Chapter 4: Partners and Karupin (Before the Game)
Midori wandered around the hotel as she saw her mother looking out the lobby window rubbing her stomach. She pouted and stomped off without her mom noticing. She walked towards the hotel's elevator to go back to her room. The door opened to a purring cat. "A kitty?"
…Beach…
"Echizen, change of plans, you're going to get paired up with one of us and compete with a different pair," Fuji said as he came towards him. Ryoma had walked away from the group before they could pick out the groups. He tilted his cap upwards revealing tired, amber eyes. "You look like you haven't gotten any sleep in the past few days, have you?"
"Hn," he covered his eyes again and tried to go back to sleep.
"Thinking about Sakuno-chan, lately?" Fuji smirked as Ryoma got up, startled "Huh, so it's true."
"No," Ryoma fell back down, realizing he had only been teasing. "I know this was a set up, I can tell, Fuji-senpai."
Fuji laughed at his reaction. Ryoma was trying to change the subject so that he wouldn't have to talk about her, though he wasn't sure because he couldn't see his face. He looked out into the distance and smiled. The waves were perfect, the sound of the waters, seeing how the sunset would be a perfect scene for a certain couple-.
"Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma sweat dropped seeing his mischievous face with his dark aura around him, once again. He's planning something…again.
…
"Ano? Can I be paired with a different person?" Sakuno begged when she heard about the partnering.
"Sakuno, is there a reason why you don't want to be paired up with him? Did he do something to you?" Shiro's face became serious. Shiro was like a father to her and vice versa. She didn't want him to dislike Ryoma. Even if she was angry with him, Sakuno still cared about him.
"No, it's just…h-he and I are friends, it's just we don't work well together," she started to talk but then it became whispers. "I wouldn't want him to lose because of me."
"Saku-san, this is one of your best sports, you'll be fine," Shiro smiled. Sakuno liked making her family happy so she went along with it.
"O-Okay," she tried to fake a smile as she turned around to go get ready for the game. It looks like I can't avoid him now, mou.
…Midori…
"Mama! Look what I found!" Midori ran to her mother, holding a white/brown cat. "I want to keep it!"
"It looks like its someone else's cat, Midori, they must be worried sick trying to find him/her" she stood up, carrying herself and took the cat in her arms. She looked at the cat's collar. "His name is Karupin."
…
"Saku-nee-chan!" Midori ran, hugging Karupin tightly with Megumi behind her. "Look! It's a kitty?"
Sakuno came out of her hotel room with her hair now tied in a ponytail. She was going to take a short nap before the game had started. Looking at her watch, she realized how late she was going to be. "Gomen-ne, I can't really talk right now."
Midori looked down as Sakuno glanced at her and knelt. "You want to come and watch?"
Her eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement. "Yay!"
Sakuno also glanced at the cat, "Wait a minute, that's-"
…Beach…
"Team Seigaku wins 1-1!" Shiro shouted as the members began to cheer. The girls squealed as they walked off to their group. Their boyfriends were really fired up now. Ryoma slowly walked towards the court, seeing how big of a crowd it had gotten, he decided he wasn't going to do it anymore. Momoshiro grabbed his shirt and stopped him from walking away. "If we lose, you're coming down with us."
"Momo-senpai, I don't even know who my partner is."
Something started to nuzzle Ryoma's ankle and began to purr. "Kitty?"
Midori ran up to him and sat down on the dry sand. "Want to watch the game with me, kitty?"
"So, Echizen-san, you're the owner?" Megumi came up to him. "Gomenasai, it seems that Midori made a liking to him."
Ryoma picked him up and petted him. He looked at Midori, who was still smiling and back at Karupin, "How did you find him?"
"He used the elevator," she giggled. "Mommy was surprised, too."
"Can you keep him safe during the game?" Ryoma, still looking as blank as a sheet of paper, handed her, Karupin.
"I promise and I will make sure kitty sees you play!"
"Arigatou…" he walked off to the court.
"Megumi? What are you doing here?" Shiro asked, becoming worried.
"Oh, don't worry honey; I just came to watch the game. Oh and speaking of which…" she and Shiro made their way around the crowd and discussed something. "Is that alright? She asked me to do it."
"Hai?" Shiro agreed, still a little confused. "Demo ne, why?"
…
She came up to Ryoma, walking confidently and greeted him. "H-Hi…"
"Who are you? Are you my partner?" Ryoma just looked at her with a blank look, although he was a little suspicious about whom she was. She wore a red, frilled bikini and had a hair up in a bun. "Do I know you?"
"I-I'm S-Sakura Mizuki. Yes, I'm your p-partner!"
…Tomoka…
"Where are you, Sakuno?" she was at the hotel park and began to wonder where her best friend had gone. "The game is about to start!"
This was my very first fanfic and I thought no one would really read it much less review it. But, thank you for the comments and I'll try to update as soon as I can! =]
