Chapter 2

It began simply, as most things that were complicated did.

It began with an accidental meeting, a neglected apology, and a bruised ego - or egos. They both knew that the reason they disliked each other so much was that they saw what they most disliked about themselves in the other.

It began quickly, and grew beyond either of their control. One day, their rivalry would engulf the entire tennis team.

It began on the first day of school.

The sound of school bells sung in the April air, reminding students that a new term was about to start. Atobe adjusted the collar of his uniform, ran a hand through his hair to assure himself it was as perfect as ever, and smiled at a girl who was shyly looking at him through long eyelashes as he neared the gates of Seishun Gakuen.

It was time to enter his stage, he knew. Glancing at the clock, he quickened his step, determined not to be late on his first day - it may be fashionable to make a late entry, but that wasn't sensible for school. Later, when he had proven his abilities, he would be able to ignore the demands of someone else's schedule. But for now, there were rules to be played by. One had to know the rules well before they could be broken. Atobe knew this, and intended to live by it.

Still, as the cool breeze brushed through his hair, he wondered how long it would take to build a suitable following. He had one in elementary school, but none of his friends had gone to Seigaku, deciding it was too far away to bother. So for now, Atobe was adrift, without any close acquaintances. That situation would need to be rectified immediately. What use was there in being as good as he was if he had no one to admire him for it?

Perhaps fate had a hand in that day, because the first person Atobe Keigo ran into - literally - was Tezuka Kunimitsu, the boy who was destined to become his constant rival.

Atobe turned a corner quickly, just in time to be broadsided by another person.

If it had been a movie, they would have sent each other stumbling to the ground, or locked eyes and realized their predestined importance to the other. Instead, they stopped and stared at each other, Atobe a bit annoyed, while the other boy's expression was neutral. He had been hit hard, with most of the impact landing on his right shoulder, the one that he needed so badly when he played. The other had taken the brunt of the collision square in the chest, and seemed a bit ruffled, but his blank face gave no clue as to his real feelings.

The situation had to be handled carefully, Atobe knew, since first impressions were lasting impressions. The other boy was relatively tall, but Atobe's eyes noticed he wore the pin on his collar indicating he was only a first year. Light brown eyes, bright with intelligence, regarded him from behind wire-frame glasses, and Atobe would have been quick to dismiss him as a nerd, had he not been clutching a tennis bag.

Ah. Perfect.

"Tennis players need to pay attention to where they're going," he said smoothly, staring at the other boy with a bit of pity.

"Definitely," the other boy said, his eyes sliding to the bag that Atobe himself held, the implication quite clear.

He paused, eyes narrowing almost shrewdly. "Some more so than others, apparently."

The other boy glanced away, nonchalant. "It may be a good lesson to all."

After that day, Atobe swore to remember that boy.

He later found out the other's name - Tezuka Kunimitsu - when he joined the tennis club and saw the very same boy standing together with the other first year students. He guessed that it was by some strange stroke of luck that he ended up in the class beside the annoying boy's. The fact that the other's class was just beside his gave him little comfort, but he was sure that the days to come would begin to prove just how good the other was.

He talked with a type of confidence few found in first year students. Usually, these were either frauds with two years or so of tennis playing experience, or they would be egotistical and pompous idiots who thought that they ranked above the rest with just a good serve or return. But there were also some very rare instances where such people were actually talented beyond belief.

He would bet on the latter, actually. Tezuka didn't look careless enough to be a fraud.

As time went by, he was right about the other's level of expertise in tennis playing. He didn't think he had underestimated the obviously rude person, but he was pleasantly surprised to be told that the other was a junior tennis champion within his region. He had never seen Tezuka before, and if that was the case, he must have been keeping a pretty low profile on the national level.

Atobe was sure that very few people could match him game for game, which was why he insisted on making everyone understand where he stood during practices. This made him increasingly unpopular with the older students, and despite the fact that they tried to make his life miserable, he wasn't without a following to back him up. They must realize that he was good and accept that as a fact of life, Atobe believed. Some would always rise to the top, which meant others would have to sink.

The moment he marked off Tezuka as someone he had to watch out for and challenge constantly, he noticed someone else.

Someone who appeared to be small and weak, but possessed a personality far more sly than what most would think. Atobe admired the other's wit and intelligence, admired his carefully polite nature and harmless appearance. He watched the other and understood that he was a prodigy like himself, but he was one who lacked ambition and drive.

Fuji Syuusuke.

"You are good." Atobe chose to speak to the younger boy sometime after practice, his familiar smirk already in place. "I think you can become better, but you don't have the interest for it."

"Ehh?" The innocently curious look the other gave would have fooled anyone, but Atobe saw right through it.

"But it's okay. I don't really care about how you want to play your game."

"Ahh-"

Atobe didn't even wait for the other's reply. "I think we can get along. Or I can get along with you, at least. So it's alright if I call you Syuusuke, ne?"

Fuji appeared to think about his suggestion for a moment before replying with a bright smile. "Only if you let me call you Keigo-chan."

The sheer impertinence of the reply had surprised a laugh from Atobe.

One other person became important to Atobe in those first few weeks, though not because of his tennis skills. Kawamura Takashi would have ways to go before he would rate the attention of anyone on the court, but Atobe liked him for a different reason.

In class, Atobe was used to people hanging on his every word, agreeing with whatever he said. The problem was that most of them didn't really take the time to think on what he was saying - annoying at best, insulting at worst. It was frustrating to speak to lumps of wood, and have nothing sink in.

But Kawamura listened.

They were in the same class, and the boy tended toward being on the quiet side, which Atobe rather enjoyed. He would politely think on what Atobe would say, asking intelligent questions at the right point to show that things had really registered. He was content to do most of what he was told, not fighting the system at all, but that was okay. Atobe liked followers, but he preferred them to be intelligent followers.

The boy was a bit strange, Atobe had to admit. It had surprised him, the first time they were allowed on the courts to play informal matches, and Kawamura had picked up a racket to head off against another freshmen.

"Come on, baby! I'm BURNING!" he yelled, earning puzzled looks from those around him. His face was intense and flushed, and he looked ready to rip someone apart.

It was one of the few times Atobe had honestly been taken aback. Fuji, who had been his partner, stared at Kawamura with an amused expression on his face.

"Any idea?" he asked.

Fuji shook his head, but continued to watch the developing scene without a verbal reply.

Kawamura glared at the other freshmen - Atobe would later learn his name was Kikumaru - and dragged him off to the court.

"Mind if we wait a moment? I think this is going to be worth seeing," Atobe said.

"I'd like to watch as well," Fuji admitted.

It was Kawamura's first serve that took Atobe's breath away. There was little control to it, but it was powerful, strong enough that he saw the potential for a power player to emerge from his usually laid back classmate.

"In a year..." Atobe said. He touched his chin absentmindedly, thinking on the possibilities. Kawamura needed coaching, but Ryuuzaki Sumire was the best.

Fuji nodded. "Next year's team is going to be very good."

"That's assuming you decide to start taking tennis seriously."

Fuji blinked, giving his best "who, me?" expression, looking genuinely innocent to anyone who didn't know him.

Still, they were concerned about the present year, and the current captain, Yamato-buchou, was a good leader, but resigned to the fact that his club just wasn't good enough to make it out of Kantou. Seigaku was a legendary tennis club, but after he had been defeated by two incoming first years, he had seen the writing on the wall.

Other members weren't so accepting. Most of their resentment fell, naturally enough, on Atobe Keigo, the flashiest of the newcomers, who wasn't ashamed to admit his skills. If you have it, flaunt it, was one of his beliefs.

And he had it. They didn't.

Therefore, he saw no reason why they would want to pick on him. Maybe, it was all out of envy or jealousy. Furthermore, they must be annoyed to find him with a following, since he was still a year one student and his attitude actually didn't manage to put a lot of people at ease. At best, they would become smitten with his prima donna attitude and follow him blindly. At worst, they would hate him with a type of vengeance which only those who were truly jealous and dark of heart could achieve.

Some called him an arrogant bastard. Others called him the diva. The only person whom he wanted acknowledgement from refused to pay him the due respects. Granted, the other was almost as good as him. That was probably his only saving grace. He wasn't particularly interesting and he was mostly quiet. This meant that he would be an absolutely boring person, had he not been good at tennis.

Atobe had no time for insipid idiots.

That was also about the time when conflicts started to occur. They were small events at first, hardly noticeable and immensely private affairs between the both of them. But gradually, the effect of their rivalry began to widen its circle, causing more and more people to be dragged in, willingly or not.

Someone once said that it had to stop somewhere. Atobe didn't really care, since it was none of his business how the rivalry affected the people around him. Furthermore, Tezuka was the one who asked for trouble, not him. He was being perfectly civil when he asked the other if he was, perhaps, having problems with human interaction.

Ahh, some people simply love to misunderstand his good intentions.

"Keigo-chan," Fuji's soft, slightly lilting voice was becoming increasingly familiar to the diva. "Let's do something interesting."

He raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "And that will be?"

"Let's make a bet."

There were signs of a smirk being born. "On?"

"Tezuka."

"Oh?" A full smirk was turned on. "What could be possibly interesting about him to bet over?"

Fuji gave a slightly secretive smile. "Kikumaru-kun just told me something amusing the other day."

Although Kikumaru and Fuji were in the same class and they had a rather close relationship, nothing could beat what the prodigy shared with Atobe. Theirs was a special relationship cultivated on trust and mutual benefits, with daily entertainment being one of them. Fuji didn't mind following Atobe either. The latter was interesting enough to actually say and do things which most normal leaders wouldn't. Furthermore, he was unafraid of Fuji.

That was actually one important criterion for Fuji when he chose friends. If they cower before him, then they were better off being the subjects of his entertainment. He liked preys which struggled, but he also preferred friends who were able to make intelligent conversations. Not to mention attempting to outguess him. That was one hell of a fun activity to try out with his friends.

Atobe's droll look was getting increasingly famous. "Please don't tell me that Tezuka had grown a new pair of wings or discovered that the universe is located in his-"

"Of course not, Keigo-chan."

Atobe thought for a moment, wondering what bombshell Kikumaru could have dropped that would be worth bringing to his attention. If it was something interesting about Tezuka, it had to be about tennis. Nothing else was worth bothering with, really. And if Kikumaru found out, it was probably something Oishi had told him. Oishi who hung on Tezuka's every word, who followed like a puppy.

Oishi Syuuchiroh wasn't one of the people Atobe outright disliked, but he wasn't fond of him. The boy was too serious, too mothering, and had absolutely no sense of humor, as far as he could tell. He fit naturally enough with Tezuka, which was fine with Atobe, but he also had recently begun to play as a doubles' pair with Kikumaru.

Tangled webs, indeed.

He became aware of Fuji waiting patiently for his guess again, and knew that Fuji would be perfectly content to wait until the world ended and beyond. He cocked an eyebrow, curious in spite of himself. "What's the bet?"

Fuji's lips curled, and his face suddenly resembled that of a picture Atobe had seen - a picture of an angel praying in the midst of a battlefield, his serenity at strange odds with the chaos and bloodshed around him. Fuji was like that - always out of whack with his surroundings, somehow pristine and untouched despite being intimately involved.

"Did you know... Tezuka is left handed?" Fuji asked curiously.

Atobe blinked once, trying to process the information. He had seen Tezuka play, frighteningly competent and able to stand up against any third year, including the captain himself, but even he hadn't noticed that the other boy had been holding back that much. Ryuuzaki hadn't let them play, yet, and he had been looking forward to the chance of putting the other boy in his place, but...

Well, for once in his life, Atobe Keigo was floored - and concerned about the outcome. He hadn't played all of his trump cards, either, but to play with his opposite hand constantly, Tezuka had to be obscenely confidant in his skills.

"Interesting," Atobe said after a moment, suddenly too aware of how closely Fuji was regarding him. It wouldn't due to become the next item on "Fuji Syuusuke's List of Entertainment," and Atobe quickly wondered about the repercussions of Tezuka's actions.

"The senpai aren't going to be very happy with him when they figure it out," Atobe mused, and had he been the type, he would have bit his lip thoughtfully at that moment - but doing so would have marred his appearance.

Perfection in all things. He wouldn't admit it, but he and Tezuka had too much in common.

Fuji's eyes opened, startling and blue. He leaned back against the fence, his voice lowering a bit. "Of course not. The question is, when will they?"

Atobe smirked, feeling his old self return after the startling revelations of what his would-be rival was hiding. "They'll find out when Tezuka and I finally are put up against each other. I'll make him use his left hand, and he'll still lose."

Fuji thought on that for a moment. "It'll happen before. And... it's not going to be pretty."

The other boy appeared to be honestly keen on the bet. "What's the wager?"

"A week of classroom cleaning duties."

Atobe grinned, obviously confidant that he would win. "Deal."

The prodigy won his very first bet weeks later during practice, when lowerclassmen were allowed to practice with the non-regular seniors. Apparently, Fuji and Atobe weren't the only ones who found out about Tezuka's ambidextrous ability. A nasty-looking second student called Takeshi had narrowed in on Tezuka the moment he was available for a match, then proceeded to throw a fit when the younger boy refused to use his left hand to play.

"If you're not going to use that arm of yours, then you might as well not have it!" He prepared to swing a racket, obviously intent on doing Tezuka serious bodily damage. Everyone had frozen in shock, unable to believe what was unfolding in front of them.

"He's trying to save you some face by not playing with his left hand, can't you see?" Despite himself, Atobe couldn't help pointing out the silliness of the situation. In the tensed situation on the courts, the diva was the only one who dared to speak.

"Who are you to say that?" Takeshi whirled around to stare at the other boy instead, Tezuka momentarily forgotten. "Are you better than me then? Is that what you're suggesting?"

"You'll never be able to reach our level." Atobe shrugged nonchalantly, his racket held loosely in his right hand.

"You-!"

"Takeshi!" Another second year student standing beside the furious boy caught hold of his arm, nervous and worried. "Let's not cause any trouble on the courts."

"I want to have a game with you, brat!"

The self-confident smirk on Atobe's face would have put any of the first year students off, but the older boy obviously didn't know better. "That'll be alright, I think. Since things are getting boring around here anyway."

The quiet look Tezuka gave him before he began his match against the upperclassman made him smirk again, wanting to show the other boy just how good he was. Atobe Keigo wasn't someone to be slighted in the least bit, and it was high time some of the arrogant seniors get that fact registered in their brains.

His day ended in victory, of course, and he trounced the older boy easily, leaving behind a despairing wreck on the tennis courts when he left the place, face flushed and smiling widely. Fuji appeared to share his amusement at the combined plights of the other students. It wasn't out of cruelty or arrogance. It was the sadist in the closed-eyed prodigy who agreed with Atobe's way of torturing people who deserved trouble for opening their mouths before thinking.

The both of them met Tezuka again later in the locker room, the bespectacled boy already preparing to go home. He didn't stay around the courts long enough to finish watching the match, something which miffed Atobe greatly. But it was impossible to deny the fact that Atobe actually saved him from further trouble with the seniors by speaking up.

Before Tezuka stepped out of the locker room, he paused at the doorway and glanced back at the diva, who was changing out of his tennis jersey.

"What you have done wasn't necessary."

"Ahh, but I did something good, didn't I?" Atobe was feeling extremely pleased at the turn of events.

The other boy appeared to pause for a moment, then spoke up again, distant and filled with stubborn pride. "Do not expect me to be grateful to you for doing something foolish. You are endangering not just yourself but the other first year students there as well."

Atobe shrugged, keeping away his jersey and picking up the racket bag. "To be honest, I'm not expecting you to be grateful."

Tezuka gave him another one of those unreadable expressions that he was so good at. "Then what are you expecting?"

Atobe smirked, glancing down as he adjusted his grip on his bag. Tezuka stood patiently, and it was odd to know that for once the other boy was completely focused on him.

It was a heady feeling, more thrilling than all the cheers he got from others whenever he played. "I think you know, don't you? If you can't figure it out, you're not worth my time."

Tezuka's fingers came up as he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Who says I want to figure it out?" he asked, and quickly left.

Fuji watched the whole scene, blinking a bit after Tezuka's subtle insult. "The kitten has claws," he murmured, coming to stand beside Atobe.

Tezuka hadn't struck Atobe as the type to give casual insults, and instead of taking offense, he decided to take it as a compliment that Tezuka's facade of perfection would crack enough to throw out such a snappy remark. "Yes, but kittens get eaten in the real world. I'm wondering if he's really a sleeping lion."

"You want to wake him up?" Fuji asked curiously.

"If I left him alone, it'd be boring. Besides, I have to make it quite clear to everyone who the strongest person in the club is - and that's me."


End: Chapter 2