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


- Act XXX -
[ Family's Love ]


When she was on her way going back home, Hikari didn't stop to look over her shoulder to see him. It took her everything to stop her feet from running back to him and hold him as tight as she could.

Touching the necklace that was dangling around her collar, Hikari smiled as she recalled the moment when he knelt down to properly ask her even in her wildest dream had she imagined anyone saying something as romantic as he did last night. Her chest was bubbling with so much happiness that she felt like stepping on the clouds.

Taking off her shoes, she climbed the tree near her room, carefully slid it open. and got into her room. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief as everything went smoothly.

What she didn't realise was that she wasn't alone…

Her heart skipped a beat and let out a loud gasp when she turned around to see none other than her brother sitting on her bed, beads of sweat were formed behind her neck the more he stared at her. The atmosphere was pressuring her lungs that she couldn't breathe and had to lean on the wall behind her to support herself.

"Where have you been?" he coldly asked. It was always the same question but Hikari knew that he had known what she was up to and was very mad.

"Uh… I…" She looked to the window and said, "…w-walked around here to get some fresh air."

"Then why did you use the window and not the door?"He pressed his tone. Hikari's hands were trembling, so much that she had to hold on to the hem of her jacket. "Where have you been, Hikari? Or should I ask, who were you meeting?"

"N-no one! I swear I was just strolling around here all by myself! It's just I was—"

"Enjoying yourself and lost track of time? I've had enough of your lies, Hikari. You've crossed the line this time!"Throughout her life, her brother never once yelled at her. But the moment he did, it stabbed her chest so deep.

"…alone," she mumbled.

"What?"

"Just mind your own business and leave me alone!" Hikari yelled back. "I'm not going to be your baby forever!"

"This is not about me babysitting you around, Hikari! You don't know what kind of person you're seeing!"

"He's not a bad person!" Hikari gasped when she accidentally blurted it out and clamped her mouth.

"So there is someone…" Her brother's breath was rigged. "Who, Hikari? Who is this man?"

"I-I… don't know his name." In all honesty, Hikari had no idea what to say if she was asked anything. She didn't even know his name.

"Then how do you know that he's not bad?"

"I just know!"

He took a deep breath. "You're not making sense, Hikari. I've had enough. I'll talk about this matter to otou-san and okaa-san." He rose from her bed and headed to the door.

"W-what?! No, you can't do that!"

"I've been tolerating you enough, Hikari. But this time you've gone too far…"

The adrenaline rush in her system was raging that she couldn't make out what was she thinking, seeing, or talking. She didn't even realise the weight of the sentence she blurted out of rage.

"Get out of my life and stop bothering me!"

It took her a few seconds until she realised what she had just said.

Never had he shown such pain in his expression...

Not even when he told her about his injury...

"I…" Hikari covered her lips with trembling hands. Weakness had slowly spread from her center to her thigh, then to her legs when the door was slammed open, revealing her parents who were glancing simultaneously from her to her brother. "T-Tou-chan… Kaa-chan…"

"What's going on here?! Why are you yelling at five in the morning?!" her father blared. To her surprise, her brother didn't say anything.

Her mother glanced at her up and down. "Hikari, your clothes… W-where have you been, Hikari?"

"I just walked out to get some air! Why do you have to make a big deal out of this?!"

"I think we have the right to know what was a sixteen-year-old girl doing outside around this hour. Now speak, Hikari! Where have you been?!"

"If Onii-chan can go out to practice at a time like this, can't I do the same? What's with this double standard?!"

"Kunimitsu, get out of the room. Let me talk to her," her father said as he made room so her brother would go out. When her brother still didn't move, he said, "Now." So he did.

"D-dear. Please, let me talk to Hikari," her mother said.

"We've been too lenient to her, Ayana! You left your job to look after the kids and now this happened!"

"So it's my fault now?!" her mother retorted with eyes dangerously widened.

"Then should we wait until something dangerous happen to her?!" Her father then approached her. "I can understand what was happening in Germany wasn't your fault, but this time you've caused enough troubles, Hikari. You're grounded. Don't even think about going anywhere but school. I'll pick you up everyday."

And not being able to see him?

"No, I don't want to! This isn't fair!"

"We've been fair to you, Hikari! Your brother always does his best to look after you but what do you do?!"

The memory of how her parents always boasted about her brother's greatness swirled in her mind. One by one, the words popped into her mind.

"Kunimitsu is our pride. Hikari? She's still too small…"

"He's always the best in his class. Hikari is doing good, but not as much as Kunimitsu."

"Onii-chan, onii-chan, onii-chan! You're always boasting about him and never me! Aren't I always the headache to you?!"

"Hikari! What are you saying?!" her mother screamed.

"You two are always like that! You're always proud of onii-chan but never me! I'm just an unnecessary addition to you, right?! I should be dead back then so I wouldn't be a burden!"

Before she knew it, his palm smacked her cheek. The stinging didn't come until a while later but it wasn't the slap that hurt the most… It was being slapped by her father that hurt her heart. Almost as if it was telling her that she no longer belonged to the house.

"Haru! What have you done?! N-no! Hikari! Stop right there! Hikari!"

Hikari didn't heed any call from her family when she burst her way out of her house and ran away, as fast as she could. She didn't wear anything on her feet but she didn't care scratches the asphalt road made on her feet meant nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart.

Her brother was chasing after her, calling her name until she turned to her left and hid until he lost her.

All she wanted was to go straight into his arms…

So she ran straight to his manor. Because she had nowhere else to go but to him…

Though he was surprised to see her, he still provided her with the comfort she needed the most at the moment.

Only in his embrace, she felt like she was the only one mattered…

Only by him, she was treated like a lady instead of a kid…

Not wanting to worry him further, Hikari only told him the outline of the story without going into further details about her argument with her brother and her parents. He asked her numerous times for the details but told him that would only engage her in another turn on the waterworks.

Because she had said unforgivable things to her family…

Especially her brother…

A warm hug from her back drifted her back to reality. She looked to her side to see him resting his chin on her shoulder. Hikari put her hands over his while allowing her back to relax on his body.

"I've thought about it," he suddenly said. "I think it's best for you to go home."

"S-so, you don't want me ei—" He put his finger on her lips.

"Having a family that is greatly concerned about your safety is … precious." Hikari looked up to see him looking to the window. "Especially if they're making a big deal about it."

"You're speaking as if it's good to have a family argument." Hikari rolled her eyes.

"It is, isn't it? At least you know that they're expecting you to be there." He didn't look at her when saying it. Sudden realisation hit her when she reminisced that the whole time she spent with him, she never once saw his family, nor did he ever mention them despite meeting him every day. "You have to go home…"

"I… I've said something that hurt them… I don't think they ever want me back." Her voice croaked when she said it. "I d-don't have the courage to face them after what happened."

He covered her with his blanket and pulled her closer. "You're always that brave woman who brazenly speaks everything in your mind. Even I always admire you for that." He kissed her forehead. "Your family loves you as much as you love them. It'll be hard to face them after what happened but you'll forgive each other eventually."

"W-will they?"

"Definitely." He smiled. "Let's get you back to your family."

Hikari held him tighter as if doing so would give her all the strength and encouragement she would need when she was facing her family. He responded by holding her face and kissing her, so gently as if he gave his everything to make her feel better. Hikari slid her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as she wanted to feel him a little bit longer…

Just a little bit more longer…


Hikari never thought that for once she would experience the suspense of going back to her own home. It was a feeling much worse than any horror movies she watched, even more than marveling into the manor when she still thought it was a vampire's dwell. Hikari's hands were trembling when she knocked on the door, especially when she waited for whoever going to open the door.

To her relief, it was her mother. She tearfully pulled Hikari into her embrace while saying, "Hikari! Thank goodness you're fine!" She could see her brother storm from the living room, sighing in relief to see her there.

"Kaa-chan…" Her mother's warmth and scent provided her with the comfort she needed the most at that moment. Hikari held her back and cried on her chest. "I-I'm so sorry, Kaa-chan…"

"Don't you ever run away like that again! You've made us all worried! Even your grandfather decided to go back from his business trip!"

"J-Jii-chan is here?"

Before Hikari had the chance to react, her father had approached them. "Hikari!" he shouted. Hikari lowered her head, preparing herself to get any possible punishment but someone preceded him. Her grandfather blocked her father and stoically looked at her.

"Come with me, Hikari," Kunikazu sternly said.

"Otou-san!"

Her grandfather raised his hand and whispered a few things to her father. Kuniharu eventually nodded, so Kunikazu motioned her to follow him. Hikari made a small nod and followed him, lowering her head all the while because she didn't dare to look at anyone at that moment. When reaching the living room, her grandfather motioned her to sit on the spot he pointed, so she did. He walked away for a moment before handing her the peach juice she loved drinking but it was only sold in Osaka. "You like this, right? I've bought a lot of them on my trip. Drink this. Then we'll talk."

Hikari deliberately sipped it bit by bit, thinking that it would slow down the moment because she wasn't prepared for whatever her grandfather was going to tell her. But he didn't wait until she finished.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Hikari put down the can she was holding and put her hands together. "I've m-made a big mistake… I've said things I'm not supposed to and made everyone worried…" She bowed at him. "I'm sorry…"

"Are you going to tell me where have you been?"

How she wished the earth would just swallow her alive…

Hikari bit her bottom lip, hands clenching on the hem of her skirt as she dug for the best story to tell him.

"Boyfriend's place, I assume?" Though her body froze from the question, Hikari forced herself to nod as her answer. To her surprise, her grandfather chuckled at this. "Who is this man?"

She was going to be killed.

"…I don't know." Though she still lowered her head, she could sense her grandfather gaped at this.

"You don't know? How is that possible?" His voice was hoarse when he raised his tone a bit in question.

"W-we're together but… we don't reveal anything about ourselves. Not even a name…"

Her grandfather took a deep breath and harshly exhaled it. "Hikari—"

"I know what you want to say, Jii-chan. I know that you're not going to approve of what I am doing but… I… I really like him. I want to be with him so much but I know that no one will approve us. That's why I lied…" Hikari took a deep breath to swallow back the tears that were ready to flow out again. "I know that I'm still too young for romance but I can't stop these feelings…"

"Indeed, you're too young for romance." Before she got to say anything, her grandfather continued, "I used to be young too, Hikari. I know how it was. It was an overwhelming feeling—so much that it often clouds your judgment and logic. What you're doing now, for example—is not logical. What if he turns out to be a bad guy?"

"H-he's not like that!" she defended.

"Then tell me about him and let me do the judgment."

"H-he's… the same age as onii-chan, also…" Her grandfather nodded. "…very rich and generous, but I never met his family. He only has his servants around. He likes to make fun of me but he doesn't treat me like a kid. He pushes me forward and encourages me every time I feel down…"

"What did he do to you when you ranto his place this morning?"

"H-he told me to go home. He said that having a family that was still greatly concerned about me was precious. That everything would be alright because m-my family loved me as much as I love them."

"And he was right about that," her grandfather affirmatively said. "Don't ever say that you're a burden to this family ever again, Hikari. Why do you think I didn't put you in an orphanage despite you breaking my bonsais so many times?" She chuckled at her grandfather's intention to lighten her mood. "Apologise to your parents, okay?" Hikari nodded while wiping her tears. "And to your brother too. He skipped his school today just to look for you."

Onii-chan…

"I-I'm so sorry…" Hikari lowered her upper body to mitigate her emotion. She could feel her grandfather's hand gently rubbing her back.

"So, your boyfriend is the one who pushed you to go home…" She nodded. Her grandfather put his hand on his chin for a moment before saying, "Bring him home someday. I want to meet this boy."

"N-no! I can't do that!" Hikari gesticulated her hands while furiously blushing.

"Just bring him home when you have the chance to. If you want to continue being with him, of course." Her grandfather smiled. "I won't stop you if he's a good man but still, we'll have to know who he is."

"Jii-chan…" Hikari started to smile.

"You're still grounded for a month, though." And she instantly lost that smile.

"B-but I have an audition in two weeks!"

"We'll make an exception only for that day then. Contemplate your action. I don't want this to ever happen again. Okay? Don't forget to apologise."

As much as she wanted to do what her grandfather suggested, the atmosphere was too awkward for her to speak to either her father or her brother. It used to be an easy task, but not at that moment, not even two weeks later.

Fortunately, she managed to maintain her focus during her practice all that week even though she hadn't cleared things with her family yet. She had the audition the same day her brother had the first round of Kanto Regional Match. As much as she wanted to see him, she probably wouldn't make it with her own audition also being held on the same day.

Since she wasn't allowed to go out, Hikari ordered a wrist guard online and wrote a good luck letter to her brother, placing it in front of the door of his room before going back to hers. Hikari decided that she would sleep early and lay on her bed. It didn't take long until everything went black.


AN: Has anyone of you been compared to siblings before? Feeling envious when your parents seem to be proud of them more than you?

I think it's natural for Hikari for feeling jealous of the attention Tezuka has for being good in many things because I might be in her position. I did see many parents do that kind of children favouring but fortunately for me, my parents treat me and my sibling equally.

What do you think about this chapter? I think I should insert family drama because Hikari and Tezuka's relationship is also the main core of this story. XD

Favorite, follow, and most importantly—review are gold for me! 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!