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Chapter 15

My Sisters and I

The strange yet incredibly kind woman brought Yotsuba to her place. Her uniform jacket, sweater, and socks, even her ribbon all had to go in the dryer after getting wet from the rain.

She sat in a sofa chair with her legs up, dressed only in her shirt and skirt and her bow tie that hung loose around her neck. There was also a towel on around her shoulders that she was using to dry her hair.

Meanwhile the mysterious woman was in the kitchen making tea. Yotsuba didn't sense any danger from her, but she still didn't know who she was. Now that she had calmed down she took in her surroundings.

The interior of the house had a very classic European style. The living room itself looked like a piece of art. The carpet was a rusty red color, an odd choice yet it somehow fit the mood of the room. The walls were also a strange choice. Deep emerald green with white stripes. The sofas were also green with white pillows, matching the walls quite nicely. The coffee table at the center of the room was carved from rich mahogany. Lastly, there was a giant flat screen TV placed on the other side of the room.

Yotsuba couldn't help but be amazed. Neither the quints' home or even Papa's place were like this in terms of luxury. The house had a very rich vintage feel to it instead of the modern ones she was so used to. The mysterious woman was obviously rich, but who was she?

Then she remembered that she knew her name, but how? She couldn't recall having ever met her before, but she did seem familiar. Yotsuba felt like she had seen her somewhere before but couldn't remember where.

Her gaze drifted over to the wall filled with many pictures. She wasn't close enough to get a good look at them but from she could see most of the pictures were the same, some displaying the woman holding up her arms in victory and others she her holding something up. Then she noticed the trophy case nearby. Was this woman an athlete? A professional one? A famous one?

That would explain the fancy furniture and all, but it still didn't explain who she was or how she knew Yotsuba's name.

She turned to the right and saw another table of carved mahogany that had many picture frames. She was close enough to see a family photo displaying the mysterious woman with her husband and children, two sons and two girls, at a picnic together.

Yotsuba's lips lifted as a memory came back to her. Shortly after the quints' mother had married Maruo one of the first things he did was take them out for a picnic on their tenth birthday. It was one of the most memorable experiences they ever had, being able to eat good food for once instead of the cheap meals they were so used to.

However... it was also one of the last times they would get to spend with her. Their mother's health had started declining significantly around that time. Maruo had hoped that the fresh air would help her recover. Sadly it hadn't. It got to the point where Rena couldn't leave the house and eventually she had to be hospitalized.

Yotsuba could still remember that moment when she and her sisters watched as their mother was loaded into the ambulance. She had smiled and waved at them before the doors closed and the they watched the ambulance drive away until it was out of sight.

That would be the last time they ever saw her. They had pleaded with Maruo many times to let them visit her in the hospital but he wouldn't allow it. Looking at it now it was most likely because he didn't want them to see her in the pitiful state she must have been in.

Two weeks later she died.

She remembered how angry they were with Maruo when he told them the news. They had blamed him for her death and had even said that he was a failure of a doctor. Now that she thought about it, Yotsuba wondered if that had been one of the reasons why he avoided them so much. Maybe he did feel guilty that he couldn't save their mother and was unable to face them.

Her eyes went over to the picture frame that was the furthest away and they immediately locked on a certain picture. Something about it caught her attention and she tried to get a closer look, but she was too far away. She couldn't be certain but the picture looked strangely familiar. It depicted a woman surrounded by five children dressed in white-

"Here we are."

Yotsuba squeaked and almost fell out of her chair. The mysterious woman came into the living room and set down a tray of tea and little blueberry muffins. When she looked at Yotsuba she was stunned to see how incredibly beautiful she was.

Long deep blue hair fell down her back in three thick ringlets, tied by a white ribbon. Yotsuba had never seen hair like that before. Her skin was also very fair and flawless. And her face... Yotsuba had been right when she thought she was seeing an angel. Her features were unreal, unearthly. Every part of her face was perfectly sculpted. It embodied the very words of beauty, gentleness, and grace all at once.

But it was her eyes that fascinated her the most. Deep forest green that right now was soft and gentle, but Yotsuba could tell that they could turn sharp in the instant. They were the kind of eyes that could stare into the very depths of someone's soul, ones that could see through anything no matter what kind of protective wall that person put up.

Yotsuba had met many different people in her life, but none had come close to making an impression when it came to this mysterious woman. Even her mother, who'd been described by her very own students as "So damn beautiful!" and scary at the same time would've been envious. This woman also made her uneasy. She struck her as someone who was not to be taken lightly.

Then she remembered the family picture she saw earlier. This woman had to be in her mid-thirties, around the same age her mom would have been.

Now that she had gotten a good look at her Yotsuba realized that she had seen this woman somewhere before. She was sure of it. But where?

The woman poured some tea into a fine porcelain cup. The tea set was Western made and undoubtedly expensive.

"Here you go, Yotsuba," she said in a kind voice, "How do you feel now?"

Yotsuba took the cup and saucer, "B-Better, thank you. But... I don't understand. Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

The woman pointed to her cup, "Drink some of that first. It will make you feel even better."

She went over to the picture table while Yotsuba looked at the amber liquid before taking a sip...

She looked back at the tea in surprise.

"Is this... vanilla tea?"

"French vanilla. Ever had it before?"

"I... I think so," she took another sip and it instantly came back to her, "Yeah! I remember this taste! It was on our... tenth birthday! We were celebrating and Mama gave us this special tea. It was the most delicious thing we ever had! We never did ask where she got it though."

"A good friend of hers sent it. It's not something you would find at your local store. It was her birthday present to you. It was also your mother's favorite tea."

Yotsuba looked at her, "How do you know about my mom? Who are you?"

She then noticed that the woman was holding a picture frame.

"For now you can call me Izumi-san. As for the other question," she looked at the frame and smiled fondly before handing it to Yotsuba, "Take a look."

Yotsuba put down her cup and saucer and took it into her hands. There were three pictures, two small ones on the left and a much larger one on the right. She realized this had been the picture frame she'd been trying to get a look at earlier. Her gaze locked on the larger picture and she gasped. No wonder it caught her attention earlier. She recognized it instantly. It was a picture of the quints and their mother when they were children and had still dressed and looked the same.

"I remember this picture. It was also taken on our tenth birthday. Papa had rented a professional studio."

She looked at the top picture on the left which displayed the quints in their teens posing with Maruo.

"I remember this one too. This was taken when we first entered high school. We were wearing our uniforms for the first time."

Her gaze finally shifted over to the larger picture and she froze. This picture portrayed a teenage Izumi, who looked exactly the way she did today, standing beside another girl with their arms wrapped around each other's waists. Both were smiling cheerfully, but Yotsuba's attention was riveted to the girl standing beside Izumi.

She looked just like Yotsuba.

The girl had long hair that was exactly like hers when she used to wear it that way but with one difference. Instead of a green bunny style ribbon the girl wore a white headband instead. However, the face, the eyes, the smile, it was all the same. It was exactly like Yotsuba and her sisters.

It only took her a moment to realize that the girl she saw... was their mother. This was her at their age.

Yotsuba was stunned. When they had been children the quints had never asked their mother what she did when she was young and she had never talked about her past. They knew nothing about it. She didn't even have any pictures or memorabilia of her past life as far Yotsuba could remember.

As she sat there Yotsuba recalled and compared the picture they had of her as an adult, the only picture they had, and compared it to the picture she saw before her. The stark contrast was startling. In that picture their mother wore a sad and tired look with only a hint of a smile. Here it was the complete opposite. She had been full of life as a teen, eyes shining and smiling brightly. Hopeful, outgoing, and courageous. It suddenly made Yotsuba very sad to now see how much he life had changed after she became pregnant with them and was then forced to raise five children on her own.

Her surprise now complete she looked up at Izumi-san.

"You and Mama knew each other. You went to the same school."

The woman nodded and took the picture frame back, "I transferred to Kurobara Girls High in the middle of my first year. She was the very first person who spoke to me. We discovered that we shared the same interests and became close friends. She became a very special person to me."

She placed the picture frame back in its spot.

"So as you can see, Yotsuba, I knew your mother. I also know about you, your sisters, and the fallout you just had."

Yotsuba stared at her, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Your stepdad called me right after your sisters kicked you out. He told me everything," she started stirring her tea, "I have to say, Yotsuba, you really made a mess of things," she then took a sip before saying, "There's one question I want to ask you. What is it that you want most in your life?"

Yotsuba stiffen. Itsuki had asked her the same question but she never answered. At that time it had been Fuutarou.

"What is your goal?" Izumi-san went on, "What are your dreams? Do you even have dreams? What do you want to do with your life?"

It was a while before Yotsuba could answer.

"My goal... my dream... was to become a bride," she said.

The older woman raised a brow, "A bride? Nothing else?"

She shrugged, "Well... I also want to help people."

"And how do you intend to do that? By getting involved in the community? Becoming a nurse? A doctor? Perhaps a caregiver who helps the elderly? Or do you intend to just go around helping every single random person you come across? You know, people who do that without second thought often get taken advantage of."

Yotsuba said nothing as Izumi-san took another sip of her tea.

"So you just wanted to become a bride. Or rather, you just want someone to take care of you for life and not do anything else."

Yotsuba flinched, "What?"

The woman looked at her with eyes that had now turned sharp, just as she suspected.

"You're willing to throw your entire life away just to be with the boy you like," she said with clear disapproval, "Do you think that's what your mother would've wanted after everything she did for you? Why do you think Miku said those words about you making your living by lying on your back? If there was one thing your mother openly disliked it's laziness. I don't think she would've been very happy with you if she were alive right now."

A chill went down her spine as she remembered Miku's words.

"Do you love Fuutarou?" Izumi suddenly asked.

Yotsuba blinked, taken off guard by the sudden question.

"Y-Yes!" she answered, although too quickly, "Of course I do!"

Izumi-san didn't look convinced, "Do you?"

This time she hesitated, "Y-Yes."

There was another pause before Izumi-san shook her head.

"I don't think you do, Yotsuba. Not in the way you think you do. Chihori was correct. You weren't in love with Fuutarou. You were obsessed with him."

"Wait... how do you know Chihori-san?"

"She's my cousin."

"Oh," Yotsuba recalled the woman standing beside Chihori when she arrived at her school.

"I saw you yesterday when you came to her school. I was hoping to get to speak with you but unfortunately the news of your grandfather reached you. I'm very sorry to hear about that. I hope he recovers."

"Th-Thank you."

"Chihori told me about her confrontation with you, and it was just as I feared. You had no respect for your sisters, or even Fuutarou for that matter. I will give you this. If you wanted revenge against them all, taking Fuutarou away from them was the perfect way to do it."

Yotsuba felt a twinge of anger go through her, "They weren't supposed to get hurt. It was only Ichika I wanted to get even with. I wasn't trying to take Fuutarou from the rest."

"Yotsuba, that is a lie and you know it," Izumi-san said harshly, "The thing about you is that you've always given in to temptation, even when you try not to. At Kurobara it you jumped at every chance to outshine your sisters, and when Fuutarou reentered the picture it went up a notch. Whenever you were around him or alone with you just couldn't resist. You couldn't control your desires when it came to him. You let those desires take control, every single time, and you didn't like the fact that your sisters had taken an interest in him. Especially Ichika. The simple fact is you wanted Fuutarou all to yourself. You never intended to give them a fair chance. And look where it led. Right to where you are now."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Yotsuba said bitterly.

"It was inevitable, Yotsuba. The moment you girls put Fuutarou over yourselves something like this was bound to happen, but you were the one who made it personal," Izumi-san paused for a while before saying, "Let me ask you this. Do you know what the difference is between love and lust?"

Yotsuba looked at her blankly, not sure what she was getting at.

"When you love, you give. When you lust, you take," Izumi-san looked sharply at her again, "Now given everything you've done, which of those two categories do you think you fall under?"

She lowered her head in shame.

"If you say that it was all based on love... well, I'm sorry, but you must have a pretty twisted view on love. Nothing of what you did or said was based on love, Yotsuba. It was all based on lust. Your sisters have given you nothing but love and support, but what have you given back to them?"

Yotsuba still couldn't answer.

"You see? You may have loved them, but you didn't respect them. All you've done is take things from them through acts of revenge. You became a worse version of Ichika. You created this little sob story of yours to make everyone feel sorry for you. You made it to where your happy ending was virtually handed over to you. Your sisters were left with nothing and you couldn't care less. That's why you were thrown out. All they wanted was a chance to be with the boy they like and you took it away from them because you believed you and Fuutarou were meant for each other. So don't try to tell me the rest weren't supposed to get hurt. You resented them all equally."

"They acted out on lust too, you know," she stated.

"True, but they knew when to draw the line. You, however, crossed every line there was. You acted out of pure selfishness and if things had continued like this your life would've been in Fuutarou's hands. You would've been entirely dependent on him. Your mother didn't raise you to be like that, Yotsuba. She wanted all of you to be able to take care of yourselves and not be dependent on others, and if she were here she'd be saying the same thing."

Yotsuba bit her lip, "Don't women usually marry so they can be safe and protected?"

"And what would you have done if something had happened to Fuutarou? Or what if he decided to leave you?" Izumi-san held up a finger, "Don't try to tell me that Fuutarou would never do something like that. You thought you knew everything but in truth you didn't know him at all. A million things can happen in a marriage and people change as time goes on. There's no guarantee that the two of you will be together forever."

She fell silent as she remembered what she had said to Fuutarou.

If you couldn't be honest with me then what makes you think I can believe anything you say now?

Well, the same went for her.

"So what would you do if Fuutarou was suddenly no longer around?" Izumi-san continued on, "Go to your sisters? Even if all were forgiven you can't depend on them forever. They would have their own lives to live. Their own families to raise. Would you want to become a burden to them? How would you take care of yourself? How will you make a living? Would you be able to get a job? Could you hold a job? Can you provide for your kids, provided of course you even had kids? Would you be able to take care of them? Or would it come to the point where you had to sell yourself on the streets?"

Yotsuba's eyes went wide and a chill went down her spine.

"That was the fate your mother managed to avoid. I don't think you realize just how fortunate you girls were. Can you imagine how different your lives would've been if she had been bringing home strange men? Staying out very late at night? Doing things you wouldn't have understood until you got older? Then having to live with the shame of it? What if she never became a teacher? What if she never met your stepdad?"

Yotsuba didn't know how to answer.

"Your mother gave her life for her daughters. She wanted all of you to have a future. The kind of future she never got to have. And here you are, throwing all her efforts away, just to be with a boy," she finished her tea and poured herself another cup, "I can see in your eyes that you've been carrying a great deal of frustration, probably several years worth. So why don't you stop pretending and tell me the truth? Tell me how you really feel. Why do you resent your sisters so much?"

Izumi watched the girl carefully.

Yotsuba wasn't being totally honest with her. She could tell. There was something else going on. Something deeper. She could see the emotions running through Yotsuba's eyes as shifted back and forth on the coach. Then she finally let out all the pent up frustrations she'd been keeping for years.

"All this time, they never treated me like I was their sister. They just kept treating me like I was some kid. A kid they got stuck with and had to take care of. I felt more like a burden than a sibling! I never felt like I was part of the family!"

Hmm, interesting, she thought, "Did you ever mention this to them?"

"They never listened! When I told them about Ichika picking on me they just blew me off. All I was asking for was for them to tell her to stop. Instead they just ignored me and said, 'She doesn't mean any harm, Yotsuba. Stop being such a baby, Yotsuba. You're just trying to get attention, Yotsuba. Quit causing more problems for Mama, Yotsuba,' Stuff like that!" she spat in disgust, "What was I supposed to think? Not once did they care!"

It was now starting to become clear to Izumi.

"Then Mama died and everything changed, but not for me. What pisses me off is that they knew what I was doing at school, being number one and all that, and they just let me do it!"

"Perhaps they thought it was your way of coping with her death," Izumi suggested.

"It had nothing to do with that," Yotsuba sniffed loudly, "Then after we transferred they started being overprotective of me. It was like they were convinced that I couldn't take care of myself. Whenever I made a mistake or got in trouble they always took the blame. It was as if they believed that I couldn't do anything wrong or right because I was either too nice to do this or too dumb to do that! Not once did they ever sit down and have a talk with me, say thing like I should be more careful next time. They never gave me any helpful advice. They just pretended like the whole thing never happened and that it was everyone's fault but mine."

"Well, maybe that was because they were worried about you. They didn't want you to feel bad about your transfer. It's only natural they would want to protect you."

"That's the thing! I didn't need protection! I didn't even want protection. I just wanted them to acknowledge me as their sister! I wanted them to stop treating me like I was some kind of imbecile!"

"If that's how you felt then why didn't you ever talk to them?"

"I told you, it's because they never listened to me."

"Is that the only reason?"

Izumi saw Yotsuba hesitate and it became even more clearer.

"No, it wasn't," she slowly bobbed her head as it came to her, "It was because you didn't want to admit that you were weak, especially in front of Fuutarou. That would've brought your whole world crashing down. Then there's also Ichika. For you it would've been like saying that she was better than you."

"She is better than me," Yotsuba sniffed again, "She always has been. When Mama died she had to change into our leader in order to look after us. I always admired how she was able to change and become a better person for all of us. I wish I could be like her."

So that's what it is. It wasn't really hatred after all. It was envy.

"I regretted it. What happened in Kyoto... I regretted it the instant it happened. But I just couldn't let my hatred towards her go. I couldn't stand the fact that she and Fuutarou got along so well."

She wanted everything Ichika had. It all makes sense now.

"I resented my sisters because of how they kept treating me. They didn't have to take the blame for all my mistakes just so they could make me feel better. All I wanted... was for them..."

She couldn't finish but Izumi already knew the answer.

"You wanted to be loved, just like a sister should be."

The instant she said that Yotsuba was no longer able to hold back her tears and she began to cry.

"Why did Mama have to die? She left me when I needed her the most! She tried to warn me so many times to not place myself above the others, and I never listen. I wish she was here. I wish I could tell her how sorry I am, how I screwed everything up. She never knew what my problems were."

"You're wrong, Yotsuba. She knew."

The crying suddenly stopped and Yotsuba looked at her in shock.

"She knew, Yotsuba," she said again, "She knew all along that you had problems. It was you she was worried about the most."

A long moment of silence passed as it sunk into Yotsuba's mind.

"But... I... I don't... Why didn't she..."

"Ever say anything to you? You don't think she wanted to? Have you forgotten about the conditions you were raised in? Your mother had four other children to look after. Between work and having to rest all the time she barely got to spend any time with her daughters, you most of all. She wanted more than anything to help you, to give you the guidance and support you needed. She just never found the time, and then she ran out of time. She hoped that your sisters would be able to do it for her. Unfortunately, they never did."

Yotsuba was at a loss for words.

"What happened between you and your sisters was exactly what she was feared," Izumi sighed deeply, "Before she died she told both me and your stepfather to keep a close eye on you. She feared that you would become irresponsible and would one day break the bond between you and your sisters. In the end, she was right. I'm just glad she wasn't there to see it. What you should know is that your mother loved you, all of you, from the very moment you opened your eyes to the very moment she closed hers. But she was fortunate that she didn't have to witness the destruction between them."

For a long time Yotsuba only sat there in silence. Then she started to cry again as she finally realized how foolish she had been.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," the tea cup fell harmlessly to the floor and she wept uncontrollably, "I'm such an idiot! I hate this! I hate myself! Why didn't I listen to anyone? Mama, Itsuki, even Fuutarou, they all tried to tell me something important and I just ignored them because it wasn't what I wanted to hear. It shouldn't be like this! I want things to go back to the way they were! I want to be with my sisters again!"

Izumi put her tea cup down and came over to Yotsuba. Taking her into her arms she let the poor girl cry into her shoulder.

"I know you're not an evil person, Yotsuba," she said soothingly, "You're simply a young girl who got caught up in her emotions and created a situation that spiraled out of control. You let your fears get the better of you and you ended up destroying everything around you. Things may have hit rock bottom but not all hope is lost. You can be a family again."

"How?" Yotsuba choked, "How can I ever make it up to them? How can we ever be sisters again when I've hurt them so badly?"

"You can because you are sisters."

She shook her head, "That's not good enough. Not anymore. I ruined everything because I was only thinking about myself. How can our bond ever be repaired? Maybe I should do what Nino planned. Move somewhere far away and never return."

Izumi released her and took her by the shoulders, "If you do that you'll just be running away again. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life running?"

Yotsuba couldn't answer.

"The bond may be broken, but it can never be completely severed. Deep down you all still love each other. The only thing you can do now is to reforge that bond. Make it stronger than ever before," she hugged her again, "It's going to be all right, Yotsuba. Trust me. It's going to be all right. I promised your mother that I would look after you if the time ever came. That's what I intend to do. That's why I'm here. I'm going to help you get through this."

After a while Yotsuba finally calmed down and she released her.

"Let's stop here for now. You should head back to your stepfather's place soon. I'm sure he's worried about you. I would like you to speak to you again though. There are other things I want to talk to you about. Can you promise me that you'll come over to my place after school? Please?"

Yotsuba swallowed but she nodded.

"Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure," Izumi stood and pointed behind her, "It's just down the hall to your left. I'll go see see if your clothes are dry."

She watched Yotsuba go and sighed again.

"Poor girl," she whispered, "She's really been through a lot."

There were still a few minutes left on the dryer so she took the time to plug in her iron before calling Maruo again. He answered right away.

"Hey. How come you hung up on me?"

She quickly explained and he cursed himself.

"I didn't think she would actually leave the apartment. Thank God you saw her when you did. Have you talked to her?"

"Yes. I actually learned a great deal. There's a lot more going on than I realized. Maruo... I need you to do a couple favors for me."

"Anything."

"I want to meet the other quints tomorrow. I want to speak with them privately, at my place if it's possible. Can you arrange it?"

There was a slight pause.

"My driver knows where you live. I can say you invited them over for breakfast. Ichika, Miku, and Itsuki would come, but I'm not sure about Nino."

"That's fine. I only want to speak with those three anyway. I also want to speak with Yotsuba again as well. Can you make sure she comes to my place tomorrow?"

"Of course. Anything else?"

"Just one. Can you give me Fuutarou's address?"

This time there was a longer pause.

"Izumi..." Maruo started to say.

"I'm not going to say anything, Maruo," she quickly said, "I feel like I need to have a talk with him. The same kind of talk I had with Yotsuba. If Tomoko was alive she would want me to, just like Rena."

She could see Maruo hesitating, but he knew what she said was true.

"That's right. You were neighbors at one time. You knew what was going on."

The dryer dinged after he gave her the address.

"Thank you, Maruo-kun. I'll call you again."

"Oh, wait one second, Izumi, I forgot to tell you this last time. There's something else you should know. Do you know of anyone by the name of Kuba?"

She froze, "Kuba? Yes, we knew of someone with that name back in high school. Why do you ask?"

When Maruo told her about Miku's assault at school she was furious, but it couldn't be the Kuba she knew. It had to be some relative.

But how dare she! How dare she call Rena a-

Izumi forced herself to calm down. If she ever ran into the Kuba she knew she was going to have a little talk with her. She had gone too far this time!

She took the clothes out of the dryer and quickly ironed them before heading back to the living room. Right away she noticed that one of the lights had been turned on. Then she found Yotsuba looking at the pictures on the wall and then at the trophy case.

The girl turned when she heard her and she saw a dumbfounded look on her face. She inwardly grinned, it was always like when a fan met her for the first time.

"You're... Izumi Himuro?" Yotsuba looked back at the pictures and then back at her, "The Izumi Himuro? The famous tennis player?!"

Her grin broadened. She set the clothes down on the couch and walked over to her.

"I am indeed," she said.

Yotsuba's jaw dropped in disbelief, "No way! I knew I'd seen you somewhere before! You were the captain of the girls tennis team at Kurobara! You won the National Championship in the year 2000."

"We were then invited to go to the Junior Tennis World Cup that was being held in France to represent Japan that year," Izumi added, "We made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to the Belgian team. The Russians then defeated them to win the championship."

"I remember reading about it," Yotsuba bobbed her head excitedly, "You then went pro right after that. I was always hearing about you from my friends while I was growing up. Some of them are big fans of yours. Heh, they'd be so jealous if they knew I was talking to you right now. How many times did you win?"

"You mean how many tournaments? Many, but never a Grand Slam," Izumi said bitterly.

"Didn't you retire recently?"

"Not by choice," she pointed to a certain place on the wall.

Yotsuba looked over to where the front page of a newspaper was framed.

"Famed Japanese tennis player forced to retire after career ending injury," she read aloud, "That's right. I remember hearing that you got injured. I didn't know it was that bad. What happened?"

"Blown knee."

"Oof, I'm so sorry to hear that. That's the worst. No one wants to get an injury like that."

"It can happen, even to the best of us. One never imagines it happening to them until it does."

Yotsuba looked back at the pictures on the wall and Izumi saw a look of fascination on her face.

"Tennis..." the girl slowly whispered, "You know, that's one sport I've never gotten to try out."

Izumi looked at her in surprise. That had immediately caught her attention, but she kept her face passive.

"Really?" she calmly replied, "How come?"

Yotsuba shrugged, "I just never got around to it, but I've always been curious about it. I did play on the badminton team during middle school and I've been playing volleyball since entering high school."

That's right, you have, Izumi recalled from Miyu's reports and a flicker of hope began to grow as an idea came to her.

"Would you like to learn how to play tennis?" she offered, "I can teach you."

Yotsuba's gaze snapped right to her. Obviously she was stunned to receive such an offer from a celebrity of her stature, but Izumi could see a spark igniting in her eyes. The flicker of hope turned into a fire but she didn't want to get her hopes up yet, but she could see that Yotsuba was definitely interested.

"Tell you what? If you promise to come here tomorrow after school I'll give you your first tennis lesson in return. Is that a deal?"

Yotsuba thought about it for a moment, then eagerly bobbed her head, "Okay, deal!"

"Excellent. Bring your gym clothes tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you."

That night, Izumi dreamed about the past.

Nineteen Years ago...

"Wait just a damn minute!" Izumi was incredulous, "What do you mean she's transferring?!"

It was two weeks into the start of their third year of High School. Over the weekend Izumi and Lita had been discussing what the team could do differently this year with the new members joining in. They had been eager to share their ideas with the rest of the team, only to learn that Rena wasn't at school. They had asked both their classmates and fellow teammates if they knew anything but they had heard nothing.

Then their club advisor informed the team to come to the club room right away after the school. Once everyone was there, she gave everyone the stunning news.

"Coach Honzo's older brother just died and the family inn has been passed down to him," she explained, "He has to take over otherwise it will be sold off."

"But..." Yoshi was at a loss for words, as well everyone else, "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Couldn't he just take ownership and appoint someone else as manager?" said Lita, "Why does he have to be there personally?"

Their advisor only shrugged, "Apparently that's the way it's arranged."

"But what does that have to do with Rena?" Izumi was growing impatient, "She doesn't have to go there with him."

"I don't know," she shrugged again, "My guess is that she doesn't want to be away from her father. Don't try going to her place after school. She won't be there."

Silence embraced the entire club room.

"You mean..." Miyu sounded like she was going to cry, "We're going to lose our coach... and our... our... but why?! We promised we would go to Nationals together! We promised! What did we do to deserve this?!"

Her older sister came over to comfort her, but the others were in shock. This was a serious blow to the team and their morale, but while everyone was trying to understand what was going on, Izumi was looking at the advisor.

She was hiding something. She was sure of it. There was something else going on.

Her suspicions were confirmed when the advisor told her and Lita to stay after everyone else had left.

"Rena wants you to come to her place after school," she said in a low voice, "Just you two. Don't tell anyone else."

Both students looked at each other before looking back at her.

"What's going on?" asked Izumi.

"You'll find out when you get there."

Izumi was started to feel uneasy. Rena wouldn't want to speak to her and Lita alone unless it was something urgent. Just what was going on? Why all the secrecy? As soon as school was over she and Lita left as silently as they could without raising suspicion.

They arrived at Rena's home where a moving van was parked. Coach Honzo was nowhere in sight, but Rena was there to greet them at the front door.

She looked terrible, as though she had been crying endlessly.

"Thank you for coming. Come with me," she said before either of them could say anything.

Her home was in the final stages of moving to a new place. Most of the furniture was gone. In Rena's room only a carpet and a little table remained. All three sat down on their legs around it.

Rena was silent for a while. It was to them both that she was suffering far more than they were and despite the numerous questions tumbling in their minds they remained silent.

"How are the others doing?" she finally said, "How are they taking it?"

The question made them flinched.

"How are they taking it?!" Izumi slammed her hands on the table, "How do you think they're taking it?! Why are you suddenly transferring?!"

"Izumi, please," Lita made her calm down before turning back to Rena, "Everyone's devastated and confused. I get the whole family inn and all but we don't understand why you have to go. I mean, I'm sure you would've been able to live here by yourself. We can always pitch to help if you ever needed it."

Rena smiled, but it wasn't the happy, cheerful smile they knew. This one was sad. It was a smile they had never seen before.

"I know you would have," she said, "I would've been very grateful, but I'm afraid that's no longer possible."

Izumi saw she was rubbing her hands nervously and she decided that enough was enough.

"Rena," she said firmly, "What is going on? I can tell something's happened. Please. Tell us."

Lita frowned at her, but Izumi was the kind of person who didn't like it when the people around her kept secrets.

They also knew that Izumi would not let it go until she answered.

Then Rena said, "I'm not actually transferring. I'm dropping out of school. Entirely."

Both of their jaws dropped.

"Dropping out?" Izumi nearly blew her top, "What do you mean dropping out?!"

"There is another reason," Rena slowly said, "It's the real reason why I'm leaving."

Izumi was losing her patience, "What?"

She took a deep breath, "Before I tell you I need you to promise me that you won't tell the others. No matter what."

Both of her friends blinked. Rena had never spoken like this before.

"Why?" they both automatically asked.

"Because if they knew it would destroy them. And the team."

The two looked at each other before they reluctantly agreed.

From there, Rena pulled something from her pocket. She covered it with her hands and held it to her chest for a moment. Then she took another deep breath before placing her hands on the table.

"This is the real reason why I'm transferring."

She removed her hands and lying on the table was... a pregnancy test kit.

Both Izumi and Lita felt as though they had just taken a major blow to the head. Everything around them went silent.

Then they saw the double lines and everything became clear.