Captains and coffee
It is near the end of term and Hyōtei’s 3rd year tennis team regulars (minus Atobe Keigo) are busy studying for the upcoming high school entrance exam.
In the 3 hours they have spent studying (lounging) together in the library (sleeping, in Jirou Akutagawa’s case) they have accomplished one thing:
The unanimous decision that Hiyoshi Wakashi is a dull boy.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, none of the first year members are even remotely good enough to be regulars. Secondly, Kabaji is untouchable because of his ties with Atobe. Finally, everybody has skirted around the subject of Ohtori because Shishido is present. Getting kicked out of the library for violent behaviour isn’t very fun, especially since they are supposed to be revising.
Hiyoshi is the only viable candidate left.
He isn’t dull in the way that makes him go insane, rather like Jack Torrence in The Shining. It is a scary thought and it gives Jirou nightmares. He wakes up just to clarify this before falling back asleep.
Hiyoshi just needs to take it easy for a change.
“Speaking of change,” Shishido sits up, “does anybody have some money I can borrow? I wanna get a cup of coffee.”
Oshitari’s non-prescription lenses glint in the light. An idea has suddenly occurred to him.
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“It’s a test of reflexes,” Oshitari explains to Hiyoshi the next day. “All you have to do is take the picture the minute it happens.”
Hiyoshi is about to object to taking part in such an idiotic activity when Mukahi flippantly remarks that Hiyoshi can’t expect to be captain of the Hyōtei tennis team next year if he can’t even pass a simple reflex test.
Hiyoshi doesn’t reply, but his eyes narrow. The camera is snatched out of Oshitari’s hands.
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Atobe goes still after taking his first sip of coffee. Behind a screen, Hiyoshi’s finger hovers above a camera button. Oshitari and Mukahi stand behind him, smirking their heads off.
A hack and a choke surface; an indication of recovery. Hiyoshi’s camera flashes.
In the midst of the chaos that ensues, Atobe grabs the camera in a futile attempt to delete his unglamorous photo. Hiyoshi has declared himself the new captain after passing the reflex test. Shishido and Mukahi are busy counting the money Atobe had in his pocket just a minute ago; he emptied them in exchange for the camera. As for what to do, Ohtori is at a loss. Oshitari stands at the side smirking.
It is a peasant’s camera though, and Atobe doesn’t know how to work it. He presses the “back” button instead of the “delete” button by accident.
When Atobe sees the next photo, Oshitari’s smugness elevates to a record level despite Atobe’s new expression being worth ten times more than the current 957USD Shishido and Mukahi are fighting over.
When he recovers (which takes quite awhile) Atobe demands to know why Hiyoshi has a picture of Tezuka in his camera.
Oshitari concludes that the day has definitely been time well spent.
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The next year, when Seishun Gakuen and Hyōtei Gakuen face off in the Kanto finals for the second year running, Ohtori Choutaro stands before Kaidoh Kaoru as the new captain of Hyōtei.
He is captain only for a single reason: that of a planted picture of Tezuka by a certain non-prescription glasses-wearing tensai in a certain camera that a certain ex-captain saw.
Crack is fun (: