Disclaimer:. I own none of Hideaki Sorachi's characters, alas alas. I do own a badminton racket.
Rated: One bad word.
Summary: We love our Prince of Badminton.
A/N: I owed Yamazaki for getting him so chewed on last time.
Five Moments of Badminton
"I always respect a man who likes badminton," Hijikata Toshirou says to Yamazaki on the day they hire him.
The new recruit's eyes light up. "Really, sir?" he asks hopefully.
Hijikata frowns. "Hell no."
Yamazaki is thrilled when Okita finally agrees to play a game with him . . . until Okita lifts the rocket launcher to his shoulder in lieu of a racket.
The Shinsengumi still talk of the day they went to the onsen and Yamazaki hit the ping pong so hard it burst into flames and burnt down half of the rec hall.
Why do all of the doujinshi make me a laundry-washing, mother-henning, usually stabbed uke?" Yamazaki wonders pitifully.
Kondo rests a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It's the badminton, lad. It's the badminton."
Sometimes people ask Yamazaki why he likes badminton so much. He'll answer because it requires quick reflexes or skill or power . . . but the real reason is that if he hits the birdie up high enough, then just for a second, he can pretend it will never come back to earth again. Because secretly, he wants to protect the birdie from ever falling completely.