Date-O! Date-O! Arc - Middle School Years - 04by Wind ChijmesThe Kantou Tournament was not so very far off. While most of the tennis members did try valiantly to carry on their usual activities and maintain their usual moods, the tension in the air was all too palpable. It radiated off Oishi Vice-Captain in waves; it showed in every extra twitch that Kikumaru did unconsciously, it manifested in the overflowing pages of notes in Inui's notebook; it notched Momoshiro's flaming temperament up several levels higher and it was replied in Kaidoh's verbal snaps back at Momoshiro. Only Kawamura seemed unaffected, although his composure might be attributed to his belief, with racquet firmly in hand of course, that he could take over the world. Tezuka was as strict as ever, possibly even more so now that his doctor had confirmed that his shoulder was not fit to play. His consequent decisions had been quick, decisive and clandestine, known to only the specific team regulars whom he was targeting. Yet the decisions he had made were soon known to the rest of the team. Oishi Vice-Captain began taking over Captain duties and Fuji, who had been barely affected by the impending Kantou, grew quieter, played more seriously, and smiled a little less when he saw Tezuka. And Echizen Ryoma... Pursing his lips, the tennis wonderboy began fidgeting as Oishi droned on about the various practice formats. Oh, he was listening, yes, but his hands were also itching to play already. Outwardly, his boyishly stern face displayed nary a trace of the fire that raged through his veins. The Kantou was the stepping-stone to the Nationals. *His* stepping-stone. He was free from injuries and for the past weeks, his waking hours were spent *breathing* tennis, with the occasional hiccups in the form of academic assignments. At night when he lay in bed, he would *dream* tennis, Karupin under the covers with him, a warm puddle of fur that strangely felt less like fur and more like hair when he got to that drowsy limbo just before slumber. "...And today, we shall have a new team member to practise with us." Echizen looked up in surprise. New member? He wasn't alone in his startlement. Around him, the sophomores, and especially the seniors were all glancing around in bewilderment. "Member?" Momo-senpai looked like he was facing a particularly difficult maths question. Only the freshmen trio - Katsuo, Kachirou and Horio - looked like they knew what was going on judging from their secretive grins and the particularly smug smirk on Horio's face. Echizen shot them a suspicious look. These days, he was getting pretty high-strung about the kind of conspiracies that seemed to be woven around him at his most unguarded. Oishi smiled back at all of them, before turning to the court gates. Now his smile took on a more business-like edge. "Come on in," he called out. There was a tangible thickening of expectation as the gates were pushed open and a figure stepped through. Then a flurry of exclamations rose around Echizen. "Echizen! Isn't that you?!" "No!" Echizen heard himself muttering in reply. Yet he almost found himself questioning his own eyes as he stared at the boy walking towards them. It was like looking at himself. Except, Echizen knew just *who* the boy was. He could feel his insides tightening. The boy bowed deeply and respectfully in a move that was already familiar. Then he straightened and out came a smile that shone as brightly as sunbeams. "Hi everyone! Dan Taichi from Yamabuki desu!"
Warily, Echizen maintained his distance, careful to concentrate on his warm-up with Fuji-senpai. It was so hard, but Echizen even managed to hold that look of ice-cold composure on his face when Oishi-senpai called the club members to gather and once again, they were lined up in neat rows listening to their Vice-Captain. Echizen sneaked a peek at Dan from the corner of his eye. Their heights were almost exact now, with Echizen being just a fraction of an inch taller still. Their sizes were almost the same, again with Echizen just a shade more compact. Honestly, they might have been mirror images. The only real differences, other than the obvious disparities in the hair and eye colouring under the identical caps, were the two boyish faces. One was etched with sharp features, the amber eyes the most piercing of them. The other was much softer; all fawn eyes, button nose and dainty mouth. And when both boys lifted their heads, the striking contrast in expressions made another statement. Echizen Ryoma kept his emotions shackled under the mask of stone he wore so well. Dan Taichi let himself run the whole gamut of his moods without the slightest restraint. You couldn't have two junior high freshmen more different from each other. Seeing Dan only made Echizen more acutely aware of that fact. Seeing Dan also brought a fresh wave of old emotions and thoughts resurfacing to the fore of his mind. I'll come back another day, Echizen-kun! The corners of Echizen's lips twitched in what might have been a scowl, or an almost-smile, it was hard to tell. He certainly hadn't forgotten that promise. Apparently, Dan hadn't either! "Oishi-senpai, Dan-kun wants to challenge Echizen!" Echizen's head jerked up in surprise, and as he did, he met Dan's eyes for the first time in weeks. The Yamabuki freshman was several places away; Echizen had been careful to keep several seniors between he and Dan. He hadn't been kidding when he told Dan the last time to stay away. Suddenly, as he stared into widened brown eyes and a face tinged pink with both embarrassment and enthusiasm, Echizen thought that those few weeks seemed like just several minutes. "But..." Dan was saying, almost stuttering in his bashfulness. "Is it...is it okay with Echizen-kun?" Echizen could feel everyone's eyes on him. Heck, he could even feel the *amusement* in the looks sent his direction. Oh yes, his bunch of over-inquisitive seniors must be really enjoying this. Lifting his chin and looking away from the half-hopeful, half-hesitant light in Dan's gaze, Echizen shrugged. "Whatever."
"They really look alike now, nya..." "Quite possibly, Yamabuki players are also training very hard. It's incredible. These schools aren't in the semis but the way they've geared up for future tournaments is incredible. We really can't let out guards down." "Mm. Especially now that Tezuka is injured." "He came BACK like he said! I knew that little Dan boy would live up to my expectations!" "Tch. He'd only be a distraction." "Oi! Don't you have a heart, Mamushi?!" "Say that again!" "Mamushi!" "How dare - !!!" The rest of them ignored the ensuing bickering between Momo and Kaidoh. It seemed these days those two sophomore regulars were never satisfied if they didn't argue at least twice each practice. "Hey look at that." Echizen and Dan were already in the court, readying themselves for their match. The freshman trio was buzzing around Dan in unusual friendliness like maybe they were already acquainted from before. The regulars watched, noting the unusual seriousness in Dan Taichi's every move. Even his signature sugar-high level of energy seemed just a tinge more subdued that usual as he prepared to face up to Echizen. All of them, from the composed Inui to a boisterous Momoshiro, would be lying if they said they didn't feel just the tiniest shred of sympathy. It was one thing admiring and being infatuated with Echizen off-court, and another having to face him *on*-court. All this made up for a pretty fascinating match-up between the Yamabuki kiddo and their own freshman ochibi. "Ne, Momo, after we're done with our matches, remember to fill us in on the delicious details!" Expressive violet eyes widened as the sophomore turned to his fellow teammates. "Matches?! All of you?!" "Ye~aah! Except you!"
"Thank you for agreeing, Echizen-kun!" Dan gushed excitedly, his brown eyes shining beneath his shaggy bangs. This was like a dream come true for him, to be able to play Echizen Ryoma. *The* Echizen Ryoma of the freshman wonder fame. For months dating back to the day Yamabuki had lost to Seigaku and also the day Akutsu-senpai had left the Yamabuki tennis club, Echizen-kun had been his example. He was the one always-bright, always-present reminder of the many steps and many obstacles that he had to climb to get there in the end. If Echizen-kun could do it, he could too. That was his motto. Of course, it didn't hurt that he also admired Echizen-kun so much *outside* of tennis. At this thought, Dan had to really try very hard to stop himself from blushing. It had only been a couple of weeks since he had last seen Echizen-kun, but even then, he had quickly spotted the changes in the Seigaku freshman. Echizen's amber gaze had grown steelier, his gait even more confident, his shoulders drawn taut and proud with conviction. Even his hair...had grown longer. Dan wondered briefly, ducking his head to cover his embarrassment, if Echizen-kun would freak out that Dan noticed such trivial things about him. "Hey..." Echizen said suddenly. Startled out of his reverie, Dan looked up just in time to see Echizen-kun flash him a smirk that briefly looked more like a grin. Then the smile-smirk faded into a more serious countenance. "I won't go easy on you," he said quietly. Dan nodded eagerly. "Of course, Echizen-kun!" And he meant it too. He was also so grateful that Echizen-kun was even speaking to him at all, considering that...that Echizen-kun had been so fierce the last time they had spoken. He was so, so glad that Echizen-kun didn't seem to particularly mind his showing up at Seigaku so abruptly. Echizen was already moving to the baseline, an unyielding figure silhouetted against the red and green of the court and the blue of the sky. Trying to calm his wildly-beating heart and the uncontrollable shaking of his hands, Dan took his place at his side of the court. He clenched the ball in his hand, then nodded to himself with resolution.
And as he watched Dan prepare to serve, his interest level totally spiked upwards. "Hey hey...That stance..." That stance, from the tilt of the body, to the bounce of the ball and to the final lift and angle of the raised racquet. Twist Serve! The serve clearly took the Seigaku freshman by surprise. Side-stepping so the ball flew past him with a whistle, Echizen then straightened himself. Turning his head, he cast an expressionless eye on the ball that had escaped him in a move that had been ironically, his own special move. Then he turned back and moved to take the second Dan serve. Momo smiled inwardly. Heehh...so Yamabuki's Dan Taichi wasn't just another pushover. The second Twist Serve, Echizen didn't take it again. The Seigaku freshmen trio, who was also watching the match excitedly, was beside themselves with delight as they cheered Dan on. Clearly the Twist Serve had been what they and Dan Taichi had been practising the past few days, and the apparent fact that it did work by the way it eluded Echizen, was enough to send them all into ecstasy. The Seigaku regulars would know better of course. There was a fine line between Echizen unable to take a shot and Echizen *not* taking a shot. You could see it once you've grown familiar with the freshman's little tics and idiosyncrasies. The quiet look on Echizen's face right now, coupled with the stern gathering of his brows and his earlier deliberate avoidance of the imitated twist serve that Dan had hit said a lot about what he thought about his own moves being copied so blatantly. He didn't think very much of it at all. Leaning into the fence, Momo had to grin, although rather sympathetically, when he saw the lift in Echizen's head as he moved into place for the third serve. The game was over. The score stood at 30-0 in Dan's favour and Momo had no doubt that those would be the only two points that Dan would take off Echizen. "Brutal, Echizen, so brutal naa..." Momo murmured wryly to himself. The third Twist Serve; Echizen moving so neatly and swiftly he was a blur, then slamming his racquet into the ball. Return ace.
The game degenerated into sorry tatters of pounding strokes, merciless shots, pinpoint drops, and all their replies in the form of missed returns, wild slashes with the racquet, harsh gasps and pants from Dan's end of the court. Echizen, wielding his racquet as easily and unhurriedly like he might have been just hitting against the practise wall, was barely exerted. Yet the piercing speed, strength and mastery of his game remained keen as he punished his opponent. Desperately, Dan arced his racquet at yet another blur of a shot, and missed. Again. Straightening himself, heart pumping so hard he thought it might punch its way through his ribcage, Dan fought to catch his breath. He also had to fight the rising tide of panic threatening to drown his mind. He didn't get it at all! He had spent several weeks under Echizen's own tutelage, sharpening his strokes, honing his shots until even Banji-sensei said he had improved tremendously. Then, the secret practices with Echizen had stopped but by then Dan's tennis had already stabilised enough for him to join the training at his own club. So...why... Dan gasped as another Twist Serve spun beyond him. Across the court, Echizen lowered his racquet with that business-like composure. Misery churned in Dan's belly. He wasn't stupid enough to show it, but Echizen's apathy had hurt too. There had been no understanding, no sympathy, no hint of any softening, and certainly not the slightest shred of 'going easy' on Dan at all. Another shot past him, totally too fast for Dan to catch. Dan didn't quite feel anything after that. If something inside him could curl and die, it probably did. He moved mechanically. He played out the rest of his service game with a body that didn't quite feel like his own; his limbs so leaden and the racquet a deadweight in his hand. He did run for the ball, half-heartedly, knowing he'd be passed again. And he was right. It seemed everything and everyone was always going pass him, and then going beyond him to leave him behind. Why...was he always left behind? Tennis was like that. Akutsu-senpai was like that...now that he remembered, Akutsu-senpai's leaving *had* been very hard to bear. Now, even Echizen-kun was like that. And in some ways, that it was Echizen-kun hurt even more. He had spent days and hours watching Echizen-kun, taking down notes of each and every shot drawn from his racquet, the attire that Echizen-kun wore, the racquet, the cap that he tried on with so much care to make sure it fitted his head like it did Echizen's. He *had* so wanted to become someone that Echizen-kun wouldn't be ashamed of, and if he was very lucky, someone Echizen could be proud of. It probably hurt the most with Echizen because Dan had believed he could come close when all that he achieved was even more distance between the two of them. So all that he did...was for nought. It was Echizen's last service game and also the last game for the match that Dan would lost anyway. Dan didn't budge an inch from where he stood as the Twist Serve went past him. He didn't care now. He just wanted to go home. "Hey!" So cocooned by his own jumble of thoughts, Dan thought he was imaging things, until he recognised that raised voice as Echizen-kun's. He felt sure he wouldn't be able to look Echizen-kun in the eye, but Echizen's tone would brook no resistance on Dan's part so he looked up, heartbeat going wild again with dread. Standing right at the net with his racquet slung across one shoulder, Echizen... Dan swallowed the lump in his throat. Echizen was furious. By all means, all that was visible of that anger was just a narrowing of brows, but Echizen rarely displayed emotion and when he did, that emotion when translated was in actuality, many times that of what it hinted at. Lifting the racquet off his shoulder, Echizen pointed the tip of it in Dan's direction. "Hey," he said again, tone brittle with ill-disguised scorn. "That was really uncool." Dan flinched at that harshness from a boy he had long looked up to and admired from every possible angle. Yet something in Echizen's piercing amber eyes refused to allow Dan escape. I'll come back another day, Echizen-kun! And when I do, it won't be a waste of my time, or yours either, Echizen-kun! His own words now rung in his brain, growing louder and louder until he thought he was going to get swallowed up in them. Yes, those were his own words! His own promises which he made on his own accord. They were also echoes of what he had declared to Akutsu-senpai that he would become a strong player one day. And they were what he had promised even himself. If he gave up now, then everything he had done would be a waste. But if he didn't stop trying...then maybe...maybe something might happen. "Do you want to play?" Dan stared wordlessly up at Echizen, seeing things he had seen before but never understood as much as he did now. Echizen's strength that came from countless and countless hours of practice, his steeliness from wrestling - using a twelve-year-old's body - with a junior-high tennis circuit that demanded even too much from boys years older than he. Do you want to play? Do you want to give up? Do you understand what it takes? Dan gripped his racquet harder in his hands. "Yes!" he declared.
No, it was a turn in mood, a shift in the atmosphere. And it was exciting, watching the birth of a future great player. It might have been hard to tell at first, just from the last several points of the last game of the match, yet it was all there. Dan, with new fire in his steps and rekindled enthusiasm in his eyes, chased down every single ball that went his way and especially when it *didn't* go his way. In his frantic running, there was raw speed and lightness that skimmed the courts like the wind. As he twisted his body in reaction to each difficult shot, there was startling agility. His earlier copies of Echizen-brand shots were a shadow of the real thing, but through them, he had also displayed remarkable aptitude for learning. And at the end of it all, all of these already admirable attributes for a tennis player paled in comparison to what really unlocked his potential. It was his newly-discovered fire. Momo appreciated this the most of all. He had seen, with great interest, the brief exchange between the two freshmen and he had guessed, accurately, that Echizen had helped kickstart Dan's motivation, but at the same time - and probably unknown to both boys at this point in time - Echizen had benefited too. For someone as gifted and high-achieving as Echizen, it *was* something, watching someone's despondence reconstructed into a drive to succeed. When Dan had lost as expected, and both freshmen approached the net for the goodwill handshake, it made Momo grin even harder to hear the normally gruff Echizen respond with uncharacteristic approval and near-warmth : "The beginning was real bad...But the end was somewhat good."
Then again...he remembered how Dan had leapt for the last shot, missed it, lost the match, and still on hands and knees, looked surprised that the match had ended. Even Echizen had to admit that he was surprised at the spirit Dan had suddenly shown after his initial rather...lame attempts. It was a good comeback. Thoughtfully, Echizen finished the last button and turned. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Dan Taichi was standing at the doorway to the clubroom, already showered and clad in his white Yamabuki school uniform. For a rather strange and awkward moment, they just stood there like that. Echizen still frozen mid-action in slinging his bag over his shoulder; Dan parked at the doorway, face lowered bashfully, hands twisted into a tight clasp. Echizen moved first, settling the bag against his shoulder, trying to even out his breathing. Back on the tennis court, he had been able to get all his wildly-fluctuating thoughts and moods under control, and even at one point, forgot that it was Dan Taichi on the court with him. It had been *easy* even, forgetting everything and just remembering his racquet and his tennis. The here and now were another matter. Behind Dan, the setting sunlight was streaming into the clubroom in opulent washes of gold and red, casting a similarly brilliant outline around Dan. It had the effect of highlighting his presence even more acutely to Echizen's attention. Dan lifted his head and took a tentative step into the clubroom. Then he smiled. "Echizen-kun!" It must have been the trick of light that somehow softened Dan's face into a pattern of delicate features nestled between plays of brightness and shadow. A rather inappropriate and odd thought then occurred to Echizen. Dan still looked like a girl no matter how much he had grown, but now there was a definite tinge of something very 'boy' to his near-feminine looks. It could be the set of his jaw, or maybe even the restrained buoyancy that was more becoming than the puppy-like enthusiasm of the past. "Are you still angry with me, Echizen-kun?" Echizen blinked, just a bit startled to find Dan standing not more than a foot away. In fact, he was standing so close Echizen could smell the Seigaku communal shampoo in his freshly-washed hair. "No," Echizen said shortly. Truthfully too. Okay yes, he had been severely irritated back on the courts, but that was because of tennis, and that was already in the past, as far as Echizen was concerned. He didn't bear grudges like that. "Oh good," Dan sounded immensely relieved. He grinned again, still warmly but very shyly this time. Echizen shrugged. Whatever, you know. Playing a match with Dan, Dan showing up at Seigaku again, like he said he would...Stiffening, Echizen suddenly recalled the circumstances of the last meeting he had with Dan. "How..." Echizen said, pausing in discomfort, before continuing again. "How is your ankle?" "Oh!" A radiant smile blossomed on Dan's face. He gestured airily as if to dismiss Echizen's concern. "Just a mild sprained ankle. Nothing much. You don't have to worry, Echizen-kun! Oh!" Twisting around, he began fishing in his bag for something, before snagging it and drawing it out. "Here! Thank you so much!" The Seigaku freshman stared at the ankle-guarded so carefully presented to him on two palms. "It's...okay. You can keep it." "Oh! Echizen-kun is giving it to me?" "Well, it's just an ankle-g..." "This will be my first gift from Echizen-kun!" Echizen raised a wry eyebrow. He didn't he'd ever get to know anyone else who could so happily accept an ankle-guard as a gift. That thought was funny, and before Echizen could censor his own reactions, he smiled. "Echizen-kun looks much nicer when he smiles!" Instantly, said nice smile dissipated as an embarrassed frown took its place. Echizen hoped his cheeks weren't as red as they felt. Smiling was just smiling! He didn't smile to look nice! But it was quite hard to stay angry, especially when Dan had his hand covering his mouth in an effort to stifle his grinning, brown eyes dancing at Echizen from above that hand. However, that sunniness sobered quickly into uncharacteristic seriousness. "Echizen-kun..." Dan took his hand away, and that was when the startling pink staining his cheeks could be seen. Okay...the pounding of his heart was starting to become familiar again. Echizen took a deep breath. Every time Dan got serious like that, it was a scary time because Echizen never knew how to react to it. "Do you...do you really think you've wasted your time on me?" Well...not a difficult question. The answer just needed a whole lot more truthfulness from Echizen than expected. "No," he said finally, grudgingly, practically overturning his *own* words that he had uttered at their last meeting. But...the change was there. Dan's growing up was real. "Do you..." Hoh? More than one question? "Do...doyoulikeme?" ...What?! "Has...hasEchizen-kunkissedbefore?" Echizen's amber eyes grew so big they could pop out of their sockets and he didn't think he'd care. KISS? Where did *that* come from?! No wait, backtrack, backtrack...did Dan just asked if Echizen liked him? Liked...what kinda 'like'?! No...did Dan mean *that* kinda 'like'?! Brain shutting down, Echizen shook his head and gruffly side-stepped Dan. "I don't know what you're talking about." Then he strode towards the doorway, leaving behind a wide-eyed Dan and...maybe a few crushed hopes. Well, whatever! Echizen was so stressed out right now he was past caring. All that was on his schedule today was school, then tennis practice, then home for dinner. That's *all*. He never said he was okay with fitting in a Dan Taichi somewhere in between! "Echizen-kun, wait!" Echizen didn't wait. He couldn't deal with this...this was too much! He had more important issues to think of than...than all this weird 'like' and kiss-whatever! "Echizen-kun..." Dan's voice was growing softer as Echizen reached the doorway and freedom. "Echizen-kun...ma...madamadadane!" It was like pushing all of Echizen's buttons at ONE go. One foot already out of the clubroom, Echizen drew back sharply. Nobody, *nobody* (except for Oyaji) used that term on Echizen! NOBODY! Echizen spun around on his heels, meaning to stalk right up to Dan and demand that he apologise at once for that insult. He didn't get to do it. The moment he *had* turned, there was a cloud of soft, damp Dan-hair in his face, very soft and warm Dan-skin against his cheek, and thin yet surprisingly strong Dan-arms around his neck. Stiffening, Echizen wanted to recoil but was kept firmly in place by another body, young and as male as his own, pressing into him. Then there was something at his...mouth. Geh!!! Amber eyes blinked in a psychedelic mixture of confusion and shock and surprise. Soft...it was very soft, that was all that registered in Echizen's frazzled mind at first. And wet. Hesitant softness and wetness nuzzling against Echizen's mouth. Clumsy. Their mouths slipped and slid their noses kept bumping. Sweet. Echizen was very, very surprised at the sweetness that flooded his taste senses. And *boy*. The kiss was all boy, right from Dan's insistent tugging around his neck, to the flexing of Dan's shoulders against his own as if pushing at him to respond, and that fierce enthusiasm behind Dan's lips that reminded Echizen of tennis. Tennis...and kissing? Kissing...and tennis? Echizen's thoughts spun and spiralled and swept along until they were lost in warmth that felt okay and that still-strange sweetness that didn't leave his mouth. For long, long moments after both boys had sprung apart, both as shocked and mortified as each other, never mind who started the kiss first and who finally did respond and who ended it, they were silent. Hands covering mouths, chests heaving with something not quite exertion yet coming strangely close to it. And finally...one of them did broke the silence first. "It's...not as bad as strawberry milk...the kiss-u..." "...Well...y-yeah...But it was kinda..." "Mada mada dane, huh..." "...Yeah..."
A bright, awkward and sheepish laugh ensued. "Quite uncool, Banji-sensei!" "But you learnt something, yes? The visit was worth it?" At this, the laugh was replaced by a grin just as self-deprecating but definitely more assured. "Hai desu!" The visit was worth it, in every way possible. And the end too...*was* somewhat good because it could be the beginning of something more. ~*~ fin ~*~ On to Date-O! Date-O! Arc - Middle School Years - 05 |