Ryoko: The Princess of Tennis
リョーコ
テニスの王女様
Episode 1: My Name's Ryoko
...
"Match point."
The entire stadium was on their feet, clapping and cheering. The roar of the crowd was so loud that she could practically feel the sound vibrating on her skin. Knowing that they were cheering for her added a spring to her step and filled her with renewed energy.
Just one more point and Ryoko Aoshima would achieve her dream of winning the National Tournament.
Once she and her opponent were in position, and the crowd had quieted, Ryoko tossed the ball up and served. The ball came down on the center line blisteringly fast, but her opponent was no slouch, and with a stretch of her arm managed to return it. The return was weak, though, which allowed Ryoko to follow up with a strong forehand that sent her opponent scrambling down the baseline to reach it.
The two rallied, and it was all Ryoko's pace. Her opponent had great defense, reaching shot after well-placed shot from Ryoko, but she couldn't keep it up forever. Ryoko kept forcing her to go wider and wider, then hit a perfectly-placed cross court shot. The crowd collectively held their breaths, thinking that would be the end of it. Amazingly, Ryoko's opponent once again managed to reach the ball...
...but it was all she could do to send a sky-high defensive lob back to Ryoko's side of the court.
Ryoko could feel a buzz in the air as she positioned herself underneath the incoming ball, arm pulled back and ready to smash. It was over. She knew it, her opponent knew it, and the crowd knew it. With this last shot, she would accomplish at 13 what her father had only been able to do at 16.
The girl gripped the handle of her racket tight in preparation, and—
...
Ryoko woke up to her strident, ringing alarm. With a groan, she reached over to her cellphone on the nightstand and randomly pressed buttons until she managed to shut it off. Aww, dang it! Just when I was about to win...
The girl sighed, stirring under her covers. It was time to get up, true, but she only really had to get up when her mom called her down. I'll just stay for a few more minutes, she thought, embracing her pillow with a sigh of contentment and replaying in her mind the events of the dream she'd just had. Who knows, maybe if I fall asleep again I can pick up right where I left off.
She was almost dozing off again when her mom's voice called out from downstairs.
"Ryoko, breakfast is ready! Are you awake? You don't want to be late on your first day, do you?"
After a deep sigh, the girl resignedly threw aside her covers and got out of bed. She would have to get used to this now, she told herself. Vacation was over.
Suppressing a yawn, she walked over to the closet and took out her new school's uniform: a white shirt, a small, light green vest with a red ribbon in the middle, and a dark green skirt. She got dressed and stood in front of the mirror fitted on the inside of her closet's door, looking herself over.
Ryoko stood at average height for a 13-year-old girl, and had always had a slim figure from all the tennis she played. Her black hair reached down to her shoulders, but she tied it back into a single ponytail, as she did every morning. Her mom had this annoying habit of telling her she would be catching the attention of many a boy soon. Ryoko was doubtful. She thought she was pretty ordinary. The only thing she really liked about herself were her light blue eyes, which she'd inherited from her father.
When she finally deemed her appearance satisfactory, she scooped up her backpack and made her way downstairs to the kitchen where her mom was already seated at the table eating breakfast. The girl greeted her mom absently, taking a seat in front of the plate that had been prepared for her. The woman noticed her daughter's sullen look and gave her a knowing smile.
"Why the long face, honey? It's your first day at your new school."
Ryoko might have otherwise answered if her mouth hadn't already been full of toast. Of course, she was also thinking, Parents just don't get it. In the end, she just shrugged.
"You'll be fine, sweetie," her mom said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She knew her daughter well. Ryoko was nervous now, but after making some friends, and especially after joining the school's tennis club, she'd be waking up excited to go to school. "You look so cute in your new uniform."
Ryoko blushed, this time at least managing to mutter, "Thanks."
A few minutes later, Ryoko pushed her chair back and stood up. She politely bid her mom farewell, put on her backpack, and left the house.
The nice thing about her new school was that it was close enough that she could comfortably go on foot. She took deep breaths of the fresh, morning air as she went, and was soon wide awake. She had soon begun to see other girls with the same uniform as her, and to hear 'Good morning' left and right as friends and acquaintances saw each other for the first time that day.
Before Ryoko knew it, she was looking up at the gates of a large school. On the wall to the right of the gates was a plaque with the engraved words 'Seishun Gakuen'.
...
Though it was Ryoko's first day of school since moving to Tokyo, it was actually already the second week of school for everyone else. She hadn't wanted to think about the possibility before, but now it was coming true: the sensei, a kind-looking old man, was making her stand in front of Junior Class 3 for an introduction.
"Class, we have a new transfer student today," the sensei said. The class went quiet and all eyes settled on Ryoko, who stood beside the sensei blushing furiously and looking down at her own shoes. "Why don't you introduce yourself, Ryoko-chan?"
Ryoko felt her cheeks grow even redder as she forced herself to look up her classmates, and then even more when she thought she heard whispers of 'cute' coming from a few of the boys.
"U-Um... My name's Ryoko Aoshima. Nice to meet you all." She bowed courteously.
Most of the class repeated her greeting: "Nice to meet you!"
Ryoko turned to the sensei, hoping to be able to sit down, but the man wasn't done yet.
"Tell us a little more about yourself, Ryoko-chan," he said, his innocent smile unaltered. "What are your hobbies or favorite subjects?"
Though Ryoko groaned internally, the old man looked like he was genuinely trying to be nice, and so Ryoko found she couldn't be too mad at him.
"Well, um," Ryoko started, "I like playing tennis. And, in terms of subjects, I guess, math."
She didn't know what else to say, so she turned to the sensei. Thankfully, the old man gave a satisfied nod and turned to the class.
"Are there any empty chairs for Ryoko-chan to sit in?"
"Yeeees sensei, there's one here!"
A girl in the middle of the class waved her arm in the air, pointing to an empty chair in the row next to her. The sensei nodded and motioned for Ryoko to make her way there. He then turned, went to the blackboard, and started writing something with a piece of chalk. Most of the class went back to what they had been doing as Ryoko made her way over to the empty seat. She sat down with a relieved sigh, thankful that the spotlight wasn't on her anymore.
The girl that had spoken reached out and poked her on the shoulder. Ryoko turned to her and saw her smiling and waving. She had short, brown hair, and chestnut brown eyes.
"Hey, Ryoko-chan," the girl said, "I'm Noriko Ishino."
"Hi," Ryoko said.
"So you're going to join the tennis club, right?"
"Huh?"
"You said you like tennis. Are you going to join the club?"
"Oh. Yeah, I will."
Ryoko spared a concerned glance at the front of the classroom, but their sensei was still silently scribbling things on the blackboard.
"Don't sweat it," Noriko said, noticing her look. "He takes like ten minutes to write stuff before he starts talking. He doesn't mind us talking before that. Well, we think he doesn't mind. Maybe he just can't hear us."
"Oh."
Ryoko realized that there was indeed generalized chatting in the classroom. For a moment she wondered if any of it was about her, but then she decided she was being too paranoid, even if she did notice some of the students sneaking quick peeks at her every now and then. She figured that was normal considering she was a new transfer student.
She turned back to Noriko and asked, "Are you in the tennis club, Noriko-chan?"
"Yep!" Noriko nodded happily, giving her a thumbs up. "If you want, I can show you around later."
"Oh, yeah, that would really help. Thanks."
Ryoko sighed in relief. She hadn't been there more than five minutes, and she'd already found a friend and future tennis buddy. The young girl sat back in her seat and relaxed a little.
...
"And heeeeere are the courts!"
Ryoko's first day of classes had ended. Noriko had shown her around the main building during recess, but now she was going to show her what she'd been most looking forward to see: the school's tennis courts.
There were five courts total: three for the boys in front of the boys' club locker room, and two for the girls in an adjacent space by their own locker room. All of them were hard courts, and each set of courts was caged in so that balls wouldn't fly away. They stood in front of the girls' courts and Ryoko was pleased by what she saw. The courts looked well-maintained, definitely a step up from the ones at her previous school. It seemed to Ryoko that there was a lot of movement around today, though, and she also noticed something odd.
"Noriko-chan, why are the boys playing on the girls' courts?"
"Huh? Oh! That's 'cause they're having their ranking matches."
Ryoko smiled weakly, tilting her head. "Ranking matches?"
"Yep. It's like a mini-tournament. Our clubs do ranking matches to decide who the regular members will be."
They walked towards the boys' courts, and as they neared them Ryoko saw more matches being played there.
"Regular members are the ones that will represent our school in matches against other schools, right?"
"Yep." Noriko beamed, closing one of her eyes and making a 'V' with her index and middle fingers. "First-years can't participate in the ranking matches, which is why I haven't become a regular yet, but this year I'll be wearing a regular jersey for sure!"
Ryoko couldn't help but smile at the girl's enthusiasm. She was suddenly curious about how good of a player Noriko was. Maybe it was because they were friends, or the confidence that the girl displayed, but Ryoko had a feeling she was good.
"When do our ranking matches start?" Ryoko asked.
"Next Monday, I think. Oh, that's right! You have to join the club before the captain makes the match-ups." Noriko looked around for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she pointed over to the girls' courts. "Ah! There she is!"
Noriko grabbed Ryoko's hand and pulled her along towards the person she had pointed to, an old lady wearing a pink jacket and matching pink pants and who had her brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She stood just outside one of the tennis cages, quietly watching the matches being played before her.
"Who's that?"
"That's Ryuzaki-sensei, she supervises the tennis clubs," Noriko responded as they turned the corner of the girls' tennis courts. "Ryuzaki-sensei!"
"Hm?" The woman turned towards them, smiling warmly when she noticed Noriko. "Ah, Noriko. How are you?" She then looked curiously over at Ryoko. "Hm? And who's your friend?"
Ryoko went to open her mouth to introduce herself, but Noriko beat her to it. "Her name's Ryoko Aoshima! Sensei, she wants to join the tennis club. Can you give her a registration form?"
Ryuzaki felt her jacket pocket for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, I don't have one on me right now and I have to watch over these matches."
"Sensei, do you know if Captain Sakura has made the ranking tournament match-ups yet?"
"I don't think so. Don't worry, either way I'm sure it'll be no problem fitting in Ryoko-chan. I'll talk to Sakura."
"Ah, that's good. Thanks!"
Ryuzaki looked curiously at Ryoko. "You're a little quiet, aren't you?"
Ryoko bowed. "S-Sorry. I'm a little shy."
Ryuzaki laughed, waving it off. "No apology needed. My granddaughter is very shy, too. I don't mind." Then, before turning back to the match being played, she added: "I'll get you a registration form tomorrow, okay, Ryoko-chan?"
"Thank you."
Just then, the two boys that had been playing on one of the courts directly in front of them stepped out.
"Ah, that one was really close," one boy was saying to the other as they passed them, "I'll beat you next time."
"Ha! It's still too early for you to beat me. I've been getting better. Heck, I might just be able to become a regular this time."
"Don't get carried away now."
Noriko looked after them for a moment. A match was still going on in the other court on the far side but the one right in front of them was empty now. She looked around as if searching for something. Ryoko furrowed her brow.
"What's wrong, Noriko-chan?"
Noriko didn't respond. With a mischievous look on her face, she tapped Ryuzaki-sensei on the shoulder.
"Ryuuzaki-senseeeeei..."
"Huh?" Ryuzaki turned towards her. "What is it, Noriko?"
"Sensei, there's not going to be another match on this court right now?"
"Eh?" Ryuzaki looked at the court in front of them, then back at Noriko. "There will be in a moment. Those two that just left will inform the next pair of players that their turn is up. They should be here in a few minutes. Why?"
Noriko grinned, her eyes narrowing mischievously. She turned around slowly until she was looking Ryoko right in the eyes. Ryoko couldn't help but take a step back. What was her friend scheming?
"Sensei!" Noriko exclaimed suddenly, grabbing Ryoko by the hand and dragging her inside the cage, "We're going to play while they're not here, okay?"
"Eh?! Noriko, what are you—?" Ryuzaki began to say.
"I promise we'll get out when they get here!" Noriko waved back at her, smiling.
Ryuzaki stared at her, mouth agape, for several seconds before bowing her head and sighing. That Noriko...
"But Noriko-chan!" Ryoko was protesting as the other girl dragged her to the court, "We're still in our class uniforms. What if we get them dirty?"
"We'll be all right, don't worry!"
"B-But everyone will be watching!"
"So we'll just have to put on a show, then, won't we?"
Ryoko could feel her cheeks start to burn. She snuck a few peeks around and saw that the two were already attracting curious glances from the boys that were outside of the cage watching. Noriko ran to the side of the court where, resting on a bench, there was a tennis bag and a couple of rackets. She came back with two grey rackets, offering one to Ryoko.
"Noriko-chan, that's someone's bag! Are you sure this is all right?"
"Come on! We only have a few minutes. Let's play a quick one-game match."
Ryoko hesitantly reached out and accepted the racket, wondering how Noriko could be so enthusiastic about all this. Noriko put her racket vertically on the ground and spun it to decide who would serve first. The racket could either fall right-side up, 'smooth', or upside down, 'rough', distinguished by using the letter on the bottom of the handle.
"Which?" Noriko asked.
"Smooth."
The racket came down with the letter upside down, 'rough', meaning that Noriko would get the first serve.
Ryoko cringed. As if the whole thing wasn't bad enough, she wasn't even serving. If conditions were different, Ryoko might have been excited to see how her friend played, but right now she just wanted to get this over with.
They both quickly got into position. Ryoko tried to focus on that little yellow ball in Noriko's hands rather than all the looks they were getting. She noted with interest that Noriko held her racket in her left hand.
"Ready, Ryoko-chan?" Noriko asked. "Here I come!"
Noriko tossed the ball in the air. Her knees bent down slightly, then her arm shot forward, sending the ball to Ryoko's service box. Ryoko took a step to the side and swung, hitting a cross court return back to Noriko. They began to rally lightly, feeling out each other's skills, and as she hit the ball Ryoko felt herself calm down. She was still nervous from all the intrigued eyes that were watching them play, but she found herself concentrating more on just chasing the tennis ball.
"Ryoko-chan, let's speed it up. We don't have much time!"
Noriko's next shot came with more power, and Ryoko had to speed up to reach it. Okay, if she wants to get a little serious, then... The girl hit a deep cross court shot that she thought for sure would win her the point, but when she looked up she saw that Noriko was already there. She's fast!
Noriko hit a straight shot which the surprised Ryoko wasn't able to reach.
"15-0!" Noriko exclaimed with a smile.
Ryoko just gaped at her. She hadn't even seen Noriko run the length of the baseline.
One of the boys that were watching whispered to another beside him: "Wow, that girl is pretty fast."
Ryuzaki smiled. Noriko's fast, all right. Among the girls, and perhaps even the boys, she might just be the fastest runner in the school.
Ryoko's eyes followed the path of the ball as Noriko tossed it into the air and served again. She returned the serve and the two girls rallied, this time with more intensity.
She's getting to all my shots, no matter how well I place them, Ryoko thought as she hit another deep cross court shot. She prepared herself for a normal return, but then saw Noriko's racket drop down. Drop shot! Ryoko reacted immediately, breaking into a run, but had to slow her pace as she felt her school shoes threaten to fly off her feet if she tried to move at full speed. Even though she began running before Noriko had even hit the drop shot, her racket was still a few centimeters short when the ball bounced the second time.
Ryoko looked up. Noriko was at the net. Even if she had reached the ball in time, Noriko would have been in a great position to finish the point off.
Noriko sighed, shaking her left foot. "Man, it's hard to run in these shoes, isn't it, Ryoko-chan?"
"You say that, but you're so fast..."
Ryoko retrieved the ball in front of her and stood up. It was true that these shoes were a hindrance, and the skirt wasn't helping either, but...
"Oh yeah," Noriko said, giggling, "30-0."
Ryoko threw the ball to Noriko, who caught it and started walking back to serve position.
Ryoko narrowed her eyes. Her friend sent another serve to her service box, and this time Ryoko returned the ball with a down-the-line shot. Noriko reached it but only after the ball had left her racket did she notice that Ryoko was rushing the net. Ryoko finished the point with a volley to the opposite corner.
Noriko wasn't paying attention, which allowed Ryoko to take full advantage of the aggressive approach, Ryuzaki thought. It was a smart move.
"Ah, you got me there, Ryoko-chan," Noriko said. "Okay, that's 30-15."
Ryoko nodded, glad to have gotten the point. She thought she even heard some playful cheers from the boys watching, but maybe that was just her imagination.
On Noriko's serve Ryoko approached the net again, but this time the other girl was prepared. Noriko lobbed the ball over Ryoko's head, stopping her in her tracks just as she was about to reach the net. Ryoko's first instinct was to jump to try and smash it, and the lob was low enough that she could have reached it, but she stopped herself. Jumping up would not be a smart move wearing a skirt! Instead, Ryoko ran back to try to get the ball. Her school shoes hindered her and she could only attempt a backhand at an awkward angle that wound up sending the ball straight into the net.
"40-15. Game point, Ryoko-chan," Noriko said, smiling. Ryoko smirked back and got into the next receiving position.
Noriko had soon served once more, and this time both girls stayed at the baseline, hitting deep shots back and forth, neither missing.
"Wow, pretty good rally," a boy said after a minute.
"Yeah, I didn't know the girls played this well," said another. "It almost feels like I'm watching our regulars play."
Ryuzaki looked to the side. The two boys who spoke were standing at the entrance of the court – and they were the same two boys that were supposed to be playing!
"Eh? How long have you two been standing there?"
Ryuzaki looked around and realized that they weren't the only ones. Even the match in the adjacent court had been paused, the players watching the unexpected bout between the girls along with everybody else around that had noticed it.
At that moment, Ryoko was pulling her arm back as the ball bounced in front of her. She hit a clean forehand shot with so much topspin that it dipped almost as soon as it had cleared the net. Noriko dashed and managed to return it before it bounced a second time, but the shot hadn't been optimal. The ball hit the cord of the net and bounced up, seeming to float for a few moments before dropping just inside Noriko's court, not even giving her a chance. Ryoko scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly at her good fortune.
"You got lucky," Noriko said with a giggle. "40-30."
"All right, that's enough!" Ryuzaki's voice called out. They looked over at the older woman with a start. "Time's up, girls. These two have the court now."
As Ryoko slipped out of tennis mode, she looked around, noticed how much attention they'd drawn, and flushed furiously. There weren't this many people watching them in the beginning and she hadn't been paying attention in the middle of the match to notice all the new eyes that had shown up. Those were a lot of eyes. Ryoko almost jumped when Noriko grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards Ryuzaki and the two boys.
"See? That was fun, wasn't it?"
Ryoko bowed her head, feeling her cheeks burning. "Y-Yes."
When the two reached Ryuzaki, Noriko looked down at her racket. "Oh yeah, the rackets!"
"Those are ours," one of the boys said.
"Oh, ha! Here you are." Noriko smiled, handing her racket to the boy. Ryoko handed hers to the other boy.
Ryoko bowed to them. "Sorry for taking them without asking!"
The boys waved it off, "No problem," and entered the court. The other matches resumed and some of the onlookers began to disperse.
"You two attracted some attention," Ryuzaki said, a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips.
"Noriko-chan's never one to shy away from attention," came an amused voice near them.
Noriko looked at the source. "Ah, Yuka-senpai!"
The girl was about Ryoko's height. Her expression was calm and curious, her hazel eyes seeming to take in everything that happened in front of her. Her face was framed by short, dirty-blonde hair. Aside from the normal Seigaku school uniform, she wore a white wristband on her left wrist.
"Let's see," Yuka said, smiling pleasantly, "playing a match in the middle of the boys' ranking matches and sweating up your school uniform... Noriko-chan's idea?"
Ryuzaki chuckled. "Precisely."
"You were watching, senpai?" Noriko asked eagerly.
"I was," Yuka said. "I'm pretty surprised Ryuzaki-sensei allowed such a thing."
Ryuzaki sighed dejectedly. "Yeah, I don't know if I should have. It was a distraction to everybody."
"Yuka-senpai." Noriko grabbed Ryoko by the arm and nudged her forward. "This is Ryoko Aoshima. She's a transfer student. She's joining the club, too."
"Nice to meet you, Ryoko-chan. My name's Yuka Kiyomura."
Ryoko bowed. "Nice to meet you, Yuka-senpai."
"Well, it was fun watching your mini-match, but I have to be off now." She waved goodbye to them, smiling. "I'll see you all later."
Noriko, Ryoko and Ryuzaki waved after Yuka as the girl turned and walked away.
"We're taking off too, Ryuzaki-sensei," Noriko said.
"See you girls later."
"Bye, Ryuzaki-sensei."
"Goodbye, Ryoko-chan."
Noriko and Ryoko headed towards the front of the school, passing by the boys' courts on the way. Through the crowd of onlookers, Ryoko could have sworn she saw a red-headed boy doing some sort of flip on the court, but she wasn't really sure. No, it must have just been her imagination. Who would do a flip to return a ball, anyway? She just shrugged and shook her head, almost laughing while trying to picture it.
"I guess we're going to have to finish our match some other time, huh, Ryoko-chan?"
"Yeah." Ryoko turned to look at her new friend. "Hey, is Yuka-senpai a regular?"
The two turned the corner and came to the front part of the school grounds. The gates came into view, and they could see several other groups of friends leaving the school.
"Of course she is, you didn't know?" Noriko exclaimed with mock surprise. Seeing Ryoko's indignant expression, she quickly added: "Joking, joking! Yep, she sure is, and she's one of the best, too. She's called a tennis genius."
Ryoko raised an eyebrow. Tennis genius? That was quite the praise.
"Would we have a chance against her?" Ryoko asked, thoughtful.
"Honestly, I doubt it," Noriko said, "I think the only person that can beat Yuka-senpai is Captain Sakura. And I've heard that the coaches think Captain Sakura is good enough to get a scholarship to play in America. If we had to face either of them, I don't know if I'd bet on us."
"Oh." Ryoko's eyes narrowed. She probably wouldn't bet on herself or Noriko, either... but Ryoko couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement at the thought of playing such strong opponents. "Who knows? Maybe we could cause an upset."
Noriko looked at her friend, surprised that the shy girl would make such a confident statement.
"Ha, that's the spirit!" Noriko said, opening a smile again. The two reached the exit of the school and turned to each other. "If we have to face them, we'll figure out a way to beat 'em. The three of us will become regulars this year for sure. That's a promise!" Noriko gave Ryoko a thumbs up.
"Yeah." Ryoko tilted her head to the side. "Wait, 'the three of us'?"
"You, me, and Keiko Maeki. She's in our grade, too. Her sister Ayame's a third-year regular like Yuka-senpai, so Keiko's super-excited to become one, too. She was absent today, but don't worry, we'll run into her tomorrow."
Ryoko nodded.
"So, which way are you going? My house is down this way."
"Aw, I go this way. Well, see you tomorrow then, Ryoko-chan!"
"See you, Noriko-chan!"
The two waved to each other and parted ways.
Ryoko smiled and sighed in relief as she made her way back home. She had survived the toughest day of school: the first one. She'd been fortunate to meet Noriko and get acquainted with Ryuzaki-sensei and Yuka-senpai, not to mention some of her classmates. All in all, it had been a pretty good day. The only bad thing was all the accumulated homework she would have to rush through from the week she missed.
Before she knew it, she was at the door of her house. Her mom was in the kitchen fixing up lunch when she came in. They greeted each other and Ryoko began to happily recount the events of the day. Just like mom knew would happen, of course.