Joushou Hyoutei Part II
Title: Joushou Hyoutei Part II
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sanada/Shishido, Past Atobe/Shishido implied
Warnings: ~16 000 words
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and its characters are owned by Konomi.
Summary: Sanada is transferred to Hyoutei for his first year of high school; how will he fair?
Notes: This was originally written for Feihu at the Tenipuri_xpair exchange
Shishido brought Sanada to a street court that wasn't that far from the train station that would take him directly into Chiba just in case they ended up staying later than expected and he had to dash home. Unfortunately it was one that preferred people to play doubles if it was busy. Shishido never minded, he was often there with Ohtori or if he wasn't, he found partnering up with others would help with his adaptability.
Walking through the gate and into the court area, Shishido could tell immediately they were doing doubles today and looked back over at Sanada. “You okay with doubles?”
Sanada gave a silent nod as he looked over at the assembled players.
Shishido had noted that Sanada had been rather subdued if determined since their talk after the final homeroom today. He had shown up to tennis practice and had done all of the sub-regular practice strokes and drills without complaint. Shishido hadn't missed the rumble of gossip going around about if Sanada would throw a fit about being placed in the sub-regulars and lead a revolution against Atobe or all kinds of other crazy ideas.
Shishido couldn't say he knew Sanada completely but he knew him well enough to know that all those rumours and whisperings going around were completely lame. And he was sure Atobe did, too.
“Great. Come on. I'll go put our names on the list so we can play,” Shishido said and led Sanada to some empty space by the fence where they could drop off their stuff. They'd come straight from practice so they were still in their Hyoutei tennis uniforms. Shishido normally liked to avoid wearing them because sometimes people could be jerks about it, but he knew that Sanada had limited time before having to head back so it was worth the risk of a little smack talk from idiots to save time.
After setting down his things, Shishido walked up to the guy who looked to be in charge of the playlist today. Fortunately it was someone he knew and had played with and against more than a few times in the past.
“Hey, Makuhari. Think you can put me on the list?”
“Shishido? Been a while. New school year being tough on you?” Makuhari asked as he looked over Shishido in his new uniform.
“No more than usual. Atobe's being a bit lame though. Says he has to set the standards from the start so he's been putting us through some gruelling training.” Shishido's love hate relationship with his captain, Atobe, was fairly well known with Makuhari as he'd shared more than a few stories, both good and bad, about Atobe with him.
“He captain again? Geeze, that guy sure is ambitious.”
“You don't know the half of it. Anyway, about getting to play?”
“Need a partner?” Makuhari asked and then looked past Shishido and obviously spotted the other Hyoutei player. “Is that Sanada Genichirou?”
“Yeah.”
“In Hyoutei?”
“Yup.”
“No way. That's really going to give you guys an edge this year, huh?”
“We'll see,” Shishido said with a shrug. He didn't want it spread around that Sanada wasn't on the regulars even if Shishido was hoping it would be a temporary thing. If people heard Sanada was with Hyoutei now and got freaked out even before stepping on the courts that would give them a big advantage and Shishido was happy to take it.
“Playing doubles together?” Makuhari sounded a bit surprised by this but Shishido didn't call him on it.”
“Yeah. But we're in a bit of a hurry. How soon can you fit us in?” If the wait was too long then they might have to find somewhere else to practice but they'd lose a lot of time that way.
Makuhari looked over at Sanada and then at the courts. “After these guys are done if you'll be ready,” He said.
“Cool. Who are we playing?” Shishido asked surprised that Makuhari was being so accommodating. Makurhari usually treated him pretty well but he was expecting to have to wait for at least one more match before they could get on the courts.
“Me and Inage.”
Shishido grinned. That was why they had been given a court so quickly. Makuhari wanted a chance to test his skills against Sanada. Well, if it got them the courts faster, Shishido didn't care.
“Sounds good. See ya on the courts.”
They parted ways and Shishido went back to Sanada to let him know they'd be playing soon and to get ready.
“I prefer to play closer to the net so can you cover the base line?” Shishido asked as he pulled out his racket.
“Heh,” Sanada said with a smirk. “That won't be a problem.”
Shishido looked at him as he bounced his head against his racket strings to test them. Sanada was seeming pretty confident about his doubles skills and despite never really seeing him play doubles, Shishido decided to trust in it.
“Anything I should know?”
“Not really. But if there's any shots you don't think you can return, just clear the way. I'll send them back.”
Shishido nodded. He had seen how strong and fast Sanada's counters and shots could be and he didn't fancy getting any of those to the back of his head.
“Alright. Let's do this,” Shishido said as he saw the game on the court starting to wrap up.
- - -
Sanada looked over at Shishido and grinned, this was turning out to be fun and they worked better as a pair than he thought they would. Sanada placed most of the credit on Shishido who was surprisingly flexible and good at reading his partner despite his boisterous personality.
Shishido also seemed to know when a shot was too much for him and it would be best to let Sanada take it which Sanada appreciated. Having weaknesses weren't such a bad thing when you could admit it and let your partner cover for it. And having Shishido at the net and trusting him to take a number of the shots allowed Sanada to focus more on his special moves.
“One more set and we'll have it,” Shishido said. “I don't even think they know what's hit them. Can't believe Makuhari wanted to play you.” He was smiling and his eyes were filled with passion and pleasure for the sport and Sanada couldn't help but feel the same. Shishido's enthusiasm was contagious.
“Heh, they should know better than to go up against Ri-Hyoutei so easily,” Sanada said. He hoped Shishido wouldn't comment on the slip, he knew it would be useless to hope he hadn't noticed it. But at least Sanada was learning, all be it slowly, what team he was on now.
“Exactly.” He took a sip from his water bottle and then tossed it at Sanada who easily caught it.
Sanada took a long drink of water before putting it down on the bench. “Okay. Let's go.”
The gave each other a friendly fist bump and walked back out onto the court, prepared to break Makuhari's serve and settle the match with a score of 6-2.
- - -
“Up for a match today?” Shishido asked as he was towelling off his sweat after a tough practice match against Gakuto and his new partner, Kariya. His own new partner, Umeda was off chatting with some girl that was always hanging around the courts and watching the practices.
Shishido was surprised that Atobe hadn't shooed her away yet but maybe he just hadn't gotten around to it. Atobe's to-do list wasn't one he envied. He was also surprised that Atobe wasn't over there questioning his lousy performance against Gakuto and Kariya.
It wasn't like Shishido wasn't trying. He just wasn't clicking with Umeda and wasn't sure how to fix it. Normally Atobe was pretty insightful when it came to pairing off people be it with them or against them but Shishido was positive he missed the mark this time. He much preferred playing with Sanada on the practice courts despite Sanada technically being a singles player.
Sanada was by far easier and more enjoyable to share a court with and Shishido wondered if Atobe could be convinced to kick off Umeda and give Sanada a doubles spot. It woudn't threaten his singles position and would nearly guarantee a win for Hyoutei in each match since Shishido doubted that any other team could match their combination.
“Shouldn't you be practicing with Umeda?” Sanada asked. He was retaping his racket and was only giving Shishido the occasional glance from under his hat.
“Probably. But he has a date and you're more fun to play with anyway.” Normally he wasn't the type to put fun over training but since he was still practicing his tennis with Sanada, it wasn't like he really was.
“A date?” Sanada raised a brow at that.
“Yeah. Haven't you noticed his cheering squad?” Shishido asked as he gestured toward the girl and Umeda without trying to make it look too obvious.
Sanada followed the movement and nodded. “Ah, I've seen her around. I thought she was one of Atobe's many admirers.”
Shishido laughed at that, “Nah. They're crazy organized and have some strict rules of conduct. This one is definitely Umeda's girlfriend... or trying to be.”
“I see. Well, I don't mind playing doubles as long as we can find a challenging pair.”
Shishido nodded and then thought for a moment. “If you don't mind going a little further out from your place we can challenge Fudoumine's doubles pairs.” They were third years at junior high school but they were a spirited team and had some interesting moves that would challenge them more than the usual players they encountered. They were also a team that Shishido knew used the street courts regularly so was sure they would catch them.
“Fudoumine? Are they any challenge without Tachibana there to lead them?”
Shishido tried not to make a face at the name. He was over his rather embarrassing defeat at Tachibana's hands, really. But it still didn't mean he wanted to be best friends with the guy... or that he'd pass up the opportunity to pay him back. “Nah, they're still good. I heard Tachibana still goes over to coach them on his club's rest day anyway.”
Sanada nodded at that, focus once more on his racket. “I'll go then.”
Shishido smiled and gave him a hard pat on the back before tossing his towel at his bag and heading back out onto the courts to grab Umeda to do some cool down exercises together. He wasn't quite ready to give up on some partner bonding for the day.
- - -
Shishido was playing Line Bubble on his phone on the train when the screen froze. He was about to curse when the display switched to show that Atobe was calling him. Thankful that it was on silent so it wouldn't bother the other passengers when ringing, he also knew he couldn't answer it without being rude.
Fortunately they were nearing a station and despite it being one before his own, Shishido decided to get off. He answered his phone just before the doors opened to make sure he didn't miss the call and then got off as soon as they were open. The next station was close enough to this one and a bit more exercise wouldn't hurt. Better than missing a call from Atobe, anyway.
“What?” He asked when he was off the train and could speak on his phone.
“Courteous as always, Shishido,” Atobe said.
“Uh-huh. So what did you call for? You're not going to make me go to etiquette classes again, are you?” The first time around was hard enough, he didn't think he could survive a second time.
“No. You're safe this time. In fact, you may just be even beyond my help when it comes to proper manners and sophistication.”
Shishido didn't care if it was an insult as long as it meant no more lessons on table manners and cutlery. “So, what's up?” He asked as he started making his way up the stairs to the ticket gate.
“I've notice you've been spending quite a lot of time with Sanada lately...”
That wasn't quite a question but he knew that Atobe still expected an answer. Shishido just didn't know what kind of answer Atobe was looking for just yet. “Yup. And?”
“While I admire your dedication to tennis and practicing, wouldn't it be better to do so with your current partner?”
“Umeda's too busy with his girlfriend. 'sides, you have to have seen that we aren't getting along,” Shishido said. He didn't think much got past Atobe, especially when it was happening on his courts at school but sometimes these things still had to be pointed out to him.
“I have noticed you aren't getting along as well as Gakuto and Kariya. But I was hoping you would be able to sort out your differences.” There was a pause and Shishido could hear fabric shifting around as Atobe moved. “His dedication to his girlfriend concerns me. I don't want to ban dating from the team, Oshitari might attempt to throttle me for one, but I expect a certain amount of focus from my players.”
Shishido gave a snort at the thought of Atobe being strangled by Oshitari and thought that the Osaka player would probably go for something more subtle than that when he was ready to strike for revenge. “Maybe just try banning dates from hanging on the courts?” It wouldn't help him and Umeda get along better but it might help Umeda stay a bit more focused which would help.
“Perhaps. But will it help?” Atobe asked as if reading Shishido's mind through the phone.
“It can't hurt?” Shishido shrugged and nearly elbowed someone on a bike who was trying to zip by him. Whoops.
“You and Sanada are building quite the reputation as a doubles pair on the street courts. Your record is impressive.”
Another question that wasn't a question but still needed answering. “Well he was the emperor of Rikkai and despite what you've seen with Umeda, I've turned into a pretty kickass doubles player so of course we're gonna be awesome.”
“Ahnn, I see. And just how did you convince Sanada to play doubles with you in the first place?”
“It was nothing special. He wanted me to introduce him to some street courts. We ended up at one that has a doubles rule and things just happened from there. He didn't seem to care if it was singles or doubles as long as he was playing,” Shishido said. He had gotten the impression that Sanada would have preferred singles but was just as capable of enjoying doubles and being really good at it.
“Well as long as you keep putting effort into your assigned doubles pair, I suppose I can't argue about two of my tennis club members playing tennis, now can I?” Atobe asked and there was something in his voice that made Shishido wonder what he was up to.
“Yup. Guess not. That at all?”
There was another pause and he would have thought Atobe had hung up on him but he could still hear signs of him on the other end.
“What is it?” He asked after getting bored of listening to Atobe breathe.
“You and Sanada have gotten quite close recently....”
Shishido rolled of his eyes. Of course it would be that. “Don't be lame. We're just friends.”
“Are you sure? Sanada does seem to have a rapport with you that he doesn't share with the others.”
“We're in the same homeroom and now we've been playing doubles. Of course we're going to get along better than he does with the others.” Shishido was getting annoyed. He just didn't get Atobe at times. He was usually so cool and put together and then he would have moments of jealousy. And this time, he wasn't even sure who he was jealous of.
“Look. If you want to date Sanada, stop dicking him around with the team and ask him. If this is about me, then you need to just stop. We tried the whole dating thing, remember? You dumped me when I got kicked off the team and tried to pawn me off on Ohtori, who's straight by the way, and then still got jealous when we grew close,” Shishido said. He just didn't get Atobe at times.
“I wasn't thinking any of those things, Shishido. You have such little faith in me. And as I keep saying, how was I to know that Ohtori's little puppy crush on you was just some disturbing hero worship thing. I'll admit this only to you, but even my insight seems to be flawed at times when it comes to love matters.”
Shishido wondered if Atobe was speaking only about the Ohtori debacle or also about their failed and rather short lived relationship together. Really, it didn't matter. He was over their thing, as much as one could ever be over Atobe when he consumed so much of your life. And despite what he might say or feel at times, he trusted Atobe to make solid decisions as a captain without his feelings or things getting in the way.
“Good to know. That all now?”
“Yes, that's all since you seem so eager to be rid of my glorious presence in your life.”
That was the Atobe Shishido knew and he smiled at it. “Well, as long as you aren't going to talk about lame things, I guess I can give you a bit more time. Gonna be another twenty before I'm home.”
“Well, in that case, have you heard about the new racket model that Yonex is releasing?”
- - -
Sanada had managed to survive his first month at Hyoutei and a month under Atobe's rule on the sub-regulars. He wouldn't say he loved the last part but being a part of Hyoutei was growing on him. He wasn't sure he found the same passion for Hyoutei as he had for Rikkai but he no longer slipped and said he was a member of Rikkai or talked about how things were done at his previous school.
He supposed he had Shishido to thank the most for helping him though pep talks from his former teammates and his new had helped as well. Though it was Shishido he was planning on heading to the courts with after official practice had ended.
They hadn't managed to get to the street courts much in the last week so they were planning to dash there right after practice to maximize their time. Or had been until Atobe had caught his attention just as they were dismissed and waved him over.
“That sucks. Want me to wait?” Shishido asked.
“This shouldn't take long.” Sanada didn't even know what Atobe might have to talk to him about other than promoting him to the regulars and that wouldn't take long. And if it wasn't that, their conversation should be even shorter. “Go on and get us on the list.”
“Yeah. Good plan. We don't want to miss out again like last week.” Last week their usual court had been busier than expected and by the time they had been able to play, Sanada had needed to head home.
“I'll see you soon,” Sanada said as he gave Shishido a nod. He grabbed his tennis bag and headed over to where Atobe was standing off to the side surveying the equipment being put away.
“Atobe,” He said as he approached the Hyoutei captain.
“Sanada.” Atobe gestured for the members to keep working and walked off a little, Sanada following, for a little more privacy.
Sanada didn't say anything since he knew that Atobe would speak when he was ready, probably after a decent dramatic pause.
“Your game has improved lately.”
“Thank you,” Sanada said out of politeness though he didn't really care what Atobe thought about his game other than proving to him that he belonged on the team.
“And you've been proving yourself adept at doubles.”
Sanada looked at him more seriously and frowned. “Have you been watching us?”
“Us? I approve of you already thinking of you and Shishido as a team. And to answer your question, I may have caught a match or two while wandering past a street court.” Atobe gave a casual shrug as if it wasn't a big deal.
“Of course.” Sanada had to disagree as he doubted Atobe willingly set foot near a street court unless he had a reason to be there. For being so busy, Atobe sure did find a lot of time to interfere with the lives of his teammates and opponents. Still, it was probably not wise to start a fight with Atobe if he could help it, at least not until he was firmly situated as a regular.
It was clear Atobe was waiting for Sanada to say more and they ended up waiting each other out for a moment before Atobe gave a dramatic sigh and flipped his hair back. “I hate to say it, but Umeda isn't working out. He's more focused on his girlfriend than on tennis and that's something I can't condone as we head into competition season.”
Sanada nodded to show that he was listening and agreed. It was one thing to have a girlfriend, it was another to let that take your concentration away while playing.
“And while you still haven't completely recovered your passion for the game, I can see that it's improving and surprisingly it's stronger when you're playing doubles with Shishido than practice singles matches.”
“And?” Sanada was a little surprised to hear that his play style was visibly different, at least to Atobe, when he was playing with Shishido compared to when he was playing on his own. While Rikkai prided themselves on being well rounded players, he still considered himself a singles player first and than a doubles. Perhaps Hyoutei, or more specifically Shishido, was changing him more than he realized.
“If you can keep it up, I'm going to demote Umeda to a sub-regular and promote you to a regular as Shishido's doubles partner. Could you handle that?” Atobe asked giving Sanada a stare that likely meant he was assessing him for lies.
Sanada had to think a moment if he would be content playing doubles while watching Atobe, Jirou and Oshitari play singles and he found that yes, he would be. “I can handle it. When do I start?”
“Tomorrow,” Atobe said and then gave him a small smile. “Now go find your new doubles partner Sanada. I want you two to be undefeated when we go to Nationals.”
A 'yes, sir' nearly escaped his lips but Sanada managed to hold it back. As much as he was coming to see Atobe as a reliable and fairly knowledgeable captain, he still couldn't give him the same respect he had Yukimura. Perhaps in time, but for now he just gave a nod and a quick goodbye before heading off the courts.
Tomorrow on, he'd be a regular again. He felt like his steps were lighter and his shoulders straighter as he walked down the street. It was weird, he hadn't realized how much being a regular had meant to him and found it hard to believe he had actually contemplated giving this up.
- - -
Shishido cursed as a punch landed against his side. He was stunned for a second but then managed to return a countering blow.
He had rushed off to the street courts that Sanada and him preferred still in his Hyoutei uniform and had immediately run into trouble. Makuhari and the usual group of players he and Sanada usually played with weren't there yet but a few guys from a lesser known high school were. They recognized the uniform as belonging to Hyoutei and either through jealousy or stupidity thought they should teach the 'spoiled and arrogant rich boy' a lesson.
But this spoiled and arrogant rich boy really wasn't any of those things and Shishido had stood his ground and gave as good as he got. He might have still been over powered since it was three against one but Makuhari and a couple of his friends had shown up turning their little scrap into an all out brawl.
“You think you're so much better than everyone, Hyoutei. But just you wait. We'll get you on the courts,” Hissed one of the other guys as he wiped blood from his lip.
“Yeah, whatever. We'll see how lame you really are then.” Shishido wasn't looking much better than them with a rapidly developing black eye, his hat missing and breathing pretty raggedly.
Shishido wasn't sure if the guys were about to retreat or try for a second round, it was only 3 against 4 so the odds weren't to against the idiots when Sanada showed up.
“What's going on here?” Sanada barked in his most authoritative voice. Everyone looked over at him and seemed a little nervous.
“You three. I haven't seen you around these courts before. Did you want to test your skills against the Emperor?” Sanada was walking slowly towards them, a predatory look on his face that Shishido hadn't seen since Sanada had worn Rikkai yellow and was playing in the nationals.
There was hasty and not so quiet whispers amongst them. About it being Rikkai's Sanada but him wearing Hyoutei and how they couldn't stand up against him. It was pretty amusing and Shishido had to try really hard not to laugh at them. Bursting into laughter would have really ruined the bad ass mood Sanada was projecting.
“If you have no business here, go. Or else I'll find business for you.”
The words were barely out of Sanada's mouth before the three had grabbed their rackets and bags and were running as fast as their bruises would allow them off of the courts.
Sanada stayed in his stern pose until they were out of sight and ear shot. Then he turned to survey those left on the court.
“Makuhari,” Sanada said causing Makuhari to jump a little though Shishido was impressed that he was able to keep his passive yet stern look in the face of Sanada's barely contained rage. “What happened here?”
Shishido was a bit annoyed that Sanada hadn't asked him directly but if he wanted to pester other people that was fine with him. He spotted his hat a few feet away and went to retrieve it. He was a little annoyed at how stiff he was already starting to feel but he tried not to show it. He could feel Sanada's eyes on him as he moved even as Makuhari told him about what went on.
“Those three guys were picking on Shishido because he was Hyoutei and when we showed up, we jumped to his defence. Nothing really to tell.” Makuhari and his two buddies weren't that roughed up. They'd have a couple bruises to show for their good deed but Shishido knew it wouldn't stop them from continuing their practice.
“Understood,” Sanada said and gave them a nod of thanks. He then turned towards Shishido and grabbed his hand.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Shishido asked as he was firmly pulled away from the courts by Sanada. “I'll see ya around Makuhari. Thanks,” He called back as he taken from the courts.
“You need to be treated. Your place or mine?” Sanada asked as he kept a firm grip on Shishido's hand.
“What? I'm fine. Let me go,” Shishido said and gave his and a tug but Sanada's steel grip just tightened on him. Great.
“You're bleeding and don't think I didn't see how stiff you were.”
Shishido huffed but didn't argue. He couldn't when the proof of Sanada's words were so visibly on display.
“My place...” Shishido finally muttered out and then pointed in the direction it was. It wasn't that far a walk to his place, the other train station was closer but it was lame to take the train one stop when it was just as easy to walk it. Even if he was a bit banged up.
- - -
“Go sit,” Sanada said once Shishido had unlocked the door of his place and let them both in.
“You don't know where anything is,” Shishido argued. He didn't need Sanada running around the place messing everything up and getting them both in trouble when his parents finally came home.
“Show me.”
“Come on. I'll show you. I have a kit just for these sorts of things.” Shishido led them further into his home through the empty living room and towards his room.
“You get into fights often?” Sanada asked sounding surprised.
“Nah. Just my training can get a bit intense. I have my own first aid kit.” Shishido opened a bedroom door and stepped in and dropped his bag in the corner and gestured for Sanada to do the same while he opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a good sized kit. “Here or the bathroom?” He asked.
Sanada set his bag down and then took the kit from Shishido before considering his friend and what they might need. “Might as well go the bathroom.”
Shishido nodded and led them to the bathroom. He sat down on the side of the tub and pulled off his jersey and waited for Sanada to fuss over him to his satisfaction. After partnering with Ohtori, Shishido was used to letting his partner have his way bandaging him up. It was just easier to go along with it than bickering about it.
“It sounds like your training gets more than just intense if you need all of this,” Sanada said as he riffled through the bag.
“Yeah well... we all show our passion for the game in different ways. And I had a lot to prove last year.” He gave a shrug and then winced a little as a bruised muscle was pulled in an odd way.
“And this year?”
“Not so much... but I don't want to become complacent again. That's what did me in last year.”
Sanada nodded and gave a small smile that Shishido thought was in approval. Rikkai was known for taking things to the extreme, including always pushing themselves to deliver their best.
Sanada worked mostly in silence, just a few quiet questions about if things hurt or warnings before he touched opened cuts. Shishido tried to keep quiet, too but a few hissed breaths and noises escaped as he was poked, prodded and bandaged up.
“That should do it,” Sanada said after some time.
“Thanks. I'm sure it will look better tomorrow.”
“Except your eye. We should get some ice on that.” Sanada reached out to carefully run his fingers along the tender flesh. Shishido didn't want to know what it looked like. It was already getting hard to see out of it properly.
“I think my mom has some frozen veggies in the freezer,” Shishido said and then stood up abruptly.
Sanada and him were chest to chest and Shishido felt a little flutter of something go through him. He pushed away the weird feelings and thoughts and quickly moved to the kitchen.
- - -
Sanada had been feeling those little sensations of butterflies in his stomach since he had first started treating Shishido's bruised body. He'd seen the other teen in various stages of undress before but he'd never really looked that closely other than to consider muscle tone and training that they might do to improve it. But as he had moved his hands over the warm skin to check for injuries he couldn't help but think about how nice it felt and good Shishido looked.
It was a little ridiculous and Sanada let Shishido leave the bathroom for the kitchen while he took his time sorting out the first aid kit and tidying away everything. He was heading back to Shishido's room to put away the kit when Shishido appeared, still topless, covered in various bandages and holding a mixed veggie bag in a cloth to his eye.
“Want something to drink?” Shishido asked.
If Sanada had been the type, he would have laughed at Shishido being injured and still trying to be a good host. “I'm okay.” He still had a full bottle of cold tea in his water bottle that he hadn't drunk yet. “How are you feeling now?”
“Okay. I'm pretty stubborn. Takes more than this to beat me.”
“Good to know. But some aspirin and rest sill won't hurt,” Sanada said.
“Yeah yeah,” Shishido said. “Sorry about messing up our plans. Think we can blame this on Atobe holding you back?”
Sanada gave a small chuckle at that. “Actually, I think we can. But it was for a good cause.”
“Oh yeah?” Shishido flopped down onto his bed and after sitting a moment shifted to stretch out on it.
“Yes. He told me he was demoting Umeda to the sub-regulars.” Sanada looked down at Shishido for a moment before joining him by sitting on the edge of the bed. “And I'll be taking his place.” He didn't think Shishido would have a problem with that considering how little he had managed to improve his and Umeda's doubles dynamics.
“What? Really?” Shishido looked like he was about to sit up so Sanada laid a hand on his bare chest to keep him down.
“Yes, really. We're an official doubles pair now.”
Shishido grinned up at him and Sanada couldn't help but return it with a small one of his own. He was rather excited to be part of the real team and to seriously practice doubles moves with Shishdo.
“You happy about this?” Shishdo asked after a moment.
“Yes. I think we can go undefeated.” He didn't bother mentioning that Atobe all but demanded it as part of him being made Shishido's partner. He didn't need Atobe to give him that motivation, he had his pride to do it.
“Yeah. Me, too.”
Shishido was starting to sound a little sleepy despite the obvious excitement he had at the news so Sanada thought it was probably time to go.
“I'll let you rest. We can talk more tomorrow,” Sanada moved his hand to Shishido's hand gave it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. He was about to let go when he felt Shishido give a squeeze of his own.
“Yeah... tomorrow. Hey, can you go to the bathroom and find some painkillers in the mirror?”
Sanada gave a nod and let go of Shishido to head to the bathroom. The mirror opened easily to display various toiletries but also several clearly labelled bottles. He picked up the aspirin and glanced at the instructions before getting a pill from the bottle and returning to Shishido's side.
“Here.”
“Thanks,” Shishido said and took the pill and swallowed it down without water.
“Will you be okay now?”
“Yeah... I know I was a bit of a jerk, but thanks for your help.”
“It was no problem. You'd do the same for me.” Sanada felt the desire to run his hand through Shishido's hair or to push the frozen veggies aside and give him a kiss but he ignored those desires and stepped away from the bed.
“You bet. We're partners now. We gotta look out for each other.”
“Indeed.” Sanada hoped they were more than just tennis partners but perhaps in Shishido's mind real partners were even closer than friends.
“See ya,” Shishido said before his eyes drifted shut.
Sanada worried that he might be hurt more than he let on but after watching Shishido for a few minutes as he laid there comfortably, Sanada decided that he'd be fine. He knew from talks with Shishido that he didn't sleep much each night and with the amount of training and homework he did on a normal day added with the stress and strain of a fight, he could see how Shishido's body would take this chance to catch up on all the rest it could.
Whatever they had to discuss could wait until tomorrow when Shishido was feeling better and more well rested. And maybe by then these weird desires would be under control once again.
- - -
Shishido was still a little stiff and there was no hiding that black eye the next day at school but for the most part he was able to avoid any difficult questions about it and brushed off most people's concern easily. He noticed that Sanada tended to hover nearby more so than usual but it wasn't overly annoying so he didn't comment on it.
Another reason he didn't comment on it was because even their polite morning greetings had seemed a bit awkward and strained and while it was sort of nice having Sanada nearby he didn't really want more awkward conversations.
So school went on fairly normally, even if the homeroom teacher asked to talk to him and he had to make up some excuses about it but of course, there was no ignoring Atobe's questions on the incident. He'd barely taken two steps onto the court when Atobe called him over.
“I finally give you a partner you can play with and you go and get yourself beat up?” Atobe asked.
“Like I asked for this? Don't be lame. Some idiots don't like your prima donna ways and took it out on me.”
“You didn't run?”
“I'm not a coward.” Shishido knew that Atobe would point out, quite logically, that there was no cowardice in knowing when the odds were against you and opting for a stealthy retreat so he added, “and there were three of them. They snuck up on me before I figured out what was going on.”
Atobe nodded, seemingly satisfied that Shishido wasn't just being stubborn about not running but was unable to. “What school did they belong to?”
“They weren't wearing their uniforms, but one of them had a badge on his bag saying it was Katsushika,” Shishido said. He wouldn't want to be the tennis team at that high school right now. He had a feeling that Atobe would get revenge on them somehow. He could be a prima donna and annoying but he was also ridiculously over protective of those on his team and people he considered friends. He just showed it in weird ways sometimes.
“I see. Well please take more care in the future and try not to go wandering alone and meeting unsavoury people.”
“I was supposed to be with Sanada. But somebody wanted to talk to him yesterday...”
Atobe showed a moment of surprise at that before his mask of showy captain slid back into place. “Well it's your fault for not waiting,” Atobe said easily.
Shishido couldn't help but wonder how much Atobe might beat himself up over holding Sanada back for so long to just deliver a simple message. Not that Shishido wanted Atobe to be distracted with guilt or anything lame, so it was best to brush it aside and focus on other things.
“Yeah yeah, I get it. So, can I play or what?”
“I don't know. Can you play?” Atobe was looking Shishido over using his insight and Shishido hoped he didn't see anything dire. He felt stiff and sore but no worse than he had when practicing with Ohtori.
“I'll be fine once I stretch out. Might not be breaking out the fancy moves but at least I can rely on Sanada to back me up unlike Umeda.”
“Since when do you have fancy moves?” Atobe teased and Shishido figured they'd be okay.
“Ha, very funny. Hey, how'd Umeda take his demotion?” He didn't have any great feelings of loss about losing Umeda as a partner, it was more that he didn't want to have to worry about Umeda trying to get his spot back later on.
“A little upset but not nearly enough. It was just another example that proved this was the correct decision. So don't disappoint me.”
“Got it.” Shishido gave Atobe a mock salute then headed over to where Sanada was hovering to do some stretches with him.
That awkward air around them was immediately back but they managed to help each other stretch without too much incident and even managed some friendly, mostly tennis related conversation.
“First practice match as a regular, you ready?” Shishido asked as they walked to their assigned court to play against Gakuto and Kariya.
“More than.”
“Good. Let's do this and show Gakuto and Kariya what a real doubles pair can do.” Shishido grinned over at Sanada and was pleased when Sanada returned it with one of his own. As an opponent that look would be terrifying, as his partner, it made a thrill of anticipation run down Shishido's spine.
They took their positions across the net from Gakuto and Kariya and started with Sanada's serve and easily won that game.
The next was Gakuto's serve and with some difficulties, managed to win it, too. But things weren't going quite as smoothly as they should have, even with Shishido's bruises. It was like their dynamics wasn't quite on point today.
It was more chance than skill that won them Shishido's serve as they seemed to be stepping around each other's spaces and shots and not communicating properly. They lost Kariya's service game and just before Sanada was going to serve, Atobe called a stop to the game.
“Kariya, Gakuto, go practice your serves. Sanada, Shishido, come here.”
Shishido waved a goodbye to Gakuto and Kariya and headed over to Atobe where he was watching from the bench by the stands. “Were you two satisfied with that performance?” Atobe demanded.
Sanada and him both shook their heads no. They hadn't even played that badly their first time together.
“Good. Because that was horrible. I didn't put you two together to make a mess of things. Your dismissed from practice. Go try and sort things out. Your communication is horrible and you're acting like- Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out,” Atobe said.
Shishido was curious to know what Atobe was going to say but changed his mind about but before he could ask he was already up and walking away.
“Let's go,” Sanada said after a moment and Shishido agreed. After getting changed in more awkward silence in the newly built locker rooms, Shishido waited by the door for Sanada to finish up.
“Want to go to my place?” Shishido asked thinking that there was no point in playing more tennis until they sorted this out.
“Yeah,” Sanada said.
The walked mostly in silence, only breaking it to talk about homework or how lame Atobe was. Though Shishido talked more about the latter than Sanada but even if he didn't speak, at least he seemed to agree with the sentiments.
When they entered Shishido's place, he went to his room to set his tennis bag down and then turned around to ask Sanada if he wanted a drink. He was startled to see Sanada right in front of him, for being such a large guy, he sure could move quietly.
“Shishido, I think I know what's wrong with us,” Sanada said in that serious manner that Shishido had grown used to. It was weird, Sanada could be so strict and serious but he also had a fairly dorky side that could make Shishido laugh. Any mention of the family stone was sure to send Shishido into a fit of a laughter. But he didn't think now was going to be a laughing matter.
“What is it?” Shishido asked looking up at Sanada.
- - -
Sanada wasn't about to say 'sexual tension'. That just wasn't something he was able to communicate verbally. And he wouldn't even have thought to bring it up except that yesterday had clearly changed their awareness of each other and was threatening the dynamics of not only their friendship but of their tennis partnership. That was just unexcusable.
So, not being able to verbally portray what he was sure to be the problem, Sanada leaned down to kiss Shishido's lips.
It was likely not the most romantic kiss in the world, both of them started with their eyes open and arms hanging limply at the side but they managed to not bash noses or teeth so Sanada felt he hadn't fared too badly.
After they had stood there, eyes wide and mouths pressed together for a moment, Sanada pulled back and looked at Shishido. He knew that with the other, a reaction would be immediate and loud.
“What was that?!” Shishido asked.
“A kiss,” Sanada answered and tried not to chuckle at the fairly predictable reaction.
“I-I-” Shishido blustered for a moment and Sanada couldn't help but wonder if the next words would be good or bad and if he should brace for a punch. “I've had better kisses from my dog!”
Sanada laughed; he couldn't help it. And he didn't even know if it was the bad insult to his kissing techniques or Shishido's immediate reaction to look embarrassed and blush over admitting something that sounded much more perverted than he meant it to that pushed him over.
Shishido huffed but managed a few chuckles, too. And then someone, Sanada couldn't say if it was him or Shishido or both together moved and they were kissing again. This time with eyes closed and mouths moving and it was everything that first kiss should have been but failed spectacularly at being.
When they pulled apart again, they both had dopey smiles on their faces and lust filling their eyes. “So... I guess that's that sorted,” Shishido said. “Think we'll play better tomorrow?”
“Definitely. But just to be safe...” Sanada leaned back down to kiss Shishido again and it wasn't until his mom called out her greeting when she returned some time later did they stop.
- - -
Atobe watched as Sanada and Shishido played against Gakuto and Kariya with none of the awkwardness that had surrounded them yesterday. In fact, that evening away from tennis had made their partner work even stronger than Atobe had seen it on the street courts.
He suspected what it was that was getting in the way of their combination yesterday and had a good idea of how they had solved it. The obvious love bite on Shishido's neck left little doubt to either, really. Sanada was never for subtlety on the courts and it seemed like even less so when off of them.
He was strong enough to admit to himself that it stung a little to see Shishido working so well with someone else both on and off the courts. But Atobe was also pragmatic and he appreciated having a strong doubles pair that would likely even surpass the Shishido Ohtori pair from last year.
“Shishido,” He called when the doubles match had fished with a 6-1 result for Sanada and Shishido.
“What?” Shishido passed his racket to Sanada and jogged up to him still sweaty and out of breath from his game. Atobe thought this is when Shishido looked the most desirable, all fired up from a good game and ready for more.
“I see you worked things out with Sanada,” Atobe said. He tossed his spare towel at Shishido who was about to use his shirt to wipe away sweat.
“Yeah, well... it wasn't that hard... I mean... well... we talked and stuff...” Shishido didn't blush but he was certainly close to it in Atobe's opinion.
“And stuff, indeed,” Atobe said with an amused smirk playing over his lips. “Did you know Sanada left his mark on you?”
“Huh?” Shishido said.
Atobe pointed to the side of his own neck and Shishido's hand flew up to his own but on the wrong side . Atobe pointed out the mark on Shishido's neck this time while chuckling.
“That bastard...” Shishido muttered as he carefully draped Atobe's towel around his neck to hide the mark. Though it was far too little too late as Atobe was sure the whole school had noticed it by now.
“You're not angry or anything lame are you?” Shishido asked once his anger at Sanada had died down along with Atobe's laughter.
“Perhaps a little. But not enough to do anything about it. I've come to realize I'd rather have you as part of a nationals ranked doubles pair than in my bed,” Atobe said. He leaned back on the bench he was on, a skill he perfected that made it look like he was lounging while not toppling over the back of it. “Certainly a sign that we weren't meant to be, ahn?”
“Yeah...” Shishido said. He took his hat off and turned it around so the brim was facing the proper way and obscuring some of his face. Shishido was never good at talking about feelings and emotions. It made Atobe wonder just how him and Sanada sorted things out; he couldn't imagine Sanada being much for talking either.
“You make a better captain than a boyfriend, that's for sure,” Shishido added. “Though you didn't totally suck at that either.”
Coming from Shishido, that was probably the best compliment he could hope for. “Good. Then we're sorted. Just don't let things affect you like they did with Umeda, got it?”
“Tch, like I'm that lame? You've got nothing to worry about when it comes to me and Sanada, got it?”
“I got it. Now go before Sanada gets jealous and tries serving tennis balls at my head.”
Shishido laughed but nodded and headed back to Sanada. Atobe could see Shishido pulling back the towel and pointing at his neck while obviously lecturing Sanada. Sanada was merely chuckling, a sign that Shishido certainly had his hands full.
Atobe shook his head and turned away from the scene and started heading back to the club house. His team was as odd as ever but also stronger than ever before. He was sure that this year, Hyoutei would take Nationals.
- End -
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sanada/Shishido, Past Atobe/Shishido implied
Warnings: ~16 000 words
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and its characters are owned by Konomi.
Summary: Sanada is transferred to Hyoutei for his first year of high school; how will he fair?
Notes: This was originally written for Feihu at the Tenipuri_xpair exchange
Shishido brought Sanada to a street court that wasn't that far from the train station that would take him directly into Chiba just in case they ended up staying later than expected and he had to dash home. Unfortunately it was one that preferred people to play doubles if it was busy. Shishido never minded, he was often there with Ohtori or if he wasn't, he found partnering up with others would help with his adaptability.
Walking through the gate and into the court area, Shishido could tell immediately they were doing doubles today and looked back over at Sanada. “You okay with doubles?”
Sanada gave a silent nod as he looked over at the assembled players.
Shishido had noted that Sanada had been rather subdued if determined since their talk after the final homeroom today. He had shown up to tennis practice and had done all of the sub-regular practice strokes and drills without complaint. Shishido hadn't missed the rumble of gossip going around about if Sanada would throw a fit about being placed in the sub-regulars and lead a revolution against Atobe or all kinds of other crazy ideas.
Shishido couldn't say he knew Sanada completely but he knew him well enough to know that all those rumours and whisperings going around were completely lame. And he was sure Atobe did, too.
“Great. Come on. I'll go put our names on the list so we can play,” Shishido said and led Sanada to some empty space by the fence where they could drop off their stuff. They'd come straight from practice so they were still in their Hyoutei tennis uniforms. Shishido normally liked to avoid wearing them because sometimes people could be jerks about it, but he knew that Sanada had limited time before having to head back so it was worth the risk of a little smack talk from idiots to save time.
After setting down his things, Shishido walked up to the guy who looked to be in charge of the playlist today. Fortunately it was someone he knew and had played with and against more than a few times in the past.
“Hey, Makuhari. Think you can put me on the list?”
“Shishido? Been a while. New school year being tough on you?” Makuhari asked as he looked over Shishido in his new uniform.
“No more than usual. Atobe's being a bit lame though. Says he has to set the standards from the start so he's been putting us through some gruelling training.” Shishido's love hate relationship with his captain, Atobe, was fairly well known with Makuhari as he'd shared more than a few stories, both good and bad, about Atobe with him.
“He captain again? Geeze, that guy sure is ambitious.”
“You don't know the half of it. Anyway, about getting to play?”
“Need a partner?” Makuhari asked and then looked past Shishido and obviously spotted the other Hyoutei player. “Is that Sanada Genichirou?”
“Yeah.”
“In Hyoutei?”
“Yup.”
“No way. That's really going to give you guys an edge this year, huh?”
“We'll see,” Shishido said with a shrug. He didn't want it spread around that Sanada wasn't on the regulars even if Shishido was hoping it would be a temporary thing. If people heard Sanada was with Hyoutei now and got freaked out even before stepping on the courts that would give them a big advantage and Shishido was happy to take it.
“Playing doubles together?” Makuhari sounded a bit surprised by this but Shishido didn't call him on it.”
“Yeah. But we're in a bit of a hurry. How soon can you fit us in?” If the wait was too long then they might have to find somewhere else to practice but they'd lose a lot of time that way.
Makuhari looked over at Sanada and then at the courts. “After these guys are done if you'll be ready,” He said.
“Cool. Who are we playing?” Shishido asked surprised that Makuhari was being so accommodating. Makurhari usually treated him pretty well but he was expecting to have to wait for at least one more match before they could get on the courts.
“Me and Inage.”
Shishido grinned. That was why they had been given a court so quickly. Makuhari wanted a chance to test his skills against Sanada. Well, if it got them the courts faster, Shishido didn't care.
“Sounds good. See ya on the courts.”
They parted ways and Shishido went back to Sanada to let him know they'd be playing soon and to get ready.
“I prefer to play closer to the net so can you cover the base line?” Shishido asked as he pulled out his racket.
“Heh,” Sanada said with a smirk. “That won't be a problem.”
Shishido looked at him as he bounced his head against his racket strings to test them. Sanada was seeming pretty confident about his doubles skills and despite never really seeing him play doubles, Shishido decided to trust in it.
“Anything I should know?”
“Not really. But if there's any shots you don't think you can return, just clear the way. I'll send them back.”
Shishido nodded. He had seen how strong and fast Sanada's counters and shots could be and he didn't fancy getting any of those to the back of his head.
“Alright. Let's do this,” Shishido said as he saw the game on the court starting to wrap up.
- - -
Sanada looked over at Shishido and grinned, this was turning out to be fun and they worked better as a pair than he thought they would. Sanada placed most of the credit on Shishido who was surprisingly flexible and good at reading his partner despite his boisterous personality.
Shishido also seemed to know when a shot was too much for him and it would be best to let Sanada take it which Sanada appreciated. Having weaknesses weren't such a bad thing when you could admit it and let your partner cover for it. And having Shishido at the net and trusting him to take a number of the shots allowed Sanada to focus more on his special moves.
“One more set and we'll have it,” Shishido said. “I don't even think they know what's hit them. Can't believe Makuhari wanted to play you.” He was smiling and his eyes were filled with passion and pleasure for the sport and Sanada couldn't help but feel the same. Shishido's enthusiasm was contagious.
“Heh, they should know better than to go up against Ri-Hyoutei so easily,” Sanada said. He hoped Shishido wouldn't comment on the slip, he knew it would be useless to hope he hadn't noticed it. But at least Sanada was learning, all be it slowly, what team he was on now.
“Exactly.” He took a sip from his water bottle and then tossed it at Sanada who easily caught it.
Sanada took a long drink of water before putting it down on the bench. “Okay. Let's go.”
The gave each other a friendly fist bump and walked back out onto the court, prepared to break Makuhari's serve and settle the match with a score of 6-2.
- - -
“Up for a match today?” Shishido asked as he was towelling off his sweat after a tough practice match against Gakuto and his new partner, Kariya. His own new partner, Umeda was off chatting with some girl that was always hanging around the courts and watching the practices.
Shishido was surprised that Atobe hadn't shooed her away yet but maybe he just hadn't gotten around to it. Atobe's to-do list wasn't one he envied. He was also surprised that Atobe wasn't over there questioning his lousy performance against Gakuto and Kariya.
It wasn't like Shishido wasn't trying. He just wasn't clicking with Umeda and wasn't sure how to fix it. Normally Atobe was pretty insightful when it came to pairing off people be it with them or against them but Shishido was positive he missed the mark this time. He much preferred playing with Sanada on the practice courts despite Sanada technically being a singles player.
Sanada was by far easier and more enjoyable to share a court with and Shishido wondered if Atobe could be convinced to kick off Umeda and give Sanada a doubles spot. It woudn't threaten his singles position and would nearly guarantee a win for Hyoutei in each match since Shishido doubted that any other team could match their combination.
“Shouldn't you be practicing with Umeda?” Sanada asked. He was retaping his racket and was only giving Shishido the occasional glance from under his hat.
“Probably. But he has a date and you're more fun to play with anyway.” Normally he wasn't the type to put fun over training but since he was still practicing his tennis with Sanada, it wasn't like he really was.
“A date?” Sanada raised a brow at that.
“Yeah. Haven't you noticed his cheering squad?” Shishido asked as he gestured toward the girl and Umeda without trying to make it look too obvious.
Sanada followed the movement and nodded. “Ah, I've seen her around. I thought she was one of Atobe's many admirers.”
Shishido laughed at that, “Nah. They're crazy organized and have some strict rules of conduct. This one is definitely Umeda's girlfriend... or trying to be.”
“I see. Well, I don't mind playing doubles as long as we can find a challenging pair.”
Shishido nodded and then thought for a moment. “If you don't mind going a little further out from your place we can challenge Fudoumine's doubles pairs.” They were third years at junior high school but they were a spirited team and had some interesting moves that would challenge them more than the usual players they encountered. They were also a team that Shishido knew used the street courts regularly so was sure they would catch them.
“Fudoumine? Are they any challenge without Tachibana there to lead them?”
Shishido tried not to make a face at the name. He was over his rather embarrassing defeat at Tachibana's hands, really. But it still didn't mean he wanted to be best friends with the guy... or that he'd pass up the opportunity to pay him back. “Nah, they're still good. I heard Tachibana still goes over to coach them on his club's rest day anyway.”
Sanada nodded at that, focus once more on his racket. “I'll go then.”
Shishido smiled and gave him a hard pat on the back before tossing his towel at his bag and heading back out onto the courts to grab Umeda to do some cool down exercises together. He wasn't quite ready to give up on some partner bonding for the day.
- - -
Shishido was playing Line Bubble on his phone on the train when the screen froze. He was about to curse when the display switched to show that Atobe was calling him. Thankful that it was on silent so it wouldn't bother the other passengers when ringing, he also knew he couldn't answer it without being rude.
Fortunately they were nearing a station and despite it being one before his own, Shishido decided to get off. He answered his phone just before the doors opened to make sure he didn't miss the call and then got off as soon as they were open. The next station was close enough to this one and a bit more exercise wouldn't hurt. Better than missing a call from Atobe, anyway.
“What?” He asked when he was off the train and could speak on his phone.
“Courteous as always, Shishido,” Atobe said.
“Uh-huh. So what did you call for? You're not going to make me go to etiquette classes again, are you?” The first time around was hard enough, he didn't think he could survive a second time.
“No. You're safe this time. In fact, you may just be even beyond my help when it comes to proper manners and sophistication.”
Shishido didn't care if it was an insult as long as it meant no more lessons on table manners and cutlery. “So, what's up?” He asked as he started making his way up the stairs to the ticket gate.
“I've notice you've been spending quite a lot of time with Sanada lately...”
That wasn't quite a question but he knew that Atobe still expected an answer. Shishido just didn't know what kind of answer Atobe was looking for just yet. “Yup. And?”
“While I admire your dedication to tennis and practicing, wouldn't it be better to do so with your current partner?”
“Umeda's too busy with his girlfriend. 'sides, you have to have seen that we aren't getting along,” Shishido said. He didn't think much got past Atobe, especially when it was happening on his courts at school but sometimes these things still had to be pointed out to him.
“I have noticed you aren't getting along as well as Gakuto and Kariya. But I was hoping you would be able to sort out your differences.” There was a pause and Shishido could hear fabric shifting around as Atobe moved. “His dedication to his girlfriend concerns me. I don't want to ban dating from the team, Oshitari might attempt to throttle me for one, but I expect a certain amount of focus from my players.”
Shishido gave a snort at the thought of Atobe being strangled by Oshitari and thought that the Osaka player would probably go for something more subtle than that when he was ready to strike for revenge. “Maybe just try banning dates from hanging on the courts?” It wouldn't help him and Umeda get along better but it might help Umeda stay a bit more focused which would help.
“Perhaps. But will it help?” Atobe asked as if reading Shishido's mind through the phone.
“It can't hurt?” Shishido shrugged and nearly elbowed someone on a bike who was trying to zip by him. Whoops.
“You and Sanada are building quite the reputation as a doubles pair on the street courts. Your record is impressive.”
Another question that wasn't a question but still needed answering. “Well he was the emperor of Rikkai and despite what you've seen with Umeda, I've turned into a pretty kickass doubles player so of course we're gonna be awesome.”
“Ahnn, I see. And just how did you convince Sanada to play doubles with you in the first place?”
“It was nothing special. He wanted me to introduce him to some street courts. We ended up at one that has a doubles rule and things just happened from there. He didn't seem to care if it was singles or doubles as long as he was playing,” Shishido said. He had gotten the impression that Sanada would have preferred singles but was just as capable of enjoying doubles and being really good at it.
“Well as long as you keep putting effort into your assigned doubles pair, I suppose I can't argue about two of my tennis club members playing tennis, now can I?” Atobe asked and there was something in his voice that made Shishido wonder what he was up to.
“Yup. Guess not. That at all?”
There was another pause and he would have thought Atobe had hung up on him but he could still hear signs of him on the other end.
“What is it?” He asked after getting bored of listening to Atobe breathe.
“You and Sanada have gotten quite close recently....”
Shishido rolled of his eyes. Of course it would be that. “Don't be lame. We're just friends.”
“Are you sure? Sanada does seem to have a rapport with you that he doesn't share with the others.”
“We're in the same homeroom and now we've been playing doubles. Of course we're going to get along better than he does with the others.” Shishido was getting annoyed. He just didn't get Atobe at times. He was usually so cool and put together and then he would have moments of jealousy. And this time, he wasn't even sure who he was jealous of.
“Look. If you want to date Sanada, stop dicking him around with the team and ask him. If this is about me, then you need to just stop. We tried the whole dating thing, remember? You dumped me when I got kicked off the team and tried to pawn me off on Ohtori, who's straight by the way, and then still got jealous when we grew close,” Shishido said. He just didn't get Atobe at times.
“I wasn't thinking any of those things, Shishido. You have such little faith in me. And as I keep saying, how was I to know that Ohtori's little puppy crush on you was just some disturbing hero worship thing. I'll admit this only to you, but even my insight seems to be flawed at times when it comes to love matters.”
Shishido wondered if Atobe was speaking only about the Ohtori debacle or also about their failed and rather short lived relationship together. Really, it didn't matter. He was over their thing, as much as one could ever be over Atobe when he consumed so much of your life. And despite what he might say or feel at times, he trusted Atobe to make solid decisions as a captain without his feelings or things getting in the way.
“Good to know. That all now?”
“Yes, that's all since you seem so eager to be rid of my glorious presence in your life.”
That was the Atobe Shishido knew and he smiled at it. “Well, as long as you aren't going to talk about lame things, I guess I can give you a bit more time. Gonna be another twenty before I'm home.”
“Well, in that case, have you heard about the new racket model that Yonex is releasing?”
- - -
Sanada had managed to survive his first month at Hyoutei and a month under Atobe's rule on the sub-regulars. He wouldn't say he loved the last part but being a part of Hyoutei was growing on him. He wasn't sure he found the same passion for Hyoutei as he had for Rikkai but he no longer slipped and said he was a member of Rikkai or talked about how things were done at his previous school.
He supposed he had Shishido to thank the most for helping him though pep talks from his former teammates and his new had helped as well. Though it was Shishido he was planning on heading to the courts with after official practice had ended.
They hadn't managed to get to the street courts much in the last week so they were planning to dash there right after practice to maximize their time. Or had been until Atobe had caught his attention just as they were dismissed and waved him over.
“That sucks. Want me to wait?” Shishido asked.
“This shouldn't take long.” Sanada didn't even know what Atobe might have to talk to him about other than promoting him to the regulars and that wouldn't take long. And if it wasn't that, their conversation should be even shorter. “Go on and get us on the list.”
“Yeah. Good plan. We don't want to miss out again like last week.” Last week their usual court had been busier than expected and by the time they had been able to play, Sanada had needed to head home.
“I'll see you soon,” Sanada said as he gave Shishido a nod. He grabbed his tennis bag and headed over to where Atobe was standing off to the side surveying the equipment being put away.
“Atobe,” He said as he approached the Hyoutei captain.
“Sanada.” Atobe gestured for the members to keep working and walked off a little, Sanada following, for a little more privacy.
Sanada didn't say anything since he knew that Atobe would speak when he was ready, probably after a decent dramatic pause.
“Your game has improved lately.”
“Thank you,” Sanada said out of politeness though he didn't really care what Atobe thought about his game other than proving to him that he belonged on the team.
“And you've been proving yourself adept at doubles.”
Sanada looked at him more seriously and frowned. “Have you been watching us?”
“Us? I approve of you already thinking of you and Shishido as a team. And to answer your question, I may have caught a match or two while wandering past a street court.” Atobe gave a casual shrug as if it wasn't a big deal.
“Of course.” Sanada had to disagree as he doubted Atobe willingly set foot near a street court unless he had a reason to be there. For being so busy, Atobe sure did find a lot of time to interfere with the lives of his teammates and opponents. Still, it was probably not wise to start a fight with Atobe if he could help it, at least not until he was firmly situated as a regular.
It was clear Atobe was waiting for Sanada to say more and they ended up waiting each other out for a moment before Atobe gave a dramatic sigh and flipped his hair back. “I hate to say it, but Umeda isn't working out. He's more focused on his girlfriend than on tennis and that's something I can't condone as we head into competition season.”
Sanada nodded to show that he was listening and agreed. It was one thing to have a girlfriend, it was another to let that take your concentration away while playing.
“And while you still haven't completely recovered your passion for the game, I can see that it's improving and surprisingly it's stronger when you're playing doubles with Shishido than practice singles matches.”
“And?” Sanada was a little surprised to hear that his play style was visibly different, at least to Atobe, when he was playing with Shishido compared to when he was playing on his own. While Rikkai prided themselves on being well rounded players, he still considered himself a singles player first and than a doubles. Perhaps Hyoutei, or more specifically Shishido, was changing him more than he realized.
“If you can keep it up, I'm going to demote Umeda to a sub-regular and promote you to a regular as Shishido's doubles partner. Could you handle that?” Atobe asked giving Sanada a stare that likely meant he was assessing him for lies.
Sanada had to think a moment if he would be content playing doubles while watching Atobe, Jirou and Oshitari play singles and he found that yes, he would be. “I can handle it. When do I start?”
“Tomorrow,” Atobe said and then gave him a small smile. “Now go find your new doubles partner Sanada. I want you two to be undefeated when we go to Nationals.”
A 'yes, sir' nearly escaped his lips but Sanada managed to hold it back. As much as he was coming to see Atobe as a reliable and fairly knowledgeable captain, he still couldn't give him the same respect he had Yukimura. Perhaps in time, but for now he just gave a nod and a quick goodbye before heading off the courts.
Tomorrow on, he'd be a regular again. He felt like his steps were lighter and his shoulders straighter as he walked down the street. It was weird, he hadn't realized how much being a regular had meant to him and found it hard to believe he had actually contemplated giving this up.
- - -
Shishido cursed as a punch landed against his side. He was stunned for a second but then managed to return a countering blow.
He had rushed off to the street courts that Sanada and him preferred still in his Hyoutei uniform and had immediately run into trouble. Makuhari and the usual group of players he and Sanada usually played with weren't there yet but a few guys from a lesser known high school were. They recognized the uniform as belonging to Hyoutei and either through jealousy or stupidity thought they should teach the 'spoiled and arrogant rich boy' a lesson.
But this spoiled and arrogant rich boy really wasn't any of those things and Shishido had stood his ground and gave as good as he got. He might have still been over powered since it was three against one but Makuhari and a couple of his friends had shown up turning their little scrap into an all out brawl.
“You think you're so much better than everyone, Hyoutei. But just you wait. We'll get you on the courts,” Hissed one of the other guys as he wiped blood from his lip.
“Yeah, whatever. We'll see how lame you really are then.” Shishido wasn't looking much better than them with a rapidly developing black eye, his hat missing and breathing pretty raggedly.
Shishido wasn't sure if the guys were about to retreat or try for a second round, it was only 3 against 4 so the odds weren't to against the idiots when Sanada showed up.
“What's going on here?” Sanada barked in his most authoritative voice. Everyone looked over at him and seemed a little nervous.
“You three. I haven't seen you around these courts before. Did you want to test your skills against the Emperor?” Sanada was walking slowly towards them, a predatory look on his face that Shishido hadn't seen since Sanada had worn Rikkai yellow and was playing in the nationals.
There was hasty and not so quiet whispers amongst them. About it being Rikkai's Sanada but him wearing Hyoutei and how they couldn't stand up against him. It was pretty amusing and Shishido had to try really hard not to laugh at them. Bursting into laughter would have really ruined the bad ass mood Sanada was projecting.
“If you have no business here, go. Or else I'll find business for you.”
The words were barely out of Sanada's mouth before the three had grabbed their rackets and bags and were running as fast as their bruises would allow them off of the courts.
Sanada stayed in his stern pose until they were out of sight and ear shot. Then he turned to survey those left on the court.
“Makuhari,” Sanada said causing Makuhari to jump a little though Shishido was impressed that he was able to keep his passive yet stern look in the face of Sanada's barely contained rage. “What happened here?”
Shishido was a bit annoyed that Sanada hadn't asked him directly but if he wanted to pester other people that was fine with him. He spotted his hat a few feet away and went to retrieve it. He was a little annoyed at how stiff he was already starting to feel but he tried not to show it. He could feel Sanada's eyes on him as he moved even as Makuhari told him about what went on.
“Those three guys were picking on Shishido because he was Hyoutei and when we showed up, we jumped to his defence. Nothing really to tell.” Makuhari and his two buddies weren't that roughed up. They'd have a couple bruises to show for their good deed but Shishido knew it wouldn't stop them from continuing their practice.
“Understood,” Sanada said and gave them a nod of thanks. He then turned towards Shishido and grabbed his hand.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Shishido asked as he was firmly pulled away from the courts by Sanada. “I'll see ya around Makuhari. Thanks,” He called back as he taken from the courts.
“You need to be treated. Your place or mine?” Sanada asked as he kept a firm grip on Shishido's hand.
“What? I'm fine. Let me go,” Shishido said and gave his and a tug but Sanada's steel grip just tightened on him. Great.
“You're bleeding and don't think I didn't see how stiff you were.”
Shishido huffed but didn't argue. He couldn't when the proof of Sanada's words were so visibly on display.
“My place...” Shishido finally muttered out and then pointed in the direction it was. It wasn't that far a walk to his place, the other train station was closer but it was lame to take the train one stop when it was just as easy to walk it. Even if he was a bit banged up.
- - -
“Go sit,” Sanada said once Shishido had unlocked the door of his place and let them both in.
“You don't know where anything is,” Shishido argued. He didn't need Sanada running around the place messing everything up and getting them both in trouble when his parents finally came home.
“Show me.”
“Come on. I'll show you. I have a kit just for these sorts of things.” Shishido led them further into his home through the empty living room and towards his room.
“You get into fights often?” Sanada asked sounding surprised.
“Nah. Just my training can get a bit intense. I have my own first aid kit.” Shishido opened a bedroom door and stepped in and dropped his bag in the corner and gestured for Sanada to do the same while he opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a good sized kit. “Here or the bathroom?” He asked.
Sanada set his bag down and then took the kit from Shishido before considering his friend and what they might need. “Might as well go the bathroom.”
Shishido nodded and led them to the bathroom. He sat down on the side of the tub and pulled off his jersey and waited for Sanada to fuss over him to his satisfaction. After partnering with Ohtori, Shishido was used to letting his partner have his way bandaging him up. It was just easier to go along with it than bickering about it.
“It sounds like your training gets more than just intense if you need all of this,” Sanada said as he riffled through the bag.
“Yeah well... we all show our passion for the game in different ways. And I had a lot to prove last year.” He gave a shrug and then winced a little as a bruised muscle was pulled in an odd way.
“And this year?”
“Not so much... but I don't want to become complacent again. That's what did me in last year.”
Sanada nodded and gave a small smile that Shishido thought was in approval. Rikkai was known for taking things to the extreme, including always pushing themselves to deliver their best.
Sanada worked mostly in silence, just a few quiet questions about if things hurt or warnings before he touched opened cuts. Shishido tried to keep quiet, too but a few hissed breaths and noises escaped as he was poked, prodded and bandaged up.
“That should do it,” Sanada said after some time.
“Thanks. I'm sure it will look better tomorrow.”
“Except your eye. We should get some ice on that.” Sanada reached out to carefully run his fingers along the tender flesh. Shishido didn't want to know what it looked like. It was already getting hard to see out of it properly.
“I think my mom has some frozen veggies in the freezer,” Shishido said and then stood up abruptly.
Sanada and him were chest to chest and Shishido felt a little flutter of something go through him. He pushed away the weird feelings and thoughts and quickly moved to the kitchen.
- - -
Sanada had been feeling those little sensations of butterflies in his stomach since he had first started treating Shishido's bruised body. He'd seen the other teen in various stages of undress before but he'd never really looked that closely other than to consider muscle tone and training that they might do to improve it. But as he had moved his hands over the warm skin to check for injuries he couldn't help but think about how nice it felt and good Shishido looked.
It was a little ridiculous and Sanada let Shishido leave the bathroom for the kitchen while he took his time sorting out the first aid kit and tidying away everything. He was heading back to Shishido's room to put away the kit when Shishido appeared, still topless, covered in various bandages and holding a mixed veggie bag in a cloth to his eye.
“Want something to drink?” Shishido asked.
If Sanada had been the type, he would have laughed at Shishido being injured and still trying to be a good host. “I'm okay.” He still had a full bottle of cold tea in his water bottle that he hadn't drunk yet. “How are you feeling now?”
“Okay. I'm pretty stubborn. Takes more than this to beat me.”
“Good to know. But some aspirin and rest sill won't hurt,” Sanada said.
“Yeah yeah,” Shishido said. “Sorry about messing up our plans. Think we can blame this on Atobe holding you back?”
Sanada gave a small chuckle at that. “Actually, I think we can. But it was for a good cause.”
“Oh yeah?” Shishido flopped down onto his bed and after sitting a moment shifted to stretch out on it.
“Yes. He told me he was demoting Umeda to the sub-regulars.” Sanada looked down at Shishido for a moment before joining him by sitting on the edge of the bed. “And I'll be taking his place.” He didn't think Shishido would have a problem with that considering how little he had managed to improve his and Umeda's doubles dynamics.
“What? Really?” Shishido looked like he was about to sit up so Sanada laid a hand on his bare chest to keep him down.
“Yes, really. We're an official doubles pair now.”
Shishido grinned up at him and Sanada couldn't help but return it with a small one of his own. He was rather excited to be part of the real team and to seriously practice doubles moves with Shishdo.
“You happy about this?” Shishdo asked after a moment.
“Yes. I think we can go undefeated.” He didn't bother mentioning that Atobe all but demanded it as part of him being made Shishido's partner. He didn't need Atobe to give him that motivation, he had his pride to do it.
“Yeah. Me, too.”
Shishido was starting to sound a little sleepy despite the obvious excitement he had at the news so Sanada thought it was probably time to go.
“I'll let you rest. We can talk more tomorrow,” Sanada moved his hand to Shishido's hand gave it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. He was about to let go when he felt Shishido give a squeeze of his own.
“Yeah... tomorrow. Hey, can you go to the bathroom and find some painkillers in the mirror?”
Sanada gave a nod and let go of Shishido to head to the bathroom. The mirror opened easily to display various toiletries but also several clearly labelled bottles. He picked up the aspirin and glanced at the instructions before getting a pill from the bottle and returning to Shishido's side.
“Here.”
“Thanks,” Shishido said and took the pill and swallowed it down without water.
“Will you be okay now?”
“Yeah... I know I was a bit of a jerk, but thanks for your help.”
“It was no problem. You'd do the same for me.” Sanada felt the desire to run his hand through Shishido's hair or to push the frozen veggies aside and give him a kiss but he ignored those desires and stepped away from the bed.
“You bet. We're partners now. We gotta look out for each other.”
“Indeed.” Sanada hoped they were more than just tennis partners but perhaps in Shishido's mind real partners were even closer than friends.
“See ya,” Shishido said before his eyes drifted shut.
Sanada worried that he might be hurt more than he let on but after watching Shishido for a few minutes as he laid there comfortably, Sanada decided that he'd be fine. He knew from talks with Shishido that he didn't sleep much each night and with the amount of training and homework he did on a normal day added with the stress and strain of a fight, he could see how Shishido's body would take this chance to catch up on all the rest it could.
Whatever they had to discuss could wait until tomorrow when Shishido was feeling better and more well rested. And maybe by then these weird desires would be under control once again.
- - -
Shishido was still a little stiff and there was no hiding that black eye the next day at school but for the most part he was able to avoid any difficult questions about it and brushed off most people's concern easily. He noticed that Sanada tended to hover nearby more so than usual but it wasn't overly annoying so he didn't comment on it.
Another reason he didn't comment on it was because even their polite morning greetings had seemed a bit awkward and strained and while it was sort of nice having Sanada nearby he didn't really want more awkward conversations.
So school went on fairly normally, even if the homeroom teacher asked to talk to him and he had to make up some excuses about it but of course, there was no ignoring Atobe's questions on the incident. He'd barely taken two steps onto the court when Atobe called him over.
“I finally give you a partner you can play with and you go and get yourself beat up?” Atobe asked.
“Like I asked for this? Don't be lame. Some idiots don't like your prima donna ways and took it out on me.”
“You didn't run?”
“I'm not a coward.” Shishido knew that Atobe would point out, quite logically, that there was no cowardice in knowing when the odds were against you and opting for a stealthy retreat so he added, “and there were three of them. They snuck up on me before I figured out what was going on.”
Atobe nodded, seemingly satisfied that Shishido wasn't just being stubborn about not running but was unable to. “What school did they belong to?”
“They weren't wearing their uniforms, but one of them had a badge on his bag saying it was Katsushika,” Shishido said. He wouldn't want to be the tennis team at that high school right now. He had a feeling that Atobe would get revenge on them somehow. He could be a prima donna and annoying but he was also ridiculously over protective of those on his team and people he considered friends. He just showed it in weird ways sometimes.
“I see. Well please take more care in the future and try not to go wandering alone and meeting unsavoury people.”
“I was supposed to be with Sanada. But somebody wanted to talk to him yesterday...”
Atobe showed a moment of surprise at that before his mask of showy captain slid back into place. “Well it's your fault for not waiting,” Atobe said easily.
Shishido couldn't help but wonder how much Atobe might beat himself up over holding Sanada back for so long to just deliver a simple message. Not that Shishido wanted Atobe to be distracted with guilt or anything lame, so it was best to brush it aside and focus on other things.
“Yeah yeah, I get it. So, can I play or what?”
“I don't know. Can you play?” Atobe was looking Shishido over using his insight and Shishido hoped he didn't see anything dire. He felt stiff and sore but no worse than he had when practicing with Ohtori.
“I'll be fine once I stretch out. Might not be breaking out the fancy moves but at least I can rely on Sanada to back me up unlike Umeda.”
“Since when do you have fancy moves?” Atobe teased and Shishido figured they'd be okay.
“Ha, very funny. Hey, how'd Umeda take his demotion?” He didn't have any great feelings of loss about losing Umeda as a partner, it was more that he didn't want to have to worry about Umeda trying to get his spot back later on.
“A little upset but not nearly enough. It was just another example that proved this was the correct decision. So don't disappoint me.”
“Got it.” Shishido gave Atobe a mock salute then headed over to where Sanada was hovering to do some stretches with him.
That awkward air around them was immediately back but they managed to help each other stretch without too much incident and even managed some friendly, mostly tennis related conversation.
“First practice match as a regular, you ready?” Shishido asked as they walked to their assigned court to play against Gakuto and Kariya.
“More than.”
“Good. Let's do this and show Gakuto and Kariya what a real doubles pair can do.” Shishido grinned over at Sanada and was pleased when Sanada returned it with one of his own. As an opponent that look would be terrifying, as his partner, it made a thrill of anticipation run down Shishido's spine.
They took their positions across the net from Gakuto and Kariya and started with Sanada's serve and easily won that game.
The next was Gakuto's serve and with some difficulties, managed to win it, too. But things weren't going quite as smoothly as they should have, even with Shishido's bruises. It was like their dynamics wasn't quite on point today.
It was more chance than skill that won them Shishido's serve as they seemed to be stepping around each other's spaces and shots and not communicating properly. They lost Kariya's service game and just before Sanada was going to serve, Atobe called a stop to the game.
“Kariya, Gakuto, go practice your serves. Sanada, Shishido, come here.”
Shishido waved a goodbye to Gakuto and Kariya and headed over to Atobe where he was watching from the bench by the stands. “Were you two satisfied with that performance?” Atobe demanded.
Sanada and him both shook their heads no. They hadn't even played that badly their first time together.
“Good. Because that was horrible. I didn't put you two together to make a mess of things. Your dismissed from practice. Go try and sort things out. Your communication is horrible and you're acting like- Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out,” Atobe said.
Shishido was curious to know what Atobe was going to say but changed his mind about but before he could ask he was already up and walking away.
“Let's go,” Sanada said after a moment and Shishido agreed. After getting changed in more awkward silence in the newly built locker rooms, Shishido waited by the door for Sanada to finish up.
“Want to go to my place?” Shishido asked thinking that there was no point in playing more tennis until they sorted this out.
“Yeah,” Sanada said.
The walked mostly in silence, only breaking it to talk about homework or how lame Atobe was. Though Shishido talked more about the latter than Sanada but even if he didn't speak, at least he seemed to agree with the sentiments.
When they entered Shishido's place, he went to his room to set his tennis bag down and then turned around to ask Sanada if he wanted a drink. He was startled to see Sanada right in front of him, for being such a large guy, he sure could move quietly.
“Shishido, I think I know what's wrong with us,” Sanada said in that serious manner that Shishido had grown used to. It was weird, Sanada could be so strict and serious but he also had a fairly dorky side that could make Shishido laugh. Any mention of the family stone was sure to send Shishido into a fit of a laughter. But he didn't think now was going to be a laughing matter.
“What is it?” Shishido asked looking up at Sanada.
- - -
Sanada wasn't about to say 'sexual tension'. That just wasn't something he was able to communicate verbally. And he wouldn't even have thought to bring it up except that yesterday had clearly changed their awareness of each other and was threatening the dynamics of not only their friendship but of their tennis partnership. That was just unexcusable.
So, not being able to verbally portray what he was sure to be the problem, Sanada leaned down to kiss Shishido's lips.
It was likely not the most romantic kiss in the world, both of them started with their eyes open and arms hanging limply at the side but they managed to not bash noses or teeth so Sanada felt he hadn't fared too badly.
After they had stood there, eyes wide and mouths pressed together for a moment, Sanada pulled back and looked at Shishido. He knew that with the other, a reaction would be immediate and loud.
“What was that?!” Shishido asked.
“A kiss,” Sanada answered and tried not to chuckle at the fairly predictable reaction.
“I-I-” Shishido blustered for a moment and Sanada couldn't help but wonder if the next words would be good or bad and if he should brace for a punch. “I've had better kisses from my dog!”
Sanada laughed; he couldn't help it. And he didn't even know if it was the bad insult to his kissing techniques or Shishido's immediate reaction to look embarrassed and blush over admitting something that sounded much more perverted than he meant it to that pushed him over.
Shishido huffed but managed a few chuckles, too. And then someone, Sanada couldn't say if it was him or Shishido or both together moved and they were kissing again. This time with eyes closed and mouths moving and it was everything that first kiss should have been but failed spectacularly at being.
When they pulled apart again, they both had dopey smiles on their faces and lust filling their eyes. “So... I guess that's that sorted,” Shishido said. “Think we'll play better tomorrow?”
“Definitely. But just to be safe...” Sanada leaned back down to kiss Shishido again and it wasn't until his mom called out her greeting when she returned some time later did they stop.
- - -
Atobe watched as Sanada and Shishido played against Gakuto and Kariya with none of the awkwardness that had surrounded them yesterday. In fact, that evening away from tennis had made their partner work even stronger than Atobe had seen it on the street courts.
He suspected what it was that was getting in the way of their combination yesterday and had a good idea of how they had solved it. The obvious love bite on Shishido's neck left little doubt to either, really. Sanada was never for subtlety on the courts and it seemed like even less so when off of them.
He was strong enough to admit to himself that it stung a little to see Shishido working so well with someone else both on and off the courts. But Atobe was also pragmatic and he appreciated having a strong doubles pair that would likely even surpass the Shishido Ohtori pair from last year.
“Shishido,” He called when the doubles match had fished with a 6-1 result for Sanada and Shishido.
“What?” Shishido passed his racket to Sanada and jogged up to him still sweaty and out of breath from his game. Atobe thought this is when Shishido looked the most desirable, all fired up from a good game and ready for more.
“I see you worked things out with Sanada,” Atobe said. He tossed his spare towel at Shishido who was about to use his shirt to wipe away sweat.
“Yeah, well... it wasn't that hard... I mean... well... we talked and stuff...” Shishido didn't blush but he was certainly close to it in Atobe's opinion.
“And stuff, indeed,” Atobe said with an amused smirk playing over his lips. “Did you know Sanada left his mark on you?”
“Huh?” Shishido said.
Atobe pointed to the side of his own neck and Shishido's hand flew up to his own but on the wrong side . Atobe pointed out the mark on Shishido's neck this time while chuckling.
“That bastard...” Shishido muttered as he carefully draped Atobe's towel around his neck to hide the mark. Though it was far too little too late as Atobe was sure the whole school had noticed it by now.
“You're not angry or anything lame are you?” Shishido asked once his anger at Sanada had died down along with Atobe's laughter.
“Perhaps a little. But not enough to do anything about it. I've come to realize I'd rather have you as part of a nationals ranked doubles pair than in my bed,” Atobe said. He leaned back on the bench he was on, a skill he perfected that made it look like he was lounging while not toppling over the back of it. “Certainly a sign that we weren't meant to be, ahn?”
“Yeah...” Shishido said. He took his hat off and turned it around so the brim was facing the proper way and obscuring some of his face. Shishido was never good at talking about feelings and emotions. It made Atobe wonder just how him and Sanada sorted things out; he couldn't imagine Sanada being much for talking either.
“You make a better captain than a boyfriend, that's for sure,” Shishido added. “Though you didn't totally suck at that either.”
Coming from Shishido, that was probably the best compliment he could hope for. “Good. Then we're sorted. Just don't let things affect you like they did with Umeda, got it?”
“Tch, like I'm that lame? You've got nothing to worry about when it comes to me and Sanada, got it?”
“I got it. Now go before Sanada gets jealous and tries serving tennis balls at my head.”
Shishido laughed but nodded and headed back to Sanada. Atobe could see Shishido pulling back the towel and pointing at his neck while obviously lecturing Sanada. Sanada was merely chuckling, a sign that Shishido certainly had his hands full.
Atobe shook his head and turned away from the scene and started heading back to the club house. His team was as odd as ever but also stronger than ever before. He was sure that this year, Hyoutei would take Nationals.
- End -