The sun was shining brightly down on the tennis court as Ryoma entered the boy's tennis club. He could see how silent the court was, not a sound to be heard except for the occasional thwack of a tennis ball hitting the racket. Ryoma looked around and asked, "Who is the captain of this club?"
Kachiro, a shy and quiet boy, blushed and raised his hand. "I-I am the club captain", he stuttered.
Ryoma nodded and smiled, impressed by Kachiro's dedication. He looked around at the other members of the club other than the trios. He saw other two students rallying with each other in one of the court.
Horio, with his loud mouth and energetic personality, was the vice captain of the club. He was great at helping Kachiro manage the tennis club and keeping the other members in line. Ryoma decided to challenge the trio to a rally to see how much they had improved over the years.
As they played, Ryoma was proud to see how much his friends had improved. They were able to keep up with his fast and precise shots, making the rallies intense and exciting. Kachiro, Katsuo and Horio had developed some decent tennis skills. They were pretty good, but still not as good as Ryoma. After the match, Ryoma decided.
"It's been so long a had good rallies. You guys done a good job improving over these years."
The trios blushed when they praised by the tennis prodigy.
"Fine, i will join the club." Said Ryoma, making the trio so happy. "But what can I do to help?" He asked again.
Horio suggested a unique idea to recruit new members - they should collaborate with the girls' tennis club for the upcoming mixed doubles tournament.
"What do you guys think?" Horio asked.
"I think that's a great idea, Horio-kun." Said Kachiro. "If you guys fine with it, I will go ask the girls' tennis club's captain.
"Are you fine with playing mixed doubles, Echizen?" Asked Horio.
"It's my first time, but I can try, depends on who my partner is." He said. He still remembers when he had to play double with the regulars, and as the single player, it was awkward at first, but they can overcome it.
"We are all agree to it then, I will go ask their captain now." Kachiro said happily and run towards the girls' tennis club.
At the girls' tennis club.
Sakuno and Tomoka hitting balls back and forth with amazing speed and precision, the other members of the tennis club watched in awe.
Tomoka's serves were like lightning bolts, powerful and precise, while Sakuno's backhand shots were graceful and impossible to return. The two girls moved across the court with such speed and agility that it seemed like they were dancing rather than playing a sport.
They stopped when Tomoka saw Kachiro coming and talked with the captain.
"Eh, what is Kachiro doing here?" Tomoka said to herself, but Sakuno can still hear her. She looked at Kachiro's direction.
Not long after that, the captain called for Sakuno. They stopped rallying and went to the captain. Sakuno looked at the captain with confused look. The captain is the same age as them, but they are in different class. She smiled at Kachiro who grinned to her back.
"Ryuzaki-san, have u play doubles before?" The captain asked.
Sakuno thought for a second. "I never play doubles."
"But you have joined some tournaments before right?" The captain asked again.
"Y-yes." She remembered how Sumire, her grandma who used to push her to join several tennis tournaments in these past few years.
"You're perfect then. Can you help the boys' tennis club joining the upcoming mixed doubles tournament?" The captain said.
"M-me?" Sakuno said with disbelief look."
"Yes, Ryuzaki-san, please help us just this one time. The boys' tennis club will have to be closed down if there's not enough members. This is the only chance we can use to recruit new members." Kachiro said with pleading look.
"W-well..." Sakuno still hesitated. She didn't have the confident. What if she lose? She will failed to help them recruiting members.
Tomoka taps her shoulder when she looked Sakuno's troubled face. "Don't worry Sakuno. Let's just do the best, Don't worry too much about the outcome."
The captain and Kachiro nodded, agreed with Tomoka.
"Well, okay. Do I have to start practice now?" She asked Kachiro.
"That's a good idea, let's go."
Sakuno followed Kachiro to the boys' tennis court, bringing her tennis racquet. When they arrive there, Sakuno can see how empty the boy's tennis club compare to the girls'.
"I bring your partner, Ryoma-kun. Ryuzaki-san has joined many tournaments before." Kachiro said, made Ryoma looked at his direction.
'Wait, did I listen properly? Who's my partner? It's not Horio-kun, Kachiro-kun or Katsuo-kun? But it's Ryoma-kun??' She thought with a shocked look.
"A-ano, my partner will be Ryoma-kun?"
The trio and Ryoma looked at Sakuno.
"Yeah, he's helping us." Horio said.
"B-but I'm not match with Ryoma-kun's level." She stammered.
Ryoma sighed. "Ryuzaki, you still didn't try play with me, how come you said that."
"Well... I..." Sakuno still didn't have the confident.
"Rally with me." He suggested.
"Oh.. okay." She walked nervously to the court, taking her position.
Ryoma also headed to the tennis court. The sun shining down as they began their rally. The balls flew back and forth between them, each shot more powerful and precise than the last. Ryoma tried to figure out how they needed to be in perfect sync with each other in the rally.
Half an hour passed, and Ryoma could see just how talented Sakuno truly was. Her shots were strong and consistent, her footwork flawless. The trio also looked at them with amazing looked. She's not the usual Ryuzaki he used to know, who mostly stumbled when she wanted to hit the tennis ball. He smirked, satisfied.
They took a break and both of them sit on the same bench. Kachiro gave them towels and drinks to refresh themselves. They both wipe their sweat with the towel and Sakuno took a sip of the drink.
"You improved a lot too." Said Ryoma, looked at her.
Sakuno blushed a bit. "Thank you, Ryoma-kun."
"Let's practice again tomorrow. We will try play doubles." Ryoma said.
Sakuno just nodded while still taking a breath.
"Ryuzaki, do you mind giving me your email address?" Ryoma said while took out his cellphone.
"M-my email address?" She said stuttering.
"Hn, you need to increase stamina. Let's go run together this weekend." Ryoma gave his cellphone to her.
"Oh, okay." Sakuno took it and type in her email address. After she's done, she gave back his cellphone. Ryoma took it and put in his shorts pocket.
"Well, I'm going home now." He said to the trio and stood up from the bench and took his belongings. "See ya."
"Echizen, let's walk together. We're going home too." Horio said while taking his belongings quickly. "Ryuzaki, thanks for helping us." He said, and try to catch up with Ryoma.
Kachiro and Katsuo also said thanks to her and followed Ryoma and Horio.
Sakuno looked at them walked away. She sighed. 'Why I always got entangle with Ryoma-kun?' She sighed again. "Let's just do the best, Sakuno." She said, trying to encourage herself.