NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES
Chapter one: A Mirage
It was another normal noon session for the regulars of Seigaku.
"It's so HOT!!" a voice moaned loudly.
"Stop complaining, Eiji!" panted the person beside him.
"But it is!!" he whined, wiping a trickle of sweat from his eyes. "Admit it, Momo…"
"Yeah, but I'm not bawling like a walrus…"
"BUT IT'S-"
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!!"
The two players slowly turned around to look at the person who shouted. They didn't hurry, because they didn't want to hear the punishment they were to receive for being so noisy. 'We're doomed…' they both thought. Because, there, standing in front of them with both arms crossed in front of his broad chest, was the captain of the tennis club. In the melting heat, it was like seeing Satan himself.
"Uh… hey, there captain!" Momo greeted in fake enthusiasm. "Isn't it a wonderful and glorious day?"
"5 minutes ago you were complaining of the heat…" a bored voice muttered quietly, but was audibly heard by the three.
They looked around and saw a young teen of around 12 years old with a white cap pulled down his eyes, giving him a somewhat mysterious demeanor. He was leaning coolly under an oak tree, balancing a tennis ball on the side of his racket and making it bounce up and down.
"Shut up… oh please, God, make him shut up…" Momo quietly said a prayer to save him from the wrath of their captain. But it was too late.
"50 laps. Each." Their captain's icy voice muttered.
"Caaappptttaaaaiiinnnn!" the two whined.
"Around the school."
"WHAT?!"
"If you whine one more time, it'll be around the world." He turned his back on them, and took of his glasses to wipe them on the hem of his shirt. After replacing them back on his nose, he stared at the two who were still standing there, looking at him. His eye twitched. "WHAT are you waiting for?"
"Uh, yeah! We were about to leave!! Hehehe…" the two sped off.
"Nice one, Tezuka." A voice said, with a hint of humor in his voice.
"Inui… you're late." Tezuka said, raising an eyebrow. "You're never late."
"I was lost on the road of life…" he said jokingly, pulling out a towel from his bag. The freshmen, who were picking up tennis balls scattered on the court, stopped midway from their jobs and gawked at their senpai. Inui, who felt the eyes of everyone on the court on him, turned around, with a puzzled look on his face.
"What?" he asked.
"Y-you… you joked." A freshman said in awe, his eyes wide like saucers. Eichizen almost sweatdropped. But he was too cool for that, so he didn't.
"You freshmen know better than to speak like that to your senpai," a disappointed voice said behind them. The freshmen panicked and looked quickly behind them.
"S-sorry Oishi-senpai!!"
"Get back to work."
"Y-yes sir!" the young teens answered obediently and quickly returned back to their jobs.
"Aren't you a little harsh?"
"I see Kawamura's here…"
"Don't change the subject."
"It's called discipline, Kawamura," Oishi said, sighing. "You should stop being too nice."
"It's not in my genes, y'know."
"Alright, that's enough chitchat," Tezuka decided. "We've got a session to do."
The sun showed no mercy. They were just going through their first 15 minutes of practice, but already ¾ of the members had given up. The ones left were the only ones who could stand up against the heat; the regulars. Tezuka sighed. He had never seen the members like this. Usually, they were enthusiastic and full of spirit, but now… they… they're like…
"Dried-up vegetables."
Tezuka turned around to look at Oishi. "Sorry?" he asked.
"Dried-up vegetables." Oishi repeated. "That's what the members look like."
"I can't believe you're comparing me to the most hated type of food in the world." Kaido muttered, wiping his neck with his already damp towel.
Tezuka removed his glasses once more and wiped them on his shirt, and wiped his face. He replaced his glasses and quietly watched the freshmen.
"Look! An apple!"
"Hey, it looks really juicy…"
"I saw it first!" the teen said, and grabbing it to take a bite. Tezuka choked on his water bottle.
"WAIT! THAT'S A-"
"OOOOUUUUCCCHHH!!"
"…tennis ball…" Tezuka finished lamely. "Ugh… not again…" Oishi and Kawamura were doubling up in laughter. That was probably the umpteenth mirage the freshmen saw. It was amazing what a little heat could do. The seniors had been laughing their butts out for the last few minutes because of that, and even he, Inui and Eichizen was letting out a few chuckles every now and then.
"Alright! Noon training session is officially over!" he called out. 'Damn this heat,' he cursed to himself.
Momo and Eiji, who were just finishing their 50th lap, suddenly halted, and looked into the distance.
"Hey—it's a chick!"
They squinted their eyes in the heat, and bent slightly forward for a better look. Their eyes widened. They had never seen a girl like her—she was so different from all the other girls in their class.
"Wow, she's HOT!" Momo whispered. Eiji blinked.
"Hot? Of COURSE!" he said triumphantly. "IT'S THE HEAT! It's a mirage, Momo, so stop dreaming." They looked at each other, rubbed their eyes, and looked again.
"See? She's there! It's not a mirage!!"
"Of course she is!" Eiji said angrily. "Have you seen a girl in this god forsaken school that's THAT hot?"
"… You HAVE a point…" Momo said quietly.
"Good. Let's finish our last lap."
"But she's hot!!"
"Shut up, Momo!"
"She looks so real, see!"
"She's a MIRAGE, Momo!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!!"
"Prove it!!"
"Fine!" Eiji said angrily, and stomped off to one of the benches and grabbed his racket. Picking up a ball from the court, he walked back to Momo. He glared at him. "I'll SHOW you!"
Throwing the ball high unto the air, he waited for it to fall a bit, then hit it as hard as he could with his racket. The ball flew at an amazingly fast speed, and then…
THWACK!!
"OUCH!!"
"OH MY GOD! SHE'S REAL!" Momo gasped.
Tezuka and the rest of the members rushed over to Momo and Eiji.