Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.
A/N: This is the re-done version!
The Dreamer
Serve1: The Captain's Sister
~Menou's POV~
I looked up slightly to the falling cherry blossoms' petals. They danced with the wind so gracefully. Shifting my bag from my left hand to my right, I walked slowly towards the tennis court. The first day of school had been quite wonderful. I met my primary school' friends, glad that some of them were now my classmates. Moreover, I was happy that I was in the same school with my older brother.
Talking of him, I had not seen him all day. I bet he was busy with his club. He was the captain after all. All of my friends had gone to their respective clubs. While I myself…Well, I had yet to decide. Maybe I would join tennis club again…or should I try another club? I wish I were my brother, but in truth, I was not. With a sigh, I walked slowly towards the girls' tennis club.
The procedure of registration went on smoothly, although I could see a mischievous glint in the eyes of the coach. And the rest of the girls' current regulars surprised face upon seeing my name. I was used to it tough, living as a sister of a perfect tennis player. Before they had a chance to interrogate me, I excused myself politely and headed towards the boys' courts, eager to meet my brother and his friends.
Humming softly, I walked down the way with my sport bags slung over my right shoulder and my racquet held in my left hand. I had taken off my glasses and put it on my bag. It really did not bother me, since I still could see clearly without putting my spectacles on. Half-way through, I overheard an argument occurring on the court. And I being myself could not help but to curiously take a look, so that I walked into the court. Luckily, they did not notice my presence.
In the court was a rather tall boy – probably a senior – and a shorter boy with a cap. The boy had black hair with captivating greenish-gold eyes. Behind the shorter were three boys looking the same age as me. They seemed to be rather scared and shocked. The senior was now threatening the boy with a cap, raising his fist. I felt the need to stop the fight.
"Ah!" I interrupted his movement with a sudden shout.
The senior stopped and turned to me, staring with an icy glare. Maybe it was not a good idea after all, as he now approached me. I tried to run, but behind me was a wire fence, and I was trapped. He towered me and bore his gaze into my hazel eyes. I cowered down slightly in fear, but unable to break the gaze.
"Who the hell are you?" He almost growled.
I squeaked in fear, but managed to give an answer. "Ah, I just wanted to ask where I could find my brother, but-"
"Answer my question!" He shouted at me.
By then, I had covered my head with my hand. It seemed to anger him even more and he raised his hand to hit me. I had prepared for the blow, but it never came. Instead I heard him taking a sharp breath as if he was surprised by something. Opening my eyes, I saw a tennis ball rolled next to my feet. Apparently, someone had hit the wire fence very near to him to scare and halted his action.
"It's not good messing up with freshmen, Arai," a spiky-haired boy said smirking.
The senior named Arai hastily stepped back and ran away. His friends followed suit afterwards. I assumed the newcomer was also a senior, seeing his height and appearance. After Arai-senpai was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief and slumped into the ground. My feet had turned into a jelly, it seemed.
Grinning, the spiky-haired senior approached me, offering a hand to help me up. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, grinning a bit, and took his extended hand. "Yeah, thank you."
When I had fully stood up, he frowned. He bent down and started to examine me closely. I felt uncomfortable and took several steps back. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he narrowed his eyes as he stared at me.
"You look strangely familiar..." He trailed off.
I was about to reply when someone called my name. From the entrance, I saw my brother standing. His messy dark brown hair shone under the sun. From behind his glasses, I saw a concern inside those brown eyes. Smiling, I ran passed my senior in front of me and to my elder brother. I hugged him around his torso, for he was much taller than me. I could tell he was pissed off, but upon seeing me shaking in fear, even it was just a bit, he seemed to soften a little.
"Where were you? I said to you not to walk around after the school," he said sternly.
I pulled away and rubbed the back of my head. "I'm sorry, Kunimitsu-nii."
"Kunimitsu-nii?" I heard someone shouted loudly from behind; it was the spiky-haired one.
Pointing at me, he shouted his question, "Tezuka-buchou! Since when do you have a sister?"
My brother narrowed his eyes. "Since the time she was born ten years ago."
I almost sweat-dropped at his dull answer, but shrugged it off. My brother introduced me to the spiky-haired guy, whose name I learned was Momoshiro – Momo, for short – and he in second year. Behind him, I spotted the four freshmen starting to walk away from the court, but Momo-senpai turned and stopped the boy with a cap. Before I could further listen to the conversation, I had been ordered strictly by my dear brother to go to the coach's room. I did not argue with him.
Knocking on the door, I was again greeted by the same coach I met previously. The woman had to be good, since she trained both boys and girls. She grinned widely upon noticing me, immediately knowing I was Tezuka Kunimitsu's sister. I nodded shyly and took a seat on a chair next to her. She introduced herself to me and vice versa, and then we sat in silence, with her occasionally humming. Patiently, I waited for my brother.
When he finally returned, he looked rather serious. I glanced at him and him to me, but there was no words being exchanged. He asked the coach whether they should prepare the match to decide the regulars. I was quite curious about it, but I knew it was not my business. The coach did not answer; instead, she went behind him and leaned against the wall next to the window.
"So are you putting that new boy, Echizen Ryoma, on the match?" She questioned.
Mentally, I asked myself, who was this Echizen Ryoma? Could it be that guy who had greenish-gold eyes?
My brother remained silent and took a sheet of paper with a pen. The coach shrugged at his reaction and looked outside the window.
She smirked suddenly. "My, my, it seems Momo is having match with Ryoma."
Kunimitsu-nii stopped writing and he calmly stood up and went to the window. I slowly went to the empty spot next to my brother and watched. On one side I recognized as Momo, while on the opposite one was the capped guy – I concluded he was the one called Echizen Ryoma. The three of us stared at the match between Ryoma and Momo. As I looked up, I saw my brother crossed his arms and gazed at the new student. Suddenly, he shifted his gaze to me and told me to go. Without saying a word, I nodded walked out of the room. I understood he would want to discuss with the coach, but his cold way sometimes hurt me.
I pushed the thought off my head and strolled down to the court. Interested at the match, I halted to watch the game. Near the wire fence stood five figures. Three was the previous freshmen she saw before and two others were girls of her age. One with pigtails was cheering loudly and excitedly for Ryoma. The other was trying to calm her friend down, speaking softly. I giggled at the sight, but did nothing.
"Menou-chan, it's very unlikely of you to watch someone's game other than me or your brother."A voice came from behind me suddenly.
I jumped in surprise and spun around, squeaking in surprise, only to meet a smiling Fuji Shusuke.
"Fuji!" I tried to look angry, but failed miserably.
His smiled always made me forget my anger to him.
I huffed and crossed my arms, but a smile lingered in my lips. "Well, it seems I have added another person into my list."
He took a step so that he was standing directly next to me, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So, who are playing?"
"Momo-senpai and Echizen Ryoma-kun," I murmured.
"Uh-huh," he said. "So, who're you interested in?"
I blushed at his comment. "What?"
Which one: Momo or Echizen?" He asked with a teasing grin.
"N-no one!" I stammered.
He rubbed his chin with one hand. "Hmm, I assumed it's Ryoma, since you're his age and he's more of your type."
"Am not!" I retorted, but the blush refused to go away.
"Your deeper blush says otherwise." Fuji smiled happily. "I've got to tell Tezuka about your crush. Is this your first crush?"
"No! Well, no for telling my brother…but yes, this is my first crush." Shit, I did it again. Me and my stupid mouth.
"Uh, what I mean…it's the first…but I don't have a crush…so, no, but…Ah, this is so confusing!" I screamed at the end of my sentence.
The light-brown haired tennis player chuckled and patted her head. "Don't think too much, your head will burst."
I sighed, crossed my arms, and pouted childishly. "If it's burst, you're to blame."
He grinned widely. "I'll take the blame."
"Don't tell my brother, please?" I pleaded.
"I won't," he answered softly.
I smiled at him. It was so clear why he was admired by many girls, and I was so lucky he was Kunimitsu-nii best friend. I watched the match again, and found myself mesmerized by Ryoma. The way he played was so wonderful that it took my breath away. Spotting the sun nearing the edge of the land, something clicked in my head. I looked at my watch and cursed.
"Something's wrong?" Fuji asked upon noticing me cursing.
"I am late for my English course!" I screamed, and without looking back, ran as fast as my feet could.
From the distant, I could hear Fuji's chuckles, but I was not in the right time to worry about that. I was late and Kawada-sensei would definitely punish me…
Standing with a bucket full of water in my head in a hall was not an option!