everything comes with a price

Chapter 15: Tezuka's revenge

The ITM champions and Atobe were beside themselves with laughter when William showed them the pictures he had taken during the pink hair incident. "I think we should call this 'Tyler's pink paradise!'" said Atobe, laughing at the picture of Tezuka in the pink hair. "Good idea, Atobe." said Jude. "I think we should stop laughing, they are back." By 'they', he meant Tezuka and Coach Mabi, who have taken him to the beauty parlor to have his hair dyed back to brown. "Right." said Coach Mabi, as Tezuka joined back his team. "Now we can start our single matches." The screen lit up and the names began to flicker. It wasn't long before the names stop at "William Anderson vs. Tezuka Kunimitsu." William got up and took his racquet. "Good luck, Will." said Ryoma, holding Atobe's hand. "Thanks, captain." said William. "Good luck, William. You can do it." said Pakura, who was trying not to look at Ryoma and Atobe's intertwined hand. "Thanks a lot, Princess." said William. Pakura turned red. "Don't call me a princess!" said Pakura. "What? You were our princess back in the castle. Ryoma gave you that title, didn't he?" Ryoma nodded. "I did. She had the three things a princess should have. Poise, grace and beauty. So, I gave her the title of princess. Also, everyone refers to her as Princess in New Day Academy, thanks to me." Pakura sighed. 'Yes, it's thanks to you.' She thought bitterly. Many girls would love to be called Princess, especially if the nickname was given to them by Ryoma, that's true, but not her. She didn't say anything because Ryoma's her best friend and she knew he cared for her. Also, she can't upset him ever since Seigaku's betrayal. She'd do anything to make him happy.

William swung his racquet over his shoulder, and went out to the courts. Coach Mabi announced, "From Seigaku, we have Tezuka! And from Chess Pieces, we have Anderson, Class: Knight! One set match, Anderson to serve!"

William smiled at his opponent, threw the ball in the air, and hit it to Tezuka. Tezuka ran towards the ball, only to have William say, "Hey! Do you know there is still a bit of pink dye in your hair?" Tezuka fumbled, and the ball bounced past him. "15-0!" cried Coach Mabi. William stuck out his tongue slightly. "I lied." as the ITM Champions laughed. Ryoma and Atobe actually have to cling on to each other to prevent from losing their balance. Pakura held the railing as she clutched to a stitch. Tyler banged the wall with his fists. Jude and Philip were covering their mouths with their hands. Tezuka glared at William before he got back into position. William served, and hit it towards Tezuka. Tezuka hit it all the way to the other side. A normal tennis player would not have time to reach the other side before the ball bounces, but William was there before you can say "tennis". Meanwhile, Ryoma was standing next to Atobe, smiling. 'William specializes on his speed. He actually beat his school record of running a mile of 7 minutes and 40 seconds by 2 whole minutes. When he runs, it's almost as if he is teleporting. Sometimes, not even Pakura can land a hit on him when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, and she is one of the speedier ones in our team.' William returned Tezuka's serve again. "Game, to Anderson, 2-0!" Coach Mabi cried. Pakura swung herself on the railing and sat there. She let out a low whistle. "It seems like Will has further improved on his speed since he won his ITM. He's faster than when I last played him." Ryoma nodded. She is right after all. She sat on the railing and observed the match. She frowned. Every hit William is hitting, it always went out. What is going on?

"OUT! Game, to Tezuka, 2-1!" Coach Mabi announced. Atobe widened his eyes. "I know that technique." said Atobe. "Sanada told me about it. It's a variation of the Tezuka Zone, instead of sucking the ball towards Tezuka, it forces the ball out of bounds. However, the amount of spin the Tezuka Phantom requires to even make the ball out in singles is six times greater than the spin used for the Tezuka Zone, which will put a very heavy burden on his arm, and consecutive uses of this technique may result in Tezuka re-injuring his arm or being permanently sidelined. He's going all out for this one." Meanwhile, William figured out how to beat this Tezuka Phantom. Being one of the smarter ones, he realized Tezuka was causing all the shots to be out. 'He must have forced it out, though.' William thought. If he use his Ground Spin shot, he might stand a chance. He threw the ball in the air, and served. The ball kept spinning, and Tezuka was wondering why the ball was bent on spinning on the same spot. Also, it seemed that he is unable to force the ball out. The ball finally stopped spinning, barely at the baseline. "Game, Anderson, 3-1" Coach Mabi announced. Ryoma saw what was happening, and frowned. 'Although it's true that the Ground Spin Shot does counter Tezuka Phantom, William couldn't use it very often because it requires a lot of stamina to use that move. As the game progresses, William will most likely drain his stamina, and eventually will be too tired to use it. But then again, he might have improved his stamina since we last played. Well, we'll see.' He took a glance at Pakura, who was having her fingers crossed, thinking, 'Come on, Will. You can win this!'

William sighed. He can't use the Ground Spin shot forever. He had to use a move which Tezuka can't see, and it won't be sucked in that Tezuka Zone. He used Teleportation Serve, the move taught to him by Pakura. It is a ball that goes slow at first, but when the person attempt to return it, it will increase its speed drastically. Before it hits the ground, it will slow down again, making it look like it was teleporting. It worked. "Game, to Anderson, 4-2!" Coach Mabi cried. Pakura swung around, still sitting on the railing, to face Ryoma. "Hey, Ryoma, seems like the captain has gotten to a whole new level. He even took two points from William." Ryoma nodded grimly. However, he's the captain of the champions. Maybe he could win without Tezuka taking a simple point from him. However, whether he will play against Tezuka in this camp, only time would tell. Meanwhile, Tezuka was quite angry that William defeated his trump cards. He saw Pakura's back facing him, still sitting at the railing. He inwardly gave a nasty smile. He threw the ball in the air, and William braced himself to return it. However, it whooshed past him, and was headed straight for....

"PAKURA! LOOK OUT!" William cried. Pakura, who was chatting to Atobe about other tennis moves he knew, turned and said, "What?" then she saw the ball, but it was too late. She leaned backwards to avoid the ball, but she fell off the railing. Ryoma tried to catch her, but her body gave in to the gravity and she plunged straight to the ground. When she hit the floor, she was winded. Her team ran towards her. "Pakura, are you alright?" said William. Pakura, who was too winded to say anything, just kept panting, as she tried to get up. She is a stunt person; she can handle a certain height. But from the floor to the railing she was sitting on, it's almost 4 meters, and it'll be a miracle if she didn't break any bones. Coach Mabi ran over. "What's going on?" she said. "Pakura fell off the railing, Coach Mabi. I think we should carry her to the sick room." Coach Mabi nodded. "Pakura, can you stand?" With Ryoma's and Atobe's support, she could stand. They half dragged, half carried her to the sick room, while Coach Mabi went to the coaches room to inform the others about what happened.

"If Tezuka wanted to take revenge, he should have done it to me! Why did he drag you in?" said Ryoma, fuming mad.

"Ryoma, it's alright."

"Alright? Don't be ridiculous. Tezuka might have caused you to break a bone. Heck, it's a miracle you are not even bleeding." said Atobe. They dragged her to the elevator, and pressed the floor for the sick room. "When I get my hands on him...."

Meanwhile, in the gym, William was shouting at Tezuka. "What was that for, you bastard?" Tezuka sighed, rubbed his temples, and said, "I said, it was an accident." William snorted. "Accident, my foot! Was it an accident when you betrayed our captain? Was it an accident when you tried to steal our vice-captain's bow? Huh? You know what, in due time, the coaches will have a light version of the ITM, and they will pick two representatives from each school to select the Japan representatives. I want to see you in it." He said, pointing a finger in Tezuka's chest. "Why?" said Tezuka. "If you win against us, you will be able to represent Japan. However, if you lose, I want you to promise us one thing. If you lose, I want you to ADMIT the truth!"

"Fine. If you lose, Echizen will admit he's wrong."

William smiled. "I accept the challenge." With that, he walked away.

"Philip." He said.

"What is it, Will?" said Philip.

"I want you to rig the computer system for that light version of the ITM. Make sure Tezuka faces off either our captain or vice-captain." Philip nodded, and ran to start on his task. William thought. 'Ryoma, Pakura. We must make sure none of the Japan representatives are from Seigaku. I'll leave it up to you both to keep Tezuka out of the Japan representatives. He's a very strong player.'