Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!
...
...
Sirius growled.
"Eh? What is it?" Kikumaru asked looking down at the dog that was standing close to him. Kikumaru blinked as he saw the glare and heard the growl again. "Doggy?"
Ryoma huffed as he looked at the dog, and the rest of the team turned to look when they heard Kikumaru talk.
"Why is he growling?" Kawamura asked.
Sirius barked and started to move but Fuji grabbed him making him pause and turn his head to look at Fuji who smiled with closed eyes.
"Hari-chan told us to keep you here," he said.
Sirius whined and barked, trying to get free from Fuji's hold, but he kept his hold on him and even dragged him back a few steps.
Sirius whined low again and looked toward Hari, who was talking with one of the boys from the other team.
"Ah, do you miss Hari-chan, doggy?" Kikumaru asked. "She'll be back soon!"
Sirius barked.
"She's just talking with her boyfriend," Kikumaru continued. "Don't worry. She hasn't forgotten you, doggy."
"You know you're talking to him like he understands you, Kikumaru-senpai," Momoshiro commented making Kikumaru shrug.
"Hari-chan does it," he said. "So, I will to! It's fun."
Sirius sighed as he stopped trying to get free from Fuji's hold. It seemed like he was taking Hari's order seriously. So Sirius settled to glare at the boy who was now reaching out to touch (!) Hari and pushed some of her messy hair (just like James') out of her face.
Stop that, don't touch her… don't dare… touching her like that…. Who do you think you are?
Sirius tensed as he growled again.
"Looks like he's the overprotective sort," Kaido said with a hiss.
"Just like Oyaji…" Ryoma commented dryly.
Just you wait, Sirius thought as his eyes narrowed, taking in the boy. He was almost fragile looking with soft features and half-long navy blueish hair. He was too soft looking for Hari. I will find a way to get to you and let you know that Hari is out of your league! I promise!
He lied down and rested his head on his paws, content with the promise he had just made himself. He just had to wait until he could slip away. He would find a way. He smirked.
"Strange dog," Inui said, spotting the smirk.
...
Hari came back in an excellent mood and rolled her eyes when she saw the look Sirius directed at her and ignored him.
"Back from talking with your boyfriend, Hari-chan?" Fuji smiled.
"Obviously," Hari said purposely pretending that she didn't hear the teasing note of his voice.
"Your dog made an escape attempt while you were there," Fuji said. "Looked like he wanted to go over and bite Yukimura-san."
Hari rolled her eyes again before glaring down at Sirius, who looked away and clearly pretended not to hear them…
"Of course he did," she said. "Thanks for stopping him."
Fuji nodded and smiled a little as he picked up his racket getting ready for his match.
"Good luck," Hari said. "Show them what you've got!"
"Of course," Fuji smirked. "I'll do just that."
Momoshiro called for him and he turned to walk onto the court with his new doubles partner. Looks like Doubles 2 would finally start!
...
Sirius' head went up as he picked up on someone coming down the steps toward them, and his grey eyes quickly noticed the boy with silver/white hair coming toward them. Who was he?
"Hari-chan," the boy spoke and Sirius narrowed his eyes at the familiarity in the voice.
"Jiro-kun!" Hari exclaimed turning around and much to Sirius' charging stepped away from her brother and team to hug him. He hugged her back too! Sirius growled softly. He noticed that Hari frowned slightly when she pulled back like she suddenly remembered something and looked over toward her boyfriend who was watching, but his face was blank.
Hm, so he didn't like her hugging other boys? Well, Sirius wasn't sure he could blame him for that…
"Just wanted to wish you luck," Saeki said.
"Thank you," Hari said turning back to him and smiled.
"Are you playing?" he asked.
"Yeah," Hari nodded. "Against Kirihara Akaya in singles 2."
"I see," Saeki said, and Sirius wondered if he was imagining the worry he suddenly picked up on his voice. But why would he worry about her playing this Kirihara-guy? "Well, I know you'll do great."
"Thank you, Jiro-kun," Hari smiled. "I'll do my best."
"I know," Saeki nodded. "I'll let you get back to watching… looks like Fuji just made a point."
Hari grinned and nodded. "Okay! See you later, Jiro-kun!"
Saeki waved and turned to walk back up the steps. So, she would play Kirihara Akaya… He frowned slightly as he joined the rest of his team. Aoi was cheering loudly as Momoshiro used one of his smashes to get another point. Saeki turned his attention back toward the match and did his best to push the worry away. She could take care of herself, after all.
...
6 – 4 : Game Rikkai Dai! - End
...
"Too bad," Hari sighed as she watched Fuji and Momoshiro both sitting on the court looking out of breath. Marui and Jackal were also sitting on their side of the court, equally tired.
It had been a good game. It was the kind of game one couldn't help but feel content with, even if it ended in a loss.
"Aw! I thought they had it!" Horio exclaimed.
"Me too," Kachiro sighed.
"They played a good game," Ryoma told them. "You should cheer for them."
Both boys turned to look at Ryoma who wasn't watching them but rather Fuji and Momoshiro who were getting back to their feet now. They were smiling despite having lost.
"Tennis is so much fun," Momoshiro said.
"I know," Hari said handing him a bottle. "Good game, Momo-chan."
"Thanks, Hari-chan," he grinned at her but she saw some sadness in his eyes over the loss. She knew it hurt a little despite him feeling good about the match he'd played. It was natural.
"You gave them more of a fight than they expected," Hari said looking over at Fuji who smiled tiredly. "And got them to dump their wrist weights fairly early in the match too. That's good. I don't' think they ever have dropped them before."
...
An was watching her boyfriend with a small, sad smile on her face. He had played well; she knew that, but she felt disappointed that he hadn't won.
"That was a good game," Kamio commented from beside her.
She nodded in agreement before looking away from Momoshiro and over at Kamio and the rest of the team. Only her brother wasn't there. He was still at the hospital… She fisted her hands as she remembered just what and who put him there.
"They did better than we did," Ibu muttered.
"Yeah," Ishida agreed.
An agreed. Fuji and Momoshiro had been really close to managing a win against Marui and Jackal, they had been forced to actually work hard for it! They even looked tired. And knew better than anyone just how strong they were.
"Looks like Hari-chan has a new dog," Kamio blinked when he saw the dog barking next to Hari and she reached out to pat his head. "Or maybe he's Seigaku's? He's wearing their colours, after all."
"Huh," Mori said. "Looks big."
"Scary," Ibu muttered darkly.
An looked at Hari. She had looked a little worried during the match, but not overly so. Just what had she been thinking as she watched her friends play Marui and Jackal? Had she seen the difference between them? Did she resent it? Did she see what An meant yet? She would, right? Even when pushed like that it didn't look like Marui and Jackal respected Fuji or Momoshiro. Had they even said a word to them after the match? An didn't think so.
How could Hari not see that?
But she would. An was sure she would. When she saw Kirihara play one of her friends, she would see where An was coming from.
"But I'm a little surprised," Mori drawled.
"By what?" Ibu asked.
An glanced over at the two boys.
"I would have thought Fuji would play against Kirihara," Mori said and looked at Fuji who just returned one of Marui's balls and smiled calmly.
"Eh?" Sakurai blinked.
"You're right," Kamio nodded with a frown. "I know Tachibana assumed as much, but clearly Fuji isn't playing Kirihara."
An frowned. "Then who will…"
Kamio shrugged, "maybe Echizen Ryoma? He's good enough, I guess. But then who will play Sanada? Kaido might play Kirihara….or Echizen Hari."
An's eyes widened.
"Hari-chan?" she repeated. "No… they wouldn't place her against Kirihara!"
The boys looked at her and she looked wide-eyed over at Hari who was now nudging her brother with her shoulder, looking relaxed. They wouldn't do that! Right? That would be ridiculous and stupid!
"No," she repeated. "They wouldn't do that."
Kamio glanced at her before he shrugged, "I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see."
An scowled and shook her head. She refused to believe they would do that, but she couldn't help the slight flicker of doubt and fear that appeared in her stomach.
...
7 – 5 : Game Rikkai Dai! – End!
...
"Another loss, huh," Hari said watching Oishi and Kikumaru having a moment after the match. They had almost fallen apart when Nio had read Kikumaru perfectly, picking up on his habit and knowing where he would hit the ball every time. It had really shaken the acrobatic player and Hari didn't doubt that this was the intention from Seiichi and his team. They knew that if Kikumaru got into his acrobatic playing style, he was very difficult to beat.
Oishi had tried to pick up the pieces and cover for Kikumaru, but with how frustrated Kikumaru had gotten he had taken it out on Oishi and their normally good and strong partnership had started to crumble. It was painful to watch.
Luckily, they proved why they were the Golden Pair, the best doubles team Seigaku had and stepped up just in time to show them all a comeback that almost gave them the win. Almost being the keyword.
Yagyu had proved too strong, though, when he took over and played the last game practically by himself and shocked them all with how strong he was. He had been in Nio's shadow for most of the game until then. Hari could see why Seiichi had him on his team.
"Yagyu-san really is strong," Hari murmured.
"Yeah," Fuji agreed from beside her. "He is."
But it had turned out to be a wonderful match and once again Hari felt it was too bad but they could be proud of this match. They had done their best.
"We can't afford another loss," Inui commented and Hari glanced over at him and saw the solemn look on his face as he pulled out his notebook again. She observed him quietly for a moment, taking in the way his hands held the notebook tighter than normal and his jaw tensed.
"You okay, senpai?" she finally asked.
"Don't worry, Hari-chan," he said looking over at her.
She nodded slowly, "he's your friend, right?"
Inui nodded as he pushed at his glasses.
"Your data-tennis is impressive," Hari said after a pause. "Remember that and do your best. That's all we can ask."
He nodded again and smiled slightly.
...
Seiichi would admit that they impressed him. He had not thought Kikumaru and Oishi would make a comeback like they had and he was sure that if it hadn't been for Yagyu the two Seigaku players would have won.
He really wasn't that surprised that they had finally managed a comeback like they had if he really thought about it. How many times hadn't he seen someone from Seigaku do that? It seemed like their speciality at times. To make a comeback despite being down and having trouble. They never gave up.
He rather liked that.
He looked over at his team and saw the pleased expressions on their faces. They looked like they were having fun, and that was good. He was happy that they were enjoying themselves and getting a real challenge.
"I can't wait!" Kirihara said, bouncing in place. "I want to play! I want to play!"
"Calm down, Kirihara," Sanada said.
"But I want to play! These games make me excited!" Kirihara said. "I can't wait until I play Hari-chan!"
Seiichi watched Kirihara for a moment and pushed back the flicker of doubt and unease he suddenly felt. Why did he feel like that suddenly? He frowned. There was no reason to be worried, right? Hari would be fine. She would be fine. She would…
He shook himself as he tried to focus back on the matter at hand and pull himself away from the thoughts that seemed to return to Hari and her game against Kirihara again.
"Yanagi is next, Akaya," Jackal said placing a calming hand on Kirihara's shoulder. "So, you need to show some patience. Besides, it's likely that you won't get to play at all either way. Yanagi can end this…"
"Fine," Kirihara said, but he looked almost disappointed at the thought of not playing.
Seiichi looked over at Yanagi who had his eyes closed (as normal) and looked calm as may be. Seiichi wondered if he would show any emotion at all playing against his childhood friend. He looked fine, though.
"Ready, Yanagi?" Seiichi asked.
"Yes," the data-player said. "I am."
"Good," Seiichi said. "I suppose I don't need to go over Inui's strengths and weaknesses with you?"
"No," Yanagi said. "I know them all."
Seiichi nodded.
"Then…" he started but was interrupted by a growl and he turned slightly startled eyes to a large black dog that was standing in front of him with his teeth bared and eyes narrowed. Growling.
"Eh?" Kirihara blinked. "Isn't that the dog that was with Hari-chan?"
"He doesn't seem to like you very much, Yukimura," Nio observed.
Seiichi blinked as he looked at the dog. He wasn't scared exactly, but it wasn't really comforting to have such a large dog growling at you either. He didn't come too close, though.
...
"Eh?"
Hari turned when she heard Momoshiro and Kaido and saw them staring over at Rikkai Dai's area of the court with wide eyes.
"What?"
"When did he get over there?"
"What's he doing?"
Hari blinked as the others started asking questions all at once and she looked over to see what they were staring at. She blinked again because she was not seeing this!
Sirius (as Padfoot) was standing in front of Seiichi, who was still seated on the bench with most of his team around him. They were all eying Sirius warily while Seiichi arched a brow and tilted his head as he looked back at Sirius.
"That… that… that… idiot!" Hari snapped out sharply and pushed past Fuji and Ryoma who both eyed her but she ignored them as she stalked past her team ignoring their questions as she did.
When had he snuck over to Seiichi? Just what was he thinking he was doing? That… idiot! She couldn't believe that he had sought Seiichi out like that! Why did he do that? What was he thinking? He was a dog (well, maybe not, but he kind of was) and a dog didn't do this! How was she supposed to explain this?
Argh, stupid, overprotective, thoughtless godfathers!
As she got closer, she could pick up on the soft growls coming from Sirius who was staring intently at Seiichi in a very unlike dog-way.
"Um… is that normal behaviour?" Nio asked even as he was drying his face with a towel.
"He looks kind of scary," Marui commented. "Nice doggy… don't bite us!"
"Stop being a fool, Marui," Sanada sighed.
"Why is he staring at Captain-san like that?" Kirihara asked looking between the dog and Seiichi.
Hari picked up on their comments as she got closer and mentally winced and growled. Seriously… he was so over the top.
"Stop that," Hari ordered as she got close enough making the boys jump as they turned to look at her but she ignored them as she glared at Sirius who still didn't look away from Seiichi.
He growls picked up instead.
"Oh no, you don't!" Hari snapped, stepping closer to him.
"Um, Hari-chan, maybe you shouldn't…" Yanagi said worriedly.
"It's fine," Hari said, waving his concern off. "He will not hurt me or anyone here."
Sirius barked as if to contradict her.
"Hari-chan," Seiichi spoke up, and it relieved her to see that he was calm and didn't seem overly worried about the dog in front of him. "Your dog, right?"
"Not if he keeps this up," Hari grumbled and reached out to tap Sirius on the head (slightly harder than she had intended). Sirius whined and shifted slightly on his feet, but his eyes were still locked on Seiichi. "Stop that, idiot!"
She grabbed Sirius' head and turned it away with a scowl and glared at him. He looked up at her with wide (and what she supposed he meant to be) innocent eyes that she just returned with an unimpressed look.
"Don't look at me like that," she said annoyed. "Seriously, I told you to behave."
Sirius whined.
"No, you're not going to get that past me," Hari said. "I know what you are up to."
"Um…"
She looked up and saw them staring at her with confused looks on their faces and she blushed a little knowing that she must look foolish reprimanding the dog like that. She rubbed the back of her head.
"Sorry," she said. "I thought he was with us back over there, but he must have snuck away while I was talking with Inui-senpai."
"That's the dog that showed up at your training camp, right?" Seiichi asked, looking at the dog curiously.
Sirius puffed out his chest and looked superior as he looked back at Seiichi. Hari sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah," she said. "Maybe I'll hand him over to the pound."
Sirius whined and turned tragic eyes up at her, and she bit back a smirk.
"Looks like he objects to that," Kirihara laughed.
"Well, he should know to not be an idiot, then," Hari said and Sirius whined again and nuzzled her hand with his nose. She rolled her eyes as she patted his head. Such a drama queen.
Seiichi shook his head, "well, looks like he's an interesting dog. Don't think I've been stared down by one before, though. But I am wondering about all these animals that keep showing up and glare at me."
Hari grimaced slightly and shrugged, not knowing what to say. After all, what could she say? Hedwig was a magical owl and special and Sirius wasn't really a dog but an (idiotic) overprotective godfather who thought he had the right to growl at her boyfriend in an attempt to intimidate him?
"Sorry," she said.
Seiichi just laughed softly and reached out to push a strand of her hair out of her face and allowing his hand to linger a little against her cheek.
"It's fine," he said. "I kind of find it adorable."
Hari knew she was blushing. She just knew it. Why did he have to say things like that? Especially in front of his team.
"Good," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Well, I should get back to my team. The next match is about to start."
Seiichi nodded and smiled slightly.
Hari glanced over at Kirihara and gave him an unreadable look.
"I look forward to playing you, Kirihara-kun," she said before starting to drag Sirius back toward her team.
"Me too!" Kirihara called after her.
...
"Stupid," Hari muttered, glaring down at Sirius who did his best to look superior and innocent (it didn't work). She looked around and saw Ryoga watching her amused and his eyes flickered to the dog. She huffed. "Well, if you want to be that way."
She dragged Sirius up the steps to where Ryoga was standing, and she blinked when she noticed the boy next to him. Minoru was there too.
"Ah, hey, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled warmly and hugged him back when he reached out to hug her. "Didn't see you there."
"I came to watch!" Minoru grinned. "I saw Ryoga-sensei here too and decided to watch with him!"
Hari glanced at Ryoga, who had a blank expression on his face and felt her lips twitch slightly.
"Good," she said. "I'm glad you're here, Minoru-chan."
"What about me?" Ryoga asked, smirking.
"Of course," she said. "Especially since you can then keep an eye on this one!"
She pushed Sirius toward Ryoga, who blinked, and Sirius pouted at her before barking.
"No, you had to go and be an idiot," Hari snapped at Sirius. "So, now you can watch with Ryoga-nii and Minoru-chan! That way I can relax and focus on the match and not whether you've run off to glare at Sei-chan again!"
"Ah, that was what he was doing?" Ryoga asked. "He understood Oyaji's order, eh?"
"Like he needed the order to be an idiot," Hari grumbled and turned around. "Please, nii-chan, make sure he doesn't scare Sei-chan away? I swear you're the only sane one in the family at times… well, besides Ryo-chan, but he's Ryo-chan."
Ryoga laughed. "Sure, Hari-chan. I'll keep an eye on your dog for you. Snuffles, wasn't it?"
"Yeah!" Hari called over her shoulder and waved before levelling an unimpressed look at the pathetic expression on Sirius' face. Who knew a dog could sulk like that…
...
3 – 2 : Game Rikkai Dai!
...
Inui sat down on the bench and stared at the ground. His mind was… blank. He couldn't think of anything. Why couldn't he think? He had to come up with something… His data was good! He had spent 4 years, 3 months and 15 days staring at Yanagi's back and collecting his data!
He knew Yanagi!
But…
But!
His data was failing…. He couldn't fail. He had to win. It would be over if he couldn't figure this out.
Your data-tennis is impressive. Remember that and do your best.
Hari's words came back to him and he blinked. That's right. His data-tennis was impressive, and he knew that. He trusted it… he could do this even if he had to start over. He had to remember that Yanagi also used data-tennis.
He noticed Yanagi walking past him now and looked up. Suddenly it was as if the younger Yanagi was standing there in front of him. He blinked to make him go away and the older one was back.
"Renji," Inui said. "If my data is being read completely, I will throw away all my data."
Yanagi made a soft sound in what Inui guessed was surprised but said nothing as he turned and continued to his side of the court. Inui inhaled deeply and picked up his racket again and walked to his side of the court, knowing what he had to do. Even if it was difficult.
...
Hari hummed as she watched Inui. He had gotten a good start to the match before Yanagi had turned it around and used his own data-tennis to read the game and take the lead. Not that surprising, Hari thought knowing a little about Yanagi from Seiichi. She knew he was smart and Seiichi relied on him for strategies for their matches quite often.
But Inui… he was smart as well! And he worked hard and was thorough in his research and collection of data. So she wasn't surprised when she heard him declare he would give up his data for the match. It intrigued her, though, wondering what he had thought up now.
She grinned when Inui returned a ball with so much power that it knocked the racket out of Yanagi's hands.
"That was me throwing away my past," Inui declared.
Hari smirked lightly.
...
Hari tried to ignore Horio freaking out and yelling as she watched Inui continue to play. But it was hard. She wondered why he thought yelling like that would help anyone.
"Stop it," she finally said looking at Horio who blinked and stopped yelling.
"Eh?"
"Calm down, Horio," Hari said. "Inui-senpai is fighting the best he can right now and you yelling like that won't help. He's doing quite well, actually."
"But…"
"Believe in him," Hari said looking back at Inui who somehow returned a ball that by all means should have been impossible for him to return. She smiled. "Does it look like he's given up or doesn't know what to do?"
"No," Horio admitted.
Hari smiled as she glanced over at Horio, just to show that she wasn't angry at him and take some harshness out of the words. She knew she shouldn't really snap like that, but she was tired of listening to the negativity.
...
4 – 3 : Game Seigaku!
...
Seiichi looked over at Inui, who looked tired.
"He can't expect to win by playing recklessly like that," Sanada commented.
"Hm," Seiichi frowned slightly. "Well…"
Inui looked tired, but Seiichi wasn't sure it would be so easy to dismiss the effort or will he saw in the other boy. The recklessness or the will to throw away his past in order to fight Yanagi was impressive, but it also took a lot out of him.
Seiichi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed knowing that this wasn't enough to beat Yanagi. Not that he hoped Yanagi would lose or anything like that, because he didn't. He just was curious to see how far Inui could go by his determination.
Yanagi was getting more into the game again now, and it was clear that Inui was tired.
...
5 – 4 : Game Rikkai Dai!
...
"If Seigaku loses this game, then Rikkai Dai wins," Ibu commented.
An frowned, fisting her hands. She wanted to see Seigaku win! She wanted to see those arrogant boys lose and realise that there were more to a game than just overly powerful players! Seigaku relied on teamwork and their skills; they cheered for each other and supported each other.
"You don't think they have a chance?" An asked.
"I don't know," Ibu shrugged.
"Inui isn't one to give up," Kamio said, "but… without his data? I don't really know."
...
Sirius looked around and picked up on the surrounding conversations, saying that this was it. That Seigaku had lost.
"Hm," Ryoga hummed.
"You think so too, Ryoga-sensei?" Minoru asked.
"What?" Ryoga glanced at the younger boy and Sirius looked up too.
"That Seigaku has lost?" Minoru asked.
"Not necessarily," Ryoga said. "But I will admit that it doesn't look good."
Sirius whined slightly.
"So, Hari-chan won't play?" Minoru asked.
Ryoga shrugged, "are you cheering for Hari-chan?"
Sirius blinked. Why shouldn't he?
"I want to see her play," Minoru said, "but I don't know who to cheer for, really. I mean, Sei-nii is on Rikkai Dai and I want him to win too, but Hari-chan is good and I want her to win too."
Ryoga smiled slightly.
"I see," he said. "Well, I guess we just have to wait and see if Inui can come up with something to turn it around again."
Sirius looked at the younger boy. He was related to Hari's boyfriend?
...
"Here I go, Sadaharu! Prepare yourself!" Yanagi called out, and the words echoed with words spoken in the past in Yanagi's mind like a Deja vu of sort.
He stilled.
He remembered back when he had played with Inui day in and day out, the best doubles pair in their tennis club and well, those around them. He remembered that game they had played to decide which one of them were the strongest, only to be stopped before they could find out.
He tightened his grip around his racket as the images of the game went through his mind and he analysed it all quickly. What?
How could…
The same moves…
The score was even 5- 4 when they had been interrupted.
The moves in this match.
The same…
Had Inui? Really?
A spark of annoyance, incredulousness and happiness went through him as he directed his attention to Inui who had relaxed his stance slightly when Yanagi didn't make a move.
"Sadaharu, you did this on purpose!" Yanagi called out.
"I think this is where we continue," Inui answered calmly.
"I was manipulated?" Yanagi couldn't help but ask out loud. "Me?"
He couldn't believe it! How could he have been manipulated like this? Inui!
...
"Eh?" Ryoma smirked. "So he didn't throw his data away after all."
Hari laughed, "brilliant!"
"This is where the real match begins," Kaido said.
...
Seiichi arched a brow. So Inui had been manipulating Yanagi all this time? He wouldn't have guessed it, but Seiichi felt impressed. Few could do that and get away with it.
"Heh," he smiled.
"Why are you smiling?" Marui asked.
Seiichi didn't answer as he kept his eyes on the court. This would be interesting. How would Yanagi handle this?
...
"There is no data beyond this point," Inui said keeping his racket pointed at Yanagi while ignoring the way his heart beat harder. He knew this was a risk, but he had to take it. He had managed to get the game where he wanted it and now he just had to follow through with it.
He was close. He could feel it. He was close to managing what he had been working so hard for.
"Come, Renji!" he called out.
"Sadaharu," Yanagi said before he smiled slightly. "Just what I wanted!"
...
6 – 6 : Game Seigaku! Tie-break!
...
"Let's stay partners forever," Inui said. "If we team up, we can conquer the world."
"I was just thinking… we never played each other seriously. I want to see which one of us is strongest." Yanagi said.
The words echoed in both Yanagi and Inui's minds as they rallied the ball back and forth. Neither wanting to let go and fought on. They didn't care that they were tired. This was suddenly about more than just their teams. This was the game they had missed out on because of stupid decisions and running away.
This was about them.
Yanagi had fun. He hadn't felt like this for a long time. Had he had fun like this since he played with Inui? Well, yeah, he'd had fun with his team at Rikkai Dai, he would admit that, but this was different. This was something else.
Inui felt the same. It was fun. He had worked so hard and now he could feel the results of all that hard work. It felt worth it. He didn't want to lose. He wanted to prove to Yanagi that he was good. That Inui could beat him!
He would show him!
...
7 – 6 : Game Seigaku! End!
...
Silence for a long moment before cheers broke out and Hari was being hugged by Kikumaru and laughed lightly as she watched Inui breathing harder out on the court. He was talking quietly with Yanagi before shaking his hand and both looked to be content.
"Good for you, Inui-senpai," she murmured quietly to herself.
"Yeah!"
"We won!"
"Well done, Inui!" Ryuzaki cheered.
Inui smiled as he looked at them, looking pleased and proud. He always faded into the background, but now he was being cheered for by everyone there. He couldn't help the smile or the happiness that filled him just watching them all. He saw the pleased expressions on his team's faces and knew he had helped them all.
It felt good.
...
Hari blinked.
Oh, that's right, she thought. That meant that she was next up and would play Kirihara soon. She had forgotten as she had watched Inui playing.
"You ready?" Fuji asked.
Hari smiled and nodded. "As I'll ever be."
"You'll do well," Fuji said.
Hari laughed and nodded, "no pressure, right? Lose and we're out."
She swallowed as the seriousness of the match hit her. She really had to win. They would be out if she didn't, and she really wanted to see Ryoma play against Sanada. And she wanted to win.
"You okay?" Ryoma asked, looking at her.
"Yeah," she nodded and accepted the racket from him. "Thanks."
He nodded. "Good luck."
She nodded and felt the butterflies in her stomach. She knew this match was important, and she knew how much it meant for them all, but she also knew that this match would be a rough one. She had been thinking about it more than she would like to admit to anyone.
She had also done research on Kirihara, knowing she needed to understand him better in order to play him. Not that she had known she would, but she had wanted to understand him better, anyway. Just in case… She hadn't told Seiichi she had done so, though. She didn't want to fight with him because of it again.
She still had trouble connecting the Kirihara she knew with the one that appeared on the court.
...
An smiled when Momoshiro came jogging up the steps and paused in front of her.
"Hey," he said, a soft blush rising in his cheeks.
"Hey," she said, smiling back. "You've been fighting hard."
"Of course," he said. "Luckily Inui-senpai won!"
"I thought he would lose there," Kamio admitted from An's side. Momoshiro glanced at him and shrugged.
"Well, we still have a chance," Momoshiro said.
"It's Kirihara next from Rikkai Dai, right?" Mori asked, looking over at the Rikkai Dai side of the court and saw Kirihara bouncing up and down even as he talked with his captain.
"Mm," Momoshiro nodded and grinned. "Well, Hari-chan will beat him."
An froze.
"What?" she asked.
Momoshiro blinked at her.
"Hari-chan will play him?" An asked.
"Yes," Momoshiro nodded. "She will."
An stared down at the Hari who had taken a racket now and looked like she was about to get ready. She would really play Kirihara? What were they thinking?
"Why? She can't play him!" An protested.
"Why?" Another voice asked, and she saw Ryoma having come up behind Momoshiro. She blinked because she thought she had just seen him with Hari.
"Why? Do you not realise what kind of player Kirihara is?" An demanded with a glare. "He'll crush her!"
Ryoma stared at her for a moment.
"Hari's not that weak," he said. "She'll not let him stop her like that."
An glared harder.
...
Singles 2 – start
...
"One-set match; Seigaku's Echizen Hari to serve!"
...
Hari looked over at Kirihara as she stood at the baseline ready to serve. She knew she had to give it her all right from the start. She couldn't afford to hesitate. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply.
She tossed the ball up in the air and put force into her serve. She watched as the ball sliced through the air and Kirihara ran after it and returned it. She was already approaching the net and jumped up like a bird and used her backhand smash to get the ball past Kirihara.
...
"Oh, her Phoenix Rising already," Fuji commented.
"It's sharper than before," Momoshiro said.
"Good," Ryoma smiled.
...
15 – 0 : Seigaku
...
Kirihara stared over at her with a sharp look in his eyes. He still looked calm, but a smirk played on his lips.
Hari prepared herself again. She inhaled before she tossed the ball up.
He missed it this time because the slice was sharper and only just got past his racket. He frowned slightly as he looked over at her now.
...
30 – 0 : Seigaku
...
"Yes!"
"This can be it!"
"We can do it!"
The cheering from the crowd was high, but Hari did her best to ignore it. She knew that it was much too soon to even start thinking that she had this.
"I will beat you, Hari-chan!" Kirihara called over.
"We'll see about that!" Hari answered before she tossed the ball into the air and served it.
He returned it and she approached the net as she returned it again making him use his one-footed split step to get to the other side of the court in time to return the ball again. She noticed how he moved and was ready when the ball came back, managing to lob it over so it landed just over the net.
He scowled as he looked up from the ball and over at her.
"Because you see… I really want to win," Hari said looking back at him. "Kirihara-kun."
...
40 – 0 : Seigaku
...
Seiichi arched a brow as he watched Hari taking the initiative of the game and getting balls past Kirihara. He heard the mutterings behind him, but he kept his eyes on Hari, who was looking focused and determined. He saw that she really was set on winning this match. Not a surprise there, but he wondered about the almost personal feel he could pick up in her. It was like this was more personal to her or something.
...
Keigo stood with his team watching Hari playing well. She was calm and determined, but Keigo knew Kirihara wouldn't be beaten by just this.
"Oh, looks like she's better now," Shishido commented. "There's no hesitation in her moves now."
Keigo nodded in agreement.
"She's good," he said with pride.
"As expected," Otori smiled.
"But to play against Kirihara…" Oshitari frowned. "It'll be rough…"
Keigo frowned, knowing that the other boy was right.
...
1 – 0 : Game Seigaku!
...
"I can't believe Akaya lost the first game," Jackal commented.
"That hasn't happened since he played with Sanada and Yukimura when he was a freshman," Yanagi said.
...
Kirihara looked at Hari and smirked. This was getting fun!
"You're good!" He yelled. "It's better this way! It would be too disappointing if not!"
He served the ball.
Fast, she thought as it flew toward her.
The ball hit the ground in front of her and spun; it felt like slow motion as she watched, but in reality, it was quite fast, before it shot up toward her face.
...
"Twist serve?" Sakuno exclaimed.
"That's Ryoma-sama's serve!" Tomoka said.
...
"Watch out, Hari-chan!" Oishi called out.
Hari took a step back and raised her racket so she was prepared to return it. She was luckily used to the twist serve.
"Ryo-chan's are better," she said.
...
Seiichi tensed slightly as he saw the twist serve directed at Hari. He couldn't help it, but he pictured her being hit with it and it made him feel… what? Uneasy. It was hard to name, but he didn't like it.
He swallowed because he knew he couldn't react to everything. He was prepared to watch her play Kirihara, right?
He had thought he was prepared for it, but seeing them now and just getting started… well, he wasn't so sure anymore.
"You okay?" Sanada asked quietly.
He wasn't looking at Seiichi.
"Yes," Seiichi said not looking away from the game as relief filled him as Hari avoided the twist serve and returned it. He fisted a hand as he did his best to push everything away. He was on Rikkai Dai and right now he couldn't be sitting here as Hari's boyfriend.
At least that was what he told himself.
...
15 – 0 : Seigaku
...
Hari returned another of Kirihara's serve and watched how he used his split-step again and knew that playing Kirihara would be like playing Ryoma in many ways.
He had much of the same talent. But he was rougher, harsher in the way he played.
A lob?
She jumped up to return it but it suddenly dipped and she somehow managed to see the ball and turn in the air so she could hit the ball back over the net and past a surprised looking Kirihara. She landed gracefully as she looked at him.
"You're really something, Hari-chan!" Kirihara smirked. "As expected, as Yukimura-Captain's girlfriend!"
Hari arched a brow. Her being Seiichi's girlfriend had nothing to do with her tennis talent, but she said nothing.
...
"Is Kirihara in trouble?"
"I'm getting worried…"
Jackal had his arms folded over his chest as he heard the boys behind him talk. He frowned.
"They should be worried about Hari-chan and not Akaya," Jackal said.
"Yeah… something horrible might happen if this keeps up," Nio said, a note of worry in his voice.
Jackal looked at Seiichi who was sitting still on the bench but he thought he looked a little tenser than normal.
...
"Yes! She did it!" Kikumaru cheered when Hari returned another ball with a flexible and acrobatic move. He hugged Ryoma from one side and Momoshiro hugged him from the other. "And she moved just like me!"
"You're grossing me out," Ryoma deadpanned.
Though, he was watching his sister closely and was pleased to see the progress she had made in her game. She was using her motion vision to determine where Kirihara would return the balls and how he reacted to her moves.
He smiled.
...
40 – 0 : Seigaku
...
Hari returned another ball and knew she had to do something to get free from the baseline. Kirihara refused to allow her to move from it, always returning the balls to some part of the baseline. She had to admit that it was an excellent strategy.
She couldn't use her smash like this.
Kirihara returned the ball with a hard hit making it go faster than before and she pushed her legs to move faster until she was within reach of the ball and hit the ball back over the net.
Kirihara ran toward it, but it suddenly spun and changed direction, making him lose his balance and falling to the ground.
...
2 – 0 : Game Seigaku!
...
Seiichi flinched ever so slightly. If not looking for it, no one would see it. He looked at Kirihara, who still lied on the ground.
This… could be bad.
"Uh-oh," Sanada said from behind him.
Seiichi looked over at Hari who was standing by her coach, nodding and glancing over at Kirihara with a pensive look. She seemed calm and collected, and Seiichi was impressed with the games she had played until now.
She was good.
But with Kirihara now… he swallowed back the uneasy feelings that kept coming back. Why did he keep feeling like that? He never did that before…
"This could be bad," Nio said behind him.
"If Akaya's pride continues to be attacked like this…" Jackal trailed off.
Seiichi fisted his hands. What should he do?
...
Kirihara got back to his feet and turned around.
Hari looked over at him and noticed that the white in his eyes had turned red. Like from his match against Tachibana.
She narrowed her eyes slightly as she took in the change she saw in Kirihara. Seems like she had pushed him too far now.
...
An stared wide-eyed at Kirihara. That was…
"His eyes are the same as the time he played Kippei," An said clutching her hands together unable to look away.
Kawamura noticed the same and pointed it out to the others and they listened to Inui repeated some of the facts about that game and how Kirihara had targeted Tachibana after the Fudomine captain had won one game and twisted his ankle.
Back with Kamio and An and the rest of Fudomine, they were staring at the court with horror-filled eyes.
"This is bad!" Kamio said.
"No, Hari-chan… be careful!" An begged. "He's planning to…"
...
Hari knew what this meant.
She took in the red eyes and tightened her grip on her racket. She wasn't going to allow him to intimidate her. She would show him that tennis was more than this, that he didn't have to turn to violent play to win.
She used her slice serve again and wasn't surprised when he returned it. She noticed that he was moving faster than before now.
She returned it again, and he reached the ball and returned it closer to the net.
She moved forward to return it and only just managed to do it and the ball ended up going up as a lob and she realised that Kirihara suddenly was very close to the net.
"She fell for it…" Kirihara murmured.
Kirihara had jumped and hit the ball hard toward her right knee. She didn't have time to get out of the way.
Hari realised what he was doing, but it was too late and she felt the ball hit her right knee and she fell, unable to stay on her legs anymore.
It hurt.
"Hari!" Ryoma's voice sounded in the distance and so did others but right now she couldn't focus on them as she tried to breathe through the pain.
Ouch… seriously, that hurt!
"Are you okay?" the referee asked, having come down from his highchair and was standing beside her.
"I'm fine," Hari said, pushing herself up and ignoring the throbbing she felt from her knee. It wasn't too bad.
"Oh, that's good," Kirihara said, his voice colder than normal and Hari looked up at him. "I was worried that I'd never take a point from you."
...
15 – 0 : Rikkai Dai
...
...
AN: Next part and final part of the game and tournament will be up soon! Just have a few minor changes and edits to make before it's ready to go! XD
Also, the matches are based on the anime and not the manga. I know there are some differences in how it plays out between the anime and manga. I have of course also made changes so it fits with what I want and need to happen. XD
Thank you for reading! XD