Disclaimer: Let's be reasonable.
A/N: Man, I'm just coughing out chapters like they're nothing. Warning, shorter chapter. Also, this chapter was friggin difficult to write. (AKA it kinda SUCKS. don't kill me.)
Dedicated to Yumchagirl who wrote this in a review: " The way you manage to capture action so perfectly that I can visualise it like a movie in my head. At first I wasnt sure if it was because my brain is that amazing but then I realised that it was actually your skill and talent and my brain is just as average and boring as it always has been."
I laughed so hard.
Also, partially dedicated to asobi seksu for the title of my chapter. She has a Rikkai OC team fic of her own called "a blooming flower." Read it. :D
(For me, it's just blatant metaphor usage. Sakuno, Sakura, get it? *shot*)
To Recap: Aiko and Kimiko are beasts. That is all.
To Catch A Falling Star, Chapter Twenty-six: A Blooming Flower
~x~
"Sakuno, you should go warm up," her grandmother told her as the game with Aiko and Kimiko came to its end. "Get either Oshiro or Akane to go with you."
"Hai, Obaa-chan!"
Chiharu appeared by her shoulder. "I'll go. I need to warm up a bit myself," she offered.
Sakuno smiled in relief, grateful. Akane was nice and all, but she could be extremely strict and demanding. Chiharu was just nice. "Thank you, senpai!"
They went to some empty courts nearby. Sakuno jumped up and down a few times after removing her jersey – despite the first signs of spring, the air was still chilly.
Chiharu served, and they started a light rally. "So, Sakuno-chan," she asked, hitting a shot to the right corner. "It's your singles debut. Are you excited?"
"A-ah…" Sakuno hit the ball back, a straight shot. "More nervous, I guess…"
"Nervous can be good," Chiharu smiled knowingly. "I get nervous every time."
"E-eh?" She never would've guessed. Even though Chiharu was almost as shy as she was, she played so confidently and so assertively on court. "But senpai never shows it!"
"It's… easier for me once I get into the game," she described, making a diving motion with her hands. "Tennis is just a game, after all. Have fun, and play your best."
"But… it's just… watching the first two matches… Hyotei's so strong…" Sakuno felt an inward shiver as the memories flashed before her eyes. Omae's forehand, Gamaro's Firecracker, Ayumi's ball control and Rie's speed… Everyone on the Hyotei team had a dangerous trait.
"But we're strong too," Chiharu pointed out. "After all, we won the first two matches."
"But… that's because…" Sayaka's gymnastics, Suzume's aggressive play, Aiko's "Torpedo" and Kimiko's "Tidal Force"… 'You guys are strong…' is what she wanted to say. 'I'm not.'
"Sakuno-chan," Chiharu cut in gently. "You're wonderful. You've got potential. Akane sees it, Tezuka-san sees it, everyone sees it."
"Eh? T-tezuka-buchou thinks…"
"Yes he does," Chiharu told her, hitting a backhand. "You didn't know? He noticed it during tryouts and mentioned it to Akane."
"Wow… that…" Sakuno blushed in delight. "That…"
"He… doesn't show it," Chiharu said delicately. "But Akane put you in singles three, and he didn't oppose it. Which means," She smiled again, her eyes forming crescents. "He trusts you to do us proud."
"Ah…" She parried the ball back. "Ne, senpai, you really understand Tezuka-buchou."
It was Chiharu's turn to blush, and she did so brilliantly, flushing a rosy red from the bottom of her neck to her forehead. "Th-that… not really, I just…"
Sakuno giggled.
~x~
"Ryuzaki, you can do it! Beat Hyotei!" Momoshiro cheered upon her return.
"Good luck, Ryuzaki-san! We're counting on you," Oishi said with an encouraging smile. Kikumaru gave her a full-on glomp for extra luck.
"You got this," Akane told her.
Izumi offered her a small smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Hey Sakuno," Sayaka said lowly, pulling her to the side of the crowd, right before she was about to enter the court. "Listen. I know everyone wants you to win and everything, and hell, I want you to take down Hyotei with everything you've got. But if you lose…" She hesitated, unsure of how to phrase it. "It's okay, you know? We still have Akane-buchou and Chiharu-senpai."
"Um… O-okay…" Sakuno didn't know how to respond. 'But I don't want to lose…'
"So," she grinned. "No pressure, aight?"
"A-ah, yeah…" Sakuno paused, looking downward. There was something she'd been both dreading and meaning to ask. "Ano… senpai?"
"Hmm?" Sayaka tilted her head to the side, confused. "What is it?"
"D-do you still want to partner with me in doubles?" Sakuno blurted out. "If you want to partner with Kimura-senpai, that's all right! She's so much better than me and—"
Sayaka burst out laughing. "Replace you? With that sparrow? Heck no."
"Really?" Sakuno asked, feeling supremely relieved.
Sayaka shook her head quickly. "We ended up playing pretty well, but she's no you, Sakuno. You actually know how to cover me." She leaned over to ruffle her hair affectionately. "I could never replace you."
"Senpai…" For a strange reason, she felt her eyes well up a little. "That… thank you."
"All right, all right, stop being mushy," Sayaka gave her a shove. "Go get 'em, Sakuno."
~x~
"One set match! Ryuzaki to serve!"
Sakuno stood at the service line, her hand grasped around the ball. She breathed in, trying to stop her hand from shaking. 'They're all depending on you,' she thought to herself, anxiety clawing at her insides. 'You can't let them down.'
She threw the ball up, jumped and served.
BAM. The return hit the ground behind her and bounced away before she could even move.
Sakuno's brown eyes widened in a sudden feeling of fear "…ah?" 'When did she…' . Her hand began shaking even more violently, so she grabbed the fabric of her skirt to hide it. Her heartbeat set off in a rapid rhythm, thumping against her chest.
"Love-fifteen!"
Horio blinked his eyes furiously in disbelief. "What is this! Hyotei's singles are just as strong as their doubles!"
"Probably even stronger," Oishi predicted. "That timing wasn't something anyone could do."
"A return ace aimed behind the feet, where Ryuzaki would be most vulnerable after jumping to serve," Inui agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Very well placed."
Sayaka clenched her hands, feeling the nails dig into her skin. "C'mon Sakuno," she whispered.
The brown haired girl clutched the ball. 'You can do it. You can do it,' she said to herself unconvincingly. She threw it up again, pounding her racket into it.
BAM. The return skirted along the line, and Sakuno tried. She tried. But the ball had topspin, and as she lunged forward with her racket, it evaded her even though she sprinted as fast as she could. She tugged on the end of her braid, frustrated because a step more and she could've gotten it. That's another point that she just gave the other girl.
She was always a step behind, wasn't she?
"Love-thirty!"
"Sakuno-chan's struggling," Aiko murmured, taking a long drink from her water bottle. Her body had yet to cool down from the last match. Kimiko was on her back, still panting like she just held her breath underwater for an hour.
"Yeah, she really is," Momoshiro concurred as the game continued.
Izumi tilted her head to the side, dark eyes watching as Sakuno managed to return the shot, but misinterpreted her opponent's next move completely. "She's better than this," she said softly. "She can play better than this."
The long-haired girl had played a practice match against Sakuno a week ago, with the score ending at six games to two. Sakuno was persistent and observant, two things Izumi was not.
The freshmen girl wasn't as fast and wasn't as strong, but she reacted with stunning speed and had a knack of knowing where the opponent would be. Why wasn't she showing that now?
"She's under too much pressure…" Inui said. "It's getting to her head."
Akane fixed her turquoise eyes onto the small figure on the court without speaking.
'Come on, Sakuno. I know you can do this.'
~x~
Why was this so hard?
Sakuno was scared. Scared. She didn't want to lose.
' "Tennis is just a game. Have fun, and play your best." '
But she didn't want to just have fun. She wanted to win.
If she won, Seigaku would win the prefectural tournament.
If she lost…
' "It's okay, you know. We still have Akane-buchou and Oshiro-senpai."'
Sakuno cringed. Losing wouldn't count them out of the championship, but it meant she would have to face the disappointed faces of her teammates, her friends.
That was much scarier than losing.
'Focus!' she screamed at herself, 'Focus, Sakuno!' But it didn't do anything. Her backhand was weak, her footwork was horrible, and her serve had no power. Her opponent was picking points off her like a child plucking petals off a flower.
And she knew that she was falling apart.
~x~
"She's not doing so well…" Oishi said worriedly, running a hand along the back of his head. "She's not doing well at all."
Akane stared straight ahead.
"Her opponent is very skilled," Fuji brought up.
She was. She wasn't quite as fast as Rie, or quite as powerful as Omae, but dammit she was close. Sakuno was cowering and panicking, and desperately trying to pull herself together, but it was Hyotei, it was Hyotei, what was Akane-buchou thinking, she couldn't do this. And when that girl approached the net, in hues of gray and white, with eyes like glittering diamonds and the harshness of an iceberg, Sakuno couldn't help but shrink in terror.
She began to feel sick, sick with fear and dread, the same nausea-inducing fright that Akane had given her in her first practice match. That horrible feeling that you get when you know the other person is in a whole other league than you? Yeah.
"It's not just that," Inui said slowly. "The Hyotei girl is aggressive and bold. Look at those winners she's hitting. They could go out. She's…"
"She's fearless," Kaidoh said, eyes boring into the Hyotei girl. "And Ryuzaki is full of fear."
"Beautiful vocabulary there," Suzume said sarcastically, causing Momoshiro to snicker. Kaidoh 'fshhhed', choosing to ignore them both.
"The Hyotei girl is milking her fear for what it's worth, too," Aiko said, noticing the way her opponent sneered and smirked and laughed. "She knows exactly what she's doing."
Tezuka nodded twice. Once in appreciation, once in defeat.
"Sakuno is just having a bad day!" Tomoka said indignantly. She cupped her hands over her mouth. "FIGHT, SAKUNO!"
Suzume shook her head scathingly. "Reina-senpai could've beaten her. Izumi-senpai too, maybe." 'Against a school like this, they shouldn't be on the reserve.' Especially not Reina-senpai, she thought. 'Reina-senpai can beat me.'
Izumi readjusted her bangs, uncomfortable at suddenly being brought into the conversation. Caught between remaining humble and accepting her kohai's praise, she finally said, "It… would be hard."
"Ryuzaki-san is just under a lot of pressure," Kawamura said understandingly. "It's hard on her. Maybe if she was stronger mentally…"
'She's so hard on herself,' Chiharu thought. "She gives herself a lot of pressure too."
"Look how tense she is," Izumi said softly, her eyes on Sakuno's movements – choppy, awkward, rough, just like dancers that were experiencing stage fright. "She knows how to do the movements, she just can't perform."
Kikumaru turned to his friends, his brow pinched thoughtfully. "Ne, Sakuno-chan didn't even want to play singles, right?"
Akane's expression hardened immediately. "Well, we can't always get what we want."
The red-headed boy stared at her blankly. "But, against Hyotei, shouldn't we have-"
Coach Ryuzaki suddenly threw them a death glare from over the bench. "Hey! Stop chit-chatting and focus!"
Or, as Ryoma interpreted it, 'If you talk shit about my granddaughter again, I will come after you with a sword.'
The arrogant first year had been silent so far. Ryoma didn't want to add to the conversation, even though Momoshiro already asked for his input twice. He just didn't feel like talking about Ryuzaki.
He didn't want to analyze her movements or criticize her in his head either. Recently, he had begun to avoid thinking about her, because his mind would do funny things when he thought about her. So instead, he held onto the edge of the banister in front of him, and willed her to play like the Ryuzaki he knew. He chanted her name in his head, because it was something simple for him to hold on to, like a silent cheer, like an unheard prayer.
'Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki.'
Steady as a drum, pulsing like a heartbeat.
~x~
"This is having a contrariwise effect," Reina said quietly so only Akane could hear.
Akane didn't say anything.
"The result is inimica—"
"Stop," Akane's voice was as severe and cutthroat as her expression, even though her eyes had not left the game. "Watanabe, stop."
That stopped her. Akane hadn't used her last name in almost a year. Reina let her eyes move from the game to the former captain for a brief second. And then, daringly, she said, "You know I'm right."
"No."
"You're upset that your plan isn't working."
"I know what I'm doing."
"I'm not sure you do."
They were standing so close to each other; Akane's folded arms could almost brush against Reina's, and they could almost feel the warmth of each other through the fabric. But the chill of the wind sweeping through the narrow space between them reminded them that they were two separate entities, and two very different people.
"She will pull through."
"She's outclassed."
It was true. Sakuno's opponent was strong, swift, and smart. Statistically, her skill level was greater than the auburn haired girl. Akane watched stonily as she put a fierce smash to the edge of the court, the ball barely staying in. Sakuno never even made it close to catching the ball.
Her reply was colored with defensiveness. "I don't expect her to win."
"At least you're practical enough to know that she can't."
Chiharu suddenly glanced towards them concernedly. The hostility between the two friends was stretched around the air, like a rubber band begging to snap. She bit her lip, looking between them, wondering if she should interfere.
This argument was bigger than both of them. This was whether or not the human mind could overpower statistical data. Whether or not Sakuno would crack under pressure and spiral downhill in despair, or rise now and put up a fight. Reina calculated, Akane believed.
The win didn't matter to Akane. Sakuno's development was more important. They could still snare the prefectural championship with a loss.
The win mattered to Reina. She knew that with a win, the flow would go back to Hyotei's side in a flash. And at the rate this game was going, it wasn't helping Sakuno at all.
"Maybe you should've put me in singles three."
Akane felt a twisting knot in her stomach, and her irritation grew. Who was Reina to challenge her authority? "Maybe you should mind your own business and take notes."
Reina knew she was treading in dangerous waters. "Maybe… Sakuno isn't as strong as you think. Can you just accept that you might've misread someone for once?"
Akane's eyes darkened and a muscle tightened in her jaw. This was personal, and she had a sudden urge to hurt Reina, hurt her and break her, just to prove to her, to prove to herself that she had power over her. Those malicious words came almost too easily, "Maybe you should go back to being Inui. I liked you better then."
She heard Reina's sharp intake of breath and immediately regretted her words. Hastily, she broke her gaze from the game and whirled to face her. "Look, I didn't mean—"
But tight-lipped Reina shook her head. "It's fine. I understand."
"Rein—"
"I need some space." And with those words, she swiftly turned and walked away.
Chiharu hesitated for a moment before starting after her, but not before shooting Akane a look. It wasn't a dirty look, (she doubted Chiharu was capable of such a thing), but it was a hurtful one, tinged with betrayal, like Akane had hurt Chiharu instead.
It wasn't a dirty look. But it made her feel so, so filthy.
~x~
Sakuno was down 3-0, and she was starting to give up.
'I can't give up. I can't.' Because that would be even more humiliating than losing, and that would mean she had not progressed at all from when she played Akane.
Had she progressed at all? Sakuno knew she had, yet the feeling of dismay as another ball sped past her racket said otherwise.
Another ball impacted her end of the court. She sprinted after it as fast as she could, even though she knew she wouldn't make it, she would never make it, and the wave of despair all but consumed her.
"I'm trying so hard…" she whispered to herself. 'Why can't I return anything?'
She would lose. She would lose. What was she going to do? What would her grandmother say? What would Akane-buchou say? or… -The knot inside her tightened again in horror as she heard Chiharu's voice echo,
' "Tezuka-buchou sees it… your potential…" '
Tezuka-buchou, she thought in dismay. What would Tezuka-buchou say?
'What would Ryoma-kun say?'
'I can't… lose.' The brown-haired girl was quaking from head to toe. She started becoming frantic, hitting shots that soared out of bounds.
Watching her struggle from the sidelines, Momoshiro gave Ryoma a nudge. "Oi, Echizen, you should say something to her."
"Yadda." It was a reflexive response.
"Come on…" Momoshiro's eyes turned serious. "She… she needs something. I don't know what, but I think maybe you can give it to her."
"Well, what am I supposed to say?" said the short freshman irritably.
"I don't know!" Momoshiro hissed in response. "Something encouraging, I guess."
"Mada ma—" He stopped when his senpai grabbed him in a headlock. "Ow!"
"If you say that, I will personally strangle you."
~x~
"Reina…" Chiharu called softly, catching up to the black-haired girl. "Reina, I…"
The Seigaku senior was on the ground, the tree behind her supporting her huddled form. A hand was pressed over her mouth, trying desperately to suppress the sobs that were tearing through her throat. Tears spilled from her eyes and rolled over her closed fingers.
"Oh Reina," Chiharu said again. She knelt down beside the girl, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Reina, please don't cry."
Reina shook her head back and forth frantically, the hand still clamped over her mouth, though it was doing little to stifle the whimpers that were escaping her. Her shoulders were shuddering with every choked cry.
Her perfect eyeliner was starting to smear at the edges, black tears carving dark paths down her smooth skin.
She looked like a broken doll.
"Reina, please don't…" Chiharu felt tears fill her own eyes, just because she looked like she was in so much pain, and it hurt Chiharu to see her like this. "Please don't cry." 'You idiot,' she thought to herself. 'Get a hold of yourself. Reina needs you to be strong right now, not burst into tears like a baby.' But the salty substance continued to leak out of her amber eyes, and she clutched Reina's shoulder as if she was trying to fix something inside, something internal.
She suddenly had a flashback to a girl sitting on a carpeted floor in a spa room, her hands pressed against a boy's arm, trying to take away some of his pain.
'But how do you take away a pain like this?'
"You know Akane didn't… she didn't mean it…" Chiharu tried. "She would never…"
'Except maybe she would.'
"Akane…" she continued regardless. "She just… it's…" Chiharu looked downwards, her voice becoming whisper soft. "You can't… challenge her."
This was the same girl who brushed back Chiharu's tears countless times as she cried over something insignificant, who held Reina's hand as she confronted numerous fears. Yet this girl could be so ruthless on the courts, and so stern in her leadership of the team.
They both knew it had to do with Sakuno. From day one, Akane had taken the timid freshmen under her wing. She was constantly making the first year go through trials, testing her, fostering her growth. In a few short weeks, Sakuno had become her project, her protégé.
To question Sakuno's skill would be questioning Akane's judgment.
"She didn't mean it," Chiharu repeated, as if convincing herself. "Not like that. She really didn't…"
Gradually, Reina's breathing was evening, only jarred by the occasional hiccup that caught in her throat. "Yeah…" she whispered. "Yeah."
~x~
They returned to the court, just as the Hyotei player nailed a beautiful smash, winning another game.
"Game, Hyotei! Four games to one!"
"She managed to keep one service game, but…" Momoshiro murmured. "Hyotei is still too strong, huh…"
"This might be as far as she can go…" Inui said, staring at Ryuzaki's small, exhausted body as she sat next to her grandmother.
Reina resumed her position at Akane's right shoulder. The former captain turned upon hearing her footsteps, relieved at her return. "Reina," she said, remorse coursing through her when she saw her tear-stained cheeks. "Really I'm so-"
She held up a hand, stopping her firmly, although her voice was trembling. "We can talk later. Right now, we need to support Ryuzaki."
Akane closed her parted lips, stung. "Right." Her blue-green eyes went back to the small girl, who looked like her weight might snap her tired legs in half.
Kaidoh's voice was a low growl. "What are her chances?"
"Don't ask," Suzume said.
"What do you think?" Kawamura asked Fuji.
"It doesn't look good," he replied. His eyes were open, brilliant blue.
Akane shook her head. "I know she's so much better than this."
"If she has a fight left in her, she needs to get it out now."
~x~
She sat on the bench, breathing hard, with her elbows on her knees and her head down. Beads of perspiration dripped down her face, falling on the court. "Obaa-chan…"
"What is it, Sakuno?"
"I'm… not playing very well right now, am I?"
Ryuzaki Sumire looked at her granddaughter. Exhaling, she turned her face towards the Hyotei side. "You're not playing like you," she finally said. "You need to calm down and relax."
She bit her lip. "I just… I just want to…" 'To win. To show everyone that I belong here.'
Her grandmother put her hands on her hips accusingly. "Why are you so nervous?"
"It's different. It's Hyotei, and they—"
"How's it different?"
"They're strong!" Sakuno almost cried. Couldn't they see that this girl was so much faster, stronger, and better than she was? There was no way she could ever compete…
Coach Ryuzaki suddenly had the urge to shake some sense into her granddaughter. Her lack of confidence was just… annoying. Sometimes her modesty just went too far. 'She needs to believe in herself.' She needed to show Sakuno how strong she really was. "We're strong too. And you've played practice matches against every girl in the team, right?"
"Not Kimiko-senpai or Aiko-senpai," Sakuno managed to argue. "I've only played them in doubles…"
"Okay..." Coach Ryuzaki paused thoughtfully. "How many games did you take away from Izumi?"
"T-two…"
"What about Sayaka?"
"Three…"
"Reina?"
Reina was too good. "None…" Sakuno said dejectedly. "But I managed to take a few points away," she added admittedly after a moment.
Coach Ryuzaki smiled at the new note of confidence in her voice. "See? You can play so well against your friends. So why can't you play like that against a stranger?"
"But—"
"Just imagine that it's one of them," her grandmother told her. "Imagine that it's a practice match with one of them. It's not a big deal. Okay?"
~x~
Every player was different, with different preferences and different needs when it came to atmosphere. Sayaka and Kikumaru, being giant showoffs, played their best in the middle of screaming crowds. They ate up the attention; grinning in the spotlight and bowing for their audience. Suzume and Tezuka both had a ridiculous drive to win, with an unshakeable focus. The tenser the environment, the tougher the opponent, the better their game.
Sakuno was different.
She was shy, but she was social. That's why doubles suited her personality so much. Being driven and focused didn't suit her. She needed a relaxed environment, one that she could be at ease. That pulled out her best game. In doubles, Sayaka's good cheer and easygoing personality created that for her.
Coach Ryuzaki folded her arms. This was singles. There was no Sayaka to help her. Sakuno would need to create her own environment.
~x~
'"Just imagine it's one of them…"'
Sakuno lowered her torso into receiving position.
'Just a practice match…' she thought to herself. 'Just an everyday practice match.'
She tried her hardest. The Hyotei girl's serve rocketed past her left, and she winced involuntarily at the speed. Sakuno shivered as she made eye contact with those icy, icy eyes. The girl's lips curled into a sneer, and Sakuno felt that surge of paralyzing fear take over. How could she pretend like this was a practice match with a friend?
So she closed her eyes for a brief moment, teeth clenched. Inhale. Exhale. Relax.
'Imagine it's with one of them…'
Inhale.
'The senpais have better serves than she does…'
Exhale.
'You aren't afraid of them, so why are you afraid of her?'
Inhale.
She slowly opened her eyes, like a curtain being drawn apart.
Exhale.
The serve came again, bullet fast. However, Sakuno's eyes caught its trajectory, seeing through it. She raced towards the T. Her eyes focused and locked in on the shot, and she smashed her racket into it with ferocity.
It skidded to the edge, a return ace.
"Fifteen All!"
Everyone was struck speechless for a moment.
"Wha… ah… w-what?" was Oishi's intelligent response.
Sayaka recovered first. She grinned and punched the air. "Hell YEAH. GO SAKUNO!"
"Time for Sakuno-chan's super power counterattack!" Kikumaru announced enthusiastically. "Seigaku! Fight-O!"
The Hyotei player shrugged it off. So what if Sakuno was able to return her serve once? It's not like she'll be able to do it consistently.
Except the look in Sakuno's eyes said otherwise. Sakuno stared her down. 'I'm not afraid of you,' she told her, no, she told herself forcefully. 'You're just another girl, a girl like me.'
The minute her racket came in contact with the ball, Sakuno moved, lurching to the right. Her eyes glowed with a new willpower. The serve was jetting towards her, fast and furious. She closed her eyes again, for a split second.
Dark skin. Fiery eyes. Beads clacking together. Powerful muscles. A serve that burned its way through the court…
"Aiko-senpai's serve is better!" Sakuno declared as she swung the shot crosscourt, wrong-footing her opponent.
The towel in Aiko's hand slipped to the ground in shock.
Her opponent wasn't done. In the next rally, she hit a straight shot with pinpoint precision, to the baseline.
Glinting glasses. A secretive smile. Cool, calculating eyes. A ball racing to the edge of the court, landing spot-on on the line…
Sakuno drew her arm back. "Reina-senpai's shots are more precise!" She rammed her racket into the shot, hitting deep into the court.
Reina's eyes widened behind her glasses.
The ball came back to her end in the next rally, heavy and with a wicked topspin.
Long, black hair. Elegant sidesteps. Mysterious eyes. A shot that dropped low to the ground and had almost no recoil bounce…
"Izumi-senpai gets better topspin on the ball!" She anchored her feet and twisted her upper body, adding even more spin as the ball streaked back towards the other side.
Izumi blinked, the tiniest of smiles appearing upon her lips.
Sayaka felt her jaw slacken. "Sakuno… she's…"
"…using her experiences with us," Chiharu completed, eyes wide in awe.
All those practice matches were replaying in her head. Her legs moved on their own, and her arm swung the racket back as if it had its own mind. The tension in her body was melting away like butter.
With every flashback, she retained a little of her senpai in her movements. Suzume's tenacity, Sayaka's flexibility, Chiharu's instincts and Reina's precision all started to manifest in her play.
She hit as smash with Aiko's fierceness.
"Su…Sugoi, Sakuno!" Tomoka regained her voice. "GO SAKUNO!"
She countered a volley with Izumi's elegance.
"Nice," Ryoma said quietly. "Nice, Ryuzaki."
Momoshiro smiled gently, before putting his hand on Kachiro's head. "Oi, you guys. She needs your support too. How come you aren't cheering?"
"A-ah!" The freshmen trio straightened to attention and yelled, "RYUZAKI, FIGHT-O!"
Oishi smiled proudly. "Ryuzaki has come a long way," he said, turning towards Akane. "And some of us were too blind to even notice."
No one was more aware of the skill level gap than Sakuno herself. She chased after the rest of the regulars, tirelessly, getting a little closer every time.
Progress was a journey, a journey that was agonizingly slow and invariably disappointing. But it was never an illusion.
~x~
Sakuno's counterattack continued. The games she had with her senpais were replaying in her head, over and over. Whenever she saw a familiar movement in her opponent's moves, her mind associated it with someone she knew.
"Kimiko-senpai's drop shots are better!"
"Suzume-senpai's shots have more power!"
The two girls smiled at the mention of there names. "Damn right I do," was Suzume's response, whereas Kimiko was content with cheering Sakuno's name at increasingly higher frequencies.
Every game she played against the other girls had brought her to this point. With those games, she got to see their movements over and over; she learned how to react to their specialty shots.
"Akane-buchou…" Sakuno took a breath before hitting the shot with a force that none of them thought her small frame could contain. "Akane-buchou is more intimidating than you!"
The regulars burst into laughter. Kimiko clutched her stomach, doubled over in giggles. Even Kaidoh laughed, the sound low and rumbling.
Fuji chuckled. "Well, that's the most accurate statement of them all…"
"You know, I take that as an insult, Sakuno!" Akane called from where she was standing, although her eyes were dancing with mirth.
"She's kinda right, though," Sayaka said with sheepish grin. "You're scary."
"Shut up, or I'll give you a scary amount of laps," Akane said.
Pause. "Did that sound funnier in your head?"
"It did. Now shut up. I'm not kidding about the laps."
~x~
Suddenly, her opponent unleashed a smash. Sakuno saw the movement in her arms and knew exactly where it was going to land. She sprinted to her spot and prepared to counter it with what was unmistakably a rising shot.
"Rising shot?" Kimiko exclaimed, jumping up and down in her excitement. "She learned that after watching me?"
"After watching you and practicing on her own," Aiko murmured. Sakuno was no genius. There was no way she could copy a move after seeing it once. She practiced. Oh, Aiko had seen Sakuno swing her racket at the gym, at night, when she thought most people had left. Practicing smashes, volleys, and yes, even a rising counter.
The ball hit the ground, and she arched her arm back. 'What!' Quick as a flash, the ball bounced upwards, spinning wildly straight towards her face.
"Sakuno!" Sayaka sprung to her feet. Akane's gaze snapped in concern. Aiko clenched her hand into an anxious fist.
"Sakuno!" Coach Ryuzaki gripped the side of her bench, ready to lunge onto the court if her granddaughter was hurt.
'…Ryuzaki!' Ryoma unconsciously moved a step closer, his eyes alert.
Sakuno jerked her head a few centimeters to the left, the ball grazing her cheek. She gasped at the stinging sensation it left on her skin. A few strands of her hair dropped to the ground.
The ball landed behind her, bouncing up and down innocently.
"Thirty – Fifteen!"
"That was dangerous," Oishi said, breathing out. "If she takes one like that head on…"
"It could really hurt her," Kawamura agreed.
"The ball had a vicious twist," Kaidoh muttered. Clearly Hyotei was not holding back.
"Should we call a timeout to see if she's okay?" Chiharu asked worriedly.
Tezuka kept his stern gaze. "I'm sure Ryuzaki-sensei will make the proper decision."
Their coach relaxed evidently after Sakuno managed to dodge the last shot. She thought about pulling her out to put some gauze over the scratch, but decided wisely against it. An unnecessary break would dampen Sakuno's spirit, and she needed it to continue.
Suzume leveled a nasty look at the Hyotei player. "Of course she had to have an ace up her sleeve. Couldn't give us a break, could she?" Hyotei was just pulling out hidden talents, one by one, and it irritated her. It irritated her that she couldn't be the one on the courts, because she wanted to hit that twist straight back into that girl's face. 'Ryuzaki better not run…'
"They're trying to break her, too," Inui murmured, writing it down.
"Eh?" The freshmen trio looked over their shoulders for an explanation. He'd used that word again, 'break'. "What does that mean, Inui-senpai?"
"She kept that move hidden until now," he explained. "So it was a big shock when she pulled it out. Just like when the doubles players kept their skills hidden to put pressure on Marui-san."
"Yeah, they were meanie-mos," Kimiko whined.
Inui flipped back a few pages. "On top of that, it's something aimed towards the face, inducing fear. Kimura-san likes to do that too."
Suzume shrugged indifferently. "What?" she said to the glares sent her way. "It works."
Inui went back to the page he was writing on, the set of his mouth grim. 'Sakuno isn't as strong as Marui-san. She could really break.'
"Now the true test begins," Reina murmured cryptically.
~x~
'She aimed for me!' Sakuno felt her heart hammer against her ribcage. She lifted a hand to touch the spot the ball had scraped her, biting her lip as a burning pain shot through her cheek. Her hands began to shake again.
'Come on. You can do this. Come on,' she willed herself, and stepped back into receiving mode.
In the middle of the roaring crowds, she heard them chanting her name.
"Fight, fight, Seigaku! Win, win, Seigaku!"
For a moment, she listened, letting their cheers become her motivation, fuel her energy, like steady oil pumps into a failing engine.
"Fight, fight, Sakuno! Win, win, Sakuno!"
She could hear Sayaka's loud, rowdy, shout, and Kimiko's high-pitched squeal. She could detect Kikumaru's cheerful voice and the adorable chants from the freshmen trio. Tomoka was loyally raising her voice above everyone else, clearly trying to outdo the deafening roars of Hyotei's cheering squad. And if she listened really closely…
Was that… Ryoma-kun's voice?
He wasn't cheering very loudly, but he was cheering nonetheless. Except, she wondered with a smile, could it really be called 'cheering' if he used a bored tone?
Either way, she felt warmth spread through her, like someone had shot a rainbow through her veins. She lowered her body and bent her knees, just like Ryoma taught her.
'I'm ready.'
A fierce rally began again, and this time, the Hyotei player wasted no time in using that smash again.
"Watch out!" Tomoka yelled as the ball came crashing down. "Sakuno, get out of the way!"
Sakuno wasn't moving.
"What is she doing?" Sayaka said. "She'll get hit!"
"Sakuno, don't be reckless!" Coach Ryuzaki cried to her granddaughter.
The brown haired girl planted her feet firmly into the ground. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, gathering her resolve. 'All right,' she thought. Her eyes shot open. She saw her smashing form clearly. Suddenly, the smash wasn't that unfamiliar to her. 'Ryoma-kun…'
Messy hair. Golden cat eyes. A small, perfect serving form…
"Ryoma-kun…"
His eyes widened at the sound of his name.
She sidestepped to the left. "Ryoma-kun's twist is better!" Her arm swung forward and she whipped the ball a sharp return, scoring a point in the empty court.
"Forty-fifteen!"
The first year rookie just stared at her, stunned, for a moment, unable to decipher the weird feelings that were going through his head. But he was proud, he knew that much, at least.
So he smiled.
"Oh, look at that…" Momoshiro latched onto him, giving him a noogie. "Looks like all your coaching paid off!"
"That hurts… Momo-senpai…"
Akane saw the sureness in Sakuno's stance, like a mountain. She saw the passion in her eyes that burned like an inferno. "Oh dear," she said, smiling. "We seem to have awoken a sleeping tiger."
"Beaver," Ryoma corrected automatically, while ducking out of Momoshiro's grasp.
Akane gave him a weird look. "What?"
"…nothing."
Coach Ryuzaki's grin could not be wider. "Oh? I guess the sleeping bud has finally burst into bloom…"
~x~
None of them thought that their little freshman could have improved so much. She was always in the background. Being Sayaka's partner, her main objective was to cover the crazily acrobatic Sayaka and fill in holes. The opponents often forgot about her, and that was their secret weapon.
Sakuno shone in this match. She had broken apart from depending on a partner and learned to cover a court single-handedly.
Her style was no different from what she brought out on the doubles court. She was a defensive player. But by countering her opponent's finishing moves, she managed to catch them off guard.
Hyotei was baffled at this sudden switch of events. This was the little freshmen girl, well known for being the weakest member on the Seigaku team. Their player should've crushed her with a disgustingly effortless ease. The fact that she was putting up a fight and so… happily… it didn't make any sense.
Perhaps they would never understand. Hyotei was a hierarchy of skill, with lineups determined by harsh, tournament-style ranking matches. It was every man (or in this case, woman) for himself. If you helped someone improve, you could get a knife in the back when they took your singles slot in the next ranking match.
Seigaku was a brotherhood, a family. Lineups were decided based on play styles and personal factors rather than skill, (and sometimes completely on a whim). They all knew that in order to succeed, they had to unite together, help each individual be the strongest they could be. And just like taking care of the baby of the family, everyone devoted a little extra care and a little extra time to the little freshman girl.
And in this match, the little freshman girl proved that all that extra time put in to help her improve was worth it.
So, even though she lost the match 6-4, the regulars cheered as if she'd won.
~x~
"That was such a good match, Sakuno-chan!" Kikumaru said, hugging her tightly.
"R-really?"
"It was!" Kimiko added. "When you started saying our names aloud, I almost started tearing up! It was so moving!"
"Psh," Aiko tapped her racket against Kimiko's forehead. "You were about to bawl like a baby."
"Was not," she protested, slapping her senpai's racket away.
Sakuno laughed as she listened to everyone's compliments and blushed from embarassment. Even Kaidoh had sullenly sauntered up and said, "Your smash got stronger," quickly before sulking away. "It was really all thanks to you!" she said honestly to all of them.
Akane approached her, and Sakuno clasped her hands behind her back, ready to take whatever critique she had.
"I'm proud, Sakuno," Akane finally said, and she flushed with pleasure. The taller girl rested a hand on her shoulder. "Really, really proud. You did us good."
"I… I wanted to win… but…."
"But I think you did win, in a way," Akane said, her eyes looking right into Sakuno's. "Right?"
Sakuno knew what she meant and beamed.
After praising her granddaughter loudly, Coach Ryuzaki told her to take a jog to cool off. "The way you turned the match around in the middle?" she said with a grin. "That kind of exertion could harm your muscles in the long run if you don't cool off and stretch. Just come back before the next match, okay?"
"Okay!" Sakuno set off at a light pace. After a while, thirsty, she decided to go find a vending machine. She was in the process of putting money in the machine when someone tossed a can of Ponta at her, hitting her in the middle of her back. "Ow!"
And her coin went into the machine anyways. Figures.
"Ne. Not bad, Ryuzaki," Ryoma said, drinking from his own can of Ponta.
"Hah?" It took her a moment to realize that he was talking about the game. "Ah! Thank you, Ryoma-kun! I lost, but…" She looked up, her eyes shining. "I feel like I did well!"
"You countered her smash pretty quickly," he said in a reluctantly impressed tone.
Ryuzaki's fingers unconsciously went to her wound. Oishi had already put a bandage over it. "I-it's because of practicing with Ryoma-kun's twist serve! Thanks to you, I was able to counter it." She smiled at him shyly, but her smile was so earnest that it caused a slight heat to fill his cheeks.
He quickly took a sip of Ponta to hide it, looking to the side. "Still… Mada mada da ne."
She pouted. "Mou… Ryoma-kun just wants an excuse to say that."
"Your hair is still too long," he added, just because he knew it would rile her up more.
"Ryoma-kun just wants an excuse to say that too!"
He kicked her lightly, a small grin on his face. Then abruptly, he turned away. "I'm heading back," he said, without turning to look at her, and began walking.
She stared, confused at the sudden change in attitude. "Ah…"
Then she made a face at him. 'Same old Ryoma-kun, all right…' Still… she sighed, her smile reappearing. Nothing could make her unhappy right now. She picked up the Ponta followed him happily, practically skipping all the way back to the courts.
~x~
"Reina? Warm up with me?" Akane asked cautiously. Then she kicked herself mentally. 'C'mon, where's that bluntness you're so famous for?' "Why am I trying to come up with an excuse to talk to you?
"Let me rephrase," she started over. "Reina, can we talk?"
She smiled a little, and that caused Akane's chest to feel lighter. At least she could still make her smile. "You were right," Reina said, her smile suddenly carrying a touch of sadness. "She put up a fight. She almost won, too. You were right."
"Oh, that…" Akane stopped. "Yeah…"
Reina looked down, finding a patch of grass to stare at. "You were right. I was wrong."
Akane saw the tremble in her lip that she was trying to cover with a smile, like cheap gold paint smeared over iron.
"Reina…"
"I must've miscalculated again. I must've…" Her smile was flaking away just like paint.
"Stop," Akane said, because that's all she could think of.
She stopped.
"Look," Akane plowed on. "I'm really, really sorry. What I said before… It was just downright mean and horrible. And you know I didn't mean it… I mean, I'm the one who's been telling you to find yourself, right?
"And it's also because…" she continued, her eyes softening. "Sakuno has had to fight so hard to get acknowledged, and the least we can do is believe in her."
Reina was fiddling with her hair so she wouldn't have to make eye contact. "I know," she finally said, dropping the smile completely, "I know you didn't mean it. But sometimes I think… when I'm like this, well, he likes me better… so I thought maybe everyone likes me better too." Her voice cracked slightly. "My sister never had trouble getting people to like her, and…
"And when you said that, I just thought that it might be true."
"For someone who's really smart, you are really, really dumb," Akane said exasperatedly. "We've been friends for what? Four years? Reina, we like you for you. We liked you when you were Miyuki-senpai, and we liked you when you were Inui, okay?"
Akane nudged her a little, just to get her to look up.
"We like you no matter what. We'd like you even if you," She threw her hands around, looking for inspiration. "Had a moustache. Actually, that would be hard. Please don't grow one."
Reina let out a rare laugh, a laugh that was light and fragile and threatening to break, but a laugh nonetheless.
~x~
Akane and Fuuma battled it out in singles two.
At first, it seemed like Fuuma had the upper edge. She was winning easy points, discovering Akane's weak areas, and making the game fly by. However, halfway through the second game, Akane started employing her mental tactics, pointing out that some of the so-called 'weak points' Fuuma discovered were fake. Fuuma, being data-oriented, got trapped in a vicious cycle, having theory after theory disproved. As the games went on, she finally stuck to one strategy stubbornly, refusing to let Akane control her. She managed to break through once more, and the game went into a tiebreak. Then, Fuuma revealed her ultimate technique.
Fuuma knew how to close her heart.
She knew how to make her expression a complete and utter blank slate. Akane had yet to encounter someone who could do that; someone who could become completely unreadable in a second. So it came to no surprise that she lost her match, 7-6.
"Nice try, Akane-san," Oishi tossed her a towel.
"That's insane…" Akane was muttering, clearly upset with her loss. "You can't just do that…" She removed her perspiration-soaked headband and swiped the towel over her forehead. "That girl has issues."
"Huh?" Oishi asked.
"You can't detach your emotions from your face so easily," Akane said darkly. "That's not normal." She glanced over at the blonde girl, who was smiling for her team – a smile that was very much fixed and constructed. Vaguely, she wondered what her family was like.
Only Hyotei, she thought. Only Hyotei, with its elitist society and outrageous expectations, would have someone who knew how to become dead on the outside in an instant.
~x~
"It came down to singles one after all…" Coach Ryuzaki said. She looked to her number one seed. "How are you doing?"
"I'm ready," Chiharu spoke with conviction, her posture straight and her voice firm. "I'll take home the prefectural championship for Seigaku, sensei!"
"Shigohara is going to be a strong opponent," Tezuka warned her. "You'll need to play your best in this game."
"Hai, Tezuka-san!"
Her voice was eager and sunny. Tezuka frowned slightly. If Chiharu wanted to win, she would have to bring out the girl that he had caught a glimpse of in the mountains – the girl that managed to take control in a split second and turn a dire situation around. The girl that had a deathly intense focus and a coldblooded determination. The girl that stood with the firmness of an oak tree and had eyes like twin bolts of lightning.
He hoped that she didn't need for someone's life to be on the line to bring out that girl.
Chiharu stepped onto the court.
The whole team breathed in a collective breath.
It was time to end this.
~x~
A/N: Thank god that's over.
Next chapter: Chiharu goes full out from the start, but Shigohara is obviously stronger in every aspect. What happens when being a miracle isn't enough? Will they lose the prefectural championship to Hyotei? Titled 'Miracle, Broken!'
Maybe you'll even see some more military!Chiharu.
I listened to "Dream Believer" a lot, from the PoT OST. So when Sakuno's going all beast mode, that's the background music. I also had Owl City on repeat, since that's my thinking music. (Hence, the "rainbow veins" reference. xD)
For Aiko/Kimiko pair, I'm stuck between two names. One is Cocoa (KoKo) pair, because Cocoa is dark and sweet and their names both have 'ko'. The other is Waterbugs. Because both their moves are associated with water, ("Tidal Force" and "Torpedo"), and Aiko goes swimming and apparently Kimiko likes to throw herself randomly in rivers.
After the next chapter, it'll be Valentine's, then possibly another Prince of RANDOM SPORT, then White Day.
Don't know when the next chapter will be out. I'm suffering 'sick of tennis' syndrome.
Destiny921 wrote a FujiIzumi fic, and it stuns me that people would write fanfics of this fanfic. That is just… awesome.
My birthday is in a month… so if you guys want to write me fics, or draw me stuff… *hinthint*
Oh, the sketches of the other four OC pics are up. The artist has gone MIA though, so I'll find someone else to ink and color them in. They're in a photobucket album, the link is on my profile.
Rikkai will reappear. No worries.
Finally. I hate the new review box on FFN. But drop me a review anyways.
