Hello, Nana G. here! Anyway, this is my first PoT fic and no, the OCs will not be Mary-Sue! I dislike them just as much as the next person. Also, don't expect lengthy tennis matches, because I know nothing of it and greatly hate writing action scenes. Not to mention that I suck at them, too. I'd like to request for people not to ask me to write yaoi couples, not because I have something against them, but for the reason that I see the boys relationships as brotherhood rather than love and I'm against incest. Read on!
~^-^~
The idea had come from the conception that there was not enough integration between female and male clubs, even from the same sports. While you did see some girls cheering boys during their matches, you barely saw the contrary happening. Therefore, school boards met, discussed and reached a conclusion for such an unsettling matter:
Integration
By natie-chan
Serve: Outrageous hairstyles, short skirts and loose socks! The Seigaku Female Team
"I didn't even know we had a female tennis team!"
"So you thought those girls just walked around in tennis clothes and carried huge, heavy bags for the fun of it?"
"Maybe! Who knows, might be some new trend or something...Actually, I only thought they had the girls club, but it didn't participate on championships."
"Seigaku has a female tennis team. And it's pretty good as well."
"Have you ever seen they play?"
"...No."
Eiji smiled slyly, concluding that the fact Oishi hadn't watched an actual match proved his ignorance not that, well, ignorant. They were now walking to coach Ryuzaki's office to have a meeting about that new politic. As a matter of fact, Ryuzaki was supposed to tell them about it then, but Oishi had seen it on the morning news and spread word.
"So, what do you think they're like?" Oishi asked as they approached Ryuzaki's door. Eiji shrugged, opening the door. The rest of the team was already assembled, expressions varying from stoicism to outrage. Momoshiro and Kaidou were shouting about girls being crybabies and how they refused to play with them. The Golden Pair quietly took their seats and waited until the hot-blooded duo calmed down long enough for Ryuzaki to being speaking again.
"I guess, before I'm interrupted again, I might as well shoot the entire thing nonstop. Questions will come later." She added when Inui's glasses glinted. "School boards are concerned about the lack of unity between girls and boys of same clubs. They feel this disunion is creating a gap in school spirit and skills, as well as robbing both sides of possible friendships. Therefore!" Ryuzaki raised her hand in a silencing motion when Momoshiro threatened to explode again "Training will now be integrated and there's also going to be an Integrated National Championship. So, that's that."
Eiji waited. Exact three seconds of stunned silence followed before Momoshiro and Kaidou started screaming again. Sighing, the acrobatic player looked at Inui, who already had his trusty notebook out. "So, Inui, do you have any data on the girl's team?"
"Very little. Half are third-years, half are second. Got a pretty good rank and almost went to nationals. The captain is Shizuka Yanagimoto, but she isn't in any of our classes. You might know Ayumi Eguchi; she's in your class."
"Eh!? Eguchi?!" Eiji's eyes widened "No way she plays tennis!"
"Why not?" Inui asked, sniffing good data.
"Eguchi-san is very self-conscious about her appearance." Fuji explained, the usual smile plastered to his face. Eiji snorted.
"Self-conscious is too light. You should take a look at her nails."
"Manicured?"
"Like a J-Pop's idol."
"Man, this sucks!" Momoshiro groaned, holding his head with both hands. "When does this stupid thing begin?!"
"Today." Ryuzaki sighed. Then her expression turned severe. "Now, I warn you boys! I hear from the girls coach that they took the news very graciously! I know you're not happy, but don't you take it out on them!"
"Who should we take it out on, then?" Ryoma asked, looking up from under his cap.
"The School Board."
"How?"
"Write a letter."
~*~
[A/N: In case you don't know, dyed hair is frowned upon at Japanese schools. People go as far as think people who dye their hair are delinquents. Also, tattoos are greatly disliked for being associated with the Japanese mafia, yakuza.]
"Eguchi, Ayumi!"
"Present."
'No way.' Eiji thought, staring hard at the girl located on the row next to him, one seat up. Her long nails were square-shaped, pearl-colored and each had a large, pink Swarovski crystal circled by smaller, clear ones adorning the curve where it ended. Also, if the girl's sizing him up with an attitude that bordered hostile when he came into the room was how she had accepted the news 'graciously', Eiji wasn't too eager to discover how she was when unsatisfied.
"Fuji..."
"Yes, Eiji?"
"Her hair is dyed."
Fuji chuckled. "Yes. I remember it was a dark brown when we were first years."
"It's dark blond!"
"I'd go for light auburn."
"Kikumaru! Fuji! Something you'd like to share with the class?" The teacher barked, making Fuji look up and Eiji to jump.
"No, sir! Sorry!" Both said, bowing. Eiji saw Eguchi place a strand of hair behind her ear ('Look at the size of that earring!!!' He thought) and twirl the end between her fingers lazily. The crystals glinted in the sun and Eiji slumped on his seat.
~*~
"Is that them?"
"Yes."
"Well, they don't look so bad." Oishi said from his spot between Tezuka and Inui. Their teacher hadn't arrived yet and the three of them were studying two talking girls in the hallway. One of them had her black hair cut in a prim bob and the other had long, straight-cut sandy brown hair without any bangs. "So, who's who?"
"Shizuka Yanagimoto, the captain, is the black haired one. Masumi Shiratori is the vice-captain. Yanagimoto plays Doubles 2 and Shiratori's usually Singles 2."
"Doubles 2?" Oishi inquired. Inui nodded.
"Yes. She's a good supporter, mostly avoid the game maker position. However, I hear she has great leadership skills and is well-liked by most of her class and teammates. Shiratori, being quite controlling, has troubles adjusting to double-playing. I hear she's quite the control-freak."
"Hm." Tezuka nodded. Oishi couldn't suffocate the worry that crept up his spine when Yanagimoto bubbled with laughter. How that baby-faced giggle-machine would work with his stoic captain was beyond him. Inui seemed to be thinking the same, since he smiled wickedly and claimed he would gather good data.
~*~
"I heard they have a girl who is part of a gang!"
"No way!!!"
Ryoma sighed as Horio went on and on about the girls tennis team and Kachiro and Katsuo grew more and more nervous about the afternoon training. "Hey, Sakuno!" Horio called, "Isn't it true there's a really scary member on the female team?"
Sakuno blushed nervously before answering "Well...I guess Arishima-senpai's looks are a bit unusual..."
"Ah, that's the one! Jun Arishima! I remembered her name now! She's the yakuza one!"
"N-no..."
~*~
"Hey, Mamushi, are you sure this is their classroom?" Momoshiro whispered to Kaidou as they kneeled under a window.
"Yeah. Inui-senpai told me."
"And what are their names again?"
Kaidou took out a rumpled piece of paper from his pocket. "Eri Mifune, Madoka Jukodo, Ren Murasaki and Yuka Ono."
Both boys slowly raised their heads, peeping inside the filling classroom. It dawned on Momoshiro he didn't know how they looked like and he was about to ask Kaidou for a clue when the bandana-wearing boy nodded towards a group of girls gathered around a magazine. "The redhead is Mifune. Jukodo is the one with wavy, long hair, Ono has shorter hair. And the blonde is Murasaki."
"Is her hair really blonde?"
"Her mom is English or something."
"Oh." Momoshiro analyzed them a little more before groaning. "Well, this sucks. They all look pretty weak. Look at those thin arms."
"What did you expect, stupid? Brawny girls?"
"No, but...Hey, who are you calling stupid, stupid?!"
"You, dumbass!"
"Say that to my face if you're a man!"
"I am saying that to your face!!"
~*~
It was with a general feeling of unsettledness that the male tennis team gathered that afternoon. Upon arriving at the courts, they saw Ryuzaki talking to who they supposed to be the female's coach. They also caught themselves trying to guess if the person was male or female.
"You guys, this is Aki Yoshifumi, Seigaku female tennis team's coach." Ryuzaki said and they bowed. Aki Yoshifumi, it seemed, would remain on the 'Gender Unknown' category for a while. "Coach here just told me the girls will be arriving shortly, so please be patient."
"Why aren't they here yet?" Momoshiro asked, fully intentioned in being impatient.
"They refused to change until the suspicion that a cockroach had runned inside their changing room was proved wrong." Aki answered, smiling brightly. Momoshiro and Kaidou seemed ready to attack him/her, whereas the others settled for sweat-dropping. "But there, here they come."
The boys turned and stared. They stared because it never occurred to them Seigaku would allow such short skirts to be worn. They stared because the girl's socks were all loose socks, another thing they didn't assume Seigaku would allow. But mostly they stared because the female tennis team did really seem to be composed mostly of gang members, especially the tallest one...
"Your hair is rastaferried!" Momoshiro exclaimed, pointing to said tallest member.
"Rastafari, actually." The girl corrected, yawning. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jun Arishima."
"Ne, Momo-chan..." Eiji began, noticing how Eguchi's ('Make-up! She wears make-up to train!') eyes narrowed at Momoshiro's comment and expression.
"You're taller than Inui-senpai!"
"So what? You're dumber than a rock and you don't see her making any comments about it." Eguchi replied acidly, throwing her hair over one shoulder. Captain Yanagimoto's 'Ayumi!' was drowned by Kaidou's chuckle, Ryoma and Inui's low whistle and the general gasp that followed her reply.
"All right, enough." Ryuzaki said, rubbing her temples. Aki patted her on the shoulder. "I think we need to run some laps and cool ourselves off. Warm up and give me twenty. We'll do proper introductions later."
Eiji began to warm up, a small voice in his mind inquiring how the girls would do the same while wearing such skirts. His eyes found the answer when Eguchi adjusted carefully rolled up spandex shorts underneath her skirt. Pairing up with Oishi, he quietly asked:
"So, first impressions?"
"Eguchi's pretty quick-tempered."
"Quick? That was instantaneous!" Eiji hissed, watching as the object of their talk chattered with Jun Arishima.
"She didn't say anything when Momoshiro commented on Arishima's hair." Oishi shrugged. "Although I'm not saying it was okay for her to say that, Momo was pretty rude."
"Well, yeah...But still!" Eiji insisted. Eguchi had her legs spread to her sides, holding her left foot. "I mean, look at her!"
Oishi looked. "Okay, she does look a bit...over-dressed for tennis practice."
"That's not Ayu-chan's fault, though."
Eiji and Oishi started, looking to their right side. Eri Mifune smiled brightly at them, her curly hair tied in low pigtails. "She's Ren and Yuka's guinea pig."
"Guinea pig?"
"Yeah. Ren loves creating nail designs and Yuka's into hair-styling. They try it out on Ayu-chan, who's the only one who'll let them. It makes them work harder too, 'cause if it turns ugly, Ayu-chan will be pretty mad."
Eiji laughed nervously. She was a nuclear bomb, then, that Eguchi. "Anyway, it's good you're showing interest in her, Kikumaru-senpai." Eri went on, smiling. "After all, there's a big chance you'll be paired up with her."
"What?!" Oishi and Eiji exclaimed, halting their warm-up. Eri just giggled.
"Well, you're doubles 1, and so is Ayu-chan and Jun-chan. You two are gonna be integrated with one of them, I guess."
"Oishi!!!" Eiji hissed nervously, "I can't be paired up with Eguchi! I'm afraid of her!"
Oishi sweat-dropped, staring at Jun. She looked very imposing, being so tall and having such a hairstyle. Still, she seemed positively like the calmest member of the team. "Calm down, Eiji, you might get Arishima-san."
"That's only slightly less scary!!!" Eiji complained desperately, grabbing Oishi's collar.
On the other side of the court, Kaidou and Ryoma had teamed up against Momoshiro, who was being restrained, with some difficulty, by Kawamura.
"Being told off like that...Seems like Momo-senpai won't be popular among those girls." Ryoma remarked slyly, knowing only too well about his senpai's wishes to be liked by as many girls as possible.
"They're not girls! They're gorillas!" Momoshiro grunted, failing at flipping Ryoma's cap off. "That Eguchi looked like she could scratch someone's eyes off with those nails! And besides, her voice is kinda nasal and screechy..."
"C'mon, there was nothing wrong with her voice." Kawamura sighed.
"So now you're afraid of some thin-armed girl's nails?" Kaidou asked, remembering the other boy's earlier comment. Momoshiro blushed furiously, turning his attention to Kaidou.
"Be quiet, you snake! Or are you gonna tell me that they all look normal to you?"
The four boys analyzed the female team. Truth be told, the only normal ones seemed to be the captain, vice-captain, Madoka Jukodo and Yuka Ono. Ren Murasaki's hair fluffed around her head like a platinum blond cloud and Eri Mifune's looked like a hyper-active, well, dork.
"I hear Jukodo and Ono are cousins." Kawamura said, watching the quiet duo finish their warm-up and wait for the rest. "They sure look alike, so maybe it's true."
"I just hope they're strong." Ryoma said, noticing Sakuno talking to her grandmother. His eyes fell on Tezuka and Fuji, who were also finished, and watched as Shizuka Yanagimoto approached the captain.
"Tezuka-kun, I'm sorry about Ayumi's outburst just then." Shizuka said, bowing. "I'll have a talk with her later."
Tezuka shook his head, "Momoshiro was at fault as well. Don't worry, I'll make sure such comments don't arise again."
Shizuka nodded, smiling brightly. "Well, then..." She turned around, distancing herself from the two boys. Fuji stretched his arms high above his head, before asking:
"So, what do you think?"
"They look undisciplined. It's very probable they'll be too below our standards."
"Standards, huh." Fuji's grin grew wider. "But then again, you're saying that by your standards, right?"
"Yes."
"Then there's a chance you'll be proven wrong."
Tezuka glanced briefly at his friend, before nodding. "Maybe."
"Okay, everyone! Laps!" Ryuzaki shouted, clapping her hands. The two teams lined up and got ready to begin. Eiji felt electricity run through his spine and turned to Oishi.
"Hey, Oishi, don't you feel like..."
"We're on a race?" Oishi completed before nodding.
"This is bad." Eiji sighed, realizing Inui's notebook was out and the tall boy looked eager to begin writing.
Ryuzaki got her chronometer ready. "Okay...Start!"
~End of Chapter One~
Chapter Two Preview:
Eiji jumped in the air, feeling totally at ease, and returned the ball to Jun and Eguchi's court with a fast and strong hit. He grinned, confident about scoring and landed easily. His eyes were closed, a slightly cocky gesture, as he heard the ball hit the court and then the chain fence. 'Kikumaru: 1. Eguchi: 0', he thought. Opening his eyes, he was puzzled to see Eguchi's triumphant smirk. Searching the court, he saw the yellow ball resting on the ground. On his side.
Comments:
I repeat I'm not making my characters Mary-Sue, but that doesn't mean that they're gonna be bad at tennis. I've always hated how most shounen anime/manga lack strong female characters that can compete with the guys. Therefore, please don't send me any reviews saying "There's no way she could beat Fuji/Tezuka/Ryoma/etc!". If they can reach a level of genius, so can the girls. And let's face it, PoT doesn't lack tennis genius, so what's a few more (especially on the female side, where there are NO really good players)? Also, sorry if this chap is a bit rushed. The pace will slow down from now on, I just really wanted to introduce the characters and get the thing going.
Also, this is rather Eiji-centric, although I have a tendency to lean towards Fuji as well. Thank you for reading and please review! Flames will be used to boil Inui's latest concoctions! Feel free to suggest pairings and other things you'd like to see. But do review, please!!!
