Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Rising Ambitions ❯ Jumping Off of Second Story Windows ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Nori-chan, Nori-chan-guess what?"

A senior girl, with her hazel eyes drooping in the most sleepy way, raised her head from its position tucked in her arms on the desk, and let out a long yawn. Her hand found its way to the front of her mouth; at least she had the decency to cover up her yawn. She slowly shook her head to clear it up, and her other hand rose to tinker with the black cross earrings she wore, hung by a silver chain. This was mostly out of habit, though. It had started when one of her friends had fooled her into thinking that her earlobe had ripped from the 'fifty-ton weighing metal cross earring' she had on. She wasn't paranoid or anything, but it was nice to know that one's earlobe wasn't bleeding profusely, you know? Noriko spat out the stray bit of highlighted hair that had wandered into her mouth, grabbed her waist-length hair (ohhh, how she and her mother had fought over the length!), and shoved it over one shoulder.

"No-" a yawn, "what?"

Noriko's friend's chocolate brown eyes lit up with excitement, and Noriko sighed. Another hour-long speech...oh, god. The first time Noriko had met Ai in pre-school, the girl had run her mouth off for an entire hour period, causing Noriko to miss her naptime. That had resulted a very cranky Noriko and a very distressed team of nannies, butlers, and maids. Ai was a good girl...really! It was just that...well, she didn't understand that sometimes, people needed peace and quiet.

"Well, I heard that the tennis team captain, Yukimura Seiichi is coming back! He's been discharged!"

Oh, joy. The sick boy the others talked about all the time...the one with cancer, was it? Noriko couldn't remember; had it been terminal? The kids all considered it taboo to talk about it much, especially in front of the tennis regulars. But Noriko was not a girl to take no for an answer; she'd managed to weedle it out of fifteen people within three days.

What could she say?

She was popular; she was a jock on the prestigous soccer team of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku. And, people who were good at sports were popular at this athletics-based school. Simple.

In any case, this 'Yukimura Seiichi' had been the center of everyone's attention since she'd come here-and it pissed Noriko off.

To gain her respected position as one of the best players in the nation, Noriko had to shed tears and blood and sweat. She had recieved several B's and a few C's because of practice, and all she had to say to her disappointed parents had been a "I didn't understand the material." She had to spend half her time at home throwing up in the restroom pretending she was okay to the household workers so that they wouldn't report it to her parents, who would surely stop her playing soccer. Nobody knew the time and effort it had taken Noriko so that she could be nationally ranked.

And when she'd seen Yukimura Seiichi's interview, as the 'Child of God,' she'd wanted to scream and hurl the television set out the fourth story window.

Noriko was so, so tired. She'd just come back from another puking trip to the bathroom...ugh.

"Miss, its time for dinner."

Noriko felt like throwing up again after hearing the sound of the word 'dinner.'

Noriko's uninterested hazel eyes trailed over the black and white uniform of the maid, and she gave an empty smile, and raised her hand to show the black remote control in her hand. She turned it towards the television set, raising the volume, her ears perking slightly when she heard the volume escalating from the attached speakers.

"Miss...?" Confused eyes searched the impassive face for a reaction.

"Could I just finish watching this? Its almost over-I'll be down in a minute."

Noriko turned her attention back to the screen which flickered with colors.

"So, Yukimura-kun. About how many hours of practice did you put in to get your title?"

Noriko smirked. The boy had probably taken years and years of practice for this-

"I practiced for about four hours a day, and..."

Noriko's ears shut off everything and everyone, and she clamped her eyes closed. When she opened them again, she was seeing red. Yukimura Seiichi...'four hours a day?!?!'

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She let out an ear-splitting scream, full of contempt and jealousy.

She'd spent over seven hours a day, and what's with his, 'four hours a day!'
"GODDAMMIT!"

"M-miss! Miss!"

Noriko grabbed the remote, and hurled it at the screen; it bounced harmlessly off.

"Miss, please, what is the matter? Kyaa!"

The maid blocked her ears with her hands as Noriko grabbed a flower vase and threw it at the glassy surface, smashing both the television screen and the vase.

Why were some people born with it? The thing called talent.

Why were some people not?

Why did everyone prefer tennis stars over soccer duds?! What was so special about them? It had always, always been the same. Just like that goddamned cousin of hers. Besides, just how good was he to be so much more popular than Noriko? He was sick, for goodness sake. All he did was lie in bed, not caring about how his teammates were faring, and yet, people bowed down to him; they worshipped the very ground he walked on. His cousin, his parents, his aunt...they were all the same.

"Noriko, can't you be a bit more like your cousin, Ryoma? He's eight, and I heard that he's already been conquering everyone at the local tennis courts!'

"Ryoma-kun sure is talented, eh?"

"That Noriko-isn't she from the Echizen family? Must be some genes..."

"No, no-she's from the female side; I heard she's the heiress to some big-time company."

"Lucky her, eh? She's got no talent but she's got a future, huh?"

"Her father used to be a big time baseball star, I heard."

"But she's not athletic at all!"

"Just look at her!"

"She doesn't deserve her name; Shiori Corporation would fail underneath such an untalented person."

Che.

At least thanks to that cold slap of reality that had been served to her on a silver platter, she'd had to kill herself two times over trying to painstakingly make a name for herself in the sports world. 'Fanged Tiger' her ass.

"R-Really? Wow! That's great!"

...But Noriko's jealousy can't be shown. She wasn't about to go back to the nobody she was before she entered Rikkai Dai. No; if being popular required her to be overjoyed at the return of a guy who's guts she hated, she'd give a full blown grin and cheer along with the rest of her brain-washed peers.

Noriko flashed Ai a forced grin, and shot up from her seat. Ai's curious eyes stared at her.

"Nori-chan? Where are you going..."

Noriko grinned once more, and replied, "I'm going to the bathroom, then to the field to practice-you wanna come? The regulars get to skip the last two periods after lunch for practice-but Captain wants us there during lunch, cuz' we're having regular selections today."

Perfect! Captain couldn't have chosen a better day for practice. Yukimura Seiichi is coming back, you say? Well then...for his debut team practice day as captain, he'll have Noriko as a part of the audience. Let's see this 'God-like Child,' then. Noriko shall be the judge of whether or not if he's inherited a god's puny ass. Since the grass field is right next to the tennis courts, Noriko's plan will be smoothly down the road in no time at all. Noriko glanced once more at Ai, a silent offering.

Ai rose up quickly, which spoke volumes of her excitement alone. Her pigtails bounced off her shoulders as she leapt towards Noriko, her arm winding in a familiar motion around Noriko's own toned arm, and Ai squealed.

"Of course! If I go with you, I can get to the VIP seats-its almost always taken over by the fanclub, you know?"

Ahh, yes; every notable athletic club in the school had a fanclub, and so of course the soccer team had one as well. The supposed 'VIP seats' were right in the center of the bleachers, underneath the large maple tree the school had decided to build in the center of the seats.

"...Noriko? Noriko? Nori-chan! Geez," Ai whined.

Noriko's eyes blinked, and when she turned to face what Ai was pointing at, it was the front of the girl's restroom in building A. Noriko blankly stared at the dull blue paint of the walls, until Ai jerked once more at her arm.

"NORI-CHAN! If you're going to use the restroom, USE IT!"

-

Beeeeeep!

"Shiori! You're up! Center forward-get going!"

Noriko's head jerked up, and she smirked as the screaming of the fans got louder. Yes...this was right. This was how it was supposed to be. She shouldn't be pondering over how to greet Yukimura, she should be out there, kicking the opponent's ass.

"Haiiii," she called lazily, grinning.

She took her hair and put it up in a high ponytail, and shook it once for a good measure; the ends hit her waist soundly.

"Okay! Good to go!"

Noriko jogged onto the grass, giving one final wave to Ai, who stood in the bleachers. Ai let out a squeal, exuberantly expressing a thumbs-up.

"Go go go! Rikkai-dai! Go go go! Rikkai-Dai! GO GO GO!!!"

-

"So noisy...what the hell is that," Kirihara grumbled.

Yukimura-buchou was back, and on the first day, some retards decided to show up and scream for the soccer team?! Who cared if their regular selection matches were today, huh?! They should all have been in the tennis courts, all lined up to cheer for Yukimura-buchou!

"Akaya...what team is that?"

Kirihara glanced at his captain, who smiled back at him.

"I think its the soccer team...Mura-buchou, should I go shut them up?"

Yukimura laughed, and Kirihara blushed.

"No, no-its quite alright. How about we go watch? Didn't you say that the team's having their regular selection matches today, Renji?"

The data master coughed, and replied, "Yes. The results are obvious though..."