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 thinking
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. Still on writers block, I'm very confused on how to peice my thoughts and ideas together but I want to at least get out a chapter, so I'm trying my best to keep the story going. If the plot for this chapter seem to like, not transition well, just tell me and I'll like remake a new chapter cause I'm a bit wary. .
C a n ' t S t o p T h i n k i n g O f Y o u
Chapter Fourteen : Grand Dream
Hikari looked at Inui as he bounced the tennis ball, she was breathing rapidly due to lost of energy.
"Myu-Jikku shot-o, " She sighed, it probably been the seventy eight time she had to attempt it, but either way she waited for him to serve. Inui threw up the ball and served.
She ran towards the ball and returned it, Inui rallied with her, a bit proud of her,
' I've been training her, and look at how much she has improved...but she needs more training..' Hikari stared at the ball in surprise as it hit deep far back into the left side of
her court, she spun around with one foot hoping it would work just like that match with Fuji two weeks ago , lifting the other leg back she returned the ball. The sound of the
ball hitting the racket was like a broken pitch of a note on the piano, the ball spun on the floor, but it flew up. Hikari frowned as Inui stared at her,
"You're footing is a bit off, along with the spin. The way you swung your racket, it's has to hit below the center and drag it up, so the ball can form it's circular spin. " Hikari
groaned and nodded, getting in a stance. Inui pushed his glasses up to fit his nose better,
"Practice is over, " Hikari blinked in surprise but nodded to go change.
- & -
"I'm home," Hikari walked through the door, Watari greeted her.
"Young lady Tezuka; I've noticed somethings in the mail today. " Hikari blinked confused as Watari held two envelope.
"What do you mean, Watari-san? " Watari gave a soft smile and held out the envelopes,
"A letter, from Hikaru's mom." Hikari took the letter, she opened the envelope to read until someone behind her glomp her.
"Hikari-chan!" Hikari blinked in surprise at the familar british accent and turned around to see a, fairly young, european lady in a sunflower summer dress and yellow hat. She was tall and slender, her cheek bones were very high and it defined her face very well. She had long eyelashes that surronded her sliver eyes. Her blonde wavy hair was probably as long as Hikari's, or even longer.
"Yamabuzuki-san!" Hikari dropped the envelopes, the paper flying out. Hikari own accent seemed to fit with the other. The lady had red suitcases behind her as two maids came and picked them up.
"Ahh! Hikari-chan, as well mannered as usual. I told you to call me Hitomi-chan! Just as if I was one of your schoolmates." Hikari blushed and shook her head,
"I-I couldn't possibly, y-you're Hikaru-kun's mom!" Hitomi grinned, her rosy lips revealed her white pearls,
"It's okay, Obaa-sama isn't here; and neither is Hikaru." She opened her mouth to decline again,
"Hitomi-san, you're here." Hikaru turned to see Kunihimu.
"Eh!? Uncle you knew?" He smiled,
"Of course, I invited her to take care of you while I go on a month- bussiness trip back to Europe for the time being." Hikari almost felt her jaw drop, but kept it close. Kunihimu walked away to his office as Hikari turned to Hitomi.
"Who's taking care of your clothing company while you're here?"
"Hikaru is." Hitomi looked at the floor.
"Eh? What's this? Haru no Sakura Masquerade." Hikari bent down and picked up the paper, she read the words out loud,
"Seishun Gakuen is having the Spring Masquerade, where students from all grades come and dress up in western styled dresses. They'll be music provided along with
food, and many other things, Come on the first day of spring, February Fourth. That's in a few more weeks. " Hikari blinked as Hitomi took the flyer,
"Eh? I have to make your dress!" Hikari stared at her as she gushed out about fashion styles and dresses, knowing that Hikari had plenty of westerned style dress. Hikari sighed a bit,
"I don't want to go," Hitomi frowned a bit, Hikari panicked.
"B-but new changes are great for the new year?" Hitomi smiled brighty and grabbed Hikari's hands.
"Honto ne !? I'll make the perfect dress and-" Hikari smiled slightly at her best friend's mom rant on clothes.
- & -
Hikari changed her clothes, thinking about today's practice, everyone had once again had small matches against eachother, with the consequences of Inui's remix power
juice. Hikari shuddered and tied her shoes, she walked out to see Ryuzaki-sensei and Ryoma talking,
"Just like your father is, now you know." Hikari walked up to him,
"What was that about? " He just shook his head and walked, Hikari blinked and walked after him.
- & -
"After five hours, the men's single finals have become a grueling stamina match. This has become another long rally. The first set was easily taken by a score of 6-0"
Ryoma threw the ball up and down, listening to the T.V without looking at it. Nanjirou turned his head at his son and picked up the remote,
"What are you saying ?! That didn't happen. That's not right, visiting a temple is! " Ryoma looked up at the T.V startled, Nanjirou smirked and threw the remote behind
while picking up the newspaper. Ryoma narrowed his eyes,
"T.V or Newspaper. Pick one!"
"You're not watching it either. So young, but still no energy." Ryoma got up and walked away hearing the distant voice of his cousin,
"I wonder what's wrong with Ryoma-san. " Ryoma sighed and turned on the water in the tub, he proceeded to remove his clothes. He threw his clothes into the laundry bin
as his cat meowed at the sudden impact. Ryoma closed the door and sat down in the tub, staring at the tennis ball float around,
'I'll be waiting for you at 3pm, 3 days from now. I'll bring the balls, come alone. ' those words ran through his head as he let the water run.
- & -
Hikari ran towards the basket ball and threw it into the basket, nearly tripping but managed to score.
"Nice shot-o, Hikari ! " Ryoma tied his shoes as Horio came up to him,
"What's wrong, Echizen? Are you sick? "
"Nope." Ryoma got up and went onto the courts.
- & -
"There isn't much time before the tournament, make sure you get enough sleep so you're not burned out. "
"Ok ! "
"Roger that !" Everyone chimed,
"Regular's dismissed!" Hikari ran to the girl's locker room,
'Today's practice was hard...' She changed into her uniform and left out quickly, completely drained.
- & -
"Hikari? What do you do afterschool? You seem to come later than usual." Hikari gently swallowed her food,
"I go to tennis practice, - Hitomi" Hikari corrected herself after the stare she recieved. Silence filled the room as the two ate,
"Kunihimu had to left this morning." Hikari stopped eating her pasta and stared at Hitomi from across the dinner table.
"Already? " Hitomi nodded and bit into her wagyu steak,
"Yeah. I thought he informed you this beforehand." Hikari drank her ice tea slowly with a small frown.
'But he didn't say goodbye...' Hitomi noticed and gave a small smile,
"Cheer up ol' love. He'll be back," Hikari nodded and continued to eat.
"So, how's Hikaru?"
"He misses you, ha! Opps, don't tell him I said that."
- & -
Hikari leaned over as Fuji pushed her back,
"Huh, aren't we missing a few people today? Ryoma-kun isn't here." Horio closed his eyes,
"What's wrong with that guy? "
Hikari sighed and looked up at Fuji,
"Oishi isn't here..." Momoshiro looked around,
"Neither is Captain..." Eiji jumped around,
"Ryoma is late too, what are they doing?"
"Echizen called in sick." Everyone turned to coach,
"Sick? How about Captain? "
"Sick,"
"Oishi ? "
"Sick..." Everyone stared at eachother.
"There must be a virus floating around." Hikari furrowed her eyebrows confused, Fuji noticed her look and grabbed her hand for her to stand up,
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure they're fine." Hikari still looked worried, Fuji patted her back,
- & -
Oishi almost dropped out of his hiding space as he watched Ryoma and Tezuka rally,
' Your arm...'
"Can you beat me ? " Ryoma panted and got up, smirking he wiped his sweat.
"I'll do it if you say so." Oishi stared worried as Tezuka returned Ryoma's famous twist serve.
'Normally, balls aimed at the face are hard to return. But just by bendhing his back, he made the twist serve a high shot. He's not playing, Tezuka's going all out. '
"Echizen, why do you play tennis ? Nande, Nande!? " Ryoma looked at him,
"I have someone I want to defeat. " He served and Tezuka looked surprised at his answer,
'What are you going to do when you defeat him ? What will you be left with...' Tezuka stepped back into a form and Oishi gasped,
'Stop it Tezuka, your drop shot...' but Oishi could only stare. The ball hit the ground and rolled back towards the net, Ryoma scowled,
"Echizen, see if you can beat me !" Ryoma smirked widely with his teeth showing.
' The drop shots...will ruin your joints...' Oishi stared as Ryoma served.
- & -
Ryoma sat down as he entered his house and untied his shoes,
"Hey young man, you're late. Was it a date?" Ryoma continued to untie his shoes,
"Something like that." Nanjiroh blinked in surpise,
"Huh ? " Ryoma walked upstairs as his father stared at him,
'With that blonde chick again, eh? '
- & -
"Eh !? Captain and Echizen are both absent again ? " Kikumaru, Momoshiro and Takashi turned to Oishi. Coach came and saved Oishi from the pressue.
"Don't just stand there, practice ! Regulars, ten laps." Hikari sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose,
'Is Echizen-kun okay ? Maybe I'll go visit later and Aniki, I haven't seen him around much lately.'
- & -
Ryoma changed his clothes and got out his racket, he walked outside to go find his father. He recalled what had happened with Tezuka,
The two rallied, and Ryoma could only stare as Tezuka returned the ball with his own special moves. He ran towards the ball but failed to return the ball. Ryoma kneeled to
the floor, tired and drained as Tezuka stared him down.
"Echizen, Become Seigaku's pillar of support ! "
"Dad, "
"You're pretty early today, It's very rare." Ryoma threw the ball at Nanjiroh,
"Let's play a game." Nanjiroh caught the ball,
"It's rare that you're willing to challenge me. Finally giving your old man some respect."
- & -
Nanjiroh and Ryoma stood on the court,
"No games."
"Sure, what about a handicap ? " Ryoma tightened his grip on his racket,
"No need." Ryoma bounced the ball and served,
"Here you go !" Nanjiroh returned it and the two rallied. Suddenly, Ryoma backhanded a ball and it went almost went pass Nanjiroh, untill he switched hands and returned
it.
"How naive !" Ryoma returned the ball, and Nanjiroh stared with his eyes narrowed,
'The ball movement is different from before.' Nanjiroh smirked and returned it, getting it passed Ryoma.
"Mada Mada Dane."
- & -
Hikari walked to the Echizen resident, with miso soup in her bento. She fidgetted with her bag as she stared at the sky, it was an orangey color. Indicating that practice
was way over, she took a deep breath and walked in front of the gate. Hikari tried to muster up all her courage and buzzed the buzzer. A soft femine voice was heard,
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"Is this where Ryoma Echizen lives ? "
"Hai, May I ask who you are? "
"I'm Tezuka Hikari, a classmate of Ryoma. I heard he didn't come to practice twice, so I was worried."
"Oh, okay. Come on in. " A women dressed in a gray suit and hair in a bun; which reminded Hikari of a lawyer she'd she on t.v, opened the front gate.
"Hello, My name is Echizen Rinko. Ryoma's mother. I'm sure Ryoma is somewhere in the house, let me escort you." Hikari nodded and entered the house, she sat down on the couch as Rinko went somewhere. Hikari looked around, it was very Japanese styled.
"Hikari-san, There're out in the courts, would you like some refreshments?" Hikari gave a smile and bowed,
"Hai, Arigatou." Rinko laughed,
"Alright, you stay right there while I go get the refreshments." Hikari nodded as she left.
& -
The two had rallied furiously untill the sky was turning orange, Ryoma gather his strength, remembering Tezuka's words.
"Hit it to me, a shot that I can't return...and improve yourself, Echizen !" Ryoma let a small gasp escape as he stared at the ball, he could only think one thing,
' I can do it !'
- & -
"Here we go." Hikari turned her head to see Rinko carry a plate of lemonade and cookies. She sat down across from Hikari and offered her a drink,
"So Hikari-san, tell me about yourself?" Hikari gave a nervous grin,
"My name is Tezuka Hikari and I recently came from Europe." Rinko blinked,
"Tadaima!" A girl with blue hair came in with groceries in her hands.
"Oh, we have a guest. Hello." Hikari looked at her and stood up,
"Hello." Rinko grinned,
"That's my neice, Nanako Meino." Hikari nodded and sat down as Nanako went into the kitchen.
"Really being from Europe I'm assuming you know english?" Hikari nodded,
"Yes, ." Rinko blinked in surprise as Nanako came and sat down,
"Hello, sorry for the interuption for before and now. But I'm Meino Nanako, and you are?" Hikari smiled,
" Hikari Tezuka, nice to meet you." Rinko and Nanako looked at Hikari,
"An Brittish accent? Are you from england?" Hikari nodded as she took another sip of her drink. Rinko offered her some cookies and Hikari couldn't help but take some. She looked around the house to see some old pictures of Rinko and a man; assuming that's her husband, from back in the days. Rinko let out a small laugh,
"I remember when me and Nanjiro first met." Hikari looked at her surprised,
"Really? Please, do tell." Rinko smiled brightly; happy that someone wanted to hear her love story.
"Well, it all started at a tennis court."
- & -
One week after arriving in America, Nanjiro is...
"What? There's some guy from Japan who wants to become a pro? Don't make me laugh! As if a brat from Japan could become a pro here in American," An overweight
american man in a cowboy hat and a matching beard sat in the bar with others around him. He's eyes were covered by sun glasses as others agreed.
"Man, it's so hot today. Damn!"
What awaits for Nanjiro, who came to American with grand dreams.
A drink was poured over the said man with the cowboy hat as a young asian man stood next to him with the cup, he smirked as the man sat up.
"Uwaa! So cold!" The asian man grinned,
"I'm so sorry, I don't understand any english!" The others that sat next to the man got up,
"Who is this brat?"
"What are you doing to coach smith?!" Smith stood up and looked down at Japanese man. A young asian lady behind the bar, dressed in the required uniform; a polo and
khaki's, looked at the scene with a confused face,
'What's that Japanese guy thinking...He's going to get himself killed.' She jumped over the counter to prevent whatever was going to happen,
"Please, plase excuse him! It was because coach Smith said that it was hot today, that's why he poured water on...uh, how am I suppose to explain this?" She grabbed
the Japanese man's arm,
"Come on! You should hurry up and apologize!" He looked at her confused,
"I don't want to..." She felt her eyes widen and she looked at Smith.
"We're so sorry! Please excuse us!" She grabbed him and ran out towards the tennis courts.
She bent over with her hands on her knees, tired from running. She stood with her back facing the man,
"You're the one the coach was talking about? The Japanese guy who wants to become a pro? If you make an enemy out of coach Smith, you won't just get kicked out of the club, you'll have a hard time becoming a pro. But that was really refreshing to see, I'm Takeuchi Rinko! I came to America to study and hopefully become a lawyer
someday, tennis is just a hobby of mine." The man went behind her and grabbed her boobs,
"I'm not interested in Japanese women," He squeezed them,
"See? So small..." His face was nonchalant as she did so, while Rinko blushed in surprise.
"Mada Mada Dana, you're still growing." He turned to walk away, Rinko scowled and grabbed a tennis ball.
"Die! You freakin pervert!" She threw the tennis ball at the back of his head. He tilted his head and hit the ball backwards with his racket; eyes closed. Rinko widened her eyes in surprise,
'No way! He hit it without looking back." She stared as he stopped walking,
"Even though I'm not interested in B-cups, My name is Echizen Nanjiro. I came to America to fulfill a huge dream of mine." Rinko smiled untill some american girls from the
jacuzzi began to call him over.
"Hi! Nanjiro, come on!" He grinned and flailed his arms around,
"Alright! I'm coming, American Banzai!"
"Hey, it may be none of my business but you're not very sexy in a jersey!" Nanjiro ran off to dive into the jaquzzi,
"Oh yeah! There really huge boobs everyone in America! I must be dreaming, Ready or not. Here I come!" The girls giggled as he dived in. Rinko facepalmed,
'What an idiot.' She leaned against a railing and looked down in her shirt,
"But, is my figure really that bad? My breast aren't really that small...see?"
Smith stood with another tennis player as the sun blazed down on them,
"It seems like that Japanese brat is still hanging around the club." Smith turned to the tennis player,
"Idiot! Forget about that brat! In another week, he'll be hitting the wall that seperates him from the pros and he'll run back to Japan crying. More importantly, Michael, you should focus on your training. If you can make it into the top thirty-two in the next tournament, I'll let you debut as a pro."
"Yes sir!" Michael stared at Nanjiro; who was sitting in the tanning chair with two girls clinging onto him,
'That Japanese brat, if he does something to Alisa, I'm not going to forgive him!' Alisa glomped Nanjiro and smiled,
"Oh my, Nan-chan!" Michael scowled,
'But he's already done it...'
Rinko stared at Nanjiro and sighed,
'He's at it again,' She looked up at him as he began to walk away with the two American girls,
"Nanjiro! What happened to your huge dreams? You never go to practice, you'll never become a pro by flirting with chicks all day. This club has many semi-pros, if you practice with them it might even do you some good!" He sat in the back of the pick up truck with the girls,
"Not interested, I'm with three beautiful blonde babes! If this isn't a huge dream, then I don't know what is. Go go, Yahoo!" The car droved off as the girls giggled,
"Slow down Nanjiro!" Michael stared at Alisa's leaving figure and scowled, he punched a nearby tree.
"Bouncy babes go a hahahahan! ahn ahn ahn!~"
Nanjiro happily sang in the showers as he shampooed his hair, Michael stood outside the door with a smirk.
"Hey, even if a dirty monkey like you takes a shower, you'll never become clean! Meet me at court thirteen right now, don't try to run away!"
___________
Rinko fumed as she walked to the courts in her Fila tennis outfit and racket,
"How can he give up on his dreams so easily?! That idiot!" She sat down on a nearby bench, She sighed and looked down at the floor.
"Geez, he's so dense."
Smith glared at Michael through his sunglases,
"You idiot! I thought I told you that you had a match coming up next month! How could you get torn muscles, bruises, sprains, and whiplash at such an important time?! What the hell happened?!" Michael looked away with bandages on his face,
"I was playing tennis." Smith turned around,
"You piece of treash! You got beat so badly because you were careless. I don't want to be wasiting my time wit you. You're fired!" Michael felt his eyes widen,
"Coach...Coach Smith!?" Smith turned his head and spit at him.
Smith served another ball,
"Are you guys even trying at all!?" He grunted,
'Hmph, why must I spend the entire tennis day to these brats!?' Everyone gaspes as the ball flew over the ducked head of a kid.
"Hyaah!" The kid squeezed his eyes closed, scared out of the living daylights.
"Hey, isn't that a bit cruel? His opponent's just a kid." Smith turned to the speaker,
"You there, do you have something you want to say?" The man nervously waved his hands,
"Er...no..." Rinko stared at the scene as Smith yelled,
"That's right! You should feel privileged to be able to receive tennis lessons from a former pro like me!" The little boy crawled on the ground as he searched for his glasses.
"Ara? That boy's glasses..." Rinko widen her eyes in surprise as Smith threw a tennis ball up to serve,
'What...what is he trying to do...?' Smith served the ball towards the kid as everyone gasped,
"Ah! Watch out!!" Rinko sprinted foward as she embraced the boy from the ball. She grunted in pain as it hit her shoulder, the boy stood up as she kneeled on the ground.
"Are you alright? Stand back a bit." The boy nodded and grabbed his racket,
"I'm okay, thank you." Rinko turned to Smith,
"How could you do such a horrible thing!?" Smith pointed his racket at her,
"As a former Tennis pro, I'm trying to coach these brats into becoming real tennis players. Stay out of this, woman!" Rinko scowled,
"You call that coaching?! Is hitting a ball at a child who is trying to pick up his glasses something a real coach would do?!" Smith picked up another tennis ball,
"In tennis," He threw the tennis ball up, Rinko felt her eyes widen in fear.
"A little bit of spartan discipline will help them learn faster..." He served the ball over with a malicious grin,
"Experience it with your own body!!" Rinko cried out as another ball hit her.
Nanjiro sat on the hood of a car with an impassive face as the American girls began to crowd him,
"Nanjiro, what's wrong? Why the long face?" He shifted his eyes to the right, searching for something.
"Here comes the unsexy one." Rinko turned her head,
"Hm?" She looked down at her arm and repatched the bandage on her arm. Nanjiro didn't notice though, he smirked staring at her boobs.
"Hey Rinko, are you wearing your jersey backwards again?" Rinko gave a sad smile at his joke about her boobs being as flat as her back,
"See...it's as I thought, I guess I'm just now that cut out for this." She pushed her hair behind her ear, Nanjiro narrowed his eyes at the bruises on her arms. Rinko turned around and waved her arm; she walked off.
"Later..." Nanjiro turned to Michael,
"What happened Michael?" Nanjiro leaned on the car's window as Michael stood across from his.
"Nanjiro, actually..." Michael looked down as Nanjiro looked up at the sky.
____________
"Alisa-chan! Sorry, but it looks like we'll have to cancel our 'tournament' today..." Alisa giggled,
"Okay." Michael looked at him.
"Tournament?"
Smith walked out of the court and nearby a statue that was also part water fountain. He placed his racket on his shoulder as he walked by it, suddenly the statue broke. Smith looked at the tennis ball on the ground and back up at Nanjiro. Nanjiro grinned,
"Spartan coach, I found you!~ Could you also teach me some tennis?"
"Hey, this is crazy! This time coach Smith is targeting that Japanese guy!"
"That guy's in trouble!" Groups of tennis players ran,
"It's at the center court, hurry!" They ran to see Nanjiro and Smith facing each other.
"Oh! There they are! It's really them!" Rinko stared at the two with wide eyes,
'No matter how good he is, to challenge coach Smith to a match...What is he thinking...? Nanjiro...' Nanjiro smiled and waved at the crowd.
"The best of one set match, Smith service play!" Smith grinned,
"You've got alot of guts! Ha!" He served the ball,
"15-love!" The crowd stared in awe,
"So...so fast! He was ranked eighty - six in the word during his glory days, he still hasn't lot it!?" Nanjiro frowned and placed his racket on his shoulder,
"Mada Mada Dana!" He smirked with his eyes half closed,
"That was so slow, I could return it with my eyes closed! Watch." Nanjiro closed his eyes everyone gasped,
"Ehh!? That guy really closed his eyes." Smith stared at him,
'Is that idiot bluffing with me?' Smith served again,
"Die, you brat!" The crowd stared in shock,
"He's...He's aiming at his face from such a close distance! Isn't that against the rules?!"
"He wasn't planning to follow the rules since the beginning!" Rinko gasped as Nanjiro kept his eyes closed and returned the ball, she recalled the last time she threw a tennis ball at his head. Smith fell backwards as the ball hit his face,
"Stop screaming like a little girl!" He wiped his face as Nanjiro tied his hair back into a pony tail; reminding Rinko of a samurai.
"Mada Mada Dana!" Michael stared as Nanjiro demolish Smith,
"This reminds me of something I heard a while ago, rumor has it that in the past month, there was a samurai warrior from Japan who had been appearing at various tournaments...annihilating all his opponents and winning every tittle..." Rinko gasped and widen her eyes remembering what he said,
"I came to America to fulfill a huge dream of mine."
"Yesterday, I was also beaten badly in a match with him because I underestimated him." Rinko stood next to Michael and placed her hand in her left pocket,
"That explains why he's been going out everyday." A guy walked up besides the two,
"Hey you, I heard that Nanjiro Echizen plays at this club, is that true?" Michael looked at the man in shock,
"You're Bundro! The number one ranked player in the world. It's an honor to meet you here! Ah, congradulations on yesterday's tournament." Bundro stuffed his hand in his pocket,
"Yestday, I lost the final match...I was beaten by an unseeded samurai boy." Rinko gave a soft smile as she watched Nanjiro play,
Becoming a pro is only a possing point for Nanjiro, a huge dream...huh.
"Game, set. Won by Nanjiro, six games to love!" Nanjiro grinned as the crowd cheered his new nickname.
"Samurai!
Samurai!
Samurai!
Samurai!"
Rinko grabbed her helment and walked to a motercycle, she turned to Nanjiro.
"Nanjiro! You can still make it in time to today's tournament! I borrowed a friend's bike." Nanjiro looked at her as Michael give her the thumbs up,
"Ok!"
The two sped off as Nanjiro held onto her,
"Hey! Where do you think you are grabbing me, Nanjiro?!"
"I can't help it! I have nothing else to hold on to!" Rinko felt a smile crawl on her face as she droved off.
And so, Nanjiro racked up thirty - seven consecutive wins worldwide.
He shook up the entire tennis word and left his mark as the legend of the samurai lives on...
Some years later, in a Los angeles suburb.
"Eh...retirement?" Nanjiro looked at Rinko; her hair had growned longer and she had devolped more.
"It's already been done." She frowned,
"Huh? Why? If you win the next tournament, you'll be ranked number one in the world for the first time in your career! I'm shocked Nanjiro, what on earth are you thinking?!" Nanjiro sat down and reached his arms out to a little boy, the size of a tennis racket; wearing a white cap and jeans. The boy ran up to him with a racket to him,
"Hey Rinko, don't you think this kid's got a pair of nice eyes?" He grinned at the kid's feline eyes,
"Come here! Oh, are you going to be coming after me, Ryoma!" Rinko smiled; feeling truly happy as she watched the two.
He's found another huge dream.
"I'll look forward to the day when you'll be able to play against your new rival, dear."
- & -
Ryoma let out a grunt as he put all his effort into the return, His hat fell off from the impact to hitting the ball. Nanjiroh stared intently as Ryoma hit the ball, the ball had
seemed to be much more different then before. Nanjiroh's pupils shrunk as the ball flew passed him, Ryoma picked up his hat with his racket,
"Yes !" Nanjiroh frozed at what just happened,
"Dad, I want to be stronger, much much stronger. " Nanjiroh stared in disbelief,
'Sending him to Seigaku was the right choice.' he smirked as Ryoma picked up his hat.
' I don't know who it was, but she or he understands Ryoma's personality and gave him what he needed he most. In other words, they lit up Ryoma's fire.'
"You seem happy, what happened?" Ryoma turned around and smirked,
"Betsuni, I'm going to keep coming after you. "
- & -
"That is such a lovely story!" Hikari smiled as Rinko took another sip of her lemonade. As Nanako nodded in agreement.
"Even if I heard it a million times, it would never get old." Rinko looked up at the clock,
"Oh right, Hikari-san. It's getting late, did you want something from Ryoma?" Hikari blinked in surprise,
"H-Hai!" Rinko stood up with the tray, with Nanako stood up as Rinko walked towards the kitchen; she then yelled out.
"Go out through the back door! You'll find them!" Hikari nervously nodded,
"Thank you very much, Echizen-san." Hikari wondered around till she saw a cat, she smiled at it and opened a door to see Ryoma and a guy she presumed to be Nanjiro.
"Echizen-kun? " The two turned to her,
"Hikari-san? What are you doing here?" Hikari stood there, awkward.
"You didn't come to practice, two days in the row. I heard you called in sick so...I brought some soup." Ryoma's hand twitched at the thought of Hikari's food, he was beginning to get hungry, but he needed to play against his dad.
"Ho Ho, is she the reason why you came late yesterday? " Ryoma glared at his father,
"No-"
"Hikari-san! It's getting late, I hope you can get home safely." Rinko noticed that they were still playing, and that Hikari was practically pleading with her eyes for help.
"Oh, it seems if you guys were busy. Come on Hikari-san, I'll drive you home." Hikari nodded and stumbled to get out of the situation fast. Hikari looked at Rinko with grateful eyes as soon as they reached inside,
"Echizen-san, I'll leave the soup for Echizen-kun over there," Rinko chuckled as Hikari frantically got out a peice of paper and a pen.
"Alright, thank you for coming here." Hikari wrote a note and folded it over the bento. Hikari bowed and nodded her head,
"Good bye." Rinko escorted Hikari out and to her car as Nanako waved goodbye from the front door,
'Ryoma-kun sure knows how to pick out cute girls.'
- & -
Ryoma walked back inside after an hour, He walked inside to see a small bento with a peice of paper on it.
Fatty,
You're not sick at all, Baka baka baka ! -
Next time please inform me you're not REALLY sick.
Don't let me catch you doing this again.
Or I'll kick your butt back to the states.
Even though you're not REALLY sick,
Enjoy the soup.
- Your best friend, the hunch back.
Ryoma lifted an eyebrow at the threat she gave him in english but continued to get the soup out anyways, he took out the spoon and sipped it, noting that it was still hot.
But he didn't mind, it made it taste even better. Nanako smiled as Ryoma happily ate the soup, savouring each taste.