Disclaimer: I do not own Tennis no Ohjisama and Card Captor Sakura, especially each anime's characters. Iwase Kumiko-san, Yasuhiro-kun, Maeda Hideki-san and the Reverie Café are my own creations. Any similarities with real people and/or places are unintentional and coincidental.
Author's Note: This story is not a crossover fanfiction regardless of Daidouji Tomoyo's and Hiiragizawa Eriol's occasional appearances.
Enjoy reading.
The Sadist of Seigaku
Chapter 13: Assertion
"Exhaustion."
Fuji remembers the school nurse's one-worded reply as to why his favorite kohai is down with a fever.
He laces his fingers with Sakuno's as his left brushes a few strands of auburn hair.
'Exhaustion' is just the tip of the iceberg on why his kohai collapsed. Sakuno may not be as physically fit as the members of the tennis club, but she is not that sickly. Besides, she has been jogging with him. That should have built her stamina even a little.
Somehow, he thinks that yesterday's rain is the reason of it all.
He instinctively tightens his grip on Sakuno's hand at the thought of her running in the rain.
"Fuji."
Oishi Syuichiro stops midway from crossing the room as he takes in the sight of his teammate seated on a stool by Sakuno's bed. The sight of Fuji being rather close to a girl – with their coach's granddaughter no less – still makes him uncomfortable. He's always been used to Fuji being with the Seigaku regulars and setting a slight distance between him and girls – fangirl or not.
Shaking his head to remove all the negative thoughts, he approaches his teammate and taps him on the shoulder.
"The meeting is about to start in five minutes," he continues quite reluctantly.
Half expecting not to receive any decent reply, Oishi is surprised when Fuji noiselessly stands from his seat and looks straight at him.
"Saa…let's go. Tezuka wouldn't want us missing."
The vice captain blinks at him, confusion evident in his eyes. He isn't expecting that he'll easily peel him away from Sakuno's side.
Fuji forces a smile upon seeing Oishi's reaction.
"Sumire-chan will be back from the conference after an hour. She'll drive Sakuno-chan home," he explains more to himself than to Oishi. "The nurse said she'll take care of Sakuno-chan while I'm away."
The vice captain nods to him, sympathy evident in his eyes. He knows it isn't easy for Fuji to leave Sakuno to the nurse's care. Then again, staying beside her can only do so much.
"I'm sure the meeting won't be that long," he offers, hoping to put his friend at ease.
Fuji just gives him a wry smile before leaving the clinic.
"We will be spending the next two club days at a gym near the school."
"Eh?"
Inui's eyeglasses gleam in mischief as he listens to his teammates murmur at his announcement. The data guy steals a glance of Tezuka who is standing to his left. Predictably, the captain's face shows no trace of emotion as he lets the regulars talk among themselves for a while.
After a few more seconds, Inui clears his throat.
"Prepare yourselves. The training will be much more intense," Tezuka warns as a deafening silence consumes the room.
"By the way, Tezuka and I have designed a buddy system. For the two-day training, you and your partner will have the same routine and you will be responsible for each other's development," Inui adds.
Several heads nod while the others give a 'thumbs-up' as a sign of approval.
The meeting went on for another half hour, with Tezuka informing them who pairs with who. Kawamura Takashi gets the daunting task of training with Echizen Ryoma. A few raise their brows at the pairing but Inui is quick to point out that it will benefit both: Kawamura can simulate a power-playing environment for Echizen while the latter can help Kawamura diversify his playing style on court. Kaidoh will be paired with the vice captain, while Kikumaru will train with Momoshiro. The data-guy deemed it appropriate that he would not be paired with anyone as he will be supervising each pair.
Most of the players nod at all the details but soon, gasps are heard within the group.
Realization dawns on them.
Tezuka and Fuji will be training together.
It took them a few minutes to realize that, but a creepy feeling fills the room altogether. The idea of the buchou and the prodigy going head to head against each other (of course, the 'training' is just a way to play with words) is no mere accident – and it isn't Inui Sadaharu's doing. While the data guy may be a gruesome sadist during training, he would not go to such heights just to make things a little bit exciting for all of them.
Ryuzaki-sensei, on the other hand, is just too laidback nowadays to concoct something as brow-raising as such a pairing.
So that just leaves Tezuka himself.
People outside their group would have questioned the captain's decision. He and Fuji are of National level already. Each should have been paired to another regular player to make things a little more level – a little fairer.
Even Inui remembers himself raising an eyebrow at Tezuka for making such a decision.
Just what are you thinking, captain?
"So, we will gather at court A at three thirty in the afternoon tomorrow," Tezuka finally says as he looks at his teammates. "Meeting adjourned."
At his last two words, the sound of chairs being moved is heard in the room. Most of the regulars leave the room in an instant. Meanwhile, Tezuka takes a glance of his training partner who is wearing a blank look on his face.
The moment he notices the buchou looking at him, Fuji gives him his signature eerie smile.
Fuji brushes a few stray locks of auburn hair from his kohai's face before sitting on the stool beside her bed. Satisfied at seeing her looking much better than before he left for the meeting, he takes her right hand and links with his, while his left hand starts to caress a few strands of her hair scattered on the pillow.
"How is she?"
Fuji turns to see the tall figure of Tezuka approaching him. He smiles to himself, amused that he did not even hear the door open.
Saa…Tezuka can be so quiet when he wants to.
"I guess Oishi already told you," he comments. He smiles when he receives an affirmative nod from his friend. "She's much better now," he replies, offering a nearby stool for Tezuka to sit on.
The esteemed captain gives him an appreciative nod before grabbing the stool and sitting beside him by the bed. The minute Oishi informed him that Ryuzaki Sakuno is in the clinic, he immediately had a hunch that he would find Fuji there.
"What is it about Shiraishi Kuranosuke you want to talk about?"
Fuji smiles at the straightforward question. Prior to the meeting, he had already informed Tezuka that Shiraishi visited Seishun city yesterday. While he did not drop any clues as to why a student from a rival school 'visited' him, Tezuka must have had a hunch of what is going on – and where it is headed to.
"Shiraishi offered a rematch."
The captain looks straight at him, his eyes hard and knowing. He had expected this.
"I think you know my stand on unofficial matches."
Fuji instinctively tightens his hold on Sakuno's hand. Tezuka isn't threatening him, although he knows that if the captain were to make a decision for him, it would be a big, fat "NO". Then again, the placid delivery of the statement is enough to give Fuji the hope that Tezuka is considering a leeway so he can play against Shiraishi.
He just wants Tezuka's blessing and nothing else.
He can always do something behind his back, but he'd rather not. He respects Tezuka as a friend and as the captain of the tennis club.
"I know, but I also think you know how much this rematch means to me."
Instead of looking at his teammate, Tezuka stares at the window overlooking the school grounds. Of course, he knows and he understands. People commented that Fuji had avenged his loss to Shiraishi when he battled Niou Masaharu during the Nationals several years ago. While it may be so, fighting a look-alike and the real person are two different things altogether.
One is about vengeance, while the other is about redemption.
"I understand," Tezuka finally says. "Just don't get yourself injured."
After a brief moment of silence, the prodigy finally chuckles in utter relief. "Thanks Tezuka," he murmurs softly as his hold on Sakuno's hand relaxes a bit. Processing what just happened for a while, Fuji finally turns to look at his friend again. "By the way, is this the reason why you paired us together for the special training?"
A ghost of a smile is drawn on Tezuka's handsome face.
"You'll need it."
"Saa…I feel so fortunate to be trained by the buchou."
Tezuka smirks, knowing that Fuji is teasing him again. Standing up, he lightly taps Fuji's head before bidding him goodbye.
Echizen glares hard at the person in front of him.
Of all the people he may run into at the gates of Seishun Gakuen, he has to meet Atobe Keigo of Hyotei.
Talk about good timing.
"Che, what are you doing here?"
Atobe raises an elegant brow at the cocky question posed to him and defensive stance Echizen has taken.
"Going home early, Echizen?"
Echizen narrows his eyes further.
The Hyotei monkey king is hiding something, and he does not like one bit of it.
"You did not answer my question."
"En? I do not reckon Seigaku has a law banning visitors from entering its premises," Atobe answers as he meets Echizen's stare. While he respects the younger man as a tennis player, he cannot say that he does on a personal level. Echizen Ryoma can be too arrogant that it's almost…unbearable.
Besides, he does not like people prying on his personal affairs.
Satisfied that said younger man did not answer, Atobe saunters to enter the school grounds.
"Tezuka-buchou left the school a few minutes ago."
Atobe stops before turning to Echizen.
"I did not say I am here to visit Tezuka."
"Eh?"
The two "bickering" players turn to meet Oishi Syuichirou standing a few feet from Atobe.
The vice captain looks surprised at seeing Atobe in front of him.
"It's nice to see you Atobe," Oishi greets amiably as he eyes Echizen open a can of grape Ponta.
No matter how relaxed his usually cool kohai is, Oishi cannot help but be on his toes. He is already there to 'attend to' Atobe, so Echizen does not really have any reason to stay further.
A thought strikes him.
Echizen is wary of Atobe's presence in Seigaku. It's not always that you see the Atobe Keigo coming to their school for no apparent reason at all. The last time he did, he challenged Tezuka to an all-out tennis match that attracted the attention of almost the whole of Seigaku's student body. While it ended on a rather disappointing note – Ryuzaki-sensei stopped the game even before it reached its climax – they all became wary of tennis players from rival schools giving surprise visits.
The mere presence of Atobe – him alone, minus the duffel bag and tennis racket – does not bode well with him.
Atobe smirks at the hesitation hidden beneath Oishi's sincere greeting. Giving him a nod, he walks past Oishi, prompting the vice captain to follow him.
"I'm here for Ryuzaki Sakuno."
"Eh?!"
Echizen almost spits out his juice at the mere mention of Sakuno's name.
"Why?"
Oishi looks at his kohai and dreads the fierce look his kohai is directing at the Hyotei player. The last thing that he wants is a bull fight at the school gate.
Instead of answering the question, Atobe merely looks at Echizen. Retorting will only lengthen the already tiresome encounter with the younger tennis player. Besides, he has more important matters to attend to. But just as he was about to walk from the two, he hears Oishi clearing his throat.
"Uh…ano, Atobe," Oishi begins as he eyes Echizen from the corner of his eyes. "Ryuzaki-chan can't see you today."
"En? Why?"
"You see, Ryuzaki-chan has a fever-" Oishi trails as he looks at Atobe for a reaction, but even before he does, an unwanted sensation tingles up his spine.
Turning around, he meets the deadly glare of Echizen Ryoma.
"Ne, Tomoyo-chan, thank you very much."
The beautiful dark-haired girl softly shakes her head as she replaces the damp towel on Sakuno's forehead. A few minutes after hearing that her dear friend collapsed due to fever, Daidouji Tomoyo rushed from her house to visit Sakuno.
"Don't mention it, Sakuno-chan. You have to rest, okay?"
The auburn-haired girl limply nods to her friend's advice before closing her eyes to sleep. With learned hands, Tomoyo adjusts the covers to keep Sakuno warm. After doing so, she sits back to look at her friend. If Sakuno weren't sick, she would have squealed her heart out at how beautiful and irresistible Sakuno is when asleep. With her auburn tresses sprawled on the pillows, she looks like a sleeping doll.
After a few minutes of gushing all by herself, Tomoyo decides to head downstairs to assist Ryuzaki Sumire with dinner preparations.
"Ne, thank you for helping me, Tomoyo-chan," Sumire tells her as they head out of the kitchen after preparing dinner.
Again, Tomoyo shakes her head as she places two bowls of steaming rice on the dinner table. "I should be the one thanking you for allowing me to visit Sakuno-chan."
Sumire chuckles at the very polite remark, but before she can answer, the doorbell lets out a loud ring.
"Hm…who could be visiting at this hour?"
Placing the remaining kitchen utensils on the table, Sumire excuses herself and heads out the house. She opens the gate to her house, all the while wondering who would want to visit them. To her utter surprise, she finds Atobe Keigo standing by the gate.
"Good evening, Ryuzaki-sensei."
"Good evening, Atobe-san."
Atobe gives a small nod to Tomoyo before said girl left for the kitchen. He actually remembers meeting the girl in one of his father's dinner parties. The daughter of the toy company mogul, he muses to himself. It's only then that he realized that really, Tokyo is a rather small world after all. He is not even aware that the Daidouji heir is one of the closest friends of Ryuzaki Sakuno.
Rising to his feet upon seeing the Seigaku coach enter the living room, he waits for Ryuzaki Sumire to place both tea cups on the center table and sit herself before returning to his previous position.
"I'm rather surprised, Atobe-kun," she begins as she serves him with the tea. "What brings you here, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, I would like to apologize for barging into the Seigaku tennis courts a few days ago," he drawls.
Sumire lets out a laugh. "Yare, yare…I know you just enjoy tennis, but," Sumire pauses to take a sip of her tea. "While I did enjoy your match against Tezuka, I'd prefer that you play against him in an official tournament."
Atobe smiles politely at the answer. It was as if she were challenging him to guess Seigaku's line up for the upcoming Regional Finals.
"Point taken."
"I know you'll do," Sumire answers as she takes another sip of her tea.
A few seconds of silence reign between the two. Ryuzaki Sumire's curiosity as to why Atobe visited is already satiated. It all boils down to him apologizing for suddenly "visiting" Seigaku. Unfortunately, the respected coach is far from right. Said young man, who is sitting across her, is still thinking on how to bring up the issue regarding Ryuzaki Sakuno.
Because first of all, Atobe came for Sakuno
While he, himself, cannot entirely comprehend why he wants to see his rival's kohai, he has to satiate his curiosity on the captivating auburn-haired girl he just met yesterday. Then again, he does not want to drop a hint to the seemingly over-protective grandmother.
To his relief, Sumire sees Tomoyo heading to the kitchen with a tray on her hands.
"Excuse me, Atobe-kun."
A few minutes passed before the Seigaku coach returns to the living room. "Pardon me for leaving you, Atobe-kun, but I had to attend to Sakuno for a while."
Inwardly, Atobe smirks at the opportunity that just opened up. "Is something wrong with Ryuzaki-san?"
"Ah, yes. Sakuno is down with a fever, but she's already feeling better. I think it has something to do with her getting caught in the rain yesterday," Sumire explains, unaware of the sudden flash of worry passing through Atobe's eyes.
He knew something was wrong when he saw the unhealthy flush on Sakuno's face yesterday.
He unconsciously tightens his grip on his tea cup.
"I hope she will get well soon."
Sumire smiles at the kind gesture. "Thanks. I hope she will."
"Well, it seems I should not keep you," Atobe states as he stands up. "Thank you," he bows before getting escorted to the doorway.
Upon reaching the lawn, Atobe is greeted by his personal assistant and butler. Walking up to him, Atobe speaks to him in a low voice.
"Order a basketful of oranges for me. Make sure it will be delivered to this house tomorrow morning," he commands before heading to the gate.
Just as he is about to step out of the house, Atobe stops dead on his tracks as he sees Fuji Syuusuke standing a few feet from him.
"Atobe?"
"BUCHOU!!!"
"TEZUKA!!!"
A loud roar that threatened to crumble the walls of the tennis arena is heard across the park as the whole Seigaku crowd cheers.
Thursday morning.
It's the Regional Finals.
Tezuka Kunimitsu won the historic match against Atobe Keigo.
That means Seigaku just won the Kantou Regional Finals.
It is a very sweet victory considering that they lost to Hyotei just a year ago.
Amidst all the commotion, Tezuka turns to his right to get a good look of his teammates creating a ruckus amongst themselves. Instead of sighing at their antics, the proud captain smiles – a genuine one – to himself. He has never felt so good all his life.
After a few moments of deafening merriment from Seigaku's side of the arena, almost all spectators quiet down as they see Atobe Keigo approaching the net. Oishi looks at Tezuka before returning his gaze to the Hyotei captain. While some players would have bowed heads after losing a coveted game, Atobe is looking at Tezuka with his signature smirk that is far from harmless.
Time seems to stop the moment Atobe reached the net.
"Congratulations," he begins. "I've always wanted this kind of match from you," he finishes as he extends his hand.
With all the calmness he has, Tezuka walks to Atobe and shakes his hand.
The whole crowd cheers.
"Nya, Ochibi!" Kikumaru says as he wraps an arm around Echizen. "What can you say about our captain?" He asks as they watch Tezuka and Atobe walk out of the court from their seats. "Isn't he something?"
Echizen pouts at his senpai before trailing his captain with cat-like eyes. What does he think of their captain, Kikumaru-senpai asks? Of course, Tezuka is the challenge he always has to face; the man who raises the bar higher whenever he seems to be reaching it.
"Yeah," he whispers. "He's really something."
As the rest of the Seigaku crowd exchange high-fives with each other, the light-haired prodigy turns to one of the bleachers to put down his towel. It is only then he realized that he has been holding onto it for the whole duration of Tezuka's match. The games must have gotten into me, he muses as he smiles to himself. Just as he is about to drop it, a hand holding a water bottle materializes in front of him.
"Sakuno-chan?"
His eyes light up at the mere sight of his beautiful kohai who he has not seen for two straight days.
Regardless of how corny this one sounds, seeing her is much better than winning a Hyotei match.
"Ano, nice game, Fuji-senpai," Sakuno greets as she hands him the bottle. "Congratulations, to you and to Seigaku."
"Thanks, Sakuno-chan," he replies, accepting the offered drink. "How are you?" He asks as he caresses her right cheek. "Are you allowed to go out already?"
"Hai. Tomoyo-chan's doctor said I'm all okay," she softly says, enthusiasm evident in her tone.
Fuji grins at her reply before wrapping his varsity jacket around her. "To keep you warm," he explains as she looks up at him.
"You must be really happy, ne, Fuji-senpai?" Sakuno suddenly asks as her eyes tail the celebrating Seigaku crowd. She can feel the joy in the group, she cannot help but be on her toes because of excitement.
"Hai. Victory is sweet especially when the batch three years ago won again," Fuji answers. "But it's much better this time around because Tezuka won it for us."
Sakuno looks up at her senpai. She agrees with him. Three years ago, during the Regional Finals when they were still in Junior High, Seigaku won against Hyotei. Then again, it was a bittersweet ending because Tezuka severed his already injured arm.
Now is a different matter altogether and she is very happy for her schoolmates.
The two seem to drown in the sea of celebrating students, but after a few minutes, the noise dies down. Sakuno looks up to see what caused the silence, only to find the tennis club's respected captain standing a few feet from them.
"Tezuka-buchou!"
Most of the regular and non-regular members of the Seigaku tennis club surround their captain and shared high-fives with him. Some did out of impulse only to realize that they are asking for a high-five from their stoic ice captain. To their amazement though, Tezuka amiably returns the gesture before doing small talk with some regulars.
Fuji smiles as he looks at the scene before him, all the while unconsciously pumping Sakuno's left hand enclosed into his right.
The prodigy halts the gesture as he suddenly feels a heavy weight in his chest…it's as if someone were spying on him.
He turns to his left.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke.
"Let's have the rematch on Sunday morning."
The platinum blonde Shitenhouji player suggests as he and Fuji tread the path towards the heart of the park. Noticing Fuji's silence, Shiraishi takes it as his queue to continue. "Our school is going to participate on the regional finals this coming Monday. I want to play with you before that."
Fuji looks straight at him, understanding evident in his eyes. The schedule is a fair one because it is in between Seigaku's and Shitenhouji's last games before the Nationals. "I'm okay with it," he finally says. "Where will it be?"
Shiraishi casually leans on a vending machine he has spotted. He has not actually thought of where to have the game.
"I actually don't know."
Fuji chuckles at their situation before fishing a rather small paper bag from his pocket. He takes out a small round bun from inside and shows it to Shiraishi.
"What's that?"
"This is one of the Reverie Café's sweet mini buns," he explains as raises it so that the Shitenhouji player can get a good look at it. "Sakuno-chan gave this to me before you called me out."
Shiraishi blinks at him. "Sakuno-chan?"
"The girl I was speaking with a few moments ago," Fuji easily quips.
Cocking his head in thought, Shiraishi slightly nods as he remembers the beautiful auburn-haired companion of the Seigaku prodigy. "Oh yeah, the cute one," he softly comments.
It should have been for his ears only. Unfortunately, the prodigy heard it as well.
His comment did not make Fuji one happy prodigy.
"Anyway," Fuji decides to continue. "The mini bun may have a red bean paste or a strawberry jam filling."
Shiraishi blinks again, only to smirk a few seconds thereafter. He is getting a vibe of what Fuji wants to happen: a toss coin concept, but instead of using a coin, they are going to use a sweet bun to decide where to play.
"I get it," he interjects, a smirk gracing his already handsome face. "If you break open that bun and out comes red bean paste, we will play in Shitenhouji," Shiraishi finally says.
Fuji smiles approvingly. The Shitenhouji player is quite a genius himself too. "If strawberry jam comes out, we will play in Seigaku."
Shiraishi nods. Fair enough.
Just as Fuji is about to break open the sweet bun, out comes Tooyama Kintaro from nowhere.
"Kura-chan!!!"
"Eh?"
The red-headed ball of lightning bounces to Shiraishi's side before crossing his arms behind his head. Fuji blinks, as he is quite surprised to see one of Echizen's rivals in Seishun city for the second time around. Meanwhile, Kintaro obliviously grins at his senpai, his puppy-dog look plastered all over his face.
Shiraishi just sighs at the inconvenience of it all.
"Ne, senpai, I'm hungry."
An imaginary doorbell rings somewhere in the park. Shiraishi is somehow expecting that to come out from him.
"Che, you're always hungry," Shiraishi comments as he fishes his pocket for extra coins. Finding none, he looks at Kintaro apologetically. "Sorry kid, but I don't have extra money with me. If I give you what I have now, we won't be able to get home."
Meanwhile, Fuji is left to stare at the two players ramble about food and hunger. While he particularly likes the sweet bun he is holding right now – more of because Sakuno specifically made it for him – he is not a very selfish man by nature. Sighing to himself, he walks up to Kintaro and offers the sweet bun to him.
"Saa…Kintaro-chan. You may have this sweet bun if you like."
"Eh?! Really?" Kintaro asks, disbelief in his huge eyes. He can feel his tummy worms rage a war inside of him the more he looks at the ball of bread in Fuji's hands. Shyly accepting the offered bread, Kintaro happily breaks the bread in two.
Out comes the strawberry jam filling.
Sakuno bites her lower lip as she wanders around the park.
She just passed by the tennis court where Seigaku and Hyotei faced off a few minutes ago. Now, she does not know where she really is, but at least, she knows she is still in the park. Sighing to herself for getting lost again, she fingers the hem of her skirt.
Mou, Tomoyo-chan will definitely get worried if I can't get back soon.
Deciding to walk further, the auburn-haired student suddenly sees Atobe Keigo in the court…
…sitting on the ground.
The king of Hyotei looks more like a statue than a warrior on court as he blankly stares at the horizon. With his left hand resting on his raised knee, the usually prim and proper royalty of Hyotei Gakuen is far from a picture of calm – regardless of the seemingly placid look on his face.
While he knows that the game he played against Tezuka was the game he had always wanted, it wasn't entirely what he thought it should be.
It was because he lost instead of winning.
He actually wants to vent his anger on something, or just think of something silly to punish himself for not doing much better than he did – like shaving his hair again like what he did when he lost to Echizen a few years back.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, he roughly stands up only to freeze on the spot as he finds Ryuzaki Sakuno staring back at him.
"A-an-no…" Sakuno stammers at being caught. She didn't mean to eavesdrop on him but it can't be helped.
She admits being drawn to the sight of a vulnerable Atobe Keigo. It's not that she has a crush on him. It's just that seeing him broken and dejected a while back makes him more human, more real.
Feeling a lump in her throat, she tails him with her eyes as the tall tennis player saunters out of the court in silence. She has every opportunity to run away but Atobe's gaze seems to pin her on her spot that she feels she cannot move.
She almost jumps to her feet when, after a few seconds, she finds him standing just a foot from her.
"Come with me."
Sakuno eyes the bench with hesitation. She does not know where they are now and that worries her a little more than necessary. She knows Tomoyo-chan and Fuji-senpai may be looking for her already. She really wants to look for them. Then again, the commanding tone in Atobe's voice did not give her any option but just do as she was told.
She suddenly feels him tugging her to sit beside him on the park bench, which she does so obligingly.
The two sit in silence with Sakuno finding the grass beneath her feet fascinating and Atobe staring blankly ahead. A few seconds later, Sakuno looks up at him only to be surprised when he suddenly speaks.
"Do you think less of me now?"
She blinks, confused at the question.
"Eh?"
Blinking again, she examines the serious look on Atobe's face. Returning her gaze to the grass, Sakuno chews her lip before answering. "Losing does not make you a lesser man, Atobe-san."
"How would you know that?" Atobe hisses, clenching his teeth.
Sakuno nearly jumps on her seat at the tone of his voice. Realizing what he just did, Atobe fists his right hand. He did not mean to lash out at her. He's just…really frustrated.
Grabbing her balled left hand, he brushes it open to lace his fingers with hers. He squares his jaw at the way her hand is shaking against his. "I'm sorry," he hoarsely whispers.
Relaxing at the gesture, Sakuno looks up at the Hyotei player. She admits that seeing this side of Atobe is amazing and confusing at the same time. Patting his hand enclosing her left, she smiles softly at him. "Ano, I lost many times Atobe-san. That's why I know how you feel," she begins. "But after all I've been through, I learned that what is important is that we stand up after every time we fall."
Tightening his grip on her hand, Atobe smiles wryly at her innocent words. There is no need to think further on what she just said. He understands her perfectly.
"Thanks," he whispers again as his thumb massages the back of her hand. Heaving a sigh, he savors the comfortable silence between them before relinquishing his hold on her hand.
He may not have won against Tezuka today, but tomorrow is another day and another chance to fight his greatest rival yet. Even then, he will not allow himself to be consumed by his need to…err…destroy Tezuka in a tennis match. Besides, regardless of how much he loves tennis, life isn't just about that game.
On to more important matters…
"By the way, I need you to taste the bento I made for my mother," he begins, a brighter spark of something playing in his eyes.
Sakuno blinks at him as understanding dawns on her. "Oh. Tomorrow is your mother's birthday, ne?"
Atobe nods.
Sakuno smiles up at him only to be distracted by the sound of a twig getting broken by the weight of a person stepping on it. The auburn-haired girl's eyes widen as she turns to see who the new arrival is.
"Eh? Fuji-senpai?"
To say that he is surprised to see Sakuno and Atobe together is an understatement.
He does not like it at all. Period.
But instead of acting like an immature teenager, Fuji casually walks to Sakuno and brushes his thumb along the contour of her cheek. "I've been looking for you," he says softly but loud enough for Atobe to hear.
"Oh, a-an-no…"
"Sakuno-san promised to help me with my mother's birthday gift," Atobe interjects, uncomfortable with the way Fuji is acting.
The prodigy blinks at the statement. "Really?" He asks, looking at Sakuno who nods at him. With that, he eerily grins at the Hyotei tennis club captain. "Is this the bento I just heard about?"
Atobe nods at him, hesitation quite apparent.
"Saa…do you mind if I join you? I'm quite famished," Fuji reasons out as he taps his tummy in emphasis.
Atobe squints as he makes a decision. "I don't," he finally says before giving Fuji a challenging glare.
He's not going to get whammed twice in one day.
It is already nine in the evening when Tezuka receives a call from a least expected person.
"Fuji?"
"Are you going to be busy during lunch break tomorrow?"
Tezuka adjusts his stance inside his room. It's not always that he receives a phone call from the prodigy of Seigaku. "Not so much," he replies. "What is it about?"
It is silent for a while in the other line.
"I'd like to speak with you tomorrow."
The straightforward request says it all.
"Okay."
Tezuka can tell something is up whenever he receives a call from Fuji. He stares at the door as he adjusts his stance against the screen surrounding the railing of the rooftop. In a few seconds, it opens and in comes Fuji Syuusuke.
"Thanks for coming all the way here," his friend greets with a wide smile on his face.
Tezuka nods to him.
A pregnant pause passes between the two before Fuji bounces on his toes.
"I'd like you to play a match with me later."
The team captain raises an eyebrow at that. "This is very sudden."
He receives a chuckle as a reply. "I know. The game is nothing serious. I just want to play against you today."
Tezuka looks squarely at him.
"Has this something to do with your match with Shiraishi on Sunday?"
Fuji blinks curiously at his friend. "How did you know?"
Tezuka shrugs off the mock curiosity gracing Fuji's face. He has an idea why Fuji wants to play against him. Their match later will be some sort of training – he will train Fuji – without him preparing a training menu just like Inui usually does.
"I'll just wait for you after club activity hour then," Tezuka finally says.
"Court D?"
The captain nods at him before casually leaving the prodigy to his thoughts. When he is sure Tezuka has left the rooftop, Fuji paces around it to clear his thoughts and internalize what he just got himself into: a fight with the Tezuka Kunimitsu. Regardless of what he had said earlier, the match will still be a serious one simply because Tezuka does not beat around the bush whenever he plays tennis.
I guess that is what I lack, and why I need someone as great as Tezuka to push me to my limits.
His frustrating loss against Shiraishi several years ago was his doing. It wasn't because the Shitenhouji genius was better than him. It was because he did not take Shiraishi seriously at first. By the time he did, Shiraishi already had the upper hand and breaking his momentum to win the game was far too late.
Admittedly though, he wasn't happy-go-lucky just with Shiraishi. He breezed through almost all of his matches without giving too much of himself in the game. He can actually count with one hand the number of matches he did take seriously – Tezuka, Echizen, Niou…
His mind is at a standstill.
Saa…
Breathing out, he stops pacing and looks to the scene below him. There is a sea of students lazily strolling at the school grounds during their break. Watching them interact with each other is quite interesting – now he knows why Inui particularly likes the rooftop – and the prodigy becomes more interested when he spots his favorite kohai chatting with a classmate.
He smiles to himself.
Given the events yesterday, he knows he must make a serious move with her soon…
…because it seems that he and Echizen aren't the only ones vying for her affection.