Chapter 17- Plans
Monday
The Seishuun Gakuen school festival is fast approaching and extracurricular and co curricular clubs have been very busy preparing for their stands. Likewise, classes have also begun basic setups since there are only two weeks left. First years have simpler stands and booths; most ranging from food stands to souvenir shops. Yumi and Ryoma's class is having a food stand where they sell pastries and drinks though a bit less complicated than the tennis club's butlers and maid café. Though, they were all glad that the said plan would only take place during the first two days of the school festival, the last day being a tennis demonstration and challenge by the regulars.
"All right, we should do the shopping for ingredients three to four days before the festival starts. Of course it will still depend on the group where you're assigned," said the class president.
"How about for the classroom setup and designs, when should we buy our materials?" asked one of the group leaders.
"Those should be bought this week. You should also begin making the easier setups by this week so that you can focus on the rest afterwards," said their homeroom teacher.
"All right, those in different groups should start their meeting as well. Today's free period and sensei allowed us to use it for our group planning," said the class president.
"Hai," said everyone before going to their designated groups.
There are four sections in the first year level, all ranging from class A to D; class A being the top class. It was still a big question as to how Horio Satoshi came to this class but seeing that his grades aren't as flunked as his tennis skills are, his friends decided to just skip asking him. Back to the matter at hand then, Horio, Katsuo, Kachiro, Yumi and Ryoma are all in one group, Katsuo being the leader of the group since he's more adept to cooking than most of them.
"What are we assigned to make again?" asked Horio.
"Horio-kun you should pay more attention. There are only a few weeks away from the festival," said Katsuo.
"If you mess this up I'll tell buchou to ask Inui-senpai to give you penal-tea," Ryoma muttered.
"EEEEEH? You wouldn't!" said Horio.
"In any case, you should still keep your head in place. We have to calculate how much ingredients we need and decide where we shall cook it," said Kachiro.
"To bake it you mean," Katsuo corrected.
"Ah, well the ones we did last time was a good number already, according to nii-chan. I also asked okaa-san to take a look at our list of ingredients and to calculate how much we need," said Yumi.
"All right then, but I'm not so good in baking yet so maybe we should try baking sometime this week first. The no-bake cheesecake is all right but the chocolate cake is a bit harder," said Katsuo.
"Where shall we try doing it then?" asked Ryoma.
"I don't have an oven at home," said Katsuo.
"Me too," said Kachiro.
"I'll ask okaa-san if we can do it this weekend. It'll be good since she wants to see the regulars again, I'll invite them along too," said Yumi.
"Ah, demo, Yumi-chan, we only have ingredients for a few people," said Kachiro.
"Daijobu, I've got the ingredients covered. We have enough ingredients at home," said Yumi.
"All right, let's do it this weekend then," said Horio.
Lunch…
Considering that morning practice isn't enough for planning, the tennis club members all agreed on having a group lunch inside the tennis courts is the best way to have time for planning the club's festival participation. This is the first time that the tennis club is participating as a butler and maid café and it made everyone hyped up. Originally, Yumi was the only one who would be the maid but eventually, they came up with an idea to invite some of Yumi's friends from her old school to come as maids. It was an easy agreement seeing that she only asked four of them to come and help out. The four of them would be coming to visit Seishuun on the thirtieth of the month; they'd be staying over at the Tezuka residence until the festival is over. Ryuuzaki-sensei made arrangements for them so that they won't leave any pending responsibilities in their school.
"Arai-senpai, here's some omelet I made this morning. You can share them with the other senpai-tachi," said Yumi as she handed Arai one layer of her big bentou box before heading back to the regulars.
"Ah, Yumi-chan went all out with making lunch today," said Oishi.
"Doesn't your hand hurt anymore?" asked Taka-san.
"Iie, it's a lot better now. Onii-chan and I went to the drug store right away and bought some medicine for it the day after I got it," Yumi explained.
"You've been applying religiously ever since, ne? That's good Yumi-chan," said Oishi.
"Ah, Eiji, here's some Anago," said Taka-san as he placed a platter of sushi on the table.
"Saaannkkyyuuuu Taka-san!" Eiji said happily.
"Anyway, Tezuka, I have a question about the attire we're going to use," said Inui.
"Ah, well, I asked otou-sama for some help and he mentioned that there are some butler attires available at one of our theaters. Those will be given to the other members of the club, otou-sama said he has something else planned for the regulars," said Tezuka.
"Eh? Hontou? Otou-san probably has some better ideas," said Yumi.
"Ah, it's great that your dad's very supportive, Tezuka," said Fuji.
"Ah, Yumi's the one who mentioned about the butler and maid café plan though," Tezuka explained.
"How about Yumi-chan, buchou?" asked Momoshiro.
"Ah, what do you mean?" asked Tezuka.
"I think what Momo-senpai means is, what will Yumi-chan and the other four girls be wearing, buchou? Or, where will they be getting those costumes?" asked Ryoma.
"Otou-sama's also decided to handle those for Yumi and her friends," Tezuka explained.
"Sugoi, Tezuka-buchou's father is really amazing. We're lucky that he's willing to help the club with our participation," said Kachiro.
"Our otou-san's the best! You'll meet him when you visit the house this weekend," said Yumi.
"This weekend?" asked Tezuka.
"Ah, we're going to practice baking for the festival. The senpai-tachi should all come, okaa-san's been asking if you can come over to visit," said Yumi, pertaining to the regulars of course.
"Ayana-san's really kind to us," said Fuji.
"We should bring something when we come over," said Oishi.
"Okaa-san would love that," said Yumi.
"I'll have to tell okaa-sama ahead then," said Tezuka.
"Ah, arigatou, Tezuka-buchou!" said Kachiro.
"Yumi-chan offered to have the practice at your house but we weren't sure you'd say yes," said Katsuo.
Tezuka was just stopping by the council office to retrieve some papers when he caught sight of Tenshi from one of the staircases. She looked a bit bothered by something and she didn't seem to notice that she was about to miss two steps from the stairs. Tezuka was quick enough though, and caught her just in time. It would've been a very nasty fall if he hadn't caught her.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"Hn," he replied and released her right away.
"Are you going anywhere?" asked Tenshi.
"I was just picking up some papers in the student council office. I'll be going then," said Tezuka.
"Matte, I have something to talk to you about," said Tenshi.
"Is it important?" asked Tezuka, seeing that Tenshi looked very serious at the moment.
"Quite. It's about your sister actually, and about what happened the other day," said Tenshi.
"All right, let's talk in the council room, no one's there at the moment," said Tezuka.
The two of them made their way to the office. Tezuka unlocked the door and opened it for Tenshi. The look on Tenshi's face was bothering him. He didn't want to think or to assume that she had anything to do with what happened to Yumi the other week. It wasn't a pleasant thought at all. Firstly, he didn't have the right to judge her or accuse her without ample evidence. And lastly, he doesn't even know anything about her; other than her name, age, and class number that is.
"I'd have to clarify this first; I'm not involved in any of the things that has been happening to Yumi," said Tenshi as they got in.
"All right, that answers one of my questions. If you're not connected, then what is it that you know?" asked Tezuka.
"As of the moment I'm still not sure. All I know is that there is more than one person doing these pranks," said Tenshi.
"Are you sure?" asked Tezuka.
"Haven't you heard Yumi-chan's classmate? A group passed the tennis courts and then that tennis racket with a blade planted on it suddenly came up," said Tenshi.
"I did hear that, but no one saw who dropped that racket," said Tezuka.
"I think I did see who it is. I'm not too sure as of yet that's why I need your help," said Tenshi.
"All right, since it concerns my sister's well being, I'll hear you out. What do you have in mind?" asked Tezuka.
Meanwhile, two busybodies were walking down the hall, heading back to their classroom when they saw Tezuka and Tenshi walk out of the council room together. They quickly hid themselves in a corner so that they wouldn't be seen. The two seniors were still talking intently to each other, in hushed voices as they continued to walk. Tezuka leaned a bit to hear what Tenshi was saying.
"Hey, isn't that Tezuka-buchou?" Tomoka asked as she saw the senior walk out of the student council room.
"Yeah, and that's the same girl who confessed to her," said Sakuno.
"Mizuno Tenshi's her name I think. What were they doing in the council room?" said Tomoka.
"They look like they're quite happy though," said Sakuno as she smiled at the sight of the two seniors walking away.
That afternoon, the whole tennis club was in a flurry of panic. A lot of the members arrived late due to class meetings regarding their class' participation in the festival. One could only imagine the relief on each of their faces when they all realized that the captain himself is still not present in the courts or in the clubrooms. It was only when Oishi finished changing into his tennis attire that the non-regulars dared to ask where their captain was.
"I'm not really sure where. Their class ended earlier than mine," said Oishi.
"That's odd," said Arai.
"Hoi hoi! Oishi! Oishi! I've got news!" Kikumaru announced as he and Fuji entered the clubroom.
"What is it Eiji?" asked Oishi as his overly enthusiastic doubles partner bounced up and down in front of him.
"Tezuka's got a girlfriend nya!" he announced.
"What?" all the non-regulars chorused.
"Wait, wait, wait, what did you say Eiji? Tezuka got a girlfriend?" asked Kawamura.
"When we were passing by the hallway after we got off our class we saw Tezuka waiting for Mizuno-chan. He went all gentlemanly and even took her heavy bag for her nya!" said Eiji.
"You guys should go see for yourself, they're actually heading here in a bit, I think," said Fuji as he hurriedly changed into his tennis uniform.
All the non-regulars and regulars alike huddled and looked out of the clubroom's window to take a peek. And just like what Fuji and Eiji said, Tezuka and Tenshi arrived somewhere near the courts after a few minutes. They were talking, though Tezuka, being passive as he always was, only responded in a few nods and a few short phrases, or words if you could call it that. But then he said something that made Tenshi laugh out loud.
"Waaaah! It's true! What Kikumaru-senpai said is true! They're already dating!" said Momo as he stood upright again.
"Che! Should we even bother about buchou's affairs?" asked Ryoma while he re-adjusted his cap.
"Actually we shouldn't," said Oishi.
"Fshuuu...It really is none of our business. Senpai shouldn't we head out now? Buchou might notice," said Kaidoh.
"Ah, you're right, Kaidoh. Although, there seems to be someone missing at the moment," said Fuji.
"Huh?" asked Momo.
"Has anyone seen Yumi-chan?" asked Fuji.
"Oh no! How will Yumi-chan accept this nya?" said Kikumaru.
"Don't be overly dramatic senpai," said Ryoma.
"Yeah, besides, last time we saw Yumi-chan she was talking to Mizuno-san like they were super close," Taka-san explained
All the members left the clubroom and headed out to do their warm-ups. After some time, they were joined by Tezuka while Tenshi was again snapping away with her camera. Only when they finished did Yumi finally show up at the courts. She had her clipboard and pen at hand like always, but there was something amiss. When Oishi tried to look at her, he noticed that there were some band-aids on her left kneecap.
"Tezuka I'll just go and talk to Yumi-chan about something," said Oishi before leaving the courts.
"Ah," Tezuka responded.
Oishi walked out the courts and went to talk to the younger student. She was re-checking a list of the items in the clipboard when Oishi appeared. And as if nothing ever happened, she flashed her usual smiled at her senpai before putting down the clipboard.
"Is there anything you need senpai?" asked Yumi.
"Yumi-chan, did you fall down earlier? Why do you have band-aids on your knee?" asked Oishi.
"Eh, you noticed?" asked Yumi, before looking down at her knees.
"Did you have it cleaned at the infirmary?" asked Oishi.
"Please don't tell nii-chan, senpai. I was picking up my pencil case then I suddenly scraped my knee. I only put band-aid on it," said Yumi.
"You can go and use the first aid kit in the clubroom. I'll tell your nii-chan that I asked you to check on some of the materials inside," said Oishi.
"Hai, doumo," said Yumi.
Oishi went back to the courts and continued with the warm ups. Afterwards, Tezuka assigned them in pairs for a practice match. They've been doing a lot of practice matches now since there would only be a few more weeks before it turns too cold for them to play. For the rest of the week, Tezuka has been making them practice against each other in a match.
"I'm not backing down on you now Ochibi!" said Kikumaru as he was facing Ryoma in a match.
Tezuka didn't allow any tie breaks this time so they had to best each other in a one set match. Winners of the matches will face each other until there's only one winner left. The day before, Tezuka took the place of the winner followed by Ryoma, Fuji and then Inui. Today they had different opponents, so the winners should vary again this time.
"Mada mada sune, Kikumaru-senpai, I'm taking this one seriously," said Ryoma as he aimed for the far end of the other side of the court.
"My acrobatic tennis skills are too good for that ochibi!" said Kikumaru before returning the ball easily.
The rest of the regulars are on the other courts, with non-regulars umpiring for each of their matches. It was a sight to see for the non-regulars since their best players are giving them a free preview of their awesome tennis skills. Tezuka, Fuji and Ryoma were the ones that most of the members are looking forward to watching. Unfortunately though, the non-regulars themselves are involved in a special training menu that Inui made for them; under Yumi's supervision of course.
"Good work today everyone! Congratulations for besting everyone again, Tezuka-buchou," said Oishi.
"Non-regulars are improving as well. Keep it up. All right, dismissed!" said Tezuka.
All the players started to pile out of the courts, leaving some of the freshmen who were assigned to do that day's clean up duties on the courts. The regulars however, were in a corner in front of the clubroom. They were still talking about the practice matches they had earlier. It was another successful practice for all of them, and they've noticed a lot of improvement lately.
"Great job today," said Tenshi as she walked towards them.
"Mizuno-chan. Did you get good shots?" asked Fuji.
"I got some very good ones, kaichou," said Tenshi.
"That's good. You should do your best for the upcoming festival. You have one of the best portfolios for our year you know," said Fuji.
"You flatter me, kaichou. But overall we can't deny that Tezuka Yumi-chan's portfolio has been improving tremendously. I guess what she lacks in sports, she makes up with art and intellectual ability," said Tenshi.
"No need to boost up Yumi-chan's confidence, Mizuno-chan, we all know she's going to agree with having you as her brother's girlfriend anyway, nya," Kikumaru grinned.
"What?" Yumi asked, mildly surprised at Kikumaru's statement.
"Ah, we saw Mizuno-chan and Tezuka-buchou earlier. They were looking lovey-dovey too," said Momoshiro.
"What are you all doing here?" Tezuka approached them; he had just finished talking to Ryuuzaki-sensei.
"We were just talking about you and Mizuno-chan," said Inui.
"What about us?" asked Tezuka.
"We were just wondering, Tezuka, have you accepted Mizuno-chan's confession?" Fuji asked frankly.
"I'm sorry, Tezuka. I know it's a private matter, but we saw you and Mizuno-chan arrive together earlier. And you were, uh, 'sweet' to each other; so to speak," said Oishi.
"So basically, you're all asking if the two of us are going out now," said Tenshi.
"Yes," the regulars chorused.
"Is it okay to tell them?" asked Tenshi.
"Yes, I suppose," said Tezuka.
"So, you are going out?" Yumi suddenly spoke up.
"Is that okay with you, Yumi-chan?" Tenshi asked.
From the regulars' point of view, Yumi looked absolutely calm and normal. But Tezuka knew better. He knows her better than anyone, Yumi has a big brother complex and she gets jealous whenever Tezuka gets closer to other girls. Their conversation before about Ryuuzaki Sakuno was an example, but he didn't think far ahead about how the young girl would react if ever he did get a girlfriend. She's not the type to throw tantrums; well, not in front of other people at least, but he hopes that Yumi accepts this sudden turnout of events maturely.
"Yumi," he called her name.
"I guess if onii-chan is happy, then I should just be happy for him," said Yumi.
"Well said, Yumi-chan," said Fuji, who seems to understand what Tezuka was thinking about.
"Arigatou, Yumi-chan. I promise I won't hurt your nii-chan," said Tenshi.
"Thank you, Yumi. Go and get changed, okaa-san said we have a visitor today and we have to get home soon," said Tezuka.
The ride home was relatively quiet. Apart from a few comments from Yumi, there wasn't much for them to talk about. Tezuka thought ahead and decided to just let her handle this one on her own. Even if she has a big brother complex, she has to understand that he's got a life other than taking care of a younger sister. There will always be room in his heart for his beloved sister after all.
When they got to their stop, the two got off the bus and walked home. When they got in, they noticed a familiar looking Midnight Blue colored vehicle parked in their driveway. Only one very close cousin of theirs owns a car like that. They all knew that he has a particular shade of blue that he prefers. Yumi's attitude sparked up and she excitedly walked towards the front door.
"Tadaima!" she said happily as she walked quickly to the receiving area of the house.
"Okaeri nasai, Yumi-chan," her mother smiled.
"Okaeri," Eriol smiled brightly at her.
"I knew it. I saw Eriol-niisan's shiny new car at the driveway," said Yumi.
"He's staying over with us until next week," said Ayana.
"Hontou?" Yumi asked excitedly.
"Tadaima desu," Tezuka entered the room.
"Ah, Kunimitsu, didn't you two arrive home together?" asked Ayana.
"I was left at the foyer by an overzealous siser," said Tezuka.
"Eriol-nii's staying over with until next week, nii-chan," said Yumi.
"Oh? Is it for a vacation?" Tezuka inquired.
"No, it's not that. I'm overseeing the construction of Tomoyo's new boutique across our family's restaurant at the town plaza. I figured I could just stay over here since Tomoyo's off to Paris for a fashion show anyway," said Eriol.
"He's offered to be your driver for the time being too, you know. He says it's to cover for his rental bills," Ayana joked.
"Demo, okaa-san, Seiiji-san will lose his job if Eriol-niisan drives for us," said Yumi.
"Otou-sama is taking Seiiji-san and Papa's new van to Okinawa since Seiiji-san is from there. They'll be gone for two weeks," Ayana explained.
"Is it all right?" asked Tezuka.
"No problem. Watching over the construction and the interior designing team is not tedious anyway," said Eriol.
"Yumi, go and finish your homework with Mayu-san. We'll have tea in the garden afterwards. We've got Jackson's Earl Grey for tea and some scones and crepes for snacks," said Ayana.
Yumi was glad that she decided to do half of her homework at school earlier. She already finished her Math and English homework (English done with Ryoma's help) during their free period. With that she only had a few more left since her work's already cut in half.
"You're improving well with your studies ojou-sama. You only need to improve more on English and Physical Education classes," said Mayu-san.
"Arigatou Mayu-san. May I go and have tea with the others now?" asked Yumi.
"Hai, you may go. I'll finish fixing your bag and leave it in your room later," said Mayu-san.
"Thank you," said Yumi before leaving the room.
Yumi left the study room and went to the garden. Tezuka was already there, obviously finished with all of his homework. He has always been able to finish all of his homework easily. Yumi noted that it's probably one of the reasons why her older brother was one of the top students in the school, along with Fuji who's an absolute genius.
"Done with homework?" asked Eriol as he poured tea for her.
"Hai, I was able to ask Ryoma-kun for help in my English homework earlier at school," said Yumi.
"Here you go," said Ayana as she set down a plate of crepes and scones.
"Arigatou, kaa-san," said Yumi.
"You seem a little different today, Yumi-chan. Is there anything wrong?" said Eriol.
"Eh? Really? I seem different?" asked Yumi.
"Well a little bit. I can't really point it out in particular but you do seem a little different from before," said Eriol.
"I'm not. It's nii-chan who's different today, well, especially today. Ne, niichan?" said Yumi.
"What is different with your onii-chan?" asked Ayana.
"Well, he's got himself a girlfriend already," Yumi said bluntly, before taking a sip on her tea.
"What?" Ayana stopped and asked.
"Did I just hear that right? My wooden block of a cousin has got himself a girlfriend? Is that true?" said Eriol.
"Do we know her?" asked Ayana.
"She's the girl that Yumi brought with her to the fashion show," said Tezuka.
"Oh, Mizuno-san, the other member of the Photography club, right? She's quite a darling," said Ayana.
"Have you met her?" asked Eriol.
"Only once, but she didn't stay for long since she and Yumi were heading out," said Ayana.
"You don't have to make much of a fuss about it, okaa-sama," said Tezuka.
"Well of course we should, my first born has got himself a girlfriend. Your father will react worse that I do, you know," said Ayana.
"Yes I do know that," said Tezuka.
"Maybe we should invite her over this weekend as well, onii-chan," said Yumi.
"This weekend?" asked Ayana.
"Ah, can we use the kitchen this weekend, okaa-sama? We're practicing how to make our assigned pastries for the school festival. The regulars are coming over to taste it and to visit as well," said Yumi.
"It's okay, I'm fine with them coming over," Ayana smiled.
"Yes but, Mizuno-san won't be able to come. She's flying to Singapore on Friday and she'll only be back on Sunday evening," said Tezuka.
"Well, there's still time though. We hope to meet her soon," said Eriol.
That evening, after dinner, Eriol turned in early and went to bed. He got the guest room across the hall from Yumi and Tezuka's room. The other two spent some time in the library. It was only eight in the evening and they usually spend some time in the library before going to bed. This time around though, Tezuka noticed that Yumi wasn't really paying attention to what she was reading. She almost looked a bit melancholic.
"Are you bored?" he asked.
"Not really," said Yumi, not looking up from what she's supposedly reading.
"Are you, not okay with me having a girlfriend?" he asked suddenly.
Silence. He thought so. Sometimes he blames himself for tolerating her behavior before. He's probably the sole reason why his sister has a big brother complex now. He's thankful that they are indeed very close to each other but at the same time worried that they are too close that she wouldn't even understand how he needs to interact with other more.
"Yumi," he called.
"It's not that I'm not okay with it. Of course I want you to be happy, especially now that you and senpai are together," said Yumi.
"But?" he asked.
"But I'm scared. I'm scared that things will change now," said Yumi.
"Why would things change?" he put down the German book he was reading and face his sister.
"Because, I'm not your real sister remember. We're not blood related. Now that you have a girlfriend you have to give priority to her more and I can't be a scrooge and ask for more attention from you because I'm not really your sister," she answered, her eyes turning a bit glassy as she sat back on her arm chair.
"Come here," said Tezuka as he beckoned her to come.
She stood up and went to her niichan. She was surprised when she was asked to sit on her brother's lap but she did so anyway. Tezuka wrapped her in an embrace from behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a bit before Tezuka finally spoke up.
"You know, when I was younger, I always wanted to have a younger sibling. Then okaa-sama got pregnant and I was excited to become a big brother. But when she gave birth to the baby, it was dead. The doctors said it was a still birth and that the baby girl inside her was already dead even before it came out. They didn't tell me that back then because I was still excitedly waiting for my baby sister to arrive. I didn't know that I had to wait for fourteen long years before I could meet you and take care of you," he explained.
Yumi looked at him. He just smiled a real smile before continuing with what he wanted to say. Yumi had to hear this so that she can understand. He has done a lot for her in only a few months and having an extra person in his life doesn't mean taking her out of the picture.
"Yumi, you're my younger sister and I will always be your big brother. Even if Mizuno-san is with me now, it doesn't mean that I'm forgetting about you. Have a little more faith in your brother, Yumi. You know how much I love you and nothing's ever going to change that," said Tezuka.
"Promise?" asked Yumi.
"Promise," he answered.