Hi~! Quickie update this time. My writing juices are flowing.
I just threw away all my plans and jumped straight into Seigaku. I put in some intense fangirl drama. Sanada's match with Ryoma will come next chapter and I'll throw in some MimiXMarui because I kinda neglected them this chapter.
Disclaimer: I own Sayuri, Mimi and Maki. That's it.
xXx
Tutoring Sanada had become a regular occurrence. It had increased from just Mondays and Thursdays to Monday, Thursdays and Fridays. Sayuri would go to ballet practice, listen to her senpai curse at the tennis team, then go wait for Sanada at the gate. He would always come out at 3:30 and they would walk to his house where he would take a shower and she would do flips in the backyard. They would study for a couple hours, then he would walk her home.
It was routine. Routines were safe, comforting.
At least until word got around that Sanada Genichirou from the tennis team had a female tutor in English.
At first it was just his team, that was okay.
"Saa, Genichirou. Don't do anything to her." Yukimura smiled at Sanada's glaring face.
"Eh?! Sanada's getting tutored by a girl?!" Marui shouted. Then he shrugged. "Eh, Mimi-chan and cake are waiting for me!" Then he sped off with Jackal in tow.
"Percent chance that there's romantic interest, 68.2%" Yanagi was scribbling in a notebook. Sanada directed his glare towards Yanagi.
Niou just smirked and went off with Yagyuu. Probably to go set up some pranks.
Akaya's reaction was just, "Oh, cool. Can she play tennis?"
"No," Sanada said.
Akaya shrugged. "Don't care then, can we play a match?"
But the female student body finding out? That was like hell freezing over.
"MURAMOTO SAYURI!" A girl with curly magenta hair slammed her hand down on her desk. "IS IT TRUE THAT YOU ARE TUTORING SANADA-SAMA?!"
Sayuri removed her hands from her ears. "Uh... Who told you that?"
The unnamed fangirl tossed her head, "We bribed Akaya-sama, of course."
Sayuri sweatdropped. She didn't know which was worse, the fact that they bribed Akaya or the fact that he fell for it.
Maki leaned her head over, "So what if she is? You bitches lay a hand on her and I'll personally insure that your faces get fucked up."
Another girl spoke up, one with silver hair. "Who are you to talk, Arisa. You got dumped by Niou-sama."
Maki's face turned murderous. She started at the trio. Mimi wrapped her arms around her. "No! You can't kill them, Maki-chan!"
The last girl with blue hair spoke up, "Tetsuo, stop playing around with Marui-sama. I mean, we all know he's only friends with you for the cake anyways."
Mimi stared at her blankly. Then her sadistic mode came on, "Haa? At least he's friends with me. Does he even know who you are?"
Maki, although still trying to attack the trio of fangirls, gave Mimi a high-five.
All three girls sniffed. "Whatever." And they walked away, clicking their high heels on the tile floor.
Mimi let go of Maki, "Stupid Pink-head, Silver-head and Blue-head."
Sayuri giggled. "Those are nice nicknames. Still, I hope..."
"You hope what?" Mimi asked, her sadistic mode still on.
Sayuri shook her head, "Hm, nothing. Let's just hope we don't get killed over the next few weeks."
Maki pulled out her phone, "I have plenty of contacts that could beat up those girls over anyways."
"We'll be fine." Mimi said.
Sayuri only hoped that was true.
xXx
It wasn't exactly easy, going through fangirl hate. Sayuri, Mimi and Maki have had their books stolen, been locked in classrooms, "accidentally" kicked in the shins while walking through the hallways. Maki had gotten dangerously close to calling her friends from a gang. Mimi was close to pulling a knife out of her Mary Janes and Sayuri was about to kick them in the face.
The three were walking out of dance practice, after receiving words of encouragement. Mimi was making weird faces. Maki was rolling her eyes with a smile and Sayuri was giggling. Then they appeared.
The fangirl trio stood there, the sun illuminating their smirks. They had some impressive-looking guys with them from the martial arts club. Sayuri stopped walking and stopped Mimi and Maki. "Guys."
Maki took a look at them and reached for her phone. One of the guys grabbed her wrist and she kicked them in the chest. "Get your hand off of me." She spat with gritted teeth.
"You know what," Maki muttered. "Sorry Alice, I'm gonna beat these guys up myself."
Mimi brought her fists up, "Bring it on~" Her sadistic smile was on.
Sayuri smiled. "I hope you're not here to attack us."
The Pink-head smirked and laughed. "Of course not."
Silver-head snapped her fingers and the three guys leapt into action. Now, Sayuri, Maki and Mimi weren't full out fighters. But Maki got into fights at the Grotto occasionally and Mimi worked on her muscle mass a lot. Sayuri had been coached by Maki on how to fight. So they weren't helpless.
Maki made the first move. She kicked them in the groin with her thick-soled shoes. The guy collapsed onto the floor where Maki punched him in the stomach. Mimi jabbed another in the pressure point he passed out. She giggled and twirled her hair. The guy that took on Sayuri got in a punch to her cheek. She kneed him in the groin and punched him in the face.
"Wanna go, bitches?" Maki asked.
They took one look at the defeated martial arts club and ran, nearly tripping in their high-heels. Mimi stuck her tongue out at them.
Maki snorted, "These guys are wimps. I worry about the future of our martial arts club."
Sayuri nodded, wincing slightly. "How's your cheek?"
"Painful." Sayuri said. Mimi took an ice pack out of her bag and handed to her. "Thanks." There was already a purplish color blossoming on Sayuri's cheek.
Maki winced, "That's gonna bruise pretty badly. Take the ice off and on every 15 minutes. Good luck concealing that."
Sayuri nodded. They split ways. Crap... How the hell am I going to hide this?
xXx
The next day, Sayuri miraculously covered up the purple bruise on her face. Mimi saw her and whistled. "Whoa~ You can't even see the bruise!"
Sayuri grinned, but she looked tired. "How much did your mom yell at you last night?" Mimi whispered.
"A lot," Sayuri said. "Too much."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, let's get to school."
They walked in silence, comfortable silence. Mimi understood that Sayuri wanted to conserve her energy for school. Once they arrived at Rikkaidai Fuzoku Chuu, it was nearly time for the bell to ring. They walked into class and Maki waved them over.
"Guys, guys," She spoke in a low voice. "Pink-head, Silver-head and Blue-head are all suspended."
"What?" Sayuri asked. "But we weren't for fighting?"
"Nope," Maki flashed a victory sign. "Thanks to my amazing diplomatic skills, I persuaded them to believe that we were only acting in self-defense."
"Heehee~" Mimi giggled. "I'd loved to see their faces."
Sayuri smiled. "But not everybody knows about this, right?"
Maki nodded. "We should be the only ones."
"Good," Sayuri breathed. Nakamura-sensei came in and the class snapped to attention.
"Muramoto-san, can you please go you to school nurse?" He said. Sayuri nodded and stood up.
Yanagi watched Sanada's eyes follow her and scribbled in his notebook.
Maki and Mimi exchanged worried glances. But Sayuri came back momentarily. "They were just checking up on me, making sure I don't sue the school and all that." She told them at lunch.
Mimi and Maki relaxed. "Good." Maki said. "Now, you okay?"
Sayuri looked at them, "Of course."
"Please, you're not going to tell me that you're perfectly fine after going home to your overprotective mother with a purple bruise on your cheek." Maki stared at her. "I thought you trusted me more than that."
Mimi nodded. "Please, Sayuri-chan. You're okay, right?"
Sayuri took a shaky breath. "She yelled at me, she nearly threw a lamp and then she threw freakin antibiotics at me."
Mimi hugged Sayuri. "It's okay."
Maki nodded, but didn't say anything. Mimi had always been the most affectionate out of the trio.
"By the way, where's Yukimura-san?" Sayuri asked.
Maki looked thoughtful "You know, he hasn't been here for the past two weeks."
"Haven't you heard?" Mimi spoke up, surprised. "There's a rumor going around that he's in the hospital for Guillan-Barre Syndrome."
"Well... Considering that many of the fangirls were ready to kill us for the past month, I hardly had time to pay attention to gossip." Maki said sarcastically.
Mimi giggled. "It's a big thing too, apparently."
Sayuri glanced at Sanada's empty seat and thought about how he had been distracted lately. Is that what he was thinking about?
xXx
After school, Sayuri met Sanada at the gate. He stopped her from walking towards his house. "I need to do something first, come with me?"
Sayuri looked at him and grinned, "Sure thing, Sanachi~"
Sanada rolled his eyes and they began walking towards the hospital. Sayuri gathered her courage enough to ask, "Are we going to visit Yukimura-san?"
"Ah," Sanada grunted.
Sayuri smiled. So you were worried about him. It's nice to know you too have human emotions, Sanachi.
They reached the hospital. Sanada and Sayuri were led up to a room. There were kids inside, talking to Yukimura. The nurse scolded them and they ran off.
"Sanada? Muramoto-san?" Yukimura looked surprised. They left and went up to the roof, Yukimura claiming. "It's stuffy in here."
"We've finally entered the Kantou finals." Sanada said, leaning against the gate. "We can continue our undefeated streak. Despite the loss of our captain, we're a good team that will be the champion for the third time."
"Sorry for the trouble." Yukimura said, gazing at the sidewalk below.
"That's okay." Sanada was glancing straight ahead, as always, Sayuri noticed. "For now, just focus on recovering."
Yukimura said nothing, and just continued looking at the city.
"Yukimura?" Sanada looked at him. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"
"I haven't told anyone yet... but the success rate of the operation is very low." He placed a hand on the gate.
"Nani?" Sanada looked surprised. Sayuri had no idea what they were talking about. Operation? For Guillan-Barre?
"At any rate, I can't play tennis in my current state." Yukimura looked so sad. "No matter what the risks are, I want to gamble on tomorrow's surgery. Then, I can keep my word and play in the Nationals with you."
Sayuri acted on an impulse and hugged him from behind. "Yukimura-san, you're a strong person." Yukimura turned and looked at her, a bit surprised. Sayuri didn't say anymore. She knew that any condolences or things like wishing good luck would sounds phony. The Child of God didn't rely on luck. That, she understood.
Yukimura smiled, something filled with melancholy. "Arigato, Muramoto-chan."
The door to the roof opened.
"Here?"
"Probably here..."
"Hey! Here you are. We brought something." Marui held up what appeared to be a box of cake. "Hey, it's Mimi-chan's friend. Ano... Muramoto-chan!"
"I apologize for the crowd," Yagyuu said.
Yukimura's slight sadness vanished. "How's it going?"
"100% problem-free," Yanagi assured him.
"Right now, we're concentrating on Nationals." Yagyuu said. "Tomorrow's Kantou finals are nothing to worry about."
"We trained according to Genichirou's menu today. There's nothing to worry about." Yanagi said confidently. Sayuri was a little creeped out by his eyes, but said nothing.
Yukimura smiled, "I'm glad to see everyone's doing fine."
"It feels lonely practicing without you." Yagyuu said.
Niou spoke up, "Come back soon, then we can play tennis together."
Sanada began walking off. Sayuri looked at his back, then at the tennis team, and then ran off to follow Sanada.
They walked for awhile, then at a crosswalk. Sanada was about to cross the street.
"Hey!" Two voices called in unison.
"The light's red." A small boy said. Sayuri nodded. Sanada looked surprised as he turned to look at the boy. They continued walking, the mysterious boy following.
"Ne," he said.
Sanada turned, "Do you want something?"
"Can you humor me for a bit?" He said, "I want to return the favor from last time as soon as possible."
Sanada just stared at him. Sayuri glanced Sanada's face, then back to the mystery boy. Who is he?
They went to a tennis court. Both boys got dressed in tennis gear. Sayuri sat on the bench on Sanada's side.
"Let's go," The younger boy said. Sanada got up and followed him onto the court. Sayuri noticed the boy wore a Seigaku jersey. That's the school Eiji goes to.
"Ne, ochibi-chan." She called out. He looked up. "Do you know a Kikumaru Eiji?"
"Oh, Eiji-senpai..." The kid said, "What about it?"
"Nothing..." So this kid plays tennis with Eiji.
"No matter how many times we do this, the result will be the same." Sanada said. The mystery boy served in reply. He scored a point off of Sanada.
"It seems you have improved since we last played." So Eiji's kouhai has played against Sanachi?
"Domo. Here's the next one." He began bouncing a ball on the court.
Sanada interrupted him, "It might be interesting to end our duel here. Since we won't be facing each other tomorrow."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm playing Singles 1." Sanada said.
"So?" Sayuri smiled slightly.
"The finals will end in three matches. I won't get to play."
Sayuri didn't understand, but this made the Seigaku kid really mad. He put his racket on his shoulder and said, "I quit." He began packing up.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
"I want to return the favor during the finals."
"Didn't you hear me? I'm..."
The Seigaku kid cut Sanada off, "Seigaku will win tomorrow. So, later." He left.
xXx
"Sanachi?" Sayuri asked in a gentle voice. "Are you okay?"
He grunted. She acted on another impulse again and walked in front of him. He stared at her. Sayuri hugged Sanada.
"Yukimura-san's going to be fine." She whispered. "He's the Child of God, remember?"
Sanada nodded, but Sayuri could feel his heartbeat. It was quick.
"Sanachi?" She asked. He looked down at her. "I'm gonna come watch your match tomorrow, okay? And you will win against that ochibi Seigaku kid."
Sanada seemingly snapped out of his trance. "Okay, now let go of me, Muramoto."
Sayuri stuck out her tongue. "Hai, hai."
"Let's not tutor today." Sanada said. Sayuri looked at him, seeing determination in his eyes. She understood and nodded. They walked to Sayuri's house. She waved Sanada off. I didn't tell him about the fangirls, did I?
Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. Sayuri made sure to get lots of sleep that night.
xXx
Sayuri woke up early. It was a bright morning, there were birds chirping. There was a fluffy omelet on the table waiting for her as she went into the kitchen. She got dressed in a turquoise sweater dress and black stockings. After slipping on some flats, she set out.
Mimi and Maki were waiting at the tennis park. "I can't believe I'm doing this again." Maki muttered, pulling at her black miniskirt.
"How are you not cold, Maki?" Sayuri asked. Maki was wearing a miniskirt and a thin red motorcycle jacket. Maki shrugged.
Mimi just grinned, her stawberry-pink dress fluttered in the wind. "I can't wait to see Marui-kun's tennis~!"
"Hai, hai. Let's find them." Sayuri led them to where the Rikkaidai team was waiting by the courts.
"Sanachi~" She waved. He looked up.
"Mimi-chan~!" Marui exclaimed excitedly. "Did you bring me a cake?!"
"Of course," Mimi said, handing him a white box. Marui cheered.
A couple minutes passed, "Oi, Sanachi, why are we waiting?"
"Seigaku has some members missing." Sayuri looked over at the Seigaku team. Ah, there's Eiji! I'll say hi to him later.
Finally the missing two boys appeared, one covered in mud.
"We will now start the Kantou Regional Finals between Rikkaidai Fuzoku and Seishun Gakuen."
The players lined up on the court. Sayuri noticed Sanada glancing at the Seigaku ochibi.
Behind where Sayuri, Mimi and Maki sat, there were cheerleaders. Lots of cheerleaders, female and male. Sayuri noticed Pink-head, Silver-head and Blue-head in ugly yellow cheerleader outfits.
The captains went to shake hands. Sayuri glanced at the Seigaku captain, who looked extremely nervous.
Sanada stuck out his hand, "Yorushiku."
Sayuri thought the Seigaku guy with the weird haircut was just going to shake his hand. But she was surprised when he said, "We came here to win. We, Seigaku, will beat you and win the championship!"
Maki whistled. "And here I thought I was looking at a wimp."
Sanada raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
Then he wimped out and got all flustered. Sayuri and Mimi giggled. There was murmuring around the courts at that statement.
"Let's have a good game!" Both teams called. Then they retreated to the bleachers. Sanada took a seat on the bench. Sayuri frowned. Aw... Now I can't bother Sanachi.
Marui and Jackal were on the bench, prepping for the game. Marui was eating the cake Mimi made for him and Jackal was shaving his head.
"Is it good, Marui-kun?" Mimi called.
Marui gave her a thumbs-up. "Yeah! You changed your icing recipe, huh?"
Mimi nodded.
Sayuri listened to Sanada's pep talk. "No lectures, just do what you always do."
Marui and Jackal walked onto the courts. "Seriously, Sanachi?" Sayuri said. "'Do what you always do?" Sanada turned around and glared at her. She stuck out her tongue at him.
Seigaku took the first point with a smash and the game began.
xXx
"Game and match to Rikkaidai Fuzoku! 7-5!" The referee called. Sayuri was blown away.
"DAMN!" She shouted. "That was cool!"
Mimi cheered loudly. Maki rolled her eyes, but she applauded.
All four players collapsed on the court. They ended up carrying them off. Mimi took Marui and Maki took Jackal.
"It's the least we can do," Sayuri explained to Sanada, who gave her a questioning gaze. "Like your team was gonna do it."
The next players stepped onto the court. Niou and Yagyuu. Maki glared at Niou. He gave her a wink. Sayuri looked across the court. Eiji... Oishi...
The game began with Oishi's serve. Sayuri felt a bit conflicted. She wanted to cheer for her childhood friends, but she did belong to Rikkaidai.
Oh well, at least she wasn't wearing a cheerleading outfit. She heard chatter from around the courts.
"It's the national-level Golden Pair!"
Eh? Eiji and Oishi are called the Golden Pair? I never knew that.
Maki just stared at Niou. He looks so cold... Like at the time he broke up with me. She shivered. I hate that look on his face, what's he planning?
Then Niou smiled after losing three consecutive points and said, "I see."
Maki silently prayed for the other team. I don't care if your the Golden Pair or what. Niou Masaharu is going to defeat you.
xXx
Sayuri watched Eiji and Oishi fighting. She heard Sanada saying, "It's over."
She understood.
How were they supposed to play a game of Doubles if Eiji was mad at his own partner?
Maki stared at Niou.
He was breaking their combination the same way he broke her heart.
Coldly and cruelly, without any remorse.
Finally, after they were down 5-0. Sayuri couldn't take it anymore.
"KIKUMARU EIJI!" She shouted. "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"
Eiji looked at the bleachers, "Sayu-chi...?"
"Eiji! Look out!" Oishi blocked Eiji's face with his racket, hitting the ball back. Eiji looked up at the figure of Niou, jumping up for a smash.
And he hit the ball back, landing light as a cat.
Sayuri smiled and called out, "You forgot the 'Hoi hoi~!'"
Eiji smiled back after apologizing to Oishi. "Arigato, Sayu-chi!"
"You know him, Muramoto?" Sanada asked from the bench.
"Ah, he's my childhood friend."
"Hn..."
xXx
...Over on the Seigaku bench...
"Who's that Rikkaidai girl? Momoshiro asked.
Inui check his notebook. "No idea, but she is most likely a childhood friend of Kikumaru."
"I don't care who she is, but I don't know if Eiji would've snapped out of it if she wasn't here." Ryuzaki-sensei said.
Ryoma looked over at the Rikkaidai bench. "Hn, she was with Sanada when I played him yesterday."
"Haa? Seriously?" Momoshiro asked. "Is she Sanada's girlfriend?!"
"Who knows?" Ryoma shrugged.
xXx
"Game and match! Rikkaidai Fuzoku! 6-4!"
Sayuri cheered for Rikkaidai, even if she was a little sad for Eiji and Oishi. As soon as she could, she ran over to the Seigaku bench and glomped Eiji.
"Eiji~!"
"Sayu-chi!"
"Heehee, nice game, nice game!" Sayuri patted Eiji on the head, even if he was half a head taller than her.
"Domo! Oishi was really nice, covering for me!" Eiji said.
"Mhmm! Good job, Oishi-kun!" Sayuri glomped Oishi as well.
"Ah... Arigato, Sayuri-chan." Oishi said, sounding tired.
"Hm, I need to get back to our bench or else Sanachi won't have anybody to annoy him!" Sayuri said. "Let's hang out soon, Eiji!"
"Wait!" Eiji called. "Meet our team first."
"Oh, okay." Sayuri bowed to the tennis team. "I'm Muramoto Sayuri-desu."
Fuji smiled, "Nice to meet you, Muramoto-san."
Ryoma stared at her, "Hm, so your name's Muramoto?"
"Ah! Seigaku ochibi-chan!" Sayuri pointed at him.
"That's Ochibi!" Eiji said. "Echizen Ryoma."
"Hn," Sayuri stared at him. "Sanachi won't lose."
Ryoma turned away, "Mada mada dane."
Sayuri pouted, "Sanachi better beat him up."
"Are you Sanada's girlfriend?" Momoshiro blurted out.
"Momo!" Eiji complained.
Sayuri laughed. "Nope."
A voice cut it, "But she should and will be."
Sayuri turned around, "Mou~ Mimi-chan!"
Mimi and Maki stood there. Mimi giggled, "You know it's true~" To the tennis team, she said. "I'm Tetsuo Mimi-desu."
"Arisa Maki," Maki said curtly. Then she nodded at Kawamura, "Takashi, long time."
Kawamura scratched his head, "Ah."
"Seen Akutsu around lately?"
"Um, we played him at the Tokyo Preliminaries."
"Hm, I'll have to hunt him down. He owes me a drink from our last fight." Maki said.
Oishi stared at her, "You fought Akutsu?"
"Yeah, his punches are something." Maki said, shrugging.
Sayuri could tell Oishi was about to launch into an overprotective rant so she said, "Well, we should get back to the Rikkaidai bench."
Mimi and Maki turned around and walked off. Sayuri turned around, "I'll see you around, Seigaku. Ja ne~"
Momoshiro stared after them, "Senpai, your friend is weird."
Eiji waved his hands. "Sayu-chi isn't that weird! She used to do acrobatics with me all the time."
Kawamura scratched his chin, "I remember Arisa being Akutsu's enemy a long time ago. She used to be really girly too. Something happened to her."
Momo stared in disbelief. "That punk girl used to be girly?"
"Yeah, with the pink and ruffles and everything." Kawamura said.
"Hora! What are you guys doing! Inui is about to play!" Ryuzaki-sensei shouted.
"Hai, hai..."
xXx
Sayuri, Mimi and Maki got back to the Rikkaidai side, only to be met by Pink-head, Silver-head and Blue-head.
"What the hell?" Pink-head said to Sayuri. "You encouraged that Seigaku guy and Rikkaidai almost lost because of you."
Silver-head shoved Sayuri, who hit the floor.
"Whoa, okay, if you think Rikkaidai would lose just because Sayuri here encouraged her friend. Then you're the one that doubted Rikkaidai." Mimi said, watching Maki from the corner of her eye.
Maki was so ready to punch these bitches. Sayuri stood up and stared at the fangirls.
Their glares intensified. Pink-head spoke again. "Hmph, by the way, weren't you injured by that guy?" She smiled innocently. "Right... here?" She poked Sayuri in the cheek, right on top of the bruise she had.
Sayuri gritted her teeth, "Bitch..." Pink-head had rubbed away the concealer and a huge purple blotch was on her face.
Sanada had left to go call Yukimura. He was walking back to the courts after a little talk with that brat, Echizen. A crazy girl with pink hair poked Sayuri in the cheek. He watched Sayuri fall to the floor. He glanced closer at Muramoto. That girl... Does she have a bruise on her cheek? He began walking towards them.
At the same moment, Niou had come back from getting a drink with Yagyuu. He looked over, while drinking from a water bottle. Maki's face was murderous.
"Haa~ There seems to be something interesting going on." He started walking over.
Maki was about to throw a punch at Pink-head's face. Mimi latched onto her, "No! You can't do it, Maki! You'll get suspended!"
"Let go of me, Mimi!" Maki broke free of Mimi's grasp and stepped towards Pink-head. She was about to hit her made-up face.
Only to be blocked by Niou Masaharu.
"Masaharu! You bastard, let me punch her!" Maki shouted, not even caring she used his first name.
Niou clucked his tongue, "Maki, don't do that, it'd be terribly uncouth."
Pink-head, Silver-head and Blue-head all laughed cruelly. "See? Even the tennis regulars side with us, learn your place." Silver-head said.
"Slut." Pink-head spat.
Sayuri was nowhere near crying. She had been bullied in the past, and this was nothing new. But Pink-head was going a bit far. She unwillingly let a single tear slide down her cheek and by the time it hit her dress-
He was there. A shadow fell over her. Sayuri looked up into the big brown eyes of Sanada Genichirou.
Hm, deja vu...
Sanada looked down and took in her bruise, the singular tear-track. He glanced at Niou, who winked.
"Ah! Sanada-sama! That girl is just playing victim! Her friend was about to attack us! Niou-sama saved us!" Blue-head batted her eyelashes at Niou.
Niou's face turned cold. "Shut up, bitch."
Maki stopped trying to get out of Niou's grasp. What...?
Silver-head looked as if she'd been slapped. Sanada glared at all three of them. "Get out..." He said quietly.
"But, Sanada-sama!" Pink-head protested.
Sanada glared at them, "Get. Out. You are embarrassing Rikkaidai Fuzoku Chuu."
Pink-head, Silver-head and Blue-head all looked mortified. They ran out of the courts, dropping their sky-blue pom-poms.
Sayuri stood up and left to go to the bathroom. Sanada stared after her. Niou grabbed Maki's wrist and dragged her off somewhere. Mimi shivered a little, but she was mentally the strongest out of all of them. She glanced at Sanada, "You should go after her."
Sanada thought about it, but decided not to. "I can't, Renji's about to play."
Mimi stared at him, "I see..." Sanada felt like she was judging him. "Well then, I'll go check on her. Sayuri's strong." Mimi walked off.
Sanada went to the courts.
xXx
Niou dragged Maki off to another separate court. She was still in shock from Niou protecting them. He spun around and faced her.
"You okay?" He asked.
"I'm okay?" Maki stared at him blankly.
"If you still need to hit something I'm here."
Maki regained her senses, and punched Niou in the gut.
"Oof," Niou grunted. "I'd forgotten how strong you were."
She grinned. "Thanks, Niou." The grin faded, "But I still hate you."
Niou nodded, "Yeah, I got that."
Maki shoved her hands into the pockets of her motorcycle jacket and walked back to the courts. Her thick-soled shoes made her steps louder. Niou stared after her. Seems like I was worried for nothing.
xXx
Mimi found Sayuri in the bathroom, reapplying concealer.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Sayuri gave her a small smile. "I mean, they're gone right?"
"I told Sanada to come after you," she said. "But he had to go be bench coach."
Sayuri laughed, "It's okay, that sounds like Sanachi."
Mimi hugged her. Sayuri closed her eyes. "It's okay..."
"Come on, Yanagi's match should be halfway over by now." Sayuri pulled away from Mimi's grasp.
"It's okay," Sayuri reassured Mimi. "I think I'll stay out here for awhile."
"In the bathroom?" Mimi asked incredulously.
"No, just around the park." Sayuri threw the concealer in her bag and took out her phone. "I'll play some games, clear my head."
Mimi stared at her worriedly, "Okay."
Sayuri left the bathroom. Mimi went back to the courts. Sayuri went and did some cartwheels over the grass field. She lay down in the grass and stared up at the sky. I'm okay... right? Yeah.
A flashback ripped through her mind.
Boots kicking at her legs. Cruel laughter. Ponytails and curls.
A weak girl with teary purple eyes and messy brown hair. Knees tucked to her chest, just enduring the kicks and laughter.
Sayuri opened her eyes. That was when you first moved to Kanagawa, huh. Those were the tears of a weakling, a coward. I am not that girl anymore. She laughed at the pure ridiculousness of it all.
It hurt, it really did. Being called names and having nearly every female in her school hating you. However, Sayuri had Mimi and Maki and Sanada. And that's enough to make school great. Perhaps, someday she'll make more friends.
But for now, those three people were enough.
xXx
A/N: Well... I don't even know what I just wrote.
So, next time~ Ryoma vs. Sanada and MimiXMarui. I might work on The Black Butterfly of Street Tennis instead, so check that out too!
Please Read and Review!