The New Year's Festival was great. Fuji picked me up right at eight before he whisked me away to downtown where all of the booths, rides, and parties were. Even though he said it's wasn't a date, it still was in my mind. Of course, it is my first time going out with a boy, so why take the fun out of it by not calling it a date? Still, I wonder if the day will ever come where he'll ask me out as Kita, not his best guy friend Kinta.
Even dressed as a boy I still had lots of fun with Fuji. He showed me around to all of the traditional booths, the modern booths, we went on a few rides, he bought us some dango, and he was the perfect gentleman. Well, not exactly.
He was the perfect Fuji.
There wasn't any tension and things felt right, like where they're supposed to be. I wasn't worried about him finding out that I'm a girl since he already knew, so I let myself relax and enjoy the festival. Similarly, he seemed just like his old self; taking pictures of everything and getting others into trouble. Everything seemed to be normal, but it wasn't.
It was better.
I wondered if it could stay like this all the time, where I didn't have to pretend to be someone else. Of course I'm still me, but I'm holding back a lot of my true self. I thought about why that seemed so hard and my conclusion was it's because I don't like to lie to myself and my friends. Even by omission it's still lying and I didn't realize that until now.
The end of the festival had to be my favorite part of all. We were in a park a little ways away from all the noise and lying back on the grass gazing up at the stars. As we were waiting for the fireworks, Fuji asked me what I was thinking about.
"It's nothing," I replied.
"It's something since you have this thoughtful look on your face," He shot back.
I smiled, knowing that I'd been caught. "This night has been great," I paused and Fuji smiled. His eyes were already open and the blue orbs were silently watching me.
Opening my own eyes, I waited for them to adjust to the dim light of the stars and lamp. I blinked a couple times before I looked over at him. Unnoticed to me, his breath hitched as we locked gazes.
"Sometimes… I just wish…" Explosions cut off the end of my sentence and my eyes ripped away from his to look at the sky filled with fireworks. Sounds of bells tolling could be heard from where we laid.
At the end of it all, he walked me home. Instead of leaving me at my doorstep though, he stopped me at the entrance of my walkway.
"Kita," he whispered. "What were you going to say?"
I frowned. "When?"
"Just before the fireworks started you were saying that you wished…" He trailed off.
"Ah," I breathe, remembering what I had been thinking. "I just wish that it could've been me and then it would've been perfect. Anyway, good night Shusuke."
I left him there and retreated back into my house. I was scared to hear what he would've said. Vaguely I wondered if he knew what I meant at all. Either way, I already said it and there was nothing I could do about it now.
Fuji, who was walking home, thought about what I had said. The best (and only) conclusion that he came up with was that I wanted to go to the festival with him as Kita the girl, not Kita whose incognito as the boy Kinta. He grinned, thinking that it's another step in the right direction if I wanted to be more like myself.
He replayed those five words in his head over and over again. Then it would've been perfect.
Of course, he thought it went it perfectly, but there's always room to improve.
The last week of winter vacation goes by quickly and soon everyone is thrust back into the world of school. This time around things are much more relaxed with no tournaments coming up and no Fuji-Kinta drama. There's still tennis to look forward to and exams at the end of the semester, but there's only one thing currently on everyone's mind.
"U-17! Oh yeah, I'm goin' to beat those punks down, beat 'em way down!" Momo shouts out excitedly.
"Fushuu…" Kaidoh hisses in agreement.
"This time around we'll be even stronger, so let's just do our best," Oishi says determinedly.
"Hoi hoi! I can't wait to show off my new moves! Do you think they'll invite and middle schoolers this time? I want to see O'chibi, nya!" Eiji's bouncing off the walls and everything else he can reach.
"There's a 96% chance that Echizen will be at the U-17 camp," Inui recites expertly after popping up behind Kaidoh and the bouncing Kikumaru.
"NYA!" Eiji shouts, immediately clinging to Oishi. "Don't do that!" He scolds.
"Do what?" Inui asks, pretending to be confused. Even the data-user is a little sadistic at times, especially when it involves Kikumaru.
"Saa… did everyone get a letter?" Fuji asks, ignoring the glaring contest between Inui and Eiji.
"Un," I grunt, confirming. Even though I received a letter in the mail, I know that I'm not going. It's an honor and all, but I rather my secret not get around before high school is up. Actually, I want as few as people possible to know so I can go on with my life not pretending to be someone else anymore.
Well, these are the reasons I tell myself, because if it wasn't for Kirin and Rei I'd probably suck it up and go to the camp. After all, this is my only chance at ever going. But since its Kirin and Rei who asked me to do this one favor for them, I couldn't say no.
(Flashback)
"Kita-chan, would you do us a favor?" Rei-chan asks sweetly.
"Of course! You know, neither of you ever ask for favors," I grin, excited to be able to do something for them.
"Good! Now, back in October we responded to go to a wedding for Rei's niece this March, but as you can see we have our hands full with work and the twins," Kirin begins.
"We also bought the tickets for the plane and the hotel, so instead of wasting the money we thought you could use the vacation and go to the wedding in our place," Kirin finishes.
I look at them book with a mixture of excitement and unease. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew that there had to be a catch to this. "So where am I going?"
"California for two weeks."
"You said tickets, right?"
They nod, so I continue. "So, how many are there?"
"Oh, it's just the two," Rei smiles at me. "We were hoping that you take one of your friends to be your date."
I think my heart skipped a few beats and was now making up for it by double-timing it. "D-date?" I sputter.
"Ah and I want a responsible boy to go with you!" Kirin demands.
"A-ah…"
"I think Kikumaru-kun would be too rambunctious," Rei offers since she's only really met Fuji, Oishi, and Eiji.
"Okay, so I'll ask Oishi then," I finally decide, not wanting to get Fuji wrapped up in this mess.
"I think Fuji would be a better choice. He's handsome, charming, polite, and I know him better," Kirin says.
I nearly face palm. How could I have forgotten that Kirin's only met Oishi once? Of course he likes Fuji since he trained with us, came over a lot, went college hunting with me, and is my best friend! Of course, there may be an ulterior motive here.
"But Fuji doesn't know," I plead, hoping to get Oishi to go with me instead.
"Then this will be the perfect chance to tell him and allow him to get to know you," Kirin states.
"Aniki… do you just love torturing me?"
He laughs. "Of course! And smothering you with love!"
"Ah! No stay away!" I run away after that and shut myself in my room.
(End Flashback)
I haven't even asked anyone to go with me yet, but now I'm certain that I couldn't. They're all so excited to go to the camp and I couldn't take that away from any of them.
"Kinta-chi!" Eiji yells. "Let's have a practice match!"
I smirk. "Don't regret it!"
I'm sure I'll think of something. The wedding isn't until March, during the break, so I should be able to find someone to go with by then. Well, I hope anyway.
A month flies by quickly and we're all training hard for an upcoming friendly match with Fudomine against Hyotin and Rikkai Dai. It's being held at Hyotin since the tennis courts are huge and allow for a large amount of spectators. Even people from Monthly Pro Tennis are coming out to interview, photograph, and report on the friendly dual-school match.
"Monomi-san," Tachibana calls out to buchou as he walks up to the courts.
"Ah Tachibana-san, I'm glad you made it," he replies and shakes the other captain's hand.
"Momoshiro-kun!" A soft high voice calls out.
"Ne, we don't really need to talk to him An-chan," Kamio says, trying to quiet down his crush.
"Oh? Did I hear a hot girl calling my name?" Momo asks, trying to search for the girl, but missing An since she's shorter than him.
"Momoshiro Takeshi!" An huffs.
"Eh?" Momo looks down, obviously playing with the cute brunette. "Oh An-chan, did you see a hot girl calling my name?" He asks with a grin.
She smirks and narrows her eyes at him. "You better be suggesting me, or I'm calling off our date later."
His eyes widen. "O-of course An-chan! Geeze, give a guy a break would ya?"
She sighs and smiles at him. "Only you Momo."
Kamio stands back away from them with angry tears in his eyes. He still can't believe that An chose that bike thief over him! Really, what does he have that Kamio doesn't!
"Saa… shouldn't we figure out our line-up before we begin?" Fuji proposes.
"Mm… since we know what everyone's talents are how about we pair some people up and have some matches?" Monomi-buchou adds.
"Ah, that way we won't waste so much practice time," Tachibana agrees.
In the end, the pairings went like this:
Ishida-Kikumaru pair
Sakurai-Kaidou pair
Uchimura-Momo pair
Kamio-Oishi pair
Mori-Inui pair
Tachibana-Fuji pair
"Ah, so for the three singles matches, who will they be?" Oishi asks.
"My data says that the singles players from Hyotin and Rikkai Dai will be Yukimura, Niou, and Atobe with 91.54% accuracy."
Everyone sweat drops. "Saa… just as expected of Inui," Fuji praises.
"Ehh, so the players going against them?" Chitose asks.
"Ibu, me, and Sato," Monomi announces.
I feel my body go rigid. "Me? Why not Chitose-san since he's a national-level player and I'm not? Surely he would be a better match against that bastard Atobe." I mumble.
True to his word, Atobe would find some way to pester me on his off time. Usually he would grate on my nerves by trying to ask me out to dinner, come over to his mansion, or even trying to blackmail me into playing a game of tennis with him. Yes, he is good-looking, but his arrogance and pompous attitude turns me off. Besides, I have enough of my own problems than to deal with the likes of Atobe.
"Is something going on between you and Atobe Kinta?" Fuji's voice cuts through my thoughts.
"E-eh? No, why?" Oh Kami, has he seen Atobe trying to seduce me?
"Oh? Then why don't you want to play him? I thought you wanted to show that Monkey King how to play real tennis," he teases me, trying to coax a reaction out.
My teeth grind. "Is that so? Well, I want nothing to do with him," I say firmly.
He leans down to whisper in my ear. "Have you been flirting with him?"
Fuji knows that I detest Atobe and even went so far as to slap him one day. He finds my predicament amusing and irritating at the same time. He wants nothing more than to rip Atobe a new one, but he would look foolish since he doesn't have any claim to me.
Of course, I think Fuji's serious and take it the wrong way. "How could you say that!" I yell.
"Ne, nande nande? What did Fujiko say?" Eiji says, bouncing around the courts.
"Nothing," I seethe. "Look, I don't want to be anywhere near Atobe. I see enough of him already," I mumble the last part.
"I don't have any objections to play against Atobe," Chitose offers.
Monomi-buchou sighs. "Arigato Chitose-san."
"Alright, then Sato-san will be our alternate. Everyone find an open court and start practicing!" Tachibana orders before he looks to me.
"What's up that you can't play Atobe?"
I think for a moment before looking to see if Fuji's far enough away. "Atobe's been following me around and bothering me. He knows my secret and wants to expose me during a tennis match. At least, that's what he wanted before."
He frowns. "What changed?"
"He knows who I really am and for some reason or another is," I make a disgusted face, "attracted to me."
He blinks and his eyes widen. "EH?"
I sigh. "I know. He knows my real name, my family history, and everything else. He's got it into his head that I'd make a great girlfriend, but I think he's enjoying the challenge of trying to break my cover. He knows where my strength lies."
"Hmm and where is that?"
"With him," I nod to Fuji.
His frown deepens. "Why Fuji?"
"A long story short is that he's my best friend and I lo-" I stop myself short and nearly smack myself on the head in embarrassment.
"You love him. This is why if he breaks your cover, the foundation will be in question, and you'll have to start all over again."
"Ah, but he's not exactly my foundation since I've been playing tennis before I knew who he was. It's just that if he breaks my game I don't know if I'll be able to play the same way since he's helped me with a lot of my stuff. It's all so complicated and unnecessary. I wonder if it'd be better if I quit the team next year."
"No," he says furiously. "You definitely shouldn't. You're a part of the team here and if Atobe is pigheaded enough to believe that your weakness is your heart then you definitely have something to prove. Everyone needs you here. If any player tries to disqualify you he'll have to go through a lot of us, because you're talented and don't deserve to be held back."
I blink up at him. "This is the most I've ever heard you speak."
He grins and lets out a bark of laughter. "Well, An-chan was once indecisive if she liked Kamio or Momoshiro more. I guess I'm good at this if it involves females."
"Oi, don't say that out loud."
"Gomen gomen. Anyway, don't let him be all of your strength or else someone really will break your foundation down."
"Ah thanks."
Practice and the few days before the friendly tournament go by in a flash. We're all getting ready to face two of the toughest schools in Tokyo: Hyotin and Rikkai Dai. Who better to meet us at the gate but Atobe himself?
"Ore-sama gives you greetings and welcomes you into the grand school known as Hyotin! Lunch will be provided by Ore-sama as usual and feel free to mingle."
As we walk through I make sure to stay squished between Fuji and Momo, so that I won't be noticed by Atobe.
"Are? Where's Sato-san?"
Damn, I almost made it past him. Still, trying to act like I didn't hear him I try to make myself smaller.
"Kinta, your boyfriend is asking where you are," Fuji whispers into my ear. His voice sends a shiver down my back. When I realize what he said I yell "He is not!"
Oh, damn. Now he definitely knows I'm here.
"Shusuke, if anything happens to me it'll be on your head," I growl. His blue eyes open and look intensely at me.
"Oh, so should I save you then?"
I glare at him. "What do you-"
"Ore-sama has been looking for you," Atobe says as he grabs my wrist, effectively pulling me away from Fuji.
I glare up at him. "Really, because I was quite happy where I was," I grumble.
His eyes spark with disdain and maybe a little bit of jealousy. I don't notice since I'm staring longingly at my team's backs and pouting.
"You shouldn't make that cute of a face," Atobe says, using two fingers to tilt my chin up towards him.
I shrug. "Does it really matter when I'm only around you?"
He smirks. "Ah, but what if there were others around?"
I look around sharply and sigh. "Don't fool around Atobe."
"You know, a cute girl should call ore-sama by his name," he says.
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Why should I call you Keigo?"
"The same reason ore-sama should call you Kita, because you mean something to ore-sama."
I scoff and turn to make my way to the food. He comes up beside me and keeps talking.
"You know, you should be flattered that ore-sama has taken an interest in you."
"Yeah, it's only because you want to expose me as a girl, break my tennis game, take me out because it's good for your wealthy reputation, and I have no interest in you."
"Hmm… ore-sama heard through the grapevine that you're in need of a date for a wedding this break," he hums.
I look at him sharply and stop walking. "How do you know about that?"
He doesn't miss a beat. "I have my connections. You know, you'd look stunning next to me if we were to attend the function together."
I nearly let my jaw drop. Atobe didn't say 'ore-sama' once in those two sentences.
"I don't need you to be my date or anything else Atobe."
"Hmm… we'll see. I know for a fact that Fuji Shusuke won't be going with you," he says and I give him a sharp look. "He'll be attending the U-17 camp and forget all about you. His family isn't as wealthy as mine. He doesn't know anything about you so-"
"He knows plenty about me! More than you'll ever know," I glare at him.
"Ho? A little defensive there," he chides. "Perhaps I should inform him of your situation."
"Leave me, and him, alone Atobe."
"We'll see," He says before walking away to his team. My gaze doesn't leave his back until I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"You alright Sato-san?" A soft voice asks.
I turn around to face An. "Yeah, let's go An-chan." We walk back towards our teams.
"Welcome ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, and tennis players from all schools! This year Hyotin is hosting a friendly tournament-style match with Rikkai Dai against Kuragaku and Fudomine! All players please report to your designated court and wait for the match to begin!" A man announces.
"There are only four courts open," Oishi points out.
"Ah, that way the audience only has to watch four matches at a time," Inui explains.
"Alright, well everyone take your places to begin!" Tachibana-buchou orders.
"Hai!" The boys' chorus.
The following are the pairs and the results:
Ishida-Kikumaru pair versus Marui- Kabaji
Result: Kuragaku win 6-2.
Sakurai-Kaidou pair versus Jackal-Hiyoshi
Result: Kuragaku win 7-6
Uchimura-Momo pair versus Kirihara-Shishido
Result: Hyotin win 6-4
Kamio-Oishi pair versus Yagyuu-Gakuto
Result: Hyotin win 6-5
Mori-Inui pair versus Yanagi-Oshitari
Result: Kuragaku win 7-6
Tachibana-Fuji pair versus Sanada-Atobe
Result: Undetermined due to an extremely lengthy tie-breaker.
Yukimura versus Chitose
Result: Hyotin win 6-1
Niou versus Monomi
Result: Kuragaku win 6-4
Akutagawa versus Ibu
Result: Hyotin win 6-2
"Since one game was cut short, we'll have the reserve players decide who the winner of this tournament will be," the man announces again.
I look at Fuji and glare. He smiles sheepishly at me.
"Why didn't you win?" I ask.
"Maa… they were a really great pair! I can't use our doubles formations and moves with Tachibana-san, so there wasn't much I could do but try to draw it on and look for an opening to win."
My glare still doesn't dissipate. "Do you think you could take either of them in a singles match?"
He shrugs. "Depends. I'm still not fully able to use the Doors however and whenever I want yet."
"Mmm…" I hum and pick my racquet up from beside me. "I'll try to make this quick."
Quick it was. I won 6 games to two. He's a great player, but I have a mixed style of going from counterpuncher to all-rounder. A great match and I'm sure that if he practices enough he'll be more of a challenge for me next time.
"The overall winner of this friendly tournament: Kuragaku and Fudomine pair!"
Our team shook each hand of our opponents. They're really strong. Some pairs worked out beautifully and others not so much. This was the whole point though: to see who could mesh and where our strengths lie. Obviously, if we got to choose our opponents the tournament might have gone an entirely different direction. I'm not going lie, some of those players are scary good and have monstrous strength. I hope I'll never have to go against any of the three kings of Rikkai Dai.
"Sato," Atobe calls out before I leave. "Don't forget ore-sama's offer."
I glare in return and continue to make my way home with Fuji. Fuji looks between us suspiciously, but he already knows I hold no interest in him. As far as he thinks, I'm just turning down another one of his offers for a date.
"Kita," Fuji whispers as we near my house. "Are you ready for the camp next month?"
It's already nearing the end of February, so that means the camp is only a month away. I haven't told anyone that I'm not going, but this will have to do.
"Shusuke, I'm not going," I tell him quietly.
He nearly stops walking, but opts to go at a slower pace.
"Is it because-"
"Yeah, but it's alright! You should definitely go since this will probably be your last time," I explain, genuinely happy for him to go. It's only because I know I'm being selfish by wanting to ask him not to and come with me to America that I'm happy. I won't ruin his chances of getting scholarships and sponsorships because of me.
He gives me the look that says he knows that's not all, but I let it go. Sometimes I forget that Fuji knows me so well and can look right through me, especially when I'm lying.
"If this is want you want." No, of course it's not what I want. I want to go, I want to play, and I want to show everyone that I can become one of the best. However, I already made that promise, so I have to keep it. It doesn't matter how much it hurts.
"I'll see you in school Shusuke," I say quickly before ducking into the safety of my house.
"Aa, Ja."
A/N: So, thanks for reviewing everyone and I hope you enjoyed this chapter