Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis anime or manga.
By the time the end of the day rolled around, Kiku was feeling rather exhausted. The nap she had indulged in during lunch had been less than effective and she found herself yawning several times during her final period. Sadly she no longer had Monday afternoons free and didn't have the option to nap in the library until Ryoma finished with tennis practice. Instead she would walk with him to the courts where she was instructed to meet sophomore Momoshiro Takeshi to tutor him in history.
As per usual Kiku waited at her desk until Ryoma stepped in and took her bag, both ignoring the jealous and adoring glares of their female classmates. Ryoma was sought after so hard he had his own fan club within the school and it wasn't even freshmen only. Most of the time the girls, and occasional guy, who made up the group kept a clear distance from Kiku, having learned from experience that being mean to her made Ryoma extremely unhappy, but occasionally their glares were replaced with paper projectiles or subtly outstretched legs meant to trip her. Usually though they settled for making her uncomfortable whenever she held his hand or he carried her books or backpack.
"Kiku needs to go to the tennis courts, Ryo-kun," She whispered, creeping into his shadow as he led her into the hallway, "Tutoring."
"Mm," Ryoma hummed slightly, already knowing she was meant to tutor Momo; Tezuka had called the sophomore out on his grades during practice on Friday.
Kiku wanted to say more, to ask him about the upperclassmen or ask him whether or not she would get a good reception at the courts, but she was too nervous. She had already closed up significantly more than usual, forehead almost pressing against his back with how close she walked to his back and the way she bent her head and curled her shoulders in. Ryoma in turn had clasped her hand right against the small of his back, keeping her close through her fear. The way she'd shrunk into herself meant that she was completely invisible when someone looked at Ryoma head on.
"Tezuka-buchou, Kiku-chan is here to tutor Momo-senpai," He informed the captain once they'd arrived at the courts, unintentionally keeping the small girl hidden behind his back.
Tezuka noticed the way his arm was bent and the foreign bag on his shoulder though, leading him to crane his neck slightly to look over the freshman's shoulder. Sure enough, the tiny tag along he'd noticed Ryoma toting along all year was just about pressed against his back. Ryoma, noticing the way the captain was glancing behind him, stepped to the side leaving Kiku exposed to his left. He could just barely hear the distressed sound she made as Tezuka's piercing eyes landed on her. For a moment they simply stared at each other, Tezuka silently observing while Kiku attempted to reign in a panic attack.
"Momoshiro," He called, turning away from her abruptly to look at the tennis courts, "You're not supposed to be participating in club activities until you get your grades up. Get off the court, your tutor is here."
The sophomore grumbled slightly in embarrassment and frustration, apologizing to the guy he'd been warming up with before exiting the courts. Kiku hardly paid the purple eyed upperclassmen any attention, simply relieved Tezuka had finally looked away from her. He had the kind of gaze that made her feel as if he could see right through her, past her clothes and bandages and right to her scars and wounds. The discomfort was overwhelming and terrifying and sometimes she wondered if he really could see right into her soul.
"She's my tutor?" Momo looked disgruntled upon seeing the tiny slip of a girl clutching Ryoma's hand, "She's like, five."
"She's 12," Ryoma stated in his usual cold tone, "But even when she was five she was smarter than you are now."
"No need to be mean," The upperclassmen huffed, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back.
"Both of you go change," Tezuka interrupted, "Echizen, 10 laps for being late. Momoshiro, respect your tutor."
Ryoma squeezed Kiku's hand gently before he headed into the locker room with Momoshiro muttering at his heels. Once again, Kiku found herself the center of Tezuka's attention as he stared her down. For several seconds she considered the probability of the ground opening up and swallowing her until he looked away suddenly again, turning his attention back to the tennis players warming up.
"Momoshiro will return momentarily. Please help him raise his grade in history."
The captain walked off, leaving Kiku standing nervously in front of the locker rooms. The amount of people milling around was frightening to her. She found herself having to forcefully prevent herself from biting her nails as she garnered several stares, her own eyes coming to rest on her feet as she curled her shoulders down.
"Hey there, are you lost?" Kiku looked up to see the vibrant red haired upperclassmen, Kikumaru Eiji, smiling down at her. It widened when he saw her face, "Ah! You're o'chibi's girlfriend! Do you need me to find him for you?"
She swallowed a couple of times to find her voice and shook her head, "N-no, Kiku-chan is w-waiting for senpai. K-Kiku-chan is tutoring M-Momoshiro-senpai."
"Ah, you're tutoring an upperclassman? You must be pretty smart," He grinned, crouching down to look her in the face even when she refused to look up at him.
"H-Hai, senpai."
"Ahh, you're a cutie," Eiji tapped her forehead gently with his finger tips, making her squeak and look up, "Kiku-chan, huh?"
"Kikumaru, 10 laps for getting distracted."
An exclamation of despair escaped the redhead's lips and he whined slightly, "Nyaaah, not fair buchou. Buh-bye, Kiku-chan."
The upperclassmen darted off a moment later and Kiku found herself gulping again, trying to find her mental footing to avoid a panic attack. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Kiku had yet to truly decide, Momoshiro-senpai returned shortly after and led her to a bench off the side of the courts. He was tense and obviously unhappy, which made her even more nervous. Sometimes, the students she was assigned to tutor weren't very pleased with the fact they had to be tutored. Even less so by the fact she was only a freshmen. Occasionally, even because she was a girl.
Momoshiro didn't speak until they'd both sat on the bench and Kiku was beginning to feel her chest tighten around her heart in near panic.
"I failed my last history test."
Kiku looked up at him from under her pale eyelashes, keeping her head tilted down, "A-ah, okay. D-Does Momoshiro-senpai k-know w-why?"
The look he trained on her made her face darken in shame and fear, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"E-Eh, senpai, K-Kiku-chan just means w-was it b-because you didn't study w-well? O-o-or muh-maybe there w-was too much ma-material? D-Does suh-senp-pai have trouble m-memorizing?"
Momoshiro's dark look seemed to soften slightly and he sighed, leaning back against the building behind the bench they sat on, "I don't study well, but history is so lame anyway. I can't remember a whole bunch of dates and names that don't matter to me."
It was an explanation so close to ones Ryoma had given her that she almost wondered if the pair rehearsed it. They were very similar, she decided quickly. Obsessed with tennis but wholly uninterested in school. Kiku reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook and a pen.
"Duh-does Momoshiro-senpai h-have the textb-book?" She asked quietly, trying not to swing her feet since they didn't reach the ground.
"Yeah, here," He reached into his own bag and retrieved a paperback textbook, "The next section that will be tested is six through ten, that's what my teacher told me to focus on."
Kiku hummed and nodded slightly, opening her notebook and the textbook to chapter six and settling them over her knees, "M-Momoshiro-senpai's sen-sensei told Kiku-chan we huh-have six wu-week to prepare b-before the next t-test. K-Kiku-chan thinks we shuh-should do one chuh-chapter a week an-and then review all of them in the luh-last."
For the next hour or so, Kiku took Momoshiro over chapter six and set out a study plan for him, making several worksheets and practice quizzes.
"Ryo-kun wuh-will take the practice quizzes f-from you and buh-bring them to me, so you duh-don't have to bother f-finding me…"
"Ryoma's your boyfriend then?" Momoshiro questioned, suddenly ducking down to look her in the eye.
He'd been curious since Ryoma had taken a jab at him for insulting Kiku's size. Ryoma didn't usually go out of his way for anyone, even the freshmen trio or Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter who was pretty much infatuated with him. The only explanation Momo could think of as to why he'd be willing to run around for Kiku would be if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Suddenly, as if his words had flipped a switch, Kiku's face turned bright red and subsequently, a tennis ball slammed into Momo's head.
Momo fell off the bench with a shout of surprise and pain, causing Kiku to squeak in alarm and lean back. Both of their eyes went to Ryoma, who was glaring at Momo as he walked to the locker room. The way Kiku's face had lit up with embarrassment had set off the protective alarms in his head. He didn't address the pair at all, but the hidden threat was clear: don't make Kiku uncomfortable.
"A-ahh… No, Momoshiro-s-senpai, Ryo-kun is Kiku-chan's friend is a-all."
"That was a hard hit from so far away," Momo grumbled as he got off the ground and sat back down on the bench, "Are you sure he doesn't think he's your boyfriend? He's really protective."
"Buh-best friend," Kiku corrected nervously, wringing her hands in her lap.
"Waahh," Kikumaru-senpai suddenly appeared, sitting on the bench behind Kiku and settling his chest against her back, his chin coming to rest on the top of her head, "Kiku-chan is so precious. If she's not o'chibi's girlfriend she should be mine."
Kiku tensed thoroughly as the upperclassmen's chest brushed against the bandage on her shoulder, "K-K-Kikumaru-suh-senpa-ai..."
"Kiku-chan," Ryoma walked up to the bench, already changed, and held a hand out, waiting for her to put her own in his, "Let's go."
"Hey, o'chibi, is Kiku-chan your girlfriend?"
Ryoma ignored him, his olive gaze still locked on Kiku's own. He only regarded his teammates when she took his hand, allowing him to pull her off the bench to stand in front of him.
"Kiku doesn't like being touched," It was directed at Kikumaru, who had a tendency to cuddle up to just about anyone he chose.
"Neh, you didn't answer my question," the redhead whined, watching as Kiku collected her books and deposited them into her bag before allowing Ryoma to take it from her.
And Ryoma most likely wouldn't, Kiku thought absently at he took her hand and began walking towards the school gates. She quickly huddled close to his back, murmuring a goodbye to her senpais as Ryoma muttered something along the lines of a cheers. The freshman trio trailed along near them, Sakuno and Tomoka nearby.
As they walked off, Oishi and Inui joined Kikumaru and Momo near the bench, watching as the group of 1st years walked home.
"Neh, Kiku-chan's kinda weird," Kikumaru observed, "Well, really weird."
"Ryoma's weird around her," Momo added, purple eyes locked on the sight of their clasped hands.
Oishi hummed slightly in agreement but Inui's glasses flashed, catching all of their attentions, "Ii, data…"
A/N: Writing stutters is difficult and time consuming, luckily Kiku only stutters when nervous (aka around anyone except the Echizen family). Did it seem realistic to y'all? If any of you actually have a stutter and would like to let me know what you think or if I butchered it I would be grateful.
Also, 27 people followed this story, 24 favourited it and 4 people reviewed. Which was a massive, massive bummer for me. Incredibly frustratingly, actually. Do y'all think you could possibly, maybe consider leaving me some reviews? What you liked, didn't like? Questions? Errors? Please guys, lack of feedback kills my motivation.
TenshiAme: First of all, thanks for leaving a review. I just wanted to really quickly explain that her talking in third person is an important part of the plot and subsequent development so hopefully you can stick it out even though it's not your favourite. I promise, there's a reason for it!