Once again, minna, thanks a lot for the reviews, I appreciate them! Bleah but right now, I can't connect to the internet. So erm, I don't know whethr anyone left a review. Eh so, here's the continuation. I must finish this soon. Because I'm going back to school TOMORROW. For one thing, I simply CANNOT kill Atobe because, er Atobe fans will kill me in return. And I know he has HORDES of fangirls. TT LOL but I like him chibi-fied. And his arrogance! It's just funny. Uh. This COULD be the last chapter. Then again, there MIGHT be an epilogue. NYA and when I mean TEZUKA, I mean Kunimitsu. Just too weird for me to type Kunimitsu.
And thanks to Am Loves Syusuke who pointed out that I made a huge error(um which I have changed.). "Tezuka, you lost to me once. You WILL lost to the great ore-sama again." LOLLLLLLLLL XDXD gomen to the readers. Thanks again, Am Loves Syusuke! huge typo. LOL which made it a grammatical error. Eh and a lot of grammatical errors! Um i have bad grammar. About 'He possibly wouldn't cheat on me', which is def. WRONG, hahaha. Thanks a lot, Am Loves Syusuke. I speak English everyday, but my grammar sucks. ; eh and I changed the part where 'he turned back, waiting to hear what else did Yuko want to say'. I changed it to 'he turned back, and waited to hear what else yuko wanted to say.' Sounds better eh? And Am Loves Syusuke corrected me again. Thanksss! And another one. 'Yuko went deep in thought.' Thanks to Am Loves Syusuke, once again, it's supposed to be 'Yuko went deep into thought.' Sounds better, right? Hahaha, thanks to her I OWE YOU BIG TIMEEE! Eh and she corrected my 'sumptuous' to 'scrumptious'. Hehe. THANKS. :)
Atobe entered the silent room, with Kabaji trailing behind.
"Kabaji! The flowers."
"Usu," Kabaji said, handing a bouquet of flowers to Yuko. She smiled gratefully, and gestured the two of them to take a seat. However, Atobe commanded Kabaji to sit outside, and Kabaji never retaliated his 'master'.
"That's nice of you to visit me, Keigo," Yuko said. She forced herself to smile somehow; because he was glaring at Tezuka. Tezuka was back to his old emotionless self; he only wanted to show his emotions to Yuko only.
"So, Tezuka, you're going to Germany?" Atobe asked, raising an eyebrow. He nodded his head.
"Yes. Yuko is coming with me as well. We were just discussing about it just now," Tezuka continued, looking at his fiancée. She grinned, and nodded her head. This time, Atobe stood up.
"Tezuka, you lost to me once. You WILL lose to the great ore-sama again. Yuko doesn't want to marry you, doesn't want to be your fiancée, and all the more doesn't want to go to Germany with you. Right, Yuko?" he said, smirking. He clutched Yuko's hand tightly. She tried to wriggle free, but his grip on her was tight. She used her other hand to shove Atobe's hand away. Startled, Atobe let his grip on Yuko loosen. She didn't seem to like it.
"Manners, please, Keigo. Aren't you aware that I, in fact, AM engaged to Kunimitsu?" she said, irritated. She lifted up her left hand, and Keigo saw that. That glimmering diamond ring that shone even without the help of a spotlight. He bit his bottom lip, but then smirked as usual. HE was the great Atobe. He didn't need Yuko for his life to be perfect. In fact, it was even perfect, without Yuko.
"Well, suit yourself then. I'll be off now. Take care. Kabaji, let's go," Atobe scoffed in his usual arrogant tone.
"Usu," said the bigger, muscular boy, opening the door for his 'master'. Atobe turned back and smirked at the two, and continued walking off.
"Ano, Kunimitsu.." Yuko started. Her blue eyes darted towards the boy.
"Did you mean it when you said I was going to go Germany with you?"
"Why not? It would be an experience. You might like it there."
"B-but.."
"However, it is up to you. It would be easier for you to stay here though. I'm just afraid you're not used to their language, culture, and the surroundings."
"Eh.. but if you need me to go, I will!" Yuko said, now her face full of concern towards her fiancé.
"Well, why don't you give me your decision this evening during dinner?" Tezuka commented, before being cut off by the sound of his handphone beeping. He had received a SMS.
Don't forget about our meeting, Tezuka!
-Ryuzaki-sensei
"Sorry, but I have to go now. I'm supposed to meet Ryuzaki-sensei soon," Tezuka said, trailing off.
"Go, then! Take care, Kunimitsu. Oh, and one thing," Yuko said, turning to the hazel-eyed boy. He turned back, and waited to hear what else Yuko wanted to say.
"I love you."
"I love you too. Now, be a good girl and take care."
"I will! Bye."
The room was filled with silence. Then, Yuko went deep into thought. Should she go to Germany? But, what if he needed her badly? Instead, what if she was bothering him during therapy? There was no need for her to go all the way to Germany just to tend to his needs. He should be well taken care of in Germany.
So, Yuko made her decision. However, she needed more opinions. She checked her watch, hoping that she wouldn't be disturbing any of her friends when asking for their opinions.
9 AM. Surely everyone wouldn't be a lazy pig and still be sleeping till this time!
However, Yuko was wrong. Mika had been in slumberland when she called her house.
"Ara(eh), who's this?" Mika asked groggily. She definitely had a late night last night.
"It's me, Yuko!" Yuko said cheerily. She told Mika her full story, including the ring, and also about Tezuka asking her whether she wanted to go to Germany with him.
"Ah, you're so lucky, Yuko! It was so sweet for Tezuka-kun to give you a DIAMOND ring! You MUST let me see it some day. And about going to Germany, I'm not so sure. It's so far away! We'll definitely miss you over here," Mika said. She seemed more like her elder sister.
"But, do you think Kunimitsu will need me to tend to him? After all, he has SO many people attending to him already! His trainer, the nurses.."
"Nurses? Hmm. Better keep an eye out on your Mitsu-CHAN," Mika teased. She chuckled lightly.
"Nah, Kunimitsu wouldn't dare! Must have taken him a lot of his courage to even hand me that ring. He possibly wouldn't cheat on me!" Yuko assured Mika. Mika agreed with her; that was the coldest person she ever met.
"Since there are a lot of people who can take care of him, and since you trust him, I think it would be more convenient for you to stay here. Besides, there's this modern item known as the computer, Internet, phone, and the aeroplane, if he decides to come back for a short break."
"You're right. And, I DO know such things exist, Mika-nee-chan."
"Fine then! Eh, Taka is calling me for breakfast! Ja ne!" Mika said, before hanging up on Yuko. However, Yuko needed more than ONE opinion. Therefore, she decided to call Miyuki.
Miyuki was never known for her eagerness to face the next morning. She would sleep until noontime, and obviously sleep at 3 in the morning. However, Yuko totally forgot how her friends were. She forgot that they were nocturnal; living during nighttime, and asleep during the day.
Then, her darned handphone ran. Kuso.(shit) Who would be calling so early in the morning? Aah, I couldn't be stuffed. Miyuki thought, canceling the call. However, the caller persisted on waking Miyuki up. Finally, after canceling 10 calls, she gave up, and answered the phone, half-asleep.
"HEY. What do you want? I was having a nice dream, dammit!" Miyuki said, annoyed. In fact, her 'nice' dream wasn't that nice actually. She dreamt that it was someone calling her non-stop, and it wasn't sweet at all.
"Eh, Miyuki? You're still asleep? You shouldn't sleep in until so late! Definitely not good for health!" Yuko nagged.
"Yuko? A-ah gomen. Um, yeah. What's that so important that you needed to call ELEVEN times?" Miyuki asked. There must be something up. Yuko wouldn't call ELEVEN times for nothing. Yuko told the whole story to Miyuki, and also about Tezuka asking her to go to Germany.
"Hahaha, I knew you'd LOVE the ring."
"I bet you tipped him off. How much did you charge him, as commission?"
"Hey! He ASKED what you liked. Why can't I be good girl and tell my brother what his fiancée wants so much? Ah, and I didn't charge him commission. But I should have! Thanks for reminding me. The next time I see him, I'll ask him for 3000 yen," Miyuki said, giggling.
"HEY! That's highway robbery. And I won't let you get away with it!" Yuko said, mockingly. Miyuki was just so funny.
"You work as a part-time policewoman? Oh, and CORRECTION. It's not highway robbery. It's called 'younger-sister-asking-brother-for-some-dough'. Eh, and about going to Germany? That would be freaking cool. I wanna go too!"
"Your head. I'm asking you, should I go or not? There will be a lot of people taking care of him there.. and I know he won't two-time me over there. Must have taken him a lot of guts to even hand me that ring."
"Hahaha, actually, it IS true, he will be well-fed and taken care of. You don't need to worry. And YES, he was practicing with the mirror in the toilet on how to hand you that ring. At first, he asked me, but I said, it would be a lot better to do so with the mirror, because it won't throw him back with silly answers."
"Hmm.. thanks anyway. I'll think about it. Ja ne!" Yuko said, cutting the line. She then called Yuki for her opinion, who simply said that Yuko should stay in Japan. They would even save on airfare, accommodation and food. Then, Yuko finally made her decision.
That evening..
"And that's why I think I needn't go to Germany with Kunimitsu. He'll be fine, right, Mitsu-CHAN?" Yuko teased. Everyone on the dining table laughed, except for Tezuka. Tezuka's face turned to a shade of pink for a moment, and then his stoic face remained as stony as usual.
"Don't call me that. You're sure you don't want to go?" Tezuka asked once again. Yuko shook her head, smiling. Then, they ceased all conversations and enjoyed Yuko's culinary skills.
It had been many, many weeks since Yuko's terrible asthma attack. She often went for check-ups, sometimes accompanied by the worried Tezuka, or if he was busy, Miyuki would take Yuko to the hospital. Yuko's condition got better because she knew she couldn't risk her life anymore. Life was precious.
On that morning when Yuko woke up, she looked at the calendar, crossing out another day. Then, she noticed the note on that morning. It merely said : Mitsu-chan leaves for Germany. :( Yuko heaved a deep sigh, but she knew that day would come. It was heartaching for her to part from her loved one, but sometimes she just had to let him go. It was for his good too. He had a future in tennis, and she couldn't stop him from treating his arm, which had ruined his career, until they found out it could be healed. It was winter, and she gazed out at the window. It's snowing.
Yuko dressed and drowned herself in her thoughts. Was it right for me to not go to Germany? Should I go there? But then, it's already too late to make such a decision. Besides, Kunimitsu's going to be fine, and I know it.
She went downstairs to prepare breakfast, and decided to make unagi for Kunimitsu. I doubt there are many Japanese restaurants in Germany, and besides, their cooking cannot be as good as the cooking in Japan. Oh. And there's that eel! Yatta! (yes!)
Once again, Yuko stunned the Tezuka family with her new dish : the Kunimitsu-chan special. Tezuka cringed at the sound of his cute nickname. Sigh, she never understood that he needed his pride. It was unagi simmered in some special broth, and served with rice.
After their scrumptious and satisfying meal, Tezuka reminded his family members that he needed to head to the airport. Oishi and Ryuzaki-sensei was already at the Tezuka residence to pick him up to send him to the airport. Tezuka's father was already at work, and his grandfather just said 'goodbye' before tending to his needy bonsai plants. Tezuka's mother thought of following Tezuka, but then she had a household to run. Miyuki was still asleep; as usual. However, Yuko insisted on following Tezuka. It was the last time she was going to see him in a long time.
So, the four of them clambered into Ryuzaki-sensei's car. They headed off to the international terminal. After checking in, Tezuka was talking to Oishi, his team's vice-captain, and also to his team's coach, Ryuzaki-sensei.
"Flight JL0011, heading to Frankfurt is now ready for boarding through gate C20," blared the loudspeaker. Tezuka knew it was finally time for him to leave his home country to a foreign place he knew nothing of. However, it was Tezuka Kunimitsu you were talking about, the perfectionist. Obviously, he had done a lot of research, and also went for German classes and spoke like a German himself.
After bidding goodbyes to Oishi and Ryuzaki-sensei, he turned to Yuko. Her blue orbs gazed at him meaningfully.
"Yuko. Take care. I'll miss you, oh, and.."
"And?" Yuko asked, hoping to hear the three words she had been waiting for.
"I love you," Tezuka said, hugging her. It was a public place; he couldn't kiss her right in front of everyone.
"Don't forget to e-mail me! And also, call me! Tell me how things are in Germany. It's really far away, Kunimitsu. You need to take care, alright? I'll be waiting for you."
"I'll be back very soon. Don't you worry. Anyway, I'd better catch my flight right now. Sayonara."
"Sayonara, Kunimitsu. I love you."
Yuko saw her love go into the gate, and onto the Boeing 747-400 headed to Frankfurt, Germany.
I love you, Kunimitsu, and I always will.
Um, yeah. That kind of an ending I did. Don't worry, there will be an epilogue. . Well you could guess what it would be. Um, happy ending! Don't worry. Hahaha. I couldn't kill any one of them! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed it. Thanks for the reviews, I DO enjoy reading them. owari. For now. Eh but I will take quite some time to upload the epilogue, school has started and my homework is piling up. TT