Title- We meet again
Summary- Echizen Ryoma competes for the French open and we meet some familiar faces. Unexpectedly though, Ryoma learns that perhaps sempais are not people who are just older than you, they are people that you can learn to respect and maybe even love...
Note- I dedicate this to a pairing that isn't usually loved… and I'll give a hint, no, it's not Momo/Ryoma. It makes me kind of sad because it's actually my favorite pairing. But after you read this chapter, you can obvious tell which pairing it'll be. ; )
Disclaimer- Would I be here if I did own them? That would just be rubbing it in… .
Warnings- shonen-ai, a little bit of swearing, and crappy writing
Chapter 1
You've never experienced a hot summer until you've played pro tennis in Roland Garros. The French June heat while grinding on the brick colored clay courts is tiring on the body, and on a person's mental toughness. It's hard for even a pro tennis player to not pass out from all the factors of Roland Garros alone. Though, everyone can tell that Japan's Echizen Ryoma isn't just a pro tennis player.
Echizen Ryoma achieved the rank of number one in the men tennis world, a first for any Japanese man. Though, pro tennis aged his body, instead of looking 17 like he should, he looked like he was about 20 years old. Dark hair that gleamed green under the sun, was now done to his chin, and sometimes it curled at the ends from all the sweat from a match. His face had narrowed slightly, and his nose, if looked upon closely, had freckled from black heads. The unnoticeable acne and his golden eyes were the only things that were a 17-year-old boy's qualities. His muscles were lean, but were sculpted by strength training and pro tennis matches. Even though he was barely five feet, nine inches tall, his physical capabilities were more than meets the eye.
"Oi, Echizen, I booked our flight to Paris at 4:00pm. That way I don't have to work hard in waking you up," Momoshiro said, shutting down the laptop. Ryoma nodded, and continued packing the last of his clothes. The responsiblity of being number one in the world, was having so much stuff to wear by your sponsors! Takeshi also had a lot of stuff to pack, for he was also quite a tennis star himself. He's ranked number nine in the men tennis world, but the pro circuit didn't age him much. The only changes were subtle like height, muscle mass, and a slight tan from playing outside. But the charming things like his smile, skin texture, and his personality were completely untouched.
"Momo-sempai better raise his rank, otherwise I might think less of him," Ryoma remarked jokingly.
"OI! Just because you're higher ranked, doesn't mean you can talk to me like that. Besides, I missed Rome and Monte Carlo (1), and I'm still ranked nine," Takeshi yelled back, even though he knew his friend was joking. Besides, it is quite an accomplishment to miss such important tournaments and still be ranked so high. Even though they always followed this pattern of teasing, they looked at it as comforting.
"Mada mada dane," Ryoma muttered, and zipped up his bag. A soft meow was uttered by Karupin, who looked very sleepy. Ryoma nodded, seemingly understanding that the cat couldn't sleep without his company on the bed. Momoshiro smiled onto his kouhai, this was one of the few times the boy acted...well, cute. Now he regreted thinking that, for he thought of Echizen Ryoma's father and shivered. Ryoma yawned, snuggling closer to Karupin. Takeshi yawned, he was exhausted as well, and whispered a "good night," to Echizen and Karupin, and biked back to his own apartment for some needed sleep…
...
The warm weather in Paris seemed even worse for there was barely and wind. The French Open was two weeks away, so it was obvious that Kaidoh Kaoru was practicing with his trainer Inui Sadaharu. Kaidoh's scary looks seemed to fade a little as he grew older. His eyes still held a certain glare to them naturally, but he didn't hiss as much anymore. His full lips were a pale pink after the sun baked him in the courts. His trademark bandannas pushed his hair out of the way to show his mature face had finally caught up to his god-like body. Inui didn't age that harshly, for he didn't push his body as hard as Kaidoh's, after all, a coach doesn't have to be as fit as the player. The only thing that really changed was Sadaharu's face, and it only grew older by perhaps one year compared to when he was in ninth grade.
"Kaidoh, even though this is a grand slam that'll suit your game and you want to do well, please do only low impact training in your days off during the tournament, for it might cause you injuries," Inui said, writing something quickly in his journal after drilling Kaidoh.
"If you say so Inui-sempai, though, sometimes I need to run in order to sleep. By the way, how much did my ranking increased now that I qualify for the French open?" Kaoru asked softly, since he was sitting right next to Inui.
"Ah, I haven't checked my computer yet, but there's an 85 percent chance that your rank is at least in the eighties again," Inui paused, and wrote in his journal again. Kaidoh nodded and looked up at the blue sky as he rested. The humidity made it hard to relax though.
There were barely any clouds in the sky, and the sun beamed down on everyone in this city. The beads of sweat that dripped off of Kaoru whispered a small hiss as it fell onto the boiling clay court. The clay was sticking to everything that had just a drop of moisture, so Kaoru's and Sadaharu's shoes which carried sweat from their legs and feet had especially big clumps of red clay clinging to it. The pounding of tennis balls from other people practicing in other courts filled the silence between Kaidoh and Inui, helping them both relax. Inui checked the time on the tower of the building, and it said it was already 6:30pm.
"Kaidoh, let's pick up the balls and then go back to the hotel. We can ice your muscles before you take a shower, and then we can check your ranking, (2)" Inui smiled, grabbing the cart and started picking up balls like when he was a freshman at Seigaku.
"Yes Inui-sempai," and Kaidoh helped his coach pick up the rest of the tennis balls…
...
The long plane ride to France was tiring to both pro tennis players, even if they were flying first class. Ryoma looked out the window as he petted his sleeping cat, and all he saw were European farms.
"Oi, Echizen, are we close?" Momoshiro asked, just waking up from a nap. Ryoma shook his head, and continued to pet Karupin. Little purrs came from the sleeping cat as Ryoma continued stroking him.
"Momo-sempai, has Kaidoh-sempai recovered from his injury at last year's Australian open?" Ryoma asked as he continued looking out the window. Momo shrugged, "I'm not sure. His back problems were severe(3), and even if he did, he'd still skip a lot of events so he could train and get back in shape." Ryoma smiled and said, "Eh, that doesn't sound like Kaidoh-sempai at all,"
Takeshi smiled back and said, "Who knows? He might be waiting for us right now." The two of them stopped talking, for their food had arrived. The smell of food woke Karupin up and now the three of them started eating…
...
Kaidoh was taking his usual morning jog until he saw a French newspaper. It bold letters in French, it read, "The Champion is coming to Defend his Title!" with Echizen Ryoma's picture under it. Kaoru stopped and took a copy, looking at the picture. Their freshman from Seigaku certainly changed. Especially in height. Sure, he was still taller than Ryoma, but now the difference probably wasn't as noticable now. But the height wasn't the only thing that changed, Echizen had no baby fat left on his face. His eyes seemed bigger now that it was gone, and more serious. He really aged the most out of the Seigaku regulars.
"You really are something, aren't you Echizen?" Kaidoh asked with a slightly smile. It was just then Kaidoh felt a soft poke on his shoulder. He turned around to see it was a little old lady with glasses. She looked like she was tired, and had beads of sweat running down her face (well, it is a hot day).
"Excuse me young man, you've been standing there for about five minutes," She said. Kaidoh blushed and moved out of the way for the woman, and continued his jog with the newspaper in hand. It was strange, Kaidoh usually didn't get distracted by anything except the occasional animal or two. He ignored it and ran even harder, his arms and legs moving in a steady rhythm. Then he slowed his pace, for Inui would be angry if he ran too fast. In his mind, he could hear Inui's monotone voice saying "It's not race to the finish line. This is about muscle endurance Kaidoh," and with that, he tossed the newspaper in the trash and slowed his pace back to normal speed, forgetting about Echizen...
...
Well, before I end this chapter, I'll explain some things that might not be so…understanding.
(1)- Rome and Monte Carlo are part of the Master series tournaments that not only can sky rocket a tennis pro's rank, but also gives out big prize money (at least 100,000 U.S dollars)
(2)- It might seem weird, but in order to prevent cramps and over-working, you have to place the muscles in ice cold water for about 5 minutes in order to cool them down. Then after that, relax them in warm heat. A lot of athletes forget about this process until they get a cramp or injury during a big event.
(3)- Kaidoh used to be ranked number three in the tennis world, but due to an injury, he had to rest and recover for about a year and a half.
Well, review whether you like or hate my story. I do love pointers. ;)