Disclaimer in chapter 1
Ryoma really couldn't recall ever finishing a can of Ponta so quickly. Usually, he liked the savor the sugar loaded drink to its fullest, but his sempai's vague request left him more than curious to find out what it was. Of course, as soon as his sempai made the request, he started talking with Nanako and now the two of them wouldn't end their conversation.
Watching the two, he briefly wondered how rude either of them would think he was if just decided to cut into their conversation. He still had to finish packing and find an extra bag to take all the souvenirs back. Stupid Kevin. He had been to Japan once already. Why didn't he just get what he wanted back then? He quickly glanced at the pile. The others, well, he couldn't blame them for asking. It wasn't like they were going to be visiting any time soon. Besides, the necklace Nanako had picked out for his girlfriend would hopefully make up for the last minute change in his schedule. Even if she wasn't mad at him and completely understood.
"Well, it looks as though Echizen is getting a bit anxious." Ryoma's mulling was interrupted by the soft and slightly teasing tone of his sempai. Slowly looking at the older boy, he frowned slightly.
"I do still have to pack," he said hesitantly.
Fuji smiled knowingly before standing. "Ah yes. I suppose you do. We'd best be heading out, then."
Still unsure of where they were going, he headed to the front door and began to pull his shoes on as he watched his sempai bow in thanks to his cousin, before she followed them to the door.
"What do you plan on doing this evening?" Nanako's questioning voice didn't sound at all worried, but it only seemed to make him a bit more anxious. He still had no idea where they were going or what they'd be doing.
"Echizen and I have some unfinished business." Raising an eyebrow at his sempai, Ryoma grabbed his club warmup jacket and yanked it on. Unfinished business? What kind . . . of . . . unfinished . . . His thoughts trailed off as a he felt his lips pull back in a smile. Ohhh, he thought. That unfinished business. Wordlessly, he grabbed his wallet and phone from the tiny stand by the door and shoved them in his tennis bag, which was resting near by.
"I'll be back in short while," he said, pulling his hat on. "This won't take long."
POT
The facilities were expected. The location wasn't. Blinking in surprise, he slowly set down his bag by a nearby bench and looked out over the area. This was the same place he had come with Tezuka-buchou. How did Fuji-sempai know? His face must have mirrored his confusion, because he heard a low chuckle.
"Tezuka was gracious enough to remind me of this place," Fuji commented as he sat down on the bench. "I would've liked to do this at some other location, but it seems as this though this particular place had some hidden meaning for the both of you." He shrugged, the regulars jersey wrinkling slightly at the gesture.
Ryoma himself could only nod. It was true, this place did have special meaning to him. This was the place where, despite all the experience he had, despite all the skill, Tezuka Kunimitsu had driven him to his knees. And it was in this place, a short time later, that they returned to have that last and final goodbye.
And now, this would be the place that he could finally see for himself who Fuji Syusuke really was. Grinning widely, he shrugged off his jacket and unzipped his bag. "Should we start from the beginning? Or where we left off."
Exhibiting a smile that surely matched his own, his sempai shrugged off his jersey as well and reached down for his bag. "To start from the beginning would cheat both of us out of the experience. Besides," he continued as he withdrew his racket. "I believe I was in the lead."
"Che." That brief reminder soured his mood momentarily as he withdrew his own racket. "I told Nanako that I'd be back quickly." Brandishing his racket like a sword, he pointed it at the relax figure that was his sempai. "4 games to 3," he said, the score still burned into his mind. Relinquishing his posture, he set the head of the racket on the ground, his fingers ready to spin. "I can't remember whose serve it is," he explained. "Rough or smooth, sempai. Your call."
