One Nil to You (A Prince of Tennis Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

August 18, 2012

Echizen Family Residence — Ota-ku, Tokyo

Morning

"Good morning." Ryoma groggily greeted his family when he came into the dinning room.

"You're rather surprisingly early today, Ryoma-san, I mean it's a weekend." Nanako commented while pouring some milk into the empty glass in Ryoma's seat in the table. She was indeed surprised that her cousin who oversleeps all the time, even during school days, was actually up in time for breakfast.

"The goodwill games is tomorrow, I gotta practice." Ryoma explained with a big yawn before taking his seat on the table.

"You don't want to lose, right?" Nanako said while pouring him a glass of milk.

"I never lose," he stated firmly.

"I'm really looking forward to the goodwill games this Sunday, boy." Nanjiro, who was seated in the porch, said while reading the newspaper. Though it wasn't the latest local news he was reading, but rather the gravure magazine underneath it.

Ryoma quickly drank his milk after he almost choked on his omelette.

"You're going to the games tomorrow?" he asked with disbelief.

"Your father told me since last week that he's really looking forward to it." Rinko, his mother, told him.

"We'll all come to cheer for you, Ryoma-san." Nanako added.

Ryoma eyed his father with suspicion, as he said, "This isn't your thing. All you care about is reading your mucky magazines all day long in the temple."

Nanjiro had a huge, perverted grin on his face while looking up from the newspaper. "I'm looking forward to seeing that pretty girl who cheered for you in the Kanto Finals, I heard she's gonna be in the game. I can't actually believe that my idiot son prefers older women. Attaboy, just like your mother!"

Rinko glared at him. "Did you say something, sweetheart?"

"N-N-Nothing, Rinko-san, calm down." Nanjiro stuttered. He wouldn't want to get his wife angry in the middle of breakfast since she was always true to her word in punishing him like the time she threw away all his magazines after failing to give their son his bento.

"Juri-san's the captain's cousin, but she's also his sweetheart." Ryoma said dully while eating his toast.

"What?! Cousin?! Girlfriend?!" Nanjiro exclaimed with incredulity, as he threw the newspaper and magazine into the ground and rushed back into the house next to his son. "That grinch captain of yours has that bombshell cousin of his as his ladylove?!"

"Or was it his betrothed?" Ryoma teased flatly.

"Betrothed?! Engaged?! What are we in the Edo Period? I mean, she's his cousin for crying out loud!" Nanjiro went on in the same paranoid state.

"Fuji-senpai said they're like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert," his son added while patting his pet cat Karupin.

"As in from The Young Victoria?" Nanako presumed. "My friends and I saw the movie last week, it was really romantic. Juri-san must be lucky to have a guy like Prince Albert in her life."

Nanjiro was bewildered. "What?"

"Say, Ryoma-san, what's the American Team like?" Nanako asked curiously.

Ryoma shrugged. "Don't know that much, but one thing is that no matter how good they are, I'm still gonna win."

"Dear, have you heard that the American Team's coach is Davis Aldwin-san?" Rinko informed her husband.