Tennis no Ouji-sama © Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.
- Act V -
[ Cinderella ]
No matter how much she loved dancing barefooted on the grass, running without one of her shoes on in the midst of March on the rough asphalt wasn't something she appreciated. Not especially since she gained enough bruises during her ballet practice. However, it was better to run from the grasp of the vampire that way rather than to stay with both shoes on, waiting until the vampire sucked her blood dry. Hikari stopped a few steps before her house to regain her breath to compose herself.
Although that didn't remain too long. Hikari balled her fist and pressed it to her mouth as she grunted in exasperation.
Damn him! Damn vampire! Those were my favourite shoes! her inner mind cursed. Staring at her now orphan shoe, she felt like crying because her brother bought it for her birthday just last year.
She took a deep breath, combing her messy hair with her fingers, and cleared her throat as she shoved her key into the hole, opening the door with a small click. Closing the door as gently as possible, Hikari decided to bring her no-longer-a-pair shoe to her room because it was something her brother would notice. She tiptoed her way to her room and her heart stopped the moment the door to doomsday slowly opened just beside her. Swallowing her saliva became the hardest thing to do when she spotted the reflection of her brother's glasses in the dim light as he slowly approached her with silent steps that beat that of a ninja's.
"Hikari."
Glancing at his neck was the only thing she could do because she felt like his eyes could burn her to ashes.
"Where have you been?" he asked with the deep voice that made her feel like she was drowning in the sea full of sharks. That was exactly the feeling she had whenever her brother caught her red-handed, demanding an explanation.
"It's uh… I still have jetlag so I couldn't sleep?" She forced a smile, quickly hiding her shoe behind her back. "So I thought I should get some fresh air." She could feel the cold sweat behind her neck when her brother narrowed his eyes on her. "That's it, Onii-chan. I'm telling you the truth."
It was true though. She just didn't tell the whole thing. She wouldn't want to imagine what he would say if she told him that she encountered an S-class narcissistic vampire and bit him before she got bitten herself.
Her brother's judgement eyes never left her as he crossed his arms.
"Hikari. You've been sneaking out in the middle of the night a lot of times even before you went to Germany. You know it's not—"
"It's not safe for a girl like me to loiter around by myself. I know that, Onii-chan. I'm not a baby anymore! I'm going to be sixteen this year!" She made sure her voice came out in a whisper so she wouldn't wake her parents and grandfather.
"This doesn't have anything to do with your age, Hikari. It's never safe for a young girl like you to walk around in the middle of the night." Before she could retort anything, he raised his hand. "I hope this is the last time you're doing this, Hikari. Don't make us worry more than you did back in Germany."
Hikari bit her bottom lip upon the memory of her achievement in Germany, right before everything turned upside down in a span of a day, putting her way back home. She looked away to keep her tears in the back of her eyes, not wanting to show it to her brother. However, her brother unexpectedly put his hands on her shoulders, slightly gripping them.
"I didn't mean to bring it up. But you must know how much okaa-san, otou-san, and ojii-san worry about you."
She knew that. She always knew how she was her family's little princess, and how her brother made sure she was walking on a smooth pathway he built for her. But sometimes she wished her brother would think about himself more than her, more than everyone else. Nodding with a smile, Hikari circled her arms around her brother and hugged him.
"How about you, Onii-chan?"
He made no answer, but Hikari never needed words from him.
"I'm sorry for making you worry, Onii-chan. But I can assure you that… this is the last time." Because her playground has been taken over by a vampire king. She could feel her brother glanced at her, silently demanding an explanation so she continued, "I just went there to see the place for the last time."
"I see…" She could feel a huff of relief escaped his lips. She didn't like the fact her brother was relieved because she clearly wasn't happy about it.
Hikari rested her head against his chest, face facing to her right, and set her eyes on her brother's left arm. Suddenly, she recalled the moment when she learnt about her brother's injury. His dream lived within that arm and someone jealous shattered it. It pained her immensely when she learnt about it. Even though her brother remained stoic when he told her about his injury, she knew that deep within, her brother was crying.
"Anyway, you haven't told me what's wrong with the place. Have they demolished it?"
"Oh no, it's just…" Suddenly, everything that transpired that night rushed into her memory like a slideshow. How she was being held captive for a moment by a vampire king that acted like a prince. She wasn't a hypocrite and she would repeat the word 'handsome' ten times to describe him if it weren't for his disgusting personality. It was such a shame that his character didn't balance his physical feature. However, when he put her hand over his chest, she had a strange feeling.
She could feel that her heart beat at the same rhythm as he did. Thus it made her ponder if he was actually as nervous as she was when they met. Although he praised himself much more than to her liking, something about his way of speaking when he said her dance was beautiful told her that he was sincere with his words.
"What happened to you is unfortunate indeed. But I think it's unfair to say that you have no hope for your future career."
"I'm saying the truth." She pouted.
"Not with a perfect pair of arms and legs, and most importantly—" he said, making her turn her face to him, "—not with so much love and passion you showed from your dance, Princess…"
Throughout her career, she never had someone told her about her dance the way he did. His words somewhat engulfed her in something warm, slowly dragging her away from the darkness she saw since her school expelled her. Some part of her did try to convince her that he wasn't a bad guy, but Hikari didn't want to gamble her safety on believing a narcissistic vampire by following him into his mansion.
No, he isn't a good guy! she convinced herself. Not when he kept insisting about her having to tell her history, not allowing her to go home only to satisfy his curiosity about her. Not especially when he made her run without her other shoe. The thought of him made her balled her fists without her realising.
"Hikari."
"Hm?"
"My shirt. Do you want to rip it?"
"Oh, sorry." Hikari quickly let his shirt go. "Uh, yeah… They kind of… demolished it?" Though she wasn't certain.
"Did it have something to do with your other shoe?"
Shit! she thought. She accidentally showed the hand that was holding her other shoe when she released her embrace on her brother.
"Uh… um… I-I… tripped and it fell to the gutter." She then bowed her head deeply at her brother. "I-I'm really sorry that I lost it, Onii-chan…"
Her brother let out an exasperated sigh. "What matters the most is your safety, Hikari. So remember that next time… don't ever let your guard down."
Hikari rolled her eyes when he finally pulled his favourite line. "I get it, Onii-chan. I will remember that," she quickly said before he made another preach. Hikari tiptoed and kissed her brother on his cheek, chuckling when he raised an eyebrow at her in a disapproving manner. She knew that he wasn't someone who appreciate physical contact, but he still let her hugged and kissed him. "I'll go get some rest now so you have to rest too, Onii-chan." Her brother fixed his glasses' position. She knew that he wasn't used to this kind of affection and it wasn't like she expected him to return any.
"Alright. Rest well, Hikari," he said as he turned around.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you that I'm going to check the school tomorrow."
His eyebrows curled into a small frown. He seemed to be struggling about something then sighed. "Alright, be careful. Call me in case you have any problems."Hikari twitched her lips, wondering why her brother had to be that worried if she was just checking out the schools.
"Okay. Thank you, Onii-chan. Good night!" She waved her hand and quickly entered her room before her brother said anything else, rubbing her chest with a huff.
Gripping the shoe in her hand, Hikari went to her drawer and took an unused box to place her shoe in it. She felt like crying for losing the pink sneaker her brother gave her a year ago for her birthday. Though he didn't seem to mind, Hikari felt guilty for losing it because she knew he saved his money to buy the sneaker she always dreamt of having. Hikari rested her forehead on top of the box as she mourned for her lost shoe.
"Huhu… Shoe… My poor little shoe… I'm so sorry that I made you lost your beloved partner…," she sobbed as she stared at the lonely shoe. But her eyes changed when she recalled the man she met that night. "I wish you were burnt by the sunlight, you stupid vampire king! Burn to ashes! Burn!" she muttered before changing her clothes to her pyjama and called it a day.
Though her father was working in a well-known business firm and had enough wealth to sent her all the way to school in Germany, the Tezuka family never boast and stayed low-profile. Hikari never cared to find out how wealthy her father actually was, but one thing for sure—he was not as rich as whoever this Atobe family was.
It was known in their neighbourhood that Hyotei was a private school that entirely changed into an elite school only when the Atobe enrolled their only son and sponsored the school with many things she deemed unnecessary—the top class French restaurant for school cafeteria for example. She never imagined a school serving caviar for their students.
"Who is this Atobe anyway? Must be nice to have so much money that allows you to do whatever you want," she murmured to herself as she walked on the pedestrian's side.
At the sound of a car engine, she looked up to see a black limo riding past her. But before it made its way out of the gate, it abruptly stopped and startled her with the screeching halt it made. Hikari glanced at the car and noticed it stayed beside her for a moment before making a turn back into the school's direction. Hikari widened her eyes in question, following the limo until it disappeared from her sight.
What was that? she wondered. Hikari shrugged and continued her way to the administration building. However, she didn't anticipate what was welcoming her into that building. She was surprised by the confetti that suddenly popped beside her, covering her ears in the process.
"W-welcome to Hyotei Academy!" said two male staffs, each standing on both of her sides. Hikari observed them and could tell that they were out of breath as they forced a smile for her.
"Uh… t-thank you?"
"Ojou-san, you must be tired walking all the way to our academy, so please have a seat," said one of the male staffs, motioning her to sit on the luxury couch with a female staff politely bowed at her. It took her ten minutes from the gate to the building but she didn't deem it a tiring walk at all.
"Oh, okay…" Not knowing what to do, Hikari headed to the couch and slowly sat on it with uncertainty. The staff served her with a flower tea that bloomed inside the clear cup and she couldn't take her eyes away as she watched the process. One thing she knew for sure was this kind of tea wasn't cheap.
"Do you want us to give you a massage? We have a beauty spa, a hot spring facility, and—"
Hikari raised her palm to stop the female staff from offering impossibilities. "Just let me ask you a few things about the school. But first, do you always treat new students like this?"
"Absolutely," the female staff answered. "We treat our students like they're king and queen."
"Ah… I see." Hikari sheepishly laughed, though she started to understand why her brother was against her going into the school.
AN:What's going on in Hyotei? Why Hikari receives VIP treatment from the school staffs? XD The answer will be revealed in the next chapter!
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