Illusions, Truth, and the Ways of Equilateral Triangles
Title: Illusions, Truth, and the Ways of Equilateral Triangles
Pairing/Characters: Yukimura/Sanada/Yanagi; Niou
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sanada likes Yukimura, Yukimura likes him and Yanagi, and Yanagi is confused by the whole situation. Throw in a favor from Niou, and misunderstandings and angsty chaos occur.
Warnings: slight sexual references (cold showers)
Notes: Written for top_cagnotte round 2010 for uebo14 Enjoy!
There was just something strange about receiving a rose unexpectedly.
"Who would be sending Seiichi roses?" Yanagi Renji asked, a bit curious. Personally, he thought it was somewhat romantic, if not somewhat creepy not admitting to be the person sending them.
Yukimura shrugged. "Who knows? Probably some girl that doesn't even have a chance." He said, placing the flower in his bag carefully so he could get it home and put it properly into a vase. It was still a flower and he meant to care for it until it just couldn't hold on any longer.
Yanagi frowned at that. Sanada snorted a little as he had overheard the short conversation. "Girls shouldn't be doing things like that." He said, finishing dressing. Tennis practice had ended a while earlier and the three officers and best players on the team remained.
"Are you sure it's not one of Niou's pranks?" Yanagi asked. "I wouldn't put it past him."
"I don't think it is." Yukimura said. "This is too easy, even for him. Even if it was, I think he knows enough not to play with people's hearts."
Sanada snorted yet again. "Are you sure about that?" He asked. Yukimura shrugged in response, then an evil grin appeared on his face.
"If he is that stupid, he'll find that he'll be rather well punished." Yukimura promised. "I think a thousand push ups and a 100 laps should teach him - if it is him."
Sanada just shook his head and pulled his cap back onto his head. "Good work today." He said and took his leave. That left Yukimura and Yanagi together in the clubroom.
Yukimura smiled a bit more brightly. "Ne, Renji?"
"Hmm?"
"Any suspects? Other than Niou, that is?" Yukimura asked him.
"Your entire fan club." Yanagi answered him. Yukimura frowned at that.
"They're too superficial to do that."
Yanagi shrugged then. "Then I have no other suggestions." He said. "It must be nice though." He said as he left the room.
Yukimura raised an eyebrow. "Bitter much?" He muttered under his breath. Yanagi got his own share of attentions from the female population, but it mostly around Valentine's Day and nothing like this.
Yukimura finally was able to leave and locked up behind him. He rolled the stem of the rose in his fingers. "Who are you?" He asked quietly.
That evening, Yanagi sat on his bed, reading the novel he had just checked out from the library earlier that day. His mobile phone buzzed with a message, or rather a couple of messages that came in right after the other.
Hey, Yanagi. Need some help with lit. Also need some help with something else. That one was from Niou. Yanagi was a bit intrigued by that, and responded that he would call him in a couple of minutes.
Yanagi, we need to talk. :-| That one was from Sanada. That really was not the most helpful message ever. Considering he was one of Yanagi's best friends, he thought it wise to call him first.
Yanagi didn't even bother with a greeting as he called Sanada. "What's wrong, Genichirou?" He asked.
Sanada was not exactly expecting that. "It's not that anything is wrong..."
"Then what do you need?"
"Advice." Sanada replied. Even though he couldn't see it, he was sure Yanagi's eyebrow was raised just a bit.
"On what?"
"...Romance." Yanagi nearly spit out the tea he had been sipping.
"Who are you and what have you done with Sanada Genichirou?"
"Funny." Sanada responded. "I'm serious." Sanada said, pausing for a moment. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course, Genichirou."
"I'm the one that's been sending the flowers to Yukimura." Luckily, Yanagi had not bothered trying to drink anything else, or he would have surely spit it out at that revelation.
"I...was not aware you felt that way towards Seiichi." Yanagi commented smoothly, trying to keep his voice even.
"Ah..." Sanada said quietly. "It's...been growing for a while. I...just don't know how to admit this to him. It's...weird."
Yanagi nodded, even though Sanada couldn't see him over the phone. "I can see how you feel like that." Yanagi wasn't sure why he felt like his heart was going to break. It was not as if he had a claim on anyone's heart, much less Yukimura's.
"I'm not sure how I can help you, Genichirou. This is something you need to figure out for yourself." Yanagi told him. "I need to make another call. Though I will try to think of a way to possibly help you." With that, he ended the called, thinking a little. Perhaps there was a small ray of hope, and the person he was about to call would perhaps be of assistance to him.
Yanagi stood outside a house that was not his. It was closer to school than his own and looked rather normal from the outside. He felt it was wiser to make this request in person for the pure absurdity of it. On the other hand, absurdity was this person's specialty.
Yanagi approached the door and knocked. A boy that was somewhat younger than himself answered. Yanagi assumed this was the younger sibling. "Is Masaharu home?" He asked.
"Yeah." The boy said, not exactly knowing who it was other than one of his brother's tennis people. Yanagi stepped inside, removing his shoes and apologizing for intruding. "Upstairs, last room on the left." The boy told him.
"Thank you." Yanagi said, climbing the stairs swiftly and knocking on the indicated door where he heard the dull thwoosh of a projectile going through the air and a noise as it connect with its target. He knocked quietly. "Masaharu?" He asked.
Niou blinked. He had not expected any one, and was slightly pissed at Yanagi for not calling as he said he would. Niou opened his door. "When you said you'd call, I thought you meant on the phone." He said, narrowing his eyes a bit.
Yanagi just chuckled a little as he stepped past Niou. "Well, that was before I had a favor to ask." Niou gave him a rather strange look. What kind of favor could the Master want from him?
Yanagi smiled slightly. "Consider it a trade off for the help I'll be giving you." He said, waving the book class 3-B was currently working on in their literature class.
"What's the favor?" Niou asked, curious, but in a tone that said maybe I will, maybe I won't.
"Well, Genichirou is having a bit of a dilemma regarding Seiichi." Yanagi started.
"And what does this have to do with me?"
Yanagi smiled a bit more. "Genichirou apparently has romantic feelings for Seiichi, but isn't quite sure how to confess to him." He explained. "You could use your Illusion to be Yukimura to help him practice."
"This is the stupidest idea I've heard lately." Niou said, but grinning. "I'll do it."
With that arrangement, Yanagi was a bit more confused himself. Though perhaps Genichirou would feel better with a bit of a rehearsal before going to the real Yukimura to confess, Yanagi was feeling a little betrayed. It wasn't as if he had romantic feelings for either of his friends...Did he?
Sanada looked to either side of him. Yanagi was on his left and on his right was Niou. Sanada had an even sterner than usual expression on his face.
"What is he doing here?" He whispered loudly at Yanagi, not caring if Niou heard him or not. Yanagi just stayed his calm self while formulating his reply.
"You said you needed some assistance with admitting your feelings to Seiichi."
Sanada glared. "And what does that have to do with Niou."
Niou grinned, gathered his energy and transformed himself into an exact replica of Yukimura. He put on one of Yukimura's pouty faces. "Sanada..." The Niou-Yukimura said quietly, in the voice that sounded so familiar to all of them. How Niou could do that soft voice and not hurt his throat was beyond anyone's understanding
Sanada gulped. He had to admit, Niou was good at what does...a little too good for Sanada's liking.
Yanagi shrugged. "I thought perhaps rehearsing what you want to say to Seiichi's face while not actually having to deal with the true reaction would be helpful, and perhaps prepare you for any possibility."
Niou chuckled softly in his Yukimura voice. "We wouldn't want poor Sanada to start crying over this beautiful face." He said.
Yanagi bit his lip, staring at the notes he had written out. The notes were unrelated to tennis, nor related to anything school related. The numbers were there in front of him, and yet, they meant nothing.
Renji pulled out a small piece of paper.
Flower shining bright
My heart wishes for a chance
Your love is not mine
Renji frowned at his haiku. It was horrible, and depressing. Yet, in a few short strokes, his feelings flowed out.
a stone in the rain
Your strength staying in one place
Supporting a flower
He frowned again at it. What was wrong with him? Perhaps he was developing some romantic feelings towards his two friends, and now that Sanada was considering confessing, Yanagi no longer had a chance to say anything to either of them.
Yukimura stood next to Yanagi at tennis practice the next day. "Have you seen Sanada?" He asked, wondering where his vice captain could be.
"I believe Genichirou is still changing. He was running slightly late due to the buses running late" Yanagi answered. "It's only a few minutes, I don't think it will be necessary to punish him for that. Or he'll punish himself."
Yukimura chuckled lightly. "I think he will." Yukimura said. "Have you noticed him acting...odd lately?" He asked.
"Odd how?" Yanagi asked, writing down an observation about one of the second years.
"It seems like he's trying to avoid me lately." Yanagi just pursed his lips. Maybe the practice confessions to Niou had backfired. Or Sanada just was not ready.
"I'm sure he's not, Seiichi. He may just be busy."
Yukimura shrugged. "Oh, yes, before I forget, could I have some assistance in the rooftop garden later?" Yanagi nodded, noticing another underclassman that obviously needed some improvement.
Yukimura was calmly watering the flowers that were in bloom on the rooftop. Yanagi joined him quietly. "Hello, Seiichi." He greeted the other teen that was lost in thought.
"Good of you to join me." Yukimura said. "Actually, I didn't need assistance, I just wanted to talk." He admitted.
"Oh?" Yanagi asked with no outward sign of curiosity.
"Have you ever thought you were falling in love with something?" Yukimura asked completely out of the blue.
Renji had to think for a second. He loved his family, he loved Inui Sadaharu as if he was his brother, but falling in love with someone outside of those little circles, he...wasn't sure how to answer that. He thought he might be, but wasn't quite to the point where he could admit it to himself or anyone else.
"I might have thought it, but it's never actually been more than a passing feeling." Renji said in reply.
Yukimura nodded. "Well, you might not be of much help, but I suppose I can ask anyway." He said. "What do you do when you think you're falling in love with two people?"
Renji really was not sure how to respond to that. "I suppose it depends on the feelings of the two people you think you're falling for." He said carefully. There was only so many ways to resolve a love triangle. In most of the books he'd read that had that as a plot, it tended to never end well for at least one of the parties involved. "Perhaps you should try to woo one over the other." Renji suggested.
Yukimura thought about that. "Perhaps I will." He said. "Ne, Renji?"
"What is it, Seiichi?"
"Do you like flowers?"
"Not particularly." He answered. He enjoyed them for their beauty, but he wasn't fond of the swollen sinuses and sniffles they caused him. Thank goodness for allergy medication. Yukimura hummed at the answer.
With that little noise, the bell for class rang.
After classes were over for the day, Sanada approached Yanagi in classroom 3-F.
"Yanagi." He said in his low voice.
Renji looked up from his seat. "What is it, Genichirou?"
"I have something for you." Sanada said. With that, he leaned down and kissed Renji right on the lips.
Outside the classroom, Yukimura walked past the door and happened to glance in at that moment. His heart sunk to his feet.
Renji's eyes narrowed. "That was not funny." He hissed. The face smirked and the wig came off and familiar bleached hair and a rattail flew down over the shoulders.
Niou smirked. "Probably not." He winked. "But I may have just started something." He said, swaggering out. Under his breath, he mumbled. "You three are idiots."
Renji frowned. What in the world could the Trickster be up to now?
Yukimura sighed as he sat down at the desk in his bedroom to do his homework. Paper and books were scattered along the desk, but Yukimura couldn't focus on them.
Yanagi and Sanada were together? When had that happened? Why hadn't either one of them told him? He was their mutual best friend, right? Why had they betrayed him like this? Yukimura's chest tightened.
This could not be right.
Yet, there was a new determination in the back of Yukimura's mind as he recalled the conversation earlier with Yanagi. Try to woo one over the other. he had said.
Yukimura had a grim smile on his lips. Why not try to woo both of them?
How do you woo two of the most old man like teenagers in the school though? Yukimura brightened at a thought and jumped out of his chair.
Sanada opened up his shoe locker and blinked at a slip of paper sitting on top of his school shoes.
Sanada - Meet me at 16:00 at the front gates. The note was unsigned and the handwriting unfamiliar. He frowned at it. It was probably some girl wanting to confess to him. There was only one person he had feelings for, and it was not a girl. Sanada tossed the note into the nearest waste bin and went on to class.
Yukimura was leaning against the front gates at the end of the day. Yanagi approached him.
"Are you waiting for someone, Seiichi?" He asked.
Yukimura frowned. "I was." He said, sighing a little with disappointment. "I was waiting for Sanada."
Yanagi raised his eyebrow. "Genichirou left about twenty minutes ago." He said. Yukimura's eyes went wide and he cursed at himself internally. The disappointment Yukimura felt increased a bit.
"I see." Yukimura said calmly. "Well, since you're here, do you want to get some coffee?" He asked.
Yanagi checked his watch. "Sure." He said, knowing he has plenty of time to do so.
The walk to the coffee shop was quiet, and the shop itself was quiet except for some other Rikkai students and some students from other schools in the area. One of the girls from Rikkai waved at Yukimura and he waved back. It was a classmate of his. She turned back to her girlfriends, and whispered something that made them all giggle.
Once Yanagi and Yukimura had their drinks they sat down at a table near the window. It was still quiet between them. It just didn't quite feel right to speak at the moment.
"Seiichi?" Yanagi finally broke the silence.
"Hmm?" Yukimura answered, sipping at his latte.
Yanagi stared down into his drink, a regular, black coffee with nothing in it. "I think I understand what you were talking about yesterday at lunch." He finally said.
Yukimura raised his eyebrow. "You do?"
Renji nodded. Perhaps if it had not been for Niou's stunt in his classroom the day before he would not have realized it on his own. It was a rather brave move, and he had thought on it all night. Rather, he had thought about what it might be like if the real Sanada would have kissed him, and when that thought occurred, he wondered what it might be like to kiss Yukimura as well. Then Renji's thoughts had wandered to other things that had led to a very cold shower.
"I..." Yanagi trailed off. He wasn't sure how to admit this to either of them. He knew Sanada wanted Yukimura. He wasn't sure whom Yukimura was interested in. Here he was, caught in the middle and wanting both of them. "I don't know what to do."
Yukimura looked at him. Yanagi Renji didn't know something. That admission in itself was shocking, but Yukimura understood. "Pick one." Yukimura quoted his own advice back to him.
"I can't." Renji answered him. "They're interested in others." He said.
"How do you know that?" Yukimura asked.
"They've told me." Yanagi said, a sad smile on his face as he sipped the bitter liquid. It wasn't often he drank coffee; he much preferred tea. The coffee seemed like a more appropriate drink considering his feelings at the moment. Yanagi rose from his seat. "Thanks for the company, Seiichi. I'll see you tomorrow at practice." He bowed slightly and left the shop.
Yukimura stared after him, his eyes still sad. Maybe he should have said what was actually on his mind.
"Akaya! Bend your knees!" Sanada yelled at their junior. The kid still had trouble keeping that in mind, and both Sanada and Yanagi were about to kill him.
Niou snickered at the reprimand Akaya received, and ended his laps he had earned for being late. He sidled up to Yanagi's side. "Heard any gossip lately?" He asked slyly.
"Not today, Masaharu." He answered truthfully. Niou just smiled.
"Don't be shocked." Niou warned him. Yanagi raised an eyebrow as Niou moved on to Yukimura.
Niou could be worse than Yanagi sometimes in the ways of being cryptic.
The halls were abuzz when the tennis team came into the main hall that contained their classrooms. Some of the girls gasped and were whispering to their friends about what had gone on the day before.
Yukimura sat at his desk. He should have remembered that group of girls at the coffee shop were the biggest gossips in their school.
The rumors had already gotten back to class 3-A.
Yagyuu looked at Sanada sympathetically. "I wasn't aware you and Yanagi-kun were in a relationship." He stated. Sanada looked up at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard about what happened a couple of days ago. You kissed Yanagi-kun on the lips in his classroom right before practice."
This was news to Sanada. It wasn't as if he had occasionally thought about it, but he had never actually done it. Besides, didn't he feel more for Yukimura?
"Of course, I also heard he's cheating on you with Yukimura-kun. Apparently they were seen on a date yesterday afternoon." Yagyuu continued.
Sanada was going to kill someone, once he calmed down and his skin returned to its normal color. Yagyuu's lips curled up in a small smile. Of course he had been in on the facts. He knew it was Niou that had done that for the good of the three.
Sanada rose from his seat, ignoring Yagyuu, and walked calmly to classroom 3-C.
"Yukimura." Sanada said not too loudly, but loud enough to be heard over the din of the classroom. Yukimura looked up from his desk and wished he hadn't. He rose and walked over to Sanada. Sanada led them to the end of the hall - to classroom 3-F. Sanada slid the door to the classroom open. "Yanagi!" He barked out at him. Renji raised his head, and quietly rose from his seat where a brand new novel lay open on the desk.
Yukimura raised his eyebrow. "I take it this is about the rumors?" He asked.
"What rumors?" Yanagi asked.
"The one that you're dating Sanada and are cheating on him with me." Yukimura said. "Wow, apparently no one from 3-F ever stays down by the other classrooms long enough to hear the interesting gossip."
Yanagi's eyes did not open, but you could tell that they wanted to pop out of his head.
Sanada looked stern. "We need to clear this up. None of us are dating anyone." He said, turning around. Yanagi grabbed his arm.
"Don't you have something you'd like to say to Seiichi?" Yanagi asked. They might as well clear up everything right now. Sanada's face flushed once again.
"No." Sanada said. Yanagi rolled his eyes.
Yukimura sighed. Well, at least he could confess to both of his secret loves at the same time. He looked down at the floor. "Well, I have something to say to both of you."
The two turned to the soft voice that was speaking. "It's difficult to say, but...I like you. Both of you." Yukimura's voice had gotten even softer. Yukimura's lips turned up just a little. "So...I suppose you could say that yesterday was a date."
Yanagi did not seem all that shocked. Sanada almost choked on air upon hearing that. "I suppose I can accept that." Yanagi replied. "I should probably admit I feel the same way about the both of you as well." Yanagi sighed a little. This is not exactly how he had planned to confess, but here was the opportunity that Yukimura had seized, so why shouldn't he do so as well?
Sanada choked on air a second time. "This...is unacceptable." Sanada turned around to leave a second time, but this time both his arms were grabbed by two people.
"Genichirou." Yanagi said, smiling sadly. "I know you don't feel the same. That is why I will step aside. At least it will be more normal." He said, turning around to head back into his classroom.
Sanada looked after him, taking a sharp breath.
"What's wrong, Sanada?" Yukimura asked, wondering what Yanagi was talking about.
"Nothing." Sanada grumbled and actually managed to leave this time.
During class, Sanada could only focus on what Yanagi had said earlier, both the confession and the message meant only for him. Yukimura did like him back, apparently. Yanagi like him too. They both liked each other as well. This love triangle thing hurt Sanada's head.
Sanada was not sure how he felt about Yanagi. He's been a good friend the past three years. He liked calming things similar to Sanada's taste. Sanada's mind started considering the physical attributes of the lanky boy that so resembled the tree of his family's name.
For being so thin, his muscles were well developed from years of playing tennis seriously. He no longer looked as girlish as he did when they first joined this school. Sanada had actually thought Yanagi was a girl wearing a boys' uniform at first and blushed when Yanagi had asked him to assist him some homework. It was not until club registration and the first day after practice in the showers that Sanada was sure that Yanagi was male. With that thought, Sanada almost blushed and stopped thinking about that before he would have to excuse himself to the toilets.
Maybe...just maybe, there was a way to end all this confusion.
After classes were out for the day, Sanada was assigned to classroom duty so he was staying behind. "I have something for you, Sanada-kun." Yagyuu said, handing Sanada a slip of paper. The handwriting on it was somewhat more familiar. Sanada frowned. Yagyuu left the room.
Sanada - Have you figured it out yet? You can get laid twice as much and stop taking out your sexual frustrations in the way of giving us laps.
By the way, I'll be late to practice.
-Niou
Sanada growled and ripped the paper to shreds. At least Niou was kind enough to give him something to destroy.
"Hey! I just emptied that!" One of Sanada's classmates said of the trashcan that now had more paper in it. He sighed and went to empty it again.
Tennis practice was...awkward, to say the least. The younger members were doing their drills, Yukimura helpfully offering advice to them. Yanagi was standing among the edges, taking notes on team member's improvements and noting new weaknesses. Sanada, once he had finally arrived, was grumpy and yelling at everyone. That was at least fairly normal, if not a bit more excessive than usual.
When Niou finally strode onto the court, Sanada glared directly at him. "One hundred laps!" He bellowed at Niou. Niou's eyes widened, and he dropped his racket and started running.
"Is that really necessary, Sanada-kun?" Yagyuu asked Sanada, after retrieving Niou's racket. Sanada glared at Yagyuu as well.
"Yes."
"I think Niou-kun is trying to help in his own way." Yagyuu told Sanada.
"I don't care." Sanada said, heading off, perhaps to find Akaya, and work off some of this anger with a match.
Yagyuu just shook his head.
Yanagi was almost home when he felt like someone was following him. He turned around, and saw the blue highlights of a rather familiar head. "Seiichi." He called out gently.
Yukimura smiled softly at him. "Can we talk?" He asked, approaching.
Yanagi nodded, and invited Yukimura into their home. The Yanagi house was traditional, yet with some Western influence to it. Renji led Yukimura to his room, where there was a Western style bed, along with a low traditional style table. Renji sat at the table, and gestured for Yukimura to sit across from him.
"What do you want to talk about, Seiichi?"
Yukimura folded his hands on the table and looked down at them. "You don't have to do that." He said, referring to the events of the morning.
Renji shook his head. "I don't want to hurt Genichirou's feelings." He said. "It's easier this way, Seiichi."
Yukimura's face steeled. "For who, Renji?" He asked, crawling around to the other side of the table. "It's just going to break all our hearts, and then what?" He asked, leaning his head on Renji's shoulder.
Renji sighed softly. "This all rests on Genichirou's shoulders right now, Seiichi. I cannot change how he feels about you or how he feels about me. Love triangles can't always be equilateral."
"Love has nothing to do with math." Yukimura said softly.
"No, but there is a lot of geometry involved." Renji said, a small smile pulling at his lips. A small chirp from Renji's phone broke the silence. "Excuse me." He said, as he checked the message. Renji didn't know whether to frown or laugh at it.
"Hey, Renji?" Yukimura started. "How did Niou get involved in this?"
"I have no idea." Renji answered, lying through his teeth. Well, that was not entirely a lie. He wasn't too sure why Niou had invested more time in this than originally asked to. "Perhaps he feels he has something to gain if the three of us are together."
Yukimura smiled. "Laps, maybe." Renji chuckled. "So...do you want to talk to Sanada, or shall I?" He asked, getting back on topic.
Renji thought for a moment. If Seiichi talked to him, that would strengthen the possibility that Sanada and Yukimura would take his offer seriously, and he would be left as the third wheel. If he did, he might be able to sway Sanada closer to wanting what he and Yukimura do. "I'll talk to him." He finally said. "I know what you want, and I know what I want for myself. I think I might be able to at least work something out." Renji paused for a moment. "I can't promise anything, Seiichi."
Yukimura nodded against Renji's shoulder. "I know." He said. "At least we will have tried, right?"
Renji nodded.
"Genichirou." Yanagi greeted Sanada the next morning. They were the first two to practice. Sanada grunted in response. "We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about." Sanada said, intending to walk past Yanagi to make sure the courts were set up for practice. Yanagi grabbed his wrist and kept him from doing so.
"I beg to differ." Sanada's throat went dry. "We mean well. I know it's difficult in matters of the heart to be logical, and apparently, this is something that my mind has thrown logic to wind. And we both know Seiichi is rather whimsical in his own way."
Sanada nodded, not saying anything. "I know this might not change your mind to open it to the possibility of having an equal, three way relationship, but perhaps this might help sway you to it." Yanagi said, taking a small breath, and invaded Sanada's personal space to give him a kiss.
Sanada was not sure what to do. It wasn't too exciting, but there was a small part of him that liked this, even if another part of him wished it were Yukimura against his lips. Sanada's breath hitched slightly, when his body started to respond on its own, and the next thing he knew, tongues were meeting and then he had Renji pinned against the wall.
A polite cough interrupted them. "I could come back later, but I'm afraid practice is going to begin in ten minutes or so, is it not?"
Both Sanada and Yanagi's faces flushed a deep red. Sanada nodded, pulling his cap over his head. He had no idea why he had done that.
"Thank you." Yanagi said as he passed Yagyuu on the way out to begin his warm ups.
Yagyuu raised an eyebrow over his glasses. "For what, Yanagi-kun?"
Yanagi just smiled. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually."
Lunch was rather unusual. Everyone had gone off to different places, and only a few of the team members gravitated to each other. Unfortunately, the Big Three were not among those that had joined anyone for once.
"Hey." A voice said, pulling a chair from the seat in front of Yanagi in his classroom.
Yanagi looked up at the voice and frowned just a little. It was Niou. "You're becoming a pest." He said quietly, but there wasn't much of any hint of annoyance. Yanagi picked up a bit of rice out of his bento.
"Who, me?" Niou asked innocently. "You should be thanking me!"
Yanagi glared a little. Well, so his suspicion earlier had actually been wrong. "Ah. I thought perhaps that Yagyuu had passed that message on. I apologize."
Niou raised an eyebrow. "So, what's going on?"
Yanagi sat back in his seat, crossing his legs and resting his arms on the desk. "Why are you so interested in the three of us getting together?" He asked.
Niou chewed on his lip as he considered his answer. Chuckling a little, he rose from his seat. "Consider it my good deed for the year." He said, heading out of the classroom.
Yanagi frowned. How was this a 'good deed'?
Sanada was seated at the table in the washitsu. A careful brush stroke touched the paper, and yet he frowned at it. He was not focused, his mind wandering back to the events of this morning. Had something snapped in his mind? That was Renji, not Yukimura, that had taken his breath away that morning. That wasn't right...and yet, it did not feel wrong either.
The door slid open silently. "Sanada?" A soft voice called out.
Sanada grunted softly to let Yukimura know he was there. Yukimura came over and joined him. Sanada hoped Yukimura had not heard about what happened...or worse yet, had witnessed any of it.
Yukimura sat still for a moment. "I was wondering something..." He trailed off. Sanada swallowed heavily. "The gossip around the school is that you and Renji were," Yukimura coughed here, "making out in the club room."
Sanada groaned internally. Of course someone had to have seen, other than Yagyuu. Of course it would be all over the school by now. "And?" Sanada asked.
"I just want to know if it's true." Yukimura said a small smile on his face.
Sanada sighed and nodded. Yukimura's smiled grew into a grin. "Then it's settled, right?" He asked.
"Yuki-...Seiichi." Sanada started. "I'm not sure."
"About what?" Yukimura asked.
"It's just...It just doesn't feel right."
"Did it feel right to kiss Renji earlier?" Yukimura asked.
"...Yes...no... I don't know." Sanada said. It was hard to wrap his head around the fact that one person could be in love with two people and those two people could feel the same way about that one person. Yukimura stood up, placing his hand on Sanada's shoulder.
"Sanada, if it's not completely obvious, we love you. We want you to love us too." He said. "It could just be that I'm being selfish, or perhaps Renji is as well. It would be nice if this triangle could be equilateral." Yukimura said, remembering what Renji had said the other night. "Come to the coffee shop after practice with me."
Sanada thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright." He agreed. Yukimura smiled.
There was a table in the back of the coffee shop that very few people knew about, much less sat at. It kept most people hidden from view from others in the shop, and it was a very quiet and private table.
Yukimura grabbed this back table for himself and Sanada. Yukimura breathed in the scent of his drink before taking a sip of it. Sanada looked around stiffly. "So..." Sanada started.
"In a moment, Sanada." Yukimura said, scanning the shop. The third member of their party arrived. "Renji!" Yukimura called to him. Yanagi waved at him, and joined them as soon as he had his cup of steaming black coffee in his hand.
Sanada frowned.
Yukimura smiled.
Yanagi's expression remained as neutral as usual, but there was a small upturn at the corners of his mouth.
The tension increased threefold in Sanada's mind. "Is something on your mind, Genichirou?" Yanagi finally asked.
Sanada stared down into the paper cup. "Why?" He finally asked, not looking at either of them.
Yanagi looked at Yukimura, who nodded at him. "There is no logical reason to love." He finally said. "There's really no reason this couldn't work." Yanagi's lips turned into a full smile now. "I think you know it deep down, but you're letting logic take over." Yanagi chuckled, knowing the irony of that statement. It should have been one of those two telling him that.
Sanada's frown deepened. He didn't care that they were all men. He had no interested in the opposite sex. Sanada was, however, deeply ingrained that love should only be between two people. How could he share either one with the other?
"Sanada." Yukimura started. "Will you give it a try for us? I think we're all smart enough to realize when things won't work out, and if it doesn't, well..." It was something that he would not want to happen, but Yukimura was right - they would know if it didn't.
Sanada sighed softly, taking a sip of his drink, trying to think. "I...I suppose we can try." He said finally. Both Yukimura and Yanagi smiled at that.
A few weeks later, practice was going more smoothly than usual. It seemed odd, but it pleased Sanada. He had not muttered one "tarundoru" yet. Yanagi had been suckered into a match against Kirihara. Jackal and Marui had a good rally going on one of the courts. Yagyuu was discussing something with Yukimura.
As usual, Niou was trying to sneak into practice without anyone noticing that he was late. Yukimura and Sanada both yelled at him. Niou gulped. This was not good. Yukimura looked at Sanada, a look that said, "I'll handle this."
Niou jogged over to Yukimura and his doubles partner. "Something wrong, Buchou?" He asked. Yukimura had that serenely evil look on his face.
"Oh, nothing's wrong. You just have 100 laps to run."
Niou's eyes bulged out his skull. "What?!"
"Twenty-five for being late, another twenty-five from Sanada to make him happy that you've been properly punished, and fifty for meddling in things that weren't any of your business."
Niou frowned. "I don't get it."
Yagyuu turned his head and coughed to hide a chuckle. "Niou-kun, perhaps you should just run those laps. Also, I believe Yanagi-kun gave me a message that was meant for you. He said thank you."
"If I don't drop dead from the laps, I'm going to hurt you all." Niou threatened.
Yukimura chuckled. "Well, I suppose we do owe you, in a way." He admitted. "This is why you have so many laps. I told Renji you had nothing to gain from us being together other than laps. And, well, enjoy." He said.
Niou sighed. "Yanagi owes me for this!" He said, taking off.
Pairing/Characters: Yukimura/Sanada/Yanagi; Niou
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sanada likes Yukimura, Yukimura likes him and Yanagi, and Yanagi is confused by the whole situation. Throw in a favor from Niou, and misunderstandings and angsty chaos occur.
Warnings: slight sexual references (cold showers)
Notes: Written for top_cagnotte round 2010 for uebo14 Enjoy!
There was just something strange about receiving a rose unexpectedly.
"Who would be sending Seiichi roses?" Yanagi Renji asked, a bit curious. Personally, he thought it was somewhat romantic, if not somewhat creepy not admitting to be the person sending them.
Yukimura shrugged. "Who knows? Probably some girl that doesn't even have a chance." He said, placing the flower in his bag carefully so he could get it home and put it properly into a vase. It was still a flower and he meant to care for it until it just couldn't hold on any longer.
Yanagi frowned at that. Sanada snorted a little as he had overheard the short conversation. "Girls shouldn't be doing things like that." He said, finishing dressing. Tennis practice had ended a while earlier and the three officers and best players on the team remained.
"Are you sure it's not one of Niou's pranks?" Yanagi asked. "I wouldn't put it past him."
"I don't think it is." Yukimura said. "This is too easy, even for him. Even if it was, I think he knows enough not to play with people's hearts."
Sanada snorted yet again. "Are you sure about that?" He asked. Yukimura shrugged in response, then an evil grin appeared on his face.
"If he is that stupid, he'll find that he'll be rather well punished." Yukimura promised. "I think a thousand push ups and a 100 laps should teach him - if it is him."
Sanada just shook his head and pulled his cap back onto his head. "Good work today." He said and took his leave. That left Yukimura and Yanagi together in the clubroom.
Yukimura smiled a bit more brightly. "Ne, Renji?"
"Hmm?"
"Any suspects? Other than Niou, that is?" Yukimura asked him.
"Your entire fan club." Yanagi answered him. Yukimura frowned at that.
"They're too superficial to do that."
Yanagi shrugged then. "Then I have no other suggestions." He said. "It must be nice though." He said as he left the room.
Yukimura raised an eyebrow. "Bitter much?" He muttered under his breath. Yanagi got his own share of attentions from the female population, but it mostly around Valentine's Day and nothing like this.
Yukimura finally was able to leave and locked up behind him. He rolled the stem of the rose in his fingers. "Who are you?" He asked quietly.
That evening, Yanagi sat on his bed, reading the novel he had just checked out from the library earlier that day. His mobile phone buzzed with a message, or rather a couple of messages that came in right after the other.
Hey, Yanagi. Need some help with lit. Also need some help with something else. That one was from Niou. Yanagi was a bit intrigued by that, and responded that he would call him in a couple of minutes.
Yanagi, we need to talk. :-| That one was from Sanada. That really was not the most helpful message ever. Considering he was one of Yanagi's best friends, he thought it wise to call him first.
Yanagi didn't even bother with a greeting as he called Sanada. "What's wrong, Genichirou?" He asked.
Sanada was not exactly expecting that. "It's not that anything is wrong..."
"Then what do you need?"
"Advice." Sanada replied. Even though he couldn't see it, he was sure Yanagi's eyebrow was raised just a bit.
"On what?"
"...Romance." Yanagi nearly spit out the tea he had been sipping.
"Who are you and what have you done with Sanada Genichirou?"
"Funny." Sanada responded. "I'm serious." Sanada said, pausing for a moment. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course, Genichirou."
"I'm the one that's been sending the flowers to Yukimura." Luckily, Yanagi had not bothered trying to drink anything else, or he would have surely spit it out at that revelation.
"I...was not aware you felt that way towards Seiichi." Yanagi commented smoothly, trying to keep his voice even.
"Ah..." Sanada said quietly. "It's...been growing for a while. I...just don't know how to admit this to him. It's...weird."
Yanagi nodded, even though Sanada couldn't see him over the phone. "I can see how you feel like that." Yanagi wasn't sure why he felt like his heart was going to break. It was not as if he had a claim on anyone's heart, much less Yukimura's.
"I'm not sure how I can help you, Genichirou. This is something you need to figure out for yourself." Yanagi told him. "I need to make another call. Though I will try to think of a way to possibly help you." With that, he ended the called, thinking a little. Perhaps there was a small ray of hope, and the person he was about to call would perhaps be of assistance to him.
Yanagi stood outside a house that was not his. It was closer to school than his own and looked rather normal from the outside. He felt it was wiser to make this request in person for the pure absurdity of it. On the other hand, absurdity was this person's specialty.
Yanagi approached the door and knocked. A boy that was somewhat younger than himself answered. Yanagi assumed this was the younger sibling. "Is Masaharu home?" He asked.
"Yeah." The boy said, not exactly knowing who it was other than one of his brother's tennis people. Yanagi stepped inside, removing his shoes and apologizing for intruding. "Upstairs, last room on the left." The boy told him.
"Thank you." Yanagi said, climbing the stairs swiftly and knocking on the indicated door where he heard the dull thwoosh of a projectile going through the air and a noise as it connect with its target. He knocked quietly. "Masaharu?" He asked.
Niou blinked. He had not expected any one, and was slightly pissed at Yanagi for not calling as he said he would. Niou opened his door. "When you said you'd call, I thought you meant on the phone." He said, narrowing his eyes a bit.
Yanagi just chuckled a little as he stepped past Niou. "Well, that was before I had a favor to ask." Niou gave him a rather strange look. What kind of favor could the Master want from him?
Yanagi smiled slightly. "Consider it a trade off for the help I'll be giving you." He said, waving the book class 3-B was currently working on in their literature class.
"What's the favor?" Niou asked, curious, but in a tone that said maybe I will, maybe I won't.
"Well, Genichirou is having a bit of a dilemma regarding Seiichi." Yanagi started.
"And what does this have to do with me?"
Yanagi smiled a bit more. "Genichirou apparently has romantic feelings for Seiichi, but isn't quite sure how to confess to him." He explained. "You could use your Illusion to be Yukimura to help him practice."
"This is the stupidest idea I've heard lately." Niou said, but grinning. "I'll do it."
With that arrangement, Yanagi was a bit more confused himself. Though perhaps Genichirou would feel better with a bit of a rehearsal before going to the real Yukimura to confess, Yanagi was feeling a little betrayed. It wasn't as if he had romantic feelings for either of his friends...Did he?
Sanada looked to either side of him. Yanagi was on his left and on his right was Niou. Sanada had an even sterner than usual expression on his face.
"What is he doing here?" He whispered loudly at Yanagi, not caring if Niou heard him or not. Yanagi just stayed his calm self while formulating his reply.
"You said you needed some assistance with admitting your feelings to Seiichi."
Sanada glared. "And what does that have to do with Niou."
Niou grinned, gathered his energy and transformed himself into an exact replica of Yukimura. He put on one of Yukimura's pouty faces. "Sanada..." The Niou-Yukimura said quietly, in the voice that sounded so familiar to all of them. How Niou could do that soft voice and not hurt his throat was beyond anyone's understanding
Sanada gulped. He had to admit, Niou was good at what does...a little too good for Sanada's liking.
Yanagi shrugged. "I thought perhaps rehearsing what you want to say to Seiichi's face while not actually having to deal with the true reaction would be helpful, and perhaps prepare you for any possibility."
Niou chuckled softly in his Yukimura voice. "We wouldn't want poor Sanada to start crying over this beautiful face." He said.
Yanagi bit his lip, staring at the notes he had written out. The notes were unrelated to tennis, nor related to anything school related. The numbers were there in front of him, and yet, they meant nothing.
Renji pulled out a small piece of paper.
Flower shining bright
My heart wishes for a chance
Your love is not mine
Renji frowned at his haiku. It was horrible, and depressing. Yet, in a few short strokes, his feelings flowed out.
a stone in the rain
Your strength staying in one place
Supporting a flower
He frowned again at it. What was wrong with him? Perhaps he was developing some romantic feelings towards his two friends, and now that Sanada was considering confessing, Yanagi no longer had a chance to say anything to either of them.
Yukimura stood next to Yanagi at tennis practice the next day. "Have you seen Sanada?" He asked, wondering where his vice captain could be.
"I believe Genichirou is still changing. He was running slightly late due to the buses running late" Yanagi answered. "It's only a few minutes, I don't think it will be necessary to punish him for that. Or he'll punish himself."
Yukimura chuckled lightly. "I think he will." Yukimura said. "Have you noticed him acting...odd lately?" He asked.
"Odd how?" Yanagi asked, writing down an observation about one of the second years.
"It seems like he's trying to avoid me lately." Yanagi just pursed his lips. Maybe the practice confessions to Niou had backfired. Or Sanada just was not ready.
"I'm sure he's not, Seiichi. He may just be busy."
Yukimura shrugged. "Oh, yes, before I forget, could I have some assistance in the rooftop garden later?" Yanagi nodded, noticing another underclassman that obviously needed some improvement.
Yukimura was calmly watering the flowers that were in bloom on the rooftop. Yanagi joined him quietly. "Hello, Seiichi." He greeted the other teen that was lost in thought.
"Good of you to join me." Yukimura said. "Actually, I didn't need assistance, I just wanted to talk." He admitted.
"Oh?" Yanagi asked with no outward sign of curiosity.
"Have you ever thought you were falling in love with something?" Yukimura asked completely out of the blue.
Renji had to think for a second. He loved his family, he loved Inui Sadaharu as if he was his brother, but falling in love with someone outside of those little circles, he...wasn't sure how to answer that. He thought he might be, but wasn't quite to the point where he could admit it to himself or anyone else.
"I might have thought it, but it's never actually been more than a passing feeling." Renji said in reply.
Yukimura nodded. "Well, you might not be of much help, but I suppose I can ask anyway." He said. "What do you do when you think you're falling in love with two people?"
Renji really was not sure how to respond to that. "I suppose it depends on the feelings of the two people you think you're falling for." He said carefully. There was only so many ways to resolve a love triangle. In most of the books he'd read that had that as a plot, it tended to never end well for at least one of the parties involved. "Perhaps you should try to woo one over the other." Renji suggested.
Yukimura thought about that. "Perhaps I will." He said. "Ne, Renji?"
"What is it, Seiichi?"
"Do you like flowers?"
"Not particularly." He answered. He enjoyed them for their beauty, but he wasn't fond of the swollen sinuses and sniffles they caused him. Thank goodness for allergy medication. Yukimura hummed at the answer.
With that little noise, the bell for class rang.
After classes were over for the day, Sanada approached Yanagi in classroom 3-F.
"Yanagi." He said in his low voice.
Renji looked up from his seat. "What is it, Genichirou?"
"I have something for you." Sanada said. With that, he leaned down and kissed Renji right on the lips.
Outside the classroom, Yukimura walked past the door and happened to glance in at that moment. His heart sunk to his feet.
Renji's eyes narrowed. "That was not funny." He hissed. The face smirked and the wig came off and familiar bleached hair and a rattail flew down over the shoulders.
Niou smirked. "Probably not." He winked. "But I may have just started something." He said, swaggering out. Under his breath, he mumbled. "You three are idiots."
Renji frowned. What in the world could the Trickster be up to now?
Yukimura sighed as he sat down at the desk in his bedroom to do his homework. Paper and books were scattered along the desk, but Yukimura couldn't focus on them.
Yanagi and Sanada were together? When had that happened? Why hadn't either one of them told him? He was their mutual best friend, right? Why had they betrayed him like this? Yukimura's chest tightened.
This could not be right.
Yet, there was a new determination in the back of Yukimura's mind as he recalled the conversation earlier with Yanagi. Try to woo one over the other. he had said.
Yukimura had a grim smile on his lips. Why not try to woo both of them?
How do you woo two of the most old man like teenagers in the school though? Yukimura brightened at a thought and jumped out of his chair.
Sanada opened up his shoe locker and blinked at a slip of paper sitting on top of his school shoes.
Sanada - Meet me at 16:00 at the front gates. The note was unsigned and the handwriting unfamiliar. He frowned at it. It was probably some girl wanting to confess to him. There was only one person he had feelings for, and it was not a girl. Sanada tossed the note into the nearest waste bin and went on to class.
Yukimura was leaning against the front gates at the end of the day. Yanagi approached him.
"Are you waiting for someone, Seiichi?" He asked.
Yukimura frowned. "I was." He said, sighing a little with disappointment. "I was waiting for Sanada."
Yanagi raised his eyebrow. "Genichirou left about twenty minutes ago." He said. Yukimura's eyes went wide and he cursed at himself internally. The disappointment Yukimura felt increased a bit.
"I see." Yukimura said calmly. "Well, since you're here, do you want to get some coffee?" He asked.
Yanagi checked his watch. "Sure." He said, knowing he has plenty of time to do so.
The walk to the coffee shop was quiet, and the shop itself was quiet except for some other Rikkai students and some students from other schools in the area. One of the girls from Rikkai waved at Yukimura and he waved back. It was a classmate of his. She turned back to her girlfriends, and whispered something that made them all giggle.
Once Yanagi and Yukimura had their drinks they sat down at a table near the window. It was still quiet between them. It just didn't quite feel right to speak at the moment.
"Seiichi?" Yanagi finally broke the silence.
"Hmm?" Yukimura answered, sipping at his latte.
Yanagi stared down into his drink, a regular, black coffee with nothing in it. "I think I understand what you were talking about yesterday at lunch." He finally said.
Yukimura raised his eyebrow. "You do?"
Renji nodded. Perhaps if it had not been for Niou's stunt in his classroom the day before he would not have realized it on his own. It was a rather brave move, and he had thought on it all night. Rather, he had thought about what it might be like if the real Sanada would have kissed him, and when that thought occurred, he wondered what it might be like to kiss Yukimura as well. Then Renji's thoughts had wandered to other things that had led to a very cold shower.
"I..." Yanagi trailed off. He wasn't sure how to admit this to either of them. He knew Sanada wanted Yukimura. He wasn't sure whom Yukimura was interested in. Here he was, caught in the middle and wanting both of them. "I don't know what to do."
Yukimura looked at him. Yanagi Renji didn't know something. That admission in itself was shocking, but Yukimura understood. "Pick one." Yukimura quoted his own advice back to him.
"I can't." Renji answered him. "They're interested in others." He said.
"How do you know that?" Yukimura asked.
"They've told me." Yanagi said, a sad smile on his face as he sipped the bitter liquid. It wasn't often he drank coffee; he much preferred tea. The coffee seemed like a more appropriate drink considering his feelings at the moment. Yanagi rose from his seat. "Thanks for the company, Seiichi. I'll see you tomorrow at practice." He bowed slightly and left the shop.
Yukimura stared after him, his eyes still sad. Maybe he should have said what was actually on his mind.
"Akaya! Bend your knees!" Sanada yelled at their junior. The kid still had trouble keeping that in mind, and both Sanada and Yanagi were about to kill him.
Niou snickered at the reprimand Akaya received, and ended his laps he had earned for being late. He sidled up to Yanagi's side. "Heard any gossip lately?" He asked slyly.
"Not today, Masaharu." He answered truthfully. Niou just smiled.
"Don't be shocked." Niou warned him. Yanagi raised an eyebrow as Niou moved on to Yukimura.
Niou could be worse than Yanagi sometimes in the ways of being cryptic.
The halls were abuzz when the tennis team came into the main hall that contained their classrooms. Some of the girls gasped and were whispering to their friends about what had gone on the day before.
Yukimura sat at his desk. He should have remembered that group of girls at the coffee shop were the biggest gossips in their school.
The rumors had already gotten back to class 3-A.
Yagyuu looked at Sanada sympathetically. "I wasn't aware you and Yanagi-kun were in a relationship." He stated. Sanada looked up at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard about what happened a couple of days ago. You kissed Yanagi-kun on the lips in his classroom right before practice."
This was news to Sanada. It wasn't as if he had occasionally thought about it, but he had never actually done it. Besides, didn't he feel more for Yukimura?
"Of course, I also heard he's cheating on you with Yukimura-kun. Apparently they were seen on a date yesterday afternoon." Yagyuu continued.
Sanada was going to kill someone, once he calmed down and his skin returned to its normal color. Yagyuu's lips curled up in a small smile. Of course he had been in on the facts. He knew it was Niou that had done that for the good of the three.
Sanada rose from his seat, ignoring Yagyuu, and walked calmly to classroom 3-C.
"Yukimura." Sanada said not too loudly, but loud enough to be heard over the din of the classroom. Yukimura looked up from his desk and wished he hadn't. He rose and walked over to Sanada. Sanada led them to the end of the hall - to classroom 3-F. Sanada slid the door to the classroom open. "Yanagi!" He barked out at him. Renji raised his head, and quietly rose from his seat where a brand new novel lay open on the desk.
Yukimura raised his eyebrow. "I take it this is about the rumors?" He asked.
"What rumors?" Yanagi asked.
"The one that you're dating Sanada and are cheating on him with me." Yukimura said. "Wow, apparently no one from 3-F ever stays down by the other classrooms long enough to hear the interesting gossip."
Yanagi's eyes did not open, but you could tell that they wanted to pop out of his head.
Sanada looked stern. "We need to clear this up. None of us are dating anyone." He said, turning around. Yanagi grabbed his arm.
"Don't you have something you'd like to say to Seiichi?" Yanagi asked. They might as well clear up everything right now. Sanada's face flushed once again.
"No." Sanada said. Yanagi rolled his eyes.
Yukimura sighed. Well, at least he could confess to both of his secret loves at the same time. He looked down at the floor. "Well, I have something to say to both of you."
The two turned to the soft voice that was speaking. "It's difficult to say, but...I like you. Both of you." Yukimura's voice had gotten even softer. Yukimura's lips turned up just a little. "So...I suppose you could say that yesterday was a date."
Yanagi did not seem all that shocked. Sanada almost choked on air upon hearing that. "I suppose I can accept that." Yanagi replied. "I should probably admit I feel the same way about the both of you as well." Yanagi sighed a little. This is not exactly how he had planned to confess, but here was the opportunity that Yukimura had seized, so why shouldn't he do so as well?
Sanada choked on air a second time. "This...is unacceptable." Sanada turned around to leave a second time, but this time both his arms were grabbed by two people.
"Genichirou." Yanagi said, smiling sadly. "I know you don't feel the same. That is why I will step aside. At least it will be more normal." He said, turning around to head back into his classroom.
Sanada looked after him, taking a sharp breath.
"What's wrong, Sanada?" Yukimura asked, wondering what Yanagi was talking about.
"Nothing." Sanada grumbled and actually managed to leave this time.
During class, Sanada could only focus on what Yanagi had said earlier, both the confession and the message meant only for him. Yukimura did like him back, apparently. Yanagi like him too. They both liked each other as well. This love triangle thing hurt Sanada's head.
Sanada was not sure how he felt about Yanagi. He's been a good friend the past three years. He liked calming things similar to Sanada's taste. Sanada's mind started considering the physical attributes of the lanky boy that so resembled the tree of his family's name.
For being so thin, his muscles were well developed from years of playing tennis seriously. He no longer looked as girlish as he did when they first joined this school. Sanada had actually thought Yanagi was a girl wearing a boys' uniform at first and blushed when Yanagi had asked him to assist him some homework. It was not until club registration and the first day after practice in the showers that Sanada was sure that Yanagi was male. With that thought, Sanada almost blushed and stopped thinking about that before he would have to excuse himself to the toilets.
Maybe...just maybe, there was a way to end all this confusion.
After classes were out for the day, Sanada was assigned to classroom duty so he was staying behind. "I have something for you, Sanada-kun." Yagyuu said, handing Sanada a slip of paper. The handwriting on it was somewhat more familiar. Sanada frowned. Yagyuu left the room.
Sanada - Have you figured it out yet? You can get laid twice as much and stop taking out your sexual frustrations in the way of giving us laps.
By the way, I'll be late to practice.
-Niou
Sanada growled and ripped the paper to shreds. At least Niou was kind enough to give him something to destroy.
"Hey! I just emptied that!" One of Sanada's classmates said of the trashcan that now had more paper in it. He sighed and went to empty it again.
Tennis practice was...awkward, to say the least. The younger members were doing their drills, Yukimura helpfully offering advice to them. Yanagi was standing among the edges, taking notes on team member's improvements and noting new weaknesses. Sanada, once he had finally arrived, was grumpy and yelling at everyone. That was at least fairly normal, if not a bit more excessive than usual.
When Niou finally strode onto the court, Sanada glared directly at him. "One hundred laps!" He bellowed at Niou. Niou's eyes widened, and he dropped his racket and started running.
"Is that really necessary, Sanada-kun?" Yagyuu asked Sanada, after retrieving Niou's racket. Sanada glared at Yagyuu as well.
"Yes."
"I think Niou-kun is trying to help in his own way." Yagyuu told Sanada.
"I don't care." Sanada said, heading off, perhaps to find Akaya, and work off some of this anger with a match.
Yagyuu just shook his head.
Yanagi was almost home when he felt like someone was following him. He turned around, and saw the blue highlights of a rather familiar head. "Seiichi." He called out gently.
Yukimura smiled softly at him. "Can we talk?" He asked, approaching.
Yanagi nodded, and invited Yukimura into their home. The Yanagi house was traditional, yet with some Western influence to it. Renji led Yukimura to his room, where there was a Western style bed, along with a low traditional style table. Renji sat at the table, and gestured for Yukimura to sit across from him.
"What do you want to talk about, Seiichi?"
Yukimura folded his hands on the table and looked down at them. "You don't have to do that." He said, referring to the events of the morning.
Renji shook his head. "I don't want to hurt Genichirou's feelings." He said. "It's easier this way, Seiichi."
Yukimura's face steeled. "For who, Renji?" He asked, crawling around to the other side of the table. "It's just going to break all our hearts, and then what?" He asked, leaning his head on Renji's shoulder.
Renji sighed softly. "This all rests on Genichirou's shoulders right now, Seiichi. I cannot change how he feels about you or how he feels about me. Love triangles can't always be equilateral."
"Love has nothing to do with math." Yukimura said softly.
"No, but there is a lot of geometry involved." Renji said, a small smile pulling at his lips. A small chirp from Renji's phone broke the silence. "Excuse me." He said, as he checked the message. Renji didn't know whether to frown or laugh at it.
"Hey, Renji?" Yukimura started. "How did Niou get involved in this?"
"I have no idea." Renji answered, lying through his teeth. Well, that was not entirely a lie. He wasn't too sure why Niou had invested more time in this than originally asked to. "Perhaps he feels he has something to gain if the three of us are together."
Yukimura smiled. "Laps, maybe." Renji chuckled. "So...do you want to talk to Sanada, or shall I?" He asked, getting back on topic.
Renji thought for a moment. If Seiichi talked to him, that would strengthen the possibility that Sanada and Yukimura would take his offer seriously, and he would be left as the third wheel. If he did, he might be able to sway Sanada closer to wanting what he and Yukimura do. "I'll talk to him." He finally said. "I know what you want, and I know what I want for myself. I think I might be able to at least work something out." Renji paused for a moment. "I can't promise anything, Seiichi."
Yukimura nodded against Renji's shoulder. "I know." He said. "At least we will have tried, right?"
Renji nodded.
"Genichirou." Yanagi greeted Sanada the next morning. They were the first two to practice. Sanada grunted in response. "We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about." Sanada said, intending to walk past Yanagi to make sure the courts were set up for practice. Yanagi grabbed his wrist and kept him from doing so.
"I beg to differ." Sanada's throat went dry. "We mean well. I know it's difficult in matters of the heart to be logical, and apparently, this is something that my mind has thrown logic to wind. And we both know Seiichi is rather whimsical in his own way."
Sanada nodded, not saying anything. "I know this might not change your mind to open it to the possibility of having an equal, three way relationship, but perhaps this might help sway you to it." Yanagi said, taking a small breath, and invaded Sanada's personal space to give him a kiss.
Sanada was not sure what to do. It wasn't too exciting, but there was a small part of him that liked this, even if another part of him wished it were Yukimura against his lips. Sanada's breath hitched slightly, when his body started to respond on its own, and the next thing he knew, tongues were meeting and then he had Renji pinned against the wall.
A polite cough interrupted them. "I could come back later, but I'm afraid practice is going to begin in ten minutes or so, is it not?"
Both Sanada and Yanagi's faces flushed a deep red. Sanada nodded, pulling his cap over his head. He had no idea why he had done that.
"Thank you." Yanagi said as he passed Yagyuu on the way out to begin his warm ups.
Yagyuu raised an eyebrow over his glasses. "For what, Yanagi-kun?"
Yanagi just smiled. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually."
Lunch was rather unusual. Everyone had gone off to different places, and only a few of the team members gravitated to each other. Unfortunately, the Big Three were not among those that had joined anyone for once.
"Hey." A voice said, pulling a chair from the seat in front of Yanagi in his classroom.
Yanagi looked up at the voice and frowned just a little. It was Niou. "You're becoming a pest." He said quietly, but there wasn't much of any hint of annoyance. Yanagi picked up a bit of rice out of his bento.
"Who, me?" Niou asked innocently. "You should be thanking me!"
Yanagi glared a little. Well, so his suspicion earlier had actually been wrong. "Ah. I thought perhaps that Yagyuu had passed that message on. I apologize."
Niou raised an eyebrow. "So, what's going on?"
Yanagi sat back in his seat, crossing his legs and resting his arms on the desk. "Why are you so interested in the three of us getting together?" He asked.
Niou chewed on his lip as he considered his answer. Chuckling a little, he rose from his seat. "Consider it my good deed for the year." He said, heading out of the classroom.
Yanagi frowned. How was this a 'good deed'?
Sanada was seated at the table in the washitsu. A careful brush stroke touched the paper, and yet he frowned at it. He was not focused, his mind wandering back to the events of this morning. Had something snapped in his mind? That was Renji, not Yukimura, that had taken his breath away that morning. That wasn't right...and yet, it did not feel wrong either.
The door slid open silently. "Sanada?" A soft voice called out.
Sanada grunted softly to let Yukimura know he was there. Yukimura came over and joined him. Sanada hoped Yukimura had not heard about what happened...or worse yet, had witnessed any of it.
Yukimura sat still for a moment. "I was wondering something..." He trailed off. Sanada swallowed heavily. "The gossip around the school is that you and Renji were," Yukimura coughed here, "making out in the club room."
Sanada groaned internally. Of course someone had to have seen, other than Yagyuu. Of course it would be all over the school by now. "And?" Sanada asked.
"I just want to know if it's true." Yukimura said a small smile on his face.
Sanada sighed and nodded. Yukimura's smiled grew into a grin. "Then it's settled, right?" He asked.
"Yuki-...Seiichi." Sanada started. "I'm not sure."
"About what?" Yukimura asked.
"It's just...It just doesn't feel right."
"Did it feel right to kiss Renji earlier?" Yukimura asked.
"...Yes...no... I don't know." Sanada said. It was hard to wrap his head around the fact that one person could be in love with two people and those two people could feel the same way about that one person. Yukimura stood up, placing his hand on Sanada's shoulder.
"Sanada, if it's not completely obvious, we love you. We want you to love us too." He said. "It could just be that I'm being selfish, or perhaps Renji is as well. It would be nice if this triangle could be equilateral." Yukimura said, remembering what Renji had said the other night. "Come to the coffee shop after practice with me."
Sanada thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright." He agreed. Yukimura smiled.
There was a table in the back of the coffee shop that very few people knew about, much less sat at. It kept most people hidden from view from others in the shop, and it was a very quiet and private table.
Yukimura grabbed this back table for himself and Sanada. Yukimura breathed in the scent of his drink before taking a sip of it. Sanada looked around stiffly. "So..." Sanada started.
"In a moment, Sanada." Yukimura said, scanning the shop. The third member of their party arrived. "Renji!" Yukimura called to him. Yanagi waved at him, and joined them as soon as he had his cup of steaming black coffee in his hand.
Sanada frowned.
Yukimura smiled.
Yanagi's expression remained as neutral as usual, but there was a small upturn at the corners of his mouth.
The tension increased threefold in Sanada's mind. "Is something on your mind, Genichirou?" Yanagi finally asked.
Sanada stared down into the paper cup. "Why?" He finally asked, not looking at either of them.
Yanagi looked at Yukimura, who nodded at him. "There is no logical reason to love." He finally said. "There's really no reason this couldn't work." Yanagi's lips turned into a full smile now. "I think you know it deep down, but you're letting logic take over." Yanagi chuckled, knowing the irony of that statement. It should have been one of those two telling him that.
Sanada's frown deepened. He didn't care that they were all men. He had no interested in the opposite sex. Sanada was, however, deeply ingrained that love should only be between two people. How could he share either one with the other?
"Sanada." Yukimura started. "Will you give it a try for us? I think we're all smart enough to realize when things won't work out, and if it doesn't, well..." It was something that he would not want to happen, but Yukimura was right - they would know if it didn't.
Sanada sighed softly, taking a sip of his drink, trying to think. "I...I suppose we can try." He said finally. Both Yukimura and Yanagi smiled at that.
A few weeks later, practice was going more smoothly than usual. It seemed odd, but it pleased Sanada. He had not muttered one "tarundoru" yet. Yanagi had been suckered into a match against Kirihara. Jackal and Marui had a good rally going on one of the courts. Yagyuu was discussing something with Yukimura.
As usual, Niou was trying to sneak into practice without anyone noticing that he was late. Yukimura and Sanada both yelled at him. Niou gulped. This was not good. Yukimura looked at Sanada, a look that said, "I'll handle this."
Niou jogged over to Yukimura and his doubles partner. "Something wrong, Buchou?" He asked. Yukimura had that serenely evil look on his face.
"Oh, nothing's wrong. You just have 100 laps to run."
Niou's eyes bulged out his skull. "What?!"
"Twenty-five for being late, another twenty-five from Sanada to make him happy that you've been properly punished, and fifty for meddling in things that weren't any of your business."
Niou frowned. "I don't get it."
Yagyuu turned his head and coughed to hide a chuckle. "Niou-kun, perhaps you should just run those laps. Also, I believe Yanagi-kun gave me a message that was meant for you. He said thank you."
"If I don't drop dead from the laps, I'm going to hurt you all." Niou threatened.
Yukimura chuckled. "Well, I suppose we do owe you, in a way." He admitted. "This is why you have so many laps. I told Renji you had nothing to gain from us being together other than laps. And, well, enjoy." He said.
Niou sighed. "Yanagi owes me for this!" He said, taking off.