Chapter Nineteen: The White Message
Disclaimer: I still don't own Prince of Tennis… Seriously.
Author's Note: Here's chapter nineteen! Remember, the complete Author's Note for this fic is posted in chapter one. But here are the warnings, summarized for your convenience: May contain spoilers/ shonen-ai/ not-shonen-ai/ please review/ flamers are punished with either laps, or Inui Juice, or Ryoma's snarky comments, or all three! Lol.
Here's the next chapter, at long last! Sorry for the delay, but real life got in the way of my writing for a little while… I tried really hard to make this chapter enjoyable, though. It's also by far the longest chapter, so I hope it was worth the wait. Again, a HUGE thank you to all reviewers and loyal readers! Without you all, this fic would have never made it this far. Well, let me know what you all think of chapter nineteen!
There was something I always wanted to tell you.
I never found the words, but they burned on my heart.
It was a message of longing, and of gratitude…
I never said it, but I always wished that I had.
…
Ryoma stood in front of the building and lifted up his head, taking a good look at his current surroundings. The sight stirred the memories locked away in his mind, and he found himself recalling the first time that he'd walked up this same pathway, completely unaware that his life was about to change forever.
He couldn't resist a tiny smile, remembering how apathetic he'd been on his first day of school. Little had he known what would happen when he decided to attend Seishun Gakuen for his first year in junior high…
… But then, how could he have possibly known what was in store for him back then? His first and only true friendships? A newly-acquired ambition in life? A turn of events that would eventually lead to four straight Wimbledon championships? Well, of course not…
But it did make Ryoma feel strangely nostalgic, even though he would have never admitted this fact out loud.
A bit slowly, he began walking around the large building, taking the familiar stroll to the back of the school, where the tennis courts were. Everything was quiet; presumably the students were on summer break. It was certainly getting late; the faint glow of sunset was coating the pavement a burnished gold.
Ryoma turned a corner and stopped in his tracks.
There they were. Just like always.
He walked toward the chain link fence, peering through the wire into the tennis courts. The familiar green tint of the surfacing and the crisp white lines hadn't faded at all, even though his own memories had become clouded with the passage of time. And that elusive smell of dust and leaves, of sunlight and wind, still lingered in the air…
The strong sense of déjà vu pervaded his mind, until he thought he heard those familiar voices on the passing breeze, the last remnant of some typical practice session from five years ago…
"Echizen! You're getting careless. Pick up your pace!"
"The Regulars have to complete 50 laps. Each one must be done in under a minute. If you fail, you'll be drinking this as your reward…"
"Gaahh! Inui, what did you PUT in that? It's so gross, nya! And that's the nastiest color I've ever seen!"
"Fssssshhhhh. That's disgusting, senpai."
"… I wouldn't mind trying it. I think it looks rather tasty."
"You're the only one, Fuji…"
"Hey, Echizen! If I beat you, you're paying for dinner!"
"… Since when did I agree to that?"
"What, are you scared I'll beat you? Mada mada dane, Echizen!"
"… You'll be the one paying, Momo-senpai!"
"Hey, Taka-san, here's your racquet! Catch!"
"Eiji, what are you---"
"… BURNING! Come on, baby! Running for life!"
"… What is he even saying?"
"All of you, stop goofing off, or you'll be running EXTRA laps!"
"… Yes, Buchou."
…
Echizen leaned up against the chain link fence with a quiet sigh. There was a smile on his face. He really couldn't help it. It wasn't like him to be so nostalgic, to carry the memories of years gone by like they were priceless treasures…
… It wasn't like him, but ever since he'd left Seigaku, he had never been able to shake the impact of that life-changing year.
Never. Not even once. He couldn't forget, even if he tried.
Those faces, those voices, those crazy times when they'd done a thousand stupid things, and laughed and smiled and sweated and practiced together…
He couldn't forget them.
In the end, that was why he'd come back. It was for those memories, for the time he had spent wearing that blue and white jersey as a part of Seigaku's tennis team…
No, it wasn't even for the memories.
It was for them.
For those teammates who had befriended him, despite his aloof personality, and who had considered him their equal and their comrade. For his first and only friends, who had accepted and understood him like nobody else could. For the eight teenage boys in the photograph that he had treasured for five long years, far away from their smiling faces…
It was for them.
It was not for the men they had become, however. Ryoma had not been prepared to accept the changes that time had brought to those familiar faces…
In fact, that was why he had hesitated so long in coming back. He had been afraid of what he would find, afraid that they would already be changed beyond repair…
Ironically, that fear had been what sealed his fate.
He would never find those teenage boys again.
And yet, in that moment, as Ryoma lost himself in his memories, he didn't think of the chance he had lost. He didn't think about the eventual fate of the friends he had cherished, either.
No, he only thought of those eight boys, as they had been, as they always would be in his heart.
And he smiled.
- - - - - - - - - -
Behind a desk, a seated figure was calmly pouring tea into a porcelain cup. After replacing the teapot, the person grasped the cup's handle and brought it to their mouth, blowing slightly on the steaming liquid.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the familiar figure was distracted.
"Oh, Inoue, it's you," Ryuzaki Sumire noted, looking faintly surprised. "What in the world are you doing here?"
The reporter walked in with a friendly smile and a certain degree of familiarity.
"Yes, it's me, Ryuzaki-sensei," he replied with a chuckle. "I could ask the same of you, though. It's summer break, isn't it? Why are you still working?"
Sumire just shrugged at that and returned to her tea, glancing at the jumble of papers on her desk.
"I'm sure you know why. I'm trying to arrange the brackets for the next intramural match."
Inoue nodded, leaning over to take a look at the messy documents. But there was a kind of question in his eyes, one he didn't hesitate to voice aloud.
"I thought that the captain had some say in that, though," he noted. "Is that right, Ryuzaki-sensei, or is my memory failing me?"
Sumire set her teacup down again and grinned.
"If your memory is failing you, then I'm in trouble, aren't I? No, you're right, the captain has always had a say in it. Although I haven't let the captain make the brackets himself for a few years now…"
Inoue looked up from the pile of papers and met Sumire's eyes, giving her a significant look.
"Not since Tezuka-kun retired, is that right?"
Sumire laughed a little, getting up from her chair and pacing behind her desk.
"Actually, you're only half right. I also trusted his successor with that particular responsibility, if you recall."
Inoue smiled too, remembering.
"Ah, indeed. I'd forgotten that… Somehow I can't help thinking of that first year as the more important of the two."
Sumire stopped by the window, staring out at the brilliant glow of the flowering sunset. Her eyes grew somewhat distant as she listened to the reporter, and she nodding slightly.
"Neither can I."
Inoue leaned toward the desk, trying to make out a particular name on one of the papers. But the scrawled ink didn't say what he thought it said, and so he forgot about it and returned to the topic at hand.
"Junior high tennis will never have a year like that one again. Wouldn't you agree, Ryuzaki-sensei?"
There was a pause, and Inoue noted the reminiscent air of the aging coach.
"No, it won't," she agreed at last, with a faint chuckle. "But I seem to recall you saying something awfully similar five years ago… About how Japan would never have another Echizen Nanjiroh."
She grinned and glanced back at the somewhat discomfited reporter.
"Your prediction was a bit off that time, wouldn't you say?"
"I admit it, I admit it," Inoue agreed, laughing amiably. "Although I wasn't completely off, after all. There never was another Echizen Nanjiroh..."
At that, Sumire couldn't help nodding again, as Inoue concluded his train of thought.
"… Echizen Ryoma was something else entirely."
"You're right about that," she assented, directing her attention back to the window. "He certainly was something else, wasn't he?"
"He is something else," Inoue corrected, his hand grasping firmly onto the shoulder strap of his carrying case. "That boy just won a fourth straight Wimbledon championship. Nobody can keep track of all the records he's broken already, and he hasn't even hit his peak yet, not by a long shot…"
Inoue expected some kind of cynical interruption from the older woman, but he received none at all. Surprised, he glanced at her, only to find her staring out the window with a startled expression.
"Ryuzaki-sensei?"
The old lady just smiled, with a distinct sense of irony.
"It would seem that no one can keep track of him, either," she said suddenly, much to the reporter's confusion.
"Ryuzaki-sensei, what do you---?"
Inoue came up to the window, to see what she was looking at, only to find a very familiar figure standing far below them, next to the tennis courts.
"Well, well," Sumire was saying, a smile on her wrinkled face. "It looks like Echizen Ryoma has come back to Japan. And it only took him five years to do it."
At that, she just shook her head, with a distinct air of disbelief.
- - - - - - - - -
Ryoma was about to resume his walk around the courts, when he heard the sudden sound of approaching footsteps. He turned his head, only to see three very familiar people heading toward him.
"Hey, Echizen!" Horio waved, approaching the tennis star with his typically casual demeanor.
"Uh… hey," Ryoma replied, looking faintly confused. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Actually, we were wondering the same thing about you, Ryoma-kun," Katsuo explained quickly, glancing at his two friends. "We were just walking back from the high school, when we saw you come in here."
"The high school?" Ryoma repeated. "Isn't it summer vacation?"
At that, Kachiro couldn't resist a smile. "Oh, well, you see, we were getting in some practice time."
It was only then that Ryoma noticed that the three teenagers were carrying tennis bags.
"You were playing tennis?" Ryoma couldn't help sounding rather incredulous.
"Yes, we were playing tennis," said Katsuo with a chuckle. "And thank you, Ryoma-kun, for your obvious confidence in our ability to hold a racquet."
Ryoma couldn't help smiling a little at the good-natured attitude of his former classmate.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "It's just… Well, I've never seen you guys play or anything…"
"No offense taken, Ryoma-kun," Kachiro quickly assured the tennis star with another smile. "So what are you doing here?"
Ryoma was silent for a moment, glancing back at the courts behind him. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to explain something like this, after all…
He didn't even notice the three friends exchanging very significant looks in that pause.
"Hey, Echizen, do you mind if we show you something while you're here?" Horio said suddenly, catching Ryoma off guard.
"Um… sure."
"Alright, then! Follow me!"
And so Ryoma found himself following his three former classmates into the school building. It was strange, in a way, to be walking through those empty halls, lit only with the dim glow from the outside. In fact, something about it made him feel vaguely uncomfortable, as though he were entering a place where he wasn't really welcome…
Ryoma almost ran into the back of Katsuo when all three of them abruptly stopped, right in the middle of the hallway.
"You guys, what---"
But Ryoma's question was interrupted, as usual, by the talkative Horio.
"So, Echizen, does any of this look familiar?"
The self-proclaimed tennis expert was pointing to some large glass cases in front of where they were standing. A few of them were filled with various kinds of athletic awards, but there was one glass case that held tennis trophies exclusively. Ryoma did remember that case. He'd looked inside it himself, once or twice, curious about the previous awards that Seigaku had already received in his favorite sport…
Now the case seemed to hold his past, frozen behind a thick glass panel.
There was that beautiful National Championship trophy, the one he had never seen, sitting on the center shelf in all its shining glory. There were other trophies, too, ones that he didn't recognize, from the years after he'd left…
Strangely enough, though, the trophies weren't what held his attention, not even the gleaming brightness of that championship cup. Instead, his eyes lingered on the framed photographs nearby.
He took a few steps closer to the photos, leaning in to read the brass nameplates. Sure enough, they were team photos of the regular players from various years. And, just like with the trophy, the one in which he was most interested was situated right in the center of the shelf.
There they were. His teammates, just as he remembered them. Captured forever between sheets of glass and framed in polished wood.
He couldn't help smiling a bit to himself, seeing how happy those faces looked. They were all gathered around the National Championship trophy, posing for the camera with very characteristic expressions of their satisfaction. Eiji was flashing a victory sign at the camera, the most flamboyant gesture of the group, but the others were also showing a surprising amount of excitement at their achievement.
Even Tezuka was smiling, as he held the trophy up for the camera. It was then that Ryoma noticed that the captain looked distinctly relieved, as if a huge burden had just lifted off of his shoulders.
Fuji, too, was smiling, but Ryoma was surprised to find that the tensai also had his eyes open. It was with a sharp intake of breath that he realized that he had never seen Fuji so genuinely happy before. Those bright blue eyes were actually sparkling with delight. The mere sight of it made Ryoma's heart skip a beat.
As for the former vice captain, Ryoma was secretly glad to see how absolutely overjoyed he looked. Oishi was standing right next to Tezuka, presumably at the direction of the photographer. But his doubles partner had also squeezed in next to him on the other side, just so the catlike tennis player could put one arm around his best friend. Ryoma was sure he'd never seen Oishi so happy before or since.
It was such a sharp contrast to the vaguely unsettling photo he had seen in Eiji's apartment, that Ryoma almost believed these three were completely different people.
The others were happy, too, and in seeing their various expressions of contentment, Ryoma could have laughed aloud with amusement. Momo was giving the camera a decided thumbs-up and a wink, with a grin so bright that Ryoma almost wanted to give the two-dimensional representation a thumbs-up back. Taka, too, was clearly excited, and was pumping one fist in an elated expression of victory. Inui was pushing his glasses up with one hand, a very familiar gesture, but Ryoma could have sworn that he saw those eyes glittering behind those lenses, pleased. And even Kaidoh, the ever-sullen Viper, had a genuine smile on his face and an almost relaxed expression.
It was absolutely nothing like his most current impression of these eight familiar faces. In fact, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen from them before, except in his most cherished memories, the ones he kept the closest to his heart.
Like that one time, when they'd all stood together at sunset…
"It was the best match they ever played," Horio said suddenly from behind, startling Ryoma out of his reverie. The boy sounded almost awestruck as he recalled that particular day...
"First, Inui-senpai and Kaidoh-senpai in second doubles. Then the Golden Pair in first doubles. Momochan-senpai in third singles, Fuji-senpai in second singles… And Tezuka-buchou in first singles, finishing in straight sets. They got all five wins, right in a row. I don't think they've ever played better than they did on that day. You should have seen it, Echizen."
"And you should have seen Kawamura-senpai, too," Kachiro interjected, with a gentle smile on his face. "He was so excited. I've never seen him cheer like that. He was waving the flag around like crazy, and when Momochan-senpai got the clincher win, he charged at him like an express train and squeezed the life out of him."
"Kikumaru-senpai, too," added Katsuo with a slight laugh. "I've never seen a flying tackle like that one, not before or since. The senpais were absolutely crazy about it. I knew it meant a lot to them, but I never expected them to act like that. It was like… like they were somewhere up in the sky or something, and there was no way anyone could touch them."
Ryoma couldn't help listening. The way his former classmates were describing it, he could almost see the whole thing happening right in front of him.
And even though he hadn't been there, something about it was making his heart beat faster.
"And what about Fuji-senpai and Tezuka-senpai?" Kachiro was saying to Horio and Katsuo. "I don't think I've ever seen such perfect form, not ever. They absolutely took my breath away, even if their matches were just a formality. Don't you remember how everyone was screaming like mad, cheering them on? It was like tennis had never been so exciting before, and everyone just wanted to keep watching and watching…"
"And then just like that it was over! And they'd won it. The National Championship." Katsuo was nodding to Kachiro in agreement, sounding almost mesmerized. "It really was something, wasn't it? I don't think I'll ever see a better tennis match than that one, not ever."
"I think Tezuka-buchou almost cried, too," Kachiro said very softly. "I'm sure that I saw tears in his eyes for a second, when they handed him the trophy at the ceremony…"
But he interrupted his own comment with a laugh and added, "Of course, I was crying already, so maybe it was my imagination. I know Oishi-senpai cried, though."
"Of course Oishi-senpai cried," Katsuo chuckled. "Lots of people were crying. Horio cried."
Horio was coughing, somewhat discomfited. "That's beside the point."
At that point, Ryoma really couldn't resist a laugh, which immediately caught the others' attention.
"Ryoma-kun?"
"Sorry," he apologized, regaining his composure instantly. "It's nothing."
The tennis star directed his attention back to the photographs, leaving his former classmates to again exchange looks.
"Is it just me," Kachiro whispered under his breath to Katsuo. "Or does Ryoma look almost as happy as the senpais did back then? I've never seen his eyes shine like that."
Katsuo just smiled and shrugged a little, glancing at Ryoma's back.
Ryoma, meanwhile, had begun looking at some of the other photographs. He caught sight of one nearby that showed a young Tezuka. He was standing, in the regulars' outfit, near the instantly recognizable figure of Yamato, the man who had been Tezuka's captain during his first year of middle school. He nodded familiarly at that picture, catching the attention of Horio.
"What are you looking at, Echizen?" he asked, coming up alongside the tennis star to get a closer look.
"Oh, I was just looking at the picture of Yamato-senpai and Buchou." Ryoma pointed to that particular frame, putting the tip of his finger against the glass.
"Ah, right," Horio replied, nodding in comprehension. "Yamato-senpai had a strong presence, didn't he? It's hard for me to picture the senpais admiring anybody, but with him, I think it makes sense…"
The normally loquacious Horio suddenly stopped short, as if he was thinking about something. Ryoma looked up, surprised at the abrupt silence, and was even more surprised to find that Horio had an almost wistful expression on his face.
"What is it?" he couldn't help asking.
"Echizen, you know what it's like to really look up to someone, don't you?" Horio asked, very seriously. He glanced significantly at the tennis star.
Ryoma found himself feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Somehow, the faint reminder of the one man that he had admired… Well, it made his heart sting with the memory of what had just happened, that same morning.
…
"I'm no longer worthy of such a compliment, Echizen."
…
"I suppose I've known that feeling," Ryoma said finally, almost grudgingly. Horio noticed his friend's reluctant tone, but he said nothing of it.
"You know, a while after we met Yamato-senpai, I started thinking," Horio continued, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "Tezuka-buchou was obviously a great leader. He was strong, in more ways than one, and he knew how to command respect. I always thought he was the perfect captain. But in a way, I think even Tezuka-buchou was limited."
Ryoma thought about this assertion for a moment, with a frown on his face.
"What do you mean?" he finally asked, looking faintly confused.
"I mean, Tezuka-buchou was the kind of leader who commanded his team with absolute authority," Horio explained almost hesitantly. "And our love for him grew out of that authority. But I think there is also strength in a captain that inspires the love of his team first and foremost. That kind of captain gets his authority from that love."
"Are you even talking about Yamato-senpai?" Ryoma inquired. He suddenly got the distinct feeling that Horio was talking about someone else.
At that, Horio laughed a little, smiling to himself.
"I guess I'm not. I was thinking of another captain, to be perfectly honest," he replied frankly. He paused for a moment, thinking again to himself, and Ryoma wondered what that look in his former classmate's eyes could possibly mean.
"I was thinking of my Buchou," Horio said at last, much to Ryoma's surprise.
"Your Buchou?" the tennis star repeated, perplexed.
Horio nodded, lifting a hand toward the glass. Ryoma followed the pointing finger to one of the framed photographs…
His eyes widened in surprise.
There, right in front of his eyes, was a photo of the Seigaku tennis team, one year after Ryoma had left Japan. The faces were all familiar… In fact, Horio and his friends were among them, looking unexpectedly at home in the Seigaku regular uniforms. But it was the two figures in the middle, as much as he should have expected it, that surprised Ryoma the most.
Momoshiro was standing in the center, with Kaidoh standing right next to him.
Even though there was no indication of this on the photograph, aside from the faint sense of responsibility that he could see in their eyes, it was obvious to Ryoma that these two had been the new captain and vice captain of the tennis team.
He didn't know why, but something about this shocked him.
"Momo-senpai was your captain, then?" he managed to ask after a moment, still somewhat taken aback.
"He was," Kachiro replied in place of Horio, coming a little closer to take a look at the photo for himself. "Momochan-buchou was a wonderful captain, especially for all of us. We weren't Wimbledon hopefuls, after all, and we could only do our best. And that was enough for him. He always supported us with that friendly smile of his."
Kachiro paused, his eyes still fixated on the image. Ryoma glanced at the shorter boy and found himself wondering what was going through his mind at that moment.
He didn't have to ask, though, and what his former classmate said next would remain in his mind for years to come.
"I always admired Tezuka-senpai, you know," Kachiro began very slowly. "I really did. I thought that he was amazing. That frown of his was unbreakable, and you always knew that he was serious about everything he did. It made him strong, you know? But…
"But I think that a person with an unbreakable smile must be even stronger. And the only person I ever knew like that… That was Momochan-buchou."
Kachiro smiled too, as if in memory of the captain he admired
"No matter what, Momochan-buchou always smiled. We weren't a very good team, of course… In fact, it was Kaidoh-senpai and him who held our singles lineup together, all by themselves. And even with that, we only made it to the first round of the Kantou Regionals. But the fact that he always supported us, and always encouraged us no matter how badly we lost… That was just Momochan-buchou, and that was what we all loved about him."
Ryoma stared almost vacantly at the glass, listening to Kachiro's words with a strange kind of curiosity. Something about it really did surprise him…
Something about the idea of Momo becoming the captain, becoming the leader of the Seigaku tennis club…
What surprised him the most of all was that he couldn't even imagine it to have been any other way. The more Ryoma thought about it, the more he realized that Momo had always been the only candidate for the job, the only person who could have been worthy of taking that particular position after Tezuka left…
Of course Momo-senpai was the captain. Who else could have done it?
No one else would have been right… somehow…
"We did love him," Katsuo was saying, more to Kachiro than to Ryoma. "How could we help it? He was always working hard, setting the pace, helping us out… Momochan-buchou was the best captain we could have asked for."
Horio interrupted his friend, with Ryoma still listening to every word.
"It's not just that, though," the self-proclaimed tennis expert noted. "Momochan-buchou was a great captain, of course, but it was more than that. Really, I think I admired him more than anyone else I ever knew."
Ryoma processed this thought for a moment, and then he couldn't help interrupting.
"Why?" he asked very simply, looking straight at Horio.
Horio seemed almost surprised at Ryoma's interest, but he nodded seriously, taking his time to explain.
"Well, it's not just that he was always smiling. I mean, he was, and a smile that never breaks… Like Kachiro said, that shows an incredible amount of inner strength …"
Horio turned back to the glass case, gazing for a moment at the nearby National Championship trophy.
"But the time when I first began to admire Momochan-buchou? That was back in my first year, just before he won that match that got Seigaku the National Championship. I overheard him saying something to himself, over and over, as he walked by. You know what he kept saying? He kept saying 'I can't let him down. No, I can't let him down.' …." (1)
For a moment, Ryoma lost track of Horio's explanation, as he felt his heart stand still with the sudden realization of what those words meant.
Momo-senpai… the person you were talking about… was it really…?
But Ryoma didn't finish the thought. Instead, he directed his attention back to Horio, who was still looking inside the glass case, with a faraway look in his eyes.
"… So I think that was when I first really began to admire him. To have that kind of determination, to want above everything else not to disappoint someone that he cared about, and then to have the inner strength it takes to achieve that… That's what I admired the most about him."
With that last sentence, Horio turned back to Ryoma and gave him an understanding smile, meeting the stare of those golden eyes with a blunt kind of honesty.
"I think you know what I mean, don't you, Echizen?" he said.
Ryoma glanced one last time at the photograph, and then he nodded slightly.
"I guess I do know what you mean," he replied at last, almost carefully.
He turned his back on the glass case, facing his former classmates with an unreadable emotion in his eyes.
"Well, I should probably get going. Thanks for showing me," he said very calmly. "I think I'll take one more look outside before I go. See you guys later."
He gave the three friends an almost half-hearted wave and started heading down the hallway.
"Ryoma-kun---" Kachiro was about to call out to the tennis star, when Katsuo held up a hand to stop him.
"Let's leave him alone, okay?" he suggested quietly, watching as Ryoma walked down the hall. "He's got something on his mind."
Horio and Kachiro nodded, and the trio turned around and began walking in the opposite direction.
- - - - - - - - -
Sumire Ryuzaki had watched from the window, as Ryoma had been accosted by his former classmates and led inside the building. Inoue had already taken his leave from her office, and the room was dead silent. In fact, it was so quiet that she could hear the faint sound of footsteps, as the few current occupants of the building walked about…
Much to her surprise, one pair of footsteps continued to get louder and louder, until her door slid open to reveal her granddaughter standing in the entrance.
"Good evening, Obachan," she said cordially, greeting the aging coach with a warm smile. "How are you doing today?"
"Oh, it's you, Sakuno," Sumire noted, returning the girl's smile. "I forgot you were coming."
The elderly woman fell silent for a moment, and Sakuno couldn't help wondering what was on her grandmother's mind.
"Is something wrong, Obachan?" she asked, sounding faintly worried.
"Hmm?" Sumire snapped back to attention. "Oh, nothing's wrong, Sakuno. But I did find out something that might surprise you…"
"Ryoma-kun is back in Japan," Sakuno offered amiably, unable to resist a knowing smile. Sumire was decidedly taken aback.
"You already knew?" the older woman said, confused.
Sakuno just nodded. "I ran into him a few days ago. He's been all over Tokyo and nobody's even noticed yet."
"Well, I imagine that can't last long," Sumire noted with a chuckle. "When the press does find out, they'll have a field day. He'll be absolutely swamped with reporters."
Sakuno laughed a little herself. She could only imagine what that would be like… Girls already stared wherever Ryoma went; she knew that much.
"When did you find out, Obachan?" she wondered suddenly.
"He was standing out by the tennis courts, just under ten minutes ago," Sumire explained readily, gesturing toward the window.
Now that did surprise Sakuno.
"He was?" Her hand involuntarily grasped at her handbag, and she couldn't help frowning a little at the news.
He shouldn't be here… He should be with his friends…
Something's wrong.
"Obachan, would you do me a favor?" the teenage girl asked suddenly, looking back at her grandmother.
- - - - - - - - -
"Hey, Yamato-kun! What are you doing here?"
Sumire waved to her old pupil, as he walked onto the court after a normal day of practice. She was surprised to see Yamato, but then again, he was always popping up wherever she least expected him to be.
"Good evening, Ryuzaki-sensei," Yamato greeted, smiling calmly in his usual way.
They talked for a while about the current tennis team, and Sumire couldn't help voicing a few of her concerns about the upcoming season. But inevitably, just as it always did, the conversation turned away from the present and back toward the past, to the players that Yamato had always been the most curious about.
"How is that Echizen Ryoma doing? Isn't this his second year in the pro circuit?" Yamato suddenly inquired.
"Ah, yes, I believe so," Sumire confirmed with a nod. "He already won his first Wimbledon championship, which I'm sure you heard about."
"Indeed," Yamato replied, with a mysterious smile. "Given the hype in the Japanese press, it would be hard to avoid it. He's doing very well then, isn't he?"
Even though his words were complimentary, Sumire couldn't help noticing that there was a hint of regret in the former captain's voice.
"What is it, Yamato-kun?"
"I was just thinking of Tezuka-kun and the others," Yamato admitted after a moment. "They must miss him a great deal."
"I'm sure they do," Sumire agreed readily. "Although how you already know that is anyone's guess."
"It's simple, really," Yamato explained in an almost cryptic tone. "That boy was their pillar, after all."
"I thought that was what you called Tezuka," Sumire pointed out, trying to read the expression on the man's face.
"It was. But then Tezuka-kun chose his own pillar… I guess you could say that was unexpected, to put it mildly. And as it stands now, it was both of them that were holding Seigaku together. So, now that Echizen-kun is gone, I can't help wondering what will become of Tezuka-kun and his friends," Yamato explained calmly, even though the slight frown on his mouth betrayed his concern.
"What will become of them?" Sumire repeated, with a touch of humor in her voice. "I'm sure they'll be fine, even if they do miss him."
"Perhaps you're right, Ryuzaki-sensei," Yamato agreed readily enough, although the worry did not vanish from his expression. "But no matter how you look at it, this was not what was supposed to happen."
"Why? What's the problem with it?" Sumire inquired, decidedly confused.
"Well, there was always a risk," the former captain began. "After all, to become a pillar is to take on a certain responsibility for those you are meant to support. And there is always the possibility that a pillar, something meant to become those individuals' greatest strength, could also become their greatest weakness."
Yamato exhaled slightly, shaking his head.
"If one of the pillars should disappear, the other one might very well break. And if the pillar breaks, the rest of them might break right along with it."
…
Ryoma was about to exit the building when he turned and looked back down the hallway. His former classmates were already gone, but strangely enough, something in him didn't want to leave yet.
Why? It's not like I have any unfinished business here…
"You're leaving already?" a very familiar voice said behind him, jolting Ryoma out of his train of thought.
He turned to see his former tennis coach, standing with her hands on her hips and looking almost amused.
"Ryuzaki-sensei!" Ryoma exclaimed, more as a consequence of being startled than anything else.
"Yes, it's me, you good-for-nothing," and the old lady affectionately pinched his cheek, forcing Ryoma to endure the indignity of the gesture as gracefully as he could. "You certainly took your time in coming back, didn't you?"
"Ryuzaki-sensei, what are you doing here?" Ryoma couldn't help asking.
"I was trying to arrange the brackets for the intramural match, no thanks to all the usual interruptions," Sumire explained briefly, shaking her head. "And then, to top it off, you show up completely out of the blue! I'll never get any work done around here."
Sumire shook her head one last time, almost incredulously. But then her eyes grew serious, and Ryoma couldn't help wondering at the sudden change.
"What is it, Ryuzaki-sensei?" he wondered aloud.
"I have something to show you, Ryoma," she said suddenly, much to the tennis star's surprise. "I was asked to give it to you, a very long time ago. So follow me."
Before long, Ryoma found himself once again standing in front of the glass trophy case in the hallway. He couldn't help wondering what in the world the aging tennis coach could have to give him. But before he could even ask, she had already taken out her keys and began unlocking the glass door.
Once the case was open, the old lady reached inside of the National Championship trophy and pulled something out of the cup. Ryoma watched, bewildered, as she took two similar objects from two other trophies, and then she locked the case again and handed him all three.
They were carefully folded pieces of paper.
Ryoma looked at them, and then back up at his former coach. At a nod from her, he began to open the first one, the one from the National Championship trophy.
This was what it said…
Echizen-
This trophy is for you. Even though you weren't able to come with us to the Nationals, you were the inspiration behind our victory. Believe me when I say that you were in our hearts the entire time, and that we will never forget what you did for us.
I hope we didn't disappoint you, Echizen. I know that if I ever gave you a reason to be disappointed in me, it would be my greatest regret, and I am sure that the others feel the same.
I am sorry that I cannot physically give you this trophy, since it now belongs to the school. But rest assured that the team has dedicated the cup to you, along with the victory that brought it to rest in Seigaku's halls.
We miss you, Echizen. We are very proud of you, but we will always miss you. For my part, I hope to follow you someday, but if I cannot, press on in your quest and don't waver. And never forget that eight friends in Japan will always be cheering your every victory, no matter how far away you are.
- Tezuka
Ryoma swallowed hard, trying to choke back the tears that were starting to come to his eyes. The words were sentimental, to say the least, but even those words by themselves probably wouldn't have been enough to affect him. But with the knowledge of what had happened after Tezuka had written this letter, the eloquent words were starting to tear at his heart.
Taking a deep breath, he unfolded the next piece of paper, and he began to read…
Echizen-
I don't know where you are right now, or if you'll ever get this letter, but I wanted to write it anyway. I hope someday you'll be able to read it, even if we never see each other again. Who knows? Maybe, years from now, you'll be able to read this and remember an old friend.
I just wanted to say, this trophy is for you. I know it isn't a National Championship trophy. In fact, it's only a Prefectural Championship trophy… That was as far as we got this year. But still, whatever we were able to accomplish, I want you to know that it was because of you. You are still the inspiration to us that you always were. I'm sure our senpais feel the same way, too. They're doing their best in high school… I wish you could have seen how Tezuka-buchou thrashed his superiors in the intramural matches last week. You would have said they were all "mada mada dane."
Actually, I can hear you saying that as I write, imagining your face when you find out that Momo-senpai was the only candidate for tennis club captain this year. Well, I'm definitely no Tezuka-buchou, but I think I can say that I don't have any regrets either.
Well, to be honest, I do have one regret. There was something I always wanted to say to you, but I never did… Maybe someday, if we meet again, I'll finally find the words to say it. I wonder where we'll all be, when that day finally comes…
Because it will come. I know it will. Echizen Ryoma would never break a promise, right? Well, that's what I'll always believe, no matter how many years it takes for you to come back.
In the meantime, it looks like it must be really boring for you in the pro circuit. Gosh, Echizen, don't you think crushing an old man like Andre Agassi was a bit excessive? Haha, well, don't ever stop winning, okay? And always know that we're all rooting for you, and that when you stand on top of the world, no one will be prouder of you than your old friend…
-Momo
Ryoma couldn't help smiling as he read it. The letter was just so, well, Momo-senpai. Still, he found himself wondering what it was that his friend had wanted to tell him. He couldn't recall Momo saying anything particularly special to him, now that he'd come back…
With a renewed sense of curiosity, Ryoma plunged into the last letter.
Echizen-
Haha, I don't quite know what to say, but I just wanted to let you know that this trophy is for you. It's not as good as the other trophies, especially the one the senpais got for you two years ago, but it's something.
Of course, I bet when you find out that Captain Horio, with what is now four years and counting of tennis experience, only managed to get his team a City Championship trophy… Well, I'm sure I know exactly what you'll say.
Still, you should know that Kachiro and Katsuo and I never stopped thinking of you while we were training for tournament season. More than anything else, we just wanted to earn something that would show you how much you inspired us. I guess this will have to do.
I hope you come back to Japan for a visit soon, Echizen. I think the senpais really miss you. You mean a lot to them, you know. So whatever you do, don't forget that. Oh, and don't lose either, because we're all rooting for you.
-Horio
…
When he had finished reading, Ryoma suddenly looked around, only to find himself completely alone. He hadn't even noticed when his former coach left. For a moment, he just stood there, clutching the three letters in his hands. It was as if the crowded memories of the past few days were playing backwards in his head, rewinding faster and faster, until they led him to these letters…
This was their final message to him. But what did these letters really mean? There was something there, in between the lines…
Suddenly, Ryoma knew.
"Mada mada dane," he muttered, as he rubbed his stinging eyes. He refused to cry, even though his heart was begging him to do so.
He knew what these letters really were.
They were a cry for help.
Should he answer it? What good would it do, anyway?
… Should he answer it?
- - - - - - - - -
Ryoma wasn't sure when he finally made up his mind, but once he had, the tennis star slipped the three notes into his pocket and began running down the hall. He barely hesitated when he came to the door, pushing it open with a decisive shove. But as he came out into the open air, he stopped in surprise.
There was Ryuzaki Sakuno, standing right in front of him, as if she'd been expecting him.
"Ryuzaki-san, what are you---?" But Ryoma never finished his question.
The dim glow of twilight was filling the air, as Sakuno just smiled at Ryoma. She reached into her handbag and pulled something out of it, something crisp and clean and white.
As she held it out to him, Ryoma suddenly recognized it.
It was his hat.
The hat that had fallen a thousand feet off of a towering hotel, the hat that should have been mangled and dirty from such a fall, the hat that Ryoma had realized that he would never see again…
That hat was now in his hands.
He looked at Sakuno with all the disbelief he was feeling, gleaming in his golden eyes. And when she spoke, it was like her words echoed inside of him, like the final wish of a fading memory…
"Go to them, Ryoma-kun," she said. "Hurry. And don't look back."
Ryoma nodded. It was a simple gesture, but the two had never been in a deeper understanding than in that moment. In that moment, if they had spoken at all, they could have said a thousand things, things that would have surprised even them, and it could have been the beginning of something entirely different…
But they both knew that something far more important was about to be lost.
And so, Ryoma only nodded. And Sakuno watched, as Echizen Ryoma, the world champion, ran into the embrace of a violet twilight, and her most hopeful wish was fulfilled.
- end of chapter nineteen -
Useless Footnote: (1) I was trying to capture that weird speech habit of Momo's, where he repeats himself and slightly changes the sentence structure the second time. If you've watched the anime, you know what I'm talking about, but I don't have the knowledge of the Japanese language to describe it properly here… In any case, that was what I was going for.
(Btw, yes, I am aware that the chapter title is reminiscent of a Tezuka image song. O.o That actually wasn't my intent, but let's pretend I meant to do that! Lol.)
A/N: Whew! This chapter took me FOREVER to write, as I'm sure you can imagine! It's definitely the longest chapter in the fic, but I simply couldn't break it up. All of these elements had to be presented together, or I'm pretty sure it would have lost its focus.
That said, I hope you all don't mind that you got an extra-long chapter this time. And I also hope you enjoyed it. With any luck, it will tide you all over until I can get the next chapter done. I'm hoping it will be finished by the end of the coming weekend, but since I'm dealing with some huge midterm projects, I really can't promise that. At the very least, it will be posted early next week.
Well, did you like it? There were a lot of small surprises in this one, weren't there? Actually, this chapter is necessary to explain the whole Momo/Kaidoh thing, as well as the use it served in the immediate plot. But you'll see what I mean soon enough! Let me know what you thought of chapter nineteen!
(Btw… I just wanted to say, newbi, you were so right on in your last review that I had to laugh! Are you psychic or something?XD And also, SJS, thank you so much for the review. It's a real honor… I am assuming you are the same SJS from the PoT Cracksite? If so, you are my hero, and I just wanted to thank you for reading. XD I am especially honored that you liked the parts with the Golden Pair, because I know you are definitely one of the most die-hard GP fans out there.)
Also, a quick correction for last chapter… On blood types, only O+ is the rare type, not O-. So you can either assume that both Tezuka and Oishi are O, or simply take it as if the hospital happened to be in short supply of O- on that particular day. Thanks for letting me know! I knew something about it sounded wrong… O.o Many apologies for the error.
Until next time, everyone! -waves- As always, the FAQ is in my profile, and e-mail me any questions.
Coming Up Next: Ryoma has a sudden burst of inspiration, and he shocks everyone by returning out of the blue to complete something that he inadvertently left unfinished for five years…