Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!
...
...
"Do you need any help?" Hari asked looking at Kawamura who was currently making their sushi. Ryoma had won a gift certificate for as much as you could eat sushi at Kawamura's sushi place and had been nagged at until he brought the rest of the tennis regulars (plus freshmen trio and Sakuno and Tomoka).
"I'm fine, Hari-chan," Kawamura smiled at her kindly. "It's nice practice."
"You sure?" Hari asked. "I could use some more teaching into making sushi."
He looked at her before he nodded, "alright. If you're sure."
"Yes," Hari grinned and slid off her stool and came around the counter. "Set me to work, boss!"
Kawamura shook his head but blushed lightly as he told her what to do and watched her until she got started so he could see that she did it correctly. He got back to his own task beside her and she noticed how well practised he seemed.
"You're working to continue this restaurant, aren't you?" Hari asked glancing over at him.
"Yes," Kawamura nodded. "I want to continue my dad's work and help him out." (p
Hari smiled, "that sounds nice."
She wondered if she would have felt that way about her own dad. If he had been working with something like this. Come to think of it…what did her dad do for a living? Had he had work before he died? Or had he gone into hiding from Voldemort right after school? But that didn't make sense, there was some space between and Hari realised with a jolt that she had no idea what her parents had done in that time…
"Hari-chan?" Kawamura asked bringing her back to reality.
"Oh, sorry," Hari said.
"No problem," he smiled kindly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she smiled back.
They worked side by side and Hari was aware that his father poked his head in from time to time to check on them. He was probably a little worried about how Kawamura would manage on his own.
...
They had served several rounds of food when the door opened and Hari looked up to see An stepping inside and greet them all.
"Eh? Isn't she…?" Oishi started.
"Fudomine Tachibana's…" Kikumaru blinked.
"I'm Tachibana's little sister, An," An finished for them.
"Ah! Over here!" Momoshiro called.
"Oh, so it was Momo who invited her," Kikumaru teased.
"Momo' a guy after all," Fuji said.
"Please stop!" Momoshiro blushed. "It's nothing like that!"
"You're quite the sly devil, Momo," Kikumaru smirked.
Hari tuned out the teasing and looked at An who was not looking at her at all. It was very clear that she was purposely avoiding looking at Hari and it reminded Hari of the fight they had. Or at least that An was angry at her and Hari turned away from her and fisted her hands.
She was aware when the conversation turned to Rikkai Dai and Hari tensed even more. She didn't want to listen to them talk about Seiichi's team, and a glance at An told her that the other girl was just as upset as she had been after the match.
Hari had tried to call her to ask how her brother was doing, but An hadn't picked up and not responded to any text Hari had sent. But Hari had learned that Tachibana had been admitted to the hospital and that his leg was pretty badly hurt.
"There's nothing really interesting to hear," An said interrupting Momoshiro's excuse of wanting to hear about the Fudomine vs Rikkai Dai match and making the others fall silent as they turned to look at An.
"It was too awful," An said her voice tight.
Hari had her back turned to them and her hands fisted to her side.
"Awful?" Oishi repeated.
"I thought we could all watch this when we were done…" Inui said and Hari turned to look at him and saw him pull out a video and guessed he had gotten ahold of the video of the match.
...
Hari stayed in the background as they all gathered around the TV to watch and she ignored Fuji's eyes on her knowing he had picked up on her mood.
Why did they have to do this now? She didn't want to be here…
She glanced at An and saw that she was sitting with her head bowed down and looked upset. She did want to go over to her and check on her, but she didn't think it would be welcomed and Hari didn't want to impose on her when she had made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with Hari.
"We all came to the match in our best condition," An said almost frantically as she looked up at them.
They watched the double match with Sanada and Yanagi vs Ibu and Kamio where Rikkai Dai won 6-0.
"What's whit this match…"
"They couldn't even get a single game…"
Hari grimaced from her spot by the counter. It had looked rough, she would admit that… but it wasn't Sanada and Yanagi's fault.
"It's a true display of difference in power, "Fuji said.
"That's right," An said. "It's as if they're not even letting them play the match. That's why I get so angry! They were completely making fouls out of us. I could see it in those eyes… they had no intention of showing their real strength."
Hari frowned and opened her mouth before closing it again and biting the words that wanted to escape out. It would do no good for her to start to defend Sanada and the others… at least that was what she told herself.
"Now that you mention it," Oishi spoke up, "Monthly Pro Tennis' Shiba-san was talking about it. That Rikkai Dai regulars are all Tezuka-class players."
"All regulars are like Tezuka?" Kikumaru repeated shocked. "That's crazy…"
...
Hari started to clean up when they started to watch Tachibana and Akaya play and tried to ignore the reactions coming from her friends. She had just worked this out in her mind and come to terms with the difference in Kirihara and in Seiichi's friends and she really didn't want to listen to the others talk about them.
She felt annoyed without really understanding why she felt like that, but listening to them discuss the game and hearing some of her own thoughts out loud had her on edge again.
"How is Tachibana-san?" Momoshiro asked.
"He's been hospitalized with an injured ligament," An said.
They fell into a tense silence and everyone seemed to be thinking about what they had seen while Hari finished the last of the cleaning and stepped out from behind the counter.
"Oh, Hari-chan," Kawamura spoke up and blinked when he realised that everything was done. "You cleaned up…"
"Eh? You didn't watch?" Kikumaru asked.
Hari shrugged, "I saw it the day they played."
She avoided An's eyes and walked over to her bag, "well, I…"
"You're leaving?" An asked.
Hari looked at her for a moment, "you would be more comfortable talking with the others without me here, I'm sure."
"You still defend them," An narrowed her eyes.
Hari held her head high, "it's not about that."
"It is! Can't you see how poorly they treated us?!" An demanded. "How they forced Kippei-nii to get injured? That's not fair play and no one on Kirihara's team stopped him! They didn't interfere!"
"Hey," Ryoma spoke up. "Watch how you're talking to Hari!"
An glared at him.
"What?" Hari asked quietly. "You don't know them, and I'm pretty tired of hearing you talk about them like this. You don't know how much work Sanada-kun puts into his tennis, or how he shows respect. He's one of the most respectful guys I know, so I can't say that I saw the rest of Rikkai Dai treat you badly. They were simply a stronger team."
An winced.
"Though, Kirihara," Hari said. "Yes, I agree. He overstepped and I don't like how he played. But I do like how he is out of the court; he's fun and easy-going. But I agree, he went too far in that game."
"I can't believe you," An said. "You let your feelings for Yukimura colour your opinions and blind you to how they really are!"
"And you let your own feelings for your brother and your team colour yours!" Hari snapped back. "Stop accusing me of the same thing you're doing, An! I never defended Kirihara and how he acted on that court! I never did! But, Tachibana also had a choice! He could have stopped the match because of the injury!"
"So you're saying it's his fault?"
"No!" Hari denied. "Of course not! But I just meant that he had a choice and knew the risks, and Kirihara played on the injury and used it to win. Just like Keigo did with Tezuka in some way, but not to the same extent. Tachibana is a good tennis player and a good captain. He knew the meaning of the match and did all he could for his team, he made that choice. Stop disrespecting it by only focusing on the opponent!"
Hari grabbed her bag. "I'm tired of this. I'll see you at home, Ryo-chan."
...
Hari pulled out her phone as she sat down at a bench in a park near her home and called Seiichi without really thinking about it.
"Hello," Seiichi's voice answered and she felt herself relax.
"Hey, Sei-chan!" Hari said softly.
"What's wrong?" Seiichi asked.
"How do you know something's wrong?" Hari asked.
"Your voice," Seiichi said. "Hari-chan?"
"I guess I had another fight with An-chan," Hari admitted.
"Oh," Seiichi said. "About Kirihara?"
"Mm," Hari said tiredly. "I just…I don't want to fight with her, Sei-chan. She's my friend."
"She's hurt," Seiichi said gently.
"I know, but I don't like how she blames me for…"
"…for what my team did," Seiichi finished when she trailed off.
"Yes, no," Hari frowned trying to find the words. "Blame me for defending you and Sanada. I never defended what Kirihara did, you know I don't like that, but I did say he was a different person off the court."
Seiichi was silent for a moment. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For defending Genichiro," Seiichi said.
"He's your best friend and I like him," Hari said smiling slightly. "I don't know him that well yet, but…"
"We need to change that," Seiichi said.
"Mm, I'd like that," Hari agreed.
...
An watched as Hari left and frowned. She felt angry but the nagging feeling of guilt started to grow inside of her again as Hari's words were on repeat in her mind. She hadn't missed the way Hari had stayed away from her, the looks she sent her that was concerned and sad.
"She has been pretty upset lately," Fuji spoke up and An looked over at him. He had his eyes opened for once and An winced, but he was smiling softly. "I don't think she's blinded by Yukimura or the others."
An didn't answer.
"She had a fight with him," Kikumaru said. "I guess we now know what they fought about."
An frowned again. She had fought with her boyfriend over this? Maybe…
"I don't care," Ryoma snorted and picked up his bag and glared at An who wondered how someone looking so lazy and detached most of the time could manage such a glare. "I don't care what you think, but I do care that you're treating Hari like it is her fault that Kirihara played like that. She has nothing to do with how he plays, or how the rest of Rikkai Dai plays just because her boyfriend is on that team."
"I don't!" An protested. "Just that she defends them!"
"He's her boyfriend," Kawamura said kindly. "It's natural for her to defend him. But we all should step back now; they need to work this out themselves. Come on, guys. We need to prepare for the final!"
An walked with Momoshiro toward her home and tried to think. Momoshiro wasn't talking for once and An wasn't sure if she was grateful for that or not. She wondered if he was angry at her for how she had reacted. She glanced over at him and saw a pensive look on his face.
"Are you angry at me?" An asked before she could stop herself.
Momoshiro blinked and looked at her, "eh? What?"
"Are you angry at me?" An repeated.
"Why should I be?" Momoshiro smiled that easy smile he so often smiled and An couldn't help but smile a little feeling relieved. "You and Hari-chan will work it out, I'm sure."
An sighed and looked away suddenly feeling heavy again.
"You think I overreacted?" An asked after a while.
"I don't know," Momoshiro shrugged, "you were probably scared because your brother was hurt. Hari-chan will understand that, An-chan."
An blushed and bit her lip trying to keep from smiling. He called her An-chan!
"I was, Kippei-nii is always so strong and seeing him…" She trailed off with a shudder.
"I know," Momoshiro said. "I'm sorry I asked you to come today… I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you."
"It's fine," An said. "I'm glad you asked me."
"Yeah?" Momoshiro looked at her and she saw that his cheeks were a little red.
"Yeah," An said and paused having reached her home. She looked at Momoshiro for a moment and without giving it more thought she stepped closer to him and saw how his eyes widened.
"A-An-chan?" he asked swallowing.
"I want to kiss you," An said bluntly trying to sound confident.
"EH?" Momoshiro gaped.
"Can I?" An asked forcing herself to remain standing there and not fleeing through the gates and into the house.
"You…um…eh…yes…" Momoshiro blushed and An smiled before she leaned up and pressed her lips to his softly and chastely. Her heart felt like it was going to race through her chest as she felt his hands on her arms holding her in place.
She pulled back and she couldn't tell how long she had stayed like that with his lips against hers, they were more chapped than she had imagined but warm. Like he was.
"Do you want to go on a date with me?" An asked.
"Y-yes;" Momoshiro nodded.
"Without Echizen-san this time?" An smiled.
Momoshiro blushed but nodded and An smiled and stepped back and opened the gate.
"Thank you for today, Momo-chan," An said. "And thank you for the talk…"
"Sure," Momoshiro said. "And An-chan?"
"Yes?"
"We're going to crush Rikkai Dai!" Momoshiro grinned determinedly.
"Good," An smiled.
...
Hari wiped a hand over her forehead as she tried to catch her breath and rolled her shoulder experimentally and grimaced slightly. She sighed. While her shoulder hadn't gotten worse she wasn't completely well either.
She looked around and saw that the others were all training hard looked determined. She smiled slightly as she looked at them even though she was a little concerned about the anger she picked up on from Momoshiro and Kaido, they both argued more than normal. She knew better than to interrupt them because they were both riled up over the video they'd seen of Rikkai Dai the day before. She sighed.
She walked to the water station to get something to drink and rolled her shoulder again and grimaced. She reached up and tried to massage it lightly but she knew she had to do something about it now. She had meant to do something about it earlier, but she had gotten distracted.
"Hari-chan?"
Hari looked behind her and saw Sakuno watching her with worried eyes.
"Are you okay?" Sakuno asked.
"Hm," Hari sighed. "I don't really know…"
She suddenly remembered the time she stood her with her bruised rib and collapsed because of it...how long had that been now? She had promised that she would never get in that position again.
"Eh? What…" Sakuno came over and looked so worried that Hari couldn't help but smile slightly.
"It's nothing to worry about, Sakuno-chan," Hari said reassuringly. "I just… My shoulder hurt a little."
"Oh," Sakuno said before she scowled and Hari blinked because she didn't think she'd seen Sakuno with that expression before. "Come on!"
Hari blinked again and when she didn't respond right away Sakuno grabbed her arm and pulled at it making Hari follow mostly out of shock than actually being dragged along.
Hari didn't ask where they were going still kind of stunned by the force Sakuno showed and curious as to what the younger girl had in mind, though when they neared Ryuzaki's office it became clear and Hari considered pulling away but guessed she did need to talk to the coach.
"What…?" Ryuzaki looked up from her files when the door opened with a loud thud and blinked surprised when she saw her granddaughter pulling her friend with her into the office. "Sakuno? What's going on?"
Hari sighed resigned and pulled her arm free from Sakuno's grip.
"Hari-chan has something she needs to talk to you about," Sakuno said.
Hari glanced at Sakuno tilting her head as she observed the other girl. Where had this determination come from?
"Okay," Ryuzaki said looking at her granddaughter for a moment longer before looking over at Hari.
"I…" Hari started before trailing off wondering how she should start.
"Don't try to hide it!" Sakuno scowled at her and her hands were on her hip and Hari suddenly got a flash of Mrs Weasley when she was scolding Ron or the twins.
"I wasn't," Hari protested. "I was just trying to figure out what to say…"
"Oh," Sakuno blushed lightly.
Hari shook her head and looked at the coach who looked amused.
"I had meant to talk to you before, but I forgot," Hari said. "And I did hope it was nothing…"
"What is it?" Ryuzaki asked.
"I have been feeling it in my shoulder since I played that doubles match with Kawamura-senpai," Hari admitted.
Ryuzaki arched a brow. (å
"You're injured?"
"It's just a little throbbing in my shoulder," Hari said not wanting her to think it was anything big. "I thought it was just sore because the match was a lot of hard balls and I'm not used to that kind of play, so I thought it was just that. But it hasn't completely gone away yet."
"Hm," Ryuzaki nodded. "I guess I should have thought about that when I placed you in that match."
"I liked the match," Hari said quickly. "I enjoyed playing with Kawamura-senpai. It was fun, and I'm sure it's nothing."
"I still want you to go to the hospital to get the shoulder checked out," Ryuzaki said.
"What? No, I'm sure…" Hari started.
"I'm not taking any chances," Ryuzaki said holding up a hand. "Not since last time, and I told you that I wanted you to tell me when you got hurt."
"I had meant to, but I got distracted," Hari muttered.
Ryuzaki sighed and glanced out of the window and looked over at the practice. She had a good view of what was going on from her office.
"Come on," Ryuzaki said. "We'll leave now."
"But the practice," Hari said. "You shouldn't leave…"
Ryuzaki just gave her a look and Hari sighed but didn't protest anymore.
...
Hari had finally gotten back home from having spent the rest of the afternoon at the hospital and talking with a doctor and having her shoulder x-rayed. She knew she was lucky to have gotten an x-ray so quickly but Ryuzaki seemed to know someone who managed to rush it. In the end, it showed just a slight sprain and that a few days rest without playing any tennis would make it good as new again, but Hari wasn't too happy about it. She needed to play, they did have a match coming up and with this ban, she would be lucky if she was allowed to play at all!
"Bugger," she muttered.
"You'll be fine, Hari-chan," Rinko said looking at her.
"I can't play tennis," Hari complained.
"It's only for a few days," Rinko assured her.
"But we have a match soon," Hari said. "I need to practice!"
"You're good, Hari-chan," Nanjiro said looking up from his paper. "You will be ready."
"Still, I need…"
"Hari-chan," Nanjiro leaned forward with a serious look on his face. "You're wellbeing is more important than tennis, okay? You need to listen to the doctor, okay?"
"Fine," Hari said surly and stalked up the stairs not knowing what had come over her but she just felt…frustrated.
She walked to her bed and fell down on it face first and just laid there. She didn't want to feel the light throbbing from her shoulder telling her that the doctor was right. She just wanted to be able to prepare for their final against Rikkai Dai. She wanted to be at her best when they would meet Seiichi's team.
"Hari?"
"Mhmafha," Hari said into the pillow.
"I didn't get that," Ryoma said.
"I said; what do you want?" Hari pushed herself up and looked at Ryoma.
"I wanted to ask how you are doing," Ryoma frowned. "And where you disappeared during practice today. Ryuzaki said you were with her grandma?"
"I was stupid and told her about my shoulder," Hari said. She should have just taken it easy and then everything would have been fine. &o
"Your shoulder?" Ryoma frowned. "It still hurts?"
"Kind of," Hari said.
"And?"
"Coach took me to the hospital and the doctor said I had to rest a few days," Hari said. "Meaning no tennis and I can't prepare for our match!"
"Oh," Ryoma said. "I see."
Hari sighed. She knew she was being unreasonable and that it wasn't the end of the world, but she still felt upset.
"That sucks," Ryoma said sitting down on the bed.
"Mm," Hari nodded. "So, what happened after practice? You spend the day with Momo-chan?"
She needed to think about something else.
"Well, Kaido-senpai and Momo-chan almost had to leave Seigaku," Ryoma said.
Hari blinked, "eh?"
"That coach from Josei tried to get me to join her school again," Ryoma rolled his eyes, "when I refused she tried to get Momo-chan to join."
"Probably thinking you'd follow him," Hari scoffed and Ryoma nodded.
"Somehow it ended up with Kaido-senpai and Momo-senpai playing in a double match against that annoying guy from St Rudolph…"
"Mizuki?" Hari grimaced.
"Right," Ryoma nodded, "and the Captain from Josei…"
"Kajimoto," Hari added amused at Ryoma's habit of forgetting names.
"Right," he nodded again, "and if Kaido-senpai and Momo-chan lost they had to leave Seigaku."
Hari stared at him. Seriously? Why would they agree to that? And why did another coach from another school organized something like that in the first place? That was very suspicious…
"I take it Ka-chan and Momo-chan won?" Hari asked.
"Of course," Ryoma smirked. "When they got over their pride and actually started to work together. They actually made a pretty good team."
"I bet they loved that," Hari said now feeling amused. "I wish I'd seen it."
"I was kind of sad you weren't there," Ryoma said.
"Oh?" Hari looked at him curiously.
"You'd have given that coach a piece of your mind," Ryoma said. "I just know it."
Hari laughed and shook her head. "Well, maybe."
...
"Hey! I'm Kasuya Ren," the tall boy on the front steps said and Hari blinked as she wondered if it was supposed to mean anything to her. He must have seen her confusion on her face because he sighed and pushed up his round glasses and said, "I'm your tutor, Echizen-san. Akiyama-san did tell you I would come and help you, did she not?"
Hari bit back a groan.
"She never told me your name or any set time you would come," Hari said and opened the door more to let him in. "Or she did say Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday's but not that it was starting this week."
"I see," he said. "Well, are you ready to start?"
"I suppose," Hari said. "Just wait in there and I'll get my books."
He nodded and a lock of dark hair fell into his face but he didn't seem to notice as he walked toward the office. Hari took the stairs two steps at the time and wondered if she should be surprised that he had shown up already. Probably not… She grabbed her books and made her way back downstairs and to the office where he had already sat down and looked up when she entered.
"Well?" he arched a brow.
She walked to the free spot at the table that Rinko had sat up in there knowing that she would use this place to study. Hari made a mental note to thank her again later.
"We'll start with Charms," Kasuya said briskly.
"Alright," Hari said.
"What level are you on?" he asked looking at her.
"I was in third year at Hogwarts," Hari said looking at her books.
"I see," he said. "Well, I to take a look at your work and we'll get a plan set up. I do expect that you have done the work we agree on to the next lesson and are ready to discuss it next time."
Hari just nodded and wondered again why she had to do this and tried to remind herself. She listened to him talk and comment as he read over her work and saw the arched brow at times but he didn't elaborate on what made him arch his brow.
"You're pretty average," he said bluntly.
Why, thanks, Hari thought. "Guess so."
"But you show some good insight," he continued and looked at her with a searching look. "I do not tolerate laziness, Echizen-san."
Hari bit her tongue and nodded. She wasn't lazy! She just…had better things to spend her time on! Like tennis!
"Fine," he said. "I want you to start reading this and we will discuss it briefly before our time is up."
He magically opened the book to the page about cheering charms and she pulled the book closer to start reading. She was aware of him picking up a book of his own to read while occasionally look over at her.
...
The days passed quickly and soon it was the day before the match. Hari felt nervous but at the same time determined and anticipation filled her as she went through the day at school. She had, with some difficulties, managed to stay away from doing any practical tennis. She'd just observed the others and tried to do her best that way, and Ryuzaki had given them the day off to relax and get ready for the final tomorrow.
Hari noticed restlessness with both Momoshiro and Kaido during class and knew she felt the same, but she didn't comment on it. She glanced at Momoshiro who was checking his phone quite a bit.
"Are you waiting for something, Momo-chan?" Hari asked.
"No," he blushed.
"I'm not!" Momoshiro denied frantically.
"Sure you're not," Hari smirked.
He blushed and looked away and she wondered what he was trying to hide. Did it have anything to do with An? The thought suddenly entered her mind and she frowned as she pondered the idea. It might… and she wouldn't know because An was angry at her.
She sighed and looked away from Momoshiro and tried to push the thoughts out of her mind. She wasn't feeling so amused anymore and a heavy feeling settled in her chest. She missed the other girl…
When the day was over she walked out of the school with Ryoma and walked home with him knowing she should start to read the chapter Kasuya had ordered her to read for Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was so…bossy and stern that she kind of wondered if he had a stick lodged up his…well, you know. Why couldn't they get someone more laidback?
He reminded her of Percy, to be honest, and Hari didn't like that reminder. While Percy was okay and he was Ron's brother, he was too much hung up with rules and propriety that she found it difficult to relate to him.
"You have homework?" Ryoma asked looking over at her.
"Mm," she said. "Have another lesson tomorrow after the game."
"Lucky you," Ryoma smirked.
"No," Hari pouted. "I wish I could prank him or something, then maybe he would loosen up a little."
"Then why don't you?" Ryoma asked.
"Because I need his help and I can't really afford to make him mad enough to rat me out," Hari said.
"True," Ryoma nodded. "Well, you'll be fine. I know."
Hari smiled.
...
Hari was reading and working on her paper when Ryoma entered her room again and she looked up to see him standing there in his Seigaku training clothes. She had also glanced over at her tennis racket a lot during her work and felt the itchiness to grab it and practice. Though, she knew she had to hold back.
"You going out?" she asked and glanced at the clock. It was already past six…
"I have to do something," he said. "You want to come with me?"
"You know I can't play," Hari said.
"You could still watch and just hang out," Ryoma said.
Hari looked down at her almost finished paper and nodded. She could finish this later, and right now it was more tempting to go with Ryoma. She jumped up and quickly went into the bathroom to change into her Seigaku t-shirt even if she couldn't actually play, it just felt right to have it on.
"Here," Ryoma held up her regular jacket and tossed it to her when she came back.
Hari followed him out and the fresh air felt nice and she always loved a chance to just chat with Ryoma. She liked having the chance to spend time with him again, it had been a while since they had just been the two of them…
Or she might have spoken too soon…Momoshiro was waiting by the entrance of the school and looked like he had been expecting them too.
"Hey!" Momoshiro said.
"What are you doing here?" Ryoma asked. "At this time of night, Momo-senpai."
"I think we had the same idea," Momoshiro grinned.
"Looks like it," Hari agreed.
They made their way to the courts and was pleased to see the lights were on so it was possible to play. Hari sat down on the bench and watched as Ryoma and Momoshiro got ready to play, joking and laughing as they did.
...
Hari pulled out her phone when she heard it buzz and saw a text from Seiichi and smiled.
Ready for tomorrow? –S.
Of course! Are you? – H.
Never been more eager to play and wishing that I could, but it will be nice to get a chance to watch my team play you! – S.
Wish you could play as well, but guess that will be for next time! –H.
You bet. – S.
You and your friends sounded a little too sure of yourself, though, in the papers, Sei-chan. You sure you'll win that easily? ;) – H.
Had to say something. Still think we'll win. But I am interested in seeing you all play. Are you upset? –S.
Nah. More determined to beat you, though! – H.
I'm sure you are, Hari-chan. What about the winner having to treat the loser to dinner this weekend? –S.
Not the loser? –H.
Too rough having to pay for the meal as well. –S.
You are sure you're going to win, aren't you? Well, I'll look forward to treating you to a meal then, Sei-chan! –H.
Hari looked up when she heard voices and realised that the rest of the team had joined them all dressed in their Seigaku training clothes. She smiled. They were all so riled up for the match and she was pleased to see that the worry and slight fear she'd seen earlier was gone now.
"Come on, Hari-chan!" Kikumaru called. "You can't be on your phone now!"
Hari laughed and quickly sent a text to Seiichi saying she had to go and that she would see him the next day before she put the phone away to join in and talk with the others. She took the spot to referee a match since she couldn't play and smiled when Fuji returned a ball from Ryoma who used his Drive-B to return it again.
...
It was raining!
Hari glowered at the sky as she huffed. Of course, it was raining…she sighed. She wondered if they would still be playing. Ryuzaki had told them by the tables that were underneath a roof right by the court and she could practically feel the tension coming from the others as they waited.
She doubted that they would play because of the rain. It wasn't just a little rain either, but it was pouring down like it was trying to empty itself all at once.
She looked up when she noticed something move from the corner of her eyes and saw An and Kamio coming toward them. She stiffened slightly.
"An-chan!" Momoshiro said shocked. "You're here?"
"You thought I wouldn't come?" An asked.
"Well, no…" Momoshiro blushed and Hari realised that she must have been correct in her assumption about the two of them, something had happened between them.
"We're here to gather information!" Kamio said.
"Oh? On us?" Momoshiro asked.
"No, on Rikkai Dai, of course!" Kamio snapped annoyed.
Hari smiled slightly as she leaned against the table beside Ryoma watching them but not saying anything.
Kaido was the one who noticed them first and tensed making the others look to see what he was staring at. Hari smiled crookedly as she spotted Sanada, Yanagi and Kirihara. The rest of the team was not there but she guessed they would be close by.
It was all very dramatic with the two teams staring at each other with one team standing in the rain and the thunder going off above them with a lightning bolt lighting up the dark cloudy sky.
"Hey, Sanada-kun," Hari smiled slightly and waved. "I think you need a little more than three players to play us, you know."
He rolled his eyes but she saw his lips twitch slightly.
"Hari-chan," he said stoically. "Seiichi and the others are at the headquarters to find out if we're going to be playing today or not."
"Probably not," Hari said glancing up at the sky.
He nodded and adjusted his cap.
"You're going to get sick standing in the rain like that, you know," Hari observed slightly worried.
"I don't get sick," Sanada said.
"Of course not," Hari shook her head.
"Hey, Hari-chan!" Kirihara said cheerfully and waved at her.
"Kirihara," Hari nodded and smiled slightly at him very aware of the glare from An and Kamio and the wary looks from her own team. "How are you?"
"Pumped to get to play," he said. "I hope they don't postpone the match."
Hari nodded, "doesn't look good, though."
He sighed and nodded.
"Let's go," Sanada said and with a nod to Hari, he turned around and walked away with Yanagi following behind him while Kirihara came toward them instead and Hari narrowed her eyes slightly.
...
"It's been a while, Seigaku," he said looking over the others. "Fuji Shusuke… With Tezuka-san not around, you're Seigaku's ace… I guess you're my opponent."
"Who knows," Fuji said calmly.
"I do hope you at least put up a little resistance in our game," Kirihara said.
"What was that, you jerk?!" Momoshiro yelled coming toward him angrily but Fuji held up an arm to stop him.
"I don't know if we'll be playing today, but if we are going to play each other let's have a good match," Fuji said.
Both An and Kamio made a noise and Kirihara looked over at them.
"Fudomine, huh?" he said. "Come to ask Seigaku to get revenge for you?"
"There's still Nationals," Kamio said. "It won't go the way it did last time!"
"I can't wait," Kirihara said. "If you give me another screwed gam, I'll feel very unsatisfied."
Hari narrowed her eyes before she closed them and sighed. Why did he have to purposely provoke them?
"Screwed game?!" An repeated before she ran at him and only Kamio's quick reaction managed to prevent her from physically attacking Kirihara who looked not bothered at all as he looked at her. He merely looked curious like he was trying to figure her out.
"Getting injured during a game is proof that it was screwed," Kirihara said.
"You're the one who caused him to get injured!" An snapped. "It's your fault that my brother is in the hospital!"
"Hey;" Hari spoke up and stepped closer to Kirihara and An. "Kirihara-kun, I think you've said enough."
He looked at her, "I only meant that the injured hasn't prepared well enough. They must have practised too lightly."
"You don't know that," Hari said sharply. "Tachibana-san is dedicated to tennis and a good Captain, so please stop disrespecting him, Kirihara-kun. I know you might not mean anything by it, but think about what you say and to whom, alright?"
He looked at her and glanced at An before frowning slightly.
"It's just an observation," he said.
"Still not something you should say to his family and friends," Hari pointed out her voice softer now.
"Hm," he looked thoughtful. "Well, I would like to have a real match against you, Fuji-san, or maybe even you, Hari-chan. That would be interesting."
Hari noticed the way the others tensed and Fuji stepped up so he was standing beside Hari and almost put himself in front of her like he wanted to shield her.
"Let's have a good game," Fuji said again his eyes wide opened as he stared at Kirihara.
"But Rikkai Dai will win," Kirihara smirked.
"Saa," Fuji said. "We won't know before we play."
"Kirihara!"
Hari looked to see Sanada standing there obviously come back to look for his missing teammate.
"Oh, Sanada-san," Kirihara said.
"What are you doing?" Sanada asked. "Come on, get to the meeting place!"
"Right, I was just introducing myself and talking to Hari-chan," Kirihara said.
Sanada looked from him to Hari and she thought she saw a flicker of concern in his dark eyes but he looked away before she could be sure.
"Let's go," Sanada said.
...
Hari sighed as she heard Sanada say they had no chance of winning without Tezuka and even with Tezuka. He really did make the other hate him by saying that, she thought as she looked around. She wondered if Seiichi's team all went out of their way to get her team angry…
Why did they have to make her life so complicated?
They stood in silence as they watched Sanada and Kirihara walk away and Hari glanced around and her eyes landed on Ryoma who was watching Sanada with intense eyes and she didn't have to wonder about what he was thinking. He was thinking about playing Sanada. He had, no doubt about it, picked up on the strength inside of Sanada and was now itching to play him.
Momoshiro was seemingly trying to hit the rain until it stopped while yelling at it and Hari was very tempted to ask him to shut up, but she kept her mouth closed as she leaned against the table again and waited.
"Calm down," Ryuzaki's voice sounded and Hari saw their coach coming toward them now.
"We're still playing, right?" Momoshiro asked. "We're not letting the rain stop us, right?!"
"No," Ryuzaki said. "The officials have made their decision and the match is postponed for a week!"
...
...
AN: What do you think? XD
Hope you liked it! And thank you for sharing your thoughts about Seiichi and magic! :)
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