Chapter 4

Spring had come once again, bringing another end to the school year. The end of the year brought on the graduation season, where students would celebrate finishing one chapter of their lives and moving on to the next. Mouri was among the graduating class that year after barely scraping past the final examinations after a very tiring and eventful year. He had managed to score high enough on the university entrance exam to gain admission into Tohoku University, meaning he would be packing up his life and moving up north to Sendai. All of the ex-Regulars of the tennis team had gathered outside of the gymnasium the ceremony was being held in. It was the first time all of them were in the same place together since they disbanded, which brought a lot of unnecessary attention from the other students who were passing by.

"Is it really that shocking for all of us to be in the same place at the same time?" Jackal sighed.

"Considering all of us quit the team at the same time, I am inclined to believe that the larger student body thinks we are all not on the best of terms," Yagyuu commented.

"It's interesting to see the rest of the school believe a crazy rumour instead of the truth," Niou added. "Perhaps I should make that rumour true, puri."

"Enough, Niou. Don't cause unnecessary trouble," Yanagi said with a hint of anger in his tone.

"Heh, still not over the prank from yesterday, are you, Yanagi?"

Yanagi felt a sudden urge to murder Niou, but had to hold himself back. Niou couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"Oh? Are we reforming the team again?" Mouri asked as he appeared in front of the group.

The boys all bowed in unison. Sanada spoke on behalf of the team. "Thank you, Mouri Jusaburou. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to win the Nationals this year."

"Eh? Is that all you came to tell me? You didn't have to make such a special trip just for that." Mouri's demeanor changed from his nonchalant self into a more serious one. "It was fun teaming up with my lovely kouhais again. Honestly, the whole tournament felt like a story straight out of a manga. If anything, I should be thanking all of you for letting me join you."

"Well, it's not like we had much of a choice," Marui chimed in. "After all-"

"-Yukimura's will is absolute," all of them said in unison. The boys couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Mouri was the first to contain his laughter enough to speak. "It's a shame that you all decided to stop. You could definitely win next year's Nationals as well."

"Heh, it would be more of a shame if we all stayed in the past, senpai," Niou pointed out.

"Exactly! I can't stay and play tennis forever when I could be getting better at video games," Kirihara added.

"Please do not worry yourself with what we will be doing, Mouri-senpai. We are not entirely hopeless without tennis," Yagyuu stated.

Mouri pretended to wipe away fake tears. "My lovely kouhais are growing up! I never thought I would see the day."

Sanada held out his hand. "Take care of yourself, Mouri-senpai."

Mouri firmly grasped Sanada's hand and shook it. "Of course. The same goes for all of you as well."

Following this interaction, the group scattered amongst themselves, leaving Mouri standing by himself again.

"You can stop hiding now, Sayumi-chan," he called out.

Sayumi emerged from one of the building support pillars and approached him. "They are gone, right?"

"I would assume so." He turned towards her. "Shall we go?"

"Y-yes. Of course," she said nervously.

"You know, you can always say no. I won't be mad, Sayumi-chan."

She shook her head. "It's alright. I am terrified, but it's with you."

Mouri laughed. "Now you're making me nervous!" He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you for trusting me with something so important."

Sayumi didn't respond. She could only wrap her arms around him.

After some time, Mouri let go and reached for her hand. He then led the both of them off of the campus and towards the train station to head into the city center.

Standing in front of a rather seedy-looking building, Mouri turned to address his girlfriend one more time.

"Last chance to change your mind, Sayumi-chan," he asked again.

"I haven't changed my mind, Jusaburou."

Mouri was surprised that she actually called him by his given name without having to prompt her. "Oh? I guess you are serious."

He led the both of them into the building, which looked uncannily sterile compared to the exterior. After picking a room and getting the key from the front desk, the two got into the elevator to head to their floor. Upon entering the room, Sayumi felt a bit taken aback by how stylish it was. She stumbled to kick the shoes off her feet before stepping in further. Mouri caught and held onto her so she wouldn't fall over.

"Careful, princess. Don't want to get hurt now." He gave her a cheeky wink, which made her cheeks turn a few shades redder than she already was.

After they had removed their shoes and outerwear, Sayumi walked over to the bed and threw herself onto it. Mouri walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed as he watched her ease up and become less tense. He fiddled around with her long hair between his fingers, noting that it smelled faintly of peach-scented shampoo.

Sayumi sat up and pulled her hair away from his fingers. "This is such a nice room. I was concerned when I saw the exterior, but this isn't bad."

Mouri laughed. "Have some faith in me. I do admit it doesn't look that great from the outside, but it's what's on the inside that counts, right?"

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back with intensity and passion. It didn't take much longer until he had pinned her underneath him on the bed. The two looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Are you-"

Sayumi placed her finger over his lips. "Yes. Stop asking."

Mouri sighed. "As you wish, princess."

He reached down and began to slowly unbutton her shirt, exposing her bra and skin underneath. She reached up and fumbled around with the buttons on his uniform until they also came undone. She couldn't help but admire how chiseled his chest and abs were, which made him crack a smile.

"Close your eyes," he whispered into her ear as he placed his hand over her eyes.

She did as she was told as a playful smile grew on her face. She felt him shift her body around as her clothes started coming off of her body, exposing her skin to the slightly cool room air. Mouri fumbled around with his clothing as well, throwing them down onto the floor. He continued to kiss her feverishly as his hands began to feel her up.

In their vulnerable states, the raw emotions they both shared with each other was something indescribable. Time had stopped between the two as they could only focus on each other. Mouri treated Sayumi gently, as if she was ready to fall apart in his arms. Sayumi felt safe in his care. She trusted him more than anyone else in the world at that moment.

The two eventually woke up beside each other underneath the blankets. Sayumi was resting her head on Mouri's bare chest, casually listening to his heartbeat. Mouri played with her tangled up hair as he basked in the moment.

"Awake yet, princess?" he teased. He pulled the blanket up and covered up her body more.

"Mhmm," she hummed. "Sorry if I didn't do much."

"Well, it was your first time, so it's not like it could be helped," he chuckled.

She sat up and pulled the blanket up with her. She gave him a light, playful kiss on his nose. "Thank you, Jusaburou." Her eyes began to water as a stray tear trickled down her face.

Mouri reached out and gently wiped it away. "Don't be like that. I'm not dying, Sayumi-chan."

She reached up and wiped her eyes. "I know, but you are going to be leaving and all of this will be over. Congratulations on getting into Tohoku, again."

He pulled her into his arms and she buried her face into his chest once again. "You don't need to hold it back, Sayumi-chan. I know it was selfish of me to ask you to do this for me; especially after all of this."

The two remained silent as Mouri felt his chest become damp from her tears. He gently caressed her back as he looked up at the ceiling of the room. Just as they had finally gotten close to each other, life had other plans instead. Mouri was going to move his entire life over to another prefecture to begin his university studies while Sayumi would remain at Rikkai with another two years of high school left. They both knew it was coming, so it wasn't like it was much of a surprise to either of them. It still didn't take away from the pain of breaking up with each other.

"You know," he began, trying to break the silence, "I'm glad I got to spend what little time I had left in this place with you. I came into this last year with three goals and I'm glad I was able to accomplish all of them, thanks to you."

She looked up at him with her disheveled face. "What three goals?"

Mouri reached over to the tissue box on the side table and pulled one out. He then began to clean up her face for her. "Well, for starters, I had to win the Nationals again; for my lovely kouhai."

"But I wasn't the one who asked you to do that."

"Yes, but you did cheer me on the entire way." He placed the dirty tissue on the table and reached for another one. "My other goal was to get into Tohokudai, which I couldn't have possibly done if I didn't have you around to encourage me during the entrance exams."

She swiped the tissue away from his hands and began to clean up her face by herself. "But you studied hard. It wasn't me who helped you study or anything."

"Man, just how many times will you continue to shoot me down?" he laughed.

"And what about your last goal? Did I help you with that one too?"

He smiled at her, but she could tell there was a hint of sadness behind it. "My last goal was to mend your broken heart, Sayumi-chan."

She was awestruck upon hearing those words. She had forgotten that he had boldly declared that when he first asked her out. She felt a lump form in the back of her throat, which prevented her from reacting.

"You know, at first, I wasn't even sure if I could do it. I knew my lovely kouhai had hurt you, but I never realized how bad it truly was. I felt the need to help you out because I could see myself in you every time I saw you. Who knew I would actually end up falling for you," he recalled nostalgically. "But, after spending all this time with you, it made me realize that life's too short to remain clinging onto the past. I hope you've come to realize that yourself and I hope you can see why we, as a couple, can't continue."

"Jusaburou…"

"Thank you, Hokama Sayumi. Though this may be the end for us, I know this is just the beginning of the rest of our lives."

He leaned in to kiss her one final time, conveying strength to move on from what had been haunting them for the past few years. They were both beginning a new chapter in their lives. While Mouri's might be a little more literal, Sayumi had finally come to terms that she also had to let go. It was time to let go of the dead boy they both once knew as Yukimura Seiichi: the captain of the famous Rikkai Boys' Tennis Team and her first love.

"Farewell, my dear Seiichi."

During the two week break between the start of the next school year, Sayumi's parents had decided to drag her entire family down to Osaka for the cherry blossom viewing. Since the region was more south and warmer than Kanagawa, the flowers were in full bloom by the time they had arrived. Fresh from her recent breakup with Mouri, she was reluctant to be anywhere but her room, eating an unhealthy amount of ice cream to numb out the pain. Despite her protests, she somehow ended up on the bullet train with the rest of her family and was now trapped in some hellish tourist attraction. Having no idea where she was exactly nor where her family had disappeared to, she spotted a nearby convenience store and pushed her way through the large crowd of sightseers to get there. Sufficiently away from the crowds, she took a moment to breathe.

"Where the hell did they disappear to?" she wondered as she looked around.

She decided to try calling her mother, but knew it was a futile effort when the call went straight to voicemail. Realizing that she would be stuck there indefinitely, she tried to think of a way out of the situation she was in as she scrolled through her contact list. Upon reaching Shiraishi Kuranosuke's information, she threw all other options out of her thoughts as she rang him up.

"Hello? Shiraishi speaking," was the smooth voice on the other side.

"Shiraishi-san, sorry to bother you," she began. "Listen, it's a long story, but I'm trapped in Osaka and my family disappeared. I have no idea where I am exactly either. Do you think you could give me some clue as to where I am?"

"Lost? What do you see around you?" She could hear another voice in the background, but it was far away and she couldn't make out who it belonged to.

"Um, I'm standing in front of a convenience store that's mostly away from people. There's some sort of large castle, but that's all I can really make out. There's so many people here!"

Shiraishi laughed. "You must be near Osaka Castle, then. I think I have a pretty good idea of where you are. Stay where you are. I'll be there in about 20 minutes."

"A-are you sure? I don't mean to trouble you like this. If you could just tell me-"

"Don't worry, Hokama-san," he interrupted. "I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't at least help you out." An audible scream could be heard from his side, followed by a loud door slam. "Please ignore that. I'll be right there!"

"Shiraishi-san! Wait-"

The boy had hung up on her before she could convince him otherwise. Admitting defeat, she went inside the store to buy some sandwiches and cold barley tea to eat as she waited for her family or her strange Osaka acquaintance to find her. By the time Shiraishi had gotten to her suspected location, she was beginning to doze off.

"Hokama-san!" he called out. "I'm glad I was able to find you in this tourist trap."

Sayumi rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Shiraishi-san? How did you know I was here?"

"An Osaka native knows all about the tourist traps. This convenience store can be easily seen from all points in this area, so I just put myself in your shoes and came here," he said with the smuggest grin on his face. "You don't seem like you're having much fun."

She shook her head. "How can I have fun? I'm lost in a city that I've never really been in, separated from my family and going through a breakup by myself." She glanced up and down at Shiraishi and noticed that his clothes and hair were in disarray. "What happened to you?"

"Don't ask," he said as a cold chill went down his spine. "Girls can be scary."

"Were you on a date?" she asked innocently.

Shiraishi's face turned as pink as the cherry blossoms blooming around them. "N-not exactly," he stuttered. "Anyways, what's this about a broken heart?"

"Ah! W-well…" She wasn't sure if she wanted to share the details of what happened with him.

"Actually, hold on." Shiraishi ran inside the convenience store and came out with the same ice cream they had shared back during the Nationals. He handed her the same cone she had gotten back then. "Now, where were we?"

She couldn't help but laugh at the kind gesture. "How did you know I wanted ice cream?"

"Who doesn't want cold, numbing ice cream after a break up?" He unwrapped his ice pop and bit into it, sending the same uncomfortable chill down her spin when she saw him do it. "If you don't want to talk about it, then that's alright. I can take your mind off of it by showing you around Osaka instead. Osaka Castle might have some rich history from the 16th century, but the entire interior has been modernized and lost all of its historic charm."

"Really?" she said in surprise. "I never knew that."

"It's sad how the city decided to ruin centuries of history just to make it more safe. Sure, having a safe castle is a good thing, but there are definitely ways to fix the issues while preserving the history, you know?" He paused for a second to continue eating his ice pop. "Sorry. I'm just very passionate about the culture here."

She giggled. "I like people who know their history, Shiraishi-san."

An idea popped in his head. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be hungry, would you?"

"Uh, I just had a sandwich and now this ice cream, but I think I can eat more. Why?"

He grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the exit of the area. "There's a great okonomiyaki place nearby that no one knows about. You'll love it!"

Sayumi was going to protest, but realized it was just easier to follow him instead. Shiraishi started leading her through the busy streets into a strange alleyway. The scent of burning Worcestershire sauce and pork only got stronger the further down they went. Upon sliding the door to the okonomiyaki shop open, the two were greeted by none other than the people they were looking for.

"Sayumi! Took you long enough to find us," her father chided her. "And you brought a date as well! Look at you!"

"Dad!" Her face started turning a bright red.

Shiraishi was feeling playful and decided to go along with the joke. He approached Sayumi's mother and took a hold of her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shiraishi Kuranosuke," he said in a seductive voice as he lightly kissed the back of her mother's hand.

"S-shiraishi-san!"

"Oh my! What a flirtatious young boy you are," her mother remarked. "Please, do sit down and join us! Sayumi has been awfully gloomy these past few days and you seemed to have cured her of that."

Sayumi couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Not only were her parents not yelling at her for getting lost, but they're being extremely friendly towards a strange man with their only daughter. She was dumbfounded as her father dragged her to their table and forcibly sat her down. The air around them smelled strongly of alcohol.

"I must say, sir, you have a refined palette for choosing this okonomiyaki shop," Shiraishi praised. "This is the only place that serves an amazing and authentic Osaka-style okonomiyaki."

Sayumi's father wrapped his arm around the boy. "Really? I just decided to wander in here and next thing I know, I'm eating okonomiyaki!" He offered Shiraishi his nearly empty glass of beer. "Do you want some?"

Shiraishi shook his head. "I'm underaged, sir."

Her father's eyes widened. "Really? You look so mature for your age then!"

Sayumi's mother nodded in agreement. "Are you a model? How did my daughter find such a nice boyfriend?"

"Mom! He is not my boyfriend!"

Her parents bursted out into laughter. "That's our daughter for you! Always denying things that are true."

The two teens ate whatever was left of her parents' meal while her parents kept conversing and interrogating Shiraishi. After the food had disappeared, Sayumi took out her phone and frantically texted her younger brother to find out where he was.

'Where are you?'

'Not with the 'rents. Good luck with that.'

'You are NOT gonna make me carry them back to the hotel alone.'

'Not my problem. Good luck!'

She uttered a curse under her breath as she shut her phone. Her brother was insufferable and she had to think of a way to get back at him later.

Shiraishi looked over at her as a murderous aura irradiated from her. "Hokama-san?"

"I'm so sorry, Shiraishi-san. I didn't realize-"

Shiraishi stopped her before she could continue her apology. He gestured towards her parents, who seemed to have fallen asleep. "The food coma has set in," he whispered.

"What am I going to do now…" She buried her face in her hands as she tried to think of something.

"I'll get your father. You take your mother," he stated as he slung her father's limp arm over his neck.

"Shiraishi-san! I can't possibly ask you to-"

"You can't do this yourself, Hokama-san." He stood up and pulled her father alongside him.

Sighing, she pulled out her wallet and left money on the table to pay for her parents' meal before picking up her mother and carried her out of the restaurant. Once they were out on the main road, Shiraishi hailed a taxi and the two of them put her parents in before getting in themselves.

"Where's your hotel?" he asked.

"The one by the waterfront near Osaka Station? I don't remember the address," she sighed as she tried to recall the information.

Shiraishi told the taxi driver an exact address and the driver nodded before speeding away towards their destination. After paying the fare and dragging her parents up to their room, Sayumi looked at the clock and let out a groan.

"It's almost the evening and I wasted a whole day doing nothing! What a terrible trip," she cursed.

"What are you talking about, Hokama-san? Nightlife in Osaka is the best!" Shiraishi exclaimed in disbelief. "I'll show you around Amerika-mura and show you what true nightlife is like," he said with determination.

"But, my parents-"

"-are out cold! With the amount of food and beer they must've drank before we got there, they'll be out all night." He walked into the room's kitchen and poured two cold glasses of water, setting them down on the bedside tables for her parents to drink later. "I'm not going to leave you alone until you at least smile genuinely, Hokama-san."

She forced a smile, but he saw right through the act.

"Come on, Hokama-san. I know this city inside out and I promise I'll protect you if anything bad happens."

"You will not relent unless I go with you, huh?"

"Of course not! Osaka is beautiful and you must experience the culture. It'd be a shame if you didn't."

"Well, it seems like I don't have much of a choice." She walked into her side of the room and grabbed a light jacket. "Alright, let's go, Shiraishi-san."

"You won't regret it."

After taking a short subway ride south, the two ended up in the Cyberpunk-like district of Amerika-mura. The sun was just beginning to set, but the area was just beginning to come to life. Sayumi couldn't help but be in awe of the sheer amount of sparkly lights and neon signs that adorned all of the buildings.

Shiraishi guided her around the area, treating her to some of the best Osaka street food and showing her around the trendy shops of the area. Throughout the night, they both poked fun at and flirted with each other and laughed as they wandered the streets aimlessly. As the height of the night came around, the two found themselves becoming slowly intoxicated by the atmosphere around them.

"Osaka sure is fun at night. Thank you for showing me around, Shiraishi-san," Sayumi said.

"Was it fun enough for you to forget about what a bad time you were having earlier today?"

She yawned. "Of course! I should come out here more often. You're so fun to be around."

"Hey now... Don't fall asleep on me just yet. The night is still young," he laughed.

Sayumi wasn't sure what compelled her to do it, but she turned to look at Shiraishi right in the eyes and brought her lips close to his. She was just millimetres away from kissing him before she realized what she was doing. Before she could back off and brush it off, Shiraishi pulled her in and closed the gap. What happened next between the two was a blur of raw emotion and regret.

The next morning, the both of them woke up in an odd room, lying next to each other with no clothes on. Panic began to immediately set in for Sayumi as she opened her phone to check and see if anyone had called her. Other than a few texts from a friend, there wasn't anything else that would suggest that her family was looking for her. Shiraishi, on the other hand, felt shame. Though he couldn't remember the finer details, it didn't take long for him to realize that he had slept with the ex-girlfriend of the boy he was in love with. There was nothing in the world that could erase these foggy memories from his head.

They both turned to look at each other. "We cannot tell anybody about this," they both said in unison.

Following this, the both of them jumped out of the bed and hastily put their clothes back on. They washed off their faces and made themselves look semi-presentable before running out of the room and off in separate directions.

When Sayumi had gotten back to the hotel her family was staying in, the two of them were just starting to stir awake with one of the worst hangovers they could imagine. They seemed to have no recollection of what happened at the okonomiyaki place nor the fact that they had met Shiraishi, which relieved Sayumi. She locked herself in the bathroom and took a very long shower in an attempt to wash off what happened the night before. No matter how hard she tried to scrub off the memories, and her skin, the lingering shame haunted her. As much as she wanted to curl up into a ball and die, her family had other plans and dragged her out to do more touristy sightseeing.

As Shiraishi got back to his house, he was met with silence, as everyone had already left for the day. Relishing in the peace and quiet, he dragged himself to the bathroom. Once there, he began to undress himself and take off the dirty bandages on his arm. Upon removing the shiny golden gauntlet, he cursed at himself for letting his latest act of self harm get infected. After taking a quick shower, he locked himself in his room and began to meticulously clean the area with antiseptic. Once satisfied, he stared at his arm and studied all of the cuts and scars. For some strange reason, they all started to hurt. He could recall the sensation of him taking the sharp objects and hurting himself with them. He had never been able to feel the pain until now, but he wasn't sure what had changed. Despite his desire to add another scar to his arm, the strange sensation he was feeling was too overwhelming for him to handle. He snapped the gauntlet back on and rewrapped his arm meticulously. Surprisingly, the sensation disappeared after he could no longer see the scars. Wondering if he was going crazy, he crawled into his bed to try and sleep it off.

Though the both of them wished to forget what happened that night, the events were the beginning of a rather strange relationship.