synergetic | Feet, feet don't fail me now

Feet, feet don't fail me now

There are multiple avenues Yukimura can take.

The coaches are one. Put his thumb on lever for Marui to get his chance-- but Marui wouldn't want that, he doesn't think.

He doesn't want to approach Kimijima, mainly because he doesn't want to be in his debt.

And it would be a little hypocritical, he realizes, to swoop in and bend the future to his will. Hypocritical and not at all disproving of Marui's point.

But it angers Yukimura, and what angers Yukimura only lasts as long as it takes to bend the future to his will. It is, simply, what he does. Nothing is unconquerable (Seigaku's day of reckoning is coming), so long as he gets in front of it.

So Yukimura finds himself in front of Marui's room. He's already made sure of his roommate's whereabouts, made sure he has time enough to take control of the situation around his boyfriend.

He knocks as a warning and not for permission, giving just enough time to be noticed as he opens the door and pokes his head in.

And his determination is cut by a smile when he sees Marui.

"Let me come in for a while."

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"You think?" Marui asks with genuine inquisitiveness. He can see that angle, now that Yukimura's pointed it out. And maybe it was a waste of time when you were as incredibly gifted at tennis as Yukimura was, both in the physical skill of returning the ball and in the mental skill of strategizing for victory.

"Then, what lineup would you recommend against Spain?"

Yukimura rolled onto his side, trying to disguise sudden discomfort.

"Not a question I can answer instantly," was his dismissal of that.

"But I think I'd have kept the boy where he was," he admitted grudgingly, because that was the first thing that came to mind. "I'd have sent Fuji and Oishi after him before we left Japan, at the very least. This is what I mean about weakness. They're too laissez-faire. Not exploiting their assets."

That phrase warmed him up, though. He twisted around a little, trying to find a new, comfortable place to rest his head.

"All the pairings are random. Putting Yanagi with Mouri-senpai ended up working well, but I would have never, not without some practice matches and much more vetting. On the other hand, they've never paired me with Tokugawa-senpai again despite being the only Japanese pair to achieve howling. This kind of haphazard planning makes me think we'll win in spite of everything."

He tilted his neck to look at Marui critically. And here was an asset they refused to exploit at all. His pair with Kite excited everyone in the camp when it happened, but it's since been ignored. Niou made an excellent Jackal. Yanagi knew Marui's tennis inside and out, and wouldn't have needed to waste so many sets gathering his data the way he did Mouri's.

"I would have taken our whole club, probably, and left off Ishida and Akutsu, I think. For starters."

The deflection seems more than fair. It isn't like Yukimura has Spain's data to work with Yanagi on. He can't strategize for the completely unknown.

That ought to be an indication that maybe this internal tournament wasn't such a terrible idea, but Yukimura supports his criticism with context of the known past, and the base claim that the coaches aren't being smart or deliberate about their decisions makes sense against those observations. Bunta certainly isn't prepared (and even less inclined) to mount a counterargument to any of them. This sort of ruthless dissection is what made Yukimura strong both as a player and as a captain. And the pride he takes in that team he captains is evident in his change of the starting lineup, a response that Bunta can't help a giggle at.

"Right? Ishida and Akutsu are both strong, but no Rikkai would lose to them. And..."

He hesitates, worried for just a moment of hurting the mood, but it's too late to take it back now, and smiles with wistful resignation.

"Well. It's a little sad not having Jackal along. He probably was overlooked because he isn't flashy, but you can't find a more dependable guy. He's the type that brings out the shine in the players he supports. The whole team could have benefited from that."

It's only the last sentence that keeps it from being completely selfish. It feels like a weak cover.

"It's not bias if I happen to be right," Yukimura agrees loftily.

Watching the soft light of that amusement slowly darken into that admission of missing his partner, in turn, causes something to flicker to life in Yukimura. A little misplaced, irrational envy at not being the one missed, he can set aside-- there were plenty of attenions Jackal wouldn't be paid and Yukimura was happy to hoard them for himself.

And everything Marui said about Jackal was correct. Jackal was ever loyal to the club and his doubles partner, and his (comparative) lack of need for the spotlight made him an invaluable piece on Yukimura's chessboard. His ego was healthy enough to accept assistance, or even to survive a break in an established pattern, like Marui's split-second decision to vanquish Seigaku's second years.

"More proof of my theory," said Yukimura. "We're not lacking in flashy around here."

But that's not going to cheer Yukimura's boyfriend up to dwell on that. Yukimura's eyes narrow.

Was he wallowing? It was such an alien idea to Yukimura. Marui did so much work cheering him up, and so effortlessly. How was it that Yukimura was unable to achieve th same?

"Anyway, if flashy was the only criteria they noticed, they're lucky cream rises to the top."

The door handle jiggles violently with a sudden attempt to get in, followed immediately by a grouchy "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! Of all times--!"

Bunta's eyes widened and met Yukimura's in a moment of horror-laden comprehension. That was Akaya on the other side of the door. And he was about two seconds away from joining them.

"Akaya, you better not have lost your key!"

Two warring impulses, either Yukimura can push his boyfriend off the bed and pretend they weren't cuddling or he can defiantly claim before his errant kouhai and everyone else that Marui is his, and everyone else can accept it or die.

But he needs a minute to figure out which is the best course of action, so until then, he tries to scare Akaya into stillness.

"Sanada's going to have to hear about this!"

"Y... Yukimura-buchou?!"

It's the surprise of hearing Yukimura inside more than the threat itself that stalls Akaya first. And as usual, Yukimura's crisp, stern voice snaps him straight to attention and on his guard.

It's a surprise, but he doesn't even think to question why Yukimura is in his room. His brain leaps straight to the next most pressing part of this discovery.

"No, I didn't lose it!! I just wasn't expecting..." The door to be locked. That's fixable though. And obviously he has to show Yukimura-buchou look he has his key don't get Sanada-fukubuchou involved! He digs into his pocket, fishes out the room key, and fits it into the lock.

The stall is enough for Marui to regain his composure. As expected of Yukimura! He knows exactly how to take charge of a situation, and Marui is ready to play along with whatever Yukimura decides to do. Never let it be said he wasn't a master at improvisation.

Of course Akaya wouldn't stop to think about the wisdom of unlocking a door Yukimura clearly intended to be locked. But that was Akaya's problem to deal with, not Marui's.

How has he not figured out what to do yet? It isn't like Akaya would dare to tease him. And it isn't like Marui deserves to be kept secret... but having a secret, having something that only they know about between them, is undeniably... well, fun.

Yukimura leverages his shoulders, as if he's going to just push him off the bed and then act like he must have fallen, but hesitates, just long enough to commit himself to the other direction.

But he does sit up. Sits up and gives Marui back enough oxygen to breathe for himself and not just exist on the radiation of Yukimura's presence.

The idea of hiding his boyfriend away in a tower where nobody and no one could sneak up on them... Yukimura suddenly understands certain fairy tales better than he had before. But it's going to have to wait.

"Don't get on the bed if you're sweaty," he warned. Almost as good as keeping Marui tucked away for himself was making Akaya do what he wanted.

He glanced a little longingly at Marui. He'd wanted to concentrate on him for a while.

The doorknob jiggles again and this time yields to Akaya's key. By the time he sees Yukimura on Marui's bed with him, Yukimura is sitting up, Marui is lounging like he normally would, and there's really not any questioning it beyond that. It's not surprising for them to be talking, being teammates.

"See? I've got it!" He announces proudly.

"You sure do," Marui grants him, rather less impressed. "What're you doin' back already, though? Weren't you with Tanegashima-senpai & Shiraishi?"

"Ah!" Akaya cried as that question jogged his memory. "That's right! I'm in a big hurry. Racket, racket... where did I leave it?"

"Left side of the closet."

"Right, right!" Akaya beelines for the closet and pulled his tennis bag out. "I'm gonna play those two at the same time! It's good chance, right? And it's helping them practice for the tournament. They're aiming for Doubles 2."

"Stop relying on Marui to keep track of your belongings," he said mildly. It was that or tell Sanada for real. It was on the tip of his tongue to remind Akaya, too, not to pester Shiraishi and Tanegashima-senpai, but they'd really done a number and a half for him, and Yukimura wanted nothing to get in the way of Akaya's growth-- not even himself.

"What are you aiming for, Akaya?" He wanted nothing less than the sky.

"Obviously, I'm aiming for Number One," Akaya answered with a confidence and pride reminiscent of his first day at Rikkai before a brutal humbling at the hands of, among others, Yukimura himself.

Without a drop of shame to acommpany what could almost be taken as self-awareness, he grinned cockily over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Naturally, that means I'm coming for you, Yukimura-buchou. There's still time before the school year ends! Be ready..."

"Do you need time?" Yukimura taunted gently. "Come at me as many times as you like."

He had to keep smiling with his teeth bared until he knew Akaya wasn't looking. Akaya didn't need to see him laugh.

"Just enough to beat these other two first! You can meet me on the courts if you think you're ready."

"Yukimura-kun's busy!" Marui protested grumpily. "Hurry back and go play the others; they'll decide you're forfeiting if you don't run."

"I'm going!" Akaya insisted as he made for the door, and there just wasn't any contemplating the scene more than that. "You can hear all about my victory later."

The door finally closed behind him, the room quiet once more.

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Feet, feet don't fail me now

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