Author's Note: After another long wait, here's another chapter to brighten your day. Please remember to write a review.
THANKS TO ~ Girl-luvs-manga ~ Ruka-Yuuya ~ sweet-Lia ~ bluesoul18 ~ kidanimationlove ~ crazyblondefanfictionlover10 1 and Kei-kei Yuki for your supportive reviews.
Disclaimer: Nothing in POT belongs to me. All OoC-ness, OCs, events, situations, venues and tournaments are just figments of my imagination.
Thanks to princeoftennis . wikia .com for all the relevant information.
CAUTION: Some plotlines won't be following the original storyline from manga, anime or movie! Characters may be out of original characterness!
"xxxxx" Conversation
'xxxxx' Thoughts
Xxxxxxx Flashback
07. Hope, Love, Joy
19. The Dinner Plan
Ryuzaki Sakuno arrived at the Rikkaidai tennis court to see Sanada Genichiro delivering the final blow to his opponent from Nagoya Seitoku.
"Game and match won by Sanada of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku , 6 games to 0."
She was perplexed by the hostility between the Regulars from both teams but shrugged it off as professional competitiveness. Her eyes studied the team from Nagoya Seitoku with scant interest for a minute before she scanned the area for the navy-blue hair Rikkai Captain. She found him immediately and made her way to him.
With his Rikkai jersey hanging on his shoulder, Yukimura Seiichi clearly exuded the aura of a leader. He and the Regulars stood in a semi-circle surrounding someone, so she went over to investigate. The Regulars were talking quietly when she caught a glimpse of a bloodied Kirihara Akaya lying on a bench in their midst.
"Sakuno, don't go near." Seiichi noticed her and pulled her away quickly.
"What happened to Kirihara-kun, Yukimura-kun? Who did that to him?" Sakuno asked tearfully.
"He has a rough game earlier with his opponent."
"You mean… Nagoya Seitoku?"
Seiichi nodded and led her to sit down a couple of feet away from his team. "His opponent was ruthless and literally "crucified" Akaya to the court fence."
"Oh no! Why is he lying there? Does he need to go to the hospital?"
"No, he doesn't. He only received bruises and cuts. Renji said he'll be fine."
"That's good to hear. Ano, Yukimura-kun, I was wondering?"
"Hai?" They stopped along the path leading away from the Rikkai team.
"Mmm…I saw the Regulars from Nagoya Seitoku when the match ended just now. Why aren't they Japanese?"
"They're foreign exchange students, Sakuno-chan. Their school thought they could win the Nationals by using them in the finals. I admit they have some skills but they could not win against us Rikkai."
"I see. Did you play today, Yukimura-kun?"
"No I didn't. I'm saving my strength for the Finals."
"I came over because I wanted to see you play today. I guess I'll just have to wait."
"So, Sakuno-chan, will you be cheering for me or for your team in the Finals?"
"Both!" Her answer somehow dimmed his smile without her noticing. She had no clue he wanted her full support.
"Ah, I forgot I'm supposed to ask you something." Sakuno smacked her forehead suddenly. Seiichi chuckled with mirth causing her to blush at her own silly antic.
"What do you want to ask?"
She smiled brightly and said, "Obaasan wants me to invite you over for dinner tonight. Are you free, Yukimura-kun?"
Her face almost fell when he stayed silent. He seemed to be struggling to make a decision.
"You can come, can't you?" Without realising it, Sakuno was giving him the pleading lost puppy eye look.
Unable to resist her, Seiichi nodded and gave her a sweet smile. Spending time with her was more important than tennis practise. He could make up for it tomorrow. Although, Renji and Genichiro won't be happy to hear about this.
20. The Dinner
"Congratulations, Yukimura-kun. Your team have advanced to the Finals." Ryuzaki Sumire eyed the sedate looking teenager who was enjoying the dinner cooked by her grand-daughter.
"Arigatou. We're looking forward to playing against Seigaku, Ryuzaki-sensei." Seiichi replied graciously.
"Obaasan, I was so disappointed that he didn't get to play today. I wanted so much to see his play style." Sakuno complained.
"I'm sure you'll get that chance at the Finals, Sakuno." Sumire patted the hand of the girl who was sitting next to her.
"Ryuzaki-sensei is right, Sakuno-chan."
Nothing more was said until the dinner ended. After dinner, Sakuno got up to do the washing up. It was then Sumire gestured to Seiichi to follow her. "Sakuno, I'm taking Yukimura-kun to the living room. Could you bring in the tea when you're done?"
"Hai." Sakuno smiled at them as they left for the living room.
Once they were comfortably seated, Sumire gave the lad a stern look and asked "Does she know anything about your unique skill or play style?"
Seiichi was startled and shook his head, "Iie."
"You have to tell her soon."
"Doushite?"
Sumire sighed and said, "I'm sure you know by now Sakuno is a gentle and sensitive girl. In fact she could not abide seeing someone getting hurt."
"Yes, I know that, Ryuzaki-sensei. But what does that have to do with how I play tennis?"
"You are known as the Child of God for a good reason, Yukimura-kun, aren't you?" Her words finally made sense.
"You mean my play style?"
"Yukimura-kun, what you do to your opponent on the court would be seen as hurting them too. So you had better explain your play style to her as soon as possible."
"If I don't?"
"Don't be surprised if she got frightened of you after you had beaten your opponent by exercising your unique skill. She can't abide seeing people hurting other people too."
Before Seiichi could reply, Sakuno walked into the living room with a tray of hot teas and began serving them the cups of tea. Then she held up a small plate with a slice of cake and offered it to the silent young man, "I've also prepared some desserts. Seiichi, do you want to try one?"
Seiichi accepted her offer with a strained smile, "Arigato, Sakuno-chan."
Once everyone had spent some time consuming their dessert, Yukimura-kun got ready to leave. It was getting late and he had to get the last train back to Kanagawa. However, Sakuno won't have it. "You should spend the night here, Yukimura-kun. It's too late to go back to Kanagawa. Obaasan, what do you think?"
Sumire eyed Seiichi for a while and nodded. "There's a spare room upstairs. You are welcome to stay the night. It's better than travelling home so late at night."
"Arigatou."
"Yukimura-kun, you might want to call your parents and inform them about you staying overnight." Sumire reminded him before making her way to her room.
"Hana-chan would get worried too. I'll go and prepare your room."
Seiichi sank on the sofa and sighed wearily. He hadn't thought about what Sakuno would think about his unusual tennis skill. Her grandmother had made a valid point. Perhaps tonight he would explain to her.
21. The Child Of God
A wide-awake Sakuno sat on her bed holding her teddy bear to her chest. She felt restless for some reason because the boy she likes was sleeping in the next bedroom.
"Well, Teddy-san, it looks like I won't be sleeping well tonight." She tweaked the nose of the bear.
Knock! Knock! Sakuno was startled by the knocking on her door. She crept toward it and opened it to allow a crack to show. Her eyes widened in surprised, "Yukimura-kun?"
"Can I talk to you, Sakuno-chan?"
Sakuno squeaked, "Now?" She was self-conscious about having him in her feminine room and furthermore, she was dressed in a nightgown.
"Umm if you like, we could talk in my room." He pointed to the room next to hers.
Sakuno quickly shook her head for that's definitely not a good idea. "Yukimura-kun, please give me a minute. Then we can talk in here."
"Okay."
Once she had closed the door, she used super-human speed to put on her underwear, a decent T-shirt and tracksuit pants. Next, she hurriedly tidied up her room, putting away anything a guy wasn't supposed to see.
Breathlessly, she swung her door open and invited him in with a smile. They ended up sitting on the floor around her low table. She watched him looking around her bedroom with unconcealed interest.
"I like your room."
"You do?"
"It's very soothing. Just like you, Sakuno-chan." His gentle eyes settled on her causing her to blush.
"Ano, what do you want to talk about, Yukimura-?"
She noticed he tensed up with his hands fisted tightly on his knees. Immediately she was concerned, "What's the matter?"
"Have you ever seen me play tennis before, Sakuno-chan?"
"Not yet. But…"
"Do you know what the tennis circuit call me?"
"What do you mean?"
"They have coined a nickname for me ever since I started playing tennis seriously. I'm known as the Child of God."
Her eyes bulged at the nickname. "Why?"
"I have never lost a single game since I started playing tennis competitively. Only Tezuka, your Seigaku Captain is the closest equal to me."
"Sugoi!"
"Another reason for the nickname is the way I play tennis."
"The way you play tennis?"
"Sakuno-chan, once I am on a tennis court, I'm a different person. In all my matches, I robbed the 5 senses of my opponents."
To Be Continued …
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