AN: This super long chapter is pretty much introducing an OC, because Rikkaidai needs someone to fill in Yanagi's empty spot.
In case description here is not clear, I drew a pic of the OC and made an insta account for him (because how else can I upload photo online?)
I'll put the account name at the end of the story. Enjoy?
Chapter 6
Rikkaidai might be a prestigious school, and its tennis club might be ravenous for victory, but Hachisuka Aki was anything but. That was not to say Hachisuka was…inadequate. To him, Rikkaidai junior high school admission was not as difficult as figuring out life's secret, neither was entering the tennis club. Though he found on his first year that becoming a regular was not as simple.
He had seen what needed to be sacrificed to become one. He saw people running around like a madman, only to faint or bleed. Hachisuka did not want his silky slightly over shoulder-length brown hair to be anywhere near the dirty ground, to have his countenance contorted in frustration, and definitely not being drenched in sweat. Only he knew how much time he had to spend everyday just to keep that strand of hair perfectly styled over his right eye, let alone the entire hair. He could not have his meticulously styled image jeopardized for something he did not even have passion in.
Hachisuka was actually a novice in tennis, having only been acquainted with the racquet in his first year of junior high school. The only reason he chose tennis was because of the positive reputation that came with it. Thankfully the athletic built he had worked on for years allowed him to pick up the sport in very short time. Though being a regular would greatly contribute to his image, he was content with just being a member as long as the scale remained in the positive range.
He somehow made it into the reserves in his second year. Hachisuka did not mind for he never had to actually substitute any of the regulars. His job was to play demonstrative matches to reporters, since on top of his well-maintained looks, Hachisuka also put a lot of effort in tailoring his movements to appear exceptionally photogenic in every single match he played for. He would finish his match sparkling, literally, with a shy but confident smile on his face just perfect for the camera to catch.
He was 'cool' as many people had called him. Pretentious, but cool.
And that was how Hachisuka had spent his club session for the first two years, and he was not planning on making an exception in his last. Unfortunately, one regular spot was unexpectedly empty this year, and the vice-captain was intent on using the District Preliminaries as the reserves preliminaries, which meant that Hachisuka had to actually play in an official match for the first time.
Currently he was standing outside the court fences along with the four other reserves who would be playing in today's District Prelim Semifinal. He had his perpetually curious expression plastered on as he stared at the ongoing Doubles 2, his mind actually wondered around. Hachisuka was busy deliberating whether he should just make a run for it. The 'win or slap' vice captain Sanada Genichirou who was sitting on the coach's bench had assigned himself as the reserve member. Hachisuka did not feel like putting effort for a regular spot he did not want, definitely not with the sun scorching too brightly for him to keep his sweating to a minimum. If he was gone, he did not have to play, and they would still win since it's vice-captain and he would slap everyone else before he lost. It was a win-win move.
So Hachisuka feigned a stomach ache and excused himself to the toilet. However his sharp eyes caught a figure across him who moved at the exact same time. Holy crap he was targeted! Was it because of his looks? Was it because of his position in Rikkaidai? Or perhaps he had been chosen to participate in some cool awesome secret organization?
Haha nope. It's probably sabotage, Hachisuka's logical mind spoke up. He had heard people whispering about players being injured before game. Sports politics because middle school tennis was serious business. Then again, Hachisuka's family was relatively wealthy. That could be another reason.
Well, too bad. Hachisuka might not be well acquainted with martial arts, but those gym days were not only for show. He paused right before the toilet door and swiftly turned to greet the stalker with a powerful fist to the face. In a flash he could put a name to the person stalking him and he halted his punch in the nick of time, with only an inch to spare before bones were broken.
"Yanagi?!" Hachisuka exclaimed out loud, his naturally high voice became higher with surprise.
With his fist still hovering dangerously close to the other's face, Hachisuka scrutinized him. The man was wearing casual clothes, which consisted of moss green long sleeve shirt with dark beige pants. On top of that he was wearing a beige overcoat and had a scarlet scarf wrapped around his neck and over his mouth. He also wore a navy blue cap which cast shadow over his perpetually closed eyes, supposedly obscuring his identity further.
Hachisuka wondered how he could recognize this man. Then he wondered whether the man was a spy running away from the international mafia syndicate. He wished. So he settled with the explanation that it was actually winter already and somehow only areas he went to were not snowing and-
A clap. Hachisuka snapped back into attention, looking at the clapped hands in front of him. "Attention here, Hachisuka Aki." The taller man instructed. Hachisuka complied and withdrew his fist. Yanagi took his hands back as well.
As usual, Yanagi was quick to the point. "I know you are evading the upcoming match."
Hachisuka hurriedly gave a pained expression and clutched his stomach. It was a second too late to be convincing, made worse with the half-cooked acting. To be fair, looking good and wincing in pain did not go together. "I have stomach ache and-"
"Let's cut to the chase." Yanagi sharply dismissed, pulling his scarf down. Hachisuka maintained the horrendous act, in case Yanagi decided to change his mind within the next few seconds. Yanagi stood still with his absurd layers of clothing. Hachisuka decided it was not worth it, so he let go and had his usual curious expression in place. Hachisuka just wanted to make a run to the toilet.
Unfortunately that option ceased to be one when Yanagi pulled him away upon sensing someone walking towards them. Now they were hiding under the shadow casted by the toilet building.
"I intend to bring you back to the game and have you play with your full strength."
Both of Hachisuka's eyebrows were raised and his mouth was wide open. "Tell me you're joking." Hachisuka said in disbelief.
"I think you know the answer already." Yanagi replied curtly.
No no no no no. Hachisuka had given up on excelling anything. He was to never do anything with his full strength, or he would cease to have a weakness and people would start…looking at him with those eyes again. Those cold eyes burning with envy, swearing revenge-
"Hachisuka?" The shorter boy felt two hands on his shoulder, shaking him awake from his reverie. Right, he had to deal with this senior that had appeared out of nowhere. Pushing the gloomy thoughts to the back of his head, he focused to think about the situation logically. Why would Yanagi, whom he heard had dropped out, want him to be in the regulars?
Hachisuka came to a conclusion. "You want me to clean your mess?"
"To put it crudely, yes."
"Sorry. I decline." Hachisuka was about to walk away when Yanagi grabbed his left arm. He could have wrestled himself free with zero effort, and he was going to do that if not for what Yanagi told him next.
"Two years, two weeks and three days, yet you are still afraid."
Hachisuka snapped his head back at the statement. His dark orbs glared at Yanagi's closed ones, daring him to continue; The hand clasped around his wrist forgotten.
Yanagi did. "A tiger that is hiding its claw and trying to become a cat."
"I think I've become a pretty good cat." Hachisuka retorted. If all his claws brought was solitary, then he would rather get rid of them. "I'm fine with it. Sorry, but you have to find someone else. Try Saito Jin, he should be a more fitting candidate than I am."
As if Hachisuka would sacrifice years of hard work just for a teammate that he only knew by name. He freed his hand from Yanagi's wrist with ease, only to have it recaptured again.
"Has the thought ever occurred to you that you can concurrently show your claw and maintain your popularity?"
Hachisuka yanked his wrist away from Yanagi's, this time keeping it close to his chest. "Yes, and you can't. How much of a fool do you take me for?" Hachisuka was beginning to lose his temper.
Instead of answering, Yanagi asked something else that caught Hachisuka's attention. "How about a hero?"
"Hero?" He asked, more towards himself. A gallant presence that saved others in distress. Now as he thought about it, heroes in the movies were always exalted and praised and flocked around by other people, and they did not have weakness. Hachisuka tried really hard not to grin like a fool as the image went through his mind with him at the centre of the attention.
"But," Hachisuka asked once he had returned from his imagination. "How?"
"By defeating me." Yanagi pointed to himself. "Become a regular yourself, and defeat me in an official match."
Hachisuka did not even know which school was Yanagi in now. And how could winning make Hachisuka a hero?
"Rikkaidai aims for third consecutive victory. However, with Sei- the captain falling ill, it is going to be a struggle ." Yanagi explained before Hachisuka could even ask. "The team is at a pinch, and I have chosen to abandon the sinking ship and leave for another school. I betrayed Rikkaidai."
Hachisuka understood where Yanagi was going. If he defeated Yanagi, say in the nationals finals, he would be the hero that bring victory to the team, the one that saved the team after the crisis Yanagi's departure had caused. He could understand the logic, though there were many questions running through his mind, such as whether their teams would face each other and which was Yanagi's current school. He also wondered how the taller man could proudly call himself a traitor.
Back then, Hachisuka had been the top student in his school, and he would bring the school achievements after achievements. Yet he was not called a hero. Instead he was called 'Suck up', 'Show off' or 'Braggart'. This hero plan could only work when he fought against the traitor. But to be able to face him, Hachisuka had to prove his worth by winning matches to get into regular position. And by doing this he would be trapped in the same circumstances as last time, where those he defeated would…would...
"I believe a demonstration would be more convincing." Yanagi said, as if he had read Hachisuka's mind. "Go and take your racquet. You should have half an hour left to spare."
Hachisuka absentmindedly followed Yanagi's instructions. As he ran, he thought over Yanagi's preposition again.
'You look so cool!'
'You're so buff I'm jealous of you.'
'How could you play tennis and look so damn gorgeous?'
The worst Hachisuka had heard in these few years was 'The guy's all muscles and looks, no brain'. Those were fine.
'Perhaps if you don't study all the time you won't look so ugly.'
'Stupid people like us will scream. But you're different. You can do everything right? Then surely you can keep silent, right?'
Hachisuka rubbed his right arm frantically as he tried to rid the feeling haunting him, in the process getting some powder on his palm. Hidden behind the thick make up was several burn scars he got when his friends had played with him. 'That's what you got for being smarty pants'. If he gave his all in tennis, what would his friends do? Hit him with racquet? Aim their shots at him? Trip him as he was runni- Hachisuka fell face first to the ground.
He saw a helping hand extended towards him, one that was clad in beige sleeve. Yanagi? He gradually realized that he had taken his racquet with him and was on his way back. Hachisuka took the help offered, not caring if some of his scars were visible. He still had more than that.
"Ready?" Yanagi asked once Hachisuka was firmly back on his two feet. Hachisuka nodded. He'd give 20% more than usual. Definitely insufficient to make regulars, but perhaps he could try?
Yanagi took him to an outdoor court only several meters away from the school where the prelim was hosted at. Hachisuka took one side of the court, Yanagi took another. Yanagi had neatly discarded
his scarf, his coat and his cap aside, only keeping his long sleeve shirt and his beige pants on. Hachisuka did not even notice Yanagi had brought his racquet along. He probably had it hidden under those layers of clothing.
"I will be playing with my non-dominant hand." Yanagi announced, swinging his racquet as to drive the point.
"You're not left handed?" Hachisuka questioned. "You've been using that hand all this time though." Hachisuka had never paid attention to which hand Yanagi used during matches, but he knew what the third strongest member in Rikkaidai was capable of.
"You shall see it for yourself." Yanagi said. "I will be giving my 100%. You can play as you normally do. Whenever you are ready."
Hachisuka wanted to voice his concerns. He had no idea why he was playing a game against Yanagi, but he realized that Yanagi might forget about the ongoing prelims semifinal and played all the way, giving Hachisuka a free pass from playing his first official match. So he decided to keep his mouth shut.
Hachisuka threw the ball in the air and hit a perfect serve. Yanagi intended to return it with a flat shot, but the angle of his racquet was slightly off and it gave Hachisuka the perfect chance for a smash. 15-0
Yanagi was definitely not left handed, Hachisuka concluded. That was not a deliberate miss.
Yanagi managed to return his next serve. They engaged in a rally for a while until Hachisuka decided to end it with a drop shot. Yanagi was able to intercept it halfway, but again the angle he hold his racquet was off. The ball hit the net. 30-0
Hachisuka attempted to score an ace on his next serve, but Yanagi managed to return it with a back hand. It was lacking in power and ended up as a volley. Hachisuka dashed to the net and hit a moon volley. The ball dipped and landed on the baseline. 45-0.
Hachisuka was not even going at 50%. Since this was just a street match, he did not even put in effort to make his movements look impeccable. He played the way he usually did: use as many good looking moves as possible regardless of the situation.
"From here onwards, I will score." Yanagi declared. Hachisuka raised an eyebrow. Hachisuka was not that bad so as to let a 'newbie' score against him.
This time, Yanagi was returning all his shots. He let every single shot bounce before he returned them. Hachisuka got into position for another moon volley, but Yanagi had anticipated it and hit a drop shot. 45-15.
Okay. So Yanagi scored on luck. It should not happen again. To his surprise, Yanagi tricked him into believing that he was going to do another drop shot and pulled a lob on him. 45-30.
Yanagi was a data master and it clearly showed, even if he was playing with his left hand. In the first three matches he had moved that suggested to Hachisuka he would attempt a lot of net shots since he could not aim as accurately and had less power. Yanagi swept the last two points off his feet by completely destroying that perception. In a blink of an eye, it was 1-0 in Yanagi's favor.
Perhaps he should raise his game to 70%. He could not let Yanagi defeat him with his non-dominant hand. He waited for Yanagi to serve, but it never came. "That was as long as I can hold my 100%." Yanagi announced, and Hachisuka had to agree. Even though Hachisuka was the one losing, he had barely broken any sweat. Yanagi meanwhile looked like he had just finished his laps, and with the amount of laps they were made to run everyday it meant that Yanagi was seriously fatigued.
"Kay." Hachisuka dropped his form. "So what's the point of this again?"
"Just now, if there are spectators here, who do you think they would cheer for?" Yanagi asked. Hachisuka let his mind wondered. He was a non regular that had lost the first point because he was playing around. His opponent was a traitor that was mocking him by playing with his non-dominant hand.
'Stop playing around Hachisuka!'
'Play seriously!'
'Crush that traitor!'
If Hachisuka gave his all and managed to defeat Yanagi fair and square, then…
"Let's continue." Hachisuka, now riled up, bent his knees and got back into his form. Yanagi, however, ignored him and went to pick his pile of clothes up.
"Save it for an official match." Yanagi said dismissively.
"When can we play? I don't even know your school." Hachisuka asked.
Yanagi was silent for a moment. "We will either meet in regionals or nationals. That's how strong my school is."
"Until then, go take the regular spot and polish your sword. When the time comes, fight me with your full strength, hero."
Hachisuka watched quietly as Yanagi walked away. No, he was not a hero yet. Yanagi was taunting him. He wanted to settle the match now and showed him, but it would be meaningless.
Take the regular spot…Oh crap he had semifinals to play for!
He ran with all his might back to the school. He had not noticed the grey clouds stretching over the sky. Normally Hachisuka would be thrilled since the humidity would prevent him from sweating too much, but now he was hoping for it not to rain. The flame inside him would not be able to withstand his match being postponed.
He barely made it in time as the Doubles 1 had just ended with a score of 6-1 to Rikkaidai's favor. Hachisuka casually entered the court, taking a glance at his audience. The vice captain was looking stern as ever. The rest of the players clearly had no faith in him. He even heard someone saying 'The model's hopeless. It's down to singles 2.'
Hachisuka could imagine what would happen if he lost this match. The vice captain would give him a displeased look and a slap. His fellow regulars would give him superficial comforting words such as 'Hey, at least you look cool' or 'Going down gracefully huh'. Then everything would return back to normal. Hachisuka would be back playing in style as if that conversation with Yanagi never happened. He would never have the chance to become a hero. He had to hide his claws and kept looking good forever.
Hachisuka decided to give it a try. For now, he decided to discard his tendency to use flashy moves. He was playing at 70%.
The opponent scored four times in a row. 1-0 to the opponent's favor. What luck that he was the one facing the strongest player from the opponent team. His opponent, a very muscly guy, was smirking at him as if he had won. His team was already celebrating, boasting loudly about him being the strongest player that could never lose.
If Hachisuka won this game, it would be Rikkaidai's victory. Did it count as being a hero? The vice captain might stop frowning for one second, which was equivalent to a smile. His fellow reserves would hate him for not allowing them their chance to play, or they might praise him for playing tennis seriously for once.
Hachisuka decided to take the chance.
His opponent was walking towards him to change court, but Hachisuka was still standing on his spot. He scanned around the audiences, ignoring the shouts that told him to move. He found it, a girl with her hair tied in a high ponytail. Hachisuka finally moved, but instead to the opposite court, he walked out of the court.
"What are you doing?" He could hear the vice captain yelling at him. Hachisuka continued walking towards the girl, who was becoming flustered as she realized she was being in the center of attention. He stopped a respectable distance from the girl, taking a deep breath to get into that persona that many people liked from him.
"Young lady, you are blessed with a very beautiful face. I am certain your hair would accentuate your beauty even more." Hachisuka spoke in the lowest tone he could muster. "Would you kindly let your hair down? I will keep your hair tie safe." He extended his hand, palm up.
The girl was too flustered from the unexpected praise to comprehend Hachisuka's words. She quickly undo her hair and placed the black rubber band on his hand. "Thank you, oh fair lady." Hachisuka said and left the blushing girl alone.
All eyes were on him as he made his way back. Hachisuka gathered his brown locks and looped the band around them once, then halfway for the second one such that he had a half-bun hair. He twisted the leftover hair such that they were pointing upwards. That way, the only hair that was touching his skin was the one over his right eye. He had let his hair down for so long he could not remember when was the last time he supported this 'Pineapple style'.
When Hachisuka wanted to get serious, he did not like having his hair around his skin. Now he was going all out, 98%.
"From here onwards, I will not let you score." Hachisuka declared, a return statement to the figure he had just played against.
It ended 4-1. His opponent was lying on the ground unconscious. Hachisuka won by default.
Hachisuka was completely drenched in sweat and he had a migraine. Holding his head in his hand, he glanced to his team. His vice captain still looked stern, but he was clearly astonished. His teammates were equally shocked. Hachisuka groaned. If experience taught him well, after the shock came the contempt and the hurtful words and the pain.
He tried to walk out of the court as fast as he could. "Hachisuka!" The vice captain roared, stopping him in his tracks. Hachisuka did not even bother to look at him. He wanted to get out of the place fast and his head was killing him.
"You did well."
That caused Hachisuka to look up. The vice captain was…smiling? And his teammates ran inside to surround him, one nudging him on the arm and one had his hand over Hachisuka's shoulder.
"Our model went wild!" One told him.
"You never play like that before. That's awesome man!" Another said.
"That guy's twice your size. How on earth did you outrun him?"
Was this what a hero felt like? Hachisuka could not discern it with the ringing noise threatening to explode in his head. But no one was mocking him and he was not in pain except for his head. And the vice captain said he had done well.
With his hand still supporting his head, he glared at the members before him with a smirk. "Oh, this is only the beginning."
"I'm not joining this elimination match you set to find the traitor's replacement anymore." Hachisuka declared, earning him surprised gasps. "I'm taking that regular spot. Anyone that has problem with it can fight me, one on one."
With that, it was goodbye picture perfect Hachisuka and hello Hachisuka that would defeat the traitor Yanagi, the Pineapple Hero.
Random note: I've always been so bad at remembering names, I can't even remember my own OC's name. For some reason I always thought his name started with a T. I'll be wondering "Who's the guy's name? Tachi? Tachisuke?" XD
Speaking of names, I tried to make his name as meaningful as possible. The fact that he was not a replacement, the fact that he filled up the gap and brought the number of regulars back to 8 (counting Yukimura), the fact that he is in a way related to a lotus (of all things I never make reference to pineapple in his name. oh well XD). Can you find them?
This is the kanji to his name 蜂須賀 新
I am done butchering Japanese. Do tell me if I make a mistake somewhere along the line.
So…what do you think? *hides in the corner*
Aaand the account, if you're interested: instagram. c(o)m/ takophin /
(warning: be prepared for super mediocre pencil drawn character)
