The moment Kotoha and Chiaki stepped into the tennis court park, they were met with screams and cheers all around them.
"Wow." Chiaki blinked.
"Wow." Kotoha nodded in agreement. "It's so lively."
"You know, you don't really realize that everyone is cautious and subdued when we are fighting in Kanagawa until you come to another place where there's no monster attack." Chiaki remarked.
The words were sadly true, Kotoha realized. Lively events were a surefire way to attract the Gedoushuu to them. But now that all that is over, the city they lived in was starting to regain its life.
"Over here!" Ryuunosuke waved at them from where he was with Syuusuke. So the two youngest wandered over. The chants of cheers were deafening here as the two schools were trying to outdo each other. It's a good thing the tournament hasn't started yet or the players would go deaf with all the noise around them.
"The winner will be Hyotei! The winner will be Hyotei!"
"Seishun High! Seishun High!"
"You'd think that this is a cheering competition, not tennis!" Chiaki had to yell over the chants to be heard.
"In some ways, it is!" Syuusuke yelled back. "Hyotei's chants create psychological intimidation to their opponents. So the best way to counter that is to create the distraction of having a cheer team opponent!"
"You know that you just admitted to your school's trickery, ara~"
"Atobe." Syuusuke inclined his head at his opponent team's captain who approached them with Kabaji at his side as usual. He had his usual smile and eyes closed in greeting. "It's not trickery if it's not countering Hyotei's own strategy, which is not illegal."
"Touche. Oh well, guess we'll have to think of something else then, right Kabaji?"
"Usu." The tall lumbering guy behind him nodded in agreement.
Chiaki and Kotoha exchanged glances, not catching what they said because of how noisy it was. When they glanced at Ryuunosuke, he shrugged too.
"So who are your friends?" Atobe gestured to them. He raised an eyebrow at Ryuunosuke. "It seems you have found your doppelganger."
"He's my cousin. And those are his friends." Syuusuke replied pleasantly.
"Well then, enjoy the show. Be awed by Ore-sama's prowess." Atobe waved at them. "Let's go, Kabaji."
"Usu."
"What was that about?" Ryuunosuke asked his cousin.
"Just some friendly rivalry." Syuusuke merely smiled.
"He reminds me a bit of Gen-san."
Kotoha's statement caught Ryuunosuke and Chiaki off guard. "Eh!?"
The young girl merely smiled. "It's just the feeling I get."
Syuusuke quirked an amused eyebrow. From what he gathered about their sushi chef friend, he seemed to have a penchant for dramatics, in a different way from Ryuunosuke of course. And Atobe is the most dramatic person he's met. So maybe it's no wonder that Kotoha picked that up.
The match between Hyotei High and Seishun High will begin momentarily. Will the players step out to the court?
"That's my cue. Enjoy the match." Syuusuke smiled and headed down to join his team.
The samurai exchanged glances and shrugged again. They managed to find seats despite the crowd.
"Seems that the schools are getting attention not just from their cheering squads."
At Chiaki's remark, he gestured to the other school teams who were watching, but wisely staying well away from the cheering squads.
"From what Syuusuke told me, Hyotei and his school always duke it out before going to the finals to see who will be the one fighting…"
"Rikkai, Jr High or High, right?" Chiaki scoffed.
"Eh?" Ryuunosuke looked at him in surprise. "How did you…?"
"That's a secret I'm bringing to the grave." Chiaki deadpanned.
Ryuunosuke eyed his friend and decided not to push. After all, if Chiaki wouldn't talk about it, there's no getting it out of him.
Not long after the Doubles 2 matches started, Yuuta arrived at the court with his teammates. And the pair for Seishun High was none other than his brother who was paired with Kikumaru Eiji. From what he knew, Kikumaru's partner, Oishi, had decided to retire from tennis when they went to high school so that he could focus on his studies to become a doctor. It bummed the hyperactive player for a while until he paired up with his brother.
Syuusuke, as a doubles player, was the easiest to pair with anyone as he was efficient in meshing with his partner's skills (as long as they had a degree of doubles skills, unlike Echizen and Tezuka). But that also hindered some of his skills as he had to match his partner's level of skills in doubles. In singles, however, that was an entirely different story.
Yuuta knew his brother had a lot of room to grow, and was still growing, as a tennis player. It was a bit like Echizen, if he thought about it. But while Echizen was basically a fire that was growing from embers until it became a forest fire, Syuusuke was raw power being tempered with each match.
Seeing his brother play evoked a pride in his brother's skills and uncertainty in him. Of course, the uncertainty was not for his tennis skills. He always held pride and confidence in them to get to the point that he can surpass his brother. But after meeting Kotoha and Chiaki, he was not sure if tennis is what he wanted for his future.
Seeing the two samurai attempting to live a life outside what they were taught to become, made him consider if being Fuji Yuuta, the tensai Fuji Syuusuke's younger brother, a tennis player like him, is what he wanted for his future.
People always thought that he had to be a tennis player because Fuji Syuusuke is. And at the beginning, he played tennis with his brother for fun. Then to surpass him. But then what? What will he have when he surpasses his brother?
"Penny for your thoughts." Mizuki asked, twirling a strand of hair.
"It's nothing." Yuuta shook his head.
"Oh? So your family outing with your siblings didn't have anything to do with the doubts that you're having for your tennis right now?" Mizuki cocked an eyebrow.
Darn it, Yuuta groused. Mizuki was half right, in a sense. But it unnerved him that the narcissistic Mizuki saw through him. People tend to forget that to gather data, even semi-accurate data, Mizuki had to be perceptive to a degree.
Yuuta wisely chose to ignore him in favor of focusing on the match. Against the Oshitari-Gakuto pair, the Seishun High pair were doing pretty well, all things considered.
And was that his cousin with Chiaki and Kotoha down there?
"Gosh, those players are scary." Chiaki muttered with a shake of his head in disbelievement for the acrobatics involved by the two red heads of either team.
"Syuusuke-san is not bad either." Kotoha smiled as Syuusuke fired a Kirin Otoshi in response to Mukahi's smash. Of course, the Oshitari player anticipated this and moved to the drop point to intercept it.
But Kikumaru's enthusiastic jumping enabled him to reach the ball that was fired to the other side of the court, earning them the point.
"And I thought Nee-san was scary with her splits."
Ryuunosuke made a wounded noise, "I can do splits too."
"Yeah, but the way you do them is not scary at all." Came Chiaki's snark. Whenever Ryuunosuke did those splits, he had the most comical face of concentration. Any awe that he could have received for his feat was forgotten as everyone was laughing and giggling at his expressions.
"Oh come on!" Ryuunosuke threw up his hands dramatically.
Kotoha giggled at her friends' antics, letting the familiarity of their banter wash over her. Times like these made her miss staying at the Shiba Manor with her friends.
When the court change break came, Kotoha stood up. "I'm going to get some drinks. Does anyone want anything?"
"Nah, I'm good." Chiaki shook his head, waving at a bottle of soda that he brought in his bag.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Be quick. The break won't last long." Ryuunosuke told her.
"Ok."
As she ran up the stairs in search of a vending machine, she caught sight of Yuuta and waved at him. "Yuuta-kun!"
"Ah, Kotoha." Yuuta waved at her. Aware of his teammates directing jealous looks and leers at her, he detached himself from his team to join her at the top of the stairs.
"Hi. You're here to watch aniki's match?"
"Yes. Chiaki and Ryuu-san too." Kotoha smiled. "I wanted to get something to drink. Yuuta-kun, do you know if there is a vending machine nearby?"
"Sure." Yuuta gestured for her to follow her after a glance back at his team made sure that none of them were following them and managed to force himself to ignore their catcalls. Maybe it was just as well that Kotoha will be far away back at Kyoto for his match. He didn't fancy having her deal with his obnoxious, hormonal team and the bloodbath that will ensue from Ryuunosuke, Chiaki and maybe even his brother fighting them to protect her.
Back at the stands, Chiaki and Ryuunosuke were frowning at the St Rudolph team's reaction at Kotoha.
"Some of them are leering at her." Chiaki growled.
"Yeah." Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes. He trusted Yuuta to not act inappropriately with Kotoha, not that the earth samurai would stand for it. But he saw the way Yuuta acted guarded against his team from approaching Kotoha.
"Think we should go after her?"
"No." Ryuunosuke reluctantly shook his head. "You know Tono warned us not to intervene if Kotoha needs to defend herself and have some independence from our hovering."
That earned a scowl from the wood samurai. "I hate this."
"I know. But trust Kotoha to take care of herself." Ryuunosuke patted his friend's shoulder with a sympathetic grimace.
"I didn't know that tennis could be this intense." Kotoha remarked to her new friend as they walked back to the courts.
Yuuta shrugged. "Some of the matches are like that. Largely because it's two of the top four high schools of the region."
"What about your school?" Kotoha asked curiously.
That got a wince from Yuuta. St Rudolph's tennis team was a far cry from what it was in his Jr High days when he was obsessed with taking down his brother. Puberty had messed with their goals and now more than half of them are in trouble every other week for some harassment offense.
Syuusuke was growing concerned over this and tried to convince him to transfer out. It didn't have to be to Seishun High, but any other school with a tennis team that isn't ruled by hormones and potentially drag Yuuta's name in the mud is better in his brother's mind. And Yuuta can't fault him.
But he hasn't selected a school to transfer to yet. So until he chooses one, he's stuck with a team of perverts.
"Yuuta-kun?"
Realizing he didn't answer Kotoha's question, he scratched the back of his head. "Ah…I would say that we're not the most popular team in the tournament."
"Why?"
Yuuta turned away, feeling ashamed and afraid that Kotoha would be disgusted with him for his team.
"Oi, Yuuta, aren't you going to introduce us to your cute girlfriend, dane?" Yanagisawa chose the worst time to interrupt them. Worst of all, he wasn't bothering to hide his leering at Kotoha as his eyes roamed all over her.
Scowling, Yuuta moved to block her from his gaze. "Back off senpai. She doesn't need to deal with your hormones."
"Oh come on, that's not how a junior should treat a senior, dane." Yanagisawa sneered at him. He shoved him aside to grab Kotoha's wrist. "Come on, sweetie. I can show you how to have a good time-Ack!"
Yuuta could only watch in amazement as Kotoha's face darkened and she grabbed the offending hand off her. In one swift move, she twisted Yanagisawa to slam him into the wired fence, his arm locked behind him.
"Oi! Let me go!"
"First off, I do not appreciate the way you treat Yuuta-kun. Secondly, I do not entertain pervs like you who touch me without permission. Lastly, do not call me 'sweetie'!"
Wow, Yuuta had to reevaluate his assessment of the young samurai. Ryuunosuke told him that Kotoha was the kindest samurai in the group, but that belied her real strength. Onlookers had a hard time tearing their eyes off Kotoha's impressive display either.
"What's going on here?" A tournament official came up to them.
"She attacked me!" Yanagisawa wailed as Kotoha released him.
"She was acting in self defense." Yuuta intervened. "He grabbed her against her will and spoke inappropriately to her, to which she responded by pinning him there."
"Yuuta…" Yanagisawa growled, raising his fist. "You-!"
"Fuji Yuuta was telling the truth." Sanada of Rikkai High, of all people, spoke up and grabbed the fist before it could come into contact with Yuuta's cheek. He then turned to the tournament official. "I witnessed what happened. It is just as Fuji Yuuta said. This ruffian grabbed the girl. If she did not act first, I would have intervened and done the same thing myself."
"Ah, I see." The tournament official nodded, more willing to believe Sanada considering his reputation for not standing for such things and St Rudolph's for having a tennis team of perverts. "In that case, we will take appropriate action against him."
"Thank you." Sanada released Yanagisawa into the tournament official's custody.
"Grr…Yuuta! Don't think that you'll have a place on the team anymore! Mizuki will kick you off for betraying a teammate!"
Yuuta barely flinched. But when Kotoha touched his arm he turned to her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry that my teammate harassed you like that."
"No." Kotoha shook her head. "Don't apologize on his behalf. He doesn't deserve it."
"I guess…"
"And, thank you for speaking up there." Kotoha bowed to Sanada, and Yuuta followed her suit.
Sanada nodded. "Women should be more brave like you. Men should not get away with such appalling behavior."
If only Sanada knew that the girl was in fact a samurai who fought monsters, Yuuta thought wryly.
"And you." Sanada suddenly turned to Yuuta with a stern look. "I do not know why a respectful player like you is still on that team."
Chaste, Yuuta's eyes averted to the ground and his foot scruffed the ground. "I haven't decided where I want to go yet."
"Hmph. Make up your mind soon. No one wants an honorable, strong player like you to lose your future to your team's behavior."
Words like that from Sanada was in essence a high praise itself. So Yuuta nodded. "I will."
Once the Emperor walked off, Kotoha glanced at him. "Yuuta-kun, I believe that no matter how awful your team is, you're not like them. Not with how nice you were that night."
Yuuta jumped and turned bright red at Kotoha's words, especially since 'nice' was not a word easily associated with him. "Ah…"
Kotoha flashed him one of her smiles and tugged on his hand. "Come on. We better get back before Chiaki and Ryuu-san come to find us."
Part of Yuuta was screaming as Kotoha held on to his hand tightly. And another part was finding himself lovesick with that smile.
"I knew we should have gone with her." Chiaki hissed to Ryuunosuke, the loud cheers all around them hiding his words from the two youngest. Upon returning, they were surprised that Kotoha made Yuuta sit with them. But after hearing what went down with Yuuta's teammate, they were beyond angry, Ryuunosuke towards St Rudolph and Chiaki towards Yanagisawa.
"Maybe. But, Kotoha handled the matter well." Ryuunosuke pointed out. "And she didn't apologize this time, but stood up for herself."
Chiaki let out a loud exhale through his nose. "That's an improvement at least. Apologizing won't deter those pervs from doing it again, on other girls even. I'm glad Takeru, Nee-san and Mistuba-san convinced her of that."
"Speaking of which, didn't Kotoha say Mitsuba-san wants you to visit them again?"
"Likely to interrogate me on boys who bully Kotoha while in Tokyo. *Shudder* She might be frail that she couldn't become a Shinkenger, but she has no qualms using her samurai teaching to retaliate against boys who bully Kotoha."
"Protective big sister." Ryuunosuke shuddered in agreement.
Down below, the Fuji-Kikumaru pair was the one that came out on top, to Ryuunosuke's delight if his loud cheering was any indication.