Chapter Thirteen

Sachie

Does it surprise you that I was arranged to share a tent with Takahashi while Chiko got to be with Saki? I thought not.

I was starting not to mind being around Takahashi instead of Chiko, but how could if not bother me that someone was deliberately trying to steal my best friend?

I succeeded in catching up with Fuji, who had agreed to share his tent with Takamura—again, Saki's handiwork; though this time I had to thank her—while we trekked up the mountain slope to reach the training grounds. Someone had bothered to set up tennis courts on top of a mountain on a desert island. Seriously.

"You know that game?" I said with a grin. "If you're on a desert island..."

"I'd still want to be with you." Fuji could be so sweet sometimes.

"Fuji!" I had begun to dislike that high, feminine voice with a passion. This time, I took a step closer to Fuji before Saki could wedge herself between us, resulting in her crashing into me when she tried to pull her usual trick.

"Fuji, what do you think—" I began, pretending that nothing had happened.

"Fuji, where were we? I remember you saying something about serves," Saki determinedly said over me.

"Yes, I was saying that if you gripped the racket harder..." he started, falling for the bait. Seeing as it would've just been really awkward for them to talk with me between them, I backed out and resumed my usual place at the back of the group, again minus Chiko and Fuji, but with Takahashi hanging around.

"Do you think Ishizaki has given up on the whole Coke thing yet?" she asked mischievously.

"No, I haven't," came a voice from behind. Ishizaki sped up to talk abreast with us. "But I think you'll have to wait till we get back to school, because there doesn't seem to be any around here."

"Just forget about the Coke, Ishizaki," I giggled. "That was just a ploy to get you out of our hair." Insults bounced off the guy's ego without making a single dent, so I highly doubted that the truth would hurt.

Indeed, he looked shocked for a moment, but recovered within seconds to say, "Sure, I knew that. But I went along with it to show my loyalty and undying devotion—"

"And stupidity," I muttered to Takahashi before we burst out into fits of laughter. Ishizaki only looked all the more pleased with himself for making us laugh, and the look of pride on his face made us howl ever more. This seemed to cement his opinion of himself being the funniest guy on earth. Thinking that I was finally warming to his 'natural humor', he took the liberty of draping his arm around my shoulder, which I couldn't remove at once, due to the stitch in my side.

Fuji, attracted by the sound of our wild screams of mirth, looked around to see both I and Takahashi practically choking—and Ishizaki holding me close while I seemingly made no attempt to stop him. I came to my senses just in time to see the look on his face.

Did I just imagine that, or did Fuji just frown?

But I never found out, because the next second he had looked away and I had put my full attention into getting Ishizaki off me. Still, I didn't try to keep him ten miles away like I normally did. Egoistic was he was, his antics were a steady supply of amusement for me and Takahashi, which helped to kill time as we continued the long walk up the mountain trail.

With two girls and a boy lagging behind the main group, talking among themselves, we looked remarkably like a small band of friends from not so long ago, a group consisting of Fuji, Chiko and I walking a little way from the other regulars as we headed off to a burger joint together. But now that group was scattered amongst the rest of the tennis club members, and it made me feel uneasy.

We decided to set up camp near the tennis courts close to the peak of the mountain.

"Fuji, here, let me take that, and oh, here's some water—" Saki was bustling around Fuji, trying to help him with anything and everything she could. I watched her running rings around him so that he could barely move for fear of hitting her. Breathing out a sigh, I went over and eased Fuji's towel—the first thing he reached for after every tennis match—out of his bag and silently handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said gratefully. There were still some minor details that I knew and Saki hadn't noticed yet. But that didn't keep him from setting up his tent right next to hers, while I and Takahashi had our some thirty feet away. I knew it had been Saki's doing...but why hadn't he objected?

I was so distracted that I completely lost the ability to coordinate my hands into helping Takahashi set up our tent. My mind continued to whirl as I made another attempt—in vain—to prop it up.

"You need help?"

Fuji made me jump by materializing behind me. I did need help, but how was he supposed to keep himself upright while messing around with the poles and ropes and things? "Um, it's ok, I—"

"I'll help you, Tezumi." Ishizaki barged loudly onto the scene. Seeing as neither Takahashi nor I could make anything of the task, we let him. Listening intently to Ishizaki's instructions, I never noticed Fuji walk away.

Soon, it was time for dinner. "Fuji, you want to come and sit—" I started to say.

"Oh, sorry," he cut in. Which had never happened before. It was like, a rule of nature: the sun rose from the east, water flows into the sea and Fuii never interrupted. "I said I'd eat with Saki."

Saki gave me a secret smirk as she led him away.

Uh oh.