Sorry for the late update! I have a serious case of writer's block for this story and my ideas have come to a standstill. Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter and please read and review!
Chapter Twenty Five: Goodbye, Rikkaidai
Rikkaidai Fuzoku:
"What do you think?" asked Rika, leaning against the fence next to Kevin as he looked at the regulars playing against each other in singles matches in the tennis courts of Rikkaidai Fuzoku.
It had been about a week ever since the end of the Goodwill Games, and Kevin had been enrolled into Rikkaidai as a student as well and is also in Rika's class. Also, by some miracle, Yukimura and Yanagi had somehow roped Kevin in as their manager. The blonde wasn't a regular in the team as there were already more than enough with Rika's addition. He'll only be a regular the next year when the seniors graduate.
Like with Rika's arrival, several of the tennis club members didn't take Kevin seriously when he first arrived – apparently, those few had forgotten about Kevin's performance during the Goodwill Games. Long story short, Kevin totally thrashed them in a tennis match, leaving them bleating like sheep on the courts.
"Well, they're good," said Kevin with a nod. "I can see why you spoke of them highly during the emails that you've exchanged with the others back in America."
"The Nationals are just around the corner," said Rika thoughtfully. "That's why everyone is practicing so hard lately. There are several good opponents in the Nationals this year…Seigaku being one of them. We nearly came close to being defeated by them during the Kantou finals. That's why we have to step up our training."
"And speaking of that," said Kevin with a frown, turning to Rika as Marui settled down on the bench next to them, taking a short break. "What are you going to do with the US Open?"
Rika's face fell.
Nearly three days ago, a letter from America had come for Rika. It was from Steve Meyers, the director of the America's Junior High School Tennis Association and also a scout for the major tennis competitions like the US Open and the Nationals. Apparently, Steve Meyers had watched Rika's match with Kevin from the beginning till the end during the Goodwill Games, and he had also somehow managed to get his hands on the videotapes of Rika's past matches in Japan and America, and had considered recommending her as a Wild Card for the US Open in America which will be an inter-gender tournament this year. And because Rika is still a minor, he had first contacted her father and Nanjirou had given the okay, much to Rika's displeasure. Needless to say, the entire team had heard of it too when two tennis club members overheard Kevin and Rika talking about it one day in the clubroom, and within hours, the whole tennis club and the school had heard about it. The news had spread really fast…even for Rikkaidai's standards, in Rika's opinion.
"I don't know," said Rika quietly. "I want to go to the Nationals. This year is the only chance where I'll get to go to the Nationals with everyone."
Marui nearly choked on his drink as he heard that. "Rika, the US Open is a once in a lifetime chance!" he said. "I'll kill for such a chance, and you're turning it down?! You must be crazy!"
"But the Nationals is what I was aiming for," said Rika.
The rest of the regulars had surrounded them by this point in time and had heard the argument. Yagyuu sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Rika, the US Open starts earlier this year," he said. "You can still make it back in time for the Nationals. We'll leave a spot open for you. Right, Yukimura?"
Said captain nodded.
Rika sighed. "And if I know anything about that father of mine, he'll want Kevin to go with me," she said with a sigh and Kevin chuckled. "Damn… Why does Meyers-san have to write to my father about this?"
"With that, I guess we're going to miss our youngest player for a while now," said Niou with a grin, his hands clasped behind his head.
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Two days later, Rinko and Ryoga had made the necessary arrangements for Rika and Kevin in America and Nanjirou had phoned Steve Meyers, informing him that Rika had accepted his request for her to enter the US Open and that they'll both arrive in America in a week.
Yukimura had cancelled practice for a week for his regulars to spend some quality time together with their two youngest as they won't be back for some time until the Nationals begin. And much to Kevin's amusement, the regulars were all busy getting ready some farewell gifts for Rika.
Sora and Riku too spent some time with their friend to the point when Riku chose to cancel his violin practice until Rika left for America. Sakaki-sensei was quite understanding of it since nearly all the schools in the Kantou district knew of Rika's participation in the US Open…courtesy of a certain St. Rudolph's data manager.
Yukimura, meanwhile, had been disappearing for days on end after school, doing kami-knows-what. Not even Sanada knew what their captain is up to, and Rika seemed to be the only one who had seen him after school since the blue-haired captain usually took her to the amusement park or playing against her in the street tennis courts of the Kanagawa district.
Finally, it was a day before Rika's departure for America, and Kevin and Ryoga were both helping her pack the necessities, with Karupin giving the occasional meow whilst seated on the windowsill, his tail swinging to and fro. Kevin had been given his own room – next door to Rika – and the boy had merely packed the necessary clothes, his wallet, his passport, along with his tennis racquet and cellphone.
Nanako was also fussing over Rika, packing some medication for the girl to take to America, much to Kevin and Ryoga's amusement, along with a first-aid kit.
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Morning of departure; Echizen Residence:
"The passport, the ticket, toothbrush…" Rinko was mentally ticking off the items as she packed it in Rika's carrier bag in the sitting room of the Echizen residence. Ryoga was meeting up with the regulars of Seigaku as they would also be seeing his sister off and Fudomine's Tachibana Ann would also be seeing her friend off at the airport.
"And drops for the throat," said Nanako, handing a packet to her aunt.
The doorbell rang just as Nanjirou stepped into the living room, causing the man to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? Who could that be?"
"You've got everything, haven't you?" said Kevin as he was seated atop the windowsill of Rika's room, his legs swinging to and fro, playing with a tennis ball in his hand by throwing it up and down.
"Yeah, I was just checking to make sure that I hadn't forgotten anything," said Rika, looking through her bag. "Mum wanted me to take my laptop with me, but I assume that the hotel has a computer in their hotel rooms, so I won't bother bringing it."
Kevin snorted in amusement. "At the rate that they're behaving, they're acting like you'll be away for years, not weeks," he said.
Rika chuckled before opening the drawer of her desk and taking out her I-Pod. "Never leave home without this," she said, much to Kevin's amusement before placing it into the side pocket of her duffel bag, along with a compact disc player.
"Rika," said Rinko, appearing at Rika's opened door as she finished packing everything. "Your friend is at the door."
"Huh? Friend?" Rika blinked as Karupin meowed, playing with Rika's opened red and white duffel bag on her bed.
That friend turned out to be Shinderui Shiki from Seigaku who had apparently taken the train from Tokyo to the Kanagawa district. The freshman was in casual clothing and had asked for a match with Rika out of the blue.
"A match?" Rika blinked as she followed Shiki into the tennis courts at the back of her house. "All of a sudden?"
"Because I didn't get to play you during the Junior Senbatsu camp, I'm not about to let you leave Japan unbeaten," said Shiki with a smirk, his tennis bag hanging from his shoulder.
"Okay, I see your point," said Rika with a sigh before they headed to the tennis courts and got into position. "I'm ready anytime."
Shiki smirked before he served and Rika returned the serve, not surprised to find that it had a lot more power packed into it compared to when she had played him during the Kantou tournament. Her brother had been telling her stories that Shiki had been training twice as hard after he had seen her match with Kevin during the finals of the Goodwill Games.
Shiki smirked as he ran up to the net and hit a drop volley, forcing Rika to hit a lob to him and the silver-haired freshman ran to the baseline, ready to deal out his gift to Rika. 'Rika-san, this is a farewell gift from me!'
And he leapt up into the air and used his Whirlwind Smash, only that the power and speed of the ball had increased a lot more compared to when Shiki had used it during the Kantou finals against Rika. The ball spun furiously on the spot in Rika's court before earning a point against the girl. Rika studied the spot where the ball had entered only to see a dent on the court itself – signifying the amount of power packed into that smash.
'That's some power…' thought Rika. 'He had improved a lot ever since I had faced him during the finals of the Kantou tournament. If I can make it back in time for the Nationals, and if Seigaku managed to face us, I can't wait to play him again.'
"This is it," said Shiki, tapping his racquet on his shoulder. "I'll save the rest of the match for when you come back for the Nationals." He then grabbed his overcoat on the bench by the side of the courts and picked up his tennis bag before leaving the Echizen residence, but not before saying his farewell to Rika. "Go run all over them, Rika-san."
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Somewhere else:
"Juri, can't you hurry it up?" asked Yukimura as he watched his photographer cousin rush out what he had asked her to do a few days before with the memory card that he had given her. "I'll miss her departure if I don't hurry." And he looked at his watch with an anxious look.
Juri turned to her cousin with an annoyed look. "Come on, Seiichi, I'm doing the best that I can!" she said. "You've given it to me on such short notice!"
"Can you finish it for me within an hour?" asked Yukimura worriedly.
Juri turned to her cousin with a smirk. "Who do you think I am, Seiichi?" she said. "I'm a professional. Don't worry, I'll get it ready in time for you to catch your girlfriend's flight. I'll even drive you there."
Narita Airport:
"Rika-kun, before you leave, could you tell us what's on your mind?" asked Inoue Mamoru, interviewing Rika in terminal one of the Narita Airport.
"Nothing," muttered Rika.
Seigaku and Rikkaidai's regular teams were currently at the airport to see Rika off, along with Ann. Sora and Riku were also present, alongside Yuuta, Rika's parents and her older brother, along with Seigaku's coach.
"Being here at the airport brings back memories," said Ryuzaki with a chuckle as she watched Ann and Yuuta get into conversation with Rika. "Of what you said when you left for America."
Nanjirou grunted.
"Go and run all over them, Nanjirou."
"Sure thing. There's a big dream waiting for me there."
"You met Rinko-san there, and now you're seeing your daughter off to pursue the dream that you once had," said Ryuzaki with a chuckle. "Somehow, I feel like I've gotten old."
"That sounds really ancient, you know, old lady?" said Nanjirou, looking at his daughter and her friends.
"Rika," said Sora and Rika turned towards him and Riku. Sora reached into his bag and pulled out a jewel CD case. "This is from me and Riku. Recorded in it are all the violin pieces that Riku had played. I recorded them into this CD." Sora winked. "One of them is the violin piece that Riku is going to use for the competition coming up in a week." Sora whispered to Rika as she accepted the CD. "His sister wrote the violin piece herself. You'll like it, trust me. You can listen to it on the plane."
"Thank you," said Rika.
"Take this as well," said Marui, giving a roll of grip tape to Rika. "It's my favourite grip tape – one that I've used all the time. Use this and do your best in America."
"Thanks."
Somewhere else:
"Nearly done," said Juri, using a pair of tweezers and carefully placing it onto the album with cream coloured pages.
Yukimura glanced at his watch. "Looks like we've just made it in time," he said.
"Rika, take this," said Yuuta as he pulled out a tennis ball from his pocket and gave it to Rika who noticed chibi figures of Yuuta and Ann drawn onto the ball, both forming the peace signs. "It's not much, I know, but we don't really know what to give you."
"I appreciate it, Yuuta," said Rika with a smile. "Thanks."
"And this is from us as well," said Ann, pulling out a red tennis racquet with a tennis ball keychain out from her pocket. "Take this as a good luck charm."
"Thank you."
Next up is Yanagi.
"In these notebooks, I've written all of the data that I've collected about Rika…or what I could collect anyway from the time she came to Rikkaidai until present," said Yanagi with a sheepish grin, holding three notebooks in his hand. "This is from both myself and Sadaharu."
"'An extra volume, kouhai notes'." Kirihara read the label of the notebooks.
"That means these are their notes on Rika-san!" said Kikumaru, blinking owlishly. "Are you really going to…?"
Yanagi smiled and Inui smiled eerily, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Rika, I'm sure that this will be helpful to you," said the data master of Rikkaidai, handing the three notebooks to Rika, eyeing them wistfully. "Give it a look on the plane."
"I appreciate it, Yanagi-sempai, Inui-san," said Rika.
Fuji chuckled. "If we take that to the other schools, they will surely pay us a bundle of money," he said. Everyone stared at the tensai in disbelief, as if not believing what they're hearing from his lips. Fuji chuckled. "I'm only joking."
Yuuta sighed. "Mou…Aniki…" he muttered.
"Rika, this is from Sanada, Jackal and myself," said Niou, reaching into his bag and pulling out a small leather-bound book. "This is signed by every member in the tennis club."
The book had 'Rikkaidai Fuzoku's tennis club' written in gold on the front cover and when Rika opened it, it is to see various pictures of the tennis club members pasted on the pages and below those pictures was a short phrase and signatures of the individuals in the photographs.
"Thank you, Sanada-fukubuchou, Jackal-sempai, Niou-sempai."
"They are all getting excited, just like a kid at night before his field trip," said Shiba, watching the tennis players before her. "When you see them like this, they certainly look like middle school students, don't they?"
"No, moments like this won't last long," said Inoue gravely. "The task imposed on Rika-kun has just started to weigh in. The US Open is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. It's a tournament game with two weeks of fierce fighting between the world's top 128 players."
"She's going to be alright," said Shiba, before focusing her camera on the freshman girl. "But still…I wonder how far she can climb?"
Yukimura frowned slightly, looking out of the rear passenger window as his cousin tapped one finger continuously on the dashboard of the car. His gift to his girlfriend was in a paper bag by his side. The Rikkaidai captain nearly groaned as he looked ahead of him at the road leading to the airport which was currently crowded with cars.
"A traffic jam at a time like this?!" He nearly groaned.
"This is a healing CD from me," said Yagyuu, handing a CD over to Rika. "Listen to this and mediate when you get tired. Then you can relax well. I recommend it."
"Thank you," said Rika hesitantly. "But…" She looked pointedly at all the farewell gifts in her arms from her teammates and friends.
"No problem!" chirped Kirihara, coming up to them just then with a paper bag under his arm. "This is from me."
"Isn't that for sale in the airport?" asked Oishi with amusement as Rika placed all her gifts into the bag carefully only to blink in surprise as she saw a graphic novel in the bag as well – one that she's been searching for some time now.
Kirihara grinned before lowering his voice. "A cousin of mine managed to get it for me," he said. "It's the last one left. With that, do your best in America."
"Flight number 304, from Narita to New York: check-in is now in progress."
"Seems like it's almost time," said Ryoga, looking at the nearby clock. "Take care of yourself, Rika."
Yanagi frowned as he looked at his watch before looking at Sanada. "Where's Yukimura? He's going to miss Rika's departure," he said.
"I don't know," said Sanada with a frown, looking at the entrance of the airport terminal. "He said something about getting some stuff."
"I won't be able to wait for him, or I'll miss the flight," said Rika with a disappointed sigh. "Sanada-fukubuchou, send my regards to him."
"Okay," said Sanada with a nod. "Do your best over there, Rika. We'll see you when the Nationals start."
"Hai."
The car screeched to a halt by the passenger alighting area of the airport and Yukimura opened the door before running towards the terminal where he knew Rika will be departing for her flight from. Praying that he'll make it in time, Yukimura dashed towards the terminal, dodging the surrounding people.
The blue-haired captain came to a stop as he saw the clock of the airport which read: 03:05pm. Yukimura sighed. "Did I fail to make it on time?" he muttered.
"You're late," said a voice and Yukimura blinked and turned to see his object of affection standing behind him.
"Rika?"
There were sudden wolf whistles sounding the air and both Rika and Yukimura blinked and turned to see both Seigaku and Rikkaidai's tennis teams grinning like the cat that had caught the canary. Niou was whistling and Marui was grinning, alongside Ann and Yuuta.
"The flight has been delayed," said Rika, turning back to her boyfriend. "Something about the engine."
"I see…" said Yukimura with a smile. "Then I managed to make it in time." He then took out a beautiful sky-blue covered album with cursive gold lettering 'Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Club Regulars' written across it. "I managed to get this done in time for you."
Rika looked at Yukimura curiously before opening the album only to see photographs of the tennis regulars of Rikkaidai pasted on the cream-coloured pages of the album. There were not only photos taken at the ceremonies after each tournament that they won, but also photographs taken at places like the time when they went to the beach before their match with Jyousei Shounan, and the time when they went to the Sakura Festival. There were also several photos that Rika recognised as the ones that Sora had taken. And beneath each photo was the date of each event written in black cursive writing.
Yukimura smiled at her. "We can't be with you physically over in America whilst you're competing in the US Open, but we'll always be you in your heart," he said. "We'll wait for you to come back during the Nationals."
Rika nodded, hugging the album to her chest.
"The preparations for the delayed flight 304 to New York have been completed. Passengers, please go to the gate."
"It's time," said Kevin. "Rika, let's go."
"I know," said Rika before turning towards her teammates. "I'll come back in time for the Nationals, I promise. And don't worry, I won't lose in the US Open."
"Fight, Rika!" said Marui with a grin, hanging over Niou's shoulder as everyone watched Kevin and Rika walked towards the Customs officer to hand in their passports and airplane tickets to board the flight. Rika smiled and made a two fingered gesture before entering the gate with Kevin.
Nanjirou smiled proudly as he watched his daughter go off to pursue a dream which he couldn't make come true back then. "The big dream that I couldn't make come true," said Nanjirou. "Rika, you make it come true."
"It isn't that you couldn't make it come true, but that you didn't, right?" said Rinko, looking at her husband. "Because you had another big dream."
Nanjirou smiled.
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New York:
"America," muttered Kevin as they entered the arrival hall of the airport. "We're back here again."
"Aa," agreed Rika.
"Hey, Rika! Kevin!" called a voice and both teens turned around to see a tall burly brown-haired man wearing a purple business suit waving to them. Rika smiled slightly as she recognised him instantly as Steve Meyers.
"Welcome back to America," said Steve as he drove both teens to the hotel where they'll both be staying in during their time in America after retrieving their luggage. "I'm sure that you're both tired from the long flight. I will first take you to the hotel where you'll both be staying. We can then talk after that."
"Hai," said Kevin and Rika in unison.
Rika's sharp eyes then caught sight of her red and white duffel bag moving and she blinked before looking closely at her bag. Apparently, Kevin had noticed it moving as well since both teens were now looking at the bag as if half-expecting it to explode or something.
The bag moved again, and Kevin and Rika exchanged looks before Rika reached over to her bag which was sitting between Kevin and Rika both before unzipping it slowly. And when the bag was fully unzipped, a white and brown blur leapt out of the bag and leapt onto Rika, causing her to scream in surprise and Kevin to gasp and for Steve Meyers who was driving to swerve the car as the loud meow startled the man who definitely was not expecting for a cat to jump out of his charge's bag.
"Karupin?!" Rika blinked in surprise as she tried to prevent the cat from licking her face. "You came along as well?!"
"Meow!"