JaBun ficcing
Life updates will happen soon. Probably tomorrow. For now, I bring fiction. Inspired by the new Prince of Tennis manga that I've been reading as soon as it's available. I actually think that I want to do a few more fics in this vein. Probably with the Golden Pair. Others... possibly. Anyway, here's the latest Marui and Jackal installment. Enjoy, guys.
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi, Konami, et al. I have no rights and make no profits.
Warnings: major spoilers, very minor scientific discourse
Notes: This ficlet is a reaction to all that is occuring in Shin Tenisu no Oujisama. I felt a strong compulsion to write about the matches that were occuring. It contains spoilers for the more recent chapters of the manga. If you haven't read the new series yet, you need to. Written for 30_kisses theme # 16: invincible. Many thanks to senshixdoukeshi for her seal of approval. This fic goes out to coffeecakelove, which kind of petered out before it got a chance to get on its feet. Also, string theory is most commonly called M theory these days, but I wanted to keep the string reference to make a more deft allusion to Marui's cello.
Playing By String Theory
by Solanum Dulcamara
A cold, heavy knot of dread lodged itself just south of his diaphragm; so cold and heavy, Marui wasn't sure he'd ever be hungry again. It was as if the solid, familiar comfort of the tennis court beneath his sneakers had suddenly been yanked out from under him. 'Pair up' - how was he... how were any of them to know that it would mean elimination for one half of the pair. He'd risked a single glance at Jackal after the announcement. His doubles partner's steely gaze was somewhere in the distance, probably looking all the way to Brazil, to the mentor whose inspiration had gotten Jackal this far. This was supposed to have been their chance to redeem themselves after Nationals. They were going to show everyone why they'd been called Rikkai's number one doubles. Some people tried to refute that claim, pointing instead at Niou and Yagyuu, but Marui knew better. He knew that Niou and Yagyuu's partnership was one of contention; it was a battle between them whether they stood on the same half of the court or across the net from one another. It probably had something to do with Yagyuu always being a few steps ahead of Niou; but whether the tension was created by discrepancy in skill or distance between them, he didn't know, though he'd often speculated that it was more the latter. Niou was strange that way - he gave the impression of being so far outside of everyone's understanding with his eccentricities, but it was his way of getting in close without being noticed.
Yeah, he and Jackal were Rikkai's number one because they had that chemistry that all great doubles pairs had. It was the give and take, the ebb and flow of their play. Look at Seigaku's Oishi/Kikumaru pair or Hyoutei's Shishido/Ohtori pair. They filled the holes in each other's play. They truly were better than the sum of their parts. That elusive quality was what made a great doubles team, and he and Jackal were great. No, they didn't have synchro, but he felt they were on their way. He could sense the vibrations of Jackal's movements behind him on the court like the vibrations of his cello strings. It was only a matter of time before there was a continual reading of vibrations between them - tennis version string theory.
Now, he was feeling the excruciating pull as that hope was taken from him. One of them would be leaving today. It would be the end of his great quantum mechanical experience.
He sat at the edges of the court watching the matches. He sat because he wasn't entirely sure that his legs would continue to hold him up. His attention couldn't be kept by matches between singles players. Not the one-sided affairs between Tezuka, Atobe, and their captains-to-be. Not even the match between his own captain and assistant captain. No. His eyes were always riveted to the matches that were breaking up doubles pairs. He watched as an uncrossable rift erupted between Hyoutei's Oshitari/Mukahi pair. He cringed as Niou fell apart physically and mentally while losing to Yagyuu. He didn't blink when Ohtori surpassed his upperclassman, effectively ending Shishido's junior high tennis. He ached as Oishi convinced Kikumaru to play to his full ability, eventually being overtaken by said partner. Marui took no joy in that breakup. He respected Seigaku's so-called Golden Pair greatly. Their partnership was something to aspire to, not something to begrudge. His gum was a hard lump in his cheek that he forgot to chew during the progression of the matches. He kept waiting for his heartbeat to even out, for his breathing to slow down. Neither happened.
He hadn't played against Jackal seriously in some time. Of course, they played with each other. Friendly rallies with lots of meaningless banter across the net. They always forgot to keep score because beating each other really was irrelevant. Playing together had always been the most important thing. He honestly wasn't sure which one of them would win in an honest, fully-played singles match. He was competitive - hated to lose as much, if not more than the next guy. But he wasn't sure that he could say that he wanted to beat Jackal. Jackal was his partner, his comrade, the person he'd been leaning on and lifting up for three years. There was something indescribable between them that he didn't want stolen by a tennis match.
Their names were called. The knot still sat leaden in his stomach. This would be the moment when one of them would kiss their junior high tennis career good-bye. He tried and failed to find comfort in the sensation of walking onto the court. So, as usual, he resorted to humor to hide how very much this match terrified him. "Coach... send home... Jackal!" It was an old joke between them, Marui always putting things on Jackal with the overly dramatic point. But it was in that moment, with the help of a played-out inside joke, that he was finally able to meet his partner's gaze. There he saw the comfort that he always did, the support that he always did. They could play each other.
"What? You wanna do this?"
"Of course."
They walked onto the court together; it was strange to separate to stand on opposite sides of the net. Yet a peculiar excitement spread through Marui. He wondered if he'd feel the vibrations of Jackal's play from across the court. He felt sure that the strings extended that far. He suddenly felt ready for this match and whatever it revealed because it really didn't matter which one of them would win here. Their partnership, that inscrutable bond between them, wouldn't fall prey to a tennis match. And if his genius skills didn't win this match, then he'd be the first one in the stands cheering for Jackal, hand clenched around a phantom racket, sensing the vibrations of Jackal's play, heart on the court with the boy that would always be his doubles partner.
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi, Konami, et al. I have no rights and make no profits.
Warnings: major spoilers, very minor scientific discourse
Notes: This ficlet is a reaction to all that is occuring in Shin Tenisu no Oujisama. I felt a strong compulsion to write about the matches that were occuring. It contains spoilers for the more recent chapters of the manga. If you haven't read the new series yet, you need to. Written for 30_kisses theme # 16: invincible. Many thanks to senshixdoukeshi for her seal of approval. This fic goes out to coffeecakelove, which kind of petered out before it got a chance to get on its feet. Also, string theory is most commonly called M theory these days, but I wanted to keep the string reference to make a more deft allusion to Marui's cello.
Playing By String Theory
by Solanum Dulcamara
A cold, heavy knot of dread lodged itself just south of his diaphragm; so cold and heavy, Marui wasn't sure he'd ever be hungry again. It was as if the solid, familiar comfort of the tennis court beneath his sneakers had suddenly been yanked out from under him. 'Pair up' - how was he... how were any of them to know that it would mean elimination for one half of the pair. He'd risked a single glance at Jackal after the announcement. His doubles partner's steely gaze was somewhere in the distance, probably looking all the way to Brazil, to the mentor whose inspiration had gotten Jackal this far. This was supposed to have been their chance to redeem themselves after Nationals. They were going to show everyone why they'd been called Rikkai's number one doubles. Some people tried to refute that claim, pointing instead at Niou and Yagyuu, but Marui knew better. He knew that Niou and Yagyuu's partnership was one of contention; it was a battle between them whether they stood on the same half of the court or across the net from one another. It probably had something to do with Yagyuu always being a few steps ahead of Niou; but whether the tension was created by discrepancy in skill or distance between them, he didn't know, though he'd often speculated that it was more the latter. Niou was strange that way - he gave the impression of being so far outside of everyone's understanding with his eccentricities, but it was his way of getting in close without being noticed.
Yeah, he and Jackal were Rikkai's number one because they had that chemistry that all great doubles pairs had. It was the give and take, the ebb and flow of their play. Look at Seigaku's Oishi/Kikumaru pair or Hyoutei's Shishido/Ohtori pair. They filled the holes in each other's play. They truly were better than the sum of their parts. That elusive quality was what made a great doubles team, and he and Jackal were great. No, they didn't have synchro, but he felt they were on their way. He could sense the vibrations of Jackal's movements behind him on the court like the vibrations of his cello strings. It was only a matter of time before there was a continual reading of vibrations between them - tennis version string theory.
Now, he was feeling the excruciating pull as that hope was taken from him. One of them would be leaving today. It would be the end of his great quantum mechanical experience.
He sat at the edges of the court watching the matches. He sat because he wasn't entirely sure that his legs would continue to hold him up. His attention couldn't be kept by matches between singles players. Not the one-sided affairs between Tezuka, Atobe, and their captains-to-be. Not even the match between his own captain and assistant captain. No. His eyes were always riveted to the matches that were breaking up doubles pairs. He watched as an uncrossable rift erupted between Hyoutei's Oshitari/Mukahi pair. He cringed as Niou fell apart physically and mentally while losing to Yagyuu. He didn't blink when Ohtori surpassed his upperclassman, effectively ending Shishido's junior high tennis. He ached as Oishi convinced Kikumaru to play to his full ability, eventually being overtaken by said partner. Marui took no joy in that breakup. He respected Seigaku's so-called Golden Pair greatly. Their partnership was something to aspire to, not something to begrudge. His gum was a hard lump in his cheek that he forgot to chew during the progression of the matches. He kept waiting for his heartbeat to even out, for his breathing to slow down. Neither happened.
He hadn't played against Jackal seriously in some time. Of course, they played with each other. Friendly rallies with lots of meaningless banter across the net. They always forgot to keep score because beating each other really was irrelevant. Playing together had always been the most important thing. He honestly wasn't sure which one of them would win in an honest, fully-played singles match. He was competitive - hated to lose as much, if not more than the next guy. But he wasn't sure that he could say that he wanted to beat Jackal. Jackal was his partner, his comrade, the person he'd been leaning on and lifting up for three years. There was something indescribable between them that he didn't want stolen by a tennis match.
Their names were called. The knot still sat leaden in his stomach. This would be the moment when one of them would kiss their junior high tennis career good-bye. He tried and failed to find comfort in the sensation of walking onto the court. So, as usual, he resorted to humor to hide how very much this match terrified him. "Coach... send home... Jackal!" It was an old joke between them, Marui always putting things on Jackal with the overly dramatic point. But it was in that moment, with the help of a played-out inside joke, that he was finally able to meet his partner's gaze. There he saw the comfort that he always did, the support that he always did. They could play each other.
"What? You wanna do this?"
"Of course."
They walked onto the court together; it was strange to separate to stand on opposite sides of the net. Yet a peculiar excitement spread through Marui. He wondered if he'd feel the vibrations of Jackal's play from across the court. He felt sure that the strings extended that far. He suddenly felt ready for this match and whatever it revealed because it really didn't matter which one of them would win here. Their partnership, that inscrutable bond between them, wouldn't fall prey to a tennis match. And if his genius skills didn't win this match, then he'd be the first one in the stands cheering for Jackal, hand clenched around a phantom racket, sensing the vibrations of Jackal's play, heart on the court with the boy that would always be his doubles partner.