Tennis no Ojou-sama: A Prince of Tennis Fan Fiction

CHAPTER 68: The Consequence of the Absurd Dream

"Spring rolls ei?" Momo said as he brandished the knife in front of him. "Challenge accepted." He said and started dividing the meat into several steak pieces.

"Anything for food huh? You are such a simpleton." An commented as he surveyed him at work.

~~~

"Damn..." Kamio said as he picked up another dry log. "I'm here, rotting with..." His thoughts faded as he took a look over his shoulder at Kirihara Akaya who piled up twigs and dried branches on the wheelbarrow. He picked the same task of gathering firewood with him. "...while that annoying peach is in a comfy kitchen with An-chan." He finished his thoughts, clenching his fist in irritation and disappointment.

"Oi, this is already a lot. Let's go back to the storage." Kirihara yelled at him, wheeling the wheelbarrow towards the direction back to their team's main cabin.

"I have a name. You bastard." Kamio said between gritted teeth as he carried several logs on his arms and lagged behind.

The unlikely duo dropped off the fruits of their efforts at the small excavation that is used for stocking up the firewood thay have gathered. After that, Kirihara proceeded back to the forest without a passing glance at Kamio, concentrating on getting the job done. "I'll be going ahead." He said without even turning around.

Kamio was pissed off more than ever. "Why that uncooperative little—" His sentence got stuck as his eyes scanned the open window of the kitchen.

"Take that! And this!" He heard Momoshiro grunting as if he was having a fistfight with someone. There was a loud thud after every word. Kamio peeked inside and saw Momoshiro hacking something with a large knife, on top of the kitchen counter.

"Hey, stop playing around, Momoshiro-kun." An said in irritation, setting a plate of neatly chopped carrots on the side.

"Don't worry about the small details... As long as I get the job done, it doesn't matter how I do it." Momshiro said in a complaining voice.

"If you hack it like with so many wasted movements, it would take forever to get the meat grinded." She took another knife and stood close at Momoshiro's side. "Move over a bit." She instructed. Momoshiro took one sidestep.

"Watch and learn." An said as her eyes glinted, surveying the meat with a serious look. She started chopping up the pork with swift and small movements with the knife, keeping the meat in place with her other hand.

"Ohh." Momoshiro said, quite impressed. "You have some skills."

An giggled. "Why thank you..." She answered with a honeyed tone. "Now you do it." She said, letting him take over. Momoshiro copied what she did perfectly and the meat was being minced quite nicely.

"Hmm... Not bad..." She commented as she watched.

"Well, I'm a fast learner." Momoshiro said, arrogance evident in his tone.

"Geez, you give yourself too much credit." An commented with a face. Suddenly, she seemed to notice something. "Momoshiro-kun." She called.

"Just Momo is fine. Everyone calls me that. I don't like formalities." He said as he started on another piece of steak. He lifted his right hand with the knife clenched on it towards his forehead, attempting to wipe away the beads of sweat glistening along his hairline.

"Hey, don't do that. It's dangerous." An scolded, stopping his hand midway by grabbing his wrist. Momoshiro obediently put his hand down. An snatched a paper towel from a nearby dispenser and started dabbing it on Momoshiro's forehead. She stood on tiptoes as she did so or otherwise she wouldn't be able to reach.