Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.
Author's Words: This chapter is not supposed to up so soon because I am supposed to be studying. However, due to my lack of self-control, I finished it and here it is. The next one may be much later so please be patient.
Chapter Thirty-Two: At the Beach (Part Two)
Miyu, Bunta, Akaya, Jackal and Sakuno got a beach ball and they ran down to the water to play.
Niou decided he would join them later but for the time being, he had something else to do. He wanted to calm himself before being with Sakuno and so he took a small bucket and went off to gather shells.
Yagyuu continued reading his novel leisurely.
Sanada had already gone to the sea to swim laps. He enjoyed this chance to train in nature.
Yukimura decided to bask in the sun for a bit before doing anything else. He had so little time to himself that he wanted to relax using this opportunity.
There were no decisions for him to make and no work for him to do. He could just lie back and let his mind wander… to the sight of Sakuno in her lovely swimsuit.
It seemed that he liked her more than he originally thought if he was thinking about her even when he did not mean to.
He guessed it would soon be time to begin courting her, if he did not want to lose her to another. However, he told himself, it would not be today because today was to be a relaxing day.
Yanagi had also put aside his notebook and went down to the sea to join Sanada. The beach was starting to get crowded and he wanted to swim for a bit before other people crowded up the sea.
As he swam out from the shore, he saw Bunta throwing the ball towards Akaya and Akaya hitting it to Miyu. He smiled at their lightheartedness. It would be good for them to relax.
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Jackal caught the ball from Miyu and he threw it to Sakuno. She missed it and the ball floated away.
Sakuno swam towards it and caught it in her hands. She laughed and threw it to Akaya who made a funny face and used his head to butt it towards Miyu's direction. Then he immediately splashed water at Sakuno.
At his move, the others left the ball and started splashing each other. The air was filled with water and their laughter.
Jackal dived under water and pulled Akaya's legs from under him. When Akaya came to the surface, Jackal had already swum away, laughing.
Bunta and Miyu laughed at the look on Akaya's face and he went after them instead. They spread out and Sakuno laughed with mirth at their antics.
She was very happy to be with her friends on this beautiful day. She giggled as Bunta swam towards her and then behind her as he tried to get away from Akaya.
The two boys childishly circled each other around her and both were surprised when Miyu and Jackal popped up from the water and dunked them under the waves.
It was a time filled with fun and mischief and laughter and they thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Niou filled his bucket with shells and walked back to where Yagyuu and Yukimura were still basking in the sun. Yagyuu had put aside his novel and was chatting with Yukimura.
They looked up when Niou greeted them with a cheery, "Hey." He sat down and dumped his shells onto the sand. He then went off again with the empty bucket and came back with it full of water.
Yukimura asked, "What are you doing, Niou?" Niou grinned and said, "You'll see." Yagyuu said nothing but watched bemusedly when Niou started to wash the shells using the water in the bucket.
It was mostly to clear the sand from the shells and then he put them onto the towels they were sitting on. The shells were very pretty and some of them had really funny shapes.
When Niou finished washing all the shells, he divided them into two piles.
One pile was full of extremely pretty shells with lovely colors that sparkled in the bright sunlight. The other pile was of the other shells that had funny shapes.
He took a handkerchief out of his bag and used it to wrap the pretty shells up in a bundle. The other shells he just dumped back into the bucket unceremoniously. Then he looked around the beach.
By that time, it was very crowded and noisy. It was filled with young people like them.
Some were groups of girls in bikinis and their faces were thick with make-up. It was obviously that they were at the beach for a summer fling more than anything else.
There were also groups of guys who were rubbing so much sunscreen onto their bodies that they would have shone without the sun shining on them. They flexed their 'muscles' and pretended to be hunky.
There were people sunbathing all over the beach and some were so comfortable that they had falling asleep. Everyone was too concerned with themselves that they did not pay attention to anyone else.
Niou grinned again and got up with his basket of shells. Yagyuu said dryly, "Off to have fun, are you?"
Niou answered his friend and partner, "What do you think?"
Yukimura smiled, "Just be careful not to get into trouble, Niou."
Niou waved back at them as he walked away, saying, "Hai hai"
He had put his sunglasses on and with his pale hair, he looked rather like a delinquent student and everyone who noticed him looked away, not wanting to catch his attention.
That suited him just fine and he soon found what he was looking for. It was a single guy who had fallen asleep while he was sunbathing.
Niou thought to himself, "Summer is always full of this type of silly fools."
He went near the guy quickly and randomly picked a several shells from his bucket and scattered them carefully onto the guy's body. When he woke up, he was going to get a great shock to find his precious tan ruined by random shapes.
Niou grinned to himself, "Let's hope that this guy has friends around or he won't be going to the pool or the beach again this summer!" He walked away and started looking for another victim.
This time, it was two girls. They were lying on their stomachs and chatting to each other.
He went up and said to one of them, giving her the full force of his devastating smile, "Hey gorgeous, I'm employed by this beach to help beautiful ladies like you with sunscreen massages. May I?"
He could use his charm when he wanted to and the girl simpered and batted her eyelashes as she bought his lie and agreed. Her friend watched jealously and said, "Will you help me too?"
Niou said, "Of course, beautiful!" He got the sunscreen and did what he said he was going to do. The girls were very pleased after he finished his sunscreen massage.
In fact, they were so comfortable and sleepy that they did not notice there were parts that Niou left out. When they went home that day, wearing bare-back sundresses, they noticed people staring at their backs with funny looks.
They did not realize until later that Niou had not applied sunscreen to part of their upper-backs.
As a result, one girl had the word 'fat' on her back while her friend had the picture of an apple on hers.
Like that, Niou went around the beach ruining people's tans with his shells and sunscreen.
It was amazing how he got away with it. It was probably because he looked as if he belonged everywhere and had the right to be where he was that people did not notice what he was doing.
He very quickly used up all his shells and by that time, he was getting hungry. He thought that it must be lunchtime and he made his way back to their spot.
He grinned to himself as he thought of one pattern that he had with the shells on a guy who was lying on his back. That guy was so deeply asleep that he was snoring out loud.
He had used shells to play tic-tac-toe on the guy's body and had even left little shells on his forehead and cheeks. The guy never even stirred!
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Sakuno looked up and saw Niou walking back.
All the others had come back earlier because they were hungry. She had already opened the bento boxes and some of them were eating already.
She got one of the bento boxes and ran up to Niou, "Niou-senpai, you're back! I was afraid that you won't be back until later and by then, all the food would be gone! Here, have some sandwiches!"
Niou smiled a genuine smile at her thoughtfulness and took a sandwich. He took a bite and said, "Delicious! Did you make all these food, Sakuno?"
Sakuno nodded and Niou teased her gently, "Then you're all ready to become a bride, with cooking skills like yours!"
Sakuno blushed at his words, "Mou, Niou-senpai! Don't be silly!"
Niou grinned, "What do you mean? I was serious, ne, Bunta?"
He turned to Bunta for support. Bunta was stuffing his face and did not know what they were talking about but he nodded at them anyway, mumbling something unintelligible.
Niou said, "See, Sakuno, even Bunta agrees!"
Sakuno giggled, "Bunta-senpai didn't know what we were talking about! He wasn't paying attention, Niou-senpai!"
Even though she knew that Niou was not serious, she was still happy when someone praised her cooking.
When Niou finished his sandwich, she handed him another bento box with chicken drumsticks in neat rows and the ends wrapped with tinfoil. He thanked her and took one.
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Sakuno looked around at the group.
Everyone was tucking in and she also made sure that they had something to drink. She enjoyed being like this with her friends, feeding them and taking care of them.
She noticed Bunta and Akaya scabbing over the last chicken drumstick when Niou stole it from under their noses. She giggled when he smirked at them and took a huge bite.
Yukimura heard her laughter and said, "The food is very tasty, Sakuno! Thank you for making all that for us!"
Sakuno shook her head with a hint of red tinting her cheeks, "Ah… it's nothing really, I like cooking for people anyway, Yukimura-senpai!" She liked doing things for people but she was not used to people thanking her.
Miyu finished the salad she was eating and leaned back, rubbing her stomach, "Oh my goodness, I can't eat anymore. I'm so full"
Sakuno giggled and said, "Here, Miyu-chan, have some tea." She had brought tea using thermal flasks that she had found in the kitchen and Miyu gratefully accepted a cup.
Sakuno also poured tea for Yukimura, Sanada, Yanagi and Yagyuu. They had finished eating and only Akaya, Bunta, Jackal and Niou were still tucking in.
There was not much food left and soon, everyone was sitting with a cup of tea in their hands and saying what a great meal it was and that she should cook more often.
Bunta complained, "Sakuno-chan, it's not fair! You cook for Yukimura and Miyu all the time! I want you to cook for me too!"
Akaya joined in, "Bunta-senpai's right, Saku-no-bunny! I want to eat your cooking as well!"
The two of them started to moan like two little kids until Yukimura said gently, "Bunta, Akaya, you two don't want to make it difficult for Sakuno, do you?"
Sakuno was grateful that Yukimura stopped them because she did not know what to say. She did not mind cooking for them but making so much food was very tiring and she did not think she could do it everyday.
Besides, this was like a picnic outing at the beach, so it was special. Usually, for lunch, she would use more meat and rice and less decorations.
She liked making the bento boxes pretty but that also took a lot of effort and time so she could not do it all the time.
Yagyuu sipped his tea and said, "What do you want to do after we are rested from this lovely meal, Ryuzaki-san?" Sakuno answered shyly, "I-I don't know yet…"
Yanagi said, "We could think about it while we drink our tea. We shouldn't do anything vigorous anyway so soon after a meal."
They all agreed and Sanada said that he was going for a work. Sakuno wanted to join him but she did not know how to ask.
Fortunately, Sanada seemed to be able to read her mind and he said, "Would you like to come, Sakuno?" His tone was softer than usual and Sakuno smiled and nodded. They waved to the others as they walked off.
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Sakuno made little talk on what she had been doing with Miyu during the holidays and listened when Sanada made comments.
She talked about a movie that she and Miyu saw at the cinema one day and the topic changed to movies that they had seen or not seen. They liked very different movies but both enjoyed what the other was saying.
Sanada liked movies that had meaning and a deeper side to it while Sakuno preferred romantic dramas and family movies.
Sanada concurred that they have their entertainment value and Sakuno was so relaxed that she said without thinking, "Since you said that, next time, you'll have to come and see one of them, Sanada-senpai!"
She then realized what she had said and stammered, "I-I mean, if you have time…"
Sanada let loose a rare laugh at her confused and embarrassed expression. He knew that she could not believe that she had just been so forward as to invite a boy to the cinema.
He said, "Next time, I'll come with you to see a family movie but definitely not a romantic one, Sakuno."
Sakuno looked up in surprise and nodded with a smile, "Hai!"
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They continued on walking when they noticed a crowd in front of them. It looked to be an argument that might escalate into a fight.
Sanada would have led Sakuno away if he had not recognized two of the people in the middle of the crowd.
One was Sengoku Kiyosumi and the other was Tachibana Kippei.
Some other guys were shaking their fists at the two of them. Sengoku was saying something with an easy-go smile on his face which did not help the situation because it only made the other guys angrier.
Tachibana was also not helping because he never was much of a sweet-talker.
Sanada thought that he could not just leave them there when it was so obvious they were in trouble.
He wished for a second that it was Niou or Yukimura there. The two of them had tongues coated with sugar and honey and everything sweet when they wanted to sweet-talk someone.
As it was, he took hold of Sakuno's hand and said to her, "Stay behind me, Sakuno." With that, he pulled the confused Sakuno into the crowd.
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Sakuno was too short to see what Sanada had seen and she stumbled along with Sanada through the crowd until he stopped.
Then she saw some familiar faces from Tokyo.
One of them was Tachibana An.
An had an angry look on her face and her brother was standing in front of her.
She also saw Sengoku Kiyosumi, Ibu Shinji, Kamio Akira, Mizuki Hajime and Fuji Yuta.
She called out in surprise, "An-chan!" An looked around when she heard someone call her name. She saw Sakuno and came over.
She said, "Sakuno? What are you doing here?"
Sakuno explained, "I'm here with my friends. What's happening? Are you in trouble?"
An smiled, "Don't worry, those jerks were trying to chat some girls up and were being nasty so I went up and told them to get a life. Then they got angry and now, my brother's involved."
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Since Fudomine Middle School and St. Rudolph Institute did not have a senior section, the students had to go to other schools when they graduated.
Fuji Yuta refused to go to Seigaku where his brother was and went to Yamabuki Senior School instead.
Mizuki thought that this school had potential and went with him. Tachibana also went to this school and later, his sister, Ibu and Kamio all went there.
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Kamio had always had a crush on An and was furious when he saw the guys shove her so hard that she fell onto the sand.
Tachibana stopped him from hitting anyone but Sengoku had come up and tsked at the guys saying that they would never get girlfriends that way.
The guys did not like his 'advice' of course and both sides got quite heated.
Tachibana tried to calm them down but his authoritative manner only infuriated the guys.
Ibu was no help at all because he kept muttering stuff about how the other guys lack nutrition if they get angry so easily and that they were in the wrong in the place and that they were only angry because no girl wanted to talk to them and etc, etc, etc.
Mizuki was also no help because he only stood to one side with his hand on his chin as he made snide comments.
He had every confidence that Tachibana would not allow this to turn out into a full-blown fight because of the danger of being banned from tournaments. Therefore he was in no hurry to step forward and help.
Actually, Tachibana was grateful that he did not because with Mizuki's attitude, it would only make things worse.
Yuta was standing next to Tachibana, ready to help but not sure what to do without a fight breaking out.
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Sanada said, "Tachibana, Sengoku, what's the matter?" They looked at him and Tachibana immediately let out a sigh of relief.
He may be an authoritative figure but he lacked Sanada's intimidating presence. Sanada could silence a crowd simply with one word and a glare.
Tachibana was honest to admit when he would appreciate the help and he said, "We have a slight misunderstanding here, Sanada."
Sengoku grinned and said, "Yo, Sanada!"
He did not seem to realize that he was part of what was making the other guys angry and when he spied Sakuno looking out from behind Sanada, he whistled and hopped over so quickly that he could have been Kamio.
He smiled, "Hey there, aren't you pretty? My name's Sengoku Kiyosumi. What's yours?" Sakuno was speechless with surprise and An sighed.
Sengoku ignored the glare that Sanada was giving and continued to try and get Sakuno to talk.
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By that time, the other guys were so furious that one of them stepped toward Sengoku, saying, "Hey, I was talking to…"
He did not finish his sentence because Sanada had stepped in front of him.
Sanada was tall and well-built to begin with and when he glared down at the shorter guy, the guy forgot his words and unconsciously took a step backward.
Sanada spoke, "What was the problem?"
His voice was deep and stern and the other guys had enough sense to know that this was one person they should not mess with.
They stammered, "N-nothing… uh… we should go now. Bye!" They ran off quickly, pulling their intimidated friend with them.
Tachibana sighed again and thanked Sanada with real gratitude.
Sanada nodded at him and turned, only to find that Sengoku was holding little Sakuno's hand and not letting go.
He was still talking when Sanada held Sakuno's other hand and said, "We should go now, Sakuno."
He separated Sengoku's hand from Sakuno's and turned to walk off. In his mind, he had done his duty and there was no need to socialize further.
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Sakuno was grateful Sanada separated Sengoku from her because he was getting too friendly. However, she also wanted to chat with An further because they had not seen each other in a long time.
Fortunately, An felt the same because she ran after them, calling, "Wait, can we come with you? I want to chat with Sakuno!"
Sanada stopped and looked at Sakuno who was beseeching him with her eyes. He said, "If you like."
Therefore, the whole lot of them walked back to where the other Rikkai regulars and Miyu were waiting: Tachibana, An, Ibu, Kamio, Sengoku, Mizuki and Yuta.