Three Times the Charm

Please review. Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Chapter 2: This is Wimbledon Potential 2

"Me?" She pointed to herself as she spoke and Arai nodded, gesturing for her to come over. She walked over to him her orange eyes, sparkling with curiosity as to why he would call her when they were in the middle of practice.

"So are you trying-out for the female tennis team?" Kiyo nodded. "So you're a beginner?"

"Somewhat."

"You want me to teach you a few things?" Kiyo looked at him then at the empty courts, wondering where the regulars were. She looked back up at Arai and nodded, was he a regular? Maybe, but he'd have to be real good at tennis since Seishun Gakuen was one of the seeded school in this prefecture. "Here, you can use this racquet." She took the racquet and watched as someone cleared the freshmen on one court, the court they were going to use.

She soon stood on the receiving end of the court, holding the racquet and ready to receive the serve of Arai who stood on the service line on the other side of the court. He threw the ball to the ground and caught it again a few times then threw it into the air, then bringing down his arm, sending her a serve. She returned it with a single swing with a strong cry and it landed in the corner on the other side of him.

She smirked at Arai who stood with a shocked expression, glancing at the spot where the ball bounced and back at her. She pointed her racquet to him, "I thought you were going to teach me, but it seems like I'm the one teaching you." She brought her racquet up and let it rest on her shoulder, "Get up and fight, like a man!" He cursed softly then caught the ball from his friends who threw it from the side of the courts and threw it to the floor a few times to test its dexterity and getting used to it. Kiyo stood at a ready position as he threw the ball into the air and served, sending it to the side, hoping she wouldn't reach it but she did. Kiyo moved quickly, then bent down as she tightened her grip and sent the ball to the side again, Arai missing it as he swung.

"What's up with all of these people?!" A deep voice shouted from the entrance of the courts and gazes moved to gaze upon the captain of the male tennis team. Was it Tekura? Kiyo tried to remember the profile of all the members of the male tennis team her friends had given her and though she had the ability to analyze techniques, she could not remember what her friends had told her.

Arai walked to the court as his captain told the two to run 20 laps around the court. Kiyo scoffed at this, "Excuse me, but I'm not even part of this team, cause last I checked, I had breasts and no pe—"

"Then I suggest you run 50 laps, Kagami-san," a higher pitched voice said and the captain of the female tennis team appeared beside the boy with glasses who stood tall. Kiyo opened her mouth to protest but her captain interrupted again, "80 laps, would you like to make it 100?" Kiyo sighed and followed Arai to run their laps.

Inoue arrived at the courts after a long run, breathing from exhaustion and giving exasperated sighs as he held his knees. "Now…I wonder…where the…male tennis team…is at…" He took a deep breath then walked to the school building to meet with Coach Ryuuzaki.

Setsuna looked down at the courts from the classroom, having a perfect view of the girl who was running her extra 60 laps without Arai by her side anymore. Coach Ryuuzaki saw her not paying attention, the captains holding the list of their members, "Are you interested in her Itou-san?" Setsuna simply nodded.

"I found out that she was the girl known to have backed down after only three more tournaments before the championship game," Setsuna said. "I read in a magazine that she had potential to be the champion and there were many sponsors waiting for her already."

There was a knock at the door and after a few moments, the door slid open to reveal the reporter who had been a good friend of the coach of the male tennis team and the stand-in coach for the female team while their coach was away on a trip. Inoue greeted them a good morning, "Coach, where are the tryouts for the tennis team?"

"For the female tennis team," Coach Ryuuzaki said, knowing that he was referring to the male team. Inoue stared dumbly, confused.

Kiyo soon stood at the courts, finished with her final lap and breathing hard. This was a good warm-up but as the sun was setting, she knew that there was no time for the team anymore. The door of the clubhouse opened and a tall sophomore walked out. Kiyo looked up to be met with the face of Momoshiro.

"Ah, Momoshiro-san," Kiyo smiled at him and Momoshiro felt the blood rush all too quickly to his face. "Oh, you're part of the male team, right?" She looked down at her self and decided she needed a hot shower back at the clubhouse for the female tennis team, more extravagant than the male tennis team's. "I've got to go, Momoshiro-san." She started to jog away but then looked over her shoulder at him, "See you tomorrow!"

Kiyo was walking home with Momoshiro walking beside her, in her school uniform and the schoolbag at hand. Momoshiro hd insisted that he carry her bag when she arrived at the school gates but she refused to, saying that it was too much to ask for since he was already walking her home. He insisted on carrying her tennis bag along with his since it was heavy and she agreed to it.

There were light at the top of these stairs and Kiyo wondered why, stopping to look at it and Momoshiro stopping beside her, following her gaze. "Oh, those are the street tennis courts. Ah, Kagami-san?" Kiyo started walking up the stairs and as they walked up the stairs, Momoshiro explained that it wasn't the type of place where girls should be wandering off to.

"That statement makes you a sexist, Momoshiro-san," she said, surprising him. It seemed that she was touchy when it came to topics of differentiating men from women and the other side. He mumbled a quiet apology and simply followed her.

They arrived at the top of the stairs and found the street tennis courts with people playing. She stared at them playing on the courts, amazed that there were such things; from where she came from, they weren't allowed to freely play in courts, there were no courts like this found from just walking on the streets. "Hey!"

Kiyo looked to her side and found one of the players stopping with a ball in his hand. "The guy, want to play?" Momoshiro was about to retort when she interrupted him.

"I'll play for him," she said. When the guy was about to say something, probably about asking the boy, she interrupted, "Unless you know I can win against you."

The guy scoffed and laughed, "As if I would lose to a girl!" Kiyo took the bag from Momoshiro's hands quickly and brought out her racquet, gripping it tightly. She looked up at the guy with a sharp glare, the lights making her eyes look more intense as they made the orange draw more…rage.

"Come and fight, like a man!"

The two soon stood on the court with Momoshiro standing at the sides, hoping that the guy would go easy on her and she would keep her pride and dignity intact. The guy's friend walked up beside the tall Seishun Gakuen sophomore, "This girl's going to get beat, dude. That guy's the Singles 1 from my school." Momoshiro reached up and nibbled on his nails, nervous.

"You're going to regret this, girlie," the stranger said as he prepared to receive her serve. She growled slightly as she bounced the ball off the ground and catching it, harder this time when he made the comment. she threw the ball into the air and bringing her arm down hard. The guy returned it easily and the girl bent her knees. She moved her arm up, pulling it up from the ground and sending the ball to the guy on the other side.

The ball moved from right to left and the boy didn't know how to hit it and swung in the air, missing the ball which landed in the far right from him. He stared at the girl with wide eyes and she smirked at him, "Still think this girlie can't beat you? I call that move the Illusionist and since you missed it, you must know why." She brought out another ball which she hid in her pocket, "Get ready!"

The man stood straight again and gritted his teeth, thinking of her next move. Would it be a service ace? She gripped the racquet harder and brought her arm down, sending the ball to the other side. The ball was returned but not easily as the stranger returned it with a backhand and was harder than most shots he received. She hit it back bending her knees on the side but keeping her body towards the net, hitting it back to him.

"Wah!" He ducked as it almost hit him in the face. She laughed as the ball hit just before the service line on the court and was counted as an in, she splayed her fingers before her at the man who was kneeling on the ground; "That was called the Face Bang, named by someone I really hate because it hit them in the face. Now, get up! Fight like a man!"

"Was she with you, Momoshiro-san?" A high-pitched voice asked as she came up beside Momoshiro. Momoshiro found Tachibana Ann, the sister of Tachibana of Fudomine Jr. High. "That girl…I found her picture in a magazine, do you know who she is Momoshiro-san?"

"Kagami Kiyo, she's a classmate of mine," he answered.

"Yes, maybe, but she's also the Wimbledon Potential who mysteriously disappeared," Ann said. Momoshiro looked back at Kiyo, not believing what Ann had said but there was a great possibility since she had said she just moved from Europe; but she didn't seem like a professional. "Those are a few of her signature moves, Momoshiro-san."

Kiyo soon won the match with the boy and smiled at him as he kneeled on the ground, not believing he had just lost, "You wouldn't have lost so badly with no games won if you hadn't made the comment about losing to a girl. Don't you dare make a sexist comment when I'm around, you idiot! You didn't fight like a man at all!" She walked over to where Momoshiro stood, still smiling and handed him the racquet. He put it in her bag as she looked at Ann and Ann broke the silence between them, "Kagami Kiyo-san, nice to meet you." There were murmurs on that comment, Momoshiro glanced worriedly at Kiyo then at the people whispering.

"Let's get going, Momoshiro-san."