Reviews would be appreciated~

Sun And Sunflower

Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC

Chapter Six

When Haruka said she would think about it, she did not think that her older sister would have taken her answer as a confirmation. Saturday night came along but Haruka was still without a date, much to Koharu's disappointment. She was not going on the date alone with that guy. Shoving her little sister down the hallway of the second floor in the dorm, Koharu hid around the corner as she watched Haruka walking all the way down to room 201. It had now been at least ten minutes since she had been standing outside the room. Each time she raised her hand to knock on the door, however, Haruka chickened out and turned to leave. But Koharu would poke her head round the corner and send a glare, making her turn around once more. Why did Koharu have to say yes to a date when she did not want to go on one? Why did she have to pick Haruka to go on a double date with her? Why did she not cancel the date instead?

Facing the door once more, a sigh came from her. There was still the problem of who she was going to ask. Koharu was no help in that department (just choose whoever, was what she said exactly). Logically, she would ask Fuji. If she explained the situation, he would understand and help her without second thoughts. Though, she would have to endure his teasing for a long while after. But if she was to treat this like a proper date, she wanted to ask Yukimura. Not that she would be able to bring herself to though, so perhaps Fuji it was.

Just as she was about to knock, the door suddenly opened itself and in the midst of her panicking, Haruka turned to leave. Seeing her little sister running away, Koharu kept signalling for her to go back but it was not long before whoever came out from the room noticed her and called out to her. Haruka cringed, stopping midway and slowly turned back around with the most awkward smile on her face. It was typical of her luck to have all three of whom residing in the room coming out at the same time. There was definitely no way now that she could ask what she came to ask.

"What are you doing here, Haruka?" Fuji asked.

"No-nothing. I um...I'm just going to go now. Goodnight!"

"You're lying."

Both Yukimura and Fuji spoke up at the same time. They instantly looked to each other while Shiraishi took more of a backseat, enjoying as the scene was unfolding before him. That was something Haruka hated the most about both Yukimura and Fuji. They both knew her well, so well that they knew exactly when she was lying. Yukimura had always been quick to point out whenever she tried to pass a lie with him but Fuji almost always let it slip, except for when he wanted to tease her. This was one of those moments, possibly.

"Haru, tell the truth."

"I...never mind. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters!"

Storming down the hallway was Koharu who had been patiently waiting in hiding the whole time but she could not wait any longer. The three boys were all surprised to see Koharu and subconsciously, they stood side by side neatly, straightening their backs a little. Not only was she Haruka's older sister, but she was an upperclassman too. Either way, they wanted to leave a good impression. Koharu grabbed Haruka by the shoulders before looking up at the boys. She recognised Yukimura from earlier in the day but the other two, she had no impression of them.

"Here's the deal," Koharu started, despite Haruka's protest. By now, this was pure amusement for all three of them to see the youngest Kobayashi struggling to stop whatever it was her older sister came to say. "Haruka needs one of you to go on a date with her tonight. It's going to be a double date. So it would be much appreciated if one of you could go. Otherwise...I would have to ask our older sister and she is not fun to be around."

"Oh? Who were you going to ask?" Shiraishi asked.

Both Yukimura and Fuji were suddenly very interested, for personal reasons. It had to be between them, but the question here was, who was it? Haruka stared at them, her mouth opened but no words were coming out. She looked from Yukimura to Fuji and repeated it several times, still unable to make her mind up. Why did Koharu have to spill everything and make her choose in front of them?

Unexpectedly, the one person who rescued her from having to choose was the exact person who threw her the question. "How about we all go since you can't choose?" Shiraishi asked. Haruka's face brightened instantly, Koharu's more so. If they all went, it would be more like a group of friends hanging out instead of a date. That was the whole reason behind her suggesting a double date with Haruka. This was right up her alley. "But is it alright with Kobayashi-senpai? This is your date, after all."

"Of course it is!" Koharu grinned. "Let's go then! My date is waiting for me."

The group was suddenly moving, going on a sudden date together. And it seemed as if Koharu did not inform her date that there would be others joining them, explaining that he only bought tickets for him and Koharu both for the movies. To which, Koharu simply said they could change the plans before leading the group somewhere into the bush near the gate.

Although a little confused, the trio of room 201 still followed behind. There, Koharu revealed a hole in the fence. "Don't look at me like that," Koharu said. "We're not exactly allowed to leave the camp but none of us really listens. Everyone sneaks out this way," she grinned. "Come on, hurry up before the security guard comes this way."

"Oh my, what's going on here?" Everyone froze at the voice. They slowly turned around to see Saito standing on the other side of the bushes, smiling down at them. Both Koharu and Haruka knew that the smile on his face was more menacing than it was meant to be polite. Saito did not say anything else, he waited for them to come out of the bushes, standing in front of him. He looked at each of them, still keeping his smile as he did. "Sneaking out of camp at this hour? Amano, I expected much more from you as an upperclassman. As for you, Koharu and Haruka, you should know the rules of the camp better than anyone. Alright, as punishment, all players will run fifty laps. Koharu and Haruka, I'll give you a little discount, twenty-five laps. Don't even think about slacking off, I'll be sending someone to monitor you."

Koharu was the only one who let out groans of protest while everyone else was already moving. Haruka did not protest verbally but as she was following after the rest of them, she glared at her sister. If it was not for Koharu, she would not be in this situation. If Koharu did not insist on her going on this date as well, she would not have been caught sneaking out and punished.

They started running the punishment laps around the main courts and by the second or third lap, the monitor Saito sent made an appearance. Standing at the top of the stairs was Tokugawa, keeping his eyes on one particular person. It did not take long before Irie joined Tokugawa. "So this is what you talked about with coach Saito?" Irie asked. "You never cared about people sneaking out before. I wonder what got you caring about rules breaker all of a sudden."

As per usual, Tokugawa kept quiet. But they both knew, even without him saying, it was all because of her.

"I can't do this..." Haruka groaned, running to the side, catching her breath. "I still have fifteen more to do...Koharu-nee! This is all your fault!"

"Come on now, less talk, more run," Fuji said, pulling Haruka back onto the tracks and ran behind her with his hands on her back, pushing her along.

"Someone...push me...too...I...am...dying..."

It took another half an hour before the group finished their laps. Exhausted from running, they stuck around on the tracks for a while longer, to calm their breaths. Yukimura and Fuji were sitting side by side on the ground, Shiraishi and Haruka were both leaning against the wall just opposite while Koharu laid on the tracks in the middle. Both girls were not regular exercisers and having to run twenty-five laps suddenly really exhausted them as they were both slowly falling asleep. As she was dozing off, Haruka's head started falling onto Shiraishi's shoulder.

Like hunters with their eyes on the target, Yukimura and Fuji glanced over to Shiraishi, who was too fascinated with the fact that Haruka could sleep in such an environment to notice the hawk-like stares. But just as they were about to get up to carry Haruka, Irie and Tokugawa came down the stairs; Irie with a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets.

"Since you've finished with your laps, you're allowed to head back to your rooms," Irie said, his eyes glancing over to the peacefully sleeping Haruka. None of the trio moved but Koharu's supposed date took this chance to run off. "We'll take care of Haruka-chan and Koharu-chan." Instantly, the hawk-like stares transferred onto Irie, especially when he moved to pick Haruka up in his arms. Shiraishi kept a protective arm over the girl. Irie was an upperclassman but he was not someone they knew. Despite not knowing Haruka well, Shiraishi was not going to let some strange guy take her away either. "What scary looks you all have on your face. Only a princess is fitting to have so many knights protecting her," Irie chuckled. "No worries, I know Haruka-chan well. We will take them both back to their room."

"We'll take them back," Fuji stepped up.

"I think we can handle that," Yukimura said, staring Irie down. Even as the oldest here, Irie stood the shortest but he was not intimidated at all.

"Yukimura-kun, was it?" Irie asked. "You still have practice early in the morning. I'd suggest that you go back to your rooms now, and rest well. You have nothing to worry, they are in good hands," Irie said, insisting on taking Haruka with him. With one swift movement, Irie lifted Haruka off Shiraishi and carried her in his arms with ease while Tokugawa picked up Koharu. "And stop looking so scary. Haruka-chan likes it better when you smile."

"They are a little intimidating, aren't they?" Shiraishi said, watching as the two high school students walked off with the two sleeping girls in their arms.

"Haruka sure made some interesting friends here."

Back in the control room, both Kurobe and Saito had been watching the group doing their punishment laps via the security cameras. "You know, there's nothing wrong in them wanting to sneak out. They are teenagers, after all. Being stuck in a place would have them looking for fun somewhere else. There was no need to punish Koharu and Haruka either. They are volunteers here, not participants."

"Rules are rules. They know that it is against the rules, yet they still do it. They understand the consequences and they have to accept it. The two Kobayashi sisters may only be volunteers, but they are still part of the camp. As staff members, they should know the rules better than anyone and abide to them."

"I don't think it's a bad idea for them to head out once in a while," Saito stated. "It would be good for their mental health too. Studies have shown that hard work with an equal amount of relaxation time would boost their result further. Perhaps you should think about revising the rules a little?"

"I'll think about it."

Early in the morning, Haruka let out a yawn despite having woken up a good hour ago. After the punishment laps, all Haruka could remember was sitting next to Shiraishi but everything after that was just a complete blackout. The next thing she knew, she was sitting up on her bed after Haruko's alarm clock went off. There was a note, however, left behind by Irie: Don't sleep out in the open like that next time, Haruka-chan. You'll catch a cold if you do. But the task at hand had Haruka forgetting to look for Irie. Instead, she had been running from court to court, putting down baskets of tennis balls.

"Good morning, Haruka," Saito smiled, walking up to the girl as he looked over the courts, nodding his head with satisfaction over her work. "Thank you for your hard work. I think I would be able to enjoy today even more."

"Ah..." Haruka muttered, looking up at Saito with a sudden realisation what the set up was for. "That's today?"

"Why, of course."

With a gentle pat on Haruka's head, Saito left the girl to finish up her work as he went back to the control room, waiting for the arrival of the middle school players after their breakfast. Haruka sat down by the side on the bleachers and waited after she had finished the setting ups, watching as the middle school players were slowly gathering on the courts. Both Fuji and Yukimura spotted the brunette almost instantly and headed her way but they were distracted when there was a loud bang with a groan following right after.

"Ah..." Saito groaned, rubbing his head as he came out from the control room. "Good morning, everybody. I am the mental coach, Saito~!" All attention was instantly diverted to the coach who just emerged. Saito had a huge smile on his face and even gave a little wave. Immediately, the first thing everyone noticed about him was his height. Not that Saito paid mind. "So, you are the bunch who are so strong that you don't seem one bit like middle school students? Well, with mental training, you can be better. Let's start, shall we? Let's begin with forming groups of two!"

Facing the prospect of playing doubles, naturally they started partnering up with their usual comrades. Haruka watched with a little smile on her face. Having been at the camp for years, she knew what was to come but still, she said nothing as they were all happily buzzing with excitement. As they were slowly settling down, Saito once again smiled before speaking.

"Ready?" he asked. "Well then, let's begin the single matches and the losers will be eliminated from the camp. That's right, the partner you just teamed up with is now your opponent. You will play to the rules of a tiebreak. Those who refuse to participate will be eliminated too. Shall we begin then?"

There was no doubt that the matches were interesting to watch. And despite the initial protest, the players were all cooperating. Some were more than happy to play the match, not holding back even one bit against their opponent. Slowly, matches were ending and the losers were starting to emerge. Although she already knew this, Haruka could not help but immerse herself into the matches as she watched from the bleachers. There was just something about watching people who were so used to fighting side by side now fighting against each other that really captured her. But her little observation from the sideline was disrupted when Saito gave her a little kick on the back.

"Don't you have work to do, Haruka?" Saito smiled, tilting his head slightly. "Come on now, a ball girl has no time to sit around."

Saito urged Haruka onto the court and she got to work immediately, picking up the balls by the side of the courts and returned them to a basket. But it was not long before she was distracted by a specific match. A match between players from Seigaku. A match between her friends. A match between best friends. Hugging tennis balls in her arms, Haruka stood by the sideline to watch. Their match was very obviously dragging out, specifically on Eiji's part. He was only a point from winning but he kept making mistakes, giving points away to Oishi.

Everyone was watching the match with a tug at their heartstrings. Being the only pair of middle school doubles partner to master Synchronisation, there was no doubt that it hurt them the most to know that the loser of this match was leaving the camp. It hurt Eiji even more, knowing that this was his last chance to ever play doubles with Oishi but having to be the one to send his best friend off, he just could not do it. While Eiji was still keeping a smile on his face, trying to put on the facade of being fine, Oishi read him completely.

"Stop messing around, Eiji! Showing me pity is unsightly! I refuse to lose to you if you keep this up!"

Oishi's sudden lash out shocked Eiji, snapping him back to reality. Eventually, the match would have to end. He could not keep this up forever. Oishi knew exactly what he was thinking, how he felt, just as he knew what Oishi was thinking and feeling too. The look in Eiji's eyes changed after that, as he got into position. There was no more messing around and Eiji won that one point more, making Oishi the loser.

"Leave your racket behind, Oishi. That way, you wouldn't be left out of the U-17 camp."

"Take care of it, Eiji."

"Of course!"

Throwing his racket to Eiji, Oishi grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. As he was leaving the court, he walked up to Haruka and gave her the same old motherly smile that he always did, ruffling her hair and told her to take care of the team for him. "I will, don't worry," Haruka smiled right back. "See you later, Shui-kun."

Her choice of words was...interesting.

Oishi let it slide, however, walking over to the other team members to say his goodbyes. Haruka looked over her shoulder with a small smile before getting back to her work. Fuji watched the manager, intrigued by why she did not seem upset like everyone else was. They lost a team member. They were going to lose more considering that they still had matches to play. But Haruka was not one bit upset, which was unusual of her personality. This was a girl who cried when Eiji did not come to school for two days because he had a fever.

"You know, it's a little odd to see you so happy. Especially after Oishi losing and leaving. You cried and yelled at Momo after he pulled that with Oni. What do you mean by, 'See you later'? Do you know something that we don't?"

"Ha...of course I don't," Haruka lied. "I just said see you later because...you know, I'll see Shui-kun later. After the camp. Back in school."

"Hm..." Fuji hummed. "By the way, Yukimura-kun and Sanada-kun are about to start their match. Don't you want to watch?"

Looking across to the court Yukimura and Sanada were on, it was true that their match was about to begin though Haruka acted nonchalant. "I have work to do, Shu-kun. I'm not here to watch you guys play." Haruka resumed picking up the tennis balls, clearing up the court for the next match. But even as she acted like she was not interested, she was moving towards that particular court. And it was not long before she was standing just outside the court, ready for the match to begin.

Yukimura noticed the small brunette moving into his group of teammates, joining the ranks to spectate the match between him and Sanada. Seeing his childhood friend a little distracted, Sanada glanced over his shoulder to see Haruka too.

It was strange to see her again, for Sanada. They were never close like Yukimura and her were but they grew up together. It never hurt him as much to know that she left without a word and he would never admit it out loud, but Sanada missed her. Though seeing her standing by the bleachers, Sanada only wished that she never came to watch. He knew, he knew, he would never win against Yukimura. There was no doubt. But it did not mean he would not try his very best to. And he knew that Yukimura was not going to hold back on him either. Pity, even on his best friend, was not who Yukimura was. Having Haruka here, however, only meant for certain that there would be no holding back on Yukimura's side.