Chapter 12
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 12
Yumi looked around the tennis courts. Okaaaaaaay...Kunimitsu told me to meet him here. But what gives? It's totally empty...Crossing her arms, she plopped down on a bench and waited. Tezuka was hardly ever late; he must have a good reason. But she'd give him a hard time once he did arrive.
"Ah, Yumi, there you are!" Ryuzaki came up with a warm smile on her face. "I see you got here before me."
Needless to say, Yumi was very confused. She was supposed to be meeting Tezuka, right?
"Tezuka told me you wanted to join the girl's tennis team?" Ryuzaki asked cheerfully. "I must say I'm surprised, I thought you'd only be here for a short while and would be too busy with soccer to take up another club. But we'll be happy to have you-"
"Whoa, wait a minute Ryuzaki-sensei!" Yumi interrupted, standing. "I didn't know there was a girl's tennis team! And what's this about joining it? Just what has Kunimitsu been telling you?"
"What hasn't he been telling YOU?" Ryuzaki answered in surprise. "He never told you of the girl's tennis team? There's a boy's one, after all."
"Before I came here I didn't even know the names of his teammates, let alone that there was another tennis team." Yumi said slowly. Something was going on here. That look in her eyes told me she wasn't actually surprised.
"So I guess you didn't hear then." Ryuzaki mused thoughtfully.
"Hear what?" Yumi asked, perplexed. I just want to know what on earth is going on!
"The girl's changing room was ransacked." Ryuzaki stated seriously.
"What?!" Yumi stared at her in utter shock. "Who would do that? What could they gain from that, honestly?"
"We don't know. Some of their possessions were stolen, but that's it besides it looking like a tornado went through it. But there was money kept in there that was collected for a fundraiser which was stolen." Ryuzaki answered. "There's a rumour...that you did it."
"Really..." Yumi blinked once, took a deep breath, and exhaled. Then the shock passed and the reaction to the realization came barging in to take its place: "WHAT?!" She roared.
"But obviously, that's not true." Ryuzaki looked over her shoulder and called out "Isn't that right, everyone?"
"Everyone...?" Yumi stared as from around the corner, in perfect hearing distance, came a bunch of students. They were all staring at her uncomfortably, with guilt in their eyes and in their stances. The boys were shifting back and forth on their feet and looking away from her eyes, and the girls were fiddling with their skirts and glancing at each other. Then from behind them came the tennis regulars.
"See? There's your proof that the rumours aren't true." Fuji said, smiling. "Yumi couldn't have been the one to ransack the girl's changing rooms and steal the fundraising money. She didn't even know about the girl's team, so she wouldn't know of their change room."
"We're sorry for doubting you, Tsukiyama-chan!" Some girls gushed out, looking at her sadly. "But they just seemed so sure! And we all knew about how you love locks, so we believed them when they said that you broke into the change room!"
"Who said that?" Yumi asked, perplexed.
"Yeah, and the girls seemed so sure so us guys believed them!" Some of the boys said. "We'd never put the blame on you otherwise!"
"Yeah, you're not the type who'd do that." A girl added. "You're friendly with everyone, senpai, and really honest about everything."
"Brutally honest, at times." Oishi spoke up, smiling ruefully. He still remembered a time a few days ago that Eiji had told him about. Yumi had been talking with Eiji about things they liked and had suddenly mentioned liking pets. This being one of Eiji's favourite topics caused him to bolt up from his chair and shout 'me too!' in front of the whole class. The teacher was going to get Eiji in trouble when Yumi stood and said that it was here fault, she got Eiji worked up, and so she had taken detention instead of the hyperactive redhead.
"Wait, so...this was all planned out?" Yumi asked, her gaze darting back and forth between the group of students and the tennis players.
"That's right!"
Yumi turned to see Ieris and Cari standing by Ryuzaki, smiling at her. She looked back to the Regulars and the students to see Tezuka had moved to the front of the group. Her red eyes met his light golden brown ones and she knew what had happened. Ieris and Cari probably spoke with Fuji, and together came up with a plan that the tennis Regulars then helped to implement. Tezuka had gone along with it to get her to drop her guard and fall for it.
And for a brief moment, Yumi blushed a bit, embarrassed at what lengths her friends would go to help her. "You guys are all crazy..." She muttered, lowering her head so her hair hid her expression. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she struggled to hold in a few sobs. She had honestly had no idea how she could have dealt with the rumours, and having everyone in school against her had really bothered her on the inside, since she had done nothing wrong. The fact that no one had believed in her hurt the most; the fact that her friends had stood up for her to this extent cut her deeply, but not in a painful way. It was pure relief and happiness that caused the tears to well up in her eyes. She completely forgot about chewing Tezuka out for being late to their meeting.
"Let's take you home, Yumi." Tezuka said, coming up and putting his arm around her shoulders in a comforting manner. "After this weekend, you won't have to worry about people in school."
"That's right, we've got your back Yumi-senpai!" Momoshiro declared with a grin.
"I've calculated that the number of students here is adequate to spread the word around that Yumi's innocent in a few day's time." Inui said.
"So you have nothing to worry about except getting a good night's rest for your tournament tomorrow." Tezuka finished, leading Yumi away. He could sense that she needed some time now.
"Thank you so much for your help..." Cari said to the tennis Regulars, bowing deeply. Ieris had by now lost the smile on her face that she gave Yumi and looked away expressionlessly, crossing her arms and only giving a small 'hn'.
"Um...Cari-chan, where's the soccer tournament being held?" One of the students piped up.
"Yes, we wanted to watch, didn't we?" Fuji asked the other tennis players, who nodded eagerly.
Before Cari could answer, Ieris spoke: "East Sakura Park. Eight o'clock." She then grabbed Cari's arm and they walked off after Tezuka and Yumi.
Meanwhile...
"Yumi? Are you ok?" Tezuka asked quietly. The girl he was walking with had stopped, and since he had his arm around her shoulders—which weren't shaking anymore—it made him stop too.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Yumi took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I just...lost myself a bit back there, I mean...It feels so nice to have friends that will stick up for me like you guys do..."
"I told you, you're not alone. Friends help each other with their problems." Tezuka said. "It must be hard on you, being everyone's support all the time." There was some sympathy in his tone; he himself knew what it was like to feel obligated to meet everyone's expectations. "Just remember to take a break when things get to be too much."
"Oh, I plan on doing just that. This weekend, I'm having a nice LONG break." Yumi looked up at him, a refreshing smile on her face. "Soccer all the way!"
At East Sakura Park...
Students and parents, children and grandparents, they all gathered for the big day ahead. For today was none other than the day that the schools in the nation would be competing together, all to claim the title for their school of having the best soccer team. A huge bulletin board displayed the schedules and the match ups for the tournament for the first day; it would last the two days of the weekend in total.
"Wow, I can't believe how many Seigaku students have showed up." The captain of the boys soccer team from Seigaku, Haru, said.
One of his teammates, a midfielder, said "I didn't think our club was this popular; isn't this turn out more than what even the tennis team gets?"
Indeed, an overwhelming amount of Seigaku uniforms were present. It was just like the amount of Hyoutei members that would show up for their tennis team. The difference was this group had just as many girls as there were boys. All of them went around in their own little groups of twos, threes, and fours. The thing was...
"Why do those banners say 'Red Hill'?" Haru asked, sweatdropping.
"Eeeee, TSUKIYAMA!!" The girls suddenly squealed.
Other soccer teams from other schools and the people that went to see them turned their heads to look at the commotion. Tsukiyama? Must be a guy from Seigaku. They thought. Of course they'd be surprised when a group of girls in bright red soccer jerseys came walking down the path.
Jun pulled a pencil from the bun she had pulled her black hair into and regarded the bulletin with her crystal blue eyes. Today they held sharpness that, while always present, usually stayed fairly subdued. Now, it was out in full; if she pierced someone with that look, they'd swear she was examining their mind for all their hidden secrets. She quickly scribbled down the tournament rosters and the bits of information on the schools participating.
-Well, Captain Jun?- Yumi asked, after waving briefly with a smile to the group of students who had called out to her. -How's this going to work?-
-We're guests here, as it is.- Jun answered, and the team gathered around her in a loose huddle to hear what she had to say. -The basic idea is that it would look bad if we managed to win here; it wouldn't be a fair way to rank the other schools. So when a team loses they'll face us. That will give them a chance to redeem themselves a bit.-
-Aw, so that means we can't win?- Megan groaned.
-No, it means we get to face every team here.- Nzinga corrected. -Think about it; what's more fun than that?-
-I agree!- Rhea said.
-Hey Yumi, your boyfriend's here.- Alison said, nudging their shadow-captain. -He and his friends are over there.-
-He's not exactly my boyfriend...we haven't really talked about that stuff, really.- Yumi admitted.
-What?! But you've been on dates with him, right?- Karen asked, astonished.
-Well, yeah. I'm just saying we've never actually asked each other out. Technically, it isn't official yet.- Yumi said with a shrug. -Not that I care much; it doesn't feel like we have to actually say 'will you be my girl/boyfriend' for it to actually be the case.-
-You're brave. What if some other girl asks him out?- Deanna asked. She was finally off her crutches for her sprained ankle, and was deemed able to play for a few games.
-They always do once they get brave enough, he just always says no. I figured I had nothing to worry about, since for the last nine years he hasn't gone on any dates except with me.- Yumi answered.
-That's serious dedication!- The girls declared in awe. -No, that's beyond dedication, that's full-time commitment!- They amended.
-Girls, we have a tournament to play in.- Yumi reminded them. -Oh yeah, and Jun said we'd be playing the winners, too.-
-NO KIDDING?! Alright!- The girls cheered.
-Come on, according to the schedule we'll be facing whoever loses between Rikkaidai and Hyoutei.- Jun said. -Let's go check out the competition.-
-Yes ma'am!- The team moved out to the fields to watch.
A whistle blew shrilly three times. The girls from Red Hill all stood and stretched out. -Well, looks like we play Rikkaidai.- Jun stated. She didn't bother looking up at the team, just flipped to a fresh sheet of paper on her clipboard and started scribbling rapidly. -Here's what I found out about them, and below is the plan.-
Yumi looked at the sheet as Jun passed it to her and scanned it over quickly. Then she proceeded to pass it on to the rest of the team. It was best if everyone knew what they were up against, not just her.
"Oi, Yumi!"
Looking up, Yumi was startled to find the Rikkaidai tennis regulars there. Niou was the one who had called out. She stood and moved over to them curiously. "You guys came to watch?"
"Of course." Yukimura answered with a smile. "I really want to see your skills at soccer, considering your skills in tennis."
"Heh. Don't be surprised if we get a sudden...change in personality on the field." Yumi said, smirking a bit. "It's much worse than what Sanada felt."
"Then I pity your opponents." Renji said. "From the data Inui gave me, your team is extremely skilled and well-conditioned."
"Oh you have no idea." Yumi said, smiling darkly.
