Getting rid of shadows: PRINCE OF TENNIS

Prelude

Hello. Konnichiwa.

My name is Echizen Akira.

And you guessed it, Ryoma Echizen is my twin brother. We share the same features. We share the same piercing golden eyes, and our chins curve in the same exact way. We look virtually identical, only I'm a smidge more feminine. The only distinguishing feature that setts us apart, is that my hair has a grey sheen to it, while Ryoma's hair reverberates a slight green.

In reality, we also share the same cold, uncaring demeanor, and hate getting up early. We seldom make many social connections, and we both play tennis. However, in tennis, our styles clash like red and blue. I find Ryoma's drives, and twist serves formidable, but slightly naive. My style is much more interesting. While he just copied dad's tennis, I created my own branch of it.

His physical strength, and stamina are worlds better than mine, but my strategic mindset, as well as reading/copying abilities are universes more advanced than his.

Another bit of genetic code that we share, is our height.

Curse the carrier of that gene.

School? Well..... Ryoma is the languistic in the family, while I'm the mathematician.

It's sort of fitting, isn't it?

When we were young, we would both play tennis, but it never really peaked MY interest as much as it did Ryoma's.

In America we were the tennis sibling prodigies, in singles. (Even though we were twins, we couldn't doubles synchronize worth a damn.)

Women's tennis is boring.

Men's tennis is boring too, but it interested my (older by 13 minutes) brother.

I gave him tennis.

When we were kids, I would beat him every way in the world. I was the only one he couldn't beat, and it drove him to train mercilessly,

So one day, after seeing him bruised, bloody, and still practicing, I stopped trying.

I wouldn't play him. He didn't understand. He thought I was shunning him, while I was trying my best to save him. He was killing himself, so I gave him tennis. I forfeited my style, and I don't think he ever forgave me for that.

But other then that, we were as close as we could be, despite enjoying our alone time.

I applied my talents in other areas. In math, full application of my ability to find patterns, and link events, led to some amazing discoveries in America. I was headed to MIT, or maybe Stanford, my abilities amazing even in primary school.

When father announced our move to Tokyo. Both my father and my brother never understood my choice to stop tennis, but because of my choice to quit, Ryoma has improved much more than my predictions yielded, if I had stayed.

If he had played tennis in my shadow.

It was a rational decision. A perfectly sound decision. It benefited my brother, and I became happier, committing more time to my studies (and sadistic pranks)

While he became a tennis pro.

Still, I never let my tennis skills leave, though, for some reason. Every now and then, secret from my father and brother, I would go to a half court, reviving my previous skill level to its highest.

My name is Akira Echizen, and I don't care what you think of me now. I am a mathematician, now in high school, making fun of professors, and college graduates.

The sharp-tongued, constantly sadistic girl, who's outlook on mathematics, and the entire world, changed the way everyone else saw everything else.

This is my story, and the story of my twin brother, math and tennis, America and Japan.

This story includes the following objects, some things you might want to look out for:

A teddy bear

Blue hair

Sakura flowers

Sushi

Cake

A needle

Two smashed alarm clocks

A new theorem

Lead weights

A black hat

A sharpened pencil

A music player, as well as a certain song

A black and purple tennis raquet

A button

A fucking rock

Stupid smiles

and finally

A note.

For Ryoma, I got rid of his shadows.

And he hates me for it.

Now, it's time to get rid of my own shadows.

But in all honesty, I don't know if I still can.
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I do not own prince of tennis. I only own Akira Echizen, and other characters of my own creation.
Cheers!