Disclaimers: I don't own prince of tennis. I only own my characters.
Prince of tennis © Takeshi Konomi
Can't Stop Thinking Of You © iSPAZZMACHiiN3
Bold is English.
Italics are used to emphasize something, or signify a flash back or lyrics to a song.
"Blah." Those quotes are used for talking.
'Blah.' Those are used for thing.
A/N: I've decided to rewrite my story, they're mostly the same, except probably better writen (Vocab choice, Syntax, etc.). Remember, I'm still editing my story, so later on if you see someone named Sosuke, that was Kunihimu's original name until I noticed the Tezuka family had a strange pattern of "Kuni" in the male's first name. Onomnomnom!~ I'm munching on the fluffiness of ryomaXhikari (:
C a n ' t S t o p T h i n k i n g O f Y o u
Chapter Ten : Preliminary Matches
Hikari walked down stairs after she finished showering, Kunihimu was eating his breakfast.
"Ohayo!" He smiled,
"Ohayo Hikari-chan. You have you're matches today, right?" Hikari nodded.
"Yup! I'm so excited." Kunihimu chuckled,
"Well come on, eat your breakfast. You can win the preliminaries on an empty stomach!"
Hikari wiped her mouth with a cloth and stood up,
"I'll be going now! Bye!" Hikari put on her shoes and grabbed her tennis bag.
"Good luck! " Hikari smiled and walked outside with a map in her hands.
- & -
'Hmm, so I go left then take a right turn at-'
"Ohayo, Hikari-chan." Hikari turned around to see Fuji,
"Fuji-senpai."
"Let's walk together." Hikari nodded and walked with Fuji,
"So are you ready for today Hikari-chan? " Hikari shook her head,
"I doubt I'm in the matches. So there's no need for me to get ready, how about you Fuji-senpai? I heard you were singles no.2"
"Don't count yourself out befor-" A red car honked and stopped besides them, the window rolled down,
"Syusuke, Need a ride." Fuji turned towards the car,
"Arigato, Nee-san." Hikari hesitantly got into the car,
"Syuusuke, You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend. " Hikari shook her and blushed,
"It's not what-" Fuji turned towards her with a funny looking facial expression, Hikari stopped and stared at him. Her lips twitched and she began laughing,
"F-Fuji-senpai, What are you doing? " Hearing those words, his sister grinned,
"Hey! Keep it PG back there. " Hikari stopped and looked at the driver,
"It's not like that!"
- & -
"Ryoma. Aren't you going to be late? " Ryoma's mom put some eggs on his plate,
"Seigaku is the first seed, so I can be late for one hour. Plus Momo-senpai is picking me up. Hey mom, we're not having Japanese food today?" Ryoma bit into his bread,
"Yeah, Aunt likes western food." Ryoma made a face but continued to eat, Nanjiro looked up from his newpaper.
"You're finally a regular? " Ryoma took a sip of his milk,
"Hrmm..I don't know. I'll be leaving now." Ryoma got up and walked to meet up with Momoshiro.
- & -
Hikari and Fuji meet up with the other regulars, they walked up towards the entry stand and Tezuka handed them a paper,
"Here are the registration applications for the nine regular members for Seigaku High school." Many whispers were heard from the people standing around the team.
"Damn, it's Seigaku, and they look tough."
"Ahh! it's Tezuka-san! "
"Eh, is that a freshmen? Wait, two? A girl and boy."
"The girl's probably a cheerleader."
"What's she doing wearing the jacket then."
"Maybe she's one of their girlfriends."
- & -
The team sat down and and began to unpack for things. Kikumaru took out a towel and passed it to Oishi, with Oishi passing him a water bottle,
"Here." Eiji took and smiled,
"Sankyuu." Hikari stared at how in sync they were,
"Hey Echizen, Can you give me that? " Ryoma looked at Momoshiro,
"What's 'that'?" Momoshiro pointed to Ryoma. Oishi and Hikari sweatdropped at the two,
"That! The towel under your ass! " Ryoma looked down and picked up the towel. Hikari got out her bag of sliced apples and took one out towards Ryoma and he
passed her a water bottle. Oishi shook his head,
'Hikari-chan and Echizen-kun are much more in sync.'
- & -
"First singles match, Fuji of Seigaku and Suzuki of Gyokurin!" The teams stood in lines across from eachother,
"5 matches are played. In order to win, 3 matches must be won. This is Seigaku's first match, even if someone wins, all 5 matches will be played. All matches are one set."
- & -
"First match, in double. Seigaku's Momoshiro and Echizen pair. Gyokurin's Izumi and Fukawa pair." The pairs walked on the court and shook hands. Hikari watches as
the two Seigaku doubles bumped hands,
"Echizen, Let's go with the AH-UN strategy. " They all got into their positions after warming up,
"One set match, Gokurin, Izumi to serve. " Many cheered at the people playing, Izumi threw the ball and served, Ryoma returned it, Izumi smirked and hit it towards the
middle. Both of them ran towards the middle,
"Ah!"
"Un." Momoshiro returned the ball.
"0-15" Hikari stared at them confused,
' Weren't they horrible a few days ago ? ' Ryoma and Momo tapped eachother's racket,
"Works like a charm. "
"0-30" They continued to score. Momoshiro smiled ,
"Our blooming doubles technique, It's all thanks to me! " Ryoma stared blankly at Momoshiro. Izumi served again, dropping the ball at the line. Ryoma ran back and
returned it, leaving the other side open. They hit there and both ran towards the ball, Ryoma dropped his hat.
"15-30" Hikari turned towards Eiji who was stiffling a laugh, Hikari looked back at them and started to laugh, with Eiji laughing after her.
"There's no teamwork anywhere besides the mid court." Izumi served again, they ran close up towards the net as Momoshiro returned it. The ball passed Ryoma,
"30-30" Izumi served, as Ryoma returned it. Izumi hit it back as Ryoma went to hit it,
"Don't exert yourself too much." Momo returned the ball for him, but it left the other side open.
"40-30"
"Game, Gyorukin 1-0" The two pairs high fived themselves. As Seigaku's pair looked annoyed.
- & -
Hikari stared as Ryoma and Momo got owned in the game,
"Game, Gyorukin. " Ryoma turned towards Momoshiro,
"Wasn't that my ball just now?" Momoshiro tapped his racket,
"The person in the front can hit too !" Ryoma looked away annoyed,
"If you can't hit a winner, then you shouldn't have hit it." Momoshiro turned towards Ryoma,
"What did you say? Got a problem with that? " The two glared at eachother, Hikari facepalmed and looked at Fuji.
"They're not in sync at all." Fuji chuckled and picked up Ryoma's bag to put it somewhere. A green book fell out as everyone looked at it,
"In Ryoma-kun's bag, Doubles for beginners. EH!? YOU'RE KIDDING ME!" Hikari laughed at the book.
'Hm, isn't that the same book Echizen bought that day..' Hikari blushed remembering the incident.
- & -
"Game Gyokurin, Change court." Ryoma and Momo walked up to Coach Ryuzaki, Hikari watched as they got into another argument.
"Would you guys stop? " Coach Ryuzaki crossed her arms as the Gyokurin pair walked by,
"This is pitiful." Ryoma and Momo looked at the two with scowls and glares.
"Don't lose your cool!" The two went back into the courts, with Momoshiro to serve. Momoshiro served and hit Ryoma with the ball, Hikari bursted out laughing. Needing air
she began to choke. Fuji patted her back as Momoshiro chuckled nervously as Ryoma turned around a glare at him
"Fault."
"Sorry sorry, " Ryoma scowled,
"It's okay..." Momo served again and Ryoma hit it over, accidently hitting Momo with it. Hikari spit out the water she was drinking and started laughing even more this time
leaning on Fuji for support. Ryoma froze in position, with eyes wide. Momoshiro turned around and glared at him,
"0-15" Ryoma tipped his hat to avoid looks.
"They are really losing it, They can't concentrate on the match at all. On top of that, they're in duel mode. " Ryoma and Momo stared at each other annoyed, Both turned
around and dragged their rackets to make a line; meeting up with eachother.
"What? Momo-senpai thinking of the same thing? " Two of them smirked,
"Let's stop this confusing thing," Ryoma put his racket on his shoulder,
"All the balls that comes to this side of the line, I'll hit. I'll leave that side to you. " Momoshiro nodded as Ryoma turned around,
"And one more thing, don't come to this side." Momoshiro turned around,
"Even if you ask, I won't go in there." The two got ready , Momoshiro served, Ryoma returned it. This continued as the ball went on either Momo's or Ryoma's side. The
ball went on Ryoma's side this time and he ran towards it,
"What is this ? Now that I look closely, there is a hole."
They continued to play like that,
"Game won by Seigaku, " The two high fived eachother,
"Nice shot. "
"Yeah." Fuwaka bounced the ball and served, It went towards Momoshiro's side. They both ran up towards the net again, Momoshiro returned it. Ryoma ran towards the
ball when it hit his side, He hit a high lob and the guy returned it with a high lob also. Momoshiro jumped up,
"Dunk Smash!" He hit it down, the two Seigaku pairs smiled.
- & -
Ryoma returned the ball,
"Don't return it, it's going to be out." The Gyokurin smirked, Ryoma smirked as the ball curved in.
"Doubles is pretty fun." Hikari huffed,
'What a show off..'
"That's not really doubles." Izumi scowled, the two smirked,
"Hey hey. hit it."
"Come on." Fuwaka hit the ball towards the middle smirking, Izumi blinked in surprise,
"Idiot! Thats..." Both of the two ran towards the ball,
"Ah!"
"Un! " Momoshiro returned the ball,
"Game and match, Seigaku. "The two tapped their racket's,
"Of course if you're a man, It's doubles." Hikari face palmed,
"I can't believe they won..." The pairs came up the net,
"You guys are ridiculous." Momoshiro closed his eyes,"
"I told you we learn fast."
"Hm, you guys sure can talk. If you ever want to play doubles again, just come to the street tennis court." Momo and Ryoma looked at eachother,
"Should we go again?"
"Sure." They shooked hands. The two walked back to Coach Ryuzaki, only to get pulled by their cheeks,
"Baka! Good thing you won, but think about the people that are sitting here watching the game. " The two scowled with flushed faces,
"I'm not playing doubles anymore."
"Me too." Hikari laughed and patted their heads, they swatted her hands away and looked as Oishi and Kikumaru, As they destroyed the other team.
"Game and Match, Seigaku 6-0."
"Don't mind, Don't mind. There is nothing we can do about doubles! We'll win with singles." One of Gyokurin patted the girls back,
"Good luck!" Coach Ryuzaki turned to Hikari,
"Hikari-chan get up there." Hikari dropped everything and frozed
"W-what?"
"You're singles three." Hikari felt her heart skip a beat,
"Why?! Why not Kaidoh or Taka-san? I don't think I'm ready for this. " Tezuka crossed his arms and stared at her.
"F-fine!" Hikari gulped and shakily got her racket out.
"Single no.3 match shall proceed. Tezuka Hikari vs. Minamoto Tori. Tezuka to serve." Hikari shakily threw up the ball and served,
"Fault. " Hikari looked down ashamed but threw the ball up again,
"0-15" Hikari cursed and continued to serve.
- & -
Hikari hit the ball, barely over the net, and Minamoto returned it. Hikari ran towards the ball and hit it close towards the baseline.
"Game won by Tezuka " Hikari panted in relief, the score was 5-5 now.
"Switch sides," Hikari switched sides with the girl, 'She's very good. But I can't let the team down....'
- & -
Hikari watched as she served the ball and ran towards the ball,
'I can't miss this point, or it's over!' Hikari returned it, resulting a long rally. The girl hit it over really fast over to the baseline, Hikari ran towards it and missed a step. She fell hitting the ball, she watch the ball go over the net. The team stood up, anxious.
"Game and match. Minamoto wins, 7-5." Hikari cursed at the ball, it hit the tip of the net, but fall back over the her side. She shook hands with the person and walked back
towards the team.
"Nice game, Hikari-chan." Eiji put a hand on her shoulder, she nodded and shrugged his hand off.
"I'll be back." She pick up her water bottle and left. The team watched as she left, Takashi stood up and walked towards the court. Ryoma stared at Hikari's leaving figure.
- & -
Hikari walked into a warm up court, but no one there cause they were either in a match or watching one. She got out her racket and a tennis ball. She threw it up and began to hit it against the wall.
- & -
Takashi walked up nervously,
"Oi, Takashi. You forgot your racket, " Oishi threw it towards him.
"Oh, sorry Oishi-san." The opponent snickered,
"Come on, Great! I feel the fire burning! " The guy widen his eyes in surprise.
"Game won by Seigaku." Fuji got up to play, Ryoma suddenly got up and left without a word.
- & -
Hikari frowned with her nose scrunched as she threw the ball,
"How can I win any match by serving like this!? " Hikari grabbed another ball and hit it against the wall
"Or by returning like this!? " Hikari tripped and she stayed on the ground. She felt angry and pounded her fist against the floor, she shakily got up and felt angry tears brim,
"How could I have possibly let the team down!? " She felt a hand on her hand and another on her shoulder.
"Listen, Hikari. You swing a racket like this." She felt the person move her into swinging the racket differently from before,
"Right. Swing it like this." She felt a tear escape and she turned to see Ryoma. She bowed her head and kneeled down, her shoulders shook as she tried to hold
her tears. Ryoma frowned and bent down to her,
"Don't brood over it like this, You are doing well for a beginner. " Hikari snapped her head up angry,
"No, I'm not good enough, " Ryoma stared at her as she looked down,
"If I want to win against someone, my strength...No. I'm lacking everything. I couldn't even hit the ball over the net-" Hikari bowed her head. Ryoma sighed and grabbed her
chin so she can look at him.
"That's enough, You resemble myself when I play against my dad. " Hikari looked at him with tears in her eyes, he grabbed her and hugged her. Hikari widen her eyes as
Ryoma picked her up from the ground. He turned her around and grabbed her racket. He placed it in her hand and made her swing it.
"Just like this, and you'll be better." Hikari smiled,
"Arigatou...Ryoma."
- & -
"Game and match, Seigaku. " Fuji smiled and walked back into line. Hikari and Ryoma walked back to the court, pontas in their hands.
"Doubles 2-8, singles 2-1." Everyone stood in lines across from the team.
"Total is 4-1, Seigaku wins. Bow once." Everyone bowed,
"Arigatou."
Everyone left for a lunch break for the next matches, Hikari sat next to Ryoma who was drinking his ponta and was hitting a bouncing the ball with the side of his racket.
She sweatdropped and got out her bag of apples. Hikari went to get her water bottle as a team passed by staring at Ryoma. The guy in the back was doing the same
thing, except he wasn't drinking anything. Hikari looked up to see the team, startled she lost some grip on her water bottle but caught it. She looked at Ryoma and the team,
'Awkward...'
"Eh, Echizen is provoking them." The trio looked at the scene, The team captain turned around and walked away,
"Let's go." Hikari noticed that Ryoma had his legs crossed like a girl,
"Oi, Echizen. Doesn't that hurt. " He ignored her and took the the can away from his lips,
"Mada Mada Dane." The team continuing walked,
"Looks interesting Shinji." Hikari grabbed Ryoma's leg and pushed it out,
"That is how your suppose to sit. " Ryoma looked at her and blinked, slightly embarassed.
- & -
Everyone gathered up around Coach Ryuzaki,
"Understand this, We'll face Fudomine in the finals. And they're nothing like the opponents we've been facing."
"Hai!"
"It's final, Double 2: Fuji and Kawamura. Go get the first win. Doubles 1: Oishi and Kikumaru. Single 3: Kaidoh, don't lose." Hikari flinched at that,
"-Single 2: Ryoma, Go wild. Single 1: Tezuka. " The team nodded and walked away towards the courts,
"One set match, Fudomine's Sakurai to serve."
"Good ! I feel the fire BURNING !" Taka ran towards the ball and returned it,
"30-15" The crowd gasped as they made a point, Ryoma shook his leg. The captain got up and left,
"Isn't he captain ? Shouldn't he stay seated during the match ? "
"Ah, it's surprising,"
"What confidence, Doesn't even need to watch?" Fuji turned to Tezuka, with his smile still on his face.
"Tezuka, you were insulted."
"It's an Ace!" Everyone widened their eyes to the match,
"40-15"
Hikari watched as the two doubles continously rally it out, Hikari gasped as Fuji opened his eyes.
"The captain is back, " Everyone looked. Ryoma leaned back,
"He did that on purpose."
"On purpose? What do you mean?"
"It was a good psychological strategy, captain leaving during an important match. Fudomine was given a greater pressure by the absence of their captain, "
Fuji looked at the ball and returned it, the Ball zoomed by and rolled towards the net.
"That was one of Fuji's three triple counter moves called, "the shallow return." This counter slice shot utilizes the original spin of the ball, in addiction to the spin in the same direction. Tennis prodigy, Fuji Syusuke, you're not going to take it lying down are you? " Hikari looked at Fuji in shock.
"I won't let you guys take over the game any longer!" The guy returned ball, Fuji smiled and suddenly his expression dropped,
"Ahhh! Scary scary! " Hikari cover her eyes with her hand and turned to Eiji,
"Nyah! Hikari-chan it's okay!" Eiji hugged her as Fuji returned it with his swallow return, Taka and Fuji smiled at each other.
"Ya, break point ! This is where we should them what we're made of." Fuji nodded. Ishida grabbed his elbow and his team members looked at him.
"Hadoukyuu! " He returned the ball towards Fuji, the ball was lightening fast, Hikari looked at Fuji ,
'He can't possibly return it, His wrist isn't strong enough!'
"Fuji!" Taka came and returned the ball,
"Taka-san!"
"HUUURYIAAA, GREAT ! " Taka returned the ball,
"No way! He returned it!" Ishida smirked and got into a stance and his Captain stood up,
"Stop it Ishida ! Your arm will- " He narrowed his eyes,
"I DON'T CARE !" He swung his arm forward and the ball bounced into his court, he stood and looked at his racket. It had a hole through,
"The racket broke first."
"That's not the only thing that's broken."
"What's wrong Fujiko-chan ? " Taka looked Fuji when he got in front of him, Fuji grabbed his wrist,
"Ah, it Hu-hu-HURTS ! " Fuji stared at him with his eyes open,
"You took it for me." Taka looked away, Fuji turned to the umpire.
"Referee, we will forfeit this match. " Everyone gasped,
"What are you saying? I can still perform. You know as well as I do how much the first game means to us." Fuji smiled and closed his eyes,
"It's going to be?" Fuji took the racket out of his hands, Taka kneeled towards the ground,
"Sorry guys."
Hikari shook her head,
"Echizen, I swear if you get hurt just like what happened to Taka. I will kick your butt back all the way back to America. " Ryoma looked at her,
"Hn, as if that would happen to me." Hikari laughed and took his hat,
"Better not! " Eiji and Oishi went on courts, Eiji unzipped his jacket and took it off. He got his racket and spun it in circles with his wrist.
"One set match, Seigaku's Oishi to serve!" Oishi served the ball, They rallied until the guy hit a face shot, Eijis eyes widen as the ball passed his head, he move his
racket behind his head and returned it.
"Nanjaro Hoi Hoi! "
"15-love." Oishi and Kikumaru high fived,
"Hoi Hoi, Do ne." Kikumaru and Oishi returned each hits,
"Game, Seigaku." Ryoma and Hikari got up,
"Where are you guys going? " Momo looked at them and smiled,
"I'm thirsty, So I'm going to get a drink of water. " Ryoma and Hikari stopped,
"We're in the middle of a match, Don't make out for too long okay ? " Hikari and Ryoma looked at each other and made faces,
"As if I'd want to kiss Him/Her. " They waved their hand and walked away, Momoshiro laughed and shook his head,
"Ahh...Young love."
- & -
Ryoma and Hikari walked to see two people returning two tennis ball towards each other. Ryoma and Hikari continued to walk, Ryoma smirked and walked in between the two, He raised his racket and hit both balls. They looked at Ryoma in shock and hit the ball back, Hikari rolled her eyes and quickly walked in between before the ball was to hit her; Everyone gasped. Ryoma bent down and took a sip from the fountain, Hikari leaned on it watching the two continue to hit the ball in shock,
"Mada mada dane. " Ryoma wiped his mouth and turned around,
"Hey, want to increase the number of balls by one." The two looked at Ryoma,
"This guy...Who's still lacking !?"
"Oi, you got a problem with our freshmen? "Ryoma raised an eyebrow at Kaidoh.
"Hey, stop right there. Isn't it time you guys went back. I might have to inform the captain that you guys were doing something else. " The girl
from the burger joint walked in. Hikari blinked,
"It's you."
"Fine, I'm looking forward to our match, ." The two walked away, the girl turned to Ryoma.
"For a guy who's always cool, You're pretty susceptible to provocation." Hikari rolled her eyes,
"Tell me about it."
"Not that I don't find it entertaining." Hikari scoffed, Kaidoh turned towards Ryoma.
"Who's this? "
"I don't know."
"Shouldn't you be more concerned with your match rather than worrying about me? Kamio-kun is a player that matches up well against you Kaidoh-kun. On top of that, Shinji tennis sense rivals that of your Fuji-kun."
"How do you know everything?" she laughed,
"How do I know? Ah this isn't good. Catch you later." The rain poured, Kaidoh turned to the two.
"You two, Stop wondering around like this."
"Hai." Hikari covered her head, her long blonde locks getting wet.
"Kuso, Echizen. Give me your hat." Ryoma looked around,
"Don't wanna." She scowled,
"Give it here!" She grabbed his shoulder with one hand and grabbed his hat with the other.
"Nyu !" She stuck her tongue and put the hat on. Ryoma blinked,
"Oi, give it back!" She ran off back to courts with Ryoma following.
- & -
"Senpai moves like a cat."
"The acrobatic Kikumaru can only be compliment by Oishi, who covers a lot of ground and plays situational tennis. That is what we call the "Ah-Un" synchronization. Are
you two listening," Ryuzaki-sensei narrowed her eyes at Ryoma and Momoshiro. The scowled and looked away while Hikari smirked.
"Game won by Seigaku." Eiji flashed a peace sign as Fuji passed them towels,
"Sankyuu," Hikari sighed and sneezed.
"Good game Eiji-senpai!" Eiji grinned and hugged her,
"Aww! Kawaii sneeze! Call me Kikumaru-senpai!" Tezuka looked at her from the corner of his eyes, a bit concerned. He took a towel and put it around her,
"Senpai, you're up next." Ryoma looked at the towel from the corner of his eyes,
"When it get's better, we'll continue with the singles."Coach Ryuzaki pointed up towards the sky.
"I guess it's undecided if we're going to continue or not. It's up to the rain."
"I guess this is what they call 'skinning the snake alive." Kaidoh glared at Ryoma. Kaidoh looked down and walked out,
"Kaidoh has lost his concentration. Everyone wants to enter a match with their best form. Kaidoh was raising his fighting spirit while watching other matches. " Kamio took
out his mp3 player and listened to music,
"Ehh, he looks confident listening to music. "
- & -
Hikari pushed some buttons and got out a ponta. She turned and looked at Ryoma, opening the watermelon flavored drink she took a sip as she sat down besides him and layed her head on the table.
"Hey Echizen, Members of Fudomine are busy preparing, but like your usual self, you're not nervous at all."
Ryoma opened his eyes to see Horio, Kachiro, Katsuo, and Sakuno. He yawned and and Horio face palmed,
"It's over..."
"What's this?" They turned to see Inoue,
"Inoue-san." Sakuno sat down next to Hikari who was next to Ryoma; while the trio sat on the other side and listen to him talk about Fudomine's new found strength,
"They have a pride that represents how they got here with no help from anyone. " Ryoma pushed his racket string around, and nudged Hikari with his foot. She picked up
her head and sneezed, He got up and left with Hikari,
"Tennis is tennis, all you do is chase and hit the ball. " Horio looked at the two,
"Hey, where are you guys going? " Hikari and Ryoma walked back into the courts,
"You're late Mr. 3rd singles." Ryoma smirked as Kaidoh came and got out his racket, Kaidoh looked up and turned to Ryoma. Hikari looked up at the sky, it cleared up.
"Try your best, " Kaidoh stood up,
"I don't need mouth from you," Tezuka turned around,
"Hey Kaidoh, your opponent isn't Echizen."
"Hai." Kaidoh left and Hikari drooped her head, sighing. Eiji frowned,
"Oh no! Kari-chan is getting sick!" Eiji sat next to her and she rested her forehead on his shoulder with her eyes closed. Ryoma stared at this action,
"3rd singles, Seigaku's Kaidoh and Fudomine's Kamio ." He turned his attention somewhere else,
"Yo, your nickname's mamushi right? Fits you perfectly." Kaidoh glared and hissed, he swung his racket at Kamio's face, Oishi stood up,
"Kaidoh, STOP!" Kamio's eye widen and he stepped back.
"You have a pretty fast swing, "
"What are you guys doing ?" Kaidoh glared at the umpire,
"Kaidoh! " Kaidoh looked at Tezuka and turned back to the referee,
"Sumimasen."
"Watch out next time, " Tezuka he walked up Fudomine's captain,
"I apologize for my team member."
"No, my player provoked first, I apologize."
"One set match, Fudomine's Kamio to serve. " Kamio served and ran towards the net, Kaidoh returned it and speedily Kamio returned the ball,
"He's fast, unbelievable foot speed." Kaidoh glared at Kamio as Kamio started walking in a circluar motion,
"I'm in the rhythm." Kaidoh sneered,
"I don't like it when you do that, Hurry up and serve. " Kamio served and Kaidoh returned it with a snake. Kamio ran towards the ball and returned it, everyone stared in
tension.
"Pretty confident in your speed, aren't you? "
"Why don't you entertain me more with your snake? "
"I don't believe this speed demon crap." Kaidoh slipped in the mud and returned the ball with a snake.
"He got the ball through the side, hey hey. Is that possible?" Ryoma looked up at the match.
"What was that? It was like a boomerang, hrmm boomerang snake ? "
"Boomerang snake sounds good,"
"They're saying boomerang snake." Oishi turned towards Eiji; who in return grinned and jumped up and down, knocking Hikari off. Ryoma felt a droop on his shoulder and looked to see Hikari sleeping, he blushed and tilted his hat.
"Sounds great."
"Kaidoh, that was a great shot around the pole."
"40-30."
"Eh, good work senpai." Ryoma looked at Kaidoh. Kaidoh got up as Kamio smirked,
"You have something in you after all...In that case I'll raise my rhythm," Kamio served a speedy ball,
"Game to Fudomine's Kamio. Fudomine leads 1-0 "
Kaidoh served this time and the two rallied, Kamio did boomerang snake again,
"15-love." The ball had went out, Kaidoh served again and Kamio speedily went around. Kaidoh tried boomerang snake again,
"Out." Serving again, Kaidoh hand attempt Boomerang snake,
"Out." He continued,
"Game won by Kamio, " Kaidoh sat down and took a breather,
"Are you so weak that you relay on one lucky shot to win? " Ryuzaki-sensei stared at Kaidoh. Ryoma moved forgetting Hikari for a moment.
Hikari fell foward on Ryoma's lap and she continued to sleep, Ryoma blushed and looked away,
"Deuce 3."
"Just give up !" Kamio served and snaked it, the two continued to rally,
"10km of jogging in the morning, 10km of jogging after slub activity, 10km of jogging at night, 3 sets of shuttle runs, 50 runs each set, 150 push ups. " Everyone stared at
Inui,
"Are you saying that's what Kaidoh does everyday ? "
"That's 3 times more than original training. "
"Net, deuce.." Kamio served again and the two rallied, Kamio went up towards the net and Kaidoh snaked it. Kamio returned it and the ball hit the net and spun up over to
the other side. Kaidoh went and dived for the ball, He returned the ball and it went over.
"Advantage to the the receiver. "
"I can't hear you. Who's going to quit? I'll never quit as long as there's a point left." Kaidoh got up from the ground, Kamio scowled and served again, as the two rallied.
Kaidoh snaked it,
"Game and Match won by Seigaku's Kaidoh, 7-5." Kamio's eye's widen in surprise. Everyone cheered and clapped, Hikari stirred in her sleep from the noise. Ryoma
unzipped his jacket and picked Hikari up, he put down his jacket under Hikari's head and walked out towards the court.
"One-set match, Seigaku's Echizen to serve." Ryoma bounced the ball with his left hand, he threw up the ball and served, the ball bounced and went towards Shinji's face.
He bend back to avoid the hit, Ryoma looked at the umpire.
"Hey ref, I'm wating for the call."
"O-chibi's doing it His directional strategy has turned the crowd to his favor." Ryoma served the ball again and Shinji avoided it,
"30-love." Ryoma continued to bounce the ball, he threw it up and served, Shinji watched as the all flew across his face.
"40-love." Ryoma served and Shinji stepped back and returned it, Ryoma jumped up and slammed the ball down,
"Game won by Echizen." Ryoma smirked,
"I seem to be getting my rhythm...Just kidding."
"Shinji just lost in straight points...in a minute.."
"Seeing his eyes take me back..." Ryuzaki-sensei smiled. Hikari stirred a bit and sighed. Shinji threw up the ball and served,
the ball hit Ryoma's hat and it flew back.
"15-love" Echizen smirked and picked up his hat,
"You're hiding something from me aren't you ? I can feel it." Echizen looked at him and smirked, he changed his racket towards his left hand.
"You're right."
"South paw? "
"Let's both stop fooling around and get serious."
"If you think about it, I have to serve with my right hand to hit a guy who's right handed. You're pretty good to see through my plan first." Shinji bounced the ball,
"I should make you lose one, You're too arrogant. " Shinji threw up the ball and served, Ryoma stepped back and returned the kick serve. The two rallied.
"He's just like his dad, " Oishi looked at Ryuzaki-sensei.
"You know his dad."
"Ryoma's father was a former pro tennis player."
"What kind of player was he? An attack specialist like Ryoma? "
"An attack specialist, eh ? All he knew was is unbelievable, had natural tennis sense along with speed and strength. He had a unique way of absorbing things,
he was one of those talents that comes every 10 years. He was a monster that crushed all my expectations. " Tezuka blinked and looked at Ryuzaki-sensei.
"Nanjirou Echizen invented Nitouryuu by himself? "
"Yup it wasn't just to conquer the fact that he had a weak backhand. Top-tier players always found a way to overcome barriers like that, Ryoma's dad was one of those
guys. "
"Now I understand, the person standing on that court right now is Nanjirou Echizen, His power, speed, and reflexes. Echizen's style is a copy, But
when Echizen overcomes that barrier, what will be waiting for him at the end? "
"Who knows? " Hikari twitched and woke up, yawning. Eiji got up and hugged her,
"Kawai Desu ! Kari-chan is so cute when she wakes up ! " She looked up at Eji and looked around,
'Eh where am I ? ' She turned to see Ryoma diving and switching his racket to his right hand,
"15-15."
"Hmm, so that's Nitouryuu." Ryoma switched it back as Shinji served, The two rallied,
"Gomen, But I don't feel like losing before the nationals. " Ryoma hit the ball
"Of course we won't lose at national's either ! " The two ferociously rallied, Shinji suddenly hit a high lob. Ryoma ran towards the back. He jumped and hit it backwards.
"40-15" Hikari stared amazed, Ryoma served and they rallied, Ryoma jumped up and smashed it.
"Game won by Echizen. 4-1 Seigaku lead." Echizen smirked as Shinji served, the two rallied. Shinji smiled a bit,
"There's something wrong with that attack strategy, It looks like he's hitting topspins and slives to his forearm and backhand, demo.." Ryoma ran towards the ball and missed it. He stared at the ball,
"15-love."
"It looked like O-chibi's movement was frozen for a moment, " Ryoma squeezed his fist and opened it back up. Shinji turned around,
"You're not taking this easily.."
"By hitting top spins and slice shots forehand and backhand numerous times, the muscles start to contrat leaving the player in a numb state called 'Spot' "
"So ?"
"Numb states only last for a second, To push him into using it..." Ryoma froze again,
"40-0" The two rallied and he frozed once more, he spun his body and the racket slipped out of his hand. It hit the post and the racket broke. The peices with flying, the
handle flew towards Ryoma's face.
"Ryoma!" Hikari jumped out of her seat, and for the first time called him by his first name. Blood was on the floor, Echizen was kneeled over the ground, His hand over his
left eye with blood pooring out. She felt her heart drop,
"Echizen, are you okay ?! RESPOND, DAMMIT." Hikari looked at him but didn't go onto the court. Sakuno ran into the court,
"Ryoma-kun."
"Don't come on to the court." He glared at her,
"Nevermind, just get off the court." He pushed her hands away. Hikari stared at Sakuno with a knot in her stomach, and clenched her fist.
"But you have to go to the hospital! " He stood up and turned his head away,
"Don't worry about it." She looked at him,
"But you have such a severe injury, " He picked up his hat he turned towards his racket,
"I broke the racket.."
"You there, everyone has to leave the court except the players."
"Ryoma-kun, he said you should leave ! "
"W-wait, "
"You're not a player anymore-" a hand went on Sakuno's shoulder,
"It's an insult to a tennis player when a fan starts to heckle you, if you're my granddaughter you'd do well to remember that." Sakuno looked hurt,
"But, he's injured..."
"We have to stop the bleeding, someone get the first aid kit." Sakuno walked out. Hikari stared as Ryoma sat down and was treated by Oishi.
"It's no good, It won't stop the bleeding. The eyeball is okay, it's just the eyelid muscles. " Hikari clenched her fist and looked up at Ryoma,
"Y-you said you wouldn't get hurt !" Ryoma turned to her,
"I-" Hikari looked away,
"Urusei! " Everyone looked at the two, Taka fainted from the blood.
"How is it Oishi? "
"It will be disappointing to forfeit after coming this far..."
"It's in pieces." Momo picked up the broken racket,
"Echizen, I'm putting this into your bag." Ryoma nodded but was still looking at Hikari, hoping that she'll spare him a glance.
"While you're at it, get me my spare." Hikari turned to look at Ryoma. Momo nodded,
"You got it."
"You...still want to play after your injury...How stupid can you get!? " Ryoma looked at Hikari and looked away, she glared at him and unclenched her fist,
"Fine, Go ahead. Get yourself injured, I don't care. I just thought you kept your word. " Hikari turned around and went into her bag to get her ipod, she put in her head
phones and blasted music. She looked away from him.
"Echizen-kun, I can't let you play unless you stop bleeding." Ryoma got up and wiped his blood on his shirt,
"I'll play, "
"But you.."
"The bleeding has stopped, " Ryuzaki-sensei called him over,
"Bullshit it you're a stubborn fool, " Ryoma looked at Hikari at the corner of his eye,
"Is that bad? "
"It hurts, doesn't it."
"It doesn't hurt. " She smiled,
"Bring me the first aid kit, Ryoma, this will hurt."
- & -
"There done, " Ryoma touched his eye,
"It's stop."
"It'll only hold of 15 minutes max." Fuji smiled wider,
"Sumire-chan to the rescue." Ryuzaki looked at him.
"You have no right to call me Sumire, Fuji."
"I can play if it stopped bleeding, right ? "
"H-hai."
"Echizen, your racket."
"Thanks, Momo-senpai." Oishi got in the way, Tezuka took the racket and gave it to Ryoma,
"10 Minutes, if it isn't decided by then, you forfeit. got it? "
"More than enough time." Oishi sighed,
"Echizen, Go. But don't over do it. " Kaidoh threw him his hat,
"You forgot something." Ryoma smirked,
"Sankyuu, senpai." Ryoma glanced at Hikari and went back onto the courts.
"The match is continuing," Shinji looked up and went onto the court, Ryoma threw the ball and served, the speed increasing. Hikari stared.
"15-love"
"It's too much commotion for something like this. " Ryoma pointed his racket at him.
"What's that technique you use ? it makes my arm go numb for a second." Ryoma served and they rallied,
"Game count 4-3." Echizen stared to jump, with 7 minutes left on the clock. Shinji threw the ball and served, the two rallied, until Ryoma's racket flew out of his hand. He's hands twitched, Hikari jumped a bit, and watched as the two rallied,
"40-love"
" 5 minutes passed."
"How envious, you've got the crowd's sympathy. But this is what you've wanted, I'm going to make you work until the end." Ryoma continued to bounce,
"Hey, sorry to bother you while you're talking to yourself but can you hurry up and serve ? I have to beat you in little over 3 minutes. " Shinji glared at him,
"Damn what an annoying guy." the two rallied,
"I don't like the shots that go up and down, I've found two weakness in your technique. " Ryoma returned the ball,
"Have you used it against a nitouryuu player before? " Ryoma returned the ball,
"40-15" Shinji served again and Ryoma returned it again,
"One-footed split step ! I see, with that he can freely switch hands to return it."
"Nitouryuu, what are you doing to do if I numb both arms." Ryoma smirked,
"Hey, I'm waiting for a top spin. " Everyone stared in shock at this. Hikari felt the corner of her lips twitch up, but she restrained it. She stared at Ryoma's face. She gasped and looked at the red spot that was enlarging, she felt her heart dropped and turned away,
"Echizen...Your eye, i-it's bleeding..." Ryoma looked at her out of the corner of his eyes as he jumped up to slam the ball, Hikari looked back at him with sad eyes,
"J-just, finish this match- and get it over with ! Echizen ! Hurry and win! " Ryoma slammed the ball down,
"Game, Seigaku's Echizen! " Ryoma smirked and tipped his hat,
"2 minutes." Ryoma threw up the ball and served, the two rallied
"15-love."
"15-15"
"30-15"
"40-15." Hikari stared as Ryoma rallied,
"Go Echizen ! Win the championships for Seigaku ! " Hikari felt her lips curve into a smile as Momo cheered. Ryoma slammed the ball down, Shinji looked shock as the ball hit his hand,
"Game and Match, Seigaku's Echizen ." Inui looked at his stop watch,
'9 minutes, 53 seconds, 89 milli seconds...' Ryoma turned around,
"Did I make it in ten minutes." The team gave him the thumbs ups, he sighed in relieved and waited as everyone got up to form a line.
"District tournament winner, Seishun Gakuen. Together with runner up, Fudomine Jr. High. We will be anticipating good games from both of you at
the prefectural tournament. That is all," Everyone bowed as everyone clapped,
"Excuse me, how is your right arm," Taka and Momo turned around,
"Ah, it's fine, It wasn't your fault, so don't worry about it." Taka smiled, Momo handed him his racket,
"Gentlemen! You hit a pretty rough ball at me, brat! "Everyone sweatdropped,
"We won't lose next time. "
"I'll be looking foward to it,"
"Yo, Mamushi." Kaidoh turned around to Kamio,
"Shut up you rhythm runt. " Shinji walked up to Ryoma,
"Echizen-kun, I feel bad about the injury to your eye. Are you okay ? But that wasn't even my fault. Ah, I see now, you did that to yourself. I'm absolutely sure. On
purpose... I'm getting tired of this.." Ryoma stared as Shinji talked to himself,
"Shinji !"
"Sorry." Ryoma tipped his hat,
"Mada Mada Dane. " Ryoma turned towards Hikari's walking figure and ran after her,
"Tezuka-san..." Hikari stopped, Ryoma stepped up,
"Gomen." Hikari slumped her shoulders, Hesitantly, Ryoma grabbed her shoulder.
"Can you at least talk to me ? " Hikari turned around with a sad expression, he grabbed her by both shoulders,
"What's wrong?" Hikari turned her head to the side and mumbled something, Ryoma blinked,
"Huh? " Hikari turned around,
"I was worried okay! You were bleeding, and the racket broke and you kneeled on the ground and I didn't know what to do and when I screamed your name, Y-you didn't respond, and Ryuzaki called at you and yet you responded. " Ryoma stared at her trying to listen to her fast talking, He sighed and took his hat, putting it over her head,
"Mada Mada Dane. " Hikari widened her eyes and turned around,
"Urusei, Just cause of that I'm leaving, with your hat!" Ryoma smirked,
"No way, " Hikari laughed a bit and turned around, seeing his eyepatched she gasped,
"You should go to the hospital." Ryoma blinked.
- & -
"The bleeding has ceased, but you have to get proper treatment. Did you get that playing tennis?" Ryoma sighed as the Nurse tied the eye patch,
"Hai."
"Really. "
"Hai."
"This must've been pretty rough tennis to produce injuries like yous and the guy who bruised his wrist earlier." Ryoma walked out to see Hikari and Coach Ryuzaki,
"Are you okay? "
"Yeah." Hikari scoffed,
"Don't lie to sensei. I bet it hurts."
"Well the, let's go to our next stop." Hikari and Ryoma blinked,
"There's something else too? "
"Stop stalling let's go. "
- & -
Hikari looked at the signed,
"Sorry we're closed...at a sushi restaurant ? "
Echizen opened the door with Hikari behind him, Echizen looked to see the whole team playing around. They stopped and stared, Hikari quickly went to turn around as
Ryoma closed the door. Two hands went grabbed them inside,
"Where do you think you're going ? Get in."
"Echizen, Hikari. Get over here quickly." Hikari and Ryoma turned around,
"Yes, what's one plus one? "
"Ne? " The lady took a picture. Coach Ryuzaki sat down to talk to Taka's dad.
"Sorry to bother you with so many people." He laughed and continued to cut some fish,
"Don't worry about it, just enjoy yourself." Ryoma sat down next to Fuji, Hikari followed next to him,
"What's this? " Fuji chuckled,
"Can't you guess? Sushi."
"What do you want to eat first ? This is a place run by my he heard that we won, he closed the shop and make it out celebratory party." Ryoma turned towards Taka.
"No matter what, we have the freshmen prodigy on our side, He's the opposite of my useless son." Taka blushed,
"Hey hey, don't say that Otou-san."
"Here go ahead sensei." Taka's dad handed Ryuzaki some sake,
"No thanks. I'm driving back." He smiled and gave the glass to Tezuka,
"Ahh, that's too bad, how about this teacher here ? " Tezuka looked up,
"I'm the captain, Tezuka. " Taka's dad scratch his next nervously,
"Ahh, Gomen for my rudeness." Everyone laughed at that. Everyone started to eat the sushi, leaving Eiji without any,
"Ahh, Eating rolls by yourself, How selfish Fuji," Fuji looked up before taking a bite,
"Actually, Hikari-" Eiji suddenly pointed over,
"Ahh look over there. Fuji, " Eiji took a sushi then screamed,
"What are you eating!? " He's face flushed as Fuji laughed,
"Wasabi sushi." Eiji ran around,
"Tea, tea !" Everyone laughed. Hikari took some of Echizen's sushi as Oishi, Ryuzaki-sensei, and Tezuka went out.
"Well, we'll just go back to school for..." She looked at everyone having a good time, and said nothing and left.
"Wah, this Chirashizushi is awesome. Ittadakimasu !" Momoshiro was behind Hikari and Ryoma, he raised his chopsticks and went to dig in,
"Momo you ate enough already, it's my turn now!" Eiji came and pushed Momo.
"What are you saying ? The early bird gets the worm. " Hikari and Ryoma looked behind them with the corners of their eyes,
"You're so selfish Momo." The two began pushing and shoving,
"Ryoma-kun. Let's take a picture togethe !" Shiba tapped Ryoma shoulder,
"Do the the honors Kachiro-kun!" Kachiro smiled and nodded, Shiba smiled and did the peace sign as Ryoma frowne and looked down at his cup. Hikari looked at the two
while Momo and Eiji where still pushing.
"Anagooo !" Eiji whined as Momo pushed him, Eiji saw some anago on the table,
"Oh, They have Anago here too." Eiji let go of the plate and Momo tripped backwards hitting Hikari, Hikari flew foward onto Ryoma; Pushing Shiba
out of the way. Kachiro had already clicked the button taking a picture. It was a picture of Ryoma looked down surprised at Hikari, with her
blushing and closed her eyes surprised at the impact.