HI GUYS I'M BACK.
Please read the author's note at the end. It's long.
(I always say I'm going to update more frequently with shorter chapters. That never happens.)
Also, everyone wanted Tezuka x Chiharu scenes so here's a giant chapter dedicated to them. Sort of.
To Recap: Tomoka and Sakuno got into a fight, Reina almost lost her regular's spot, Sayaka met Niou for coffee, Aiko went to the doctor's, and we got a glimpse of Rikkai.
Sakuno does not appear in this chapter. SorryI'mNotSorry. Actually, a lot of people don't appear. Oops.
To Catch A Falling Star, Chapter 32: The Chains We Bear
-x-
"Hey, Midori-chan. Congrats on becoming a real starter."
"Thanks," she replied, straightening up from fixing her shoelace. She extended a hand, palm-up, and wiggled her fingers. "Pay up."
Marui rubbed the back of his head. "Geez. It can't be helped," he said, forking over a few yen bills. "I should've listened to Yanagi when he said not to bet against you."
She counted the bills, looking pleased. "Nice to know that you believed in my abilities," she commented sarcastically.
There was a beat of silence. "I do, though," Marui said, his lavender eyes aglow with earnestness. "You know that." 'Midori-chan is one of my favorites.'
"Yeah, I know."
"It's just that Hayashi hates you."
She made a face. "Don't remind me. I hear it all the time. I'm 'unreliable.' "
"Midori-chan, she's got a point."
"Your support for me is unbelievably compelling."
Marui laughed. "Hey." He suddenly nudged her, looking towards Court B meaningfully. A white-haired girl stood there, preparing to serve, her long pigtails trailing in the wind. "Is that the new girl? The one that beat out Kurosawa for the reserve spot?"
Midori tossed her green-streaked bangs out of her eyes and peered at her. "Yeah. Interesting, right? Fukubuchou said she transferred over here from Fudomine."
"Hmm. Doesn't ring a bell."
"Exactly."
Anna sidled up to them. She moved in the same way as she did on a tennis court, she slinked. "According to Yuki-chan," she said, threading a lock of her rose-gold hair behind her ear. "Their boys' team is supposed to be the dark horse this year."
"What about Seigaku?"
"The boys are playing Hyotei this weekend."
"Hm. Should be interesting."
"Wanna bet on it?" Midori tempted with a smirk, holding up her two dice.
"Stop it, Bunta," Anna advised calmly as Marui fumbled in his pockets for cash. "You know how Midori is. She'll clean you out by the end of the week."
-x-
Tezuka was expecting a normal day of tennis practice. Tough, to be sure, as the boys were getting ready to face Hyotei in the first round of the Kanto Regionals, but normal nonetheless. Ryuzaki-sensei usually had them do basic drills with ankle and wrist weights, some smash practice, et cetera. Nothing too special.
So it was of great surprise when he arrived to his tennis courts to find half his team handcuffed together.
Handcuffed.
These were no typical handcuffs. Between the two cuffs there was a long, four-foot chain, allowing for some freedom and movement.
Praying that this was not another one of Inui's perverse ideas manifesting on the court, he turned to Oishi for an explanation. "What is going on?"
"Ah, it's a new doubles thing that Inui came up with!" Oishi lifted his wrist with the handcuff. Beside him, Kikumaru was cartwheeling freely, the silver chain making a spiral around him. "It's to test our partnership and adaptability."
There was a THUD behind him. Sayaka sheepishly crawled up from the ground, having fallen over. "Sorry bro," she said to her brother, who was glaring at her reproachfully.
Tezuka resisted the urge to rub his temples. Inui always came up with the most inventive training methods. Inventive and disturbing.
"Welcome to our new doubles drill training," Coach Ryuzaki declared, her hands on her hips. She looked extremely pleased.
Fuji lifted his own arm, where he was linked to Kawamura. "We're only as strong as our weakest link, huh."
Inui and Akane held up a ball each. "Akane-san and I will start off the rally. The first pair to reach seven points will win. And of course, for the losers…" His glasses flashed with an eerie light. "If you make a penalty, you will need to take…" He reached beside him and pulled out a pitcher of oozy, red liquid. "Penal-Tea."
Everyone, save for Fuji, jerked away. "STOP IT WITH THE DRINKS, INUI!"
"Momoshiro twins and Tezuka-Oshiro pair, onto the court!" Coach Ryuzaki declared. "On Court B, we'll have the Golden Pair and the Fuji-Kawamura pair." She proceeded to list out the remainder of the teams and distribute them across the courts, while Tezuka found himself being cuffed to a short, amber-eyed girl.
"And begin!" Akane served the ball to his side.
Tezuka's eyes immediately latched onto the ball. He ran forward to rally it back, when suddenly something yanked his right hand back, causing him to lose his balance slightly. Of course, being Tezuka, he still managed to return the ball.
Chiharu landed with a THUMP behind him. "S-sorry," she muttered embarrassedly, quickly getting up and brushing her knees off.
On the other side of the court, Momoshiro and Sayaka tripped over the chain simultaneously and fell over one another in a heap, missing the ball.
"One – zero!" Coach Ryuzaki called.
"Come on, Sayak—!"
"This isn't my fault—"
"You're the gymnast—"
"Both of you are idiots," Akane interrupted, thwacking the second ball at the Momoshiro pair. "Get it together!"
Momoshiro jumped up to hit it, dragging Sayaka along with him.
"Whoa-wait, Take-nii—" she stammered, stumbling forward.
"Keep up, Sayaka!" Momoshiro shouted as he got into the position. "JAAAAACK KNIIIIIIIIFE!"
His racket swung forward with a monstrous force –
Flinging Sayaka's body along with it.
Sayaka swung outwards like a ball on a string. Like a tether ball, as soon as the slack in the chain ran out, she was flung right back to earth.
Everyone cringed as Sayaka hit the ground and bounced, much like a tennis ball would. "Okay, OUCH," she declared angrily after propping herself up. "Next time, please give me some kind of warning."
"I did," Momoshiro said defensively. "You didn't have to run after me like a maniac."
"Yeah, I kind of did," Sayaka responded crossly, rubbing the wrist with the handcuff.
Momoshiro started to form a retort, but his eyes landed on her wrist, and the way her fingers were kneading and stroking it gently. "Huh…" he murmured, half-confused and half-understanding.
From the next court, Suzume locked her eyes onto his in a meaningful glance.
"She needs to stop shielding her wrists when she's playing."
"She needs to get it together and stop covering for an injury that isn't there."
"Heads up, you two!" Akane warned, serving the ball to the Tezuka-Oshiro side.
"Mine!" Chiharu called softly as she leapt into position. Tezuka reacted immediately too, moving closer so that she had enough slack in the chain to take the shot. She did so, a beautiful forehand cross-court.
Sayaka started to dive for it, but halted the instant the chain was pulled taut against her wrist, and settled instead for falling on her bottom. "Damn it."
"Three-zero!" Akane called. She turned to the twins with an unimpressed look. "Wow. You two are getting slayed out here."
"It's not… fair…" Sayaka complained, getting to her feet once more. She pointed an accusing finger at Chiharu and Tezuka. "They have an unfair advantage."
It was true. Since Chiharu was right-handed and Tezuka was a southpaw, their cuffs were on the wrists that weren't holding the rackets, making it easier for them to move around. Sayaka, on the other hand, had to settle for being strapped to what felt like Thor's magic hammer. Every time Momoshiro swung his racket, he dragged her along with it.
Akane crossed her arms. "And yet, the Golden Pair appears to be doing absolutely fine," she countered.
Sayaka glanced over. Kikumaru was twirling in the air, and Oishi was controlling the chain with perfect ease. "Show off," she grumbled under her breath.
"And Sayaka," Akane went on, her gaze turning more severe by the instant. "I don't know you to be a complainer. What gives?"
The second year girl winced like a child that'd just been scolded. "Right. Sorry…" she muttered, readjusting the cuff around her wrist as she got back into position. Her fingers circled around the metal band, massaging the area gently.
This little motion was not lost on Akane. Her eyes began to narrow.
The ball was served to the Tezuka-Oshiro side of the court. As it was Tezuka's turn to receive it, he shifted a few paces to the left. The second he moved, Chiharu instantly adjusted her position as well. It was as if they were one form.
Tezuka sent a flawless winner down the center…
But Sayaka leapt into a return position almost angrily, intent on breaking their formation. She whipped her hand back to return it, only to flinch the minute the chain tightened. Her heavy return tunneled into the net.
"A shame!" Horio clutched his forehead. "That would've been a great return!"
"It was a good setup," Inui agreed, jotting down a few words.
Izumi recalled the way Sayaka played in their ranking match. Remembered the way she would cringe at power and shield her wrists, as if they were as fragile as glass. "She's… injured?" she asked quietly.
"She's not injured." Reina's voice was flat, but not harsh. She was only stating the facts. "She just thinks she is."
Momoshiro stared at his sister. "Sayaka?"
The tall second-year was staring at her hand perplexedly, moving her wrist back and forth, back and forth.
He moved to her side, and closed his hand around her wrist. "Hey," he said, his eyes soft. He turned it over in his big hands gently. "It's okay. See, there's nothing wrong with it."
"I know," she shot back irritably, but to Momoshiro she just sounded a little helpless. A little lost.
"Sayaka," he repeated. "There's nothing wrong with your wrists."
"Jesus, Take-nii—" She tore her hand away angrily. "I get it! I get it." She turned on her heel and stalked to the service line in a huff.
"Um," Chiharu said to Akane after watching the heated exchange. Her brow was furrowed in concern. "If Sayaka-chan isn't up for it, we could play someone els—"
Akane bounced the ball on the ground unsympathetically. "This is practice. You don't get to choose when you're up for it."
"I know," Chiharu said, glancing at Sayaka again. "But maybe she… could use a break?"
"No." This time, it wasn't Akane who spoke, but Tezuka. He crossed his arms resolutely. "There is an important lesson for her to learn here."
At this, Akane gave him a look of respect, to which he returned, making Chiharu feel just a little put out.
Akane served again, starting off another rally.
Sayaka jumped into position furiously, intending to show her brother that there was nothing wrong with her. She drew back her arm and sent the ball flying down the center.
The chain grew tight. She dropped the racket onto the ground with a clatter, clutching her left wrist.
"Sayaka!" Momoshiro ran to her.
"Save it, Take-nii." She picked up her racket and turned the other way. "I know what you're going to say."
"Listen to me! I know what you're doing!" Momoshiro grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. "I went through the same thing, okay?"
"Oh, really now? You're going to tell me how to live my life?"
"I'm going to tell you that your wrists are fine!"
"I know that!"
"Well then, act like it!"
"Excuse me?!"
"It's clear to everyone!" Momoshiro made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and all the other regulars looked up. "You're just covering up for an injury that's not there! We all know!"
For a moment, Sayaka looked at them in wordless shock. Her hand went to the edge of the metal cuff. "Every… one?"
Izumi looked to the side. Reina adjusted her glasses. Suzume met her gaze steadily, and gave her a tiny nod. Even Sakuno bit her lip.
Everyone knew. Which meant they had talked about it, talked about her, discussed her weakness behind her back. Sayaka felt her face flare red in embarrassment.
"Sayaka…" Momoshiro said, more quietly. "I'm sorry, I just—"
"Just stop. Leave me alone. Leave me alone." Sayaka tossed her racket aside and attempted to stomp off, only to realize she was still chained to her brother. She tugged at the chain. "Seriously? You even ruin my chances at being dramatic."
He would've laughed if he weren't so concerned. "Saya—"
"Inui-senpai!" she called, ignoring him, ignoring everyone. "Could you unchain me so I can stomp away in peace?"
Akane's expression turned stern. "Momoshi—"
"Buchou, I'm sorry, but…" Sayaka purposefully looked away as after Inui hastened to unfasten her cuff. "Just let me go dunk my head under the faucet. I need to cool off." The minute she was free, she took off in a stiff jog, completely disregarding Akane's orders of "Momoshiro, you get back here."
Momoshiro made a move to follow his sister, before Akane said sharply, "Hold it right there." He froze.
The ginger-haired girl seemed like she was at the end of her rope. "You," she said harshly, pointing a finger at Momoshiro. "Stay where you are. And you." She pointed a finger at one of the spectators at random, which turned out to be Izumi. "Get onto the court. Now."
The black-haired girl did what she was told, for which Akane was grateful. She was tired of dealing with disobedient team members.
Chiharu forgot that she was chained to Tezuka, and had gotten about halfway across the courts towards the water fountain before the chain ran out.
"What are you doing," Tezuka stated, causing her to jump.
"I… I… nothing." She ducked her head guiltily and trotted back to her spot.
-x-
Breathe. In and out. In and out.
The cool water pouring over her head was relaxing. Sayaka breathed deeply, along the water to trickle down her neck, soaking the neckline of her uniform. She shook her wet hair out like a dog.
In and out. In and out.
Calm down. Calm down.
Sayaka couldn't really understand why she felt so annoyed. It wasn't like her to be so quick to anger. Her brother always had a knack of pushing her buttons, but she'd never snapped at him like she did today.
She used her hands to toss some water onto her face, and her eyes went to her wrists. They were pale and smooth. It was hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago they were purple and swollen, the kind of injury that made people wince when they noticed it, the kind that made people stop and cry "Oh my god, what happened?!" Just thinking about it made her feel lightheaded with fear and nausea.
She didn't want to have that happen, ever again.
There's nothing wrong with your wrists. Calm down. Calm down.
She took a long drink from the fountain.
"Hey, you." A pink head suddenly popped up, startling Sayaka into choking and spitting out her water.
"You…" Cough. "Scared…" Gasp. "Me…" Coughchokecough.
"Sorry!" Kimiko said with an apologetic grin. "Just wanted to make sure that you were okay!"
Sayaka swiped a hand across her mouth and muttered under her breath, "I was until you nearly caused me to drown." Straightening up, she said, "Isn't practice still going on?"
Kimiko shrugged and bounced over merrily. "Oh, they never notice when I'm missing. I'm so small, I'm hardly there to begin with!" Their dramatic height difference was emphasized when she stood by Sayaka. The latter could actually rest her head on Kimiko's – and even then, she would have to slouch to do it. "So," Kimiko said perkily, making a cute face. "Why are you so grumpy?"
"It's all so… stupid." Sayaka slumped down at the end of the water fountain. "It's stupid."
"Stupid," Kimiko agreed, nodding empathetically. She plopped right down on the ground next to her.
"I just…" She kicked at the ground. "I don't know. I got really frustrated with myself today." 'With Take-nii. With everyone.' Then, she thought, 'Wow. I was kind of a bitch.'
Kimiko rocked on her bottom for a bit. "Yeah. I get like that. So you snapped at Akane-buchou too?"
She chuckled. "Kind of." She scrunched up her face worriedly. "Is she gonna kill me?"
"That'd be too easy. She's going to make you run laps until you wish you were dead."
Sayaka groaned, her face in her hands. "I already wish I was dead."
Kimiko giggled. "Akane-buchou won't be too angry with you. It's not like you're Suzume-chan." She hugged her knees even tighter. "Those two… They're scary when they argue." One was a lit match, the other was a fuse.
Sayaka vaguely wondered if Kimiko could hold her own against Suzume. She certainly could hold her own against Akane, though the only time that she ever saw Kimiko openly argue with her was in the preliminary tournaments months ago.
In her usual temperament, she was always cheerful and bubbly, the very embodiment of friendliness, but for some reason, Sayaka hadn't come to think of her as a close friend. The tall second year even felt closer to Suzume than she did to Kimiko.
Kimiko was just… there.
It wasn't that she was forgettable or ordinary. First of all, her magenta hair shone like a beacon wherever she went. And secondly, she had quite a few kick-ass tennis moves that Sayaka did not want to be on the receiving end of. Yet Kimiko somehow managed to float in the background, supporting everyone enthusiastically, while remaining somewhat detached to the team as a whole.
Sayaka was not as perceptive as her brother, no. But she could tell that there was something about Kimiko… something that whispered of hidden potential. Just like the world was not all rainbows and unicorns, Sayaka suspected that Kimiko had a rather lethal edge. It was just tucked under a blanket of smiles and giggles.
She could hold her own against almost anyone, but more importantly…
Kimiko held them all together.
"You know what?" Sayaka declared randomly, feeling oddly philosophical. "I think… I think you're glue."
"Glue?" Kimiko wrinkled her nose bewilderedly. "Uh, gee, thanks?"
Sayaka laughed, and gave her ankle a light kick. "Hey," she said, lifting her chin. "Thanks. Good to know that you're on my side."
"Your side?" She wiggled her eyebrows playfully. "If Akane-buchou comes charging at us for ditching practice, I'm going to duck behind you and use you as a shield."
Oh yes, there was an edge there indeed.
-x-
"Nice one, senpai!" Momoshiro called as Izumi managed to put a winner in between the Tezuka-Chiharu pair. 'She's pretty good.' Izumi had managed to adjust to the chain in a short period of time, and covered the court with surprising capability. It explained why Sayaka had struggled so much with her in the ranking matches.
'Sayaka…' Momoshiro lifted his head to look around, but she had yet to return.
"Not bad, Izumi, not bad." Akane swung her racket around a few times. "What do you think, Tezuka? Think we could put her in doubles?"
"Doubles?" Both Izumi and Momoshiro said bewilderedly.
"I don't mean any disrespect…" Izumi continued softly. "But don't we have plenty of doubles players already?" Sakuno, Sayaka, Kimiko, Aiko, even Suzume showed some aptitude for it.
Akane and Tezuka exchanged a measured glance. Chiharu and Izumi exchanged one of puzzlement.
What was going on?
"Anyways," Akane said, brushing the issue aside with a sweep of her hand. "It's about time that we wrapped things up. Practice is done for the day. Inui, if you wouldn't mind freeing everyone."
Ryoma frowned. "Wait, I thought the losers had to drink Inui J—" Kikumaru leapt over in a remarkable feat of acrobatics (considering he was still handcuffed to Oishi) and clamped his hand over Ryoma's mouth. "Shhh!"
Inui, thankfully, did not hear them. He pulled out a round of keys and began un-cuffing them, one by one.
"I don't even want to know what Inui-senpai had to do to get all these weird handcuffs… " Momoshiro muttered, giving his a little shake.
Suzume snorted. "Frankly, I'm surprised he wasn't arrested. Buying nine sets of handcuffs doesn't exactly say, "Hey I'm a totally normal high school student…" "
Finally, they got to the end of the line. Only Chiharu and Tezuka were left cuffed.
There was a brief pause as Inui fumbled through the keys. And fumbled through them again.
And again.
And then he actually paused and counted through them, coming up one short.
All of them suddenly got a bad, bad feeling.
"T-tezuka…" Inui finally stuttered, sweating. The keys jingled in his trembling hands. "U-um, there is a slight possibly that your key has been misplaced…"
A vein pulsed in Tezuka's forehead. "Misplaced," he repeated.
Mouths dropped. Fuji barely attempted to hide his glee.
Inui attempted to laugh it off. "Yes. That is… Haha… With enough manpower and effort, there is a sixty-two percent chance we will recover it."
Chiharu didn't quite comprehend this immediately. If there was no key, that only meant…
They would be chained together. For god knows how long.
She suddenly came to this realization and went bright red.
Tezuka, too, seemed to reach that conclusion. "TWO HUNDRED LAPS!" he thundered.
"Don't do that, Tezuka," Oishi pointed out. "Don't you need him to look for the key?"
Damn it, he was right. "TWO HUNDRED LAPS FOR TOMORROW!"
Akane didn't even bother to conceal the big grin on her face. "All right, everyone," she said, clapping her hands together firmly. "First years, finish collecting the balls and help search for the key in the courts. The rest of us will search the school grounds."
"It's small and silver," Inui offered uselessly, holding up his ring of keys. "It looks like one of these..."
"Can you call the store?" Akane asked him. "Maybe we can go fetch a replacement key."
"Ah… that is…" Inui stammered awkwardly. "This type of store isn't open until later…"
"Never mind," Akane cut him off hastily. "I don't want to know."
Oishi rounded up the regulars and divided them into small groups to search the hallway, the science labs, the men's bathrooms, and the school grounds outside.
"I can help too!" Chiharu offered, getting to her feet to join them. Only, her foot caught on the chain, causing her to tumble to her knees painfully. "…maybe not?"
Suzume rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Sorry Tezuka-buchou, it might be better for Chiharu-senpai's health if you guys just chill for a bit."
Tezuka had already seated himself comfortably on the bench. "I understand. We'll wait here."
-x-
"Morioka."
Izumi had just started heading for the school when he spoke. She turned around hesitatingly. "Yes?"
"I need to speak with you."
"Okay." She tentatively stepped back to where Tezuka was sitting, trying not to look as tense as she felt. "Sure."
Concerned, Chiharu made a move to get up, but Tezuka stopped her with a look. "Excuse me for a moment," he said to her, which Chiharu interpreted as, 'This conversation is private.'
She tried her hardest not to stare. She also tried to pretend she wasn't hanging on their every word.
Hushed, urgent voices.
Then she heard Izumi say something along the lines of, "It's not a big deal."
"It is," she heard him respond forcefully.
Chiharu couldn't help but lift her amber eyes to them.
His hand was on her arm.
For two people who were disagreeing on something, their stances were incredibly intimate.
Chiharu whipped her head away like she'd been burned. She felt something dark and ugly rising in the pits of her abdomen. She breathed, counted to ten, and drew her arms around herself.
'Don't get upset. You're better than that.'
It wasn't that she was upset with Akane, or Izumi, or even Tezuka. It was just…
She wanted to be the only one. The only one he would look at meaningfully, the only one he would share secret glances with. She wanted to be the only one he would touch.
Akane, she could understand. Akane was close with everyone. She disliked all rules of etiquette, turned her back on convention, and made everyone call her by her first name within minutes. She effectively stripped down people's barriers before they could even blink.
But Izumi… Izumi was a different case entirely. She couldn't understand how Izumi, who pushed everyone away, had drawn him in. And he'd taken such an interest in Izumi's wellbeing; an interest he'd never taken in hers.
Akane meant well, but she used others; manipulated them to serve her own agenda. And Izumi… well, Izumi was dark and stubborn and strangely angst-ridden for no reason at all. How was it that both of them had succeeded on getting close to Tezuka, then?
She, on the other hand…
She tried so hard to be good.
That's who she was. Good, sweet, kind Chiharu. Chiharu, who couldn't possibly hurt a fly.
(Not fair, not fair, not fair.)
Such cold thoughts were so, so unlike her. And that's why she swallowed up her feelings, and buried them, ocean deep.
Chiharu hugged herself tighter and shivered.
-x-
"Key… key… where are you…" Kikumaru prowled around on his hands and knees, searching beneath the bushes. He saw no key, but his eyes caught on someone else that was across the hedge. "Hoi! Sayaka-chan!"
"Eiji-senpai!" Sayaka got off of her hands and stood. She still had some of that frustrated energy left, so she'd been channeling that into pushups. But she'd also forgotten how boring pushups were.
"Sayaka-chan, are you okay, nya?" Kikumaru asked worriedly. "You got mad at Momo today."
"My brother always pisses me off one way or the other." Sayaka made a face, then laughed. "I'll be okay, though." I always am.
Kikumaru looked at her with big, blue eyes. "Is it your wrists?"
At this, she visibly flinched. "You know about that too, huh."
"Sayaka-chan, Sayaka-chan," Kikumaru chided. He poked her cheek. "It's pretty obvious when someone starts shielding a weak spot, you know."
"Yeah, I guess…" she muttered.
Kikumaru's mouth was in an uncharacteristically serious line. "You really should talk to Momo about it, though. He went through the same thing."
Sayaka stared blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"A long time ago, he sprained his ankle really badly and had to sit out of an entire match. Then he kept shielding it. That's how he learned the Jack Knife." He took in her stunned expression. Said, "You really didn't know about this?"
"He said something… but I thought he was just sprouting some overprotective-older-brother crap."
' "I know what you're going through!" '
' "I went through the same thing, okay?!" '
Kikumaru's eyes softened in understanding. "He's only protective because he cares, you know. Momo's a good brother."
"Yeah…" she said reluctantly. "Yeah. I'm just tired of him treating me like a baby, sometimes."
"I get that." He sighed, and stretched his arms out. "I have four older siblings, remember? I'm the baby of the family."
Sayaka smiled. "Must be rough."
"Sometimes. Who am I kidding?" He stuck his tongue out. "Most of the time, it's pretty bad."
Sayaka couldn't help but laugh.
Kikumaru looked off into the distance. "But once in a while," he continued, his voice soft like the wind, "Once in a while, I'll be really, really happy that I have them."
-x-
"The match is on Saturday, and I don't know how late that'll go till…" Fuji said, as they perused the classroom for the key. "So how's Sunday evening for dinner?"
"Oh…" Izumi faltered. She opened a drawer and closed it. "I'm… I'm actually really busy in the evening…"
Here she was again, pulling away. He resisted a bitter smile. Of course this was happening again. Of course. What did he expect?
"So…" she said, and Fuji had his answer ready, 'Of course I don't mind, why don't we just go back to being distant, continue this endless dance of ours?' But instead, she said the next few words, which surprised him: "Do you mind if we did lunch instead?"
"Of course," he said, eyes curving back into their usual crescents. "Lunch would be lovely."
Her hands were in nervous tangles.
"May I?" he suddenly asked, extending his hand to hers.
She stared, confused, and let him take her hand. He turned it around in his, exposing the underside of her arm. There were little blue-gray bruises peppering the inside of her wrist. "This…" he said quietly. 'This is what Tezuka was looking at earlier.'
"It's nothing." She made a move to tug her arm away, but he held her wrist firmly.
"It's from an I.V, Izumi."
Her eyes widened at the lack of an honorific, and she couldn't help but say defensively, "I know it's from an I.V. This is my arm."
He brought his blue eyes to her dark ones. "You didn't mention going back to the hospital."
Her lips were tight. "Why would I mention something like that?"
"Izumi-san. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry."
She breathed in sharply. "Angry" suggested that he had an affect on her. She didn't want to give him that sort of satisfaction. "I'm not angry."
He let go of her arm, and smiled. Smiled. "That's good to hear."
-x-
About half an hour later, they reassembled at the courts. "No luck on our end," Oishi said regretfully.
"None from here either."
"Oishi-fukubuchou!" The freshmen trio came sprinting up to them, breathing hard. "We finished picking up all the balls, but we didn't see any key…"
"Can anyone pick a lock?" Momoshiro asked. He turned to Suzume. "Maybe you, Kimura?"
She cast him a look of disdain. "You just assume that I can? Stereotype much?"
"Suzume-chan," Chiharu said tactfully. "I'm sure he means that you seem the type to know a few handy tricks."
"Like how to rob a bank," Momoshiro muttered under his breath.
"I wonder if you could cut the chain with one of those giant garden pliers," Kawamura pondered aloud.
Reina picked the chain up and examined it closely. "The density of the alloy—Ahem," she coughed as Akane not-so-subtly stepped on her toe. She revised, "It looks a little too thick for garden pliers. If only we knew someone who did welding or some kind of metal work."
At her comment, Tezuka glanced up. "Never mind it," he said curtly. "Oshiro and I will solve this on our own. You are all dismissed."
"Eh?"
"But, Tezuka…" Oishi said worriedly.
"How will you get free?"
"I will take care of it," he said tersely.
"So you're just going to remain chained together, then?" Fuji asked innocently, smiling. "You should have absolutely no qualms about that."
Tezuka shot him a swift glare, before turning to the blushing Chiharu. He inclined his head. "Sorry to burden you."
"No! No, not at all!" she shrilled. Then she added weakly, "That is… I don't… mind…"
At this, some of the team members chuckled, making her face fill up with heat.
-x-
"Okay. So, between you and me," Akane said, pulling Izumi aside after most of them had left. "We might have to pull Aiko from the official lineup eventually."
"…Why?" The dark-skinned senior had done well in practice today, even though she was chained to Ryuzaki as opposed to her usual partner, Kimiko.
"She's fine right now, but there is no doubt in my mind that she will push herself to her breaking point. If she's injured, it means you need to step in and be Kimiko's doubles partner. Think you could handle that?"
Izumi blinked. "But… Suzume-san…"
"Did well in doubles against Hyotei," Akane confirmed, "But she doesn't understand Kimiko's play style like you do. You beat her consistently. You know her. You know her weaknesses and her strengths."
'Like you know mine?' she thought, bringing her eyes to meet those piercing turquoise ones.
'You broke me,' she thought bitterly, because that's exactly what Akane did. Took every weakness Izumi had and exploited them, one by one. Mercilessly used every last one of her emotions against her. 'You broke me, and it was so easy.'
It was simply the way Akane played tennis. She got into your mind; made you doubt yourself. If you weren't sure of yourself, it could make you never want to play tennis again.
Izumi had never been very sure of herself.
She clasped her pale hands behind her back. "I will do whatever you want me to do."
Akane smiled at her. "Glad I can count on you, Izumi."
'I will play you again,' Izumi thought to herself as she watched Akane walk away. It wasn't a personal vow or promise, but a premonition. It would happen. She was sure of that, at least.
'I will play you again and maybe, maybe this time, I will be strong enough.'
Maybe, she repeated in her mind, like a hope-crushed mantra. Maybe.
-x-
Silence was a very loud noise in it of itself.
She heard it roaring in her ears as she walked back to Tezuka's home with him.
She was never very fond of loud noises. They made her uncomfortable.
Chiharu lifted her arm to run her fingers through her hair, a nervous tick of hers. In doing so, however, she tugged at the chain connected to Tezuka's hand. "S-sorry…" she mumbled, dropping her arm to her side immediately.
"Don't be."
He kept walking. She scurried along.
"Um… Tezuka-san…" she piped up. "How is your arm doing?"
"It's fine."
Walk, walk, walk.
"I started reading that book you gave me," she tried again, desperate for something to say. "It's… um, it's interesting."
That got his attention slightly. He blinked. How so?
In truth, she'd barely made it past the first few pages. She'd been enjoying it until she read that the main character, Chihiro, had lost her mother to a terminal illness. In that instant, she'd shut the book so harshly that it made a sound like a small gunshot. Her father had looked up curiously, and she'd forced a smile and mumbled something about killing a spider.
(She could still see her mother, lying motionless on that hospital bed as cancer ate away at her life.)
"Anyways," Chiharu continued, willfully pushing all thoughts of her mother out of her mind. "It's just…" She was running out of things to fill up the silence with, so she finally said, "It doesn't seem like something you'd read, Tezuka-san."
At this, he moved his head fractionally. Explain.
She wrung her hands nervously, afraid to offend him. "It... it's kind of dark. And I didn't expect you to enjoy a romance novel."
He nodded once, and she exhaled in relief. "It is different to what I usually prefer," he said. "However, I like the themes of ambition in the story."
"What made you decide to read it?" she asked curiously.
"Morioka recommended it to me."
"Oh," she said in a small voice. Well, that explained everything. The book did seem like something Izumi would read.
He kept walking and she followed.
"Oh," she murmured again inaudibly. She realized that the silence wasn't what was bothering her – it was that when they were alone, she had no idea what to talk to him about. There were only so many times she could text him about his arm, or ask him about some aspect of the tennis team, or seek his advice on a training method.
In an aching realization, she found… she had no right to like him. She did not know him well enough to like him.
She wrung her hands together, the chain clinking on the ground as it moved. Maybe the chain was the only thing that really connected them.
Take tennis out of the equation, and what did she really have in common with him? Perhaps someone like Izumi suited him better, after all. They were alike; compatible in a strange way.
And what was she?
Oshiro Chiharu. Synesthete Singles one. Miracle on the Court. None of those got him to notice her; at least not the way she wanted him to. For a brief, selfish moment, Chiharu wondered what it would be like to be captain – maybe he would notice her then.
Her nose started to tingle, like it did every time before she was about to cry. The tingle spread across her cheekbones. She breathed out. Don't cry. Come on. Get a grip, don't embarrass yourself.
You aren't a child anymore.
"Chiharu."
She sniffled discreetly and plastered a shaky smile on her face. "Hm?"
He stopped walking, his eyes on her. Moved a few paces closer to her to gaze upon her face. Chiharu flushed and found a pebble on the ground to fix her eyes on. "Something is bothering you," he confirmed.
"No!" she lied automatically. "No, of course not!"
He didn't take his eyes off of her. "If you need to talk…" Tezuka started, but didn't finish. Let the words hang there. He probably wanted to end the sentence with something like, "I can page Oishi for you."
"No, no," she said again, and to her horror, she started to laugh, if only to keep from crying. The thought of Tezuka offering her a heart-to-heart, though nice, was almost ludicrous. What was even more ridiculous was the thought of her pouring her heart out to him: "I shouldn't like you, because I don't know you."
Tezuka wasn't sure why she was laughing, (in fact, he felt mildly insulted and bewildered), but she was laughing, at least.
Sadness did not suit her, he thought. Chiharu was the type of person that was born to smile. She reminded him of a wildflower – delicate, perhaps, but resilient. She was stronger than people gave her credit for. Sometimes, when he caught a glimpse of her absent gaze, she looked… older, in a way. More mature, wise beyond her years. Like someone who had weathered storms and winds, and thrived.
A wildflower, no doubt.
(Morioka Izumi, on the other hand, reminded him of glass.)
Chiharu smiled, a little wistfully, a little sadly. But when she smiled, no matter how happy or sad the smile was, she did it with her whole body – her mouth, her eyes, her face lit up with some kind of inner glow. "Thank you for the offer, Tezuka-san. That… it… It means a lot to me."
For that, he was glad. So much that one corner of his mouth turned upwards, slightly.
-x-
"Handcuffs?" Niou queried, unperturbed. "Kinky."
"It was a strange day," Sayaka agreed. "We don't do stuff like that every day."
"How unfortunate for you."
She threw a sugar packet at his face, only to miss.
This was the third time that they'd met for coffee. The second time, he'd asked her a little about her team, and she responded with the vaguest answers she could come up with. She still didn't have a handle on his intentions, however. "Hey, wait a minute. You aren't pumping me for information, are you?" she suddenly asked suspiciously. She knew that he went to a rival school. "What's your deal?"
He didn't answer right away. When he did, he said, "If you're so worried, you could avoid talking about tennis."
She scowled. "I'd doubt we'd have much in common besides tennis."
He didn't deny it, didn't say anything for a moment. "Ten questions," he proposed, leaning back complacently. "Truth for a truth. You up for it?"
She sat up a little straighter. "Sure."
He inclined his head. "Ladies first."
"Fine. Um… What's your favorite class?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Surely you can do better than that."
Her mouth dropped open. "Well…" she said irritably, "Maybe I'm just boring and can't think of intriguing questions!" She threw up her hands. "Sue me."
He gazed at her idly for a moment. His eyes were a clear, blue-green hue that reminded her of the ocean. Mysterious and unpredictable. "Math," he finally said.
She grimaced involuntarily, immediately thinking of the math grade she'd gotten after the midterm examinations were over.
"My turn," he said, observing her reaction with amusement. "What's your biggest fear?"
"Um…" She racked her brains. "Maybe… snakes. Or bears. Or squirrels," she suddenly added in inspiration. "There's this one that hangs around the tennis court and I swear its got it out for me or something. I feel like it's going to attack me once it gets me alone."
He paused. Considered her for a moment. Said, "You know this game isn't fun if you don't take it seriously."
"I am!" she said huffily.
"You're telling me your biggest fear is a squirrel."
"You know me, I'm your typical tough, macho girl…" She trailed off and laughed. "Fine. I guess when you put it like that…"
His eyes were hard on hers. He searched her face.
'What are you so afraid of?'
Sayaka swallowed. 'Injury' was her first thought, as she glanced down at her wrists and thought of how scared she had been of breaking them, of being unable to play tennis. Subconsciously, she traced a hand over where the swelling was, remembering the throb of pain, the ugly shade of purple.
But it wasn't injury she was afraid of, was it? After all, she'd risked her wrists and ankles and every other joint at some point. Her practice match with Suzume, that game with Hyotei, especially in those practices when Inui pulled out his weird beverages…
It wasn't injury, she realized, it was the inability to play tennis that scared her. It was the inability to hit a winner across an opponent to a cheering crowd. It was inability to hear people gasp when spiraled through the air. It was the inability to have something to bond with her father and brother.
She suddenly thought of that memory of her brother and father sitting on the couch, watching an iconic match between Nadal and Federer on TV. She remembered how distant she felt from them that day, even though she was only a few feet away.
"You've been silent for a good minute now," Niou interjected amusedly. "I hope I haven't awoken a traumatic childhood memory, although you gotta admit, it would make things more interesting."
She chuckled lightly before looking down at her hands. "My greatest fear… Being… forgotten, I guess." She ran a hand through her hair, laughing uncomfortably. "I don't know… Is that lame?
The light in his eyes changed.
-x-
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Two."
Big family. Sayaka could relate, as she had her twin and two younger siblings. She wondered if he was the middle child. It would explain a lot of the brooding. "Brothers or sisters?"
He paused before answering, "You do realize you just used up three of your questions in one breath…"
"Wait-what?" She blinked confusedly. "Wait that wasn't another question! That doesn't count, does it?" She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Damn it. I'm bad at this. Just answer the question."
Niou relented with sharp chuckle. "I have an older sister and a younger brother. My older sister doesn't live at home." He traced a circle on his napkin with his finger. "My younger brother wishes he didn't live at home."
The smile slipped off of Sayaka's face at these words. "Oh…" Her hands tightened around her coffee cup. She wasn't sure how to respond to something like that.
She had too many questions. Too many, and yet not a single one left her lips.
He looked at her and waited.
Go on. Ask. Do it.
Even someone like Akane would not be able to read this boy, Sayaka realized. The layers of his face were too complex, too guarded.
His eyes locked onto hers. Daring her. Challenging her.
Ask me.
But what would doing that accomplish? She was sure if she peeled back all those layers, those masks, all she would find was pain. Endless pain and suffering.
Sayaka was not the type to back down from a dare. But more so than that, she was not the type to cause any sort of pain.
"So," she barreled through with forced cheer. "Favorite food?"
-x-
Tezuka Ayana was nothing like Chiharu envisioned. She half-expected a serious, librarian-stereotype woman with wire-rimmed glasses and a constant, disapproving expression. Instead, she found herself being greeted warmly by a lively, cheery woman in an apron. She looked young, too; there were only the beginnings of some wrinkles around her mouth when she smiled. After Tezuka's mother introduced herself, Chiharu found herself gaping at her sunny demeanor.
"Let me guess," Tezuka's mother said as Chiharu almost stumbled over the metal chain for the twentieth time. "He dragged you into some weird tennis thing."
"U-um, it was actually our teammate who—"
She whacked Tezuka affectionately with a spatula. "Kunimitsu. You handcuffed the poor girl, and you didn't even ask her to dinner first. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Chiharu turned the same color as a sun-ripened tomato. "Really, it wasn't his fau—"
"I apologize," Tezuka said stiffly.
"T-that's all right," Chiharu stammered.
"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask! I want you to feel at home. It's the least I can do, considering my son has inconvenienced you terribly."
"It… It's fi—"
"I know!" His mother suddenly clapped her hands together in inspiration. "I'll make us something good for dinner! You will stay for dinner, won't you, Chiharu-chan?"
"I-I…" Chiharu glanced at Tezuka for a reaction, or some help, but he remained as stoic as ever. "I hadn't planned on…"
Tezuka sighed, putting his teacup down. "Mother. If Oshiro-san doesn't want to—"
"You, be quiet," his mother said, though with a teasing tone. "She's just being polite. This is the first time you've brought a girl home, even if it is by force." She put her hands on her hips, a determined twinkle in her eye. "So, I'm going to serve her dinner." Then, she leaned closer to Chiharu, and said in a loud whisper, "Because who knows when I'll get another chance?"
Mouth open and red-cheeked, Chiharu looked at the mother, then at Tezuka, and back again.
"Chiharu-chan?" Tezuka Ayana smiled pleasantly. "Did you have a question?"
Yes. Was it a particularly windy day when the apple fell from that tree?
"No," she said, snapping her mouth shut. "No, not at all."
-x-
"What's your most vivid childhood memory?"
"Wish I could think of such deep, insightful questions," Sayaka grumbled reluctantly. "I kind of feel like I'm at a shrink's office."
"Your answer," he prompted.
"Um…" Sayaka thought back, filing through old memories. "There was this one time my uncle's parrot got trapped in my hair…"
Niou was now looking at her short hair with a renewed curiosity.
She laughed nervously, smoothing down her choppy hair. "It was really traumatizing. My brother had to cut it out with a pair of scissors."
"Never would've guessed."
"What's yours?" Piggybacking off his questions was certainly much easier than coming up with her own.
He spun the coffee cup around. "I ran away once when I was little. I wanted to go on an adventure. I lasted about five hours."
"Really?" she leaned forward. "What happened?"
"I got hungry and went home."
"That's lame. I was hoping you ran into some aliens and they did experiments on you. I feel like that would explain a lot."
This time, she got a crooked, wolfish smile out of him and felt a delightful whoosh go through her body. It was like going over a waterfall.
"Favorite animal?" he asked.
"I like pandas. They're just so fluffy and squishy." Sayaka grinned. "You?"
"Squirrels," he deadpanned.
-x-
"So you're a third year too?" Tezuka's mother asked Chiharu. "Are you in Kunimitsu's class?"
"No, I'm not," Chiharu replied. 'I wish.'
"That's a shame." She smiled secretively. "I was hoping that you could tell me how my son behaves in class."
"Um… Tezuka-san is always very… behaved," Chiharu managed to say. She exchanged a look with Tezuka, while trying to maintain a straight face.
Tezuka Ayana laughed. "Oh I know. He's a little too stiff, just like his father." She patted his head affectionately. The tip of Tezuka's nose reddened with embarrassment.
"Mother," he started. "This is unnece—"
"He wasn't always like that, though!" She looked around. "Ah, where did I keep his baby pictures…"
"Mother."
-x-
Out of the blue, he asked, "Why gymnastics?"
"I don't know," she responded, making a vague gesture. "I mean, I kind of fell into it… Wait." Sayaka suddenly stopped and stared at him, wide-eyed. "How do you know about that?"
He tilted his head fractionally to the right. "People talk."
"People," she repeated, making sure it wasn't a question.
Niou looked at her and said nothing.
She groaned. "You're going to make me waste a question on that, aren't you."
"When it comes to tennis," he conceded, a gleam in his eye. "You don't exactly play your cards close to the heart."
"You've seen me play?" The question was out before she could stop it.
He shrugged noncommittally.
"Hey!" Sayaka said hotly. "You made me waste a question on that, so now you have to answer it."
Niou rubbed his jaw and said reluctantly, "I may have seen a video of your Hyotei match."
"And? What'd you think?"
He arched an eyebrow. She grimaced, "Yes, I'm aware I just used another question. But seriously. What'd you think?"
"It was interesting."
Sayaka was kind of hoping for something more than 'interesting', but considering that Niou acted like everything around him bored him to death, she was pretty pleased with his response.
"You never answered my previous question. Why gymnastics?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know. I started it, and it was fun. It just went on from there." She lowered her eyes to her coffee cup and swirled her spoon in it absentmindedly.
No one expected her to take up gymnastics. No one. Growing up with a twin brother, she was more or less raised as a boy. And truth be told, she didn't mind; it seemed so much more fun to see who could climb the tallest tree than to play dress-up with the other girls.
Then, one day, she tried to do a cartwheel. Her arms and legs got all mixed up and she fell on her face. A first grade girl had laughed at her.
So she set out, determined to learn how to cartwheel… and then cartwheels became handsprings, and handsprings became triple backflips.
"They almost made me quit, you know," she suddenly said. She'd never told that to anyone, not even her brother.
"They?"
"My parents. My coach. Everyone."
"To be frank, she's just… getting too tall for gymnastics. It's going to limit her potential."
"She's put so many years into this. She's tried so hard. It's just such a waste."
"It's basic physics. The tallest gymnast at the Olympics was under 1.6 meters. Sayaka-chan is already 1.65 meters."
"Do you know how much harder it is to somersault with a larger height? Rotations of the body are hard to do when you have a lower strength to mass ratio. Furthermore, now that she is getting taller, her center of gravity is going to be higher. It will affect her balance."
"I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
"It's time to consider an alternate sport. Tennis, perhaps? Your son appears to be doing well there."
"It just made me want to prove them all wrong," Sayaka admitted with a grin. "So I threw myself into gymnastics, and I got pretty good despite the odds. Not Olympic-medal-winning good, but good enough. Better than they all expected."
"But you did quit," he pointed out.
"You've seen me play tennis," Sayaka countered with a wink. "So you know, I didn't really quit."
-x-
Much to Tezuka's chagrin, his mother flipped to another page of the photo album. "And this is when he first started tennis… Look how adorable he is!"
Chiharu nodded, and couldn't hide the big smile on her face. "It's very cute." Even at age five, Tezuka had already developed a serious, determined, poker face whist holding a tennis racket.
Present-day Tezuka had moved to the far end of the table and pretended to be engrossed in a novel.
"And this is when we took him to the zoo when he was six…" In the photo, a tiny Tezuka Kunimitsu was reaching tentatively for an elephant, a look of wonder in his eyes.
The present-day Tezuka Kunimistu twitched slightly. "Mother, I'm sure Oshiro-san doesn't want to hear about my childhood," he said with the tiniest tone of annoyance.
"Oh, I don't mind," Chiharu spoke up. He shot her a mild glare, and she counteracted that with a teasing smile of her own.
To his relief, the door opened then, sparing him of any further embarrassment. "I'm back."
"Grandfather." Tezuka stood out of respect, and Chiharu followed suit.
His grandfather certainly held an amount of dignified presence. His frame practically demanded reverence. Aha, Chiharu thought to herself. That's who Tezuka took after.
"Ah, Kunimitsu. Who have we here?"
"This is Oshiro-san. She's a teammate."
His grandfather looked her up and down with steely eyes, before giving him a decisive nod. "I approve of this one, Kunimitsu."
"Approve?" Tezuka repeated blankly.
"This one?" Chiharu squeaked.
"I agree absolutely," Tezuka Ayana chimed in, bringing out some more tea. "She's very sweet, and not to mention, very pretty."
Chiharu felt the heat rising in her cheeks like a pot about to boil. "U-um… that's not… we aren't…"
Tezuka cleared his throat. "Grandfather," he said, cutting in, "I was hoping to borrow your tools. Oshiro-san and I have a major inconvenience," He lifted a hand, the metal cuff glinting in the light.
His grandfather raised a stern eyebrow. "Handcuffed. You let your guard down, my boy."
Tezuka lowered his gaze. "Yes, Grandfather."
'Aha,' Chiharu thought to herself, suppressing her smile. 'Everything makes so much more sense now.'
-x-
"Hey, I've got one," Sayaka suddenly added, "Why did you call me out here today? Why have you been calling me out here, period?"
As soon as the question left her lips, her heart beat a little faster in anticipation. She wasn't sure why, but she felt anxious – like excitement and dread had merged into one inside her. But it was about damn time she figured out this strange boy's intentions.
Niou lazily took a sip of coffee before answering. "You must really be awful at math, or else you'd notice that you used up your tenth question last turn."
"God dammit," she cursed.
"That was interesting," he concluded with a touch of smugness. "I learned a lot about you."
"I learned that you're… a trick-obsessed, squirrel-loving, tennis freak. Great," she groaned. "Wonderful."
"Sounds about right." He blinked indolently at her, and even though his lips didn't move, Sayaka swore he was grinning at her.
-x-
An hour later…
"You're in a good mood today," Marui noticed as Niou's shot soared past him. "Did something good happen?"
Niou lifted his shoulders in an indiscernible shrug.
-x-
Yukimura appreciated it when Sanada came to his hospital room to brief him on tennis matters. He truly, truly appreciated it. And he intended to show his appreciation by not acting completely sullen and unpleasant. At the current moment, he was smiling his most grateful smile ever, and it was making his jaw ache terribly.
"We did more drills with the machine today," Sanada was saying. "It seems to be going well. We'll do more practice matches soon to get everyone ready for the Kantou tournament, although that shouldn't be a problem."
Yukimura listened with forced patience.
Sanada shifted. "Some of the regulars…" he said reluctantly. "They seem to be getting restless. Of course, I disciplined them. However…"
"Boredom is not productive," Yukimura concluded with a slight nod. There was nothing to be learned by playing the same opponents over and over, and the Rikkai team already knew one another inside out and backwards. (Aside from Niou, of course, but no one could quite figure him out.)They needed to diversify.
Sanada grunted in assent.
"How about arranging matches with the girl's team?" Yukimura suggested. "You could talk to Hayashi about it."
Sanada blanched immediately.
Yukimura smiled at his reaction. "You know, Sanada. I think she's rather fond of you."
Had he been drinking something, he would've sprayed it all over his bedridden captain. Lucky for Yukimura, he merely choked on air. "Hayashi is a mule-headed imbecile. I certainly don't need to resort to asking her for help. I can handle the most of the team myself."
Most of the team. "Niou is still playing at his own pace, then."
"He is impossible to motivate," Sanada growled through clenched teeth. "He is an insolent, lazy—"
Yukimura supposed that Sanada still bore resentment from the pink-hair incident. "It's a good thing, though. That he seems happier now."
"He's distracted," was Sanada's short reply. "On Tuesday, he disappeared an hour before practice ended. We can't have that with the upcoming matches."
Yukimura chuckled softly. "You're right, but…" He looked out the window, his eyes taking on a faraway look. "Isn't it better that he's being distracted from his situation at home?"
Sanada didn't answer.
-x-
"Wow," Chiharu whispered in awe as she stepped into the detached shed in their backyard. "Wow."
The shop was filled with woodwork and metal crafts. On the walls were three-dimensional pictures made from bent and twisted wire. There were old gears and scraps of metal littered on the tables, but the floor was immaculately clean, except for some sawdust in the corners. It was like she'd walked into a crafting studio and a mechanic's workshop, all at once.
"These are incredible," Chiharu breathed, reaching out to trace her finger along a copper bird that was positioned stylishly on a traditional birdhouse. She never expected Tezuka's grandfather to be such an artist.
"Grandfather spends some of his free time in here," Tezuka affirmed.
'Some of his free time?' "It would take me years to even make that," Chiharu said, pointing at some copper wire twisted into a simple heart shape. 'And even then, I'd probably saw off my thumbs by accident.'
His grandfather smiled slightly, the wrinkles around his mouth crinkling like fabric. "Everyone needs a hobby. Kunimitsu has his tennis, and I have my little workshop here. He's pretty good with his hands as well." He waved at the framed pieces of art on the wall. "He built those frames on his own."
Chiharu stopped to admire a tank that was constructed entirely of bullet shells.
He came to stand by her, nodding at the piece. "I collected all those shells myself. Saved them up until I could make something useful out of them."
Tezuka followed them diligently. "Grandfather was in the police force."
"Really?" There was a tone of newfound respect in her voice. "My father worked for the military."
"Ah." His eyes glinted. "That explains your respectable manners. And good posture," he added. He put a hand on Tezuka's shoulder, pride gleaming in his eyes. "Just like my grandson."
Chiharu blushed, and straightened her shoulders self-consciously. "T-thank you, sir."
"Anyways, let's take care of your predicament. This ought to do it." He picked up the largest cutters that Chiharu had ever seen, and positioned them over the edge of the cuff on Tezuka's side. "Don't move."
Tezuka became a statue. In a precise stroke, his grandfather snapped downwards on the handles. CLINK. The metal cuff fell apart and clattered onto the ground.
Tezuka's grandfather looked at her expectantly. "Your turn."
Dear god, those cutters were huge. They could probably cut through her thigh with no problem. It would be just like a hot knife through butter.
She was trying hard not to squeeze her eyes shut as she extended her arm. "Um. Okay. Okay."
His lips quirked upwards at her consternation. "It'll be fine. Just don't move."
"I-I… I'm not planning to, sir…"
"Chiharu." His grandfather watched with amusement as Tezuka came to stand by her side protectively. It was incredible how much his presence could calm her down. "Count to ten."
"Eh?" She stared, for a moment, stunned that he remembered. Stunned that he'd cared enough to remember.
"Count to ten," he said again, simply.
She inhaled, and did as she was told. Ten seconds later, her posture was tight with resolve. To Tezuka Kunikazu's surprise, she didn't even flinch when the blades came down and metal cut through metal.
CLINK.
Chiharu wiped away the thin band of sweat that had gathered under the cuff. "T-thank you, sir…" she murmured, dropping into a timid bow; a rather sudden departure the strength she displayed seconds ago. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble!"
"No trouble at all. My grandson and his team are the ones causing you trouble."
"Sir," she said with sincerity, "It really wasn't his fault. Our teammate—"
"No," Tezuka spoke up gravely. "I am responsible for the team. Therefore, it is my fault."
Chiharu looked at him with surprise. "But…" she protested, and said with a strange, childlike determination: "But that's just silly, Tezuka-san."
His grandson looked a little thrown at being described as 'silly'. "It is what a captain does," he said, and Chiharu responded with a different point of view, disagreeing with him in an understated, respectable manner.
'She suits him,' Tezuka Kunikazu thought to himself with a knowing smile. 'Yes. She suits him nicely.'
-x-
"Shuichiro!" his mother said in delight, a big smile on her face. "Why didn't you tell me about ranking number two in this term's examinations? That's great news!"
"Ah…" Oishi blushed in embarrassment. "I guess so…"
"This isn't the time to be modest!" his mother said, waving his progress report around. "This is going to look great on your applications for colleges!"
"Good grades are important if you want to go into the medical field," his father commented, taking a sip of his coffee. "If you want, we could sign you up for some of those pre-MCAT seminars."
"Ah, that would be nice. I'm sure Uncle Akitaka could help me out too."
"In other news," his mother said, smiling slyly. "When are you going to bring your new girlfriend home for us to meet?"
Oishi turned beet red. "Kaa-san, I'm sure that's not necessary."
"Of course it's necessary!" she insisted with a smile. "I want to meet this girl!"
"Well, Akane-san is pretty busy, and I don't want to trouble her…"
"Are you worried that we wouldn't approve?" his mother asked. "Because I think you have nothing to worry about! From what you've told us, she seems like a lovely girl."
His father glanced at him from above the edge of his newspaper. "You date this girl for a month, and suddenly you're ranked number two in the grade. I already approve."
-x-
After she was freed from the cuffs, the Tezuka family insisted that she join them for dinner, and she happily accepted. They made small talk over a traditional Japanese meal. Time flew by, and she didn't realize how late it was getting until she glanced at the clock.
"Oh no! I should head home!"
"It's already dark out," his grandfather said with a strict look. "Kunimitsu will walk you home."
"I-I really don't want to impose, and I'm sure I could call a friend…" Chiharu began, fishing for her phone.
Tezuka rose to his feet. "It's not a problem."
"O-oh. Um, okay." She dropped her phone back in her bag and ducked her head. "I'm sorry for troubling you, then."
As she followed him out the door, his mother winked at her. "Come back soon, Chiharu-chan. We'd love to have you around more often."
"More often? Harrumph. We'd love to have you indefinitely," his grandfather muttered.
She could not get out of that door fast enough.
-x-
There was a hesitant knock on his door. Momoshiro glanced up from his math homework, his pencil paused in between a set of triangles. "Come in!"
"Take-nii." His sister strolled in, scratching her head uncomfortably. She swallowed, and clutched her wrist behind her back. "Take-nii, do you have time to talk?"
His eyes softened, and he got out of the chair to sit on the carpeted floor. "Of course. I always have time for you, Sayaka."
-x-
"Thank you for walking me home, Tezuka-san," Chiharu mentioned as they headed back towards her house. "You didn't have to. I could've called one of Suzume-chan's brothers to pick me up."
"I don't mind."
"I suppose it would be better not to disturb them," she said thoughtfully. "I think Kai-san is still dating Fuji-san's older sister, so they might be busy." She chuckled lightly. "You know, if they got married, Fuji-san and Suzume-chan would be siblings."
He had not considered that possibility. "That family would be a handful."
'Handful' was a severe understatement. That would be a family straight out of hell. Kimura, a delinquent who despised authority, and Fuji, that sly tensai… just imagining the two of them plotting together was already giving him a headache. He rubbed his temples as he kept walking forward.
It wasn't long before Chiharu seemed to be lost in her own thoughts once more. She always had an unusually expressive face, and right now it was expressively sad.
He could tell that she was thinking about the same thing as earlier. When they were walking to his house, she had the same, downcast look.
What was she so sad about?
Maybe she just didn't like long walks?
"Tezuka-san… I'm sorry…" she suddenly said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry if I'm disappointing..."
His eyes widened marginally. "What are you talking about."
She didn't answer.
"Is this still about Hyotei?" To him, that was the only logical explanation.
"No," she said quietly. "No, it's not about Hyotei."
"Then…" He stopped in front of her to face her. "Then, what?"
He was puzzled at where this was coming from. She could be a bit of a pushover, he supposed. But when it came to confidence, Chiharu was remarkably self-assured in her own quiet way. She knew who she was.
Yes, Chiharu knew exactly who she was. Or, more importantly, who she wasn't.
She was never going to enjoy his high-brow literature, Chiharu thought to herself desolately. She clutched her shaking hands behind her. She would never be good with them, like his grandfather was. It just wasn't who she was.
'Maybe we're too different.'
"I really…. I'm not an appreciator of fine literature. I'm not really good with my hands. I'm not a leader."
"I'm not those things, Tezuka-san. I can't do carpentry, or understand literary devices, or…" She broke off.
"And…" she continued, her lips trembling. "I wish I was, Tezuka-san. I want to be those things. I want to be…" Someone you'd like.
I want to be those things for you.
If you asked me to change, I would. I would tear it all down and reconstruct the better parts of me to match the better parts of you.
She would throw it all away in an instant. He had only to ask.
"Chiharu," he said, more gently than he ever did. He reached forward hesitatingly. His fingers grazed her shoulder, light as a feather. His words, however, were firm. "You don't need to do that."
She exhaled, and in that breath, she wondered. Wondered if he knew what she was truly trying to say, wondered if he understood. Wondered if he ever would.
"Thank you."
Side by side, they kept walking.
-x-
The next afternoon….
"NIOU MASAHARU. YOU COME BACK AND RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT!"
"Where the fuck does Niou-senpai get these sick ideas—"
"LANGUAGE!"
"…" Clink, clang, clang, clink.
"Stop yanking it Akaya, it's an iron chain. It's not going to break—"
"But fukubuchou—"
"STOP."
"…"
Chomp. Chomp.
"You seriously think you can gnaw your way out of it?"
Chomp. Chomp.
"Akaya, unless your teeth are made of diamonds—"
CHOMP. CHOMP.
"CEASE THAT INCESSANT NOISE AT ONCE! TARUNDORU!"
"YUKIMURA-BUCHOUUUU! SAVE MEEEEEEE!"
-x-
"I'll bet you two hundred yen that Sanada makes him cry within the next five minutes."
"I'll bet three hundred that Sanada starts crying in twenty."
"You're on."
-x-
End Chapter Thirty Two
If Tezuka was a halfway decent person, he would try to get to know Chiharu for who she really is, instead of identifying her solely as the number-one-seed / miracle.
To clarify: (wow, I need to clarify everything, don't I) I think Tezuka is a great person, only that when it comes to personal relationships, he likes to define people based on their role in the team. This is something he needs to work on.
Sorry for the angst. Every one is growing up a little, it seems.
Tumblr: tcafs08 PERIOD tumblr PERIOD com. (Why is FFN so stupid about links. The tumblr is linked on my profile too.) OFFICIAL ARTWORK FOR KIMIKO, AIKO, SAYAKA, AND REINA ARE UP there along with some brilliant pieces of fanart with the tag #tcafs fanart.
(Alyssa921 drew a picture of a little Izumi with a traffic cone on her head, and it is PRECIOUS. It's on the tumblr!)
Also, feel free to ask me stuff on the tumblr.
I also posted some thoughts on Niou and Sayaka in a previous post.
Fun facts about Watanabe Reina
Her favorite subject is Biology.
She alternates between science journals and romance novels.
If she could be anything in the world, she'd be a Pokémon Master.
She has to set three alarms for the morning.
Her favorite costume was when she and Miyuki went as Thing One and Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat for Halloween.
Next chapter:
Depending on how I'm feeling, I may or may not skip straight to Tezuka-Atobe match, to speed up things. If not that, at least to the Kabaji – Kawamura match. (Oishi will injure his wrist, but it might be at a different time. I'm not strictly following the canon.)
Fuji and Izumi go on a date, apparently, since that's what you guys want xD
There will be more Yukimura moments. Potentially with Izumi.
More about Kimiko is revealed, including an unusual hobby.
Yuki-chan may make her first appearance. (Cue dramatic music.)
REVIEW.
Also, go read and review my Oshitari OC, Your Worth In Saint Seducing Gold, because it's a side-story to coffeelatte's It's All Greek!
Finally, thank you guys so much for everything. I love you.
