Just As I Promised
Chapter 4 – Drive Twist
Rio's POV
I panted as I jogged next to Kaido-senpai. It's been a few days since the District and Ryoma and I are still planning that game. I heard Kaido-senpai yell and then yelp. I turned and saw him on the ground with a foot mark on his back and a white handbag next to him. I ran up to him and was about to help him up when a police officer and a frantic woman appeared. "You, come to the police station!" I looked confused but sighed as Kaido-senpai and I were being led to the station.
"Gomen, we thought you were the one that stole the bag." Both of us bowed and started walking away. "I told you, the thief was on rollerblades and was older," we heard the lady. "Not a cute kid like him, plus his friend is adorable." We both blushed. I looked at my senpai when we were far away. "Are you ok, Kaido-senpai?" He nodded and soon we started jogging again. We stopped at a clearing and started stretching. When I was doing my sit-ups, my wig fell off, letting my hair flow out. I scrambled to put it back but it was useless. I saw my senpai with wide eyes. "You're a…" I sighed. "Yes, senpai, please don't tell anyone." It was hard to get angry at Kaido-senpai. Even though he's a bit scary, he's nice and calm. I put my wig in my bag and started combing my hair. 'Ugh, I hate these knots…' I angrily thought. I then felt someone take the comb and started undoing the knots. "I used to do this for my mom when she used to have long hair." I blushed and thanked my senpai. I put my hair into a high ponytail and continued our run.
'How are we going to play that game…?' I thought as I jogged. Suddenly, I was splashed by something sticky. I turned and saw Kaido-senpai with a can of coke on his head and a green bag in his hands. "Uh, senpai?" I nervously said as I tried to calm him down. 'I guess it's another trip to the station…'
"Thank you for your help." Again, we bowed and started walking away. "It's rare to see nice kids these days." The police said. "He's going to grow up to be a fine man. That girl sure is lucky to have him as a boyfriend." My face felt hot. 'Gah, don't go nuts just because of some comment…' We started jogging again and this time, I had to separate from Kaido-senpai. "I have to buy a new grip tape. I'll meet you at the street tennis courts in a few."
I jogged to the tennis store and when I went in, I saw Kikumaru-senpai, Kawamura-senpai, the freshmen trio, Ryoma, and Ibu Shinji from Fudomine. I saw my brother fighting over a pack of grip tape. I made eye-contact with him, saying that he's sharing me that grip tape and tried to run out. Unfortunately, I bumped into the door. They should make the push and pull sign larger!!
"Daijoubou?" I was rubbing my head and saw Kikumaru-senpai looking at me with worried eyes. I blushed and looked away. "I'm fine, it's just a bump on the head." I saw him holding out his hand. I grabbed it and he helped me up.
"Ne, doesn't she look a bit like Echizen?" I froze and so did Ryoma. "Nah, she's too cute to be related to Ochibi!" I blushed. "Nya, what's your name?" Kikumaru-senpai asked. "Ootori Kaede," I mentally smirked. It's a good thing that I remembered something from a book I read. "Kawaii!!" Senpai was about to jump on me when Ibu-san cleared his throat. I smiled and opened the door. "I'll see you soon, minna!" I ran out before they could do more research on me.
I ran towards the street tennis courts where I saw Tachibana Ann being held by the wrist by some grey haired guy. "Hey, let go of her!" I yelled. The guy faced me and smirked. He let go of Ann-chan and started walking towards me. He grabbed my chin and said, "I think you'll do better." I glared at him, making him chuckle. "Kawaii," I blushed but continued to glare at him. "Oi, let go of her!" I turned and saw Momo-senpai with Fudomine's Kamio Akira. I got the guy to let go of my hand and ran up to him. "Ann-chan was being held by him so I intervened. He said that if they won, she'd go on a date with him."
"Ann-chan, why did you decided so easily?!" Kamio-san exclaimed. "They were going to play street tennis so –"
"So weaker players are gathering, huh?" I glared at him and was about to smack him when he grabbed my wrist. "Let go of me!" He smirked. "You're cuter than the other girl." I continued to glare at him. Kamio-san and Momo-senpai suddenly decided to play doubles against the grey haired guy and his black haired friend. "If we win, she goes on a date with me." The grey haired guy said. I saw Momo-senpai glare at him. Momo-senpai and Kamio-san borrowed a pair of rackets from the Gyokurin pair. Ann-chan ran up to apologize only to be hit on the head by the dunk smasher. I smirked when I saw Kamio-san getting annoyed at Momo-senpai's closeness to her. They got ready to play except, the grey haired guy sat while letting his friend take all the shots. I frowned at their play style. "Che, that guy's too full in his head, letting his friend take all the shots."
When I saw the chance ball, I smirked. "Go, Momo-senpai!!" My eyes widened when I saw the huge guy return it, almost hitting the dunk smasher. I smiled when I saw him return the ball with a drop shot. "Stop, Kabaji." I frowned as the huge guy stopped when he could've returned the ball. I heard them ask for each other's names. "Hyoutei Gakuen's senior, Atobe Keigo." The guy, Atobe, walked up to me and grabbed my chin. "What's yours?" "Echi-um, Ootori Kaede." If he ever found out that I'm in Seigaku, I'm doomed. He grabbed a lock of my hair and smiled. "What a pretty name for a pretty girl." He then kissed it, making me blush like a total girl. Atobe Keigo smirked and walked away with his friend in tow.
"Rio-chan, why did you give him a false name?" Ann-chan asked. "I didn't want him to know I go to Seigaku. Plus, I don't like him, I hope…" I felt someone glaring at me from behind. I turned and saw Momo-senpai was the one glaring at me. "Don't ever say that you'll like that guy. You're worth more." I raised an eyebrow. "Like you, senpai?" He gave me a shocked look. "No! These past few days, I realized that you're like a little sister to me." I smiled and hugged him. "Thank you senpai, now you can call me that stupid nickname." Momo-senpai grinned. "Hai, hai, Ririn-chan."
We both looked at Ann-chan arguing with Kamio-san. I elbowed my senpai. "You'll be beaten if you just stand there." He blushed making me smirk. "What are you talking about?" When we saw that Ann-chan won, Kamio-san, Momo-senpai, and I left and started walking to no specific place. "Hm, what was I forgetting…?" I wondered out loud. They both looked at me. I looked back at them and finally remembered. "Ah, Kaido-senpai was supposed to meet me at the courts!" We then heard a commotion and saw Kikumaru-senpai running towards us. "Momo, who has the best reflexes in Seigaku again?!" "Eh?!"
I stepped away from my arguing senpais and looked at my surroundings. I saw Kaido-senpai, looking all dirty, chasing Kawamura-senpai who was holding the thief; Ryoma who was holding the bag with the grip tape; Ibu-san doing his habit: mumbling to himself; and the trio just staring at the scene. I then saw the police with the lady who was robbed running towards us. I walked up to Ryoma. "Let's go?" He nodded, got his bag and followed me out of the mess.
Normal POV
"Regulars, gather around," Tezuka bellowed. "There are nine days before the prefectural tournament begins. From today on, we'll have practice with a special menu. A rally match with limitations to where the ball can land, also known as 'Zone Practice.'"
"Eh, sounds interesting." Eiji commented. Inui stepped in. "The differences between everyone's play styles are as follows:
"Counter Puncher, who stays at the baseline and waits for the opponent's misses with stable strokes: Kaido, Fuji, Oishi.
"Aggressive Baseliner, who also stays at the baseline but fiercely attacks: Kawamura, Momoshiro.
"Serve & Volley, who has talents in both speed and reflexes centered on net play: Kikumaru.
"All-Rounder, who uses different techniques in order to maximize their overall strength: Tezuka, Echizen Twins."
The Data Specialist took out a stick and started pointing at the board behind him. "This time, the counter puncher and the serve & volley, meaning Oishi, Fuji, Kaido and Kikumaru," He pointed at the side where it is fully shaded. "They will guard the entire shaded part of their court." He then moved down to the side where only half the court is shaded in. "Aggressive baseliner and all-rounder – Kawamura, Momoshiro, Tezuka and the twins, they will attack using only half of theirs. A 5-rally match; the players on defense must only return to the shaded part. If you hit outside the shaded part, you lose. As for the attacking players, you will lose if you can't score a point during the 5 rallies."
Ryoma stepped up. "All in all, us attackers just need to score a point within 5 rallies, right?"
"Correct."
Oishi put his finger up. "On the other hand, the defenders win if they don't lose a point in the rallies, right?"
"Yes!"
Light then shined on Inui's glasses. "On top of that, the loser has to drink Inui's special vegetable juice."
Everyone froze, especially Eiji, Kaido, and Rio. They all remembered their past experiences with the disgusting juice. "Ok, start practicing now!" Tezuka yelled, shaking everyone from their thoughts. "Wait, we have uneven players," Oishi stated. Inui smirked. "I've taken care of that. Echizen Rio will have to play me since I'm also serve & volley."
"First match: Kawamura vs Kaido."
"It's a hard combination isn't it?" Katsuo exclaimed. "It's a match between power and breaking balls." Horio noted.
"I'd be unfair to let either side serve so I'll start it off." Inui said with a racket and ball in hand. Kawamura then started to get Kaido in a bad mood. "Don't worry, Kaido-senpai! You can do it!" Rio yelled. Everyone looked at her weirdly. She noticed them and weakly smiled. "Here I go!" Everyone then turned their attention back to the match.
"Kaido-senpai's being pushed back by Kawamura-senpai," Rio said as she saw her senpai do a weird shot. "Kaido no Boomerang Snake!" She titled her head, saying that she's confused. "Oh yea, you were with Taka-san when he did that move against Fudomine." The cross dresser understood and turned her head to see her viper senpai drinking the weird green juice. She gasped when Kaido fainted as soon as he ran out of the court. "Whoa…" She glanced up at her tall senpai. 'I won't lose to him!'
Everyone watched as the game between Momoshiro and Oishi commenced. It was quickly over when Momo did his specialty: Dunk Smash. Oishi tried to return it, only to have his racket out of his hands. He praised Momo for his growing strength but Inui stood behind him, with a glass of his juice in hand. Oishi yelled and started running. He ran towards the box filled with the regulars' drinking bottles. He tripped and lost consciousness. Rio ran towards the Seigaku hen and tried to wake him up. Eiji followed and helped her.
Everyone was at awe at the unbelievably fast game between Fuji Syuusuke and Tezuka Kunimitsu. 'Zero Shiki Drop Shot…' Rio thought as she stared wide-eyes at her buchou. "Shame, it'd have been funny to see buchou drink Inui-senpai's juice." Momo whispered to Ryoma. At the same time, Tezuka turned his head to stare at Momo, who stiffened when he felt Tezuka's stare. Rio stared at Inui as he poured water in a cup rather than the usual green alien juice. The Data Specialist saw that he had Tezuka's bottle and looked at the said person who was already drinking from Inui's bottle.
The regulars stared wide eyed at the brave captain, with Inui waiting for his reaction. "What are you staring at? Hurry and start the next match." That shocked everyone. "Unexpectedly, he seems ok…" Kawamura said. "He must have some tough nerves, I guess…" Momo said. Rio kept staring at her captain with determination in her eyes. When she saw him twitch his arms, she tried to stifle a laugh. "Rio, 10 laps around the courts."
"Eh?" She sighed as she started running. "Nya, Rio-chan, why are you running?" Eiji asked. "Buchou got angry that I laughed at him." When she was done running, she saw her twin running towards the ball cart and Inui. "Watch out, Ryoma!" Ryoma smirked. "Ne, Nii-san, remember when you did that shot? Well, I've always wanted to try it!" Ryoma then hit the ball between his legs. "Acrobatic?! And that's a super hard shot too!" Somehow, Eiji was able to return it and Ryoma was done with his 5 rallies. The female twin shook her head as Ryoma started running to the faucets.
Echizen Rio gulped as she walked up to the net and shake hands with her tall senpai. "I will never drink that Golden Remix whatever it is!!" Inui smirked and adjusted his glasses for it to glint in the sunlight. "We'll see about that, Echizen-ani*," Rio sweatdropped. "You know you could just call me Rio, right?" The Data Specialist just ignored her and stood in between the baseline and service line. She shrugged as she also stood in between the baseline and service line. "Go!" Oishi yelled as he served the ball towards Inui.
He hit a straight shot, letting Rio return it to the other side. "Ikkyuu," Inui chased after it and did a cross shot. The twin ran up to the net, making her play the entire side of her court, and volleyed it. "Nikyuu," he saw her move to the left and hit it to the right. Rio smirked as she did a no-hand back flip and twisted in the air whilst hitting a straight shot. "Huh?! I didn't know Rio could do acrobatics!" Momo exclaimed. "All of us didn't know he could do acrobatics." Fuji said with open eyes. "Wow, that's a really hard move!" Eiji exclaimed with interested eyes. "Sankyuu," Inui's glasses glistened as he returned the ball to the left. "Only two more, Ririn-chan!!" Rio glared at him. "Wakkatta yo**, Momo-senpai!" She said as she returned it to the center service line. Before Inui could return it, she stood center-front of the net and crouched low, below the net. Not knowing where to return the ball, he decided to hit it to the left. Rio leaped to the left and jump to come face-to-face with the ball. She twisted her body in a 360 degree spin whilst hitting the ball to the center. 'The ball should twist to the other side but it's not even full power. Inui-senpai could return that.' Everyone had wide eyes when they saw that shot. As predicted, Inui returned the ball as Rio landed on her feet. She turned and saw her senpai holding a cup of the brown Golden Power Remix Inui Juice. "Um…" She sweatdropped as Inui gave her the cup. When Rio drank it, she started running while holding her hat so her wig won't fall off.
"That was the worst juice ever!!" Rio exclaimed while walking out of school. "But, that shot you did was awesome!!" Momo exclaimed. "What's it called?" Rio was about to answer but her brother beat her to it. "Drive Twist."
"Wow, cool!!" Eiji glomped Rio, making her blush. 'I'm surprised Kikumaru-senpai hasn't felt that I have bumps on my chest.' Ryoma smirked, as if he read her thoughts. "Arigatou, senpai. I just made it, I think, last week?"
Before Eiji could say anything, they arrived at the Echizen Household. "We'll see you later!" Momo said as the twins got inside their house. When their senpais were out of sight, they smirked.
"Ashita***?"
"Ashita."
*Echizen-ani - age matters in Japan so twins sometimes go "Older Twin (name), Younger Twin (name)"
In this case, Inui was saying "Older Echizen"
**Wakkatta yo - um, that may be wrong. It may be "Wagatta yo" but ya, that's how I heard it. It means "I know that."
***Ashita - I think everyone at least knows this, if not, it means "Tomorrow" So the twins were asking, "Tomorrow?" "Yea, Tomorrow."
Ok well, that's how it is!!! One of my friends made (FORCED) me to update so I tried to update as fast as I can but the thing is, I was SUPER BUSY!!! But you all may think I live in the States (I used to) but I am currently living in Australia where I currently have school..... :(
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it!!!
Disclaimer: You all know that I don't own Prince of Tennis. If I did own it, I would be living in the US and Eiji would be mine *wink*