*PLEASE READ*
This is Dreamer852's sister. She can't update her stories anymore.
She worked hard to get the next chapter of her stories out, always telling me her friends are waiting, so I'll post the most recent unfinished chapter.
xxx
"Oi, Ry-o-ma!" Ruka dragged out, "Momoshiro-san is on the phone!"
"Usu." Ryoma walked over and plucked the phone from Ruka's outstretched hand.
"OI BRAT! YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND!" the loud mouthed boy screamed, causing the Echizen twins to wince and Ryoma pull the phone away from his ear.
Ruka looked over at her sibling in curiosity, why hadn't Ryoma ever told her about it? Plus, she'd always thought her brother was a little too dense for that kind of stuff. (A/N: yes, because you can talk Ruka – sorry, really had to add that in :P)
"What are you talking about Momo-senpai?" Ryoma finally recovered and muttered into the phone.
"You know, a GIRLFRIEND! G–I–R–L–F–R–I–E–N–D." The broom head spelled it out for him like it was a foreign language.
Ryoma sighed and placed the phone back on the receiver. "Baka, Momo-senpai." He cursed under his breath. Echizen Ryoma was too busy with tennis and looking after his sister to even have a girlfriend. Just what was his best friend on about?
There was a buzz in his pocket and he quickly answered the call. It was from Tezuka, so it was quite unusual.
"Echizen. Yudan sezu ni to focus on your school studies as well as tennis too."
Ryoma opened his mouth to reply, but his phone started beeping and he sighed in realisation that his buchou had already hung up on him.
"You have a girlfriend?" Ruka questioned, eyebrows raised knowingly, "No wonder why you're always out late these days."
"O-Oi, I'm just eating burgers with Momo-senpai." Ryoma denied.
"Is it your coach's granddaughter? Ryuugaki or something?" Ruka ignored his protest.
"It's Ryuuzaki-sensei." Ryoma corrected.
"Whatever." Ruka poked her tongue out, "You know, if you need any help with the 'girly' stuff, feel free to ask me!" she joked as she left the hallway.
"Mada mada dane, you're barely a girl yourself." Ryoma muttered, annoyed at everyone's misinterpretation.
"I heard that!" Ruka called out, pretending to act angry.
The boy's eyes twitched as he power walked to the safety of his room before he had to face the wrath of Ruka.
xxx
"Ne, ne! Did you know your brother has a boyfriend?!" Akaya ran up to Ruka, waving his phone in the said girl's face.
The text screamed about 'Echizen has a mysterious girlfriend' and such and she checked the sender to find Bunta's mail address on the screen.
"I heard, was Bun-chan the one who found out?" Ruka asked, in high hopes of tracking down the gossip goat and confronting him… or her.
"Nope!" Akaya smiled, "When I asked him, he said that he found out from Jirou-senpai who heard from his buchou, who found out from Fuji-senpai over in Seigaku. But apparently he found out from his brother, who was told by that creepy guy Mizuki. Also, Mizuki said that the person who'd told him had a photo sent to him as well, but he didn't want to pay from extra credit to send the photo. Then Marui-senpai said he'd asked around, but then the other person with the photo had said he'd heard it from someone else that had heard from others but wouldn't tell who." The boy finally let out a big breath and nodded.
Ruka blinked wildly, trying to decode the first half of what Akaya had said, and still registering the other part he'd rushed through.
"Oh yeah, the chain doesn't stop there. I don't know who sent the first message though. That's all I've got." Akaya said when Ruka was still stuck in her stunned silence.
"Oh." Ruka nodded and put a strained smile on her face to show that she understood. Akaya noticed this and felt his heart drop in mild disappointment at the fact that the information he'd supplied didn't seem like enough. Unfortunately, he didn't think about the fact that he'd just plain confused her.
"Kirihara. 40 laps for slacking off!" Genichiro yelled when he spotted the young pair and walked up to them to scream it into Akaya's face, effectively making the poor boy jump out of his skin.
"H-Hai!" the devil sprinted off, zooming around the courts quickly.
"Ruka, stop distracting everyone." The Emperor then said in a softer tone.
"Yes sir!" she saluted in a gruff voice as Genichiro huffed and almost turned away before Ruka called him back, "Ah, but, Gen-chan. Shouldn't you be doing laps too? I heard participating in your own punishments actually helps you to improve." She said, trying to imitate Renji and his… intellectualness. Even going as far as acting out scribbling incoherent notes in a book then snapping it shut. Although it would have been more realistic if she'd actually had pen and paper.
Genichiro sighed. There was no use defying the girl… she'd definitely make a great wife who would be able to wrap him around her finger. Wait… WHAT?! The fukubuchou shook his head to clear the thoughts and stopped himself from sprinting back to the pole he'd just passed and bash his head on it so hard that he'd be put into a coma with permanent brain damage and amnesia, just so he could forget about the forsaken pretty girl.
He shook his head again. The damn idea was just so tempting, but deep inside, his heart just couldn't deny the fact he'd rather have the girl by his side.
"Sanada-fukubuchou! Seiji- san just twisted his ankle!"A first year called out from court D when the boy had finished running his laps, the energetic Kirihara having sped past him every time they came close to each other – he probably had a scary look on his face.
"Help him up to the nurse's office." Ruka spoke before Genichiro.
"Hai!" a few first years dropped their rackets and chair-lifted him towards the building.
It looks like the fukubuchou himself was now losing the job of 'replacement' captain while Seiichi was stuck in the hospital bed.
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"Have you tried crawling or walking on your knees yet?" The doctor asked her, holding a clipboard.
The hospital had agreed to let Ruka pay for her rehab fees after she had recovered. She was sure her parents wouldn't mind. After all, Nanjiro doesn't work, yet he is still adding to his… stash. He must have money sitting somewhere.
"Nope." Ruka answered, she was now sitting on the ground, and her were legs spread out in front of her. She was currently rebuilding her muscles back up so that she wouldn't just flop to the ground after standing up.
Apparently she was recovering three times the average faster than anyone else – probably because she'd been immobile for so long and was extremely keen on getting back up to play. The other reason could be because she'd stay up every night until two in the morning just to recover.
She could now stand, both feet on the ground, while holding onto something for support for about ten minutes before she became too tired.
"Well, let's move you over to the rails. We can do some exercises to help you take your first steps." The doctor nodded like he hadn't really payed attention in the first place, "Try crawl over to the rails maybe." He tapped his pencil against the clipboard in an annoying manner.
Ruka nodded and hesitantly rose to her hands and knees. She tried to push her leg forward across the carpeted floor, but failed to do so. Her legs felt like they didn't have the power to move, but just stay there, propping her up. She kept trying, the tapping of the pencil on clipboard become louder and increasing in its pace.
She eventually gave up and dragged herself to the rails, the doctor seemingly nodding in approval.
A nurse came along and placed her hands under her arms, help Ruka up to grab onto the railing and stand on her two feet. The nurse then bent down and started moving her leg.
"Now, if I bend your leg like this, does it feel like I'm doing all the work for you? Or do you feel like your muscles and nerves are being worked along with it?" She questioned.
"Well, I might be able to swing my leg a little bit if you let go." Ruka nodded.
"Hmm." The nurse paused, "What about the other leg, could you try move it now?"
Ruka made a weird wiggle-like movement with her leg, trying to stifle her laughter over her embarrassment.
"It's okay," she quickly reassured, "It's a good start, actually."
Gulping silently, Ruka listened intently to the nurse for the rest of the session, nodding when the time seemed right. She made mental notes and thanked the doctor and nurse at the end of the allocated time.
Ruka was happy. This was the first step to her journey.
xxx