Akaya and I had become great friends, despite our opposite behaviors. He was hyper and jumpy while I was quiet and still. He was impolite and always cracking jokes, I was polite and never send a word against anyone.

And we had trained together.

Akaya wanted to defeat the big three and I didn't know what I wanted to do. With my new life, I didn't really know what to do. Life wasn't exactly like I knew it before, making it hard to adjust and find friends in this new world. I was just lucky that Akaya was like the kids I used to play while recovering from injuries at base camp.

I sighed as I picked up balls scattered across the tennis courts. Akaya had left me at practice alone as he was off practicing by himself, refusing to show his secret techniques while the tennis club had practice. I stared at the regulars with envy, as a first year it would nearly impossible for me to be a regular, and I sure as hell wasn't pulling a Ryoma Echizen.

"Everyone gather around!"

We pretty much dropped everything as we all gathered around Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi. Yukimura's smile faded as he started to speak to us, "We decided, that for the better of the team, we would have all non-regulars have at least one real match with one regular."

Muttering came from the crowd of non-regulars, some looked terrified and others excited.

The data master stepped forward, "I will now announce which court everyone will be in, Court A, Jushiro Heikawa, Watanabe Yuki…"

"Court D, Kirigaya Mamoru…"

"And finally, Court G Kirihara Akaya."

I stepped forward to Renji as everyone headed to their own court, "Yanagi-senpai?"

The brunet turned to me with his closed eyes, "Kirigaya Mamoru, what is it?"

"Kirihara Akaya isn't here today." I informed him.

Yanagi looked me over, at least I thought he was, before nodding, "Thank you, Kirigaya."

I took that as a sign of dismissal and bowed my head before grabbing my racket and heading to court D.

A fellow first year looked at me, fear in his eyes, as soon as I had arrived, "I wonder who the regular for this court will be…" he said amiably, trying to calm his nerves by participating in idle chatter.

"It will be me, Tanaka Sei."

We turned and Yanagi Renji approached the court with a racket in hand, "Let's get started." He stated.

It started with the third years, then the second years, and the first year.

I was the last one left to play Yanagi.

I stepped behind the baseline as I got ready to serve. Yanagi had let all of us serve first, as a handicap, he had stated.

I bounced the tennis ball one more time before throwing it up into the air, and then hitting it firmly with my racket. It head towards Yanagi's right hand box and he prepared to hit it, but the ball didn't bounce the way it was supposed to, it bounced towards the pole holding the net up and then to the floor.

The onlookers grew quiet and the umpire stuttered, "F-Fifteen love!"

He relaxed from his ready stance, "It seems I've underestimated you, Kirigaya-kun."

I ignored his blank look and got behind the baseline again, bouncing the ball again, and serving again, not caring as he stood silently across the court, not moving an inch as he observed my serve.

"Forty love!"

I looked at the senior again before I threw the ball in the air. The ball bounced on the right side of his court and the data master immediately chased after it, stepping outside the lines of the court to the right of the ball, expecting it to bounce unexpectedly again.

The ball bounced normally past him.

"Game, Kirigaya! One game to love! Change court!"

He looked back at the ball that hit the mesh gate that surrounded the court. He turned back to me, "Clever," he commented.

We switched sides and the service went to him. He served a fast serve, a precise serve that hit the corner of my right box, I easily caught up with it and hit it back with an easy front hand. He returned it with a smooth backhand. We continued this rally for awhile until he let the ball lob off his racket. I jumped up to smash it but let it fall with me as I executed a drop shot to send the ball over the net.

Yanagi, who stood at the back of the court, ran to reach the ball but it had long since bounced two times.

"Love fifteen!"

The brown haired teen served again, but as I hit it back, he let it go past him.

"Love thirty!"

This pattern continued for the rest of the game.

"Game Kirigaya! Two games to love! Change court!"

I bounced the ball again and served a fastball that landed by his feet. The fast footed regular quickly changed his stance and hit it back stiffly. I returned it by his feet again, and again and again. His lips curled in annoyance, but only slightly as he stumbled, hitting it back into my doubles alley.

"Out? Fifteen love!"

We made eye contact for a second and I could tell, he was starting his counter attack.

I served again and I could hear his voice across the court, "90% chance it will be a normal serve."

He hit it back and I chased the ball, hitting it back with a volley towards the left of the court, but he was already there. "77.3% chance of a volley to the left." and as I stood at the service line, he lobbed a ball over my head and I didn't bother to chase after it, knowing it was futile to even try.

"Fifteen all!"

I sighed as I turned to return to baseline, "Data tennis players are troublesome."

He didn't say a thing as I tossed the ball up and served it to him, I wasn't going to let data overpower me.

I let out a puff of air as I pushed my sweaty hair towards the side of my head and out of my eyes with a quick movement.

I heard loud muttering from all sides and I huffed in annoyance. All the other matches had finished some time ago and all the regulars and non-regulars had come to watch us.

"Game Kirigaya! Six games all! Change court!"

I passed by an equally tired looking Yanagi, but I knew better.

I took another ball out of my pocket as Yanagi settled on his side of the court. I served by his feet again and ready to return it, I headed towards the center of the court. Yanagi hit it back with a volley and I hit it back at his feet, but his foot was outside the baseline, "Love fifteen!"

I grit my teeth but served it at his feet again, and once he returned it after a few exchanged shots, I ended it with a drop shot.

"Fifteen all!"

I served at his feet again. "Out! Fifteen thirty!"

Again. "Out! Fifteen forty!"

I hit a normal serve that sent him off to follow it. We rallied for what seemed like hours, until he slipped. A lob came at me.

Suddenly adrenaline welled up within me. Time slowed down, my eyes focused, my senses going haywire and my blood boiling. My eyes widened and a smirk crawled up onto my face. I jumped and I looked down at Yanagi, his body locked and frozen, in shock, and his eyes were wide, his mouth open wide in fear.

I fell to the ground lightly and I let the lob fall behind me on the baseline.

Yanagi's eyes closed immediately as the umpire announced the score.

"Game set and match, Yanagi! seven games to six!" the crowd exploded with applause.

I stepped up to the net to shake his hand, "Good match, Yanagi-senpai."

He took my hand with a blank expressions on his face, but his voice was full of dissatisfaction, "You could have gotten me, Kirigaya-kun, I wonder why you didn't." It wasn't a question.

I stepped away from him, pretending he hadn't said a word to me, and shook hands with the umpire, ignoring the eyes that followed me from all sides.

"Practice is over, everyone dismissed!"

"Arigato gozaimasu!" the team bowed and headed to the locker rooms.

I turned to follow but a stern and angelic voice reached out to me, "Mamoru-kun, I'd like a word."

I walked over to the teen, ignoring the glances everyone gave me, "Hai?"

The captain looked at me evenly, "Do you think you could have beat Renji without your weights?"

I shook my head, "No."

He raised an eyebrow, "And why is that?"

I shifted a bit under his gaze, "That isn't my style of tennis, buchou."

He gave me a curious look, "Oh? Then what is?"

"I think I can answer that, Seiichi." I turned to see Yanagi approaching, noticing that most everyone else had already gone off towards the locker room. He seemed to be flipping through a magazine, "There was an unproven story about a tennis player a few years back, called the 'Soldier'. He was called this because the player would force their opponent to end the match because they felt like they had been shot by a gun."

The captain's amethyst eyes looked me over, "And are you saying that is Mamoru-kun?"

Yanagi looked to me, "Now that's for him to admit."

I closed my eyes, remembering all those rogue street tennis games I played as I strived to complete the basis for my style. I nodded grimly, "That is why I did not complete the smash, I could bring that pain onto my senpai."

Yukimura looked me over before nodding, "Very well. Tomorrow you will come to school at seven for morning practice." He started to walk away, towards Sanada who stood by the open gate of the court.

My eyes widened, "But that's the regulars' practice." I protested.

Yukimura glanced back at me, "I know what I said." He turned away and continued to leave, "See you tomorrow morning."

We finally see some of Mamoru's tennis skills! For my reasoning for the skill he has would be because why not? Krauser and a guy in the manga use torture techniques, why not have a soldier? I'm sure it's not as unrealistic like Tezuka-I-killed-all-the-dinosaurs-Kunimitsu.
It's similar to Yukimura's ability in which Yukimura can manipulate the senses one feels. Mamoru can control one's senses to feel heightened pain and tension through his play.