"Beneath our façade"

Author's Note: This is a gift fic to my friend Kody applefield from life journal.

Warning: Kirihara is playing that bad guy!Completed: June 28, 2008

Zaizen was often described as having a poker face because he rarely allowed anyone to see his emotions changing. Therefore, it was very rare to see him lose his temper, as he would desliver some cutting remark with only a narrow of his eyes at the most.

Yet his expression suddenly started to change when they turned to his buchou-he was no longer so confident and certain.

"So you were walking with your tennis racquet in your hand when you tripped due to a banana skin and as a result your racquet broke because you landed on it while your leg got injured due to the angle you fell. Your fist is swollen because it accidentally hit the wall while the black eye is there because you landed face down." His buchou said very slowly, "Are you sure that this is what happened?"

Zaizen nodded even though Shiraishi's tone clearly revealed that the other saw through his lie.

"And what about Kirihara Akaya's injury? He got injured really badly because he took a fell down the stairs as well? He happened to trip on the same banana skin after you fell?"

"Stairs are dangerous, buchou." Zaizen said in a very matter of fact tone.

Shiraishi gave a slight chuckle before he continued in that extremely calm voice-which was a very bad sign. "So you didn't hit him with your tennis racquet and therefore he wouldn't punch you and give you a black eye. If that didn't happen then you two obviously didn't start a fight on the stairs and then rolled down. Therefore I shouldn't ask you why you were fighting with Kirihara because that never happened, as what Kamio saw was just an illusion."

"Pretty much." Zaizen said steadily.

Upon this his buchou finally let out a cry of frustration before he took a deep breath and tried to reason with the second year again.

"Look, everyone knows that Kirihara insults just about everyone so it is understandable if you got angry. The problem is that fighting on the stairs is a bit too much. This is why I need to know what he said in order to defend you to the coaches."

"But nothing happened, we just both tripped." Zaizen said again.

"Zaizen, I don't want to have discipline like Higa or Rikkai but if you don't tell me what really happened and continue to stick to a lie that even Kin-chan can detect then…"

"I tripped and had a bad fall, so did he." Zaizen repeated once again, not even letting Shiraishi finish his threat. "Buchou, why can't you just leave it at that?"

"Because that wasn't what happened at all! I want to know what made you behave in such an uncharacteristic way!"

"I told you, I tripped and had a bad fall."

"Fine, you took a fall. I won't ask any more questions from you because you clearly won't tell me anything." Shiraishi muttered, but his kohai could tell what he really intended to do.

"Buchou," Zaizen said very slowly, stopping him from exiting the room. "If you go around asking Kamio or Kirihara about what happened then I will quit the club. I swear that I will do this."

Shiraishi's words died when he saw the full seriousness on Zaizen's face. This was not an idle threat. For some strange reason Zaizen did not want to let him know what really happened and he really would go this far to prevent this from happening.

The door was not slammed, but the curses in their native kansai were a good guide to what Shiraishi's felt at this moment.

The truth was that Shiraishi never once thought that Zaizen would be the one to give him any trouble. When he first heard about this meeting his immediate source of concern was Kintarou. But ironically, Kintarou did nothing alarming at all, the other boy was even comforting him about the big mess that Zaizen caused by his fight with Kirihara on the stairs.

Shiraishi really felt like doing what Akazawa would do: letting out a loud scream in order to get all this stress released.

"Shiraishi-san, is Zaizen-kun alright?" Kamio asked.

"He is fine now. Luckily the injuries are only temporary." He muttered.

"Good, I really don't think it is his fault because I would be pretty tempted to punch Kirihara if I was in his situation." Kamio said with a firm nod. "Although I have to say, I would probably saved the fight until we got down the stairs.

It was clear that Kamio knew exactly what happened but the most frustrating thing was that Shiraishi could not ask him what Kirihara said while Kamio did not reveal it as he thought that Zaizen already told his own buchou.

"But what did he say?" Kintarou asked. "Zaizen wouldn't tell us."

"He hasn't?" Kamio examined out in great surprise. "I would have thought that he would have told you at the very least, Shiraishi-san."

"Quite the opposite. He threatens to quite the team and club if I so much as ask either you or Kirihara." Shiraishi muttered bitterly.

"Oh…then I…"

"But Shiraishi is not the one that is asking. I am." Kintarou suddenly said. "That's okay then. You are telling it to me and Shiraishi just happens to be here and hears it."

At times, it takes someone like Kintarou to be the one to point out something so simple and obvious.

Kamio nodded in agreement but he actually took a good look around before he spoke.

"I am only quoting Kirihara, okay? This is not what I think at all. I don't want Zaizen to punch me too if he accidentally hears this." Kamio reminded them rather pointedly before he finally revealed what had happened. "Basically Kirihara told Zaizen that he is going to beat him really bad and Zaizen said something back. Then they somehow mentioned you and Kirihara said that he is going to humiliate you by beating you really bad too."

The truth made Shiraishi even more puzzled because they should not be enough to make Zaizen act in such an uncharacteristic way. It was true that Zaizen was proud of Shitenhouji and would lash back at any insult but it was never in a physical way, and why was he so angry when he didn't mind the attack towards himself?

"I think Zaizen finally snapped when Kiriahra added that you aren't that great as you would have lost to Fuji if it wasn't for the white dragon." Kamio added.

This made Shiraishi completely confused because what happened at the end of his tie-break was something that hurt him, and Zaizen should not be that in-dignified on his behalf as to start a fight with someone on the stairs…

Unless it was due to a more personal reason…

Shiraishi was as skilled as Zaizen in hiding his emotions but the difference was that he added a smile onto his mask.

But as he worked out the truth, a real smile appeared on his lips.1

Author's Note: I must say, this story is rather subtle. I think you can argue that it goes both ways. However, I say that this is yaoi because I think Zaizen would only react so violently against such words if what he feels for Shiraishi goes beyond the basic respect and friendship of a member of the tennis club to his buchou of the past two years. I think his normal reaction would be what Shiraishi said- just saying something sharp back. I think the only reason he physically punched Kirihara is because what he feels for Shiraishi is love, and therefore he is really angry at what Kirihara suggested, especially because it is something that he knows hurt Shiraishi quite a lot.

As mentioned in the beginning. Kirihara is playing the role of the villain. To be honest, I don't think this is highly impossible although this is probably more like the anime. Because in the anime he actually hit the ball toward Tachibana in his match with Fuji and then he actually taunted Kamio in the junior selection camp, and there is also that rally infamous scene at the hospital. To be honest I think Kirihara is worse in the anime, because in the manga it seems that he just goes berserk when he is on court and hey, most of these kids trash talk. (we can't expect everyone to be like Shiraishi and Tachibana. )

The situation of the story is this- there is a gathering that is attended by the captains and any second or first year. So Shiraishi is there with Zaizen and Kintarou.