Minna! Hontou ni Gomenasai! It took me a while to write this chapter and after reading this it'll be quite obvious that there's more to it in the coming chapter. Anyhoo, I'm very sorry for not updating fast. My backlog has reached its highest point and I am neck-deep in my files of backlogged documents and activities at the moment. I will try my very best to update again soon. Please dont expect anything until next week though. haha.
Oh and by the way, I wanted to know how all of you see Yumi in your minds. Soooo~ I decided to hold an online art contest!
There are three categories:
1. Yumi
2. Ryoma x Yumi and lastly
3. Regular x OC.
Take your time in making the art work. Send a jpeg format of your entry to Alyssa4(underscore)Jane(at)yahoo(dot)com. The subject should be the category that you want to enter. The best entries will be posted in my Tumblr account and in my Facebook account. The winner for the RegularxOC category will be able to help me in making new pairings so please do send entries. ahah. I hope you guys/gals join!
A big thanks to the following people for taking the time to read and review the previous chapter:
YueLilianPotter- I like your username! Oh and thanks.
Coco96- Thanks for lovin' it! I'm not familiar with how MarySue's are but I guess she didn't turn out as one. This is silly but I like it when my characters are different from most people.
mewmewlover23-Thankies~! I will try my utmost best to do so.
Hell's Angel 606- O.O scary name but really eyecatching. Thanks. I'm glad it did. R&R Again soon ^_^
Yayz HEYO YO-YO -thank you~! I really, as in really, HATE Sakuno. I don't why. People usually like underdogs like her (in the original she seemed that way in my pov &_&) but I really don't sympathize with her much. Lol and yes the idea was a good one yes?
MindMaster- Thanks Nya~! Yes she's bitchy here.
Falling-Angel99- fufufuf~ I have influenced you into not looking at her teh same way again hahaha. well yeah, i also think she looked pathetic in the anime and i prefer tough girls than underdogs.
XcirclesX Sorry for not writing right away *bowsdown* I will try to update more.
invisible-gurl- oooh wait til you read the next one! haha
lovelyanimeangel-join the contest! I'd love to see your fanart of Yumi! I recently went to a anime specialty store and bought two items ^_^ A Shakugan no Shana necklace (Alastor~! Yay!) and Ciel Phantomhive's blue diamond ring! I just couldn't help it ^_^'
Disclaimer: Tenisu no Oujisama otherwise known as The Prince of Tennis is not a property of Ysah-chan the authoress. Other characters mentioned are of Ysah-chan's wicked mind and are not in any way related to a living or non-living person. Any similarities to whoever person you meet that seems like they are from my story is pure coincidental. I'm pretty sure they all just popped out of my head. ^_^
Now then, on with the story~!
Chapter 13- Most Requested
"…all right everybody, don't forget your permission slips tomorrow. Bring enough snacks and drinks and don't forget to bring your art materials…" Izumi-sensei, the Art teacher ranted on as he tried to remind everybody about the upcoming Art field trip.
The class has been having practice sessions on how to draw concrete objects using different mediums on canvass. Izumi-sensei decided that as an output of their topic and a source of credits for the upcoming periodical exams, the class would visit a particular mansion a few kilometers outside from Seishuun. He mentioned that it was a Victorian house with a maze and a giant chess pieces in the garden. Everyone thought the experience would be good since they will be facing other exams after a few days from the field trip. It would calm all of them down before their dreaded exam week.
"Wow, a Victorian type mansion! I'm sure it'll be romantic for those who're dating," said one of their female classmates.
"What do you think, Echizen? Ryuuzaki will be all over you, I'm sure," said Horio.
"Funny. Haha," said Ryoma.
"Eh? Don't you like her Ryoma-kun?" asked Kachiro.
"I'm going because of class not because of her," said Ryoma.
"Will you three just shut up," Yumi muttered as she looked over at Izumi-sensei.
"All right then. All of you must choose a sketch buddy. You will be sitting together in the bus and you'll be together the whole day. Your buddies may come from this class or from the others that will come along," said Izumi-sensei.
—regular timeline—
"Have you seen Ryoma-kun?" asked Sakuno as Kachiro and Katsuo walked towards their bus.
"No we haven't," said Katsuo.
"Now that you mention him, I think I haven't seen Yumi-chan yet either," said Kachiro.
"Hey you! Have you found your buddies yet?" said Izumi-sensei.
"We're going together sensei," said Kachiro and Katsuo.
"How about you, Ryuuzaki? Where's your buddy?" asked the teacher.
"Gomen sensei, I'm still looking for Ryoma-kun," said Sakuno, her head turning to every direction she could possibly reach.
"Eh? But he's already in the bus. He's going as buddies with Tezuka-kun's imouto. They were the first to get in the bus," said Izumi-sensei.
"Ah sou ka, I guess I'll have to…Ah, well…I..ah…Excuse me s-sensei. I'll have to go ahead," said Sakuno, her anger very apparent from her face
The bus moved out of Seigaku grounds after a few more minutes. Tezuka was looking out the window from their classrooms as the buses continued to leave. It was the first time Yumi will go on a trip without him. The feeling he is having right now is too unfamiliar for him that it was almost a bit disturbing. He guessed it was part and parcel with being an overprotective older brother like he is. He'd have to face it though.
"You brought two?" asked Ryoma as he was looking at the lunch pack Yumi asked him to carry.
"I did. Knowing you, I bet you just brought some snacks," said Yumi.
"Well yeah, but I brought some Ponta though," said Ryoma.
"Are you sure you should be proud of that?" asked Yumi.
The trip to the mansion was quiet though. Both of them fell asleep due to fatigue from attending matches for the district tournaments. They woke up in time for all the students to file out of the buses. The facilitating teacher announced that the son of the owner of the mansion and is fiancée was going to welcome them.
"All right, minna, please listen and wait patiently. They're coming now," said one of the teachers.
"Ohayou gozaimasu," said the two familiar individuals.
"Eh?" Yumi reacted, upon seeing who the two were.
"Yumi-chan?" asked the bespectacled young man.
"Eriol-niisan, this is your home?" asked Yumi as she walked forward.
"Anou, do you know each other Tezuka-chan?" asked Izumi-sensei.
"This little girl here is my youngest cousin," said Eriol as he motioned to Yumi.
"Eh?" said all the students.
"Hontou desu ka?" asked Horio.
"Yes, it's true. I've met them during the summer trip with buchou and his family," said Ryoma.
"Well, before anything else, welcome, to all of you. I hope you enjoy today's class activity," said Tomoyo.
The first years filed into the mansion where butlers were waiting to guide them in. They were limited to going to rooms in the first floor, the East wing of the second floor, the lawn, the recreation area and the garden where the maze and the chess board was. The students separated and went to different directions while following the butlers that were assigned to different areas of the mansion.
Yumi and Ryoma, on the other hand, found a beautiful statue in the middle of the maze in the garden. It was in from of a cream colored gazebo. They decided that it was the best choice for their project since the rest already chose to draw certain parts of the mansion.
"Excuse me, Young miss, Eriol-sama has asked me to bring the two of you some snacks," said a butler as he was followed by a maid in a French maid uniform.
"Arigatou gozaimasu. Please send my thanks to him and to Tomoyo-neesama," said Yumi as she and Ryoma were served with some Darjeeling and some scones.
"Doumo," Ryoma muttered.
"Also, the young master wishes to see you after you've finished with your project. He'll meet you in the study later this afternoon," said the butler as he handed a glass bell to the maid; who paced it on the table between the two of them.
"All right, we'll call you once we're done," said Yumi.
Meanwhile, in Seishuun Gakuen, the student council and the presidents of the various curricular and extra-curricular clubs and organizations were all in a meeting with the head teacher. They were called regarding the upcoming school festival. The Seishuun Gakuen school festival will be a three-day celebration that will showcase all of the booths and activities that the clubs and students will be preparing. For this particular meeting; which will occupy most of the day, the head teacher decided to gather all of the student heads to check on the progress of their plans.
"All right, all proposal sheets should be passed on my table on Friday. I will have to check on all of them first before I give them back to you for finalization. Be sure to keep in mind, the rules and the qualifications for approval of the booths or activities that you will be presenting to me," said the head teacher.
"The proposal sheets should all be in hardcopy form and should follow the school format. In case you're not familiar with the format you may approach Tezuka-kun, our student council president, for the copy," said the assistant head teacher.
The first half of the meeting ended after a few more discussions and Tezuka walked out of the office with Fuji by his side. They were both student presidents and it helped that the two of them could share ideas for their upcoming booths. The boys' tennis club; because of Ryuuzaki-sensei's instructions to them, would be having a maid and butler café; Yumi being the only maid. It was only the photography club that Fuji was quite bothered about. It was his last year as president of the club and he wants to show everyone the outcome of the members' works.
"I'm still not quite sure how we'd work this out," said Fuji.
"Well, you could have an exhibit. I heard the Art club is having one, why don't you and your members collaborate with them and have an exhibit as well," Tezuka suggested.
"That sounds great, Tezuka. I was thinking of having our works printed out and published into books however it would cost a lot more than this suggestion you gave me," said Fuji.
"Well if you consider the materials, the binding and the editing then it would definitely give you a higher money mark up compared to doing an exhibit," said Tezuka.
"I guess I'll have to talk to the members when the first years get back," said Fuji.
"Excuse me, I'll have to take this call," said Tezuka as he checked the LCD of his ringing mobile phone.
-Moshi-moshi- said the person from the other line.
"Hai, Tezuka-desu," said Tezuka.
-Kunimitsu, this is Eriol,- said Eriol.
"It's nice to hear from you, Eriol. Is there anything you need?" asked Tezuka.
-It's nothing really. I just wanted to tell you that Yumi-chan and her class are having their art class here at my house- said Eriol.
"Is that so? I didn't know they were having it there. Did Yumi cause any mischief?" asked Tezuka.
-Oh no, of course she didn't. I just wanted to inform you in case we hold her up a bit longer. I'll be sure to call you again later just to be sure,- said Eriol.
"All right, I'll inform otou-san about it," said Tezuka.
-Thanks. See you soon. Ja,- said Eriol.
Yumi and Ryoma spent their time drawing quietly. They sat in front each other with the table between the two of them without minding what the other was doing. Occasionally they'd reach for some cookies from their stash of food and some from the scones that the butler brought earlier. Ryoma would occasionally glance at Yumi to see what she was drawing; though Yumi was doing the same thing from time to time.
"Sorry," said Ryoma as he accidentally touched Yumi's hand while they were both reaching for something to munch on.
"I-it's okay," said Yumi.
After an hour more, the two finally finished their sketches. They rang the bell and waited for the butlers to come and get them. The maze was easy to figure out if you're coming from the outside but getting out was a much difficult task. It was lucky though, that they had the butlers and maids to count on.
"Those look outstanding," said Eriol as he passed by the couch Yumi and Ryoma were sitting on.
The two were reviewing each other's works and then comparing their sketches to the photo Yumi took with her camera. Listening to the art teacher paid off. Though the process of finishing the sketches was a bit too long and tiring, it was well worth it. Their works looked really good and really amazing, for amateurs that is.
"Eriol-niisan, you never told me you had a mansion outside of Seishuun," said Yumi as she watched her cousin.
"Well, this house was newly renovated actually. It was only this month that I had it furnished," said Eriol.
"We're moving here after the wedding," said Tomoyo.
"That's great! That means you'll live a lot closer now," said Yumi.
"I know, that means we'll be able to visit you more since it's a lot closer now," said Tomoyo.
"But how about the family business, nii-san? You'll still be going on a lot of trips every now and then right?" asked Yumi.
"That's right but it's all right since the main office is here, it's accessible and it makes my job a lot easier since I have direct contact with the company," Eriol explained.
After a while they moved their chatting to the reception area where some of the other students and teachers were staying. Izumi-sensei was there too, doing some final touches to the drawing he himself drew as an example to his young students. He closed his drawing book and walked around the room, checking the students' works. He was commending one of the students when the group walked in.
"Ah, Eriol-sama, Tomoyo-sama, thank you for allowing us to come to your wonderful mansion," said Izumi-sensei.
"It's no problem, sensei. This is, after all, a class that my cousin and my young friend attends; so it's really not a big deal," said Eriol.
"Ah, I see you are also familiar with Echizen-kun," said Izumi-sensei.
"I spent part of the summer vacation with Yumi-chan and her family. I met Eriol-niisan and Tomoyo-neesan there," Ryoma explained.
"That's right. I'm glad you planned something like this, sensei. It's a good enrichment class for art classes," said Tomoyo.
"Ah yes, I though the idea would help since their academic examinations are coming soon. Unwinding through art is a very nice idea, isn't it?" said Izumi-sensei.
"My fiancée is a model and an artist. We have some of her paintings in the upper floor in the study room," said Eriol.
When everyone was finished with their work, they all gathered in a huge hall where three long tables were. (A/N: Think Hogwarts-tables-long ^_^) This is where they were to eat their lunch boxes and rest until the buses come back to pick them up. There was a projection system that was set up to bring entertainment while they were there.
"How was it, Yumi-chan? Did you draw something good?" asked Kachiro.
"I did. Ryoma did well too actually. We stayed at the maze in the garden," said Yumi.
"Really? We thought it was quite difficult to stay there so we didn't. We went somewhere else along with the other groups," said Katsuo.
"Did you see anything good?" asked Yumi.
"Ah, the huge chess board was great," said Kachiro.
"We decided to draw that but it was quite difficult because the benches were a bit far from that area," said Katsuo.
"How about you two?" asked Kachiro.
"We drew the statue in the maze," said Yumi.
"Ryoma-kun, let me just warn you. It seems Ryuuzaki-san is coming this way and she looks a little pissed," said Katsuo as he saw Sakuno strutting in the middle of the tables.
The said girl approached them like Katsuo mentioned. She looked thoroughly pissed about something but no one could really point out why, specifically. These days she always looked angry whenever she sighted Yumi anywhere near Ryoma. It was like she's been watching him like a hawk would to his prey.
"Ryoma-kun, why did you choose another partner? Didn't you receive the letter I left in your shoe cubby yesterday?" she asked angrily.
"Eh? What letter?" Kachiro asked.
"I left him a letter in his shoe cubby, asking if we could be partners for today's art field trip. But when I got here, the teacher said you already have a partner," said Sakuno.
"Was that what it said? Sorry but I threw it right away," said Ryoma as he just continued eating his bentou.
"You threw it away without even reading it? But still, why would you choose her instead of me?" said Sakuno, pointing to Yumi like she had leprosy or something.
"That's easy enough to understand, Ryuuzaki. I chose her because I want her to be my partner," Ryoma muttered before eating an octopus wiener.
"Why can't you just choose me? If you want to pair off with a girl, why choose her over me?" she argued, her voice catching a few more ears than intended.
"R-ryuuzaki-san please calm down," said Kachiro, who was already quite panicky when Sakuno came.
Ryoma place his chopstick down on his bentou box and then turned to face Sakuno. He wasn't actually facing her while she was ranting about her so-called "misfortune." It was bad enough that she came over to talk about this but it's even getting worse since he's almost at his boiling point. It isn't the same when facing tennis players on the court but this was just getting pretty annoying. He had to stop this before she caused him anymore problems.
"Ryoma-kun," Katsuo muttered, a bit scared with whatever he might say.
"The answer is simple, Ryuuzaki. Today's activity is sketching for the art classes and personally, I'd rather do it in PEACE. If I chose you, who knows how long you'd talk before I get even a minute of silence. Also, choosing whoever I want to be partners with is my choice, not yours. It's not any of your business," Ryoma explained bluntly, before resuming with what he was previously doing.
Upon hearing what he had to say, and some gossiping around the corners of the hall, Ryuuzaki Sakuno decided to retreat for the time being. It wasn't good if she made Ryoma angry. It would only give even more negativity about her intentions towards him if she pursued with her demands today.
"That was some talking you had with Ryuuzaki," said Yumi as they were riding the bus back to Seigaku.
"Really? I didn't notice," Ryoma muttered.
"She's really into you isn't she?" asked Yumi.
"A fan girl is what she is. I'm not interested in anyone as noisy as her and that friend of hers," said Ryoma.
"I see, but then again, does that mean you're interested in someone else other than her?" said Yumi.
The bus suddenly lurched forward to a stop and Yumi almost toppled forward, if not for Ryoma, who was now holding her by the shoulders. She sat back and felt the hands slowly leave her shoulders. It felt unusually warm. She took a glance and saw his slightly flustered friend looking at her.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Yumi.
"What were we talking about?" asked Ryoma.
"Forget it, it isn't important anyway," said Yumi.
"Is your brother picking you up at school?" he asked, seemingly okay again after getting all flustered and all.
"No, the head honchos of the school's academic and extra-curricular clubs are having another meeting for the festival. I'm walking home earlier than him today," said Yumi.
"I'll walk you home. We can drop by that used books store you kept mentioning about," said Ryoma.
"All right, let's get some soft-served ice cream too. There's one next to it," said Yumi, obliviously.
When the bus reached Seishuun Gakuen, all the other students dispersed in different directions. Katsuo, Kachiro and Horio left together, although a bit shakily since Horio kept on pestering the two about not being able to hang out with them the whole time because he was paired forcibly with an equally noisy Tomoka. It was a consequence he had to face after being tardy for three consecutive days and in place of detention the two had to pair off. Tomoka was also under punishment that day, after breaking one of the beakers in the science laboratory.
Ryoma and Yumi headed to the used books store after getting off the bus. It was only a few blocks away from the campus. Being energetic and healthy as they were, the two simply walked in silence as they headed to the store. It was the first time Ryoma would be walking Yumi home but it just seemed like something they do all the time.
"You can read English right?" asked Ryoma as they were looking around the shop.
"I do. I'm not a fluent speaker but I do read a lot of English books. Eriol-niisan gave me a lot of paperback novels from Britain," Yumi explained.
"Have you read books by Paulo Coelho? His books are interesting," said Ryoma.
"I have, only one, but I did like it a lot," said Yumi.
After a while, they left the store and headed to the soft-served ice cream shop. They were the only customers at that time so they took a seat near the windows. The shop looked cute, with simple decorations in white and brown. The windows had glass art etchings on them of snowflakes. It felt like a place where Christmas was always celebrated. Their orders came after a few minutes. It was odd but they had some chocolate chip flavored waffles and vanilla flavored ice cream. When they finished, Ryoma insisted on paying the bill. He kept arguing that he was the one who invited her in the first place.
"You're quite young to have a girlfriend but you know how to play your cards well, huh sonny?" the old man behind the cashier gave them a toothy grin.
"Doumo," he replied after getting his change, ignoring the old man's earlier comment.
The two walked until they got to the bus stop to Yumi's village. Ryoma wanted to send her home but Yumi insisted on going by herself; it was already quite dark and she didn't want Ryoma to get scolded. In the end, Ryoma conceded and just waited before the bus loaded a bit more people.
"My cousin works part time in the new amusement park that opened last week. She gave me two tickets for free as a gift for the tournament, do you want to go out this weekend?" said Ryoma.
"Oh, from Nanako-san?" asked Yumi.
"Yeah, she said she got the tickets for free but all her friends aren't available this weekend so she gave it to me instead," said Ryoma.
"That's thoughtful of her," said Yumi.
"So, do you want to come?" asked Ryoma.
"Sure, I'll tell my brother and my mother about it. I'll call you later to confirm, okay?" said Yumi.
"All right, use your mobile phone. Oyaji's been pestering me about idiotic stuff so it's better to talk when we're out of earshot," said Ryoma.
"Okay," said Yumi.
-in the Tezuka household—
"Tadaima," said Yumi as she entered the house.
She was still in the foyer, placing her shoes back in the shoe cabinet when Mayi-san came. Though she insisted on not having one, her mom wanted her to have a nanny. It was odd since she's already attending junior high but she gave in and allowed her mother to hire Mayi-san just to pacify her wishes. Mayi-san was unexpectedly helpful to her, though not as much as you would expect a regular nanny would be. She worked more like a personal assistant or secretary rather than a nanny.
"Okaerinasai, ojou-sama," said the older woman as she was putting on her house slippers.
"Ah, Mayi-san; is there anything I need to do today?" she asked immediately, knowing that her mother would've informed Mayi-san beforehand about Yumi's chores and other tasks.
"There are no tasks for tonight, ojou-sama. Your grandfather left for Kyuushu after lunch earlier and I believe he will be coming home after two days. Your father is still at work and your mother is waiting for you at the kitchen," Mayi-san explained.
"All right, thank you. I'll go and get changed first," said Yumi.
After getting changed, Yumi proceeded to the kitchen and found her mother taking out some freshly baked brownies from the oven. Her mother loved cooking and baking, hobbies that she takes part in from time to time. She strode over and helped her mother take out the other tray inside the oven and placed them atop the counter.
"How was your day? Did you enjoy your trip?" Ayana asked.
"It was really fun. I didn't know we were going to Eriol-niisan's house so I was quite surprised but happy at the same time," said Yumi.
"Oh, really? So the place has finally been finished. It took Eriol some time to have that house remodeled and refurnished," said Ayana.
"It's a magnificent looking mansion. Nii-san said that we should come and visit during thanksgiving. They're having a party there," said Yumi.
"We'll ask your father about it," said Ayana.
The two sliced the brownies up and placed them all in a tray for serving. Yumi's dad and brother would be coming home soon, though they were not a fan of sweet things, the two would surely enjoy having some of the freshly baked brownies.
After a while, the two did arrive. Kuniharu came a fifteen minutes after his son arrived home. He mentioned that there were some letters that arrived in the office that he had to attend to before he left for home. A handful of envelopes on his hand were from those set of letters; they were invitations to parties and press conferences apparently. One being an invitation for the youngest Tezuka member to attend a fashion show; since their businesses also extends up to the fashion industry.
"Would you like to attend this, Yumi? You could pick a friend to come with you. Of course Mayi-san would be coming with you as well," said Kuniharu.
"I have a senpai from the Photography club who's really close to me. Her name is Mizuno Tenshi. Can I bring her with me?" asked Yumi.
"Sure, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. Ask your friend on Monday then I'll give them a call to have the seats reserved for you," said Kuniharu.
"Arigatou, otou-san," said Yumi.
"Oh, by the way Yumi, what was it that you wanted to ask us?" asked Ayana.
"Ah! Ryoma-kun invited me to go to the newly opened amusement park this weekend. He got some free tickets from his cousin, Nanako-san, and he didn't know who else to invite so he invited me," said Yumi.
"Ah, Momoshiro did mention that he turned down that invitation," said Tezuka.
"This weekend?" asked Kuniharu.
"I see no problem with it. Ryoma-kun's a good boy and I trust him enough to take care of Yumi," said Ayana.
"All right, as long as he's the one taking you. Be sure to bring your mobile phone so I can call to check up on you," said Kuniharu.
"Try not to come home late too," said Tezuka.
"Hai! Arigatou, okaa-san, otou-san to onii-chan," said Yumi. (A/N: in Japanese they use 'to' to signify as the conjunction 'and' ^_^ just to clear things up regarding this )
Thanks for reading again everybody! Hope you all enjoyed and take the time to click that REVIEW button there. Yes there. She's just waiting for you to bring the cursor there and . Anyhoo, please join the contest! All entries will be reviewed personally by Ysah-chan. A background about your entries will also be good. :)