Title:Onegai, Tutor!

Pairing:TezukaxOC

Disclaimer: TeniPuri is not mine

Summary:They say opposites attract. But in Tezuka’s and Yuzuki’s case, opposites repel each other. How he can tolerate her and how she can stand him is beyond everyone. TezuOC

A/N: I usually write TeniPuri slash; Atobe/Tezuka being my main slash pairing ('Shattered' among others), but the idea of writing a TezukaxOC fic is too tempting to ignore. I wrote this fic in response to a challenge that my friend gave me, and also as a form of challenge for myself.

The story takes place after the nationals but before the winter tournaments; that means the third year Seigaku regulars are in their last months in Seigaku, and that they’d be retiring from tennis soon. I wanted to stick to the manga/anime timeline, but for plot reasons this had to be done. But no worries, in this fic there would still be one major tournament left and that is the winter tournament. I’m not really sure how the system for the winter tournament works, so it’d be purely fanon when (and if) I get to that part.

I appreciate any sort of feedbacks or reviews. I even accept flames, as long as it still contains constructive criticism.

Chapter 1: Wonderboy and the Sloth

Makoto Yuzuki tried not to yawn as Maki-sensei continued his not-so-short speech about diligence and discipline. She tried. Honest to God she tried to get a decent mark for her last math test. She even stayed up all night drinking coffee as she went through all her notes. Was it really her fault that she got a measly thirty-percent in said math test regardless of her effort? Yuzuki decided it wasn’t her fault that she got a failing mark. Not really. She studied hard for it; so Maki-sensei had got to accept the fact that she’s simply not good at math. She failed three times in a row already, with twenty-five percent being her lowest score up to date. How anyone was able to answer why F(x) (xq 1)/(q 1) was beyond her.

She gave out a low sigh as she scanned her eyes around the teacher’s lounge. It was almost deserted, save for a few people who were currently marking test papers. Understandable really, since it was almost half past four o’clock in the afternoon and most teachers had already gone home already. Maki-sensei had been lecturing for . . . what? About more than one hour? How someone could talk non-stop for one whole hour deserved a pat on the back, and a healthy dose of mint.

“Makoto! Are you listening?”

Yuzuki grimaced a little as Maki-sensei’s loud and booming voice cut through her thought, “Yes, sir.”

Maki-sensei continued to glare at her as she stared back at him, “Makoto, you do realize that you’re in your last year of junior high and that you’re about to graduate soon?”

Yuzuki nodded, “I guess . . .”

“Then why can’t you just try to get a decent mark in your math tests? Don’t you want to pass third grade and move on to high school? Would you rather stay as a junior high school student forever? Tell me, what school do you plan to go to after you graduate?”

“Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School(1),” she answered in one breath.

For a split second, Maki-sensei didn’t move. He stared blankly at her, as if he didn’t believe the words that were uttered by the person that was standing in front of him. He sat there, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to form a coherent sentence in the back of his mind.

“You’re going to where?” he spoke up suddenly.

“As I said, Hibiya High School,” Yuzki replied coolly, not bothering to hide the grin that was starting to form on her face.

“But that’s the best public high school in Japan!” Maki-sensei blurted, trying to shake himself out of his temporary stupor, “You’re not seriously going to try applying there? Not with your abominably low math grades!”

Yuzuki frowned as she regarded her math teacher with her brown eyes. She knew perfectly well how low her mathematic grades were. She was the one who had to deal with it the most, since both her parents and Maki-sensei never seemed to tire in lecturing her about it. But calling her grades abominably low was a bit . . . insulting really.

“You are serious,” said Maki-sensei after a short moment of silence.

“Yup!”

Maki-sensei shook his head, “You do know that you have to work extremely hard?”

“I do.”

“Well, do you have tutors to tutor you in math? Or do you go to an after school guidance program?”

“I used to. But all four of my tutors quit because they lost patience in dealing with me and I got kicked out of my guidance program because I can’t seem to raise my marks above fifty percent there,” she replied as she shrugged her shoulders slightly, “My parents sort of given up after that.”

Maki-sensei let out an audible groan as he heard Yuzuki’s nonchalant answer, “And you want to go into Hibiya High . . .”

“What’s the big deal?” she asked in a slightly annoyed tone, “It’s just school. I don’t get what the fuss is all about really.”

Maki-sensei sighed as he regarded Yuzuki with an unreadable expression in his eyes, “You said that your previous tutors quit because they lost patience with you?”

“Well, yeah. As I said before, mom and dad sort of gave up in finding a new one after my fourth tutor resigned.”

Instead of replying, Maki-sensei picked up his phone and punched a series of extension numbers, “Good afternoon, Ryuzaki-sensei,” Maki-sensei said pleasantly, “This is Maki Sakamoto speaking. Can you please send Tezuka-kun to the teachers lounge after he’s finished with Tennis practice? I’d like to talk to him about something important,” Maki-sensei paused as he listened to Ryuzaki-sensei on the other end, “Yes, sensei. Thank you very much. Goodbye.”

Maki-sensei couldn’t stop the grin that was starting to form on his face as he put the receiver down, “Makoto, I may have found the solution to your problems.”

Yuzuki blinked, “Hah?”

o o o

“That’s it for today’s practice session. Don’t forget that the intra-ranking matches for the winter tournament are just around the corner. That is all. Dismissed,” said renowned Seigaku Tennis Club buchou, Tezuka Kunimitsu as he ended today’s practice.

As Tezuka started to walk off to get his tennis racquet, Kikumaru Eiji glomped him from behind and hooked an arm around Tezuka’s shoulder.

“My, our Tezuka looks really tense today, nyan! Tezuka, you do realize that if you frown too much you’d get prematurely bald?”

Tezuka glanced at Eiji as he answered with a stern voice, “The winter tournament is just around the corner. We shouldn’t let our guard down, not for a second.”

“Che, Tezuka bo-ring!” Eiji said jokingly as he pouted his lips slightly, “It’s just tennis.”

“Last I check, baldness doesn’t have anything to do with frowning, Kikumaru,” Inui said suddenly from behind him, “And if you lower your guard down, you won’t survive in the intra-ranking tournament because the non-regulars have improved their skills significantly since the last one.”

Eiji did a double take, “Wha! INUI! You scared me! Don’t go sneaking up on people like that! It’s bad you know! Jeez.”

“My apologies,” Inui said as he adjusted his glasses, “Then again, Kikumaru . . . according to my data, Tezuka frowned most of the time anyway so today was no different than any other day actually.”

Fuji-who was standing near by-laughed slightly, “You don’t need data for that, Inui.”

“Indeed,” Inui replied with a slight smile on his face, “Well, I must be off. I have a new Inui juice that’s currently in development. I need to buy the ingredients before dinner time.”

Eiji scrunched up his nose at the mere mention of Inui juice while Fuji’s smile grew wider, “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Fuji, you’re not human,” mumbled Eiji as he stared at Inui’s retreating figure with dread.

Just as Fuji opened his mouth to reply, both Oishi and Kawamura ran up to them, “Tezuka, Ryuzaki-sensei got a call from Maki-sensei. He said he needed to speak with you in the teacher’s lounge.”

Tezuka blinked, “What about?”

Kawamura shook his head, “Ryuzaki-sensei didn’t say. She said that as soon as practice finished, Maki-sensei wanted to see you.”

“Heh? I wonder why ol’ Maki-sensei wants to meet with Tezuka? Could it be . . . that you failed a test?”

“Eiji!” Oishi said in a firm tone, “Tezuka would never fail a test,” he paused, “Right?”

All eyes turned towards Tezuka.

Tezuka couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

o o o

Tezuka didn’t know why Maki-sensei wanted to meet him. He was sure that he got one hundred percent on his last test, as per usual. He suppressed the urge to sigh again. Was he in trouble then? No. He couldn’t possibly be in trouble because you can’t associate trouble with Tezuka Kunimitsu, let alone put his name and said word on the same sentence. It must be something else entirely with equal importance then, for Maki-sensei wishing to meet him way after school hours. But from his perspective, it was pointless to worry about irrelevant things such as meeting with Maki-sensei; for the only thing that occupied his mind at that time was the winter tournament.

Ever since they won the Nationals against Rikkaidai, the months that followed seemed like a blur to Tezuka. It was like he operated on auto-pilot. Everything seemed surreal from his perspective, as if he’s experiencing a dream that would dissipate at any moment. Time flew by faster for him; and then without him actually realizing it, the winter tournament was only a hairbreadth away. After the winter tournaments, he’d have to cram for exams if he wanted to apply into the high school that he’d chosen and after that . . . after that he’d have to retire from junior high tennis and appoint a new captain to replace him; and after that, there would be graduation.

As he stood in front of the teacher’s lounge, he hesitated slightly before knocking the door twice before entering. As he opened the door, he muttered a polite word of greeting before walking slowly towards where Maki-sensei was sitting. He couldn’t help but notice that there was a girl standing near where Maki-sensei was sitting. She was of average height, about 5’2 with shoulder length black hair tied up in a pony tail. Her brown eyes regarded him questioningly as her fingers fiddled with her fringe. Oh . . . it was only Makoto Yuzuki.

“You wish to see me, sensei?” he inquired politely as he stood next to Yuzuki. He thought he heard Yuzuki snort, but chose not to acknowledge it.

Maki-sensei looked up. “Ah, Tezuka-kun! I need your help.”

“Yes?”

“But first off, Tezuka-kun, do you mind if I ask where do you plan to go after you graduate from Seigaku?”

That question took him by surprise. He blinked his eyes twice as he stared at his math teacher. The thought of being questioned about his future plans didn’t even enter his mind when he was summoned. He let out a low sigh of relief, as he was now one hundred percent certain that he’s not in trouble. But then again, why would Maki-sensei summoned him at this hour just to discuss his future plans? Maki-sensei wasn’t his homeroom teacher. He wasn’t even the student guidance counselor. He was just . . . his math teacher. So why did he ask him about his future? In front of a stranger, no less! Even though Makoto Yuzuki was his classmate, he barely spoken two words to her throughout the year. All he knew about her was that she’s quite close with Kawamura, as her father was a frequent regular at Kawamura’s sushi. And that she was well known for her extremely low grades in math. Tezuka vaguely remembered something that Kikumaru said a few weeks ago, about a girl in his class that had the lowest math grades in their year.

“Yes, sir. My parents wishes me to attend Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School after I graduate, but I’m still considering the option to continue on to Seigaku High School as well,” answered Tezuka as he tried to ignore Makoto Yuzuki’s subtle yet rather teasing gestures that was thrown at him. She didn’t like him. Obviously.

“As expected of you, Tezuka-kun,” Maki-sensei replied with a smug smile on his face, “I’m sure you can enter any high school that you wish to attend. What, with your high grades and all any school would be blind if they turn you down. The teachers here have high hopes for you, Tezuka-kun. You would expect nothing less from a boy that comes from a very respectable family. Your grandfather was a legend in his early days, you know? Every criminal on the street feared him. Even the police still have high respect for the famous Tezuka Kunikazu-san. For you to enter Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School would be a great pride for the family an-“

“Sensei!” Yuzuki said suddenly, cutting him off at mid-sentence, “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re rambling and it’s getting late.”

“Ah. Yes well, ahem. As I was saying Tezuka-kun, you are arguably the best student in your year, judging from your academics alone and . . .”

At that point, Yuzuki had stopped listening to Maki-sensei’s incessant rambling about Tezuka. He really was a wonder-boy then, Yuzuki thought silently as she quenched the urge to roll her eyes dramatically. Tezuka was another one of those irritatingly perfect people, the kind that always seemed to do everything right. He was practically in charge of the whole tennis club as it was, he was arguably the best junior high tennis player in Japan at that moment, he had the most female admirers in school, he never scored lower than a ninety percent in his tests, he was head of the student body, all the teachers loved him, and really . . . did he have any faults at all?

Oh, that’s right. He did have one tiny little defect; his inability to socially connect with people and his inability to form more than three sentences in a day. Really, talking to him was the equivalent of talking to a solid brick wall. If it were not for the occasional ‘hmms’ and ‘hns’ and grunts that he uttered once in a while, she would mistake him for a mime. Or a hermit. Or both. Even mimes had more personality than him. Charming really. How he had the most fan-girls in Seigaku was beyond her.

The guy was quite attractive though, she would give him that. Not drop dead gorgeous like Fuji, or adorable like that Echizen kid or uber cute like Kikumaru; the guy had this . . . thing that other people didn’t. It wasn’t charm, no. She would sing ‘Kimigayo’ on top of Tokyo Tower naked if Tezuka Kunimitsu had at least one ounce of charm in his bones. It wasn’t his voice either. Sure, a lot of girls said that his low baritone had a certain appeal to it; but it was too nasally for Yuzuki’s liking. If someone were to ask her opinion, she’d say that probably Inui had the sexiest voice in their year; even though the guy struck her as a rather odd fellow. Still, even if Tezuka had a certain . . . quality to him that made him attractive (note to self: find out what that quality is), she found his presence to be rather annoying. She didn’t know why he irritated her so. Maybe it was because he was her complete opposite? That he was-almost-perfect while she was not? That Maki-sensei was openly praising him in front of her and that he was making her look bad?

“That being said, I want you to tutor Makoto until she could get a seventy percent on her upcoming math tests.”

Yuzuki felt like someone had just dump a bucket full of ice cubes down her back. He’s supposed to be her what?

“Tutor, sensei?” Tezuka asked, his voice cool and collected. Not betraying the slightest bit of emotion in them.

“Yes. You see, it’s no secret that Makoto here has the lowest math grade in her year-“

Yuzuki huffed disapprovingly. He just can’t lighten up about it, can he?

“And that she would not be able to pass third grade if she continues her trend. She is also planning to go to Hibiya. Just like you, Tezuka-kun.”

Tezuka’s gaze flickered briefly towards her before it settled back on Maki-sensei once again.

“I need you to tutor her so that she could pass, Tezuka-kun. Her previous tutors didn’t work out for her and she was expelled from her after school guidance program because of her grotesquely low grades. That’s why I think it’d be best if another student in her age group tutor her. You’re the best in my class, Tezuka-kun. And you’re also her classmate. Sometimes a student can learn better if his or her classmate teaches them.”

“But sensei-“

“No buts, Makoto. If you’re not going to be able to raise your grades, than I’d have no choice but to fail you in my class,” Maki-sensei said firmly, as he held her gaze with his own, “I will tell your homeroom teacher to arrange your sitting arrangements, so that you can sit next to Tezuka-kun. If you want to pass and if you want to attend Hibiya next spring, you have to be prepared to work your ass off in these last few months. The idea of you attending Hibiya is preposterous. It’s damn near impossible if you ask my opinion. Sit next to Tezuka-kun and learn from him. Maybe then the chances of you being accepted to Hibiya would increase slightly.”

Yuzuki groaned audibly after hearing this. The idea of sitting next to wonder-boy who had zero personality was . . . unflattering. She wondered if a person could die out of pure boredom. If so, she would have to start writing a will of her own soon.

o

o

o

TBC

(1) Tōkyō Toritsu Hibiya Kōtōgakkō or Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School is a real school that's located in Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It is a fact that the school is currently the best public high school in Japan. The reason I chose as real school for my fic is because I want to make my fic as authentic as possible. That and the fact that I suck at making school names xD