SAT word of the chapter: sonorous: (adj.) having or producing a full, deep
sound; impressive in style of speech
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Intratournament III
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"TODAY WE HAVE A SUNNY DAY, HIGH OF 76-" Hikani woke up and shut off her radio alarm clock. She looked at the time 7:00. It was rare for her to wake up to an alarm clock. She usually wakes up half an hour before.
She knew she had a dream but she couldn't remember what it was about, except that she felt empty. It was an uncomfortable feeling. She shrugged it off, got dressed and was ready for school. Hikani looked at the time again, 7:15. Then she smiled, Miki was probably still in bed, time to wake her up.
********
Fuji was awake since 6:30, but he didn't get out of bed. He was thinking about his dream. He didn't recall most of it but he did remember meeting a girl in the hospital. He was sure it wasn't simply a dream. He had a recollection that he did meet this girl in real life, when his mother gave birth to Yuuta.
He remembered he went to the hospital with his violin. Every time he played his violin he was trying to recapture his feelings when he first played. He had a feeling the girl he met was the key to all this. He tried to evoke her face but to no avail, he just couldn't remember. He was frustrated, a rare emotion for Fuji.
He gave up thinking about her, and got out of bed. He dressed and went downstairs. He ate breakfast in silence with his sister and parents. His sister thought it strange that her brother wasn't talking. He was usually happy in the morning, but this morning she felt he was occupied. She didn't want to question him; he'll talk to her when he feels ready.
*******
It was the last day of the intra tournament. Miki and Hikani each had one regular left to play. And then they played each other. Needless to say the matches against the regulars weren't very exciting. The spectators weren't surprised when Miki and Hikani won 6-0, they had seen these transfer students' skills the day before. The reason there were so many spectators including the other regulars was because they wanted to see the game between Miki and Hikani.
"So what's the score between us now?" Miki asked.
"I'm up one."
"You must have a faulty memory. I'm quite sure it was a tie."
"Not after this game." Usually Hikani wasn't this arrogant when playing, but this time her opponent was someone she knew very well. She didn't have to worry about underestimating Miki because she wouldn't. No, she knew exactly how strong Miki was and how strong she was. She was just goading Miki when she said she'd win, but in actuality she knew this would be a tight match. She was sure Miki probably knew too. They were both excited about playing a real game with each other.
Miki was the first to serve. Her 185 mph serve, which gave her many aces against the two regulars in their block, didn't affect Hikani, who returned it with ease. The game ensued. It was a rally between the two. Both kept their service game, a very tight match.
Neither used any fancy techniques. Before the game started they had made a promise not to reveal anything until their first competition. They wanted to keep their skills a secret. So the game was a straightforward one that consisted of simple returns, normal smashes, lobs, etc. It should have been boring, but Miki and Hikani were hitting the ball back to each other so fast that it kept the audience in awe. It was like watching a swinging pendulum at full force.
After 20 minutes the game was 5-5. It was clear a tiebreaker would be necessary. Both Miki and Hikani were sweating and breathing hard.
"When they were playing against the regulars they weren't using their full strength," said the vice-captain.
"And I doubt they're using it now. Did you notice they haven't used any techniques? I would be surprised if they didn't have any specialties."
All the regulars did notice and wondered who the hell these two girls were. They were way above their level.
The game lasted for almost an hour. There was a clear difference in playing techniques between the two girls. Hikani had less strength compared to Miki, and she knew it so she tried to return the ball to places where Miki had to make a run for. Miki, on the other hand, always returned hard balls. It didn't seem like she was using any techniques, but she was. She was hitting near the baseline, keeping Hikani from the net, because she specializes in net play.
"Game Set and Match. Komoshi 7-6."
Miki and Hikani walked towards each other and shook hands. "I demand a rematch," Hikani said in a playful tone.
Miki smiled, "Anytime Hika-chan."
********
Still, the results were quite unexpected. Not only for the girls' team but also the boys'. Echizen Ryoma, a freshman, became a regular, surprising everyone. It was very rare for there to be a freshman on the regulars team. Not because they didn't have skill but because the majority of the regulars didn't allow it. And now the girls' team had two new regulars. This was going to be an interesting season.
********
"Even though the intra tournament is finished, this is no time to be slacking off. On the contrary, we should be training harder now to prepare for our upcoming matches. And one of our first matches is the annual friendly game between us and the boys' team," said the captain of the girls team, Shikiu Minizu. "For those of you who don't know this, it's a two day match. Everyone will play once as singles and another time in doubles."
Miki and Hikani exchanged a look. They didn't know there was an annual boys vs. girls game in Seigaku. All they heard about was the intra tournament. Miki smiled, this was going to be fun.
The captain continued speaking, "Since we have two new regulars, we're going to have a few practice matches to see who they should do doubles with during the game."
Miki narrowed her eyes. Of course she'd work best with Hikani in doubles. There was no doubt about it. They knew each other's techniques the best. But Miki didn't say anything. Even though she hated playing doubles with other people, she thought this would be a good time to see the skills of her teammates.
********
[Boys' tennis court]
"Echizen Ryoma ka? He's pretty good to defeat Kaidoh and Inui." Fuji said to Tezuka.
Tezuka didn't respond, but then again Fuji didn't expect him to. After knowing Tezuka for three years Fuji learned how to tell what Tezuka was thinking without him responding. Like right now he was looking at Ryoma, meaning that he's also interested in him.
"And I also heard the girls' have two new regulars, they're both the transfer students in our grade." Tezuka's eyes narrowed before he could control his emotions. Fuji smiled, so he too is interested in the new students. "The boys vs. girls game coming up should be interesting."
"Regulars, 20 laps around the court." Tezuka said in his sonorous voice.
"Ehhhh?!" Everyone complained.
Fuji silently laughed, knowing that he affected Tezuka. Tezuka always told the regulars to run when he was annoyed. How rare for Tezuka to be interested in a girl. Fuji thought he was simply obsessed with tennis, and didn't notice girls. This was going to be fun.
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YAY! I'm done with another chapter! What do you think? I'm going to talk more about Hikani soon. And of course more of Tezuka and Miki. ^_^
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Intratournament III
************************************************************************
"TODAY WE HAVE A SUNNY DAY, HIGH OF 76-" Hikani woke up and shut off her radio alarm clock. She looked at the time 7:00. It was rare for her to wake up to an alarm clock. She usually wakes up half an hour before.
She knew she had a dream but she couldn't remember what it was about, except that she felt empty. It was an uncomfortable feeling. She shrugged it off, got dressed and was ready for school. Hikani looked at the time again, 7:15. Then she smiled, Miki was probably still in bed, time to wake her up.
********
Fuji was awake since 6:30, but he didn't get out of bed. He was thinking about his dream. He didn't recall most of it but he did remember meeting a girl in the hospital. He was sure it wasn't simply a dream. He had a recollection that he did meet this girl in real life, when his mother gave birth to Yuuta.
He remembered he went to the hospital with his violin. Every time he played his violin he was trying to recapture his feelings when he first played. He had a feeling the girl he met was the key to all this. He tried to evoke her face but to no avail, he just couldn't remember. He was frustrated, a rare emotion for Fuji.
He gave up thinking about her, and got out of bed. He dressed and went downstairs. He ate breakfast in silence with his sister and parents. His sister thought it strange that her brother wasn't talking. He was usually happy in the morning, but this morning she felt he was occupied. She didn't want to question him; he'll talk to her when he feels ready.
*******
It was the last day of the intra tournament. Miki and Hikani each had one regular left to play. And then they played each other. Needless to say the matches against the regulars weren't very exciting. The spectators weren't surprised when Miki and Hikani won 6-0, they had seen these transfer students' skills the day before. The reason there were so many spectators including the other regulars was because they wanted to see the game between Miki and Hikani.
"So what's the score between us now?" Miki asked.
"I'm up one."
"You must have a faulty memory. I'm quite sure it was a tie."
"Not after this game." Usually Hikani wasn't this arrogant when playing, but this time her opponent was someone she knew very well. She didn't have to worry about underestimating Miki because she wouldn't. No, she knew exactly how strong Miki was and how strong she was. She was just goading Miki when she said she'd win, but in actuality she knew this would be a tight match. She was sure Miki probably knew too. They were both excited about playing a real game with each other.
Miki was the first to serve. Her 185 mph serve, which gave her many aces against the two regulars in their block, didn't affect Hikani, who returned it with ease. The game ensued. It was a rally between the two. Both kept their service game, a very tight match.
Neither used any fancy techniques. Before the game started they had made a promise not to reveal anything until their first competition. They wanted to keep their skills a secret. So the game was a straightforward one that consisted of simple returns, normal smashes, lobs, etc. It should have been boring, but Miki and Hikani were hitting the ball back to each other so fast that it kept the audience in awe. It was like watching a swinging pendulum at full force.
After 20 minutes the game was 5-5. It was clear a tiebreaker would be necessary. Both Miki and Hikani were sweating and breathing hard.
"When they were playing against the regulars they weren't using their full strength," said the vice-captain.
"And I doubt they're using it now. Did you notice they haven't used any techniques? I would be surprised if they didn't have any specialties."
All the regulars did notice and wondered who the hell these two girls were. They were way above their level.
The game lasted for almost an hour. There was a clear difference in playing techniques between the two girls. Hikani had less strength compared to Miki, and she knew it so she tried to return the ball to places where Miki had to make a run for. Miki, on the other hand, always returned hard balls. It didn't seem like she was using any techniques, but she was. She was hitting near the baseline, keeping Hikani from the net, because she specializes in net play.
"Game Set and Match. Komoshi 7-6."
Miki and Hikani walked towards each other and shook hands. "I demand a rematch," Hikani said in a playful tone.
Miki smiled, "Anytime Hika-chan."
********
Still, the results were quite unexpected. Not only for the girls' team but also the boys'. Echizen Ryoma, a freshman, became a regular, surprising everyone. It was very rare for there to be a freshman on the regulars team. Not because they didn't have skill but because the majority of the regulars didn't allow it. And now the girls' team had two new regulars. This was going to be an interesting season.
********
"Even though the intra tournament is finished, this is no time to be slacking off. On the contrary, we should be training harder now to prepare for our upcoming matches. And one of our first matches is the annual friendly game between us and the boys' team," said the captain of the girls team, Shikiu Minizu. "For those of you who don't know this, it's a two day match. Everyone will play once as singles and another time in doubles."
Miki and Hikani exchanged a look. They didn't know there was an annual boys vs. girls game in Seigaku. All they heard about was the intra tournament. Miki smiled, this was going to be fun.
The captain continued speaking, "Since we have two new regulars, we're going to have a few practice matches to see who they should do doubles with during the game."
Miki narrowed her eyes. Of course she'd work best with Hikani in doubles. There was no doubt about it. They knew each other's techniques the best. But Miki didn't say anything. Even though she hated playing doubles with other people, she thought this would be a good time to see the skills of her teammates.
********
[Boys' tennis court]
"Echizen Ryoma ka? He's pretty good to defeat Kaidoh and Inui." Fuji said to Tezuka.
Tezuka didn't respond, but then again Fuji didn't expect him to. After knowing Tezuka for three years Fuji learned how to tell what Tezuka was thinking without him responding. Like right now he was looking at Ryoma, meaning that he's also interested in him.
"And I also heard the girls' have two new regulars, they're both the transfer students in our grade." Tezuka's eyes narrowed before he could control his emotions. Fuji smiled, so he too is interested in the new students. "The boys vs. girls game coming up should be interesting."
"Regulars, 20 laps around the court." Tezuka said in his sonorous voice.
"Ehhhh?!" Everyone complained.
Fuji silently laughed, knowing that he affected Tezuka. Tezuka always told the regulars to run when he was annoyed. How rare for Tezuka to be interested in a girl. Fuji thought he was simply obsessed with tennis, and didn't notice girls. This was going to be fun.
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YAY! I'm done with another chapter! What do you think? I'm going to talk more about Hikani soon. And of course more of Tezuka and Miki. ^_^
