Fuku-buchou vs Buchou
"Game! Rikkaidai Fuzoku! 2-0!"
"Aah! We're doomed!" cried Horio.
"Urusai! Buchou will win this!" cried Tomoka.
In the courts, Shiki's eye could be seen twitching ever so slightly as they changed courts.
Saori saw that and chuckled. "You're good Kobayashi Shiki."
Shiki turned to her and said, "You've gotten better than the last time I played you."
Saori raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course I have. We were children then."
By the time she said that, the two were already in the courts.
"Are you going to serve?" said Shiki smiling, but there was a cold knife edge in her voice.
Saori frowned before serving the ball, but Shiki was already there and hit it back lobbing it accidentally. Saori smashed it with such ferocity that she attained a point past Shiki before the fuku-buchou knew what happened.
"15-0!"
Shiki looked at where the ball landed, and saw a dark dent in her court. The corner of her lips lifted slightly, but came down again before anyone saw.
~x~
"Game! Seishun Gakuen! 2-2!"
"Yatta!" Tomoka cheered loudly. "There's no way that Rikkaidai girl can beat buchou!"
"T-Tomoka-chan. They're staring at you."stuttered Sakuno.
"Hai! The Rikkaidai girls are staring at you!" exclaimed Kachiro.
"N-Nani?" said Tomoka as glanced at Rikkaidai's side, and as they said, the girls were glaring at her. She flinched and snapped her head back to the game.
"15-0!"
"30-0!"
"40-0!"
"Game! Seishun Gakuen! 3-2! Change courts!"
~x~
Shiki smirked as she leapt into the air as well as the ball went high up before receiving it with her racquet and returned the smash with her own which had an outline of a tiger as it went towards Saori, and spun furiously into the ground. Saori waited for it to jump up, but it kept spinning until it slowly stopped and stayed where it landed.
"W-What was that?!"
On Rikkaidai's side, Yanagi Renji's hand was flying across his notebook as he wrote data on the return.
"That was Kobayashi Shiki's Ferocious Tiger!" exclaimed Yanagi. "Since she first used it, no one has been able to return it. She pushes her body strength with the ball, and but she adds a spin in it so that it will be powerful, but it will be controlled to stay in the courts without bouncing."
"Game! Rikkaidai Fuzoku! 4-4!"
Both girls were panting heavily by now, sweat adorning their brow, and everyone could see that both of them were getting tired.
"This isn't good." muttered Niou. "If Shiki doesn't end this match soon, she's going to burn out."
Shiki panted as she got in position to receive the ball. Saori was serving and even she was starting to look exhausted as she breathed heavily. 'This isn't good. I have to end this game.'
As she waited for the ball, Shiki felt a stinging sensation in her eyes. She then remembered something that Niou had taught her when she first became fuku-buchou. 'Ne, do you know Shiki? Every person has a habit… even in tennis. I find it in my opponents and use it against them. If you can find it, you can win the match. Don't rely only in your eyes. Rely in all your other senses too.'
After he had told her that, she started training in her hearing. She blind-folded herself and had the ball machine send her ball after ball so she could improve her hearing.
'Let's try it.' As Saori served the ball, Shiki's eye muscles gave out on her and everything around her became black. Once her eye lids met, the relief that washed over her was immense. Her ears perked at the sound of the ball bouncing on her court. Her feet suddenly ran towards the ball as she relied on her sense of hearing. Her arm swung and she felt the power of the ball on the racquet head. She returned it swiftly.
"15-0!"
"She returned it with her eyes closed!" gasped Gin. Namezu whistled, impressed. "Cool."
~x~
"30-0! Rikkaidai leads!"
Right now, the match had turned into a rally. 'This has to end,' she thought. 'I can't lose here. I can't afford to lose!'
"It's match game." said Yagyuu. "She has to end this."
The cheers of Rikkaidai were louder than before as Shiki hit the ball back and the rally continued.
"15-0!"
"30-0!"
"40-0!"
Shiki fell to her knees as she returned the ball. It hit the net, and she showed how desperate she was when she yelled, "Go over!"
As if time had stopped stopped, everyone held their breath as the ball slowly went over the net, as if it had heard her and dropped into Seigaku's side.
There was a silence as everyone stared at the ball.
"Game and match! Rikkaidai Fuzoku's Kobayashi! 6-4!"
The cheers that followed were so deafening that anyone would think that an explosion had just sounded.
"We won!" Kimiko cheered, leaping onto Fuwara. "We won! We won!"
Fuwara smiled softly as she held onto Kimiko as she started yelling. "Yes we won."
Shiki and Saori breathed heavily on their positions on the ground before forcing themselves to get up. They both limped to the net before grasping each other's hands in a brief handshake.
"Good game." said Saori as Shiki nodded.
"This time… I win." replied Shiki.
"…yeah. It's been a long time." said Saori as she stared at Shiki. "Anyway, congratulations. For winning."
Shiki stared at Saori for a few seconds before nodding. "..Thank you."
As the two of them walked back to their teams. Saori turned her head to glance at Shiki before turning back. Right after that, Shiki turned her head to glance at Saori before turning back to her team only to become the victim of a group hug.
~x~
Rikkaidai received their medals proudly while Seigaku received the runner-up. As they were leaving, Shiki bumped into Saori. The two stared at each other while the others didn't notice and kept going.
Saori hesitated before saying, "I know it's tomorrow, but….Happy Birthday." She started leaving, but she stopped when Shiki grabbed her arm.
"Likewise it's tomorrow, but… Happy Birthday."
The two stared at each other before Niou ran up to them. He looked at Saori for a short time, nodded, and then grabbed Shiki's hand and started walking away. Shiki turned her head but then turned back around, and started going to her team.
Saori looked at them walking away for a minute before walking towards her team.
The two of them thought the same thing as they walked away. 'Of course, she would remember my birthday. After all… it's on the same day as hers.'
AN: Please review!