Tezuka walked at a brisk pace, making her run just to catch up with him. It always felt like that with Tezuka. He was always a few steps ahead, and even though she ran to try to walk by his side, he would still be ahead. The sun was setting and it dyed the sky a vibrant red, and it reminded Tezuka even more of the day when he had lost to her. Sayuri attempted to make some kind of conversation in order to slow him down.

"Can I tell them about the story of how I climbed up into this favorable position?" She looked up at him and asked cautiously.

"No," Tezuka's answer was curt.

"Eh… but I'm sure everyone would laugh. I mean you have to admit, it's a pretty good story to tell." She chuckled softly at the mere memory of it.

Tezuka frowned as he recalled what had happened.

"This… this is not a tennis court." He looked around the building. There were elementary school kids mashing buttons, arguing, and running around. The place itself smelled like gum and candy. It was like a haven for kids, a place where there were no rules besides the ones they made up. This was definitely not a place where I should be, he thought to himself. He tried to keep his expression calm as he was dragged into this place where they were supposed to play tennis. As they walked through the aisles, there were many old school retro games to choose, ranging from bubble bobble to airplane shooters.

"And here we are!" She proudly presented the old machine that was flashing extreme tennis in bright orange letters.

"…this… is tennis?" His expression faltered a little and she noticed it.

"Well did you really think I was actually going to play you in tennis? I'm a girl you know and on top of that… you're Tezuka Kunimitsu, how am I supposed to compete with that?" She said as the coin made a clink.

Tezuka suddenly regretted coming here with this girl. She was dangerous, he noted.

"Choose a character," Sayuri grinned mischievously.

Tezuka hesitantly approached the machine and peered into the screen. Were these… things supposed to be people? He thought. Using the joystick he rummaged through the playable characters before choosing someone that resembled a rock.

"Don't underestimate me now," She said, slamming the start button.

A green start banner floated across the screen and with that, the game had begun. Right from the start Sayuri started mashing buttons while Tezuka took a gentler approach and made conservative movements. But just like it had begun, it had ended quickly.

"… you lost," She grinned, proud of her victory. I wonder if I'll be able to tell people I won a match against Tezuka Kunimitsu, she thought.

"Let's play again," A loss in tennis was something that Tezuka couldn't tolerate and he was now determined to win against her. He thought he had finally grasped the flow of the game. It's tennis, he thought, it's no different from the real thing.

"again? The outcome is going to be the same though," Her grin still lingered on her face, and it was then she thought of a great idea.

"well then, to make the match more interesting…. Let's bet!" She casually mentioned the idea and he was stupid enough to take it.

"what do you want?" He remained expressionless, not really caring about what was on the line because he had confidence that he was going to win this round.

She pondered over the possibilities but finally came up with, "ice cream, loser buys ice cream."

Tezuka pushed the start button. His rock like character ran all over the screen trying to hit back the balls that she was hitting, but before he knew it, a large LOSER sign floated on his side of the screen. The more he stared at it, the more it irritated him.

"Why do you use the same character everytime?" Tezuka asked while he was picking a new character to play.

"Well, I know my character looks like a dumpling but his stats are great, his speed is faster than any other character, I like his special skills and his precision is dead on but the only thing he's lacking is power but hey, you can't have a perfect character." She shrugged, and for a second Tezuka wondered what kind of tennis player she would be if she actually played real tennis instead of this childish game.

"loser buys dinner," she offered, feeling high and mighty now.

Tezuka pushed the start button.

"loser buys dinner and dessert,"

Tezuka pushed the start button.

"loser buys a new tennis racket,"

The penalties started increasing in value and before Tezuka knew it, the stakes had gone so high that he didn't know if he had enough money to pay for what she wanted. The clock chimed above them and interrupted their game.

"ah, it's getting late, it's time for us to go home," Sayuri said, "so let's see, calculating your losses… you owe me about a year's worth of dinner, a tennis racket, a bike, a digital camera, 3 cakes and a pair of sneakers!" She counted each and every one of them on her fingers and looked up when she was done.

"….hn," Tezuka flinched, "last match,"

"Eh? You still have the confidence that you can win after all these losses?" She stared at him with a look of disbelief.

He didn't know where his confidence came from but he knew that this time he could win, she hadn't noticed it, but he had been keeping track of their scores and he had found that each and every time, he had gotten better, had scored one extra point and he believed that he could end her with this match. Also there was no way that he was going to buy all that stuff for her.

"Last match," He repeated himself calmly.

"…. What are you willing to bet?" That devilish grin returned to her face.

"What do you want?" He cautiously eyed her. What more could she possibly want? He thought to himself.

"I'm willing to make a huge bet this time. If you win, I'll cancel everything, you won't have to buy me anything. However, if I win, I get a spot on your tennis team… as the vice manager." Her voice rang loud and clear and this time Tezuka knew that these were not normal conditions, but this time, he had a certain premonition he was going to beat her.

"Fine," Tezuka pressed the start button.

"Kunimitsu-kun?" Sayuri repeated, dragging him out of his thoughts.

"…hm?" He looked down at her and it made him realize how short she was compared to him.

"well?" She said, waiting for an answer, "Update me on club activities!"

"ah," He hadn't heard a word of what she had been saying, but it was probably something unimportant, he thought.

"Rankings were just completed yesterday, to decide on the regulars, and we're practicing tomorrow." He continued, mapping out in his head a new plan of improvement for his tennis members.

"Eh, practice?" She tried to think of innovative practices that would possibly help, but then realized they were stupid and gave up, "then I'll-"

"We're here," He interrupted her, pointing to her house.

"… oh, already?" She frowned, staring at the lone house in the corner. After taking one last glace at Tezuka, she went inside.

Being the well-mannered man that he was, Tezuka waited until she was gone before continuing on his way home. She was odd, he thought. There was something strange about her that he couldn't quite place his finger on; maybe it was the way that she treated him or the way that she created so many misunderstandings. But there was something definitely strange about her. Having second thoughts about her, he realized that there were a lot of unanswered questions that aroused suspicion but the thing that worried him was the most insignificant question of all; she had transferred not in the beginning of the school year, but a couple of weeks after, why? The more he thought about it, he noticed that he didn't know anything about her at all. The few times that they've met, all they would talk about is tennis. Perhaps it was because of who he was or because they had nothing in common but it was still suspicious. He wasn't going to let his guard down now. Maybe he should have asked her, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

Yes I'm slow, I know.

Reviews are appreciated, yes please.