How did a girl get on to Rikkaidai's Tennis Team?
| f r e s h m a n y e a r |
Yumiko's P.O.V
"Don't forget to hand it in your essay's! They're due first thing tomorrow morning" said our teacher, as we packed our stuff to leave. "Oh and Tezuka, Yoshizawa-sensei would like to speak to you," she said, while everyone piled to get out of the classroom. I nodded and walked out. Once I got to the principal's office, I knocked on the door. I hope I'm not in any trouble. "Come in," said a voice from the inside. "Good afternoon Tezuka-san" he greeted. He said in his usual chair and began to talk.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked quickly out of instinct, instantly regretting it. Can I not be awkward for one second! "You're not in trouble. It's actually something you may find joy in" he said, ending the sentence with a small chuckle. "You can sit down, by the way," he said. I sat down and placed my bag next to the chair. "So I've been curious about your tennis achievements since you spend everyday in a court and still manage to pass your classes. I knew you played nationally in multiple tournaments and well as some international tournaments. I ended up calling the J.T.A and asking about your achievements more in-depth" he explained, "and I am beyond surprise with everything you've done in your years in Rikkaidai."
Wow. Was the coldest principal ever complimenting me? "We decided that we should allow you to be apart of Rikkaidai's Boy's Tennis Team. A regular that is. The J.T.A and I decided that it would be a huge help to our team if you joined" he said. Me? On the boy's tennis team? That's surprising. "Tezuka-san, would you accept my offer?" he asked, now facing me. "What would Miyagawa-sensei say about this?" I asked myself aloud. "She said yes," he said. "Then I'd love too" I finally said, giving him a smile. "Great! Perfect timing, their practice is starting now. You can go to the courts and practice with them. Yukimura-buchou already knows your coming" he said. I bowed, "Arigato, sensei!". I took my leave and left
[-]
I walked to the courts in total excitement but still nervous. What if they didn't like me and though I sucked at tennis? I shook my head and wiped away those thoughts. They wouldn't let me be a regular if they thought so. A few minutes after that, I arrived to see a lot of people there. A guy with a regular jacket approached me. "You're Tezuka Yumiko, right?' he asked. I looked up to him and politely replied with, "Yes". "Nice to finally meet you. I'm the captain, Yukimura Seiichi. You can follow me and I'll introduce you to your new teammates" he explained. He took me inside the court, "These are our regulars, Ikeda, Yanagi, Sanada, Mori, Nishiki, Akagi, Me, and you" he said, pointing to everyone one of them.
Yukimura-buchou gathered the team and I can see they all had high levels of respect for him. "Ok, so I'm going straight to the point. We have a new regular and she's standing right here. Her name's Tezuka Yumiko and she's won many junior tournaments in Japan and America as well as other countries. Treat her well" he told them. Their eyes widen. "A girl as a regular?" they all thought. "She's also a freshman" he added which made people's mouths wide open. "OK! Return to practice" he finally said and everyone scrambled to the court. "Tezuka, you can practice with Sanada, Yanagi, and I," he said, pointing to the two boys on the 2nd court. So the captain's in the same year as me, huh? Yukimura decided that I should have a practice match against Sanada and I agreed. He looked like a tall boy with a stoic expression. This will be interesting.
[-]
No one's P.O.V
"Sanada vs. Tezuka. Tezuka's serve" said Yukimura, on the umpire chair. Yanagi took out a notebook and noted everything as they played. Starting off, Yumiko did a flat serve, that Sanada returned in an angle which she couldn't return it from. "Love-15!".
"Kozue!" she yelled as hitting the ball. She put a specific spin which would deceive the opponent into thinking there's a pine cone coming towards them. The serve leaving Sanada confused got her a point. "15-all!". She then switched to a slice serve which Sanada simply returned. After a rally, she took out another special move. "Katana!" she yelled, slashing the ball looking like the racquet was a sword. The ball's speed was unpredictable and brushed past Sanada. "30-15!". The girl did a flat serve and Sanada returned it with a powerful forehand, making her struggle a little. She ended up returning it with Katana. "40-15!". 'I'll end this game here' she told herself. Yumiko used her finishing serve, the zero-shiki serve. "Game, Tezuka". "You guys don't have to play anymore" Yukimura announced. They continued their practice after the game. 'She's a nice addition to our team' thought a certain Yanagi Renji, 'her style is unique and her power and speed make her a great asset to Rikkai'. The Child of God, The Master, and The Emperor silently agreed that Yumiko was a good player.
[-]
Rikkaidai ended up winning the Kanto Tournament this year with their beloved freshman captain, Yukimura Seiichi. They didn't even lose 1 set during the whole tournament. At this time with all the spotlight going to Rikkaidai Boy's Tennis Team, Yumiko decided to dye her hair and take her sensei's last name. She didn't want to have a confrontation with her brother yet. She didn't use any special moves during the Kanto Tournament, but the ones she used still surprised many reporters. The gave her the nickname, 'Rikkaidai's Queen'. Yumiko, Sanada, Yanagi, and Yukimura were known as 'Japan's Top 4 Juniors'. This was their era.
[-]
Rikkaidai just won Nationals this year. This shocked everyone. A team with four freshmen ended up winning the National Tournament? Rikkaidai's Queen had to use her Genso kōgeki, which crushed her opponent. The nicknames started pouring on her. Yumiko saw Yukimura's smile when they won. It was the best one she's seen. This day, she started falling for her captain.
[-]
Two months after Nationals, Yukimura went to France on the 20th training tour. He made Sanada the substitute captain. Practice with him as captain, was...Spartan-like training. Let's just say everyone was so happy why Yukimura-buchou came back.
| s o p h o m o r e y e a r |
This year appeared to be really uneventful. But Yumiko's feelings for Yukimura never went away. She's been trying to move on and abandon the feeling but it's too difficult. She still hasn't seen her brother since she was a kid but she's played against his team and seen him. He didn't recognize her though and she didn't want him too. No matter how well she does in any of these tournaments, it's always her brother getting all the praise from everybody. Apparently, he's Seigaku's Pillar of Support. In the spring, there was a freshman who challenged 'Japan's Top 4 Juniors' and got miserably defeated. He had potential and joined their team. They won National's again this year and are currently an undefeated team.
[-]
Yukimura, Sanada, Kirihara, Yanagi, and Yumiko went to China on the 21st training tour. It was a pleasant experience, to say the least.
[-]
Summer of sophomore year as they are almost juniors. While having a match with, Yumiko unexpectedly fainted. He ended up calling an ambulance for her and went with her to the hospital. He might not be as close to her, but he did care. Watching her unconscious face left him in a trance. He always found her pretty attractive. Yumi was good at tennis, pretty, smart. There was nothing to hate about her.
When they got to the hospital, the doctors told Yukimura that Yumi fainted out of over fatigue and dehydration and she would be discharged soon.
Yumiko's P.O.V
Damn, my head hurts a lot. Where am I? I opened my eyes slowly and saw a familiar person sitting next to my bed. Nice, I'm the hospital - wait - buchou? Why did he even stay? He woke up eventually and said, "You're awake". I replied, "How long have I been out?". "4 hours," he said simply. "And you stayed?" I asked, obviously like "wtf why?". "Well your parents are out of the country and you hate the shit out of your brother so I was kinda the only person who could stay" he explained. I nodded and a few minutes later, the doctor discharged me.
From then on, she and Yukimura started hanging out more and got to know more about each other. People noticed that Yumiko was the only female friend Yukimura had in RIkkaidai. Niou liked to prank Yumiko about Yukimura having a crush on her and he went home with a black eye that day...
a u t h o r 's n o t e
here's a pre-chapter since this book starts in junior year hehehehe
Since spring break starts this week, I'll be updating really soon <3
- author-chan