YAY FOR TEN CHAPTERS! THANK YOU GUYS FOR STICKING WITH ME SO FAR/HOPEFULLY YOU CONTINUE TO SEE THIS THROUGH TO THE END! :D

a;lskdjfgh I have no idea what this chapter was... it just sort of... happened... Ok, the shots that she used/will be/has not used took a heck of a long time to come up with but then I had them planned out before I wanted these two to play ._.

I have questions for you at the end! Please answer them! :O

Also, as a note, if you haven't realized it already, I write the Japanese names as last name and then first name. I just feel like that that was the way these names were intended to sound when being read :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing but one character, some of the skewed plot and some of the character relationship-thingies or whatever you want to call them... everything else belongs to Konomi Takeshi x.x

..

Tennis

..

"I need to play some tennis before I go crazy here. I'm surrounded by it every day and yet I haven't played at all. Any ideas who I could train with before I get all rusty and useless?"

"You're never going to be rusty and useless," the tall coach scowled lightly, "In fact, you have been quite useful here if I daresay."

She rolled her eyes, "That's not what I asked."

Saitou chuckled a little, "Yes, yes. I know," he thought for a moment, "Try finding Sanada. I think you will find his return set quite interesting. That is, if you can convince him to use them against you."

"Sanada? Emperor Sanada Genichirou?" she raised an eyebrow. Was it a coincidence? Not likely. "Why?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. If I say anymore, I'm giving away classified information," the coach smiled at her, "But that's only if he is willing to play them against you."

At this, she grinned, "I see. I'll convince him, no need to worry about that," and with that, she left the room.

"Indeed," he sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, "It's about time you met your match, Yuria… both of you."

.oOOo.

"You want to play tennis," it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I do. You need some training before tomorrow anyways, right?" Yuria huffed a little.

Sanada could only stare. This tiny, frail girl wanted to play against him? Where had she been? Not in Japan, obviously. Either that or she lived under a rock and had never heard of the three demons of Rikkaidai who won two consecutive junior high national titles.

Still, no harm came in just rallying. It would help him warm up a little, for tomorrow. He could just ask Tachibana… But then, he already knew Tachibana's playing style. Wait. Was Sanada Genichirou trying to convince himself to play against her? But then, he was already pulling on his baseball cap and grabbing his tennis racket.

He arrived at the doorway to his room, still unsure as to how it happened that he agreed to play tennis with her. She seemed to be in the same mindset, staring at him and blinking with her head cocked to one side. No, not even she had expected it to be so easy to convince him. Sanada nodded curtly and shut the door behind him before following her out of the dorms.

.oOOo.

The sun was sinking in the sky, casting long shadows and tinting everything orange in its waning light. The lights over the court were on already although, for now, the sun still overpowered them.

"You serve," Sanada stated flatly before walking onto the court.

She nodded before pulling her long hair up into a ponytail and securing it with a hair tie. Well, he was making this easy for her to convince him to show her his return set. Despite this, Yuria knew that it was going to be anything but easy.

She tossed the ball high and watched the bright yellow sphere sail lazily up before coming down again. She slammed her racket against the ball, sending it rocketing over the net, "Sakura Typhoon."

.oOOo.

Sanada had been, out of habit, searching her stance, her movement, anything that would give away the trajectory of the ball. What he wasn't prepared for, was the explosion of flower petals that seemed to burst from her racket upon impact. He was instantly engulfed and pummeled by a cyclone of cherry blossoms that spiraled around him in great arcing paths. In short, his world had literally turned pink.

But where did the ball go? Oh. There. He saw it. A yellow blur that was one moment obscured by the pink whirling mass and the next moment visible where the petals were sparse.

Now he was running towards it. He had been delayed by surprise for a split second too long. He wouldn't be able to get a good hit out of it. He could return it though. He could do that much. He didn't have time to set his stance properly. He angled his racket and sent it across the net with a solid popping sound.

.oOOo.

Her eyes flashed a little. It had been so long since she had played tennis. Actually played. It was more like only two months, but it all added up, especially when she was constantly surrounded by it. Yuria had to grin at Sanada's momentarily surprised expression and she actually laughed a little when he returned her serve. The flower petals had dissolved by now and they were rallying easily, light-heartedly.

It was fun and she enjoyed it, but this wasn't what she had requested to play him for. Coach Saitou had said that she would find Sanada's return set interesting, and she was determined to make him show her.

She approached the front of the net, noting the way his eyes flickered at her movement. Yuria ran to meet the next ball that came over before setting her stance. Face the opposite corner. Racket up high. Wait for it… Down. As fast as you can.

.oOOo.

He watched as she sprinted towards his next shot, taking in every action, trying to figure out what she was going to do. Oh? A high speed diagonal slice. Sanada reached for it, prepared to send the ball bounding over the net again. The racket came in contact with air. With a popping noise, the ball came bouncing back down to the court from the bleachers. His attention went from the girl across the net, to the ball and then back to her again.

"Crane Dance."

Was she smirking? As Sanada retrieved the ball, a corner of his lips twitched a little. He had no idea of her full strength but he knew, at least, that he would not be bored.

..

Continuing to ask these questions (if you've already answered one, you don't have to answer again... unless you want to, in that case, I can't stop you)

Love triangle? Yes or no?

Do you want to see the continuation of this game in detail?

On another note, why do I always post new chapters on a Sunday evening? -.- you don't have to answer that...

R/R! (Please and thank you!)