of a variety of different treats.
"You've been busy," Hikaru said, snickering.
"Isn't that to be expected, Hikaru-kun?" Jackal Kuwahara approached his friends, a smile on his face. Jackal was one of the fair few that Hikaru envied. How he had the patience to deal with Marui on a regular basis was something she would never understand. The kid practically used him as a bank when in need of sweets.
"Well… yeah, you do have a point, Jackal-senpai," Hikaru laughed. Upon noticing her best friend's absence, she glanced around, and nowhere did she spot a seaweed head in the crowd. "What happened to Akaya?"
"I think I'll get some of this… oh! And some of this, too! Wow, this looks amazing!" Jackal and Hikaru peeked around the corner. Kirihara Akaya was gazing hungrily at the enormous amount of sweets in front of him, his tray practically filled. As soon as Akaya dropped another strawberry tart onto his tray, he turned to his left. Hikaru and Jackal looked absolutely appalled. "Hikaru, did you get anything yet? I just tried some of their free samples, and it was so good! Marui-senpai was right!"
"I think Marui-senpai is rubbing off on him," Hikaru muttered.
"Poor kid," Jackal added, sighing softly.
"Hey, are you going to get anything, Hikaru-chan?" Marui asked from behind them. Hikaru and Jackal turned around, not surprised to see his tray filled with various amounts of goodies.
Hikaru shook her head, "Nah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Marui prompted, "This is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity~"
"If you pay for Akaya, that's good enough for me."
Marui rolled his eyes, "I was going to pay for the brat anyway."
Jackal followed Marui towards the long line-up as Akaya approached Hikaru, a large grin on his face.
"Hikaru, are you sure you're not going to get anything?" Akaya asked, "You'll be missing out!"
She smirked, "Don't worry about that, Akaya, I'll just mooch off of you and Marui-senpai."
"Well… I do have enough for two people to share."
You have enough on your tray to feed a tennis team, Hikaru thought as they joined their friends at the back of the line. While Marui was busy educating Akaya on how much sugar one should consume every day, Jackal stared blankly ahead, appearing to not be interested in his friends' ramblings. But Hikaru could tell, by the way his eyes drifted towards them, that Jackal was amazed at Marui's knowledge of anything that pertained to sweets.
When they arrived at the cashier, Marui and Akaya simultaneously placed their trays on the counter. The woman's stoic countenance remained unchanged as she punched in numbers, her eyes scanning the sweets every so often. Hikaru turned to Marui who dug in his pockets, looking for what she assumed was his wallet.
"Marui-senpai, what are you doing?" Akaya asked.
"Finding my wallet – duh, what else?"
"Y-you were serious?"
Hikaru smiled. She knew that underneath that childish behaviour of his, Marui was still mature to some extent, though she was still surprised that he was actually willing to pay. Jackal, too, was astounded that Marui was about to pay for his own necessities. However, after minutes of watching a panicked redhead rummaging through his bag, the three came to a conclusion that his wallet was probably sitting somewhere in his room… again. Jackal sighed, feeling reluctant to pay… again, took out his wallet anyhow.
Just as Jackal was about to hand over his credit card, Hikaru had already handed the cashier hers. Jackal blinked several times, "Hikaru-kun, I can pay for it!" he urged.
"I'll treat them this time," Hikaru said, rolling her eyes as she had said this exact phrase for what felt to be the umpteenth time, "Don't worry, Jackal-senpai."
Marui frowned. Usually, he would be ecstatic that someone else had courteously offered to pay for his sweets, but in all honesty, he had been planning to pay. He had been outrageously lucky to find friends like Jackal and Hikaru, both of whom would rarely complain about all the money they had spent on him. He sighed as he now remembered the whereabouts of his wallet which was, without a doubt, sitting at the bottom of his school backpack. Unlike junior high, it wasn't unusual for Marui to be without his wallet. But why did he had to forget today out of all days?
As they exited the sweet shop, Marui, surprising everyone, didn't seem very happy. Hikaru draped an arm around his shoulder and patted his collarbone, "What's wrong, senpai?" she asked, "Are you sad that you couldn't get more cause you weren't the one that paid?"
Akaya took out a mango tart and eagerly stuffed the entire dessert into his mouth, "Mm! So good! I'm definitely coming back! Thanks, Hikaru!"
"Marui, it's fine," Jackal said. "You forget your wallet every time; I'm not surprised that it happened again."
"Besides," Hikaru shrugged, "You just have to pay us back. Oh – wait, I forgot. You never do," she teased.
Just as Marui was about to defend himself, a familiar voice sounded nearby, "Puri~"
"Niou-senpai!" Akaya gasped.
Hikaru instantly brightened.
Ignoring his former teammates, Niou approached Hikaru. "Hey, kiddo," he smirked as he ruffled her hair playfully, "What are you doing hanging out with these losers?" he teased.
"Ha-ha, you're hilarious, Niou," Marui grumbled.
"I thank thee for the compliment." Niou said, "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"
"We dropped by the sweet shop for… obvious reasons," Jackal started. "Now we're planning on going to the arcade. Did you want to join us?"
Niou waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, I'll pass. I'm pretty much booked for the entire afternoon."
Hikaru's shoulders fell in disappointment. "Where are you going, Niou-senpai?"she asked eagerly. Marui and Jackal glanced at each other briefly. Akaya paid no mind as he dug another dessert out of his treat bag.
Niou smirked. He leaned close to her, and a heavy blush crept on her cheeks, "It's a secret, Hikaru-chan," he said, putting a finger to her lips. "Heh, are you going to miss me?"
"I… didn't mean it like that," she said quietly, unable to meet Niou's eyes.
Niou laughed, "Do not fret; I'll be sure to grace you with my presence this evening at five."
"Oh, we're totally looking forward to that," Akaya said flatly.
"Oh, I'm sure you are," Niou grinned mischievously and draped an arm around Akaya and Marui. Hikaru saw his hand reach into their plastic bags, simultaneously keeping them busy with his ramblings. When his mission was complete, Niou stuffed the cake into his mouth, shocking a now infuriated Marui. The Trickster spun on his heel and ambled down the street, waving a tart-filled hand towards his friends.
"That was my cake!" Marui shouted angrily.
"And that was my tart!" Akaya added.
"It seems like you were right, Hikaru-kun," Jackal said, chuckling softly, "Marui is rubbing off on—"Upon noticing that Hikaru wasn't paying the least attention to him, Jackal followed her gaze, and eventually his landed on Niou who was now turning a corner, happily eating on Akaya's stolen tart.
"Argh, I was saving that for last, too!" he pouted.
Marui sighed as he spun around. He noticed Hikaru's somber countenance and his eyebrow rose as he glanced at Jackal who met his eyes. Marui had seen it various times – how she would instantly brighten when Niou was around, or her sudden shyness when he would get close to her.
"C'mon, let's hurry to the arcade!" Akaya suggested, "I'm dying to get kick someone's butt! And don't worry; I'll pay for all the games… that I play."
Jackal frowned, "Then why didn't you offer to pay for your portion of sweets?" Akaya whistled innocently as Jackal started lecturing his junior that he should be responsible and pay for his own things – in other words, on how not to become a Marui.
The redhead stuck his hand inside his bag and handed a large egg tart to her, "Here," he said, "You look like you just saw a bunny get run over by a car or something."
"Gee, thanks," Hikaru muttered, shaking her head to the offer.
"Your loss," he mumbled, before taking a large bite. Hikaru faced forward, tuning out Jackal and Akaya's conversation up front. Once Marui finished, he snickered, "So, how long has it been?"
"Been what?"
"Your innocent crush on Niou~" Marui drawled.
Hikaru turned a light shade of red, "W-what are you talking about?"
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," Marui smiled sinisterly, "I may not be the most observant person, but anyone can tell that you have a little something for him. Am I right, or am I right?"
"S-so – you think he knows?" In response, Marui laughed, and it was then did she realize that she had broken her cover. "It's not funny, senpai," she said softly.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," the redhead said, smiling widely. "But if I can tell that you have a little something for him, I can guarantee that he knows, too." Hikaru sighed loudly. "And who knows? Maybe he's just waiting for the right opportunity to ask you out."
She blushed madly, "Don't give me any wrong ideas."
"I'm not!" Marui protested, "I'm just saying~"
Hikaru chewed at her bottom lip, "Am I that obvious though?"
He shrugged, "Akaya and Jackal don't seem to notice, but it's pretty obvious to me." Marui smirked, "Don't you just love my genius skills~"
Hikaru frowned, "Sure, whatever."
Suddenly, Marui wrapped an arm around Hikaru's shoulder, "Do you wanna know a little secret, Hikaru-chan?"
Hikaru picked up his hand and flashed the self-proclaimed genius an irritated look, "What?"
Unfazed by her action, Marui placed his hands behind his head, "Well, I do know Niou pretty well. We did go to the same junior high and high school, after all."
"That's not anything new," Hikaru stated, "Next to Jackal, you two are like best buddies or something."
"Until your brother ruined our relationship," Marui said dramatically.
Hikaru rolled her eyes, "I'll be sure to tell my brother not to interfere anymore – if that makes you feel any better."
Marui laughed, "Nah, I love Yagyuu just as much as I love Niou."
Hikaru smirked, "Way to come out of the closet, Marui-senpai!"
Marui nearly tripped and twitched in obvious annoyance, "I didn't mean it like that, okay?" he muttered angrily. Hikaru snickered. Marui coughed loudly and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "Anyway, like I was saying, me and Niou go a long way back. So trust me when I say that I know what type of girls he likes."
Hikaru stiffened. Now that Marui had mentioned it, what was Niou's ideal type? For some reason, it never crossed her mind, "And that would be…?" she asked, quietly, for fear it would be the complete opposite of her.
"Not telling~"
Hikaru stopped and glared at him. "Don't bring up a subject and say nothing about it," she demanded angrily. Jackal and Akaya stopped and turned around, wondering what all the commotion was about, "Marui-senpai!"
Marui walked past his two friends and whistling a happy tune. Jackal and Akaya exchanged a curious glance, "What's going on?" the latter asked.
"Marui, did you upset Hikaru-kun again?" Jackal asked, taking notice of Hikaru's ominous countenance.
"Me? I didn't do anything," Marui said, raising his hands in defense, though his devious smile said otherwise.
Hikaru sighed loudly, "It's nothing," she muttered quietly.
Jackal and Akaya glanced at each other, and as much as they wanted to ask about the subject, her dark aura prevented them from doing so. Hikaru was a nice girl overall, but all the former Rikkai tennis regulars knew better than to mess with her when she was angered.
As they crossed an intersection, Jackal and Akaya resumed their conversation. Marui, on the other hand, fell back into step along-side her. He thoroughly enjoyed seeing her face go red in embarrassment and the inward curl of her lips when she retrained herself from swearing at him.
"Aw, is Hikaru-chan still mad at me?" Marui asked, grinning childishly.
"Go away, senpai," Hikaru muttered.
"Ouch, that's harsh," he placed a hand over his heart, "How 'bout I make it up to you?"
"Don't try to fool me," she said, turning to face him. "It won't work."
"I'm not trying to," the redhead said sternly. Hikaru arched a brow in suspicion. He reached into the plastic bag and pulled out another dessert, "I understand that I owe you a lot for… all that you've done for me."
Hikaru rolled her eyes, "Let me rephrase that for you. 'I understand that I, Marui Bunta, owe you a lot for being my convenient personal bank when I am deprived of sweets'."
"Are you ever going to let that go?" Marui frowned, "Besides, you were the one that offered to pay for me and Akaya earlier!" Hikaru rolled her eyes, "Anyway," the redhead cleared his throat, "In repayment for all that you've… spent on me, I'll be more than happy to give you some of my genius advice~"
Surprisingly, Hikaru smiled, "You? Giving me dating advice? I don't mean to be rude, senpai, but… I'm not sure how to feel about that."
"Let me tell you a little something about Niou," Marui smirked. "He likes to play hard to get. And you should know that he gets bored of his mind games easily. But if you play your cards right, he'll be yours faster than you think~" Hikaru bit her bottom lip. "Besides, other than me and Yagyuu, who else is really close to Niou?" Marui snickered as he noticed her awkward fidgeting.
Picturing a stoic Yagyuu giving her dating advice was pretty damn hard, and even though Niou was his best friend, Hikaru knew that his brother would disapprove. Why? Because he's Yagyuu Hiroshi: the overprotective brother that didn't want his sister to date until her third or preferably fourth year of University.
"Are you legit going to help me, or are you just doing this for kicks?"
A little bit of both, Marui thought. "I'm offended that you would think so lowly of me!" he huffed, "But I can see that you are obviously lacking in self-esteem." Marui grinned, "Lesson number one: Niou dislikes girls who aren't confident."
Hikaru sighed, "You're just going to make fun of me. I just know it."
"No promises there," the redhead laughed, "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime-offer~ it's not every day that I, Marui Bunta, will be so willing to offer someone my genius advice~"
"Hikaru-kun, we'll keep Marui in check. Not to worry," Jackal suddenly piped in. Marui and Hikaru faced forward, not expecting to see Jackal smiling at them.
Akaya, however, had a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. He pointed to Jackal, "What he said," the former snickered, "Besides~ me and Jackal-senpai can help out, too!"
"You've been eavesdropping this whole time, haven't you?" Hikaru frowned.
Akaya gasped dramatically, maybe a little too dramatically, "I would never do such a thing! Isn't that right, Jackal-senpai?"
Yet you were the one who told me to shut up five minutes ago so you could eavesdrop, Jackal thought. He sighed and nodded reluctantly.
Hikaru's shoulders fell and stared at the grinning faces of Marui and Akaya, "Whatever," she muttered quietly.
"This is repayment for all that you've done for me, Hikaru-chan~ and when this is over, I'll owe you nothing~ and you'll owe me a year supply of sweets," Marui chirped.
"What!" Hikaru shouted angrily, "Who said anything about that?"
"Me," the self-proclaimed genius declared, "And starting now, its Professor Marui Bunta to you," he winked, and Hikaru sighed loudly.
Akaya laughed and fell into step along-side the whistling redhead. Jackal, feeling quite sympathetic towards the girl, walked to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Marui's just teasing, Hikaru-kun."
"I know," Hikaru said flatly, "And I won't hear the end of it until this is all over."