Sanada
Stuffy. This whole party is stuffy, extravagant, boring, hot, and the list goes on. More than anything, he's tired of being here. The only reason he agreed to attend in the first place is because his best friend blackmailed him into it.
"Gen-san, you really need to lighten up a bit," Yukimura tells him as he hands him a glass of, what he supposed is, apple cider.
"Seiichi, we've been here for a good two hours. I think I've fulfilled my quota," he grumpily says. His best friend takes no notice of his comment and brushes a few stray locks of blue out of his eyes.
"There are plenty of cute girls, food, and drinks, but you'd rather be at the dojo teaching kendo," Yukimura responds bitterly.
Sanada sighs. "This is not my thing, Seiichi, and I'm only here because you bribed the whole team into coming to Atobe's holiday party and blackmailed me by threatening to show my parents that ridiculous photo. How did you manage to get your hands on it?"
Yukimura chuckles quietly. "Which one? The time a girl fell down the stairs and landed on top of you or the Halloween party where the punch was spiked or-"
"Enough," he grumbles while rubbing his temples, "I don't even want to hear them. Just go have fun and don't worry about me."
Yukimura smiles at his friend, knowing that this was the most he could ask him for. "I see a cute brunette by the desert table, so I'll leave you to your brooding." As he leaves, Sanada translates that into the real meaning: 'Thanks for coming. I'll pretend I didn't see you leave.'
He sighs heavily before navigating his way through the luxurious ballroom. He passes a few couples dancing, takes a left at the giant Christmas tree ice sculpture, and heads straight through the double doors. Recalling that he turned right to enter the ballroom, he takes a left and follows the long hallway out to the reception area.
A butler asks for his name before easily finding his jacket and Sanada thanks him. Quickly putting it on, he hurriedly passes through another set of double doors before entering the lobby where two more giant glass doors signify the entrance into the mansion. When he passes through them to brave the cold, he can't help but feel that he went through a lot of trouble to just exit the house. Perhaps Atobe should invest in a smaller home to prevent unnecessary headaches and confusion.
The wind strikes his face harshly as he pulls up the hood of his heavy winter jacket. Thankfully, the fleece keeps the rest of his body warm as his face takes the most damage from the cold. His shoes crunch on top of the freshly fallen snow as he trudges down the long driveway. Again, Sanada can't help but feel that the size of the property is more troublesome than it's worth.
As he nears the end of the driveway a small curse drifts up to his ears. Wondering who would be out here aside from him, he jogs the rest of the way to find the individual. Looking to his right he sees him crouched down on the edge of the street looking over his ankle which is slowly turning purple from the red tinged around it.
"Are you alright?" Sanada asks him from his position a few feet away.
The boy looks up sharply at the sound of his deep voice and stares at him with wide violet eyes. His face is tinged pink, which Sanada assumes is from the wind. From the looks of his clothing he didn't come from Atobe's party since he's wearing heavy sweats, sneakers, and a thick jacket.
"No. I think my ankle's dislocated," he replies, only for Sanada to realize that the boy's pitch is too high for him to be male.
"Let me help you up," Sanada says while bending down on one knee, quickly trying to appear more concerned and helpful. If the girl was male, like he had first thought, he wouldn't have tried to do anything more than make sure he wouldn't be in danger. Now that he knows the individual is female, Sanada must fulfill the role of being a perfect gentleman.
"I can stand on my own," she says quietly, bending one leg beneath her and standing up fully. She wobbles slightly and Sanada reaches out to catch her elbow and steady her. "Thanks," she whispers it to him politely.
"What are you doing out here?" He asks, wondering why a girl is out at night, alone, and dressed like a man.
"I was training," she says simply, not letting on to what she's training for.
Sanada decides to avoid to topic for now, seeing as he shouldn't stick his nose into others' business. "Would you like me to call someone?" He asks instead, hoping to send the girl home with someone she knows, so he wouldn't be responsible for her any longer.
"Heh," she laughs bitterly. "No one will answer."
Sanada frowns at her bitterness. Does she mean that no one will answer if she calls or that no one would care if they answer? He's about to ask if he should call her a cab when her eyes flash at him irritably.
"You can drop the concerned gentleman act; I'll be fine walking home by myself. Good night," she tells him politely with that same tone of bitterness and Sanada wonders how is it that she can still sound so polite when she's so bitter.
He watches her hobble awkwardly on her ankle as she stubbornly walks away from him. It's irritating to see a person like her act like that, but her personality intrigued him. She's polite, but bitter. She doesn't seem to trust anyone, so she rejects help. When she receives help when it's warranted she's thankful though. Just how could she see through his act though?
Now, Sanada is irritated with himself. He shouldn't care about the girl and her problems, but he does. He sees how she's floundering and he's the only person able to help her. If anything he should apologize for the way he acted. Yes, he would apologize and help her home, regardless if she thanks him for it or not. With a short jog, he easily catches up to her and throws an arm around her waist to keep her steady.
"I don't need your help," she tells him irritably, but she made no move to remove the arm around her.
"No, but you'll make it home much faster if I do," he explains quietly, not bothering to respond to the glare she's sending him, opting to just ignore it.
After a few minutes though, Sanada hears a small "Thank you," from her. He smiles inwardly, pleased.
"I apologize for my behavior from before," he breaks the silence. "I shouldn't have acted that way, even though I was only trying to be polite. I'm sorry for offending you."
A short silence occurs again before the girl next to him giggles suddenly. Sanada looks at her, puzzled by the sudden change in personality. When he looks at her with a frown, she smiles softly at him before explaining. "Sorry, I'm just not used to this. No one has ever apologized to me for being polite. Really, I should apologize for being so stubborn and rude. You were only trying to help, but I'm not especially accepting to help from anyone."
"Aa," Sanada accepts her explanation and apology. Maybe there is a reason for her bitterness after all.
"I'm training for a tournament in January," she tells him as they pass the mansion on the corner of the street and cross the road to smaller developments. "It's a mixed martial arts tournament for women and I want to be in top condition."
His eyebrows rise in surprise at her sudden reveal. He didn't expect her to be a martial artist, but it does explain why she was training late at night in the cold. It's not generally a female sport, but she seems determined to do her best to win. It reminds him of, well, him.
"I practice kendo," he tells her, surprising even himself at his divulgence.
"Oh, then I know you'll be pleasantly surprised," she says before stopping at a gate. "We're here."
He nods and helps her hop up the steps. Looking around he can tell that her family is wealthy, but doesn't flaunt it like Atobe. The two-story house is a decent size, traditional, and has a slight modern touch. Happy with the practicality of the family, he allows the girl to lead him inside while saying a quiet pardon.
"Come sit down," she gestures from the spot on the couch a few feet away from the foyer. With a twitch of his lips, he makes his way over to the couch while wondering how she got there so fast.
"Won't your parents mind having a stranger in the house?" He asks, slightly nervous at the quietness of the estate.
Lowering her hood, raven locks spill down her back as she brushes the snow off of her jacket. "It's just me. My parents are away on business with my younger brother," she explains.
Immediately Sanada translates that into 'My parents chose my brother to carry on the family business, so they could care less about me'. "There's no one else?" He sincerely thought that her family would have maids, butlers, cooks, and such.
She huffs at his question. "There are others, but... I sort of sent them home early to be with their families. I can take care of myself," she says while glaring at the space between his feet on the floor.
"I see. So where are the medical supplies?" He asks while standing up.
She looks at him confused while pointing to an adjacent hallway. "In the bathroom, second door on the right."
Quickly he leaves and returns with the kit. Taking a pillow from the couch, he props up her foot and gently removes her shoe. The girl stirs uncomfortably.
"You don't have to do this," she states, her voice wavering.
"I know," he responds lightly as he carefully sets her bones into place with a small pop. He's surprised that she didn't scream or cry. Maybe she really is different.
"You do all of this for me and I don't even know your name," she whispers, looking away from him at a wall full of pictures.
"Sanada Genichirou," he tells her dully with a small smirk.
She looks at him from the corner of her eye and says, "Wakanari Emiko." Turning to him fully she smiles at him. "I guess we're not strangers any more are we? Anyway, you don't seem to be the type of person to attend Atobe's parties," she eyes him suspiciously.
Sanada sighs. "No, but my best friend is. He dragged me to it along with the rest of our tennis team."
Emiko becomes more interested as she leans forward on one knee. "I don't suppose you're from the Rikkai Dai team, are you?"
"Yes, I'm the vice-captain with my best friend, Yukimura Seiichi, being captain," he tells her easily.
"Oh? How interesting. Your team holds a big reputation. Is this your last year playing?" She asks him, sincerely interested as her eyes sparkle with admiration.
"Yes it is, but I'll continue to play whenever I'm able to. What about you?" He spins the question back to Emiko.
"Me? What about me?" She inquires with a small smirk.
"You said you compete in mixed martial arts tournaments, so what's it like?" He expounds the question.
"Hmm... well my father made me start when I was five, since every heir must learn how to protect themselves, but I continued because I love it. I never had the chance to attend public school, so I used the art to my advantage," she explains while her eyes drift over to the hallway furthest from the room. "If you'd like, I could show you."
Nodding, Sanada helps Emiko up from the couch and follows her down the long hallway with only a single door at the end.
"This," she says as she opens the door, "is my life."
The floor is covered with mats and a few punching bags are off to the side. Aligning the walls are trophies and photos of Emiko in her martial arts uniform. In the farthest corner of the room is a small black futon that's neatly made along with a rack of various sheathed katanas.
"Do you collect swords?" He asks, eyes lingering over the intricately designed sheathes.
"Not exactly," she responds as she walks farther into the room. "I use them for practice."
Sanada is once again surprised. "You practice... with real swords?"
"Uh-huh," she replies absently while looking them over from afar. "You said that you practice kendo, right? How about you spar with me one day?"
This girl just doesn't know when to stop surprising him. "Why?"
She turns around to study him thoughtfully. "I like you, so isn't that reason enough?"
Not giving him any chance to respond, she closes the door and leads him out to the foyer where the large Christmas tree stands all lit up. Fidgeting slightly, she looks up at him with nervous eyes. "If you don't want to come back, I won't be offended. I've never had a friend before, so it won't bother me now. I just wish..."
Sanada feels a weight in his chest as he watches the strong, stubborn girl before him waver, what she said bothering him but he leaves it be, thinking that it was too personal of a topic. "You don't need to worry," he tells her quietly.
Blinking the tears back, she grins up at him. "Thank you," her quiet voice becomes stronger, "for everything, but especially for the best Christmas ever."
Sanada's lips twitch upwards in the closest thing to a smile he can. Emiko reminds him so much of himself, but she's endured many hardships while keeping a smile on. Maybe he can afford to let people in as well; starting with her.
Checking the time on his watch, he turns to her with the small smile."Merry Christmas, Emiko-san," he wishes her as he steps onto her front porch.
"You too, Gen-san."