Wow! So many comments this time. Thanks everyone!! ^^ As for everyone's
reaction to Saya's appearance, it'll all be answered in this chapter. ;) I
hope everyone likes it!!
**********
Chaos Central
The regulars who were watching the game turned around in surprise at the softly spoken words. It was surprising that they had even heard her, but the nature of her words screamed for attention. To them, an unknown little girl with pigtails was clinging to their court fence, calling out to one of their team members.
"Kaidoh-sempai to serve!"
Prepared to serve, Kaidoh looked up to see a mystery before him. The court opposite him was empty. He frowned as he wondered where Oishi had disappeared to. While he had been busy preparing for the next section of their match, Oishi had noticed the commotion caused by the others and rushed over to see what was wrong.
"Oh no!" he wailed. "What are we supposed to do with her?! What if she's lost?! What if she doesn't know the way home?!"
Hearing Oishi's voice, Echizen and Kaidoh turned around to see what was going on. Why was he all the way over there? And what was with this little girl fantasy? Kaidoh couldn't see what was behind the wall created by the regulars as they blocked his view, crowded around the fence as they were.
"Nyah! She's so cute!" exclaimed Kikumaru.
"Um, should I get Ryuzaki-sensei?"
"What if we get in trouble because they think we took her away?! Hurry, we need to do something quickly!!"
"A little girl aged four or five, shoulder-length brown hair tied in pigtails, brown-eyes, three feet five and a half inches tall," Inui muttered as he scribbled into his notebook.
"Mada mada dane."
"Hey little cutie, what are you doing here?" asked Momo.
Fuji and Tezuka looked at each other. With her appearance, everything was a mess. Oishi was worrying about getting her home while Eiji was ranting about how cute she was. Saya looked around in confusion, slightly scared by all the noise they were creating.
She knew that she had seen Kaidoh somewhere inside, but she couldn't see with them blocking her way. While they were all talking amongst themselves, she moved to a space further down the fence. Here, she could see that he was standing inside, near another person atop a high chair.
"Kaidoh-niichan!" she called out, waving at him.
The noise of the regulars stopped as she spoke. They were so busy discussing the situation that they hadn't noticed her move away. Their gaze traveled to Saya outside the court, to Kaidoh on the court and back to Saya again. The little girl was looking for Kaidoh?!
She had said that the first time but it hadn't registered in anyone's mind as Oishi began his worry fest. Everyone was silent as they watched the unlikely pair. Kaidoh could feel the heat rising to his face as he saw Saya happily waving at him. All eyes were on them and he didn't know what to do. Somehow, Saya had found her way to his school.
"No one noticed her by herself?!" Kaidoh thought to himself. "I better get her home before they start to worry."
Slowly, he walked to the bench and put down his racket. Making his way to Tezuka and the rest of the group, he felt entirely awkward. No one was ever supposed to find out about Saya. Even still, he was in a situation that he hadn't created and all he could do was bring her back home.
"I have some unfinished business," he said to Tezuka as he stood in front of him.
"Okay," he answered slowly, his voice slightly betraying his surprise.
Everyone watched with gross fascination as Kaidoh left the fenced court area. As soon as he was outside, Saya was running towards him. She was grinning happily, her pigtails flying out behind her. Though they were staring, Kaidoh ignored them.
"Let's go," he said gruffly, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
"Okay!"
As Kaidoh left with Saya trailing behind him, everyone was stunned silent. Kaidoh and children were two items that they had never associated together. Most of the time, they were scared of him. Even older children, like freshmen, were scared of him.
Momo was the first to break the silence as he doubled over with laugher. Everyone looked at him like he was a maniac. A second later, all hell broke loose and everyone was talking at the same time again.
"Nya?! That little cutie knew Kaidoh?!"
"Thank goodness someone knew her," replied Oishi. "We would have been in big trouble with a lost child on our hands."
"Kaidoh knows the described little girl above."
"Um, I guess Ryuzaki-sensei isn't needed after all," Kawamura commented quietly.
"How does Kaidoh know her?? I thought he hated children!"
"Ahaha! I can believe that Mamushi isn't actually so tough after all. I knew it!!"
"Mada mada dane."
"The young girl is a friend of Kaidoh's," mumbled Inui.
Fuji looked over at Tezuka, his famous smile present. From the looks of things, everyone was in for trouble. Though it was a surprise to him as well, he didn't show it. More than anything, he disliked chaos and disorder, especially under his jurisdiction.
"Quiet!"
Once again, the noise stopped at the sound of Tezuka's voice. The regulars looked at their captain's face and cringed. His brows were drawn together tighter than usual and his lips were turned down in a stern frown. Looking each of them in the eyes, he silently challenged them to speak out against him.
"Kaidoh will be dealt with when he returns," he told them. "As for everyone else, thirty laps around the court for causing such a ruckus and wasting practice time!"
"Hai."
As the other regulars left the court, Echizen hopped down from his referee post. Tezuka was still watching them run, having forgotten about Ryoma.
"Do I have to go too?" he asked.
"Yes, there are no exceptions!"
"Hai."
Ryoma left the court as well, joining up with his fellow team members. Though they were being punished, they were busy discussing the situation. It was a shock for the non-regulars to see the other side of the court empty, except for Tezuka standing by the door.
**********
"Saya-chan, how did you know where to find me?" Kaidoh asked as he walked her home.
"Because I asked neesan which school you went to!"
"Oh, does anyone know that you left?"
"No, I snuck out," she answered sheepishly.
"Saya! You shouldn't do that. It's dangerous for you to walk around outside by yourself."
"I know, but I just wanted to see you."
"Well don't do it again," he replied.
She stopped walking. It wasn't like she wanted to make everyone worried on purpose. It was just that she wanted to see Kaidoh in his regular environment. He turned around as he heard her sniffling.
"A-Are you m-mad at m-me?" she sobbed.
"No, of course not," he answered as he knelt down in front of her.
"O-Okay."
"Don't cry. Come, I'll take you home. Just promise that you won't do it again."
"I promise."
Using his hand, Kaidoh brushed away the tears from her face. He stood up and took a hold of her hand. He wasn't mad at Saya, but he had no idea how he would live it down when he got back.
**********
Chaos Central
The regulars who were watching the game turned around in surprise at the softly spoken words. It was surprising that they had even heard her, but the nature of her words screamed for attention. To them, an unknown little girl with pigtails was clinging to their court fence, calling out to one of their team members.
"Kaidoh-sempai to serve!"
Prepared to serve, Kaidoh looked up to see a mystery before him. The court opposite him was empty. He frowned as he wondered where Oishi had disappeared to. While he had been busy preparing for the next section of their match, Oishi had noticed the commotion caused by the others and rushed over to see what was wrong.
"Oh no!" he wailed. "What are we supposed to do with her?! What if she's lost?! What if she doesn't know the way home?!"
Hearing Oishi's voice, Echizen and Kaidoh turned around to see what was going on. Why was he all the way over there? And what was with this little girl fantasy? Kaidoh couldn't see what was behind the wall created by the regulars as they blocked his view, crowded around the fence as they were.
"Nyah! She's so cute!" exclaimed Kikumaru.
"Um, should I get Ryuzaki-sensei?"
"What if we get in trouble because they think we took her away?! Hurry, we need to do something quickly!!"
"A little girl aged four or five, shoulder-length brown hair tied in pigtails, brown-eyes, three feet five and a half inches tall," Inui muttered as he scribbled into his notebook.
"Mada mada dane."
"Hey little cutie, what are you doing here?" asked Momo.
Fuji and Tezuka looked at each other. With her appearance, everything was a mess. Oishi was worrying about getting her home while Eiji was ranting about how cute she was. Saya looked around in confusion, slightly scared by all the noise they were creating.
She knew that she had seen Kaidoh somewhere inside, but she couldn't see with them blocking her way. While they were all talking amongst themselves, she moved to a space further down the fence. Here, she could see that he was standing inside, near another person atop a high chair.
"Kaidoh-niichan!" she called out, waving at him.
The noise of the regulars stopped as she spoke. They were so busy discussing the situation that they hadn't noticed her move away. Their gaze traveled to Saya outside the court, to Kaidoh on the court and back to Saya again. The little girl was looking for Kaidoh?!
She had said that the first time but it hadn't registered in anyone's mind as Oishi began his worry fest. Everyone was silent as they watched the unlikely pair. Kaidoh could feel the heat rising to his face as he saw Saya happily waving at him. All eyes were on them and he didn't know what to do. Somehow, Saya had found her way to his school.
"No one noticed her by herself?!" Kaidoh thought to himself. "I better get her home before they start to worry."
Slowly, he walked to the bench and put down his racket. Making his way to Tezuka and the rest of the group, he felt entirely awkward. No one was ever supposed to find out about Saya. Even still, he was in a situation that he hadn't created and all he could do was bring her back home.
"I have some unfinished business," he said to Tezuka as he stood in front of him.
"Okay," he answered slowly, his voice slightly betraying his surprise.
Everyone watched with gross fascination as Kaidoh left the fenced court area. As soon as he was outside, Saya was running towards him. She was grinning happily, her pigtails flying out behind her. Though they were staring, Kaidoh ignored them.
"Let's go," he said gruffly, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
"Okay!"
As Kaidoh left with Saya trailing behind him, everyone was stunned silent. Kaidoh and children were two items that they had never associated together. Most of the time, they were scared of him. Even older children, like freshmen, were scared of him.
Momo was the first to break the silence as he doubled over with laugher. Everyone looked at him like he was a maniac. A second later, all hell broke loose and everyone was talking at the same time again.
"Nya?! That little cutie knew Kaidoh?!"
"Thank goodness someone knew her," replied Oishi. "We would have been in big trouble with a lost child on our hands."
"Kaidoh knows the described little girl above."
"Um, I guess Ryuzaki-sensei isn't needed after all," Kawamura commented quietly.
"How does Kaidoh know her?? I thought he hated children!"
"Ahaha! I can believe that Mamushi isn't actually so tough after all. I knew it!!"
"Mada mada dane."
"The young girl is a friend of Kaidoh's," mumbled Inui.
Fuji looked over at Tezuka, his famous smile present. From the looks of things, everyone was in for trouble. Though it was a surprise to him as well, he didn't show it. More than anything, he disliked chaos and disorder, especially under his jurisdiction.
"Quiet!"
Once again, the noise stopped at the sound of Tezuka's voice. The regulars looked at their captain's face and cringed. His brows were drawn together tighter than usual and his lips were turned down in a stern frown. Looking each of them in the eyes, he silently challenged them to speak out against him.
"Kaidoh will be dealt with when he returns," he told them. "As for everyone else, thirty laps around the court for causing such a ruckus and wasting practice time!"
"Hai."
As the other regulars left the court, Echizen hopped down from his referee post. Tezuka was still watching them run, having forgotten about Ryoma.
"Do I have to go too?" he asked.
"Yes, there are no exceptions!"
"Hai."
Ryoma left the court as well, joining up with his fellow team members. Though they were being punished, they were busy discussing the situation. It was a shock for the non-regulars to see the other side of the court empty, except for Tezuka standing by the door.
**********
"Saya-chan, how did you know where to find me?" Kaidoh asked as he walked her home.
"Because I asked neesan which school you went to!"
"Oh, does anyone know that you left?"
"No, I snuck out," she answered sheepishly.
"Saya! You shouldn't do that. It's dangerous for you to walk around outside by yourself."
"I know, but I just wanted to see you."
"Well don't do it again," he replied.
She stopped walking. It wasn't like she wanted to make everyone worried on purpose. It was just that she wanted to see Kaidoh in his regular environment. He turned around as he heard her sniffling.
"A-Are you m-mad at m-me?" she sobbed.
"No, of course not," he answered as he knelt down in front of her.
"O-Okay."
"Don't cry. Come, I'll take you home. Just promise that you won't do it again."
"I promise."
Using his hand, Kaidoh brushed away the tears from her face. He stood up and took a hold of her hand. He wasn't mad at Saya, but he had no idea how he would live it down when he got back.