Silver and Solid Steel
Chapter 2
"Argh!" Shishidou Ryou said as he walked to the train together with Oshitari. "I can't believe it!" He threw up his arms in the air, and Oshitari cast him an amused glance.
"Is it about Ootori-kun?" Oshitari said, even though he already knew what the answer would be. He had seen the annoyed glances Shishidou had threw at Ootori during practice.
"He's a second-year! He is a second-year, and he replaced me! Me! Can you believe it?" Shishidou said, and sighed. The practice today had really thrown him off. He wasn't even in sub-regulars now, and he couldn't stand it. Oshitari looked at his annoyed friend.
"Are you going home?" Oshitari suddenly asked, and Shishidou looked at him.
"Well, yeah, but... I don't have to go home immediately." He said thoughtfully, as he popped a finger under his chin.
"We can go to the street courts, if you want. I thought you'd appreciate the extra practice." Oshitari gave off a small grin towards Shishidou, who looked surprised. Then he grinned at Oshitari, while picking up his pace.
"Really?" he said, and his grin became wider. "Because, you know, I'm planning to get back onto the Regulars, so I really need to shape up my game." Shishidou said, and Oshitari looked at him.
"You sure kantoku will let you?" Oshitari said, and Shishidou shoulder stiffed a little.
"I'll make him let me back on the team." Shishidou said after a minute of silence, and Oshitari chuckled. Somehow, he knew that Shishidou would make anything in his power to get back on the Regulars. Shishidou was that type of guy.
They arrived at the courts. Shishidou was beyond excited to play with Oshitari. After all, Oshitari was one of the best players on the team. When they were preparing for the game, Shishidou gripped his racquet, and glanced over at Oshitari. He had improved somewhat since the defeat, but he knew he had to get better.
Oshitari served. The serve was fast and strong, but after all, Shishidou was a dash specialist, and therefore, his reflexes were extremely fast. A long rally started between them, since both of them refused to lose the first point.
In the end, it was Oshitari who took the point, and it made Shishidou even more frustrated than he already was.
"Hey, Shishidou! Concentrate!" Oshitari suddenly called from the other side of the court, and Shishidou sent him a glare. What did Oshitari think of him?
"I know that." He muttered, before receiving another serve. He then dashed to the net, and won the point by a well-placed volley. The match was tough, and he was breathing hard by the time the match was finished. Oshitari had won a narrow win, and it annoyed Shishidou even further.
"You played well." Oshitari said, but before Shishidou could answer, Oshitari's eyes focused at something, or someone, behind Shishidou's shoulder. Shishidou frowned before he turned around, and he looked at the person who was just walking by. He recognized the silver hair and the tall frame. Ootori.
He looked at Oshitari again.
"That Ootori... how was he?" Shishidou asked, referring to the regulars' practice. Oshitari smirked.
"Why don't you find out by yourself?" Shishidou's eyes widened when he saw what Oshitari was about to do. But before a word could escape the tensai's lips, Shishidou's hand was firmly placed over Oshitari's mouth.
"Don't you dare." Shishidou whispered, and when he, a few seconds later, removed his hand, Oshitari continued to smirk at him.
"What, are you afraid?" Shishidou glared at him.
"Of course not." He replied. "I want to see his strength when he meets..." Shishidou stopped, and once again, he popped a finger under his chin, as he thought about the up-coming match.
Since Ootori was a new regular, he would play a game against another regular, to see if he was worthy of the regular jacket. If it was a crushing defeat, Ootori would be kicked off the regulars. He looked at Oshitari.
"Who was it he was gonna play?" he said, since he couldn't for his life remember who the opponent was.
"I'm pretty sure it was Taka." Oshitari replied, and Shishidou nodded. Taka was pretty good – it would be hard for Ootori to win the game. They watched at Ootori's back as he quickly disappeared from their sight, and then they started another game. To Shishidou's huge dismay, Oshitari won that too.
"It was a narrow loss." Oshitari said as they walked home. "You've improved." He then said, and Shishidou grinned at him.
"Of course I have. How would I otherwise be able to regain my regular position?"
Shishidou's blue eyes followed the silver-haired boy as Ootori walked onto the court with his racquet in his hand. Shishidou still didn't know what to think of the boy. He seemed... nice, way too nice, and maybe pretty naïve too. His personality would probably show in his game too. Shishidou didn't expect too much.
It was Ootori's serve. Taka prepared for the serve as he got into position, focused on the ball in Ootori's hand. To Shishidou's surprise, he saw Ootori's moth move, as he muttered something to himself as he threw the ball up in the air. Then, in one rapid, blurry moment, Ootori's racquet connected with the ball, and before anyone could react, the ball had hit the fence behind Taka, before then hitting the ground. Shishidou's mouth dropped in shock. That had to be a fluke... That serve had to be over 190 km/h! No way could a second-year hit a serve like that. Shishidou wasn't even sure if he had ever seen a serve like that in his life. It had to be a fluke.
"15-love!" The referee, one of the sub-regulars, called out, and Shishidou saw Taka's wide eyes stare at Ootori in shock. Once again, Ootori let the ball bounce a few times, before throwing it into the air. Then, in the same blurry movement, the ball flew over into the service court. The second serve was faster than the first.
Shishidou couldn't believe his eyes. Taka was helpless against Ootori's serve, and that was saying a lot. No wonder Ootori had been chosen as the new regular.
A double fault followed.
"30-15!" the referee called out, and Shishidou sighed. Maybe it had been a fluke after all. But as Ootori served again, it was as fast as his previous serves. One serve later, and the first game was won by Ootori. Shishidou wondered if it was more to him than his serve. If his serve was the only strong point, then he wouldn't last long.
But it seemed like Shishidou was wrong. Ootori was a good player; he won the second game too. And the third too, because it was his service game. Taka managed to win the fourth and the sixth game, and it was now 4 games to 2. Shishidou glanced at Ootori. The guy looked tired, but not as tired as he should've been because of that serve. Shishidou thought that that serve should've been really tiring. How did Ootori manage to hit it so many times without being completely exhausted?
In the end, Ootori won the match, 6 games to 3. Ootori looked tired, but not nearly as exhausted as Taka.
Someone placed his hand on Shishidou's shoulder. As he turned around, Oshitari looked at him.
"Pretty good, isn't he?" Oshitari said, and Shishidou nodded. Even if he hated to admit it, Ootori was pretty good. But there was just one thing he had been thinking about since Ootori's match had started.
"But isn't every regular singles player better than him?" Shishidou asked, and the blue-haired tensai nodded.
"You're right. But Atobe won't place him in singles. He's thinking that doubles suits Ootori-kun better." Shishidou looked at Oshitari.
"With who?" Oshitari shrugged.
"It hasn't been decided yet. I guess Atobe is going to let him play with a few different players." Oshitari said, and before Shishidou could reply, Oshitari's doubles partner appeared behind Oshitari. Shishidou groaned on the inside.
"Yo, Shishidou!" Mukahi said, and Shishidou glared at him. Oshitari sighed before adjusting his glasses. When Mukahi didn't get a respond from Shishidou, he continued.
"He was pretty good, right, Yuushi? He could probably rival Shishidou's skills. Well, obviously he could, since he's a regular, and Shishidou is not. And that serve, whoa!" Mukahi his eagerly said, throwing up his arms in the air.
"Gakuto..." Oshitari said, but before he could continue, Shishidou started to walk away from the doubles pair. One half of the pair annoyed the crap out of him.
"Got lots of homework to do. See you later, Oshitari!" he said over his shoulder, before he gritted his teeth in annoyance. Mukahi, the little red-haired devil. It surprised him how Oshitari could put up with him.
But Mukahi had been right about one thing...
Ootori was a regular, and he was not.