It's been a while. (dodges flying objects) I'm very sorry for the delay, but the pendrive where i stored my fanfiction disappeared, leaving me with no draft and no initiative to rewrite the chapter. But finally I have decided to continue this story. It will become my current priority!
Anyway, for now, hope you enjoy the chapter! We are back on the Seigaku tennis courts this time!
Buchou (Captain)
It was a typical day at the Seigaku tennis courts. Well, actually, it wasn't normal.
"Why are there scouts everywhere?" wailed Suzume as she walked with Michiko towards the courts for that afternoon's practice.
"You shouldn't be so surprised. After all it's the first time we've qualified for the Nationals in a while. Naturally, everyone would want to find out more about an expected rival," answered Michiko, taking in all the abnormalities around them. Some stood out like a sore thumb, but others were at least more subtle.
"Well, they'll be disappointed, then, since Sumiko-buchou and the other second-years have extra classes today," continued Suzume. "So what should we do with the trespassers, Wakana-sempai?"
"We throw them off track."
A dark-haired girl sat concealed in a tree, watching the courts with a small smirk. Grinning, Reina straightened out her blue-white tennis dress and settled down to wait for the regulars to arrive.
Having changed into her old tennis dress, Suzume happily pointed out the 'Regulars' to any interested parties.
"And that's our buchou over there. Me? No, I'm just a regular first-year," said Suzume with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Anyone who had really paid attention during the previous match would be able to point her out as a 'first-year Regular' instead of a 'regular first-year', but obviously none of them had expected them to win.
Leaving the spies to their own speculation, Suzume skipped away happily in search of her next victim.
There was a rustling of leaves and a girl several years older than her dropped nimbly next to her from a tree. "Now, aren't you the cutest thing ever," said Reina, ruffling Suzume's hair playfully. "Chibi-Regular-chan?" That last part was whispered so that only Suzume could hear.
Suzume's eyes widened before narrowing as she glared suspiciously at the new arrival. "You're a spy, aren't you? How did you get hold of a Regulars' uniform?"
"You shouldn't call everyone you don't know a spy, chibi-chan," said Reina in a hurt tone. She suddenly grabbed Suzume's arm to drag her along. "Let's go back to the courts, shall we?"
"Hey, let go of me!" Suzume's protests fell on deaf ears.
The tennis courts were much emptier than before. Apparently the scouts had been scared off by Ryuuzaki-sensei, who was standing at the edge of the courts looking ready to breathe fire.
But there was still the matter of the girl at her side. "Hey, don't you want to leave before sensei sees you...?" Suzume's words died off as she took in Reina's dark expression. Suzume shivered slightly Luckily for her, that look was directed at the gaggle of girls clustered around the boys' courts.
"Leave them alone, and this happens. Typical," muttered Reina, storming forward.
Baffled, Suzume followed her.
"Everyone run ten laps!" bellowed Reina suddenly, making everyone within hearing distance jump. "And I want to hear the chant loud and clear, understand? Seniors can teach the new members! Get to it right now!"
The first-years stared at her unmovingly, but the older members were already on their feet after the initial shock, pulling their juniors along with them.
"...Seigaku, Fight-oh! Fight-oh! Fight!" they chorused, shooting wary glances at Reina.
"Louder! Arashi Airi, twenty laps for you!" Reina yelled before turning back to a wide-eyed Suzume. "Oh, I've wanted to do that for a long time. That felt good."
"Who are you?" wondered Suzume in awe as Reina waved cheerfully at Ryuuzaki-sensei.
The sound of footsteps heralded the arrival of the second-years. The Regulars followed Sumiko's lead to approach Reina and Suzume. The other members huddled together and kept their distance, their eyes moving between Reina and the running members.
"It's been a while, Buchou. How you manage to do that is beyond me, I have to admit," said Sumiko with a wry smile as she watched the normally lazy girls run laps as if their lives depended on it.
Reina laughed lightly. "You need to find your own way, Sumiko. Anyway, I watched your last match against Fudomine. All of you did well. I look forward to the Finals."
"Ne, Sumiko-buchou, who is this?" interrupted Suzume, still confused.
"Oh, you haven't met her before, have you? Suzume, meet Kiwami Reina, our previous captain. Buchou, this is our youngest Regular, Muranaka Suzume."
"Douzo Yorushiku!" said Suzume, bowing quickly.
"No need to be so formal, Suzume-chan," said Reina. "Anyway, it's not Buchou anymore, Sumiko. You need to get used to the title."
Sakuno squeezed through the crowd to see the reason for the hold-up. "What's going on?"
Reina waved her over with a smile. "Ah, Sakuno-chan. How is your practice coming along nowadays?"
"It's nice to see you again, Buchou!" Sakuno stammered out nervously. "I've been trying my best."
"Sakuno-chan has been improving a lot," contributed Sumiko. "She's also very observant when it comes to tennis. We've appointed her as our manager and she's been a great help."
"That's good. Keep up the good work, Sakuno-chan!" said Reina, smiling as Sakuno blushed.
"So what bring you here?" asked Sumiko as they moved onto the courts towards where Michiko was nonchalantly fiddling with her laptop.
"Syuusuke-kun brought me to see your recent match against Fudomine, which made me want to find out about how the team is doing nowadays." Reina rolled her eyes. "Whatever possessed me to hand over the captaincy to Arashi Airi? That was the worst decision ever. Michiko-chan, you should have just accepted the position when I offered it."
Michiko was unruffled by her senior's reproach. "Everything turned out fine anyway, didn't it?"
"So you're the vice-captain now? What made you change your mind?" asked Reina, sitting down on the bench next to Michiko. The Regulars grouped around them. Seeing a chance of escape, the other second-years moved as far away from them as possible while staying on the courts.
"I only have objections towards being the captain. However, I had no intention of being vice-captain under Arashi-san," answered Michiko, finally looking up from her research.
"I see... Not bad, Sumiko. The fact that Michiko is willing to help you is a pretty good sign of your leadership, I have to say. Now, why don't you introduce me to the Regulars? I can't recall all the names."
"Well, you know Wakana-sempai and Suzume. The second-years are Ume Natsumi, Sakurai Yuzuyu and Yuzuki, Karino Izumi and Hasegawa Tsuki."
Reina looked in surprise at Tsuki. "Hasegawa? Any relation with Hasegawa Tsubaki of Hyotei?"
"She's my elder sister," clarified Tsuki, surprised. "Buchou, you know her?"
"I went against her once. She's a talented player." Reina paused for a moment. "The Finals are between Seigaku and Hyotei, aren't they?"
"Yes." Tsuki's mouth was dry at the implication, but thankfully Reina left it at that.
"Today, I just came to look around. But after the Finals, I've made an agreement with Tezuka-kun for the girls' Regulars to join the boys during their extensive training program during the holiday. So I'll personally oversee your training, since you currently lack a trainer."
"Cool!" The girls looked at each other excitedly. They had often heard tales of the boys' special training, and now they were being given the chance to experience it themselves.
"I expect that same enthusiasm during the course of the training!"
"Hai, buchou!"
Finally, another chapter done! I've wanted to write about Reina for a while. Actually, Reina is an OC, but there is proof in the manga of a strict captain like her previously. During the chapter where a scout came to Seigaku, there was a short part featuring Sakuno during the tennis club training. The girls were running while chanting 'Seigaku, fight-oh!'. Thus I created Reina to fit that mould.
Note: I intend to add the pairings RyoSaku and SyuusukexReina in this fic. If anyone has any objections, do voice them out now. Don't worry, it doesn't mean this story is going to become a romance fic. The pairings are just additional decorations, so to say. (grin)
Review please! Tell me what you think of Reina and the pairings!
Next chapter: The Finals! Seigaku vs Hyotei!
