Switcheroo

Author: Aishuu

Warnings: Muchos Spoilers for Manga 202-205. Written right after 205 came out.

Disclaimer: Aside from trying to stake some claim to Kimeru-sama, I own nothing in PoT. Konomi-sensei rocks my world, proving that he can create something resembling a plot twist around tennis and bishounen after 200 chapters.

The first time they switched places, they were in first year.

Uncharacteristically, Yagyuu couldn't remember who had originated the idea. It seemed to him that it was a mutual decision, to become the other, but one of them would have had to bring it up first. He guessed that it was Niou, since it was his type of plan, but there was a practicality and long-range planning to it that was more his style.

It didn't matter. What mattered was once they did it, there was no going back.

It took place in school, and only for around fifteen minutes. Niou simply swiped Yagyuu's glasses, rearranged his hair, and helped Yagyuu style his own usually-neat locks into a wild look that made him feel like he was someone else - and he was, almost.

But not quite.

People looked at him strangely those fifteen minutes, while he walked down the halls to Niou's locker to drop off a notebook, and it was with a great feeling of relief that he was able to duck into the nearest bathroom with Niou to reclaim his own identity.

Switching places was both easier and harder than it should have been. Both were master watchers - him, because he collected data and memorized facts the way he breathed, and Niou because the best tricks could only be set up with proper preparation. They looked quite similar, but not identical, but that wasn't hard to deal with, because people only tended to notice the obvious things, like hair and manner. No, the problem was learning mannerisms and speech patterns. The hardest thing was learning to be mean.

Yagyuu was polite, and Niou... wasn't.

Niou took to the charade like a duck to water, delighting in the fact he was pulling one over on everyone, including their teammates and coach. Yagyuu, though, was always the more cautious one, and analyzed everything. He could see the advantages to being mistaken for Niou. Niou liked keeping people confused, and as his partner, Yagyuu knew it was wise to facilitate any plans the other boy had.

Still, it was odd to walk around without his glasses, looking at the world through slightly out-of-focused perspective, with a smile curled on his lips, being loud and opinionated rather than trying to fade into the background.

Niou smiled. Yagyuu did not.

Gradually they began to swap more and more frequently, and their masquerades became longer in duration. One day, they actually switched for an entire day at school, and no one noticed the difference.

"Is it alright?" Niou asked after that day, still dangling Yagyuu's glasses from his fingertips. Without the glasses, and with both of their hair styled in Niou's ponytail, it was rather like looking into a mirror.

"It will be," Yagyuu said, reclaiming the spectacles with a quick grab. There was no telling what Niou would do with them, if left alone too long. "You shouldn't wear these too often. They'll make you dizzy."

Niou snorted. "The prescription is weak. I barely notice it."

It had been a surprise to Yagyuu, who thought he had understood everything about himself, to realize that he could see well enough without his glasses to function. His mother had gotten them for him when he had been three, after realizing that her son's vision was less than perfect, and he had worn them ever since. Unlike most boys, he wasn't clumsy enough even then to break them, so it had never occurred to him they weren't necessary.

"Hmmm," Yagyuu had said, straightening them. "Still."

Still. There were things they needed to work on until the switch was complete, and Yagyuu, ever the perfectionist, understood this. Their tennis styles were different, and it took a while, and a lot of trust, for him to give up his Laser Beam to anyone, but it was Niou who pointed out that even if he learned it, it would never be the same. All players were different, and it took more than training to truly master a shot.

It wasn't until they were second years that they made the switch, in a match at the street courts located near their school. None of their teammates were there, but some of the boys who hung out invariably recognized the duo who had just made Rikkai's first doubles slot.

"You're from Rikkai, aren't you?" one of the boys, a high school student by the looks of him, asked.

Normally it would be Niou who would answer, but the trickster was standing by the bench, watching from behind a pair of glasses that didn't belong to him. Yagyuu glared, remembering that he was supposed to be belligerent, since that was the way Niou was. "What's it to you?" he demanded, knowing that he wasn't supposed to be nice.

The challenge was inevitable. They didn't bother to introduce themselves, but merely let the others assume their identities. Glancing over at Niou, Yagyuu went to the net, crouching low, smirking.

You are Niou now, he told himself. You are Niou...

Game, Match. Won by Yagyuu-Niou pair, but people didn't figure out which was which. It didn't matter, because that wasn't the last time they did it - who cared if the right name was attached to the right person?

Niou had been thoroughly amused by it, though usually he liked causing a ruckus when pulling one of his stunts. Still, something about this great deception seemed to amuse him, and he was smirking like he was planning something. Yagyuu recognized the look in the other player's face, knowing that Niou was going to do something elaborate.

"How long can we keep it up?" Niou demanded.

"Indefinitely," Yagyuu replied, straightening his shirt. Niou was a bit messier than the gentile Yagyuu, a bit more wild. "But you won't want to, will you?"

Niou tilted his head, and the long hair brushed across his cheeks. "That's no fun. But... it's fun watching them all think I'm you. It's fun to pretend to be someone you're not, isn't it?"

Yagyuu, if he had been the type, would have rolled his eyes.

Their charade became more perfect, and eventually they decided to switch for an actual game. It was one of the Kantou matches, and the switch took place in the bathroom of the courts, since they didn't dare spend too much time around their teammates. Sanada was a perceptive one, and that wasn't even considering their vice captain, Yukimura.

Playing Hyotei would be fun, and going up against the Reika-Torishima pair would be more than worth it, Niou said to his partner. Whenever a Hyotei player lost, they were automatically removed from the team. It was going to be a great fight, and watching the Hyotei egomaniacs go down would be more than worth it.

When they entered the court, Yagyuu felt the eyes of everyone on them. Yukimura wore a slightly puzzled frown as he watched them take their positions, but he didn't say anything.

He knew better than to ask anything of his first doubles team.

They were vicious that day, and stuck to their roles perfectly. Yagyuu knew that he had to be nasty, and he was. He fired shots that went from side to side, forcing Reika and Torishima to run all over the court, and just when they were done, he stepped aside, letting Niou fire his passing shot, the Laser Beam... or something close enough to pass for it.

The Laser Beam still wasn't perfect. Only sharp eyes would notice - and a few did. Yukimura stiffened, his eyes going wide, and beside him, Sanada seemed to shake himself out of his usual calm as well.

They knew.

Nothing was said, though, and Yagyuu and Niou won, of course, six games to love. And since no one broke the code of silence, Yagyuu knew they would keep up the act.

After that, Yagyuu often found himself changing identities. Some days, he would go to practice, only to switch halfway through, while others they would go a whole week without swapping identities. Some games they played as themselves, while others they would be the other. It was a grand joke, a secret that Niou found hysterically funny, and Yagyuu just kept, because it was his nature to keep secrets.

Third year came, and their deception grew. They traded more and more frequently, until some days Yagyuu would have nearly no idea who he was. He had to limit some of his abilities and strain others to act as Niou, and Niou had the same challenges before him before each time they traded places.

Yagyuu wasn't sure when it became more comfortable to be Niou than himself. But... he realized it had happened when he was threatened with losing it.

Kantou finals, Seigaku.

"We have the Golden Pair against us," Yagyuu said to his partner as they lingered in the locker room the eve of the match, staring at the data he had gathered.

Niou leaned against the wall, thinking on it. "They might be worth a good fight."

"Indeed," Yagyuu agreed. Everything he read indicated Rikkai should win, but he knew that Seigaku was known for having their players pull rabbits out of their hat. Doubles 2 should be a guaranteed win, and they'd probably win Singles 3, but watching Doubles 1 and Singles 2 and 1 would be fiercer fights. Anything could happen.

Niou seemed to think on it. "What's the weak link?"

Yagyuu couldn't think of anything. The Golden Pair had perfect coordination, amazing skills, and relied on each other with a trust that transcended friendship. "We need to break their doubles for sure," he said. "The Golden Pair..."

"I'm tired of that," Niou said. "We're better. We're platinum, and it's time show that." He leaned forward, and yanked Yagyuu's glasses off. "Ready for the last act?"

Yagyuu let a smile curve his lips, but he didn't feel it. "A grand finale," he said.

When they met on the court, the Golden Pair was everything he had predicted. Oishi, the substitute captain, wore determination around himself like a cloak, and his partner, Kikumaru, flamed with confidence.

We'll take you down...

At the net, Kikumaru stepped back and forth, moving so quickly that there seemed to be two of him. Yagyuu couldn't keep track of him, but knew that behind each of them, the baseline players were engaged in a fierce duel.

He knew Niou, knew Niou knew his style, and knew what he would do. A straight shot was about to be fired down the center, and he would be expecting Yagyuu, who was currently playing the trickster, to step aside at the last minute. If done right... Kikumaru would get a face-full of tennis ball.

Niou would do it in a heartbeat.

Yagyuu, though, was a gentleman and would never intentionally hurt someone. It was crude play, unworthy of him.

But if the shot worked, Kikumaru might be taken out - and the match would be won. Yagyuu would never get the satisfaction of being cold and cruel himself... but Niou would.

And that was why he didn't want to give up being Niou. If Kikumaru was taken out, maybe the masquerade could continue.

It's fun to pretend to be someone you're not, isn't it?

Without thinking on it, he stepped aside so the ball slammed into Kikumaru Eiji's face.

END

Note: Yes, I am aware this will probably be out of date by chapter 206. Yes, I know Yukimura is captain - but the incident referred to was in the second year, so Yukimura was vice captain, as Tezuka was in his second year.