Tennis no Ouji-sama © Konomi Takeshi, Shuheisha, Inc.


- Act III -
[ Brother ]


Hikari rubbed her stomach after she had eaten the scrumptious dinner her mother especially made for her. She had tried a lot of three-star Michelin chefs' cooking back during her trip for her performances and none of them could beat her mother's cooking. The stuffed stomach made her want to lie in her bed doing nothing and it was the best thing to do after dinner.

Throwing her body on her bed, Hikari swayed both her hands and feet as if she was on top of the snow creating wings for herself. The comfort made her eyes fluttered close and she could feel herself slowly floating higher, higher, and higher… She could feel her name being called from afar but she had no power nor will to answer it… until she felt herself being dragged down from her bed.

"Kyaa! Earthquake! There's an earthquake!" she jolted from her bed while flailing her hands into every direction, not knowing why she screamed 'earthquake'. Hikari confusedly looked around to see her brother at the end of her bed with his hands still around her ankles. "O-Onii-chan? What are you doing here? Why did you drag me?"

"I've tried the gentlest way to wake you but it didn't work. That aside, how many times did I tell you that it's not good to sleep after a meal?"

"I know that!" Hikari pouted in response and crossed her arms and feet like a sulking child.

"And you still did it," he pressed his tone, giving the chill down to her bone marrow that Hikari decided to shift her position in a more respectful way and bowed to him.

"I'm very sorry, Onii-chan. It won't happen again…" Sometimes she didn't understand what she should feel towards her brother. If she was asked about her most favourite person, she would undoubtedly say her brother. But she would definitely answer the same for her less favourite person. Her brother was scarier than her parents or her grandfather when he reprimanded her and it wasn't because of his voice. Her brother barely raised his voice at her…

It was his silence that killed her.

"I'm glad that you understand," he said as he fixed his glasses' position. Hikari smiled at him and patted her side on the bed, motioning him to sit and so he did.

"Since you came all the way to my room, you have something you want to talk about, do you?" she asked.

"Yes." He then gave her two school booklets—one from Hyotei and one from St. Anne. "These are the only schools in our neighbourhood that have ballet programs."

She sighed and put the booklets aside. "Just let me enter your school, Onii-chan. I'm thoroughly done with ballet."

Her brother gave her a disapproving look. "You've pursued ballet this far already and you said you're done?"

"There's nothing left in ballet for me!" She shook her head. "I've hit rock bottom, Onii-chan. I've no place in ballet anymore!"

"Hikari, hitting rock bottom doesn't mean you can't climb your way up again," he calmly responded despite her outburst. "I won't allow you to stop now."

"What do you know about my position, Onii-chan? You never lost your match to anyone! Everybody knows that you're good! They respect you and no one is jealous enough to put you in a situation the way I was in!"

Her brother remained stoic but he didn't answer her with anything. He crossed his arms and said, "I know that the best, Hikari. Which is why I don't want you to stop."

"Huh?" Hikari widened her eyes. She knew that her brother meant something with his words but she couldn't point out anything. "W-what do you mean, Onii-chan?"

"Don't worry about that. What's more important is—"

"No! What do you mean, Onii-chan?" she insisted. "What's wrong with you?" When her brother remained silent, Hikari grabbed both of his arms. "S-something happened while I was gone, right?"

Her brother's eyes flitted to the corner of her room but Hikari moved and knelt before him.

"You… you can't keep things from me forever, Onii-chan! Please tell me what's going on!" Her heart skipped a beat the moment his eyes fell to his dominant arm. He seemed to be hesitant to say anything but Hikari stared at him right into his eyes to express her silent insistence.

"My arm has been severely injured since two years ago…" Hikari gasped at this. "My senior hit my elbow with his tennis racket. Of course, I didn't pay much attention at first because it didn't look like a harsh attack, but the pain started to appear when I had a long match."

"N-no…" She shook her head, feeling something growing inside her throat and her brother's face started to blur. "W-why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I'm sorry that I kept this a secret from you. You lived all alone in Germany so I thought telling you this might've been burdening your mind."

"Do you think it's fair for you to keeps worrying about m-me while you never allow me to?" It was one of few things she hated about her brother. He always put others before him, kept everything bottled in, and wouldn't allow others to know what he suffered through.

Her brother said nothing in response.

"Onii-chan… You… I…" Hikari was lost for words and suddenly she felt her eyes burnt and couldn't hold her tears back. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan…" She sobbed, feeling something painfully hurt in her chest, the same as the moment when she heard the news about her being expelled from her school. "I'm so sorry this has to happen to you…"

"Hikari…"

"It's not fair… Why does it have to be you…?" Her lips trembled, making it harder for her to mutter anything else. "You're a k-kind person, so why of all p-people…W-why does it have to be y-you…?" Hikari gently placed her hand on his left elbow and covered her mouth with her other palm to stifle her cry.

She could feel his big hand over her head, gently patting her. "It's getting better so you don't have to worry, okay? I'm still seeing a doctor to check it from time to time."

"B-but you still can't do long rallies, r-right? How can you win the National Championship like this?"

"It'll take time until it's fully recovered." He let out a small assuring smile. "It's slow but I'll manage. I have a strong team to achieve that."

"R-really?" She wiped her tears with her knuckle.

He nodded. "You should see them play when you have the chance."

"I'd love to." She finally smiled.

Her brother patted her head then rose to his feet. "I'll let you read the booklets then. Don't forget that you only have a week left to decide so you won't miss the school opening ceremony."

"You still won't let me register into your school?" She pouted. "I really want to be in the same school as you. You know, maybe I can just join the tennis club to help you as a manager. You might need help with your condition."

He shook his head. "Hikari, I didn't tell you about my injury to make you worry. What I'm trying to say is that we're on the same boat in this, so let's climb our way up together. I am against you giving up on ballet now."

Hikari knew that her brother only thought about what was best for her. She knew that deep inside, there was a part of her that still didn't give up on ballet, and her brother realised that. However, the recent occurrence only made her feel like it was futile to pursue it.

"Fine…" She picked up the booklets. "I'll browse them later."

"If I can give you a suggestion, I prefer you go to St. Anne than Hyotei."

"Uh… Why is that?" She slightly tilted her head to her right side.

"Just don't." He deeply sighed. Though he barely showed any annoyance, he looked very much annoyed at that moment and she didn't understand why.

"Then why did you take the booklet if you're against me going there?" she asked.

"As I said. Your choices are limited. I think it's unfair if I don't let you choose. However, I'll still leave the decision in your hands. Choose whichever you think is the best." Hikari raised her eyebrow at this. It was very typical of him to be fair even though he wouldn't like the result.

"Okay… I'll think about it. Thank you for your suggestion, Onii-chan."

He nodded. "I'll go back to my room then. I need to check on my club's practice menu." He headed to the door and glanced at her once before making his way out. "Good night, Hikari."

"Good night, Onii-chan." But he remained still near the door, staring at her as if he wanted to make sure that she was really there.

"It's good to have you back in Japan," he finally said.

Hikari smiled, knowing well what he implied in those words.

"I love you too, Onii-chan."


Aside from suffering jetlag, things about her incident and her brother's injury filled her mind. Though her brother told her that his condition was improving, she still worried nonetheless. Tossing her body to each of her sides, she finally kicked her blanket when she couldn't find a way to sleep. It was unfair how she could sleep a second with a stuffed stomach and how she couldn't when she needed to.

Peeking through the empty aisle, Hikari smiled as she tiptoed her way towards the stairs. She carefully stepped to make sure she didn't make any noises because her brother, who slept just beside her room, was a light sleeper and would wake up upon the smallest noise. He did catch her several times when she was on her way sneaking out from the house and she had to make stupid scenarios about her sleepwalking habit to get out from him (though he still didn't believe in her in the end). It made her wonder if her brother used to go through ninja training before.

The moment she managed to get out from her house, Hikari smiled to herself as she ran to the place she had visited since she was a kid…

The abandoned tennis court.

Though the court was located not far from the haunted manor, it didn't stop her from visiting it. Not even when she herself had the scariest experience when she ventured into it. Some of her friends even said that there was a vampire living in the building. She discovered the place for the first time when she was ten and danced in the place whenever she was sad ever since.

She smiled when she noticed that the hole she created years ago was still there. Bending her body, she crawled inside, cursing when her jacket got stuck onto the rusty fence as she made her way in. It was harder to get into it since she grew taller than before.

For everyone else, the place might be the trashiest place they'd never want to visit but for her, the place was heaven. The wild grass had grown all over the place and the fence itself had been covered with vines. Wild flowers were growing on some corners, almost making it look like a forest, especially since it was a grass court.

She took off her jacket and shoes, smiling when she felt the grass below her feet. It might not be the perfect place to practice ballet, but Hikari loved to become one with the nature in that place. Using the moonlight as her spotlight, she turned the place into her own stage every time she danced. She rose up on pointe on the supporting foot but before she did a rond de jambe, she stopped and recalled the entire things that transpired in Germany.

The thoughts and everything people said to her were echoing in her head that she couldn't stop the tears from flowing and was finally down to her knees.

"W-why…? I thought I was already over it…" she asked herself as she pulled her knees and cried on top of it. Hikari was disappointed to know that she wasn't as strong as she thought she was.

A gasp escaped through her lips when she heard something rustle behind her. Hikari quickly straightened her position and looked around.

"W-who's there?" she stammered. "Who is it?"

She shrieked when the door to the court suddenly opened from outside. A man, cladded in a white shirt and black pants, slowly walked into it with lips simpered in a small smirk. His skin was pale, slightly glowing under the moonlight.

"Um, w-who are you?" It was the first time she saw someone in that court.

He smirked wider, walking in her direction, and stopped only a step before her.

"A man who couldn't stand seeing a damsel in distress."


AN:To tell you the truth, I changed the story at the very last second before publishing it. I'm saving Tezuka's interaction with his sister after her occurrence with Atobe but I decided to switch it. XD I hope I didn't make Tezuka OOC here. XD

What do you think the mighty Atobe will do to her? Will their first introduction run smoothly or will it be a mess? XD

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, the story is also posted in Wattpad. Since the site allows me to post videos and images, I might be able to pamper your eyes there. Check my account in ReikaNanatsuki!

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!