A/N: Do you still remember me? CUZ I DON'T! Where the hell have I been? I've been to Wales, then I hopped over to Belgium, then I jumped back and finished my business assignment only to randomly agree to help an overzealous person write and publish their self-help book!
But fear not, I have not given up on this over-sized story, and wish to sugar-coat the absence over with an upload of several chapters in the next few days.
So here is the first one. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I was in the baby-waiting room, waiting for Takeshi Konomi to give birth to Prince of Tennis. (Random, but strangely plausible…
Edited: Mistakes rot the emotion! (17/7/11)
Chapter Seventy Seven
"Why are you sitting by yourself?"
Umeko glanced up slowly, biting down on her straw, "No reason." She muttered.
Arai hesitated. She looked up the length of the school grounds, didn't see anything interesting and sat with Umeko, not giving her the option to disagree with her presence. But Umeko had to remember that Arai, at the end of the day, was her friend. The thought only made her frown. She drank her milkshake without a word. Arai was too lost in thought to notice the silence. She didn't know Jinhana would bother her to this extent. She had only spend the whole of last night thinking if Jinhana really was worried about losing or if she wanted to show her up. And if that were the case, what did she ever do to Jinhana to get such a backlash?
Did she really reek of jealously? Was it that obvious? What colours did Yokoishi see circling around her? As for Kikumaru and Nariko, there was something uncomfortable about their silence.
Arai lowered her head into her hands and sighed loudly. Her rich, long hair fell over her shoulders making Umeko glance over.
"What's with you?" Umeko asked, but her attention was elsewhere. It was more dutiful than interested.
"What did I do wrong?"
Umeko tuttted. "Don't ask stupid questions."
"I'm serious, Umeko. I… would have done what anybody else would have. Okay, so, some may have gone about it differently but, really, anybody would have done the same. Suzu-chan would have. I could just tell."
Umeko ignored her for the moment as she tried to remember what Jinhana said on the court. One thing that kept popping up was that picture. She stopped the flow of milk by blocking the straw with her tongue... why didn't she show me this picture? Umeko thought. It seemed because of that, people were starting to react.
"You've become so pathetic, Arai-chan."
Arai turned to her.
"Don't say anything." Umeko stopped her. "When did you start caring about what people thought of you? You never cared before. What happened to you?" Her words where more disappointed then anything else.
Arai couldn't disagree with her. Even she saw a difference in her own behaviours. She thought that once she became captain she would have the same energy and focus. She rubbed her forehead and held her gaze away from Umeko so she could thing about it. It felt as if something was drained from her. Her drive to be tough was gone… she felt weak in all areas. Arai remembered how she would have easily confronted anyone who got in her way. Heck, she called Atobe a swine to his face, she dragged Tezuka back whenever he tried to walk away from her, she was even ready and willing to knock some sense into Oishi when she heard that he hit Kikumaru! What had happened to her?
Could Fuji really have shaken her nerves? Arai sighed. Sure, the blow to the stomach hurt like crazy, her skin was only starting to get its natural colour back, yet… she remembered a change within before her confrontation with Fuji.
"Huh?"
Umeko looked over. "What's wrong now?"
"Could it have been when I kissed Tezuka-kun?"
"Stop gloating."
"I'm serious. When I kissed him, it felt like something was taken from me." She covered over her mouth. She couldn't explain it any better then that but she knew it to be true.
"So you're gunna blame all of this on Tezuka-kun, even when you stole the kiss from him?"
"I'm just saying. It's like he took my strength from me."
Umeko shrugged. "I'm not going to disagree with you."
"You believe me?" She was a little shocked.
"Tsk. When did you start caring about what people think of you? You never cared before. Why are you caring now?"
"I don't care what people think of me… I don't want to be hated."
"Too bad! To think that's what I liked about you. You would say something so rude that other people wouldn't dare to think. That's what made you cool to be around. Now you're just boring and people pleasing."
"Wha?"
Umeko waited until a group of teachers walked by. "When she confronted you, I thought you should have said everything there and then, but you held back."
Arai fixed her hair in placed. "Can you blame me? I didn't think she'd come after me so readily. She wanted to kill me. I felt it. Never in my life did I think she was that strong."
"Coward." Umeko drew in the last of her milkshake and took another one from her bag.
"Shut-up. I'll give her a reason to smack you next time."
Umeko sniggered. "I would have run a mile if cap-" She corrected herself. "if senpai was to try and hit me."
Arai fiddled with her bento but had no appetite. "I can understand everyone else, but why are you so hostile towards me, Umeko?"
Umeko slapped her hand down on the bench. "You left me behind! You went on to be captain and left me as some normal player. That wasn't the original plan. I sacrificed my regulars' spot for nothing! Do you understand now!"
"Sorry. Sensei seemed to just naturally pick me and Suzu-chan. I tried to bring you up but she just paced the room ignoring us all."
Arai leaned back when Umeko shot up to her feet and leant over her. "There you go again, giving a damn about what I think. The real you would have said something like, 'that's your fault for being useless.' Maybe that stolen kiss did take your strength as payment! If you wanna make it up to me, you'd go back to not caring what others think of you. You're people pleasing. Forget what Jinhana-chan said to you yesterday. She's a little weed anyway. Start talking like how you used to, otherwise I won't be your friend anymore."
Arai didn't understand, yet only Umeko could get away with say something so 'off the wall'. Who would want someone speaking their mind even if it were rude? Umeko had a point. Had she been herself, Arai was sure she would have put Jinhana in her place. She suddenly felt the desire to ask Fuji if she felt a little weird since Tezuka left… but that wasn't going to happen. Fuji, with good reason, was ignoring her, only catching her gaze when it suited her.
Umeko sat back down and finished off her milkshake, giving Arai a bit more time to think over some stuff. She didn't remember telling Sai to do anything to Fuji. The plan was for Tezuka to reject Fuji so that her broken heart would take comfort from Sai, meaning Tezuka would be back 'on the market'… Why did Sai bother Fuji? Arai refused to take the blame for that. No matter how many times Arai thought over it, she would always believe that had Fuji not done her business in the open, people wouldn't have found out. Could she really be blame for Atobe calling out Fuji's full name and dedicating a match to Fuji, where he beat Tezuka? Fuji business opened the window and floated out for all to see!
And then for Yokoishi to tell her she would up-set Fuji… No one told Fuji to go around hitting people. No matter how much someone deserved it, you don't actually do it. Arai never hit her. Arai never laid a finger on her. That's why Ryuzaki-sensei had nothing to say to her. Arai told sensei a little of what happened but what could Ryuzaki-sensei have done with it? She couldn't even give a verbal warning. All sensei could do was send her away with a captaincy.
Even when Ryuzaki-sensei walked over to Arai after the regulars stormed off, Ryuzaki-sensei still couldn't say anything. She asked why Jinhana could be heard from the other end of the court, and when she replied with 'Jinhana-chan is nerves about the tournament', what could Ryuzaki-sensei say to her?
Arai picked up her chopsticks and split them. The quick, sharp sound of the wood snapping made her smirk.
"All right…" She said, now making Umeko turn to her slowing on hearing that familiar scheming tone
8 8 8
"Doesn't she seem… different to you?" Jinhana leant over her desk towards Suzu.
"Who?" Suzu asked, trying to focus on her chemistry notes.
"Arai-chan."
"Yeah, I mean, after you screamed at her two days ago she seems a bit different."
Jinhana turned back around, leaving Suzu to think about the sudden change in Arai's character. Arai certainly adopted a new approach with the girls. Worse still, she was developing her old ways. Suzu thought it was the sudden pressure of being a captain that made her restrict herself, but maybe it was something else that Suzu couldn't quite but her finger on.
"Why do you think she's changed?" Yokoishi asked from across the way to Suzu, who was on her right.
"I dunno." Suzu couldn't add anymore to the topic.
Could it really have been Jinhana's dressing down? Arai seemed to have gotten some of her feisty traits back. After Fuji attacked her, Arai shielded away from conflict, not wanting to acknowledge it or step on anyone's shoes. But now she was stamping all over them! Suzu placed her pen down. She never thought Arai would demand of her to tell Fuji to stay seated and not to bother both the regulars and the non-regulars. Suzu remembered Fuji's eyes became dangerous, but stranger still, Fuji obeyed the order and hadn't wondered around for two sessions.
Arai even asked Yokoishi and Umeko to train the girls by using their energies. Even now, Arai didn't know what that energy was, but she knew it was important to some of them. She allowed the team room to train.
Suzu now picked up her pen, but could only manage to tap it on her desk
"Do you think she really wants to win?" Suzu asked.
Jinhana span around. "She'd better."
"She only cares about making herself look good." Yokoishi added, and flipped a few pages in her book.
"I just don't think it's fair that we're ganging up on her when we don't know what she did."
Jinhana fully turned in her chair to Suzu. "Stop being so naïve."
"No, I think, she's right." Yokoishi flopped down on her desk.
"You said you didn't care that time Jinhana-chan," Suzu reminded her of when they were at the gardening club.
"I don't care, but I do care when her lack lustre attitude is bringing the team down."
Their teacher came back into the classroom and the girls' promptly got back to work. They had to wait another twenty-five minutes before they could continue their conversation. The bell went off and the three shot up, shoved their books in their bags and exited the room with great synchronicity. In a row of three, they walked to the courts for after-school practise.
"So, vice captain?" Yokoishi started them off.
Suzu cleared her throat. "I'm thinking we should hear her out, and then decide if it's as bad as we think it is."
"It's not…" Yokoishi muttered and the other two asked her to repeat herself. "I said, it's not as if she's going to tell us. I mean, when Jinhana-senpai spoke to her two days ago, she really didn't say anything."
"Was it all Fuji-chan's fault?" Suzu then said.
"I wouldn't put it passed her." Jinhana stepped down the steps first. "She has this unnatural way of ticking people off. That's what annoys me about Fuji-chan sometimes."
"You think Arai-chan's played Fuji-chan at her own game?" Suzu asked before they hit the playground.
"How?" Jinhana grew curious.
"I dunno. Maybe it involved Tezuka-kun."
"Because they are an item? You know, dating?" Jinhana said.
"Yeah, but maybe… Arai-chan… I dunno. Arai-chan may have-"
"Wait, wait, wait! Remember at our preliminaries, Atobe-kun gave Fuji-chan a rose – a symbol of love?" Jinhana gasped with excitement. "You think-you think Fuji-chan's messing with that rich boy?"
They all stopped in their tracks and huddled into a close circle.
"It's plausible." Suzu ruffled her hair. Would Fuji really do such a thing while dating Tezuka?
"How do you define 'messin' with'?" Yokoishi asked.
Jinhana nudged her. "Hello! He gave her a rose. No doubt it's opened over the weeks. That rich boy must be head over heels for her." She giggled.
"What are you saying, Jinhana-chan?"
"I'm saying that Fuji-chan my not be as innocent as we think she is, right Yokoishi-chan?"
She looked away. "Only one way to find out."
"This is getting out of hand." Suzu sighed.
"This is getting juicy! No wonder they don't want us to know. Damn. If only I knew this beforehand." Jinhana was the first to break loose from the circle but didn't get far as Suzu pulled her back.
"But what about the picture?"
"Oh yeah… hmm?"
"Fuji-chan said Arai-chan showed something to Sai-kun and Tezuka-kun, and something about her selfishness causing Tezuka-kun to injury his shoulder."
"What a minute!" Yokoishi figured something out for the two to ponder over. "You think that's why he didn't shake Atobe-senpai's hand at their games?" What she said wasn't new, she just wanted to hear their thoughts on the matter.
The two gasped. Somehow it was fitting together. Somehow it was making sense. Their hearts were racing with shock and excitement. But it was all a convenient speculation.
Suzu straightened up and placed her tennis bag on the floor. "If that's the case then all Arai-chan did was show around a picture."
"No, Suzu-chan, you're being naïve. Arai-chan is clearly jealous of something. She must have showed Tezuka-kun a picture of Atobe-kun and Fuji-chan together. Ooh! It all makes sense. I kinda understand why Arai-chan would show such a thing." Jinhana said.
"Jinhana-senpai, you're scaring me." Yokoishi told her.
"Oh, please. Are you telling me if you found something that juicy you'd keep it to yourself? I'd tell everyone!" She posed the question to the both of them. Yokoishi said she would have kept it a secret, yet Suzu said she would have spoken to Fuji about it first, if that scenario were true.
"If that's the case, Fuji-chan has no right to be angry if she was caught in the act. Ah, my opinion of everyone is changing. I understand now. Arai-chan was placed with a difficult choice."
Suzu was being pulled along with Jinhana's logic, which only disappointed Yokoishi as she was the only other person to really understand the emotions and intend behind it all. Yes, she too was disappointed with Fuji's foolish behaviours, but Yokoishi knew Fuji really loved Tezuka. Atobe just… charmed her first.
Yokoishi lowered her gaze. Even though she knew about everything, she too was being pulled along with the reality of the gossip. She had to fight the new thoughts and ideas that Fuji was the one fault. It wasn't that simple. Why was Yokoishi forgetting the truth? Why was the energy around her so unbalanced?
"Senpais, let's leave it there. I don't think we should make this any worse."
Jinhana tapped Yokoishi' shoulder. "We haven't don't anything. Oh- I'm even more glad that Fuji-chan isn't on the team."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Suzu was getting annoyed. "She got us this far."
"Hmpf. She admitted to lying to us. That's not-"
"Guys," Yokoishi spoke over the two. "Give it a rest." She walked ahead of them to the changing rooms.
The two behind didn't say another word on the matter. Once they got to the changing rooms they saw Fuji sitting on the courts by herself. As they opened the changing room doors and saw Arai ordering the non-regulars around, the three began to wonder what really went on between the old vice captain and team captain.
…tbc…
A/N2: Hmm, this is why we shouldn't gossip.
Chapter 78: The quarter finals; Seihun vs. bunsei: Doubles 2
