~Chapter 2:~
"I hate History!" shouted a tired Horio as he slumped his head on the library table.
"Horio-kun, you're too loud!" Kachiro whispered. "You'll get scolded by the librarian."
"Demo ne..." Tomoka said as she looked around the library, which somehow turned into a wet market with the amount of noise the other students are making. "The librarian would have to deal with the others first. Horio is not the only loud one here."
"Tomo-chan..." Sakuno muttered.
"Rather than that, what should we do about research?" Tomoka asked the group.
Class 1-1 was assigned a group project by their History teacher. The project was to write a report on any kind of era from any country ranging from America to Europe. Currently, the freshmen group are in the library trying to find a good theme for their research.
"We should find one that's easy for us to do. But also not too simple." Sakuno said.
"The teacher is Hashigawa-sensei, after all." Katsuo said before noticing something amiss. "Are, where's Kuniko-chan?"
"Now that you mentioned it, Echizen's not here either." Horio pointed out as he looked around their table. "Don't tell me they ditched us here!"
"Who ditched who?" came Ryoma's voice as he and Kuniko appeared with a stack of books.
"We went to the History section of the library and found some interesting books we can use." Kuniko explained as they placed the books on the table. "We should be able to find something in these."
"Nice idea, Tezuka!" Horio praised when he noticed something new about the girl. "Tezuka, since when did you wear spectacles?"
"Eh?"
"Oi, you just noticed?" Tomoka mumbled with a sweat-drop. "She wore it since just now."
"Eh?! Sou na no?" His reply were a few face-palms and a "Mada mada dane."
"But now that I see it, Kuniko-chan's really buchou's sister. She looked exactly like him with the specs on." Kachiro said with Katsuo nodding in agreement.
"I've been told that a lot. Even my parents told me," Kuniko then crossed her arms and closed her eyes to imitate her father. "'Kuniko, you're really looking more and more like your brother. By the time you grow up, people would think the both of you are fraternal twins instead.'"
'Twins?' the freshmen thought in unison before imagining a grown-up Kuniko who looked like a female version of their buchou except more outgoing. 'Better stop...'
"You don't have to imagine it..." Kuniko said with a sweat-drop.
"Besides that, Tezuka, there's something that has been bothering me for a while." the uni-brow boy said.
"And that is?" Kuniko inquired with a raised brow.
"Why didn't you take up tennis?" came his question. After that was total silence (for their group, of course) as the sound of pencil scribbling on paper stopped abruptly at the supposed innocent question. Tomoka and Sakuno stared in disbelief before turning to the bronze-haired girl in concern.
Kuniko didn't answer as her eyes were shadowed behind her bangs before taking off her glasses and putting them back into the case. Packing her things into her bag, she stood up from her seat. "Gomen, I just remembered something so I'll just go on ahead."
As the group watched the girl leave the library, Tomoka took the chance to give the uni-brow boy a smack upside the head.
"Itte! What was that for, Osakada?!"
"Baka! What give you the idea to suddenly ask that question!" Tomoka shouted back.
"Eh? Was it something I said?"
"Of course! Of all things to ask, you just have to choose that taboo topic!"
"Taboo?" Ryoma asked, becoming interested.
"Did something happened to Kuniko-chan?" Katsuo asked.
The two girls shared a worried look. "Eto, it's not our place to tell you." Sakuno said.
"But let me give you a warning: Do not ask her again." Tomoka demanded in a serious tone. The boys nodded, despite being curious.
"Oi, Echizen! What are you staring at?" cried Momoshiro as he put the freshman in a headlock before turning to the direction where he was facing. He saw Kuniko talking to their coach before leaving the courts. "Oh ho, Kuniko-chan ne?"
"Momo-senpai, I can't breath..." Ryoma struggled to get out of his hold. Fortunately the Second Year complied and he was free.
"I'm so jealous. The springtime of life..." he nodded to himself.
"What are you talking about?" Ryoma mumbled before he thought of something. "Nee, Momo-senpai. How long did you know Tezuka?"
Momoshiro blinked at the question before realizing he was talking about the little sister Tezuka, seeing he didn't used 'Buchou' for their captain. "Ah, Kuniko-chan? Ever since I first joined the club, why?" The Second Year stopped before smiling mischievously. "I see. You want to learn more about her?" his kouhai nodded. "Then ask me anything, my dear kouhai! A senpai's job is to tend to his kouhai's need, after all."
"Ja, does Tezuka play tennis?" he asked.
Momoshiro flinched back before quickly covering the rookie's mouth and dragged him to the other end of the courts. Once he's sure they are far enough, he released the young boy.
"Are you mad?! Of all questions, you have to ask that!"
"Sore, Osakada said the same thing." Ryoma replied. "Horio asked why didn't she take up tennis and Tezuka didn't reply but got up and left. Both Ryuuzaki and Osakada warned us not to ask her again, saying it's taboo."
"Mah, I can understand why you're curious but..." he trailed off. "Let's just say it's something she doesn't like to talk about."
"Then how come Momo-senpai knows about it?"
"Ah, I heard it from Kikumaru-senpai and Oishi-senpai when I asked about Buchou." he answered. "Anyways, it's best you don't ask anymore. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you herself."
"...Che."
"Ano, Nakajima-san?" Kuniko asked the nurse at the reception counter.
"Ah, it's you again." the nurse greeted with a smile. "Room 208, right? Please wait for a moment." The nurse then wrote down her name. "Hai, you can go now."
"Domo arigato." she bowed before walking down the left corridor. After finding the room, she turned the knob and gently swung it open. The room inside is your typical hospital room, except it only has a single occupant; a young girl the same age as Kuniko with dirty-blonde hair and hazel-green eyes.
"Kuni-chan!" the girl greeted as she sat up from her lying position. "You came!"
"Konbanwa, Yukine-chan." the visitor greeted back. "How's your condition?"
"Un, Sonomiya-sensei said that my condition is getting better. In just a month's time, I can be discharged."
"That's great!" she cheered. "We'll be able to hang out like old times."
"I can't wait. But she said my legs are still weak so I still need to use the wheelchair." Yukine turned to the folded wheelchair beside the window.
"Is that so?"
"Un, just for another two to three months, until my leg muscles have grown enough." Kuniko nodded before she remembered something.
"Ah, that reminds me. How's your progress?" Kuniko asked with a sly grin.
"Eh? What progress?"
"Da-ka-ra, about Yukimura-san."
The blonde girl blushed furiously, "What're you talking about, Kuni-chan!"
Kuniko frowned in disappointment. "Nan da. And I thought you have a thing for Yukimura-san."
"C-Chigau yo! Yukimura-san's just a friend and someone I admire, even though he's handsome and attractive..." Yukine stopped herself.
"Hah, so you do like him." Kuniko teased.
"Mou, Kuni-chan! Then what about you!"
"Me? I'm not interested in anybody at the moment. Besides, I'm currently trying to get rid a major pest." she simply said.
"Ja, what about that one boy you talked about? Echizen Ryoma-kun?"
"What about him?" She asked but realized something. "Ah, before you say anything, he's just a classmate of mine and he's practically in love with tennis."
"But that doesn't mean he's not interested." Yukine retorted back.
"Please. If he is, he'll be like that pompous narcissist, flirting with every girl in school." Kuniko shuddered at the image of Ryoma acting like the Hyoutei King. "Besides, he didn't even give a single glance to any girl he passes by."
Yukine pouted, realizing the bronze-haired girl had effectively shot down all of her comebacks. The two girls then chatted about other things like what they've been doing or how is life treating them.
"Sou ye ba, I heard that Seigaku is going up against Hyoutei, right?" the blonde girl asked.
"Yeah, though the tournament is an Inter-Gender one. That means the team should have at least one female player but they're not compulsory to play." Kuniko explained. "Kuni-nii said that the coach wanted me to participate as the optional player."
"What about the Girl's tennis club?"
"They have their own tournament to worry about." the bronze-haired girl said, watching the cherry blossom flowers sway in the wind while their petals danced in the flow. "So what are you going to do after you're discharged?"
Yukine jumped at that question before starting to fidget around. Kuniko raised a brow in confusion, wondering why is she so nervous about.
"Eto... I was thinking that I could..." she started. "Take up tennis again?"
The sapphire-eyed girl widened her eyes at that while Yukine was bracing for a loud outburst of anger but all she got was a simple question of "Why?"
The blonde looked at her friend to see confusion and curiosity but no anger or resentment towards the word. "Because it's my fault that you quit tennis after you worked so hard, and you used to have so much fun playing it so if I took it up again, I might get to see the old Kuni-chan again and-" Kuniko raised a hand to stop her from continuing before turning her serious sapphire gaze to her own hazel-brown ones.
"Yukine, we've talked about this. You're, by no means, responsible for what had happened. It was no one's fault to begin with."
"But-" Kuniko cut her off again.
"Besides, it's not like I hated tennis. It just brought back a few unpleasant memories."
Silence loomed over the two before it was shattered again.
"Nee, Kuni-chan. Are you going to take up tennis again?" the blonde timidly asked.
"..."
Yukine's eyes became downcast. "So you're really quitting after all?"
"...Who says anything about quitting?" came her reply.
"Kuni-chan..." Yukine whispered as she watched the fire that had been burned out all these years flickered back on.
"I was just thinking how surprised my brother would be." Kuniko said with a big grin.
Kunimitsu looked up from his homework when he heard a knock on his door. Giving a simple "come in" and watching the door opened, the captain was surprised to see that his visitor is his little sister. He expected his grandfather or his parents but not Kuniko as she rarely come to him, not even for help on her homework, unless it's something important. Dropping his work, he turned his every attention to her as she entered the room with a serious face.
"What is it, Kuniko?" he asked.
The girl didn't say anything but the elder sibling is a patient man. How else is he able to tolerate his club's craziness and student council work almost every day of the week?
Two minutes had passed until Kuniko finally spoke, "Kuni-nii, is the offer still standing?"
Kunimitsu raised a brow, "Offer?"
"The one about the Inter-Gender Tournament." The captain furrowed his brow, trying to remember until he realized what she meant. Kuniko then sheepishly scratched her cheek, "You think you can be my training partner again? I might be rusty..."