Alright guys. The next chapter is up.
Important AN: If you don't read this, then don't plague me about not updating in the near future. In one week, I am going to work in India for 3 months and so, there will not be an update as I won't have a computer or internet access. Consider this fair warning that any pokes to get me to update before June will go unanswered.
On that note, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor any of it's affiliations.
The match began as many competition matches did. Momo and Kaidoh approached one side of the court as their opponents, Kisarazu and Yanagisawa took their positions on the opposite side. The referee for their match, Ryuuzaki-sensei herself, began by reciting the rules.
"Ok. Standard competition format. First team to six points with a two point lead on the other team. In the event of a tie, the first to score seven hits on the opposing team with a one hit lead will be declared the winner. The aim is to take the cloth from one of the members of the other team through any means. Try to avoid killing one another. Any method is viable. One relieved of the cloth, the point is counted and the cloth is returned until the match is over. If both cloths are taken from the opposing team at the same time, it is an automatic win.
"Matches shall begin with all members in their courts but during the course of the match, movement is allowed. All points are valid unless questioned by the bench coaches. Let's begin."
With that, Tezuka, who was acting bench coach, and Mizuki nodded and sat on their benches. The other Seigaku and St Rudolph members were watching on the sidelines, removed enough so that any stray attacks couldn't hurt them.
"Doubtless Mizuki has informed his team of the weaknesses of ours," Inui said to those on the sidelines.
"I wonder what Kaidoh's afraid of?" Eiji questioned and seemingly perked Fuji's interest.
"It's too bad they weren't going against Kaneda," Fuji purred, "he'd be able to materialise their fears."
"I wonder if Momo's English teacher would have appeared," Eiji crowed happily and the others (barring Echizen) laughed at the faint dusting of colour that appeared on Momo's face as he overheard the conversation.
The innocent and sadistic ponderings of Eiji and Fuji were silenced by Ryuuzaki-sensei declaring the first match beginning.
Momo, as per usual, threw the first punch. A devastatingly powerful right hook aimed at the smaller of the two St Rudolph opponents, Kisarazu. For the most part, the unsuspecting player fielded it admirably, with a half step backwards and a cross arm block in front of his face, where the assault was aimed. With this method, he managed to diffuse about three quarters of the power in Momo's attack, but he was still sent staggering backwards with some rapidly forming bruises on his forearms.
The other two players decided this was a wonderful opportunity to join the fray as well and Yanagisawa approached Kaidoh with the intent to hit his stomach with a powerful frontal kick.
If it had connected. Kaidoh stepped to the side and allowed Yanagisawa to sail past him, overbalanced when his kick didn't connect with its target. As he flew past Kaidoh, his fingers stretched out to grasp the brown and white cloth hanging from Yanagisawa's shirt. Unfortunately, his fingers just brushed it when he felt a corresponding whisper of movement behind him as his opponent reached for his blue and white cloth.
Jumping backwards, he leapt out of the way just in time, abandoning his target but preserving his own in the process. A brief flash of irritation flitted across Kaidoh's face at the lack of scoring but given the amount of trust he had in his current partner, he probably rationalised that Momo wouldn't be scoring them any points so he couldn't afford to lose any.
A quick glance over to Momo showed that he and Kisarazu had backed away from one another and were circling around like a parody of predators in the Savannah. Personally, Kaidoh thought it was a bit of a jump to compare an idiot like Momo to a predator even in his head, but he couldn't control his thoughts. At least no one could hear his thoughts.
Pause. Echizen! Kaidoh's eyes darted over to the sides where the others were watching and sure enough, Echizen was wearing that smug, all knowing smirk of his. If he were anyone else, Kaidoh would have groaned. But since he was Kaidoh, he hissed out his last breath and faced his opponent.
Yanagisawa, who had the powers of regeneration, wouldn't be an easy opponent to physically subdue on his own, but thankfully, Kaidoh was never alone really. With a swish of his hand, a viper appeared behind Yanagisawa and began to slither its way towards its prey. Yanagisawa, the poor prey, never even noticed its approach and the snake was in striking distance within seconds. Unfortunately for Kaidoh, Kisarazu did notice it and obviously, the teamwork of the St Rudolph team was slightly better than Momo's and his.
"Yanagisawa, look out!" Kisarazu called, but was unfortunately unable to lend him some aid as Momo decided he wanted to attack him at that moment. Delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to Kisarazu, who was distracted by calling out to Yanagisawa, Momo was somewhat surprised when it connected. Kisarazu went flying to the back of the courts, regaining his footing only as he tumbled a few times. He looked up at Momo, he eyes flashing a steely grey colour and suddenly, the blue sky turned the same colour. The air got heavier and clouds gathered above, their water saturated bodies seemingly teeming with anger. Quickly, Kisarazu looked to his partner and saw that he had dodged the sneak attack of the viper, only to be confronted by a snarling, angry wolf that was prowling towards him menacingly.
'I have to get Momo's cloth. Otherwise, they'll incapacitate us both,' Kisarazu thought and unleashed the power of Zeus. Thunder rumbled through the sky, ominous and powerful, like the footsteps of an approaching deity. It reverberated through the charged air and even into the ground. Momo felt some kind of forgotten horror pass through his bones as the solid ground beneath his feet shook with the powerful clashes of clouds.
He could do nothing but watch as the area around him shook with the power of an earthquake. Standing on the sidelines, the other students of St Rudolph were loudly cheering at the revelation of Kisarazu's power. The Seigaku onlookers looked on, slightly hopelessly, as one of their members froze, the vibrations awakening some long forgotten fear within him.
Thankfully, there was at least one person that seemed unaffected. Kaidoh, whose animals were well on the way to incapacitating Yanagisawa, looked around when he felt the earth move. He saw his partner freeze and Kisarazu approach him, clearly intending to relieve him of his cloth. Unfortunately for Kisarazu, Kaidoh was closer. With speed normally reserved for individuals gifted with super speed, he raced towards Momo and delivered a belting cuff around the head.
"Ow! What was that for Mamushi?" Momo complained loudly, but successfully snapping out of his stupor.
"Fshuu, baka! You nearly cost us the match. Just stick to the plan," Kaidoh hissed and slouched back to his opponent who oh so thoughtfullystayed in the same place thanks to the viper now entwined lovingly around his limbs and the growling wolf standing guard. He looked back at Momo and said, "one minute."
Momo then leapt into action, physically and literally. He formed a fist with one hand and waited for it to start to glow blue. When he deemed it right, he punched straight up into the sky, dispelling the clouds with ease and thus, stopping the thunder.
45 seconds.
He jumped towards Kisarazu and aimed a side kick to his waist, which Kisarazu dodged by back flipping.
30 seconds.
As Kisarazu righted himself, he was faced with seeing Momo leap into the air to deliver another strong punch with his right hand, powered not only by his muscles but also by the gravity pulling Momo out of the leap.
15 seconds.
Kisarazu managed to block the punch by the skin of his teeth and stood his ground firmly. However, it once again took the strength of both his arms crossed over his face to stop the assault, leaving his cloth wide open for removal.
0 seconds.
The onlookers were amazed as Kaidoh and Momo simultaneously removed the cloths from both Kisarazu and Yanagisawa, both of whom had their hands otherwise occupied (one was dealing with a punch, the other had them pinned to his sides). There was complete silence from the peanut gallery as Ryuuzaki-sensei announced an immediate win for Seigaku with a smirk on her face.
"What just happened?" Eiji asked, looking on at the scene in front of him in a kind of bewildered amazement. Oishi didn't bother to vocally answer, just shaking his head pathetically. The others were milled around the court and all had borne witness to what had just occurred. Personally, Echizen didn't want to believe it. It made much more sense for his vision to have played a trick on him than give in to the notion that Momo and Kaidoh could actually work together.
It went against all laws of nature. They had actually discussed a plan with one another before they leapt into the match. It was baffling to the mind, even to someone as familiar with the intricate workings of the mind as Echizen. Kaidoh and Momo left the court in complete silence, walking about three metres apart and looking to all in the world as though they hated one another.
Which was probably true and made St Rudolph's defeat much more insulting. Echizen tore his gaze away from the two Seigaku members who were towelling off and rehydrating, to the St Rudolph pair. They were currently being spoken to by Mizuki who was frowning. Echizen could pick up various stray pieces of the conversation, but it was more like a berating. For some reason, Echizen felt rather pleased at the thought of Mizuki's plan falling apart.
The entire populous of the area was so confused by the quick ending of the match, just when it was heating up, that the start of the next match was slightly delayed. Neither the members of the St Rudolph team nor those of the Seigaku squad completely registered what had happened so as a result, they were unprepared for the bark that left Ryuuzaki-sensei's mouth.
"What are you all hanging around for? The next match is beginning!" she ordered, snapping everyone out of their dazes. St Rudolph was quick to bring out their next players for the final doubles match. The squad leader Akazawa and an extraordinarily plain looking Kaneda came forward and approached Mizuki. Tezuka motioned for Eiji and Oishi to come to him and the pair advanced towards him in perfect synch.
"This should be interesting," Inui said, looming behind a startled Echizen. Thankfully, Echizen's shock only displayed itself in a slight widening of his eyes, so nothing was visible to Inui.
That didn't stop him from whipping out his infernal notebook to write something in it that was no doubt inconsequential to all others besides Inui.
"Eiji and Oishi's combination is well known," Fuji sidled up, giving Echizen his second shock in as many minutes, "so much so that they are called the 'Golden Pair'."
"Oishi provides support for Eiji's attacks," Inui continued as though he had never been interrupted. Fuji smiled and glanced over to his left. Following, Echizen's eyes involuntarily slid over to Mizuki, where he was debriefing his team.
"With Mizuki telling these two Eiji's and Oishi's fears, it will be an interesting battle. Akazawa being able to form illusions and Kaneda's powers of materialisation will mean that our members will be literally facing their fears in this match," Fuji said, looking upon Tezuka, who was doubtlessly iterating this to his two team mates. Eiji and Oishi nodded and stepped up to the court, facing Akazawa and Kaneda.
Ryuuzaki-sensei began the countdown for the next match as Tezuka looked on stoically and Mizuki gazed at the four people, looking far too smug in anyone's opinion.
This time, St Rudolph were the ones to make the first move. Akazawa headed towards Eiji and Kaneda took Oishi as an opponent. They obviously knew of the successful combinations of the Golden Pair and so, decided to separate them as quickly as possible. Both the St Rudolph members appeared to want to put Mizuki's knowledge to good use as Kaneda quickly materialised what was apparently one of Oishi's fears.
The ground bubbled and surged and black ooze rose from the ground. The amorphous blob soon coalesced into a vaguely human shape and quickly began to colour and detail. And then there were two Eijis. Though, it was nothing to do with Eiji's psi gift, it was Kaneda who made it. It seemed facing Eiji as an enemy was one of Oishi's fears.
Now, normally, one would be so paralysed at the materialisation of their fear that removal of their cloth would be easy but apparently Kaneda's power had one gaping weakness. Oishi was an empath and as an empath, there was a certain level of truth he placed in feelings. Empaths trust what they could feel more than they could see and hear in certain situations.
Kaneda's creation had no feelings. Even though it was a stunningly accurate copy of Eiji, it was as unfeeling as a statue. So, Oishi knew it wasn't real and so, wasn't overwhelmed by the fear of being confronted by it. All he had to do was wait until Kaneda got close enough to try and take his cloth and he sprung.
Delivering a shocking sweep to Kaneda's feet, he made him collapse and quickly seized his cloth, thus winning the first game for Seigaku.
By the next match, the St Rudolph pair realised that Oishi wouldn't be fooled by Kaneda's powers and so, they focussed their energies on Eiji. By containing Oishi in a materialised cage, Akazawa could concentrate on disabling Eiji.
Eiji was facing Akazawa, knowing of Oishi's plight but was unable to go to him and help. For Akazawa's eyes had flashed and Eiji was dropped into an illusion of his fears.
Lonely. Isolated. Black. All alone. All alone. All alone.
When Eiji became aware of himself, he knew it wasn't because he had managed to get out of the illusion by himself; it was because Akazawa had released the illusion. He had gathered his cloth after all so the match was over.
They continued to trade matches with one another, Seigaku winning theirs by not looking Akazawa in the eye and targeting Kaneda and St Rudolph winning theirs by isolating Oishi and targeting Eiji.
"I wonder how they are going to get out of this one," Kawamura questioned the other bystanders. Echizen was curious as well. He could think of a few methods but then, he had the benefit of objectivity. He gazed on as Eiji seemed to vent his frustrations on the bench they were sat on during the short break between matches. Oishi handed him a bottle of water and they exchanged a few words.
His eyes moved over to the St Rudolph players and saw them receiving more advice from Echizen's least favourite person of the day. He decided Momo wouldn't feel too neglected if someone usurped his spot for one day.
Water drunk and advice given, the four players returned to the court to begin the next match.
After the break, Eiji looked as though he had calmed significantly and he approached the next match with a more objective air. He knew that Akazawa's power relied on eye contact so Eiji could manipulate his power to counter that one.
If Akazawa didn't know which Eiji to target, then his illusions would be useless. Once again, Kaneda decided to isolate Oishi, so Eiji invoked his power.
Despite how well known the powers of Seigaku were, Akazawa still looked slightly shocked when seven Eiji's appeared in front of him.
'Which one is the real one?' he wondered, looking from one to the others. They were all identical and moving independently around him. Two of the seven branched off to target Kaneda and the remaining five stayed to deal with Akazawa.
The two Eijis approached Kaneda from behind and incapacitated him by delivering a blow to the back of the head. Immediately, his cage around Oishi fell and he rushed to Eiji's side. Well, one of the Eiji's sides.
Angered at the attack on his partner, Akazawa furiously turned to the Eijis and thought about how to target this new issue. 'If I don't know which is the real one, I'll make an illusion for all of them!' he thought and began to isolate all the Eijis in their own little worlds of loneliness. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't form them fast enough and even though he had caught some of them in his illusions, they didn't seem to stick. Whenever he formed one, the Eiji would pause and then shake off whatever illusion had taken place. Then, Akazawa was, quite literally, jumped by one of the Eiji's.
The Eiji that had leapt on Akazawa looked up at Oishi. If Echizen didn't know that they weren't telepathic, he would have believed they had just exchanged a thought with one another. Oishi ran towards the unconscious Kaneda and then they both removed the cloths of their opponents at the same time, giving Seigaku their second win (1).
Eiji slipped off of Akazawa's back and the other Eijis disappeared. As it turned out, the real Eiji was the one that had leapt on Akazawa and he bounced towards Oishi where they exchanged a high five.
"Tell me something," Akazawa said as his partner roused himself, "how did you dispel the illusions? I know your power well enough to know that whatever affects your clones affects you."
Eiji grinned and slung an arm around Oishi's shoulders. "Oishi." And then he bounced off to talk to Fuji.
Thankfully for Akazawa, Oishi remained behind to explain it to him. "During the break, Eiji told me what your illusions were. I knew enough about Mizuki to know that he would have told you Eiji's greatest fear was being alone. And I knew you wouldn't change your illusions. Since Eiji and I are partners, I can project emotions easily to him so whenever you made an illusion of loneliness, I would project feelings of comfort and thus Eiji would realise it was an illusion." Oishi then left to talk with Tezuka.
"An illusion only holds power if you believe it (2)," Fuji said seemingly to no one, but Inui and Kaidoh were nodding. Echizen was looking on at them, until he heard his name shouted.
"Echizen!" Ryuuzaki-sensei called. He took that as his cue to meander over to the court where he faced his opponent.
Fuji Yuuta. Oh dear. If he lost, he was screwed. If he won, he was screwed.
He wondered if Ryuuzaki-sensei would accept his excuse of a stomach ache.
1. I thought I'd mix it up a bit. Can't have you all being content that you know what's coming.
2. A bit of a paraphrasing from Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
As always, R&R. And I shall see you in June. Hopefully with a really good tan.
Bumble x