Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Prince of Tennis. Only the OC's in this fic and the ideas.
I am so upset with myself. I almost cried when I realized how long it's been since I last updated. I let you guys down and I'm REEEEEALY sorry. It's just that school started and then I had tennis and then I had all this crap to do. I barely have time to sleep let alone write a chapter but I finally finished it by somehow squeezing it in. I hope you guys like it as much as I had fun writing it. As usual:
PLEASE REVIEW!
"talking" thinking (Author's notes at the end)
Chaos With Some Love – Chapter 9: Amane's Power and Sakuno's Despair
"SEIGAKU!"
"Fight-o! Fight-o! Fight-o!"
"SEIGAKU!"
"Fight-o! Fight-o! Fight-o!"
"…..god those boys are so loud!"
"Sakura!"
"What! I can barely concentrate on my jump roping without their screechy voices banging around in my head" Sakura whined as she kept turning the rope.
The school day had ended as all the tennis players went into the courts and did their usual warm-ups. Everyone ran around the courts for about five minutes before the girls decided to break off and start jump roping. Ryuzaki-sensei had decided to come onto the courts and gather all the players. She waited until everyone was there before beginning.
"Tezuka told me that the regulars will be having matches. Seeing as you might not want to tire yourself, I dismiss practice to everyone else and will be taking my leave now. I'll leave everything up to you Tezuka."
"Hai, Ryuzaki-sensei."
"Good luck everyone."
"Arigatou gozaimasu!"
Tezuka turned around after she left to address the others. "After a five minute break, we will send three matches out at a time, two singles and one doubles match."
The group relaxed and headed out to their bags. As they were walking, Sakuno was wondering about something "Ne, Ami-buchou. Are we still going with the same line-up?"
"Yes Sakuno. We will probably change it for the Mixed Nationals though. Usio's already forming some ideas."
"But it's not perfect. I still need a lot of time and some practice too. But I don't think I'm going to change it around that much."
"Oi Ami! Can we get going already? The boys are ready and my muscles are going to start to constrict if we don't start soon!"
"We're coming Sakura."
As they were walking, Ami glanced over at Sakuno, who was towards the end of the group. She was looking off into the distance and Ami knew what was going through her head. She had seen the determination in Sakuno's eyes when she found out that the line-up would be the same. But it was too soon for Sakuno so Ami pulled aside Usio and Tezuka to discuss it. I'm sorry Sakuno. I know you're excited to play with that Echizen kid but it's time for you to see that there are other strong players out there. Please forgive me.
Tezuka stepped up when he realized that everyone was here. "Okay, we'll start off with singles three and four and doubles two. From our side, we will have Kawamura at singles four."
Usio spoke out to announce the lineup "We have Amane at singles four."
"EH! Amane-chan! No way!" Kikumaru looked like you had just spilled cold water on him. "That's crazy, putting someone like Amane against Taka-san. She'll be killed!"
"E-Eiji! I'm sure they have a reason for doing that."
Amane stepped forward and held her hand out to Kawamura. "Let's have a good match. And don't worry. I'll be fine." Kawamura shakily took her hand but realized he was just being stupid. They would never attempt a suicide match weeks before the Mixed Nationals.
"Alright. Doubles two. Inui, Kaidoh."
"Let's do this Kaidoh."
"Hai, sempai"
"Amu, it's the two of us."
"Cool. We got this Usio."
As the four shook hands, Tezuka spoke. "As for singles three, I'm going to be playing." Silence range through the crowd. No one knew how to respond. One lone girl started to shake a little bit.
"Sakuno. You're up."
"H-hai U-Usio-sempai. Let's have a good match Tezuka-buchou"
Tezuka gave a quick nod and swiftly shook Sakuno's hand before striding to the courts.
"Hurry up you guys. Singles four will be on block A, doubles two takes block B, and singles three will take block C. Dismissed."
Everyone who would be playing grabbed their stuff and walked to their assigned blocks. They gave each other a silent good-luck before getting in position. Everyone else stood by block A.
"So where should we go first?" Kikumaru asked, putting his hands behind his head and bouncing on the heels of his feet. Ami started heading towards block B.
"Well I'm going to watch Amu and Usio's match. Just go where you want to."
"I'm going to go with Suzuki-san."
"I'll go with you Fuji-sempai."
"Alright Echizen."
As those three headed out, Sakura looked around at the remaining people. "Well, I guess we're off to Amane-chi's match."
As they walked, Taki's eyes wandered to block C. I hope you're alright Sakuno. Just try your best okay.
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"Best of one set match. Inui to serve." Inui looked up, noting the position of both players. Amu is receiving first and seems to be standing a bit farther than usual. She knows when she's in a tough match and knows better than to underestimate anyone like Inui or Kaidoh. She wasn't taking any chances.
Inui did some quick mental calculations and served a seemingly normal serve, but Usio saw right through it and shouted to Amu.
"Amu, come up! It's a slice serve and it's going to bounce back!"
At that, Amu bolted towards the ball, scooping under it to have it barely go over the net. Kaidoh did a quick poach and volleyed the ball behind Amu and deep towards the baseline, seeing as though there was no one to cover that area. All of a sudden, Amu switched sides and Usio was at the baseline. It looked like Usio was receiving the serve and Ami was at the net. Usio hit the ball towards Kaidoh's backhand, knowing he would try to poach again and try to hit it. She wasn't disappointed. But it was weak and shallow so Amu took this opportunity to volley the ball towards the alley on the other side of Kaidoh.
Ryoma blinked.
"Wow. Suzuki-chan and Watanabe-san have really nice teamwork. Watanabe-san hit the ball towards Kaidoh because she knew he would hit a bad volley from that position, giving Suzuki-chan a change to attack." Fuji commented.
"Yeah those two know each other really well. Usio knows about Amu a little too well though." Ami said.
Inui wasn't going to let them get the point so soon. He lobbed the ball high over Amu's head and towards the corner. Amu switched over once more and let Usio get the ball. She barely got it and tried to hit it towards the area between Kaidoh and Inui but as soon as she thought about it, Inui caught the ball in the air and returned it in the other corner, ending the first point.
"15 – love"
All four players gave out a small sigh.
This is going to be a long match.
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"But, I feel bad about Amane-chan. Having to go against Taka-san. Ne, Oishi?" Kikumaru said as they walked to the court.
"Sou dane (1). Are you really sure about this Kobayashi-san?"
"Sakura."
"Huh?'
"Call me Sakura. Kobayashi-san is too formal. And don't worry about my sis (2). She'll be fine. She's a lot tougher than she looks."
"Sempai-tachi please hurry. Amane-sempai's match is about to begin." Kiki called from a few feet in front of them.
"Kiki-chan's right. Let's go."
Everyone scrambles to the court just to see Amane start her serve. It may seem like a normal serve but Sakura knew better. Kawamura hit the ball feeling the little extra force put on it. Thinking nothing of it, he returned the ball easily. Amane returned the ball just as easily. Again, Kawamura felt a bit more power than the ball before. Confused, he hit the ball back over the net.
Oh, I see what she's doing. She's adding her power to it little by little so that she doesn't wear herself out and get tired later on in the match.
Amane started to get a little frustrated that Kawamura was not playing seriously so she hit the ball harder. Kawamura immediately felt the weight and knew that this girl was strong.
"Ne Kawamura-san. Please play seriously or else it's not fun at all." With this, Amane visibly put more force on the ball and gave a little grunt from the exertion. Seeing as how Kawamura was not paying full attention, the ball didn't hit the gut (3) of the racket and ended up going into the net.
"Usso (4)! I can't believe Amane-chan is that strong! Why is she that strong?"
"Well Eiji-kun, it's because Amane-chi knows karate." Sakura said.
"Karate"
"Yes Oishi-sempai. She's been learning karate ever since she was a little girl. She's a black belt and is now good enough that she can teach at one of the local karate schools." Kiki said, looking awed as she watched Amane serve again.
Taki spoke up as well. "Not only that, she knows Judo, Tai-kwon-do, Martial Arts and a little bit of boxing. She is, what you would call, the powerhouse of our team."
Kikumaru blew a low whistle, "That's…..well that's amazing!"
"Game Kobayashi. 1 game to love. Switch sides."
"You really are amazing Amane-san. But don't think I'm going to let you win. I'm just going to start getting serious so get ready."
"I would want it any other way Kawamura-san."
Kawamura threw the ball up in the air. The racket came down fast and hard. Oishi's eyes widened slightly. "Burning Serve?! Taka-san must really be serious." Amane ran for the serve and barely made it over the net before Kawamura dashed towards the net and volleyed the ball to the other side. Amane looked towards the ball as if scolding it for going the other way.
"You planned that didn't you?"
"And there's more where that came from."
"Bring it on."
As they started another rally, Kikumaru turned towards Sakura. "Doesn't Amane-chan seem more enthusiastic and forceful than she usually is?"
"Yeah. She tends to get like that on the courts. Especially when she thinks the opponent is really strong or when she is starting to get pressured."
"Game Kawamura, 1 game to all"
"Go Taka-san! YOU CAN DO THIS!"
"COME ON AMANE! DON'T LET THIS BOY BEAT YOU!"
"DON'T YOU DARE LOSE TO A GIRL TAKA-SAN!"
"YOU ARE BETTER THAN HIM AMANE!"
Amane's eyes started to twitch dangerously. Kawamura backed up a little, afraid of what was going to happen.
"SHUT UP SAKURA, KIKUMARU! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATCH!"
Kikumaru and Sakura started to cling to each other and shake violently. "Y-yes m'am. I-it won't h-happen again." Oishi and Kiki just sighed while Taki went over and hit them upside their heads.
"Sorry about that Kawamura-san. Let's go back to the match."
"H-hai…."
Amane took the ball and started her serve again. Their rallies kept going back and forth, neither side relenting on their grasp.
"Game Kobayashi. 5 games to 4. Switch courts."
Amane grabbed her water bottle and took a nice long sip. She got her towel and wiped her face and neck before heading out. Kawamura stepped out as well.
I can't afford to lose this game. I'm going to have to use Hadoukyuu
As Kawamura served, he lessened his power on the ball just a tad to be able to control it and hit it in the far corner of the service box. This caught Amane off guard a bit as she was expecting the Burning Serve. Nonetheless she still got the ball and returned it.
What is Kawamura-san thinking? Giving me a serve like that. He must have a plan. Just as she thought that, she looked up surprised to see Kawamura in the familiar one-handed Hadoukyuu pose.
Oishi gripped the fence tightly between his fingers. "Don't do it Taka-san! You're just going to put more strain on your arm!"
Everyone else just watched in horror as the move went on as planned. Amane though smile lightly. As soon as the ball hit the racket, Amane was off and running.
"HADOUKYUU!"
The ball went flying and headed straight for Amane. Sakura's eyes widened as she realized what Amane was planning. "Wait Amane! You don't even know if it'll work for the Hadoukyuu."
"She's right Amane-sempai!" Kiki yelled, but Taki smiled and shushed the other two.
"But Taki-sempai-"
"It's okay Kiki. Amane knows what she's doing."
Kiki quieted down but she knew that even Taki was worried. With this, she turned back to the match.
The ball started to descend to the ground just a bit. Just inches before it hit the ground, Amane scooped up the ball and sent it flying over the net. It looked as though it would hit the service line so Kawamura stayed on the baseline. All of a sudden, the ball suddenly curved to a great extent and dropped down about 3 inches from the net.
Kikumaru's mouth gaped as he tried to form words. "W-w-what….was that?! It looked like Echizen's Drive B but to a much lower extent!"
A voice came from the shadows behind them. "No, Kikumaru-sempai. Amane-sempai's move is very different from Ryoma-kun's Drive B."
The group turned around to see Sakuno with her hands behind her back holding onto her racket. She had a sober look on her face that no one missed.
"When did you get here Sakuno?"
"Around 3 games to all, Kiki-sempai."
"Sakuno how did it-"
"It was alright Taki-sempai."
A brief silence followed before Oishi questioned what Sakuno said before. "But Sakuno-san, what do you mean it's not like Echizen's Drive B?"
Taki stopped Sakuno from replying, "I'll answer this. You see, from learning all those sports, Amane's strength is higher than normal for a girl. Because of this, she is able to take a ball that is just about to touch the ground and add enough spin so that it would create a huge curve just by the net."
"That's why it's different from Ryoma-kun's Drive B because he catches the ball on the fall not just above the ground like Amane-sempai. His ball doesn't have nearly enough spin to drop sharply like hers."
"That's why this move is called-"
"Uppercut"
Kawamura blinked just to make sure he heard right. "Yes Kawamura-san, you heard right. I said Uppercut. I was practicing karate one day with my coach when I hit a uppercut to a board he was holding. The board dropped so suddenly that I wondered if I could make a move out of it."
"That's really cool Amane-san. But it's not going to be enough now that I know how it goes."
"We'll just see about that."
Kawamura served once more to the corner and Amane hit it back. Kawamura hit a short ball and Amane prepared to hit the Uppercut. Seeing this, Kawamura ran to the net expecting the ball to just drop right by the net. All of a sudden, the ball went over his head and dropped right behind him. Shocked, Kawamura looked up to see Amane grinning broadly.
"How did you-"
"I can control the spin to make it right by the net or right behind you." And with that, Amane won the next two points using Uppercut as well.
"Game, Set, Match, Kobayashi, 6-4."
Sakura ran onto the courts to hug Amane tightly around the neck. "Great match Amane-chi"
"Yeah. Great job Amane."
"Arigatou Sakura, Taki"
"Sakura-sempai, you might want to let Amane-sempai go. She's turning blue."
"AH! SORRY AMANE-CHI!" Amane took a deep breath when Sakura let her go, returning her face to the normal color.
"It's fine Sakura. Arigatou-Kiki-chan."
"Amane-san, great job. You too Taka-san." Amane and Kawamura looked over to see Oishi, Kikumaru and Sakuno coming towards the four of them. "Yeah yeah! Oishi is right! It was fantastic-nya!" Kikumaru latched onto Kawamura. "Guess this means you are going to have to get a lot stronger Taka-san."
"Eiji! That's rude!"
"No, Oishi. It's alright. It's true after all. But I'm glad that Amane-san is just as strong as I am. That way, I can't rest and I have to keep getting stronger."
"Atta boy Taka-san! That's a great way to look at thing. I'm so proud of you!" Kikumaru cried, hugging Kawamura some more.
"A-ah…"
Sakuno spoke up right as Sakura was going to say something. "We should probably head to Amu-sempai and Usio-sempai's match. Ami-buchou would not like it if we don't come as soon as we can."
"You're right Sakuno. Let's go everyone."
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"Game Inui-Kaidoh pair, 3-all"
"No way!" Kikumaru screamed. "How are they only this far into the game?"
Ami, Fuji, Ryoma and Tezuka turned around as everyone joined together at the fence.
"How'd it go Taka-san?"
"I lost 4-6. But it was a good match."
"Saa, you lost? Now that's quite unexpected."
"Apparently she knows karate, ju-do, tai-kwon-do, martial arts and a bit of boxing. Black belt in all of them."
Fuji's smile widened dangerously, "Now that's very unexpected. But well done anyway."
"Oi. You may want to watch this match right now. It's starting to get really interesting."
Kaidoh served as Usio returned the ball towards Inui, watching his movements at the net really carefully. All of a sudden, Usio cried out to Amu
"Amu, switch! I'll get it!"
Amu slid over to the other side of the court while the ball Inui hit went right where Amu was standing not two seconds ago. In place of Amu, Usio was preparing to use a backhand and hit it between the space that Kaidoh and Inui left behind. Both players obviously looked shocked. Usio, Amu, and Ami smirked while the other girls smiled knowingly.
Kikumaru's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "What did Usio-chan just do?"
"Well, it's hard to explain." Ami started to say, leaning on her left foot. "Usio was born with this abnormal defect in her eyes. It wasn't anything serious so the doctors paid no attention to it. This defect allows her to see minute details in about everything she sees. Even when she goes to the doctors to get her eyes checked up on, she can read even the smallest letters on the board. In this case, Usio can see the way Inui's arm muscles contracted and relaxed allowing her to figure out which way the ball is going and how deep it is. That's why surprise attacks never work on her."
Everyone was speechless as they kept watching the mysterious pairs.
"Game Suzuki-Watanabe pair, 4-3"
The two pairs switched sides and got ready for Usio's serve. Inui returned the ball right towards Amu. But she sidestepped quickly and hit it right towards Kaidoh who volleyed the ball right by Usio's feet. Usio barely scooped the ball and sent it into a low lob which was easily smashed by Kaidoh, ending the point. Ami sighed at that last point before leaning into the fence.
"Hey Amu, focus on the game will ya. This should be nothing for you." Everyone looked at Ami strangely, wondering what she was talking about.
"I know Ami, I know. It's just that…"
"She's right you know. It's time that you play seriously." Usio also said.
"…I know Usio." Amu said after a short pause.
Kawamura looked over at Ami, confusion written all over his face. "What does she mean by play seriously Ami-san?"
Ami looked towards Amu with a burdened look. "Amu tends to not take anything seriously. She's not a genius. Heck she's anything but that. If anything, I'm the genius between the two of us." She sighed softly before continuing "But Amu, she works the hardest. She's always practicing and trying to be the best. But because of our mother, she never tries to be the best anymore and she never works hard anymore. She's content with just getting by."
Fuji gazed at Amu with a new understanding. Something always bothered him whenever he looked at her. She would seem happy on the outside but he could read her eyes as plain as day and he would see so much sadness and desperation that he would shiver to the core. He would always get mad thinking that someone as sweet and innocent as Amu carries a burden so hard that it reflects in her eyes. He feels compelled to protect her innocence and is drawn by her natural charm. Of course, teasing her is a whole different matter.
"What did you mother do to her, if I may ask."
Anger and pain flashed through Ami's eyes before disappearing. "You guys should know that Ami and I were love children"
"What!" Kikumaru and Sakura gaped openly while gasps ran throughout the group. Amu spun around violently towards Ami.
"Ami! What are you doing?!"
"No Amu. They need to know." Amu looked at Ami, seeming as though she was going to cry. She turned around and hissed with anger. "Fine. Do whatever you want." Amu returned to the bench with Usio, while Inui and Kaidoh listened in on the conversation.
"Our mother and father met at a night club. They didn't fall in love at first sight or anything like that but they did start seeing each other afterwards. A week later, our mom found out she was pregnant and told our dad. They were upset about it because they were going to break up the next day. But because of us, our dad stayed with our mom until we were born. Afterwards, our dad took me and our mom took Amu."
"But that means you guys were separated." Amane looked pained as she imaged a life without Sakura. "That's awful!"
"We ended up seeing each other when we were six. Before we were born though, our mom was a heavy drinker. She stopped when she was pregnant with us but started again when she had to take care of Amu."
Kikumaru grimaced a bit before asking "She never... abused Amu-chan did she?"
Ami shook her head quickly "No nothing like that. But she did ignore her. When Amu entered school, she tried so hard to be top of the class and when she tried to tell our mom, she ignored her and never even congratulated her. Amu was crushed and felt defeated so she just stopped trying. It was towards the end of first grade when our mother committed suicide, leaving Amu in the custody of our father. But he died when we were in fifth grade because of a fire accident. We were at school and he was at work when his work building got caught on fire from an explosion in the kitchen on the first floor. Our dad was on the top floor and there was no chance of him surviving."
Taki looked sympathetically towards the two twins "That's just devastating"
"Wait," Kiki interrupted "I thought you had an older brother? Touya-san, if I'm not mistaken"
"Oh yeah. A few years before we were born, my dad had adopted our older brother. But he was sent to a boarding school and barely came home. He was just ending his bachelor's degree when our dad died. He should be 28 right now."
Kikumaru looked up "Hey! My sister, Karin, is that age! And apparently she's recently been going out with a guy with that name too!" Ami looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Are you stupid or something? The guy your sister is going out with is our brother baka!" Kikumaru's eyes widened as everyone else sighed.
"Hey Ami! It might be best if you kept quiet so we could get back to our match now." Ami turned around to see Amu throwing daggers at her (imaginary of course. This rating for this fic is not high enough for real daggers) . Ami shivered involuntarily and cowered behind Taki "Oh she is really mad….My god! She can be so scary when she wants to be!"
Taki laughed as she looked behind her at Ami, "She's not that scary." Ami looked incredulously up at her.
"Not that scary! She's throwing imaginary daggers at me with her eyes!" Amane looked over at Amu before nervously turning back to Ami.
"She might throw real daggers if you don't pay attention right now." Ami gulped before turning to Amu with a pleading expression on her face.
"Oh Amu please don't kill me! I still haven't had that strawberry-vanilla-chocolate ice cream combo we have at home!" Everyone sweat dropped as Amu rubbed her temples.
"Sorry about that Inui-san, Kaidoh-kun. Let's get back to the match. Sorry Usio."
"It's okay. I get it Amu."
"Watanabe-sempai, you knew all along?" Kaidoh asked.
"Of course. I've known the twins since second grade."
"I see. That would explain why you guys are always together." said Inui.
"Let's just get back to the match."
"So starting from Watanabe's serve. 4-3. Love-15." Usio served once again and kept directing Amu which ways to go based on the muscle movement while Inui and Kaidoh tried to guard themselves against it.
"Game Suzuki-Watanabe pair, 5-3."
"Come on Amu-chan, Usio-chan!"
"You can do it Kaidoh, Inui!"
"Game Inui-Kaidoh pair, 4-5"
"That's the way to go you two!"
"You guys still have the lead! You got this!"
"Game Inui-Kaidoh par, 5-all."
"Atta boys! This is the time to bring it all around.
"What's wrong you two? Get the pace right back to your side!"
"Game Suzuki-Watanabe pari, 6-5."
"That's the way to go! One more!"
"You two can still bring it around!"
All four players switched sides and caught their breath while their teammates cheered them on. Ami looked especially troubled as she assessed the situation.
This is really bad. I know we are all out of breath but Kaidoh-kun's Snake and Boomerang Snake are taking out a lot more of our energy. We just can't keep doing this. The longer the match, the bigger advantage they have. I guess I'm going to have to get serious after all.
"Oi Usio. Back me up will ya." Usio looked up in surprise.
"You don't mean you're going to use that are you?"
"What else would I mean" Amu looked at Usio in confusion as she shook her head side to side.
"No, I'm just glad that you're actually going to get serious right now." Usio smiled lightly before going to start her serve. Amu watched with puzzlement before smiling as well and getting in place.
Kaidoh's eyes widened slightly before looking at his partner, "Inui-sempai, that's the-"
"Yes Kaidoh. It's the Australian Formation." Inui wasn't wrong as he watched Amu go in front of Usio right by the net and crouch really low. "I don't know why they're doing this though. We know all of the weaknesses because of practice with Kikumaru and Oishi. What are they thinking?"
As Usio served, Inui waited until he saw Amu move to the left and Usio to the right (in his perspective). He waited for the perfect chance before hitting the ball to the far back left corner, the one blind spot of the formation.
A second passed by while Kaidoh's and Inui's eyes widened when they saw Amu in the back left corner while Usio was up at the net. What was really surprising was that Amu's racket was so far down that it touched the ground. It looked almost like Oishi's Moon Volley.
Amu then hit a super high lob that went so high up that it disappeared for a while. She ended with her racket sticking straight up in the air and her eyes closed. Inui and Kaidoh looked up frantically trying to search for the ball.
Outside of the court, Ryoma's eyes widened while Kikumaru paled. Oishi looked at them worriedly, "What's wrong Echizen, Eiji?"
Kikumaru's mouth flopped open but now words came out so Ryoma answered for both of them "Just look at what's about to happen and you'll know why" Meanwhile, the girls shared a meaningful look within their group.
Usio smiled at the sky while Amu still had her arm raised and eyes closed as she said out loud "Haru, Sakura no Mai (5)."
All of a sudden, dozens of balls fell from the sky as though it was sakura petals coming down from the tree. Kaidoh and Inui gazed on in bewilderment when the last of the balls disappeared while the real one glided across the court right in between both boys. Silence rained throughout the courts as they thought about what they just saw while Fuji's eyes opened to reveal his shocked and mesmerized blue orbs.
"What was that, Suzuki-san?"
"That Fuji was one of Amu's four special moves, Sakura no Mai."
Oishi held a thinking pose "Wait. You said four special moves. Does that mean there's three more? And what connection do they have to one another?"
Amane smiled lightly "You are right Oishi-san. Amu's four moves connect in the way she names them and the nature of the moves."
Kikumaru moved his head to the side in confusion "Names? Nature of the moves? What does that have to do with anything?"
Taki chuckled at Kikumaru's confused expression before answering him "If you noticed, Amu said that her move 'Haru, Sakura no Mai'. The first part of the name explains the four moves part. She has a move for each season of the year. This one happens to be Spring."
"Oh! Well that explains the names part but I still don't get the nature of the moves."
"It's just that whatever the season happens to be, the move has something to do with that season. In this case, we know that the Sakura petals bloom during the Spring so she made it seem like it was raining Sakura petals on the court. Simple and beautiful but deadly. Just like Amu herself."
Everyone smiled at the comparison but Fuji's smile seemed to be keeping somewhat of a secret. He closed his eyes once more before muttering something so softly that almost no one could hear it, "That wasn't what I was asking about but I guess it will have to do." Unfortunately for Fuji, Ami heard everything he said and stared at him weirdly before facing forward again.
Amu, he's figuring out all of your tricks one by one and it'll just be a matter of time before he figures out the puzzle. Please be careful so that you don't get hurt.
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"Game, Set, Match, Suzuki-Watanabe pair 7-5"
"YATTA (6)!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs and dashed straight for Amu and Usio, almost tackling them over if Kiki hadn't restrained her. Ecstatic as Sakura was, she calmed herself down so not to injure the two players. Everyone gathered around the two doubles teams to congratulate them on their hard work.
"That was an excellent match you two. You should be so proud!" Amane congratulated them when they came out of the courts, giving the both of the girls a huge hug.
"Amane's right. I really enjoyed watching it." Taki stepped up with the rest of the girls right behind her.
"Thank you Amane, Taki." Amu smiled at the both of them warmly, acting like her old self again. She felt troubled when she started playing her tennis again, like she couldn't control herself. She was just glad that at least Usio was there to help calm her down.
"GREATO! NICE MATCH!" The girls looked over to see Kawamura with a racket in his hands, yelling at the top of his lungs while Kikumaru lunged at Kaidoh.
"Nya! He's so right! Great job Kaidoh, Inui!"
"A-Arigatou gozaimasu Kawamura-sempai, Kikumaru-sempai" Kaidoh managed to choke out between breaths. He felt a bit of satisfaction when Kikumaru jumped off of him and onto Inui. But then he was disgusted when Inui fed off Kikumaru with a pitcher of Inui juice. Fuji smiled at him and Inui while Tezuka nodded his approval.
Fuji broke away from the guys to go speak to the girls "You too. Very nice job. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
When Amu felt his eyes on her, she looked up to see his clear blue eyes staring right back at hers. For Amu, time froze instantly as she felt his searching eyes roaming all over her body, peeling away at every layer of protection she put over herself. As she stood before him, she felt as if she was without all of her clothes, nothing stopping Fuji from seeing every secret that she hid. Terrified beyond belief, Amu quickly looked down as her heart started beating faster and faster. Hoping that he didn't notice anything, she strained a smile back at Fuji, "T-Thank you F-Fuji-san."
Fuji obviously saw something mysterious hidden in her eyes. Was that fear? Either which way, he knew something was wrong. Whenever he got too close, she would make some excuse to get away and when he finally thought he was close enough to be trusted, she would sprint ahead, leaving him in the dust. And now she wouldn't even look him in the eyes.
Usio felt Amu tense up behind her and witnessed the exchange between her and Fuji. She saw the fear in her eyes and the questions and hurt in his eyes. But as soon as it was there, it was gone. Of course, she knew she didn't imagine it and felt concern flood through her body for her best friend. As she looked over at the other twin, Usio saw concern, dread, and pain running across Ami's face. But, Usio knew that she couldn't interfere. It was something that they had to deal with themselves or they just couldn't grow up. She could only protect them from everything else that wants to hurt them. Usio sighed and smiled softly, looking protectively over Ami and Amu.
What troublesome twins they are
I am the worst. If you guys want to come to my house and hurt me for not updating soon, by all means go ahead. I even want you to. I feel SO bad for not updating. But this time I promise that I will get the next chapter up in less than half the time. I even have most of the idea down. I just have to write it out and add the dialogue.
I really enjoyed this chapter because I felt I brought some depth into Amu and Usio with a little on Ami. I hope that this time the characters don't seem like carbon copies of the boys (which in the beginning it was I admit it) but I really hope that they have their own personality now.
I also really hope that Amu doesn't seem like a Mary Sue because I just wanted to show how much pain she's been through and that is why she has so many secrets. Her true personality is so much more than that. Fuji's going to have a tough time bringing that out.
As usual, REVIEW! PLEASE! Comments, criticism, flames, "nice job"s, anything is fine just give me something to work off of. The more you review, the greater my motivation is to update faster. It's all for you benefit so just hit the review button please.
Sou dane – Yeah, that's right (a round translation)
Just to clear some stuff up, Sakura and Amane are actually cousins (Their fathers are brothers). But because of certain complications, Amane and her mom live with Sakura and her dad. They keep the Kobayashi name so Sakura seems that it's appropriate to call Amane her "sister". This doesn't mean that they actually are sisters.
Gut of the racket – Middle of the racket. This is where the ball should be hit to have a nice smooth shot with spin on it.
Usso – No way
Haru, Sakura no Mai – Spring, Sakura's Dance
Yatta – Yay/Yes