Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ The Elements of Tennis ❯ Doubles 2 ( Chapter 12 )

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

The Elements of Tennis
Chapter Twelve

Hikaji places her hand behind her back, pointing to the right as Mizu leaps into the air. The ball is struck and immediately Hikaji takes off to her right while Mizu runs to the left.

Momoshiro gets distracted by their movements as the ball bounces right between his legs.

"Yo, Monkey, pay attention!" Kaidoh shouts as he returns it easily.

"Snake," Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo all chant together.

"Kaidoh-senpai is so awesome!" Tomo squeals happily.

"Is that all you've got?" Hikaji asks, immediately stepping back and returning the Buggy Whip Shot as if it were nothing.

"She returned it!" Horio complains.

"And so easily," Kachiro mumbles.

"Go! Kaidoh-senpai!" Tomo cheers once again. "Momo-chan-senpai!"

"Tomo-chan," Sakuno blushes.

"Hey, Viper, guess your Snake ain't so hot!" Momoshiro teases as he flies into the air after the lobed ball.

"Dunk Smash!" The cheering freshmen cheer in excited voices.

"Hikaji! I warned you not to lob it!" Mizu complains.

Momoshiro smashes the ball and it collides with the ground.

"Shut it, Mizu!" Hikaji growls as she steps in front of the high speed ball. "I've got it covered!"

She intercepts the ball and sends it back.

"All right, Shinzoo, you've gotta help us warm up," Kurai states as she pulls out her racket.

"How do I do that?" Shinzoo asks.

"Round the pole shots," Kurai responds as if it were obvious.

"Okay," Shinzoo smiles as she pulls out her hot pink racket.

"And don't be so perky about it," Kurai rolls her eyes.

"Round the pole shot? Really? But the dude with the Boomerang Snake is playing against Hikaji and Mizu right now," Akari complains.

"No kidding," Shinzoo agrees.

"Just do it."

The three move onto the court; Kurai and Akari on one side facing Shinzoo.

"All right, I'm ready when you are," Shinzoo announces.

"Serve it, Akari," Kurai states, throwing her partner the ball.

"Yes, Kurai," Akari sighs as she uses her white racket with black strings to bounce it into the air without stopping it.

She hits it over the net, allowing Shinzoo to return it. It soars around the pole and smacks into the corner of their court.

"Akari," Kurai orders.

"Got it," Akari responds as she moves into the path of the ball and slaps it with her racket before it bounces out of the court.

It flies over the net and Shinzoo sends it back with yet another round the pole move on Kurai's side of the court. Kurai sets up in the way with her black racket with white strings. The ball bounces into the court and she returns it effortlessly.

After a few more rounds of this, the three stop when Shinzoo bounces the ball up instead of sending it back. She catches it in her hand and the three head back.

"So, are you two going to use your real rackets in this match? Those two are really starting to wear out," Shinzoo comments.

Kurai and Akari look down at their old, warn out rackets and shrug. Shinzoo sighs and shakes her head as her friends trade rackets.

"So, you're gonna give them even more of a handy cap then usual?" Shinzoo asks. "Are you sure you should do that? This is the Seigaku Golden Pair you're up against."

"They're not that special. I think it's all just hype to scare opponents," Kurai responds as she tightens, loosens, and changes her grip on the white racket with black strings.

"But we're not scared, are we?" Akari brags.

"There's nothing to fear," Kurai states as they get closer to the court.

"Point, Seigaku, 6-6," the referee's voice hits their ears.

"Did we get skipped?" Akari asks in a worried tone.

The three girls come around the corner behind Seigaku's team.

"Kaidoh-senpai! Momo-chan-senpai! Fight!" the freshmen encourage.

"Kaidoh and Momoshiro? Then that means . . ." Akari thinks aloud.

"Hey, I thought I told you guys to crush them. What's taking you so long?" Kurai calls onto the court from her new location, right behind Ryuzaki.

"Uh . . . Kurai . . ." Akari states nervously. "I don't think . . ."

"Come on, some of us have lives to go on with. Places to go, people to see, and times a wasting," Kurai continues, ignoring the warnings of her friend.

Hikaji growls as she returns the ball, fast and heavy.

"Shut up, Kurai!" she shouts as it hits the ground and makes a vicious turn towards Ryuzaki.

The older woman lies down on the bench quickly to prevent herself from getting hit.

"Ryuzaki-sensei!" Momoshiro and Kaidoh shout, surprised and worried.

Kurai smirks as the ball flies into the fence. The sound of metal breaking is heard as the ball tears through the fence and right past Kurai's head missing by only a centimeter.

"Kurai, you know how bad her temper is," Akari comments.

Kurai shrugs as Kaidoh gets ready to serve the ball. It flies over the net and Hikaji sends it right back effortlessly, fired up due to Kurai's taunting. The ball soars towards Kaidoh, who gets ready to hit it.

"There it is!" Horio celebrates as Kaidoh makes contact with the ball and sends it back. "Boomerang Snake!"

Indeed, the ball flies around the pole.

"Not good enough, sorry, Kaidoh-kun," Kurai smirks.

"Huh?" Kikumaru asks, eyeing her oddly.

"Watch and see," Kurai states as she places her hand on her hip.

Mizu appears in the path of the ball just as it hits the ground. Quickly, as if she could do it in her sleep, she sends the ball back around the pole the way it had come.

"Boomerang Snake?" Horio asks.

The ball bounces in the corner and then out of the court, neither Kaidoh nor Momoshiro were even able to move.

"She returned it," Kikumaru states in shock.

"A simple Around-the-pole move won't do any good against B.E.T. We're tested daily on how to perform and deflect such attacks," Kurai states in a bored tone. "Oi, ref."

"Oh, um . . . Point, 6-7 B.E.T. leads."

"Yay! One more point!" Shinzoo celebrates.

"Only if those two can make sure to get it without allowing Seigaku to sneak one in," Kurai responds. "Come on; let's go back to our team."

"Yes," Akari and Shinzoo agree.

They walk back to their team and watch the remainder of the tiebreaker.

"You three missed it," Koorai laughs.

"What'd we miss?" Akari asks.

"Hikaji got yelled at for focusing on Momoshiro-kun's ankle too much," Koorai answers.

"Ah, Captain Seeshin takes away all the fun," Shinzoo complains, causing Akari to laugh.

Hikaji gets frustrated as the ball flies her way. She jumps up and hits it with all her might. Unfortunately, instead of hitting the ground, it smashes directly into Momoshiro's face leaving an imprint as it flies up and gets stuck in the fence.

"Point. Match goes to B.E.T. 7-6," the referee announces.

The gate opens and in runs Chikyuu, the motherly figure of the B.E.T. team who always worried about injuries, especially those given to the opponents.

"Momoshiro-kun, are you all right?" she asks, waving a hand in front of his face. "How many fingers do you see?"

"None, but I do see four angels," Momoshiro responds.

A stretcher comes and takes him away to the hospital.

"We will now begin the Doubles 1 match between Seigaku and B.E.T." an announcement comes over the loud speakers.

Mizu takes her place as the bench coach as Kurai and Akari walk out onto the field to meet Seigaku's Golden Pair, Oishi and Kikumaru.