Disclaimer: If I owned, I'd be rich. I'm not.
Author's Notes: Mostly flashback to Sakura's match against Tezuaka, and an explanation about why Ryoma and Sakura stop playing if she win 4 service games (doesn't apply if she breaks serve).
Chapter 8 - Remembering
Sakura was walking towards the tennis courts her father told her about, her mother and her didn't talk much; everyone was worried about Sakuno, she still wouldn't talk yet. It was her mother's idea that Sakura got out of the hospital for a little while and do something to take her mind off the upcoming funeral and her cousin. So her grandmother and father decided that taking Sakura to the tennis courts would be a good change of pace. Upon getting there, Sakura noticed a group of boys practicing one of the courts. Watching her daughter, Meichen asked her daughter if she wanted to join them. Sakura shook her head, and whispered in her mother's ear that she left her racket in their house in LA, so how could she play?
Her mother gave her daughter a smile, and tugged her small hand to follow into the courts. Sakura was aware of the boys staring at her, while her mother found their teacher and was talking to him. The tennis instructor looked at her and gave her a faint sympathetic smile before nodding to her mother. He came over to her with an extra racket and told her that she could come and practice with group at the same time any day. She nodded somewhat mechanically. She was introduced to a couple of the boys, whom all seemed nice enough, one with green eyes and black hair gave her a really big smile and tried to cheer her from her numbed state.
"Hi, I'm Oishi Syuichiroh and my friend over there practicing his serve is Tezuka Kunimitsu; we're both eight and have been playing for 2 years."
"Hello, I'm Ryuzaki Sakura; I'm 10," she stuttered speaking with a slight accent, which Oishi noticed.
"I haven't seen you around before, did you just move?"
"No, I'm visiting family during my vacation, I'm from the US. I'm sorry for my poor pronunciation, but I'm afraid I'm not very good at speaking Japanese."
The instructor then had them practice different swings by hitting balls to each of them. She was still distracted and the racket the instructor lent her was lighter than the one she used at home. When it was her turn to hit the ball using her back hand, she swung much harder than necessary and the ball not only went out of bounds but over the court fence. The other boys started to laugh at her, and she turned red. "You swung too hard, and you need to bend you knees more," Tezuka told her in a condescending tone.
At that moment, something in Sakura had snapped. She was worried about her younger cousin, still upset by her aunt's and uncle's death, attempting to play tennis with complete strangers while using a very strange racket, and some guy who didn't know a thing about her had the gall to tell her what she did wrong? It was too much for the young ten year old, and her two colored eyes flashed in anger, but she didn't say a word to him. No one seemed to notice her ire, except for her mother, who was watching on one side of the fence.
About an hour later, her mother told her that she needed to leave, and before leaving, Oishi asked if she'd come again. Sakura gave him a tentative smile and said she'd try. Looking at her mother, she noticed a small smirk on her face. Once back inside the hospital, Sakura spent her time trying to cheer her little cousin up, while her mother had a talk with her father and grandmother. After they returned to her grandmother's house, her mother presented her with a new racket.
"Your father and I were going to give it to you on your birthday, since you needed a new one anyway, but if you're going to the courts tomorrow, I suppose you can have it now. Oh, and Lena-chan, remember what your father told you, 'Never let your opponent know all of your best tricks at once.'" Meichen told her young daughter with a knowing smile. Sakura blankly looked up at her mother's eyes, and then Sakura started to smirk herself.
For the next week, Sakura practiced as if that summer was her first time playing tennis, half of her balls would land in court, while the next half would land out. However, what she really was doing was practicing her aim, she gave herself a small smile whenever she hit the ball exactly where she wanted it to land, it wasn't 100%, but she probably was hitting with 80% accuracy. She was having fun, until Tezuka made another off-handed remark to her about how she was doing something wrong, and then she'd be fuming for the rest of the hour. He did that everyday that she was there, as if he knew when she was having the most fun and he felt like bring her down. When her temper cooled, she realized that he was probably just trying to be nice, and help her out, but did he have to be so patronizing as well? Just because he was the best player there and all of the younger boys respected him didn't mean that he had to be so cold all the time.
The final straw came the day they tried to take Sakuno home from the hospital, but she refused to get into the car. Sakura was very worried for her cousin, they took her back because she was on the verge of becoming hysterical. Meichen took Sakura to the tennis courts to let out her pent up frustration at the current situation. Oishi asked her to play a one set match against him that day; she wasn't sure exactly why he had asked her, but she agreed on the condition that she got to call him Syu-kun if she won. The match wasn't easy because even back then Oishi was a very defensive and persistent player. She had decided to play her best but remembered her mother's advice not to show off all of her best tricks, and she still won the match. Sakura was pleased with herself, because she knew that she improved on her endurance, since she focused on her rally skills and not on her serves. She was happy until all of the observers of the match began to talk about how she got a lucky break. That madet her upset. Some of the said that Oishi threw the match. That made her mad. Then someone let it slip that Tezuka suggested the match because he thought she'd be an easy opponent. That made her furious. She turned around to Oishi, and the guilty look on his face confirmed the said words (The boys were 8 and very dumb and arrogant.). Sakura walked right up to Tezuka; her eyes dark with her rage, at least he had the decency to look a little flushed at her.
"Rough or smooth?" she practically spat out to him.
"What?"
"Rough or smooth? We play two set match, first set is warm up, second set is for real."
"No."
"This isn't a request." She hissed at him, "Just because you think I won't be a challenge is no reason to refuse a match. Besides, for you it's just a match, to me it's to prove to all of you stupid boys that I'm won that last match against Syu-kun fair and square."
Tezuka acquiesced to her reasoning, and then asked her if she had conditions if she won like her last match against Oishi. That was when she told him that is she won one set, she'd get to call him Kuni-kun, and if she won both sets, the two boys would have to get her a plush toy. She even knew which one she wanted, a white seal pup plush she saw at the hospital gift shop one day.
Sakura was still very angry during the first set, but instead of making mistakes, she remember what her father told her, she needed to learn more about Tezuka as a player, his strengths and weaknesses. It was a close match, but she did beat him 6-4, the look on the others' faces were memorable, as was the look on Tezuka's face when he congratulated her for beating him after only starting.
"I never said I started to play tennis, Kunimitsu. But if you wanted to know, I've been playing for 4 years." She told him right before she served him an ace.
Oh yes, the look of shock was definitely priceless. He didn't expect her to serve so fast, since the entire time Sakura was at the courts she worked on her aim, not her speed or her force. However, the force of that serve dictated the pace of the set. Tezuka didn't meekly back down, but rose to the challenge of beating a worthy opponent. They both were playing their best tennis that day, and somewhere in Sakura's mind, she realized that no other opponent would ever be as good as Tezuka. Not because he was a brilliant player, but because he truly loved the game, in that moment, Sakura knew that the sport was his life's blood, and how lucky she was to be able to play against someone like that. Running back and forth, from one end of the court to the other, both players refused to give each other an inch, until Tezuka hit the ball high over Sakura's head. She smirked, running back; she waited for the right moment before smashing the ball down straight on line. Sakura had just broken Tezuka's serve. She didn't know how much longer they played, but when they finished, she only muttered the phrase that seemed to run in the family, "Mada, made. . .dane," before giving the shocked boys a smile and ran off with her mother.
True to their word, Tezuka and Oishi gave her the small seal the next day, and Sakura began using their nicknames for the rest of the summer she was there. After the match both boys showed Sakura the respect she deserved not just as a player but as a person, which meant that Tezuka actually asked her questions about her life instead of just telling her what she did wrong in tennis. However, he would try to get her to play another match against him, but she always refused, saying that there was no point in playing again; he was the better player.
Tezuka spoke, interrupting Sakura's story, "What did you mean back then, that I was the better player? You still beat me."
Sakura expression was oddly neutral and her eyes enigmatic, "Just that you are the better player." Before anyone could say anything, Sakura stood up and walked towards the door again, "Karupin must be hungry, I'll go get him some food. Oh, and Ryoma, why don't you tell a story this time?"
Ryoma looked at her as if she was nuts, "And why would I want to do that when I still have your toy?"
Sakura smirked, "Because unless Sakuno gets Sealy by the time I get back, you won't see Karupin for a while." Ryoma lurched for a moment. "You see, Ryoma, you're all the way on the other side of the bed, while I'm standing by the door and about to leave to feed your cat, and I'm sure that Sakuno would love to have Karupin stay a while on the other hand you can just give me back my toy and tell us a story."
Ryoma sighed in defeat, "What story did you have in mind?"
"I don't know, how about telling them why you got Karupin in the first place?" Sakura asked before leaving the room.
Ryoma groaned, while Sakuno looked at him confused, "What's the matter Ryoma-kun?"
"Your cousin's evil; you know that? (What do you think? ^_~)
Sakuno looked at him strangely and shook her head. Ryoma sighed again, and reached under the bed to produce the hidden white plush. "Did Sakura ever write to you about being in the hospital 2 years ago?"
"Yeah, um, grandmother was really worried; apparently Sakura-neichan was practicing with one of Uncle's students, they were outside for a really long time, and she got stung by a bee-" Sakuno stopped talking seeing Ryoma looking uncomfortable. Something clicked in her mind, and she almost flew out of bed in shock, "THAT WAS YOU? SHE COULD'VE BEEN KILLED! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"
"WHAT?!"
Ryoma winced; a furious Sakura he was use to, an angry Sakuno and Tezuka was something completely different. He suddenly wondered why he felt like his life was endangered. Luckly, Sakura came back to stop the two from doing anything.
"As much as I love seeing Ryoma squirm, if it wasn't for his quick thinking I probably would be dead."
That stopped Sakuno and Tezuka from trying to strangle Ryoma. "How?" They both asked.
Sakura only stared at Ryoma, "This isn't my story, it's his; he should tell it."
Ryoma bowed his head in submission, "We were practicing, and I wasn't do as well as Sakura wanted."
*Damn it Ryoma, quit serving Twist Serves all the time! We're not here to work on your serves, nor are we here so you can beat me. We're suppose to practice your strategy and right now, you're doing really badly.* Sakura yelled at him as she returned one of his twist serves.
*Made, made, dane.*
*You're such a brat. I thought you said you weren't like your father, and here I find you stealing one of his favorite lines.* She taunted. Ryoma only narrowed his eyes at her; he wasn't happy with the observation and in his anger, he hit the incoming ball with too much force. It flew dangerously close to Sakura's face, but she didn't even flinch as it bounced out of bounds. *We're done today.*
*Yada.*
*Yes, we are. You're not taking this practice time seriously. You're letting your desire to win, and your emotions get in the way. The point of today was to work on tennis strategy not on strength, which you definitely don't think is worth your time, by the way we've been playing for the past hour. We're done.* Sakura's voice was emotionless while she spoke, but her eyes reflected her rage at the younger player.
*But we haven't finished the set. It's 4-4.* Ryoma protested.
*I don't give a damn, you're being an immature idiot; I can't believe your parents and my father think that you're ready for national competition.*
Sakura's words stung, *They think I'm skilled enough.*
*I don't disagree with that reasoning,* Sakura told him in a calmer tone. *However, when you go into competition you'll be facing players who will be older than you, some of the will be 16 maybe even 17. They'll be pretty much ready to go pro, and to them, you're just a green newbie. They're not going to care that this will be your first competition; all they're going to care about is getting the win and another title before they have to become peons again in the pro bracket.
Now some of them you can beat with your eyes close, but some of the others are the best in their age group Ryoma. They'll be harder to beat if you try to only beat them with raw talent and skill. They're going to expect that you may be able to pass the first couple of rounds depending on your opponent. However, they're also expecting you to show off all of your techniques in the first couple of matches. They want you to shock your first couple of opponents by revealing how far along you are in tennis, while they get to study how to systematically destroy you on the court. Tennis isn't just about who can hit the ball the fastest or hardest, it's also about knowing your opponents weak points, knowing when to attack and when to defend.* She sighed, *Ryoma, what was the first thing that my father told you about tennis?*
*'Never let your opponent know your best tricks at once.'*
*You didn't understand that rule when you first started, do you understand it now?* Sakura asked him softly.
Ryoma stared at her, letting her earlier words sink into his mind before giving her a small nod. *Why does your father want you to teach me about strategy? My stupid father could just teach me.*
Sakura gave the 10 year old a smile, *Your father suggested it actually,* the 14 year old paused before starting again. *Your father believes in the same rule that my father teaches. If he taught you himself, then he would violate that very rule, you'll have to beat him for real before he'll show you everything he knows about playing tennis.*
*Plus, you're the better schemer out of the two.*
She gave him a sad smile at the observation, *Mom, was the best, but she did teach me everything she knew. Come on, we'll start fresh tomorrow.*
*I think we should finish now.*
She looked at him before shaking her head and giving him a grin, *All right, but we'll need to move courts. Brian and Andrew are suppose to come, and they'll pitch a fit if they have to use the B courts.*
Ryoma nodded, it was well known that Andrew was afraid of bees, probably because he was allergic to their venom. The B courts were close to bushes of flowers, which were routinely visited by said creatures. However, in the past two years that Ryoma and Sakura had used the B courts, they and nod other players ever had a problem with bees, wasps, or hornets stinging them. So it was a silent rule at the courts that whenever Andrew came to train in the courts, and all of the other courts were full, whoever was at the courts the longest moved to B court. Sakura had been practicing with other students all day that Saturday, so she would have to move to the B court.
There weren't that many blooms yet, but enough for Sakura and Ryoma to notice a couple of bumblebees near the flowering bushes. Sakura turned to Ryoma, *You're not allergic right?*
*No, you?*
*Don't know, never been stung. And to be honest I don't want to find out the hard way.*
*Scared?* smirked Ryoma
*Shut up and serve, you dork.*
They practiced for about another half and hour before taking another break. During this time a lone bee landed by Sakura's water bottle. She didn't notice it, but Ryoma thought that giving his tormenter a little scare was in order. *Oy, Sakura there's a bumblebee on your shoulder.*
*Wha-which shoulder?*
*The left one.*
*Well, get it off me.*
Ryoma smirked as he gave Sakura a small whack with his racket.
*Aw! What was that for?*
*You said to get it off.*
*Brat.* And then she reached down to grab her bottle.
*Oy, there's one on your water bottle.*
*Nice try, but I'm not buying.*
*I'm serious.*
*Un huh, you're just waiting for me to say 'get rid of it.' So you can hit me with your racket again.*
*No, I'm serious.*
*Whatever.* She told him as she drank from her bottle. She dropped it a moment later and was staring at the backside of her left hand. Ryoma knew from the grimace on her face that she had been stung.
*I told you I was serious.*
*Ha ha,* Sakura mumbled as she tried to get the stinger out of her left hand. It was lucky that she had long nails as she pulled the foreign object out. She stretched out her hand, and checked for any immediate signs of a deadly reaction, such has hives and shortness of breath, while she pour water over a towel to wrap her hand in. Although Ryoma notice no immediate change, when she told them that they were finished, he agreed. They didn't get very far when Sakura collapsed on the walk way. She was having trouble breathing.
Ryoma's eyes widen and in his mind, he started to freak out. He tried to support her before looking around the courts. Then he remembered Andrew. Andrew was allergic to bee venom, maybe he have something to help Sakura. *Andrew!* he yelled as ran towards the other court.
*Damn it, Ryoma, you just can't come interrupt someone's match because you feel like it,* the irate older player started. He was about to continue his tirade when he noticed the fear in Ryoma's eyes. *What's wrong?*
*Sakura got stung by a bee and now she's having trouble breathing.*
The two players sprung into action at hearing Ryoma's words. Brian ran towards the clubhouse to find Sakura's father and to call 911 while Andrew rummaged through his practice bag. When he found what he was looking for, he and Ryoma ran back to Sakura.
*Why don't you have an alert bracelet Sakura?*
*Never – been – stung – before,* she stammered out. Andrew gave her an incredulous look before revealing his Epipen. He only looked at it unsure if he should use it or just carry Sakura to his car and drive like a manic to the nearest ER.
Ryoma saw the pen and wondered why Andrew didn't do anything with it. Sakura's breathing became labored and looking at her attempt to breathe scared him. Impulsively he grabbed the Epipen from Andrew's palm, took off the gray cap and jammed the pen into Sakura's leg before Andrew could protest.
"Then the paramedics came and afterwards, Sakura and her father gave me Karupin."
"Ryoma, what if Andrew didn't bring the Epipen? What if it was something else?" Sakuno started.
Ryoma gave a sheepish grin, "I don't know; I just knew that Sakura needed help, and Andrew wasn't doing a thing, so I just grabbed his Epipen. Besides, everything turned out okay."
Tezuka and Sakuno just stared at the younger player completely stunned by his attitude, while Sakura only giggled. Turning to her, Tezuka asked if she obtained a medical alert bracelet since he didn't see her wear one. She smiled and lifted out a chain around her neck with tags attached to it, which he hadn't noticed. "I have an alert tag. It was easier for me to remember to wear than the bracelet. Anyways about a week after my short stay at the ER my father and I went out and decided to get a cat for Ryoma and I chose the furball." Sakura stated and as if on cue, Karupin walked into the room and jumped on to the bed towards Ryoma.
"Is that why you only play up to four service games?" Tezuka asked.
Sakura nodded, "Only if I defend my four service games, doesn't count if I break his serve."
"As if you can now." Ryoma grunted.
Before Sakura could respond the phone rand and Sakura's father gave his daughter the phone. The conversation was short, but everyone noticed the scowl on Sakura's face when she hung up.
"What's wrong?" Sakuno asked her.
"I've been called in to do a shoot today."
"But I thought you told them you needed the day off."
"I did." Sakura commented darkly as she pulled back her hair to tie it up. "But Reika and Touya didn't show, so they need Ken and me to go fill in. Ken is suppose to come up and we're driving over to the shoot."
The boys rose believing it was time to leave. Sakuno thanked both for their visit and Ryoma told her that Karupin could stay with her for as long as she needed him. Sakura grinned seeing her younger cousin blushed as she thanked the young player. Before leaving, Sakura asked for Tezuka's cell number in case Sakuno wanted to go to the tournament. Tezuka appeared to be a bit puzzled but gave her the number anyway.
Jadeling's Notes: I can't believe how long this chapter is; I think it's at least double in length from my reg. chapters. Oy! I hope you liked this small side step from the story.
Beriath: Yipee! You reviewed! So, is Sakura still too much of a Mary Sue for you?
H0shiko: You liked the little eyes moments that I gave the characters, huh? Well, I'll have you know that it too me FOREVER to write those moments because I didn't want them to sound corny. So how did I do? Not too cheesy, right?
Hitori: As you can see, Sakura got her own brand of revenge on Ryoma, I think it suits her character, don't you?
Mithrandir89: I love stoic characters in general, like Aoshi, Zelgadis, Heero, Squall, Keith, etc. so of course Tezuka and Ryoma are my favorite characters from this Anime. Pairings for Sakura, she's only 16 and has expressed a very Cher from Clueless attitude about boys her age: they need to be trained. I know she's harsh; no, she has another reason; it's kind of alluded to in the next couple of chapters.
Okay, I hate to admit it, but I'm taking longer to post because my stupid muse (Phoenix) has decide to think about other storylines like Allura/Keith, Ami/Zoicite, Relena/Heero, and other Sakuno/Ryoma plots (Silly Phoenix!). This means that it's harder for me to focus on this story, Sorry! So, please be patient for me. Thanks! ~ Jadeling