Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis does not belong to me.
Author's Note: I'm sorry for any tennis errors. I know absolutely squat about tennis and became interested because of PoT. Hehe. But yeah, go ahead and flame me for that. I don't care. People are allowed to write stories on here if they want. For those of you who can tolerate my meager tennis knowledge, read on and enjoy.
Chapter One
Slosh
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Sweat trickled down her face in warm little streams as it mixed with the cold rain falling from above. Sakuno was dripping wet, her tennis uniform clinging to her in a manner that didn't leave much to the imagination. In her hand she held a tennis racket, which she used to repeatedly hit a tennis ball back and forth between her and the brick wall she was facing.
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Determination radiated in her eyes as she began to put more force into her swings. 'Stay loose, bend your knees, and keep your eyes on the ball…' the mantra was repeated in her head over and over as the sopping wet ball slapped the same spot on the wall over and over again… Just like a certain tennis prodigy had done so many years back… 'No time to be thinking about that now, I have to focus on my swings. This rain is slowing down my ball- I need to put more speed into it.' Sakuno panted harder as fatigue began to wear away at her shoulders. It hurt. No, it burned. Burned with a fury that threatened to tear of her arm if she insisted on continuing. And she did.
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'I have to get better,' she panted, 'I'm still not good enough.' Sakuno felt her world blur before her. Stopping for a second, she rubbed her eyes and put her racket down. At that moment, an intense pain ripped through her body, causing the young girl to sink to her knees. "Ah!" she cried out and grasped at her shoulder. It was throbbing. She hissed. This would surely interfere with her practice. She sighed and sat down. It was time for a little break. Sumire was out of town on business and wouldn't be back until tomorrow, leaving Sakuno to tend the house by herself. It was a bit lonely, so she decided to practice a little.
She began the first half hour by running laps and doing stretches, and then switched to hitting the ball back and forth between her and the wall, before going back to running and stretches. She alternated the activities in that manner so she wouldn't get bored doing just one thing for a long time. About two hours after she started, it started raining, but Sakuno was too busy training to notice. All her mind was set on was tennis.
Sakuno was seventeen years old now. It had been five years. Five years since the day she met that boy.
Ryoma Echizen had just turned eighteen, his birthday having passed not even a month ago, and was going on to further his tennis career. He had already won all the junior grand slams numerous times. He was rich, good looking, athletic, and ranked pretty highly in the world of tennis- and at such a young age too. He had become the idol for many aspiring players, as well as the source for them to lose inspiration ironically. Any match that Ryoma entered, everyone already knew the outcome. It was still fun to watch the other person get pummeled, Fuji would always say. Some things never changed. The ex-Seigaku regulars and Sumire couldn't have been prouder…even Sakuno felt happy for him.
But along with the happiness came sadness.
She missed him dearly. Sakuno hadn't seen Ryoma since he left all those years ago, except occasionally on the television. Hell, who was she kidding? Occasionally? That boy was a freaking celebrity now! Nearly every news channel broadcasted him, and the Japanese ESPN was overcome with Ryoma fever. Commercials featuring him played on every channel. He was a living legend! It wasn't every day that an eighteen year old was able to win all four junior grand slams three times in a row.
Despite the years that had gone by, Sakuno still harbored that crush for him. Why? She didn't know. She just…did. He probably didn't remember her, but it didn't matter. Her being in his memory would probably only hinder him. It was better if he had fewer things in his mind so he could focus on tennis more.
Ryoma returned to Japan occasionally to participate in a tournament or visit up on his family and the ex-Seigaku regulars and old friends like Satoshi and Sumire- even Tomoka, but not Sakuno. Every time he returned, she was never at his welcome back parties. It wasn't as if she hated him… it's just, she thought it better if she left him alone, and better if she didn't see him at all. The reunion would probably have caused all her emotions locked up from long ago to spill out. Besides, Ryoma had enough fan girls as it was.
Also, if he truly wanted to see her then he should have sought her out…but he didn't…
Sakuno shook her head. This was not the time to be thinking about him. She still had to finish up practice. "Good tennis players can play no matter what the weather or terrain," she said to herself as she thought of all the times Ryoma would continue a game whether rain came down in torrents or if the sun burned with sweltering heat. The rain suddenly pounded harder and Sakuno had to stop to squeeze excess water out of her hair and clothes. 'Here we go again…'
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"Achoo!" she sneezed. Goosebumps prickled at her skin. Could she be getting a cold? "Mada mada da ne," she whispered.
Slosh
A cold wind ripped past, throwing the ball off course and chilling her damp clothing. She felt her knees buckle. "I can't stop now…six hours of practice isn't barely enough…"
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"Must…continue…"
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"Mada…mada…da ne…"
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Suddenly, Sakuno felt her face grow hot and her hand turn limp. She sank to her knees and burst into a coughing fit. 'Wha…What's happening to me…?' Her mind ached as if something was trying to claw its way out. "Itai…" she whimpered and fell over in a crumpled heap, the tennis ball in her hand rolled away solemnly. Sakuno shook as another coughing fit attacked her lungs, but this time a dark red liquid accompanied it. Slowly, the world began to darken…
"Sakuno-chan!"
"Sakuno-chan, can you hear me? Sakuno-chan, are you okay? Sakuno-chan?"
A somewhat loud voice hovered over a sleeping Sakuno fretfully. Slowly, the object of interest began to stir as Sakuno groaned. She had a splitting headache, and her body felt like it was made out of rust and would break the minute she rose.
"Sakuno-chan? Ah! You're awake! Thank goodness…"
"Ngh," Sakuno grunted as her eyelids lifted and she strained to make out the face of whoever was leaning over her, "Nani…? W-Who…Tomoka-c-chan?"
"You poor thing," the redhead's face softened, "How do you feel?"
"Fine," Sakuno instantly regretted lying. She winced as a painful jolt spread down her right shoulder.
Tomoko pursed her lips, "Yeah right. You look like a mess! Tsk, tsk, think of what could have happened if I hadn't had come along."
'If she hadn't had…Oh! That's right!' Instantly, Sakuno snapped upright and stared with wide, amber eyes. The rain, the practicing, the fatigue, and the blood in her cough… it all came back to her… "Tomoko-chan," she started, "What happened?" As her mind began to clear, Sakuno noticed that the bed she was in wasn't hers, and that the stark white surroundings resembled that of a hospital's.
"Hm?" her friend blinked, "You mean you don't remember? Well, I went to the store to pick something up for my mom, and as I was walking home I passed by the tennis courts and saw you by one of the walls. You were on your knees and your shoulders were shaking, and then you collapsed. I dropped all my stuff and ran to you. You had a fever and it looked like you were gasping for air."
Sakuno's eyes widened, "…R-Really? Wow…" Did she really work herself that hard?
"Yup," Tomoko continued, "And you scared me half to death. I thought you were dying or something. I called the ambulance and they took you here. You were asleep for a few hours. They said you worked yourself too hard, and in the rain nonetheless, and caught a pretty bad cold. Doctors said it looks like pneumonia. Luckily, they gave you some medicine and it's still in the early stages so you should be fine in a few days."
"That's good to hear," Sakuno smiled half-heartedly. 'How could I have fainted? I'm so weak…I'll never get anywhere…'
"But you know," Tomoko sat next to the brunette, "After the ambulance left, I went to collect your stuff, and you know what I found? On the wall near where you collapsed, there was tennis equipment. Any explanation behind that?"
"…"
"Your tennis ball looked really beat up, like a balloon that had lost most of its air. Also, look at your right hand. It's bandaged. The doctors said you rubbed them raw. Now, I wonder what you could have with tennis equipment to beat up a tennis ball, and rub your hand raw."
"…"
"Sakuno-chan, you were practicing tennis again, weren't you?"
"…H-Hai…" she whispered shyly.
"NANI?" Tomoko screamed with a might that could have awoken the dead, "Are you kidding me? In weather like that? That's crazy! Why I oughta- how long were you practicing for?" she demanded with the stern look a mother would give her daughter.
Sakuno shifted uncomfortably, "A-Ano…about s-six hours…" she could never really lie to Tomoko. The redhead would always see through them. And having that pressure on her made her revert back to her old, Sakuno-stuttering ways.
"NANI?"
Alright, if that earlier scream didn't wake the dead, this one probably did.
"S-SIX HOURS? In that FREEZING rain? My god, Sakuno Ryuzaki, have you completely and utterly lost your mind? Are you kidding me, not even that tennis-obsessed Ryoma Echizen would ever think of anything as stupid and crazy as-"
"Shh!" Sakuno quickly threw her hands over her friend's lips, "O-Onegai, Tomoko-chan, not too loud."
"Hmph!" she waved Sakuno's hand away, "Telling me to be quiet after I'm expressing my obvious concern for your health?" She crossed her arms and sighed, "But just tell me why you were out practicing in the rain for six hours." Though she had settled down, she was still upset, and Sakuno noticed.
She gulped, "W-Well, I don't really know. I was just thinking about tennis and how I barely improved since I started, and how bad a player I was. I just felt like I wanted to change that… I don't know; it's hard to explain."
"I see…" Tomoko nodded. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Sakuno-chan, do you really think you're a bad player?" She held up a hand to prevent Sakuno from answering, "Listen, after the ambulance took you to the hospital, I noticed a dent the size of a tennis ball on a wall near where you fainted. Sakuno-chan, you hit that ball so hard and in the same place so many times it left a dent there. Don't you see? No average person could have done that!"
Sakuno was silent. Absentmindedly, she fiddled with the linen wrapped about her palm.
"Even though you think you haven't changed, I do. You might not see it, but you've become a great player- hell, you might even give Fuji-senpai or Tezuka-senpai a run for his money. I mean seriously, your form is practically perfect, and your serves are so fast I can barely keep up with the ball! They go faster than a bullet! Okay, fine, so I'm probably exaggerating, but the point is, you've evolved into a great player, Sakuno-chan. Then again, your grandma is Sumire-san… the one who trained Ryoma, his dad, and the ex-Seigaku regulars."
"You know what I think?" an evil smirk crept upon Tomoka's lips, "I think you're good enough to go pro."
Sakuno choked, "W-What?! P-Pro? Tomoka-chan, do you have a fever?"
The redhead waved her off, "Your birthday is coming up in a few days. Tell you what, how about we celebrate your eighteenth birthday by entering you in your first tournament, ne?"
At this Sakuno burst into such a violent coughing fit that Tomoka had to rush and fetch her a glass of water. The cool liquid was received with much gratification by the victim. As soon as a few large gulps of the glass was downed, Sakuno turned to face a sly-looking redhead. "You can't possibly be serious, Tomo-chan!" Sakuno said.
"Ohoho," Tomoka smirked, "But I am. Listen, a new tournament is opening up for both amateurs and pros. Because it's new, not much prize money is involved, but a few scouts from major tennis companies are attending to see if there's any potential players they can endorse. This could be your chance to go pro, Sakuno!"
The said girl blinked. Was she kidding? "No. Absolutely, positively no." But something about Tomoka's eyes made Sakuno feel unsure… as if the redhead had planned this out in advance…
"Whaa?" Tomoka whined, "But this could be your chance! Come on, Sakuno! Trust me on this one, please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because, no."
"But Sakuno-chaann, I've already filled out your entry form and submitted a check as entry fee for you, and with my own bank account, I'll have you know."
It took the brunette a few moments to register the information.
"N-NANI?" Sakuno began grasping desperately for her glass of water. "Y-You can't possibly be s-serious!"
Tomoka pouted and gave her that look that told she wasn't lying, "Mou, I was planning to surprise you for your eighteenth birthday, but I guess it's better if I tell you now. I entered you in that tournament because I really think you have what it takes to go pro, Sakuno-chan. Also, they're coming out with a new method of play called 'Mixed Singles' in which a male can now play a woman in a singles game. Instantly, I thought maybe if you became pro you could one day face Ryoma in a tournament, instead of watching him on the TV all the time. Sounds good, huh, Sakuno-chan? So what do you say? Eh? Oi, Sakuno-chan?" Tomoka turned to look at her friend.
But the poor girl had fainted.
Author's Note: My first Prince of Tennis fic, as you can see. I hate how they portray Sakuno in the anime however, since her tennis skills are about as good as a piece of dirt's, but in the manga she actually shows some promising talent. So you could say this story's basing off of her manga talent, but using her anime's personality. Yupyup, that's pretty much all I have to say. Leave reviews, won't you? Arigatou.