Kyandi: Yhay this one actually didn't take me too long to write.
Hikari: Because you were completely focused this time.
Kyandi: True. Anyway I'm still waiting to see how many people want the Halloween chapter.
Hikari: Because after tomorrow if you want it she has to start on it.
Kyandi: Right. I'm hoping to make it a nice long chapter.
Hikari: So tell us if you want it.
Kyandi: If not then oh well. Though I'd hate to let the chapter I have in mind go to waste.
Hikari: Yes it would be a shame.
Kyandi: Such a sad shame.
Hikari: Yes indeed.
Kyandi: So enjoy and review.
Hikari: Kyandi-sama does not own Prince of Tennis.
Chapter 36 Seigaku's Mental Pair
Hikari and Inui, the odd pairing they made, faced Mukahi and Hiyoshi over the net. "Hey Inui! Want me to tell you the probability of you guys losing? Its 100%! Especially with a girl as your partner." Mukahi said turning a sneer on Hikari.
"Oh no, you've gone and said it again." Hiyoshi said covering his mouth like he was trying to whisper to Mukahi though Inui and Hikari heard him none the less. Hikari smiled at the two. Their attempt to anger her was cute.
"If you are awaiting me to explode and yell like Kaido-sempai does some times, you are sorely mistaken." she told them brightly a smile on her face complete with a small giggle as she tilted her head to the side, making the two stare at her.
"But like any female I highly favor retaliation and I am very good at it." she added. Mukahi and Hiyoshi looked at each other. Sometimes the girl really could be quite creepy especially that grin of hers when she knew something you didn't. "You don't stand a chance against my Acrobatics with your Aggressive Baseliner style." Mukahi told her.
Hikari blinked. "I'm not an Aggressive Baseliner." she told him. Mukahi stared at her surprised as his argument was rendered useless. "I'm an All-Rounder. I just like playing from the baseline." she said answering his unspoken question.
"And who says I can't use Acrobatics?" she added. "Come on Inui-sempai!" Hikari told her teammate before turning on her heel and walking away from the net, Inui following.
Hikari took up the forward position while Inui took the serve. Hikari eyed Hiyoshi and Mukahi as they both prepared to use their styles of tennis. "Huh." Hikari smiled as she started walking backwards moving farther back from her position near the net.
"Hika-chan's moving back." Momo said. "Looks like she's going to use her style of tennis too." Fuji said as Hikari stopped when she was half way into the back court standing on the center lin. Inui hesitated as he stared across the court.
"What's the matter Inui, scared?" Mukahi asked. Hikari settled both hands on her racket handle so she could switch hands quickly if need. She didn't bother looking back over shoulder at Inui. "Inui-sempai…I'm ready when you are." she told him.
Inui nodded to himself and served. Hikari ducked her head to the side as the ball flew fast over her shoulder. Mukahi and Hiyoshi stared across the court in shock as Hikari shifted back into an upright position.
"Didn't I say that several of us were fired up?" Inui asked. Silence fell over the Hyotei supporters. "W-What an incredible serve!" one supporter yelled. "It's as if they were swallowed by a waterfall…" another added.
"Waterfall eh…" Inui mused. "Hmm…I like it." Hikari remarked. "What a nice nickname!" Inui agreed as the threw the ball to serve. Each serve went right past Mukahi and Hiyoshi. "Game Seigaku! 1-0!" came the call.
"Nice serve, Inui-sempai." Hikari told Inui as the two bumped fist together. "Waterfall is a nice nickname isn't it?" Inui asked her. "I like it. It does fit." Hikari told him as they walked while they changed courts. Hikari took her place on the baseline, leaving Inui in the forward position. Hikari examined the other side, watching Hiyoshi who was serving.
When he hit the serve Hikari grit her teeth. It was a direct serve at her. When she hit it back Mukahi was there to return it. "You guys are too naïve!" Mukahi said as he took a point. Inui looked back at Hikari as she shook her hand. "Sorry Inui-sempai. I didn't think he'd hit it straight for me so soon." she told him. Inui nodded.
Hikari kept purely to her right hand as they played, not really challenging Mukahi's acrobatics. "What's wrong with Hika-chan?" Momo asked. "This isn't like her." he added. "She's usually a lot more forward then this." Fuji said agreeing that something was up.
"Is it because it's Doubles?" Momo asked. "I don't think so." Tezuka replied. "There's more to it then that." he added as he watched the match. "She and Inui are planning something." Tezuka said finally. "Game Hyotei! 3-1!" rang out over the courts.
Inui looked at Hikari who was rolling her shoulders and popping her neck. "Hika-chan?" he asked. Hikari looked at him. "Their not following the data at all." she agreed. "Their aiming for a short term match." she told Inui as she glanced across the court. "I can do that." she added.
Fuji looked over at the Hyotei said. "So they're playing to Inui's and Kaido's weakness and not allowing themselves to be drawn into an endurance battle." Fuji said. "One problem with that." Eiji said. "This isn't Inui and Kaido playing against them and Hika-chan isn't Kaido." Fuji supplied as they all looked at Hikari who was talking with Inui as she eyed the other two across the net.
"She's just as good with short term battles as with endurance battles." Oishi agreed. "That's not it." Tezuka said as he looked at Hikari as she and Inui split up to go back to the match. "She has something planned. Both her and Inui." he said.
On the Hyotei side Ohtori leaned forward watching the match closely as he gripped the rail. "What is Chotarou?" Shishido asked. "Hikari…I've seen that look on her face before. She's planning something." Ohtori replied making Atobe look at him.
"Knowing Hikari it won't be good for our side either." Ohtori added. Atobe sat his eyes on the girl leaning forward placing two fingers at the inner corners of his eyes. To his eyes the girl slowed down. Every movement in her body became apparent.
Just then she hit the ball a little to hard sending it to bouncing off the light pole behind Atobe's head. Atobe flinched and spun around to look at the ball at it bounced away.
"Oops! My bad Atobe-san!" Atobe turned to look at Hikari who was smiling charmingly as she rubbed her neck. That was no accident. She had purposely hit it at him, just when he was starting to use his insight on her.
She hadn't even been aiming for him. She had only aimed to distract him and to silently tell him to keep his eyes to himself. Atobe frowned as he looked away from her. Unless he wanted to get hit he would have to deal with that he normally could see.
"Game Hyotei! 5-2!" came the call over the courts. "I guess you were wrong, Chotarou. She doesn't seem to be planning anything." Shishido said.
"And its at match point." Shishido added. "No take a closer." Ohtori said leaning forward. "Hikari's not even breathing hard." he added pointing to Hikari who in the backcourt running across the court to return a ball.
Though she was sweating her breathing was normal. "I know Hikari…she won't lose easily. This has been too easy." Ohtori told them. Hikari dived forward returning the ball and hit the ground. "One more point and we win this match." the supporters cheered.
"No…Look at that amount of sweat." the Hyotei coach told them. "Point by point, she's been wearing them down, until they were drawn into her trap." he added as Hikari got to her feet dusting her shirt off.
Hikari turned to Inui. "I'm ready Inui-sempai." she told him. Inui looked back at her and nodded. Wordlessly Inui moved back to the baseline while Hikari stayed at her spot on the center line half way into the back court.
Silently Hikari switched her racket to her left hand. She placed her left foot lightly in front of her right on the center line and instantly shifted all her weight onto her toes. "This isn't good!" Ohtori said. "What is it Chotarou?" Shishido asked.
"That's the stance for one of Hikari's Pits of Hell!" Ohtori told them worried that his cousin might hurt herself as well as his teammates. "Her what!?" Shishido asked shocked looking at him as the others turned to stare at him.
"Back in Russia Hikari had three shots she dubbed her Pits of Hell. Black Oblivion symbolized Darkness, Collapsing Hell symbolized Absence, and Burning Toll symbolized Pain. Each are worse then the other. The stance she's in…its Collapsing Hell. Her form of Yips tennis." Ohtori replied. "She's about to show us why in Russia she was called the Princess of Blackness." he added.
Hikari set her eyes on the ball. She took a deep breath before stepping out with her left foot lightly, sliding her right around as she swung her arm out. But instead of hitting the ball she let her arm flow back with the ball as it slide along her racket face.
The movement was smooth, flowing allowing energy to build up in her arm. When her arm was as far back as it could go she shifted suddenly forward her arm snapping forward. The ball exploded outward spiraling looking like one ball became eight and spun in a circle outward the middle appearing like a black void to Mukahi and Hiyoshi.
Mukahi and Hiyoshi froze as all the balls seemed to vanish, the real one shooting through the center of the void to skid along the court to the baseline before hopping up to hit the wall.
Eiji and Ryoma both rubbed their eyes unable to look at the shot. Everyone else stared unable to believe what they had seen. "An illusion of absence." Fuji remarked as they both Mukahi and Hiyoshi sagged to the ground.
"To the receiving opponent it must have looked like a void was about to swallow them whole." Fuji remarked. "Its enough to scare any player enough that they completely go blank and can't move, can't even hear or see anything but that void." Tezuka agreed.
"The Russians were right on the spot when they gave her that name, Princess of Blackness." Momo remarked. "Both of them are going to be too scared of that shot to allow her to have the ball." Momo added. "But they can't stop Hikari if Inui steps back." Fuji reminded him.
"I think Inui knew that too. His data told him that if he allowed her to hit that shot, then it would tip the balance of the match in their favor." Fuji remarked. "This is more then just a data match for those two. Inui and Hika-chan played a mental match." Oishi added. "Seigaku's Mental pair…I think it fits." Momo remarked.
-0-0-0-0-
"Game set Seigaku's Inui-Higarashi pair! 7-5!" Cheers went up from the Seigaku supporters as Hikari and Inui thrust their rackets in the air in a cheer of victory before bumping fist. "We did it Inui-sempai!" Hikari cheered.
Inui smiled back at her as the two turned to the net where Hiyoshi and Mukahi were sagged on the ground trying to catch their breaths. As Hikari approached the net she could them talking to each other. "She…she never….never hit it again." Hiyoshi remarked. "D-Damn it! We fell for…for her trick!" Mukahi added.
Hikari smiled to herself as she leaned on the net to pop her head in-between them. "Not a trick but more along the lines that that was a scare enough to make you wary." she told them making them jump when they found her so close to them.
Hikari smiled at the two. "I wasn't trying to scare you to death. I was only trying to make you wary. One shot was enough." she told them. Hikari held her hands out for them to shake. "You two are great players. Really.
I hope I can play another match with you two some day. Maybe next time you'll win." she told them with a bright smile. Both stared at her before blushing and shaking her hands.
"You two really know how to mess with peoples' head." Mukahi told her as she helped him and Hiyoshi to their feet. Hikari looked at Inui who was standing right behind her. "A mental battle is useful at times." she replied.
"After all," Hikari looked back at the two with a grin. "We are Seigaku's Mental pair." she added with a smile and a wink before letting go of their hands.
END
Kyandi: My sister laughed when I told her the name of the pair.
Hikari: I can see why.
Kyandi: Well the name fits on more then one level.
Hikari: Oh shut up.
Kyandi: Anyway so all of you enjoy and review and hopefully I'll have another chapter up before the night is over.
Hikari: Hopefully.
Kyandi: Bye!