Chapter 25



"Sugoi Ryoma!" said Kiyoko when she and Ryoma reached Ryoma's house which also happened to be a temple, "It's so cool that you live in temple. Does your father ring the bells every hour? I can't wait to meet the great Nanjiroh Echizen!"



"I wouldn't expect much," said Ryoma in a bored voice before opening the back door for Kiyoko, "The tennis court is over here. Let's go."



"Hai!" said Kiyoko hurrying. She stepped outside and smiled at the make shift tennis court. Just then, a man coming from the direction of the bells appeared.



"Eh? Ryoma," said the man, "I didn't know you were interested in girls. Why didn't you ask me? I could've given you great advice. For someone with no experience with girls, you picked a pretty good one. So, little miss, what's your name?"



"I'm Kazumi Kiyoko!" said Kiyoko cheerfully, "Nice to meet you Nanjiroh-sama." Echizen Nanjiroh grinned and started nudging his son.



"I like her Ryoma," said Nanjiroh, "You better make sure she ends up as my daughter-in-law."



"Otousan," said Ryoma in a warning voice. Kiyoko giggled.



"Ryoma, you're so much different from your dad," said Kiyoko before stepping on the court, "Well, then, let's play. Woah!" Kiyoko stumbled to the floor in surprise before she clutched at her stomach.



"Daijobu Kiyoko?" asked Ryoma.



"Hai hai," said Kiyoko reassuringly, "Demo, I don't think I can play. Inui's juice must still be in my system. Why don't you two play!"



"Are you sure?" asked Ryoma, "I've played with that guy all my life. We can skip one day."



"Who are you calling 'that guy'?" asked Nanjiroh leaning on Ryoma's head. Kiyoko smiled and nodded. She sat down to watch Ryoma's game. Kiyoko watched the beginnings of the game and was shocked.



"How could I have not seen this before?" asked Kiyoko, "Ryoma and his dad look like they're playing the exact same style. What's going on?!" She continued to watch as Ryoma played with the exact same movements as his father. "I don't understand. He plays with a different extremity from school but they're still the same movements as his dad. I should talk to Captain Tezuka about this." Kiyoko stood up and Ryoma stopped.



"Hm?" asked Ryoma, "Are you leaving already Kiyoko?"



"Hai!" said Kiyoko putting on a smile, "I forgot I had some chores to do before I got home. Ja ne!" Kiyoko ran out of Ryoma's house hurriedly hoping that Tezuka was still in the clubroom with Rei. She had said that they often stayed behind with Vice-Captain Oishi and Coach Ryuzaki. Kiyoko burst into the club room gasping for breath and was about to walk in when Rei and Oishi grabbed her from behind and pulled her back.



"Shh," said Rei to Kiyoko in a whisper, "Kiyoko, what are you doing here?"



"I wanted to ask Captain Tezuka something," said Kiyoko sheepishly.



"Hang on a sec," said Rei, "Tezuka and Ryuzaki-sensei are at a meeting."



"Hai," said Kiyoko before noticing that Rei and Oishi were right outside Coach Ryuzaki's door. "You two are eavesdropping!"



"Hush!" said Rei before leaning in closer to the door. Kiyoko, overwhelmed with curiosity leaned in too.

Tezuka: Ryuzaki-sensei, please allow me to play a match with Ryoma.

Ryuzaki: Hm? What made you want to do that Tezuka? You might still not be healed from your tennis elbow.

T: Ryoma's style is exactly like his father's considering what you had said about Ryoma at regionals.

R: Go on.

T: I want to show him my tennis. The tennis of today is not suppose to follow the path of the tennis of the past. You are supposed to pave your own. Please Ryuzaki-sensei.

R: All right. But if it gets too long, you pull out immediately.

T: Hai.



"He found out," thought Kiyoko to herself, "Good. I can't fight Ryoma just yet. But what does sensei mean by tennis elbow?" Kiyoko looked over at Rei and Oishi who were shocked. Rei said a quick goodbye to Oishi and left with Kiyoko. "Rei? What's wrong?"



"Tezuka," said Rei in a sad voice, "He has tennis elbow. If it's not fully healed when he goes against Ryoma and the match lasts too long, Tezuka might never be able to play tennis again." Kiyoko looked surprised before sighing.



"I see," said Kiyoko, "His tennis style must be way too demanding of the body if you do it too many times."



"Hai," said Rei gravely, "I think he'll be challenging Ryoma tomorrow. Tezuka would want things down as quickly as possible with the tournament coming up. Let's follow him tomorrow and see if we can find out when and where the match will be. Oishi should be there too."



"Hai," said Kiyoko, "I'm going to make sure Ryoma understands after this if he doesn't already. The way Captain is choosing to teach Ryoma might have dire consequences…Demo, Ryoma might already be going the wrong way." Rei agreed before starting.



"Hm? Where's Yuki?"



"Arigato Fuji-chan!" said Yuki when Fuji handed her a strawberry flavored ice cream cone, "This'll definitely get that juice taste out of my mouth. Sometimes Inui tends to go to the extreme."



"Demo, Inui's juice is delicious," said Fuji. The two were walking down the street. Yuki was happily licking her ice cream while Fuji watched her contentedly. Suddenly, Yuki stopped. She felt eyes on her and she turned around. She just narrowly missed seeing a flurry of skirts moving back.



"Fuji, I think we're being followed," said Yuki.



"hm?" asked Fuji suddenly noticing something from the corner of his eye, "It's Fujioka-san from my English class."



"Eh?!" exclaimed Yuki, "Do you always get followed like this? You don't act surprised."



"Hai!" said Fuji cheerfully, "Sometimes I catch them but I play along." Yuki sweatdropped before stopping by her house.



"Ja ne Fuji-chan!" said Yuki, "I'll see you tomorrow!" Just as she was about to go in a voice called her.



"Yuki!" Yuki turned and was surprised to see Keita there. He looked as if he had run from somewhere judging by his hard breathing.



"Keita," said Yuki in a cold voice.



"Why are you turning down the arrangement?" asked Keita seriously.