AN: Hey readers and fellow writers! How's my fic so far? How you all are enjoying it! I know that I might have grammatical mistake or something, (even though I already checked it for about three times!) I hope you all look past those simple mistakes and focus on the development of the plot.
Chapter 3:
Ryoma woke up early in the morning and attended the morning practice. He attended the practice. Tezuka made him run laps for being absent during their practice last week. After running, he joined the regulars in their drills. Ryoma felt well that morning and was able to keep up with the training. Normally he would exhaust quickly and would be breathing heavily after practice.
After practice, he went inside the classroom and was greeted by Sakuno.
"Good Morning, Ryoma-kun!", Sakuno said happily.
"Morning.", Ryoma answered back.
Their teacher came in late today because of some random student who threw up in the hall ways and was needed to be taken to the clinic. Turns out the poor guy ate soiled food and was having a bad stomach ache. Their teacher, Oikawa-sensei, was the only teacher around that time so she was the one who was obliged to help the poor student.
Ryoma felt disgusted by the story their teacher told them. Why would she have to tell them that stomach churning story early in the morning? She was ruining the learning atmosphere of their room. Ryoma thought the student was stupid because he did not notice that the food he ate was not really appropriate to eat.
After a while of pleading the students to be silent, the lesson finally started. She gave out the result s of the test they took last week. She called them one by one.
"Echizen. Good work you only got three mistakes." Oikawa said. The rest of the class looked at Ryoma in awe. Who knew that that the quiet guy who never talks to anybody except, maybe Sakuno, was so good in math. Sakuno was amazed that Ryoma got a very high score although most of them found it hard.
"Che. Not good.", Ryoma muttered as he received his test score in math. Although math was not his best subject, he still expected to have a higher score because he knew all of them already. His tutor from before already taught him this topic. He made stupid errors on some of the numbers. He should have gotten a perfect score if not for those careless mistakes.
"Ryoma-kun, you're so smart! You got the highest score in the class.", said Sakuno who only got 80 percent of the test.
"Not really. I made stupid mistakes and ended up getting the wrong answer.", he replied in a slightly disappointed tone.
"That's okay. Just don't be careless next time.", Sakuno said in a comforting tone, although she was not sure if she should be the one who does the comforting instead of him. She was already satisfied with her score although it was lower than him.
"Right. Thanks. You also did well, by the way. Considering you are not so good with numbers.", Ryoma said teasingly.
"Mou!", Sakuno exclaimed. She was blushing because of what Ryoma said. It was true that she was not that good at numbers but she wanted to have a good grade in this subject, so she worked hard on studying.
~~~~hohohohohoho~~~~
After that morning classes, Ryoma and Sakuno headed out to their usual spot at the back of the school, under the Sakura tree. They ate their lunch there. Sakuno brought an extra food for Ryoma. She gave him a chocolate cake. Ryoma gratefully accepted the dessert and asked her to join him in eating the cake.
"Thanks for the cake.", he said as he motioned Sakuno to eat as well.
"Ah. It's nothing. I just want to thank Ryoma-kun for walking me home these past few days.", Sakuno said.
"Don't mention it. Anyway, this cake is really delicious."
"R-really? I-I made that last night. I noticed that you are fond of eating sweets so I made one."
"Yeah. I do like sweets. Although I am not allowed to eat so much of them."
"Why not?"
"Because it is bad for my health. My blood sugar might go up if I eat too many sweets."
"O-oh. Is it fine for you to eat this then?"
"Yeah. I've been well these past few days so I guess it's okay."
"Umm… if you don't mind me asking, do you have some kind of sickness, Ryoma-kun? You seem to be mindful about your health."
Ryoma looked at Sakuno for a while, considering if he should share his situation with someone. He was scared that she might pity him if she heard of his sickness. But he thought he already considered Sakuno as his best friend, so there is no harm in telling her since he trusts her.
"I do.", he said in a slightly depressed tone. He really doesn't like talking about this.
"Oh. I'm sorry for asking.", she said in a worried tone. She noticed his sad tone and thought that maybe she offended him or something.
"No. It's okay. I want to tell you anyway.", he said. He took a deep breath before talking again.
"You see, I was born with a weak heart. I always was inside a hospital room when I was younger. I never went to a normal school until this year. When I was in America, it was either I was in the hospital or at home. Oyaji would teach me tennis when my health permits it. He said that I was pretty good at it so I felt happy. I trained hard to be a good player when I have the chance. During my sick days, my mom would bring to me my cello and listen to me play. And recently, my doctor said that my health is getting better because my medications are taking effect. That's why Oka-san decided to move back here in Japan. She wanted me to attend a normal school and to have a normal life. Oyaji also said that I might improve my tennis here."
"Oh. I'm glad that you are getting better already Ryoma-kun. Do your best!", Sakuno said happily. She was surprised that Ryoma has a serious illness. She was worried for him.
"Thanks. You are the first person I ever told about his, you know?", Ryoma said, a bit embarrassed because he acted a bit weak in front of Sakuno.
"Don't worry about it. Thanks for telling me about it.", she answered, giving him a kind smile.
Somehow, Ryoma felt relieved that Sakuno did not react negatively about what he said. He was somehow happy that she understood. It was also nice that some people know about your situation. It made him feel better. It was also nice to hear that she would be supporting him from behind. He was lucky to have a very understanding and kind friend to talk to.
~~~~hohohohoho~~~~
The bell soon rang and they went back to their classroom. It was now English subject. The strict teacher, who was named Honda-sensei entered the room and ordered silence from the body. He announced that they will be having a pop quiz today. Everyone gasped in surprise, except Ryoma. The teacher smirked evilly and started to distribute the test papers.
Ryoma eyed the questionnaire given and sighed. This will be a piece of cake. I could answer this with my eyes closed. He finished the test in 5 minutes. The rest of the class was having a hard time. It was almost as if they didn't know what to wright. He noticed that Sakuno was also having a hard time answering. He just wished her good luck in his mind. It was not like he could help her during the test.
Honda-sensei collected the paper after tem minutes. He immediately checked the papers. After checking all the papers, he gave back their paper.
"I'm sorry to say that many of you got low in the test. Why don't you study more seriously?", he asked mockingly.
"One of you got a perfect score though. You should learn from him. Here you go Echizen-kun.", he said as he gave Ryoma his paper. For the second time that day, Ryoma's classmates stared at him in awe. Ryoma walked towards the teacher and received his paper and went back to his seat as if he did not just get a perfect score in an English pop quiz.
"Wow, Ryoma-kun. You're the highest again.", commented Sakuno.
"No big deal.", he muttered. He kept the piece of paper and gazed outside the window. Honda-sensei was now teaching. Ryome found it boring since he knew all of it already. He wanted to take a nap but he might be punished by the teacher so he resisted and just settled in staring into space. Luckily, the teacher did not notice him not paying attention during his discussion. Sakuno was constantly giving him worried glances because she noticed that he was not paying attention or taking down notes.
The class finished and they stretched for a little. They felt stiff after the class with Honda-sensei because he wants everyone in class to face front and seat straight. He notices them whenever they move so the class almost did not move for almost an hour.
The rest of the afternoon passed slowly. And when the bell rang, Ryoma quickly gathered his things and prepared to go to the tennis court. But then he remembered that Sakuno is assigned to clean for today. He decided to wait for her so that they could go to the courts together. The courts of the girl's team are right next to the one the boy's team use.
He watched as Sakuno cleans the black board and throws away the trash. He could not help but think aloud, "Why is she so slow?". Sakuno heard this and quickly glanced at Ryoma who was standing by the door, waiting for her. She blushed a little but then said, "Why are you here? And if you are being impatient, why don't you try and help me do these cleaning so that it would be done more quickly?"
Ryoma smirked and said, "Sure. Because I am such a good friend I will help you do your job in cleaning this filthy classroom." , giving emphasis on the word 'your'.
Sakuno resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said, "Yeah. Do that so that we could get out of here."
The cleaning of the classroom was finished earlier with the help of Ryoma. They walked briskly to the tennis courts. As they were getting near, Ryoma noticed that the practice is already starting and Tezuka was standing outside and looked sternly at his approaching figure. Ryoma knew that he will be running laps because of his tardiness no matter what valid excuse he may have.
"Oh, man! You got me late for practice. Now I'll surely run laps till my feet bleeds." Ryoma stated sarcastically.
"Well, sorry for holding you up, best friend. Who asked you to wait for me anyway?", Sakuno answered.
"Oh, and I suppose I should receive a thank you for helping you do your chores, right?", he said teasingly.
"R-right…thanks. Hehe.", Sakuno said as she laughed lightly. She felt happy talking to Ryoma like this. They are talking like real close friends.
"Don't mention it, Ryuuzaki. See you later.", he said as he rushed towards the club room to change clothes.
Sakuno also walked faster to the other court.
"Your late, Echizen.", said Tezuka as Ryoma approached him.
"I helped clean the classroom.", he stated calmly.
"Hn. Now run 10 laps. After that join the other regulars."
"Hai.", Ryoma said as he proceeded to run his laps.
After running, he went inside the court and joined the other regulars, who are all gathered in front of coach Ryuuzaki and Inui, who became their trainer. As he neared them, Eiji nearly crushed his bones as he gave him a hug.
"Waaa! Ochibi is late!", he said energetically.
"Let go of him, Eiji. He is turning blue.", Oishi said, transforming into his mother hen self. Eiji quickly let go of the quietly struggling freshman regular and said sorry. Ryoma coughed a little and then regained his composure. He sent his sempai a menacing glare and muttered a threat to himself. "I am going to seriously injure you someday, Kikumaru-sempai" The other regulars sensed the evil intent oozing out of his body. Fuji showed a sadistic smile, muttering something about amusing little children and their amusing childish threats.
Tezuka interrupted the ruckus and ordered them to pay attention.
"Now. The district tournament is slowly approaching. We should step up our training. Our aim this year is the nationals. To do this, all of you should work hard on your training and don't slack off.", Coach Ryuuzaki said to them.
Inui introduced a new training regimen for them and also said that whoever who fails to do the task will be given his Super-Ultra-Delicious-You're-Gonna-Die-Inui Juice. He showed to them the blackish, brownish, greenish substance that was inside a nice wine glass. All regulars paled, with the exception of Fuji, who was muttering something about wanting to try it out the new flavor of Inui Juice, and Tezuka, who remained his stoic self.
The training was to hit a colored ball in their corresponding colored cones. The colors of the tennis balls and cones are red, blue, yellow and green. But not just as simple as that, after 10 tennis balls is returned, another ball will be served making it two at a time. They are required to return the colored ball to the cone with the same color 20 times. After that they will be saved from drinking the punishment.
The first one to do the drill was Kaido and Momo. They were in different courts, of course. Inui and Sumire were the ones serving. They took their position on the opposite side and prepared for the incoming ball.
Both returned the first ten balls to their corresponding cones correctly but when a second ball was added, Momo immediately got it wrong. He hit it on the wrong cone so he was punished. Not long after, Kaidoh also made a mistake. He let one of the balls pass him. They drank the punishment and immediately, as soon as they took the first gulp, they went unconscious, failing to run for the water taps and wash away the disgusting taste of the so-called juice.
The bodies were dragged to the side of the courts. The other regulars gulped, seeing the pitiful scene made by the both second years unconscious on the floor. The next pair was called. It was Eiji and Ryoma. They went to the court and prepared for the ball.
Ryoma found it easy to distinguish the color of the ball because of his very good eyesight. He returned all of the tennis balls back to the right cone. Although he had a hard time when there were two at a time. He almost missed some of them, luckily he knew how to use the split step, so he was able to catch up to them and hit it back correctly.
Eiji, having excellent eyesight as well, hits the balls easily. When two tennis balls were hit, he was challenged but he still was able to manage to hit it back. It was the last 2 and he was able to hit the second to the last, but was unable to hit the last one because he thought that the last one he hit was the last one. (A/N : Get it? Hehe…kidding. :D) Inui approached him and gave him the accursed drink. Eiji immediately ran to the fountains but was unable to reach it because the extraordinary power of the drink overpowered him.
Taka and Oishii were the next called. Taka was able to hit the first set but was unable to return the rest when a second ball was added. He also went unconscious as soon as he took the first sip. Oishii was able to return all of the shots but he made a mistake and returned the ball to the wrong cone. He ended up unconscious after tasting the accursed juice that Inui made.
Tezuka and Fuji were the last ones to do the drill. As expected, the captain did not miss a ball and finished the drill quickly. Fuji easily returned all the shots but intentionally missed the last ball. He told Inui that he wanted to taste the new flavor of his new drink. He drank the slimy looking beverage in one gulp.
"This one is good, Inui. I recommend this. Everyone should try it as well. Why don't you try, Echizen and Tezuka.", he asked in a sweet tone.
"No thanks.", said Tezuka giving off a slightly disgusted look.
"I'll pass.", Ryoma immediately said as he took a step back.
After about 10 minutes of break, the rest of the regulars recovered. They stood up but they still felt a bit of stomach ache from the juice. The training continued. They practiced doubles. Momo and Echizen were paired up for the first practice game.
"Why do I have to play doubles?", Ryoma complained.
"Ochibi! Playing doubles is great! You should try it too!", said the jumping Eiji. Oishi came and tried to calm him down.
"And why do I have to be paired up with this baka?", he said in an insulting voice, while pointing his index finger towards the standing Momo.
"Why you-!". Momo exclaimed as he gave Ryoma a head lock.
"Seize!", Tezuka ordered. "Stop goofing around and go on with the practice match. Or do you want to drink Inui's juice?", he threatened.
The four of them hurriedly went to the court and started the game. Ryoma really sucks at playing doubles. He chases after every ball that goes to their side of the court and would occasionally collide with Momo, who complained about him taking all the shots. In the end, they lost miserably.
"That was a terrible game, Echizen!", Momo exclaimed as he drank his water.
"I never played doubles before. How do you expect me to be good at it?", he said sarcastically.
"What! Ochibi never played doubles before? What a pity!", shouted Eiji as he ruffled the hair of the shorter boy.
"Stop it.", Ryoma said in a monotonous tone.
Eiji stopped bothering Ryoma and went to Oishi to complain about Ryoma being mean to him. Oishi sweatdropped and gave Ryoma an apologetic smile. Ryome just shrugged it off and stared at the ongoing game of the rest of them.
The practice ended quickly because Tezuka dismissed them earlier. When they finished changing, Momo and Eiji approached Ryoma.
"Ne, Ochibi! Want to go eat burgers with us.", Eiji said with a lot of enthusiasm.
"Yeah, Echizen. You should also hang out with your sempai. Eiji-sempai here will treat us.", Momo said.
"What? No fair!", complained the acrobatic player.
"Sempais should treat their Kohais right?", Momo said, giving Eiji a sly smile.
"Fine. But next time, you should be the one.", said Eiji while giving him a pout.
"Now that that's settled. What do you say, Echizen?", asked Momo.
"Can't.", he said briefly as he exited the locker room and headed for the gate. Although he wanted to go with them, he still refused because he told Sakuno that he would walk her home today as well.
"But why?", whined Eiji.
Ryoma ignored them and just headed for the gate. When he saw Sakuno, he waved at her a little and walked falser.
"Hey.", Ryoma said as he was in front of her.
"Hi, Ryoma-kun.", said Sakuno happily.
"So this is why you declined our generous offer of treating you to hamburgers today?", said the Momo, with a sly smile.
"Ochibi is going to have a date with Sakuno-chan! But you are so young!", Eiji whined.
"Ignore them, Ryuuzaki. Let's go home.", Ryoma said as he grabbed her hand and started to walk.
"But Ryoma-kun, you should go with Momo-sempai and Eiji-sempai. They said that they will treat you right? Let me guess. Although you secretly want to go with them, you declined because you were supposed to walk me home, right?", asked Sakuno.
"Precisely."
"I could go home by myself, you know. You could go with them if you want.", said Sakuno.
Upon hearing this, Momo and Eiji's hope raised. They really wanted to hang out with the freshman rookie.
"Well…I guess I could go with you today, sempai. Since this girl just rejected my offer of walking her home, I have no choice but to accept your treat. How mean.", he said teasingly.
"Sh-shut up! No one said you should walk me home. I'm leaving.", Sakuno said as he walked away, blushing in embarrassment.
"Yay! Ochibi could go with us now!", Eiji exclaimed happily.
"Great! Now off we go!", Momo said as they marched towards the nearest fast food chain.
AN: Hey! Please leave reviews! You don't want to make me beg! haha! Just kidding! Hope you are not yet getting tired of reading this... you know? cuz you think it's boring. (I hope not! :(( ) Click the review button and tell me what you think!