"Abarai," said Byakuya. "I thank you profusely, from the bottom of my heart-"
"Don't mention it, sir," Abarai mumbled. "Please."
"-for wearing proper pants."
Ginrei's improbably handsome tennis instructor had shown up in a pair of athletic shorts that made Abarai's futsal kit look positively modest. Ginrei was currently giving the man an earful about propriety and the difference between social mores in the city vs one's private estate in the country. The tennis fellow did not look particularly perturbed by any of this.
"Good afternoon, Brother, Renji," Rukia said brightly. Byakuya had not anticipated his sister being roped into this fiasco, but she did not appear particularly unhappy about it.
"Good afternoon, Cousin Byakuya," Shizue added. She had grown into a handsome young woman, in the classic Kuchiki mold. Both she and Rukia were clad in bright floral kimonos paired with solid-colored high-waisted women's hakama- Rukia in purple and wisteria blossoms, Shizue in green and peonies.
"Welcome to the Seireitei, Cousin," Byakuya replied. "I trust the journey was pleasant."
"Oh, yes, the weather was very agreeable, and all of North Rukongai is in bloom," Shizue replied.
Byakuya made a slight nod toward Abarai. "Lady Kuchiki Shizue, this is my adjutant, Abarai Renji, Assistant Captain of the Sixth Division."
"An honor to meet you, my lady," Abarai bowed.
A brief, unclassifiable look flashed over Shizue's face. It was probably Abarai's hair. Or possibly his tattoos. She recomposed herself quickly. "Thank you, Assistant Captain Abarai," she replied.
Ginrei strode up, the trainer at his side. "Ah, are we doing introductions? Byakuya, Lieutenant Abarai, this is our family's tennis professional, Sugita Jukou."
"You can call me Coach Jukou," Sugita assured them.
"I cannot," Byakuya replied, purely out of instinct.
Fortunately, no one had time to be horrified by his faux pas, because Sugita took one look at Renji and then pointed a finger at him. "Hey, I know who you are! You write the swordfighting feature in the city newspaper! The kids love 'Let's Do Shikai!'" He flexed his bicep, made a toothy grin, and winked.
Byakuya had seen people make this gesture at Abarai before, but he had never quite put together its provenance. Suddenly, it became obvious-it was the expression Abarai was making in the headshot that used to accompany his old zanjutsu instructional column.
Shizue looked like she wished for the earth to open up and swallow her.
Abarai looked mildly embarrassed as well. "Ah, thank you. It's actually been on indefinite hiatus since I got promoted."
"Well, you should start it up again!" Sugita opined. "The weightlifting diagrams, in particular, were really stellar!"
"I didn't realize that was you," Ginrei added. "Byakuya, you should have mentioned that when you told me you'd hired him."
"How was it possibly applicable?" Byakuya frowned.
"I'm ready to play some tennis!" Ginrei boomed.
"It would appear we have an excess of players," Byakuya pointed out. "I volunteer to sit out."
"Request denied!" Ginrei shot back. "The ladies will play each other, and we'll play doubles, Jukou and I versus you and Abarai!"
"We forfeit," Byakuya announced.
"You can't forfeit."
"Grandfather, I barely know the game and Abarai has done nothing to deserve this."
"I stand by your side in honor and in defeat, sir," Abarai declared.
"Don't be such a wet sock, Grandson!" Ginrei goaded.
"I am not a-" Byakuya couldn't even bring himself to say it. "Fine! Let's just get this over with."
"We'll let you serve first!" Sugita offered, tossing a tennis ball to Byakuya, which he caught easily. Byakuya assumed first service conferred some sort of advantage. He started at the ball for a moment and tried to remember what serving looked like.
"Captain," Abarai suggested. "Would you like me to serve the first game? Warm 'em up, like?"
"Ah, yes, very good, Lieutenant," Byakuya blustered. Byakuya did not regularly lob things, and his attempt to toss the ball to Abarai was less than graceful. Abarai caught it anyway, and then proceeded to bounce it off his racquet with a fancy little flourish.
"Good luck, gentlemen!" Rukia wished them as she headed off to her own court. "Just try to have fun, Brother," she said softly to him as she passed.
"Focus on using your off-hand as much as possible!" Sugita shouted at Shizue. "For practice!"
"Yesssss, Coach," Shizue sighed.
Renji took up a position at the back right of the court.
"Where do I…?" Byakuya hissed to him.
"Left side. Hmm… probably best to stand just in front of the line."
"What do I do?"
"If the ball comes near you, hit it."
"That's it?"
"Hit it hard? You want to hit their court, inside the lines. Since this is doubles, those big gutters on the sides are legal."
"Ah. Er. Thank you, Abarai."
Abarai clenched a fist and his brows furrowed with determination. "We can do this, sir!"
It occurred to Byakuya that he should probably be mortified to put his incompetence on display like this in front of his adjutant. On the other hand, Abarai suffered humiliations in front of him constantly. Just last week, while carrying a full armload of paperwork, Abarai had tripped going down the stairs of the administration building and had, in perfect view of the window next to Byakuya's desk, gone completely ass over teakettle. (Byakuya had recently picked up this phrase from Rukia. He found it very charming, even though he couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.) Abarai always dealt with these indignities either by laughing at himself, or by setting his jaw and soldiering onward. Perhaps we can do this, Byakuya reassured himself. If I must make a buffoon of myself, at least I have an expert by my side.
"LOVE-ALL!" Abarai hollered from behind him. There was a loud thunk, and a small object went screaming over the net a meter to Byakuya's right. It hit the clay scant centimeters in front of Ginrei's feet and then flew off beyond the court bounds.
Ginrei's face was a rictus of surprise. He hadn't moved.
"Ace!" Sugita cheered. "We gotta live one, Ginrei, shake it off!"
Byakuya blinked, trying to parse what had just happened.
"Other side, sir," Abarai said gently, pointing to the right side of the court with his racquet as he himself headed to the left. "We switch every serve."
"Right," Byakuya echoed. He glanced over to the other court, where Shizue was looking on curiously, and Rukia had a huge grin on her face. Didn't they have their own game to play?
"Fifteen-love!" Abarai called, and sent another sizzling serve over the net.
"Out!" Sugita shouted as it flew past him.
"What happened?" Byakuya hissed to Abarai.
"It went long," Abarai explained. "Serves gotta go in that box." He gestured with his racquet.
"Ah. Try to exercise more restraint next time."
Abarai cracked a grin. "You get two chances. It's actually good to risk going a little too hard on your first try. I will definitely exercise some restraint this time."
Byakuya narrowed his eyes at his second.
"Watch the court, sir," Renji chuckled. "SECOND!"
The serve was fair this time, but Sugita returned it fast and low. Byakuya was not good at tennis, but he was quick on his feet and had good spatial awareness. He managed to sling it back, but without as much force on it as he would have liked. Ginrei was waiting for it, and slammed the ball with an overhand swing. It thunked into the ground at Byakuya's feet and sailed high. Byakuya thought that was the end of it, but there was a whack from the rear, and the ball shot back over the net, narrowly missing his shoulder. He glanced back behind him. Abarai was careening back to center court, ponytail streaming behind him. "Pay attention, sir!" he begged, returning another volley that Byakuya hadn't even seen coming.
The game passed in a blur, with team Abarai-Kuchiki squeezing out a win just before going to deuce. Byakuya didn't know what deuce was, but it sounded dreadful. "We go over there, now, sir," Abarai informed him, picking up a stray ball by bouncing his racquet against it.
"Didn't we just win?" Byakuya asked, as though he had had a single thing to do with it.
"We won the game. The first to six games wins the set, although we have to win by two so-"
"Just tell me when we have won or lost, and spare me the details, please."
"Sure thing, sir. We are currently winning."
"Ah. Excellent."
"You're not half bad," Ginrei accused Renji slyly as they passed around the side of the net. "Who taught you to play?"
Abarai smiled a thin, snakey smile. "Retired Captain Iba Chikane."
Ginrei gripped his racket and gritted his teeth. "I knew it! I recognized that follow-through motion on your serve. And it's Retired Acting Captain Iba."
Renji's face remained impassive.
Byakuya was deeply, deeply confused.
"Why would she teach you?" Ginrei growled. "She would never teach a young man."
"I served in Squad Eleven with her son," Renji explained coolly. "We were roommates. He used to make me go with him to be ball boys for her an' Captain Unohana and then they would humiliate us at doubles for a while. For fun, I guess. Gave us some pointers, too. A tough lady for sure, but I always gave her the respect she was due, and she liked me just fine." He paused thoughtfully. "At least compared to Tetsuzaemon. She used to grab Tetsuzaemon by the ear a lot. She never grabbed me by the ear, but I never pretended to have a Hiroshima accent in front of her."
Byakuya stared at his adjutant in horror. When he had hired Abarai, he had very clearly informed him that their relationship was professional and he had no interest in personal stories. Abarai had respected that, for the most part, but recently, personal stories had just started… coming out of him, and every one of them was, frankly, more unsettling than the last.
"I see," Ginrei drawled, clearly reassessing his opinions on Abarai.
Something bristled under Byakuya's skin. "Those who are not privileged enough to receive a classical education have to learn things somewhere, Grandfather," he sniffed, ignoring his grandfather's glare as he headed to the opposite court.
"Nice game!" Abarai said, returning to his usual bright tone of voice as he tossed the ball to Sugita.
"Thanks, you too! It was a nice easy warm up, but I think I'm ready to get a little more serious," Sugita teased, stretching his impressive shoulders.
Abarai laughed. "Bring it!"
The next game went poorly. Sugita served and it was very obvious that he was going easy on Byakuya. Byakuya was pleased the first time the ball landed politely in the center of his service court, and he sent it confidently back over the net, only to have Grandfather smash it right back in his face. Then, when Sugita served to Abarai, the ball hurtled over the net at such velocity that the air practically atomized around it. Abarai managed to return it, but poorly, and Sugita sent it back again, attacking the ball with a strange sideways swipe of his racquet. It landed neatly back in front of Abarai, but bounced oddly, and Abarai nearly went face-first into the court trying to return it.
"Ah, wicked spin on that!" Abarai sighed, regaining his balance.
"You really set me up for it!" Sugita replied cheerfully. "Did you watch my wrist movement, Ginrei?" he asked, demonstrating it again.
Byakuya scowled. He disliked this immensely. This was a foolish sport, for fools. He wasn't good at it, because he spent his time on better things. He glanced over at the other court, where the young women were volleying intensely. Shizue was clearly the superior player, but Rukia was swift and agile, and appeared to be having a good time. She waved to him as she went to chase down a ball she had, once again, missed.
As Byakuya turned his attention back to his own court, he realized that he wasn't the only one who had become distracted by Rukia. Abarai's expression immediately turned sheepish. Byakuya shot the man a look that he hoped conveyed 'perfunctory admonition', rather than 'fierce reproach.' Rukia did look very fetching in her pretty sporting outfit, it was only natural that a young man might take a moment to admire her.
This brief interlude turned out to be the bright spot of the second game, which was an utter rout. The only mercy was that at least they were defeated quickly.
"We don't switch sides this time," Abarai explained, tossing Byakuya a ball. "But it's your service. Do, you, uh… um…?" he trailed off without actually asking the question.
Byakuya realized that perhaps he should have been paying attention when Abarai and Sugita were serving. It seemed a rather complicated motion, a stretch with a little jump and a downward stroke? Surely, he could puzzle it out. He held the ball out in front of him, trying to visualize the motion.
"Grandfather?"
Byakuya's head swung over to the other court, where Rukia and Shizue were standing near the net, as though they had been conferring.
"What is it, Rukia?" Ginrei replied pleasantly.
"Shizue and I were just wondering if we could mix things up a bit. We aren't very evenly matched you see. I'm really just a casual player."
"She could give you some tips?" Ginrei suggested.
"Oh, we did that a little. But it looks like your side isn't very well matched, either, and we were wondering if maybe we could play Renji and I versus you and Shizue."
"That's a great idea!" Sugita chirped up. "I can help Byakuya with his serve!"
Byakuya did not want help with his serve, but he was also tired of embarrassing himself.
"That still doesn't sound like a very even matchup," Ginrei observed.
"We'll see," Rukia replied, mysteriously.
"Also, I lose all the time, I'm used to it," Renji added.
"Fine then," Ginrei agreed. "It's been a while since we played doubles, hasn't it, Shizue?"
In spite of himself, Byakuya felt a wave of relief go through him as Rukia traded places with him. She gave him a little wink as she passed. Byakuya didn't know how to feel about that.
For the next ten minutes, Sugita attempted to walk Byakuya through the motions of serving. It was more difficult than it looked, and his first few tries went directly into the net. The fourth attempt sailed true, and landed nicely in the service court he had been aiming for, but in a high, slow arc. An opponent would have returned it easily.
Sugita was impressed anyway. "Great serve, Byakuya! You're a natural!"
"I… do not think that is accurate," Byakuya frowned. "That was a terrible serve."
"Have you ever actually played tennis before?" Sugita asked, his thick eyebrows furrowing.
"No," Byakuya replied.
"You're doing amazingly well! I can tell you're like your granddad- you're used to being really good at things, and it can be hard to step back and give yourself permission to try something new. Tennis is a really rewarding game that can be played both competitively or socially! I think it would be worth your time to open up to learning just a few basic moves, and then if you love it, you could dive deeper into it."
Byakuya stared at his grandfather's tennis instructor, with his wavy, golden hair and his eyes like the deepest ocean and his inappropriately short shorts and his patronizing platitudes. And yet…there was something comforting about him. Byakuya felt irritated at his own incompetence, but he didn't necessarily feel embarrassed in front of Sugita, the way he had always been embarrassed to make an error in front of his grandfather as a boy. It was a strange feeling. He wasn't sure if he cared for it. Also, Sugita reminded him of someone, he was sure of it.
"It's yours, Rukia, you got it!"
"BAM!"
"It's mine, it's mine, it's-GRANDFATHER!"
Curious, both Byakuya and Sugita peered over at the match on the other court, where Renji and Rukia were high fiving, and Shizue was glaring sternly at her grandfather, who was stonily setting up to serve again.
Byakuya had seen Rukia play tennis before. She approached it much the way she did all competitive activities- at full steam, attempting to dominate the court, despite the fact that she was usually playing in social games with young people who were mostly using it as an excuse to flirt with their doubles partners.
That… wasn't what was happening now.
Abarai had a powerful slam and good situational awareness, but he also had a lot of momentum, and had difficulty making quick directional changes. Rukia, on the other hand, had less power and reach, but more speed and agility. She covered Abarai's weak spots while he made bold attacks. He would shout out directions to her, and she would follow them without question, a very un-Rukia-like behavior, indeed. What's more, they seemed to have an almost instinctive awareness of each other- moving gracefully in and out of each other's orbits like a pair of dancers. At one point, Rukia slipped directly under Abarai's swinging racquet, and he didn't even flinch.
Shizue was clearly the best player on the court by far, but Ginrei kept getting in her way, or expecting her to offer him back court support when she was in no position to do so. For her part, Shizue seemed to be attempting to play singles while dealing with an irritating geriatric obstacle she was forced to work around.
The game was very close.
Byakuya realized that both he and Sugita had been watching in fascination.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you played tennis?" Rukia was yelling.
"You never told me you played! I didn't even know it was a rich people game!"
"How did you not know that, you doofus? We should play! I want you to teach me to serve like that!"
"Yeah, sure! I mean, I'll try! It's kinda height-based!"
"Whoops, I missed it!"
"No problem, I got you! Try not to put it in the back right corner, that's Shizue's forehand!"
"Okay!"
"Look how much fun they're having!" Sugita beamed. "That's really the goal, isn't it?" He cleared his throat. "Shizue! You're playing doubles! Let your Grandfather get it now and again!"
Grimacing, Shizue slammed a ball right along the edge of the line. Rukia tipped it with her racquet, but it wasn't enough to do anything productive.
"Hey, you had a piece of that!" Abarai shouted encouragingly, and Rukia shot him an absolutely dazzling smile.
Byakuya turned away, feeling like he had seen something he shouldn't have. But what could possibly be untoward about his sister enjoying herself in a stupid game? "Perhaps you should get back to teaching me to serve," he informed Sugita.
Rukia had always found Byakuya's petulant refusal to participate in activities he wasn't good at to be one of his less charming qualities. She'd assumed that it sprang from some combination of a spoiled childhood and the fact that, as the most important person he knew, it went against his principles to accommodate others. Her own youth had rarely offered the opportunity to be choosy, and his inflexibility grated on her when she wasn't in the mood to be patient with him. But now, it occurred to her that if a beloved parental figure had repeatedly forced her to undertake things in which she had no interest and then proceeded to treat her as a rival to be humiliated, rather than a beginner, she would probably be a grumpus about trying new things, too.
They had shuffled partners once more, when it became clear that Shizue was also reaching her Ginrei limits. Rukia had claimed she wanted to get a little more practice in, and asked Byakuya to run a drill with her before anyone could get a word in edgewise. Shizue moved over with Renji and Coach Jukou joined back up with Ginrei.
None of this was about her, but if she had her way, Rukia definitely would have liked to keep playing with Renji. He was an excellent athlete, of course, and able to switch from ultra-competitive to easygoing as the situation called. Moreover, it was just so easy to fall into a rhythm with him. Playing doubles tennis was a bit like fighting together, except you could do it in polite company. She wondered how many strings she would have to pull to get him invited to the Kannogi's garden party coming up in May.
The drill she'd asked Byakuya to help her with involved him rapidly feeding her shots to random locations on the court. It was a drill for building speed and hand-eye coordination, things at which Byakuya already excelled. As expected, after a few rounds, Byakuya wanted a turn. He was, in fact, better than three quarters of the people Rukia usually played against, although she doubted he would find that comforting. Nevertheless, they passed a pleasant half hour switching off, occasionally taking a break to admire the action on the other court.
"Please try to wrap up your game," Byakuya finally suggested to his grandfather. "So we may return home with enough time to prepare for our dinner guests."
"Oh, we can stop anytime!" Coach Jukou smiled. "We stopped keeping score a while ago."
Rukia suspected that Grandfather and Shizue knew exactly what the score was, but both of them seemed to be biting their tongues.
"Thank you for including me!" Renji announced loudly to Shizue. "You are very talented, Lady Shizue, and it was a pleasure to play alongside a player of your skill level!"
Shizue puffed up a little at this. "Ah, thank you, Lieutenant Abarai! You were an excellent partner as well!"
Renji turned to face the net. "Good game, Captain Kuchiki, Coach Jukou!"
"Good game, Abarai, Shizue!" Coach Jukou called back genially.
"Yes, yes, thanks for coming out, Lieutenant," Ginrei added. "We'll see you tonight, at dinner?"
Abarai blinked. "Er, no, sir. I believe it's a family gathering."
Ginrei sniffed and rolled his head over to Byakuya. "Who's coming to dinner, Byakuya?"
"Great-Uncle Kaisei's line," Byakuya reminded him for what Rukia suspected was not the first time.
"You should come," Ginrei jerked his chin at Renji. "There aren't enough Squad Six boys on that side of the family, and I'll fall asleep if I have to listen to Azami and Etsu talk about their nieces' marriage prospects for three hours."
"Grandfather," Byakuya warned.
"Loosen up, Grandson," Ginrei waved a hand. "You made this man run around a tennis court all afternoon, the least you can do is feed him."
Renji's eyes darted between Ginrei and Byakuya. "I don't think Aunt Azami likes me," he finally said.
Rukia blinked. When the Hell had Renji met Aunt Azami?
Ginrei snorted. "Good for you!"
Byakuya's shoulders actually… hunched slightly? "You are incorrect," he grumbled. "She… at least claims to be very fond of you. She…" Byakuya cleared his throat. "Lieutenant, you are welcome to join us for dinner. I absolutely do not wish to impinge on any existing plans you may have had. Do not hesitate to-"
"I can come," Renji cut him off. "Sir."
Wait. What was happening?
"Excellent!" Ginrei crowed. "What does Etsu think of you?"
Renji looked blank. "I don't- wait, Choei's stepmother?" He glanced at Rukia for confirmation and she nodded frantically at him. "We haven't met."
"Oh, even better!"
Rukia grabbed Byakuya's sleeve. "Brother, what is happening?" she hissed.
Byakuya grimaced, and leaned down to explain softly, "Our Beloved Aunt Azami keeps writing me letters, chiding me for not inviting him to more things. It would serve her right."
"Wheeeeeeeen did she meet him?" Rukia continued. She was trying to maintain her decorum, but what was Byakuya doing? He'd been exposing her poor Renji to Kuchiki aunts when she wasn't even there to rescue him?
At least Byakuya had the good grace to look guilty. "I…will tell you later. I promise. It is my fault, I am afraid."
"That's wonderful that you'll be able to make it!" Shizue was saying, having apparently switched back from tennis mode into Proper Young Lady mode. "It should be a lovely evening!"
"Ah, yeah!" Renji grinned, and to Rukia's horror, she realized that she couldn't tell if he was faking. "I'm sure it'll be a real nice time!"