[Fanfic] Of tennis, boys and family - for chouta_angel
Title: Of Tennis, Boys and Family
Recipient's Name: chouta_angel
Author: sagara_megumi
Rating: G
Wordcount: 3290
Pairing: None
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: This is set in the winter of the year Seigaku won the Nationals. Ryoma didn't return to the US and Shin TeniPuri never happened, so everybody is here. There is a glossary at the end of the story with some more notes. chouta_angel, I really hope you like it ^^ Also, thanks to the mod for being my beta reader .
Summary: After meeting by chance during the winter holidays, four girls become friends over chips, hamburgers and Japanese sweets.
OF TENNIS, BOYS AND FAMILY
The bus left them at the gate of the school they were supposed to arrive at, like the old lady they had asked for directions on the street, had told them. They smiled at each other, relieved, and started walking towards the entrance, glancing with curiosity at the place.
It didn't seem like anything special, with its brick wall surrounding the school, the wrought-iron gate half open, indicating that the different clubs members were inside, which was expected in during the winter holidays; they could see bare trees scattered within the grounds, and white buildings from where they stood on the street. Yukari and Miyuki looked at each other and knew that they were thinking exactly the same: Shitenhouji was far more interesting and nice.
The Shiraishi family was spending a few days in Tokyo, since their father was attending a Symposium of the Japan Society of Health Sciences. Yukari had managed to convince her parents and Miyuki's to allow the younger girl to go with them and visit the tennis team. They had been invited by Seigaku's coach to a joint training camp that would last five days and four nights.
That was why they were there, looking from one side to the other of the deserted yard that extended in front of the building, suddenly feeling a bit anxious and wondering if it would be right to just enter without asking for permission, or where the tennis courts were.
Miyuki was the first one to go into the school grounds, inspecting everything with open interest.
“Straight-forward as always, Miyuki-chan” laughed Yukari, who had followed suit and fallen into step with her.
Just then, a girl who appeared to be of the same age as Yukari and, curiously, had the same hairstyle, went out of the main building hurriedly and turned left looking at her watch. Miyuki took out the lemon lollipop out of her mouth and started running towards her.
“Excuse me!” she shouted, and the Seigaku student paused and glanced at them. “Thanks! Do you know where the tennis courts are?” she asked as Yukari stopped behind her, trying to catch her breath.
“Yes... They're at the back. But, who are you?”
“Oh, we're from Shitenhouji” the oldest one replied. “I'm Shiraishi Yukari and she's Chitose Miyuki.”
“Tomo-chan” another voice was heard, and the three girls saw another one who had just appeared from behind the block.
“Sorry, Sakuno! The teacher kept us longer than expected, talking about the works for the exposition.” The teenager moved her head smiling, playing down the importance of it, and then looked at the two visitors. “They're from Shitenhouji.”
“We wanted to see Ku- I mean, Chitose-san and Kuranosuke-oniisan” said Yukari, correcting her slip on the nickname she had for her brother.
“So, you're family of Chitose-san and Shiraishi-san...”
“Yes! So, can you tell us where they are?”
“I'm sorry, but they're away” Yukari and Miyuki stared at her with wide eyes. “My grandmother told me they were playing practice matches at Hyoutei today, and won't be back till the afternoon.”
They seemed confused, and she realised she had not introduced herself yet.
“Pardon for my rudeness, I'm Ryuuzaki Sakuno, my grandmother's the tennis club coach.”
Yukari nodded, but Miyuki was so disappointed that she forgot about her manners.
“And we came all the way here to see them...”
“You can come another day, right?” Tomoka intervened.
“No, the symposium my father is attending is only two days long; we'll be going back to Kyushuu tomorrow night on the last train.”
“Um, maybe... can you stay a little longer? I think my grandmother told me they'd be back at around three o'clock, four at the latest, so you could wait for them.” the long haired girl suggested.
“Really?!” Miyuki's eyes shone with excitement. “Yukari-san?”
She thought about it for a moment.
“I could call my mother and see if she allows it...”
She stepped away from the group and took her mobile phone out of her bag. While they waited, Miyuki noticed the racket in Sakuno's bag.
“Do you play tennis too?” she asked.
“Ah, yes...” the Seigaku student replied.
“And? Are you good?”
“Well, not much...”
“Don't say that, Sakuno!” Tomoka exclaimed. “You were fifth in the championship you played last month, and they all were older and much more experienced players that you are! Even Ryuuzaki-sensei said you did really well.”
“But...”
“When did you start playing?” Miyuki asked.
Sakuno looked at them, slightly taken aback. The young girl was as assertive as Tomoka, and it was too much to have the two focused on her. Without realising, she gripped the straps of her bag.
“N-Nine months ago.”
“Then it's not bad, it those people've been playing longer than you.”
The girl blushed and decided that it was time to change the focus to one of them.
“And... you, Chitose-chan?”
“Call me Miyuki.” she grinned. “Since I was five or so. My brother left his racket laying around and I liked to pick it up. My mother got tired of hearing things crash at home, so she enrolled me in the same club Senri-niichan was. And do you play, ...?”
“Osakada Tomoka” Sakuno's best friend introduced herself. “I'm the tennis team cheerleader, but I play sometimes.”
Yukari returned to the group, putting the phone away in her bag.
“Mum said it's okay. So,” she looked at the Seigaku girls, “can you tell us a place nearby where we can wait for them?”
Sakuno and Tomoka looked at each other for a moment. “We were going to eat at a burger shop a few blocks from here. Would you like to come with us?”
“Can we? We don't want to impose...” Yukari said.
“Of course! Come on!” Tomoka took the lead and the rest followed her, chuckling.
-o-
They found a booth in the restaurant and sat. Tomoka and Yukari went to order, leaving Miyuki and Sakuno at the table. The older girl moved slightly, a bit uncomfortable. She did not know exactly what to talk about with her companion. Especially since the Shitenhouji student seemed as fidgety as she did. Then, the teenager saw her furrow her brows and take a deep breath.
“Err, Ryuuzaki-san... can I call you Sakuno-san?” when the other nodded with a small smile, Miyuki continued. “Do you know Dor- Tezuka-san? I mean, personally.”
“Yes.”
“How is he?” Miyuki's face had lightened, and she seemed very excited, which left Sakuno confused.
“He's... fine, I think...”
“Did his shoulder hurt again after his match in the finals?”
“No, I heard it was inflamed, but he recovered quickly.”
“Great!” the young girl almost jumped in her seat with a big smile on her lips.
“Do you know Tezuka-senpai, Miyuki-chan?” Sakuno asked, a little curious about the reasoning behind her questions.
Before the girl could answer, the other two returned with their meals.
“Did she already ask you about her 'dorobo-niichan'?”
Tomoka and Sakuno looked puzzled, and Miyuki became flustered. “Yukari-san!”
“Do-Dorobo...?”
“Who's that?” asked Tomoka taking a sip of her Fanta.
“Nobody!” the youngest girl took her hamburger and bit it, her brows furrowed.
“We were talking about Tezuka-senpai” Sakuno said.
Tomoka's eyes twinkled amused and she turned to Miyuki. “Really? What did he do for you to call him a thief?”
“Tomo-chan!” Sakuno looked shocked. “That's not polite, Tezuka-senpai'd never...”
“According to Miyuki, he did.”
“It was a mistake, okay? He took my racket without permission, and I called him a thief” the girl defended herself. “He gave it back immediately.”
“But the nickname remained” added Yukari.
“It's cute” Tomoka replied.
Sakuno looked at them, both grinning clearly delighted. It was a bit frightening how the two girls were so alike, with their similar hairstyle, their extroverted character, their love for gossiping and the wicked glint in their eyes. She turned her attention to Miyuki, who was pouting while looking out of the window, her burger forgotten in her hand.
“Don't sulk. They like to tease, but they don't mean anything by it...”
“I know...” Miyuki said.
“I'm sure Tezuka-senpai will be happy to see you. Did you meet him at the rehabilitation clinic?”
The girl glanced at Sakuno, thinking for a moment. She left her food on the tray and took her paper cup. “At a street court. I was- I had climbed a tree to retrieve a ball. I told him he was bad at tennis. I decided I'd teach him how to play” she blushed. “I still can't believe he didn't tell me anything. He let me give him lessons without complaining.”
“Well, he's not very talkative” her companion nodded, sipping some coke “but I suppose he had his reasons not to tell you he was a national-level player.”
“Not only that! He's amazing! I'd never seen something like the Zone, or the Phantom!”
“The Shitenhouji team is quite impressive too.” Sakuno said.
“Isn't it? I admit that Koharu-san and Yuuji-san's tennis is pretty funny and can be weird at times, but they're great.”
“I was amazed by Shiraishi-san's style” the long haired girl declared. “My grandmother said he's perfect, technically precise. I'd never seen Fuji-senpai have a rough time like in that match.”
“True. For a moment, I thought he'd lose. And then, bam! He finished the last counter!” Tomoka commented.
At some point of their conversation, the other two had started to pay attention to them.
“Kawamura-san was the one who surprised me” Yukari said after swallowing a bite of her hamburger. “He got hurt badly and he still kept on fighting. Ishida-san respects him greatly.”
The other three nodded, serious, and Sakuno could not help a small smile. Kawamura Takashi was one of the kindest people she had ever met, and he would be really happy to know that he was admired for his strength - she had heard from her grandmother about the inferiority complex he had for his lack of special talents and not developing any extraordinary techniques, like his team mates.
“I was glad that Kintarou-kun recovered from his match against Yukimura-san” she commented.
“It was really hard for him. I heard from my brother that he was really shocked by his style” Yukari replied.
“It was frightening to see him so calm and cold...” Miyuki finished her hamburger and crumpled the paper, leaving it next to the chips. “By the way, Sakuno-san, how's that you know Kin-san?”
“Oh, we met at the courts, after Seigaku played Hyoutei.” Then, Sakuno proceeded to tell them about the encounter she and Ryoma had with the Rookie of the West.
Tomoka pouted a bit, offended that Sakuno had kept that story a secret. “You never told me!”
“I didn't think it was important. He only ate the riceballs I had made.”
“But they were for Ryoma-sama!” Tomoka protested.
“And who is he?” Miyuki asked.
“What? You don't know him? He defeated Yukimura!”
“Oh, that boy? I thought he was called Koshimae” Chitose's sister seemed puzzled.
“That's because your 'rookie' doesn't know how to read kanji.”
“Tomo-chan! That's rude!”
“Don't worry, Sakuno-san.” Yukari intervened. “She's right. He passed Japanese because the whole team tutored him for hours after practice. And he barely scraped by.”
“The funny thing is that now, the whole team calls him that” Miyuki chuckled, picking up a chip.
“And?” Yukari smiled widely, her eyes twinkling. “Who do you think is best?”
“Eh?”
“Of course it's Ryoma-sama!”
“Why do you call him that?” the youngest girl asked curiously.
“I'm the president of his fan club” Tomoka answered proudly.
“And you, Sakuno-san?”
“Well” she blushed. “I... think... both of them are really strong...”
“Sakuno!”
“Oh, she blushed! How cute! Do you like one of them?”
She opened her eyes widely at Shiraishi's sister question and started panicking.
“N-No! T-That's not it!” she became desperate, hearing her nervous stuttering. “I like them both” seeing the perplexed expressions of her friends, she became more anxious. “I-I mean... as players! I like their playstyles and how-how they give their best in the matches. They've... taught me so much.”
“I know what you mean.” Yukari stated.
Miyuki nodded. Tomoka had lowered her lids as she eyed Sakuno, not knowing if she should believe her. Sometimes, she had thought her best friend felt something for Ryoma, though other times she was not so sure. She breathed deeply, pushing the idea back in her mind. She would have to wait to see which of the two things was right at the end.
“And what can you tell us about your brother, Miyuki-chan?”
She grinned and swallowed her drink before answering. “For me, he's the best. Though he likes to tease me sometimes and he's too obsessed with that Muga thing, he's really great. He often plays tennis with me, and when he buys a shirt for himself, he always gets a matching cap for me.”
“You two have a brother-sister complex for sure.” Yukari took a chip and stared at it. “Ku-chan is good too, but he can be a nuisance, with his fascination for poisonous plants. And now with Kaburiel.”
“You call your brother 'Ku-chan'?” Tomoka sounded really amused, and Yukari could not help but blush a bit, realising her slip. “And who's Kaburiel?”
“His pet beetle. He's really dedicated to it. He even stopped hanging out with his friends to take care of it. A few weeks ago, I told him that they don't usually make it past the winter, and he started turning the heating! And he was crying! It was really funny.”
“How nice it must be to have big brothers” said Tomoka with a sigh. “I have two little brothers, and though I really love them, they're annoying sometimes. They've got so much energy!”
“Have you got siblings, Sakuno-san?”
“No, I'm an only child” her expression became wistful and, propping up her elbow on the table, she put her chin on her hand. “You know, when I hear you, I really get envious...”
“Sakuno...” Tomoka patted her lightly on the arm, and her friend smiled softly.
Yukari looked at Miyuki out of the corner of her eye. As her, she had sensed that family-related conversation was a uncomfortable topic for the long haired girl, and nodded.
“I think I need something sweet. A meal is not complete without dessert. Don't you agree?”
“I do” Miyuki said, looking expectantly to the other two, who smiled and agreed.
The group left the shop and slowly walked to a small store, where they sold Japanese sweets. They bought some dorayaki and taiyaki and went to a nearby square to eat them.
“Do you mind giving me your e-mail to keep in touch?” Miyuki told Sakuno and Tomoka halfway through her fish-shaped sweet.
“Ah, me too!”
“Sure!”
They took out their phones and exchanged their addresses, and some jokes after that, filling time until the hour of the teams return. Then, they went back slowly, talking about their plans for New Year and how they celebrated it at their homes.
As they arrived at the crossing, they saw a bus at the stop, and the tennis players getting off it.
“Nii-chan!”
Miyuki waved when Chitose turned his head, followed by the rest.
“What are you doing here?”
The girls crossed the street and met with the group.
“Yukari's father is in a pharmacy symposium and they brought me with them.”
“And mum?” Shitenhouji's captain asked his sister, ruffling her hair.
“She went shopping.”
“Were you with them?” Ryuuzaki Sumire asked Sakuno and Tomoka.
“Yes. You know that we were having lunch together, and they came with us.”
“Thanks for taking care of them” Chitose said with a smile.
Sakuno was sure that she had never seen someone so tall in her life. Even Inui-senpai, who towered over the rest of his team, was shorter than him. She nodded, suddenly feeling a bit shy.
“Hey! You're the omusubi girl from the Nationals, right?! I didn't say thanks for the food!” the long haired girl could just nod in acknowledgement at Kintarou, not realising everybody's questioning eyes on them. “Could you do those tennis ball-shapped rice balls again? They're delicious!”
“Kin-chan, that's enough. You're frightening the poor girl” said Oshitari Kenya putting a hand on his head.
“Eh? But I didn't do anything...”
“D-Don't worry, Kintarou-kun... I... can bring some tomorrow...”
He shouted his happiness and dashed to tell the rest of his team.
“He sure has lots of energy... more than my brothers...” Tomoka murmured astonished.
“Hey, since we're all together, why don't we have something to eat?”
“We've just had burgers and sweets, Momo-senpai” she replied, turning to look at him.
“You're too cruel, Osakada-chan. How can you talk about food when we've just had a couple of sandwiches in the bus?”
“And don't forget about those wonderful dishes at lunchtime” said Eiji. “Their cafeteria is as big as a gym, and everything is so elegant.”
“And posh. The dishes were really small, the food on them was the size of my thumb...”
“And that's the reason you ate four of each.” Kaidou spatted at him. “You're just a glutton”
“What?!”
“Momo, Kaidou” said Ooishi taking a step towards them.
“Momoshiro! Kaidou! Stop it, or you'll run twenty laps around the grounds!” they both went quiet and lowered their heads at their captain's voice.
“How about tea?” Osamu suggested. “We can have it in the garden, near the courts. The girls can tell us what they've been doing, and you can fill them in on the matches. I'm sure they want to know what happened at Hyoutei.”
Yukari and Miyuki expressed their excitement, begging their brothers to let them stay, and Sakuno looked at her grandmother, silently asking for her permission. She also had curiosity, not only for the result of their practice, but also to see some of the things they had been talking about. Her interest only increased as she saw Miyuki greet Tezuka and Echizen apparently ignoring Kintarou, who was trying to convince him of something he had said before, though the smug expression on his face said otherwise. As Sumire patted her shoulder and went to the entrance, shouting some orders to her team, she smiled to Tomoka, and both followed the rest of the group.
THE END
**Japan Society of Health Sciences: it's a real society. It was established in 1985 to expand the area of health science and respond to changes in the concept of health. Its members include physicians, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, governmental parties, companies, organizations, and persons in the health industry.
**dorayaki: Japanese confection which consists of two small pancake-like patties wrapped around a filling of sweet azuki red bean paste.
**taiyaki: Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste, though it also can be filled with custard, chocolate or cheese.
**omusubi: rice ball. I used the Japanese word because it sounded quite weird to use it next to girl
Recipient's Name: chouta_angel
Author: sagara_megumi
Rating: G
Wordcount: 3290
Pairing: None
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: This is set in the winter of the year Seigaku won the Nationals. Ryoma didn't return to the US and Shin TeniPuri never happened, so everybody is here. There is a glossary at the end of the story with some more notes. chouta_angel, I really hope you like it ^^ Also, thanks to the mod for being my beta reader .
Summary: After meeting by chance during the winter holidays, four girls become friends over chips, hamburgers and Japanese sweets.
OF TENNIS, BOYS AND FAMILY
The bus left them at the gate of the school they were supposed to arrive at, like the old lady they had asked for directions on the street, had told them. They smiled at each other, relieved, and started walking towards the entrance, glancing with curiosity at the place.
It didn't seem like anything special, with its brick wall surrounding the school, the wrought-iron gate half open, indicating that the different clubs members were inside, which was expected in during the winter holidays; they could see bare trees scattered within the grounds, and white buildings from where they stood on the street. Yukari and Miyuki looked at each other and knew that they were thinking exactly the same: Shitenhouji was far more interesting and nice.
The Shiraishi family was spending a few days in Tokyo, since their father was attending a Symposium of the Japan Society of Health Sciences. Yukari had managed to convince her parents and Miyuki's to allow the younger girl to go with them and visit the tennis team. They had been invited by Seigaku's coach to a joint training camp that would last five days and four nights.
That was why they were there, looking from one side to the other of the deserted yard that extended in front of the building, suddenly feeling a bit anxious and wondering if it would be right to just enter without asking for permission, or where the tennis courts were.
Miyuki was the first one to go into the school grounds, inspecting everything with open interest.
“Straight-forward as always, Miyuki-chan” laughed Yukari, who had followed suit and fallen into step with her.
Just then, a girl who appeared to be of the same age as Yukari and, curiously, had the same hairstyle, went out of the main building hurriedly and turned left looking at her watch. Miyuki took out the lemon lollipop out of her mouth and started running towards her.
“Excuse me!” she shouted, and the Seigaku student paused and glanced at them. “Thanks! Do you know where the tennis courts are?” she asked as Yukari stopped behind her, trying to catch her breath.
“Yes... They're at the back. But, who are you?”
“Oh, we're from Shitenhouji” the oldest one replied. “I'm Shiraishi Yukari and she's Chitose Miyuki.”
“Tomo-chan” another voice was heard, and the three girls saw another one who had just appeared from behind the block.
“Sorry, Sakuno! The teacher kept us longer than expected, talking about the works for the exposition.” The teenager moved her head smiling, playing down the importance of it, and then looked at the two visitors. “They're from Shitenhouji.”
“We wanted to see Ku- I mean, Chitose-san and Kuranosuke-oniisan” said Yukari, correcting her slip on the nickname she had for her brother.
“So, you're family of Chitose-san and Shiraishi-san...”
“Yes! So, can you tell us where they are?”
“I'm sorry, but they're away” Yukari and Miyuki stared at her with wide eyes. “My grandmother told me they were playing practice matches at Hyoutei today, and won't be back till the afternoon.”
They seemed confused, and she realised she had not introduced herself yet.
“Pardon for my rudeness, I'm Ryuuzaki Sakuno, my grandmother's the tennis club coach.”
Yukari nodded, but Miyuki was so disappointed that she forgot about her manners.
“And we came all the way here to see them...”
“You can come another day, right?” Tomoka intervened.
“No, the symposium my father is attending is only two days long; we'll be going back to Kyushuu tomorrow night on the last train.”
“Um, maybe... can you stay a little longer? I think my grandmother told me they'd be back at around three o'clock, four at the latest, so you could wait for them.” the long haired girl suggested.
“Really?!” Miyuki's eyes shone with excitement. “Yukari-san?”
She thought about it for a moment.
“I could call my mother and see if she allows it...”
She stepped away from the group and took her mobile phone out of her bag. While they waited, Miyuki noticed the racket in Sakuno's bag.
“Do you play tennis too?” she asked.
“Ah, yes...” the Seigaku student replied.
“And? Are you good?”
“Well, not much...”
“Don't say that, Sakuno!” Tomoka exclaimed. “You were fifth in the championship you played last month, and they all were older and much more experienced players that you are! Even Ryuuzaki-sensei said you did really well.”
“But...”
“When did you start playing?” Miyuki asked.
Sakuno looked at them, slightly taken aback. The young girl was as assertive as Tomoka, and it was too much to have the two focused on her. Without realising, she gripped the straps of her bag.
“N-Nine months ago.”
“Then it's not bad, it those people've been playing longer than you.”
The girl blushed and decided that it was time to change the focus to one of them.
“And... you, Chitose-chan?”
“Call me Miyuki.” she grinned. “Since I was five or so. My brother left his racket laying around and I liked to pick it up. My mother got tired of hearing things crash at home, so she enrolled me in the same club Senri-niichan was. And do you play, ...?”
“Osakada Tomoka” Sakuno's best friend introduced herself. “I'm the tennis team cheerleader, but I play sometimes.”
Yukari returned to the group, putting the phone away in her bag.
“Mum said it's okay. So,” she looked at the Seigaku girls, “can you tell us a place nearby where we can wait for them?”
Sakuno and Tomoka looked at each other for a moment. “We were going to eat at a burger shop a few blocks from here. Would you like to come with us?”
“Can we? We don't want to impose...” Yukari said.
“Of course! Come on!” Tomoka took the lead and the rest followed her, chuckling.
-o-
They found a booth in the restaurant and sat. Tomoka and Yukari went to order, leaving Miyuki and Sakuno at the table. The older girl moved slightly, a bit uncomfortable. She did not know exactly what to talk about with her companion. Especially since the Shitenhouji student seemed as fidgety as she did. Then, the teenager saw her furrow her brows and take a deep breath.
“Err, Ryuuzaki-san... can I call you Sakuno-san?” when the other nodded with a small smile, Miyuki continued. “Do you know Dor- Tezuka-san? I mean, personally.”
“Yes.”
“How is he?” Miyuki's face had lightened, and she seemed very excited, which left Sakuno confused.
“He's... fine, I think...”
“Did his shoulder hurt again after his match in the finals?”
“No, I heard it was inflamed, but he recovered quickly.”
“Great!” the young girl almost jumped in her seat with a big smile on her lips.
“Do you know Tezuka-senpai, Miyuki-chan?” Sakuno asked, a little curious about the reasoning behind her questions.
Before the girl could answer, the other two returned with their meals.
“Did she already ask you about her 'dorobo-niichan'?”
Tomoka and Sakuno looked puzzled, and Miyuki became flustered. “Yukari-san!”
“Do-Dorobo...?”
“Who's that?” asked Tomoka taking a sip of her Fanta.
“Nobody!” the youngest girl took her hamburger and bit it, her brows furrowed.
“We were talking about Tezuka-senpai” Sakuno said.
Tomoka's eyes twinkled amused and she turned to Miyuki. “Really? What did he do for you to call him a thief?”
“Tomo-chan!” Sakuno looked shocked. “That's not polite, Tezuka-senpai'd never...”
“According to Miyuki, he did.”
“It was a mistake, okay? He took my racket without permission, and I called him a thief” the girl defended herself. “He gave it back immediately.”
“But the nickname remained” added Yukari.
“It's cute” Tomoka replied.
Sakuno looked at them, both grinning clearly delighted. It was a bit frightening how the two girls were so alike, with their similar hairstyle, their extroverted character, their love for gossiping and the wicked glint in their eyes. She turned her attention to Miyuki, who was pouting while looking out of the window, her burger forgotten in her hand.
“Don't sulk. They like to tease, but they don't mean anything by it...”
“I know...” Miyuki said.
“I'm sure Tezuka-senpai will be happy to see you. Did you meet him at the rehabilitation clinic?”
The girl glanced at Sakuno, thinking for a moment. She left her food on the tray and took her paper cup. “At a street court. I was- I had climbed a tree to retrieve a ball. I told him he was bad at tennis. I decided I'd teach him how to play” she blushed. “I still can't believe he didn't tell me anything. He let me give him lessons without complaining.”
“Well, he's not very talkative” her companion nodded, sipping some coke “but I suppose he had his reasons not to tell you he was a national-level player.”
“Not only that! He's amazing! I'd never seen something like the Zone, or the Phantom!”
“The Shitenhouji team is quite impressive too.” Sakuno said.
“Isn't it? I admit that Koharu-san and Yuuji-san's tennis is pretty funny and can be weird at times, but they're great.”
“I was amazed by Shiraishi-san's style” the long haired girl declared. “My grandmother said he's perfect, technically precise. I'd never seen Fuji-senpai have a rough time like in that match.”
“True. For a moment, I thought he'd lose. And then, bam! He finished the last counter!” Tomoka commented.
At some point of their conversation, the other two had started to pay attention to them.
“Kawamura-san was the one who surprised me” Yukari said after swallowing a bite of her hamburger. “He got hurt badly and he still kept on fighting. Ishida-san respects him greatly.”
The other three nodded, serious, and Sakuno could not help a small smile. Kawamura Takashi was one of the kindest people she had ever met, and he would be really happy to know that he was admired for his strength - she had heard from her grandmother about the inferiority complex he had for his lack of special talents and not developing any extraordinary techniques, like his team mates.
“I was glad that Kintarou-kun recovered from his match against Yukimura-san” she commented.
“It was really hard for him. I heard from my brother that he was really shocked by his style” Yukari replied.
“It was frightening to see him so calm and cold...” Miyuki finished her hamburger and crumpled the paper, leaving it next to the chips. “By the way, Sakuno-san, how's that you know Kin-san?”
“Oh, we met at the courts, after Seigaku played Hyoutei.” Then, Sakuno proceeded to tell them about the encounter she and Ryoma had with the Rookie of the West.
Tomoka pouted a bit, offended that Sakuno had kept that story a secret. “You never told me!”
“I didn't think it was important. He only ate the riceballs I had made.”
“But they were for Ryoma-sama!” Tomoka protested.
“And who is he?” Miyuki asked.
“What? You don't know him? He defeated Yukimura!”
“Oh, that boy? I thought he was called Koshimae” Chitose's sister seemed puzzled.
“That's because your 'rookie' doesn't know how to read kanji.”
“Tomo-chan! That's rude!”
“Don't worry, Sakuno-san.” Yukari intervened. “She's right. He passed Japanese because the whole team tutored him for hours after practice. And he barely scraped by.”
“The funny thing is that now, the whole team calls him that” Miyuki chuckled, picking up a chip.
“And?” Yukari smiled widely, her eyes twinkling. “Who do you think is best?”
“Eh?”
“Of course it's Ryoma-sama!”
“Why do you call him that?” the youngest girl asked curiously.
“I'm the president of his fan club” Tomoka answered proudly.
“And you, Sakuno-san?”
“Well” she blushed. “I... think... both of them are really strong...”
“Sakuno!”
“Oh, she blushed! How cute! Do you like one of them?”
She opened her eyes widely at Shiraishi's sister question and started panicking.
“N-No! T-That's not it!” she became desperate, hearing her nervous stuttering. “I like them both” seeing the perplexed expressions of her friends, she became more anxious. “I-I mean... as players! I like their playstyles and how-how they give their best in the matches. They've... taught me so much.”
“I know what you mean.” Yukari stated.
Miyuki nodded. Tomoka had lowered her lids as she eyed Sakuno, not knowing if she should believe her. Sometimes, she had thought her best friend felt something for Ryoma, though other times she was not so sure. She breathed deeply, pushing the idea back in her mind. She would have to wait to see which of the two things was right at the end.
“And what can you tell us about your brother, Miyuki-chan?”
She grinned and swallowed her drink before answering. “For me, he's the best. Though he likes to tease me sometimes and he's too obsessed with that Muga thing, he's really great. He often plays tennis with me, and when he buys a shirt for himself, he always gets a matching cap for me.”
“You two have a brother-sister complex for sure.” Yukari took a chip and stared at it. “Ku-chan is good too, but he can be a nuisance, with his fascination for poisonous plants. And now with Kaburiel.”
“You call your brother 'Ku-chan'?” Tomoka sounded really amused, and Yukari could not help but blush a bit, realising her slip. “And who's Kaburiel?”
“His pet beetle. He's really dedicated to it. He even stopped hanging out with his friends to take care of it. A few weeks ago, I told him that they don't usually make it past the winter, and he started turning the heating! And he was crying! It was really funny.”
“How nice it must be to have big brothers” said Tomoka with a sigh. “I have two little brothers, and though I really love them, they're annoying sometimes. They've got so much energy!”
“Have you got siblings, Sakuno-san?”
“No, I'm an only child” her expression became wistful and, propping up her elbow on the table, she put her chin on her hand. “You know, when I hear you, I really get envious...”
“Sakuno...” Tomoka patted her lightly on the arm, and her friend smiled softly.
Yukari looked at Miyuki out of the corner of her eye. As her, she had sensed that family-related conversation was a uncomfortable topic for the long haired girl, and nodded.
“I think I need something sweet. A meal is not complete without dessert. Don't you agree?”
“I do” Miyuki said, looking expectantly to the other two, who smiled and agreed.
The group left the shop and slowly walked to a small store, where they sold Japanese sweets. They bought some dorayaki and taiyaki and went to a nearby square to eat them.
“Do you mind giving me your e-mail to keep in touch?” Miyuki told Sakuno and Tomoka halfway through her fish-shaped sweet.
“Ah, me too!”
“Sure!”
They took out their phones and exchanged their addresses, and some jokes after that, filling time until the hour of the teams return. Then, they went back slowly, talking about their plans for New Year and how they celebrated it at their homes.
As they arrived at the crossing, they saw a bus at the stop, and the tennis players getting off it.
“Nii-chan!”
Miyuki waved when Chitose turned his head, followed by the rest.
“What are you doing here?”
The girls crossed the street and met with the group.
“Yukari's father is in a pharmacy symposium and they brought me with them.”
“And mum?” Shitenhouji's captain asked his sister, ruffling her hair.
“She went shopping.”
“Were you with them?” Ryuuzaki Sumire asked Sakuno and Tomoka.
“Yes. You know that we were having lunch together, and they came with us.”
“Thanks for taking care of them” Chitose said with a smile.
Sakuno was sure that she had never seen someone so tall in her life. Even Inui-senpai, who towered over the rest of his team, was shorter than him. She nodded, suddenly feeling a bit shy.
“Hey! You're the omusubi girl from the Nationals, right?! I didn't say thanks for the food!” the long haired girl could just nod in acknowledgement at Kintarou, not realising everybody's questioning eyes on them. “Could you do those tennis ball-shapped rice balls again? They're delicious!”
“Kin-chan, that's enough. You're frightening the poor girl” said Oshitari Kenya putting a hand on his head.
“Eh? But I didn't do anything...”
“D-Don't worry, Kintarou-kun... I... can bring some tomorrow...”
He shouted his happiness and dashed to tell the rest of his team.
“He sure has lots of energy... more than my brothers...” Tomoka murmured astonished.
“Hey, since we're all together, why don't we have something to eat?”
“We've just had burgers and sweets, Momo-senpai” she replied, turning to look at him.
“You're too cruel, Osakada-chan. How can you talk about food when we've just had a couple of sandwiches in the bus?”
“And don't forget about those wonderful dishes at lunchtime” said Eiji. “Their cafeteria is as big as a gym, and everything is so elegant.”
“And posh. The dishes were really small, the food on them was the size of my thumb...”
“And that's the reason you ate four of each.” Kaidou spatted at him. “You're just a glutton”
“What?!”
“Momo, Kaidou” said Ooishi taking a step towards them.
“Momoshiro! Kaidou! Stop it, or you'll run twenty laps around the grounds!” they both went quiet and lowered their heads at their captain's voice.
“How about tea?” Osamu suggested. “We can have it in the garden, near the courts. The girls can tell us what they've been doing, and you can fill them in on the matches. I'm sure they want to know what happened at Hyoutei.”
Yukari and Miyuki expressed their excitement, begging their brothers to let them stay, and Sakuno looked at her grandmother, silently asking for her permission. She also had curiosity, not only for the result of their practice, but also to see some of the things they had been talking about. Her interest only increased as she saw Miyuki greet Tezuka and Echizen apparently ignoring Kintarou, who was trying to convince him of something he had said before, though the smug expression on his face said otherwise. As Sumire patted her shoulder and went to the entrance, shouting some orders to her team, she smiled to Tomoka, and both followed the rest of the group.
THE END
**Japan Society of Health Sciences: it's a real society. It was established in 1985 to expand the area of health science and respond to changes in the concept of health. Its members include physicians, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, governmental parties, companies, organizations, and persons in the health industry.
**dorayaki: Japanese confection which consists of two small pancake-like patties wrapped around a filling of sweet azuki red bean paste.
**taiyaki: Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste, though it also can be filled with custard, chocolate or cheese.
**omusubi: rice ball. I used the Japanese word because it sounded quite weird to use it next to girl