A/N: G'day fan_writers! My story is slowly plodding along, which is cool… but I'm think of a new PoT fanfic… a farfetched-quest… Hmm…

Well, by the time I wrote the above statement I already posted the new story, check it out! It's just a baby!

Edited: because it's almost a New Year (31.12.09!)

Disclaimer: If Prince of Tennis belonged to me and not the wonderful Takeshi Konomi (heart) Echizen would have stuck to his original goal to defeat his father. (Am I the only one who is still waiting for that match?!? (-.-))


Chapter Twenty Five

Seishun were up one game. Neither side were doing anything special, just hitting the ball until it fell out of someone's reach. Kira, she was the one with the short-cut white hair and Kiyo had the long, untied black hair. Kiyo seemed more comfortable at the front of the court while the partner favoured the baseline.

Jinhana, as well as keeping her eyes on the match kept her eyes on Nariko. Kira ran forward and lobbed the ball into the air. Nariko stepped back to hit it in the far-left corner, now making the score 2-0. The rest of the team cheered them on but Jinhana wasn't happy. As they swapped sides, she held onto Nariko's shoulder.

"Don't be so obvious. They're reading us before they make their move."

Nariko heeded this advice and took her place to receive the serving ball.

Kira served a simple ball but Nariko missed it.

"What the-" Nariko peered around to watch the ball roll off the back of the court.

"It's started." Kikumaru murmured.

All the girls peered at Kikumaru and then back to the court.

"What happened?" Jinhana questioned.

Fuji looked to Kikumaru again and asked her if she saw the ball. She shook her head. "No… it completely disappeared."

"How?" Arai protested. "It's board daylight and it was a normal serve. Why'd it disappeared?"

"That's how they play." Kikumaru replied.

Nariko readied herself to receive Kira's serve but it eluded her eyes again. Jinhana decided she would take the next two serves, but she wasn't able to return the ball that she couldn't see. For the fourth time it hit the back of the court and rolled in slowly.

"Narishima 1-2. Change." The umpire called.

"Whoa! Uncanny! The ball, as soon as it goes over the net it completely disappears!" Yokoishi inappropriately cheered.

The four girls switched sides. Jinhana insisted that she serve, hoping that she could win back a game.

"You can do it, Jinhana-chan!" Yokoishi yelled.

Jinhana refused to believe that the ball disappeared. It had to be something else, some kind of defence. She played it safe and served a normal ball. She watched it. It went over the net, hit in court, Kiyo returned it hoping to get the ball down the middle. Nariko caught it with a low shot wanting to aim out of Kiyo's reach but Kira snatched the shot away and returned it down the middle again. Jinhana watched the ball after it left Kira's racket. It was nothing special. She didn't apply a slice to it or extra spin. She just hit it but once it got over the net it disappeared.

"Not again." Jinhana gasped.

"Argh, she can even hit that kind of ball in play? Awesome!" Yokoishi cheered.

Jinhana signed, annoyed with the outcome. She couldn't figure it out. She quickly called Nariko over and told her to try hitting the ball to Kiyo, seeing as only Kira was the one with the annoying move. Nariko agreed to the strategy. It would have worked too if Kira didn't take it upon herself to steal the shots aimed at Kiyo. Unfortunately for Jinhana and Nariko, that was Narishima's plan. The score was now 2-2.

Nariko wasn't sure that the ball completely disappeared but something was happening once it entered their half of the court.

"It's like the ball is being covered by an invisible cloaking device." Shikawara mentioned.

Nariko thought the same thing but it had to be simpler then that. She had a way of figuring this out but it would take losing some games. She wasn't quite sure how Jinhana would take the idea… no, she couldn't tell her, not just yet.

It was the fifth round and Narishima were up again to serve. Nariko was to receive the ball.

"Would you like to know what you're doing worry." Kiyo smirked from the net.

Nariko refused to listen; Jinhana listened.

"You both relying on the light, so we'll put you to sleep, both your flowers and your birds."

Jinhana wasn't given time to think about the hint. Kira served. Nariko waited until the ball passed the net. She thought she saw something-blurry whiz over the net and tried to follow it but it faded away before she could get a proper lock on it. In a matter of seconds the sightless ball hit the frame of Nariko's racket.

"Huh?" Kikumaru reacted.

"Did you see something?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah… but I'm not sure what it was."

Jinhana wanted to swap sides so she received the ball. Nariko refused, not after she figured something out.

"Nariko-chan, we need to at least try and find the ball." Jinhana told her.

"That's what I'm doing, senpai. I saw the ball."

"Are you sure? Do you think you can hit it?"

"No, not yet, senpai."

"What's that mean?"

"It means I'm going to have to miss some of the balls."

Jinhana gave her partner a disappointed look but there wasn't much else she could do. She shook her head and went to the left service line. Nariko breathed out, relieved that it went well.

"It's sad that you'll lose this games Seishun. Though anyone up against this move would lose." Kiyo added, for no reason other than to taunt.

"Not this time." Nariko said, which made Kira peer up from the baseline.

"It's too late to get confident!"

In order to suss out the odd technique, Nariko had to throw the fifth game but to her advantage. She was beginning to hear something.

"Figure anything out yet Nariko-chan?" Jinhana asked, clearly irritated.

"Yeah, but could you serve senpai. I want to concentrate on Kira-san's shots. Aim for Kira-san only."

"…Okay."

Jinhana took to the baseline and served to Kiyo. Kiyo hit the ball to Jinhana who hit it deliberately arcoss the court to Kira. Nariko closed her eyes.

"What's she doing?" Suzu wondered.

"Why not, if you can't see the ball what good are your eyes." Arai said.

"Don't worry, Nariko-chan didn't make regulars for nothing. Like Jinhana-chan she has a move for everything." Fuji assured them.

"Let's just hope Jinhana-chan has enough patience." Kikumaru said and they all hummed in agreement.

Nariko listened for the ball. When she saw a faint image of the ball earlier she figured it was still moving over their court. And if that was so then it had to hit down in service. Nariko heard a faint sound and followed it. The pressure of the ball hit the top of her racquet. She didn't expect to catch the ball so soon and it hit the net.

Kira wasn't fazed by it. She removed her technique so Nariko could move the ball.

"Your technique won't work, bird-girl. Without sight, you can't return anything." Kiyo smirked.

Nariko took the ball and put it in her holder. "My name is not 'bird-girl'. You were right when you said you would put us to sleep. I don't know many birds that stay awake at night or flowers for that fact, but you weren't counting on a bird of prey that doesn't rely solely on the light or it's eyes." Nariko warned them.

Kira frowned at this and called it off as a bluff.

"What are you up to Nariko-chan?" Jinhana wondered.

Nariko whispered over to her partner. "You have to forgive me senpai, but I haven't perfected my nocturnal hearing yet – but I will."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we need to play with our eyes closed.

Jinhana shook her head. "Impossible. There's no way I can do that."

"Then trust me senpai."

Jinhana hesitated. She peered across at Kira and Kiyo. What other choice did she have? She reluctantly nodded.

For the next three shots Nariko was able to locate the ball but it wouldn't go beyond the net. The score was now 4-2 with Narishima to serve again. Nariko was confident in her technique, so much so that she blinked the image of the court in her mind's eye and used her sweatband to cover her eyes. Like her beloved comrade the owl, the directional hearing was in a greater advantage when used in the dark. Now she could hear everything, from the three pairs of tennis shoes scraping on the court to Kira's fingers gripping the ball and her skin rubbing over the hairs of felt.

"Woo! Do your thing Nariko-chan… erm what is she doing?" Yokoishi whispered the last bit, not knowing that Nariko could hear her every word. Nariko used her acute sense of hearing on the ball and the racket. She even paid attention to the strength and direction of the faint breeze.

"Nice try Seishun, what good is it to close your eyes in the dark." Kira laughed as she served the ball to Nariko. Nariko heard the ball hit in service. She stepped to her right and made contact with the ball. She couldn't waste this shot and sliced it so the ball landed in the right corner of the doubles court, right out of Kiyo's reach who wasn't expecting the ball to be returned.

"Yeah! She did it!" Kikumaru and Yokoishi cheered.

"Yay, Nariko-chan." Jinhana cheered "You did it!"

Kiyo and Kira exchanged doubtful glances but carried on in case it was a fluke. Kira served again, the ball disappeared once it went over the net. Nariko heard it and followed its path by stepping forward. She sliced again. Kiyo caught the shot and hit it back.

"It's yours' senpai!" Nariko called.

Jinhana hopped back ready for Kiyo's unavoidable return.

"Let's see how you like my lily." Jinhana was now ready to unleash her game.

There was too much spin on the ball so Jinhana killed it. The ball hovered over the net and landed dead in the court.

"What!" Yelled both Kira and Kiyo.

Once the ball hit the court it didn't bounce or roll. It landed perfectly between Kira and Kiyo.

"30-love." Called the Umpire.

Narishima tried to regroup and change their strategy but it didn't work, giving Seishun the win. The score was now 3-4. Nariko remind focused. Kira's shots were clouded in a shadow while her partner Kiyo's shots shone visibly in the light, giving Jinhana the greater advantage. Once they won the seventh game Jinhana abandoned The Lily for The Shamrock. Like Kira's move, the ball changed once it glided over the net. Jinhana smashed the ball into the frame of her racket so it vibrated and split into four images. Of course, only one was the real ball and they only found it once it hit the back of the court.

"I'm happy they're in the advantage, but that move really hurts my eyes." Kikumaru complained.

They won the eighth match with a combination of The Shamrock and the Nocturnal Hearing. Even when Narishima served the ninth game Seishun won that match. Jinhana mixed it up with one of her moves that took after the Hyssop, which neutralised Kira's technique.

"The Hyssop wards off evil spirits, Kira-san. "Jinhana told her. "You're move won't work anymore."

As much as Kira wanted to deny it she could no longer use her technique. Nariko kept her eyes covered.

"One more set you two! Keep it up!" Ryuzaki-sensei called.

Jinhana changed her move again, not giving Narishima the chance to adjust.

"Game, set and Match. The winners Seishun Academy's Yumi Jinhana and Tori Nariko 6 games to 4."

The four girls walked up to shake hands.

"You two are reckless. No wonder you're the seed in this block." Kiyo said not fixing her black hair in place.

"Yeah you'd be the first to ever bet us." Kira added as she took Jinhana's hand.

"It wasn't easy." Jinhana returned the praise.

"Good luck against the others." Kiyo said and turned to join her group.

The two girls gave a high-five as they they finished their match.


..tbc...

A/N2: Huh… that kinda ended... abruptly… alas…

Chapter 26: Yokoishi plays the last match and Fuji wants to see if Yumi is around before their 2nd match.

Thanks for reading