Author's Note: Okay, so most of this chapter will be a ginormous flashback. Hence the title. So yeah....
Enjoy.
And...Prince of Tennis nor any of its characters belong to me - they belong to Takeshi Konomi. The original characters and plot do belong to me, but Tenx Medici belongs to Tenxtena. Thank you.
Chapter Three: Remembrance
"It's not about how hard you hit the ball, Tenx. It's about how you hit it."
The eight-year old Italiana gave a short huff of frustration. In her hands was a brilliant red Wilson tennis racket -- brand new and lent to her for the purpose of learning how to use it properly by her best friend. Her blue eyes moved away from the racket to her Eriol, who was effortlessly twirling her own white Prince racket in her right hand while bouncing a tennis ball in her left.
"Watch."
Tenx obeyed. She moved a few feet away from the Filipina, but remained relatively close. Eriol tossed the ball up into the air, positioning her racket behind her back. With practiced timing, she brought her racket forward and brought the head of it down on the ball -- hitting the sweet spot on the strings -- and sent the ball flying across the court, over the net, and into the service box on the other side of the court. Tenx's blue eyes sparkled in admiration as she walked over to her.
"You're just so good at it," the Italiana said, "You've been doing this longer than I've been. How am I supposed to get that good?"
Eriol let out a breathy laugh, "How else? With practice of course."
Tenx gave her a serious look. "Eriol, c'mon let's be serious here for a moment. I mean, just look at the court. It's littered with balls that I failed to hit over the net!" She made a wild gesture to their half of the court with the many tennis balls strewn about. Only a hand full of balls were on the other side, but how they got there was beyond Tenx and Eriol didn't look like she was going to start questioning their presence there anyway.
The Filipina grinned as she lightly patted her friend's head. "So?" she asked, going over to the nearest ball and picking it up, "That just means you need to work harder to get the ball over. The serve is pretty much the most important component of the game -- it starts it. Once you master it, the rest will be easy."
Tenx stared at her friend incredulously, but Eriol only proceeded to pick up more balls and put them on the face of her racket. "And besides," the Filipina continued, catching the Italiana's attention once more, "I know a little training exercise we can do. My coach used to make me do it a lot when I was still learning how to serve."
Tenx's expression lightened up immediately as she darted over to her friend's side and began to pick up balls as well. "Do you think it'll work?"
Eriol let out an airy laugh, "Of course! Once you get the hang of this technique, serving will come naturally. And get this: you only need one ball."
"Really? Well, what do you call this secret training technique of yours?"
"Haha...it's generally called the 'Server's Trap.'"
"Ohhhhh, sounds mysterious."
"Doesn't it?"
Tenx was slowly brought into consciousness by the screaming alarm clock on the bedside table close to her head. Her blues eyes were forced open as her hand slapped the surface of the table, lamely, in her attempt to shut the annoying mechanism off. Groggily pushing herself into a sitting position after successfully silencing the nuisance, Tenx stretched her arms above her head and worked the kinks out of her neck before actually getting out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom. After taking a shower and dressing up in her new tennis jersey, Tenx hauled her tennis bag off the floor and over her shoulder. She had made sure that she packed her bag last night since she didn't want to be late to her first official practice as a starter. With a sigh, Tenx finally exited her room and descended the stairs to the kitchen. The smell fresh eggs and pancakes greeted her.
"Morning," the elder Medici greeted, putting a plate of toast on the table.
"Morning...," the younger said, still groggy as she took a seat and began to eat.
"So...first official morning practice?" her father questioned as he took a seat as well.
Tenx merely nodded as she scooped as much of the food available as she could fit on her plate. She began to eat slowly, chewing the food methodically as she mulled over the anticipated events of the day. Morning practice with the team. First official morning practice as a starter. How she managed to become one of those was still beyond her comprehension. She barely even registered her father's voice as he chatted, animatedly, on and on about...something the female Medici barely caught.
"Okay, here's what we do."
Tenx eagerly watched as Eriol dumped all but one of the tennis balls into the ball basket she had brought with her. She then walked over to the fence surrounding the tennis court and motioned for the Italiana to follow. Tenx hurried over, a bounce in her step.
"You already know the basic movements, even if we can't get the timing right," Eriol explained, bouncing the ball on the face of her racket, "This excercise is going to help fix that."
Tenx nodded, watching as Eriol turned her back and faced the fence.
"First, go about the motions as if you're really going to serve."
A look of concern flashed briefly through Tenx's blue eyes. But Eriol kept going. She bounced the ball with her left hand a couple times before catching it and throwing it up in the air.
"Make sure you get the ball nice and high," the Filipina advised, stretching her arm up all the way, "And make sure to extend your arm. Make it look like you're going to catch the ball again."
To make a point, she kept her palm open and caught the ball as it made its decent back to earth. She then bounced the ball before tossing it up in the air again.
"Then, just after the ball reaches its highest point....BAM!"
With precise timing, Eriol had, after positioning the racket head behind her back, brough the racket's face to the ball and slammed it up against the fence. Tenx's gaze was focused on the ball; it was pinpointed right in the middle of the racket's face and nestled nicely between the racket strings and the fence. Eriol then turned her head to look at her friend.
"This is where you want the ball to be when you hit your serve," she informed Tenx, "The racket's 'Sweet Spot.' It's where you get the most power and the best execution." She then grinned, taking her racket away from the fence and allowing the ball to plummet back down to the earth and bounce before catching it. She then handed the ball to Tenx, who accepted it reluctantly.
"I want you to mimic what I just did -- perfectly."
"Are you crazy?!"
"Me? No. Just optimistic."
Tenx and her father walked out to the car and soon the latter was driving them to Seishun Gakuen. Tenx had opted to keep her tennis bag with her in the front seat, and was fiddling with the zipper. Every now and then, she would unzip her bag just a bit to look inside. She made sure that her racket and her spare were in the same compartment, and she made sure that her school uniform was in the other pocket of her bag as well as her homework. She sighed before zipping it back up and leaning back in her chair. Then, she would have the look of someone remembering something and repeat the whole process all over again.
"If you don't sit back and relax, you're going to give me the jitters," the elder Medici sighed. His own blue eyes darted to his daughter's frame before turning back to the road. "Tenx, don't look so worried. You'll do fine. You made the team after all, and two of the starters already attested to your skills."
"Yeah...but dad," Tenx began, in a tone that almost sounded like she was whining, "If I'm right, one of them was Eriol and -"
"And she must be proud that your skills have improved so much," her father finished, not hiding the pride in his voice, "Tenx. I know it's been a while since you've seen your friend, but at least have some faith in her decision. She believes in you and in what you can do. You don't want to let her down, do you?"
Tenx gave a huff and sank further in her seat. He had a point...he had a point, and she hated that.
Tenx did exactly as Eriol had asked, except she did not achieve the same results. Tenx was able to go through the movements: from tossing the ball up and keeping her arm fully extended, to putting her racket behind her back in the 'back-scratch' position, to bringing the racket down on the ball. But she was getting nowhere. Her timing was horrible. She would miss the ball completely at times and the ball would bounce off the top of her head before landing on the ground. Other times, she would barely nick the ball and put some strange spin on it that would cause it to bounce in random directions upon hitting the ground. And then there were times where she thought she had got the timing perfectly, but to her dismay the ball somehow ended up over the fence and outside the court. How she managed to do that, she had no idea. None whatsoever. Each time that happened, she would just go and get another ball from the basket. As she did so for the fifth time in the last half hour, Tenx looked over at Eriol who had gone to the court right next to Tenx's to practice while Tenx was working on the Server's Trap.
Tenx watched as Eriol bounced the ball with her racket while running laps around the court and then, in mid-stride, begin bouncing the ball on top of her racket. After two laps of bouncing the ball on the face of the racket, Eriol began bouncing the ball on the side of the racket frame - her chocolate brown gaze never leaving the ball.
Tenx bit her lower lip before trudging all the way back to the fence. Why did she even bother asking Eriol to teach her how to play anyway? It was obvious that the latter's talent for the sport was far beyond anything Tenx had imagined. It was obvious that Eriol was way better at it than she was. How was Tenx ever going to get as good as Eriol was if she couldn't even get a stinking exercise right? Eriol kept going on and on about how all she did was practice...but how could Tenx do the same thing if she couldn't even get that part right?
In front of the fence again, Tenx's grip on the ball tightened as she raised her eyes to it. She grit her teeth, in a frustrated manner, before tossing the ball up into the air and brining her racket down with all her might. The empty sound of the racket hitting the fence resounded in her ears as the ball bounced, uselessly, beside her. But Tenx wasn't done. With a growl, she swiftly picked the ball up before trying again and ending with the same results. With another frustrated growl, she tried again.
Eriol, who had since finished her laps, merely jogged in place, bouncing the ball on her racket. She watched Tenx, quietly - thoughtfully. No matter how many times Tenx missed the ball, she picked it up again and kept trying. The Filipina grinned. She liked that about Tenx. She wouldn't stop until she nailed it. Tenx was tenacious like that, and Eriol knew that. After a few more minutes of watching Tenx, Eriol approached.
"Ne, Tenx. You've been pushing yourself awfully hard. Do you want to take a rest?"
Tenx looked over at Eriol, after missing the ball yet again. The former had worked up quite the sweat, as her brow glistened with it. The latter looked a little winded and sweaty, but still rather energetic as usual.
"Not yet," Tenx replied, picking the ball up again, "Not until I get this right."
Eriol shrugged as Tenx returned her gaze to the fence and tossed the ball up again. However, the Filipina did not fail to see the fire burning in Tenx's eyes. She grinned as she watched Tenx bring her racket back and then swing at the ball, with all of her might. The sound of an item being pinned up against the fence seemed to echo all around them. Blue eyes stared in disbelief at the ball between the racket and the fence. Tenx gaped, not moving a muscle as if any sudden movement would cause the illusion to disappear. Removing her racket, she watched the ball fall to the ground and bounce. It was no illusion. She had done it.
"Ahhh! Good job, Tenx! I knew you could do it!" Eriol exclaimed, instantly attaching herself to the Italiana and enveloping her in a bone-crushing hug, "See? All you needed was time to practice and get your timing right! Ahhh! I'm so proud of you!"
Still speechless as ever, Tenx merely laughed as Eriol finally let go of her friend and kept an arm slung around Tenx's neck.
"Saa...let's go pick up those balls that you managed to hit over the fence now, okay?"
"Ugh... First you build me up, then you tear me down..."
"Well, I have to figure out some way to not let all of this get to your head."
Tenx's father dropped her off at school and Tenx slung her tennis bag on her shoulder. With a sigh after watching her dad drive away, Tenx began her walk to the courts.
"Tenx! Tenx!" a voice called out to her.
Tenx turned around and saw the silver-haired, violet-eyed Seiki.
"Good morning!" she greeted, upon making it to Tenx's side.
"Good morning," Tenx nodded as the two of them began making their way to the courts. The two chatted animatedly until they were near the courts and heard another voice calling out to them.
"Tenx! Seiki! Hurry up and get changed! Practice is going to start soon!" the fukubuchou called from the court, already dressed and ready to go. The other members of the team were there too.
"Hai! Coming, fukubuchou!" Seiki called, before dashing away to the court, "Tenx! Hurry!"
"Oh! Right!" Tenx ran after her.
As they walked in through the gates, the fukubuchou greeted them.
"Good morning, Seiki and Tenx. Ready for practice?"
"Good morning, fukubuchou!" Seiki greeted with a big grin.
"Good morning," Tenx greeted, walking up to the vice-captain, "And you of all people should know I'm always ready to practice, Eriol."
Eriol grinned, "Of course you are. Now that everyone's here, let's get to work!"
"Hai!"
Ending Notes:
I cannot express how sorry I am that this got out so late. All I have to say is that whenever I took a break from writing this chapter, I just could not remember the direction it was heading in so I had to rewrite it a couple of times. That and I was simply uninspired. But! I finally was and here it is. Sorry if it feels like I keep changing my writing style with each chapter. In a way, I kind of am since I'm experimenting with a few things with this story...and the numerous breaks I keep taking from it add to that. I'll try my best to keep updating in a semi-periodic manner...
This chapter mainly illustrates the friendship between Tenx in Eriol... Yeah. There should be more of Kaidoh in the chapters to come.
Reviews and comments are always appreciated.
- Cruza