Bildungsroman

Chapter seven

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, with no copyright infringement intended. I don't own PoT, which belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

Zombie. She was a zombie.

"Ten laps to go!"

A zombie due for her second death.

"Faster! Hey, kids, my grandmother could go faster than you– and she's been dead forty years!"

"Yeah, on her wheelchair, maybe." Sakura muttered, speeding up until she was knocking elbows with Momoshiro.

"Oy, Kagawa, you're in my way."

"It's intentional."

"Five more laps! Regulars, faster!" Nomura-buchou yelled.

Cursing under her breath would waste precious lung capacity. Therefore Sakura ducked her head, gritted her teeth, and screamed invective in her mind.

All eight of them- three boys, three girls, plus 2 captains- splattered over the finish line as one.

"Fuck." Her lungs felt like two polythene bags. Holey, abused polythene bags. "Fuckity fuck fuck."

One look from Tezuka- standing closest to her- and she shut her mouth. And then re-opened it to suck in huge gulps of air.

"Stretch properly." Nomura-buchou seemed to have taken over the warm-up routine. "Then we can actually practice. First matches over the weekend- boys, girls and mixed."

"That means extra practice, right?" Sakura asked Mikabi, low enough to pass unnoticed as they sat down, legs asunder.

"Yeah." Both girls grimaced.

"Oh yeah, Sakura-chan!" Kazumi's voice carried over all the courts. "Congratulations on winning at Rikkai yesterday! We heard you were amazing."

"Winning what?" Fuji enquired politely.

"The debate competition, Fuji-kun!" Kazumi jumped in to clear his ignorance. "Sakura-chan's in the Debate Club too, ne? Asano-chan said she and Yamato-kun did amazing!"

Sakura laughed. "Asano-senpai's really nice, Kazumi-senpai. She and Ueda-senpai were the ones who destroyed Rikkai in the final."

"I've never heard the words 'destroyed' and 'Rikkai' in that order." Momo remarked.

Mikabi shook her head. "Sakura-chan's too modest."

"I'm really not."

"Just say thank you, Kagawa." Nomura interrupted, looking highly amused. "You do work very hard, you know. And yes, congratulations."

"I'm sure you were great, Sakura-chan." Fuji-senpai put in. "Asano-san never exaggerates."

Sakura's face flamed. "Okay. Thanks, everyone." She grabbed her feet and bent forward, her back parallel to the ground. Nose to the ground, nose to the ground…

As they divided into their old pairs and split for their own practices, Fuji smiled at her. "I'd forgotten you were in debate too, sorry." He said. "You must have a very intensive schedule."

"I'm a master of juggling." She said dryly. "A schedule is not really my thing."

"Is that why you look more tired than usual?"

Sakura rubbed her nose. "You noticed…" He just looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Genius, yeah, I know. Yeah, I'm… pretty beat. If you cut my vein right now you'd see coffee rather than blood."

Their combination was shaping up well. Their first match in mixed doubles would be against St Rudolph– which, to hear Momoshiro tell it, might be a bit of a grudge match for her partner.

"Though why Fuji-senpai still holds a grudge after three years… Let's hope Mizuki doesn't play." He'd shrugged, before shovelling a rice ball into his mouth whole. Gross.

Three years was a bit much, but okay. She wasn't going to question it.

"Kagawa!" Tezuka barked.

Sakura squeaked, whirling around. "It wasn't me!"

Her prompt response was rewarded by a flat look, and a gesture to join him off-court.

"Congratulations on your success at yesterday's debate competition." He began.

Caught off-guard, Sakura could only blush and mutter something that resembled a thank-you.

"However, you look dead on your feet."

Okay, rude. True, but rude.

"I'm beginning to think your reservations in the beginning may not be completely groundless. Nomura and I are worried that your schedule may be too taxing for you."

Wasn't maybe you were right supposed to make you feel better? "Captain, I'm.. okay, not fine. Not currently fine, that is." She backtracked upon receiving one of his stern looks. "But seriously, coffee and I are great friends. I will be fine. Future tense."

Tezuka stared at her. "Was that supposed to inspire confidence?" His expression was veering into normal human degrees of 'incredulous'.

Damn. Hot and sassy.

"It does in me." Sakura winked– what. No. She hadn't meant that.

She wasn't supposed to flirt with Tezuka-buchou.

He looked uncomfortable. Well, that makes two of us.

Maybe Momo-chan was right about the Sakura-flirts-like-she-breathes thing.

"I mean… I'll try harder, captain. I'll draw up a schedule, stick to it and everything. If I could have the dates for the mixed doubles tournaments, though, that would help."

"Noted. I'll request sensei to email them to you." This seemed slightly more to his liking. Order. Method. No flirting. Organisation. "But take the day off."

…Huh?

He sighed. "You're in no condition to practice, and I suspect you'll fall asleep in class. Coffee… isn't the answer to everything, Kagawa."

"Then maybe I'm not drinking enough." Sass was almost an involuntary reaction. No glares, though; she was grateful for that.

And taking the day off sounded really tempting… "My homework!" She squeaked, eyes widening in horror. "Two days' worth– captain, I have to go to class. I am not getting a 'late submission' cut." She'd never had one, and she wasn't going to start now.

"Surely one of your friends could turn it in for you?" Which… was actually a great idea. Kagome even lived close by; she could come over later for today's homework…

So no need to start flapping about. Sakura sighed, her shoulders slumping. "That's an idea, captain." She smiled gratefully. "I could ask Mikabi-chan to give my stuff to Kagome… Yeah, I'll do that."

Tezuka nodded. "Sensei will give your friend a note to give the office. But you're excused." He gives her one final, very serious look. "Don't spread yourself too thin, Kagawa. And for heaven's sake, stop drinking so much coffee."

"I'll try." Privately, Sakura wondered how he expected her to function without that life-affirming drink, but okay. She could try.

Mikabi, upon being brought up to speed, snorted. "If I were you, I wouldn't have bothered getting out of bed." She stowed her friend's homework into her school bag, and promised to pass it on to Kagome, and the note to the office. "Just go, Sakura-chan. You need rest. Shoo."

Well, that was just rude. Sakura wasn't a pigeon.

But she did need rest.

The bus was largely empty when she got on. Sakura could only pray that no talkative older person would take the seat beside her.

Familiar Tokyo scenery slid smoothly by as the bus trundled on. The rhythm was a soothing one; her eyelids got heavier…

"Miss? Miss, please wake up." Sakura grunted, a little bit in hate with the person speaking.

But OW- her neck had a serious crick. And her bed smelt funny. Where was her pillow?

She pried her eyes open, squinting.

Wait- what? That was the conductor…

Oh. She must've reached her stop.

"Miss, you have to pay forty yen more- you're at the last stop."

Sakura blinked. That… didn't make sense.

Until it did.

"WHAT?"

"Captain!" Nomura flinched; apparently, cool and collected Kagawa could hit some impressive decibel levels when agitated. Although that word seemed like an understatement.

"What on earth's the matter, Kagawa?!" She barked. All the others' ears pricked up. Imako frowned, concerned.

Kagawa seemed like she was on the verge of tears. "I'm in Kanagawa!"

.

.

.

"What?"

"I fell asleep on the bus! And – oh, it's horrible, I'm out of cash! I can't even take another bus back!"

Not that Nomura would have advised it; the girl would probably have ended up in Hokkaido.

Oh shit, this was not good.

"Can you call your dad?"

She could just picture her shaking her head. "He's at work, and he doesn't get off until five in the evening. And I don't want to call Ma and worry her…"

Obviously. From what they'd gathered, her mother needed all the rest and relaxation to make it through this pregnancy. Calling her was out of the question.

"What's the matter?" Imako interjected.

"Is Sakura-chan okay?" Kazumi's eyes were wide, almost fearful.

She did not sound okay, if the quick, gasping breaths were of any indication- and they sounded wet. Shit, shit, shit. A panicked, teary girl was just the kind that should not be alone in an unfamiliar place, with no money to boot.

There was a collective gasp when she explained the situation. After a second, Kazumi made a grab for the phone, and Nomura was too surprised to stop her.

"Sakura-chan?" Whatever Kazumi heard wasn't good, for her face paled. "No, no, shh, relax. Stop crying."

"Stop crying, Sakura-chan. Crying won't help. That's right; now take deep breaths- in… out; in… out; that's good…"

Fuji's eyes were open, and he was speaking to Tezuka. Who looked thoughtful. Oishi was nodding, clearly in agreement. Well, that looked hopeful.

Tezuka pulled out his phone. Dialled a number.

"Sanada."

Exchanging numbers did not make him and Tezuka bosom friends. If anything, Sanada considered him a friendly rival, who happened to share a few of his more traditional interests.

Tea ceremonies, for example.

But when Tezuka made such a request of him, Sanada could hardly refuse.

"Very well. I'll take care of it." He snapped his phone shut.

"Tezuka?" Yukimura asked, raising an eyebrow. It was unexpected, after all.

"Yes. A junior of his is stranded in Kanagawa. Tezuka doesn't feel she's fit to travel on her own, so he's asked us to take charge of her until he or someone else can collect her after school."

"She?"

"Does she have a name?" Yanagi enquired, flipping through his notebook.

Sanada sighed, glancing at Yukimura. "Kagawa Sakura."

The captain leaned back in his chair, intrigued. "The debate team girl. A tennis player too?"

"He didn't say." Yet it was obvious. Why else would Tezuka be the one to call?

Yukimura smiled beatifically. "Well? Let's not keep the lady waiting."

She was exactly where Tezuka had said she'd be- at the bus stop.

What she wasn't, was the bright-eyed girl from yesterday. Her shoulders were hunched, her hair was untidy, and her face was pale.

There was no missing the tremor in her fingers.

She looked up as they approached, and Sanada was struck by the deep rings around her eyes. Dear god, the girl was exhausted.

He bowed. "Kagawa-san."

She rose to her feet and bowed as well. "Sanada-san." Her gaze shifted to the boy accompanying him. "Yanagi-san. Thanks for coming so quickly."

"Are you alright?" Sanada asked carefully. He blinked when she laughed- and it wasn't a happy one.

"I know what I look like- and 'alright' is a jump too far right now. I'll settle for 'not dead', yeah?"

She'd probably get along well with Akaya.

"I'm very sorry for the trouble." Her eyes began to glisten, and no. Sanada Genichirou was capable of many things, but handling a crying girl was not one of them.

It was not in the job description of a vice-captain.

"It's no trouble." He said gruffly, turning away. Let Renji handle this.

As always, Renji was dependable… although if he was going for 'comforting', he probably had a lot to learn. Especially when Kagawa squeaked, "How the everloving fuck do you know my bra size?"

And then: "I'm going to drown Inui-senpai in his own poisons."

At the very least, homicide plans were easier to handle than tears.

In all honesty, meeting Yukimura Seiichi after the previous day could have been worse.

But then Kirihara had tugged at his captain's jersey and commented, Ne, buchou, she kinda looks like a sad panda, and just like that, the ice was broken.

"Honestly, I just need a place to sleep. I won't even bother you." She assured them.

"To sleep? What d'we look like, a guesthouse?" Kirihara snorted. "How d'you get here anyway?"

She went pink, but shrugged. "Overslept on the bus. Haven't slept much lately."

"Oi, didn't Akaya do the same thing once?" Marui piped up. "He ended up in Seigaku too!"

Kirihara flushed, and Sanada repressed the deep, pathological need to sigh.

"Really?" Sakura grinned at the boy. "I guess I'm just returning the favour then."

"It was in junior high." Kirihara retorted. "I'm not dumb enough to sleep on a bus now."

"See, normally I respond to insults," Yukimura chuckled, and Sakura blushed again, before ploughing on. "But I'm really fucking tired, and I don't respond to people who use 'dumb' as an insult in high school."

There was a beat of silence, which was broken by Niou. "Let's keep her." He sent a mock-pleading look to Yagyuu.

"She's not a dog, Niou-kun."

"She's also right here." Sakura's voice was pleasant- in the way Yukimura's was. "Seriously," She turned to Sanada. "I really just need a place to sleep. I don't want to be a bother."

"Oh, you can bother me anytime, love." Niou interjected smoothly.

"But eight people at once? Niou-san, that's a bit more than I can take."

Marui choked on air. Niou looked delighted.

Really, Sanada was never going to forgive Tezuka for this. "The bleachers. No one will bother you there." Well, unless they saw her Seigaku jacket. Judging by her expression, she thought the same.

There was nothing for it. "Here." He stripped off his own yellow jacket and gave it to her. She was wide-eyed as she accepted it. "Try and be inconspicuous."

Kirihara let out a minute squeak and clutched at his own jacket. The rest of the regulars seemed as surprised as the girl.

She nodded slowly, stuffing her jacket into her bulging tennis bag before slinging his on. It looked ridiculous, hanging off her like an oversized dress.

At least she was relatively hidden, he thought, pinching his nose as he eyed the yellow and black figure stretched out on the bleachers. They didn't need a riot on their hands.

It was time to return to class.

Sakura slept through the next two hours of classes, safe and unnoticed on the bleachers, and woke up to Sanada's command of "Kagawa-san. Get up. Eat something."

Such gentleness.

But he held out a cafeteria sandwich (Sakura sighed, thinking of the nice bento Ma had made; it would be rude to pull that out now), at which point she sat up.

"Th-th-thanks." Sakura tried, and failed spectacularly, to stifle a yawn. Her hair was an utter mess. Sanada wrinkled his nose at such a want of presentation.

Kirihara snickered, and Yukimura merely continued to smile.

She looked marginally better-rested though, so that was something.

She rooted through her bag and pulled out her bottle. "Man, I really appreciate this." She told them, all sincerity, after taking a large gulp. She splashed some water on her face and cleaned it with a handkerchief. Lastly, she pulled the scrunchie from her hair and began to finger-comb it, using her phone's front camera as a mirror.

"All set for the season, then?" She enquired, her fingers twisting strands of hair together in a complicated pattern. Kirihara watched her progress curiously.

Yukimura sat beside her, and Sanada was amused to note the slightest hitch in her hands' rhythm. "Of course." The captain replied smoothly. "And yourself?"

"Yeah, I think so. Still a few niggles here and there," And here she looked up at Sanada, a mischievous smile on her lips. "We'll have it all sorted by finals."

And wasn't that confident.

Sanada's phone gave a loud buzz at that point, so he left the girl in the hands of his insane, inquisitive teammates. As he spoke to Tezuka, he glanced back; Akaya has plonked himself beside her and was now exploring her braid. His probing fingers were rapidly undoing all her quick work, and she looked mildly uncomfortable at his proximity.

"It's just a braid." She hissed, jerking her head away… only to yelp as his fingers tugged her back. "Lemme see!"

"Let go, you fucking idiot!" She snapped, slapping his hand away. Kirihara scowled, but didn't try again.

Just to be safe, she scurried to the empty spot on Yukimura's other side.

She almost groaned out loud when Niou materialised beside her. "Hell of a mouth you have there." He smirked.

"Hell being the operative word." She muttered, tugging Sanada's jacket more securely around herself. It smelt nice, too; nice, subtle cologne, like the one Papa used.

She was still tired, she had work to catch up on, and Niou, despite being easy to flirt with, was getting on her nerves. Besides, didn't they have practice?

"Kagawa-san, Tezuka is waiting for you outside." Sanada was an angel, a bearer of heavenly tidings, and the personification of everything good. Relief practically oozing from every pore of her body, Sakura scrambled to her feet, picking up her things.

He nodded at her. "Come."

She felt like repeating Yagyuu-san's words from earlier: she wasn't a dog! But she kept mum, and turned to Yukimura nonetheless. "Thank you for having me, Yukimura-san, and I'm terribly sorry for the imposition." She seemed to be apologising to this boy a lot.

He merely shook his head. "It wasn't any trouble, Kagawa-san. Please take care of yourself. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Yeah." On the courts, or at Rikkai's next debate… but tennis was more likely. She gave Kirihara and Niou polite smiles. "See you around."

Kirihara nodded moodily, still sore about being denied the chance to investigate her hairdo. Niou, on the other hand, gave her a rather charming grin. "Remember, love- any time." He purred.

And really, why not? "Only if you come alone, Niou-san." She winked, before bowing to them one more time, and hurrying over to where Sanada was waiting.

Tezuka was, as he said, waiting outside Rikkai's gate. He looked up as they approached, and Sakura averted her eyes guiltily. One glance had confirmed that he was Not Happy.

"Tezuka."

"Sanada. Thank you for taking care of Kagawa."

Oh gods, that made her sound like a naughty child. The heat blazed across her cheeks, and she ducked her head.

"Yeah, thanks." Her voice wad small, and Sanada felt a little sorry for her. Being the object of Tezuka's displeasure surely wasn't pleasant.

But it wasn't his business, really.

"Kagawa-san."

She raised her eyes to meet his; her face was bright red.

"We'll see you at the finals." Well, he never said he didn't admire her confidence. He was Rikkai. He had it too.

"…Yeah." She nodded, smiling a little more confidently. "See you around, Sanada-san."

Tezuka waited until they were both on the subway. "That was irresponsible of you, Kagawa."

She hung her head. Protestations and explanations weren't going to help–

"You let your guard down."

…Okay, if he wanted to put it that way.

"Yes, captain." She wondered why Nomura-buchou hadn't come; perhaps Tezuka-buchou actually knowing Sanada-san had something to do with it.

"I have your homework for today- your friend, upon hearing about the situation, asked me to pass it on." He handed her a sheaf of papers, and his face clearly conveyed what he thought about homework being passed on in this disorganised manner.

She stifled a laugh and took the bundle. Hmm. There wasn't a lot, apparently. Maybe she'd get a bit more sleep today.

"Thanks, captain." She stowed them in her bag. "And… I'm sorry for making you miss practice. It won't happen again."

"I'm certain it won't. Also, you're exempt from morning practice tomorrow."

Tezuka-buchou really needed to stop blindsiding her. "Why?!"

He raised an eyebrow. "You were sent home so you could rest. I doubt you had much of that at Rikkai. And no, sleeping on the bleachers does not count."

She grinned sheepishly. "You, uh, know about that?"

"Sanada kept me informed." He replied. After a pause, he spoke again. "What did he mean about the finals?"

"Oh, that." She shrugged. "Just something that came up earlier. He was probably referring to that."

"I see." So Sanada was making idle conversation. That's… rare, to say the least.

I admit, I wasn't sure about the oversleeping thing. But hey, if Kirihara can do it, then so can a massively overworked Sakura! I just really wanted a chance to write Sanada again.

Next chapter will finally have a bit of tennis. It might take a little longer- maybe a week? I want to get another chapter of 'After The End' up before that as well, so let's see how it goes.

Reviews are love!

Cheers,
Chilli.