Chapter 1 Jelly Toothpastes and Teddy Bears
"Onii-chan!"
The raven-haired girl suddenly became impatient after calling out twice and grabbed the pillows and comforter away from her cousin's bed.
"Nya! But it's still too early", he whined as he snuggled closer into his teddy bear.
"Hmph. You leave me no choice." The girl said as she grabbed the bear away from the sleeping form.
"Waahhh! No fair!" Eiji said blinking, trying to focus on the girl in his half-sleeping state. "Nani? -- Kumi?"he asked.
"Niichan, you're so lazy you don't deserve any surprises." Kumi pouted.
"Nya, but Kumi, its only 5am. Can't it wait a few more hours? I want to go back to sleep." Eiji retorted.
"What a way to welcome your favorite cousin. And to think I came all the way here just to bring you your favorite jelly toothpastes." Kumi said holding out a basket of toothpastes in 5 flavors.
"Huh? Yosh! I love you Kumi-chan" Eiji said instantly awake and hugging his cousin.
"Hmph, you only said that because of the toothpaste. Don't go back to sleep." Kumi ordered heading out the door.
"But I thought you wanted to hang out with me, I'm heading for club practice in a while. You wouldn't miss it nya?" Eiji winked.
"Not for the world Niichan. Besides, I have more surprises in store." Kumi winked back as she closed the door.
Tezuka looked up from the journal he was reading when Ryuzaki-sensei entered the staff room. He stood up and greeted the coach as she sat at the head of the table.
"Tezuka, something came up" his coach said after clearing her throat. It was obvious something was bothering her. Inevitably, he creased his forehead in anticipation. It was so unlike Ryuzaki-sensei to worry. Did somebody had an injury unexpectedly?
"In order for Seigaku to establish its reputation as a school with a strong tennis tradition, the women's tennis club also has to reach the same quality of tennis as we currently have. To solve this problem, the principal asked me to coach the girl's team." Ryuzaki-sensei said.
"I see." Tezuka replied without any emotion in his voice.
Just like Tezuka not to reveal his true sentiments, Ryuzaki thought, noticing his grip on the journal became too tight. She decided not to torture him any further. "So instead of quitting being the coach of the men's tennis club, especially at this crucial point before the Nationals, I decided to mix both club's practices. I also signed both clubs up for the Prefectural Games Mixed Division. This will ensure increased cooperation and improve the girl's club immensely."
"Hai. I respect your decision and thank you for not giving up on us." Tezuka bowed. Inwardly, he was both relieved and worried. He hoped they could pull it off.
Ryoma felt something wet on his face. He opened one eye to find Karupin on top of his pillow. He then reached out for the alarm clock and almost fell out of bed to find that he will miss practice if he didn't get ready in 10 minutes.
Fortunately, he finished getting ready in less than time required. He ran off and headed for tennis practice when he suddenly bumped into a girl who looked like his age. He didn't have time to apologize though, so he ran off without even looking back. He could still hear her screams of outrage and thanked himself for his good fortune of not seeing her again. He smiled, thank God for his lucky stars….
Everybody was intent on starting their practice today just like always. What was not normal was that Seigaku's tennis courts contained a mix of girls and boys. Momoshiro smiled as he gave out instructions to his partner. Well, this isn't such a bad thing after all, he thought. If he gets a little distracted, he could always count on the captain and Echizen to straighten things up. Those two would never ever lose their focus, never.
"Okay, everybody." Ryuzaki-sensei announced over the noise. "I'm sure you've all been wondering about the changes here and as I explained earlier it is necessary if we are to win the mix division of the Prefecturals. Seigaku has never participated in one before but this challenge is not the only one we'll be facing. Rikkadai announced the arrival of its newest member and frankly, this puts us at a disadvantage. India's Radha Sumitri just joined Rikkadai women's team and together with Kirihara, they are rumored to be the Destructive Duo in doubles."
"You mean, THE Radha Sumitri?" Inui asked frantically searching his notes.
"Who is she? Inui-senpai?" Horio asked. "I've never heard of her in my two years tennis experience."
"You obviously never had one" Tomoka muttered.
"What did you say!" Horio asked raising his voice.
"Radha Sumitri is a professional tennis player who is currently on leave. I can't believe she signed up for junior high tennis though." Inui said.
"That is why" Ryuzaki-sensei continued "We are very fortunate to have somebody volunteer to be in the girl's team. I'll leave the introductions later. Tezuka, have you warmed up already?"
"Hai." Tezuka answered.
"Perfect. Why don't you try doing some light rallying with her then" Ryuzaki-sensei said motioning for somebody to step forward. A petite girl appeared, exquisitely dressed in a pink and white tennis outfit and adorned with thick Indian inspired bands on both arms. Her face cannot be discerned clearly though as she wore a visor over her head matched with dark shades. Behind him, Tezuka heard somebody cough, hard.
"Hoi, hoi! Who do we have here?" Eiji said in a mischievous tone of voice.
Huh, this delicate creature would never last within five minutes of captain's game, Kaidoh remarked to himself. Even her bands would get in the way of her game.
If Tezuka looked surprised at the girl's appearance, he never showed it. He raised the ball and prepared himself for the game. The first few minutes, he watched the girl struggle while he did the zero-shiki drop shot. However, as the game progressed it was apparent that she was controlling the ball. Impossible, he thought. She imitated the Tezuka zone first?
Then it hit him. She was moving five times as fast as he, combining a routine similar to Kikumaru's and hitting the balls with an unbelievable control and force for a girl. He only knew one person who could do that. But that wasn't possible; she would still have to be in Germany.
Within thirty minutes the game was over. Everybody was surprised as the raven-haired girl obtained a lead of three games over Tezuka. But what was more surprising was when she remarked, "Same old same old Kunimitsu, hmf!" taking off her visor and glasses.
"Kumiko Asahara!" Tezuka said as he dropped his racket.
"What happened to Echizen?" Momo asked.
"Japan would always have pregnant women giving birth as long as he's in the team." Kaidoh grumbled.
"There he is!" Fuji remarked. "I wonder what happened to Buchou's match. It's a pity we have to use more courts than usual. We can't see what's been happening."
"Fwshh, as if it was worth watching." Kaidoh remarked with a hiss.
"Cheers" Echizen greeted everybody nonchalantly.
"YOU!" a scream penetrated the court. "I want a match NOW!"
Echizen looked back and saw the girl he bumped into earlier. He sighed. Seems he can't rely on his lucky stars either…
Eiji smiled as Kumi took a sip of her drink. He could tell Oishi and Inui were dying of curiosity when Kumiko approached him and bear hugged him.
It was Oishi who first spoke. "Eiji….Asahara….you….when…how?"
"Nya, I'm not telling…" Eiji started jumping on the trampoline. It was placed in the court to help improve Kikumaru's techniques and he began to get addicted to jumping on it. He wondered if he could persuade Inui that a slide would improve his speed too. Smiling he began jumping higher.
"Hoi Hoi, me too!" Kumi climbed on the trampoline and began bouncing like a retard. However, a commotion stopped everybody at the next court. They heard shouts and both Eiji and Kumi stopped as she wiped herself off and detached the bands. One of the bands dropped and produced a loud clang as it hit the ground. Tezuka picked it up, surprised. It was made of platinum – and very heavy.
"Daddy's gift" Kumi replied. "He said it would help me in strengthening my muscles and improving my control. It looks too good to serve as a weight eh?" Kumi winked. She half-ran with Eiji on the way until both screamed at what they saw.
"AKIKO!" Kumiko and Eiji said at the same time.
"You think you can just get away with that huh? Well I won't let you!" Akiko said as she smashed another tennis ball directly hitting Echizen's face.
He didn't even have time to blink when she started rambling again. "Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever gets away with stomping on my foot without even an apology." This time the tennis ball hit Echizen on the foot.
"Akiko Asahara, stop it right this instant or I shall smash your face with my tennis bracelet." Kumiko yelled from the other court.
Akiko sighed. It was just like her sister to ruin her fun….
Ryuzaki-sensei cleared her throat. "Today has been an interesting day, I must say. Shall I now introduce the new members of Seigaku's mixed club?" Without waiting for a reply, Seigaku's coach continued. "Kumiko Asahara has taken a break and volunteered to participate in the prefecturals. I'm sure you all know Asahara as Asia's number one in the professional tennis junior division. However, accidentally, (to this Ryuzaki glanced at Echizen's direction) a new talent was discovered and it seems to me she is eager to join the club too (Ryuzaki glances at Akiko's smirking expression). I suppose the new arrangement suits everybody. Well then, practice is over. Till our next practice. You're all dismissed."
Everybody breathed a sigh of relief and headed out the door. Until…
"RYOMA ECHIZEN! This war is not over yet! ". An annoying voice shouted over the noise.
"Mada mada dane." Came the reply. A shoe flew over his head but Ryoma kept on walking.
"Kumiko Asahara is in OUR team?" Oishi said still not believing. "And I can't believe both Buchou and Eiji knew her and they never told anybody."
"Tezuka must have known her back in Germany. Asahara suffered an injury a year ago, just like Tezuka." Inui replied.
"She's real pretty though isn't she?" Momoshiro added scratching his neck with his tennis racket.
"I don't know Momo." Fuji said smiling. "You would have to beat two of your senpais if you're real interested in her. I'm sure you wouldn't want one of them going hard on you," Syusuuke added motioning in the courts direction where a disgruntled looking Tezuka was playing tennis with such vigor.
"Hoi Hoi! Why are you guys so slow? Miko-chan invited us to her house for a snack Hurry up, I'm hungry." Eiji shouted. He practically skipped as he slung an arm on Kumi's shoulder; he was sure his team mates were dying of curiosity as to his relationship with Kumiko. Even Tezuka was eyeing him warily a while ago. He laughed better get a kick out of this before his secret was revealed.
"Hey Tezuka!" Oishi called. "Won't you join us for a while? Practice is over." However, as usual, Tezuka shrugged the invitation off and continued practicing.
Everybody stared in awe as they stopped in front of Kumiko's house, if that's what you can call it. The house looked more like a shopping complex, with its white façade, huge glass windows and bougainvillea flowers hanging below each balcony. Momoshiro whistled as they went inside and got a glimpse of an infinity pool at the rooftop, complete with a magnificent view of Tokyo. Only Eiji felt completely at home as he started jumping up and down the white sofa. "Miko, pillow fight nya?"
"Loser won't get the last burger!" Kumiko shouted throwing the pillow at Eiji. Their fight was however interrupted by the arrival of snacks carried by the Asahara houshelp. Kumiko was instantly back to her hostess mode.
"Go on, eat. I'll ask the cook to make more if we ran out of burgers so don't be shy." Kumiko smiled at everybody.
"Yosh! Don't worry about me, Asahara-san. Itedaki-masu" Momo started.
"These are your pictures?" Oishi asked.
"Hai. These were taken from last year's game. We celebrated that win in Indonesia, remember Eiji?" Kumiko winked.
"Nya! Bali was great." Eiji continued jumping up and down the sofa.
Inui kept quiet. He still couldn't understand Eiji and Asahara's relationship. He decided to do more research on this matter. He smiled, it wouldn't be bad to beat Asahara too.
Thirsty. I'm so thirsty. Akiko thought as she headed to the vending machine. She was so intent in choosing her drink that she dropped the coin she was holding. "Oh!" she said as she ran. When she got back, she saw Echizen buying the last Ponta she was eyeing.
"You brat! That's not fair. I came here first!" she said stomping on his foot. Ryoma didn't even flinch. He continued walking and left her fuming and kicking empty soda cans.
I'll get you at the next practice, Akiko fumed, kicking another can before finally deciding to head home.
Inui watched Kumiko demolish the last burger. She sure does eat a lot for a girl her size, he thought. He wrote Eating rival for Momoshiro. Extremely huge appetite in his notebook. He immediately closed it before Eiji could take a peek then took a bite of his own burger.
Oishi cleared his throat. "So Asahara-san. How did you get to know Tezuka?"
Kumiko looked confused. "Kunimitsu?" she asked looking like a lost girl before taking another huge bite at the burger. Inui wrote something on his notebook again.
Oishi cleared his throat again. "Hai. Kunimitsu Tezuka. Our captain."
Kumiko nodded before taking another bite at her burger. Eiji laughed. "You can never get a clear answer from Miko while she's eating. Let her finish first nya?"
Inui answered for Kumiko instead. "I think she met him at the center in Germany, Oishi."
Kumi smiled and finished the last of her burger.