Disclaimer: Konomi Takeshi owns Prince of Tennis.
There was no fish to catch, but Tezuka's grip on the fishing pole tightened. His face remained cool and composed as always, but his eyes were not focused on anything. He had been thinking.
Only a week had passed since the last time Tezuka went fishing with his grandfather, but he found himself going to the ocean anyway. He was alone, though, because Kunikazu's doctor instructed the older Tezuka to stay at home and rest due to health constraints.
Nonetheless, Tezuka still went fishing. He had many things to think about, and fishing always helps him clear his mind.
He was already in his third year of middle school, his last chance to bring Seigaku to the nationals. The doctor told him his arm had been fully healed, but he was well aware of the fact that he could risk injuring it again in the coming tournaments. There are many strong opponents who were at the same level as him.
There was no doubt that he would risk everything he had to win, even his arm. But would he be able to face the consequences? If he would not be able to play tennis again, would he be able to take it? Would he be able to deal with a life without tennis?
His musings were interrupted when he felt a slight tug, and he pulled reflexively. He caught a fish, and put it in a bucket.
He raised his left arm, and stared at his palm. Then, he clenched his fist. He did not feel any pain. For now.
I can't let my guard down.
That weekend, Yoko went to the ocean as usual. She wore her usual nervous face, but the usual determination in her eyes was replaced by a bittersweet acceptance and a lingering sense of longing. And, as if trying to convince herself, she wore her usual smile that says everything was going to be alright.
She closed her eyes, and allowed the sea breeze to blew her hair and touch her skin. She removed her slippers, and felt the warmth of the sand with her bare feet.
And, as always, it felt as if she was with her mother. Her mother she could not remember even in her earliest memories.
Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the blinding light. She took one deep breath, and, without hesitation, took a step forward.
She kept walking until her feet reached the waters. It was cold, but she did not feel it. She continued walking, comforted by the thought that she was with her mother.
The water reached her chest, and she began to feel fear. But she shook it all away, and immersed herself under the water for as long as she could.
Tezuka put his fishing pole down. He saw the girl arrive a while ago, but now she was nowhere to be seen. The sight of her slippers told him that she had not left while he was not looking, but he did not hear any splash since she had arrived. Where could she have gone?
He was worried, knowing that the girl did not know how to swim.
Yoko felt the pressure of the water on her chest, but she did not care. What she felt at that moment was more than her mother's hug. She thought of it as the feeling of being inside her mother's womb, of sharing their lives inside the same body, of being one.
She stayed like that for a while, until a melody began playing in her head. It was the same melody that played in her mind that day on the church, so she let the music carry her away. The melody was warm and soothing, but sad and melancholic. It was refreshing.
The melody was about to reach its climax when Yoko felt that she was running out of oxygen. She did not want the melody to stop. She wanted to finish it. There was something about it that draws her in, but whatever it was, she could not tell. She just knew it.
And so Yoko held her breath and fought the urge to inhale. But when memories of that incident flashed in her mind, her feet bolted her up to the surface without warning.
Tezuka let out a sigh of relief when he saw the girl emerge from the water. He was suddenly aware of the cold sweat running down his temples, and eagerly wiped them with a towel. He removed his glasses and wiped his eyes, and then wiped his hands afterwards.
Undoubtedly, the girl made him worry. After all, he was the only one around who can save her if something happened. Even though he did not know her, his conscience would not be able to take it had she been in danger and he did not do anything at all to help her out. Guilt would haunt him for the rest of his life, that's for sure.
He shot her a quick glance to check if she was okay, and went back to fishing.
The melody stopped the moment Yoko gasped for air. The girl wiped the water on her face with her hands and took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She was this close to getting herself drowned, and yet she was still concerned about the mysterious melody.
She felt cold as the sea breeze blew, and submerged herself in the water once more for the promise of warmth and in the hope of hearing the melody again.
Fukuda looked over her young miss from inside the limo some distance away from the shore. Not too close, for Yoko wanted some space and alone time, but not too far either, so she could save her just in time if ever she got into trouble.
The old woman could not help but remember the time when Yoko suddenly disappeared from the mansion one day. They looked for her everywhere, only to find her trying to swim in the ocean. They had hired swimming instructors to teach her, but they all quit. Yoko always muttered, "It doesn't feel right," every session. And then she would climb up the pool, bow before them, and excuse herself.
She figured it has something to do with the place, and not with the way the instructors were teaching her young miss. Yoko was a bright child, and she knew she had caught on her father's sudden outburst when she nearly drowned herself.
Of course, the instructors would not approve of teaching a beginner in the ocean had they known what Yoko meant. But they were too busy nursing their bruised egos to care.
When she reported the young lady's disappearance to her father, he ordered them to let her be, and just keep an eye on her. They all knew she was yearning for her mother's presence, and they were willing to do everything in their powers to make her happy.
But now, her young miss looks like she was ready to move on.
Yoko submerged herself in the water several times, but she could not hear the melody anymore. She contemplated going for one last try, but she suddenly became aware of the yellow and orange hues of the supposedly azure sky. Had she been that long in the ocean already?
She thought about the melody for while, but decided to let it slip for now and hoped to hear it again sometime.
She hugged herself and rubbed her upper arms to keep away the cold as she walked to the shore. She bent down to pick her slippers up, and faced the ocean with a warm smile.
Bye bye, okaa-san.