Happy spring, everyone!
Title: five naps, or, how aoi kentarou is unconductive to sleep
Recipient's name: Everyone in the community!
Rating: G
Pairing: Echizen/Aoi
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's notes: honorifics omitted purposely; fudging on schools, fishing and appendicitis not-so-purposely. for _____, hope you enjoy.
five naps, or, how aoi kentarou is unconductive to sleep
one
It's three weeks after Nationals, and Momoshiro has just scheduled their first exhibition match of the new season. "This is our first chance to show everyone what we can do without Tezuka and the others," he announces at practice, determination strong in his voice. "We're gonna win here, we're gonna win at the Newcomers' Tourney, and we're gonna bring it all the way to Nationals again!" These rousing words imparted, practice ends with the entreaty to go home, get sleep, and definitely by all means not be late!
Echizen Ryouma is late.
More specifically, Echizen Ryouma is asleep, which perhaps makes it easier to continue to be late, at least while on a train.
"Hey!" comes an especially loud voice breaking unceremoniously into his slumber. "Echizen, is that you?"
Reluctantly, Ryouma opens his eyes, staring at a vaguely familiar face. "You're loud," he deadpans. And somehow, now he remembers who this is (though the school bag he carries helps): the loud kid from Rokkaku...Aoi Kentarou.
The boy ignores Ryouma's comment, grinning instead. "Hello to you too, Echizen! ...Though, shouldn't you be at Adachi 3rd today? Is that over already?"
"I'm going now," he answers. Maybe team captains knew all that stuff for other teams so they didn't schedule against each other or something.
"If you are, you're going the wrong way," Aoi says, a bit confused. "Adachi's pretty far west from here."
Ryouma blinks, glances up at the train map above the doors, then blinks again. ...Momo will be just thrilled about this. "...I'm going now," he repeats, standing up and walking over to the doors as the train begins to pull into the next station. Hopefully the train going the other direction won't be too far off...maybe he can make at least some of the exhibition game...
Aoi nods in understanding, smiling a bit playfully. "Don't fall asleep and miss your stop this time."
Ryouma rolls his eyes as the doors open, and steps off onto the platform.
"Hey, Echizen, come back and play sometime," Aoi calls after him, suddenly hanging out of the train doors.
Ryouma turns, confused. "Huh?"
"Come to Rokkaku! It's obviously easy for you to get to Chiba, right? We can play a match, and it'll be awesome, so much fun, really!" Ryouma is saved from the boy's excited babbling by the train doors closing, almost catching Aoi's head in between.
What a weirdo...guess that's the boonies for you. Shrugging, Ryouma crosses the platform and waits for the next train back to Tokyo. If all went well, he would not be coming back out here again anytime soon.
two
Ryouma doesn't really know why he decides to go to Chiba again--boredom? curiosity? a general feeling of entitlement after having snatched Nanjirou's train pass? Either way, he does go, heading out right after practice one late August day, and somehow makes it to Rokkaku without major incident. Ryouma walks up midway through their practice; unlike Seigaku, someone here obviously understands the value of sleeping in on vacation days.
Aoi's buzzed head parts the growing crowds of first years as he makes his way to check out the cause of the commotion. "Echizen!" he calls out in the voice of one meeting an old friend. "Was hoping you'd come!" It seems odd--overly familiar for such a setting, and Ryouma feels heat rush unbidden up his neck at Aoi's welcoming grin.
"Finish your practice," he says at length, adjusting his cap to cover his face. He slouches over to a nearby tree and settles beneath it. It's hot--it's summer in Japan, it's always hot--but somehow it doesn't feel quite so oppressively humid and stifling as it does in the city. And so he drops off, lulled by the heat and comfortable shade and the familiar rhythm of tennis balls against clay.
He wakes, slow and disoriented, to a gentle prodding that quickly becomes less gentle. "What?" he croaks, cracking open an eye.
Aoi's face is right up against his, expression serious. "You sure do seem to like coming around here just to sleep."
Ryouma stretches leisurely, like a cat, deciding to take no offense from the other boy's light teasing. "And you've got something worth waking for?" he quips back, tone challenging.
"You betcha! That's why you're here, right?" And he is right, so Ryouma creases his lips in something much more smile than smirk and gets up to play.
Aoi isn't really much of a challenge--yet--but he's good enough to at least make for an entertaining match...and, if nothing else, his enthusiasm is infectious. It surprises him--it's been some time since playing tennis was something Ryouma considered play, as opposed to work or a challenge or a means to a goal. He doesn't know what this means, and decides he doesn't care.
For now, Aoi has demanded a rematch the following day. He does not get one, but Ryouma goes the day after that, and two days later as well. "Seems awfully far to go just to play someone not as good as you," Momo comments one afternoon as they chow down on burgers, and Ryouma nods, seeing his point. It doesn't stop him from getting on the train the next day, though.
three
Aoi meets Ryouma at the station this time, and he has no tennis gear. "Let's do something different," he says. After a long long list of the various attractions of the surrounding area ("attractions" being a rather subjective term; as exciting as it may sound, the Matsumoto Kiyoshi Superstore didn't quite make Ryouma's list of ways to spend his days off), Ryouma only shrugs, having no particular preference. However, once he idly mentions that he has never actually been fishing before, Aoi's mind is made up. Before he knows it, the taller boy has dragged him "somewhere really awesome," which turns out to be a lake maybe twenty minutes' walk from the station.
It's not a huge place, but it is large enough, and mostly deserted but for a few old men craggy and hunched enough to seem like part of the scenery themselves. Aoi bows a quick greeting before leading Ryouma down the shore, chattering on about how he's played at this lake since he was just a baby and isn't it pretty and wow, can't believe you've never done anything like this before!
Ryouma just nods and takes in the view, by now too inured to the other boy's often one-sided chit-chat to even get annoyed by all the noise. The lake is pretty, in a simple sort of way; the water is fairly clear and rimmed by trees that look like they were thick and strong back when the geezers they'd passed had been babies; birds twitter and frogs croak off in the distance, water bugs skating near where the water laps gently against the shore. It is very, very different than life in Tokyo, and even back in the States; he's lived in a city his whole life, so all this nature is a somewhat unique experience.
"C'mon, Echizen!" Aoi calls, waving his hand to join him some paces ahead. Ryouma catches up and plops down his things on a nearby park bench, then waits as Aoi goes and retrieves poles and bait from somewhere. The sun comes down dappled by the trees, and Ryouma wonders if Aoi would agree to just taking a nap here instead.
"Don't wimp out now," Aoi frowns, handing over a rod and setting a bucket of worms between them. "Or, are you afraid of these?"
Ryouma isn't, even if they do wriggle rather disconcertingly as he tries to convince them to get onto his hook. After laughing in a tone just light enough to keep Ryouma from getting angry, Aoi smiles and turns to help.
Certainly, Ryouma has seen Aoi work with his team before, but before now it's never really hit him how much of a hands-on teacher Aoi is. But the larger boy is just that, placing wet but warm hands over Ryouma's to adjust their position into the proper one for easily baiting a hook. When he wraps himself around Ryouma to move him through the proper way to cast a line, Ryouma feels his heartrate hasten and heat move up his neck.
"Echizen, think you got it?" Aoi asks, looking down at him from far too close, arms still curled around his own. "I can show you again, if you want."
It takes Ryouma a beat to say no, and only then does Aoi step away, an odd, very un-Aoi-like expression shadowing over his face before he grins again, telling Ryouma to go on and show his stuff.
In the end, Ryouma finds himself not to be much of a fisherman, catching a shoe, Aoi's line, and a large clump of seaweed before getting a decent-sized fish. Its silver scales shimmer in the late afternoon sun, and Ryouma can't help but smile with accomplishment. "That's a nice one," Aoi praises, squeezing Ryouma on the shoulder.
Still, it's nothing compared to Aoi, who ends up catching nine of them. "This has honestly never happened to me," he says, voice incredulous. "You must be my good luck charm, Echizen!" He wraps him in a quick hug, and heat goes rushing to his face once more.
The sun sets, and Aoi walks Ryouma back to the station, the walk seemingly longer now than it had been that morning; of course, it had been a long day. "We have to do this again!" he entreats; Ryouma makes a non-committal grunt and boards the train.
On the trip home, Ryouma dreams he is a fish, tempted by a vermilion lure with a bright smile and enveloping warmth. When he wakes, he wonders why his mouth tastes of worms.
four
Hospitals are not very good places to nap, Ryouma observes, readjusting himself on the uncomfortable waiting room bench once again. The abrasive white walls, the antiseptic smell, the thrum of worried tension in the air...everything about a hospital encourages one to pace the floors or huddle in clumps around cigarettes or cups of coffee. Ryouma has always hated these places--the fear of pulling a muscle or breaking a bone and ending his career early was one he gained at a very young age.
But today, Ryouma is not here due to anything he's done. No, it's his father. Stupid Nanjirou, who'd fallen out of and off of practically everything in the house without incident or injury, who last night complained of bad gas and this morning was shivering in the bathroom, burning with fever and violently sick. Mom was out of town on business, so who knew how long he'd been in there before Ryouma had finally busted open the door, sick of waiting to pee. Nanako had called the ambulance, and the doctors had whisked Nanjirou away an hour before, leaving Ryouma to just sit here and unsuccessfully nap.
"Echizen," comes a subdued voice, and Ryouma looks up to see Aoi standing there, an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. "When you didn't show this morning, I called your house," he explains, a bit apologetic.
Ryouma flicks his eyes away; he's completely forgotten about meeting Aoi (not that he doesn't have a plenty good reason). "They say he's in surgery now," Ryouma states, suddenly needing to tell someone. Surgery! Ryouma could hardly believe it. "He's never so much as gotten the flu..."
Aoi bows his head, and sits next to Ryouma on the waiting room bench. He looks at his friend for a beat before turning away, staring down at his hands. "You two must be really close."
"Not really," Ryouma says, pulling the brim of his cap down further. He'd always thought of Nanjirou as more of an annoyance than anything else--a meddler, a silly cackle and a mocking grin, a challenge to overcome. And now...
"But you care about him a lot," Aoi says quietly, mercifully not trying to catch his eye.
Ryouma allows this silence to spread, clenching his fists into the hems of his shorts. "I guess..." he begins, voice barely loud enough to be heard. "...I always thought he was invincible."
Nodding slowly, Aoi reaches over and places his hand warm and steady over Ryouma's. A beat, and Ryouma entwines their fingers.
At length, the doctor emerges, giving the news that Nanjirou is safely out of surgery, the danger past. Ryouma has never felt such relief, and clutches at Aoi's hand to keep from just collapsing from the sudden change in tension. Aoi squeezes back, and doesn't let go.
five
Izumi Second was a tiny school known more for having terrible attitude problems than anything else, but this year's Newcomers' Tourney found them crushing their opponents and somehow making it to the finals. "I...I don't think Inui even had an entry on them," Horio squawks, rifling through the notebooks he'd begged off the upperclassman the week before.
"Doesn't matter what they did then," Kaidou declares, determination in every syllable. "We're going to hand them their first defeat!"
The next few minutes are a flurry of orders, harried preparation, and more than a few murmured prayers to whatever deities may have been listening (these latter mostly by Horio and Arai). And after that, the match is begun.
The doubles 2 pairing of Ikeda and Hayashi quickly fall, but the unlikely D1 pairing of Horio and Kaidou squeak by with 6 games to 4. Momoshiro is next, but Izumi has stacked their lineup, and Momo is shut out by a second year with incredible stamina and pinpoint-accurate shots, losing 5 to 7.
Ryouma is singles 2, and plays a hulking second year baseliner with a tendency to go for the net cord. Ryouma just grins; sadly for this kid, in the past few weeks Ryouma's gained plenty of practice playing against both of those techniques--done better, at that. For an instant, Ryouma wishes that Aoi were here to watch him, but then he shakes his head of such a frivolous thought and finishes the match, 6 to 2. The team cheers, still in the match, but the three veteran regulars just exchange a glance--they'd planned on having won by now, and it's up to singles 1...Arai.
The game has the entire stadium on pins and needles--it's practically a tie right up to the final point. Kachirou trembles on the practice courts, warming up for the tie break, but somehow--Arai hits it to the far corner, and it bounces just inside the line, winning it for Seigaku, 7 games to 6. The crowd explodes and the team goes wild. Arai weeps as he's finally proved himself to be almost as good as he likes to say he is, and Momoshiro and even Kaidou get misty as Tezuka and the others come down from the stands to congratulate them on their win.
Ryouma just smiles benignly when people speak to him, slipping away from the others as soon as he can. Sure, he's pleased--this year's team won't be a total loss after all--but for some reason he just isn't in the mood for the wild celebrations Kaidou is failing at stopping the others from suggesting. Instead, Ryouma gathers his family from the stands and goes home.
"Not bad, boy," Nanjirou says on the way back. "Been doing some extra practice, I see." Going to see the game was his own idea, the latest in a string of kind and family-oriented actions Nanjirou's performed since returning from the hospital. Ryouma doesn't particularly expect this detente from being poked at to last, but he certainly doesn't mind it for now. If nothing else, it means not having to deal with those ridiculous disguises the times Nanjirou would actually come to watch him play.
Completely exhausted, Ryouma plods up to his room and drops all his stuff at the door when he suddenly stops. Aoi is sitting on the floor against his bed, knees bent and head bowed forward in a way that will likely lead to a severe crick in his neck later. A whisper of his name only prompts a light snore.
Blinking a few times, Ryouma walks back downstairs and over to where his cousin has her books spread out to study, the television blaring. "Nanako?"
The girl stares doe-eyed back at him before her expression shifts to one of surprise. "Oh, did I forget to tell you your friend stopped by? I told him he could wait for you if he wanted..." She begins to worry her pencil between her fingers. "I hope that wasn't a bad thing..."
Ryouma sighs, then shakes his head. When he thinks about it, it means he just doesn't have to call Aoi to brag later. And when he really thinks about it, seeing Aoi is all he's really wanted today in the first place. He goes back upstairs.
Aoi is still asleep, barely stirring as Ryouma pads up to him and tries to decide how exactly to wake him up. Aoi's interrupted so many of his naps by now that he owes him something nasty as revenge...
"Echizen..." the boy murmurs in his sleep, a gentle smile crossing his features.
Another sigh, and Ryouma gets down and settles against the bed himself. Maybe he's just going soft, but in the end, Aoi just looks too peaceful to disturb. Besides, he's got the right idea. He leans over to rest his head on Aoi's shoulder and closes his eyes.
When Ryouma wakes again, he kinda has to pee and his foot has fallen asleep. He's also being cradled in a familiar pair of arms, that squeeze a bit tighter as he stirs. He's not certain what to think about this, and decides it doesn't matter.
It's possible that this isn't the best nap he's ever had, but it sure feels pretty perfect, and that's good enough for now.
Recipient's name: Everyone in the community!
Rating: G
Pairing: Echizen/Aoi
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's notes: honorifics omitted purposely; fudging on schools, fishing and appendicitis not-so-purposely. for _____, hope you enjoy.
five naps, or, how aoi kentarou is unconductive to sleep
one
It's three weeks after Nationals, and Momoshiro has just scheduled their first exhibition match of the new season. "This is our first chance to show everyone what we can do without Tezuka and the others," he announces at practice, determination strong in his voice. "We're gonna win here, we're gonna win at the Newcomers' Tourney, and we're gonna bring it all the way to Nationals again!" These rousing words imparted, practice ends with the entreaty to go home, get sleep, and definitely by all means not be late!
Echizen Ryouma is late.
More specifically, Echizen Ryouma is asleep, which perhaps makes it easier to continue to be late, at least while on a train.
"Hey!" comes an especially loud voice breaking unceremoniously into his slumber. "Echizen, is that you?"
Reluctantly, Ryouma opens his eyes, staring at a vaguely familiar face. "You're loud," he deadpans. And somehow, now he remembers who this is (though the school bag he carries helps): the loud kid from Rokkaku...Aoi Kentarou.
The boy ignores Ryouma's comment, grinning instead. "Hello to you too, Echizen! ...Though, shouldn't you be at Adachi 3rd today? Is that over already?"
"I'm going now," he answers. Maybe team captains knew all that stuff for other teams so they didn't schedule against each other or something.
"If you are, you're going the wrong way," Aoi says, a bit confused. "Adachi's pretty far west from here."
Ryouma blinks, glances up at the train map above the doors, then blinks again. ...Momo will be just thrilled about this. "...I'm going now," he repeats, standing up and walking over to the doors as the train begins to pull into the next station. Hopefully the train going the other direction won't be too far off...maybe he can make at least some of the exhibition game...
Aoi nods in understanding, smiling a bit playfully. "Don't fall asleep and miss your stop this time."
Ryouma rolls his eyes as the doors open, and steps off onto the platform.
"Hey, Echizen, come back and play sometime," Aoi calls after him, suddenly hanging out of the train doors.
Ryouma turns, confused. "Huh?"
"Come to Rokkaku! It's obviously easy for you to get to Chiba, right? We can play a match, and it'll be awesome, so much fun, really!" Ryouma is saved from the boy's excited babbling by the train doors closing, almost catching Aoi's head in between.
What a weirdo...guess that's the boonies for you. Shrugging, Ryouma crosses the platform and waits for the next train back to Tokyo. If all went well, he would not be coming back out here again anytime soon.
two
Ryouma doesn't really know why he decides to go to Chiba again--boredom? curiosity? a general feeling of entitlement after having snatched Nanjirou's train pass? Either way, he does go, heading out right after practice one late August day, and somehow makes it to Rokkaku without major incident. Ryouma walks up midway through their practice; unlike Seigaku, someone here obviously understands the value of sleeping in on vacation days.
Aoi's buzzed head parts the growing crowds of first years as he makes his way to check out the cause of the commotion. "Echizen!" he calls out in the voice of one meeting an old friend. "Was hoping you'd come!" It seems odd--overly familiar for such a setting, and Ryouma feels heat rush unbidden up his neck at Aoi's welcoming grin.
"Finish your practice," he says at length, adjusting his cap to cover his face. He slouches over to a nearby tree and settles beneath it. It's hot--it's summer in Japan, it's always hot--but somehow it doesn't feel quite so oppressively humid and stifling as it does in the city. And so he drops off, lulled by the heat and comfortable shade and the familiar rhythm of tennis balls against clay.
He wakes, slow and disoriented, to a gentle prodding that quickly becomes less gentle. "What?" he croaks, cracking open an eye.
Aoi's face is right up against his, expression serious. "You sure do seem to like coming around here just to sleep."
Ryouma stretches leisurely, like a cat, deciding to take no offense from the other boy's light teasing. "And you've got something worth waking for?" he quips back, tone challenging.
"You betcha! That's why you're here, right?" And he is right, so Ryouma creases his lips in something much more smile than smirk and gets up to play.
Aoi isn't really much of a challenge--yet--but he's good enough to at least make for an entertaining match...and, if nothing else, his enthusiasm is infectious. It surprises him--it's been some time since playing tennis was something Ryouma considered play, as opposed to work or a challenge or a means to a goal. He doesn't know what this means, and decides he doesn't care.
For now, Aoi has demanded a rematch the following day. He does not get one, but Ryouma goes the day after that, and two days later as well. "Seems awfully far to go just to play someone not as good as you," Momo comments one afternoon as they chow down on burgers, and Ryouma nods, seeing his point. It doesn't stop him from getting on the train the next day, though.
three
Aoi meets Ryouma at the station this time, and he has no tennis gear. "Let's do something different," he says. After a long long list of the various attractions of the surrounding area ("attractions" being a rather subjective term; as exciting as it may sound, the Matsumoto Kiyoshi Superstore didn't quite make Ryouma's list of ways to spend his days off), Ryouma only shrugs, having no particular preference. However, once he idly mentions that he has never actually been fishing before, Aoi's mind is made up. Before he knows it, the taller boy has dragged him "somewhere really awesome," which turns out to be a lake maybe twenty minutes' walk from the station.
It's not a huge place, but it is large enough, and mostly deserted but for a few old men craggy and hunched enough to seem like part of the scenery themselves. Aoi bows a quick greeting before leading Ryouma down the shore, chattering on about how he's played at this lake since he was just a baby and isn't it pretty and wow, can't believe you've never done anything like this before!
Ryouma just nods and takes in the view, by now too inured to the other boy's often one-sided chit-chat to even get annoyed by all the noise. The lake is pretty, in a simple sort of way; the water is fairly clear and rimmed by trees that look like they were thick and strong back when the geezers they'd passed had been babies; birds twitter and frogs croak off in the distance, water bugs skating near where the water laps gently against the shore. It is very, very different than life in Tokyo, and even back in the States; he's lived in a city his whole life, so all this nature is a somewhat unique experience.
"C'mon, Echizen!" Aoi calls, waving his hand to join him some paces ahead. Ryouma catches up and plops down his things on a nearby park bench, then waits as Aoi goes and retrieves poles and bait from somewhere. The sun comes down dappled by the trees, and Ryouma wonders if Aoi would agree to just taking a nap here instead.
"Don't wimp out now," Aoi frowns, handing over a rod and setting a bucket of worms between them. "Or, are you afraid of these?"
Ryouma isn't, even if they do wriggle rather disconcertingly as he tries to convince them to get onto his hook. After laughing in a tone just light enough to keep Ryouma from getting angry, Aoi smiles and turns to help.
Certainly, Ryouma has seen Aoi work with his team before, but before now it's never really hit him how much of a hands-on teacher Aoi is. But the larger boy is just that, placing wet but warm hands over Ryouma's to adjust their position into the proper one for easily baiting a hook. When he wraps himself around Ryouma to move him through the proper way to cast a line, Ryouma feels his heartrate hasten and heat move up his neck.
"Echizen, think you got it?" Aoi asks, looking down at him from far too close, arms still curled around his own. "I can show you again, if you want."
It takes Ryouma a beat to say no, and only then does Aoi step away, an odd, very un-Aoi-like expression shadowing over his face before he grins again, telling Ryouma to go on and show his stuff.
In the end, Ryouma finds himself not to be much of a fisherman, catching a shoe, Aoi's line, and a large clump of seaweed before getting a decent-sized fish. Its silver scales shimmer in the late afternoon sun, and Ryouma can't help but smile with accomplishment. "That's a nice one," Aoi praises, squeezing Ryouma on the shoulder.
Still, it's nothing compared to Aoi, who ends up catching nine of them. "This has honestly never happened to me," he says, voice incredulous. "You must be my good luck charm, Echizen!" He wraps him in a quick hug, and heat goes rushing to his face once more.
The sun sets, and Aoi walks Ryouma back to the station, the walk seemingly longer now than it had been that morning; of course, it had been a long day. "We have to do this again!" he entreats; Ryouma makes a non-committal grunt and boards the train.
On the trip home, Ryouma dreams he is a fish, tempted by a vermilion lure with a bright smile and enveloping warmth. When he wakes, he wonders why his mouth tastes of worms.
four
Hospitals are not very good places to nap, Ryouma observes, readjusting himself on the uncomfortable waiting room bench once again. The abrasive white walls, the antiseptic smell, the thrum of worried tension in the air...everything about a hospital encourages one to pace the floors or huddle in clumps around cigarettes or cups of coffee. Ryouma has always hated these places--the fear of pulling a muscle or breaking a bone and ending his career early was one he gained at a very young age.
But today, Ryouma is not here due to anything he's done. No, it's his father. Stupid Nanjirou, who'd fallen out of and off of practically everything in the house without incident or injury, who last night complained of bad gas and this morning was shivering in the bathroom, burning with fever and violently sick. Mom was out of town on business, so who knew how long he'd been in there before Ryouma had finally busted open the door, sick of waiting to pee. Nanako had called the ambulance, and the doctors had whisked Nanjirou away an hour before, leaving Ryouma to just sit here and unsuccessfully nap.
"Echizen," comes a subdued voice, and Ryouma looks up to see Aoi standing there, an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. "When you didn't show this morning, I called your house," he explains, a bit apologetic.
Ryouma flicks his eyes away; he's completely forgotten about meeting Aoi (not that he doesn't have a plenty good reason). "They say he's in surgery now," Ryouma states, suddenly needing to tell someone. Surgery! Ryouma could hardly believe it. "He's never so much as gotten the flu..."
Aoi bows his head, and sits next to Ryouma on the waiting room bench. He looks at his friend for a beat before turning away, staring down at his hands. "You two must be really close."
"Not really," Ryouma says, pulling the brim of his cap down further. He'd always thought of Nanjirou as more of an annoyance than anything else--a meddler, a silly cackle and a mocking grin, a challenge to overcome. And now...
"But you care about him a lot," Aoi says quietly, mercifully not trying to catch his eye.
Ryouma allows this silence to spread, clenching his fists into the hems of his shorts. "I guess..." he begins, voice barely loud enough to be heard. "...I always thought he was invincible."
Nodding slowly, Aoi reaches over and places his hand warm and steady over Ryouma's. A beat, and Ryouma entwines their fingers.
At length, the doctor emerges, giving the news that Nanjirou is safely out of surgery, the danger past. Ryouma has never felt such relief, and clutches at Aoi's hand to keep from just collapsing from the sudden change in tension. Aoi squeezes back, and doesn't let go.
five
Izumi Second was a tiny school known more for having terrible attitude problems than anything else, but this year's Newcomers' Tourney found them crushing their opponents and somehow making it to the finals. "I...I don't think Inui even had an entry on them," Horio squawks, rifling through the notebooks he'd begged off the upperclassman the week before.
"Doesn't matter what they did then," Kaidou declares, determination in every syllable. "We're going to hand them their first defeat!"
The next few minutes are a flurry of orders, harried preparation, and more than a few murmured prayers to whatever deities may have been listening (these latter mostly by Horio and Arai). And after that, the match is begun.
The doubles 2 pairing of Ikeda and Hayashi quickly fall, but the unlikely D1 pairing of Horio and Kaidou squeak by with 6 games to 4. Momoshiro is next, but Izumi has stacked their lineup, and Momo is shut out by a second year with incredible stamina and pinpoint-accurate shots, losing 5 to 7.
Ryouma is singles 2, and plays a hulking second year baseliner with a tendency to go for the net cord. Ryouma just grins; sadly for this kid, in the past few weeks Ryouma's gained plenty of practice playing against both of those techniques--done better, at that. For an instant, Ryouma wishes that Aoi were here to watch him, but then he shakes his head of such a frivolous thought and finishes the match, 6 to 2. The team cheers, still in the match, but the three veteran regulars just exchange a glance--they'd planned on having won by now, and it's up to singles 1...Arai.
The game has the entire stadium on pins and needles--it's practically a tie right up to the final point. Kachirou trembles on the practice courts, warming up for the tie break, but somehow--Arai hits it to the far corner, and it bounces just inside the line, winning it for Seigaku, 7 games to 6. The crowd explodes and the team goes wild. Arai weeps as he's finally proved himself to be almost as good as he likes to say he is, and Momoshiro and even Kaidou get misty as Tezuka and the others come down from the stands to congratulate them on their win.
Ryouma just smiles benignly when people speak to him, slipping away from the others as soon as he can. Sure, he's pleased--this year's team won't be a total loss after all--but for some reason he just isn't in the mood for the wild celebrations Kaidou is failing at stopping the others from suggesting. Instead, Ryouma gathers his family from the stands and goes home.
"Not bad, boy," Nanjirou says on the way back. "Been doing some extra practice, I see." Going to see the game was his own idea, the latest in a string of kind and family-oriented actions Nanjirou's performed since returning from the hospital. Ryouma doesn't particularly expect this detente from being poked at to last, but he certainly doesn't mind it for now. If nothing else, it means not having to deal with those ridiculous disguises the times Nanjirou would actually come to watch him play.
Completely exhausted, Ryouma plods up to his room and drops all his stuff at the door when he suddenly stops. Aoi is sitting on the floor against his bed, knees bent and head bowed forward in a way that will likely lead to a severe crick in his neck later. A whisper of his name only prompts a light snore.
Blinking a few times, Ryouma walks back downstairs and over to where his cousin has her books spread out to study, the television blaring. "Nanako?"
The girl stares doe-eyed back at him before her expression shifts to one of surprise. "Oh, did I forget to tell you your friend stopped by? I told him he could wait for you if he wanted..." She begins to worry her pencil between her fingers. "I hope that wasn't a bad thing..."
Ryouma sighs, then shakes his head. When he thinks about it, it means he just doesn't have to call Aoi to brag later. And when he really thinks about it, seeing Aoi is all he's really wanted today in the first place. He goes back upstairs.
Aoi is still asleep, barely stirring as Ryouma pads up to him and tries to decide how exactly to wake him up. Aoi's interrupted so many of his naps by now that he owes him something nasty as revenge...
"Echizen..." the boy murmurs in his sleep, a gentle smile crossing his features.
Another sigh, and Ryouma gets down and settles against the bed himself. Maybe he's just going soft, but in the end, Aoi just looks too peaceful to disturb. Besides, he's got the right idea. He leans over to rest his head on Aoi's shoulder and closes his eyes.
When Ryouma wakes again, he kinda has to pee and his foot has fallen asleep. He's also being cradled in a familiar pair of arms, that squeeze a bit tighter as he stirs. He's not certain what to think about this, and decides it doesn't matter.
It's possible that this isn't the best nap he's ever had, but it sure feels pretty perfect, and that's good enough for now.