Chapter Ten
Best friends are created naturally but there is always an exception.

Wednesday afternoon. As per the usual routine of the self-proclaimed king, Atobe sits on a bench alone and distanced from the courts. As he watched the club's future captain play a rally with the acrobat, his mind floats in a cloud that prevents him from keeping focus on the game.

"Atobe…"

He thinks of his friend and how she looked like the last time he saw her the previous week. It was noticeable that she cut her hair terribly short, but her eyes still emit the same fierceness and kindness like they used to.

"Atobe…"

His friend must have grown so much. He almost didn't recognize her. After all, she seemed so much feminine compared to the little dirty child she was. She must have changed a lot during the past years they were separated.

"Atobe…"

It was such a waste that they weren't able to play together for much longer. If only his parents did not urge him to fly to Japan, he should have seen how his friend would grow up to be. He could've been a more important person to her.

"Atobe…!"

They could've been still best friends. He could've known much more about her. If only the parting didn't happen, they could probably be-

"ATOBE!"

Atobe blinks in surprise but coolly looks to his left. He raises a brow, seeing a quite infuriated Yuushi looking at him. "Oh, Yuushi, what is it?"

"Wh-What is it?!" Yuushi momentarily exclaims out of disbelief. He coughs and fixes his glasses, keeping his composure. "You've been spacing out for quite a while now, Atobe."

"Ah~n. Who says?" Atobe raises a brow as if being insulted.

"Everyone," Yuushi replies flatly, "By the way, Hiyoshi and Gakuto's game is already over about fifteen minutes ago. You've been watching nothing before I called you."

Atobe shifts to look at the court. He blinks twice.

"And the coach wants to talk you."


"Kazuyoshi, is this like your usual routine?" Kenya asks before biting into his chocolate popsicle.

"Not really." Yume continues to lick her vanilla-flavored popsicle.

"I see…" He looks up as if thinking deep. Then, what's your usual routine?"

It is the last day of Yume's last batch of make-up exams. When she has decided to go home, Kenya asks to come with her. And now, they sit in the same empty playground where they had their first personal conversation, again, while eating ice cream bars.

"My usual routine…" She looks at the orange sky. "… I always pass by the convenience store to buy dinner and then go straight home."

"Really?! That's amazing!" he replies in a high-pitch voice.

Yume raises a brow as she glances at him. "That's not even half amazing." Her eyes pierces at him. "You know, I just noticed something."

"E-Eh? What is it, Kazuyoshi?" he says as if shocked.

"You've been asking too many random questions. Are you like... stalling me? Or is there something you're embarrassed to ask about?" she teases.

"N-No!" Kenya chuckles nervously. He looks at her and she remains stoic and unbelieving. He submits to a sigh. "You got me. I really want to ask you something."

She blinks and her eyes wander to the sandbox. "Knew it. You should've just said so earlier. So what is it about?"

He scratches the back of his head. "It's about Fumiko-san."

Yume looks at him and blinks. After their encounter with the loud girl during the previous day, Kenya has not mentioned anything about the girl.

"What… I mean, why?" he asks while staring at the ground, "Why are you not even attracted to Fumiko-san? That's really weird."

"She's simply not my type," Yume replies while holding back from revealing that she's not really a male.

"How is that even possible?"

Yume gives Kenya a weird look. "It's more odd to think that you're so… obsessed with the person. How is it even possible that you fell for a loud and annoying person like that?"

"Because she's beautiful! And attractive, and cute!" Kenya protests.

"Then what?"

He stops. "Then, it's impossible not to fall for Fumiko-san since she's so beautiful."

"I'm seriously judging you for your preference in women." She sighs. "Dude, I don't think her personality's all great."

"What did you even know about her?!" he says aggressively.

"Well, for one thing, she did not even know how to turn you down in a way that would hurt you less," she raises her voice. Then, takes a deep breath. "Can we not argue over this?"

Kenya sighs. "I'm sorry. It's just that… I hate how you like someone so much, but that person doesn't even appreciate it."

She looks at his eyes, watching how it gleams. His eyes are staring at the ground while his lips move as he talks. His words aren't clear anymore while his voice seemingly becomes blurry.

"… want her to be happy. Her happiness is like my happiness, you know." Kenya looks at her. "You understand what I feel, right?"

Yume, at her dumbfounded state, nods. "Yes!"

Kenya smiles. "I know you understand me!" he exclaims happily. "That's why I feel so close to you, Kazuyoshi!"

She blinks thrice. "W-What?" Yume mutters to herself.

Kenya, not hearing what she mumbled, stands up and raises his hand holding a popsicle stick with chocolate remnants. "Let's be best friends, Kazuyoshi!" he exclaims with excitement.

"Oh. I thought you were just troubled a minute ago," she says.

"I'll survive!" he says as if ignoring her statement, "I'm gonna survive as long as Kazuyoshi is here with me."

"Yey." Yume raises a fist sluggishly, half-heartedly cheering. She sighs and mutters to herself, "I don't have any idea how everything came to be like this."


Club activities are over and members of Shitenhouji tennis club have decided to leave for home. While their lively first year has gone ahead, running and leaping away, the remaining third years and Zaizen watch the energetic young boy.

"Kenya-kun left earlier again today, didn't he?" Koharu initiates.

"That's right," Hitouji says as he clings onto Koharu. "Lately, he's been always coming home along with Kazuyoshi."

"I never knew that Kenya-senpai and Kazuyoshi-senpai are even close," Zaizen comments as he raises a brow.

"Well, apparently," Shiraishi replies, "Kenya has seen Kazuyoshi as a friend to whom he could disclose things he cannot tell us. That's only what I think."

"But still…" Hitouji says, "… isn't it a little bit fast that they became so close in a span of just three days?"

Zaizen replies, "That's probably just because Senpai has a superficial happiness. He gets excessively fired up when someone notices him."

Shiraishi raises a brow to the second year. "Zaizen…" he scolds.

"I think Kazuyoshi-han is someone who can get along with anyone. He is quite understanding of the people around him. Although, he is generally a silent person," says Ishida, "Kazuyoshi-han is a good person."

Koharu grins. "You know I've been thinking that maybe… our Kenya likes a certain newcomer to the school." He winks twice.

They all halt on walking and stare at Koharu.

Shiraishi looks at his teammate questioningly. "I don't think Kenya swings that way."

"Kenya-han did like Shizuoka-han from the other class, right?" Ishida says in support of Shiraishi's statement.

Hitouji gasps out of shock. "I think I'll agree with Koharu. There's something in Kenya's eyes whenever he mentions going home with Kazuyoshi. I just sense that there is an attraction going on under our noses."

"Really?" Shiraishi raises a brow. It's true that among all the regulars the copycat prince is most observant of people's habits. However, Shiraishi just cannot believe anything that's being told about his best friend.

"I think there's a possibility that Kenya might probably be gay," Koharu says.

"I don't think we should jump to rash conclusions," Shiraishi says. He glances at Zaizen. "Right, Zaizen?"

The second year genius seems to be away with his thoughts. He is extraordinarily quiet. Shiraishi notices Zaizen's behavior.

"Moreover… don't you think that Kazuyoshi is a little bit feminine?" Hitouji mentions.

"Kazuyoshi's a cutie, though," Koharu comments. "But, yeah, he seems too fragile for a guy." He winks. "Probably the reason why Kenya fell for him."

Hitouji laughs and Shiraishi smiles at the humor. Zaizen, on the other hand, glares at his upperclassman.

Koharu notices Zaizen and acts frightened. He hugs his doubles partner tight. "Yuu-kun, Zaizen-kun is planning something bad to me."

Zaizen grunts in irritation. "You're disgusting, senpai. Please stop that."

"Sorry, Zaizen-kun~"

"Oi! Don't act so cute towards Zaizen," Hitouji scolds Koharu, "That's cheating." He attempts a few swings of his hand to hit Koharu to which Koharu successfully avoids.

"I don't think Kazuyoshi-han being feminine doesn't really mean he's gay," says Ishida. "It's just part of his personality."

"Senpai, no one's saying that Kazuyoshi-senpai is homosexual," Zaizen says.

"I'm not sure how feminine Kazuyoshi is, but…" Shiraishi looks up to think. "… I'll have to agree that he seems to feel… different. There's something about him that seems to be off." He, then, looks at his teammates.

Koharu and Hitouji, who have just stopped fighting, straighten up. "That's right!" Hitouji nods in agreement. "I knew it! I'm not the only one who noticed it."

Ishida looks at Zaizen. "Zaizen-han, you live near Kazuyoshi-han, right?"

Zaizen puts on his bored expression. "Yeah."

"So how is he?" Hitouji asks in interested curiosity as his face comes nearer to the lowerclassman.

Shiraishi watches Zaizen's reaction.

The second year takes a step back as his senpai leans towards him. "We don't speak to each other that much."

"Eh?!" Hitouji steps away from Zaizen and returns to Koharu. "Is that so?"

Shiraishi looks at them worried. "I think it's better if we stop talking about the people who aren't here. It's kind of disrespectful to Kenya and Kazuyoshi."

"Fine," Hitouji says with a tone of disappointment.

"OI!" Kintarou suddenly jumps in front of them. "What?!" he says with his loud mouth. "You guys are so slow!"

Nobody reacts.

"What?" Kintarou pouts. "Are we not really going to walk really fast? Is there no one who will race with me?"

Shiraishi sighs and smiles. "Kin-chan, Kenya's not here to race with you."

~ Chapter End ~

A/N: Another chapter! Woohooo~ So this week's a really busy one and I'm just sooo glad that it's to end (Aw damn). So this chapter's kinda rushed, but I hope the story's not progressing too slow or too fast. But anyway, away from all the drama. Please leave a review! And give love to this poor author's broken heart. See you next time!