nozomi_chan: All's Fair...
AUTHOR: nozomi_chan
RECIPIENT: shikanashi_kk
TITLE: All's Fair...
RATING: PG-13, to be safe
WORD COUNT: 3,686
WARNING/S: Language. That's really about it.
SUMMARY: There is one thing that nobody can beat Shishido at, or so he thinks. But this year, he is proven wrong.
NOTES: ....I just... Heh. I just really hope you like it. ^_^;
Winter. One of Shishido’s favorite times of year, and with good reason.
Shishido was undefeated when it came to this kind of thing. Of course, this came because he had two rules. First, that everyone and anyone is a target, and second, never get hit.
Last year, he even took Ohtori under his wing, taught him everything he knew about it, timing the throw in anticipation, never standing out in the open… And with that arm of his? Ohtori was practically lethal when he wanted to be. They made the greatest team ever, on the courts and off.
This year, the plan was to team up and get everybody…but they were really only keeping score for the tennis team. Every member. Including Kantoku, and Atobe, all the way down to every single freshman. It was going to be grand. They would be the kings, even if they were the only ones it mattered to. The plan was simple, and there were no rules for its execution. As long as everybody got hit, it didn’t matter which of them got them. Shishido knew he’d have to be the one to get Kantoku, as Ohtori was too polite for it, but hell. It’d be fun. And as long as he got him while he was off school grounds, he couldn’t get in trouble for it, either.
But when the first snow hit and Shishido was all geared up for it…Ohtori was nowhere to be found. Maybe Ohtori had mentioned having to go to Orchestra practice or something, but if he had, Shishido either hadn't heard or had forgotten.
Ah well. Shishido decided to get started without him, building his wall and his stockpile. Tomorrow, he'd be ready.
"You know why the kiddo's not here, right?" Gakuto asked, leaning on Shishido's nearly finished wall. He'd be finished by now, if Ohtori was here.
"... Bug off, pygmy," Shishido grumbled, not wanting Gakuto to rub it in that he'd not paid attention.
"It's because I'm going to win this year, and everybody knows it."
... That got Shishido's attention. "Like hell you are. Your aim sucks and you throw like a girl. The only ones who even notice it IF you hit them are the little kids."
"Mmm....Think what you want. I've got a secret weapon."
"What, get Kabaji to mimic me this year or something?" Shishido knew that wasn't it. Atobe had forbidden Kabaji from participating in such plebian activities as this, and everybody in the freaking world knew Kabaji never went against Atobe's will.
Gakuto grinned, like the cocky little shit he was. "Nope. Even better. I got the one person you won't hit with your little snowballs."
Shishido raised an eyebrow. "Not a chance. You know my rule. Everybody's a target."
"That's what you think," Gakuto snorted, getting Shishido with a snowball in the only way he could - by smashing it right against his chest.
Shishido returned the favor, smashing one dead center on the top of Gakuto's little red head. He was prepared for the onslaught that usually brought, but instead all he got was a smirk.
"You'll see, Shishido. This year, you're not going to win."
"We'll both see."
Gakuto waved and wandered off, leaving Shishido with his preparations. Shishido took the opportunity to whack him with one right on the ass as he walked away.
---
The next day, it snowed so hard that school was canceled. By Shishido's opinion, that made it a perfect day. He could go back to his base and settle in for the long haul.
He showed up early, as soon as he'd seen the notice that even Hyoutei had closed for the day, and dusted off the new accumulated snow from his wall. It was a good thing. More snow meant more ammo, and a better, bigger wall.
There was just one problem. Namely, there was a hole in his wall. Yesterday, when he'd left it, it had been perfectly solid. Now, there was a tennis ball-sized hole that went clean through... It looked like somebody'd cut through with a knife or something, the edges were so clean.
It pissed him off.
Now, sure, a wall made of snow wasn't hard to repair, but that wasn't the point. The point was, his wall was always hard enough and thick enough to stop any snowball hurled its way. In years past, his wall had stopped tennis balls, baseballs, rocks... It had taken damage, certainly, but it had never been penetrated like this.
Something was up. There was only one person he knew that could throw anything hard enough to get through that wall... But they were partners. He'd never do something like that.
...
Would he?
A low whistle came from behind, and Shishido whirled around, snowball in hand. "Damn, Shishido. Something actually got by your wall. That's impressive."
"Damn it, Gakuto. This is your doing, isn't it?"
Gakuto shrugged. "Just consider it a warning, alright? You're going down this year."
Shishido hurled his snowball right into Gakuto's stomach.
"You fucker! What was that for?!" Gakuto yelled, gasping a little from having the wind knocked out of him.
"Well, you're only the size of half a person. That means I have to get you twice for it to count," Shishido replied with a shrug, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You're such a shit. I'm so glad I put this plan together to get you back for all the years of torment."
Shishido glared. "So it was you that's responsible for this hole in my wall."
Gakuto smirked, hands on his hips....which looked kind of ridiculous thanks to the thick coat and snow pants. "I didn't put the whole there. But yeah, I arranged for it."
"...Get out of here before I shove a snowball up your ass," Shishido growled, arming himself once again.
"I don't think your boyfriend would like that very much," Gakuto snickered, giving a little wave and walking past. "Yo, kid. He's in a foul mood. Someone breached his defenses... Better be careful."
Shishido blinked. "Hey, Choutarou," he smiled, putting the snowball back into the pile. "Where were you yesterday?"
Ohtori smiled behind his scarf. "I had Orchestra practice, remember?" He moved around the wall to Shishido and crouched, examining the damage. "Someone got you pretty good, didn't they."
"Mm. Gakuto's got something to do with it, I just know it. But...Choutarou. There's only one person I know that can throw that hard." Shishido gave Ohtori a hopeful look...hoping it wasn't him. His partner...Choutarou wasn't like that.
"You mean Kabaji-kun?" Ohtori teased, reaching out to ruffle Shishido's hair.
"Not funny," Shishido grumbled, batting Ohtori's hand away. "You. But you wouldn't do this to me... We're partners. Partners don't do things like this to each other...."
Ohtori picked up one of Shishido's snowballs and used it to plug the hole, then started packing fresh snow around it to seal it in. "I'd never do that to you, Shishido-san. I know how seriously you take it. Besides. You and I are going to be the best snowball team ever, right?"
Shishido grinned and gently punched Ohtori in the arm. "That's my Choutarou. You ready for today?"
"Of course! Oh! And Kantoku is going to be passing by here in a few hours... School's closed, but I made sure he left some papers in his office, so he'll have to come back for them," Ohtori winked, grinning back and making sure the hole was securely filled.
Shishido's grin only grew. "You little devil. I knew you weren't all sweet-and-innocent like everybody thinks. You gonna do it and hit him this year?"
Ohtori shook his head. "No way. You get Kantoku...I'll get Atobe-senpai." The grin that crossed Ohtori's face matched Shishido's a little too closely, and thus began their day of war. Everyone and anyone that walked past their spot got pelted with a snowball. Usually to the back or shoulder, sometimes to the chest. They even got little kids, though the snowballs for them weren't as big or well-packed so that nobody would actually get hurt. Sometimes, it was more like throwing a handful of loose snow than like throwing a snowball, but the kids grinned and laughed and had fun with it.
Sakaki walked by, as Ohtori had promised, and Ohtori stayed ducked behind Shishido's wall while Shishido wound up and pitched... The ball wasn't as tightly packed as he usually used, because Kantoku was a scary guy if he was given a reason to be, but Shishido caught him in the side of the head, and the ball broke and left a nice cloud of snow that caught in Kantoku's hair and landed all over the shoulder of his nice winter coat. Shishido ducked behind the wall as soon as he saw he'd gotten him, and he stayed there - silent, hiding - until Ohtori dared to peek up over the wall... Shishido would have peeked himself, but he wasn't the one with hair that blended in.
"Well?" he whispered excitedly, looking over at Ohtori, who was still just barely popped over the wall.
When Ohtori turned and slid his back down the wall, even his skin had gone white. "....I think he thinks I'm the one that threw it, Shishido-san..." he answered quietly, truly looking scared.
"...Eheh. Well. If he gives you any crap about it at all, tell me. I'll go straighten things out, and I'll take whatever's coming to me. Can't have you getting in trouble for my shit."
Ohtori smiled at him, looking relieved, and Shishido smiled back. "Thanks, Shishido-san."
They both peeked up, then, watching for anyone and everyone that walked by, and pelting them with snowballs. The only noteworthy acquired target had been Sakaki, but for Shishido, that was good enough. They'd gotten a few of the tennis club's first years, and most of the sub-regulars, and they'd get everybody else eventually.
They went home when it was dark, walking together as long as they could, and parting ways when the path to Shishido's house veered off to the right, Ohtori's continuing straight. They congratulated each other with a handshake and a grin, and agreed to meet up at the same place the next morning, and Shishido stayed to watch Ohtori walk off as long as he could. Only once Ohtori was out of sight did Shishido turn towards his own home.
---
The next couple of days went much like the first. Shishido was the first to arrive at their wall, and each day one more hole was penetrating it, arranged like dots on a die, and it was with an increasingly sour mood that Shishido filled them in preparation of his onslaught. Ohtori always arrived right as the holes were found, and always helped fill them back in and strengthen the wall before helping him take out Hyoutei's tennis team.
But by the fourth day, Shishido had had enough.
As he and Ohtori parted ways that night, Shishido felt like an ass for suspecting him. Still the only one with strength enough to penetrate his wall with a firmly-packed snowball, he was the only culprit that made sense. But Ohtori wouldn't do that, or so he kept telling himself. Ohtori was his friend, his partner... There wasn't anyone he trusted more. Ohtori was too sweet, too nice, too loyal...
Instead of heading to his own home once Ohtori was out of sight, Shishido headed back to the wall. He was going to stay up and see just how those holes were getting in his wall, once and for all.
While he waited, he made a pile of tightly-packed snowballs for one sole purpose: the total annihilation of whoever put those holes in his wall.
Shishido ended up drifting off for a moment, but when he woke up, his wall was still intact, and the sun was coming up. Still sleepy, it took him a moment to hear the distinctive crunch, crunch, crunch of boots on snow, but when he did, he grabbed a ball and ducked behind the nearby tree, ready to pitch it at any moment.
The person that approached was short, and so tightly bundled that it was hard to tell who it was. It made Shishido do a double-take, since he'd been expecting Ohtori, or someone of similar size...and not someone so comparatively tiny. So he sat on his haunches and waited, watching as this person did not throw snowballs through the wall, but rather cut holes through it, with the edge of an empty can of tennis balls. One...two...three...four....five... Four corners and one in the center, just like the fifth side of a standard die.
So that was how it was being done. Not by Ohtori, but by this midget...
Shishido picked up a snowball and carefully threw it just above the shorty's head, knocking their hat off in the process and revealing hair a very unique shade of red.
"....You bastard. This is your genius plan?" Shishido yelled, hurling another snowball right into Gakuto's arm. "Cutting holes in my wall, making me think you'd turned my partner against me? I knew Choutarou would never do that. I can't believe I fell for your bullshit..." Another snowball released, thrown at Gakuto's stomach as the redhead stood and turned, grinning at Shishido.
"Hit me all you want, Shishido," Gakuto remarked, dodging the next snowball that went his way. "I'm still gonna win, this year. I told ya, I've got a secret weapon."
Shishido snorted. "An empty tennis ball can? Ooooh, I'm shaking. Real scary, Gakuto. Real scar--oof!" Shishido's eyes flew open when he felt it, a solidly-packed snowball hitting him square in the back.
Gakuto laughed so hard he doubled over, then fell to his ass in the snow. "Oh. My. God. Where's my damn camera? That look is priceless!"
Shishido turned, then, and hurled a snowball into the shadows of the trees. The only sound it made, though, was the sound of it hitting the ground when gravity took over.
He watched as a figure slowly crept from the shadows, and three things struck him at once. The height, the silvery-white hair, and another snowball, right to the shoulder.
Ohtori. Was walking towards him, one arm holding a small pile of snowballs, and the other was simply tossing one into the air and catching it, while a confident, smug grin covered his usually-angelic face.
".......Choutarou?"
"Good morning, Shishido-san." Ohtori's voice didn't quite sound like his own. Usually he sounded shy, and a little not-confident, but today...he sounded proud, bold...defiant. "I see you caught your culprit." Ohtori threw the snowball he'd been tossing, and caught Gakuto in the shoulder.
Gakuto, for what it was worth, looked every bit as surprised as Shishido knew he had earlier. "Hey! No fair, kid! You're not supposed to get me! We had a deal!"
"All's fair in love and war," Ohtori replied with a shrug, picking another snowball out of the pile in his arm. "Besides. I only agreed to get Shishido-san for you. I never agreed not to get you, too, senpai."
Gakuto panicked, then, and sprinted away from the scene. For a moment, Shishido thought sure that Ohtori would go after him...but he didn't. Instead, Ohtori started tossing his new snowball and catching it.
"Hey, now...Choutarou... You promised you wouldn't get me, remember? I'm your partner..."
"Did I promise that? Funny, I don't remember..."
Shishido decided, then, that if that was how Ohtori was going to play it, then there were no holds barred. He ducked just in time to dodge another of Ohtori's snowballs and grabbed one of his own, hurling it at his traitor of a partner.
The ball went wide, though, flying past Ohtori's shoulder without so much as grazing it. Shishido stared. What happened to his perfect aim?
"You're going to have to do better than that, Shishido-san," Ohtori chuckled, throwing a ball in return and landing it squarely in the center of Shishido's chest.
"...Choutarou. C'mon. Why me? What'd he say to you to make you turn on me like this, huh?" Shishido threw another snowball, but this one missed, too. So before Ohtori could throw another, Shishdo scooped up three of his and threw them in quick succession... Only to miss, all three times. "Damn it!"
Ohtori chuckled. "Mukahi-senpai was right. The only person to take you down...has to be the one person you can't hit." Shishido threw yet another snowball at him, and Ohtori didn't even have to dodge to make it miss.
"I can hit you... Those were just...warning shots..." Shishido was starting to realize that Ohtori was right. For whatever reason...he couldn't bring himself to hit Ohtori. His throwing stance was all off, and his arm didn't move quite right when he threw... It wasn't that he didn't want to hit him...he just...couldn't.
"Shishido-san. You never give warning shots," Ohtori replied with a sad shake of his head. "You just can't hit me." Ohtori sounded so damn confident about it that Shishido picked up another snowball and hurled it right at Ohtori's head... The ball whizzed by to the right, once again not so much as grazing him.
"...Shit." Shishido realized, then, that he was doomed. Technically, by their scorecard, Ohtori had won. They'd gotten everybody, over the course of the last four days, except Atobe...and themselves. They hadn't gotten Atobe because they hadn't seen him, except the one time that Kabaji took every shot aimed at him. But Ohtori turning and getting him, too...
Shishido did the one thing he could do at this point. He got up and ran. He was the fastest runner on the team. Surely he could escape Ohtori's snowballs....
But Ohtori ran after him, closing the distance with the long strides his height gave him, and before Shishido knew it, they were running parallel to each other, a few feet apart.
Shishido's speed gave him an advantage, and he broadened the gap between them whenever Ohtori slowed down to throw a snowball in his direction, but seconds later Ohtori had closed the gap again, keeping pace with him thanks to those damn long legs.
Shishido lost track of how long they ran, and he couldn't figure out how Ohtori's stash of snowballs never seemed to end, but then, he wasn't watching Ohtori the entire time, in favor of making sure he didn't slam himself right into a tree. He was so focused on that, in fact, that he didn't see the two rapid-fire shots from Ohtori. Instead he felt them, hitting him directly in the ankles - first right, then left - and the surprise plus the upset in balance knocked Shishido off his feet and sent him rolling through the snow. He came to a stop just before he would have rolled right into the trunk of a rather large tree and, too in shock for anything else, simply lay there, staring up at the snow-covered branches above him.
Only moments later, Ohtori was at his side, on his hands and knees as he checked to make sure Shishido was alright. "Shishido-san? I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, tone and expression too worried for it to be faked.
"No. I'm just kind of out of breath..." Shishido panted, grinning up at Ohtori. "Damn. You got me good."
Ohtori smiled. "I had a good teacher. Nobody's as good at snowball fights as you are."
"Heh. I'm not so sure about that anymore. I mean, hell. Your aim is amazing, Choutarou." And as Shishido said it, he realized he was partly to blame (thank?) for that. He'd helped Ohtori with his serve, after all...
"Only because of you." Ohtori got up, then, and extended a hand to Shishido. "Can you get up?"
Shishido nodded and reached for Ohtori's hand, taking it and pulling himself up, other hand pushing off the snow-blanketed ground. When he was securely on his feet, Shishido took the small, fist-sized batch of snow he'd just picked up and shoved it right into Ohtori's face.
Ohtori blinked, then laughed. "That doesn't count, Shishido-san. You still haven't gotten me."
"What? Why not?"
Ohtori grinned. "You have to actually throw it. That's your own rule. Besides. You can't miss when you're this close, so it isn't fair."
Shishido's face fell. Ohtori was right, and he knew it. He'd set his own rules. You could smash snow onto a person all you wanted, but it only counted if you threw from a distance greater than two feet apart... Even if he'd thrown it, they were too close for it to count. "I hate you right now, you know that?" Shishido grumbled, gently punching Ohtori in the arm.
"No you don't. You just hate that I won." Again, Ohtori sounded so sure of himself that Shishido couldn't help but growl, but all it did was make Ohtori smile even wider.
Irritated, Shishido stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and stormed off towards his house. He didn't even have to look to know that the crunching snow behind him meant Ohtori was following, and they walked like that, in silence, until the place where they always went their separate ways. Only then did Shishido pause and turn to look at Ohtori.
"...Want some hot cocoa?" he asked, still irked, but not mad enough to abandon Ohtori without setting things back to rights between them.
It was like someone turned on a light, how Ohtori's expression went from slightly-pouty, kicked-puppy to excited and grinning. If he'd been a dog, his tail would've been wagging. He trotted up to Shishido, positively beaming. "I'd love some."
"Well. Come on, then." Shishido turned and started towards his house, and this time Ohtori was right at his side the entire time.
Once they'd made it inside and stripped out of most of their layers, Shishido went straight to the kitchen for that hot cocoa he'd offered.
"If it makes it any better....Mukahi-senpai had a hard time convincing me..." Ohtori offered, all but hovering as Shishido stirred the cocoa powder into hot milk.
"Shut up and sit down, Choutarou. You're crowding." Shishido elbowed him, but it was playful. His bad mood at being defeated was fading; he could never stay mad at Ohtori for long.
"I mean it, though. He really did! I... I was afraid you'd get really mad at me for getting you like that..." Ohtori went and took a seat at the kitchen table, obediently giving Shishido his room. "I know how important it is to you to be at the top of the snowball fights... He'd been begging me for months..."
Shishido said nothing as he set a mug of hot cocoa in front of Ohtori, then went back to his own and leaned against the kitchen counter to drink it. He watched Ohtori get pouty again, probably because he wasn't assuring him that no he wasn't mad, and yes everything was alright between them. He was thinking, though. He hadn't been able to hit him...and really, he did know why. But if Ohtori could manage...
"Hey, Choutarou?"
"Yes, Shisido-san?"
"Next year?"
"Mhm?"
"It's on," Shishido grinned, determined that next year, Ohtori was going down.
Ohtori just laughed.
RECIPIENT: shikanashi_kk
TITLE: All's Fair...
RATING: PG-13, to be safe
WORD COUNT: 3,686
WARNING/S: Language. That's really about it.
SUMMARY: There is one thing that nobody can beat Shishido at, or so he thinks. But this year, he is proven wrong.
NOTES: ....I just... Heh. I just really hope you like it. ^_^;
Winter. One of Shishido’s favorite times of year, and with good reason.
Shishido was undefeated when it came to this kind of thing. Of course, this came because he had two rules. First, that everyone and anyone is a target, and second, never get hit.
Last year, he even took Ohtori under his wing, taught him everything he knew about it, timing the throw in anticipation, never standing out in the open… And with that arm of his? Ohtori was practically lethal when he wanted to be. They made the greatest team ever, on the courts and off.
This year, the plan was to team up and get everybody…but they were really only keeping score for the tennis team. Every member. Including Kantoku, and Atobe, all the way down to every single freshman. It was going to be grand. They would be the kings, even if they were the only ones it mattered to. The plan was simple, and there were no rules for its execution. As long as everybody got hit, it didn’t matter which of them got them. Shishido knew he’d have to be the one to get Kantoku, as Ohtori was too polite for it, but hell. It’d be fun. And as long as he got him while he was off school grounds, he couldn’t get in trouble for it, either.
But when the first snow hit and Shishido was all geared up for it…Ohtori was nowhere to be found. Maybe Ohtori had mentioned having to go to Orchestra practice or something, but if he had, Shishido either hadn't heard or had forgotten.
Ah well. Shishido decided to get started without him, building his wall and his stockpile. Tomorrow, he'd be ready.
"You know why the kiddo's not here, right?" Gakuto asked, leaning on Shishido's nearly finished wall. He'd be finished by now, if Ohtori was here.
"... Bug off, pygmy," Shishido grumbled, not wanting Gakuto to rub it in that he'd not paid attention.
"It's because I'm going to win this year, and everybody knows it."
... That got Shishido's attention. "Like hell you are. Your aim sucks and you throw like a girl. The only ones who even notice it IF you hit them are the little kids."
"Mmm....Think what you want. I've got a secret weapon."
"What, get Kabaji to mimic me this year or something?" Shishido knew that wasn't it. Atobe had forbidden Kabaji from participating in such plebian activities as this, and everybody in the freaking world knew Kabaji never went against Atobe's will.
Gakuto grinned, like the cocky little shit he was. "Nope. Even better. I got the one person you won't hit with your little snowballs."
Shishido raised an eyebrow. "Not a chance. You know my rule. Everybody's a target."
"That's what you think," Gakuto snorted, getting Shishido with a snowball in the only way he could - by smashing it right against his chest.
Shishido returned the favor, smashing one dead center on the top of Gakuto's little red head. He was prepared for the onslaught that usually brought, but instead all he got was a smirk.
"You'll see, Shishido. This year, you're not going to win."
"We'll both see."
Gakuto waved and wandered off, leaving Shishido with his preparations. Shishido took the opportunity to whack him with one right on the ass as he walked away.
---
The next day, it snowed so hard that school was canceled. By Shishido's opinion, that made it a perfect day. He could go back to his base and settle in for the long haul.
He showed up early, as soon as he'd seen the notice that even Hyoutei had closed for the day, and dusted off the new accumulated snow from his wall. It was a good thing. More snow meant more ammo, and a better, bigger wall.
There was just one problem. Namely, there was a hole in his wall. Yesterday, when he'd left it, it had been perfectly solid. Now, there was a tennis ball-sized hole that went clean through... It looked like somebody'd cut through with a knife or something, the edges were so clean.
It pissed him off.
Now, sure, a wall made of snow wasn't hard to repair, but that wasn't the point. The point was, his wall was always hard enough and thick enough to stop any snowball hurled its way. In years past, his wall had stopped tennis balls, baseballs, rocks... It had taken damage, certainly, but it had never been penetrated like this.
Something was up. There was only one person he knew that could throw anything hard enough to get through that wall... But they were partners. He'd never do something like that.
...
Would he?
A low whistle came from behind, and Shishido whirled around, snowball in hand. "Damn, Shishido. Something actually got by your wall. That's impressive."
"Damn it, Gakuto. This is your doing, isn't it?"
Gakuto shrugged. "Just consider it a warning, alright? You're going down this year."
Shishido hurled his snowball right into Gakuto's stomach.
"You fucker! What was that for?!" Gakuto yelled, gasping a little from having the wind knocked out of him.
"Well, you're only the size of half a person. That means I have to get you twice for it to count," Shishido replied with a shrug, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You're such a shit. I'm so glad I put this plan together to get you back for all the years of torment."
Shishido glared. "So it was you that's responsible for this hole in my wall."
Gakuto smirked, hands on his hips....which looked kind of ridiculous thanks to the thick coat and snow pants. "I didn't put the whole there. But yeah, I arranged for it."
"...Get out of here before I shove a snowball up your ass," Shishido growled, arming himself once again.
"I don't think your boyfriend would like that very much," Gakuto snickered, giving a little wave and walking past. "Yo, kid. He's in a foul mood. Someone breached his defenses... Better be careful."
Shishido blinked. "Hey, Choutarou," he smiled, putting the snowball back into the pile. "Where were you yesterday?"
Ohtori smiled behind his scarf. "I had Orchestra practice, remember?" He moved around the wall to Shishido and crouched, examining the damage. "Someone got you pretty good, didn't they."
"Mm. Gakuto's got something to do with it, I just know it. But...Choutarou. There's only one person I know that can throw that hard." Shishido gave Ohtori a hopeful look...hoping it wasn't him. His partner...Choutarou wasn't like that.
"You mean Kabaji-kun?" Ohtori teased, reaching out to ruffle Shishido's hair.
"Not funny," Shishido grumbled, batting Ohtori's hand away. "You. But you wouldn't do this to me... We're partners. Partners don't do things like this to each other...."
Ohtori picked up one of Shishido's snowballs and used it to plug the hole, then started packing fresh snow around it to seal it in. "I'd never do that to you, Shishido-san. I know how seriously you take it. Besides. You and I are going to be the best snowball team ever, right?"
Shishido grinned and gently punched Ohtori in the arm. "That's my Choutarou. You ready for today?"
"Of course! Oh! And Kantoku is going to be passing by here in a few hours... School's closed, but I made sure he left some papers in his office, so he'll have to come back for them," Ohtori winked, grinning back and making sure the hole was securely filled.
Shishido's grin only grew. "You little devil. I knew you weren't all sweet-and-innocent like everybody thinks. You gonna do it and hit him this year?"
Ohtori shook his head. "No way. You get Kantoku...I'll get Atobe-senpai." The grin that crossed Ohtori's face matched Shishido's a little too closely, and thus began their day of war. Everyone and anyone that walked past their spot got pelted with a snowball. Usually to the back or shoulder, sometimes to the chest. They even got little kids, though the snowballs for them weren't as big or well-packed so that nobody would actually get hurt. Sometimes, it was more like throwing a handful of loose snow than like throwing a snowball, but the kids grinned and laughed and had fun with it.
Sakaki walked by, as Ohtori had promised, and Ohtori stayed ducked behind Shishido's wall while Shishido wound up and pitched... The ball wasn't as tightly packed as he usually used, because Kantoku was a scary guy if he was given a reason to be, but Shishido caught him in the side of the head, and the ball broke and left a nice cloud of snow that caught in Kantoku's hair and landed all over the shoulder of his nice winter coat. Shishido ducked behind the wall as soon as he saw he'd gotten him, and he stayed there - silent, hiding - until Ohtori dared to peek up over the wall... Shishido would have peeked himself, but he wasn't the one with hair that blended in.
"Well?" he whispered excitedly, looking over at Ohtori, who was still just barely popped over the wall.
When Ohtori turned and slid his back down the wall, even his skin had gone white. "....I think he thinks I'm the one that threw it, Shishido-san..." he answered quietly, truly looking scared.
"...Eheh. Well. If he gives you any crap about it at all, tell me. I'll go straighten things out, and I'll take whatever's coming to me. Can't have you getting in trouble for my shit."
Ohtori smiled at him, looking relieved, and Shishido smiled back. "Thanks, Shishido-san."
They both peeked up, then, watching for anyone and everyone that walked by, and pelting them with snowballs. The only noteworthy acquired target had been Sakaki, but for Shishido, that was good enough. They'd gotten a few of the tennis club's first years, and most of the sub-regulars, and they'd get everybody else eventually.
They went home when it was dark, walking together as long as they could, and parting ways when the path to Shishido's house veered off to the right, Ohtori's continuing straight. They congratulated each other with a handshake and a grin, and agreed to meet up at the same place the next morning, and Shishido stayed to watch Ohtori walk off as long as he could. Only once Ohtori was out of sight did Shishido turn towards his own home.
---
The next couple of days went much like the first. Shishido was the first to arrive at their wall, and each day one more hole was penetrating it, arranged like dots on a die, and it was with an increasingly sour mood that Shishido filled them in preparation of his onslaught. Ohtori always arrived right as the holes were found, and always helped fill them back in and strengthen the wall before helping him take out Hyoutei's tennis team.
But by the fourth day, Shishido had had enough.
As he and Ohtori parted ways that night, Shishido felt like an ass for suspecting him. Still the only one with strength enough to penetrate his wall with a firmly-packed snowball, he was the only culprit that made sense. But Ohtori wouldn't do that, or so he kept telling himself. Ohtori was his friend, his partner... There wasn't anyone he trusted more. Ohtori was too sweet, too nice, too loyal...
Instead of heading to his own home once Ohtori was out of sight, Shishido headed back to the wall. He was going to stay up and see just how those holes were getting in his wall, once and for all.
While he waited, he made a pile of tightly-packed snowballs for one sole purpose: the total annihilation of whoever put those holes in his wall.
Shishido ended up drifting off for a moment, but when he woke up, his wall was still intact, and the sun was coming up. Still sleepy, it took him a moment to hear the distinctive crunch, crunch, crunch of boots on snow, but when he did, he grabbed a ball and ducked behind the nearby tree, ready to pitch it at any moment.
The person that approached was short, and so tightly bundled that it was hard to tell who it was. It made Shishido do a double-take, since he'd been expecting Ohtori, or someone of similar size...and not someone so comparatively tiny. So he sat on his haunches and waited, watching as this person did not throw snowballs through the wall, but rather cut holes through it, with the edge of an empty can of tennis balls. One...two...three...four....five... Four corners and one in the center, just like the fifth side of a standard die.
So that was how it was being done. Not by Ohtori, but by this midget...
Shishido picked up a snowball and carefully threw it just above the shorty's head, knocking their hat off in the process and revealing hair a very unique shade of red.
"....You bastard. This is your genius plan?" Shishido yelled, hurling another snowball right into Gakuto's arm. "Cutting holes in my wall, making me think you'd turned my partner against me? I knew Choutarou would never do that. I can't believe I fell for your bullshit..." Another snowball released, thrown at Gakuto's stomach as the redhead stood and turned, grinning at Shishido.
"Hit me all you want, Shishido," Gakuto remarked, dodging the next snowball that went his way. "I'm still gonna win, this year. I told ya, I've got a secret weapon."
Shishido snorted. "An empty tennis ball can? Ooooh, I'm shaking. Real scary, Gakuto. Real scar--oof!" Shishido's eyes flew open when he felt it, a solidly-packed snowball hitting him square in the back.
Gakuto laughed so hard he doubled over, then fell to his ass in the snow. "Oh. My. God. Where's my damn camera? That look is priceless!"
Shishido turned, then, and hurled a snowball into the shadows of the trees. The only sound it made, though, was the sound of it hitting the ground when gravity took over.
He watched as a figure slowly crept from the shadows, and three things struck him at once. The height, the silvery-white hair, and another snowball, right to the shoulder.
Ohtori. Was walking towards him, one arm holding a small pile of snowballs, and the other was simply tossing one into the air and catching it, while a confident, smug grin covered his usually-angelic face.
".......Choutarou?"
"Good morning, Shishido-san." Ohtori's voice didn't quite sound like his own. Usually he sounded shy, and a little not-confident, but today...he sounded proud, bold...defiant. "I see you caught your culprit." Ohtori threw the snowball he'd been tossing, and caught Gakuto in the shoulder.
Gakuto, for what it was worth, looked every bit as surprised as Shishido knew he had earlier. "Hey! No fair, kid! You're not supposed to get me! We had a deal!"
"All's fair in love and war," Ohtori replied with a shrug, picking another snowball out of the pile in his arm. "Besides. I only agreed to get Shishido-san for you. I never agreed not to get you, too, senpai."
Gakuto panicked, then, and sprinted away from the scene. For a moment, Shishido thought sure that Ohtori would go after him...but he didn't. Instead, Ohtori started tossing his new snowball and catching it.
"Hey, now...Choutarou... You promised you wouldn't get me, remember? I'm your partner..."
"Did I promise that? Funny, I don't remember..."
Shishido decided, then, that if that was how Ohtori was going to play it, then there were no holds barred. He ducked just in time to dodge another of Ohtori's snowballs and grabbed one of his own, hurling it at his traitor of a partner.
The ball went wide, though, flying past Ohtori's shoulder without so much as grazing it. Shishido stared. What happened to his perfect aim?
"You're going to have to do better than that, Shishido-san," Ohtori chuckled, throwing a ball in return and landing it squarely in the center of Shishido's chest.
"...Choutarou. C'mon. Why me? What'd he say to you to make you turn on me like this, huh?" Shishido threw another snowball, but this one missed, too. So before Ohtori could throw another, Shishdo scooped up three of his and threw them in quick succession... Only to miss, all three times. "Damn it!"
Ohtori chuckled. "Mukahi-senpai was right. The only person to take you down...has to be the one person you can't hit." Shishido threw yet another snowball at him, and Ohtori didn't even have to dodge to make it miss.
"I can hit you... Those were just...warning shots..." Shishido was starting to realize that Ohtori was right. For whatever reason...he couldn't bring himself to hit Ohtori. His throwing stance was all off, and his arm didn't move quite right when he threw... It wasn't that he didn't want to hit him...he just...couldn't.
"Shishido-san. You never give warning shots," Ohtori replied with a sad shake of his head. "You just can't hit me." Ohtori sounded so damn confident about it that Shishido picked up another snowball and hurled it right at Ohtori's head... The ball whizzed by to the right, once again not so much as grazing him.
"...Shit." Shishido realized, then, that he was doomed. Technically, by their scorecard, Ohtori had won. They'd gotten everybody, over the course of the last four days, except Atobe...and themselves. They hadn't gotten Atobe because they hadn't seen him, except the one time that Kabaji took every shot aimed at him. But Ohtori turning and getting him, too...
Shishido did the one thing he could do at this point. He got up and ran. He was the fastest runner on the team. Surely he could escape Ohtori's snowballs....
But Ohtori ran after him, closing the distance with the long strides his height gave him, and before Shishido knew it, they were running parallel to each other, a few feet apart.
Shishido's speed gave him an advantage, and he broadened the gap between them whenever Ohtori slowed down to throw a snowball in his direction, but seconds later Ohtori had closed the gap again, keeping pace with him thanks to those damn long legs.
Shishido lost track of how long they ran, and he couldn't figure out how Ohtori's stash of snowballs never seemed to end, but then, he wasn't watching Ohtori the entire time, in favor of making sure he didn't slam himself right into a tree. He was so focused on that, in fact, that he didn't see the two rapid-fire shots from Ohtori. Instead he felt them, hitting him directly in the ankles - first right, then left - and the surprise plus the upset in balance knocked Shishido off his feet and sent him rolling through the snow. He came to a stop just before he would have rolled right into the trunk of a rather large tree and, too in shock for anything else, simply lay there, staring up at the snow-covered branches above him.
Only moments later, Ohtori was at his side, on his hands and knees as he checked to make sure Shishido was alright. "Shishido-san? I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, tone and expression too worried for it to be faked.
"No. I'm just kind of out of breath..." Shishido panted, grinning up at Ohtori. "Damn. You got me good."
Ohtori smiled. "I had a good teacher. Nobody's as good at snowball fights as you are."
"Heh. I'm not so sure about that anymore. I mean, hell. Your aim is amazing, Choutarou." And as Shishido said it, he realized he was partly to blame (thank?) for that. He'd helped Ohtori with his serve, after all...
"Only because of you." Ohtori got up, then, and extended a hand to Shishido. "Can you get up?"
Shishido nodded and reached for Ohtori's hand, taking it and pulling himself up, other hand pushing off the snow-blanketed ground. When he was securely on his feet, Shishido took the small, fist-sized batch of snow he'd just picked up and shoved it right into Ohtori's face.
Ohtori blinked, then laughed. "That doesn't count, Shishido-san. You still haven't gotten me."
"What? Why not?"
Ohtori grinned. "You have to actually throw it. That's your own rule. Besides. You can't miss when you're this close, so it isn't fair."
Shishido's face fell. Ohtori was right, and he knew it. He'd set his own rules. You could smash snow onto a person all you wanted, but it only counted if you threw from a distance greater than two feet apart... Even if he'd thrown it, they were too close for it to count. "I hate you right now, you know that?" Shishido grumbled, gently punching Ohtori in the arm.
"No you don't. You just hate that I won." Again, Ohtori sounded so sure of himself that Shishido couldn't help but growl, but all it did was make Ohtori smile even wider.
Irritated, Shishido stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and stormed off towards his house. He didn't even have to look to know that the crunching snow behind him meant Ohtori was following, and they walked like that, in silence, until the place where they always went their separate ways. Only then did Shishido pause and turn to look at Ohtori.
"...Want some hot cocoa?" he asked, still irked, but not mad enough to abandon Ohtori without setting things back to rights between them.
It was like someone turned on a light, how Ohtori's expression went from slightly-pouty, kicked-puppy to excited and grinning. If he'd been a dog, his tail would've been wagging. He trotted up to Shishido, positively beaming. "I'd love some."
"Well. Come on, then." Shishido turned and started towards his house, and this time Ohtori was right at his side the entire time.
Once they'd made it inside and stripped out of most of their layers, Shishido went straight to the kitchen for that hot cocoa he'd offered.
"If it makes it any better....Mukahi-senpai had a hard time convincing me..." Ohtori offered, all but hovering as Shishido stirred the cocoa powder into hot milk.
"Shut up and sit down, Choutarou. You're crowding." Shishido elbowed him, but it was playful. His bad mood at being defeated was fading; he could never stay mad at Ohtori for long.
"I mean it, though. He really did! I... I was afraid you'd get really mad at me for getting you like that..." Ohtori went and took a seat at the kitchen table, obediently giving Shishido his room. "I know how important it is to you to be at the top of the snowball fights... He'd been begging me for months..."
Shishido said nothing as he set a mug of hot cocoa in front of Ohtori, then went back to his own and leaned against the kitchen counter to drink it. He watched Ohtori get pouty again, probably because he wasn't assuring him that no he wasn't mad, and yes everything was alright between them. He was thinking, though. He hadn't been able to hit him...and really, he did know why. But if Ohtori could manage...
"Hey, Choutarou?"
"Yes, Shisido-san?"
"Next year?"
"Mhm?"
"It's on," Shishido grinned, determined that next year, Ohtori was going down.
Ohtori just laughed.