(A/N: Hm…seems like I left the last one hanging with some uncertainties. Gomenasai! But, it was already certain that Eiji did like Reiko, since back in chapter 2 he was showing interest. Anyways…I hope this story doesn't suck. Btw…I'll try not to make it too complicating but interesting. Thanks for reading and feedback is always welcomed.)
Disclaimer: See previous chapters. By now you should know.
Italics mean person's thoughts.
Chapter 10: Letting Go
It's late afternoon at the street tennis courts and the sky is starting to fade from red orange to dark blue. The courts are quiet with a few groups playing doubles matches. On one court, a boy and girl were playing a singles match. Both of them appeared to be having a good rally since the ball keeps getting smacked back n forth without anyone making mistakes. Soon, one of them does a tricky move that causes the other person to falter and a point gets scored. The same thing keeps getting repeated over and over.
"Game Set. 6-4"
The game has ended.
"Augh! I was so close and blew it at the end!" Reiko said in exhaustion as her legs gave way and she fell on her knees. She wiped the sweat off her forehead using the sweatband on her right arm. After taking a few deep breathes to calm her tired body, she got up and shook hands with her opponent on the other side of the net.
"Sorry for getting a little frustrated back there. It was a great game and you played wonderful Eiji-kun." Reiko smiled at Eiji, assuring him that her frustration was gone.
Eiji smiled back. "Don't worry about that. Sometimes I get frustrated when I lose as well. You played great though. It was a tough match for me to win."
Both of them stood on the court and discussed their game. Since this was the first time they played each other, Eiji was giving Reiko compliments on how she played as well as areas in which she could improve. She listened to every detailed description Eiji mentioned so that she could further train and practice.
" So if you do that, I'm sure I'd probably lose the next time we play." Eiji concluded with a wink in his eye.
"I'll keep that in mind." Reiko replied back with a smile. Both of them packed up their belongings and rackets into their bags and proceeded to leave the street tennis courts. They were walking down the steps away from the courts when Eiji noticed that Reiko was looking a little down.
"Reiko-chan? Is there something wrong?" Eiji asked in a concern voice.
Reiko shook her head. "Nothing is wrong. You guys have been training hard to get to the Nationals so of course you all would be really good. I'm attempting to train hard as well, but I wonder if that will ever be enough."
"Enough for what?"
"If I'll ever be able to play a fair match with Syu-kun again. Last time he was injured, yet I somehow was able to win. At the rate I'm going, I don't think I'll ever be able to match up with him again." Reiko let out a small sigh.
Eiji poked at Reiko's forehead, which caused her to look up at Eiji with a surprised look. "You won't know unless you try right? If you'd like, I'd be glad to help you out whenever I can." Eiji replied cheerfully.
Reiko blinked a few times, almost as she didn't believe what Eiji just said. "You would?"
"Yup! It's a promise!" Eiji grinned at her and nodded his head.
"Arigatou Eiji-kun. That means a lot to me. You really can brighten the mood when I get down."
Eiji blushed at that remark.
"Nee…Reiko-chan. I have something I need to tell you."
They were both standing alone at the bottom of the stairs near the street tennis courts.
"What is it Eiji-kun? Just spit it out. I won't mind."
"I…I…" Eiji kept on stuttering his words. "I…I was wondering if I could walk you back to your house!"
Part of Eiji just wanted to smack himself.
"KUSO! I messed up!"
Reiko had on a confused look, wondering why he had such a hard time saying that. "Sure I don't mind walking back together."
"Oh really? That's great then. Let's walk back together!" Eiji attempted to laugh it off.
"Dammit! Why couldn't I just say it!? Well…at least walking back to her house will give me some time to attempt it once again."
RING RING
"Hm…who could be calling me now? Excuse me for a moment." Reiko picked up her cell phone. "Moshi moshi? Ah Otousan, you're home already?" Her eyes widened. "Really? Okay, I'll swing by and pick something up. I'm on my way home now. No it's not a problem. See you in a bit." Reiko hung up the phone.
"Is everything alright?"
Reiko nodded her head and smiled at Eiji. "Mika-chan attempted to cook dinner and caused a major disaster at home. I have to run by the market and pick up some things. Gomen, I won't be able to walk back with you."
Eiji shook his head and laughed. "No biggie. You better hurry back before Mika-chan blows up the house."
Reiko giggled. "Now that would be bad! Hopefully Otousan will prevent that. I'm sure he won't be mad since Mika-chan is only 7. I'll have to help her out with some things. Well have to go now! See you at school tomorrow!" Reiko ran off to the market.
"I'll see you at school as well! Ja ne!" Eiji hollered back with a wave. He continued to wave till Reiko was out of view. After that, Eiji walked to the nearest telephone pole and smacked his head on it several times.
"Argh! I blew my chance!"
PRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNIS
The next day, lunchtime came around and Reiko went off to eat lunch with Oishi again. At least twice a week she ate lunch with him. Eiji was glad that Reiko went off today since he wanted to talk with Fuji alone. As the days went by, he started to have a much harder time trying to confess his feelings. Eiji just smacked his head on the table as Fuji moved over to sit with him.
"Seems like you still haven't told her." Fuji said casually as he brought out his lunch consisting of what appeared to be Cajun food.
Eiji lifted his head and looked at the tensai's face. "You won't believe how hard it is to do this. Every chance I had, something would come up or I would say the wrong things! I keep flaking every time I try to attempt to say it in a conversation! This just sucks. Maybe I shouldn't even bother." Eiji sighed as he drank his juice. He had his lunch out, but wasn't in the mood to eat.
"Perhaps you should not try to say it to her in person."
Eiji's eyes widened with interest. "What are you trying to say Fuji?"
"If you can't say it directly, why not do it indirectly?"
"And how would I be able to do that?" Eiji's cat-like ears were perking up as he leaned in, wanting to hear what Fuji had in mind.
Fuji smiled. "There is one way."
***
Meanwhile, Reiko went outside and met Oishi at the usual place they would eat lunch together. There was a tall oak tree near the school's tennis courts that provided a nice shady area. The grass underneath the trees was comfy and a gentle nice breeze blew, providing a relaxed atmosphere. Both of them would sit under the tree and talk about what has been going on in their life. Sometimes they would recall past memories and sometimes they would mention the busy things going on now.
"…so I played the girl's captain in a practice match after school and was able to beat her 7-6..." Reiko continued to talk about a match she played. Two days ago, they met here and she was mentioning how last week she lost to the captain in the ranking tournament. Oishi ate his lunch and listened to what Reiko was saying. He was glad knowing that she had adjusted to the tennis team and school, given that he knew about the problems she had the previous years. However, while he didn't show it, his mind was wandering back to the conversation he and Eiji had a few days before.
*flashback*
Three days ago after boy's tennis practice.
"You…you like Rei-chan?"
Eiji nodded. "Un…I've liked her for quite some time. I didn't want to say anything since I wasn't sure how you felt towards her. But, I couldn't hold it off any longer."
Oishi smiled at Eiji. "Arigatou. I'm glad you told me how you felt about Rei-chan."
"Nee Oishi…I need to know if you really like her. I'm saying this because we're best friends. You need to tell me how you feel about her because I like her as well. I don't want any bad feelings to come from this. Since you're my best friend…I'm willing to walk away from this now."
Oishi looked at Eiji's eyes. The playful attitude that Oishi was used to seeing was replaced with a serious look. He wasn't sure what to say. Sure he did like Reiko, but there were still uncertainties as to how much he liked her. Eiji looked like his feelings were set. With that in mind, Oishi made his decision. He walked up to Eiji and placed his hands on Eiji's shoulders.
"Oishi?" Eiji said with a startled voice. Oishi closed his eyes trying to figure out the best way to say his decision.
He then opened his eyes and smiled at Eiji. "Eiji. You're been my best friend at Seigaku. I trust you with my life. Rei-chan has always been my childhood friend and…she'll still continue to be my childhood friend."
Eiji's eyes widened with shock. "Oishi. Are you trying to say…?"
"I believe you can make her happy. Please don't let me down." Eiji's eyes filled with excitement as he jumped into Oishi hugging him tight.
"Arigatou Oishi!" Eiji exclaimed in joy. Oishi closed his eyes and patted Eiji on the back. A part of him felt sad that he waited too long to realize his feelings. But since it was his friend Eiji, he felt it would be okay. "It's not like I'm never going to see her again. We'll still be friends."
"Oishi!" Eiji released Oishi and looked at his face. "Let's go get some pudding! My treat!"
"But Eiji, isn't it almost dinner time?"
Before Oishi could say anymore, Eiji grabbed his hand and tugged him playfully. "It doesn't' matter. It's not going to spoil my dinner. My Nee-san is making my favorite food tonight so I'll be sure to eat plenty." Oishi replied with a smile and the two went down the street and made a stop at the nearby sweets place before heading home.
*end of flashback*
"Syu-kun? Syu-kun?"
"Huh?" Oishi said in confusion.
"You seem to be spacing out more. Have you been stressing out lately?" Reiko asked in concern. She looked at Oishi's shirt. "Aiya…you spilled some rice on yourself. Here, let me clean it up." Reiko leaned in with a napkin and attempted to clean the rice on him.
"Its okay Rei-chan I can do it myself." Oishi said with a slight blush in his face as he leaned away.
"Since I already offered, just let me finish." Oishi gave in and Reiko cleaned his shirt. Her head was leaned in close to Oishi's face, which gave him an awkward feeling. He could smell her hair, which had a heavenly scent of lavender. The scent started to give him a relaxed feeling. Even though they showed concern for each other, sometimes he felt they acted more than childhood friends. Maybe it was because they understood each other. He recalled back on the conversation with Eiji and shook his head. From the way Reiko was acting, it didn't seem like Eiji told her his feelings yet.
"All done." Reiko replied as she smiled at Oishi. She sat back down and continued to eat her lunch.
Oishi looked at Reiko. It was relaxing hanging around her, but his decision was made. He hoped Eiji would tell her. The longer the wait could make things more hectic and possibly cause problems later. Oishi didn't want the Golden Pair to dismantle when they were needed the most.
He had to avoid her. Just for the time being till things were straighten out.
"Nee…Rei-chan. Do you like hanging out with me at lunch?"
Reiko looked at Oishi with a puzzled look. "Well of course I like hanging out with you. Am I being a bother?"
Oishi shook his head in defense. "No that's not what I meant! I do like hanging out with you…its just that, I might be getting more busy later that it will be harder to eat lunch together." Part of what he said was true. This seemed like the easiest way to avoid her for a bit without making it odd.
Reiko smiled. "I understand. Being captain is a lot of work and I would feel better knowing you're doing the best for the team. Whenever you have time, I'll be glad to hang out with you."
Oishi breathed a sigh of relief. "Arigatou Rei-chan." Oishi looked at the time. "Gomen, I have to leave early. I'm suppose to meet with Ryuzaki-sensei near the end of lunch to discuss some things."
"No problem. I'm going to head back to class." Both of them packed up their belongings and stood up. "I'll see you later then Syu-kun."
"Bye Rei-chan." Oishi headed off to Ryuzaki's sensei's office.
"Sayonara."
Once Oishi was gone from sight, Reiko turned her head to the side of the school building. "It's not nice to spy on people. You could have came out and joined us if you wanted to."
A group of girls hiding from the side of the building away from where Oishi and Reiko were sitting came out around the corner. They had shocked but cross looks on their faces. From where they were standing, they couldn't hear their conversation, but could see what was happening. "How did you know we were hiding there?" One of the girls replied.
"I guess you could say I'm used to knowing if people are watching me." Reiko replied smiling. "I'm also assuming you were the same people that were spying on us a few days before."
The girls were shocked that Reiko knew that. All of the girls approached Reiko and surrounded her in a circle. Reiko noticed that there were 6 of them surrounding her. She was able to recognize some of them and assumed that they were all 3rd years.
Reiko let out a sigh. "Great…I knew this was going to come soon. At least this time I'm ready and won't let my guard down."
"What do you want with me?" Reiko replied in an uninterested tone.
"Funny you should ask that." Another girl replied sarcastically. Reiko recognized her as Mizuno Yumi, a girl with short brown hair that is part of the school's track team. "I can't help but wonder how a transfer twerp like you, who only been here for a month, managed to attract Oishi's attention."
"Why does this matter to you?"
"Of course this matters to us! We're part of the Oishi fan club and have been trying for a long time to get his attention with no success." A girl with long brown hair replied. "Every girl that has asked him out has been rejected. How can he just casually eat lunch with one girl?"
"Why don't you just ask him instead of confronting me? I would think it be much easier to just talk to him then harass me with various threat letters." Reiko dug her hand into her pocket and brought out a few letters. "Hm…seems like Mizuno Yumi wrote me a letter everyday this week, Yani Sana started two days ago, and Tamata Rika joined in today. I find it such a waste of time to write letters." Reiko smiled at all the girls, waving the letters in her hand. Their only response at the moment was the sound of their jaws dropping to the ground in disbelief.
"How…how did you know who wrote them when none of us put our names on the letters?" Sana, the girl with long brown hair finally replied.
"I have my methods." Reiko replied with a smirk.
"Acting like a smart ass." Yumi walked up to Reiko and grabbed her uniform by the collar. "Don't act tough with me. It makes me sick seeing an unknown girl smiling all happily with Oishi. I'd like to wipe that smile off your face."
"Then why don't you then? I'd like to see you try." Reiko didn't give her a chance. She grabbed Yumi's wrist and squeezed it a certain way. Yumi winced and pulled her hand away from Reiko.
"What the hell?" Yumi rubbed her wrist. It almost felt as if she was going to break her wrist.
"I wouldn't have done it if you didn't attempt to grab me." Reiko fixed her uniform and looked at the other girls. "Do any of you want to try anything?"
The girls started to back away a bit. None of them expected Reiko to fight back.
"Who are you? What is your relation to Oishi?"
"I'm just a classmate that likes to play tennis and happens to know Syu-kun." Reiko smiled.
"Syu-kun? Ugh…how dare you call him stupid pet names!" One of the girls yelled.
"Fine then, I happen to know O-I-SHI-kun from before. Does that clear some things up?"
"Like we're going to believe crap like that. So are you going to go whine to Oishi that we're picking on you?" Yumi snapped.
Reiko let out another sigh. "And how does Oishi have girls like this chasing after him? This is so annoying. First it was the tennis team, now it's psycho girls. The girls should be glad I wouldn't tell him about this since Syu-kun would be mad if he knew I got into a fight with these jerks. I don't need his help anyways. Besides, he might make the situation worse than it already is."
She was getting tired of having a repeated situation. Reiko took a deep breath to calm her mind. She really didn't want to have trouble early on, but the girls were so asking for it.
"Now why would I do something like that? Being picked on by classmates for stupid reasons like this isn't worth my time. I may be Sy… I mean Oishi's friend, but knowing that girls like you are trying to go out with him makes me sick." Reiko replied calmly while the girls looked at her furiously from the comment she made.
"You bastard…" Yumi clenched her fist. She seriously wanted to attack Reiko, but what happened before made her cautious as to what else Reiko might do.
*Ring*
Lunchtime has ended.
"I say we all head back now so we don't get in trouble for being late." Reiko smiled and walked out of the circle of girls. With her back turned from the group of girls, she continued talking. "I don't like being mean to people, but I really hate it when I get pushed around." Reiko then walked back to class.
All the girls stood there in a mix of stunned silence and shock. From the impression of Reiko they had observed earlier, they saw her as an innocent girl that they could easily crush, scare away, and gain up on. Now, it seems she was someone they didn't want to mess with. The fact that she continued to smile while holding her ground made it even scarier. After an attempt to pick on her, they were the ones that ended up with doubts and fear. All of them thought this except for Yumi. Yumi was furious at what Reiko did to her and she wasn't going to let her get away with it so easily.
***
From the third floor of the school building, a figure was standing near the window watching the situation unfold. He had a notebook out and was taking detailed notes of what was occurring.
"Looks like you gave Reiko-san some important information."
The guy taking notes looked up from his notebook and fixed his glasses. "I'm not called the 'data man' for nothing."
"That's true." Fuji walked over to Inui and looked out the window. "I find it quite rude if I didn't know the person that sends me threat letters. I was amazed to know that you even hold writing samples of every student here."
"Every piece of data has some use." Inui watched as Reiko walked back into the building away from the circle of girls. "By the way Fuji. Does Oishi know about this?"
Fuji shook his head. "I don't think he should know, given that Reiko told me not to tell. I'm sure Reiko can handle the situation herself. I think you have to agree with me that it's better he doesn't know."
"Yes. Knowing Oishi, he might even make the situation worse."
"It seems as the days go by, Reiko becomes even more interesting. Her inner self…I want to know what she's hiding." Fuji talked quietly as he walked back to his classroom.
"This could be good data."
To be cont.
(A/N: I hope that cleared up some things. Don't kill me for what just happened in this chapter. The story is still continuing and anything can change! No cliffhanger here I hope. Anyways, finals and GRE coming so I will be hiding out a bit. I hope you are enjoying the story and please review. I love hearing from the readers.)