Disclaimer: Only own the OCs in this fic, not Prince of Tennis. That belongs to Konomi-san, whom I worship.

Ladada~~ I'm back with a new chapter! I know, so quickly, right?

Thanks to ALL my reviewers. Thanks to my loyal readers and my new readers. You guys are the reason I write this fic.

Btw: In case there is a bit of confusion out there, I'm not following the usual tennis season, or strictly, the PoT timeline. Fandom realism can only go so far…

YAY doubles practice. Enjoy.

To Catch A falling Star-Chapter Eleven: Doubles or Nothing

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Tiny time-skip: A week later…

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"I. Am. Not. Wearing. That." Sayaka emphasized as she backed away from Reina. The latter was proudly holding up their new uniform on its hanger—it had just come from the tailors. And to Sayaka's horror, it was a skirt.

A skirt.

A white, pleated skirt.

The top was a fitted t-shirt almost exactly the same as that of the boys, and they also had jerseys that completed the outfit. But seriously… a skirt? She normally refused to even wear the normal girls' uniform for school. Which was why she was always raiding her brother's closet. 'They can't make me wear that!'

"In case you haven't noticed…" Sayaka forced her tone to be level. "I play acrobatic tennis. I will not enjoy flipping around the court displaying to the crowd my preference of underwear."

"Issue solved." Reina said, lifting up the skirt to reveal that there was a pair of short-shorts attached inside.

"THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING THE SKIRT IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

"Maybe so we can woo the crowd with our feminine charm?" Kimiko suggested, coming from behind the lockers. She had already changed. She twirled around in the outfit before doing a curtsy, giggling. "I think it's cute."

"For once, we are in agreement." Suzume said to Sayaka, looking at the outfit as if it was a pair of dirty socks. "I'm not wearing that either."

"Thank you." Sayaka said gratefully.

"Akane?" Reina called, a sadistic smile on her face. "We're having an altercation—"

"Reina, what did I say about vocab?" she reminded from behind the locker.

"—excuse me, a disagreement about the new uniforms."

"Really." Akane had also donned the new uniform and appeared before them. Her ginger hair was tied up and her bangs constrained by her usual pink headband. (A/N: Like Sakuno)

Reina shook the uniform on its hanger at the two second years. "They repudiate to—"

"Reina…"

"Ahem… They…won't… wear it…"

"I see…" Akane pondered for a moment, before the gaze in her eyes turned stern. "Sayaka, since you were part of the gymnastics club and forced to wear skintight leotards that more or less resembled swimsuits and showed about three times the skin and curves that these will, I really don't think that you should be complaining."

Sayaka stood speechless, completely unable to find a reasonable retort.

'Akane-buchou… is scary…'

"And Suzume…" Akane turned to the other second year, who bristled in anticipation. "You designed it."

"My design was different!" she insisted.

"Yes, and breaking dress code. We used the basis from your design. Besides," Akane's eyes narrowed. "Given what you wear when you're outside of school, these outfits should hardly damage your reputation."

Sayaka secretly wondered what Suzume wore out of school.

The red-haired girl rolled her eye. "Can I at least alter it a little?"

"You can rip the sides and slash the shoulders," Akane told her. Suzume opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Akane said "No, you can't dye it black. Suzume, be reasonable."

"Che." Suzume snatched the outfit from Reina's hands and went to change. Sayaka followed suit. They both reappeared looking disgruntled, but at least they were dressed.

"What does she wear out of school anyway?" Sayaka asked after Suzume had left the room.

"I actually like Suzume-chan's clothing style…" Kimiko admitted. "It's… unique. Artsy."

"Eccentric." Reina said with a nod.

"Punk," Akane clarified, not being one to waste words.

"Oh…" Sayaka said.

"Or Goth. Depending on her mood." Akane shrugged. "It's broad. She goes from looking like a punk rock band singer to a gothic hooker.

"Wow…" was all Sayaka could think of. 'I can't believe she designed it…'

"I think it's a way she releases her anger. She vents a lot of anger into her appearance." Akane continued. "The piercings…"

"Smoking too, right?" Kimiko said sadly.

"I don't see… what there is to be angry about…" Sayaka said tentatively, hoping to elicit an explanation.

"Then you don't know Suzume."

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When the girls entered the court, there where whistles and catcalls, not only from the male regulars but from all the onlookers that happened to be male. In fact, several of them seemed to be sporting nosebleeds. The female onlookers just glared at them with jealousy, wishing that they were the ones in the skirts and being able to stand so closely with the regulars.

"You look good in a skirt, sis…" Momoshiro teased.

"Shut up!" She blushed and smacked him.

Aiko also felt a bit dissatisfied with the uniforms. It was white. Wouldn't that make her skin seem even darker?

"Senpai!" Kimiko twirled around. "Doesn't the new uniform make us look good?"

"En!" Kikumaru nodded enthusiastically. "You all look really cute, nya!"

"Great," Suzume muttered. "Now I'm cute."

"I always thought you were cute, Suzume-chan…" Chiharu said delicately.

"Is Tezuka looking at her for more than 7 seconds yet?" Kikumaru asked openly, though not within earshot of his captain. This caused Chiharu to blush deeply and a buzz around the girl onlookers.

"It's nice…" Inui said to Akane. "But knowing you, you would've have permitted a skirt unless there were precautions?"

"There's a pair of shorts that are attached inside," she told him. "With wild players like Sayaka and Suzume, we've got to take plenty of precaution."

From her tone, he could tell that she wasn't just talking about the skirts.

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Oishi stared, stunned. When he finally found his voice, he said. "S-sugoi, Ryuzaki!"

She had finally made a smash into the basket. After days of just scraping the edges of the basket, she finally, finally managed to get it in.

It wasn't just that. Her power, her movements' fluidity… all had increased by a great amount. Even if she was still quite below the levels of the other female regulars, she was gradually closing the gap. Oishi suddenly felt extremely guilty for suspecting her of being unable to keep up. He turned to Akane with an apologetic glance.

Akane just winked at him with a look that said I told you so.

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"Kikumaru. Oishi." Tezuka said. "Join Momoshiro and Momoshiro for doubles practice in court A. Akane and Marui will work with Ryuzaki and Komboi."

"I presume we'll join Inui and Kaidoh then, Tezuka?" Fuji asked, motioning towards himself and Reina.

"Yes. The rest of you have today's practice session as independent practice. However, don't slack off. There are only two more weeks before the District Tournaments begin."

"Why is Fuji-senpai with Watanabe-senpai anyways?" Horio asked. "Strange doubles pair…"

"You didn't notice?" Momoshiro hit him on the head as he walked by. "Watanabe-senpai is left handed…"

"In fact, she's the only girl player we have that's a leftie," Ryuzaki-sensei said. "And lefties and right handed people always make good doubles pairings. Fuji is also relatively compatible when it comes to choosing partners."

"Yep, you don't have a clue either." Akane said.

She sweatdropped. "You don't have to be so direct."

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"Originally we were going to use the rope method for doubles training…" Inui said. "But Momoshiro Sayaka's style might make it a bit… dangerous…"

She laughed sheepishly.

"We'll start by playing it like table tennis doubles. You and your partner must alternate in who hits the ball. That way, you can practice on reading your partner's movements." Inui said.

"Easy, easy." Kikumaru said with a confident smile at his partner.

"How am I supposed to read her movements, Inui-senpai?" Momoshiro pointed at Sayaka. "They're too complicated, I can barely see them."

"Well, then, you'll have to learn, Momoshiro." Inui left them to practice with Kaidoh.

"Well, then, I'll start the rally off." Oishi said, hitting the ball with a simple underhand serve.

Sayaka flipped forward and hit it back, cutting across her brother's line of sight. He instinctively went the other way.

"Here!" Kikumaru did a small diving volley and hit it towards the empty court on Sayaka's left… except it was no longer empty? Momoshiro jumped with one foot and hit it back in a powerful backhand, aimed right at the baseline. "Ah! Jack Knife!"

"Oishi! It's the Jack Knife!" Kikumaru called in warning.

"I got it!" Oishi scraped his racket on the ground before lobbing the ball upwards.

"Oi, Sayaka, it's the—" Momoshiro called.

It landed on the baseline of the opposing court with a thud.

"—Moon volley…" he finished, a second too late. "Damn."

"It's even more impressive in real play…" Sayaka said, staring at where the ball landed. "Nice one, Oishi-senpai…"

Oishi blushed slightly. Then he gazed over at the two twins. 'But that pair… they almost pulled off an Australian Formation maneuver without even realizing it.'

"Sayaka, concentrate!" Momoshiro said.

"Hai, hai." She got back into position. "But you know, I've never played doubles before…"

"Oh yeah… hmm…" Momoshiro beckoned a finger towards her and whispered in her ear. "…"

"Okay!" she said, brightening up. "Let's try it!"

Oishi served again. Momoshiro hit it back, and the second rally began. Kikumaru volleyed it. Sayaka threw her racket up in the air in a forward movement, leapt and caught it at the net before hitting a cross-shot that Kikumaru was unable to interpret. Oishi, however, saw it clearly. 'Sayaka's at the net…' he lobbed it upwards, over her head. 'Shoot!' He realized his mistake too late. 'It doesn't matter that she's at the net! We're doing alternating shots!'

"Thanks for the chance, Oishi-senpai!" Momoshiro said as he jumped upwards. "DUNK SMASH!"

'They… made me forget the rules…' Oishi thought, incredulous. 'And even if there weren't any rules, it was a good combination…'

Sayaka high-fived her brother. "Nice play, Takeshi-nii."

"Same for you."

Sumire glanced their way. "Mm… it's a good pairing. We don't have to worry about them."

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Later…

"Aiko, that's not how you do it…" Akane said during a water break. She sighed. The makeshift doubles team, Sakuno and Aiko, wasn't doing very well. "You have to trust your partner. It won't work if you don't."

'Easier said than done…' Aiko thought, biting her lip. 'I'm so used to singles that I run after the ball even though she can get it for me…'

"Doubles players, gather round!" Coach Ryuzaki called and they ran over to meet up.

"We're going to change the rules a bit now," Inui said. "Think of it as more "area training". Now we're going to practice covering the court area. Right now, we'll draw a line continuing from the center line," Inui drew on the board as he spoke, dividing the tennis court into four boxes. "One partner may only enter these two." He indicated with a pointer two boxes that were diagonal to each other. "The other may only enter these." He pointed to the other two. "Alleys are included."

"Diagonal movement, huh?" Momoshiro murmured. 'Sayaka won't have any trouble with that… floor routines always go from corner to corner diagonally.'

"There will be one point games between the doubles pairing. Those who break the rules or lose a point…" He grinned sadistically, pulling out a plastic cup filled with green liquid. "…will drink Inui's Vegetable Juice."

Everyone (with the exception of Fuji) gulped.

All those singles players were oh so very happy that they didn't have to participate.

"Now then, the first pairing—"

"Wait Inui," Coach Ryuzaki suddenly interrupted. "I think it would be best if all the regulars participated, not just the ones that are going to play doubles for this tournament. Everyone has good individual skills. But playing doubles is an entirely different thing from singles, and everyone should practice it."

'Damn. No escape now.' ran through the minds of all the singles players.

"Good idea… and that way everyone could experience the wonders of Inui Juice…" His grin spread. "Then how shall we decide the pairings?"

"I can't be with Morioka (Tezuka)." Izumi and Tezuka said at the same time. They glanced at the other in surprise.

"Hee hee, you guys are so in sync though…" Kikumaru teased.

"Why?" Horio asked as he brought two baskets of balls over.

"Morioka and Tezuka are similar," Inui explained. "They both use "zones" and these zones cannot exist on the same court. Imagine them both trying to control the spin and power of the ball. It would be like playing tug of war with your own partner."

"How about…" Reina thought for a minute. "Kawamura and Izumi, Suzume and Chiharu, and Tezuka and Echizen? One mixed and two normal?"

"You can't put Tezuka and Ryoma together," Inui said intentionally. "How about Tezuka and Oshiro?" They all glanced it their direction, evil smiles in place.

Chiharu shook her head vehemently, hoping that no one noticed the change in color of her cheeks. "I-it's okay, I want to play with Suzume-chan…"

"Next time," Inui said firmly. "Tezuka will be playing with you…"

"I've got a better idea," Akane said with exasperation. "How about we rotate partners? Everyone happy?"

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"So first off its Inui-Kaidoh and Komboi-Ryuzaki eh?" Katsuo said. "I'm so excited to watch Ryuzaki play!"

Tomoka ran over. "Is it starting already?" she asked, panting hard. "I had to do classroom cleaning duties… Ah!" Her eyes feasted on the new outfits. "Uwaaah! I want to wear one of those!"

Kaidoh served the ball, and Aiko returned it into one of Inui's squares. Inui proceeded to hit a straight shot. Sakuno retreated to the box in the back that she was assigned to guard to hit the ball, but Aiko intercepted the shot in her box before it even bounced, volleying it. Sakuno immediately ran for her box in the front and returned the ball. However, it soon became clear that Aiko intercepted most of the balls that Sakuno could've easily picked up.

"Aiko! This is doubles! You can't keep taking all the shots!" Coach Ryuzaki said.

The ball was hit towards the center. Both Aiko and Sakuno ran for it. After about two steps, Sakuno retreated and proceeded to cover the empty court.

"That girl is surprisingly good at doubles!" Oishi exclaimed.

"Told you." Akane said, her tone smug.

"She reads her partner's movements well, and she always seeks to cover! She's like…" He thought hard. "Like…"

"Like you, Oishi-senpai…" Ryoma supplied, a smile on his face.

"Echizen…"

"Yup, but she's the only thing that's holding this pair together…" Akane said. She rubbed her forehead. "That Aiko really doesn't have a clue…"

However, the minute Kaidoh unleashed his boomerang, the point was won. He didn't put 100% of his power into it, but being a guy against a pair of girls, it was enough to blow away both their rackets. Tezuka seemed satisfied that they forced him into using the boomerang though.

Inui easily handed over two cups of green liquid. The color was practically opaque.

"A-ano…" Sakuno hesitated. She didn't dare turn it down, but she wasn't quite brave enough to drink it just yet. Briefly, she thought of the laps a week ago where she willingly volunteered to drink it in place of Ryoma. Where was the vigor and courage now? 'I'll just drink it in one gulp! It'll be over in a second!' She closed her eyes and dumped the liquid down her throat. Aiko did the same. At first, both of them seemed okay.

Then the taste sunk in.

They both convulsed.

And ran like hell for the water fountain.

"Well, they're in sync now…" Akane muttered.

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Meanwhile…

"Watanabe…" Tezuka said. "Do you remember the thing I spoke to you about a few days ago?"

"The anomalous..." Akane stepped on her foot. "Sorry, unique technique Kimiko created?" Reina asked. "I did come up with a few theories with Inui-san…" She pulled out a large notebook from her bag. "I think the most logical would be a counter spin slice that utilizes the centrifugal force…" She opened the notebook, and Tezuka's eyes widened.

It wasn't a notebook. It was a sketchbook. A sketchbook filled with beautifully penciled (slightly smudged in some places) drawings. He clearly saw her drawing of Kimiko performing the shot that caused the ball to vertically roll itself up the net. She hadn't been there to see the actual technique, however she seemed to have guessed the correct position and form. He saw detailed drawings of the method of swinging the racket, all from different angles, every movement and step was carefully drawn. There were a few notes jotted in the edges, and labels. She had also drawn the action of the ball rolling itself up the net. Next to it was scribbled "Topspin?" Then next to the racket, she'd written: "Forehand slice?"

"May I look at this?" She nodded and he took the sketchbook from her. He flipped through the pages, seeing almost every regular's moves paint themselves before his eyes. He then flipped to his own page.

"Ah… I'm not finished with that one yet…" Reina said, but he didn't hear her.

Looking at the drawings that depicted his Tezuka Zone, he could almost feel himself performing the steps and swinging the racket. Next to the pictures that were drawn of his Zero Shiki drop shot, she had written: "Lowers the racket by 1.25 centimeters due to large amount of spin".

"You really have a talent," he said, handing the sketchbook back. "As an artist, you catch details that others overlook."

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The training continued.

Ryoma and Suzume lost to the Momoshiro twins EXTREMELY quickly. In fact, the point was won on the second rally. Ryoma, being the one to run recklessly after the ball, had collided sharply with Suzume. Of course, Suzume was not low-ranking herself in the reckless department. They saw stars, but failed to see the tennis ball land itself nicely between their forms on the ground.

"Che, doubles," they both said.

Inui handed them the dreaded drink. Ryoma grimaced in horror when taking it, but Suzume acted as if it was no big deal. After drinking it, she nonchalantly handed the cup back while Ryoma high-tailed it for the fountains. For a moment, they thought Suzume could handle it.

Sadly, it was merely a delayed reaction. Suzume soon joined the pile at the fountains.

The Morioka-Kawamura pair played very well against the Watanabe-Fuji pair. Izumi was able to completely seal Fuji's Tsubame Gaeshi with a tactic they'd seen too often—she neutralized the spin of the ball with her elaborate movements. However, Reina's pinpoint precision was also quite fearsome, and her shots had speed, therefore Kawamura's Hadokyuu was also sealed. In his frustration, Kawamura smashed the ball out of bounds, and both he and Izumi joined the rest at the water fountains.

"Next, Oishi-Kikumaru, please enter the courts," Inui said. "And Ito-Marui, you'll play against them."

"Against the Golden Pair, huh, Akane-buchou?" Kimiko giggled. "It's such an honor!"

"And honor to beat them, too…" Akane said.

"Mou, Ito, don't be so mean…" Kikumaru whined.

Oishi served to Akane's court. She returned it, a cross shot to Oishi's box at the rear. However, Kikumaru intercepted it and hit a straight shot, to which Kimiko returned with a cord ball.

"I'm not going to be fooled by that!" Kikumaru said as he caught it with a diving volley.

Akane jumped the minute his racket touched the ball and smashed it into Kikumaru's rear box. Kikumaru, being at the net, didn't have time to react, and it was out of Oishi's boundaries. Kikumaru was already whining, "But I don't wanna drink that thing!" Yet when Akane landed, Inui's glasses flashed menacingly towards her.

"Ito, you landed on Marui's court."

Akane looked down in shock. Half of her foot was in Kimiko's box. "Shoot."

They stood, frozen with dread as he handed them two glasses of Inui Juice. 'Finally… I get to taste the thing that had Reina ranting for a week…' Akane leaned her head back and gulped it down.

And ran.

"Even the former buchou couldn't take it… Is there a single girl that can stand Inui-senpai's juice?" Momoshiro asked. Sayaka just pointed with her thumb. "Huh?"

Kimiko had taken a small gulp that only drained half the cup and had a thoughtful expression on her face. "It's not bad…"

"EHH?"

"You don't think… there's anything strange about it?" Kikumaru asked meaningfully.

"Strange?" She drank a bit more, tasting the concoction carefully. "Hmm, now that you mention it…" She smiled angelically. "Yeah, it could definitely use a bit more sugar!"

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"Oshiro and Tezuka will play against me and Reina while the rest… (cough) …recover," Inui said as they stepped onto the court.

"Chiharu," Tezuka said as they got into position. "Close your eyes."

She felt a brief pleasure at hearing her name on his lips again before what he said registered in her brain. "Eh? Starting off seriously, are we…" Closing her eyes meant relying on impulse only, and it was the ace in her play style.

"We'll have to if we want to avoid that drink…" Tezuka said.

She laughed. Tezuka looked at her; not many people laughed openly at something he said. "Is something wrong?"

"I-it's nothing… It's just… It's obvious Tezuka-san really doesn't like that drink…"

For a minute, the others thought they saw the ghost of a smile on his face, but it was gone before they could tell.

The game began, and it was won rather quickly. Both Inui and Reina made a miscalculation on Chiharu's shot—they anticipated a feint when it turned out to be an actual smash. Tezuka didn't even use any of his signature moves. At least, it seemed he hadn't.

"I'm sorry, Reina," Inui said as he handed her a cup of the green juice. "Cheers."

"Chiharu's data is literally impossible to get…" Reina drank hers in one gulp and began walking towards the fountains before the taste could have effect. When in finally did have effect, she broke out into a run.

"Yes…" Inui said as he watched her run. "But I'm surprised that Tezuka relied on her this time…"

"Water break!"

"It seems most of them are already on water break, anyways…" Coach Ryuzaki murmured.

"Akane," Chiharu said as she watched her teammate stagger back. "Is it that bad?"

"That and worse..." Akane said.

"Morioka…" Tezuka said. Izumi looked up in surprise. "I need to speak with you."

"It seems your counter is pretty easy to seal off…" Reina said to Fuji. "Then again, the Hadokyuu is too. As long as you hit balls that are fast, Kawamura can't make it in time for a big swing…"

"True…" He smiled. 'But Izumi-san is amazing to be able to spot the weakness in my counter so quickly…' He scanned the court for her and saw her talking to Tezuka.

Tezuka said something, and her arms tightened around her racket. Her fingers were clenched. She took a frightened step backwards.

Fuji opened his eyes in concern.

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"I saw you coming out of the Tsuchira Hospital a few days ago…" Tezuka told her.

Her eyes widened.

"Morioka… for safety reasons, I need to know why you were in the hospital…"

She looked down at the racket in her hands. It was shaking. No, her hands were shaking. 'I should've known this would happen…' Even if she tried to cover all her tracks, someone was bound to find out. Akane was brought to that hospital on the night her allergies flared up. Chiharu and Reina had their synesthesia conditions confirmed and tested there. Even Tezuka went to that particular hospital for his arm. "I…" She couldn't speak. She took a frightened step backwards.

"Morioka!"

Her head shot up when he raised his voice. "I…" She swallowed, not sure of how to tell him. What would he think of her? Weak? Deluded? Her parents thought she was seriously crazy (mentally) after they'd found out. "I had a seizure recently…"

There was a moment of silence as he digested this piece of information. "Has the cause been determined yet?"

'He's taking this rather calmly…' "I tend to run high fevers easily. And apparently my blood doesn't allocate iron well enough. Headaches and fainting are common symptoms. The doctor said seizures are not entirely uncommon for me either…"

"I see…" He nodded.

"You're going to remove me from the team, right?" she asked, her eyes downcast. "You wouldn't want someone like me hurting Seigaku's chances…"

"I'm not going to remove you from the team, Morioka," he said. "I'm worried about you."

She stared at him in unmasked shock. He'd never said anything like that to her before. 'This might be the true face of Seigaku's captain…'

"It's serious if it led to a seizure…" he went on. "Did it have anything to do with the amount of training?"

"No, I don't think so…" she replied. "The doctor did discourage sports in general…"

"It should be fine," he said. "As long as you tell one of us if you feel unwell during training sessions."

"Hai…"

As she returned to training, Fuji walked up to Tezuka. "What was that about?"

Tezuka gave him a glance. "Nothing…"

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"Ryuzaki, Echizen!" Tezuka commanded. "You will play against Kikumaru and Oishi next!"

"EH?" Sakuno cried. 'Doubles… with Ryoma-kun?'

"Oi… is Tezuka insane?"

"Putting Echizen against the Golden Pair?"

"And with Ryuzaki too…"

"Maybe it's revenge for putting him with Oshiro-chan?"

"Or Echizen isn't actually that bad at doubles?"

"You're wrong…" Akane said, tossing her towel back onto the chair. "Echizen is a horrible doubles player. Awful, atrocious, and terrible."

Ryoma fumed silently.

"It's a test of how Sakuno will react to the situation. I want to see exactly how far her instinct for doubles will take her."

Oishi served the ball. It landed in Ryoma's box. He ran forward and returned it to Oishi's rear box. Kikumaru took it before it could bounce, and hit it back. Ryoma returned it with a backhand slice.

"Ryoma-kun's taking all the shots, huh," Kachiro noted. "It's as if it was singles…"

Suddenly, there was a shot that was heading towards Ryoma's rear box, but Sakuno intercepted it and volleyed it back. She immediately ran back to her square at the back. Ryoma easily followed up on the next shot.

"Nice one." Akane murmured. "She changed the pace a bit…"

"Neh, Ryuzaki…" Ryoma called as he returned another shot. He began running. "I'm going to the net."

"Then I'll join you!" Sakuno replied. She too, approached the net. Their movement made an X as they both ran diagonally for their boxes in the front. Sakuno timed this carefully as to avoid any collisions; she ran a few paces slower, allowing Ryoma to go first.

"Double approach?" Kikumaru cried. He made a signal behind his back. Oishi moved diagonally to his square in the front. 'Oishi's Moon Volley should take care of that!'

Sakuno hit a drop shot.

"It's yours, Oishi!" Kikumaru called cheerfully.

"I got it!" He scraped his racket along the ground and lobbed it. Yet at that moment, a shadow blocked out the sun.

"Echizen?"

"Hyaah!" He smashed it just as the Moon Volley was in an ascending arc.

"I see!" Inui said. "Because Oishi's closer to the front, the Moon Volley would still be ascending by the time it reached Echizen, so he could jump and be able to reach it. If Oishi had hit the Moon Volley when he was at the rear, as usual, it would be too high by the time it reached Echizen. Ryuzaki hit a drop shot in order to draw it out!"

"It was also one of the reasons she put the "double approach" into play. She wanted to force Oishi into using the Moon Volley." Akane said with a smile. "She's something."

"Maaaan, we got outsmarted by a pair of our kohais…" Kikumaru said. Then suddenly he froze, horrified, as he felt the presence of supreme evil right behind him. (AKA Inui, holding two glasses of his famous juice.)

"AUGGH!"

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"That's all for practice today!" Tezuka said.

"We'd like to praise Ryuzaki for showing outstanding improvement and incredible skill for doubles," Oishi said. Everyone applauded. Sakuno blushed with pleasure and Coach Ryuzaki positively glowed with pride. "Momoshiro-Momoshiro pair displayed good combinations today as well. Also, the makeshift pair Morioka-Kawamura did surprisingly well—we might consider this pair for future doubles…"

Kawamura smiled at Izumi. "I'm counting on you then."

"You too."

"Then you are dismissed!"

"Let's go to a burger joint then, Echizen!" Momoshiro said as they headed back for the changing rooms.

"Sure."

In the girls' changing room

"Sayaka, you did really well today!" Kimiko enthused. "You basically mastered doubles on your first try!"

"Not really…" she replied modestly. "I just listened to what my idiot brother told me to do."

"Yes really!" Kimiko said. "You guys pulled it off really well! One of the reasons Akane-buchou and Reina and Inui and Tezuka-buchou…" She paused for breath. "…chose you was because you guys were twins! Obviously you guys would have closer bonds and stuff!"

The door opened.

"Ah, Suzume-chan!" Kimiko said. "Where were you?"

"Taking care of some of those idiot perverts that kept hanging around the fence…"

"EEK!" Kimiko suddenly shrieked. "Is that… blood on your hands, Suzume-chan?"

Suzume looked down carelessly. "One of them had a particularly strong nosebleed, that's all. This is gross." She washed her hands quickly.

"None of you missed those death glares the fangirls were giving us, right?" Akane asked. "Don't be surprised to find our desks overturned tomorrow." She put her hand to her head. "Actually, Chiharu, you're in the most danger…"

"Eh? Why?" she asked innocently.

"Maybe because 70% of the female body worships Tezuka?" Kimiko blurted. "Isn't that a clue?"

"76.4%, actually." Reina cut in.

"But we're not… He and I…" Her face turned red. "I mean…"

"He calls you by your first name now," Akane said. "Think of what that looks like to other people."

"He calls you by your first name…" Chiharu countered.

"Everyone calls me by my first name, thank you," Akane replied. "And if they don't, they should."

"Izumi's also in a condition of imperilment…" Reina murmured.

"Why is that?" she asked, trying to sound indifferent, even though she knew perfectly well why.

"Well, Fuji doesn't really call anyone else by their first name…" Akane pointed out. "Care to explain?"

"No."

Kimiko grinned wickedly from beneath her jacket. "So it is that type of relationship…"

"No!"

"You're pretty close with Kikumaru too, being in the same class and all…" Akane said. "Still, you won't have half as many girls after you as Chiharu will…"

"Speak for yourself, Akane…" Reina said. "You engaged several times in the act of flirting with Oishi…" She consulted her tiny notepad. "Oishi has a lot of fans too."

"So?" Akane pulled her shirt over her head and changed back into her regular school uniform as if the matter was simple.

Kimiko stared. "Do you… like him?"

"He's nice, reliable and a good vice-captain," Akane shrugged, taking her pink headband out of her hair. "What's not to like?"

"No, do you like like him?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, sure." Akane looked at their shocked expressions. "What?"

"You're so… direct about it…" Sayaka said.

"That's just her," Kimiko made a pouting face. "Good luck then."

"In fact, all the regulars have large amounts of fangirls… except Inui and Kaidoh, apparently."

"Then Reina, you have a chance."

Reina's black eyes shifted to Akane's in a glare. "I have no idea what you mean."

"No?" Akane pretended to be busy adjusting her ribbon at her chest. "How about—"

"Akane."

The sharpness of her voice could've been used to cut a slice of meat. Akane decided to heed her warning and be quiet.

"Wait-wait, rewind for a sec," Sayaka said incredulously. "Did you just say my brother has FANGIRLS?"

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In the boys' changing room

"Since the girl regulars have joined us, our onlookers have increased by 37%," Inui was saying. "98% of which are male. Tezuka, shouldn't we do anything?"

"We can't do anything." Tezuka said shortly while picking up his bag.

"And today, the new outfits came out…" Inui muttered. "Possibility of perversion… 100%."

Tezuka felt a slight shiver run down his spine. The thought of a crowd staring at the girls with lust, wondering just what was under those skirts…"We can't do anything." he repeated firmly and slammed the door shut.

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"Oi, isn't that Ryuzaki?" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma turned his head. Sure enough, Sakuno was talking to one of those second year guys. Ryoma had seen him around before, but couldn't name him. Maybe he was one of the few that were watching. Why was Sakuno talking to him, anyways? It's not as if she knew him. Or did she? Ryoma made a mental note to ask her of all the male figures in her life. After a moment, he caught himself. Why did he care who was in her life? 'What's wrong with me?'

"You guys made a good doubles pair…" Momoshiro said, grinning. "Actually, you guys make a good pair, period."

Ryoma wasn't listening; he was too busy watching them talk. Sakuno didn't seem to be enjoying it. Suddenly the guy made a grab towards Sakuno. Even before he heard her shriek, Ryoma's racket was out of his bag and he was reaching for a ball in his pocket. Just as he was about to serve, someone beat him to it.

Suzume has suddenly come out of the equipment room. Quick as a flash, she grabbed the guy by the neck, lifted him despite his size, and slugged him in the stomach. "SHE ALREADY SAID SHE'S NOT INTERESTED, F*CKING BASTARD!"

'Of course, a bit more pain would do him good.'

Ryoma served anyway, and the ball knocked him out.

"A-arigato, senpai…" Sakuno was extremely grateful, but not quite sure how to express it. Truth be told, Suzume frightened her a little… The way she punched him definitely had a sort of practiced air to it, as if she'd done the same thing many times.

Suzume glanced off in the distance. "Well, if I hadn't been here, he would've saved you anyway."

Sakuno looked to see who she was talking about. She turned bright red. "R-ryoma-kun!"

Suzume gave her a rare smile. "You remind me of Chiharu-senpai… a lot…" she murmured, so quiet that Sakuno wasn't really sure if she heard her right, before she left.

"Nice one, Kimura." Momoshiro said as she passed him.

"I notice you didn't do anything." she said over her shoulder.

Man, that girl could make his blood boil.

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"Akane-san!" Oishi called as he rushed to catch up with her. "I just wanted to apologize about what I said about Ryuzaki a few days ago… You're right, she is really hardworking. And the skill she showed in doubles today…"

"I think it's more of an instinct, rather than skill…" Akane said. "Her instincts tell her to cover the empty court… And since her personality isn't really headstrong, she is more observant of her partner and often lets them go on offense while she takes care of defense…"

"That's true…" He looked at her. "You know your team really well."

"It's your team too…" she reminded him teasingly.

'Something doesn't seem right, though. How did she get so good at doubles all of a sudden? Instinct and personality can only go so far…' Akane thought. She decided to investigate later.

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"Hoi~" Marui Bunta answered the phone in a manner that reminded her of Kikumaru.

"Hey Bunta!"

"Oh, Kimi-chan! What's up?"

She was lying on her stomach on the bed, kicking her legs up and down. "We practiced doubles today…"

"That's right, I remember you told me that you specialized in doubles! Like me. So who's your partner?"

"Ito Akane! I told you before, remember?"

"Ito Akane…" he thought for a while. "That blue eyed girl with the light brown-ish orange-ish hair?"

"That's the one…"

"Really?"

"Yup," Suddenly she sat up. "You sound surprised."

"I am…"

"Why?"

"I watched some of her match with that girl with the braids before I went to see yours, and then Jackal went to watch. It didn't last long; Jackal told me she completely crushed the other girl in about 15 minutes."

"So?"

"It's just her style doesn't seem… compatible with yours…" Bunta said. "If you guys played doubles, it seems like there would be a lot of gaping holes in your formation…"

"You're wrong." Kimiko said automatically. There was a beeping noise. She realized she was pressing the phone into her face too hard.

"It's just from my observations, Kimi-chan. Don't be so defensive. She's a great player, but I don't think her style can truly complement yours. Don't you guys have a black girl on your team? You could play doubles with her. It'd look exactly like a female version of me and Jackal!" He laughed.

"I don't want to become your carbon copy!" she burst out. "All my techniques, all my moves… they're yours, aren't they? And now you want me to partner with someone else so I'll look like you and Jackal?"

There was a pause at the other end. "I was kidding, Kimi-chan… Well, no, I wasn't really. Look, you have the same style as me. You need a strong defense player to complement you. Net players always do. Look at your Golden Pair for instance. Did you try pairing up with anyone else today?"

"No, we were going to but there wasn't time."

"You see…"

"But Akane and I are undefeated…" she whispered stubbornly. However she knew that he'd cracked her defenses.

"You're undefeated because you haven't gone up against anyone strong yet." he pointed out gently. "Kimi-chan, I just want to help you. And I certainly don't want you to be my carbon copy. Well, not my complete carbon copy, at least. By the way, didn't you create a new move in your match against that long black-haired girl?"

"Yeah, I did by accident…" Kimiko thought of the hit that caused the ball to crawl up the net.

"Now that's something I didn't teach you. It's completely original. It's all you. Any ideas how you did that one?"

She glanced at the pile of papers on her bed and flipped through them casually. She saw herself performing that move over and over within detailed drawings. Reina had handed them to her at the end of practice. "I've got a few…"

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"Inui-san?" Izumi entered the classroom. "Why are you here?" It was already about half an hour since practice ended—she'd just come back to pick up some notes she gave to the teacher to correct.

"I came to get my physics quiz..." Inui said. "I'm not going to allow Tezuka to beat me in my best subject next time…"

"Congratulations, I heard you got a 99% on the quiz…" she said. "The highest score in the grade…"

"99% is not 100%," he replied. "And you received top marks for your history essay, didn't you? Good job on that."

"Fuji-san beat me." she said. She didn't mean for her voice to sound bitter, but somehow it did.

"I what?" The smiling tensai suddenly entered the room.

"Oh, speak of the devil…" Inui said. He picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. "Ja, I'll see you two tomorrow then."

Why is it that she always had to find herself alone with the tensai? Izumi cursed her fortune. "I'm sorry about being unable to come over last weekend…" It wasn't that she was unable to model, but she didn't ask him how long he needed her for and it could've clashed with her hospital appointment. The last thing she needed was for Fuji to find that she was prone to seizures.

"Don't worry about it…" he said. "You can do it this weekend, right?"

"I guess…" she replied reluctantly.

He opened his eyes. "You… don't want to?" he ventured.

She practiced the words in her mind. 'I don't want to. I don't want to.' But she couldn't lie under those eyes. "It's not that… It's just… I haven't done something like this before…" she said uncomfortably. "Maybe you should find someone else."

"No, I want you. Don't worry, I'll tell you what to do and where to stand…"

"Okay…" There was a beat of silence broken by the rustling of papers that Fuji put into his bag. Papers that Izumi knew had a higher mark than hers. He zipped it shut.

"By the way, what were you and Tezuka talking about at practice?"

She froze again. 'Did I look so uncomfortable that he could tell?' "Nothing important…"

His smile was back in place. "Okay then…" However the thought that Tezuka knew something about her that he didn't just bothered him, somehow… "Actually, it might be better if you come over tomorrow…"

Izumi thought about it. Tomorrow was Friday. That left the weekend free for her paranoid mother to schedule some last-minute doctor appointments and whatnot. "That works for me…"

Neither of them noticed the shadows of others listening from outside the classroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fans' whispers…

"This is unacceptable!" One of the fans proclaimed. "I will not permit the advances of Oshiro Chiharu on our beloved Tezuka! She must be punished!"

"But…" one of them said timidly. "I like Oshiro… she's nice…"

"What gives her the right to allow Tezuka to call her by her first name?" Another one agreed with the first.

"Oshiro's kind to everyone… She's really sweet." The crowd murmured in general agreement.

"But it's open news that she has a crush on Tezuka! The whole world knows! It's not fair!"

"I heard they stayed in the same room during that rainstorm…" someone else said.

"EH? Where did you hear that from?"

"St. Rudolph's Mizuki…"

"And how would he know?"

"Well apparently it was at Fuji's house, and Fuji's little brother goes there…"

"Speaking of Fuji, did you notice how he calls Morioka by her first name?"

"Did you notice how both he and Kikumaru followed her out after she was upset over her total exam score? Even after she yelled at him…"

"What makes her so great anyways? She's creepy…"

"Hey, get this…"

"What?"

"Fuji just invited her over for the weekend…"

"What!"

"WAAAH! Kimura just punched my boyfriend! He got sent to the infirmary! That b*tch!"

"Idiot, he was trying to cheat on you. You should thank Kimura for that fist."

"Thank her? If there's one person that creepier than Morioka, it's Kimura… On top of that, at least Morioka doesn't dress like a total slut outside of school."

"At least Kimura doesn't act like a slut. What did Fuji invite Morioka over for, anyways?"

"Beats me…"

"Akane is so moving in on Oishi…"

"If we're talking about who's acting like a slut, why don't you guys look at Marui Kimiko for once?"

"Kimiko flirts with everyone and doesn't even seem to realize she's doing it. That's just how she is."

"No, I think it's definitely intentional. Did you see the way she was twirling around in the skirt today?"

"Who designed those skirts anyways? They're so ugly!"

But secretly, all of them would give anything to be wearing one of those skirts.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Reina?" Inui asked as he met her on the benches in the park.

Reina was sketching as she spoke. "Did you notice it? Tezuka…"

He smirked. "So you noticed it too…"

Her left hand moved quickly across the sheet of paper. Gradually, Tezuka's arms and legs took form. His figure came to life, swinging a racket of sketched lines across the white paper. She transposed his movement onto the whiteness with her pencil. For a moment Inui marveled at her hand dancing upon the white sheet. She traced beautiful circles that became the movement of the ball; she delved down with her pencil into the ridges of his muscles. "I always thought he was a dunce at doubles… But if he played with Chiharu, they might actually do very well…" She paused thoughtfully. "No, relying on Chiharu was essential because it was against us data users, and Chiharu's style is one we cannot predict. That move may work with anyone."

"I don't even think Oshiro noticed…" Inui smiled as he pulled out his notebook. "That he centered the Tezuka Zone on to her body…"

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End Chapter Eleven

The next chapter is going to be a break from tennis. Since Izumi seems to be the most popular OC at the moment, I'll be going into more depth with her and Fuji (and of course, the photo shoot).

It's also about time to start some more work with Kimiko, so I may bring her into the next chapter as well. To me, she's not really Kikumaru's clone. I think she tries too hard to be cute that it may start to get under people's nerves…

In fact, she's already under my nerves sometimes, but I totally love her.

Review. Review.