Chapter 21: Painful Memories
BANG!
Mizuka woke up with a start. She sat up quickly, hearing the booming sounds of thunder and seeing the flashing light of lightning that flashed through the windows. Her heartbeat was racing as she flinched when the sound of thunder rang again, moving her hands up to cover her ears and shutting her eyes. She felt arms go around her as she breathed rapidly through her mouth. She pushed her hands onto her ears harder, trying to shut out the sound of the crackling thunder. Strong hands were trying to pull her hands from her ears. "Mizuka!" She heard Atobe's voice when he had finally managed to pull them away. She opened her eyes to see another flash of lightning and tried to move her hands to her ears before the sound of thunder came again. "Mizuka, calm down!" Atobe held her hands firmly when she cringed and screamed as another cracking sound of thunder came. "Mizuka!" Mizuka was panting and trembling as Atobe pulled her against his chest. "It's okay. It's okay, Mizuka. I'm right here." Atobe softly said to her. He combed his hand down her hair as his other hand hugged her close and she shut her eyes and gripped the blanket tightly. "Mizuka, what's your favourite colour?"
"B-B-Blue." Mizuka's voice was higher than her normal high voice.
"That's a nice colour. My favourite colours are black and gold." Atobe moved his hand to cover her ear and gently pressed her head against his chest when he saw another flash of lightning. He removed his hand when the thunder went by. "What do you like to eat most?"
"U-Unacha...and roast beef.."
"Roast beef?"
"I-Is that odd?" Mizuka slowly opened her eyes.
Atobe chuckled softly as he lifted her face up to him. "That's what I like to eat most too." When the lightning flashed, Atobe saw the sadness mixed with fear in her eyes before she closed it and pressed her face into his chest. She felt his hands on her ears as he slowly laid down and cradled her in his arms. "I'm here for you, Mizuka." She heard him whisper in her ear and fully covered it, pressing her head against his chest. She listened to his heartbeat, letting the steady heartbeat calm her.
"What is with this weather?" Hiyoshi moved the curtains to see the flash of lightning in the living room. "How are they supposed to play in the finals today?" There was a glass breaking sound when the thunder struck and he looked to see Shishido standing by a broken vase on the floor.
"What's wrong, Ryo? You scared of thunderstorms?" Mukahi carried his bag towards the couch where Jirou was already sleeping.
"Whatever." Shishido crouched down to pick up the broken pieces.
"No, Shishido-sama! We will clean that."
Shishido stood up when a butler came with a broom and dustpan. "Sorry about that."
"Do not worry, Shishido-sama."
He flinched when another sound of thunder came and moved to the window to close the curtains. "I didn't know you were scared of thunder." He turned to see Oshitari arrive through the door. "Shut up."
Oshitari looked around the room to see everybody ready to leave except for two people. "Where are Atobe and Mizuka?"
"Maybe they're finally doing it."
"What are you talking about?" Shishido looked at his red-haired teammate sitting on the couch arm.
"I expected them to be at it all week but they slept in different rooms. But yesterday, she slept in his room." Mukahi grinned when Shishido's eyes widened and he looked away. "You know what I'm talking about. Se-" Oshitari smacked him on the head.
"Your mind is too dirty, Gakuto."
"What? It's true." Mukahi rubbed the back of his head. "If I had a girlfriend like that I would be bang-" Oshitari smacked him again.
"We don't want to know about your dirty thoughts. Besides, I don't think they would in this kind of weather."
"Anyways." Otori cleared his throat and pulled open the curtains. "It's pouring outside. I don't think we should leave now."
"Yes." Kabaji agreed as Shishido pulled the curtains closed when the thunder rumbled.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The booming sounds of thunder rang in the 6-year-old Mizuka's ears as she was thrown against the wall as the boat rocked. "Nichan!" She called to her 7-year-old big brother when the boat rocked back and she fell into his arms. "Mizuka, we have to get inside!" Tezuka held onto his sister dearly as he tried to go towards the door, reaching out for the knob only to slip back and ram against the rail of the boat, catching his sister as she slammed into his chest. "Nichan! I'm scared!" Mizuka's eyes were wide and full of fear as the lightning flashed dangerously and the rain poured down on them. Tezuka's hand firmly gripped the slippery railing as his other arm held his sister close. The boat tipped towards the rear and she screamed when she slipped from her brother's grip. "Mizuka!" Tezuka watched in terror as his sister slid from his outstretched arm. "Nichan!" Mizuka cried as she slid down the watery boat's floors.
The storm had passed through and had turned into a light drizzle as Atobe hugged Mizuka in his arms closely. She shook and began panting, turning her head from the left to the right. "Nisan..." Mizuka's soft voice trembled. "She's having a nightmare." It scared him before to see her terrified of the thunderstorm and it scared him now to see her like this. "No.." Her voice was more audible as her panting became faster. He was about to wake her when her hand raised and stretched out before she opened her eyes with tears. She blinked and the tears rolled from her eyes. "Mizuka.." She gasped from her panting and turned away from Atobe. He hugged her as she cried, feeling a weight in his chest for not knowing why. It took a moment before she could collect her breath. "I'm going to go pack." She quietly said and moved the blanket to get out of bed but Atobe pulled her back and went on top of her.
"What was that?"
"Let me go pack." She wouldn't meet his eyes as he stared at her.
"Tell me, Mizuka." When she was silent, he leaned in and kissed her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth to play with hers and she closed her eyes and gradually moved her hands around his back and hugged him closer.
"Atobe!" Shishido banged the door and opened it. "How long are...you.." He paused when he saw Atobe on top of Mizuka. They had pulled away when the door opened. "I guess we can wait a bit longer.."
"No, I'll go pack now." Mizuka slid off the bed and pushed past Shishido. Shishido stared after her and looked at Atobe who slowly got off the bed. "Is she okay?"
"No..I don't know." Atobe sighed and walked towards the door. "Tell the others we'll be ready shortly." And went after Mizuka.
When he got to her room, she was grabbing her folded clothes out of the drawers. "Mizuka, tell me what's wrong." He hugged her from behind, making her drop her clothes on the floor. "It pains me...To see you like this.." He whispered. She started trembling as tears surfaced her eyes again, biting her lip to try to hold the tears from falling and she broke out of his hug, running out of the room. "Mizuka!" Atobe groaned and ran for the door when her phone was ringing and vibrating on the wooden table. He went to it, looked at the display and picked up.
"Man, we've been waiting for an hour already." Gakuto sighed, throwing a tennis ball up and catching it when it fell back down in his palm.
"I'm pretty sure they have a good reason for taking so long." Otori said from his game of chess with Hiyoshi. He glanced at the doors when it opened to see Shishido walking in. "What's taking them so long?"
"We can wait a bit longer." Shishido plopped down on the foot of the couch where Jirou was sleeping and put his hand to his face.
"I told you not to bother them." Gakuto threw the ball at Shishido, hitting him in the chest. "So, did you see anything?"
Shishido glared at him and threw the ball back. "No."
They looked at the door to see Atobe enter. "Unpack your bags, we're staying another week."
"Really?!" Mukahi exclaimed happily.
"Wait. What about school?" Oshitari asked.
"I've already informed the school, they're fine with it." Atobe explained. "By the end of this week, we're going to have practice matches with Seigaku."
"Seigaku?!"
"Yes. Training starts tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Why don't we just start today?" Shishido asked.
"Do whatever you want then." Atobe left the room, pondering on what Tezuka had told him.
"What's wrong with Mizuka? Why is she so scared of thunderstorms?" Atobe demanded that Tezuka tell him. "She called for you in her nightmare. I know you have something to do with this. Tell me."
Tezuka was silent for a moment and took a deep breath. "Every time there is a thunderstorm, we would always have to be there for her."
"Why?"
"It was ten years ago..."
"Kunimitsu! Mizuka! Hurry, we don't want to make grandpa and grandma wait!" Ayana called for them. Not a second later, she sees them racing from their rooms and down the stairs.
"I win!" The 7 year-old Tezuka beamed happily.
"No, I win!" The 6 year-old Mizuka pouted.
"Now, now. It's not a race." Ayana smiled as she lead them out to the car.
"Finally you kiddos are done packing!" Kuniharu said as they all entered the car.
"It's all Mizuka's fault! She packed too many things!"
"No!"
"Children, stop fighting."
"Yes, mommy." They said as their father drove them to their grandparent's place.
"Grandpa! Grandma!" Mizuka ran out of the car and hugged her grandparents.
"Mizuka!" Kaede smiled and lifted her up, kissing her on the cheek. "I've missed you, dear."
"I missed you too, grandma!" Mizuka smiled and kissed her grandmother's cheek.
"What about me? Where's my kiss?" Kunikazu leaned in as Mizuka giggled and kissed his cheek too. He looked at his grandson who had ran towards him and picked him up. "You're a big guy now, aren't you?"
"Yes, grandpa." Tezuka hugged him around the neck.
"Sorry to leave them with you, mom, dad." Kuniharu said as he walked towards his parents to give them a hug.
"Don't be sorry son! We love to have them around!" Kunikazu grinned as he set Tezuka down. "Now who's ready to go fishing?"
"Me!" Tezuka and Mizuka started to run towards the boat.
"Aren't you two forgetting something?"
They halted in their steps at their mother's words and ran towards the car to get their things before running to the docks. "Race you there!" Tezuka dashed ahead of Mizuka.
"Wait, Nichan!" Mizuka tripped over and her mother caught her. "Be careful, honey."
"Yes, mommy." She hugged her mother before going after her brother.
"Kids." Kuniharu shook his head and put his arm around his wife to head back to the car.
Mizuka watched the fishing bobber intently as she stood on top of a crate. Watching as it bobbed up and down with the waves as the boat moved before it plopped from the surface. She immediately pulled the fishing rod. "I got one!" She kept pulling and pulling until she heaved up a mackerel. Not a moment later, Tezuka pulled up an even bigger mackerel. "Mine's bigger!" He grinned, sticking his tongue out at his sister. She pouted and stuck her tongue back at him. She cast another rod and this time it pulled hard, sending her ramming against the rail of the boat. Tezuka turned to look at her when she screamed and ran towards her. He hugged his sister and they pulled together and a giant salmon came up and they fell back on the floor, panting. "Mizuka, are you okay?" Tezuka asked his sister but she only stared at the giant fish flopping on the deck before it flopped back into the waves. He clamped her fishing hat down on her head and stood up. "Let's go."
"Wait!" Mizuka lifted the hat from her eyes and ran after her brother.
Tezuka searched for his sister from their game of hide-and-seek, looking everywhere for her. "Mizuka." He called out, trying to see if she would call back but he knew that wouldn't work. He heard a rumbling and then the rain started pouring down hard. He tripped back when the boat rocked, sliding across the deck. "Mizuka!" He called for her again, after the thunder and lightning came. "Mizuka! Where are you?!"
"Nichan!"
He looked to see Mizuka climbing out of a barrel and tried to go towards her. The boat rocked towards him and she fell into his arms. "Mizuka, we have to get inside!" Tezuka tried to say to her against the loud booming of the thunder. He held onto his sister, walking towards the door, reaching out for the door only to slip back and ram against the rail. He caught his sister as she slammed into him. "Nichan! I'm scared!"
Trying not to let the sound of her voice panic him even more, his hand gripped the rail as his other arm wrapped around her when the boat tipped towards the rear. She slipped from his arm and screamed and he watched in terror as she slid down the watery floors of the boat. "Mizuka!"
"Nichan!" Mizuka clawed the slippery boat's floors and slid into her grandmother's arms that picked her up.
"I have you, Mizuka." Kaede said as she hugged her tightly, using her hand to grip the rail to pull them back to where Tezuka was.
"Grandma! I'm scared!" Mizuka trembled as she hugged her grandmother.
"It's alright. Everything will be-" The boat tipped to the other side and they slid across the boat. Tezuka slammed against the wall and made his way along it, inching closer and looked around the corner to see Mizuka halfway up the railing, almost tipping over. "Mizuka!" He ran across the boat.
"Grandma!" Mizuka's small hand was gripping her grandmother's hand tightly.
"Mizuka, my dear. I love you." Her grandmother gave her a smile before she let go of Mizuka's hand and fell into the dark waves.
"GRANDMA!" Mizuka moved to go over the rail only to be pulled back by her brother. They fell on the floor and he held her from going back to the rail. "Mizuka! No!" He hugged her as she cried. The boat tipped to the other side and they slid across the deck. "Mizuka, listen to me." He made her look at him, seeing her tears mix in with the pouring rain. "Hold onto me no matter what. Do you understand me?" He shook her shoulders and she nodded. He turned to let her go on his back and he lifted her, piggybacking her. "Hold on tightly!" He ordered her as he pulled on the railing, making their way towards the door to the room. Once they finally made it inside, he set her on the bed and hugged her as she cried. "Mizuka, it's okay." He tried to say as more tears in her eyes poured out.
"G-Grandma..." She sobbed.
"I-It's..I-It's..." Tezuka had tears pouring from his eyes now and he hugged her tighter as they cried together.
Atobe reached the bathroom and didn't bother knocking. He opened it to find Mizuka staring at herself in the mirror. She turned towards him and smiled. "Hey, sorry. I had to use the-" He hugged her, pressing her face into his shoulder. "Atobe?" He heard her muffle and he whispered. "I'm sorry."
She leaned into his hug and trembled, crying into his shoulder and he hugged her tighter.
"I was just asking him a question, he didn't have to reply in that tone." Shishido sighed as he walked with Oshitari towards their rooms.
"Something tells me there's more to that. You did disturb them."
"Shut. Up."
Oshitari put his arm out to stop Shishido when he heard sniffs and sobs from around the corner. He slowly made his way to peek around the corner to see Atobe hugging Mizuka tightly as she cried.
"We have to find another way around." Oshitari whispered.
"What?"
"Shhh!" Oshitari grabbed Shishido's arm and pulled him back down the hallway.
The next day at training, Mizuka sat on the bench staring at the ground as the Regulars trained for their practice match against Seigaku.
"Atobe, what's wrong with Mizuka?" Otori asked his Captain when they took a break, glancing concernedly over at her.
"She's had a rough week." Atobe replied, also taking a glance at her. Mukahi snickered and nudged Oshitari who gave him a smack to the head. They straightened up when Atobe ordered, "Get back to practice."
Mizuka was caught by something cold that pressed against her cheek. She flinched and looked to see Kabaji holding a bottle of Oxygizer. "Oh. Thank you, Kabaji."
"Yes." Kabaji said as he handed her the bottle.
"This water...Atobe recommended it right?"
"Yes."
Mizuka took a sip of the refreshing water and sighed, looking over at Atobe who was practicing against Hiyoshi. He looked over at her and saw her staring at him and came towards her. "Kabaji, take my place."
"Yes."
Atobe took Mizuka's hand and pulled her with him towards the gates. "Where are we going?"
"Out." He smiled at the puzzled look she gave him. "We're going far, far away."
She giggled slightly and followed him towards the travel bus.
"Have you ever had a boyfriend before?" Mizuka was a bit startled by Atobe's question. "Why are you asking?"
"Because I want to know." He leaned closer to her as she moved back in her chair. He moved the arm rest up and moved in on her, making her back against the window of the bus. "W-Well...O-One.."
"What's his name?" His lips hovered over hers as he slid his hand to her face to make her look at him. "Well?"
"A-A-Atobe.." She managed to breathe, not realizing she had been holding her breath the whole time. "I'm listening." His lips brushed over hers, tickling them as she struggled to get the name out. "A-Atobe.."
"Ahn?" He stopped as she said, "It's you..You're the only boyfriend I've ever had.." He stared at her, astonished by her words before sitting up and laughing. Mizuka blushed, embarrassed by him laughing at her hesitantly asked him, "Have you ever had a girlfriend before?"
"Not 'a', but many." Atobe grinned when she blinked a couple times before looking out the window. "Oh, I see."
"Mizuka, I'm just kidding." He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "Girls never interested me before. They always seemed too...how should I put it..Annoying." Mizuka looked at him as he continued. "Until I saw you. Until I met you. You're different from all the other girls. You don't shriek my name or try to get my attention, something that I found strange. I just had to...have you. I couldn't control myself when you were around me, something about you makes me want to...touch you." He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. "That day, when you were running from Ochi and his friends, I knew I had to claim you as mine before anybody else did." He looked at her to see her eyes widen as she thought about that day. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
Atobe chuckled and leaned into her. "You can't expect me to give you such a confession and have nothing in return."
Mizuka bit her lip nervously. "When I first saw you, I didn't like you. You hurt my brother when you had your match with him. I didn't think I would see you again but then you ended up guiding me around Hyotei. W-When y-you..." She blushed and moved her hand to her lips. "Kissed me..I-I was so surprised because nobody had ever done that before and then you started t-touching me and..and.." Her blush deepened. "And I was so nervous..I was so scared because you were so gentle with me and it felt...good. That day...when we...the first time, I just..I was just so scared but I wanted you at the same time. It made me drawn to you, it made me feel like I was closer to you. Everything that had happened, everything up to today, even now, I still feel nervous around you because I really really like you."
Atobe started laughing, making her blush. "Why do you keep laughing at what I say?"
"Because you're so cute, Mizuka." He pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the head. "I really really like you too."
They arrived at the cemetery and she stopped in her steps. "No...Atobe, you didn't."
"It's okay, Mizuka. I'm here with you." He took her hand and tried to pull her with him but she stood her ground.
"N-No..A-Atobe..." Tears were surfacing her eyes and he hugged her. "I know, Mizuka. Tezuka told me."
"She never visited grandma's grave." Tezuka's voice was tense. "I know it's hard for her."
Atobe took a deep breath. "It must be hard on you too. I'm sorry."
"...Yeah.."
"Just one more thing before you go. Where is the grave?"
"A-Atobe-" He put a finger to her lips. "Mizuka, I'm right here. It will be okay." He wiped her tears that dripped down and she slowly nodded. He held her hand and lead the way past many tombstones until it was her grandmother's. She stared at it, seeing the small picture of her grandmother's smiling face engraved on the stone, the same smile her grandmother gave her the very last time she saw her. Mizuka fell to her knees and started crying, putting her hands up to cover her face. "G-Grandma...I-I-I'm so s-sorry.."
Atobe slowly knelt down beside her. "Kaede, is it?" He began, reading the name. "Your granddaughter has grown up to be beautiful. Very beautiful. You have never left her mind and have always stayed in her heart and will be there, forever." He put his arm around Mizuka and pulled her against him when a cool gentle breeze blew towards them. Mizuka gave a small gasp when the wind blew the hair from her face which was surprisingly warm and leaned into Atobe. "Thank you, Atobe."
Mizuka was silent on the way back to the travel bus, holding onto Atobe's hand as he lead her to their seats. When he took the seat beside her after telling the driver where to go, she took a deep breath. "Atobe, I'm sorry."
"For what?" He looked at her curiously as she stared down at her hands. "You're always seeing me like that...I'm sorry." He lifted her face to look at him. "Mizuka, it's okay to cry when you need to." He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. "There is nothing for you to apologize for." She leaned into his kiss but he pulled away. "However, it's not okay to cry and not tell me why."
"But-"
"No. Do you know how worried I was? Seeing you cry is hard enough, Mizuka. Why can't you just tell me?"
"Because it's hard! You make it sound as if it's so easy for me but it's not!"
Atobe was taken aback when she yelled at him. "I want to tell you but it's hard!" He quickly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. "I know, I'm sorry. I just care a lot about you. Seeing you cry worries me a lot."
"That's why I try not to.." She quietly said and frowned. She started giggling when he tickled her. "Stop it, Atobe." And tried tickling him back.
"You know, I'm not ticklish. At all."
"That's not fair!" She laughed as he tickled her more. "This..is..totally..not..fair!"
"Life isn't fair, Mizuka." Atobe smirked as he continued. She gave a small scream when he accidentally jabbed her in the ribs when the bus did a wide turn. "Atobe..stop!"
"Say please."
"PLEASE!"
Even though she said it, he still continued. "Atobe! I said please!"
He finally stopped when the driver announced that they had arrived and chuckled when she glared at him, walking out of the bus first. She stopped when she stepped out of the bus to see that they were at his mansion. "What are we doing here? Aren't we going back to your cottage?"
"We are. I just want to play with you a bit more before we head back." Atobe casually said as he stepped out of the bus and lead the way to his mansion.
"Play with me a bit more..." Mizuka repeated to herself and followed him. He led the way to his tennis courts and turned towards her. "We are going to have a match."
She looked up at him, seeing him stare intensely at her. "I won't go easy on you." He gave her one of his racquets and made his way to the other side of the court as she hastily tied up her hair. "So this is what he meant." She smiled to herself when he threw up the ball but was shocked at how fast it was when he served. "Pay attention or this wont be a fun." He said and she realized he was serious and looked at him with more concentration, studying his body form when he threw up the ball and moved to her left before he served it.
When they finally finished their match, Mizuka was panting and sweating as she crouched on the ground. The final score was 7-5 and Atobe had won. Atobe himself was sweating and panting as he walked towards the net when she did. He had gone all out with his ultra-aggressive tennis play style. He hadn't intended to but he had to since she was an offensive opponent. "Thank you." He said as he shook her hand. "For not using your left hand." She looked at him curiously. "I hate it when people go easy on me."
She grinned and said, "Me too." And he pulled her hand, making her go into the net and kissed her.
"You play different." Mizuka said as she thought about their match on the bus. "Elaborate, please." Atobe said.
"When you played against my brother, you were more...defensive."
"That's because I like to play around with my opponents. Make them tired, wear them down and then defeat them." He sighed. "I think I should have taken Tezuka more seriously. I didn't know he was so passionate about tennis, throwing his arm away for the victory of Seigaku."
She smiled lightly and turned and looked out the window. He turned her to look at him and pressed his lips against hers, pushing her against the window as he moved onto her chair. "Atobe..wait..stop.." She tried to say as he continued kissing her and lifting her up to move onto his lap. Her hand moved to stop his that was going up her shirt. "Do you really want me to stop, Mizuka?" Atobe breathed in her ear and looked down to see her other hand gripping his shirt tightly. His tongue trailed her lips and she moved her tongue out to touch his before she pulled his shirt and kissed him. He smiled in the kiss and moved his hand under her bra and cupped her breast, using his other hand to hold her from pulling away. "Atobe, not here.." Her breath was shaky as she felt his other hand go up the back of her shirt, unhooking her bra. "S-Stop.."
Atobe chuckled softly as he gently massaged her breast, pinching her nipple. "Do you really want me to?" He began kissing her neck as she panted, feeling his hand move past her stomach and under her shorts and underwear. "Atobe wait-" He covered her mouth when he pushed two fingers into her, suppressing her moan. "You keep saying the opposite things you want." His fingers continued to push in and out of her slowly, making her moan and pant against his hand. "Tell me, Mizuka. Do you want me to stop?" He expected her to nod or shake her head but her hand shakily pried his hand from her mouth. "N-No." And he covered her mouth when he pushed his fingers deep into her, making her do a surprised moan. "You're so cute, you make me want to tease you more."
By the time they reached their destination, it was dark and Mizuka was exhausted as she sat on Atobe's lap, leaning her head against his shoulder, panting. "Master Keigo, we have arrived." The driver announced.
"Can you walk?" Atobe teasingly asked her and she slowly got up, her knees shaking and he lifted her up, carrying her out of the bus and towards the cottage.