Part 2: An (.x.To the Rescue.x.Tomo's Fight Part 1.x.Love Your Siblings)
If there was one good thing about coming back to school on Monday, it was the festival. Because the school was preparing for the event all week, the students got to go home early everyday. Tomoka was chosen to be the clean up crew, because she had fought with Horio for the welcoming party position. She'd thought it was stupid, but now she felt more than grateful to be free of work until then. The weekend had made her exhausted and numb and all she wanted to do was go home, pull the covers over her head and sleep.
Surprisingly, Sakuno wouldn't let her. The girl had placed a hand over Tomoka's forehead, asked if she was hungry, and then concluded in a worried tone, "Tomo-chan, you're not acting like yourself."
Sakuno was completely right, and Tomoka almost hated her for it if she did not love her best friend so much. The spunky and loud girl had become quieter, withdrawn, and unbearably clumsy. It did not help that certain images of a blushing boy handing over flowers kept distracting her.
"Tomo-chan," said her friend suddenly. "You need to do something."
"Like what?" Tomoka asked listlessly.
The young Ryuzaki frowned and thought hard, and then brightened, exclaiming, "Self defense!" She smiled as her friend blinked stupidly. "What you need to do is work off your stress and learn how to defend yourself, Tomo-chan!"
"That's okay. I'm fine." Tomoka grabbed her bag and stood up. "Thanks, Sakuno, but I think I just—" A small hand grabbed her arm with a deceivingly strong grip. Three and a half years of tennis, Tomoka thought. She turned to her friend, opening her mouth to spew out some fake assurances, but stopped.
It was the dreaded Puppy Face.
Whether Sakuno meant to or not, when she put on her begging expression, no man or woman on Earth could withstand it. Tomoka was not excluded and she could already feel her iron-will waver. Don't let your guard down! she mentally shrieked, but her heart that cared so much for her (normally) shy friend didn't stand a chance.
"Okay," she relented.
Sakuno beamed.
And that was how she was on the bus, holding a crumpled paper of directions in one hand and the metal pole in the other. She wasn't as resigned as she thought she would be, because of something she had seen on her way out of the school. Taking out her cell phone, she called Sakuno.
"Hello?"
"Hey Sakuno, have you seen Atobe yet?"
There was some rustling and voices on the other end, and Tomoka wondered guiltily if she was disturbing her friend. "Eh? Atobe-san? Um, no, I haven't…" Sakuno trailed off and then continued in a higher note, "I heard that he was here, but I didn't really believe it until you just told me. Did you see him, Tomo-chan
Tomoka nodded, gripping the pole as the bus turned. "I saw him on my way out. He was with that silent giant." Surrounded by all his fan girls, she almost unnecessarily added. "Why in the world would he be at Seigaku?"
She could practically see Sakuno bite her lip as her tone turned uncertain. "Well, I overheard from Horio-kun that Atobe-san needed to discuss something very important with Tezuka-buchou. Of course, I'm not totally sure what it's about, but from the sounds of it, the matter has something to do with the tennis teams. And… um, maybe a pillar?"
Tomoka had to raise an eyebrow. "Huh? What are you talking about, Sakuno?"
"Ah, never mind." Sakuno's voice was apologetic, and Tomoka immediately regretted being pushy.
"No, it's okay. I'm sure you're right. Perhaps Hyotei and Seigaku will form a new bond of alliance and become close friends instead of rivals?" She seriously doubted this though, and she could almost hear it in Sakuno's hopeful tone.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Oh! Are you almost at the place yet?"
"Uh, not yet." Tomoka looked down at the crumpled directions and blinked. "Oh, I'm almost there. Okay then, Sakuno, thanks for your time. Good luck on the festival work!"
When the bus came to a stop, she got off and looked up at the buildings. Sakuno's directions were more like a scavenger hunt than an address, but surprisingly they were very accurate. The clumsy girl admitted she had signed up for jujitsu classes a few years ago, under her obaachan's hope that she might gain some balance, coordination, and possibly some self-defense. From the girl's guilty expression Tomoka guessed that the classes were a complete failure in those aspects.
Finally, she stopped in front of an old, rundown brick building with a large poster pasted in the door window. 'Special Free Two-hour Classes Now!' and 'Drop in for a Free one-on-one lesson!' Good timing, Tomoka thought as she opened the door.
A bell rang, just as soon as the stench of sweat, body odor and old equipment attacked her nose, making her stumble. "Hello. Are you here for the free lesson or do you want to register for a class?" A tough, middle-age man was sitting on a desk, holding a clipboard and a pen. Behind him was a worn, life-size poster of a sweaty, well-built young boxer. She blinked, and at the sounds coming from the half-open door, slowly went to see what was going on.
It was a huge room full of people boxing. If possible, the smell was worse, and the air was stuffy. Tomoka gasped and held a sleeve up to her sensitive nose, staring wide-eyed at the all-male occupied area. There were several boxing arenas where students of all ages were either practicing or having a match. Most of them were shirtless, much to her consternation.
"You do boxing?" The same gruff voice asked, and she turned to see the man standing behind her, looking at the room.
Tomoka opened her mouth, realizing how rude she must have been, "Ah! No, I don't." Why did Sakuno send her here of all places? She thought she was taking jujitsu classes, but this place obviously wasn't anything remotely like a dojo. Then she remembered her dear friend's lack of directional sense and realized Sakuno must have gotten the directions wrong. She refrained from sighing and said, "I'm sorry, I have no idea how to box. I've never boxed in my whole life—"
He had a skeptical expression on his face and he cut in, "Then why don't you learn now? We are offering a free two-hour lesson today." He glanced at his watch. "In fact, if you want, you can start in five minutes. An assistant should be free by then." Without waiting for an answer, he went into the room and called, "Oi, Kenta, are you done?"
Tomoka swallowed as she backed out of the room. She honestly didn't want to go in there with all those sweaty, half-naked guys, but it looked like she had no choice. The problem was that she was wearing her school uniform, and she doubted that they had any spare clothes for her. Perhaps that could be her legitimate excuse?
"Hey, one of them is free now," the man said, coming back through the door. He looked straight at her. "You can ask him for some extra clothes. You don't mind wearing a guy's, do you?"
She could only shake her head, realizing there was no choice but to go through with it now that someone was waiting to teach her. Swallowing again, she approached the door, saying, "Um, my name is Osakada Tomoka." He only nodded and led the way. It was as if she was in some kind of show. She could feel almost everyone's eyes on her as she followed him, and she could only stare at the ground, clutching her school bag. Honestly, what was she thinking, letting Sakuno coerce her into coming here? Well, it wasn't technically Sakuno's fault, but still—
"Here you are, Kiyosumi. She's a beginner, so start from the basics. And get her a change of clothes, will you?" The man gave her an encouraging nod and ambled away, leaving her to stare at a pair of worn tennis shoes. Wait, tennis?
"Eh? A girl wants to learn how to box? Hehe, and I get to teach her too. Lucky!"
She looked up in surprise, realizing why the name was so familiar. She hadn't seen Sengoku Kiyosumi since the Junior Invitational Camp, and that was a couple years ago. The orange-haired tennis vice captain was a little taller and more broad-shouldered than before, but he still had the same happy-go-lucky smile as he did back then. The familiarity put her a little at ease, and she wondered if he recognized her. She decided it was better if he didn't, especially considering their awkward situation.
She bowed politely, taking a leaf out of Sakuno's book. "Yes. I really don't know anything about boxing, Sengoku-san. So…" A large hand on her shoulder startled her, nearly making her knees buckle.
He was grinning. "Don't worry! I'll teach you everything! Ahaha!" Blinking, she pulled back, looking at him suspiciously. He noticed her look and hastily explained, "Well, not everything, since that would be impossible. Er, you don't really look like the athletic type, so I'm not sure how quickly you'll learn…"
She clutched her bag tighter. He thought she wasn't athletic because she was a girl! An old spark lit within her and she lifted her eyes at him. "Sengoku-san, where's the extra clothes? I'd like to get changed."
He blinked at the new glint in her eyes and wondered if maybe he said something wrong. "Ah, right this way." As he led her to the storage room he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, trying to remember where he'd seen her before. The brown pigtails, Seigaku uniform, cute face, mole under the right eye… Then, realizing he was staring, he shook his head and said, "Here it is."
Ryoma was glad he wasn't one of the students helping with the festival. The classrooms looked like a windstorm blew by what with all the different colors of paper, cardboard boxes lying randomly on the floor, and the scattered desks. The students were hustling back and forth from class to class, rushing down the hall and brushing past him as if they were in a class A emergency. Going all the way to the main building bathroom had been a hassle, he thought, but it was infinitely better than going down to the courts and possibly running into a certain pompous Hyotei captain.
Judging it was safe to go to the lockers now, he wondered why the haughty king came all the way here just to speak with his "greatest rival". Was it that important a matter that he could not talk about it over the phone like a normal person?
Then again, most of what Atobe did was hardly considered normal, so it almost made sense, his strange method of talking.
As Ryoma walked toward a corner, his senses told him to stop. A very familiar voice reached his sharp ears and he realized Atobe and his captain were just around the corner. Very relieved that he caught himself, the hat-wearing boy was about to turn and circle around the building when he heard his name come out of his captain's mouth.
"... have to do with Echizen?"
"...has great impact on his playing. Do you… that if but one player is weak then the whole team becomes weak? Anh?"
The wind blew, carrying the voices away, and Ryoma crept closer. Why did Atobe come all the way to Seigaku to talk about him? Why was he talking behind his back?
"...anything to do with Ryuzaki Sakuno."
"...course! Do not lie to Ore-sama and say you haven't noticed… affections for her?"
The young tennis star stiffened in surprise. The buchou had affections… for Wobbly Hips? And how did Atobe know all this?
"...knows all. It will be a battle between…" The wind was blowing their voices away again, and Ryoma strained to hear. "…between you and Ore-sama."
"...affect matches? I don't understand what… "
"Tezuka, Ore-sama is… it will be a tennis match for her heart!"
A tennis match for wobbly hips' heart? Between Buchou and Atobe? Ryoma felt more shocked than he'd ever been, even more than during the Nationals. Had the world gone insane?
And finally, when the wind died down, Tezuka said the first thing that made sense:
"Atobe, did you come all this way just to tell me this?"
Inui was forbidden to come anywhere near Tezuka and the Hyotei captain. Tezuka ordered it, Atobe's aura reeked of it, Oishi practically begged him not to, Fuji didn't say anything, but his smile warned him not to pry any further. Outnumbered, Inui had no choice but to do as they said. Of course, he was wondering rather darkly the next concoction of Inui Juice he could feed them.
Eiji took a slight break from running and glanced at the corner where both captains disappeared to. "Nya, I wonder what they're talking about? And why's Atobe here? Doesn't he have school, nya?"
Inui was scribbling in his notebook, determined not to let his prohibition to gather any data from the captains' conversation stop him from theorizing. "He should have school, but the consequences of skipping are most likely not as severe as it would be for us. The reason why he drove all the way here, and without Kabaji, who is with him 99 percent of the time, leads me to believe—" he snapped his notebook closed. "That it is a highly important matter and has something to do with both Hyotei and Seigaku."
"Uh, Inui-senpai, we already knew that," Momoshiro said, swinging a backhand hard at Kaidoh, who was across the court. The 'mamushi' hissed at his rival's insolence, but privately agreed. Why else would the captain of Hyotei come all the way to Seigaku?
Oishi was taking a break, drinking from a water bottle as he commented, "Maybe they're discussing a joint practice in the future."
Eiji wrinkled his nose in thought. "A bonding session with Hyotei?"
"Like that training camp we had before playing Rikkai Dai?" Momoshiro wondered. He'd rather liked the camp, even though the frogs and bears had been annoying.
Out of the corner of his eye, Inui saw Ryoma coming from the direction of the captains. Making sure nobody was watching, he stepped up to the freshman and asked in a low voice, "Did you hear them, Echizen?"
Ryoma shrugged, placing his arms behind his head, "Not really."
The data man's glasses flashed. "Oh? Not even a little?"
Ryoma's cat eyes glanced at his senpai and he prompted, "Maybe I'll remember, maybe I won't."
A bargain. Inui understood immediately. "Echizen, you don't need to run any laps today."
Another shrug. "Buchou and Monkey King are going to have a battle to see who will win."
Pen scribbled madly across paper. "Win what?"
Ryoma suddenly scowled and began to walk away. "A girl." The boy wondered why he was feeling so irritated. Was it because of the heat? Or maybe it was the thought that two national-level tennis players were going to engage in a serious match over who won the heart of a girl. And not just any girl.
Ryuzaki Wobbly Hips Sakuno.
"Tch."
"Here you go." A fresh bottle of water flew and Tomoka caught it, managing a weary 'thanks.' He grinned back and observed her with some admiration. The girl had come back out dressed in the smallest guy clothes they had in stock, which was still a little loose on her. From the very start she had been focused as he explained the basic rules and forms to her, and watched him closely when he showed her some simple moves. He'd remembered who she was and why she was so familiar, but didn't remember her name. She didn't give it to him either.
She was a very quick learner, he soon realized, and by the time they took a break an hour later, she was worn out but satisfied. For a non-athlete and a girl she was quite impressive, even though Sengoku went more for the sweet and feminine type.
Tomoka, on the other hand, felt like she was the slowest student in the world. Watching Sengoku pull off moves seemed easy, but actually doing them was harder. She slowly felt herself leaving the real world where all her problems lay and enter a new, stress-free world where there were just her boxing gloves, the sound of Sengoku's voice, and her body. It felt good.
She took one last sip and then stood, saying, "Okay, I'm ready to learn some complicated moves!"
He raised an eyebrow and said, "You can't just suddenly learn complex moves. At least, not for a novice like you." At her disappointed face he quickly amended, "But I guess I can teach you one cool move." He winked flirtatiously. "Anything for a cute girl."
She only grinned confidently, "I bet I can master it."
When the bus jerked the sleeping boy for the second time, he figured it was time to get off the bus and see where he ended up this time. He had got on in the morning, but inevitably, he'd fallen asleep and next thing he knew he heard a girl talking on her phone quite loudly. Actually, she was only a couple seats in front of him, so he could hear her clearly. But he didn't really pay attention until he heard, "Hyotei and Seigaku will form a new bond of alliance and become close friends instead of rivals."
That woke him up completely. Hyotei was a well-known school and Seigaku was pretty much common to him nowadays, but the last time he checked he was pretty sure those two schools were rivals. And Kirihara had a pretty good memory (sometimes).
When he peeked over the seat he saw a girl with pigtails wearing a Seigaku High uniform. Somehow, those pigtails looked familiar, but he failed to remember the face and name.
"...Sakuno, thanks for your time."
Sakuno. Why did that name sound familiar?
He shook his head. Never mind that, there was something more important going on—like the alliance between two strong schools. He was curious, and a little confused. The captain of Hyotei was that egotistical Atobe Keigo, and his eternal rival was the captain of Seigaku's team. Were they plotting something to make their teams stronger?
In that case, it wouldn't be good for Rikkai Dai. Or Yukimura. Or Sanada. Heck, it wouldn't be good for Kirihara (though he'd welcome the challenge any time).
He blinked. Of course. He had to tell his team as soon as possible so that they could commend him for his great work and then plan retaliation. Yanagi-senpai could get more information, and Yagyuu-senpai was very good at forming plans. Niou-senpai would help, of course (maybe) and so would Marui-senpai and Kuwahara-senpai…
The freshmen at Fudomine High were taking a competency test for the whole week. An was thankful that, as a second-year, she didn't have to take the boring test and she could go home early. The girl's tennis season was taking a break, so she didn't have practice. That was why, after lunch, she was walking straight home. Her brother, Kamio and the others were practicing their arms off (she heard something about slacking off on a Saturday morning, but she wasn't sure), so she was completely free.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up, thinking it was her brother trying to check up on her. "Hello? Onii-chan, you don't have to call me during practice—oh, Sakuno!" She broke into an eager smile. "So, how was your date? Did Tomo spill? Who's her boyfriend? What happened to Kaidoh-san—"
After several shocked seconds a loud squawk followed by "Whaa?" broke the silence, scaring some birds out of the trees. An didn't care. She was gripping her pink phone so hard that she thought it might crack. "Don't tell me… Kaidoh-san has a girlfriend?"
A few tense seconds and a couple apologies later, An hurriedly said, "It's not your fault, Sakuno. It was mine. And Kaidoh-san's. I can't believe it! Of all people, it had to be the flower shop girl." She began to walk faster, saying, "I'm going to have a talk with that girl. I'm getting answers no matter what."
When Sakuno tried to calm her, An noticed that her friend's voice sounded distracted and tired. "Sakuno?—Sakuno. Are you still helping out with that festival thing? I thought so. Don't push yourself, okay? Get some rest so you can enjoy the festival later. I'll take care of Tomoka's boyfriend and rival… or whatever. Got it?" When she received a laugh and a promise to get some rest, she smiled. "All right. This girl is going to get something to eat now, so I'll talk to you later. Okay, bye."
She put away her phone in her school bag, just as something flashed in her peripheral vision. Straightening quickly, she squinted and saw an old, frail man with a long beard being confronted by two unpleasant-looking boys. They seemed to be taking money from him. A flicker of righteous anger made An change her course and march towards them, hearing their words the closer she got.
"...understand, do you old man?"
"Just hand over all your money and you won't end up in the hospi—" A hand snatched the yen and An appeared in front of the old man, her expression fuming.
"What do you think you're doing to my grandfather? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves? How could you pick on someone so harmless?"
One of the two boys shoved her away, sneering, "Who do you think you are, lecturing us?"
"Hey, you look pretty angry. We were just asking your grandfather for some money, real nice."
"Yeah, so why don't you—" A voice cut them off.
"Didn't your mothers tell you not to pick on harmless people?" A familiar boy with an egg-shaped haircut appeared behind them, holding a backpack and a small, clear bag of water with a blue fish. He was taller, so it was easy to frown them down. "Why don't you two leave before the authorities come—" He barely had time to dodge when a fist sped toward his face. Then he was forced to move away as both boys began attacking him.
"Oishi-san!" An gasped, not knowing if she should help or stay out of the fray, and then decided to go with the former. "Take that, you jerks!" She swung her bag at one of their heads, causing him to stumble and growl at her. The boy then lunged, batting away her bag effortlessly. She gasped and squeezed her eyes as his hand flew toward her face, waiting for the painful impact.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back; the slap missed her by inches. A boy with white and black hair flashed by her and knocked out the boy with a simple uppercut. Then he turned to the other boy, who Oishi was struggling with, and also dispatched him quickly with a few well-placed hits.
An was staring at him open-mouthed, wondering why their savior looked so familiar, when Oishi blinked and said, "Saeki-san!"
Saeki also blinked. "Oishi-san? What are you doing here?" He turned and looked at the old man, who was busy taking the yen from An and inserting them into the vending machine. "Ojii! Where have you been? The team has been looking all over for you!"
Rokkaku tennis team's coach was not paying attention, prodding An to hand over the rest of the yen. She blinked and said, "Oh! I'm sorry. Here." She watched as the old man nodded in satisfaction, and then she glanced up at Saeki and Oishi, who were staring back at her. "Um, this is a surprise."
Oishi smiled, holding up his fish and said, "I was buying this just down the street. Then I heard some arguing and I came here to check it out, and I saw Tachibana-chan and Ojii with these two bullies. Of course, I couldn't just leave them alone."
An bent down to look at the knocked out boys closely. There were bruises on their face, but it was obvious they were okay. "Saeki-san, where did you learn those moves?"
Saeki blinked a bit, saying, "Oh, those weren't moves. I do kendo, so it wasn't that hard, really…"
"You were pretty good," Oishi said with some admiration.
An nodded, "It was awesome!"
The Rokkaku player rubbed his neck modestly, "It wasn't that great, they were just a couple of bullies." Then his eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Ojii!"
The old man was nowhere to be seen. An looked at her empty hand and cringed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
Oishi was shamefaced as well, offering, "We'll help you find him. Is that okay with you, Tachibana-chan?"
She gave a quick grin, replying, "Of course! And call me An, it's easier to tell apart my brother and me."
Saeki looked relived yet he didn't want to impose. "But are you sure it's okay? It might take another hour to find him, and I'm sure you two have important things to do…"
Oishi patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about us, Saeki-san. We won't leave a friend in need. And Ojii is a friend of ours too."
"It's easier to find him with more people," An declared with a nod. "All right! Let's split up! Give me your guys' numbers." She whipped out her cell phone. The boys blinked at her.
Saeki nodded in understanding. "I see, so when we find him then we have a way of contacting each other."
"Not just that," An said cheerfully. She gave them a confident wink. "It's only natural to exchange numbers, since we met like this. Why shouldn't we know each other's numbers?"
Somehow, her words made sense, so they shrugged and complied.
"I'll call the rest of my team and let them know what's going on," Saeki told them, dialing on his phone.
An adjusted her bag. "All right! I'll go that way. Oishi-san, you go left, Saeki-san, you go right. I'll call you guys in ten minutes to update. Let's go!"
"A battle between Seigaku, Fudomine and Yamabuki… heard from Fudomine player Ibu Shinji…"
"A battle between Tezuka and Atobe… most likely involve Hyotei and Seigaku… both teams are unaware of the captains' fight, with the exception of me and Echizen…"
"There is a high percentage that the battle between Tezuka and Atobe will be more interesting… not to mention the data. Ii data…"
"But Fudomine seemed very angry… 45 percent probability that their battle plan will be creative…"
"So it comes down to this, eh?" Inui gazed down at his faithful notebook, his glasses gleaming. "I guess I'll go and warn Hyotei first."
Trouble was brewing.
She was beginning to remember when she had started to like him. It was during her second year of Seigaku Middle School, and he was the vice captain of the tennis team. Her crush on Ryoma was nothing compared to this. Why did she like him so much?
Deep down, Tomoka knew the real reason, but she was afraid to realize it herself. Perhaps it was the recognition that she'd liked him unconsciously, from afar, much longer than she'd dreamed of? There was a kind of appeal about him that she found attractive, and soon enough it was too late.
She had fallen for Kaidoh Kaoru. That scary, viper tennis player who had a soft spot for furry animals.
The days of screaming "Ryoma-sama!" was long gone, and a new door was approaching. It was time for her to grow up and move on. Or maybe she was just getting old…?
"Nee-san, Nee-san!" Something poked her back, making her blink. It was her youngest brother.
"Why are you staring at your hotdog like you want to devour it?" Her other brother, the more annoying one because of his stupidly intelligent brain and his smart mouth.
She scowled at them, putting her half-eaten hotdog on the park bench beside their tennis gear. "Because I'm hungry! Now hurry up and eat your food so we can go home." She huffed. "Honestly, you guys are too old to need a babysitter."
Taeki, the younger one, cheekily said, "We don't need a babysitter, we just need money." He expertly ducked when she tried to bop his head.
"Nee-san." Takeshi leaned back and glanced at her. "I'm thirsty. Get me another soda."
She stood and said, "Fine." He cracked a grin, but didn't see her fist coming until it was too late.
"Ow! Nee-san!"
"Mind your manners Takeshi," she said fiercely, giving him her best older-sister glare. "And say 'please.'"
He pouted. "Fine. Please!"
"I want one too, Nee-san! I'm thirsty from practice! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, ple—" He stopped when she raised a fist and smiled widely. "Please!"
She rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing when she was defeated. "You two stay here while I get some drinks. If I don't see you two behaving, I'm throwing the drinks away, got it?"
"Yes, Nee-san!" they chimed. She shook her head and smiled.
Her thoughts inadvertently went back to a certain boy and she felt the tell-tale blush on her cheeks. The erratic beating of her heart didn't help, and she suddenly groaned. This was exactly the reason why she could look at him in the eye at school! The only reason she had confessed indirectly was so she could get over her lovesick reaction and actually talk to him normally.
She stood in front of the vending machine and inserted coins into the slot. Perhaps she had been going about it the wrong way. The goddess told her that in order to tone down her emotions she needed a way to pour it out. The boxing lessons were definitely a way to forget her stress and clear her mind. But when she returned to her normal life, the feelings, the blushes; they were all still there.
The machine willingly dropped down a can of strawberry Ponta, her youngest brother's favorite. She took it and stared thoughtfully. The indirect confession was supposed to be a catharsis, even like a medium, through which she could place her emotions on a substitute. It was a portable and convenient method. She nodded, clutching the can tighter. She would do it now, while nobody was around.
"Ahem. Kaidoh-senpai… You don't know this, but I've always liked you. I've been watching you secretly when you play tennis, and when I see you at school. And, um…" She took a deep breath. "I like you a lot. I have since I first saw you play. I didn't know it then, but…" She stared straight at the row of juice, seeing only one person in her mind's eye. "And now it's too late, isn't it? You have a girlfriend. She seems sweet and nice… she's your type of girl, right, Kaidoh-senpai?" A bitter laugh. "You have no idea how I feel. It was my fault for not realizing it sooner. All those times I cheered for Ryoma-kun… When really I was cheering for the whole team… and you, I guess. You didn't know that, huh?
"Would you believe me if I wished you and your girlfriend good luck? Yeah, I'm not a masochist. I really do want you to be happy. But to be honest…" She touched the cold glass with a hand, feeling her vision blur. "To be honest, I wish… I wish I was your girlfriend, Kaidoh-senpai. I know, I'm selfish. But I like you so much it makes me mad every time I blush and I can't even look at you in the eye." She sniffed and leaned closer so that her nose touched the glass. "I really, really like you, Kaidoh-senpai!"
After a pause she released her breath shakily, feeling something like a burden lift off her chest. Something still hurt inside, but she felt like she could bear it.
"Are you done yet?"
Her eyes widened and she whirled around. A tall, gray-haired boy wearing the Yamabuki High uniform looked down at her uncaringly. The spiky hair and those cold eyes were hard to forget, and she quickly stepped back into the vending machine, remembering the delinquent tennis player.
She had poured out to her heart's content in front of Akutsu Jin.
"Well? Can you get out of the way?"
The first wave of shock swept over her, and then the second wave of mortification hit her like a hammer. Her chin trembled, her breath hitched, her vision blurred and then she burst into tears.
Kachiro was in a really good mood. Not only was he not assigned to help out for the festival (he had cleaning duty) but his father gave him some extra money for helping out at the center over the weekend. He wanted to buy this really cool pair of shoes at the big sports store, and it happened to be on sale, so after school he found himself walking to the store. Just as he was turning the corner, he heard a girl crying.
It was in his instincts to immediately run over and see what was wrong, and so the nice boy ran around the corner. He stopped, barely contained a strangled noise, and leapt back. Gulping, he peeked slowly at the scary ex-tennis player of Yamabuki. His eyes widened when he realized that the crying girl was Tomoka.
The older boy didn't look like he was doing anything to her. But what were Akutsu Jin and Tomoka doing together? Could it be…? His imagination played a scene where Tomoka professed her love, but the senpai had rejected her, thus making her cry.
"Um, senpai." Tomoka twisted the hem of her shirt nervously. "I… I love you, Akutsu-senpai!"
He stared down at her disdainfully. "So? What do you want me to do about it?"
She gasped. "A-Akutsu-senpai!" She began to weep.
No! He shook his head, knowing there was no way Tomoka would fall for a guy like him. And she would never weep, even if it killed her.
Then he blinked in realization. Of course. Akutsu was being his usual scary self and had threatened Tomoka as he was trying to buy a drink!
"Stupid machine, it won't accept my money!" An irate Tomoka tried to force her crumpled money into the machine. She didn't notice the shadow looming behind her until it was too late.
"Will you get out of my way, little girl? You're wasting my time!" Akutsu glared down at her. "Or do you want to die?"
That made more sense.
So, now that he knew the situation, what should he do? Truth be told, Kachiro was still scared of him. Memories of being hit by tennis balls and then watching his senpai get beat up was not easy to get rid of, no matter how much he wanted to. He frowned and thought hard. And then he remembered a certain friend of the scary senpai, one who took karate in the same dojo.
"I've got to tell Kawamura-senpai!" he said under his breath, and with one last look back, he began to run. Tomoka would be okay, he reasoned. Akutsu was scary and mean, but he wasn't so mean to hit a girl. Right? Anyways, Tomoka was a strong girl.
Needless to say, he ran faster.
Akutsu Jin wanted to get a drink, but all the vending machines were temporarily out of order. After kicking them and getting yelled at by some adult, he'd searched for a working vending machine and found one in an isolated corner. However, a girl was already there. He calculated that by the time he got there, she would be gone.
He had been standing behind her for at least two minutes and she was still babbling to the machine as if it was the person she liked. Kaidoh, to be accurate. He remembered that snake from Seigaku. And he also remembered that brat, Echizen. He had no idea who the girl was though, and she was wasting his time. But there was no other working vending machine, and he was really thirsty, so he'd controlled his sorely tested temper and waited until she stopped talking.
But when the girl finally noticed him, she began to cry.
It wasn't like he hadn't seen a female cry in front of him before. His mother cried plenty of times because of him, and he'd never felt particularly guilty about it either. Tears were often a cheap trick used by women so that they could get a guy to do whatever they wanted. He thought it was stupid and believed guys who fell for it weak.
It was no different with this girl. What did bother him was that he was pretty sure he didn't do anything to warrant her reaction, yet she still broke down as if it was his fault. It pissed him off. Deciding it would be a waste to spend any more time on her, he ordered, "Move."
Surprisingly, she did, but not in the way he wanted her to. She lifted her tear stricken face from her hands and had the gall to glare at him. "You'd better not tell anyone what you just heard." Her hands were shaking.
He pushed her aside and inserted yen into the slot, pressing a button. With a loud clatter, the can dropped, and he took it. The girl was still standing there. Suddenly he slammed a hand on the wall beside her head, making her squeak in surprise.
He lowered his face and glared at her. "Is that a threat or an order?"
She swallowed. "Both."
It was a hot day. He was really thirsty and he didn't want to wait until he got home to get a freaking drink. All the vending machines were out of order like the pieces of crap they were, and then when he finally found a working one, a girl was talking to the machine (it was a freaking machine) and he had to wait for her to shut up so he could get that one drink. And then she had to start crying and threatening him. He'd beat up guys for just looking at him, yet this girl went above and beyond.
He decided she was an idiot, a brave idiot, and that she wanted to die.
She was an idiot. She was going to die.
But she still managed to look him in the eye as he glared at her. He was probably contemplating how he should kill her, which did not help her nerves at all. But this time she couldn't let herself back down, not when somebody knew her deepest, darkest secret. It didn't matter who it was—she had to do something.
His death glare abruptly lessened a tad, like he didn't want to kill her just yet. Relief trickled through her. "So?" he suddenly said. "What would you do to me?"
Calm down, she thought. Think rationally. If he tried to hurt her, then she could scream. Or she could pretend she was a very young mother and had two sons waiting for her. No matter how scary Akutsu Jin was, he would never go so far as to attack a mother. She hoped.
Then she had an idea. A stupid one, but if her assumptions about his personality was right, then it just might work.
Placing her can of Ponta carefully on the ground, she fisted her hands and slowly raised them up to her chin, assuming a defensive position. He arched an eyebrow at this, but she claimed, "I know how to fight. I-I'll knock you out."
If he was impressed by her bravery or how pathetic she sounded, he hid it very, very well. "Try," he told her. He was actually serious.
It was now or never. She bounced on the balls of her feet a little and then threw a quick punch.
"Sengoku-san, I want to learn a real move. Like a knock-out punch!"
A laugh."How violent! Well, since I promised, I'll teach you one cool trick. Any normal person knows how to dodge a punch to the face, right? But while they're concentrating on that, you can throw them a whammy right in the solar pelix."
"Can I try it?"
"Nope."
Akutsu didn't dodge; he caught her fist easily. But her other fist was already speeding towards his exposed stomach. It was too late now. Tomo, you got him…!
There was the sound of a can dropping on the ground, and it rolled a little bit before stopping. Her other fist was caught by his other hand. Her attack had failed.
Not yet.
"And if that doesn't work, just kick 'em hard."
She kicked his shin.
After a moment he growled, "You're too weak." As if that wasn't surprising, he released her and began to walk away. He said without looking back, "You should tell the snake your feelings." And he laughed derisively.
She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but then she saw him tossing a can of strawberry Ponta up and down as he disappeared around the corner. A glance at the ground confirmed that he had stolen her drink. His own can was gone as well.
I guess that's payment for his silence. She sighed and slumped against the wall, feeling suddenly drained now that her adrenaline rush was gone. She had just stood up to Akutsu Jin and lived. It was a story worthy of telling her children, her grandchildren, if she had any.
And in the end, even a delinquent told her to suck it up and confess.
When she regained the energy to move her feet, she bought three more cans and walked back to where her brothers were waiting. They were probably wondering why she hadn't gone back by now. Her excuse was that the machine got stuck and she had to wait for an authority to help.
Fortunately, she didn't have to use the lame excuse. Unfortunately, her brothers were not waiting for her, and their tennis gear was gone as well. Instead, she saw a note on the bench.
'Dear Nee-san: Sorry! As you can see, we're not here. Don't worry, we're not kidnapped. We just had something important to do—it was a class A emergency! Meet us at the nearest tennis court and cheer us on! Love, your cute brothers! P.S. Don't forget those drinks!'
The note crumpled as her fist shook and her eyes lit into flames. "Takeshi… Taeki… "
"K-K-Kawamura-senpai! You—you can s-slow doooown!"
"BURNING! I'M ON FIRE, BABY!!"
When Kachiro stumbled into the sushi restaurant, gasping about Osakada, a vending machine and Akutsu Jin, Takashi dropped everything (his father yelped when the huge knife thudded on the ground) and began to run. But Kachiro was lagging behind; already exhausted from his sprint earlier, so Takashi offered to carry him on his back so they didn't lose any time.
They'd forgotten that Kachiro was holding his tennis racket (he wanted to get a new grip) and when Takashi got a hold of it, well… Kachiro realized that his senpai had not changed from his tennis-playing days.
"Senpai, it's right there—no, you passed it! Back a little—okay!" Kachiro quickly took the racket from his senpai's hand and vowed never to hand it over so willingly ever again.
But Takashi was glancing around looking for his old friend and possibly a girl's body. "Where's Jin? I thought Osakada-chan was here."
Kachiro blinked. "Maybe… she's okay. Akutsu-san and Osakada-san were right in front of that vending machine."
"Agh!" Takashi clutched his hair. "What if they got caught by the police for fighting? Or maybe he threatened her into doing something for him. But… Jin wouldn't really do that, right?"
"Senpai. Senpai!" Kachiro sighed and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing of the kind. I just panicked and immediately thought for the worst. Maybe they weren't doing anything bad."
"You're probably right," Takashi said, calming himself down. "Jin has no reason to do anything bad to a girl. He's not even on the Yamabuki tennis team anymore, so it's not like he has a grudge against Seigaku."
"That's right, senpai." Kachiro took his arm and led him away from the scene, back to the restaurant. It would take a long time to walk back, but it was better than giving the racket to Kawamura. "Let's go back. You don't want to keep the customers waiting, right senpai?"
'As I thought, I should warn the Yamabuki team first. Their situation might be worse than Hyotei's.'
Inui paused and looked out the bus window, watching as cars and people passed by. 'Tezuka and Atobe are calm, if somewhat cold, people. Their calculating skills are on par with mine or even better. They will not charge forward recklessly, no matter how angry they are. Momoshiro and Kamio, on the other hand, do not have the same restraint. I have no doubt that the attack on Yamabuki will be random and completely uncalculated.'
He checked his watch: Only fifteen more minutes before he reached Yamabuki and then he would arrive just in time for their practice. Hopefully they weren't ending practice early. Something in his sixth sense tingled as a strange, portentous force approached him, but he pretended not to notice it until a tittering reached his ear.
"Oh? It's Seigaku's Sadaharu Inui." Smirking and twisting a strand of his dark hair, Mizuki Hajime raised an eyebrow at the taller boy. "What brings you on a bus that takes you so far from Seigaku?"
'Mizuki Hajime. Third Year. St. Rudolph's regular and manager. Decent data collecting skills.' Inui pushed up his glasses and smiled ominously. "I'm on my way to Yamabuki to warn them." 'Also the most reputed gossip in the region.'
Mizuki's eyes flashed. "Oh? Warn them about what?"
Inwardly, Inui smirked. Outwardly he said in a serious tone, "Yamabuki declared war on Seigaku and Fudomine because of a girl and decided to have a battle. I want to warn them that the losers will not only forfeit the girl, but will also be expected to serve their punishment."
All this information made Mizuki's mind whirl and he twirled his hair with more vigor. "And what is this punishment?"
Inui's smile became chilling. "It is a very healthy punishment. They will drink my newest, upgraded and un-tested vitamin Inui Juice." Out of nowhere he produced a small vial of bubbling, fizzing, hissing black-colored liquid. His lens blazed from the extraordinary radiation emitting from the drink and he held it up to Mizuki's wide eyes. "It doesn't have a name yet, but it will by this Saturday." His grin became shark-like. "Would you like a sample, Mizuki?"
One could almost see the small beads of sweat on his forehead as he backed away, forcing out a nervous laugh. "Ah-aha, no, I must decline your generous offer since I just ate a rather big lunch. Er, I apologize." 'He's going to murder someone!'
"I see. In that case, I must wait until Saturday to observe the effects." To his horror, Mizuki could almost hear a trace of glee in the data man's voice as the vial of juice (poison!) disappeared. Inui adjusted his glasses again. "Oh, and by the way, the battle takes place this Saturday in front of the mall's flower shop at eleven AM."
Mizuki nodded. "Ah, thank you—" His eyes narrowed and he looked at Inui suspiciously. "Why are you telling me this?"
'Very sharp. But not sharp enough.' Inui shrugged, flipping through his notebook as he said, "I thought that perhaps Fuji Yuuta should be notified about this since he is Fuji's younger brother, and it is almost a 99 percent probability that his brother didn't tell him anything. You are his teammate and manager, correct? I figured that you have a responsibility of informing your teammate about this, just as I have a responsibility of warning the other schools."
It was all in Mizuki's eyes. "Of course, Inui-kun, I will inform him of everything."
Stamina was a powerful weapon to have on the courts. If one never ran out of energy, their endurance could last throughout the entire game and match. It was one of the most important keys to winning. He, of all people, knew that, since it was his greatest weakness. That was why he always ate cake before a match and constantly chewed on gum—both for the glucose, and also sort of as a safeguard. It assured him that he would not lose the game because he was short on energy.
Stamina was one of the means to winning. Marui Bunta knew that. But he only ate cake and chewed gum to up his endurance for tennis, not for running around and searching for certain annoying brothers who didn't bother to pick up their cell phones when their older brother called them at least fifty times.
"Honestly, where did those two go?" he muttered as he smacked on his gum. He'd been jogging around stores and parks for at least an hour, and if he didn't bring them home by dinner, his mother would kill him. For middle school students they were completely immature and exasperating. Just like him, his doubles partner once commented.
He blew a bubble restlessly. His eyes glanced over at a remote tennis court and he saw two familiar boys wearing Rikkai Dai Middle School uniforms. The bubble popped and he huffed, "They're dead."
As he went to the courts he could hear the two brothers arguing. For some reason, they were sweating and out of breath as they put away their rackets.
"If you listened to me we wouldn't have lost that point!"
"It's not my fault that brat kept pissing me off!"
"You should have ignored him. He was, what, three years younger than you?"
"What about you? That little kid practically knocked away your racket!"
"That was—"
"Oi!" They turned and blinked at Marui, who was standing at the gate. He popped a bubble. "Are you saying you two lost to kids younger than you?"
"Bunta-nii!" The younger one stood up and pointed at their middle brother. "It was his fault for asking them to play, even though we didn't know them!"
Marui raised an eyebrow. "So? You still lost to some brats, right?"
The brother still on the ground said glumly, "No, their sister dragged them away before we finished."
"They were winning 5-3." The youngest shrugged. Then he scrunched his nose. "That girl was loud. And scary."
For once, the two were in agreement. "Yeah, you could probably hear her a mile away. Those two boys didn't stand a chance." He shivered.
"I kind of feel sorry for them. She even hit their heads with those cans." He suddenly smiled innocently at Marui, his face completely unguarded for his eldest brother. "Hey, Bunta-nii, I'm glad you're our older brother. You don't nag and abuse us like that scary Nee-san."
Marui looked at them and then smiled back just as cheerfully. "You two will always be my annoying brothers. Come on, let's go home."
They smiled back, relieved that he wasn't going to lecture them for "accidentally" ditching him an hour ago. As they passed him out the gate, his hand suddenly swooped down and he rapped their heads with his knuckles painfully.
"Ow! Aniki!"
There was a knowing gleam in his eyes he blew a bubble and popped it, saying, "What makes you think you're off the hook? Huh? You make me run around like an idiot for an hour, and when I find you two, you say you lost to a couple of brats? Hah! And what's this crap about no abusing? I'm going to make sure I get my full payment before we go home."
"Aniki—ow! Wait!"
"Ack! We're sorry, we love you! Bunta-nii!"
End Part 2
A/N: I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Akutsu was too… eh. But oh well. That's how he's going to be like. Hope everyone was relatively in-character, and that there weren't too many mistakes…
Thanks so much for reading! I already feel warm and happy inside. XD
