(A/N: Here comes part 2! Been working on my other fanfic (Seigaku Slumber Party) because the idea just wouldn't leave my head XD. Well…the reviews said people didn't want Reiko to date Yanagizawa. Haha…we can't let Oishi suffer more! Hope you enjoy this one. If you have seen Episode 71, there are some jokes that come from it in this chapter. If you haven't, it's still fine to read. No spoilers are involved.)
Disclaimer: Blah Blah Blah. I do not own the rights to PoT. Konomi Takeshi does.
Italics means the person's thoughts.
Chapter 5: Don't Lose Part 2.
Momoshiro and Ryoma were walking towards the street tennis courts. Since there was no club practice on Sundays, Ryoma wanted to go play some tennis since any day without tennis felt awkward for him. He was going to ask his dad Nanjiroh, but apparently he went out for an 'errand' and wasn't going to be back for a while. So instead, Ryoma called up Momoshiro.
"Momo-sempai."
"What's up Echizen?"
"Why are we going to the street tennis courts? Aren't the school courts closer?"
"Actually they're about the same distance away and the school courts might be closed."
"Is that so? Are you sure you're not going just to see a 'certain' someone?"
"Someone? Like who?"
"Tachibana Ann?" Ryoma said with a smirk.
Momo blushed. "O…Of course not! Why would I go for that reason?!"
"Hm…you're blushing Momo-sempai."
Momo turned his head. "I am not! Besides, if Tachibana Ann is there, someone else is also bound to be there…" Momo shook his head. He wasn't exactly keen on seeing the speed demon so soon, especially what happened the last time they met. Both continued walking towards the courts.
Meanwhile on the street tennis courts, Yanagizawa was sweating hard. He just blew his 3-0 lead and was now trailing behind 3-5. Yanagizawa bounced the ball a few times and was getting ready to serve. Reiko was on the other side of the court looking pretty calm. He threw a fast serve and Reiko was able to receive it fast towards the opposite side of the court right on the line.
"0-15"
Oishi just stood there not believing what he saw. Reiko had made a big turn around in such a short amount of time. Her shots was consistent, she had good control of the ball, and was fast around the court. It seemed like she knew where all of Yanagizawa's shots were going.
"0-40"
Yanagizawa was looking frustrated. He was playing his hardest and was still struggling. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. There was no way he was going to lose to a girl like this. He served the ball and she received it. Yanagizawa took notice that the right side of her court was open. He was right about to hit over there when suddenly he saw her do a split step and move over to that side. This caught him off guard and he ended up lobbing the ball up. Reiko jumped up and smashed the ball towards his feet.
"Game Set. Tanaka wins 6-3"
"No way…I can't believe I lost dane" Yanagizawa said sadly as he went up the net.
"Ano…I never got your name" Yanagizawa looked up to see Reiko smiling and offering a handshake.
Seeing Reiko smile brought warmth to his heart even though he lost. He smiled and shook her hand. "The name is Yanagizawa Shinya dane."
"Yanagizawa-kun? It was a great game. I hope we can play again sometime." Reiko said cheerfully. "Now about that deal…"
"Hai hai…a man always keeps his word dane."
"Arigatou Yanagizawa-kun. Two fruit juices will be fine."
Yanagizawa walked over to the vending machine nearby. Oishi just sat on the bench dazed. He was trying to figure out how Reiko was able to pull it off. "How did she…?"
"Tanaka-san had some interesting tactics." Mizuki said to Oishi. "For starts, you have to remember that when we played your team I already collected data on all your members. With that, I was able to plan ahead to give our team an advantage so your team had to struggle a bit." Mizuki continued talking. "Yanagizawa is fast, but works better as a doubles player so he's not very well at covering the whole court. Reiko took advantage of this and ended up hitting the ball to the opposite sides of the court. By doing so, this caused Yanagizawa's stamina to wear out, which was why he was tired near the end of the game. You also probably noticed that she has very good control of the ball, which was how she sent him running."
"But…if she was able to do all that…" Yuuta asked. "Why did she end up losing in the beginning?"
"Psychological strategy."
"Nani?"
"You probably noticed in the beginning that Yanagizawa was excited about wanting to win so he could get a date. After Reiko's first shot, which was strong and controlled, I noticed all her other hits weren't very accurate and she slowed down in speed. By having Yanagizawa have a lead of 3-0 in the beginning, it gave him some confidence and made him cocky. However, by taking control of the game and winning all the games afterwards, Yanagizawa lost his focus and he ended up playing poorly."
"So in other words…Rei-chan lost on purpose in the beginning?!" Oishi said with some frustration.
"Hehe…looks like Mizuki-san saw through my plan. Gomen gomen Syu-kun!" Reiko was listening in on the conversation and apologized. "That's why I said not to worry." She then ran over to Yanagizawa at the vending machine.
"Syu-kun?!" Oishi turned around to see Ryoma and Momoshiro standing behind him. Both of them had really big smirks on their faces.
"Oishi-sempai. You didn't have to lie to us about not having a girlfriend!" Momoshiro exclaimed. "And she's calling you Syu-kun…that's quite kawaii!"
"Momoshiro! Echizen! You got it all wrong! We just came here to play some tennis."
"Is that so?" Ryoma asked. "Then how come she was playing against Yanagizawa?"
"It was a bet." Mizuki cut in. "If Yanagizawa won the match, Tanaka-san would have to go on a date. If Tanaka-san won, Yanagizawa would treat her to some drinks."
"Hey Oishi-sempai! You shouldn't let your girlfriend go out with someone else!"
"Like I just said Momoshiro…it's not like that!"
"Syu-kun." Everyone turned and saw Reiko walk up to them. "Here you go. My treat!" She tossed a can of juice towards Oishi. "Ara? Are these your friends?" She looked at both Ryoma and Momoshiro.
Oishi introduced each other. "Rei-chan, these are some of the Seigaku regulars on the team: Momoshiro Takeshi and Echizen Ryoma. Guys, this is my childhood friend Tanaka Reiko."
"Its nice to meet Syu-kun's friends." Reiko bowed politely. She looked at Ryoma. "Echizen Ryoma? You sound very familiar. Did you used to live in the United States?" Ryoma just nodded his head. Reiko walked towards her bag and was digging for something. She got up and walked back towards Ryoma and held out a pad of paper and a pen. "Echizen-kun…can I get your autograph?" Everyone sweatdrops.
"Hey Echizen…do you know this girl?" Momoshiro whispered in his ear. Ryoma just looked back giving him the "does it looks like I know her" look.
"Gomen. It's just that I watched you on television and read about you in magazines back in America. I really admired you, especially when you won 4 junior championships! Wow…I can't believe I'm attending the same school as Echizen Ryoma!"
"Looks like you got another fan Echizen. You're so popular with the girls." Momoshiro smirked and rubbed Ryoma's head.
"That hurts Momo-sempai."
Reiko finished her can of juice. "Anyways Syu-kun. You ready to play a match?"
"Huh?!" Momoshiro exclaimed in disbelief. "You're going to play Tanaka-san?"
"That's what I said earlier. We came here to play against each other."
"Oishi-sempai, is that alright?"
"Just watch." Oishi had on a very determined face. After seeing the previous match, he knew he didn't have to go easy on her. He brought out his racket and walked onto the court.
"Hm…I have a bad feeling." Momoshiro said in a worried tone. "Its not like Oishi to go up against a girl seriously."
"She's a pretty good player." Yuuta was sitting near them hearing in on the conversation. "Remember that she just beat Yanagizawa 6-3."
"Hey…its Fuji's younger brother."
"Will you stop referring to me as Fuji's younger brother!"
"Hm…this will be an interesting match to watch." Ryoma and everyone else sat down on the benches and watched the match. Oishi and Reiko were at the net spinning the racket to decide who would serve first.
"Rei-chan."
"What is it Syu-kun?"
"You better not go easy on me in the beginning."
"I wouldn't dream of it. Besides, I only did that to piss you off." Reiko giggled. "Like I said, I told you not to worry about me."
"Eh? That was pretty mean, but I should have known. You've done that to all the other guys you've played before."
"I would have thought you've learned by now." Reiko said with a smirk. "Syu-kun, I'm not going to lose again.
"I would like to see that. But you're going to have to earn it."
"I never expected it to come easy. Let's play a good game."
Serve was decided and Reiko was to start. She walked toward the baseline and placed one ball in her skirt pocket while bouncing the other ball a few times with her tennis racket. She thought about the hardships she put up with the last few years at school and how it finally came down to this very moment. "Just wait Syu-kun. I'm going to show you I didn't waste these last 6 years for nothing." She tossed the ball up getting ready to serve.
PRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNIS
On the far street tennis courts, Kamio Akira and Ibu Shinji from Fudomine were playing a match against each other. Shinji served a kick serve and Kamio countered with his rhythm. They were having a close game and Shinji noticed that there was some commotion going on in the far street tennis court.
"Hm…I wonder what is going on over there."
"I'm not sure…seems like there are a lot of people crowded over there." Kamio saw Tachibana Ann coming back from the crowd. "Hey Ann-chan. What's going on over there?"
"There is some match going on between Oishi from Seigaku and some unknown girl. It's pretty close right now."
"Seigaku? Maybe we should go check this out. Let's go Shinji"
All three of them walked towards the crowd. They looked through the crowd and say Oishi and Reiko breathing hard while receiving each other's hits. Kamio looked around and notice that he recognized some faces. He saw St. Rudolph's Mizuki, Yanagizawa, Fuji Yuuta and Seigaku's Echizen and Momoshiro. Upon seeing Momoshiro in the crowd, Kamio started to get frustrated.
"Hey Momoshiro!" Kamio yelled from the other side. "What are you doing here?"
Momoshiro looked up. "Kuso…its Kamio!"
Kamio looked at Ann. "Hey Ann-chan. Did you invite Momoshiro here again?!"
"Huh?"
"Hey be quiet over there! There's a match going on!" Someone yelled.
Kamio got embarrassed for yelling out during the match. However, his yelling didn't have any affect on the two playing. They were concentrating so hard that no outside voices could be heard in their minds. Both have been playing very consistently and the game only differed by one point between them. Only one thing was on Reiko's mind: beat Syu-kun was all that mattered to her now. Oishi saw her determination and smiled. She was keeping her promise by giving him a hard time in the match. However, he wasn't going to give in so easily. Oishi hit a Moon Volley, which caught Reiko off guard. The ball sailed behind her and landed on the back line.
"Game Oishi 4-4"
The match continued on.
"Game Tanaka 5-4"
"Tanaka-san is pretty good" Momoshiro looked at Ryoma. "What do you think?"
"Hm…not bad. She's a little on the weak side though."
"You never do say any good comments."
"Look" Ryoma pointed at Reiko who just hit a backhand. Momoshiro looked and saw what he meant. She hit the backhand with both hands instead of just one like most the regulars did. Reiko also had to predict ahead and swing faster in order to get full power in her hits. Luckily for her, Oishi wasn't a power hitter so she was able to maintain the game.
The match still continued on. There was still only a one-point difference in the match.
Reiko hit a strong forehand and ran up the net. Oishi saw this and smiled. He scrapped his racket towards the ground.
"Ah…he's going to do the Moon Volley again!" Momo exclaimed.
Reiko saw what Oishi was doing and she smirked. Right when he hit it, she quickly ran backwards. Everyone was shocked to see her run back so quickly, especially since the game had gone on for so long and both looked exhausted.
"You can't trick me twice Syu-kun." Reiko was in the serve position and slammed the ball to the opposite side of Oishi, hitting the back corner right on the line.
"Game Set. Tanaka wins 7-5"
Oishi closed his eyes and smiled a sign of relief. He had played his hardest and Reiko was finally able to beat him. Reiko dropped her racket and fell to her knees. "I…I finally did it…" She said panting. "I finally beat Syu-kun!" After 6 years of working towards her goal, she had finally achieved it. She walked up to the net and shook Oishi's hand.
"I admit defeat Rei-chan. You kept your promise."
Reiko smiled and gave Oishi a hug. "Arigatou, Syu-kun."
The crowd clapped for seeing such an intense game. Others were wooing at Oishi for having such a 'kawaii' friend, which left Oishi turning red. However from outside the crowd, a mysterious figure stood. He had happened to come by recently and saw the end of the match.
PRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNIS
"Oishi-sempai. Do you and Tanaka-san want to hit around with us?" Momoshiro asked getting his racket out.
"Arigatou. But I think we're tired out and are going to head off. You guys have fun."
Momoshiro walked up to Oishi and gave him a nudge in the arm. "And you have fun as well with your kawaii friend, Oishi-sempai." Oishi started to blush. He looked at Reiko who was just smiling and didn't hear what Momoshiro said. Oishi breathed a sigh of relief.
"I guess we'll be off then. You guys take care." Oishi and Reiko left the street tennis courts.
Momoshiro turned to Ryoma "Alright I guess we can start…"
"Matte!" Kamio ran up to Momoshiro. "You never answered my question as to why you are here!"
"Huh? Isn't it obvious? I came here to play some tennis."
"Is that so? I hope that wasn't some excuse to go see Ann-chan!" Kamio turned to Ann. "Did you ask him to come?"
Ann just smiled. "It doesn't matter if I asked or not. Why don't we all play together?"
"You're not helping the situation." Momoshiro said with a sigh.
Yuuta walked up to Ryoma. "Hey are you busy? Want to go play a match since we couldn't do so before?"
"Fine with me."
"Matte." Shinji walked up to the two. "Last time I had asked first and didn't get a chance to play. So because of that I should have the right to play him first."
"Last time doesn't matter anymore. I asked him first now so I have the right."
"Geez…you are annoying."
"What did you say?"
Ryoma just sighed and just stared at the two bickering.
Mizuki looked around. "Kuso…it would have been nice if Fuji Syusuke was around. I would have liked to have a rematch with him. And he ignored me last time…that bastard!"
Somewhere not far off…
Someone sneezed.
"Are you alright Syusuke?" Fuji's sister Yumiko asked. "I hope you aren't coming down with a summer cold."
"I'm alright Nee-san. Perhaps someone was talking about me" Fuji snickered.
"Oh I see. Could you go out and run some errands for me?"
"No problem Nee-san."
Back to the street tennis courts…
"Why don't we just pull straws?" Ann suggested.
"Remember what happened last time?!" Both Kamio and Momoshiro yelled. They looked at each other and turned their heads.
This was going to be a long day.
Anyways…lets turn back to our main character of the story….
Oishi and Reiko were walking down the street. They were cheerfully talking about the match they just had and were deciding what to do. Little did they know that the mysterious figure from before was following them.
"Want to go get something to drink Rei-chan?"
"Sure thing. I heard there is a really good smoothie place nearby."
"Oh really. Let's go there…it'll be my treat."
"Eh…you don't have to do that Syu-kun."
"Don't worry, I insist."
"Arigatou Syu-kun."
She grabbed onto his arm playfully, which caused Oishi to blush a little. Reiko then let go of his arm and patted Oishi on the shoulder. The two continued to chat while walking down the street. The mysterious figure saw part of the conversation and had a very large grin on his face.
"This will provide good data…"
He brought out his phone and began dialing numbers.
To be cont.
(A/N: Wow that was a lot. I'm sure we all know who the mysterious figure at the end was. You could probably guess what's going to happen, but if not just wait and see! Please give a review telling me how it's going or if something sucks. (Reviews help with improvements and motivation). I greatly appreciate them. Onegai! Thank you all for reading!)
Preview: What would happen if Eiji saw the two? Oishi has a promise to keep as well. What is it?