Finally~! An update! I'm really sorry for the super late update. I was stuck with tons of paperwork for school and for my other extracurricular activities. Although it took me some time to update, it doesn't mean that I am putting this on hiatus or that I'm abandoning it. Please be patient with me. I'm currently a senior and struggling to finish five subjects for my last semester. Updates for this story will be slow for the time being. If you want updates about me and my writing, you can follow me on twitter. That's www(dot)twitter(dot)com(slash)Ysahaya. I post about random stuff there but I'll be posting updates on upcoming chappies from now on.
A big THANK YOU~! to the following who sent their reviews for previous chapter:
ilovethisfanfic- let's wait and see if there really is any romantic stuff here. =3 hurhurhur
Different Child- hun I'm sorry I don't get online as often anymore!
badluck-ngprod- glad you found it interesting. please read more. ^_^
Kuma the wolf Alchemist-thank you~!!!!! i'll do my best~!
Sweet Lia- here's the update. sorry it took so long.
BlueEyedSadist- I respect your opinion. Thank you very much.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis a.k.a. Tenisu no Oujisama.
Now, on with the story~! (^0^)//
Chapter 7
Cousin
"Stop playing with your necklace Yumi," said Ayana as she saw her daughter doing the action for the nth time that night.
"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous," Yumi smiled, trying to control her now shaking teeth.
"Don't be so tensed dear, Eriol-kun's not a monster that will come and eat you once you meet him. He's a very kind person. I'm sure you'll get along just fine," said her grandfather, Kunikazu as he sat comfortably in his chair.
When they arrived in the venue of the party, their family was directed into a vacant table in a private area of the ballroom. It was prepared just for their family, said the waiter. When Yumi looked around, she noticed that there was an extra chair included in their table. She was wondering why there was one and wanted to ask Ayana why, but she decided against it. There must be a special purpose for the seat, she thought.
"There are available drinks that you may order. While Eriol-sama is still chatting with the other guests, why don't you have some, sir?" the waiter suggested to Kuniharu.
"My wife and I would like some orange juice please," said Kuniharu.
"I'll have coffee please. How about the two of you? What would you like?" said Kunikazu.
"I'd like some coffee as well," said Tezuka.
"I'll have an orange juice as well please," said Yumi.
"All right, I shall repeat your orders now. Three orders of orange juice and two orders of coffee, would that be all?" said the waiter.
"That's fine. We'll just wait here," said Kunikazu, waving at the waiter as if saying that it was all they needed.
"Excuse me then," said the waiter before bowing down and leaving.
The orders arrived a good few minutes later. The guy named Eriol was yet to come to their table, he was probably still mingling with some of the other guests. Yumi felt a bit better, she'll have a bit more time to prepare her mind before she meets her new relative. But obviously, there were still others that have yet to come.
This celebration is to celebrate one of their relative's birthdays, but it doesn't necessarily mean that there will only be one relative present in the party. And by the looks of all the photographs she saw in their home, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that there would be a lot of them coming today. She was sure that all members of the Tezuka clan came from different parts of the world. The cousin she would be meeting today, according to her older brother, was born in Japan but he grew up in England, making this occasion a bit nerve racking for her.
"The young master is done mingling with the rest of the guests, Tezuk-sama. He said that he would be here momentarily," the waiter told Kunikazu.
"Thank you," said the old man.
A few more minutes later and the person they were waiting for finally arrived. The young man, seemingly around Tezuka's age, walked confidently as he approached his relatives. He was wearing an expensive looking tuxedo that made him look like the prince Yumi used to read in those English story books she had when she was little. His eyes were tantalizing. Though slightly covered by spectacles, his midnight blue eyes seemed to catch anyone else's attention right away. Those beautiful pair of orbs looked as if they were smiling, similar to that bright smile he was wearing as he approached his relatives.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," said the young man as he arrived.
"Eriol, it's nice to see you again," said Kuniharu, shaking the younger man's hand as the two stood.
"And you as well, uncle. I see that your health is still as splendid as ever, grandfather," said Eriol.
"And I hope to keep it that way, son. Happy birthday," said Kunikazu as the two shook hands.
"Thank you. I'm glad you all came. I was half expecting that uncle would be busy with work at this time of the year, mother would've demanded you to drop all your paper works and come by," the young man explained.
"Ah, she'll never change. Here I thought James would finally inject something good to her at some point," said Kuniharu.
"Ah, but still, her business is definitely booming this past few years. I hear she's planning on adding another aircraft to our company," said Kunikazu.
"Yes, she's already checking the new planes. They were quite magnificent actually," said Eriol.
"The men in this family will never change. You decide to celebrate your birthday and here I thought you'd finally get your minds off of work," said Ayana as she stepped in the conversation.
"Ah, forgive us, for neglecting the beautiful rose of tonight's ball. Thank you for coming, Auntie," said Eriol.
A little while later and the conversation went on; Tezuka soon joined in after Ayana mentioned something tennis related. Yumi couldn't really tell if she should be relieved that her presence has gone unnoticed, or if she should feel neglected that even her parents forgot to introduce her. Either way, the young Tezuka chose to stay quiet instead and listen to their conversations. She didn't really expect that it would take quite a lot of time though, not to mention that the three gentlemen who began the conversation earlier were still standing.
"Goodness, that's certainly sounding marvelous. We should get the chance to test it out soon then," said Ayana.
"Once mother finishes with all of the plans, we'll be trying it out. If the first and seconds flights go well, then we shall use it for our family reunion on Christmas," said Eriol.
"My goodness, we've been standing here for quite a while now, haven't we?" said Kunikazu.
"Grandfather must be feeling his aching bones right now," Eriol teased.
"I'm still far from that age, boy. I've still got a long way to go," said Kunikazu.
"Are you still holding classes in the dojo?" Eriol asked.
"Yes, he still insists on having those students although he keeps on getting angry at them for not executing the moves right," said Kuniharu.
"No, those kids are just pure wimps whenever I'm the one teaching. When it comes to that female sensei, they'd always show how strong they are," said Kunikazu.
"I see, and who do we have here?" Eriol finally noticed Yumi.
"Oh, of course, Eriol, this is Yumi. She's Kunimitsu's sister," said Ayana.
"It's nice to meet you," Yumi dipped her head slightly.
"And it's very nice to finally meet you, Yumi-chan. I've been hearing a lot about you from Mitsu's emails to me," said Eriol.
"She's a junior high freshman in Seishuun Gakuen. It's already been a month since she started going there," said Kuniharu.
"And it's a good first month filled with top marks too. She's a female Kunimitsu in the making," said Kunikazu proudly.
"I'm suddenly feeling embarrassed now," said Yumi.
Everyone laughed. The sudden statement caused her once pressured face to look a tad calmer than she used to earlier. Hopefully, she would warm up to Eriol right away. He's a close relative of theirs; it would be a pity if she doesn't get along with him.
"Oh, don't worry. Grandfather has a habit of boasting about his grandkids a lot. If you haven't experienced coming along with him to some of his meetings with old friends, all they talk about is how their grandkids are. Now it seems that aside from me, Kunimitsu and a few others, you'd be added," said Eriol.
"Wow, ojii-sama's very quiet at home all the time. The only thing we do a lot is play Chinese checkers and drink tea, ne ojiisama," said Yumi.
"We play English chess from time to time as well," said Kunikazu.
"Oh, so you finally learned to play other board games aside from Shogi and Go," said Eriol.
"Kunimitsu was given a marvelous looking chessboard by the school last year when he won at the school festival. Otou-sama couldn't let the opportunity to use it pass," said Kuniharu.
"I look forward to playing with you sometime soon then. In the meantime, let's have dinner. Dancing will follow later of course," said Eriol.
He motioned for one of the waiters to come forward and gave orders for dinner. After a while, other waiters came and brought a menu for each member. The menu was filled with English styled cuisines, something Eriol personally chose since he is half English. Yumi wasn't familiar with the cuisines. Unlike the usual fast food meals that she sees on the television, these were cuisines that are not American. They didn't even have these kinds of food at home. Most of the food Ayana prepared were Japanese.
"Have you chosen what you want to eat, Yumi?" Ayana asked.
"Not yet. The food is all in English and I'm not so familiar with these cuisines," said Yumi.
"Oh, I see. I have a knack for forgetting that. I should've asked to have Japanese words written below the menu," said Eriol.
"It's all right, Eriol," said Kuniharu.
"All right, why don't you choose for your sister, Kunimitsu. You probably know more about what she wants to eat," said Ayana.
Tezuka looked at the menu again and checked. Yumi wasn't that picky with food. The only things she tries to avoid when eating are pickles, broccoli and cauliflower. Aside from that there weren't much that she didn't eat. He chose the ones he knew she'd eat for the appetizers to the main course; the dessert was her choice. She chose the blueberry cheesecake that she has been eyeing long before Tezuka helped her choose her meal.
Yumi thought Eriol was kidding when he said that "dancing" will follow next after the meal. Of course, in Japan, they don't usually celebrate birthdays in this manner, which made it another culture adjustment for Yumi. If having one cousin who celebrates his birthday differently is tough, she wonders how she'd feel if she met the rest of the Tezuka clan.
"You two can join Eriol and the rest of the youngsters. We'll be going there to chat with some of the guests," said Kuniharu.
"Hai, otou-sama," said Tezuka.
"Be sure to take care of Yumi you two," Ayana reminded them.
When the three left their table, Eriol called for the waiters to clean up the now empty dishes. After cleaning, the waiters came back with a food cart and placed a tea set on the table. English people are used to having after dinner tea; this is also practiced in Japan, Yumi smiled. At last there was something she was used to.
"This tea tastes great," said Yumi.
"Really? I'm glad you liked it," said Eriol.
"What kind of tea is it? It's different from the ones we have at home," said Yumi.
"It's Jackson's Earl Grey," said Tezuka.
"It's one of my mother's favorites. I'll send you some if you want," said Eriol.
"Oh, I don't want to trouble you," said Yumi.
The three continued to talk a bit more until they were finally done with tea. Eriol finally stood up and dusted nonexistent dirt from his suit. He straightened his clothes up and then turned to Yumi. He held out his hand to her.
"Would you mind honoring me with tonight's first dance, my dear cousin?" asked Eriol.
Yumi stared for a bit at the offered hand. When she finally understood, she placed her hands atop Eriol's and allowed herself to be lead to the ballroom. Upon realizing the situation, she recalled one very important detail; she wasn't accustomed to dancing the Waltz.
"Uhm…ano…Eriol-niisan," Yumi muttered.
"It's all right. I'll lead, just follow what I do and you'll get it," said Eriol, who seemed to understand what was troubling his cousin.
"Okay," said Yumi.
When the music began to play, Eriol started to move his feet. Yumi followed suit and tried to keep up with her cousin. It was confusing at first since she was unfamiliar with the footing in this dance. But as they went on, she started to enjoy it. A few moments later, others began to join them in the previously empty ballroom.
"Thank you for coming to the party, Yumi-chan," said Eriol as they were dancing.
"It's my pleasure, and happy birthday again, Eriol-niisan," said Yumi, as her dancing continuously improved.
I pray that it was to your liking. It's a bit short but I hope it's okay for now. I'll write some more soon. I'm currently doing two stories at the moment. The other one is an original and handwritten. If I get requests about it, maybe I'll post it somewhere. This one is written in between school work so sorry if it's in bits and pieces. (/o\)
No glossary part for now. I'm too busy to put up one. I wont rant anymore. hehe Please R&R. Arigatou Gozaimasu.