"Losing is not an option."
—Frei Fuyuki
Text – English
Text – Thoughts
The Empress | Chapter 1
There are merely two reasons to play tennis.
One. Victory.
Two. Reunion.
Tennis serves as a bridge; it connects those who play. As long as the player never forgets tennis, they will never forget each other.
The girl stared blankly at the ceiling despite the minutes ticking by.
"The fans are looking forward to seeing this year's champion. Will it be Fuyuki Frei or the new rookie, Gilbard Stone? We'll find out. The match begins in," the man glanced at his watch, "exactly 30 minutes."
The screen was bright with excitement in the dim room. Pressing the mute button, she thought, it is time.
Don't disappoint me.
I won't.
Obtain the perfect victory.
Ja.
You have to be the best.
I know.
Losing is not an option.
I know that too.
Yuki knows, mama. She knows all that too well. Yuki will do her best-
Not enough.
-but it's not enough, is it?
Ring.
Her eyes closed. At least her prince won't have to see her pitiful self.
A puppet is useless when the strings are broken after all.
The girl grabbed her racket and exited the hotel room.
Ring.
"Oh my gosh, is that-"
"Yes! It's totally her!"
She heard the insects buzz around her, which only tempted her to walk faster, but she didn't.
How silly.
She didn't want to see their expecting eyes and false adoration. Not when they didn't know the real her.
Just as she exited the building, the limo awaited her. And beside it, her ever so loyal butler.
"Ojou-sama, allow me." The handsome male bowed as he opened the door.
Her mood soured, even him. No one understood. No one wanted to understand.
What is the point of strength and fame when you're all alone in a big, ugly sphere.
Ring.
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"Guess what I heard?! You won't believe it."
"The Empress is coming to Japan?"
"H-how did you know?"
Scoff. "I'm her biggest fan." he continued with excitement leaking through his voice, "She's a legend in the tennis world."
Grin. "I can't wait. I mean.. It's The Empress."
"When is she coming through?"
"They say she'll land after her match in America."
"Whoa, I'm so excited. Who do you think will win?"
Smirk. "Do you even have to ask?"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Nee, nee Momoicchi, what are you watching ssu?"
The Generation of Miracles seemed to be gathered around the locker room. It was one of those rare gatherings that occurred once every few months.
When the pinkette shushed Kise Ryota with an annoyed look, the blond glanced at the screen with curiosity. It displayed a wide tennis court with thousands of audience members eagerly shouting out an unfamiliar name. There were numerous banners and posters of the same name. It was amazing how excited they seemed for a plain game of tennis.
The direction of attention quickly changed to the grand stage as a sole player stood on opposite ends.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce this year's final contestants for the title of America's Junior Tennis Player!"
The crowd went wild at this.
"Here," he pointed at a rather dashing young male; his short light brown and tanned skin with those striking blue eyes made the female population stare a little longer than needed. "we have Gilbard Stone. He has a record of flawless victories, managing to defeat his opponents one after another. He is one of the youngest players to reach this far." There was a short cheer—mostly from his fangirls as they waved their banners frantically, trying to gain his attention long enough to make him notice their existence.
"With some exceptions of course! One of them being..." The screen turned towards the other end of the court, yet there was no one there.
"Eh," The host had a confused expression before he brought the earbud closer and nodded at the silent news. "Looks like the other player is running a bit la-" he was cut off as all the cameras zoomed in on the 'other' player.
Ring.
She was stunning.
Long midnight blue—the darkest shade of blue, almost black to some degrees—hair that was tied up with black ribbons, it was curled in the ends and looked perfect against her soft, porcelain skin. Her large yet cold hazel eyes appeared to be glaring at the world with a frozen expression.
She wore a beautiful collar around her slim neck with a small bell attached to it; it was black with two horizontal silver zigzagging linings that crossed one another. Her uniform consists of an elegant tennis jersey and sports shorts that stopped mid-thigh.
Her stance looked fearless and strong, refusing to fall. Despite her small form, her eyes tell a different story. As if those beautiful orbs have seen everything and have given up on life itself.
She walked to the court with at most confident, as if the match was already decided. The sound of the bell around her neck echoed like a lullaby.
"Ah, it looks like she's here. Introducing the one and only Empress of Tennis... Fuyuki Frei!!" And that's when the name became more familiar. The crowd went absolutely silent before the loudest ear-piercing cheer rang throughout the whole stadium.
"Whoa," Aomine Daiki whistled, coming over to see what the commotion was about. "Damn, she's hot."
Kise nodded his head quickly with a dazed look in his eyes, "She's beautiful... Like a fairy ssu."
"The crowd loves Fuyuki-chan~!" Momoi Satsuki exclaimed as her eyes lit up in excitement.
The host continued despite the loud cheering in the background. "Fuyuki Frei, the first youth to win the Junior Tournament three times in a row; she is a true prodigy." Even the host has signs of awe for the young beauty it appears. "Born in a powerful family with her deceased mother as her coach, Fuyuki overcame all boundaries to achieve complete victory. Loved by all,"
There was a small curve on the beauty's pale lip at those last three words, Akashi Seijuro—who also came over with the rest of them—noticed, along with those who re-watched the moment on TV.
"she is the champion of last year's German's Olympics for Youth and ranked 15th in World Junior Rankings."
"A genius just like Generation of Miracles. Kyaaaaa~" Momoi squealed much to her childhood friend's annoyance. "She looks just like a doll. I want to hug her~"
"Hmm," Murasakibara Atsushi hummed in thought while munching down on the sweets in hand. The girl was so small and pretty that it made him feel like he could break her with a mere touch, which seems really tempting. However, the look in her eyes sent a shiver down his spine. Those eyes... It feels like she was looking at him yet at the same time, looking through him as though he is not worthy of her attention. And that both intrigued and angered him.
"You sure know a lot about her, Momoi-san." Kuroko Tetsuya commented, his eyes also fixed on the screen.
"Of course, Tetsu-kun! I'm a big fan!" the pinkette excitement dulled down for a second as she stared the screen where the beauty stood alone while everyone cheered for her. "Fuyuki-chan is stronger than anyone, more beautiful than anyone. I completely adore her!" The pinkette exclaimed and clapped her hands together with shining ink orbs. "She rose to the top in a mere six months. Her mother died at a young age and she was born with a weak heart, but she suppressed all boundaries to play the sport she loves."
The match began shortly after. To say they were amazed would be an understatement. The beauty conquered the match in matters of minutes like it was effortless to her. She moves like an elegant swan with precise calculation. It was obvious the goddess of victory was shining down on her. Her serves seemed perfect; her returns were heavy for someone her weight as evident from the marks left behind by her smashes. Her movement looked like a well-rehearsed dance. Almost as though she was predicting futures; the beauty ran to the spot the ball will land. Her eyes, however, remained empty like someone was watching over her and marking down every invisible mistake.
Midorima Shintaro pushed his glasses up with a toy Kappa in his twitching hand. He was impressed yet, didn't allow it to show but the way his fingers would twitch every time the beauty played an ace move was a dead giveaway. It excited him to the core how effortless and elegant she made it look.
And among her those moves there was one that completely blew both him and his teammates away.
There was a flash of bright blue light around her racket as she accumulates a large amount of air in the ball before hitting it. The air released from the ball speeds towards her opponent, dangerously fast. The force of the air is powerful enough to knock his opponents off their feet. The ground crumbled beneath his feet.
"Bio-Magnetism," she whispered softly, eyes brightening with a flash.
Her soft voice sent shivers down everyone's back.
"I-is that really tennis ssu?" Kise asked with wide eyes, shocked by the power.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Aomine asked with a raised eyebrow.
The beauty's opponent could barely stand while bruises started forming. It surprised them all when he stubbornly stood back on his feet again.
It's too easy. The goddess of victory always smiles upon the strong.
"Tennis is easy." she mumbled softly, 'no one can defeat me'. "If you disagree, prove Yuki wrong." 'I won't allow it' went unsaid.
Gilbard stood up with a quivering form; exhaustion was evident. "I won't go down that easily. Not when I've come this far!" 'there was that look again.'
Fuyuki watched the man with wonder. 'Why?' She wanted to ask. 'Why do you go so far?'
Taking her stance, she transferred power from her whole body to her wrist.
The determination in his eyes was enough of an answer.
'How silly.'
Akashi's lips curved in a sadistic grin as he grew more interested in the girl.
However, just when the crowd was getting louder than ever and the beauty was few points away from the perfect score, she stopped all movement.
There was a look of confusion among the crowd of fans.
The screen immediately zoomed in on her, waiting for a moment of weakness to record. They weren't disappointed when the beauty lost the grip of her racket, causing it to hit the ground harshly. Her gaze locked with the cloudless blue sky. Her silky locks blew behind her. There was an almost peaceful expression on her feature before a small, helpless smiled bloomed.
Placing a hand over her heart, she crossed her other arm under her bust and closed her eyes.
Something is wrong.
Silently, she abandoned her place and walked out of the court.
"Wh-what's wrong with Fuyuki?"
"Frei-chan?"
"What's wrong?"
"Why did she stop?"
The audience was left pondering as the beauty began to walk away from the court.
Are you going to disappoint me again?
She halted.
Win.
'What's the point', she wanted to ask, 'the winner is already determined.'
Losing is not an option.
Right. Of course. Walking away is the same as losing.
"Wait!" It was Gilbard, despite panting heavily, he managed to yell out. "The match isn't over it!"
The beauty turned her head ever so slightly, over her shoulder. When she did, her eyes grew cold.
'There it was'. The look of determination never left him.
And it made her want to-
crush it.
"You're right." her voice was ditty-like as she picked up her racket and went back to position again. "It's still not over it."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Fuyuki-"
"How do you feel?"
"What is your next plan?"
"What would you say to all the young viewers who are watching?"
"Is it true you are leaving for Japan?"
The beauty remained motionless with the weight of the gold medal around her neck and the worthless trophy in her hand dragging her down. She has no reason to answer any of their questions. When one is curious, their questions are never-ending, one leading to the next, and so on, and so forth. Her bodyguard had to shove the media at bay as she passed. She was ready to step into the limo when she heard it-
"Ryoma Echizen."
The beauty's features formed one of surprised—the first expression besides the brief smile she had in the middle of her match—at the mere mention of that name as her hazel orbs widened with wonder. Of course, they saw it as she turned away from the limo and towards the paparazzi.
The group wasn't sure if the beauty actually realizes how she looks right now. Knowing how big this was, the reporters quickly surrounded her. The questions regarding the game was erased from their minds; they knew the girl would not answer.
The screen zoomed in on Fuyuki as many of the reporters asked her new questions.
"What is your relationship with Ryoma Echizen?"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Fuyuki pondered on those words. 'Boyfriend?' Nein. He isn't that meaningless of existence. Ryoma was precious to her; he is her last treasure in this world. There was no question about it.
"He is someone worth the world." her large hazel eyes seem to pierce through the screen as she said those six words; words that seem to have a deep meaning behind them.
The reporters stared, bewildered as she turned and stepped into the waiting limo. She left behind the curious paparazzi and even more curious viewers.
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Edited: Aug 15, 2020