A/N: Go me, another chapter. Here's chapter eight. This really has gone on longer than I intended...Oh well, not like I actually planned any of these chapters out ahead of time...But as long as people are enjoying it, I'm fine iwth writing more. Anyhoo, this chatper is somewhat of a bridge between events. This hooks the previous chapter and next chapters. I didn't originally plan to write this as a bridge, but as I was writing it, I though, "Hey, this would work great to bridge the gap between events!" Yes, I'm slow at some things...Well, I hope you all enjoy it!
I don't own PoT
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"Hey, Atobe?"
"What?"
"Can we play doubles again, sometime?"
The Hyotei tennis buchou looked over at Jiroh who was lying on the grass outside of the tennis courts. He stared up at him with a sleepy gaze. Atobe shrugged.
"Sure."
He turned his attention back to the clipboard I his hand. There was a list of things to be done at practice today. Atobe glanced over at the non-regulars and began barking out commands.
"First-years, set up the nets and then practice your swings. The rest of you can start running now. I'll tell you when you can stop."
There was a collective groan that was immediately quieted with one sharp glare from the tennis star. After making sure they were going to do what they were told, he turned his attention back to Jiroh and the other regulars.
"There's an invitational coming up next week."
"What school?'
Gakuto attempted to look at the clipboard, but Atobe pushed him away.
"Some school a little outside our district."
"Apparently you don't think too much of them if you don't even call them by name."
Shishido was balancing his racquet on his finger without even looking at it. As always, Otori was close-by.
"So, are they any good, Atobe-san?"
"While they're better than most, they're certainly not the best…Actually, I think any of the competing Kantou region tennis teams could probably beat them."
"Then why are we even playing them?"
Atobe glanced over at the grumpiest member of the team. Hiyoshi was standing a little off to the side looking disgruntled as ever.
"Because it's an invitational and it would be rude not to accept."
"Why can't we just say we're doing something else?"
"Shishido-san, it sounds like fun. Besides, we can all look at it as extra practice."
Oshitari rested his arm on top of Gakuto's head while smirking at the other doubles team.
"Since Otori said it, you know Shishido is going to be okay with it."
Otori gently smiled while reaching over and restraining his doubles partner. At first, he could feel Shishido slightly tense, but he soon tightened his grip when Gakuto started smirking.
"Aww, how cute, Yuushi. Look at the little married couple."
It was a good thing Otori tightened his grip since Shishido immediately tried to lunge at the shorter boy. Gakuto and Oshitari snikered while Shishido was blushing furiously and Otori restraining him.
"He's right. Coach even suggested we change up the line up a little bit."
Jiroh was just dozing off to the normal sounds of Shishido getting angry at Gakuto or Oshitari while Otori tried his best to calm everybody down, when he caught that last line.
"How do you mean, 'change the line up'?"
Atobe continued to flip the through the pages attached to the clipboard completely ignoring the ruckus in the background.
"Exactly what I mean. We can take the opportunity to switch things up for our amusement."
Adding fuel to the already blazing inferno, Gakuto found another way to irritate Shishido.
"Well, you shouldn't change up Shishido and Otori because Shishido would be so sad not to play with his-"
Before he could finish, Shishido somehow managed to slip through Otori's grip and take after the other boy.
"You're gonna die, you-"
"Shishido-san!"
Hiyoshi rolled his eyes as he attempted to get away from the louder ones. Trying to ignore the two doubles teams, he approached Atobe.
"So how would the line up change?"
"Eager to show me up?"
He grunted at Atobe's nonchalant response. The tennis buchou looked at Hiyoshi and then side stepped so as to avoid being knocked over by Shishido who was chasing a very agile Gakuto.
"It depends. Coach hasn't decided yet."
"I want to play doubles!"
Everybody paused a moment at the sudden exclamation. Atobe looked over at Jiroh who was excitedly jumping up and down.
"I want to play doubles with you, Atobe!"
All heads swiveled to face their tennis buchou. He felt his eye begin to twitch.
"Where did that come from?"
Oshitari gently pushed up his glasses. Jiroh just stood there as excited as before. He bounded up to Atobe and began tugging at his sleeve like a small child.
"I think it would be lots of fun! Besides, like everybody else said, it's good practice. It never hurts to do something differently. It's fun to try new things once and a while!"
The others shifted their gaze from Jiroh, back to Atobe. He felt himself in an odd position. He knew none of them knew what he was thinking at the moment and was thankful for that. Atobe thought back to the previous day and the little tennis match. A part of him was impressed that Jiroh answered without really telling what happened.
"I suppose. However, the choice is not currently up to me. We'll wait for Coach to decide on something. So for now…Jiroh, stop shaking me."
In his excitement Jiroh began using more force causing Atobe to lightly sway back and forth as he spoke. He looked at Jiroh after the rocking had ceased. The other boy was much calmer now, though something told Atobe that the calmness was not a good sign. However, he had to get practice started so he pushed the feeling to the side and started practice.
"Everybody stretch a little and then get ready to run. After that, training drills. Whatever we decide for the invitational will be known tomorrow. Now get going."
He walked over to one of the benches and set down the clipboard while the other members stretched a little and prepared to run. Jiroh as usual was not really stretching. Atobe shook his head. The boy looked like he was sleeping. His eyes were shut and he was sitting on the ground stretching his legs. At a closer look, Atobe determined that he really was asleep.
"Oi, Jiroh. How do you fall asleep in the middle of stretching?"
"Wha-?"
Jiroh shot up and looked around groggily. He looked at Atobe and gave a sheepish smile.
"I got kind of bored, so…I kind of fell asleep."
"Let ore-sama bore you no more. Everybody start running now!"
With a small set of grumbles, the regulars were off running at their respective paces. Atobe began running behind the rest, but looked over his shoulder. Jiroh was running in a sense, though he did not really seem to notice anything.
"Jiroh, hurry up."
"Right."
In a few moments Jiroh caught up to Atobe and then began running faster. After being positive the other boy would keep running and stay awake, he picked up his pace as well.
"Get back here! Don't think I'm done with you yet!"
Shishido was sprinting after Gakuto who was also sprinting in an attempt to keep away from the angry boy chasing him. Otori was running a little bit behind still trying to calm Shishido down.
"Shishido-san, just let it go! Who cares! Please don't do anything to get in trouble."
"You better listen to your wife, Shishido!"
"Oshitari-san, you're not helping matters."
"Not my goal."
Otori sighed in defeat at his senpai. He was just so hard to read. Regardless, it was obvious that he was getting pleasure out of the situation and was trying to keep it going.
"Choutarou! Get that guy!"
Oshitari glanced over at Otori who was running beside him. He cracked a devious grin. The second-year sighed. In a matter of seconds, they too were off running. Oshitari had to keep a fast pace up as Otori's longer stride let him gain more ground. However, that did not seem to faze Oshitari or Gakuto. As the two bolted, they passed Hiyoshi who was keeping a fairly fast pace though being a little better at pacing himself.
"…Things will definitely change when I'm in charge."
"Keep dreaming, my little kung-fu tennis friend."
While plotting and having fantasies of overthrowing Atobe, the said object he was trying to overcome easily glided past him smirking. Kabaji and Jiroh trailed right behind him.
"Why you…"
Not about to be the last person, Hiyoshi also picked up his speed. Fueled by his temper, he passed Atobe and was now working his way towards the doubles teams out in front.
"They're quite lively today, aren't they Kabaji?"
"Usu."
The giant second-year nodded in agreement as he faithfully followed behind Atobe. After running a few more minutes in silence, Atobe looked over his shoulder and watched Jiroh run. The other boy was still awake though he did not seem to be with it. For some reason, Atobe felt a little guilty as he kept watching.
"Oi, Jiroh, pick up the pace."
"Hmm…'kay."
Even though he acknowledged being spoken to, Jiroh still did not change his pace. Atobe decided that he was upset or depressed at the whole doubles thing.
"Hurry up. Ore-sama does not want to be kept waiting for a match."
Jiroh perked up a bit when he heard that. He looked up at Atobe in a manner more familiar to Atobe.
"I thought we were doing drills?"
"What? Is ore-sama not a suitable enough for you to practice?"
"What! No way! Let's go!"
In a flash, Jiroh started to sprint. Being satisfied with the result, Atobe also started his sprint. By now, they had finished a good amount of laps and it was time for the real practice to begin. He decided it was always better for the buchou to finish first, so he took off and began methodically passing each of the regulars. He easily passed the two doubles teams as they were a bit tired from chasing and being chased. The next person he was able to pass was Hiyoshi, much to the second-years dismay. The only one he had to beat out now was Jiroh. He caught sight of him in the distance and ran even faster. Soon, he caught up to him and pushed himself to pass Jiroh.
"When he's excited…"With a final rush, Atobe was able to pass Jiroh and finish first just as he always did.
He waited for the other members to finish up while he caught his breath. He looked over at Jiroh who was also panting a little, but still moving forward to get his racquet.
"Somebody's a little eager to get going."
Oshitari slowed down and stopped when he was standing beside Atobe. Shortly after Otori, Gakuto, and Shishido showed up. After everybody was assembled, Atobe instructed them further.
"Split into groups of three. Hiyoshi, you're with Shishido and Otori. Kabaji, be with those two."
He nodded towards Oshitari and Gakuto.
"Usu."
"I want you to serve as hard as you can to them."
"Usu."
"And you two will practice returning. Otori, the same goes for you and the others. Serve as hard as you can and let them try and return it."
"Okay, Atobe-san."
"After practicing that, you will play practice matches against each other. Got it? Good. Now go."
They all grabbed their racquets and began walking to their respective courts. As Hiyoshi passed by, he could not refrain from questioning him.
"What does that leave Jiroh and you?"
"Practice match."
"Why?"
"Not you're business."
"Showing favorites?"
"What? Jealous? Regardless, Jiroh is the only one who is good enough to keep up with me."
With that, Atobe flipped his hair and strutted over to where Jiroh was impatiently waiting for him. Hiyoshi snorted at the response and went to join the others.
"Why's Hiyoshi always so uptight?"
"I've noticed that the martial arts type seem to be uptight."
"Like Sanada?"
"Exactly."
Atobe twirled his racquet a couple of times as he moved towards the court baseline.
"Start the serve. We'll pick up where we were last time. You need to be able to adapt beyond your specialty and then use it to make it to your advantage."
"Got it! Get ready!"
He tossed the ball high into the air, bent his knees while bringing his racquet over his shoulder and then jumped for it.
"Take that!"
The added jump gave the serve a little more of a kick than a normal serve, but nothing Atobe could not handle. He was impressed though. Jiroh had a tendency to serve-and-volley. Atobe wondered what he was planning since he used a jump serve.
"Impress me, Jiroh."
"You got it!"
As expected, Jiroh was playing aggressively at the net. To change things up, Atobe hit a deep lob high into the air. Anticipating it, Jiroh was already running backwards. Right before the ball was going to land. Jiroh quickly threw his racquet under it. The force sent the ball flying back upwards towards Atobe. Not missing the opportunity, Atobe jumped up to smash it.
"What are you going to do?"Much to his interest, Atobe noted that Jiroh was still at the baseline. He knew the other boy was planning on something and he wanted to know what. With all his force his smashed the ball. As it soared towards the court, Atobe was surprised. Jiroh was already sprinting for it and before it reached the ground, Jiroh ran right into it and used the momentum to volley the ball into the far corner of the court.
"Aww, man…It was out…"
Atobe looked towards the back of the fence where the ball had come to rest. He then turned back to Jiroh.
"Interesting idea."
Even though he was impressed, Atobe kept any sign of it well hidden. He impassively looked at Jiroh who was looking at him as a child would who was overly disappointed at something.
"But it didn't work."
"It was the first try."
Jiroh looked at Atobe who still remained unreadable. Most times, people who offered encouragement actually looked supportive. Atobe just looked like as he always did when being the tennis instructor.
"Yeah…"
"Go get ready again. You're going to do that again."
The other boy stared at Atobe questioningly.
"Ore-sama thinks this is a useful technique. However, it is useless if it does not go in. Therefore, we're going to practice this until it goes in."
"Okay!"
Immediately, Jiroh was up and running back towards the baseline excitedly. Atobe could not suppress a small chuckle. It always amused him how Jiroh could go from one emotional extreme to the other.
"While you're waiting for the smash keep your feet moving more."
Atobe hit the ball towards Jiroh who easily lobbed it up for Atobe to smash. Again, Jiroh ran forward to meet the smash and again it was out.
"Don't bring your racquet through that much. Go do it again."
Atobe continued to drill Jiroh, stopping only to tell the others to begin their practice matches.
"About time. Man, my arm feels numb."
Gakuto was rubbing his shoulder while they arranged themselves on the courts to play.
"It's gonna get worse."
Shishido walked over and was grinning from ear to ear. He indicated to Otori who had a couple of tennis balls.
"Atobe-san said I should serve first."
"That man lives to torture people…"
Atobe smirked as he listened to the chatter in the background and then turned his attention back to Jiroh. He was determined to get it right and Atobe was determined to make sure it was perfect.
"Alright, practice is over."
With a sigh of relief the other members headed for the clubhouse. After making sure everybody had left, Atobe locked all the doors and walked towards the school offices. After walking up a short flight of stairs, he approached a door with a small sign indicating the tennis coach.
"Coach. What are you going to do for the invitational?"
The coach, Sakaki, put down some papers he was reading and pickd up the registration form for the invitational.
"Hmm, what would you propose? This is for you and the team after all."
Atobe looked out the window thoughtfully for a few minutes before deciding.
"I would like to put Kabaji in first singles, Oshitari in second, Hiyoshi in third…Heh, the first doubles team will be Shishido and Mukahi."
"Interesting line up so far. So, where does that leave you?"
"Second doubles with Jiroh. I'm sure Otori would not mind sitting this one out. I have confident that the matches will not go beyond third singles. This way, Hiyoshi can play in a normal match."
Sakaki could care less about the line up except for the second doubles position. He found it quite fascinating that the star player would willingly choose the to play doubles. He distinctly remembered that Atobe and Sanada were not exactly happy to play doubles.
"Why do you and Jiroh want to play doubles?"
"It's fun to try new things once and a while."
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A/N: So there you have it. Yeah, the chapter is kind of fluffy I guess...or neutral or something. I don't know. Well, anyways, as far as the invitational, I decided that was the best method to get the two to play doubles. I needed a good reason to get them to play that, but if they were to play any of the other teams, they would not change the line up like that. So instead of sending off their sub-regulars, Hyotei is going to switch around. As far as the no name school goes...that is probably how they will remain as they are there only to be fodder for Hyotei. Ho diddly hum...I guess that's it for this chapter. I want this story to end soon so the next chapter might end up being a little long. I think ten chapters is good. So yeah, the next chapter might be little longer. Who knows? Okay shutting up now...Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoyed the story! Next up: Atobe and Jiroh have to practice playing doubles which leads to a frustrated Jiroh.