Black Rain DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tennis No Oujisama/Prince of Tennis in any way. I only own one manga of it. WaRnInG: a bit AU-ish
Summary: After practicing for all of her junior high years, when the whole gang goes to Seigaku High and forms the high school regular team, Sakuno decides to cut her hair so she can join the Seigaku regular team under the guise of a boy. What happens when someone finds out her secret?!
Note:
Sakuno's alias as a boy is named Hensou Futari, in last name, then first name format. "Hensou" means "disguise" and refers to her alias. "Futari" means "two people" and I thought it was fitting since she was going to be keeping up two personalities. Futari is her more daring, composed, and outgoing side while Sakuno is her the side she shows to most people, a.k.a. Ms. Shy, Timid, and Stuttering.
Here's a profile of "Futari."
Name: Hensou Futari
Age: 15 years old
Birthday: January 14 (which is also the same when she's not in disguise)
Eye color: Storm Gray (colored contacts, duh!)
Hair Color: Auburn
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 125 lbs
Favorite clothes brand: Lacoste (the one with the tiny alligator on it)
Favorite shoe brand: Adidas
Racket type: Chanel Graphite (Yeah, Chanel does make tennis rackets; I was surprised when I found this out. A Chanel Graphite racket is almost all black but there's a square of silver coloring in the middle of the racket and the two C's for Chanel on the bottom of the handle.)
Outfit: white Lacoste polo shirt with unbuttoned dark green collar and shirt sleeves/Black-green shorts/tennis socks with the initials R.S./White Adidas sneakers with a metal yin yang charm sewn to the outward side of right shoe/plain white cap with kanji for "speed" on the spot where the "R" on Ryoma's cap is.
Special moves: Will be revealed later in the story.
Personality: Gentle, polite, thoughtful, and determined. Mysterious as he isn't really talkative. Seems girlish in appearance to the others (A/N: Gee, I wonder why…XD)
Now onto the REAL story!
Sakuno closed her eyes as she quickly snipped her long braids with a snap of her scissors. The auburn plaits fell to the wood floor of her room without a sound, their former owner opening her eyes hesitantly. She blinked at the person in the mirror.
"Is that…is that me?!" Sakuno hadn't untied her braids before cutting them so the result was below-the-shoulder length pointy ended hair. Her bangs had grown a bite longer over the years, a few inches longer than when she was 12. Her now-short hair, paired with her spiky-ish bangs, gave her normally childish look some edge and accented her cinnamon colored eyes.
"Sugoi! (Wow!) I look a lot better this way!!" She punched the air happily and jumped. "Maybe I can make it better…"
Sakuno whipped out a pair of texturing scissors (the one that looks like a comb) and began furiously snipping at the ends of her hair, creating feathery layers. She brushed out her naturally shiny hair, ending up with sharp spikes (they stick up like how Tezuka's does)
"Phase One complete! Now for Phase Two!" A fanfare played in the background, a white chibi cat holding a sign saying Phase Two in kanji.
Sakuno left a note for her grandmother and ran for the mall, after dressing up in a plain skirt and purple tank top.
Once there, she immediately headed for the Lacoste clothing store, not bothering to stop lest the saleswoman ask why she was buying boys' clothing.
She decided on a hunter green and white polo shirt and black shorts. She paid for them and bought new sneakers at the next-door shoe place. Sakuno checked her wallet before deciding a plain white cap she saw on the shelf.
Her body had matured since her freshmen years at Seigaku Junior High so Sakuno also bought a body wrap to hide her chest. Checking her watch, she realized she was late for her meeting with Tomoka.
"Aiy!! I gotta hurry!!" She started to run, surprisingly not crashing into anyone and not dropping any of her many bags.
"I can't believe you actually did it!!" Tomoka hopped up and down squealing. She was obviously happy her best friend had done what she did. After a while, she stopped and held out a black new looking racket shaped case.
Sakuno gave her a questioning look. "What's this?"
Tomoka grinned. "It's an early birthday present! Open it!"
Sakuno took it hesitantly and slowly unzipped the case, her eyes widening when she saw the brand new black and silver racket inside.
"Tomo-chan! This must have cost a fortune! A new racket?!" Tomoka only grinned wider. Sakuno hugged her friend happily.
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Tomo-chan!!!" Tomoka giggled at how happy Sakuno was.
The Next Day
"Hurry up, Sakuno! We're gonna be late!" Sakuno ran to catch up to her already out-of-breath friend. She, however, was still breathing evenly, thanks to the daily early morning sprints she took up since after Ryoma left for the U.S. When he came back, she continued her sprints and greatly increased her stamina.
"Wait up, Sakuno! I thought I was the one who was telling you to hurry!!"
Sakuno laughed, her low ponytail swishing as she just ran faster.
"HEY!" Tomoka started to run faster to catch up to her friend.
When they arrived at the school, the two girls stopped to catch their breath. Tomoka nudged Sakuno, who turned to face her.
"Does your grandma know what you're doing?" Sakuno shook her head.
"If she knew, she wouldn't let me do it. So I only hope she doesn't get suspicious."
Tomoka nodded and the pair started to go to their homeroom.
Ryoma was in her class, Sakuno found out. Just like in junior high
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After School
Sakuno slipped into the utility closet of the school and changed quickly, putting grey contacts in her eyes. She made sure her ponytail was hidden under her cap and adjusted the elastic of the cap. She stuffed her uniform in her bag and swung her racket case over her shoulder.
(NOTE: I will refer to Sakuno as Futari and a boy whenever she's in her disguise)
Futari pulled the cap over his storm cloud colored eyes as a little of his spiked bangs fell in front of his face. He started to walk to the tennis courts of the school, a small smile on his fair face.
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Momo was the first to meet him. He was at the fence surrounding the courts when Futari arrived. He called out to him.
"OI!" Futari looked up, a questioning look on his face.
"Yea?" Momo grinned widely. "You look new; I don't remember seeing you here before."
Futari nodded. He lifted his head a little to see his senpai better. "Hensou Futari. Douzo yuroushika (Nice to meet you.)"
Momo introduced himself. "Takeshi Momoshiro. What're doing here at Seigaku?"
Futari shrugged. "Transferred. I also wanted to join the tennis club here."
Momo watched as the shorter boy trudged towards the tennis courts. He grinned.
"Reminds me of Echizen."
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Futari entered the court and waited for the coach and the captain. Sumire arrived followed closely by the captain of the Seigaku regular team.
A familiar young man stood in front and pushing his cap up a little, Futari realized that it was Tezuka and wondered why he didn't remember him.
Tezuka introduced himself after ordering everyone to fall in line. Next to him stood the other regular members, including Ryoma, who only pulled his cap over his eyes as usual.
Futari put his hands in his shorts pockets and glanced around at the other people besides him were new members of the tennis club. Many of them were his classmates.
Oishi, still the vice captain, started to call out the names of the new members, who either raised their hands or gave some other action of recognition as their names were called.
Finally, his name was called. "Hensou Futari."
Futari lifted his eyes off the ground and slightly raised his hand. Futari was at least three or four inches taller than most of the other freshmen (besides Ryoma, of course) from his stretching exercises.
Futari spaced out after his name was called and only focused again when they were dismissed with a lot of encouragement from the regulars. Tomorrow would be the tryouts.
After grabbing his things, Futari headed back to a deserted dressing room and changed.
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Sakuno straightened out her skirt and shirt. She crept out silently and met with Tomoka outside of the school.
Sakuno nudged Tomoka. "So, Tomo-chan, how'd I do?"
Tomoka giggled. "I think you did pretty convincing job."
Sakuno smiled and took a look at the thin watch on her wrist. Her grandmother had got it for her telling her it would help with her constant tardiness.
"Oh! Tomo-chan, I gotta go! I have to make dinner before Grandma gets home
Tomoka nodded and waved as her friend started to run towards her house.
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Next Day: Regular Tryouts
Futari arrived at least 15 minutes before the tryouts actually took place. He didn't seem to notice the other nervous participants as he kneeled down and tightened his shoelaces.
His wide eyes were checking over his equipment. After he made sure everything was there, he enlisted in the same block as Inui-senpai and a 2nd year name Kuragawa Okiru.
He started to warm up by stretching and started to practice some of the moves he learned since he started playing. He glanced at his watch. Tryouts should start in a couple minutes.
Ryoma remained a regular after beating Momo and a new 2nd year student. Futari wasn't surprised at the outcome, having seen it before. He just hoped that his identity wouldn't be found out.
His match against Kuragawa Okiru started. It was quite easy, which was a bit surprising for the grey eyed boy. He returned everything the 2nd year sent at him, serves, smashes, and all. Futari was careful, however, not to use any advanced or high ranked moves so no attention would be drawn to him besides the fact he was easily beating a 2nd year.
Finally: "6-0! Game Set and Match to Hensou Futari!"
Futari let some of his happiness show in a crescent eyed smile, pulling his cap over his eyes.
After a short break, which he spent dunking his face in ice cold water and adjusting his racket strings and shoelaces, Futari returned to the tennis courts.
His next match, Inui-senpai, greeted her with a calculating smile.
"Let's leave everything on the court, alright?"
"Eyo. (Okay)."
Futari mock saluted. Tomoka, watching from behind the fence, giggled at her friend's sense of humor.
Futari stood in a ready stance, bouncing the yellow tennis ball on the court. He hit with as much possible force as he could. Inui returned it and the game started.
Futari was glad Inui didn't really have any reliable data on him. But even though he didn't, Inui-senpai was a formidable opponent. Futari had to reluctantly decide to reveal some techniques he had hoped to use later on if he got a spot with the regulars.
Finally, it was his turn to serve again. Futari threw the ball, twisting his wrist as he did, giving the ball a fast horizontal spin. He served, hitting the ball with the edge of his racket, spinning the ball even more.
It blurred across the court, swerving sharply. Inui ran to where he thought it would land. It hit the ground a few feet away from him and he moved to return it.
But, to his surprise, instead of bouncing as a normal serve would, it rocketed straight up. Inui froze in place as the ball shot past his face, brushing his skin slightly.
"Game set and Match to Hensou Futari! 6 games to 5!"
Futari couldn't believe it. He was a regular.
"Nice match." He looked up at the towering figure of his notebook toting senpai, who was holding out his hand with a content smile on his face.
Futari returned the friendly gesture. Everyone on the sidelines cheered. As Futari started to walk off the court, Inui called out to him.
"Hensou!" Futari stopped mid-step. "Aa? (Yea?)"
"What's that move of yours called?" Futari smiled. "Fuuta Gaeshi." Inui nodded as he scribbled his new found information into his notebook.
"Looks like we got another O'Chibi on the team, eh, Fuji?" Eiji commented. Fuji simply smiled behind the fence with his arms folded.
After all the matches were done and over it, there were a few announcements and then everyone was dismissed. Futari sighed in relief that today was over though he was excited at the same time. He left quickly and decided against changing in case of arousing suspicion.
Futari grabbed his things and left after bidding the coach good bye. Futari hoped that his voice sounded convincing enough. His feigned voice was more boyish though it still retained a bit of its original softness.
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Sakuno woke up early and got ready for the day. She thought it was somewhat amusing being a boy. Now that she thought about it, it was almost as though she were two different people. Barely focusing in class, she was excited yet again.
At last, it was time for the long awaited practice session. Sakuno changed quickly into her clothes and cap and ran into the courts.
"All club members line up here!" Inui shouted. All lined up in front of him outside the courts. "This test of stamina would prove who is the player who could stay up the whole match. You all have to run 3 laps around the three courts in 2 minutes!" he added.
Everybody got ready to run. "Those who would not make it would have to drink my Inui special nutritional penalty juice. It sure is going to improve your stamina." He said, flashing a somewhat greenish liquid in front of them.
Everybody watched as the second year sip the glass of juice. The whole club were curious as to what it tasted like this time. Those who had experienced his other concoctions were sure it was even more vile than their predecessors. The second year dropped to the ground and started convulsing unconsciously.
For some reason, it felt like déjà vu.
Everyone felt a shiver run down their spine, except for Fuji who seemed to like them. Futari sweatdropped but shrugged off the creepy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he prepared to run.
After about a minute, everyone except the regulars and Momoshiro (A/N: Sorry, but in order for the story to go according to plan, I needed to make Sakuno a regular, so I had to make Momo get off the team.) had fallen behind.
Futari was suddenly grateful for the grueling training he had put together. As he continued to run faster, he caught up to Ryoma and ran alongside him. Ryoma glanced at him for a second before turning his eyes back in front of him. It feels as though I know him from somewhere…
Futari concentrated on finishing the laps so he wouldn't have to drink the "Penal-Tea" (pun intended). But he couldn't help but let his mind wander to other things.
FLASHBACK
Sakuno looked at the plain paper with her summer break training schedule. Now that junior high was done, she had a lot more time to practice so she get better. Her grandmother sometimes helped her but she also put together a training schedule for her based on things her grandma told her would improve her tennis play. She had to improve on her game during the summer, improving on her already average level of play.
SCENE SWITCH: one month
Sakuno panted as she practiced against a tennis machine with weights on her ankles and wrists. She ran back and forth returning the balls. Over the weeks, she would gradually get better, increasing her stamina and accuracy when hitting the ball.
She would develop her own original style of play and create her own moves. Sakuno was serious about becoming a lot better than she was in junior high. She only hoped it would be good enough.
END FLASHBACK
Futari shook the memories out of his head. He focused on finishing and continued to match Ryoma step for step. It helped that since he was really a girl and had longer legs, making it easier to pick up speed.
A gold locket hanging from a thin chain bounced up and down as he continued to run. As everyone made it, they were relieved that they wouldn't have to drink Inui's poisonous concoction. Futari shuddered slightly when he remembered the second year who drank it.
Eiji grinned broadly. "Nya, two Ochibis with caps look kawaii!!" Futari couldn't help but blush faintly, smiling slightly.
"We…made…it! What…a…relief!" Momo said, panting and sitting on the ground. Futari cocked his head.
"Is it really that bad?" he asked innocently.
"YES, IT IS!!" Futari cringed and backed off slightly from Eiji, Momo, and Taka. Eiji noticed and glomped him.
"Nya, Futa-chan is so lucky! You never tasted Inui Juice before!" Futari sweatdropped. And I don't plan to.
"Futa-chan?" Oishi asked. Eiji let go of Futari as he gasped for air.
"Futa-chan is our new Ochibi's nickname, nya!" Futari smiled. Then Inui walked up to them.
"Since all of you finished the laps, we are going to have practice matches. Once I called your name, get inside the court." Inui ordered. "Hensou! Echizen!"
Futari pulled his cap over his eyes slightly as he went inside the courts with a small smile. He never played an actual game with Ryoma before. This would be exciting.
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So how was it? Reviews make me happy so press the little blue button there and make one! This is my re-edit of the first chapter since I wanted to change up the plot a little. Hope it's pleasing to the eyes.
Also if anyone wants to give me ideas for further chappies, you can put it in a review or e-mail me at Or if you have AIM, IM me at TokyoSniperGirl.
Ja ne,
-Call Meh Kiku-Chan-
