Sanada attended the tennis camp for only one reason. The reason. It was selfish, it was ambitious. He was going to win. That was his reason, and he was going to stick to it. Nothing was going to get in his way.
Nothing.
Sanada Genichirou told himself these things when he lay in bed at night and he stared at the ceiling and thought of better things. Better things like the future. Better things like leading Rikkai Dai to victory and running to the hospital with medals and a trophy. Better things like Yukimura smiling as he left the hospital room.
These thoughts washed over him and caressed him like gentle waves. They were comforting thoughts, and they were his motivation. So, he thought of them often: Yukimura leaving the hospital and Rikkai Dai securing a third victory.
If only things were that simple.
Seiichi was sick and could not leave the hospital. He made them worry, he made them hurt. Sanada's team lost ground without their captain, it was only natural. Yet still, Sanada tried. He tried to preserve their strength and determination and faith. He revived their confidence when they crowded outside the hospital room covering their ears and holding their heads in their hands and pretending not to hear Seiichi cry. In his own way he comforted them when they all sat alone at home and tried to forget yet remember that Seiichi was in an operation, another operation, the operation.
So, with his team in this state, Sanada did not need any distractions.
He came to the tennis camp to represent Rikkai Dai's perseverance, especially since Seiichi could not do it himself. His motivation revolved around the family-like team and the brother-like companion in the hospital.
So, perhaps he was not as selfish as he pretended to be.
The first day attending the Junior Invitational was uneventful. Sanada was introduced to a new, rather odd exchange student that he did not pay much attention to whether he was supposed to or not. Keiichiro Usami was not much of a challenge anyway, after showing his tennis skills the second day. Sakaki-sensei must have discovered this as well, for Usami never played singles again after his match with Renji. However, Sanada was not satisfied. Rather, he was shocked to see Renji win so badly.
6-4.
Renji was certainly more amiable than that.
He reprimanded him. It was his duty as vice-captain. It was never right to "go easy" on a player in such competitive circumstances. Sanada admonished the accomplished player for such a simple mistake and expected an apology. He received one without hesitation and without an acceptable reason. At the time, Sanada found a reason unnecessary.
But a couple days later, the reason found him in a burning rush like melted metal. He could not accurately recall how appalled he was when she fell into his arms and he realized everything. Her presence was unwarranted and outlandish and wrong.
Sanada Genichirou was rattled.
The first night he knew Imako Usami, he hated her. He had watched Renji Yanagi falter before the girl without even knowing it. He had watched his teammate succumb to her presence. He had watched one of the most focused lose his concentration. So, he told Renji what he needed to hear. She's just a girl, he told him. She was not even a good player, he told him.
But his teammate did not listen and he hated Imako for it. For once he felt his authority crumble before a force so imperceptible in the form a girl. He was insulted, he was disgraced.
How could he face Yukimura? Sanada's leadership was unsurpassed. Both he and Seiichi knew that and yet how could he fail? Why?
Why did Renji forget his loyalty so quickly?
He must have been feebler than Sanada thought.
Sanada, however, found himself undaunted. The only reason he did not reveal her identity was because Renji – quite shamefully—asked him not to.
Sanada Genichirou stared up at the ceiling and did not sleep and did not dream. Imako Usami was on his mind. He reevaluated her situation the first night he knew her and eventually found some amusement about it. Like a leaf caught in the breeze she tumbled through the situations she found herself in clumsily, and it was only a matter of time before she was caught. So, he decided not to do anything. Though it was not in his nature, he decided to let her stay awhile. He did not know if he pitied her or if he just found her ridiculous.
These thoughts led to some sort of collapse he was not expecting. Sanada did not realize he was accustomed to her company until it was too late. Just because she was new to him, because she was easily embarrassed and easily amused, he eventually forgot the prospect of her leaving. Rather than an intruder, she only seemed like another one of the competitors.
He watched her with Renji. He watched how the impossible boy became different. In a matter of days, tennis seemed less of an interest, less of a fixation. Renji became interested in something other than Rikkai Dai. Sanada was not sure how to take that.
He was almost jealous. No, he was jealous. Sanada was envious of Renji that he found an escape, if only a temporary one. Renji was able to play tennis as something he enjoyed, rather than a duty to the others who relied him.
Despite his strength, Sanada was tired of being Rikkai Dai's only support. He yearned for Seiichi's well-being and yet sometimes he wanted him to come back only to manage the team. Tennis was one of the most important things to Sanada, but he was getting tired. He felt alone at the top of the group. His tenacity was worn thin. He told himself this was the reason why he was jealous.
Imako made him realize this. Just the idea of her at Renji's side made Sanada realize something dangerous about himself, and he tried to hate her even more. To no avail he sought to avoid her. It was the only thing he could do.
Sanada Genichirou arrived at the tennis camp with only one reason in mind, after all. One reason only and he had to stick to it. But soon he would find the foundation of that reason crumble amidst the roaring waves of caprice.