Chapter 11
Summary: A childhood friend of Tezuka's comes back for a soccer tournament. They've always been close; now, with a limited amount of time, she has to tell Tezuka how she feels. But trouble gets in the way...not to mention her temper. TezxOC
Chapter 11
Atobe raised his eyebrow in surprise when Oshitari approached him in class, a laptop held under his arm. "Oshitari, what have you been up to?" He asked warily. "You're not hacking into school files again are you?"
"No, not this time." Oshitari replied with a smirk. Putting the computer down on the captain's desk, he lifted the screen up and accessed a few saved files. "That girl who so coldly rejected you has a very interesting history..." He said, leaning back in the desk chair next to Atobe's and waiting for him to read through.
Atobe first chose to look at her name, something he hadn't gotten. Tsukiyama Yumi, huh? He started reading the first thing that came up: an article on her. It talked about how she was being scouted as a potential future pro, and her successful tournaments that she won in America and other countries. "They talk as if she's the team captain, but she isn't." Atobe remarked.
"I managed to get some information from their captain, Jun." Oshitari informed him. "She's their strategist and like a manager for the team; Yumi let her take the position as captain/coach because she doesn't actually play soccer."
"And how did you manage to get that from her?" Atobe asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we're going out right now." He said with a shrug. "We'll be corresponding by email after her time in Japan is up."
Only slightly surprised at the revelation, Atobe nodded and returned to looking at the screen. So she DID live here in Japan before... He noted as he saw a school file on her that was at least seven years old. "Hm...well, at least I know who she is now." Atobe said finally, after he finished.
"There is one other thing that we've managed to find out." Oshitari said slowly. When Atobe looked at him, he said "She's familiar with Tezuka. It's obvious they know each other as good friends...at the least."
"So she has Tezuka. That would explain why she could resist my charms." Atobe said thoughtfully. He noticed Oshitari giving him a surprised look. "Tezuka is my tennis rival, but I'm not about to chase after someone's girlfriend. I don't need to do that." He sniffed. "But it sounds like she's worth watching as a soccer player. I'm not into the sport myself, but maybe we should go see her matches at the tournament this weekend, eh Oshitari?"
Yumi sighed as she looked at the clock. Honestly, she was glad that Fuji and Eiji sat behind her and that they were in the corner. She had had five balls of paper aimed at her when the teacher wasn't looking, and everyone tried to trip her on her way back to her seat. God, I don't even know what I did. She let out another small sigh.
All I know is that those three did something. She thought, remembering the three girls she got off on the wrong side with. They've been smirking at me whenever they see me in the halls. I think this is one of the few times I've had the guy population of the school hate me too.
The bell rang, and Yumi stood to leave. She kept on a mask of indifference as she moved to leave out the door. Eiji watched after her, and noticed three boys at the front of the room glancing at her and picking up chalkboard erasers. He nudged Fuji and the two moved between them and Yumi casually, Fuji pretending he was throwing out some scrap paper.
"What are you stopping us for?" One of the boys hissed once Yumi was out of the room. "Didn't you hear what she did?!"
"I'm sure Yumi wouldn't do that." Fuji said coldly. "We're getting down to the bottom of these rumours today. Go to the back courtyard of the school by the soccer fields and tennis courts this afternoon."
Yumi, meanwhile, was unaware of the happenings behind her back and the heroes standing up for her. She walked down the hallways, getting jostled around by people deliberately running into her. Luckily she was used to that from soccer and brushed it all off easily. On the outside she didn't care, but on the inside, she was feeling her spirits sinking with each new cold look, each new harsh treatment.
She was strong, but everyone could only take so much. She acted as everyone's support and that's how her team was built, on trust and devotion and friendship. But this wasn't the soccer field...I can't always be the unbeatable support.
"Yumi!"
Looking back up the stairs she was going down, she saw Tezuka standing there. Smiling brightly to hide her inner feelings, she said "Hey Kunimitsu!"
"Yumi, let's go someplace we can talk in private." Tezuka said quietly, grabbing her arm and bringing her up the stairs with him, out onto the school roof.
"How are you feeling?" Yumi asked, turning to look up at him.
"I'm fine now." He replied. "But what about you?"
"What do you mean?" Yumi pretended to be surprised at the question. "I'm in perfect health."
"I've heard a bad rumour about you." Tezuka said, letting some worry show on his face. "Yumi, you have friends to help you get through this. We'll help you get to the bottom of it."
"I don't even know what they're saying I did." Yumi admitted, sighing and letting her worry and sadness show. It was only fair, since he was always being open with her, to be honest with him as well. Besides, she had always told him the truth, and never tried to hide things from Tezuka. He always seems to find out anyways.
"...It's not pleasant, but I know you'd never do such a thing. Meet me outside the tennis courts this afternoon." Tezuka instructed. "You don't have practice today, right?"
"That's right. The weekend and the tournament are tomorrow, we get to rest tonight." Yumi said. "I hope we can get to the bottom of this, Kunimitsu. I don't want to come out of a tournament to a bunch of problems; that's the last thing I'll need then." She said quietly, frowning.
Tezuka nodded. "I know; after a tournament you don't handle stress very well at all." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Trust me. And trust in your friends."
Yumi smiled wryly and gave him a hug. "...I do. I'll meet you there."
Ieris sighed and looked at Cari. "You ready to do this?" She asked quietly.
Cari nodded. "Everything's ready. We're going to prove Yumi innocent!"
"If all else fails, I'll blackmail the entire school." Ieris muttered darkly. She saw Cari's wide eyed look and rolled her eyes. "You know I would; we have a chance to repay Yumi and help her out for once. Besides, we have to get this done. If she comes back to stress after the tournament..."
"...She might snap." Cari finished, shivering. "Do you think Tezuka can calm her down even when she's...THAT angry? The last person was recovering for days, and never spoke to her again!"
"It won't come to that. Let's go; that's the last bell of the day." Ieris said, standing and hurrying out of the classroom with Cari.
