Disclaimer: I do not own POT.


Summary: Through thick and thin, in every victory and in every defeat, they stood by each other. When one falls, the other picks up. Life was hard. They both could attest to that. However in the midst of all those hardships, they stood by each other. This… is how it all started.


Chapter 11

Sakamoto Chiharu's POV

I watched as the Sempai-tachi left the courts before turning to look at Kunimitsu.

"You call the shots. I'll back you up." I said and he nodded. I don't think there will be a problem if I'll lay low and let him take the shots he can. I was still unsure about Yamato-sempai's decision. This wasn't my first time in playing doubles since sometimes me and my Dad would play against Michael and his Dad. But that was a long time ago. Still… Is Yamato-sempai sure about this?

"Hahahahahaha! You're letting kids play against us? You could've just left the courts instead of letting those shrimps face us."

I looked at the other side of the court to see the guy with green hair laughing.

"Why? You afraid some 'kids' are gonna beat you?" Ryota-sempai asked.

"Yeah right." The blonde guy on the court scoffed. "Like they can even win against us. Scratch that, I bet they can't even win a game." He said, smirking.

"Rowell's right. I bet we can win 6 games to love. But since we are good tennis players, we'll let you serve first." The green haired guy, know I know as Jeremiah, said.

I looked at Kunimitsu. "I'll serve." I said.

"1 set match. Tezuka, Sakamoto pair versus Jeremiah, Rowell pair."

I positioned myself at the baseline and served. It was a normal serve and Rowell returned it with ease. Kunimitsu shot it near the baseline but Jeremiah returned it with a cross-court shot earning them a point.

"Love – 15."

It had continued like that until Kunimitsu and I had gotten used to playing doubles with each other. It wasn't long until we were able to rally with them steadily. However, it was evident that they had been playing with each other for a long time, effectively surpassing us in teamwork and coordination.

"Jeremiah, Rowell pair. 4 games to love." The umpire, one of the blonde guy's friends, announced after Jeremiah had shot the ball to the far corner of the court.

"Kunimitsu." I called out. He looked at me and I gave him a questioning look. He nodded.

oOo
Sato Ryohei's POV

"Well you seem calm about your doubles pair losing." The blonde guy or Blondie as Nakano called him, said. "Or maybe you were already expecting it right from the start." He added, smiling smugly.

After seeing that his plan of pissing us off wasn't, at the least bit, affecting us, he stalked off, mumbling a few cuss words as he did.

"Why are we calm about this again?" Yaotome asked.

"Because those two aren't even starting yet." Ryota said, smirking.

"How would you know that? They already lost 4 games." He said, exasperated.

"They just needed time to get used to playing with each other." I said.

"Yaotome, their hands." Takagi spoke up.

"What about it?" He asked, looking towards the court.

"Wha-"

"Shhh!" Nakano hushed, covering his mouth. "Don't give them a reason to be suspicious." He whispered.

We all glanced at Blondie and his friends. They were watching the game intently, not noticing Nakano's almost outburst.

"Why?" Yaotome whispered after Nakano had removed his hand.

"Like I said, those two aren't starting yet." Ryota said.

"Go girl. Run for it." We heard somebody say from the group of spectators.

We looked at the courts to see Sakamoto running for the ball shot to the far corner of the court.

"Ryota." I quickly said.

"The ball's gonna miss her racket by at least an inch and a half." He said.

"She's smiling."

We all looked at Nakano before looking at Sakamoto who was indeed smiling as she ran towards the ball.

"She'll never reach it." One of Blondie's friends said smugly.

Sakamoto dived for the ball and everybody watched, knowing she was never going to reach it on time, when at the very last second-

Pok.

-the ball was in the air and bouncing on the other side of the court.

"What the- Rowell!" Jeremiah shouted.

"Got it!" Rowell said, quickly recovering and hitting the ball. However, because of his lack of preparedness, he mistakenly lobbed it to a bespectacled boy who was already in the air, preparing to smash.

"… Wow- I mean, 15 – 30."

"Yeah! Now that's tennis!" Nakano shouted before all of us erupted into cheers.

"How did that happen!? The ball was surely gonna miss her racket by 1.86 inches!" Blondie shouted.

"Look at their hands, idiot." Ryota said, smirking.

They did what Ryota said and their eyes widened in shock as they stared at Sakamoto, who, at the very last moment, transferred her racket to her right hand to reach the ball and Tezuka, who had smashed the ball using his left hand.

"They're…" Blondie trailed off.

"That's right." I said. "They're ambidextrous, both of them are."

"Did you really think that those two are ordinary 'kids'?" Ryota said, changing from normal to devious, which includes teasing, provoking and on not-so-rare occasions, cussing. "Are you that much of an imbecile that you didn't notice that our freshmen aren't even breaking a sweat whereas your numbskulls already look like they ran 5 kilometers? How asinine of you to let them play when it clearly looks like they have no idea what the word stamina training means." He jeered.

I could see Blondie grit his teeth in frustration from the corner of my eye.

"30 all"

Our attention went back to the courts as Tezuka and Sakamoto won another point.

"The flowers are starting to bloom." Yamato said.

Both Nakano and I nodded as Yaotome and Ryota looked at each other in confusion.

"Focus on the courts." Nakano said before grinning. "I think those two still have something up their sleeves."

We watched as Sakamoto walked back to the baseline and prepared to serve. She threw the ball up in the air and served. The ball flew to the other side of the court and Rowell prepared to return it. It bounced and he swung… hitting nothing.

All around me, people had dumbstruck expressions on their faces.

"What was that?" Yaotome asked in disbelief.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding before watching the ball bounce back onto the court.

Flashback…

"Nya!"

My head snapped to the right as I walked out of the clubroom to see 7 first years inside the court.

"Gomen Sakamoto. Eiji's very persistent." Oishi said.

"It's okay. I understand." Sakamoto said before Tezuka handed her his racket.

"This will be good data." Inui muttered, writing on his notebook while Kikumaru was bouncing with excitement.

"Are you sure this is okay? There's no one else here but us and club activities are already over. Are we still allowed in here?" Kawamura asked.

"Taka-san you forgot your racket in the clubroom." Fuji said as he gave Kawamura his racket.

"Ah, Arigatou Fuji… BURNING! Come on Sakamoto! Show us that super serve of yours baby!" Kawamura shouted and Oishi immediately tried to calm him down.

Serve? I watched as Sakamoto walked to the baseline and prepared to serve. She threw the ball up in the air and it hit her racket to the other side of the court. It bounced and I watched eyes wide, as its angle of trajectory changed. Instead of the ball hitting the middle part of the fence like it should have, it would've gone over it, if the fence hadn't been tall enough. Not only that, the ball was also powerful enough to embed itself in the fence.

"Nya! That was… AMAZING! Sa-chan's amazing! Right Oishi?" Kikumaru asked, bouncing around before glomping Oishi.

"Aa. She is." Oishi said.

"Ii data." Inui muttered as he wrote something down on his notebook.

"BURNING! Way to go Sakamoto! … Gomen. I got a little carried away." Kawamura said.

"Saa, it's okay Taka-san." Fuji said, holding Kawamura's racket.

Sakamoto walked towards them and handed Tezuka his racket.

"Ne, ne Sa-chan. What are you gonna call it?" Kikumaru asked.

"Call it? I've never really thought about naming it." Sakamoto said.

"Nya! Really?"

Sakamoto nodded.

"Then can I name it then?" Kikumaru asked.

"Sure." Sakamoto said.

"Saa, do you already have a name for it Eiji?" Fuji asked.

Kikumaru nodded eagerly.

"Let's call it…"

End Flashback…

"Comet Serve."

"Ryohei? What do you mean by 'Comet Serve'?" Ryota asked.

"That's it, the Comet Serve… or what Kikumaru-kun called it, Chiharu's Comet Serve." I said.

"Yatta na! Ike Sakamoto-chan! Tezuka-kun!" Nakano yelled.

Sakamoto looked at the umpire.

"Uh… Oh, 40 – 30."

"Did you see what that girl just did?"

"Wow. She's amazing… not to mention cute as well."

"Looks like our little flower had attracted quite a few bees." Yamato said.

Nakano and Yaotome both shared the same horrified expression before bursting out. "Never!" They shouted, both emitting a big brother aura.

I chuckled before looking at the two freshmen on the court. They really are something.

oOo
Sakamoto Chiharu's POV

"Love – 40. Match point."

I took a deep breath as I calmed down my hand. It was throbbing painfully, giving me a hard time in returning the ball. Not only that, my wrist was already difficult to move. I should have listened to Inui.

"With the amount of top spin you put on the ball, there's a 98% percent chance that your hand will experience some difficulties in returning the ball due to shaking or painful throbbing. According to my calculations, you can only use it up to 4 times with your current physical capability."

4 times? … How many times have I used it? About 6? I sighed, shaking the thoughts out of my head and focused on Rowell who was serving the ball. Sempai-tachi are counting on me. He served and Kunimitsu returned it easily. I ignored my hand as I concentrated on the ball Jeremiah shot towards me. Soon enough, we had already broken into another rally. Jeremiah shot another drop shot and I ran to reach it. I was able to return it but…

Clutter.

-my hand had already reached its extent.

"I got you know little girl!"

I watched as Rowell hit the ball and it felt like time had slowed down. It was like my feet had been planted on the ground and I could only watch as the ball went closer.

"Sakamoto-chan/Sakamoto-chi!"

Then, the unthinkable happened, the ball, which was coming straight at me, changed course. Instead of hitting me, it was like the ball was pulled away from me. I turned my head to look at Kunimitsu. He was… glowing. There was something like a golden whirlpool surrounding him, pulling the ball towards him. How? The ball bounced and without even taking a step away, he hit it. Jeremiah and Rowell had been surprised as well, judging from their expressions, causing them to miss the ball.

Kunimitsu looked at the umpire.

"G-game, set and match. Tezuka, Sakamoto pair. 6 games to 4."

Kunimitsu walked towards me as people cheered. He picked up my racket before looking at me and for a moment it seemed like we were talking inside my head.

You should have listened to Inui.

… I know.

"Sakamoto-chan! Tezuka-kun!"

Nakano-sempai shouted as he and Yaotome-sempai ran towards us.

"Sakamoto-chi!" Yaotome-sempai said as he hugged me. "Are you okay?" He asked, holding me at arm's length.

"Hai. I'm fine, Sempai." I said.

"Sakamoto-chan. What happened?" Ryohei-sempai asked.

"Eto… Sempai. I overused my serve."

"Overused?" Nakano-sempai asked.

"Hai. Inui said I can only use it 4 times with the physical capability that I have… at least that's what he said." I explained. "But… I think I used it 6 times and… that happened." I said, unconsciously biting my lower lip.

"Mou Sakamoto-chi, don't scare us like that again." Yaotome-sempai said.

"Hai. Gomen." I said, bowing.

"Maa, it's okay Chiisai Hana."

Chiisai Hana? I straightened back up and looked at Yamato-sempai.

"Nice name. It fits you perfectly." Ryota-sempai said and Takagi-sempai gave a nod.

Yamato-sempai smiled at me and Kunimitsu. "Congratulations you two." He said.

Both Kunimitsu and I looked at each other before looking back at our Sempai-tachi.

"Hai. Arigatou."

"Eto, Sempai-tachi, where are Jeremiah-san and the others?"

"Oh, Blondie? They left quickly after Ryota glared at them."

"Oi. What are you talking about Ryohei? You were glaring at them too."

oOo
Tezuka Kunimitsu's POV

"Say Kuniumitsu." Chiharu called me. "What you did earlier…" She trailed off causing me to look at her.

We were in my room again. Her on my bed and me facing my study table, just like before. Her eyes were looking blankly at the book in front of her and when it met mine, I could see wonder and worry. She got off my bed and stood up.

"… The Samurai Zone, though incomplete, the player would still need to force large amounts of spin to the ball." She said as she walked towards me. "You knew that my hand was already hurting didn't you? And that… every movement of my wrist caused me pain." She asked and I turned back to my book. "Yet you didn't stop me. Instead-" She held my arm and I flinched. "-you overdid yourself as well." She concluded as she let go and I found myself looking at her bandaged wrist.

She held my wrist and straightened my arm. "Can you relax your arm?" She asked and I did. To my surprise she started to massage my elbow. "This should reduce the pain." She muttered and I found myself relaxing as she continued.

Knock. Knock.

"Haru-chan, Kunimitsu. It's time for dinner." I heard Kira-san say.

"We'll be right down Kira-nee." Chiharu said, letting go of my elbow. "Did it work?" She asked.

I held my elbow and flexed it a little before looking at her.

"Aa."


So sorry for the long update! I was cramming… still am. If I will have a gigantic house what special room would I put in it? My friends say that I would have a room full of skulls… T-T So mean. I won't do that! I'll have a room just like Professor Dumbledore's study in Hogwarts. :D Anyway here's Chapter 11! And thanks to the following:

RockPrincess410, Nogizaka Ayumi,Rikkai and hyotei lover, YLCourt, Certified Chocoholic, SilverDragon13, and Katou Michinzu.

I'm hoping that you enjoy this chapter! Please leave a review. ~Krisia