"Hey. Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up or we'll be late."
The voice is soft, but holds a certain kind of impatience. When you don't respond, hands shake at your side, urging you to open your eyes.
"Just five more minutes... It's Sunday, so let me sleep in," you mumble, pulling your duvet around yourself tighter. School ends on Saturday, and starts up again on Monday, so today is the only day before the elusive school holidays that you have to sleep in.
"Do I have to call in a prince to kiss you awake? Because that might be hard, [First-Name]. Since, y'know, all the boys we know are. Y'know? At tennis practice," the voice pauses, "Like we should be."
Eyes fluttering open, immediately you see your brother's face, twisted as if he'd just swallowed something sour. (Why are they at tennis practice? It's Sunday.)
Wait- "Inui-sempai's special weekend training session?!"
In a struggle, you sit up in bed, throwing your blankets off, barely avoiding covering your twin brother in them. ("Is that how you thank your benevolent nii-chan? Lateness is punishable by Inui juice, [First-Name]!")
Somehow, you manage to stand quickly, eyeing your clothes dresser, and then the clock placed above it. Fifteen minutes. You've got fifteen minutes- turning to face your brother, who still stands by your bed, you give him a withering sort of glare.
"What are you, some sort of voyeur?" you quip, "I can't get ready if you stand there staring like a goldfish. Wait outside the front door, I'll be ready soon."
/
Just as you'd instructed, albeit with a impatient expression, Hiro waits in the front yard. He taps his foot impatiently, tugging at any loose strings on his school uniform.
(Because it's perfectly normal to wear your school uniform on Sunday, isn't it? You almost chastise him, but remember that... Oh, the others are probably wearing their uniforms too. Boys will be boys, you suppose, suppresing the urge to roll your eyes.)
You swat at him as you pass, he shoots you 'the look' and sticks his tongue out, and then the two of you are on your way.
Despite his complaining, you know he wouldn't have left without you. He was the one who had dragged you into joining the Tennis club, plus... There was no knowing what your father would do if he'd left you behind.
He was your dear twin, after all. You had to stick together, especially since you had only just moved here a few months ago.
Previously, the two of you had lived a few hours away, attending Rikkaidai from Elementary to the first year of Middle School, but following your father's work transfer, you'd both started attending Seigaku for your second year.
And Seigaku just had to have tennis club, just like Rikkaidai had. ("[First-Name], let's join. It'll be fun.")
In truth, your brother had only just started playing tennis last year, following the urgings of a close friend, but unsurprisingly he quickly grew to be a strong player. He always excelled in everything he did. (Unlike you, who took ages to merely become average at new things.)
"[Last-Name]-sempai. Hiro-sempai."
Shaking you out of your reverie was the sudden appearance of Echizen Ryoma, a first year in the Seigaku tennis club. You got along well with him, due to both of your tendencies to tease your dearest brother- He was easy to love.
Except, of course, when his sharp tongue was directed at you. During those times, he wasn't so easy to love.
"Ryoma-kun," you greet, a smile on your face- Hiro snorts a little at the underclassmen, still raw from the defeat he had suffered at Ryoma's hands just yesterday.
"O'chibi-chan, morning," he says, using the nickname that he had (unluckily for both you and Ryoma) adopted from Kikumaru, an acrobatic upperclassman in your tennis club.
Speaking of the devil, said upperclassman's energetic voice soon follows - "[First-Name]-chan! Hiro-kun! O'chibi-chan~ You got here just in time!".
"Morning, Eiji-sempai!" lilts your brother. "Good morning, Kikumaru-sempai," says you.
Said sempai scrunches up his face, before hugging your side with a pout. "[First-Name]-chan~ I told you, call me Eiji, nya!"
And thus, your hectic day as student manager of the Seigaku tennis club began.
/
Hiro fitted in well. That was the only way you could explain it, watching as your obtrusive and energetic brother mingled seamlessly with the Seigaku regulars.
Every so often, he would challenge someone to a tennis match, and despite facing off against even the regulars, he still held his own. (He had trained hard, and his natural talent shined through when he faced them. You wouldn't be surprised if he was a regular next year.)
So, you weren't surprised when he had excitedly announced his plans.
"Me and the others are having lunch at the burger place!" he'd said, standing by Momoshiro and the others. Even Tezuka had been pulled into the plans, though you doubted he would eat as much junk food as your brother would.
"[First-Name], you should come with us-!"
"I have maths homework, remember? Not everyone can finish as fast as you, nii-chan."
A pout graced Hiro's face, and he was going to argue it (You could just tell.) until Fuji spoke up. "Saa, [Last-Name]-san, how about I walk [Last-Name]-chan home for you?"
And so it was decided.
/
"Fuji-sempai, thanks for walking me home," you managed, turning to look at your upperclassman every so often- You wouldn't quite admit it, but being around Fuji was calming for you.
His smile reminded you of someone, and the times you spent together were a rare break from the chaos that seemed to always surround you.
"It's no problem, [Last-Name]-chan," he smiles, voice soft and just the tiniest bit melancholy.
For the most part, he was quiet when you were together, but sometimes the two of you would share stories about your brothers, so you were only the slightest bit surprised when he brought up your brother.
"[Last-Name]-chan, what do you think of Hiro?"
...Closing your eyes, you answer almost instantly. "He's terrible, but I wouldn't do without him."
With your eyes closed, you didn't quite catch the elusive sight of Fuji's open eyed frown, which lasted only a few moments. "I envy you two, sometimes."
...Because of Yuuta, right? Hiro and Fuji- they were good at anything they attempted. You knew how hard it was to be the sibling of someone like that, trying to even slightly match them.
You take a few moments to answer, this time, lifting your head to look up at the sky.
"Yuuta wouldn't do without you either, sempai. It's just... scary to match up to someone you admire."
"...Sounds like you know what you're talking about, huh..."
His voice sounds sad. You turn from the sky to your companion, studying his face, but all you find is the ever present smile that hides the real Fuji. "Sempai..."
"It just feels like there's a wall between us, sometimes. I can only see him through a closed window," the boy admits, though you wonder if he's talking more to himself than you.
"...Well," your voice has a bit of a false cheerfulness to it, "There's always the door."
It sounds cheesy, of course. Because... You feel the same as Fuji. Hiro's inside, and you can't get to him. There's such a distance between you two.
A sudden weight on your head breaks you from that line of thought. Fuji rests his hand on your head, looking forward as you walk.
"Let's help each other open our doors, ne?"
You lift your head slightly, and you see a smile on his face. A real smile, not like the one's you've seen before.
"...Of course, sempai. It'll be my pleasure."