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.:I WILL GO TO YOU LIKE THE FIRST SNOW:.
Chapter 4: Monster Lead Me Home
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Cerulean blue eyes hidden behind dark eyelashes fluttered open gingerly. Lethargic, drowsy and heavy were the first words that came to her mind, and that was exactly the state she felt right now.
She moved slightly, wanting to face the other direction, when she saw the Tezuka Kunimitsu – much to her astonishment - beside her bedside, propped up against a comfy-looking chair, face buried within a foreign book.
Im Westen Nichts Neues by Erich Maria Remarque. Wow, she stared in reverence, he was reading a German war book. He lowered his book, literally feeling the heat of her stare. Behind him, the digital clock read 9pm. And vaguely in the background, she could hear the mayhem and ruckus that was no doubt the work of the other regulars.
"Tennouji" Tezuka greeted in his usual Tezuka style of greeting - which was to acknowledge people by addressing their surname in a robotic manner.
"Tezuka" she acknowledged back with a tiny smile, her voice coming off nasally beneath the oxygen mask. She wasn't very accustomed in greeting others with the customary Japan honorifics, hence, she usually skipped the whole –san, –kun and all that jazz. "How are you feeling?" She asked.
Tezuka paused, mildly surprised at that question. He wasn't the one that was all hooked up on IV drips, covered by oxygen mask and enfolded up with thick hospital bandages. "I'm fine" came the curt reply, and for several minutes, awkward silence enveloped them.
Words were unspoken but the rather intimate memories still hung around them. He cleared his throat awkwardly, the images presenting within his mind like presentation slides.
It also dawned on her that she actually realized her injury a long time ago, but was too concerned about Tezuka that she totally forgot about it.
Tezuka shifted slightly in his chair, then very slowly, did he spoke, "Thank you."
Like they say, you will only know someone's true character when the road gets rocky. Ah, the irony though, for their journey was rocky indeed.
And Ayase was, by no means, an expert in reading someone nor was she a master in psychology, but she still felt it, - no matter how monotonic or stoic it sounded like. It was 2 simple words, but it encompassed all the gratitude and appreciation he felt. And that was enough.
"You're welcome" she smiled, "You're welcome."
xxx
No reason to stay
Is a good reason to go
xxx
Day 3 Training Camp. 7am.
Breakfast, was oddly quiet. On any other circumstances, Tezuka would have relished in the much wanted silence, but he didn't, not when the silence was partially due to him. Majority of the loud-mouthed regulars – cough Mukahi, Kirihara, Momoshiro, Kikumaru et al – were too busy scrutinizing him to cause yet another uproar.
(They looked at him - like Tezuka had just evolved into a whole new alien species.)
"So…" Fuji began, his award-winning smile widening, the kind of predatory smile you emit when you spot your prey. Tezuka had a very bad feeling about this. Hastily, he quickly took the bowls of food arranging them neatly in a tray wanting to make an escape from the resident sadist till –
"Don't bother" Yuina began, one hand swaying in a dismissal manner, and the other one clamped loosely over his. "Since she's excused from practice, she's probably going to sleep until-" at that she paused, scooting over to Nanami, and the latter uttered automatically, "There's a 9.10% chance that she will wake up now, a 21.35% chance that she will wake up at 8:30am, a 37.19% chance that she will wake up at-"
Yuina lifted her hand up, "Main point please."
Nanami adjusted her glasses with her third finger, not put off at all, "She will probably be awake by 11am" then: "Please try again later" she added in a computer-like manner and Sayuri nearly choked on her food at her teammate uhm… pathetic joke attempt.
"Saa…" Even without revealing those orbs, Fuji still managed to look like a terrifying, beautiful blue-eyed devil, "Tezuka wouldn't you be a kind soul and let these pitiful, sad, nosy souls know your interesting story" he gestured towards the bunch of eager-faced regulars. Tezuka twitched faintly.
"After all, sharing is caring, no? Ah… or… perhaps your story is a little too intimate – which I must say is rational, after all you're a fourteen year old teenage guy. Moreover, a guy and a girl out there alone in the woods. But fret not, Tezuka dear" he cooed sweetly offering another dazzling smile "we won't judge."
That seemed to do the trick as Oishi, the mother hen decolorized several shades. He slammed the table, "No! This is bad! T-T-Tezuka you can't!" he screeched frantically, hands going into a fit of wild gesture, "Teenage pregnancy is bad! And, and-"
Fuji, two seats away from Oishi, looked very amused and pleased as Oishi continued rambling on and on about teenage pregnancy and what not.
Tezuka sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
… He hoped that at least Sanada Genichirou would have brought some Aspirin out.
xxx
Because not all beautiful beginning ends up with a happy ending.
xxx
"No way…"
"This can't be a… hologram room right?"
The regulars were now situated at the south wings, within one of the large school buildings, the Camelot Centre. They recently discovered that most of Seirin's buildings had really lavish, ostentatious names like The House of Wisdom, Ludwig building, et cetera, et cetera. The centre they were currently located in, was a design of futuristic architecture, looking modern and sleek with all the white glassy walls and à la mode interiors.
Level 3, their current level, was packed with girls - there were several pretty-looking ones, much to Marui's delight- some were cladded in basketball jersey, some wore volleyball uniforms, some held badminton rackets and some clasped hockey sticks. "Damn" Marui wolf whistled softly in mild appreciation and Jackal, who stood by his side, shook his head with a sigh.
Upon the tennis regular's arrival, all the girls streamed out, heading to the lift, a handful looking a little reluctant and displeased. Even so, more than half of the girls greeted the girl regulars. They ranged from: "Kyaa! It's Yui-sama!" to "Oh gosh. That must be the renowned Hoshino Miyuki, nicknamed Athena, the goddess of war!" to "Holy blimey! It's Uemura Nanami! Nanami-sama would you pretty please just tutor me for that one chapter on integration?" to "Sayuri-senpai let's hang out someday again, shall we?"
"My my" Oshitari remarked dryly as he noticed a girl shooting him an irked look as she passed by "Can't say that our charm works on all ladies then." He was torn between amusement and dismay – the famed Hyotei ladykiller's manly pride was getting a little hurt.
"The whole level has been booked for us" Miyuki declared.
"Yeah that totally explains everything" Hanabi quipped, "They're basically just jealous that we get to have the whole level for ourselves" she shrugged.
Then a toffee brown-haired girl (the last remaining one) whisked pass them with her head held high and so coincidentally collided with Tsubaki, sending the latter stumbling backwards slightly. The girl decked in lavender volleyball jersey and spandex shorts glanced over her shoulders for a second, all wide-eyed and innocent smile. With her fingers twirling a lock of brown hair, she sneered softly at Tsubaki who didn't seem surprised at all – her sneer went unnoticed by most, apart from the observant ones - before the former sashayed out.
Meanwhile, the guys began to roam around. "Holy shit, this is so cool" Mukahi stared in wonder as he wandered around, "This whole place looks like the kind of white-ass laboratory you see in sci-fi movies, where you observe your experiments through the glass panels."
Standing behind them, Ryuzaki Sumire, couldn't help but briefly wondered how much it took to build all these.
There were a total of 16 rooms, the regulars each had an allocated amount of time before they switched places with one another.
Room 03-01. "Holy crap" Marui inhaled, "We definitely need one of these." He was armed with an equipment that resembled virtual reality headsets. And was currently competing against Roger Federer, or at least a virtual model of him. He swung his tennis racquet, pulling a perfect tightrope walking, all gung-ho and thrilled - until the virtual model slammed the yellow ball back to his court. He moaned.
"Marui-senpai looks like a retard from up here" Kirihara wrinkled his nose as he overlooked his senpai who was fighting air through the thick glass panels. Just a few feet ahead of him, was Nanami who was expertly manoeuvring through the 3 large LED displays – not transparent display he noted disappointedly- looking like a researcher, a mad scientist, an engineer. Although, he supposed since the wide displays was touch screen, they were still passably cool.
The display portrayed info graphic ring charts, candlestick charts, 3D figures of human anatomy (he really didn't want to know whose body was that – probably Marui's though) and so on. They looked like physics, chemistry, biology, data science and just more data, data and data.
He crinkled his nose, he didn't like data that much. That being said, the minute it was his turn, he hopped off joyfully. "Go get 'em, Akaya" Marui cheered, leaning against the door, ruffling his junior's wild messy flop of hair as he passed the headset. Kirihara smirked, he was going to trash Rafael Nadal alright. Yet, a good-oh- 45 minutes later, he exited the room, clearly defeated.
"I wasn't serious" he gritted with competitive wild eyes, "I was just preparing for my dramatic, sensational comeback."
"Oh sure you did, brat" Niou jested with his usual smirk, "Now scoot over" in a suave gait he swaggered in. The training proceeded with them taking turns, and most of them exited the room with spitfire determination, looking more driven and vie than ever.
When it wasn't their allocated time slot, they loitered around the laboratory; some observing others while some chilled in the small lounge. Except a certain raven-haired girl that spun around in the wheeled armchair like a little kid, "Wheee" then dragged the chair along to blast across the laboratory like a rocket, earning a lot of annoyed grunts from the people who had to dodge her.
"And here I thought that Sanada's sister would have a personality of a rock" Shishido expressed, just in time to see the girl captain looking at Sayuri in amusement. They exchanged words before Sayuri went back to the lounge and settle down obediently. Huh, Shishido noted mildly surprised, their girl captain didn't come off as someone who was very fierce.
Concurrently, Oshitari was strolling along the laboratory hallway when a blaze of red flame caught his eye. He halted to a stop, moving towards the room that was labelled: 03-04. There was an orange-brown-haired guy glued to the panels, his nose nearly compressed onto the glass.
"Jirou?" Oshitari was taken aback, their magic volley player was actually awake?
The narcoleptic player didn't even noticed him. But boy oh boy, Oshitari just knew that look. It was the kind of childlike excitement, thrilled look he had whenever Marui was playing. But, he vividly recall Marui slumping into one of the large bean bags just now, seemingly having no intention to move for the next 10 minutes or so. So the person playing couldn't be Marui. He peered in.
Within the room premise stood a girl who was on fire.
Her hair like the fiery pits of hell set ablaze, burning and illuminating everything in her way. Just like how she was effortlessly hitting those cord balls and displaying those net-play techniques, leaving a trail of hellfire with every step of hers.
"Amazing!" Akutagawa Jirou was already in full fan boy mode, "So cool…!"
She brandished her tennis racquet like it was second nature, like it was as simple as breathing, like if she lived to play tennis. It was electrifying, galvanizing like the clash of wild fire, raging passion and strong vigour.
He could already spot her red cheeks from this distance. Red like cherries, red like roses, also red like-
Like Ryuzaki Aoi.
Like the crimson eye band that she was taking out right now. She secured it over her eyes, looking like a valiant samurai. Tennis balls shot out of the tennis machine at alarming speed, grazing over the labelled tiny boxes. The room was divided into many small boxes that were labelled from A-H. The usual meek girl, however, remained calm and steady, before she said: "D22" then "F1" then "C28."
Behind the glass panels, Jirou's face fell with a pout, "Awww, Marui-kun number 2 is not showing her net plays anymore."
… Marui-kun number 2? Just because she had red hair as well? Though he had to say that Marui Bunta was more of bright magenta-red hair than just red hair.
"What the hell" Mukahi spat incredulously, his hands hidden within his pockets. He pranced over from room 03-05 with his head tilted to the side, staring into the room. Then he uttered a reluctant: "She's good."
"I think she warrants something more than just good" Oshitari replied, his voice was dry. "Her hearing ability is phenomenal. If Sera happens to get wind of this, I'm certain she's going to make the whole team run till daybreak."
"Damn straight she would" Mukahi nodded in agreement and continued prattling on and on something about the Hyotei's tennis girl team, but Oshitari wasn't listening.
He stared at the red head again, he recalled the awkward and shy girl they met during their first day. He looked at her again, searching for that meek girl within her.
Where did that girl go? He mused, where did you go?
xxx
Something's got to give
Something's got to change
Or something is going to break
xxx
Yukimura Seiichi was casually walking down the laboratory hallway when he noticed a group of regulars in an ongoing heated conversation, clustered together overlooking room 03-06. Mildly curious, he strode over.
In the room 03-06, the hologram room, a full size audio-visual Serena Williams in 3D form was facing against Seirin's captain.
"Damn, I can't believe she's actually doing decently well against a tennis pro…" Shishido commented, a few regulars apart from Yukimura.
Hoshino Miyuki wasn't winning or anything – in fact she was losing, but still she managed to keep up with the tennis pro – and that alone said a lot. Her shots, however, got better, sharper and heavier as the time passed by.
"Yeah…" Tsubaki agreed, fingering the ends of her jersey, something dark was swirling within those amethyst eyes, it was swirling, swirling, swirling until she noticed him, "Y-Yukimura-san?" she exclaimed, wide-eyed. The laboratory lighting lightened up her eyes, embellishing them with a white glint, making them seem like ash mauve eyes.
"Aihara-san" Yukimura nodded in acknowledgement, his jacket draped over his shoulder in his usual cool Yukimura fashion. He crossed his arms.
"Wow" came the voice of Momoshiro Takeshi as he sauntered over. Momoshiro, had previously walked down the entire hallway observing the other players, and everyone was, of course, phenomenal and skilfully talented. People like Yukimura, Tezuka, Sanada, Atobe made his jaw drop - though Atobe made his jaw drop from his cockiness.
Yet, among these exceptional gifted people, some of them still stood out like a sore thumb. From room 03-04 where blindfolded Aoi had to predict the ball landing location using her exceptional hearing abilities to room 03-05 where Yuina was playing against 3 tennis machines to room 03-06 where Miyuki was competing against a pro.
"God" Momoshiro exhaled, "Seirin is full of monsters."
xxx
And at that moment, he was just a boy
Just a boy without trickery, without deceit, without walls
Just a boy
xxx
Day 5 Training Camp. 7:30pm.
Mukahi stared wryly at the scene unfolding ahead of him. "What the hell" he elevated a brow with folded arms, "Since when did everyone… get along so well."
"Aren't you a little slow on the uptake" Momoshiro made a whistling noise, swaggering away before Mukahi could lour at him.
In spite of the training camp that has undoubtedly bonded the 4 schools a little closer, the rivalry between schools was still strong and ongoing thus Mukahi hadn't exactly been expecting this.
Yukimura, Sayuri, Tsubaki, Hiyoshi and some other regulars rested at the TV area, flopped against the large sectional sofa, watching the replay of Wimbledon 2017. Kirihara and Marui were engaged in a heated debate on who's the GOAT, greatest of all time, with Sayuri and Tsubaki inserting opinions here and there.
"It's definitely Roger Federer – hands down – like c'mon he won the most Grand Slam titles" Kirihara started. He slumped against the cushions making a mock surrender pose.
"Oh Akaya dear Aka-chan, Grand Slam titles doesn't determine everything" Marui countered with a pop of his green apple bubble-gum as Kirihara scowled at that hideous nickname, "Rafael Nadal has the most ATP points."
"Oh enough of that already guys" rolling her eyes Sayuri piped in with a cheesy grin, "Serena Williams is the best. Okay? The. End." She concluded, waving her hand in a dismissal manner, "By the way we should totally try the battle of the sexes one day or King-Queen of the Court."
The debate, however, still continued and even the silent Hiyoshi was drawn to the topic – contributing something else rather than just 'Gekokujo.'
At another corner of the lounge, "Tough decision..." Kikumaru murmured, scratching his chin as he tried to peek over at Kawamura who had his chin rested within his palm, looking pensive. "E-Eiji!" Kawamura cried with a sad sigh then flopped his playing cards down, "One pair" he announced.
"Two pairs" Momoshiro sighed.
"Full house" Kikumaru beamed, flashing his typical victory V pose.
"Four of a kind" Kaidoh looked subtly pleased, revealing his 9-9-9-7-8.
"U-Uhm…" Ootori blushed, lowering his poker cards and everyone went all slack-mouthed, "Straight flush."
"Wow, so this is why they say you can't underestimate the nice, quiet ones. Definitely can't…" Momoshiro spoke.
Then everyone turned to the expressionless blue-haired girl. "Royal flush" she announced with a smirk leaning back in a devil-may-care fashion and Fuji, leaning beside her, chuckled at all their flabbergasted countenance.
Momoshiro gawked then scrunched his face up in horror and surrender, "That's it, man. I'm out."
Yuina and Fuji merely laughed, sweeping the poker chips blithely. "That's right, you guys have been winning consistently nya… I request you guys to be separated!" Kikumaru wailed, wagging his finger at them. After all, it was in their best interest to keep this two… uhm… scary creatures separated.
The two of them shared a glance, then Yuina pretended to be deep in thought a second before she smirked with a whistle, "Nah-uh, not going to happen, come on let's go another round" she laughed and everyone else groaned.
At the side of the lounge. The long dining table, was nearly occupied a quarter by, Inui, Yanagi and Nanami, aka the three data musketeers' piles of notebooks, laptops, cookery books, thick food chemistry books, and oh my god was that a book on juices Mukahi was seeing?
Then he heard the soft muttering of "chemistry lab", "juice", "crushed bug shells", "crickets", and "mealworms."
… He felt like puking out his dinner already.
"Geh" Mukahi gagged. He didn't want to stay near to these 3 aberrant data freaks. He swaggered across the lounge to find a certain Kansai's prodigy. "Oi, Yuushi" he called out upon spotting the tall, lean dark-haired man leaning coolly against the wall. He came to a standstill when a female body, which was previously shielded by Yuushi's tall physique, came into sight. He recognised that as the awkward mouse of Seirin – even though her tennis proves this otherwise.
From his experience he knew that Yuushi was flirting in his own languid, casual style, albeit the girl looked rather affronted. Mukahi's indigo eyes scanned the girl from head to toe.
Thick rimmed glasses, several acnes marred face, frizzy hair in long braids, and long legs with a number of bruises.
His eyebrows creased, this definitely wasn't Yuushi's type of girl. Unless… he glanced at Yuushi, then her, then Yuushi again. He shook his head and inwardly prayed for the girl.
xxx
"We don't deserve to be happy" the girl said, her hands gripped tightly on the doorknob.
"We don't" she echoed.
xxx
Ah Ponta, much loved Ponta.
Thankfully, they had vending machines with Ponta here.
Echizen, one foot straight and one foot bent with toes pointing downwards, tilted his cap, sipping his Ponta languidly, until a sudden "Ryoma!" and sudden appearance of a face sent him spluttering and choking.
"What-" he glared faintly. Sure enough, it was the strange brunette that had trashed him – he minds that a lot – "do you want" he finished off.
Miyuki merely rocked back and forth on her toes with a smile and Echizen's answer to that was just to hoist a brow up fractionally. The brunette's milk tea brown hair was tied up neatly in a high ponytail, her adidas sports shirt slightly damp with sweat. "What's that?" she questioned curiously, drawing so near to Echizen that he could smell her.
Much to his surprise she didn't smell like sweat.
"It's a drink" Echizen stated in a matter of fact manner.
One might have rolled their eyes at him, one might have scowled at him, but instead she blinked once, twice then laughed. "Cheeky" she giggled, "Seems like you haven't changed much since back then" she blinked, "Can I try?"
At that, Echizen almost clutched onto his Ponta protectively. He never shared his Ponta with anyone before and didn't really want to do so either.
"Sure" he flashed his typical cocky smirk, "if you beat me" he provoked.
Typically, one might have been antagonized at his cockiness, the brunette however just shrugged a casual, "Sure. One set match?"
"Yeah."
35 minutes later…
Miyuki giggled, gulping down the Ponta, facing backwards – towards Ryoma.
"Mada mada dane" she threw back.
xxx
She was always someone to others
A substitute mother
An infallible captain
A constant A-student
But to him, she didn't need to be someone
She could be herself
xxx
8:05pm.
"Sayuri"
Even without turning back, she could already tell whose voice that belonged to. She just knew.
That husky baritone voice of his. As low as the summer music of a brook. As intense as samurai unsheathing their swords, katanas clashing.
She spun on her heel instantly, her black-purple-green gradient sports shoes making a squeak from the impact. "Why, isn't it my sweetest twin brother" she twirled the black and red Wilson tennis racquet expertly around and Sanada stiffened slightly at the tone of her voice.
"I thought" she lowered her racquet to the ground, angling it properly to toss the yellow ball up which she catches swiftly, "We had a strict schedule of not-speaking-to-each-other-until-necessary to follow." She hit a topspin serve, then frowned.
She really needed to work on her serve. Which was why she left the lounge and came here when everyone was still chilling around. In spite of that, she was sure there was bound to be some hard workers still doing extra training.
"Sayuri…" he tried again but the girl just ignored him as she served again.
After a few more serves, with her back still facing him she questioned, "Why" her voice shook, "Tell me why then, Gen-nii-chan."
At that nickname, he softened a tad bit.
Yet, only silence answered her.
xxx
They were both broken
That's why they completed each other in ways others couldn't
xxx
8:15pm.
At the soccer field.
"Lightning falcon shot" Shishido roared with an instep drive, aiming the soccer ball in the center and the ball fired past like a ball of canon.
He wasn't even sure why he's here anymore. But he remembered it being along the lines of arguing with Hanabi which sprung into a whole debate of tennis proficiency then into different sports adeptness. And… somehow along that heated argument… he ended up here.
Hanabi lunged for the ball. "Psh" she scoffed with the ball now on her hands, she spun it expertly on her fingers. "Who the hell names their soccer moves. Besides that was just a standard shot."
"Che" Shishido tut-ted with his non-kicking foot alongside another ball, "Watch this then!" he swiftly pulled an around the world flick, juggling the ball on his feet then connected with the ball, shooting low rather than high. It's tougher for a goalkeeper to reach shots along the ground.
Hanabi however proved him wrong. She nearly did a split in knee-jerk reaction as she plummeted down to catch the ball.
"I call it" she flashed a triumphant smirk, "The Dive."
Shishido stared wide-mouthed then spluttered incredulously, "What the hell? The Dive? That's Gekidaze dana!"
"Oh please" she swat her hands like if swatting a housefly, "Lightning falcon shot? My dive is simple and straightforward okay?" but the killing blow was this: "Like if you could do better."
Oh boy, that did it, alright.
Hurting the haughty male pride was a huge no-no. Which was why… it led to this:
The ball curved. "Curving hornet charge!"
"What the hell is wrong with your naming sense?!" followed by a, "Supreme catch!"
"Supreme catch? That's lame as hell!" then, "Captain Tsubasa's overhead kick!"
"Knifehand defense!"
"Hurricane Chip Shot!"
"Inazuma Eleven's God Hand!"
"Captain Tsubasa's Drive Shot!"
"God's Catch!"
Outside of the court, stood the half-amused and half-bewildered Echizen and Miyuki. They were drawn here due to all the commotion and shouting. Echizen had a hard time maintaining his straight poker face, it was now contorted more to something like what-the-hell expression.
"… Is your teammate always like that?"
"No" Miyuki chuckled, "In fact this is the first time I've seen her like this… I must say that Shishido is very adept at pushing her buttons."
Echizen stared at her weirdly then continued to stare at the pair like if they were crazy.
And Miyuki oh Miyuki simply laughed, tilting her head back with another sip of Ponta.
xxx
Isn't it ironic?
The things we do to feel alive
Are things that can kill us
-k.h
xxx
17 April. Seigaku.
"Riko-chan! Are you going to join the female tennis team try-outs?"
"Huh…? They're recruiting now? The male team has already selected their regulars long ago… Besides didn't they just came back from the 6-day training camp in Seirin or something?
"Yeah, but the female team's coach wanted Ryuzaki-sensei to oversee their recruitment or something, not very sure though. Wait… Seirin? You mean that elite school? The school that Yui-sama attends?"
"Yup that school. But, meh, who in the right mind would want to join our girl's tennis team."
"Yeah, our school girls' team really deteriorated a lot. We haven't been seeded for like what the past 10 years?"
"Putting that aside, if we join the girl tennis team we might have the chance to get close to Tezuka-sama or even Fuji-sama!"
"Please, I don't think they will even look at our direction, they're like solely focused on tennis only. It's a pity though, Seigaku's girls team used to be like one of the top teams in Japan."
"Oh yeah. I heard that Rikkaidai's called the Reigning Champions of Japan, Hyotei's called the Queens of Japan and Seirin's called the Goddesses of Japan. Though, Seigaku used to be one of Japan's Powerhouse too…"
"Yeah, alongside of Hyotei and Seirin, we used to be called the 3 Angels of Tokyo."
"Pfft, now we're more like The Flightless Angels though. Degenerated Champions and Fallen Angels or so."
"What is the captain of our girls' team even doing…? Probably just making ogling eyes at Tezuka-sama."
"Or maybe even Fuji-sama… ha maybe even Echiz-" at that Riko froze when a girl with silver-emerald green hair strolled past.
"Echizen is what you wanted to say right? Ha! I agree! It's so unfair that they get all the chance to flirt with them!"
"U-U-Uhm…" Riko looked alarmed.
"What? I mean it's the truth after all, have you seen their practice? I think most of them just attend for the sake of twirling around in pretty tennis skirt and to make sheep's eyes at the boys."
"T-That's…" Riko now looked positively scared out of her wits.
"Are you alright, Riko-chan? You're looking a little purple there…"
Riko swallowed. "You know the one who walked pass us just now?" at her friend's blank stare she elaborated further "the one with the striking silver-green hair. That's the captain of the Seigaku's girls team! Kujo Seina!"
Now it was her friend's turn to turn pale.
"W-Well… she's now like 1 classroom away from us, I don't think she can hear us-" and the mentioned Kujo Seina chose to turn around right at that moment.
She smiled, "Sorry to break your little bubble of hope but I can still hear everything crisp and clear. Oh – and for the record, the only ones making ogling eyes are girls like your kind. I'm afraid my team doesn't do that. Just wanted to put it out there. Now that I've made my point, Despedida, my fair ladies" with that she stalked off leaving the two girls gaping in shock.
"Despedida? What the hell is that, Nika-chan…?"
"It means farewell in Spanish" the two girls spun around instantly to the source of the angel-like voice. They came vis-a-vis with the ever-smiling tensai, "F-Fuji-sama did you hear everything?" Riko managed to choke out.
"Saa…" Fuji's smile never faltered as he unveiled his beguiling depths of blue eyes, "I wonder…" but something about that smile spoke otherwise. Then he ambled off.
The two girls proceeded to bang their heads on the wall.
xxx
I am good. But I am not an angel
I do sin. But I am not a devil
xxx
In the classroom 3-1, sat a stoic man, nose buried within a thick textbook. After rereading the same content for the 3rd time, he finally lowered his book, confident that he had absorbed and understood everything by now.
Since all the regulars – under certified leave from their respective school – had all missed 4 days of lesson, they all needed to catch up.
Thankfully, as a studious, diligent and highly intellectual student he only took a while to catch back on the syllabus. Though, he hadn't exactly expected the 6-days training camp to fly pass so quickly.
He reopened his thick textbook again, Yudan sezu ni iko.
Better safe than sorry. His eyes scanned through the familiar words.
"Good morning, Tezuka-san" a female voice greeted him and he nodded in acknowledgement, "Good morning, Kujo."
Seina scrunched her face up. She probably spent like 90 percent of their conversation trying to get him to address her as 'Seina' but it never worked – and that 90% wasn't a lot actually, considering the fact that Tezuka spoke like less than 10 sentences to her per day.
She lowered her bag down on the table and winced slightly at the sound it made – okay she might have placed her bag down a little too roughly.
On the other side, her seatmate Tezuka was still engrossed within his textbook.
Stay focused.
Seina let out a very soft, nearly inaudible sigh.
… Stay focused.
Seina accidentally broke her pencil.
… Stay foc-
Seina accidentally tore her eraser into half.
"Is there something wrong?" Tezuka's deep voice drifted to her ears and she looked vacantly at him for 10 seconds before it dawned on her that it was actually Tezuka Kunimitsu that asked her that question.
"Holy shit" she drawled in bafflement.
Tezuka is concerned about my wellbeing?! He's talking to me, saying something else rather than just "Aa" and "Hn".
…He's actually initiating the conversation? He's actually saying something else, rather than those he only deemed as necessary?
Seina gaped at him while Tezuka answered back with his normal blank stare. She continued staring at him like he just went through a whole magical transformation and transformed into someone else.
She briefly wondered: What on earth happened in the 6-day training camp?
xxx
"She has a kind soul, but a cold heart"
-Tene Edwards
xxx
Ryuzaki Sakuno was dying.
Not literally of course.
She was dying from the possible lack of oxygen as she tried to squeeze pass the sea of people. She hadn't expected this huge horde of students as the girl's team reputation wasn't exactly… very good. "We definitely need to make it as regulars so that we can get a higher chance to get close to Fuji-sama!"
"Definitely! I'm taking Tezuka-sama, he's mine". Ah… so that's why the female clubroom lockers was flooded with what seemed to be one third of the school's entire population.
The 4 feet 11.45 small girl, tried to manoeuvre through the crowd till a big-sized girl knocked against her back, sending her prostrating forward. Her bag flew out, contents spilling. Snickers and sneers left her flushing as she hurriedly seized her items.
"Here" a pair of conspicuous neon pink sports shoes entered her sight. She glanced up, an attractive girl with turquoise eyes held out her cellphone towards her. The phone screen was lit up, probably a text message from Aoi-Chan…
"Thank you!" Sakuno bowed with a smile. Then some girls who marched pass, purposely shoved the attractive girl by her shoulders. Sakuno's smile fell, "U-Uhm…" Yet the attractive girl didn't look dispirited at all, merely inspected her manicured nails in a sanctimonious style.
"Damn… too much oestrogen here" another voice floated by. It was a deep, rich voice but without any doubt it definitely belonged to a girl. Right on the mark, a boyish girl emerged from behind, "I can literally smell the PMS in the air."
"You have them too" the attractive girl deadpanned, eyes not leaving her cute nail art nails. As more girls streamed out of the locker room, Sakuno noticed the attractive girl holding an alpaca soft toy.
"Whatever, Mika" the boyish girl shrugged, swiftly changing into sports attire. "Cut it out with the manicured nails and soft toys already, you know it's not allowed here in Seigaku."
Mika's merely retorted with a: "I do whatever I want, Emi."
Sakuno watched all this with amazement and fascination. "So who's this small mouse over here" the said Emi jerked her head towards Sakuno and the latter blushed at the inspecting stare. "I- uhm-" she didn't managed to finish her sentence for another girl knocked her by, "Scram you brats."
From the corner of her eye she saw a flash of snow white and was momentarily mesmerized by the beautiful glow of white until she realised oh it was actually hair.
The pale girl with winter-kissed hair levelled her with an analysing look, her intense blood red eyes nearly sending Sakuno running for her life. Then, as if deciding that Sakuno was someone of no importance, she turned her scary wolfish eyes towards Emi and Mika, "Oi, bishounen and bishoujo. Gathering in 6 minutes, you guys better fucking hurry up."
"Damn… she's still scary as usual that Shinseki" Sakuno heard one of the remaining girls muttered.
"But, Shinseki gave Momoshiro and Kaidoh nicknames… doesn't that mean…" Sakuno heard her friend reply.
Wait… Momoshiro and Kaidoh? She backtracked a little, then with large eyes she turned towards them – Emi shouting at Mika, who took her own sweet time, to hurry up.
She looked at the handsome Emi who had jet-black ear-length hair and purple eyes the same shade as Momoshiro. She could see the striking resemblance.
Then, her eyes landed onto the attractive girl with ash-blue hair and turquoise eyes.
… She really didn't look like Kaidoh.
"Hey pipsqueak" with that, Sakuno took a quick look around the room, then back at the snow-kissed girl who lowered herself to meet her height in a condescending drop, "M-Me?" oh boy, now she's even squeaking.
"Time is ticking, and you haven't even changed for fuck's sake. Hurry up or I'm going to kick you off the team." Cladded in the Seigaku's regular jersey Shinseki meandered out.
"She's joking" Emi draped a casual shoulder around Sakuno, "She's not the captain or vice-captain. Anyway… she called you a pipsqueak!" She voiced as though if it's a good thing as Sakuno expeditiously changed into her sports outfit.
"It is a good thing" Mika put in from the side, "Why is it a good thing though, you will have to find out yourself. Let's go Emi" and they were gone in a flash leaving Sakuno staring blankly into space.
She sighed, ready to stuff her phone into her bag when her phone vibrated. It was from Aoi.
Go Go Saku-no! Go out there and show them the power of the Ryuzaki, don't forget the drills we went through together! P.S. I'm sure you will get in!
Sakuno couldn't help but let out a small smile. She shoved her phone back into her bag. She thought of the 3 new faces she just met, all of them with very prominent and different personality.
However, there was one thing that connected them.
… They were all like alpha females, the luna while Sakuno was like the omega or probably just a timid mouse.
Oh lord, Sakuno thought, Will I even survive?
xxx
They were brave and strong and broken all at once
-Anna Funder, Stasiland
xxx
Chartreuse downturned eyes stared at the swarm of people. Eager faces stared back at her.
"For this week, we'll be doing tennis drills – footwork drills, swing practice, sprint training, core workout, conditioning drills-" there was a collective of soft groans and moans.
"Damn… this is why the why we're still not seeded." Seina heard the familiar voice – who she now recognised as Riko. She was surprised that the two of them (Riko and Nika) still had the guts to show up, and on that line of thought she flashed them a divine smile – the kind of smile she imitated from Fuji - at their direction and was pleased to see them shuddered.
"Ranking matches will be held next week-" everyone whimpered again.
"And yes, freshman can compete as well so put your hand down now, Momoshiro Emi"
xxx
"I can't believe it!" Emi grumbled, changing back to her school attire so quickly Sakuno barely even noticed, "That's like technically all we did today!"
"And she kept dropping random suicides the whole way! I hate suicides. We are already off schedule, what is Kujo even thinking?"
Sakuno stared at the girl with uneasy eyes as she continued whinging. Mika, to the left of her, pulled a pair of black stockings with two white stripes on the top, up her slender legs. She stood up, adjusting the Seigaku's sailor outfit, brushing any potential dust or dirt, "She's up to something."
Now that got their attention. "What?" Emi flared and behind her some girls giggled 'handsome' adoringly while pointing towards the black-haired girl. Mika continued eyeing her outfit, appearing like an ojou-sama or a Lolita with her side swept bangs, curly hair and fair skin. She unlocked her rose gold phone, scrolling through a very lengthy list of contact numbers.
Dialling one of the contact number, she turned towards them, "Like I said, she's definitely up to something. It's up to you numbskulls to see if you can, or want to find out. Anyway, my male servant is going to pick me up, toodles" she waved like Sharpay and sashayed her way out.
… Male servant…? Sakuno thought wearily while Emi gawked at Mika's retreating figure, "…I still have no idea why I chose to be friends with her."
And here she thought that the Seigaku male tennis team was unorthodox and outré enough but life just loved to prove her wrong.
Sakuno glanced at them dryly, What is it with tennis that attracts weird people?
xxx
Aihara Tsubaki arrived home all fatigued and exhausted after their arduous and strenuous tennis practice. She shuffled in, all in favour of diving into the premise of her comfy bed until she was met with a glaringly empty house.
"And here I thought I would have to wait till midnight" a sarcastic voice interrupted. It was a curvaceous woman appearing in her mid-twenties, with perfectly curled plum hair and green-grey eyes framed by dark, sensuous lashes – no doubt from the thick layers of mascara. She was adorned in a form-fitting wine dress that hugged her curves so tightly it didn't leave much to imagination.
"Sorry mum, I stopped by for a parfait-" her mother's icy glare stopped her.
"Parfait?" Her mother scoffed unbelievingly, "Young lady, I believed I told you that you need to watch your diet" she twirled her glass of red wine, then took a sip leaving a very obvious lipstick stain on the wine glass.
"I… Uhm" Tsubaki nervously fingered the ends of her school uniform – since it was spring now, they wore navy sailor necktie uniforms. "Please do enlighten me on your current weight" her mother delved into, her please didn't seem to help much when her tone was all frostbite and ice.
Tsubaki went beet red, "Uhm… 55kg…?" She attempted, "Well Uemura-san said that different people have different bone density… And it contributes like a… little? I suppose?"
Her mother just rolled her eyes, her heavy shimmery eyeshadow glistening under the light, "We're moving to Kanagawa."
"W-What? We are? Since when? But Seirin is in Tokyo…W-what about our belongings-"
"Tsubaki" feline green-grey sharp eyes narrowed at her, her tone was razor-sharp, "Have you failed to notice that all the furniture are gone" at that Tsubaki wanted to protest that she did but her mother went on, "And stop stammering, it's unseemly. The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness" she reminded.
Tsubaki's jaw opened, then closed. With a sigh and grab of her school bag, she traipsed out, following her mother who cat walked out, the latter's hips rolling and undulating.
She soon found herself in a white Lamborghini with a smartly dressed man whose gaze first submerged to her mother's décolletage then shoot her an approving look as he analysed her up and down. Tsubaki shifted in the leather seat uncomfortably, it wasn't like she expected her father to be the one who will be picking them up, okay maybe she did, but that wasn't the point.
The Lamborghini soon halted to a stop and Tsubaki did a glance over at the surrounding. She recognised this area, this was the district that majority of the richer, upper-crust families flocked to. Which also happened to be the area that a lot of Seirin and Hyotei students lived at – much to her chagrin. She stared at her house that was in betwixt the size of a bungalow and mansion.
Her mother, on the other contrary, looked exhilarated. "Here" her mother dropped a box of macaroons from a well-known brand onto her unexpecting hands, "I got that from Paris" then added another exquisitely wrapped Victoria secret box, "I got those online." She piled another box, "This is from London."
She continued building on the pile of boxes till the point Tsubaki's vision was totally blocked, but the killing box (heavy box) was the last black, chic-looking box of wine.
"M-Mum? What's… all this for?" she queried from behind the pile. "It's for your neighbour" was the swift reply and Tsubaki blinked in confusion. "W…What?"
"Like I said" she snapped, "It's for your neighbour, sweetheart" she cooed, "Now be a darling and go greet them, pleasantly, seductively. I heard they are blue-blooded and very wealthy" and with that she propelled Tsubaki forward, nearly sending her toppling over.
… How is she supposed to greet her neighbour when she can't even see the doorbell? She thought sardonically.
And as if her mother heard her thoughts, she pressed the doorbell for her and gave her an intense look, "Remember what I taught you, dear sweetiekins" and with that she was gone.
A few minutes later, a breeze of cold air hit her as the door flung opened. "May I help you?" chimed the silk velvet, wedding bells voice. She frowned faintly, this voice sounds really familiar… but she was too busy balancing her huge pile of gifts to really assess it.
"Uhm…" she stammered again, then recalled her mother's words. "Ah, I apologise" she pulled her best elegant smile – not like he could see it though, "We just moved in here, I came bearing gifts."
"Ah, that's lovely of you to do so. Please, let me help you" with that her boxes started decreasing one by one – much to her delight.
The boxes disappeared one by one till a glimpse of ocean-touched hair entered her sight.
No way… It can't be…
The boxes continued reducing till she finally saw the prepossessing pair of midnight blue-purple eyes she could recognise a mile away.
And with still one box left in her hand, she stared at her neighbour all tongue-tied and shell-shocked. His intense depths of blue-purple eyes stared back at her mirroring her astonishment.
No way… Yukimura Seiichi is my neighbour?
xxx
K.O.
You lose!
"No way…" Marui kept staring at the words like if they would change mysteriously if he stared for long. "I lost?! I, the Rikkaidai's genius, lost?!"
Standing beside him in a tall erect pose, Jackal corrected: "You mean self-claimed genius."
"Details, details" Marui waved off and shot the game machine an affronted stare, "I really want to know who the hell this Hanarin is anyway."
Shishido let out a loud scoff from the back. The two doubles pair met each other at the entrance of the game centre not long ago. "You're such a drama queen" Shishido gave an eye roll and Jackal had to bit down the: "I think you're more of the drama queen here."
"Let me do it, I will teach this Hanarin a thing or two" and Marui whistled, "You're going to get trashed. I've competed with this Hanarin for at least 24 times now and have yet to obtain a single victory. But if you do win... I'll treat you some ramen said by Jackal"
Jackal spun around instantaneously, spitting out an "M-Me?!" while Ootori offered a comforting pat on his back.
Shishido smirked, "You're on!"
And not even 10 minutes later, the display of the game machine showed the same thing.
K.O.
You lose!
This time it was Shishido's turn to look mortified like the game machine had personally offended him. "No way!" he yelled and behind them, Ootori and Jackal shared an I-get-how-you-feel glance.
xxx
Ayase hummed a Camila Cabello song as she frolicked out of the grocery shop with two big bags of Pocky, Hello Panda, Cheetos, ferrero rocher, Hershey kiss, Doritos, Pringles, et cetera, et cetera.
She was about to make a right turn until she saw a motorbike whizzing pass at breakneck speed, accidentally jostling down a middle-aged woman – the driver didn't even bother to spare a glance back at the poor lady. The shopping bag was sent airborne, fruits flying out of the shopping bag.
Ayase didn't know whether it was post-tennis practice instinct or not but she found herself expeditiously grabbing those hovering fruits. Thankfully, a few onlookers also speedily aided her in collecting those fallen fruits.
The helpful people then returned the fruits back to the woman and the latter thanked them with polite bows. "Here you go" Ayase grinned airily with an armful of fruits.
The woman glanced at her, and something twinkled within her eyes. "Young lady, may I have your name?"
Ayase blinked, surprised. Quite a handful of people helped her, why did she only ask for her name?
Nonetheless, she smiled sunnily, "The name's Ayase!"
The woman stared at her with clear, unclouded eyes – clear like glass but intense like thunderstorms. Then she smiled, and it was a pleasing sight. "Is that your real name?" Her mature voice echoed and reverberate within her ears.
"Uhm" Ayase sputtered anxiously, her eyes went wide like saucepans. Why would a stranger know that? Was this woman a psychic or what?
She made a few wild gestures before she inhaled and exhaled deeply, "That's… the Japanese name that my daddy wanted to call me. But that's not the name that is registered…"
"Though, I prefer to be addressed as Ayase so uhm yeah-" the woman cut her rambling short with an elegant raise of her hand.
"It's fine. Thank you, Ayase-chan" she uttered gently in a motherly tone, offering a warm smile. Then she gazed into her eyes again – like if she was peering into the depths of Ayase's soul - she repeated, "Thank you."
xxx
"So, what's his number, huh?"
The venom and acid within his dulcet tones was so piercing, so intense and so lethal it sent his quivering mother blenching backwards as she rapidly gowned herself. The man, appearing in his early-twenties let out a snort in disbelief as he sat up from the king-sized bed.
"Is he like number twenty?" In a few long strides, Niou was already crouching down to face the man vis-à-vis – not a tad bit taken aback by the guy's buck-naked state. His piercing eyes were wicked, wild, deadly, and fatal. Then he smirked slowly, very slowly - like a hyena locked onto his prey.
As cunning and sly as foxes, as wild and brutal as saltwater crocodile, as deceptive and illusive as Dionaea. "Oh wait, I forgot to include the baker dude opposite our block, your money bank salesman, your sugar daddy and…"
Yet, before he could even finish his sentence the poor guy still in his nude state was already dashing out of the house. "What the fuck" Niou spat out, then in wrath crushed one of the Carlsberg's can that was scattered everywhere on the floor, "At least find someone with a fucking backbone."
The whole house reeked of cigarettes and alcohol, the odour so strong that even Niou felt like gagging. "Masaharu" his mother coaxed sweetly in her typical sugary and honey voice.
"Don't fucking talk to me like that" Niou mocked as he rose to his actual height, abandoning the customary slouch. He towered over his petite mother whose eyes started to water. His wolfish eyes like seething hellfire – icy sharp like glaciers but raging wild like geysers. He knew he was getting too overboard with his scathing tone, but he was just so incensed, so enraged, so infuriated.
(All he could see was – red, red, and more red. Red like anger, red like blood also red like the urge to destroy something.)
"Don't fucking talk to me like that, when not even 3 minutes ago you were screwing him" his voice brimmed uncharacteristically with emotion – all the emotion he hid for fifteen years, overflowing like a faulty tap, it flowed and flowed.
(It flowed and dyed everything red.)
"Don't act like you're the victim when you are the one who did this to yourself. You were the one who plunged dad into insanity. You were the one who cheated on him, the one who betrayed him. You were the one who drove Akari mad" at this point he wouldn't stop, no, - he couldn't stop. "You were the one who drove them out of this house."
"You were the one who destroyed us"
(And it shattered.)
(Somewhere, something shattered.)
He wasn't even quite sure if it was his frost-bitten heart or his mother's irredeemable heart.
(But he swore, he heard something shatter.)
It shattered and broke. Like the kind that can't be fixed.
"M-Masaharu" she plead, her shoulders trembled as her tears burst out of the corner of her eyes. Her whole body shook by the sheer intensity of her hysterical wails, the cry so raw, so heart-breaking that Niou almost sank to his knees to pick her up. His mother had always been the overflowing tsunami crier kind. She hugged onto his legs, "P-Please" she choked, glancing up to him with gut-wrenching, begging blue eyes.
(Blue eyes that he used to think were the prettiest thing on earth.)
But when he looked down at his mother. He didn't see the woman who nursed him back to health whenever he got ill, didn't see the woman who showered with kisses.
He saw the woman who rather travel to Bali than watch her son's tennis competition, saw the woman who was always more interested in her Louis Vuitton handbags than her son's examination results, saw the woman who rather go shopping than attend her son's parent-teacher conference. He saw the woman who destroyed his family, the woman who made his elder sister leave, the one who drove his father away, and the one who immersed herself within alcohol, lust and men.
Some things broken can't be fixed.
With strong arms, he uncurled her tight grip on his legs. He took a last fleeting glimpse at the sobbing mess of his mother, who laid on the ground like if she was broken.
He left.
xxx
At that point, Niou didn't even know how long he walked for or even where he was walking to. The world was spiralled into a blur and so did all the sounds. The smell. The taste. The touch. Everything was just gone.
He couldn't hear the car horns. He couldn't hear the wonted chattering of people. He couldn't smell the spring air. He couldn't smell the car exhaust. He couldn't feel his two feet.
(Everything was just blur.)
And everything was just swirling, swirling, swirling.
xxx
"So, basically what you're saying is that Kaidoh-senpai claims that your captain is up to something?"
"Well… she didn't really claim, more like casually comment?" Sakuno cupped her chin with her two hands, "By the way… are we heading back soon, Aoi-chan? Don't you have something catching up to do? You missed 4 days of school lessons."
"Hoshino-buchou gave me this set of simplified notes that she used back in her 1st year" Aoi beamed delightedly, hitting a very straight shot down the line, "So eheheh… I guess it should be fine…?"
"Huh… alright" Sakuno shrugged, her cousin's tennis obsession was nearly as severe as Echizen Ryoma's, there's no helping it. They were back at the tennis centre again, with Ryuzaki Aoi blindfolded and returning shots from 2 tennis machine. She looked at the flame-haired girl who was nimbly darting across the courts.
Ryuzaki Aoi isn't the prettiest girl in their family, isn't the most striking girl in her team. But Sakuno had always felt that when Aoi played tennis, she came alive. On the courts, she was the most enchanting of them all.
Sometimes she even felt that all their tennis prowess from Ryuzaki Sumire had all been dumped on Aoi and left little to none for the poor Sakuno.
"Say, Aoi-chan, what do you think Mika-chan means by 'up to something'?"
"Hmm…. Do bear in mind that this is just my assumption" Aoi hit a backhand, then pelted to her right, "But from what you said the fangirls probably wouldn't last long. What if… this is just a test from Kujo-san? To see who can endure through all this? With these kind of rigorous and to them boring practice, they probably will lose interest and not turn up."
"And that's when… she will suddenly drop a ranking tournament."
xxx
"Niou? What the hell? Are you high or something?"
He turned towards the source. It sounded like flickering, static telecom noises.
The person's face coming off like crosses and errors.
"Damn… just look at you… I bet you're high. Come on, I will bring you to somewhere fun then."
And that was how Niou found himself in Tokyo most famous club VIP room with ravishing and wanton girls flocking around him like he was a piece of candy.
"Wow, bro, just look at you" the person whistled, "Chicks to his right and left" then catcalled as one of the girl's cladded in what shouldn't even be labelled as clothing poured him another cup of beer.
Chicks to his right and left, was exactly the state Niou was in right now, with his arms spread out wide and at least 2 girls at each arm. They kept pouring him alcohol, refusing to let the beer cup remain empty for even half a second. The girls kept giggling, batting their eyelashes and pressing their mammary glands onto him. He took a lazy glance at the girl who had her palm flattened against his stomach, which the girl blushed immediately, batting more eyelash at him.
She looked like a lot of girls he met in clubs and bars: pretty in a forgettable way.
He wasn't even sure how long he drank for or how much he drank.
But he drank and drank and drank till the image of his mother disappeared.
xxx
"The number you have dialled is not available at that moment, please try again later."
He tried again.
"The number you have dialled is not available at that moment, please-"
He tried again.
"The number you have dialled is not available at that moment-"
"Dude" Niou turned back to face 'the person's' friend. He was a moderately tall, dark-haired and square jaw guy. "Thanks for helping me carry Naoki all the way. It was really nice of you to do so, considering all the havoc and commotion he caused back in the club, which nearly caused your fake IDs to get exposed."
"By the way, is the person you calling picking you up? Or do you need a ride home?"
The word home nearly made Niou let out a bitter snort, but he just gave a short dismissive: "It's fine."
"Okay" leaning against the expensive-looking door to Naoki's bungalow, he continued "But, wow you're not even a little tipsy, your alcohol tolerance must be exceptionally high. You should totally join us next time too." To be frank, he wasn't exactly sober, but the guy didn't need to know that either. He just swaggered away in his usual gait.
Lost in thoughts, he continued traipsing pass what seemed to be like endless bungalow after bungalow.
He was at a loss on where he should go.
He could always crash at Yagyuu's place, but he was well aware that Yagyuu's family disliked him. They assumed that he was bad influence to their precious, gentlemanly son. He snorted, if only they knew…
He could always head to Kirihara's place, but he knew that Kirihara's parents wasn't currently on very good terms.
He could always head to Marui Bunta's, but he wasn't quite in the mood to hear his about his inferiority issue with his genius younger brother – who was a real, certified genius and not a self-claimed one like Marui.
Under the jet-black night sky freckled by only a few visible stars, he strolled through the inky darkness of the early-spring night, bathing in the warmth of the lampposts that lit up the pathway. He could hear the laughter of what sounded like happy families. It sounded so distant, so far and so unachievable.
Then, a familiar bungalow came into view. He remembered this pristine white bungalow – owing to the fact that this was one of the biggest bungalow in the area. He also recalled the very modern architecture design.
A wolfish smirk fanned out on his lips, curling slowly in a wicked fashion as he caught a glimpse of a woman in her late forties decked in what seemed like maid's uniform leaving the house. He approached her.
It took roughly 3 minutes of subtly flirting, a few deceptive lies of "oh don't worry I'm one of her close friends", a few swoon-worthy smiles, and just like that she opened the door for him. It was so simple, so sickening simple that it paradoxically appalled him at how perfidious, how deceitful he could be (even without putting much effort.)
His trance got cut short as a huge Bernese mountain dog approached him snarling, show a row of sharp white teeth.
"You have to call him King Arthur" the look Niou shot the maid was dry but she continued on, "I'm serious, you can't just call him Arthur, he's a strange dog that one. He only calms down to King Arthur."
At Niou's still satirical stare, she went on "I'm serious, he bites" she lifted up her arms to display visible, painful looking teeth bites. "Okay… now that I'm done here… I'm gonna bye" with that the maid left, leaving Niou with the still growling dog as he bared his teeth again.
Her dog might be a feral, huge-looking Bernese mountain dog, but he was a wolf, an alpha male. He crouched down, hands stretched out, "Come on King Arthur." Arthur perked up at the nickname and went into all tamed mode.
Niou smirked. It was so simple, everything was so disgustingly simple.
xxx
17 April. 9pm.
Miyazaki Yuina expected her cute, heart-stealing pets to welcome her home, not a silver blue-haired man lounged on her favourite, giant square sectional sofa flipping through her TV channels like he owned the place.
She could recall very vividly that for the past 6 days of training camp they never spoke to each other nor did they ever engage in any conversation or sort. The only other time Niou Masaharu had been over here was when she was in disguise. Unless… he knew.
He paced over with those long legs. And before she even knew it, he was already standing in front of her – though there was no need to crouch down due to their little height difference. Piercing, intense, sharp eyes scrutinized her and was pleased to see her glaring back all frost and hellfire. After all, Niou relished in people that at least put up a fight.
"Poker face, huh" he taunted, his wild eyes analysing her like a scientist peering through a microscope.
"Niou Masaharu, to what do I owe the pleasure to?" Yuina's tone was light but her body language spoke otherwise: brows closed onto her hairline while arms folded.
Does this guy not know of privacy invasion? "How did you even get in here?" then the strong odour of alcohol wafted on the cold air-conditioned breeze. If she had been Tsubaki or Nanami she would have said something along the lines of "Underage drinking is prohibited by-", but instead she went: "You're drunk."
"Your maid" was his curt reply before he shrugged casually, "I'm not drunk."
"Yeah, sure you're not, because you would just totally break into someone else's house for nothing" she retorted while making a mental note to fire her maid. She quite liked that maid though… the cheese baked rice she made was like the bomb.
"Not to mention that Leviathan has been clawing onto you for the past few minutes" she pointed out, receiving only a ridiculing lift of brow from Niou. Then, his gaze relocated to the small Ojos Azules cat with striking black coat and hypnotizing, unique blue eyes who was still clawing onto his school uniform trousers. "You named your cat after a mythical sea monster referenced in the Hebrew Bible?"
She frowned slightly, "That's not the point. The point is Levi is a highly intelligent cat, he senses the true intentions of others. Looking at how he's still clawing on your trousers, I believe your intentions are best left unspoken and undone."
Niou paid no heed though, merely glancing down at the other 2 adorable-looking pets. He gestured towards them, "What are they called?"
With her frown still intact she huffed unwillingly, "The cute little Maltese is called Lancelot and the stunning white Persian kitten is called Ophelia."
Niou sure had a way with his words, though it also owed to the fact that Yuina always had a soft spot for animals. "So there's a mythological sea creature, Knight of the Round Table, William Shakespeare's Hamlet character and a legendary British King."
Yuina just stared at him as though she was mentally debating on whether she should feel insulted by his entertained, amused tone or whether she should just call the cops. There was also that irking factor that he straight away knew what all of her pet names meant. She rolled her eyes, "So are you going to leave or am I going to have to bring in my legendary British King?"
"Why babydoll" he hoaxed, lips curling slowly to form a dangerous smirk – one that without a doubt had girls falling to their feet for. He closed the space between them, the other elegant hand placed on the door, trapping her. "You're so cold. Just 2 months ago, you had your fingers entangled within my hair." His other hand reaching out to twirl her blue hair nonchalantly.
Niou literally screamed sensuality and danger from every single pore of his being. But still, it didn't seem to work on the girl as she slapped his hands away coolly, "Kabedon really? And that was only one time. So shoot, what on earth do you really want? I still have homework to do."
"Homework" he repeated with a sneer, then his smirk faltered. He wasn't even sure what he was doing here in the first place. To kill time? To vent out his pent out frustration and irritation?
What he did know was that this place actually smelled like home, not like cigarettes, alcohol, wine and vape. Perhaps… this was what home ought to smell like.
He didn't know why he was here. He really didn't know. All he knew was he wanted to stop feeling like this, to stop feeling like he was drowning, to stop feeling like he couldn't breathe. So that's what he did, so that's why he kissed her.
He slammed her against the door, nearly knocking all of the air out of her lungs as his scorching-fire lips connected with hers.
(It was fiery, hot, demanding and red.)
He could taste the wild mixture of alcohol, old wine, vodka and chocolate mingling between billowing breaths. With his strong pair of hands entwined within her locks of hair and her hands clutched tightly on his shirt, their tongues danced to the wild beat of Latin salsa. The spellbinding perfume fragrance savoured him, the taste of hot chocolate on a cold November day captivating him, and behind him the world faded just a little. His anger, bitterness, worries, thoughts vanishing with the rest of the world.
Finally, he could breathe again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologise if my characters seem Mary Sue-ish, perfect or anything but trust me they really aren't. I'm going to be divulging more into their fears, their secrets, their inner demons and so. And... as normal please do review oh my god :((( it's like my motivation and yeah...