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

Part 37

"Ryumi, Ryoma's home and you have visitors." Nanako announces gently so as not to disturb her niece too much. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I just woke up Nanako. You can let them in." Ryumi answers hoarsely. She rubs her throat, wincing in discomfort.

"I'll make you some tea with honey to ease your throat. Take it easy okay?" she urges, making Ryumi nod before Nanako is replaced by her little brother, Momo, Eiji, Oishi and Fuji. She can't help but smile a little at how crowded her room has become all of a sudden.

"I don't see any serious faces, so it went well I'm guessing." she speaks up before breaking into a fit of coughs. Oh how she hates being sick.

"Don't talk too much Nee-san." Ryoma scolds worriedly, before perking up a brow as Eiji steps past him, picking up a discarded pillow from the floor and helping his sister sit up more straight.

"It wasn't easy, but we made it through to the next round." Oishi confirms when Ryumi has settled down.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to see it." Ryumi apologizes.

"Ne, don't worry about it Ryumi-chan. We knew you were cheering us on anyway." Eiji consoles. Fuji nods in agreement.

Meanwhile, Momo looks over the sickly looking girl, seeing a sheen of feverish sweat covering her, bags under her eyes and a nose as red as a drunkards'. "You look awful senpai. This isn't how girls should be looking, not at all." he tsks, shaking his head, making Ryumi snort and Oishi reprimand him for his tactlessness.

Fuji steps up, setting down a small bag on her desk. "There is some menthol rub in here that my sister swears to, along with some other stuff to make you more comfortable." he offers, making her smile tiredly in thanks before turning her watery eyes up towards Eiji who is still sitting next to her head.

He's wringing out a cloth in the bowl of water on her bedside table before placing it gingerly on her forehead, instantly cooling it down. She sighs in contentment as he then proceeds to fan her heated face with a magazine. That is really nice.

"I'll open the window for some fresh air. It's stuffy in here." Oishi notes before doing just that.

"Better?" Eiji asks, making her nod slowly with a hum as her eyes start to droop again.

Momo nudges Ryoma. "Oi, your sister turned our senpais into her personal nurses. How does she do it?"

Ryoma looks on a little disturbed. "It's scary." he mutters.

"Here's tea." Nanako sings as she steps into the room with a tray before pausing at the scene in from of her, giggling. "Ne, you boys are taking such good care of Ryumi. How lucky she must feel."

Ryumi can only hum in agreement, feeling drained.

"Better let her rest now. Thank you for visiting." Nanako smiles, gently telling them it's time to go.

"Take care Ryumi-chan." Oishi states, leaving the room first after Nanako.

"Alright, kick some germ butt senpai!" Momo calls, stepping out as well.

Fuji turns to the girl. "Get well soon Ryumi-chan." he offers before also taking his leave, now leaving only Eiji and Ryoma in the room.

"Please get better soon Ryumi-chan. Class is boring if you're not there." Eiji tells her quietly, seeing her nod off. Rising to his feet, he pauses when he feels something holding him back, seeing Ryumi has curled her fist around the bottom of his shirt.

He gently pries himself free before shoving the magazine in Ryoma's hands, pushing the startled boy closer to his sister and forcing his arms up and down a few times. "Keep on fanning o-chibi!" he urges, knowing that it helps cool the girl off.

"I'm fanning, I'm fanning!" Ryoma whines in complaint, watching his senpai dart out of the room. He turns back to look down at his now slumbering sister. "People can't help but care for you, can they?"

After making sure she is resting peacefully, Ryoma joins his cousin downstairs. He absentmindedly pets Karupin who has followed him down, deep in thought.

"What's on your mind Ryoma-kun?" Nanako asks after a moment, sensing his pondering.

"Ah, well... I was wondering... Nanako-san, do you think Ryumi-nee is in love?" he finally asks, surprising her. It's generally known that Ryoma is not very observing when it comes to people's deepest feelings.

"I'm not sure. She doesn't let things like that show easily." Nanako replies. "I can tell though, someone is definitely in love with her!" she continues excitedly, making Ryoma straighten.

"Who?" he wonders defensively making Nanako chuckle. There is the oblivious Ryoma she knows so well.

"Nanako!" he urges when she doesn't answer.

Nanako shakes her head. "If you can't tell, than I'm not sure you deserve to know." she teases, not caving in when he glares at her.

"Don't worry Ryoma-kun. He'll be good for her. A girl can tell." she points out with a wink before wagging her finger at him warningly. "And don't you meddle in her happiness. You can be as bad as uncle sometimes."

Ryoma can only grumble in reply as he ponders over his cousin's words. He'll be keeping a lookout for the signs he obviously missed and his cousin can see as clear as day.