Chapter 21: Ryoma and Ayame's Rematch
Ayame strolled down the dirt road through the park. She was going on an early morning stroll before the park gets noisy. As she walked, she was contemplating about her life as well as dwelling on her past.
What was bothering her most was the match she had with Ryoma back before the Nationals had began. It bugged her to not know if she has surpassed Ryoma yet and more than anything at this moment she wanted to know.
Back when I used to play with Ryoga, it was true that I was better than Ryoma... she thought. But when we grew up together he was better than me because of my lack of power. And that last match told us that we were evenly tied. But at this point of time it's hard to tell because I've been working on my power and Ryoma learned some new tricks up his sleeve. I guess we'll have to settle it again.
She decided to walk back to the hotel and have some breakfast. As she reached the door to her room, she quietly opened it, got inside, and closed it lightly. Ryoma was still sleeping soundly, and she didn't want to wake him. She had breakfast and then decided to play another match with Ryoma... although it couldn't be now due to the fact that her opponent was still fast asleep.
It's this early in the morning... she thought as she looked at the clock. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait for hours for this bastard to wake up.
Ayame began spinning her racket on one finger while waiting. She began counting in seconds how long she could spin the racket before it fell.
1050, 1051, 1052... Ayame's thoughts went.
Right then, the racket on her finger fell onto the floor.
Dammit... she thought as she picked her racket back up.
To her surprise, Ryoma had slept through the noise the racket made when it fell. She packed away her racket and decided to just do nothing while she waited for him to wake up.
Hours soon passed. Ryoma finally opened his eyes and he spotted Ayame sitting on a chair pulled up to the window. She was staring out the window with a blank expression, and looked exactly like when she was staring at the clock.
She's petrified again... Ryoma thought drowsily before closing his eyes.
He fell back asleep and slept for another few hours before waking up again. Ayame was still in the exact same position as when he last saw her. When he realized that, he began to get creeped out.
When she was petrified like that, it was only for a few minutes... he remembered. Did she possibly stay like this for this long? Or is she doing this to scare me? Wait... during that time when I was sick, I didn't know how long she was staring at the clock...
"Oh, you're finally awake?" a voice interrupted Ryoma's thoughts.
He looked to see that Ayame has finally moved and she was looking at him.
"How long have you been sitting there?" Ryoma asked.
"Dunno," Ayame answered with a shrug. "Maybe two hours or so, looking at the time. Anyway, now that you're up, wanna go play a match and finally settle the score?"
Ryoma smirked. "You're on!"
"But first, you gotta change. You don't wanna play in your pajamas, do you?"
Ayame's response caused Ryoma to do a pratfall out of his bed.
"I'll be waiting for you at a tennis court," she said as she picked up her tennis bag and left the room.
Ayame waited and eventually Ryoma showed up. She prepared to serve, psyching herself for another rough match.
"Well then, here I go!" she called as Ryoma noticed that she applied air into her racket.
She's already using Gemini... he thought.
Ayame served the ball, and Ryoma waited for the fluke balls to come out and pass by. To his surprise, after the ball bounced, the fluke balls surrounded the ball, making it impossible to return.
"Gemini: Defense Formation," Ayame said when she saw the stunned expression on Ryoma's face. "15-0!"
Ayame took another ball and Ryoma saw her prepare another Gemini. It was another defensive Gemini, and again Ryoma had trouble returning it.
"30-0!"
Ayame held serve by continually using the defensive Gemini.
She's already going all-out from the beginning... Ryoma thought, frustrated.
Ryoma served, and the rally began. Midway through, Ryoma saw Ayame using another Gemini. She then returned the ball, and Ryoma expected a defensive formation. However, to his surprise, the fluke balls flew straight towards him, and he avoided the fluke balls to avoid getting injured.
"Gemini: Attack Formation," Ayame said. "0-15!"
Frustrated, Ryoma hit a Twist Serve, which Ayame easily returned. He kept hitting Twist shots, and Ayame was able to return them.
Very clever, Ryoma, Ayame thought as the rally went on. With the ball continually flying at my face, I can't direct my Gemini while I'm struggling to hit the ball back.
Finally, Ryoma used a Drive C.
"15-15!"
Damn, if he's gonna use Twist shots like this, I can't use Gemini... Ayame thought as she eyed the other court. And I'm unable to use Gemini at the same time as Ninja Dash.
Ryoma hit another Twist Serve, and Ayame felt frustrated as he sealed her Gemini. She began to use Ninja Dash to catch up to the balls before they hit the ground, in case if Ryoma was planning to hit a Drive C. Ryoma then began hitting shots in the direction away from Ayame.
He's trying to make me run around... she thought. He knows my stamina is really good, but if I run way too much then I won't hold out.
Ayame abandoned her idea of using Ninja Dash and instead returned the balls normally. Finally, one of Ryoma's shots came out as a reverse Twist shot.
"30-15!"
He can do the backwards Twist as a regular shot?! Ayame thought, shocked.
Ryoma continued to overwhelm Ayame until he kept serve. Ayame knew that when she serves, she could use Gemini, and intended to use it to score every time she served. She held serve with her defensive Gemini, and Ryoma held his serves by using Twist shots to prevent her from using Gemini.
"Game, Ryoma! 6-6! Tiebreak!"
Is this going to end up like back then? she wondered.
The two freshmen rallied, not giving in. Ayame felt a sense of thrill as she rallied.
Even though I want to win, I'm having so much fun... she thought.
Right then, both freshmen activated the Tenimuhou no Kiwami at the same time, and it soon dragged out to a high speed rally.
"243-243!"
The tiebreak had continued for hours and neither freshman had relented. The score soon dragged on into the 300's. Ayame sensed that her stamina is approaching its limit.
Dammit... she thought. If I don't end this already, he'll beat me... I don't have much time left...
Soon enough, Ayame reached her limit and her legs gave in. At that exact moment, Ryoma collapsed on the court. The ball landed on Ayame's side.
"367-367..." Ayame said with reluctance, unsure if Ryoma was listening.
She wasn't sure if Ryoma passed out again, but for all she knew was that this time she managed to stay conscious. She stared at Ryoma and waited. There was no response from the boy. She crawled to the other court.
I can't stand... she thought. He reached his limit... Che. Another tie...
She was about to try to stand until she stopped.
"Oi, wake up, you bastard!" she shouted at him.
Geez... she thought in exasperation. He really did fall asleep in the middle of the match...
She crawled to a bench and sat there until she was able to stand again. Knowing that there was no way she could carry Ryoma with her current condition, she drank the water bottle that she packed and packed away their rackets. She waited until her body was done sweating and she was able to run again.
Looks like it's my turn now... Ayame thought, remembering when Ryoma carried her because of her twisted ankle.
Ayame scooped Ryoma up onto her back and supported his weight while trying to carry his tennis bag as well as hers. She made her way back to the hotel and plopped Ryoma onto his bed the instant she could.
My back hurts... she thought as she dropped both tennis bags. At this rate, will we ever settle the score? Or will we always be bound to be even like this?
Ayame stopped thinking about the match as she grabbed something to eat. It wasn't until dusk when Ryoma finally regained consciousness. As he dizzily sat up, he recalled what had happened before he blacked out.
"Ayame, who won this time?" he asked when he saw her.
"Unfortunately, we tied again," she answered. "But seriously, Ryoma, you're a really troublesome bastard for falling asleep in the middle of the match the instant my legs reached their limit. You made me carry you back to the hotel and now my back hurts."
"Che."
Though they haven't found out who the better player is, Ryoma was starting to not want to play with Ayame.
Her Gemini is seriously annoying... he thought.
"Ne," he started. "If you were to use the shuriken Gemini, wouldn't you be the winner anyway?"
Ayame hesitated. She had never used her shuriken Gemini in a match because she doesn't fall so low to severely injure her opponent just to win. Although she has never used it before, she knew it could possibly cause deep cuts, considering that it has slashed open a tennis court fence.
"Yeah..." she finally answered. "But it's not worth injuring you just to win than to not be able to rally with you for maybe a few months or so."
Ayame got up and went to go lie down on her bed.
"Ryoma," she said. "Do you not want to play me anymore?"
Ryoma hesitated. How could she tell?
"I figured," Ayame went on as though she was able to tell what he was thinking. "You told me that after you played Rokkaku's freshman, he kept wanting to play with you, but you said no. And I heard from Shitenhouji's bandage guy that the strange freshman kid kept wanting to play you too, but you said no. From what I know, you played annoyingly long and tough matches with both freshmen. And I can tell that you think my Gemini is annoying. So I'm not surprised if you don't wanna play me anymore."
Both freshmen were silent afterward.
"Oh well," Ayame said, getting up. "I'm going to bed."
She went into the bathroom to change and settled back down in bed. Ryoma stared up at the darkness contemplating about the match before changing and going to bed as well.