A/N: THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DRABBLE SERIES WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED


Interest

As far as the Seigaku regulars know, Ryoga is their very strong teammate who came storming into the club the previous year as a returnee from America. Very laid-back and easy to get along with but also a bit of a menace due to his utter dislike of following orders and tendency to provoke people whenever he felt like it.

He made a huge impression by claiming that he didn't need to go through the whole Ranking Tournament and directly challenged Tezuka instead. What began as an eagerness to see this cocky newcomer get his ass handed to him transformed into awe as Ryoga not only go toe to toe with Tezuka but ultimately handily beat him. Of course, Tezuka wasn't taking the match too seriously then, but they all could tell neither did Ryoga.

Ryoga had been their reliable teammate ever since, someone they could rely on to win his matches and help them advance forward. Not just that, his easy-going attitude made him easy to befriend though he rarely was the one initiating conversations, and looking back to it, they didn't think that he had volunteered much information about himself in the one year they had known him.

They didn't even know that Ryoga had a younger brother until the new school year started and Ryoga began bragging that his "genius little brother, Ryoma" had enrolled in Seigaku yet he had the nerve to look confused when Momoshiro exclaimed "You have a brother?!" then.

"Of course I do, did I never tell you guys?" Ryoga asked confusedly.

At least he had the decency to look embarrassed about it, and the Seigaku regulars felt a little bit relieved that Ryoga wasn't actively trying to hide information about himself from them. Either way, they're immediately interested in Ryoga's little brother, especially after Ryoga began gushing to them about how good at tennis his brother is.

"He's even better than me, and hell, even my old man!" Ryoga bragged, and they all had to pause for a bit because it was genuinely something that they found hard to believe. It's not an exaggeration to say that Ryoga is probably one of the best if not the best tennis player of their peer in Japan, and according to Tezuka, he's yet to reveal everything that he's capable of tennis-wise.

They're intrigued either way though, and having another strong player in the club is never a bad thing. After all, if Ryoga's little brother is anywhere near as good as Ryoga claimed him to be, he's surely going to join the tennis club, right?

Apparently not, because a few weeks had passed since the beginning of the new school year and Ryoga's brother is nowhere to be seen around the tennis court. Not even a glimpse of the supposed tennis genius. They all held their question because Ryoga had not said anything about it either, but the Ranking Tournament to decide the Regulars is coming up soon, and if Ryoga's brother doesn't come soon then…

Now, Ryoga had seemingly anticipated it by having his brother's name registered to the club despite not even having shown his face in the slightest. By that point, the other Regulars had simply accepted Ryoga's more brazen actions, not to mention being the oldest even among the third years made him the utmost senior among them. The thing is, the whole thing had begun to spread outside of the Regulars and even to the first years that had just joined, and one of them seemed particularly invested.

One week later, Ryoga came to after-school practice to the huge surprise of Ryoma being there while looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.

"Why did you tell them about me? You know I'm busy with kendo and kyudo right?" Ryoma hissed quietly as Ryoga approached him.

"I did tell them, but who did…?" Ryoga asked, feeling a bit lost that someone had managed to get Ryoma there when he himself couldn't.

"One of the first years," Ryoma replied, "He bothered me about it, saying that all the other non-regulars were talking about me. I don't care, but he's too persistent for me to just ignore and we're in the same class."

Ryoga frowned, feeling a little conflicted that apparently him being the one doing the pestering isn't working but a classmate's does. He shook off the annoyance and instead chose to thank whoever it was for getting Ryoma there. After all, that's most of the battle and that day is the day of the Ranking Tournament. If he could just convince Ryoma to participate…

"Ah, Ryoga-senpai!"

Ryoga turned to see one of the first years coming up toward them. He didn't remember the person's name, but he does remember catching glimpses and overheard him bragging to his fellow first years at times.

"Oh wow, now that you two are standing close to each other there's no doubt you two are brothers!" The first year exclaimed. If Ryoga had to guess, this is probably the classmate in question that pestered Ryoma into coming. The first year's exclamation also caught the attention of everyone already present and before long, Eiji, Oishi, Momoshiro, and Kaidoh came up to them.

"So this is your brother!" Momoshiro grinned, "Finally showing your face around here, huh?"

Ryoma sent Ryoga a look that made the older know that once they were home he was going to get an earful from Ryoma. It's weird like that, how Ryoma would oftentimes be the one scolding and giving him an earful, but that's just how it is.

Determination

Once they all gathered, the Seigaku Regulars were all quickly caught up to the fact that Ryoma, Ryoga's brother, was there and they were finally going to see him in action. There's just one problem though, Ryoga is still in the process of convincing him to actually stay and participate in the Ranking Tournament instead of leaving.

"Ryoga, I have archery practice in one and a half hours."

"Then finish here in that time! We both know you can do it!"

"...are you sure you should be saying that in front of all of them?"

Ryoga simply snorted, "Yet you didn't deny it, just like how you aren't trying to leave either."

"Do you want me to try?"

"Wait, no that's not what I meant-"

It's a rather strange sight, really. The usually cool and collected Ryoga practically flailing around while arguing with his younger brother, increasingly resorting to what could only really be described as "throwing a tantrum".

"I will hide your bows!"

"We both know that I will find it in five minutes, and we have extra bows in the club anyway."

"Karupin-"

"Likes me better than you."

"I won't be eating dinner then!"

"...alright, fine."

Ryoga felt guilty for pulling the "self-harm" card especially because he knew that Ryoma put such an emphasis and care on making sure that he was eating well, but he was desperate okay?

Tezuka watched the exchange with some mixed feelings. He could see just how desperate Ryoga was to keep Ryoma from leaving, and while he still had some doubts about the veracity of Ryoga's claims about his younger brother's skills as a tennis player, he trusted Ryoga's judgment and truly believed that Ryoma would be a great asset if they could get him to join the team. And if Ryoga's claims were truly true…

But there's the fact that it's pretty clear that Ryoma only stayed around to humor Ryoga, and Tezuka isn't really sure about having someone on the team who doesn't really want to be there no matter how skilled they might be. In the end, as the Captain of the team, he made the decision to take the matter into his own hands.

"Ryoma, right?" Tezuka began as he walked toward the two.

Ryoma nodded curtly, and Tezuka continued.

"Your brother had given high praises to you and your skill as a tennis player. Thus, we believe that if he's truthful you will make a great addition to our team, Yet, I have no intention of keeping you here if it's against your will."

"So I propose that we have a match. As the Captain of Seigaku, I would like to judge the veracity of your brother's claims. If you win, then you might do as you please, whether to stay and join our club or to leave, and the same still applies if I win." Tezuka stated.

Ryoma blinked for a moment before nodding, "I see. Well then, I accept the challenge. I'll change the term though. If I win, I'll choose as I please but if I lose, well, I guess I'll join after all."

Tezuka was surprised that Ryoma would willingly alter the term to his own disadvantage, but he figured out that everyone had their quirks and reasoning and accepted without any more words.

("If beating him in tennis to make him stay is that easy, do you think I wouldn't have done it earlier?" Ryoga muttered, only loud enough for himself to hear)

Determination, Part 2

Naturally, the match attracted the audience of everyone in the club, be they Regulars or not. Coach Ryuzaki had decided to pause practice until the match ended since she figured that none of them would be able to concentrate while something as interesting as this was still going on. Besides, she herself was also very curious about it. Ryoga was a known factor for her, as he had been making rounds in a few youth tournaments in The US before he settled in Japan and joined Seigaku.

Ryoma though, is a mystery. She wasn't even aware that Nanjiroh had another son until Ryoga told the club about it. So obviously she also wants to see whether the youngest Echizen was as skilled as his father and older brother.

She took the position of the referee for the match and looked at both Tezuka and Ryoma to confirm their readiness to begin the match. They both gave her the go and so she did.

"Match begin!"

It was Ryoma who served first, and they all watched with bated breath as he tossed the ball up, wondering what kind of serve Ryoma would make.

To their surprise, it's nothing flashy or even particularly unique. A simply well-executed serve that Tezuka returned seemingly fairly easily. The first game went on like that, with both sides executing simple but sharp and well-done moves against each other, causing fairly long rallies before the ball finally bounced on the court twice.

"Hee, your brother is pretty good." Eiji praised while watching the so far very evenly matched game, but when he turned to look at Ryoga, he could see that he was frowning somewhat.

"Game set! 1-0 for Tezuka!"

"They're both still warming up," Inui observed. "Neither of them made any big or risky moves and just stuck to the basic."

"Who would you say have the advantage?" Oishi asked.

Inui adjusted his glasses, "Too early to tell."

The set continued on, with the second, third, and fourth games going very similarly to the first one. But instead of getting bored, the spectators only felt their anticipation building up as they could feel that both sides were simply sizing each other up, and with the latest game going to Ryoma to make the score 2-2, that anticipation only became further heightened.

While neither had shown any flashy techniques or made big moves, it's very obvious to those watching that they're both highly precise and trained in their moves. A high-level match between two peers.

Or at least, that's how it seemed to everyone but Ryoga and the two players themselves.

"If Tezuka doesn't start taking this seriously, Ryoma will win without breaking a sweat," Ryoga stated, earning curious looks from the others. "The match might look perfectly even, but pay closer attention to Tezuka."

"He's tiring faster," Fuji commented, "Yet your brother had not shown the slightest hint of fatigue."

"Ryoma's stamina is monstrous. He could probably go hours without losing the slightest bit of concentration. But he's also nasty with his angles." Ryoga explained.

After Ryoga said that, they paid closer attention, and just as he said, it's not much but Ryoma made his serves and returns in a way that made Tezuka move more than he himself did, further adding to Tezuka's fatigue while further minimizing his own.

"That's why I said he has to take this more seriously."

Of course, Tezuka himself knew that. In fact, he noticed it from the very beginning which quickly made his evaluation of Ryoma go up significantly. He himself came into the match with the intent to test Ryoga's brother, and in some way, it must have made him underestimate his opponent. He quickly revised his thoughts, however. It becomes clear that Ryoga's claims of his brother being stronger than him might just be true, even just from the little that he had seen.

He wanted to have Ryoma become part of the tennis club, and if beating him in this match is what it takes then Tezuka simply had to give it his all.

Determination, Part 3

"Game set! 5-0!"

"Told ya'," Ryoga cheekily stated as everyone else watched in shock and some degree of bewilderment.

The scoreboard they're using for the match shows that Ryoma had won the first set 6-3 and led the second one by a score of 5-0.

On one side, Tezuka was panting and sweating quite heavily. While he's far from done, it's very clear to see that the match had been a difficult one for him. Standing across the net, however, is Ryoma who looks like he's simply doing some light exercise instead of an intense tennis match against one of the most skilled tennis players from the Japanese high school level.

The most bewildering thing, however, is the fact that after Tezuka began to take the match seriously beginning from the fifth game of the first set, bringing out the Tezuka Zone to take the game from Ryoma, it had been all downhill for him from there. Ryoma had quickly beaten Tezuka Zone after only half a game worth of observation, even replicating it to a degree almost like rubbing salt in the wound. Even the Zero-Shiki shots worked exactly twice before that too was countered.

Since then, Ryoma had practically dominated Tezuka without giving the slightest bit of opening. Even worse, he looked like the whole thing barely took any effort for him to do.

(It's not that effortless. Ryoma is just really good at hiding any sign of fatigue, and he knew that it was a good way to mess with his opponents' psyche. It works in combat in his past life as Shirou Emiya, it works in kendo, and it works in tennis too)

The next game went just the way the ones before it did.

"0-40, game point!"

By all means, it looked like Tezuka was about to lose but he was far from done, still. After all, the match had taken an entirely new meaning for him. Now he knew that Ryoga was completely truthful when he said Ryoma was not just stronger than him but by a wide margin and his desire to get Ryoma to join the club only became stronger.

In fact, now he had long discarded the idea of winning. It's quite obvious that Ryoma had yet to take the match truly seriously, and perhaps the thing that got Tezuka the most is that he could feel that he had yet to truly register in Ryoma's eyes. Of course, Ryoma was paying attention to the match, Tezuka could tell despite looking like he was taking it easily, his opponent was fully concentrated on the match, following every slightest bit of his move to read it almost perfectly.

No, over the match a desire bloomed within him for Ryoma to acknowledge him. It's a strange feeling, especially as this is the first time that Tezuka has met the younger teen. But in the end, Tezuka loves tennis and wants to pour his whole being into it, and to see such a powerful opponent and the fact that there's a chance that he might become his comrade…

"15-40! Game point!"

It won't be an understatement to say that in that unofficial, decided-on-the-fly match, on the court that they practiced on every day, Tezuka fought harder than he had ever been before in his life.

"Game set! 5-1!"

With every difficult serve and return that Ryoma brought toward him, Tezuka chases them all with his entire being, taking points after points from Ryoma and losing some. But slowly, he could feel that he was getting close, that it was no longer quite as "hopeless" as it was previously. He knew that what he was doing was stupid, and very soon he'd reach the absolute limit that he could go before doing irreparable damage to his arm.

As he prepared himself for the next game, however, Ryoma suddenly approached him in the center of the court and asked him a question from across the net.

"Why are you fighting so hard? I know that by now you've figured out the difference in our strength and you're risking your own future… all because you want me to join the club?" Ryoma asked, quiet enough that only the two of them could hear it.

From anyone else, it might have sounded arrogant or mocking, but Tezuka could clearly see that Ryoma wanted to know his answer as if the younger teen was making a decision and his answer was crucial to that decision.

"Because you could be the future that Seigaku needs. Just like those before me entrusted Seigaku to me, I wanted to leave Seigaku in capable hands, and from this match, I can see clearly your capability." Tezuka replied honestly, barely above a whisper, "Even if I lose and you choose to leave… I don't think I would regret it at all, as I wouldn't be able to rest easy if I had passed up this chance to grab that future."

"I see," Ryoma stated, pulling his hat down slightly, obscuring his expression from Tezuka. "Very well then."

They parted as they got into position for the next game in the set. As Ryoma got into position to make a serve, Tezuka felt the hairs on his body standing up as he felt Ryoma's eyes pierce into him. For a moment, he felt like a prey being watched by a hunter, and as Ryoma made his serve-

"15-0!"

"30-0!"

"40-0! Game point!"

It was Tezuka's serve, and he knew that he stood no chance. The moment he made his serve, the game would end. That much he's certain, but just as he said he had no regrets.

A serve and-

Ryoma hit it with his racket, but not toward the opposite side of the court but upward to right above him. When the ball fell, Ryoma snatched it out of the air with his hand, and Tezuka thought that he would like to etch what happened afterward into his mind to keep it there for the rest of his life.

"I suppose I should begin calling you Tezuka-buchou, huh?" Ryoma said, giving a small smile toward the older teen, "I wouldn't mind having you as my captain. I forfeit."

That was how Ryoma ended up joining the Seigaku Tennis Club.


A/N: I spent HOURS going back and forth on how to go forward with this chapter. I wanted to write this particular part because I think it sets up a lot of the things that going forward will be a theme of sorts but I realized halfway through that there's no way to do this in drabble format which resulted in something I'm happy with. So, I guess that's how you get a 2k+ word "drabble" that had to be split into 3 parts. Ah well.

Another chapter worth of drabbles are already half done too (actual drabbles and not 3 drabbles in a trenchcoat that this chapter turned out to be), and it was going to be for this chapter but I think 3k words for this chapter is more than enough for what was supposed to be a drabble series :P

Also I dunno if you noticed, but this fic will be gay. I don't know if I intend it to be at the beginning, like 4 years ago when I started this fic, but I fully intend on making this gay now. Just thought I should put it out there.