One Nil to You (A Prince of Tennis Fanfiction)

Chapter 19

September 20, 2012

Schönsommer Mansion - Juri's Sitting Room

Evening

"Thank you for letting us use your training compound again." Tezuka said over a cup of cream tea served to him.

Right now, all of the regulars, with the exemption of Kawamura who still had to rest even after he was discharged from the hospital, were at Juri's training compound working out for the final round of the Nationals even this late at night.

"For victory's sake I'll give Seigaku full access to the compound, so there's no need to thank me at all. For the first time, we should actually thank maelstroms since the finals has been postponed due to the destruction caused by Seigaku's match against Shitenhoji." Juri's eyes then became steely and her voice was unrelenting when she added, "As long as you don't do anything foolhardy again such me being called by a paranoid Coach Ryuzaki when I'm still having my spa to pay for your bill of one million, two hundred seventy-four thousand, nine hundred sixty Yen with a tax of sixty-three thousand, seven hundred forty-eight Yen."

A shamefaced Tezuka cleared his throat when Juri mentioned their disastrous yakiniku party just three days earlier. It was just a celebration in the team for winning the semifinals and it was a personal treat of Coach Ryuzaki. But when Shitenhoji, Rokaku, Higa and Hyotei joined them in the restaurant, it turned into an all-out competition that earned them a far-fetched bill that caused Coach Ryuzaki to faint right next to the heaping pile of bodies of all the students who had collapsed after the contest took a deadly and humiliating wrong turn.

He finally found his voice, "I let my guard down. I promise it won't happen again. We will repay you somehow."

"There's no need for that. Consider it charity since it's from my personal account and not the family's."

"Atobe did pay for Hyotei's share."

"Setting aside that matter..." Her voice finally returned to being composed. Putting down her tea cup, she stood up from her seat and walked over to the window, looking at the starry autumn night sky. "What Echizen-kun did during that one-point match with Toyama-kun... Was it really... The Pinnacle of Perfection?"

Tezuka noted the somberness and anticipation in Juri's tone.

She went on, "Only two people so far have achieved it, and that's Samurai Echizen Nanjiro and Tsar Romanovros Artur."

"Do you want to open the final door of the Selfless State?" he asked.

"I want to be reborn." Juri replied with an unyielding voice, as she held her phoenix pendant in her left palm.

September 22, 2012

Schönsommer Mansion - Juri's Apartments

Morning

"Hello?" a voice from the other line finally came.

"Father, it's me." Juri said.

"What is it? Did something happen?" Artur asked worriedly.

"No, everything's fine," she replied. "Seigaku's still training for the finals and all, and there's nothing to worry about the Japanese office, but that's not why I called."

"Then why did you?"

"I have a favor to ask of you since you're the only one who I completely trust in this matter."