As the Years Pass By

Chapter 4

Rin didn't know what to do about the situation between Tezuka and her. She couldn't decide between meeting up with him and talking about it or just simply apologizing and hope for the best to happen. As she was pondering about her current situation with her childhood friend, she plopped down on her futon and placed a pillow over her face. The pillow shut out all of the lights surrounding her in her room, letting her mind think in peace. Questions and hypotheticals were running through her head, causing paranoia and doubt to rise up from the bottom of her heart.

"What if he doesn't want to be friends anymore? What if he wants to forget me? Wait, no, that shouldn't happen because, I mean, it was a childhood feud. It wasn't anything big…well, to me it wasn't anything big. I wonder how he feels…hopefully he's not overthinking this as I am. Look at me, I'm so drawn in by this problem that I've practically resorted to talking to myself to make myself feel better," Rin sighed. "I really am pathetic. I can't believe he still remembered that though…It's not like I meant to leave him like that. I honestly didn't-"

"Rin, are you in here? Idiot girl, are you trying to risk your health or something? Hurry up and come out to eat dinner. It's getting cold and the table's lonely without you~," Ryota said as he knocked on her door furiously. He had interrupted her thoughts at the worse moment since she was thinking of ways to mend the broken friendship.

"Alright Ojii-san, I'm coming. Just leave the food at the table and wait for about five minutes. I gotta finish the last of my homework," Rin replied, lying in the process so that he wouldn't be too concerned about what she was doing.

"Hehe, alright then! Don't stand me up Rin~," Ryota replied happily as his footsteps were heard getting further and further from the door until they couldn't be heard anymore.

Rin looked from the door back to the ceiling. With a sigh, she put the pillow back in place and picked herself up from her futon. She walked to the door lazily, sliding it open then walking to the kitchen area.

"Ah there you are, Rin. I was waiting! Just on time too; it's been exactly three minute and forty-two seconds. About two more minutes and I would have busted your door open and dragged you out here myself!" He said, chuckling in the process. Rin looked at the stopwatch in his left hand and decided that her grandfather was a man that took words seriously, even if they weren't literal.

"Ojii-san, when I said 'give me five minutes', I didn't exactly mean five minutes. It's an estimation, not how long I would actually take," Rin tried explaining using various facial expressions to express how confused she was with his methods and how his brain worked.

"Yeah, I know that, but I hold words that come out of peoples' mouths quite seriously. If you're going to say it, you might as well do it," Ryota replied, a cheeky smile appearing on his face. "Now come over here and eat. I haven't seen you eat anything since you got home an hour ago. Hurry up, you're missing out on my takoyaki that I made today~," Ryota whined as he held up her plate for her to see.

"Mm, thanks Ojii-san," Rin replied while sitting down and grabbing her chopsticks. "Thank you for the meal!"

Ryota smiled and sat there, eating from his own bowl while watching her eat in the process. She wasn't digging in as voraciously as he thought she would. Instead, she was picking at bits here and there without eating the whole thing. His smiled dropped and his instinctive protectiveness appeared.

"Rin, did something happen? You're not being yourself," he commented, his forehead crinkling in concern due to her eating habits.

"Yeah, Ojii-san. Something did happen. You know how Tezuka walked me home, right? Well, we ran into each other before that sorta. I was transferred into his class and was assigned the seat in front of him. When the teacher asked him to catch me up with where we were at, he didn't speak to me. Only made eye contact, but the eye contact was cold and distant. It was like he didn't see me as someone he knew, or it was as if I wasn't a friend to him. Well, the way I thought of it was that he didn't greet me like a friend. Then, after school he made me run laps with the boy's tennis team because I was on the court. I ran the laps, of course, and asked Fuji if he wanted to go to the park and rally with me for a while before he had to go, and he agreed. What I didn't know was that Tezuka would be there practicing. We didn't make eye contact again since I didn't want to re-experience his emotionless eyes again, but during my rally with Fuji, I could tell he was watching me," Rin said as her voice began to gradually descend into a whisper, "He's sending me mixed signals and I don't know what to do with them. In my head, my thoughts are screaming at me to try to fix what I broke or to just give up on him. It's a hard decision for me, and I know for sure I don't want to give up on him. I just don't know how to go about this. Any thoughts or advice would be useful, Ojii-san."

"I…I don't know what to really say about this. You should know this, though. Since the day your mother moved to England and took you with her, Kunimitsu still visited the tennis courts and would stay there for hours. Ol' Tezuka and I were curious one day after our Shogi game finished up and we decided to check up on him. Turns out, he was just sitting there staring at an empty spot next to him like someone was sitting there with him. We figured it was because he missed you, but wouldn't show it in front of us," Ryota calmly finished. Rin didn't know what to say or how to respond to his statement since she didn't know Tezuka actually missed her.

"I'm such an idiot, Ojii-san. So then, is that it? Should I just be the bigger person and talk to him about it? I honestly want things to go back to the way they were before, when we could joke around so easily and how nothing came between us except for those pointless arguments we had as kids. I miss those times, but it's silly how time can change a person so drastically. From what I saw today about him, it doesn't even seem he can laugh or even pull a simple smile. I don't know what happened to the Mitsu-chan I knew Ojii-san, but I honestly, really do miss him," Rin replied, pushing her food away from her and folding her arms onto the table then resting her head on them. She stared blankly at the design on the table, trying to get her mind off of Tezuka. "Gah, I think I'm just being a big idiot. I mean, I'm making this seem like it's sort of a life or death situation," she scoffed, "I guess I'm just being silly."

"Then do it. Go up to him, talk to him, and restart from the beginning. A fresh start is better than no start at all. Just…my advice for you is just to follow what your heart says, not your brain. If this friendship between you and Kunimitsu means a lot, then pursue it. If not, then don't waste your time on trivial things that you can easily replace," he stated. His words had a lingering hint of a warning behind them, almost as if he was urging her to make up her mind on what she was going to do. "And you're not an idiot. Don't belittle yourself so easily, it's not a good habit to start."

Rin's face lit up a bit and a small smile formed on her mouth. "Yeah, I'm going to do that. I'll talk to him tomorrow. Thanks, Ojii-san. It feels good to get this off my chest and tell someone else. Oh, and thanks…I guess. "

"No problem, kiddo. Good luck on fixing things." Ryota leaned back in his chair as he smirked at the gleaming girl that walked to her bedroom with a joyous bounce in her steps. "Teenagers nowadays, always lingering on problems that have simple solutions. Then again, I have to take into consideration that she doesn't have the years that I've accumulated, or the wisdom that comes with age..." Ryota sat there contrasting himself and Rin for awhile before debating on whether to go to sleep or stay up for another hour.

Morning came quickly to Rin, which she didn't welcome at all displayed by her groaning. She refused to get out of bed until her grandfather had to come in and pour a bucket of ice-cold water on top of her, making her sit up and grab the sides of her arms in an useless effort to warm herself up. Her grandfather smirked, then left the room singing random love songs from his youth leaving the rest of her daily routine to her. As usual, Rin performed the repetitive schedule (including a hot shower this time) and was out of the door about ten minutes earlier than usual.

She walked to school while catching the occasional yawns and trying to fully wake up. Since nobody else was around her, she figured that the school was only about a five minute walk forward so she could rest her eyes while walking. Closing her eyes, she started to slowly drift off while her feet continued moving forward on their own. It wasn't even two minutes into the walk until she bumped into a rather solid figure in front of her, her face pressed hard against what seemed to be someone's back.

"Oof! Hey, what where you're going you-" Rin stopped mid sentence as she opened her eyes to see that she had bumped into Tezuka. Of all days, she decides to bump into him. Why did God hate her so? "Sorry, Tezuka-san. I wasn't watching where I was going…," Rin said as she bowed then quickly began to walk past him.

"Wait, Usagi-san," Rin turned around with a questioning look in her eyes. "Do you want to walk to school with me? I have some things I want to discuss with you." Rin's body turned fully around and she averted her eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Come on, we'll be late soon."

Rin took the first step as it gradually grew into a semi-fast stride to get to school and to avoid talking to Tezuka. Tezuka caught on to what she was trying to do and increased his strides to match hers so that he was next to her in no time.

"Usagi-san…why did you leave?" Tezuka asked, still looking forward. Neither of them wanted to make eye contact.

"My grandfather told you, didn't he? I had to because of my mom. You sound as if I was the one who made the choice to leave in the first place," Rin replied back, trying to refrain from yelling it to get the idea through his head.

"You had other choices, you know. You could've stayed with your grandfather or go with your dad," His voice dropped a key as his eyes shifted over to hers. "You didn't have to leave the country."

"Yeah, well…I don't know how to respond to that. I have a lot of things running through my mind about how we-"

"You."

Rin glared at him for interrupting her. "How I left things off between us. I just want to know though, are we…do you still consider us as friends?" There was a long moment of silence as neither spoke. Rin was getting irritated that he wasn't answering her question. She began to pick up the pace, her anger fueling her legs to walk faster. Tezuka once more caught on to her actions and copied them so he was next to her again. From a distance, it would seem as if the two were racing each other playfully while trying to get to school on time.

"I don't know how to answer that. I wouldn't know how to describe what kind of relationship we have right now, but the word 'friends' certainly won't fit it," he replied, his tone becoming colder.

"Look, what ever happened, happened. Okay? Please don't make a huge hassle out of it. I've let it go already. Let's just start over with a brand new slate. I honestly don't want to lose the one and only friend I have from my childhood. If you didn't know it already, you're a major impact on me. Let's just not let some quarrel cause a rift between us…" Rin trailed off as she began to slow down her pace.

Tezuka halted his steps and continued to look at her eyes, debating whether or not she was being truthful. Well, she was his only friend from when they were younger so that at least has to count for something. He watched her eyes that were seemingly empty with a mixture of confusion and sadness. He then thought, 'Are all of those emotions caused by me? Our 'feud' as she calls it?' She turned away from him, letting her head drop to the ground. He heard her mumble slightly and saw her hand reach up to wipe her eyes.

"I knew this wasn't going to work…stupid time. Stupid changes. Stupid…stupid Mitsu-chan…," she said, wiping away more tears that threatened to spill. Tezuka's eyes widened for a quick second, but then quickly changed back to his passive self.

He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder lightly, causing her to look up. "Alright, we're starting over a new leaf. Just don't –nevermind," he said as he turned around and quickly began walking to class, leaving a confused Rin standing there relieved that he agreed to start anew with her. The first bell rang and snapped her out of her daze, causing her to break into a full sprint to get to class on time.

After a tiring day of learning things Rin had decided was almost useless to her as nobody would ever be using Calculus for a career, she decided to visit the boy's tennis practice to see Fuji and Momo. Rin walked around the gate, her hands gliding from one part of the fence to another while watching the boys practice their forehand strokes. She watched in amusement as Momo and Kaidoh were swinging and glaring at each other simultaneously. Her eyes flickered over to Tezuka, Oishi, and an old lady wearing a pink jumpsuit. She assumed that since Tezuka was captain, Oishi was the vice-captain. That left the pink jumpsuit wearing old lady as the coach of the team. Rin reached the entrance of the courts and opened the gate to walk inside, closing it quietly behind her so nobody would notice her entering. She walked over to a corner and stood there watching the tennis practice. After counting out loud to fifty, the boys stopped and rubbed their arms while groaning about soreness and pain. Tezuka narrowed his eyes and began shouting orders to the three groups: the freshmen, the upperclassmen, and the regulars.

"Regulars, accuracy practice with Inui over in the first two courts! Upperclassmen practice rallying with each other in the rest of the courts! Freshmen, pick up balls!" His voice filled the entire court as everybody responded with a loud 'yes' and quickly went to fulfill his orders or risk getting punished with laps. Tezuka began to walk around to observe everybody and their forms until he noticed a figure not moving in the corner of the tennis courts. His eyes quickly darted over to the corner and wasn't surprised to see Rin standing there watching the regulars hit the color cones with color coordinated balls in fascination. He walked over to her and stood next to her, and began to speak.

"They train like that for a while in order to practice accuracy and improve their aim," He stated, his voice breaking her out of her awe-struck state.

"Wow…back in London they didn't have these types of training. We mainly just used weights and ran laps to increase stamina along with hitting ball canisters. That's about it, but wow! These guys are good! Hey, I've got to ask though…does that Ryoma have superb vision or something? He hasn't missed one yet and that Inui guy is launching three at him…" Rin asked, curious as to how Ryoma wasn't having problems hitting the red, blue, and yellow balls back at their color designated cones.

"He's the freshman rookie that took us by surprise. Normally, freshmen aren't allowed to join the team but he's an exception. He has a vast potential to unlock and this team will be the thing he needs to achieve it," Tezuka replied, both of them now watching the freshman rookie hit the balls back vigorously with a smirk on his face. Rin raised her eyebrow at him and let out a sigh.

"He reminds me of someone…kind of like you, Tezuka-san. You used to be like that, but less cocky," Rin told Tezuka, smirking and biting back the full smile. Tezuka turned to her, but with his usual straight face. Rin's smirk dropped and she turned her head the other way. It seemed that he hadn't developed a sense of humor in the past years that she was gone. Rin mumbled words along the lines of: 'stick up the butt', 'stoic jerk', and 'one face for every emotion' which caught Tezuka's attention as he heard the last insult clearly.

"Talking to yourself isn't healthy. It's a sign of a mental issue. Maybe you've developed schizophrenia, you should get that checked out immediately," He stated, turning his attention back to Ryoma then to the upperclassmen. Rin's jaw lowered slightly as Tezuka had just insulted her almost directly.

"Tezuka-san, that's very mean of you to talk to a girl that way," Rin replied, crossing her arms and looking away from him and at the freshmen busy picking up balls.

"I heard your last insult, and just so you know I'm captain of this tennis club so I've got to act my part. I intend to take my team to the Nationals and I can't with a carefree slacking attitude," he replied. Tezuka began walking away from her and began shouting orders once more to the upperclassmen to run laps since they were purposely aiming their serves towards the freshmen. Rin cringed at the thought of a carefree happy-go-lucky Tezuka. She walked over to the first two courts where the regulars were practicing their accuracy and decision speed. She saw Fuji sitting standing by, waiting for his next turn after Ryoma.

"Hey Fuji-senpai," Rin greeted as smiled cheerfully at him. He returned her smile with his own and greeted her back.

"I didn't know you were going to visit practice again today, Usagi-chan."

"Yeah, I kinda didn't plan it either but the club kind of caught my eye on the way out of the gates. I just figured I'd stay and watch for a few minute, but I guess I lost track of time again. Heh," Rin smirked as she turned toward Ryoma again, watching him run from one side of the court to the other side and back once more to return the balls Inui was hitting to him.

While Rin was talking to Fuji and watching the regulars practice, Tezuka was watching Rin interact with Fuji. He didn't like how she was already friends with Fuji even though they had only met two days ago. His attention was averted once Coach Ryuzaki called him over along with Oishi to decide about the team for the quarter finals. Rin spoke to Fuji while noticing that Tezuka had left his spot and relocated to the area where the coach and Oishi were. Her facial expression easily shifted into one of confusion as the coach was looking at her while speaking to Tezuka and Oishi, who both turned their heads to meet her gaze. Feeling subconscious from their stares, Rin turned back around and faced Fuji fully while bringing up another subject.

"Hey Fuji-senpai, what do you think your coach is speaking to Tezuka and Oishi about?"

"I'm not completely sure, but I have a feeling they're talking about the challenge matches this upcoming week to decide who the regulars will be for the quarter finals."

"Oh, I see. Well then, good luck to you Fuji-senpai!"

"Thanks, Usagi-chan," Fuji replied with a smile as he stood there watching the rest of practice with her in silence. Only a few minutes later did Rin feel a slight tap on her shoulder, causing her to turn around and see Tezuka standing there with Oishi and their coach behind them.

"Usagi-san-if you'd like-you can be the boy's tennis team manager. I've already discussed it with Tezuka and Coach Ryuzaki. They both agreed that you'd be a great addition to the team as you've had experience and can help around the courts. What do you say?"

"Waa…I don't know why or how, but sure! I'll gladly be the team's manager," Rin replied with a bright smile on her face. She turned to the coach and Tezuka then bowed. "Thank you for having me on the team, I promise I won't disappoint you guys!"

Coach Ryuzaki smiled in reply as Tezuka nodded to her. Rin ran over to Momo (who was sitting down on the ground trying to catch his breath and watching Kaidoh with a competitive air about him) and sat down next to him while telling him the good news that she just received. In response to her good news, he hugged her tightly and was exclaiming how she would be able to see Fuji and him everyday at practice. While he was hugging her, Rin didn't hold back the cheerful smile that came forth. Things were finally right.