Me: Hi guys, I was almost done with this chapter and something just had to go wrong! :( So, I had to rewrite the whole chapter and hopefully I can remember exactly how I wanted to write it and how it came out. Argh, it's so annoying! But I really think that my Hard Drive needs to be changed soon. I'll have to transfer my documents into the other computer. Anyway, I hope this chapter is enjoyable! I don't own Prince of Tennis, only the OCs!
Chapter 68 – Bittersweet Surprise
Shizuru swallowed hard as she looked at herself in the mirror, glancing at the black racer-back she was wearing while smoothing out her dark stretch slim jeans. She glanced at all her clothes, gawking and groaning in annoyance. Everything in her suitcase either was a black sleeveless body hugging shirt or a racer-back or whatsoever or anything she could use for sneaking away. She laced up her black converse sneakers before inhaling deeply, locking on a leather arm guard and her black g-shock watch. Even though she looked pretty, Shizuru knew the very reason why most men went after Mai more.
Mai was more affable while she looked like a bad-ass.
Most boys feared her when in her black attire although in her uniform, boys would look at her for awhile but not before looking at Mai. Shizuru actually didn't mind. The less attention, the better – she always told herself. But sometimes on Valentines' Day – those things would really fly out of control. Their lockers would be loaded with candies and she could have sworn someone sent Ayane a huge bouquet of roses with red petals on the floor (everyone knows who this extravagant man was) and Kiyone had been laughing herself sick most of the time. Shizuru at least found some useful things in her locker for Valentines – a self-designed notebook, a studded bag hook, a small potted orchid plant and jewellery (something Mai had scolded her for lacking in severely to the point she had to borrow from the said redhead). She sighed deeply and looked at her other clothes, groaning in annoyance. Shizuru then began digging through all her clothes and found nothing but...
"Black, black, black," Shizuru threw it over her shoulder, digging deeper into her suitcase. "Black, more black, combat suit, knives, hidden blade gauntlet, poisons and underwear... Oh great..."
The Hyotei captain could only whine and whimper in defeat, seeing that her side of the room was a complete mess. She walked towards a wall and banged her a few times. Another thing was that, it was already scary enough that her clothes screamed bad-ass but so did her achievements and capabilities. Most of the boys she knew barely wanted someone who achieved more than them. She knew what artery to target for an easy kill, what parts of the body to disable and what weapons to use but talking to someone of the opposite sex? Couldn't they have at least included social interaction in the assassin regimen?!
2:15.
Her eyes widened with fear; her scheduled meeting was at 2:30 and she still looked like she could kill someone! "Oh no, oh no, what am I going to do? What if I scare the guy off? Am I wearing too much black?"
"God, will you shut the fuck up already?"
Shizuru swivelled her head towards Fuuka who rose from her bed groggily with a sleepy glare.
"You've been worrying yourself sick! Will you just get out there," Fuuka lazily slammed herself on her bed, lying on her side. "Besides, it's just a guy! I don't think he's gonna give a damn if you look like Selene or Pinkie Pie!"
Shizuru shrank from Fuuka's snarling and shouting, lowering her voice into a timid whimper. "B-But, that's the thing...!"
Natsuki chuckled lightly, drawling with her thick kansai accent. "Ahm pretty sure ya look suh-weet, Sugar Cube. Ah reckon that the man who wants to tango with ya is in for a pretty big surprise."
"Oh yes, indeed. Keep your shy demeanour – men love those kinds of girls. The meekness is just absolutely endearing along with your toughness," Florence smiled and chuckled softly with her thick British accent. "And do not mind the black, it is quite slimming and with your fair skin and elegance – you do it enough justice. I daresay; this man must be head over heels to continue this letter writing. Although," – she chuckled with a coy smile, "I prefer for someone with more class."
"If ya mean someone like Kenya, he got the class of a cow," Natsuki chuckled in amusement and earned a glare from Florence, waving her hand dismissively. "But doncha worry 'bout it, Sugar Cube. Ahm pretty sure ya look good enough to sweep a man off his feet. Cute as a possum they say."
Shizuru smiled meekly, scratching the back of her neck. "Y-you really think so?"
"Absolutely positive," Florence patted her head affectionately, smiling in confidence. "No need to come out as the extremely shy type. This man must've loved you for being the lovely shy yet powerful creature that you are!"
"Yeah yeah," Ai jumped in front of her face, grinning hyperactively and enthusiastically. "After that, we can have a huge party and cake along with lots of candy and...!'
Fuuka swat Ai's head with a pillow before proceeding to shove Shizuru out of the dorm room, rolling her eyes. "God, I swear she must've switched places with that pink pony! Just get out there and do it already!"
As the door slammed behind her loudly, Shizuru swallowed hard and gulped audibly before continuing to make her way to the gardens. She slowed her walking pace down to a crawl as the silence in the hallway seemed deafened the whole place. Her heart pounded hard against her chest and all she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears. The Hyotei female captain continued to step inaudibly, trying to figure out the situation. She hated situations like this and it could be anyone. She never had found herself in the position to be caught off guard and nervous. Her body tingled as she tried to sort out her emotions; she had never been on the receiving end of being confessed to before. Well, it was more direct instead of something as prolonged as this pen-pal relationship. The night before, a letter had slipped under the door and all it said was simply:
Main Garden. 2:30.
If she knew any better, it would be someone from the tennis community. How else would he know that she was here in this specific camp? He could be a really good stalker, Shizuru mused lightly and tried to figure out and eliminate suspects. Think, Shizuru think. It has to be someone who knew her well enough considering he had seen her tennis matches and how she risked herself for her friends. It couldn't be anyone from Hyotei – the letter was too elegantly written and being part of the student council allowed her to examine everyone's handwriting. She couldn't recognize it. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, it could be anyone from the outside the school. For all she knew, it could have been Tezuka.
Yeah right, that's wishful thinking.
Why would Tezuka actually bother to look at someone who had such a disarrayed personality such as her? He would have gone for Mai – the red head was always sure of herself and her identity. Everything she did made boys look upon her with awe and astonishment instead of fear. Mai danced and sang in different plays and was a talented fashion designer. She was an assassin – trained from three years old and was gifted with the ability to kill people. All her life, she knew how that was and managed to tamper it down. Or Momo, the purple haired senior looked amazing and she was more of the strong silent type.
Shizuru's eyes widened when she realized that she now stood in the red brick road of the whole facility right in the main garden. Her eyes widened as the wind began to blow and her hair began to dance in the wind. Shizuru anxiously rolled her eyes and began observing the trees and the leaves rustling in the wind. The Queen of Diamonds bit her lower lip while drawing her black zip-up sweat jacket closer to her body. A smirk curved up her lips – Mai had done everything in her power to throw away her favourite sweater but she should have known Shizuru would have never parted with it.
Suddenly, a branch cracked and the rocks clattered on the ground. Shizuru's hand immediately went to her knife bag behind her. Her eyes immediately rolled behind her as a hand dropped on her shoulder. Instead of shrieking or freezing, Shizuru immediately threw her jacket away before grabbing the person's arm. Without any warning, she jumped over his shoulder and twisted the perpetrator's arm and twisted it behind while revealing a hidden blade in her gauntlet. However, her eyes widened when she realized who exactly it was she attacked.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tezuka knew he was going to finally meet her but he didn't expect himself to have himself cornered. The cold steel caused his hair to stand on its ends as he found himself in an arm-lock. Surprisingly, his shoulder was not suffering but he could feel his muscles straining. Tezuka blinked several times as he tried to replay the whole event that had just flashed before him and he couldn't even remember how he was on his knees and if she ever did kick him.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Shizuru immediately let him go and lowered her voice into an ashamed whimper, picking up her jacket and hiding her gauntlet. "I-I thought you were someone else."
Now Tezuka knew she was talented in martial arts but what bewildered him more was the weaponry she carried around. For the first question, how did she manage to sneak it in here without tripping the metal detector? He had never seen a gauntlet with a hidden blade before. However, he wasn't willing to piss her off to see what she could do with it or how fast she could use the blade.
"It's alright," Tezuka could feel a chuckle bubbling from his throat, dusting his pants.
There it was. The silence once again wedged itself between them.
The bespectacled male found himself now stumped on what to do. He couldn't believe that he finally managed to get this far! He was beside himself with giddy deep inside but refused to let his enthusiasm get the better of him. He glanced around and saw how she started looking at the little dust bunny that drifted along on the floor as the wind brushed past them. A small smile curved up his lips as he found her shyly hiding herself in her black jacket. He had seen Goth girls before but at least Shizuru didn't paint her nails dark violet or any other crazy colour or wear black lipstick. She had a gentle appearance and no wonder many people underestimated her.
On the other hand, Shizuru found herself struggling on figuring out what to say. Her throat tightened considerably and she could feel her palm becoming clammy. The brunette had imagined looking at the guy and telling him thank you but she never imagined it would be Tezuka standing in front of her. She always imagined herself staring into his intense gaze but now she could barely look at him. She started kicking around the little dust bunny, averting her gaze away from him.
"U-um, Tezuka-san – did you see anyone passing around here," Shizuru began glancing around, praying that she wasn't in the worst case scenario.
"No, I don't think I saw anyone else here," Tezuka shook his head.
Shizuru swallowed hard and couldn't believe what was happening. Tezuka couldn't possibly be the man who had been talking to her in her letters! Her mind whirled quickly and messily as she tried to set herself in the correct composure. Her hands refused to move and even her body completely froze at the thought of seeing him. She had several good reasons as to why Tezuka couldn't be the man. If he knew everything about her (as is, she believed that what he saw was already too much), Shizuru was definitely sure that the combative side of her terrified him. Most boys would think twice! Secondly, why would he waste his time on someone who had a disarrayed personality?
The silence was killing him as well, seeing how she looked so adorable. Her eyes looked so shocked and astonished when she faced him. In fact, her gaze had been more directed to the floor and the light illuminating her hair and skin made her beautiful. Her red eyes glimmered shyly as she continued kicking a pebble around as he tried to get the words out of his mouth.
Will you tell her already!? It's killing both of you!
I surprised her and shocking her with more news might scare her! I could at least wait for her to calm down!
Goddamn it, Tezuka! Pull yourself together!
Tezuka hated these inner arguments with himself. If he knew any better, he would have been on his way to the loony bin if he continued to argue with himself and stare blankly at her. He could see Shizuru shrinking away shyly from his intense gaze. As he watched her breathing softly, he finally steeled himself to tell her. He could feel the suspense weighing down heavily on his shoulders. Slowly, he extended his hand to grab her hand.
"Well, well, well, look who it is! If isn't Kurenai Shizuru!"
Shizuru blinked several times as she swivelled her head towards a young man walking towards her. In an orange and green jersey, a dark blonde tanned skin athletic male slowly walked towards them with a mismatched set of molten amber and crimson red eyes. A small smirk curved up his lips as he strode towards them before bowing in front of her. Tezuka blinked his eyes several times; of all the rotten times, why did people end up interfering with his every chance to tell her? Or then again, it might be some fan boy...
"I have heard everything about you, my little ruby eyed butterfly," the male chuckled smoothly and tipped her chin upward to look into her eyes, smirking haughtily with a holier-than-thou expression and tone. "I have heard many of your great victories against many of the teams here in Japan. Your style was so graceful and very captivating with the power and shine that I've been watching all my life. And with Ra as my witness, I couldn't resist – I just had to meet you. What kind of man would I be if I did not come here to meet you personally, my dear?"
Tezuka's eyes widened slightly with fear; if Shizuru understood his approach wrong, she would think that the guy was the one who sent her the letters! "Shizuru-chan...!"
Shizuru blinked several times in disbelief, cocking her head to one side innocently. "Um, who are you?"
"Oh silly me, a king always must introduce himself to his beloved. I am Awi Jahi," he held both of Shizuru's wrists as he pulled her close, closing in the proximity of their faces. "Perhaps, we should get away from here to talk better."
Damn it!
Tezuka had been known for being a man of composure and as someone who never let his guard down. He bit his lower lip darkly, silently berating his bad luck. Well, the male wasn't bad-looking and the way he spoke probably would have had the whole female population swooning. Tezuka groaned inwardly to himself; it was the Egyptian version of Atobe! Then again, Atobe didn't use pet names and easily called his own girlfriend a "screaming banshee" if he heard right although the title suited the girl perfectly. Now, he found himself completely cemented to the floor and his blood boiled wildly. He had never felt that kind of burn in his life. The feeling wasn't the same as the kind of annoyance when Fuji decided to do something crazy again or if someone played dirty. No, the feeling was more feral and somewhat primitive. In a tennis match, things would have been okay. Playing dirty, he can handle. Someone wants to play a protracted game and bust his shoulder – fine, bring it on! But having some random dickhead trying to steal Shizuru in the very moment he worked so hard to make...
There were going to be three things that he had to worry about: his team's reputation and his own reputation, what Shizuru was going to think of him and most obviously the man's face and wellbeing.
Tezuka forced his body to move but his ethics started fighting back. Inwardly cursing his sense of ethics, Tezuka continued to struggle with his mind and trying to find a way how to politely tell the guy to "shove off and leave his girlfriend alone" without scaring Shizuru. From what he got from Fuuka, there were times Shizuru had such a strange bipolarity that she'd even be afraid of her own shadow even though she could fight even at gunpoint! Now, he had two options: should he just talk her and move away or forcibly take her away?
Tezuka Kunimitsu, go get your fat ass moving in there! Just take her away, you fucking idiot!
I can't just do that! She'll freak out!
And you'd rather what? You prefer that this bastard lie to her and break her heart in the end!? You're picking the vibes up too! What would you rather do – let this dipshit take her away from you from your opportunity that you worked for? Ain't you got no balls!?
Do you really think I'd just take her away in the angry state that I'm in right now?
... Heh, that's the first time that I've seen you show some balls. That's a good sign. At least you're not such a rock. Now stomp on the little shit and get your queen outta there!
"Buchou!"
Tezuka rolled his eyes slightly and groaning inaudibly; what now? He turned around and found Momoshiro and Kikumaru running towards him. Seeing that there were more complications coming in to play, Tezuka decided to do something that he never dreamed himself to be doing.
Without any hesitation, he grabbed Shizuru's wrist and wrenched her out of Awi's grip before breaking into the fastest sprint he's ever done.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Yay, I finally found what I needed!"
Kiyone, skipping happily towards a shaded place, cheerfully hummed to herself as she swung around a paper bag. She began inspecting the place, looking for a good shady tree and a bench to sit down on so she could proceed on reading. It was not because her room was not nice or anything but having Vera constantly yelling in the hallways because she had pissed off Momo one way or another had become quite a nuisance. She inhaled deeply before her liquid blue eyes widened in delight and found a huge Nara tree standing in the middle of the garden. It wasn't shedding season yet, much to her delight and the wind wasn't too humid either. With a huge grin, Kiyone skipped merrily towards the benches and plopped herself down on the stone benches under a tree.
"Wow, this must be the best day ever," Kiyone excitedly shoved her hand into the paper bag, pulling out the British Covered Harry Potter book she had in her bag. "Not only do I get to enjoy my book with some peace and quiet but I also have this...!"
Not only the book made her day but also that the commissary in the sports club had been selling her favourite flavour of nori strips: CHIPOTLE TABASCO FLAVOUR.
Now, she had loads of vegetable chips in her bag and enough sweets to tide her over training but she needed refills. Since Ai had become her partner-in-crime in terrorizing the people with her sugar outbursts and her with her addiction to spice and sugar, things were prone to becoming very ugly around the area. If it took five of her seniors to stop her plus two other random boys running around, she grinned evilly – a new force to be reckoned with!
"He he, all I have to do is put sugar in my mouth and then," Kiyone giggled evilly until she heard metal clinking from her wrist. "Eh?"
Her eyes widened when she found a silver bracelet on her arm. A nostalgic smile curved up her lips as she began fingering the charms one by one. The snake gleamed with bright green emerald eyes. Next to it, there was an otter with bright blue eyes moulded into a way that it looked like it was running. After the otter, there was a pheasant laced with gold flying in the air and a frog with orange spots. Finally, next to the silver letter 'K' – a shark with dark red eyes swam around with a menacing gaze. The sandy blonde lightly smiled as she closed her eyes, letting the wind pass by as she remembered the day she bought the bracelet.
K's not only for Kenya but also Kiyone.
She remembered the light brown haired boy's goofy grin when he had bought her that bracelet. Snorting in annoyance, Kiyone groaned upon remembering the fight they had over it. Although, it was more one-sided on her part since he managed to tune out everything she said about "paying for her own things".
Flashback
"Where we going?"
Kiyone praised the high heavens for helping the officials decide that it was Golden Week for the holidays. That meant no homework and no nothing for her to do. Her captain shortened the training time for them from the usual 3 hours; it had shortened into an hour and a half. So with that, Kenya had decided to call her up one night and asked her out. Fortunately, her mother was out on a business trip otherwise – it would be the death of her if she found out a boy had her number. In fact, her mom would have just put the phone down on him and Aidan certainly could not answer the phone. The sandy blonde haired girl sighed as she sat on the bench on the bullet train, swinging her legs and sitting next to Kenya.
"I figured since you always see a lot in Tokyo. I thought you wanted a change of scenery," Kenya chuckled lightly, folding his arms at the back of his head. "And besides, I know you're quite a lover of animals so it's gonna be a surprise."
"Aww, tell me," Kiyone pouted childishly, pursing her lips and giving Kenya the "puppy dog eyes".
He chuckled sheepishly, waving his hands in front of his face. "No, no, not the puppy dog eyes! I can't resist those! Aww man..."
Kiyone grinned evilly in her mind, chuckling darkly as she did so. He he, jackpot!
Must. Resist. Cuteness.
Kenya struggled with the look in her liquid blue eyes and he had to be honest; this was the first time he had seen her eyes so up close. How did her teammates deal with a cuteness factor like that? Momo basically held Kiyone by her scorts and made sure she didn't monopolize the Tabasco Sauce from the rest of the players. Shizuru easily brushed her off although Kiyone didn't seem to pester her as much. Probably because she was the captain, Kenya mused as he remembered the other times Kiyone tried to weasel something out of Ayane. That never turned out well.
"All passengers docked for Osaka – we will be arriving at the station in 2 minutes."
Kenya sighed in relief as the PA sounded off but he had to admit; he had to give credit to Kiyone's insane ability to hold her Puppy Dog Expression for a very long time. As the train slowed down to a stop, the Speedster quickly whipped out a blindfold and blinded the smaller girl as she staggered and stumbled around while he continued to lead her around.
"Hey, this wasn't part of it," Kiyone whined childishly as Kenya continued to hold her hand. "Where are we going?"
"We're here!"
Kiyone blinked several times as the bandana was quickly removed off her eyes, causing her to gape in awe. "Wow…"
In front of her, a newly constructed zoo stood with a really short line and her liquid blue eyes sparkled in delight. "I've never seen this place before…"
"Well, it's new and they had a lot of animals brought in," Kenya sheepishly scratched his head, grinning boyishly. "So, you wanna go in?"
"Yeah, definitely," Kiyone jumped up and down, grabbing his arm and dragging him behind her.
If Kenya didn't run fast, he was pretty certain Kiyone would have left him in the dust.
The moment they got in, they entered a huge dome that had five different pathways. Each pathway led to a certain classification of animals. Being both reptile lovers, Kiyone and Kenya first went inside the Reptile Tunnel. Snakes stayed behind the glass as they looked aimlessly at the wall until Kiyone gently rapped on the glass. The snake slowly turned to face her as it stared into her bright liquid blue eyes. The Black Mamba swivelled its head as Kiyone began to disjoint her neck and act like a snake charmer. Much to Kenya's surprise, the snake seemingly followed the way she tilted her head. People were starting to look at her queerly until the snake opened its jaws, flashing its fangs at her.
However, Kiyone showed no fear.
Instead, she changed her stance and began hissing angrily in another language. "Bie-o-kem-fae, ssi ʃedorʃe aeshessunai!" (Sorry, it's hard translating it when you only got an audio to do it for you…)
The snake immediately froze in fear, cowering under her gaze and shut its jaw shut.
Kiyone on the other hand smiled contentedly. "Good boy."
Kenya blinked several times, staring disbelievingly. "W-What the heck was that?"
Kiyone grinned victoriously, giving him the 'v' sign. "Every Harry Potter fan would know that I just spoke Parseltongue!"
"You can learn that stuff? What the heck did you just say," Kenya gaped in astonishment, shaking his head. She never ceases to amaze me.
Kiyone waved her hand dismissively with a careless shrug. "Oh, I just told him to behave and don't dare try to break the glass."
Blinking several times, Kenya followed after Kiyone as they started seeing the salamanders, the iguanas and the other lizards. They would have gone home with a runaway animal if Kenya didn't notice a Chameleon blending in with Kiyone's sweater after the girl had given it some treats. She laughed and giggled instead of freaking out before gently returning the creature back into its habitat. How it managed to get out, Kenya had no idea. Crocodiles rested quietly under the bridge they were crossing as some kids started dropping little biscuits. The crocodile however didn't seem to mind. Kiyone and Kenya stared in amazement when they found a tortoise laying her eggs while a turtle started swimming around before pulling off a piece of a vine. However, she also took a picture with a snake as she began to talk to it in Parseltongue. The snake seemingly smiled before nuzzling against her nose and coiling around to rest its head on her hers. The cobra hissed darkly at her for awhile until she snapped in Parseltongue once again.
"Wow, snakes really do listen to you," Kenya watched in amazement as the snakes seemed to shrink away or be more benevolent.
"Hehe, I know right," Kiyone grinned enthusiastically as she and Kenya exited the hallway. "What's the next one?"
Kenya and Kiyone then went towards the bird class hallway. The owls stared at her contentedly as they started cocking their heads in the same angle as she was. She disjointed her neck and began bobbing back and forth, causing the owl to also try. Kenya messed up his hair to look like the Crown Pigeon with a silly face, allowing a laughing Kiyone to take a picture. A falcon perched on Kenya's shoulder while a canary began whistling with Kiyone on her head. An emu angrily snapped its beak at them for the popcorn, causing them to make a break for it. Swans gracefully swam in the pool while the peacock flashed its feathers at them.
"Oh oh, it's Atobe," Kiyone jumped up and down excitedly, laughing loudly.
"What? Where," Kenya then saw her pointing to the peacock before breaking into a fit of laughter. "Haha, no kidding!"
Kiyone and Kenya watched a Kingfisher bird swoop down and grab a fish. Woodpeckers pecked holes in the tree and they had an ostrich hiding its head in the dirt. Cockatiels and macaws spread out its vibrant feathered wings and began squawking around. Canaries whistled and chirped sweetly and swans continued to glide across the water. Kiyone and Kenya fed sardines to the penguins as one started pecking at Kenya for more food. After that, they headed towards the fish display where Kiyone began throwing chicken heads at the pool full of coelacanths. Kenya fed the koi fishes and they both took a boat moving towards the mammalian hallway. When they reached the hallway, lions lazily lounged around as the tiger watched them intently. The jaguars roamed around in their cage while the panda started chomping on a piece of bamboo.
"Wow, they really have everything here," Kiyone stared in amazement until a white Samoyed dog sat in front of her. "Aww, how cute!"
She immediately tackled the dog who didn't seem to mind, licking her face contentedly. Kenya chuckled lightly as he snapped a picture of the huge grin on Kiyone's face. His eyes widened when more dogs started moving towards her. A Saint Bernard slumped right on her lap, giving her this huge grin. Puppies followed behind as they started nipping at her cardigan. Kenya chuckled lightly as he began ruffling their fur while one of the puppies climbed up and began licking his face. He chuckled lightly but relaxed considerably with a smile when he found Kiyone laughing her daylights out.
I wish this could last forever.
After the whole trip, Kiyone and Kenya headed towards the souvenir shop. Many girls started buying bags and stuffed toys but Kenya wanted something more unique. He looked around until a charm bracelet display caught his eye. Sneaking away, Kenya watched her go look at the stuffed toys as began stringing a bracelet together. He quickly grabbed one of each animal kingdom before finding a green glimmering letter "K" for the final bead. Locking it on together, Kenya darted towards the cashier in hopes of dodging Kiyone.
"Ooh, what's that?"
"Whoa," Kenya spun around and found Kiyone behind him, holding onto a stuffed toy. "How did you get here so fast?"
Kiyone shrugged nonchalantly before cheerfully holding up a stuffed penguin. "I'm gonna name him Erik! You know, from Happy Feet!"
Kenya let out a boyish laugh and picked it up from the freshman before handing in a few bills to pay for everything. Astonished, Kiyone gaped and her eyes widened as she started searching for money in her wallet. However, Kenya had already gotten a hold of her wallet and held it over her head.
"No, no, no, I wanna pay for it," Kiyone jumped for it but Kenya's height completely prevailed over her. "No fair!"
"I'll handle this," Kenya smiled lightly as he received his change and picked up the plastic bag. "Alright, we're done."
Kiyone pouted childishly, shaking her head. "Humph, meanie."
Kenya chuckled lightly as he scratched his head sheepishly before handing her the stuffed toy. "Come on, Kiyone. I did invite you on this trip after all."
"Humph, you paid for everything including lunch," Kiyone whined childishly, folding her arms with a huff. "I have my own money!"
Kenya shook his head with a sigh. "It's alright but here – your stuffed toy and your bracelet."
"Yay – wait, I didn't buy a bracelet," Kiyone blinked several times as Kenya opened a white box and revealed a bracelet. "Eh? You bought this for me too!?"
"Yeah," Kenya smiled as he put it around her wrist. "K's not only for Kenya but also Kiyone."
End of Flashback
Kiyone stared at the bracelet for a moment, placing the book down. She smiled softly as she fingered the charms attached to the bracelet until a realization had hit her.
"K's not just for Kenya and Kiyone," the sandy blonde smiled melancholically, staring at the glimmering letter 'K'. "But also for Kuranosuke... W-Wait, what am I thinking? Kenya was the one who gave me this!"
But who is it you like?
Kiyone groaned in annoyance, being unable to enjoy her book. She stared at the bracelet while watching the sun reflect off the shiny silver. What kind of mess did she get herself into? The sandy blonde groaned while slamming her head into the book. Who could she ask help from? Hitomi could give her academic information but she felt a migraine coming on from the information overload. She looked like she didn't have a boyfriend so – would she know? Haruka had Jackal and did have a very motherly disposition but wouldn't she be busy? Kiyone ruled out Rin also; Kajimoto and Rin already had each other. Mai definitely knew her romance expertise but she could barely handle Yukimura. Ayane and Atobe were currently fighting and Isane had Niou and Shishido to deal with. Shizuru would just be well – Shizuru. Besides, her captain could be a bit slow on romance sometimes that it took five people to explain it to her. So much for assassination training – she couldn't even pick up the slightest hints and details of a man swooning her!
"Aww man, what am I gonna do," Kiyone banged her head again against her hard bound book.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Ayane kicked a small pebble lying around, looking at the bright blue sky above her. She glanced at the other scenery before lying against the tree, inhaling deeply. She couldn't believe that Atobe sang that song! Adam Lambert was one of her favourite singers yet she didn't remember when she ever told him that. Most of their conversations usually involved her telling him how crazy he was and making sure he didn't burn a hole in his wallet. Yet, did she ever know what he liked? As far as she was concerned, she didn't even know he was capable of belting out high notes let alone singing. There were just so many things she didn't know about him.
And that realization exhilarated her.
The tangerine haired female groaned before taking a bite out of an apple. She sighed deeply and tossed the apple core in the air, catching it once more. Ayane couldn't believe she barely knew things about Atobe. He may be the loud, crazy, rich brat who was willing to burn a hole into his wallet but he did show that he cared. To think he went to pick her up personally after she had been kidnapped and pampered her like crazy (much to her surprise). Ayane sighed deeply again, staring into the sky, catching a purple coloured flower in her palm.
"So pretty," Ayane smiled nostalgically as she remembered a few people with striking appearances with purple colours.
Momo's dark violet long hime-cut hairstyle.
Atobe's straight cut slightly styled purple hair.
Marui's amethyst coloured eyes.
…
Amethyst coloured eyes…
Marui always had stood there for her. No matter how many times she had thrown tantrums, he had taken everything with her blow per blow. Ayane bit her lower lip as she inhaled deeply, wondering to herself. Why had Marui done all those things? She found herself liking him in a different way. Somehow, Atobe had a constant blazing cold. He pisses off people and knows how to stand above them yet people follow him nonetheless. Marui on the other hand had a warm and cheery feeling. The only thing that probably would have altered his demeanour is if Japan banned the import of his favourite his bubblegum or that all the sweets in the world had been condemned to burn at the stake.
"Ayane-chan?"
Ayane swivelled her head up as Marui suddenly dangled himself in front of her, causing her to yelp. "Ah, Marui-kun! Wait, what are you doing hanging from a tree?"
At the moment, Marui hung himself upside down on one of the branches with a huge childish grin on his face with his legs hooked onto the branch.
"Hehe, hiding from Niou and the others," Marui grinned before swinging himself up again on a branch. "Besides, I want to get a good nap before I start training. Niou might bomb me out of nowhere."
Ayane giggled softly, looking up. "How's the view up there?"
Marui extended his hand with a boyish grin. "I can show you."
Nodding lightly, Marui helped Ayane climb up the tree as they sat on the thicker branches. Ayane stared in amazement as the sun shone brightly but not in the eyesore way. The clouds drifted away as the two people sat on the branches. Marui glanced at Ayane for a moment, remembering the song that Atobe had sun to her that night. Of course he was there to see the whole fiasco. Rena had thrown a bitch fit although who wouldn't? Mai just wasted a strawberry slushy! That was extremely unforgivable! All the sugary cold goodness was gone and wasted on some fight over his buchou. Then again, both girls were fighting for the same guy although he couldn't find out why Mai would suddenly declare war.
"Wow, your senpai must've been in love with buchou for a really long time," Marui remarked offhandedly, shaking his head. "I knew girls were scary but not that scary."
Ayane giggled softly, smiling nostalgically towards the ground. "Yeah, we've had really bad bullying cases in Hyotei. It's mostly through a legal battle of who has more money than the other. Buchou used to be bullied before because she was friends with Ohtori-senpai and Shishido-senpai. Girls didn't like me either for being stuck with Atobe. Actually," – she smiled bitterly. "When I became his girlfriend, the fan girl attacks got worse..."
Marui saw the tears slipping out of Ayane's eyes, remaining silent.
"Despite all the fights and the poor anger management that I have," Ayane clasped her hands together, shuddering to restrain her sobs. "He always stayed with me and did everything without a complaint. The only thing he did was probably complain about my lack of volume control but other than that..."
Marui wanted to tell her that he liked her yet he couldn't push himself to do so. Hearing Ayane talk about Atobe the way she did made his hopes sink like a rock in water. He couldn't just kiss her right there and then now could he? Now he understood why his fukubuchou was very hesitant to confess to the tangerine haired girl's superior. Seeing that she loved someone else, he couldn't bring himself to force her to love him. He had two choices although he was very elevated to choose the first...
Kiss her and tell her he loved her.
Ever since her defeat from Vera, he had seen her pick herself up again and fight to bring herself to better heights. However, there were other things to consider. He did promise Atobe to stay away from her but after all the emotional warfare they managed to put themselves through – that was enough. They were in a pretty good relationship if he remembered right. Although they had their petty fights, Ayane and Atobe at the end of the day managed to pull through. Their arguments had built their relationship to see each others' flaws but Vera had blown them all out of proportion.
"I," Marui stopped himself immediately, shaking his head. "I'm sure he loves you no matter what... I don't think he's the type to flirt with another woman just because the first woman didn't give what he wanted. He demands perfection sure but I don't think he's the type to impose..."
What are you doing, Marui? You're giving up!?
I have to concede. Forcing her to like me isn't going to be good for either of us.
"Eh," Ayane blinked several times as he wiped a tear from her eye. "M-Marui-san?"
Marui smiled bitterly as he started laying out the facts in front of her. "If Atobe really loved Jerrard to pieces, don't you think it's a little awkward for him to be so mellow and quiet around her? Not only that, during the party – he seemed a bit edgy... Maybe you could try listening?"
I have to do this.
Marui didn't know for sure if his body was hurting or his butt was hurting simply because he sat on a sharp and uneven part of the branch. The red haired tensai volleyist shook his head while trying to sort himself out. His emotions rolled back and forth as he slowly put his arm around Ayane's shoulder, pulling her closer. Ayane sobbed softly against his shoulder, hiding her face. He could feel the whole weight of the swirling emotions as he noticed a purple haired male walking their way. He never knew he would have to let go now but it was now or never.
"Come on, it's getting uncomfortable up here," Marui leapt off the branch, extending his arms. "Come on down, Ayane-chan."
Ayane nodded as she slipped off and landed in his arms. Or what she believed was his arms. She slowly looked up and found Atobe standing in front of her. Her eyes widened with his icy blue eyes looking at her with a forlorn gaze. She bit her lower lip anxiously before shaking her head. She was going to have to bite her pride and although it hurt – the truth was right there: all the downs of a relationship could not be taken on by one alone. His arrogance may have been a complete pain to deal with but she couldn't say her temper was easy to deal with either.
"A-ah," Ayane averted her eyes away as Atobe nudged her cheek to make her face him.
"Ore-sama doesn't like it when you don't look into his eyes, Ayane," Atobe chuckled humourlessly while trying to keep his arrogant tone but unable to do so, placing her head against his chest with a smirk. "Heh, all this trouble was for a woman who has a temper of a beast but truly a beauty."
"Like you're any better," – a feeble response, she knew especially in her crying state. "You're an annoying moron."
"Your insults are losing their fangs, Ayane," Atobe chuckled lightly as he looked straight into her emerald green eyes. "But what do you want from ore-sama? Ore-sama meant every word in that song. To be honest," – Atobe hung his head and lowering his voice, admitting mildly. "Ore-sama wasn't sure if he was capable of singing that song properly..."
For Ayane, his humility was a big change. Instead of his usual arrogant self, she saw someone who had been frustrated after using every possible method. He had tried speaking to her (with at least 50 calls to her cellphone a week) and even in school. She had ignored him and constantly went to training but Atobe had really gone his lengths. A king must have the will that surpasses all his people put together so they will be inspired to follow him. It was something he had. She always believed that he was simply going to conquer her heart before tossing her aside but after the years they were friends and now in some wacky relationship...
Was it truly him who was afraid or was it her?
Whatever it was, she couldn't always let him take the brunt hit of everything. That would've just shown that she was a coward and that she didn't care about him. Ayane inhaled deeply, her chest loosened considerably. She brushed her palm against his cheek with a small smile.
Meanwhile, Marui stood on one side and shook his head to himself. I made the right choice, Marui kept telling himself as he dragged his feet away. His body seemed like to weigh so much heavier as he watched Atobe talk things over with Ayane. The tangerine haired girl seemed to listen to him and her expression seemingly brightened up. He sighed in relief as a wave of a bittersweet happiness washed over him. He would have taken the girl IF she wasn't in love with Atobe. Watching her fold her arms and listen to Atobe as the purple haired male somewhat explained himself – he smiled before walking away towards his dorm.
Upon walking to his dorm, he began packing his things one by one. The games didn't really interest him too much and with Ayane working alongside Atobe, he knew his role in the play was over. After running a final check, Marui slowly crept out of the room as he looked at the sunset fall. Although he wanted to probably gain Ayane's affection as well, somewhere deep in his mind – he knew that was impossible. Atobe had known Ayane for a longer time and had more exposure to her. Although the two of them trained together during summer, was it enough?
Clearly it wasn't.
"Where you headed?"
Marui swivelled his head up and found himself looking at Niou. "I'm going home. I didn't even want to join this anyway."
"You're a big fat liar, you never lie to a Trickster," Niou chuckled darkly before resuming a more serious and darkened expression. "It's about Ayane isn't it?"
Marui rolled his eyes, grinning. "Yeah right, a genius doesn't need to bother himself with that kind of stuff."
"For a self-proclaimed genius, you're an idiot, you know that," Niou shook his head with a sarcastic roll of his eyes, folding his arms. "I see you've taken a dip into the Friendzone."
The red head raked his fingers through his hair tiredly, slinging on his bag. "No kidding. But what would you do, Niou?"
Seeing how serious Marui looked, Niou raised an eyebrow. "You're talking about Ayane?"
"No, I meant Isane. What would you do if she chose Shishido over you?"
Niou suddenly fell silent as he looked straight into Marui's amethyst eyes. Come to think of it, he had never thought far. He did his best to be optimistic but when he looked at the situation again – the Trickster knew that he was on the losing end. Isane didn't even want to talk to him. She spoke to Shishido in a kinder tone whereas whenever she spoke to him – it was formal and more composed. That kind of bipolarity in her didn't exist unless, she held a rifle or did something she was EXTREMELY confident in herself in. However, Akutsu's interference made things a whole lot worse. At first he thought he could catch her off guard but with Akutsu watching over her like a hawk, he had been blown back by her sudden change in personality.
"You know," Niou chuckled confidently, rolling his eyes. "I've got my plans."
Marui chuckled humourlessly, smirking lightly. "You're a big fat liar too you know. You're clueless."
"At least I'm trying to come up with something," Niou folded his arms with an annoyed snort.
Marui nodded in consent; that was one of the few differences. Niou continued to fight but the main difference was how the relationship was. Ayane was already in a relationship with Atobe from the very beginning. Isane didn't have a relationship. Another difference was that Niou had more balls than he did. Probably being the shameless bastard flirt that he is, Marui chuckled wryly to himself.
"Well, I'm going," Marui walked past Niou, dropping his hand on his shoulder. "Good luck."
Without saying another word, Niou had let his teammate walk past him. However, the Trickster chuckled lightly and shook his head.
"Don't worry. I don't plan to lose."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Haruka smiled softly as she swung around her Chinese blade, dancing around in the isolated garden. The soft humming of the Chinese blade filled her ears as she started swinging her blade around and letting the leaves land on the blade. As she continued dancing around, she remembered the festival that Jackal had taken her to near the river. She never expected such a brilliant display of colours since she had always been stuck in the mansion, trained to be the heiress of the Hikifumi Industries. Ino had more freedom but that freedom came with a price: her father had disowned her including her mother. The two of them had divorced – each taking one child with them. It was only recent that Ino had returned to the family.
Flashback
Jackal and she were walking around the streets along the Samegawa River. The sunset had faded into a bright orange and purple hue in the sky as the river started glistening with the sunlight. She watched the fishes leap around while inhaling deeply the country air.
"This is so much better than the city," Haruka looked at the light foggy skies, seeing the birds fluttering around. "You don't get this kind of view in the city."
Jackal shoved his hands to his pocket, nodding lightly. "Yeah, no kidding. In Kanagawa, I never had a chance to enjoy myself. Everything moves too fast..."
Haruka and Jackal continued to stride along the road as he led her down the hill, right in front of the shrine. Haruka stared in amazement at all the lanterns being hung around and all the stalls around. She looked at the masks being sold and even bought an ice cone. Jackal chuckled lightly as he started playing for a gold fish until someone started calling out for him.
"Jackal, bro!"
Jackal turned around and found a couple of boys walking up to him, slapping his back and slinging their arms around him. "Wait, Paolo – you're here?"
"Ya man, we've been talking it over through our parents and we managed to get over here," he punched Jackal playfully on the shoulder. "So how have ya been, man? It's been ages since we last saw you!"
Jackal chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, it's been good."
"You've been workin' out," one of his other friends tackled him from behind. "Still the same bald self I see."
Jackal brushed him off with a teasing snort, setting his friend down on the ground. "I see you haven't lost weight."
His whole group burst into laughter until Jackal realized he had left Haruka to her own devices.
"Jackal where are... oh."
His whole group suddenly looked at her. While most girls were out in short mini skirts and a little more Latina looking in their country, seeing Haruka's bright pale pink hair and her dark chocolate brown eyes was a whole new thing for them. Not only that, Haruka had a dark gray beanie on her head and a light cream sweater and a black pleated skirt along with leggings and a pair of black flats. Haruka was pretty sure she wanted to run away since she could feel the judging eyes on her.
"I-I'll wait for you at the," Haruka managed to rip away from her throat, watching the other boys exchange glances with one another.
"So, who's this cute babe," Paolo chuckled with a huge grin, immediately swinging over to Haruka. "Never seen anyone with pale pink hair before."
"Um, my name is Hikifumi Haruka," Haruka watched the boy get close, narrowing her eyes and preparing to flip him over if he tried anything funny. Be calm, feel out the situation before flipping him over.
"Well, well, Hikifumi," – Haruka bristled slightly at his teasing tone. "Let's say you and me go on through this festival together. Jackal can go stay with the boys while you and I get to know each other more – preferably in a little tango, señorita."
"Tango as in the literal sense or tango in terms of me thrashing your daylights out for getting too close," Haruka calmly stared him down, narrowing her eyes darkly.
"Ooh feisty – I thought it was only that red head chick from Hyotei was a lunatic along with the crazy brunette who chopped people up," he grinned amusedly until a crisp sound echoed throughout the air. "What the-?"
Haruka's eyes narrowed darkly after she slapped him, keeping her heiress demeanour. "What did you say?"
"What? So what if they're crazy," Paolo dusted himself, staring in shock. "Whoa, take it easy babe. I didn't mean you..."
"I know you didn't mean me," Haruka's heiress demeanour suddenly became a stolid draconic glare. "I know those two girls. Those two girls are my little sisters... Mai is not crazy; she's very dynamic and just very determined. Secondly, Shizuru does not just chop down people. People just feel that way because they sorely underestimate her capacity."
Paolo backed up, narrowing his eyes before snorting at Jackal. "Geez, I didn't know you were dating a Chupacabra, Jack."
Jackal shoved Paolo aside, rolling his eyes. "She's only a Chupacabra to you because you decide to be an ass to almost every girl. Now I remember why I stopped hanging out with you."
Paolo scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, she just wants a good time with you, man."
"You little," Haruka was about to lunge and rip him to pieces until Jackal stood in front of her. "J-Jackal-kun?"
"Leave him – he just does that to make more stories," Jackal narrowed his eyes darkly, putting his arm around Haruka. "Let him go. No use wasting your breath on a dickhead like him. But it was good to see you again, Rodrigo. You lost a lot of weight."
Rodrigo, a lanky tanned skin male with dark brown hair, scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you did tell me to push on with something that I liked a lot. I hope you get to see my soccer game!"
"Will do," Jackal chuckled lightly, ushering Haruka away. "Let's go, Haruka. It was nice seeing you again, Rodrigo. Carlos, make sure you put Paolo on a leash. He forgets to stop being a dick sometimes."
The two continued walking around the shine area as the fireworks started flashing around. Her eyes widened with delight and astonishment, slowly leaning against Jackal. However, a sudden arm snaked around her and pulled her closer as she looked up at Jackal. His black eyes softened as her chocolate brown eyes focused deeply into his. She felt her body floating as her hand slowly pushed Jackal's head closer for a dip as he willingly went in for the kiss.
Flashback End
The whole night had been enjoyable after that, Haruka mused lightly to herself as she continued swinging her blade. She remembered how Jackal had brought her to riverbed as the fireworks started flashing in the sky. She blushed madly upon realization; she must've looked so stupid when looking at the fireworks! It had been a long time since she had seen so many fireworks in one sitting. Jackal had brought her to all the stalls and bought themselves food. Dancing around with her flashing silver blade, Haruka continued dancing around before throwing her blade straight forward and nearly impaling the male she had been thinking about.
"Whoa," Jackal ducked as the blade imbedded itself in the tree, hyperventilating. "Whoa, whoa, please don't kill me!"
"Oh my God, Jackal," Haruka immediately rushed to his side and yanked the sword out of the trunk, tossing it aside. "Jackal are you okay? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to impale you to the tree!"
Jackal sheepishly chuckled, scratching the back of the neck. "It's alright, actually I came here to get away from the loud ruckus. Apparently, Vera's on this murderous outrage and the girls are having some bitch-fight out there."
Haruka's eyes widened. "What kind of bitch fight and who's going crazy?"
Jackal shrugged as Haruka and he ran from the gardens and into the main lobby. There, she found Ayane and Vera throwing a whole lot of yelling and tearing out each others' hair. Vera had already sustained a couple of scratches and bruises from Ayane's fist while the tangerine haired female barely sustained anything other than dirt, sweat and a messy hairdo. Haruka gaped at the sight; no one was insane enough to stop a bitch fight that had Ayane in it! Ayane literally tossed the blonde vice captain of Seigaku aside as if Vera barely posed a threat to her to begin with.
"You bloody whore," Vera hissed darkly.
"Wow, ironic – since you're the bitchy whore," Ayane drew her fist back to punch her daylights out.
"That's enough!"
Everyone's eyes swivelled towards the door way and revealed the coaches standing with a disapproving stare. Ayane swallowed hard as she let go upon seeing Sakaki, immediately straightening out. Vera glared darkly at Ayane before picking up a pebble and making one last ditch attempt. The pebble smacked Ayane in the eye right away, causing the girl to yelp all of a sudden. Atobe's eyes widened as he jumped for Ayane and caught her. Vera sneered maliciously until someone grabbed her by her hair, revealing her very own red haired captain yanking her by her hair.
"Ugh, what are you doing? Like, who the fuck are you to do... oh," Vera paled considerably when she found Fuuka glaring darkly with her lavender eyes gleaming ominously. "Buchou – w-what are you doing?"
"Making sure you don't toss yourself off a ledge you can't climb out, you dumb shit," Fuuka pulled her up to her feet, swatting the blonde girl at the back of her head. "You don't throw one of your bitch fits just because Atobe broke up with you. Since when were you so pissed over a guy who broke up with you? You were fine with the other bastards who did!"
Vera seethed with rage, preparing to lunge at Ayane once again until Shizuru stepped in between.
"Sheesh, what's with Hyotei? Did you guys do something to the food or something," Fuuka raised her eyebrow and struggled to keep Vera from clawing at her. "I know Vera's a brat but I didn't know she would fly off the handle that fast."
"I can assure you; Ayane had nothing to do with this. It was ore-sama's choice."
Everyone swivelled their heads towards the purple haired male walked forward, staring down at Vera. "After all, Vera was never equipped to deal with her own attack thrown in her face now was she? Ore-sama figured out the Heartbreaker after staying with her."
Ryuuzaki pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "Alright, that's it. Vera, fix yourself up. You've been doing nothing but disorienting the players!"
"Of course she does," Atobe narrowed his eyes darkly, folding his arms. "That's the only thing she can do. Everyone does not fear her for her skill but only for her empty threats. After all, her only skill is based on how much money her father is willing to spend on his brat of a child."
Vera's eyes widened and paled. "K-Keigo, you wouldn't..."
"Don't you dare even call ore-sama that," Atobe hissed darkly; his icy blue eyes gleaming with malice. "Ore-sama remains loyal only to one. You can use as much make-up and plastic surgery as you want but that does not change who you are. You can look like a princess but be rotten to the core. After all, ore-sama has seen what you really look like and how you managed to stay in Seigaku. His Insight sees everything."
Oshitari had never expected his captain to show such malice. Sure there were times he has put off girls but to pull out the red carpet right under the girl after her victory. That was sadistic cold revenge on his part. It was something more he imagined Fuji doing, never his captain! However, this again was Atobe. The man himself was very unpredictable and it could be extremely annoying. But he glanced at Ayane who was getting her eye attended to after Vera had chucked a sharp pebble in her face. Love does make people do irrational things after all.
He really does love her. For him to resort to a dark tactic like that, she really holds a huge grip on his heart.
Shizuru never expected that from her senior colleague let alone someone of his stature. Atobe had always reiterated that he would never shame a woman but now here he was completely defying his code. The brunette glanced at Atobe, watching the movement of his eyes. He didn't show any signs of remorse nor did he show any signs of stopping. She glanced at Tezuka as the shock had not completely subsided after the whole incident with Awi. She swallowed hard upon remembering what had happened after they had suddenly run from Awi.
"Shizuru-chan, I've been waiting to tell you this for a long time. Forgive me for not telling you sooner because... I'm in love with you."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Dun dun dun! Tezuka finally confessed his feelings to her after how many chapters? Geez, he can be so hard to write some times. I have to make sure that it stays within his character. I'm so happy – I managed to give some fluff to Haruka and Marui. Although, my heart still breaks for Marui *sob*. Please don't forget to review and comment! I take constructive criticisms.