Hearts and Spades

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Branch

Mizuki and Yuuta both find a way to go on after the defeat at Prefecturals, Yuuta as a new captain and Mizuki as a different player. Manga continuity, mild manga spoilers throughout. Mizuki/Yuuta/Mizuki.

Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://www.branchandroot.net/archive/).

"Architect" published on 2007-05-12 19:21:49.

"The King is Dead" published on 2007-05-12 20:47:46.

"Foundations and Extensions" published on 2007-05-12 20:52:21.

"Palm to Palm" published on 2007-05-12 20:58:14.

"Ace, King" published on 2007-05-13 13:19:51.

"Approaching Fineness" published on 2007-05-14 13:21:53.

"Heat Imaging" published on 2007-05-14 13:25:15.

"Steel and Cypress" published on 2007-05-14 13:43:44.

"Percentage by Volume" published on 2007-05-14 13:47:45.

"Cold Fingers and Hot Drinks" published on 2007-05-16 13:54:12.

"Heart Shaped Petals" published on 2007-05-16 13:56:19.

"Strawberry Season" published on 2007-05-16 14:02:31.

"The Bees and the Bees" published on 2007-05-17 14:06:40.

"Cotton Sheets" published on 2007-06-02 14:09:31.

"See and Raise" published on 2007-06-12 14:13:04.

"Shreds of Cinnamon" published on 2007-06-12 14:15:13.

"The Evening and the Morning" published on 2007-06-25 14:18:41.

"Patience and Concentration" published on 2007-06-26 14:22:24.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on September 6, 2019 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Cover illustration is "Spring" by Eduard Tomek, public domain (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaro.jpg).

Cover design by Branch.

Architect

Mizuki reflects on their defeat and has an epiphany. Drama, I-3

Hajime leaned back in his seat on the bus, staring into the vanishing point of space, deaf to the murmurs of the St. Rudolph team around him.

They had lost.

He wasn't quite sure what to do with that. That maniac from Fudoumine could say what he liked about starting over again, but Hajime had known from about the age of six that failure was failure; it meant you weren't good enough, and that was all. Your inadequacy was laid out in action for all to see and remember. And besides, Hajime wasn't sure there was anything to start over with. He felt much as though he had spent a long time building a fortress, balancing the weight and load of each stone against the others, making a marvelous flying sweep of interlocking tension that would stand against any pressure.

And Seigaku had come along and kicked a few blocks out of it and the whole thing had collapsed in a rattling heap and he couldn't even tell whether any of the blocks were unbroken.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Akazawa and Kaneda had both come through the match well; he was even, a bit grudgingly, impressed with the way Kaneda-kun had gotten Akazawa to play actual doubles. Well enough to take a match from Hyoutei, no less. Hajime hadn't thought it would be necessary, or he'd never have put Akazawa there in the lineup. He hadn't thought a lot of things would be necessary.

Clearly he'd been indulging in unforgivably wishful thinking.

Most of the club looked as angry and depressed as he felt, after being beaten down twice in a row. Yuuta, though... Yuuta seemed downright cheerful, despite having lost even worse to Akutagawa than he had to Echizen.

Hajime wasn't sure he understood Yuuta any more.

Of course, Yuuta had, by today's work, inherited the team. He had another year to train, and, if his brother would be gone from the next tournament, it seemed Yuuta had found other players to interest him. Whereas Hajime would be retiring from the club, now, and studying for exams, and going to St. Christopher high school, the best of St. Rudolph's affiliates, where there was no tennis club. If he wanted to keep playing at all he'd have to—

Hajime's eyes widened, and his lips almost moved with the force of the realization.

He'd have to start over.

He could, if he wanted, start completely over.

The sudden thought felt like a door being unlocked, like walls falling out around him and opening on empty horizons. Hajime took a slow breath in and let it out, eyes fixed on the possibility of nothing. "Akazawa," he murmured, barely noticing how the conversation around him quieted at the sound of his voice. "It was St. Sebastian you were thinking of attending for high school, correct?"

His classmate turned in his seat, elbow resting over the back, to look at Hajime. "You know I am; we've talked about it. They have good athletics programs." His brows lifted as Hajime met his gaze.

"Think about St. Christopher."

Akazawa frowned, though his eyes were suddenly sharp and steady on Hajime. "They don't have a tennis club, do they?"

Mizuki smiled slowly. "No. They don't."

After a moment Akazawa smiled. "All over again, huh?" He looked out the bus window. "I'll think about it."

"Do that." Hajime crossed his legs and leaned back, sorting through fallen blocks in his mind. He didn't know, yet, which he might keep. But the ground had been cleared for something new; surely it would be a shame not to use it.

End

The King is Dead

Yuuta takes over the tennis club; he and Kaneda talk about club politics and their senpai. Drama, I-3

"All right, everyone shut up already! Second years, break up in pairs and volley, six to a court, don't hit each other! First years, twenty laps to warm up!" Yuuta heaved in a breath as the chaos of the club divided itself in half.

"You really think they need more warming up today?" Kaneda murmured.

"Of course not," Yuuta muttered back. "But this gets them out of our hair while we figure out what to do next."

Kaneda laughed and Yuuta scowled at him. This captain thing wasn't nearly as easy as Akazawa-senpai had made it look.

Of course, Akazawa-senpai had had Mizuki-san to help. Yuuta stifled a sigh. He hadn't seen Mizuki-san at all today. Akazawa-senpai had come to say his good-byes and wish Yuuta and his team luck, but Mizuki-san had spent most of his time since they got off the bus from Prefecturals in his room or the library.

Yuuta had kind of hoped he wouldn't stay angry for this long.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, turning back to Kaneda. "Okay, I guess we'd better start with skills tests for everyone, and then we can get going with playoffs to choose the new Regulars."

Kaneda smiled and handed him a sheet of paper. "You'll probably want to revise this, if we're testing them first, but I thought this might make a good order for the matches."

Yuuta blinked at it and then burst out in a relieved grin. "Kaneda, have I told you you're a lifesaver? 'Cause you are."

"Hey, I'll do whatever I have to to make sure you're the team captain and not me." Kaneda's smile tilted. "I'm not good at shouting at people."

"Unless they're Akazawa-senpai?" Yuuta laughed as Kaneda turned red and sputtered. "Seriously, though, thanks." He ducked his head for a moment. "I think some of the others would have been happier with an original member as captain."

Kaneda snorted. "Those would be the ones who haven't seen you play." He looked considering for a moment. "Or train. I don't think there's anyone in this whole club who's put in more work than you, Yuuta. If that isn't good values for this club, I don't know what is."

Yuuta was quiet for a couple minutes, watching the club work. "I agree with Mizuki-san, though," he said, at last, voice low. "He knows what he's doing. He knows what we need to do. Maybe I don't always like the tactics he chooses. But I like how hard he was on us." He liked that Mizuki-san would never dream of protecting him, from life or tennis or anything else.

"Kind of figured that, yeah." Kaneda cocked his head at Yuuta. "You went your own way, in the match against Echizen, though, didn't you?"

"Well of course." Yuuta crossed his arms. "If I was going to win, I was going to win my way."

Why was Kaneda grinning?

His vice-captain clapped him on the shoulder. "You'll do fine. Quit worrying."

As they went to start the second years on precision tests, Yuuta figured he'd just have to do his best.

And maybe see if he could catch Mizuki-san in his room one of these evenings.

End

Foundations and Extensions

Mizuki studies the opposition, looking for the things he missed last time. Drama, I-3

Hajime now spent his afternoons in a library carrel, watching the video take from Prefecturals, making notes, assembling his observations like a hand of cards. He was starting to think that it wasn't his facts that had been wrong, exactly. They just hadn't been enough, and he'd been missing some pieces.

Especially some of those strange pieces that changed every time he looked at them.

Akazawa stopped by now and then, bringing him a bottle of water or offering a handful of chips from his bag, leaning on the back of Hajime's chair to watch the best clips.

"There." Hajime tapped the end of his pen against the screen, freezing it on a moment of Fuji Shuusuke pushing off sideways. "I thought so, when I had time to actually think again. He wasn't telling the truth about that being his strongest side. He is consistently slower to respond on that side; I had the pattern right."

"He was playing head games with you?" Akazawa bit down on another chip, thoughtfully. "I suppose that does seem like him."

"Psychological games, definitely." Hajime leaned back, crossing his arms. "He wasn't entirely lying, though, either. That side got stronger, as he needed it to." He frowned, twining a lock of hair around his finger while he turned over his handful of facts, trying to fit them together. "I think..." He gritted his teeth and finished. "I think no one has ever truly pushed him. The close games he's had... they were close the way the one with me was. Because he let them be." And he was going to turn that result around if it was the last thing he ever did. If Fuji thought it was safe to toy with him like that, Hajime would show him differently. Surely Fuji's penchant for holding back and his arrogant assurance could be a weakness in and of themselves.

They had to be.

Akazawa grunted. "That's a hard kind of player to predict."

Hajime sniffed. "The only thing about that entire team that's predictable, so far, is that they will all pull out something no one has ever seen before when they are pushed." Which was an odd kind of variable, but once he saw it he could work with it. "My new team will have to focus very intensely on strength and endurance training in order to keep up."

"Well, I guess we'll have to hope St. Christopher has people willing to work."

Hajime paused in reaching for the next tape, not looking around. "You've decided?"

Akazawa chuckled. "If I didn't approve of what a ruthless bastard you are, I wouldn't have run the team for you this year. Let's do it."

Kisarazu was going back to Chiba; Yanagisawa wasn't sure he was going to go on in tennis; but that was all right. Two of them would be enough to start it. Hajime smiled. "We have three years."

And in that time he would find what he had missed, and they would win.

End

Palm to Palm

Mizuki comes across Yuuta practicing and they have words; and a match; and maybe another epiphany. Drama with Pre-Romance, I-3

Evening brought cooler air and fewer people, which suited Hajime just fine at the moment. He wanted to get his practice in without being questioned about why a third year was so concerned with such things. Only a few lights were on around the courts, not quite drowning out the clear, deep indigo of the sky. It was a lovely evening and he was in a good mood.

At least he was in a good mood up until the moment he saw that Yuuta was on the court before him, and lined up for the Twist Spin shot.

The ball sang off Yuuta's racquet, tore past an invisible opponent and climbed the fence. It was an excellent shot, and it made Hajime grit his teeth.

Using a shot that wore so hard on his body, Yuuta would never last three more years at this rate! What was the boy thinking? How was Hajime supposed to draw Yuuta back, year after next, if he went on like this?

Hajime stalked onto the court and snapped. "Yuuta-kun!"

Yuuta tried to stand up and spin around at the same time, and wobbled. "Mizuki-san!"

"What are you doing, using that shot during practice?" Hajime lectured. "There's more than just this season to think about, now. And why are you out here, anyway, you should be training weights at this hour."

"I was hoping to see you."

Hajime's brows rose. "... why?" Surely Yuuta had enough to keep him busy, taking over the club. And, unlike Hajime, Yuuta was the sort to throw himself headlong and absolutely into everything he did.

All right, maybe it wasn't so surprising he was still using that shot.

Yuuta scuffed a toe against the clay. "The coaches are good; their suggestions for exercises help a lot, with the club. But I feel like my personal training is really falling off." He looked up, eyes clear. "I was hoping you'd be willing to help me."

The corner of Hajime's mind that hadn't been entirely sure Yuuta wouldn't hold a grudge breathed out a sigh of relief. He buried that under his week-old sense of annoyance, though, and folded his arms, raking Yuuta up and down with a long look. "And how am I supposed to train someone who won't do as I say?"

"I do!" Yuuta protested. "Well, I mean... it wasn't..."

Hajime sighed and waved a hand to quiet him, mouth quirking. "Yes, yes, all right." Honestly, he knew perfectly well there was a difference between disobeying a tactical order and not sticking to a training regimen. Yuuta had never once slacked on his training.

He also knew it would take Yuuta several more minutes to articulate that. If Hajime's weapon was forethought, Yuuta's was intensity, and subtlety was generally a bonus for him.

This was a good opportunity to set his hand on Yuuta's training again, though. "Come along, then." He pulled out his racquet. "Play a set with me so I can see how it's affected your game."

He watched, as they played. Yuuta had judged correctly; there was a starting spring missing from his footwork, an edge of power missing from his shots. He was still magnificent—the best Hajime had ever trained. But he could be better, and, knowing that, Fuji Yuuta would never rest.

They'd agreed on that from the beginning.

He nodded to himself, at the last point, and came to extend his hand over the net, as usual. "All right. Double your running time to start with." He paused, less for real thought than to get more of his breath back; even off his peak, Yuuta was strong. "I'll stop by tomorrow evening to adjust your weights."

Yuuta nodded, still sharp despite the sweat sticking his shirt to him, and shook Hajime's hand once, quick and firm. "Yes, Mizuki-san." He tucked his chin down for a moment before glancing up and adding. "Thank you."

"Just focus on getting stronger," Hajime directed. And then he frowned, remembering. "And stop using the Twist Spin during practice. Really, you shouldn't use it even in official matches until after your next growth spurt."

Yuuta looked down, and Hajime felt the hand in his tense. "I know," Yuuta said, quietly. "I was listening to everything, last weekend. Tonight I was testing to make sure I'd recognize that kind of strain." He opened his mouth to add something and then closed it again, chewing on his lip.

In the back of his mind, where the truth lived, Hajime thought that he really didn't understand Yuuta. Yuuta's forthright passion was something he didn't think he'd ever felt. He didn't understand why it wasn't driving Yuuta away from him, now that the harshness of Hajime's calculation was out in the open.

And yet, he was glad it wasn't. For one thing, it was surely good for Yuuta to temper that enthusiasm with at least a little considered judgment, which he was clearly starting to do. For another...

Well, never mind that.

"I have longer term plans in mind, now, than I have this past year," he said at last.

Yuuta's hand relaxed and he looked up with a faint smile. "Okay."

The clarity of those grey eyes stole Hajime's thoughts for a moment, before he shook himself and fished out another ball. "Well, come on, then. One more set, since you're out here."

As Yuuta fell back to the baseline, Hajime told himself not to think foolish things. Personal interest, even in someone with Yuuta's brightness, had absolutely no place in his search for perfection. None at all.

Surely not.

End

Ace, King

Yuuta tries to decide how it's going to be between he and Mizuki from now on. Drama with Pre-Romance, I-3

Yuuta worked through his last set of repetitions and let the bar clank back down to rest, sprawling over the bench as he caught his breath. He grinned up at the ceiling, satisfied with the feeling of burning muscles and heaving lungs. This was the feeling he remembered, the feeling of driving right up to the edge of his strength and endurance and staring the limit down. The feeling of advancing.

The feeling Mizuki-san gave him.

He sighed a little and reached for his towel, levering himself up. He wished Mizuki-san had had a better match with Aniki. Not that it hadn't been an amazing match, of course, but... neither of them seemed nearly as happy with it as he and Echizen had been with their match. He didn't like thinking that maybe Mizuki-san didn't know what it was like to just play. Play all out, play your best, and feel satisfied that you had. It had been so fantastic! Did Mizuki-san never feel like that? If he didn't, it made the way he played seem really cold. Cold and distant.

And, yeah, losing sucked, but that was what training was for, right? So you could win next time. Only it seemed like Mizuki-san didn't think so.

Or hadn't thought so. Mizuki-san said things had changed.

Yuuta really hated not knowing whether he could trust that.

He leaned over the sink in the changing room, splashing water on his face more vigorously than necessary. Mizuki-san was the one who showed him a way to stand on his own—a way to respect himself. And, yeah, he'd order people to run until they dropped, and practice moves until you did them in your sleep, and dissect mistakes in chilly and excruciating detail. Mizuki-san had always been three times as demanding as the coaches, and pretty damn merciless. But Yuuta liked that. He didn't want mercy; he wanted to be the best.

Of course, he also wanted to keep being the best for more than one season. Hard to do that with a busted shoulder.

Mizuki-san said it wasn't like that anymore. He had told Yuuta to stop with that shot.

Yuuta leaned his elbows on the counter, staring down at the trails of water running down white porcelain. He'd trusted Mizuki-san. Was it stupid that he still really wanted to?

"Ah, there you are. What was your lap time this afternoon?"

Yuuta started at the sound of Mizuki-san's voice behind him, and turned to find Mizuki-san standing in the door, brows lifted, foot tapping as Yuuta tried to remember the question. "Oh. Yeah, um, fifty-eight seconds."

"Hm." Mizuki-san folded his arms, dark eyes turning distant. "That should do. Increase the speed two notches, next time you practice with the ball machines." He paused in the act of turning away and looked more sharply at Yuuta. "How is the team doing?"

Yuuta blinked. "It's doing fine. We have a handful of good players already sorted out to work on."

"Hmm." Mizuki-san frowned. "Are your classes going well?"

"Yeah," Yuuta said, slowly, starting to wonder what the inquisition was for.

"Well then try eating better," Mizuki-san ordered. "You don't look well. It won't do either of us any good if you fall ill enough to affect your training."

Either of us.

Yuuta relaxed all at once. Mizuki-san was looking annoyed, not considering or sleek; he hadn't thought before saying that. He really did see Yuuta and Yuuta's plans, and not just himself and his own. "Yes, Mizuki-san."

Mizuki-san looked at him, unreadable, for a long moment before nodding. "Very well. Protein and then bed, Yuuta-kun." As he slid the door closed behind him he murmured, "Sleep well."

Yuuta smiled down at his hand-towel for no reason at all. "You too, Mizuki-san," he said, quietly.

End

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

Heat Imaging

Yuuta plays some with Fuji and they wind up discussing Mizuki. Drama and Romance, I-3

Yuuta swung and missed again. "Damn!"

"As your opponent, I appreciate that, but you'd better not let Kaa-san hear you saying it," Aniki called across the net.

"I don't see Kaa-san here right now," Yuuta pointed out, swinging his racquet onto his shoulder. In fact, no one at all was here right now; they had found the most out of the way court at the least lively tennis school they could. Aniki obviously didn't want his new move scooped, and Yuuta really, really didn't want anyone to see them playing.

If anyone said anything about the genius, and, oh, his little brother too, he didn't think he'd be able to do anything but blow up at Aniki. Again.

Aniki chuckled and fished their water bottles off the bench, tossing Yuuta his. "You've improved since Prefecturals."

Yuuta grinned, pleased. "Yeah? Good." He took a long drink. "Mizuki-san's been helping me with my training schedule, but it's hard to be sure sometimes."

Aniki coughed and sputtered. "Mizuki? Yuuta you can't tell me you're still training with him!"

"Why not?" Yuuta blinked at his brother.

"Yuuta! He nearly crippled you!"

Yuuta snorted. "Oh, he did not. One hard match with that shot wouldn't have hurt me." He examined at his water bottle while Aniki stared at him. "A whole season might have. But it didn't happen."

"But it could have!" Aniki caught his shoulder, frowning. "Yuuta, please."

Yuuta squirmed. He'd kind of hoped not to have to discuss this with Aniki. "Mizuki-san is good at what he does, Aniki. And it's different now."

"Different how?"

Yuuta lifted his chin. "Different because I know what I'm doing, and he knows I do. And he has plans that need all his players in good shape." And Mizuki-san looked at him differently, too, which Yuuta wasn't going to say because he didn't know how to describe the difference. At least not so that Aniki wouldn't have a heart attack.

Aniki was quiet for a moment. "Do you really think he can teach you what you need, to play at the level you want to?"

Yuuta was quiet for even longer, struggling to find the right words. Finally he said, "I think determination and working hard enough can take us to the top. And you must think so too, Aniki, or you wouldn't be out here, coming up with new moves and trying them out on me. Mizuki-san makes everyone work harder than they ever thought they could. Including himself, now."

"There's working hard, and then there's destroying yourself." Aniki's eyes flickered, at that, though, and he looked away. "If you're sure," he said, finally.

Yuuta smiled a little, finger tracing around the cap of his water bottle. He'd admit, to himself, that sometimes he'd like it if Mizuki-san let go a little more, ran a little hotter. He couldn't help thinking that getting to the top needed some of that, too. But he was very sure that Mizuki-san wanted to win and was looking everywhere for ways. Maybe... maybe he could get Mizuki-san to see this one. And that way they could help each other. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Aniki sighed. "All right. I guess we already know you're more stubborn than I am." He lifted his racquet. "Once more?"

Yuuta grinned. "You bet! I'll catch that ball before we leave." Yuuta set himself, ready to throw everything into the game, the way he always did. It was just about his specialty—kind of the way calculation was Mizuki-san's.

Mizuki-san had showed him the way to grow and stand on his own; maybe now it was his turn.

End

Steel and Cypress

After watching the National semifinals, Mizuki wrestles with his ambitions and fears—at least until Yuuta gives him a push. Drama with Romance, I-4

Hajime lay on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. To the absent Yuuta, he repeated, "Your brother really, really irritates me."

Fuji's match against Shiraishi had been magnificent. It had been a good match, unlike the one he'd had with Hajime. Fuji had found, not only determination, but passion. Passion that made him truly look like Yuuta's brother for the first time Hajime could recall.

Passion Hajime had never played with.

The understanding twisted at him, made him turn on his side and curl in on himself, trying to escape his own thoughts.

Did he need it? Was that really one of the pieces he'd been missing? Did he have to... to expose himself that way, to play at the top?

Yuuta did.

Fuji had.

He would be damned before he'd be less than Fuji Shuusuke.

A quick rap on the door interrupted his brooding, followed by Yuuta's voice. "Mizuki-san, did you see... Oops." Yuuta's voice dropped to a whisper. "Sorry."

Hajime turned over in time to see Yuuta tiptoeing back out the door and his mouth twitched up at one corner. "I'm not asleep," he said dryly.

Yuuta looked over his shoulder. "Ah? Oh, good then." He turned around again and came to bounce down in Hajime's desk chair. "Did you see the tape Akazawa-senpai got of some of the other matches?" Yuuta's eyes were a little wide. "Are all Nationals games really like that?"

Hajime turned over the various Nationals matches he had seen, in his head, marking the texture and intensity of them all. "Yes, I'm afraid so," he murmured.

"Wow." Yuuta sat back, eyes fixed on something besides the room around them. "That's amazing," he said softly. And then his focus snapped back to Hajime. "We can do it, though. Right, Mizuki-san?"

Hajime felt breathless, pinned by the burning-glass of that fierce, grey gaze. He had, in fact, little doubt that Yuuta could do it.

Could he?

Could he refuse?

"Yes." He closed his eyes. "Yes, Yuuta-kun. We will."

When he opened his eyes again Yuuta was smiling, brilliant and... somehow already triumphant. Hajime's mouth quirked. What a spot to put himself in, a sensible, logical person agreeing to go forward alongside this firebrand and push both of them to the edge and beyond.

All because he wanted Yuuta to look only at him, the way he was right now.

He sighed and leaned back on his elbows as Yuuta enthused about some of the shots he'd seen, mind already racing ahead in time, tracing the curve of his conditioning, mapping it steeper. He would climb that curve, and win. That was the important thing.

He would keep Yuuta beside him.

End

Percentage by Volume

Yuuta puts some work into repairing Mizuki's reputation among the St. Rudolph tennis club. Drama with Romance, I-3

When Mori looked at the new training menu and growled, "This is Mizuki's!" and the three first year Regulars actually looked alarmed, Yuuta knew he was going to have to do something drastic. He couldn't very well show up, year after next, at St. Christopher with these jokers in tow, still thinking Mizuki-san was demon-spawn. He and Kaneda might not be the only players the team needed.

"Wherever the exercises came from, the menu is mine," he said flatly, still hoping to head things off.

"He's screwed this club up badly enough already," Mori shot back, ploughing right over Yuuta's attempt. "Look how low our ranking was this year!"

Yuuta's eyes narrowed. "So, you think that was because of Mizuki-san's training?"

Behind the other two second years, Kaneda suddenly grinned and then tucked it away and looked sober. Yuuta caught his eye and winked, very quickly. Kaneda didn't lose it, but he did look like he was biting his tongue not to.

Mori, on the other hand, walked right into it. "Yeah, that's what I think!"

"Well, he's still training me, so why don't we see about that?" Yuuta pointed to all his Regulars, one after another. "Mori, Toriume, Arima, Miyamoto, Kimura, Ogata. You're all playing me, today." He showed his teeth as they all stared at him. "And I guess I'll finish up with Kaneda." Or else Kaneda would finish up him, if this went badly.

"Sure thing," Kaneda agreed, cheerfully.

Yuuta strolled out onto the nearest court, turning to look over his shoulder at Mori. "Well? Let's go! One set match, Mori. Your serve."

"You'll never be able to do it." Mori stalked back to serve.

"Guess we'll see," Yuuta murmured, setting himself.

Yuuta ordered his knees not to give out and gave his team a glare, hands on his hips. They stared back, most of them in shock, though Kaneda looked wry and Ogata had a speculative gleam in his eye. Yuuta had won all seven sets, though just barely from Ogata and Kaneda, and he really hoped he didn't die before he made it back to the dorms.

After all, he had to tell Mizuki-san how well training multiple sets had paid off.

"I didn't do that with any special skill or talent," he said, flatly. "I could do it because I've been working my ass off, according to a training schedule Mizuki-san made." He paused to let that sink in, and to catch his breath. "Now. Do you want to be able to do that?"

Ogata pushed away from the fence and stepped forward. "Yes."

Kimura grinned and joined him. "Yeah."

Arima chuckled and clapped a hand on Miyamoto's shoulder, and they stepped forward together.

"Sure looks like it paid off," Toriume allowed, and stepped up.

Mori growled. "Oh fine, all right." He frowned at Yuuta. "You're crazy, you know that?"

Yuuta leaned on a bench, laughing. "I think I've heard it said."

Kaneda took a long look at him and turned to the team. "All right, then, let's get on with practice proper. First the weights..."

Yuuta cautiously stretched his legs as Kaneda took the team in hand, and made a note to do something nice for his vice-captain. If he'd tried to actually lead practice today, he'd have fallen on his face for sure, and that wasn't quite the lesson he was trying to teach.

"That was foolish, Yuuta-kun," Mizuki-san told him that evening. "Surely there was another way to make your point." He tested the shaking of Yuuta's wrists with light fingers, looking disapproving.

"It worked," Yuuta defended himself.

"There was no need for it."

"I couldn't just let them spread it to the rest of the club," Yuuta insisted. "What would that mean two years on? Besides—" he broke off, biting his lip.

Mizuki-san raised his brows. "Besides?"

Yuuta swore at himself for slipping like that; he really did need to learn to watch his mouth one of these days. He looked down and muttered, "I don't like them talking about you that way."

"Yuuta..." Mizuki-san sounded startled. He looked startled, when Yuuta glanced up. Slowly startlement melted into a smile and his hand on Yuuta's wrist closed gently for a moment. "Thank you." And as quick as that he was brisk again. "But it won't do for you to strain yourself like this."

Grateful to get off without embarrassment, Yuuta nodded. "Yes, Mizuki-san."

He took the rest of the lecture fairly meekly, and folded the memory of Mizuki-san's smile away to take out and look at later.

End

A/N: Ogata and Miyamoto were created by Lys ap Adin, for St. Rudolph's next generation, and are used by permission.

Cold Fingers and Hot Drinks

Yuuta and Mizuki train with each other over the winter and find their way toward an understanding. Romance with Drama, I-3

Hajime's hands were cold.

He didn't bother telling himself it was because they were playing outside in the dead of winter. He knew better, and he did try not to lie to himself, at least.

He flexed his fingers around the handle of his racquet, breathing deeply, feeling the chilly air tingle in his lungs.

"Ready whenever you are, Mizuki-san!" Yuuta called cheerfully across the court. Hajime snorted.

"You're always ready," he called back. Before Yuuta could answer, before he could wind himself any tighter than he already was, he threw the ball up and served, hard and fast.

He watched Yuuta catch it, watched Yuuta like a hawk and stooped on the ball as it came back again. And again. And again. The ball would not get away from him; today he would not let it, no matter what. He heard Yuuta laugh, bright and exhilarated, across the net, felt the heaviness of the return straining at his arms and threw it back anyway.

This was terrifying.

Yuuta was a better player than he was. Not a better strategist or athlete or planner. But a better player; he had been for almost a year, now. And today, in defiance of all common sense and logic, Hajime was going to try to win an all-out match from him.

Again.

This was senseless. His hands would be shaking if the racquet wasn't keeping them busy and the ball keeping them steady. He watched and dashed and dove for the ball and always, always sent it back, and felt like he'd taken hold of a live wire and now electricity was running through him, snapping and spitting. He was drenched with sweat, even in the cold, and wondered with every breath if he could keep going.

When they reached six all he wondered if he could stop.

And today whatever fire or fate ruled games like these favored him. The last point was his. Yuuta met him at the net, grinning, nearly glowing. He didn't seem to mind Hajime's victory; he never seemed to.

Hajime was just grateful to get inside and sit down and breathe air that didn't seem to sparkle in his blood.

A clank, and the warmth of a can against his hand, brought him back to the world and he took the coffee Yuuta had brought him. "Thank you."

Yuuta sprawled on the bench beside him, opening his juice. After a moment he said, "You're getting better at that."

Hajime sniffed. "I can read a scoreboard." He knew he was getting better; that was half of what alarmed him. What if he let this passion, this openness, slip out at some other time and knock some delicate calculation or other awry? What if it ran away with him?

Yuuta smiled down at his drink. "I know. I just mean... it's really great to play against you like this."

Hajime regarded Yuuta ruefully. He sometimes wished he wasn't starting to understand that. "I know."

Yuuta traced a finger around the top of the can. "Mizuki-san..." Finally, softly, he said, "Thank you."

Hajime tried to breathe slowly past a sudden tightness in his chest. "For what?" he asked, lightly. All right, so he was, in significant part, doing this for Yuuta—Yuuta didn't know that.

Yuuta raised his head and looked back with such clear eyes that Hajime suddenly doubted his own thought. "For everything," he said, quiet and sure. "For all of this."

Hajime couldn't quite look away, and thought for one crazy moment that he would drown in that living grey. When he spoke, his voice was huskier than he had thought it would be. "Perhaps I should be thanking you."

Yuuta's eyes widened and red stole over his high cheekbones. "Mizuki-san."

One of them was going to have to look away, Hajime decided distantly. Otherwise they'd be here until full darkness fell to separate them. He traded one contact for another and reached out to rest his fingers on the back of Yuuta's hand as he closed his eyes and drew a breath and told himself to be sane.

Yuuta started. "Mizuki-san, your hands are freezing!"

"That," Hajime informed him with dignity, "is because I react like a normal person to winter: by getting cold." Unlike Yuuta, who just seemed to get more bounce in his step the chillier it got outside.

It was his turn to start as Yuuta took his fingers and chafed them between his hands. "You should have said." Yuuta wrapped Hajime's hand back around his still-warm can of coffee.

Hajime hauled his breath back under his control and laughed softly. "Well, there was something outdoors I wanted." He was secretly delighted to see Yuuta color again. Yuuta was so transparently sincere; it was enough to enchant a person, really.

Yuuta resettled his shoulders and lifted his chin. "So. You wanted another game, then?"

Hajime blinked at the riposte and finally laughed out loud.

"Yes, Yuuta. Perhaps I do."

End

Heart Shaped Petals

It's graduation, and Mizuki's intentions are finally unmistakable. Romance, I-3

Yuuta supposed it was all sorts of good omens and stuff like that for the third years to graduate just as the sakura were blooming, but this year he felt just a little lost, watching the petals fall over everyone's carefully pressed uniforms.

Mizuki-san was leaving.

He walked beside Yuuta, under the trees, hands tucked into his pockets. "So, Yuuta-kun. What are your plans for the next year?"

Yuuta blinked. "You know what my plans are. We've talked about it. You're the one who wrote my training menu for the next two months."

"Not your tennis plans, your academic ones." Mizuki-san gave him a sharp look. "You'll need to keep your grades up to the mark, to join me again a year from now."

Yuuta stopped and looked at Mizuki-san with a certain exasperation. "Yes, Mizuki-san. I know that," he pointed out, as patiently as he could. "But my grades have always done just fine, here. You know that."

Mizuki-san shrugged, as if tossing something off his shoulders. "Well, I suppose so."

Yuuta's mouth tugged up at one corner. Maybe he wasn't the only one who was feeling jittery about this graduation. "I'll be fine."

Mizuki-san turned to face him, silent and inscrutable for a long moment. "Yes. I believe you will." And then his lips curled just a bit, the way they did when some plan of his was about to succeed, and he lifted a hand to cup Yuuta's cheek. "You always have so far. It's one of the things I like about you, Yuuta-kun."

Yuuta had to swallow hard as Mizuki-san's thumb brushed over his cheekbone. It was hard to catch his breath all of a sudden. "Oh... Good..." This was not the place he'd expected Mizuki-san to do something like this. He was glad Mizuki-san had, because damn it was nice to be sure, finally, but...

Mizuki-san took one light step toward him, and Yuuta's heart started going faster, and—

"Mizuki!"

Mizuki-san stepped back again, hand slipping away with a last brush of fingertips as Akazawa-senpai came around the curve of the path.

"Mizuki, are you coming with—" Akazawa-senpai broke off, brows rising slowly as he eyed the two of them.

"Ah, are we leaving already? Yes, I'll be right there," Mizuki-san said, as collected as if Yuuta wasn't standing beside him turning red.

"Sure," Akazawa-senpai agreed in a tone knowing enough to make Yuuta squirm. As he turned back down the path, Mizuki-san huffed and looked at Yuuta out of the corner of his eye.

"Perhaps we can continue our discussion later, Yuuta-kun."

"Yeah. Sure," Yuuta managed. He nearly lost his breath again at the way Mizuki-san smiled, rueful and genuinely amused for one unguarded moment.

"Perhaps you'll visit me at St. Christopher's dorms; I'll send you my room number." His fingers stroked the back of Yuuta's hand. "Until then."

Yuuta thought, watching Mizuki-san walk down the path, that that almost-promise might just have been worth the entire past year.

End

Strawberry Season

Yuuta lets himself be a little distracted by new things; his team notices; maybe Yuuta doesn't care. Romance with Humor, I-3

Yuuta didn't really mind Kaneda's amused look, when he practically floated into morning practice on Monday. He didn't even mind the quiet murmur of, "Someone had a good weekend."

It was true, after all.

And he had figured out, by now, that most of the world could probably tell by the grin he couldn't stop that something very nice indeed had happened to one Fuji Yuuta. Strangers had smiled at him indulgently on the walk home last night. That was all right, too. Everything in the whole world was all right, because he could still remember how Mizuki-san's desk chair felt under him, and the warmth of Mizuki-san's hand on his shoulder, and the way Mizuki-san's eyes turned softer as he leaned over Yuuta, and the slide of Mizuki-san's lips moving against his.

He guessed it probably was distracting him, though, because it took him a while to pay attention to the whispering behind him.

"...just happy for Fuji-buchou that Mizuki-senpai finally made a move," Miyamoto said.

"Yes, but his timing could have been a bit better," Ogata murmured back, dryly.

A snort that sounded like Mori. "What, his timing was great. Now maybe Yuuta will chill out on us, a little."

The silence that followed that made Yuuta glance over his shoulder, curious. He found all three of the now-second years giving Mori the look of (mostly) dutiful kouhai who thought they had the world's greatest idiot for a senpai.

"Fuji-buchou? Chill out?" Kimura scoffed. "Just because he got... well, whatever he got last night? Not a chance."

"I think I have to agree, Senpai," Ogata put in. "It's less than a month to the start of tournament season. I bet he'll be himself by afternoon practice."

"Two onigiri says it's by the end of morning practice," Miyamoto came back, promptly.

Kimura looked thoughtful. "Kind of depends on just what happened last night, doesn't it?"

Yuuta took a few moments to will the heat out of his face before he spun around and barked, "Okay, twenty laps and then pinpointing practice, everybody!"

Everyone stretched and groaned and started running, and Yuuta might have escaped the morning with at least a little dignity. Except that he heard Miyamoto whisper to the other two, as the second years passed him, "Told you."

It didn't help that Kaneda was trying not to snicker while he jogged beside Yuuta.

"Kaneda," Yuuta growled, knowing he was more flushed than exercise could excuse, "they are betting on my personal life."

"Yeah." Kaneda caught his breath, though the corners of his mouth still twitched. "They have been for months."

"WHAT?"

Kaneda lost his stride for laughing and Yuuta could only take a little comfort in the fact that his second years looked back at them and decided it would be a good idea to run faster.

"Yuuta," Mizuki-san said, closing Yuuta's door behind him, "is there any reason why Ogata-kun gave me an extremely knowing smile on my way up the stairs?"

Yuuta groaned and pulled his pillow over his head.

A moment of silence. "I see." Mizuki-san sighed and the bed dipped as he sat on the edge beside Yuuta. "Well, I suppose gossip gets around sooner or later."

"I am going," Yuuta gritted out, "to make them run laps until they don't have any breath left to gossip with."

Mizuki-san laughed. "That will do well all around, I'm sure." He tugged on Yuuta's pillow. "In the meantime, they're not here. And I am."

Yuuta let the pillow slide away and looked up ruefully. "You are." He reached up to run a hand down Mizuki-san's arm, just because he could. "How is your club going?"

"We have ten members, three of whom may conceivably be useful." Mizuki-san slipped his fingers around Yuuta's, looking thoughtful. "One of them might even make a new partner for Yanagisawa, who is still complaining of having lost Kisarazu. I have my doubts whether we will be able to move beyond Prefecturals this year; too many of the strong teams have too much continuity." He smiled, looking satisfied in a catlike way. "But a loss at that stage, this year, will spur them on for next."

Yuuta hesitated a moment before saying, "You're going to try, though, right?"

Mizuki-san lifted a brow at him. "Of course." His eyes glinted. "I have never taken a loss willingly, Yuuta-kun."

Yuuta relaxed, smiling. That was true; it would be all right.

Mizuki-san's eyes narrowed and he leaned over Yuuta, one hand slipping up to cup Yuuta's face. "I've spent a great deal of effort on catching something of drive and passion. I have no intention of letting it go again."

Yuuta was pretty sure Mizuki-san wasn't just talking about tennis, and that made him feel warm and tingly all over. Which probably meant he was blushing again. He didn't care. "Mizuki-san." He reached up to touch the curve of Mizuki-san's lips.

Mizuki-san leaned down to him, and this kiss was a lot more involved than the last one. He'd probably remember this one for days. But while Mizuki-san's tongue was stroking his Yuuta couldn't remember why that might not be a completely fantastic thing.

He'd worry about it later.

End

A/N: Ogata and Miyamoto were created by Lys ap Adin, for St. Rudolph's next generation, and are used by permission.

The Bees and the Bees

Yuuta wants Kaneda to explain some facts of life to him. Humor with Romance, I-3

In the end, Yuuta decided Kaneda was the best person to ask. Kaneda was the one who most deserved to be asked. Of course, then he had to actually ask.

"So," he tried, as they climbed the steps to their floor of the dorm. "You and Akazawa-senpai are, um... right?"

"We're right?" Kaneda stared at him for a moment before his eyes widened. "Oh." The corners of his mouth curled up. "We're 'um'? Yeah."

"Ah. That's, um, good. I was just. Um." Yuuta shoved his hands in his pockets and glowered at his feet. How did you ask these things?

"Curiosity?" Kaneda asked casually. "Have a bet on with the second years?"

Kaneda was having way too much fun with this.

"Um. Mizuki-san. Well, maybe, I mean... " Yuuta muttered, finally.

"So?" Kaneda was definitely grinning. "You wanted to celebrate or something?"

"No." Yuuta kicked the door shut behind him, because he really didn't want the whole dorm hearing this. "I just... well I wondered... what it's like. I mean what happens. When you... um."

Kaneda sat down on his bed with a thump, amusement disappearing in shock. "Are you, um, sure you don't want to go find a website for this?" he asked, a bit weakly.

Yuuta folded his arms. "Mizuki-san says never to trust anything on the web." Besides, Kaneda damn well owed him this, after laughing so much.

"Oh." After a moment, Kaneda sighed. "If it wasn't you... All right, look." He ran a hand through his hair and flopped back on the bed. "Tell me you already know what a blow-job is?"

Yuuta could feel his face getting hot. "Yeah."

"The rest... well, a lot of it's mostly just... touching. Like you do yourself, only... each other."

Yuuta managed to make a 'keep going' noise.

"And you want to know about the part that isn't," Kaneda muttered. "Well it's... Okay, look." He took a deep breath. "He might also want to be, um, inside you."

Okay, Yuuta really had understood that bit right. He frowned. "I gotta tell you, that still sounds weird. Are you sure?"

Kaneda gave him a flat, exasperated look, and finally said, "He might want to put his fingers or cock up your ass. Yes it's kind of weird. It's also kind of nice."

Yuuta always managed to forget how blunt Kaneda could be if you pushed him far enough. He hoped his face wasn't about to catch fire. "Ah. So. You're sure about the nice part?" he said, strangled.

Kaneda laughed, though he was pretty red in the face, too, by now. "Yeah, I'm sure." His eyes got a little distant as he stared up at the ceiling. "It's really... close. As close as you can get, to do things like that." He glanced back at Yuuta, and smiled just a little evilly. "And even if it's Mizuki-senpai, he'll probably be gentle when he's getting you ready."

Yuuta wrestled with himself; he knew Kaneda was setting him up. He knew it. But he had to ask. "Getting me ready?"

Kaneda downright grinned and leaned over to fish a tube out of his desk drawer and toss it to Yuuta.

Yuuta turned it over a few times, frowning, and read the label. "...for silky smooth sensation...

"KANEDA!"

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Akazawa looked over his shoulder at Hajime as he dumped his bag beside his desk.

Hajime sighed. This was going to be uncomfortable, he just knew it. "Well. I suppose it may sound like a strange question, or, perhaps, too personal, but you and Kaneda-kun..."

End

Cotton Sheets

Mizuki and Yuuta have some pillow-talk about the ongoing tournaments and more about names. Romance with Light Porn, I-4

Hajime had to admit, despite the embarrassment of various preparations and the general awkwardness of their first few tries, there was something very nice about being in bed with Yuuta. Once he made up his mind to something, Yuuta had no self-consciousness Hajime had been able to discover, and he seemed perfectly content to lie in bed naked and discuss tennis while Hajime's hands wandered over him.

"...so if we manage to take Hyoutei in Semifinals, we'll be dealing with Fudoumine in Finals after lunch. It'll be a hard day on everyone. Mmm." Yuuta wriggled a little as Hajime stroked his stomach, muscles tightening under Hajime's palm.

"You've trained hard for endurance, yes?" Hajime traced his fingers down the hollow of Yuuta's hip; he thought he might never stop being fascinated with the texture of Yuuta. "It is a disadvantageous order, though. Fudoumine will be the greater threat, this year." Especially since, from his information, Tachibana had chosen to coach his proteges in favor of actually playing this year.

"Then we'll just have to see if we can beat them all," Yuuta said, suddenly steely tone in direct contrast to his lazy stretch and return to fold his arms around Hajime, fingers smoothing over Hajime's ribs.

Yuuta's willingness to touch back was the other really nice thing, even if Hajime was still getting used to the whole idea. "I have confidence in you," he murmured into the curve of Yuuta's shoulder.

A quiet laugh brushed past his ear. "That's one of the reasons I believe we can win, Mizuki-san."

"Hmmm." Hajime propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at Yuuta thoughtfully. "You know, all things considered, I think you might use my given name." He leaned down again to stroke Yuuta's lips apart with his tongue and demonstrate one of the things to be considered.

Apparently it was a good demonstration, because when he drew back, heat still curling through him, it took Yuuta a few breathless moments to murmur back, "Hajime-san..."

Hajime smiled; he liked the way his name sounded in Yuuta's mouth. The way Yuuta's tone made everything between them perfectly clear to anyone who might listen was a warm, satisfying weight in Hajime's chest.

The brilliant smile that followed took him by surprise, though, and so did the way Yuuta's arms tightened around him, drawing him down snugly against Yuuta's body.

"Hajime-san," Yuuta repeated against his neck, mouth soft.

Hajime shivered and swallowed. "Yuuta," he answered, husky, before he got enough of a grip to laugh and spread a hand against the small of Yuuta's back. "Ready again so soon?" he teased.

The low, pleased sound Yuuta made in answer, the flash of white teeth in a grin as he spread his legs against the white sheets, sent such a jolt of heat up Hajime's spine he couldn't breathe at all for a moment. Only pull Yuuta tighter against him and kiss him slow and deep.

He supposed, in the back of his mind, that the way he looked at Yuuta, turned towards Yuuta, would also make things perfectly clear to anyone with eyes. He was more or less resigned to that, if it made Yuuta answer him so powerfully, so purely.

If old fears still nagged at him to keep his face smooth and impenetrable, to seek the perfection that was cool and sure and safe, Yuuta's wild, spendthrift excellence had tempted him not to mind the danger. To reach for fire and chance instead, to ride them the way he rode Yuuta's body and savor their sharp pleasures.

Fear was his past. Yuuta was his future now.

End

See and Raise

Mizuki comes to see Yuuta play; so does Fuji; a little silent competition ensues. Drama with Romance, I-3

Hajime nodded to himself thoughtfully as St. Rudolph's match with Rikkai was called. In a way it was a compliment, that Kirihara had seen the threat Yuuta was early on and played his best to defeat Yuuta. He doubted Yuuta wanted to hear that yet, but he filed the thought away for later, when they planned out St. Rudolph's next training push. He had little doubt, after all, that Yuuta's team would still be going to Nationals, once the consolation matches were played.

For now he just waited under the trees as the spectators wandered off and the players clustered around their captains. He couldn't hear what Yuuta was saying, but the energetic gestures told him it was probably encouraging. And emphatic. He smiled, leaning against the smooth trunk behind him. He'd never really taught Yuuta anything about managing people; he'd never had to. The only person Yuuta couldn't seem to manage on instinct was...

Hajime's brows rose as Fuji came down the stands to speak to Yuuta. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had left off observing the high school Regionals to come watch this match.

Yuuta waved his team off to get on with packing their equipment and ran a hand through his hair as he turned to his brother. Hajime watched narrowly, poised to move forward; this was a delicate moment for team morale and Fuji had better not upset Yuuta in front of his players.

He watched as Yuuta made a tight, frustrated gesture, turned away from his team so they wouldn't see it. Fuji moved closer; it looked like he was trying to calm Yuuta down, and Hajime snorted. He wished Fuji all the luck in the word with that. Yuuta wasn't a calm sort of person. Sure enough, Yuuta's mouth went tight; Hajime could see it from where he stood.

He could also see the wry tilt to Fuji's mouth and the cock of his head, as he laid a hand on Yuuta's shoulder and said something serious. Whatever it was, it worked. Yuuta's shoulders settled a bit and he folded his arms loosely, not tight the way he did when he was upset.

Hajime snorted and pushed away from his tree and started down the stands himself. Fuji had had his family togetherness moment, and now he could just leave Yuuta to Hajime to get on with things.

Fuji saw him coming first, over Yuuta's shoulder, and his eyes flashed for a moment. Hajime let his own narrow; he wasn't the interloper, here. "Yuuta," he murmured as he came level with them.

Yuuta turned with a sudden smile. "Hajime-san! I didn't think you'd be here."

"For your Semifinal match? Of course I came." Hajime smiled back, lightly, watching Fuji stiffen just a bit on hearing the way Yuuta spoke the familiar form of Hajime's name. Hajime shifted a step closer to Yuuta, close enough to feel the heat of Yuuta's bare arm against his. Fuji now looked rather frozen.

That was gratifying, but not nearly as gratifying as it was when Yuuta turned toward him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be standing so close for everyone to see. Hajime's smile softened as the brightness of Yuuta's eyes wrapped around him. "I wanted to be ready for what your team might need after this. Of course I had to see you play." And if those two statements weren't quite as connected as he made them sound, no one but the two of them had to know.

He started a little when Fuji spoke; for a moment he'd actually forgetten anyone else was present.

"Well, it looks like you have things to take care of, Yuuta. Are you still coming home next weekend?"

"Oh, yeah." Yuuta waved. "Tell everyone I'll see them then, okay?"

"Of course." Fuji gave Hajime a hard look. "Mizuki."

"I'm sure I'll see you later, Fuji-kun," Mizuki purred and smiled smoothly as Fuji stalked back up the stands.

It was so good to win.

"Hajime-san?" Yuuta was looking at him curiously.

Especially when he'd won someone as frankly astonishing as Yuuta. Hajime brushed discreet fingers down Yuuta's arm as he turned back. "We can discuss my notes later; I imagine you'll want to take your team home."

Yuuta's mouth quirked. "Yeah. I want to make sure no one gets too off track while we've still got another match to go."

As was only right. "Perhaps I'll visit later this evening, then," Hajime suggested, and had to supress a shiver at the way Yuuta's eyes warmed.

"I'd like that."

Hajime watched for a moment as Yuuta moved back to his team, marshalling them to depart. Yuuta had chosen him. And whenever he remembered that he wondered if he would ever have a better victory.

End

Shreds of Cinnamon

Yuuta and Mizuki enjoy some intimacy and experiment a little in bed. Total Smut, I-4

Yuuta moaned softly as Hajime-san's hands moved up his legs and warm palms slid over his inner thighs, pressing them apart. It always made his stomach flutter, the way Hajime-san lingered over his body at the start, fingers tracing his ribs and smoothing over his stomach. The look in Hajime-san's eyes, hot and pleased, made his breath come faster.

When Hajime-san's mouth closed over his cock Yuuta had to reach up, hands grabbing for his headboard, his pillow, anything he could grip hard enough, because the silky, hot slide of Hajime-san's tongue was enough to make him need to hold on. Hajime-san downright purred around him and Yuuta's whole body flexed with the thrill of pleasure. "Hajime-san!"

"Mmmm." Hajime-san's lips brushed Yuuta's head as he spoke, husky and intimate. "You're so magnificent, Yuuta. Especially when I can see all of you." His hands slid down Yuuta's raised arms, down his body, over his hips. "When you're bare for me to touch." Long fingers traced delicate circles behind Yuuta's balls and Yuuta's hips lifted helplessly into it. He moaned as heat shook him.

Yuuta had figured out fast that Hajime-san liked teasing him, liked to be in control. But Hajime-san always made it good for him, and the way he talked...

Hajime-san's mouth stroked his cock again, and then it was slick fingers, a little chilly, sliding up and down him. Yuuta looked up at Hajime-san, a bit dazed. Usually that slick touch went somewhere else. "What...?"

Hajime-san laughed, the soft, throaty sound that he only ever made in bed, the one that made Yuuta hard just hearing it. "I thought perhaps you'd like to try something different tonight." His fingers slid away and he moved up to straddle Yuuta's hips, kneeling over him. His other hand, the one Yuuta suddenly realized he hadn't seen or felt for a little while, guided Yuuta's cock against him, and Yuuta's eyes widened.

"You... " That was all he had time for before Hajime-san pressed slowly, slowly down onto his cock, and he couldn't speak because it was hot again and incredibly tight, and everything was gone but the electric pleasure sliding down him and through his body.

Hajime-san's eyes were closed and he panted, one hand braced hard on Yuuta's chest. "Yuuta," he whispered.

Yuuta reached out to stroke Hajime-san's thighs, just as breathless, hands shaking a little. The little breath he had left him as Hajime-san rocked up and back down on him and heat spilled over him again. "Fuck," he gasped with absolute reverence.

Hajime-san was smiling again, eyes half lidded. "You feel good, Yuuta." He rocked up further and slid back slowly.

Yuuta moaned, hips lifting to meet Hajime-san, heat wrapping around every nerve. His hands wandered over Hajime-san's body, stroking the lean, hard lines of him, asking for more in a way that didn't need the words he couldn't string together right now. Hajime-san laughed, arching in his hands, and the tightening of his body around Yuuta as he did made Yuuta groan, bucking up.

Hajime-san made a husky sound low in his throat, grinding down to meet Yuuta and it was too much. Pleasure fired up into something else, something fierce that raked through his body over and over as he came.

As he stilled, Hajime-san eased away and settled to lie beside him. "Well, that was rather nice."

"Yeah," Yuuta agreed, a bit dazed. "That was... wow."

Hajime-san leaned into his shoulder, laughing.

Yuuta blinked and looked down and almost blushed again. And here Hajime-san was so careful about that, with him! He turned and wound an arm around Hajime-san, kissing his shoulder softly, and slid a hand down Hajime-san's hip to close on his still-hard cock.

Hajime-san gasped and shivered. "Yuuta!" The curve of his body as his hips pressed up into Yuuta's hand was sleek and gorgeous, and Yuuta just had to be stunned all over again that Hajime-san wanted him. He stroked slow and hard until Hajime-san's arms tightened sharply around him and Hajime-san moaned against his neck, hips jerking quickly. Slowly the shudders in Hajime-san's body stilled.

"Mmmmmm."

Yuuta grinned. That was the sound Hajime-san made when he was satisfied with the world; there were times he thought Hajime-san should have been a cat. "Sometimes I'm glad no one else ever sees you like this," he said softly.

Hajime-san sniffed. "I should hope not. Vulnerability is nothing to wave around in people's faces."

Yuuta shook his head, rueful; of course that was the way Hajime-san thought of it. "Only sometimes, you know? Other times I think more people should see how amazing you are. Well, at least you show it when you play, now."

Hajime-san lifted his head. "Yuuta, what are you talking about?"

"All of you," Yuuta said, searching for the right words. "The... the depth of you."

The way Hajime-san's eyes softened made Yuuta's arms tighten around him. Hajime-san didn't answer, and letting Yuuta have the last word was all the agreement they needed, between the two of them.

Yuuta smiled and carefully held Hajime-san closer.

End

The Evening and the Morning

Yuuta is down, after Nationals, and Mizuki prods him out of his end-of-the-world gloom. Drama with Romance, I-3

Hajime's shoulder brushed Yuuta's, every now and then, as they walked in the suspended light of dusk. Yuuta walked silently, watching his feet on the pavement, and Hajime glanced at him every now and then, waiting for the right moment to speak, himself.

Finally, he decided there wasn't going to be one if he didn't make it and discreetly nudged Yuuta left at the next corner. "So, who's taking over the team now?" he asked.

Yuuta twitched, half a flinch, and Hajime stifled a sigh.

"Ogata," Yuuta finally answered, voice lower than usual. "I thought maybe Kimura, but Ogata is better at long-term thinking." A faint smile. "And he can growl and snap with the best; he just doesn't do it very often. It'll be a good change of pace for the club."

Hajime turned them north again and nodded. "It's good that you think of these things, as you leave them." Glancing over at Yuuta, he could see Yuuta's jaw clench for a moment. One more push, he decided; but it would have to be the right one. "It was a good team this year. You brought each other further than anyone else could have." He paused for a measured, contemplative moment. "With the possible exception of Mori-kun."

A snort of laughter broke through Yuuta's increasing gloom. "Mori is a pain in the ass."

"Well, all things can be useful. Mori-kun is good leadership practice. Think of him as a variety of resistance weight," Hajime advised.

This time, Yuuta's laugh was quicker, brighter. "Tell me I never gave you and Akazawa-san that much trouble?"

"You were your very own brand of trouble," Hajime informed him serenely. And then he smiled, taking Yuuta's arm to steer him though a green fence of cypress trees. "But one I'll be very pleased to have back."

Yuuta stopped short, looking out over St. Christopher's courts, which they had come out at the back of. "Oh," he said, very quietly, eyes wide.

Hajime nodded to himself, pleased with this change of expression. And luck favored him today, because Yanagisawa was out alone, practicing against the wall of the club offices, and noticed them.

"Yuuta!" Yanagisawa batted the ball down and caught it and waved. "Look who's eager! Here to start with your new team already?"

"I, um..." Yuuta's eyes were still wide, and Hajime's fingers itched to stroke his arm, to make some kind of contact and soothe Yuuta. But the point of this exercise was to for Yuuta to let this season go on his own. "I guess so," Yuuta finally said, softly, and Hajime smiled.

Yanagisawa trotted over and rumpled Yuuta's hair vigorously. "Good!" He leaned back, hands on his hips. "And you know," he added, abruptly serious, "that was really good, taking your team that far in Nationals. Really good."

Yuuta looked down at his feet again for a moment, but finally nodded. "I guess so." When he looked up his eyes were fierce and bright again. "We'll do better next year."

Yanagisawa grinned. "Of course we will." And then he grinned wider, and Yuuta braced himself, on pure reflex as far as Hajime could see. "So, you guys doing a double date or something? I saw Akazawa and Kaneda going by just a little while ago..."

Yanagisawa ducked and laughed as Yuuta dove for him, red-faced and growling, and Hajime shook his head ruefully. Things were definitely getting back to normal. A new kind of normal, perhaps. He caught Yuuta on his way past and twined their fingers together, smiling.

They would most definitely do better, this time.

End

Patience and Concentration

A year and a half later, Mizuki and Yuuta have some more hot sex for very good reasons. Porn with Characterization, I-4

Yuuta lay, quite relaxed, with his ass in the air and Hajime-san's cock sliding in and out of it. He'd come already, under Hajime-san's mouth, before Hajime-san nudged him over the piled pillows; the pleasure now was slow and warm, not urgent, letting him appreciate the slick thickness of Hajime-san moving inside him.

Hajime-san's hands kneaded Yuuta's ass slow and hard, in time with his thrusts; Yuuta thought he might have marks there for a little. It felt good, though, the strength of Hajime-san's hands squeezing those muscles and turning them loose. "Mmm, wouldn't mind if you did this forever," he murmured, resting his cheek on his folded arms.

Hajime-san laughed, husky. "Even I don't have that kind of self-control, Yuuta." A harder thrust made Yuuta moan with the tight flicker of heat. "You feel too good."

"Mm, I sure as hell do," Yuuta agreed, grinning.

The sound Hajime-san made was a little too velvety to be a growl, but only a little; it made shivers run down Yuuta's spine. Or maybe that was just the way Hajime-san's fingertips were following the curve of his back, delicate and purposeful. "Perhaps I should make you feel too good for a little longer, then, after all," Hajime-san suggested.

Yuuta made a rather disappointed sound as Hajime-san's cock slid all the way out of him. "And how is that supposed to—ahh!" His breath froze as something touched his entrance, hot and slick and incredibly soft.

Hajime-san's tongue, he realized, a little shocked by how good it felt.

"Sounds like it worked fairly well," Hajime-san murmured and nipped the curve of Yuuta's ass, sending Yuuta jerking against the pillows at the contrast of sharp with soft. And then Hajime-san's tongue was sliding over him again and the softness made Yuuta just about melt in a puddle.

Except for his cock, which was getting really hard again as Hajime-san's tongue teased and stroked and circled.

"Hajime-san," Yuuta moaned, draped over the pillows in a boneless sprawl, panting with the not-quite-enough pleasure coiling in every muscle. "More..."

Hajime-san made a thoughtful sound that tightened Yuuta's stomach with anticipation; that was the sound that meant Hajime-san had thought of a new way to tease him.

Sure enough, a slim hand ran slowly up the back of Yuuta's thigh and Hajime-san's thumb came to rest just behind Yuuta's balls. It moved in slow, firm little circles and Yuuta groaned into the sheets at the tingling surges of heat it sent up and down his spine to throb between his legs.

"You need... firmer pillows..." he gasped, discovering all over again that Hajime-san's pillows were too soft to rub himself against to get off. That didn't stop his hips from bucking, looking for something to focus all the hot sensation.

Hajime-san laughed, low and wicked. "But Yuuta, I like my pillows the way they are."

Yuuta just bet he did.

"Hajime-san, fuck me," he growled, and shuddered, moaning, as Hajime-san's thumb pressed a little harder and his tongue flicked Yuuta's entrance in answer. "You are the most evil—ahhh!"

Yuuta arched then, pushing his ass further up, because Hajime-san's cock was back, thrusting into him deep and hard and it felt so incredible after being teased that Yuuta could only groan as Hajime-san took his hips and lifted him higher and fucked him hard and fast.

"Yes, yes, fuck yes!" Yuuta's throat was raw with the sound that left it when the pleasure all finally spilled over and tore through him in a flash flood of heat.

By the time he could pick out individual sensations again, Hajime was finishing too and Yuuta made a small, satisfied noise as Hajime-san's weight settled against his back.

"So, I'm evil?" Hajime-san murmured against Yuuta's shoulder, after a moment.

Yuuta laughed. "Yep. I like it that you are." He tangled his fingers with Hajime-san's and pulled his hand close to kiss the knuckles. "It's fun."

"I'm glad you agree." Yuuta could hear the smile in Hajime-san's voice. The soft kisses Hajime-san brushed over the nape of his neck made him smile, too.

"So. Feel more relaxed about the Regional matches tomorrow?" Yuuta asked casually.

Hajime-san rested his cheek against Yuuta's shoulder, thumb rubbing over Yuuta's fingers. "I would say you know me too well, except that most of the time I'm glad you do." He sighed. "Yes, I am. I suppose there's no point in fretting."

"Nope. And, hey, maybe we'll get lucky and Tezuka-san will be put in early and I'll get him," Yuuta added cheerfully.

After a moment, Hajime snorted. "Only you, Yuuta."

Yuuta could feel Hajime-san relax against his back, though, and smiled, satisfied.

He was pretty sure Hajime-san and Aniki would have a better game this time.

End