Neverending Promise: Fuji Tennis no Oujisama Shuusuke
Neverending Promise: Fuji Tennis no Oujisama Shuusuke
A/N: text-flashbacks/thoughts/emphasized words
text-spoken in another language
text-written
Story Prologue
A girl was thrown forward, her short lilac hair brushing against her cheeks. Her lips were still bleeding from the punch she had gotten from those bullies.
Second grade and still the object to beat up. It was always the same. They would get into large groups, corner her and beat her up until she gave them the answers to that day's homework.
Which she never did.
That was why she always ended up a bloody pulp. What did they take her for, and idiot? Why would she give them her homework?
The dastards snatched her bag and emptied it out on the ground. A wry smile played upon the girl's lips when they only found pens, paper and an extra notebook.
One of them saw her and kicked her gut hard. She shut her eyes and willed her tear ducts to be inactive, but failed.
"Where's your homework?" their apparent leader asked.
Another wry smile accompanied her curt reply. "It's what's holding you up."
After a few more beatings, she had finally outsmarted them by doing all of her homework at school and leaving them all in her locker. Since only two other people know her locker combination, the bullies had no access to her homework. Not that they were even smart enough to find out what she was doing.
They grunted and kicked her all the more.
"Yamero! Get away from her!"
The bullies stopped kicking her, giving the girl a chance to look up at her savior.
Standing in the corner was Fuji Shuusuke. Fourth grade and a family friend, he assumed it his duty to protect her.
The girl tired to sit up. Shuusuke was enraged when he saw the thin line of blood trickling from the corner of her lips. He let out a long cry as he tackled the leader of the bullies. It took several minutes for him to wound the big kid, but when he did, the brawny kid cried all the way home. Seeing their leader defeated, the cowards all ran.
Shuusuke helped the girl up. "Are you okay?"
The girl nodded. "I'm kinda used to it by now."
He tilted his head. "Are you sure?" Another nod. "I'm going with you on your way home in case they come back."
The girl winced as Shuusuke applied a wet cloth on her face. As usual, they were at the playground where they spend time chatting or, in this case, mending her wounds.
They walked toward the swings and sat there, not saying anything until the sun started setting. The girl looked at the sky, crimson, orange and yellow, made a decision and held Shuusuke's hand.
"Shuusuke-nii-chan," she started, "next time you see me near the entrance to the school I'll be an entirely different person. I won't be the same kid that they beat up. I'll be someone stronger."
Shuusuke tilted his head in confusion. "But won't I see you tomorrow?"
The girl disregarded this statement of his and continued. "I'll be someone you, Nee-chan, Aniki, and Oneesan can be proud of. I'll learn how to play tennis properly and we'll have a decent match."
"But we're already proud of you. You're a straight A student. Besides, every time we play tennis, I enjoy our game, and that's what's important"
He was once again disregarded. "I'll try to be like you, and I'll get into sports and become a Regular player!"
There was a very long pause, after which Shuusuke made his own promise. He held the girl's hand in his, saying, "When I do see you again, we'll have a match as you said. I also promise to protect you and not let you get hurt. Nobody's going to harm you as long as I'm here."
The girl took one long look at him, gave him a hug and said goodbye.
Shuusuke had absolutely no idea that that would be their last meeting in a long time.
"What's the name of the school? Seigaku right?" a blue-violet-ish-haired guy said asked the girl beside him. "Excited to go to Japan?"
"Pretty much," the girl replied, taking their dinner tray from the plane stewardess.
"Akari-nee-chan." The girl looked ad her cousin with an inquiring look. "I don't want to use my real identity."
"Again," she smiled. "You really don't like your real identity being exposed more than necessary, do you?"
"Think of it this way," her cousin said. "I like it as much as you like being chased by your fans."
Akari smirked. "All it took was five years for us to rub off on each other."
"What the hell happened to you?" the girl's then sixth grade brother asked when he saw his sister's wounded face.
"Watch your tongue," her half-sister, then third grade, warned.
"Who did this to you?" her brother continued. "Did those kids do it again? I swear I'll-"
"Aniki, shut it!" Thankfully, she had seen her sister's exasperated face.
"But those kids are too much!"
"Don't worry," the girl said. "They're not doing it again."
Her eldest sister came down from the second floor, surprising her siblings as usual. "Elaborate."
The girl took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Remember the financial assistance thing Uncle Tsunashi and Aunt Arzelle offered me?"
"The one where you'll get supported by them?"
"…The one where you get an allowance, choose your school, have access to everything and luxury…," her brother said dreamily.
" …But you'll be staying in America, hours away from us," her half sister pointed out.
"I'm taking it."
She could remember all too clearly the incredulous looks on her siblings' faces when she said that.
The eldest sighed through her nose. "Give me three valid reasons and you're clear."
"My gosh, it's big!" Akari cried when she saw what was to be their house while they resided in Japan.
"And it's entitled to you, Akari-sama," Albert, head butler said.
"I should have the smaller one," she whined, pertaining to the eight hundred twenty eight square meter house not that far away. "…Though it's not really small."
"That's mine," her cousin pointed out.
"Yeah," she pouted and went in.
Adrian, her butler, helped them go through the maze-like mansion. Once they reached the room that Akari and her cousin will share, they told both butlers to sleep.
"Akari-nee-chan."
"Yes?" she asked, stretching on the bed.
"Let's fix my papers."
Akari smiled, seeing his sleepy eyes. "I'm going to take a bath first. That okay with you?"
When Akari emerged from the humongous bathroom three and a half hours later, her cousin was already sleeping.
"As expected," Akari muttered, getting her laptop, well, one of them anyway, and beginning the work on their documents.
It was not until the first rays of the sun peeked through the mountain range that she considered taking a break.
"Morning," she greeted when her cousin rose from the bed.
"You, as usual, did all the work yourself." Despite his sleepy eleven-year-old face, Akari knew that he was itching for work. "Forty-two more hours 'till you get deranged."
Akari stood up, stretched and said, "I'm already crazy. Split personality, remember? Besides, my body's limit for being deprived of sleep is not one-twenty hours."
Her cousin smirked and went into the bathroom with some clothes. When he came out, he was wearing a shirt under a black blue jogging suit.
"Hakucho Hayato. Class One, Freshman."
"It's okay," Hayato walked toward the side of the bed Akari was leaning on and examined their documents. He took particular interest in the last few pages. "Is he the one who gets into the Regulars' Lineup?"
"If he gets to beat everyone in his block," Akari answered.
"So tell me…" He opened the small refrigerator beside their bed and rummaged for something to drink. "…Just how will someone be in two places at a time?"
"Time management," Akari answered, smirking. She pressed Alt + Tab and switched to Photoshop Editor. A picture of a guy was there. Another application switched showed him in full 3D image.
"The things you can do with computers…" Hayato shook his head. "If you're up to it, there's a tennis competition later. I'm in the Juniors Division. I think I saw that guy's name in the Seniors."
Akari headed for the bathroom, her clothes in hand. "I don't doubt he'll be there."
Seated in the middle of a nearly empty train was a raven-haired boy with stoic onyx eyes. His eyes were closed, but he was not unaware of the people surrounding him. A girl sat nervously beside him, her long brown hair covering her face. Several boys stood before them, all of whom were dressed in tan suits with green ties. The boy with orange hair, standing in the middle of the group, held a light blue tennis racquet.
"Idiots, you don't even know your own grip?" he said, swinging his racquet back and forth. Each swing came within centimeters of the girl's face. "If you want to do topspin, you have to use the Western Grip. This grip is when you hold the racquet like you are shaking someone's hand, with your thumb in front."
"That is why you are the ace at Kitagoe Tennis Club," one of his friends complimented. The orange-haired boy nodded his head in approval, continuing to swing his racquet, causing the girl to close her eyes in fright.
"You're too loud," the raven-haired boy said, opening his eyes. They all turned to look at him.
"I can't believe I just got told off by a short high school kid, probably a freshie," he said, annoyed. Suddenly, the train hit a sharp turn, causing the entire compartment to shake and the orange-haired boy dropped his racquet. He bent over, cursing, to pick it up.
"If you didn't know, picking up a racquet is the correct Western Grip."
"What?" he asked, turning to the boy.
"The grip you were referring to is known as the Eastern Grip, or the handshake grip. Some people tend to mix up the two." The boy took out a black cap and placed it on his head.
The train stopped and he got out, leaving the orange-haired boy yelling behind him.
"Do you know which way it is to Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden?" the boy asked fifteen minutes later. He seemed to be either a short high school student or a tall junior high school kid, wearing his black cap and a blue jacket. A black tennis bag hung on his shoulders, with "Yamato R" written on it.
"Oh, it's you from the train! I'm going to Kakinozaka Tennis Garden too, with my grandmother. Are you playing? This is my first time watching tennis," the girl with long brown hair said.
"So where is it?" he asked bluntly.
"Ah, sorry. Um…You use the South Exit and go straight," she said, looking at the orange map for directions.
"South Exit? Thanks," he said, walking off.
Moments later, another guy, this time with greenish-black hair, a white cap and a red-accented pink jacket with "Ryoma E" written on his black tennis bag, came up and asked the same question. He received the same answer and walked off.
"You're late," the girl said to the lady who had jogged up to her fifteen minutes later. "By thirty minutes."
"Sorry," she said. She chuckled at Sakuno when her face turned bright pink in frustration. "Let's go, Sakuno."
The old lady led her to the North Exit before Sakuno suddenly stopped. She had begun to look uneasy. "But this is the North Exit."
"Yes, Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden is just off the North Exit," her grandmother said, pointing ahead of them. "Let's hurry or we're going to miss some great matches."
The onyx-eyed boy walked out of the tent, his cap blocking his eyes, disappointed that he lost his match by default. He walked down the main pathway, stopping occasionally when a good point was being played. He decided to lie on the grass and quietly sip some apple-flavored Ponta. Beside him, the greenish-black-haired boy was sleeping.
"Hey, it's that guy from the train," came a man's voice. A soda can flew between the two boys, landing a few feet outside the trash can.
Both boys sat up, finding the three people from the train standing behind them. The one who had shown the wrong grip had changed from his tan-colored uniform and wore purple-and-white tennis shirt with long maroon shorts.
"It looks like he's ready to leave," one of the orange-haired boy's friend said. "He most likely lost."
The orange-haired boy stuck out his racquet, lifting the other's cap, revealing his stoic onyx eyes. "I'm ceded in the Seniors' Tournament, and also one of the people aiming for the trophy."
"Don't give me that look of yours," he said, quickly angered by the onyx-eyed one's apparent nonchalance. "It's way too early for a kid like you to talk to me about tennis, you ignorant brat! Go get some milk first to hasten the growth of your bones. Already in Senior High and yet you look like a Junior High!"
"What do you think you're doing?" the one with hazel eyes asked, stopping the racquet the boy had swung directly at Yamato's face.
"Let's go," said one of his friends. The three older boys turned around and started walking away.
"Did you learn the grip yet?" the onyx-eyed asked. The older boys turned to see an impression of a smirk on his stoic face. "If not…"
"I'll teach you what tennis is all about," both boys said simultaneously.
"Shoji, get dressed," the orange-haired guy said angrily. "We're going to teach these brats a thing or two about tennis."
"Sasabe, you still have matches remaining in the tournament," said the last member of Sasabe's group. "Do you think this is a good idea?"
"This will be a good warm up," Sasabe said confidently. "Ready to play?"
"Yes Sasabe," Shoji answered, having changed into an outfit consisting of a white-and-black tennis shirt and knee-length black shorts.
"I'm going easy on you," both boys heard the other mutter.
"I don't play Doubles," the more stoic of the two said when he saw that the other pair was preparing for it.
"Why? Afraid you'll screw up and blame it on the other one, like beginners usually do?" Sasabe sneered.
The one with onyx orbs pulled down his cap and began stretching.
"Best of one set, Sasabe to serve," Sasabe's friend called out.
"You're both okay with no referee? We'll self-judge, okay?" Sasabe said. Both boys got ready for his serve. "Don't worry, I'll give you a handicap. Here, an underhand serve."
He did as he said, hitting a slow serve with a very high bounce.
"Play seriously," the hazel-eyed yelled, hitting the ball past Shoji, far into the left-hand corner of their court.
"0-15."
"So this is where he went off to," Sakuno's grandmother said as they watched outside the wire fence. "This certainly looks interesting."
"Don't you think you should stop this?" Sakuno asked, nervous. "It looks like they're playing two senior high school students. What if they get hurt?"
"What are you saying?" the older woman asked. "Didn't you see that boy's return?"
"Sasabe, maybe you should actually try to win," Shoji said cautiously.
"Shut up!" Sasabe yelled. "Anyone can ace a return if it is an underhand serve."
"Yup, there are those who make excuses for losing," the hazel-eyed said to his partner, making sure it was loud enough for the others to hear.
"You brat!" Sasabe served in the onyx-eyed one's direction.
"That's Sasabe's Bullet Serve!" one of his friends called from the sidelines.
"Much too slow." He returned the serve back easily, using twice the power.
Sasabe managed to hit the ball back, though he looked very shocked. They started a rally before Sasabe hit the ball towards the hazel-eyed one, who instantly hit an overhead smash, sending the ball directly in between Shoji's feet, ending the point.
"0-30."
"I know!" Sasabe yelled to his friend. "Stop keeping count!"
"Sugoi na," Sakuno said quietly as the boy ended the point.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," her grandmother said proudly.
"Do you know him, Grandma?" Sakuno asked.
"The other one is known as the Prince of Tennis," the elderly lady said.
"Prince of Tennis?" Sakuno repeated, tilting his head in confusion.
"Echizen Ryoma, twelve years old. He managed to win four consecutive Junior Tournaments in the United States. The other one, I have no idea of, as of now."
"0-40."
"Ryoma is the son of one of my students," she continued. "When his family and he moved to Japan, he said he would compete in this tournament, even though he isn't known here. I told him that if he was that strong, he should ender the Junior instead of the Midget Division, but he said he won't compete unless it was in the Seniors' Division."
"Game won by Echizen-Yamato pair."
"You're appearing in the finals, right?" Yamato taunted.
"Let's end this quickly then," Ryoma said, finishing his sentence. He started to bounce the ball as he got ready to serve from the baseline.
"Echizen Service."
Ryoma threw the ball and served, sending it speeding in Sasabe's direction. Sasabe did not even move as the ball flew past him.
"15-0."
Ryoma served the ball again, this time towards Shoji. The opponent hit the ball back, letting him and Sasabe to rush to the net. Ryoma hit the ball towards Sasabe who volleyed back, out of Ryoma's reach in the alley.
"30-40."
After Ryoma's serve, both high school students ran to the net. Ryoma hit a high lob that flew high over their heads and landed right before the baseline.
"Deuce," Ryoma said, his face unreadable.
"Do you think we should stop?" Shoji asked Sasabe quietly. "If we continue and lose, we will both be laughed at if we lose to the to an elementary school student and a short high school kid."
Sasabe gritted his teeth and awaited Ryoma's next serve. As Sasabe returned the serve, they both approached the net. Like the rally before, Ryoma set a high lob to the baseline. Sasabe ran after it this time, still not reaching it. The ball bounced directly in front of the baseline again.
"Out," Sasabe called. "Too bad, it was very close."
'If there's something I hate…' Yamato thought, clenching his racquet tighter. '…It's dirty players.'
"Advantage Sasabe."
Ryoma served the ball to Shoji, and they both approached the net. Shoji hit the ball to Yamato. He hit the ball toward Sasabe. Sasabe hit an overhead smash, aiming it back at Yamato. The onyx-eyed lobbed the ball, aiming for the baseline.
"Baka!" Sasabe yelled. "As long as I'm judging, all those shots will be out."
Both boys on the opposite court had smirks on their faces. They watched the ball stop immediately on the baseline, spinning on the ground for a few seconds before slowing down.
"Wh-What happened?" Shoji asked. Both high school boys looked equally shocked.
"He's good," Sakuno's grandmother said. "He added a slice to the lob, allowing it to stop right before the baseline."
"Hey…" They looked at the half-stoic, half-mocking face of Yamato. "…Was that in?"
Several minutes later, the score reached 3-0, with the Echizen-Yamato pair leading.
"You arrogant brat," Sasabe yelled, throwing his racquet at Ryoma's face. The latter had just hit another lob to the far left corner before the racquet hit him. He fell, letting his racquet go.
Yamato ran to Ryoma and kneeled next to him. Ryoma was on fours, clutching his face, drops of bright red blood fell on the green court.
"Sorry, sorry," Sasabe said, smirking, as he bent over the net to pick up his racquet. "My hand slipped.
"Ryoma, are you okay?" Sakuno, who had just ran into the court, asked.
"Do not come onto the court during a game," Ryoma said, pushing her away slightly before standing up.
"Your grip is weak," Yamato said in his usual voice.
"Mada mada dane," both said, adjusting their caps. Ryoma had a thin line of blood flowing between his eyes from where the racquet had hit him.
"5-0."
Ryoma bounced the ball a few times, getting ready for his serve. Yamato waited patiently at the net, bending his knees. Ryoma crossed his right foot over his left, bent his knees, leaned to the right, and twisted his shoulders as he tossed the ball. He jumped and swung at the ball, sending it flying over the net.
The ball bounced in the middle of the service box before flying directly at Sasabe's face, missing by centimeters.
"15-0," Yamato said, a small smirk on his face.
"What…was that?" Shoji asked.
Ryoma moved to the other side, using the same serve to aim at Shoji. Once again, the ball bounced halfway in the service box before hitting Shoji in his face, leaving a bright red mark.
"Twist Serve?" Sasabe's friend asked. "Was that the Twist Serve?"
"30-0," Ryoma called out, bouncing the ball. He served toward Sasabe, knocking him over as the ball hit his face.
"40-0." Ryoma got ready to serve again, staring straight at Sasabe. "Go to hell."
"Stop!" Shoji yelled as he clutched his head in the middle of the service box.
"Baka," RRyoma said as his serve bounced once over the terrified high school student.
"Game and set won by Echizen-Yamato pair."
"Fools!" Sasabe spat. "We weren't playing seriously. We could beat you if we played one more set!"
"Sasabe, just stop," Shoji warned. Both he and Yamato had gotten off the court, leaving Ryoma and Sasabe.
"Don't you get it, baka?" Yamato asked Sasabe. "You can beat neither me nor him, however hard you try."
"What are you talking about?" Sasabe asked.
Yamato pointed to Ryoma. "He's left-handed."
Ryoma let go of his racquet and caught it with his left. He served, making it land between Sasabe's legs, causing the high school student to fall over.
"I quit!" Sasabe yelled, as he and his friends ran away.
"It's big," Hayato commented as they stood in front of the junior high building. "I'll get our uniforms. Stroll around a bit."
"Let's meet at the tennis court?" Akari asked and received an affirmative.
As she followed the path to the courts, Akari heard the distant whacking of racquets against tennis balls. She marveled at the number of trees that were older than her, and she could not wait to get to the lake she heard gushing by forty, fifty, yards away.
"…Fuji, Singles Two. Tezuka, Singles One."
Akari looked up. The person speaking was the same elderly woman from a few days back. She stood in front of a row of boys, who Akari assumed were that month's Regulars, based on their number.
Their backs were turned to her so she could not see their faces. Even though, several people caught her attention.
"Talk about growth spurt…" Akari muttered as she looked at them. She herself was only a head shorter than most Juniors and Seniors, but she still had to look up to some people—literally.
"Excited?"
Akari almost jumped. In her astonishment, he had not heard or felt him coming as she normally does when he does not hide his presence from her. 'It's that or he's becoming stealthier.'
"Sure you can do our task here?" he asked.
Akari nodded. "My ankle's not that bad anymore. Same with my wrist."
"What idiot would even think of kicking down a two-inch-thick door made of pure titanium alloy?" he asked rhetorically.
"Well at least we're alive," Akari countered.
A moment of silence passed, broken only by the Tennis Club's activities. Finally, Hayato broke it.
"Let's go. We have so many things to prepare for."
"Yeah…and they don't," Akari said ironically, smirking, gaining her a raised brow from Hayato.