[Takeji's POV]
"Thank you for walking me home Takeji-kun..."
"No worries! Thank you for spending your time with me today!" I smiled at her.
"Okay Takeji-kun, you take care on your way—"
"Naruki-san!"
"Hmmm?"
"This is it... It's now or never... I don't think I'd get another chance to let you know how I feel if I let this moment slip away from my hands. Naruki-san, this is my genuine feeling for you..."
"Naruki-san, I—"
"I'm sorry Takeji-kun! Please let me answer this phone call first."
"Huh...? Y—Yeah... Sure Naruki-san... Take your time..."
Naruki-san walked away from me to answer the phone call. I'm unable to hear what the conversation is about but I waited patiently for her. It took some time but she finally finished the phone call. She's approaching me so I had to say it again.
"Naruki-san there's something I need to—"
"Takeji-kun, I'm really really sorry, I need to go now. I hope you forgive me for this. I really need to go. Thank you for today, I really enjoyed it! Please take care on your way!" Naruki-san waved her goodbye and hurriedly walk in her direction opposite to me.
"O—Okay... See you..." I sighed. I don't even know if she was even able to hear me anymore.
I decided to just go home and probably get some rest. As I walk home, I tried to just think about the good things that happened to me today.
"At least I got to spend time with her right? I even got know more about her. I guess I'll try again tomorrow..."
I arrived home and found Misako playing with her phone.
"Nii-chan! How did it—"
"Sup Misako..."
"Nii-chan? Are you alright?"
"Huh? Yeah... I'm just tired, sorry"
"O—Okay... There's food on the table if you like. Mom and dad are out buying groceries for tomorrow."
"I'm fine... Thanks Misako..." I uttered. I don't know but I didn't really feel like eating. All that was coming up on my mind was just to lay down and rest.
"I know I had a good time with Naruki-san today... But... Why does it feel like my heart is tired..."
Monday arrived and it was already lunchtime. I found Nino hanging out on our usual spot. We started to have some conversation as we normally do. It feels like this has been our meeting place though it was just something we indirectly decided together since no one wanted to give up the spot.
"So...? What happened?" She asked.
"Well... I tried to tell her but we got interrupted when she received a phone call. It seemed really important to her though..."
"Okay...? What happened after that?"
"She said that she needed to be somewhere else, then she left."
"I see..."
"Yeah..." I muttered and I suddenly felt discouraged when I remembered what went down yesterday.
"C—Come on now! Didn't you say that you're someone who doesn't fold himself in a corner!? What happened to that guy!?" she exclaimed while teasingly slapping my back.
"Yeah..." I chuckled awkwardly.
"Geez! It's not like she's the only woman in the world yah know!? There's like, a lot more that deserves your attention!"
"Yeah? Like who?" She stopped and looked like she was lost for words.
"I—I don't know!? Why—Why are you asking me!?"
"Uhm? You're the one who suggested, duh!?"
"Whatever! All I'm saying is, why not try to divert your attention to someone, or something else. It doesn't have to be another person. It might be something you like to do."
"Is that what you've been doing?" I asked.
"I'm trying to... That's why I try to unwind here every lunch... It's hard but nothing's gonna happen if I continue to sulk about it!"
"You know... I think... I think you're right..."
"Of course, I am!" she declared with her hand placed on her chest.
"Yeah, yeah, you got points for that. But just a bit!" I teased.
"Tss... So what do you plan on doing now then?"
"I dunno, maybe just focus on Tennis?"
"That's a start. You're a varsity, right?"
"I usually don't go around saying that. I just love playing Tennis, and I just happened to win some tournaments... That's all."
"Stop being so modest! How about this, let's have a match!"
"Uhm... Are you sure about that?"
"What? You think I can't play? I can play some tennis if I need to, you know. You're looking at one talented woman right here!"
"Yeah, so what's in it for me?"
"You got to practice with me and maybe take your mind off things a bit. But don't get any wrong idea!"
"What do you mean 'wrong' idea? You're the one who suggested it."
"Argh! Whatever! Anyways, I'm doing this for me as well so I can enjoy the rest of my high school and not focus on the fact that I just technically got rejected."
"Yeah, sorry making you remember..."
"It's alright. Besides... The bet is, if I win, I will own this spot!" She grinned.
"Oh you're really serious? If that's the case, I won't go easy on you! Oh, what if I win?"
"What do you want?"
"Hmm... I don't know yet but, can I think about it? It's not like you'll win against me anyways..." I grinned at her.
"Don't be so full of yourself. You haven't seen me playing." She retaliated.
"I look forward to it. Anyways, we can do it tomorrow once you have your gear with you. Do you have a racket?"
"Nope, but the school does, right?"
"Yeah, I'll lend you mine if you like. It might even give you a boost to your abilities." I teased.
I heard her chuckle, "I'll take the racket, but I doubt it will change the fact that I'll crush you tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure! Anyways, lunchtime is over, I'll see you tomorrow after school. So, you better prepare."
We both head back to our respective classrooms. I already looked forward to playing against her. I'm not sure about her saying that she plays but I'll see tomorrow. The class went as usual. The time passed and it was already time to go home. I don't have training today so maybe I'll just take this time to rest and prepare for tomorrow's match against Nino.
I'm about to head out of the classroom when someone tapped my back. I turn around to see who it was.
"Hey, Takeji-kun. Going home?"
"Oh, hey Naruki-san. Yeah, I'm about to go home since I got no training today."
"I see. Okay."
"Okay see you..."
"Wait Takeji-kun. I'm about to go home as well, I just need to do something real quick."
"Okay, Naruki-san. Good to know. Well... See you."
"Takeiji-kun... Are you by any chance... Mad at me?"
"Huh? No, what made you say that?"
"N—Nothing... Was there something you wanted to say yesterday?"
"Is this finally my chance to tell her? 'Try to divert your attention to something else.' I think Nino is right. After all that happened...Maybe I should tone down on always trying to ask her. It's starting to feel a bit exhausting... I don't feel like telling her right now..."
"Oh... Yeah, it's all good. Don't worry about it." I gave her a smile.
"I see... Well... See you tomorrow then."
"See yah Naruki-san."
I arrived home and had my dinner as usual. I prepared the gear I'll need tomorrow as well as the racket that I'll lend Nino. I'm all set and ready to take some rest when I received a message.
[Nino]
Still awake?
[Takeji]
Yeah, why? Excited for tomorrow?
[Nino]
No! Was just checking the number if it's working.
[Takeji]
It looks like it.
[Nino]
Okay! Night!
[Takeji]
Good night.
The next day arrived. It was already lunchtime and I'm preparing to head to my usual spot. To my surprise, I wasn't able to find Nino. I tried to wait for her but she didn't arrive. I ate by myself and just went back to the classroom. I tried to send her a text to check on her since I didn't have any good experience with waiting for someone.
[Takeji]
Didn't see you on our spot. Finally gave it up?
[Nino]
Nah, I just needed to do something during lunch time. Why? You missed me? 😏
[Takeji]
If I said yes, would it make any difference? 😏
[Nino]
🙄🙄🙄
[Takeji]
JK! Anyways, see you later. You better be ready!
[Nino]
You bet!
"What a relief! I thought for a sec that I would be stood up."
The time has finally arrived for me to play against Nino. Feeling excited, I grabbed my things and hurried to the Tennis court. Since we don't have any training today, we'll have the court to ourselves. It's not that there are a lot of students who play tennis in our school. I got changed and waited for Nino to arrive.
Some time passed and someone finally enters the tennis court. The person looked really familiar from afar. As the person walked closer, I found out who it was. It was Nino wearing her athletic clothing. She's in full gear from top to bottom; sporting her white shoes, a pink tank top, and a pink skirt. Never have I expected to be taken aback just by looking at her.
"Hey! Are you just gonna sit there?" I snapped back to reality when she yelled at me.
"Oh, yeah... Sorry about that... Anyways, here's your racket."
"Thanks! So, ready to be crushed?" She teased.
"We'll see about that! Let's just do the coin toss. I call heads"
"Well, I got no choice, so tails then."
I flicked the coin to the air and as it dwindles down, I caught it with my hand to check.
"Tails..." I uttered.
"Great! Luck's already in my favor!" She exclaimed.
"Sure sure, it's just a coin toss anyway. We'll just have one set. I'm not sure if you can keep up with me. Don't want you to be exhausted do we now?" I grinned as we both head to both our respective sides of the court.
"Alright, here it goes." Nino declared while preparing to serve.
Nino tosses the tennis ball up in the air and prepares for the serve. I must say, she looks like she wasn't lying when she said that she plays tennis.
"Humph!" She swings the racket and the ball flies through my side of the court.
I swung back to receive the ball. We got ourselves a bit of a rally but I ultimately got the first point when she tried to receive the ball but it bounced out the line.
"Fifteen Love!" I announced while smiling at her.
"Ugh! I almost got that one!" She protested.
"That's alright, you'll get it, next time! Given if your opponent isn't me!" I teased.
"Whatever!"
She prepared to do her second serve and I prepare myself to go a little easy on her. She swings the racket and it hit the net not allowing the ball to get through.
"Fault!"
"I know! I know!" Nino yelled with an irritated voice.
"Just saying!"
She tossed the ball again to make the second serve and it finally bounce to my side of the court. I took it easy this time. I looked at her and I can see the determination on her face. I gotta admit, I am enjoying this time with her.
Time passed and it looks like I'm about to finish this woman's career. It was already the 6th game, all points on me of course since it's already 6-0 and the score is "40-15". I only need one point to win this set.
"Okay, last serve for the day!" I announced as I grinned at Nino.
"Don't be too cocky!"
I tossed the ball to the air and swung my racket. I'm amazed that she was able to receive it. The ball is now flying back to my side of the court and I thought that I'd finish the game here.
"Nice game Nino..."
I swung my racket and put some spin on the ball to make it harder for her to receive. She made a run for it but she accidentally slipped in a bad way and fell to the ground..
"Oww!" She yelped and I found her unable to stand up. She was holding her left foot.
"NINO!" I yelled as I dropped the racket I was holding to ran to her side. I jumped over the net, and check to see what happened.
"Tsk! You shouldn't have tried to receive it, you knucklehead!" I looked at her knee and it looks like she has a bit of scratch on it. She looks in pain while still holding to her left foot.
"W—What!? I didn't want to lose!"
"Come on! As if there's a lot on the line!"
"Can you move your foot?"
"It's fine it's just a—Ouch!"
"Don't push yourself too much you Bozo! Here..." I grabbed her arms and wrapped it on my shoulders so I can carry her to the bench.
"W—What are you doing stupid!? Don't carry me like this!! It's embarrassing!" She was hitting my head, trying to stop me.
"Will you stop!? You clearly can't walk properly. It looks like you sprained your foot."
"Are you even listening!?"
I gently dropped her off the bench.
"There, just hang tight. Let me remove your shoe."
"I can do it myself!" She tried to do it but it looks like she was having a hard time since I can hear her grunts.
"You're clearly forcing yourself you know..."
"Fine! I'll allow you just this time!" She replied.
I sighed and I carefully removed her shoe.
"Tell me where it hurts."
"H—Here..." She pointed at her ankle.
"Tsk... We need to get you to the clinic to get you an ice bag and get your knee patched up."
"Are you gonna carry me again!?"
"Can you walk now!?
"No..." she said with a faint voice.
"That's what I thought. Let's not waste time so we can get your knee and foot treated. Let's just do this instead."
I crouched with my back facing her to offer her a piggy back ride.
"This is so embarrassing..." She muttered.
"I can drop you now if you like, you know..."
"DUMMY!!" She protested while pulling my hair.
"Ow! What was that for!?"
"Nothing... Thank you..." She muttered and this is the first time I heard her this sincere.
"I want to mess with you but you're already in a bad shape, so I'll park that for now."
"Yeah, yeah..."
We left our equipment at the court and I carried her all the way to the clinic. I assisted her to take a seat on the bed. The nurse wasn't on duty but the clinic was open. I looked for an ice bag to treat her sprain.
"Hold this for me..." I handed her the ice bag.
While in one knee, I cleaned her scratched knee and put some bandages. I then positioned the ice bag on her ankle and placed it on the part where it hurts.
"T—Thank you... T—Takeji..." I found her looking away from me.
"Again, don't mention it... You should've just really let it go earlier..."
"I can't help it... I don't easily give up..."
"Well, there are times that it might be good to just give up if it's something you can't win over... Looked at what happened. You could've avoided this minor injury if you just didn't force it."
"Look who's talking about giving up..."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's nothing!"
I keep on doing the cold compress treatment on her foot until it looked like she felt better.
"Can you at least move it now?"
"Yeah, I think..."
She carefully stands up from where she was sitting. I tried to assist her.
"Careful now."
"I know, I know..." She tried to take a step with her left foot. "Ow..."
"It still a bit hurt. We need to have someone drive you home..."
"I'll call my brother..."
"You have one? I thought it was just you and your sisters."
"I mean, she's my sister's boyfriend but we treat each other as siblings..."
"I see... Where is he?"
"I'm not sure but he goes to our school as well. I'll send him a text. Shoot... I don't have my phone with me... I left it at the court."
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it for you."
"Thanks..."
I went back to the court and just grabbed all of our things. I head back to the clinic and placed our stuff on the side.
"Here's your bag."
"Thank you..."
She got her phone and it looks like she's sending a message. Some time passed and someone entered the clinic.
"Nino, what happened?" The guy asked her. It looks like he's the person Nino was talking about. He looks familiar. I think he was the guy they were with way back the Sunrise Festival.
"I was playing tennis when I accidentally sprained myself..."
"You should be more careful. Let's get you home. The girls might get worried."
"I won't let them know..."
"Alright, but can you walk?"
"I can but it still hurts a bit..."
"A—Allow me to help you guys out..." I interjected.
"It's okay, you've already done a lot for me. Thank you Takeji..." Nino replied and the guys just gave me a nod.
"Yeah... Sure, you guys take care on your way..."
"You too..." She smiled at me.
They both head out for the clinic. I decided to go home as well since there was nothing left to do. I had dinner with my family and took a shower to prepare for bed. I was about to sleep when I received a message from Nino.
[Nino]
You still up?
[Takeji]
Yeah
[Nino]
Thank you again for today... Sorry for making you do all those things...
[Takeji]
Don't mention it. Just don't push yourself too hard next time.
[Nino]
Thank you...
[Takeji]
It's fine. Besides, I won the game so you owe me!
[Nino]
Yeah sure, a bet is a bet. What do you have on mind?
[Takeji]
Hmm... How about... We meet at our usual spot every lunch if your time allows you. Then we'll take our lunch together.
[Nino]
What!? Isn't that like...
[Takeji]
What? It's just lunch. Besides we're already doing it. For all I know, this isn't much for you isn't it?
[Nino]
I know that! Fine! If that's what you want!
You changed Nino's nickname to "Princess of Tennis👑🎾".
[Princess of Tennis👑🎾]
Oh come on! 😡😡😡
[Takeji]
What? 😏 Besides, I genuinely think that you were doing good
[Princess of Tennis👑🎾]
I told you, I'm a talented woman! I also scored some points against "The Takeji of Asahi High" 😎
[Takeji]
Whaaat? You and your nicknames... Anyways, you should take some rest now.
You changed Princess of Tennis👑🎾' nickname to "Nino".
[Nino]
I will... Good night Takeji...
[Takeji]
Good night Nino.
[Nino]
😴😊
The next day arrived and I met with Nino as usual since it was already lunchtime. Surprisingly, she was already seated ahead of me. I approached her to give my usual greeting.
"Sup princess." I tapped her back.
"OH SHUT UP!"
"Good day to you as well." I chuckled. "Anyway, how's your injury?"
"I'm feeling a bit better now. My sisters helped me out when I got home yesterday."
"That's good to hear then. Can you walk a now?"
"Yeah, I can!"
"Good. Anyways, as per our deal, we'll take our lunch together and you have no say to it!"
"Whatevs! What's your lunch for today?"
"I got Misako to prepare me these" I showed her my bento and she looked like she wanted one.
"Here, don't you go all shy from me now."
"I didn't say I want it!?"
"But you looked like you wanted one so, you like one or not?"
"Fine! Let me have some! Thank you..." she took some tempura from my bento.
"How is it?"
"It's good! Why can't you cook like your sister?" She teased while munching down the tempura.
"You haven't even tasted my cooking yet!"
"Now you get it!? So how can you tell that I can't cook!?"
"Oh ho ho!? So that's where you were going huh!? When are you planning to take on the challenge then?"
"Whenever you're available, didn't I tell you that!?"
"Oh!? Okay!? If you're so tough, how about this weekend then!?" She wasn't able to reply right away.
"Just like I thought! Ha! You can't!"
"N—No!? I was just thinking if there's something I need to do this weekend.
"Excuses, excuses!" I chuckled. "Anyways, don't worry, I won't do anything bad to you."
"Oh, you better not!"
We shared my bento and thought that it would be better to get back to our class a bit ahead of time since she I thought might still have a hard time walking. And I was right.
"What happened to the 'Yeah, I can!' earlier!? Here... You can hold on to me." I pointed to my shoulder.
"I can walk by myself!"
"Fine! Whatever floats your boat princess!"
She stood up from her seat and prepare to walk with me. I can see her having a hard time walking with her left foot. It looks like all her weight is on it.
"I told you I can help..."
"I don't want to keep on owing you things!" she protested.
"Who said I was counting!?"
"Fine..." She hold on to my shoulder and I assisted her.
"Just take it slowly. Overdoing it might make it worse." I told her while we were walking towards the school's building.
"I know, I know..."
"Next time, let's try to do something that has less chance of you getting injured. Maybe play the game called 'whoever finishes polishing their nails first, wins' or something like— OWW!" She bumped her elbow on my stomach.
We continued to walk until we were near the school's building.
"Since it looks like you're having a hard time cooking, I can ask Misako to cook more for me so I can share it with you again. That's if your pride allows you too though" I chuckled.
"Whatever! I don't want to owe Misako-chan!"
"I don't think she would mind. We'll get even anyways when you cook for me this coming weekend."
"Yeah right!"
"So what time should we—"
While having a conversation with Nino, someone called my attention.
"Takeji-kun?"
I looked to where the voice was coming from and found out who it was.
"Naruki-san?"
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Notes:
How's everyone doing? I hope you're all doing good! As I mentioned last time, the posting time every 'Stringed Mondays' will be a bit earlier than usual since my work sched changed.
Anyways, thank you for everyone's support on this story! I really appreciate it! I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story. If you like... You guys can also check my "Unwavering" story while waiting for the next chapter. I post new chapters for that every Wednesdays(Sorry for the Shameless plug lol).
As always, feel free to leave any comment. You can also leave some feedback so I would know if there's something I can improve on.
That's it for me! Have a great week ahead of us! Stay safe and Stay awesome!