I don't own Harry Potter or the Prince of Tennis!
...
...
Hari sat on her office chair by her window looking out into the dark sky and feeling the fresh, cold night air against her cheeks as she curled her legs up underneath her and pulled her blanket closer around her to shut out the cold air. She didn't close the window though, because she wanted it to be open for Hedwig and she needed the air to remind her that she was awake and not still locked in her nightmare.
The dark shadows and echoing sounds still lingered on her mind, but the view of the street lights helped her calm down. Somehow. She wasn't sure why, but they helped. The house was silent and she couldn't hear anything at all.
Did Ron and Hermione miss her? Did they notice that she wasn't there anymore? Would...would they tell anyone if she told where she was? Should she tell them where she was? Did they blame her? Were they alright?
Did they think that they had a safer and better life now that she was out of the way? Perhaps Ron liked that she wasn't getting all the attention now and he could finally get a chance to shine himself? Perhaps the others would see him now and not the see him in her shadow? She always thought it was stupid that they couldn't see that he was brilliant in his own way. No one she knew was as good at chess as him.
And Hermione…perhaps she liked she could get a chance to study without having to work out how to save the school every week? She was pulled into situations she never would have been in because of Hari, and Hari knew it must be a bother for the other girl.
They both deserved better than having Hari drag them into trouble or shadowing them because of her so-called fame. Did they also think that?
Hari hugged her legs closer to her as her mind spun in all kinds of directions and she hated it. She hated how her mind was going out of control and thinking this kind of things. She wished she could trust that Ron and Hermione never would think things like that. Why was it always during the night that her mind was going crazy?
She forced her mind over at tennis and Ryoma, she always felt better when she thought about her little brother who loved tennis like no other. She couldn't help but smile a little as she let her mind play some of his matches; it took her mind off her sombre thoughts.
The sight of something white was the first indicator that Hedwig was back and soon her trusted owl landed on her shoulder and Hari grimaced slightly seeing the mouse Hedwig let go of and that landed on the windowsill still alive.
"Ouch, Hedwig," Hari grimaced, "good job, but do you have to bring them with you here?"
Hoot.
"Of course you do," Hari sighed and stroked her feathers. "Good job."
Hedwig looked proud and nibbled at her ear before jumping off her shoulder and toward the mouse. Hari got up and turned around knowing from experience that she did not want to watch that. She walked back to her bed and crawled under her covers and closed her eyes. Perhaps she could sleep now without dreaming of chambers or Dementors.
...
"What are you doing?"
Hari looked up from where she was doing her stretches after a run and saw Matsuoka Kaori, a third-year regular, staring down at her. Getting up she met the cold eyes and arched a brow at the older girl.
"I'm doing my stretches," Hari answered her voice barely polite.
"Watch how you speak to me," Matsuoka snapped. "I'm your sempai!"
Hari just stared at her blankly.
"You have to clean up the court over there," Matsuoka pointed to the court farthest away. "Make sure every ball is back in the basket. Captain's order."
"Fine," Hari said forcing herself to remain calm and unbothered.
It wasn't the first time she had been directed to clean up the balls or doing stuff like this, and while she knew that it had to be done and she hadn't any problems with helping…she did have a problem with the obvious attempts to keep her from practising.
Hari wasn't stupid. She saw the way the other girls were looking at her, especially lately. She wasn't even sure when it had changed. She just knew that it had and suddenly the girls who had seemed friendly enough had started to turn their back to her when she joined them and give her these looks that she knew all too well.
Hari made her way to the court she had been sent to and took in the balls that were spread all over the court. She fisted her hands because it was clear that they had been deliberately tossed all over the court, every single ball that had been in the large basket. She also knew that this court was never really used.
...
"She's doing it?" Hashimoto asked quietly when Matsuoka joined them again.
"Yes," Matsuoka nodded.
"Good," Hashimoto didn't look over at the other girl as she looked at Yoshida go over the plans for the practice. She wasn't going to sit by and just watch some new kid come and take over for Yoshida who had worked so hard to get where she was.
"I want you all to…" Yoshida was saying and pointed at the board and for once had the attention from all of the regulars.
They spread out and started to do the exercises they had been assigned and Hashimoto couldn't help but glance over at the court she'd had Matsuoka send Hari. She could barely make out the other girl clean up the balls and smiled slightly.
"Has anyone seen Echizen-san?" Yoshida called out.
"No, isn't she here?" Ueda asked.
"I guess we're not important," Yamamato drawled.
"We're not the boys so…" Saitou added giggling.
Yoshida frowned at them, "that's uncalled for."
"You're too kind, Satomi," Hashimoto told her. "They're just having some fun."
Yoshida gave her a look before she shook her head, "get back to your practice."
Hashimoto smiled slightly and nodded. She focused on the swing practice she was doing.
...
"Echizen!" Hari looked up when she heard someone call her when she had finished cleaning up the court and saw Yoshida look at her with a disappointed frown.
"Hai?" Hari asked.
"Why are you only showing up now?!" Yoshida demanded.
"Eh? I…" Hari started.
"No, I won't hear any excuses," Yoshida said. "I told you to be here on time today and you didn't even bother to show up. Clean this up before you leave."
Yoshida turned and left before Hari could say a word and Hari stared blankly after the Captain of the girl's tennis team. She heard the giggles from the other girls and glanced over to see the amused yet malicious looks they gave her.
"You heard her, Echizen," Hashimoto said. "Clean up."
"You're nothing, Echizen," Ueda sneered.
"I have no idea how Echizen Ryoma can be your little brother," Fukui giggled giving Hari a look that clearly stated what she thought of her, "I mean…you look nothing alike."
"I heard someone say that she's adopted," Saitou told them.
"Oh, that explains everything…"
"I know, right?"
"You think you're worth so much more than us, don't you Echizen-san?"
"I bet you don't even play tennis," Matsuoka said, "I've never seen you play… Did your brother get you into the team because he felt sorry for you?"
Hari gritted her teeth and refused to let herself respond, but her mind was playing with all the pranks she could possibly use on them as revenge as they laughed some more and walked away. She stared blankly at the court that was filled with tennis balls and sighed.
She started to clean up the balls (again) and wondered (again) why she bothered being on this team. She wasn't really getting anything from it. And…she hadn't left Hogwarts to be treated like this at her new school. This was her second chance to find a place where she belonged and, honestly, this wasn't it.
The only reason she was here cleaning up the balls from practice was that she didn't want the girls thinking they had won. She knew they were trying to force her out or something, she just didn't know why.
...
"No Hari-chan today either?" Momoshiro asked looking over at the fences to see Sakuno and Tomoka there like normal, but no Hari.
Ryoma shrugged without looking, "she's busy."
"Busy doing what?" Momoshiro asked, "she won't tell me when I ask her during class. She just says she'll try to come."
"Ffffsshhh…," Kaido hissed behind them and Ryoma glanced over at him to see that he was actually paying attention to them.
"She'll tell you when she's ready," Ryoma said, "come on, let's practice."
Momoshiro whined but he went back to practice like Ryoma said, but he was still curious about where Hari was.
"Saa," Fuji commented having heard their conversation. "I think Hari-chan is hiding something."
Tezuka glanced over at Fuji with a blank look on his face.
"Why?" Tezuka asked.
"Saa…" Fuji just smiled but Tezuka felt a cold shiver go down his spine at the opened eyed smile on their tensai's face.
"What do you have planned?" Tezuka asked carefully.
"Nothing," Fuji smiled innocently.
"I'm sure," Tezuka sighed looking away from him. He didn't want to be involved in whatever he had planned.
...
Fuji went to get some water when he heard the giggling signalling the arrival of the girls and grimaced slightly as he ducked behind the fountain.
"You really set her up, Hashimoto-san," one of the girl giggled, Fuji couldn't remember her name. "She'll learn that she can't come and just take what we have worked so hard for."
"I know," one of the other laughed. "I'm a little surprised though, Hashimoto-san. You normally don't bother to do this… You and Yoshida-Captain are normally not ones to be as harsh like this. Aren't you worried she will tell Yoshida-sensei?"
"What Satomi doesn't know won't hurt her," Hashimoto said, "besides… Echizen-san isn't one to complain to others… she won't tell. Her pride won't allow her to."
Fuji frowned as he watched the girl walk away and he glanced at the courts the girls used during practices. They must have talked about Hari, but…was she on their team? Was that why she hadn't been by to watch them lately? It certainly would explain a lot.
He frowned and his smile was lost as he thought about what he had heard and he didn't like it. He started to move before he really had made up his mind and soon he was by the courts and saw Hari alone gathering used tennis balls. She was almost done with the look of it, and he could see the sombre look on her face as she did. Her hair was hanging loosely around her face and it was messy.
She lifted a hand to her face and rubbed her face with it before continuing with the clean-up. Something about just watching her do this felt wrong for him and he moved closer. He could tell when she noticed him by the way she stilled and her head snapped up to stare at him.
"Hello, Hari-chan," he smiled.
"Fuji-sempai," Hari glanced around before looking at him. "Ano, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Fuji said looking around. "I didn't know you had joined the tennis club."
He noticed that her normal smile fell and she looked away from him before continuing to pick up the last balls. He watched her for a moment before he started to help her.
"You don't have to help me," Hari said quietly.
"I know," was all he said.
He heard her sigh but she didn't say anything else. They worked in silence until they were done and he noticed her stretch her back and grimace slightly as she did so.
"Why are you doing this alone, Hari-chan?" Fuji asked when they finished and he leaned against the netting fence.
"I'm the new kid," she said making him frown.
"So?"
"So, they think it's fun to make me do this," she said a little bitterly. "I don't know."
He frowned.
...
Hari almost cursed silently when she saw Fuji standing in front of her. She hadn't wanted anyone of them to see her or to know that she had joined the team. It was illogical, but that was how it was. Especially when she was so sure she would quit soon. She wouldn't put up with being bullied or treated like this, but she didn't want anyone else to know she was treated like that either. Nor did she want Ryoma to find out. Though she couldn't hide this for long, she knew he would soon ask her what was wrong and she doubted she would be able to lie to him when he did ask.
She didn't even know what she had done to make the rest of the team hate her. At Hogwarts, she at least knew why they treated her like that. Either it was because she was the Girl-Who-Lived, or it was because she had lost a lot of points, or she was believed to be the Heir of Slytherin. Now…she had no idea what she was supposed to have done.
"I don't know what I have done," she whispered more to herself than to him. "What have I done to make them treat me like that?"
In a burst of frustration she kicked the fence making it rattle by the force she used. Was she unable to have what Ryoma had? To have that team feeling that she saw him and the rest of the team enjoy during their tournament? Maybe her uncle was right, maybe she was worthless.
Fuji looked at her and she looked away from him.
"Why are you here, Fuji-sempai?" Hari asked.
"I was curious when I heard the girls talking about you," he admitted. "And I thought you were hiding something as of late, so I thought I would find out what it was."
"Gossip," she grumbled. "Of course."
"You don't like gossip?" Fuji asked.
She gave him a look, "no. I hate it, it never really tells the truth."
"You seem to have a lot of knowledge of it," he commented.
"You could say that" she snorted.
She walked away from him and to the changing room to change into her school uniform again. She took a moment to look around the locker room and sighed. She picked up her bag and stilled slightly when she saw Fuji, now changed as well, there waiting for her.
"Come on," he smiled at her with his eyes closed like normal. "I'll walk you home. Echizen has already left."
...
They walked in silence for a little while. Hari wasn't sure what to say and she had no idea what he was thinking. She glanced over at him and saw that he was smiling like he normally was.
"I guess I should have known you played tennis," he commented.
"Because Ryo-chan does?" Hari asked.
He glanced over at her, probably because of her slightly bitter tone.
"Sorry," she murmured. "Just a little sore because of something they said. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"No worries," he looked at her. "Are you alright, Hari-chan?"
"I'm fine," she said automatically. "But as an answer to your question, yes, I play tennis as well. And I guess it is because Ryo-chan does. At least at first. He was the one who got me playing when we first met. I liked it and I always loved watching him play. Still does."
"Interesting," was all Fuji said.
They reached the house and Hari paused outside to look over at Fuji. He smiled at her and she smiled slightly back.
"Thank you for your help," she said and he nodded. "And…could you not mention it to anyone?"
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't want them to know," she said. "I'll handle it."
"Alright," he agreed.
"Thanks," she smiled and waved at him. "Goodbye, see you tomorrow."
...
"Hey," Hari looked up and saw Sakuno standing there.
"Hello," Hari smiled at her. "You're here early."
"I know," Sakuno said. "I came in with grandma today. Are you already practising?"
Hari nodded wiping some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. She didn't say she had gotten early for a reason and that she hadn't gotten much sleep last night as she had been mulling over her situation on the team. She had only left a note for Rinko and Ryoma telling them where she was.
"Thought I would get an early start," Hari said.
Sakuno nodded, "can I join you?"
"You want to?" Hari asked slightly surprised.
"Sure," Sakuno smiled shyly and blushed slightly. "If it's not a bother to you."
Hari smiled and Sakuno grabbed her racket.
Hari relaxed as they just simply hit the ball back and forth. It wasn't as tough as she normally would have made her practices, but it was rewarding to see the joy Sakuno showed. She was such a simple and kind girl that Hari couldn't help but feel comfortable with.
...
Yoshida watched as Hari played with Sakuno, they looked relaxed and like they had fun. She had not seen Hari like that with anyone but Sakuno. Sakuno was the only one who could make Hari smile and Yoshida felt a little bad about that. She also felt guilty about how hard she had been the day before, she should have let Hari explain why she was late.
She sighed. This was difficult. She could feel the animosity from the rest of the team every time Hari was present lately and it wasn't good for the team. It was driving them apart and Yoshida as a Captain had a responsibility to keep the team together.
Only…she had no idea how to do so with Hari on the team. It was harsh, but it was the truth. Also, she had seen enough for her to be sure that Hari was better than her and a nagging feeling in the back of her mind had her question things she never questioned before. Like who the regulars should be, or if she even should be Captain anymore.
Why was it that even when Yoshida worked so hard to both keep her grades up for school and keep practising, she still wasn't good enough? Hari had just waltzed in and seemed to already have a place with the boys' team, even the regulars, without even trying. From what she heard she also got good grades. Everything just seemed so easy for her, and Yoshida really wanted that.
She swallowed down the jealousy she felt, she knew it wasn't Hari's fault and she really shouldn't blame her for it. She heard Hari laugh and saw the small smile on Sakuno's face and Yoshida had obviously missed something that must have been funny.
"Ohayo," Yoshida greeted as she decided to stop watching them and approached them.
Hari immediately lost her cheerful smile and her face turned blankly polite.
"Ohayo," Hari nodded.
"Ohayo," Sakuno sounded timid and her eyes flickered between Hari and Yoshida.
"Echizen-san, I'm sorry for yesterday," Yoshida said visibly stunning Hari as she blinked at her. "I should have let you explain why you were late."
Hari arched a brow at her but she kept silent for a while. Yoshida frowned slightly when Hari sighed and looked away from her.
"I see," Hari murmured almost so quietly that Yoshida missed it. "I'm not one to tell on others, so just let it be."
Yoshida frowned, "what is that supposed to mean?"
"Nani mo," Hari said and rested her racket against her shoulder. She gave Yoshida a look. "Nothing at all."
She turned and walked to grab her bag, "my resignation letter is in the locker room. I have no interest in being part of this kind of team. It's not something for me."
"EH?" Sakuno and Yoshida both exclaimed.
"Why would you quit?!" Yoshida asked pushing down the spark of relief she had felt underneath the shock.
"Hari-chan…" Sakuno looked pained.
Hari had her back to them so they couldn't see her face for a long minute before she half turned and Yoshida was hit with the almost haunted look on her face.
"…" Hari sighed. "There's no reason to tell you. I am obviously not wanted on the team and can take a hint. I don't need to be here to play tennis. So, I quit."
Yoshida stared after her with shock and lost for words. She had no idea what just happened or what to do with it. She was aware that Sakuno ran after Hari obviously upset, but she had no mind to go after her herself.
...
Hari grimaced slightly as she walked away. She had quit. It was a decision she had arrived at during the night. She wasn't going to put herself through that treatment anymore, and she realised that she wasn't going to be happy playing with them when they could treat her like that.
She would go and play on street courts and she would have more time to go and see Saeki and play with him in Chiba. She enjoyed being able to meet other players and play with them, even if she had to do so alone. Well, she could always drag Ryoma or Momoshiro with her if she wanted to. Maybe even Kaido.
"Hari-chan! Wait up!"
Hari paused and half-turned to see Sakuno coming up behind her and she was breathing harder from the running she had done to catch up to her. Hari hadn't realised that she had walked fast…or that she was on the back of the school and not where she was supposed to be at all. Great.
"Ah, Sakuno," Hari said focusing back on the younger girl.
"Why did you quit?" Sakuno asked looking so worried that Hari had to smile a little.
"I just realised that it wasn't what I wanted," Hari explained. "I can play tennis anywhere, so I don't need them."
Sakuno was still frowning.
"But…"
"If you want to play with me or join me for practices you still can, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled kindly. "I just…didn't want to be on that team anymore. I left a place where I was…glared at and talked about behind my back, and I refuse to go through it again."
Sakuno clearly didn't understand but she nodded and Hari gave her a smile.
...
They had a free period and Hari was like most of the class using it to do her homework, or at least attempt too as most were just talking with their friends. Hari, however, was looking amusedly over at Momoshiro who bit down on his pen and had a frustrated look on his face. She tilted her head as she watched him.
"What are you doing?" Hari finally asked.
"I'm trying to solve this problem," Momoshiro snapped glaring at the book like it would solve anything.
"By glaring at it?" Hari asked.
"Well, nothing else works," Momoshiro snapped.
Hari snorted and heard Kaido mutter something about idiots from his desk, but she ignored him and swatted Momoshiro's head when he turned toward Kaido to (obviously) start another argument.
"Hey, pay attention," Hari told him. "I'll help you."
"Really?" Momoshiro asked looking happy again.
"Really," Hari rolled her eyes at him.
She leaned over and started to explain the math problem making Momoshiro nod and get a focused look on his face. She took her time to explain it as simply she could manage.
"Ok, so if you take the number here…" Hari said and circled a number, "…and then add this…"
"Ah…I see…" Momoshiro said. "I never thought about it like that… So, then I would be able to…"
"Exactly," Hari said.
"Wow," Momoshiro grinned, "that is awesome! I can't believe you could make it sound so simple!"
Hari smiled slightly back before she tensed when she noticed Ueda and Hashimoto by the door looking in on them with scowls on their faces.
"Hari-chan?" Momoshiro asked.
"Hm?" Hari glanced over at him.
"Something wrong?" Momoshiro asked with a worried look on his face.
"No, I'm fine," Hari smiled and reached for the book again. "Should we go over the next one as well?"
Before Momoshiro could answer Kaido appeared and sat down so he was blocking her view of the door making her look at him startled. He had his usual scowl on his face so she couldn't tell if he had noticed the girls staring at her or if he was just being his usual self.
"Viper, what are you doing…" Momoshiro asked annoyed.
"I'll join your study session," Kaido grunted. "Hari-chan is good at explaining this."
Hari smiled and went back to explain the next problem and allowing herself to get distracted by the lesson. She was aware of both boys look at her from time to time with a concerned look, but neither asked and she was very grateful for that.
...
"What's up with you lately?" Ryoma asked.
Hari glanced at him and sighed.
"I quit the tennis team," Hari said.
"Why?" Ryoma asked shocked. "I thought you really wanted to join the team."
Hari shrugged and tossed the tennis ball she was holding up in the air from where she was sitting leaning on her bed resting against the headboard. She caught the ball again as she glanced over at Ryoma.
Sighing she finally told Ryoma about what had been going on and she could see that he got angry and upset, she didn't want him to feel like that and that had been why she hadn't told him. But when he asked she wasn't going to lie to him, so she told him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryoma asked when she finished telling him.
"I could handle it," Hari said not looking at him.
"I still would want to know," he grumbled.
"And do what, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked. "There's nothing you could have done and it would only make things worse. I have no idea why they suddenly acted like that to me, but I won't stay when I'm not wanted. I'm not doing that again."
Ryoma sighed, but he nodded.
"I'll crush them with tennis," he promised.
"Thank you, but you don't need to do that," Hari smiled.
"I know," he said. "But I want to."
Hari shook her head, "leave them be."
"Fine," he muttered.
"Thank you, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled at him and looked back at the tennis ball she was still tossing up in the air before catching it again. "…I suppose I'm not meant to be part of a team. No one seems to want me."
It was something she wouldn't admit to anyone but Ryoma, but with only him in her room, she found herself telling him. She blinked when she felt someone sitting down next to her and a hand reached out and took hers. She swallowed as she glanced over at Ryoma who wasn't looking at her.
"You'll find a team," he said.
She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. No more words were necessary between them.
...
Yoshida walked with determined steps toward Ryuzaki's office. Her hands clenched at her side as she closed in on her set location. She reached the door and hesitated for a moment taking a deep breath before lifting her hand to knock on the door.
She slid the door open and saw that both Tezuka and Oishi was there obviously talking with Ryuzaki about something. She fought the blush she felt coming when Tezuka looked at her.
"Yoshida-san," Ryuzaki greeted. "I wasn't expecting you."
"I'm sorry for interrupting, sensei," Yoshida said self-consciously.
"Don't worry about it," Ryuzaki said waving her into the room.
She entered and closed the door behind her as she glanced at Tezuka again before looking back at Ryuzaki. It was difficult… She had learned what had caused Hari to quit and she felt bad. She never wanted the girls to do something like that and she was obviously not doing a good job as their Captain.
"What is your problem, Yoshida-san?" Ryuzaki asked.
"I want to resign as the Captain of the girl's team, Sensei," Yoshida said clearly stunning the others in the room.
"Why?" Ryuzaki asked shocked.
"I am not right to lead a team," Yoshida said slightly bitter. "I'm not good enough to keep them together."
"Yoshida-san…" Oishi sounded worried.
She felt worse at his worry. She didn't deserve it.
"Does this have anything to do with Echizen-san?" Ryuzaki asked pensively.
Tezuka and Oishi looked confused but didn't say anything.
"They pushed her out because of me," Yoshida said. "I can't live with that."
"What do you mean?" Ryuzaki asked.
"I said that I wanted to play her because I do think she's better than me," Yoshida told them. "From what I can tell she is the best player on our team. Not very surprising, I suppose. I think the girls thought she would threaten my place in the team or something because they treated her…badly. I never knew it got so bad that she would quit, though."
"Are you talking about Hari-chan?" Oishi interrupted wide-eyed. "She plays tennis?"
Yoshida glanced over at him but didn't say anything.
"Echizen Hari does play tennis," Ryuzaki was the one to answer. "She's quite good too. Nanjiro brags about her when I talk to him. I thought she would help lift the girls' team, but…it doesn't seem like that will happen since she quit yesterday."
Yoshida inhaled deeply again and looked at Ryuzaki with a new determination in her eyes.
"Sensei," she said making Ryuzaki arch a brow. "I know it's not very common and most schools never practice it, but… I did some research and I found that it is allowed for girls to join the boys' team. There's no rule against it. It has been done before as well, but not often and it's a few years ago. But… I think that Echizen-san could be allowed to join the boys' team."
Ryuzaki, Tezuka and Oishi stared at her making her shift on her feet but met Ryuzaki's eyes determinedly.
"You really think she's good enough?" Ryuzaki asked.
"I do," Yoshida said. "Watch her play one match against someone you know is good. See her in action."
Ryuzaki leaned forward and folded her hands that was popped up on the desk in front of her as she looked at Yoshida before looking over at Tezuka.
"What do you think Tezuka?" Ryuzaki asked.
"I think talent is more important than gender," Tezuka answered stoically as he adjusted his glasses.
"Then who should she play?"
...
...
AN: Okay, so a new chapter. So sorry for the wait! I got a little stuck on this because I didn't know just how I wanted it to go. So I do apologize for the rushed feeling you might get. I want things to move forward so I decided to just kind of rush through the period Hari is on the girl's team.
...
Who do you want her to play to prove she's good enough for the boy's team? I will listen to your suggestions. It could be someone on the team already or from another school.
(Just to say, she's not as good as the regulars on the boy's team (yet). She still has work to do before she can match them. Though, I do want her over with them now so...I decided to do it this way.)
...
What do you think about Yoshida? Should she resign or should they talk her out of it?
...
Thank you for your patience and your support :)
...
Japanese words used:
Tensai - genius
Saa - filler
Ohayo - good morning
Sempai - something they call their seniors
Sensei - teacher/coach
Hai - yes
Nani mo - nothing
