Living a Life While It Lasts

Childhood is the happiest moment of one's life. This is the time we mold our dreams. But happiness can't last forever and so does childhood. Niou Masaharu, the infamous trickster of Rikkai Dai, has always been fully aware of that. Nothing lasts forever. Sooner or later things will have to change. His middle school tennis will soon have to go. He can not have a life revolving around tennis. Unlike his captain Yukimura or Echizen Ryoma from Seigaku, he knows he doesn't have a potential. Or so he thought. But even if he did, he wouldn't. Having to live a life with only an aunt because his father left them, he and his mother, before he was born and his mother died giving birth to him. He must have been a plague, an accident, probably a big mistake. Still he believed that his mother must have loved him because if she didn't, she would be alive and he wouldn't be there.

When he decided to play tennis, it wasn't for the love of the sport. He just thought that no one would sue you for beating people up with flying tennis balls. Niou had been a trouble maker; often he would be called to the principal's office for bullying. He had been though. Now, he is the trickster; always called up to the principal's office for a few minor pranks he pulled. He didn't feel this change. He doesn't need to anyway.

Rikkai Dai wasn't only a team. Not only Niou felt this way, they are a family. Not the kind of family with a mother, father, and siblings, (thought it almost seemed like it having his captain, vice captain, and Akaya around) but his own definition of family. Funny when you'll ask him during practice what a family is because he would reply with a smirk and just walk away. The people who are always there to stand by, to give support , and tell you never to give up even if nobody else believes you can go on, his own family.

It has been a wrong myth that Niou doesn't care about his teammates. Of course he does, how couldn't he not? In fact, when Akaya was the only sophomore who got picked for the regular line up and got beaten up by the other second years, they found themselves locked inside the gymnasium for the weekend with nothing edible to eat. Well they did have Yanagi's juice and cooking, (he also stole some from Inui) but he said it doesn't count. And when Yukimura first collapsed he had been the one to call the ambulance. Unbelievable, guess what? He had kept the team from falling apart when they lost the regional's tournament because the two demons were too depressed and absent-minded to.

The day before his captain's surgery, Niou secretly went to the church and prayed hard swallowing his pride. And when Yukimura was released he went to church every Sunday. Niou was an atheist and Yukimura believes in God.

He plans to resign after the Nationals. He doesn't tell anyone, he won't. He doesn't plan on making a resignation letter for that. One day he'll just stop going to practice. Then people will forget. Everyone will forget that there weas once a trickster of the courts. Whenever he would attend practice he can't help but think of how much of him will die leaving his home. Fortunately or unfortunately, his teammates know him better than he thinks. Rikkai is a family; once a family will always be one no matter how much you deny it, it will still always be one. And they will always be there when you decide to come back. They do plan on running after him. Everyone also knows that Niou is the type of person who'll run away just to see if someone will come looking for him. Even so, they do not know what will happen next, Niou is still unpredictable as ever.

Niou Masaharu knows the sad truth: happiness can not last forever.

He likes to believe in lies. ;)