A/N: Here's the second chapter! This one's pretty long, because I cut out several chapters in the planning process and crammed a few extra scenes in this one. The next chapter will be shorter. Also, since the first chapter was from Gakuto's point of view, this one is going to be from Yuushi's perspective, and the chapters will continue switching off like that. Please enjoy! I appreciate any and all feedback/critiques/reviews/hugs. Flames will be stored away for the chilly winter months.
Warning: Shonen-ai/yaoi/slash/BL/boys-kissing-boys/whatever you call it.
Chapter Two: Ease of Use
"I have absolutely no interest in playing singles."
…
Oshitari Yuushi was taking his sweet time in walking home, which he almost always did. Even on nights when he actually planned on studying for his classes, which were few and far between, he rarely felt compelled to hurry back to his house. From his perspective, it was pointless to worry about whether this or that would get done on time; he preferred to take things in stride and not look too far ahead into the future. So it would be ridiculous to do anything other than walk at his normal pace, even when he was comparatively busy.
Besides, there were much more compelling things to think about on one's way home, other than daily schedules and mundane activities.
"Second doubles, huh?" he murmured to himself, as he stood at a street corner waiting for a green light.
…
"Our Oshitari-Mukahi pair will be playing against Shishido and Ootori for the top doubles spot."
…
It had been a strange day, to say the least, and Yuushi still hadn't arrived at any solid conclusions about exactly what had happened at tennis practice that afternoon. Of course, he knew that Atobe was plotting something. That much was obvious. But even for Atobe, the move had been unexpected… What was the captain trying to prove, by pitting his only set doubles team against some pair that he had formed on the spur of the moment? And it wasn't just for a practice match, either. Atobe had used it to decide the playing order at the Kantou tournament, which was the first match of the season that the Hyoutei Regulars actually played. What was the point of shaking things up so drastically this late in the year?
…
"Yuushi, it's almost match point, you know."
…
And that wasn't the only problem. The real issue was that the set doubles team had lost. Yes, he and Gakuto had lost, and Yuushi had the strange feeling that no matter what they could have done differently, the outcome would have been the same. It was an unsettling thought, especially because he couldn't say exactly why he thought so. He did know one thing, though…
Despite the fact that their partnership had been formed on the spur of the moment, Shishido and Ootori had something when they played together that he and Gakuto did not have. And whatever it was, it gave them an unusual amount of instinctual cooperation.
Yuushi knew this because he had tested it during the match. He had carefully chosen certain spots on the court, places where holes usually opened up in doubles formations, and observed how they reacted when he hit the ball in those places. And even though Shishido and Ootori had very little doubles experience to speak of, they had handled the holes remarkably well. In particular, whenever Shishido used his lightning-fast reaction speed to reach a difficult shot, Ootori always seemed to adjust his location perfectly, without even thinking about it. This was very unusual, to say the least, for a pair who hadn't even played doubles together until that game.
And needless to say, it made Yuushi wonder about what that mysterious element was, that thing that Shishido and Ootori had that he and Gakuto did not.
What made this even more perplexing, at least from Yuushi's point of view, was that he really couldn't recall Shishido and Ootori interacting much with each other in the past. As far back as he could remember, Shishido had lived in his own world of fighting tooth and nail for the few singles spots that were available, and he didn't make much of a point of becoming friends with any of the underclassmen.
And as for Ootori, well, there was something about the younger boy that had always seemed kind of suspect to Yuushi. Not that there was anything bad about him, exactly, but that was just the problem… There was nothing bad about him. He was always perfectly quiet, perfectly polite, did what he was told and that was about all there was to him, at least as far as Yuushi knew. Which had always struck him as a bit strange. Given the second-year's remarkable talents, there was room for a little bragging, maybe just a shade of arrogance, and yet with Ootori… There was nothing like that at all. So then what was there? Oddly enough, Yuushi couldn't answer that, even though Ootori was probably the most likable of the Hyoutei regulars. But that had less to do with what he did do and more to do with what he didn't, which was act like the king of the world, like any other Hyoutei player.
In any case, Yuushi had no idea what Ootori's connection to Shishido was, but there had to have been something he had missed. After all, no two people could play doubles like that, without ever having practiced together, and not have something in common.
So what was that something?
Yuushi calmly made his way into the crosswalk, stepping onto the opposite curb with his usual ease. The muted colors of sunset were starting to spread their way across the pavement, and his feet strode across the different shades of red, the leather on his shoes seeming to change in hue with each passing step.
Yes, something odd had certainly happened in tennis practice, and Yuushi still couldn't make sense of it, at least not yet. But as strange as Atobe's actions had been, they didn't really trouble Hyoutei's resident tensai. It was certainly a puzzle, one to mull over in his free time, but for the moment, he didn't find himself particularly compelled to resist the changing direction of the wind. After all, he had joined Atobe's tennis team of his own free will, and as far as he was concerned, the egotistical captain could run the ranks however he liked. It wasn't like it was his job.
There was one odd thing that had happened in practice, however, that already made perfect sense to Yuushi. And while it didn't exactly trouble him, it was a bit unsettling, in its own strange way.
He smirked a little, with only a hint of visible discomfort, as his right foot accidentally skimmed across a pebble on the ground and kicked it some distance away.
It certainly wasn't unbearable, far from it, but his foot was still a little sore from the injury his partner had recently inflicted on him.
That Gakuto… He really got me this time.
Yuushi chuckled to himself, remembering the enraged look on the acrobat's face, when the redhead had screamed at him and slammed his foot down. It had hurt… Of course it had hurt, but really, it was amusing more than anything else. And it was amusing because, of all the reactions Yuushi might have predicted from Gakuto at the time, it was something that would have never occurred to him.
But then again, that was Gakuto for you. Gakuto was unpredictable. Not hard to figure out, once he had done something, but certainly unpredictable.
In fact, he had to have been unpredictable, at least as far as Yuushi was concerned. He had known Gakuto for years, after all, and so if the tensai could have deciphered any pattern in the acrobat's actions, he certainly would have figured it out by now. But he hadn't, and really, that was the funny thing about Gakuto. There was no pattern to him. Everything that he did was transparent, and completely uncalculated beforehand. But since it was uncalculated, well…
There was no possible way to calculate the probability of Mukahi Gakuto's actions. Yuushi was sure of that much. And it was… Well, it was amusing, if nothing else. Certainly that. And perhaps it was also a little, well…
Well, he didn't know what the word for it was. Even though he'd been trying to think of it for over a year.
Pausing for a moment to readjust his foot inside his shoe, trying to make it more comfortable to walk in, Yuushi found his thoughts inevitably wandering toward a related subject…
What had been bothering Gakuto, anyway?
Of course, he knew why Gakuto had stomped on his foot. He had been irritable to begin with, because they had been losing the match to Shishido and Ootori, and then Yuushi had done something rather careless, without even thinking. After all, it wasn't like Yuushi didn't know the kind of thing that set Gakuto off on a tantrum. And sarcastic remarks in that respect were definitely taboo. Not that Yuushi could resist making them, most of the time, but he usually remembered to at least try and dodge the impending attacks.
At the time, though, Gakuto's remark had been unexpected, which had interrupted the tensai's train of thought, and the next thing Yuushi knew, he had said it, and well…
The pain in his foot told the end to that story.
But as far as the incident outside of the locker room went, that still didn't make sense to Yuushi. Why had Gakuto been so angry that long after the match had ended? He might have been expecting some kind of apology from Yuushi for the snide remark – that was typical of Gakuto – but he usually gave the tensai every opportunity to attempt one. Most of the time, it was just a matter of whether Yuushi felt like surrendering to Gakuto's petty demands for recompense. It didn't usually mean that Gakuto would be so annoyed with him that he would yell at him for a second time and then stomp away in a fury.
And yet, Gakuto had done just that. And what was even stranger was that uncomfortable look that had been lingering in his partner's eyes, like something had just absolutely disgusted him, or maybe even scared him.
Had something happened in the locker room? But what would that be?
A slight sigh escaped from Yuushi's mouth, and the tensai just shook his head. As easy as it was to figure Gakuto out, sometimes it was just plain exhausting to keep up with him. Especially his unpredictable mood swings. Gakuto wasn't exactly emotional, per se, but sometimes the tiniest little thing could get on his nerves… And then at other times, nothing could bother him; he'd just shrug it off without so much as a raised eyebrow.
In any case, Yuushi was sure that it would be a long time coming, if the day ever did come when he would be able to predict Gakuto's reaction to a given event. And if that afternoon had been any indication, that day would never actually arrive.
Oh well. That was Gakuto for you, after all.
Yuushi headed up the walkway to his house, just as the dim darkness of twilight began to fill his surroundings. The evening air was warmer now, he noticed – the slight chill of spring was finally starting to give way to the more forceful heat of summer. Slipping his house key out of his pocket, he started working at the lock on the front door, sparing one last glance at the fading light in the sky before heading inside.
"I'm home," he called out into the hallway, as he slipped off his shoes and set them down next to the entrance. There was something like a murmur in response, probably his sister's muffled voice behind the closed door of her study. She was completely engrossed in her latest project, or at least if Yuushi had to guess, that would have been his prediction. But then, she almost always was, and on those days when she wasn't, she would usually come to greet him.
With that variable factored into the daily equation, Yuushi made his way up the staircase to his own room. Dropping his tennis bag somewhere near the doorway, he looked around the room for a moment, and then his eyes fell on an open DVD case.
Oh, right. He was in the middle of watching that movie. The one that he had rented over the weekend. Well, then, that settled the matter. It wasn't like he had been planning to study anyway.
Closing the door behind him, he flicked off the lights and felt his way toward his bed, where he found the remote control and turned on the television. Sliding down onto the floor, he sat with his back resting against the bed, fingers pressing the buttons on the other remote as he tried to find where he had left off in the movie. Having settled that question to his satisfaction, he selected the scene and tossed the remote to one side, stretching out his legs and making himself comfortable.
The screen cast a faint blue light all around the room, as the movie continued with the heroine crying in the arms of her handsome – if lacking in character development – love interest. Yuushi's eyes remained intently fixed on the screen. The movie hadn't done particularly well in theaters, and the newspapers had even printed the usual scathing reviews, declaring it to be nothing more than a pathetic rehash of an already-overdone concept. In other words, it was a second-rate romance movie, the kind you couldn't have paid any of Yuushi's peers to watch.
Even so, Yuushi was watching it, and despite the predictable quality of the premise, he wasn't finding it hard to enjoy. Mainly because it starred one of the actresses he liked, which had been his primary reason for renting it in the first place. There was just something about her that Yuushi appreciated, even in her less-than-stellar roles. She had a way of delivering the dialogue that made it seem like it was something entirely new, like every poor, tired cliché had never been said before, even though it had at least a thousand times in other, better movies. Yuushi couldn't help wondering how she managed it, especially when her agent always seemed to keep finding her the same old B flick romance roles.
In any case, he liked her style, and he found himself listening carefully to the scene that was unfolding, no matter how contrived it obviously was…
"I can't stand it anymore! I can't get you off of my mind, Ichiro. Every moment that I'm alone, I think of nothing but you, every single second…"
"I wish you would just forget about me, Hotaru. You and I can never be happy like this…"
"Well, I can't forget! Ichiro, can't you see? Can't you see that I've fallen so desperately in love with you, that I cannot live without you…?"
…
That was strange, Yuushi couldn't help thinking.
He had heard plenty of dialogue like it before, of course. It was his hobby, after all, watching romance movies just like this one. But that was why it was his hobby. Even ridiculous lines like that, lines that had obviously been cut and pasted from about a million other half-baked soap opera romances, even those lines…
Something about those lines was absolutely fascinating, at least to Yuushi.
How did it happen in the first place? That was the question Yuushi couldn't stop himself from asking, time after time. How did it start, that kind of emotion that so completely consumed a person, that they couldn't escape it?
How did love start?
Of course, he'd heard all the theories. Plenty of people thought they had explanations for it, even as they declared it to be a mystery with the very same breath. They often said that love started as an attraction to someone, or an affection for someone, or simply a preference for someone… Love was a single, heated glance across a crowded room. Love came softly, when not looked for, when it was the most unexpected. Love was a flame, a passion, the kind of thing that ignited in an instant and could burn out in a flash. Love was self-sacrifice, a patient devotion to one person for the rest of a lifetime…
Well, all those contradictory statements didn't really answer the question, of course. And anyway, by this point, Yuushi already knew the truth.
And that was that no one really knew the answer.
Still, that didn't stop him from trying to figure it out. Which was why every last poorly-devised "feel-good romantic comedy of the year" never failed to captivate him, no matter how shallow the acting was, no matter how flat the script turned out to be, no matter what it was about the film that made all his friends groan in disgust. It was still interesting to him, because Yuushi always got the feeling that it might have even the tiniest piece of an answer to his question. But was it possible to put together all those pieces, and to finally get an answer?
Yuushi didn't know for sure, but he was going to find out.
For almost half an hour, Yuushi stared into the teary eyes of the main actress, listening to the sappy dialogue more intently than he did to any lecture in class. And even though he didn't feel any closer to his answer, he sat and appreciated the effects of the lighting, and the way they played with that subtle spark hidden in the actress's smoky blue eyes…
At least, he appreciated it until his mother called up the stairs to say that dinner was ready.
Sighing a little at the interruption, he groped around for the remote and switched the television off. He'd just have to finish the movie after dinner, in that case.
And as he got up from the floor to walk out of his room, that faint pain came back into his foot, and he almost laughed aloud in amusement. Was it still hurting, even now?
That Gakuto.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"If we're going to play doubles, you're going to have to keep up with me."
…
Yuushi was being tested to the very limit of his abilities. And oddly enough, some strange part of him was enjoying the challenge.
His doubles partner was being difficult. Very difficult. Even before class had begun that morning, Gakuto had made it absolutely clear that he hadn't forgiven Yuushi for the previous day's sarcasm. When Yuushi had finally managed to catch Gakuto's attention in the hallway, the acrobatic redhead had made a huge show of twisting his face into a grimace and walking right past him, before Yuushi could even say a word.
Lunch period had come and gone without any kind of resolution, either. The second that Yuushi had tried to approach his partner in the lunch line, Gakuto had briskly grabbed a random selection of edible items and then latched onto an unsuspecting Jiroh, quickly disappearing with him into the crowd. Fifteen minutes later, Yuushi had seen him through a window, comfortably situated in Jiroh's homeroom and laughing with his teammate's friends in between mouthfuls.
And that wasn't even counting the numerous snubs during passing period, or even the way Gakuto had practically run away from him during morning practice. Repeatedly.
Well, this was certainly a new technique on Gakuto's part. And Yuushi had to admit that the acrobat wasn't making it easy on him. Not this time.
He wasn't about to give up, though. If Gakuto wanted to raise the stakes this time around, then he was going to rise to the challenge. No matter how determined his partner was to avoid him, Yuushi was going to get his chance to patch up the situation, and to find out for himself why Gakuto was making such a big deal about the whole thing. Yes, he was going to find some way to get Gakuto to talk to him. Even if he had to do something completely idiotic to do it.
Which might explain why he was climbing a tree during class time.
…
Atobe Keigo was passing through the hallway on a class errand, the kind the teacher always permitted him to do because the poor man didn't really have any say in the matter. In this particular case, in fact, the errand was just an excuse to make a call on his cell phone before class let out. He was finalizing a stock trade that was going to make him a few more hundred thousands to fill his personal bank account, and he wasn't going to let some silly rule about turning off his cell during class interrupt the transaction.
"Yes, I understand. I trust that you'll take care of it. Goodbye," finished Atobe in perfect English, flipping the cover of his phone closed and sliding it back into his pocket.
Suddenly, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he did a double take.
Was that Oshitari Yuushi, of all people, climbing a tree in the courtyard?
"What in the world is that idiot doing?" mumbled Atobe, coming up alongside the window. He looked down at the ground beneath the tree, but there was no one there. And then his eyes wandered up toward the branches, right past a window…
Oh, so that was it.
Atobe couldn't resist an amused smirk, now that he knew what Yuushi was trying to accomplish. And then he moved back from the window and continued on his way down the hall, letting an ironic chuckle escape from his lips.
…
Yes, Oshitari Yuushi was climbing a tree during class time, and he wouldn't be surprised if it landed him in detention before the day was over. Especially since the only reason he had escaped the confines of his own classroom had been because of a decidedly transparent lie about going to the restroom. But the way he figured it, the stunt was just stupid enough to actually work. And he had run out of more conventional ideas.
Stopping just before his head was level with the second-story window, he craned his neck to try to see inside the classroom, but he couldn't manage a clear view of anything except the ceiling. Well, he would just have to take his chances. He put his foot up on a higher branch, slowly lifting himself above the windowsill until he could see inside.
Sure enough, the large picture window easily afforded him a clear view of everything in the room. But he didn't really need to see the whole room, so much as he needed to be able to see the person that he knew was sitting right next to the window. Luckily, he had guessed right, and if it weren't for the glass between them, he was practically standing next to his doubles partner.
Yes, this whole stupid stunt was just to get Gakuto to stop ignoring him. At least Yuushi figured that it was going to get him some credit for making an effort. Not to mention risking suspension.
Fortunately, things were going well so far. No one was paying any attention to the window. The last thing Yuushi would have needed was some girl daydreaming and gazing out the window, only to see him appear and start causing a commotion. But that disaster had been avoided. The only remaining difficulty was in the next step that was required in his ridiculous plan.
How was he supposed to get Gakuto's attention?
Yuushi thought for a moment. It would be difficult if Gakuto was actually listening to the instructor. If that were the case, someone was bound to notice him before Gakuto did, and that would be nothing but trouble. He stared intently at that red head of hair, trying to decipher if that slight nodding movement was indicating comprehension or just boredom.
In a stroke of pure luck, Yuushi found out it was boredom when Gakuto slowly turned his head to look out the window. Well, that was easy. Gakuto hadn't noticed him yet, but he could fix that.
A slight wave of his hand was all it took to draw the attention of Gakuto's quick eyes, and then the whole ridiculous plan was worth it. It was worth it, just for the completely flabbergasted expression that appeared on the acrobat's face. Gakuto looked about ready to fall out of his chair in surprise. Which, fortunately, he didn't, because then Yuushi would have been headed to the principal's office without question.
Yuushi restrained himself from laughing, since he didn't think that would help his cause in this case. Instead, he just waved to his partner, as though it were completely normal for him to be standing in a tree outside of Gakuto's classroom.
Gakuto's eyes were wide, as he stared open-mouthed at Yuushi. He glanced frantically at the front of the room, but the teacher had his back turned and was writing something on the board, so there was no immediate danger. Then he turned back to Yuushi, and finally managed to mouth out, "What are you doing?"
Yuushi could practically hear the way Gakuto's voice would match with that expression. It would be incredulous, but forceful, the kind of voice that was surprised both at the unusual circumstance and the stupidity of the person in question. Perfect.
Carefully, so that his lips could be read, Yuushi mouthed back, "I came to see you."
Gakuto's eyes looked they were about ready to pop out of their sockets.
"Why?" was the next question, and if it had been audible, Yuushi was sure that it would have echoed the astonishment in those eyes.
Here Yuushi paused for a moment, trying to think of some way to say it that would still be comprehensible. He went for the simple approach, trying to put an appropriately penitent expression on his face before he did so.
"Forgive me?" he asked silently.
It took a moment for his partner to understand, but once Gakuto did, his pale complexion reddened to a unmistakable pink color, and he rolled his eyes. Yuushi smiled to himself, satisfied with the result. When Gakuto rolled his eyes like that, it almost always meant that he had given up.
"Stupid," Gakuto mouthed back, not really looking at Yuushi. Yes, Gakuto had forgiven him, alright. The ridiculous plan had worked.
Suddenly, Gakuto jerked his head toward the front. Yuushi's eyes followed in that direction, only to find the teacher was facing the class again.
Gakuto quickly turned back to the window, shooing Yuushi away with his hand. Yuushi almost wanted to laugh again. Gakuto was more panicked about the idea of Yuushi being caught than he himself was. It figured, though. Gakuto was always more high-strung about everything than he was.
"Go! Go already!" Gakuto was mouthing to him, a frantic look on his face. Yuushi knew better than to try his luck any further, and ducked back down out of sight of the class.
He had the courtesy to cover his mouth, but really, he couldn't resist a laugh before he started making his way back down the tree trunk.
- - - - - - - - - -
"What were you thinking, you moron?"
Hours later, while everyone was getting ready for practice in the clubroom, Gakuto was still grilling Yuushi on his bizarre method of making Gakuto forgive him.
"Was it really that strange?" Yuushi played along, all the while trying to suppress a smug smile. Gakuto was not only talking to him, but he was completely overreacting about the situation, which was rather refreshing after a whole day of being ignored at school.
"It wasn't strange, stupid… It was psychotic!" fumed Gakuto, waving one hand in an agitated gesture and pulling on his tennis shoe with the other.
"What was psychotic?" Shishido couldn't help asking, standing on the other side of Gakuto as he rifled through his locker.
"It's nothing. Never mind," was Gakuto's quick answer to his other teammate, as the acrobat turned away from him and continued to rant at Yuushi. Clearly, Gakuto hadn't yet forgiven Shishido for the previous day's disaster, either. That didn't surprise Yuushi, given that Shishido had actually had the guts to call Gakuto a drama queen. He was sure that Gakuto wasn't going to forgive that jab anytime soon.
What did surprise Yuushi, though, was the way that Shishido's mere presence was apparently making Gakuto uncomfortable.
That's odd.
"Anyway, Gakuto," Yuushi finally broke in, his low voice slipping right into his partner's rant and bringing it to a screeching halt. "I don't see what's so strange about it. You didn't give me much choice, what with the way you've been avoiding me since yesterday."
"Oh, yeah, so that entitles you to climb a freakin' tree in the middle of sixth period? You could have gotten caught!" Gakuto snapped back, raising the eyebrows of more than a few other people in the room.
"Oshitari-san climbed a what?"
"Whoa, you climbed a tree during class? That's awesome!"
"Oh, shut up, Jiroh." Gakuto rolled his eyes again as he tied his shoelace, which was approximately the hundredth time he'd rolled his eyes that afternoon.
Just like that, a pretentious voice cut into the conversation, bringing the snide remarks to an abrupt end.
"As I thought, that was Oshitari I saw climbing a tree in the courtyard this afternoon," Atobe coolly observed, giving a significant look to Gakuto first and then to Yuushi. The captain's gray-blue eyes remained fixed on Hyoutei's resident tensai, who returned the stare with composure.
"Why was he climbing a freakin' tree, anyway?" Shishido cut in, looking extremely annoyed at being ignored.
Gakuto was more than ready to retort with an angry "None of your business," but before he had the chance, Atobe just gave Yuushi a resigned look, as if to say, "Do they both have to be like this?"
And before Gakuto could say anything, the captain filled in, "It was a creative method of reconciliation, I suppose."
"What you talking about, Ato---"
"Anyway, ore-sama is tired of waiting for all of you to get dressed," Atobe interrupted, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If you don't hurry up, you'll all be running laps. And yes, that means that a certain Mukahi Gakuto will be running more laps, in addition to his current debt of fifty, which he had better start doing soon if he doesn't wait to be panting his way around the courts for the entire practice…"
Atobe's miniature lecture was ended with the decisive sound of the door closing, and had been punctuated by several flinches from Gakuto, as Atobe carefully emphasized the more significant words.
Well, that certainly quieted the room down, as everyone scrambled to finish dressing.
"Oh, shrivel up and die, Atobe," was something to the effect of what Yuushi thought Gakuto was mumbling under his breath, as he hurriedly tied his other shoe. That, and a few choice swear words.
Yuushi suppressed a chuckle and leaned over, meeting Gakuto's eye level as best as he could. "So does all of this mean that you do forgive me, in spite of my stupidity?"
Gakuto wouldn't even meet his eyes, but he did toss his head in his usual defiant way, muttering, "In spite of your stupidity is right, you moron."
"You'd better hurry with those laps," was Yuushi's complacent response, as he bent down to pick up his tennis racquet. "After all, you wouldn't want to keep me waiting. Right, Gakuto?"
"No, of course not, Yuushi," was Gakuto's sarcastic response, as he stood up from the bench and started rushing toward the door.
Yuushi watched the hurried way that his partner dashed out toward the tennis courts to start running his fifty laps, and he then just shook his head.
That Gakuto.
Though he couldn't help wondering about the way his partner couldn't seem to stop blushing.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"Yes, that's right. But don't forget to move closer to the center when you hit a cross-court volley." Yuushi nodded in approval, and then sighed to himself while he waited for his teammates to get back into position.
How had he gotten stuck with this job, anyway?
…
"Alright, everyone," Atobe had begun, glancing over some notes that he had scribbled down the night before. "As you all know, the first day of the Kantou Regionals is tomorrow, and we will be facing Seishun Gakuen in the first round. Of course, this means that it will be the first match where all the Regulars will be playing in the lineup. And in preparation, I have arranged a few specific exercises for you to complete before the day is over…"
"… Oshitari, since your partner is still running, I want you to drill the Shishido/Ootori pair on doubles strategy. Afterwards, you both will keep rallying with them until the end of practice."
…
Well, of course he had been following Atobe's orders. Everyone followed Atobe's orders during practice time. But the whole thing still seemed a bit pointless to Yuushi. After all, there was no way to change the fact that Shishido and Ootori were a makeshift pair that had never competed together in a tournament. And cramming a year's worth of doubles strategy into their minds the day before the match wasn't going to make a huge difference, either. Once a player was actually on the court, Yuushi knew, they played the way that they were used to playing. Which meant that when push came to shove, the best doubles tips in the world weren't going to help them very much.
But even more than that, Yuushi was confused as to why he should have to do it by himself. Couldn't Atobe just postpone Gakuto's punishment until next week? After all, he and Gakuto were in the second doubles slot for the tournament, and it would make more sense to play together as a team and teach Shishido and Ootori that way.
Apparently, though, having things make sense was too much to ask for. At least for this week.
…
"Our Oshitari-Mukahi pair will be playing against Shishido and Ootori for the top doubles spot."
…
Oh, well. Yuushi figured that it was best to just play along with Atobe's little game, whatever that might be. Above all else, it was useless to argue with the confident captain, and Hyoutei's resident tensai wasn't really in the mood to attempt it.
"You can serve already, Yuushi!" Shishido was calling to him over the net. Yuushi couldn't help raising a skeptical eyebrow at that.
"I would, but I don't think your partner can receive serve from there," he remarked calmly, pushing his glasses up toward his eyes.
"Huh?" Shishido just looked confused for a moment, and then glanced over next to him. "Oh. Hey, Choutarou, it's your serve!"
For a moment, the second-year didn't seem to be listening, and then he snapped to attention. "Oh. Right! Sorry, Shishido-san, Oshitari-san…"
That was the other thing Yuushi didn't understand. As well as Shishido and Ootori had played together the day before, something was starting to seem a bit off about them. Even though they were still showing some remarkable cooperation on doubles formations, they were starting to make strange little errors, the kind of mistakes that Yuushi only expected beginners to make. Like standing in the wrong place for receiving serve. Honestly, Yuushi couldn't remember the last time that his feet had failed to carry him to the base line automatically upon finishing the appropriate point.
He could, however, remember the last time that Gakuto's feet had. Since it had been yesterday.
Meanwhile, Ootori's face had turned bright red, and even Shishido seemed uncomfortable, though about what, Yuushi didn't have the slightest clue.
"Okay, Choutarou, let's do the formation perfectly this time!" Shishido exclaimed enthusiastically, probably in an attempt to overcome the awkward atmosphere.
That was another thing. Choutarou? Since when did Shishido call Ootori by his first name?
"Right! Let's do it," Ootori agreed, if a little more quietly than his doubles partner. Yuushi couldn't fault him for his ability to get focused again, even if the look that he had given Shishido seemed a bit… odd, to Yuushi at least.
In any case, Yuushi served the ball, and then returned it as promised… a short hit that went cross-court over the net, but was just within Shishido's reach. Once Shishido had hit the ball back, he went all the way to the other side of the net and left Ootori to fill up the gap that he'd created. Meanwhile, Yuushi had already taken a second ball out of his pocket and hit it straight down the alley, right past the second-year's reach.
Or rather, it had been past the second-year's reach every other time they had tried it, but for this point he actually managed to hit the ball with the edge of his racquet. Unfortunately, it just ended up flying right into the net.
"Ah, too bad… You almost had it that time, Choutarou!" Shishido encouraged his partner.
"Well, maybe. Oshitari-san is very good at hitting down that alley," noted Ootori with a smile, as he rubbed the back of his neck modestly.
"Technically, if this was a real match, you wouldn't be getting such a quick shot down that side… Unless Shishido had made a real mess of his return," Yuushi observed, glancing at the player in question with a somewhat ironic smile.
Shishido bristled slightly at the remark. "Hey, I haven't missed once, have I?"
"You know, technically," another voice broke in. "If this was a real match, you would have another player at the front to deal with."
"Good timing, Gakuto." Yuushi didn't even have to turn around to know who had just arrived. Even so, he spared a glance over his shoulder, and sure enough, there was his partner with his hands on his hips and a racquet at his side, if still pretty winded from all the running he'd done.
"You sure took your time with those laps, didn't you?" Shishido couldn't resist commenting.
"Shishido-sa---"
But before Ootori's cautionary interjection could even be completed, Gakuto simply dismissed the remark with a light shrug and a toss of his head. Yuushi was glad to see that Gakuto was in a good mood, for the first time in over a day. Apparently, the things that had been bothering him for almost twenty-four hours straight were finally off of his mind.
Unpredictable, as usual.
"Say whatever you want. But you better save your breath, because now you're going to be the one running," was the acrobat's warning.
"They are the ones teaching us, Shishido-san," Ootori added quietly. It was those gentle words that seemed to put Shishido in his place, more so than anything Gakuto said. Yuushi noticed this with slight interest.
"So, what are we drilling them on?" Gakuto asked, coming up alongside his partner.
"Nothing complicated. We reviewed shifting positions in the standard formation, and now we've moved on to poaching techniques," Yuushi briefly summarized in tennis lingo, bouncing the ball absently on his racquet as he did so.
"Does that mean I can't even move around at net?" Gakuto grimaced at the thought.
"Not yet, at least. We're not getting into anything fancy right now." Yuushi confirmed Gakuto's assumption with a nod of his head. "Besides, whoever they're playing tomorrow, I'm sure they won't be doing anything as flashy as your moves."
"Well…" And here Gakuto paused significantly, staring right up into his partner's eyes. "Maybe they won't be doing anything flashy. But maybe they will. Right?"
"Oh, right." Yuushi had forgotten about that little detail. Namely, the detail of their predetermined opponents. "In that case, maybe we should go over some more variations at net…"
"Variations at net? What's that for?" Shishido finally cut into the conversation, with mild confusion appearing in his eyes.
"It's for tomorrow. Just in case. Right, Yuushi?" Gakuto shot his partner another significant look, and as he nodded in response, Yuushi finally started to realize what a mess Shishido and Ootori had gotten themselves into.
The Golden Pair. Their opponents were going to be the Golden Pair.
Well, the match with the infamous Golden Pair of Seigaku was just going to have to be their throwaway match for the day. No skin off of Yuushi or Gakuto's nose. In a way, actually, it was pretty lucky that they had gotten bumped down to doubles two. Even though Yuushi was confident that he and Gakuto were better than this much-lauded Golden Pair, he didn't mind being spared the hassle of facing them on court. It was convenient, really.
Though he almost felt sorry for Shishido, seeing as how this was supposed to be his big chance to keep his regular spot on the team. Almost.
"So, are we going to get this started, doubles partner?" Gakuto said suddenly, gripping his racquet in his left hand and making his way to the net.
"I guess we are, doubles partner," was Yuushi's amused response. Gakuto even had that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, that one that proved as plain as day that he was sure that they were going to give Shishido and Ootori a workout.
…
As it turned out, they did give their teammates a workout, and Yuushi was reasonably satisfied with the day's work. Even if Shishido and Ootori were doomed for an ultimate loss, they certainly weren't going to look like doubles amateurs out there, and that was really all that Yuushi was aiming for. At least then he wouldn't be blamed for any extenuating circumstances, such as a remarkable pair of opponents…
Yuushi just shook his head. He really didn't envy them.
"Are we done here, Yuushi?" Gakuto came up to the bench and reached for his water bottle, sounding somewhat breathless.
"I think so. It looks like everyone's gathering up over there, probably for a review of tomorrow's schedule." Yuushi nodded toward the court on the end, where most of the Regulars and all of the other club members were standing around and waiting.
"Okay. Let's go already," Gakuto declared, grabbing his racquet and making his way toward the meeting place.
"Sure," Yuushi responded calmly. But before he stepped off of the court, he glanced behind him, his eyes taking in the way Ootori was helping Shishido up off of the bench, with the shyest smile he had ever seen.
"Gakuto," Yuushi suddenly remarked, catching his partner's attention. "Is there something going on with those two?"
He nodded toward the court, and noted the way that Gakuto bristled as soon as he saw what Yuushi was talking about.
"Ugh… Hell if I know," shuddered Gakuto, the corners of his mouth twitching into a disturbed frown.
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Needless to say, the disgusted reply had intrigued Yuushi. He tried to read his partner's face, but he didn't understand where such a strong reaction was coming from.
"Well, I know there's something going on, but what---? I really don't want to know. Not after what I heard," Gakuto stated firmly, the disgust still evident in his voice.
Now, Yuushi was genuinely confused.
"What you heard?" he repeated. "What did you hear?"
Gakuto glanced around quickly, as if to make sure that no one was listening, before leaning in toward Yuushi and mumbling, "I don't really know, exactly… I heard this whole conversation they had in the shower room yesterday, on accident, and it was just plain creepy."
Suddenly, Yuushi remembered.
…
"Nothing's wrong! … I don't feel like walking with you today, okay?"
…
"Oh, now I get it," Yuushi said in a knowing voice, as a slight smirk crept onto his lips. "That's why you were acting so strange after practice yesterday."
For a moment, Gakuto looked confused, and then that familiar pink color started to slip onto his cheeks.
"Well, yeah. What's your point? I mean, I was annoyed already, and then there was that…" The acrobat just trailed off, falling into an embarrassed silence.
"What exactly did they say that was so revolting?" Yuushi couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
"Well, what did they… I mean, it was just stupid! I don't know what all they were saying, but it was kind of like this 'I like playing doubles with you' crap, and then Shishido kept laughing at every freakin' thing that Ootori said. No, not even laughing. It was more like he was giggling. It was weird, Yuushi."
Gakuto was getting redder with every word, but this was a fact that was almost escaping Yuushi's notice, in his interest at what his partner was saying.
"It sounds weird," Yuushi agreed at last, mulling over this idea in his mind. It seemed blatantly out of character for at least one of the individuals in question, but if it was true, it was certainly interesting. And it didn't seem like something that Gakuto would make up, either. Embellish, maybe, but not come up with out of nowhere.
"Well, it was. And I don't really want to think about it," Gakuto blurted out almost awkwardly. "But there's definitely something going on with those two. And whatever it is, it's disturbing."
"Hmm. You might be right," Yuushi agreed, thinking back on the day's practice, and the way Ootori in particular had committed a handful of ridiculously inane errors.
Hyoutei's only established doubles pair continued making their way to the far court, but Yuushi couldn't resist taking one last look backward as they walked. Sure enough, there was the makeshift doubles pair that had beaten them just the day before, the one that had apparently had a bizarre conversation in the shower room and were on unusually close terms with one another, when no one could even remember them being friends in the first place.
By this point, however, they were just innocently gathering up the stray tennis balls on the court, and Yuushi found it almost hard to believe that there could be anything strange between them.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"Everything goes according to plan. There are no accidents. Not when I'm in charge."
…
It was late. In fact, it was much later than Yuushi normally liked to leave school, but there was no help for that. He was one of his classroom representatives for the week, which meant that once after-school activities were over, he had to go check with the other class rep and make sure that the classroom was clean.
Actually, that was one of the main reasons why he had been able to wait for Gakuto the previous day. He had been forced to hang around anyway, so he might as well have walked home with someone who was more decent company than the shy girl who was paired with him for cleanup duty. Of course, that had backfired, but he didn't really mind walking home alone, either.
Today, though, he would certainly be walking alone, since Gakuto had bolted off the second that practice was over, rambling something about stopping by a music store on the way home. At first, Yuushi had wondered about this seemingly random declaration, but then he remembered that Gakuto usually liked to have one or two new CDs to listen to on the bus during tournament season. And, of course, the Kantou tournament started tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
It seemed almost sudden, Yuushi thought to himself, in spite of the fact that they had all known the tournament date for months. Hyoutei Regulars spent most of the year just practicing, and practicing, and practicing… Sometimes tournament season came as something of a shock after all of that monotony. What's more, for the first time in club history, the Regular roster had been altered not once, but twice, only one week before the Kantou tournament. In all that confusion, it had been easy to lose sight of the fact that they would be competing that very weekend.
Almost as an afterthought, Yuushi glanced toward the tennis courts as he came out of the school building. It was getting close to twilight, and the whole place should have been pretty desolate by this time. To his surprise, however, he discovered that the court lights were on, and he could hear the faint sound of a tennis ball being hit against a racquet.
Who would be playing there at this hour?
As he walked toward the courts, he gazed at the horizon, taking in the way the blazing colors of sunset were slowly melting into the surrounding darkness of night. Once he had arrived at the clubhouse, though, he found himself ignoring the beauty of nature in favor of the bizarre phenomenon that he had just discovered. It was strange enough that anyone in all of Hyoutei was on the courts during the evening…
What was stranger, though, was that the person in question was none other than Shishido, and Ootori was with him.
Them again. They're still here, after all this time? What in the world are they…
Yuushi would have pondered this unnerving coincidence for some time, if not for the fact that his train of thought was quickly interrupted. As he stood there, watching the two Regulars rally the ball back and forth, he was suddenly aware that someone's eyes were fixed on him from behind.
He knew those eyes.
"Did you know about this, Atobe?" he said aloud, not even bothering to confirm his suspicions by glancing behind him.
"Perhaps," was the calm reply, said in the captain's smooth voice. "You're leaving school rather late today, aren't you, Oshitari?"
"Perhaps." Yuushi fixed his cool stare on the tennis court for a moment longer, and then he turned to face Hyoutei's top tennis player.
"You're here rather late yourself, Atobe-buchou," Yuushi added after a moment, letting the honorific slip off of his tongue with just a taste of irony.
Atobe didn't respond, instead taking a few steps closer to the courts so that he was standing right next to Yuushi. His gray-blue eyes were still fixated on the distant forms of Shishido and Ootori, as they ran back and forth across the court.
"Every night," the captain murmured at last.
Yuushi started at that. What was Atobe talking about?
Before he could ask, however, Atobe clarified, "They've been here every night, those two. For over a week now."
There was something hidden in those ice-cold eyes that Yuushi didn't like at all…
Atobe knew something that nobody else did, and he wasn't going to tell anyone.
…
"Our Oshitari-Mukahi pair will be playing against Shishido and Ootori for the top doubles spot."
…
"Atobe," Yuushi suddenly spoke up, with just a hint of tension lingering in his deep voice. "What exactly are you plotting? I know you planned the change to the lineup, so don't try to play dumb about it."
Those ice-cold eyes turned on Yuushi, and Atobe's lips slid into his signature smirk.
"You're awfully suspicious today, Oshitari," he chuckled. "It was nothing more than an experiment, really."
Yuushi almost wanted to groan, even though there was no way that he was going to, not in front of Atobe. Sure enough, the captain wasn't going to answer any questions on the subject.
"Atobe, you and I both know that once you've gotten a so-called experiment into your head, you've calculated everything from step A to step Z and back again," Yuushi retorted as calmly as possible, given the captain a pointed stare from behind his lenses.
Atobe's smirk remained fixed on his face, as he continued looking at Yuushi. But somewhere in the pause that followed the tensai's remark, something about that expression became even more unsettling.
"Very well, Oshitari. I admit it," Atobe replied at last, in the particularly smug tone that never failed to grate on his teammates' nerves. "Unfortunately, I was right in my estimations, and so there's no point in explaining my decision."
"What do you mean, unfortunately?" Yuushi repeated, raising an eyebrow.
But the quick response silenced his confusion.
"Unfortunately for you."
As Yuushi stared into Atobe's gray-blue eyes, a chill went down his spine.
…
You're going to lose it.
…
Just as suddenly as he had appeared, the captain turned on his heels and started making his way toward the clubroom. But Yuushi wasn't satisfied with the cryptic answers that he'd been given.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Ato---"
But he was interrupted.
Atobe stopped in his tracks, and absolutely glared at Yuushi.
"Well, you should know. But that's why you lost. I hope you're aware of that fact." Atobe paused for just a split second, and then added in a lighter tone, "I wonder how long you can afford to keep playing around like this?"
Yuushi was dumbstruck, as the captain turned back again and continued on his way. The door to the clubroom opened and shut, and the tensai was still standing there.
What in the…?
After a full minute of silence, Yuushi found himself just shrugging it off. It was typical of Atobe, to say things like that and not even follow up with anything resembling an explanation. Sometimes, Yuushi just didn't know what to make of the man. He returned his gaze to the tennis court in front of him, intending to steal one last glance at the two stragglers before his departure.
The spectacle that met his eyes, however, was the last thing that he would have expected to see.
Right next to one of the court benches, Ootori was leaning down toward Shishido's face, giving his senpai a hesitant kiss on the cheek.
Not surprisingly, Shishido's face had turned about seven different shades of red in response.
"Choutarou!" Yuushi could hear his teammate exclaim. "What was that for?"
Ootori seemed to be murmuring some kind of apology, but the smile on his face was so bright that it seemed almost pointless.
"Tch, sometimes you can be so…" But Shishido couldn't seem to finish the thought. Instead, he just shook his head for a moment, running his hand up and down the side of his baseball cap. And then he smiled.
Yuushi couldn't hear what it was that Shishido finally mumbled to his partner, but he was still smiling when he went up on his toes and kissed Ootori in the exact same place.
Well, that settled the matter in Yuushi's mind, once and for all.
…
"There's definitely something going on with those two."
…
The problem was obvious at this point, and the truth of the matter was that Yuushi didn't want any part of it. He and Gakuto had been right about them, and Yuushi had seen quite enough of this strange situation. He was leaving.
Even so, Yuushi had the faint conviction that he had just seen a glimpse of something that he had missed all along, something very important, but…
No. It was time to leave.
On his way home, Yuushi couldn't help noticing the way the night was still warm, which was very different from what the weather had been only a few weeks ago. Somewhere between the school and his house, he found himself gazing up at the sky, squinting into the dark until he felt like he was lost somewhere up in it.
The stars still looked small and dim, but they were shining, up there in that black stretch of space…
Yuushi was startled by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He checked the screen, and almost to his surprise, he knew the number.
Gakuto?
"Hello?" he murmured into the receiver, his voice sounding a bit husky in his own ears.
"Hey, Yuushi. You ready for tomorrow?"
"As ready as I can be, I suppose," Yuushi managed in response, feeling himself relax slightly.
"Yeah. Hey, do you have your math book with you?"
Yuushi thought about this for a moment.
"Yes," he finally replied. "I think I do, anyway…"
"Great. Could you bring it tomorrow? I have some questions about my homework…"
"Yeah, sure. I'll bring it," Yuushi answered slowly, glancing back up at the sky.
"Cool. Hey… Yuushi?"
The sudden hesitance in Gakuto's voice caught the tensai's attention. Almost too quickly, he asked, "What is it?"
"Uh, well… Are you alright? You sound kind of weird."
This took Yuushi by surprise, and he was forced to suppress a chuckle. Despite his quick temper and his tendency to ignore what he didn't like, Gakuto could be amazingly perceptive at times. For a split second, he wanted to tell Gakuto about what he had seen that evening, but he immediately decided against it. It was better to not even mention that whole incident.
"I'm fine, Gakuto," he said, being careful to sound convincing. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure. See you tomorrow."
Yuushi flipped his cell phone shut, and then he smiled to himself, satisfied with the conversation. That's right. Everything was fine. Tomorrow was the Kantou tournament, and after Hyoutei's victory there, he and Gakuto could fight their way back into the doubles one spot with no further problems. Yes, Hyoutei's tennis team had been in chaos for a week or so. But that was about to end, with the start of the Regulars' steady march to the National tournament. There would be no further reason to think about the strange series of events that had comprised Shishido and Ootori's journey to becoming a doubles partnership.
No reason at all, Yuushi repeated in his mind. It didn't concern him.
In the corner of his eye, Yuushi thought he saw a shooting star, but when he looked up again, it had already disappeared.
- End of Chapter Two -