Queen of The Suits

by Katherine Baskerville

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - They thought only the boys' middle school team was a revolution in tennis. But what other abilities do the girls have? What makes them tick really? "Being clean is not a clinical psychological disorder!" CHP 79 up! I don't own Prince of Tennis! Only the OCs! Chapter 2 - rewritten!

36. Rise of the Phoenix

(I don't own Prince of Tennis!)

Chapter 36 – Rise of the Phoenix

As Ruriko and Hitomi got to the court, the two data masters exchanged glances with their captains before taking their position up front. Ruriko tossed back her jet black hair while watching Hitomi fix her racquet. Silence filled the court as Ruriko turned away from Hitomi.

"You know what," the senior chuckled lightly. "I concede."

Shock made its way to her face as Hitomi raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"This isn't the type of game I wanted to play," Ruriko sighed at the younger data master. "This was never any of my desire anyway. Besides, I think I already know the outcome of the match. The winner," –she flicked Hitomi's forehead. "The winner will be you..."

Hitomi folded her arms. "That won't be proven until we play. There was an eighty percent chance you'll win..."

"There's no need," Ruriko waved her hand, walking off the court. "You already have something that I don't have and that I will never have."

Hitomi raised an eyebrow, tapping her foot. "We have the same style of tennis there shouldn't be..."

"You should think out of the box, Hitomi," Ruriko sternly jabbed her finger at the Mastermind. "That has always been your problem. Never once in your life did you base anything on external factors. That is why no player is perfect. Data Tennis can only be perfected when both the outside and the inside are considered."

Watching Ruriko leave, Hitomi glanced at her captain who also shrugged while getting up. The Mastermind walked back to her teammates while placing her racquet in.

"If you want to face me," –Hitomi raised her head up to meet Ruriko's gaze. "Face me on the street tennis courts. You have my number. Make a call – I'll take you on anytime. At least we won't have to fight with disgusting variables like this."

Naomi stood up from her chair as Ruriko sauntered back. "What are you doing?"

"This is your plan," Ruriko remarked off-handedly. "You do it. You have no right to involve anyone else. That's why we're losing. Nanako and Lulu are strong but because we hate each other – look where we ended up. That's what made Shizuru stronger than you – you always made people your little toys."

Naomi, narrowing her eyes, swung a backhand at Ruriko which sent the older data master to the floor.

"Ruriko-senpai," Hitomi tried to rush over only to have Shizuru holding her arm. "What are you doing?"

Shizuru flinched at Naomi's gesture. "I'll handle her. Don't worry..."

Hitomi noticed the flicker in the younger captain's eyes. "Shizuru, this won't be the average captains you have been going up against."

Naomi grabbed her racquet while walking to the court but Shizuru maintained a soft look.

"I know," Shizuru weakly smiled. "There may be a chance that I may lose but... I will make sure that I win. I can't have you guys taking all the glory."

Mai twitched her nose at Naomi's glare. "Well, if glaring were a superpower – the government would have used it to power an entire city by now."

Rin gulped while hiding behind Haruka. "Shizuru-chan, this is like walking to your grave..."

Kiyone tugged her jacket. "Shizu-nee, please don't do it. Let Yane-chan beat her up or something!"

"No," Shizuru tightened her grip on her racquet, steeling her look. "This is a battle between us captains. Ayane is still a thousand years too early to challenge her."

Atobe watched Shizuru get on the court. "Kurenai, you better know what you're doing."

Shizuru smiled kindly at the older captain. "Don't worry – I'll be fine."

"Sure you will," Shishido rolled his eyes. "I mean – are you out of your mind? She's gonna kill you!"

Shizuru laughed softly while walking onto the court. "No she won't."

"You yourself told me that Naomi was one of the best," Shishido pointed out to his kohai. "She's only taking you on after everyone because the emotional stress is heavy."

"I know," Shizuru stopped in her tracks to smile reassuringly to her senpai. "But I've improved too."

Shishido stared at the girl incredulously. "Didn't you just hear me? You said not even training non-stop could prepare you well enough!"

"There's something off about her," Shizuru narrowed her eyes at Naomi's figure. "I can't explain it well but I know she's slipping. Besides, everyone at least can focus on recovering after their matches."

Soon, both captains took their places on the court. Naomi towered considerably over Shizuru as the older captain smiled her usual benevolent one.

"It's been awhile since we had a game like this," Naomi wiped the sweat from her face. "I didn't know we'll be settling it this way. I'm sorry it has to end this way."

Shizuru smiled faintly. "Oh, I don't think you're sorry at all..."

Naomi narrowed her eyes at the younger captain as she spun around to take her place. "You start."

Bouncing the ball a bit, Shizuru glanced at Naomi as she let out the serve. Words remained unheard as their shots did the talking. Naomi forehanded the shot towards Shizuru's left side which was returned when the younger revealed the Shunpo. Clucking her tongue, Naomi blasted the shot cross-court while Shizuru fired one down the line.

"I hope Shizuru's knee doesn't suddenly give in," Haruka bit her lip.

Ayane jumped up with a fist in the air. "Put her ego where it belongs, buchou!"

Shizuru started releasing a small glow which took form of a Sparrow. "I'm sorry, this rally ends now."

The shot spun towards Naomi, blasting the racquet hard which forced Naomi to let go.

"Fifteen – love," Naomi glared at the younger.

Ruriko raised her eyebrows while watching Naomi slowly grin. "She couldn't take it..."

"If there was anyone who was psychotic," Chihiro popped a lighter open while lighting a cigarette. "It was her."

Tsunami shivered while looking at the strands fall on Naomi's face. "It looks like one strand fell already."

Naomi stared amusedly at the small strand that fell in front of her face. "Haha, it looks like you're really serious."

Shizuru drew back slightly as Naomi had a psychotic grin on her face. "What's the matter, Ru-Ru? Is that all you have?"

Momo scrunched her nose in disgust. "What a stupid nickname."

Rin gulped as she pointed at Naomi. "K-k-kuwee, when did she start smiling like that?"

"When she realized that Shizuru was more powerful than her," a matter-of-factly voice spoke from the other side as they found Ruriko with the other team members behind her.

Hitomi glanced up as Ruriko took a seat next to Mai. "Wait, what are you...?"

"Naomi hated competition, most of all," Ruriko chuckled bitterly. "She hated losing."

The former regulars hung their heads sadly as Nanako shook her head. "I know we are in no position to ask favours considering that we scared you guys to accept this. But, if it's one thing we have to ask from you guys – all we want is for you guys to spread your wings and fly..."

Mai folded her arms. "We all have. We're just getting rid of the hunters."

"If you mean us," Unohana bristled at Mai. "We never had any intention to destroy you guys."

Chihiro rolled her eyes while squashing a cigarette butt under her foot. "Frankly, I don't know how stupid you guys can be. Isn't it obvious already?"

Haruka gazed sadly at Naomi and Shizuru's match. "Is that why you refused to play against Hitomi, Suzumiya-senpai?"

"Hitomi's all grown," Ruriko smiled while ruffling the Mastermind's hair. "Besides, we all have a sense of honour."

Konan kicked a can with a low growl. "The hell – not all of us are like her."

Chihiro lit another cigarette while leaning on the backrest. "Don't lump me with a bitch like her. I have my own class."

Mai chuckled lightly. "Yes, you and Konan belong to the "I-don't-give-a-damn-whether-you-live-or-die" class."

Konan licked her lips while pulling out a Swiss knife. "Sorry, I'm more the "I-want-to-colour-you-red" class. Chihiro's just a bitch."

Chihiro picked Konan by her collar, narrowing her eyes at the silver haired girl. "You wanna die early, princess?"

The silver haired girl grabbed Chihiro by her neck. "Not unless you go to hell first!"

Ruriko sighed into her hand. "Here they go again."

"Game, Kurenai: one game to love!"

They quickly swivelled their heads to the court as they found Shizuru breathing heavily and Naomi swooning from side to side. Her gray eyes focused on Shizuru's crimson ones as she gleefully grinned at the smaller girl. Shizuru flinched slightly while gripping her knee tightly as she wobbled slightly. Naomi on the other hand maintained a psychotic grin on her face while crushing the tennis ball in her hand.

"Well," Naomi tossed the ball. "It looks like this game will be in my favour now..."

Shizuru stood up while forcing her body to stop trembling. Naomi tossed the ball up and down while faking a serve each time.

"Aww," Naomi smiled cheerfully. "Why are you so serious? You were never this refined before."

They all turned to Mai who nodded stiffly. "Shizuru would rather wear the boy's uniform than the skirt. She did it when we were in elementary and first year."

"You serious," Gakuto loomed from the bleachers. "You mean – she really looked like a boy before?"

Mai laughed wistfully while leaning against the bench. "It was those days that they said that Shizuru was manlier than any man. Her hair was always dishevelled, her hands were always in her pocket when she walked and she always had this calm face. Many girls from our class mistook her for my boyfriend."

Hiyoshi chuckled lightly. "I remember their faces when she said that she was a girl."

"It was like all their dreams were crushed," Mai laughed while wiping a tear from her eye. "There were so many instances... like the first time I met her..."

Flashback

"When she was new in Hyotei, I saw her in shorts and with dishevelled hair and a police cap."

An elementary year Nagisaki Mai dashed towards her classroom with her bouncing low pigtails. Her pink backpack and white gym bag lagged behind her while she swam through a crowd of students.

"Hey lemme through," Mai fell through the crowd until she bumped into someone.

"Oof!"

"Hey!"

Rubbing her head, Mai found a short haired brunette who started picking up her books. "Hey, what...?"

"Are you okay," his voice whispered quietly while handing Mai her books.

Mai nodded weakly while he helped her up. "Hey, what's your name? You look new here. You look cute for a guy."

"I," he started twiddling with his thumbs. "The truth is..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the bell rang even louder. Mai jumped as she grabbed the boy's hand. "Hey Kurei-kun, we have to go! We're going to be late!"

"W-wait," he sighed as Mai started dragging him to his classroom. "M-my name isn't even...!"

As soon as they were about to get to their classroom, Mai bumped into a bunch of middle school students with big bats and kendo swords.

"Well, well, well," one of the boys sniggered at her. "Look who we have here, a cherry and a sissy!"

Mai whimpered as she tried to scoot away until one of the other boys grabbed her wrist and lifted her into the air. "Hey, apologize! You know how expensive these freakin' shoes are!"

"I didn't even step on it," Mai glared as she struggled. "Put me down!"

The boy laughed deviously while one of his cronies opened a closet. "Why don't you stay...? Argh, what the hell...!"

Mai fell to the ground until the cap fell lightly on the floor and the brunette had kicked one of them down.

"Listen," his voice suddenly becoming higher. "You know – I hate people who prey on people smaller than them."

The boy sniggered while wiping blood from his lip. "You stupid bastard, I'm gonna...!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the brunette kicked him into the closet. "You guys are idiots who like to beat up people but... unfortunately for you..."

Only then did Mai realize that her new friend was actually a girl.

"I'm a girl who likes bullying weak idiots."

"After that, rumours started floating around that she beat them up until their parents couldn't recognize them."

The two soon found themselves at the principal's office as the brunette twiddled with her thumbs. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you. It's just that my voice is quite low and..."

"I should've noticed the hime-cut hairstyle but your hair's so messy," Mai stood up and jabbed her finger in front of her. "Why are you in shorts anyway! Shouldn't you be in a skirt like every other girl!"

The brunette folded her arms while twitching. "I hate skirts."

"Well you're going to start wearing them," Mai grabbed the brunette by her collar. "You walk like a guy too! That's why I thought you were a boy!"

The brunette glared hard at her. "I don't see what your problem is. Just because I act like a boy doesn't mean you have to correct my behaviour and make me more into a girl."

"Your style is my problem," Mai pouted impishly. "You act like a boy and I bet you when I get into our classroom – girls are going to think you're some prince or something!"

Sulking on one end, the brunette folded her arms. "Who cares, I don't...!"

"Watch out!"

A janitor's cart wheeled down the hallway with Mai standing in its way until the brunette shoved her out of the way and took some hit from it. The two crashed against the wall with the brunette taking most of the hit against her back while Mai landed against her chest. Both began breathing heavily while they wobbled on their way to standing up. Silence filled the hallway until the principal slammed the door open to find the two shaken girls and the janitor.

The principal glared hard at the janitor. "What the heck is wrong with you? These two kids would have been killed!"

The janitor froze while waving his hands frantically. "I-I'm sorry, the lock on the cart broke so it started wheeling by itself!"

On the other hand, the principal raised an eyebrow at the two girls. "Now, what is this I hear about middle school students being beaten up by a "girl who likes bullying weak idiots"?"

Mai stood up immediately before the brunette could even open her mouth. "But they started it! We were fighting in self-defense!"

"That doesn't give you a right to attack back," the principal rubbed his temples who turned to the silent girl. "Do you have anything to say, Miss...?"

"Kurenai," the brunette smiled sheepishly. "I'm Kurenai Shizuru..."

Flashback End

"Holy Sh-," Chihiro gaped at the tensai, drawing back in revulsion. "You're telling me that this Kurenai Shizuru was that tomboy who beat up the members of the martial arts club?"

Mai shrugged with a sigh. "Many people find it hard to believe that this gentle captain Kurenai Shizuru was actually the Shizuru who often dealt with problems with her fists. Most of her issues were solved with a K.O. But unlike Ayane, she was calmer about it. She often had this mischievous smile on her face and half the time – she was running around in shorts. Shizuru never raised her voice but her fist's strength did all the talking for her. Sometimes, her fists weren't even her weapon of choice..."

Everyone turned to Hitomi but the Mastermind ran through her notes with a sigh. "Okay, I don't have any idea what it is."

Rin popped up with an idea. "She used water guns loaded with paint?"

"No, more painful than that," Mai gestured them to keep guessing. They're not going to believe what her favourite toy used to be.

Flashback

"Hey Shizuru-chan," Mai pointed to a long bag latched onto Shizuru's back. "What's that for?"

Shizuru laughed softly. "Ah, these are my best friends."

Mai stared incredulously at her while trying to snatch it from Shizuru only to fall on the floor. "What kind of person befriends inanimate objects!"

"Someone," Shizuru averted her gaze from Mai. "Someone who can't feel secure unless they have their thing with them..."

Mai hung her head, seeing that Shizuru had a sad smile on her face. "Hey, you should smile more."

Shizuru's head shot up immediately while Mai pointed out. "If you smiled more, people would be able to tell you're a girl."

Blushing furiously, Shizuru shook her head defiantly. "I... I should just..."

"There are some born with better eyes, Shizuru," Mai nodded while ruffling the brunette's hair. "You sure are tall for someone who's only 11."

Bouncing her knee a bit, Shizuru smiled quietly. "So are you."

"Wait a minute," Mai stared at her for a moment. "You were so mean awhile ago and now you're so timid. What the heck is wrong with you?"

Shizuru drew back a bit. "W-well, it's because you were in trouble... and..."

Mai folded her arms while smirking. "I guess the human mind can do a lot... Which reminds me, what is in that bag?"

Shizuru pulled it away from the red haired girl. "I-It's nothing really!"

"Yeah right," Mai tried to grab it only to fall over with her skirt up.

Shizuru, flushing wildly, turned away. "M-Mai, your skirt – put it down!"

"Yeah," –sniggered a voice. "You might get someone else's attention asides from just her."

Mai and Shizuru turned around to find the same boys who roughed them up yesterday, freezing in their places.

"It's because of you I got kicked off the team," the boy with brown dishevelled hair glared at Mai as he locked her in a full nelson. "You're gonna pay!"

Shizuru ran towards her only to get restrained by the other two boys, struggling. "Let Mai-chan go!"

"Why should I," he snorted as he flipped up Mai's skirt, having the red haired girl squeak. "She's the reason why we got kicked off the team!"

Mai wriggled hard only to have her face shoved against the wall. "Stop hurting Shizuru-chan!"

"I don't give a damn about that red-eyed freak!"

Shizuru, hanging her head, let a faint smile appear on her lips. "You know there's a reason why I like beating up weak idiots..."

The brown haired boy stared at her quizzically as she kicked straight up into the air, causing one of her captors to release one of her arms.

"That's because they always come in numbers," Shizuru slowly opened the long bag that Mai had been wondering about with her red eyes glittering angrily. "I always liked challenges..."

The boy slowly let Mai slip down as Shizuru revealed a pair of sticks, swinging them fast and hard. Mai fixed her pigtails as Shizuru slammed the sticks hard into their legs, arms and some even took a direct hit to the face. With a roundhouse kick, Shizuru cracked her knuckles as she sheathed her sticks.

"A-are you okay," Shizuru chuckled sheepishly as she extended her hand. "I guess I might get us expelled aren't I?"

Mai twitched at her as she grabbed Shizuru by the shoulders. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Shizuru shrank at the volume of the red haired girl's voice. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Do you realize you could've gotten killed," Mai puffed up her cheeks while narrowing her eyes at the brunette.

Flashback End

"In Elementary," Mai chuckled lightly while leaning back against the bench. "Shizuru was always five steps ahead of those boys. Those boys were soon expelled for harassment of female elementary students. They were actually traumatized because of the sticks. Many of the middle school martial arts club members tried to recruit her. They even offered her money."

Ayane stared in shock as she looked at an old picture in Mai's wallet. "Shizuru-buchou had short hair!"

"Yeah," Mai glanced at the court. "But, in reality – she was really considering to join the martial arts team. However, I chose to join the tennis team and the dance troupe. She loved playing tennis but was scared of competition. After that, she tried going for the school paper but when she came to the courts – Shizuru really destroyed her."

"Hey," Konan snorted as she folded her arms. "You don't have to refer to me in the third person you know!"

Momo sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. "You were the one who beat up Mai in the first place. If you didn't let your stupidity get the best of you, you wouldn't have needed to face her."

"It wasn't Konan who suffered the most," Ruriko brushed back her hair as she glanced to find both captains sweating profusely. "Without even realizing it, Shizuru had won."

A loud crack echoed in the court as the tennis Regulars and the club members were stunned to find Shizuru glowing and Naomi on the ground.

"What the," Naomi bit her lip hard as her hair started falling all over her face. "What in the world is that?"

Wings slowly stared to form from the aura on Shizuru's back as they expanded across. Shizuru smiled lightly while inhaling deeply and letting the aura surround her.

"Her Hyakuren's true form," Ruriko chuckled lightly while leaning against the wall. "This is the form that Naomi feared the most..."

Mai smiled while standing up. "Even though we improve each passing day, she was always five steps ahead of us."

"So," Naomi grinned evilly at the younger captain. "This is your true form – the Phoenix..."

Shizuru gripped her racquet tightly as the aura of the Hyakuren changed from white to gold and red. "You lied to me, every step of the way. I believed you were kind and sweet – you doted upon me like a sister that I was supposed to have. You taught me everything you knew yet – I never knew how much you truly hated me."

"Tsk," Naomi clucked her tongue while smiling maliciously. "Well then, shall we have a go with that little aura of yours then?"

Shizuru smiled faintly while retaining a serious gaze. "However, that doesn't change that I once admired you. But frankly – what you taught me was already in my head a long time ago."

Naomi folded her arms. "Really – who taught you then?"

"Someone you don't need to know," Shizuru replied curtly as Naomi fired a lightning fast serve.

Watching the match between the future and the past, Atobe folded his arms while glancing at Ayane's right arm. "Ayane, give me your arm."

The vice captain stared at him incredulously. "What the hell was that for? What are you gonna do?"

Taking a seat next to her, Atobe took his water jug and pressed it lightly against her arm in which Ayane winced.

"How did you," Ayane exchanged glances with him while staring at the cold water bottle pressed against her arm.

Atobe chuckled lightly while wrapping up the water jug with a towel. "Ore-sama has Insight but he didn't need to do that to know that Aragaki's strength would have blown your arm off if you weren't strong enough. You're lucky to be gifted with insane strength, Ayane. Otherwise, your arm would be suffering more than just a strain."

Feeling his hands lightly press his water jug against her arm, Ayane slightly turned her gaze away from Atobe while biting her lip. "Um, Atobe...?"

The purple haired captain glanced up as Ayane managed to smile. "T-thank you..."

Atobe revealed a small smile before concentrating on Ayane's arm. However, the King furrowed his eyebrows the moment he saw Naomi going on offensive and Shizuru being forced back. Naomi's shots consisted of going cross court, short or down the line. Shizuru forced her legs to flash her everywhere around the court while Atobe glanced at his watch.

At best, Kurenai should only be able to last thirty minutes if she keeps this up.

Shizuru flashed towards the corner with beads of sweat falling down her face. Naomi had hair falling all over her face as her glare slowly contorted with anger. Rin held onto Haruka as the wind blew against the trees harshly while Kiyone's eyes widened with amazement.

"Wow, Deep-chan's going crazy," Kiyone waved her hands in the air. "Go Shizu-nee, beat her black and blue!"

With sweat pouring down their faces, Shizuru and Naomi rallied back and forth with the shots sinking lower and deeper. Naomi lobbed it up to which Shizuru smashed it straight down with Naomi quickly moving back to return it with a low rally. The former captain drove Shizuru to the back of the baseline, sending deeper shots and forced the current captain to bend down. Wincing at the pain, Shizuru forced herself to return it with a lob but never expected the next shot to smack straight into her knee and send her to the floor.

"Shizuru," Haruka gasped as Rin jumped off the Pearl Dragon's shoulders.

Ayane lunged at Naomi until Atobe gripped her arm hard. "Hey, let go!"

"She has to do this on her own," Atobe sternly gazed at Ayane. "Challenging Naomi now is just going to get you killed."

Shishido jumped off the rail and ran towards Shizuru. "Shizuru, are you alright! For the love of God, don't just stand there!"

Momo curled her hand into a fist, biting her lip with a dark gaze. "You have some nerve to attack my pride like that..."

"What pride," Naomi chuckled evilly as she raised her racquet up. "Ru-Ru doesn't even trust you anyway!"

Haruka, hearing those words, froze while biting her lip. Will it come out again? Is she going to throw away everything for this match?

Rin clung onto Haruka while Isane and Momo bit their lip, leaving Hitomi to narrow her eyes and Ayane to clench her hands into a fist. Silence filled the entire court without anyone moving a muscle and even the boys could only stare at the events that were about to unfold. Sweat poured down Naomi's face while the younger captain hung her head without a reply.

"Shizu-nee doesn't get rattled by stuff like that," –Shizuru's head snapped up while seeing Kiyone give her a thumbs up. "She's gonna beat Deep-chan here and now!"

Seeing Kiyone's confident proclamation, Oshitari snickered while sending a smirk towards Naomi. "Do you think shattering her trust is what would get you the match?"

Atobe, releasing himself from the Insight, smirked while folding his arms. "Kotetsu, you underestimate the tenacity of your protégé. What makes you think she will submit to you?"

Ohtori nodded confidently with a determined smile. "Shizuru-chan wouldn't fall for the same trick twice."

"She's not an idiot, Kotetsu," Shishido snorted while giving her a thumb down. "Even Gakuto's not stupid enough to fall for that."

"Hey," the magenta haired acrobat snarled at the dash specialist. "I'm not that stupid!"

Shishido shrugged his shoulders. "Well most of the time, you are."

Shizuru gripped her knee tightly, hanging her head with a bitter smile slowly appearing on her face. "...I understand... what Hoshimura meant... why she did that to me... The truth will always hurt... but," –her auburn eyes flashed. "It's my choice whether or not to run away from it! Only I can make that decisions and real friends accept the truth whether it be ugly or not."

That's it, Nanako folded her arms. That's what set you two apart. You didn't trust anyone but yourself. She took that gamble and placed her trust into her friends.

Strands of dark brown hair fell over Naomi's face as her silver eyes glittered to reveal her maniacal smile. "Well Ru-Ru, I didn't expect you to come this far..."

"Expect the unexpected," Shizuru smiled faintly and somewhat sadly towards Naomi. "We humans are unpredictable creatures."

Naomi cocked her head to the side. "Fair enough argument although, I hate to see what happens when I use it as well!"

A black aura started surrounding Naomi as a raven took shape. With a maniacal glare, the elder captain fired a speeding backhand which returned with another spinning forehand towards her. Shizuru dashed towards the front as Naomi dropped the shot right over, slicing it over with a top spin.

"Subera Kagerou," Kiyone jumped up and down.

Rin punched the air. "Go for it, kuwee~!"

As the ball floated over, Naomi stood face to face with Shizuru as she lobbed the ball before it touched the ground. "That trick won't work on me...!"

"Then maybe this will," Shizuru smashed it straight in between her feet.

"Love – 15," Ruriko declared as the two captains tried to maintain their stances.

"Keh, when did you learn that," Naomi glared into Shizuru. "You weren't that cruel before, Ru-Ru."

"It's not about being cruel," Shizuru gripped her racquet tightly before walking to the other end of the court. "It's knowing that every opponent has a weakness. Like what Momo-senpai says, 'every opponent has a weakness – see it, exploit it.'" (Hahaha, I love this line! It came from Tekken! Jun Kazama rocks!)

Naomi whistled while staring deep into Shizuru's auburn eyes, picking up the ball from the floor. "Well, shall I see that bravado of yours fail here and now?"

"Please don't expect any good results if that's what you want," Shizuru smiled bitterly before receiving Naomi's serve.

Atobe watched Naomi attack the baseline while Shizuru slid over to receive. "Sanada," –he earned a glance from the lavender haired girl. "How long can Kurenai's leg last?"

Momo, narrowing her eyes a bit, glanced at her watch and then back at the game. "If she doesn't finish this fight in fifteen minutes – she's dead."

Rin gulped while Haruka began to grip the railing. Isane held her breath as the two captains started increasing the pace of the game.

"Naomi's cornering Shizuru isn't she," Oshitari turned to Atobe who started observing the speed of the ball.

Atobe shook his head with a smirk. "If Kurenai allowed herself to be cornered then, she has no reason to be ore-sama's rival."

"From here, Naomi's fighting like a cornered rat," Shishido folded his arms in his disgust.

Gakuto pursed his lips. "God, is that woman insane or what?"

"Why are you asking a question you already know the answer to," Shishido rolled his eyes. "Come on Ohtori, let's get something to drink."

Ohtori nodded slowly, unable to peel his eyes away from the game. "Senpai, have you see that look in her eyes before?"

"What look," Shishido raised an eyebrow at the silver haired sophomore. "Honestly, Shizuru's expression half the time in a game is the same."

Ohtori shook his head. "It's not that Shizuru's angry but somehow – she's more... sure of herself. I don't know..."

"She finally decided to follow her gut," Shishido shrugged while walking away before showing a sign in the air. "Let's go."

Shizuru turned her head to find Shishido with a sign of a letter 'L'. A small smile appeared as her shot suddenly ploughed through Naomi, causing the swordswoman to fall back.

"What the hell," Naomi glanced at Shishido who smirked. "Where did that crap come from?"

The capped regular shrugged. "You never had friends – maybe that's why you don't know what sign language is!"

Naomi hissed venomously at Shishido until she heard a tap of the ball on the court. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing really," Shizuru tossed the ball back at Naomi. "I believe the score is now Love – Thirty?"

Naomi, lowering her stance down, glared hard at the younger captain while preparing for a serve. Her eyes glinted malicious as the ball floated up into the air and with the black Hyakuren surrounding her, Naomi fired towards Shizuru who returned it with her version of the Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami. With a doubled return, Naomi quadrupled it and sent it towards Shizuru who managed to force it back with six times more the normal power. However, Naomi let out a gleeful cackle as the ball came zooming towards her.

"First Sword, Yggdarasil," Naomi sent the ball spiralling towards Shizuru who froze on the spot.

"Fifteen – thirty," –everyone's eyes widened as Shizuru found herself unable to move from her spot.

"Mythology was always your ace card, Ru-Ru," Naomi played with her racquet. "Do you know the tree of life that Odin was bound to? That was one of the very first swords – there was no name for it except that so it became Yggdarasil."

Shizuru wobbled a bit as she winced at her left knee. The younger captain, hobbling her way to the baseline, wiped away the sweat pouring down her face as she made her way towards the baseline once more. Her auburn eyes stared sharply at Naomi who bounced the ball again and again.

"After Yggdarasil," Naomi tossed it in the air. "You should know the sequence of your mythology."

Shizuru winced a bit as the ball zoomed towards her. With the Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami, the younger Hyotei captain returned it with double the speed and power. However, the next shot cracked in a ninety degree angle away from her and the impact of the ball blew a hole through the hedges.

"Miollnir," Naomi grinned while blowing away the dust from her racquet. "Do you remember that?"

Rin turned to Hitomi with wide eyes. "What was that? Is that a name of a giant or something?"

"Miollnir is the name of Thor's hammer in Norse mythology," Hitomi pressed the button, scanning through her notebook until revealing lists of supposed techniques belonging to Kotetsu Naomi. "That shot can weigh around almost 550 Newtons in hitting power. The Yggdarasil is supposed to mentally break your opponent whereas Miollnir is supposed to shock them and pummel down."

Haruka winced at the specifications of the technique. "Is she really someone of a thousand blades?"

"Perhaps," Hitomi closed her notebook while placing all her data collecting materials inside her bag. "I've only seen the Yggdarasil and the Miollnir. The rest remain unknown..."

"Thirty all," –Naomi grinned as Shizuru readied herself for another shot.

Nanako, shaking her head with a sigh, took a seat next to Isane while placing her crutches aside. "Honestly, I don't know what Naomi gains from all this. Why go through all this junk to bring her down?"

"Anything that Naomi does never adds up," Chihiro rolled her eyes. "The girl's just power hungry. Let's leave it at that."

Tsunami shook her head. "I don't think so. Naomi isn't easily irked by someone younger than her. In fact, she loves kids."

Everyone swivelled their heads towards Tsunami with a duh stare. "Are you serious?"

"I'm not kidding," Tsunami waved her hands defensively. "Sure Naomi's maniacal at times but it's rare that she ends up this way. It was only when she met Shizuru when she became a power hungry psycho. I mean – even Homura and Kaori found her okay."

Momo grunted with a cold glare. "She's never been sane. How can someone say she's sane now?"

"It wouldn't make sense that Shizuru became who she is today mostly because of her," Tsunami pointed out. "Think about it, Naomi gave her a push and Shizuru took it. Without that push, none of you guys would be where you are. Momo, maybe you will since you weren't really affected by her but the others. If Naomi hadn't shoved her, Mai would have never learned proper doubles play. Hyotei would have still been at the bottom thirty. Atobe Keigo wouldn't have anyone to piss off..."

Hitomi cleared her throat. "Actually, he has Ayane for that."

"I'm not his stress toy," Ayane screeched, causing everyone to wince at the volume. "HE HAS TENNIS TO TAKE IT OUT ON!"

Kiyone swivelled her head around while pointing in the air. "I see stars..."

"I think I'm deaf, kuwee," Rin whined as she cleaned her ear. "We're not in a concert, Yane."

Tsunami snapped her fingers while pointing out to them. "So there's probably some ulterior motive that we don't know about. Naomi was never open about those things. It's a bond that we'll probably never understand."

Momo narrowed her eyes. "Did it require breaking two best friends apart?"

"Don't make her come out as if she's some saint," Haruka jabbed her finger at Tsunami. "She's done nothing but try to destroy us!"

Yuri wagged her finger at Haruka. "Yet through adversity comes a stronger bond that can last even past the hardest obstacles no?"

Everyone fell silent upon Yuri's comment; the girls then turned to each other while the echo of tennis balls being hit became the only thing audible. Ayane opened her mouth to say something but nothing audible came out. Kiyone simply swung her legs while Rin stared at the floor, crestfallen. Hitomi narrowed her eyes as Momo curled her hand into a fist.

"She has a point," Isane finally piped up. "We can't deny the fact that Naomi did weave this whole web for us. But that doesn't change on how she manipulated us."

Unohana nodded stiffly before turning back to the court. "Well, Naomi does have these unorthodox ways of dealing with things. To us they seem wrong but that's before we see the bigger picture."

Soon, they didn't hear an explosion on the court but rather a hard slam against something else. Shizuru fell backwards with her racquet rattling behind her, despite her efforts to dig her heels into the ground. Naomi on the other hand simply twirled her racquet while yawning mockingly at the junior.

"You weren't even worth my breath," Naomi scoffed while tossing her racquet up into her hand. "You were nothing until I took you in. You were supposed to be my little doll yet, when did you learn how to think for other people's welfare? Winning is all that matters!"

"Winning is nothing when the sacrifice surpasses the value of the victory," Shizuru managed to cough out, throwing Naomi off guard.

Folding her arms with a snort, Naomi raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Victory does come with a few sacrifices."

"Yes but you made me believe that everything was worth sacrificing," Shizuru narrowed her eyes while dusting her skirt. "The friendships I have built are not worth sacrificing!"

Naomi gleefully sniggered. "Really – how sure are you that they're really your friends?"

Shizuru shook her head. "I don't need to prove it to you. Because I can sense it, that's what you never liked about me now was it," –she smirked as Naomi's face slightly paled. "I could sense other people's emotions. I don't fight it out of them if they don't want to tell me; that's just plain rude. But I know deep down that despite their insane tactics to keep me on the right track, it's all because we're one big family. We may not be as competitive as Seishun Gakuen but we know when to give it our 200 percent. That's what having friends mean. No matter what, win or lose – we're stuck to each other."

"You never understood that value," Nanako murmured as she glanced at Naomi. "You always thought being alone was the best way to deal with things. In the end, Shizuru had always won."

Naomi however didn't reply but slowly started to giggle to herself as she picked up the ball. "Well then..."

Shizuru stared, slightly taken aback as a big black raven showed up behind Naomi with swords for feathers.

"I'm gonna make you realize how naïve you are," Naomi chuckled as she tossed the ball. "Get ready!"

As the ball sailed from Naomi's side, Shizuru flashed towards the shot and returned it with a driving backhand to which Naomi attacked with a double fisted backhand. As Shizuru returned it with a forehand, a malevolent smile appeared on her face as she positioned herself with a very low stance.

"That stance is too low for a shot," Haruka squinted her eyes. "How is she going to do that?"

"With enough spring force," Mai eyed her carefully. "Wait a minute, this is..."

Fair enough, Naomi sprung up with a driving smash towards Shizuru and let the shot zip right past the girl's cheek.

"Forty – thirty," everyone gaped in awe as Naomi twirled her racquet around.

"The Aegis," Shizuru noted as she shook away the daze. "You based it off on how Athena was born. She sprung directly from her father's head and became the wielder of his Aegis..."

Naomi started clapping her hands with a smirk. "Not bad, you figured it out but I wonder – how you'll last against the others."

"You passed on your teachings to me," Shizuru changed her stance. "There has to be one thing I learned..."

Momo's eyes slightly widened. "Wait a minute, what she doing with her feet?"

"Backward, Forward, Backward," Mai's eyes widened as she watched Shizuru jumped backward and forward soon followed with left and right. "This is her... Kali Step..."

Naomi snickered while raising an eyebrow at Shizuru. "So, this is what you get for being sent to the Philippines as a little kid?"

"Honestly," Shizuru narrowed her eyes. "They're good people. They have talent – it's just sometimes, people from other countries are so arrogant that they love discouraging people a lot."

Naomi tossed the ball into the air, glaring holes into the younger captain. "Tch, show me what you've learned then!"

As the ball zoomed across, Naomi charged down leaving Shizuru forced against the baseline.

"Game, Kotetsu: one game to two!"

Atobe leaned against the wall. "Here comes the counter attack, Kurenai. Make sure you're walking after this."

Despite sweat falling into her eyes, Shizuru managed to zoom for the shots. Beads of sweat trickled down both of their faces with hair strands flopping on Naomi's face.

"Crushing you," Naomi grinned evilly as she tossed the ball into the air. "This will be so much fun!"

Shizuru waited for the next shot as the serve came crashing down on her side. With doubled power, Shizuru sent the shot zooming towards Naomi who then still had her Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami running for her. Naomi easily backhanded the shot which Shizuru bounced back to return it at a weaker force to avoid the strain. However, Naomi let down a drop shot and forced Shizuru to flash towards the front to return it. But the moment Shizuru lightly lobbed it over; Naomi towered above her with a maniacal grin.

"Miollnir," Naomi smashed it straight at Shizuru, sending the lankier girl to the floor.

Ayane jumped from her seat. "What the hell is your problem!"

"Shizuru," Haruka held her breath while cringing at the echo of the smash.

Isane hid her face. "I can't watch..."

Nanako bit her lip while wringing her hands. What are you going to do now, Kurenai? Will you let Naomi shatter you or will you climb up the wall that you were afraid to climb?

Shizuru weakly clambered to her feet while she winced at the pain shooting from her feet and knee. I don't have long... do I now...?

Momo glanced at her watch and then at Shizuru's fallen form. "It's barely the third game and she's dropping. Her knee won't last another five minutes. Any more than that – she'll cripple herself and render herself useless," –seeing Shizuru's eyes widened, Momo let a small smirk grace her lips. "She won't be of any use to the team against Rikkai Dai or Seishun with that busted leg."

Seeing Momo's glint, Naomi narrowed her eyes at the Shinigami. "What does she plan on doing? That's practically goading her..."

"Come on," –Naomi's head snapped towards the bleachers, seeing Shishido gripping the fence hard. "Shizuru, do you remember what you told Ohtori years ago! Come on; show me that same insane martial artist kid who beat up the Martial Arts club members who harassed her!"

As Naomi turned back to the gasping girl, her eyes widened in horror as Shizuru's eyes glinted differently.

"To you, we are nothing but pawns," Shizuru flipped her racquet around with her eyes burning angrily. "But in the end – when you look at it. It's you who has lost. You're nothing but an egotistical brat!"

Shishido's eyes widened but smirked at one point. Seeing Shizuru angry sent shivers down Ohtori's spine and Gakuto leapt behind Oshitari with a twitch. Atobe folded his arms with a small smirk.

It's rare for you to lose your cool like this, Atobe narrowed his eyes at the younger. However, how far will your bravado get you?

Shizuru tightened her grip on her racquet as the two started attacking each other once again. With the Raven rising from behind Naomi and the Phoenix lunging alongside Shizuru, the two birds soared into the sky as they throttled one another. The ball zoomed back and forth as Shizuru started increasing her spins. Shishido watched the ball fly towards Naomi as he rubbed his eyes.

"I can't see anything anymore," Shishido shook his head. "I'm serious! I'm going blind!"

Ohtori followed Shizuru's footwork as the younger captain dashed from place to place and return the ball, regardless of the distance. Soon, the ball zoomed even faster which forced Shizuru to flash back and forth. Nanako glanced at Naomi whose face contorted with anger while Shizuru's knee swelled badly, checking her watch as the two battled it out.

"Anyone would give a million for this match," Yuri played with her hair.

Unohana blew up a bubblegum, playing with her hair. "That's if – they don't know the story behind it."

Chihiro glared at Naomi while crushing her steel ring. "Damn that woman, she's such a busted psycho that she's willing to drag everyone into it!"

"I'd understand if she were trying to teach Shizuru something," Tsunami shook her head. "But, this is downright insane...!"

As Shizuru returned the ball, Naomi's grin grew even wider and more evil as she attacked the deeper ends of the court.

"YOU DISASTROUSLY MISCALCULATED EVERYTHING," Naomi sent even lower and faster shots. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE THAT GLORY AWAY FROM ME! I'M THE ONE WHO MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY, KURENAI SHIZURU! YOU ARE THE BRAT WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND...!"

Shizuru narrowed her eyes as her shots delved deeper on Naomi's side.

"No, you're the one who doesn't understand," Shizuru returned the shot triple the normal spin. "You always pushed everyone away; thinking you could handle everything yourself. I used to think that way too – that the world was always black and white. That time, whatever you said was white while everyone was black. In the end, I realized that you were the one in the dark. I will follow my own light – that is my creed. You will not trample on anybody else's creed anymore!"

Naomi growled as the spin disappeared from her line of sight. As long as I can hear it, it shouldn't be a problem!

"Sometimes your ears can be deceived by the noise," Shizuru smirked as skidded on the ground.

Naomi faltered as the ball zoomed past her again.

"Game, Kurenai: three games to one!"

Ayane punched the air. "Come on, Shizuru! Hand it to him!"

The captain nodded but the moment she took a step forward, Shizuru collapsed under her own weight. Everyone stared in horror as Haruka jumped over the fence while the whole team came trailing behind her to check on their injured captain. The boys even left their stand to check on Shizuru's walking condition. Atobe glanced at the soreness of Shizuru's leg before shaking his head.

"Sanada already knows this," Atobe turned away. "Kurenai, you're doing the same thing he did..."

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at Atobe. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Kurenai," Atobe checked his watch. "You were supposed to last only for thirty minutes."

Everyone's eyes widened as Atobe pointed at the watch. "Check your watches and see how long it has been..."

Oshitari clucked his tongue while averting his eyes from Shizuru. "It's already been forty five minutes..."

Atobe let out a bitter chuckle. Shizuru didn't even wince at the pain her leg suffered at that moment while her teammates were telling her to forfeit. Haruka took out a bandage as she started wrapping it around the younger girl's leg while Kiyone ran with a small call of coolant spray. Ayane shook her head and began wagging her finger at the captain who smiled sheepishly. Shishido on the other hand whacked Shizuru on the head, snapping at her not to do something so reckless. Ohtori yanked Shishido's jacket to calm him down however, the capped regular still managed to shake Shizuru silly.

"Kurenai, is this match really worth your career?"

Everyone fell silent on Atobe's words as she faced him with a determined look.

"I'm not going to fall back because of this," Shizuru struggled to stand up properly. "If I don't defeat her now, when will I do so? If I hide this problem under the rug, it gets bigger right? Stop it while it's early. That's how it goes right?"

Atobe nodded as he handed her racquet to her. "You're reckless, Kurenai – but that's what's going to get you on to the top. Beat Kotetsu."

Shizuru smirked and bowed. "Of course, it would be disgracing the name of Hyotei if I lost now wouldn't it?"

As Shizuru managed to limp towards the baseline, Ayane walked up to Atobe and shook him silly. "Are you insane! Do you want her to be on a wheelchair for the rest of her life! What the hell is wrong with you! You could've stopped her!"

"No he wouldn't have," Oshitari shook his head. "Once her mind is set on something, she will not stop. That's just the way she is."

Atobe took a set on the bench as he folded his arms. "Kurenai had the same set of eyes as he did. Ore-sama already knew that she and he were too much alike in terms of ideology. Finish what one has started. She will not stop even if her leg must be sacrificed. That was not part of Kotetsu's ideology because hers meant pushing all the people away. In this case, Kurenai feels that if she does not conquer Kotetsu then she will be the one dragging down the team. She's not doing this to satisfy her ego..."

"This is," Oshitari glanced at the court as Shizuru and Naomi faced each other down again. "This is to bring her team to newer heights."

Shishido bit his lip. "Shizuru's never been good about thinking about herself or for herself. Everyone around her is her first priority; when they're happy, she feels happy too."

"There's only one contradiction to that gentle side of her," Oshitari pushed his glasses up a bit.

Shizuru ran down the shot and slammed the ball with every force she had.

"Game, Kurenai: four games to one!"

Ohtori laughed sheepishly. "She always romps like a boy, right senpai?"

"Well, it did get her somewhere," Shishido shrugged his shoulders but saw the smile on Naomi's face. "I don't think she's trying to win anymore..."

Atobe let his Insight do all the searching and his eyes widened as Naomi took on the next serve. "Kurenai, watch your leg...!"

Shizuru, due to her injury, failed to pull back her left leg in time and the ball collided straight into her knee and sent her reeling back. Ruriko got off the arbiter's chair while Shizuru's teammates try to run over to her. Naomi on the other hand cackled gleefully as she stared down at the girl.

"Shizuru, stop it," Haruka pointed at Naomi. "She's clearly not the Naomi you knew! You're going to cripple yourself for nothing!"

"That's exactly why I'm going to win."

Haruka stared at her, dumbfounded. "Wait, what do you mean! She's getting physical!"

"Because she's not the Naomi I used to know," Shizuru gave Naomi a fleeting glance. "That's why I'm going to win. She's become nothing but one of those people who fight like rats when they know they're wrong. From here on out, she's already made herself he weaker one. If she were truly strong then, she would not need to give me a handicap."

Mai folded her arms. "She hasn't targeted your eye or anything that is part of your face yet. Normally, most players target the eye. She's saving you for something."

"Yes but at the same time making many unnecessary movements," Shizuru noted the sweat pouring down Naomi's face. "Because she is easily excited by knowing she has a chance to cripple me, she starts making many unnecessary movements since she's also trying to calm herself down. Sooner or later – she won't be able to perform all thousand swords unless she can perform them all at once."

Naomi tossed the ball and Shizuru immediately pushed Mai out of the way. "Here it comes!"

With an insane howling laughter, Naomi fired it deep while Shizuru dropped the shot several times. The two ran left and right as Naomi forced Shizuru to bend on her injured knee. However, Shizuru's Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami glowed even brighter while Naomi's slowly started to fade.

"That's odd," Isane glanced at the dissipating black aura. "I thought the Hyakuren lasts longer depending on the user..."

"In this case," Mai placed her thumb on her lip, "Naomi's on borderline insanity. Her mind's not in complete balance. In emptiness, I find balance... that's how it works..."

Hitomi glanced at her notes as several states of the Muga no Kyouchi were listed down. It was rumoured that Shizuru could unlock the third stage without even going through the first two. Naomi however could activate all three. The thing is – which one would prevail?

"Three shots," Naomi snickered as she started to glow. "You won't last anymore..."

Hitomi flipped through the pages of her notebook. "That's the..."

"The Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami [Pinnacle of Brilliant Insight]," Mai narrowed her molten gold eyes at the former captain. "She plans to throw Shizuru off guard. The last time she used the Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami against Shizuru, she couldn't live up to the prediction."

Oshitari leaned against his knuckles. "By then, Shizuru had learned how to block out her heart. I taught her that in order to get past other people when she tried auditioning for the club."

Atobe watched Naomi bring out an even more powerful attack than the last. "Here it comes... the Excalibur...!"

Naomi slammed the ball towards Shizuru which pummelled against the racquet strings and sent it flying.

"That was three shots," Jirou jumped up and down excitedly. "Did you see that shot?"

"It's a Jack Knife in forehand form," Atobe leaned against the bench. Now, what will you do now, Kurenai? Without this win, there will be no victory for your team or your pride.

Rin gulped as she hung her head. "Shizuru, the longer she keeps this up – the more she won't be able to play against Rikkai Dai!"

"Your Insight is getting faster, Shimohi," Atobe smirked as he watched Shizuru forcefully push her leg to sprint for the ball, only to miss.

Ayane jumped up from her chair. "Shizuru, stop it!"

With a high jump, Naomi smashed the ball which sent Shizuru staggering back.

"Game, Kotetsu: two games to four!"

Naomi fired Shizuru's serve with return aces, one after the other. "This is the 'Ekidnu'!"

With even more force than Shizuru's serve, Naomi fired it towards Shizuru's body and mostly her knee. Soon, Shizuru found herself dodging the shots rather than returning it. The ball flew too fast even for her to predict where it would land. Naomi's body language became even more haphazard as her shots started targeting wild areas of the court.

"Game, Kotetsu: three games to four!"

Shizuru bit her lip while wincing in agony of her leg. "It looks like..."

Naomi raised her eyebrow as Shizuru put her fingers. "Two games..."

"I will beat you in two games!"

However, Rin bit her nails while squatting on the ground. "Kuwee~, she has to beat her in two games!"

Haruka saw the bandaging slowly unravelling and showing the swollen part of Shizuru's leg. "Naomi's not going to buy that bluff. She knows...!"

"Rather, you have to beat me in one game if I put up a fight," Naomi grinned as her Saiki Kanpatsu took on a more devilish glow. "Obviously – that little bluff of yours won't work...!"

Shizuru cringed at the pain as she tried to jump. My Flash Step is the only thing that's going to save me right now. If I triple the normal speed, she shouldn't be able to put up a fight anymore but the question is – is the pain worth it?

A longer glance towards her teammates would have shattered her resolve as Kiyone began to give her big puppy eyes. Rin bit her lip to stop herself from crying while Momo turned away. Isane clasped her hands together while Haruka cringed at the sight. Ayane punched the railings while Hitomi closed her notebook and took a seat. Mai however had a different expression.

"If you choose to sacrifice your leg for the sake of bringing us to the top," Mai gave her the 'L' sign. "Then, finish that sorry loser!"

Upon hearing Mai's words, Shizuru smirked and faced Naomi once again. "No – I will make sure you won't be able to fight back."

Soon, the ball cracked off Naomi's racquet and sent it towards Shizuru's leg but with the Flash Step – the younger captain corded the ball to the other side.

"Love – fifteen," Naomi growled at where the ball had landed. Where did she find the energy to keep that kind of speed?

"One of the few things tennis players has a hard time doing is maintaining consistency," Oshitari smirked while watching Naomi struggle once again. "The form of a player suffers after fatigue and sometimes even through mental breakdown."

"However, it depends on how the players handle it," Hitomi noted as she watched Naomi score another shot. "At times, determination can make a person become superhuman. They can accomplish it as long as their mind sees it's possible."

With a smash, Shizuru ended the next game.

"Game, Kurenai: five games to three!"

Shishido whistled with a can of soda in one hand. "Four more shots, take her down!"

"Go Shizuru-chan," Gakuto rooted on. "Show her the meaning to "there is always someone better than you"!"

Atobe gave her a thumb down. "Show her no mercy. You are the Queen of Hyotei – live up to that title."

Shizuru nodded to the encouragement as Naomi went on haphazardly with her shots.

No, Naomi found her shots being returned. No, no, no, why are they all returning! That's impossible! She should be crippled by now! Stupid brat – how can she keep on going!

"It's for the sake of my friends that I keep going," Shizuru smiled bitterly as she saw the deciding shot coming towards her. "You always went on for yourself and that's what made us different."

With a slice, Shizuru sent the Subera Kagerou with triple its normal spin towards Naomi and landed right by the net.

"Game and match, Kurenai," Ruriko announced proudly. "Six games to three! The winner is Hyotei Middle School division!"

Naomi stared until she started grinding her teeth together. "You little...!"

She sailed over the net with her racquet swinging wildly until Shizuru blocked it with her own racquet.

"You've completely lost your senses," Shizuru sadly hung her head. "I wish I could have done more to help you... Why didn't you tell me that you hated me so much? You should have faced me personally instead of getting everyone else involved. If it weren't for the manipulation – I would have still maintained my respect for you."

Naomi faced the ground with her head hanging low. "How were you able to...?"

"How was I able to," Shizuru raised an eyebrow as Naomi grabbed her by the collar.

"HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO MAKE THOSE PEOPLE FOLLOW YOU! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I HAD TO DO TO MAKE THEM FOLLOW ME," Naomi breathed out heavily while her silver eyes glinted with malice. "You're nothing but a little brat to them yet they listened to you! You were this girl who could make a boy look shameful and could disgrace the entire team! Yet, they all followed in your suit! What did you do that I didn't!"

Nanako placed a hand on her arm while having Momo pry Shizuru out of Naomi's grip. "She placed her trust in them. You never learned the meaning of the word "trust". In the end, we all strayed away because of that. You unwittingly gave Shizuru something that you never tried to give us: your faith in us. In her former games, she did no such thing until Jyosei Shounan's match based on Lulu's report. Hence, she learned and I'm sure with that kind of trust – they'll surpass us and anyone who threatens to take us apart. You fell because you tried to carry the world on your own."

Naomi hung her head and refused to face Shizuru eye to eye. She then glanced at her hands before sinking to her knees.

"You're an idiot, Kotetsu."

Naomi found Atobe with folded arms. "Do you think Kurenai wanted to break you down? She forced herself to hurt you because you didn't know how to stop."

"Let me tell you this: Shizuru won't even kill a fly," Shishido folded his arms. "Right now – what you've seen isn't what she did to those jackasses back then."

Naomi chuckled bitterly. "Then I'm a fool, haunted forever by the shadow of her protégé."

"I didn't ask to be better than you," Shizuru extended her hand with a smile. "You made me who I am. You made the web that put us all together. But, let me handle this. Move on, senpai. It may be a dark road ahead but I'm sure you can find your way through."

Her words shot through her and Naomi couldn't help but feel tears falling through her eyes as she embraced Shizuru tightly.

-That's Chapter 36! Please tell me if you want a oneshot collections of the girls! It won't be connected to the story though. :D