A/N: A fic for the new year (I'm about half an hour early GMT). This is the next in the Promises arc - links to previous parts are in my profile - but also stands alone. Certain lines of dialogue come from the manga of the Higa match - I am not claiming them for my own.
Seiichi let his mind wander as his team finished their first match of the Nationals. It had gone much as expected: an overwhelming win but his team clearly had lots to work on before they played the final and he told them so flatly. As the draw had turned out, Seigaku, Hyotei and Shitenhouji were their most likely opponents. His personal preference would be Seigaku, if only to have a chance to pay back the favour of Kantou finals. There would be a nice symmetry about it.
Seigaku had Higa Chuu in their first match, somewhere down the other end of the grounds. They weren't a bad team, despite this being their first year, and it would be interesting to see what Seigaku made of them. While it wasn't necessary to win by as much as Rikkai had, it was usually the case that a strong start at Nationals was needed to progress through the rounds. There weren't any easy matches here.
"Sanada."
Renji must have caught the train of his mind, as he sent Yagyuu and the rest on towards the showers and joined Sanada at Seiichi's elbow.
"Seigaku's match is still going on," Renji said, voice bland enough that Seiichi knew he was fishing. He really shouldn't have let them walk in on him and Tezuka, even though there was nothing really to hide. He met Renji's smile with a raised eyebrow of his own and led the way over.
It was crowded around the courts. Seigaku's tennis club was relatively small compared to most of those at Nationals but had been swelled by the members of Rokkaku's team, though there didn't seem to be any reason why. Opposite them, Higa's crowd had nearly double the number. There were also a number of spectators from other schools - hardly surprising as Seigaku's upset at the Kantou finals would have sparked plenty of interest even if Tezuka's return hadn't.
A glance at the scoreboard told him all he needed to know - Seigaku were through already, though by a narrower margin than he would have expected, and Tezuka was on court against Higa's captain, the one called 'Killer'. He was already one game down and looked as calm as ever. It took a lot to wind Tezuka up, as he knew all too well.
Seiichi was there to watch, not to attract attention, so he hung back, from the court to watch, away from any possible trouble.
Three games later and Seiichi could see that Seigaku were concerned. Actually, he had a feeling that even Genichirou and Renji were having their doubts about Tezuka's recovery, whatever his expression was telling them.
Tezuka's eyes met Seiichi's as he moved towards the net to respond to Kite's taunts. Had it been anyone else, Seiichi might have been concerned for Tezuka's safety but he had seen Tezuka stare down much more intimidating players before. Something about his quiet presence unnerved them. Besides, in the instant their eyes met, he could see the beginnings of the flickering blankness of the State of Self Actualisation.
"He's taken his time about it," he said and his friends turned to look at him. He smiled at them. "Watch Tezuka, his tennis is a disaster but he's got his match well in hand."
Down below them, the players stepped away from the net and other people began to notice what Seiichi already had. Even Seigaku seemed surprised but he supposed that they would be - Tezuka had been unable to reach that state with a racket in his hand since he was twelve and, quite apart from that, used his State of Self Actualisation in a way completely unlikely anyone else they would have seen. It was a sad to acknowledge that some of Seigaku's players, Seigaku's regulars even, were surprised at Tezuka's strength, particularly when it was so far below his true capabilities yet that was the reality that Tezuka had been living with for two years.
"They go to the same school and don't even know," Genichirou said from beside him. He wasn't taking the trouble to hide his scorn. "Fools! This is Tezuka's true form.
Seiichi could hear the murmurs going around the crowd as people noticed them on the grass behind the court. Honestly, if they had to call the three of them anything, he'd far rather they were 'Rikkai's Three Demons', as they had been when they were first years, or simply 'the Troika'. 'The Big Three' was just tacky.
"His skills might be at an even higher level than Sanada-san maybe…" he heard from somewhere in the Seigaku stands and saw Genichirou and Renji share an amused glance out of the corner of his eye. If Seigaku made it to the final, they would see the truth of that statement.
"It's been a while since I've seen Tezuka use that," he commented, unable to keep a smile from his face. It seemed an age since they'd last faced each other across a net. He expanded for the sake of all those eavesdropping - the last thing Tezuka would want would be to have to explain it to them himself. "Hyaku ren jitoku no kiwami: the pinnacle of hard work."
Genichirou glanced around them and took up the explanation from there. If nothing else, Rikkai could show their superiority in knowledge as well as skill.
A loud laugh made Seiichi turn to look across the court.
"Atobe and the rest of Hyotei," Renji murmured beside him. "Shiraishi and Chitose with Shitenhouji . . . It appears that the rest of the main contenders agree with us as to where the competition will be. This side of the draw will be very interesting to watch - remind me to have a pre-regular tape the critical matches for us."
They walked off as the final score was called, as if there had been any doubt. They would meet the rest of the team on the bus - their match against Midoiryama had been calm enough that neither of his companions felt the need to shower straight away. Besides, they would be heading straight onto the courts when they returned.
"Tezuka waited a long time before using it," Genichirou commented during the long journey back. Renji was seated further back to keep an eye on their imp. "I hadn't thought he was the type to toy with an opponent like that."
"He's not. He's a complete mess right now - he actually had to have Kite draw the State of Self Actualisation out of him as though he were a beginner again because he no longer trusts himself enough to do it without that help," Seiichi said with a sigh. "If my problems are on the physical side, Tezuka's are almost all on the mental. The last time he let himself go, he destroyed his shoulder."
They sat in silence on the way back. As much as they each wanted to defeat Tezuka, it wouldn't be a true victory unless he was on form. There were two more matches left before finals: they could only hope that he'd make it on time.
When they got off the bus, Seiichi already had a hand on his racket and a glint in his eye. If Tezuka was going to be ready for the finals, so was he. Tezuka had regained his Muga, so he would have to find it again as well.
"Marui, are you up for a match?"
The others looked at him, clearly startled. Marui accidentally swallowed his gum, choked a couple of times and nodded.
Ten minutes later, his team were sharing smug looks with each other. Their captain was back.