The Child of Tennis - Yukimura

Back home on Japanese soil. Lately, jetlag's been hitting me more than normal, but it's so much easier to adjust when you go forward in time instead of back. The season's over, so I'll be free to actually be around.

Yagyuu, Niou, Jackal, any of you want to go out for a drink or for dinner sometime soon? I haven't seen you all in a long time. Bunta, how about I stop by your cafe, I wouldn't want to be a bad influence on Remi-chan by taking her dad drinking somewhere.

Kura, are you still at my place or back at you and Yukari's house?

I was having a great day. Really. I got through to the third round which is great. Then I got a question about my secret relationship instead of my tennis, when exiting the courts. I didn't have any idea what was happening, honestly. You can see my shocked face on live TV. Then I was shoved this article by my manager afterwards.

Yukimura Seiichi has been taken?
The prolific tennis player, currently number 6 in the world tennis rankings after a long hiatus, who is openly gay has been sighted in Japan with an unknown person, holding hands and kissing in the Botanical Gardens. This raises the question for how long has this secret relationship being going on and who exactly is this mystery man?

The article goes on for ages with speculations and interviews with people I've never really exchanged more than a few words with, but they have pictures of Shiraishi and I. Which is...exactly what I didn't need right now. Thanks a bunch, media. Here comes the hate-mail from the people who forgot I was gay and the screams of despair from the fangirls and fanboys.

(  Screened to Shiraishi )

[ooc: Strikes are just strikes]

I think I'm getting fed up of almost getting killed while going cycling. Tokyo drivers are quite vicious, I have around eight bruises along my left arm. At least my tennis arm is okay

Perhaps I should get a car, this is the third time I've almost died this year. I just don't want to deal with the traffic...and I'm going back to tennis and touring soon. I'm not sure if it's worth it.

In other words...I'm still not sure whether this is mocking Wimbledon or not. I asked my fans and the overwhelming consensus was 'what', so I thought I'd ask you all.


ETA: Genichirou. After much deliberation, I have concurred we'd all look good as girls.
( Read more... )

I forgot how much of a slavedriver my coach is. Doing runs of Tokyo in seven layers of clothes in summer is like torture, sometimes. Luckily, I haven't lost any of the actual tennis, just my stamina, which I should be able to build back with some hard work.

I'm planning to be back for the US Open. Tezuka, Echizen, you'd better be ready.

Mother's finally left. She and Min-Min went down to Kanagawa for two weeks, leaving me free for a while. I left strict instructions with Mother and Min-Min so they should be okay together....I hope. But Minoru was pretty insistent about leaving for a couple of days.

Alas, the tournaments don't align with me, so I can't just fly over to Indian Wells and play. Or even to Miami, because it starts March 26 and ends after Min-Min returns home. This is driving me insane. So I think I might just go play pick-up tennis back at Rikkai High School. Coach for a couple of days or something. It'll be fun to be back in that environment again, And they'll be gearing up for Districts, so I can help out a little.


I'm in some deep shit. Why do crazy stalker fans exist? How did she manage to get that picture of Kura and I kissing, anyway? And my address too! If she releases those, I'll never have a moment of peace again. I've already admitted I'm openly gay and dating someone, but if they find out who....

But I can't just stop dating Kura and start dating her. Life doesn't work like that. I'm still gay and I'm still head over heels for him. And I can't tell my bodyguard or my agent either, because they'll take serious action and she'll release the picture and my address anyway. Keeping in contact with her to try and negotiate is driving me up the bend. Thank god Minoru wanted to leave with Mother. I can stress out by myself. I just want some privacy. Is that too much to ask?

And here I am, talking to myself to sort this out. Wonderful....I really am going insane.


[ooc: Strikes not deleted]

Well, thanks to Akutsu-san, I now have a bodyguard. He's very competent, though could work on his sense of humour. But I'm sure that will develop with time and exposure :)

Watching the Winter Olympics, despite the lack of tennis, makes me quite excited for the 2016 Olympics. I hope, that thanks to our efforts this past couple of years, in both women's and men's, Japan will actually be able to medal. Though, I'm not looking forward to the heat at Rio de Janeiro. Maria's been texting me a lot from the Olympics, with lots of exclamation over Russian victories, which I suppose, is adding to the excitement for two years time. I'd better be back in the game by then.


Bodyguard may help protect from anything physical, but it doesn't help with the zealous emails and fanmails that no longer just border on creepy. I could ask for it to get screened, but that would feel like cheating, giving in. I'm not going to be affected by their comments, I'm better than that. Still, it makes me uneasy. I'm getting back to having difficulty sleeping at night. Except it's not because of timezones anymore.

I forget to wear my Rikkai jacket for one day when I go running, and I almost get run over! It's probably my fault for not wearing anything else bright when I go jogging in the evenings. But, it just goes to show how lucky that old thing is. It's always been out to save my life!

Ahh, now that filming's done, I get to do so much more physical conditioning in my free time. I'm working on my abs and glutes, since those are probably the most neglected during the actual game. Lots of crunches and leg-lifts and planks. I'm also working on flexibility, though that isn't strictly necessary to play tennis. I finally managed to master the side-splits, though my hips still won't let me get into forward splits. Yet.

I want to go run for longer distances and go different places. Maybe run on the beach, or up mountains and hills. And maybe cycling. I'd have to go pull my bike out of our old house in Kanagawa for that, though. But cycling is good for the thighs.


I'm not watching the Australian Open, even though my fingers twitch to switch the channel there, whenever I turn on the TV. I don't want to make myself resentful and bitter. I just look at the scores online, after all the games are played so I can keep up to date. I...can't watch it and still remain cheerful about my choice. My blood is singing for a proper game, for the screaming crowds, for the adrenaline that never really comes from solitary training. But I'll survive, as long as I keep avoiding it.

And after this New Years celebration, I'm done and I can relax a bit more. Minoru's feeling a lot better and I think she's coming with me to the Nike New Years Party. I'm so relieved. Thank you so much for all of your help, Kura. I cannot express how amazing and patient you've been and thank you.

I'm visiting the temple on the First to wish for health, as I have done since I was 13 and will continue to do for as long as I remain paranoid. And health for Minoru, of course. My goal for this year is to do everything in my power to make Minoru more comfortable and accepting of her condition, until she can live with it by herself or an outside carer. I have no personal goals except my always long-term goal, which has been the ever elusive Golden Year. But I'll do it.

Then, after the visit, it's back to filming, which in hindsight, will actually be more relaxing than all the parties! I think we still have to film me killing a lot of people and blowing up parts of Tokyo. Which I will have an inordinate amount of fun with. If only makeup didn't take three hours every morning....

I...I won't be participating in the first half of the tennis season this year. Maybe longer. I'm sorry Tezuka, it looks like our showdown may have to be delayed for a while yet. And I'm sorry to you Echizen, Kazuya, since I won't be able to have any official rematches with you two either.

I suppose I owe an explanation for this. It seems auto-immune disorders run in the family. My little sister Minoru has Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. I knew there was something wrong with her! I just knew it! And it turns out she wasn't telling me this at all. I had to find out the hard way when she just collapsed in the middle of the street. I took her to the hospital and she was already a regular patient and everyone knew her by name just like they knew me. Imagine my surprise when they told me it was getting worse by the day and she is very likely to not be able to walk soon.

My parents can't look after her; they weren't even able to tell that there was something wrong with her in the first place. They were barely around when I was a kid and in the hospital, what's going to guarantee they'll be around for a quasi-adult? She needs someone more reliable to be there for a while, somebody who'll always be there. Or else you just go....utterly mad in a hospital when you can't do anything. You really do.

And it was a difficult decision to make...but I'm no longer the kid from ten years ago, who valued tennis above people. My family comes first. So, I'm sorry. I'll be back in Tokyo earlier than I expected. Minoru'll be living with me now. And I won't be leaving Japan for tournaments for quite a while. Not until she feels more comfortable about living with it. Since there's no cure for it.

( I'm cutting out my ranting for those who don't want to read it. )
-Seiichi

[ooc: Strikes deleted]

Good game, Echizen. It was a good win at Paris, but I won't let anyone beat me at the World Finals~ I've got too much riding on it.

( Private )