Chapter 1: Prologue
A/N: Happy Birthday Lahdolphin! Love you~! This is un-betaed, sorry. D: OOCness by the way.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.
Hiyoshi Wakashi only had one goal in life: To surpass everyone else.
Hiyoshi was dedicated to this goal. He spent nights training and working out until dawn, then cramming in his homework and getting maybe an hour of sleep before he had to get up for school. He would wake up his older brother and they would both get ready because his parents were always fighting, whether it was about work or money or even him.
This had been how he lived ever since he entered middle school and joined the tennis club.
One would think this would eventually wear the person until they cracked, and it was a possibility. But Hiyoshi was strong, and nothing was going to stop him. He would do whatever it took to stay on top - even if it meant wearing himself down to the point of passing out.
However, Hiyoshi didn't let any pressure show through. He constantly stayed quiet and acted like he didn't care, hiding all the emotions. He thought this was the perfect disguise.
But one day all the pressure caught up to him.
It was a normal day at Hyotei Middle School, everyone was just going about their business. As usual, the tennis courts were filled with screams of fangirls as the regulars played against each other. Atobe stood above them all, calling out direct orders or assigning laps with Kabaji by his side. Oshitari and Mukahi were playing doubles against Shishido and Choutarou while Jirou napped in the bleachers.
Hiyoshi, however, was playing against his ninth club member in a row. He jumped up and smashed the ball, ending the game.
"Game set and match, Hiyoshi 6-0!" The referee, a third year, called out. People clapped in awe but Atobe just ordered them laps which they began to run without complaint.
Hiyoshi walked to the bench, sweat dripping down his face and his lips parched. He took a huge sip of water from his bottle and toweled himself off. He looked up to the sun and back at the courts, blinking. His vision was dotted with black spots and he tried not to stumble.
To the left, the doubles game ended.
"Oshitari-Mukahi pair wins! 6-4!" The referee called out. The redhead jumped up on top of the tensai who shook his head and smiled. He saw the red head look at him and make his way over.
"Did you see that awesome win Piyo-chan?" Mukahi exclaimed, jumping up an down. Hiyoshi nodded simply and ignored the red head, trying to get his vision correct.
"You okay Piyo-chan?" Mukahi asked, patting him on the shoulder.. He may have been joking around but he could here the concern in his voice. Hiyoshi went to nod but he felt his head spin. He inwardly cursed because he knew he had overworked himself and was now paying for it. Hiyoshi stumbled forward after trying to take a step and felt a pair of arms wrap around him, preventing him from hitting the ground.
"Hiyoshi, are you okay man?" Mukahi asked as he help Hiyoshi onto the bench, the other regulars making their way towards the couple. 'He's surprisingly thin,' Mukahi noticed.
"Yes I'm fine," Hiyoshi mumbled, standing up. He tried to take a step but fell to the ground, darkness surrounding him.
"Hiyoshi. Hiyoshi. Hiyoshi!"
Hiyoshi groaned and wanted the voice to quite down. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking as the bright light blinded him.
"Dude you're awake!" Hiyoshi turned to his left to see his senpai and blinked.
"Why are you here Mukahi-senpai?" Hiyoshi asked. Why would his senpai care about him?
Mukahi hid a blush. "Well Atobe-buchou wanted me too." 'And I was worried,' he added mentally.
"Oh," Hiyoshi felt a bit... disappointed? Wait, why would he be disappointed though?
"So I better go," Mukahi mumbled lowly, turning around. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible so he wouldn't embarrass himself. He had always felt... protective of the boy and to see him faint was scary. He didn't know why or what caused the younger teen to faint but he was worried and he had wanted to stay and wait for the boy to wake up and make sure he was alright.
Hiyoshi was about to speak when the team walked in and automatically starting asking questions. He looked at his redhead senpai and smiled a bit. Mukahi turned around but kept his gaze away from Hiyoshi, walking over to Oshtiari and grabbing his hand.
Hiyoshi felt his heart stop. He knew he felt... something towards his senpai, but he guessed that didn't matter. He shook his head. He just fainted from exhaustion and had more important things to worry about. He frowned and turned his attention towards Atobe who was ranting about how he should be more careful, an empty feeling in his chest.
Then, he had an idea. He always had to reach his goal, so it was decided that he would make a new goal.
He would beat out Oshitari and win Mukahi.
A/N: That was crappy but I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the OOCness.