Advantage

"Alright class, times up! Switch your papers with the person next to you!" rang out the ancient Japanese literature teacher.

"Hai Sensei!!" replied the class in unison.

’s heart fell. Ancient Japanese literature was her worst subject, considering that she had transferred schools from New York only half a year ago. However, even though this was the case, the Seigaku school board had decided to stick her in an ancient Japanese literature class anyway like every other student in order to complement the high grades she achieved English class.

Glancing down at the green marks on her paper, skipped over the grammatical errors, skimming the largest blurb she could find.

"You are too redundant throughout your paper. Elaborate on more examples, rather than go in depth into one. Also, there are too many grammatical errors. Their presence seemed to obscure the meaning even further."

slightly crumpled the paper, staring at it blankly. "Surprise, surprise." she thought. No paper of hers had ever escaped the hypercritical Tezuka Kunimitsu unscathed. He had cut it down, section by section, listing all the grammatical errors and then moved on to attack the form and the content of the paper.

At first, didn't really mind. After all, she had suddenly arrived in the junior high classes halfway through the year. Her Japanese was pretty bad. However even so, Tezuka had still scrutinized her class work very harshly. The worst thing about it to , was that the teacher seemed to favor his over-analytical judgments.

Taking a second look at her paper before she passed it up, sighed. It wasn't like she understood modern Japanese literature well anyway, why the hell would she care now to study the ancient form of it?!

The rest of the class dragged on, as tried eagerly not to think of the paper. Looking outside to distract herself, saw some gym classes practicing tennis.

Tennis.

It was a long-time hobby of 's. After being introduced to the clubs by her guide, had decided to join the girls' tennis club. She had made it to the regulars after displaying some of her skills in the ranking matches. However, that was not to say, that she won all of them with ease. As a matter of fact, the club had its fair share of worthy opponents. was probably ranked somewhere in the middle, among the middle of the region's top players, to be more specific.

As class finally ended, was about to pack up when the ancient Japanese literature teacher poked his head in the doorway, " , a moment after class if you may?"

nodded, slinging her schoolbag over her shoulder, moving quickly in hopes of avoiding the onrush of students pouring out of other classrooms.

" , from your performance on the last two papers, it seems as if this class is a bit too challenging for you." Frowned the teacher the moment appeared in front of him.

"Well, I…." began blinking, "I'm still adjusting, please let me stay Sensei, I will try harder next time."

Contemplating on what had just said to him while scrutinizing her past papers, the teacher leaned back in his chair.

"I'll tell you what, , I know you're a hard worker. I've seen that you put a lot research into your papers. So let's make a deal, if you do well on the next test, I'll convince the school board to let you stay." replied the ancient Japanese literature teacher.

"Alright, I'll try my hardest. Thank you for this chance sensei."

Her teacher nodded in acknowledgement finally dismissing her. hastily walked out, thrusting her bag over her shoulder. Part of her was relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with the hard Japanese class if she would fail, but another part was frustrated that she couldn't keep up.

A couple of clouds made its way across the sun, just as had stepped out of the girls' clubroom. Looking at her watch, realized that she was approximately 20 minutes late. Normally, she would already be rushing in order to avoid extra laps, but today, she was too angry to care.

Passing by the boys’ tennis courts, glanced at the regulars, watching them practice smashes. It looked pretty intense, judging from the impact of bounces. "Almost like meteors," she thought, as she drifted over to the girls' court.

After delivering a few more smashes, Fuji looked up, brushing his hair from his eyes, just in time to see enter the girls' courts.

"Hm…Isn't that ?" the blue eye-ed tensai remarked, lowering his racquet.

"Hoi?? You mean -chan, that cute transfer student from last year?" called Kikumaru from behind him while peering his eyes at 's diminishing figure.

"It looks like it." Momo answered, watching disappear into the neighboring courts. "I heard that she's also not bad at tennis, not bad at all."

"Who's not bad?" asked a quiet low voice. Momo turned around to find Tezuka step out of the shaded side of the court.

" -chan!!! The girl who sits next to you, the one that you said sucks at ancient Japanese literature!" called Kikumaru, none too softly.

Tezuka's face didn't change as he spoke, "Get back to practice. It'll be laps if any of you choose to dally again."

Even though he said that, Fuji couldn't help but notice Tezuka glanced over at who was begin to cool down from her warm ups.

Meanwhile on the other side of the courts, gripped her racquet even tighter having indeed heard what Kikumaru had said.

As tennis practice drew to a close, chose to stay behind, practicing against a wall. In truth, she had just wanted to get away from Japanese class all together. Why did she have to go to Seishun Gakuen in the first place anyway? Oh yeah, something about her dad's cousin being an alumna or something.

Pouring her bitterness into every swing, smacked the ball over and over again, practicing top spins, bottoms spins, and no spin. However, at the sound of footsteps approaching stopped catching the ball in mid bounce. Looking up to see who it was, she groaned, Tezuka.

"Do you need something?" she asked in a slightly irritated voice

"No," Tezuka replied, staring at her, his bag over his shoulder. The way his cold eyes, bore into her somehow made her even angrier, but a bit frightened as well.

"I see. Well, if you wanted to use this wall, go ahead, I'm finished." Before he could reply, she dashed off to the girls changing room. After all, Tezuka was the last person she wanted to see right now. "He'd probably start criticizing my tennis," thought bitterly as she walked through the school gates.

Walking as quickly as she could, walked down a couple streets before reaching a fast food place, on the corner. "Well, why not?" thought , as she entered. She was having a bad day anyway, so why not treat herself to a couple of nice juicy burgers.

Sitting at a corner booth, was stuffing a third burger into her mouth, when the entrance door opened. Looking up, she realized that a couple of Seigaku regulars Fuji, Eiji, Momo, and a tiny freshman boy entered, Fuji being the first to spot her. Eiji and Momo in their hunger sped their way to the counter, while Fuji started towards her, the little freshman sauntering behind him.

"Hello , I didn't know you had a taste for fast food." chuckled Fuji, sliding into the seat next to her. The little freshman followed suit on the other side of her.

swallowed quickly, brushing the crumbs off her uniform. "Yeah, nothing like a juicy burger after a hard practice."

Fuji chuckled. "Oh," he said gesturing to the freshman, "This is Echizen Ryoma, the new ichinen regular you've probably been hearing so much about."

turned to Echizen who was passively stealing and unwrapping one of her burgers on the side, and offered a hand, " . Wow, from all the stuff Fuji's told me about you, you're probably really good, maybe even better than Tezuka?"

Ryoma shook her hand firmly before replying one of his variations of "Mada mada da." However underneath, you could tell, that he was a bit pleased at what had said.

Fuji just sat and smiled. At this point, Kikumaru and Momo had returned with trays piled high with burgers and other types of greasy fast food.

"Yo !!"

“Osu, -senpai!”

They both yelled, before diving into their food.

"Hey guys…." she replied, emitting a sweat drop.

"Oh," Fuji said trying to start another conversation, "Didn't you say you were from America?"

"Sure am," said, chewing on a fry, "I'm from New York, how bout you Echizen?"

"Los Angeles" the boy replied, sneaking a sip from Momo's soda.

"Ah, I've never been to that part of the U.S."

As and Ryoma engaged in a conversation about which parts of the U.S. they've been to, Fuji meanwhile, was busy analyzing everything under his smile.

"So… , how did you do on that in-class essay today, in ancient Japanese literature?"

That to Fuji, seemed to do the trick, as it caused to spit out her burger.

"Oh I don't know, why don't you ask your buchou?" replied with both hostility and sarcasm, "You know, since he said that I sucked at Japanese?"

Kikumaru in turn, choked on his own burger, while Momo patted his back.

Fuji merely smiled, "You can forgive Kikumaru, he can be loud sometimes."

Kikumaru swallowed, "Ne , is that why you hate him so much? ‘Cause he gives you bad grades? Usually girls are all over him no matter how harsh he is! They're just glad that he even speaks to them!"

rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, only because of his looks you baka! Anyway, how can you guys stand him? He seems like such a jerk, giving you all those laps and punishments and stuff."

Everyone immediately went dead silent.

"What? He is, isn't he?"

Momo at this point chose to swallow, "Yeah, he can be hard at times, but let's just say that him being buchou was probably the best thing that happened to us."

"And plus, I've heard from Inui that whatever the number of laps he assigned for us to run, he always runs double that number!" piped up Kikumaru.

Ryoma put down his burger, "And that tennis of his. It just…well somehow it changes you. It brings out something in you."

"Yes," agreed Fuji, facing , "Somehow it works out for all of us."

"I see…" replied softly, looking away from the group. Now she is confused. Was Tezuka really the charismatic person the regulars' made him out to be? Or was he the harsh perfectionist that knew.

Still confused, sighed and thought to herself, "Tezuka…just who are you?"

*** 

"Eh? What are we doing today? Why isn't anyone doing the usual training after jogging?" asked the captain of the girls' tennis team the next day at practice.

The captain sighed, shaking her ornamental hair braids back and forth. was puzzled, as the captain was still smiling. Instead, the regular next to her answered 's question.

"Ah -senpai, we forgot that you haven't been here long. Since, the boys' regulars want to practice more for the upcoming Kantou Regional, the girls' team volunteered to help. Basically, it's the whole 'challenge a regular' exercise, except the boys will challenge us."

"Oh," replied . "No wonder buchou seems so happy today. It's because she gets to see the boys."

"I wonder who Tezuka-buchou is going to challenge." whispered a female regular dreamily.

"Oh, I hope he chooses me," another one said hopefully, "but I wouldn't mind if Fuji-senpai picked me either."

blanched, "It's a tennis match, aren't you supposed to be focusing on beating them?!"

"I know, I know," said the regular, "But its sort of futile. We all know, and Tezuka-buchou probably knows too, that he could beat any of us, 6-0 with his right hand."

"So you've turned it into a popularity contest?" asked raising her eyebrows.

"More or less." cut in the fuku-buchou, "But it's not like all the matches are like that. Some are also memorable as well. Now everyone let’s get ready and do our best for when they come!!"

"Hai!!" yelled most of the girls with enthusiasm. Not soon after, they assembled into various places before jogging. felt herself being swept along. Honestly, she was more worried about her Japanese literature test next week, than tennis at this moment.

However, thoughts of the test seemed to slip her mind, as screams pierced the air.

"AHHHHHHH!!! THEY'RE HERE!!!!" screamed a couple first year girls. The girls' buchou quickly turned her head in response, shouting out orders. "EVERYONE!! Assemble outside the courts!!!"

broke her stride, coming to a halt next to her teammates. The boys of course, were being their normal selves, with Kikumaru trotting enthusiastically, Momo and Taka-san treading heavily, and Echizen, sauntering behind everyone.

When everyone had assembled in lines on the courts, Ryuuzaki went off to the side to greet the girls' coach. Tezuka and Oishi, stepped forward to greet the girls' buchou and fukubuchou, as was the custom. rolled her eyes upon witnessing her captain making googily eyes at Tezuka.

Looking around, she also happened to catch Echizen's eyes. Pointing his racket at her, Echizen made some sort of gesture as to signal a challenge. Fuji who had noticed the gestures merely smiled, melting all the girls in his vicinity, "Echizen, it appears you've chosen you're opponent already."

"Well, I've already played everyone else, Fuji-senpai…"

About five minutes passed before the buchous and fuku-buchous severed their conversation.

"Tezuka-kun, you should go first since you are the captain." said the girls' fukubuchou in a half giddy tone.

"Yes, Tezuka, you really should go first," agreed Oishi.

Tezuka nodded his head in acknowledgment, "If it pleases you."

"Saa…Tezuka-kun, take your pick then!" replied 's buchou in a sickly sweet tone.

Rubbing her foot, which was now falling asleep, prepared to sit down, but was immediately jolted back up by the sound of Tezuka's voice. " ," he spoke finally, "I challenge you."

Upon hearing this, most of the girls harbored different reactions, some envious, some surprised. on the other hand, felt an influx of emotions. Managing to at least move her feet, uttered a "sorry," while passing Echizen, but he merely shrugged. "At least you get to see his tennis."

"Oh yeah, the supposedly magical tennis, that changes people or something like that," remembered .

Walking up to the net, looked up meeting the same pair of cold eyes that she saw the other day at the wall. Shivers went up her spine as she shook his hand. His hand felt cold despite the warm weather. Letting go, she was about to retreat back to the service box when again, Tezuka's voice made her jump.

"Take Advantage. But don't let your guard down."

"..." 

***

"THREE GAMES TO LOVE…TEZUKA LEADS"

It was no surprise that Tezuka had swept the first few games with ease. on the other hand was immensely bothered by the score. Somehow, this match was beginning to feel like a cruel reenactment of Japanese class all over again. Only this time, Tezuka was destroying her tennis, the tennis that she was proud of and took great pains to build.

Feeling tears mix with her sweat, felt her face hurt from the sun. Trying to ignore everything else, she merely wiped her face on her sweatband and proceeded to change courts with Tezuka, her body stiffening as she passed him.

"Just relax," Tezuka said surprising her yet again, "This isn't Japanese class you know. You are not powerless here. Why don't you try to fight back for a change?"

At first, Tezuka's remark only seemed to fuel 's anger towards him, but as she passed him, something dawned on her. Tezuka was right, this wasn't Japanese class. This was tennis, something she knew better than any subject, something with endless possibilities. Best of all, nobody had told her that she couldn't fight back.

Fishing out a ball from her pocket, bounced it on the ground. "Tezuka, I see what you're trying to say. And damn it, I won't let you take away my tennis! I'll fight back or die trying!"

"Oh…looks like the fun is about to start." Fuji said to himself from behind the gate. However, the crowds were less than silent, as girls chattered away, and ogled at the boys. Echizen and Momo on the other hand were off buying drinks somewhere.

Throwing the ball in the air, hit it as fast as she could before rushing towards the net. "He's been playing like a counter puncher throughout the entire time. Maybe if I switch my style, I just might be able to throw him off."

Indeed, the sudden change seemed to have surprised Tezuka as he was barely able to return the ball. Seeing her chance, instantly smashed it.

"15-Love!"

"Oh my god, did she just…?"

"No way!"

Similar questions and surprised remarks arose from the crowd. Apparently it had been a long time since a girl had scored against Tezuka. Relieved that her strategy seemed to work, continued to use it, managing to steal a game from him, which in turn, incited more cheers from the girls' club.

Of course Tezuka had quickly caught on, retaliating with his one and only Tezuka Zone.

"Wow!" said Sakuno, " -senpai must be good, if Tezuka-buchou is using that zone on her!"

Fuji laughed as managed to successfully break away from his zone after a couple of tries, earning another point. "I believe she just might even do better than a certain someone," said Fuji, turning towards a certain freshman.

"Humph….mada mada dane!! I wanted to play her!"

At this point, felt liberated from her troubles as she continued to rally with Tezuka. In playing against him she had found his zone to be especially interesting. Like Echizen stated, it was almost…magical to be precise. Nevertheless, it was an amazing tennis. With his charisma and tennis, it was no wonder the regulars looked up to him.

Seeing Tezuka perform a drop shot, rushed to save it, only to find that it had hit the ground and rolled backwards without bouncing.

"Z-zero shiki…!"

"SIX GAMES TO THREE GAME WON BY TEZUKA"

Screams of "Kyaaaaaaaa!!!! You rock Tezuka-san!!" and "Not bad !!!!!" echoed around the courts after the match was complete, only dying down when Ryuuzaki-sensei and the girls' coach ushered the other idle regulars to their respected matches.

Panting, winced, as she walked. Her legs mainly ached from running around, returning balls from all different parts of the court. However, having rediscovered herself on the courts, she was happy again, as shown on her face when she met Tezuka at the net.

"How do you feel?" asked Tezuka, offering her his hand. Parts of his hair clung to his face from sweat. He wasn't breathing as heavily as , but anyone could tell that he was a bit worn from their match.

"Different…" sputtered panting heavily, grasping his hand, "…but somewhat accomplished." She managed to give him a quick smile before her legs gave way. However before she could hit the ground, Tezuka leaned over and pulled her up, helping her walk to the benches. As they wiped themselves off with their towels, faced him.

"Ano…Tezuka-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you. I've realized that you were trying to help, not hinder me."

Tezuka nodded his head lightly in acknowledgement. "You took advantage at the right time…"

"Heh, next time, you won't be so lucky! I'll make sure of that!"

Unsurprised at the remark Tezuka replied with a slight smile, pride gleamed from his eyes. "I'll be looking forward to that day then."

smiled back. "Hey…he kind of looks cuter when he smiles." she thought, stretching her legs, "No wonder all the girls are all over him."

Looking around, saw that most of the regulars had finished their matches and were either cooling off, or hurrying to change for home.

"So I took the advantage huh?" repeated in her mind. Leaving the towel draped around his neck, Tezuka had taken his water bottle and was about to exit the courts when suddenly, rose from the bench and jogged up behind him.

"Ne Tezuka-kun? Will you help me study for the literature test? I could use the advantage."

Turning around, Tezuka stared at her with a surprised expression. (Or what she thought was surprised) An awkward pause ensued. braced herself for rejection, "What was I thinking, asking him to do something like this?" Skimming his eyes for his reaction, was astonished to find that coldness no longer lingered in his eyes, but something else.

"Sure." Tezuka replied after the long pause, holding the gate open for her. "I'll help you to the best of my ability."

End

by: Jovitar

finished 6/24/06

Edited by Kaho