Chapter 2:
Sorge und Leid
-anxiety & suffering-
It was only when the young girl took her seat that Tezuka realized he had failed to notice something during their earlier meeting in the principal's office. Because she had shaken his hand with her left, he immediately assumed that she was left-handed like himself, but looking at her now, he observed that she wrote with her right hand. Not only that, whenever she would raise her hand for a question, she would use her left hand. This also applied for handing back papers to him. It was like she was a living contradiction…
It was only during lunch time, when he decided to stick around the classroom for once, under the premise that he was just watching over her, that he was able to confirm his suspicions. She also used her left hand for using chopsticks. It seemed that the only purpose her right hand served was to write. And what exactly did she stop herself from saying during her introduction this morning?
Think, Tezuka. Think, he thought to himself. What are words that start with "te"? Not many nouns that are lovable start with "te" in the Japanese language. Te… zuka? No. Stop being self-centered. You just met. Of course she doesn't "love" you. Te…
He looked at Minako again, searching for a hint in deciphering her unsaid words, and then he saw it. Those wristbands. "Tennis," he thought out loud. As if in response, he heard something clatter onto the girl's desk. She had apparently dropped her chopsticks.
"Oh silly me. Aha…ha… I guess I'm not used to eating with chopsticks yet. Did you say something, Tezuka-kun?" Crap. Did he figure me out about liking tennis? Just deny it.
Tezuka inwardly cursed at himself for letting his thoughts slip out. "Ah… I was just saying that here in Japan, all students must participate in a club activity. Have you thought about joining a club yet? I was thinking that if didn't have one in mind, you could join the tennis club… we're ranked this year."
"I know." She answered him back almost instantaneously.
"You… do?" he inquisitively questioned.
"Ah… I mean… the principal told me about it earlier. He gave the utmost accolades on your team's success." She smiled at him. Come on, smile… work. Make him totally forget that you knew anything about tennis.
"Is that so?" Although, he recalled himself being in the room with her when she talked with the principal, no such topic ever came up in their conversation, other than the principal mentioning that he was captain of the tennis team. Interesting, he thought. Just what exactly is she hiding behind that smile of hers? Well, seeing as they just met today, he thought it best if he didn't inquire further. It wasn't even in his personality to meddle in the affairs of others, so he placed his thoughts aside for now. "You know, if you want, I can bring you to the tennis courts myself after school today."
"That'd be nice," was the girl's honestly reluctant answer. I'd rather not have anything to do with tennis anymore, but it'd be rude if I decline… she sighed.
"Is something wrong, Heike-san?"
"Oh… no it's nothing, ha…ha…ha." As she finished up the rest of her lunch, the rest of the school day also proved to be uneventful.
After school however, she followed through with her earlier agreement as Tezuka escorted her to the tennis courts. The sound of tennis balls being hit back and forth slightly unsettled something deep in Minako's mind, but she put the thoughts behind her in favor of listening to what the captain had to say.
"…I forgot to mention that the girls' tennis here is recreational. If you want to enter into the intraschool rankings, you'll have to appeal to the student council president; the boys' tennis captain; the tennis manager, Ryuuzaki-sensei; and the principal to participate alongside the boys. If you're interested – half of those people shouldn't be a problem." He discussed as they walked.
Is he trying to make conversation? "Oh… I never got really into tennis. I don't know too much about it. So I don't think –"
He interrupted her, as they reached outside the boys' locker room. "Just wait out here. I'll be back in a minute. "
Left alone to gather her thoughts, she wondered why he cut her off just then. Suddenly the noise of tennis balls being rallied against the fierce swing of rackets came back again. Looking up, she saw that 2 boys were having a match. One had his eyes perpetually closed, smiling all the while. He seemed to return things without much effort and was just clearly playing the game for the sake of playing. Looking across the court though, he saw a familiar figure. It was Inui. But something about his composure was completely different from the calm and collected person that had escorted her earlier this morning. He clearly had the look of frustration on his face and –
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Why must you interrupt my line of thinking? Her thoughts screamed out in the same manner of Inui's tennis that she had just witnessed. She casted a sideward glance at the captain of the tennis team. She saw that in his jersey, Tezuka seemed to command more attention than usual. Detecting her eyes on him, he returned her glance, but just for a moment. She immediately looked down to the ground. "Like I tried saying before, I don't think tennis would be a good match for me."
"You never know until you try…"
"But I already kn– "
"Already what…?" His eyebrows piqued in interest. Tell me. Just what do you know?
"I… uh, I already… thought about joining another club." She mentally groaned. How on earth was she going to back up this claim…?
"Really? Which one?" Doesn't this girl know that the avoidance of eye contact is a tale-tell sign of lying? Just what could she possibly be hiding?
Silence. She didn't know how to respond. She had to give him credit for being so perceptive on only their first day meeting. She had never experienced the feeling of being this apprehensive or this confused as to what to do. The half-hearted, "That'd be nice," that she said earlier was making her regret it so much.
He had caught her red-handed, but decided not to push it further. After all, he had all school year to decrypt the young girl before him. Wait. What in the world was he thinking? Just what exactly did he find so intriguing about this girl? He couldn't really pinpoint it himself. Was it the feeling of not being trusted that irked him so? He couldn't blame her though. He knew very well what people regarded him as: stoic. But his closer friends would say that he was probably more along the lines of caring. Reserved, yes; but caring too. Ah, so that was it. He cared for her, but right now all he could do was play along until she opened to him, if that ever was going to happen. "…Well, if you change you mind, at least you now know where the tennis courts are. You can just sit on the bench there and watch them play until after we're done. I need to conduct practice."
All she could manage was a "sure," before absentmindedly sitting down. He had realized what she had done, but he didn't rebuke her for it. She tried to fathom why, but once again, the sounds of the tennis balls resonated within her head. She started to get a headache and couldn't concentrate on watching the game. The thoughts inside her head became overridden by something much more powerful: emotions. It first started as an overflowing anger, and so much so, that when she clutched her hands into fists, it drew blood. Seeing the blood creep from underneath her fingertips immediately altered her emotions into one of palpable fear. Flashbacks of that day her life changed replayed themselves in her eyes. Words started rushing through her head: Get out of here. I gotta get of here. I don't want to be here anymore. No longer giving herself time to think, she instinctively got up, grabbed her things and headed towards the school gate. Home was all she thought about then.
It didn't take long for Tezuka to notice that their team's lone audience member was no longer there. Fearing something could go wrong, he instructed Oishi, the vice-captain, to take over practice in his stead. I could just be overreacting, but after all, she's my responsibility for the day. After Inui told me about the run in he had with her this morning, I can only hope she hasn't already gotten lost. When he caught up with her, she was just outside the school gate walking in a rather rigid gait. He called out to her, "Heike-san…" but she kept on walking. "Heike-san." He noticed her pace got faster. "Heike-san!" at that, she nearly broke into a run, but not before the captain himself caught up to her and grabbed her right wrist. Even after all that, she refused to turn around and tried to pull herself away from him, but he refused to lighten his grip. As he did so, he felt something drip onto his hand. Looking down, he saw that it was blood. "Heike-san… what's wrong?" He was replied back in silence, aside from her struggling to get away. "…Mina Klein." At once, her body froze and the struggling stopped. "Was ist lost?" ("What's wrong?")
Finally, after another period of silence, "Ich weiß nicht, was du redest…" ("I don't know what you're talking about…")
"Ich will reden." ("I want to talk.") He slackened his grip a little, in hopes that she too would lower her guard. It was wishful thinking. Realizing he did so, the girl took it as an opportunity to escape. Heaving strongly at her right arm, she managed to get away, but while doing so, a "pop" was heard. "Mina… Ihre Schulter!" ("Mina… Your shoulder!") It was no use. She was in fight-or-flight mode, and her brain hardly registered the pain. Still, she clenched her shoulder as she tried to make a run for it. Realizing that the girl had dislocated her shoulder, he gave chase. After the instance he faced with his own shoulder, he knew better than to leave her alone. Unlike before, this time when he ran after her he decided to pull her into an grip from behind as to not let her escape once more. But like before, he once again felt something on his hands. Not blood, but tears. Suddenly, he felt the strong impulse to properly embrace the girl in his arms. Turning her around, he pulled her close, as her sobs became buried into his clothes. While she grasped his shirt tightly, he placed one hand around her waist and the other intertwined with her hand that was upon her shoulder in hopes of alleviating some of her pain. Before he realized what he was doing, he had kissed her atop the head. They had stayed this way until Tezuka had heard her tears subside. She pushed him away slightly with the hand clutched his shirt. As she did so, she felt his heartbeat. It was fast, but it seemed to calm her down. For the first time the whole entire day, she gazed up and looked directly at Kunimitsu Tezuka. Amidst the pain she was in and remnants of tears that rolled down her face, she sincerely smiled at him. Within that smile, he saw someone who was truly beautiful, no longer wrought with anxiety or suffering.
"Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar." ("I'm very thankful to you.")
"Warum so förmlich?" ("Why so formal?")
"Warum…?" ("Why…?") The question hung in the air.
As it did, he took the opportunity for introspection. Gazing into her eyes, he recognized it. Again he asked the question, "Warum so förmlich? …Meine Liebste."
("Why so formal? …My love.")
She looked upon him with eyes of wonderment. "Meine Liebste…?" ("My love…?") After she got past the shock of this man of few words' confession, she whispered "Mein liebster… Kunimitsu." ("My dearest… Kunimitsu.") She saw that the expression on his face had changed. For the first time today, she saw him smile.
That smile signaled something in Tezuka. He too was no longer anxious as to why he was fascinated by her. Nor did he suffer in the confines of his mind over her actions because now he knew why. He didn't care for her like his teammates or the student body. She was special. Indeed. And he loved her for it.
Amid their heart-to-heart moment, it seems they forgot Mina(ko)'s shoulder was still injured. She hesitated to bring it up, but before she could, she was lifted off her feet.
"Now, let's bring you to a hospital. Inui told me how bad you are with directions. And he was the one that also figured out who you really were. It was those wristbands of yours. You also wore them back while you were still in Vienna, playing tennis. He just so happened to have a magazine featuring Junior Tennis Players in Europe. However, Inui said he thought he saw you somewhere else before, so he cross referenced your image. And guess whom he found gracing magazine covers, television reports, and selling out concerts. It was you, Elmina Heike."
She was absolutely dumbfounded. He saw through her façade the whole entire time, and all on their first day of meeting. But even after receiving the news that her cover had been effectively blown, she smiled. If she wanted anyone to know who she really was, it would be him. "Te– Kunimitsu?"
"Hmm?"
"Ich liebe Dich." ("I love you.")
A/N: Too much romance too soon? Think Tezuka figured it out all too quickly? Well you're not the only one, so do I! /shot I may split it up in the future and place in more development. Also just to let you know, the repetitive literary structure here is done on purpose to show how words can have different meaning depending on the context. Hopefully it didn't seem too redundant. Also, I hope the gratuitous use of German wasn't too distracting. I was debating whether or not to put the translations within the text or have footnotes. If you find it distracting, please say so and I'll adjust the format accordingly. Also, I honestly only took German for about 2 months before quitting, so if your German grammar is better than mine, please feel free to correct me. Now off to sleep! 2nd semester and my last 5 months of high school start tomorrow.
