O

PREFACE

- Welcome to my new project for The Quintessential Quintuplets. As some of you might recall, I announced long ago that I intended to give Yotsuba her spinoff sequel series to the main story. This is the prelude to that series and, for the time being, will serve as a side story for my main fanfic Wings Into The Sky. This opening chapter(lesson) takes place after Chapter 18 of that story. So, for you Yotsuba fans who might've liked to see Yotsuba pursue some kind of sports career this is the story for you! Especially if you also happen to be a tennis fan like me.

- I also like to give a shout out to the YouTube channel Intuitive Tennis. The owner is a former professional tennis player himself and much of the dialogue in this story(lessons) comes straight from his videos. If you're interested in tennis and wish to learn more about the sport, from the mechanics to the history, this is the go to guy. I highly recommend you check him out. His content is top notch.

- One last quick reminder. The character Izumi Himuro comes directly from the 1998 anime Princess Nine. In my headcannon she became a professional tennis player instead of giving it all up for baseball. The anime is not I'd recommend if you're into sports dramas, but it's worth having a watch if you wish.

I hope you enjoy this prelude. Thank you for reading and don't hesitate to leave a review!

428 YOTSUBA: Beginnings

"You're... Izumi Himuro?" Yotsuba looked back at one of the pictures and then back at her, "The Izumi Himuro?"

Her grin broadened and she set the dry clothes down, "I am indeed."

Yotsuba's jaw dropped in disbelief, "No way! I knew I'd seen you somewhere before! You were the captain of the girls tennis team at Kurobara!"

"Ah, so you know about that."

"Of course I do! Everyone does. You guys the National Championship back in the year 2000."

"We were then invited to go to the Junior Tennis World Cup that was being held in France to represent Japan," Izumi added, "We made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to the Belgian team. The Russians then defeated them to win the championship."

"I remember reading about that," Yotsuba bobbed her head, "You then went pro after graduating high school. I remember growing up, as far as I can remember, my friends would always talk about you. Heh, they'd be so jealous if they knew I was talking to you right now. How many times did you win?"

"You mean how many tournaments? Many, but never a Grand Slam," Izumi said bitterly.

"Didn't you retire recently?"

"Not by choice," she pointed to a certain place on the wall.

Yotsuba looked over to where the front page of a newspaper was framed.

"Famed Japanese Tennis player forced to retire after career ending injury," she read aloud, "That's right. I remember hearing that you got injured. I didn't know it was that bad. What happened?"

"Blown knee."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. That's the worst. I don't think there's a single athlete out there who wants to have an injury like that."

"It can happen, even to the best of us, but for me it was still very bitter."

"Why? Because you didn't win a... what did you call it?"

"A Grand Slam?"

"Yeah! That."

Izumi sighed, "Not so much that, but the promise to your mother that I wasn't able to fulfill."

Yotsuba blinked, "My mother?"

"That's a story for another time."

She was about to continue Yotsuba look back at all the pictures containing Izumi's biggest moments in her career.

"Tennis..." the girl slowly whispered, "That's one sport I've never gotten to try out."

Izumi raised a brow in surprise, "Never?"

Yotsuba shook her head, "I've always been curious about it. It seems very unique."

"Have you ever played in a racket sport before?" asked Izumi. A flicker of hope was starting to build inside her.

"I've been on the badminton team, and I've played both indoor and beach volleyball too, so I have some idea of what tennis is."

At that moment Izumi had an idea.

"Would you like to learn?" she offered, "I can teach you."

Yotsuba's gaze snapped right to her. Obviously she was stunned to receive such an offer from a celebrity of her stature, but Izumi saw a spark deep in her blue eyes. The flicker of hope ignited into a fire but she kept her face straight. She didn't want to get her hopes up yet, but she could see that Yotsuba was definitely interested.

"Tell you what. There are still some things I want to talk to you about, if you promise to come here tomorrow I'll give you your first tennis lesson in return.

She held out her hand and held her breath.

"Deal?"

Okay, deal, she had said.

Izumi Himuro was very happy, and relieved, that Yotsuba agreed to learn about tennis.

Since she had been forced to retire so much Izumi had spent the last two years feeling somewhat depressed. All her life she preferred to end things on her own terms.

The fact that she had to retire before she was ready was enough to upset her. Not being able to fulfill the promise she had made eighteen years ago infuriated her to no end. She hated leaving things half finished, but this was much deeper. It was personal.

Izumi had managed to live with it by volunteering as an assistant coach and trainer for female college tennis players as her friend and former high school tennis teammate Lita had suggested. She mainly coached at the University of Chapel Hill, along with Lita, but occasionally she or both of them would also coach for brief periods of time at other universities. For example, there was Charlotte, where she and her family lived, and there was also Furman. Izumi would also give private lessons to young junior players at the local tennis clubs in Charlotte from time to time.

However, even though she enjoyed coaching new and upcoming tennis players, what she really wanted longed to return to the sport she loved so much in some significant capacity. Taking on a promising protege would be the logical solution, and she'd encountered plenty of potential players in the past two years.

But there was only one she wanted to train, to bring into the world. Not just in tennis but the world itself.

That person was the daughter of her long lost best friend, a girl who desperately needed to find a path in life. Izumi hoped to show a path, the best path, she could take. Deep down that was what she, and her cherished friends, wanted more than anything. However, they couldn't force her into taking this path. She had to make the decision herself.

Despite the odds Izumi did have high hopes. Today's tennis lesson wouldn't be just the first, it could play a role in what Yotsuba's fate would be depending on what she decided.

Izumi took one last look at the tennis courts of her private home in Japan, making sure everything was set up and in place. Then she looked at the six tennis rackets lying on the table, three of them old but in very good condition and the other three still fairly new.

A smile came to her lips as she picked up the older one.

"Today may be the day, my friend," she whispered, "I know you'll be standing right beside her."

Despite all the terrible things that had happened in the past few days, Yotsuba Nakano was actually excited. Much to her surprise.

Tennis was the one sport she hadn't gotten to try over the years but had always been curious about. When Izumi-san offered to teach her she couldn't refuse. After all, how often did one get learn about tennis from one of Japan's most famous players?

To anyone else it would be a dream come true, but to Yotsuba it was... something deeper. She couldn't figure out what it was but that was how she felt.

After school was over she made her way over to Izumi-san's house, following the directions the older woman had given her. She wished she could invite her sisters over, but after the fallout between them that was unlikely to happen. At the very least she'd be able to get her mind off things for a little while, and Yotsuba was curious on what else Izumi-san had to say to her.

The retired tennis player greeted her at the door after she rung, dressed in a tracksuit.

"I'm glad you kept your promise," Izumi-san smiled and invited her in, "Did you bring your PE uniform?"

"Yep," Yotsuba held up her bag, "All right here."

"Good," Izumi-san led to the rear of the house before pointing to the bathroom, "Go ahead and get changed. I'll meet you outside."

It had been cloudy this morning but now the sun was out. Izumi-san was waiting quietly for her on the porch, a tennis racket cradled in her arms. When Yotsuba saw the sight before her she gasped.

The porch she stood on overlooked eight tennis courts. Half of them were blue, two of them were red, and the other two were green.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, "This is really your place? It's huge!"

Izumi-san laughed, "It is my private house, but it's also a tennis club. Owned by me, although not originally. The property used to be an apartment complex until twenty years ago when it was torn down after the city deemed it too old to maintain. My father bought the property shortly after. He owns one of the biggest construction companies in Japan. Originally he intended to build a new home here for his retirement, but after I went pro he decided to turn it into a tennis facility. It was opened on my twenty-first birthday and when I turned thirty he handed ownership to me."

"So you live here?"

"Only for brief periods. I usually used this place as my training center when I was on tour. Now we use it as our place to stay whenever my family and I come to Japan to visit. My real home is over in America."

"Oh," Yotsuba was surprised to hear that, "You're married?"

Izumi-san nodded happily, "With three kids. Two boys and a girl."

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you. Now..." Izumi-san pointed to the table nearby, "Pick up that tennis racket and follow me."

Yotsuba went over to the table where a red and black tennis racket lay. Gold string filled the hoop and stenciled on them in black ink was the letter "P". Picking up the racket she saw that the "P" stood for Prince, obviously the brand name, and on the beam were the words "Precision Response" along with "660 PL". At the top of the racket was the word "Midplus". The "Precision Response" was obviously the model name for the racket. Yotsuba had no idea what the other things meant.

Glancing over at Izumi-san had a racket of the same brand. Hers was black and orange with silver string in the hoop, also stenciled in black ink with the letter "P". As Izumi-san turned she caught the words "Tour 100" along with "16x18" on the beam.

16x18? What's that supposed to mean?

Yotsuba had no idea meant either as she followed the former tennis player down the stairs.

Lesson 1

Court Surfaces

"How come those courts over there are painted differently?" Yotsuba asked as they approached the blue colored court.

"They're not painted differently," Izumi-san answered, "Those courts have different surfaces."

She blinked in surprise, "They do?"

Izumi-chan chuckled, "Since we're on the subject, how about I start the lesson by telling you the three different surfaces that are played in the professional tour?"

They moved onto the court and she gestured to the ground.

"This is a hard court," she began to explain, "Just like those three over there. They are made of either concrete or asphalt and are covered in acrylic to help soften it. They are usually painted blue but it's not unusual to find others that are painted differently, especially in college tennis. These are the most common kind of tennis courts you'll see around the world. Because of the hard surface tennis balls usually bounce high and offer a lot of spin."

"Spin?"

"Topspin. I'll explain that at another time," Izumi-san pointed over to the red courts, "Over there are the clay courts. Basically you're playing on a dirt surface. They are often considered slow because the ball tends to bounce high and lose their speed upon impact, making it difficult for players to return a good shot. Therefore, matches usually end up lasting longer. If you're going to succeed on the clay court, then you need to have a good defensive game."

Then she pointed to the green courts.

"Finally, we have the grass courts."

"Grass courts?" Yotsuba's eyes went wide, "Tennis is actually played on grass?"

"Yes, they are," Izumi-san grinned, "It's actually my favorite of all the three because of how well suited they are to my game. The thing about grass courts is that they tend to be slippery. In addition the ball tends to skid. They also have the lowest height when they bounce, barely reaching above the knee yet still retaining most of its speed. Sometimes you will even get a bad bounce. Therefore, you have to be fast in order to reach the ball in time. Only then will you have a chance at winning."

And just like that, Yotsuba was very intrigued.

Lesson 2

The Rules

"Now," Izumi-san interrupted her thoughts, "Before we get started on anything... what do you know about tennis? Do you know how it's played? What about the rules?"

She gestured around the court, indicating to Yotsuba to tell her what she knew.

"Um... okay," she looked around the different lines, "Tennis is a sport where you have to hit the ball over the net, just like in badminton and volleyball."

Izumi-san nodded, "What else?"

"Uh..." Yotsuba looked around again, then looked down at her racket. All of a sudden the memories of her badminton days came back to her, "Tennis is actually very similar to badminton, including the way it's played."

Izumi-san nodded again, a smile forming on her lips, "Go on."

Yotsuba turned to one end of the court, "First there's the baseline," then she looked at the sides, "and those are the sidelines. Hitting the ball outside those lines is out of bounds," she paused for an instant, "The inner line is for single matches and the outer line is for doubles. Correct?"

"Correct," the smile widened, "Anything else?"

Yotsuba pointed to the line horizontal line on her side of the court.

"That there is the service line, part of the service box. On serves you have to hit the ball on the opposite side of your opponent's end."

"That's right," Izumi-san sounded proud, "You remember your badminton days."

Yotsuba grinned and looked at the racket she held in her hand, "Now that I think about it, I haven't used a racket since junior high."

"It'll come back to you, don't worry," Izumi-san assured her, "Now, what about the scoring system? Do you have any knowledge of it?"

Yotsuba thought for a moment but shook her head.

"No, I don't. I only know that it's very different from badminton and even volleyball."

"Well then, allow me to explain," Izumi-san led her over to the baseline and pulled up a cart that was filled with tennis balls, "In tennis, every point begins with serve, just like badminton and volleyball. However, there are differences. In badminton you serve close to the net and you serve underhand. In tennis you serve behind the baseline, just like you do in volleyball. However, unlike volleyball where you can serve either underhand or overhand, the overhand is the standard swing," she took out a ball, "Observe."

She bounced the ball on the court a few times, then tossed it high over her head. Yotsuba watched as she lifted her racket, preparing to swing. Then the ball came down. There was a distinctive "pop" as the racket strings connected with the ball and it flew over the net at a very high speed, hitting the corner of the court.

"An ideal serve is hitting it in a place where your opponent cannot return it, or if it bounces high enough to go over there heads."

"That's what you call an Ace, right?"

"Correct. Another thing I should mention is that in badminton and volleyball the ball, or the birdie, cannot touch the ground. In tennis, you're allowed one bounce. It helps you prepare for your next shot, but you can hit it midair if you're close enough to the net. The important thing about a serve is that it has to go over the net and land in the correct box. If it taps the top of the net yet still goes over, you can redo it if you wish. We call that a Let. If it hits the net and doesn't go over it's called a Fault and you have to serve again. If it hits the net again then it's called a Double Fault and your opponent wins a point. Now, if the serve is returned there are three ways you can score."

Yotsuba held up her hand, "Let me guess. Either your opponent can hit the net, out of bounds, or if you manage to hit one past him or can't return."

"That's correct," Izumi-san was now beaming, "If your opponent can't get to the ball before it bounces twice it's declared a Winner. You catch on pretty quick, Yotsuba."

She grinned and shrugged blushing a little.

"I've always been a fast learner," she said bashfully.

"One thing you should know. Just like in badminton and volleyball, if the ball touches any part of the line it counts. So bear that in mind. Now, let's go over the points system. First, do you remember the word that's used for zero in badminton?"

Yotsuba thought back, "I think it was... Love?"

"Correct again. We use the same word in tennis. Now, matches are won by a number of Sets. For the men's tour it's best out of five, for women it's three. Each set is won by a number of Games. You have to win Six games in order to win a set. However, you also have to win it by two. If the score were to end up being 5 to 5, then you have to win an extra game and make it 7 to 5. If it's tied at 6 to 6, then a tie breaker game is played, but we'll talk about that at another time. To win a game four points must be scored. If you win the first point that makes it 15-Love. You always say the server's score first. Then it's 30-Love, 40-Love, and finally Game, Player's name. If the game is ever tied then it's pronounced as 15 All or 30 All. However, if the game is tied at 40 then it's called a Deuce. From there you have to score two points in order to win. If you win the first point you get what's called an Advantage, but if your opponent scores the next one then it goes back to being a Deuce and will continue this way until someone finally scores two consecutive points. Do you understand all that?"

"Yeah," Yotsuba bobbed her head.

"Good. One last thing you should know is movement," Izumi-san moved to position, "In every game you always start on the right side of the court. This is also called the Deuce Side. After every point you switch to the left side, which is called the Advantage Side, Ad Side for short. This continues until the game is over. Once it does, and this always happens after the first game, you and your opponent switch sides," she pointed, "You go over there while he comes over here. After that, two more games are played before you switch sides again. This continues until the end of the match. Do I need to repeat any of the rules?"

"Nope. I get the whole system."

"Good, now we move to the fun part. The racket swings. Stand here at the service line."

Lesson 3

Forehand Swing

Izumi took the ball cart and moved to the other side of the net.

"Let's start with you showing me your forehand swing," she took out a ball, "No need to swing very hard. Just try to get them over the net."

The girl nodded and took her stance, gripping the racket with both hands.

Izumi struck the ball as gently as she could with an underhand serve and watched it go over the net.

Yotsuba moved into position and swung, using both hands on her racket.

Immediately, and mentally, she shook her head in disapproval, but kept quiet and reached for another ball. She repeated the process a dozen more times, watching how Yotsuba responded with each ball that came her way. Sometimes she would use both hands, other times she would only use one. The way the forehand swing should be played. Sometimes she would hit the ball over the net, other times it would hit the net. The entire time though Izumi noticed that Yotsuba was frowning, as though she couldn't figure out if she was doing right or wrong. Finally she called for a halt and went back to Yotsuba's side, bringing the cart with her.

"I see you remember your footwork from your badminton days," she said, "That's good. However, you did seem confused on how you should use your forehand. You kept switching back and forth between one hand and two hands."

"Yeah," Yotsuba admitted with a grimace.

"You are right handed correct?"

She nodded.

"The thing about the forehand swing is that the ball is coming at you on your natural side, in this case the right side. You only use one hand for the forehand swing."

"Really?" Yotsuba was surprised to hear this, "Why not two?"

"Because it reduces your reach and it requires a greater amount of footwork, which can tire you out very quickly. Unless you've developed your skills for that at an early age most tennis coaches wouldn't even suggest it. Getting back on topic, how are you holding your racket?"

Yotusba showed her.

"There's your first problem. You're gripping it a bit too high. Let me show you how to properly grip the racket when it comes to your forehand. First, place your racket on the ground like this."

Izumi placed her racket on the court surface and motioned for Yotsuba to do the same.

"Now I want you to reach down and grab the racket like this," she placed her hand on the bottom of the grip, "Place your hand right on top of the racket and pick it up."

Yotsuba followed her example and brought her racket back up.

"This is how you always grip your racket. You never grip it any higher than that. It takes away the power of your swing. Now, hold your racket above the service line like this."

Izumi showed her and waited until Yotsuba did before stepping closer and placing her hand on the upper part of the grip.

"When you hit the ball do you notice how your hand is positioned underneath the racket?" Yotsuba nodded, "From there it's a lot easier to swing upward. The forehand swing should look like this," she took her position and swung her racket in slow motion, from behind her waist to where it tapped against her left shoulder, "You see?" Yotsuba nodded and she repeated the motion two more times, "Now you try it. Slowly."

Yotsuba took her position and started to swing. Izumi let her swing several times in order to get the hang of it.

"Good," she nodded after she was satisfied and brought the cart closer, "Now let's have you hit some balls. Position yourself just behind the service line and hold the racket the way I told you," she waited until Yotsuba was ready, "This will be your contact point. I'm going to drop a ball in front of you and I want you to finish the contact from this point to where the racket taps your left shoulder."

She gave a quick demonstration of what she meant.

"When you finish your stroke your elbow should be pointing towards your opponent's side of the court. Okay? Let's try it."

Izumi dropped a ball in front of Yotsuba and the girl made her swing. Too much of a swing, for the ball landed outside the opponent's baseline.

"Make sure you don't take too big of a swing," she reminded, "Just enough to get over the net. Remember, the ball has to remain inside the court in order to score a point. Let's try again."

She dropped another ball. This time it remained in, but just barely.

"Okay," she placed a hand on the hoop of Yotsuba's racket, "You're taking the racket too far back. Take a smaller, less powerful, swing."

Two balls later Yotsuba was hitting it in the right spots.

"Good, but try adjusting your body so you're not so sideways. Be a little more open."

Yotsuba widened her stance and hit another pair of balls successfully, but she hit one too hard and it nearly went flying over the fence.

"You see?" Izumi reminded her again, "As soon as you take the racket back you lose control. When you start all the way back here you get disconnected. It becomes difficult to control the ball. You have to get a good feeling for it," she picked up another one and took hold of Yotsuba's racket again, placing it against the strings, "Start as close to the contact point as possible. It should be right at the center of the racket. Just think about what's going to happen from the contact to the finish. Okay? Let's try again."

Yotsuba followed her instructions and soon began hitting the balls over the net with ease.

"You're making all the shots now," Izumi smiled in approval, "Let's keep going."

She let Yotsuba twenty more balls before she decided to change it out by going back to the other side.

"Now I'm going to hit some over to you and you're going to hit them back, okay?"

After another twenty balls Izumi gathered some off the ground and refilled the cart before going back to Yotsuba' side.

"Now we'll do it from the baseline. Same thing, but with a little harder swing," six balls later, "Try not to get too excited, otherwise you'll lose control again. That's the most important thing here. Control. Just concentrate on performing your swing and getting the ball over the net."

"I really like the sound the ball makes when you hit it," Yotsuba said after a few more swings.

Izumi nodded, "That's also important. It you hit it right it'll make that sound."

Then Yotsuba took another too big of a swing.

"Okay, you know what's happening when you do that? You're taking the racket back early without even noticing. On one hand that's what you're supposed to do without even thinking about it, but you have to time your shots perfectly. Swinging too early will cause them to go too far and out of bounds, swinging too late will make them fall short and possibly hit the net. Remember, control equals perfect contact. Lose control and your shots will go wild. Let's do a couple more than I'm going to go on the other side again."

After going to the other end, Izumi decided to mix things up again.

"Let's try some movement."

She hit the balls from side to side, making sure that Yotsuba only used her forehand. To her surprise the girl managed to hit back every single one.

"Very good, Yotsuba," she came back over, "You are indeed a fast learner."

"Thank you!" Yotsuba proudly beamed.

Lesson 4

Two-Handed Backhand Swing

"Now let's move over to your backhand swing," Izumi motioned her back over to the service line, "How's the racket working out for you by the way? Does it feel too heavy?"

Yotsuba looked at it and shrugged, "No, not at all. It's fine as far as I can tell."

"Good," Izumi was relieved to hear that, "Now, by your backhand swing I'm talking about the two handed one. There is a one hand swing but that's a little more advanced so we'll save that for another time. The backhand swing is for the moments when the ball approaches your opposite side. The first thing you need to know is that you cannot use the same grip when performing it. For instance, try making a backhand swing using the same grip for your forehand."

Yotsuba took her position and made her swing. Immediately she saw the problem.

"You see?" Izumi was happy she noticed, "The face of your racket is facing upwards. If you try hitting a ball that way it will go sky high."

"Couldn't I just turn my wrist?" Yotsuba asked, turning the racket to where it face the net.

"You could, but you'd be bending your wrist, which can cause injuries. The only way to deal with this situation is that you have to use a different grip. Here's how you do it," she took Yotsuba's racket and showed her by holding it above the service line again, "For the forehand we had the facing upwards like this. Now..." she turned it ninety degrees to where the beam now faced the service line, "we're going to put the racket like this. Now put your right on top of the racket, as though you're shaking someone's hand."

Yotsuba placed her right on the grip again as indicated.

"Place your thumb the same way," she corrected, "Now place your left hand above the right one. Make sure your hands are not overlapping. Leave a little space in between."

When Yotsuba had her hands in the correct grip Izumi let go of the racket.

"Good," she nodded in approval, "This is your backhand grip. Now we're going to do the same thing as before. We're going to start in front but now we want to be sideways. You're going to be facing this way," she turned around to show her, "Alright, place your feet parallel to each other and I'm going to drop a ball again, just like before. You want to go up so that your left elbow is facing forward and your right elbow is facing the back of the court. Like this."

Izumi took her own racket and performed the swing in slow motion again. Afterwards she had Yotsuba hit a few balls. She was able to perform the swing, but not correctly.

"Have you ever seen a gold swing before?" she asked, trying to make it simpler.

"Yeah!" Yotsuba bobbed her head, "I actually tried golf one time."

"Well, it's like that but you're swinging from the opposite site. Just like a gold swing you're rotating your body to perform the two-handed backhand in tennis. When you perform it make sure your right elbow doesn't get tucked into your body. Your non-dominant elbow needs to go up. Remember your right elbow should be facing the back of the court. Let's try it again."

With a minor adjustment Yotsuba was soon able to perform the backhand perfectly. Izumi then had her go back to the baseline and she managed to do full swings, hitting every ball over the net. Then Izumi went back to the other side of the net. After twenty balls she was satisfied that Yotsuba knew how to hit the backhand.

"Very well done, Yotsuba," she smiled, "For someone who's never played tennis before you seem to have a natural talent for it."

"Oh... uh..." the girl giggled and blushed a little, "Thanks."

Izumi smiled again before saying, "How about we take a break? There are still some things I wanted to discuss with you? Remember?"

Yotsuba's face fell a little but she nodded, understanding that it was important and followed Izumi to the bench.

For her very first lesson in tennis, Yotsuba was growing more and more intrigued.