Youthful Days (Book 1)

50. Damned

Hearing the splash and the commotion, the match between Oshitari and Fuji were paused. Sensing something was wrong, Oshitari was the first to dash out, followed by Gakuto, Fuji, Momoshiro, Eiji and Ryoma. As soon as they reached the pond, they found Atobe and Ayuna soaked through their clothes, kissing in the naked daylight.

Stopping in horror, they gaped with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

Being the one with the fastest reflex, Eiji immediately covered Ryoma's eyes in an attempt to censor the scandalous scene before them.

"Move your hands, Eiji-senpai!" Ryoma protested, trying to break free. "You're choking me!"

"You can't look at this, ochibi*!"

"I'm not really a kid, you know?"

Cursing unintelligibly under his breath, Oshitari bellowed, "Atobe, what the hell are you doing?"

These voices struck Ayuna like thunder.

Rocking back on her heels, she placed two hands on Atobe's chest and shoved him away. Faced with a row of seniors, she reflexively crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes wide with humiliation.

"This is bad, this is real bad..." Momoshiro muttered to himself. When he covertly snuck a glance at Fuji, he noticed the senior's expressions were dark as the night.

The group stood for several minutes, speechless, their eyes darting in a triangular pathway between Atobe, Ayuna and Fuji, then back around again. They pondered how this situation was going to unfold: would Atobe's misbehavior bring disaster to Hyotei or would the freshman girl's infidelity shame Seigaku forever? Everyone held their breath, waiting for a quarrel to break out.

Atobe was the first to regain his poise. Glowering at his audience, he demanded, "What are you all doing here? I thought there was a match in progress!"

Gakuto stuttered, "W-well, we stopped because there was a splash and it sounded like there was an argument. We had to come and check it out..."

"Get back to court!"

Nobody moved. They collectively shifted their gaze to Fuji, who somehow became their commander. Everyone waited, expecting some type of outburst from Seigaku's unpredictable prodigy.

Yet Fuji remained motionless from beginning to end. There was a stunning coldness to his eyes, one that signaled an apocalyptic storm. Not once did he look at Atobe. Instead, his eyes were fixated on Ayuna, who stood shivering in the blinding midday light.

For a long time, Ayuna kept her head down. The heat then the cold made her weak and dizzy. She wanted to explain herself, but couldn't find the right words to do so without sounding vain and cheap. She was exhausted and she needed Fuji's help. This would be the time for him to wrest her away from Atobe. He would side with her.

Would he? thought Ayuna, and she looked up.

Their eyes met for a transient moment before Fuji broke away.

Turning to Oshitari, he said measuredly, "Let's get back to the game, shall we? The war of the best tennis counter isn't over yet."

Oshitari appeared unnerved with his response. "Right, but shouldn't you take care of—"

"Let's not put the game on hold any longer."

Oshitari balked, unable to read beyond his opponent's uncanny calmness. Before he said another word, Fuji had already turned his back and strode towards the courts. When Oshitari followed his lead, the rest saw this as their cue to evacuate.

Ayuna watched as everyone trailed after Fuji without a single glance in her direction. Whether it was out of disgust or discretion, she had no clue. Despite being the victim, Fuji's unfeeling departure made her feel like a criminal.