By the corner of an outdoor cafe in the middle of town, four teenagers sat around a table, two blondes on one side and two more black-haired heads on the opposite side. A waitress came to deliver their food. "Thank you for waiting," she said with a smile. "Here's your order; chocolate mousse cake, strawberry chiffon, blueberry cheesecake, a slice of lemon pie and four mocha lattes. Is there anything missing?" she added as she set down each of the plates and mugs from her silver platter onto the table.
"No, we have everything, thank you," Ryouko said politely. The waitress excused herself and each of the four took the plate with their chosen sweets.
The girl with the straight blonde hair glinting in the autumn sunlight poked at the strawberries on top of her cake. "Aww, I really like strawberry chiffon but I don't like the strawberry fruit by itself," she said in English and turned to the bronze-eyed dark-haired boy sitting across from her. "Can you eat the strawberries for me, Ryoma?"
There came a loud thunk as Ryouko split her blueberry cheesecake in two with a vicious slice with the fork. "I don't like strawberries," Ryoma answered.
"Really?" the blonde girl said, blinking with sparkles in her blue eyes. "Wow, we have something similar! What are the odds?"
There came another loud thunk as Ryouko split the half of the cheesecake into a quarter. Meanwhile, the golden-haired boy sitting across from her turned to his cousin and said, "Jessica, stop bothering Ryoma. I'll eat the strawberries if you don't want them..."
The four teenagers have gotten acquainted with one another about an hour ago after coincidentally bumping on Ryoma and Ryouko's rendezvous by the tennis courts that morning.
Kevin Smith, an American boy the same age as Ryoma who played against him in the Goodwill Games a few months before his entrance in the US Open, have come to Japan to accompany his cousin Jessica Boulton on a vacation. On their way to the cafe, Ryouko have learned about the history between the two boys, about how their fathers have crossed against each other in ill fate and carried the grudge until the next generation. Although they were hostile to each other at first (Kevin distinctively emphasized that it was him who started it first), the two boys became good friends, bonded by a rekindled comradeship as fellow tennis players. Kevin took the effort of supporting Ryoma in the US Open and kept him company during his stay in New York.
On the other hand, Jessica Boulton, Kevin's cousin from the maternal side of the family, had also been acquainted to Ryoma and it had nothing to do with tennis. They were old classmates during grade school, specifically in the fifth grade after Jessica transferred to Ryoma's school. Kevin was shocked that Ryoma and his cousin actually knew each other. Moreover, it doesn't seem like a normal acquaintanceship.
He had heard from his Aunt before that Jessica wouldn't shut up about her crush on a good-looking Japanese boy who shared the same class as her for the last two years of grade school. She had even tried convincing her parents to let her study in Japan in pursuit of the boy who seemed to have moved back to his country to continue his education. Of course, her parents flatly refused.
Jessica's mother is a graphic artist and her father the owner of a large vineyard and winery he inherited from his father. Their family is extremely well-off and Jessica being the only daughter had grown up quite like a princess.
On contrary to Jessica's happy-go-lucky upbringing, Kevin Smith had an unfortunate childhood stemming from the obsession of his father at defeating a tennis player who was said to have humiliated him in his own turf. As he was unable to avenge himself, he started taking out his frustration on his young son. Kevin's mother had been weak after childbirth and had died when he was only two years old. With only his father for support, he sought a parent's love from him, however George Smith was too blinded with his years-old grudge, made worse by his wife's sudden death, and began to raise his son as an excellent tennis player. If he cannot avenge himself, his son would do it for him and step into the courts of Wimbledon in his stead.
Years later, George had heard that his archenemy Nanjiro Echizen's son is also actively participating in junior games as a young genius tennis player, even getting awards at age eight. Kevin's training became more hellish, making Kevin lothe both tennis and his father. Seeing nothing special in his son's techniques, George eventually fell into alcohol addiction and stopped running his tennis club altogether.
After Kevin's father became an alcohol addict and lost his main source of income, his Aunt and his mother's sister Eva Boulton, asked him to come live with them. He was ten years old at that time.
He had lived with the Boulton's until then, receiving warm care from the family he never had but the boy was too traumatized to accept their kindness at first. Still frustrated at how his father turned out, Kevin found it hard to notice the positive side of absolutely everything happening in his life, causing him to behave in a violent, rude and bitter manner towards others.
Kevin looked upon the Boulton family as his benefactors but could not yet include himself as their family member. He had always distanced himself from them, even from the bright cousin the same age as him. Jessica has quite an outgoing personality and made the effort to bother her cousin as much as she could in attempts of a closer kinship. As Kevin gradually healed from his past traumas (his meeting with Ryoma being a big part of that healing) Kevin found himself opening up to his new family.
However, that is not the end to the good things happening in Kevin's life. It was said that after watching his son participate in the Goodwill games, George Smith had found a reason to stand up once again. He contacted the Boulton couple and sincerely apologized to Kevin for everything he had done, rekindling the father-son relationship that both of them missed. Then George willingly submitted himself to a rehabilitation facility to cure his alcohol addiction. He wanted to become a brand new person and stand by Kevin's side as a proud father.
Things have been looking bright for Kevin after the Goodwill games and he considered Ryoma a very valuable person in his life for being the one to trigger all these changes. If Ryoma didn't make him understand that he is a different person from his father and that he has a choice to take a different path in life, Kevin would never admit to himself that the sport he thought that he loathed is the thing that helped him go through life. Ryoma reminded him how much fun playing tennis is and how much Kevin wanted to get better at it, not for the sake of fulfilling his father's ambitions, but for the sake of himself.
Never in his wildest dreams that Kevin ever expected Ryoma to be the crush that his cousin had been talking about for more than two years. He himself had been forced to listen to her endless chatter about this absolutely wonderful Japanese boy that Jessica one-sidedly declares as her prince charming. It's amazing how small the world can be at times...
On the other hand, Kevin found his atention getting drawn time and time again towards the dark-haired girl sitting next to his friend. She showed up looking a bit irritated as she stared at Jessica fussing over the surprised Ryoma earlier and Kevin even thought that the girl might be Ryoma's girlfriend. But it turns out that she's not and Ryoma introduced her as a childhood friend he had known since five years old. Her name is Ryouko Fujioka.
Jessica had been chattering away after the introductions and making Ryoma uncomfortable, thus Kevin took the initiative to do something about it. He was surprised when he and Ryouko spoke up at the same time with invitation to share a meal. It seemed like they both shared the same thought that something has to be done to ease their awkward coincidental rendezvous.
And thus we find ourselves on the current situation under the umbrella of an outdoor cafe stall. The teenagers started to casually engage in conversation, mostly catching up on each othe's lives and asking about their newfound acquaintances.
"Ryouko, your English is really good. You sound like a native speaker," Jessica commented after a sip from her mug of mocha latte.
"I lived in America during my early childhood and my mtoher is also half-American," Ryouko answered, finishing the last bite of her blueberry cheesecake.
"You're silly, Jess. Didn't Ryoma say that she's his childhood friend? Ryoma lived in America all his life until they moved back to Japan last year. It's obvious that Ryouko lived in America as well," Kevin remarked.
Jessica blushed slightly after realizing the logic in her cousin's words. "I know that! I'm just looking for topics for us to talk about! You're the silly one, Kev," she snapped and took another sip from her mug. She glared at Kevin from the corner of her sea-blue eyes with a silent message that Kevin immediately understood. 'Don't make me seem like an idiot in front of my crush, you stupid oaf!'
Kevin heaved an internal sigh. He feels bad towards Ryoma for catching the interest of a girl as troublesome as Jessica.
He turned to Ryouko and attempted to save the earlier conversation. "Then did you move back to Japan as well for junior high?"
"Not really..." Ryouko answered. "I moved from America to England after I turned eight. Ryoma and I lost all communications after that. We met in Seishun Academy after I transferred some months ago. It's a surprise to see him there actually. I chose the school because my grandfather used to go there," she explained.
"Coincidentally, I also went to Seishun because my father graduated from there. He learned tennis under a coach in Seigaku," Ryoma added. "It seemed like Ryouko's grandfather and my father played huge roles on Seigaku tennis club's foundation..."
"Wow, that's quite amazing," Kevin commented, curiosity sparkling in his blue-gray eyes. "It's so awesome how tennis seemed to bond us together." He turned to Ryouko once again. "Does that mean that you also play tennis? Did you learn from your grandpa?" he asked.
Ryouko nodded. "My grandfather taught me the basics and then eventually left me alone to develop my own techniques. But of course, I've reached a dead end. Training with no instructor ought to have its limits. After hearing that grandpa's Alma Mater won the last championship, I came to Seishun wanting to join the training for the boy's tennis club," she told him.
"But she turned out to be the club's manager instead..." Ryoma interruped. "She had been training the freshmen and coming up with training menus for the juniors and seniors," he added.
"That's impressive for someone our age," Kevin remarked. A glint surfaced in his eyes and he casted Ryouko a side glance. "How strong are your tennis skills anyway?" he said with a meningful tone.
To his surprise, Ryouko smirked. "Strong enough to crush you. If you make a mistake and treat me as a mere manager of a tennis club, I would probably be sending you home with your tail between your legs," she said arrogantly.
'send them crying with their tail between their legs...' a tiny childish voice suddenly invaded Kevin's mind, Ryouko's words triggering some sort of old memory in his childhood. Kevin turned silent for a moment and spaced out.
"Kev?" Jessica's voice brought him back to his senses.
"What?" he answered distractedly.
"You suddenly turned quiet. Is there something wrong?" Ryoma remarked.
"Was my statement too much for you?" Ryouko added.
Kevin laughed. "No, not at all... I just thought of something. It's getting quite cold in here," he replied.
Jessica tightened her coat around herself and said, "You're right... Well, that's not surprising... It'll be winter soon."
"Autumn here has been quite warm actually," Ryouko commented. "But I guess it is getting considerably colder," she added.
"It had been cold in America just a few weeks after summer ended," Jessica said. "The cold is much more bearable here..."
"By the way, Ryoma... What are your plans for next year? With your participation in the US Open, you can get a chance to get into bigger competitions... Do you plan on joining the events set for next year?" Kevin asked.
"Can we please not talk about tennis?" Jessica suddenly interrupted before Ryoma had the chance to answer. She pouted her pink lips. "I'm feeling so out of place for the past ten minutes," she added.
"Then what do you want to talk about?" Kevin asked.
"I don't have any particular topic but I do want to ask something... What I am curious about..." Jessica said and turned her aquamarine eyes at Ryoma. Ryoma backed into his chair, not liking her gaze one bit. "... is whether Ryoma is free for the next weekend. If you are, then let's go on a date."
An unpleasant feeling came upon Ryouko and a dangerous glint settled on her rust-colored eyes.
"Hey Jessica," Kevin scolded.
"Why would I go on a date with you?" Ryoma immediately answered.
"Because I want to get to know you better... Not as a former classmate but on a more personal level," Jessica replied, ignoring Kevin's remark.
"And why is that?" Ryoma asked. Ryouko and Kevin listened as they finished the remaining contents of their mugs.
"Because I am interested in you. Don't tell me you haven't noticed during the fifth and sixth grade... I've been meaning to ask you out when we were in grade school but there was just a lot of competition. You can't imagine how delighted I am for suddenly meeting you like this again. This must be fate," Jessica said, smiling and turning her glittering blue eyes at Ryoma.
Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "I can't seem to understand what you're talking about. And what do you mean by competition?" he said.
"Really, Ryoma... Please don't play dumb... You were so popular in school, especially among the girls..." Jessica said.
"No I wasn't, and girls in particular, don't like me," Ryoma countered.
"Just how many girls has he ignored to come to that conclusion?" Ryouko, Kevin and Jessica thought in unison, quite exasperated.
"My father said that I look too intimidating and girls don't like unfriendly guys," Ryoma continued.
"I see that Nanji's been brainwashing him. No wonder he became such an airhead," Ryouko thought, completely unaware of the fact that she's an airhead herself.
Jessica suddenly burst out laughing. "Well, regardless of what the other girls think, for me, you are absolutely adorable. I've had a crush on you for the longest time and after seeing you like this, I'm positive that I still have a crush on you until now. One date won't kill you and I'm quite a fun person. You won't regret going on a date with me," she said and reached over to Ryoma's hand resting on the table.
Before she knew it, Ryouko pushed her empty mug to block Jessica's hand. "I'm sorry to break this to you but his schedule for next weekend is quite full. Because the school's Cultural Fest just ended, Seigaku would be resuming extracurricular activities and catch up on the whole week of practices lost. For an athlete, a week of skipping practice is a big deal. The whole team has to get back their focus, especially with the graduation of the seniors approaching in the spring..." she said nonstop, giving no chance for anyone to interrupt her.
For a moment, Ryouko's red-brown pupils locked together with Jessica's blue ones and Kevin rubbed his eyes when he saw a spark erupt from their stares. A cold wind blew past and the silence lengthened. Ryoma merely looked at one girl to another, blinking in confusion.
"Uhh... I think we should go somewhere else since it's getting to cold outside..." Kevin said to break the ice.
"If it's a warm place you want..." Ryoma said and looked thoughtful. He found himself looking at the feet of his three companions. They are all wearing sports shoes. A smile spread on his lips as he had an idea. "I know one of the warmest place in the area..." he added. Ryouko, Jessica and Kevin looked at him, blinking in curiosity.
~~~
"I have to say, this really is quite a warm place..." Kevin commented, scratching his head. They followed Ryoma's lead and ended up in a nearby tennis facility, equipped with tennis machines for people who visited alone for one-man practice and bigger playing areas for groups.
"Warm indeed. Or more like hot. It reeks of sweat as well," Jessica commented, pinching her nose.
They lined up to rent rackets and Kevin threw one at his cousin. "Hey!" Jessica said, almost unable to catch it. "I'm not playing tennis," she added in a complaining tone. "I'll get sweaty..."
"Don't worry," Ryoma said. "They sell jerseys here for all ages and even sets of underwear for both genders," he remarked. "The place is equipped with a bathhouse as well. We can just buy some clothes to change into and shower afterwards."
"That's quite convenient. This is a nice place," Kevin commented, admiring the dome-like structure of the ceiling and the stalls housing either a tennis machine or a net.
"They've thought of the accomodations well... And they must be earning more money by incorporating the clothing store and the bathhouse. Whoever thought it up is quite smart at business," Ryouko added, looking at the stall selling jerseys and other clothes.
Jessica is the only one who is not pleased at all. "But I don't know how to play tennis..." she mumbled under her breath. The realization sunk in her mind and she had a sudden brain wave.
She does not know how to play tennis! She can ask Ryoma to teach her and take advantage of the situation! Her mouth slowly spread into a grin.
Afterwards, the group of four rented a court with a net and started warming up. Jessica took her chance and approached Ryoma. Ryouko watched her warily from the corner of her eyes, an unfriendly spark vividly surfacing in her pupils. Kevin also watched Ryouko curiously, still wondering about the sudden flashback he had earlier.
"How do you warm up before playing tennis? I have no idea," Jessica told Ryoma.
"Just the basic stretches is fine. Concentrate more on stretching the hamstring muscles, your wrists and shoulders," Ryoma answered simply.
"But I can't even reach my toes with my fingertips during stretching. Would that be alright?" Jessica said.
Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Can't even reach your toes? Just how inflexible are you? Show me how far you can go," Ryoma told her.
Jessica stood upright with her feet together and started to bend forwards with both arms straight towards the front of her sneakers. Being unable to reach her toes is of course, a lie. She did ballet from a young age and her body is very flexible. She just wants Ryoma to assist her and purposely stopped with the tips of her fingers nearing her ankles. "Right- about- here..." she grunted, faking difficulty.
"I'm sure you can reach further," Ryoma said and stepped towards her back. He was about to push onto her back to help her lean out further when Ryouko beat him into it, pressing two palms near Jessica's shoulderblades and pushing down with no care whatsoever.
Jessica gave a surprised yelp and her fingers reached her toes in an effortless manner. "Good. I didn't hear anything tear and you don't look like it hurt you. You're more flexible than you think. Just stretch with no hesitation," Ryouko said.
With a vein throbbing in her temple, Jessica straightened. "Well, thank you very much, Ryouko, but I don't remember asking for your help," she said, holding in her irritation.
"If you need assistance with stretching, it's better to ask for someone of the same gender. That way, you wouldn't be uncomfortable," Ryouko told her and smiled knowingly afterwards.
"This girl..." Jessica thought, annoyed. It's obvious that she's interfering on purpose.
"Ryoma's an airhead so it's up to me to sense the malicious intents from others," Ryouko thought, stepping between Ryoma and Jessica. She created considerable distance between the two by stretching widely, making them move sidewards by force.
Ryoma started talking to Ryouko in Japanese. "Oi, there's so much wide space over there, why are you going all the way here just to stretch?" he asked.
"I like it better here," Ryouko replied in Japanese.
"Huh?" Ryoma said, completely puzzled at her actions and words.
After the stretching routines, they split into two pairs to warm up a few shots and swing exercises. Ryouko was quick to split them by gender thus Ryoma and Kevin warmed up on one side of the court while Ryouko taught Jessica the basic swings and grips on the other side.
"I wonder why you're doing this, Ryouko..." Jessica said as the dark-haired girl held her wrist to demonstrate the foreswing.
"You know very well why I'm doing this. You're not the first one to pull this sort of stunt just to get close to that airhead. I vowed to myself to protect Ryoma's innocence from anyone who dares to defile it," Ryouko answered with a straight face.
The two boys were bewildered when they heard Jessica laughing out loud and giggling uncontrollably. "What're they doing?" Ryoma asked aloud.
Kevin sighed. "Girls will be girls..."
Ryouko blinked as she watched Jessica be overcome by giggles. "Why are you laughing?"
"Protect his innocence huh?" Jessica chuckled and wiped tears of laughter from the corners of her blue eyes. "Why do you feel that it's your duty to do that?"
"Well... He has no sisters to do that for him and I'm his best friend. What's wrong with trying to protect my buddy?" Ryouko answered matter-of-factly.
"Ryouko... You're an interesting girl..." Jessica commented with a grin. "I kinda like you."
After Jessica's statement, Ryouko inched a step from her. "Sorry but I don't swing that way," she told her.
Jessica laughed even harder. "You think I'm confessing to you?"
"You're not? You told me you like me and earlier you confessed to Ryoma saying that you're very interested in him and you have a crush on him and stuff," Ryouko said.
"Well, there are different types of like and interest, and a crush may stem out from something as simple as outer appearance," Jessica answered, still chuckling.
"Well, Japanese people don't just drop the phrases 'I like you', 'I'm interested in you' and 'I have a crush on you' with just anyone," Ryouko reasoned with her.
"I thought you were born and raised in America though," Jessica said with a questioning tone.
"I was and Ryoma as well, but the Japanese culture and upbringing was instilled in us by our families. We're proud of being Japanese," Ryouko answered.
"I see... Well, you got me," Jessica said, raising her arms upwards. "I surrender and I won't try any more tricks to get close to your best friend so rest assured..."
Ryouko blinked her eyes in confusion. "Well, this is surprising. Maybe you didn't like him that much after all?"
"Oh I admired him very much. I was smitten by him the first time I saw him. And when I spent time with him in school, he's just so cool and quiet and his features are so adorable. But I guess I did draw my own speculations about him and the fact that he's not interested in anyone or anything but tennis sort of made me feel challenged to make him like me back... But I hate putting myself out to make a boy look at me anyway and with a pretty girl like you interfering, it's just no fun," Jessica said.
Ryouko looked at her with a gaze saying 'I see, you're a player' and Jessica snickered. "Don't worry. I just wanted a one time date with Ryoma if possible and tomorrow's actually our last day of vacation here in Japan. I was totally messing around when I asked whether he's free in the weekends. That's why Kev reprimanded me earlier. We won't even be here in the next weekend," Jessica said.
"Also, I already have a boyfriend in LA. But don't tell Kevin 'cause even my parents still don't know. I'm not yet allowed to date. If Daddy knows about it, he'll confiscate my credit card..." the blonde girl continued, her voice barely a whisper.
Ryouko's facial expression went from 'You're a player' to 'You're human trash' and Jessica just couldn't help laughing as she can totally guess what Ryouko is thinking just by looking at her face.
Deep inside, Ryouko heaved a sigh of relief. She does need to go out of her way to protect Ryoma from this crazy blonde. Thank goodness she's just a clown. "Well, if you have a boyfriend, why would you ask Ryoma on a date? If your boyfriend knows about it..." she said as she swung her racket.
"Well, he doesn't know, and he wouldn't know. Kevin doesn't even know he exists so he couldn't possibly tell on me. What he doesn't know won't kill him. Besides, we've only been dating for three months and he's not even my first boyfriend," Jessica said.
Ryouko couldn't help her eyes from widening. "Aren't you too young to have multiple boyfriends already?"
"Oh dearie, kids nowadays date as early as the fourth grade," Jessica told her matter-of-factly.
"Then kids nowadays are throwing away their childhood. Why would you think about dating that early? A human only lives for less than a hundred years. You would only have about a maximum of thirty years to yourself in a lifetime if you want to rear a family, especially if you're a female. You can only be a child for twelve years, a teen for seven years and a young adult for eight to ten years and the rest of that would be spent with the person you agree to marry. Robbing yourself of those times and dating early is foolish in my opinion," Ryouko said with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Wow, you have quite conservative principles. I've never heard anyone with that kind of mindset. And you just lowkey dissed me for dating early," Jessica pointed out.
"Oh," Ryouko said, realizing that she did sort of insulted her. "Were you offended?" she asked.
"Not really..." Jessica answered.
"Then I won't apologize," Ryouko replied.
Jessica laughed again. "You are so funny, Ryouko..."
"I don't think so... People say I have dry humor," Ryouko said, scratching her head.
After the warm-up finished, the two boys couldn't help noticing that the vibe between Jessica and Ryouko all of a sudden became a lot friendlier. However, it was just Jessica who clings to Ryouko and the latter sort of avoids the skinship.
"So how would we do this? We can't really play doubles since Jessica's not on par with our skills," Kevin said.
"How about one on one first? Let's decide by rock-paper-scissors, the first to be eliminated will be the referee while the remaining two plays against each other," Ryouko suggested.
"that's a great idea," Ryoma commented and they went onto it right away.
Ryoma is the first to get eliminated, playing scissors while Kevin and Ryouko played rock. With a frown, he climbed up the referees seat. Jessica watched by the bench on the side.
"Smooth," Ryouko said and got ready to rotate her racket with the head on the ground when Kevin suddenly said, "Oh, no need. Ladies first..."
Ryouko looked ticked off but forced a smile. "How gentlemanly of you. I'll be sure to give back the favor," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
As Ryouko went to the service line, Ryoma pssted Kevin and caught his attention. "Seriously dude, don't do that... Even though she doesn't look like it, she's Australian junior champion," he told him.
"What?!" Kevin exclaimed in hushed tone and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"You never asked," Ryoma answered with a shrug. "Best of one set match, Fujioka to serve," he announced.
Ryouko served, immediately starting with a left-handed twist. Taken by surprise, Kevin's racket flew out of his hand. "Ooh, cool!" Jessica exclaimed freom the side and clapped her hands like a seal.
"Augh..." Kevin said as he bent to pick up his racket. When he straightened again, there is a competitive glint in his blue eyes. "I have to take this one seriously..." he murmured to himself.
Ryouko and Kevin's matched turned out to be pretty exciting, too exciting that Ryoma began knocking his knees together in an itch to dive into the court just five minutes into the game. It must be taken into account that Ryouko has a definite advantage but Kevin had also gotten stronger since Ryoma last saw him. He's putting up a great fight against the successor of the legendary Red Dragon of the Wimbledon court, the girl who had absorbed much of her grandfather's basic strategic plays, made better by her own techniques and individualistic moves.
A few minutes later, players and visitors from other courts and those passing by their stall stopped to watch and cheer. They couldn't believe that they are witnessing a match between a couple of junior high freshmen. Kevin even drew more excitement when he pulled out a new smash that is still in the works. Ryouko was unable to return it twice but pushed back with an overwhelmingly flexible volley at the third time.
The match ran for almost thirty minutes with Ryouko winning six games to four. Kevin was considerably panting when they shook hands at the end. "I apologise for saying 'Ladies first' earlier. This punishment is well-deserved," he told her.
"You are forgiven. You pack quite a punch as well. This is a good game," Ryouko told him with a smile. Kevin suddenly found himself blushing and was grateful for the cheers of the people outside to distract Ryouko from noticing.
"My turn," Ryoma suddenly said as he jumped off of the referee's chair.
"Oi, oi... We just fnished. Give me time to breathe," Ryouko told him as he neared them.
"But I want to play. You can't make me witness a match like that and not make me play," Ryoma complained.
"Then how about this?" Jessica suddenly said from the side. "Ryoma can play against both Ryouko and Kev, one against two," she said, holding up her left hand with the forefinger sticking out and the right hand with two fingers in a V sign to make one and two.
"That's a good idea," Ryouko remarked and turned to Kevin. "You don't need to move much. I'll take the long shots," she told him since Kevin looks much more tired than she is. She is sweating but she's not out of breath at all.
"What kind of stamina does she have?" Kevin murmured.
"The monstrous kind," Ryoma answered in a low-volume voice.
The onlookers outside their court stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed as a heated match of two versus one unfolded before them. Kevin had to admit that he's struggling to keep up with the two. Ryouko and Ryoma has such skills comparable to the best profesional tennis players. "He has no right to call her monstrous since he's also a monster," Kevin thought as he returned a particularly speedy Drive B.
They had been playing for almost forty minutes when Kevin called for time-out. He collapsed on one knee, panting heavily on the spot. "I can't-" he heaved out with difficulty. "You guys- are- cra-zy..." he panted.
Ryouko and Ryoma approached him, looking apologetic. "Sorry... I got carried away," they said in unison.
The sudden synchronization made the three of them burst out in laughter, Kevin coughing in between laughs. Ryouko crouched down and gave his back a few pats. "There, there..." she said.
In that instant, another blurry memory returned to Kevin. 'there, there... stop crying...' the childish female voice from earlier said and he remembered a comforting small hand patting his back.
In his haste, he impulsively grabbed Ryouko's other wrist, the racket still clasped in her hand. He looked up at her with a questioning look in his eyes. "Have we... Have we met before somewhere?"
Ryouko was surprised at the sudden wrist-grabbing but not as much as Ryoma is. "N-no... It's my first time meeting you..." she told Kevin, blinking innocently.
"Really? You never met a blonde boy somewhere in New York? Five years ago? In the summer..." Kevin said, bringing out what he could remember from the encounter.
"New York? Five years-" Ryouko interrupted herself. Her eyes suddenly widened as she thought of something. "No way! Were you that boy who was crying near the Delaware river? The one who wants to throw his tennis racket in the water?"
Even in his exhaustion, Kevin found the strength to stand up. Letting go of the racket in his left hand, he held Ryouko's other wrist and brought her hands together, the racket still clasped on her right one.
"It's you..." Kevin said, delight settling on the surface of his grayish-blue eyes. "I can't believe it!" he murmured as if he couldn't tell if what's happening is a dream or reality.
Ryoma, who is still standing by their side a couple of steps away, snapped to his senses and immediately went in between them. "Hold up, just a moment here. What on earth is happening?" he asked, looking from one face to another.
Ryouko looked at Ryoma and blinked. "It seems like it's not just you and Jessica who were acquainted before... I've met Kevin once before, when Dad took me to his business trip in the summer in New York when we were seven," she told him.
Meanwhile, Jessica who was intrigued by what was happening, had made her way to them and overheard Ryouko's words. "No way!" she exclaimed. "Kev's first love?" she said with a loud, amazed tone.
Kevin immediately went to his cousin and covered her mouth with both hands. "Shut it, you dimwit," he hissed, his face burning.
"First what?" Ryouko asked, unable to hear it clearly.
"Nothing!" Kevin shouted. "It was nothing! Jess is just saying nonsense," he said and started dragging his cousin away by the head towards the vending machine outside the court.
Jessica's eyes are still wide and she pointed at Ryouko with her right hand. "Mmmlllppp... Mmmlph..." she said, unable to enunciate anything with Kevin's hand suffocating her.
"Say, aren't you guys thirsty? We'll get something to drink..." Kevin said and made his escape with Jessica in tow. Ryouko watched them with confusion in her eyes and turned to Ryoma. "What did Jessica say? Kev's first what?" she asked.
"I couldn't hear either," Ryoma answered and turned around all of a sudden. "Matches over. I'll return the rackets. Tell Kevin and Jessica to buy their clothes. We're going in the showers in ten minutes," he said and went to pick up Kevin's racket before going to the bench and taking the one that Jessica barely used.
Ryouko looked bewildered and glanced at the big clock at the center of the dome. It's not even lunchtime. "It's still early though? Are you sure?" he asked him but he seemed not to hear. With a shrug, she went to return her racket as well.
~~~
The group of four bought their new jerseys and a set of underwear separately, the girls in the women's section and the boys at the other side by the men's section. Ryoma and Kevin are choosing the design of their jerseys and looking for their sizes but Ryoma could clearly see that Kevin is not concentrating. His eyes kept on swerving towards the direction where the girls are, specifically looking out for Ryouko's head of dark wavy tresses. She undid her ponytail and her hair looked particularly disheveled but still, she looked real pretty.
Ryoma casted Kevin a side glance and glared disapprovingly at the pink patches on his cheeks. He smiled silly every five seconds or so and kept on stealing glances at Ryouko.
Meanwhile, the girls surrendered their chosen jerseys to the counter, Jessica's own the color of hot pink with golden stripes and Ryouko's a more modest color of mauve with black linings. Ryouko glanced at Jessica's underwear and upon reading the B-cup tag on the plastic, started to hug her A-cup bra to her chest and glowering at Jessica.
After they bought their clothes, Ryoma said that they should hit the showers but Jessica complained and asked for them to eat lunch first. The tennis facility also has a couple of restaurants and they chose one to dine in.
They ordered a meal each and conversed as they ate.
"So? What was that with you two?" Jessica suddenly said and pointed her fork playfully at Kevin and Ryouko. "Things were getting hot in the court earlier..." she added with a teasing tone.
"Jessica!" Kevin exclaimed and mouthed for her to shut up. Jessica rolled her eyes at him.
"Well..." Ryouko said as she cut up her steak into bite-sized pieces. "When I was seven, my Dad had a business meeting in New York for three days. Ryoma was away with her mother in Florida for vacation and my cousin Ichi was with his family to go snorkelling in Hawaii so I had no playmate. I don't want to spend my time alone in the house so I begged my Dad to take me with him in New York. But he was busy most of the time so I wandered off from the hotel a lot. I was taking a stroll along the Delaware river when I saw a boy my age trying to hurl a tennis racket in the river. I went and stopped him of course," she narrated.
Kevin gave a small laugh. "You did more than stop me... You wrestled the racket away from me and tore up your dress in the process. Then you yelled at my face saying that a tennis racket is valuable and littering in the river should not be tolerated. Your voice was so loud I felt my eardrums almost popped."
"Well can you blame me? I told you afterwards that my grandpa is a tennis player and that I also play tennis so I won't tolerate anyone trying to defile a tennis racket," Ryouko said.
"Then I retorted that tennis players are big losers and tennis is a stupid sport. You didn't even hesitate to slap me across the face," Kevin added, pointing an accusing finger at her and narrowing his blue eyes.
"Anyone with a passion for tennis would get mad," Ryouko reasoned. "I was actually gentle with that slap. I could've pushed you in the river," she told him.
Jessica laughed. "I see that you've already got attitude ever since you were younger," she commented while looking at Ryouko with amused air.
"I'm proud of my attitude," Ryouko remarked. "Since I've got nothing to do during that business trip, I've gone to the river everyday for those three days and listened to the rambling of this snotty blonde boy who complained of his struggles in life day and night. I don't know if my advices actually helped..." She turned to Kevin and smiled. "Well, did they?"
Kevin gave a timid grin. "They did but most unfortunate because I forgot eventually as time went by. My troubles went from bad to worse, you see..." Ryoma was surprised when Kevin suddenly hooked an arm over his neck. "It's funny though that it's your childhood friend who reminded me of your words from when we were seven. You were my life saver five years ago and years later, this guy saved me. The things you made me realize were basically the same as those that he forced back into my brain. I guess the two of you think quite alike... It's amazing how small the world can be at times..."
Ryouko and Kevin continued catching up and engaged in deep conversation with Ryouko mostly asking how Kevin's life had been. Ryoma had been silent during the meal and seemed to be deep in thought but only Jessica noticed. Biting down on her spoon, she turned her aquamarine eyes to Ryouko's sightly smiling face to Kevin's ecstatic expression and to Ryoma's furrowed eyebrows. "Ohh... This looks quite intriguing..." she thought, the lights reflected in her eyes dancing mischievously.
~~~
Kevin splashed water as he submerged in the giant tub where Ryoma had been staying in quietly for the last thee minutes. After they finished their meal, they separated and hit the bathhouse with their newly-bought attires in tow.
"Ahh... What are the odds..." Kevin breathed out. "I've never ever thought I'd see her again..." he mumbled under his breath as he poured water on his blonde hair using cupped hands. "We've talked for three days you know, but I never thought of asking her name. On the fourth day, I went to the river and she never came. That was when I realized that I haven't asked her name. It was the first regret I ever had in my life..."
"Mmm..." Ryoma said and listened passively.
Kevin looked at Ryoma sheepishly and asked, "You didn't happen to hear what Jess said in the courts before I dragged her away, no? Ryouko doesn't seem to have heard it..."
Ryoma shook his head. "I didn't hear," he lied for the second time.
"You know... I never told anyone about the girl in the river but Jess got into my diary," Kevin said.
"You keep a diary?" Ryoma said, raising his eyebrow at him.
Kevin lowkey blushed. "It's not manly, I know, but it helps me calm my nerves writing down my thoughts," he replied.
"Only Jess knew about it since it's my greatest secret but you're a great friend of mine so I guess I can tell you..." he added. "The girl in the river whose name I didn't know... She's my first love..." Kevin bit on his lower lip with the corners turned up in a sheepish smile.
Ryoma felt his hands turning to fists under the water. He suddenly regretted lying. He should've just said that he heard so Kevin won't mention it the second time.
Kevin let out a small excited giggle from his throat and said, "Man, she's grown to be so pretty... And she's so strong in tennis... And she's not timid like the other girls, not too outgoing like Jessica... And she's so smart. She can hold a conversation, not the least bit boring. How can someone be so perfect," he sighed.
"I don't think so..." Ryoma said immediately, his tone kind of edgy. "She has a lot of faults once you get to know her..."
Kevin looked at him and suddenly inched close. Ryoma saw him and inched away warily.
With a hopeful look, Kevin started asking a favor. "Ryoma... You've been with her since you were five right? Maybe you can help a friend out? Tell me her likes and dislikes maybe? Her favorite color, favorite food... What she likes in a boy..."
Again, for about the tenth time since that scene in the court, Ryoma felt like something is turning somersaults in his stomach and chest. It's a very uncomfortable and displeasing feeling.
"I'm not sure... if I should tell... I promised her cousin Ichi that I'd keep her away from boys if I can. Her cousins are all males and they're all very vain and easily-jealous. And there's the thing about her complicated family arrangements. Cousins are legal to marry in Japan and Ryouko's clan is a very powerful one with ancient ancestry. There's a possibility of an arranged marriage with one of her cousins. The one called Ichi is a probable candidate and there're four others in the selection," Ryoma babbled away, thinking of every excuse that he can and letting slip the classfied information that Hotaru told him.
When he looked at Kevin again, feeling quite uncomfortable, he was shocked to see him looking completely baffled. Kevin suddenly grabbed Ryoma's shoulders, making quite a racket. "Arranged marriage?! In this time and age?! Are they freaking serious?! They can't do that to her!" he exclaimed.
The other customers in the bath looked at them curiously. Ryoma, lowkey embarrassed, tried to calm his friend down.
"Hey, can you chill? We're in a public place," Ryoma said and took his hands off his shoulders.
Kevin settled down with a clearing of the throat. "Sorry... I was just... too shocked..."
The two of them stayed silent after that, with Kevin looking deep in thought, his angel brows deepened with worry lines.
"What's Ryouko saying about that?" he suddenly said with a low-volume voice.
"She doesn't like it of course. She often says that she wants her freedom to choose her own engagement partner," Ryoma answered.
"Well of course... How can they do that, seriously?" Kevin said, his tone full of complaints. "I feel so bad for her... If only I can do something to help... She's saved me in the past. I want to do something for her as well... I'm suddenly so reluctant to leave on Tuesday... I just met the girl of my dreams and I can't believe we're flying back to America the day after tomorrow..."
Ryoma suddenly stood up from the tub and went to the showers. "Let's not stay here for so long... I'm going to wash up," he said.
Kevin blinked and at that moment, noticed that there's something wrong with Ryoma's behavior.
Meanwhile, in the girl's bath, Ryouko and Jessica are relaxing in the tub, resting up after a wrestling match with Jessica trying to fondle Ryouko's breasts. Ryouko almost drowned the unfortunate blonde in the attempt of self-defense. Jessica waved the white flag after swallowing a mouthful of water and trying to gag it out. Ryouko apologetically slapped her back with the ball of her palm several times to try and forcefully evict the water.
Casting Ryouko a side glance, Jessica posted an innocent question. "What do you think of Kevin?"
"He's a nice guy," Ryouko answered, twisting her hair back to a bun. It got undone earlier when Jessica wrestled with her.
"Just a nice guy? Nothing special?" Jessica asked further.
"He'll be beter in tennis once he overcomes his weakness in stamina," Ryouko said.
Jessica sighed. Ryouko looked at her and blinked. "What is that sigh for?" she asked.
"Nothing, not a thing..." Jessica answered.
A thought suddenly crossed in her mind and Jessica tried asking for a different person. "How about Ryoma? What do you think of him?"
Ryouko suddenly stared at her sharply with a suspicous look in her eyes.
"No, no... don't get me wrong..." Jessica immediately retaliated, shaking her blonde head. "I'm not trying to wheedle out information from you, I swear. I've given up... Completely, a hundred percent. Cross my heart, hope to die," she added.
Ryouko breathed out and pouted a bit. "If you say so..."
"Boy, you sure are protective of him... It's kinda too much for a best friend's concern..." Jessica commented.
Ryouko casted a side glance at her and blinked. "It is? Isn't it normal to be this concerned?"
Jessica laughed. "Oh no honey... You're surely overprotective. I won't even do the things you do for him for my current boyfriend, nor for Kevin..."
"Not even for Kevin? But he's your dear cousin," Ryouko said, quite bewildered.
"Dear my butt..." Jessica said. "He's so dear that I'd probably leave him in a ditch somewhere if we encounter a serial killer and use him as a bait to get away... Or maybe that's just my self-importance taking over. I'm quite selfish and you seem to be so honorable, Ryouko... so it might also be your personality," she added.
Ryouko stayed slent for a bit before taking a chance at something. "Let me ask you something Jessica..." she said.
"Hm?" the blonde girl said, lathering herself with bubbles.
"Would it be overbearing for me to feel uncomfortable when Ryoma is with other girls? Like, I want to destroy their chances of being near him of something..." Ryouko said.
Jessica is trying to make herself a beard and moustache with the bubbles and choked when it got inside her mouth after hearing Ryouko's statements. "Say whaa?" she said as she started rinsing her tongue.
"Just like the words implied..." Ryouko said, fidgeting uneasily. "I get a little mad when he talks to other girls. And when he accepts something a girl gives him, I also get mad. I'm really confused cause I wasn't like this before. At first I thought it's because of my possessiveness as a childhood friend but after I thought about it, it might not really be the matter of getting him snatched away as my best friend. He's really close to a boy named Kintarou from one of the rival schools and he's got great friendship with the others in Seigaku but I never felt nervous about me getting replaced by them as his best friend. It's just when girls get close that I start getting angry and I don't talk to him for a while or try to pick a fight nonsensically."
Jessica listened rapty and the more she listened, the lower her jaw dropped. Could it be? Really? Oh no, poor Kev... His first love also has a first love and they're such at close proximity!
"Well?" Ryouko said, making Jessica snap to her senses. "Is that normal?"
"Weelll..." Jessica said, trying to formulate a sensible thing to say. A few words from her and her cousin's first love might be brought to an utter and abrupt end without him even starting anything.
"If I say that it's not, what would you do?" Jessica finally said.
Ryouko's eyes widened. "It's not? But why?" she exclaimed with a shocked tone.
"Honey, you have to answer my question first," Jessica said and placed a hand on Ryouko's shoulder. "If it's not normal, being mad and all when he talks with other girls, then what would you do?"
"I..." Ryouko said and seemed to be completely confused. "I'm not sure... If it's not normal, then it might mean that something's wrong with me..."
Jessica heaved an internal sigh. What an innocent girl... It's a wonder to Jessica how Ryouko's head works since she cannot seem to wrap her mind around these very simple symptoms of lovesickness...
Jessica bit her lip and tried asking another question. "Say, Ryouko... Let's not get hung over with the age and time of this situation but imagine the situation where Ryoma likes a girl and dates her, what would you say about that?"
At that statement, Ryouko's face turned completely dark. "That won't happen..." she said softly but she seemed to be saying it more to herself than as a response to Jessica.
"But it might," Jessica said. "No," she added and corrected herself. "It surely would happen. If not now then in the future..."
After that, Ryouko turned completely quiet and when Jessica couldn't take anymore of the awkward silence, she suggested that they wash up and go out.
The two girls left the women's bath with Ryouko looking real disturbed in mind. Jessica felt kind of guilty for leaving her off with such an unhelpful response.
When the four of them finally met up together, Jessica noticed that the atmosphere between Kevin and Ryoma became considerably heavy. Kevin had been casting glances at Ryoma as if wondering whether he has done something to upset him. Ryouko doesn't seem to notice as she's busy pondering over her own thoughts.
But when Ryouko looked up and coincidentally locked eyes with Ryoma, they suddenly averted their gaze and blinked uncomfortably.
"Oh my gosh... These hopeless kids..." Jessica said as she finally put two and two together, making her own hypothesis about the situation. She just met Ryouko hours ago, and Ryoma was just her former crush and classmate, so she doesn't really know whether she has the right to interfere over their matters. But it's utterly painful to watch them and Jessica's inborn nosiness is starting to take over.
"Hey, guys... Since it's still early, let's go to the movies. It's my treat as a token of acquaintanceship," she told them cheerfully.
Suddenly, she noticed something that caught her meticulous fashion-hungry eyes, making her distracted for a moment. "Hey! Ryouko and Kev are wearing matching colors!" she remarked.
"Huh?" Ryouko and Kevin said in unison as they were brought back to reality after hearing their names being called.
Sure enough, Ryouko has on a mauve pair of jersey with black linings and Kevin is wearing mauve-colored shirt and shorts with white stripes. They looked very similar.
"Aww, how cute! It's like a couple outfit!" Jessica commented without thinking.
Jessica immediately regretted her words after feeling a sharp glare from Ryoma's bronze-gold eyes. If looks could kill, her head would've been cut off before she realized what got her.
"My neck hurts..." she thought as she pondered over this troublesome newly-formed love triangle that seemed to jump out from a romance novel. "Heaven help me... Just what did I get myself into?" she called out in silent prayer.
Who wants Jessica to take matters in her own hands? Raise thy hands! 🙋♀
This is a self-made drawing by a talented friend of my younger sister to whom I requested a picture of Ryouko to be drawn wearing Seigaku outfit! Isn't it great? He's completely self-taught and I find his skills quite awesome! 😆😆