Tennis no Ouji-sama © Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.
- Act XVI -
[ Heart & Logic]
In this imperfect world, it was hard to imagine what was more perfect than the glorious Atobe Keigo. Not only he was blessed with such a handsome face one would fall instantly at the first sight. His golden heart could match the amount of fortune he owned.
Many kittens in his school would be crazy to turn him down if he said he liked them.
It was going to be hard to deny his charm.
He knew that all too well.
But at that second, he still didn't know why he did what he did only to see the woman he literally met every day. When their eyes were staring at each other, he moved his hand so the umbrella he brought would cover her from the rain.
From the side of her face, she looked almost like her brother but upfront, she looked different. Her doe eyes were dampened by the rain. He could even see beads of rain on her eyelashes. The peach-coloured lips he almost kissed the day before were slightly moist by the rain, making it harder to keep himself from trying again.
"Janitor-san?" she cheerfully greeted before shyly covering her lips. "Oh, it's nice to see you again! How did you know that I'm here?"
"Fancy to see you here as well, Ojō-san," he said with a bow. "I kinda… checked the CCTV and happened to see you near the gate. Anyway—" he put his hand behind her shoulder, "—you'll get sick if you stay here."
Hikari answered him with a nod. When he ushered her to walk before him, she quickly glanced back and said, "Uhm… you're going to get wet if you don't get inside the umbrella, Janitor-san."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." The rain would definitely ruin his beautiful hair but at that time, he didn't care about getting wet as long as she didn't get sick.
"But—"
"I still have this cap." He touched the side of his hat. "I'll be fine, okay?"
She answered him with a shy nod. Keigo guided her to the small locker room the tennis club previously used before he came and made the luxurious version near the purple he had ordered staff to clean it, the mixture smell of dust and old paper was still lingering but at least they had somewhere to sit on while waiting for the rain to pulling a chair for her, he covered her with a towel.
"We don't have much to offer here so how about a cup of chocolate?"
"Thank you, but I don't want to bother you, Janitor-san. You're nice enough for allowing me to stay."
"You're not a bother at all." He proceeded to make a hot chocolate for her and a black coffee for himself. She bowed in gratitude when he served the hot drink before her and took a sip. Sitting across her, he glanced down to her uniform and once again, mesmerized by how she fitted so well in it. "I see that you're not going into this school."
"Y-yeah…" She lowered her head for a moment before raising it again, this time her eyes glittered with pride. "It was hard but I've made up my mind."
"May I know why?"
"Yes. My brother and his friends were really against me going to this school. They said there's a monkey king or something like that… What's his name again? Ah, yes! Atobe, I heard."
His vein popped in many spots in his head. Keigo knew exactly who'd say that. He had planned a lot of things with the scenario of her coming into Hyotei and her going into another school definitely ruined everything. He could even hear the Seigaku regulars mockingly laughing at him and it was echoing in the most annoying way in his head.
Damn, those Seigaku bastards!
"But no matter what they said, I have my own reason."
A woman that had a strong will and had her own stance…
Did she know how sexy that was?
"And that is?" he curiously asked.
Hikari bit her bottom lip then sighed. "I got a wonderful offer from the school and the facilities are amazing and all that but… it's something like… it feels right if I choose this. Maybe something that my heart chose."
"Your heart?" He wondered how she could make such a decision by heart and not logic.
"Yes. I've been taught by my grandfather that the paths chosen by heart aren't always easy but it will eventually lead you to the right path. Have you ever experience something like this before?"
Keigo didn't answer right away. He looked down to his cup and saw his reflection on it. "I… never have that kind of luxury…" He was surprised to have those words blurted out so smoothly. He craned his head to Hikari who was now looking at him with sad eyes.
"I'm s-sorry if I—"
"Please forget what I've just said," he quickly said. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."
"No. I'm sorry," Hikari said. "But I hope there will be the day when you're able to let your heart choose your path for you, Janitor-san. The day will come for you. I'm sure it will." It looked like she sincerely meant her words. But even if it didn't, the words still engulfed him with an unexplainable euphoria.
"Thank you for your kind words, Ojō-san." He put his hand over his chest and slightly bowed. "I hope everything goes well for you in your new school."
"Though my morning began with a mess, I really like my school." She chuckled. "It's an all-girls school. So when they saw my brother send me to the school, they all turned into piranhas."
Keigo couldn't not chortle at this. "Savage fangirls, I see." It was something he had to face everyday but never once he thought that Kunimitsu eventually faced the same thing as he did.
"Yeah. I know that my brother is good-looking and has that all good qualities in him but I never expect he would gather so many fans post-puberty. He used to be shorter than most girls around his age back then." Keigo had to slightly crouch to hide his amusement. "I didn't meet him for a full year after going to Germany and suddenly, he was a lot taller. I was just reaching his waist years ago. I hope he doesn't get any taller again… How unfair!"
"If he's still in high school then he'll still be growing taller." Keigo laughed when she loudly gasped. It was amusing to see how Kunimitsu was in the eyes of his own sister. "You didn't like that?"
"It's just…" She scratched the side of her face. "Somehow, it gives me the feeling like he's out of my reach, I guess..."
"Just because he's tall?"
She shook her head. "Not only that…" Hikari rolled her cup on the spot with a sigh. "Everything he does is perfect. Academically, sports, and personality… Though he's not a person of words. The more awards and recognitions he got, I feel like it drifts us further…"
Keigo raised his brows, not expecting that she implied more than just height matter.
"I always want to be someone who matches his quality. I just think that maybe that way, I won't have to make him worry about me like he always does…" Hikari bit her bottom lip and slightly lowered her face. "Ah, sorry for my random rambling! Just forget about what I said."
Keigo patted her head, making her crane her head towards him. "You'll grow taller too. Though you might not match his height, you will shine on your own too. Maybe it's just not your turn yet."
"I will?"
"Of course. There will be a day when your shine matches m—" Keigo widened his eyes upon the realisation that he was 'Janitor-san' at that moment. He quickly cleared his throat and continued, "It might not be easy but you will. You will be the great dancer you always want to be."
Though she was blushing, glimmering sparks could be seen in her eyes. "Oh, I didn't expect you to remember that I'm a dancer."
"You mentioned the dance studio on your previous visit. Of course, I won't forget."
"A ballerina to be exact." Keigo faked a surprise, smiling when she rose from her seat to spun once. "Would you be so kind to watch me dance one day?" she asked while offering her hand towards him.
"Definitely," he answered while shaking her hand.
She covered her mouth as she laughed. "Oh, yeah…" She cleared her throat then bowed once at him. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tezuka Hikari. May I know yours, Janitor-san?"
He widened his eyes, hoping that his disguise would hide his entire reaction to the sudden question. Throughout his meeting with her, she never once was interested to give her name before he did but she gave it just like that to his disguise.
Hikari blinked as she waited for his answer. The more seconds passed, the more beads of sweats formed behind his neck. The mixture of feelings of how dejected he was to see her being so open to his disguise instead of his real self and the dilemma of giving out his name was clashing inside him like a storm.
He touched the tip of his cap, simultaneously looking at her then down to the ground.
Atobe Keigo always had a cool head no matter how grave his situation he was. But at that moment he was too panicked to even use his Insight to see how to handle the situation.
"Uhm, Janitor-san… Are you okay?" Hikari waved her hand in front of his face.
"Y-yeah… Sorry. I just remembered something important," he said looking away from her.
"I-it's okay if you don't want to tell me your name…" An obvious disappointment interlaced her tone. "I'm sorry if I'm being presumptuous." She bowed at him.
"No!" Keigo was surprised by how fast and loud he said it. "I mean… you're not presumptuous at all. It's just…" He cleared his throat. "I'm surprised that you want to know the name of someone like me."
She chuckled. "Why wouldn't I? It's a common courtesy when you meet someone."
It seemed that nothing common worked between him and her without his disguise.
"But if you're seeing it that way, you must be having a hard life." Hikari slumped on her seat and rested her chin on her palm. "Whatever you are, Janitor-san—I don't care. You're a good person and I want to get to know you better without judging anything. I promise you I won't tell anything you tell me. Pinky promise!" Hikari brandished her pinky towards him.
Keigo chuckled. "Aren't you a high-schooler?"
"It's something symbolic. Just like a handshake!" she said with a smile.
A flash of memory appeared in his head. Keigo shut his eyes for a moment at the recollection of his past and finally regained his composure. He must be out of his mind but at that time, he would try what she suggested.
That was choosing what he would do by heart…
He hooked his pinky with her, eyes softened at her cheerful smile. "Nice to meet you, Tezuka-san. My name is…"
AN: What name do you think he will tell her? And how will that affect their relationship? XD
Frankly speaking, though I am writing Prince of Tennis fic, it's been a while since I followed the newest update of the manga. I did check it from time to time but with many high-schoolers join the ikemen line, I could no longer remember the names. So, when I browse the chapter, I immediately interested in one chapter titled (guess what?): Glass Shoes and Footprints. Reading my fic, you'd notice the Cinderella theme in the story so of course I want to see what's the chapter about.
It turns out that the metaphor title is referring to TEZUKA because of the marks he left from the Tezuka Zone! LOL! What a coincidence! That'll make them Cinderella siblings. XD
I think this fic will have more than 50 chapters so do you think it's better for me to split the stories in 2 books or better just continue this in 1 book only? Please give me your opinion! I really appreciate it!
Favorite, follow, and most importantly—review are gold for me! As I mentioned in the previous chapter, the story is also posted in Wattpad. Since the site allows me to post videos and images, I might be able to pamper your eyes there. Check my account in ReikaNanatsuki!
Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
