Culture Shock

A/N: and here's chapter 1. gods, tezuka is so hard to write. man...

words - English


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Culture Shock 1
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Tezuka stared resolutely at his textbook, ignoring the chattering and gossip going on around him. Fuji and Inui sat to the right and in front of him, adding to the unease the entire class felt with Fuji’s slightly sadistic smile and Inui’s muttered data. Everyone was waiting impatiently for their new teacher to arrive.

Tezuka tried to keep his eyebrow from twitching as he recalled why they had need of a new teacher to begin with. Really, Fuji took things too personally sometimes. Just because Nakahara-sensei didn’t like sports was no reason to put a cactus in the man’s chair.

Tezuka glanced up at the desk at the front of the class and eyed the cactus that sat on the shining surface. His eyes flitted to Fuji beside him, who merely smiled at him in what the boy probably thought was pure innocence.

‘Fuji and innocence do not belong in the same room, let alone the same sentence,’ thought Tezuka. His thoughts were brought to a halt when the classroom door opened and silence settled over the students. His eyes widened imperceptibly as a young woman entered the room, something jangling with her every step. Tezuka looked down to see high-heeled sandals on her feet, though the jeans she wore flared too much for him to figure out what was making the sound.

The blouse she wore was pale lavender that complimented her fiery red hair, which was pulled into a bun near the top of her head. Perched on her nose were sleek sunglasses, hiding her eyes from the class. All in all, Tezuka felt that she was completely lacking in classroom decorum.

He noticed when she spotted the cactus, and he waited for the inevitable tensing of fear. Well, it was at least on her desk rather than in her chair. But he was inwardly startled by her reaction. She began to laugh.

“How cute! I never thought I’d see another cactus as long as I lived! Damn universities in urban cities. Ah, too bad I’m horrible with plants.”

Tezuka marveled at her masterful command of the English language. Where was she from? She turned to the class and bowed. In front of him, Inui was writing frantically in his notebook.

“Good morning! My name is Kate Merand, and I look forward to being your English teacher for the rest of the year. And thank you for the wonderful cactus. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be welcomed since I’m not Japanese.”

She stopped and grabbed a folded sheet of paper from her back pocket. She looked it over for a moment, and then returned her gaze to the class.

“I’ve been informed that the class president is in this class….” She trailed off, and Tezuka stood from his seat.

“I am Tezuka Kunimitsu, class president.”

“Wonderful! I hope you’ll be a help to me as I try to get accustomed here.”

“Hai, Merand-sensei.”

“Oh please, call me Kate-chan!” She paused, and her lips pulled back in a slight grimace. “Nevermind, no, don’t call me that. Reminds me of that perverted old man.”

Tezuka nodded his head and sat, inwardly marveling at her ability to flow between the two languages flawlessly, much like Echizen. He stopped his thoughts before they could go any further.

“Before we move on to what I expect from you in this class, let me curb some curiosity. I am American, as most of you may have guessed, but I have been in Japan for some months, teaching at a middle school in Kyoto. However, research material for my thesis is here in Tokyo, so I transferred here when the position opened.”

“Thesis?” Inui asked, his head rising from his notebook.

“Yes, my senior thesis. I am a junior in college. I am here to fulfill requirements for my teaching degree and thought I’d get some research out of the way while I’m at it.”

Satisfied with the information, Tezuka watched as Inui went back to his scribbling. After that, Merand-sensei went on to tell them what she expected of the class, and Tezuka was mildly pleased that the course load would be more challenging than it had been. She had a point when she said that English was a vital thing to know in this day and age. And Tezuka was sure the college entrance exams would expect them to know a lot more than they did now. As it was, half the regulars accosted Echizen for help on their English assignments.

Tezuka resisted the urge to sigh as Merand-sensei began to tell naughty American jokes to the class to waste the rest of class time. He had a strange hunch that the rest of his third year was going to be an interesting one.

~*~

Tezuka watched as the entire tennis club ran laps around the courts. He was waiting for the new teacher-advisor to show so he could get his players focused. Their new coach was all everyone had been talking about, so he’d had them run laps instead of stand around and gab.

As expected, his regulars came trickling in first, Echizen out front since his stamina was still quite impressive for a small first year. Tezuka idly wondered if Echizen would be that short years from now. Fuji was behind him, a serene smile plastered onto his face. Oishi and Kikumaru trailed him, the redhead happily glomping his doubles partner now that he no longer had to run. Kaidoh and Momoshiro were racing to see who could get through the gate first, both of them getting stuck when they tried to go through at the same time. Inui trailed in after them, writing in his notebook yet again.

Tezuka wondered, not for the first time, how they all ended up at the same high school, though he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth; the boys before him were the heart of Seigaku, and they would always win together.

Oishi came to stand beside him and addressed the club when the rest had come panting into the court. “Today we’ll be greeting a new teacher-advisor. Our coach’s sister is ill, and he’s left for Hokkaido. He wishes us the best of luck.”

A murmur of unease and anger swept through the club. Tezuka listened to the many complaints coming from the non-regulars, silently agreeing with the hope that their new coach would have some sort of interest in their club, rather than an apathy that would bring them down.

“Start practice,” Tezuka commanded. They could at least play a set or two while they waited. He noticed the freshmen outside the gates watching the game closest to them in awe. He recognized them from the Seigaku Junior High tennis club from three years ago and again marveled at how fate strung them all together. Of course, he admitted, it could have something to do with the fact that this was Seigaku High.

‘Stick with what you know, as the saying goes,’ he thought.

“What the hell did you call me?” Tezuka turned his attention to Momoshiro on the court the furthest away, his game against Kaidoh at a stand still as the two argued at the net.

“Continue the match,” he commanded sternly. They looked his way, grumbling, and then went back to their respective baselines. Kaidoh served, and Tezuka turned his attention toward another match closer to him. But then there was a strangled cry, and he heard “Echizen, look out!” from Momoshiro.

Tezuka looked toward the first year to see a stray ball flying straight for the small boy’s head. Echizen stood rooted to the spot, and Tezuka screamed at the boy to move in his head. The last thing they needed was one of their regulars struck in the head by a tennis ball.

Things slowed down around him as he and the ones closest to Echizen tried to reach the boy in time, but he seemed so far away. Then Tezuka slowed and his eyes widened as someone bumped Echizen out of the way and returned the ball with a powerful backhand. The entire club watched as the ball shot across the courts and passed perfectly through a hole in the chain link fence.

The racket went to a shoulder in a decidedly familiar, cocky attitude, and a voice filled with reprimand echoed across the courts, “Hey, Spike, passion is a key asset in tennis, but until you learn some control, I suggest you keep from swinging your racket. Twenty laps. Go.”

Momoshiro stood in shock, gaping at the woman on their courts, as were Tezuka and the rest of the club. The woman turned and looked at Tezuka, obviously looking for a little backup.

Tezuka straightened and looked to Momoshiro. “She’s right. Twenty laps.” Momoshiro nodded hesitantly at him then jogged off the court. He watched him leave then turned his attention back to the woman. He nodded to her. “Merand-sensei, I take it that you are our teacher-advisor.”

“Cute and smart. Lucky me. If you could gather everyone.”

Tezuka bowed and gathered them all again. Merand-sensei stood next to him, racket still slung over her shoulder.

“Hello. My name is Kate Merand, and I have been asked to be your coach until Morino-sensei returns from Hokkaido.” Her sweet smile was quickly replaced by a tight-lipped frown. “Now, I’ve been watching for a while, and this looks like tennis training camp for pregnant teens! If you expect to win Nationals on the high school level, you’ve got to step it up! I’ll speak with your trainer to make up a suitable schedule.”

Angry grumbles broke out among the non-regulars, and Tezuka sent a sharp glare their way. She was their new coach after all. She had a right to do these things, though he didn’t like how she insulted their skills. Apparently Oishi didn’t either, Tezuka noticed, as his vice-captain stepped forward.

“Merand-sensei, I do believe we’re fine with the schedule we’ve got.”

Tezuka noticed the woman glare at him. But before she could answer, Echizen stepped forward. “Oishi-senpai, please listen to her.”

Everyone turned questioning eyes to their youngest regular. “Echizen?” Tezuka asked.

“Buchou.” Golden eyes stared confidently into his, and he was hard pressed to look away.

“Ochibi,” Eiji squawked, “Do you know her or something?”

“Che, kinda,” he answered.

“‘Kinda’, ne? Heh, I taught him everything he knows.” Merand-sensei smiled and reached out to ruffle Echizen’s white cap.

“I thought your dad taught you to play, Echizen,” Inui said from behind his notebook, pencil ready to add to his data. Tezuka was slightly intrigued as well, so he turned his full attention to the small boy.

“Nanjiroh taught him to play,” Merand-sensei answered, “but I taught him to win.”


TBC


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as you can probably tell, kate is not going to be an easy coach. on top of that, she taught ryoma to win?? seigaku is in for a world of hurt.

anyway, thanks for reading!