Three days before the nationals Ryoma drags me to the courts where I find an idiot kid and his team. I hear him yell Koshimae and I start to hum in thought.
"Don't you dare." Ryoma says as we walk away from them.
"Sorry, of course. There's no way you could win against him." I say as I feel refreshed and awake.
The final day before the matches Oishi plays against Tezuka and I notice his wrist being in pain.
"Rin, you'll be our reserve player." Sensei says and she throws me a cap before I sigh and attach it like I did before.
"They're awful." I mutter as the ball hits the old male coach.
Despite their loss we walk in with confidence and they all stare my way before they burst out in laughter.
"Ryoma." I say and he nods.
"Don't worry, hime." Ryoma says and I stand shocked as I stand with the team while he takes the court.
"Ryoma." I whisper as his match starts and I find Ryoma winning in the end.
"So?" Ryoma asks and I sigh as I hand him a grape Fanta.
"Mada mada dayo, but. You did okay." I say as Ryoma takes it.
"Just how many beverages does she have on her?" Katsuo wonders.
Kawamura-senpai returns the ball from in front of sensei's face and Momo and Ryoma serve to miss the guys face.
"Gomen, I feel like this would be a missed opportunity." I smile before I serve and nick the guy's arm.
"Gomen, watashi wa. Hime janainda." I say as I express to be no princess.
"Heh, I could have done that." Momo and Ryoma say as they hold their racket behind their head with both hands.
"Yeah, well. I did it." I shrug and sensei smiles.
I can feel a tennis ball speeding my way and push the guys away as I receive it with my back.
"Rin!" Sensei yells as she stands up and turns around to look at me.
Fuji and Kawamura manage to win and I toss them a bottle of water while Fuji stares at me.
"How's your back?" Kawamura-san asks and I can still feel the impact.
"Worth it, I couldn't have returned it with them being next to me." I say and Ryoma then widens his eyes as he remembers me pushing him and Momo away.
Eiji-san manages the next match and Ryoma drags me away from them to pull my shirt up and reveal the bruise.
"You should be more careful." Ryoma says as he holds out a cold can and places it over the bruise.
"Meh, I'm growing used to being at the receiving end of those balls. Next time I'll return it without fail." I say and he sighs.
"Baka." Ryoma says and I turn to look at him.
"Next time we're too close we'll return it for you." Ryoma says as we head back to find Inui-Kaidou pair having won while the coach states his leave.
He receives a tennis ball in his abdomen and their buchou tells him to stay seated. I keep watching Tezuka and Ryoma hums as he stands by my side. After the match Ryoma decides to go after Fuji and Tezuka while I take an orange Fanta from my bag.
"Ah Hyoutei next hah? Should be promising." I say as the coach allows me to sit next to her.
"How's your back?" She asks me and I smirk.
"How come people worry over nothing? If it had hit my abdomen I could be done with tennis forever. This was the better of the two evils." I say and she hums as I take out a Fanta and hear the others complain.
I stand up and hand out beverages while Hyoutei looks at me. Ryoma walks over to Momo who is injured and I hurry over as well with an emergency kit.
"Let me treat it before you continue senpai." I whisper and he nods as I begin to patch him up.
"You're not going to tell me to beat him in ten minutes, right?" Momo asks.
"Of course, I gotta watch out for my senpai." Ryoma says before he pulls me back to the others.
Momo ends up losing his match through sheer luck as I sit back down. Inui and Kaidou win their match and Tezuka now steps to the court.
"Did you want to face him?" Tezuka asks me as he awaits his opponent.
"Don't go losing now, buchou." I say before he takes his place.
He winds up winning as the rain falls down, but I only notice it when my back feels better. I put a hand against the fabric covering the bruise as I keep staring at Tezuka-buchou. The game gets suspended and Ryoma walks over slowly.