Original A/N deleted.
Edited chapter. Edited on the 27th December 2007. Will check over time once English gets better.
And I will also try get the exact names of the tournaments, as in Districts, Prefectural etc, because the subtitles are screwed sometimes.
That's all.
----
Chapter 8.
The thing that ruined nearly all the Seigaku Regulars moods were the fact heaps of other schools, Tennis journalists, and crowds of people with cameras in hand were swarming around, taking photo's of everyone, and muttering in awe and such and such. Taiya and Eiji both thought it was annoying. They even once considered putting 2 racquets in Taka-san's hands just to get him in his Burning Mode and chase away everyone. Taiya also considered much more....brutal things.
Not fatal. Just brutal.
Brutal as in 'oh just getting a length of thin rope and attaching a carribeaner at the end of it while flinging it at people' type of thing.
Eiji, Fuji and Taiya were at the taps/drinking fountains washing their faces with cold water, the long sleeves of their jersey rolled up to their elbows.
"The sushi we ate the other day was great, huh?" Eiji said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I want to go back." Fuji remarked. Taiya spotted a glint of sunlight reflecting off any object in the bushes again, and she let out an irritated sigh. Fuji froze slightly as he detected it too, water dripping off his face.
"The camera's even following us during break, geez," Eiji said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I wonder how many scouts are there," Taiya said, drying off her face. Fuji smiled, nearing his finger to the tap.
"I wonder..."
Taiya laughed out loud in amusement when he clogged the taps spout with his finger, causing water to spray out in the direction of the bushes and earning some shocked cries of response.
"Ah, my camera!!"
Several people cladded in green clothing rushed off, saturated in water. Fuji gave a pleased smile as Taiya continued laughing.
"Nice one, Fuji!" she continued laughing while Eiji just sighed, "Oh, quite a lot," in a barely surprised voice.
"I'm sure Inui..."
"....or someone is counting." Taiya finished off Fuji's sentence with a small grin. Having spent time with the two of them in both in classes and from after school and tennis practice, Taiya soon got used to both Fuji and Eiji's polar-opposite personalities and respected the fact they were so inviting to her. Well, Eiji was anyway- Fuji was just a pleasant fellow. Through the duration of this time, she had felt closer to these two than to any others, excluding her best friends in China.
'Well, we're just acquainted. We're not that close as to cause problems if I'm caught, right?' Taiya thought, lowering her cap in a very Ryoma-like fashion.
"Hoi, Taichi, Fujiko! Come on! Or buchou will make us run even MORE laps!"
"Coming..."
-
"End of break!"
Tezuka called everyone around, and Eiji, Fuji and Taiya all walked back to the middle of the court.
"Training is next for the Regulars. We don't have much before the Prefectural (?) game (subtitles said this, alright?) Discipline yourself!" Tezuka commanded.
"Hai!"
"Hey, where's Echizen-kun?" Taiya asked, peering around as she walked slowly with the others.
"He's late because he's a library rep. He'll show up later," said Fuji. Taiya nodded before getting ready for her training.
-
Kaidoh returned the ball with his famous Snake move.
"Look, it's the Snake!"
"He's Kaidoh Kaoru. The one who did the Boomerang Snake during the final Fudomine match!"
"Hey, look, it's the Vice-captain, Oishi. And his opponent is Kawamura Takeshi of the Burning Serve!" they chatted excitedly.
"WOW! This is Seigaku!!"
A little while away, Fuji saw Taiya laughing at the reporters reactions to her team-mates. He shrugged. 'Tai's weird.'
Then....
"And isn't that Sanzushi Taichi, one of Seigaku's newest Regulars?! He was the transfer student from China who won one of the games against Karushi Sen of Fudomine with only serves!"
"He displayed the Bounce-back serve didn't he?!"
"Amazing~!"
Eiji and Fuji saw her fall onto the ground, anime style, as she heard this.
They could tell she was agitated. For one, everyone first-handedly saw Taiya finishing up the practice game against Momoshiro, winning 6-3 – the last few games played extraordinarily inhumanly, almost like she was an escaped prisioner from the Asylum.
"I wonder what's wrong with Tai-san," Taka-san said, watching the new 3rd year Regular seeth irritably.
Taiya then flinched in pain when her wrist gave in to the weight of the racquet, and she quickly grasped it with her left hand.
"Are you alright, Tai-senpai?" Momoshiro asked, walking up to her with slight worry on his face. 'Senpai was friggin' scary on the court before...'
Taiya gave a pained smile, sweat rolling down the sides of her face and onto her neck. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. I gotta admit, you got one heck of a powerful shot back there," Taiya complimented, causing Momoshiro to laugh, placing his racquet behind his head.
"Thank you, senpai~."
It was true Momoshiro had some shockingly powerful hits, and his timing was incredibly accurate. But it did her wrist no good. Never in her life has she thought a tennis ball could hit so hard. She really underestimated the fluffy yellow thing.
The joint of her wrist felt numb, but Taiya knew it couldn't be because she constantly felt pain erupting from it. Tezuka walked up to her with a stern look on his face.
"Sanzushi, you should probably get your wrist checked. You've been flinching from it for most the training session, and we cannot accept any injured players. Major injuries can result from something small," he stated seriously.
"It's alright. It's fine, really, just a little disturbing that's all, Tezuka-buchou," assured Taiya with a smile, staring down at her hand with a somewhat annoyed expression. Tezuka stared for a while before he nodded.
"Take it easy then. Inui asked you to go to him to collect something. I don't know what he has planned," said Tezuka (in a strangely low voice at the last sentence) before he walked away to observe the other players. Taiya walked away towards Inui, ignoring the flashes of cameras and screams of rabid fan girls (whom Taiya didn't know whether they wanted to hug or eat their favoured Regular members).
From a distance, Fuji's face creased into a frown. 'That shot must have been more powerful than we anticipated...Tai isn't playing as good as usual.'
"Inui, you wanted to see me?"
"Correct. I just wanted to tell you, everyone has the Power Ankle to increase their stamina and footwork...but I'm going to have you wear 5 kilo ones all day now."
She twitched. "W-what?"
"Alright, I want you to have them on as frequently as possible – that is even outside of training, keep them on if you can. It will help your endurance and stamina by quite a bit despite being something very easy to adjust to."
"...Well, what about bed time?"
"I recommend keeping them on."
"There is no God..."
Fuji watched Taiya as she wrapped the 5 kilo Power Ankle strap a bit higher than the ankle (advised by Oishi) to prevent any damage. He chuckled as he heard her groaned, trying to lift her feet up to jog.
"They feel....really heavy you know..." 'The rice at home comes in big packages of 10kg. To think that I'm carrying the weight of that altogether on my legs only...'
"That's the whole point," stated Inui simply, closing his book. "Now, same 70 push-ups and crunches, 50 squats, 3 minutes of stretches and now....30 laps should be good." Taiya nodded wearily.
"Hai..."
"Now, now, Sanzushi. I acknowledge that your footwork is remarkable but your stamina could keep you down. This trianing will increase your speed and footwork, stamina, lung capacity, and leg muscles."
"Yes, if you think of it that way, it's a lot better, no?" Ryuzaki-sensei comforted the nearly breaking down Taiya, who was leaning against the fence, a depressed aura around her.
"Of course...I am a man," she growled determinedly under her breath. "I will take on all these trainings. I am not a girl."
"There! That's Fuji Syusuke, the tensai of Seigaku!"
"Huh?" Fuji and Taiya turned to face the direction of the sound. Taiya's face froze and a dark shadow seemed to cover it.
"So cool~!" crooned some girls as they swooned at the sight of Fuji, who merely smiled.
"Getting used to it, huh? You were famous from your second year," said Taiya, strapping on wrist weights to her left hand.
"Hmm, I guess so. You?"
"What are you-"
"Sanzushi-senpai!!"
"Taichi-san!! Play your hardest!!"
"There's Sanzushi-sama with Fuji-sama!! Fuji-sama!! Fuji and Sanzushi-sama! This way, this way!"
Fuji sniggered slightly into his hand. "Quite the ladies man, eh, Tai- eh?" Fuji looked around but only the outline of Taiya was next to him. The real Taiya was long gone on her laps. Taiya clenched her teeth in embarrassment as she ran with the added weight on her feet.
'So embarrassing!'
----
Taiya woke up in the spare room of the Fuji residence and gave a bleary glance to her mobile for the time...
7:00am
Taiya's eyes were wide with disbelief O.O
"7am?! It's only Sunday...." she moaned as she flopped back in the blankets almost lifelessly. Although it was such an ungodly hour to wake up at, her body wouldn't let her flass asleep anymore. That's why she hated herself so much sometimes.
After finishing washing up, she noticed Yumiko and Fuji's parents were all away, for work and other duties. Fuji's door was slightly open as well. Did he go out too?
'Wait a minute- Fuji Syusuke awake this early doesn't sit well with me. He's not a morning person, despite the perfect mask he puts on every morning to school. Goddamit, but it looks so much like a clown.' Taiya shivered. 'I hate clowns!'
She peeked through the gap with every intention to just look and then go downstairs to prepare breakfast.
Taiya raised an eyebrow.
Fuji was lying there in his bed with his head tilted slightly to the side, sleeping comfortably with a peaceful look.
Or....was he sleeping?
Poor Taiya was confused; she couldn't tell if he was awake or sleeping since his eyes were almost always closed in that weird eerie way. Taiya stood there for 3 minutes, staring and trying to see if he's awake by doing weird actions and whispering soft words out.
'Okay, he's asleep. His eye muscles looked more relaxed anyways...'
Taiya sighed again before heading back to the exit, hoping to get past un-noticed. But before she disappeared around the door frame, with her hand ready to close the door completely, she smirked softly as she shot him another glance.
'Heh, he really is cute when he looks innocent...'
Then Taiya punched herself in the face. No way. Thinking like that was definitely too dangerous.
'I disgust myself sometimes,' she shook her head before going down again.
----
(A momentary Fuji point of view time)
I walked down the steps of the staircase after doing my daily morning routine. I was still puzzled though, as to why my door was closed once I woke up. I'm sure I had left it a bit open so that flying insect yesterday could get out.
Shrug.
But a scent met my nose, a scent of a variety of food dishes which some were uncommon to me. I walked down a further few steps before peering around the corner. There stood Sanzushi Taichi, my team-mate and classmate, along with my next door neighbour, who was striding around the kitchen with an apron on, preparing meals for the morning.
Wait a minute.
Meals?
Wait a minute.
Apron?!?!
Oh, this would be good blackmail- I mean picture. For memories. Taichi, in a pink apron! It suits his girlish charm which I unfortunately have been told to have, or did I just predict it? Yes, nobody seems to tell me. What are they afraid of? My plotting revenge or something? I got my camera from my jeans pocket, small and handy yet it holds so many memories...
-Snap-
I saw Tai's head immediately whiz around to catch me taking a picture of him looking so feminine and motherly. Oh, how God blessed me with beautiful, blackmailing- I mean Kodac picture moments. I saw to my pleasure the stunned face of Tai. I snapped another picture.
Before it turned to a clear 'what the hell' down to-----'waitta-minute-is-that-what-I-think-it-is' look, then down to ------- anger...?
Never in my life have I been in such a dangerous position.
-
Taiya was sitting opposite Fuji who was calmly eating his meal with his usual plastered on smile. Yumiko left to travel to some place again for a job or such. Fuji didn't explain too in-depth when Taiya asked him (after the chaos of chasing after Fuji and grabbing hold of his camera. But Fuji is a lot faster than she anticipated...)
So it was just her and him eating the breakfast she made. Taiya had trouble too – remembering how to cook Japanese foods were a little difficult, so most her dishes were Chinese foods she usually cooked.
"So...."
"....."
"How's the food?"
"Ah, yes, it's very nice. No wonder the girls at our school and in our class like you, the bishounen-"
-FLING-
"Tsk, tsk, Tai-kun-"
Taiya glared from the other end of the table, almost unconscious to her extremely, erm, intimate actions.
"It's dangerous to throw chopsticks around you know, Tai-k- okay, okay, I won't call you -kun again (except when I want to annoy you). Just calmly put down the spoon."
Fuji and Taiya continued eating in silence, and she glanced up to see his reaction. Tsk, as usual, it was just an eerie smile. 'Well, doesn't concern me too much- mmm, rice.'
Fuji picked something up with his chopsticks, examining it. "What's this?" he asked, their cultural differences becoming evident. "I remember seeing this once...."
The violet-eyed girl smiled before picking one of the piece of meat he was staring at.
"That's just sweet and sour pork," she explained casually.
-silence-
"....Sorry, I can't differentiate between breakfast, lunch or dinner, only that dinner is larger," said Taiya.
"....Oh. I....see."
Several knocks were heard on the door, which stopped Taiya and Fuji from washing their dishes.
"I'll get it." they said in unison. They looked at each other before they both went for the door. After the door opened....
"Mum?"
"Ah, Taiy-"
"Ah! You're getting me mixed up with Taiya again hahaha, kaa-san!" Taiya forced a long laugh while shifting her eyes behind her dangerously at her mum, indicating the confused looking Fuji standing there. They had a telepathic communication in their heads.
'MUM! FUJI IS RIGHT BEHIND ME!! REMEMBER, MY NAME IS TAICHI!!'
'But Taichi's in Australia-'
'We're just using the name, okays?! Please mum, I need to make it to the Nationals!'
Aiki smiled gracefully, understanding the situation.
"Ah, good morning, Aiki-san." Fuji greeted, appearing next to Taiya. "You arrived earlier than expected; welcome back. Please, come inside."
"Oh, no no no, don't worry about that. Taichi can just quickly pack and we'll be right off."
"Oh, are you sure?"
"Ah, yes, of course we are!" Taiya quickled added in. "We're going to pick up Taiya up anyway from, uh, camp! So, tell your parents and your sister thanks for having me over and everything! See ya at school, Fuji!"
In a couple of minutes Taiya was already out the door with her bag and she gave a wave.
"Need anything and I'll be right next door!"
Fuji watched as she turned to follow her mum and ran after her (before her mum locked the door on her, that is).
-
Simple Walk
"I'm bored."
Taiya was bored.
Much too bored for the human mind to sustain.
It was killing her slowly and painfully! She ended up making a whole decorated jar of origami stars, and was planning on making another jar except she ran out of containers to hold them in. And yes, she liked being neat. Her white singlet with a light-blue lining embraced her torso as she laid there, moaning as though she was going to die, not just wanting to.
"Moo....I'm a sheep....baa.....I'm a dog.....quack...I'm an elephant.....I'm so bored! What is there to do?!"
She bolted upright in a sitting position as she glared at her lap. 'At least in China the guys were there to hang around. It's weird without them around.'
Then she remembered.
"Shoot! I forgot!" she exclaimed before rushing to find a pen and paper.
-
"Ah, finished. That's a briliant 4 page letter there; I'm proud of myself for that." Taiya left a sheet of paper inside an envelope onto the desk before getting up and yawning.
'Might as well go out for a walk. Maybe I should practice some tennis before the next matches. I can't let myself get out of shape, considering the amount of food I eat.'
She told her her mother that she was going out for an hour or so.
"Alright, but remember to come back and study!"
"我知道，我知道... (I know, I know)," Taiya said resentfully, rolling her eyes. 'Crud, she found out. Aw man, and just when I thought I could have a break.'
Putting on a thin grey and sleeveless hoodie, she tied her hair up into a neat ponytail, slung her tennis bag over her shoulder and headed out the door.
"I'm going now!"
After closing the door ("I don't need to lock it—mum's strong enough as it is to be able to take on 3 grown men," muttered Taiya), Taiya was shocked as she turned to the front. Fuji was standing at the end of his own drive and had just closed the gates. He was wearing casual clothes along with his usual trademark smile.
"Hello there, Taiya-san." Fuji greeted politely with a smile. Taiya had half-mind to turn and go back inside her house, but since she was brought up to have manners, she stood there with a weird facial expression. 'Why is it where ever I go, he is somehow there?'
"Ah...good afternoon, Fuji...Fuji-san. What are you doing here?" she asked. Fuji smiled once again.
"I was about to ask you the same question."
"I'm just about to go on a walk...and maybe practice some tennis."
"Ah, I see...wait, isn't that your brother's tennis bag?" Fuji pointed out, causing Taiya to mentally slap herself on the forehead.
'Talk about having a good eye for things.'
"Ah, yes- my racquet is in his bag, actually. My mother didn't want me to bring so many bags- a tennis bag is big enough as it is." Taiya inwardly cursed. 'Fuji, why did you have to be smart and dense at the same time...?'
"Ah, I see..." 'I should talk to Tai one day about his, erm, family.'
"So...would you like to walk with me?" Fuji asked in a bright tone.
'What is he planning, blackmail, analysis, torture or possible hindrance?' thought Taiya darkly though she didn't show it in her facial expression. "Um....I'm probably going a different way and...." After a few minutes, yes, minutes trying to find a suitable excuse, she finally accepted her loss and sighed.
She gave up; if he tried anything to make her life miserable, she'd just have to give him an introduction to her fist. And if he tries to run, she'll chase him down; she may be low on stamina, but she was a fast sprinter.
But the Power Ankles are weighing her down. Then her eyes opened in shock.
'THE POWER ANKLES!'
"Excuse me for a tad!!"
At the speed of light, Taiya had entered before returning almost immediately without the ankle weights on. It was...so good. The feeling of having normal feet again were something to be marveled at. While Taiya was embracing freedom with her arms, Fuji just quirked an eyebrow.
'Hmm...I guess some of Tai's weird facial expression thing rubbed off on her...maa, they ARE twins I guess...'
"Um, Taiya-san?"
"Yes?"
"Didn't you want to play tennis before?" The two of them had walked right past and Taiya sighed.
"Yes...but I thought maybe I shouldn't. Mother likes me to study," explained Taiya, her voice going rather bitter at the end. Then a ball went whizzing past in-between Fuji and Taiya's heads. They both turned around.
"Heh, you play tennis then, girly?"
Taiya turned around and saw some guy with blonde hair up to the base of his neck and stunning blue eyes while the other....was Karushi Sen?!
'Girly? Why do I, of all people, get the most ridiculous names?'
-Xing Hua. Meaning: star flower ("Please, don't remind me..." Taiya groans)
-Tai-chan
-Tai-kun
"Astounding! You have clearly identified my brother's tennis bag; congratulations!" she smiled sarcastically. Sen stared before opening his mouth in surprise, pointing at her subconsciously.
"Ah, are you related to Sanzushi Taichi by any chance?"
"You're looking at his sister, Karushi-san," Fuji chuckled while Taiya sweat-dropped. She bowed towards the purple-haired boy.
"I have heard about you, Karushi-san. You played my...my brother right, when it was the District?"
He gave a rather embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, but I lost. Your brother is really good....I lost amiably."
"You're very skilled too, so don't say that."
There was a short silence.
Taiya realized her small mistake. "I-I mean that to make it as the top two in the Districts regardless, you have to be very skilled, right?" she ushered, nodding as though to convince them greatly. "And my brother remarked on your skills too- Jagged Volley and such!"
"Ohh, I see, I see!"
Fuji on the other hand smiled serenely at the other taller tennis player, wearing long, baggy shorts and a long singlet, giving a fresh scent of sweat to their nostrils.
"You need deodorant. Fast," she said, cringing in slight disgust. 'Does he even wash himself? Even our locker room doesn't smell as bad as this.'
Sen gave a laugh."You got dissed, Fushiki-senpai."
"May I ask why a tennis player like yourself is serving balls towards Taiya-sans' head?" Fuji had a rather cold impression underneath his smile, but his eyes remained closed. Sen smiled sheepishly.
"I apologize on Fushiki-senpai's behalf...I really don't know what he was doing...."
"We have nothing to do with you, just the girl," Fushiki stated. Sen sighed, shaking his head while Taiya smacked herself on the forehead in distress.
"Everything involves me, doesn't it? Cut me some slack here," she murmured.
"So, since you play tennis, how about a match with us?" Fushiki said with a smirk.
"Fushiki-senpai-!"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, play a match with us. If we win, you have to go out with us," Fushiki said. Sen silently mouthed the words 'I'm not involved' and Taiya nodded.
"...who gave you the right to decide the rules, Mr. Fushiki?"
"It's funner like this, baby."
The wind gave a chilling sound as it blew past.
"Okay. What did you just call me, you mentally challenged bas-"
"Taiya-san would really rather go home, right, Taiya-san?" Fuji smiled at her the same way he did as when she had first met him. Then he looked at Fushiki with a very sinister smile.
Everyone in the vicinity who saw it shivered.
"Hmph, we're not gonna let you leave without a match, you know that right?" he stated arrogantly, regaining composure. Taiya was halfway from throwing her bag onto the ground to fight.
"No police—very good luck today—!"
"Saa, I guess there's no helping it. I'll play instead of Taiya-san." All eyes were on Fuji.
"Fuji...-san?"
"Who asked you?!" said Fushiki angrily.
"Well, you see, I don't really like it when guys pick on my friends imouto-kun (little sister)," he stated, opening his eyes to show a cold glint hidden deep inside. Taiya was in a small state of shock that she didn't notice everything was silent. She was touched by his kindness, even if it was just for a friend's younger sister, and thus she decided not to give him trouble. Instead, she'll give him some entertainment—Fushiki's defeat in 10 minutes flat.
"Ah, Fuji...Fuji-san. It's fine, I'll play him," said Taiya with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, taking a few steps forward towards Fushiki whose smirk had widened.
"You got guts, girl. I like that."
"I don't care what you like, hurry up and get your ass on the court," said Taiya taking out her racquet. Fuji stared at Taiya with his eyes still open, a small frown still worn on his face.
"Taiya-san, are you sure...?" 'I know Tai is pretty good, but I'm not entirely sure about his sister....girls tend to be considerably weaker...and this is against someone one year above our level.'
"I'm fine, Fuji-san!" Taiya turned and gave a smile, making Fuji's stomach flutter irregularly. Did he eat a butterfly or something when he was sleeping? And how many of them did he eat if he did? "And thank you for offering. But I dug this hole myself, so I'll have to get out of it myself, neh?"
'You reap what you sow.'
She grinned.
A momentary silence took place in the surrounding. "In that case....I'd like to see Tai's sister bring down the oh-so-great Fushiki-san," Fuji commented, while standing at the sidelines with a sly and wide smile on, hand on his chin with his eyes closed in his usual mask-like smile once again. 'I'll step in if anything goes out of hand.'
"I'll let you go first—take it as a handicap." Fushiki laughed. Taiya smiled calmly, making it look like Fuji's own smile.
"I don't like handicaps, but if you insist," said Taiya, catching the ball from Fuji who tossed her one. "But...this just adds to my advantages. Are you ready?"
"Sanzushi to serve."
-
"Well, I win. Too bad, I'm- I mean, my bro is a Regular. What kind of sister would I be if I can't even meet his standards?" Taiya questioned as she prodded the shaking Fushiki with her tennis racquet, who was ill-tempered and shocked that he lost to a girl AND he lost a date. Sen was comforting his senpai while shaking in a fit of laughter. The game ended so quickly, AND during the game....
-
"Let's make it more interesting. If I win, you'll have ta go on a date with me, and you'll do one thing I want you to do—in front of your boyfriend no less."
Fuji tensed. "Taiya-san, are you sure you can handle this—"
"He's not my boyfriend but I accept!" Taiya said, not noticing Fuji's worried face. "But, if I win, what do we get?"
"You can have take anything in my wallet."
"Alright, deal! Fuji-san, you up for some cash?!"
He sighed. Then he smiled, holding trust in her judgement. "Saa.....how should I say this....yes?"
-
And the two of them left him penniless.
'She's good,' Fuji observed as they left, Taiya bidding farewell to Sen. 'Her movements are like Tai's own—I guess this is what they mean by twins, eh?But I'm sure she just used the Kibou Henkan before.....' Fuji mused as he stared at Taiya with the slightest frown worn on his face, enrapt in his own thoughts. 'Kibou Henkan is Tai's own move....there is a possibility he taught her...' He was unaware of the hand waving in front of his face, which was connected to Taiya's arm.
"Hello? Earth to Fuji Syusuke-kun!!" Taiya shouted for the umpteenth time. Fuji snapped out of his thoughts before quirking an eyebrow.
"Syusuke-kun?"
"Hehe, I thought that would work!" said Taiya triumphantly and she gave a victorious smile before slinging her bag over her shoulder. Fuji gave a slight shake of his head as he saw Taiya's retreating form. Suddenly she turned around making eye contact with his closed ones with a bright smile.
"C'mon, Fuji! Let's go!"
"Hai."
'....Fuji....?'
-
After the 'easy money' scheme, Fuji and Taiya ended up buying new grip tape and a serving of ice-cream each (a large portion might I add) in celebration for winning over that Fushiki guy. Fuji and Taiya split the money; Taiya said since Fuji helped her out when she was in 'trouble' (more like the other guy was in trouble) and thus insisted on it.
"You won it, Taiya-san. Keep it. I was only joking when I said yes. I thought it would be fun to mentally strain Fushiki-kun over there," Fuji admitted, pushing back her hand.
"You, Fuji...-san, helped me!! And you paid for the ice-cream!! Plus, what am I going to do with all of this anyway?! Man this guy sure is loaded...anyhow, buy yourself a new cactus or something!"
"I—hey...how did you know I liked cacti?" Fuji questioned with almost a slight hint of suspicion.
Taiya's face contorted to one of 'Oh-My-God-I-Am-A-Born-Retard-How-Is-He-So-Perceptive' look. "Eh, you know...you're Tai's friend and all..." She said, trying to sound like she, in fact, was trying to get him to understand.
"...Yes?"
"And...I saw it on your window sill," she finished.
"Ah, I see!" Fuji said, nodding understandingly as he spooned another scoop of ice-cream from his cup. But from a little further away....
"Ne, ne! Who do you think that is, Momo?"
"That person looks like Tai-senpai...AHHH! Don't tell me Fuji-senpai is dating Tai-senpai! Don't tell me my senpai's are attracted to each other, and they're both GUYS!!"
"Hooray for gays!" shouted some random passer-by in the background. Momoshiro and Eiji sweat-dropped.
"Anyway, moving on—that is definitely a girl, Momo. See, all that long hair!"
"Oh yeah, you're right. Hahaha..."
"But she DOES look like Tai-chan, don't you think, nya?"
"No way...maybe that's Tai-senpai's sister that Fuji-senpai and Ryuzaki-sensei were talking about. Are you saying Fuji-senpai is dating Tai-senpai's sister?!"
"Unya! You're right! Sensei and Fuji did say he had a sister...A date....that's how it looks like from here anyway....I can tell why Fuji likes her! She's quite cuuuuute! Like Tai-chan, hee hee!"
"Isn't Tai considered 'handsome' since he's a guy, not 'cute'. I heard when guys are called 'cute', it's an insult."
"Shhh!" Eiji peered through the glass of the ice cream parlour, Hirosue, again observing with his sharp eyes the conversation between Fuji and 'Tai's Sister' Taiya with a smile on his face.
"Tsk tsk, I never thought of it, Fuji-senpai betraying Tai-senpai's friendship like that by dating his sister behind his back."
"Maybe Sanzushi-senpai already knows about it."
"Eh! Echizen! Where did you come from?!"
"Well it's kinda obvious you guys are spying on them."
"Wha—really?!"
Eiji and Momoshiro both shot up from the decorative bushes surrounding the store before hiding behind the brick wall.
-
Taiya glanced towards the window and she swore she saw something spiky black and something vibrant red flash past.
"Taiya-san?"
"Uh, sorry," she apologized. "I just thought I...." She glanced towards the window again uncertainly. 'Wasn't that Eiji and Momoshiro-kun?'
"Ah, okay...." Fuji glanced at his watch. "Hmmm, it's getting late. Shall we go now?"
"Okays...."
-
(Another short Fuji point of view paragraph)
As Taiya-san sat up from her seat and cleaned off the table a bit, I shot the glass window a look, the exact same place where Taiya-san was staring at. Maybe she has a stalker or something. Who knows. She is a girl (a quite short and adorable 14 year old teenage girl mind you) who happens to be new and looks defenceless. Looks (she's Tai's sister, anything could happen). But then I felt my mouth form into a smirk before I turned away.
Typical. Red hair, black hair, white cap.
Hmph.
-
"Hey, Fuji-san," Taiya suddenly spoke out, "Thanks."
"Hmmm...?"
"For inviting me for a walk, that is," she stated simply, holding her head up higher than usual with a small, lopsided smile. "I might have done something rash to that guy—forgot his name, not important enough—if you weren't there. Really, thank you."
"Oh don't worry, it's my pleasure, Taiya-san."
"Ah, well this is my stop now," Taiya gave a small salute. "See ya again, Fuji-san! By the way, I think I saw some of your fan-girls spying on us, so I might not make it alive to see you again!" she half-joked, walking away with her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Fuji raised a thin eyebrow.
"What?"
"Come on, you know 'it's a fan-girl moment' stuff. It's freakish actually," Taiya mumbled. Then she said, "Well, it was nice talking to you today," before holding out a hand. Fuji stared at it before holding out his own hand and shaking it. Taiya shook firmly with an idiotic sort of smile on her face. She turned to leave.
"Aa. Good....evening, Taiya-san."
----
"Ah, mornin', Fuji."
Taiya paused and looked up from the book she was currently engrossed in, entitled "Chinese Cinderella". Fuji gave a curt wave, almost a little too aloft than usual. Taiya quirked an eyebrow. The teacher announced possible school notices in the morning, before Taiya poked him on the shoulder where Fuji was seated beside her. He turned.
"Yo, what's wrong?" she hissed in an undertone, leaning slightly across towards his table to talk to him. 2 months was enough to be able to distinguish—just slightly—on Fuji's conditions.
He leaned in slightly as well before replying, "Nothing. What makes you think there's something wrong, Tai-kun?"
"Don't try."
"Try what?"
"You tried to attach the -kun suffix at the end of my name to agitate me and thus drop the conversation," she whispered in an matter-of-fact tone. She saw Fuji straighten up in his chair again, and lifted herself slightly up again. "Anywhos, I can tell something's bothering you 'cause—"
"Sanzushi-kun, please pay attention!" the teacher scolded disapprovingly, an irritation vein on her forehead. Taiya cursed herself for being so careless before she sat upright in her seat again with a guilty smile.
"Sorry..."
"Hm...back on subject...the worldly affairs which occurred in 1948...."
----
[Another Fuji point of view moment]
I was sitting in class as usual, having Tai, Taiya-san's brother sitting next to me on a separate desk. He was an interesting fellow, he was. It was rather entertaining with him around. And Eiji is constantly attached to him when he's away from Oishi and Momoshiro.
'Hmmm, today's weather is nice. Like yesterday with Taiya-san-...."
I shook my head, ruffling my hazelnut-brown hair before I ran my fingers through it, taming it once again. I didn't know what was wrong with me. After I took that walk with Taiya-san, I've been thinking a lot lately about things.
Random things.
But it still surprised me when Taiya-san used Kibou Henkan in that match against that lame guy whose name is to be forgotten until it's important. That's another thing I'm confused about; why did I feel a momentary flare of protectiveness when Fushiki insisted on that last term; to do whatever he told her to if she had lost?
It must be brotherly protectiveness; she is Tai's sister, and being his friend it's partly my duty to help her out in depressing situations.
That's all it can be.
"Yo, what's wrong?"
I heard a genuine hiss from beside me, and without looking, I instantly knew it was Tai. I mean, who else had such a mellow voice that sometimes sounds like Taiya-san's except much more masculine?
I leaned towards his table so that we were a few inches apart—a good distance to talk from. I was surprised he even noticed me thinking. Actually, did I look troubled or something?
"Nothing, what makes you think there's something wrong, Tai-kun?" I emphasised the -kun prefix at the end. I don't know why I did, but I did it before I could stop it. I saw the transfer student smirk.
"Don't try."
Now I was more confused. "Try what?"
"You tried to attach the -kun prefix at the end of my name to agitate me and thus drop the conversation," he replied in an matter-of-fact tone, having an air of superiority hanging around him. I felt my eyebrows raise up a few millimeters. It felt like Tai saw through me! Wait, isn't my mask perfect? Normal people shouldn't notice stuff like this.
He's not normal, this new friend of mine.
But then again, nor was Eiji, who did unbelievable acrobatic things from....well, everywhere.
I heard Tai's voice continue his 'point' again. Oh no, better listen. Wait—I think the teacher can hear us! Okay, straighten up, and try and warn Tai via facial expressions. Damn; the bad thing about having too much of a one-expression face.
"Anywhos, I can tell something's bothering you 'cause—"
Then I had the pleasure of seeing Tai being scolded by the teacher. Yes, it was cruel, and I did try to warn him.
But then again, either way, if he got caught or not, I was satisfied with both the results.
----
Taiya thanked the school bell mentally for freeing her from Japanese History class, before waiting for the next few classes. In such a short period of time, they already won the Districts and were now preparing for the next match. It has been almost 2 months through the school year—although she had met Fuji a little earlier than that. Competitions started early here, that's for sure.
And on the coming Friday (making up a day like usual), the matches start.
And also in a short period of time, it was already lunch.
"Nya! Let's go eat lunch together!" Eiji chirped before bouncing over with his own lunch to a table where they all seated themselves comfortably. Taiya took out her home-made bentou and prayed for a short period of time before opening her eyes and consuming the variety of foods inside. Eiji peered over.
"Chinese?" he asked in plain curiosity, giving a few cute blinks. She stopped herself from poking his cheeks with her chopsticks.
"Mmhm."
She swallowed a Chinese dumpling.
"As you know, I'm half Chinese and lived in China most my life—it's natural for me to eat it," she said simply before continuing eating. Eiji suddenly shot up, remembering something. He stared at his two good friends chatting about Chinese lifestyle and such before he's imaginative mind sprung up.
'I remember! Fuji was dating Tai's sister behind his back....but O'chibi said maybe Tai approved already....' Eiji shot them a quick glance, hand on his chin as he rubbed it thoughtfully, face creasing into a frown. 'But...it doesn't look like Tai knows anything about it...it's settled! At after-school practice, I'll speak to Momoshiro about it!'
-
Taiya gave a queer look as Inui increased the amount of weights on her feet from 5kg, to 5.5kg. Nobody in their right mind would wear such things EVEN for training. She was unlucky.
"Inui....when I lift my foot...it feels like my ankle is going to break apart from my leg."
"Well, 70 percent of you would have gotten used to the 5kg ones already, so it's good for a quick change." he explained. Taiya turned her head robot-style towards Inui, mouth in a forced painful grin.
"The other 30 percent tells me to amputate my legs....I don't know if I should or not..."
"Tai!"
"Joking, Ryuzaki-sensei," Taiya said quickly—though resentfully—while Ryuzaki-sensei's frown deepened. Eiji, however, took his chance and grabbed Momoshiro, pulling him a fair distance from the others.
"Eh, Eiji-senpai, not so rough—"
"Shhh! You remember what happened two days ago right, at Hirosue (the Ice cream parlour) right?"
"Uh...yeah, we went in and got a double chocolate and strawberry parfait—"
"No! With Sushi 2!!"
"...Sushi 2?"
"Code-name for Tai's sister, since their last name has Zushi. Neh, so what do you think? Do you think Sushi 1 knows?"
"Sushi 1....?"
"Use your head, Momo! Tai-chan!"
"Eh, I don't know... Tai-senpai doesn't look too concerned..."
"Exactly! Maybe...Fuji really IS dating his sister behind his back!"
Momoshiro gasped. "Betrayal of trust!"
"Betrayal of friendship!"
"I get it now!"
"Exactly!"
"What are you guys doing?"
"Ah! Echizen/O'chibi!"
"Are you guys spying on Sanzushi-senpai now?"
"It's not spying! It's—"
"Collecting data."
"Ah, Inui-senpai/Inui!"
He gave a low, evil laugh. "So that's the situation. I'm sure it's not that bad..."
"No! Dating someones younger sister behind their back is betrayal of friendship!!" Momoshiro exclaimed so loudly, it caused both Fuji and Taiya to turn and stare in their direction, seeing the four-some all knitted in a close conversation.
"What are you guys doing over there?" Taiya called over, cupping her mouth with her hands.
"Oh, nothing!!" they all chorused back. Eiji looked determined.
"Hoi, okays, if anything happens between Tai's sister and Fuji again, we shall—"
"Collect data."
"Err, yes, that too. We shall—"
"Stalk."
"No, O'chibi, not stalk, observe!" Eiji said brightly. "Depending on what we find out, we could either lecture Fuji about friendship, or support him from the sidelines!"
"I'm in!" Momoshiro shouted enthusiastically, causing Taiya and Fuji to stare once again, raising their eyebrows. Taiya jabbed a finger in their direction.
"Do you know what he means?" she asked, not really expecting an answer as she smirked. Fuji let a small smile creep onto his face.
"I might just have a glimpse on what they're talking about." he replied slyly. She spun around, eyes wide.
"Yeesss! And what might that be?" she said with a canny smile.
"Oh, never mind. Nothing really important. Don't worry, it doesn't really....concern you....." Fuji drawled out while walking towards the group of four. Inui's glasses glinted and Ryoma saw through his gold-brown eyes at the approaching danger. He lowered his cap while walking speedily in another direction.
"I gotta go."
"I need to collect data."
"Hey, you guys—o-ooooh! Fuji-senpai!" Momoshiro said nervously, retreating backwards from Fuji's sinister smile.
"What are you guys talking about, Momo, Eiji?" he asked with a fake smile on, as though to say I-Got-You-Cornered-Now. Eiji gulped, and replied in a stuttering voice.
"H-hoi, nothing really i-important, F-Fuji! We...were....talking about—"
"Sunday!" Momoshiro cried out, thinking it was a good cover up. Fuji's smile grew wider.
"You mean the same Sunday where I saw you guys outside Hirosue, spying on Taiya-san and me?" Fuji said, now having a large, triumphant smile on his face, staring at the cowering Eiji and Momoshiro with opened eyes.
"....De...."
"De?"
"D...d....de-to?" (De-to: Date) Momoshiro croaked out with a forced laugh. Fuji let out a few of his malicious-sounding chuckles.
"I'm sure I can convince Inui to let you have a...a sip of his new Delux Newly Improved Inui Juice. I can convince you guys to take it too—"
"YOU'LL NEVER CONVINCE US!!" they both declared in unison.
Fuji didn't look troubled by their response, and instead took out two pictures, holding one in each hand before showing it to the two younger team-mates separately. Fuji gave a triumphant smirk again.
"Oh...? Then what happens if I show these around to some people?" Momoshiro and Eiji stared in slight horror before gulping, wondering which decision to take. A few bland seconds and...
"TAI/TAI-SENPAI!! TASUKETTTTTTEEEEEEEEE!! (save us)!"
----
Old A/N – I think I just made this for the fun of it too.
Thanks to G. Rei Lam, merissala and a lot of other peoples. Laters
New A/N as of December 27th 2007 – (I am making up the time line for the story, seeing as there isn't much noticable evidence of the actual specific times in the anime).