"So you've been doing things like that while training huh?" Inui chuckled
"Of course!" Sakura grinned "I don't get to be on the court too often, so I need to be fancy when I can"
"I guess I shouldn't expect less from you" Inui told her "You like surprising people"
"Haru-chan, it's time to collect some new data!" Sakura grinned as she served. The ball disappeared over the net and Yanagi returned it as it reappeared
"Why do you continue this trick?" Yanagi asked
"So I can do this" Sakura giggled as she returned the ball. As Kirihara was about to return the ball, the ball appeared to jump up before spiraling downward hitting the baseline and rolling towards the net
"Like a dancing butterfly" Sakura smiled softly
"Seishun Gakuen, 1 game to 4"
With Inui no longer shaken up, it seemed that Seigaku would have a comeback and Sakura was going to do everything she could to not let her school down. They were able to get this far and although she didn't play as often as the others, she knew she could play just as well and aggressive as them. The Nationals would be her stage to show her worth. She began returning the balls harder and at faster speeds surprising everyone. The game took another turn when a ball that Sakura returned with as much force as she could put in it hit Kirihara.
"A-are you alright?!" Sakura gasped out in surprise. That ball was never meant to hit him.
"Fifteen minutes passed already. Get up you seaweed bastard!" Niou shouted at his fallen teammate
Sakura gasped as Kirihara respond to Niou's shout. He was laughing as he stood up, his hair turning white and skin turning red.
"Want me to dye you red too?" Kirihara asked her as blood dripped from his nose
"Why would someone let you play like this?" Sakura asked softly. She was sure if there was no one to help calm her, she would have been like that a long time ago.
"Get ready little girl!" Kirihara laughed as he served. The ball flew past Sakura and headed straight for Inui
"Sadaharu!" Sakura cried out worriedly as her partner hit the ground "You…" she then growled
"I'm fine" Inui groaned before getting into position again
Kirihara only continued to laugh and serve again.
"Like I'm going to let you do that again!" Sakura shouted as she returned the ball. As she rallied with Kirihara it seemed like her hair started to become lighter and her skin a bit paler. Sakura was sure that Kirihara was becoming annoyed by her as he began focusing on her rather than her partner.
Losing her grip on her racquet, the ball hit her face. She didn't even cry out as she hit the ground and she could feel everyone's gaze on her.
"Sakura-san!" Inui shouted worriedly
"Stay away!" Sakura shouted back
"Sakura!" Mizuiro shouted worriedly from Rikkaidai's side. Nothing like this happened before and she didn't know what to expect
Sakura slowly stood as she focused on the ground. Her hair had settled on a light golden blonde color and was blocking her eyes as she stood. Slowly turning to Kirihara, she revealed a blue right eye while her left eye was flickering between red and violet. "Is that all you got?" she asked switching her grip to a reverse one.
"Sakura-san-"
"Stay out of this one Inui" Sakura didn't even turn to her partner "You'll just get hurt"
"Sadaharu" Inui turned to Yanagi "This is between them now, let us not interfere"
The data collectors watched the aggressive play in amazement. The players were not even really paying attention to the score anymore. It almost appeared that Sakura was dancing as she spun around the court, almost teasing Kirihara. Kirihara put more anger behind his returns and Sakura was starting to get hit more, but she continued to get up without a single flinch.
"Tired yet, Aka-chan?" Sakura asked. Both players were panting and loosely holding onto their racquets
"Not yet" Kirihara panted
"Haru-chan, score?" Sakura asked
"A tie at 5 games" he replied
"Thanks"
"I'll dye you red and win this!" Kirihara shouted as he served
"I'm not going down without a fight!" Sakura shouted back as she quickly switched her grip to one more for baseball. She grunted as the force of the ball pushed her racquet back
"Just give up!" Kirihara laughed as he watched Sakura struggle
"Kura-chan!" she barely heard Mizuiro cheering for her "You got this!"
"You better cheer for us louder than you cheer for Rikkadai!" Sakura grinned as Mizuiro nodded
"Of course" Mizuiro laughed before leaving
"Kura-chan!"
"Sakura-senpai!"
"Saku-chan!"
"Senpai!"
Sakura found strength in the cheering from her friends and her whole school. A soft smile formed on her face "Mada mada dane" grunting as she returned the ball "…Is what he would say"
The ball bounced on the opposite side of the court surprising everyone before hitting Kirihara full on. Sakura was panting as she collapsed. Her hair, eye and skin color returned to normal. The same happening to Kirihara after he fell backwards roughly. The ball hit the wall with a force surprising Rikkaidai that she was even able to return it. Yukimura's eyes widened at the cracked dent in the wall as the ball fell to the ground weakly.
"He's unconscious" Yanagi said after checking his underclassman
"She's too exhausted to get up" Inui said as he checked on Sakura
"Haru-chan, did I do good?" Sakura asked
"You did better than even I could predict Sakura-san" Inui told her with a small smile as he picked her up carefully
"You're not hurting badly are you?" Sakura asked worriedly
"I should be asking you that" Inui chuckled "You took some pretty good hits and now you can't even stand"
Sakura frowned as both schools forfeited the match since neither school was able to continue playing. She felt so close, but so far away from winning a match in the Nationals.
"I don't want to go" Sakura grumbled as she was placed on a stretcher to be taken to the back to be checked over and then the hospital if necessary "I'm fine, I just need to rest. I promise!"
"You can't talk yourself out of this" Inui told her as he followed while the rolled her to the back
"You were amazing out there kid" Sakura turned to the man on her left
"I didn't win though" she sulked
"You didn't lose either" the man on her right chuckled
"Alright, let's have a look" the doctor on duty said once they rolled into a room "You did take some good hits. One of you, go and get some ice for that young man over there"
"I'm good to go right?" Sakura asked after she was told she didn't have a concussion and the doctor began checking where she was hit or fell "Ow"
"You're very lucky that nothing is broken or sprained young lady" she was told "But you did exhaust your body quite a bit"
"I promise to rest, may I please go and watch the rest of the matches?" Sakura begged
"I guess it's alright" the doctor sighed as Sakura cheered "but allow your body to rest, at least ice the bruising on your ribs and I'll be back with some pain reliever"
"Stay still" Inui told her as he poured water on a few pieces of gauze. He sighed as he wiped blood off her face "You're so reckless"
"Well I can't let the guys out do me" Sakura laughed as she sat up shakily
"I'm surprised to see you can sit up already" the doctor walked in as Inui threw away the bloody gauzes "Take these and you can go"
"Yay!" Sakura cheered as she drank down the pain reliever happily "Come on Haru-chan, we have to go!" She lifted her arms up showing that she wanted to be carried out
"Alright" he smiled allowing Sakura to have a piggy back ride
"Thank you Sensei!" Sakura waved to the doctor before they left
"S-shouldn't you be resting at the hospital?" Kawamura asked concerned as Inui set her down in a seat
"But then I would miss everything" Sakura pouted "If I was able to make it this far with you guys, I'm staying till the end. So, what did I miss?"
"Niou's copying Tezuka" Kikumaru told her
"Kuni-chan?" Sakura tilted her head as her eyes trailed to their captain "This should be interesting, Syu-chan was always competitive with Kuni-chan. It probably won't be the same, but this might be close enough to satisfy him"
"Kura-chan!" Mizuiro grinned as she made her way over to the Seigaku regulars
"Mi-chan!" Sakura grinned in return and tried to make her way over to her best friend, only to fall over
"Kura-chan, you have to be careful" Kikumaru scolded as he helped her back on her seat "You're supposed to be resting!"
"So careless" Mizuiro scolded as she placed her hands on her hips making her look like a mother scolding her child
"Maybe I'm just hanging with these guys too much" Sakura joked in return before turning back to the match
"Niou isn't even close enough to 'be' Tezuka" Mizuiro said after a glance
"Syu-chan is enjoying himself though… like that time" Sakura smiled
"Game Seigaku, 6 games to 5"
"Syu-kun! Ganbatte!" Mizuiro cheered
"I guess I can't use Tezuka, Kunimitsu anymore" Niou said letting his illusion go
"Actually, I'd say your illusion isn't so perfect after all" Fuji replied
"What?"
"In your service game just now" Fuji informed "You made the call with Brilliant Insight, even though you used four Zero-Shiki serves, you could have won easily. You didn't hit them- No… You couldn't hit them. It seems the illusion was just an illusion after all. But because of that illusion, I was able to bask in memories of long ago. And so it became a moment of pure appreciation for tennis. I will only say this… You cannot even trace Tezuka's footsteps."
"Then how about this?" Niou asked
"Shitenhouji's Shiraishi" Oishi gasped
"Shitenhouji?" Sakura asked "Oh… I missed that, that's right" she then sighed
"I'm sorry, but I never lose to the same opponent twice" Fuji replied to Niou "Here it goes, the sixth counter: Hoshi Hanabi"
"A sixth counter?" Kikumaru said excitedly
"He's still evolving?" Momoshiro grinned "Fuji-senpai!"
"There's no need to worry anymore" Inui smiled "I'm sure he has things well in hand"
"Mi-chan, you saw that right?" Sakura gasped out
"That was actually pretty" Mizuiro said softly
"During broad daylight… there were stars…" Ryoma said in surprise
"W-what was that?" Niou gasped "There's no way to return that"
"Game and match, Seigaku! 7 games to 5!"
"Geez I really lost" Niou grumbled "But next time, I'll get some real spirit in it!"
"I look forward to it" Fuji smiled in return before walking off the court "After this tournament is over" he then turned to Tezuka "Would you care to have another match with me?"
"Of course" Tezuka replied with a smile
"To think, after all this excitement" Sakura sighed "The fun's almost over"
"Then don't think about it, just the moment" Mizuiro laughed "Focus so you can cheer for your boyfriend"
"Alright" Sakura laughed "Go Golden Pair!" Sakura then cheered