This was the result of a prompt word. The word is stated at the end of the ficlet.
Hair Today or Gone Tomorrow (Prince of Tennis)
By Haruka (haruka at ymail dot com)
There had been many sacrifices made by the tennis players who were participating in the Kantou tournament, but few had had to go to the extremes Shishido Ryo had.
Having lost to Tachibana Kippei of Fudomine at an earlier tournament, Shishido was promptly dropped from the Hyotei Regulars, as was Sakaki-sensei's policy.
The first thing to go was his pride. Out in the open, in front of anyone who might have witnessed, he got down on his knees and begged Sakaki for his position back. Then his teammate and the boy he loved, Ohtori Choutarou, was reduced to begging on his behalf. Another shot to his pride, but one that heartened him at the same time.
Sakaki was having none of it until Shishido made the ultimate sacrifice. He pulled out some scissors and hacked off his long, silky hair, leaving it short and spiky. Choutarou looked like he might cry, knowing how proud he'd been of that hair. But it did the trick – it got Sakaki to pause and consider. Then when Captain Atobe Keigo surprisingly spoke up for him, the Coach finally gave in.
Atobe made fun of him for being a drama queen, but Shishido didn't care. He had accomplished what he set out to do, and was back on the Regulars. For now.
Now here they were at the Kantou tournament. He'd already had to bully the Hyotei crowd into cheering for them after Oshitari and Mukahi's abysmal loss, but as he walked onto the court, balancing his vertical racquet on one finger with Choutarou at his side, he had only one thing in mind.
This was his last chance. As much as he had loved his long hair, he would only have cause to regret chopping it off if they lost this match. He would be off the Regulars for good, and would likely be taking Choutarou with him.
They would NOT lose.
(Prompt word – Regret)
(2005)
Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.
This fic is not to be re-posted.