Chapter 9- Fuji's Special Someone
"Moshi moshi?"
-Syuu~suke~- The girl's voice from the other line said.
"Midori!" Fuji opened his eyes in surprise and a smile made its way on his face as he heard the girl's giggle.
-Hi there, Syuusuke. It's been a while.-
"A hectic week for you, you mean. How are you?"
-Like you said, it has been a very hectic week for me here in Australia. What about you?-
"I'm alright. We're practicing for the competition on December."
-December? You still have a lot of months to practice. Isn't that a bit early?-
"Actually, we still don't have enough members to participate in the Kantou Tournament."
-Huh? Why? The Seigaku Team's Regulars are enough, right?-
"No. We're participating in a new kind of tournament. One of the rules is that the team should be composed of boys and girls. We only have nine boys and one girl." Fuji looked at the falling cherry blossoms outside and smiled a bit more. Cherry blossoms reminded him so much of the girl he's talking to right now.
-Oh, then you guys are how many members short?-
"I'm not sure but since Sakuno-chan's joining us, I guess around five."
-Whoa! That's a lot but don't worry, Syuusuke. You're only four members short.-
"Why?" Fuji received a giggle for an answer.
-That will be a secret.-
"You're still the same, Midori." Fuji heard the door of their classroom slid open and Eiji walked near him.
"Where's Sensei?" The Tensai asked the Acrobat.
"He's on leave. Our classmates said he's sick."
"I see."
-Ne, ne. Who's that? A friend of yours? - Midori asked.
"Yeah, he is our team's one and only acrobat." Fuji answered.
-Oh! It's Kikumaru Eiji-kun, right?-
"Yeah. Want to talk to him?"
-Sure!-
"Here, Eiji."
"Hoi? For me?" Eiji asked.
"She said she wants to talk to you." Fuji handed the phone to Eiji.
"She? Who is she? Hello?"
-Hi, Kikumaru-kun.-
"You know me?"
-Of course. You're Syuusuke's classmate, friend and teammate. You're Kikumaru Eiji-kun of Seigaku's Golden Pair. Oh, thank you for taking care of Syuusuke. I know he's a sadist so I'm glad you can bear with him.-
"It's alright, nya! Fuji's just scary when he's balckmailing us and drinking Inui's Poisonous Juice." Eiji said with a shiver. Fuji chuckled and closed his eyes.
'Speaking of juice, I wonder what happened to those four.'
"S-Saori-sama... Ech-Echizen-sama's angry at us..." Hiru said between hiccups.
"We'll just have to eradicate that pest for good." Nana said while carrying their water bottles. She then gave the bottles to her friends.
"Nana's right. Raise your heads up, girls. We still have work to do. We're going to teach that girl a lesson she'll never forget." Saori said.
They all drank from their water bottles and screamed after tasting the horrible substance inside. As they fell on the floor unconscious and slightly twitching, the content of the bottles spilled, revealing a glowing purple and blue colored liquid.
'Hmm. I guess that's the answer. I forgot to take pictures of their reactions from the juice. Maybe I'll ask Inui to have a cup of that later as well as a task for the Regulars where the juice will be the punishment for the losers. That will be fun.' Fuji chuckled while Eiji kept on talking with Midori.
"Fuji, she said she wants to talk to you now." Eiji handed the phone back to Fuji.
"What is it?"
-Ne, Syuusuke. Is the selection for the girls to join in your team still open?-
"Eh? It is. What are you planning to do?"
-I told you, it's a secret.-
"You're planning on joining, aren't you?"
-Why do you always have to know everything?- Even though Fuji and Midori were apart, Fuji knows that Midori was pouting.
"You can't join, Midori. You still have loads of work to do, right?"
-Syuusuke's mean.-
"I'm sorry but you really can't. If you can finish your work and then have enough rest, maybe I'll let you."
-Too late, Syuusuke. Turn around.-
Fuji turned around and saw a brown-haired brown-eyed girl standing by the stairs. She was wearing a short-sleeved top and jean mini skirt matched with boots. She was also carrying a big black shoulder bag.
"Midori..."
"Hi." Midori greeted as she raised her left hand. She closed her phone and walked towards Fuji and Eiji.
"Good afternoon. Nanami Midori, desu. Nice to meet you." Midori said as she bowed in front of them then straightened again.
"Nice to meet you too, nya. I'm Kikumaru Eiji." Eiji said.
"Midori, what are you doing here?" Fuji closed his phone and placed it in his pocket without letting his sight off the girl.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I missed Japan so I came back. Besides, I've been in Australia for a month woking on all those pictorials. Who wouldn't get tired of the limelight?"
"Pictorials? Nya! Now that I've taken a good look on your face, you're a model! Wait here!" Eiji ran to the classroom then came back while holding a fashion magazine titled An-An. He opened a page and showed Fuji and Midori the content. It was one of Midori's pictures taken in a pictorial at Australia.
"That's me." Midori giggled.
"When will you ever tell me ahead of time when you're returning here? Yumiko-nee-san will be surprised by this sudden homecoming again."
"Sorry, Syuusuke. I promise I'll tell you next time. Please don't get angry." Midori said as she clasped her hands and made a puppy look.
"Alright, you're forgiven."
"Thank you, Syuusuke!" Midori jumped on Fuji and gave him a tight bear hug.
"Are? Fuji, how'd you know Midori-chan?" Eiji asked while looking at the two.
"Let's just say that we go way back." Fuji said as he chuckled.
"To be more specific, Syuusuke and I are childhood friends."
"EEEHHHHHH!" Eiji exclaimed.
Ryoma and Yukina arrived at Tokyo Hospital where Ryoma immediately went inside after Yukina parked the car. A doctor approached him the moment he stood in front of the receptionist.
"She's badly beaten up. Get a bed." The doctor odered while the nurse beside him nodded. He carried Sakuno from Roma and laid her down on the bed. Ryoma followed them until he was told not to enter the emergency room. Yukina stood beside Ryoma's side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Echizen-kun. Ryuzaki-san will be alright."
Ryoma didn't respond but instead, he looked at the wall he was currently standing in front of. Ryoma's mind wasn't completely functioning right. He's way too worried about Sakuno, angry at the girls who hurt her and angry at himself. Sakuno wouldn't be in that situation if only he stopped her from going with her Senpai instead of faking his sleep.
'Because of my adventurous attitude, I almost lost Akira when she accidentally fell off a cliff while on a school trip. She had been in comatose for two weeks. I blamed myself because of that. If only I had been with her before and during that trip, she wouldn't have encountered that accident. You see, Chibisuke. It would be best for you to show Sakuno-chan what you really feel about her. What if the same thing happens to her?' Ryoma remembered what Ryoga said last night. His brother was talking about his own personal experience. Why didn't he think that the same thing could happen to him in a different way?
Ryoma gripped the flower clip he'd been holding the entire time. The edges of the clip were digging on his palm but he didn't mind. He needed something to regain his composure, his cool demeanor and anything that can help him stay calm at the moment. Unfortunately for him, his anger and guilt got the best of him.
"Damn it." He muttered as he leaned his forehead and clenched fist on the wall and tightly closed his eyes.
"Y-Y-You-You're childhood friends? Really?" Eiji stammered while looking at the two with wide-eyes.
"Yes, really. It's just that I left Japan four years ago when I became a model. It was not an easy choice. I had to choose between Syuusuke and my work but Syuusuke was the one who told me that it's alright for me to leave because he knows that I'll still come back. He was right, though." Midori explained while hugging Fuji.
"So... are you two really just childhood friends? You're not a couple?" Eiji asked in disbelief.
"We're not. I'm just too clingy and jumpy."
"Really?" Eiji looked at Fuji with suspicion. He was sure that something was up with the two but he can't pinpoint what it was.
"Yup. Oh, don't you have a class today?" Midori asked.
"Our teacher's absent." Fuji answered.
"So, what happens with the rest of your day?"
"We'd go to the hospital to visit Ryuzaki-chan."
"Who's she?"
"The girlfriend of our freshman Regular, Echizen." Fuji answered.
"Why's she in the hospital? Is she sick?"
"No. She was tortured." Eiji said and Midori gasped.
"Tortured? By who?"
"By four jealous fangirls."
"My gosh! Syuusuke, let's visit her. Please, let's go."
"Of course."
"My car's parked by the gates. Let's go."
The three of them went to the gate and rode on Midori's red car. Fuji was the one who's driving while Midori was sitting on the passenger seat and Eiji was on the back.
"By Ryuzaki, is she the one with long twin braids?" Midori asked as Fuji started the engine.
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"I met her two years ago during the summer vacation. We've been friends since then."
"I understand."
"What did Echizen-kun do when he found out that Sakuno-chan was beaten up?"
"Ochibi got angry. Momo-chi and I accompanied him to the rooftop where the girls who hurt Ryuzaki-chan were. Ochibi was really really angry. I would've asked him to kill those girls if killing wasn't a crime on the law. Still, Ochibi-chan taught them a lesson they'll never forget."
"Inui and I also added some spice to their punishment."
"Nya? What did you do?"
"We gave them Inui's new juice." At Fuji's answer, Eiji sweat-dropped while Midori titled her head to the side.
"New juice?"
"Trust me, Midori-chan. You wouldn't want to be involved with any of Inui's poison called juice. A lot of people have already been victimized by those creepy juices." Eiji whispered to Midori who sweat-dropped and nodded while Fuji just chuckled.
Tezuka knocked on the door of the Principal's Office and entered when he received the permission to do so. He closed the door and looked at the Principal who was sitting on the chair while typing something on the laptop.
"Oh, Tezuka-kun. What brings you here?" Principal Takano Miyabi asked as she lifted her gaze.
"I would like to report a case of abuse done by four third year students to a freshman." Tezuka said in a serious voice.
"Explain it."
"The freshman student named Ryuzaki Sakuno was abused by four third year students named Nakima Saori, Sujiya Hiru, Kasahino Nana and Umeno Harue. Ryuzaki-san was brought to the hospital by Echizen and Shirota-sensei. Ryuzaki-san was black and blue all over and she has scratch marks as well as marks from being hit by a tennis racket."
"My goodness. I'll have to expel those four ladies from the school because of that. How's Ryuzaki-san right now?"
"There's still no news from either Echizen or Shirota-sensei."
"I see. What hospital was she brought to?"
"At Tokyo Hospital."
"Alright. I'll drop by later. Thank you for informing me about this, Tezuka-kun."
"You're welcome." Tezuka slightly bowed before leaving the office.
After a short while, the rest of the Regulars as well as Tomoka and Midori reached Tokyo Hospital. They saw that Yukina was sitting on the chair while Ryoma was leaning on the wall, staring blankly at the floor.
"Echizen, how's Ryuzaki-chan?" Momoshiro asked. Ryoma shook his head without looking at his Senpai.
"He's been a little out of it ever since Ryuzaki-san was brought to the emergency room." Yukina said as she stood up.
"Echizen... Your hand's bleeding!" Momoshiro commented as he saw Ryoma's right hand. Ryoma opened his hand and looked at the clip sitting on his palm. His blood was mixed with the slightly dry blood from Sakuno when she was beaten up.
"I'll ask for assistance." Oishi ran to the nurse and returned with the nurse who was carrying a kit.
"Sir, I must ask you to sit down to tend to your wound." The nurse said. Ryoma sat on the chair and stared blankly at the floor again. The nurse carefully took the clip from Ryoma's hand and wiped the blood with a cloth. After that, she proceeded to the next step.
Meanwhile, the Regulars were also thinking as to how Sakuno is. A few minutes later, the nurse finished bandaging Ryoma's wounded hand but the Prince clenched his fist with the clip on his palm. He didn't try to hurt himself anymore from gripping the clip. He felt that he didn't need to. He looked at the door of the emergency room when it opened. The doctor went out with the nurses pushing the bed where Sakuno laid on.
"How is she?" Ryoma asked as he approached the doctor.
"The patient's going to be alright. She just needs to rest for a few more days."
"Thank you."
The nurses pushed Sakuno's hospital bed until they reached Room 162. They left the room after settling the unconscious girl in the middle of the room. Ryoma stood by the bed and pushed Sakuno's bangs away from her face.
"We should inform Ryuzaki-sensei about this." Inui said.
"Don't, Inui-senpai. Ryuzaki wouldn't want her Grandma to worry about her." Ryoma said as he looked at them.
"But that will definitely illogical. Ryuzaki-sensei would want to know what happened to her Grand-daughter."
"The news might give her a heart attack." Fuji said and Midori nodded.
"Syuusuke and Echizen-kun are right. Ryuzaki-sensei shoudn't get worried too much. Besides, if Sakuno-chan is awake, she'd probably disagree with your idea."
-"Who are you?"- The Regulars and Tomoka asked except Ryoma, Fuji, Tezuka and Eiji.
"Hi there. I'm Nanami Midori. Pleased to meet all of you." Midori bowed a little and smiled.
"Nanami Midori... ah! That model from An-An!" Tomoka said while poitning at Midori who giggled.
"That's me."
"Wh-Why's a model here?" Kawamura asked.
"I'm a friend of both Syuusuke and Sakuno-chan."
-"EH!"-
"How come you never told us, Fuji?"
"Well, you guys never asked." Fuji answered with a chuckle.
"Anyways, I would like to be a part of your tennis team."
-"WHAT!"-
I'm getting the felling that Ryoma became a bit OOC in this one. -sigh- If he did then I probably failed in making him stay as who he is in the anime and manga. Sorry if he's OOC or if any of them is OOC.
Review please!
