`` - on and 0N : {open}

[-&_suzuki`AKINA]

"Huuh..."

The muttered word was lost as the gate was pushed open with a soft screech that drowned out the quiet voice that had spoken. A single figure stepped into the tennis court quietly, surveying the area. To the side, she saw a wall, traditionally used when one didn't have a partner to practice against; upon spotting this, Akina made a beeline for it, adjusting the strap of her tennis bag on her shoulder as she stepped over. She wasn't just about to let her skills rust due to a lack of decent partner for the day, of course. So. Wall it was.

Stifling a yawn, the seasoned tennis player set her bag down at the side, near the fence encircling the area, and unzipped it, tugging out her favored green racket and a tennis ball. Idly, the slender female stood there for a moment, absentmindedly plucking at the strings of the racket to make sure they were taut, before taking up a position at the side opposite to the wall, preparing to serve. The best thing about walls was that they returned every single ball. However, conversely, they had an unfortunate habit of being rather...boring, suffice to say. Aki didn't really look forward to playing against the wall of all things, but it was a last-resort method of training, what with the mysterious lack of other people in the area. Then again, it was pretty early in the morning, and it was a weekend, after all. People had no reason to be here in the first place.

Akina? Oh, she was just weird, was all.

But she had almost expected others to be here -- spots on the varsity team weren't guaranteed. They had to try out every year, which meant that returning members were only the ones who had bested the other hopefuls in matches. Akina was one such member, but she wasn't going to ruin her streak, let alone not make the varsity team this year to begin with. Tryouts came later on, after all.

Dark gray eyes appraised the wall for a moment, as if sizing it up. Examination of the surroundings came to her as habit, really; the condition of the court normally mattered a lot. Different types of courts triggered different ball bounces and speeds, which impacted games. Funny; this was merely practice, but she already began to feel a wave of seriousness fall over her. Easily, Akina threw the ball into the air and, using her racket, hit it, letting it fly over to the wall, clearly on a collision course. As expected, it bounced back awkwardly, just as she had hoped it would, and bounced toward the corner of the court. Purposely waiting until the last second so she could challenge her speed, Akina broke into a sprint at the last possible moment and darted over to the ball at an almost insanely fast speed, hitting the ball with a slice so that it flew back at the wall.

Well. She wasn't called the varsity team's speed demon last year for nothing.

A slight smile settled on her lips as she hit the ball back and forth against the wall, on and on, gradually falling into the monotonous routine of practice. It came to her easily, as she was accustomed to it, and even though she despised boredom with a passion, this kind of monotony was refreshing -- almost a relief. This was something that required little thought. Just instinct. Here, instinct triumphed, and Aki's thoughts faded willingly into the background as she darted to and fro, hitting the ball back and forth, her hair fluttering gracefully in the confines of its high ponytail and the folds of her clothes shifting with her elegant movements. The only fleeting thought that crossed her mind was the idea of checking her form -- which she did, realizing contently that her form was perfect -- and soon, that too dissipated.

It felt almost peaceful here...just listening to the sound of her racket hitting the ball and the ball striking against the wall before rebounding... She didn't have to think, she didn't have to calculate -- the actions came naturally, instinctively.

[/size]