Haruka's Fanfiction

Written for comment_fic on LJ.

Served (Prince of Tennis)

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

--

"Come on, Echizen! Let's see your best serve!"

"I don't know, Horio .…"

"It's okay!" the seventh-grader with the unibrow said confidently as he shouldered his racket. "It's not like it'll get by me, anyway. After all, I have two years of tennis experience!"

"Fsshuu.” Walking by the public court, Kaidoh sneered as he heard the grating voice of the kid who never seemed to shut up. It was especially annoying as he was trying to hear Inui read the new training menu from his clipboard.

"Then we'll finish with a -- Kaidoh, are you listening?" Inui followed Kaidoh's gaze toward the court. He recognized Horio; at practice, he had been picking up balls with the other freshmen and liked to hear himself talk. But who was the other boy?

"Well," the little stranger was saying uncertainly, "if you're really sure …."

They watched as he bounced the ball a couple of times, then tossed it into the air. What happened next made Inui drop his clipboard and Kaidoh drop his jaw.

Horio just dropped.

"Oh my gosh, Horio, are you okay?!" the newcomer ran to the net, peering anxiously at his prone opponent. Little tennis balls danced a circle above Horio’s head.

"What … What WAS that, Inui-senpai?” Kaidoh murmured.

"A twist serve," Inui replied in awe. "I've never seen a freshman do that before. Come on!"

They approached the younger boy. "Excuse me," Inui said, "what’s your name?"

He ducked his head, shuffling his feet uneasily. "Echizen Ryoma." He looked up quickly. "I didn't mean for it to actually hit him! My serve just DOES that!"

Kaidoh prodded Horio with the toe of his sneaker while Inui patted Ryoma’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Echizen,” the data expert said, smiling as light glinted off his glasses. "Come to practice tomorrow and show the rest of the team that serve. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised."

--

(2009)

Prompt: Prince of Tennis, Ryoma, he tries not to stand out but one (or some) of the Regulars notices his talent anyway.

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.







Sorry for the long absence -- I was busy redecorating over vacation, then Hurricane Bill hit us, and now Tropical Storm Danny is coming ... what a month!