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[moonlightdestiny]

Racket grasped tightly in hand, she swings, feeling the ball hit the netting like an extension of herself. It's satisfying in a familiar way. Kaede sends it back her way with a little quip, and with a smile, she slides to the right and gives another swing. This time, the ball is sent hurtling past her opponent. "Oh no!" the other remarks in English, because that was the decisive point. She'd won this practice game. One of many.

Wiping her forehead with a free hand, she scans her surroundings. Weren't the first years supposed to be observing today?

Comments

[angelarrow]

"Well, that was all the cultural clubs," Aoi recounted, leafing through the flyers they'd been given. "Next up is the sports. We've got some really good teams here, you know!"
Ichigo followed her, nibbling at a cookie from the cooking club absently. Sure, everyone was putting up a good showing in advertising their club - but none really motivated her to join. She wasn't an artist, or a reader, and cooking was something she did enough at home... And she'd never considered herself a sports person. Maybe her teacher would sign off on letting her go home and work at the shop? It wasn't too unreasonable --

A bright plink of a ball on racket brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a whip of purple hair and a flying ball. She stopped to watch, swallowing the last bit of cookie. Both the players were amazing, keeping a steady rhythm and nice strong strokes - but something about the taller girl caught her eye. She made each hit look effortless, elegant.
"Oh, that's our tennis club! I've been reading about them." Aoi chimed in, ever helpful. "They won last year's championship game with a huge lead! Well - specifically, Kanzaki-san did. Not that the rest of the team is anything to sneeze at, mind you..."
The information went mostly in one ear and the other, but Ichigo nodded anyway, moving closer to the court to watch the practice bouts a little further.

[moonlightdestiny]

"Mizuki?" Hearing her name, she turns to face the speaker, who appears concerned. "Something wrong?" ...Right.

"No, nothing. That was a good game, Kaede." A smile. It really had been, just... Would it be terrible if she were to say she was a bit tired of winning? Just a bit. It's good for the others to practice with her and she'll sometimes learn things herself, but regardless, she wins. Every time.

"Ah," says the other, grinning, "were you checking out the first years?" Good, she hadn't noticed her pause. Kaede visibly scans the crowd. "Wow, look at this bunch! Pretty promising. What do you think, Mizuki?"

What did she think? "That's true, any one of them could be solid players. I look forward to facing them." And she does.

[angelarrow]

[i just realized i fucked up how club orientation goes in japan rip]

Honoka looked at the grouped first years. There was a good grouping; the recent success of the team must have sparked interest. She smiled. Fresh blood was always nice.
"First years! Are any of you interested in giving it a shot?"

The majority of the group took a hearty step back. Ichigo stood stock still, looking around in confusion. Aoi smiled at her side. "You wanna give it a shot, Ichigo? We can face off."
"Eh?" She looked around. The other interested students were chatting excitedly as Honoka ushered them forward. "Oh- well- I guess."

As the girls picked rackets and sorted themselves out, Honoka did a quick head count and clapped loudly. "Team, could you split up and give them some help?" She asked, eliciting a few groans from the less enthusiastic upperclassmen. "None of that, some of these girls will be your underclassmen. One per pair, chop chop." A few grumbles followed, but dispersed none the less.

[moonlightdestiny]

Time to see who has potential. She had stood there just a year ago, eager to test her skills, however far it feels now. Now that she's in the position of upperclassman, will anyone stand out to her? At Honoka's words, she quickly scans the pairs, some already taken, and chooses a spot by two bright looking first years. Her decision wasn't based on much, but part of her is curious to see what the blonde and the girl in the ponytail have to offer. That's all.

So why does she have a strange feeling about today? Something like...anticipation.

"I'm Kanzaki Mizuki. Are you two ready?"

[angelarrow]

Aoi didn't say anything, but Ichigo could practically hear her say it - this was definitely something special. Getting watched by the top player on the team... on her first time trying tennis for real.
To someone else, this might have been nervewracking, but Ichigo merely let it roll off her. It just meant she had to try her best, yeah?

The two girls nodded, taking their places on the court. Aoi was the first to serve. "I've played a few games with my mother before, but it's been a while," she warned, cheeks a tinge pink. Her first serve was off, bouncing uselessly out of bounds, but her second try got across the net. Ichigo lunged towards the ball. Her grip on the racket had her swing in a strange, off-kilter pattern... but despite that, the ball rather gracefully flew over the net and bounced once close to Aoi's feet, flying past her and bouncing out of bounds.

Aoi laughed and shrugged, running to get the ball. "Your serve then, Ichigo?" She said, handing her the ball under the net.

Ichigo took the ball from her and went back to position, suddenly noticing the sweat on her palms. She looked at Mizuki for a moment, then at the ground. It was a little late to get shy... but serves looked way harder than just hitting the ball back! She took a deep breath and prepared herself mentally, tossing the ball up, and swinging --

The ball hit cleanly off her racket, clearing the net and staying well within bounds. She didn't know the rules very well, but Ichigo it sure looked like a good serve. She smiled, watching Aoi sprint towards it and send the ball back her way with an awkward hit. Maybe this wasn't that bad, she thought, running towards the ball. It was almost kind of fun! It wasn't that hard after al--

As if punishing her for her disrespect of serious sports, Ichigo missed the ball by a few inches, the solid object flying mere milimeters from her face. She dropped her racket in surprise, tripped over her own feet, and fell flat over.

"-- Ichigo!? Are you alright!?" Aoi yelled, dipping under the net and running over to help her.
Ichigo looked down to a small smear of blood on her knee, but nothing else. "Y- yeah, I'm fine," She responded, a little dazed and more than a little embarrassed.

[moonlightdestiny]

She folds her arms. Let's see what you've got.

It's clear to see that these two are new to the sport, prior practice or not. That much is evident in the ponytailed girl's first serve. And yet, when the blonde—Ichigo, was it?—hits it back... It isn't a controlled, exact swing, nor a trained one, but it catches her eye all the same. She watches in silence, eyes following not only the ball but the lines of movement and the players' forms. Mizuki still doesn't say a word as she looks to her, briefly, before hitting a serve. It's a lucky shot, that much is obvious, but despite her overall inexperience and lack of skill she seems completely at ease on the court. It's a bit fascinating, truth be told, and totally immersed, she's jolted out of it when the girl trips and falls, ball bouncing in the other direction. This is probably her reality check. She's totally new to the game, there's no way she can match her yet. Nevertheless, she can feel her potential. Untrained, unharnessed potential, but definitely and distinctly there.

A smile tugs on her lips. This is shaping up to be interesting.

[angelarrow]

"Are you okay?" Honoka called, looking at Ichigo and her friend. She didn't look much surprised - putting totally green students on the court always resulted in at least one injury - but she didn't much look happy either, sporting a bored glare.

"U-uh, I'm fine! Just a scraped knee," Ichigo answered, looking at her knee. It wasn't a major injury by any means, but it was a mess, and probably needed cleaning.

"According to school rules, any amount of blood requires first aid -" Honoka started, but before she could start moving towards them, a ball served by one of the other girls went flying off into the distance, over the fence to the school pool.

She sighed heavily and looked to Mizuki. "Can you patch her up, Mizuki? I've got to go grab that before the swim team suits up."

[moonlightdestiny]

Answering Honoka with an affirming "yes," Mizuki starts off toward the side of the court where the first aid kit is. In her mind, she continues to run over a play by play of the practice game, her brow pressed as if deep in thought. Something about it, something about the way the girl played... She shakes it off, and returns with a very different expression, one more gentle. A small smile.

She kneels down to be level with Ichigo—and more importantly, her knee—and opens up the kit, beginning to carefully clean the cut. As she fits a band-aid over it, she looks at the other and says, firmly but not unkindly, "You should be more careful next time."