Chapter Twelve
Not all movie scenes leads to romance in real life.

'You comin', right?'

'Of course, I am! I have some friends who are going to play… and I am interested in seeing how you play ;)' She types on her phone upon receiving a text message from her redhead text mate.

"And, send!" Yume utters as she clicks on the button of her phone. She stretches her arms after shoving the phone into her pocket and looks at the window to her right. She sits on the red cushioned seat of a bullet train going to Tokyo.

Skies are light blue and clouds are fluffy white. The day will certainly be good. While the train speeds passing by thin sturdy poles, the skies are still. The scene outside may not be that as appealing for others, it still fascinates her despite all those years that has passed.

Yume smiles as she spots a lump of fluffy clouds in the sky. "I spot a rabbit," she playfully says to herself and chuckles. Suddenly, she feels a vibration inside her pocket. She reaches for it and sees the name 'Oshitari-san' on the screen.

"Hello?" she says upon placing the phone near her ears.

"Kazuyoshi!" The male on the other line shouts, so she has to put the phone away from her ears.

"Please don't speak so loudly," she asks while slowly putting her phone near her ears. "Anyway, what is that fuss about?" Yume asks in a very calm and polite manner to avoid aggravating the person on the other line more.

"Oh. Sorry, Kazuyoshi. I sometimes get really overflowing feelings. I may have exaggerated a bit but still..." Kenya replies, "I'm your best friend, right? Answer me, please!"

"I'm not sure what you're trying to-"

"Nee, Kazuyoshi, I'm your best friend. Right?"

Yume sighs. She senses a little desperation on part of the other male and so submits to agreement. "Sure. We're best friends." And she hears a sigh of relief from the other side. "So… for what reason again are you calling?"

"Because Kazuyoshi… you didn't tell me you were planning to come to the National Tournaments. I just heard from Shihan a while ago. And I call you my best friend."

"Ah… we're still best friends. Uhm… okay." Guilt now fills her mind up and she now feels more responsible to Kenya as someone who should support him during the phase of moving on. Yume thinks of an excuse. "Sorry if I didn't tell you earlier. I… wanted to surprise you. That's why I decided not to inform you of anything." What follows is a nervous chuckle.

"... a surprise?" Suddenly, a laugh is to be heard from the other line.

"What is it now?" she mutters to herself.

"Really, a surprise? You're really one hell of a funny guy!" Kenya guffaws. "I don't think it's something male friends do for their male friends."

Her cheeks heat up in embarrassment but she takes a deep breath to cool down. "I'm just gonna hang up."

"I'm sorry! Please don't get angry." Again, dying laughter follows. "I was overreacting so much."

"So… what else do you want to talk about?" she says wanting to dismiss the conversation.

"Nothing! I just want to talk."

"Okay. I'm really going to hang up now."

"I already said I'm sorry! Please forgive me, 'kay?"

Yume sighs. "Fine. Seriously, though, is there anything else we have to discuss on?"

"Uhm… Kazuyoshi, where are you now?"

"On my way to Tokyo. I'm riding a bullet train so I'll probably arrive after an hour."

"Oh, is that so?" Kenya chuckles. "You don't have to rush, though. We got a 'Bye,' so we won't play in the first round."

She chortles. "It's not like you're the only reason I'm coming to the Nationals for. I also have friends from other schools."

"Oh, really?! What the-" he stutters, "From w-what school is your… friend?"

She smiles. "Oh? Are you jealous, Oshitari-san?"

"Jealous?! No, I'm not! I'm definitely not jealous. No! Not at all."

"Oh, no." She snickers. "Male friends aren't supposed to feel jealous when their male friend has another friend they do not know."

"I told you I'm not jealous!" Kenya shouts in defense.

"Fine, fine. You said so, you're not jealous," she replies. "I believe you."

"Believe me!" he says. "Anyway, from what school is your friend? Is he a player?"

"Rikkaidai Fuzoku. And he keeps on saying that he plays really well. Really well." An image of Marui forms in her head as she can imagine the redhead boasting on about his skills in tennis. Yume cringes. "It's kinda annoying but I guess that's just the way her is."

"Ri-Rikkaidai? Oi, Kazuyoshi! You better cheer on us more. If ever our team faces off theirs, you must support us. 'Kay? Not their team. Okay?!"

"Yes, yes. Of course, I'll cheer for you guys."

"Promise me, 'kay?"


Balls continuously bounce back and forth the tennis courts. Young men sweat on the courts while running around the fields and chasing small and fast-moving balls. These balls dictate the fate of their career in the sport. And so, all participants in the tournament heavily prepared for this day just to make sure the balls do not drop on their side of the court as much as their opponents would.

'… They say your head can be a prison then these are just conjugal visits. People will dissect us till this doesn't mean a thing anymore…'

Yume passes by courts, occasionally peeking at games that might capture her interest. Plugged in her ears is a playlist so loud that people cannot talk to her. She looks up to the bright sky and takes a glance at the cruel sun.

"It's so hot," she mutters while holding the neckline of her plain white shirt and flapping it for a small amount of wind. Sighing, she puts her hands inside the pockets of her black pants. "It was a bad idea to come here. I really want to go home. But, I just came here all the way from Osaka. Wouldn't that be a waste?"

Approaching one of the courts, she takes a glance at the players. From the left side of the court is a tall man with bright orange hair and green jersey shirt that has yellow strips on the sides. Meanwhile, another man with dark skin and dreadlocks on the other side runs around the court, chasing after the ball being hit by the man with orange hair.

Watching the game, she notes that the man with dreadlocks is profusely sweating. The scoreboard displays "4-5" so it seems apparent that the game will soon be finished. Later on, she learns that it is still the first game of the first round between the competing schools.

"I feel so bad for him," Yume mutters to herself as she watches a man on the verge of losing. She turns to the opponent on the other side.

He has a fierce look, so focused and confident. His hair bounces while he runs for every ball hit back to his court. It reminds her of the shade of a sunset. Being quite in a distance from the court, Yume could not catch a glimpse of what the player looks like. Not until the ball drops on the other side of the court.

The quick motion stops as the game has finally ended. The man with bright orange hair smiles as he stood in victory while beads of sweat slowly drip down from the sides of his head. He seems so familiar. She blinks as she tries to recall where she saw such a face.

"Blue eyes, hair orange." Another blink. Then, the man looks at her direction. His smile fades away in an instant and is replaced by surprise. He blinks and eventually the smile on his lips returns as the man waves at her.

Yume blinks again.

And she remembers. It was the day during her encounter with her childhood friend. The scene looks like it came from a movie wherein rain is heavily pouring down as the actress sobs in silence and a shining sun appears out of nowhere to brighten her up. That man was her sun.

'… Blood cells pixelate. And eyes dilate… 'The mellow sound playing in her ears replays memories of that day.

"Okay. This one's done. Off to the next court," Yume says to herself as she dismisses the memory playing inside her head.


Holding a can of soda in her right hand and a box of banana milk in her left, Yume walks around the venue in an attempt to look for people she knows. However, she could neither find Marui nor the Shitenhouji tennis club. She soon sees from a distance a large group of students all with the same uniforms, boys and girls, loudly cheering for a team in one of the tennis courts.

"So loud." She shrugs off the thought of watching the game upon seeing the large and annoyingly loud crowd. Yume walks away, heading off somewhere else.

Kabaji, who is currently watching two of his teammates, suddenly catches glimpse of the female heading out. Being in the crowded courts, he senses the familiar figure from a distance. Kabaji, then, silently turns to head out in a want to follow the girl.

Atobe, who sits on a bench in front of him, suddenly asks, "Where are you going? The game will be over soon. You're going to come up next."

Kabaji stops in his tracks and turns back to their captain.

"Oh. Are you going to the restroom?" Atobe smirks. "Hurry up, Kabaji. Come back immediately."

Kabaji heads out upon the "approval" of his captain. Making big steps, the young silent man is able to reach Yume's location. She is walking while typing on her phone until he stands behind her.

Yume turns around to look up at the taller man. A big smile flashes on her face as she spread her arms for a hug. "Mune-chan! You've really grown bigger!"

Kabaji does not budge as the girl (unsuccessfully) wraps her arms around him. "Usu," he replies.

"I'm happy that you can still remember me. And you're even able to recognize me with my short hair. It's been a long time, so… how are you doing?" She lets go of him and waits for an answer. "Oh… you're still with that arrogant guy, aren't you?" Yume sighs as she stares at the ground. "At least, I hope that he's not ordering you around. Anyway…" She looks at him with excitement. "You're wearing a jersey. Are you going to play?"

"Usu."

Yume grins. "Waahhh… Mune-chan, I bet you play good!"

"Usu."

"Oh! Did I disturb you or something? Do you have a match now?" She holds out a box of banana milk. "Here! I think you're kinda busy but I want you to have this."

"Usu." Kabaji takes the milk and stares at it. He looks again at the female.

"Now, you wouldn't want to miss your match, would you? Do your best!" she says holding out a fist in encouragement.

"Usu." With that final word, He leaves her and hurries back to the courts.

"Just in time," Yuushi says as he sees Kabaji entering the courts.

Atobe turns to look at Kabaji. "It's your match now. Shishido and Choutarou won. You better not let the opponent score even one point."

"Usu."

Shishido and Choutarou are walking towards them. Shishido notices the box at the hand of Kabaji. "Oi, Kabaji. Better finish that up fast."

~ End Chapter ~

A/N: A new chapter. YAY! Finally, two consecutive weeks of new uploads. Can I keep this up? I sure hope I can. Anyway, I'm just dying to talk about Sengoku here. I really like his character and I didn't want to just abandon him after introducing him a few chapters earlier. So yeah! Expect him to appear more in future chapters. Please leave a review and I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter. ^_^