Chapter Four: In Which Shuusuke Receives an (Forced) Invitation

"Hime, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Distracted from my math homework – I wasn't doing much of it, anyway – I looked up to see Kunimitsu hanging in the doorway. I smiled at him and gestured for him to come in. He had a rather serious look on his face, one I recognized as his "game face" . The tournament was in two weeks, and my cousin was taking it all very seriously. He sat down on my bed as I leaned back against my chair.

"How's the wrist?" he asked, pointing to the offending appendage. I had just gotten the cast off, and he had been helping me with physical therapy.

"It's just a little sore." I answered, rubbing it. It felt a little strange without the weight from the cast. I was careful about overworking it but did, as the doctor had said, have almost complete use of it. It was still sore, though, and ached if I moved it too much.

"Good."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He was never good at small talk. "What's up, Kuni-chan?"

"How's Mikage-nee doing?"

I blinked at the random question, startled. I wasn't an only child; I had and older sister and a younger brother. Zach was 10, obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh and sports. We competed over everything, and got into mischief together. Despite the three year difference, we were pretty close, though he and I fought constantly… but I loved the little squirt to death. Not that I'd tell him that, of course.

My older sister Mikage was 26 and was my idol. She was fun, cheerful, athletic but still so graceful. She had been the one to teach Kunimitsu and I tennis when were younger. She was a bit of a drama queen, and was absent minded, but everyone loved her. Including her fiancé, Kody Slater.

I liked Kody. He was two years older than Mikage, and a family friend. He balanced her out nicely: he was calm, cool and collected, and had a good head on his shoulders. Their wedding was in a week – in the good old USA. I had just enough time to go down their for the weeding and come back to see the tournament. There was only one hitch.

I had to bring a guy.

Mikage had always been worried about my lack of interest in guys. It's not that I'm lesbian or anything; I've liked plenty of guys. I've even had a boyfriend, albeit only for three months. It's just I don't do anything. It's the whole "look-but-don't-touch" idea, and it worked perfectly for me. Unfortunately, Mikage had this idea that if you had a boyfriend, you were automatically happy. So she was always shoving me together with a boy.

Unfortunately for her, I was bringing Kunimitsu.

What? He's a boy.

"She's fine. Excited. She talked to me about flowers for about an hour last night about flowers." I rolled my eyes. "She wants "cream" coloured flowers, not white, only the flower shop is all out of cream. She threw a big fit, and they're ordering flowers from Scotland now. Not white, but cream. Sheesh."

"There's a… difference?" Kunimitsu asked, confused.

"You're obviously not a girl." I sighed.

"Thank God for that. That would be cruel and unusual punishment." I glared at him, and he gave me a bland smile. Then he hesitated, and blurted out, "I'm sorry, Hime, but I can't go to the wedding! My elbow has been acting up, and I can't skip my appointments!"

Kunimitsu obviously expected me to be angry. I was, a little, but mostly annoyed. He couldn't help that. But now I had to find someone else to go. "its fine, Kuni-chan. But now I'll have to ask a real boy." I said, propping my chin on my hand.

Kunimitsu got an insulted look on his face. "What, I'm not a real boy?"

"Nope. You're a relative. You don't count." I replied promptly.

Kunimitsu, who had by this time navigated to the door, threw his hands in the air with a cry of "Women!". I laughed, shooing him out of my room. I frowned down at my homework. Now, who to ask…

***

"Aargh! God pushed the "smite" button again!" I groaned, banging my head on my desk.

Sakuno, Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter, patted me on the head. We were in my English class, the only class that I had without Fuji, mostly because I had switched out. I didn't want to see him six times a day, thanks. It was a normal English class, and, being fluent and all, I didn't really have to try very hard in it.

"None of your tennis buddies can go?" Sakuno asked.

"Eiji-kun and Ryoma-kun are busy training, Shuichiro-kun is too busy being co-captain to come, Sadaharu-kun doesn't want to go, Taka-kun and Momo are busy helping out with their families, and I'm too scared of Kaoru-kun to ask him." I complained.

"Well, what about Fuji-kun?" she suggested.

"No. Absolutely not."

"I know you dislike him – "

"Hate. Despise. Loath."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But you need a date, right?" I nodded. "And no one else is able to come, right?" I nodded again. "So that leaves Fuji-kun."

I scowled at my friend. "I hate you."

"No you don't. You're just saying that to make yourself feel better." She beamed at me. "Now go. You have ten minutes until calls starts." She pushed me towards the door, laughing at my face.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" I bemoaned.

"I'm coming with you – for moral support, of course."

"Lies! You just want to make fun of me."

"Well, yeah, that too."

I glowered at her as I went next door. I had more or less memorized his schedule, since it was the same as mine, save this class. He sat in the front and was talking to his neighbor when I marched over to him. He looked up, startled, as I slammed my hands on his desk. "You're coming to America with me." I informed him curtly.

His eyes opened wide. "And why would I do that?" he demanded.

"Because I need you to be my date for me onee-chan's wedding." I grumped.

"So, you're asking me out on a date to America?" he asked, an amused look crossing his face, infuriating me.

"No! I can't go to her wedding unless I bring someone – a boy." He had a skeptic look on his face, and, desperate, I said, "Please, Fuji-kun? Please?"

Something flickered in his gaze, and he remained silent for a long moment. I was about to give up when he sighed. "When's the wedding?"

"Six days, though my plane leaves in two days. Mikage wants me to be early. You'll be back in time for the tournament." I replied quickly, hoping against hope.

Fuji grinned. "I've always wanted to go to America. What time should I be at the airport, if my parents agree to it?"

"The flight leaves at 7:23. So… 6-ish?"

"All right, can do."

I clapped my hands together. Now I could go to Mikage's wedding, and she couldn't eat me alive. "Thank you, Fuji-kun!" I smiled warmly at him just as th bell rang. "Eek, Sakuno-chan, we're late!"

**Fuji Shusuke's POV**

I watched Himeno dart out of the classroom with Sakuno on her heels, trying to comprehend what just happened. I groaned, putting my head on my desk. What had I just done? I felt like I had just sold my soul to the devil – and I might have just done that! What on earth had I done?!

But when she had looked at me pleadingly with those tawny eyes, something inside of me melted. She had expressed her hatred of me, yet had come to me for help. It was childish to refuse her. And she seemed to be so desperate, I couldn't help but accept.

But I had a strange feeling that I had just done something that I would never be able to take back.