Getting rid of shadows: PRINCE OF TENNIS

Ch.8

Yukimura POV.

"Hmm." I said.

Liar, liar pants on fire.

She spurred around, walking away, at a slightly faster pace than What she had been before. So she knew that I'd figured it out. She was the only one with a similar description, with any reason to be near seimaku courts so late in the day.

Interesting, I wonder what will happen.

I heard a rustle behind me. It was barely there, but I picked up a stone with two fingers, slicing my arm through the air, and hitting the person behind the noise square in the forehead, eliciting a small yelp of pain, and a head of silver hair to appear amidst the leaves like a strange flower.

Niou.

Third POV.

As Niou opened his eyes he felt a strong aura above him, and the hairs on his neck good straight up. Yukimura pulled niou out of the bush by his rat-tail, swigging him over his shoulder, holding niou's entire weight on the boy's silver ponytail.

Niou's eyes watered, and he kept making sounds of pain, as he was carried by his hair to the clubhouse, where the rest of the team was already waiting.

As the two entered, Yukimura smiling with a pained Niou over his shoulder, the rest of the regulars laughed, while yagyuu simply face-palmed, guessing what he had done to deserve such punishment.

Once inside, Niou was dropped, and the morning meeting began. Sanada showed the new training regimen, and Yukimura was given the block-selection charts for the regular teams.

Yukimura POV.

Everything went as usual, and at the end, I found my mind drifting off, for some reason settling on Akira Echizen, deciding that she was a suitable subject.

For some reason, she interested me. Her uncaring attitude, smirks, and the air she had about her. There was obviously so much that I didn't know, and for some reason I wanted to find out specifically more about her.

A small frown crossed my face.
Why did she refuse to acknowledge her skill in tennis?

I noticed there was a silence, and as I looked up, I noticed everyone was looking at me, Yanagi smiling.

"Sorry? I was busy thinking about tommorrow, it is club day after all, isn't it?" I mused, a smile again on my features.

A blatant lie.

There was a disappointed silence, and an annoyed huff from Yanagi, as well as a pointed stare from Niou, but no one made any further point. Thank God.

Club day was always a nightmare for the tennis club. Picking through the idiots to find a shred of talent was like sorting through a haystack for a needle, blindfolded, with chopsticks.

Well, for sanada, it was more like searching through a haystack with a katana, the club members under his 'care' usually left after the first 5 minutes.

As for Echizen, I had a plan.

A crooked smile scratched at my lips.

Interesting indeed.

After the meeting was dissolved, and everyone started to leave for class, I took a little detour to the girl's tennis clubhouse.

The captain, Fuuko Renami, a severe-looking fourth year, was sitting behind a desk as I came in.
"Hello, Yukimura. What do you want?"

Blunt. I pretended to be hurt. "Oh, Fuuko, you don't want to see me?"
She looked up, shaking her head in annoyance.

I walked over, placing my fingertips on her desk.

"I have some new prey for you." I smiled radiantly, while she hid a smirk.

"Why should I help you?" She asked, indignantly. "I know you're probably using me to get to this poor boy."

I smiled further. "It's a girl."

Her eyes widened, and she took the file on Akira.

"Akira Echizen." She started reading, and I silently left, without a trace.

The plan was in motion. I was going to get to see Akira play, probably after school today, if all went well.
There was an annoyed sigh from the girls tennis captain, and I smirked as I left her behind me.

The first bell rung. Hmm. Just in time for home-room.