A/N: I know. No need to tell me. What has it been since the last chapter, almost a year? I feel really bad for it, but I had writer's block, and then so many things happened irl that I kind of forgot about it. Haha. But yesterday I decided to really finish it, so here's the next chapter. I know it probably suck, but I hate writer's block.

Oh, and I read through the chapters a few days ago, and there were so many errors in it, so I've decided to edit them a bit and then reupload them... when I have time. But once again, please bear with all the grammar faults and spelling errors! Enjoy.

Silver and Solid Steel
Chapter 4

It was soon time for Hyoutei's first match since the loss against Fudomine, and Shishidou's inside was in uproar. It was the first time he would see Hyoutei playing a match against another team since his drop from the regulars. He wasn't going to be part of the team this time. No, he was going to be a spectator. How pathetic wasn't that?

Shishidou turned around in his bed and sighed. It was after three in the morning, and it was only a couple of hours until he had to wake up, but he couldn't sleep. He had been lying in his bed for hours now, thinking about the match against Yamabuki. Atobe was singles 1, as usual. Jirou was singles 2, and Hiyoshi was singles 3. Doubles 1 were Gakuto and Oshitari, and doubles 2 were Ootori and... well, there hadn't been anyone else than Taka.

Shishidou had watched the regulars' practices, and he knew that Ootori had yet to find a perfect doubles partner. He and Taka did not match very well, and the relationship between the two had been strained since Ootori had beaten Taka in that match. Shishidou knew that Taka was displeased about being in doubles 2 with Ootori, but Taka had had no choice. Shishidou just hoped they would be able to pull through.

He pulled the blanket over his head and forced himself to fall asleep. If he didn't fall asleep now, he would never be able to wake up in the morning. Soon, he was lost in a deep sleep.

Just as the clock turned eleven, Shishidou found himself watching a very painful match. Ootori and Taka wasn't holding up very well, just as he had figured. Shishidou was in the very back of the audience, and he wasn't cheering at the pair. He was just there to observe. Yamabuki's doubles pair, which Shishidou for his life couldn't remember the names of, were close to winning. Hyoutei's triumph card, Ootori's serve, had failed miserably.

Ootori's serve wasn't perfect, especially under pressure. And Ootori was under a lot of pressure today. He was playing his first match as a Hyoutei regular, and he was losing it too. Basically all of Ootori's serves had ended up in the net or far off the service court. Shishidou actually felt sorry for the kid. Atobe was watching the match very closely, and Atobe wasn't happy. Not even close to satisfied. Shishidou saw the sweat dripping from Ootori's forehead as he clutched his racket. Match point. Shishidou closely watched as Fudomine got a service ace, because it looked like Ootori had no fighting spirit left in him.

"Game, set, match, Yamabuki." The umpire called out over the court, and all that could be heard was Yamabuki's celebrating. Shishidou looked as Taka and Ootori walked off the court with slumped shoulders and disappointed faces. Shishidou knew the feeling. Kind of. Taka slumped down on the bench, sitting for himself, probably thinking about the loss and about what he had done wrong. Ootori, however, said something to Oshitari that Shishidou couldn't catch from the distance between them, and then Ootori simply wandered off, his eyes stuck on the ground. And just then, Shishidou decided to follow him. It even surprised himself, but it was like his legs had their own life. But he knew that Ootori felt awful now, and well... he wanted to do something that cheered the kid up a bit.

He had soon caught up to Ootori, who was walking really slowly. He was heading for the slot machines, probably getting a drink or a snack or something. Shishidou didn't exactly know how Ootori's mind worked.

When they arrived to the machines, Ootori put searched his pockets, but his hands fell down to his sides. Didn't he have any money on him? But Ootori didn't walk away; he stayed exactly where he was, staring at the machine, as in believing that the machine would cave in under his devastating glare. Shishidou walked up to him.

"Hey." He said, trying to be as casual as possible. Ootori didn't look up at him. Shishidou wasn't sure of why he was doing this, but something told him that he couldn't leave Ootori alone right now.

"Ootori." Shishidou said again, and Ootori slowly looked up at him, his brown eyes staring up on him. He looked kind of surprised to see Shishidou standing there.

"Hello, senpai." Shishidou grinned at Ootori. Always the polite one. Shishidou couldn't remember a moment when Ootori hadn't been polite.

"Don't you have any money?" he asked, trying to avoid talking about the loss. Ootori shook his head.

"No. Must've left them in my bag." He mumbled, and Shishidou started to search his pockets. Ootori had once again turned his eyes at the slot machine. Shishidou sighed in relief when his hand found a few cold, round objects. Coins.

"What do you want? A Ponta?" Shishidou asked, and Ootori looked up at him with a surprised look on his face.

"Senpai, you can't give me a Ponta! I'll manage." Ootori said, and Shishidou rolled his eyes.

"Move over." He said, pushing Ootori a bit so that he now was in front of the slot. "A Ponta it is." Shishidou put two 500 coins in the machine, and pressed the Ponta button. He picked up the two cold Pontas and handed one to Ootori.

"Here, drink it." He said, and Ootori reluctantly accepted the soda. Shishidou opened his and took a sip. It was a hot day, and the cold Ponta that was flowing down his throat felt amazingly good. He glanced at Ootori, who still hadn't opened it.

"Open it." Shishidou said with a grin, but when Ootori opened it almost monotonic, like a robot, Shishidou's grin faltered. "So, how do you feel?" Ootori looked like he had been hit. It looked so sincere that Shishidou almost had to look down at his hand to make sure that he hadn't hit him. Ootori sighed with his eyes at the ground.

"They expected me to win, senpai. That's why they made me a regular. And I failed them." Without another word, Ootori started to walk away, with the Ponta still in his hand. His shoulders were slumped, and Shishidou sighed. He gave up on making the kid feel better, and then walked back to the courts. He didn't doubt that the rest of the Hyoutei team would win this match, but they still had one loss in the protocol. Ootori hadn't been the only one to blame; it had been Taka's fault too. They just hadn't been synchronized, and he knew that Ootori and Taka wouldn't be able to win a single game like that.

Shishidou had mixed feeling about the pair's loss. It was possible that one of them would be off the regulars, and then Shishidou had an opportunity to become a regular once again, but he didn't want Ootori to be dropped either. The kid was actually kind of decent, but just decent, not more. Shishidou still disliked him for stealing his regular spot.

"Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on!" Shishidou wanted to strangle him. His ears were hurting, and it sounded like a violin being played by a deaf elephant.

"Mukahi, shut up!" he said, yelling at the red-head sitting beside him. Mukahi glared at him.

"What, you don't like my singing?" Shishidou took a deep breath and slowly counted to five. It didn't work. Not even close.

"No, it sounds like someone is dying, you freak." Without notice, Shishidou felt a slap on the back of his head. "Ow!" he cried, and then turned to his other side, glaring at Oshitari. Sometimes he hated the pair. Oshitari sat still, looking straight forward, but he had an amused smile on his lips. Shishidou glanced over at Mukahi again, who was smirking. Shishidou wanted to hit him.

They were sitting on a train. Shishidou was on his way home, and Mukahi and Oshitari were on their way to the tennis courts. They were going to work out a new doubles strategy or whatever. Unfortunately for his ears, the tennis courts and his house were in the same direction.

It had been a few hours since Hyoutei had beaten Yamabuki, and the match between Atobe and Yamabuki's captain had been the deciding one. It had been an exciting match, but Atobe had won in the end. But Shishidou hadn't spotted Ootori at all since their conversation. It was like he had disappeared from earth or something. Shishidou had seen Hiyoshi grab Ootori's bag when the match was over. Ootori was probably sulking around somewhere.

Not that Shishidou cared or anything. Not at all.