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The Encounter
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"We're finally here! Okaa-san, I'm going out to walk around with Hika."
"Okay, but some home early. We still have to unpack."
"Hai!" She left and went to meet Hikani in the park.
"What took you Miki?"
"Gomen, there were a lot of boxes. I still can't believe we live in the same building. Now we can go to school together."
"And we can also stay together as late as we want." .
"Come on Miki, let's hit the tennis courts."
"Okay, let's go visit Seigaku afterwards. I want to see what kind of school we're going to be in."
They didn't have to walk far. There was a tennis court in the park.
"There's so much people, must be a match going on. Let's go watch." Miki ran down the road. Hikani smiled and thought, that Miki, she's always on hyper drive when it comes to tennis.
"Hika look, that's Ryo-kun."
"It is! I didn't expect to see him so soon."
Just then Ryoma did a twist serve, hitting his opponent in the head. He was knocked unconscious. Miki laughed until tears came out, and Hika was trying to hold it in. She didn't like to laugh at other people's misfortune.
Miki saw that Ryoma was about to leave and called him. "Ryo-kun!"
Ryoma looked to see who would call him that. He knew only two people. He glanced through the onlookers and saw a girl waving her hand. Ryoma smiled, a very rare sight. "Miki-oneechan, Hika-oneechan what are you two doing here?"
"We moved," replied Hikani.
"Don't mind us. I thought you had a tournament, what are you doing here?"
"I was late to register."
"Nani?!" exclaimed Miki and Hikani.
"Doesn't matter, it wasn't important."
Hika smiled, "Ryo-kun you haven't changed at all."
Ryoma didn't say anything to that.
"We're going to look around, see you later Ryo-kun. Oh and tell your parents I said hi. Ja ne." Miki and Hikani left to look around Seigaku.
School was only a few minutes away from the park. They walked around school grounds, but they didn't go inside. Miki didn't want to go in until school started.
"I'm surprised there's so much people here. Everyone must love school."
"Look Miki, the only people here are athletes. It's probably summer practice."
"Oh right, hehe."
They went to the school tennis courts. They came across a sign that pointed boys and girls courts. They went to the girls' first since it was closest.
"Wow they have four courts. We only had two in America."
"Yeah, because of the limited space."
"But it's quite empty."
"That's because there was a friendly match going on today."
Miki and Hikani turned to see who said that. "Who are you?"
"Oh you're new here? I'm the English teacher, Yamata-sensei. Nice to meet you." Yamata-sensei had long blond hair. She was wearing a white blouse with an ankle length purple flowered skirt.
"Nice to meet you," replied Miki and Hikani as they bowed.
"I'll see you two again when school starts. Sayonara."
"Sayonara sensei."
"She seems nice, I think she's American" said Hikani.
"Yeah, I hope all the other teachers are like her."
They walked to the boys' courts. There were a lot of boys, both belonging to the club and bystanders, notably lots of female students. Miki and Hikani looked around. They saw the regulars practice precision hitting and the non-regulars were either swinging their racquets or running.
"Not bad," said Hikani.
"Can't tell until I've seen them play a game."
"True. It's getting late, we still have to go home and help our parents unpack."
"Okay."
They were walking back home when Miki suddenly stopped.
"Hika-chan, go home first. I'll be home soon."
Hikani looked worried for a second, but she didn't question Miki. She left and Miki went to walk to the grass hill nearby. (AN: The place where Kaidoh was practicing his boomerang snake) It's so pretty here, she thought, with the sunset reflecting on the water. I could come to love this place.
She saw a stray cat nearby. Miki was always a sucker for cats. She plucked some grass and went to play with the cat. The cat was using its paws to knock the grass, and succeeded when the pieces of grass flew out of Miki's hand. The wind blew it to the middle of the road. The cat chased after it and stopped in the middle of the road. "Matte! It's dangerous!" Wait a minute - it's a cat. Why am I talking to it? she thought. Miki ran after it. She caught it then suddenly she heard a car honking. She turned to look and saw a truck headed her way. She didn't even have time to react.
Tezuka, who was on the opposite side of the street, saw everything. He immediately dropped his bike and dashed for Miki. He pushed her out of the way with his arms tight around her. They fell down the grass hill and stopped right before the river. She landed on top of him. His hand cradled Miki's head to protect her from the impact. Miki felt her heart beating rapidly, in sync with Tezuka's. They stayed in that position for minutes with the cat between them. When her heart settled, Miki realized what position she was in and jumped away from Tezuka's embrace. Her face turns all red.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Are you okay?"
Miki nodded, "I'm fine, you protected me from the fall." Miki blushed again, remembering their embrace.
"Your knee." Tezuka saw that her knee was scraped.
Miki looked down and saw the blood trickling down. "Oh, I didn't even feel it."
"It's the adrenaline." Tezuka kneeled down and took out a handkerchief and tied it around Miki's wound. "I have to go. Ja, take care of your injury." Tezuka went across the street, got on his bike and took off.
"Matte!" Miki yelled, but Tezuka was already too far to hear. "I didn't even get your name." She whispered. The cat looked at her and softly purred.
********
When Tezuka arrived at the clinic, Oishi was already there.
"It's rare for you to be so late, even though the appointment is still 10 minutes away."
"There was a problem coming here." Tezuka thought back to the girl he saw. He remembered how it felt holding her in his arms. He knew he wouldn't have let her go on his own. Tezuka smiled.
Oishi saw Tezuka smile. He must be in a good mood. He rarely smiles like that. It must be the "problem" he encountered. Oishi knew not to question Tezuka, since he wouldn't say anything.
They went inside to see the doctor five minutes later. The doctor, Oishi's uncle, did some X-Rays to see how Tezuka's elbow was progressing.
"How is it?" Oishi asked.
"Tezuka-san's arm is healing rapidly. It must be youth. In another month or two there should be no more pain. If anything happens come see me immediately."
"Arigatou." Tezuka got up and they both left.
On the train, Oishi commented, "Your elbow should be recovered before we enter the Kantou. Maybe you shouldn't play with your left arm in the matches before then for quicker recovery."
Tezuka didn't say anything. Oishi sighed. He knew Tezuka wasn't going to agree, Tezuka would never allow others to know he was injured, but Oishi thought he should at least mention it.
********
"Tadaima!"
"Miki, what took you so long to get home? Hika-chan was home an hour ago."
"Gomen, there was a problem on the way home."
Miki's mom noticed the handkerchief tied around her knee. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"Iie, it's just a slight scratch, I'm okay mom. Don't worry. Can we keep him?" Miki asked as she showed the cat to her mom.
"I don't know if this apartment allows pets." Miki's mom pondered about the situation. She also wanted a cat, but. "It's a stray?" Miki nodded. "Ask your dad if it's ok, and if he says it's fine then ask the land lord if you can keep pets in the apartment. If he also says it's fine then you can keep him but you have to go to the vet and get him checked out."
Miki jumped up and down in joy. She hugged her mom. "You're the best."
"Leave the cat here, I'll feed it."
Afterwards Miki went upstairs and plopped down on her bed. All of a sudden she was very tired. Must be jet lag, she thought. She stayed on the bed thinking about her rescuer. Who are you? She started drifting to sleep.
"MIKI!! It's time for dinner."
Miki woke up from her nap. "Hai hai, I'm coming." She went downstairs and saw Hikani and her family. After dinner Miki brought Hikani into her bedroom. She told Hikani everything regarding her encounter with the mysterious guy who saved her.
"It's too bad you didn't get his name or number."
"I have a feeling we'll meet again."
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What do you think so far? Bad good? I'm gonna write more soon and try to make weekly updates.
The Encounter
************************************************************************
"We're finally here! Okaa-san, I'm going out to walk around with Hika."
"Okay, but some home early. We still have to unpack."
"Hai!" She left and went to meet Hikani in the park.
"What took you Miki?"
"Gomen, there were a lot of boxes. I still can't believe we live in the same building. Now we can go to school together."
"And we can also stay together as late as we want." .
"Come on Miki, let's hit the tennis courts."
"Okay, let's go visit Seigaku afterwards. I want to see what kind of school we're going to be in."
They didn't have to walk far. There was a tennis court in the park.
"There's so much people, must be a match going on. Let's go watch." Miki ran down the road. Hikani smiled and thought, that Miki, she's always on hyper drive when it comes to tennis.
"Hika look, that's Ryo-kun."
"It is! I didn't expect to see him so soon."
Just then Ryoma did a twist serve, hitting his opponent in the head. He was knocked unconscious. Miki laughed until tears came out, and Hika was trying to hold it in. She didn't like to laugh at other people's misfortune.
Miki saw that Ryoma was about to leave and called him. "Ryo-kun!"
Ryoma looked to see who would call him that. He knew only two people. He glanced through the onlookers and saw a girl waving her hand. Ryoma smiled, a very rare sight. "Miki-oneechan, Hika-oneechan what are you two doing here?"
"We moved," replied Hikani.
"Don't mind us. I thought you had a tournament, what are you doing here?"
"I was late to register."
"Nani?!" exclaimed Miki and Hikani.
"Doesn't matter, it wasn't important."
Hika smiled, "Ryo-kun you haven't changed at all."
Ryoma didn't say anything to that.
"We're going to look around, see you later Ryo-kun. Oh and tell your parents I said hi. Ja ne." Miki and Hikani left to look around Seigaku.
School was only a few minutes away from the park. They walked around school grounds, but they didn't go inside. Miki didn't want to go in until school started.
"I'm surprised there's so much people here. Everyone must love school."
"Look Miki, the only people here are athletes. It's probably summer practice."
"Oh right, hehe."
They went to the school tennis courts. They came across a sign that pointed boys and girls courts. They went to the girls' first since it was closest.
"Wow they have four courts. We only had two in America."
"Yeah, because of the limited space."
"But it's quite empty."
"That's because there was a friendly match going on today."
Miki and Hikani turned to see who said that. "Who are you?"
"Oh you're new here? I'm the English teacher, Yamata-sensei. Nice to meet you." Yamata-sensei had long blond hair. She was wearing a white blouse with an ankle length purple flowered skirt.
"Nice to meet you," replied Miki and Hikani as they bowed.
"I'll see you two again when school starts. Sayonara."
"Sayonara sensei."
"She seems nice, I think she's American" said Hikani.
"Yeah, I hope all the other teachers are like her."
They walked to the boys' courts. There were a lot of boys, both belonging to the club and bystanders, notably lots of female students. Miki and Hikani looked around. They saw the regulars practice precision hitting and the non-regulars were either swinging their racquets or running.
"Not bad," said Hikani.
"Can't tell until I've seen them play a game."
"True. It's getting late, we still have to go home and help our parents unpack."
"Okay."
They were walking back home when Miki suddenly stopped.
"Hika-chan, go home first. I'll be home soon."
Hikani looked worried for a second, but she didn't question Miki. She left and Miki went to walk to the grass hill nearby. (AN: The place where Kaidoh was practicing his boomerang snake) It's so pretty here, she thought, with the sunset reflecting on the water. I could come to love this place.
She saw a stray cat nearby. Miki was always a sucker for cats. She plucked some grass and went to play with the cat. The cat was using its paws to knock the grass, and succeeded when the pieces of grass flew out of Miki's hand. The wind blew it to the middle of the road. The cat chased after it and stopped in the middle of the road. "Matte! It's dangerous!" Wait a minute - it's a cat. Why am I talking to it? she thought. Miki ran after it. She caught it then suddenly she heard a car honking. She turned to look and saw a truck headed her way. She didn't even have time to react.
Tezuka, who was on the opposite side of the street, saw everything. He immediately dropped his bike and dashed for Miki. He pushed her out of the way with his arms tight around her. They fell down the grass hill and stopped right before the river. She landed on top of him. His hand cradled Miki's head to protect her from the impact. Miki felt her heart beating rapidly, in sync with Tezuka's. They stayed in that position for minutes with the cat between them. When her heart settled, Miki realized what position she was in and jumped away from Tezuka's embrace. Her face turns all red.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Are you okay?"
Miki nodded, "I'm fine, you protected me from the fall." Miki blushed again, remembering their embrace.
"Your knee." Tezuka saw that her knee was scraped.
Miki looked down and saw the blood trickling down. "Oh, I didn't even feel it."
"It's the adrenaline." Tezuka kneeled down and took out a handkerchief and tied it around Miki's wound. "I have to go. Ja, take care of your injury." Tezuka went across the street, got on his bike and took off.
"Matte!" Miki yelled, but Tezuka was already too far to hear. "I didn't even get your name." She whispered. The cat looked at her and softly purred.
********
When Tezuka arrived at the clinic, Oishi was already there.
"It's rare for you to be so late, even though the appointment is still 10 minutes away."
"There was a problem coming here." Tezuka thought back to the girl he saw. He remembered how it felt holding her in his arms. He knew he wouldn't have let her go on his own. Tezuka smiled.
Oishi saw Tezuka smile. He must be in a good mood. He rarely smiles like that. It must be the "problem" he encountered. Oishi knew not to question Tezuka, since he wouldn't say anything.
They went inside to see the doctor five minutes later. The doctor, Oishi's uncle, did some X-Rays to see how Tezuka's elbow was progressing.
"How is it?" Oishi asked.
"Tezuka-san's arm is healing rapidly. It must be youth. In another month or two there should be no more pain. If anything happens come see me immediately."
"Arigatou." Tezuka got up and they both left.
On the train, Oishi commented, "Your elbow should be recovered before we enter the Kantou. Maybe you shouldn't play with your left arm in the matches before then for quicker recovery."
Tezuka didn't say anything. Oishi sighed. He knew Tezuka wasn't going to agree, Tezuka would never allow others to know he was injured, but Oishi thought he should at least mention it.
********
"Tadaima!"
"Miki, what took you so long to get home? Hika-chan was home an hour ago."
"Gomen, there was a problem on the way home."
Miki's mom noticed the handkerchief tied around her knee. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"Iie, it's just a slight scratch, I'm okay mom. Don't worry. Can we keep him?" Miki asked as she showed the cat to her mom.
"I don't know if this apartment allows pets." Miki's mom pondered about the situation. She also wanted a cat, but. "It's a stray?" Miki nodded. "Ask your dad if it's ok, and if he says it's fine then ask the land lord if you can keep pets in the apartment. If he also says it's fine then you can keep him but you have to go to the vet and get him checked out."
Miki jumped up and down in joy. She hugged her mom. "You're the best."
"Leave the cat here, I'll feed it."
Afterwards Miki went upstairs and plopped down on her bed. All of a sudden she was very tired. Must be jet lag, she thought. She stayed on the bed thinking about her rescuer. Who are you? She started drifting to sleep.
"MIKI!! It's time for dinner."
Miki woke up from her nap. "Hai hai, I'm coming." She went downstairs and saw Hikani and her family. After dinner Miki brought Hikani into her bedroom. She told Hikani everything regarding her encounter with the mysterious guy who saved her.
"It's too bad you didn't get his name or number."
"I have a feeling we'll meet again."
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What do you think so far? Bad good? I'm gonna write more soon and try to make weekly updates.
