Yagyuu could see the tense looks on most of the tennis regulars faces. Sanada seemed the most tense glaring down at his plate as if willing to teleport himself away from the vicinity. Yukimura seemed the most relaxed with his hands on the table, nails tapping lightly against the glass surface of the table. Yanagi seemed oblivious to all this as he read his book. Niou and Marui were unnaturally silent as they took frequent glances at the doors. Jackal did not attend the little dinner at all since he had returned to Brazil.
"Senpai!"
Everyone looked up and stood. Kirihara walked towards them dressed in casual jeans and a black tee shirt with a dark blazer. Akaya had grown a few inches and his hair was cut in a more mature style rather than his usual seaweed perm.
"Where's Rika?" Yukimura asked.
"There" Kirihara pointed.
The doors to the restaurant opened and Rika let herself in. She smiled at the doorman who was holding the door and then looked around for her brother. Yukimura's chest tightened as he gazed at her. She was dressed in a beautiful blue mid thigh length dress and her curly black hair had been tied into a high ponytail. Her makeup was striking showing off her green eyes and pouty lips.
"Holy shit, you look hot" Niou said stepping forward and taking Rika's hand.
"Thank you, Niou senpai" Rika replied.
"You look beautiful tonight, Rika-chan" Yagyuu said smoothly.
Rika smiled shyly, her cheeks colouring and Yukimura turned away from her to return to their table. Rika sat between Niou and Yagyuu and greeted the rest of them. Sanada didn't reply to her but the rest did. They ordered food and then began conversing between themselves.
"When did you start exercising?" Niou asked.
"Since An-chan's funeral. I needed something to distract me so I decided on sports" Rika replied.
"It paid off. Seeing you like this turns me on" Niou winked.
"Niou-kun! You should no say such things to a lady" Yagyuu scolded.
"Yes, Niou, you should be a gentleman like Yagyuu" Rika leaned up and kissed Yagyuu's cheek making his ears turn bright red.
"That is so going on Facebook" Marui said as he clicked a photo.
"Let me see!" Akaya said.
"Uploaded!" Marui crowed.
"I just liked it" Yukimura said, holding up his phone.
"Me too" Niou said. Rika leaned over to see the picture. Yagyuu coughed uncomfortably and adjusted his glasses.
She glanced over at Sanada who seemed to have tensed incredibly. She smiled at him but he looked away. She frowned and then stood up to go to the bathroom. Niou stood with the intention of going to the bathroom too and Marui followed after him.
"Sanada" Yukimura placed a hand on Sanada's arm.
"Leave me alone, Yukimura" Sanada shrugged off his captain's arm.
"Sanada senpai doesn't like Rika-chan anymore?" Kirihara asked. Despite the new mature look, Akaya would still be their innocent baby.
"It takes time for people to adjust to what Rika-chan told us, Akaya" Yanagi explained.
"But if you all understood then why can't Sanada senpai understand?" Akaya asked in confusion.
"Because it is abnormal. Two women cannot love each other the way a man and a woman can" Sanada replied.
"But Rika-chan is not gay, she is bisexual" Akaya pointed out.
"It will take time to adjust, Genichirou" Yukimura rubbed his friend's shoulder comfortingly.
Rika returned to the table just as the band took the stage. Yagyuu stood and held out his hand.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked Rika.
"You're lucky I still remember the dance lessons" Rika said taking Yagyuu's hand.
Yukimura contained the little green monster who was growling inside him as Yagyuu twirled Rika around effortlessly. Sanada coughed uncomfortably when they returned to the table and then offered his hand to Rika. Rika seemed surprised for a moment but then took Sanada's hand. They headed to the dance floor just as Marui and Niou returned from the bathroom.
"Why did you guys take so long?" Yanagi asked.
"Oh we were just doing a little bit of this and a bit of that" Niou replied with a wink.
"They do make a cute couple" Marui observed.
"Akaya, you might get Sanada as a brother in law" Yanagi teased.
"No!" Akaya turned white.
"Don't worry, those two have no spark whatsoever. I highly doubt that they'll even date" Niou said with a small frown.
"How are you so convinced? You never know, Rika might learn to love him" Yanagi asked.
"Because" Niou replied.
"Because why?" Akaya asked.
"Just because" Niou refused to answer.
"Are you jealous, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asked, pushing his glasses up causing them to glint sadistically.
"No! Shut up!" Niou said.
"By that answer, yes you are" Yanagi pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm jealous. So what?" Niou snapped.
"Jealous of what?" Rika asked innocently and Niou jumped. They hadn't noticed Rika and Sanada returning to the table.
"Jealous that Marui senpai can eat two whole cakes in one sitting!" Akaya said quickly.
"If I did that, I would balloon" Rika said. Niou gave a sigh of relief and all sans Sanada shot Akaya a grateful look.
"This is a really nice restaurant, Buchou. How did you find it?" Marui asked.
"Jackal used to work here as a waiter and he gave me the recommendation" Yukimura replied.
"We all need to find summer jobs now. My dad's already talking about how much college is going to cost" Sanada said.
"Rika-chan, are you still working in the maid cafe?" Niou asked.
"Yeah, they're training me to be a maid. I usually work at the phones booking appointments and reservations but since I'm going into high school, they raised my pay so I could become a maid" Rika replied.
"We'll have to pop in sometime then" Niou winked at her, making her smirk.
Yukimura gulped as he imagined Rika dressed in a cute maids outfit with a smile on her face. Rika play punched Niou and their food arrived. Yanagi put away his book and they all began eating.
"This food is incredible" Rika said.
"We are so coming here again" Akaya agreed as he scarfed his food down.
"Slow down or else you'll choke" Yukimura cautioned.
"Yes mommy" Niou teased before slurping up his noodles.
Rika smiled before taking a bite of her rice. This was where is felt most at ease. Her friends and family accepted her for who she was. That was all she needed. An-chan might have left but Rika had memories that would stay with her forever.
Wow, I've been a bad author. Sorry for not updating for such a long time.
