Select your Regulars
"Ryoma Echizen?" Asked a tall 9th grader as he leaned against the wall of an empty classroom. The rest of the team were gathered about him, some on desks and others standing close by. Only their captain was sitting quietly at a desk, working on the block division of the coming up ranking matches.
"Yeah, the new 7th grader, apparently he's good. Well, according to Momo" said another who was sitting cross-legged on a desk, his flicky red-hair bouncing as he wobbled from side-to-side.
"Fshuuuuu, for once he's telling the truth" grumbled Kaido looking irritable at having to admit his rival was right for once.
"Hmmmm, but he's only a freshmen, 7th grader's can't take part in the ranking matches until 2nd year, all they can do is practice and clean up after the 8th and 9th graders" commented a boy with flashing glasses, a laptop resting on his knees and his fingers flying over the keys with an experts speed.
"As always Inui, your data never lies" sweat dropped the 9th grader who had pushed off from the wall and gone to stand beside his captain.
"Oishi" smiled Inui, "When has my data ever been wrong?" he asked not taking his eyes from the laptop.
"Well there was that one ti-" The redheaded boy was silenced by a hand that was clapped over his mouth.
"Eiji, now is not the time," grinned Fuji, removing his hand slowly. "But it would be interesting, having a freshmen in the tryouts, neh? What do you think Buchou?"
Tezuka lifted his head from the paper and pen in front of him. He cast his eyes over the rest of the team who were looking at him expectantly.
"Ohayo!" yelled a voice right by his ear; he winced and turned to see three people standing behind him, each grinning from ear to ear.
"You're Ryoma Echizen aren't you? We're in your class," grinned the tallest boy, "My names Katsuo"
"And I'm Kachiro" smiled the smallest with a bowl haircut.
"Horio at your service, 2 years of fighting experience and a future regular" cried the boy who had yelled in his ear. Horio stuck out a hand and Ryoma looked at it indifferently.
"Right" he mumbled and walked around them, heading out of his classroom and down the hallway. He arrived at the entrance hall and found it crowded with people, all fighting to see something that was pinned to the notice board. He fought his way through but someone caught hold of the back of his shirt and he was pulled towards the front of the mob.
"LOOK! LOOK! You made it into the tryouts!" spoke Horio excitedly, still gripping hold of a struggling Ryoma, who's face had started turning blue.
"Horio-kun, you're strangling him" cried Katsuo desperately. Horio quickly let go but began to jump up and down on the spot causing people to back away from him.
"Just imagine, a 7th grader as a regular, wouldn't that be awesome!" he began to punch the air in a sort of victory dance.
"Made made dane," he waved his hand, "Ja ne" and he fought his way back out of the crowd and out of the door into the fresh outdoors.
"Echizen Ryoma" he looked up and saw the black-haired boy he had fought the day before. "Takeshi Momoshiro, 8th grade regular, don't think I'll go easy on you this time" Grinned Momo.
"Sure" murmured Ryoma as he walked passed Momo, "How's your ankle?" he called over his shoulder.
Momo broke into an even wider grin.
"Scary"
4 hours later…
Block C
"5 points to 3, Fuji to serve." A voice rang out over the cheering on-lookers. Fuji bought his sleeve to his mouth and wiped away the blood that had formed there, his other hand gripped tightly around a lead pipe. He and Taka stared at each other, Taka's face bruised and swollen but his eyes looked determined, his hand convulsed around the Kendo stick that he held in his right hand. Fuji's feet shuffled round in the dirt before he threw himself bodily at Taka, swinging the pipe as he went. Taka ducked and backed away, the lead pipe just catching the sleeve of his black t-shirt, snagging the cloth and scratching the skin yet he paid little attention to the pain.
Fuji quickly swept the hair from his eyes and cast aside the lead pipe, bringing his hands up he sent a quick series of Jabs into Taka's direction, Taka dropped the kendo stick and raised his arms above his head in an attempt to defend himself. A sharp jab to his side distracted Taka long enough for Fuji to seize an opening, with lightening fast reactions Fuji bought the palm of his hand into Taka's un-protected nose. There was a sickening crunch and Taka fell to the floor, his hands instantly rushing up to his nose in an attempt to steady the blood flow.
"6 points to 3, Game and Match won by Fuji" There were cheers all round as Fuji pulled Taka to his feet.
"Sorry mate" Fuji said with a smile and Fuji was sure he saw Taka try to smirk but his nose and mouth were covered in blood. The official of the match came running over, closely followed by a student carrying a first aid kit.
"Don't forget to register your score, Fuji-sempai." The official said as he cast a quick look over to Taka who was now holding a cloth to his obviously broken nose.
"Hai" Fuji said and walked over to the table currently occupied by Oishi
Block B…"Looks like Fuji won" Said Eiji as he and Momo watched a bloody Taka walk past them, giving them a thumb up as he went. Momo waved nervously and let out a low whistle under his breath.
"Ouch…that's gonna hurt in the morning"
"You two ready?" Said a voice behind them, they turned and saw the umpire staring at them, indicating to the arena. Momo turned to Eiji.
"Let's get this over with."
They walked into the arena and took up their places on opposite sides, facing each other. Momo bent his knees slightly and lifted his arms, flexing his fingers into fists, his eyes narrowed and he forgot all the noise that was about him. He glanced at Eiji who was casually standing about, pulling on his black leather gloves.
"6 point match, Momo to serve…BEGIN!" The officials voice sounded and Momo had already shot forward, his right arm drawn behind his head as he prepared to bring it down on his opponent with great force.
"Typical Momo" Said a voice form the crowd. "React first and think later, relying on sheer force alone to get the job done"
Eiji narrowed his eyes and waited for the perfect moment, Momo swung his arm at Eiji who pushed him self into a backwards handspring.
Landing lightly he quickly rammed his shoulder into Momo's gut, sending the taller boy crashing to the floor but Momo quickly recovered and sprang back to his feet, bringing his foot round and sweeping Eiji's feet from under him. Eiji stumbled forward and was about the hit the floor before placing all the pressure in his hands and using the momentum to cartwheel back to his feet.
The audience cheered. "Eiji seems his normal acrobatic self" Said Fuji who had come to watch the match, a towel hanging over his shoulders and a drinks bottle in his hand.
"Momo-Sempai kicks ass!" Screamed a group of guys to Fuji's left
"Eiji-Sempai is so cool!" Sighed a group of girls to Fuji's right. Fuji smiled and walked away as the girls to his right covered their eyes and the boys released a low 'oohh that's gotta hurt', Fuji chuckled and walked away.
Meanwhile in Block D…"It's the freshmen versus the Regular!" Screamed Horio, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Do you think he has a chance?" Katsuo asked nervously, watching Horio with an uneasy. Horio stopped and looked at him.
"Yeah!" Horio yelled as he punched the air.
"But-but the tape…" Stuttered Kachiro, a hand cam down on his shoulder and he shrieked, jumping behind Katsuo. Fuji stood there grinning.
"Fuji-Sempai! How did your match go? Did you win?" Asked Horio, running up to his Sempai.
"Hai, but I feel bad about breaking Taka's nose." He said, the smile on his face broadening somewhat. The three boys backed away slightly.
"Sempai" They stammered. A voice from nowhere spoke out and the three boys screamed and hid behind their Sempai.
"You know Fuji, you shouldn't smile when you say something like that." Fuji looked down to see Inui sitting on the floor, his laptop balancing on his knees.
"Ah, Inui. I didn't see you down there… what are you doing?" Fuji asked, not taking is eyes off him. Inui smiled and adjusted his glasses.
"Data" He said simply.
"BEGIN!" the announcers voice shouted making them all jump; they turned and focused their attention on the match.
Kaido's leg connected with the side of Ryoma's chest, sending the 7th grader hurtling to the floor. Ryoma got back to his feet quickly just in time to avoid being hit in the face by Kaido's fist, Ryoma bought his own up to meet it and they collided with a crack, the force pushing both hands back but soon they were on the attack again. Ryoma bought his left elbow up and it connected with the side of Kaido's face but to Ryoma's surprise Kaido grabbed his arm and bought the younger boy straight over his shoulder.
Ryoma got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his jeans, not taking his eyes off of Kaido, who had re-struck his fighting pose and was returning Ryoma's glare. Ryoma bent down and picked up his cap that had fallen off when Kaido threw him over his shoulder. He placed his right foot forward and waited for an opening to strike. Kaido charged at him, his eyes set on Ryoma's face. Ryoma ducked at the right second and rammed his shoulder into Kaido's jaw. Kaido staggered backwards, his lip split and the blood rolling down his chin. Ryoma smirked as he straightened up.
"Not bad" Kaido taunted as he licked the blood off his chin and spat it onto the floor. Ryoma cracked his knuckles and readied himself once more, this time he was on the attack and he sprinted at Kaido. Kaido simply moved to the side, meaning that Ryoma would have to quickly skid and change direction but Kaido had counted on this.
Kaido shifted the weight from his left foot to his right, his right foot left the ground and Kaido aimed a roundhouse kick at Ryoma's stomach, the force caused Ryoma to double over in pain, Kaido dropped his knee and landed a punch into the boys shoulder. Ryoma hit the floor and laid there for a moment, both his arms wrapped around his chest and his face twisted in pain.
"Looks like the viper is finally on the attack." Inui said, his fingers moving over the keypad quickly. The freshmen trio looked at him curiously and Inui proceeded to push his glasses further up his nose.
"Kaoru Kaido, 8th grade, nicknamed the Viper. Special move 'The Snake' which involves the rotation of the body allowing the user to put more momentum into his kicks causing his opponent to be winded and thrown off balance…anything else?" Inui stopped and looked at the freshmen and Fuji.
"No…we're good Inui-Sempai." Horio said, a little taken back by the avalanche of information.
"Hoi hoi, luck-y, it's not over yet" Said Momo limping up to them. He waved slightly. "Yo"
"Momo-sempai" chorused the trio, bowing low as he came to stand beside them.
"Call me Momo, sempai makes me sound old" grumbled Momo, raising an arm and wincing at the pain.
"Eiji won then?" said Fuji bluntly with a smile.
"How did you guess?" said Momo surprised, eyeing Fuji suspiciously.
"Ie Data" Said Inui's voice.
"AGH!" screamed Momo and he leapt sideways and crying out in pain again.
" Point to Kaido, 3 points to 1, Echizen to serve" called the umpires voice from amongst the crowd of people. Their attention was brought back to the two fighting students.
Both looked at each other, Ryoma breathing heavily and clutching his stomach and Kaido doubled over in exhaustion with his hands on his knees, not even looking at Ryoma. With a deep breath Ryoma lunged at Kaido. Kaido straightened quickly and moved backwards in an attempt to avoid Ryoma's punch and something clicked in Echizen's mind.
"Neh, you don't like to bend your knees much," sneered Ryoma and with a quick kick to the back of Kaido's leg, where the lower leg and upper leg joined, Ryoma sent Kaido crashing to his knees. Ryoma shot out a hand and grabbed what he could of Kaido's bandana, pulling the elder boys neck back with it. With one swift motion Ryoma brought his knee round and delivered a gut-churning smack to Kaido's face.
"Echizen's point, 3 points to 2, Echizen to serve" And they ran for each other again.
"Ie data, Echizen is faster than we thought" murmured Inui, his fingers clacking over the key pad. Horio looked at him.
"I don't get it, what's he done?"
"He just tamed the viper" laughed Momo, watching the combatants with renewed interest.
"He did?" asked Kachiro quizzically.
"Yup, Kaido has been caught in his own trap, basically, there is one weakness to the snake, which is that it puts great strain on the users knees, meaning that Kaido has to play the match with very little knee usage if he can help it. Echizen has figured this out and by making Kaido bend his knees in a way they should not be bent; he is limiting Kaido's ability to use the snake." Stated Fuji. The trio and Momo were looking at him and nodding their understanding. Inui's glasses flashed and he began to mumble under his breath.
"You played a wonderful match Eiji," said a soft voice, Momo spared a glance over his shoulder and saw Eiji and Oishi walking their way, Eiji's arm appeared to be bandaged and he kept it close to his body, a trickle of blood still ran down his lips.
"Nya, Arigato Oishi" smiled Eiji happily.
"No proble-" Oishi stopped and looked down at the thing he had just walked into. He came face to face with an annoyed looking Inui.
"Agh! Inui, what are you doing on the floor?" Asked Oishi looking confused.
"It's easier to collect data from down here"
"…" Oishi just nodded understandingly before turning to the others. "So who's winning?"
"Game and match! Won by Echizen, 6 points to 3"
"That's who's winning." Said Momo looking a little shocked.
"Ie Data" and Inui rose from the floor and walked away, typing one handed.
"Creepy, glad I don't have to play that" and the others nodded, as cheers rose from the arena and Kaido limped past a sour expression on his face.
"Hey Mamushi" called Momo, all he got was a hiss and …
"I'm not losing my spot"
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MY GOD THAT WAS HARD:P this took 7 pages and at least 2 or 3 hours to write plus 2 bottles of doctor pepper. We are proud proud people.
R&R