Hopefully this chapter is more fun; I tried rereading my old chapters of Himitsu (a painful task) and attempted to copy the old style of writing I used. Hard, I must say.
Note that anything with a (-) sign next to it means there will be a reference at the end of the chapter in the Authors Note section, but it isn't compulsory: just used to indicate there may be something there to get confused about.
Enjoy! (Gomenasai!)
Memories of a ... Cross-dressing Tennis Player
"...so the electronic configuration would be..."
It was not unusual to see Sanzushi Taiya at 9:00am doing homework or studying, with the ever-imposing fear known as 'mum' as the sole reason. Saturday, usually a school day for Seishun students, was given a day off due to a school board conference and so Taiya took the chance to catch up on her homework and—hopefully later—her tennis training.
But it was difficult to concentrate on the task at hand, not when the newly-received letter and the brilliant Hyotei games kept returning to her head like that flaming migraine she had at the moment. Taiya had to remind herself that she was no longer in top condition and had warnings from her last check up to not over-exert herself. When she did during training, she felt the familiar pull of muscle and light-headedness that she experienced at the St. Rudolph's game some time ago.
'Science-wise, the dizziness could be due to blood flow to the head…'
The sudden image of her father bathed in white flashed into her mind and she shook away negative thoughts.
'I have more important things to think about...' Taiya visibly cringed. 'I'm sorry...dad.'
From her aimlessly chasing the backs of her father and older brother, the realization if how empty her reasoning for her coming to Japan had disturbed Taiya the day before. When she repeated it to herself, it had been amazing how stupid it all seemed.
'Compared to Momoshiro, Echizen-kun, Oishi, Eiji, Fuji...and Tezuka-buchou...'
-
"That match was spectacular, buchou..." she muttered as she sprayed his shoulder with cooling spray.
"...Thank you," he replied honestly, closing his eyes.
She paused and seemed to struggle for a second before blurting out in an untertone, "I was inspired at the match. Not many could have...well, I could have never been able to do something like that..." She trailed off. For the first time it seemed, Tezuka gave a small smile at her.
"I wonder."
Her eyes widened a little in confusion.
Tezuka winced a little as she rubbed a part of his shoulder tenderly to relieve the stiffness. "When we have goals on the line..."
"H-hai...?"
"When there is a team trying their best for the same dream...it would be selfish of me to not do my best as well."
"Te...zuka...?" The look he gave her was strange, as though expectant.
"We all love tennis...and that's why we play.
Isn't it the same with all of us?"
-
Despite feeling privileged that Tezuka had spoken that much—to her nonetheless—she couldn't help but feel...ashamed. Tezuka's determination and awe-inspiring story from his younger years made her feel like she didn't live up to anything worth mentioning, not beside his feats.
'Sometimes I just think...why the Hell am I here...? No, I'm here to prove that I can be just as good at bro and dad...that I'm not just some useless...ugly tag-along...'
Her eyes darkened considerably. The image of her old elementary and middle school, Sheng Xin, appeared clearly in her mind.
"You think you can speak up to us when you can't even do anything but study?" echoed a sceptical voice
Taiya stiffened before hastily proceeding to drink some tea in attempt to calm herself. Okay, so flashbacks do exist...
"Get real, your dad and older brother may be big shots but it's no use hiding in their shadows," came another familiar voice of someone unpleasant.
"You can complain after you beat me, like the star you are (1)," was the last sneer that reverberated inside her head before she slapped her forehead, hard.
'Think of what bro said...think, think, think...!'
A memory with a young girl—rounded and chubby, sitting defiantly on the chair but looking downcast—and an older boy who was lean, tall and rather good-looking resurfaced.
"Taiya...Tai-chan...I know what's been happening at school…but there's nothing wrong with not playing tennis. Just…focus on your studies; mum will be happy with that.'
Taiya licked her lips slowly, the words echoing in her mind: yeah, like they were really the words she need to hear at the moment. The senses of being utterly, utterly tactless to her team-mates made her feel awful.
'Is my reason for playing the sport everybody loves...that shallow...? Where it's just my selfish reason to prove myself against something of the past—'
The vibrant ringing of her phone jolted her out of her thoughts and possible self-mental-abuse. She hurriedly picked it up, flipping it open before automatically speaking, "Moshi moshi?"
She blinked.
"Eiji?"
---
As Fuji Syusuke mused in his room and his sister bustled around in the house vacuuming, a faint frown crossed his delicate features.
'Tezuka...'
The Hyotei matches were not difficult (or at least his match wasn't) but seeing his captain struggle endlessly against Atobe was a good reminder for him to challenge Tezuka when his shoulder healed again. It was a match worth waiting for.
But with Tezuka in that condition...
Fuji's instincts were sharp but he sincerely hoped he was wrong now.
'To think of Tezuka not being able to play...'
It felt like someone physically wounded him. Tezuka must have had it bad.
Fuji's hand moved up to tousle his hair but stopped just as his fingers brushed against his forehead. For one, he never tousled his hair like that; either Eiji or Taiya helped him. For the second part, it was one of Taiya's trademark actions as of late with her hair-do being cut short like the average guy. He never would have known he would pick up one of her habits.
"Gosh, Taiya's really rubbing off on me, huh..."
When he thought of the said girl, he was reminded of the look she had given their captain after the match as she helped with first aid for his shoulder, conversing with him in an undertone as she did. It was bizarre enough that Tezuka exchanged more than 3 sentences, but when Taiya had that deep form of...respect shown in her eyes, it really unnerved the proclaimed genius
'And we didn't discuss the match on the way back...' he recalled, unaware of the slight disappointment in his voice.
Their traditional after-game discussion, held in the return bus back home, kept them occupied all the way back as they conversed in detail of each outstanding match. He had to admit how enjoyable it was as both of them held a great amount of knowledge in the said game:
Taiya must have really taken tennis seriously, he had thought. To the point where she had even argued theories with physics involved.
'Well there goes the science freak for you,' he mused inwardly as he remembered the half-Japanese doing a very good impression of Inui and calculating the curve, power and acceleration of the ball with physics formulas, blabbering about derivatives and what-not (Eiji never really looked at Taiya the same since).
Still, seeing the girl look at Tezuka as though he became her religion or something was...weird.
'Well, that girl has always been weird: who else gets the kanji for 'win' and 'kill' mixed up nowadays?'
Fuji chuckled to himself unbeknownst to the slight grimace on the edge of his lips.
"Syusuke~!" came Yumiko's voice from downstairs. His eyes fluttered a little as they opened.
"Yes?" he called back, getting up from his chair and walking outside.
"Can you please call Taiya-chan for me? I fancy a chat with her." She had been doing that as of late, calling Taiya over to have some company.
"Hai. I'll be back soon," he said, already at the door slipping on his sneakers.
'I guess I don't mind having a chat with her neither.'
---
"Eiji!"
Kikumaru Eiji turned and saw the approaching form of—no way!—a girl with short hair. From the looks of the familiar black hair—limp on the girls head in thick, straight layers—down to the white sneakers, bright-orange cargo shorts and blindingly white T-shirt, he deduced it was, indeed, Sanzushi Taiya.
Even if she did look like a girl, a rare sight for all. But it was astounding to Eiji how small and...cute she could look as her claimed gender (Taiya: -twitch-), with her pale-amethyst eyes complimenting her dark-purple-and-white striped suspenders which clipped onto her shorts and crossed over her shoulders. A pale-grey scrawl in English was sewn on the front of her shirt.
"Tai-chan, glad you could meet up with me," he started off, beaming. The colours of her attire were astoundingly distracting.
The girl returned the gesture casually. "Sure thing; you don't often call up, so it's usually Fuji who's my play mate," she joked, giving a very boy-ish lopsided grin—one which Eiji couldn't help but chuckle at in his childish voice; it was funny how accustomed she had grown to her whole gender-bender situation.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Nah, just a passing thought. So, about today," he said promptly, clapping his hands together as he did.
"Yeah…so what's up?" Taiya had a weird feeling about the whole thing.
"Tai-chan," started Eiji with a grin on his face along with his cheeky winks, "Come on a date with me, ne?"
---
'Weird...'
Sanzushi Taiya, study and tennis freak, not being either home or the tennis courts was a call for concern. Aiki-san wasn't home neither, most likely due to her modelling work—something he took notice that she had obvious talent in.
'Although she may be out with Aiki-san together...in that case I shouldn't disturb them.'
But we all know how unlikely it is for Taiya to go anywhere with Aiki as just a fun-day trip. Even Fuji knew where Aiki's hobbies lay—a place too far away from Taiya's own.
'Maybe I should e-mail her (-)? I'm sure nee-san won't mind the company a little late.'
His fingers began to press buttons swiftly. The text merely asked where she was and if she could come over later. Not a moment later, a reply was received and he clicked it open.
-On a date with Eiji~
won't be back 'til late
see you later, Fuji-kins~
Fuji stared at the text.
He let out a deep sigh before feeling himself pull a disgruntled face.
'Tell me that was a prank.'
---
"N-meee~! (2)! Nothing better than a cold drink on a hot day, ne, Eiji?"
As he handed back her things, Eiji sniggered to himself at the thought of Fuji's reaction to his text. Gosh he was amazed at his own courage sometimes: openly challenging Fuji Syusuke could get you tortured.
Taiya suddenly shoved the slurpie she just bought near his face, the straw almost poking out his eye. "Want some?"
Eiji blinked and grinned, proceeding to take the drink before adolescent thoughts screamed inside of his head, shouting, 'ISN'T THAT SOMETHING LIKE AN INDIRECT KISS?!' At the sight of Eiji's sudden stillness, Taiya merely jingled the cup a little.
"It tastes good," urged Taiya, unaware of what sort of dilemma was going through poor Eiji at the moment.
Hesitantly, he took the cup and took a slurp from the straw.
'It does taste good—'
"Don't tell me you thought it's something stupid like one of those indirect kisses or anything?" Taiya said bluntly.
The slurpie promptly flew out of his mouth and he started gagging.
"Ah shit, I was joking, Eiji! Are you okay?!"
'Man, this girl is too straightforward,' thought Eiji with a sweat-drop, hand massaging his throat as Taiya handed him some tissues. Taiya ceased her chuckles and patted him on the back.
"I was joking, sheesh, Eiji. It doesn't count unless it's mouth-to-mouth, no?"
Suddenly she recalled the whole homo-homo incident merely weeks ago: Taiya visibly shuddered.
'To think my lips brushed against the side of his, Fuji Genius Syusuke's, mouth...' the girl thought with another visible face-fault. 'God, that was awkward to the extreme. But I never minded casual kisses on the cheek between friends back in China with the rest—maybe 'cause it's just Fuji; Fuji is so creepy and weird that it's not funny.'
Time certainly felt warped as she recalled she had only been in Japan for a little over 4 months. It felt like she had known her team-mates for a while year.
"Tai-chan, Tai-chan, we're here!"
Taiya blinked and before she knew it there was a large house in front of her, double-stories like Fuji and her own residence.
"This is your..."
"Yep! My house! Come on, come on!"
Eiji linked his arm with hers and dragged her beyond the steel-white gates excitedly.
"You've never been to my house before and my family wanted to meet you! It's soo mean that you haven't even planned to visit in our long time knowing each other!"
"Sheesh, Eiji, it hasn't been even 5 months—"
"I don't care about the details!" he whined childishly. Taiya couldn't help but stifle a laugh, staring at him in amusement.
"You big kid..."
Eiji practically waltzed inside his house, rummaged in his cargoes for his keys before unlocking the door and entering, Taiya in tow.
They were immediately greeted by a young woman at the kitchen sink.
"Ara? Ei-chan (Taiya stifled a laugh at the name and earned herself a jab in the ribs), this is...?" the woman started, cleaning off her hands and walking over, staring curiously at the two of them. Taiya noticed the distinguishing feature of Eiji's famed red-hair, the exact same flamboyant colour to the shade, resting on the woman's shoulders.
"Kaa-chan, I'm back!"
---
On a date with Eiji~
Teehee~
Rabu rabu~ (Love love)
Fuji visibly face-faulted at his imagination gone wild.
'That sort of Taiya...I do not want to ever meet.'
Fuji dismissed the text, knowing that most like Eiji had the girl's phone at the time and sent it—for one, the text was written in semi-formal girly Japanese, the sort of Japanese Taiya only used on special occasions. In front of friends and team-mates though, her masculinity with words did not cease to amaze him ("bukkoroshite yaru zo, kono yarou!" (--))
'Date...never would have though the Sanzushi Taiya would agree to something like that without a fuss...'
An unknown sort of inward conflict erupted from practically nowhere as he debated several different scenarios in his head.
'She gets along with everyone else pretty fine—heck, Momo and Ryoma are almost sibling-like around her. Maybe it's my reserved privilege to face Taiya at her wit's end.'
The tensai chuckled sadistically. Yes, it was his reserved privilege indeed since it was mostly him who caused her to fall into incomparable rage.
He suddenly felt like pranking someone before paying her a visit.
---
"Hoi! So this is Tai-chan, kaa-chan; she's from the tennis club too! You know the cross-dressing— oof!"
Taiya smiled innocently as now Eiji rubbed his ribs.
"I never hit you that hard..." he muttered sulkily.
"Oh really, my mistake; hohoho..."
At the sight of Eiji's mum's confused smile, Taiya cleared her throat and introduced herself.
Taiya's gentlemanly, perfect, gorgeous win-over-any-girl smile: activate.
"This is our first meeting I recall: Good morning, Kikumaru-san; my name is Sanzushi Taiya. It's a pleasure to meet you." Taiya tipped her head in a respectful bow.
"Ara!" gushed Eiji's mum, looking almost flustered, "I never knew Eiji could pick up another friend that was so polite! And a girl too!" Taiya immediately knew the other candidates were most likely Fuji, Oishi and Tezuka; it was almost an unwritten law. "How do you do? I am Eiji's mother, Matsuko: you can call me Matsu for short if you'd like. It's a pleasure to meet you too, Taiya-chan."
The girl blinked at the -chan suffix to her name before smiling warmly. "The pleasure is all mine, Matsu-san. And Eiji," he voice suddenly dripping with undiluted venom, "What's up with your laughing, may I ask?"
"O-oh no, n-nothing, Tai-chan," Eiji tried to reason, trying to suppress his laughs, "It's just the way you—"
"EIJI!"
A couple of doors slammed and not long after, 3 bodies tumbled down to the foot of the stairs clumsily while Eiji's mother scolded them, "Mou, can't you regain a little composure in front of a guest? All of you are too hasty!"
"Well duh, how long do you think it's been since Eiji brought a girl home?" shouted the one boy, grinning lopsidedly as he untangled himself from his brother.
"Yeah, I was starting to question his preference," said the other boy straight-forwardly. Taiya cast a long, questioning glance to Eiji and he merely held up his hand in defence.
"Ei-chan, Ei-chan, where is she?!" chirped the only female in the group.
Simultaneously it seemed, they all turned in the direction of Taiya, standing there like a deer caught in headlights. Their eyes bore painfully into Taiya's own, dark-blue with purple.
"D-doumo." She raised a hand in greeting, a nervous grin in place and a sweat-drop sliding down her temple—totally unaware of the slight masculinity of her earlier words.
Silence followed.
The first boy who had shouted slid over to Eiji Michael Jackson style, hooked an arm around him and dragged him away before whispering, "Is that pretty boy really a girl?"
Eiji promptly burst out laughing.
---
"Hey Eiji, sorry for the abrupt...wha?"
Fuji stood in front of the Kikumaru household's lounge room only to see Eiichi, Eiji's high-school-freshman older brother, sprawled on top of Taiya in a very awkward position. The others seem to be in fits of laughter though for what reason the sadist couldn't identify.
From under the mass of legs and arms a shakily-raised thumbs-up and a muffled voice caught his attention.
"Yohh, Foohjii: helpsh meee!"
Then a Twister mat was discernable from underneath.
---
"Eto..." Fuji's nervous smile faltered slightly as an exhausted Taiya strode besides him, arms heavy.
"My back…" she groaned.
"Eiichi-nii and Tai-chan were having a showdown," Eiji merely stated as he explained how after an introduction to his family came the battle of the sexes between Eiichi and Taiya; the said girl had enough of being regarded as a pretty-boy and was determined to beat out an apology. "But Tai-chan sure was amazing!"
Through the walk back to the Fuji and Sanzushi residence, Fuji had the privilege of listening to a blow-by-blow recount of how Taiya totally dominated majority of the game-stations in the house and became the new game rival for Eiichi. Apparently even Yugito, the 20-year old brother, had taken up another furious game of Tekken and lost by a margin. Taiya openly laughed at some exaggerated recounts, appearing to have enjoyed mixing around with new people even if they were guys. Again her disregard for gender sometimes amazed Fuji.
"It was fun, you should try, Fuji," grinned Taiya as she stared at him, purple eyes mischievous. "I'll verse ya."
"Hmm, I have to say video games aren't my continual hobbies," the fair-haired genius admitted, "But I guess I have a job at knocking Taiya off her pedestal in games."
"Unfortunately, Fuji, gaming is one thing I am confident about!" declared the girl, jumping up to her feet. "Well, apart from tennis, of course. Do mind that the confidence drops a bit when I face you, Fuji."
"So, Tai-chan, how'd you like the others?!" chirped the red-head as he bounced along to walk beside her. "Eiichi-nii seemed to like you." This perked a pair of ears.
Taiya's undisturbed laugh bothered Fuji. "Yeah, he was cool! Your family's so lively, it's great. It really reminds me of—SWEET KAMI-SAMA I TOTALLY FORGOT!"
Eiji and Fuji stared at the suddenly halting Taiya, a little scared at her display of emotion.
"W-what happened?" Eiji bravely voice out.
Taiya turned a face to them as though contemplating something, before shaking her head a little. "Nothing…big, I guess. Let's just say a letter from my China friend just resurfaced to my head and…oh, we're home! Thanks, Eiji, for today; it was really fun!"
"No problemo! See you on Monday, Eiji, Tai-chan! Be prepared for Tezuka's extreme training, ne!"
"Thanks for walking us back," said Fuji humbly as Eiji turned back and walked away. "Oh, Taiya, nee-san wonders if you could come over for some company…if you can manage it," he added seeing Taiya's slight hunching back. She merely grinned and nodded.
Yumiko's beautiful visage seemed to increase when she saw Taiya, looking more like a girl. She smiled at Fuji's expression (which he twitched at) and led Taiya to her room.
"Ne, Yumiko-san, it's been a while, hasn't it?" she started off, politely seating herself on the offered chair in Yumiko's room.
"Yes…Taiya-chan, actually there's something I want to try again with you," she started slowly and, spotting Taiya's horrified face, quickly added, "Not make-up, I assure!"
"Oh, okay."
"I did some tarot reading again and…I'd just like you to have another try. Just for confirmation." Seeing Yumiko look a little uncomfortable was more than enough to make Taiya comply without question, though she couldn't hide her own discomfort. With how accurate Yumiko's tarot reading was, it sure was a call for concern when Yumiko didn't have the trademark Fuji-household smile.
After a few minutes of picking cards and sticks and what-not, Yumiko finally sighed.
"Shadows, as you know, represent something unknown. Altogether, I can deduce that…well, Taiya-chan, just be on alert for anything out of the ordinary. There seems to be…big obstacles waiting ahead. Something just might take you for surprise soon."
Taiya didn't know how to react.
---
Standing around with the others, dressed in casual pale-grey cargoes and a white, sleeveless hoodie (with what appeared to be a huge Tarepanda on the front), Taiya searched the grounds for Oishi, the one who had told the Regulars to all meet up at the park just opposite some strip-shopping centres. The wind brushed against her toned arms but she paid no heed, merely shifting her sling-bag more comfortably against her hip.
"So, what does Oishi-senpai want to talk about?" said Ryoma, Ponta in hand.
"Who knows, whatever it is…"
"What, so Eiji doesn't know either?"
"Taka-san?"
"Nope, I don't know either."
"Tezuka, do you know anything about it?" asked Fuji, leaning against a brick pillar. Tezuka, on another face of the pillar, merely responded negative.
"Everyone gathers without knowing anything?" said Ryoma with muted disbelief. Taiya merely nodded in agreement to his weird look and the two just shook their heads at their new team-mates; being new sure had its disadvantages.
"Heeey! Sorry, sorry!" Oishi ran down shouldering a large pack, waving towards them as he came. He, like the others, was dressed in casual clothes. After several more apologies and complaints (from Eiji), Fuji finally helped asked what the occasion was.
"We are all going to go mountain climbing."
"Eh?!"
"Now?!"
"We are all going to watch the sun-rise together! Everyone, together. I'm sure it'll be great!" Upon various stony-faced expressions, Oishi frowned. "What's wrong, guys?"
"Ah, it's what I thought it'd be for you to call us in such a hurry."
"Are you serious?"
"Sometimes you should be in young-and-burning mode…"
"What are you gonna do, Echizen?" Momoshiro whispered to the referred boy.
"I'll pass."
"What? None of you wants to go?!" said Oishi with blatant disappointment. After a condemning silence, Taiya and Fuji spoke up simultaneously.
"I think it'll be good." Along with Oishi's blink came their own as Fuji and Taiya shot surprised glances at each other. Then they broke out into a smile.
"I've never seen a sunrise from the mountaintop anyway," he said.
"Ah, me neither."
"Speaking of which, neither have I…"
"Hehe, I've never been to a mountaintop," Taiya sheepishly admitted while Fuji chuckled. As they started to reconsider, Taiya continued, "It was a shame that Oishi wasn't able to participate in the Hyotei games…and facing the second half of the Kantou tournament, I think it's good to build a high morale!" As she finished she stumbled as Eiji latched onto her shoulders from behind.
"Yosh, it's decided! We're all going mountain climbing!" The three youngest players merely sighed in defeat.
"Alright, let's go mountain climbing!" cheered Oishi.
"Ou!"
On the train, playing poker with the group was fun, with unexpected results.
"One pair…"
"I got two pair…"
"A straight."
Fuji smiled. "Full house."
"Whoa, as expected of Fuji to wipe out my straight with his full house," said Taiya, playfully wincing. "What about you, Tezuka?"
He shifted his cards down. "Royal straight flush."
"Ehhh?!"
"Sweet kami!"
"Heh heh, I just can't beat Tezuka," said Fuji sheepishly and Taiya broke out into chuckles at the seemingly perfect tensai losing (for once).
The trekking later on after they had gotten off the train was more tedious than usual training, and Taiya inwardly congratulated herself for not wearing a long-sleeve, as it was getting strangely stuffy. Only after considerable time did Oishi proclaim that they were almost at the peak. Taiya's excitement was acting up again as she hurried her pace until she was striding alongside Tezuka.
Upon arrival at the peak, they all saw the obscuring clouds hiding the sky. "Can we see the sunrise with all these clouds?" commented Eiji.
"Yeah…there's 5 more minutes until dawn."
And so they waited, and with baited silence, the sun….rose. Unexpectedly (not).
"The sunrise…"
"It's the sunrise…" said Taiya intelligently, staring dumbly.
"The sunrise…it's the sunrise, guys!"
As Oishi and Eiji cheered, Taiya felt a tug pulling at her lips before she flopped down to the ground, exhausted. 'This is the first time we've been out somewhere as a group…excluding Taka-san's place.' A warm sensation flooded Taiya's insides and she sighed, merely admiring the view. The warm glow enveloped her and she embraced its comforting presence.
'But by the end of December….I'll have to go back.' The warm sensation before was replaced with a heavy, indescribable feeling. 'I'll have to go back to China after this year.'
Taiya, after some time, distinguished the feeling.
'I…don't want to go back like that…I…'
Taiya was shaken out of her thoughts by a flash. She turned to see Fuji, his trademark smile on his face and his despicable camera that she loathed in hand (so much blackmail). "Taiya-chan, you should not keep to yourself on such a nice day like this. Sa, come on up and enjoy it with everyone!" Before she could protest, he had grabbed her hand and pulled her up towards an encouraging Eiji and a hyper-active Momoshiro.
It was then that Taiya received her first casual group picture of her with her team-mates, with a smiling Fuji and disgruntled Ryoma beside her.
---
"If you go, it'll be a fair while."
A painful silence followed as the referred boy sat opposite his tennis coach in apparent deep thought. A flicker of unseen emotions crossed his face and he sighed. He softly replied and Ryuzaki-sensei merely nodded in understanding.
"I understand…now all that's left is to tell the others."
Tezuka recollected memories of the past 4 and a half months with a neutral expression: the start of the newly formed team with two new faces, the intensive training, the disruptive but funny jokes, and how the team persevered into the Kantou tournament. Faces of his team mates flashed into memory.
This decision was as much for them as it was for him.
"Hai."
---
"There seems to be…big obstacles waiting ahead. Something just might take you for surprise soon."
"You're kidding me…Fuji, that's not a joke, is it?" But she knew Fuji was serious as his eyes were wide open and held a myriad of emotions which were new to her.
"Aa. Tezuka….he's going to Germany. He won't be in the upcoming matches."
'This…is taking me more than just surprise.'
Taiya then let out a withdrawn sigh, her longest yet, before Fuji sat next to her and comforted her with his presence. Taiya spoke again, chuckling to herself
"This…is so messed up."
A/N – THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO STILL READS (FOR REASONS UNKNOWN TO ME) AND REVIEWS. You guys are too amazing. T.T
Well, in case you're confused as to why Taiya can be just as shocked as the others to Tezuka's soon-to-come absence, all I can say is that he had recently played a bigger role in her tennis-ing aspirations than just her aimless chasing of her family's shadows, and had become her friend (usually during unwritten library scenes with the two of them studying).
This was a really random chapter.
Review?
Okay, I know it's ME that's supposed to be writing ideas and stuff, but after my Prince of Tennis obsession blew over for a while (along with my halt in writing), I have run dry! Please, send suggestions! Writers block hurts right now!
Anyway…
Might do an Omake before the next chap…
Ja ne
Terms and Other Stuff:
(1): When it said like the star you are, it's a mockery of her name (the stupidest name ever xD), which has the character "star" in it. 星
(-): E-mailing is also known as, in Australia, text messaging. I notice that Japanese often refer to text as an e-mail (or mail), something which became a slight confusion in my conversation with my Japanese friend where I asked for her email and she gave me a telephone number.
(2): A guyish way of saying something along the lines of 'good' - in this case, 'tasty'. Sometimes it's umai or something, but in a manga I read, they wrote んまい and not うまい
(--): Bukkoroshiteyaru zo! - ぶっ殺してやるぞ, この野郎！. Bukkaroshite yaru is something along the lines of "I'll beat you to death" or simply "I'll kill you" and the "zo" at the end is just how people kono yarou (in kanji)...well most of you get the idea of that ^^. It's very aggressive and masculine. ^_^