I forgot to add this in the previous chapter, but here it is now:
Italic ("like this") means it's spoken in English
Bold type + italic ("like this") means its spoken in Parseltongue
Italic might also be used in flashbacks / or dreams but it will be made clear when it's dream or flashbacks...
...
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!
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...
Hari was staring at the ceiling in the room she had been shown to and tried to fall asleep, but her mind wouldn't calm down or shut off. She couldn't help but go over what had happened since she had arrived in Japan, well, even before that too.
She knew that her life had now taken a new direction, she had changed her path into something she didn't even have the imagination to picture. Even if she was sent back to England after her visit here she knew she wouldn't be the same Hari Potter that had been suspended from Hogwarts. She wouldn't be the naïve little girl who believed every word Dumbledore said and breathed. She had lost the final part of herself that had anchored her to the magical world.
She refused to think about that time, but she knew that the latest event (if she could call it that) had changed something inside of her and the betrayal from the man she had looked up to had just made her decision set in stone.
She turned on the bed and her head rested against the arm popped under the pillow. Her mind went to Rinko and Nanjiro, and she wondered what they would do. They had sent her to bed with a promise of more talks later when she was rested after her journey. They hadn't really said anything on how they reacted to her story, and Hari wondered if she had said too much. Or perhaps too little? It was difficult to explain completely without going into the magic world and all that.
Could she tell them about magic? Did she have anything left to lose by breaking that rule? Was it something she was willing to risk? The questions turned in her mind and she missed Hedwig. She missed her comforting presence and wished she was there, but she took comfort in knowing that she would be there soon. She was a smart owl and Hari had told her to come to her in Japan, so she would. It was just a long flight.
...
Hari was slowly brought back to the living by the sounds coming from the house as its occupants started to rise for the day. She blinked and groggily rubbed her eyes trying to get the sleep out of them and sat up on the bed. She took a moment to try to remember where she was as she looked around in the unfamiliar room before she remembered and gasped softly. She was in Japan…she was really at Ryoma's house. It wasn't a dream. She had found her friend and had him back after everything.
She got out of bed and walked to her suitcase to find clean clothes before making her way to the bathroom which was luckily free. She heard voices coming from downstairs and thought she heard Rinko's voice calling for Ryoma.
"Ey, Echizen!" a voice sounded from outside just as Hari descended the stairs and Hari saw Ryoma coming out of the kitchen. He paused when he saw her though.
"Ohayo," Hari smiled.
"Ohayo," he said back. "I have to go to school, but I'll be back right after."
"Ok, see you," Hari smiled and waved.
He smiled briefly before leaving and Hari made her way into the kitchen and saw Nanako and Rinko sitting by the table while Nanjiro was seated on the floor reading the newspaper (or supposed to read the paper).
"Ah, Hari-chan," Rinko smiled. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes," Hari smiled back not letting out the fact that she had struggled with falling asleep. She didn't want the older woman to worry. "Thank you."
"Breakfast," Nanako said and put a plate on the table and Hari realised that she hadn't noticed the other girl getting up to find her food.
"Thank you, Meino-san," Hari told the girl gratefully and sat down at the table to eat.
"You're welcome, Potter-san," she smiled pleasantly.
Hari ate in silence as her mind went back to her problems and situation; she was worried and curious about what would happen to her now. She glanced up at Rinko who was reading some files and looked focused on her task.
Hari didn't really feel the need to fill the silence but it did feel a little strange sitting there quietly and unsure about what to do or what they expected from her. Did they expect her to go out? Or did they expect her to help around the house? Or perhaps to go back to the room that she had been given?
She worried her lower lip as she stared down at the now empty plate and waited for something to happen. She heard the ruffling of papers and Nanjiro muttering to himself in the background. Getting tired and restless by just sitting there Hari got up and grabbed her plate and took it to the sink to wash it. She then continued to wash the rest of the dirty dishes.
"Oh, Potter-san! You didn't have to do that," Nanako protested when she saw what Hari was doing.
Rinko blinked and looked up as well.
"It's no problem," Hari shrugged. "I can do it."
"Well, thank you," Nanako said looking a little uncomfortable but Hari wasn't sure why. Had she done something wrong?
"Hari-chan," Rinko called, "can you come with me for a moment?"
Hari nodded and followed Rinko farther into the house and into a room that looked to be an office, probably Rinko's. She noticed that Nanjiro also had followed them and closed the door behind them. Hari couldn't help but feel worried.
...
"I think we need to have a talk, Hari-chan;" Rinko said kindly yet firmly and Hari gathered all of her courage and nodded.
"Ok," Hari said.
Rinko smiled at her and Hari relaxed slightly when she didn't detect any anger from the older woman and Nanjiro was also smiling from his seat. They didn't seem upset with her, so maybe they wouldn't kick her out just yet.
"I need to know what you want, Hari-chan," Rinko said leaning forward slightly as she trained her brown eyes at Hari. "You said yesterday that your aunt and uncle hoped that you won't be back."
Hari nodded refusing to look away or show or anything, really. She kept her face blank as she looked back at the woman.
"They hope that" Hari confirmed.
"What I need to know is what do you want?" Rinko asked.
Hari shrugged and didn't say anything.
"Hari-chan?" Rinko pressed.
"I don't want to go back;" Hari admitted quietly and clenched her hands against her thigh as she admitted her secret (or not so secret) wish.
She looked up in time to see Rinko and Nanjiro exchange a look before they looked back at her and Hari frowned lightly.
"Hari-chan," Rinko said gently. "For me to be able to help you, I need to know why you don't want to go back."
Hari blinked and looked at Rinko.
"Help me?" Hari asked feeling confused.
Rinko frowned a little and looked at Hari with a look Hari couldn't understand, it was like she was upset over something, but Hari couldn't understand what.
"Yes, we want to help you," Rinko said firmly like she was trying to make some point.
Hari knew she should tell her why, but something was also keeping her back. Her whole plan of getting away from Britain and the magical world was starting to seem very unrealistic for her. Just what was she expecting?
"I don't like it there," Hari said simply.
"And why is that?" Rinko pressed.
Hari gave her a searching look and Rinko met her eyes without looking away or showing what she thought. Hari wondered just what she wanted to hear and if she really would help her if she asked because she had met adults who seemed to care but they all ignored the treatment she received from the Dursley's when they saw or heard about it.
Hari knew Mrs Weasley meant well and cared about her in her own way, she had taken her in the summer between her first and second year and treated her like one of her own. But she had dismissed it when Ron, Fred and George had told her about the bars in front of her window. Like it was normal.
"Hari-chan," Rinko said suddenly much closer to Hari who blinked at her seeing that she was almost within reaching distance now. She had a worried look on her face. "Why do you not want to go back to your aunt and uncle?"
Hari looked down thinking hard about what to say or not to say. Would they think she was just whining if she told them? It wasn't like her aunt and uncle really hurt her or anything…well apart for the occasional slap. They did put a roof over her head even when they clearly didn't want to. They gave her food, at least enough so she would survive.
Hari steeled herself if she wanted her plan to work out she had to tell the truth. Even if she now had second thoughts about it, she had decided and she had put everything on this plan. She couldn't be weak and back down now! She had to tell it as it was and then live with it. If Rinko and Nanjiro couldn't help her, she would have to think about something else. It was just how it was.
Hari looked up again and met Rinko's eyes with a determined look.
"I'm just a burden and unwanted by them," Hari said as evenly she could. "The only thing they see me as is their servant. Someone to do their chores and cook their meals, I'm not family to them. I…"
Okay, so maybe her voice cracked a little. Hari stopped and cleared her throat as she tried to gain control over herself again. She refused to break down. She was used to this, so she shouldn't break down just because she said the truth of her family out loud.
"Hari-chan," Nanjiro said and his voice was unusually serious and stern and Hari looked over at him to see the anger in his eyes and she felt like flinching away. Was he angry at her? "Did they ever hurt you?"
Rinko glanced at her husband like she wanted to say something before looking back at Hari who was biting down at her lips as she glanced at the two adults. She hesitated. Again. She didn't know that they took her silence as confirmation and only saw how their eyes showed anger and sadness as they looked at her.
"Hari-chan," Rinko brought her attention back to her. "Please, tell us the truth. I can't help you if you're not telling me the truth."
Hari swallowed and nodded, she pushed her feelings away. Like she had done so many times already.
"Only…only sometimes," Hari admitted. "Just a slap if I'm not respectful enough or does the chores fast enough."
Rinko looked so sad and upset that Hari felt a little overwhelmed.
"I think we'll say it's enough for now," Rinko said and smiled at Hari. "Thank you for telling us the truth, Hari-chan. We'll do our best to help you. I promise."
Hari nodded and felt empty as she sank back in her seat.
"Oh, it's time to ring the bell!" Nanjiro suddenly exclaimed loudly and stood up and grinned. "Bell, bell, bell…and girls…"
Hari watched as he rushed out of the room and couldn't help but feel he had done that trying to break the tension in the room. Rinko chuckled a little and Hari glanced over at her to see the fond look on her face.
"He's always like that," Rinko said fondly.
"I remember," Hari said quietly.
Rinko smiled, "what do you want to do until Ryoma gets back, Hari-chan?"
Hari shrugged.
"I'm sure Nanjiro would welcome you at the shrine," Rinko said.
Hari nodded but she wasn't sure she wanted to go there either. She got up and smiled at Rinko.
"I think I'll go to the room and read a little," Hari said.
Rinko nodded and Hari felt her watching her as she walked out of the room. She could hear Nanako in the kitchen as she walked past the room.
...
"Hari!" Ryoma's voice sounded making Hari look up from the book on transfiguration she was reading. She quickly put it back in her suitcase where the magic items were hidden and closed it before she walked out of the room.
"Hai?" Hari answered just as Ryoma rounded the corner as he came up the stairs.
"Want to come with me to practice tennis?" he asked.
"Sure," Hari smiled, "just let me grab my sweater."
Ryoma nodded and Hari quickly grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head before pulling her auburn hair back into a messy bun to get it away from her eyes.
"Ready," Hari smiled at Ryoma who nodded and turned to walk down the stairs.
Hari glanced at Ryoma as they made their way through the streets toward a place where they could practice tennis. He was quiet and had a blank look on his face making her wonder a little. He had changed a little since she'd seen him last, he was more prone to smile then.
"You didn't have a match today?" Hari asked breaking the silence.
"No," Ryoma said. "I play Inui-sempai tomorrow."
Hari blinked and wonder who Inui was, but didn't ask.
"What kind of games are you playing anyway?" Hari asked curiously having wondered about it since the day before. "It looked to be intense."
"It's the ranking tournament," Ryoma explained looking over at her. "It's to choose who will become the regulars on the tennis team."
"Oh," Hari said. "So the boys in the white and blue shirts are regulars?"
Ryoma nodded, "yes."
"I see," Hari said.
"Ah, there it is," Ryoma said and she looked up at a tall building with 'Tennis' written on the wall pretty high up.
...
Hari stood right outside of the cage as Ryoma was hitting the tennis balls as they came flying at him from the machine and she watched as the balls bounced off the wall as he hit it. He made the whole thing look effortless and easy, but she knew it was harder than it appeared to be.
"Do you play anymore, Hari?" Ryoma asked as he hit a ball.
"I haven't played in a while," Hari admitted sadly. "I did play a little last summer when I was home from school, but then I had to leave and I didn't have the opportunity to play anymore."
"That's too bad," Ryoma said. "Where's your racket? Didn't you bring it?"
Hari winced and was glad he wasn't looking at her.
"No…," she said.
"Why?" he asked and she could tell he was frowning.
"Dudley broke it," Hari admitted sourly as she remembered her beloved tennis racket breaking into pieces.
Ryoma stopped hitting the tennis balls and turned around ignoring the balls that kept coming at him as he stared at her with wide eyes.
"Haaa? Nande?" Ryoma asked.
Hari shrugged bowing her head slightly to hide her eyes from Ryoma's searching ones.
"He never liked it when I had something he didn't have," Hari said simply before looking up again. "He never liked sports or anything like that, but he couldn't stand that I had something I liked so he destroyed my racket. I had to borrow others when I wanted to play on the street courts after that."
Hari saw the anger crossing his face as he stared at her and he opened and closed his mouth without anything coming out several times.
"We'll need to get you a new one," he settled on and turned back to the tennis balls and started to hit them again.
If he hit the balls a little harder than need by then Hari didn't comment on it as she watched him with a small smile.
After a while, Ryoma stopped hitting the balls and stepped out of the cage. Hari arched a brow at him when he held out his racket to her. She took it and felt the weight of the racket in her hand again making her smile slightly.
"Go on," he said and nodded toward the cage. "Try it."
Hari grinned and didn't need to be asked twice before she entered the cage and heard the wired screen door close behind her with a metallic click.
She put her coin into the machine before taking her position. She waited for a moment before the first ball comes flying toward her.
She used her right hand to hit the ball back and grinned as she felt her racket (or Ryoma's racket) connect with the ball and watched as it flew back toward the wall. She adjusted her hold on the racket as the next ball came before hitting the ball.
She felt Ryoma's eyes on her and was curious to learn what he thought, she knew she wasn't on his level of good but she was better than the last time they had met and played. She took a step back and used a backhand to hit the next ball.
"Ah, Ryoma-kun," Hari suddenly heard a female voice said and she fought the need to look over her shoulders to see who it was. "You're not playing…"
"No," Ryoma said shortly.
"Why?" Sakuno, Hari recognised the voice from the twin braid girl from the day before, said.
"Hari is playing," Ryoma said like it was obvious, which it was.
"Oh," Sakuno said.
"What are you doing here?" Ryoma asked.
Hari snorted quietly as she hit the next ball at the rude question from Ryoma.
"Oh, um…" Sakuno stammered and Hari would bet she was blushing. "Grandma told me you might be here…"
"So?" Ryoma asked.
"So…I just thought I wanted to come and see you…" Sakuno said.
"Hm," Ryoma said.
Hari smiled amusedly as she listened and felt sorry for the girl. It could be though conversing with Ryoma, sometimes you really had to drag everything out of him. Especially if he wasn't really interested in the first place.
"Ryo-chan, I'm done," Hari said and saw the raised brow from him when she turned to look at him. Probably because she had switched back to English again. "Do you want to play more?"
"Sure," Ryoma said and opened the door accepting the racket from her. "Don't have too much fun."
"Whatever do you mean, Ryo-chan?" Hari grinned.
He snorted and closed the door again.
"Hello, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled at the girl who smiled timidly back. "Nice seeing you again."
Hari saw the concentration on her face as she tried to translate what Hari just had said and Hari smiled amusedly.
"Hello, Potter-san," Sakuno said.
Hari looked away from the shy girl and over at Ryoma who was hitting balls again. She saw how he had one leg planted on the ground and used the other to move back and forth given how the ball moved.
"Ooooh," Hari mumbled as she saw how he didn't move from the spot.
"Eto," Sakuno said breaking the silence and Hari glanced at her but saw her staring at Ryoma again. "Will I be a bother if I talk?"
"It's fine," Ryoma said.
"Ryoma-kun, why did you start playing tennis?" Sakuno asked.
Hari sat down on the ground as she waited for Ryoma to answer Sakuno. She wouldn't say anything as she found it too much fun to pretend that she didn't understand what the girl was saying.
"I forgot," Ryoma said making Hari snort silently.
"Huh?" Sakuno blinked.
"When I realised it…I was playing already," Ryoma said. "Even when I decided to quit I couldn't."
"Why?"
Hari knew why it was because he wanted to beat Nanjiro. Even when he was eight he had wanted to beat his dad, that was what he worked for after all.
"There is always an objective," Ryoma said.
He closed his eyes and even Hari arched a brow when she spotted his closed eyes when he turned around slightly. Was he really going to play with his eyes closed?
That was impressive; Hari smiled and heard Sakuno say his name like she couldn't really believe what she was seeing. Hari could understand why, though.
...
The three walked in silence toward the subway as the evening drew closer and Hari could tell that Sakuno was burning to ask something and was curious to see how long she managed to resist the need to ask. It was amusing to see how the younger girl would glance at Ryoma's back and then look away before she looked back once more.
"Ano, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno finally broke the silence.
"Huh?" Ryoma didn't look at her as he made the sound.
"Can I ask you what you meant with the objective you talked about before?" Sakuno asked.
Hari hid her smile. She had asked and now she was panicking. She saw how her eyes widened like she realised that she had asked him out loud.
"Ah, gomen ne," Sakuno hurriedly said. "If you don't want to answer that's fine…"
She sounded so lost and disappointed at the same time that Hari almost told Ryoma to answer her, but she refrained and she watched the two with a curious look. Sakuno was blushingly looking down as Ryoma started to cross the street.
"There's someone I want to beat up," Ryoma said. "I want to beat him with tennis."
Hari glanced over at Sakuno who looked shocked by that answer as she stared at him. She was easy to read, Hari thought amused. So much fun…
They waved goodbye to Sakuno at the subway before they started to make their way home as well.
"You answered more of her questions that I thought you would," Hari commented glancing at Ryoma.
He just shrugged and yawned.
"She seems like a good girl," Hari continued. "A little shy and nervous, though."
Ryoma nodded.
"Alright," Hari sighed, "you've used up your talking abilities for today, it seems."
He snorted but didn't say anything making her shake her head.
Hari smiled to herself as she walked beside Ryoma and felt happy to be there, and despite the angst, she had felt earlier when talking with his parents she felt better now with him and more at ease. It was strange how Ryoma managed to calm her thoughts and mind. Not even Ron or Hermione managed to get her to forget what she was worried about, and they were her best friends. Well, besides Ryoma.
That had her thinking about Ron and Hermione again and she wondered if they knew she was gone now. Had they tried writing her? Would she even get their letters if they tried writing? Would the owls manage to find her in Japan?
Well, they shouldn't know that she was gone yet. She had told her aunt to send a letter (that she had left behind before she left) at a certain date so she would hopefully have some time before Dumbledore or Fudge learned that she had left Britain. She wasn't sure if that would work, but she hoped it would.
She hadn't told Ron and Hermione because she worried that they might go to Dumbledore and she wouldn't risk it. She ignored the little voice in her mind that whispered that she hadn't told because she was hurt they hadn't written to her.
"Where are you going?" Ryoma suddenly asked and Hari noticed that he had grabbed her wrist.
"Um, to your place…" Hari blinked.
He arched a brow, "that's the wrong way."
Hari blinked again and looked around, "oh."
He shook his head and she smiled a little.
...
Hari scowled again as she stared at a wall and rubbed her head. Just why did she keep walking into walls at this place? She sighed as she turned around and walked back the way she had come, or thought she had come until she stared at some trees.
Finally, she saw the tennis courts in front of her and she saw the crowd standing by the fence watching the match going on, she spotted Sakuno standing with the other girl, Tomoka. The two journalists were also there and she remembered how Nanjiro had been laughing about something that had happened with them last night. Nanako had said they had come to interview him and that Nanjiro had played a match against Inoue.
She walked past them and the match they were watching as she looked for Ryoma and finally saw him on a different court seated on the bench getting ready.
"Ryo-chan!" Hari called ignoring the attention she brought upon herself with the call.
"Hari, what are you doing here?" Ryoma asked.
"I told you I would come and watch you play," Hari smiled. "I'm curious."
Ryoma rolled his eyes but he nodded.
"You ready?" Hari asked.
"Of course," Ryoma smiled.
Hari snorted and nodded, "I don't know why I asked."
Hari glanced to the side as a tall dark haired teen with glasses that hid his eyes entered the court with a racket under his left arm. He had regular clothes on and she would bet money on that this was Inui.
"Were you waiting?" Inui asked looking at Ryoma.
Ryoma didn't answer as he got up.
...
Hari stood just outside the wire fence watching as Ryoma played Inui. She frowned slightly as Inui took the third point going up to a 30-0 lead. She narrowed her eyes and watched as Inui was again at the right place to hit the ball back over at Ryoma's court.
40-0
"Ne, isn't Inui-sempai ready to hit as Ryoma returns?" one of the first years asked, Hari thought his name was Kato Kachiro. Since they were standing close by where Hari was standing she had no trouble hearing them.
"If you see it that way…" the taller one, Mizuno Katsuo, said.
"After all, Inui-sempai knew where Ryoma-kun will return the ball," Kachiro said.
"Is that possible?" Sakuno asked.
Hari admitted that the first year was most likely correct in his assumption. To believe that someone was able to read Ryoma that well…
"That's impossible!" The third boy, Horio Satoshi, protested loudly. "It's only a coincidence!"
"That is possible," a cool voice interrupted and Hari blinked when she noticed that one of the regulars had joined them and was now standing between where she was watching and the first years.
Hari looked at him from the corner of her eyes and saw how Fuji Shusuke was smiling and had his eyes closed, or seemingly closed, as he looked at the match.
"Inui knows where Echizen will hit the ball," Fuji said and Hari noticed how he slightly turned his head toward her but she refused to look at him or show that she had noticed the attention she was now given.
"Fuji-sempai is so cool!" Tomoka gushed. "Awesome!"
"As usual Inui is playing a perfect game," Fuji said still directed toward Hari who fought to keep her face blank as she watched Ryoma.
Hari frowned as she saw Ryoma barely managing to hit the ball but Inui turned his back as if he knew that the ball would not go over the net. He did know…
"Game won by Inui," the one who was refereeing the game called.
...
"Do you think he will give up?" Fuji asked making Hari glance at him as he had come up close to her.
"Ryo-chan doesn't know how to give up," Hari smirked.
Fuji smile widens slightly as he turned his attention back to the game, but Hari wasn't fooled. She knew he was observing her as well, but she had no idea why he was or why he even bothered to do it.
"Game won by Inui," the referee called once more. "2-1."
Hari listened as Inui told Ryoma about his percentage of the moves Ryoma used and how he had figured out Ryoma's play. Hari knew that it was a challenge, but it wouldn't be that easy to cage Ryoma in and stop him from developing in the match.
A smile crossed her lips unaware of the eyes on her as she watched Ryoma.
"An irritating strategy," Ryoma said.
Hari snorted amusedly when Ryoma deliberately hit his serve at the net.
"Did you expect that serve?" Ryoma asked.
"I didn't expect the fault just now," Inui answered.
Hari heard Fuji laugh beside her and say something about Ryoma not wanting to lose. She smiled as she thought, of course, he doesn't.
...
Hari watched as Ryoma continued to struggle, but she saw the determination and will to overcome this in his eyes as he played. She mostly ignored the first years talking beside her and even Fuji though mostly because she felt him trying to get a response out of her or something. She wasn't going to respond.
More and more students showed up to watch as well, probably because the other games were ending.
"Mada mada dane," Ryoma called out just as Inui was walking away from him and Hari felt her lips twitch. "It was a good decision to come to Seigaku. Now I can beat all kinds of tennis players."
Hari smiled fully amused at his words. He really didn't know how to give up…
She arched a brow when she saw him start to jump slightly and saw the wary look on Inui's face as he took in the step.
"I learned a new step recently," Ryoma said. "I wanted to keep it secret and save it for Nationals, but…"
Amazed mutterings spread among the watchers and Hari looked forward to seeing this new step of his in action.
What a….cocky boy… Hari snorted as Ryoma told Inui where he was going to hit. Amused she chuckled out loud ignoring Fuji who glanced at her. Ryoma was amusing…
The flow of the game changed then and she could tell that Ryoma was getting the hang of this and Inui was now struggling because Ryoma had developed during the match and therefore putting his data out of use. Or something like that, Hari thought as she watched Ryoma win game after game.
4-4.
5-4.
Hari sweat dropped as she heard the childish (there was no other word for it) argument between the female journalist and Tomoka about Ryoma and something about calling him a prince. Seriously, what was with them? Especially the grown woman who was gushing over a 12-year-old boy… honestly, Hari found it creepy.
Hari watched as Ryoma used his twist serve and she smiled as she saw how perfect it was, she remembered how he had talked about wanting to be able to do it when he was eight. He had not yet managed to do it but he was practising very hard. A sense of pride filled her as she saw him performing the serve and how it went up toward Inui's glasses.
15-0.
The shocked gasps from the crowd filled the atmosphere around the match and Hari couldn't help but notice the excitement that grew with the first years as they stared at Ryoma. Hmm…Hari smiled slightly as she glanced at them, the three boys were pressed as close as they could get to the fence as they stared at Ryoma with expecting eyes, while Tomoka and Sakuno were hugging and jumping up and down cheering. Looks like Ryoma had some fans… how much fun she could have with this, Hari thought.
30-0.
Ryoma took the position to use another twist serve and Hari glanced at Inui who had a determined look on his face as he got ready. He knew what was coming, she was sure, but would he be able to counter it?
Hari watched as Inui took the step back and moved to get out of the way and have his racket ready to hit the ball but as the ball hit it was clear that it was harder than what he expected and he lost hold of the racket and it spun out of his hand.
40-0.
"If you're playing using your data…" Ryoma said. "…then I'll have to rise above your data."
Hari grinned at the cocky attitude Ryoma showed and saw that Inui was more amused than offended by it, she guessed that was lucky because she predicted that Ryoma would provoke a lot of players with his attitude as they met more players in the future.
"Mada mada dane," Ryoma smirked before he smashed the ball behind Inui who couldn't do anything by stare after the ball.
"Game set won by Echizen, 6-4," the referee called.
...
Hari smiled as she watched Ryoma talk with the first years who had immediately gathered around him as he stepped off the court (after Inui who had walked off muttering to himself about the game).
"He did it," Fuji commented and Hari almost responded before she remembered her prank.
Hari wondered about how loud someone could get and while she thought Ron and the twins were loud, they didn't really compare to these freshmen (especially Tomoka), Hari thought.
"A kiss between a unicorn and boggart are the answer to lives mysteries" a cold voice hissed and Hari stumbled slightly as her mind processed the sentence and looked around to see Kaido, the one Ryoma had played before, glare at the freshmen. She stared wide-eyed at him feeling her face burn bright and warm making her force herself to look away. Just what did he say? Did he mean to say it and why didn't anyone react to him saying something so…stupid?
Blushing again she tried to get away from the attention from Fuji who had opened his eyes slightly as he looked at her, why did he keep looking at her? She walked away, she had to collect her thoughts.
She found a water station of a sort and leaned over it to splash some water on her face trying to calm herself down and cool off. Why did he have to say something like that? Did it mean…that he knew about magic? But…there was something not right about this. Something wasn't adding up in her mind.
After a while, she stood up again and dried the remaining water off her face sighing as she forced the strange sentence out of her mind and tried to think about something else…anything else… she shook her head and turned to go back to watch Ryoma play his next match.
He was already playing when she finally found her way back (seriously, this school was worse than Hogwarts with their maze-like paths) and saw the score was already 5-0 meaning he just had one game left before he won. She hadn't realised she had been gone for so long.
She paused at the fence and once more found herself close to the freshmen and Fuji was glancing over at her but this time didn't come over to her.
He won, of course, and Hari smiled refusing to look at where Kaido was standing.
"He's a regular!" she heard the freshmen boys cheer and Tomoka hugged Sakuno as they both cheered.
...
Hari stood beside Ryoma and watched as Inui lost his game against Kaido and Hari fought to not blush every time Kaido spoke.
"Eat slugs and kiss me, baby," again making Hari blush and almost choke.
Again she couldn't understand why no one reacted when he said so ridiculous things. She almost asked Ryoma but her embarrassment stopped her.
"Ochibi!"
Hari broke out of her puzzlement as the loud cheerful voice sounded and looked up in time to see Ryoma be attacked by the bouncy redhead called Kikumaru Eiji. Kikumaru was hugging Ryoma around the neck and Hari felt her lips twitched amused as she saw the annoyance in Ryoma's eyes yet also the resignation like he had tried before to get the overly excited teen to stop and failed.
"You're finally a regular!" Kikumaru beamed. "So fun, nya!"
"Eiji! He can't breathe!" Oishi fussed pulling at Kikumaru and true enough Ryoma gasped for breath the moment Kikumaru let go of him.
Ryoma glared at Hari who was laughing at him.
"Oh, your friend is here," Kikumaru said. "Hello, nya!"
"Hi, how are you?" Hari asked politely with a small smile.
Kikumaru looked a little confused before he answered, "fine. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Hari answered.
The rest of the regulars plus Inui (who Hari guessed wasn't a regular anymore) joined them and Ryoma narrowed his eyes at them as he stepped up beside her still rubbing his throat.
"Isn't it about time to stop pretending?" Fuji spoke up breaking the silence that he fallen over them and the others glanced at him confused but he was staring at Hari with that smile of his and his eyes closed (didn't he need to open them to see?). "Eh, Potter-san?"
"What are you talking about, Fujiko-chan?" Kikumaru asked. "And why did you say it in Japanese?"
Hari noticed the others also looking confused and some like Kawamura got a thoughtful look on their face as they looked back at her.
"Shouldn't you speak English, Fuji-sempai?" Momoshiro asked frowning. "You know English."
Hari sighed inwardly; it looked like her prank had been discovered.
"I guess so," Hari said and they blinked as one staring at her. "How did you guess, Fuji-san?"
He smiled, "It looked like you understood what we were talking about during Echizen's match against Inui."
Hari shrugged, "sou ka?"
"You really can understand Japanese, nya?" Kikumaru exclaimed.
Hari nodded.
"Why didn't you say so?" Momoshiro whined. "I've been struggling to try to learn some English!"
Ryoma chuckled from his place next to her looking amused while Hari smirked slightly.
"It was fun," was all she said.
She laughed at the looks she got.
...
...
AN: What do you think?
I have decided to have Hari and Ryoma as friends/siblings in this story.
Thank you to those who left a review! I will take the votes/wishes for pairings into consideration when I (finally) manage to make a decision. There is still time to make suggestions, place votes or wishes. A) Fuji, S. B) Sanada, G. C) Yukimura, S. Who do you want to see Hari with? It will be one of them.
Japanese words used:
Ohayo - good morning
Haaaa? - What
Nande? - Why
Ano - filler
Gomen ne - sorry
Sou ka - really? Is that so?
Sempai - upperclassman /a form of respect to students older than you
Eto - filler