Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.
Chapter Thirty-Three: At the Beach (Part Three)
Yukimura's eyes widened with surprise when he saw the entourage following Sanada and Sakuno. Then they narrowed as he noticed Sanada holding Sakuno's hand.
He composed his expression very quickly and waited for Sanada to explain. All the others also looked at Sanada expectantly.
It was unlike him to attract such a following when he was not in school uniform, kendo-fuku or tennis uniform. After all, he was not exactly the type people just warm up to at the beach. Well, there were always girls who went for him but those following him now were boys and the one girl did not seem to be interested in him.
They were even more curious when they identified who were following him.
Yanagi immediately got out his notebook; it was not everyday that he had a chance to record enemy data outside the court.
Miyu did not know all these people because she did not go to a lot of her brother's games. She had been watching them play tennis for so long that unless her brother seemed excited, she would not bother to go and watch.
If her brother was excited, then the game would sometimes be more fun to watch but otherwise, it was usually a very one-sided game.
She actually preferred watching the team practice because the game would be more even and it was not everyday that they play seriously against each other for whole sets. Usually they would stop every now and then during practice to talk about what they were doing wrong or how they could improve.
Therefore she was even more curious than the rest of the guys, especially when she thought that one of the faces seemed familiar.
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Sanada was a bit annoyed because he thought that this situation to be unnecessary.
He did not want to explain all that had happened and so, he said shortly and rather abruptly, "They will be joining us for the rest of the afternoon."
With that, he turned to Sakuno and said softly, "I'm going to buy a drink. What do you want, Sakuno?"
The Rikkai guys were pretty much used to his abrupt changes when he was speaking to Sakuno but Tachibana's eyebrows lifted when he heard the famed Rikkai boys' tennis fukubuchou use such a gentle tone with a slip of a girl.
A pretty girl but still it was a slight shock for him.
An was a smart and observant girl and she thought this ought to be fun.
Mizuki also smiled with interest at what he was noticing.
Ibu was staring at nothing in particular and muttering about girls being unpredictable as the weather and how it was An-chan who wanted to go to the beach and now they were at the beach, she was going to play with her girl friend and not them and leave Kamio in a sulky mood and how he was going to have to deal with it and etc.
Kamio only had eyes for An and he did not notice anything else. He was thinking that she was looking very pretty with the smile on her face.
Fuji Yuta was feeling rather uncomfortable because he was dragged to the beach by Mizuki and Sengoku and he did not really know what he was doing there.
Sengoku was already saying bright and happy 'hellos' to the Rikkai guys because he knew all of them from tournaments.
Actually Tachibana also knew all of them but being more reserved, he saved the happy opening to Sengoku and went sit down near Yukimura, Yagyuu and Yanagi, their area being a bit quieter.
Sanada had already walked away from the going-to-be noisy and rowdy group with the addiction of frivolous Sengoku, hot-headed and quick-tempered Kamio and Yuta and the bound to wind-up-someone Mizuki.
Sakuno pulled An to where Miyu, Bunta, Jackal and Akaya was and they sat down.
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An already knew Jackal and Akaya and she said 'hi' to Jackal and nodded to Akaya.
Sakuno introduced Bunta and Miyu to her and the two girls had an instant bond. Both were friendly by nature and they both had brothers who were the leader type.
They started chatting and Miyu told An about how she and Sakuno became friends in the first place.
She did not say anything about Sakuno's reasons for changing schools though but she did tell An about how Sakuno hurt her ankle and had to hop around for two weeks.
Sakuno blushed and said, "Mou, Miyu-chan!"
She looked so cute with her pink cheeks that Bunta and Akaya joined in with the teasing.
Akaya even went beside her and pulled her to his side, saying, "Saku-no-bunny is all pink now!"
An asked, "What was that you called her, Kirihara?"
Akaya looked very proud of himself and said with his nose in the air, "Saku-no-bunny, because she's my bunny, ne, Saku-no-bunny?"
Sakuno tried to push him away ineffectively, laughing, "Mou, Akaya-senpai, I'm not your bunny!"
It was all in good nature and very soon, Niou, Ibu, Kamio and Yuta joined them.
The introductions started again and when Miyu heard Yuta's name, she exclaimed, "Fuji Yuta? You have the same surname as that Fuji from Seigaku! No wonder I thought you look familiar, you must be his brother! I heard that he has a brother."
Yuta hated being called Fuji's brother and he was about to get angry when Miyu smiled and said, "Well, I'm Yukimura's sister, Miyu. Nice to meet you, Fuji Yuta. I shall call you Yuta-san because I don't want to get confused when I am speaking to you or Fuji-san. Is that okay, Yuta-san?"
She was so straight-forward and friendly that Yuta could not get offended and he nodded with a slight blush. He was not used to such straight-forwardness from girls.
On the other side, Mizuki had started chatting to Yanagi and when Yagyuu heard what they were talking about, he decided to escape to Sakuno's lot.
Mizuki and Yanagi were comparing information they had collected. The information they were comparing had another, more appropriate name and that would be 'gossip'.
Yes, these two upstanding, outstanding young men were sitting there, gossiping like women in a fish market when there were no customers.
Mizuki said, "I totally agree with what you just said. Love letters to our tennis players should be encouraged! They are a sign of student support and student support is extremely important.
I mean, look at Atobe-kun and his followers. Ever when they lose, the Hyotei team always leaves the court with dignity because they have so many followers."
Yanagi nodded, with his hand on his chin, "You think so too, Mizuki? I tried to get Sanada not to throw away the love letters he got but give them to me to if he did not want them.
I only wanted to the statistics so I can get more subsidies from the student council when we have meetings! However, Sanada never gives them to me, saying stuff about privacy. I mean, he only throws them away!"
Mizuki signed, "Ah, statistics ka? That is a really good idea but I have such a hard time talking to my team about it. Tachibana is like Sanada in that way. I can always steal the letters from his locker but that is so undignified.
Kamio and Ibu never receive any. Sengoku would never part with his. Actually, I think he drives off more fans than he attracts."
Sengoku sensing that Mizuki was saying something bad about him, turned to Mizuki and said, "What did you say?"
Mizuki shook his head with a smile, "Nothing, Sengoku-kun!"
Sengoku looked skeptical but he ignored them and went on talking to Miyu with Yukimura hovering around.
He had noticed the two girls with the group when he arrived and when Mizuki started talking to Yanagi, he turned to Yukimura and asked about them, especially the one who looked so much like him.
At his words, Yukimura looked very proud and happy. He always enjoyed talking about his sister and he dragged Miyu from the group and introduced her to Sengoku.
Now, he was regretting his decision because he was remembering some things about Sengoku that Yanagi once said.
Yanagi had said, "Sengoku Kiyosumi, very talented and hard-working tennis-player. Also the luckiest player I have in my records. He is also famous for his love and interest in the opposite sex."
Miyu laughed good-naturedly at something that Sengoku had said and Yukimura grew pale.
Tachibana was relaxing near Yukimura and was watching with some amusement at Yukimura's obvious protectiveness. He could tell that Miyu was somewhat like his sister and that meant she could very well hold her own against Sengoku.
Besides, after getting to know Sengoku when they started to study in the same school, he knew that while he liked girls, he also kept his distance and was not as loose as he seemed. Therefore, he took this chance to lie back and take a break.
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As the group was being noisy and rowdy, Sanada came back with the drinks he bought for himself and Sakuno.
Sakuno noticed him coming back and got up. As she turned to Sanada, her foot tripped over a bag in the way and she flapped her arms frantically, trying without success to keep from falling.
The people nearest to her were Niou, Ibu, Yuta and Akaya and they all lunged towards her, trying to catch her but there were too many people trying to do the same thing and they not only got into each other's way.
They also caused Sakuno to fall quicker onto the sand.
To be correct, Ibu did not actually mean to try and catch Sakuno but he was pushed by the others and Yuta was simply acting on instinct.
In the end, Sakuno ended up face down in the sand and all the others were tangled into a big pile half on top of her.
Miyu, Yukimura and Sengoku got caught in the 'cross-fire' and this spectacle was what greeted Sanada as he returned.
Yanagi had already taken out his camera and were clicking away at the absurd sight.
Mizuki was standing next to him and saying, "Can you send them to me later, Yanagi-kun?"
Bunta, Kamio and An all had their mouths open with surprise and there were a few moments of silence.
Tachibana was sitting up with surprise at the sudden accident.
All around them, the beach still buzzed with life but this little spot here was like a tableau.
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Yagyuu and Sanada were the first ones to recover their composure.
Yagyuu went and cleared a space and got out the first-aid.
Sanada put down the drinks and proceeded to kick everyone off Sakuno. She was so small compared to the others lying on top of her that he was afraid she might be squashed.
On top of the pile were Yuta and Akaya and Sanada unceremoniously shoved Akaya off and pulled Yuta away.
Then he got rid of Ibu and Miyu who were next in the pile.
Yukimura, Niou and Sengoku untangled themselves, not wanting to wait for Sanada to kick them off. Thankfully they were quick enough because Sanada was already lifting Sakuno off the sand and she was coughing sand out of her mouth.
Yukimura and Niou pushed Sengoku out of their way and got to Sakuno's side immediately.
They both frowned when they saw there was sand all over Sakuno. There was sand in her hair and sand stuck to her body.
Yukimura rarely raised his voice but this time, he yelled for some water and a towel.
Miyu or Akaya would have gotten what he wanted but when Sanada shoved them out of the way, they were shoved in the same direction and were tangled together in another pile of bags.
Now, these two were having an argument whilst trying to untangle themselves from the bags and did not hear Yukimura.
Instead Bunta came out of his surprise and got the water bottle nearest him and a towel and handed them to Yukimura. Yukimura took them and he wetted the towel with the clear water.
Niou and Sanada were helping Sakuno to sit up.
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Tachibana had gotten up to see to the others.
Ibu had sat up already and was again, muttering to himself about how it was not a good day for the beach and that he did not want to come in the first place and wondering why he was here, suffering from being ignored by Kamio and now, being squashed and pushed around, etc.
Tachibana thought with wryly that since he was talking, he should be fine. Then he asked if Yuta was fine.
Yuta answered that he was and added, "Tachibana-senpai, shouldn't we do something to help Kirihara and Yukimura-san's sister?" He looked at the two still yelling at each other.
Tachibana said, "They should be fine if they have the lungs to make that much noise."
Sengoku stood up, patting the sand off himself and went to nose about the girl who caused him to be squashed and shoved.
His sharp eyes had not missed the frantic expressions on Niou's and Yukimura's faces when they pushed him out of the way. He squatted next to Yukimura who was wiping Sakuno's face free of sand.
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Sakuno was trying to say between Yukimura's ministrations that she was fine and she could do it herself because she was not a child.
Yukimura ignored her, as did Sanada, Yagyuu and Niou, all of them saying that she had scratches again and this time was worse than the last time because she fell on sand.
They also added that she was squashed and she probably swallowed sand and maybe they should talk her to the doctor in case she ate too much sand.
By this time, Sakuno went on to protesting that it was not that serious and it happened to her all the time, the falling, not the being squashed, she meant.
Sengoku listened to them and thought he had never heard them like this before. He wondered, "Maybe this girl is really frail or something? They sound like over-protective mother-hens!"
Out loud, he said, "Ne, she looks fine to me. Don't you think so, Tachibana?"
Tachibana had also made his way over here and had heard their over-anxious conversation.
He nodded and Sakuno was quick to add this time, "See? I'm really alright, senpai-tachi! I don't even hurt because this time, I fell on soft ground, ne!"
She sounded as if she was proud of herself for falling on the sand and not the gravel and it made Yukimura and Sanada raise their eyebrows and Sengoku laughed out loud.
Niou knocked her gently on the head and said, "De? You still fell, Sakuno."
Sakuno tried to defend herself, "But, Niou-senpai, I didn't hurt my ankle this time! It must be an improvement!"
Yagyuu said, "Ryuzaki-san, let us fuss over you a bit. We are worried and besides, we want to do something for you in return for all that delicious food."
He sounded so reasonable that Sakuno said, "Ah… hai, Yagyuu-senpai."
Sanada marveled at Yagyuu's cleverness at coming up with that lame excuse and Sengoku laughed even harder at this slightly silly conversation.
Tachibana said, "Sengoku, you're laughing too much."
Sakuno was confused, "What did I say?"
Bunta came by with another water bottle and said, "Don't mind Sengoku, Sakuno. He likes to laugh."
Sengoku had stopped laughing at this point and winked at Sakuno, "I was laughing because you are cute, little girl!"
Sakuno was surprised and she blushed lightly, "Ah?"
Sanada glared at Sengoku but the latter took no notice and went on, "You are really cute, little girl! What's your name? Do you have a boyfriend? Would you…"
Tachibana clamped his hand over Sengoku's mouth and dragged him off.
He had noticed that not only Sanada's face was turning black. Yukimura was also starting to look annoyed. Niou's look was positively murderous and Bunta did not look happy.
Tachibana called over his shoulder, "Gomen, he must've hit his head or something!" He then continued dragging the struggling Sengoku over to Kamio, Yuta and An.
They were trying to separate Akaya and Miyu who had gotten themselves out of their tangle but probably Akaya or Miyu had said something to the other because the argument had escalated to a wrestle.
Niou got the first-aid kit from Yagyuu and started to clean the sand from one of Sakuno's scratches and she grimaced at the sharp pain.
Yukimura held her hand and said, "Does it hurt a lot, Sakuno?"
Sakuno felt as if she was being treated like a child and she said, "Not really, Yukimura-senpai… but I'm fine, really!"
Bunta offered her some candy, "Here, Sakuno-chan, this will make you feel better!"
Sakuno did not know whether to smile or to sigh because she really did not mind the scratches.
They hurt but it was not her first time to fall but she did not want to hurt her kind senpai-tachi's feelings so she accepted the candy.
Niou continued his ministrations with gentle hands and Sanada handed Sakuno her drink silently.
Sakuno thanked him prettily and he smiled back. Then he patted her on the head and got up.
He had finally noticed Miyu and Akaya and decided that he should put a stop to them.
Since the others were not familiar with Akaya and Miyu, they were reluctant to physically hold them back from each other but Sanada was different.
A little crowd had already gathered around the two and he sighed.
Yanagi was no help because he was again taking photos and Mizuki was egging him on.
Sanada was just glad that Inui was not there to add to the chaos.