Hey all! This is skylark dragonstar. This is my very first fanfic ever so please treat me well!
This story is based on an old manga that eventually turned into a drama called Astro Kyudan, starring our favorite boys from the Prince of Tennis. For those of you who never heard of Astro Kyudan before, it is basically a baseball drama about nine men who inherited superhuman baseball abilities and carry baseball shaped birthmarks to form a baseball team together.
And so, without further ado, presenting the first chapter of Team Seigaku: the Ultimate Tennis Team!
Prologue
Before we go to the story of the famous Team Seigaku, let us first know the history of another tennis player that helped build this team. Japan once had a great legendary hero in the game of tennis. His name was Nanjiro Echizen. On the tennis courts, he is known to tennis fans as Samurai Nanjiro. Not only was he famous in Japan, but he was given the opportunity to represent his country in America as he participated in the US Open. He was set to achieve his goal to win the Grand Slam...until disaster struck.
A shocking accident occurred once Nanjiro Echizen returned to America for the final US Open match and resulted in his sudden and tragic death. And thus, the tennis legend had failed to accomplish his Grand Slam dream, much to his regret and for the fans.
But his reign didn't end there.
Several weeks after the death of Nanjiro, a strange phenomenon had occurred, but few had witnessed it. On one certain night, few people in Tokyo swore they had seen 9 shootings stars fall across the sky, stars that nearly look like tennis balls. Years after, that event will be known as the sign of the coming birth of Nanjiro Echizen's heirs who his tennis spirit has chosen.
This story follows the tale of how nine young men have been gathered together in the path of tennis. The key and sign of their mutual bond are their tennis ball shaped birthmarks and their extraordinary superhuman tennis abilities which no one has seen before, passed down by Samurai Nanjiro himself.
Together these nine amazing boys have been chosen as Nanjiro's heirs to become the ultimate tennis team that will complete Echizen's dream to defeat the winning Nationals champion Team Rikkaidai, and then the American team in the US Open and be the ultimate tennis team in the world.
This is the tale of the creation of Team Seigaku, the Ultimate Tennis Team.
Present time, 20 years after Nanjiro Echizen's death
...
Somewhere in the mountains outside of Tokyo, there is a boy in junior high who is 12 years old and wears a dark navy cap over his black hair. His name is Kotaro Yanagi. Now Kotaro was riding in the back of a black SUV that had picked him up earlier in the day to drive him to the mountain. Kotaro had no idea where they're going, he doesn't even know who's the one calling him to meet.
Then they came to a stop in front of a gated community that surrounds a private tennis training facility owned by a wealthy man in the tennis business. It turns out to Kotaro's curiosity, that the manager of the training facility had invited the boy to meet with him personally for a chance to talk and meet with him personally.
A man who works at the facility met with Kotaro and told the boy to follow him into a neatly big villa just outside the courts. The house was supposedly the place where the manager lives most likely, Kotaro thought as he followed the man. The inside was the same as you would normally see in a rich person's house. Everything's neatly clean, good furniture sitting around, big plasma TV, and all that stuff. Kotaro was led upstairs to the second floor and they finally stopped in front of one of the room doors. "He's waiting for you in here", the employer told the boy. He then bowed and left the boy to return to his work.
Left alone in the quiet and empty hallway, Kotaro was ready to meet with the manager. Remembering his manners, the boy knocked gently on the door to announce his arrival. Seconds later he heard a man's voice responding from inside, "Come in."
Kotaro then touched the doorknob and turned it so he can enter the room. He walked into what looks like a living space/office room. There was a bookshelf full of trophies, plaques and certificates won from tennis matches and tournaments against one wall. Then Kotaro's attention was caught when he noticed a big picture that's bigger than the others hanging over the fireplace. The framed piece was a picture of nine young boys in their junior high years, standing in a row in front of a blue flag with a red cross in the corner, their team flag. They wore white shorts and tennis jerseys that are white and blue and had the word Seigaku stitched on the front left of their shirts.
In the picture, there was a boy taller than the others wearing glasses that concealed his eyes. The one next to him wore a green bandana over his head and has a scary expression. On the opposite end, there was a boy with brown hair and sideburns followed by a boy with his black hair spiked up. Next to him is a boy with honey brown hair who has his eyes closed but has a pleasant smile. On the right side of the center person is a boy with an egg shaped head with two bangs hanging over his forehead. Beside him is a boy with red hair, a band aid on his right cheek, and out of the team, the cheerfullest member. On the left side of the person in the middle is a boy who had a strict expression on his face and wore glasses as well but are oval shaped. Finally the one in the middle, and the shortest of them, wore a white cap with the letter R stitched in the front.
Looking at this picture was astounding to Kotaro as he gave an audible gasp of awe. He knew exactly who these nine boys are.
"Team Seigaku..." he whispered under his breath, "I wonder what's a picture of them doing here?" If you're a real tennis fan like Kotaro here, you'd know that Team Seigaku is hailed as the world's amazing junior high tennis team Japan has ever seen.
But then Kotaro remembered the reason why he is here in the first place and searched for the person who summoned him. Finally he saw a desk in front of the wide window on the other side of the room and a chair with its back facing to him. As Kotaro walked a little further, he can make out black hair sticking up from behind the chair as a sign that someone is sitting there.
"Excuse me?" Kotaro spoke to get whoever is sitting in the chair's attention.
The one sitting in the chair slowly turned to face the boy and putting down a newspaper that was covering his face. But when he did to reveal himself as a man in his 30s with light brown hair, Kotaro was astonished. It turns out that he knows who this very person is sitting right before him.
"You…You're Yudai Yamato", he said in realization.
"Oh? You know my name already?" the man commented, "Then I suppose you know me because..?"
He allowed Kotaro to finish for him. "Well of course! You're the legendary coach of Team Seigaku!" Kotaro excitedly stated, "Everyone in the tennis knows that."
"I'm flattered", Yamato said with a pleased smile, "You must Kotaro Yanagi. 1st year at Seishun Academy right?"
Like Kotaro said, Yamato was the actual legendary coach and mentor that led and created Team Seigaku years ago. It was quite an honor for a tennis player like Kotaro to meet a man like this in person.
"Yes sir. It's an honor to meet you sir", Kotaro said with respect, bowing his head, but was followed by curiosity. "But how do you know about me?" he asked the man.
"Well Kotaro, I understand from certain friends of mine that you are rather talented in tennis, am I correct?" Yamato inquired.
Kotaro began to show signs of nervousness as he shrugged his shoulders. "Well...I guess I'm somewhat good", he said modestly, "Only because I won a match in the Junior Open Championships few months ago. But it's not like I'm as any good as Team Seigaku."
Here, Yamato had a gleam in his eyes as if Kotaro has said the magic words. "Oh? But you do have something that you never expected. You see, the reason why I've asked you to come...was so I could tell you all about the history of Team Seigaku."
This was all too true for Kotaro to believe. Him hearing the story of how the ultimate tennis team was formed? It truly is a once in a lifetime experience since not many people in Kotaro's generation knew quite the real story behind the team's creation.
"Really? But, why me out of all people?"
Before he spoke, Yamato got up from his office chair and walked over to view outside the window for a while.
"...A long while back, a very good friend of mine, he was in love with tennis, he gave me an important job", he said, "He told me to make his last dream come true, the dream to gather nine boys who will become the number one tennis team in the world. But before he got the chance to see that dream come true...that man who I know died. However following his death, his spirit was reborn into this world, into nine young boys. Those boys are his successors to finish the dream he sought out first."
"You mean...Team Seigaku, was those nine heirs?" said Kotaro with amazement.
Yamato then walked over to his desk again and opened a drawer. He took out something and came over to Kotaro, taking a seat on a big leather chair across from him. From the drawer he just went to, Yamato handed the young tennis player a thick fashioned book that seemed years old. Curiously, Kotaro took the book in his hands and saw on the cover the word, 'Diary'.
"Take a look", Yamato insisted, knowing Kotaro's thoughts of invading others' privacy without permission. And with that, Kotaro opened the book to the first page that Yamato has chronicled in his past. This page has a piece of a newspaper article pasted on that was years old. The picture on the article showed nine shooting stars falling across the night sky and the headline read 'Amazing Sight. Meteor Shower Seen In Tokyo Sky'.
"That very night showed the sign of the fore-coming birth of the ultimate tennis team", Yamato explained as Kotaro viewed the picture, "The man's spirit who I knew reached out to the nine boys he has chosen as his heirs."
Kotaro looked back up at the portrait of the nine boys Yamato had found and stared at it for a long while, imagining the greatness of how the team was back then in their golden years. Yudai then sat back in his chair, to make himself comfortable for the long story he is about to give.
"I remember like it was yesterday...the first time Team Seigaku had made their first appearance to the public", he recalled with daydreaming eyes staring off into space as he went back in time.
As he spoke, Kotaro decided to follow along by looking through Yudai's diary and listening at the same time. He turned to the page after the falling star event, where he found a pasted newspaper article dated on the day that Yudai is just explaining about.
It had the headline, 'Big Rikkaidai Game Interrupted By Mysterious Player In Bandages!' The picture beneath the headline was a snapshot of a boy who looked near Kotaro's age, wearing tennis clothing and a cap. Like the headline said, the boy's face was hidden beneath a layer of bandages as if he came from an accident, yet he's standing in the middle of a tennis court, ready to play.
Yudai then began his story, "It was during Rikkaidai's Kanto Regional match. That was the day I decided to introduce the world to the first player to be called an ultimate tennis player..."
Chapter 1: The Birth of Team Seigaku
11 Years After Nanjiro Echizen's Death, Kanto Region
Our story begins with the day of a Kanto Regional match held in Japan. It has been 11 years since the passing of the famous Nanjiro Echizen. Most of the world has long forgotten the legend by now. Today, it was time to focus on the new generation.
Japan's number one middle school tennis team, and returning Nationals champions was Team Rikkaidai at that time. Now, they were up in a match against a new team called Team Midoriyama, who once gained a spot in the Nationals previously. So far in this game, Rikkaidai has won 3 matches in a row and is on their way to beginning Singles 3.
The commentator of the match spoke, "It is near the start of Singles 3, and Team Rikkaidai is full on the lead after their last 3 winning games. I guess it's clear that Rikkaidai will be heading into a clear victory into the upcoming Nationals again. But right now, it's time to begin the Singles 3 match. Participating is Rikkaidai's Kirahara Akaya against Midoriyama's Junpei Kongawa."
Now from Midoriyama, a new player entered the court to play the next match against Kirihara Akaya in singles. One strange thing about this player though is that his face is wrapped in bandages, concealing his face from the public. Like Kirahara, everyone in the stadium were curious to know the boy's face.
But the only ones who were supposed to know what Kongawa looks like was the rest of Team Midoriyama, who right now were in a bit of confusion.
"Hey wait, what's Junpei doing there?"
"Didn't he had an accident and was sent to the hospital?"
"Yeah and they said that he wasn't supposed to recover until a month!"
The Midoriyama Regular's were conversing among themselves to why the sudden appearance of one of their own.
Sitting somewhere among the hundreds of people in the audience is a man. He wore round sunglasses and a green headband. He has a black sweater with the sleeves tied around his neck so that is hangs on his back. In his hand, he twiddled with a worn out tennis ball playfully as he watched the game taking place. This is Yudai Yamato of course when he was 26 years old. The big difference about his appearance back then was that his hair was originally black and hung down, he wore round sunglasses almost all the time and a green headband across his forehead. When he saw Junpei Kongawa entering the court, preparing to play, he had an interested smile on his face. "Let the show begin..." he said to himself playfully.
Despite Midoriyama's confusion, the game had proceeded to start. The referee announced, "Kongawa to serve!" Kongawa bounced a tennis ball in his left hand, preparing for the serve while Akaya was waiting for the moment to move.
"Here I go..." Kongawa said to himself.
He then tossed the ball up and waited it to come down down. And while it was still in mid-air, Kongawa suddenly used his legs and jumped up before slamming the ball with his racket.
Kirihara was about to move, expecting the ball to come at the opposite of where he's standing, but to his surprise, the ball changed course and zoomed straight toward the ground beside feet. Once it touched the ground, the ball spun uncontrollably on its bottom and the next second later, the it shot up straight towards Kirihara's face unexpectedly. Avoiding to get hit, Kirihara had to jerk his head away at the last moment but he had leaned back so suddenly that he lost his balance and fell on the ground and allowed the ball to pass him.
Now to the referee, the serve that happened just now had occurred so fast that he couldn't tell what happened. But finally he realized that it was a point and announced, "15-love!"
"What the heck was that?" Kirihara finally had the words to say, still bewildered by the serve, "That ball could've hit my face!"
From this serve, Team Midoriyama now has proof that the boy on the court isn't Junpei Kongawa and has began to shout accusations to the ref. "That's not his style of play!" one pointed out. "That's not him!" another said, "He's an imposter!"
The imposter on the court was ready to serve again as he bounced the next ball with his hand. Then he called out to his opponent, "Take note, this will be the debut of the ultimate tennis team."
Of course Kirihara was clueless as to what 'Kongawa' was talking about. But before he can think about that, 'Kongawa' tossed up the ball and did the same move, jumping up from his spot and twisting his upper body onto the ball. Once again, the ball made contact with the ground at Kirihara's feet and spun wildly before shooting up towards Kirihara's face, causing Kirihara to step aside by instinct again.
"30-all!"
Observing the game very closely from Rikkaidai's bunkers is the Vice-Captain, Genichiro Sanada. He is a serious player who has an eye for recognizing techniques used by tennis players of the past and are deemed tennis heroes.
It turns out that he managed to recognize the serve that the boy from Midoriyama had just used. "That serve...It is the Twist Serve", Sanada stated. His teammates heard this and were puzzled. "The Twist Serve?" Jackal repeated, "I never heard such a thing." But then the team's genius, Renji Yanagi, spoke, "That's because only one man is known to ever use that move but...that man is supposed to be dead."
At the same time, Midoriyama's coach, Taizo Kiraku, had watched 'Kongawa's' fast serve carefully and has been in a deep thought. Yasuyuki Kiraku, the coach's son and team captain, noticed his father's expression and asked, "What is it Coach? You know that serve?"
"That serve...I've seen it before...That was the Twist Serve", the coach stated.
Yasuyuki grew curious, as he is unfamiliar with that name. "The Twist Serve?" he repeated, "I never heard of it."
"Of course you haven't", the coach responded, "But that's because only one man has ever used that move in a tennis game several years ago. Could it be...?" After moments of thinking, Kiraku gazed at the boy with the bandaged face and recalled a name from the past.
"...Nanjiro?" he finally said in astonishment.
His son caught him speaking the name and was appalled. "Are you talking about...the Nanjiro Echizen, the Samurai from the Land of the Sakura?" he said with amazement, "But it can't be him!" How is it that someone who is dead somehow seems to be standing right before their eyes?
Nobody else know this, but Coach Kiraku was actually an old acquaintance of the legendary Samurai Nanjiro himself, thus, instantly recognizing the samurai's moves in person.
Nearby, it turns out Rikkaidai has also caught the words that Kiraku had just spoke of.
"Samurai Nanjiro?" Sanada said to himself in wonder, "But he's been dead for 11 years now. No other person could imitate his style so perfectly. Just who is this guy?" He stared out at Midoriyama's imposter with suspicious thoughts. Determined to know, Sanada first turned to his captain Yukimura for an approval. The quiet captain then nodded back and then walked out of their bunker. He called out to the referee, "Excuse me referee, I request a time out. There's been a slight confusion we need to solve."
As they requested, the referee signaled and announced a time out.
With the game put to a halt, the players and coaches from both teams immediately stepped out to confront their mystery guest, leaving the audience puzzled and full of questions.
Right away, several of Midoriyama's regulars demanded answers from the intruder.
"Quit messing with us!"
"Who exactly are you?"
"You have some nerve to intrude another team's match!"
The imposter player showed no fear as he grinned to himself for no reason. Then in a loud voice for the audience to hear, he said, "Do you really want to see who I am?"
Finally for the moment they've been waiting for, the boy removed his cap and began to unwrap the bandages that concealed his face so slowly, uncovering each part of his head. At last, the bandages were off and tossed to the ground, leaving the boy's face exposed to the world.
Their mystery guest was none other than a young boy around 12 and has short black hair. He then replaced the cap he previously wore with a white cap that has the letter R on the front.
"I'm Ryoma Echizen, representing Team Seigaku. Remember that name because...the team I'm going to be in will go down in history", he proclaimed. Now nobody has ever heard of a tennis team named Seigaku before, but the boy's last name happened to be a surprising unique name that many tennis fans should know. Nonstop chatter arose from the audience when the boy's name was mentioned.
"Echizen?"
"Did he say Echizen?"
You mean...? That's the Samurai Nanjiro's son?"
"I didn't know he had a son!"
"But his serve was just like the samurai's!"
Now nobody, including big fans of the late Nanjiro Echizen knew that he had a son, not even Coach Kiraku. From the moment he saw Ryoma's face, Taizo thought that he is seeing a miniature version of his old dead friend again. "Nanjiro's son?" he said in bewilderment, "So that's why he is able to do the exact imitation of the Twist Serve...So much like his father."
Ryoma then turned to Team Rikkaidai and said, "Be ready Rikkaidai. You'll see me again...very soon."
And right after he said this, Ryoma took out a white object from his pocket and tossed it up as if he's doing a regular serve. Then he used his racket to hit the ball, sending it flying towards Yukimura. Of course being a captain for nothing, Yukimura countered the flying object by hitting it with his own racket. But once he did, the 'ball' was revealed to be a bundle full of white powder that bursted open like a smoke bomb. Now white clouds of dust scattered the entire court followed by yells and confusion from the tennis players. The audience couldn't even see what was going on down on the courts.
Finally when the dust and smoke lifted, the tennis players and the audience were surprised to see that Ryoma had disappeared in the middle of the confusion. The only thing left behind was the dark cap he was previously wearing, a tennis ball, and a folded piece of paper lying on the ground. While the teammates were talking amongst themselves about this unexpected event and wondering how Ryoma disappeared, Sanada was the one who walked out to where Ryoma last stood and picked up the paper. He then unfolded it to reveal a message written by the boy. Once he read it quietly to himself, he looked back out at the tennis courts in a deep thought, thinking only of the person who will be future rival.
"Ryoma Echizen..."
That night, Ryoma's sudden appearance during Rikkaidai's game was all over the news in Tokyo. Ryoma was now in a fine suite in a fancy hotel in Tokyo, where he was watching the news about him.
"And now today's top news in tennis, Rikkaidai's Kanto Regional match tournament has been halted due to the appearance of a strange boy posing as a member from Team Midoriyama this afternoon", the newscaster reported, "All that we do know is that this boy is named Ryoma Echizen, most possibly the actual birth son of the tennis legend Nanjiro Samurai. Could Samurai Nanjiro's legacy be rising again?"
"A pretty impressive performance if I do say so myself", said a voice from the doorway.
Ryoma turned around and found his coach and trainer, Yudai Yamato, entering the room and joining the boy.
"You really think so? Because I don't think they'll allow me to do that again", said Ryoma modestly as he turned off the TV. He sounded unamused and lack excitement from his own work.
"Of course. By this way, we'll be able to find the other eight players."
"Eight other boys who are like me?" Ryoma inquired, having doubt as he tossed a tennis ball up in the air several times, "It's hard to believe that that's even possible."
Yamato then reached out and touched Ryoma's left arm. He then pushed the boy's wrist band up the arm to show what was hidden underneath it. On the skin of the boy's forearm is a mark of a tennis ball, a birthmark Ryoma carried ever since he was born. "Those that are Nanjiro Echizen's true heirs will most definitely have this birthmark on them as well", Yamato spoke with a positive attitude. Even so, Ryoma is the type of guy who plays alone and is at first not interested in having teammates.
"Well if you say so", he sighed as then started to walk off to his bedroom, "But I'm confident to take on Rikkaidai by myself I wanted to."
Before Ryoma exited, Yamato called out, "There are some things that you can't just do by yourself Ryoma...Your dad has dreamt for this moment for a long time as I've known him. I'm sure he would've wanted you to fulfill his wish along with your teammates. Don't forget that."
At the mention of the late Nanjiro Echizen, Ryoma was silent and couldn't say anything more. He sighed again, hating the way Yamato used the father card on him whenever he's in doubt. "I'm heading to bed", the boy announced as he walked out of the room, pretending as if nothing happened.
Yamato understood his feelings completely. Things took a turn for Ryoma from the day he lost his father who he never knew so much. Ryoma was born the few weeks before Nanjiro Echizen had left to play in the final match of the US Open. But he never returned home after the incident that caused his death.
Yudai Yamato, a close pupil and friend of Nanjiro back when he was a boy, was the one who had been given the task of fulfilling Nanjiro's dream, as he is the one who the samurai trusted the most. A few years after Echizen's death, while Yamato was in middle school, Yamato had started his search for the nine boys who will inherit his teacher's abilities. It was fortunate for him that he managed to discover Ryoma first, due to family connections while Ryoma was a baby. After discovering that Ryoma has the birthmark of the tennis ball, Yamato vowed to finish school and come back to train Ryoma himself when the boy grew bigger.
Once Ryoma became an elementary student and Yamato had just entered high school, Yamato introduced himself to the boy and explained the meaning of his birthmark and how he is to help achieve his father's dream. From that moment, Ryoma agreed to help accomplish his father's dream and accepted Yamato's training. Thanks to Yamato, Ryoma's tennis abilities have further extended and he became a tennis prodigy as his father had done.
Now Yamato looked down at the worn out tennis ball he's been holding and turned it until he could see something on the surface. On it was old writing, a name for an autograph. The name written on the ball read Nanjiro 'Samurai' Echizen. Seeing this name made Yamato look back and remember a memory from the past.
11 Years Ago, Tokyo
Yamato was only 12 when he last spoke with the famous Nanjiro Echizen, his best friend and teacher. They were both in Tokyo during Nanjiro's holiday after his achievement in getting into the US Open. It has now been 3 months since they've returned from America and Yudai was heading to the neighborhood park in their hometown.
"Mr. Echizen!" he called out several times, heading to a certain place in the park by the tennis courts. There, he found Nanjiro Echizen, who was taking a nap and lying on his back under a shady tree. Back then, his hair was long and tied in a high ponytail so he'd look almost like a samurai, and wore a cap as well, just like Ryoma, except he wore it sideways. His nap was interrupted when he heard Yudai calling out to him.
"Mr. Echizen wake up!" the boy eagerly spoke, "You said you'll play another round with me today. Come on!" Nearly every chance he got, Yudai would always play a small match against Nanjiro for practice in honing his skills. However this day was going to be different than all the others.
After shaking Nanjiro's shoulder several times, Yudai finally got the man to sit up, now wide awake.
"Oh Yudai...I just had the strangest dream", said Nanjiro followed by a yawn. "A dream? About what?" asked a curious Yudai. As Nanjiro sat up, he looked up at the sky, trying to recall what he just saw. "I was standing in the middle of a tennis court...and I saw 9 of them. Nine men holding the champion flag from the Nationals."
Yudai grew interested in Nanjiro's dream, thinking about how wonderful it is to win the Nationals. It's every tennis player's dream to make it to the Nationals and win.
"Nine men? What kind of men are they?" he asked his coach.
"Oh these nine...they'll be my successors. The first ultimate tennis team in all of Japan", Nanjiro declared, "They'll have the abilities in tennis that no one has ever seen before. These nine will be the ones who'll win the Nationals."
"Wow...I'd sure would like to meet them", Yudai anxiously said.
Nanjiro looked at Yudai's daydreaming expression and had a grim look on his face. He then got up to his feet to make a sad announcement.
"Yudai, I think it's time for me to go", said Samurai Nanjiro, "The USA tournament will begin soon. I have to head to America." But this was sad news for young Yamato to accept. "What? No, I don't want you to leave now!" he spoke to protest, wanting to spend more time with his hero, "I would like to learn more about tennis from you!" Nanjiro was sad that he has to leave this boy who he had taught tennis for a long while and patted the boy's head to comfort him. But then, he had an idea.
"Yudai, hand me your ball", he requested. Yudai looked down at his only tennis ball that he has kept for a long time, but then he handed it to Nanjiro all the same. Nanjiro then took out from his pocket a permanent marker and began to write his autograph and something else on the ball.
After he finished writing, Nanjiro then knelt down so he can be eye to eye with Yudai. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke in a strong voice, "Yudai, I've taught you all there is to know about tennis. Now I know you're the right person to help me with my dream."
"Me?"
"Yes. One day as you get older, help me find the nine men from my vision. Become their coach and teach them all that I've taught you. Once you've found these nine boys, you will create the ultimate tennis team no one has ever seen in Japan, maybe even the world."
The sound of this truly made Yudai more honored of this task that his teacher himself is giving him.
"But, how will I know who to find?"
"You'll know. In my dream, these nine boys will each carry birthmarks shaped like tennis balls on their bodies and will have skills unimaginable in tennis. That will be the signs of the ultimate tennis men."
Nanjiro then handed Yudai back the tennis ball he just wrote on. "Take this", he insisted, "Always keep this with you. So to remember your job and bring you luck."
Yudai willingly took the ball and stared at it with awe when he saw Nanjiro's autograph written on it. But as he turned the ball over, Yudai noticed that Nanjiro had written something else. On the other side of the ball, Yudai read the words, 'Seigaku fight!'
"What's this Seigaku?" he asked his hero.
Nanjiro gave a bold smile and answered, "The name I've decided to call the team of nine ultimate tennis players. Now promise me you'll use that name once you've gathered the nine boys Yudai, okay?"
Yudai held the ball tightly and gave a confident nod. "I promise Mr. Echizen", he declared, "I will be the coach and create your team."
Nanjiro beamed at his pupil and rubbed his hair
"Atta boy", he said proudly, "I knew I can count on you. Now, how about that game you asked for? One on one?"
Yudai, hoping to use this chance to spend time with his hero one last time, nodded eagerly.
"You're on!"
And with that, he picked up his tennis racket and followed Nanjiro to the courts, where they'll unknowingly play their last friendly game together as coach and student.
Back in the present, Yamato had not forgotten the words that Nanjiro had told him on that last day they spent together. The tennis ball Yamato now holds in his hand was the last thing he has to remember his hero back then. He looked on the ball and reread the words Nanjiro had written again as he always does.
"Nanjiro-sensei...I'm going to fulfill your dream", he vowed to himself, "Your son will be part of the ultimate team." He held the tennis ball tightly in his hand as he stared out the window.
All of Tokyo was still bewildered of the events that happened in the middle of Rikkaidai's game and the appearance of Ryoma Echizen. Things looked as if it was starting to quiet down, until the next day.
Sanada the vice captain came out alone on an empty tennis court in a park so early in the morning so that nobody would be awake and around to see what's he doing. He stepped out on one court with his racket in hand and looked around to make sure he was alone. With no person in sight, he then reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. This was the letter Ryoma had left behind before he disappeared from the game. The letter was written like this:
'Genichiro Sanada of Rikkai,
I challenge you to a singles match the day after you receive this letter.
Meet me on the courts in the park at exactly 6:00 AM. And don't forget to bring your racket.
- Ryoma Echizen of Seigaku'
After reading the message one more time, Sanada then crumpled up the letter and tossed it away. He had set his mind on facing Echizen personally with the goal to beat him. To pass the time, Sanada took out a tennis ball and practiced hitting it against a wall to warm himself up. As the ball bounced back from the wall, Sanada focused and returned with strong and precise shots.
He then saw someone entering the court, wearing the distinctive white cap and carrying a racket in his left hand so casually. Sanada then caught the ball he was practicing with and faced his competition. The two cap wearing tennis players stared at each other for a long while. Finally Ryoma spoke, "So, are you ready to play?"
"I'm ready to return your Twist Serve", the vice captain said with confidence, "Don't think that you're the best yet."
In response, Ryoma tipped his cap and said casually, "You still got ways to go...Once this game ends, you'll find out the true ability of Team Seigaku." He then lifted his racket off his shoulder and tossed it to his left hand, which surprised Sanada.
He recalled that during the match with Midoriyama, Ryoma had used his right hand when he played against Kirihara. Realizing that Ryoma's dominant hand is the left, Sanada is wondering what is Ryoma's real strength.
"Let me first state this, if I win, you have no choice but to join Team Rikkaidai", Sanada announced, "Prodigies like yourself should play for teams with a chance to reach the Nationals such as us."
Ryoma pondered over this interesting proposition and decided to make fun out of it.
"Alright. But if I win...you'll have to give up your spot in Team Rikkaidai", he declared.
At this bet, Sanada scoffed, not pleased with Ryoma's cockiness.
"Is that it? You're asking for too much Ryoma Echizen..." he warned.
Now Ryoma took his spot on the court and took out a tennis ball. "I hope you don't mind if I make the first serve then Sanada", he confirmed, knowing Sanada's request to go up against his Twist Serve, just like he wanted.
And with that, Sanada watched as Ryoma bounced the ball up and down until he held it tightly in his right hand. Then his eyes followed the ball as it was tossed up over Ryoma's head and made its way down.
Just like in the Kanto Regionals, Ryoma jumped up a few inches from the ground and used the extra body twist to whack the ball hard. Sanada stood his ground, watching the ball Ryoma had shot coming straight at him. He pulled back his racket arm, getting ready to hit it with his own strength...
Suddenly the ball was knocked out of Sanada's path by another tennis ball that was thrown in from out of nowhere. The ball Ryoma and Genichiro were using went left and smacked into the wiry fence and was stuck there. Wondering who did that, Sanada and Ryoma followed the ball's direction in where it come from and found Yamato standing at the court's entrance with another ball in his hand.
"Now Ryoma, you're getting too impatient", the coach sighed as he approached the two. Ryoma was discouraged that his match was interrupted, but he didn't argue with his coach. "I was only playing", Ryoma said in his defense, pulling the brim of his cap down.
Yamato turned to Genichiro and bowed politely. "So sorry to interrupt, but I can't let my player here risk your position on Rikkai with you being their Vice-Captain", he said in regret.
"Who exactly are you two?" Sanada spoke, wanting answers to why these two are appearing frequently only to face Rikkaidai so badly.
Yamato was the one who explained, "We are part of the ultimate team with the goal to fulfill Nanjiro Echizen's dream."
When Sanada heard the tennis legend's name mentioned again, he was appalled to believe that they are related to Nanjiro in some way.
"Samurai Nanjiro who won the US Championship?" he inquired to make sure.
Yamato nodded and said, "Yes, that's the one. It was just a few weeks after his death when his spirit had been reborn. On the birthdate of Samurai Nanjiro, November 11, days after his passing, nine stars fell from the sky and created nine special boys. Those boys are to be the ultimate tennis men."
Now Sanada was catching on to Yamato's explanation very quickly and looked at Ryoma, who's standing with his hands in his pockets acting calm.
"And you're saying that this boy here is one of those nine?" he asked Yamato.
To prove the statement, Ryoma held up his left arm to show Genichiro his birthmark. "This is the sign that proves that a boy has received the title of the ultimate tennis player from Nanjiro Echizen himself", he stated while Sanada was silently stunned by the mark.
"Our goal as Team Seigaku is to defeat Japan's number one tennis team in the Nationals", Yamato added, "And eventually, we'll go against the Americans in the U-17 tournament."
But the Rikkai vice-Captain gave a look of doubt. "The American team?" he repeated, "You must be out of your minds to challenge one of the elite tennis teams in the world that consists of high schoolers. You don't even have a full team yet."
Still, Yamato showed no worry.
"Oh I assure you, we have nothing to worry about", he ensured with a smile, "Once we've gathered the rest of our team, we'll challenge Japan's number one junior high tennis team in a fair game first thing. You can be sure of that."
Hearing enough, Sanada turned and picked up his tennis bag as he began to head out. "Then you're going to need all the luck you can get", he said as he walked away with his back to them, "Finding the eight men you need out of millions in Japan...you might not have a chance to play until 2 years from now."
And with that, Sanada left Yudai and Ryoma, but the two still had hope.
Now that they're alone, Ryoma needed to ask, "Did you have to interrupt like that? He was anxious to hit my serve." He was still expecting to have his match his Sanada without interruption.
"You're thinking ahead of yourself Ryoma", Yamato reminded, "Just be patient. You'll have your chance with him, once we've gathered the remaining eight who will help us beat Rikkaidai. Just you wait..."
A/N: Well there you go! My first chapter! How'd you like it! Please read and review!
Here's a fun trivia question for you.
The boy in the beginning of the story, Kotaro Yanagi, is actually the name of a real person who is connected to Prince of Tennis in some way. Do you know how and why? If you think you know the answer, send a PM. If you don't, you'll have to read the next chapter!