Memory, as we all know, is selective. Even with my so-called photographic memory (it wasn't, though it was better than most), the weeks after that strange night were blurred and faded impressions in recollection.
I went for the tennis tryouts, of course, and got into the team – along with Niou, Yagyuu, Yanagi, Sanada and Yukimura. Marui was 'banned from tennis until further notice' by his irate parents, who had been less than pleased with their son's relatively lackluster academic performance in comparison with his older sister; Jackal, whose family was planning to migrate to Europe now that his father had a reasonably permanent position, had opted to remain in the club instead of trying for the team. The last two positions were taken by third-year captain Aihara Kazuki and second-year Sujuuta Marehiko.
Aihara-buchou was easygoing and absentminded, but unexpectedly good at spotting the mistakes or weaknesses of anyone on the court. He knew almost all the tennis club's members by name; out of all the former team members, he was the only one who bothered with those who hadn't made it onto the team. Niou, as incurably inquisitive as always, soon came up with juicy bits of information concerning the rather dreamy, messy blonde senior – according to him, Aihara-buchou went to see the coach in private in an effort to convince him to accept his request to yield the position of captain to Yukimura and take over the freshman's present position of vice-captain, and as yet a decision had not been reached.
However, the older boy was indeed of a certain standard in his tennis, though definitely not as outstanding as the current freshmen, possibly because of a lack of passion in the sport – he treated it in a way similar to mine, as if it were simply a game, played for enjoyment, where winning or losing was of no great concern.
On the other side of the coin was Sujuuta Marehiko. Small-sized and dark, there was an unmistakable fire burning behind his violet eyes that spoke clearly of his driving willpower, one that would not be easily doused. In a way, he reminded me of Echizen – how his very life seemed to revolve about tennis and tennis alone, with no time for anything else.
Yukimura told me that his brother was one of the children who had been inmates around the time Yukimura himself was hospitalized – Sujuuta Sakuhiko, who was apparently suffering from chronically brittle bones and low blood platelet count, such that he spent much of his time in the hospital getting checkups or with broken bones and incessant bleeding. The older boy tended to isolate himself and put up a façade of rude, uncaring indifference, but from what Yukimura said, he actually doted on his weak younger brother. That made me warm to him.
We didn't have much to do with either of our two sempais apart from tennis, since we naturally stuck together as friends and acquaintances from before. Apart from the training that we went through, which was much stricter and usually more demanding than what I'd had in Seigaku, nothing really stood out in that area. Like middle school,
we began training for the national competition immediately, but once again it was nothing I was not used to.
One day, finding myself with some rare free time, I decided to satisfy my curiosity as to Hideko-sensei. She always watched me with unreadable eyes that showed nothing to betray her thoughts, and when I remembered what she'd said on my first day – that she had a sister in Shuubijou – I wondered if she might have seen me there. And I was right to be suspicious – her sister was Hideko Misaki.
Upon seeing this, I went to see the teacher. If she knew, she obviously had no intention of informing the school, since I'd already been here for some time and she'd had plenty of opportunities to do so. If she didn't know, that was a completely different issue.
I formulated plans for a week with Yukimura and Yanagi, only to be told flat out at the monthly teacher-pupil meeting that she knew I was crossdressing – and also that, for the moment, she would not say anything. "It is entertaining," was the reason she gave. I decided that it would have to be enough, though I did remember to be extra attentive in her class as thanks. Not that I was inattentive in other classes, but that wasn't the point.
Things happened. I found a new 'Fuji Syuusuke Fan Club' website, Rikkai version. Niou managed to successfully blow up the physics lab – he apparently overcame the obstacle posed by the lack of potentially dangerous chemicals in there by using a helium pump, among other things – and got an earful from Yagyuu and the principal. Half the male population swooned over the new relief physics teacher, who had allegedly been invited to an acting company but turned it down in favor of teaching (the girls whose boyfriends drooled over her legs insisted that she hadn't been up to standard.
Yukimura enjoyed himself in his favorite pastime of making Sanada feel uncomfortable in many different ways. Marui topped his class in all his subjects, won through into the quarterfinals of the national speech competition (Yanagi researched, Yukimura wrote and Marui gave the speeches) and was finally let off the hook by his parents, though on the condition that he joined the math and science club.
But most importantly, Tezuka and the rest of my old teammates came down to visit.
--
The visit had not only been unexpected but also uncomfortable. Rikkai had never outwardly approved of Seigaku's seemingly more carefree outlook on tennis. In return, most of my old teammates thought that the Rikkai members were uptight pricks with sticks permanently shoved up their rear ends and no lives to speak of. Needless to say, they didn't get along so well.
I personally felt that it was quite a pity that they couldn't – wouldn't – put aside their differences. Admittedly someone like Sanada – whose aforementioned figurative stick probably caused him some problems wearing his hat, it was that far up – would be hard put to withstand the mindless antics of Eiji when he was on a sugar high or
the incessant, equally mindless fights between Seigaku's resident peach and viper. But he and Tezuka would definitely have found plenty in common, not least their lack of facial expression. Yanagi and Inui would certainly enjoy having a fellow data master to compare notes with. Above all, Marui was the most likely one to integrate easily and the rest, like Kirihara or even Niou, would naturally follow.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that everything stemmed from each team's pride and simple, mule-headed stubbornness. Rikkai had held the throne for too long. Haughtiness was almost an innate part of their behavior, though it was mostly unconscious. They still could not release their grudge against Seigaku for stealing the titles and trophies they felt were rightfully theirs.
Of course, Seigaku wasn't blameless either. To try and extend a gracious hand to the vanquished, who were still licking their wounds, still with the fire of rage and the stormy pain of defeat in their eyes – they should have let the sleeping dogs lie instead of allowing them the scent of meat. Anyone with the slightest bit of tact should know better than to invite the defeated finalists out to a victory celebration. I could find no way to condemn the Rikkai players for taking our goodwill as condescension, nor blame them for holding that lingering grudge against us.
Perhaps, by transferring here, I had unconsciously added fuel to the already well-fed and roaring fire. But also because of that, both sides knew better than to show open dislike, at least once we knew what was going on. After all, nobody could have expected Seigaku to appear right at our front gates, so to speak.
"Fuuujiiiiiiiikooooooooooo!!" The familiar cry split the air, easily heard over the tapping of tennis balls with the swish of rackets and the whirr of machines that was the usual background noise of tennis practice that still went on despite it being a public holiday.
I whipped around, eyes flying open in surprise. "…Eiji?!" I gasped, even as a speeding blur slammed into me, knocking me flat. And then he was hugging me and demanding to know everything of what I had been doing since the last time we'd met and where was the rest of the team and was there anything to eat and did he mention that he wanted to know every single detail of what I'd been doing and –
Well, the long and short of it was that he was exactly as I remembered. He was still uncontrollable when hyper and still the childishly cute overgrown kid who also happened to be my best friend.
Once I registered the fact that it was Eiji, here in Rikkai's tennis courts, I suddenly felt a little worried. If he was alone, I could handle him and my new team without much trouble, but if he wasn't… suffice it to say that things might be a tad troublesome. "Where's everyone?" I inquired.
"Nya? Somewhere behind, I think – " Turning to gesture, he paused, taking in the scene. "Well, they were somewhere behind," he finished rather lamely. I did not comment.
Tezuka and Yukimura were apparently facing off in a staring match of some sort, with that weird electric kind of vibe that they only gave off around each other. Sanada's eyes were even stonier than usual as he watched the visitors, lips set even more rigidly than normal. Niou had a familiar crease between his eyebrows and was chewing the inside of his mouth thoughtfully in the way he always did when discomfited and put off, though he never showed it when he thought people were looking. Yagyuu and Yanagi just observed what was going on, eyes hidden behind spectacles and eyelids respectively. Marui and Akaya, who had been sitting outside, apparently noticed the disturbance and were making their way over.
Meanwhile, my old teammates weren't doing too well, but most of them were naturally thick-skinned and the suspicious stares just rolled off them. Inui was scribbling away at yet another army green notebook, spectacles glowing, while Kaidoh tried and failed to suppress the heat that rose to his face under the scrutiny of so many sempais. Momo was pretending to be completely unaffected, laughing rather exaggeratedly and talking loudly to Echizen, who simply tugged his cap down and attempted to subtly disassociate himself from the loudmouth. Lastly, Oishi was hurrying over towards Eiji and I, obviously flustered and embarrassed at this turn of events.
Somehow, I felt oddly trapped. Having been in Rikkai for more than six weeks already, the feeling of affiliation to my old teammates had thinned considerably, whilst the bond to my new ones was yet in the first stages of development. Of the two teams, I couldn't really say I was one, nor could I quite claim to be the other. I was neither; I belonged to neither. I was caught on the line separating them, and it was tearing me in half.
--
"I give up!! Stop making weird noises, will you?!" exclaimed Marui, finally snapping.
Niou only grinned and emitted the odd, disgusting sound that was half-gurgle and half-retch again, obviously to irritate his friend. "It's a free country; you can't stop me."
The unfortunate redhead groaned. "Oh Kami-sama, what did I do to deserve this… Yagyuu, do something, I'm begging you here!"
"What do you want me to do?" asked Niou's partner and one of the few able to moderate the Petenshi.
"I don't know… gag him, kill him, rape him, whatever shuts him up!" cried Marui, literally tugging at his hair in frustration as the silver-haired boy continued working his throat to produce yet another variation of the gurgle-retch combination.
Coughing to hide my irrepressible laughter, I kept a firm grip on my poker face as I commented, "Murder and violation are rather… drastic, to say the least."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," declared my friend. "It's either he shuts up or I go insane."
"You're already insane, sempai," Kirihara pointed out helpfully, earning himself a death glare from the sempai concerned.
Yanagi spoke up before the ruffled tensai could blow up again. "That last option would be quite counter-productive, since I believe Niou would be significantly louder when in the throes of bliss at the hands of Yagyuu."
"Are you insinuating something?" inquired the gentleman coolly, even as the room exploded with mirth at the very suggestive statement. "In any case, though I sympathize with your plight, Marui-kun, I would prefer to decline. Why don't you silence him yourself?"
"You sound like you don't want to rape him," observed the redhead incredulously.
"You sound like you want to," countered Yagyuu. Marui gagged and started coughing incessantly as the team roared with laughter.
I shook my head in amused disbelief at the side of the gentleman that revealed why and how he could possibly switch with Niou even though they seemed so different. Of course, having been here for almost five weeks already, I had encountered this facet of Yagyuu's character before; somehow it still took me by surprise every time.
"That is beside the point, though," said Yagyuu once everyone had calmed down enough for him to be heard. "You see, Marui-kun, Niou-kun is difficult to incapacitate. Attempting to do so consumes a large amount of energy and is usually unsuccessful."
Kirihara blinked. "Say what?"
"He means that it's very hard to kill Niou and it needs a lot of force, but isn't usually successful, so it's not worth it," translated Marui.
"Oh…" The youngest among us nodded in comprehension. "But why? Yagyuu-sempai should be able to kill Niou-sempai easily."
Leaning over, the Petenshi whacked Kirihara with a rolled-up book. "Silence, foolish mortal! Thou knowest naught what thou speaketh!"
There was a collective sweatdrop from us all. Even Kirihara forgot to yell in pain. "That was just… so… random," declared Marui at last, voicing what we were all thinking.
Niou shrugged. "Well, the book I hit the bratling with was a Shakespeare text," he explained, unrolling the said book. "Yup; it's Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Why the heck do you still have this around?"
"'Et tu, Brute'," quoted Yanagi. "It was our set text the year before last, if you've already forgotten."
Replacing the book, Niou gave the data master a skeptical look. "Yeah, but I'm sure I've chucked mine out already; my house has only so much space, y' know?"
"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more,'" I observed, for no particular reason.
Yukimura, who had been staring out of the window, suddenly spoke. "Is that so, Syuusuke?"
His usage of my first name was not unusual, since he always did and I'd given up trying to stop him. What was unusual was his oddly empty, blank expression. When I didn't reply immediately, he turned to look at me. "Do you love Rome more than you love Caesar?"
Confused, I ventured, "I'm not sure what you're trying to ask, Yukimura."
"Neither do I," complained Kirihara. "What's with all those weird phrases anyway? And does Yagyuu-sempai still have to kill Niou-sempai?"
Marui hit the green-eyed boy over the head. "Of course he does. Niou's very existence is a plague on the earth!"
"What I was trying to say was that murdering him would be too troublesome to be worth the time; people like Niou do not die easily," clarified the gentleman, his spectacles partially concealing his eyes. "He clings to life and refuses to die, the way –"
"The way I cling to my Yagyuu," his partner cut in. "I die, you die too. So there."
As the uncomfortable feeling slowly dissipated, I couldn't help but keep an eye on the pretty blunette. He seemed troubled; his earlier question was troubling. Furthermore, it had been addressed to me… not in the context of Brutus, but of me. Me, myself, and I. Yukimura had to mean something by it, and if he didn't plan to tell me, then I'd have to find out.
Moonlight filtered through the tree branches to reach the window. Yukimura's eyes were unfocused and distant, unseeing; lost in thought and brimming with something that looked unsettlingly like loneliness. I shook myself, blaming my overactive imagination on yet another of Niou's little experiments – even though I knew full well that the drinks had been prepared by Yanagi.
--
A/N: Kill me now. I suck and I don't deny it; this update is WAY overdue. I won't even try to blame it on watching the Olympics or studying for exams – I keep making excuses; nobody believes them or cares why my life sucks when their own sucks worse. A fic is still a fic, and if a fic is written, it has the right to be completed and its readers have the right finish reading it. If anyone is still reading this, that is.
So yeah, this chapter is a filler. Everyone hates fillers, but sometimes they're necessary – it's equally pissing when the time frame jumps by months when you're used to it crawling by in days or even hours. Flame as much as you like. I know when I upload substandard material.
Please Review.
P.S. The quotes from Julius Caesar are from the full online text of Shakespeare's play. Niou's weird Old English lines were made up by the pathetic authoress here. Feel free to speculate on Yukimura's motive in using Brutus' justification for his killing of Caesar to question Fuji.
By the way, rhythmic gymnastics is AWESOME. Even if three teams represented former Soviet states and the Russians still won. I wanted to cry when Ukraine screwed up their second routine.