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

Part 28

"I get it." Ryumi nods to her little brother. "Monkey King suits him." she agrees before stuffing her mouth with fried tofu.

They are discussing the upcoming regional match against Hyotei. Tezuka and Oishi went to the drawings at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku a few days ago and witnessed how they got paired against Atobe's team.

"I don't think I'm going to get to play singles one against him thought." Ryoma sighs in dismay, having thought it fun to play him, if only just to annoy him.

"Mh. I think Tezuka will want to take that one himself." Ryumi muses before a loud 'Ahem!' sounds across the table.

Their dad has been staring them down for the past ten minutes now, tennis magazine opened prominently in front of him.

"You want something, oyaji?" Ryumi wonders, brow raised, making Nanjiro's twitch in annoyance.

"W-want something?!" he exclaims flustered. "When are we going to address the elephant in the room?!" he asks, eying her.

Ryumi pauses, chopsticks hovering over her food before picking up another piece and stuffing it in her mouth and turning pack to Ryoma. "Let's take a break and see a movie today." she suggests, making the steam flow from her dad's ears.

"Ryumi... Please talk to your father." her mother cuts in, looking amused and worried at the same time, while Nanako chuckles.

Ryumi sighs. "Alright."

"Jeesh." Nanjiro breathes before addressing his daughter. "You're coming with me this afternoon. Movies are only for kids who do as their parents say." he tells her grumpily, making her pout.

.........

After lunch she follows her dad to the shrine in silence, dreading the conversation to come. She really doesn't know what to expect.

Arriving there, she makes sure her rabbits are provided for before turning to her dad, finding him standing by the court, his old wooden racket in hand, resting on his shoulder casually.

"Yosh! Let's see what you can do. If you go around my back practicing, I hope you have something to show for it!" he challenges.

Ryumi looks at him uncertainly before grabbing the racket Ryoma keeps laying around. "Alright... Just don't break a hip old man." she sighs, making him chuckle.

She takes her place before him, looking confident, but on the inside feeling nervous. Her dad can me a harsh critic. If she plays a half-assed game against him, he will hand it to her for sure.

Nanjirou smiles smugly as he serves, immediately turning up the dial to position 'no mercy'. He won't go easy on her just because she is his daughter after all. There is no special treatment for his kids.

"What's the matter? Can't keep up?" he ask, trying to frustrate her as he aces another shot.

Ryumi growls, readying herself for the next one. "I'm not done yet." she huffs, before reaching the shot at last and returning it. Her dad counters it easily and before they know it they are starting on a long rally.

Glancing at Ryumi's feet, Nanjiro hums in recognition. "It's like that is it? Heh, you take after your old man!"

"For now!" she replies, returning another shot.

Her dad grins. "That's fine then, developing new skills. But one skill hasn't left your fingers it seems; you still control that ball like it's on remote control. What are you playing at?" he snickers, pushing harder as he seems to enjoy the challenge.

"Crud." Ryumi sighs as he breaks her momentum and has the ball swerving past her.

She glares at the yellow ball rolling away from her happily for a moment before turning back to her dad who grins and gives her the peace sign. "Gotta work harder to get it past me kiddo!" he gloats, making her roll her eyes.

He then relaxes his stance, swinging his racket over his shoulder. "Promise me you are going to take it easy alright?" he urges seriously before smiling lazily when she nods.

"Get out of here." he motions with his head towards the entrance, giving her permission to spend the rest of the day however she wants.

Excitedly she rushes off towards home, ready to drag Ryoma to the movies. Only when getting there she discovers that Momoshiro has snatched him away already.

"Noooo!" she exclaims dramatically, falling to her knees.

"What are you doing?" a voice questions from behind making Ryumi look back, her mouth still half agape.

"Oh, hi mom." she smiles, receiving one in return.

She sets the groceries down on the counter and Ryumi jumps up to help her put it away. "Did everything go well with your father?" her mom question, receiving a nod.

"That's good. I was confident it would." she smiles brightly before yanking a packet of cookies out of Ryumi's hands that she was already starting to open.

Ryumi pouts before smiling. "You always think positively mom."

Rinko nods in reply. "Of course. Someone has to have your back at all times, even if her kids and husband do silly things at times. That's what mothers do." she muses before turning to her little girl.

"Ryumi, let's go downtown today, just you and me. Let's shop and eat some cake after." she suggests excitedly. "It's been so long."

Ryumi looks at her surprised before returning her enthusiasm. "Okay, lets eat! You're the best!" she exclaims pulling her mom in a hug, making her laugh in delight as she returns the gesture.

"I'm going to get my purse." Ryumi states, rushing upstairs.

Rinko watches her go with a happy sigh. The girl has grown so much since coming into her life, but they have always gotten along. She's happy they do.

Despite not being Ryumi's birth mother and having no intention to replace her if Ryumi doesn't want her to, she feels all the motherly love she carries for Ryoma as well.

Rinko picks up the tennis magazine, smiling at the picture of her playing a doubles match with one of Ryoma's teammates. She lift a delicate brow as she looks over the boy looking back at Ryumi with an exited look in his eyes and something else... "Oh?"