Zero Hour
By: Jyra
Disclaimer: Do not own Prince of Tennis. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this. Instead I'd be laughing about how I've created one of the best mangas in the world…
The last event in the build up to Roland Garros- Mutua Madrileña Madrid. Anyway, this one doesn't actually focus on tennis. It takes place in Barcelona, which isn't that near Madrid but I decided a little artistic licensing was allowed in the build up for the last chapter which will be published next week when Roland Garros has finished. I am sorry for the delay but exams and everything got in the way. Anyway, enjoy!
.Pillar pair.
.X.
¿Que desean tomar, por favour?
Ryoma stared blankly at the waiter who had just approached their table and continued to sip slowly on his coke (a poor substitute for ponta but Tezuka had firmly put his foot down to carting cans of the stuff around Barcelona).
It was Tezuka who picked up the menu and answered the waiter in slow Spanish, carefully pronouncing each word. Ordering three dishes from the tapas selection, he handed the menu to Ryoma who till then hadn't bothered to look.
Taking the menu from the other's hand, Ryoma stopped examining the interesting shaped ice cube in his drink and glanced over the food on offer. It really was too hot to be bothering with…
And then took a second glance.
And then a third.
Actually, Ryoma decided, the tapas selection looked good. Why hadn't he tried this before? Using the English that was written underneath the Spanish descriptions, he pointed to a dish as Tezuka related the order to the waiter. And then another. And then another. And a fourth and then a…
Ryoma only stopped when he realised that Tezuka was frowning at him more than usual and that the waiter had started to write on a second sheet from his pad. Ordering one final dish, much to Tezuka's not so obviously annoyance, Ryoma settled back down in his seat. This was going to be a good meal. Now if only Tezuka hadn't refused to carry around that ponta…
Tezuka liked Spain. Yes the heat could be somewhat oppressive but the architecture was beautiful. He was glad that they had been able to get a couple of days off after the Madrid Masters to come down and see Barcelona and the sites that came with it.
Like Gaudi's cathedral. The graceful black towers rising up from a…
'Buchou, it's an ugly half finish church.'
Tezuka's thoughts were interrupted by his travelling companion who obviously didn't share Tezuka's appreciation for the Spanish landmark.
'Ah'
Was Tezuka's only reply as he turned his attention back to the guide book (helpfully in Japanese). Inwardly, he wondered if Ryoma would bother spending a couple of hours in a cathedral for anyone else. Karupin probably but then Karupin, as far as Tezuka was aware, had never asked anything of Ryoma apart from food and toys. And then, before he turned into a sappy romantic fool, Tezuka swiftly turned his attention to a partially interesting section of the guide book.)
A while later the two found themselves walking along Barcelona beach, the air cooler as the time reached early afternoon. Ryoma, despite still insisting the cathedral had been an 'ugly half finished church', had been caught several times by Tezuka deeply engrossed in the information points dotted around the site, though out of pride had refused Tezuka's offer of the guide book.
'Buchou…'
Ryoma spoke, staring straight ahead. Tezuka inclined his head to show he was listening.
'I'm going to take the number one spot at Roland Garros.'
Again, Tezuka didn't speak for a while. It was true that Tezuka's exit from Madrid in the second round and Ryoma's win of the tournament did mean that a win at Roland Garros would put Ryoma top of the APT tour race.
'I'm going to play you in the final buchou.'
It was on the tip of Tezuka's tongue to tell Ryoma to not be so presumptuous. That it wasn't guaranteed that either of them would make it to the finals. Instead he added
'But the mishit you made on your left side in the Madrid final would not be permissible.'
Ryoma half smiled, half smirked as he looked up at the elder of the two and Tezuka had a sudden desire to take hold of his hand.
'Don't worry buchou. I'm going to play my best game.'
And then Tezuka did reach out and take his hand and when Ryoma laced their fingered together, Tezuka could help but pull the other boy into his arms and kiss him there and then, despite being in the middle of one of the world's busiest cities and both internationally recognised sports stars.
But what mattered but tennis?
Penultimate chapter! If you've been reading the last three or four carefully, you can probably guess what is going to happen in the last chapter! If you can't then I'll leave it as a surprise. The bit with the tapas was written because in the manga, Ryoma always seems to be a bit of a pig when the regulars go for sushi so I thought he might be the same with tapas! And that I had really good tapas in Barcelona!