Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.
The Dreamer
Serve4: The Training
Menou's POV
I sighed. Today was Saturday, so I needed not to go to school, but I had another appointment. I stared at the big traditional house in front of my eyes. I grumbled in front of the door with a family name plate, it was written Echizen. I made sure of my appearance. I meant...I was developing a...okay, I will admit it...a crush on him! Being tidy and nice never hurt, right? I checked my whole clothes. Everything was done.
I recalled my memory; it was my brother's fault...
"What?" I almost screamed when he said Ryoma's name.
"You heard me, Echizen Ryoma," my brother repeated his words, "You are the same age, I suppose you can get along better as your way of thinking is supposed to be the same. I think it's for the best."
"We all know how much you want to be a part of the regulars, Menou-chan. I know you want it really badly, more than any other new candidates," Yume added. "So you have to train."
"He wants to?" I asked, quite surprised that the emotionless first year wanted to teach me tennis.
"He has said yes," Kunimitsu-nii replied sternly, "And you can't change your trainer."
"B-But!" I retorted.
"Menou-chan, better not ruin this chance..." Fuji's voice came from behind me.
I spun around to meet his usual smiling face. I sent him a dagger from my eyes, but it did not seem to affect him. He only walked closer to me and bent down to whisper in my ears.
"This may be your chance to be alone with Echizen," his tone teasing me.
I felt hot on my face and I knew blush was creeping to my cheeks, making Fuji chuckled.
"Don't tell me that you were the one who suggested to my brother for assigning Echizen as my trainer..." I spoke low so Kunimitsu-nii could not hear it.
Fuji went silent for a moment. He stood back firmly with a grin and I saw him nodded a bit, answering my query.
I knew it! I knew it!
"Fuji!" I screamed at him madly, "I will kill you!"
I blushed at memory of his words. This was also Fuji's fault! I inhaled deeply and pressed the bell. I heard footsteps from inside coming towards me. The door opened and I saw a young woman with long bluish hair and gentle smile. She was tall and slim.
"Hello, can I help you?" she asked.
"Good morning. I am Tezuka Menou, Echizen Ryoma's classmate. Is he at home right now...?" I replied timidly, playing with my hair.
"He's still upstairs, please, just come in," she gestured me to come in. I nodded and stepped inside. The house was wonderful, I liked the style. It was traditional house, but filled with modern application.
"I am Nanako by the way, Ryoma's cousin," she said.
"Nice to meet you, Nanako-san," I replied to her with a smile.
"Well, well...Who are we having here?" a male voice spoke up.
I turned to see a man with loose black kimono, barefooted, and reading the newspaper. I bowed a bit to him; after all, he had to be the owner of the house...I guess.
"Nice to meet you, Echizen-san," I said.
"No need to be so formal, girl," he said, scratching his chest, "Just Nanjiro is enough."
"Okay," I nodded. He grinned and folded his papers.
"Oi...! Ryoma!" he shouted to his son upstairs, "Wake up! Your girl is here!"
I blushed at his comment. I was not Ryoma's girlfriend, but I would wish too...I slapped myself mentally; I had said I did not like him.
You like him, admit it...
I shook my head. Okay, I liked him, but I would never, ever show it!
"Is he sleeping?" I asked to Nanako.
She shrugged, "Ryoma is really dead to the world."
We went silent and Nanako sighed a bit. She shook her head and looked at her uncle. Nanjiro's eyes suddenly brightened and he folded his paper, "Why don't you come upstairs to wake him up?"
"Eh?" I exclaimed in shock automatically.
In a matter of second, I was dragged upstairs by Nanjiro. I glanced at Nanako helplessly. She just waved weakly and sweat dropped. My mouth hung opened, but no word came out. Before I realized about it, I was shoved into a room. Nanjiro grinned one last time and closed the door. I heard 'click' sound and I knew I was locked. I stood in awe, confused of what to do. I glanced at Ryoma; he was in his bed sleeping peacefully. He was truly in a deep slumber. I blushed.
"How did I end up stick here...?" I whispered softly.
"What is it, Mom?" Ryoma's voice came, he whipped around, "It's holiday!"
"Sorry, but I am not your mother, Ryoma-kun," I replied absentmindedly. Hell! Why did I reply? Now he would know I was in his room!
He seemed to be wakened up by unfamiliar voice of mine. Slowly, he rose and sat up on his bed. I stepped back until I hit the wall. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and stared at me. His hair was messier than usual.
"Hum...?" he mumbled, "You're Captain's sister and the girl whose face went red on the library..."
I blushed again and nodded in embarrassment.
"What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously, he was not sleepy anymore.
"Ah, uh..." I thought my brother had talked to him, had not he?
"My brother told me that you would teach me tennis," I said a bit confused.
He went silent for a moment, gathering his memories.
"Ah!" he snapped out and slapped his fist to his palm, remembered about my brother's request.
I was glad he remembered and let out a happy sigh. Then we went silent again. I hate the silence between us. He did not speak anymore word and he just scratched his head. His hair was tangled. It was in unmanageable knot and I could not imagine how he could tidy it up. However, in my eyes, he looked so hot!
I shook my head violently, "Stop staring at him!" I shouted to myself in my head.
"Uh, Ryoma-kun?" I asked idly.
He looked at me.
"Um, can I get out now? Nanjiro-san locked me here," I said pointing to the door.
He raised his eyebrow and sighed with annoyance.
"Stupid old man..." he mumbled under his breath.
He rose from his bed and stretched. He yawned and then walked to his desk to grab something. He glanced at me with sleepy eyes and continued walking to the door. I heard a 'click' sound and the door was now open! Ryoma stepped back as I reached the door knob. I opened the door and glanced at him. I smiled a bit and muttered a 'thanks' before rushing downstairs.
"Well? Is he awake now?" Nanjiro asked.
"Um, yeah," I answered. My answer made him grinning widely.
"Hey, Nanako! Remind me! Ryoma will wake up when his girl is here!" Nanjiro called to Nanako who was in the kitchen.
"Sure, sure," she replied casually. Her tone showed she did not really care about what her uncle thought and maybe she did not really know what he was talking about.
I blushed red. Nanjiro did not miss my blush and he grinned at that.
"Oooo! My boy got a shy girl!" he laughed.
"She isn't my girlfriend," Ryoma said. He walked downstairs, putting on his cap.
We both looked at Ryoma. He glared at his father sternly, which Nanjiro replied with wicked grin. They both stared at each other, although I would reconsider Ryoma's as a glare rather than just a stare. I kept my eyes on Ryoma though. Before I could distort my stare, he looked at me and our eyes met for second. I quickly looked away in embarrassment. It was not everyday you got caught staring at someone dreamily.
"Oi, old man, can I use the court?" he asked.
"Court? What court?" I asked myself.
"Yeah, you can. What is it for?" Nanjiro asked Ryoma.
"To train her," he indicated me with his thumb. Nanjiro narrowed his eyes.
"Your date is tennis training?" he asked with frown.
"We are NOT dating, you old man," Ryoma said again, emphasizing the word 'not'. I took a step back as I was scared a bit. I never thought Echizen Ryoma was sensitive on this kind of matter.
"Follow me," he said walking away coldly. I followed him close behind. We walked away from his house. We reached a ground court. It was not too far from his house actually. We just walked a bit. He put his bag on a bench and I followed suit. He got into the court and took out a ball. I narrowed my eyes. What was he planning?
"Okay, show me your ability..." he said smirking, "Captain's sister..."
"I have a name you, know," I sighed.
He did not listen to me and he threw the ball mid-air. In my eyes, the ball dropped slowly, but his movement was fast beyond compare! The ball came to me in a stunning speed and not only that...The ball twisted into my face! Instinctively, I screamed and covered my face with my racquet. I lost my balance at that sudden movement and fell to the ground on my bottom.
"What the hell was that?" I shouted at him, rubbing my aching bottom.
"Twist serve," he replied calmly, taking another ball, "It's 15-0."
I stood back. That was the first time I met an opponent with Twist Serve. I inhaled deeply. To my persistence, I refused to let him win with all Service Aces. I did not want to be a total loser!
He raised his hand again, another Twist Serve and yet I could not hit it. Dammit! Why was it so hard just to return a serve? I tried and tried, but none was a success. When he served for the seventh times, I chased the ball. I tried to move the best and the fastest I could, but this time I tripped. It was even worse than just missing the ball. I lost my balance and I could not steady myself back. I fell to the ground hard and there went another point for him.
My knees bleed a bit from the new scratch. I saw him waiting for me to return to my position, bouncing the tennis ball with his racquet. I growled and stood back, ignoring the scratch.
"It's just a scratch, be strong, Menou," I said to myself.
Without wasting any moment, he served again. I failed again. I was really mad at myself. What was wrong with me? I imagined my brother playing with Ryoma. He would overcome Ryoma, I was positive about it. I inhaled and exhaled deeply and slowly. I always did this to calm myself down. I looked back to Ryoma and he was again bouncing the ball with his racquet.
He glanced at me, "This started to get boring."
An hour passed and I was already on the ground, lying flat and panting. My racquet was on the ground next to me. I looked up to the sky; the sun was right above me. It was already midday, but I showed no improvement. Well, slight improvement I thought, at least I could move the racquet almost but not hitting the ball. I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute or so.
"Okay, let's get another practice!" I said as I jumped back to my feet.
Ryoma narrowed his eyes a bit before shrugged. I threw him the ball which was on my side now. He caught it with his left hand.
"Come!" I smirked, "I will not stop until I hit it back."
"...It will take forever," he stated bluntly.
Just when I was about to move, a loud sound came from outside of the court. I missed the ball, but I swung too hard and tripped to the hard ground head first. I groaned, rubbing the back of my head. Meanwhile, the voice was still calling me.
I recognized that voice as my classmate. I forgot her name.
"Menou, why are you here?" she panted, "I go to your home and your mother said you are in the Echizen's residence."
"We are having class meeting for the festival!" she exclaimed.
I went silence for few seconds, before her words finally registered in my brain.
"Holy crap!" I cursed myself silently. I totally forgot that I had to meet my homeroom teacher. After all, I was in charge to take control of our stall this time.
"Uh, ah, uh, I'm going now!" I stammered. My friend only shook her head and ran back to school.
"You'd better hurry, Menou!" she shouted and pointed at me before completely out of sight.
I looked at Ryoma and clasped my palms clasped together in front of my face, "Sorry really sorry, but I need to go to meet my teacher now! Can we continue later?" I begged in rush.
Ryoma just stared at my and stayed silent. He could not comprehend my words that were said extremely fast.
"Huh?" he looked confused. Totally.
"Please?" I pleaded to him, not really care that he did not understand what I had said before.
Ryoma shrugged and I smiled a bit before running frantically. I just grabbed my bag and hastily dashed off, heading to school. I tripped on her way several times. Of course, I was totally in panic. I stepped on my loose shoelaces and fell flat on my face to the ground. I wasted no time though; I quickly stood up and rushed again.
I slammed my class' door opened. All of my classmates stared at me and clapped their hands sarcastically for my unpunctuality. My teacher rose from his seat and scolded me for being late; I just apologized repeatedly to him and the rest of the pupil. He finally calmed down and asked me to have my seat. I quickly did as he told me to do and our meeting at last began. We talked for hours and it was very hard to find an agreement amongst us.
"How about making a haunted house?" one of my classmates asked.
I opened the list, "Class 1-3 has decided to do it. Drop the idea."
"How about a clothes stall?" another suggested.
"Nope, class 1-2 has. Class 1-1 will prepare some games and class 1-5 will sell accessories," I replied again. I sighed and pushed my spectacles up my nose bridge. Damn, the other classes had submitted everything and they were really fast.
"How about making a café?" I suggested.
Everyone murmured and grinned. I saw that mischievous grin on the boys' face.
"I think okay, how about if we make it Cosplay café?" a boy asked with a big grin, "It will be fun that way."
The girl frowned, but the boys grinned, giving each other high-fived. As our homeroom teacher was a man and comparison between the boys and girls were not balanced (more boys to girls), the male won. I would be one of the waitresses also. The boys volunteered themselves to borrow the Cosplay costumes. I had warned them to rent a normal Cosplay, not a vulgar one! They had said okay, but I just could not believe them.
We ended up the meeting and went home. It was already dusk. I stretched my arms. I felt I forget something, but never mind about it. I was too tired and I just wanted to go home. So I walked home and took off my shoes. I greeted my mother and brother who were in the dining room.
"I'm home!" I greeted them as I took a seat.
"Welcome home," my mom replied as she gave me a bowl of rice.
"How's your day?" she asked.
"Quite...interesting, yeah, quite nice," I replied taking my chopsticks.
"How's your training? Kunimitsu told me you have training today," she continued.
I glanced at my brother who sat next to me. He just continued to eat without even looking at me.
"Just fine," I smiled. I recalled about the training, it was actually...fun and I smiled. My smile dropped as I remembered what I had forgotten.
"Crap! I forgot my tennis racquet!" I slapped my forehead and groaned.
My brother finally looked at me. He stared at me and then turned away, sighing a bit.
I cursed myself, hitting myself in the head. That racquet was my brother's, but he gave it to me and now I forgot to bring it back home! Well, I still could take it back the next day. Tomorrow would be Sunday and I did not have a plan to go somewhere. I would go tomorrow, I decided silently. I could not go this late to Ryoma's house. I thought I would just go tomorrow for taking it back.
"I'm finish," I thanked my mother and rushed upstairs. I took a bath and changed my clothes. I sat down and took my homework. I had not done any of it. I put on my spectacles and when I was doing it, my mom called from downstairs.
"Menou, there is a call for you!" she yelled.
"I'm coming!" I replied while walking downstairs with noise.
"Hi, Menou!" a chirpy voice came from the phone.
I thought before reply, "Yume-senpai?"
"The one and only, the Mighty Yume!" she replied proudly.
I chuckled and answered her back, "Hi, Senpai! What's up?"
"Oh, yeah, do you have a plan tomorrow?" she asked.
"Not really. Why?" I asked back.
"Great! Let's go playing tennis, we haven't finished our match!" she yelled excitedly.
I anime-sweat dropped, "Tennis again? And I don't have my racquet with me!"
"So? How does that sound?" she asked and I knew she was grinning although I could not see her.
"Er, it's okay, but I need to take my racquet first in..." I stopped, "Echizen's residence."
"What?!" she shouted, "Oh my God! Do you and that Echizen guy-"
"No!" I cut her short, my face was hot, "We had training and I forgot to take it back! That's all!!"
"Oh," she seemed calmer, "Anyway, after you take it, head for the school court, okay?"
"Okay, see you tomorrow!" I smiled.
"Bye-bye! See you!" she hung up the phone.
I headed to my room and collapsed to my bed. I had no more intention to do my homework. I used to plan to do it, but not anymore. I bathed in a quick time and changed to my pajamas. I took off my glasses and put in the headboard of my bed. I closed my eyes and sighed.
"Today was a long day..."
A/N:
Please review. I will really, really appreciate reviews. Please help me improving my English!
