Hey! Another nice chappie! Don't forget to check my poll out! It's in my profile...duh.
I'll make a bit of RyoSaku appear in this chapter! –smiles-
Ukyou-Taisuke
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Ukyou scowled at her wrist. It was still a bit swollen, and she'd taken the bandage off for the afternoon in case people that were suspicious (cough, cough...Inui...and occasionally Tezuka) would find out.
The match with Oishi gave her a hard time. Her right hand wasn't as strong as her left, and she never had any real experience with it. Ryoma played with it almost all the time. Ukyou just used it for her Twist Serves and occasionally, for Nitouryuu.
She slung her tennis bag over her shoulder and walked out of the change room. She met Ryoma outside and she gave him a look.
"I hate you, Ryo! It's all your fault that I can't play with my left hand!" she wailed.
"For your own good," he replied, and walked off.
Ukyou stuck her lower lip out in a sulky pout and followed him reluctantly. "Why?"
"Because if anything happens to you, I'll get into trouble," he lied. He didn't want to talk about family protection or anything.
Being the denser person, Ukyou took it as the truth and scrunched her face up. "So, I'm only a nuisance to you?"
Ryoma was shocked. He didn't think she'd take it seriously. "...Uh..."
Ukyou squinted at him. Then she smiled. "Never mind. You wouldn't mean it anyhow."
Inwardly, Ryoma let a sigh of relief cloud himself. Suddenly, a flash of auburn hair caught his eyesight. He followed it with his eyes and saw none other than Ryuzaki Sakuno standing at the gate, looking around.
Ukyou noticed this and grinned. "Ryo? She's over there! Come on, go talk to her! Or walk her home! Do something!"
Ryoma averted his gaze from his sister, but she just followed his gaze.
"Aw...come on! Ryo! Stop being a stubborn pig!"
He suddenly crossed her path, and Ukyou jumped in surprise. She looked at him and saw him heading towards the twin braided girl. Ukyou smirked and rubbed her hands together evilly. Time to play matchmaker...
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Ryoma didn't know what he was doing, but he wouldn't stand being called a stubborn pig, nor would he let Ryuzaki get lost or hurt on the way home.
He put a hand on her shoulder fiercely. Sakuno jumped and blushed as she recognized the familiar face. "R-Ryoma-kun?"
He took his hand off her shoulder, realized that she must've felt intimidated. He shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered something.
Sakuno blinked. "E-eh?"
"I said, I'll walk you home." He repeated, a bit louder.
Sakuno blushed. Ryoma was always so...direct with things. She nodded timidly and followed him quickly when he was walking away.
"Ryoma-kun...?"
"Hn?"
"Why did you decide to walk me home today...?"
Ryoma slapped himself inwardly. He needed an excuse! He couldn't tell her...yet. He had a tiny...well, not tiny...feeling of affection towards her. "Your grandmother will get worried. Many people will get worried if you get lost or hurt out here."
Sakuno bowed her head and looked at her shoes.
"You see, this is why you get hurt."
She raised her head to see Ryoma standing in front of her. He was smirking.
"You don't look up when you walk. That's a flaw. We don't want you crashing into things all the time."
Sakuno flushed sheepishly and nodded. "A-arigato...Ryoma-kun."
He shrugged and kept walking. Sakuno ran up behind him, eager to talk with him some more.
"Ryoma-kun?"
"Hn?"
"You and Ukyou-chan are very close, are you not?"
He looked at her, pausing temporarily. "Huh...?"
Sakuno smiled brightly. "You're always together, and Ryoma-kun, you really care about her, don't you? Although she doesn't see it as well as many of us does. Ukyou-chan is oblivious to your sibling love for her."
Ryoma blinked. He'd never told anyone this. Sakuno was reading his mind – literally.
Sakuno laughed a bit. "It's really obvious, Ryoma-kun. And it's the same for her. Siblings have a lot in common, don't they?"
Ryoma's eyes softened a bit. "Do you have any siblings?" he asked, a rare occasion for the boy.
Sakuno was startled. "N-no...I only had Obaa-chan. My parents died when I was younger, and I don't seem to remember them at all."
"Oh."
They walked together, again in complete silence. They were just enjoying each other's company as they walked.
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Ukyou wandered off, thinking that she should leave the two 'lovebirds' alone. Ryoma would notice her if she was there, anyhow.
"Eh? Ukyou-chan?"
Ukyou jumped. She turned around and smiled a bit when she saw Fuji walking towards her. "Fuji-senpai," she acknowledged.
The tennis prodigy smiled at her, then opened his eyes. "Huh? Where's Echizen?"
"Echizen...Ah! You mean Ryo?"
Fuji nodded.
"Oh, he's with Ryuzaki. Sakuno! Sakuno!" she said, in order for Fuji to understand it was their tennis coach's granddaughter, and not the old woman.
"Ah," he nodded, putting two fingers to his chin in thought. His eyes ran over her wrist. He'd also noticed the flaw in Ukyou's play not too long ago.
He decided to push the truth out of her. "So, I watched your match with Oishi," he spoke casually, his eyes narrowing at the reddish swelling at her left wrist.
Ukyou raised a delicate brow. "Oh?"
"Yeah."
Silence.
"Ukyou-chan, you can tell me. Almost everyone knows."
Ukyou looked up. "Huh?"
"Your wrist."
Ukyou gulped and looked down. "Promise not to tell anyone? Not even Ryo? I'll tell him later, but since Fuji-senpai asked, I'll tell you first." She held out a pinkie.
Fuji nodded, reaching his hand out and linking his pinkie with hers.
Ukyou started, "Well, not too long ago..."
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Ukyou had been at school without Ryoma. He was sick. And she didn't feel like doing anything without him with her.
She walked home, deciding to stop by the street courts to play. Maybe some tennis would cheer her up! Ukyou walked up the steps and blinked. There was only one group on the courts, playing. There were three more courts available.
She dropped her bag and rummaged through it for her racket. The group of teens stopped and looked at the newcomer. Ukyou ignored them and passed her racket from hand to hand.
"Hey, you!"
Ukyou looked up. A tall boy was standing in front of her, smirking. "What do you want?" she asked with a bored look on her face.
He nodded towards the courts. "Wanna play a match?"
Ukyou narrowed her eyes. She wasn't used to this. In times like these, Ryoma would be there to shoo them away. She nodded tersely and flipped her racket around. "Which?"
"Heh. Smooth."
Other guys from his group were taunting her. "Oi, Sasabe! Don't go too easy on her! Show her who's boss!"
Ukyou glared at all of them. They were underestimating her. She twirled the racket on the surface of the court. It fell over upside down.
"My serve. It's a one-set match."
Sasabe smirked. "Yeah, yeah."
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The game was going smoothly, Ukyou playing easily with her left hand, and Sasabe was panting hard, running to each ball that bounced.
In no time, the match had ended.
Ukyou smirked. "I win." She gripped her racket tightly and rested it over her shoulder. "Mada mada dane."
"You bastard!" He fumed, swinging his racket in the air. You could tell he was really angry. Sweat ran down his face and his racket was swinging hardly in the air. It made whipping noises in the air.
All too soon, when Ukyou walked past him, his grip on the racket loosened, and it came flying out, right at Ukyou's left hand. She gasped and moved it, but all too late. It missed her hand, but the head of the racket hit Ukyou's wrist – hard.
She gasped in pain and clutched her wrist tightly.
Others were too busy laughing while she clumsily picked her things up with her right hand and ran off.
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Fuji's eyes were wide open, and Ukyou was again, looking at the floor.
"Ukyou-chan..." Fuji began, but Ukyou looked up at him and smiled.
"Ok, I've told you the story, so don't tell anyone! I'll tell the rest of the regulars...in good time!" she promised, grinning goofily before running out the school gates.
Fuji's eyes were on her the whole time. Ukyou-chan...
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Ok! That was a lot of work! But it was a fun chapter to write! Don't forget to check the poll! The poll in my profile!
Read and REVIEW!! Please?
Ukyou-Taisuke