Tumble Into Love

Chapter Two

“Atobe?” Oshitari asked as he watched the girls take off. “Are you alright?”  Atobe still hadn’t moved since he had been slapped, and now the tensai was worried.

Jiroh, now wide awake from all the commotion, slowly approached his captain.  “A...Atobe?” he said, slowly reaching out and placing his hand on his captain’s shoulder.

“I’m fine.”  He suddenly straightened up and shrugged his teammate’s hand off. He then turned towards the team, a cocky smile on his face. “I need to know who she is, this .”

“WHAT?!” his teammates sputtered in surprise.

“What for? She totally isn’t interested, so why bother?” Shishido shook his head and adjusted his cap. “You’re totally insane, she wasn’t interested at all,” he mumbled as he walked past him into the club room.

“I have to agree with Shishido. I don’t think it’s worth it.” Oshitari sighed as he made his way into the locker room. “She did have nice legs though,” he added with a sly smile.

Atobe shot him a look. “No, you don’t! This one’s mine. She has something… I’m not sure what, but there was something about her that the others don’t have.”

“Yeah, a stuttering problem,” Hiyoshi muttered as he walked past the others. Shishido laughed out loud while his doubles partner shrugged.

“I thought she was cute Atobe-senpai.” Ohtori smiled turning to Atobe. “If you’re really that interested I’d say give it another go. But, senpai,” he added with a small smile, “I’d be prepared for another smack in the face.”

Atobe ignored the comments as he proudly strutted into the locker room. Hmp, he didn’t care what they thought!  He had too much on his mind to even listen anymore. This girl had his brain churning and he needed to know more. What was it about her? Why did he have a strange feeling about her? Why had he felt sad when he was rejected? Rejected?! Who would reject him? And why?! He was Atobe, A-T-O-B-E.

He spent that evening pondering over how she hadn’t known who he was, and more importantly, why she had rejected him. Reject him? It was just too frustrating. He couldn’t understand it. He was rich, attractive, and the best at everything he did – everything! What wasn’t there to love?  Girls fell all over him at school, at games, even when he went for a bloody walk.  He received countless confessions and phone numbers each day.  Why didn’t she even blink an eye? What made this girl so special? And why was it bothering him so much?

He would figure it out, but first he had to find her. If she was looking around the locker rooms and she wasn’t there for them, she must have been there for the other team. ‘Yes’, he thought, ‘She must have been looking for the other team’. A smile spread across his face. He would be paying a visit to Rikkai Dai this week.

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Sanada gave a small smile when he saw approaching. Niou caught the slight change in his friend’s face and turned to see the only person he knew could bring it out. ‘But what’s this?’ he thought to himself with a sly smile, ‘ ’s face is all red and they all seem to be a little out of breath…What fun – or trouble –  were they having!?’

“You look flustered, were we perhaps doing something we shouldn’t have been?” Niou teased the girls. His eyes flashed as he saw the reaction in ’s face. 

“N.. No, Niou-san, we just got lost and then I got nervous we’d miss you guys and… And then…” She rubbed her arms and shook her head as she stumbled over her words, looking for something to say.

“We’re fine, pervert,” Hitomi snapped. “We just got a little lost. I mean, come on, this place is huge.”

“Too big if you ask me,” Rin added as she brushed back her hair with one elegant flick of her wrist. Both Hitomi and Rin were eyeing Niou in a challenging way; they had been thinking up things to say in case the trickster began badgering them.

“Uh huh,” Niou mumbled, but he could see it on ’s face. Something had happened and she had been upset. Sanada noticed it too and he approached her, a concerned look on his face.

“Are you alright?” He put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, flashing her brightest smile. 

“Everything’s fine, Sanada, really. We just got lost, I… I’m ok really.” He nodded but wasn’t really convinced. He’d bring it up again at home. “She’s hiding something, but what? And why?”  he thought to himself.

“Well looks like you guys are about to head home, and since it’s about to rain anyway we’d better go catch our train. We’ll make sure gets home ok.” Hitomi smiled as she grabbed her each of her friend’s hands. She desperately wanted to get out of there before Sanada pushed the issue. She could tell he knew was hiding something from him and everyone knew she was a poor liar.

“What?! Take the train? Why don’t you three just come on the bus with us? It’s not a problem, right?” Niou asked, turning towards Sanada. Hitomi glared daggers at him but he kept the fake look of concern on his face.

“No, it’s not a problem at all.  In fact I’d prefer it,”  Sanada spoke, reaching out for ’s hand. She took it and smiled, letting him lead her to the bus.

“Oh good…” Hitomi sighed sarcastically, squeezing Rin’s hand and walking towards the bus. “She better keep her mouth shut,” Hitomi hissed to Rin, who nodded.  Both girls knew they’d never hear the end of it from Sanada.

The ride back was nerve racking for the three girls.  was paranoid that Sanada would see through her lies and her friends were scared to death that would cave and spill about their encounter. The last thing they all needed was for Sanada to go mental and kill the idiot rich boy.  But made them proud and never said a word. She just sat looking out the window while Sanada pretended to read.  She could see his reflection in the window as he stole looks at her now and then. 

‘He’s really worried about me. Did I really look that upset? Of course I did, I was upset…I still am.’ She watched some water droplets dance across the window pane.  It had begun to rain shortly after they left. 

She absently traced some of the dotted paths left by the droplets. ‘Ore-sama has decided…You will go out with me.’ The words of the Hyoutei team captain repeated themselves in her head.  Why her?  Atobe, just who was he? And why did he address her with such arrogance… And confidence? He didn’t even know her, and he was being so forward. She sighed, slouching in her seat. Today had turned out much differently then she had planned. 

When they reached their school the boys piled out of the bus and either began to walk home or hopped into the cars of their waiting parents.  After much pestering, Hitomi finally agreed to let Niou walk her and Rin home. After all, he had a very large umbrella and they didn’t have one at all. Before leaving both girls gave a warning look and she just gulped and turned away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then for a study session?” Renji asked Sanada, as the taller boy opened his large red umbrella.

“Hai,” Sanada said softly, his mind elsewhere. 

“Don’t worry, Renji-kun, I’ll remind him,” said with a small smile as she moved closer to Sanada to avoid the rain drops. 

“You don’t have to, , I have it in my schedule,” Sanada added quietly. “Come on, we should head home before the rain gets worse.”

After saying their goodbyes to the remainder of his teammates, and Sanada began their walk home.  Renji smiled slightly as he watched Sanada and walk off.  It had taken Sanada 8 months before he finally felt comfortable enough to call her ‘ ’. It had been “ -chan” this and “ -chan” that until had just started ignoring him. It was frustrating for the proud Sanada Genichirou, but finally he accepted defeat and began calling her , much to her delight. But Sanada was very traditional in some ways, and respected that by calling him Genichirou only when the two were alone or at home. 

‘I wonder if he’s told her yet’, Renji thought to himself as he walked to his mother’s car.

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Sanada sighed to himself. Normally he loved the rain. When it rained it meant they shared an umbrella, and that meant it was acceptable for him to be walking so close to her. But today was different, she was hiding something and that took all the joy out of their time together.  He had always thought they were close, and the fact of the matter was that they were close. They shared many things together and spent more time with each other then they did with their own friends.  It was bothering him deeply, that the person he loved so very much could be keeping secrets from him. He kept stealing glances at her and noticed she seemed to be lost in her own world. Normally she would window shop as they walked together, making him stop to glance at some item or other that caught her eye before she began rambling about something else entirely. But not today, today she just kept walking with her head down, her eyes showing that she was in deep thought.

For the first few blocks he tried to think of other things like upcoming games or the test he was going to study for with Renji the following day, but as they neared home Sanada grew impatient.

“Are you going to tell me what happened today?” he asked as he stopped walking and reached out with his right arm, blocking her path.  stopped and looked at him, her mind racing. ‘Oh no, what do I say?’

“Nothing, I already told you.  W… We just got lost. I mean, that place is so big and everything…” She looked down. She hated lying but…“Why do you keep asking me Genichirou? You don’t trust me?” she spoke softly. She hated saying it, but she knew it would bring an end to the conversation.

Indeed, her last sentence had stabbed at his heart. ‘Of course I trust you, but you lying to me.’  He sighed, “Yes, of course I do. I’m sorry, you just seem upset and it worries me.”  He turned and began walking, blushing a bit as he felt her snake her arm around his. She was leaning against him, trying to avoid the rain on her left side, not even realizing how her action was making him shiver. 

THUMP

‘Stop it’, he scolded himself mentally. This was going to be a long walk home.

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“That was close” Rin sighed as she and Hitomi reached Hitomi’s home.

“I know, but I have faith in her. I don’t think she’ll tell,” Hitomi said softly, taking off her now-soaked shoes. “Tell me again why we let him walk us home?  Ugh, that creep. We totally had to hold onto his arms so we could be under the umbrella. He must have felt like such a pimp strutting down the street with us on each arm!”

“So you fell for that?” Rin laughed as she plopped down on Hitomi’s couch.

“Fell for what?” Hitomi asked, looking puzzled. Rin snickered.

“You’re not serious are you? That umbrella was huge!  I just walked next to him, I was fine. See, dry as a bone – well, except for my feet.  But he totally scammed you, hahaha!” Rin broke out laughing while Hitomi’s face went white.

“That…That jerk!!!! Oooh!!!!!! I’m gonna get him back SO bad!” Hitomi growled. “Niou is going to pay!”

“Oh please, it wasn’t that bad. You two at least had a decent conversation on the walk back. He’s not that bad is he?” Rin asked as she sat up from her laughing fit. 

“I mean, he’s cute right? And when he asked you out a few months back you were really excited," she paused as her eyes lit up, “so what did happen on the date to make you hate him so much?” Rin cooed, her lips curled up in a cat like smile. Hitomi’s face turned bright red.

“If I tell you, you have to promise never EVER to tell anyone, but…

+  +  +  +  +  +

When they reached home sighed with relief. ‘Thank goodness that’s over!’ She stepped into the doorway and leaned against the wall taking off one wet shoe, but as she leaned to get the other she slipped and fell forward. Sanada reached out and caught her by the wrist pulling her back.  She managed to turn as he pulled and landed with her chest right against his, while slamming his body against the door shutting it. They stayed like that for a moment, him against the door, while she was pressed up against him, her face on his chest. After a few seconds she pulled back embarrassed.

“Oops!!! I’m so sorry, my shoes are wet and I slipped,” she giggled as she pulled away, not noticing that his face was bright red.

“It’s fine,” Sanada mumbled as he quickly rushed passed her into his own room. ‘That was too close. She was way too close,’ he thought as he moved towards his bedroom. Her entire body had been pressed up against him. He stood in his room staring at himself in his mirror.

‘You need to stop this,’ he said to his reflection. ‘It’s not right, she’s like a sister, nothing more.’ But as the words processed in his mind his body couldn’t help but grow angry and he realized both hands had turned into painful fists at his side.

“I wonder why he went off so fast?”  said softly to herself. With a shrug she turned and went into her room. She sighed and undressed, slipping on her pjs she turned and looked at herself in the mirror. “Ore-sama has decided…You will go out with me.” The words from that afternoon ran through her mind again.  Somehow, hearing those words made her feel different. 

No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Even the boy she used to somewhat “date” back in middle school never said anything like that too her, but again all they ever did was sit around after school and do homework or watch a movie. Until he kissed her, that is. She had been so nervous she had just gone along with it, unsure of what to really do. But the next time they hung out she had been too scared to even sit next to him. The same happened the next time and the time after that. Soon, they stopped hanging out altogether.  She sighed as she remembered the past and flopped down on her bed staring at her star-covered ceiling. 

‘What was this feeling?’ she thought to herself, ‘Pretty?’ Yes, she felt pretty, perhaps for the first time. She smiled as she realized this and sat up.  She looked at herself in her mirror again and couldn’t help but giggle. Yes, even though he had scared her a bit she couldn’t help but feel somewhat flattered. With a laugh she flipped back her hair, like Rin often did. 

Yes, today had been an odd day indeed. 

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Atobe had done his homework. Within 4 days after their fateful meeting he had found out all he needed to know about the mysterious .  Oshitari had assured Atobe what he was doing bordered on stalking, but he also knew Atobe wouldn’t let go until he knew more about this girl who apparently never had heard of him. He knew Atobe well, and the fact that a girl had refused him, let alone slapped him was just killing the great Ore-sama. 

After some “research” he got the basics: Her family was dead except for her father’s parents and for some reason she didn’t live with them but with Sanada’s family. She was a first year college student and she worked part-time at a book store a few nights a week. Good enough, but not everything he needed. Not enough at all.

He stopped by her campus after practice one afternoon and when he asked about her he got lots of interesting comments about the girl, the most common ones being “naive, stupid, slow, easy to manipulate”. Apparently many students had talked her into helping them with activities or even conning her into doing their homework. Atobe almost felt bad for the girl, she must be dumb if even her own classmates were saying this about her… And it also showed she didn’t have many friends, or at least many real friends.  But in the end it sounded easy enough, he would just find a way to talk her into going out with him. If what he heard was true it should be pretty simple. 

“Now for the fun part,” he said with a sly smile.

With his newly-gathered information the King of Hyoutei had his limo drive him to Rikkai Dai the following day. From what he heard she spent her Wednesdays at the high school watching the team practice and doing homework. As Atobe walked towards the courts he enjoyed hearing a few comments from the few girls he passed on the way. Now, if he could just find her before Sanada spotted him…

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and Hitomi were sitting on the bleachers watching the boys practice.  ’s classes at the university had ended at 2 so she had come over to the Rikkai Dai high school campus.  loved watching the boys practice, because she was able to see them at their best – when they didn’t care about school, girls or papers. They were training, but they were also having fun and even joking around. Plus she was able to see Sanada in a different atmosphere from home, when he would usually be telling her to study or helping her with a project.

“Done!  Finally!  I beat you Honors Algebra!” Hitomi smiled triumphantly. With a grin she closed her math book and turned to . “You wanna get a drink from the machine?”  didn’t answer; her eyes were locked onto Sanada. She watched him as he instructed his teammates on an upcoming game. ‘He’s such a good leader,’ she thought with a sigh. ‘If only I was that confident, for at least once in my life.’

Hitomi smirked and was just about to comment on the staring when she happened to look past .

“OH.  MY.  GOD,” she said, her eyes widening.  looked at Hitomi.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. She turned and followed her friend’s line of sight.

Atobe Keigo. The rich guy. That jerk from last weekend was here. And not just here, he was walking towards them. And he was smiling, that same snobby I’m-better-then-you smile. 

“Oh no!  He’s gonna tell Sanada I just know it!” Hitomi squeaked.  But before she had time to think more about the situation, Hitomi was aware that had leapt to her feet and was quickly walking towards him.

“ , where are you going?!” Hitomi hissed as panic began setting in. She turned to look at the courts, noticing the guys were still talking. With a tiny peep she moved off the bleachers and caught up to her friend. Reaching out and she grabbed ’s arm stopping her in her tracks.

“Please Hitomi, keep the guys busy.  Don’t let them see him, I… I’ll take care of this!”  didn’t know how, but she would take care of it. After all, he had to be here because of what she had done. Her eyes pleaded with Hitomi, who finally let go and shook her head.

“Keep them busy?! How? With what?!” She looked at desperately.

“I don’t know, but you’ll think of a way, I trust you,” said as she turned and continued towards her target, now at a run. 

Hitomi shook her head, her mind raced. She turned to the courts. ‘Good thing they haven’t noticed the new comer yet.’ Sanada was still talking to the guys and showing them a few things. She decided the best plan was to go over there, and distract them… Somehow.

 “Think Hitomi, think!” she muttered to herself

Atobe smiled as he saw the girl running towards him.  ‘Maybe she has come to her senses?’ He stopped walking and ran his hand through his hair, giving her his sexiest smile.  “Of course she has”, he thought confidently.

“So, I see you finally realized who Ore-sam….” He was cut off as she grabbed his arm and began pulling him away with her quickly. 

‘Well, this is sudden,’ he thought to himself with a smile  ‘Guess she wants some alone time right off the bat.’ He grinned, allowing her to tug him around the side of the building.

Finally had him around the corner of the building, out of view of the courts. She let go of him, leaning over to catch her breath. All the thoughts she had the week before about feeling pretty and flattered had disappeared. She gripped her knees with her hands, feeling her body shaking.  She was terrified. 

“So it seems you want some time alone already, Arn?” 

Her eyes widened at the voice. She quickly stood up to see him moving towards her. Before she could speak he had her pinned against the wall, one wrist in each hand.  He smiled at her and moved in for a kiss when she suddenly snapped out of her stupor. 

“No!” she cried as she freed one hand, pushing him back. “You have to leave! Now!” she snapped in an angry voice she didn’t even know she had.  Sure, was a nice, somewhat dim, mostly quiet girl… But she did have a small temper that only few had ever seen.  And right now it was threatening to come out in a bad way. Her mind was racing. He had come here?! He had searched for her?! How? What for?! Was it because she hit him? Was he going to tell?!?

Atobe raised an eyebrow. He was about to yell at her when a light bulb flashed inside his brain. This was perfect. This was absolutely perfect. His plan was ready and she had already unknowingly set it up. Sure it wasn’t exactly how he had wanted to run through it, but this would work fine.  Giving her his sexiest smile and stance, arms crossed head slightly tilted, he stared her down.

“Arn?  You’re telling me what to do?” He asked, his voice smooth and snake-like.  cupped her hands over her mouth, suddenly realizing her tone of voice towards him and actions.  She could feel panic setting in. She thought for a moment and then decided to go with what seemed like the best excuse.

“N… No, I was just… Umm.  S… Sanada won’t like that you’re here ‘cause you’re from a different school.  But umm, about the other day I… I was, well, I mean…” She struggled for an excuse.

“Look,“ Atobe snapped, interrupting the girl.  “You’ve been nothing but rude to me since I’ve met you. First you sneak into my team’s clubroom, my team’s private clubroom. Then you smack me across the face after I compliment you, and now you drag me away roughly when I’ve simply come to speak to my friend Sanada.”  He paused, pretending to be upset and watching her take it all in.  “Perfect” he thought as he took a step closer to her.

“I see two ways we could go about doing this. I could tell Sanada about how rude you’ve been to me.. Hmm wouldn’t that just bring shame to his household name. I can just see the look of disappointment on his face when he hears about this…”  he continued, the calm, collected tone never leaving his voice. As he spoke he could see the terror in her eyes.  “Man she really is easy to work,”  he thought with a smile. “Or you could just do me one simple tiny favor and I’ll forget all about this.” 

“What…What kind of favor?” she asked in a small voice, half dreading his reply.

“Go out with me of course. Be my girlfriend, and all will be forgiven. No one has to hear about your rude behavior, now do they? Simple isn’t it?”  he cooed as he ran his fingers back through his hair.

Her eyes widened. “Did he just say what I think he said?  Me?  Him?!  A boyfriend?!”  She took a step back.

“N…no!!!” stuttered. There was a word for this… She had heard Hitomi use it, black ball or something... NO, blackmail!  Yes, blackmail!  That’s it!

“That’s blackmail!”  she said pointing at him, proud that she actually knew what she was talking about.  Atobe’s face didn’t falter.  He looked at her for a moment and then shrugged, turning away from her.

“That’s fine, I guess I could just go ahead and tell the Tennis Board that Sanada had his friend come break into my team’s headquarters with her friends… That fact will of course, disqualify the team from further competitions, or perhaps just Sanada himself from participation with the team.  I can just present the security camera tapes as evidence.” He smiled, just imagining what her face looked like behind him.  And indeed her eyes were wide with terror. 

“I think the one in the hallway even caught you slapping me too… Wouldn’t that just be icing on the cake?” he added, walking off.

“If the board sees that then Genichirou will be ruined!  He’ll get labeled and it’ll follow him and then he won’t get into college!  The scouts have started coming and they’ll hear about it and it will be all my fault!  And the team will be labeled too and then they won’t get into school and, and…” Her mind began racing with all kinds of scenarios and her vision began spinning.  She shook her head snapping herself out of her daze.  She couldn’t let that happen, not to them!  Not after all their hard work!  Not after all his kindness to her!

“Wait!”  ’s voice desperately cried out. Atobe stopped, a smile across his face. As he turned toward her, his smile faded, a look of confusion now across his beautiful face.

“What is it?”  he asked.

“I’ll do it… I’ll b…be your girlfriend.”  Her voice trailed off towards the end, but she knew he had heard her.

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Kashii

Edited by Elenniel