Okay, I was overwhelmed by your kind reviews last time. Thank you very much everybody! Your reviews just inspired me to right more! ^_^ Teehee~! Oh..by the way. I have a new tumblr account. You can follow me there if you have one. Please inform me too so I can follow you as well. The account is ayaheartsyousomuch (dot) tumblr (dot) com. Hihihi..
After reading this I might also get some haters because of the sudden twist in a character's personality; however I would like to clarify that this story is purely a work of my own mind and not by the 'real' writer of Tenisu No Oujisama. Please be kind and don't stone me to death.
Thanks to the following who took the time to post their review for this story. My heartfelt thanks to all of you:
Kris 77- somewhat, it'll be explained thoroughly in the coming chapters. I think I already gave hints here though.
White Alchemist Taya- thanks for the info, it was already clarified by the person who reviewed it. I was merely asking the reviewers OWN interpretation since there may be other understandings of the mentioned term. Still, I thank you for the information you've imparted.
.RyuuxXx – I'm starting to consider the idea. I'll think about it for a bit more then we'll see about it.
Shadow Mistress-of death- hihi Thanks thanks~! MWAHAHAHHAHAHA again~!
Mewmewlover23- Sure thing. I'll write and write and write for you and my other readers!
Kim-chan-sempai- hihi let's see who it is then~! Teehee ^_^
Sweet-Lia- fast right?! I was surprised myself. And yeah, this chapter is one of my favez because of the Atobe and Yumi part…hihi
Invisible-gurl totally owned right? Hehe…ooooh…you're on the right track…hihihi XD
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, otherwise known as Tenisu No Oujisama. Other characters not originating from the said anime/manga is considered a property of Ysah-chan
Chapter 10- The Antagonist and the Cynophobic
"It's nice to see you again, Ryoma-kun," said a dark auburn haired girl.
"Huh? Do I know you?" asked Ryoma.
"Eh? How could you forget so quickly about me, Ryoma-kun?" the girl pouted.
"Eto, Riyuzaki is that you? Wow, you changed a lot!" said Horio.
"Eh? Is this really Riyuzaki?" Katsuo and Kachiro asked simultaneously.
Yumi didn't really understand what was different from the girl since it was the first time that she's met with the girl. But by the looks of it, she seems to be someone who came from the United States. She wasn't wearing her uniform and her clothes looked different for an average Japanese girl.
"Oh I just got back from America. I spent a month with my totally awesome cousins who gave me a great makeover," the girl ranted on.
"I see, that's a big change. I never thought you'd part with your braids," said Katsuo.
"Those are so kid-like. My new hair suits me better, you know," said Sakuno.
"Oh, by the way, Riyuzaki-chan, this is Tezuka-buchou's younger sister. Her name is Tezuka Yumi and she's in the same class as us. Too bad you're in a different section with Osakada," said Horio.
"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you," said Sakuno.
"Same here, it's nice to meet you as well. I'm sorry but we have to get going. We have Math class next," said Yumi.
"Oh, okay. I'll see you later then. Toodles," said Sakuno as the group passed and went inside their room.
The classes went on until the afternoon and then they were dismissed to their own after school activities. Of course, Yumi, Ryoma and the freshmen trio went to the tennis club afternoon practice. Yumi, who doesn't have any clubs to join yet, volunteered to help out in the club while she's deciding on which club to join. She occasionally played matches with her senpai-tachi and her friends when given the chance.
"You and Riyuzaki-san seem close," said Yumi as she and Ryoma watched a match between Kawamura and Kaidoh.
"Not really, I didn't remember her name until the trio mentioned it," said Ryoma.
"Well, she does seem interested in you, just like all those screaming fangirls who follow you around during matches," said Yumi.
"Why do you ask so much about her? Are you jealous?" Ryoma joked.
"Jerk. Of course not," said Yumi.
"I'm just kidding. She used to have a crush on me, well; at least Momo-senpai says so. She looks so different though, not like the Riyuzaki we used to know," said Ryoma.
"Horio and the other two mentioned the same thing. Obviously it was a drastic change," said Yumi.
"Ryoma-kun!" they heard a voice yell from the other courts.
When they turned around, they saw Riyuzaki approaching, alongside with another girl from their year; Osakada Tomoko. They were coming from the girls' tennis club's side. They both looked giddy and excited to see Ryoma on the other side of the courts.
"Your fangirls are waiting for you," Yumi chided.
"And this brings me back to the question, 'are you jealous?'" said Ryoma.
"You really are a jerk," Yumi laughed.
"How are you Ryoma-kun?" asked Sakuno as the two of them finally got close to the two, although the high fence separated them.
"Fine," Ryoma muttered.
"We missed you during free period. You didn't even leave your classroom," said Sakuno.
"We were getting ready for our History report during that time," said Yumi.
"Oh, I didn't see you there, Yumi-san. I guess you still haven't joined a club yet. That's why you volunteered in the boys' tennis club right?" asked Osakada.
"Yes, that's right. I find the club really nice though, so it doesn't really matter. I might ask sensei to allow me to stay here instead. They're in need of a manager anyway," said Yumi.
"Really? I didn't hear anything about that. Are there any requirements for the managerial position?" asked Osakada.
"Well, it's mostly for the top students, right?" said Ryoma.
"Yeah, you need 'A' pluses and a minimum of 'B' minus. That's the lowest it can get," said Yumi.
"That's rather high, isn't it?" said Osakada.
"Most of the top students are already hold high positions in other clubs so Yumi's the next one in line. She holds the top place in our year level," said Ryoma.
"Oh, I see. So you'll be working closely with the regulars?" asked Sakuno.
"Yeah, it's likely," said Yumi.
"Yumi-chan! We need an umpire and a scorer! You and Ochibi can do it for us!" Kikumaru yelled from the other side of the court.
"See you later," said Yumi as she and Ryoma went to the umpire's chair and scorer's place.
Sakuno is definitely pissed by this sudden development with Ryoma. She never expected someone else to be close to Ryoma when she got back. This was definitely a downside to her plan to get closer to Ryoma and to charm the ace player to be her boyfriend. She worked so hard on getting a makeover from her cousins and she's not about to waste a month's worth of working hard just to be ignored again. Even if Tezuka Yumi is the youngest sister of the tennis club's captain, she wouldn't allow the girl to a hindrance to her plans.
"What are you thinking about Sakuno-chan?" asked Osakada.
"Tomo-chan, I don't like that Yumi girl. She's so close to Ryoma-kun, she doesn't deserve it as much as we do," said Sakuno.
"What do you mean, Sakuno-chan? Yumi-san is a very nice girl, I admit that I get jealous sometimes because the two of them are really close but it doesn't mean I don't like her," said Osakada.
"Whatever, I just don't like her," said Sakuno.
"What do you plan to do?" asked Osakada.
"I'm not so sure yet but I have to find a way to separate those two and to get Ryoma-kun and I closer," said Sakuno.
"You've definitely changed Sakuno. I don't know if it's for the better but I'll still support you," said Osakada.
"Thanks Tomo-chan. Now, let's go," said Sakuno as she lead the way back to the other side.
It was dinner time in the Tezuka household and the two younger Tezukas were helping their mother to get the table set before their grandfather and father came home. Kuniharu was coming from a meeting while his father went back to the police station to do some work in the Judo. The old man was highly respected by the police when it came to his martial arts skills that he was often called out to check on some of their new recruits.
While the two were setting the table, Ayana busied herself with finishing the dinner. Her helpers were inside the kitchen with her. It was already June and the weather was getting rather warm. She decided to prepare some cold desserts for everyone, especially her youngest who loved to eat desserts more than anyone else in the house.
"I saw Riyuzaki talking to you and Echizen earlier. Is she doing well?" asked Tezuka.
"I guess so. She looks so western though. Horio-kun showed me a photo of them two months ago. She looks really different," said Yumi.
"With the outer appearance she looks different, but is her attitude still the same? She used to be a sweet girl, you know?" said Tezuka.
"I don't know. I didn't really notice," said Yumi.
"She's a sweet girl. I used to babysit her when she was younger. Sensei was busy with a lot of stuff back then," said Tezuka.
"Oh, so she's sweet," Yumi muttered, pouting a bit after saying that.
Tezuka stopped wiping the bowls and turned to look at his sister. Yumi was the jealous type of sister. Most of the time she'd say stories of those girls who wants to confess to him and when he'd mention good things about them she stayed silent. She didn't express it but of course she still has the tendency to think that she is adopted and that they are still capable of adopting a better daughter or sister. This is just her insecurities again and Tezuka always made sure that she didn't feel so insecure at times.
"Yes, but not as sweet as my little sister," he said, just to pacify the younger Tezuka. At this rate, he's sure that his sister would grow up to have a big-brother complex.
"Thank you for setting the table you two. You've been very helpful," said Ayana.
"Tadaima!" said two voices from the front door.
During Saturdays, the tennis club usually met up to have afternoon practice at the street tennis courts. Seishuun Gakuen, although they allowed the use of the tennis courts during Saturdays, doesn't hold classes during the mentioned day. That's why during Saturdays, the tennis club regulars, along with Yumi and the freshmen trio, hold practice matches in the street tennis court for extra training and sometimes for simply hanging out together. It was always a treat whenever Kawamura's dad would drop by and bring them some snacks from the sushi bar. Kikumaru, Ryoma and Momoshiro were always the ones fighting over the sushi, while Fuji was the only one who preferred eating the wasabi rolls that were left unattended by the others.
After one of their Saturday practice matches, Kawamura's dad called and asked his son to come over and pick up their afternoon snack. The shop was full of customers and the old man couldn't close it down and bring the food over to the courts. Kawamura, Inui, Kaidoh and Fuji were the ones who went over to get the food. Tezuka, Oishi, Kikumaru and Momoshiro were the ones who left to buy some drinks in the convenient store a block away from the courts.
"How do you do that twist serve again?" Yumi asked curiously, as she was watching Ryoma hit the tennis ball against the wall.
"Don't you get tired of seeing the same serve over and over again? I've shown you how to do it for a lot of times already," said Ryoma.
"I'm just curious. I don't play much so it's fun seeing advanced techniques in tennis," said Yumi.
"Your brother's the captain, need I remind you, and he's one of the best players in this team," said Ryoma.
"I know that," said Yumi.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!! Quick!! Run!!" Horio shouted as he ran pass them.
"What the--!!" said Ryoma as he turned and saw a big German shepherd running after Katsuo and Kachiro.
His first instinct was to run and climb up one of the nearby trees but when he turned to look, Yumi was shaking terribly and couldn't seem to move at all. Automatically, what Ryoma did was to drop his racket, pull Yumi away and take the both of them up the nearby tree. Of course it wasn't a very easy task to do, since they are almost the same size and all but it seemed his adrenaline kicked in and he got the two of them up the tree right away.
"We'll be fine here," he tried to tell his female companion, but the young girl started sobbing.
The sobbing got worst when the dog started growling and barking loudly. It seemed to have triggered some sort of fear in Yumi and she started screaming. Ryoma made sure to hold on tighter since he was afraid Yumi would fall from the tree. He couldn't think of a way to calm her down.
"Tiger!" a familiar voice called.
"Yumi! Echizen! Are you all right!?" Tezuka's voice was heard.
When Ryoma looked, Tezuka and the others was back, along with the captain of their rival team, Atobe Keigo. The said guy was holding a dog leash and was approaching the vicious looking dog as if it was the most common thing in the world.
"Onii-chan!" Yumi screamed as she saw her brother, her eyes already red from having cried so much.
Tezuka made sure Atobe got the dog back on its leash first before getting his sister off the tree. She was trembling hard and her lips were already very pale. Though her tears already seized up, her hiccupping still didn't stop and she held on dearly to her brother when she got down.
"That was a very stupid thing to do Atobe-kun. Someone could get hurt if you just release your dog like that," said Oishi.
"He wouldn't hurt someone unless they hurt him or provoke him," the diva scoffed.
"Are you really insane Atobe? Didn't you see what just happened to my sister? She's pale and trembling! Unlike you, my sister cannot tolerate dogs easily," Tezuka said angrily.
"Tezuka, don't get so worked up. It's just a dog," Atobe said calmly.
"For your information, my sister has a serious case of Cynophobia. If I hadn't come on time and she fell from that tree, I swear, I'll castrate you and skin you alive," said Tezuka, his face scrunched up into a really angry expression.
No one has ever seen the tennis captain this angry before. If ever he was, in the past, he didn't show it as much as he was showing it now. The way he got angry with Atobe clearly was a sign that he was serious this time around. This situation gave the signal to everyone that Yumi was never to be hurt by anyone at all, otherwise, they will have to face the wrath of Tezuka Kunimitsu.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't—I wasn't aware of it. I'm sorry," said Atobe, obviously embarrassed and affected by what just occurred between him and his rival.
"Tezuka-buchou, you should get Yumi-chan to a bench. I'll call senpai-tachi to hurry up," said Momoshiro.
"Here's some water, let her have some, nyah," said Kikumaru.
"Echizen, thank you for helping her again," Tezuka said suddenly.
"It's nothing, buchou. I wouldn't leave my best friend freezing in fear like that," said Ryoma.
All right!!!!!!!!! I got 8 pages!! Wee! Longest I ever got to write after so long. Hehe. Well, it's still fun and it's still a pleasure to write. Did I take too long? Sorry about that. The next chapter will be up in a few days. I think I may be having a few days off from school but not from thesis writing, but still, I will try my utmost best to update. Oh, by the way, I took my sweet time writing this one because I was also writing an original story for some friends of mine who follow my work. Hihi. So sorry about the waiting. Again, please read and review!
P.S. Cynophobia is an abnormal fear of dogs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not cynophobic, but the phobia stuck to my mind more than the others so I used it. teehee. ^_^
Ysah-chan's mini emoticon lessons!!! (tadaaaaaaa!!!)
*3* - Kissy kissy face
._. – blank face
;_; - about to cry
;A; - crying desperately
That's all for now! I'll show you more emoticons soon! Hihihi *3*