A stampede of footsteps broke the mid-afternoon lull. A flock of staff passed Mayu's office whispering, and a minute later, another group rushed by. Annoyed to have her work disrupted, Mayu poked her head out of the office to ask Hirose what was going on.
"Everyone's losing their shit because the samurai's here, including the executives."
"Samurai?" she chuckled. "Where are the ninjas?"
"Samurai Nanjiro," Hirose clarified. "Japan's most celebrated player who won 37 consecutive international tournaments and who so happens to be Echizen's father?"
"Oh." Tidbits from Ryoma's upbringing slowly returned to Mayu. "What's he doing here?"
Hirose glanced at her text messages and said, "Apparently Echizen convinced him to come in to take a look at this year's national team and give them a few pointers."
Leading Mayu down the hall, she explained, "From what I know, the Samurai has been a recluse for the past 20 years: he took no meetings, no interviews, no media appearances. Nobody even knows where he lives. He hasn't trained anybody except for his son. It's a real honor for the association to be getting his advice."
"I see. He's a mystery figure."
"The ultimate mystery figure. That, and everyone wants to see what kind of man raised Ryoma and if he took after his father."
Mayu had to agree: she was dying to see the man who'd convinced Ryoma to leave the U.S. and start a relationship he didn't want.
By the time they got down to the Great Hall, a sizable assembly had gathered around the entrance. Because Mayu and Hirose had helped with the national tryouts, they were allowed inside. Director Yanagi and other senior executives stood with Nanjiro on the edge of the innermost court, observing the players and speaking in hushed voices.
Noticing Sakuno was also let in and was already standing with the advisors, Hirose grumbled, "Girlfriends get all the perks, don't they?"
"Not me."
"That's because Tezuka isn't here," she retorted. "Plus, you already got the biggest perk of all: you came back to the association thanks to Tezuka, right?"
Mayu didn't respond. She knew that was a lingering rumor, and it was for the best to let others think that way.
The two women joined the advisors on the outer court and watched the national team from afar. Over their shoulders, Mayu peeked at the unkempt man standing center forward: his hair was razed down close to his scalp, his chin and the side of his face were covered with unruly stubbles and his sweater seemed to be about two decades too late in style. Yet his sloppy appearance didn't take away from the sharp glints in his eyes as they moved with the nimble steps of the athletes on court.
"You could tell that he used to be a handsome man," whispered Mayu to Hirose.
She agreed. "It's too bad he let himself go."
"I think he's still got it. Look at his eyes: he sees everything."
They watched for a few moments without speaking. During this pause, Nanjiro ordered the athletes to stop the game and stepped on the court. Sleeves rolled up, he borrowed a racket, asked one player to step off and then told the remaining player to serve. As soon as the ball landed on his side, he raised his arm and swung. In the blink of an eye, the shot sliced through the air and landed squarely on the opposing baseline. Suddenly, it was as if Mayu was brought back to the courts of many years ago, where Ryoma's shot had returned to Tezuka like darts of flame in the dusk.
Nanjiro played a rally with one and repeated it with the other. That done, he instructed both players on their footing and corrected the force application for their forehand swings. As soon as he finished speaking, the Great Hall was filled with a round of applause.
"Ever the showoff, aren't you?" remarked Ryoma when Nanjiro stepped off court.
Revealing a crooked smirk, Nanjiro retorted, "Who do you think you got it from?"
"Get serious. We're here to get your feedback on the training plan."
"Indeed we are." Director Yanagi stepped forward with a smile. "Would you like to call on a few more games, Echizen-san? Other players would be pleased to meet you as well."
Nanjiro held up a hand. "I'm here to see the national team. I think I've seen enough to give useful advice."
"Wonderful. Shall we go upstairs?"
"I could use a break before a long meeting. Do you mind?"
"Of course not," said Director Yanagi. "We'll set up the conference room and see you in another fifteen minutes?"
"Fine."
After Director Yanagi and his posse left the hall, Nanjiro muttered to Ryoma, "How do you stand this stuffy place? It's all business and no fun."
"I don't. I bend the rules here and there."
"I guess it's working. They seem to trust you."
"I have a reliable team."
"Is that them?" Taking notice of other staff, Nanjiro began coming over. He said perfunctory hellos to the advisors and then grinned at Sakuno. "Are you here to keep this brat out of trouble?"
Sakuno reddened. "Of course not, Ryoma-kun's doing great on his own."
"He gives himself too much credit."
Ryoma glared at him. "I'm still here."
"That's the point!" crowed Nanjiro. "Makes an old man feel reassured to see you two work together. Now if only you'd start living together and tie the knot, then I'll leave you alone for good."
Noticing Mayu was within earshot, Ryoma hastily said, "Quit talking nonsense! We're at work."
"Right. Work etiquettes. My mistake." After giving Sakuno a pat on the shoulder and an invitation to family dinner, Nanjiro approached Mayu and Hirose with unabashed interest. "And who are these pretty ladies?"
"This is the Chair of our department's controllership, Ohara Mayu. Hirose Kanae is our media relations advisor."
"In other words, the threads keeping you athletes together. Good for you ladies."
"Honoured to meet you," Hirose greeted Nanjiro with a sweet smile. "You're a legend in the tennis scene, and frankly, based on how incredible your moves are, urban legends don't do you justice."
Nanjiro let out a loud guffaw. "You flatter me too much! Is that how you get the reporters on your side?"
"That and more," said Hirose with a wink.
While Ryoma appeared uneasy with their flirtatious banter, Mayu was hung up on Nanjiro's comment for Sakuno. Was he urging Ryoma to propose? Or hinting that he'd already done so and they were engaged? Her eyes searched Sakuno's fingers: there was no ring. Or did she not wear it?
Tied up in her thoughts, she didn't hear it until her name was called the third time. Snapping back to the present, she caught Nanjiro looking at her.
"Not very focused, are you?" he asked with a lopsided smile. "How do you manage to keep the department in order?"
Ryoma shot Nanjiro a look of warning but Mayu spoke up before he could. "All you have to know is that I get the job done, like help recruit this year's team, for example."
"You did that?"
"I pitched the idea to add in foreign players into the tryout plan."
"Yanagi told me. I thought it was a brilliant change." Pausing here, Nanjiro frowned, "But he didn't credit a woman for it."
"Of course not. That's the Japanese way of doing business, isn't it? Women are undermined."
Nanjiro seemed taken aback by her cutthroat comeback. Watching her with renewed interest, he asked, "You don't happen to be American, do you?"
"European and half-Japanese."
"I imagine it's not easy for a westerner like you to work in such a traditional, bureaucratic place. Or get accustomed to Tokyo all by yourself."
"I'm not by myself," she said immediately. "My fiancé in the high-performance department keeps me in excellent company."
"Your fiancé's Tezuka Kunimitsu?" Nanjiro's smile broadened. "I guess the world is tiny. He used to be—"
"Seigaku's team captain."
"And the ace of Japan if he continued to compete."
"I know."
"When are you two getting married?"
"Next spring." Eyes on Ryoma's face, she said with a vindictive smile, "Maybe that'll encourage Echizen-san here to tie the knot."
***
a/n: I couldn't leave out Ryoma's old man, who's such a character. Throw in Sakuno and there's a good mix ;)
We are nearing the end and the grand finale, so hope you are enjoying the story so far~