Author Uozumi
Genre General
Rating G
Word Count 191
Disclaimer The characters and fandom contained belong to their respective creators and owners.
Summary It was Inui's preoccupation with Yanagi that drew Kaidoh's attention to Rikkai. Set a year before the series. Kaidoh Yukimura.
Note This is short. I thought about making it longer, but I didn't. Why allude to YukiKai? I really can't tell you. It festered itself and I had to write it.
It was Inui's preoccupation with Yanagi that drew Kaidoh's attention to Rikkai. Even before they were partners in tennis, Kaidoh knew where Inui's eyes shifted. He knew that Inui saw one person in the sea of eight, all dressed in loud orange jerseys. Kaidoh always saw eight people, eight opponents he wanted to play.
Then one day there were seven.
Kaidoh noticed it before even Inui looked at Rikkai. There was a gap, a hole right between the grouchy second-year in a hat and Yanagi. Kaidoh averted his eyes and hissed. His eyes went right to the spot as though he was looking for someone. He never looked for anyone. Rikkai were eight people he saw as a whole, learning names here and there by listening. He was not like Inui at all and he did not want to be.
"Rikkai is missing Yukimura today," Inui noted, adjusting the zipper on his regulars uniform.
Kaidoh watched Rikkai pass them, putting his hands in the pockets of his blue club jacket. The empty gap stared back at him even though the boy who used to fill it never once looked his way.