CHAPTER 2: TENNIS, A BALL, AND A HOT CHICK

THWACK!!

"OUCH!!"

"OH MY GOD! SHE'S REAL!" Momo gasped.

Tezuka and the rest of the members rushed over to Momo and Eiji.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!!" Kaido hollered, while the freshmen (including Eichizen!!), and a few seniors were laughing in the background. Tezuka wanted to tear his hair out. REALLY. But he didn't, of course. He was thinking of how he could explain to the principal that someone from the tennis club IDIOTICALLY hit a walking girl, because… well, because of whatever reason the two idiots in front of him had to say.

"Well… we… we thought…" Eiji started.

"You THOUGHT?!" Eichizen asked exasperatedly. "You HAVE NO BRAINS!!"

"Ouch." Fuji whispered to Kawamura, who was standing on tip toes to get a glimpse of the hit girl.

"We… we just thought she was a mirage…"

"SO?!" Oishi asked, his eyes almost burning with anger. Oh my God, the principal's gonna assassinate us…

"We… we checked if she really was a mirage, or not…"

"BY HITTING HER WITH A TENNIS BALL?!" Kaido raged.

Momo was about to piss in his shorts. Well, if you were in front of a raging Kaido like what HE was experiencing, it wasn't surprising if it DID happen. "Y-yes…" he said in a very tiny voice.

"You have finally out-'stupided' yourselves…" Eichizen muttered, a smirk forming on his face.

"Oh my god, that was so hilarious…" Fuji said, still chuckling. Tezuka finally spoke up.

"It won't be if the principal finds out that two members from the tennis club," he said, facing the already scared-to-death members, and hollered the next part. "HIT AN INNOCENT—" Tezuka said.

"…and hot," Momo quipped in.

"AND HOT GIRL!!" Tezuka finished.

Silence. Silence. Silence.

The freshmen once more gaped at another senpai. Tezuka blinked. Wait, what did I say?? He thought, then instantly turned a bright red. He towered angrily over Momo.

"ARE YOU LOOKING FOR MORE TROUBLE??!!" he shouted at him.

"But she's—"

"I DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!!"

"Tezuka-senpai just said—mmpphh!!" a freshman said, but Inui instantly clamped his hand over the youngster's mouth.

"You don't want to finish that sentence…" he whispered quietly. "Thank me later for saving your life…"

The freshman just nodded his head in agreement.

Finally, tired of staying on tip toes, Kawamura spoke up. "Shouldn't we check on the girl or something?" he asked. Silence, then,

"I'LL GO!" Momo said, already running over, but Tezuka caught him by the back of his collar, and yanked him back.

"YOU are in no way going over there." Tezuka said, every word filled with anger. Momo nodded silently.

"THEN I'LL GO!" Eiji said triumphantly. "Alri—gyaaahhh!!" he shrieked, as someone pulled him back the same way Tezuka yanked Momo back.

"ARE YOU SANE?!" Kaido raged. "Neither one of you idiots are going there!"

"It should be Tezuka." Eichizen said, looking at the tired-looking captain of the tennis club.

"Why ME?" he asked. 'This kid really wants me dead!' He thought. 'You'd think, after all we've been through, he'd have a little kindness and gratitude… backstabber…'

"Cause you're the captain." Eichizen said, a mischievous smile forming on his face (*faint!!*) "You're responsible for the whole team, and stuff."

Tezuka shut up. The brat was right, that was true. He sighed, and thought 'I need to resign or something…'

"Fine…"

"Hey, Tezuka, can I come?" Kawamura asked.

"Yeah, me too…" Oishi said, grinning. Tezuka ALMOST sweatdropped as the other members of the club started saying, "Me too!"

"What if EVERYONE except dumbass and moron here comes with me?" he asked, while massaging his temples. 'This job is making me grow older every second… I REALLY need to resign…' he thought.

Eichizen shrugged. "Why not?"

Tezuka braced himself for the worst. "Alright, guys." He sighed. "Let's go."

Meanwhile, while all of that was going on, something else was happening on the other side.

The girl had fallen down on the dusty ground, moaning.

"See, honey? There's danger everywhere." An elegant-looking woman in her forties said, smiling while wincing a bit at the look of her daughter's forehead. "You should have listened to us."

"We should have brought along Kristoff and Vladim—"

"Dad, it's fine…" the girl said, cutting him off but still not sitting up. "I'm alive, aren't I?" she said skeptically.

"Oh, honey, you don't need to endure this sort of pain…"

"Mom, you sound like a novel writer…"

"But, sweetie—"

"I'm FINE!" she said. A pause then, "I just don't want to sit up yet… my head's swimming."

"Oh, Viktor, we have to call the family doctor…"

"ALL THE WAY FROM RUSSIA?!" the girl said exasperatedly. "Have you gone— ow…"

Viktor Miaskovsky huffed, his thick moustache bristling. He was not pleased with this school. Was it right to enroll his daughter here? The apple of his eye? His heir? He nearly fainted when he asked himself: was it safe for her daughter to stay here? In this school? Yet Olga had never failed his family. Olga had been with the family since he was born, and was more of a part of the family than a nurse. Besides, Olga had been here before, in Japan, and claims that it's a beautiful and completely safe environment for his young daughter.

He stared again at the young woman that was his daughter, and nearly sweatdropped when he heard her moan. He didn't know why she picked Japan—out of all the other countries they've gone to! She said she wanted to stay somewhere warm, that had all four seasons, because she was tired of always getting sick back home in sweet, sweet Russia.

There was Australia, but that was too hot, and there was almost nothing there but deserts. Then, there was china. But it was too populated. Thailand? Same reason. Malaysia was okay, but the dialect was too hard, and it was her first time to learn it. They didn't even THINK of going to the Philippines—what with the unexpected weather. Plus, there was a storm there when they were about to go, so they decided to cancel it completely.

But when she arrived here in Japan, her foul mood during the trip had changed. She instantly fell in love with Mt. Fuji at first glance, and insisted that the whole family go there for a climb, despite the fact that she had a cold during that time. The cherry blossoms that greeted her as she descended from the plane delighted her, and she was in a very cheerful mood all throughout their sight-seeing. She even gave the principal of this school one of her rare heartwarming smiles. She was very happy… until the ball hit her painfully at the side of her forehead. And here she was now, moaning in pain. Nevertheless, she wasn't cursing anyone or anything yet, and that was a first. What sort of magic did Japan have that Russia simply didn't, making her want to stay here instead of her own homeland? He'd have given anything to have that sort of magic, so that she'd stay, under the surveillance of his watchful eyes. And yet…

He looked up at the brown sparrows on soaring across the noon sky. His own sparrow was now testing her wings, and would soon take flight. He grunted. No, she was no sparrow, but a glorious and radiant swan, with its elegant white feathers and graceful movements. He looked at her again, and allowed himself a small smile. Yes, his swan would soon fly off. But his swan would always, always find her way home.

"Dear, don't you feel hot?" The woman beside Viktor asked, her voice trembling. The young teen hadn't moved an inch after she said that her head was swimming.

"I don't…" she muttered. After a few minutes passed, she asked, "Where's my hat?"

"Here, ma chére," the older woman said motherly, handing her the large and attractive straw hat. The girl had made it herself, during one of her bored days in Russia. It was simple, but surprisingly attractive. It was wonderful how she could turn something so plain into something… elegant, yet not TOO elegant. Somehow, she had always tried her best to squash that 'royal' part of her, and had thanked her mother countless times that she looked more French than Russian. It wasn't because she hated her Russian grandparents; it was because she didn't want to become part of their royal stuff. She had stated that fact a long time ago, when she turned fifteen. A feeling she had always kept since her childhood days, when 'grand-papa' never let her out of his sight. The older woman laughed inwardly. Maybe it was a Russian thing for fathers and grandfathers to be overly protective of their daughters…

"Sweetie, please stand up."

The hat was covering her face. "I don't want you see me like this." She said stubbornly, acting very much like her father. "I don't want ANYONE to see me like this…"

"Oh, stop your nonsense…" Viktor said, slightly chuckling at the fact that she had gotten her attitude from him. "Stand up. Or at least, sit up."

"…my head's still swimming…" she moaned. "It hurts…it really does…"

Sadly, she had also inherited his pride.

"Maybe if you sit up—?" his father asked.

"No… the pain worsens…"

"Viktor…"

"Easy, Louise," Viktor replied, taking his wife's trembling hands into his. "She WILL be fine. She is, after all, a Miaskovsky."

At that moment, our 'heroes' arrived at the scene of the crime, and, since Viktor saw Tezuka carrying a tennis racket, he turned away from his family and stared angrily down at Tezuka. At that moment, Tezuka blinked, and nearly slapped himself.

'Oh my God!! I'm carrying a freakin' tennis racket! Shit!!' he thought desperately.

"Pardon me, but…" Viktor's left eye twitched as he restrained himself from strangling the young man in front of him. "Are you the person responsible for what happened to my daughter?" he asked, motioning his large palm towards the girl who still lay sprawled on the ground.

Tezuka equaled the old gentleman with a polite stare, and said, "I'm sorry for what happened. But let me assure you that it was nothing more but an accident." He said, bowing low in sincerity… and fear, of course.

"Yes, sir. We're very sorry…" Fuji said, bowing beside Tezuka. The rest of the members bowed and muttered their apologies, and as Tezuka looked up, his eyes slightly widened when he saw the cold eyes crinkle as the rather intimidating old man gave a small smile.

"No worries, young man." He said. "It was, after all, an accident."

'Sure it was…' Tezuka thought. 'I accidentally trained two idiots to hit their targets accurately… oh, fuck.'

"Do you need us to move her?" Fuji asked. Viktor looked at the brown-haired and gentle-eyed young man before him.

"Hmm, I daresay I do…" he said, quite apologetically. "I'd do it myself, if I wasn't this old…" Viktor allowed himself to laugh. It was a cheerful, booming laugh, that surprised (and scared, for some others) the members.

"Dad… what's so funny?" the girl weakly asked. "Don't tell me you're laughing at me… ow…"

"Oh, Viktor, she's speaking!" Louise said, her eyes slightly teary.

"Yes, dearest, I told you so."

"I'll do it… is that okay?" Fuji asked.

"It would be greatly appreciated." Viktor replied fatherly.

Fuji walked forward, and knelt on one knee at the girl's side. A large straw hat covered most of her face, but as he squinted, he was able to see a part of her face, around the eye. The hat was held by her hand which was holding the part of her head that got hit. The tennis ball lay innocently a few meters away from its victim.

"Do you mind if I carry you to the clinic?"

"My… my head feels dizzy…" she said quietly. Her voice was not like the voices of the other girls which were high-pitched or too low. It was soft yet strong at the same time, and had an accent which Fuji could not quite put his finger on. His eyes traveled over to the couple, then back to the girl. He chuckled.

"I promise I'll be gentle." He smiled at her, because he knew she could see him, though not so clearly. "Tell me if you feel discomfort while I'm picking you up, okay?"

"…sure…" she said faintly.

'The heat's getting to her…' he thought. Carefully, he slid his right arm under her nape, and his left under her knees. Slowly, he stood up, because standing up too quickly might make her feel dizzier than she already was. It was crucial that he be sensitive to how she feels. As he lifted her, he was surprised at how light she felt and how petite her body frame was. Before he carried her, he was readying himself for the weight he was about to carry, estimating how heavy or light she would be. This came as a shock, because he thought she might be a bit heavier; she was too light for a woman her age.

"Lean your head against me." He advised quietly. Slowly, the girl leaned the side of her head against the part where the neck and the shoulder met. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes…" her voice was weak. Walking slowly but in long strides so that they could reach the shade quicker, Fuji carried her to the safety of the school.

The freshmen wanted to get a closer look, but Tezuka drew the line then and there.

"She's an injured person, not a display animal at the zoo!" he said angrily at the freshmen. Eichizen was the only one, as always, who didn't bother himself with how she looked like.