Youthful Days (Book 1)

25. King Atobe

Ayuna turned around at the sound of a stranger's voice.

Behind her, there were three guys on the bleachers. The one who spoke up was standing and had by this point picked up the tennis ball. He had messily clipped, dark blue hair and rimless glasses. Adjacent to him sat a guy with charcoal grey hair, who appeared to be the leader. He had remarkably handsome European features and a poise that radiated absolute confidence. The most striking aspect of his appearance was a small mole at the outer corner of his left eye. Immediately behind him stood an expressionless, hulking man, seemingly ready to be called to action at any minute.

"Oshitari," the leader said, "looks like we can cancel tomorrow's practice. Seigaku is clearly taking it easy."

This got Momoshiro fired up. "Look, if you wanted to spy on me, you could just say so."

Oshitari adjusted his glasses and sneered condescendingly, "You give yourself too much credit. Why would we waste precious time on someone who's not competing? Not to mention, anyone from our school can beat you without training. We won't ever need to resort to tactics as lowly as spying."

Momoshiro slammed his racket against the ground. "Don't get so cocky! We'll see what you can do on court—"

"No, thank you. For your sake, Momoshiro, I'd rather not embarrass you in public."

Seeing their quarrel escalate, Ayuna figured it would be best to leave before Momoshiro ran into serious trouble.

The leader, noticing the silent girl edging towards the center of the court, momentarily forgot about their bickering. She had immaculate porcelain skin and jet-black hair. Contrasting her neatly pressed uniform were her striking hazel eyes that captured a prism of colors. Despite her young age, she had a refined beauty that mesmerized whoever glanced her way.

"Hey, you, with the rainbow eyes," he called out. Though commanding, his voice was smooth as velvet. "Come over here."

"Are you talking to me?" Ayuna pointed at herself.

"Of course. Who else?"

Ayuna approached him with caution. The charcoal-haired leader sat on the second row of the bleachers and stared down at her. "You have a pretty face," he said, crossing one leg over another as he openly appraised her up and down. "What's your name?"

"Hanamachi Ayuna."

"That's very poetic."

"Thanks," she replied warily. His penetrating gaze made her skin crawl.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No." Ayuna motioned at his uniform, "Besides the fact that you're from Hyotei Academy."

Her answer seemed to amuse him. He laughed once through his nose. "I guess not all the Seigaku commoners are idiots, after all."

Ayuna fought to suppress a frown. His comment perplexed her: Seigaku was one of Tokyo's top private schools that made selective admissions based on academic achievements. Yet, this stranger just made students from her school sound like scums of the earth.

Momoshiro, however, was piqued by his snide remark. Tearing himself out of the argument with Oshitari, he snapped, "Hey, Atobe, why don't you pick on somebody your own age?"

Atobe ignored Momoshiro. His eyes were locked onto Ayuna. "I'm Atobe Keigo. Remember it well, because I'll be leading Hyotei's defeat of Seigaku."

"So you're Atobe Keigo..." Ayuna muttered to herself, recalling her brief conversation with captain Tezuka. "You're Hyotei's team captain and you're assigned to play against our captain."