Chapter Seven – Tournament
Of all the embarrassing things, it just had to be that. She could handle it if she belched in front of him, or maybe if she'd tripped. But she was barely wearing anything when she'd walked down those stairs. Yet he'd seemed completely oblivious to it.
She's rushed back down the stairs in her school uniform, racquet bag over her shoulder, took an apple from the fruit bowl and announced herself ready to go.
Tezuka looked up from the conversation he was having with Kaiya and he was met with a slightly familiar sight. Her hair was up in its usual way, but it was yet again, only a ponytail, but a hair band and dark green ribbon were tied loosely around her wrist.
"Why are you in your uniform, Miya?" Tamie asked.
"This is a tournament for schools. I have to support Seimaku by being in uniform." Miyako explained. Then she turned to Tezuka. "We should go. We're going to be late, right?"
Tezuka nodded and then bowed to her parents. "Thank you for the company. I'll bring Miyako back home sometime after seven."
"Have fun!" Tamie called.
"Be careful." Naoko warned as he followed the teens down the hallway.
"We will be, Dad." Miyako stated.
"Good luck, Tezuka-kun!" Kaiya exclaimed, waving erratically as Tezuka led Miyako onto the sidewalk and towards the nearest bus stop.
"Seven?" Miyako asked.
"We'll be going back to Taka-san's family restaurant for a celebratory dinner. Whether we get into the regional's or not." Tezuka replied.
Miyako laughed. "That sounds like fun." She said genuinely. It would be good to see how the Regulars were like when they weren't at school or on the courts.
There was silence for a long moment as they stood and waited for the bus. Miyako wrung her hands together. She hoped for anything that they hadn't missed their bus all because of her. True, it had only taken ten minutes for her to get ready – it would have been five if her hair hadn't been so temperamental.
She sighed lightly to catch his attention before bowing. "I'm sorry, Tezuka."
"What for?" Tezuka asked, keeping an eye out for the bus from the corner of his eye.
"I should have made sure I was ready when you arrived. I'm sorry." Miyako repeated, still bowed low before him.
Tezuka placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It happens to the best of us." He assured her. "Besides, this bus is always a little late."
"It is?" Miyako asked, slowly standing upright.
"And I got to see Kaiya – and meet your parents." Tezuka added.
'And see me practically naked before you.' She thought bitterly as she blushed deeply.
"And there are girls who wear less to bed." Tezuka said, looking at her from the corner of his eye to gauge her response. She blanched as she was too embarrassed to even blush anymore. He laughed. "Don't worry. I wasn't really looking."
"That's so embarrassing." She hissed.
Daringly, Tezuka reached out and took her fingers. "Don't worry about it." He repeated and then released her hand quickly, the tingling becoming too much for him to take. "I was looking at your hair actually."
Miyako tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"I've never seen it out before. It's rather long." Tezuka commented. "It's lovely."
Colour returned to her face and her cheeks continued to darken. "Thanks." She whispered. "I've been growing it for years." She explained, feeling a sombre memory returning she shook her head. "It can be a pain to take care of though." She said with a laugh. "I'm going to plait it on the bus." She explained, fixing her hold on her racquet bag.
"You bought your racquet?" Tezuka asked.
"I take it almost everywhere." Miyako replied. Then she remembered what was in her small backpack too. She opened her mouth, but the bus arrived and it was forgotten.
. : . : . : .
The courts were bustling with people. The nearby canteen was already busy with a long line up of people and there were uniforms of all kinds scattered across the site.
Surprisingly, she and Tezuka were the first of Seimaku to arrive – other than Kikuchi-sensei, who had been there exceptionally early as all coaches had to be. He appraised her presence gratefully and asked if she wouldn't mind becoming an assistant for the day as she was slightly more reliable than many of the other first years who would be showing up to help.
For an hour they waited for the rest of the Regulars to arrive one by one – Echizen being the last – and then at ten o'clock they registered into the tournament.
"Oh, Fujiko, look, it's Yuuta-kun." Eiji said.
Miyako turned as Fuji broke from the group to go and greet a younger boy with hair similar to Fuji's. "Yuuta-kun?" She asked.
"Fuji-senpai's younger brother." Momo replied.
"He has a brother?" Miyako asked.
"And an older sister." Momo replied.
"Gosh – I would have never thought." Miyako said.
"What? Anyone could have younger siblings. I have a few myself." Momo said.
"Oh, I can understand that – but the way he acts I wouldn't have picked it. That's all."
"What do you mean?" Eiji asked, becoming curious.
"I don't know. I can't explain it. The fact that he never mentions them, for one."
"And you do?" Momo asked.
"Yes, I do. Just ask Tezuka or Kara and even Fuji-senpai. Seeing as I actually talk to them on a daily basis." Miyako replied and then turned as the coach called her name. "I'll see you guys later – I'm being summoned." She hissed jokingly and then proceeded to slink off from them. Once she'd registered the confused looks on their faces she laughed and walked normally over to the coach. "What can I do for you, Kikuchi-sensei?"
He handed her an esky. "This is the water bottles for the whole team, can you take it to Court Five?"
"Sure." Miyako replied, taking the esky, though it was a little heavy. "Which way is Court Five?" She asked, straining a little with the heavy load.
"Just down that pathway – the first years are there too and it'll be marked on the fence, you won't miss it."
"Hai, arigatou~." Miyako said and made her way down the suggested path.
As she walked she could hear the various wolf whistles that followed her and she rolled her eyes in response. High school boys were so immature – even Tezuka was at times. She kept her eyes straight ahead of her, checking each court she passed for number five. She found ten and then nine on the opposite side of the path. She sighed and began to power walk – the faster she got there the better.
"Hey, do you need a hand?"
She looked over instinctively towards the voice and sighed at seeing who had spoken – one of several guys wearing the same uniform. "No, I'm fine thanks."
"You have a racquet, huh? Do you want to play a game with me?" The guy asked, walking over.
Miyako tilted her head down, acting on the defensive. "No thank you. I need to get to my team's court." She insisted and made to walk away, but a hand grabbed her elbow and then another pair took the esky. "Please, let me go and give that back." She stated as she was suddenly surrounded.
"Come on, you're from Seimaku, right?" The guy holding her elbow asked.
"What's it to you?"
"They beat us every year – it would be good if we had some leverage over them." The leader of the group said.
"I won't be leverage for anything." Miyako stated darkly, pulling her arm away and wrapping both arms around herself protectively. "Let me go, now."
"Miya-chan."
The group parted as the new voice startled them.
Miyako looked up at the familiar voice using an unfamiliar nickname. "Tezuka?"
Tezuka had his hands in his pockets, hardly looking impressed at the scene he had discovered. "Come here." He instructed her, taking a hand out of his pocket and motioning with his fingertips for emphasis.
With slight hesitation, Miyako walked over to him and catching the small, ever so slight wink from Tezuka she took his outstretched hand and let him curl his fingers around hers.
"You're Chiba East High, aren't you?" Tezuka asked, casually hooking his thumb in his pocket, having her hand dangerously close to his leg. "I thought that you'd tried everything already to defeat us – I guess you wouldn't think yourselves high enough to think that harassing a personal friend of mine is going too far. I'll be speaking with the officials about this." He threatened. "Give her the esky and we'll be on our way." He added, releasing her fingers so that she could retrieve the esky.
Once she had picked it up and was standing upright, his arm fell onto her shoulders and began to lead her away. A nervousness she'd never felt before overcame over.
"I'm sorry for calling you 'Miya-chan'. I thought it would scare them more." Tezuka said, dropping his arm from around her.
Miyako tilted her head. "I don't mind – Mum and Dad call me that sometimes. But…why would that scare them?"
"It's such an endearing term they might just think that they were messing around with my girlfriend – they should know better than to mess with Seimaku in the first place." Tezuka explained. "Our team even beat them all the way back in Junior High. It's really humiliating for them to keep losing like they do."
Miyako smiled. "I guess some teams really play dirty, huh?" She asked, grinning slightly as she caught the hitch in his breath. "Don't worry, Tezuka. I told you before – I hold nothing against you. Why would I joke about it if I did? Besides I was the one who made a fool of myself."
"Being stubborn can be a very attractive feature." Tezuka allowed.
Miyako scoffed. "Being attractive has nothing to do with it."
"It certainly did for you. I hope you never tie your shirt like that again."
"I hope I never have to. Heat is horrible." Miyako stated as Tezuka held the gate of Court Five open for her to walk in.
Then she remembered that gift she had for him. She was about to mention it when he addressed someone on the courts.
Indeed, the other first years were there already, watching over the gear they had already bought. They looked up as Tezuka and Miyako arrived and sighed in relief when Tezuka dismissed them for the moment – but did tell them to stay nearby in case they were needed.
The gift was once again forgotten.
. : . : . : .
The first few schools were defeated within the first three matches, so Tezuka didn't even have to play. His Captain skills needed only by standing by the sidelines to give the other Regulars the extra boost of confidence and strength.
She was placed in charge of the water bottles and so she was required to remain by the sidelines as the rest of the Regulars were. She carried the esky to five different courts throughout the day. She sat beside Momo most of the time as Tezuka didn't see a reason to sit. When she queried, Momo would explain tactics that the certain player or players were using.
Then, the last school they would face of the District Tournament, Chiba East High School.
She couldn't help but notice the way their eyes focused on her as she sat there and unconsciously shifted closer to Momo.
"You okay, Miyako-san?" Momo asked.
Miyako nodded. "Those guys are just…creeping me out." She admitted. "They made some trouble before the tournament even started.
Momo scoffed. "Figured they'd start to make trouble eventually."
"Yeah, Tezuka explained that Seimaku and Seigaku have been wiping the floor with them for years – but…you know. It was just a little scary when they surrounded me like they did."
Suddenly, Tezuka placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, you've been sitting there all day. Let's find a spare court and warm up together."
Miyako nodded excitedly, picking up her racquet bag and following him off the court. "You have a match up next, huh?"
Tezuka nodded.
"You'll win, I'm sure of it." Miyako said to him.
Tezuka smiled to her a little. "Me too."
Miyako pouted as he led the way into an empty court. "You're pretty confident."
"If I don't believe I will win then there's no point in even playing the match." Tezuka explained, looking back at her as he slipped off his jacket. "Let's play without any kind of competition, shall we?" he suggested.
"That's my kind of game." Miyako agreed and pulled her racquet out of her bag. Then, once again the present in her bag was reminded of – but she'd left her backpack at the tennis court with the rest of the team. It would have to wait.
For a while they had a strong rally going, but Miyako could see that Tezuka was taking it easy – after all, it was only a warm up. But she gave it all she had so that it felt as though he had some form of challenge rather than an easy ride.
"You've improved." Tezuka commented. "It doesn't even look like you're going to flick that wrist."
"It's all thanks to you, Tezuka-sensei." Miyako joked.
Tezuka visibly shuddered. "Don't call me that again. I have no plans to become a teacher of any kind."
"Are you kidding me?" Miyako said, missing her return. "You should seriously consider it. Heck, I refused teachers for years because they are always dull and insist on playing the proper way all the time with no real fun involved. And they always have a perfect regime that can't be altered no matter what the cost. Tezuka, you have the skills, talent and personality to be the perfect teacher for someone like me – who wants to get better, but needs to have fun at the same time."
Tezuka was a little shocked at her rant, but his face didn't show it. He looked at his watch and sighed. "My match could be starting soon; we should head back to Court Seven."
Miyako nodded, ran to retrieve the forgotten tennis ball and then her racquet bag from the sidelines, slipping her racquet back in. She then caught up with Tezuka who was already leaving the court. He'd already put his jersey back on as a cool breeze blew across the trees and the courts.
The pair looked up as they walked.
The sky was beginning to grow dark to the east, the wind blowing the clouds in. "Do you think it will rain?"
"I hope not." Tezuka replied, walking on ahead. "Let's hurry."
"Right." Miyako stated, catching up to him.
As they walked onto into the fenced in area of Court Seven, Echizen was walking off the court, sweating slightly, but smiling.
"He won." Miyako whispered.
"Captain." Echizen said. "You're just in time. Win it for us."
Tezuka nodded and then began to remove his jacket.
MIyako panicked slightly. The gift would be useless if he didn't have it during the match. She bit the bullet and placed a hand on his arm. "Tezuka, wait just a second." She said and ran for her bag, nearly knocking Momo off the bench as she did so. She threw her racquet bag into his lap as she didn't want to damage it by throwing it onto the ground and then picked up her backpack and began to rummage down in the bottom of it.
"Miyako-san, what are you doing?" Momo asked. "He's about to play."
"I know, that's why he'll need this." Miyako said, pulling out the gift from its protective pocket in her bag. She cradled it carefully as she leapt back over to Tezuka where he was standing, waiting. "I know you have all the confidence you need to win, but…if I know that sometimes I need a little extra confidence from something more than my own mindset." She held out the gift, a silver chain with two silver dog-tags hanging from it. "I had them engraved – as a good luck present for this tournament and the next and the next. And until, I guess, you have no more challenges ahead of you." On one tag was his full name engraved in Japanese symbols, the other had the image of a tennis racquet.
Tezuka stared at the gift in surprise. Never in his life had anyone thought of giving him such a gift. While he hesitated he noticed the flush on Miyako's cheeks as her nerves began to intensify.
"Seimaku, your player needs to be on the court or you'll be forced to forfeit." The official called.
Tezuka looked up. "Just a moment." He pleaded and then turned back to Miyako with a thankful smile and slipped his jersey from his shoulders. He hung the jersey around her shoulders and then took the dog-tags from her nervous fingers.
Miyako looked at the jersey around her shoulders, the warmth of his body hung to the fabric and leaked to hers. She looked up and watched as Tezuka clipped the chain into place around his neck.
"Thanks, Miyako." Tezuka whispered and walked onto the court.
Miyako flushed brightly as she slinked her way back to the bench, holding the jersey in place around her shoulders. As she sat there she noticed an unfamiliar smell, something that she hadn't smelled before. Then she realised where it was coming from. Conspicuously pulling the collar of the jersey closer to her nose she sniffed it and discovered Tezuka's appealing scent. She blushed lightly as she looked up – Tezuka was shaking his opponents hand before they were begin their match.
Fuji smiled and walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. "That was very dramatic of you." He commented.
"What?" Miyako asked, looking up.
Fuji's smile only grew wider. "If he doesn't make the move, I assumed that you would sooner or later."
"What move?" Miyako asked.
Fuji's eyes opened slightly. "You know what move I mean – and you're not dense about romance."
"How do you figure that?" Miyako asked, still missing the point to Fuji's reply.
"Momo tells me that you like romance novels."
Miyako glared accusingly at Momo. "Romance novels don't imply that I know more or less about romance than anyone else."
"Sure it doesn't." Fuji said, walking back over to his seat on the bench.
Miyako huffed and when a particularly tough wind blew, she tightened her hold on the jersey and pressed her skirt between her legs to keep it from flying up. She looked up at the sky as pieces of her hair danced against her forehead. "I hope it doesn't rain while his match is still on."
"I think he'll win long before the rain can fall." Momo said.
"Oh? How do you know?" Miyako asked.
"He's got your gift around his neck. That kind of strength won't be beaten quickly."
Miyako blushed and turned her eyes to the court as Tezuka's match began.