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queensweets
Training with Yanagi and Inui was fun, really fun, and he soon got used to practicing with them every day. He could finally serve without falling over without support and had even managed to score a few hard-earned points.
He had to borrow a racket of course, but he had started to save some money by keeping a better check on what food he bought. The same year his father had made him do all shopping for food, and now he was happy for that, since he could hide away the change and save it for a racket.
It would take some time though, and he was wondering if he should ask his new friends for help with finding a good one or not.
He had fun playing, improving a lot, the two boys told him. Playing tennis made him feel calm, free, and he was smiling more than ever in his life. He thought the way Inui and Yanagi talked were funny. Watching them play others and hearing them talk about data, probability and percent made him smile, even though he didn't understand much of it at all.
He had played against others, too, and had actually won games, and even a few matches. He had yet to win more than a few points from either Yanagi or Inui yet, though.
He continued to train, every day, and he were all smiles when he finally managed to win a game from Inui. He forced it down when he got into the house, not wanting to cause any suspicion. His father called him from the living room and he nervously walked into the room. It was as messy as usual in there.
His father stared at him for a moment, disgust obvious in his eyes. He spoke. "Start cleaning. We're moving the day after tomorrow."
Takahisa blinked. "Eh? Why?"
His father's face grew red in anger and Takahisa shut his eyes tight and waited for the impact. His father's fist met his cheek, and he fell to the floor.
"Don't ask. Just do it."
And with that, his father left the house. Takahisa slowly dragged himself up on his feet, getting out a big garbage sack and started to throw empty cans and bottles in it.
Today would be the last day he would meet Inui and Yanagi, he realized the next morning when he walked to school, clutching the papers for transferring schools tight in his hands.
He didn't know if he should tell them about moving. He was thinking a lot about that the whole day. He didn't make any progress that day. Yanagi and Inui noticed that his thoughts were elsewhere. When they went to the changing room, Yanagi asked him about it.
"We're moving tomorrow.." Takahisa said, as he put the borrowed racket back where it belonged for the last time.
"That's sudden." Inui said, adjusting his glasses that had been set askew when he pulled off his shirt. "Why's that?"
Takahisa unconsciously touched his bruised cheek, looking to the ground for a second before answering. "I don't know."
Inui and Yanagi exchanged glances, but Takahisa didn't notice.
He now lived in Kanagawa, and it was like a new world to him. He had, after all, only been to few places, even in Tokyo, like school, the courts, the grocery store and home. The house he now lived in was small, in quite a run-down neighborhood, and he had to travel for quite some time to get to his new school. A week after moving, he found a street court after school was over for the day. His eyes followed the players, and he walked over to a woman who wasn't playing at the moment. Yes, she told him when he asked, anyone could play at these courts.
He decided that from tomorrow on, he would go there. It had only been a week, but he missed playing tennis. He also missed Inui and Yanagi, but that was not something he could do anything about. He could just do the best he could, and maybe they would meet again.
The next day he hurried to the courts, and after warming up (in a way Inui and Yanagi had told him was good for his over-flexible body), he started playing with a boy around his age. He had fun, and it was interesting to play against new opponents.
It went on like that, every day until it started to get dark, then he would hurry to shower and change. His father hardly noticed that he got home late, since he was drunk most of the time, but when he did notice it wasn't exactly... fun to be near the large and angry man. Takahisa had taken to change when no one was there, or if that wasn't possible, inside a toilet-stall. This far no one had thought much about it. No, he hadn't seen the glances Yanagi and Inui would exchange every so often.
Even though being at home was far from nice, the tennis made up for it, and he never missed a single day, even days with no school. Like on this Christmas eve, there was only a thin layer of snow, and the sun was hidden behind a dusting of clouds, just enough so that the snow remained where it had fallen last night. He noticed the courts were empty of all people. He had known not many played that day, along with other important holidays.
He was alone.
But it wasn't the first time, so he didn't think about it more than a moment, heading for the changing rooms that didn't have a functioning lock, so you could play there whenever you wanted. He was glad for that, because of one broken lock he didn't have to change outside, or even worse at home and risk his father seeing him.
He warmed up after changing and decided to train against the wall since no one else was there. After using the warm-up that Inui and Yanagi had showed him, he felt even more flexible, and he thanked them for their kindness.
Because even though he couldn't remember their faces anymore, he would never forget that they were his first friends.
He hoped that their names would remain familiar to him, even if he never met them again. His memory hadn't exactly gotten better from the punches his father would throw at him.
He went back to concentrate on running after the brightly colored ball.