Chapter 3 (Data Tennis)
"Huh," asked the trio
"Nami the Navigator," restated Kawamura, "after the memo I ask some of my father's sushi shop patrons that are familiar with tennis if they knew anything about Reigaku High."
"Eh, Kawamura-senpai gathers data like Inui-senpai," remarked Echizen causing Kawamura to turn a slight pink.
"They didn't know much besides the one pulling all the recent strings that is making Reigaku known was a girl known as Nami the Navigator."
"Navigator?" inquired Momoshiro
"She got her name from her Navigation tennis," replied Yuuki as he and Kaito joined the conversation.
"Navigation what?" asked Akaya
"Navigation tennis," answered Kaito, "it's a type of data tennis few people can play."
"Type of data tennis?" inquired Echizen
"Uh-huh," nodded Yuuki. "There are three types of data tennis: Original, Luka, and Navigation."
"The Original is the data tennis that four-eyes and –" started Kaito
" – squinty-eyes play," finished Yuuki
"Owe, owe," yelled the twins as Akaya and Momoshiro hit the two on top of their heads.
"Inui and Rengi! Not four-eyes and squinty eyes," yelled Akaya and Momoshiro in sync.
"Scary," said Kawamura as Akaya and Momoshiro glared at each other.
"Anyway that's only the Original data tennis," said Yuuki as he continued to rub the bump on top of his head.
"Luka is a more advance stage," continued Kaito. "Well sort of," he added a second later
"Sort of?" questioned Echizen
"Well the two styles are different but are similar in strength," said Yuuki, "Luka just seems more advance."
"Huh?" asked Momoshiro
"Although Original and Luka are the same strength not everyone that plays Original can play Luka too," tried Kaito
"Huh?" asked Akaya
"The tennis style doesn't matter! But the people that play the tennis!" yelled the twins in frustration.
"Why didn't you just say that in the first place!" yelled back Akaya and Momoshiro causing the twins to shrink in fear.
"Eh so how is Luka different," asked Echizen
"Luka is named after Luca Nomor who was the first to play it," said Kaito, "It's the tennis that Koharu Konijiki from Shitenhouji played."
Momoshiro looked sick, "The wig dude?"
"Yeah in order to play Luca you have to be a genius," said Yuuki
"A mathematical genius so you can make the calculation on the field," continued Kaito.
"Navigation is the last data tennis and least common used or even heard of," said Yuuki.
"Eh," said Echizen
"Original and Luka are equal because one is off court and the other one is on," said Kaito, "but Navigation is both."
"Plus a little more," added Yuuki
"Huh?" asked Momoshiro
"What do you mean a little more?" asked Kawamura
"We said before that not everyone can do Navigation Tennis, right?" asked Kaito
"Get to the point brat," replied Akaya
"To do Luca you have to be a genius but to do Original you don't," said Yuuki, "so why don't all Luca players just gather data before hand like Original players do and become Navigation tennis players?"
"Answer is they can't," replied Kaito to the tennis player's stunned expressions.
"Eh?" asked Echizen
"Navigation Tennis is the combination of Luca and Original but it also is the ability to not only process that information during a game but to know when to do it," replied Kaito
"See calculating problems takes time and so does recalling information," continued Yuuki, "it is possible to do one or the other in the time it takes the ball to bounce on your opponents court and be hit back to yours – "
" – however it's not possible to do both without losing," finished Kaito, "at least not when you're at national level."
"Therefore the person must know when to use one and when to use the other, in other words they have to go back to the very core of data tennis and make it seem as if they know the future," stated Yuuki and Kaito
A moment of silence passed as each of the players had a flashback of the first time they played their data master.
"I thought he knew the future," said Kawamura still in his memory, "every shot I gave Inui-sepia he already knew I was going to do and was always there in the right place to return the ball."
"Yeah," said Momoshiro in agreement, "he was moving to his counter position before I even took my counter shot. It was as if –"
"– he already knew what I was going to do," finished Echizen as the retaliation of his tennis match with was fresh in his mind.
"Not if," corrected Akaya, "he knew what you were doing to do.
"If your senpai is anything like Rengi then he knew our next move," directed Akaya to the Seigaku players.
"That's the whole point of data tennis," said Yuuki
"To make your opponent believe you know the future," continued Kaito
"And make him lose confidence," said the twins together.
"I short data tennis is nothing more than a few facts," started Kaito
"And psychological attacks," finished Yuuki
"So you're saying that Nami is not only a genius she's also a –" started Kawamura
"Natural psychologist, someone who natural knows the human mind and emotions and exactly how to manipulate them into her liking," said the twins with only admiring smiles on an otherwise devoid faces.
"Who is this Nami the Navigator?" ranged the question in all their minds as they turn to see the tennis match.
"Don't worry," said the twins, "the match win end 7-5, your guys win."
"Rengi-Kikumaru pair's game count 7-5," said Inui a moment later.
"Then again," replied the twins as they looked at the court, "maybe you should worry."
Rengi and Kikumaru collapsed just as Echizen and the rest got there.
Yui and Nami were barely sweating, but whether that sweat was from the game or the weather was debatable.