Chapter Five – Turning Point
Her throat began to emit cries of pain as Tezuka dropped his racquet and leaped over the net to kneel beside her. "Miyako?" He got no response. He turned to the fence. "Echizen! Get the coach!" Making sure that the boy obeyed his command, he turned his eyes back to the girl. He carefully uncurled her arms from her knees. "You need to keep moving, Miyako. It'll only hurt more if you don't."
"But it already hurts." Miyako whimpered, no longer coherent enough to understand logic.
By now the gate was opened and Fuji appeared on Miyako's other side. "What should we do?"
"Her muscles are going into shock. We have to keep them moving or she'll only hurt herself further." Tezuka explained. "Help me to stand her up."
"No!" Miyako cried, hearing the instruction. "No it'll hurt."
Tezuka ignored her. "Take her left arm, Syusuke." He instructed as he took a hold of her right arm. As they began to lift her – and her cries increased – Tezuka looked over at Miyako's friend. "You're Sato-san right?"
Kara jolted, but nodded.
"Get her water. She'll need it."
"Right." Kara said
But Miyako spoke up in a rasped voice. "I need my puffer, Kara. It's in my bag. Quickly."
Kara nodded and searched Miyako's school bag to find the grey puffer.
Miyako reached for it and she heavily inhaled two puffs and then coughed a little. While Miyako was doing this Kara retrieved the water bottle and ran over to them as they managed to make Miyako stand lightly on her feet, nearly all of her weight on the boys on either side of her. "Miyako, you have to drink."
Kara was about to place the mouth of the bottle against the girls lips when Tezuka felt the heave from her stomach.
"She's going to be sick, kneel her on the ground." Tezuka said and at the same time, swiftly and just in time, they knelt with her.
With one last heave a yellow bile rose and emptied from her lips, drizzling to the ground.
"What's happened?"
Tezuka looked up as the coach arrived and noticed that the other Regulars were already dispersing the crowd and insisting that they all go home. He sighed in relief. He'd promised that he wouldn't humiliate her.
The coach knelt down by Tezuka's side and used the back of his hand to feel her forehead. "She's made herself sick." He informed them. "We should get her to the nurse's office and I'll call her parents to come and pick her up."
Tezuka nodded and shifted, lifting her right arm around his shoulders he hooked his other hand under her knees and lifted her up, easily and slowly he stood and then followed the coach towards the school building. Her head lolled onto his shoulder dizzily and it seemed that her inhibitions were for the moment, forgotten – tears began a steady stream from each of her eyes and instantly he felt horrible for drawing out such a long game.
"It was a good game, wasn't it, Tezuka?" Miyako asked quietly.
Tezuka looked down at her, for a moment surprised that she even had the capacity to speak let alone form a sentence as she had. "Sure. But it went for a bit long, don't you think?"
"Yeah…My parents might be worried about me." Miyako muttered as though the problem was just a side thought.
"Don't worry about that. The coach is going to call them and they'll come to pick you up."
"So…who won?..."
"Let's leave it at a tie, shall we?" Tezuka suggested.
Miyako smiled weakly, her eyes slowly closing. "Okay."
"Coach? Is she allowed to sleep?" Tezuka asked.
"Let her sleep. It'll be harder for her to get sleep when she can actually feel the strain in her muscles."
. : . : . : .
She woke to a smooth, slobbery tongue licking her fingertips. "Kiba, don't lick me when I'm sleeping." She muttered, wiping her hand on the dogs head and rolling over. Pain shot up all of her muscles and she sat up with a squeak of shock and pain.
She was in her room. In her house.
But the last thing she remembered was….she gasped, flushing red as she remembered the gentle rocking of his arms as he carried her off the court.
It was light in the room and she knew that it was a new day. She looked at the clock and panicked. "Mum!" She screamed, clambering out of bed, ignoring the jolt of pain in all of her joints as she did so. "I'm gonna be late! I'm already late!" She then realised that she was still in her school skirt and tennis tank top – which was still tied in a knot at the front. She flushed darker – he'd carried her. In a short skirt and belly exposed. "Oh I could just about die."
Her Mother appeared at the door and she sighed. "You're having the day off, Miya." Tamie informed her. "You over did it yesterday."
"What do you mean?"
"That game you had with Tezuka-san just about destroyed you." Tamie explained. "The coach was extremely understanding and wasn't going to punish Tezuka for it – because you should have given up when you knew it was too far."
"It wasn't Tezuka's fault anyway."
"It was his strategy actually, from what Kikuchi-sensei told us."
"Wasn't Tezuka there when you spoke to Kikuchi-sensei?"
"No, he'd already gone home. By order of Kikuchi-sensei."
"Good. I don't think Dad would have been very nice to Tezuka if that was the case." Miyako said.
Tamie shook her head. "You're just going to keep praising him, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I? He's a great tennis player and he's helped me out in so many ways without even having to." Miyako replied.
Tamie walked forward and gently embraced the girl. "Don't overdo it again, okay?"
"Yeah, I won't."
"Well, go and have a nice hot bath, I'll prepare you some lunch."
. : . : . : .
"Where's Tezuka-senpai?" Momo asked.
"He's not coming to practice today." Fuji informed him.
"And why not?" Momo demanded.
"He has other things to do." Inui replied.
"And what would those other things be?" Eiji asked inquisitively.
"He didn't say." Oishi replied. "Come on now. Back to practice – just because the Captain isn't here doesn't mean we shouldn't practice."
"Hey, do we know anything about Miyako-san?" Momo asked suddenly. "I talked to Kara-san today at lunch, but she hasn't heard from Miyako either."
The third year students shrugged.
. : . : . : .
He stood outside the primary school gate, waiting patiently for a familiar girl to make her way out of the school. He'd made a phone call earlier that day and spoke with Miyako's Mother and they came to an agreement.
"Tezuka-kun?"
Tezuka looked down and noticed that she had in fact emerged. "Good afternoon, Kaiya-chan."
"What are you doing here?" Kaiya asked, sincerely confused as to why he was there and yet her Father was not.
"I'm walking you home today." Tezuka replied
Her eyes lit up. "You are?"
"Yes. And we're going to go by a store and pick up something to help make your sister feel better." Tezuka explained.
Kaiya squeaked excitedly. "Let's go, let's go!" She insisted, grabbing his hand and beginning to lead the way.
Tezuka laughed lightly and allowed her to lead him down the street. As they crossed and made their way down several streets Tezuka spotted his own home. Their route was almost exactly the same.
"So how was your day?" Tezuka asked, sparking the beast.
"It was so much fun today!" Kaiya replied, fixing where her bag was situated on her back. "Usui, he made this paper plane – and it flew really, really well! He nearly got our sensei in the head with it!" She exclaimed. "And then he got out a – oops." Her bag fell from one of her shoulders and it caused her to lose her balance.
Tezuka chuckled, unable to stop himself and he simply took the bag off her and slung it over his shoulder. "Go on."
. : . : . : .
She wandered down the stairs, freshly dressed in jeans and shirt, Kohana cradled happily in her arms and Kiba following close behind. Tamie had left almost half an hour ago to walk Kaiya home and her Father wouldn't be home until five. So for the moment she had the house to herself.
Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, hanging from the top of her head and reaching her mid thigh. After the bath she'd had she had felt refreshed and calmed. Her muscles were still twinging with every movement she took, but she certainly felt better than she had the day before.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs there was a sound and strong knock on the door. Jumping slightly she turned to it. She placed Kohana on the stairs behind her and reached for the doorknob.
Upon opening the door she just about fainted. "Tezuka?"
Tezuka's breath caught in his throat. Strands of the hair that was pulled back were hanging over her shoulders and more of her fringe fell onto her forehead than usual. The long hair fell straight down her back with a slight wave and even in the dense light of the afternoon, it shone. Then a smile graced her lips as she welcomed the unexpected surprise.
"Miya-neechan~!" Kaiya exclaimed, embracing her sister around the waist.
Tezuka smiled towards the young girl and then his eyes met Miyako's. "I made a call to your Mother a few hours ago." He explained. "I picked up Kaiya-chan from school and we went to pick up something for you."
Kaiya stood back long enough to hand over a wrapped box.
Kiba made her way around to Miyako's side and curiously sniffed the box and then began to lick at Kaiya's hands before she ran around to investigate the new friend. Tezuka's eyes widened a little as the puppy-like dog bounded around him, licking at his fingers and sniffing in places he didn't know he had.
"Hey, Kiba!" Miyako commanded. "Be gentle."
The puppy whined a little and then resorted to looking up at Tezuka with wide brown eyes.
"She can be a little excited around new people. But she knows her master's voice."
Tezuka pet the puppy on the head and scratched around the floppy ears. "Better than most dogs."
"Kohana~!" Kaiya exclaimed and lifted the cat off the staircase and embraced her.
Miyako took Kiba's collar and forced the puppy into the house. "Come on in, Tezuka." She said, holding the door open for him.
"Look Tezuka-kun!" Kaiya exclaimed, holding the cat up under the forearms, the rest of its body hanging and tail nearly touching the ground.
"Kaiya." Miyako whispered warningly.
"This is Kohana~!" Kaiya introduced.
"Kaiya." Miyako whispered again.
Tezuka held a hand up to Miyako and gently took the cat off Kaiya's hands and held her comfortably along his arm. "I've heard about this one. Extensively."
Miyako smiled. "She didn't shut up the whole walk, huh?"
Tezuka nodded, handing the cat to Miyako. "But I can't stay long. I need to make my way home."
"Oh…not back to the school?" Miyako asked. She looked down the hall to the kitchen clock. "But it's not even three-thirty yet. Haven't you got tennis until five?"
"Not today." Tezuka replied, turning back outside.
"But you never miss practice…"
"I'm punishing myself." He replied, turning down the path and then to the sidewalk.
Miyako smiled as she slowly closed the door.
"Open the present~!" Kaiya insisted. "Open it, open it~!"
Miyako laughed, placing Kohana on the floor and sitting on the second last stair. "Will I like it?" She asked.
"Yes~!" Kaiya insisted.
Miyako laughed and let Kaiya climb into her lap before she carefully unwrapped the paper around the gift – she expected chocolates or something simple like that, it was about the right shape and size for it. She gasped and let the paper fall to her feet where Kiba instantly began to toy with it.
"Did you pick this for me?" Miyako asked.
"Kinda." Kaiya replied, shifting a little.
"Kinda?"
"Tezuka-kun showed it to me – so I guess he kinda chose it more than I did." Kaiya admitted.
Miyako tightened the arm around Kaiya and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, little one. It's beautiful."
Kaiya giggled and, satisfied with Miyako's reaction, climbed off her lap, picked up Kohana and made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat.
Miyako looked back down at the gift and felt tears threaten in the corners of her eyes and a smile tried to shine through the happy tears. Gently she ran her fingertips over the light brown leather cover of the journal, and down the sewn in, intricate design on the front. She traced her fingers around the tennis racquet and ball that was perfectly placed on the front, stitched in pink and white with a pale aqua handle.
She bit her bottom lip as Kiba nudged her nose against the girl's elbow – whining slightly.
"I'm okay, girl." Miyako reassured her. "Come on, let's put it upstairs." She suggested, standing up with the journal in hand and made her way back to her room. As she walked she flipped through the pages of the journal, on the top, outer corner of every page had a small picture of a tennis racquet. Then, one page was favoured and she found a folded piece of paper that didn't belong amongst the other pages. She pulled it out curiously as she entered her room. Placing the journal on her desk she couldn't help but notice the handwriting on the sheet of paper, letters that spelled out her name.
Gently petting Kiba as she nudged her leg, she the opened the paper and carefully read the neat script.
Miyako,
Despite what has been said and done I blame myself for the match yesterday that resulted in the pain and illness that you are suffering – and I hope with all my heart are healing well from.
After making an appealing deal to your parents we agreed to allow them time out this afternoon in exchange for me delivering young Kaiya-chan home. This proved to be a promising chance for me to deliver this letter and a gift on behalf of me and your sister.
You proved your point correct – I have decided to punish myself.
This afternoon I've denied myself tennis – and the pleasure of your company.
Until tomorrow,
Kunimitsu Tezuka.
Holding the note to her heart she sighed lightly. For a moment she was caught within herself and the letter – until Kiba yelped slightly.
Miyako jumped and looked down at the puppy, laughing lightly. "No worries." She reassured herself and folded the note before opening a drawer and carefully placing it inside. "Come on girl, we should make sure that Kaiya hasn't destroyed the kitchen."
. : . : . : .
Her Father dropped her off at school the next day as her legs were still rather tender, and she cautiously walked into the school. She was acutely aware of the eyes that turned to her and she knew that word had definitely spread – suddenly she wondered just how many people had been her match with Tezuka. And stayed long enough to see the result.
A small part of her wished she could go back home.
"Miyako!"
She turned at the familiar voice and smiled brightly at seeing her friend. "Kara."
Kara skidded to a halt in front of Miyako, her black hair bouncing around her face before he embraced her. "I missed you yesterday."
"You too." Miyako said, tightening the embrace a little. "And being at home all day is so dull anyway."
"Have you healed okay?" Kara asked as they made their way towards class.
"Well enough." Miyako replied. "I'm still a little tender here and there – that's why Dad dropped me off today. I will be going to practice this afternoon though. I promised Tezuka that I would see him."
"You did? But I was with you until your parents picked you up. They even dropped me off at home as well." Kara said.
"Oh, well…he came by yesterday….he even skipped club activities to see me. He said he was punishing himself." Miyako said with a laugh. "He quoted me and it's almost embarrassing to think about it."
"Whoa, whoa. He came to see you? At your house?"
Miyako blushed across the cheeks and could only nod.
Kara tried not to smile and only managed to purse her lips through a smile. "He must really admire you."
Miyako's cheeks darkened. "Don't say that aloud." She hissed.
"Someone's got to say it, Miyako. You have to admit. He's taken quite a liking to you."
"Sounds like you're talking about a dog." Miyako laughed.
"Can't you see it?"
"See what?"
"See yourself? By his side?"
Miyako scoffed. "Are you kidding? Tezuka has his girlfriend. It's called 'Tennis'."
Both girls giggled as they walked into their classroom.
"What are you two so excited about?" Momo asked.
This question only caused their giggles to escalate.