Summary: A childhood friend of Tezuka's comes back for a soccer tournament. They've always been close; now, with a limited amount of time, she has to tell Tezuka how she feels. But trouble gets in the way...not to mention her temper. TezxOC
Chapter 2
-Alright Red Hill, gather round!- The captain of the soccer team, Jun, ordered. Her voice wasn't screaming out at the group on the school field, nor did it carry well, which was why no one moved to circle around her. But that didn't stop her from replacing the old captain when Yumi came to town.
-Lucy and Lacy, do your thing.- Jun said, not even bothering to look up from her clipboard at the twin girls on either side of her.
Both red haired, hazel eyed girls jumped up from the bench, and the pigtails at the opposite sides of their heads bounced lightly (Lucy's on the left and Lacy's on the right). With matching grins of pearly white teeth, they brought their hands around their mouths and...
-Y'ALL GATHER ROUND NOW!-
Those on the field immediately stopped whatever they were practicing, trying to hurry back to the captain before the ear piercing horse whistle came that followed the really, extremely loud shout. -Alright, girls.- Jun stated, tapping her pen on her clipboard and regarding the team before her with sharp crystalline blue eyes. Her black hair was pulled into a bun on the back of her head with a spare pen and a pencil stuck through it. -Remember last month, how we were invited to Italy to play in a tournament and practice with the schools there?-
The girls dressed in shiny black shorts, red jerseys, and black socks over their shin guards nodded along with responding -Yeah!-
-Well, this month we've been invited to Japan, and they're going to fund our trip there.- Jun continued. -However, I want to know how many of you are up to it.-
Japan!? Yumi thought in delighted surprise. She was the first one to step forward as a willing participant. A half step behind her was the rest of the team.
-We all are, Captain!- The girls announced spiritedly.
-Good, then I'll arrange everything now.- Jun said, smiling in satisfaction. -Practice is over!-
Yumi walked down the street in her uniform still, the same with Ieris and Cari. Over their shoulders hung their bags and at their feet they casually dribbled their own soccer balls as they walked. -Going back to Japan after nine years...- Yumi murmured thoughtfully. -I've visited once or twice, but never for as long as a tournament...-
-It's going to be interesting...- Cari agreed quietly. -I was born there.-
-I started in America, moved there for three years, and then came back.- Ieris stated, grabbing her hat from her bag that held her clean, non-sweaty clothes and placing it on her head to block the sun from shining into her eyes. She ignored the stares from some other pedestrians at the odd combination of clothes.
As they passed by a few convenience stores on the way to their homes, Yumi suddenly stopped, placing a foot on her ball so that it wouldn't roll away. -...Oh my god...Wait for me!- She told the other two, before kicking her ball up in order to grab it and hurrying into the store.
-She must've seen a lock or something.- Cari said, smiling softly. Ieris only grunted in agreement. Gazing through the window of the shop's display, Cari asked curiously -Why does Yumi have a tiny tennis ball charm dangling from her cell phone?-
Ieris shrugged, but glanced into the shop curiously. -Maybe a friend is into it.-
-...-
-...Well, it could be someone in Japan she knows...- Ieris muttered, seeing the 'come on' look Cari was sending her.
Tezuka was in class when he felt his cell phone vibrate soundlessly in his pocket. Taking it out and flipping it open, he read the message displayed there.
"I finally found a strawberry lock! The fruit basket is now complete!"
Yumi
Tezuka smiled a bit at that. For years she had been collecting locks, and ever since she found a watermelon lock she had wanted to gather as many locks as she could that were shaped as the fruits she knew.
Fuji glanced over Tezuka's shoulder discreetly, and smiled a full smile. "Yumi", hm? The name could belong to a male or a female, but… He managed to glance at the picture used as Tezuka's background. It showed the smiling face of a girl that he didn't recognize. So Yumi was most likely female, and looked like their age. Was it a recent photo? She looked like a…well, normal wasn't quite the word as she looked quite innocent and beautiful.
Realizing that Fuji was watching him with curiosity, Tezuka flipped down his phone and tucked it away. But not before the tensai's sharp eyes caught one more thing: a small charm attached to the bottom of the cell phone.
I didn't know Tezuka liked soccer.
-Oh man I can't believe I remember how to speak Japanese!- Yumi said in English with a laugh as she walked through the airport with the rest of the team. They had just arrived in Japan.
-I'm glad four of us at least have a chance of speaking it.- Another girl on the team, Megan, stated. -The rest of us only know English. We can't speak the language of every country we go to or we could become world translators!-
-We can speak it!- The twins declared proudly. -We got a tutor and learned within the few weeks we had to wait to get a flight here!-
-Yeah but I swear you two aren't human.- Nzinga replied. -You'll learn anything you put your mind to in an impossible amount of time, but anything else you're so slow at...-
-So we have a selective learning disability.- The twins said, shrugging.
-You mean selective attention span.- Megan muttered.
-No, disability. When we call it that we can get away with more.- The twins corrected, smiling like little angels.
"You guys remember Japanese?" Yumi asked Cari and Ieris.
"It's what I speak to my parents at home." Cari answered.
"Once you learn a language for three years, you don't forget it." Ieris stated, stuffing the hand not carrying her bag into her pants pocket.
"My aunt and uncle live here." Yumi stated. "They're letting us stay at their house for as long as we'll be practicing by the schools there, instead of at the hotel with the rest of the girls."
"Sounds good." The other two replied.
"Jun, where do we meet first?" Cari asked.
"It's a school nearby our hotel, 'Hyoutei'." Jun answered. "I'm sure your aunt and uncle know where it is. Be there at our usual morning practice time."
"Right." Yumi slung her luggage/soccer bag over her shoulder and went to where a man with short, curly black hair and a few laughing wrinkles around his eyes waited. "Hey Uncle Shin." She greeted, smiling as she was drawn into a hug.
"My how you've grown!" Her uncle stated proudly. "And these are your friends? I'm Yumi's uncle, Shin Minamoto." He turned back to Yumi. "My wife's in the car waiting for us."
"Hello girls!" A woman with brown hair pulled into a bun and some signs of aging on her face called out from the open window of a car. "I'm Yumi's aunt, Ruka Minamoto. Let's put your bags in the trunk and hop in so we can get you settled!"
Tezuka felt the familiar vibration of his cell phone as he received a message.
You'll never guess where Red Hill's playing next.
He thought about that, pulling out his agenda from school. In the back was a small world map, and various countries and states had been listed. She's been to Italy, Germany, Britain, France, and to eight different states of America.
He typed his reply. California?
The teacher came in to start class, and Tezuka had to put away his phone to take out his notebooks. He felt the vibrated reply afterwards, but couldn't check the message until after school.
Fuji noticed Tezuka's distraction throughout class and recalled the conversation he'd had with all of the Regulars. Well, all except for Tezuka...
...
"What?! Tezuka and a girl?!"
Fuji nodded. "He gets messages from her. I saw one signed 'Yumi'. And the background of his cell phone has a picture of a girl."
"Yumi, hm...?" Inui muttered to himself, thinking hard.
"Does anyone remember someone with that name hanging with Tezuka-buchou when he was in elementary school?" Momoshiro asked.
"...I don't think so." Oishi said slowly.
"He never seemed interested in any girls." Eiji added.
"So is she a tennis player?" Kawamura asked.
"Most likely." Kaidoh said.
"I can't think of any with the name 'Yumi', though." Inui commented. "I'll do some research into it. They may have gone to the same school at some point..."
"Yumi, what is that around your neck?" Mr. Minamoto asked.
"This? It's a lock." Yumi replied in an 'isn't it obvious' tone.
"She collects them, Mr. Minamoto." Cari spoke up quietly. She was still a little timid around the couple.
"Why is it around your neck? Shouldn't you take it off for when we go out to dinner?" Mrs. Minamoto asked. "You were going to wear that lovely blouse from our daughter's old belongings. I saw you took off all the belts and bracelets of your other locks."
"I don't take this one off." Yumi stated firmly. "I only take it off for when I shower, that's it, no exceptions."
"Alright, alright, we won't ask again. It looks nice, dear." Mr. Minamoto assured his niece.
As they stepped into the car to go to the restaurant, Yumi fingered the lock around her neck, deep in thought.
"You must've gotten that from a really important person."
Yumi looked up to see that it was Ieris who had made the comment. She smiled a bit, a smile, not a grin. "...Yeah. We were pretty close as kids."
"Do you stay in touch?" Cari asked.
"Yup, even though there's a huge difference in time zones. We mostly have to text each other." Yumi replied. "But it's pretty regular."
"Guy or girl?" Ieris and Cari asked, both curious as to the answer. Yumi had always gone into one of many vicious temper spasms when boys annoyed her. That was mostly when they did anything but leave her alone, since she claimed that all of them didn't like her for her but for her looks. Girls stood a better chance at liking her as a person, and to become a friend, or even better yet, a good friend (which she only had two of). So they fully expected it to be some amazing, not-of-this-world girl who was just like Yumi.
Seeing that if she didn't tell them they'd hound her for it for the rest of the evening, Yumi replied reluctantly "...Guy..."
For the rest of the ride the radio was the only noise, Ieris and Cari trying to get over their surprise. It was a guy who gave her that!? He'd better be in the same part of Japan as we are so we can meet him!