Select your regulars (part 2)

Ryoma Echizen had won his match against a regular and the word spread through the crowds like wild fire. Kaido had lost and Ryoma was going on to play Sadaharu Inui, the data man.

Block A …

Tezuka stared emotionlessly at the heaving form of Oishi, who was lying on the floor panting. A bruise developing around his right eye and he was clutching his stomach tightly.

"6 points to 1. Game and Match Tezuka" The announcer called and was soon drowned out by the screams of the onlookers. Tezuka offered a hand to Oishi, who had a large rip in his shirt, and Oishi grabbed it. Hoisting Oishi back to his feet Tezuka gave it a little shake.

"Good game Oishi, your moon volley's have certainly improved" Before Oishi could answer there was a shuffle of feet and Eiji was standing there with Taka and Fuji.

"Nya! You did your best Oishi," cried Eiji who flung his arms around Oishi's neck.

"Than - k you – Ei – ji but you're st – rangling me" gasped Oishi who didn't have the heart to push him off.

"Gomen" mumbled Eiji as he stepped back.

"That was a wonderful game buchou, and you didn't even go all out" congratulated Fuji. Tezuka looked at them as he drank from his sports flask. He wiped his mouth and turned away, heading back towards the score-registering table, currently occupied with Kaido and his sour aura.

"Don't you all have matches to go to?" said the stoic captain as he strolled away.

"Hai buchou!" and they scattered in various directions. Eiji and Oishi laughing as they made their way to the student medic who greeted them in a flustered manner.

"Inui's and the freshmen's match is coming up soon" mused Taka who's nose was swollen an purple.

"Hmmm" said Fuji with a sly smile. Taka grinned nervously and they began to walk to Block D where a large crowd appeared to have already congregated.

Block D …

"You look scary," muttered Ryoma, craning his neck so as to look into the towering 9th graders face.

"Saa," replied Inui, his eyes hidden behind his glasses. "Ryoma Echizen, 151 Cm tall, birthday 24th of December, aged 12, blood type O, special move: the twist serve, son of Nanji – "

"Whatever" cut in Ryoma as he walked away. There was an awkward silence where Inui appeared to still be staring at the spot Ryoma had just vacated. The umpire coughed nervously and Inui snapped his head to look at the man.

"Y-you ready?"

"Inui didn't answer but turned on the spot and walked to his starting position. He gave a curt nod and lowered himself into a defensive stance.

"One set match. Ryoma to serve"

There were screams all round as Ryoma flexed his fingers before shooting forward with an unexpected lunge.

However, to Ryoma's surprise, Inui sidestepped easily and swung his arm in a lazy punch. Ryoma, recovering, ducked and brought his leg round, aiming for Sadaharu's knees. But he was once again thrown off balance when Inui's arm grabbed his leg and twisted, causing Ryoma's entire body to spin. He landed on his back feeling dizzy and a sharp pain through his stomach caused him to cough blood.

"97 percent chance you weren't going to use your twist serve. 80 percent chance you would try and catch me off guard. 72 percent chance you would kick me if I tried to punch you"

Ryoma blinked from his position on the floor as Inui carried on blurting out percentages, He rose to his feet just as the umpire called out.

"Sadaharu win. 1 point to 0, Echizen to serve"

Ryoma shook his head and looked at Inui with a smirk.

"Twist serve neh?" said Ryoma coolly and he ran at Inui pulling back his right arm and releasing it in a vicious slice towards Inui's face. The boy with glasses leant backwards easily but with one smooth motion, Ryoma brought his left fist up within the shadow of his right arm. He smacked Inui in the jaw and the 9th grader reeled backwards.

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"Twist serve?" asked Katsuo.

"Ah, he finally shows his true colours" exclaimed a raspy woman's voice.

"Coach" chorused the regulars who had shown up to watch the all important match.

"You all look pathetic," stated Ryuzaki-sensei, eyeing them accusingly. Taka had a hand to his nose, Oishi held a pack of ice to his swollen eye and Kaido was gripping his stomach, yet his dark eyes never strayed from the fight. Fuji and Momo simply smiled.

"Sensei, what is the twist serve?" asked Kachiro timidly. He shrank away slightly when Ryuzaki turned to look at him but laughed nervously when she began to laugh.

"The twist serve is a basic yet complex move. Put simply it's a fake with your weakest arm, in this case, Ryoma's weak arm is his right, so he swings with his right. This is a simple ploy to throw his opponent off guard while he brings his left hand underneath the right with an upper cut. It's hard to pull off even for a professional." She nodded as she spoke, watching the game intensely.

"You sound like Inui, Ryuzaki-sensei" said Fuji cheerfully. He continued to smile, seemingly oblivious to the angry glare burning into the side of his head.

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"I … hate … this … game," panted Ryoma darkly as he found himself on the floor for the umpteenth time.

"Inui's point. 4 points to 1. Sadaharu to serve."

"That's it. I think I've got it down," mumbled Ryoma, he cracked his neck before starting to jump lightly on the spot. There was a buzzing through the onlookers and even Inui looked surprised.

"Saa … you going to serve?" called Ryoma into the silence.

Inui moved forwards quickly and raised his knee, aiming for Ryoma's stomach, who jumped sideways swiftly and struck forwards, aiming for Inui's face. Inui brought a hand up to protect himself only to have a foot instead of a fist connect with his torso. He doubled over making a grab for Ryoma's shirt but the younger boy had already darted out of the elder boys reach.

"Wrong" said Ryoma tipping his cap.

"Echizen point, 4 points to 2, Ryoma to serve"

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"He … he just … data … fighting?" stammered Momo looking shocked.

"Data fighting?" asked Kachiro and Katsuo.

"My, you are ignorant aren't you?" smiled Fuji, patting the two on the head. "Data fighting is a particular form of fighting adapted by the user. Very few people can use this form of fighting but Sadaharu is one of the best. That laptop of his is probably any street fighters worst enemy. On it is about every piece of information about anyone you can think of. He uses it to calculate your every move and every possible move you could make. It's practically impossible to beat … but Echizen … " He trailed off looking impressed.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the split step" mused Ryuzaki sensei, smiling at some fond memory that only she remembered.

"So that's what it is!" called Horio excitedly, looking to Fuji for conformation.

"You know it Horio?" asked Katsuo looking interested.

"Yeah, it's simple," boasted Horio, puffing out his chest with pride, " It's one of the fundamental skills in street fighting. By hopping up and down and landing on your toes it gives you an advantage of being half a step ahead of the opponent."

"That would be true, but that's only if you land on BOTH feet" said Ryuzaki pointing to Ryoma's feet. To their astonishment, Ryoma landed on only one foot before bouncing out of Inui's reach again. "This means that Ryoma is a full step ahead of Inui, making Sadaharu's data unpredictable and unreliable."

"Echizen point. Game and match to Echizen Ryoma. 7 games to 5"

Nothing could be heard over the screams that filled the air. Echizen Ryoma had just secured his place as a regular.

"Good game" said Ryoma, offering his hand to Inui, who ignored it and walked away mumbling.

"Still room for more data"

Ryoma watched him carefully. "I never want to play you again.

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"Game and match. 6 points to 3. Kaido wins" the announcers voice called out over the silence, the only sound that could be heard was the panting of breath. Kaido glared down at Inui, wiping the blood and sweat from his face with his bandana. He glared at Inui for a moment before turning and leaving a stunned Inui on his knees.

Inui slowly raised his hand to his face and ran it gently across his cheek and his fingers came away caked in blood from the deep gash that resided there. He used his other hand rooted around in the dirt until his fingers touched the object that had delivered the cut. He raised his glasses to his eye line, a piece in each hand. They had been snapped clean in two.

Inui just stared at his foggy reflection in the cracked and dirty lenses, ignoring the student medic that was yelling in his ear about the bleeding.

There was a 100 percent chance he had just lost his place as a regular.

The next day …

"Gather" called Tezuka sternly at the students all crammed inside the training room.

"When we call your name step forward to claim your regular jacket" commanded Tezuka, and Oishi came to stand beside him, a box sat at his feet.

"Oishi and Myself"

Oishi bent down and extracted two blue and white jerseys. He handed one to Tezuka before proceeding to whip off the packaging and throw it around his shoulders.

"Fuji"

"Taka"

"Eiji"

"Kaido"

"Momo"

As their names were called, they each moved forwards to collect their jersey. There was an awkward pause before the last name was called.

"Echizen"

The freshmen stepped forward and lazily took the package offered to him.

"Well done to our new regulars, let's work hard and reach the top" Yelled Oishi, pumping his fist into the air. They all copied him and yelled:

"SEIGAKU! FIGHT-O!"

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Well that's another chapter finished and we can get into the story :P If you have any complaints about how some of the moves are done don't hesitate to contact. Hope you enjoyed it R&R