Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Yukimura Miyu.
Author's Words: There will be a surprise at the end of this chapter. Two characters from another anime will appear and I wonder how many can guess who they are. Please enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Four: At the Beach (Part Four)
By the time, Sanada had finished his lecture to Miyu and Akaya, Yukimura, Niou, Bunta and Yagyuu had also patched Sakuno up.
Yagyuu had gotten a hair brush out and had persuaded Sakuno to let him brush out the sand in her hair.
When Sakuno released her braids, everyone stared. Sakuno rarely let her hair down so no one really noticed that she had such beautiful hair. It was long and when An and Miyu went over to marvel over it, they found no split ends at all.
Both of them asked Sakuno what kind of treatment she used on her hair. Sakuno looked surprise and said that she just use normal shampoo and hair conditioner.
The two girls heard her and sighed with wry expressions, thinking, "So it's natural…"
They still oohed and ahhed over it and wanted Yagyuu to let them comb it. Yagyuu did not let them of course, saying, "I will do it quicker than you two. You will want to take a long time over it, don't you?"
The two girls blanched and grinned sheepishly because he was right. Sakuno smiled when she heard her hair being praised. She was not particularly vain but she was not above being pleased when a part of her body was being praised.
She liked her long hair very much, partly because of her grandmother's influence. Even in old photos, her grandmother had had long hair and she adored her grandmother.
Yanagi was taking photos of this Sakuno with her hair down and knew he would make a profit from them because he knew that there would definitely be buyers from Rikkai and Seigaku.
He was feeling very pleased with himself. It had been a most profitable day with all the relaxing, data and now, photos.
Akaya was of two minds about the lovely Sakuno before his eyes.
He liked her looking so pretty but he thought that if she did not have braids, then she would not longing be his Saku-no-bunny. He did not altogether like the thought of that and he did not say anything as he argued with himself about the matter.
Bunta also thought that Sakuno looked very pretty with her hair down and he, being the honest boy he was, said, "Wow! Sakuno-chan, you look really pretty with your hair down!"
Niou and Yukimura were secretly annoyed that Bunta complimented her first because they both wanted to say the same thing. Now, if they said it, it would not sound as nice. They still wanted to say something though.
Yukimura smiled his gentle smile and said, "Bunta's right, Sakuno. You look like a fairy princess with such long hair."
Sakuno blushed at this bold and pleasing comment. Miyu and An both smothered chuckles at her look.
Miyu said, "I agree with onii-san, Sakuno, you look like a fairy princess! Ne, An?"
An nodded with a smile, "You should do it more often, Sakuno!"
Sakuno said, "I can't because if I have it loose all the time, it easily gets caught by zippers and other things. Besides, it is really hard to move around with it loose."
Niou was not so childish to be annoyed at Yukimura for such a pleasing comment. He knew that he would sound silly if he said something like that so he kept quiet for the time being.
When Yagyuu had finished brushing a lot of the sand from Sakuno's hair, Niou said, "Let me braid it for you, Sakuno. I'm really quick with my hands."
Sakuno said, "Thank you, Yagyuu-senpai. Will you help me braid it, Niou-senpai? Thank you so much because it takes quite a while."
She was about to say that she could do one side and Niou would do the other. However, Niou said, "I'll do both sides, Sakuno, or it might not be even."
Sakuno thought he made sense and agreed, thanking Niou with a shy smile. It seemed even more personal than just brushing her hair.
When Niou started parting her hair and braiding it, she thought that he had such gentle and quick fingers. He did not pull too hard at her hair and yet her braid did not feel as if it was coming loose.
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While Sakuno's hair was being braided, Miyu and An had gone off to one side and were whispering to each other.
Kamio had joined them because he wanted to be by An's side. An was asking, "Hey, is it just Sakuno or are the Rikkai regulars always this nice to girls?"
Miyu chuckled, "It's just to Sakuno or so I find. You can't believe how they treasure her. I mean, I can understand it because she is so sweet, unlike some of the other girls at our school."
Kamio was confused, "What do you mean? Are they being very nice to Ryuzaki?"
An and Miyu gave him looks of 'you are so slow'. An said, "Ne, Kamio, you watch how the Rikkai regulars treat Sakuno. They were so worried about her when she fell and fussed around her, right?"
Kamio said, "I didn't notice. I was watching Kirihara and you fight." The two girls rolled their eyes. They seemed to have extra senses when it came to the hint of romance in the air.
Miyu said, "Yes, well, I was fighting Akaya-senpai but even I noticed afterwards how they were fussing. I mean, Hiroshi-san was combing her hair in public! You get it? In public!"
An nodded her head vigorously, "Yeah, Kamio, Not even my brother would do that for me in public!"
Kamio exclaimed, "I would! I mean, eh… I would if you need it done…" He was blushing hard now but An did not notice.
She was talking excitedly with Miyu again. An said, "Ne, Miyu, did you see how gentle Yagyuu-san was with Sakuno's hair? They looked so sweet together!"
Miyu answered, "I know! I knew that Sakuno would be good for them! You know, before Sakuno came, these guys had no idea how to be around a girl like that!"
An asked, "What do you mean?" Poor Kamio had been forgotten in their excitement to gossip.
Miyu smiled mysteriously, "You know, they all had this weird thing about girls who come near them. I mean, they were all really expressionless and basically ignored girls who wanted to get to know them."
An giggled, "Why? They seem really nice to Sakuno now!" Miyu said, "Well, probably because the girls at our school usually come to practices and scream and shout and do things like that. It's really crazy sometimes."
An nodded, "Oh, that, I see. Yeah, my brother hates it. Sengoku-senpai loves it though. He always waves to them and that makes them scream louder."
Miyu said, "If one of our regulars dared to wave his hand at them, he would be in deep trouble later. Bun-chan tried it once and after practice, when he was really tired, those girls he waved at came up and surrounded him."
An looked amused, "I'll bet that they thought he was easy to get to and through him, to the others, ne?"
Miyu nodded, "Those girls attracted other girls and lots of things were shoved at Bun-chan to give to everyone. Towels, love letters, presents, you name it. It was an absolute nightmare.
Afterwards, Bun-chan asked the others for help but they all ignored him. None of them wanted to be the next victim."
An said, "Then what did he do to stop them?" Miyu said, "Well, Bun-chan begged Niou-senpai for help."
An said, "The Trickster? Wow, what did he do? It must be very scary to keep all those girls away!"
Miyu nodded, "Niou-senpai spread rumors about Bun-chan being a secret pervert who likes SM games and that he had been in juvenile prison when he was in primary school for that.
He even came up with a few made-up photos and these got spread around. The girls stayed away all right."
An looked shocked, "They actually believed all that? That is so stupid! Didn't Marui-san get into trouble with the teachers?"
Miyu said, "I think Niou-senpai asked Renji-niisan to speak with the teachers about it and they said nothing. I don't know if everyone believed the rumors but since the girls stopped bothering Bun-chan, no one cared.
Well, Bun-chan did but he couldn't say anything about it, could he? Besides, everyone soon forgot about it when other rumors came up."
An chuckled, "Wow, I feel sorry for Marui-san now."
Kamio had been listening to what they had been talking about and his face was now rather pale. He was imagining the scene of Bunta being swarmed by a crowd of screaming girls with things in their hands.
He shuddered and the two girls finally remembered him. An said, "Kamio? Are you cold?" Miyu remarked, "Geez, Kamio-san, you are so frail! Today is really hot!"
Kamio looked at these two rather heartless girls and smiled weakly, "No, I'm fine. I think I'll just go and see what Shinji is up to."
With that, he staggered off, his dreams of the opposite sex rather tainted from what he just heard. Thank goodness his An was not like that…
Miyu and An shrugged as they watched Kamio stagger off and continued their earlier topic. An said, "So, we were talking about Sakuno?" Miyu said, "Yeah, well, you know how quiet she is, right? No, actually it started when the regulars started helping her during the time when she had to hop around in clutches.
I already knew that the regulars need to have a life outside tennis because they are so sad. I mean, they are always so tense and competitive. I guess that it is alright but I thought they needed some softer influence in their lives."
An thought and nodded, "I guess I can understand what you mean. Rikkai is such a clever school that it must be really hard to keep up with things all the time.
My brother relaxed so much more when we went to Fudomine about three years ago. It was a very different school from our old school. We didn't have so much pressure, especially in the tennis club because no one expected much of us."
Miyu said, "Yes, it's very different at Rikkai because the boys' tennis club was really big and competitive. Anyway, during those weeks, they got to know Sakuno and she's so quiet and undemanding that they really appreciated it.
I appreciated it too because sometimes, some girls would try and use me to get close to my brother and the others and I hated it. Sakuno never tried to make me do stuff that I didn't want to do."
An said, "Well, I know her but we didn't spend a lot of time together, being in different schools and all but yeah, Sakuno's like that. She doesn't give you any pressure at all, does she?"
Miyu clapped her hands with delight, "You have the exact words I wanted to say! That's it! She doesn't give any pressure at all! An, you have it! That's the main reason the regulars like her so much, she's so gentle that it's probably them giving her the pressure!"
An laughed at Miyu's delight, "Maybe you're right!"
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The two girls are already on first-name terms and when the others heard their laughter, they looked in their direction.
Tachibana and Yukimura were both very happy to see their sisters so friendly with each other.
Sakuno was also pleased that her two friends got along. She wondered if Miyu would get along with Tomoka but that would have to wait until they have a chance to meet.
Niou was almost finished with her other braid. As he said, his hands were really quick and gentle.
When he was finished, she turned to him and smiled brightly, "Thank you, Niou-senpai. It didn't hurt at all! I mean, when you did the braids. Sometimes, when other people do them, they pull too hard."
Niou quirked a grin and that sudden moment, Sakuno realized that actually, Niou was really a very striking young man.
She blushed and she could feel her heart beating.
It all happened so quickly that she was not prepared for it. For what, she did not quite understand but she covered her cheeks with her hands.
It was unconscious girly shyness and Niou noticed. He did not show that he noticed because he did not want to startle her further.
Instead he patted her on the head and walked off to think about what it could mean. He was very pleased inside but no one knew.
Yagyuu sensed that his partner was happy but he did not know why, not really observing Sakuno and Niou during that time. He had sat by one side and was reading his novel again.
All the others were doing various things after they made certain everything was fine and no one else noticed Sakuno's sudden shyness.
That is no one noticed except for the two nosy girls who were talking about her so excitedly. They went over to Sakuno when Niou walked off.
Sakuno was fingering her braids with gently, as if she could Niou's hands on them.
She was confused at her sudden shyness when she thought of him.
It was just a normal smile, was it not? It was not as if she had not seen it before, then why was she suddenly so struck by it? She could not understand it at all!
She was so deep in her thoughts that when An and Miyu patted her on the shoulder, she was startled. She looked up at the smiling faces of her friends.
Was it just her imagination or did they look a wee bit too pleased with themselves?
Miyu said, "Ne, Sakuno, I think that we need to talk…" An continued, "…about some very important things, ne?"
The two girls smiled again and said together, "Let's go for a walk, Sakuno-chan"
Sakuno was given no time to protest when they just pulled her up and started walking away from the spot.
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Niou strolled in and through the crowds of people.
He liked Sakuno a lot, he knew that.
The question was, was it in that way that he liked her? Did he like her enough to want to become her special person?
He remembered her shy smile and her sweet voice when she called, "Niou-senpai!"
He liked being single and alone. It gave him a lot of freedom and space. No one told him what to do. Well, he could not imagine Sakuno telling him what to do either.
However, did he care enough for her that he would not hurt her? It would be very different from when he was just a friend and from when he became someone special to her.
She might not even know that what she felt back then was a slight attraction to him. Most probably she did not and he did not know to feel relieved or disappointed.
He knew that some of his team-mates liked her as a girl. He no longer cared which ones did because the most important thing was what he himself felt about her.
He had his moments when he felt jealous that another would be near her or touching her. He disliked it that she treated everyone the same. He hated it that she relied so much on Sanada and not on him.
He enjoyed it when she spoke with him about her days. He liked it when they spent time together, doing nothing special and just being together. He loved it when she looked up to him with trust shining in her eyes.
He suddenly realized where this was taking him. If this was not the beginning of love, then what is?
He did not want her to be anyone else's. He would not bear it if she fell in love with another person, like she did with Echizen Ryoma. She was in love with him for three whole years!
He would not bear it and there and then, he made up his mind.
He would not let her be anyone else's because only he could be by her side. He knew that he was not perfect and that he had his faults but he did not care.
He wanted her and he would not suffer to lose her, his sweet little Sakuno. He wanted her smile to be for him only and no one else's.
With his mind made up, his heart grew lighter and a smile hovered around the edges of his mouth as he continued strolling.
He knew that while he made up his mind, he could not rush things because she would need time and care. He did not want things to turn awkward between them and he did not want to alert possible competition.
He had his way and he knew how to be patience.
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He turned and looked out at the sea where there were so many people playing and swimming and enjoying themselves.
It was rare that he was not watching where he was going because suddenly someone smacked into him. It was followed by a sticky cold feeling.
He looked down and thought, "Sht!"
It was ice-cream.
The boy who had run smack into him also had not been aware of where he was going. He had been running away from his companions in a game of chase.
Niou did not mind but it was unpleasant with the ice-cream sticking to his bare chest. He looked down at the boy with the pale hair who looked to be a few years younger.
He was looking with woe at his empty ice-cream cone. Perhaps it was because of his new-found feeling but Niou was feeling very charitable with the world.
He sighed and said, "Come on, lad, let me clean this up and I'll buy you another ice-cream."
This was definitely a first time for him to be so kind to a stranger but what the heck.
The boy looked up and beamed when he heard the words 'another ice-cream'.
Suddenly there was another smack that rammed into the boy's back and the boy smacked into Niou again.
This time, it was a young girl, a bit shorter than the boy.
Her ice-cream had also smacked into the boy's back and she also looked with woe at her empty cone.
The boy exclaimed, "You are so clumsy! Now look what you've done to my back! It feels really nasty!"
The girl pouted, "You did it first and to this onii-chan as well! You're the clumsy one!"
The boy also pouted, "No, you're the clumsy one!"
The girl continued, "No, you are!"
The boy exclaimed with annoyance, "You are!"
It would have gone on if Niou had not burst out laughing at their childishness.
These two youths looked to be around fifteen or so and yet they were acting like ten-year-olds.
It was a funny sight and he said, "Come on, you two. Let's get cleaned up and I'll treat you both to another ice-cream."
He never knew that he could attract youngsters. He thought about Sanada and his entourage earlier and chuckled.
What a day it was turning out to be!