Eternal.Angel
June 28, 2007 > June 29, 2007
Disclaimers: I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis.
Summary: Thanks to the J.K. Rowling's idea of writing a story that prolongs to an entire school year, I have decided to write a Prince of Tennis story that recaptures every moment of Seigaku (BE WARNED! IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE ANIME OR MANGA!) Enjoy! And don't forget to review please!
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Year One, Stage One
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Seishun Gakuen. One of the best schools in Japan, known for its strong, talented boys tennis club, with a variety of well-built players. However, Seishun Gakuen, Seigaku for short, has never achieved a win at the Nationals.
But all of that will change when a freshman moves in from America to reach his goal of being the Number One Tennis Player by joining Seigaku's Tennis Club.
oooooooooooooo
Baka Oyaji, trying to make me late on purpose.
Twelve-year-old Echizen Ryoma stuffed his bag with folders, papers, and notebooks and took hold of his tennis things, racing down the stairs. He ran into the kitchen, gobbled down some rice and chugged the miso soup, and quickly pried open the door.
"Ittekimasu!"
The freshman hurriedly paced himself down the roads toward his new school. His breathing was heavy, and his steps were gradually increasing in speed. In no time at all, the boy had made it to school on time.
He glanced over the paper that stated his schedule and proceeded to his room. English, ne? Piece of cake. As he opened the door, a girl bumps into him and falls clumsily to the ground.
"Iie…" the girl whined as she got up and dusted her skirt. She turned her head and came to see two golden-like feline eyes staring through her. Her face felt hot and the student began to blush.
"An-o, gomenasai! I'm sorry I bumped into you!" apologized the schoolgirl, bowing many times as her braids flew up and down.
"You can stop now," the cold voice of Echizen Ryoma said. One of her long braids was caught by the boy which was ready to hit him on the shoulder. She looked up again and became redder in the face.
The twin braided-girl gently pulled her hair away from the boy's grasp and bowed. "Gomenasai! I didn't mean to hurt you! Gomenasai!"
"Stop apologizing, and do you mind getting out of the doorway?" questioned Echizen. She blushed once more and stepped out of the way, then left the classroom after his arrival.
Few minutes later, the teacher had come in and class had begun. Attendance was taken and sensei droned on and on about the basic greetings of the English language. His speech was quite hard to hear as his English collided with his Japanese, creating an accent. The freshman yawned and stared out the window, hoping that the first day would come to an end.
oooooooooooooo
The school day was over, and Echizen Ryoma headed towards the tennis courts, changed into proper attire. He slung his tennis bag over his shoulders and walked into the court when a loud voice irritated his ear drums.
"HEY!!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN'T BARGE IN LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!"
A freshman boy wearing a green shirt with vertical stripes ran towards Echizen, panting madly like a dog. He wiped his forehead with his right arm and stood straight, breathing heavily.
"Freshmen aren't allowed in the tennis courts until the coach says so, you know," said the gaudy-dressed student in a matter-of-factly manner. He beamed at himself before glancing at the tennis bag, which marked "E. Ryoma".
His eyes widened as he exclaimed, "I know you! You're that Echizen Ryoma who's in all my classes! Well, Echizen," the boy said as his tone of voice changed, "I'm sure you've just started tennis and don't have a clue about it. Well, I'll be your friend then! My name is Horio Satoshi, and I have two years of tennis experience!" Once again, Horio beamed at himself and bragged on about his "two years of tennis experience". "You see, tennis is a great sport and…are you listening, Echizen?
"Echizen?" Horio looked around, flicking his head side to side and found him talking to a senpai. "ECHIZEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed, running towards him and the senpai.
Horio placed both of his hands on his bent knees and once more panted. He looked at Echizen and complained, "Echizen! What are you doing!"
"Now, now," the senpai said, trying to calm down Horio. "This freshman just asked me a practice match, that's all."
"NANI!!!!!!!!!! ECHIZEN?! WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! HE'S A SENPAI, THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN BEAT HIM!" Horio screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing his hand at the senpai.
The senpai patted his head said calmly said, smiling, "Don't worry. It'll be fine. Besides, I need to warm up as well. Now," he said, facing Echizen, "Let's go to the courts and have a match, shall we?"
He placed his hand on the freshman's shoulder and walked towards the tennis courts. Once in position, the senpai took hold of his black, sleek racket and asked, "Which?"
"Smooth," the boy replied in a monotonous tone. His opponent spun the racket and it twirled in the air, and landed with the "M" facing upside down.
"Rough," the senpai muttered under his breath, and his eyes immediately changed, giving it a brighter glow. "You can serve first then – I don't mind." He threw a small neon ball at Echizen, and he caught it with his right hand.
"Self-judged game," the server said, loud enough for his opponent to hear as he dribbled the tennis ball. Echizen's eyes became sharper and focused. He threw the small ball into the air, jumped while twisting his body, and his racket forcefully hit the ball towards the other side of the court.
The opponent backed himself up, and prepared to swing his racket when the ball, twisting as it rubbed a mark on the ground, bounced towards his face. The neon tennis ball whirled above his face, inches away from making a mark on the opponent.
"Pok, pok," went the tennis ball, as it jumped of the fence and landed on the ground. It rolled towards the wall and came to a stop.
"Fifteen-love," announced Ryoma as he dug through his pocket for another tennis ball, and began to dribble it once more with his left hand, his right hand tightly gripping the racket.
"So that's the Twist Serve obaa-san was talking about," the senpai said suddenly, as he got into position to attempt the freshman's deadly serve once more, smiling deviously and glaring at the feline eyes of his opponent.
"Sugoi…I NEVER KNEW ECHIZEN COULD DO THAT!" exclaimed Horio, who was shocked and stood as still as a statue, his hands clenched onto the fence.
"Do what?" two other freshmen in the tennis club asked, as each carried a green basket full of tennis balls, pausing for a brief moment to consult with Horio.
"You see that kid with the cap?" pointed out Horio, "That's Echizen Ryoma. He can do something called 'Twist Serve', and it's really good!" The boy began to sulk and pout to himself.
"Well," one of the freshmen named Kachiro Kato began, "You can at least help us clean up and pick up the tennis balls left on Court D and E." The other freshman, Katsuo Mizuno, nodded in agreement and began to walk away.
Mr. Two-Years-Of-Tennis-Experience placed a hand on Katsuo's shoulder and lowly said, "I have two years of tennis experience. And when I tell you to watch something, I mean it."
Katsuo Mizuno began to stutter, "You-u nev-er said anything-g about watch-ing-ing him play-y."
When the tennis ball stopped bouncing, the trio of freshmen went silent, and they closely watched the kid with the white cap serve his infamous "Twist Serve".
The red racket vigorously threw the ball to the other side of the court, and the black racket made an attempt to return. As it bounced off the ground, the strings of the senpai's racket were ready to snap any moment with the powerful aura of the serve, and when he couldn't hold it any longer, his grip from the racket was discontinued, and it spun around the dusty floor, leaving behind traces of dust in the air and ragged racket strings.
"Thirty-love," said Ryoma, and he took out another tennis ball from his pocket and prepared to do the Twist Serve.
The senpai sighed and held out his hand in the air, "You know what, it'd be best if we stop now. People are starting to gather anyway, and you've proven yourself good as a tennis player." He bent down to pick up his racket and the two tennis balls then placed the racket on his shoulder. "Next time though, I won't go easy on you!" He smiled and briskly walked out of the courts, surprisingly throwing the balls perfectly into the baskets, which had nearly made Kachiro and Katsuo trip over themselves.
Still standing in the court, holding his racket with his right hand, Echizen Ryoma tugged his cap downwards and sighed.
As he exited the courts with his tennis bag over his right shoulder, the three boys approached him and began to question, or rather, compliment him.
"Echizen, were you trying to kill your senpai with that Twist Serve of yours or something?!"
"Sugoi, Ryoma-kun! My name is Kachiro Kato, and I just joined the tennis club."
"Konnichiwa! I'm Katsuo Mizuno, and I also just joined the tennis club. You're really good, you know."
"Domo," said the tennis freshman as he pulled down his Fila Cap again, and he walked straight through the trio of freshmen, looking down to the ground when he bumped into yet, another senpai of the tennis club.
"Hey you!" screamed the blue-jacketed senpai. Echizen coolly backed away and briefly looked at the facial appearance of whom he crashed into just now. He wore a green headband as his brown hair wildly spread itself out, and in his eyes anger and frustration could be seen flaming.
"How dare you bump into me like that!" he shouted, his loud and angry tone shaking the wits out of the freshmen trio. "Besides, you shouldn't be so arrogant you know, trying to play a match against Momoshiro. He's a regular you know, and you wouldn't stand a chance!" The angry senpai pointed a finger directly at Echizen's face, and his grip on his racket tightened. "Momoshiro just went easy on you. He would have gone full out if he hadn't injured his right ankle and beat the crap out of you!"
"Nani?!" shocked Horio, who was taken aghast. Then he turned towards Echizen and blurted out nonsensical things, "Momoshiro-senpai was injured?! No wonder he went easy on you, Echizen! I doubt you could have beat him, unlike I, Horio Satoshi, with two years of tennis experience!" he bragged, unaware of the presence of the senpai.
The senpai tugged at Horio's gaudy shirt and yelled, spitting at his face, "What the heck are you talking about, kouzo! Just because you have two years of tennis experience, that does not mean you can beat a senpai like I am!" Horio's expression was quite easy to read: he was scared. His body was entirely numb and shaky, and sweat beads began to trickle down from his forehead. He shut his eyes closed and his teeth clattered, waiting for his punishment.
"Senpai. Let's have a practice match."
The older student loosened his grip of Horio, sending him plummeting to the rocky ground. He glared at the boy with the White Fila Cap, and smirked, putting on a different voice, "Sure. Just hope you don't cry to your mommy once you lose."
Ryoma and the other senpai entered the court and took their positions. Arrogantly, the senpai declared, "I'll serve first and go easy on you. Let's see how well you do without that Twist Serve of yours." He threw the ball into the air and served.
Che. The same thing you get everyday when you match against someone stupid and arrogant. Easily, the freshman tennis player returned the tennis ball at the corner, which the senpai had not expected.
"Kouzo…" the senpai narrowed his eyes, and he began making irritating sounds. He approached towards the net and gave a menacing glare at the boy, and lifted his racket into the air. It swung down furiously and just as Echizen looked up to see what was going on, and realized a moment too late–––
"What is the meaning of this?" a voice rang throughout the tennis courts.
A group of second and third years made their way through the tennis court which Echizen was playing on. A third year with glasses and brown hair with highlights stepped up and repeated himself, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Umm…" the senpai began, scratching his head with his left hand as he masked himself with a pretend surprised expression.
"Arai, you shouldn't just go around playing matches without Tezuka-buchou's permission," pointed out Momoshiro, who was grouped within the several tennis regulars. They all wore blue and white jackets, and on the back was imprinted, "Seigaku".
For a moment, Arai glared at Momoshiro, and then bellowed random thoughts about the freshman. Echizen simply stood on the court, tugging down his Fila Cap on a timely basis.
The captain of Seigaku's tennis club sternly ordered, interrupting Arai's long lecture of Echizen Ryoma, "The two of you. Twenty laps around the court."
"Nande?!" the second year cried, "Why do I have to be punished as well?!"
The serious look of the captain had a darker shade than before, and stoically he ordered, "Thirty laps."
The freshman excused himself from the courts and he casually dropped his tennis bag onto the benches. For a moment, he was stretching a bit, and the next, he began to run around the larger court area.
Damn it, thought Arai, I better start running too, or I'll be running all day. He quickened himself to begin running around the court, just following behind Echizen.
As the two students were running their laps, Tezuka-buchou gathered all members of the boys tennis club. "Minna," he proclaimed in a serious tone, "Today will be free play. You may choose to do whatever you want. Freshmen will clean up after practice is over. Tomorrow, we shall begin the tryouts for regulars on this tennis team. Do not let your guard down."
"HAI!" bellowed the members, before parting into their respective ways.
oooooooooooooo
The sky emitted an orange glow, and tennis practice was over. Four boys remained however, picking up abused and leftover tennis balls, loosening the pulleys that held the nets, and dusting off the courts with a very large broom.
"Did you see how the regulars played?" asked Kachiro as he picked up a few tennis balls in a corner, "Sugoi! They were so fast and make it look so easy!" The other two freshmen agreed as they were also picking up some neon colored orbs.
"Ne, Ryoma-kun," questioned Katsuo politely as he headed out to the boys' changing room.
"Hn?"
"Do you want to become a regular of Seigaku's tennis team?"
"Don't care," Ryoma replied nonchalantly, tugging his cap downwards again as he dragged the large broom across half of the court. Bits of dust whirled around for a moment and settled back to the ground.
In hearing Echizen's comment, Horio began to lead off the conversation. "With my two years of tennis experience, I'm positive that I could become one of Seigaku's regulars! Too bad we aren't able to until next year though. How I wish I could wear one of those jackets!" The boy wandered off into his own thoughts, ignoring the accident of spilling an entire basketful of tennis balls.
"Horio!" Kachiro shouted, "You've spilled all the tennis balls!"
"Nani?" wondered Horio, snapping back into reality. "I spilled all the tennis balls?"
"Mada mada dane," the freshman with the broom said aloud, just loud enough for the trio to hear him. They froze for a second, pondering and looking directly at their friend. He sighed and laid the broom against the fence, smirking to himself. He strode towards the changing room leaving behind three confused auras.
"ECHIZEN! MATTE!" Horio yelled his loudest, getting up to catch after him, but had slipped on a tennis ball and fell back down. The two other boys helped him up and threw the tennis balls messily into the baskets. Carrying baskets full of bouncing spheres, they ran after him and into the changing rooms.
"MATTE!!!!"
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Owari
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A/N: As you can see, this is the most boring prologue, or chapter, I have written. It may seem boring in the beginning (which tends to be the habit of my writing), but as you go along, it will become more interesting and detailed. I'm not very good at writing humorous or romantic things, but I'll give it a shot. Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!
Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!
Eternal.Angel
