A/N: A new story. And yes, it is about Hiyoshi because he does not get enough love. No, this does not pair Hiyoshi with anybody. Nothing really works in my mind. And really, this isn't supposed to be about relationships like that. Of course, there are plenty of hints to keep fans of every pairing happy. This is also very Hyotei centric...since Hiyoshi is a member of Hyotei...Right, anyways, thought I would challenge myself to write for somebody who is never written on and is fairly difficult to write for since he does not have much screen time. I was actually inspired to get writing on it after seeing the Rokkaku musical. Regradless, point is, I have written a story filled with super analyses and character loving. I can only hope that you enjoy reading this. Now, on with the show.

I don't own PoT. There would be so many other things if I did...

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Gekokujou…

…To defeat the greater and take his place…That is my goal…Now…

How the hell do I do that with these people…

"Hiyoshi!"

"What?"

"Do you find ore-sama so boring?"

"…"

Hiyoshi Wakashi remained silent even though he wanted to tell his captain, "yes." The captain of Hyotei, Atobe Keigo, stood imperiously over the regulars and turned his icy stare towards the back-up player.

"Perhaps if you ever paid attention to ore-sama, you wouldn't lose so much, aan?"

"…"

He had enough training to know how to keep his calm even though he wanted so badly to whip out his martial arts and take the Hyotei diva to town. However, Hiyoshi found himself unable to say anything.

Stupid Atobe…He thinks he's so great…I'll show him…

"Should ore-sama check back when you are done having a conversation with yourself?"

The other players were now staring expectantly at him as if he actually had an answer to Atobe's snide question. Of which, Hiyoshi noticed, seemed to be happening more frequently. Since the Kanto tournament, Atobe appeared just a little edgier than before.

"Continue…"

"Anyways, though we are not going to nationals, we will still be holding practice. There is no excuse for our loss and we will rectify such errors for the future. Is ore-sama clear on this?"

There was a general murmur of acknowledgment from the regulars as Atobe smartly turned on his heel and sauntered off to the clubhouse. The others were left to follow but chose a more leisurely pace.

"Sheesh, he's one of the people that won and he seems the most bent."

Mukahi Gakuto idly brushed a strand of hair from his face as he walked beside his usual doubles partner, Oshitari Yuushi. The shorter boy looked up questioningly at Hyotei's genius expecting some great words of insight. Actually, most players did look to Oshitari for the more profound aspects of tennis and their captain.

"He's the captain."

While he could offer great insight into the workings of their captain, his answers were sometimes lacking the blunt clarity many required for understanding. Not really paying attention to the others, he continued to walk towards the clubhouse and sighed as if the dumbest question had been asked and he had wasted precious time on answering it.

"Uh, Hiyoshi-san…Are you okay?"

He looked out of the corner of his eye at the speaker. For standing so tall above the rest, Otori Choutarou always seemed so timid. Hiyoshi wondered what normal or abnormal childhood the other second year could have had to make him such a nice person in a team like Hyotei.

"Yes."

"…Oh, okay…Well, uh, see you around."

He bowed lightly as he went to join his doubles partner, Shishido Ryo. Hiyoshi was still fixated on the fact that Shishido had lost and was no longer a regular, yet here he was, still on the team as if nothing ever happened. Then again, he grudgingly admitted that by all rights, he should no longer be a regular, even if he was just the back up.

After a short walk, he arrived at the team's clubhouse and went inside. The others were already there changing or gathering up their belongings. At least, everybody was except for their volley specialist. Akutagawa Jiroh was another mystery added to the ranks of Hyotei. He was, as he often is, dead asleep on one of the benches.

Hiyoshi watched from the corner where his locker was located as Atobe grabbed Jiroh's tennis bag and let it drop on top of the sleeping boy. There was absolutely no response. In a sign of what could be interpreted as annoyance, the captain snapped his fingers.

"Usu."

The hulking form that is Kabaji Munehiro reached down and yanked Jiroh up by the collar of his jacket. Atobe motioned for him to make the sleeping boy face him. Without hesitation, Kabaji did as he was told.

"Jiroh!…Ore-sama needs to lock up…Wake up!…"

Hiyoshi wondered if perhaps, since they were not going to nationals, that Jiroh had lost any motivation. It did seem as though he was sleeping more often since the Kanto tournament. He would not put it past him since the only way Jiroh seemed to do anything was if he had some compulsory motivation or Atobe told him to do something.

Speaking of the captain, he looked as if he might slap the boy awake but instead, much to Hiyoshi's shock, he leaned forward and whispered something into his ear. The minute he finished his sentence, Jiroh's eyes sprang open and began wiggling out of Kabaji's grasp all the while having a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Really, Atobe?!"

"Ore-sama speaks only the truth."

"Too cool. Okay, let's go!"

He grabbed his bag and practically sprinted out of the clubhouse. Atobe lightly shook his head and tossed Oshitari a set of keys.

"Lock up. Let's go, Kabaji."

"Usu."

As was always the case, the captain led the way while his large entourage silently and obediently followed behind. Hiyoshi scoffed at the two players who so readily obeyed Atobe mindlessly without any inspiration to turn the tables and become the ones at the top.

Now, he was left with the two doubles pairs. In his mind, it was better to be around the obedient servants than the overly mushy and affectionate doubles pairs. Alright, Hiyoshi admitted that only Shishido and Otori were that sentimental. But just because Oshitari and Gakuto did not outwardly show their fluff, it was obvious there was some kind of connection that he caught on to and did not really want to catch on. Hiyoshi sighed despite himself. Was he the only one who was normal?

"…What is with you today? You're too weird…"

Gakuto was staring strangely at him and he immediately turned his attention to the items in his locker in an attempt to ignore the commentary.

"Hurry up, I want to lock up and leave."

Ever the same cold, calculating, and arrogant Oshitari, Hiyoshi quickly stuffed his belongings into his bag and walked out with a huff.

The sun was beginning to set and a light breeze kicked up. He let the light wind blow through his hair for a few moments as he looked up at the sky. Studying the hues of orange and red, Hiyoshi sighed a little and then continued on his way.

The streets were filled with other students who were out enjoying their summer vacation. While he loved to play tennis, he could not stop that schoolboy mentality and be a little jealous at how carefree they all seemed. They got to enjoy their breaks, free from the stress of clubs and overly dramatic tennis captains. Not that he was bitter or anything.

No, he was bitterer about the Kanto tournament. Those results should not have happened. In retrospect, he did not think Atobe had even thought of that outcome. It was obvious from his match with Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu, that there were some things that not even the great Atobe Keigo could have predicted.

Then, there was that annoying shorty of a tennis player. That was the most irksome thing of the entire tournament in his opinion. Not only was the little brat a first year, he was obnoxious and overly confident. He was one of those people whom Hiyoshi would always overcome. However, the results of the match showed that there was no chance that he would be able to defeat Seigaku's saving grace.

As he walked along the street, he passed by a row of street courts. Normally, such things would not have caught his attention; however, on one of the courts was Atobe and Jiroh. Hiyoshi paused and watched the match down below.

Jiroh was merrily running around the court in an attempt to reach all the balls Atobe hit at him. So, that was what Atobe had to promise in order to get the volley specialist to get moving. Hiyoshi snorted at how easily Jiroh was swayed by the captain. Maybe, somewhere deep down, he was jealous.

Atobe never got after Jiroh for anything. The most he did was lightly scold the usually sleeping boy if he was not awake enough for a match. In Hiyoshi's opinion, it seemed like he got special treatment from the captain. As soon as that thought came, the second-year shook his head to stop the thought process.

"I don't need special treatment…I'll beat him on my own."

Too caught up in the moment of his planned overthrow, he failed to realize that many of the other pedestrians passing by were staring and whispering at him oddly. It was not until he sensed another presence hovering at a distance too close for comfort. He looked down and a small girl was looking up at him as if he had sprouted another head. The parent of the child quickly grabbed the girl by the hand and dragged her away hissing in her ear to stay away from scary strangers.

Shaking his head, Hiyoshi turned his attention back to the courts. For some unknown reason, he was mesmerized by the two tennis stars. Yes, Jiroh did seem to get away with more things, but still, he usually won all his matches. Actually, the previous match was the only time that he had lost. Unlike himself though, Jiroh was more excited and happy about his loss than he was.

It was humiliating. How come he did not realize that Echizen was left-handed when he had already played so many people? Atobe was usually good about providing information about their opponents, but said nothing about the boy's handiness. Chances were, he did know and just chose not to tell. He could see Atobe being that deliberately cruel to him.

Then again, how often would Hiyoshi accept any help? He was decidedly against it. He was perfectly capable of helping himself. That was probably why Atobe said nothing. But then…

"Shut up."

He growled his threat at himself and did not notice the person standing beside him.

"Who are you talking to?"

His head whipped around to face the speaker. His heart sank a little when he found Oshitari staring at him with a somewhat concerned expression. The last person he needed to see let alone the one person to catch him talking to himself was standing casually next to him.

"Nobody."

"…Alright."

While he was thankful that the genius did not press it, Hiyoshi still found himself slightly irritated with him. There was always something about Oshitari that he found disconcerting. As many times as he sees him, Hiyoshi, for the life of him, could not figure out what it was about Oshitari that grated against his nerves. It became the strongest when he watched him play. Between him and Atobe, Hiyoshi gradually became more irritable.

"Perhaps you need calcium."

Hiyoshi's eye twitched ever so faintly at the less than sympathetic remark. Oshitari was still standing right beside him and watching the courts. His eyes kept track of the balls movement as it flew from one side to the other. A small grin crept along his features much to Hiyoshi's irrational fear.

Even though he was one who enjoyed the silence of others, Oshitari was one of the few he did not enjoy. Hyotei's genius was not overly talkative, but his silences were sometimes suffocating. There was some air about him that sent the alarms off in Hiyoshi's head. He kept his discomfort hidden well, but he wondered if the other members ever felt the same way.

The pessimist inside of him made him believe that he was the only one. At least he knew Atobe did not seem to mind at all. That was the second person who could be silent and cause Hiyoshi to fidget. Between the two of them, their silences were sometimes almost unbearable. They both always seemed to know something that nobody else did, not to mention that they appeared to know each other fairly well too.

"You should practice with him sometime."

Hiyoshi about choked when he heard such words escape Oshitari's lips. He dare suggest that he should practice with him who would be overthrown? Unthinkable. There was no way he would allow such a thing to happen. The small grin grew wider on his face as he rolled his eye so that it stared at Hiyoshi lazily.

"It'll be a good experience."

He hoped that his upperclassman did not see him involuntarily shudder.

"Hey, Yuushi! Let's go!"

"It calls. See you later."

Oshitari waved over his shoulder as he walked over to his double's partner who was panting and carrying a text book in his hand. Apparently the acrobat forgot his books. Hiyoshi inwardly cursed the boy for doing such a dumb thing that resulted in alone time with the genius.

He suddenly lost his attention on the doubles pair and quickly spun around to the courts. There was that strange feeling that he was being watched. As he scanned the courts, everybody was in their place. Atobe and Jiroh were still running around the court.

Hiyoshi studied the captain. Atobe was solely fixated on returning the ball in a way so as to push Jiroh into different positions to expand his repertoire of volley techniques. However, he had the feeling that Atobe was the one who had stared at him. If Oshitari was unnerving with his demeanor and speech, Atobe was king in the staring department.

There was something about the way the diva could stare straight at a person as if piercing their very soul. Nothing escaped his oddly colored eyes. Hiyoshi idly wondered what color he could actually call Atobe's eyes. They were blue, but not any shade of blue that he had a word for. Not to mention, they seemed to almost change depending on his mood.

That was the other thing that was confusing and disturbing all at once. The captain's mood was at times unpredictable. For all his high fluting nonsense, he was one of the most calculating people Hiyoshi had ever met. Even if things appeared to be according to his plan, Atobe was known to still become upset for some unknown reason and then be in a foul mood. Then, something happens that most people would despair, he would break out into a manic laughter and from all appearances, enjoy himself.

At first, Hiyoshi thought that the captain was just one of those people who were the demented types who felt opposite of whatever they should feel. However, after further studying, he found that Atobe could react like any other person in his position. There was no set rhyme or reason.

His thoughts would have continued to dwell on his infuriating captain, but a loud blare of a car horn snapped him out of his reverie of doom. Hiyoshi kept from slapping himself for analyzing Atobe like that. He was the enemy. He was the one on the top that needed to be overthrown. He needed to be overthrown so Hiyoshi could take his place. That was the goal from the first day he joined the tennis team. Even when Atobe was still just a plain regular, Hiyoshi could care less about the captain's inner workings and was only determined to defeat him.

It then dawned on him. He knew why he was so frustrated today. He had a chance to finally show them all what he could do and instead, he gets humiliated by a first-year with attitude. There was so much left for him to do and to accomplish. There was no way Hyotei could have its downfall before then, but at the rate they were headed, that was going to be the case. He just needed one more chance to prove to them and to prove to Atobe that he was the only one who would defeat him and take his place as the rightful king.

I'll be the one at the top…Gekokujou, Atobe…

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A/N: In case anybody did not know, gekokujou is Hiyoshi's catch phrase. Actually, I think he's like Tezuka and can only say that. Anyways, it basically means something along the lines of to defeat the higher and take his place. Ryoma makes a really snarky comment about that. I pity poor Hiyoshi. Really, I do. So, what did you think? While the humor is fairly cynical and sarcastic, it is much more subtle than I usually write. I kind of like writing like this. Anyhoo, I sincerely hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading.