Whew! It's been a really, as in REALLY long time since I last updated. I'm very sorry! Hontou ni Gomenasai minna-sama. There were a lot of things that happened after my last update and that certainly included problems due to my home internet connection, laziness, plus other random projects and other stuff. Up to now my backlog is still quite full and I'm really disappointed with the very slow progress of my work. , For this update I will have to skip my emoticons mini-tutorial. I forgot to set up for that before I finished this chapter and honestly I think this chapter is a little lame so please excuse the awful lameness haha. I know i'm not living up to your expectations at the moment, my apologies.
Thanks to the following who reviewed chapter 11-c(aka chapter 13 according to )
denizen of the night -Sakuno's not a favorite character of mine as well. She obviously isn't haha. Yes, I have seen La Corda D'oro, just the first season though. I wanna see the next season but I dunno when I could get a copy of that season. I finally updated!
Yayz! (HEYO YO-YO)- Thanks for liking the story! and thank you very much for the greeting.
invisible-gurl- yes, she's the only female grandchild. I have an affinity with stories like this one hence the result of my writing lol. and yes ryo-tan should really suck it up and work hard to get everyone in the tezuka clan's approval hahahaha.
mewmewlover23-Thanks. I'm glad you loved it too.
lovelyanimeangel-never liked Sakuno also. I was able to go to a convention this July. it was really fun. not as fun as most cons I've been to but it was definitely enjoyable. I'm planning on going as Alice from Alice in wonderland next time. I just have to repair a skirt I have that definitely matches Alice's skirt.
MoonlightChaos, makoko, girl-of-anime- sorry for compressing your replies, but I just want to say thanks and enjoy reading again!
smash41kmf-updates on the ryomaxyumi seens to come soon! the next chapter will be your best bet!
EdxWinry6789-hurhurhu...let's see what happens next.
falling-angel99, kc and xburner21 thanks for reading and reviewing!
To all, I'm sorry it took such a long time and yet here I am posting a lame chappie. I will make up for it soon. Thanks, R&R and wish me luck on the next one~!
Chapter 12
The interschool tournaments are already over and the district tournaments have already begun for the tennis club. They've been working hard for their matches during practice and they've toughened up to be able to face any kind of tennis player they will meet. One of the perks of being the team managers is that he or she is always with the team during important events. Since Yumi has been acknowledged by the whole campus as Seigaku tennis club's manager, she now sports a custom made Seigaku club manager's bag and her own jacket.
The day she got her manager's uniform and materials was epic. Of course being the only girl in the club everyone tends to treat her a tad differently than other members. When she got her uniform, the members coaxed her into trying it on and showing it to all of them. The regulars were amongst those in front of the rest of the club.
Flashback
"Are you done, Yumi-chan?" asked Oishi as Yumi was the only one inside the clubroom.
"Almost done," Yumi answered.
"This is the first time the club is having a manager, ne senpai?" asked a second year.
"Ah, and everyone's really very supportive of Yumi-chan. She's very thankful for that you know," said Taka-san.
"Though she doesn't execute any moves much, she does know how to calculate any adjustments needed for tennis moves that's why we appreciate her a lot," said Arai, a second year.
"She's a bit clumsy at times though," said Kachiro.
"And has a big brother complex," said Ryoma, and everyone nodded to that.
It was already very obvious that Yumi had a big brother complex. Apparently, some of the confessions from Tezuka's admirers were a bit more intrusive than the first batches Yumi met before the summer break. They were so persistent that it came to the point that Yumi got annoyed with some of them who said they'd like to hang out with Yumi so they could hang out with Tezuka. Of course, Tezuka got irritated when he heard about this as well. He forbade his sister to ever accept any conversation with his admirers if it were to ask help to get to him.
"How does it look?" asked Yumi as she stepped out.
The manager's jersey somehow resembled the regular's jersey. In place of the white shorts, Yumi wore a white skirt and instead of the straight looking jersey top, she got a more feminine looking top in the same Seigaku design. Her jacket was similar to the regulars' except for its fit since it was more feminine. She also got a small duffle bag that had SEIGAKU written on it.
"Kawaii, nya!" said Kikumaru.
"There's a 99.9% chance that the tailor got scared by Fuji's instructions regarding the length of the skirt," said Inui.
"Pretty good, Yumi-chan. Now all you need to do is toughen up a bit more and learn to play real tennis," said Arai.
"Maa, she's getting there. I hear she practiced during summer vacation with her brother and some of the regulars," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.
"Saa, look here Yumi-chan," said Fuji as he got his camera ready.
"Be sure to give me a copy of that Fujiko," said Taka-san.
"Me too," said Oishi.
"Of course," said Fuji as he took another shot.
"Mou, what will senpai-tachi do with my photo?" asked Yumi.
"It's a souvenir of course," said Fuji.
"Mou, I should've given you postcards if you wanted souvenirs," said Yumi as she pouted.
"Nyah! Such a cute pout! Take a photo of that Fuji!" said Kikumaru.
End of Flashback
As the manager, Yumi had to accomplish the line up for the game against Fudomine. Of course since Inui lost in the regulars' selection, he was assigned as the team's trainer and the lineup for eight players was completed. Playing for doubles two is Fuji and Taka-san and for doubles one is Kikumaru and Oishi. Singles three will be Momoshiro, singles two will be Kaidoh and singles one goes to Ryoma. Tezuka was put on the reserve position for this tournament since it wasn't entirely necessary for him to get in.
"Seishuun gakuen tennis team, here with eight regulars," said Yumi as she handed the team's lineup to the registering booth.
"Ah, thank you. Please see the schedules at the bulletin board," said the girl.
"Thank you," said Yumi.
Once registered, the team looked up their schedule for the game and then went to the courts right ahead. They were scheduled for the midday games so they still had enough time to look at other matches and prepare for their time to play.
"Yumi, eat that sandwich we packed earlier, you need to take your medicine," said Tezuka as they were all watching a tennis match.
"Ah, you still need to continue the medicine you got from last week," said Inui.
"It tastes so bitter. I don't like it at all," said Yumi as she munched on the tuna sandwich she unwrapped.
"But you have to, Yumi-chan, otherwise you'll get sick again. That would be bad," said Oishi.
"You can go and buy one candy later if you want to, but only ONE," Taka-san emphasized.
"No Taka-san she shouldn't take any sweets for now. It isn't good na, it isn't yo," said Momo.
"I brought fresh orange juice today. After you drink your medicine you can drink it to wash away the bitterness of the medicine," said Oishi.
"Nyah, so much like a mom, ne? Oishi's definitely deserving of the title mother hen, nya. Ne, Oishi-mama?" said Kikumaru.
(break)
The first few matches went well, up until it was Echizen's turn to play that is. He was in a match with Ibu Shinji from Fudoumine. There was a bit of an accident but eventually he won and Seigaku brought home the win. The accident caused a bit of an uproar at first but Echizen proved how outstanding he really is when it came to playing tennis.
"Ryoma-kun, my grandmother said you had to come with us to get your eye treated," said Sakuno, who arrived right before the games began.
"I'm all right," said Ryoma.
"Don't be ridiculous, look at you! You're bleeding!" Sakuno insisted and pulled his arm towards Ryuuzaki-sensei.
"Ah, come on then. Let's have that eye of yours treated," said the team coach.
The doctor who checked on his eye was extremely surprised to see his injury. First there was Kawamura and his injured wrist, and now here was another tennis player injured on his eyelid. The doctor patched his eyelid up nonetheless and allowed him to go afterwards.
"Kids nowadays, you'd think they'd be using samurai's instead of rackets when they're playing tennis," said the doctor as the three of them stepped out of his clinic.
"Doumo, for this, sensei," said Ryoma.
"Ah, that's fine. Let's go then. Everyone is already waiting for us," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.
"Huh?" asked Ryoma.
Before he even heard an explanation, Ryoma was pushed into Ryuuzaki-sensei's car. They drove for a while and before he realized it, they were already in front of Kawamura's Sushi bar. When the door was opened, he saw the whole team, the two magazine reporters, Osakada and Yumi inside celebrating. Taka-san was helping his dad serve the sushi while the rest were enjoying the food and each others' company.
"Saankyu Kawamura-papa," said Kikumaru as he got another serving of his favorite Anago.
"Ah, Echizen! You're finally here!" said Momo as he pulled his best friend into a headlock.
"Sensei!" said Kawamura's father as the three of them entered.
"Ah, thank you for taking care of our celebration once again. I feel bad that you have to close the shop though," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.
"No, it's fine. At least my useless son is quite useful in your team," said Kawamura's father.
"Mou, Oyaji, I'm a hard worker you know. I put a lot of effort whenever we have tournaments and when I help you make the sushi we sell," said Taka-san.
The celebration went on until the afternoon. Tezuka, Ryuuzaki-sensei and Oishi had to go back to school to get some papers finished for the club. Yumi was left behind with the celebrating team, along with the two reporters. Shiba-san and Inoue-san are both from Pro tennis weekly magazine and they've known Ryuuzaki-sensei for quite some time now. According to Inoue-san, he's also known Ryoma's father as well.
"Ah, but I do wonder who this girl is. This is the first time I've seen you with the team," said Shiba.
"This is Tezuka Yumi, buchou's younger sister. She works as the club manager," said Momo.
"Ah, it's nice to meet you, Yumi-san. You must be very proud of your older brother. Tell me, does he have any good or bad habits that he doesn't show in public?" said Shiba, with a knowing look that shouts I'm-a-Tezuka-Kunimitsu-fan-girl-give-me-information.
"Gomen, my brother strictly forbids me to give any information about himself to anyone who I'm not well acquainted with," said Yumi.
"Hahaha, you deserve that Shiba-chan. Trying to leech information from Tezuka-kun's younger sister would never work," said Inoue.
"Mou, it's hard to get information on Tezuka-kun and Ryoma-kun. At least let me take a photo with you, Ryoma-kun," said Shiba as she sat beside Ryoma.
"No thank you," said Ryoma who was sitting next to Yumi and Kachiro.
"Mou, come on. Katsuo-kun please do the honors," said Shiba as she handed her camera to Katsuo.
The shot was messed up though, because when Katsuo was about to take the picture, Shiba was pushed and instead of a photo with Shiba, Ryoma got a photo with Sakuno. The Polaroid shot registered well and everyone saw the picture. Sakuno was sitting next to Shiba; who was sitting next to Ryoma, when Momo slipped and he accidentally pushed Sakuno who collided with Shiba, and Shiba ended up on the floor.
"No more pictures. I don't want any more please," said Ryoma who exchanged places with Kachiro.
"I'll treasure this picture always, Ryoma-kun. Although it would be really nice to take a more decent one," said Sakuno.
"Just one more picture, please, Ryoma-kun," said Shiba.
"Shiba-chan, stop it. You're making the boy uncomfortable," said Inoue.
An hour later and Tezuka and Oishi were still at school doing some necessary papers for the club. It was already getting quite dark and Yumi was still there with the team; enjoying the random conversations and the mini-games that Kikumaru began with Momo. Inoue and Shiba left before the mini-games started and they were followed by Osakada and Sakuno, who were both disappointed by the lack of attention their skimpy clothes were getting.
"Ah, wait I got a message from Oishi," said Kikumaru right after he did his turn in the charade game they were playing.
"What did he say?" asked Kaidoh.
"Oh, Tezuka said to ask Fuji to walk Yumi-chan home. They were called in by the principal, along with all the other presidents and vice-presidents of the clubs," Kikumaru explained.
"No wonder, onii-chan was taking so long," said Yumi.
"Saa, should we go home now, Yumi-chan? Ayana-san must be wondering why you aren't home yet," said Fuji.
"We should all go now, we still have class tomorrow," said Ryoma, who motioned to stand up right after.
"You're along the way ne, Echizen?" asked Fuji.
"Un, I'll come along," said Ryoma.
"Me too," said Momo.
"We'll be going then. Arigatou gozaimasu, Kawamura-senpai. Thank you for going through all the trouble, Kawamura-papa," Yumi bowed. The nickname Kikumaru gave Taka-san's father stuck and everyone seemed to enjoy calling him that way now.
"It's all right. I'll see you all soon!" said Kawamura-papa as he and his son watched the group leave the sushi bar.
"I feel great!" said Taka-san.
"Ah, come on let's clean up then we can rest," said Kawamura-papa.
(break)
The walk to Yumi's house was chatty, since Fuji and Momo were there to keep the two younger ones talking. It was odd though, Yumi's and Ryoma's house were quite near; they only separate two blocks away since the village Yumi lived in can only be reached by a specific bus, but they rarely walk home together. It wasn't because Tezuka was there, but they rarely did anyway. Of course, Ryoma sometimes had his detours with Momo and Kikumaru; like going to the burger shop or the sports shop, so the time difference when they go home probably vary because of that.
"I'll be fine from here," said Yumi when they got to the bus stop.
"No, I'll come with you and I'll just take the bus back here," said Fuji.
"Wouldn't it be a bother?" asked Yumi.
"It's fine, besides I'd worry too much if I wasn't sure you're home safe," said Fuji.
"Well, the two of us go that way so we'll say goodbye here. Hope you had a great time, Yumi-chan," said Momo.
"I did. Take care Momo-senpai," said Yumi.
"Call me when you get home," said Ryoma.
"I will," said Yumi.
"Saa, I'll see you next practice you two," said Fuji.