Outstanding
by Iceri

Summary: Oneshot. Shinji wonders what makes him stand out in a crowd as a person.

Warnings: Shounen ai, Shinji-patented ramblings. Cheek kissage and fic suckage. Nothing major. Except maybe the last thing.


I, Ibu Shinji, am truly and completely common. Standard and not outstanding. I've never really been good at anything, other than tennis, which is really redundant because basically everyone I know is great at tennis.
…Well not really, because, I'm the only one in my family who gives a shit for the sport, and just about everyone in my grade at school is completely inept. But the only people I really care about outside of my family are really great at tennis.
It's kind of sad, really, because everybody has something that they're good at. Something that their friends don't have, that can be ooh-ed and ahh-ed at by the masses.
I'm not particularly great at anything. I'm an average student, not really interested in anything other than tennis sport-wise. I'm not artistic or anything like that. I can't paint, or draw, or sing, or act, or even write. Even Kamio has rhythm. But Kamio has a lot he's good at.
Kamio is good at helping out his family, he's a good dancer, and he sings nicely. He's about the same as me in school, but he has all of these non academic skills that just leave me in his dust.
I'm not very good at being social like he is. I don't know how to flirt, or kiss, or act sexy to impress the person I like. Kamio can do all of that.
Kamio says I'm a great thinker. I can just think and think and think and not get bored of it. Although, people do tend to get bored of me, because I tend to think aloud a lot of the time. But I'm not really a great thinker. To me, a great thinker is a philosopher, whose thoughts become things that can be of use to other people around them. My thoughts are usually only about things related to me. Or that grip tape that Echizen owes me.
But I have to admit, outside of tennis, there is one thing I'm skilled at, and it sets me apart from everyone else.

"Oi! Shinji! You always space out on me. You weren't even mumbling this time. Come on, lets go sing Karaoke, and then we can get ice cream after."
The violet haired prodigy snapped out of his thoughts, and proffered a rare smile to the loudmouthed redhead walking beside him.
"You know I'm terrible at Karaoke. You just like singing the entire time and then getting me to pay for half because I was there. Maybe tomorrow. But you know, we can go for ice cream, and then you can come over to my house. My mom brought home a movie that I've been wanting to see for awhile yesterday, and she invited you to come watch it too…" He rambled for awhile, before he was cut off by a pair of soft lips on his cheek.
"We can sing Karaoke another time. What's the movie?" The rhythm player asked the tensai softly as they walked towards the ice cream parlour and the Ibu residence.

I am very good at meaning something to one Kamio Akira.


fin.