Bildungsroman

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, with no copyright infringement intended. I don't own PoT, which belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

The morning of their match against Yamabuki, Sakura was woken not by her alarm(s), but by a call.

"H'llo." She mumbled, face still mashed against her pillow. A snort sounded over the line.

"Hey, Sakura. Sleepin' in?" The voice sounded familiar, but Sakura couldn't place it yet. She squinted at her overbright screen, trying to- nope. No caller ID. "Whozzis and why're you calling me at..." She squinted again. "Four thirty in the morning?"

Actually, why was this person even awake at four thirty?

The girl- and oh yeah, it was a girl- snorted again. "Out of sight, out of mind, beautiful?"

Wait- what? Sakura blinked once, then again. "Akitaka Mei? From Hyotei?" She sat up. "What- why- wait, how did you get my number?"

"Ask me no ques'ns and I'll tell ya no lies." Mei sing-songed. Sakura slumped against her headrest. "Mei, it's four in the morning." She reminded her grumpily. "What do you want?"

"Yeah, damn, s'early innit? Jus' wanted to wish ya good luck. An' t'ask you t'wish your friend Takada too."

Oh. That was... sweet, Sakura supposed. "Um, thank you?" It came out more like a question, and Sakura cleared her throat. "Actually... d'you wanna have breakfast on Monday? It's the day after a match, so we don't have morning practice."

"Will ya bring Takada?"

"Not just her." Sakura replied hastily. Mikabi wasn't an idiot; she'd spot a setup a mile away. "And I can't promise, but she doesn't often say no to stuff like this."

There was a silence from the other end. Then, "Sure, time and place?"

Sakura shrugged, before remembering that Mei couldn't see her. "I'll text you. Probably be closer to Seigaku, though: heads-up."

"Not a problem." Mei replied. "Anyway, good talk, Sakura. Good luck- see ya."

"Tha-" The line went dead. "Son of a bitch."

Now well awake, Sakura eyed the lightening skyline outside her window, and decided that it wasn't too early to start her run.

(It was. Damn Mei)

Out of habit, Sakura and Mikabi sat together on the bus to the courts. "How was Tanabata?" Mikabi asked, fiddling with her headband. "Didn't see you there."

Sakura shook her head. "Nah, I went to the Kanagawa festival this year." She replied, batting her friend's hands away from her hair. "Stop fussing, it's tight enough."

"You went all the way to Kanagawa for a Tanabata festival?" Mikabi blinked. "What the hell, Sakura-chan?"

"Hey, I went with Airi; her brother drove us." Sakura protested. "Sanada-kun invited me- and you should really go next year, Mikabi-chan, it was amazing."

Mikabi's eyebrows shot up. "Sanada- like, Sanada Genichirou? From Rikkai? Since when's this been going on?"

Sakura huffed. "A couple of months- and nothing's going on. He's a friend."

"Yeah, right." The other girl scoffed. "How does one become friends with Sanada Genichirou?"

"Hey, easy with the judgement." Sakura frowned. "He's not- he's nice, okay? I know he looks like... well, like he's got a stick up his ass, but I have fun with him. And he knows a lot- and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're in love with him, I don't need to know the details!" Mikabi laughed, holding up her hands. Sakura let out a frustrated little growl, but at that moment, Imako's head popped from the seat in front. "Sakura-chan's in love with whom?" She demanded.

"Oooh, what's this?" Sakura started as Kazumi leaned over their own seats from the back. "New boy-toy, Sakura-chan? Who is it?"

Mikabi snorted at the look on Sakura's face. "It's Sanada Genichirou." She supplied, trying and failing to dodge Sakura's outraged punches. "He's- ow!- Y'know, Rikkai's vice-captain? OW!"

"I'm not dating him!" Sakura shouted, even as the entire team went "Oooooooohhhhh" as one.

Kazumi patted her head. "The hottie with the cap? You don't think he's too uptight for you?"

"No- not for me!" Sakura yelped, swatting her senior's hand away. "Not- for- me!"

Nomura remained quiet amidst the laughter and shouting. Her eyes took in Sakura's rosy cheeks, and the agitation in her eye; her annoyance over the assumptions seemed genuine. But the fact remained that there was something there: a friendship, a relationship of some kind. And with Sanada being part of Rikkai, Nomura wasn't at all sure this was a good thing for Sakura to be getting into at this point in time.

"We're here," She called, cutting through the noise. Sakura was right behind her as they got off the bus, and Nomura decided to have a word with her later. When the semi-finals were over.

"Imako, Shizuka- Singles Two." She called out. Sakura wondered if Nomura really thought that anyone had any doubts about the lineup.

"Takada, Rin- Singles One. Reiko, Singles Three." What? "Kagawa, Singles Two. Kazumi, Singles One."

"What?!" Sakura blurted out. "Nomura-buchou- um- I think you got it mixed up-"

"No, that's the lineup." She ignored Kazumi's raised eyebrows. "You're playing Singles 2."

Sakura's head was spinning. Worse, no one else seemed to be as dismayed as she was. Mikabi was even smirking a bit. Kazumi-senpai was surprised, but she even looked a little pleased. Pleased.

"Warm up." The captain instructed the doubles pairs, seemingly unaware of Sakura's raging turmoil. Reiko, tactful as ever, drew her to the bench, while Kazumi and Nomura remained standing nearby.

Kazumi was side-eyeing her captain. "Could've told her before, Ayano." She remarked lightly. "We don't need her catatonic."

"She's getting complacent. I want to throw her in the deep end." Nomura replied, eyeing the Yamabuki team as they filed into the court.

"I think Sakura-chan would say something how you're so sure she won't drown."

Nomura scoffed. "Please. She'd ask how I'm so sure she won't fucking drown." Kazumi snickered. "But seriously, Kazumi, what's going on with her and that... Sanada?"

To say that Kazumi had expected this line of questioning would be a lie; she blinked. "I... don't know? This is the first I've heard of it- though I wouldn't take Mikabi seriously, she was clearly teasing."

"I should bloody well hope so." Nomura muttered. "Inter-team dating is the last thing we need right now, and a Rikkai boy is the last thing she needs."

Kazumi's eyes narrowed. "Why? Because a Rikkai girl is the last thing you need?"

Nomura's head snapped around so fast that Kazumi's own neck ached. She kept her gaze steady, though. "I'm not blind, Ayano-chan." She said coolly. "Really, I'm a little insulted- d'you really think I wouldn't notice?"

A complicated series of emotions flashed across Nomura's face; with difficulty, she reassumed her mask of neutrality. "And... who else?" She asked, voice a little raspy. Kazumi shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe Imako, but she'd have asked me about it. I don't think anyone else knows, honestly. And I plan to keep it that way."

Nomura cleared her throat. "Thank you." She murmured.

"Don't be stupid." Kazumi waved her gratitude away. "But you know, if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here, okay?"

Nomura made a non-committal sound. But Kazumi wasn't having any of it: she grabbed Nomura by the shoulders and turned her bodily to look her squarely in the eye. "I said, okay?" She demanded. Her friend's mouth curled into a small, grateful smile, and she put a hand on one of Kazumi's.

"Okay." She repeated. Huffing with satisfaction, Kazumi released her. "You bloody disaster lesbian." She muttered. Nomura snorted, recognising the meme, and bumping Kazumi with her hip.

"As if you're any less of a disaster, you raging bi-hard."

"You need to calm down." Mikabi knew her words were about as helpful as a pine cone in the current situation, but she couldn't help it. Sakura's jiggling knee was vibrating the entire bench.

She was paler than Mikabi liked, too, despite the warm-up Nomura had put her through. Though that have more to do with the fact that Nomura had point-blank refused to answer any of her questions, focusing on putting her through her paces instead.

Both doubles pairs had won their matches comprehensively, but it didn't look like Reiko would. She was down 5-4 against Sakura's opponent from the districts, and though she was putting up a hell of a fight, it was clear where this match was headed.

Hence the paleness of Sakura's cheeks. Even Momoshiro's prodding hadn't provoked more than a half-hearted attempt at a kick.

Mikabi wasn't sure what was phasing her out- a match was a match was a match, for heaven's sake. What'd it matter whether it was Singles 2 or Singles 3? This was Sakura's problem, she thought irritably; she thought things were bigger than they were. A tennis match was just a tennis match.

And she said she didn't take tennis seriously. Who was Sakura kidding?

"Game and match, Yamabuki's Shimizu, 6-4!"

Reiko trudged back to the dugout, sweaty and disappointed. "Sorry, guys." She mumbled, collapsing onto the bench. Imako hurried to put a damp towel on her neck.

"Don't worry about it." Kazumi patted her shoulder. "That was a good match, Rei-chan. And your backhand volley is so much better now."

The girl smiled faintly up at her. "Thanks, Kazumi-senpai." She looked up at Sakura, who was tightening her ponytail while spot-jogging. "Give 'em hell, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's only reply was a wooden nod before she stepped onto the court. Reiko looked worried. "Still nervous?" She asked Mikabi, who snorted.

"Try petrified."

Sakura called correctly, and chose to serve. Her opponent, Fuyuki Sachiko, was almost a head taller than her, but the two were built along the same lines. She smiled pleasantly at Sakura as they shook hands, but the too-tight grip and glint in her eye told a different story.

"One-set match! Seigaku's Kagawa to serve!"

Sakura took a deep breath. And served. Fuyuki returned, and they were soon rallying.

"Kagawa seems to be keeping up well at the moment." Inui muttered. Imako adjusted her camera's focus and said nothing. The pallor hadn't left the girl's face. Imako remembered Fuyuki from Kazumi's mixed doubles match at the districts. Sakura would need all her wits about her for this one.

"For someone as chill as she is, Sakura-chan sure takes herself way too seriously." Kazumi observed, playing with her braid. Mikabi made an impatient noise of assent. "It's ridiculous." She ground out. "She played a nice chill game with that Hyotei girl-"

Reiko frowned. "Akitaka's a bit like Sakura, though. Fuyuki's... intense."

"She didn't know that." Mikabi said dismissively. "She's shitting her pants because it's Singles Two. She thinks that means something."

Nomura rolled her eyes. "She's not wrong, per se. Game placements do mean something, but not right now. Do you think Fuyuki's a better player than Kagawa?"

Mikabi shook her head. "No." Momoshiro blinked at the utter certainty of the word. "Honestly, captain, I don't know if there are many players who are."

"Are what?" Reiko asked, eyebrow raised.

"Better than Sakura-chan." Mikabi asserted. "I really don't think so."

"Your crush is showing, Mikabi-chan." Kazumi pointed out dryly. Mikabi rolled her eyes. "I pity the girl who has a crush on Sakura. She's straight as an arrow- sad, but true."

Nomura chuckled. "No comment, Takada. But let's focus, everyone. Kagawa could probably stand to hear your support." She gave the boys' team and the cheerleaders a pointed look too.

Sakura could certainly stand to hear the cheers that shook the very fence. It brought some colour to her cold, pale face, and she managed to strike a winner down the centre of the court, before Fuyuki could reach it. Buoyed by her success, she smiled at her team.

It slid off her face, though, as she changed courts and passed her opponent. Fuyuki eyed her with a smirk. "Seigaku's scraping the barrel, huh?"

Sakura stared, caught off-guard. "Sorry?"

Fuyuki buffed her nails against her t-shirt. "I remember your match against Shimizu. How are your knees?" She enquired sweetly. Sakura's face flamed. "Singles Two is pretty important, kid. Last I saw you, you wouldn't have made my reserves."

"You wouldn't have made our club." Sakura spat, but it was a toothless retort, and they both knew it. Fuyuki was good; more than one of the current regulars would have lost their place to her.

Smarting, Sakura stormed over to her court to receive the serve. "Oh, this is not good." Imako mumbled, eyeing the tense muscles in the girl's neck. Inui nodded grimly.

Fuyuki threw the ball up, and served. That infuriating smirk was still on her face. Singles Two is pretty important, kid.

Sakura sliced her return, hoping to send it to the back-court, but Fuyuki intercepted it at the net, and dropped it neatly.

"15-love!"

Sakura's hand tightened spasmodically around her racket.

You wouldn't have made my reserves.

"30-love!"

She lunged for a drop shot, only just managing to change the trajectory of the return with a twist of her wrist.

"30-15!"

Seigaku wasn't scraping the barrel with her. Nomura-buchou wouldn't. She'd never do that.

"40-15!"

"SEIGAKU! FIGHT-O!"

"Game, Yamabuki's Fuyuki! 1 game all! Change court!"

"Game, Yamabuki's Fuyuki! 2 games to 1! Change court!"

"Game, Yamabuki's Fuyuki! 3 games to 1! Change court!"

"This is bad..." Reiko muttered, eyes darting to Nomura. "She's bloody crumbling..."

Mikabi clenched the parapet so tightly that her knuckles were white. "She got broken. Sakura-chan never gets broken."

"Fuyuki's the first person to break her serve all tournament." Imako confirmed, a grim look in her eyes. "That's got to be a psychological- oh, goddamnit, is she crying?"

Sure enough, Sakura had dashed a hand across her face. Tears were scalding her eyes, and pressure boiled at the back of her head. "Fuck." She mumbled, pressing her forehead to her knees.

"Language." Ryuzaki-sensei smacked her lightly. "What's going on with you, Kagawa? Nomura was sure you could win this."

Sakura chewed her lip. "I've never played Singles Two before." She admitted. Ryuzaki-sensei hummed. "It's a lot of pressure, isn't it? I'm not surprised- not a lot of people can take it."

She glared at the older woman. "That's not what I meant!" Sakura snapped. The coach raised her eyebrows, and Sakura simmered down. "It's just that I'm not used to it."

"Well, you've had four games." Ryuzaki snorted. "The only way you're going to get used to it is by getting used to it, got it?"

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. On the plus side, her eyes were no longer watering. "Got it, old lady." She leapt off the bench, snickering, as Ryuzaki swiped at her again.

The coach grumbled. "Get on the court, brat."

Sighing, she trudged back on, and took her position. Might as well find something I can use, she thought, bouncing the ball a touch absently.

She threw the ball, arched her back, and served.

Fuyuki moved fast, Sakura mused. Almost as soon as the ball had left her racquet, she was on the move. Like she could read the trajectory in an instant.

But she can't see spin... I mean, presumably- the chances of having two people like that on the same team is pretty low... But both Kikumaru-senpai and Echizen can... that kid screws up any statistic he's put into, though... ANYWAY, chances are she can't see spin, only trajectory... so a strong enough spin to alter the trajectory might throw her off?

She sent another ball to the very corner of the court, and frowned as Fuyuki read it easily as the others, getting there with enough time to spare.

It's worth a try.

Sidespin, she decided. The speed that came with a slice might be distracting enough for her to think Sakura was only looking to up the tempo.

Echizen narrowed his eyes. That was a much heavier spin than Kagawa-senpai had yet used this match.

Fuyuki all but rolled her eyes. A slice, really? Scraping the barrel indeed.

And then the ball practically rocketed sideways. She fumbled, trying to hit it in time. But her racquet missed it completely.

"15-love!"

Sidespin? Fuyuki raised an eyebrow at the ball as it rolled to a stop. Well, that was unexpected.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. Interesting...

She served again. A slice-serve that was just that; it zipped across the court, faster than all her previous serves.

Fuyuki huffed as she returned it easily enough; Sakura was already there, though, waiting, her brain practically whirring.

The heavy sidespin hadn't been unexpected, per se... but it was still sharp, still enough of a deviation in trajectory to have Fuyuki stumble before she got a racquet to it. But get to it she did, though it was a weak return, and Sakura put it away with a fast, wide groundstroke.

"30-love!"

"Hmm." Sakura tapped her lip, musing. Is that something I can work with?

It seemed not, though, as Fuyuki fought back- Sakura managed to take the game to a deuce before missing a drop shot by a couple of inches. Still, she appeared deep in thought while changing courts, her opponent's taunt apparently falling on deaf ears.

"It's going to be hard to come back from here." Kazumi mumbled, bent over and palms flat on the ground.

"She looks different, though." Momoshiro frowned. "Not worried anymore."

Mikabi chuckled, suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "Fuyuki should watch out." She drawled. "There's not a lot of things more dangerous than a thinking Sakura-chan."

Fuyuki had lined up for her serve. This match was over; she had the advantage in her service game, and she'd broken Kagawa enough to be sure of doing it one last time. It was a pity the kid didn't have more fight in her; but dainty girls like her had no business being on a tennis court.

Sakura didn't have a crystal clear plan; it was more of a general idea? But she had five games' worth of material to work with- honestly, she was embarrassed that it had taken her so long.

Fuyuki favoured slice serves, but her control wasn't so good that she could confidently send one down the centre; sure enough, a skiddy missile came right her way, bouncing in the middle of the service court.

Sakura's control, however, was practised to the point of perfection. She took two steps back, and hit a topspin lob- the slowest she could, trying her hardest for a sinker. At any rate, it was going to bounce just shy of the line, which meant that Fuyuki had to be at the baseline... and now she was stuck there, because Sakura was going to hit nothing but high, slow lobs.

And then glancing volleys, because pinning someone at the baseline gave them: a) a lot of court to cover, and b) a lot of frustration. Fuyuki's flat groundstrokes, while certainly heavy, were easy enough to read by the time they crossed the net... and Sakura read them.

So if she's going for baseline volleys- are those even a thing?- I can cut them off at the net. And they're already powerful, so I just need to get to them, maybe angle them off to the corners, just in case...

But Fuyuki wasn't an idiot. With the score at love-40, she charged to the net right after her serve.

Sakura simply hit another topspin lob- but from three steps behind, and a bit lower, a bit faster. Sure enough, it bounced right inside the line- behind Fuyuki.

"Game, Seigaku's Kagawa! 2 games to 4! Change court!"

Imako blinked. "...What just happened." She demanded. "She... broke her. What was she doing differently?"

"Acting." Everyone's gaze swung to Nomura. The captain was leaning forward on the bench, eyes glinting. "She's acting now, not reacting. Takada," She looked at the younger girl, who straightened. "There are a lot of players better than Kagawa. But," And she motioned to the match, a rare tilted grin lighting up her face. "Not many better than Kagawa can be."

Kazumi elbowed her. "Enough with the riddles, Ayano-chan." She huffed. Nomura rolled her eyes. "Kagawa needs to evolve her game." She elaborated. "All the elements are there- all her basics are in place, but she needs to pull it all together to evolve into something more. And... well... it's started."

"Aren't you full of wisdom," Kazumi murmured, as everyone's focus shifted back to the game, twice as sharp now. Nomura grinned sideways. "It's my job."

Sakura breathed in, trying to suppress the straining grin. There was no time for that- plenty of games yet. But she'd tried something, and it had worked. That was a start. And a serve break was always good.

Now she had to hold her own. Sighing, she bent over for a few seconds, stretching her back. Ryuuzaki-sensei caught her eye, and the older woman nodded once, pleased.

A quick glance told her that Fuyuki was ready; bouncing the ball a few times, she threw the ball up, and arched backwards, revelling in the stretch of her core and the coil of her back.

Like a bow snapping, she uncoiled. And sliced.

The ball curved as it flew, flat and fast, towards her opponent. Adjusting, Fuyuki attempted a cross-court pass... but Sakura was already at the net, ready to volley.

"Hmm..." Imako grinned, pressing a few buttons. "Serve and volley? That's aggressive."

"Sakura-chan's movements have changed, too." Mikabi chimed in, leaning forward.

Kazumi cocked an eyebrow. "She's been dancing, it's obviously going to show." Everyone looked at her; she shrugged. "What? Her footwork was awful; dance helps with that."

"That's why Kazumi-senpai has the best footwork on our team." Mikabi added. "Contemporary, right?"

"Latin ballroom, actually." Kazumi's tone was very dry. Momoshiro snickered at the look on Mikabi's face. "But Sakura-chan picked hip-hop. Said she liked the rhythms."

"Kagawa doesn't know crap about rhythm." Momoshiro snorted. "We went together to prom in middle school; that girl cannot dance."

Kazumi rolled her eyes. What a gentleman. "Look at her feet."

Sakura's feet had never looked so sure and… easy at the net. She moved with a new confidence, and her feet criss-crossed and leapt and landed with a fluency that no one would have suspected she could possess. Nothing like Kazumi's fluid grace- but it was neat, it was sharp, and more than that–

"She's actually enjoying that position." Mikabi laughed a little, disbelief on her face. Sakura had often bitched to her how much she hated net play.

"Kagawa likes being good at things." Imako murmured. "She really prides herself on her ball control because she worked hard to be good at it. It didn't come naturally to her. I guess when she was targeted for her below-par footwork, she made it her next goal."

Nomura watched her, mostly proud, but also a little regretful. It was a real shame that this would be Kagawa's last season of competitive tennis– she really would have made a splendid captain. She had a natural aptitude for strategy, a hunger for victory, and– perhaps most importantly– was the kind who, when she decided to do something, was determined to do it well. Of the entire team, she probably had the least natural proclivity for anything vaguely resembling footwork; but she'd taken her weakness by the horns and had overcome it in style. She'd never be a serve-and-volleyer like Kazumi or Kikumaru, but she was now a force to be reckoned with, and her and Fuji's already-formidable combination would be considerably enhanced by her newfound confidence at the net.

"Game, Seigaku's Kagawa, 4 games all! Change court!"

Cheers rent the air; Sakura pumped her fist in silent celebration. Now it's a match.

Fuyuki was fuming, she noticed. That was good. Most people didn't think clearly in anger. And she was probably really angry. It might not be a good idea to-

Sakura smirked at her. Oh, wow. She could practically see the flames around Fuyuki's head.

She already knew Fuyuki's patterns- a slice-serve was returned as a passing shot, a topspin lob was never a smash from the back court, her footwork was invariably suspect, and balls to the corner were (eight times out of ten) turned into long drops.

The thing about girls is that we play with dolls. Pretty dolls, yes, but that's not the point. Playing with dolls means rotating their arms and legs and heads, casting them in villain roles so that we can be the heroines, making them look and do and be as we want. Playing with dolls means control.

And Sakura had loved playing with her dolls. From dolls to sock puppets to strings to bunraku. Things that do what you want them to do.

Now, she unleashed a topspin lob to Fuyuki's front court, and when the smash came, she was ready, wrist held steady, only the slightest movement of the racquet face, and the ball dropped to the corner, too far for her opponent's lunge.

Now, Sakura noticed patterns, and did things to move Fuyuki's arms and legs and mind move in the way she knew they would. People were just kind of predictable.

"Game and match, Seigaku's Kagawa! 6 games to 4!"

When they met at the net- Sakura blinked as Fuyuki dropped her hand after a single shake, and stormed away. "Rude." She said out loud, before turning away to grin at her team.

And then stumbled. Oh. Oh.

"Seigaku advances!"

The finals.

Rikkai Dai.

"Bow!"

Wow, this chapter was difficult to write! Pointers on writing tennis would be highly appreciated- and as always, remember that reviews are love!

Cheers,
Chilli.