Chapter 2: Games
Now for our first session, you will be having a practice match against the girls." Coach Ryuzaki said.
All the regulars nodded.
"Alright, we will be matching you up by play styles. Tezuka you will be paired up against Yuriko-san, Oishi, Keiko, Fuji, Megumi, Kaido, Chiharu, Eiji, Ayumi, Kawamura, Shizuka, Momoshiro, Harumi, and finally Ryoma and Azumi." Ryuzaki-sensei announced.
Eiji giggled, Fuji who was nearest him asked,
"What's so funny Eiji?"
"Ochibi has his work cut out for him." Eiji said smirking
Fuji ignored Eiji's slide remark and went to the nearest bench and sat down.
"Alright Tezuka and Yuriko first. You two may proceed to court A. Tezuka to serve."
The pair walked to the courts and started the match. At first it was obvious that Tezuka has the upper hand but during the second half Yuriko started pulling back. She managed to return all of Teuka's smashes and even manage to return Tezuka's Zero Shiki Drop Shot. The game ended with a Score of 7-5 with Tezuka winning.
"Next are Oishi and Keiko. Oishi to serve."
The pair went over to the different sides of the court. The moment the game began Oishi was being pushed back. Reiko was dominating the game, match after match but Oishi was no push over. He was still holding his ground. The two ended the rally with Keiko winning the match 6-4.
"Nest pair will be Eiji and Ayumi. Eiji to serve."
The pair started playing. The game seemed to be even at first but as the game progressed Yumi was being pushed back. Eiji's speed was dominating the match. At the end of the game Eiji won the match with a score of 6-4
"You were holding back weren't you?" Amy whispered as Yumi came and stood beside her.
"No I wasn't." Yumi argued
Amy glanced at Yumi where she was holding her racked. Right hand. No one knows that the twins were really left handed. Both sisters studied hard to learn ambidexterity, but only Amy took it to the next level. She can easily use both of her hands equally, with only minimal difference in strength, though to some extent there were some techniques she uses in tennis that can only be performed by her left hand. Yumi on the other had has a much weaker right hand compared to her left.
"You know me too well." Her sister said
"Well, I'm not your other half for nothing." She replied
"Next pair will be Kawamura and Shizuka. Kawamura to serve." Ryuzaki sensei said
From the start Shizuka had no problem returning all of Kawamura's burning shots. Shizuka, who appeared as a small fragile girl, returned Kawamura's Hadokyu like it was nothing. With all of Kawamura's power shots deemed useless, Shizuka won her match with a score of 6-4.
"Next up is Fuji and Megumi. Fuji to serve."
Fuji and Megumi had an even match at first. Fuji managed to return all of Megumi's shots and Megumi surprisingly managed to return Fuji's Hakugei and Higuma Otoshi. The match lasted for more that 20 minutes which was brought to a tie-breaker. The match only ended when Megumi pulled out a surprising technique. She called it the 'Hiker'. The shot caused the ball to hit the net, roll up and roll to the other side of the net, to her opponent's court. The game ended with a score of 7-6 (18-16).
"Yah, they're good." Fuji said
"Hoi, You have seen nothing yet, Syu-kun." Eiji said excitedly.
"What do you mean?" Fuji asked
"You still haven't met their ace yet." Eiji said smiling.
"Huh?" Fuji asked curiously
"Alright, next one will be Kaido and Chiharu, Kaido to serve."
Kaido was already aggressive from the start, hitting boomerang snake after boomerang snake, which caused Chiharu to fall back 4 games. After the second half however, Chiharu's speed and power suddenly increased. Kaido's boomerang snake was sealed, because of Chiharu's reflexes. Kaido tried to tire out Chiharu by making her run from corner to corner, but for Chiharu, it was merely child's play. The game ended when Chiharu pulled out her ace shot, a shot that changed direction the moment it bounces, a direction that only Chiharu can predict. The ended with a score of 6-4, Chiharu as the winner.
"Great game, Kaido senpai." Chiharu said reaching out to shake his shake his hand.
"Fshhh." Kaido hissed and turned his head so as not to let Chiharu and his team mates see him blush.
Chiharu tilted her head, confused, and then shrugged as Kaido walked away.
"Next game, Momoshiro and Harumi. Momoshiro to serve."
Momoshiro and Harumi's game to a game of power versus power. Momoshiro hit smash after smash and Harumi returned it one after another. The game seemed pretty even at first, until the Harumi decided to play seriously. The speed her shots increased by a lot which caused Momoshiro to fall back, making Harumi the victor by a score of 6-4.
"Finally, our last match for the day. Ryoma and Azumi. Ryoma to serve."
Amy scrunched her nose at the sound of her first name being used. Ryoma started off with a kick serve which Amy returned easily. From the start Amy was dominating the match, one after the other, not even letting Ryoma score a single point. Ryoma hit shot after shot but Amy returned it like it was nothing. Amy's shot were not only fast but confusing as well. With Ryoma not being able to score a single point and Amy's service aces and return aces, Amy won the match easily with a score of 6-0. Everybody was staring at them opened-mouthed, even Tezuka had a surprised look on his face. Amy walked out of the court, face expressionless; when she reached her team mates she stared their awestruck face, exchanged looks with her twin then burst out laughing.
"What was that about?" Megumi asked.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked confused.
"What did you just do?" She asked again.
"I played a game seriously." She replied.
"You are aware that you just defeated the ace player of the boy's team right?" Harumi said
"Oh, really." She said surprised
"Who taught you how to play tennis?" Inui asked, pulling out his notebook.
"Hmm... Take a look at Masquerade, Nyaa!" Eiji said excitedly
"Masquerade, a young tennis player who won 7 consecutive championships in just one year, at very young age. Little is known about this mysterious player except she is known to have 3 major play styles. Rogue, where her shots are full of power and has a huge amount of spin, River, where her shots are fast and very unpredictable, and the last is Rapier, where her shots are very tricky and almost impossible to return. Rapier is rarely seen in action for some unknown reasons. Masquerade currently has one of the biggest fan base 'spies'. Little is known about the personal life of this little girl due to the fact that she wears a mask during her game." Inui said reading from his notebook.
As Inui finished reading, Amy walked to her bag, pulled out a silver box and walked back. Amy stood in front of them and opened the box. Inside was a gleaming green mask that covers only the eyes. A mask that looks exactly like the one Masquerade wears.
"You're Masquerade?" Everyone half yelled, half asked Amy.
Amy staggered backwards in surprise. Behind the boys Eiji giggled. Everyone in turn turned to face Eiji.
"Nya! It's true. Amy was actually the one taught he how to play when we were 7." Eiji said looking at Amy proudly.
"Well I wanted someone to play with, then Eiji showed up saying he wanted to wear a regular's jersey so I decided to teach him." Amy said blushing
They were all staring at Amy mouth open. Eiji on the other hand was looking at Amy with his usual smile, but there's an unusual glint in his eyes, a glint that Amy only saw a few times, a glint of pride, but not for him. There was deep silence as they all gaped at Amy. Several seconds passed and was only broken by Ryuzaki sensei calling the regulars.
"Ok everyone, that's it for today, you're all dismissed." Ryuzaki sensei announced.
The 2 groups went their separate ways. As the girls went back to the changing rooms their eyes never left Amy, not until they reached the changing rooms did the girls started bombarding Amy questions.
"How long have you been playing tennis?" Harumi said
"Ever since we were three. My sister and I used to play tennis together but when we got older Yumi wanted to pursue golf instead of tennis and I decided to continue playing, so I'm a bit higher up than she is at the moment."
"How come we're never seen you play here in Japan?" Chiharu asked
"Well you see, when I turned 10, my mother wanted me to move to Seoul, so I decided to pursue my tennis career there along with several other aspects."
"What do you mean by several other aspects?" Reiko asked
"While I was in Seoul my mother wanted me to continue my violin lessons there. You see my mother was musically inclined, and she wanted very badly to pass it on me so the moment I turned 5 her birthday gift to me was a violin. I'm also not a very bad singer myself." Amy said
"Can we hear you sing?" Yuriko asked.
"Alright but just this once. I'm not really comfortable singing in front of other people. Here's a song by Tamia, it's entitled 'Almost'." She said, then took a deep breath and began to sing.
"Can you tell me how can one miss what she's never had
How could I reminisce when there is no past
How could I have memories of being happy with you boy
Could someone tell me how can this be
How could my mind pull up incidents I missed the times that we almost shared I cannot believe I let you go or what I should say
Recall dates and times that never happened
How could we celebrate a love that's too late
And how could I really mean the words I'm about to say
I miss the love that was almost there
I miss the times that we use to kiss
At least in my dreams just let me take the time and reminisce
I miss the times that we never had
What happened to us we were almost there
Whoever said it's impossible to miss when you never had
Never almost had you
I should've grabbed you up and never let you go
I should've went out with you I should've made you my boo boy
Yes that's one time I should've broke the rules
I should've went on a date should've found a way to escape I missed the times that we almost shared
should've turned a almost into if it happened now it's too late
How could I celebrate a love that wasn't real
And if it didn't happen why does my heart feel
I miss the love that was almost there
I miss the times that we use to kiss
At least in my dreams
Just let me take the time and reminisce
I miss the times that we never had
What happened to us we were almost there
Whoever said it's impossible to miss when you never had
Never almost had you
"Wow, your voice is amazing Amy." Shizuka said making Amy blush
"But Amy who taught you how to play tennis?" Harumi asked.
"My dad. He was a very proficient tennis player when he was young; I guess he too wanted someone to play with." Amy replied
"What's your dad's name?" Megumi asked.
"Yamashina Ichiro-kun." Amy replied.
They all nodded. Amy noticed that Fuji and Eiji was standing by the gates.
"I better go. I'll just see you tomorrow." Amy said
Amy bid farewell to her team mates then turned to her sister and asked,
"You coming?"
"No I'm going over at my friend's place tonight." Yumi replied
"Who?" Amy asked
"A girl in our class, Hikari. She invited all the new students to come to her house of dinner. Yumi said
"Alright. I'll see you later then." Amy said walking out the club room and waving to Yumi.
As Amy walked out the door she sped up, running towards Fuji and Eiji.
" Hey Eiji, hey Fuji. What are you two doing here?" Amy asked.
"Hoi, we were waiting for you of course." Eiji said
"Gee thanks." Amy said
The three walked off. Conversation soon started as Eiji commented on Amy's play style.
"Nyaa. You haven't lost your touch." Eiji said
Amy smiled at him and looked up the sky.
"I missed playing tennis." Amy said with a sigh.
"Why? Don't you play with Yumi?" Fuji asked
"Well, you see, back in Seoul we never have enough time in our hands so every time we have spare we'd usually just rest.
"Why don't you have enough time?" Fuji asked concerned.
Before Amy could answer, her phone rang. She held out her Iphone 4S (Eiji and Syusuke stared at it opened mouthed.) and looked at the message. After a few seconds, without a moment of goodbye, she ran as fast as she can, leaving Eiji and Syusuke standing there.