Warnings: OCs. OCs everywhere. OC-centric, but not all on one OC. A couple of OC/canon pairings. Profanity. In the future, mature themes/discussion/implications but nothing explicit past kissing and groping. When something comes up it will be mentioned here.

Word Count: ~9k

Summary: "Budget cuts due to underperformance in the previous years causes the Seigaku girl's tennis team to share training space and time with the boy's team. Sparks will fly, people will be set on fire and poisoned, and they might just make it to the end if they cooperate. A Seigaku girls' tennis team fanfic, set during their high-school years. Because I refuse to believe that those brats are in middle school."


All That Glitters

Chapter 2 - Practice and Protests


We found wonderland
You and I got lost in it
And we pretended it could last forever

- Wonderland, Taylor Swift


Before Morning Practice

"Hey, buchou, can I come in?"

Kyouko, Tezuka, and Oishi looked up from their papers. Kawamura Sakura stood in the doorway, hanging off the doorframe. Yui and Haruka didn't even look up.

"You're here early," Oishi observed. "Is Taka-san already here?"

"Yep! I left with Onii-chan this morning. Dad was super proud that I'd made the team!" She smiled broadly, tilting her head slightly. "So what are you all up to, senpai-tachi, Haruka-chan?" Haruka twitched slightly.

"We're filling out forms for the tennis team," Oishi explained. "Kuroi-san will be announcing the finalized regulars this morning. But, ah, Kuroi-san..."

"Like I said, call me by my first name or don't use an honorific," Kyouko sighed. "I always look for my father when you talk to me. Don't worry, I have a plan for the rabid fangirls. Your virtue – along with those of your teammates – will be safe."

Oishi's face coloured at an amusing rate and he returned to the list.

"A-anyways," he continued, "are you sure you don't want to look over this again, Shibata-san?" No on replied. When he looked up, Yui wasn't in the room. "Eh? Where did Shibata-san go?"

Kyouko grinned impishly. "To see Sakura-chan's big brother."


"Taka-san!" Kawamura looked up from locking his bike into the school bike racks to see Yui walking towards him. "You don't mind me calling you that, right?" She smiled a small smile, tilting her head a fraction to the side, and jutted a hip out.

"Ah, not at all, Shibata-san," Kawamura replied, blushing. He wondered what the popular and well sought after vice captain would want with him. Probably something about Sakura.

"Then call me Yui-chan," she beamed, leaning against the bike racks. "Anyways, I just wanted to chat. I really like your voice."

"E-eh?" Kawamura blush profusely, unsure of how to reply. He didn't think he was bad looking or anything, but since he hung out with people like Fuji and Tezuka, he wasn't usually the center of attention. "Um. Thank you?"

Yui laughed at his lost expression and leaned forward, letting her hair fall forwards; she'd decided to let it down today.

"Yep, I think I like you after all. Although your little sister is pretty cute as well, you know." She straightened up away from the bike racks. "Man, your family's genes are unfair."

Kawamura's mind blanked out. Was she saying-

Yui smirked and leaned forward, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "See you around." She walked away with an extra swing in her hips, humming and dancing to a song playing in her head.


"Thank you for waiting." Kyouko faced the crowd gathered outside of the courts. "We will now announce the new regulars for the girl's tennis team."

"Shibata Yui, Nishimiya Haruka, and myself."

"Who's Nishimiya?" someone whispered.

"Oh, I remember her. She was the miracle first year that was on the team last year," someone else answered.

"Kawamura Sakura." No surprise there.

"Ueno Kaoru." Kaoru smirked. Despite losing, it looked like she'd managed to impress Shibata enough.

"Ogata Rin." Rin let out the breath she'd been holding. She'd made it, despite losing.

"Her?" someone snorted. "She won't last in an official match. Ogata can never take the pressure." A ripple of snickers spread throughout the crowd, and Rin felt her cheeks redden.

"Quiet," Yui snapped, and the crowd hushed.

Kyouko continued. "Ushimaru Azumi." General mutters of agreement; Ushimaru had been on last year's team after all, even if she'd been the reserve player.

"Your name is Azumi, senpai? It's such a nice name!" Sakura gushed, suddenly standing right beside Azumi. Everyone around them cringed, waiting for the easily irritable vice-president to give her trademark glare and verbally eviscerate her. Instead, Azumi simply adjusted her glasses and tried her best to ignore the second year.

"And last but not least, Osakada Tomoka." Tomoka squealed and leapt up and down with joy, hugging Sakuno, who stood beside her.

"I made it! I actually made it!"

"Congratulations, Tomo-chan," Sakuno smiled, trying to hide the pang of shame and hurt. Tomoka hadn't won a single match, but she'd been selected.

Kyouko handed her papers to Yui.

"Congratulations to those who were chosen. We thank everyone who showed up to the try-outs. That's all for this morning. Practice resumes tomorrow morning at seven, on the courts. Don't be late." She started to leave when a voice stopped her.

"Hey, wait! I object to this!" A girl pushed her way to the front of the crowd, another girl following behind but trying to stop her. Kyouko recognized the former as Kirio Himari, and the latter as Watanabe Io, both third years that she had dismissed early on during yesterday's tryouts.

She knew Watanabe was the president of the Tezuka Kunimitsu fanclub, thanks to a run-in the previous year when all the fangirls had assumed that she was trying to get closer to the boy's team. Unfortunately, her tennis wasn't adequate.

"What's the problem?" she asked. The former was happy to explain.

"Okay, so I get that those that played matches in the tryouts got evaluated by a whole bunch of people, and I trust your judgment-"

Sure you do.

"- and we all saw you and Shibata-fukubuchou play, so we get that you're awesome-"

"Damn right I am," Yui muttered.

"- but I object to Nishimiya being a regular!" Kirio pointed a manicured finger at Haruka, who, as usual, had music in her ears and was oblivious to the world. Kirio ignored Watanab's hiss of "Drop it, Himari!" and shook her off. "She's just a second year, and we didn't see her play, and besides, she's the reason why we lost to Hyoutei last year-"

The temperature dropped several degrees. The male regulars, who'd been eavesdropping, shuddered. Yui didn't care about Haruka, but bringing up their loss from the previous year was always enough to piss her off. And Haruka, on the other hand, turned to look at Kyouko with the same lost look she'd held after losing the previous year.

Kyouko closed her eyes and regulated her breath, resisting the urge to strangle one Kirio Himari. She opened her eyes slowly and her gaze moved to rest on said girl.

"What?" Kirio snapped. "Everyone knows it." Watanabe had seemingly given up on trying to restrain Kirio and had retreated back into the crowd, shaking her head.

"As captain," Kyouko began, speaking slowly as though Kirio wouldn't be able to understand common vocabulary, "I take full responsibility for the loss. I was aware that Nishimiya was not in good condition, but I placed her in a strategically stressful and physically stressful position. The loss is my fault. End of story."

"She looked perfectly fine to me," Kirio retorted.

"That is for me to decide." Her frosty tone shut the third year up briefly. However, Kirio apparently could not read the mood.

"But-"

"And if you bring it up again, I will kick you out of the club myself. Understood?"

"... Yes."

Kyouko sighed.

"But you have a point. You haven't seen her play. Would you like to, then?"

"Wh-what?" Kirio was lost.

"I said, would you like to see her play?"

"I- um, sure?"

"Alright then. Haruka, you're up." She raised her voice. "Tezuka, we're borrowing a court." Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement and Kyouko snickered internally. So the star student knew how to eavesdrop. She then turned to Kirio, who was still staring at her. "What are you waiting for, an invitation? Get on the court."

"Huh?"

Kyouko rolled her eyes.

"Are you having difficulty understanding my words or something? I'm using basic vocabulary here. Get. On. The Court."

"B-but-"

"Move it."

Kirio moved it.

Ten minutes later, Haruka creamed Kirio 6-0 in front of the combined girl's and boy's tennis clubs. Watanabe had to help her out.

There were no more objections, and Kirio handed in her resignation the next day.


"Hey, Oishi?"

"Yes, Eiji?"

"You know, I thought Shibata-chan or maybe Ushimaru-chan was the scary one, but now I think I'm more scared of Kuroi-chan."

"... I think I probably have to agree with you, Eiji."


The Next Morning

"Onii-chan, hurry up!" Sakura waited impatiently by the sliding doors of the sushi restaurant, hopping from one foot to another. "We'll be late!"

"Sakura, calm down," Kawamura pleaded. "We still have lots of time. Practice doesn't start until seven." Sakura simply hopped faster.

"I need a lot more time, you know! I've got to change and decorate my locker and chat with Azumi-chan" – she took a deep breath – "and bug Kuroi-buchou about the uniforms because there's no way I'm wearing it if it's as hideous as Kakinoki's uniform." Kawamura laughed.

"Did you make a list last night or something? I've never seen you this cheerful in the morning before."

"Yep!" Sakura pulled said list out of her school bad and waved it around. Kawamura sighed.

"Why does that not surprise me...? "


"Hey, we were on this court first!"

"We need it more!"

"So what? We're already playing a game!"

"Go hit against a wall or something, it'll be more effective!"

"What did you say?!"

Kyouko and Tezuka stared silently at the scene that was morning practice. Oishi fidgeted nervously.

"Um... Shouldn't we do something?" he proposed.

"... No," Kyouko answered. "Wait for all the regulars from both teams to get here. I'll handle it from there."

Currently, Sakura and Rin were sitting on the sidelines, Rin listening to Sakura rant about something and smiling.

Kaoru was arguing with a male second year over who got the court. Azumi, who'd been her opponent, looked two seconds away from throwing the ball in her hand at a particularly delicate part of the guys Kaoru was arguing with.

Tomoka stood to the side, chatting with her friend Sakuno and stretching.

Haruka had informed Kyouko that she would be late ad was currently absent.

The male regulars were in a small group next to Oishi, unwilling to step into the fenced off court that now housed a pack of fangirls. If it wasn't for Kyouko's presence, they would probably have all been swarming the male regulars now.

Finally, Yui arrived, after having dropped her younger brother off at their elementary school division. Kyouko nodded once in acknowledgement and pointed her chin in the direction of the courts. Yui sighed, but obeyed the silent command and stepped up to follow her captain into the tennis courts. Tezuka and Oishi followed.

Entering the court, Kyouko stopped right inside the door and crossed her arms. She took a few moments to take in everything, and then took a deep breath in. Yui placed her hands over her ears.

"GIRL'S TENNIS TEAM, LINE UP!"

The regulars and most of the members that had tried out for a regular spot (which was about 90% of the club, more or less) scrambled to obey. The rest were slower about it.

"You, you and you." Kyouko pointed to the last three to line up. "Ten laps, now." They started to protest. "Fifteen." She arched her eyebrow at them, in a way that seemed to communicate, I can keep on raising the number, and I will if you don't move your asses, right now.

The girls ran for it.

She turned around to see that the boy's tennis club had also lined up under Tezuka's command. Leaving Yui in charge of the girl's side, she headed over to the boys.

"Thank you, Tezuka." She turned to stand facing the boys. "Right then. As you must have heard by now, the girl's tennis team will be sharing space and practice time with the boys this year. I understand many of you are unhappy about this."

"Damn right!" one of the members shouted, but he was quickly hushed by a glare from Tezuka. Kyouko smiled, amused.

"The main reason that many of you are unhappy over this is because you think the girl's team is full of fangirls that don't take tennis seriously, and only want to get closer to your regulars, right?" There was a murmur of consent, as her audience wondered what she was up to. "You feel as though this will be a waste of everyone's time and might impact your performance.

"Well, you have a point." A wave of indignant mutters arose up from the female side, quieted by a sharp "Shut it!" from Yui. "But you are also wrong. Within my club, there are plenty that are serious about tennis, and will be willing to prove it to you.

"So I offer you this chance. Each of you may challenge a member of the girl's tennis club. If the girl is unable to win three or more games from you, she will leave the club." Now there were eager glances and whispers from the male side, and a few angry and worried hisses from the female side. "However! This rule will also apply to you as well. If you cannot win three or more games, you will leave the boy's tennis club." Some one laughed, as though the thought of being unable to win three games off a girl was ludicrous. Kyouko simply smiled.

"Tezuka, is this okay?" Oishi asked worriedly. Tezuka simply nodded.

"The regulars on the boy's team were kind enough to volunteer as referees," Kyouko added.

"We what?" That was Kikumaru.

"After today, if you do not take up my offer, you lose your right to argue about this arrangement. So, which one of you will be first?" Kyouko surveyed the crowd. A hand came up. The boy attached made his way to the front. Smirking confidently, he pointed at her.

"I challenge you."

Two courts away, Yui burst out laughing.

Ten minutes later, the boy left the courts – and the club – after losing 6-0.


Sakuno ran after the ball and just managed to return it, but the third year she was playing quickly hit a forehand to the other side of the court.

"Game, Saitou, two games to love."

Sakuno gripped her racquet. Why did this happen to her? Why was this captain doing these things? Already, some of her friends that honestly wanted to just improve and play tennis for fun had been kicked out of the club, because they hadn't been able to stand against a male third year with a point to prove.

Tomoka had lost her game 6-4, and so was safe. But if this kept up, Sakuno would be out of the club.

It wasn't fair. Tomoka had started later than her. If Tomoka could do it, then so could she.

With that in mind, she tightened her grip and prepared to receive the serve.

Her opponent served the ball. She ran for it, and hit it as hard as she could. It zoomed past the startled third year. Return ace.

I can do this.

(She lost 6-3, but that was good enough for her.)


Yui didn't bother holding back at all and completely creamed the guy that challenged her within fifteen minutes, then went to punch Kyouko for not telling her about this plan.


Kaoru (the girl) was relentless, flipping and spinning and moving for all she was worth. She was going to put this sexist bastard in his place.


No one challenged Sakura for fear of angering her brother.

Likewise, no one dared to challenge their infamous student council vice-president. Azumi was left alone to nurse her headache from Sakura's constant attempts at conversation.


Haruka showed up thirty minutes after the matches had begun and was challenged right away. Like Yui and Kyouko, she showed no mercy.


Kyouko was pleased to see that several of the boys had been forced to leave the club; it left them with about 23 members. Most of the fangirls that evidently hadn't been serious about tennis had been taken care of as well; about half of the girl's team had been forced to leave, leaving about 20 members including the eight regulars.

With this, there was just barely enough room for all of them in the courts. Both clubs ended practice early.


Class 1-2

"Wow, Tomoka, you made it as a regular! That's amazing!"

"You just started tennis a little while ago, right? That's unbelievable!"

"You're like a female Echizen!"

Tomoka grinned, giving the victory sign.

"It's the power of love! Kuroi-buchou says I'm not that good right now, but I've got lots of potential. I'll represent us freshman, and maybe next year they'll consider more first years!" Unlikely, but not impossible.

Two seats away, Sakuno smiled at her best friend. Tomoka shone in the spotlight, reveling in the attention without being overly haughty or conceited. She was a people person, and was naturally charismatic. Sakuno, on the other hand, felt like a wallflower next to her. But that was okay, because Tomoka always made her feel special. Like right now, Tomoka had left the crowd of admiring first years to plonk down in the seat in front of her.

"Sakuno! Did you see practice this morning? It was crazy!" She launched into a crazy tale about a demon captain and her minions that had forced some of the boys to leave the tennis team – forgetting that Sakuno had been there, and had been fighting desperately to stay in the club. But Tomoka's rendition of the event was so silly it made her laugh. Tomoka would always be Tomoka.


Class 3-11

"Ushimaru," the teacher announced as he placed her test on her desk. "Good work; your test score was the second best in the class." Azumi pushed her glasses up and nodded. She turned her test over to review her mistakes. She knew who had beaten her; Inui Sadaharu. He had photographic memory and an actual interest in the sciences, both of which allows him to always score over 95% in math and science related subjects. She settled for being content that she could beat him in arts and Japanese.

In the desk next to her, Watanabe Io stared out the window.

"Watanabe." The teacher placed her test on her desk and she winced at the red 42% that was scrawled on the top of her page. She was going to get hell at home. She glanced at Azumi. Perhaps…?


Class 3-1

"Shibata-chan, help!"

"Shibata-san, could you…"

"Shibata-sama!"

"Shibata-san!"

As usual, Yui's desk was crowded during the few minutes before class started after lunch, with fellow classmates begging for help for this homework or that assignment.

"Alright already, calm down!" Yui sighed, digging out her physics homework. She threw it at the crowd, grumbling. "Here, you leeches. If I don't get it back in perfect condition in five minutes, I'm never letting any of you copy off of me again." There was a mad scramble as the class hurried to check their answers/copy some answers. Yui turned to smile at Tezuka, who was giving her a disapproving look.

He never said anything, though, because her sacrifice kept them from asking him, the number one student in the class, instead.


Afternoon Practice

"Everyone, start off with stretching!" Kyouko announced. "Girls, find a guy to pair with."

"Eeeeh? Why?" Sakura cried, dismayed. "I wanted to stretched with Azumi-chan!"

Azumi felt a rush of gratitude towards Kyouko.

"Because I said so. Move your ass."

"Is that her catchphrase or something?" Kaoru muttered, as she headed towards the boys. "Oi! Momoshiro. Pair up with me."

"E-eh? Oh, okay... ?" Momoshiro blinked, surprised, and partially pleased that he'd been the first to be picked.

Tomoka immediately ran to Echizen. "Ryoma-kun, be my partner?" she asked exuberantly.

"... Fine," Ryoma sighed. They were similar in height, at least. That would make some of the stretches easier.

"Yaaay!" Tomoka cheered.

Sakura sighed unhappily and ran over to brother. "Hey, onii-chan, can we-" She was about to ask her brother to partner up, but Yui reached him before her.

"Hey, Taka-san, pair up with me?" she smiled, tilting her head and placing a hand on her hip.

"A-ah, okay," Kawamura agreed. "Yoroshiku."

Sakura pouted, dismayed, when a weight fell on her back.

"Sakura-chan! I'll pair up with you!" Kikumaru beamed.

"Kikumaru-senpai! Okay!" Sakura beamed back.

"Mouu, Kikumaru-senpai sounds too formal! Call me Eiji!"

Rin approached Kaidou hesitantly. "Kaidou-kun, would you like to be my partner?" she asked hesitantly.

"Fssshhuuu. Fine," he replied in his usual grumpy way, but turned around so she couldn't see the light blush on his face.

Fuji smiled gently at Haruka."Nishimiya-san, would you mind partnering up?" Haruka simply nodded wordlessly.

Oishi was surprised to find Kyouko suddenly in front of him.

"Would you mind?" she asked, smiling. "I won't be participating in some of the practice, but it's best to stretch anyways.

"O-oh, yes, you're right. Of course not." He glanced over to see who Tezuka's partner was; Ushimaru Azumi.

They nodded to each other politely as they settled into their proper positions.


Momoshiro stared in amazement as Kaoru more or less folded her body in half at the waist, her fingertips extending over a foot past her upright toes.

"I guess this is the norm for an acrobatic player," he mused, only to get a jab in the arm holding her down.

"It's dance, not acrobatics! I'm no monkey!" she snapped.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Momoshiro exclaimed, backing off. Kaoru sighed.

"This stretching is useless," she muttered. "I don't feel it at all." Ignoring Momoshiro, she stood up and bent backwards instead, her body forming a large C. She then reverted to a normal standing position, before beckoning Momoshiro to come closer. "Grab my foot and raise it until I say stop," she ordered. He blinked, dumbfounded, until she threatened to kick him in the nuts. He quickly complied.

"Higher!" she urged when he stopped part of the way up. He stared at her in awe as he raised her leg almost 150 degrees from her other leg on the ground. Her supporting leg was completely straight.


Tomoka slid into the stretches relatively easily, chatting away to Ryoma. She was naturally flexible to some extent. It was the same story for Rin, who completed her stretches silently with Kaidou.

Sakura was less flexible, and winced as Kikumaru pushed down harder than she could bear.

"Eiji-senpai, not so low! I'm not as flexible as you!"

"Ahh! Gomen, gomen!" He eased up on the pressure.


Kawamura was discovering that Yui could be very flexible, and tried not to blush every time she sent him a suggestive look. When it was time to switch, she laughed and apologized.

"Your reactions were so cute; I couldn't resist."

That, of course, didn't help.


Haruka was one of the more flexible ones as well, but she was much quieter than Kaoru.

"So, do you have any siblings? I have a little brother. I don't think he likes me very much, though."

"... No."

"You're always listening to music, aren't you? What type of music do you like?"

"... No preference."

"Do you like cacti?"

"... "

Of course, this only made Fuji even more intrigued and determined to get a full conversation out of her.

Azumi winced as Tezuka pressed down a tad bit too much. Tezuka, being who he was, noticed immediately and lightened the pressure.

"I apologize," he murmured.

Azumi just shook her head. "It's fine. I've been following the advice you gave me back in first year; this is already a pretty big improvement."

"Ah. Consistency is good when applied correctly," Tezuka nodded. "But don't let your guard down. Don't stretch further than is safe. A torn muscle can take you out of commission for a lot longer that you think."

"Of course," Azumi murmured, turning to hide the small grin. Tezuka was the same, even in tennis.


Kyouko was surprisingly not as flexible as expected in the spine, although she could easily land the splits both ways.

"It helps with running," she explained.

"A-ah, I see. Um..."

"Yes?"

"Why are we doing the stretches together?" Oishi asked. "Not that I mind, but wouldn't everyone be more comfortable with a partner of the same gender?"

Kyouko laughed softly.

"That's the point," she exclaimed. "Most matches will be split by sex. Stretching and running will be the bulk of the time that we actually practice together, activities pending. The more comfortable the two teams feel with each other, the more accepting they'll be of the other's presence. The non-regulars will follow the regular's examples for the most part, so this effectively puts an end to most arguments over space and practice time."

"Ah, I see..."

"... Is what Tezuka said," Kyouko admitted, grinning sheepishly. "I was all for stretching with Yui or Haruka. This is a nice change though," she grinned. "For once, I'm the more flexible one." She glanced at her watch.

"Time to switch!"


"OW OW OW! STOP PUSHING!" Was heard from Kaoru and Momoshiro's side.

Eiji, of course, had no problems with the stretches. The other regulars, after seeing the flexibility of even the most un-flexible girl, grit their teeth and dealt with the pain as they stretched. For the first time in a while, they all breathed a sigh of relief when it was time for laps.


"Oi, oi, hurry up! Your pace is dropping! Osakada, Ueno! Pick up your feet!" Kyouko did a very good impression of a drill sergeant. Yui always wondered if her captain was born with that bellow or if she had learned it from her father.

The female regulars had to run 20 laps; the male regulars had to run 30. (Kyouko had grumbled about the number being too low and vowed to raise it quickly). The non-regulars had finished their laps and had been given instructions for the rest of practice.

The regulars were on their 18th lap and Tomoka and Kaoru trailed behind by half a lap. Rin was flagging but had paced herself well and would make it to the end no problem. Sakura seemed to have endless stamina and chatted cheerfully to Kaoru, who didn't have the breath to reply. Kyouko, Yui, Haruka, and Azumi led the pack, used to the routine from the previous year.

After much prodding from Yui, Kyouko had accepted help from Inui to devise a training menu for the girls, similar to the ones he was creating for the boys.

The girls approached the final corner of their last lap. Sakura put on a last burst of energy to cross the finish line at the same time as Azumi, who was right behind Kyouko, Yui and Haruka. Rin followed suite. Tomoka, half a lap behind, suddenly put on a big burst of speed and sprinted to the finish line. She collapsed, wheezing, and gave a victory sign, much to Yui's amusement. Kaoru was the last to cross the line. Similarly, she collapsed next to Tomoka.

Inui approached them, holding two paper cups.

"Osakada, Ueno; the last two to finish. These are for you." The two girls accepted the cups gratefully. Tomoka took a small sip, while Kaoru chugged the whole thing in one go. Inui observed them. 3, 2, 1-

"Oh my god, what is this?!" Tomoka screeched, dropping the cup and fanning her open mouth feverishly. Ueno, who'd swallowed a whole cup, fell to the ground, coughing and hacking.

"I like to call it Inui Juice. It's my own-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO KAORU-CHAN?!" Before Inui could finish the sentence, he was tackled to the ground by none other than shy, clumsy Rin. Her hands found their way around his neck and began to squeeze-

"My god, Ogata, stop overreacting," Kaoru wheezed. She pushed Rin off of Inui. "I'm not dead. It just tastes like shit."

"But-" Rin approached Kaoru worriedly, but the second year pushed her away gently.

"I'm fine." She sat down heavily and continued to fan her mouth.

"As I was saying," Inui continued, "from now on, the two who finish last will have to drink a cup of Inui Juice. Don't worry, it's very nutritious and healthy."

That doesn't matter, the girls though as one.

Kyouko watched the whole scene in silence, her eyes narrowing when they landed on Rin. That girl...

She gave the girls several minutes' rest while she waited for the boys to finish. After they completed their laps, they joined the girls by the gate to the courts. They surreptitiously avoided the red puddle made from the spilled cup of Inui Juice.

"Ah," Inui muttered. "I didn't see who crossed the finish line last on the boy's side. A shame." All the boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"As you all know, us girls will be taking up some of your space," Kyouko reiterated. "We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you'll bear with us until something else is arranged." She bowed lightly to the male regulars. "In the meantime, Inui decided it would be easier if we all did the same – or at least similar – practice, equipment allowing. This will be easier for him to organize, and collect data."

The first year brat, Echizen, raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure they'll be able to keep up?" Indeed, most of the female regulars (Kyouko, Yui and Haruka being the exceptions), despite having had several minutes to rest, were still breathing heavily, unused to such high physical activity.

Kyouko swept her eyes over them, displeased. "They will be soon."

Kaoru shuddered at her tone.

Rin stepped forward, surprising everyone.

"Um..."

"Yes?"

"I wanted to apologize to Inui-san," she said quietly. Facing said boy, she bowed deeply. "I apologize for attacking you earlier. I though you were poisoning Kaoru-chan or something."

Behind her, Kaoru t'ched. Momoshiro whistled, impressed. Oshi gave a startled "Eh?" Nobody had been expecting shy, quiet Rin to attack anyone.

"Ah, no worries. There was no damage done," Inui reassured her. She bowed again and retreated back to the rest of the girl's team.

"So," Kyouko continued, "today we'll start off with a game of Queen of the court; King of the court for the boys. Tezuka and I will serve."

"Eeeeh? No fair," Sakura whined. "I want to be a king!"

Kyouko sighed.

"Be whatever you want to be, just get on the court. Kawamura, you can start if you're so eager. Court A."

"Yaaay!" Sakura ran to the court, dragging Kaoru with her. The rest of the regulars followed, except for Yui.

Kyouko raised an eyebrow at her. What are you waiting for?

Yui raised one back. I have to play too?

Kyouko glared. Yes.

Yui rolled her eyes but uncrossed her arms and went to join the rest of the regulars in line.


"Nyaa! King of the court! I wanna start! Can I?" Kikumaru jumped up and down eagerly, waving his arm in the air. Tezuka nodded his consent and the rest of the regulars formed a line on the other side in court B.

The first in line was Kaidou. Tezuka served the ball. Right away, Kaidou hit a snake.

"Bringing the big guns out already, Kaoru-chan?" Kikumaru teased. "But they won't be enough to beat me. Hoi!" With a quick flip, Kikumaru reached the ball and returned it. Kaidou caught the return and sliced it to the other side, but Kikumaru hit an impressive volley while backwards. Kaidou returned it with another snake, but Kikumaru was at the net already and slammed a winner behind Kaidou.

"Fsshuu." Kaidou grunted but accepted his loss without complaint, moving to the back of the line.

Momoshiro was next, and he wasn't as quiet as Kaidou.

"Kaoru-chan, hmm? That's right, I'd forgotten your name was so... Cute," he teased.

"What did you say?" Kaidou snarled, leaving the line to accost the other second year.

"You heard me, Kaoru-ch-" a ball flew by his face at an alarming speed. He backed up, paling. "Woah! Where'd that ball come from?"

As one, the regulars turned to look at the girl's side.

Kaoru (the girl) stood, racquet over one shoulder, glaring at Momoshiro. She'd given up her chance at queen to shut Momoshiro up.

"What did you say about my name, Momojiri?" she asked frostily.

"Ah, no, nothing... Sorry," Momoshiro apologized, not daring to complain about her butchering of his name ("Peach butt?" Yui snorted. "Really?"). Kaoru couldn't see, but Rin was emitting quite the glacial aura beside Kaoru.

Kaidou snorted derisively.

"Lame. Don't start a fight you can't win."

"What was that?" And with that, the two boys were back to arguing each other.

"Geez," Kikumaru whined. "If you guys aren't gonna play, can you move to the end of the line at least?"


Azumi was the first to win against Sakura, who'd beaten Kaoru and Rin. She ended it with a return ace aimed at Sakura's feet.

"Wow! Azumi-csenpai, you're so strong!" Sakura gushed. Azumi simply made her way to the other side of the court, ignoring the second year. "Can we play a match later? Please, please, please?"

"Kawamura," Kyouko spoke up, amused. "You're blocking the line. We're going to do practice matches later. Move it." Satisfied with that, Sakura went to join Rin at the end of the line.

Haruka was up next; Kyouko served the ball and Azumi hit it to the far corner. Haruka caught up and returned it with an equally precise shot to the opposite corner. For a few minutes, it was a contest of accuracy, until Azumi suddenly dashed to the net and hit a particularly aggressive shot to the baseline. Haruka managed to catch it, and, twisting around while the ball was still on her racquet, slammed the ball down between Azumi's feet.

Azumi sighed, but accepted her loss and moved to the end of the line. Haruka took her place.

Yui stepped up to challenge the queen, and suddenly Haruka's eyes seemed to sharpen. Only three people had gotten that reaction out of Haruka so far, and two were in this school. Kyouko smiled.

Good. She's finally getting serious.


"Oi, oi, is this for real?" Momoshiro, waiting in line for his next turn, stared at the rally going on between Nishimiya Haruka and Shibata Yui. The rest of the regulars who weren't playing observed the rally as well.

"They've been at it for six minutes now," Oishi remarked. The boys had gone through everyone once, with Fuji being the last king. Currently Kikumaru was challenging him.

"Their reaction time is unbelievable," Kawamura remarked. "They're almost moving before the other hits the ball."

"Well, they were on the team together last year. They're probably familiar with each other's play styles," Fuji said, popping out of nowhere.

"Eh? Fuji-senpai, you lost?" Momoshiro exclaimed.

"Ah. This seemed more interesting." 'This' being the Nishimiya-Shibata rally. Fuji watched the rally with open eyes, intrigued.

"Shibata is hitting rising shots at irregular intervals to break Nishimiya's rhythm," Inui noted. "On the other hand, Nishimiya's shots are slightly stronger. Also, neither one is looking at the ball."

It was true, Fuji realized. Momoshiro, Kawamura and Kaidou might not have been able to see it at this distance, but he bet that Echizen could see it too; since the rally had begun, neither girl had so much as glanced at the ball. Both had their eyes fixed firmly on each other.

Fuji wondered what the history was between those two. What could cause Nishimiya to appear so apathetic towards the world, even when playing tennis, and yet have such a determined and desperate expression on her face when she played against Shibata?

And what had happened last year that could place the lost, forlorn expression he'd seen on her face, that day when the third year Watanabe called her out on her loss to Hyoutei?

Nishimiya was a puzzle he was itching to solve. And when Fuji Shuusuke set his sights on something, he usually got it.


Wham!

The ball hit the court and flew into the fence, past Haruka, who instantly adopted her couldn't-care-less expression. Yui smirked triumphantly.

"Looks like it's my win again, Nishimiya." Haruka shrugged expressionlessly.

" 'S not a real game. It was just one point."

Yui simply laughed.

"Whatever makes you feel better."

She went easier on Tomoka, wanting to savor her time as queen. Tomoka was simply content she hadn't been eliminated in one shot. Eventually, though victory wen to Yui again, and all the girls had taken a shot at the game.

Kyouko glanced at her wristwatch.

"Alright, that's time. Take five for water."

"We'll be having practice matches now," Kyouko announced. Sakura squealed, hopping up and down with glee. "Ushimaru and Ogata, court A. Ueno and Kawamura, court B. Yui, Haruka, you two referee and supervise. I'll be back in a minute. Osakada, come with me." She turned around and began walking away from the courts, not waiting for Tomoka, who scrambled to follow. Yui grumbled but went to court A to supervise, leaving court B for Haruka.


"I'll be honest, Osakada. From what I saw during the tryouts and earlier today, you're nowhere near the level we need you to be for the regionals, let alone the nationals." Kyouko crossed her arms and leaned against the brick wall to stare at Tomoka.

"Well, I did just start tennis like, a month ago," Tomoka defended.

"I know, and your progress is amazing." Kyouko held up two ankle belts. "But we still need to step up your training. From now on, wear these wherever you go, no matter what you're doing. Take them off only right before you go to sleep. I'll be increasing the weight every week." She handed the belts to Tomoka, whose eyes widened when she felt their weight. "Don't worry, I consulted Inui. He chose a safe weight for you to start out with. It's more than what the regulars will be starting with, but I believe you can do it."

"Eeeeh... Fine," Tomoka groaned. It wasn't a question, Kyouko thought dryly.

"Also, your backhand swing is weak. Follow this training menu." Kyouko handed her a sheet of paper and watched, amused, as her eyes bugged out.

"Wh-what is this? Am I supposed to finish this in one day?"

"Yes. You'll rejoin the others once I feel you're at an adequate level. Until then, you'll follow this training menu. Feel free to ask another club member to help you. And don't slack off; I'll be testing your progress every day."

Tomoka tried not to cry, and left to track down Sakuno for help.

(Sakuno was willing to help on the condition that Tomoka procure similar ankle weights for her and allowed her to do the same schedule.)


"Game, Ushimaru! Five games to four."

Rin tried not to panic as she lost point after point against Azumi. Azumi was, in general, a bad opponent for her; they both used similar tactics, staying at the baseline and focusing on returning all shots rather than attacking. But Azumi had better skills than she did, and much higher accuracy, and made much less mistakes.

They'd started out relatively even, but when the score was 4-3 in Rin's favour, Azumi had suddenly stopped playing nice. When Rin wasn't losing points due to her own nerves, she was losing them when Azumi, out of nowhere, hit a much faster and more aggressive shot than usual, catching her off guard.

Rin knew it was an intimidation tactic; it was bad enough the first time when she hadn't seen it coming at all, but it was even worse afterwards, when she couldn't tell when her opponent was going to hit a winner or a normal return. Azumi maintained a perfectly stoic expression, not giving anything away. Sometimes, when the sun hit her glasses right, Rin couldn't see her eyes at all.

This was unlike playing against Sakura, who, for all her absurd strength, was still human, and acted so on the courts. It reminded Rin that she was an opponent that could be beat. Agains Azumi, she felt like she was hitting a wall. The ball came back without fail, every single time. It didn't feel like she was playing against a human. It felt like she was being played.

Azumi hit the ball to a corner and she ran for it, just barely returning it. Azumi sliced it to the other side. Rin turned to go after it, but tripped and fell, scraping her knee slightly. Tears welled up in her eyes from frustration.

Across the court, Azumi didn't return to the baseline. She turned to Yui, who was refereeing the match.

"Shibata. Stop this match. There's no point to this. Ogata doesn't respond to this kind of motivation."

Yui simply arched her eyebrows. "I don't make the rules, honey. Go serve the ball. Ogata, get up."

Azumi's eyes narrowed slightly. "I forfeit." People may have called her creepy, insensitive, or uncaring in different points of her school life, but she was not someone who willingly inflicted unnecessary pain on someone who hadn't done anything wrong.

"You don't get to forfeit, Ushimaru." Kyouko had returned. "You may think you're hurting Ogata, but you're not." She surveyed the two girls. "You aren't insulting her or putting her down. You haven't aimed the ball at her, or even her weak points. If she can't perform even in this setting, she'll buckle under the pressure in an official match."

Azumi stared at Rin's fallen form for a few more moments, before making her way to the baseline, ceding to the captain. As the student council vice-president, she accepted that, on the courts, Kyouko had more authority over her. Kyouko then turned to Rin. Her eyes hardened.

"Ogata. If you don't get up in ten seconds, you forfeit not only this match, but also your regular spot. I don't need someone who doesn't even try."

Rin lost it at that.

"I am trying!" She screamed, lifting her head. Tears fell down her cheeks. In the adjacent court, Sakura, about to serve, missed the ball, startled. Kaoru turned to stare at Rin in surprise. Even Haruka had turned around to see what was going on in the court behind her. "I am trying! But she's better than me! In every way! She's faster, and stronger, and more skilled-"

Kyouko stalked forward, reaching Rin in three large steps. She reached down and grabbed Rin by her collar, pulling her up.

"You," she hissed, "are not a victim. Don't make yourself out to be one. Look around you. You're not the only one who had to play a stronger, faster, more skilled opponent at some time." And it was true. Kaoru and Tomoka had faced Yui. Sakura had played against Kyouko herself. "You have the skills to beat Ushimaru if you try. But you've stopped trying." She dropped Rin and turned to face the other regulars.

"I don't care what your reason for joining was. I don't care how strong you are or how much stronger your opponent is, or how badly you're losing, or even if you lose. While you are on this team, you are not allowed to stop trying." With that, she walked off the courts.

There was an awkward silence, and then Kaoru sighed heavily. "Ogata. Just hit the ball." She returned to focus on her match. "Kawamura, hurry up and serve."

"I told you to call me Sakura, Kaoru-chan!"

"Whatever."


Just hit the ball.

Kaoru-chan was right. All she had to do was hit the ball. She stood up again. Her opponent actually looked slightly apprehensive now, unwilling to play seriously against a broken opponent. But Rin slid into position to receive the ball.

Azumi served.

Just hit the ball.

Rin leapt in front of the ball. She could see the groves, the see the way the ball spun. It was just a normal shot. It was returnable. She hit the ball.

It hit the net.

Azumi served again.

Just hit the ball.

Rin charged again. Got up close, and watched the ball. Hit it. It went past the net, hit the court, and flew into the fence past Azumi. Return ace.

Just hit the ball.


Azumi's lips twitched ever so slightly. Whether she was aware of it or not, with just a few words, Kaoru had not only gotten the dejected third year back into the game, but had caused her to activate Queen's Territory. Rin's psyche might have been more fragile than a wine glass most of the time, but when Kaoru was involved, it was steel.

The two third years became so focused in their match that they didn't notice when their referee left her post to track down the captain.


"You overdid it, Kyouko." Yui leaned against the wall and turned her head to look at the captain. "Why'd you fly off the handle so quickly like that?" Kyouko stood stiffly, arms crossed, her back to Yui.

"It was necessary."

"You know it wasn't. You just don't want to admit it. What do you have against her? Are you jealous?" She knew she hit a sore spot when Kyouko twitched sharply.

"Why would I be jealous of someone like Ogata?" she asked flatly.

"Because she's allowed to be weak. She's allowed to give up, to stop, and to choose when to get back up, and there will still be people around her." It was true – her close bond with Kaoru aside, she had plenty of other friends as well. "But somehow, you have this weird idea that you have to appear the strongest, the undefeated, to be a leader. You always have to beat someone down before you think they'll follow you. You don't realize that-

"Shibata." Kyouko cut her off abruptly and turned to glare at her with an intense stare. Yui sighed and raised her arms in surrender. Kyouko only reverted to her surname when she was seriously upset. After a pause, Kyouko turned around again.

"You might want to consider changing up your vocabulary a bit," Yui couldn't help but edge in. "You couldn't get Ogata to even stop crying with over five sentences. It took Ueno four words to get her back on her feet."

Just hit the ball.

"If she has to constantly rely on Ueno to do anything, she won't get anywhere."

Yui sighed.

"Maybe she wouldn't have to if you gave her a break and stopped trying to break her." She glanced at what Kyouko had her eyes fixed on – the silhouette of one Osakada Tomoka. She seemed to be doing sit-ups with a non-regular. "Is that the first-year? She's doing pretty well. Don't break her like you did Haruka."

Kyouko inhaled sharply.

"I didn't break her."

Yui simply smirked.

"Sure."

She left Kyouko and returned to Rin and Azumi's match.


"Game and match! Seven games to five, Azumi-senpai!" Sakura announced cheerfully. After beating Kaoru 6-4 by out-lasting her in a deuce, she'd offered to referee the rest of Rin and Azumi's match. "Wow, Azumi-chan! You're so good! We should play a match sometime!" She descended the referee chair and ran to her friend, leaping into a bear hug that elicited an "Oof!" from the senior.

Rin smiled softly, satisfied. She'd lost – again – but she felt as though she'd improved herself, by a tiny bit.

"It's all the small steps that add up," her mother had once said. She felt as though she'd taken a small step today. She turned to Kaoru.

"Kaoru-chan, thank you."

Kaoru snorted, turning away. "For what?" Rin giggled and didn't comment on the reddening of Kaoru's ears.


Kyouko returned a few minutes after Yui and surveyed the regulars. She turned to Inui.

"Did you get enough data on the girls?"

"Ah." Inui nodded in assent. "That's enough for now."

"Then it's time to start 'that,' if you would be so kind as to explain it."

Inui adjusted his glasses with a finger.

"Very well. I hope you don't mind that I've brought a volunteer along." He made a beckoning motion, and a familiar girl stepped into the courts, carrying a box full of ankle weights and tennis balls.

"Yo," Watanabe Io waved.

"... Who are you?" Yui asked bluntly, and Io face-faulted. Inui interrupted before anyone could come to blows.

"Everyone, please put on an ankle weight on each ankle. Each one has one 250g bar in it; half the amount the boys are wearing. You will be wearing these to increase your leg muscles, speed and footwork, among other things. We will increase the weight regularly until you are up to eight bars in each leg."

Some of the girls blanched.

"Eight bars... That's two kilograms per leg!" Sakura groaned. Even if she had lots of stamina, she didn't like being pushed to her limits.

"Don't complain," Yui sighed. "Kyouko, Nishimiya and I are already wearing four on each leg."

Kaoru scoffed and took the proffered weights, tying them to her legs.

"This is similar to the training I did for dance," she explained. "This is nothing new to me. I could go to three weights per leg right now."

"Then," Kyouko spoke up, "let's add two more bars per leg for everyone. That's how much Osakada is wearing right now to catch up with you guys. If she can do it, the rest of you can too." A wave of groans arose.

Kaoru twitched and briefly contemplated strangling her captain. She grabbed two more weights with a snarl and shoved them into her ankle weights. The rest of the girls followed suite.

"Where is Tomoka-chan, anyways?" Sakura asked.

"She'll be following a different training menu until she can keep up with you guys," Kyouko replied cryptically, suggesting that if someone in the line-up right now couldn't keep up, she'd be joining Osakada.

Finally, once they were all outfitted properly and back in a line, Inui began explaining the activity.

"You will be training your accuracy, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination. I will set up three cones of different colours. The tennis balls here also have their grooves coloured the same." He held up the balls to demonstrate. "I will serve a ball to you; you must identify the colour of the groove, and hit the ball to a cone. For Kuroi, Shibata, Nishimiya and Ushimaru, you must hit the ball to the corresponding cone colour. The rest of you are highly encouraged to try, but as long as you can declare the colour correctly and hit a cone, there will be no penalty."

"... Wait, penalty?" Kaoru asked, slightly apprehensive. Inui smiled widely. He pulled, seemingly from nowhere, a large jug of his infamous Inui Juice.

"Anyone who makes a mistake before ten balls are up has to drink a cup of this."

All the girls blanched as one.


"Red!" Kyouko hit the ball to the red cone. That was the tenth ball. Outwardly, she calmly walked off the court. Inwardly though, she was very glad to have avoided the infamous Inui Juice.

On the other court, Watanabe served the balls to an irate Yui. She hit lighter and slower than usual, determined to not make a mistake and suffer the Inui Juice.

Watanabe was surprisingly calm and unobtrusive. She'd sent a flew glares at Kyouko, but other than that she seemed to be getting along with the other regulars just fine. Inui had expected some friction after what her friend Kirio had pulled, but there was none.

Yui finished her ten balls without fault. Sakura and Rin stepped up to take their places, respectively.

"Waaaah! Wait, wait, not ready here! Red? Wait, no, blue!" Sakura hit the ball at the blue cone.

Unfortunately, it was red.

"KYAAAA!"

The first victim to Inui juice fell.

"Oh dear..." Rin, startled by Sakura's reaction to the Inui juice, missed her own cone. Upon accepting and drinking the Inui juice, she fainted away quietly.

"Cht," Kaoru snorted. That was very much like Rin; to remain graceful even when suffering from Inui juice.


In the end, only Kyouko, Yui, and Haruka managed to avoid the Inui Juice. Kaoru had been able to distinguish each ball's groove colour correctly, but the pressure and the added weight on her ankles made her slip up and miss the cone. Unfortunately, she had to suffer Inui Juice twice in one day.

Azumi hit the wrong colour by accident when her neighbor, Kaoru, had yelled her own colour. She turned out to be somewhat of a second Fuji Shuusuke when it came to Inui Juice, simply commenting that it had a strange aftertaste.

"Goodness... What was that," Rin groaned, fanning her mouth. Her legs were also aching; 750g per leg wasn't too heavy, but it wasn't light either, and the more tired you got, the heavier they felt. She rapidly waved her arms in a 'never mind' motion when Inui opened his mouth to list all the ingredients. I'm not sure if I want to know.

"Don't complain!" Kyouko chided. "This is good motivation for you guys."

"You can only say that because you didn't have to drink it!" Sakura and Kaoru yelled.

"I didn't think it was that bad," Azumi commented.

"You're not human," Kaoru replied firmly. "You can't be."


"You know," Kikumaru remarked, "I'm kinda really grateful for the girls right now. Inui has less time to use his Inui Juice on us when he's supervising their training."

"Eiji!" Oishi chided.

Deep down though, everyone though the same.


Meanwhile, Tomoka, after hearing multiple screams coming from the courts, felt as though she'd somehow avoided a huge catastrophe.


A/N

Second chapter, rewritten! Now that I have a good feel for each of my characters again, it's going much smoother.

Pairings will start soon (well technically they've already started with the Kawamura/Yui interactions ufufu). Some were hinted at in this chapter. Some are just false leads~

(And of course, just because a pairing starts, doesn't mean it'll last.)

Please keep in mind that any opinions expressed are those of a character and how I think they would react/think about something. They may not always be right. They most certainly will not always reflect my own opinion on a particular topic.

In particular, characters might express an opinion on something and not realize that they've overlooked a crucial fact. After all, they're all human.

Yeesh! It's pretty hard to keep track of all the characters and make sure they all react appropriately and get turns on screen (or, well, script, I suppose). My respect for fellow ff authors with such fanfics has gone way up.

I'm actually super excited for Tomoka's debut and future matches. She's going to be very special, indeed...