Author's Note: SO here is the 14th chapter! Not much action here, though, but whatever. Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed, and placed this story in their favourites list and/or alerts list.
ShamelesslyUsed: LOL. I squealed as well when I was writing that scene. And yes, Atobe could definitely work for a circus or something.
OROgoldenpair1: Wow, your reviews surprised me =) Thank you for all of them! Anyways, yeah, I think Atobe's OOC in this, but that's the whole point of falling in love, right? He's not really supposed to be in the right mind anyway, but I will try very hard to keep him in character, though that will be sort of hard. I'm trying to follow the anime and manga, but then there are differences in them, and I don't quite know what do then =( Help?
Ciel Blanche: Haha =) Atobe definitely does, and Lina is starting to get used to him already. I like Tamaki! He's awesome! Anyways, I'm very excited to write the resolution of the Echizen siblings' drama.
Xana Vlec: Well, let's learn together! *bro fist* Anyways, I want to play ninja! TT-TT But I'm apparently way too slow for that kind of thing =((
JayTheCow: Definitely noted! Though, I do think I might be a bit slow in the writing of the romance stuff =(
ENJOY!
"Nee-san! Nee-san!"
Lina opened her eyes. Someone was banging on her door.
She yawned as she sat up, glaring at the door.
"What?" She growled as she opened the door.
Ryoma stared at her, surprised.
Her glare changed into a look of surprise, "well you're ready early," he was already wearing his school uniform, his bag over his shoulder and his tennis bag over the other.
Ryoma said nothing and looked at the circular clock on her wall. She looked at it as well.
Oh, shit.
She turned to him slowly, squinting her eyes, "I hate you."
He simply watched as she rushed around the room, trying to get ready.
"You go ahead, Ryoma," she said as she grabbed the uniform from her closet, "I'll just get Ryoga-nii to go with me."
"I think he's still sleeping," Ryoma said quietly, glancing to the room down the hall, across his own.
"Well, I'll wake him up," she said as shooing him away. It was the rule after her surgery, she was not to go out of the house alone until she was full recovered.
He shrugged and went on his way.
She got prepared as quickly as she could, although she still wasn't as fast as she'd like. When she was finally ready, she went over to her older brother's room, after knocking and receiving no reply, she turned the knob and poked her head in.
He was still sleeping.
She looked away from his sleeping form and turned her attention to her wrist watch. If she didn't leave now, she'd definitely be late for morning practice, especially with her pacing.
It only took her a moment to decide.
She stepped down the stairs slowly and as quietly as possible, moving to the door. She sighed as she left the house unnoticed.
Walking as fast as she could in her condition, she headed for the school.
"Senpai!" Someone called out moments after she turned a corner.
She looked to back and saw Momoshiro riding his bike, heading towards her.
"Good morning, Momoshiro-kun," she greeted with a smile, "thank Kami you're here!"
"Why is that, senpai?" He said as he stopped next to her, getting off his bike.
"I'm not supposed to be walking alone," she said, "you know, after the surgery and all that."
They walked side by side, Momoshiro wheeling the bike along at his unoccupied side.
"Echizen left you?" He said, surprised. Well, not entirely.
"Nah," she replied, shaking her head, "I let him go first since I woke up pretty late."
"Tired from last night?" He asked, lifting his eyebrow at her.
"Yeah," she said, laughing, "too much excitement for one day."
"But, man!" Momoshiro exclaimed, "the captain of Hyotei is a really flashy guy."
"You win the Understatement of the Year Award! That guy is beyond flashy."
"Oh, really? I can't tell," he replied sarcastically, making her laugh.
They walked in comfortable silence for a few moments.
"How's training?" She asked Momoshiro when she noticed the weights on his ankles and wrists
"Well, your training menu is bearable," he replied, "nearly the same as Inui's."
"That's good, Momoshiro-kun," after a sigh, she continued, "we can't afford to lose right now."
"Yeah, now that buchou is gone…" he looked up and sighed as he trailed off.
"And Oishi-san isn't registered," she said, "we don't have any reserves. Seigaku has to have clear cut wins. We can't afford any match loss or draws."
"Yeah, everyone's going to be working hard."
"I'll make sure of that," Lina grinned.
Momoshiro mentally cringed.
They walked for a few more minutes, until they were in front of the school. It was fairly early, but they could already hear the sounds of tennis balls bouncing and the shouts of the players.
"Seems like a lively practice," Momoshiro said as they neared the courts, "right, senpai…?"
He looked to the side and saw Lina standing very still, looking at him with worried and terrified eyes. She lifted her hands so she could see them, and he could tell that they were shaking. He also noticed that her knees seemed wobbly as well. She tried to walk, but he steps were short and weak.
"Senpai?" He asked worried.
She swallowed before answering, her voice cracking "take me to the hospital."
And she collapsed.
"Simple exhaustion," the doctor said and Lina sighed in so much relief, "you've been exerting too much effort or you're too stressed. After surgery, you are not to do much work, and you are not to be stressed."
She lay on a bed in the emergency room, where she was immediately brought to after her collapse. Her mother sat by her side.
"What do I have to do?"
"Well, since your mother tells me that you insist on going to school," the doctor said, removing his glasses and putting the clipboard down, "you're going to have to go via a wheelchair."
Her mouth hung open and her eyes opened wider.
"Only for a week or so," he continued, unfazed. He probably had to deal with this shit all the time, "you can only go on thirty minutes walk, including the time that you're actually on your feet, each day and keep your activities to an absolute minimum."
She opened her mouth to say something, but he stopped her.
"And I do mean absolute minimum, Echizen-san. No shouting, no strenuous exercises, no carrying of things. Absolute minimum."
After a few words with Rinko, the doctor left.
"I can't go to school on a wheelchair," Lina said obstinately, glaring at the direction in which the doctor left.
"Then you're going to have to stay at home."
"But it's boring at home! There's absolutely nothing to do. Besides, who's going to wheel me around? Ryoma? He'd probably use my chair trying to wheel down the stairs."
"Ryoga will."
"I really cannot believe that you are doing this," Lina said through clenched teeth as she was wheeled into the gates of Seishun Academy.
"Okaa-san's orders," Ryoga shrugged, "besides, I don't really have anything to do right now."
"Lazy bum," she murmured. She straightened when she saw that the courts were filled up already, "over there," she pointed to the courts, where her brother promptly brought her to.
Ryoma was already there, having decided to just walk that morning, instead of riding the car with Lina and Ryoga.
Her older brother had been tasked to be the one to care for her, much to her annoyance. He didn't have classes at this point – because he was an advanced student and all that – so, apparently, what better else to do than take care of one's own sister?
"Coach!" Arai called out as he approached them, "what happened to you?"
"I'm old," she said, not in the mood to talk at that point.
She did not like being pampered or taken care of. She took care of herself.
"Tell everyone to assemble," she instructed Arai, who had somehow become her second-in-command through the weeks, "and then after that, ten laps around the court to warm up."
"Yes," the boy nodded and headed to the courts to inform the non-regulars.
"Strict, aren't we?" Ryoga smirked as he wheeled her closer.
"You," she looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed, "take a seat on the benches, I'll walk."
"I'm timing you," he said as he let go of the handles of the wheelchair and started the stop watch as she stood.
She stood and entered the courts, where the non-regulars were already assembled.
She motioned for Arai to come near her and told him, "if you don't mind, please shout what I'm about to say," when Arai nodded, she told him.
Arai nodded and proceeded to shout out what she had told him, "there will be a skills assessment this afternoon, and those who pass this test will be getting another set of training menus. Those who don't…" he hesitated, "well… those who don't have to drink Inui-senpai's Veggie Juice."
She said something in his ear.
"The Super, Royale, Deluxe Veggie Juice."
All non-regulars cringed and became serious.
They needed to pass the test.
Arai looked back and saw Lina nod, signaling the start of the warm up.
Lina immediately headed for the regulars' courts, intending to do her job of managing the team.
"You have twenty five minutes left," Ryoga shouted from his position on the bench.
She glared at him and decided to take the wheelchair with her to the regulars' courts, leaving it right outside of the court.
"What's happening?" She said as she saw them gather around.
"Oishi-senpai's trying to do some weird personality test," Momoshiro said.
Lina looked at the papers Oishi was holding.
"Is that a talking jellyfish?" She asked, tilting her head to better understand the picture, to no avail.
Oishi wrote something down on his notebook, mumbling, "Lina-san is a type C personality."
Lina opened her mouth to say something but then she saw Ryoma shaking his head.
"Well, anyways," she stood next to Oishi and said, "I'd like to think that Oishi-san is trying to come up with a line up for the next set of matches, but it seems really weird, so, let's just try a different approach."
She looked around, thinking.
"Everyone, pair up," Lina said.
It was Inui-Kaidou, Momoshiro-Kawamura, and Eiji-Fuji.
"I don't play doubles," Ryoma said, pulling his cap down.
"True," she sighed, "you can't play doubles to save your life."
Lina spoke with Oishi, moving a couple of yards away.
"I suggest that they go against each other," Lina said, "Inui against Kaidou, Momoshiro against Kawamura and Eiji against Fuji, then shuffle later on, with Ryoma this time."
Oishi seemed to think about it.
"But how will that help the line ups?"
"To see if they know the other's weakness, it'll help them cooperate with each other," she shrugged, "we're definitely going to have an Inui-Kaidou pair, but Inui-san could also go for singles matches, which would leave Kaidou-san without a partner, and I'm not entirely sure if he should be in the singles just yet. Fuji-san could be a doubles player, but he's an asset as a singles player," she paused for a moment, thinking, "Eiji-san is definitely a doubles kind of guy, but since you're not registered, he's left without a partner, and I'm not quite sure that Momoshiro-kun'd be alright as his partner. As for Ryoma… He's a purely singles player, he won't be able to play doubles."
Oishi thought about her inputs.
"The decision, however, is still up to you, Oishi-san," Lina said.
"As the manager of the team, Lina-san, your opinion really matters on these sort of things," he replied, "I must think about it."
Lina nodded, and after talking to Ryuzaki-sensei, she went back to her wheelchair and observed the proceedings from there.
When there was a chiming coming from the building, Ryoga went back to her and started to head for the school.
"How do you suggest I go up the stairs?" Lina asked, genuinely curious, "because I am definitely not wasting my daily time on my feet by walking up or down the stairs."
Ryoga smirked, and said, "simple. Chibisuke!"
Lina stared at all the people who dared to stare at her as Ryoga carried her up the stairs, towards her classroom. Ryoma was behind them, carrying the wheelchair.
Being the true Echizens that they were, they all took the stares in stride, unfazed by all the attention. Well, at least Ryoma and Ryoga were. Lina, on the other hand, tried not to let her embarrassment show as they wheeled her down the hall, towards her classroom. She raised her eyebrow at the girls who stared at Ryoga, and blushed.
When she entered her classroom, all talk in the room ceased, and everyone looked at them.
Kami, she wished Tezuka was here.
Two of her classmates approached her when she was already in her seat, the wheelchair folded at the back and Ryoga next to her, in Tezuka's empty seat. Conversation returned, which made Lina slightly more comfortable. The girl had short dark brown hair, and eyes, while the boy had black hair with green eyes.
"Echizen-san," one of them said, a girl she remembered as Akino Mina, "you've been missing some lessons."
"And we volunteered to help you," the other said, a boy Lina was pretty sure was named Sono Saeki, "so that you can catch up and all."
"Alright," Lina nodded, though on the inside she was apprehensive, "I'm alright with some lessons already, Tezuka-san helped me while I was out."
The girl seemed surprised, "Tezuka-san did?"
"Yes," Lina replied, leaning back.
They seemed intrigued, but didn't ask. They helped her with her lessons, which were alright enough to understand. The teacher arrived, and looked at Ryoga curiously.
He stood up – of course, everyone stared at him – and made his way to the front of the class, carrying a letter. It was the letter their mother had drafted and gave to Ryoga to show the teachers, although Lina didn't really see the need for it when their mother had already called the school the previous day.
When the lessons had started, it was pretty easy to ignore Ryoga, since he didn't seem to be doing anything. He had taken up the bored position, his arms folded over the table and his head rested on them. By break time, he was already asleep.
"Ryoga-nii," she said poking his cheek with her pencil, trying to wake him up.
"Your brother's very nice to be taking care of you like this," Akino said as she took the empty seat across Lina.
"Not nearly as nice as you think," she replied, "he's just doing this to annoy me."
Akino smiled, "I heard you play tennis?"
"Yes," Lina nodded, smiling as she remembered why exactly she was doing all this, turning to Ryoga, "all of us do."
"I play, too," the girl said and Lina looked back at her, surprised, "well, not as well as the boys' tennis team."
"So you're in the girls' tennis team?" Lina asked, now slightly intrigued.
Akino nodded and Lina made a mental note to go and watch the girls' tennis team play.
When Ryoga had woke up, it was already after break and he was forced to endure another two hours of lessons before it was lunch already.
"God, this is so boring," Ryoga groaned as the bell rang, signaling that it was lunch time.
"Well, okaa-san's orders, right?" Lina beamed smugly at him.
Ryoga groaned, and proceeded to eat the lunch he had in the backpack he brought with him, handing Lina hers.
"So, how do you plan to get back to shape?" Ryoga said as he ate, using a spoon and fork instead of the usual chopsticks.
"Well," Lina replied, "the doctor says that there's this great place for physical therapy out of town. I'm planning to stay there, after the Kantou Tournament, during summer vacation."
Ryoma tensed at the mention of summer vacation, but Lina didn't comment on it.
"Have you played with otou-san lately?" She asked, trying to keep the non-awkward atmosphere.
"Yeah," Ryoga said and smirked, "he's still the same as ever."
Lina smiled.
Ryoga looked to the tennis court, and his face became unreadable.
"Lina," he said, "I'll play against your trainees later, okay?"
Author's Note: So, can you guess what's coming up? =) Anyways! I am in a dilemma, my readers! I can't think of what to follow. The anime or manga? Because in the anime, Ryoma leaves after the Kantou Tournament - after the whole cruise ship thing with Ryoga. But in the manga, he stays the whole year. I can't think of what to do! But I will definitely include the cruise ship arc =)
Oh, and I am very sorry for the Atobe-less chapter TT-TT I just thought that I'd want to focus on Lina and Ryoga's relationship for a chapter =)
Review, please!