Broken Strings (Prince of Tennis/ slow burn love story)

Part 17

"Have fun!" Ryumi calls without looking up from her magazine as Ryoma passes her, their dad dragging him after him out of the house unceremoniously.

"Ryumi-chan! Don't stay inside all day." Nanako scolds. "Come on. Go do something fun on your day off!" she urges, working the teenage girl out of the house.

Before Ryumi realizes it, she stands on the curb, blinking in shock. She sighs in dismay. "I don't even know what to do." After a moment she decides to just saunter around for a while.

.........

"100...120...125.... Ugh! I don't even have enough for a sunday on me." Ryumi moans in dismay. "Nanako could have at least let me bring my purse."

"Hey, Echizen-san!" a voice calls suddenly, making her look over to see Oishi and Tezuka across the street. She waves as they come over.

"Hey, what are you both doing here?" she asks when they reach her.

"We just came from the library, doing some research." Oishi tells her with a smile.

She chuckles. "Can't even sit still on your day off. Going to play now?" she wonders, seeing they both carry their tennis bags.

Tezuka nods. "Maybe you could join us. There is something I want to show you." he tells Ryumi, making her blink in surprise. Oishi too looks surprised, so he too doesn't know what Tezuka has in mind.

"Eh...Sure." Ryumi agrees, curious.

They make their way to a small sports complex where there is only one court. After setting up the equipment the boys stand across from each other and start to rally.

Ryumi sits on the bench, still not quite understanding what it is that Tezuka wants to show her, but she doesn't mind watching them play. They are both really good players and can tell they will have a future in tennis if they want to.

Suddenly Oishi starts to smile brightly. "I get it now!" he calls, making Ryumi look between the two confused. Something is happening, something she should pay attention to....

Her trained eye suddenly focuses on something, something she has seen before some time ago, something she has seen her father do....

Her eyes widen as she watches the ball return to Tezuka with each hit. No matter how Oishi returns it, it just seems to go straight back to him like it and Tezuka are connected together with a string or maybe like it's sucked in a whirlpool each time. Tezuka hardly even moves his feet. There is only a small circle forming around his feet as he moves one of them back and forth, but that is it.

"I see it now..." Ryumi breathes her entire focus on Tezuka, scanning his movements, calculating, planning. That's her path right there. If she can master that, she won't have to worry about her knee as much.

She glances at her limb. It hasn't been as painful lately and she has been able to stand for longer periods of time and walk more properly. She hasn't tried to run or anything yet because she knows everyone would be right on top of her.

Looking back up, her heart feeling lighter, she knows it's time. Her patience has worked off and if she plays this right, who knows where she'll be in a year from now. Her heart flutters at the thought of picking up a racket again.

After having a proper look from all the angles she could get and learning as much as she can about the famed Tezuka Zone, the boys pack up their things.

"Tezuka-kun..." Ryumi starts, standing beside him as he puts away his rackets. He straightens looking down at her with his usual stoic face. Ryumi suddenly bows before him. "Thank you! Thank you for showing me." she tells him earnestly.

He nods in understanding. "Don't overdo it." he warns her.

"I won't." she promises. "I'm not going to be careless with this opportunity."

He nods again, satisfied. He isn't usually one who cares much for letting anyone copy of him, but this he can let slide. He's sure that once she's ready, she'll find her own style again.

"Is it going to work out?" Oishi asks, still a bit worried.

Ryumi nods. "It will, I will make it work out." she says determinately. "I will have to work hard on it, because it's not my usual style, but I can do it."

"Alright." Oishi smiles, glad to see the spark of hope that has alighted in the girl. "Ah, it's getting late. We should go home now." he suggests before they make their way out of the complex.

"Tezuka-kun, Oishi-kun. Thanks again. I appreciate it. I'll see you both tomorrow at school." Ryumi says before parting from the two.

Oishi looks back at Tezuka as they make their way towards the bus. "That was really nice of you. It's good to see her fire burning."

"Yes." Tezuka agrees, glad that he could do something to help her start off with. He wonders how it will work out, but he feels it will be all right.

.........

"I'm home!" Ryumi calls excitedly.

"Welcome home sweetheart!" her mom calls from the kitchen where she is washing the vegetables for dinner.

"Can I help?" Ryumi asks, catching her mom by surprise.

"Sure." she says, watching the girl set to work. "You look to be in a good mood. Did you have a nice day?"

Ryumi nods, a smile still plastered on her face. She can't wait to get started. Usually she would have turned to her dad and begged him to teach her that move which he knows very well, but she feels like she shouldn't.

She wants to surprise him. She will work hard before showing him what she has learned. That way he won't have to worry.

When she realized what Tezuka was showing her, she felt a bit silly for not remembering that she could perhaps work to make her dad's Samurai Zone her own, but luckily Tezuka reminded her that she could play without having to stress her knee too much.

She sighs happily. She's glad to have found such good friends. She doesn't regret coming to Japan at all. She will have to call Ryoga later tonight. He will be so happy.