Approaching Fineness

After watching Regional finals, Yuuta and Mizuki both have a new range on their goals. Drama with Romance, I-3

“…didn’t think that doubles pair would hold out nearly that long!”

“I didn’t think Aniki would hold out that long! I never thought you could play tennis blind like that.”

“Or like that Echizen did. Did you see that jump?” Yanagisawa shook his head in amazement.

Yuuta snorted. “Since I’m not blind, yeah.”

Hajime leaned back in his bus seat and half listened to them, eyes closed, letting numbers dance behind his lids. The rate of progress among Seigaku’s second years was indeed very unusual. Fuji’s breakthrough was a little less so, perhaps; if his new model was correct, then Fuji was just mining skills he’d already had.

Echizen, of course, broke all the curves he’d predicted, but that was, itself, starting to be predictable.

“Echizen is still in motion,” he murmured. “He will not be entirely predictable until he stops, as Tezuka has.”

After a moment of silence, Yuuta asked, slowly, “Does that mean Tezuka-san is actually the easier one to beat?”

Hajime smiled; observing the tournaments seemed to be doing good things for Yuuta’s awareness of the mental game. That would be useful. “Indeed. In strategic terms, at least.” He glanced over his shoulder at them. “You need the basic strength to carry out any plan to defeat him, but he is less likely to break the parameters than someone like Echizen.”

“Yeah, but who’s got the strength to beat Tezuka?” Yanagisawa asked, skeptical.

Hajime’s mouth tightened. “Possibly no one,” he admitted, grudgingly. “Yet.” Any stable variable could be solved for.

“Yeah, but I’m not going to have a chance for another two years.” Yuuta sighed, rather wistfully Hajime thought. “You guys will get him next year.”

Hajime pursed his lips and said, reluctantly, “With a brand new team, perhaps not. Unless of course we can catch Seigaku again at Prefecturals.” He might get lucky and find strong players who just happened not to have formed a club yet, but he’d be foolish to count on such a thing.

“So there you go, no one from our side will be taking Tezuka on before you catch up.” Yanagisawa grinned at Yuuta. “If you do, I mean. You could go back to Seigaku for high school after all.”

Hajime stiffened. He hadn’t even thought of that. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of that. Yuuta might… !

Yuuta growled. “Shut up, senpai.”

Hajime tried to swallow sudden panic down out of his throat, as Yanagisawa snickered. “Do you… think you’ll go on to St. Christopher, then?” He tried to sound careless; from the startled way Yuuta looked around at him he didn’t think he quite succeeded.

“I’d pretty much planned to, yeah,” Yuuta answered, a little tentative.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Hajime said with generous understatement. “I shall plan for your arrival.”

Yuuta smiled, relaxing again. “I thought you already were, Mizuki-san.”

Hajime blinked. Yuuta had seen that, and he… didn’t seem to mind. “I had hoped,” he murmured, while he turned the thought over.

Yuuta nodded, looking satisfied. “So this year and next I’ll concentrate on the team, and taking us just as far as I can, and the year after I’ll meet up with my senpai again.”

The way that knot in his chest eased, on hearing that Yuuta would follow him, made Hajime tense up in a different way. Yuuta was his ace player; Yuuta’s game was excellent, and growing better; Yuuta’s passion cast light around him, on the court.

And Hajime didn’t want that passion to go away.

This… this was not what he had expected, when he’d found Yuuta at that tennis school and dangled St. Rudolph in front of him.

Was it a problem, though? He worried at the question as Yuuta and Yanagisawa discussed the new Regulars behind him. Perhaps he and Yuuta could just… balance each other nicely. That could work, on the courts as well as off. So perhaps it was all right to want.

To care.

He would try to make it be all right; because he didn’t want to stop, now.

End

Last Modified: Feb 10, 12
Posted: May 14, 07
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10 Comments

    1. branchandroot Post author

      *hearts* Yuuta is very sweet, and /very/ straightforward, and poor Mizuki doesn’t quite seem to get it yet. He’s almost there, though!

      Reply
  1. evilgoddess62

    *pets Mizuki as well* I love the way your Mizuki and Yuuta interact. They’re both so endearingly oblivious. Of course it’s all right to lust after Yuuta, Mizuki. (As long as you avoid his overprotective older brother.) 😀

    *eagerly waits for next update*

    Reply
    1. branchandroot Post author

      Thank you! I’m having so much fun letting these two dance around each other. *grins* And Fuji will find out about it, but I think Yuuta will win the Stubborn Contest.

      More coming next week!

      Reply
  2. senshixdoukeshi

    *hearts* Sweet, I really love this! I’m so glad to see people actually including how Mizuki would think and calculate in a fic, it’s exciting. I also like Yuuta’s acceptance of Mizuki’s plans. It’s all very subtle and very nice.
    I’m going to go back and read the rest of the stories when I have time.

    Reply
    1. branchandroot Post author

      *very pleased* Thank you! I really love messing around in Mizuki’s head; it’s great to hear people enjoy reading about it. And to hear that the way Yuuta is coming along works.

      Reply
  3. pedotastic

    /flail! This is just so awesome. ♥! I got into TeniPuri a little late and have had a friend of mine shoving fanfics at me, with yours at the top of the list of To Reads. So after reading nearly all of them, if only to placate her, this is a wonderful surprise! (Of course, after reading one of your fics, I had to read another, and then after much poking read Challenge, and now I think I’m a permanent fixture in your fanbase. You capture all the characters so well~!)

    Can’t wait for more of these installments. I adore your Mizuki, and as Mizuki and Yuuta are two of my favorites in the manga, having you write this arc for them? Simply an amazing treat. ♥

    Reply
    1. branchandroot Post author

      *hearts and sparkles* Thank you so much! It’s wonderful to hear you’ve enjoyed the stories!

      Especially for these guys. They just don’t get enough fandom love (or manga love, for that matter) and they’re so much fun. *pets them* I love poking around in Mizuki’s head and fishing for his motivations.

      *laughing* And every time I think tenipuri has let me go, the characters drag me back!

      Reply