Me: Hello again my dear fans! Thank you for your ongoing support! I don't own Prince of Tennis! Don't forget to review please! I only update when my latest chapter has received at least two reviews! Also, I've been working on a new Bleach story called the "Providence of Redemption". I haven't uploaded it yet but I'm getting there.
Kyouei_shurei: Whoops, thanks for pointing that out to me! XD
Chapter 45 – Dancing around an Illusion
Yusuf wordlessly started his attack as Shizuru blocked using the device and sprung away with her naginata. Shizuru focused on her opponent's rapid movement as his staff thrust past her, dodging any attempts as to anything it comes in contact with gets completely pulverized. A slight frown marred her features as the Hyotei captain feinted to her opponent's right to shoot up her naginata only to have his kick meet her face but defended back with her device. Sweat poured down both fighters' faces but Shizuru winced visibly as the staff came in contact with her left knee to which she managed to evade barely but hurtled straight into the cement wall.
"Shi-chan," Ai dashed towards her as the smoke cleared, revealing a virtually unharmed Shizuru. "Are you okay?"
Shizuru shook away the daze before gathering up her weapons, ignoring the agonizing pain in her leg. "Nothing a good sleep will fix after this match is over."
"Ya might wanna check yer readin's," Natsuki pointed down as Shizuru found blood trickling down from her leg.
Fuuka slapped her forehead, staring incredulously at the Hyotei female. "Geez, what the hell happened?"
Shizuru carelessly shrugged before hauling herself up to the stadium again. "Oh, it must have come from the last attack."
"You can't dodge again with that leg," Fuuka sternly pointed out to the younger captain. "That stick's gonna pulverize you in the next turn if you keep up your same strategy."
Florence nodded vigorously, gesturing to the silvery blue device peeking out of Shizuru's Hyotei blazer pocket. "Shizuru, release your CHroME already! It can finish this fight easy!"
"Don't worry," Shizuru smiled kindly at her teammates before resuming her match. "That will be the last attack originating from him."
Yusuf wordlessly prepared for another assault as Shizuru pocketed her device and unsheathed her naginata, causing it to extend into a double-edged halberd.
"Tell me," she revealed her trademark bewitching smile; her silver naginata gleaming under the spotlight. "How do you attack something with a whirling defence?"
Pondering over, Ai grinned before waving her hand in the air. "Will it!"
Fuuka rolled her eyes before folding her arms with a grunt. "Just destroy the damn thing."
Natsuki shrugged nonchalantly, raising her eyebrow. "Uh... purdy sure you jus' flip the dag nab switch?"
Florence facepalmed at all their answers, sighing into her hand. "Well, at least Natsuki assumed something probable unlike the other two idiots."
Shizuru chuckled lightly at their responses before watching carefully with her blade. "I will demonstrate, using my naginata and not relying heavily on my CHroME."
Yusuf let out an enraged battle cry as he lunged at Shizuru with his whirling staff. Shizuru sidestepped before flinging her naginata towards his head for decapitation. In response, the male spun around for a kick while Shizuru ducked for a scissor-lock. Yusuf struggled against her lock as she twisted his ankles but not before he dug his staff into the ground and pulverized the stones in between them. Dust flew into her eyes as her naginata clashed against the whirling staff.
"You're part of the SPETSNAZ [Russian Special Forces]," Shizuru narrowed her eyes at Yusuf's stance, her smile becoming more faint and ghostly. "That's the Russian Combat Sambo you're using. It's mainly for grappling but why use a staff I wonder."
Roaring furiously, Yusuf continued his wordless assault before meeting Shizuru's foot in his face as she coiled her naginata around him. His eyes widened when he found her blade in a complete extension and Shizuru's crimson orbs glittered compassionately before she averted her eyes from him.
"Purify thy soul," Shizuru murmured before releasing a variety of quick-draw slashes, tearing through his clothes.
Yusuf retreated before applying pressure onto his wound, hissing venomously at Shizuru. The brunette barely flinched as he continued his attack with a flurry of punches and kicks. Dodges became useless as the pain shot up Shizuru's leg from the wound inflicted by the Russian-Japanese's staff. He connected a left hook to her jaw to which she retaliated with a bicycle kick and sent them both stumbling towards the edge. Anger and annoyance flickered in the male's eyes whereas Shizuru positioned herself for another volley.
"Damn, this man's got perseverance," Fuuka whistled before leaning against the stadium wall, sniggering at the male. "Kurenai's got him."
Ai jumped up and down with a huge grin. "Finish him off, Shi-chan!"
"After all, who can defeat someone who was the epitome of grace," Florence chuckled, bemused at the man's situation. "He has nothing on her."
Shizuru kicked off her planted naginata before spinning in the air and slamming her leg into his shoulder, shattering it. Yusuf howled incessantly before grabbing her neck in order to suffocate her, tightening it considerably. The brunette gasped for air until finally drawing out her CHroME, barely keeping her consciousness. Darkness slowly overwhelmed her vision before she clamped her hand on the Russian's wrist and her own mechanism.
Condemned into an eternal dance,
Gate of the Fish, unlock – Eternal Pisces!
A large powerful influx of energy surrounding her body screamed into the air as her naginata pierced her Constellation. Her CHroME replaced her Hyotei uniform with a blue nymph-like robe with her naginata now emitting a bright blue glow from the runes engraved on the blades. Unleashing a bicycle kick for release, Shizuru lashed out a series of slashes as Yusuf crumpled at her feet. Blood pooled under the male bodyguard as she proceeded to bring him to the other side.
"He fought a magnificent fight," she smiled kindly at the other members, ignoring some of their astonished and dirty looks. "Please tend to his wounds immediately."
Satisfied with her victory, Shizuru quietly sauntered down the stairs as Ai tackled her for a hug with Natsuki ruffling her hair and Florence smiling proudly at her. Fuuka scoffed as she brushed past Shizuru's shoulder chuckling humourlessly at the win.
"You're lucky he's not the elite of the team," Fuuka sniggered with a challenging glint, patting her shoulder. "You barely released 5 percent of your abilities back there."
"I had no intention of killing him," Shizuru stated with an as-a-matter-of-fact voice, smiling gently. "But, if you're willing to make a bloodbath – who said I'm holding you back?"
Clucking her tongue in disgust, Fuuka averted her gaze as Natsuki stepped up to the stadium to face her opponent. Faces amongst the audience stared in awe as Shizuru calmly took down someone who supposedly had been recruited by the SPETSNAZ while Natsuki's expression clearly spelled out "Is all this crap really necessary?" The vermillion crowned captain shivered at the nightmare Natsuki unintentionally caused people but her whole body cried out for submission when the image of Yukimura dominating the world flashed into her mind.
If there's anyone who's more fearsome than her, it's that Yukimura. Her brother's a sociopath but she's freakier.
"Ninpo – Amakusa Natsuki versus Inugami," Maya gleefully introduced to the spectators as both fighters narrowed their eyes beadily. "Are you guys ready?"
Gnashing her teeth together, Natsuki cracked her knuckles as he tightened her grip on her pistol's holster whereas Inugami dangled his long tongue at her maliciously. An angry gleam shined through the kansai captain's violet orbs before she positioned herself for a quick finish. Inugami let himself down on all fours as he bared his claws and fangs.
"Heh ah never knew ah was gonna get this good a rodeo," Natsuki reloaded her pistol before aiming it at him. "This is gonna be su-hweet."
As the signal rang, Inugami leapt hungrily towards her before trying to claw at her flesh. Natsuki swiftly sidestepped but narrowly managed to embed a bullet into his leg to which he back-flipped for a kick in her face. Staggering back and wincing from the last attack, Natsuki swept him off from the ground before firing a few more shots into his hands which miraculously healed instantly. A hesitation in her actions allowed Inugami to tear off a part of her latex suit which dug deep into her abdomen, nearly making her scream in agony. Blood splattered against the male's face as he started licking the red liquid up thirstily, causing the slate haired female to wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Blood type A positive," he cackled before licking the blood off his claws, gasping greedily for more. "Such a delicious composition – perfect nutrition and perfect diet..."
Natsuki cringed horribly and started opening fire, disgusted by his analysis. "Sorry, ah ain't no blood bank fer hire!"
Gunshots echoed throughout the stadium as Inugami somersaulted and weaved his way through the deadly crossfire with bullets zipping by. The female Shitenhouji captain, wrinkling her nose, twisted her body before firing another array of bullets before revealing almost serpentine beady violet eyes. Shuddering violently with sweat pouring down his face, Inugami howled as he raised his claw at her.
"A serpent has always been overwhelmed by the wolves," he declared before bringing down his attack upon her.
Natsuki uncoiled out of the way and with a slug with the butt-end of her gun, sent her opponent reeling back before tossing her CHroME into the air.
Dedicated to the ambitions of man,
Gate of the Goat – Capricorn Deception!
Shimmering with an olive green glow, the octagonal device transmogrified as Natsuki shot a bullet through it – revealing a thick horned sea goat standing before her. The eyes emitted an eerie aura with its neon green orbs staring intently at its opponent and controlling him with the mastery of an Arabian snake charmer. Silence enveloped the entire stadium as Inugami stared horrified at the grotesque creature as it revealed a yellowish toothy grin.
"Fatality," Natsuki murmured while imitating a gun with her fingers, chuckling bemusedly. "Yer goin' down with a bang."
With a demonic bleat, the sea goat sprinted towards Inugami before impaling him on its horns and ramming him against the wall. Inugami unlocked every depth of his strength and willpower only to be kicked and stampeded upon by the goat's blood-stained hooves, desperately trying to shove back the maniacal goat with very little success. Natsuki scoffed at his pitiful state before aiming the gun carefully at the male's head.
"Ja," –with this, Natsuki ended his misery.
Fuuka shook her head, amused before giving the charcoal gray-haired teen a high five. "Not bad for someone who hasn't been using a gun for the last six years."
"Shizuru-chan's sure is the best at mercy killin'," the kansai female admitted mildly, locking her gun back into the holster. "Ah prefer torturin' them and then pump a double tap ta the head."
The crimson haired captain flicked her scraggy hair back, hearing some audible cracking sounds from her neck. "Tch, Kurenai knows squat pertaining to killing ruthlessly. After all..."
Kurenai Shizuru was only entitled the "Corpse Princess" due to her aesthetics during combat. In the end, her real title is "Shizuru the Merciful"; Yukimura Ai's reputation is far more contradictory than hers.
Fuuka growled gruffly before rolling up her sleeves and unveiling her CHroME, glaring icily into the other competitors. Soon, disgusted comments were thrown towards Team Ninja Five and even tomatoes and rotten eggs were pelted towards them. The Seishun Gakuen Captain bristled at their pathetic state of immaturity as she stepped up to the plate, only to be tugged at the collar by a honey haired British Japanese middle school student.
"Tsk, tsk," Florence gently yanked Fuuka back while chuckling bemusedly and wagging her finger disapprovingly. "There are other civilized ways than brute strength and violence to deal with people."
With a disgruntled snort, Fuuka snapped around on her heels before glaring daggers at the next fighter. "Don't let me see you lose, damn it."
"How can you think so lowly of me," Florence heartily giggled at the assumption. "You really have horrible standards, Fuu-chan."
"Don't call me that," Fuuka seethed venomously, balling her hands into fists as her knuckles visibly changed into white. "That's relatively harmful to my reputation."
With a nonchalant shrug, Florence elegantly presented herself as she drew out her claw-like weapon as Hiiragi flashed out a huge Basho fan. Quizzical and slightly amused, the British female lowered her centre of gravity with her bluish white claws gleaming under the spotlight as she taunted with a smirk. The blonde male demurely dusted his pants before placing his finger on his lips.
"Please go easy on me, Hoshimura-sama," he blushed albeit slightly as a shy smile appeared on his lips.
Florence shuddered at the fashion before removing herself from the distraction. This guy... what the world... why is it... his murderous intent is so...?
In a blinding flash, Hiiragi vanished until Florence managed to sputter and saw a soulless Hiiragi striking her down with his bladed fan. His orange eyes glittered, enraged, as he continued to strike her only to have her form disappear before him. Florence kicked him from behind, forcing him to skid against the cement with a ferocious snarl. The Flash Goddess sprinted towards him before lashing out nylon strings from her claws as the male leapt and evaded all her attempts to bind him or tear him apart. However, Hiiragi replayed the same technique and this time sent her down.
"Goodbye, Hoshimura-sama."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Upon noticing the loss, Ryuuzaki-sensei shook her head while watching the next set of players come down. From Rikkai Dai's area, a silver haired male sauntered in along with a bespectacled brunette. A visible creased appeared in her wrinkled forehead as she analysed the situation. Rikkai Dai always won the matches without breaking much sweat but now with them throwing off their weights and limiters all save for one certain Trickster who sauntered down with his lax composure, Ryuuzaki-sensei shuddered at remembering the dangerous monsters behind those middle school faces.
Upon seeing the last match, Sanada folded his arms as a small smirk curved up his lips. "Everyone, take off your weights. Play at full power."
The chants howled and deafened anyone nearby, seeing that Rikkai's players began removing their limiters. Kirihara dumped his in his bag while Marui shrugged his off before throwing it aside somewhere. Jackal slid his off while walking off to find where Marui had thrown his. Yagyuu silently removed his as his Doubles partner stood up with a snort. The tension increased as the aura thickened in the air, causing Rikkai Dai bystanders to roar wildly in a complete uproar.
"Niou, remove your power wrist," Sanada sternly reprimanded upon seeing the Trickster with his still tightly latched on. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
Niou scoffed before returning his glare with a nonchalant shrug. "Don't glare at me like that. I'll decide when I want to take them off."
"Hoi hoi, let's do this Oishi," a cheerful energetic voice snapped Ryuuzaki-sensei from her mulling as she found Oishi and Eiji making their way down into the court.
The bouncy redhead alleviated the seriousness of the situation as Oishi calmly stood next to the acrobat before examining the condition of his wrist. However, the black haired doubles expert warily glanced at the other two. The brunette maintained a serious face whereas the other didn't even seem intimidated despite his own vice captain snapping at him. Oishi shivered slightly at the aura as he recalled how many times they had dreamed in facing Rikkai's amazing doubles pairs. He never expected however that the most dangerous one would appear in front of them as their opponent. Eiji often fantasized of beating the best doubles players out there but did he have it in him to be as manipulative as the Trickster at the other end? After watching the previous match, anxiety throbbed in his head taunting him with the knowledge of the importance of his match.
"Are you done daydreaming," Niou drawled before stifling a slight yawn.
Yagyuu chided his doubles partner with a tap of his racquet. "Niou-kun, don't insult people like that. They're probably still getting accustomed to the surrounding."
"Who cares," Niou shrugged nonchalantly as a mischievous smirk appeared on his face when he found his leading lady at the bleachers. "Besides, I can't afford to lose today."
Isane suddenly felt her face become increasingly hot as she cowered behind Hitomi. "Hitomi, it's that smirk again."
"Uchiha Isane is a sucker for the 'bad boy smirk'," Hitomi scribbled down with an evil business-like smile, mounting her pen on her ear. "I find that quite adorable really."
"Hitomi-chan," the silver haired Sniper yelped as she tried to slap the notebook out of the blonde's hand. "Please don't announce that!"
The dancing tensai giggled at the redness of Isane's face with her molten amber eyes glimmering with amusement. "Senpai, you're really hopeless. Besides, that's already an obvious fact with your vermillion face and all."
Kiyone giggled impishly before clapping her hands, singing cheekily. "Yay, Trickster-san and Sniper-senpai are gonna end up together~!"
Mai flicked Kiyone's knee, shushing down the other team members while earning a whine and pout from the youngest volleyist. "Guys, let's just concentrate on the match okay? I'm sure buchou's gonna want to know what happened while she's out there."
"That's why God gave us brains to invent cameras," Haruka fished out a camcorder in her bag, accessing the recording option.
"Fifty yen says it's full of pictures of Pachinko Head-san," Kiyone sang yet again as the pinkette clamped her hand over the sandy blonde volleyist's mouth, flushing madly.
Rin snatched the camera and began examining it, wondering about the appearance of an error message. "Haru-chan..."
"Yeah," Haruka diverted her attention to the Black Dragon. "What is it?"
"There's no memory card," Heilongjiang popped open a latch that housed the small SD memory card. "I think we left it inside your computer."
Haruka groaned into her hand before rummaging through the dark abyss known as her bag, realizing that she had forgotten to put it back after uploading all evidences of projects and Kiyone's bet. "Dangit, hopefully nobody even bothers to try and hacking through the password."
"The Doubles One match of the Kantou Tournament finals will now begin between Rikkai Dai's Yagyuu-Niou pair versus Seishun Gakuen's Oishi-Kikumaru pair!"
As Oishi continued calming his inner self, he warily took the baseline while focusing on the match. However, the mischievous smirk plastered all over the Rikkai Dai Trickster's face easily unnerved him as the pounding of his heart echoed even louder in his ears. Blood rushed back and forth as his palms became clammy and sweaty, nearly prompting him to drop his racquet. However, his forehead got flicked as the black haired Seishun Gakuen vice captain found a very effervescent Kikumaru Eiji wagging his finger in a disapproving manner.
"Nyah, just stay cool Oishi," Kikumaru grinned childishly, giving him the 'v' symbol. "Don't worry so much! Oishi, look behind you nyah~!"
"There he is," a familiar voice echoed into Oishi's ears, causing the black haired vice captain to direct his attention towards the bleachers.
A woman stood there with her husband along with a little baby giggling along with the loud cheering coming from the Seigaku supporters. Oishi warmly smiled back as the baby waved energetically at him while blowing him a raspberry, earning a small laugh from the mother. Kikumaru grinned at the lightened tension coming from his doubles partner, slapping Oishi's back affectionately. The pressure lifted off his shoulders as a reassuring smile appeared on Oishi's lips.
"Now we really can't lose Eiji," Oishi emphasized on the "can't" as he spun his racquet on the ground determinedly. "Let's strike first!"
Kikumaru jumped energetically, running to the service box. "Alright, you can count on me –aibou!"
Niou scoffed with disinterest, rolling his eyes indifferently as he faced Kikumaru. "You're a little too invigorated to be celebrating."
Oishi began his service, ignoring the beads of sweat pouring down his face. Yagyuu quickly fired it towards Kikumaru who pounded the ball back to the Trickster. Niou lazily smirked before slapping the ball back towards them in which the black haired vice captain managed to cover up for Kikumaru. As the Moon Volley flew into the air, the red haired acrobat opted for his new technique that he had experimented on Saeki of Rokkaku for and confused the periwinkle haired Trickster for a moment. However, Kikumaru got himself blasted by the tennis ball that sent him sprawling out on the floor.
"E-Eiji," Oishi darted towards his fallen doubles partner before glaring at the Petenshi.
"Puri~," Niou smirked while watching the stretcher come in and haul Eiji away. "That's two for Rikkai and zero for Seigaku."
That's right; Inui said there was someone in Rikkai he didn't have data on, Oishi bit the nail on his thumb, recalling all the data Inui informed them of all except one player. If I remember right, it was the Trickster of the Courts – Niou Masaharu.
An ambulance rushed in with the people overlooking the situation with suspense, wondering if the red haired boy could still play. However, Kikumaru had taken a pretty good hit to the head – creating a minor concussion and thus needed him to be brought to the hospital. As the red haired acrobat was hauled away, Oishi bit his lip as he fought back his trembling. The weight of their quick defeat slammed into his face, sending his world in complete disarray and the whole crowd into a wave of fear. Oishi's shoulders shuddered; the vice captain realized the idea of his comeback match made him subconsciously overlook one thing and caused a disastrous miscalculation.
"Zannen... munnen... mataraishu," Niou sniggered while watching the whole situation from where stood, mounting his racquet on his shoulder. ["Better luck next time"]
Upon hearing Niou's words, something within Oishi snapped loudly in his ears. His eyes narrowed visibly and darkly as the grip on his racquet tightened up with his nails digging into his palm before slowly turning to face the guiltless Trickster. The silver blue haired trickster lazily tossed his racquet around while loosening the cracks in his neck while Yagyuu quiet remained behind the net.
Oishi winced visibly at Niou's words before wheeling around with a snap. "You bastard, you did this to Eiji on purpose!"
"Oishi, that's enough," Ryuuzaki-sensei rose from her seat, trying to appease the normally calm vice captain.
"But Ryuuzaki-sensei," Oishi protested only to be firmly interrupted by his coach, knowing it was a wiser choice to snap his mouth shut.
"It was an accident, Oishi."
Seeing the sequence of unfortunate events, Rin glared daggers at Niou for a moment as she rolled up her sleeves and unhesitatingly lunged at him. "That's it – lemme at him!"
Haruka latched her arms onto the other angry short-tempered vice captain, struggling against Rin's struggling and wriggling. "Thank God she's not Ayane!"
Isane disapprovingly shook her head before averting her eyes from the tennis court, twiddling with her thumbs. Hasn't he ever tried playing without hurting people physically for once?
Niou chuckled before sparing another glance to Isane at the bleachers but his face changed from his cocky smirk into a crestfallen one when he saw her disappointingly watching the match. Yagyuu noticed a slight shift in emotion in his Doubles partner who seemingly stared for a long time at the bleachers at the lanky silver haired aggressive baseliner. The Gentleman relaxed his hand on Niou's shoulder but the Trickster didn't bother looking at him either but continued to gaze at the sidelines.
Meanwhile, the acrobat struggled to fight against the numbness of his body. Nothing in his body would comply with his signals to move but he could feel that someone was carrying him off somewhere. All his cries to Oishi in telling the people to put him down remained locked in his mind. Every motor nerve in his body froze with terror, recalling the impact of the tennis ball straight into his eye.
Didn't we promise to win the Nationals together?
Flashback
First year Kikumaru Eiji snorted in boredom until he overheard the criticisms pertaining to the soon-to-be vice captain of Seigaku in both the hallways and the tennis courts. Some of the older students noted how he, Oishi Syuuichiro, would follow after Tezuka like a dog or more bluntly put how he was hanging around the soon-to-be captain like droppings from a goldfish. Kikumaru frowned a bit even hearing how despite his plain tennis made it to become a reserve for the practice matches. As far as he was concerned, he'd have to be as good as Tezuka to easily attain that position.
What's with this Oishi guy, Kikumaru absentmindedly twirled his racquet over his wrist before illuminating up with an idea. "Prepare to be punished by Kikumaru-sama's acrobatics!"
Practice passed on normally with the twelve year old Kikumaru Eiji absorbing compliments about his acrobatics and level of skill from his opponent. The freshmen were ordered to pick up the tennis balls as practice slowly came to an end which allowed the nekojin to his plan into action. Then, the red haired boy quickly challenged Oishi who readily accepted but realized at the latter end how fast Kikumaru's reflexes were.
"How's my acrobatics," Kikumaru performing his signature in between the legs shot as he slammed the ball far beyond Oishi's reach, tumbling over for a recovery.
"Game, Kikumaru: three games to one!"
Oishi stumbled a bit, seeing how fast Kikumaru could contort his body in all sorts of directions and look like he could still keep up his consistency until the tiebreaker. However, visible beads of sweat pouring down both their faces although the acrobat looked like that plants were bound to grow on the court due to the sweat or a raincloud had mysteriously appeared above his head and drenched whatever spot he stood in. Oishi wiped some sweat off his cheekbones before gathering some of his wits back from the last assault.
"Yay, what's wrong Oishi," Kikumaru jeered from the other side, cracking out an arrogant smirk. "How did you get to the reserve status when your skill level's just that horrible?"
However, Oishi shook away the daze as he composed himself again – bewildering the red haired feline boy with his response.
"Your movements are truly amazing. I cannot predict your attacks at all," Oishi smiled kindly at the other boy, wiping away the sweat from his brow. "Would you like to play doubles with me?"
Kikumaru grinned cheekily, tossing the ball up into the air and ignoring him completely. "What are you talking about? Your movements are too simple and are easy to read, hoi!"
Despite the speed of the rally, Kikumaru felt his chest tightening up for more air and watched Oishi slide back and forth to return his shots. Kikumaru somersaulted with an underhand shot which Oishi lowered his centre of gravity for to drive it down the line. The nekojin punched his hips for more power as the ball sped from his backhand and zoomed straight towards the other boy's left side.
He's surprisingly persistent, Kikumaru pursed his lips into a thin line, chasing down another of his shots. I'll finish him in one shot!
However, the result slapped Kikumaru's face and the red haired boy stood there completely stunned, horrified and drained of the colour of his face, revealing to everyone the most flabbergast expression he could muster.
"Game, Oishi: six games to four!"
Kikumaru gaped before shaking his head in denial, pulling his hair out in horror. "What? No, impossible! No way! Time out! Wait a second, that was just practice! I'm gonna take you seriously right now!"
Seeing his determination, Oishi simply shrugged. "Eh? That's fine with me..."
However, no matter what strategy Kikumaru came up with – Oishi anticipated three steps ahead of him. The red haired acrobat found himself completely frustrated by this bowl-cut haired boy with his plain boring tennis. The nekojin increased the speed of his rallies; Oishi returned them in the same method and again defeated the latter in his own territory. Finally irritated and fed up, Kikumaru sulked away to his usual place of serenity: the green dumpster.
"Damn it," Kikumaru mulled over inwardly before glancing at his racquet and then at the sunset coloured sky, watching the clouds drift off the horizon. "Why can't I beat the boring guy? He's not even that strong! It pisses me off!"
A loud clang to the dumpster caused Kikumaru to reel back in shock as he found his boring opponent volleying against the dumpster again and again. The boy couldn't help but stare in awe at the other who practiced without letting the ball zip past him. With his motion sight ability, the ball remained completely clear to him but the neon green ball created a streaming line that according to his knowledge had to be extremely talented like in his words "Tezuka-talented". Oishi gnashed his teeth together as the next shot sprung away from his racquet and collided against the solid metal green wall, inspiring Kikumaru with an idea.
"Oishi," Kikumaru stood up, earning the boy's attention. "Until I can defeat you, I'll play doubles with you!"
Eh? This isn't exactly what I had in mind, Oishi gaped, completely puzzled as Kikumaru offered his hand.
"During that time, I'll find out all your weaknesses! I'm Kikumaru Eiji by the way," the red haired boy grinned impishly back at him, pulling up the black haired boy. "But, you can call me, Eiji."
End of Flashback
Re-inspiring his resolve and determination, Kikumaru impressed everyone with his new revival with a handstand spring off the stretcher and landing right next to Oishi.
"Be prepared to be punished by Kikumaru-sama's acrobatics," Kikumaru fiercely slapped himself out of a daze, grinning cheekily at the Rikkai Dai pair.
Yagyuu calmly congratulated the two. "In any way, I'm glad it was nothing serious."
Niou clucked his tongue in amusement before wheeling around to position himself at the other side of the court, raking his hair indifferently. "Puri, the terror has just begun."
As the match resumed, Oishi played in amazement as his doubles partner quickly recovered from his last blow. Kikumaru often times would just wait for Oishi's orders but now – Kikumaru learned how to function independently without losing the synchronization with him. The vice captain made a mental note to thank Momoshiro later on for expanding his partner's horizons during the Hyotei match between Gakuto and Oshitari. However, he froze when Kikumaru started moving fast enough to create phantasms of himself and nearly throwing Niou off and despite the failure [being hit by the tennis ball] – the red haired acrobat refused to surrender as Niou found himself again victim to his special step. The Golden Pair half pondered for a moment how long Kikumaru had been working on that new technique but reminded himself to ask Fuji.
Niou narrowed his eyes, irritated as Kikumaru continuously repeated the same tactic. The effect in itself would have made any average tennis player dizzy and confused but Niou instead looked down and watched the pattern of the acrobat's feet.
Left, right, left, right, left, right, Niou rolled his eyes and kept up with Kikumaru's instantaneous movement and bursts of energy, smirking as he noticed a certain point of hesitation. He's at the left!
Striking at Kikumaru's right side, Niou assumed the red haired nekojin's blind spot only to have the boy twist his body in the air and attack the ball head on.
"Kikumaru Bazooka," Kikumaru grinned before shooting it far past Niou.
"Fifteen all," –Seishun Gakuen students' eyes glimmered hopefully as their chanting and cheering became louder than ever.
Yagyuu sauntered to Niou who lazily supported his racquet on his shoulder. "It's time to stop playing around, Niou."
Niou snickered at the Gentleman, regaining some interest to play seriously. "Puri."
"After all," Yagyuu adjusted his glasses a bit, smirking ghostly at the Trickster and gesturing to the audience. "You cannot afford to embarrass yourself in front of your "lady luck"."
The silver blue haired Trickster averted his glance to Isane who smiled shyly from the stands as he flipped his racquet around with a mischievous glint reflecting off his bright blue eyes. He dejectedly stared at his weights before sparing Seishun's Golden Pair a glance.
Suddenly, a snigger engraved itself on his expression and earned him a few quizzical looks and some completely bewildered and horrified.
Kikumaru eagerly repeated the same strategy and although Niou figured out which side the acrobatic player would appear in, Oishi covered up for him with a time difference attack and rendered his poach useless. The audience stared in amazement and awe at the synchronicity of both players and with no signals nonetheless, remaining completely silent as the ball cracked off their racquets.
"We can actually win this," Horio exclaimed, stamping his foot on the ground gleefully.
Inui however shook his head all-knowingly. "It's only for now since Yagyuu hasn't used it yet."
"Used what," the Ichinen Trio redirected their eyes to ask for an explanation only to see the ball zoom extremely fast right past the Golden Pair.
Inui murmured while obtaining new data, closing his eyes ruefully. "Yagyuu's famous technique... The Laser Beam and known for its one-shot guaranteed kill speed. Nobody has been witnessed being able to return it and perhaps only someone on buchou's calibre may have a chance to repel the technique."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Clucking her tongue in disgust, Florence dashed away from Hiiragi's last attempt to tear her body in half. The honey haired British female quickly vanished from his line of sight before landing a kick on his back and sent him sprawling to the floor. The formerly meek male rampaged with an assault of blade fans slashing through the grounds and creating deep crevices which flung dust and debris into the Jyosei Shounan captain's vision. She peeked a bit at her CHroME before taking a stance to spring back at her opponent and collide her fist with his abdomen, forcing him to stagger back for a retreat. Hiiragi rushed towards her again with a huge whirlwind appearing from his fan and blasted her towards the wall behind her.
Noticing that her Jyosei Shounan uniform being torn apart and revealing her L.X.A latex armour, Florence pursed her lips into a thin line before pulling out her own CHroME to defend from his attacks. A flurry of punches followed up soon after with her dodging every attempt before she landed another kick to his knees and sent him doubling over. Letting out a feral snarl, Hiiragi unleashed another hurricane again for a flesh-tearing wind which Florence managed to run from despite some part of her tresses getting caught and now earning split-ends. A frown marred her features as she slid under him as he attempted a flying kick before hitting him straight under.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt," Fuuka winced mockingly, smirking at Florence's manoeuvre. "Castrate him if you need to!"
Florence groaned in disgust at the Seishun female's suggestion, shaking her head disdainfully. "Now why would I want to do that?"
"Cause he's trying to hammer your ass," Fuuka retorted while raising an eyebrow, narrowly dodging a stray pressurized wind cutter. "Florence, better speed it up!"
"I'm working on it," Florence hollered back before tearing against the man's upper torso with her razor claw weapons. "Unlike your preference for complete and brutal demolition, I prefer finesse!"
Fuuka grinded her teeth together, bristling at Florence's snappy retort. "Screw elegance, Hoshimura! You're more cutthroat than this crazy," –referring to the brunette cleaning her CHroME. "This crazy brunette who can barely commit homicide on someone without crying out guiltily or apologizing!"
Shizuru, pinching the bridge of her nose, shook her head dejectedly before advising the honey haired British girl. "No use beating around the bush, senpai."
Florence nodded weakly, restraining her urge to let out a whooping cough. Her body wobbled after all the running and their attacks destroyed the whole battle floor, leaving nothing but debris of cement lying all over the place. Hiiragi inhaled deeply before batting his eyelashes demurely, earning a disgusted snort from Fuuka. Natsuki shook her head with a contorted look of bewilderment while Shizuru twitched a bit at his mannerisms.
"Hoshimura-sama," he bowed courteously, mournfully smiling at the teenager. "I do not wish to battle such a beautiful woman such as yourself but if you persist – I will dice you and feed your entrails to the dogs. After all, that is the predicament of those who do not survive and thrive properly in this bloody environment."
Florence chuckled darkly, shaking her head sombrely. "Then I'm afraid you'll have to attempt to tear me apart because – if you don't, you're going to be the one with a tragic death."
Hiiragi mournfully shook his head until his demure smile suddenly became demonic. "Really – I wonder..."
He suddenly vanished, rattling and agitating the other female as she found the top of her combat suit completely shredded off. Florence reeled back to start her attack only to have herself get the lower part of her pants torn off. Her blue eyes flickered with annoyance as Florence shook herself out of the agitation but Hiiragi seemingly disappeared from her line of sight. She quickly tried to soothe her nerves and pounding heartbeat but realized seconds late that Hiiragi had remained behind her and trapped her in a half nelson, strangling her in the process.
"You have auditioned yourself for such a dramatic tragedy," he mournfully shook his head, drawing his fan blade back and revealed a knife glinting maliciously. "It's such a terrible fate for the beautiful."
Florence bit her lip hard, arguing with her pride over practicality. As Hiiragi prepared to impale her through, the honey brunette noticed her CHroME lying on the cement as she desperately tried to relieve herself of the male only to screech in agony as the blade protruded at the other end of her body with her blood dripping out of her abdomen and mouth. Silence filled the whole room until the audience howled and cried out for more violence and even ordered for her death. Red crimson droplets decorated the floor as Kajimoto's female counterpart hacked and coughed violently while trying to regain control of her senses.
"Florence-senpai," Shizuru panicked, gaping in horror.
"Son of a bitch," Fuuka unveiled her CHroME, narrowing her eyes with a deathly glare. "That's it; you're going to kiss the sunlight goodbye!"
Ai shivered with tears slipping out of her eyes before bellowing in a terrible rage; her CHroME glowing with a bright green colour and veins bulging at her temples. "MURDERER, MURDERER, MURDERER!"
Hiiragi drew back, terrified and revolted as he released Florence from her lock before staring in horror at the bluenette whose once innocent façade disintegrated to reveal a vengeful satanic glare. Recovering from the impact, she found the male member of the Ninja Five staggering back as Ai unhesitatingly lunged at him with her CHroME shining in a brighter light that engulfed her body and instead revealed a navy blue skinned one horned quadruple winged humanoid with three pupils in one eye and her sclera becoming completely yellow, maintaining only Ai's true hair colour which extended all the way to her feet. The former Rikkai Dai captain revealed a flowing armoured skirt and a halo with blades protruding with appendages as claws began to form at the tips of her fingers before snarling angrily and hungrily at the blood splattered on Hiiragi's body. Florence froze to the ground with her body, shivering fearfully at the demon. Ai screamed bloody murder and paralysed everyone with horror as her bloody wail echoed throughout the hallway. The audience remained silent as Ai savagely unleashed her berseker fury against Hiiragi.
"Ai, stop," Florence let out a raspy cough, drawing her blood unto her CHroME.
Judged by their sins and by their goodness,
Gate of the Scales, Libra's Redemption!
A full howl of wind burst forth from Florence's CHroME, knocking down Hiiragi and shoving Ai off the platform. Ami, covering her mouth and the colour pouring down her face, trembled violently as Ai's body pulsed with more power and changing her mentality to that more of a beast. The female Yukimura violently thrashed around, recognizing neither friend nor foe.
"Crap, she's going through Coronation," Fuuka unleashed her CHroME, striking a match against it.
Suffering by the hand of Jason of Argos,
Gate of the Ram – Aries's Scourge!
However, before Fuuka could transform completely – Shizuru leapt up high into the air before pushing Ai's face against the ground. The Rikkai Dai sophomore struggled and wailed loudly, sending shivers up everyone's spines. Bodily fluids dripped from every edge of Ai's body along with extreme amounts of energy, nearly suffocating Shizuru if not for her CHroME as she pierced it through with her halberd. Blue clashed with green as it screamed straight into the air, blasting a hole through the roof. Hiiragi repeatedly begged for mercy only to have Ai desperately try to shake off Shizuru's attempts to pin her down.
"Damn it," Natsuki pulled out her CHroME and pistol, beckoning to Florence. "Hoshimura, nip it in da bud right there!"
Florence, nodding in agreement, launched herself towards Hiiragi before allowing Ai to unleash another volley of attacks. With a swift kick to the stomach, Florence forced her opponent to keel over after switching her target to Ai. The bluenette unleashed a claw which nearly pierced through the British female as the Rikkai female let out a terrible feral snarl before lunging towards Ninja Five's dancer once more. However, a blue light consumed them as Ai reverted back to normal with Shizuru heavily breathing in attempt to slow down her heartbeat.
"Never thought it would be possible," Shizuru exhaled sharply, smiling in relief.
Florence, Natsuki and Fuuka exhaled deeply while looking at the damage caused by the bluenette alone. The Shitenhouji captain scratched her head sheepishly while averting her gaze from the audience and directed it instead to the competitors who were still shivering fearfully at the war-torn female Yukimura.
Ami unsheathed a few knives hidden in her kimono sleeve, grinning. "So, what are we waiting for? Anybody want a battle royale out there?"
The crowd howled in delight as all members of Ninja Five lunged towards the girls, revealing their weapons as the four girls prepared to receive their fury. Fuuka's CHroME took form of full-cloaked red horned gauntlets with her mallet cracking open to reveal the insignia of Aries emblazed on Fuuka's hip on her left side along with a one-sided horned helmet. Natsuki summoned her Capricorn Deception with her slate charcoal hair blowing with the wind as her familiar rampaged against Inugami once more. Florence, with the wind billowing behind her, unleashed her claws along with a protrusion of nylon strings as they slashed through her opponent, Hiiragi. Yusuf, despite his bleeding state, lunged with his fists as Shizuru dodged them elegantly before sweeping him off his feet.
"Well, well, well," Ami chuckled arrogantly before throwing a few knives at Fuuka; she slowly smiled. "I didn't know Katsuki's little angel could go brazen."
Fuuka glared darkly at the elder, swinging her hammer to defend. "She submitted to her Coronation. I'm surprised Kurenai synchronized brainwaves and pulled her back. That whole process is a one way path and once down it, you can't return."
Ami shrugged nonchalantly, unravelling her ribbon before snaking it towards Fuuka and thus wrapping it around the mallet's stick. "Oh – I haven't seen you enter a Coronation state."
"Nor do I ever plan to, to satisfy my curiosity," Fuuka hurled her mallet before clashing it against the ground, creating a huge crater beneath Ami who managed to jump out of the way.
Ami, snickering inwardly, observed Fuuka lunge towards her with a venomous glare as her mallet came in contact with other things. Flame burst forth and incinerated part of her kimono sleeve, initiating a full-out war as the former senior kicked the red head in the gut and sent the girl reeling backwards. Shizuru lashed out her double edged blade as Yusuf desperately tried tearing it off his neck. Ai remained unconscious as Natsuki had her familiar and her to defend the both of them. Florence drew out her scales as Hiiragi nearly strangled her only to find himself trapped by a huge tornado that began shredding him through.
"Oh my," Maya dodged a flying chunk of debris, cowering fearfully behind the commentator desk. "This has turned out to be a full team battle!"
The audience demanded more violence as Natsuki inserted three bullets into Inugami's leg and Shizuru knocked out Yusuf for an indefinite period of time.
"What happened," Ai looked up innocently, rubbing her eyes after awakening from her unconscious state. "Did something happen?"
Florence zipped right next to her before slashing down Hiiragi, kicking him away. "You were nearly crowned. Luckily, Shizuru pulled you back since she's pretty much an expert in energy control."
Ai remained silent, standing up before punching her chest and closing her eyes.
Astraea shall judge thee,
Gate of the Virgin, Virgo's Touch!
White wings sprouted themselves from Ai's back as her joints became hock-jointed with her hair flowing animatedly with razor sharp blades. As Florence vanished from Hiiragi's line of sight, the younger Yukimura took her stance before lashing her hair towards the male and constricting them as tightly as possible. As one came up behind her, Ai furiously shaped it into a drill before skewering the attacker through and pummelling him into the wall. He lavender eyes glinted angrily with her energy flaring up as feathers shot out and stabbing them through. Shizuru quickly withdrew her powers while the others evaded Ai's unsuspecting assault as Ninja Five fell to oblivion.
"We should have let Ai beat them shitless," Fuuka snorted before inactivating her CHroME, glancing at the opposing team pitifully. "She really knows how to be a Yukimura."
Florence rolled her eyes, earning a disgruntled snort from the Seishun Gakuen senior. "That's because she's cloned from Yukimura Seiichi, remember? Technically, she's what people refer to as a homunculus."
"A CHroME transmuted into a human," Natsuki tapped her chin while reassessing the possibilities. "Where did they get the intelligence to do that?"
Shizuru however remained occupied with other thoughts. The kidnapping of her vice captain made no sense and locating her down here would be possible although the chances of her already being dead were at least 90 percent. Quickly cancelling the pessimistic scenario, the Hyotei captain steeled herself to address the problem at hand as the Rikkai Dai sophomore brought upon a berserker outrage towards the other members – some who have not even began their battle.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Oishi found himself baffled by the speed of Yagyuu's famous Laser Beam as it screamed past him right in between Eiji and him, rubbing his eyes constantly to see any change of consistency. However, the attack quickly streamed past them again – rendering Kikumaru's motion sight to be more of a liability rather than an asset as the red haired acrobat founding himself gasping and heavily breathing to maintain his focus. The vice captain quickly ransacked his memory for any countermeasure but his latest attempt caused him to trip over his feet and crash against the pavement of the court. Yagyuu massaged his wrists while staring intently at the struggling Golden Pair of Seigaku, giving them an acknowledged smile.
"Oishi," Kikumaru started poking his best friend with concern written all over his face, examining every inch of his doubles partner. "Are you okay, nyah?"
Oishi shook himself away from the bewilderment of seeing the insane speed of the Laser Beam. Yagyuu showed no fatigue despite performing the attack in succession without losing any accuracy at all, causing Oishi to remember Ryuuzaki-sensei's reminders about Rikkai Dai Team having seven "Tezuka's" in one roster. The accuracy and the speed of the attack paralysed both him and Kikumaru in a single strike, reviving a wave of helplessness and anxiety as it washed over him.
It's just as Inui mentioned – Yagyuu's famous shot: The Laser Beam!
Yagyuu chuckled lightly, watching them trying to regain their composure. "Golden Pair... You play good tennis."
Kawamura narrowed his eyes at the situation. "That passing shot was really fast, wasn't it?"
"That was incredible," Momoshiro grit his teeth before smiling grimly. "He was able to shoot in between the two of them with pinpoint accuracy."
The honey haired male tensai wrinkled his nose slightly, gripping the railings tightly. "If they focus too much on the laser, their attacks will become passive," –watching Yagyuu toss the tennis ball for the next service. "This is a dangerous situation."
Yagyuu cracked his service as Kikumaru dove for it, accidentally lobbing it and leaving Niou with a chance shot. Oishi quickly regrouped for his fallen partner as Kikumaru desperately attempted everything to recover and discover a weakness in the attack. However, the ball zoomed quickly past them without any difficulty as both players stubbornly challenged the shot to find a way to return it.
"Game, Rikkai: one game all!"
Shishido let out a disgruntled snort, folding his arms. "It's become a one-sided match already. His hands and feet can't react to the speed of that laser and to think he's stubbornly trying to challenging those shots just to experiment with all sorts of crap he has for a potential counter-attack."
Oshitari nodded bitterly, adjusting his glasses. "Right now, Rikkai has complete control of the match."
Momoshiro gnashed his teeth in frustration, racking every possible method to counter the Laser Beam. He directed his attention to the score: 2-1 with Rikkai Dai leading. The Dunk Smash specialist knocked his fists together hard, coming up with a completely blank slate. The speed of the technique proved to be more monstrous than imagined; nobody probably had the ability to return it unless they're extremely talented like Echizen or god-like comparable to Tezuka. Silence filled the court as Seishun Gakuen nervously awaited any response from their famous Golden Pair until Oishi broke out a small smile.
"Eiji, it's slower than we thought – isn't it?"
Kikumaru grinned energetically, ignoring the beads of sweat pouring down his face. "Yep – thanks to your strategy, my eyes have gotten used to the speed now!"
The two knocked racquets together, furrowing Yagyuu's eyebrows in irritation.
He dared to use off-speed shots to challenge my technique so that Kikumaru's eyes could get used to the speed of the Laser Beam, Yagyuu wrinkled his nose before narrowing his eyes at Seishun Gakuen's vice captain. His hand still trembled from the recoil of his consecutive use of the technique but the Gentleman quickly disguised his fatigue.
That Oishi Syuuichiro – he's truly a frightening man.
The whole audience of Seishun Gakuen supporters whooped for joy as their eyes glimmered hopefully for a change in the climax. Freshmen jumped on the railing, cheering loudly as Kikumaru and Oishi prepared themselves for the next shot.
"Watch closely, this is Seishun Gakuen's Golden Pair!"
Yagyuu grunted as he readied the Laser Beam, restraining his anger. "Return my shot first before you start celebrating."
The Laser Beam flew as the red haired nekojin grinned mischievously before diving down to catch the shot, much to the Gentleman's dismay. The shot flashed back to Yagyuu, exploding right in between him and Niou which erupted a loud howl and cheer from Seigaku. Ryuuzaki-sensei applauded lightly as her lips curved up into a thin smile, watching the infinite growth of the Golden Pair. Rikkai Dai's supporters however stared in complete and utter dismay and shock as Kikumaru gave Oishi a high five. Soon, the Golden Pair revealed their old-time favourite as Kikumaru sauntered to the middle of the net while Oishi took his position behind the red haired acrobat.
"Awesome, it's the Australian Formation," Horio cheered as he punched the air.
"Ooooh, this is really getting interesting!"
"Are those guys going to bring down the reign of Rikkai Dai's Doubles One?"
Speculations flew back and forth as Seigaku's chanting increased in volume. Yagyuu stoically returned the shots, despite his futile attempt in masking his surprise. Kikumaru returned the shots with his usual cheeky grin as Yagyuu and Niou played it out with the two. Oishi discovered Yagyuu's shots becoming relatively slower than normal as Kikumaru no longer strained himself to return a speed ball.
"Nice, he has completely read their movements!"
Kirihara however had a huge smirk plastered on his face as he took note of one of his senpai who showed nothing but complete disinterest, shaking his head. "There are some shots that even though you can analyse – you won't be able to return it, am I right Yagyuu-senpai?"
The Laser Beam screamed past Oishi and Kikumaru, causing them to reel back in shock as they found Niou firing the Laser Beam.
What the, Oishi rubbed his eyes before replaying the sequence in his memories. Why did Niou hit the Laser Beam?
However, Yagyuu scratched his head sheepishly with a sigh. "As expected, the 'real' Laser Beam has a completely different power eh, Yagyuu..."
Why did he call Niou 'Yagyuu' unless, Oishi's face paled when he recalled what Niou said prior to the whole match. Up until now, the one hitting the Laser Beams was Niou..?
"This is when the true terror begins..."
Yagyuu messed his hair up as it reverted back to its original colour, removed his glasses before revealing a terrifying mischievous smirk.
"Puri~," Niou sniggered as he handed back Yagyuu's glasses to him, chuckling darkly at the Golden Pair's predicament. "Thanks for lending me your spare."
"That's quite enough. You're going to go blind one day, Niou-kun," Yagyuu grabbed his eyeglasses roughly before inspecting and wiping off the sweat on the rims and frame, frowning a bit at his doubles partner. "If I recall right, you have 20/20 vision?"
Niou raised an eyebrow at his doubles partner, shrugging nonchalantly. "And your point is?"
"Are you that desperate to render yourself blind," Yagyuu chided lightly, checking the grades of his eyeglasses.
However, the whole crowd of Seigaku supporters began an uproar as two Niou's appeared before them with a calm smirk curving up their lips.
"The Trickster Niou – there are two of him!"
Inui's lips curved into a thin line before smiling grimly. He remembered recording the simulation of the Laser Beam and somehow, the first several shots were below the normal standards. However, the thought of Niou impersonating Yagyuu never crossed the data master's mind. Comparing the speed of the original Laser Beam and the mimicked one, Inui roughly estimated the speed with all variables included but nothing amounted to the fear that caused Kikumaru to shudder and Oishi to retreat back to square one.
Kirihara smirked as he folded his arms triumphantly, sparing a mocking glance towards Seigaku's Doubles One pair. "As expected, Niou-senpai's a real scary guy but even the Gentleman Yagyuu-senpai is equally as scary. He's grasped all their weaknesses right?"
After re-tying his rat-tail, Niou smirked as he glanced at the lanky Sniper who blushed as crimson as the Hyotei female tensai's hair the moment she saw his mischievous smirk. However, her expression melted into a sorrowful one as she glanced at Seigaku struggling against Rikkai Dai. Niou frowned a bit at her kind-heartedness but shrugged it off nonchalantly before striding past Yagyuu.
"You should check out their faces," Niou's blue eyes sparkled a bit. "They won't be able to defend themselves from two lasers."
The Laser Beam flew consecutively past them with Kikumaru being the only one capable of returning it despite his quick recovery from the first one. Games piled up on Rikkai's side as Oishi and Kikumaru found their play to be faltering all over the place. Sweat profusely dripped from Kikumaru's face as the Laser Beam fired in two opposite directions, cross court while Oishi forced himself to try and repel the shot itself with very little success.
"Game, Rikkai Dai: five games to two!"
Seigaku found their best pair being pounded into the ground ruthlessly; a wave of disheartedness and hopelessness washed over them while watching Kikumaru barely maintaining the consistency of his shots and Oishi playing out every strategy possible to deceive the Trickster and the Gentleman.
"How could this happen," Arai slammed his fists against the rail, crushing it angrily. "That's dirty! They tricked us!"
Momoshiro shook his head bitterly. "Nope Arai, outwitting your opponent is one of the tennis tactics used. On top of that," –directing his attention towards the Illusion specialist. "To be able to hit the Laser Beam at such a high level – he's no ordinary guy."
Katsuo felt tears stinging his eyes, hanging his head sorrowfully. "It's hopeless... It's hopeless... I guess the champions Rikkai are really destined to win this match."
Kaidoh, infuriated, glared holes into the freshman before hanging the almost balding boy by the collar of his shirt. "What did you say! Don't you have any faith in your senpai?"
Despite the loud hullabaloo created by Seigaku's resident Viper, Ryuuzaki-sensei narrowed her eyes at the outcome of the match. "What an outrageous trick they used. Indeed, Yagyuu who's hitting the Laser Beam along with Niou who is performing a fairly close imitation of the Laser Beam. They really do have seven Tezuka's on their team."
Oishi exhaled sharply as Eiji desperately attempted to reboot his senses.
"But," Ryuuzaki-sensei folded her arms and smirked before patting the two on the shoulders, causing shock to evidently splash itself on the two boy's expressions. "You two don't plan on letting it end like this now do you? After all, who often quoted that 'There are unlimited possibilities in doubles?' If you're not going to use that formation, when are you actually intending to utilize it?
"Alright, Rikkai Dai has one more game!"
"We're invincible Rikkai Dai!"
Niou rolled his eyes sarcastically at the cheers thundering about while spinning the racquet around. However, he scowled slightly after noticing the expression of Isane's face that foretold a lot of compassion she held for the losing pair. Despite this, Niou knew and simply obeyed the unspoken law of Rikkai Dai: one must never lose – no matter what the circumstance. He cringed slightly at the memory when Sanada had that pounded and thumped into his memory ever since freshman year. The silver-haired Petenshi maintained his poker face but even a sad face from Isane slowly chipped away his resolve.
Typical, I've always been casted as the villain, Niou dejectedly raked his fingers through his silver blue hair, averting his gaze from the Sniper.
"Let's close the curtain on this game already, Niou-kun," Yagyuu determinedly faced his opponents, redirecting the Trickster's attention.
However, their expressions threw Yagyuu completely off-track.
Kikumaru continued spinning his racquet and balancing it on his wrist whereas Oishi discarded his usual gentle demeanour.
The atmosphere is different now, Yagyuu exchanged glances with his doubles partner who did not inch from his spot. As expected of Niou-kun, looks like he felt it too.
With a determined look, Yagyuu continued bouncing the ball before beginning his service towards Oishi as the chanting and cheering became louder.
That's fine, I will serve with everything I have... what will your answer be?
"We came here to win," Oishi lunged forward to receive the service, preparing a strong forehand.
"And only to win," Kikumaru grinned with determination and confidence flashing in his eyes.
As the service crossed the net, Oishi suddenly switched positions with the usual attacker Kikumaru and earned them a complete uproar and shock. The Gentleman himself found their tactic quite baffling although he remained concentrated on the game. Loud jeers erupted from Rikkai on whether or not Oishi had submitted to his fear and anxiety as he chose to attack both Yagyuu and Niou while Kikumaru withdrew for a defence.
"You're too naïve," Niou chuckled humourlessly as he hammered the shot towards the back.
Oishi, finding the shot zipping past him, signalled Kikumaru. "It's out, Eiji!"
Kikumaru, despite using his Doppelganger technique, quickly reverted back to normal as the shot – exactly as Oishi had predicted landed outside the court.
Ryuuzaki-sensei smirked while watching the two boys make a startling comeback. "With Oishi standing up front, it gave him the chance to fully analyse their abilities and thus seal the two pesky lasers. Only Niou has been able to have leeway to hit it but as long as Oishi stands in front – he can make full use of his game-making abilities as he starts sending signals to his partner at the back where Kikumaru has a choice to strike anywhere thus broadening the range and variety of attacks. This is what they call... the "Oishi Territory"."
Yagyuu darkly frowned at the situation as Seigaku snatched two games from them. Does that Oishi have eyes at the back of his head?
Niou however smirked and began blocking Kikumaru who instantly fell for it and sent a lob.
"Eiji, don't! Niou's just a decoy," Oishi ordered as the ball floated into the air.
"Oops," Kikumaru grit his teeth sheepishly as the ball landed right next to Yagyuu who had a triumphant smirk on his face.
"You both still haven't been able to touch my Laser," Yagyuu sneered as he prepared to fire the shot across.
Niou chuckled darkly at his partner, relaxing a little. All it needs is one more Laser.
However, a drop shot floated across with Oishi diving down for a return and having Yagyuu to attack it with the real Laser Beam. Seigaku drew back in horror as Rikkai Dai cheered on Yagyuu and Niou for their superior doubles play however; Kikumaru launched himself with his famous "Kikumaru Bazooka" to seal off the other Laser Beam. However, the ball slammed into the net – giving the final match point to Rikkai Dai.
"Game and match, Yagyuu-Niou pair: six games to four!"
Ryuuzaki-sensei's eyes widened with amazement at the rapid evolution of the two. Rikkai Dai housed the strongest players known in Japan's junior tennis history and these two nearly broke their stronghold. Kikumaru pouted with disappointment with Oishi reassuring him that they would win next time but the old woman failed to conceal the smile on her face. Despite their loss, she knew that the next time they meet – the two would have become more powerful than that pair.
Now, for the singles matches...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Whoo, that was chapter 45! I know Yukimura Ai went a little insane back there but heck; she is a Yukimura after all and still a kid. Don't worry, there will be other developments and I know I put hints of NiouIsane but I will make sure I load the chapters after this with more romance!
Please review!