Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.
Chapter Thirty-Five: At the Beach (Part Five)
An and Miyu pulled Sakuno to one of the summer cafes that were opened at the beach. They sat down at a table and ordered some snacks and drinks.
Sakuno wanted to ask them what they were up to but when she did, they just grinned at her and at each other and then started to giggle. She waited patiently for their giggles to subside.
Finally, when Miyu stopped and she said, "Hehe, Sakuno, you like Niou-senpai, don't you?"
Sakuno immediately blushed without realizing it and An grinned, "See, she's blushing! How cute, Sakuno! You really like Niou-san!"
Sakuno tried to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. She stopped and took a deep breath. Then she tried again, "W-what did you say? Miyu-chan, An-chan? H-how can I l-l-l-like N-niou-senpai!"
She started to deny it but An beat her to it, "How can you not like him! It's obvious that he likes you, ne, Miyu?"
Miyu bit her lip, thinking maybe being so upfront with Sakuno was not the best idea, then she grinned, "No, An, maybe we had it wrong. Maybe Sakuno really does not like Niou-senpai."
An looked at her in surprise. She did not know what Miyu was up to and she said, "Huh? What are you saying, Miyu?"
Sakuno was also surprised that Miyu would give up so easily. It was not that she wanted Miyu to go on with the topic but it just did not seem like her.
Miyu sighed, "I know that Niou-senpai's really smart and good-looking and all but I can understand why Sakuno doesn't like him."
An started to think that maybe Miyu was up to something and she decided to play along, "Really? Why? I mean, if he's so good-looking and smart and all, then why would Sakuno not like him?"
Miyu smiled at An and said, "Well, you see, An. I think that not only Sakuno would not like him but it will be very hard for any girl to truly like him." An asked again, "What do you mean?"
The two girls kept a look on Sakuno's face. Sakuno was looking confused now and Miyu knew that she was paying attention.
She went on, "It's his personality, you see. Niou-senpai is a pretty twisted person inside, I think. He incapable of kindness and love and all that and Sakuno needs it, doesn't she? She deserves better than Niou-senpai. I mean, what does he have to offer Sakuno! His tricks? His tennis skills?"
An nodded, as if she was agreeing completely, "Ah… I know what you mean now. I guess you have a point there. Niou-san does seem a bit strange to me. He does look really crafty. How can you trust a person like that?"
Sakuno could stand it no longer. She burst out, "Miyu-chan, An-chan, how can you say things like that about Niou-senpai! He's one of the kindest persons that I've ever met!"
Miyu and An were honestly surprised by her sudden outburst. They blinked their eyes at her, speechless for once.
Then before Sakuno realized what she had done, Miyu continued, "But Sakuno, I thought that you don't like him! I mean, when you compare him to… Bun-chan or Akaya-senpai. Don't you think that Niou-senpai is really scary? With Bun-chan, you always know what he's thinking, but with Niou-senpai, you can never guess!"
Sakuno looked distressed, "Of course, Niou-senpai isn't scary! How can you say that, Miyu-chan! He's always very gentle and kind to me and you know it! Besides, if you don't know what he's thinking, then you can just talk to him and ask him! It's not like he knows what you are thinking!"
An raised an eyebrow, "Maybe he's only nice to you because he's scared of Sanada-san. We can all see that Sanada-san thinks of you as a sister, ne, Miyu?"
Miyu nodded, "That's right, Niou-senpai is a real opportunist. He's probably being nice to you for a reason, Sakuno. Maybe you'd better stay away from him in the future."
She crossed her fingers under the table and hoped to whoever it was up there that she would not have to do this again. She did not like talking bad about her 'brother' like this but…
Sakuno was almost in tears at what she was hearing, "That's not true! Miyu-chan, Niou-senpai's a really nice person. Maybe he doesn't talk as much as Bunta-senpai but I can always tell what he's thinking because he shows me in other ways, ne? Besides, he's not scared of Sanada-senpai because it's not like that! How can you ask me to stay a-a-away…"
Sakuno was sobbing now, she could not understand why her friends were being so nasty about such a nice and kind person. Besides, she did not want to stay away from Niou because she liked being with… him… What was that…? She did not want to stay away… from… Niou-senpai…?
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Miyu and An was really flustered now. They did not mean to go so far as to make her cry!
An pulled out some tissues while Miyu patted her Sakuno's back gently.
An gave the tissues to Sakuno, saying, "Oh, Sakuno, don't cry. We didn't mean to make you sad."
Miyu said, "Sakuno, gomen, if you don't like what we are saying. Then we will never say things like that again, ne?"
Sakuno sniffed and looked at her friends with slightly red eyes. She also had a bit of a hiccup now.
Despite the fact that she had been crying, Miyu and An thought that she looked really adorable. They just hoped that none of the regulars would happen to come by or they would be fried and fed to the dogs. Probably anyway.
Miyu looked at An and then she said gently to Sakuno, "Ne, Sakuno, we're really sorry that we made you cry. We would never say things like that again, ne!"
An nodded, "Sakuno, cheer up! If you say that Niou-san is a really nice person then he must be a nice person because you know him better than me."
Sakuno sniffed again, "Niou-senpai's really nice… I-I-I…"
Miyu patted her gently on the back, "Sshhh, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to, ne, here's our food. Let's eat a bit before we go back. It will make you feel better!"
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If only they had known that Sakuno was about to say that she did not want to stay away from Niou… but they did not and they did not want to press her again so An and Miyu tried to stuff Sakuno with food, hoping she would feel better.
However, Sakuno herself felt that something had started to change inside her heart. A new awareness began to make itself known to her this day at the beach. It might be the beginning of a new romance but she was not sure.
She was not sure if she wanted this change because she was happy now. However, she could do nothing to stop it and so, she cowardly tried to put it at the back of her mind and for the time being, she was able to forget about it.
Yes, forget this new awareness of a new romance. Even if it was only for the time being.
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While the girls were sitting at the café, enjoying their food and drinks, they were attracting quite a bit of attention from people around them.
Sakuno had stopped crying and with her sweet face and slim build was like a fairy from spring taking a vacation in summer.
An was talking animatedly about something that happened to Sengoku a while ago and her whole being was full of life. Her short hair together with her oval face gave her a pixie look and her smile was friendly and happy.
Miyu was the tallest of the three and she had the beautiful facial features of her brother. However, no one would ever mistake her to be male. She had a teasing smile and a lazy look on her face.
Now that Sakuno was no longer crying she was back to her confident self which gave her a rather cool and aloof presence, deceiving though it was.
The Rikkai regulars had come along in the first place because they were worried that strange people might hit on the girls and now it was about to happen but they were not around!
Three single guys with heavy tans and smart looks came up to the girls' table and one of them struck a pose. It was meant to be unassuming but as most guys were unaware of, girls always noticed.
Well, Miyu and An did anyway while Sakuno grew silent. She never liked being intimidated and these guys were crowding the table. Miyu and An were used to being hit on but it did not stop them from getting annoyed.
The guy who struck a pose had bleached his hair a light color. It was meant to be blond but it looked like a wig and this wig-guy said, "Hey beauties! Mind if we join you?"
He had already had his hand on the back of an empty chair, obviously never dreaming that Miyu would smile sweetly at him, saying, "Yes, we mind very much."
The other two guys guffawed, thinking that she was flirting with them and the wig-guy said, "Oh you are so funny, sweetie!"
He sat down and leaned close to Sakuno, "Hey what's your name? Mine's XXX"
Since he was someone not worth mentioning, I do not think it worth my time to come up with a name for him.
Sakuno edged away from XXX and said, "Ah…" She did not want to answer and XXX had a lot of collogue on. It smelled nasty and she did not like it at all.
An always did have a quick temper and she saw red at the way XXX was leaning over to Sakuno.
She stood up and pushed XXX away, "She doesn't like you, don't you get it? We never asked you to sit down either, go away and get a life, will you?"
An, like Miyu, also trained for tennis and she was a strong girl. Her push sent XXX right off his chair and onto the ground.
He, being the typical type of male who liked to brag and did not know the word 'no', was enraged of course. His friends went to his side and looked at the girls with anger and meanness shining from their eyes.
Miyu knew that look and thought with a sigh, "Oh, great. Typical bullies." She and An was probably capable of handling this, with so many chairs around but she knew that Sakuno would be scared.
She thought that maybe screaming would be a quicker solution because people tended to come running when they thought there was a commotion that had pretty girls in danger in it.
But before she could make up her mind, one of the guys had already pulled back a hand, intending to hit An, "You little bxxch!"
An never backed down but Sakuno covered her face and screamed. Before Miyu could intercept, An had moved and slapped the guy's hand aside. She was well and truly angry now.
The guy on the ground, XXX that was, had stood up and was cursing, his shallow face twisting with anger. Some people are just real losers!
He caught hold of Sakuno's wrist, her being nearest to him and An and Miyu both turned to him. They were not happy. No, they were not happy at all.
Little Sakuno gasped because XXX had a very tight hold on her wrist in his anger. He was probably one of those men who equaled strength with manliness. He cried angrily, "I'll show you to refuse me!" His cronies cried along with him, "Yeah, show them!"
Miyu wanted to throw a chair at them but she was afraid that it might hit Sakuno with her so close to the guys.
An was about to rush at them angrily when a pleasant voice spoke up, "Ya-re, ya-re, what is this here?"
Another voice answered him, "A bad show obviously that should be put to an end."
A third voice sounded with some agitation, "Let go of the little girl! Can't you see you're hurting her?"
The guys looked around them, trying to find out who was speaking. An thought that the voices sounded familiar and she turned to look.
Before she could get a clear look at the people speaking, one of them had leapt up into the air and with a perfect somersault had landed in front of XXX.
He kicked at XXX's shins and when XXX's hand loosened in surprise and pain, someone quickly pulled Sakuno away from them. Sakuno looked up and saw a face that she recognized.
An also recognized them and Miyu did as well, though she had not seen them in person before. She had seen their faces from magazines that had news of high school tennis teams. Their school was also a famous one from Tokyo.
When Sakuno was pulled to safety, a third person stepped out and his height made the guys step back. Next to him was another young man, a shorter one with short-cropped hair.
XXX was obviously intimidated but he still cried out, "W-what are you doing? It's none of your business!"
The one who pulled Sakuno away from him was looking at the bruise on her wrist and he said without looking up, "Not our business? You must be mistaken, the moment you started to harass these ladies, it became everyone's business."
One of XXX's cronies snarled angrily and threw a punch at the boy who had kicked XXX's shins. The boy dodged easily saying, "Wow, that was slow! You need to do better than that if you want to get close to me."
The tall one stepped forward and said, "You should leave now better we throw you off from the café." He meant it as a kindly warning but it only enraged the guys more.
XXX and his cronies could tell that they were older than these boys and it gave them a kind of illogical courage and righteousness. XXX said, "Come now, little boys. You shouldn't mess with adults like that. We only wanted to buy these ladies some drinks."
The young man with the short-cropped hair snorted rudely. He disliked being brushed off as if they had no brains.
He stepped forward so quickly that it seemed as if he just appeared right in front of XXX. Just as quickly, he had his hand around XXX's throat and he growled, "What do you mean 'little boys'? Huh?"
His eyes were fierce and finally XXX and his cronies realized that they had better not mess with these people.
When he was released, coughing, he quickly stumbled past the other boys and Miyu and An, his cronies after him. Then at a safe distance, he did what most bullies who lost to a stronger power had done.
He turned back and yelled, "Just you wait!" Then he and his cronies ran off amidst the crowd.
When they disappeared, Sakuno was so relieved her knees buckled and she slid to the ground. The young man who had been standing by her side knelt down and asked, "Are you alright?"
Sakuno smiled a trembling smile, "H-hai, I'm fine, Oshitari-san." Oshitari Yuushi smiled and said, "You know me?"
Sakuno answered, "Hai, I used to study at Seigaku." Oshitari said, "Ahhh."
Miyu and An came over and they pulled Sakuno to her feet.
An said, "Sakuno, are you alright?" Miyu turned to Oshitari and said, "Thanks for helping us with those stupid bullies. They were very unpleasant."
Oshitari said, "I did nothing. You should thank Gakuto and Shishido. They did all the work."
An turned to see Mukahi Gakuto and Shishido Ryo walking towards them together with the tall lad. She remembered that his name was Ohtori Choutarou.
Sakuno rubbed at her bruised wrist gently. She was really thankful for the timely appearance of the Hyotei regulars because she had been afraid that Miyu and An would do something stupid and get hurt.
Sakuno saw Gakuto and remembered that it was him who had made YYY or was it XXX…? Never mind, it was Gakuto who had made the unpleasant fellow release her wrist.
She bowed to him politely, thanking him, "A-ano, Mukahi-san, arigatou gozaimasu!"
Gakuto was embarrassed now. It was all very well to be boastful and full of himself but to be thanked so directly was rather… His cheeks turned a bit pink which Oshitari noticed and decided to tease him later.
Gakuto said brusquely, "I-it was nothing! I just didn't like the look of that guy!" He turned away quickly and Oshitari chuckled. Gakuto glared at his friend and partner, "Yuushi!"
Oshitari smothered his grin and said, "Anyway, you girls seem to know us. Maybe we can have the honors of knowing who you are as well?" He ended this with a gentlemanly bow, obviously making fun from the sparkle of mirth in his eyes.
An laughed and Miyu grinned at his gallant tone and gesture. Miyu said, "Ii yo! I'm Yukimura Miyu. This is Tachibana An and Ryuzaki Sakuno was the one who just bowed to Mukahi-san."
Shishido suddenly exclaimed, "Tachibana An? Ryuzaki Sakuno? Haven't I seen you two before?"
An and Sakuno looked at each other and giggled. Sakuno said, "Shishido-san, it was probably at the training camp for the American team about three years ago." An nodded, "You have a really good memory, Shishido-san!"
Shishido grinned, "What can you say. I'm brilliant, eh, Choutarou?"
Ohtori smiled, "I also remember now. Ryuzaki-chan is Ryuzaki kantoku's granddaughter, right? And Tachibana-chan is… eh… Tachibana-san's sister?"
The two girls nodded and An said, "Just call me An. Otherwise it'll sound really strange when my brother's here." Ohtori smiled brightly, "Hai, An-chan!"
Gakuto had gotten over his embarrassment and was now his old cocky self, "Hey, what are you girls doing here anyway? You don't seem to be the type to come to the beach alone. If Ryuzaki's here, then Kikumaru must be here too. Where's he?"
Sakuno started, "Eh… Mukahi-san, I don't study at Seigaku anymore. I study at Rikkai Dai now, with Miyu-chan."
Miyu grinned and gave the shorter Sakuno a hug, "Hehe, that's right! We're here with my brother and the other regulars. We met An and her lot earlier. Is it just the four of you at the beach?"
Oshitari smiled, "No, Jiroh's asleep at our spot. Atobe's somewhere surrounded by girls and Kabaji's with him." Gakuto added, "As usual."
Shishido snorted, "Atobe suddenly decided that he wanted to experience the common folk's day at the beach so he got us all to come. He even got his butler to come, complete with a full picnic. It was a real experience alright!"
Ohtori smiled complacently, "Ma, Shishido-senpai, the food was really nice, wasn't it?"
Oshitari said dryly, "Oh yes, the food was really delicious. Then all the girls started to swarm around Atobe and we had to escape from the bees now buzzing around the flower called Atobe Keigo. I just hope that they haven't trampled Jiroh to little pieces."
The girls laughed at his sarcastic tone and Ohtori chuckled good-naturedly.
Miyu said, "In that case, do you want to return with us to our spot? We have plenty of room and everyone will be so surprised to see you!" Sakuno and An also urged them to come along.
Oshitari looked at his friends, "Why not? Atobe won't miss us yet. The more the merrier!"
Indeed, the more the merrier, what a popular day for the beach it was turning out to be!