THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR REVIEWS~~ just to clarify things, they are in highschool, not middle school as it is set in the anime – just to make it more interesting. So for example, Tezuka and Kuniko are in their 3rd year of highschool.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis series or the characters; the only exceptions being my OCs.
Chapter 2
It was too bright. I winced and tried to close my eyes but I realized that they were already shut. I groaned and rolled over, and dug my face into the warm covers of the bed, soaking up the warmth of the sun coming through the gap between my blue, checkered curtains. I lied there, relaxing when my wondering eye landed on the digital clock on the bed-side table.
9:45
I was late.
Everything froze before I leapt out of bed and ran to the bathroom to begin my morning procedure. After spending a few seconds in the shower dropping the shampoo bottle a million times, I came out to pick the outfit of the week. Note the sarcasm.
Trying to get dressed, while simultaneously drying my hair was not an easy feat but I managed to look presentable to show up at school (like I somehow managed to do everyday), grabbed my bag and then proceeded to kick my bedroom door open. But then….it hit me…..
I was not in England.
I was in Japan.
It was Sunday.
Which meant...
There was no school...
I found myself face-palming. My brain was catching up to me from the rush of this morning. I don't have to go to school because I'm in another country. Laughing at my own stupidity, I lazily dropped my bag on the bean bag in the corner of my room and made my way towards the kitchen, deciding that I deserved a proper breakfast after all that unneeded exercise.
As I found myself nearing the kitchen, the smell of breakfast drifted into my nostrils and my mouth began to water. I peeked around the wall of the kitchen and saw mum busy making breakfast and I was pleased to note that it was traditional Japanese food. Having spent two years in England with no way of tasting my mum's traditional cooking had set me on a rampage as soon as I set foot off the plane. My dismal cooking skills did not help my stay in England and the only way I had survived was a kind, old British lady who, in return for babysitting her grandchildren, would invite me over for meals.
"Kuniko~"
While I had been reminiscing, my mother had noticed me leaning against the wall.
I smiled at her and sat down at the kitchen table and watched her set breakfast in front of me.
"Itadakimasu!"
As I dug in, mum pulled out a chair and took in my face. Her wise eyes framed with very slight wrinkles from age reflecting how happy she was that I was here.
"I can't believe you're back home, my little baby."
I slipped my hand into hers and squeezed.
"I know. I missed you too Kaa-san."
We stayed like that for a while before I went back to eating, but at a more modest pace.
"Where's tou-san and nii-chan?"
"Mitsu-kun is out on his morning run and your father was called to work. And there is your brother now."
The front door slammed and a few seconds, my brother's serious face peeked around the corner.
"Tadaima."
"Okaeri Mitsu-kun. How was your morning run?"
"Good," was his stoic reply.
Just then, his phone rang and he left as he answered it. For a few minutes, the only sounds filling the kitchen was the clattering of spoon and chopsticks on the plates as I devoured breakfast. Soon after, he returned, freshly showered and picked up his chopsticks as okaa-san placed a plate in front of him.
After taking a bite and swallowing, he broke the silence.
"After breakfast, I'll be meeting with the regulars at the tennis courts. Do you want to join me Kuniko?"
"Was that what the phone call was about?"
"Hn."
I thought over it, decided 'why not?' and told him so. I was kind of excited to tell you the truth. Although I'm not really a tennis fan, or have said skills which I failed to inherit from my brother, I still appreciated the excitement brought by a game and the dynamic moves that these tennis players managed to somehow execute. Filled with anticipation, I quickly swallowed the last few mouthfuls of rice and quickly went upstairs to change. Choosing a simple outfit of dark red skinny jeans and a t-shirt, I quickly put on a pair of black converse shoes before rushing down the stairs to slip my arm through my brother's who had been waiting patiently for me. I bounced along next to him, filling his ears with stories of England and the friends I made there. My brother remained stoic with his never-changing facial expression but I could tell he was listening through the tiny smile which lingered on his lips and soft eyes through his glasses.
In no time at all, we arrived at the street courts to see a match going on with a large number of tennis players watching on the side, seemingly having abandoned their own games. On the side, I saw Eiji-kun spotting us and waving excitedly to us to join them. The rest of the tennis regulars were there and they greeted us but their attention were soon pulled back to the game. I felt a nudge next to me to see Atobe standing beside me. I smiled at him (receiving a smirk in return) and saw him address my brother. But this time, his obnoxious tone was gone and was replaced by a more serious, and sombre tone.
"They're back," was his simple statement.
My brother's eyes shifted, his eyes reflecting that he was listening.
"Hn."
I was confused. My confusion led me to realise another fact. The atmosphere was very tense. I had been to a couple of street tennis matches with my brother before I had left for England and one thing I remembered about them was that there was always a fun and playful, while also very competitive aspect to it – what can you expect when a bunch of hormone-driven teenage boys try to show off their masculinity? But at the moment, there was a difference in the air. There was still a competitive atmosphere and I could just see all the different tennis teams analysing the players in the match at the very moment but...there was also a very tense and serious, almost hateful attitude towards the players. Even the Seigaku regulars, many of them usually very light-hearted took in the scene before them with serious gazes.
Syuusuke-kun's eyes were open.
Pok.
Pok.
The sound of the tennis ball bouncing back and forth brought my attention to the court. The guys that were playing seemed to be foreigners, possibly from Europe if I'm not mistaken. My first impression of the one at the far end of the court was TALL. Wow... even from afar, I could easily tell that he reached almost 2 metres. The racket he was holding seemed so tiny compared to his stature and it was an almost comical picture if not for how his muscles bulged from the shirt he was wearing and but at the seem time so light on his feet, reflecting his formidable nature as an opponent. On the other hand, the figure closer to us had a more slender figure, however that didn't seem to phase his skills as a tennis player and seemed to return the heavy ball from the opposing side with ease. Although their play didn't show any special moves, it just being a simple rally, they seemed to have a presence about them, which every other tennis player felt. What was about these tennis players that was so interesting and garnered such attention, even from reputable captains such as Tezuka Kunimitsu and Atobe Keigo? Not only them, but I recognised many other faces from different schools in the crowd who I knew to be as tough as they can be.
The match drew to a close with the players wordlessly just walking off the court, ignoring the piercing gazes directed towards them. There seemed to be a matching sigh all around as the two tennis players gathered their gear and walked off the courts out of sight.
That was interesting.
Knowing that the show was over, everyone just returned to what they had been doing previously, either playing tennis or acting as spectators. Waving goodbye to everyone, my brother led me away, back to the direction of home. I followed in contemplative silence, watching the broad back of my brother who would receive various looks from players we passed, some even looking at me curiously.
In silence we walked.
"Nii-chan?"
"Hn?"
"Who were they?"
He paused momentarily before resuming his walk.
A few minutes later he answered me.
"Asher Kale and Nathan Russel. They are from a European team which will be attending a national tennis camp in a few weeks. Seigaku will be there, along with Hyotei."
"But why was everyone so serious about it? It almost seemed like...like they hated them..."
"Last year, there was an unfortunate scandal involving one of their tennis players and sexual harrassment. Although nothing had been proven, there has been other rumours involving the bribing of police to cover it up. It has been more than enough to give them a certain reputation and I think their appearance again has made everyone wary because last year's scandal and how it was so easily covered up shows that they might have the ability to try anything."
My brother's words left me to absorb the new information and the rest of the walk passed by in silence.
That night, my brother's story kept on bugging me but at the thought that school was starting the next day, I forgot all about it and it wouldn't bother me for another couple of weeks.