(I don't own Prince of Tennis!)
Chapter 4 – Similar rivalry
"Her body isn't as bad as it looks." The doctor lowered his stethoscope while explaining to Shizuru carefully. "She's mostly full of bruises but I think she can still move around though – it's very unadvisable to go for strenuous activities for awhile. How did she get all these injuries?"
Ayane began explaining. "There was a girl from another school who began hitting her with a tennis ball. I know you might not believe me but it's true. That's how Isane-senpai got all those bruises."
Shizuru bowed gratefully. "Thank you for tending to one of our team mates, she was critically injured from her match and we're glad to have brought her to you before anything bad had happened."
"I'm glad to be of help. I mean – it's just quite surprising how tennis in your division suddenly got very brutal, Ayane. How did that happen?" The doctor folded his arms and asking for an explanation.
Isane meekly admitted. "The opponent I played against was mentally unstable. Actually, I have to admit: we were both unstable at that moment in the game. I refused to touch the net and she froze the moment I scored a point and went wild when I continued to play. I guess I overlooked my limits."
The man shook his head in defeat. "You're so reckless to the point you nearly got yourself a couple of fractures. You're lucky enough to not get any dislocations."
Ayane tried to explain it to the doctor. "The players there used violent means to get a win from us but buchou managed to silence them pretty good, it seems. By the way, guys, this is my uncle Akimaru. He works as a diagnostician here. Uncle, these are my teammates from the tennis team. The one with the brown hair is Kurenai Shizuru-senpai, my captain, I'm sure you know Isane-senpai, the shortest one is my doubles partner, Getsugan Kiyone, " –this earned her a glare from her doubles partner though, "the one with red hair is Nagisaki Mai, the resident's prodigy, the one with pale pink hair is Hikifumi-senpai, the one with black hair is Shimohi-senpai, the one with glasses is Yamaguchi-senpai and the one who's standing behind Yamaguchi-senpai is Momo-senpai."
He turned to Shizuru. "She speaks so highly of you, I'm glad that you're an excellent leader. You look after your teammates often."
Shizuru shook her head. "It's part of my duty as captain of this team. Also, my team members are like my sisters. I cannot just sit back and watch them get hurt by someone I don't know."
Kicking the chair towards his seat, Akimaru continued to prod. "So, how was your game?"
Ayane punched the air. "We won like always, 6-0! They were just like those dark horses we used to fight with before in elementary."
Kiyone quietly looked down. "If we played against Shitenhouji, I don't think we'll win."
Haruka pointed out. "Even though we won, we still have a lot more to work on. We can't be content with our skill level, when we enter the nationals, we might get slaughtered again like last time."
Rin tried to be more optimistic. "Yeah, we got slaughtered but I don't think Shizuru-chan will have much of a problem. She took down the captain by herself last year. We can't keep relying on her for that. Secondly – we may be good as doubles players and we may be nationally ranked but do you think we can handle another dark horse team?"
Hitomi skimmed through her notes. "Judging from our performance today, we would have won all five games if not for Shina's mental breakdown. Secondly, we're not used to violent tennis like theirs. We could end up going up against many more teams that are like that."
"There are also a few more teams I'm actually wary about," Shizuru looked at the list of competitors.
Mai looked at the list. "I don't see why you should be scared, Shizuru. I mean – we're national ranked so, who are the teams that you're wary about?"
"There's Rikkai Daigaku which is headed by Vice Captain Hachishika XiaoLi and Captain Yukimura Ai," Shizuru didn't like being caught off guard, "there's Seigaku also…"
Ayane snorted. "We don't have any reason to be scared of Seigaku so, why are you wary about them? They were no threat to you last year."
Shizuru showed her the list of names. "Recognize one of them?"
Taking the list, Ayane skimmed through the paper. "Nada, I don't know anybody here."
Mai took the paper and began looking through it. "I don't know any of them. Why is it you're terrified?"
Shizuru sighed; why didn't her teammates feel the least bit of uneasiness? Were they that dense? "Do you know who is helping these girls reach the best of their ability?"
Ayane didn't know why her captain was suddenly getting wary about a team she had beaten before. "Well, no because I only joined this year and secondly – buchou, you beat them before didn't you?"
"I did but their captain really pushed me to my limit and there's another girl who we should be afraid of. She's also of National's Calibre and if you make a slight mistake," –Shizuru shuddered at the thought, "she could humiliate you on the court, literally."
Isane knew who exactly she was talking about. "Souma Fuuka, the current captain of the team and also, someone of Shizuru-chan's calibre. Though buchou won 6-4 to her last time, you should've seen the game. Buchou was forced to create another technique just to get past her. Her injury sealed up the technique though."
"Unless you're strong enough in the mind to forget that she can return shots even with the lowest possibility of coming back," Hitomi continued to calculate, "then, none of us have a chance against her except Buchou. She would probably play in Singles Two or Singles Three to surprise us though so, I suggest positioning buchou somewhere there."
The uncle was pretty much interested. "May I see your injury?"
"It's an old injury from a sport I played years back," Shizuru pointed at her knees, "I dislocated my knee a few years back and sometimes, I get chronic attacks from it but I manage to play."
Examining the knee, he was pretty impressed by the recovery rate because her knee looked like it didn't suffer anything at all. Most of them would be still a bit swollen. "How far has it been since you last dislocate your knee?"
Shizuru didn't really keep track. "I think it was about a year ago maybe. Somewhere there, I think around one or two years."
Tilting his glasses up, he leaned back with a sigh. "I'm just wondering – how does it manage to get so violent in such a classy game?"
Haruka shrugged. "Beats us, I guess sometimes our opponents are too unstable for their own good."
Ayane began examining Isane's bandages. "You sure they're on properly?"
"It's okay because you don't need to worry so much about me, Ayane-chan." Isane waved her hand dismissively.
Kiyone sat down next to her captain while the uncle handed out cookies. "Anybody want some?"
"Can I?" Rin shyly looked at it at first and he gladly gave it to her.
The moment she got the cookie, she began eating it as if she had never had cookies in her whole life. "Mm! Yay, I got a cookie!"
Kiyone tried to grab it but had Ayane yank down her jacket to sit down again. "I want one!"
Ayane flicked the little girl's nose. "You're gonna get fat! Stop eating so many sweets! I still have the ones you kept from last years Trick or Treat!"
Hitomi muttered while scribbling down. "I must triplicate Rin's training menu to burn off the sugar she had just ingested."
"Well, I might be able to attend your next game. So, who's your next match going to be and when?" The uncle nudged Ayane.
Ayane looked at her captain who had the paper of teams that were still in. "Buchou, who's our next match?"
"We're only in the preliminaries and so, our next match is Fudomine Chuu." Shizuru skimmed through the paper, "If we win and doubtless that Seigaku wins their other match, we have to play against Seigaku. Our match will be tomorrow afternoon again. Same time, same place."
Kiyone whined. "But we just put our feet up after our match with Yugetsu Chuu!"
"I don't think Isane-senpai will be playing Singles Three for a time being so, Momo, you're taking her place." Shizuru eyed her other senpai who nodded in agreement. "Mai, you'll probably play in Singles Two like always and I will play in my Singles One but, when Seigaku comes up, we have to hit them hard and strong in the first three games. Hikifumi-senpai and Shimohi-senpai will be playing Doubles Two and Kobayagi-san and Getsugan-san, shock the people in your doubles one match. Show them no mercy and make sure they have no chance of retaliation."
They all nodded while the uncle warned. "From what I hear, there are many dark horse teams now. My son's playing in a different school not as well known as yours but, he said many of these dark horses tend to get very violent. I want you all to be careful and if Uchiha-san has to play, I suggest you have her on reserve."
Shizuru was going to do exactly that. "We're not going to let them even get to the reserves matches. We'll beat them in either three straight games or five straight games. We won't let them score a single match against us."
Ayane punched her fist into the air. "Yeah it's because Kiyone and I are the best doubles pair in the Kanto District!"
"You also have National calibre players like Shizuru-chan and Mai-chan," Haruka continued to mention.
Isane swung her legs lightly. "We're not likely to be defeated; we're going to win the Prefectural games!"
Hitomi looked at her watch. "I hate to be rude but, I might have to go. My parents could be looking for me."
"Okay, see you, Yamaguchi-senpai." Shizuru allowed her to leave and she looked at her watch too. "I think we've taken too much of your time. Thank you for allowing us to stay here in your office."
The uncle waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright, no need to apologize. Any friends of Ayane are good friends of the family too."
Ayane slung her arm around Shizuru. "Yeah, we come here anytime and raid his fridge. He's not even supposed to have cookies in here and so, Shimohi-senpai will be very useful!"
Laughing softly, Shizuru slung over her tennis bag and bowed. "Thank you for allowing us to use the room for awhile."
"It's no problem," Her uncle smiled, "you better go. I think your parents might be looking for you."
At this, Shizuru's face became more melancholy. "Ah, right."
When the door lightly shut behind her, Ayane poked her uncle. "Hey, don't mention that!"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot." The uncle sheepishly scratched his head.
From outside the room, Shizuru could hear the conversation going on inside. "Yes, it's true. I don't have any parents."
Walking home from the hospital, Shizuru listened to the people rushing by past her. She remembered the happy face Ayane had when speaking to her uncle. It reminded her on how she used to be like that. Everything was so bright, so colourful and so cheery.
Until everything in her life began to crumble down, she then realized that there was one last thing she had left: her tennis.
Shizuru knew she had to remain strong for her team otherwise everything else would crumble. She was their pillar of support and she couldn't falter. She couldn't let her guard down and she couldn't lose hope no matter what happens. She always had to find ways on how to beat the odds. While she was deep in thought, Shizuru felt something touch her left foot. "Huh? Who's playing at a time like this?"
Picking up the ball, Shizuru saw a toddler coming towards her with a bright cheery smile. However, Shizuru's eyes widened in fear when she saw a car coming towards the toddler who seemed completely oblivious about the car coming towards him. Throwing her tennis bag aside, she leaped over the rail that blocked the sidewalk and grabbed the boy before the car could hit him. What unnerved her was that the car didn't even bother stopping to check if they were okay and it didn't even bother swerving. "I didn't know that there were still jerks like that on the road."
The toddler was whimpering in shock while she ruffled his hair. "You okay, little guy?"
Nodding weakly, the boy gave her a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me back there, nee-san."
Shizuru's act of bravado attracted a crowd almost immediately and when they saw that she was a Hyotei student (let alone a regular of the Hyotei Girls Team) murmurs began to erupt and the mother came in. "Natsume, where have you been?"
The boy's eyes gleamed in delight. "Mama, I'm over here!"
She took the boy from Shizuru while thanking her. "Thank you so much for saving Natsume! I didn't know he ran off! He was just at the park a few moments ago!"
Shizuru didn't really expect this big a fuss. "It's no big deal. You don't need to thank me."
Kissing her little boy's forehead, she then offered. "Why don't you have dinner with us? I think it's the least I can do."
Shizuru shook her head; declining it politely. "It's alright, I don't want to imp-."
"You're not imposing anything," The woman smiled while taking Shizuru's hand, "I think you should have dinner with us, I insist."
Shizuru was about to say something until she thought it was much wiser to not reject the offer. Anything to get her away from the crowd is good enough. "Um, okay. Let me get my tennis bag first."
Though the place they had dinner in wasn't what Shizuru expected it to be, the dinner was amazing. Well, she did bring her to a five star restaurant which was in a hotel and Shizuru was more than just abashed to order something to eat because the prices were so atrocious. "I… um…"
"It's alright. You can order anything you want, dear. I'll pay for it." The woman smiled while the little boy was swinging his legs on his chair.
Shizuru felt even more abashed to order. "I…I actually don't know what to get really."
"Oh, okay, I'll get you something." The woman whispered their orders to the waiter and Natsume cheekily smiled. "Thanks for saving me again, onee-san!"
Shizuru waved her hand in protest. "It's no big deal, really. I just did what I thought was right."
"Not many people care for people when they run on the road nowadays, let alone –children." The woman ruffled the boy's hair and then extended her hand. "I'm Renhou Mitsuru, I should thank you again for saving my little boy," –her face then became rueful, "he's all I have left."
"Ah," Shizuru was unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry."
The woman smiled kindly. "You shouldn't be sorry. May I ask what your name is?"
"Kurenai Shizuru," the brunette stammered slightly because of her being completely out of place in a high class restaurant.
The woman introduced herself further. "I'm Renhou Mitsuru, owner of the Renhou Industries in Chiba. This here is my son, Renhou Natsume."
The boy greeted her cheekily. "Hello, Shizuru-nee-chan!"
"My husband died recently and I chose to take my maiden name again," the woman continued to explain, "I see you're a tennis player from Hyotei Gakuen."
"Ah," Shizuru then again started sounding monosyllabic because she was completely clueless upon what to say.
The meals came in and Shizuru's eyes widened when she saw what her food was: she had never eaten Lobster in her life. "This… this is too much."
"Come on, it's okay. Eat up." The woman saw that Shizuru was getting more uncomfortable.
Shizuru put her hands together while saying softly, "Itadakimasu." (Thank you for the meal, let's eat now.) (A/N: Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not from Japan.)
Natsume had a plate of pasta while the woman had a steak. "So, where are your parents?"
"I," Shizuru disguised her sadness when she mentioned her parents and lied, "usually walk home from school because they come late at night."
"Oh I see," the woman continued to slice a piece of steak, "so, are you a regular from the tennis team?"
Shizuru nodded as easily as she could though she felt completely stiff. "Y-yes, I am."
Natsume jumped in his chair. "I wanna see you play! Can I? Can I, mama?"
His mother smiled while patting his head lovingly. "Of course you can, you are in Hyotei Gakuen also. So, I'm sure you have the right to watch."
"Oh," Shizuru then realized that his clothes looked familiar, "you're from the elementary division?"
Natsume gave her a cheeky grin. "Yep, that's right! I'm gonna tell my classmates all about you! I'm sure they would love to see your game!"
The mother laughed softly at her son's reply to Shizuru. "Would you like me to bring you home?"
"Oh no," Shizuru didn't want to impose much further, "I walk home. It's okay really because my house is not far from here."
()()()()0000()()()()
Rin hung from upside down while sucking on a lollipop. The TV started showing a gymnastics match while the girl started watching the graceful movements. Swinging back and forth, Rin then managed to land on her bed while reminiscing on the game that had recently passed by. Haruka had only managed to bring them out in the end because of the Dragon's Tail like she said. However, the black acrobat could only stare at her hand.
That infinite possibility... does it even exist?
Haruka had often told her about it and with a sigh, Rin swung up again while trying to understand what the Pearl Dragon had meant. At one side, medals from the gymnastics competition adorned her wall while a silver medal sat quietly in the corner in a glass case. Getting down from the bar above her bed, Rin opened the case as she shined the medal with her pajama shirt.
"Kuwee~, what am I lacking," Rin pouted while tapping her chin but came up with an idea. "I know!"
Running out, Rin switched into her jacket while walking towards a huge arcade. "When stressed, consult the whack a mole machine, kuwee!"
Before she could enter however, a voice caught her off guard. "Rin, what are you doing here?"
Spinning around, Rin jumped at the voice. "Haru, where have you been?"
Haruka looked at her watch while wiping away the sweat. "Jogging, and shouldn't you be at home?"
"I got stressed so," Rin scratched her head sheepishly. "Yeah, when stressed - consult the whack a mole machine!"
Haruka sighed while smiling sheepishly. "There is one place that could help sort out your mind."
Rin stared at her with a quizzical look. "Huh, where would that be?"
Haruka turned to her, offering her a hand. "Wanna jog with me?"
Pouting while folding her arms, Rin pursed her lips. "You know my stamina sucks!"
"That's why," Haruka laughed lightly. "We're gonna start training. We have to find that 'thing' remember?"
Infinite possibilities of doubles, Rin heard the voice echo in her head again. "Yeah, but where are we going?"
"You'll see," Haruka cheerfully noted as she sprinted off. "Come on, don't get left behind."
Rin huffed and puffed after Haruka as the pink haired girl stayed next to her.
"Come on," Haruka beckoned. "It's only been thirty minutes."
Rin gasped for air. "Thirty minutes was my limit - but wait, we were never going anywhere were we?"
"Actually," Haruka admittedly scratched her head. "I got lost on the way."
Rin gaped at her Doubles partner, pointing at an apricot tree nearby. "What, you mean we've been running in circles? No wonder I saw that tree ten times!"
Haruka tried to calm down the frantic acrobat. "Rin, it's okay! We're not lost! I know where we going!"
"You do," Rin suddenly stopped panicking. "But you said we were lost."
Haruka sat on a bench nearby. "Do you remember this place?"
Rin glanced at the road and saw the cracks that lined the asphalt. The streetlights let off a mute glow while the Dragon Pair engulfed themselves in silence. Biting her lip as she sat, Rin stared sadly at the cracks while playing with the shell bracelet on her wrist.
"This is where," Rin sadly turned to Haruka. "This is where the Stadium Pair ended."
Haruka shook her head and began to smile. "No, this is where the Twin Dragons were born."
Rin, quizzically staring at Haruka, found the pink haired dragon getting to her feet.
"That match today reminded me of a lot of things," Haruka then dangled a key chain in front of Rin. "So, you ready to take on the world, Rin?"
Brightening up considerably, Rin jumped on Haruka. "Yeah, we're gonna win!"
()()()()0000()()()()
Ayane on the other hand was at home doing her homework like always. She examined the roster that her captain had given her. "Wow, buchou's really serious about tennis. But, I guess it can't be helped. She's gotta be a role model for all of us. Besides, this is the only way we can make buchou feel normal around us; there's something there that we don't know about. Even though she acts tough and all, I can't just watch her break into smaller pieces. I want to help her; she's not only my senpai and captain."
At that very moment, Ayane heard the phone ring. "Hello, Kobayagi residence."
"Hey, Ayane-chan, it's me, Nagisaki-san." A curt voice answered the phone.
Ayane was taken aback by Mai's sudden call. "Nagisaki-senpai, how can I help you? Is there anything you need?"
"Actually, I just wanted you to know something: did you see what happened on TV? It said there: Renhou son saved by Hyotei Regular student." Mai chose her words carefully.
Ayane was shocked. "I know, I heard about it. The kid nearly got hit by the car! The kid could have been run down by that ignorant jerk!"
Mai knew that Ayane wouldn't pay attention to the news but more to the victim. "Ayane, focus on the topic. Did you hear who it was who saved the kid?"
"Nope, I heard nothing because I killed the TV so I could make dinner."
Mai sighed through the phone. "Never mind but we're going to have a lot of reporters tomorrow. Just be prepared to single out who are scouters and who are actually paparazzi."
"Yeah but, she seemed pretty worried about Seigaku this year. Mind telling me why?" Ayane never understood why Seigaku was so feared to the point even Shizuru was wary.
Mai exhaled sharply. "It's a long story: when Hyotei didn't have you two as in Getsugan-chan and you yet, Shizuru and I were under another captain who went under the name Kotetsu Naomi and another vice captain, Ferero Lulu. At that time, Seigaku's captain was this girl named Souma Fuuka and she flattened Kotetsu-senpai in ten minutes. The reason: No matter what kind of spin Kotetsu-senpai gave her, she returned it efficiently with double spin and doubled strength. That's why buchou's a little wary of her. She doesn't want anyone to feel humiliation. If someone should suffer it, it should be her – or so she thinks."
Ayane could've sworn her eyes rolled out of its sockets. "She's that good?"
"One of the very few who could give Shizuru a run for her skill, Souma Fuuka. Even Yamaguchi-senpai said it herself that we don't have a chance against her except buchou. Actually, I think you have a chance against her but she doesn't play doubles and you don't play singles either." Mai groaned in annoyance.
The vice captain looked at the roster. "Buchou gave me the roster for both games: the one for Fudomine is so differently set from the one for Seigaku. Here, she put you in Singles One for Seigaku but in Fudomine, you took your usual position. Kiyone and I are doing our usual Doubles One but for the one for Seigaku: Kiyone and I are doubles two while she is in Singles Two. Why is that?"
"It's either," Mai scratched her head, "she knows that Fuuka only plays Singles Two because she can't handle pressure or she's trying to corner the captain into a corner. Souma didn't like taking Singles One until the latter part of the season."
The current vice captain looked out the window. "I wonder how buchou's doing. I mean – why is she so... perfect? It's weird..."
"Not many of us have a mother's love to live with," the red haired genius laughed, "I can't believe she has five of them in one house! How many step siblings does she have anyway?"
"Wait, what do you mean she has five," Ayane nearly screamed into the phone.
Mai changed topic right away. "We'll leave that for another day. For now, let's focus to the task at hand."
"There's nothing to do," Ayane protested. "Honestly, stop evading the damn question!"
Mai threw her hands up with a sigh. "Look, I respect my friend's privacy. If we thought we got dirt then, you should wait until you get to her house. They're not exactly the greatest people in the world."
"Anyway, I think we should just ask Shizuru-senpai about the roster tomorrow as in the one for Seigaku. I don't exactly get it either." Ayane yawned a little.
Mai chuckled at one end. "Burning the midnight oil tonight?"
"Yeah," Ayane yawned again, "I just want to finish this so, I could hit the sack and sleep."
Realizing how late it was, Mai decided the same. "Then I guess I shouldn't disturb you. Good night."
()()()()0000()()()()
The next day, Ayane, Kiyone and Mai found paparazzi at Hyotei's gate. "Che, this must be about ore-sama's greatness, AGAIN!"
Kiyone shook her head disbelievingly. "Wow, mole diva really pulled out all the stops this time~!"
"Sure he's arrogant but I'm sure he has little common sense," Mai felt her brain pop because of all these people. "Then again, he did prefer throwing money around."
"Arn~, ore-sama didn't call for any of this but if they want to interview him, he's right here." A deep voice purred from behind.
Seeing Atobe come in with the other Hyotei regulars, Ayane pointed a finger accusingly in his face. "What's all this junk doing in Hyotei! Get rid of it, you narcisstic mole diva!"
"It's not Atobe-senpai's fault, I think it's more mine."
They found Shizuru amidst the crowd with a little boy clinging on to her. "You heard about the news yesterday right?"
Shishido recalled seeing the news yesterday. "Yeah, 'Hyotei Regular saves Renhou heir'. It's amazing how news gets out this fast."
Ohtori's eyes widened. "Shizuru-chan, were you the one who saved…?"
Sheepishly nodding, Shizuru didn't know exactly how to clear this one up. "Well, it's a long story. I'll explain it to you in the classroom."
Atobe snapped his fingers. "Ore-sama demands that all reporters, scouters and paparazzi get out of Hyotei, right now!"
The Hyotei regulars stared at him as if he had grown a second head. "They're not going to leave, Atobe." Gakuto sniggered.
"You might want to retract that statement, Gakuto." Oshitari pointed at the people leaving and now all that was left were the entire student body of Hyotei, the teachers and some other school personnel.
Atobe flipped his hair up with a smirk. "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoina." (Be awed by ore-sama's prowess)
Ayane twitched at what he had just said and stepped on his foot. "Be awed by ore-sama's prowess, my foot! Go awe some people with your uselessness!"
Twitching at her comment, Atobe turned to face the vice captain of Hyotei. "You didn't have to step on ore-sama's loafers, Kobayagi."
"Well, someone has to teach you where to put your ego and when not to show it like – never!" Ayane stormed off again.
Kiyone dropped her shoulders after hearing Ayane's snapping. "Geez, she never knows when to miss a day."
Mai shrugged. "I guess it's good for her blood pressure if she does have a problem there."
Seeing Ayane stomp off, Shizuru could only pinch the bridge of her nose. "Great, I didn't want to deal with this early in the morning."
"Shizuru-nee-chan," a little voice peeped from below, "who was the angry lady?"
Shizuru let out a sigh and smiled at the little boy. "That was my vice captain, Kobayagi Ayane. She's very quick to anger."
"I think 'quick' would be an understatement." Shishido watched Ayane fume with Kiyone trailing behind her. "She blows the moment he's breathing or something."
Mai folded her arms with a smirk. "They fight like a married couple, don't you think?"
Hiyoshi couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, they kinda look it."
Jirou was sleeping on Kabaji's shoulders again while Atobe snapped his fingers. "Let's go, Kabaji."
The bigger kohai trailed behind him while every girl in Hyotei seemed to faint the moment Atobe crossed paths with them. "Ayane's going to hit the roof again," Hitomi noted while walking in, "I must choose a stronger partner to withstand her shots otherwise someone will snap their wrist from the amount of power Ayane puts, ii data."
Haruka came in with Rin. "Boy, Atobe-san sure knows how to make an entrance."
"Yeah, he knows how to strut it like a girl. That's what." Rin sniggered at the way Atobe had entered Hyotei.
Oshitari shrugged. "Well, this is Atobe that we're talking about and nobody else. I mean – he wouldn't be Atobe if he didn't do this right?"
Ohtori watched more girls chase after Atobe. "But, Atobe-senpai still has other good traits."
Shizuru then remembered what she had to do. "Oh by the way, this is Renhou Natsume. He's the heir of the Renhou Industries and he's an elementary student here."
Shishido smirked. "I knew you weren't the type to just stand there and watch a kid get scrunched up by a car."
"I guess I'm that easy to read huh?" Shizuru laughed a little; seeing that Shishido had figured out everything.
"No, I've just known you long enough to be able to conclude that. Besides, you're pretty good with kids anyway." Shishido dragged his school bag along with him.
Ohtori heard the ball ring. "Oh yeah, we might be late for class, we better go!"
Shizuru placed her things on her desk while looking at the roster for both games. "There's a big chance that Souma-san would play Singles Two but, why do I have a feeling that she'll play Singles One?"
"Aren't those the female regulars from Seigaku?" Ohtori loomed over to Shizuru's desk.
Putting the paper back into her filler, Shizuru began taking notes. "Yeah, they're from Seigaku. Thing is – I don't think we're ready to face them. Well, I know I can handle it but what about Ayane and Kiyone? They've been winning every doubles match and this time, if they lose, they're going to break."
Ohtori pat her on the head. "You shouldn't worry so much, Shizuru-chan. I know you care a lot for your teammates but have a little more faith in them, the same way they have faith in you."
Smiling a little, Shizuru knew that worrying was pointless now. "You're right. The best thing we can do is just play our best and hope for the best and get ready to face the worst."
"Also, don't forget what you always tell them, Shizuru-chan." Ohtori chirped cheerfully.
Shizuru laughed; how could she have forgotten? "Oh yeah: Never lose hope. I ought to learn how to take my own advices."
Ohtori laughed with her. "Yeah but, you're right too in trying to expect things. I mean – Seigaku has good players this year."
"And so I hear, the famous Echizen Ryoma joined Seigaku." Shizuru added while sorting out her things.
Ohtori set his notebooks down and placed more papers on his desk. "Yeah but he's not the only one, including their captain. He's a really skilled player! He was invited to the Junior Sanbatsu Camp before. I think their captain's name was Tezuka if I remember right. Atobe-senpai was ranting on how he'll be beating him the other day."
Knowing that Atobe would do something like that, Shizuru ignored the details about Atobe but the name Tezuka lingered in her mind. "Captain Tezuka of Seigaku, that's quite a familiar name around here. Seems like he might be training these girls too if he's that good and he's good enough to make Atobe-senpai rant like that. I want to see him play one day."
"Kurenai-san, are you still there?"
"Kurenai-san, please pay attention!"
The brunette was shaken out of her trance when the teacher beckoned her to the board. "Would you like to do this equation?"
Seeing a very long sentence, Shizuru held her breath as she noted the long equation held several radicals and variables. "Okay..."
Watching her write the solution, her classmates stared in awe while Ohtori quickly scrambled for notes. Though staring into space for awhile, Shizuru had to erase her solution several times before getting it right. All her classmates were looking at where her solutions were going and then she simply boxed the answer at the end of the process.
"Hmph, I expect you to listen next time," the teacher pointed her stick towards Shizuru's chair. "Take your seat."
Shizuru took her seat next to Ohtori while she continued looking and organizing the roster.
()()()()0000()()()()
Ayane and Kiyone were in the same class but the shorter girl was falling asleep. "Kiyone, please don't sleep," –the vice captain begged, "We need to know this lesson by Friday!"
Kiyone slapped her hand away; mumbling. "I want my sleep!"
Looking at her doubles partner, Ayane wasn't sure how to wake her up inconspicuously without making a fool out of herself. The first thing she wanted to do was simply just nudge her awake but the girl refused to get up. The second thing was hitting her with paper balls but she didn't want to waste paper. So, she decided to do something else. "Teacher, Kiyone-chan has a stomach ache. May I please take her to the bathroom? She might need to puke."
The teacher didn't seem to mind that Ayane was trying to cover up for Kiyone. "Go ahead, just come back in two minutes."
"Two minutes is all I need," the vice captain mumbled while hauling Kiyone over her shoulder to get her up, "to wake sleeping beauty over here, up."
Dragging her to the bathroom, Ayane finally dunked Kiyone's head into the sink full of cold water. "Waaah, someone's trying to drown me!"
Ayane shook her head disbelievingly. "How you managed to sleep through math without having the teacher slam her pointer down on you is a miracle."
Kiyone grinned. "Same here on how you manage to scream at Atobe every time you cross paths with him. Yane's really in denial yeah?"
WHACK.
Delivering a well placed slap on Kiyone's head, Ayane resisted the urge to scream. "I will never fall in love with a narcisstic jerk like him. Let alone a man who calls himself ore-sama all the time!"
Her doubles partner, Kiyone dried her face with a paper towel. "Say, what time is it?"
"It's last period, why?" Ayane then remembered that they had a game today also. "Oh yeah, game against Fudomine Chuu, today!"
Kiyone rolled her eyes. "You have COS."
"COS, what's COS?" Ayane stared at her as if her doubles partner had grown two heads.
Kiyone knew she was going to get kicks out of this one. "COS means Completely Oblivious Syndrome. Well, I can't blame you – that's why I'm your doubles partner!"
Resisting the urge to scream at her, Ayane gripped the marble. "Hah, says the person who can't even remember people's names right! Kiyone, let's just head back to class."
Skipping gleefully out of the bathroom, Kiyone counted. "Three, two, one…!"
Right on Kiyone's mark, the bell rung for dismissal and the classrooms were deserted in the next ten seconds.
()()()()0000()()()()
Picking up her tennis bag, Ayane saw Shizuru and Mai passing by their classroom. "Buchou, Mai-senpai, are we heading to our game today?"
Mai had her tennis bag slung over her shoulder. "Yeah, Fudomine Chuu was going to be playing us today but I think we might have a problem."
"What?" Ayane didn't like hearing things like that.
Kiyone had a donut from her lunchbox and continued munching. "Why – they ran away?"
"Running away is a bit too harsh. I'd rather say that Fudomine decided to pull out from this tournament and Seigaku is in another block, we're not playing against them." Mai exhaled sharply.
The two doubles pair's eyes widened in shock. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! THAT CAN'T BE TRUE! SAY IT AIN'T SO!" The two first year students bellowed in horror.
"Apparently, they were getting too rowdy for the coach's ability to control so, we win by default." Shizuru pressed the bridge of her nose while adjusting the position of her tennis bag. "We're lucky that Seigaku's in another block so we don't need to face them now but the Kantou Regionals, I'm sure we have to go against them."
Ayane shook her head. "No way in the world! We can't keep changing the roster left and right!"
Kiyone whined while grabbing Shizuru's jacket and began tugging it. "Today was supposed to be Fudomine! So, that means if we start in the Kantou Regionals, Seigaku's going to be our opponent? Why are we stuck with Seigaku?"
"They were pulled out," Shizuru rubbed the bridge of her nose, sighing and wincing at the noise. "The match though luckily will be postponed to tomorrow like scheduled. Though, I suggest watching Seigaku's game today. I think we might get a few pointers when we watch them play. Luckily because they didn't see us play, they don't know exactly what we're capable of. They're not sure of you two yet so, lay low on the bragging okay?"
Ayane and Kiyone exchanged glances when their five other senpai had entered the room. "I heard the game against Fudomine was cancelled," Haruka folded her arms in disappointment.
"Stupid coach, he should have known that they're not that easily controlled!" Ayane almost shouted while slamming her fist on her table.
Momo twitched at the crack it created. "I pity your table now."
Hitomi scribbled on the notebook. "Even if we did play, there would be a one hundred percent chance that we would be facing Seigaku in Kantou. I need more data on them though."
"I think Yamaguchi-senpai is on the right track." Shizuru curled her hand into a fist despite having a lady-like smile. "We can't go shooting in the dark."
Mai narrowed her eyes at the thought. "Keep an eye out for Doubles One, Singles Two and Singles One players. We might need that and for all you know, Souma Fuuka could be there somewhere. I just hope that we could get some good look at her style of tennis."
"Souma Fuuka is an all-rounder like Shizuru-chan and Sanada-san," –this earned Hitomi a glare from Momo, "she has a powerful swiping like serve that can devastate the opponent and paralyse them."
Shizuru concluded. "She gives them the yips with her calibre of play. She knows how to cut off senses with different kinds of shots."
"Yeah man, somebody worth beating the crap out of," Ayane punched her fist into the air.
Mai folded her arms and continued the explanation. "It's not that easy, Souma Fuuka is on the same level as Shizuru so we can't just throw anyone in there. Most of all, putting someone against her can risk the person getting hurt. We can't afford another player to get smashed. I know what it's like... and..."
Ayane tugged her collar, gulping. "Hell no, you didn't... lose did you?"
Mai stiffly nodded while remembering the event that year. Shizuru had played Seigaku's tensai at that time while she took on whom they called the ace of Seigaku but not a rookie. If she remembered right, she was the youngest on the team of regulars. "Souma Fuuka was a second year when I played against her, I had to forfeit because I couldn't even see where I was going anymore."
"How many times has Shizuru-senpai played against her?" Kiyone shivered at the news and data about Souma Fuuka.
"Officially, they played against one another for about thrice," Mai recounted all their matches. "But I'm sure they challenged each other outside of the tournament."
They all gaped at their captain who folded her arms and took a seat in one of the chairs. "Souma Fuuka's style is somewhat mental breaking. If you don't seal off your emotions against her, she will use them against you and crush you with it. She was one of the very few who drove me to my limit. I had to drop two games just so I could recover from the shock. The thing is – if you don't fight her fast, she'll take you down you faster than you can ever imagine. Her first debut as a tennis player was against Kotetsu-senpai, she plastered her in two sets, best out of three: 6-0, 6-0, straight."
Shuddering at the thought, Momo leaned against the wall. "I remember Kotetsu-senpai training you to play against her one time."
"Yeah, I had to seal off my heart or she's going to use all sorts of emotional attacks against me." Shizuru recalled every detail she had when she played the game against her. "Kotetsu-buchou told me to look like a complete statue and seal off my heart because it really does a number on you when you play against her unprepared."
Momo summed it up. "So, you needed to look like my stone faced cousin from Rikkai Dai just to beat her?"
Shizuru sighed; why did they use such comparisons? "Yes, I had to have Sanada-san's stone face so she wouldn't see anything."
Rummaging through her things, Rin pulled out a piece of paper. "By the way, I got a little message from Atobe-san. He wants to meet you in the council room later."
Shizuru began looking through the paper and nodded. "Alright, I'll go meet with him. You guys wait for me outside the gates; I'll go with you guys to watch Seigaku's game."
00000000000000000000000000000
Heading towards the council room, Shizuru couldn't keep her mind off what had occurred in her house that night. She could still feel it but the captain pushed it to the back of her head. But no matter what she did, a dark voice echoed in her mind.
"One day you'll shatter, Shizuru. You'll reveal the 'true' you or the one you dub as your 'dark side'."
Slapping herself lightly, Shizuru managed to drive away the thought as she looked towards the tennis matches ahead. All the rosters were still in the first draft and she couldn't pull up possible solutions; Hitomi remained to be their only hope. Being the manager, Hitomi took charge of assembling the roster and the confirmation comes from the captain and vice captain.
"Maybe talking to Atobe-senpai might be much more help," Shizuru smiled ruefully.
Reaching for the doorknob, Shizuru let the door swing open lightly and there sat Atobe in a business like posture. "Kurenai, sit down."
Closing the door, Shizuru took the seat in front of her. "You called for me Atobe-senpai?"
"You do know that the Kanto Regionals are nearby am I right?" Atobe raised an eyebrow.
Shizuru nodded while he continued. "You're doing the prefectural games now but ore-sama thinks that there is one team that you seem not to be taking seriously."
"I am very well aware of what Seigaku and Rikkai Dai have to offer. However – this is only the Tokyo Prefectural Games therefore, Rikkai Dai is not around." Shizuru brought out the roster for the Fudomine and Seigaku games. "One roster is for Fudomine which we will not be able to use due to the sudden drop out but Seigaku is a different matter."
Atobe raised an eyebrow. "Arn~, ore-sama never knew that Kobayagi would be playing doubles two with Getsugan. Why is that? Care to elaborate for ore-sama?"
Shizuru remained composed. "The Seigaku this year are quite powerful like last year and we're not going to lose to them. They don't know what Kobayagi and Getsugan are capable of yet so, we best catch them off guard. Mai is playing Singles One because I know she can handle captain level players. It's Souma Fuuka that I am aiming for because she is one of the very few players whom I consider a rival."
Seeming satisfied with her answer, Atobe gave her back the papers. "Ore-sama expects you not to fall behind him."
"Like what you always say or how I would rather say it," Shizuru stood up and flipping her hair in his same manner, she turned around with a charmed smile, "Kisaki-sama no bigi ni yoina." (She just copied him except she referred to herself as queen or empress of Hyotei)
Oshitari whistled at the comment while the second year captain saw herself out. "She does it way better than you."
Standing up abruptly, Atobe snapped his fingers. "Come Kabaji, we have to go practice somewhere."
"Usu," the bigger kohai followed after him.
Gakuto turned to Oshitari. "Hey Yuushi, are you going to go practice?"
"Maybe then, head off to the courts and help Shizuru out. I wouldn't want her growing white hair early," Oshitari chuckled lightly as he picked up his tennis bag.
Gakuto grabbed his stuff. "Well, what are you waiting for? I don't want Rin beating me!"
Shishido tugged Ohtori. "Come on, we're going with Shizuru-chan."
"We are?" Ohtori tilted his head in an angle.
Shishido smirked. "Yeah, there might be some guys who don't know what happens when they flirt with her too much."
Ohtori seemed to understand what his partner meant. "Shishido-senpai, what if we get caught and suspended?"
"Only the devil cares on what happens," Shishido scoffed while fixing his cap and jacket.
"Um," Ohtori sighed, realizing he couldn't stop Shishido. "Okay but don't beat up too many people!"
()()()()0000()()()()
Upon reaching there, the Hyotei girls were early enough because the game hadn't started yet much to their relief. Hitomi had two notebooks and a camera in hand. "I'll record as much data as I can. I don't want us to lose to Seigaku and want you," –referring to Shizuru, "to start sounding like Atobe-san saying how he will beat Tezuka and all that. It's almost annoying."
Laughing lightly, Shizuru began walking towards the vending machine. "Anyone want a drink or two?"
Ayane's eyes lit up. "I want a Royale Orange Soda!"
Kiyone jumped around. "I want Coffee, Coffee, COFFEE~!"
Hitomi pat Kiyone on the head. "You cannot take coffee because you are a growing girl. With all the soft drinks you're taking, you're actually stunting your growth because your bones won't absorb enough calcium. You have to drink your milk, Chibiko-chan."
Kiyone fumed at her senpai, stamping her feet. "But I want coffee!"
Being all motherly again, Haruka coaxed her. "I don't want you getting short, Kiyone. Buchou, please get her some milk if there's any in the vending machine."
Kiyone started puffing her cheeks and glaring. "GIVE ME MY COFFEE!"
"No," Haruka tried to reason with the younger girl. How did Ayane keep her at bay with her coffee addiction?
"But I want mpf," Kiyone had a bun shoved into her mouth as she started chewing. "This is... a coffee bun~!"
Haruka stared at Momo incredulously. "Momo, she's gonna stay short!"
"It makes her keep quiet," Momo shrugged while popping a can open of iced tea. "Besides, she might wail again if we don't get her coffee."
Mai looked at her watch. "It looks like the match won't start in the next twenty minutes. I'll go with you, Shizuru."
Rin began searching around. "We'll call you if starts, okay?"
Leaving the court area, Mai and Shizuru headed towards the vending machine which was a three minute walk from the court.
"Say," Mai inserted her coins into the slot, "Shizuru, why is it that you seem so edgy now? As in – you normally don't get riled up that easily. In the Yuugetsu Chuu game, you looked like you wanted to rip the captain from limb to limb. Are you alright?"
Shizuru picked out the soda from the vending machine. "Yeah, it's just – I couldn't forgive what she had done to Isane-senpai and we both know that we're very close to her."
"Shina is just a first year," Mai opened her can of cola, "but you didn't have to release your rage on Atsui. She wasn't really the target."
Shizuru popped open her can of apple juice. "But – she allowed Shina-san to hurt Isane-senpai and actually encouraged it. As a captain, I will not stand by to see her get torn into pieces."
"Excuse me." A voice said from behind them. "I want my Ponta."
Turning around, Mai saw a short capped boy in a blue jacket. "You're Echizen Ryoma of Seigaku, aren't you?"
Lifting his cap, he smirked. "So? Your point is?"
Shizuru looked around but saw no sign of the Seigaku girl regulars. "I'd like to know where your girls' team is – I've wanted to watch their game."
Echizen lazily put in his coin into the slot. "They're over there they -."
"Ochibi, where have you been?" A voice yelled from behind while Echizen felt something attack him.
Another voice rang out. "Echizen, you're always out to get Ponta, can't you stay in one place for once?"
Echizen's reply was simple. "Mada mada dane, senpai-tachi."
Mai saw a black haired teen and a bouncy red haired teen cling on to Echizen. "Are you guys from Seigaku?"
"Yeah, I'm Kikumaru Eiji!" The red head gave her a 'v' sign. "Wait, are you from Hyotei?"
Mai looked down simply. "Ah, yeah, we're from Hyotei. Look, we're not spies from Hyotei. We're just here to see who the teams are."
"Kikumaru, Momoshiro," a deep voice addressed them from behind. "What are you doing here?"
Echizen pointed to his senpai. "Buchou, they're harassing me."
"Echizen, why I oughta…!" Momoshiro was about to give him a noogie.
Kikumaru whined. "Ochibi, you're so mean!"
They were about to continue teasing him until they saw a glare from Tezuka. "Fifty laps, now."
Letting go of Echizen, the two ran off to do their laps while Tezuka ordered Echizen. "Head back to the team, the games are about to start."
"Uisu," Echizen walked away towards the benches.
Tezuka bowed down politely. "I'm sorry if they caused you any trouble."
"It was no big deal," Shizuru smiled lightly at him. "They're quite a nice bunch really."
Tezuka didn't know what to say; no one had said something like that about them before. Normally, Echizen would be called a cocky brat, Momoshiro was noisy and Kikumaru was over-energetic.
"Buchou, you're too kind to tell him that they're a bunch of monkeys, aren't you," Mai sighed sadly at her friend.
Shizuru shook her head. "No, I mean it. They seem to be pretty good players."
Tezuka looked at Shizuru for a moment. She looked so familiar to him but he couldn't remember where. Did I see her somewhere before? He thought while looking at her again.
"Hey," Mai stared him straight in the eye. "I know Shizuru's pretty but staring is really rude and if I were her brother, I would have socked you."
Shizuru nearly face palmed, staring with shock at Mai. "Mai, he wasn't staring at me!"
"Buchou, you can never know what a man is thinking," Mai sighed as she gathered the cold drinks in her arms. "I'll go give these to them okay? Catch up later."
With Mai leaving, Shizuru bowed down in apology before extending her hand. "I'm sorry for my friend's behaviour. My friend tends to be very protective of me. I'm Kurenai Shizuru."
"Tezuka Kunimitsu." The bespectacled captain shook her hand when he noticed her uniform. "You're from Hyotei?"
"Ah, yes." Shizuru smiled while shaking his hand. "I'm just here to see who's in the tournament this year. My team mates are over there though. What are you here for? Supporting your team here?"
"Ah." Tezuka didn't know what he felt inside but it felt that there was something more to her than meets the eye.
Shizuru offered to walk with him. "Since we're heading the same way, would you like to walk with me?"
Tezuka didn't seem to mind while they walked together in complete silence. "She looks familiar but why can't I remember where? Kurenai Shizuru, where have I heard that name?"
"You're a skilled tennis player," Shizuru remarked offhandedly. "I hear a lot about you from Atobe-senpai."
"Ah, thank you." Tezuka didn't know what to say or how to react to that. "It's very kind of you to say so."
Shizuru however noticed something that not many people would. "But, I bet you could have been more powerful if your left arm wasn't sealed up."
Tezuka for the first time in his life was caught off guard. She didn't even know him and she knew that right away by just looking at him?
"Your left arm has quite a heavy amount of power in it," Shizuru continued lightly. "You're a southpaw like Echizen Ryoma-san too, aren't you? Consider it a strange gift but, I can tell by just looking at people."
"It seems to be a very useful gift." Tezuka simply said while still completely baffled that Shizuru knew that he was dominantly left handed.
Shizuru looked down apologetically. "I'm sorry if I'm being too nosy or anything."
"It's alright, you're not being nosy." Tezuka replied simply when Shizuru started walking a little faster. "It takes experience to know something like that."
Shizuru continued to ask. "I hope you don't mind me asking but, you're the captain of Seigaku right?"
"Ah." Tezuka could see that she was being a little uncomfortable with all these answers he was giving her.
Shizuru looked at him with a smile. "You know, I would love to play against you one day. If there was a tournament where both girls and guys could go against each others in Singles, I would definitely want to play in it. It gives me a chance to see different styles of tennis and helps me train my own."
Tezuka looked at her jacket. "You're a regular?"
"Yes, I'm a regular of the Hyotei tennis team. Why?" Shizuru didn't know that he only realized that now.
Tezuka gave her a monotonic answer. "I was just wondering."
"Oh," Shizuru looked at her watch and beckoned, "we better get moving if we want to see the game. It's about to start."
Increasing their pace, Tezuka and Shizuru then found the court where the Seigaku regulars began to play.
Another forehand shot in to the doubles line. "Game and set, Kogarasu-Hitsuma pair: 6-4!"
Seigaku had won their second doubles match and was moving on to Singles Two. "Saa~, you seem a little distracted today. Is there something bugging you, Tezuka?" The blue eyed prodigy of Seigaku prodded his captain.
"Fuji, just continue watching the game." Tezuka wanted to remain focused.
Fuji however knew better than that. "Tezuka, you're looking at Hyotei, aren't you? Specifically, you're watching the tall 5'7ft brunette standing in the middle of the group."
Now, Tezuka was starting to wonder if he was that easy to read. "Fuji, I do not need that right now."
"Kurenai Shizuru, 5'7ft, Blood Type: B positive, she's an all-rounder," Inui suddenly opened his notebook with his information about her, "she's a powerful tennis player despite only being in second year in Hyotei. This is her second year in becoming a regular and she's the captain of the team. Her favourite food is a small cup of strawberry yoghurt and her most favourite subject is Literature. She is also English literate and an avid bookworm. She is also the Vice President of the Student Council of Hyotei."
Tezuka chose to ignore all the other pieces of information except one. "She's captain of the Hyotei team? No wonder she spoke that way. She's the captain of the National calibre Hyotei team."
"Souma-san was talking about that recently," Fuji remarked offhandedly. "Wasn't Kurenai-san the only one who beat her? Though she did get one match against her, it seems that this Kurenai-san is much stronger than she looks."
Tezuka simply nodded while watching the pair get off the court and walk towards Souma Fuuka who was sitting down with her legs crossed. "Not bad a game if you want to beat a couple of no namers. I need you to do better! Hyotei Gakuen is a powerful school and I don't want the guys to outdo us! Understand!"
The two stood erect at the coldness of Souma's voice. "Yes buchou!"
Momoshiro gulped. "Wow, she's getting scarier everyday. She's almost going to go military on her team."
Kaidoh smirked. "Fsssh, that's because you're pathetic, Momoshiri."
"What did you say!" Momoshiro grabbed Kaidoh's collar.
Kaidoh didn't bother hesitating. "I said you're pathetic, baka peach!"
Oishi tried to break up the fight. "Guys, please don't fight in front of everyone!"
Fuji looked at Tezuka with his usual innocent smile. "Saa~, should we make them run laps?"
Tezuka didn't waste any time at all in sending them off. "Momoshiro, Kaidoh, 30 laps, now!"
Watching the two leave, Fuuka laughed lightly but then her expression changed when she saw Hyotei's captain standing at the sidelines. "Kurenai Shizuru of Hyotei Gakuen…"
Shizuru's eyes seemed to say the same. "Seishun Gakuen's Souma Fuuka…"
Both teams noticed their captains' aura growing bigger while they had a silent battle. "Wow, I didn't know that their rivalry was that strong." Ayane stared in awe.
"Wow, this is... really creepy," Kiyone laughed while clinging onto Ayane and climbing on the vice captain's shoulders. "They look like statues!"
"I think we've seen enough for today, let's go home." Haruka nudged her captain.
Shizuru held her ground, smiling gently to her team. "You guys can go. I'm staying here to watch."
Hitomi continued scribbling down. "I need this information so I can implement the adjustments to your training menu."
Mai waved them off. "You guys go home, I'll wait with Shizuru."
However, the team disliked leaving their buchou so, they chose to stay. Souma Fuuka now stood up to take her place in Singles One. "Hmm, it seems experience has taught her a thing or two about pressure." Shizuru continued watching.
Her opponent looked terrified and she shivered at the sight of Souma Fuuka, who was merciless. "I will take you down. If you can't handle it, then get off the court."
The girl didn't bother moving and Fuuka turned around mumbling. "This is your loss."
Starting her service, Fuuka made her service explode like a missile which marked the court with a big black dot. "The game now begins."
For the next three shots, Fuuka had aced the girl quickly winning one set. Ayane's eyes widened when she saw Fuuka play. "Wow, she's… this is National's Calibre?"
Shizuru nodded. "This is where the going gets tough."
Fuuka broke the girl's service in two minutes followed by another four aces in her game. "In other words," Hitomi continued to gather data, "Souma Fuuka-san will make short work of this girl."
"Game, Souma: 3-0!" Fuuka walked towards the baseline to receive the service. "What are you waiting for? Serve!"
Trembling violently, the girl dropped her racquet in total fear. "I… I… forfeit!"
Fuuka stood up and walked off the court. "Game and match by default, Seigaku: 4-0!"
Rin's body trembled the moment she heard the score. "She didn't even stand a chance…"
Hitomi closed her notebook. "This gives us more the reason to train. We will not falter against any of the teams in Kantou!"
Shizuru turned around. "Everyone, I will have to double your training menu tomorrow! I don't want any complaints, is that understood?"
"Yes!" The captain's face couldn't have been any brighter when she heard their answer.
-That's chapter 4! Sorry for no epic tennis match, but please review!