Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ ◄:— S A K U N O Chronicles —:► ❯ Yakitate!! Sakuno ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: If I owned PoT and/or Yakitate!! Japan, this crackfic would have been canon. ._. (As of this chapter, I'm currently on episode 126, yatta!) I'll try to mask any spoilers or make them vague because I don't want to spoil anyone but I did say that I'll be butchering canon to suit my fangirly needs. XP

 

P I T O

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

If looks could kill, Sakuno would be lying in the pool of her own blood right about now. She was a little slow on the uptake, but by the time her braids got pulled for the seventh time and how a foot would magically appeared out of thin air just as she took a step for what seemed like the umpteenth time before lunch that day, she was slowly catching on. Regardless of what year or age, most of the girls on Seigaku seemed to have some kind of vendetta against her.

 

She was bewildered at what could have caused the sudden animosity at first, but she had an epiphany when she observed several of them throwing severe hostile looks at the gifts she carried.

 

Ah.

 

Most of the boys seemed to have taken Ann-chan's advice and gave away their bears for White Day. Sakuno guessed that she just happened to be on the receiving end of the bears from Seigaku Regulars because she went to the same school with them, was the granddaughter of their coach, was with them when they made the bears, and they probably didn't know what else to give her in exchange for her Valentine's Day chocolates.

 

She wasn't complaining, she loved all the bears and they were all going to make good friends with her other stuffed animals at home.

 

They can't fit into her meager shoe locker, so she had to lug it around with her. It wasn't like she was parading them and bragging about them, because she wasn't. She didn't even examine the insides more carefully; she planned to do it later, after school hours. And it wasn't like she had the most gifts in the entire school! She saw several others with bigger bags than hers, so why was she being singled out?

 

“Itai!” Her right scalp was burning. She wished she didn't have separate periods from Tomo-chan, as cowardly as that may have seemed.

 

She tried to think of positive thoughts. At least she wasn't sporting a black eye, unlike Horio-kun. The poor boy had an unfortunate run-in with a stray tennis ball bright and early this morning, he explained.

 

Poor Horio-kun.

 

He wouldn't elaborate further on the cause of his black-eye, so she decided not to press him further. Maybe he was embarrassed about it.

 

“Itai!” Another sharp tug to her left side caused her to stumble a little. Did I say Poor Horio-kun? Poor me! What happened to the good karma I thought I had for getting these bears?

 

Come to think of it… the `series of unfortunate events' started after Kikumaru-senpai and Oishi-senpai gave her their bears. Kikumaru-senpai did it with so much grandiose and flourish, attracting unneeded attention to them. Maybe he shouldn't have announced so loudly that one of the bears was from Tezuka-buchou.

 

Kikumaru had been upset that he wasn't the first one to give her a present and Tomoka had added to that by telling him that even buchou's bear was part of her loot for today. The redhead was so surprised that he managed to inform everybody within the ten mile radius about it when he repeated Tomoka's words in a very loud voice. They could guess from his words that he was still harboring a grudge to not have won the contest, citing that it was Momo's fault for disqualifying him.

 

It was an unwritten school rule that the lower years aren't usually allowed in the upper years' floors. While there were no guards necessarily posted on each floor to make sure of this, it was understood and most, if not all, of the students respected this rule. The main reason for this is to reduce fangirl attacks. When fangirls got too excited, they tended to overwhelm the athletes and competitions weren't won by flustered participants.

 

Oishi is a living testament to this. He learned a hard lesson about not venturing into enemy territory unprepared. Twice. The first time he did it, he managed to survive unscathed and in tact. Sure, his hand was numb from giving one autograph after another, but it didn't compare to the bumps and bruises he received when he accidentally walked in on some changing girls during his second `adventure'.

 

It had been traumatic for him and he made it a point not to put himself into a vulnerable position anymore. Seeking out a kouhai during break times was different, just as long as one didn't venture into the classrooms where people, most especially girls who wanted your autograph, could literally back you into a wall and corner you until they got what they wanted. Two girls sitting on a bench out in the open was safe enough, so he allowed Kikumaru to drag him.

 

Receiving additional bears had been really fun for Sakuno. Even if Tomo-chan had more admirers than her, Sakuno didn't feel left out today with all the gifts she received from her beloved senpai-tachi and friends. Pity gifts were just as good as gifts from real admirers, especially if they were stuffed toys, but she didn't exactly relish in the side effects.

 

She started to fear for her well-being when they started to back her into a corner.

 

“What are you doing?” Ryoma's voice could have bent steel. What was it with girls and pulling Ryuzaki's braids? He saw the unshed tears gathering in Ryuzaki's eyes and felt his blood boil. It would look ridiculous if he challenged a bunch of girls into a tennis match, so he settled for giving them death glares instead, effectively scaring them away. They scattered like mice, slinking away from the young Regular's wrath.

 

Sakuno looked at her savior gratefully; her hair and scalp were forever indebted to him. “R-Ryoma-kun…”

 

“I'll walk you to your next class.” Ryoma said and then started walking, expecting Sakuno to follow.

 

Not giving up the chance to be with him, Sakuno hastened to catch up, wracking her brain for something to talk about. “The weather is nice today. The sky is so blue.” Sakuno no baka! The weather is nice? What kind of person talked about the sky being blue? Ryoma-kun probably thought her to be an airhead.

 

“Aa,” Ryoma agreed, looking like he wasn't really paying attention to what she said. He was just walking her to her next class so that she didn't get picked on, that was all. The strong have to protect the weak and she was definitely weak. Why else would she allow others to pull on her braids like that without fighting back?

Sakuno sighed. Her vibrating phone saved her from the awkward silence, thankfully, so she took it out of her pocket and read the new message.

 

Ryoma didn't care that she wasn't talking to him. He didn't care that her attention was directed to that blasted phone of hers again. Not that he cared, of course, because he didn't. He didn't care if Ryuzaki had a textmate. In fact, he didn't care if she had a bazillion textmates. Nope, he didn't care one bit.

 

He waited until she was safely seated in her next class before he left, not even bothering to say goodbye. He had done his part as a concerned citizen and responsible member of the Seigaku Tennis Club. Tezuka-buchou should be proud of him.

 

Once he was seated in his own classroom, waiting for his next teacher, he reminded himself again that he didn't care about whom she was texting. He didn't have a cellphone yet, but he wondered if he would be part of her contacts list if he did, and if she would stop texting whoever she was texting to all the time and text him instead.

 

Wait, what was he talking about? He didn't care, remember?

 

But then…

 

If he didn't care, then why was he being so emotional about it?

 

¤¤¤¤¤

 

“Let me help you with that, Sakuno-chan.” Fuji grabbed the bag bursting with teddy bears from his kouhai's hand to relieve her of it.

 

“Arigatou, Syusuke-nii!”

 

Sakuno's Tuesdays and Thursdays were spent with `Big Brother' Syusuke for their English tutoring sessions. Club practice meant going to the Fuji residence and Syusuke-nii walking her to the bus stop and sometimes all the way home (if it was too late), while the non-club practice days were spent in the Ryuzaki residence. Those days were rare, so Sakuno usually did her own extra-curricular activities before meeting with Syusuke-nii afterwards.

 

She couldn't help but feel safer knowing that Syusuke-nii was going to be stuck with her, so to speak, for the next several hours. One could never be sure if any vindictive girls were going to jump her from behind again or pull her braids. It was better to be safe than sorry.

 

They stopped by the local Pantasia bakery first, like lots of other students their age.

 

The bell chimed as they opened the door and walked in. Sakuno and Fuji inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma of fresh-baked bread.

 

“Irasshaimase!” The Pantasia employee with the mushroom-like haircut automatically greeted them. Sakuno could never seem to remember what his name was, but she returned his greeting with a smile. Then he recognized them, and opened the door to the kitchen, shouting “Azuma, your cousin is here!”

 

The Azumas were simple folk who lived in the country and grew rice for a living. Ryuzaki Sumire, Sakuno's paternal grandmother, was Azuma Kazuma's paternal grandfather's youngest and only sister. When Sumire got married, she changed her last name from Azuma to Ryuzaki, adapting her husband's.

 

When Sakuno was little, she would go visit her cousins in the country on summer vacations and her cousins would feed her the most delicious things. Her cousin Kazuma was older than her by four years, but most people wouldn't be able to tell because aside from his not-so-tall stature, he also acted like they were the same age. Despite this, she still addressed her cousin with the proper honorific.

 

Two Pantasia employees emerged from the back door - one with honey-colored hair similar to Sakuno's and a pink headband on his head, two bangs sticking out and making him look like a cute cockroach, if there was such a thing, and the other had pretty pink hair.

 

“Sakuno-chyan!” Kazuma bounced toward his cousin excitedly.

 

“Kazu-nii, Kanmuri-kun!”

 

Both bakers were also familiar with Fuji. “Tutoring session today, Fuji-kun?” Kanmuri Shigeru greeted the taller boy. Kanmuri and Kazuma were both older than Fuji at sixteen, but Fuji still surpassed them in height.

 

“Hai, Kanmuri-san.”

 

“Guess what Kanmuri and I got you for today, Sakuno-chyan!” Kazuma was bursting with excitement, forgetting about Fuji altogether.

 

“Technically,” Kanmuri gave his co-worker, business-partner and friend an amused look, “it's from Tsukino-san, but I suggested that Azuma-kun give it to you because it seems to be the rage for teenagers these days.” He was so mature for his age, having graduated from Harvard at the age of sixteen.

 

Tsukino was one of Pantasia's former owner's granddaughters and was now the current President of Pantasia. She had been through rough times with both Kanmuri and Kazuma, but they weathered it all and were now joint business partners. Nobody would suspect that these two boisterous young men were actually billionaires, especially with how they still preferred to work as normal employees at the quaint little bakery where it all started. Maybe one of the reasons was the main St. Pierre's branch from across the street.

 

“You didn't have to get me anything.” Sakuno said shyly.

 

“Close your eyes and don't peek!” Kazuma instructed then pulled something from his pocket as his cousin complied, placing them in front of her. “Tada! You can open your eyes now.”

 

It took several seconds to register what they were after she opened her eyes. “Tickets?”

 

“Concert tickets,” Fuji observed.

 

Sakuno happily gave her cousin a thank you hug, grateful for them. There were more than enough for her and her friends; Kazu-nii and Kanmuri-kun even gave two more to Syusuke-nii, ribbing him about bringing a date.

 

Kazuma was pleased that his cousin seemed happy; Kanmuri's suggestion saved him today. He didn't realize it was White Day until Tsukino gave him the tickets.

 

“Sakuno-san, did you bring them?” Kanmuri asked the girl as soon as Azuma stopped bouncing around.

 

“Hai!” Sakuno searched inside her bag for something and then handed them to him.

 

“Is that what I think it is?” Fuji would recognize that noxious liquid anywhere.

 

“Inui Juice Hyper Remix Plus and Inui Juice Aozu!” Sakuno counted off the names.

 

Fuji tried not to visibly blanch at the blue liquid while Kazuma blinked curiously as Kanmuri accepted it happily. He could withstand the taste of the Hyper Remix Juice, but Aozu was dangerous for his health.

 

“Are those new ingredients for your new bread, Kanmuri?”

 

If Pantasia was going to start selling bread with any of Inui's juices as ingredients, Fuji was going to stop buying bread from them. Forever.

 

“No,” Kanmuri swirled the blue liquid inside its container like a mad scientist. “I was curious about it ever since Sakuno-san mentioned it to me. I plan to analyze it.” He lifted the other container holding the Hyper Remix. “And Sakuno-san asked me to help her find an ingredient she could instantly add to improve the taste of this one so she can drink it without passing out.”

 

“Inui-senpai was kind enough to give me those to help me improve my tennis.”

 

Fuji couldn't decide if he was to wonder if Inui was trying to kill their sensei's granddaughter and be concerned about it, or marvel at Sakuno's naiveté.

 

“I'll get right on it, thank you.” Kanmuri was anticipating breaking down the contents of the liquid, curious about the person who made it.

 

“Ah, Azuma-san?” Fuji's onee-chan was a big fan of this baker. One of his JaPan breads would make a great gift for her this White Day. “Do you have some JaPan #52 today?”

 

¤¤¤¤¤

 

“Tadaima!” Yuuta automatically called out as he removed his shoes in the landing.

 

It was only Tuesday and he didn't normally go home on weekdays, so he didn't really expect a warm welcome. Going home on weekdays were reserved only for special occasions… or if he knew for certain that Sakuno-chan was going to cook them one of his favorite dishes for dinner and his aniki was cruel enough to eat his fill thus leaving no leftovers for Yuuta to have when he came home on the weekend.

 

Judging from the shoes in the foyer, his aniki was home. There was also an extra pair he recognized that belonged to Sakuno-chan. It was nice to see it there. It made him think of Sukiyaki and his stomach rumbled as he thought of ways to ask or plead his way for the dish tonight. He was even willing to resort to whining, if needed. It was surprising how good a cook she was, despite her apparent fear of sharp objects. Watching Sakuno in the kitchen was a test of nerves because she would shake while chopping; it was a miracle that all her fingers were still intact.

 

He saw a note pinned to the refrigerator door, together with some money for pizza or delivery tonight, the note saying that their dad was taking their mom out for a date. Their onee-chan would probably be home late as well, out with her boyfriend to celebrate.

 

A quick search of the living room told him that the two were upstairs, most probably in aniki's room, studying. Yuuta was thankful of the Big Brother Program for it diverted some of the `brother complex' his aniki seemed to have and channeled it into constructive stuff that was less hazardous to his state of mind. Aniki obsessing over his new ward was less stressful for him, but it did give him certain things to be concerned about once in a while.

 

Like why he was home right now, for one thing. He meant to talk with his aniki tonight about what he heard from Mizuki-senpai yesterday. Even though there was no hint of any romance between his aniki and Sakuno-chan, he just wanted to make sure, just to be safe. He didn't want to ask it over the phone, because he couldn't see his aniki's facial expressions that way, and it also provided him a good excuse to deliver his present.

 

After going upstairs and changing out of his school uniform, he padded softly towards his aniki's room.

 

Knocking softly before opening the door, his jaw dropped at the sight that greeted him. The mellow sound of what Yuuta recognized as Eyes Rutherford's latest CD reverberated from the CD player; his aniki was lying down on his bed, shirtless. He was also making weird noises of… pleasure… that seemed to start at his stomach and ended all the way to his throat. Gratified grunts and sighs of contentment escaped his lips, while his eyes were closed in satisfaction.

 

“A little lower, that's it, right there. Harder, Sakuno-chan.” Fuji requested. Clearly, he was enjoying what the sweet, innocent girl was doing to him.

 

Sakuno-chan was on top of his aniki, pounding him into the mattress.

 

Literally.

 

Dainty little feet were walking on top of Fuji Syusuke's back, giving him a massage. Sakuno's weight wasn't a strain on Fuji's back, given their difference in mass and height. In fact, her small stature was a key factor in why the massage was such a success. The room smelled of Chinese medicine, placed on Fuji's back, as lubrication for Sakuno as she eased the tension from Fuji's shoulders and back.

 

Neither one of them noticed the new visitor, each engrossed in their current positions and tasks. Sakuno was surprisingly coordinated when it came to this, but it just might be because all she had to do was feel through the muscles and coax them into relaxing. She had become very good at balancing on top of someone's back, with her Syusuke-nii as a constant test subject. Her obaa-chan would often complain of back cramps and strained muscles in need of a good massage, so she started to learn.

 

However, she didn't want to experiment new techniques on her grandmother, due to her old age. Obaa-chan's massages were made using hands only. Syusuke-nii didn't have such concerns, so she was free to experiment. In fact, he was very cooperative and therefore made the perfect test subject.

 

“What are you doing?” Yuuta regretted asking the question as soon as he said it, for not only was the answer obvious, but it also startled the girl walking on top of his aniki.

 

“Yuuta-nii!” Sakuno squeaked, staggered, and then promptly lost her balance, flailing her hands in the air as she pitched backwards and sat on top of Fuji - hard. Yuuta rushed forward to catch her, but he was too late.

 

“Oomph!” Both `masseuse' and `client' grunted from the impact.

 

“Itai.”

 

“Aaaah! Gomen nasai, Syusuke-nii!”

 

“I think that Yuuta and Sakuno-chan are trying to kill me.” Fuji wasn't really hurt, but he played the part of a squished pancake well.

 

“Daijoubu ka, Sakuno-chan?” Yuuta ignored his aniki, helping the girl back on her feet and off of her human cushion.

 

Sakuno apologized once again before climbing off of the bed. “I'm alright. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, Syusuke-nii!” Tears were starting to well in her eyes. Was he hurt? She fell on him pretty hard. Did he pull a muscle? Syusuke-nii wasn't moving… “Gomen nasai!!!”

 

Yuuta sighed, irritated. “Stop playing possum, aniki! You're scaring her.”

 

Sakuno held her breath until Fuji moved, expelling it in relief when he did.

 

Fuji grabbed the shirt that Yuuta tossed at him and put it on. “It'll take more than that to hurt me, Sakuno-chan.” His smile was in place. Despite the unexpected interruption, his muscles and joints were still singing praises about Sakuno's magical hands and feet. “I didn't know you were coming home today, Yuuta.”

 

His bottom lip protruded, his expression was guarded. “What, I can't go home to my own house now?”

 

Fuji's smile never faltered. “I wasn't saying that. You know we always love to have you home. You didn't come home this weekend.” He reminded.

 

“Yeah well, I was busy.” Yuuta followed Sakuno with his eyes as the girl put away her various paraphernalia into her bag. “I thought you were supposed to be tutoring her?” He asked suspiciously. If Sakuno's grades fell because she was too busy playing nursemaid to his aniki instead…

 

“We finished all our homework already,” Fuji replied as he took note of the slight pink hue staining his little brother's face. It was worth investigating further. “Haven't we, Sakuno-chan?”

 

“Hai~!”

 

“See? You don't need to get so worked up. Your aniki's not going to fail any of his classes.”

 

Yuuta chose to ignore that remark. “What time do you have to go home tonight, Sakuno-chan?”

 

“Until ten if I walk her home.” Fuji answered.

 

“So does that mean you could cook for us tonight?” Yuuta asked hopefully.

 

“What did you have in mind, Yuuta-nii?”

 

“Sukiyaki!” Yuuta replied a little too enthusiastically, and then remembered his manners. “Please? But wait, before that, I got you something for White Day!”

 

“Is it a teddy bear?” Fuji couldn't help but tease.

 

“No,” Yuuta frowned. Did he have to get her a teddy bear for White Day this year? “It's just some sakuramochi.” He said as he handed the treats to Sakuno. If somebody had told him that a teddy bear was a prerequisite for White Day…

 

“Arigatou, Yuuta-nii!” Sakuramochi was one of her favorite treats not only because it's a delicately flavored confection wrapped in salt-preserved sakura leaves with a sweat bean paste center, but also because it's pink.

 

“Eat it after dinner,” Fuji reminded “or you might ruin your appetite.”

 

“Hai~!”

 

“I'll go start dinner now.” Sakuno said excitedly. She was familiar with the Fuji kitchen and refrigerator so she didn't need any more prompting.

 

“We'll be right there,” Yuuta said to Sakuno's retreating back as he closed the door to his aniki's room. “I have to talk to aniki for a bit.”

 

Fuji smiled at his brother. “What did you want to talk about?”

 

Stalling for time, Yuuta padded over to Sakuno's things. “What did you give Sakuno-chan for today?”

 

“A teddy bear.” Fuji answered, wondering over his brother's odd behavior.

 

“Which one is yours?” All the bears looked the same to him, so he picked one up and held it towards his aniki.

 

“No, I believe that's Eiji's.” Yuuta held up another one. “And that one is Tachibana's. No, that's from Oishi.” And another. “Kirihara's.” Fuji recognized each and every one of them. “That's Tezuka's.”

 

Yuuta hand stilled. “Is Tezuka okay with this?” He asked carefully.

 

“He hid it well but I saw right through him. I thought he was going to hurl,” Fuji chuckled; he could still remember how sick Tezuka looked while making the bear. He probably wanted to hit two birds with one stone by getting rid of the bear and saying thanks for White Day, thus giving it away to Sakuno today. Tezuka looked like he wanted to forget about the whole incident, judging from the way he avoided Fuji's questions about it. He was more or less `getting rid of the evidence' by giving the bear away.

 

“I thought Tezuka was your friend?”

 

Both brothers looked at each other quizzically.

 

“He is.” Fuji replied.

 

“So he didn't mind that you gave Sakuno a teddy bear and that you're spending a lot of time with her?”

 

Fuji didn't miss the caution in Yuuta's voice when he replied. “No.”

 

“Does he know about your massage sessions?”

 

“Yes.” Fuji was starting to get confused. “I'm the test subject for everything that she does, although I don't think she walks on top of her grandmother. Old bones and all that stuff…”

 

“So Tezuka is okay with it?”

 

Why did Tezuka have to be okay with how or why he got a massage? “As far as I know, yes.” This conversation was turning out to be the weirdest he's had with Yuuta yet. “We don't need to ask permission from Tezuka to get massages.” Maybe it was different in St. Rudolph's.

 

Yuuta sighed. It seemed like his aniki had made up his mind. “Fine. I'll support you in whatever decision you make, but I think this is a bad idea.”

 

For the first time in a long while, Fuji was clueless. “Huh?”

 

“I know you would have thought this through already, but I really don't know why you're doing this. I can't really blame you, aniki.” Yuuta continued, confusing Fuji even more. “Sakuno is a great girl and if I were in your shoes, I'd probably go against my buchou as well.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I shouldn't be saying this, although I don't know how it will really affect your team's dynamics, but I hope it doesn't affect your friendship with Tezuka.” Tezuka was one of his aniki's longest friends and he didn't want a good friendship ruined because they happened to like the same girl. “I'm sure you can fix it in time.” He nodded reassuringly.

 

“… Huh?”

 

“But I wonder if who Sakuno-chan has more feelings for, no offense, aniki.”

 

“…?”

 

“She spends a lot of time with you, but she might spend a lot of time with Tezuka as well.”

 

“……?”

 

“How do you do it?”

 

“???”

 

“Wait… did Sakuno-chan break up with Tezuka already? Or hmmm… Does that even matter to you? Anyway, whatever you have planned, I'll still support you. Even though I think it's not a good thing to steal your friend's girlfriend, especially if he's the captain of your tennis club.”

 

“… What?” Fuji's eyes opened in surprise halfway through Yuuta's speech, confusion mirrored on his blue orbs. “You… wait… what did you say?” Maybe he just misheard his little brother.

 

¤¤¤¤¤

 

Sakuno wondered why Syusuke-nii was quietly laughing all the way through dinner. She was concerned about how she cooked it at first, but since Yuuta-nii looked like he wasn't going to keel over from food poisoning or bad taste anytime soon, she ruled out that there was something wrong about the food. It was obvious that he was trying hard to contain it, but he would occasionally laugh out loud, startling her and Yuuta-nii.

 

She asked about it, but this caused him to laugh even harder. This would then make Yuuta-nii blush an even darker shade of red, so she assumed it had something to do with their talk upstairs. It must have been something embarrassing for the younger Fuji sibling, so she decided to take pity on him and not press it any further.

 

Yuuta was still wallowing in his embarrassment; his aniki's blatant amusement of it was further adding to his discomfort. It was a good thing that Sakuno-chan didn't demand to know the exact details about it or else he would have died right then and there. How could he have been so gullible as to believe that rumor?

 

Aniki had set him straight about his misconception. He wasn't dating Sakuno. No one was dating Sakuno-chan, Tezuka included. It seems like the misunderstanding was started by Hyotei's buchou. He didn't know how Mizuki-senpai reached the conclusion that Sakuno was Tezuka's girlfriend, but he was wrong. Yuuta assuming that there was a love-triangle between his aniki, his aniki's ward and his aniki's buchou was wrong as well.

 

There was no conflict between Seigaku's buchou and Seigaku's tensai, it was all a misunderstanding.

 

He felt totally duped because he fell for it hook, line and sinker.

 

He couldn't look at Sakuno-chan in the eye during dinner, so he concentrated on the delicious spread in front of him instead. It didn't help that his aniki's shoulders constantly shook from amusement.

 

Fuji Syusuke is one sadistic person.

 

There were enough leftovers left for Yuuta to take to school the next morning, he made sure to put them away in containers safely, warning his aniki not to touch any of it. Fuji merely smiled and declared he was going to walk Sakuno home.

 

¤¤¤¤¤

 

“So how did your day go, Sakuno?” Ann was currently lying down on her bed while talking to Sakuno on the phone. She heard from Shinji today that Kirihara visited Sakuno and was curious about it.

 

“It was very nice, Ann-chan.” Sakuno was setting up her newly-acquired teddy bears together with the rest of her furry friends on her bed. They were new recruits to fortify her plushie army.

 

She told Ann-chan about what happened that day, Ann-chan milking every single detail about every gift Sakuno received so as not to arouse any suspicion because they were on a three-way conference with Tomoka.

 

Three-way conversations were nuisances, especially if the third person was Osakada, in Ann's opinion, but she couldn't put off her curiosity any longer so she had to bear with it. “Is that it?” She sounded a bit disappointed. She hoped that Echizen-kun had seen it but… “Didn't Echizen-kun give you anything?”

 

“Ryoma-sama doesn't need to give Sakuno anything because he already saved her from those stupid girls.” Tomoka huffed. “That was better than any other gift Sakuno got today!”

 

Ann rolled her eyes as she grabbed the plushie she got from Momo and cuddled it close to her chest. “Suuure. Whatever you say.”

 

“It's true!” Tomoka insisted. She refused to be deterred that Ryoma-sama didn't give Sakuno anything today. To her knowledge, he didn't give anyone anything today, so that was a good sign. Ryoma-sama was just being himself, he couldn't help it. Or maybe he forgot that today was White Day and he was going to make up for it next time… she hoped.

 

“Ann-chan,” Sakuno interrupted, stepping in before their argument started anew again, “why did Kippei no nii-chan give me his bear? I would have thought he would give it to you instead of me.” She was curious. Sure she had a bigger stuffed animal collection than Ann-chan, sure she felt like she was a third Tachibana sibling, but she didn't want to take anything away from Ann-chan. She didn't want to cause any rift between any of her friends.

 

Ann grinned triumphantly even though the other two girls couldn't see it. “I've been wanting something else for a long time and I managed to guilt him into getting it for me for White Day.” A press of the remote to turn up the volume was made. “Can't you hear that?”

 

The two girls listened carefully to the background music that was coming through their phones louder this time. Sakuno recognized it first. “Eyes Rutherford?”

 

“Yup!”

 

“How did you know that, Sakuno?” Tomoka was also a fan, but she didn't realize who it was until Sakuno identified it.

 

“Syusuke-nii has the same CD and was playing it this afternoon.”

 

“I didn't know Fuji-san was into the same music as we are.” Ann said as she let the powerful music wash over her.

 

“I think he's in it more for the music than for the music than the handsome pianist,” Sakuno joked. All three girls were not only huge fans of his music; they were bigger fans of the pianist himself. Eyes Rutherford had the clearest, most beautiful almond-shaped blue eyes you could ever see and his hair was as white as pure-driven snow.

 

The three girls sighed dreamily as they thought about their idol.

 

“I can't believe you scored us tickets to his concert.”

 

“Well, I technically didn't, it was a gift from Kazu-nii.”

 

“Mou, I don't think I'll be able to go.” Tomoka wailed. Why can't baby brothers baby-sit themselves? “It's unfair!!!”

 

“Sakuno, maybe you could invite that new textmate of yours.” Ann said playfully.

 

This reminded Tomoka of her earlier irritation, adding to her current frustration of not going to be able to attend Eyes Rutherford's concert. “Sou, sou! ANN!!!” The veins on her forehead popped as her grip tightened on the phone “That reminds me!!! WHY did you give Sakuno's phone number to that jerk!?!?!?”

 

Both Ann and Sakuno had to distance their ringing ears away from their phones; Ann was sure that her brother heard Tomoka's shout in the next room.

 

“What are you wailing about, you banshee!?!” Ann screamed back.

 

“Why did you give Kirihara Sakuno's phone number!?!? He's a stranger and you shouldn't give your friend's number to strangers! You don't even know if he's a good person or not!!!”

 

“Tomo-chan…” Sakuno thought he was kind…

 

“What if he's some kind of weirdo psycho stalker who eats babies for lunch!?!?!”

 

“T-Tomo-chan…” And he didn't look like he had babies as appetizers in his lunch menu…

 

“And I thought you hated him!?!?! Now you're suddenly super bestfriends with him!?!?!?! What the heck is wrong with you!?!?!!!”

 

Sakuno didn't know what else to say except for “Tomo-chan…” hoping that her bestfriend would stop yelling at her other bestfriend. She didn't want her friends to fight… or hate her new friend.

 

“You just went and gave Sakuno's number to him and now all he does is text her!!! Day in and day out! He even went to our school, like some sort of obsessed freak!!! What kind of friend are you!?!?!”

 

“For your information,” Ann's voice came out unexpectedly soft and calm, “I know exactly who he is.” Tomoka had to stop screaming in order to hear the girl's explanation. “I wouldn't trust someone like you, one who has the attention span of a slow-witted gnat and the memory of a bird-brained insect to remember, but let me refresh your memory and remind you that he caused a lot of grief for my family a while back. I may not have recognized him immediately, but neither did you.

 

If you're so concerned about being a `good friend' then you should perhaps help your friend to get over a crush that seems hopeless and encourage her to entertain others instead.” Ann's knuckles were turning white from her hard grip on the receiver. How dare Tomoka accuse her of being a bad friend!?!?

 

It was an outrage!!! And she wasn't done yet. “It will be a cold day in hell before Echizen-kun pays attention to anything aside from tennis. I'm not saying that he's a bad person because he's okay in my book, but if I see someone else with the potential to make my friend happy, then I'm going to root for him. THAT is what a good friend is all about. Let me ask you this - did he even bother to give her anything for today?”

 

The answer was obvious and she didn't wait for any of them to reply, continuing her tirade. “No, of course not. Anything that doesn't concern tennis doesn't concern him, so why should he remember to give Sakuno anything, right?”

 

Hearing those words come from someone else gave Sakuno a sick feeling in her stomach. It was easier to be in denial if no one pointed out the obvious.

 

“Echizen-kun is a great person and a great tennis player. It's good for Sakuno to be Echizen-kun's fan, but I think she should look for a different crush. I just don't think that he's the right one for Sakuno.

 

Sakuno should be enjoying her youth right now, like I am. I see nothing wrong with giving her a textmate who clearly appreciates her for what she is. If you can't understand that then I have nothing else to say to you.

 

Sakuno,” Ann's grip on Momo's teddy bear was making it look like Atobe's before Sakuno fixed it, “I'm going to go to bed now. I'll talk to you later and see you on Friday. Ja!”

 

Ann then hung up, leaving the two girls to mull over her words.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Itai - painful, “ouch”

 

Irasshai(mase) - welcome (in shops)

 

Tadaima - I'm home!

 

Sakuramochi - pink rice cake traditionally eaten on Japanese Girls' Day (March 3) which is also known as the Doll Festival or “Hina-matsuri”.