Tennis no Ouji-sama © Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.
- Act XXXVI -
[ Pillar of Support ]
"You wouldn't want to be involved with someone like him, Hikari-chan."
"He tremendously loves himself and only himself!"
"I agree fangirls can be a little annoying sometimes, but he made all those girls cry and coldly turned his back on them."
Suddenly, everything she heard about him flooded her mind that she had to hold her head as if doing so would keep it from bursting. How could she blindly look over the facts and believe that he wasn't Atobe Keigo with all the obvious hints?
How could she be so foolish to trust everything he said to her?
In that court, he wasn't the gentle and kind man that always showered her with his love. He was a pompous and prideful man who called himself the King of Hyotei. She couldn't even recognise the smirk he was wearing; the smirk that thirst for victory, so evil and willing to destroy whatever kept him from gaining what he wanted.
"Your elbow has completely healed right, Tezuka?" She clamped her mouth when she recalled she was the one who told him about her brother's injured elbow.
"Atobe is clearly making the match long on purpose." Yanagi Renji slightly lowered his head.
"W-why is he doing that?"
Genichirō adjusted his cap. "He wants to destroy Tezuka's arm in the match."
Her brain stuttered for a moment. Genichirō's words crashed into her mind like an unexpected wave. Hikari had to hold her hands together to keep it from trembling so much. Even though the doctor had told her brother that his elbow was healed, playing all out for too long would be dangerous. Shifting her gaze back to the match, she clutched her chest when her fear started to constrict her chest.
"Your shoulder can only last an hour, Tezuka." He hit the ball towards her brother, immediately running to the opposite corner to return another, "I have completely controlled this game!"
It was her fault…
She was the one who told Atobe Keigo about her brother's arm condition.
Hikari couldn't think anymore as the guilt had sealed her mind from thinking. The guilt that was growing in her belly had constricted her lungs from breathing normally so she had to hold the fence to support her body. Genichirō kept asking if she was okay but she couldn't reply to him, until she finally lost herself when her brother dropped his racket and groaned in pain.
Her heart was thundering like crazy when she confronted him as Atobe Keigo for the first time. Walking through the sea of his followers, she felt like walking into a shark's den, where he would probably treat her the same as he was rumoured to be. But for her brother, she must do whatever it takes. When he asked if there was anything he could help her with, she felt like a total stranger to him.
When she knelt down to him, for a moment she could see it in his eyes …
'Don't do that.' Him, begging her to not kneel on him. It was the only time she recognised him as the man she loved. The only time …
Because afterwards, he still turned a cold shoulder at her, telling her that his school would be the winner.
Who was he again?
Where was the man who loved her?
Were all those memories they spent together lies?
Hikari clenched her fists until they turned white. Every sweet memory that once warmed her heart had turned bitter. The reminiscent of what transpired between her and her brother was mercilessly being played again and again in her mind. Her muscle tensed as she was holding in her tears, resulting in agonising pain in her chest.
The match between two captains became a battle of determination where both players didn't want to admit defeat. They were running out of breath but none wanted to give up those crucial two points. Though her brother's face remained stoic, Hikari's mind didn't stop replaying how he groaned in pain. When her brother held his shoulder after returning the ball, Hikari buried her face in her palms and silently cried.
"Don't close your eyes and see the kind of man your brother is, Hikari." Genichirō folded his arms in front of his chest, eyes fixated on the match.
"I can't…" She shook her head. "The more I watch it, the more I want to stop the match. But I couldn't do anything about it…"
"None of us could. You'll hurt his pride by doing that. Both of them were looking forward to this day, even your brother was. If he decided to put his everything into this match, you must respect that."
"Sanada is right. That's your brother's real strength," Shūichirō faintly smiled.
"In reality, nobody can play this long with an injured arm like this," Sadaharu added.
Shūsuke nodded. "His will is the only thing that's keeping him on the court."
"He's leading us by example, like it's common sense." There was so much nuance of respect in Kaoru's eyes. "That's our captain."
Leading by example—her brother was always like that. She wouldn't be surprised to see how his teammates were admiring him. Ever since he was a kid, it was the thing he always did to her. He was the epitome of perseverance himself.
Hikari shifted her eyes to his back, the back that always looked so big compared to her pitiful self. It was the back that shielded her from whatever threatened her back when she was a kid, be it the wild dogs or her bullies.
It was also the back she leant on when he carried her in his back when she injured her toes due to many practises. Then, when she started to say she would quit dancing because she couldn't take the hellish practice, he would tell her, "Don't stop doing it if you can't stop thinking about it."
Her brother's back never looked as big as she saw at that moment. Hikari was reaching her arm in his direction, wanting to beg his forgiveness for every damage she had done to him…
Despite him always being the pillar that supported her…
Her brother executed a Drop Shot, but the ball didn't reverse like before, instead, it was bouncing and immediately approached by his opponent. The ball headed directly towards her brother and he hit it. She felt like she was watching in slow-motion when the ball rotated on the net and bounced back towards her brother's side, and didn't go past through the net.
Hikari slowly shut her eyes as tears cascaded down from her eyes.
"Game and match! Hyotei's Atobe! 7-6!"
AN: That's Game & Match for this story! Thank you to everyone who has been following since the start of this book, or even 5 years ago! I truly appreciate all the votes and comments you've showered for this story! I'll see you in another story!
Okay, just kidding! XD
I guess you can already tell what's gonna happen in the next chapter. It's the 'ja-jang' moment between Keigo and Hikari. How will it turn out? Will he be forgiven for what he has done?
Anyway, what do you guys think about a sad ending? XD
I see that most of you are leaning into having Tezuka as a brother rather than Sanada which I agree with because sometimes Sanada makes it look like every second is a war. I wondered what you think if this story is about Hikari's brother being Sanada and not Tezuka? LOL~
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 xxjaelee & mapl3nin2cool for your reviews!
