Ace (On Hold)

Chapter 5

Finally, after a century – Hakuto

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Ryoma cursed again.

As soon as he did, the mobile inside her short's pocket vibrated and Himeka fish it out, the two phone straps of number '4' and '19' sways as she look at the name flashing across the screen with raised brows, bewildered by the characters displayed before her. "Huh...Speak of the devil"

The young boy froze, golden hazel eyes stared unblinking at her and Himeka had to say that he lived up to his feline characteristic with how he distinctively looked like a shocked cat. Wasting no time – or any moment for Ryoma to recover and attempt a stupid action of trying to decline the call – Himeka accept the call and answer with the brilliance that belong to someone innocent and doting, "Moshi, moshi? Nii-san! What a surprise! We were just talking about you!"

Glancing at her childhood friend, she watched as he pursed his lip; and were his hands trembling?

"Hm?" Himeka inclined her head at the voice that spilled out quietly from the speaker, a smile playing on her lip. The members of the tennis club have to gapes – some not – at how quickly her tune changes. This was certainly a drastic turn of personality. "Hai, hai, uh huh, hai. He's here"

Ryoma frantically shakes his head, the side of his hands pressing against each other in a symbol of 'X' as he starts to back away but Himeka paid no heed to him and snag the hem of his shirt tightly with her free hand and continue conversing, her lip widened slightly but far too much for the young boy's liking and sanity. "Yes, ok" Himeka pulled the phone away and offer it to Ryoma who swallowed thickly at the sight of it so close to him, "He want to talk with you"

Golden hazel eyes stared at the phone with lost for a long while, hoping that the caller would be impatient and hang up once he realize that Ryoma has no intention to talk with him right now – maybe later but certainly not now – but the person on the other side didn't do as he wants and patiently wait for him with no sign of ending the call despite the silence from both sides.

(Now this was certainly a sight to behold for Syusuke. He wondered who was this brother of his new classmate that could instill such intense fear in his cute little kouhai.)

Himeka was amused; already notice a sweat trickling down the other's jaw from the intensity of the situation that only became worse for him as he stalls the time.

"You know, speaking to him later is no different to doing it now, right?" The girl pointed out with a tilt of her head and painful truth. Ryoma shot her a dark look.

"Oi! Ryoma! What are you doing? Just take the phone! Don't be a baby!" Shouted out from the group of audiences not far away from the two, Momoshiro mocks the boy with glee.

Hearing such taunts, Ryoma's head snapped to the older boy and scowled fiercely at him but said nothing back, he didn't want to fight. Besides, he has a far bigger problem than being mocked by his teammate right now.

As if wanting to pressure down on him further, slipped out from the speaker quietly but audible to him was low chuckles.

Ryoma shuddered.

(He swears his soul flies out from his body briefly just now.)

Huffing at his cowardice – but then it was to be expected, considering who was on the call on the other side – Himeka swiftly grabbed his hand and stuffed the phone into it. Ryoma could only gape in horror at the device in his palm and her action before she shamelessly arranged his hand to his ear during his shock and chirped cheerfully "There!"