Passing The Torch:

Awakenings

Chapter summary: In which there are several awakenings, one of which is obvious, another which is not so happy, and another which involves Hideki's crazy glands. Mood swing chapter anyone?

"4-1, Oshitari service!" calls Marui, the self-appointed referee.

"Go Yuushi!" yells Gakuto from the sidelines and Oshitari raises a hand in a lazy salute.

Yao leans forward on the railings and shouts, "Kiyoshi! What the hell are you doing! Wake up already!"

Kiyoshi only growls, but Akaya is pleased to note that there's a sudden flicker in the boy's eyes.

The only game that Kiyoshi has been able to keep is his first service game, and Akaya knows that the only reason he took that game was because Oshitari let him. Just testing this new brat to see what the supposed 'genius' was capable of.

Oshitari has been slaughtering Kiyoshi.

But, thinks Akaya, I get the feeling that that's about to change.

And suddenly the ball is slammed forward, barreling its way towards the left corner, and Kiyoshi clenches his racquet and suddenly the ball disappears.

There's a sharp metallic clang as the ball crashes against the fence, and Oshitari turns around and stares at it.

The court is silent.

Akaya smiles slightly to himself; it seems that Kiyoshi has woken up.

"Yeah!" cheers Yao, "That's it! Kiyoshi, if you go back to sleep after this, I'm going to kick your ass!"

Chuckling slightly, Kiyoshi nods at his best friend, "Yes, Yao. With you threatening me, there's no way I'd dare to lose."

"That's right, so go and show that smirky bastard what Rikkai's made of!"

Beside Yao, Hideki laughs in amusement, "Now, now Yao, calm down and watch the match like a good little boy, eh?"

Without even turning to look at Hideki, Yao's fist makes contact with Hideki's gut, "Don't call me little."

Hideki groans, clutching his stomach, "It was a figure of speech! Honestly, Yao… You wound me so… That really hurt too…"

Kiyoshi smirks, "And that is why I don't mess with him."

Akaya sighs, "Behave yourselves, the lot of you! We're in public you know!"

"Yes, captain…" chorus the group of offenders.

Akaya stoutly ignores the smirks and chuckles emitting from the Rikkai graduates.

Marui hoots, "You're one to talk!"

Akaya ignores the jibe, and says, "Referee, aren't you supposed to call a score now?"

"Oh right! 40-15, Oshitari to serve!" Marui declares.

"About time we got on with it," says Oshitari dryly, but there's a calculating glint in his dark eyes as he stares at Kiyoshi now.

The serve is faster this time around, but once again, the ball seemed to disappear as soon as Kiyoshi's racquet makes contact with it.

Akaya's eyes narrow as he thinks, It's not so much that it's going very fast, but more that it vibrates at high speed and flies towards the opposite angle that you'd expect it to go. That's why when we stare to the left, it flies to the right, and when we try staring at the right, it goes high instead.

Interesting.

Oshitari seems to have caught on, and he stares intently at the ball this time as he sends the ball flying across the net.

Akaya realizes that Oshitari means to ignore Kiyoshi and just follow the ball. Akaya nods slightly in approval.

This time, Oshitari manages to return the ball, but its unpredictable spin sends it flying into the net.

Akaya smirks. Now this is what he had been waiting for.

Now just how to make sure this… true Kiyoshi stays. He tilts his head slightly towards Hideki, eyes still trained on the game, and says, "What do you think?"

Hideki hums, "Hmm… Well, it's certainly an impressive maneuver, but you and I both know it won't be enough for this match."

Akaya chuckles, "Of course it won't be. You think I'd ask someone who is so easily defeated by one trick to play Kiyoshi?"

"Of course not, captain," grins Hideki, "After all, our great all-seeing boss would certainly not be as simple as that."

"And you know it. But I meant how do we make sure Kiyoshi plays like this all the time?"

"I don't think we can, Kirihara-buchou. It's just part of his nature. And you know that Rikkai as a rule rarely goes all out during easy matches anyway. The only person who really did in the old team was you, and that was just because you wanted to see how fast you could end a match, and even then you didn't use most of your best moves."

Akaya concedes the point, "Fair enough. But at least, we need Kiyoshi to realize who the dangerous opponents are, and play for real then. And to not fool about in the easy matches. We are Rikkai, and though we can go easy on some of the lamer teams, we must still decimate them. We have a reputation, after all."

"Cruel, cruel captain," laughs Hideki lightly.

"You can't admit it isn't true."

"Oh I'm not saying it isn't. It's just people usually don't go and say it just like that."

Akaya shrugs.

Just then, Hideki whistles and Akaya's full concentration snaps back to the game. It appears that Oshitari had created a new move of his own to counter Kiyoshi's surprising shot.

Akaya shakes his head. He really wonders how these geniuses manage to pull something new out of their ass every single time.

A small part of him is jealous, and it is enough to catch the attention of the demon. It raises his head and whispers maliciously, 'I could give you the power to destroy all those pretty, useless moves of theirs. I could rip them apart, and if you want, there doesn't even have to be blood. I can always just bruise them, and tear their pride to shreds. Just let me out, and I could give you so much.'

Angry at himself for letting the demon find a hand hold, he answers back, 'You'd give me so much-'

'Yes, Yes!' growls the demon, hoping that it has found a way in. 'So much power, so much fame. So much… So much…'

'-But you'd take away even more,' Akaya finishes, 'So go back to where you were, you demon. I will never need you, never again.'

The demon is furious, but it knows to back down; it can't force its way in after all. It hisses, 'You say that now, but you will not change. You are a beast just like me. I was created from a part of your soul, you see. The day will come where you come begging me for my help again, and then, you will realize just how much the two of us are alike. You will enjoy it, you know. You will love it.'

The demon retreats back into the dark corner of Akaya's mind that it usually inhibits.

Shaken from the unexpected confrontation, Akaya releases an unsteady breath, but luckily, everyone is too engrossed in the game to notice. He hurriedly resets his mental barriers, but he is still shaken.

He tries to steady himself by fully throwing himself into analyzing the game, and is pleased when it calms him down quickly.

Eventually, the game ends 7-5, with a tiebreaker of 38-36.

Kiyoshi is panting, a fine film of sweat glistening on his skin. Akaya makes a note to train the boy's stamina. Kiyoshi is far too used to playing flippantly that going full out in a game drains him quicker than it should. It had been the main reason for his loss this round.

Calmly, Akaya calls his thanks and congratulations to Oshitari, who is smirking.

Oshitari nods and as Akaya passes by him, says in an undertone, "That's a rare gem you have there. I don't often play as invigorating a game as this."

"You can see why I haven't given up on the idiot then," replies Akaya easily.

"If you do give him up, I will kill you," remarks Oshitari idly, as if he were commenting on the weather, "I hate to see talent going to waste."

"Never knew you had it in you to care."

"Never knew you had it in you to lead."

Akaya shrugs in response and conversation finished, proceeds towards the exhausted Kiyoshi.

For several seconds, he doesn't say anything, and just lets Kiyoshi get his breath back.

Kiyoshi pants, "I'm not going to lose next time."

"Good to know."

"The next time I play that smug bastard, he's going down."

"So you said."

Frustrated at his captain's lack of a reaction, Kiyoshi lifts his head to glare at Akaya.

There's silence for several seconds.

Finally, Akaya relents and says, "I doubt you'll have a chance to play Oshitari again in the near future, but don't worry, there will be loads of players at our level for you to play. But I expect this amount of drive every time you play, even if it's against some unknown school. You know what happened last year; Fudomine was an unknown school before they managed to make Nationals suddenly."

"Didn't mean much though, making Nationals. You guys still slaughtered them. Obviously, even though they're a very unexpected dark horse, they can't hold a candle to a real team. Especially with their precious captain gone."

"They've bound to have gotten better," says Akaya sternly, "Underestimating an opponent is something we should never do. Never again. You know we lost to Seigaku during Regionals because we were lax."

Kiyoshi sighs, and says, "Fine, I'll try to play seriously. It's just…"

"It's just that you somehow can't seem to find the beat in a mediocre game. You can't feel the thrum of adrenaline and wide-awakeness that you feel when you play a real opponent. You can't lose yourself in the pure thrill of the game. Am I right?"

Wide eyed, Kiyoshi stares at Akaya, "How do you know that?"

"Because," Akaya grins slightly, "I go through that all the time. I think all good players do. But it's something all of us have to learn. We shouldn't wait for the rhythm to find us. If there is no thrum to fall into, we create one. Do you understand?"

"I guess," murmurs Kiyoshi.

"You better," says Akaya, "Because if I catch you not trying, you should acquaint yourself with the Reserve position. You'll be really good friends if I think you deserve it."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"Now go and cool down, we have another match about to start."

Nodding, Kiyoshi walks off, and Akaya turns towards the rest of his team. Contemplatively staring at each one of them, he decides, "Okay, Akiyo, Yukio, your turn. Get onto the court now."

Grinning happily, Akiyo whoops, "Finally, we get to play! C'mon Yukio, let's go show whoever-the-hell-we're-playing the power of the Satoru twins!"

Rolling his eyes, Yukio slaps Akiyo up the head, "Shut it you moron! At the very least we should give 'whoever-the-hell-we're-playing' names!"

Akaya laughs and says, "The whoever the hells are Oishi and Kikumaru. The famous Golden pair."

Akiyo is rubbing the back of his head while glaring sourly at Yukio, "死笨蛋 (Stupid idiot), you didn't have to do that Yukio! I was just being enthusiastic for the both of us since something apparently crawled up your ass and died today."

Ignoring his twin's laments with simply an eye roll, Yukio grins, "You mean we get to play the top ranked doubles pair last year already? Score!"

Akiyo immediately perks up when he hears this, "Yes! You rock, Kirihara-buchou! And Yukio, you're gonna pay for that!"

Hideki promptly descends on him like an over-concerned mother, "Oh, poor Akiyo, being so poorly treated by your brother. It's okay, Mummy Hideki will kiss it better!"

Absolutely freaked out, Akiyo grabs Yukio's arm and drags his brother onto the court.

Rolling his eyes, Akaya turns to Hideki, "You just couldn't resist, could you?"

"Of course not," says Hideki, back to normal now, "Not when they're acting so stupidly. It's like… infectious or something."

"Are you sure you aren't the one infecting them?"

Hideki sways dramatically and declares, "Oh, you wound me so, Kirihara-buchou! My heart feels torn in two that my most respected lord should think me stupid! Alas! The world is too cruel to this poor street boy!"

"A) You're from one of the most loaded families in Kanagawa, so you're certainly no poor street boy, B) If you're surprised by the fact that I call you an idiot by now, I have no comment and C) Don't call me your respected lord. That makes it sound like I own you or something, and that's just weird. Oh, and D) I rest my case."

Hideki sighs, "You have no dramatic sense in your soul, Kirihara-buchou. You should be glad that you have me to introduce you to the wonders of drama and exaggeration into your life! In fact, from now on I, Hideki Haruko, shall make it my life's mission to teach you the wonders of the theatre outside the theatre."

"No." Was all Akaya could say to that, but he said it with great feeling.

And that was that. Or not really, because there was still a game going on and Hideki probably wouldn't be deterred by a simple 'No', but that's a story for another day.

-0-0-0-

Omake:

While Kiyoshi and Akaya were having their little master-student moment on the courts, Hideki was having his own little master-student session with his little 'padawans' as he had dubbed them.

Of course, in the team's case, they were less than ecstatic.

"So you see, my dear students, the one standing next to Yanagi-senpai –that's the senpai that always has his eyes closed, for Akiyo and Yukio, incase you two didn't know- is Inui. I think some of you might remember him when he played Yanagi last year, but for those that don't, all you need to know is that he's this pale, eccentric, data-obsessed nerd." He says by way of explanation.

Yao's brows are frowned as he says, "So he's exactly like Yanagi-senpai, except for the pale part?"

"Of course not!" proclaims Hideki, with an expression of exaggerated horror on his face, "Yanagi-senpai is from Rikkai, so he is definitely not an eccentric nerd! Data-obsessed yes, but not a nerd! How dare you say that Yao-chan!"

Deciding to ignore the 'chan', because even berserk-button Yao knows that Hideki is too weird and probably means nothing by it, Yao simply says, "But essentially, they're pretty alike in play style, right?"

"Well, pretty much. Except that Yanagi-senpai is much better of course. I mean, that Inui guy needs notebooks and Yanagi-senpai doesn't, which shows that Yanagi-senpai is much smarter than Inui."

Nodding sagely, Yukio comments, "And what about the guy standing next to this Inui guy?"

"Oh, that's Tezuka, the ex-captain of Seigaku, which is, by the way, our greatest nemesis. We have to revenge our loss from last year!"

Enthusiastically, Akiyo, Yukio and Yao pump their fists into the air while Seiji and Asato are staring at their teammates' weirdness in a kind of fascinated horror.

Noticing this, Hideki promptly rounds on the pair of them and says sternly, "Asato! Seiji! Why are the two of you so down? This is a team calling, and we need the pair of you to join in! Go on, say it, 'We are going to take Seigaku down! Yeah!'"

Unenthusiastically, Seiji and Asato say, "Yeah, Seigaku's going down. Yeah."

It's not that they disagreed with Hideki's statement or anything, but Hideki's excessive enthusiasm just made them die a little inside.

Clicking his tongue, Hideki sighs, "The two you are such non-team players! Don't be a party-pooper, go on…"

Blinking slowly, Seiji and Asato carefully back away.

Gleeful at their (horrible, horrible mistake) move, Hideki points his finger and says, "Go, Yukio! Go, Akiyo! GET THEM!"

Delighted, the twins promptly lunge at the stupefied pair.

Grabbing the nearest thing, which happens to be his racquet, Hideki prepares to give Seiji and Asato a lesson on team spirit.

Oh, the fun!

-0-0-0-

Uh, yeah, about the omake, I think I was on crack or something. Haha.

I'm really sorry about how late this is! I had mid-term exams, and my mum was like, 'NO USING THE COMPUTER!'

I was sad. Especially since the only computer in my house is in my parent's room, which means I have no chance of sneaking online.

I hope you all aren't too mad. I'm pretty happy with this chapter honestly, and I hope all of you love this too.

I wanted to do an omake of Oshitari, Yagyuu and Niou meeting, but I could think of no conceivable circumstances that would make them. So if anyone has ideas, please share them!

I also want to do an omake of Hideki teaching Akaya the wonders of theatricals soon.

Loves and Apologies,

~FO