Hello everyone! Just a heads up! Tsubaki starts to feel emotion in this chapter! So she acts totally different. Well maybe not act, but she's thinking totally different at one part of this story! This would be her natural reaction since she's . . . confused about feelings I guess. Ha ha. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 16
Competition Part 6
"Did you see that?" Koizumi whispered fiercely into Eiji's ear. "DID you SEE THAT?" As Koizumi was saying that, she kicked Eiji's shin under the table for every syllable in the sentence.
Eiji turned his head away from Koizumi and bit down on his lip. He stifled a cry of pain and composed himself. He turned back to Koizumi with a pained smile on his face. He spoke through his teeth. "Of course I saw that! I just can't believe it!"
"Tsubaki! I feel so bad for her! What will Tezuka say? What will he say?"
"I don't know, but Tezuka-buchou already seems jealous enough of Yukimura-san. If he found out what happened, he would be mega jealous and go berserk or something!"
"Why Tsubaki? Why her? Why?" Koizumi whispers were lost when the waiter came by and asked the strange couple what they wanted to drink. The two ordered water and just picked some random item off of the menu.
The two looked back over to Tsubaki to see that she had a huge blush across her cheeks. Tsubaki never ever blushed. Never before had Koizumi seen Tsubaki blush, and they had been friends since they were young kids! The reason for Tsubaki's blush was because of what Yukimura did. While Tezuka excused himself to go to the bathroom, Yukimura leaned in very quickly and gave Tsubaki a kiss on the lips!
"No one is allowed to kiss Tsubaki without her permission first!" Koizumi growled. "Why didn't she just punch the stupid captain and beat him up?"
"What?" Eiji asked. "Tsubaki doesn't seem like the type of person to do that."
"Um . . . yeah . . . okay . . ." Koizumi forgot for a second that Eiji didn't know that Tsubaki was the next heir to a famous Yakuza clan.
Outside, Ayumi, and Miki had their mouths hanging wide open. Aine had looked away in embarrassment, and Sakuno was blushing. The girls were able to find Sakuno at the last minute and drag her alone. She agreed to go because she thought that she would get to go on a date with Ryoma, but she didn't know that they were just going to watch outside through binoculars.
Inui scribbled furiously in his notebook at what he saw, and Takashi also had a blush on his face. Ryoma didn't even care. He was sleeping with his cap covering his eyes. Momo quickly shoved Ryoma and Ryoma fell over.
"What was that for?" he asked angrily.
"Did you see what just happened?" Momo asked.
"Of course I did. But it's Yukimura-san who kissed Tsubaki-sempai, not Tezuka-buchou, so I'm not that interested."
"Come on! It's still something! And think about how Tezuka will react when he finds out!"
"Who says he'll find out?"
"One of us will have to tell him."
"So we'll admit that we were spying on him?"
That one shut Momoshiro up.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Inui whispered. "This is great data! I never imagined in my life that Yukimura-san would ever do something like that!" Inui's voice rose with excitement as he talked about all the data he was gathering from this one spy mission. There were more sounds of furious scribbling as Inui tried to write down as much as he could.
"I don't think this is right," Sakuno mumbled with her cheeks still red.
"Ryuzaki," Ryoma said. Sakuno looked over. "Don't worry about it."
Sakuno blushed again, but for different reasons this time.
"I agree a bit with Sakuno-san," Takashi whispered.
"It's okay Taka-san," Miki comforted him.
"Yeah . . ." Takashi rubbed the back of his head.
"You know what Taka-san?" Miki asked. She pushed her glasses further up her nose.
"Yes Miki-san?"
"I don't hate you."
Takashi blushed a bit at Miki's sudden kindness. They were already sort of friends, but she never admitted before whether or not she hated him or not. He knew that practically all of the girls on the tennis team hated the guys, but Miki had never said anything about it.
"What about the others?" Takashi asked.
"Eh . . . I don't really know them," Miki answered. Which in translation was: I guess I don't hate them hate them. I just dislike them.
"Oh, well, I'm glad you don't hate me."
"I wouldn't have minded if we were chosen to go inside and pretend to be on a date."
"Really?" Takashi smiled a bit at the thought of him and Miki on a date. She seemed nice enough and she was a good tennis player. She seemed like a loner, but she was good at conversation.
"Yeah, really," Miki whispered, looking back in at the restaurant.
Aine was sitting close to Miki and heard a bit of what she and Takashi were talking about. She scooted further away because she didn't want to accidentally eavesdrop. She was secretly glad that someone from the girls' team was getting along really nicely with someone from the guys' team. It was a start at least to some peace. Ever since the war started, the guys had been trying to spend a lot of time with the girls, and the girls got very irritable from it.
Aine turned to look at Momoshiro. She realized that she didn't hate him either. In fact, she didn't hate anyone on the boys team, she just couldn't hate them no matter how hard she tried. It was against her nature to hate anyone.
Momoshiro caught Aine looking at him and he blushed a bit, but then he remembered that he had a girlfriend, and then he also remembered that his girlfriend hated Aine. He didn't understand why his girlfriend hated Aine at all. Aine had only been nice to her. In fact, when Momo and Mei first got together, Aine was super happy for them and she even wished them luck.
Momoshiro snapped out of his revery and asked, "Aine-chan, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Huh?" Aine seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in and she blushed deeply. She was embarrassed for being caught looking at Momoshiro for so long. "I'm sorry Momoshiro-kun. I didn't mean to stare at you, I was just thinking."
That made Momoshiro smile a bit, that meant that Aine was thinking about him. He feigned innocense and asked, "What were you thinking about?"
Aine blushed for fiercely and replied, "Oh it was . . . um . . . it was nothing! Really!" Aine didn't want to admit to him that she was thinking about how she didn't hate him. He would feel bad, and plus, she didn't want to give him the wrong impressions since he had a girlfriend.
"Oh really?" Momoshiro had a stupid big grin all over his face because of Aine's obvious lie.
"Yes really!" Aine ended the conversation there by pretending to look through her binoculars again.
Inside, it seemed like the only pair that was getting along was (surprisingly) Koizumi and Eiji. The others were totally unhappy with who they got stuck with. Well, the girls were unhappy since they practically hated all of the boys from the boys' tennis team.
Saori and Kaido couldn't stop arguing.
"Can't you be a bit more . . . classy or something?" Saori furiously whispered.
"What do you mean by that?" Kaido argued back. "Fsssshhhhh . . ."
"That's exactly what I'm saying! The waiter is scared of you because of how you look! Can't you soften your expression or something? Also stop it with the hissing!"
"You can't tell me what I can and can't do!"
"Well be nice!"
"I am nice!"
"Well be nicer!"
During the middle of their bickering, the waiter came up and just stared at them. He cleared his throat and held up the notepad nervously before asking, "Miss, Sir, are you ready to order yet?"
Saori and Kaido suddenly changed their angry and chagrined expressions into ones that were all lovey-dovey. They smiled at each other and held hands over the table as if they were a real coulple.
"Of course we're ready," Saori said sweetly. She turned to Kaido. "Are you ready honey-buns?"
"I am sweet-cakes. But please, you order first," Kaido replied with an even sweeter look on his face. He smiled at Saori and she smiled back at him. It was like they were sharing some private couple joke.
"Thank you so much darling! This is why I love you the best."
"Why you're welcome love."
The two ordered their food and the waiter left with a creepy feeling. He was confused at the two.
As soon as the waiter left and no one was looking, Saori flung Kaido's hand out of her's and gulped down her water.
"My mouth feels so disgusting after all those things I said to you," she said to Kaido.
"Well, I didn't exactly want to say those embarrassing things either! They were stupid and it felt as if we were in some cheesy romance movie!" Kaido hissed back.
"I don't even know why I agreed to this!"
"Whatever."
The two looked away from each other until the food came and they had to act all lovey-dovey again for the waiter.
There was more peace at Faye and Fuji's table. They were silently eating, and even though their expressions were calm, their minds were frenzied. They had seen what had happened between Yukimura and Tsubaki. Faye couldn't believe that the male captain would do that! He didn't seem like the type, he never seemed interested in any girl, but he was interested in the girls' captain, and Faye was wondering why it had to be Tsubaki he chose. Not only that, but Tsubaki blushed and didn't punch him or anything! Tezuka was back though, so Yukimura wouldn't do that anymore to Tsubaki.
"Maybe we should kiss," Fuji said really close to Faye. He was only a centimeter away from her face.
Faye's hand fluttered to her heart before she said, "Oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack. I wasn't paying attention. Sorry."
"No, I should be the sorry one. Anyways, it's not like it's your fault or anything." Fuji chuckled a bit at Faye's reaction.
"Yeah . . . yeah . . ." Faye's mind wandered back to Tsubaki.
"I wonder what Tezuka will say when he finds out what Yukimura-san did," Fuji inquired. There was a smile on his lips as he thought about what that would do to Tezuka. It would torture him!
"Stop smiling like that, you're creeping me out," Faye said.
"What's wrong with it Faye? Try to enjoy yourself a bit more, we are on a date after all."
"This is not a real date! This is a pretend date that we're on so we can spy on our captains."
"Well, don't forget the deal that you made with Eiji. Rememer? When you needed one of the guys' boxers." Fuji smirked.
Faye wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. "I remember. How can I forget? Because of that stupid deal, you keep hanging out with me."
"Well, you can't force me to go away. Especially since you're the one that made the deal in the first place." Fuji kept the smile plastered on to his face.
"I know. I know. No need to remind me. Yeesh!" Faye mumbled.
Fuji just gave out another chuckle at Faye's reply. She seemed really uncomfortable being on this pretend date with him. He smiled wider at that. She sure was cute when she was uncomfortable.
On the other end of the room, Oishi was freaking out about what had just happened. He was ranting while Kumiko just sat there and ate her food with a bored expression on her face.
"Tezuka will be furious when he finds out what Yukimura-san did" Oishi ranted. "Plus, it's not right to force a kiss on a girl! And that's what Yukimura-san did. He should not have done such a thing! It was wrong of him to do so! He shouldn't do something like that ever. And imagine! Poor Tsubaki. She probably didn't even want to be kissed by him, and yet she got kissed!"
Kumiko just bit into another piece of her pasta and sighed. Her hand rested against her cheek as she tried to stay awake. She was getting tired listening to Oishi long rant She just couldn't take it anymore and she shouted out, "Will you just shut the F—!" But before she could finish, Oishi's hand was covering her mouth.
"Language! We're in a restaurant! And not only that, but a fancy restaurant! So please watch what you say." There was a stern and motherly look on Oishi's face as he looked at Kumiko.
"Why do you keep following me?"
"What?"
"I mean, ever since our captains decided to keep us together, you've done nothing but follow me around and not let me cuss! I haven't cussed ever since before the plan! Now that I'm forced to be with you, I haven't said anything bad in a long time!"
"Well, I just want you to be a better and nicer person. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Yes! Because I hate being nice!" Kumiko turned away from him and stomped on his foot hard under the table.
Oishi kept in his groan of pain, but now, he was more determined than ever. He would make Kumiko into a nicer person because that was the right thing to do. He looked at her while her head was half-turned away from him. She did look like she could be a nice person, but she her looks contradicted her personality exactly.
'No matter what, I'll change Kumiko for the better!' Oishi thought.
Tsubaki was completely unaware of her friends spying on her. In fact, she noticed no one at all. Her mind was spinning at what Yukimura had done. She didn't like him, not like that at least. She didn't like him in that way. She thought he was a kind guy, and she thought that he made a nice acquaintance, but when he kissed her and whispered in her ear that he liked her, she just didn't know what to say.
Thankfully, Tezuka had come back soon. He didn't suspect anything, he just gave her a curious look because her cheeks were still a bit pink.
"Are you sick?" he had asked.
And she had replied with a shake of her head.
Tezuka seemed to sense that something was wrong, he unconsciously grabbed Tsubaki's hand under the table and squeezed it slightly. Tsubaki was grateful for the comfort, even though Tezuka seemed like he didn't do it on purpose. She wanted to hold his hand for a bit longer, but she didn't want to ask because he might have get the wrong impression.
Tsubaki could feel Yukimura's eyes on her and she didn't know what to say. She didn't want to look at him yet. She didn't like him that way, and she didn't know how to tell him that. Tsubaki knew how to handle any situation. She had to know because she was the heir to the Oto clan of the Yakuza. But the only situations that she couldn't handle were the ones that had to do with love or emotions similar to that. She knew family love. Of course she did. She loved her parents and her grandfather very much. That was family love, but she was completely clueless on real love.
Tezuka seemed to finally realize what he was doing and he almost let go of Tsubaki's hand, but when he tried, she held it harder. She didn't want to let go of Tezuka's hand, she needed the comfort for the moment. Tezuka just have her a look of curiosity, but then he went back to eating his food with no expression at all.
"How do you like the food?" Yukimura asked Tsubaki.
"It's delicious," she replied. She looked down at her plate and she forced another bite down her throat. It burned all the way down. It tasted good before Yukimura kissed her, but now it tasted like flames down her throat.
Yukimura smiled at her, and Tezuka (who knew she was lying) raised his eyebrows. She still kept his hand in hers and she squeezed harder.
'Stop thinking like this!' Tsubaki commanded herself. 'You're the heir of the Oto clan! You can't be acting like this. So what if you don't like him? So what if your first kiss was stolen? So what if Yukimura is making you act not like yourself. So what if you like Tezuka's hand in yours . . . wait. What? Why did I just think about Tezuka's hand in mine? Whatever. You have to compose yourself. You have to start acting like your usual serious self again Tsubaki!'
Tsubaki didn't like Yukimura, she concluded that just then. She was tired of being all freaked because Yukimura kissed her. She was now angry at him. How could he ruin a perfectly good friendship with a kiss and a confession? She would never be able to act normal with him again, and if she rejected him, who knew how he would act. Their relationship was perfectly fine before he confessed. She only like him as a friend anyways. She didn't like anyone. She had never before felt feelings of love for anyone. Anyways, if she were to fall for someone, she would choose to fall for Tezuka . . .
She quickly yanked her hand away from Tezuka at her thought. She wouldn't fall for Tezuka! She didn't want to. That was ridiculous. He was just a friend. A good friend. There was no way she would ever fall for him. It was impossible. She almost laughed at her thought. She smiled when she realized that she didn't like anyone. She couldn't . . . not yet anyways.
When the dinner was almost over, the spies had to quickly pay for their food and rush out before Tsubaki and the two male captains could. They quickly called a cab and got home. They were afraid that at any moment, Tsubaki and Tezuka would burst through the front door and see how they were dressed and then guess what they were up to that night. So as soon as they got home, they burst into their rooms and quickly changed into what they were wearing before.
Then the girls all quickly migrated to the living area and started pretending to watch TV/read/study/sleep. The guys saw what the girls were doing and saw that the girls had taken up all of the living room!
"Hey! Make room for us you guys," Momo demanded.
"No! We were here first. Go in the . . . dining room or something!" Koizumi argued.
"Please girls?" Oishi asked. "We can also pretend to be getting along since Tsubaki-san and Tezuka want us to try to get along."
"No!"
An idea popped into Fuji's mind as he smiled and said, "If we pretend to be getting along, the maybe Tsubaki and Tezuka will cancel the co-ed tennis."
The girls all shouted, "Come in and sit down then!"
The girls made room for the guys and they all sat down either on the couch or the floor. The armchairs could only fit one person and they were all filled up. The were all quiet, but when they heard the click of the of key in the lock, they started chatting uncomfortably about random things. Most of them weren't even making sense in what they were talking about.
Tezuka and Tsubaki heard the noise so they went in the living room of the house.
"What's going on here?" Tsubaki asked with her serious expression.
Koizumi breathed a sigh of relief at Tsubaki's expression. She seemed to be back to normal again. She didn't look like how she did at the restaurant. Koizumi fixed on a fake smile as she threw her arm over Eiji's shoulders. "Nothing's going on here. The only thing that I'm doing is making up with Eiji. I'm apologizing for being so mean to him. I mean, he didn't mean to break my guitar and he apologized a million times, and yet I still didn't accept it. Well now, I'm going to make up with him." Koizumi's arm squeezed Eiji's shoulders tighter until he was uncomfortable. Her fake smile got faker and she squeezed Eiji's shoulders until it hurt.
"I accept your apology!" Eiji gasped out and got out of Koizumi's grasp.
The two captains looked at each other before sighing. They weren't being tricked, they knew that the girls still weren't getting along with the guys.
"Everyone," Tezuka bellowed, "get to bed. We have a big day of training tomorrow."
The girls and guys grudging went up the stairs. Ayumi was rooming with Tsubaki, so she wanted to ask about Yukimura's kiss, but if she asked Tsubaki would know that Ayumi and everyone else was spying. In their room, Ayumi struggled to keep her mouth shut about Yukimura. She decided it would be best when Tsubaki mentioned it to them instead.
Oishi was rooming with Tezuka and he was worried about how Tezuka would feel. He sighed and asked, "Tezuka, how do you feel about Tsubaki-san?"
Tezuka seemed to be taken aback a bit. "We're friends. Good friends. That's it."
"That's not exactly answering my question. I mean, I now you're good friends, but how do you feel about her?"
"I think of her as a friend. Nothing more. Nothing less."
"Then how come you're always with her when she's with Yukimura-san?"
Tezuka paused for a minute. Maybe to gather his thoughts on the matter, or maybe to come up with an excuse. He finally answered, "I want to protect her from Yukimura-san. I feel as if he has something up his sleeve."
'The only thing he has is feelings for Tsubaki,' Oishi thought.
Oishi couldn't take it anymore. Tezuka seemed sincere, and his answer seemed to be the closest thing to a confession as he would allow. Oishi's conscience was botherng him, and he shouted out, "Yukimura-san kissed Tsubaki-san!"
Everyone, please review! Reviews (that are good) make me update sooo much faster I've notice! Because when I get reviews, I feel as if my readers actually want me to continue. Anyways, if you guys want to see what the characters look like, go to my profile, and don't forget to vote for your favorite of my OCs on my profile as well.