A/N: I screwed up my timeline immensely. DX
If Lily's introduction felt rushed and out of place, it's just me trying to revise and try to get everything back on track. Also, I'm not sure if everyone will get the title's reference and the last few sentences of the last chapter. I was reading articles recently about Japanese tea ceremonies, and the teishu serves the tea to the shokyaku. Kocha, while not served in tea ceremonies, is a tea that is literally translated to 'red tea' -a reference to Lily's red hair. He was literally saying that he was going to have to beat Lily and show that win off to Kamiko. And Boston... American high schoolers... tea party... yeah.
I love references/puns...
"E-eto..." Kamiko nervously repeatedly her two forefingers together, trying to figure out what to say to her friends because they were demanding for an explanation.
The tension hadn't dwindled in the least bit.
Lily smiled triumphantly when she saw Kamiko ready to speak, "The Americans used to be yours and Ryoma-kun's friends, and?"
"Eh... There were a few complications back in America, and Kenji doesn't like it when he's not in control of my actions."
"Ne, Lily-senpai, it's best not to get involved with Kamiko's boyfriend problems."
Ryoma was more than peeved at having been pulled away from a match, and crossed his arms as he waited to leave, seeming to be no longer interested at the events unfolding. Not that he didn't know about them anyway.
"Boyfriend?!"
"Oi! You left that part out!" Yuuta angrily glared.
Kamiko shrugged in embarrassment, "I didn't know, Yuuta-nii! Kenji doesn't usually go this far!"
"He goes this far because it means not having his own Kami-Trainer." Ryoma said, shouldering his tennis bag when he noticed how his senpai were about to ask more questions. When he realized no one was following, he looked over his shoulder, "Ne, senpai, aren't we supposed to be in school tomorrow?"
"But, Echizen, isn't this something that you should be concerned with? Especially if it concerns Kami-chan?" Kawamura asked.
Kamiko sighed, "Ryo-chan knows better than anyone else that when Kenji leaves, we have time to breathe and figure it out. The more we worry, the better chance of Kenji beating us."
"Say, Hitomi-chan is from Hyotei, right? Doesn't that mean Seigaku plays them soon?" Lily turned around when she noticed that Ryoma was wearing the same blue and white jacket as the boys around her.
Kamiko gladly took the chance of distraction, and nodded vehemently, "Hai, Lily-chan! Are you going to come watch? Yuuta-nii and Fuji-chan would like it if you would!"
"Fujiko, you know Lily-san?" Kikumaru was surprised.
Lily was barely introduced to them all before each and every person had turned to Kamiko for explanation. Fuji chuckled.
"Lily-chan is a good friend of Tachibana's little sister, and before that we used to live in the same area when we were elementary students."
"She has a name, Syuusuke-kun," Lily smiled and nodded in agreement, "I'll see if I can attend the match, Kamiko-chan, but thank you for the invite."
"Hai! No problem, Lily-chan. I would ask Emi-chan to come... but I don't think she'd like me to visit again anytime soon."
"Kamiko, what did you do?!"
"Hehe... Gomen."
"E...e-eto... I'm sorry... F-for disturbing you." Suzuki didn't know what to think as she bowed politely to the tennis regulars' table during their lunch period.
"Suzuki-chan!" Jirou greeted with a wave as he ate his strawberry pocky, "Hitomi isn't here today, didn't you notice?"
Suzuki tried to refrain from looking too wide eyed when Jirou spoke to her with such a friendly tone, "That...it's kind of why... Ano..."
"Is something the matter?" Oshitari tried to figure out what was going on in Suzuki's mind, and watched carefully as Suzuki tried to word her sentences, as if she was trying to avoid how to tell them accurate information.
Oshitari was beginning to think the worst; after the incident with Kenji, Hitomi rarely showed up at school more than four times a week, having thrown herself completely into auditions and acting roles. And to Oshitari, having thrown herself into something a little bit more personal, but that was a thought for another time, he supposed, "Is she okay?"
Suzuki nodded uncomfortably.
"Hitomi was supposed to..."
"Speak up, for godsakes, woman speak!" Shishido was more than irritated at how he literally almost had to lean in to hear her.
Ootori pulled back his senpai's shoulder to try to calm him down, "Shishido-san!"
'Don't let other people walk all over you cause you're too quiet, Suzuki! You're smart enough to be the boss of all of them.'
Suzuki remembered Hitomi's words. Had she been talking about how one day Suzuki would encounter people as brash as Shishido? Because if so, Suzuki understood how annoying it could be.
"I'm trying to say that Hitomi-chan needs help whether or not she accepts it because she's not thinking properly!" Suzuki snapped at him.
When she realized how she had acted she immediately covered her mouth.
"I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry I...I didn't mean-"
"Che, you've definitely been hanging out with Hitomi enough if you're already standing up for yourself." Shishido crossed his arms and leaned back.
Suzuki clasped her hands together and brought them down, going back into her shy and calm nature, "Hitomi-chan is your friend, and she told me that friends should always take care of each other, no matter what. So please take care of my friend, even if she says she doesn't want it!"
"Suzuki-chan-"
"And she might not want to be my friend after I've told you to help her but it doesn't matter because if it helps Hitomi-chan then I can live with that!" Suzuki insisted, trying to push away all the awkward thoughts she was having about how this was so unlike her, "Because I'm her friend and if you are too then you'd make her be safe no matter what, right?! Hitomi-chan said that's what friends do, and- and I want to uphold her belief because she's been so good to me! And now I have to repay her by making sure she can be safe because she's not right now, not with those boys running after her and her own-"
"We'll be sure she's taken care of, neko-chan."
Suzuki's small eyes almost bulged out of her head, because she had never before spoken to Atobe, let alone have him speak to her personally. Atobe's friends around him were shocked as well when he had to add something else,
"It's a promise made by ore-sama himself so there's no need for you to worry."
"A-ano, h-hai..." Suzuki flushed red when she noticed Atobe's eyes on her, "A-arigato. I'll be going now."
Koba was surprised when a hand slammed down on her desk during their lunch break.
"Marui." Sanada warned from beside her.
"What? She's the one running away whenever we try to ask about what happened!" Marui defended himself.
Koba laughed nervously, "A..ano, there's really no need to overreact. I help Kamiko with her own matches, like a manager- like what I do here at Rikkaidai."
"She said you played tennis." Niou sat on her desk without a worry, and bit into his apple, "Even Yukimura said it when we visited him in the hospital."
"Seiichi..." Koba muttered under her breath with a huff. He loved to stir up trouble, even when he wasn't present.
"Koba-chan, can we talk to you about student council for a moment?" Her classmates asked.
Kobayashi quickly excused herself, and Marui turned over to his ever dutiful vice captain.
"Come on, Sanada, isn't it weird that Koba-chan is playing around in a circuit like that? She could get hurt!"
"If Yukimura knows about it then I'm sure she's fine. Get back to your own class." Sanada's last statement came out more like a command, and the two quickly left when they saw how serious he was. He was unusually stricter when he didn't want to talk about a particular subject, but it wasn't lost on Sanada's friends when that particular subject more often than not became Kobayashi.
"If you don't like what they're talking about, you could just say it, Sanada." Yukimura told his vice captain after school. Sanada had been meaning to visit, especially after the incident with Kamiko.
"A girl named Echizen brought Akaya to our courts. He tried to challenge Seigaku."
Yukimura chuckled, "She must have shocked all of you. I suppose her American ways are different than ours."
"She mentioned that Emi played tennis."
"Emi? Oh, Genichirou, are you getting closer to her?" Yukimura was so very smug at the moment, and Sanada remembered very quickly that his captain was closer to Kobayashi then any of them. Sanada concluded that that was what made Yukimura especially sassy today.
"I meant that she shouldn't be putting herself in danger."
"She's fine; leave her be. Emi is also a part of Rikkaidai, and that means being strong."
"But-"
"Sanada, I don't meant to be rude, but right now you have to understand that she doesn't want anyone from school concerned with this side of her. She's struggling to keep up with us, she says."
Keep up? Sanada wasn't aware that Koba was falling behind. She was a constant presence in their lives, and dependable to the point of relying on her with matters of the utmost importance in their lives; some secrets- and some not so secret -included.
"Koba feels that this is the only way for her to be truly appreciated."
"Appreciated? It's not enough for her to be recognized as a top student in the nation?" Sanada couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Koba could possibly be doing more than she was involved in already.
Yukimura chuckled, "If she did, I believe she would think it was very "taronduro" of her."
Yukimura could hear Sanada keep back a scoff of contempt, and let the gesture slide so as not to ruffle the vice captain's feathers too much.
"She's a fragile one, I'll admit. But this is what she wants, and I believe it's what she needs so she can become stronger. Kami-chan will help with that."
"Are we really trusting that girl with one of our own?" Sanada was wary of the Echizen as soon as the girl had stepped onto Rikkai's courts.
"Echizen Kamiko may be from a rival school, but she was from America first. Her role as an outsider is beneficial to the growth of Emi. Unfortunately, it could mean the growth of Seigaku as well."
"Rikkai will not lose, Yukimura. You know that."
"I also know that Kami-chan's cousin is playing for Seigaku. While she's the trainer, the boy is the true tennis player."
Sanada could see that Yukimura already trusted the girl; and if Yukimura could trust someone so easily then who was Sanada to disagree? But it didn't mean he liked it.
"We'll be prepared for anything; Hyotei will be dealing with Seigaku before we do." Sanada quickly changed the subject, "We'll be here in time to see you off, no matter the opponent. Akaya insists we be here when you wake up as well."
"That boy..." Yukimura chuckled, letting the conversation die then and there. It was night, after all. And Sanada realized this as well. He coughed, and backed away towards the door.
"Good night, Yukimura."
"Good night, Genichirou."
Yukimura's serene smile faded when the door closed, 'So he cares about her more than he would like to admit... Oh, Genichirou, you're quite the dunce for an Emperor after all. And a worthy opponent all the same.'
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/plot/etc., of the PoT manga/anime.