Chapter 17: The Two Samurai and The Kunoichi
Ayame walked down the streets of New York alone. Weeks passed since she had went back to America with Ryoma. It felt like she had never been to Japan and had always been in America. She was taking one of her walks that she often took.
Ayame wandered down the road and stopped at a tennis court. She saw someone that she initially thought was Ryoma, but upon closer inspection, he was taller and much older. The older boy rallied with a tennis ball against the wall, and soon busted it open. He turned around and saw her.
"Ay-chan...?" he said with uncertainty.
Ayame recognized that nickname at once.
"Ryoga...?" she said incredulously.
They both stared at each other. Seconds passed. The blue eyes and the hazel eyes were still staring at each other. Ayame was first to break out of her trance.
"Ryogaaaaaaa!" Ayame cried as she ran onto the tennis court to hug him, only to tackle him before doing so.
"Long time no see, ninja girl," Ryoga said, amused at her action. "I see you're able to run faster than back then. Now don't go crying now that we've met after all this time. How's Chibisuke?"
"He's doing well," she replied.
"Great to hear. I heard that his school won the Nationals back in Japan."
"They did."
Ayame and Ryoga walked down the streets of New York together while conversing.
"So how have you been doing, Ryoga?" Ayame asked.
"Been doin' great. And you?" Ryoga asked.
"Damn, couldn't be better. First I got to see Seigaku win at the Nationals, and I run into you."
"Did you miss me?"
"Terribly. I don't think Ryoma remembers you, though."
"Oi, oi... Chibisuke wouldn't forget me."
"I'm pretty sure he would. He didn't even remember how he met me..."
"You're playing around, aren't you?"
"Sadly, no. I'm not kidding. I'll bet if he sees you now, he wouldn't remember until we say something. Let's go."
"So where're you and Chibisuke staying at?"
Ayame led Ryoga to the hotel room that she shared with Ryoma.
"Ahh, seems like he's not back yet," Ayame remarked.
"Should we wait for him?" Ryoga asked.
"Yeah. He'll come back."
Ayame and Ryoga then started talking about the period of time that they were separated.
"When I first saw you, I thought you were Ryoma, but then I saw that you were too tall."
"Oi oi, do I really look like Chibisuke?"
"A little. Just older."
"Y'know, when I was watching the Nationals tournament, I was watching Chibisuke's match. When the camera angle changed, I saw you watching Chibisuke in the crowd. You looked almost like back when you were smaller... except prettier and taller."
They spent nearly an hour talking until the door opened and Ryoma stepped in.
"Ayame, who is that?" Ryoma asked as soon as he saw Ryoga.
"See? I told you he'd forget!" Ayame said bluntly to Ryoga.
"I'm Echizen Ryoga," Ryoga said to Ryoma.
Echizen Ryoga? Ryoma's confused thoughts went.
"Who are you again?" Ryoma asked with uncertainty.
"N-no way. Don't tell me you forgot the face of your older brother," Ryoga said to Ryoma.
"Ryoma..." Ayame started. "Ryoga's your older half-brother. I met you when he still lived under the same roof as you. I played with you and him every day. Do you remember at all?"
She snatched the orange that Ryoga was carrying in his hand from him and gave it to Ryoma. Ryoma looked at the orange and his expression slowly changed to realization.
"Do you remember now?" Ayame asked Ryoma.
Ryoma suddenly saw bits and pieces of the past: rallying with Ryoga, Ayame defending him from Ryoga's teasing, Ayame and Ryoga playing a serious match, Ryoga continually calling Ayame "Ay-chan", and the three getting into trouble together by stealing from the neighbors.
After a moment of hesitation, Ayame spoke. "Ryoga, I never talked about you again when you left. I thought it'd be too painful for Ryoma."
Ryoma suddenly remembered the day when he went to the burger store with Ayame, Momo, and Kikumaru. Right then, Kikumaru called her "Ay-chan", which caused her to run away. He finally realized what had happened there and why all of the sudden she didn't want anybody to call her "Ay-chan".
"Oi, Chibisuke," Ryoga said. "Have you been dating with Ay-chan while I was gone?"
Ryoma shot Ryoga an annoyed look, and Ayame attacked Ryoga by kicking him in the stomach.
"We weren't dating!" she shouted.
"Oww..." Ryoga groaned in agony. "Ay-chan, that really hurt! What was that for?"
"Ryoma and I weren't dating!" she said fiercely. "Unless you suddenly changed into that annoying old pervert, then I'll gladly kick you anytime I want!"
"What is she talking about?" Ryoga asked Ryoma.
"Ayame always kicked Dad," Ryoma replied.
"Oh yeah," Ryoga said. "Every time she used to come over to play, she would kick Dad. But seriously, Ay-chan, you kick way too hard now."
"Do you guys wanna hit a little bit?" Ayame asked.
The three went outside and ended up at a park. They stood in a triangle formation and rallied three balls together.
"Ay-chan and Chibisuke," Ryoga said as they rallied. "You two seem to have improved a lot!"
"Same goes for you!" Ayame said. "How 'bout playing a match?"
"Ay-chan, you were good at tennis back then, but you'll never beat me!" Ryoga said arrogantly.
"You don't know that until I try!" Ayame retorted.
"Why don't you play a match with me then?" Ryoma suggested to Ryoga.
"You won't beat me either, Chibisuke!" Ryoga said. "Ay-chan has better chances, she was better than you back then!"
"Actually, about that..." Ayame said. "We don't know who's better now. A while back, Ryoma and I played a match, and it tied because we both collapsed and fainted. Ryoma got much stronger during the Nationals tournament, and I've been working out too."
Ayame had been training harder ever since the Nationals started. She had been fired up about the fact that Ryoma unlocked the three doors of Muga no Kyouchi and wanted to catch up with him. After Nationals, she figured out Tenimuhou no Kiwami, and could nearly activate it at will. They have not played a match ever since, so whoever is the stronger tennis player is still unclear.
Soon, the three stopped rallying and began walking back to the hotel.
"Chibisuke and Ay-chan," Ryoga began. "I need to go somewhere now."
"Aww, you have to even after we just met again after all those years?" a disappointed Ayame asked.
"Ay-chan, I know you carry a cell phone around. Give it to me so I can write my number."
Ayame handed Ryoga her cell phone and he recorded his contact information into it.
"There," he said as he handed her cell phone back. "Now you can call me anytime if you wanna talk."
"OK!" Ayame said.
Ayame and Ryoma watched as Ryoga disappeared down the streets.
After all these years... Ayame thought. After all these years... I found Ryoga... Too bad I couldn't play a match to finally beat him... but then again, he might've been working hard as well. But I'm definitely beating him this time!
Meanwhile, Ryoma had been having mixed feelings about seeing Ryoga. When Ayame explained things to him, he suddenly remembered everything. He was shocked at the sudden revelation and glad that he saw his long lost half-brother.
"Hey, Ryoma," Ayame said.
"What is it?" Ryoma asked.
"During Halloween, you and Ryoga would go up to the front doors and get candy from trick-or-treating. Then you'd both ask questions about the spooky decorations at their houses while I stole some candy behind the homeowner's back. Do you remember that?"
"Oh yeah! I remember that! Then when we were done, you'd split the stolen candy with us. That was fun."
"Those were the good old times."
"A lot of our adventures involved you stealing from the neighbors."
"Yeah, that was a lot of fun."
"I remember when we were laughing about getting away with them."
"Haha, yeah. You two were the samurai, and I was the kunoichi. We played our roles by having you and Ryoga confront things directly while I snuck around and played my role as a ninja. Except we switched roles every time we stole oranges."
"Now that you mention all this stealing stuff, were you the one who stole Marui-san's gum?"
"If you mean the redhead who loves to chew gum, then yeah. He wouldn't give me anymore, so I mugged him."
"During the Nationals, Rikkai had been saying that he wanted to find the culprit, but he couldn't figure out who stole his gum. I thought it was you, because I've known all this time that you're good at stealing things without getting caught."
"Doesn't that make me as cool as a ninja?"
"Uh... yeah..."
"Well, I'm gonna go find a court."
"Why?"
"Self-training."
Ayame walked away and found a court. She began rallying against the wall, with the intent of defeating Ryoga in a match.
Even though I've looked up to you, I will definitely defeat you! she thought fiercely as she hit the ball as hard as she could. That was the reason why I wanted to get stronger!