History in Two Words

...or less...

Summary: Kagome Higurashi once lived in America; she and her mom had left her father after he had an affair and had traveled the world to allow Kagome to participate in Tennis Matches...along the way, she met Ryoma, and she became one of the few tennis players his age that he would practice with...when she finds out that he is returning to Japan...and he asks her to return as well...Kagome is faced with a choice, go back and face her past, or continue in America to world lackluster without her best friend!

Genre: Romance/Humor

Pairing: Kagome/?

Rated: M

-x-x-x-

Arai didn't understand what had happened. At one point, he thought that he had the game. The two were messing up each return and serve, well, no surprise, right? He'd given the two a faulty racquet. The stupid thing was old, on top of having broken strings and no recoil. So then... why was it... he was the one staring up at them? It was deafening. This defeat... his hands were shaking! What were they thinking?! Switching the racquet between one another every turn or every other turn. There wasn't a pattern. It wasn't like he could read what they were doing. Without any given signs, the two played as if challenging the other to do better. Like this hadn't been difficult for them in the least. He hadn't been a challenge. He'd been outplayed... by two first-year brats. Two shorties! "AUGH!"

"He looks mad,"

He could hear one of them. Higurashi was more assertive than Echizen, bolder and quicker to retaliate. He pissed him off. However, his reactions were at least tolerable.

"Mada Mada Dane,"

More than Higurashi, Echizen was infuriating.

"Heh, Yoku Naru Dake..."

"What the hell is with you two!?"

-x-x-x-

Kagome gave her attention to Arai, not looking at him, but she listened. He was yelling at them because they overcame the problem with the racquet's zero spin ratio. It was a quick discovery on their part. She had picked up on it during Ryoma's first serve. Observing her friend had helped her jump that hurdle without much difficulty. From there, it was a matter of completely breaking their upperclassman and eradicating the popular opinion that she and Ryoma would be easily put in their place. Certainly, Ryoma wasn't quick to anger, but like her, he had his pride. There was no way they'd lose to someone like Arai. "You complain too much. You stole our things, blackmailed us into a game, and now you're whining because we beat you with the given handicap. Since we got here, we've been challenged offhandedly by several of you, oh-so-impressive upperclassman. We've been insulted and treated as if we were the instigators of such childish behavior, and if I'm honest... I'm not impressed, Senpai."

All the while she spoke, Kagome fixed the laces of her shoes, her eyes no longer lingering on Arai. Rather, she stood, walking past the angrily glaring student and up to his friend. "Where is my tennis bag?"

"...ah, the storage room."

"Ryoma, let's go find a street court. I didn't return to Japan to be bullied."

"Hai,"

-x-x-x-

(One Week Later)

―Intraschool Ranking Tournament―

-Day One-

"It's weird that we're both in the tournament. I wasn't planning on competing,"

"Wait, Kagami-Kun! You've got to compete in the competition. Think about the other seventh graders." One of Ryoma's fans put his hand on Kagome's shoulder, "please compete seriously, Kagame-Kun!" She vaguely recalled his name as Kachirou, Katou.

"...Ryoma will be able to place in the tournament, so isn't one seventh-grader enough to satisfy the grade?"

"Kagami,"

She looked back over her shoulder, "hm?"

"Compete,"

"...are you asking me or telling me?" Laughing, she raised her hand and waved him off, "right, I'll do it. I'll compete...and... I'll steal that spot right from under your feet. How about that?"

"Heh, we'll see."

"..." Kachirou, Mizuno, and Horio watched as the two friends turned and went off in separate directions to practice alone.

"If Echizen and Higurashi think they'll make the Regular's, then they have another thing coming. It's going to be completely different than how it was when they played Momo-Senpai!"

"Who are they going up against?" Mizuno asked curiously, looking up at the board.

"Looks like Ryoma-Kun is going up against Kaidou-Senpai, and Kagami-Kun will be going up against...ah...Kawamura-Senpai."

-x-x-x-

Kagome sat in front of the court she'd be playing on. Listening to the upperclassman not far from her, they were talking about her and Ryoma. More specifically, they were acting like condescending prats. The fact that they were fighting back against the upperclassman and not just taking their shit lying down. It was insane the amount of disrespect the underclassmen were given. Looking up at the two older students, they turned away from her as she met their eyes, giving her the cold shoulder. 'That's okay. It's probably better if I don't talk to anyone besides Ryoma. Less likely that I'll be discovered that way.'

"Kagami, come hit a few rounds with me."

"Got a place in mind?" She didn't even look up at Ryoma; snapping the tape of her grip, she carefully lined it up and ran her thumb over the edge. A new grip for a new challenge. Standing, she shouldered her bag and turned to Ryoma, who was glancing around the green-top.

"Let's go find a quieter place,"

She didn't need to be told twice. Her match wouldn't be for a while. That Ryoma had come to find her meant neither would his.

"Hey, where are you two going!?"

'Once again, an upperclassman who can't mind his own business.' She turned around. A hand on her shoulder called for her attention, though. Ryoma gave her a look, glanced over her shoulder at the upperclassman, and then walked off. Kagome followed. She usually always had something to say, but speaking up wasn't helping her or Ryoma, so she'd do it Ryoma's way. She'd choose the 'ignore option.' "You know, this has to be some form of bullying."

"Let it go. They only lift their legs when you strike back."

She smirked at his weird analogy. They were certainly acting like dogs marking their territory, no doubt about it. Still, the mental image was funny. They found a quiet spot behind the school to practice. A clearing with a brick wall. If there was one thing Kagome could say about tennis players, they loved a good wall to bounce rallies off of. Good for when you were alone, better when you had someone with you.

She found a place to stand across from the wall as Ryoma pulled a tennis ball from his pocket and hit it against the stone. She caught it with her racquet and returned the ball; a back and forth of returns with randomly placed spin to add a bit of excitement to the warm-up had started. The two twelve-year-olds would be ready to face whoever it was that they were pitted against.

"Your birthday is coming up, is there anything you want to do?"

Kagome smiled, 'Mama still forgets my birthday, but Ryoma remembers. How funny.' She shook her head, "not that I can think of. Oh, you know what would be good?" She knocked the ball back with a dull thump. "Street tennis. They have games at night at the street courts around the corner from the park. Can we go play?"

"Hai," he returned the ball with a subtle twist of his wrist. "Will your mom be okay with you staying out late?"

Shrugging, she gave a small laugh as he worried over her mother. Her mother was quite vicious when it came to her safety, though, so it wasn't like she didn't get it. The thing with Ryoma was, her mom trusted him explicitly. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Ryoma."

The back and forth warm-up shifted slightly as they started to switch sides between the ball being returned. Hitting it, split step, hit, hit, hit, hit, split step, again, and again with this pattern. They worked up a decent sweat before they realized that it would be time for their matches soon. "Should we head back?" Kagome glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Catching the ball on her racquet and rolling it back and forth lazily as she waited for her friends' response.

"Ah,"

That was a yes. Returning the way they came, Kagome let the breeze cool her off a bit. She was ready. Ready to take her place on the— "oh, Ryoma...I can't play on the Regular's tournament line-up."

He didn't respond to her at first, thinking carefully over what he wanted to say.

Kagome was going to repeat herself, thinking he didn't hear her the first time but reconsidered as they rounded the corner of the school. "It's that girl."

"Who?"

"Seriously?" Kagome laughed as she shook her head.

"..." Ryoma shrugged, though he brought his racquet down as they were passing the girl with long braids, knocking it into the back of her knees as he did. "Bend your knees, keep your elbows straight."

"Ah, Ryoma-Kun! Kagami-Kun!"

Glancing over her shoulder as the girl blushed and brought her racquet to her chest. 'Heh, Ryoma, you little heartthrob.'

"Your shoulders are too open; your hair is too long. Stand firm."

Chuckling under her breath, she gave Ryoma a look, "her hair is too long?"

"It is,"

"It's not."

"Sure it is. Your hair was too long too."

"Ponytails were made for a reason, Ryoma. We who prefer longer hair can tie our hair up and out of our face. Problem solved." Glancing back over her shoulder, she noticed that Sakuno was looking right at her, and she quickly turned away, "damn."

"Hm?"

Kagome blushed, "n-nothing!"

Ryoma smirked at the flustered state she was in. Giving a small look back at the girl with long braids, he already knew this wouldn't end well for her if she'd developed a crush on his friend. Not bothering with that particular drama, he instead returned to the earlier topic, "don't worry about the tournament line-up. Do your best, and then, we will deal with any other problems that may—or may not, come to pass."

-x-x-x-

'Don't they have anything better to do?'

"Ah, aren't you going to be late to your match, Higurashi-San?"

Looking over her shoulder, she barely recognized this person as 'Oishi-Senpai,' the vice-captain of the boys' tennis club. "Nai, Oishi-Senpai, even if I make the Regulars, I can't play tournaments...so maybe I shouldn't participate in this Intraschool Ranking."

"Is there a reason you wouldn't be able to participate in tournaments?"

"...ah... a reason? I need one?" She looked thoughtfully at her racquet and smiled. "Simply put, I can only play tennis if I stay out of tournaments. Otherwise, I have to leave the club. That's the ultimatum." Shrugging, she laced her racquet over her shoulder and started walking away, "I guess I'm thinking too far ahead, huh? I haven't even played for a spot on the regular's line-up, after all." She could feel eyes on her, and glancing to her right, she saw Ryoma looking her way. Of course, he probably heard her. Waving him off, she kept on without worrying about what he was thinking. She knew she couldn't compete. It didn't matter if she wanted to, or if he wanted her to, she couldn't. She couldn't. Even if she was dressed as a he, if it came out during a tournament, or even after...the trouble that would certainly cause Seigaku... Kagome would never be able to forgive herself.

"Tch, I can't believe they're letting two first years play for a spot on the Tennis Team."

"The standards have dropped so low."

Kagome didn't know for how long she'd be able to bite her tongue. She grew up in America, after all. Her manners had dulled.

Walking out onto the tennis court, she looked to see someone standing on the other side of the net. "Sorry for making to wait," she bowed respectfully.

"Ah! It's fine, no problem!" Smiling, he brought a hand to the back of his head.

Watching one of the third years climb up to the judge's chair, she relaxed a bit into the weight of her racquet and rocked back and forth a bit from the balls of her feet to the heels of her feet. Repeat this a few times before she tapped both feet and stepped up to the net. "Smooth or rough?"

"Smooth,"

-x-x-x-

Me: Aaaaand yeah, that's where I'm going to end that! Soooooo...here is a short update on life and how everything is going. I am very busy at work; we're so short-handed, we have 120 open hours, and everyone is working 12-hour shifts, six days a week. Unless you are a shift lead, like my sister, you work 16 hours a day, six days a week. Two people are contemplating leaving, which would mean 240 open hours, and so I've started shopping for a casket just in case I die unexpectedly. I found one I like for $1,459.00 ...but I'm off-topic. I reread Drink Mayhem...wooh...that story needs so much love and attention, and...WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT...I'm off tomorrow, so I'll be fine-toothing the crap out of that story with Grammarly so that I can quickly move on to writing ch.33 of DM. PLEASE SEND ME LOVE, AND I WILL WRITE ONCE MORE!

OH...and I made the cover art for the story, which shows what Kagome looks like!