Second to None

1. tezuka

2002 Tokyo, Japan

Climbing up two flights of stairs, Fuji Shuusuke brought Mayu to a clearing. Before them was a tree-lined parkette conjoined with two tennis courts.

Someone was waiting when they arrived. He wore a blue-and-white shirt paired with nylon shorts and held a silver racket in the crook of his elbow. Seeing him, Fuji's smile widened and he waved.

"Your friend?" asked Mayu.

"A very close friend. We've known each other for years," replied Fuji. He led Mayu towards his companion. Up close, she saw that he had deep brown hair that intersected cedar and taupe. Incongruent with his high school uniform, his rimless glasses and stoic look gave off the impression that he was much older than Fuji. 

"I hope you don't mind a guest," Fuji said, stepping to the side to make room. "This is Ohara Mayu. She's the new foreign exchange student in my class. Our family is hosting her so I'm helping her settle in."

Fuji's friend greeted her with a proper, ninety-degree bow.

"Nice to meet you," she bowed in return. 

"This is Tezuka Kunimitsu. He's the tennis team captain, the student council president and his class representative. As you can tell, he's practically carrying the weight of the entire academy on his shoulders." Turning to his friend, Fuji asked, "Am I right?"

"The weight will lessen significantly if you stop making fun of me," answered Tezuka tonelessly.

Fuji chortled. To Mayu, he said, "I hope you're getting used to the Japanese humor. It can get dry."

To this, Mayu could only offer a polite smile.

Readjusting his tennis bag, Fuji excused himself to get changed, temporarily leaving Mayu to Tezuka.

A long stretch of silence passed and Tezuka showed no signs of speaking. Feeling the need to break the ice, Mayu asked, "How long have you been playing tennis, Tezuka-kun?"

"Since I was a kid."

"And how are you finding the competition?"

"It hasn't started yet."

"Oh."

Another stretch of silence passed and this time Tezuka learned to reciprocate. "When did you join Seigaku, Ohara-san?"

"Three days ago," she said. "I've barely gotten over the jetlag."

"That must be rough."

"It's alright. It helps that Tokyo's already made a great impression."

"Is that so?" He asked, "What do you think of the city?"

"Let's see... Tokyo's sleek, organized and efficient, just like my father said it would be."

This caught Tezuka's attention. "Your father has lived in Tokyo?"

"Born and lived for most of his life."

"He's Japanese?"

"As you can tell from my last name."

"Ohara isn't strictly Japanese."

"Well, now you know. He decided to move to France after meeting my mom."

"I see." There was a minute of silence before Tezuka spoke again, "Pardon my assumptions, but did you come here to find your roots?"

"Nope. Japan is so fundamentally different from Europe that I figured it's a great place to get cultured and become more worldly. Some people even take a year off after high school to travel."