I do not own any Prince of Tennis things.

Sorry for the late update, schoolwork is killing me… ;(

Author's note: Okay, obviously a girl can't sign up for the boys' team so here is the explanation of all the logistics in Isabel's case. Isabel turned in an application for the girls' team, but since Atobe offered her the chance to train with the boys, she agreed. After turning in the form, Atobe asked the girls' team coach to let Isabel train with them so it could fit Isabel's schedule better. The girls' coach agreed. So that's the little background blurb that I hope cleared up some stuff. So like yeah. Reviews please?
Kthnxbye.
Practice Tournament: Part I [chapter 10]
Isabel was excited to be a part of Hyotei's practice tournament. If she was part of the top eight percent, she would be given a spot as a girls' regular. She wished she was on the boys' team, but that would be impossible. Her uncle was hesitant enough to let her train with the boys. Even so, the school would probably be banned forever if they tried to sneak a girl into the line-up. She would still go to as many of the boys' tournaments as she could.

She went up to the board where the matches were listed. It was being held in standard direct elimination format. She was seeded seventy-fourth initially, so her first match would be against a first-year seeded one hundred eighty-third, then a first-year seeded fifty-fifth. Isabel won her first two matches without going all-out, although a couple tennis balls seemed to bounce in mid-air…

Isabel waited patiently for her third match. She would be going against a third-year named Haginosuke Taki. They had ten minutes between each match so Isabel would only have to wait a bit longer.

"Oi, Taki-senpai."

"Hmm?"

"Are you ready to play Isabel?" Chotarou took a seat next to his former double's partner. He smiled brightly, handing him a bottle of water.

"Of course I'm ready," he said, taking the water from Chotarou. "I want to play Oshitari." He took a long drink from the bottle.

Chotarou laughed. "You'd have to beat me first, senpai."

Haginosuke looked up. "Oi, isn't someone getting a little cocky?"

The two laughed, waiting for the ten minutes to slowly dry up any worries they had beforehand. It was refreshing for the both of them, even if the tournament had no actual risks. Isabel, on the other hand, could feel herself become more and more nervous. She glanced over at the clock.

Six minutes left, she thought as she stood. That's about two laps around the athletics building. She put her racket down on the bench and began her run.

XXXXX

Midway through her second lap around the building, she heard Shishido practicing against the wall. The rhythmic beating of the tennis ball against the wall slowed her down. She made the turn around the corner of the building. Shishido was training before his next match. Isabel smiled when she saw textbooks and flashcards on the ground beside him. The flashcards were the ones they made together when they were studying last night. She smiled and turned around to run back to the courts.

XXXXX

"Haginosuke vs. Sakaki. Haginosuke to serve."

Isabel set herself up at the baseline, leaning forward with her racket twirling in her hand. She watched the tennis ball fly up in the air before it was shot over to her side of the court. She leaped towards it, her arm pulling in for a backhand stroke. Her movement was seamless. Soon, the tennis ball began its rally.

Isabel and Haginosuke kept it up, neither willing to make the first move to attack. It was long and painfully boring to watch. Chotarou watched as they just allowed the rally to continue.

"Chotarou."

"Hmm?" Chotarou turned to see Oshitari, who had just finished his match a short while ago. Close behind him was Atobe.

"Did this match just start?"

"Yeah, it started just a little while ago," Chotarou explained.

Neither of the players seemed to attack. They both stayed at the baseline and rallied for what felt like forever. Unbeknownst to the audience, the trap was set, and the prey knew. The hunter had begun to make its move.

"The spin of the ball is interesting," Oshitari commented.

"It's alternating," mused Atobe.

"What?" Chotarou looked at them. "You mean it's like the 'spot'?"

"No," Oshitari began. "Rather than alternating between slices and top spins like the spot, it's spinning then stopping. Basically it's a combination of top spins and sinkers."

"How's that going to help?"

"We'll see," Atobe said. He watched the ball. It spun. It stopped. It could've just been a coincidence, but a sinker is a hard move to pull off. He caught Oshitari mumbling under his breath. He was able to make out three words.

"…ingenious little brat…"

And Atobe swore he saw Oshitari smile.

XXflashbackXX

'Oshitari-san! I'm so bored!'

'Isabel, would you shut up for a moment?'

'You're so mean to me.' Isabel frowned. 'Can't you be a little interesting?'

'Not while I'm doing homework.'

Isabel leaned over the library table to look at Oshitari's notebook. He quickly snapped it shut but that moment was enough to get Isabel something to pester him about. 'You're not even studying! You're doodling!'

'Lower your voice!' Oshitari said in a harsh whisper.

'Let me see!' Isabel reached over the library table to grab Oshitari's notebook, being barely quick enough to steal it from his grasp. She leafed through the pages while trying to keep the notebook away from its owner. 'You doodle tennis moves in your notebook?'

Oshitari couldn't help it now, she was already judging him. 'Yes, I draw tennis moves in my notebook.'

Isabel flipped through, observing them all more carefully. 'I like this one,' she said, pointing at one of his drawings. 'It's bouncing in the air.'

'Like that one could ever be possible,' Oshitari said, 'with no surface to bounce on, how can it change direction sharply?'

'You're no fun,' Isabel said, tossing his notebook back to him.

XXXXX

The ball sailed through the air in a swift arc. It was moving closer to the left side, as Haginosuke read perfectly. What he didn't see coming was that just before he hit the ball coming his way, it made a sharp turn to the side, bouncing on the ground softly.

"Love-fifteen."

"Ghost-bound."

XXXXX

"Game and match: Sakaki, score is three games to six."

Isabel won, but she felt like she could already see stars. "Nice game."

"You too," Haginosuke said, shaking her hand. "That move was cool, who taught it to you?"

"No one taught it, but Oshitari gave me the idea," Isabel admitted.

"Well, you may be playing him. That is, if you beat Chotarou."

"Ha, what are the chances of that?"