Saibansho no Ōjo

裁判所の王女

Summary:

It has been four years since the disappearance of the renowned 'Prince of Tennis', Echizen Ryouma. But said person never actually existed in the first place. Enter Echizen Risa or "Lisa" as pronounced by her American friends as she settled down in Japan, a break away from the States and actual competitive tennis itself and focus more on her musical interest. But when she stumbled across a Mixed Junior Tennis Competition game, she would be torn between sports and music. What would she choose?

Genres: Sports, Shoujo, Romance, Drama, Comedy

Warnings: Fem!Ryoma, alternative setting/universe/timeline, OOCness.

Chapter 1: The Maiden that Observed

"Game and Set, won by Kaidoh." The umpire announced as soon as the ball landed on one side of the court in perfect form before rebounding off the fence that guarded the area, protecting the audience from the impact. "The score; 6-2."

The winner hissed out irritatingly before walking up to the middle to meet with his opponent, exchanging the handshake that signaled the end of the match.

"Good game." His opponent forced a smile, grasping his hand firmly with a shake before leaving the court.

"Good game." He replied as he released the hand, racquet resting on his shoulder as he walked out of the court and sat down on one of the benches. His gaze fell upon the sky above him as he pondered why didn't he feel any better after another win. Instead, he felt slightly irritated. Annoyed that his opponents felt so...

"Weak."

His eyes darted to the source and widened in surprise. She stood there, leaned against the tree with her slender arms crossed over her rather well-developed chest. Her long, smooth dark hair glistened like strands of dark emeralds under the sun's rays through the shade of the tree as it rustled along the wind. Her golden orbs that held unmatched beauty pierced him with a teasing stare, if one could observe closer they would see the smug expression within them. Her soft pink lips curved slightly up in an undeniable smirk that seemed to mock him in silence.

"Who are you?" was the only logical thing he could ask as he glared at her.

"Just another spectator of this show." She merely answered before she pushed herself off the trunk of the tree, her hair flowing gently to the small of her back as she walked away, tailing behind its owner.

It took all his mustered will to tear his unruly eyes off the back of her slender, delicate retreating form. But his eyes would subconsciously wander back to where she had left as if hoping the girl would still be there but it had been a few moments since she had took her leave. His mind recalled her image, the well curved form, her beautiful face and that smug expression of hers. It intrigued him as much as it annoyed him and for the next minute or so, her presence dominated his mind. He cursed as he wandered back to how her hips slightly swished with confidence as she walked away. Stop thinking this!

"Yo, Mamushi." A voice snapped him out of his musings as he hissed at the owner of said voice. He turned and glared at the newcomer who only smirked at the reaction.

"What?" He spat out as he got up from the bench, contemplating on whether to gather his belongings first or find himself a drink from one of the many vending machines that were scattered through out the courts. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I just happened to pass by." The subject of his annoyance nonchalantly answered as he looked over Kaidoh's shoulder. "Wasn't there a hot chick with you earlier?"

His glare on him intensified at the mention of this 'hot chick'. For reasons unknown, his hands clenched slightly into loose fists as he started to hiss again. It didn't feel right to hear someone call that girl with such a nick name but he also pondered in his mind about why he acted upon hearing it. It was actually the perfect and simplest description of the girl in question from how much he was able to recall from his memories yet it could not be trusted as a whole. Memories of the mind alters with time, even the most recent of such.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that someone like you would know someone like her." The boy mocked with a chuckle before his eyes turned to look at the bulletin board not far from where they stood. "And to see the cold and venomous snake participate in a mixed competition by himself!"

"Shut up, you're annoying." He gruffly cut his laughter off as he walked away, deciding that he should retrieve his belongings that sat itself within one of the courts. But to his chagrin, the boy followed him.

The wind blew again, nearly knocking off the bandana that wrapped itself around the top of his head as they entered the opened tennis court. The sweat that was still present on his arms chilled him as the wind touched the droplets that still clung to his skin, sending a slight shiver in which he resisted. He would not shiver in front of him. Never.

But his gaze followed the breeze as it carried a few green leaves through the air, as if directing his attention to somewhere else as it distanced itself from them further until you could barely see it even with the sharpest of perception. But the moment they noticed the large crowd gathered in the distance, they stopped and pondered. Wasn't his match the last one?

"I wonder what's over there." He heard his companion's curious question.

"Why ask me? How should I know?"

He turned and noticed the grin plastered on his face, his dark eyes gleaming with excitement. "Why don't we take a look?"

"What's the point?" Kaidoh muttered as he crouched down to fetch a towel, draping it over his shoulder before zipping up the black and white duffel that carried his racquet and other necessities required for the sport.

"Come on, Mamushi. You can't deny that you're curious too." The boy reasoned as if he needed his companion's permission to go and watch the match. But he wasn't expecting the next thing he added. "Maybe that girl is there too."

He froze as soon as his companion mentioned the girl and immediately, his mind went blank with only an image of her stuck inside. Yet he held back on his urges, suppressing them as he hissed in irritation. They only met once and it was merely less than a couple of minutes. Why was he acting like this when she was mentioned? "Go there yourself. I don't care." He finally said, shaking the thoughts of the girl away as he left the court with his belongings in tow.

He ignored the shouts that were directed at him, walking away and leaving behind a disgruntled boy who so happens to be the same one that he had faced head-on for the past eight years. Though the bickering that they do nowadays were getting less frequent, they still saw each other as rivals in the sport that they grew up with and he doubt there was anything else that they would have in common.

That was when he realized where he was heading towards. As if his feet had minds of their own as it guided his whole self towards where the crowd was. It was just curiosity. That was what he repeated in his mind as he got closer to the next tennis court. He was just wondering what was so interesting about a normal match. Yes, that's the only reason why he wanted to see what was occurring in the next court.

He stopped in surprise.

She was there. But she was on the court. A mere spectator of the games would not be on the courts and yet there she was. The same smirk that she gave him was still there as she confidently returned the ball to the opposite of the court with relative ease. It almost looked as if it took no effort at all when she did so. Her opponent panted as he struggled to reach it, lobing it at a high angle back to her side.

He saw her smirk widen into a grin and it ended in a blink of an eye.

"Game and Set, won by Takeuchi." The third person on the court announced, acting as the umpire for the game.

Takeuchi. The name etched itself into the walls of his mind as his eyes followed her graceful form back to the bench inside the court. Placing down the racquet she used down on the bench, she sat down beside it and wiped the beads of sweat that was on her forehead with the back of her delicate hand. It didn't seem like she came here to play tennis with what she had wore to the game.

It didn't seem like she was entirely tired since the only indication was the sheen of sweat. Compared to her opponent that sat on the other bench adjacent to her, it almost seemed as if the other tennis player had very weak stamina. But many would know that was not the case.

She stood back on her feet lightly as she picked up the racquet, walking towards her opponent and handing it to him. He worded his thanks and other things that Kaidoh could not hear from where he was standing and the two on the court engaged in a small talk. But as he watched them, he couldn't help but feel a bit of irritation from it. Why though?

Their eyes met at the next second and time seemed to slow down tremendously for that moment. Surprise was evident in both of them but it merely lasted less than a fraction of a second before her expression turned into a teasing smirk again. She returned her attention to the person she was talking to earlier for a brief moment before leaving the court without another glance at him.

He couldn't help himself if he wanted to as his curiosity reached its peak. Without his rational thinking, he moved to follow her without a sound. Keeping to be certain that the distance between them was plentiful enough that it would go unnoticed by his target. She strolled confidently down the path before exiting the tennis courts park and he stopped.

Standing in wait was a boy that seemed a year older than Kaidoh. He turned when he heard the girl approach him, his glasses opaque from the reflection of the sunlight. His stoic expression softened as he greeted her with a nod and she nodded back, a few moments later the pair left a hidden and dazed Kaidoh near the entrance to the park.

What was his captain doing with her?

But he snapped out of his daze when he noticed that she looked over her shoulders back at him with that teasing smirk of hers. Her soft lips parted and worded out a message that he could barely read.

Mada mada dane.

This is just an experimental tease one-shot! But it will grow into a chaptered story soon and this will of course be revamped and such~ Leave a review to let me know what you think! :3 I'll appreciate some good opinions! Thank you for reading!