"The butterfly stroke, A shot sent at high speeds towards an opponent creating after images that become multicolored as they catch the light." Inui began his explanation, "It was a powerful yet unknown shot in the tennis world that was quickly brushed off as a myth after no tennis player could duplicate it, only it had not been a myth, It was a cleverly designed shot that had been performed by 'princess' a member of the doubles' specialists who had only surfaced in the tennis world for a measly 6 months before disappearing once more, leaving the tennis world to doubt their existence in the first place.
The doubles' specialists were said to have appeared two years ago, a boy and a girl who rose among the top of the doubles' category yet they had no desire to enter competitions. They simply challenged pros and up to their disappearance they had never lost a match."
Momoshiro sweatdroped.
"That's great and all but what does that have to do with Ryoma kun and Aria chan?"
Inui pushed up his glasses smirking as the lenses caught the light.
"The specialists often addressed each other as prince and princess and they must have been rather arrogant to challenge the best like they did." His eyes gleamed. "Especially since they were rumored to be mere children"
A gasp pulls Inui out of his reverie and back to the game. The golden pair had already started using Syncro with Aria and Ryoma working up a sweat yet matching the pair evenly. Ryoma shoots a drive B at them this time and Ooishi dives, returning the shot perfectly. Eiji starts to smile but Aria's counter turns it into a competitive grin immediately.
'This is bad. Eiji's getting worn out.'
"Dont mind me." Eiji yelled as if reading his partners mind. The pair shared a knowing smile
40-30
Ryoma had just scored. This was bad. They really could not afford letting their guard down against their opponents this time. Perhaps it was time to take things up a notch. Eiji prepared to start his special tennis.
"Whoa!" Aria let out a yelp as she skidded briefly before crashing towards the ground.
"Aria!" Ryoma called out rushing to his partners side to see her clutching her ankle with her brows flurried.
"Are you alright?"
The girl glanced at Ryoma and flustered immediately at all the unwanted attention she was recieving.
"Fine," she muttered "I'm fine."
With a grunt she lifted herself up and began her stride towards a tree in the shade.
"Sorry Eiji senpai, Ooishi senpai. It seems like we'll have to continue our match some other time" she turned back a regretful smile on her face.
The team glanced at her and offered her silly grins signifying that they did not mind. Only Ryoma seemed to have noticed the slight hobble in her usually smooth gait.
10 minutes later Aria sat down in the shade, leaning against a tree, with Ryoma's cap tugged snuggly down covering her already shut eyes. In the distance she could hear the sound of the tennis clubs practice and it lulled her closer to sleep as she gave a satisfied sigh. Her ankle had begun to swell much to her distaste and the pain was starting to interfere with her sleep cycle.
She adjusts her position once again and tries sleeping once more, only to have something cold pressed against her cheek. With a sharp intake of breath Aria pulls the cap up to reveal a smirking Ryoma as he pressed a cold can of poccari on the side of her cheek. The cocky teenager smiles at her before waving the drink in front of her face, chuckling when she snatched it from him and began drinking. He takes a seat opposite her, right in front of her outstretched legs and for a moment Aria wonders if it's because the awkwardness of being apart for so long had finally caught up to him. But then he grabs her injured ankle and she is forced to rethink her theory as she winces, closing her eyes tight.
But the pain that she expected never came. As she opened her eyes she noted that Ryoma was inspecting her ankle, rubbing the swollen joint gently.
"You sprained your ankle." He states frowning.
Aria frowns back.
"how'd you tell?"
"your walk. It was off."
Aria remained quiet at that simply choosing to observe Ryoma as he pulled out a cold compress and some bandages.
"Where did you get those?"
He glances up at her and scoffs "the convenience store of course."
Aria looked at him as if he had grown another head. The nearest store was at least a fifteen minute walk away and that was only if you knew the way.. At that moment she spots the beads of sweat that cling to the teen and can't help but smile.
"At least let me do it by myself."
Ryoma gave her a look. "No."
"Let me." She tried again sitting upright but once again the boy refused. Aria growled.
"I can at least help myself Ryoma!" she yelled reaching for the compress that the boy insisted on holding just a few millimeters out of her reach.
Ryoma had started chuckling now much to her dissatisfaction and with one final attempt to reach for the compress she had successfully lost her balance and landed on top of a very surprised Ryoma.
"Ryoma kun, Aria cha-" Momoshiro stopped dead in his tracks at the suggestive scene in front of him.
Ryoma had his hand stationed at Aria's waist (trying to hold her up) as the said girl seemed to prop herself up above him, their faces almost touching with the girls long black hair curtaining the two teens."
"Ah. sorry to disturb"
Momoshiro left the scene even before the teens had processed the shock of being seen.
"Well. That's going to cause a lot of misunderstandings." Aria remarked quietly as she pushed herself off Ryoma, only to have her ankle give out and loose her balance once more, this time kneeing him in the stomach.
The teenage boy clutched his stomach in pain as Aria practically flew off of him, landing butt first on the grass as she did so.
"Ryoma are you ok?" She questioned, worry etched into her features.
Ryoma looked up ready to assure her that he was fine only for him to catch sight of the soles of her shoes. He grabs her uninjured ankle and hoists it up immediately, causing Aria to slide downwards, now laying on her back,
"What's with these shoes?" He commented in disbelief. There's no friction at all! No wonder you fell!"
Aria felt her face redden in embarrassment. "These are my only pair!" she retorted
"Then buy new ones! "
Aria gave him a look and Ryoma gave her a small smile.
"Alright," he relented taking a hold of her injured ankle once more, satisfied that she did not complain this time.
"At least let me pay you back."
Ryoma scoffed, it seemed as if he had spoken too soon, really, Aria was never really someone who knew how to except favors.
"Don't worry about it" Ryoma said as he finished her bandages and offered his hand to her. She took it with a sigh. Honestly she wondered why she ever worried about a barrier in between them in the first place. She glanced at Ryoma's face. A barrier in between the both of them seemed impossible at the moment she smiled
"Your impossible" she commented
Ryoma spared her a snide glance
"That's coming from you?"
Aria stuck out her tongue and the both of them made their way back to the tennis courts, Ryoma standing close to Aria, ready to support her weight at any time.
It was only after they were out of sight that Inui emerged from a nearby bush.
"data acquired." His glasses gleamed."
cCc
"that's what I saw... Really!" Momoshiro exclaimed recalling the sight.
"ehh?" Eiji called out. "Echizen kun got a girlfriend earlier than me? Wait does that mean that the two Echizen clones have joined forces?"
Tetzuka simply spared them an uncomfortable glance.
Momoshiro laughed "The two Echizens deserve each other" he cackled only pausing when a tennis ball whizzed past his ear.
"eh?" he turned around to see both Aria and Ryoma glaring at him. If looks could kill, Momoshiro would already be six feet under.
"Who said you could make those assumptions senpai." They spoke in unison.
Momoshiro paled.
"Forgive meeeeee!"
Inui stood some distance away. Ball speed 200 km per hour. He recorded with a sigh.
Things were going to be interesting from now on. He thought to himself. Just then a tennis ball Whizzed past his head. Inui gulped. Maybe a little too interesting.
"It's getting late. Fuji where is the hotel that we will be staying at."
Fuji let out a dry chuckle the smile never leaving his face with a shake of the head he shrugged. Tetzuka merely glanced at him before grabbing the flyer from Inui's grasp. On closer inspection it had a Japanese address. Tetzuka paled. He should have known that a foreign flyer wouldn't be in Japanese.
"picked it up from the Japanese air port." Fuji offers gesturing to the flyer.
Tetzuka looked ready to faint right there and then.
"What's the problem?" Ooshi asked
"That is simple, We have no reservations for lodging and no money."
Everybody stopped dead in their tracks. Just kidding. Aria was holding in her laughter with all the strength she could muster.
"wait." She giggled adorably. "Why don't you have money?"
"We have money... Just not enough."
Aria sighed and glanced at Ryoma uncomfortably, "Mada mada dane. If you want I have enough room at my pla-"
"There is no need." Ryoma said cutting her off easily.
However his friends sent him murderous glares and protests apparently the lure of food and shelter was too good to give up, even if it meant pissing off Ryoma. Minutes later Aria and Ryoma once again found themselves at the back of the group with Aria shouting out directions every now and then.
Ryoma glanced at his childhood friend. "Aria-" he started but was cut off with a finger to his lips
"Thanks for trying," She smiled at him.
Ryoma sighed, though the light from the setting sun really did do her justice as it illuminated her.
cCc
"Mum! Dad! I'm home."
There was a clattering of pots and Aria's mother, a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties came rushing out. Her long hair secured in a low pony tail behind her. Silently the tennis club wonders if Aria would grow up to look like that. They certainly hopped so.
Her mother raised her hands to her mouth as if in shock.
"You brought friends!" She exclaimed much to Aria's embarrassment. Running over to the teenage girl she ruffled her hair. "That's great! It's the first time she brought a friend home since Ryoma-kun visited us, " she sighed "I was starting to think she had no friends!"
Aria flushed in embarrassment but did nothing to stop her mother.
"Wait!" She exclaimed spotting green tinted hair near the door. "Ryoma? Is that you?"
Ryoma moved his way to the front with a sheepish smile. An expression that was thought to be impossible for the cocky teen. With his data gathering senses tingling Inui whipped out his notebook and just in time too.
"Oh it is you! You've grown Ryoma! I remember when you and Aria were the same height. Aw you guys were so close! You went everywhere together especially to your Japanese language class! Ryoma simply refused to go without my daughter! They even said they wanted to get married!" Both Aria and Ryoma paled instantly, Aria's mother had dealt the final blow. The tennis team snickered.
"I hear voices, do we have guest?" A low voice grunted. They could hear footsteps approaching them.
"Wait right there dear!" Aria's mother called out somewhat panicked.
"GO!" She harshly whispered "Bring them to the spare room put down all their bags and make them change!" She kissed her daughter's cheek. "You don't have to help me with dinner today honey." The footsteps got closer and Aria's mother quickly swatted her hands gesturing for them to hurry up. Mere moments later they were already being pushed out of the room by Ryoma and Aria.
Aria's father emerged from the hall way moments later.
"We're speaking in Japanese today?"
His wife nodded with a smile
"Aria's friends from japan are over."
The father shrugged. "As long as they aren't tennis players it's all fine with me."
Aria's mother let out a strangled laughed.
cCc
"Change! Now!" Ryoma yelled shoving the last of his friends into the room. It was more of a training dojo than a room really, equipt with tatami mats, a mirror that stretched from floor to ceiling replacing a wall and small windows on the opposite wall opened to air the place as well as to bring in the evening light. Still the cushioned landing did nothing to stop Momoshiro grumbling as he took a nose dive to the ground.
"Why?!" He started unable to find reason for his usually aloof teammates behavior, unfortunately the teen was already in the process of shrugging off his jacket and pulling off his jersey. He paused sending them a cold glare that read 'do it or ill pelt you with tennis balls. And as Ryoma pulled on a black tee shirt there were no more complaints as the team stripped obediently
Once out of the seemingly offending piece of clothing, Ryoma's first reaction was to dive to the floor and stuff said piece of clothing into his duffle bag. "Hurry." He said firmly gaining some part of himself back from the panic. Maybe things would work out after all, Maybe everything would be ok. Mayb-
"Aria! I heard you have friends from Japan! Where are they?!" A loud voice boomed.
Ryoma felt all the colour drain from his face. Maybe not.
"They sure are taking their time! Are they girls or boys?", The question in all honesty had been innocent and genuinely curious but that did not seem to stop Kaido to take heavy offence towards it.
Muttering obscenities he wrapped his fingers around the shoji door entrance.
"NO!" Ryoma screamed making a dive towards Kaido. He was more than appreciative when Momoshiro gladly tackled the bandana wearing tennis manic, even if it was more to spite the teen than to actually asists Ryoma, still Momoshiro offers him a thumbs up and Ryoma lets out a huff. Almost immeditaly his eyes fall to ground where the contents of a duffle bag laid splayed, thrown out of their rightful compartments when momoshiro dived. He lets out a sigh but feels as if something was amiss. something important. Quietly he strides over and picks up the white duffle bag with the wording Sengoku Tennis team printed right into its side and proceeds to stuff its contents back inside. An eerie calm falls upon Ryoma and he stops dead in his tracks waist half bent and arm outstretched. Once again he glances at the tennis bag and to his greatest horror the text is still embedded into it's side. He had almost forgotten. Eiji had suggested matching duffle bags. All with the text 'Tennis' embroidred into the side. It's only when the grappling rivals bump into him that he springs into action, grabbing the duffle bags with his left hand and hiding them with his right.
"They're boys right? Well I'm going in there!"
Even as Ryoma's blood turns to ice he continues to run. His own duffle bag being the last of them. The door inches open slower than usual and Ryoma knows that Aria is probably prying her father away from the door as he frets. Was coming clean the only option? It seemed like it. Why was he trying so hard anyway? It certainly did not benifit him.
"Waaait!"
Aria 's voice seems to ring in his ears and in the next instant Ryoma can sigh and he pours the contents of his bag onto the floor, opting to toss the bag out the nearest open window and by nearest open window he means the one across the room, and by toss he means throw with all the momentum and strength he can muster. When Aria's dad walked into the room he expected to see many things. Shocked teenagers were admittedly not one of them. As he took a step further into a room his leg bumps agaisnt two teenagers grappling on the floor seeming to debate their sexuality still that is not where the gaping teenagers re looking, instead they are all turned towards a window where he spots a rather short boy staring out the window seeming to pant and wheeze.
"Ryoma?" he calls unsure.
The boy hums in return elicting a smile from the larger man. Still Ryoma does not turn around the beads of sweat would be suspicious.
"Honey come help with dinner!"
He hears Aria's mother call.
Minamoto scratches the back of his head lifting the two grappling teens up by the collar.
"You two come help! I would ask Ryoma but the boy could burn water if given the chance!" The man bellows as he retreats dragging the two teenagers in tow. Ryoma lets out a sigh of relief. "Ryoma."
The boy turns around.
"thanks"
Ryoma's glad that she leaves before a shit eating grin plasters itself on his face.
