Kenita chatted on about herself, Tezuka only half listened. They had their supper and were preparing for sleep.
Kenita fell suspiciously quiet as the lights in the aircraft were switched off. 'Peace,' Tezuka thought and closed his eyes, his spectacles safe in his spectacles box.
Tezuka felt something heavy on his shoulder when he woke up. Kenita's head was resting peacefully on his shoulder.
As he shoulder did not feel pressurized, he left her alone. He looked down and saw that she was holding her sketchbook, opened to a page she was still working on. The person in the picture had only the hair and the shape of the face. The features were not completely drawn yet.
He took the book lightly out of her hands and flipped through it, examining her teammates who she was so fond of. Indeed all of them were made to look like superstars, with fancy dresses and almost perfect faces. Were there really such people with perfect appearances in the world?
Beside him, Kenita stirred a little. Quickly and swiftly, like the tennis player he was, he flipped the book back to its original page and slipped it back into her hands.
He realized something. Whatever she had always ranted on about herself, he realized that it wasn't about her life. Sure, those were people in her life, but she only talked about their lives. He found out that he did not really know about her.
Not too soon, she woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she sleepily took out a comb from her bag and pulled it through her hair. It wasn't tangled up. Stretching herself, she greeted, "Ohayo, Kunimitsu."
Ha. Not a word about her sleeping against him. Not thanks either.
"Ohayo," Tezuka replied.
He stood up to go to the bathroom, and Kenita followed suit. When he came back, she was already there, working on her drawing. As Tezuka sat down beside her, she slowly closed her sketchbook. Without warning, she cried. It was a silent cry. Just like that. The tears flowed.
Tezuka could only stare as the other passengers continued to sleep. In the dark cabin, he could still see the shining tears flowing steadily down her cheeks. It was silent, yet she was still smiling that dazzling smile.
Just as suddenly as she started, she stopped. She quickly dried her eyes with a readied tissue and she slowly opened her sketchbook again. She stopped and put down her pencil. Then she looked up to meet Tezuka's eyes.
"You're back!"
She never noticed him when she cried.
The moment the plane's doors were opened, she had burst her way through everyone, arousing many angry shouts. She had whispered goodbye to Tezuka before rushing off. And she left something in his hands. A portrait of him. He was looking at himself without a mirror. It was so detailed, that it looked almost alive, even though it was black and white.
"Hn," he muttered to no one.
"Ah, Yanagi Kenita, we've been waiting for you," the woman at the desk smiled superiorly at her. "Please do wait, while I get your things ready for you."
After some shuffling of papers here and there, she finally folded them neatly and put them in an envelop for her.
"Your sister has arranged everything for you, the kind soul! I hope you will enjoy your long stay here. And you do not have to pay anything, everything's been paid by your sister."
Kenita smiled her thanks while the lady looked at her excitedly. Kenita thought she saw the lady look longingly at her signature after she had signed the paper. So, she has been heard of here.
---
Turning her keys, she stumbled into her room and looked around. It was small, sure, but just nice for one or two persons. The homey touches couldn't be missed, and the soft colors which brought a sense of peacefulness. It was a serviced-apartment, which was the best they had in the boarding school. If you considered this much exquisite like a school.
Just right beside her room was the main hall, and on the right of the hall were the boys' rooms.
Her sister knew her tricks too well. Arita had came up with a flaw-free plan and everything went perfectly, from forcing Kenita onto the plane to making Kenita feel 'welcomed' enough in the school. Arita even asked for a small place in the apartment to put up with some special mattresses to do her stretching on.
Argh, Kenita thought, irritated, as she picked up the phone and called Arita's number. The phone rang three times before being picked up.
"Kenita!"
"Arita."
"Come on, be more lively! I know you're alone there with no one, but you'll make friends soon!"
"Yeah, as if you're ever lively as our buchou!"
"That, you know what I mean."
"I met someone on the plane, though. I'm guessing he's coming to this school I am at now, but I may not see him again. He plays tennis too."
"Like, of course, you're in a tennis school."
"Tell mom I've arrived safely with no more broken bones."
"Hai."
"Bye." Kenita immediately put down the phone.
---
Tezuka waited patiently while the lady at the desk shuffled and reshuffled his papers. Finally, after she made sure the papers were neat and tidy, she gave them to Tezuka, fingers brushing slightly against his. Tezuka thanked her as politely as ever and proceeded to his room.
His was a serviced-apartment, and he thanked Ryuzaki-sensei silently for the team's payment for his stay in Germany.
He sent an SMS to his parents and Ryuzaki-sensei to inform them of his safe arrival.
Ding, dong, dang.
"Please proceed to the main hall." An announcement was made.
Tezuka sighed inwardly. He had just reached and he hadn't even started unpacking yet. Though it wasn't a hurry as he had three more days before the real classes start.
He took his time as the hall was just next to his room. Finally, he heard the noise outside his room die down. The others must have entered the hall by now.
Taking his keys, he locked his door and turned around just in time to see Kenita closing her room door. 'She must be a good player to be accepted here,' was the first thing that came to his mind.
She looked up suddenly and smiled when she saw him. She gave a small wave before heading towards him.
"Looks like we have the hall as a neighbor, Kunimitsu."
"Hn."
Review replies
Someone : Yep, thanks for pointing that out. So I've put A/N to tell everyone that I'll have to bend a few rules. Hehe.
KatrinaKaiba: Sure she was drawing a picture of Tezuka, as revealed in this chaper.
Thanks to:
Lady Light, Tsuki Mizuno, xxlemonsxx
A/N: Right, I'm still developing Kenita's character, so I may be wrong with the writing of her replies and reactions, but I will try my best.
Alternate-Mysteries