Reminiscing

Harumi could not remember the last time she had seen Fuji angry. He had always been the calm one, the gentle one, the smiling one. However, now, as he stood in front of her, his blue eyes were blazing like lasers.

"Eiji sprained his wrist. I drove him to the hospital after we came down the mountain," she heard herself say. "But I forgot to turn my phone back on. I'm sorry."

She met his eyes hesitantly, but he was still staring at her in the same way. She felt like a kid being chastised after getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar, even though Fuji hadn't yet uttered a word. She shuffled to him and put a hand on his arm. "Are you really mad? I know how worried you must have been…"

"Do you really?" he finally said. "It doesn't seem so." His eyes glided to Eiji's face and then back. "It seems to me you have lost track of time. Was it that fun?"

Harumi's eyes fell on her shoes. "Eiji and I had a talk. You know how we had issues before, but now the good news is that… we have finally sorted them out!" Her smile weaned when she saw that Fuji did not seem to think like it was such great news.

Eiji chose that moment to walk up and put a hand on Fuji's shoulder. "Sorry, Fuji. I didn't mean to hold her back for so long."

Fuji's eyes widened at Eiji's words and behaviour. He could not remember the last time the redhead had talked to him first. The tensai eyed the hand on his shoulder, and then studied Eiji's face, only to find the latter smiling back at him sincerely.

"I see," Fuji finally said, and reported his attention back onto Harumi. "Let's go home now. Everyone is tired from the night search."

He grabbed her hand and led her away towards their car. Harumi looked back over her shoulder and found Eiji standing there, watching them leave with his hands in the pockets of his shorts. She saw the rest of their friends encircling him and felt more than heard the curious questions shooting at him from all parts.

Sorry Eiji, for making you deal with their questions alone.

Her eyes caught sight of Oishi and Amaya coming behind Eiji, and she felt a pinch of concern.

Eiji will be fine, won't he? He will have a talk with Oishi… maybe it's all a misunderstanding after all.

She ardently hoped so. If Oishi had really purposefully lied about what she had said in her email, then she wasn't sure she could forgive him. Why did she have to feel this way all this time when she could have reconciled with Eiji before coming back to Japan? She remembered her disappointment every time her questions about Eiji in her emails were answered with vague one-liners. Whether it was because of the lack of information concerning him, or whether it was because of the way they had parted, Eiji had always been at the back of her mind throughout the years she had spent in France. Sometimes, she had even dreamed that he had come to France to find her. Sometimes he was angry in her dreams, screaming at her and calling her a monster. Other times he was smiling at her as though all the bad things between them had never happened, and he would hug her warmly like he did before. No matter what the dream was about, she always found herself waking up in tears with her pillow clenched to her chest. She had never talked about these dreams to anyone. What was the point? They were just dreams, reflections of her guilt.

She could have moved on from all that if only she had had the peace of mind that not all was ruined with Eiji, that at least their friendship could have been preserved. But because of what Oishi did, she had been denied that peace of mind. She sighed, barely noticing that Fuji was opening the car door for her.

She threw him a quick glance and then climbed on the back seat. Fuji joined her a few seconds later, clacking the door closed behind him. They just sat in the car in silence, leaving Harumi to twist her thumbs anxiously. She couldn't help but to find it ironic that when finally the awkward atmosphere between her and Eiji had been resolved, she had a new one going on with Fuji.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she turned to him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Scream at me if you want! Throw a tantrum if you must! I know you are angry, so why the silence?"

Fuji closed his eyes and remained quiet.

She shook him by the arm. "Don't do this to me! Don't keep your thoughts to yourself! I thought we were past this!"

Fuji sighed. "There is nothing to say. I'm just tired. Don't you know? I was searching for you all night."

"I feel awful about that, believe me. Why do you keep reminding me? Do you think I wanted to fall off that cliff with Eiji?" she demanded with exasperation.

Fuji shot her a glance, but kept silent.

She felt nervous all of a sudden. Why were they fighting again? It was their second fight already since the beginning of the trip. She needed to fix this.

Her eyes fell on a notepad and a pen on the dashboard of the car, and inspiration struck her. She leaned forward, stretching her hand until she grabbed them.

She put the notepad on her knees, thought for a moment with the pen tapping against her chin, and then finally started scribbling furiously. Fuji tried not to look over at what she was doing, but after a few seconds, he opened his eyes and tried to surreptitiously peek at her writings.

Harumi finished scrabbling and looked up at him sheepishly. Then, she ripped the page from the notebook and handed it to him. "Here, consider this as an apology raincheck."

Fuji took it and read the words hastily scribbled: "How to use the apology raincheck: tell me your wish upon presentation of this coupon, and I shall grant it to the best of my abilities. Signed: H.Y."

"It's an official one," she declared as she tried not to look at him. "It might be childish, but this is my sincere apology."

She risked a glance at his face and was relieved to see that his lips were starting to curve up in a small smile.

Feeling lighter, she lowered the window and let the morning wind blow inside.

"So I can use this whenever I want, eh?" Fuji asked, shaking the piece of paper in front of her.

She nodded.

Fuji carefully folded up the paper and put it in the front pocket of his shirt. "And it can be any wish? You can't take it back."

She smiled. "I always keep my promises with you."

Suddenly, sounds of voices reached them from the open window of the car. Harumi stuck her head outside to look across the parking lot towards their group of friends. Her eyes widened when she saw Eiji holding Oishi by the collar of his shirt. Amaya was begging at them to stop as she clang onto the redhead's arm. Oishi then said something that Harumi could not catch. In response to his words, Eiji whipped his head towards Mai in disbelief. Mai was crying as she grabbed onto his shirt. She was shaking her head violently and tried to speak, but Eiji pushed her away. Mai stumbled backwards with a cry, and would have fallen if not for Takasan's hands under her arms.

Harumi opened the door of the car and stepped out, followed by Fuji.

"What is happening?" the tensai inquired.

Without taking her eyes off the scene, she quickly mumbled: "Do you know why Eiji resented me? He thought I wanted nothing to do with him anymore after I left for France. Apparently, Oishi told him I wrote an email saying just that. But I wonder… why is Mai getting involved? Does she have something to do with this too?"

She frowned as she flashbacked to every single one of Mai's words and actions ever since she had come back. She remembered how Mai had made her promise not to talk to Eiji anymore… Had Mai been scared that she would learn of what Oishi had done by talking to the redhead? Her purple eyes hardened.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was all her idea.

Tezuka was now intimating Eiji in a loud voice to let go of Oishi, as Momo forcefully tried to break the fight, but Eiji just tightened his grip and shook Oishi even harder with eyes full of betrayal. "How could you?" Harumi heard him scream. "You are supposed to be my best friend! You've been lying to me all this time!"

Amaya stepped between Eiji and Oishi with tears clinging to her cheeks. "Stop it!" she yelled. And then, to everyone's surprise, she twirled around and slapped Oishi hard across the face.

Oishi touched a hand to his burning cheek, shocked. Slowly, Eiji let go of his shirt and backed away two steps. No one spoke or made a sound for a couple of long seconds, and then Eiji twirled around and strolled away towards the Dodge.

Harumi's eyes traveled from his retreating figure to Amaya's crying face, torn as to whom to go to. However, upon seeing that the rest of their friends were crowding around Amaya, her feet propelled her in Eiji's direction.

Fuji's hand on her forearm stopped her.

"He probably wants to be alone," she heard him say. "It's a lot to take in."

Harumi slowly turned to face him and shook her head. "I just want to make sure he's okay. We were both ardently hoping that it was all a misunderstanding with Oishi, but now it doesn't seem that way. Besides, I want to ask him…"

"Don't go," Fuji cut her off.

Two surprised purple eyes fixed onto his face. "Fuji!" she exclaimed.

His hand tightened around her arm and he clenched his jaw. "Stay by my side, Harumi! Is it that hard?"

Harumi was shocked into speechlessness for a second. "Are you being jealous right now? This is not the time for such petty feelings. Why are you always acting this way when Eiji is concerned? He needs a friend by his side right now. Why are you stopping me instead of going with me?"

Fuji's eyes were stormy again. "Eiji doesn't want me near him. We have not been friends for years now. Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Eiji had a reason to be angry! Was your friendship with him so shallow that you gave up on it so easily? If he had drifted away, you should have gone after him. At least that's what I intend to do. I have finally mended my friendship with him after all this time. You know how important this is to me."

Fuji considered her a moment longer, and she could see the struggle on his face as he swallowed back whatever he had been intending to say. "Fine," he let out. "Go! I was never able to stop you from doing what you want."

Harumi stood there facing him, not making a motion to leave. Her heart was thumping hard. This was all wrong. Why couldn't he understand her? Why was he acting this way whenever Eiji was concerned? Did he really think she still had feelings for him? That was ridiculous. She had chosen Fuji three years ago. She had broken Eiji's heart and chosen him. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Behind her, the motor of the Dodge ignited, and through her tears she saw Eiji driving past them and out of the parking lot.

"Go?" she whispered. "It's too late for that."

She turned her back to Fuji and climbed back onto the Jeep.

Minutes later, their friends trickled back to the remaining cars in silence. No one was talking and the atmosphere was gloomy. Amaya silently sat down beside Harumi in the car and drew her knees to her chest to hide her face against them. Harumi patted her back comfortingly. "Amaya, we will talk once we are home," she whispered in her friend's ear. Amaya, however, did not reply.

Naoko silently climbed behind the wheel of the Jeep and ignited the engine.

The drive back home was the most depressing drive Harumi had ever experienced, as apart from the soft music drifting out of the radio, no one spoke a word.

Harumi crossed her legs as she moved her popsicle from the left side of her mouth to the right. She leaned back on the grass and stared up at the cloudless blue skies.

"Have you heard from Amaya?" Chiharu asked from beside her.

"Nope," Harumi answered after taking the popsicle out of her mouth. "We might live in the same house, but it's like she's a ghost these days. I barely see her at all. When I knock on her door, there's only silence."

Chiharu sighed and threw away the flowers she had been plucking out. "I'm worried about her. You don't think her relationship with Oishi is over?"

Harumi sighed. "I don't know. I hope not. She is so happy when she's with him. Besides, they've been going out steady for what? More than three years?"

"Yeah," Chiharu conceded. "They were the one drama-free couple in our group. They gave me hope that that kind of relationship was possible, you know? That it's not just in the movies."

Harumi huffed an amused smile. "Is your illusion shattered now?"

Chiharu's green eyes shuffled to her. "Not yet. Their problem doesn't concern their relationship per se, if you see what I mean. Oishi clearly regrets what he did. Besides, it was all Mai's idea in the first place, so Oishi's fault resides in allowing himself to be manipulated, and then keeping silent for all this time."

She was thoughtful for a second. "By the way, I can't believe Mai did all that. She… well, you know how during her buchou days, she was always so adamant about following the rules and conducting a moral life. What happened to that Mai, I wonder?"

Harumi shrugged. "No one is perfect, that's what it means. I think she couldn't see clear anymore after Eiji started liking me."

"She is such a strange one," Chiharu pondered. "She's had feelings for Eiji for a long, long time. Even from before you came along. But she always denied it and pretended it wasn't true. Technically, she could have confessed to Eiji ages ago, but somehow, I get the feeling that she was happy with him not knowing. Maybe she thought that as long as he did not like anyone else, then it was okay to think that he belonged to her."

Harumi licked at her melting popsicle. "That's just messed up. I can't forgive her for making me feel like such a bad person when in reality she was the one pulling the strings in the background. How do people like that even exist?"

Chiharu's face darkened at those words. "That's a naïve way of thinking, Harumi. The real world is much, much scarier than this. Mai is nothing. And did you forget Sayuri?"

Harumi shot her a piercing glance. She did not like to be reminded of Sayuri. She finished her popsicle and started chewing on the wooden stick. "In any case," she said as she stretched, "this trip was a nightmare. Naoko looked so depressed when we sent her off."

Chiharu shot her a sideways glance. "How are things with Fuji?"

Harumi shrugged. "After we came back, we had a long talk, and we are good now."

Chiharu smacked her lips with an arched eyebrow. "But the real question is, have you gotten to the root of the problem? Do you know why you are fighting so much these days?"

Harumi sighed and lied back down on the grass with her forearm resting on her forehead. "It's true that we never used to fight before. But then, if you think about it, we were never in an official relationship before I left. It was mostly me pining for him from afar and wondering if one day he'd feel the same about me. Now that we are in a relationship for real… well… fights are part of any relationship, aren't they?"

Chiharu lied down beside her. "There are healthy fights, and unhealthy ones. In which category do yours fall under?"

Harumi covered her eyes. "I don't know. I don't want to think about it. This trip seems to have brought out the worst in everyone."

Chiharu agreed with a silent nod, but then she nudged Harumi in the ribs. "But it wasn't all bad, was it? At least you made up with Eiji, and all these rotten events were brought to the light of day. In order to cure an infection, you gotta squeeze out the pus first."

Harumi grimaced at her metaphor, but then a smile stretched her lips. "You are right though. I'm SO glad Eiji doesn't hate me, and I can talk to him whenever again! I feel so much better just being reminded of that."

Chiharu laughed indulgently. "You are so easy to please!"

Harumi rolled happily on the grass, and then propped up on one elbow to stare at Chiharu's face. "And you? Are you happy?"

Chiharu shrugged. "Sure. What's there to be unhappy about?"

"Hmmmm," Harumi let out unconvincingly. "When will you tell me exactly what happened with Atobe? Do you know how many crazy rumors Naoki has made up concerning your break-up?"

Chiharu smiled and slipped a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh really?"

"So just tell me! Squeeze out the pus! Then you can heal."

Chiharu threw a disbelieving look at Harumi who was looking proud of herself for using Chiharu's metaphor against her.

"You are too much, Haru. How many times do I have to tell you that it was a normal break-up?"

Harumi leaned in with narrowed eyes. "As many times as it takes for you to get tired of the lie and tell me the truth instead."

Chiharu suddenly pointed forward. "Ah! It's Fuji!"

Harumi sighed at her obvious tactic to switch the topic of conversation, but when she followed her finger, she saw that indeed there was Fuji approaching. As he walked down the trail of the park with his camera around his neck, he was talking to a short girl with short pale blonde hair and ruby eyes.

Harumi stood up and put both hands around her mouth, and yelled: "Hey, Syusuke!"

Everyone in the park turned to look at her. Chiharu sweatdropped beside her.

Fuji turned his head in her direction and saw her waving at him with a smile. He said something to the other girl, and they both started walking in her direction.

"Taking more pictures?" Harumi asked when they arrived at her level.

Fuji smiled and lifted his camera, taking a picture of Harumi and Chiharu, who was still sprawled down on the grass.

The new girl poked her head out from behind Fuji and looked at Harumi curiously with her big oval ruby eyes.

Fuji smiled and stepped aside. "Harumi, this is Yuriko, the president of our photography club in high school. We are starting a new club at Tokyo U with Jiro, the third member."

Harumi considered her curiously. "Oh yes, Syusuke has mentioned you before!"

Yuriko blinked and looked over at Fuji. "Only good things, I hope?" Fuji simply smiled. "Of course."

Harumi looked from one to the other and said: "Well, nice to meet you. I am…"

"… Harumi Yamazaki, Syusuke's girlfriend. Yes, I have definitely heard about you too," Yuriko finished for her with a smile.

Syusuke's girlfriend? She sure is daring, calling him by his first name! But then they've known each other since high school, she said. So that's what? Two years, maybe three?

She promised herself to question Fuji about her later.

Yuriko also had a camera around her neck. She pressed on the replay button and showed Harumi some of the shots of the park and trees they had taken so far. Harumi was impressed; her pictures were clear, the angle seemed professional, and the subjects were all smiling couples and happy families.

She poked Fuji in the ribs. "You've got a thing or two to learn from her! She's really good!"

"That's why she was the president," he answered humbly. Upon looking at his watch, he turned off his own camera and signalled to Yuriko. "Let's get going. There is still work to be done."

"Eh?" Yuriko complained. "Can't we take a small break?" She turned to Harumi and seized her hand eagerly. "Now that I have finally met your mysterious girlfriend, the one who seized the elusive Fuji Syusuke's heart, I'd like to get to know her better! She might have a few tips for me!"

She winked at Harumi, who answered with a confused smile.

Fuji pushed Yuriko away by the shoulders. "You will get the chance to; she will be attending Tokyo U with us in the fall."

Yuriko tried to look over her shoulder at him. "Will she now? That's great!"

Harumi watched the scene, sweatdropping a little.

What's up with her? Now that's an over-friendly person, if I ever saw one.

"I will call you later, Harumi," Fuji threw back as he led Yuriko away.

"Bye-bye." Harumi waved at them until they disappeared behind a trail of trees.

Chiharu stood up and dusted off the bits of grass on her dress. "You might want to be careful of that girl," she said matter-of-factly behind her back.

Harumi turned around, frowning. "What do you mean?"

Chiharu considered her with a devilish smile. "Oh, nothing much. Just that in high school, it was pretty well known that she had a huge crush on Fuji. So you better be careful, or she might steal him like this!" She finished with a dramatic snap of her fingers.

Harumi laughed at her antics. "I'm sure a lot of girls had a crush on him in high school. Just like how they did in elementary school. Just like how they probably will in university..." she sighed at this realization.

Chiharu shook her finger at her. "But this one is obstinate. She sent Fuji love letters every day. She wasn't shy about it one bit."

Harumi frowned internally. Yuriko did seem a little bit on the extravagant side; she definitely was not a shy person. If she liked Fuji, why did she just ask Harumi to give her some "tips"? Yuriko couldn't have meant that she wanted tips on how to get Fuji?!

She shook her head in distaste. Nobody could be that blatantly shameless. "I trust Syusuke," she stated with a nod. "He's not the kind of person who would let anything happen. That I know for sure. Thanks for telling me about Yuriko though. It's always good to know about girls like her."

Chiharu waved it off good-naturedly. "Sure thing. If you are confident about your relationship, then all is good. By the way, do you know where my next photoshoot will be at?"

Harumi looked over questioningly.

"At the beach!" Chiharu revealed excitedly. "So? Do you want to come?"

"I can?" Harumi asked with shining eyes.

Chiharu held up seven fingers. "I can bring seven people along with me. The beach resort can't fit more than that. So think of who you want to bring along. A suggestion though: try to get Amaya and Oishi to come. It will be good for them. They just need to talk this through and continue on their fairytale relationship. I don't think Oishi did something unforgivable. What do you think?"

Green eyes appraised Harumi intensely. The honey-haired girl let her gaze wander towards the nearby kids playing in the park. "Maybe you are right," she finally conceded softly. "It wasn't unforgivable."

Then she looked down at her watch and suppressed a gasp. "Oh, it's almost time."

"Time for what?" Chiharu asked.

"Oh… nothing much. I will see you later, Chiharu! I will let Amaya know about the stay at the beach!"

Chiharu watched her run off with narrowed eyes. "Fishy behaviour detected."

Harumi ran outside the border of the park and sprinted down the streets leading to her old school Seigaku. She stopped by the convenience store to buy juice and snacks. Then, she hurried on her way until she arrived puffing and panting at the last court hosting street tennis.

Eiji and Kirihara were already exchanging balls. Harumi tip-toed to the side bench and let herself fall on it, wiping off the sweat from her brow. Kirihara sneered upon seeing her, but did not make any comment. After all, this was already his third time seeing her here. Even though he was still annoyed at her presence, he could not deny that the snacks and the drinks were a plus.

Harumi watched them play with a cold can of soda resting against the side of her neck. Eiji, like she had expected, was trying to play tennis the conventional way. She could see that it was hard, even unnatural for him to do so, but he was doing his best.

As the sun slowly moved along the sky and evening edged closer, Kirihara finally called for a break. The two boys were both sweating and panting. They approached the bench and sat down on either side of Harumi with a puff, letting towels fall on their heads. Harumi took out two cans of juice and handed them out.

She watched as the boys gulped it down in one shot. Kirihara aimed the empty can at a distant garbage can and threw. He watched, pleased with himself, as the can knocked against the inside of the garbage can and went in with a "ding". His hand plunged inside the bag for another drink, but Harumi tapped him on the wrist.

"Only one for you!"

Kirihara blew away a strand of black hair from his eyes and stared at her head on. "Why? There's still so many left!"

Harumi huffed and crossed her arms. "Do I need to give you a reason? It's not like you bought them."

"You crazy woman! Why so petty? I'm dying of thirst here!"

Harumi pointed at the fountain outside the court. "Free water for you over there!"

Kirihara tsked in annoyance, then leaned over Harumi to address Eiji: "I'm really not going to come anymore if this one keeps on intruding."

"Intruding my ass," Harumi whispered under her breath. "You were happy enough when you saw me bringing drinks!"

Eiji just laughed. "Come on, Harumi. Be nice!"

"This is me being nice," she stated seriously.

Kirihara's eyes glided to the bag on her lap. A second later, his hand shot out like a snake and grabbed it out of her reach. Then, he quickly picked up his bag and racket and sprinted away. Harumi jumped on her feet and shook her fist at his retreating back as she yelled at him to come back.

Kirihara simply stuck out his pointy tongue at her and screamed: "Serves you right for being petty, female specimen-san!"

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Harumi yelled back, feeling a vein pop on her forehead.

She twirled wildly towards Eiji, and the redhead edged back a little, trying to shield away from her rage. He listened compassionately as she went on a rant about how much of a jerk Kirihara was, how she was going to kill him, and how Eiji should cut all ties with him.

Finally, he stuffed a bread in her mouth in shut her up.

Harumi let out a muffled sound and stared at him in annoyance. Eiji leaned back against the bench and twirled his racket around his wrist, smiling as he stared up at the setting sun.

Harumi sat back beside him and slowly took the bread out of her mouth. After a moment of peaceful silence where she finished chewing on the mouthful in her mouth, she turned to look at Eiji's profile. His chest was still heaving slightly from his recent activity, and a bead of sweat was rolling down his temple from his wet red hair.

She suddenly flashbacked to when they were together three years ago. It was winter when they knew each other, and he liked to bring her to the green container from where they could look at the city. He'd wipe the snow off the top of the container, and then help her to climb up next to him. Eiji liked to look up at the sky back then as well. He'd sit on the container with his arms outstretched behind him, and he'd smile as snowflakes drifted down slowly from the grey skies, gradually sprinkling his scarf and beanie in silver.

She remembered how seeing him like that made her feel like she was one of the many snowflakes surrounding them. It was like falling slowly, drifting, until she settled on his scarf, on his face, on his gloved hands. And finally, the warmth emanating from him would make her start melting slowly.

Eiji shifted his gaze from the snowy skies to her. "Harumi?"

Feeling her heart do a little leap, she smiled widely. "Yeah?"

Eiji continued looking at her, seeming to wait for her to say something else. The smile that hovered on his lips slowly faded as his dark blue eyes took in her expression. "Harumi?" he repeated more softly.

The honey-haired girl blinked, and then suddenly there was no more snow, no more container. Just Eiji sitting on the bench next to her in his tank top and his shorts, with a towel around his neck, staring at her.

What the hell just happened? Oh God... why... why did I have to remember that all of a sudden?

"WHY?" she screamed out loud, ready to pull at her hair and barely managing to restrain herself from doing so.

The redhead almost jumped out of his seat and eyed her with big eyes. "Why what?"

Oh great! I'm going crazy. Stuff is just spewing out my mouth from my brain!

She quickly cleared her throat. "Not why. I mean "what". Yes, as in "what are you going to do about Oishi?""

Not letting him the chance to reply, she added accusingly: "Don't think I don't know that you haven't talked to him since we came back from the mountains! Do you think everything will be resolved by you remaining silent? Huh? Oishi came to see Amaya many times too! He said you are shunning him and not taking his calls, and he can't bear if Amaya is doing the same."

Eiji considered her and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't want to talk to him right now."

Oh thank God, crisis averted.

She took a deep breath. "But… you are going to forgive him eventually, right? I don't want you to lose another friend…"

"What are you talking about? I've got you back, didn't I?" He ruffled her hair wildly, ignoring her cries of protest.

Harumi pushed his hand away and combed her hair back with a grunt. "That's it! Now that you've grown taller, you think you can pick on me?"

Eiji's face fell. "But I'm not picking on you!"

"Sure you are not!" Harumi replied sarcastically and then took another bite of her bread.

Eiji shook his head at her and finished his drink. Then, he threw the can in the garbage in the same way that Kirihara had done.

"When is the tournament again?" Harumi asked.

"End of August. Less than a month." Eiji turned around and gulped audibly.

Harumi clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. You've already played singles at the Nationals. This will be a piece of cake. Think of not being able to use your acrobatics as a challenge."

She pointed a finger to her chin in thought. "Actually, now I think about it, when you use your acrobatics, you are increasing your range. You are able to reach farther without covering as much distance. So… if you stop yourself from using acrobatics, you will need to run there faster on your two legs. This is the same thing as working on your speed!"

Eiji was thoughtful for a second, and then his eyes brightened up. "You are right! I can just think of this as a special training."

"Exactly! You will be even better afterwards when you revert back to your own style of tennis," she finished and nodded at the wisdom of her own words.

Eiji suddenly clasped her by the shoulders and stared at her head-on. Harumi gulped. "W-what?"

The redhead blinked at her as though he was looking at an oddity in a museum. "Harumi, I didn't know you were this savvy about tennis."

He leaned away to avoid her fist.

"Do I have to remind you that I was part of the tennis club three years ago?" she let out.

Eiji flashed him his cat-like grin. "How could I forget? I still remember the first time I saw you. We were running laps around the tennis courts, and you were running with Amaya. You looked like you were going to freeze to death in your shorts."

Harumi thought back to that day and could almost feel the cold wind of January on her bare skin again. She shivered. "I remember when I saw you for the first time too," she stated, thinking back to that day. "I remember asking to myself who was that guy jumping over other people's backs. That day, the person who came last in the laps was supposed to drink Inui's concoction. Of course, at the time I had no idea how deadly it could be."

She laughed.

"Ho! So that's the first time you saw me? And I thought you only had eyes for Fujiko that day."

She turned towards him and saw him wink.

"Well, it's true that I got to talk to Fuji for the first time that day. But now that I think about it, I think I saw you first. Yeah... that's right... I was just running and trying not to freeze to death, and then I noticed you doing your crazy acrobatics."

He really hasn't changed much since that day.

Suddenly, a whizzing sound pierced her ears, and she lifted her gaze in time to see a tennis ball rushing straight towards her face. Before she had time to lift her hands to protect herself, Eiji's arm shot up in a blur as he caught the ball in his fist.

"Harumi, are you ok?" he inquired.

She released the breath she had been holding. "Yeah. Thanks for that."

She then saw two girls peering over the wall of the court, with their hands to their mouth.

Harumi smiled and waved at them. "I'm fine. No harm done!"

Eiji stood up and threw the ball back at them. "Be more careful, nya!" The two girls bowed and disappeared behind the wall.

"My eye-hand coordination is still as great as ever," he bragged with one eye closed.

"Hai, hai," Harumi conceded with an obliging smile.

"How are your tennis skills?" Eiji inquired.

Harumi shrugged. "I don't get a lot of opportunities to practice. All the girls are busy, and the guys usually just play against each other whenever I go to the courts with Syusuke."

"Fujiko's never played a match against you?"

Harumi laughed and shook her head. "He's way above my level! It would be game over in a second!"

Eiji considered her pensively. "Do you think it would also be game over in a second if you play against me?"

Harumi eyed him, not knowing where he was going. "Yeah, against you too" she admitted with a pout. "Are you trying to make me feel bad about my tennis skills, Kikumaru Eiji?"

Eiji blinked, and then shook his head. "I think you are underestimating your skills, Harumi." He twirled his racket around his wrist playfully, and then pointed it towards her chest. "Let's play a match. Give me all you've got. I won't go easy on you."

"Ehhh?" Harumi eyed him in disbelief.

Eiji went to pick up his second racket and threw it at her. Harumi caught it by the edge and gripped it in her right hand. She watched in disbelief as Eiji picked up a couple of balls and then went to the other side of the court.

"Ready?" he yelled.

"Oh God…" Harumi muttered under her breath as she went to position herself.

Eiji served the ball, and she missed it by a hair.

"Ace!" Eiji screamed delightfully from the other end of the court.

Harumi twisted her mouth moodily at his antics.

He wasn't kidding! He really is going all out! Fine, I won't go down without a fight. Let him wait and see…

Eiji served again, the ball a yellow blur, but this time Harumi managed to hit it back. The impact made her racket tremble and almost escape out of her grip.

Eiji sauntered to the middle of the court and returned her shot easily, aiming for the corner. Harumi ran there as fast as she could and hit it towards the opposite corner… except Eiji was at the net, grinning, and blocked her shot. Harumi rushed forward and lobbied it towards the back.

Eiji was there too, ready to receive the shot. He aimed the ball in a crazy diagonal towards the right, making the ball crush on the white line before bouncing out of the court.

Harumi wiped the sweat from her brow, panting, as she repositioned herself to wait for his serve. She slowly swayed from side to side, extending and flexing her fingers around her racket, as she felt the adrenaline flow within her.

I will block his next one… I have to…

Eiji served the ball and her feet propelled her forward. She swung her racket wide and hit the ball right back to him in a yellow blur. Eiji jumped back a bit and swung his racket down to send the ball back in a lobby. Harumi grinned and smashed it down to his forecourt. Her smiled died down, however, when Eiji seemed to teleport to where the ball was bouncing towards. He returned it with a backhand. Harumi rushed left and gave him a backhand of her own.

"A tough one, aren't you…?" she whispered to herself, but she couldn't help smiling.

This was the most exciting tennis match she had played in a while. Her chest was soaring as she contemplated the challenge in front of her. Eiji's shots were hard and made her run all over the place, but the feeling of victory that exploded in her chest whenever one of her shots went over Eiji's defence made everything worth it.

After a while, they lost count of the score and just hit the balls back and forth, grunting with the effort of every shot.

The sun slowly lowered further in the western sky as the hours passed by.

Harumi's legs now felt like cotton as she rushed forward to catch a drop shot. As she did, she tripped against her own foot and went crashing down into the net.

"Itaaa…" she whimpered as she slowly disentangled herself from the net, only to see Eiji doubling over in laughter a few meters away from her.

"Eiji… how can you laugh at someone's misery like this?"

"G-gomen!" He puffed again, but at least had the good sense to come to her and give her a hand to help her to her feet.

After she stood upright, she punched him weakly on the side. "I could have sworn I saw two of you at one point. Don't use your Nationals level techniques on me please."

"He-he," Eiji stuck his tongue out at her. "Let's call it a day for now."

"A day? I think I will call it a week. It will be a wonder if my muscles are not sore as hell for the next couple of days. But you know what?" she lifted her face at him and beamed, "I've never had this much fun."

They went back to the bench to sit down (or to collapse, as in Harumi's case), and Eiji dropped his towel over her head. She grabbed her water bottle and sipped at it gratefully from under the towel.

"It was really fun for real, nya," he let out as he stretched.

Harumi laughed. "Don't lie. To you, it probably felt like playing against an infant."

"That's precisely why it was fun."

Harumi fixed him sternly, letting the towel slide down her head. "You've turned really vicious, you know that?"

He flicked her on the forehead. "I'm jokinggg. You are actually a good adversary! I like your Arrow Shots. They always catch me by surprise."

She beamed. "Really?"

"Really!"

"Ok, let's do this again! I feel like I can really improve my skills playing against you," she proposed excitedly.

Eiji closed an eye. "Anytime!"

Harumi stared down at her watch. "Ahhhh, it's already this late! I promised Amaya's parents I'd be on time for dinner. Come on Eiji, let's get going!"

She sprang up from the bench, her fatigue momentarily forgotten due to the new priorities making their way into her brain. They collected their stuff and left the tennis courts to engage themselves along the well illuminated streets of the city. It was rush hour, and so there were a lot of passersby jamming the sidewalks, hurrying home from work or school.

Harumi stretched her arms surreptitiously. She could already feel the soreness starting to settle in her muscles. "Neh, Eiji, tell me what I need to work on in my tennis, all right?"

Receiving no response, she looked back and saw that she was alone in the crowd.

"Oh great…" she mumbled. "Eiji? Eiji, oy!"

She looked around but did not see him anywhere. Sighing, she took her cellphone out of her bag and flipped it open to call him. She stopped, however, when she saw two missed calls from Fuji.

She remembered that Fuji had said at the park that he was going to call her later.

"Crap!"

She was about to call him back when a hand seized her wrist and pulled her out of the crowd. She lifted her eyes and saw Eiji standing in front of her, panting a little. "The streets downtown get so crowded during rush hour!" he complained. "I thought I lost you!"

"Same here. I was just about to call you."

She stared at the way a strand of red hair fell in his eye as he panted. Eiji then let go of her hand and pointed to the convenience store outside which they were standing. "Let's go in for a second, I need to get something."

"Sure!"

He pushed open the door, making a little bell ring, and she followed him in. Eiji started searching the shelves, and Harumi walked past the rows of instant noodles as she opened her phone and dialed Fuji's number.

"Moshi moshi?" Fuji's voice replied three rings later.

"Hey, it's me," she said.

"Oh, Harumi! Where are you?"

"At a convenience store, in downtown. I see that you called. Do we have plans for tonight?"

There was a lot of noise in the background, so she could not hear his reply properly. "I'm sorry, what? Where are you?"

After a couple of seconds, Fuji seemed to have moved to a quieter area. "Gomen! Yes, so I was saying that I'm at a restaurant right now with my sister. She just came back to town. I don't know how long the dinner is going to last."

"Oh, no worries. Tell her I said hi!"

"I will."

"Enjoy your dinner then! I'll be having dinner with Amaya's parents tonight. Hopefully I will also get her to talk to me about the whole Oishi thing. We will see."

"All right, good luck with that."

"Thanks! Talk to you later then?"

"Yes, I will call you after dinner. I'm sorry for this. We shall do something tomorrow, however. So think about what you want to do."

Harumi smiled as she played with a strand of her hair. "I will! Bye!"

She put the cellphone back in her bag and turned back to see Eiji paying for his purchases at the cash. She made her way to him. "What did you get?"

Eiji seemed surprised to see her pop up so suddenly, and then showed her his supply of instant noodles and snacks. "Just getting dinner." He scratched his head. "I don't really feeling like cooking tonight."

Harumi considered the cups of instant noodles. "Why don't you come have dinner at Amaya's tonight? I'm sure her parents won't mind. They always cook too much, actually."

Eiji looked unsure. "I don't want to impose… it's too sudden."

She pushed him out of the convenience store. "Nah! I'm sure they will be glad. The atmosphere hasn't been all that nice since we came back from the mountain trip, you know? They will welcome your loud ways."

"Loud ways?" he exclaimed loudly. "I'm not loud!"

"Your level of decibel right now is proving my point."

As they left the convenience store, Harumi suddenly caught sight of ruby eyes in the crowd. She looked over her shoulder and saw Yuriko standing on the sidewalk among the lines of moving passersby. Harumi watched as Yuriko's lips stretched into a smile, her oval eyes bearing onto her.

Harumi blinked and she was gone, as though eaten away by the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Eiji asked, realizing that she had pulled to a stop.

She looked at him, feeling troubled. "Oh, I just thought... nevermind. Let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived in front of Amaya's house. Harumi rummaged through her bag for the keys, and then opened the front door. "Tadaima!"

Amaya's mother popped her head out from the kitchen. "Okairi, Harumi-chan." Her eyes lit up upon seeing Eiji. "Mah, if it isn't Kikumaru-kun! Welcome, welcome! It's been a while."

Eiji bowed down respectfully. "Good evening, Shimizu-san."

"I told Eiji that he could join us for dinner. I hope that's ok?" Harumi said.

Shimizu-san clasped her hands in front of her. "Of course! It is always good to have him around!"

She went to grab Eiji by the arm and dragged him with her down the hallway. "Come on in, the table is already set"

Eiji's eyes lit up when he got a scent of the food. Forgetting his earlier reservations, he followed after her giddily. Harumi watched him go in amusement as she took off her shoes. As she lifted her head, she peered out distractedly out the long window beside the front door. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

She approached the window and pressed her forehead against the glass with both hands on either side of her head, and studied the opposite sidewalk.

It was empty.

She shook her head slightly. She had thought she had seen that Yuriko girl again, standing there looking into the house.

She's so creepy. Why was she standing there smiling at me like that in the middle of the street earlier? She should have just come up to say hi.

"You better be careful of that Yuriko girl," Chiharu's words resonated in her mind once more.

"Damn you, Chiharu. You said that just to mess with me!" she mumbled under her breath.

She grabbed her bag and went to join Eiji and Shimizu-san at the dining table. The plates were already set, and chicken curry was on the menu. Eiji was already seated, staring down at the food with stars in his eyes.

"Mmm, it smells so good!" she exclaimed.

Amaya's Dad put down the newspaper he was reading and pushed his glasses up his nose. "It's Amaya's favorite. She doesn't have much of an appetite these days."

"Is she upstairs?" Harumi asked after noticing her absence.

Shimizu-san sighed as she set a bowl of soup on the table. "I'm worried about that child. She has never acted this way before."

Harumi shot her a reassuring smile. "She's going through a hard time right away, but don't worry, I will talk to her."

That being said, she engaged up the stairs and walked down the hallway till she stopped in front of Amaya's bedroom door. She knocked on it softly. "Amaya, it's me. Dinner's ready."

Only silence answered her. She knocked on the door again, this time more urgently. "Amaya, come on! It's been four days already. We need to talk."

"Leave me alone," Amaya's voice carried over. "Tell my mom I'm not hungry."

Harumi tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. She banged on the door again. "Amaya, you are not being yourself right now. What is wrong with you? What's so bad that you can't talk to me about it? You know, in this situation, I should be the one brooding in my room, but you don't see me doing that. So please, open the door."

"What do you know?" Amaya screamed from inside. "You don't know how I feel!"

"That's why you have to tell me," Harumi insisted softly. "Please, Amaya. Let me in."

However, the door remained obstinately closed. Harumi sighed and rested her forehead against the wood.

Amaya, what am I supposed to do if you are like this?

Suddenly, a warm hand clasped her shoulder, and she turned around to find Eiji standing behind her. There was an unreadable expression in his dark blue eyes as he squeezed her shoulder and then gently pushed her out of the way.

He approached the door and spoke quietly: "Amaya, I want to talk to you."

"Eiji?" Amaya asked in a small voice.

"You might feel betrayed by what Oishi did, but I feel it even more than you."

For long seconds, there was only silence, but then finally the door opened an inch. Eiji pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped in, followed by Harumi. The room was dark as the evening shadows slowly crept onto the floorboards. Amaya was standing with her back to them; her long black hair was in disarray and she seemed so small and fragile in the growing darkness that Harumi only wanted to give her a hug.

Amaya finally turned to face them, her eyes were rimmed with red.

She sat on the bed and hugged her chest to her knees. "I know I'm probably being stupid for reacting so strongly, but I can't help thinking that this is the end. I can't trust him anymore."

She eyed Eiji briefly. "I'm so sorry, Eiji. I never thought he was capable of doing something like this."

The redhead pulled a chair and sat in front of her, while Harumi went to join her on the bed.

"I don't know why Oishi did what he did," the redhead started, "but he must have had his reasons. I don't think he did it to harm me. I know that Mai… - he looked away for a second – Mai convinced him to lie. He must have thought he was doing it for my own sake, but he just made a very big mistake."

"No matter what, Oishi still loves you," Harumi said, rubbing her back. "He probably regrets it very much; he probably is in as much despair as you are right now. Don't you want to talk to him, to listen to what he has to say? You have been with him for three years now. I know you love him, so you can at least listen to what he has to say."

Amaya looked at Harumi and Eiji through teary eyes. "I don't understand how both of you can still speak on his behalf after all this."

"I've known Oishi for such a long time now," Eiji said with a sad smile. "We were inseparable ever since we were kids. Once, we were playing baseball in the streets, and I hit the ball right through a neighbor's window. The neighbor was furious, as expected, and he threatened to spank us bad. Do you what Oishi did then? He told him that it was him who had hit the ball. He's always been a self-sacrificing idiot like that… That's why... "

Harumi could see the moment that Eiji decided to finally face Oishi again as well.

"How about you, Harumi?" Amaya asked her. "How do you feel about all this? You were a victim too."

Harumi played with Amaya's blanket and looked at her, and then at Eiji. The room was so dark now that their gleaming eyes was all she could make out with clarity. She spoke up softly: "At first I thought I would not be able to forgive Oishi, but now I just ask myself: what is the point of holding a grudge against him? I want to hear his reasons first, but in the end, what's happened is already happened. Right now, I'm happy with how things are."

"So you don't hate him?" Amaya asked in a small voice.

"No, of course not."

"It's just… you are my best friend, and what he did really hurt you. And Eiji too. I just feel like he is a stranger to me now."

"That's why you need to talk to him, Amaya. That's the only way your heart can be settled."

Eiji nodded also.

"Chiharu told me she has a photoshoot at the beach over the weekend. There is a resort there, and she asked me to bring you along." She turned to Eiji. "You are also invited, Eiji. And Oishi as well. For the past four days, he's been coming here every day, Amaya, asking to speak to you. You should give him a chance to explain at the beach."

Amaya caressed her cell phone. "I know he's been coming over... he's also been calling me nonstop."

Harumi rubbed her back comfortingly. "See? He is far from giving up on what he has built with you."

Eiji's stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly. "So... can we go eat now? I don't want that chicken to get cold!" Eiji begged.

Harumi rolled her eyes, and Amaya smiled a little for the first time. She ran a hand through her messy hair and seemed horrified. "I have ignored my appearance for far too long. You guys go ahead. I need to use the washroom first."

After Amaya slid into the bathroom, Eiji stepped out into the better lit hallway and stretched his arms over his head. "Well, one good deed for tonight."

"Thanks for helping me get through to her, Eiji. I know this isn't easy for you either."

Eiji glanced down at her with one eye. "Nani, nani, don't you know? This is my best non-tennis technique: the Kikumaru Talk!"

She gave him a thumbs up and went down the stairs towards the dining table. Eiji followed after her with a satisfied expression on his face. Amaya's parents were ecstatic when Amaya came down for dinner five minutes later. They urged her to eat and dropped a pile of curry chicken on her rice, making her sweatdrop.

Harumi and Eiji watched, laughing, as she bickered at her parents for doing unnecessary things. Harumi was glad to see Amaya starting to go back to her usual self. She had missed her friend. She already knew they were going to have a long talk tonight over this matter until they fell asleep.

Amaya's parents then asked about Harumi and Eiji's plans for the rest of the summer, and Harumi talked about getting ready for Tokyo U, and trying to find a place of her own, in spite of Amaya's parents' pleas for her to stay with them. Eiji then said he was thinking of getting a pet to keep him company. He told them of the time he had gone to the pet store with Kaidoh, and how Kaidoh had stayed planted in front of the kittens' cage for two hours, playing with them with a straw.

"Cute furry things are Kaidoh's weakness, nya. If you want to win a tennis match the dirty way against him, just serve a kitten to him instead of the ball. He will drop his jacket and run forward with outstretched arms with hearts in his eyes."

Everybody laughed.

Soon, dinner was over, and it was already 10 o' clock. Eiji stood up to go; he had an early morning at the tennis courts the next day.

Amaya's parents gave him some chicken to take home, and told him to come back any time.

"You are always welcome here, son," Amaya's Dad told him as he clasped him by the shoulder.

Eiji thanked them profusely, and Amaya and Harumi walked with him to the front door. Harumi got a call from Chiharu and signaled to the two others that she'd be right back.

"Be careful going back home," Amaya told Eiji as he put his shoes on. "And thanks for coming and making dinner fun." She eyed Harumi talking on the phone and leaned in closer to Eiji to whisper: "I'm glad you are back to your cheerful self. Much better than your moody rebel self of these past two years, I must say."

Eiji just scratched his head. "What do you mean? Cheerful's always been my middle name!"

"Sorry!" Harumi bounced back after hanging up. "I just confirmed to Chiharu that you two are coming to the beach. So no going back now! Oh, you are leaving, Eiji? Don't forget your snacks."

She bent down and picked up the plastic bag for him.

"Amaya! Come here for a second!" Amaya's mom yelled from the living room.

"What now?" Amaya sighed, before eclipsing herself.

Eiji opened the door and stepped out into the cool summer night. A lamplight flickered on the sidewalk outside the house, lightning up the insects buzzing around in the night. Harumi leaned against the door frame and took in a deep breath of night air.

Eiji descended the few steps to the front yard and turned back. "Thanks for inviting me over today. I miss having dinner with so many people."

"You must miss your family."

Eiji put his hands in his pockets. "Sometimes it's just too quiet in that big house."

"Well, like Amaya's parents said, you can come have dinner with us anytime."

The redhead lifted the box of chicken. "Ok! When I run out of this, I will. Oh, and I almost forgot..."

He started rummaging inside his plastic bag, took out a bottle and threw it at her.

"What's this?" she mused as she caught it and lifted it against the light.

"I got it for ya! You will need it for sure. Ja ne, Harumi!" Eiji sauntered across the front yard to the sidewalk, where he stopped and waved at her.

Harumi waved back, and then watched him walk away in the night.

She closed the door behind her and examined the bottle in her hands. Eiji must have gotten it at the convenience store along with his snacks.

Under the light, she managed to read: Lavender-based aromatherapy bubble bath- good for muscle soreness.

She couldn't help laughing. "That Eiji… he's not as clueless as he seems."

She hugged the bottle to her chest and giddily ran up the stairs, looking forward to the long hot bath ahead.

"Moshi-mosh?" Fuji said as he answered his phone.

"Syu-su-ke!"

Fuji signaled to his sister that he'd be in the car in a second. "Yuriko!" he spoke into the phone. "What's the matter, calling this late?"

"You told me it's never too late to call you."

"That was only concerning…"

"Anyway!" she interrupted. "I think photography really is my calling. By that I mean the thrill of the paparazzi when they spot a celeb doing scandalous things. It takes high technique to take a picture of what's meant to be kept secret."

He huffed a laugh at this. "Not a very ideal career choice, if I might say so. Paparazzi are vultures."

"Heh! If you say so. By the way, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Fuji sighed. "It's late, Yuriko. My sister is waiting to drive me home."

"Oh, I'm out on a long drive right now. Tell me where you are and I will pick you up!"

"What is this about?"

"Something important."

"Can it wait till tomorrow?"

"Sure, if that works better for you. Check your inbox though! I just sent you something. Have a good night!"

"Same to you."

There was a click as Yuriko hung up on her end. Fuji climbed up into the car. His phone vibrated and he saw one incoming email. He pressed on the icon and the email opened.

Fuji's sister ignited the engine and pulled out of the parking lot of the restaurant. "Was that Harumi-chan?" she inquired as she drove.

Fuji remained silent, staring at the screen of his phone.

His sister peered over curiously. "Syusuke, I just asked you a question. What are you staring at so intensely?"

Fuji's head snapped up and he shut his phone closed. "Nothing."

His sister threw him a sideways glance. "Was that Harumi-chan on the phone earlier?"

Fuji stared stiffly out of the window at the moving traffic. "No."

Omfg, I know it's been forever! But school is super demanding right now, and I have no time whatsoever to write. Well, at least this was a loooonnng episode right?

Plz send me your reviews, comments, thoughts, etc ;)

Oh yeah, and a warm welcome to the new readers. To those who've been with me already, I hope you guys are still around! I know it's not obvious when there's a long break between updates, but please bear with me! Thanks a lot guys! Love you all!