Youthful Days (Book 1)

14. The Real Prodigy

Momoko gasped. "Fuji-senpai missed? He never misses!"

"I think Ryoma made a dent," said Ayuna.

"Hanamachi-san's right." Inui nodded. "That was no ordinary fluke because Fuji doesn't allow any flukes. It seems Echizen's found a loophole to get around his counter."

Ayuna pursed her lips. All because he was too careless, she thought silently. It made her heart sink to think there was a crack in Fuji's beautiful technique. It would be a shame to see it shattered.

In the distance, a streak of white light lit up the rolling clouds. A clap of thunder immediately followed this. The players on the other courts collectively tilted their heads up to the dark sky above. Noting an imminent storm, they forfeited their games and scampered to grab their belongings.

While everyone else fled, neither Ryoma nor Fuji appeared fazed by the impending rain. Instead, they seemed to be enthralled by its arrival and to be the last two standing.

Another flash of lightning came, closer this time. On its tail was the deafening thunder.

"Ayuna, we'd better go!" Momoko tugged Ayuna's arm. "We're going to be soaked if we don't leave now!"

Ayuna shook her head. "You go inside. I want to see this game to the end."

"Coach Ryuzaki already told them to stop..."

"But they sure haven't moved one single step."

Momoko opened her mouth to say something else, but the early summer storm already lashed out like an angry beast. Resigned, she bolted inside with the rest of the tennis club members, shaking her head at her friend's stubbornness as she ran.

Falling in icy torrents, the rain soaked Ayuna's uniform inside out in mere seconds. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes on the two blurred figures dashing back and forth in the eye of the storm.

She was the last one watching the game, but she didn't care. The score was at 3-2, with Fuji leading and Ryoma making an aggressive comeback. Fuji stopped using the Bear Drop once he realized Ryoma had circumvented his tactic. Despite this realization, he hadn't yet reclaimed control. With a calm smile plastered to his lips, Ayuna wondered what thoughts were crossing his mind. She wondered if he felt danger emanating from Ryoma as much as she did.

She was trying to predict the outcome of the game when coach Ryuzaki marched into the court and yelled at both players at the top of her lungs. "Drop it, you two! Didn't you hear me say that the game was over? I can't have you two get injured before the real game!"

Reaching Ryoma in a single stride, she thwacked him hard on the head and then glowered at Fuji. "Gather your things, both of you! Save all this energy for Yamabuki!"

"That's pretty unfair considering Fuji-senpai was winning..." muttered Ryoma. When coach Ryuzaki shot him another glare, he instantly clamped his mouth shut and started for the exit.

***

Ayuna was still standing outside the court when Fuji walked out. Rain was pouring over her head in streams, matting her uniform against her skin and fogging her vision. When Fuji spotted her standing in sheets of rain, soaking wet and shivering, he immediately picked up his jersey and threw it over her head.

"What are you still doing here?" he demanded with a frown.

"I stayed to see the entire game, like I said I would," she answered, her voice steady.

Fuji was silent, touched to see her keep her promise. "I'm glad you did. But you should hurry inside before you get sick."

She made no move to leave. "I was waiting for you to come out. There are a few things I wanted to say."

"You can tell me once we're inside."

Ayuna shook her head. "I want to talk to you while there's no one around." She paused, watching his expressions carefully as she spoke, "I wanted to ask why you kept using the Bear Drop over and over again. Didn't you know Ryoma's goal was to exploit it then break it? Surely you've seen him use the same strategy on other opponents before. Did you want your counter to be wrecked like that?"

Fuji gazed at her intently, a smile slowly unfolding. "This is what you were waiting to tell me?"

She nodded.

"I see."

"Why do you seem amused?"

"To be very honest, I am," he said, taking a step closer. "I find your questions fascinating."

Ayuna looked at him quizzically. "Fascinating? You mean, you weren't concerned about losing?"

"I'm not that worried about losing. But I do enjoy a challenge."

"Well, I guess I'm glad you find thrills in being threatened."

Fuji laughed. His voice rang like wind chimes from a distance. "Hanamachi-san—is it okay for me to call you by your name?"

"Please go ahead."

"Ayuna, I wanted to show Ryoma my counter. I expected him to try and break the counter from the very start. When he accepted my invitation to smash over and over again, I could tell he was trying to find a loophole, and I obliged."

"Why would you do that?"

"I wanted a chance to find a technique against him once he conquered my counter. What's the point of developing a move if it can't evolve and be made foolproof against your newest opponent? And what fun is having an opponent if you can't predict and strategize against his moves?"

After giving it some thought, Ayuna said, "So that's it... You were testing Ryoma?"

"That's right." The smile still on his face, he reached out and brushed away drops of rain from the tip of her nose. "I wanted to see his true potential."

The tender gesture came unexpectedly, making Ayuna's heart skip a beat. "And then what?"

"And then... I'd like to win."

She watched the glint in his blue eyes growing deeper with the intensifying summer storm. Slowly, she slipped off the damp jersey and handed it back to Fuji. She was already drenched inside-out. "I'd better get inside."

"I'll walk you in."

They started towards the school building side-by-side, their reticence filled by the melodious pattering of the rain. Before heading separate ways, Ayuna abruptly stopped. "There's one more thing: I want to apologize to you as well."

"Apologize? What for?"

"I want to apologize for calling Ryoma a tennis prodigy when we first met. I didn't realize how disrespectful that must've been to you at the time."

Realizing she was referring to his nickname, Fuji chuckled, "It's fine with me. After all, it's just a silly label somebody invented and one that unfortunately stuck." Gazing at her, he said, "I still prefer you calling me by my name."

Ayuna faced him, her eyes bright as morning stars. "Label or not, I think it couldn't be more fitting. Watching today's match made me realize you're the legitimate owner of that title. Ryoma may have seemingly endless potential as they say, but he hasn't surpassed the true prodigy. Not yet."

He looked at her meaningfully. "You think so?"

Instead of replying, Ayuna said, "I hope you can find a chance to finish this match. I'll look forward to the outcome."

With that, she bowed to him once and left Fuji standing in the pouring rain.