"Once you look up to someone, you can't overtake them."
—Kise Ryota
The Empress | Chapter 12
"Game set, won by Shiraishi - Kirihara 6-4"
"Yeah! We beat the 3rd court!"
"...oh wow, that was unexpected."
"You haven't changed a bit Yamato-Buchou."
"...You've certainly become quite distinguished, Tezuka-kun."
"The 3rd match, singles 2, he flows just like the rivers do, Yamato Yudai. Facing, the pride of the middle school tennis world, Tezuka Kunimitsu."
It was official.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The young beauty didn't come back to the camp until the next morning. She had gone to FREI Corp's ice rank and had been practicing for her upcoming competition. Lately, she had a difficult time going to sleep so she decided that would be the best course of action. But because she hasn't told Haru that, the girl knew her butler will give her an earful when she stepped through the doors. Except, once again, he seems to be missing.
With a frown, she left her empty room.
After a few minutes of looking around, there was shouting and the familiar sound of tennis balls. Following the source of the sounds, the girl walked towards the tennis courts. Only, once she arrived at her destination, she was met with a very bright light that came from one of the players in court. Shielding from it with her arms, she only brought her arms down when she deemed it was safe for her eyes to adjust.
"You've also... achieved The Pinnacle of Perfection?!" Atobe exclaimed in surprise.
Fuyuki stared at the vision in front of her. Tezuka Kunimitsu opened the final door of Muga no Kyochi. Ryoma's papa and her step-uncle, Echizen Nanjiro, once told her that everyone is in The Pinnacle of Perfection the very first time they play tennis, but they lose it when they become too preoccupied with thoughts of winning and losing. It can be regained only when they forsake the outcome of the match and is simply having fun playing tennis again.
But you never had it, did you?
It hurts.
Her eyes hurt.
Everyone seems to be shocked by Tezuka's transformation. However, among them all, one was more stunned than others. Fuji's eyes opened wide. The only other players to unlock The Pinnacle of Perfection are Echizen Ryoma and Yukimura Seiichi.
"Ga-game and match... Tezuka. Six games to four!"
Pulsing her lips, she faced away from the victor. Tezuka Kunimitsu. The one Ryoma admires. The only one Ryoma lost to—excluding Tokugawa.
Suddenly, the beauty saw a jerky movement from where she stood.
"You've really broken though... Tezuka-kun." Shiraishi smiled.
'That man really has no limiter at all.'
"...I must catch up... definitely, I must!" Kite was burning with determination. His eyes on Tezuka as said male shook hands with Seigaku's former captain.
When Tezuka tried to make an exit, Atobe blocked his path. "You want to go to Germany, ahn?" The bystanders looked uneasy for a bit until "Go and become professional already." Atobe continued with a smirk, "I'll catch up to you." The captain of Seigaku remained still, "No need to say anything, Tezuka." The self-proclaimed king gestured towards the players behind him with his arms open, "Leave this team in my magnificent hands."
There was a lift on the corners of Tezuka's lips before he nodded curtly.
Fuyuki blocked out the voices in shock; she thought she was hallucinating at first but she wasn't because she saw her Prince as he smiled at Tezuka before running off. She debated following him but... he looked satisfied.
"-ow can you just leave without saying goodbye?!" Kikumaru shouted, breaking the moment with an obvious upset tone. "...At least have a farewell part-"
"Tezuka," Fuji cut off his longtime friend, "I have a favor to ask of you before you go."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Why are you guys having this kind of match?!" Kikumaru yelled. His eyes glued to the match between his two dear friends. 'If Oishi was here, he would know exactly what to do' The cat-like male thought to himself as he watched the two in distress.
The leaves fell from surrounding trees as the game came to an end.
Fuji was on the ground, his back on the cold court as his hand covered his eyes. "...Thank you." Fuji mumbled, but Tezuka was long gone. A drop of tear rolling from his eyes without control. 'No matter where you go, you always seem to be one step ahead of me.'
"How pretty." A soft voice snapped him out of his depressing thoughts. The smell of Magnolia filled his nostrils as Fuji felt soft slim fingers rubbing his cheek gently. Once his eyes open, startled, he was taken back. The beauty was merely inches away from him; her face hovering over his as she crouched down beside his head. Her finger caught the drop of tear that escaped his eyes.
Fuji didn't know what to say.
"Are you going to give up now?" There was no spite or judgment in her voice, merely curiosity. Those hazel pools seem to see through his sharp blue ones.
"...No." he quickly looked away from the flaming hazel eyes. He didn't want anyone to see him as his most vulnerable state. At the same time, a part of him didn't protest fiercely; those deep hazel eyes didn't look at him with scrutiny.
"You have to go higher." She stood up, "Ryo-chan would have less fun if you stopped here," Fuji didn't know what he was expecting, but those weren't the words of comfort he was seeking. "...and I would have one less person* to look forward to."
Fuji barely caught the last part. He shot up into a sitting position but the beauty already started walked away. Yet, despite not being the most reassuring words, the whispered ending was enough. If he gave up now, he wouldn't be able to face himself and his friends. He would be letting down everyone that held high hopes or him, everyone that had certain expectations from him.
The tennis prodigy wasn't coward enough to give up after one more defeat. He stood up and clenched his fists, determination coursing through his veins. 'I will surpass you, Tezuka.'
The redhead who observed the whole event looked uneasy; there was something very off about the way the beauty looked for a brief moment before she walked past Fuji's laying figure. If his eyes were average, he would not have caught that moment. Those eyes would be almost... scary if they weren't so peculiar. It was nothing like her normal hazel eyes, there was certain darkness to them. Kikumaru hoped he was mistaken.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Kaijo High's basketball team was having their second practice match with Seirin High. Only this time, it was a lot friendlier than before. The ace of Kaijo and the light-shadow duo of Seirin have all grown since their first practice match back at the beginning of their first year. Although the match was merely for practice, the atmosphere was tense. By no means was it due to the rivalry between the two basketball teams. It was simply due to a certain captain and his ace player.
Kasamatsu Yukio glared at one dazed Kise Ryota, who had a floral background around him as he smiled like a fool. This was only the second time the blond had that look during their timeout.
"Quit daydreaming! I'll hit you!" The third-year exclaimed before kicking Kise's back.
That seems to do the trick as the model fell forward with a surprised expression.
The blond seems to be pouting as he rubbed the abused area, "You already hit me, Kasamatsu-sempai."
"Do you even understand what's going on, Kise?" The older boy grabbed the younger by his collar, "We have focus if we want to beat Seirin."
Of course, Kise knew he should be more focused on the game. It was he who suggested to the Phantom for a practice match in hopes of helping Kurokocchi and Kagamicchi and Seirin defeat his former captain's team. But the blond model can't help it. This is the first time he saw such a captivating creature and to top it off, she didn't even recognize him so she couldn't be a crazy fangirl. It was a first for him, to be disregarded like that. He rarely felt this way about the opposite gender so his mind was occupied with the encounter.
Kasamatsu pulled back from Kise, "Besides, why are you so distracted during a game?" It wasn't like the ace player to be so unfocused during a game. Especially one with his 'Kurokocchi'. It was bizarre to the captain.
If possible, the floral background around Kise intensified as if he was just waiting for someone to ask. "I meet a fairy suu!"
Everyone gave the blond a deadpan look. One would think the blond was all grown up by now based on his tall form and athletic build.
"It's true! She was unearthly with long dark hair and the most beautiful hazel eyes I've ever seen. She was so small an-"
"Shut up!" Kise received another kick to the behind, stopping him out of his rant on this 'divine' creature he's seen.
"Nee..." Kagami began.
"Doesn't that sound like..." Hyuga continued.
There was only one person they knew that description. The beauty they met a few days ago
Kuroko remained silent with a calculating look and hoped his former teammate was not talking about the same beauty Kuroko saw the other day. Of course, the Shadow had no desire to introduce the girl to his ex-teammate if it was her, not after seeing how the model is reacting. But the Phantom did wonder how the male met her.
'Is this perhaps my fault?'
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
As it turns out, Fuyuki wanted to at least throw a farewell party for the captain of Seigaku, which Kikumaru was eternally grateful for. The beauty somehow convinced everyone to participate, perhaps even asked the main coach Kurobe to work some charms on the players.
Regardless, it was around evening when most of the middle-schoolers that won their match began piling up in the Bistro, even some of the high-schoolers. Whether it was due to their interest in the captain of Seigaku or the mysterious beauty, the middle-schoolers weren't sure.
With a glass in hand, Atobe smirked, "Let's say our goodbye to Tezuka and hope for his recovery. It would be a shame if my arch-nemesis was no longer as good as me ahn," most of the audience looked like they wanted to roll their eyes. "Enjoy the night, Tezuka. Cheers."
The stoic captain nodded in response.
The sound of glasses tapping against one another followed before there were conversations everywhere. Most of them involved Tezuka's victory or the sole female in the camp. Everyone seems to be talking amongst themselves, although most gathered around the guest-of-honor to say their farewells and hope him well.
"How come Frei-chan isn't here?" Kikumaru pouted. It was his idea but it was her plan that made this farewell party possible. And yet she wasn't even present.
"Saa," Fuji's eyes were open, "It is a shame." he thought about her after their brief conversation that morning.
Tezuka didn't know why the beauty asked for this. After all, they didn't really know each other, much less formally introduced themselves yet. Tezuka would have been okay with leaving after his match with Fuji, however, one of the coaches stopped him and explained it would be for the best if he spends the night and heads out in the morning. He obliged. There was no need to oppose; it was a good plan and he certainly didn't mind one more day with his team and fellow tennis players.
"I haven't seen that butler of hers lately either," Kirihara observed.
Kikumaru furrowed his brows in deep thought. His mind seems to recall the expression on the beauty's face as she walked away from Fuji. Maybe something was wrong.
"Speaking of which..." Yukimura turned to the entrance as the butler appeared with the beauty beside him.
Or maybe not.
She had changed her outfit from yesterday's, which certainly did not go unnoticed by most of them. They all had noticed how the girl was wearing the same outfit as yesterday this morning, which was unusual for the girl.
Fuyuki's new outfit consisted of a sheer light pink floral collared material underneath an off-white of-the-shoulders long-sleeved top with a high-waisted black skirt. Her trademark high stockings and black heels were also in place while her long hair was let loose with a light pink flora headband and delicate matching floral earrings.
(Above is a picture of Fuyuki's top. The rest of the outfit should be easy to picture.)
Many of the more perverse males wondered if the girl took off her off-white top, would the pink sheer show more of her pale skin and other parts.
"Frei-chan!" Kikumaru glowed as he rushed to her side, determined to be as close to the girl as possible this time. He had heard what happened in the grand changing room and he didn't want to miss anythin- he didn't want to be left out.
Unfortunately, Haru immediately covered her with his larger frame and glared at the energetic middle-schooler. "Please refrain from touching Ojou-sama." Although the words seem polite enough, his tone was anything but.
Kikumaru sulked a little but didn't argue; there was a strange atmosphere around the two new arrivals. And at this point, most of the players shifted their attention to them.
Fuyuki was stumped in thoughts. She simply tagged along when the butler guided her to a table and sat her down beside the guest-of-honor.
"Ojou-sama, I have to deliver something to Kurobe-san. Excuse me for a moment." Haru watched the beauty nod, though he doubts the girl heard what he said. With a frown, he grabbed the bottle quickly and left with a quick warning glare to the males that sat beside her.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Even though Fuyuki wanted to enjoy the cheery atmosphere, she couldn't. Not while knowing the 1st Strings will be returning soon. Couple days? A week? Two weeks? She has yet to find out when but before they arrive, Ryoma will. Fuyuki was sure of this. It was both an exciting and dreadful feeling. She would finally see Ryoma again for longer than two minutes on one hand, and the other-
The beauty grabbed the closest drink to her and poured it in her empty cup.
-she would also see that man.
Fuji couldn't help but stare at her strange behavior. He noticed how her pale cheeks and smooth exposed shoulders tinted slightly pink.
Fuyuki grabbed the glass bottle again and poured another cup before slowly siping away.
Huh.
It was a strange taste for a fruit juice she realized after the second cup. The bottle also had no label. When the room suddenly seems to be getting warmer, she wondered if she was wearing too many layers of clothes. But when she looked down at her outfit, she doubted that was the case.
Fuyuki stopped drinking from her cup immediately.
"Frei-chan, what have you been up to, nya? We haven't seen you around." Kikumaru was sitting beside her, she noticed. His voice seems to be quieter than usual as she tried to focus on him.
It took a while for her to process what the redhead said. "Yuki went to meet... a friend." She briefly wondered if she and Kuroko were considered friends. They only properly met yesterday but there was something about him that made her feel like she knew him a lot longer.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"I would have one less person* to look forward to." - She meant one less person's tennis to look forward to.
Eii, these past few weeks have been busy and I haven't had the chance to write as much as I would like so my writing feels rushed D: I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter but this was all I could patch together for now so forgive me for any errors.
As I said before, I will try to update every week but I can't guarantee it. However, fret not because the wait shouldn't be more than a month at worst!
I would appreciate it if you guys would vote and comment <3 It not only tells me you what you think so far, it also motivates me :)
I was writing this around 2 AM so there might be some grammar mistakes I didn't notice. Feel free to point them out!
Thank you for reading~
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Edited: Aug 19, 2020