Intervention [Prince of Tennis, Rikkai gen]
Rikkai gen fic, inspired by this image and travelling on a lot of trains recently. 1626 words. Title from a 31_days prompt: 29 October 2008. intervention.
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Intervention
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When the train pulls up Kirihara is first up off the bench. He high-tails it, head down, charging at the door of the train and once inside he quickly darts down the narrow aisle trying not to bump into everything just to nab the only seats at the tables.
"Akaya, it's not polite to hog," Yukimura says absently as he follows, but looking around he notices nobody else is even in the carriage. "Oh, alright."
Kirihara grins and slides into a window seat, fidgeting with the armrest until he eventually decides he wants it up instead of down. Yanagi and Yukimura share a quick glance and decide to give Sanada a break. Yanagi sits next to Kirihara, blocking him in, and Yukimura sits opposite him. Sanada is bringing up the rear of the team to be sure nobody gets themselves lost or wanders off and finds himself at the other table, opposite Jackal, and the two of them have Yagyuu and Niou boxed in beside each of them. Marui sits down next to Yukimura and as Yanagi pulls out a magazine to show him Marui uses the distraction to pull out a packet of sweets. He pops one into his mouth and then slouches down in his seat. A quick flicker of his eyes beneath the table shows him that Yukimura's legs are tucked under the seat, and Yanagi's are crossed over one another to one side. Kirihara's are sprawled wide and just perfect for kicking.
Sanada crosses his arms and glances around - Kirihara is none of his concern now, and Marui is also surely smart enough not to cause trouble with Yukimura and Yanagi right there. He has Yagyuu on his left, and Jackal opposite, and they are both steady for the most part. Niou is problematic but he seems content to stare out of the window as the train eases out of the station. Yagyuu pulls out his mp3 player and hands Niou the seond set of headphones attached by a splitter. They manage this without looking at one another.
"We've got a while," Jackal says, shifting in his seat and picking up his rucksack. He unzips it and pulls out a board as he asks Sanada, "how about a game of Go?"
"If he can reach even the third-round in this tournament his ranking will rise and he will be inside the top one hundred," Yanagi says, leaning across to point at the statistics for the tennis player on the page.
"It's about time somebody from Japan made the effort," Yukimura replies. "What does the draw look like?"
"Not easy," Yanagi admits reluctantly.
"Then if he makes it through it will prove he is truly deserving of it."
Kirihara isn't even listening, too busy playing a shoot-'em-up on his handheld. The first time he feels a nudge against his foot it is light, and it only just barely puts him off his game, so he ignores it. Yanagi-senpai is leaning right across the table to show Yukimura-buchou the tennis magazine and so his feet are probably just slipping.
The second time it's more than a nudge, and Kirihara pauses the game and looks Yanagi's way.
"Sorry, Akaya," he murmurs, but doesn't lift his eyes from the page. It's unusual, but Kirihara decides to let it go. It's Yanagi-senpai after all.
A few minutes into the game and Sanada is wondering if Jackal is regretting it - he graciously accepted the first turn but has not capitaized on it. Sanada makes his moves quickly and they are always aggressive in order to intimidate the other player, and once he is done he sits with his back straight, arms folded and his gaze on the gameboard. Jackal has played many games with him and is used to all of that by now, and has never been an easily shaken person anyway. But his defense-minded attitude spills over from tennis and he plays to protect himself from losing rather than simply to win.
Sanada glances up as a movement catches his eye; Niou leans away from the window and over to Jackal, covering his mouth with his hand as he whispers into Jackal's ear. Tactics, no doubt. Sanada snorts - Jackal is already in far too deep for one of Niou's little tricks to work.
Yagyuu pulls a book out of his bag and when he realises he has picked up the wrong one from his desk, that he's already read it, he decides to turn it upsidedown and read it that way instead. It will test his brainpower.
Niou is the first to notice, and just grins.
The next kick to Kirihara's ankle hits him right on the bone and makes him yelp. He almost jumps out of his seat, fingers clutching his handheld tightly.
"Oh dear," Yanagi says, glancing over. With his hand not weighing down the magazine anymore Yukimura curls fingers around it and pulls it clean off the table to bury his nose into. "My apologies Akaya."
Marui chooses that moment to giggle, and Kirihara sticks his tongue out at him. Marui hasn't a clue why Yanagi is playing along with it - he certainly isn't the one kicking Kirihara and they both know it - but the involvement is basically giving him the green light to tease the kid. He can't pass up that opportunity.
Sanada tilts his cap down over his eyes to try and block out Niou's smirking face as he whispers into Jackal's ear but looks right at Sanada the whole time. He tells himself Jackal may be losing, but he's the kind who will play fair, and is too sensible to listen to Niou's advice anyway. Sanada tells himself this, but still frowns at the thought that he could just be making Jackal out to be nobler than he is.
"Are you guys cheating?" Marui asks across the aisle. He figures if he gets involved with the other table's actions then Kirihara will be even less suspicious of him the next time he gets kicked.
"How can he cheat?" Niou retorts, leaning an elbow on the table and resting his chin on that. "Jackal-kun here can only work with the pieces he's been given."
"Don't listen to him," Marui tells Jackal. "He's probably just going to force you into a move that makes you lose even more spectacularly than you already are."
"Thanks for your support," Jackal mutters in reply, shrinking down in his seat.
Yanagi presses his lips together to keep the smile in; it's difficult to tell whether Jackal is embarrassed to be losing so obviously, or embarrassed that he was actually tempted to go on Niou's advice for a moment there and had to have the common sense talked into him by Marui, of all people.
Yanagi himself can see a huge opening in Sanada's board; he possibly knows it himself too but has become too overconfident in his game to let it worry him. Sanada can defeat most people so easily it gets frustrating. It's something Yanagi has had to steer him well away from on the tennis courts carefully over years, before Yukimura could ever notice it happening.
He senses a moment before Marui does it when the next kick is coming. Kirihara drops his handheld on the table, startling Yukimura right out of the article he's been reading, and earning him the most frightful glare. Kirihara shrinks back automatically, turning to Yanagi with a hurt look on his face that pleads with him to apologise and take the heat off of him.
"Now clearly that one was on purpose, and was not me," Yanagi says, eyes flickering in Marui's direction. Kirihara notices it because his vision is exceptional, and he may not understand everything Yanagi says or does, but he can understand that kind of simple gesture.
"You!" He yells, standing up and reaching across the table in a flail of arms and legs. Marui grins, showing all his teeth, before ducking quickly behind Yukimura who still isn't aware of what is going on just yet. He feels hands clutching at his jacket and glances round to see Marui's eyes peeping out from behind his shoulder.
Kirihara just barely manages to stop himself before he can scratch and claw at his own buchou who has been made into a human shield for that bastard Marui-senpai. Bereft of a target he turns to Yanagi instead.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kirihara asks. "Why did you let him get away with it?"
"I was hoping you would realise on your own," Yanagi replies. "Don't you always complain that I don't give you enough chances to prove yourself?"
"-And I was hoping you'd all quit it before I had to get involved," Yukimura says with a sigh of impatience, betraying just how aware he has been the entire time.
"Stop behaving like idiots!" Sanada interjects in perfect time, because Yukimura wasn't going to say anything else. "Or else you'll be doing laps before the match, in front of everyone!"
"Empty threat," Niou says, throwing an arm over the back of his chair. Sanada's eyes are dark when they focus on him. "No way you'll let any other teams think any of us did anything worth punishing. You like them to think you've got us all on a tight leash."
"Chances are Genichirou will simply tell anyone who dares ask that it's part of our normal training schedule," Yanagi informs him. "And that you will now be included."
"Chances are that nobody will need to ask because I'll make it patently clear," Yukimura says. "We're almost there."
"Clear up and get ready to run," Sanada says. "Yagyuu, that means you too!"
"...What did I do?" Yagyuu asks, plucking the earphones out of his ears.
"Reading that book upsidedown makes you look like a fool - you will run too."
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Intervention
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When the train pulls up Kirihara is first up off the bench. He high-tails it, head down, charging at the door of the train and once inside he quickly darts down the narrow aisle trying not to bump into everything just to nab the only seats at the tables.
"Akaya, it's not polite to hog," Yukimura says absently as he follows, but looking around he notices nobody else is even in the carriage. "Oh, alright."
Kirihara grins and slides into a window seat, fidgeting with the armrest until he eventually decides he wants it up instead of down. Yanagi and Yukimura share a quick glance and decide to give Sanada a break. Yanagi sits next to Kirihara, blocking him in, and Yukimura sits opposite him. Sanada is bringing up the rear of the team to be sure nobody gets themselves lost or wanders off and finds himself at the other table, opposite Jackal, and the two of them have Yagyuu and Niou boxed in beside each of them. Marui sits down next to Yukimura and as Yanagi pulls out a magazine to show him Marui uses the distraction to pull out a packet of sweets. He pops one into his mouth and then slouches down in his seat. A quick flicker of his eyes beneath the table shows him that Yukimura's legs are tucked under the seat, and Yanagi's are crossed over one another to one side. Kirihara's are sprawled wide and just perfect for kicking.
Sanada crosses his arms and glances around - Kirihara is none of his concern now, and Marui is also surely smart enough not to cause trouble with Yukimura and Yanagi right there. He has Yagyuu on his left, and Jackal opposite, and they are both steady for the most part. Niou is problematic but he seems content to stare out of the window as the train eases out of the station. Yagyuu pulls out his mp3 player and hands Niou the seond set of headphones attached by a splitter. They manage this without looking at one another.
"We've got a while," Jackal says, shifting in his seat and picking up his rucksack. He unzips it and pulls out a board as he asks Sanada, "how about a game of Go?"
"If he can reach even the third-round in this tournament his ranking will rise and he will be inside the top one hundred," Yanagi says, leaning across to point at the statistics for the tennis player on the page.
"It's about time somebody from Japan made the effort," Yukimura replies. "What does the draw look like?"
"Not easy," Yanagi admits reluctantly.
"Then if he makes it through it will prove he is truly deserving of it."
Kirihara isn't even listening, too busy playing a shoot-'em-up on his handheld. The first time he feels a nudge against his foot it is light, and it only just barely puts him off his game, so he ignores it. Yanagi-senpai is leaning right across the table to show Yukimura-buchou the tennis magazine and so his feet are probably just slipping.
The second time it's more than a nudge, and Kirihara pauses the game and looks Yanagi's way.
"Sorry, Akaya," he murmurs, but doesn't lift his eyes from the page. It's unusual, but Kirihara decides to let it go. It's Yanagi-senpai after all.
A few minutes into the game and Sanada is wondering if Jackal is regretting it - he graciously accepted the first turn but has not capitaized on it. Sanada makes his moves quickly and they are always aggressive in order to intimidate the other player, and once he is done he sits with his back straight, arms folded and his gaze on the gameboard. Jackal has played many games with him and is used to all of that by now, and has never been an easily shaken person anyway. But his defense-minded attitude spills over from tennis and he plays to protect himself from losing rather than simply to win.
Sanada glances up as a movement catches his eye; Niou leans away from the window and over to Jackal, covering his mouth with his hand as he whispers into Jackal's ear. Tactics, no doubt. Sanada snorts - Jackal is already in far too deep for one of Niou's little tricks to work.
Yagyuu pulls a book out of his bag and when he realises he has picked up the wrong one from his desk, that he's already read it, he decides to turn it upsidedown and read it that way instead. It will test his brainpower.
Niou is the first to notice, and just grins.
The next kick to Kirihara's ankle hits him right on the bone and makes him yelp. He almost jumps out of his seat, fingers clutching his handheld tightly.
"Oh dear," Yanagi says, glancing over. With his hand not weighing down the magazine anymore Yukimura curls fingers around it and pulls it clean off the table to bury his nose into. "My apologies Akaya."
Marui chooses that moment to giggle, and Kirihara sticks his tongue out at him. Marui hasn't a clue why Yanagi is playing along with it - he certainly isn't the one kicking Kirihara and they both know it - but the involvement is basically giving him the green light to tease the kid. He can't pass up that opportunity.
Sanada tilts his cap down over his eyes to try and block out Niou's smirking face as he whispers into Jackal's ear but looks right at Sanada the whole time. He tells himself Jackal may be losing, but he's the kind who will play fair, and is too sensible to listen to Niou's advice anyway. Sanada tells himself this, but still frowns at the thought that he could just be making Jackal out to be nobler than he is.
"Are you guys cheating?" Marui asks across the aisle. He figures if he gets involved with the other table's actions then Kirihara will be even less suspicious of him the next time he gets kicked.
"How can he cheat?" Niou retorts, leaning an elbow on the table and resting his chin on that. "Jackal-kun here can only work with the pieces he's been given."
"Don't listen to him," Marui tells Jackal. "He's probably just going to force you into a move that makes you lose even more spectacularly than you already are."
"Thanks for your support," Jackal mutters in reply, shrinking down in his seat.
Yanagi presses his lips together to keep the smile in; it's difficult to tell whether Jackal is embarrassed to be losing so obviously, or embarrassed that he was actually tempted to go on Niou's advice for a moment there and had to have the common sense talked into him by Marui, of all people.
Yanagi himself can see a huge opening in Sanada's board; he possibly knows it himself too but has become too overconfident in his game to let it worry him. Sanada can defeat most people so easily it gets frustrating. It's something Yanagi has had to steer him well away from on the tennis courts carefully over years, before Yukimura could ever notice it happening.
He senses a moment before Marui does it when the next kick is coming. Kirihara drops his handheld on the table, startling Yukimura right out of the article he's been reading, and earning him the most frightful glare. Kirihara shrinks back automatically, turning to Yanagi with a hurt look on his face that pleads with him to apologise and take the heat off of him.
"Now clearly that one was on purpose, and was not me," Yanagi says, eyes flickering in Marui's direction. Kirihara notices it because his vision is exceptional, and he may not understand everything Yanagi says or does, but he can understand that kind of simple gesture.
"You!" He yells, standing up and reaching across the table in a flail of arms and legs. Marui grins, showing all his teeth, before ducking quickly behind Yukimura who still isn't aware of what is going on just yet. He feels hands clutching at his jacket and glances round to see Marui's eyes peeping out from behind his shoulder.
Kirihara just barely manages to stop himself before he can scratch and claw at his own buchou who has been made into a human shield for that bastard Marui-senpai. Bereft of a target he turns to Yanagi instead.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kirihara asks. "Why did you let him get away with it?"
"I was hoping you would realise on your own," Yanagi replies. "Don't you always complain that I don't give you enough chances to prove yourself?"
"-And I was hoping you'd all quit it before I had to get involved," Yukimura says with a sigh of impatience, betraying just how aware he has been the entire time.
"Stop behaving like idiots!" Sanada interjects in perfect time, because Yukimura wasn't going to say anything else. "Or else you'll be doing laps before the match, in front of everyone!"
"Empty threat," Niou says, throwing an arm over the back of his chair. Sanada's eyes are dark when they focus on him. "No way you'll let any other teams think any of us did anything worth punishing. You like them to think you've got us all on a tight leash."
"Chances are Genichirou will simply tell anyone who dares ask that it's part of our normal training schedule," Yanagi informs him. "And that you will now be included."
"Chances are that nobody will need to ask because I'll make it patently clear," Yukimura says. "We're almost there."
"Clear up and get ready to run," Sanada says. "Yagyuu, that means you too!"
"...What did I do?" Yagyuu asks, plucking the earphones out of his ears.
"Reading that book upsidedown makes you look like a fool - you will run too."
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