'X & Y' for Lucathia_Rykatu
For: lucathia_rykatu
Title: X & Y
Characters: Niou, Yagyuu, other Rikkai regulars
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Niou wants to play doubles.
Warnings: Niou's mouth.
Disclaimer: Copyright lies with Konomi-sensei.
A/N: Draws heavily on manga canon up to Shin Prince of Tennis.
Niou switches out his racket at four-three. The gut strings seem a little loose and there's one near his sweet spot that is slightly frayed. His nose crinkles in annoyance as he slides the damaged racket into his bag and pulls out one of his spares. Damn Yagyuu and his playing style.
He watches his partner push up thin frames with a finger. Niou almost thinks Yagyuu is mocking him, but he can't be too sure. After all, Yagyuu is the epitome of gentlemanly. He would never dream of flipping any one off.
"Shall we continue, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asks, running his hand over his perfectly pristine racket.
Sometimes Niou wonders if Yagyuu actually plays outside of practice and tournaments. As much as Yukimura and Sanada prostrate themselves for the sport, their rackets are needing to be constantly restrung and go through proper maintenance... Yagyuu's, not so much. He shakes it off and goes back to the baseline. He'll push it toward tiebreak.
Yagyuu serves the ball cleanly, without error, and ridiculously fast. Niou doesn't have time to blink, sprinting to it and smacking it back. The bespectacled player is already at the net and sends it behind Niou, much to the trickster's chagrin. When he looks back at Yagyuu, he can see himself reflected in the opaque lenses.
"Fuck, Yagyuu, stop dicking around and play me," he shouts, knowing full well after the match Yukimura will give him twenty laps for his mouth.
"I am not doing what you accuse me of," he replies and goes to serve again. Niou rolls his eyes and prepares himself.
When Yagyuu wins, seven-five, Niou starts running before Yukimura can even open his mouth. He can feel Sanada glaring at him from underneath his hat and he runs harder. He ends up, panting and bent over, next to Kirihara as Yukimura announces the line-up for the upcoming tournament.
"Doubles two, Yanagi and Kirihara. Doubles one, Niou and Marui. Singles three, Yagyuu. Singles two, Sanada. Singles one, Yukimura."
Niou straightens up and looks over at Yagyuu. This isn't the first time they've been separated, but it stings a little just the same. After practice, he hangs around until it's only Sanada and Yukimura left. He has to know why - the real reason - not something cooked up by the baby or the sugar high idiot.
"Yo, buchou," he says lowly, raising a hand in greeting before shoving it back in his pocket.
Sanada gives him a look, then turns to Yukimura. They share a glance and the Rikkai captain nods.
"Yes, Niou," he asks when the door shuts behind Sanada. Niou is sure the blue-haired teen already knows the question and the answer, but at least he's nice enough to play along.
"Doubles one. Why isn't it Yagyuu and me?"
Yukimura gives him a soft smile. "You lost."
"And if I had won?"
"You would be singles three and Yagyuu would be with Marui. There was never any intention of you being partnered with him for the entirety of the Nationals tournament anyway," he says firmly, the kind look disappearing in an instant. He leaves and Niou slams his fist against his locker as the door slams shut.
--
Yagyuu's younger sister answers the door Sunday afternoon. She smiles brightly as Niou enters and slips off his shoes.
"He's in the backyard," she supplies before he can ask and leads him through their ridiculously pristine home to the patio.
Niou leans against the door frame and watches Yagyuu take turns putting with his father. He has observed his partner enough over the years and can tell he seems more relaxed, a bit happier. It makes his stomach feel heavy.
"Do you need anything Niou-kun?"
The question cuts through his thoughts and he shakes his head.
"Nah," he says patting her on the shoulder. "Just tell your brother I'll see him at practice tomorrow, okay?"
She nods emphatically and sends him off.
--
Niou wipes the spare set clean meticulously and sets them, just right, on his face.
"Well?"
Yagyuu raises a hand and runs it through light brown strands, setting them perfect. He steps back and gives Niou the once over, lips pursed dangerously thin.
"You pissed too? About not playing doubles."
The original Yagyuu looks up and locks eyes with his partner. "In some ways yes. In others, no." He fixes Niou's hair again and dabs on just enough concealer to hide the mark.
Niou doesn't quite know if he should be pissed or not. He frowns slightly when Yagyuu pulls his hand away.
"Much better," he says, putting the makeup away and going back to finishing up his own preparations.
"You gonna elaborate?"
"On what, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asks, slipping off his glasses and putting in a pair of contacts. He blinks a few times to get used to them. In his peripheral vision, he can see Niou looking annoyed. Straightening his back, he turns to look at him, understanding. "It's not as though I'll be winning the match anyway."
He picks up his racket and leaves the locker room.
Practice is annoying for a number of reasons. It's hot and humid, Yukimura is running drills at twice their normal pace, and Niou is quite sure that Marui and Sanada have timed their cycles perfectly; they're both being more than their usual brand of insufferable.
Niou leans on the back of a bench after his run. He's about to die. No, he's sure he is dying. He bumps Yanagi's arm and motions for a water bottle.
"They have planned against you," Yanagi says, handing over the bottle, then jotting another note on his clipboard without looking up.
He takes a long swig and drops the bottle into the seat. "Listen, I don't care what idiot coach thinks they have us figured out. They're wrong."
The data specialist looks up. "The Switch is predictable. Regardless of the steps you have taken to insure its effectiveness, the point remains that teams will expect it."
Niou kicks the ground in annoyance, shuffling up dirt. Yanagi makes another note. Someone will be doing extra clean up duties this evening.
Yukimura calls an end to practice and Niou pushes himself off the bench to join the rest of the club who are dragging themselves back to the main court. He leans on Yagyuu, despite the temperature. He could almost fall asleep, but Sanada is loud and he really doesn't want to run more laps.
"Nationals starts tomorrow," Sanada barks. "We will have our third consecutive victory."
"It is no time to slack off," Yukimura says firmly, eyes glancing back and forth between Niou and Kirihara, then lands on Yagyuu. "A single loss will be unacceptable. Dismissed."
Everyone nods and makes their way to the locker room, careful to keep the groaning to a minimum. Niou can make out the Troika converging on Yagyuu right before he goes into the clubhouse.
--
God, this was so boring. Why couldn't they just have a bye to the final? Niou leaned against the railing as Yagyuu and Kirihara dominated on the court. It was clear that Yagyuu was doing something to turn the youngest regular into an unstoppable machine. He looked closer. His best friend was practically having fun. Without him. So rude.
"Stop sulking, Niou," Sanada says without turning his eyes away from the match. "You're partnering with Yagyuu for the next round."
A devilish grin appeared on Niou's face. He had the perfect plan. Now if Yagyuu and the baby would only hurry up and win so he could put their plan into motion. He waited another ten minutes before the two stepped off the court and Sanada prepared to go on.
"Yaaagyuu," Niou drawled as he sidled up next to his partner-in-crime. He gets a sideways glance in return. Excellent. "I say we switch, but not."
He says nothing. Instead, he cleans his glasses, then sets his racket over his lap and begins adjusting the strings. But Niou can see the slight twitch at the corner of his lips.
Of course, Sanada leaves his opponent plastered to the other side of the court and the round ends. It is almost as good as having a second round bye, but it doesn't last long. Yanagi has already started to discuss their next quarterfinal opponent, Kabuto.
--
Niou still doesn't give a fuck; he's partnered with Yagyuu and they'll win, obviously. He rolls his eyes when Yanagi announces himself and Jackal as doubles one. He feels Yagyuu tense up beside him. He's annoyed. They should have been there instead.
It's fine though. Kirihara goes out and crushes some kid named Shino, six-love. It's all Niou can do to maintain his composure.
"Ready, Yaaagyuu," he says, gripping his racket tight. The brunette nods and sends a glare over to the other side. This victory will be Rikkai's.
It doesn't take long for Niou to become Yagyuu and take on his playing style. The Kabuto players are increasingly unsure of who is who. He knows they think they are being duped by the Switch and Yagyuu has to glance at him more than once to keep himself in check and not blow it.
On Yagyuu's second service game, when they are up four-love, a predatory smirk appears on his face. Niou catches it and nods. Yagyuu's serve slices through air and hits the court so quick, the other team doesn't have a chance to react. Another glance, another nod. Yagyuu switches hands and replicates the serve.
"Are you done playing, Niou-kun?" Niou asks Yagyuu before the last set starts.
Yagyuu adjusts his glasses and the smirk disappears. "Quite."
The last volley goes on; Niou wants to toy with them a little and Yagyuu lets him, stretching the game into a deuce-advantage back and forth battle until Yagyuu sends a Laser Beam straight through the middle to end the match six-love.
It's over too soon, Niou thinks as he exits the court with Yagyuu. Their shoulders brush. It's the closest to a high five he'll get.
--
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Niou snaps when Yagyuu is down four-one against some foreign kid named Gallagher.
Yukimura and Sanada both exchange looks, but say nothing. The trickster looks at his best friend in disbelief. Yagyuu had never lost before. Rikkai doesn't condone losing, so what the fuck was he doing? Unless, really, this team was better than them. Niou couldn't believe that at all.
"Yagyuu-senpai isn't going to lose, right?" Kirihara finally asks at five-two.
Everyone else stares in disbelief as Yagyuu walks off the courts, defeated. Niou hands him a towel and they watch as Marui and Jackal get slammed six-one. It only seems to do downhill from there. In five games, Kirihara is practically crucified against the fence, his blood staining the court red. Yukimura and Sanada both request to the coach that the match keep going. Niou thinks they are both insane.
"Yagyuu-senpai..." Kirihara barely gets out. "What are they saying?"
"'Are they really last year's kings?'" he translates with a slight adjustment to his glasses. "'In our country, elementary school kids are better than that seaweed-haired bastard.'"
Niou gives Yagyuu a look and suddenly understands the losses. His eyes dart between the members of the Troika. Yanagi looks back at him and nods solemnly. Whatever, Niou thinks. They'll sweep the rest, including the finals.
No one flinches when Sanada punches the locker room after their defeat at the hands of Seigaku. Yukimura says nothing, but everyone knows what the both of them are thinking. Niou leans on Yagyuu, exhausted.
"We suck at singles, Yaaagyuu," he says jokingly. "You should be my doubles partner forever."
"We're nationally ranked in singles, Niou-kun. I am not keen on switching that for doubles."
"We can still play singles, but for the really important shit, doubles."
Yagyuu reaches over and tugs on Niou's rat tail, swirling it around his finger a few times.
"It won't be up to us anymore," Yagyuu says. "Our time here is over."
--
The loser will be leaving.
Niou sends the ball back again. He doesn't want to go home yet. Yagyuu is ruthless. Perhaps even more than he's ever been. He smirks; only he could ever get a vague semblance of a rise out the bastard.
"Pardon me, Niou-kun," Yagyuu says as his return hits the net and causes a cord ball.
"Shit," he mutters rushing toward the ball.
Some screams at him to look out, but it's too late as his leg collides with the net post and starts gushing blood.
"Yagyuu leads, seven-six."
Yagyuu ignores it and moves toward the net. "Are you alright, Niou-kun?"
Niou looks up with a determined look in his eyes. "Don't fuck with me, Yagyuu," he seethes. "You're the only one I can't lose to."
He watches Yagyuu nod and return to the baseline. He stands and tries to ignore the comments being tossed around. He's not done yet and they need to shut up, but then Yagyuu starts waxing about their doubles technique. He furrows his brows as Yagyuu sends the Laser Beam his way.
"Adieu, Niou-kun."
Niou looks on in disbelief as the Beam changes course and curves out of his reach.
"Game won by Yagyuu, eight-six."
He walks to the net and shakes Yagyuu's hand. He smiles mischievously.
"Seems you're quite the trickster yourself."
"That's quite harmful to my reputation. We're equals," Yagyuu replies with an adjustment to his glasses.
As they leave the court, their hands brush.
"I do hope you'll take the time off to become better. I would not wish for my doubles partner to become lax in our time apart."
Niou nods and puts his racket away. With a backwards wave, he leaves the court, and Yagyuu, behind.
Title: X & Y
Characters: Niou, Yagyuu, other Rikkai regulars
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Niou wants to play doubles.
Warnings: Niou's mouth.
Disclaimer: Copyright lies with Konomi-sensei.
A/N: Draws heavily on manga canon up to Shin Prince of Tennis.
Niou switches out his racket at four-three. The gut strings seem a little loose and there's one near his sweet spot that is slightly frayed. His nose crinkles in annoyance as he slides the damaged racket into his bag and pulls out one of his spares. Damn Yagyuu and his playing style.
He watches his partner push up thin frames with a finger. Niou almost thinks Yagyuu is mocking him, but he can't be too sure. After all, Yagyuu is the epitome of gentlemanly. He would never dream of flipping any one off.
"Shall we continue, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asks, running his hand over his perfectly pristine racket.
Sometimes Niou wonders if Yagyuu actually plays outside of practice and tournaments. As much as Yukimura and Sanada prostrate themselves for the sport, their rackets are needing to be constantly restrung and go through proper maintenance... Yagyuu's, not so much. He shakes it off and goes back to the baseline. He'll push it toward tiebreak.
Yagyuu serves the ball cleanly, without error, and ridiculously fast. Niou doesn't have time to blink, sprinting to it and smacking it back. The bespectacled player is already at the net and sends it behind Niou, much to the trickster's chagrin. When he looks back at Yagyuu, he can see himself reflected in the opaque lenses.
"Fuck, Yagyuu, stop dicking around and play me," he shouts, knowing full well after the match Yukimura will give him twenty laps for his mouth.
"I am not doing what you accuse me of," he replies and goes to serve again. Niou rolls his eyes and prepares himself.
When Yagyuu wins, seven-five, Niou starts running before Yukimura can even open his mouth. He can feel Sanada glaring at him from underneath his hat and he runs harder. He ends up, panting and bent over, next to Kirihara as Yukimura announces the line-up for the upcoming tournament.
"Doubles two, Yanagi and Kirihara. Doubles one, Niou and Marui. Singles three, Yagyuu. Singles two, Sanada. Singles one, Yukimura."
Niou straightens up and looks over at Yagyuu. This isn't the first time they've been separated, but it stings a little just the same. After practice, he hangs around until it's only Sanada and Yukimura left. He has to know why - the real reason - not something cooked up by the baby or the sugar high idiot.
"Yo, buchou," he says lowly, raising a hand in greeting before shoving it back in his pocket.
Sanada gives him a look, then turns to Yukimura. They share a glance and the Rikkai captain nods.
"Yes, Niou," he asks when the door shuts behind Sanada. Niou is sure the blue-haired teen already knows the question and the answer, but at least he's nice enough to play along.
"Doubles one. Why isn't it Yagyuu and me?"
Yukimura gives him a soft smile. "You lost."
"And if I had won?"
"You would be singles three and Yagyuu would be with Marui. There was never any intention of you being partnered with him for the entirety of the Nationals tournament anyway," he says firmly, the kind look disappearing in an instant. He leaves and Niou slams his fist against his locker as the door slams shut.
--
Yagyuu's younger sister answers the door Sunday afternoon. She smiles brightly as Niou enters and slips off his shoes.
"He's in the backyard," she supplies before he can ask and leads him through their ridiculously pristine home to the patio.
Niou leans against the door frame and watches Yagyuu take turns putting with his father. He has observed his partner enough over the years and can tell he seems more relaxed, a bit happier. It makes his stomach feel heavy.
"Do you need anything Niou-kun?"
The question cuts through his thoughts and he shakes his head.
"Nah," he says patting her on the shoulder. "Just tell your brother I'll see him at practice tomorrow, okay?"
She nods emphatically and sends him off.
--
Niou wipes the spare set clean meticulously and sets them, just right, on his face.
"Well?"
Yagyuu raises a hand and runs it through light brown strands, setting them perfect. He steps back and gives Niou the once over, lips pursed dangerously thin.
"You pissed too? About not playing doubles."
The original Yagyuu looks up and locks eyes with his partner. "In some ways yes. In others, no." He fixes Niou's hair again and dabs on just enough concealer to hide the mark.
Niou doesn't quite know if he should be pissed or not. He frowns slightly when Yagyuu pulls his hand away.
"Much better," he says, putting the makeup away and going back to finishing up his own preparations.
"You gonna elaborate?"
"On what, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asks, slipping off his glasses and putting in a pair of contacts. He blinks a few times to get used to them. In his peripheral vision, he can see Niou looking annoyed. Straightening his back, he turns to look at him, understanding. "It's not as though I'll be winning the match anyway."
He picks up his racket and leaves the locker room.
Practice is annoying for a number of reasons. It's hot and humid, Yukimura is running drills at twice their normal pace, and Niou is quite sure that Marui and Sanada have timed their cycles perfectly; they're both being more than their usual brand of insufferable.
Niou leans on the back of a bench after his run. He's about to die. No, he's sure he is dying. He bumps Yanagi's arm and motions for a water bottle.
"They have planned against you," Yanagi says, handing over the bottle, then jotting another note on his clipboard without looking up.
He takes a long swig and drops the bottle into the seat. "Listen, I don't care what idiot coach thinks they have us figured out. They're wrong."
The data specialist looks up. "The Switch is predictable. Regardless of the steps you have taken to insure its effectiveness, the point remains that teams will expect it."
Niou kicks the ground in annoyance, shuffling up dirt. Yanagi makes another note. Someone will be doing extra clean up duties this evening.
Yukimura calls an end to practice and Niou pushes himself off the bench to join the rest of the club who are dragging themselves back to the main court. He leans on Yagyuu, despite the temperature. He could almost fall asleep, but Sanada is loud and he really doesn't want to run more laps.
"Nationals starts tomorrow," Sanada barks. "We will have our third consecutive victory."
"It is no time to slack off," Yukimura says firmly, eyes glancing back and forth between Niou and Kirihara, then lands on Yagyuu. "A single loss will be unacceptable. Dismissed."
Everyone nods and makes their way to the locker room, careful to keep the groaning to a minimum. Niou can make out the Troika converging on Yagyuu right before he goes into the clubhouse.
--
God, this was so boring. Why couldn't they just have a bye to the final? Niou leaned against the railing as Yagyuu and Kirihara dominated on the court. It was clear that Yagyuu was doing something to turn the youngest regular into an unstoppable machine. He looked closer. His best friend was practically having fun. Without him. So rude.
"Stop sulking, Niou," Sanada says without turning his eyes away from the match. "You're partnering with Yagyuu for the next round."
A devilish grin appeared on Niou's face. He had the perfect plan. Now if Yagyuu and the baby would only hurry up and win so he could put their plan into motion. He waited another ten minutes before the two stepped off the court and Sanada prepared to go on.
"Yaaagyuu," Niou drawled as he sidled up next to his partner-in-crime. He gets a sideways glance in return. Excellent. "I say we switch, but not."
He says nothing. Instead, he cleans his glasses, then sets his racket over his lap and begins adjusting the strings. But Niou can see the slight twitch at the corner of his lips.
Of course, Sanada leaves his opponent plastered to the other side of the court and the round ends. It is almost as good as having a second round bye, but it doesn't last long. Yanagi has already started to discuss their next quarterfinal opponent, Kabuto.
--
Niou still doesn't give a fuck; he's partnered with Yagyuu and they'll win, obviously. He rolls his eyes when Yanagi announces himself and Jackal as doubles one. He feels Yagyuu tense up beside him. He's annoyed. They should have been there instead.
It's fine though. Kirihara goes out and crushes some kid named Shino, six-love. It's all Niou can do to maintain his composure.
"Ready, Yaaagyuu," he says, gripping his racket tight. The brunette nods and sends a glare over to the other side. This victory will be Rikkai's.
It doesn't take long for Niou to become Yagyuu and take on his playing style. The Kabuto players are increasingly unsure of who is who. He knows they think they are being duped by the Switch and Yagyuu has to glance at him more than once to keep himself in check and not blow it.
On Yagyuu's second service game, when they are up four-love, a predatory smirk appears on his face. Niou catches it and nods. Yagyuu's serve slices through air and hits the court so quick, the other team doesn't have a chance to react. Another glance, another nod. Yagyuu switches hands and replicates the serve.
"Are you done playing, Niou-kun?" Niou asks Yagyuu before the last set starts.
Yagyuu adjusts his glasses and the smirk disappears. "Quite."
The last volley goes on; Niou wants to toy with them a little and Yagyuu lets him, stretching the game into a deuce-advantage back and forth battle until Yagyuu sends a Laser Beam straight through the middle to end the match six-love.
It's over too soon, Niou thinks as he exits the court with Yagyuu. Their shoulders brush. It's the closest to a high five he'll get.
--
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Niou snaps when Yagyuu is down four-one against some foreign kid named Gallagher.
Yukimura and Sanada both exchange looks, but say nothing. The trickster looks at his best friend in disbelief. Yagyuu had never lost before. Rikkai doesn't condone losing, so what the fuck was he doing? Unless, really, this team was better than them. Niou couldn't believe that at all.
"Yagyuu-senpai isn't going to lose, right?" Kirihara finally asks at five-two.
Everyone else stares in disbelief as Yagyuu walks off the courts, defeated. Niou hands him a towel and they watch as Marui and Jackal get slammed six-one. It only seems to do downhill from there. In five games, Kirihara is practically crucified against the fence, his blood staining the court red. Yukimura and Sanada both request to the coach that the match keep going. Niou thinks they are both insane.
"Yagyuu-senpai..." Kirihara barely gets out. "What are they saying?"
"'Are they really last year's kings?'" he translates with a slight adjustment to his glasses. "'In our country, elementary school kids are better than that seaweed-haired bastard.'"
Niou gives Yagyuu a look and suddenly understands the losses. His eyes dart between the members of the Troika. Yanagi looks back at him and nods solemnly. Whatever, Niou thinks. They'll sweep the rest, including the finals.
No one flinches when Sanada punches the locker room after their defeat at the hands of Seigaku. Yukimura says nothing, but everyone knows what the both of them are thinking. Niou leans on Yagyuu, exhausted.
"We suck at singles, Yaaagyuu," he says jokingly. "You should be my doubles partner forever."
"We're nationally ranked in singles, Niou-kun. I am not keen on switching that for doubles."
"We can still play singles, but for the really important shit, doubles."
Yagyuu reaches over and tugs on Niou's rat tail, swirling it around his finger a few times.
"It won't be up to us anymore," Yagyuu says. "Our time here is over."
--
The loser will be leaving.
Niou sends the ball back again. He doesn't want to go home yet. Yagyuu is ruthless. Perhaps even more than he's ever been. He smirks; only he could ever get a vague semblance of a rise out the bastard.
"Pardon me, Niou-kun," Yagyuu says as his return hits the net and causes a cord ball.
"Shit," he mutters rushing toward the ball.
Some screams at him to look out, but it's too late as his leg collides with the net post and starts gushing blood.
"Yagyuu leads, seven-six."
Yagyuu ignores it and moves toward the net. "Are you alright, Niou-kun?"
Niou looks up with a determined look in his eyes. "Don't fuck with me, Yagyuu," he seethes. "You're the only one I can't lose to."
He watches Yagyuu nod and return to the baseline. He stands and tries to ignore the comments being tossed around. He's not done yet and they need to shut up, but then Yagyuu starts waxing about their doubles technique. He furrows his brows as Yagyuu sends the Laser Beam his way.
"Adieu, Niou-kun."
Niou looks on in disbelief as the Beam changes course and curves out of his reach.
"Game won by Yagyuu, eight-six."
He walks to the net and shakes Yagyuu's hand. He smiles mischievously.
"Seems you're quite the trickster yourself."
"That's quite harmful to my reputation. We're equals," Yagyuu replies with an adjustment to his glasses.
As they leave the court, their hands brush.
"I do hope you'll take the time off to become better. I would not wish for my doubles partner to become lax in our time apart."
Niou nods and puts his racket away. With a backwards wave, he leaves the court, and Yagyuu, behind.