EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED COUPLE
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS
Chapter 8: Questions, Questions, Questions
"Can you believe it? My grandfather is letting me go back to school!" Shiori exclaimed through the phone to Izumi.
Izumi smiled at the girl's excitement. She already learned from Akio about his decision earlier when they talked. But still, she couldn't figure out what the old man is up to.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to it now?" Izumi asked.
"Of course, I'm really tired of staying in bed." Shiori sighed. Though her accident came unexpectedly, at least something good came out of it. The only regret she had was for disrupting the guys' tennis schedule and not being able to say goodbye to them. But at least she was being put back to school at Hyotei, where she will be acquainted with at least one familiar face.
Shiori thought back to her meeting with her grandfather…
"Shiori, all projects that you were scheduled to be in are on hold for now. You are to go to Hyotei Academy when you recover. Is that understood?" Akio said sternly behind his desk.
"Really? Sir…I can go back to school? But…what about my identity?" Shiori said with great surprise.
"That does not matter anymore. People will find out eventually anyways. Why delay the inevitable?" He rebutted, "Anyhow, I have informed Masaru about your transfer. He and Atobe have a lot of influence at the school so everything is set up."
"I…thank you, Sir." Shiori could only express her gratitude. She bowed and almost danced out of the study with joy.
Akio watched her leave with faint smile on his face.
On her first day to Hyotei Academy, Shiori was nervous and anxious to get to campus. A few blocks before she arrived at the school gates, she insisted for her chauffeur to let her off. Though her driver was hesitant, he complied nonetheless.
Shiori waved goodbye to her chauffeur and ran her hand down her school uniform. She smiled to herself and started walking towards the school. Along the way, students passed by her, and the more students she met, the louder the whispers got.
"Hey…is she…I'm sure that's her…"
"I can't believe it! Is this for real? She's going to our school?!"
"I want her autograph. No, wait! Better yet, I want to take a picture with her…"
Shiori picked up her pace and walked faster, but it only initiated more fanatic fans to race after her. Since her bodyguards were not assigned to her anymore, Shiori was surrounded by waves of students by the time she got to the school gate.
Cell phone flashes and photo clicks surrounded her vision and people were screaming her name over and over again.
"Millisant! Millisant! Millisant!"
"Thank you, thank you all! But please, I need to get through…" Even though she practically screamed, her request only drowned in the volume of fan cheers around her.
What is worse was when people started grabbing her from all directions. Shiori pulled back as far as she could and the situation would have been out of control had someone not literally picked her up on her feet.
Shiori stifled a scream and looked down. A tall man with dull calming eyes looked up at her.
"Who…who are you?" Shiori asked.
"That would be Kabaji, a friend." Came a familiar voice from behind the fans.
Shiori looked up and saw Atobe standing there with a smirk on his face. Atobe snapped his fingers and Kabaji started walking through the crowd. Due to Kabaji's gigantic size and power, no student dared to stand in his way. Once Kabaji reached Atobe, he put the girl down gently.
"Thank you, Kabaji." Shiori said breathlessly.
"Ush." That was Kabaji's only acknowledgement.
"Tisk, tisk! Such a commotion on your first day. You should thank my grandfather for telling me about your arrival. I believe I came just in the nick of time as the prince in shining armor." Atobe said confidently, while glancing at the students in front of him, "Listen up! Tsukimori Shiori is under my protection and off limits. If anyone messes with her, he/she will answer to me."
Atobe finished his declaration and then pulled Shiori along onto the school grounds.
Her time in the classroom went fairly well, after her teachers finally calmed her classmates down. Afterwards, she was ordered by Atobe to meet him at the tennis club.
"Wow, Hyotei Academy is huge." She was quite impressed by the school's standard and facilities. It spoke of classiness, elegance and expensiveness. When her grandfather told her about her enrollment, she researched a bit about the school. The school's reputation in the academic and athletic fields was more than impressive and many students who are enrolled here ran in the same circle as she and Atobe.
Shiori wasn't sure if she made a wrong turn of not, but she was quite sure she was lost on school ground.
"Now where do I go?" Shiori asked herself while looking for a person to ask.
"Great, no one in sight when I actually needed some guidance."
Just when she finished sighing to herself, a girl with honey blonde hair and glasses walked towards her in the opposite direction.
Shiori immediately brightened and approached the girl. "Excuse me, but would you please kindly let me know which way to the tennis club?"
The girl looked a bit surprised after realizing who Shiori was, but she nodded and quickly told Shiori the way to go.
"Thank you," Shiori said. Just when she was about to leave, Shiori remembered seeing this girl in her class. "Wait, you are in my class, aren't you?"
"Yes, my name is Ishida Chie." Chie smiled timidly.
Shiori smiled back, feeling glad that Chie was not an overwhelming fan.
"Are you looking for someone at the tennis club?" Chie asked.
"Oh, yes I am. I am to meet Atobe there. Do you know him, by any chance?"
"Atobe?" Chie widened her eyes, "Of course I know him! Everyone in this academy knows who he is. He is the king of this school."
"King?" Shiori asked.
"Yes, his family has huge influence at Hyotei and he is what you might call the perfect student here."
"Perfect? I don't think anyone can proclaim perfection…"
"Depends on how you look at it. He's smart, athletic, rich and much more." Chie explained.
"Hmm…" Shiori knew Atobe has a lot of power in the school, judging by the other students' reaction towards him. But she didn't realize the man was that almighty in the academy.
Chie sensed Shiori's confusion, and she began counting Atobe's exploits one after the other. Though Shiori was not interested in the topic, she listened patiently because Chie was very easygoing to hang out with. After talking to Chie some more, Shiori excused herself to make her way to the tennis club.
When she finally arrived at the tennis club, she was surprised to see so many members practicing over the entire facility. There must be over hundreds of members who were either running laps or practicing their racquet swing. However, there were only a handful of people actually practicing within the tennis court. She decided to take a closer look while searching for the captain of the team.
She approached the entrance to the court and glanced at the heated match. On one side of the court was a tall young man with powerful serves, while on the other side was a slightly older student with incredible speed.
The players were entirely too focused to see her and Shiori was too absorbed in the game to see someone come up to her.
"Who…are you?" A serious looking young man suddenly said behind her. Shiori almost jumped out of her skin. She turned around quickly to find the young man looking down at her.
"Hi, sorry, I was just…" She blurted out with a blush, realized that she might have been intruding on the club, "I'm here to look for Atobe."
"Atobe? He's not here yet." He replied.
"Actually, I am." Came Atobe's voice from behind them. Shiori looked behind the stranger to see Atobe and Kabaji coming their way.
"Call the guys. I have an announcement to make." Atobe ordered to Wakashi Hiyoshi, who immediately went to carry it out.
"Come." It was all Atobe said before walking into the court with Kabaji. Shiori had no choice but to follow him, though she has no idea why she is here.
With efficiency, the young man named Wakashi gathered all the members of the Hyotei tennis team and they all stood in front of Atobe and Shiori.
"Wow," Mukahi Gakuto exclaimed, "It's Millisant! I can't believe it! Atobe, did you invite her to cheer us up for all our hard work?"
"Hardly." Atobe shrugged, "I was just about to step up the team's training schedule and order more laps for slacking."
"Captain, give us a break." The tall man with the powerful serves, Ohtori Chotaro, forced a smile towards Atobe.
"Silence," Atobe said with a wave of his hand, "This is a Tsukimori Shiori, a family friend and someone who I have taken under my wing in this academy."
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Shiori smiled to the rest of the team.
"Say, can I have your picture autographed?" Aktugawa Jiro said after yawning.
"I…" Shiori was cut off before she could reply.
"I am not done. Shiori will be taking on a more active role on this team. She is going to be our team manager."
"What?" Shiori and the rest of the team gasped.
"Atobe, where did this come from? I don't think I was even asked to take on the position." Shiori frowned.
"Does it matter? You are not busy with your career right now. A little participation in club activity will be good for you."
"Yeah, plus you can keep Chie company." Jiro added.
"Chie?" Shiori wondered if Jiro was talking about the girl she met before.
"Speak of the devil, here she comes." Oshitari Yushi, a polite man with glasses pointed to the side of the court. A girl came in, carrying a large pile of jerseys.
"Here it is, all washed and clean." Chie panted and dropped the jersey on the side bench.
"Chie?" Shiori exclaimed at the coincidence. It was the girl she saw before!
Chie looked up when she heard her name being called, "Ah, Shiori, hi, nice to see you again."
"Are you part of the tennis club too?"
"Yes, I am the club's manager." Chie admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Sorry, I didn't think it was that important to mention." Chie said apologetically.
"Chie is one of our top academic students at Hyotei. She is the only one admitted on the Atobe Group Scholarship." Oshitari said.
So that is why Chie knew so much about Atobe. She was probably very thankful for his family to provide this opportunity.
"Anyways, back to topic. You can talk to Chie about your responsibilities." Atobe said and begin leaving the court.
"Atobe, I didn't say I will join. Atobe, did you hear me?" Shiori stomped her feet in frustration as Atobe quickly left without answering.
"Great, thanks for joining. Now we have to get on with practice or else we really do have to do more laps." Ohtori smiled and left with the rest of the team.
"Doesn't anyone listen around here?" Shiori sighed.
"Don't mind them," Chie encouraged, "They are just teasing you. But I do hope you will take up the offer. Even though I only have to take care of the official team members, the work is quite overwhelming."
"Why don't they just find more people to join? I'm sure there are plenty of students willing to join as manager."
Chie shook her head, "Yeah, I can't blame you for thinking like that. Many girls have tried but gave up because none of them can satisfy Atobe's high standards. They have all crashed and burned."
"…"
"But don't worry. Atobe has made a public announcement and given his acceptance. You will do fine." Chie smiled.
Shiori wanted to reject the offer, but she didn't want to let Chie down. She was the first friend she has made in this academy and it wouldn't hurt to try this manager thing.
The next few weeks went extremely well for Shiori. Chie was great to have as a friend and partner in the tennis club. Over the days, she got to know the Hyotei tennis team very well. All of them deferred to Atobe, and regardless of his cocky attitude, Atobe was a charismatic leader and gentleman. To her surprise, she had a lot in common with Atobe and they have had many intellectual conversations about many topics.
Shiori excelled in her studies and even found time to join the fashion and textile design club on a part time basis. The only set back was the lack of friends due to her previous stardom and fame. Many students approached her and seemed more interested in her as Millisant than her actual self. Luckily, Atobe's declaration was able to ward off many unwanted aggressive attention.
Unbeknownst to Shiori, Akio was happy about Shiori's progress at Hyotei Academy. He always knew his granddaughter wanted to return to a normal school life. He was glad that everything worked out great. Also, he was thankful for Masaru and Keigo's assistance.
Now is time for him to put the next part of his plan into action…
Shiori hummed a tune while walking towards her managerial duty at the tennis club. On her way, she was taken by surprise by a sudden visitor.
"Akutsu! You scared me!" Shiori breathed, "What are you doing here?"
"Hmph!" Akutsu sniffed and looked down at her.
"Okay," Shiori said, clearly sensing Akutsu's displeasure at something. She looked up at his face and saw bruises and bandages across his cheek.
"What happened?" She reached up pointed at his wound, but Akutsu just shrugged and said nothing.
"Are you here to see the tennis team?" Shiori asked, "I am heading there now. Please, walk with me."
Akutsu remained silent and walked along with her.
"So, how is everything at Yamabuki?" Shiori started a light conversation with him, since silence was slowly becoming unbearable.
"Not much." Akutsu answered, not even looking at her.
When they got to the tennis club, Atobe stood up from the bench while the rest of the team stopped what they were doing and walked over to Shiori.
"Shiori, who is this?" Chie asked, flinching and blushing when Akutsu directed a frightening glare at her.
"Akutsu, you are scaring my friend." Shiori reprimanded. Many people seemed to be intimidated by Akutsu's tall physique and cold demeanor. Shiori believed he was just aloof on the appearance.
Chie blushed even more at Shiori's words, but she stole a quick peek at Akutsu, who turned his head to the side.
"What are you doing here? Spying on the competition before the tournament?" Oshitari asked.
"Hardly." Atutsu smiled coldly. He turned towards Shiori and grabbed her arm. 'Come with me."
"What…? Akutsu…" Shiori didn't know where this came from, but she went along with Akutsu while Atobe stared at the couple in amusement. He gestured for the rest of the team to leave Akutsu and Shiori alone.
The rest of the Hyotei team watched in awe as they watched the pair walk away. It was well known that Akutsu didn't associate himself to anyone, let alone a girl.
"Akutsu, where are we going" Shiori had to jog to keep up with Akutsu's long strides.
Akutsu ignored her until her pulled her onto an isolated part of the school, then he turned to face her.
"What…what is it?" Shiori blinked and looked absolutely puzzled under his intense stare.
He continued his silence, but checked her out from the top to the bottom. Akutsu circled Shiori a few times while she frowned.
"Why does it feel like I'm being targeted by a vulture?" Shiori asked herself, feeling a bit frustrated at Akutsu's strange behavior.
"So that's it…I can see his concern…" Akutsu muttered to himself, making no sense at all to the girl in front of him.
"Akutsu…AKUTSU! Will you give me a straight answer already?" Shiori said loudly.
Akutsu stepped back a few steps and laughed out loud. Shiori stomped her feet and pouted.
"I guess it's decided," Akutsu said out of nowhere, "I'm heading back to practice."
"What was all this about? You came to Hyotei just to tell me that?"
"No, it's not just about that. I am in a hurry and I have little time for your questions now."
"…Okay…I guess I will see you at another time then?" Shiori questioned.
Akutsu gave her a meaningful smirk before walking away.
