Losing Balance
Summary: Naturally, if he went to the strongest team, he wouldn't lose. He would learn. He would get better. But was it really was he needed?
Pairings: Undecided yet. RyomaxSomeone (?)
I have a disease. It's called the CSMTGDNS. What does it stand for? The 'Can't stop making these gosh darned new stories' syndrome. Sad, isn't it.
Echizen Ryoma's decision.
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Rikkaidai never lost. Rikkaidai was powerful. So, when it came for Ryoma to choose what school he was transferring to, it was completely obvious. He would go to Rikkaidai, become stronger, and beat everyone at tennis.
And since it was the beginning o the year, he would be able to start school along with everyone else.
It was obvious, and easy to understand. Although, he could've gone to Seigaku as well, but their tennis wasn't as… interesting. It wasn't as challenging. Walking towards the school known as Rikkaidai, Ryoma looked around for any area that he could find to get his schedule for class.
Resting his head on his arms, Ryoma went into a half-conscious and half-unconscious state of mind. He drifted off, only waking up when the teacher had called on him to write things on the board, or recite words that were spoken.
The days rolled by and Ryoma eventually joined the tennis club. But, still, his classmates seemed to give him cold glances and whispers. Afterall, Ryoma was just another kid like them. He just… didn't go to elementary with these people. Ryoma was the wallflower. The smart classmate who kept to himself. It was confusing when the classmates had found out that Ryoma was in the tennis club.
Walking towards the tennis courts, he listened to the Yukimura-buchou. Apparently, this ranking match would be different. All students in the club were required to join, because Yukimura-buchou wanted to see how strong everyone was. Even the first years would participated to join- which brought upon angry protests from juniors and seniors, while also making the first year freshmen worried about how they would survive. They weren't used to playing in real matches- only learning drills.
"And, so…" Yukimura continued talking, "Tomorrow, the lists will be posted up. Remember. The Ranking Tournament is in three days. Prepare wisely." And he smiled to the club. Eventually, everyone agreed that what Yukimura said was, in fact, good for the team's ability.
The next day, during morning practice, to the juniors and seniors excitement, and the freshmen's horror, they saw the listing. At least one Regular was put in a court. That meant everyone had to play a Regular at least once.
"Hey freshmen," A second year boy came up, "good luck." And he walked away, laughing with his friends about how all of the freshmen were going to lose in the first round.
"Aww man," Ryoma heard someone complain behind him- the second year that he sat next to in English, "I have all easy players. C'mon! The only hard one is Niou-senpai, and he always gives me a handicap." The boy pouted. Ryoma looked over and frowned. He was playing against Kirihara.
The next few days passed in a blur, Ryoma was just waiting so he could play a decent tennis match against someone. Too bad Niou-senpai and Kirihara-senpai were in the afternoon matches. This morning, he would play easy people; like freshmen and other juniors who weren't very good at tennis.
"Echizen! Kurukati! It's your turn, so go to court C already." Ryoma heard a voice. Rolling his eyes, he strolled over to the court.
"Rough or smooth?" Ryoma asked the freshmen. Seeing the confused look, Ryoma sighed. "Just choose rough or smooth, and I'll tell you if you can serve or not." The boy smiled, picking 'rough'. The racquet spinning and falling to the ground, landing on rough. "You serve." And Ryoma walked back to the baseline.
Yawning and shaking his head, Ryoma blinked a couple of times. This boy was so… so weak. Ryoma had just been using the basics and he was winning. Not to mention the fact that he had ankle weights on and was still using his right hand. Winning this would be easier than he thought. Gazing around the area, Ryoma saw Niou watching his match. Hmm, he must've finished his already…
Looking around again, Ryoma saw a vending machine. "Hmmm." He tried to see if there was any Grape Ponta there. Seeing the grape label, he got irritated. Why couldn't this match end sooner? Staring at the vending machine, Ryoma saw something moving. Wait, was that a cat? What? There was a cat on top of the vending machine! It was stuck!
Feeling and urge to save the cat that resembled Karupin so well, Ryoma decided to end the game quickly- not what he had originally thought of doing. But.. cats need to be saved. "I'm doing this…" he muttered to himself, hitting all fast ball aces now, not letting the first year get a single hit, "because I want to save a cat?"
"Game, set match to Echizen Ryoma."
Walking off, Ryoma yawned again. Saving the cat, he heard someone laugh behind him. Turning, he saw the Trickster, Niou Masaharu. "Yes?" he raised an eyebrow, sipping at his ponta. "Do you need something?"
"No," Niou smirked, chuckling again, "I just can't believe you ended the game quickly because of a cat." Ryoma frowned, not liking the tone that the boy was using.
"It was only basics." And he walked away. Afterall, Ryoma was right. He hadn't showed anything special. He was just another 'average tennis players' to the eyes of Rikkaidai. But that was okay for Ryoma. Because he didn't want to get involved. He didn't want to be noticed.
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A/N: super short first paragraph. I wanted to keep writing, but I had to stop. Okay, so here's where I need your help! I don't know what pairings. So, here are your choices.
Main Pair: Ryoma/Niou, Ryoma/Marui, Ryoma/Kirihara, Ryoma/Yukimura, or Ryoma/someone from Seigaku (yes, Seigaku will be in this story)
And any side pairings are welcome, too!
Review!
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-next chapter-
Echizen Ryoma's Tennis.
The match against Niou Masaharu commences! Also, some of Ryoma's classmates don't like that fact that he beat Kurukati, a well-known hottie at school, in the tennis match. Accusations fly around school, and rumors are coming!