Getting rid of shadows: PRINCE OF TENNIS

Ch. 10

The ball caught in her racquet, and I saw her eyes steel themselves, widening at the amount of force behind the ball.

Her eyes narrowed, and she executed a perfect muscle-return, as Fuuko called it.

Echizen's eyes gleamed, a sadistic smile appearing on her mouth, aiming at her opponent.

Fuuko couldn't even move, her psychological mentality shattering.

She had spent two years perfecting that form, and she had done it in two minutes. The girl-captains eyes widened, and a frown, a look of disgust shone through her happy facade.

But a slight tremor in her knee gave her away. If possible, her veins seemed to eject further, under her skin, and like a cartoon characher, her eyes shone a bright red, in anger, figurative steam coming out of her ears.

All the while, as a destructive lust seeped from the captain's features, Echizen calmly stood, smirking slightly, giving a closed-eye smile, which infuriated Fuuko even more, if possible.

Fuuko seemed to be able to crush the ball in her hand as she served it, but the spin it created as the ball flew off the racquet, Yanagi stood, yelling out to the court.

''No, don't hit it!''

Fuuko hit a special serve. A move based on the same fundamentals as one of the Seigaku players' hadokyuu. Only this one looked like it could rip Akira's arm out of it's socket.

Akira didn't move. The ball tore through the air. It headed straight for her face, and just as it was supposed to make contact, Akira disappeared,

I looked around the court system frantically. Where was Akira.

She reappeared, to the left of the balls path. She hit the ball, and I saw a small twitch in her eye as she read the path of the ball.

Then, as if she knew it would come back, she got right back in stance, as the ball curved back from the net, back at her. The ball seemed to follow her, as she ran along the baseline, the enraged Fuuko smiled, laughing.

Suddenly Yanagi stiffened even more. I looked at him, to see that he was looking at Echizen. Yanagi's eyes were open wide, which was shocking in and of itself.

I looked at him, unsmiling. "Yanagi?"

Yanagi showed me his data, and I silently wondered if the world was coming to an end.

The top of the page had Akira Echizen's name on it, but none of the blanks were filled in. An empty page.

Our eyes traveled back to the strange girl on the court, hitting an ever faster ball back, not crossing the net. She smirked.

Smirked.

Yanagi's pen dropped. ''She expected this?''

Sure enough, Akira twitched, one hand in front the other, hitting the ball forward, but dtoronglt enough for it to cross forward, onto fuuko's side of the net. The hadokkyuu strained against the net, and as Akira came out of form, it burst through, and Akira moved her head to the side, just in time to avoid the ball.

Now Fuuko was shaking like a leaf. "Y-y-you MONSTER!"

Akira put her arms behind her head, yawning. It was a proper point.

"Tell me something I don't know." She retorted, with a slight yawn.

"How do you know how to counter this shot?" Fuuko demanded, pointing her racquet at Akira.

"One of my friends was talking about it" She stopped, face emotionless. "I saw some scary guy using it in a tournament on tv" Echizen pointed out, almost carelessly.

Marui, jackal and Niou all sweatdropped. Comparing Akira to Tezuka, they were on the same level of scariness.

Fuuko, who was panting hard, hit a regular muscle serve, her arm shaking from the powerful hadokkyuu she just sent to Echizen.

Akira Echizen.

Mathematician

Tennis player

And hates to lose.

Echizen got into Fuuko's hadokkyuu stance.

Fuuko fell, backing away from a smirking Akira.

The next few moments came in flashes, As Akira threw the ball up, and as it came back down, Akira smashed a hadokkyuu, straight to Fuuko's right.

Fuuko lay, cowering, sweating, on the court.

Akira hmmphed.

Fuuko couldn't return the hadokkyuu more than 3 times.

She lay, in a heap of sweat and human, on the ground.

As the female regulars, led by the vice-captain, crowded around the loser, Akira dissapeared.

*******

I turned the faucet off, he shower stopping, the heavy stream of water turning into a trickle, and then stopping.

I sighed, stretching up with a slight 'hnn'. I stepped out of the shower. Securing as towel around my waist and walking into my room.

I found a pair of green checkered pajama trousers, and no shirt. Oh well, I thought to myself,

Slamming my body onto the bed, I sighed.

Her arms had been completely shot afterwards. She pushed herself too hard.

The more I thought about Aki---Echizen the more I realized how little I truly knew about her. I stretched, putting my arms up above my head, remembering Echizen's words.

No, I meant to ask, just who are you?" I gave a slight smirk.

"I'm just who I say I am. Echizen Akira. Your friend over there knew that, you didn't have to drag me across campus to get that information." She said, getting bored now.

"There's no information on you, anywhere. Your brother, there's tonnes, but you, you're like a shadow, you don't seem to exist." I sighed in mock annoyance.

She hardened her stare like ice. "You'll just have to take my word for it, then. won't you?"

I pressed a single finger to each temple. Why did I care! I didn't even know this girl.

My heart beat a little harder, and an image, of Akira walking, her golden eyes looking down at something, before she made eye contact with me appeared in my head. I remember looking away, slightly blushing and thanking the gods above that none of the regulars were in the vicinity. Yanagi could have had a field day.

I pulled up a the covers, reaching over to the lamppost, and turning it off with a slight pull.

My eyes shut, and I fell asleep, a small smile and a question on my lips.

"Who are you?"