Author's note
Yes, yes! I finished another chapter. I appreciate that there are some readers who like my AtobexYuki pairing. As for this chapter, I hope I don't confuse anyone as it slowly moves to an ending.
Chapter 49
Like a mirror, your truth reflecting in those words
By the end of an ordinary school week Sayaka had walked back home after she went to a shop to by her father's favorite ice-cream. The black haired girl glanced quickly at her bag full of snacks. She sweat dropped.
'Jeez, can I really consider my father a grown-up? He even fights with me over a small piece of chocolate.' she thought as she took a turn to her house.
Suddenly, the raven haired teen felt an unexplainable chill running down her spine. Someone was behind her; a very familiar, yet scary feeling surged her whole body.
"Long time no see, Sayaka-chan." said a deep voice.
The same voice that sent shivers down her spine two years ago made her stop in her pace in fear. Sayaka slowly turned around and widened her eyes in terror. There stood a man with dark brown hair and eyes that could see no mercy. She recognized him. He was her previous coach during her Junior High years.
"Tsudeyoshi Isao." she whispered. The said man came closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Sayaka tried to free herself but he gripped her tighter.
"Now, don't do anything stupid. I just want to have nice chat with you." he said calmly. Sayaka on the other hand could feel the cold and sinister tone behind it all.
Isao told her to follow him. Even though Sayaka knew that she had to avoid him, ignore everything he said, run away. Run! However, something told her that if she did, something terrible might occur, so despite all her effort to think up of what to do, her body complied with his request; she followed him in fear. Sayaka was well aware that she had no choice. No matter what he asked of her, for everyone else's sake, she would do as he demanded.
During the next few days the Seigaku tennis players were doing great with practice. Since the board had decided that the current Nationals in tennis would be held in Kyushu, the tennis team had to leave a few days earlier before it started.
Everyone was excited and fired up, Sayaka, however, had some bad news. She said that she couldn't go there with them this early because the gymnastic coach asked her to substitute a girl, who had broken her arm. Therefore, Sayaka couldn't decline. It was for Seigaku, was what she said. Even though the rest of the teens asked her not to do it Sayaka strongly persisted on her decision. Was it really all it was to it?
Sayaka did extra training during the week, reassuring the team she said, "Don't worry, you guys. I'll be joining you as soon as this is over. So just wait a bit, okay?"
"I'll be staying here until the very first day of the Tournament, so I'll keep an eye on her." said Ryuuzaki-sensei with a rather meaningful glance towards Sayaka. The black haired captain sweat dropped. The rest of the teens chuckled.
Watching the Seigaku tennis regulars enjoying their time, Sayaka smiled softly. She had found what she was looking for, what her heart was yearning for. She decided that those smiles were the most precious thing to her; she would do anything to protect them.
As the week before the regulars left for the Nationals passed, Tezuka started feeling uneasy about Sayaka doing extra training. He did point out to her a few weeks ago that she had a fever. Even though she did recover afterwards but the double training was a lot of stress. Tezuka was well aware that it was bad for her health no matter how well she felt at that moment. He was especially cautious because she was the girl he cared about the most, the girl he loved most. However, since she said she was fine and he didn't catch any lies in those words, he then calmed down. Still, he couldn't shake off the faint feeling of uneasiness.
The day before the team had to leave…
Sayaka and Tezuka were walking home together.
"Sayaka, are you sure you'll be fine? You could've said "no", you know." he asked. The said teen turned to him with a wide smile. She was happy that he was concerned about her. That way she could tell that he loved her.
"It'll be fine. I'm doing this for our school. I don't want Seigaku to lose face." she said.
Tezuka sighed, stopping in his pace. Before he could say a word, a loving gaze appeared on the raven haired teen's face.
"Promise me-" he started but Sayaka shut his mouth gently with her palm.
"Hai. I promise, I will eat and sleep properly and not strain myself." she said softly. He smirked in return because he had constantly repeated the same words over the week.
"Be careful." he added. Sayaka smirked softly.
"Watch over the girls for me, Mitsu." she said.
"Hn, I won't do it for free though." said Tezuka with sarcasm, a meaningful look in his eyes.
Sayaka chuckled as she caught on his tone. As she gazed into his hazel eyes, she gently put her hand onto his cheek. He placed his palm onto her hand. She slowly advanced to his face. As their lips touched, Tezuka pulled her even closer. Sayaka didn't want to let go. She wanted to keep holding onto him. She wanted to go with the whole team but couldn't.
The teens pulled away. The raven haired girl gazed into his eyes lovingly.
"No matter what happens from now on, I want you to know that I love you." she said. Tezuka smirked faintly.
"Why are you saying that?" asked Tezuka. The black haired girl just chuckled.
Taking her tennis bag from his shoulder, she said, "Nothing. Ignore it."
They reached her house. Waving in goodbye, Sayaka walked inside. Tezuka walked ahead, smiling to himself. He really decided to ignore his girlfriend's last statement. Only the last three words kept on ringing in his mind. The sound of her voice saying those words, 'I love you'. Only those words meant everything. The rest wasn't that important.
As Sayaka leaned on entrance door inside of her house, her eyes hidden behind her bangs, she slowly slid down to the floor. She put her hand onto her forehead with sorrow and pain written all over her face.
Her eyes filled with tears, she whispered, "I'm sorry but I have no choice."
She cried silently, for a while, alone in the entrance. This was her decision; nothing could turn back everything to how it was.
Kyushu, the first day of the Nationals.
The Seigaku team was standing around the courts. They were interested in their first opponents, so they decided to watch a few matches. Since they were the Kantou champions they were seeded higher than other teams.
The Seigaku girls' team started feeling uneasy because their captain Sayaka hadn't met up with them yet. Tezuka also got suspicious when he noticed that coach Ryuuzaki was looking very concerned. He figured that something had happened because it wasn't like the coach to act so silent right before the match.
Watching the regulars starting to rustle and worry over Sayaka, Ryuuzaki-sensei thought, 'How should I tell them? This is really a bad timing! Of all the times, why did you have to do it now, Koyumi?'
Coach Ryuuzaki knew something; she simply didn't know how to break the news. Both the girls' and boys' team decided to watch some matches. Just then they happened to stop by the match between Kurōdo and Fudoumine.
The Seigaku tennis players watched in astonishment. It was strange. Too strange for them to see Fudoumine's boy's team be beaten this easily. They thought that Kurōdo wasn't a big deal for Fudoumine. Seigaku regulars thought that Kurōdo High would at least take two wins but it was a straight win for Kurōdo. The mixed doubles were supposed to be playing but the pair was nowhere around. Both participating teams took a little break.
The Seigaku tennis team started looking around. They really got worried that Sayaka was nowhere to be found.
"Sensei, just where is Sayaka-chan? Wasn't she supposed to be here by now?" asked Yumi with utter concern in her eyes. The coach felt worried eyes from the rest of the teens staring on her. She sighed. She had no choice but to tell them now.
"There is something that I have to tell you and it's not good news." she said seriously. A few seconds of silence; Ryuuzaki looked around to see that she got everyone's attention. She gathered all her courage.
All the girls and boys stood around her, waiting for the coach to say something. Tezuka suddenly felt the same uneasiness that he constantly had when Sayaka was still with them.
"Koyumi… won't be participating in the Nationals with us." finally said the coach. The whole team widened their eyes. They stared in confusion. Tezuka unfolded his arms as he stared in utter shock. He really wished that he had heard wrong.
"Wait. Sensei! Quit joking around and tell us the truth." said Rika trying to see it as a joke. The other girls started to do the same. The coach sighed again.
"I'm not joking. When I was back in Tokyo, she came up to me, saying that she'll resign from the team." explained the coach.
The Seigaku girls stared with terrified expressions. Tezuka couldn't believe what he just heard. He felt like had just received a big blow to his chest. His heart started beating heavier, even faster than before.
"Are you telling us that Sayaka-buchou won't be coming at all?" asked Momo.
"She will be here. Only, she won't be with us." said coach Ryuuzaki with a regretful face. Tezuka got a bad feeling about her last words.
"What do you mean, sensei?" asked Tezuka in fear of what would follow.
"To put it simply, she-"
"I switched teams. That's what it means." said a female voice behind Tezuka.
He slowly turned around to the voice that was all too familiar to him. To his worst fear, there stood Sayaka; with the combination of black and blue she was wearing the uniform of Kurōdo. Despite Sayaka's effort to show an indifferent and blank expression, Tezuka could still catch a glimpse of sadness in her eyes.
The whole Seigaku team was in shock. Yumi was the one who was hurt the most by what she heard and saw. She couldn't believe she was seeing the person, whom she trusted from the start, betray them like that.
"Sayaka-chan, why?" she asked with a trembling voice. The black haired Seigaku ex-captain just looked at her with the same expression.
"Change of heart, probably." she said coldly. Yumi and the rest of the girls felt like something cracked inside of them.
Kai came up to Sayaka, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Tezuka's eyebrow jumped up when he saw Kai touching the girl he loved and trusted so much so affectionately. Then again, she was his teammate now. He had a good guess why she was doing this. He just didn't know whether to ask her or not. He couldn't determine by her look just now. Kai smirked evilly.
"Heeh, let's just say she was tired of babysitting you amateurs. Right, Sayaka-chan?" he asked as he advanced closer to her face.
The raven haired teen hid her eyes behind her bangs, her lips trembling for a mere second. Tezuka watched closely every action, every emotion that she showed; even if it was faint, he still noticed it. He noticed how sad her eyes became before she hid them. He realized that she wasn't doing this on her own free will.
"Ah, it's just how it is." she said, pushing Kai's hand away. She walked towards the court, passing now her previous team, Seigaku. The Seigaku regulars followed her with their eyes.
"Wait a second! Buchou!" shouted Haruhi in an effort to stop her and get some explanation.
"Sayaka-chan! Wait-" Yumi raised her voice, grabbing the black haired girl's shoulder for a second. Sayaka stopped. As Kai swiftly raised his racket to place it between Yumi and Sayaka, Fuji, sensing danger, quickly pulled his love away. Kai sent a sinister grin. Fuji frowned, holding Yumi protectively close to him.
"You see, we do have a match to attend to now." said Kai. Sayaka glanced at the vice-captain of Seigaku girls' team as she walked ahead. Kai followed her.
The Seigaku team stared in utter shock. Depression, shock and sorrow filled their hearts as they tried to comprehend the reason for this. They experienced a mental break down right before they had their first match. Furthermore, the girls were now once again without a captain.
Yumi dropped down on the ground, staring into emptiness. Fuji kneeled next to her, holding her shoulders. A deep frown formed on his face.
'Unforgivable.' he thought darkly. He would never forgive anyone who had hurt his beloved Yumi, even if it was Sayaka.
Some of the other girls held their foreheads. This was too hurtful for them. They got this far and Sayaka went ahead and did something like this.
Tezuka leaned against the fence, covering his face with his palm. He really wasn't the type to show any emotion but this time it hurt him. He just couldn't hold back.
'So that's what she meant before we left. No matter what happens from now on… Sayaka, did you do it on your own free will or was it because…' he thought, gritting his teeth. He then frowned, looking at his palm. Not much different from Yumi and the other girls, pain and sorrow appeared in his eyes.
Tezuka turned around. He tried to watch Sayaka's and Kai's match. He hated to see Kai next to her. He wanted to stand there with her. He was supposed to be there with her!
He switched his attention to the bench coach. He noticed that an older man was sitting there. In realization, he widened his eyes.
"Sensei, what is the name of that coach?" he asked. Ryuuzaki frowned, glancing at the man.
"Tsudeyoshi Isao." she said slowly.
Tezuka shot his head in shock at his coach. He remembered what Sayaka had told him about that guy. He figured everything out. He turned back to glare at Isao. Tezuka couldn't help but feel anger along with fear. He was disappointed in Sayaka that she did something like this. He thought he had told her that she could rely on him and the rest of the team, her friends. She wasn't alone.
'Then, why?' he thought, gritting his teeth. Coach Ryuuzaki glanced at him.
With a serious expression she said, "Koyumi said she had no choice but to do this. She had a really painful expression back then. I tried to stop her and asked for an explanation but she said that she doesn't want to repeat the same mistake as before. I didn't understand what she was saying but I get the feeling that it has to do with her coach. I was surprised when he suddenly reappeared."
More like whispering to Tezuka, she didn't want the others to hear. The rest of the team was just in too much shock to listen.
"Tezuka, you seem to know what's going on." stated the coach, turning her head towards the said teen.
Tezuka stayed silent. He lowered his head, storming off someplace else. He didn't want to watch it any further. He needed some time to think. He just didn't know what to say to the rest. He didn't even know if he should because he had promised Sayaka to keep this between them. Maybe now, he should break the promise because she had broken her own.
The teams were having a little break between the matches. The Seigaku team was sitting on the benches under a roof. The girls were still in a foul mood to talk about what happened. The boys on the other hand didn't know how to start the topic. The atmosphere just sucked to put it simply.
Tezuka was leaning against a pillar, gazing at the ground. His head suddenly shot up, when he saw Sayaka walking towards the vending machines. Tezuka pushed himself from the pillar, storming off that direction. He needed to talk to her. He needed to hear it from her.
The rest of the team raised their heads. Glancing at each other in confusion, they followed their captain.
"Hey, Tezuka!" called out Eiji, as the girls and boys were hot on his heels.
Sayaka slowly pressed the button of her desired drink and waited. With a sad face expression, she stared into emptiness. She remembered Kai's father saying, if she wouldn't come back, some things might happen to her dear friends and the rest of her family. He knew about her sister being in the CIA and said that it was useless. He was just too dangerous.
Sayaka perked up when the can fell down. She took her drink. Just when she turned around, a hand slammed against the vending machine. Sayaka found herself between it and Tezuka. He looked at her with serious eyes. The black haired girl got startled. In astonishment, she stared back at her boyfriend. The rest of the team came to a stop when they spotted the couple in a rather awkward position.
"Now explain." demanded Tezuka. Sayaka widened her eyes, as she remembered what Isao had said before. Gathering all her courage, Sayaka made a cold expression. Narrowing her eyes, she turned to her right to walk away.
"There's nothing to explain." she said coldly. She started walking. She then stopped when she spotted Yumi and the others standing in front of her.
"Why are you doing this, Sayaka-chan? I thought we were a team! Weren't we friends? What did we do wrong? Tell me!" shouted Yumi. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed an explanation.
Sayaka narrowed her eyes at her, smirking evilly. That was her answer. The Seigaku girls receiving her betrayal, felt a cold and empty sensation in their hearts. Not saying a word, Sayaka walked passed Tezuka, who was also caught by her action. He didn't expect her to show such a side of her. He knew her to be a gentle, kind, loud, sometimes annoying, yet emotional girl. However, now she seemed cold and distant to him.
'No. This is a lie. Don't be shaken by it, Kunimitsu. She's doing it to keep us away from her, to keep us safe.' he thought.
"Why won't you say something? Sayaka-chan!" called out Yumi with tears in her eyes. She was about to run after her, when Fuji stopped her. Tezuka grabbed Sayaka's wrist, holding it tightly. He had no intention of letting her leave until he cracked her open.
"It's because of your coach." stated Tezuka. Not turning around, Sayaka widened her eyes in shock. Yumi raised her head. The others got confused looks.
'Don't say it.' she thought.
"It's because he threatened you, am I right?" asked Tezuka with a rather angry expression. Sayaka's face turned to that of horror. She didn't want the others to know.
"He threatened you and you thought you had no choice-" Tezuka stopped in mid sentence because Sayaka started laughing.
The others stared in confusion. Sayaka slowly turned around. Tezuka widened his eyes when the black haired girl revealed a face that he yet had not seen before. It was that of arrogance and satisfaction after an evil deed.
"You really believed that story, my dear Kunimitsu?" she asked.
Tezuka swallowed his words. A terrified expression slowly appeared on his face, as he feared her next words. Sayaka simply chuckled evilly back at him.
"You actually really believed every single word that I had told you?" she asked with sarcasm.
Something cracked in Tezuka's heart. Sayaka laughed a bit. She continued, "Oh my, I was right when I picked you! You actually went against Kai, you even trusted me with undying expectations. You… loved me. And that was exactly what I needed for things to go smoothly!" She laughed again. Tezuka stared in utter shock.
"You're… lying." he said slowly. Sayaka stopped laughing. A sinister and sadistic grin crept onto her face.
"For your information, no one threatened me or whatsoever. I switched teams out of my own free will. Well, either way, I have no time to chat with you. You can continue to believe that this is not real. Even if you just trust my last words, it's not like anything would change." said Sayaka. She spun around, her expression quickly changing to that of pain and sorrow.
With teary eyes she walked ahead, thinking, 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mitsu. I had to keep you silent.'
The things that she said a few seconds ago really sent a deep blow to Tezuka. As he watched her walk away, his head started spinning. He couldn't keep his vision straight anymore.
The Seigaku regulars couldn't believe what Sayaka just said to Tezuka. They wanted to ask what he meant by "threatened" but refrained to ask anything because they knew how hurt he was now.
Tezuka placed his palm onto his forehead. The last sentence and the things that she had told him before the Nationals kept on ringing in his head.
"Even if you just trust my last words-".
'What?'
"No matter what happens from now on-"
'What do you mean by that?'
"-it's not like anything would change."
"-I want you to know that-"
'Sayaka.'
"I love you."
'You liar.' he thought with anguish reflecting in his eyes as the girl whom he trusted and loved deeply disappeared from his sight.
Next chapter
Atobe and Yuki learn of Sayaka's betrayal and the reason for it…"They kept on ringing in my head for they alone weren't a lie. These words ARE the truth!"
