Me: Thank you for the reviews and the alerts and finally 250 reviews! Whoo hoo - thank you so much. I was thinking of putting this story on hiatus since nobody seemed to review and it kinda made me think that I have to continue studying after all but all these reviews came in. Finally, we're delving deeper into the drama. Tezuka finally dropped some hints to Shizuru but does the brunette that the three are the one and the same person? Will Atobe finally get a hold of himself? Will Yukimura recall Mai as the girl he danced with? Remember - I don't own Prince of Tennis! I only own the OCs!
Chapter 61 - Faces Behind the Demons
Kiyone plopped down on her bed before crossing them around. The sandy blonde volleyist, sighing to herself, tossed the tennis ball up into the air before staring straight into the white ceiling. She glanced at her sky blue snowflake printed ceiling before looking at the other snowflakes dangling like a chandelier above her. Her walls glowed with a foggy light blue hue while a pale light blue lamp stood on top of her white wooden table with all her books piled on top of it. A white rocking chair stayed near her bedside table whereas her brown Labrador dog slept contentedly on her dark blue rug in front of her flat screen TV. Kiyone suddenly sat up before picking up her yo-yo and walking out the door.
Kiyone knew Aidan wouldn't wake up until 5'o clock. She grinned to herself while merrily walking down the stony sidewalk; the dog definitely had issues on what time it took its nap. Her mom on the other hand had gone off to work, managing the Getsugan Enterprises ever since well - she couldn't particularly remember. However, Kiyone sighed deeply while swinging her yo-yo around and looking at the other children playing. She never really liked going near other kids; Kiyone winced at the loud shrieking and the screams each kid made on whatever the other may had said. The sandy volleyist sighed once more before walking on.
"Mom's taking awhile at the Osaka branch," she frowned slightly, looking at her watch. "She usually doesn't take that long whenever there's just a product check. I guess mom decided to go for a plant check."
Kiyone whistled happily to herself while walking along until she found a takoyaki store. Her eyes brightened up immediately when she remembered how Shiraishi and Kenya brought her out for takoyaki. The boys really knew how to do it, Kiyone grinned to herself until she remembered that both boys had Kansai accent and were both from Shitenhouji, a school in Osaka!
Kiyone jumped up and down for joy, hugging herself. "Whoohoo, it's time for a food trip! I also want my coffee buns, my melon buns~."
"Dad," - Kiyone nearly fell forward as a kid rushed and pushed past her, causing the sandy blonde to blink.
"Hey," Kiyone snorted indignantly with her hands on her hips until she saw the man place the little girl on his shoulders.
She couldn't help but have her eyes water. her lower lip; when was the last time she saw her dad? She bit her lower lip while continuing to walk on. Her body felt a bit heavier now while the clouds continued to drift by. The blue skies gazed back at her as she cast her own liquid blue eyes to the skies to prevent the salty crystals from falling out. She inhaled deeply with her chest tightening, not even noticing that a familiar sandy brunette was staring down at her.
"Getsugan-chan?"
Kiyone snapped herself put of her daze before looking at the face that was looming above her. There she saw the captain of Shitenhouji standing above her with a concerned look on his face. His gray eyes reflected with worry and concern as the sandy blonde girl started wiping her tears. Despite having a doll-like appearance, Shiraishi found her personality very adorable. Her attitude was nothing like that of a stereotypical Hyotei student. Actually, her whole team by themselves are very different. Their personalities completely deviated from the spectrum; he remembered looking at how Ayane spoke with Atobe. He didn't need to be a genius to predict Ayane's next move when Atobe had said some smart-ass remark. How could he not hear the tangerine haired girl's remarks? She definitely had the pipes. She even could pick up a boy who was two heads above her and lift him off the ground and shake him shitless. Kiyone on the other hand well - had her own methods of being quirky. Yanking Ayane's hair, saying that she'll crush people's heads like lemons even though the tangerine haired girl had a very convincing argument and often showing up with a coffee bun shoved in her mouth made her look so adorable.
Actually, he frowned slightly to himself. He barely knew her teammates or anything about her in particular.
He definitely didn't choose to stalk. Good heavens no, Ayane would have come at him with God knows what for being a cradle snatcher considering that she was the youngest in the team. Knowing Sanada from stories, Shiraishi could only shudder and imagine what the female Sanada could have done to him and messing with the tensai was a big no-no. Isane and Shizuru perhaps had a more accommodating demeanour but after hearing that Isane clocked the fastest service in the female division, he shuddered once more at the image of Isane clobbering him with that service. Shizuru would probably hear him out but he knew the old adage - the quiet and the sweet ones were the ones one should be more afraid of. Rin and Haruka were protective but at least had a willing ear but Hitomi had all the satellites under her command. She could have shot him out of the sky if she wanted.
"Getsugan-chan, are you okay," Shiraishi pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, handing it to the Queen ofClovers. "You've been staring at the sky for the next thirty minutes."
Kiyone weakly smiled, forcing out a giggle although to her it sounded like a choking llama. "Yeah~, don't worry about it! I was just thinking how to be better in tennis!"
However, Shiraishi knew better and Kiyone was definitely sure he wasn't captain for nothing.
Kiyone bit her lower lip as she stood next to him and playing around with her yo-yo. When she was young, she would always play with her yo-yo whenever she was in a bad mood. Her mom could easily tell and she wasn't sure about her dad but he didn't seem to notice when one of her yo-yos accidentally flew out the window and broke the glass. Ayane also knew how to tell how she felt but after seeing Vera break Ayane during that match and she could imagine all of Atobe's fan girls laughing and mocking them. She had never felt so afraid and furious in her life. The cry "Rise of the Clovers" had been the one thing that had been pushing her to crush the Seigaku pair but more Vera in particular for taunting and snarling at Ayane. The rumours about Vera breaking a doubles pair had slowly become a reality; Ayane had completely begun training on her own and without her and left for Kanagawa without even telling her. She found out from Haruka who told Shizuru after hearing it from Jackal. Both the Pearl Dragon and the Queen of Hearts had gone to Kanagawa without their respective doubles partners. Kiyone, although she wasn't sure how Rin felt, felt her heart break at the thought of Ayane breaking away from the formation she had grown up with in the tennis world. Playing with the Black Dragon would have also been fine but Ayane knew her inside and out down to her favourite food and toothpaste.
"Do people really think I'm that stupid," Kiyone sniffed and sobbed a little, sitting down on the sidewalk. "Am I really that small to them?"
Shiraishi blinked for a few moments before recalling the match between Seigaku and Hyotei. Vera haughtily and heartlessly taunted and mocked them, even saying that their potential as a doubles pair meant nothing. He knew how to be ruthless but that was just plain cruel; her voice actually irritated him although his mature side gave in and told him not to clobber her with the nearest heavy object that being his precious newly restrung tennis racquet.
"Kiyone, it doesn't matter how small you are," Shiraishi smiled lightly, feeling like he was living out one of his favourite Korean soap operas. "Even the smallest creature can change the course of the future."
Okay, watching Lord of the Rings with Kintarou now didn't sound as bad as Zaizen initially had made it.
Zaizen complained to Shiraishi about Kintarou watching Lord of the Rings like some "shitty retarded brat with shit for brains." Shiraishi had pacified the sophomore after having Kenya stay with Zaizen and help him out with his latest music piece. He frowned a little at seeing how Kenya magically lit up when Zaizen had mentioned something about his really helpful invention. Whenever Zaizen actually mentioned a good comment, Shiraishi definitely knew that Zaizen had something up his sleeve for Kenya and may have been for Kiyone. He had heard Kenya singing in Zaizen's room and had been hearing comments from the Naniwa genius such as "even a dying suffocating frog could sing better than you, senpai". After all, Shiraishi remembered seeing Kenya jacketless and Kiyone slumped on his shoulders. He hadn't noticed that the girl had wandered off on her own nor did he know that she was terrified of lightning. He remembered how Kiyone suddenly squeaked and clung onto the brown haired Naniwa Speed Star for dear life when the lightning cracked. He wanted to laugh at her childish expression but not at Kiyone's expense. He frowned at Kenya's immediate progress; how did he do that?
Kiyone twiddled with her fingers, casting her crestfallen liquid blue eyes towards the ground. "But how do they do that?! It's no fair! When stars glitter back, nobody cares what constellation they're from!"
"Not many people do care but how about when they ask what sign a person is," Shiraishi smiled lightly before letting out a dry chuckle, brushing her sandy blonde hair away from her face. "I know I'm a Sagittarius. I just hope Scorpions don't sting me to death even if we're on opposite spectrums."
Kiyone stared in astonishment. "How did you know?"
Shiraishi shrugged slightly with a guilty smile. "I kinda checked your Facebook profile and," he averted his eyes away from her sheepishly. "Um, he he."
Kiyone giggled slightly, noticing Shiraishi's guilty look. "It's okay. Megane-senpai is much more of a stalker than you. She knew everything from my favourite toothpaste to my favourite dessert and when I usually eat them! She doesn't feel the least bit guilty but you could have asked for my birthday."
Shiraishi smiled lightly, looking at how Kiyone's face suddenly brightened up. She hugged her legs closer to her body with a small smile, looking at the sun. Shiraishi inhaled deeply before standing up and extending his hand. Kiyone blinked several times as the sandy brunette smiled kindly as she weakly took his hand.
"Well, let's get down to business. Shall we?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Rin on the other hand looked at her watch while walking towards the train station. Kajimoto had wanted to take a short trip to Kyoto but he had not explained to the black haired acrobat why. She remembered his reassuring smile but the Edelweiss scent wouldn't leave her nose. She remembered the high when Kajimoto and she had gone ice skating. Despite having only to spot her, Kajimoto slid and glided on the ice while guiding her carefully as if he had gone into professional skating. Rin blinked incredulously; come to think of it - she never knew how to ice skate before. Haruka had constantly gone back to the Heilongjiang province in China to visit her grandparents. The province had been frozen over; Rin remembered that even wearing five sweaters still hadn't stopped her trembling from the frost. Good thing her ear or her hand hadn't fallen off!
I wonder why though he wanted to go to Kyoto.
Rin tugged her black tank top, looking at the people walking around. Kajimoto had also specifically asked her to wear dark colours as long as she didn't look to Goth. She adjusted her dark blue skinny jeans while glancing at her beat up black vans shoes. Rin racked her brains for any ideas but soon found Kajimoto standing right by the sign, waving his hand. She glanced at her cellphone as well; no call from the Pearl Dragon. Haruka probably had to deal with the accounting books.
"I hope you brought an extra shirt," Kajimoto grinned boyishly as the door to the train opened up. "We're going to do a lot of running around in Kyoto."
Rin's eyes widened; good Heavens, what exactly were they going to do in Kyoto? She knew the cultural capital was the home to many of Japan's ancient ancestry similar to Kanagawa. Rin immediately racked her brain for any history lessons she had retained despite the vacation. All her books and schoolwork had been tossed to one side and out her brain.
Oh man, I wonder what we're doing there...
The train ride had been pretty uneventful for Rin as she watched the buildings pass by with blurring speed. She glanced at the other people staying on the train while some of the children started running around while the elderly had been seated on the benches the whole time. Kajimoto winced at the lurching speed as it continued to zoom forward. She remembered the first time she got onto a bullet train. Rin particularly remembered Shizuru vomiting after the constantly breaking train when they were headed to Kyoto for a tournament and how Haruka had paid for her ticket due to lack of money. It had been their first debut as the Twin Dragons; St. Therese's had been known for their senior division of tennis players and much to their surprise - they had blazed through the middle school and high school team. St. Therese's captain had known Naomi personally since she had finished grade school in St. Therese's College and she definitely had attachment issues. The moment Naomi showed up - the whole middle school team apparently were all her friends and they glomped her upon her arrival. To them though, the girls glared and prepared to hammer them. Most of them had shoved Shizuru and Mai before laughing at the two girls for being some kind of joke until Shizuru and Mai revealed their abilities as Singles players. That was where they had their very first debut as singles players as well, Rin pondered deeply. If not for Haruka's fast thinking for the Dragon Legends with Osakada Yuri, they would have been done for. That had been the basis of their play ever since. A small smile curved up her face as she glanced at the shell bracelets Shizuru had made for them during their beach trip before they went off to look at the historical sites. Digging through her wallet, Rin glanced at the photo of all them in kimono and yukata during the Tanabata Festival. Naomi stood in front with a demure Yamato Nadeshiko* expression while Yuri had a more opulent appearance with the thick lipstick and golden headpiece. Lulu had rolled up her kimono sleeves and had her haired tied into twin low pigtails. Midoriyama Nanako and Sanada Momo looked like traditional Japanese wives and Shizuru had the shy priestess expression on her face with Mai posing with her fist in the air. Kyoto was the cultural capital after all. However, Rin couldn't help but snicker at Kajimoto's particularly green face.
"Kaji-kun," Rin smiled before gesturing to her lap, noticing how Kajimoto constantly tried to hide his green complexion. "Would you like to sleep on my lap?"
Kajimoto laughed sheepishly despite how enticing the idea was, forcing down his barf. "No it's okay. I'll be fine."
Rin snickered with an all-knowing smile. "I don't think so. You're greener than Ayane's eyes."
Kajimoto groaned but managed to give her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I won't be like this once I get down."
Of all days, Kajimoto cursed mentally in his mind. Why did he forget his motion sickness pills?
Sure he was used to flying in the air due to his acrobatics but moving in a train that constantly bolted and bucked on the tracks never worked well for him. At all costs, he avoided trains but Kajimoto glanced at Rin's happy face - he had to bear it at all costs. Cars were perfectly fine; he could sleep in them and had the whole back to himself. But trains - well, he would rather not remember the day he puked on Wakato by accident. All of a sudden, Kajimoto suddenly fell onto something soft and found Rin grinning at him. Her bright black eyes glimmered cheerfully and Kajimoto felt all the nausea and lightheaded feeling suddenly vanish. Whatever Rin was doing, she did an amazing job of curing his motion sickness.
"I'll wake you up when we get there," Rin smiled cheerfully as she ran her fingers through his hair.
Kajimoto chuckled sheepishly before closing his eyes, lacing his fingers with hers. "Okay..."
When the train finally arrived at Kyoto, Rin had never seen Kajimoto desperately jump out of the train. She giggled softly while walking out of the train and following after the Jyosei Shounan captain. As they handed their tickets and headed out, Rin found herself looking at the old samurai houses and the buildings of influential shogun families. She remembered the Sanada family being in Kanagawa but maybe they moved from Kyoto to Kanagawa? She didn't know but whatever it was - she was glad Momo had decided to join them in Hyotei. She glanced at the merchants selling katana imitations and some even had samurai statues being sold. Little children ran around while many elderly shuffled along while admiring the scenery around them.
"You ready for the biggest surprise," Kajimoto smiled before extending his hand to Rin.
The black dragon nodded wordlessly as the acrobat brought her along. The cherry blossom trees hadn't bloomed softly as the wind brushed and tossed her black locks. The koi ponds remained completely calm while birds continued to flutter around with butterflies alighting on the smaller bushes. Tokyo barely had parks like this, Rin frowned lightly. She could have gone roller-skating in a park if Tokyo hadn't become a huge bustling metropolis. Haruka and she often had to go to the mall and locate the ice rink in the Tokyo Plaza Mall. Rin watched the children do hopscotch and some playing with balloons until Kajimoto abruptly stopped.
"We're here."
Rin's eyes widened when she saw the blue and red neon lights flashing before her eyes.
KYOTO MEGA LASER-TAG ARENA
Rin glanced at her clothes with a satisfied sigh. Good thing she wore rubber flats!
"I thought you might enjoy this more," Kajimoto smiled before seeing a car pull up. "Well, here they are!"
Rin's eyes widened as she found a tall man emerging from the car along with four boys launching themselves out of the car. Another car pulled up with two girls jumping out while a hooded little boy slid out of the van solemnly. Many cars began pulling up and some started finding parking spaces while few more people started entering the stadium. The other people on the other hand walked towards her. Instead of white coloured shirts, majority of them were in dark clothes. She swallowed hard before looking at the woman who stood next to the man in a white polo shirt as Kajimoto tugged her along and only then did she snap out of her daze when they were one metre in front of her.
"Okaasan, Otousan," Kajimoto bowed lightly before gesturing to Heilongjiang, smiling kindly. "This is my girlfriend, Rin."
Rin swallowed hard; she didn't expect to meet his parents today! Haruka would be laughing at her right now! The team normally would consider a male bringing a girl to show his parents showed how serious he was. Her eyes widened as she imagined the triumphant smirk on the Pearl Dragon's face. Ayane would be jumping up and down and Mai would have dragged her to a salon and called her clothes a complete "utter disgrace to fashion society and that should be shredded into threads again to be made into something useful". Kiyone would have jumped on her shoulders and would be grinning from ear to ear, staring at her with her liquid blue eyes until she gained answers. Hitomi would have her business smile on her face and jotting down every detail on her notebook. Isane would simply smile while Momo had this smirk that would have spelled out "you should have expected it".
Looking around nervously and bowing weakly, the black haired girl swallowed hard before facing the floor. "Um, g-good afternoon..."
The mother smiled and clasped Rin's hands kindly. "It's alright. Taki-kun has always been telling us stories about you. We wanted to meet you because of that. I'm sorry if this is much of a surprise."
Rin giggled sheepishly before shrinking a bit from the crowd of people surrounding the mother. "A-Ah, it's okay! I'm fine, ku - I mean, ha ha."
The father however remained silent as he walked past them, paying the workers for the guns and armaments for the laser tag.
Kajimoto sighed deeply, seeing how she suddenly clammed up. He had gotten used to Rin being the very bouncy type although Kiyone had definitely beaten her there since the latter easily leapt onto people's shoulders without knocking them down. The black haired girl suddenly got pushed into the family crowd as his brothers introduced themselves, showing that they were twins with two older brothers split apart by three years and Kajimoto being the youngest of the boys. The girls shyly introduced themselves to Rin as the black haired girl smiled kindly while the hooded boy poked her rib cage, eliciting an "eep" from the Black Dragon.
"Relax," Kajimoto laughed lightly as he pulled her along, letting her face the younger male. "My family won't bite you. This is my cousin, Kajimoto Junai."
The boy meekly raised his head and stared deeply into the taller girl's eyes before he pointed at her chest, getting a puzzled reaction from Rin. "Nii-chan never had a girlfriend before. Be nice."
Rin's eyes widened before she softened at the little boy. "Well, that makes both of us. I've never had a boyfriend before. The only one who had an ex among my teammates I think was one of my seniors and Hitomi-chan."
Junai blinked several times before walking away from her, making Rin even more puzzled. She had never expected the Kajimoto family to be a big family and most of them were boys. She didn't even expect Kajimoto to have twin older brothers. The only ones she knew who had that many relatives in one place would be Ayane, Mai and Kiku-chan. She frowned slightly, where did Kikumaru go again? She barely heard from him ever since the training camp. Other than that, Kajimoto had found his way into her life. Gakuto too had suddenly vanished from her life; in fact, his teasing became a lot less and sometimes – she noticed he didn't want to see her whenever Kajimoto showed up at the gates of Hyotei to walk her home. Shrugging in defeat, Rin soon found herself being pulled by Kajimoto inside the stadium. Many of the kids soon started lining up while Kajimoto paid a couple of bills before handing Rin a vest.
"We'll be on the same team," Kajimoto handed her the gun, pressing a few buttons to activate her gun. "Now, the rule of laser tag is not to get hit and to destroy the bases. But you also get points for shooting at a person. The blinking lights are the targets people aim at. The shoulders garner more points than the lower parts of the vest and you can also get shot in the back. Back shots are the highest garnering points."
Rin nodded stiffly and found Kajimoto's cousins suiting up in each of their own armour, planning out their tactics. "Um, do you guys do this often?"
"Yeah actually," Kajimoto pondered deeply while looking at the other people suit up from other families and groups. "We're a team of nine so don't worry about it. First time is usually when we're getting used to the ropes. So, there's me, my brothers, Mint and Maya, Junai and then you. Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do fine! Just stay close to me."
Rin swallowed hard as all his cousins and siblings geared up with Kajimoto staying in front of her. She remembered the time they nearly got kidnapped and Shizuru and the others had done everything in their power to make sure they weren't sold into slave trade. Shizuru and Isane would have probably enjoyed the game too and the whole team would have liked shooting at each other. She remembered the rainy day and how they were pursued by crooked cops to be sold in slave trade. Come to think of it, did that still exist even until now? She shuddered upon remembering the time Ayane had been kidnapped and Atobe had been hospitalized. Although he managed to escape with a slight scratch, Atobe still ended up in the hospital. As soon as the door opened, mist emerged as the whole team went in with another few groups. Rin followed after Kajimoto as they hid near their bases with the girls taking the back and the boys taking up front. Her body tensed up as she shakily held her gun, watching the other teams dispersing and guarding their bases. If it were Haruka, things would have been easier. Haruka was the playmaker between the two of them; but having Kajimoto as a partner wasn't too bad either. A smirk appeared on his lips as the alarm rang out.
"OPEN FIRE," Kajimoto's eldest brother howled as the boys lunged for the bases.
Kajimoto jumped out from his hiding place and began unleashing a barrage of lasers. Rin followed suit as lasers and beeping sounds started echoing around the place. While the girls stayed behind to guard the bases, more people suddenly started surrounding them from both sides. Clucking her tongue, Rin kicked off the wall blockers before shooting them down from the air. Kajimoto stared in shock and amazement as his girlfriend slid past enemy defences and went straight for the base.
"Cover Rin," Kajimoto glanced at his brothers and his cousin as they started opening fire towards the other players.
A huge smile curved up his lips as he found Rin easily adjusting as Maya and she started shooting together. The two girls immediately swamped the other team and Rin had no qualms of not having enough experience as she soared over one of the blockers and landed on the other side and took out their base easily. Kajimoto chuckled lightly before tumbling on the ground and dodging another shot before taking out the other players in the game. He grinned slightly to himself as Rin and he glanced at each other with a huge smile.
"Attack!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Momo stood in front of the training dummy at the gardens of her dormitory. To be honest, she refused to go back to the Kanagawa home despite her amendments with her cousin and her immediate grandparents about moving to Tokyo. She watched the sword glint under the sunlight before swinging it over and striking the air two inches away from the dummy. She spun around back to her former fighting position while watching the leaves fall down slowly unto the ground before it split into several pieces. She blinked several times while tightening her grip on the sword, feeling out her surroundings. Where had that come from? She bit her lower lip before spinning around the moment a tree branch cracked. With one full swing, Momo swung her katana only to have it slide down and find another man standing in front of her.
"You," Momo glared darkly, creating sparks between her katana and the other. "What are you doing here?"
The man smirked before parrying her shot and engulfing her in his arms, breathing against her neck. "Only to claim what is mine. Where is that orange haired imbecile who's always with you?"
Knowing Sengoku, the boy would have done something even more stupid like probably charge the guy down or something. Not that Momo had little faith in him as a whole; she had little faith in his intelligence and assertiveness for the severity of the situation. Momo watched his movements carefully, making her struggle less evident as her voice laced itself with venom and darkness.
"His welfare and his state is none of your concern. I ask you again: what are you doing here, Toyotomi-san?"
"At least your manners and dignity hasn't sunk to that of a common whore," Toyotomi tightened his grip on her wrist, pulling her closer. "Tokyo has too many bad influences here. You belong in Kanagawa."
Momo smirked darkly, trying to angle her sword properly. "That is what the council has been trying to tell me. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why I avoid going back to Kanagawa."
"And you're probably one of them."
Momo looked up when she found Sanada standing at the door way with his katana in hand, narrowing his eyes at the perpetrator. "I think Tokyo has done her very well in terms of exposure. Although even I do not agree with her relationship with the orange haired fool fully, I certainly know he would cause her less problems and not be extremely imposing."
Toyotomi chuckled before shoving Momo aside and allowing her to position her sword in front of her once more, sheathing his own katana. "What? I can't see my fiancée anymore? I do believe that both parties had agreed that the Sanada family would hand over Sanada Momo as a form of goodwill and alliance as ancient samurai clans."
"I was never your fiancée to begin with," Momo sharply stared down at the man as her grip on her katana tightened until her knuckles became white. "Whoever decided this clearly didn't inform me about it. If you haven't known, I have been in Tokyo for the last two years hence my decisions and my life is no longer a matter for the Sanada clan."
Chuckling humourlessly, Toyotomi waved her comment dismissively with a small smile. "Women – it is so sad that there are some always believing in individualism and feminine empowerment. That is what makes women so annoying to handle sometimes. I wish you could have just become a Yamato Nadeshiko. Women are to stay at home and take care of the children. The corporate and business world is no place for women and let alone letting a woman handling a katana."
Momo snickered lightly; remembering the first time someone told Ayane she was too girly for wrestling. "You tell that to one of my teammates and she could have given you a full-power Howitzer Haymaker. People in wrestling fear that move of hers; she'll literally break you through the wall."
Toyotomi narrowed his eyes darkly before sauntering towards her menacingly until Sanada stood between them. "You think you can stop me?"
Sanada narrowed his eyes with a deadly gaze, cracking his knuckles. "Kendo is not the only thing I am good at."
Raising his katana and landing it right on Sanada's shoulder, Toyotomi smirked darkly and haughtily. "So, where is that orange haired imbecile? Unless he's too chicken to face me..."
"Momo-chan and... Sanada-san?"
Everyone swivelled their heads towards Sengoku who stood by the door. Sengoku found Toyotomi pointing a sword at Sanada and the black haired Rikkai Dai vice captain not flinching while Momo looked positively furious enough to slice and shred him into ribbons. The orange haired boy held groceries in one hand before placing it down next to the door before blinking several times with an incredulous look on his face. Momo groaned inwardly to herself; he better not get the wrong idea or there would be a lot of hell to pay!
"Well, I didn't know the Sanada family got this complicated already. All I wanted to do is drop a box of cream puffs I made since Momo would ask me for some before."
Momo froze in shock; could the day get any worse?
There at the door way Midoriyama Nanako stood with her crutches and a box of cream puffs in one hand. She glanced at the two parties with Sengoku staring incredulously and standing on her left side. Sighing deeply, Nanako put down the cream puffs on the bench before hobbling over while mentally cursing her crutches for being so dragging. She stood between the two with a small serene smile on her face before looking at both parties.
"Normally, this wouldn't be my business but seeing that this guy is threatening my kohai with a katana in her face along with her cousin," Nanako's tone dropped to a low venomous whisper. "I think this has become my business."
Momo remembered that among the seniors; Nanako and Lulu had the highest levels of tolerance. Their ways of getting angry had been completely different from one another like Lulu would stalk off and sit in a corner in the tennis court while staring blankly at nothing in particular while Nanako's tone would become a venomous whisper while her amber eyes glimmered with heavy murderous intent. Being her doubles partner for some time taught her that never to make Nanako angry unless you want to be humiliated.
"Okaaaay, I'm extremely lost," Sengoku exchanged glances with both parties; although the katana did nothing to soothe his fear of the presence of the two samurai. "I missed couple of episodes. So unlucky~."
Momo sighed deeply at the orange haired boy who stared awkwardly and goofily at the situation before he scratched his head sheepishly. She couldn't understand what completely eliminated his fear of the two samurai trained boys and that both were experts in shredding people's egos and people themselves into ribbons. Nanako on the other hand two crutches to whack the guy with so she didn't need to worry too much and that in a court case – Nanako could easily win since she could say her cripple would be an end result of the confrontation. To be honest, she didn't know what made him go after her in the first place. People had called her an "ice queen" for constantly saying no to boys and telling them off. Midoriyama's obsession with her after her accident made things a lot worse; boys had gone around saying that she had been seen kissing Midoriyama Nanako. She remembered the multiple telephone calls that the Sanada family had bombarded her with and all of them pretty much ended up in heated arguments except the one with her parents in which they listened to her before delivering their input. She could have easily scared Sengoku away yet he chose to stay and continued to catch her off guard. The way he took that blow for her and dented his racquet (although the boy started mourning for his racquet) – that definitely threw her off guard. Not many boys would throw themselves in the way nowadays when a katana was about to slice and shred him into ribbons.
Momo smiled deeply until she moved away from Sanada and went to Sengoku. "Yeah, there's a reason why I never returned."
Toyotomi stared at her and Sengoku menacingly as the Shinigami drew her katana and pointed it straight into his face.
"I'm staying here to protect who matters to me," Momo narrowed her eyes and pressed the sharpened edge against the other male's throat, matching his dark red eyes with her jet black ones. "The law holds onto a lot of traditions and upholds the structure of society but there are some things that cannot be dictated especially when choosing who people want to be with."
Toyotomi stormed towards her, without any warning and knocked her off her feet and throwing Sengoku against the wall. Sanada prepared to intervene until Toyotomi staggered back when Sengoku gave him a strong right hook to the man's face while Nanako had simply stuck out one of her crutches as the boy tripped over. Momo blinked several times; how many times is Sengoku going to surprise her? First he took a straight hit from a katana from one of her relatives and now he just socked her supposed fiancée that had been approved by the Sanada clan. She wasn't sure whether or not to freak out, shake him senseless or beat him up herself to ask whether or not his IQ had constantly taken a drop every day. The boy staggered back with blood trickling down his nose while Sengoku took a boxer's stance while watching the man carefully.
"I don't really know who you are but it must be my lucky day to actually use my boxing in practical situations," Sengoku's formerly cheery self sank as his green eyes sparkled with all seriousness before standing in front of Momo. "Momo isn't my princess and I wouldn't want her as a Yamato Nadeshiko like most guys want. She's better this way and I appreciate her input and if you say she can't survive on her own – you should see her and her teammates. They'll probably leave you in shreds..."
Toyotomi backed up as Sengoku moved closer and flicked his nose with a goofy grin.
"With that kind of mentality you have, I completely understand why you're so unlucky~," Sengoku grinned childishly before walking away from Toyotomi and picking up the groceries that he left on the bench near the entrance. "Momo-chan, where we gonna put this?"
Momo began giggling and laughing much to everyone's surprise as she smiled at Sengoku.
"The kitchen would be nice."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hitomi sat in the midst of multiple bottles of beer and a couple of computers scattered around her room. The light from her computer tinted off her glasses as she leaned against her swivel chair with a sigh before glancing at the videos displayed before her. All the tennis matches they had together and everything else – all had been recorded into one big file in her computer. If anything, she knew they'd definitely be screwed if anyone got their hands on them. She ran her fingers through her messy curly blonde hair while scanning through the many files stored n her 50 terabyte hard drive, pressing a few things on her holographic set-up and dragging the screens left and right to display several videos before pulling out her calculator and her timer. She glanced at the many facebook posts that her friends had posted and showing pictures.
Isane smiled with Shishido playing in the arcade.
Mai singing as Elphaba – Hitomi held the ticket for Wicked in her hand and smiled deviously; Mai definitely was not a genius for nothing.
Sots of Shizuru and Tezuka playing a tennis match in a tennis magazine splayed themselves all over the page.
Ayane had pictures with Marui, smiling and laughing with one may have said.
Kiyone walked around with Shiraishi and pointed at the huge fireworks display in Osaka.
Rin and Kajimoto took a picture with his family although the black haired girl seemed a little uncomfortable.
Sengoku trying to make a cream puff with Nanako's help only to end miserably with flour on his face and the filling all over his fingers. Momo laughed herself sick while Sanada could only face-palm.
Hitomi sighed while looking at the other newspaper clippings stuck on her wall, seeing how famous her friends had become. She glanced sadly at her notebooks before checking her racquet which she had recently re-strung. Somehow, nobody gave much importance to the one who constantly trained them to become better or the one who had designed everything to make sure they were still in tip top shape. The blonde woman grabbed a bottle from the bottle rack before popping open one of the corks and downing the whole bottle. The taste of beer exploded in her mouth as she glanced back at the computer screen. Seeing that nothing started working out, Hitomi grabbed her coat before walking into the cold afternoon.
Cars continued to zoom by while she glanced around to see people chattering away. She looked at the many stores that came into her view and found a couple of books, tennis racquets, the latest fashions and many other things. A sigh escaped her lips until she bumped into someone, prompting her glasses to fly up in the air. She staggered back onto the ground as the world around her became insanely blurry. She shivered fearfully while grasping and groping whatever she could find on the ground, mentally cursing her rotten luck and her horrible vision. Hitomi stumbled and crawled around until something cracked from afar, seeing nothing but colours zooming past her.
"Yamaguchi-san, be careful!"
Hitomi staggered about until she moved straight into a solid wall and squeaked. She nearly fell over when someone held her up by her wrists and put her glasses back on her face. Her eyes widened when she found out who the person was.
Tezuka Kunimitsu, holding her by the wrist and Oishi had been the one who put her glasses back on her face.
"Oh shit," Hitomi mentally cursed before pulling herself back from Tezuka's grip, bowing apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't see where I was going..."
Oishi shook his head, smiling. "Oh it's alright; Tezuka and I were just walking around also. Oh by the way, there is something I want to ask you."
Tezuka saw the look on his vice captain's face and he wasn't sure how to interpret it whether or not it had some devious thought to it or perhaps a little plan forming. The bespectacled male frowned a little as they suddenly started walking. Oishi on the other hand had been chatting with Hitomi the whole time while he started looking at the stores. Come to think of it, it was almost Christmas and everyone had begun to relax after the tennis matches. However, his eyes glanced the light gray skies as slowly snowflakes started raining down. He glanced at the stores and how many men and women were getting together under the mistletoe. Tezuka knitted his eyebrows together until he noticed a snowflake designed music box. If he remembered right, the girls had their own affinity to each of the elements based on their playing style.
"Even though Shizuru has a phoenix for a Hyakuren form doesn't mean that she doesn't appreciate winter," Hitomi coyly smiled before looking at the music box with him, causing him to back track a little.
Tezuka narrowed his eyes at the blonde female, stepping back. "What?"
"Surprised? You're more predictable than people say you are, Tezuka-san," Hitomi folded her arms, looking at the other trinkets in the store. "I'm sure you were wondering about the seasons they symbolize. With Ayane's bright green eyes, people often say she symbolizes spring. Shizuru is summer, Mai is autumn and Kiyone is winter."
Tezuka remained silent while the blonde leaned on the glass.
"So when will you tell her that anonymous, tk1007 and Tezuka Kunimitsu are one and the same person?"
Now that caught Tezuka completely off guard. "What?"
"Don't try to fool me, Tezuka-san," Hitomi had a business smile on her face while Oishi looked completely stupefied and shocked. "I know that the love letters idea came from the movie Letters to Juliet and that you have been in contact with Shizuru's uncle – Lars Alexanderson. I have to admit; it's been your best move so far in trying to earn her heart."
Tezuka frowned deeply, watching Hitomi's eyeglasses glint. "How..."
"I may have helped her a bit," Oishi scratched his head sheepishly, noticing Tezuka's expression harden a little. "But I didn't know how she managed to do it."
Hitomi smiled wider, wagging her finger in front of the bespectacled boy's face. "Tut, tut, there are some things that are better off not being explained. However, will you just leave it at that? Or will you finally expose yourself as the man behind the letters?"
Tezuka narrowed his eyes at the bespectacled girl. "It will be too much trouble if I suddenly appear to her."
"I didn't say you had to do it right now but your set-up time is really slow, Tezuka-san," Hitomi snickered lightly as they continued to walk along. "In tennis, your reactions are off the charts but in terms of human social networking – you're the worst."
Oishi sighed deeply, scratching his head at the blonde's remark. "Yamaguchi-san, I'm sure Tezuka doesn't want to jeopardize your captain or your chances of going to the Nationals."
"On the contrary, I think it would do her very well that someone she admires has now seen her as an equal," Hitomi smirked lightly, taking a seat on one of the benches as they watched the children feeding the ducks in the pond. "I think we all remember what happened in the camp that night Fuji decided to test your level of alcohol tolerance..."
Tezuka's expression darkened visibly at the memory. He had kissed the brunette and it was all because Fuji decided to play with his drink a little. Everything had blacked out by the moment he had downed the whole thing without stopping but now he completely regretted it to some extent. The girl would have probably been terrified by his impulsiveness but half of him somewhat enjoyed it. He glanced at the poinsettias growing at one side as he fingered the red leaves.
"You can't keep holding back your emotions forever," Hitomi's voice sliced through his thoughts as the bespectacled boy glanced at the Mastermind.
He glanced at Oishi who only sighed in agreement.
"Tezuka, I have to agree. I remember you and her seeing each other and you were really shy that day. It was white day and you had some chocolates and stuff you wanted to give her," Oishi scratched his head, smiling lightly at the water as the ducks continued to paddle across. "You can't keep running away. You've never run away from a tennis match and you have always faced things head on. I don't see how this is any different. And maybe, she likes you too. Besides, I'm sure there is some way we could help."
To Tezuka's ego, he wasn't sure what was worse: getting told off by the Mastermind or being pointed out by his own vice captain.
He couldn't understand how things suddenly flew out of hand but Tezuka refused to let things be known by the other schools. Sure, Shizuru had her own set of fan boys but she showed no reaction to them and even rejected Sanada. He saw a little ray of hope (even though he found it bad to take pleasure in people's misfortunes) and had gathered the courage to try and tell her his true feelings. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to speak to her after her crushing lost. He remembered how he could not bring himself to talk to her after his lost. Both of them had suffered a crushing lost under their respective rivals (although it was relatively one-sided in his case because Atobe was the only one actively pursuing and declaring it) and both of their injuries had handicapped them at the worst possible time. The only thing that had passed through his mind that day she walked down the path of destruction was who was the one who gave her such a stupid idea to render herself cripple in a wheel chair for the rest of her life?
"I believe that most of your actions also influence hers," Tezuka swivelled his head towards Hitomi, wondering how the blonde managed to rebuke his thoughts. "She pretty much has a hard head like you so; I think there should be some similarity there no?"
So that means... I influenced her to take that path?
He hadn't intended to influence the girl; Shizuru had supposedly chosen the path herself but wouldn't most captains do the same things? Being captain meant knowing the welfare of one's teammates and also knowing how to push them to achieve their dreams. He sighed deeply, knowing what kind of sacrifice came being a captain but the philosophy of Hyotei was supposedly different. If he remembered right, they based their members based on the virtue of power hence Atobe constantly staying in the captaincy position and being the one to deal with him when it came to meetings unfortunately. No, Tezuka Kunimitsu did not hate anybody but he surely got irritated. Atobe probably was part of the top ten in the list among many other things.
"It's not easy, Oishi," Tezuka inhaled deeply, glancing at the sky as snowflakes started to fall. "It's a 75-25 chance."
Hitomi chuckled lightly, folding her arms. "Oh? So, you're talking in percentages now? So tell me, what is the 75 percent?"
"75 says that she will reject me," Tezuka frowned slightly; he wasn't as exact as Inui in terms of numbers but he was definitely sure that there was a bigger chance that she would turn him down.
"What makes you say that?"
Tezuka bit his lower lip; his onyx eyes reflecting the water darkly. "Sanada had more credentials than I did."
"What makes you think she's meritocratic in nature," Hitomi raised her eyebrow, pulling out her notebook. This is really good data. Good thing Oishi and I can weasel out information out of him.
Tezuka wanted to debate but chose to keep his mouth shut. She did have a point.
"Besides, you have a chance to tell her," Hitomi smiled brightly, handing him a flyer. "I remember the Tennis Association is holding Invitational for the Goodwill games. All middle school students are invited to join. I know Shizuru and the others are going to join this. There's a saying that goes "if an opportunity presents itself, take it. If you don't have the opportunity, make one". So, what will you do now, Tezuka-san?"
Oishi glanced at Hitomi and saw the earnest look behind her thick lenses. She had a business-like demeanour but he couldn't help but look at the round rimmed glasses accenting her slender square-shaped face. Her blonde curls dropped lightly on her shoulders and he now understood why she had been feared. Her mind was fast and even he was at a loss for words pertaining to Tezuka's problem. Come to think of it, they were just talking about the invite for the Goodwill games and how did Hitomi plan her timing? Coincidence or not, but she was really amazing for easily picking out at Tezuka's brain. Although Fuji had the same capability, he had never seen someone from a rival school easily sort out through Tezuka's emotionless mask.
"You may be a wild card on the court, Tezuka-san. But in the game of emotion and romance, I can predict you like predicting what sweets Kiyone is in the mood for."
She did it again! Oishi stared in astonishment and amazement, watching how Hitomi cracked his defences easily. He watched her blue eyes flicker in amusement as Tezuka watched his steps and words more carefully. He would've done the same if he was in the hot seat with Hitomi as the interrogator. Before they could say anything however, Hitomi's phone suddenly rang in the middle out of nowhere.
"Hello," Hitomi flipped open her phone, noticing the name "Sanada Momo" scrawled across the screen. "Momo, what's wrong?"
"We have a little of a situation," – deep voice echoed through Hitomi's phone which soon caused the Mastermind to pale. "Momo's missing."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
It didn't take long for the whole Hyotei team to gather along with some additional people. Shizuru immediately showed up with Mai tagging behind along with Ayane, Marui, Haruka and Jackal. Kiyone had a slight delay coming from Osaka whereas Rin had immediately hopped on the first train from Kyoto to Tokyo with Kajimoto. Isane immediately ran over with Shishido following behind the tall lanky Sniper after their date. Everyone gathered up at Momo's dormitory where everything had been trashed into a mess. Her racquet had been shredded and broken, papers were thrown all over the place, covers were ripped off the bed and the window was left open. Sanada Genichirou stood there with Sengoku while they were digging through the mess, seeing if Momo had left any clues.
"Momo's not the type to not give up in a fight," Sanada looked at the carpet treads on the ground. "There are signs of struggle."
Shizuru looked around carefully with Tezuka following over, checking through Momo's belongings. "Sword marks?"
"Possibly," Tezuka fingered the destroyed curtain carefully, feeling the frayed strings and tattered pieces of cloth. "If Momo is a kendo practitioner then, there is a high possibility they came in armed. No one in their right mind would just waltz in and try to catch her by surprise."
Sanada frowned slightly, noticing Tezuka discuss the evidence and traces with Shizuru. To be honest, he found the two tennis players good together – now getting them to see each other's feelings was a totally different story. Hitomi and Oishi began dusting her cabinet, finding the boxes completely over turned and the pictures were ripped. Hitomi frowned darkly at the content of the pictures, showing the past players and their winnings. Medals lay scattered on the floor and so did her katana and her kendo practicing uniform.
"She normally doesn't go anywhere without her katana even if it was just an imitation," Mai unsheathed the blade hidden in the racquet. "Whoever these people were, they out-powered her by number and not by strength."
Oishi rubbed the dust in between his fingers, checking for anything. "Well, it definitely didn't occur the other day."
"Midoriyama-san was here with us and then we stayed downstairs and shoved this guy out of her dorm," Sengoku frowned before pondering deeply on the situation. "After we scared him off, two minutes later we heard loud crashes and things breaking and the door was locked until Sanada-san asked for the spare key to Momo's dorm. But seriously, the guy couldn't have possibly jumped into her room from outside. She's on the third floor!"
Haruka looked out the window, checking the white walls and shaking her head. "There are no footprint marks on the wall either. Besides, there aren't many people who do Parkour here in Japan. The only one who could possibly have that kind of profile are usually acrobats and Gakuto is definitely ruled out. Momo would've thrown him out the window, regardless."
Sengoku glanced at Sanada. "Could it be that Toyotomi-san was just a distraction?"
Hitomi glanced at the patterns on the floor before nodding. "Possible – how tall is this Toyotomi-san? Toyotomi is a pretty old samurai name and not very common. From there, we can find out who the perpetrator is through his connections. Coming from an ancient shogun family should give him a lot of possible accomplices."
Sanada looked up into the air for a moment before shaking his head. "He was definitely shorter than Uchiha-san."
"Everyone's shorter than Uchiha," Shishido snorted indignantly before pointing at the tall girl, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "The only one who is probably her height are Kabaji and Ohtori!"
Hitomi frowned slightly, adjusting her glasses and checking the carpet fibres. "Shishido, not now. We're trying to find our friend before anything happens."
Glancing sideward, Tezuka noticed a knife stabbed into Momo's night table with an etch mark of the Gosan no Kiri on the blade before pulling it out and handing it to the Emperor. "Sanada, does this mark look familiar to you?"
Sanada bit his lower lip before examining the blade carefully, noticing slight amount of blood on it. "It looks like Momo really fought during the scuffle. And there are only two families that have this mark, the Hosokawa clan and the Toyotomi clan."
"Yeah but didn't that family split themselves into four clans," Shishido pondered deeply, biting his thumbnail in irritation. "There's the Main Kumamoto, the Takase, Udo and the Hitachi-Yatabe. It's going to take ages!"
"Wait, one of the officials were a descendant of the Hosokawa of Kumamoto," Sanada furrowed his eyebrows deeply, glaring at the knife. "We can track him from there."
Hitomi pulled out her iPad and Samsung S3 with a business smirk, hooking up her laptop to the wall. "No website is safe from the hacking skills of a Yamaguchi. Leave it to me!"
Shizuru glanced outside before noticing someone leaping away from the electric pole, running to the window and leaping out. "I don't think we need to electronically track him anymore."
Tezuka's eyes widened and so did everyone, even Sanada couldn't believe what she did. Did she just jump from three stories?
"Uchiha-senpai, I need a fast ball on my mark," Shizuru immediately began tracking the spy, pulling out a pouch hidden in her messenger bag.
Swallowing hard, Isane narrowed her eyes sharply at the blurry black figure Shizuru continued to hound down before tossing the ball in the air and shooting it straight out the window. Watching the neon yellow green ball zoom right in between them, Shizuru had pulled out a needle and knocked the ball forward to change its trajectory. Fair enough, the spy took a hit straight to the head and collapsed forward with Shizuru finally cornering him and having a needle dangerously near his neck.
"I think you know something I know," Shizuru whispered deadly and venomously, pressing the cold steel against his neck.
Soon, everyone else followed out with Ayane throwing him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "So, where do you want this guy?"
Hitomi snickered slightly, rubbing her hands together villainously. "Oh I have the perfect place to do it."
Everyone shivered slightly from Hitomi's business smile; where could she possibly bring a suspect?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Ugh, where am I...?"
Wincing from the nauseating feeling, Momo shook her head while noticing a traditional Japanese tea room with nothing in it. The Tatami mats had been well-maintained though the incense continued burning as some smoke wafted into the air. The Shinigami glanced around, noticing nothing on the windows and her completely unarmed. She dug into her pocket before cursing her luck inwardly; her cellphone was gone and no knife or sword anywhere. What was more was that Momo noticed that now she sat in a traditional kimono. Although the kimono weighed her down, Momo found places to hide anything if ever she had a chance to escape. She narrowed her eyes while trying to explore the room, feeling out the wooden panels on the ground. She traced the small gaps in the door, wondering if it was possible if she kicked it. No, property destruction is only for cavemen, Momo argued with herself.
"Damn, they just had to kidnap me before the Invitational match," Momo bit her lower lip in irritation before letting out an indignant snort.
"I see you have awakened, Momo-himesama."
Momo swung around and glared only to find a smirking Toyotomi standing before her. "Toyotomi..."
"I believe you should be more respectful to your future husband," Toyotomi sauntered around the room in his traditional hakama, noticing Momo's jet black eyes glowering darkly at him. "Look at what staying with Tokyo folk has done to you. It has reduced you into nothing more than a loudmouthed whore."
Momo narrowed her eyes and stood up despite the heavy kimono, glaring darkly. "You dare try to cage me here?"
Toyotomi smirked lightly, grabbing her by the collar of her kimono. "Momo-sama, I am sure you will find your life here to be much to your liking. After all, your family has gained a debt from us during the Ashikaga Shogunate in the battle of Sekigahara. I believe I come here to claim what is mine."
"Well know this," Momo narrowed her eyes before swinging the long sleeve of her kimono over, knocking back for a moment before she kicked him in the stomach and sent him keeling over. "Man or woman, we Sanada never give up without a fight."
As Toyotomi doubled over, Momo ripped a portion of her kimono before using it as rope to bind him. "Good luck getting out of that."
With that, the Shinigami ran out of the room and ignored howling rage echoing loudly in her ears.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Wow, it seems they seemingly get kidnapped a lot! What's Sengoku gonna do now? He better go save Momo! Find out in chapter 62! Please review!