Chapter Text
‘Are we really going to do this…?’ Ootori looks at Shishido on the other side of the court, unused to this sight. He should be on that side of the court with Shishido, not across from him.
Shishido across from him quietly bounces the tennis ball, then looks straight at his opponent—Ootori.
“Shishido-san! I–”
The ball comes flying past Ootori. Shishido scores a point.
“Don't just stand there, Choutarou!” Shishido yells. “The match has already begun!”
“Shishido-san…” Ootori’s voice trembles.
Shishido grips his racket. “It’s your turn, now give me your best scud serve.” He spits.
Yamazaki and Coach Saito watch from the bleachers as Ootori stares at the ball in his hand, reluctant to land a scud serve on his doubles partner.
“Quite timid, isn't he~?” Coach Saito smiles in amusement, his chin resting on his arm propped against his lap.
“Hmm?” He notices Yamazaki already writing something down on the clipboard.
Shishido: Tends to be overly aggressive when facing an emotionally challenging situation. Uses tennis as a way to take out his frustrations, making him lose focus on the game.
Ootori: Is reluctant to play against his teammates in a high-stakes situtation. Is probably thinking of losing on purpose.
“They’ve only scored one point and you’ve already written their flaws down?” He smirks at the manager writing down on the clipboard.
“...these are the things they continue to have difficulty improving on throughout the years,” Yamazaki taps her pen against the clipboard. “Those two tend to let their emotions get in the way.” She stares at the pair, watching Ootori’s face harden into a determined expression.
“...Here I go.” Ootori raises the tennis ball.
There's nowhere to run. One of them will have to leave, whether they like it or not.
“Bring it on!” Shishido yells.
—
“Look, look, Yamazaki–chan~” Coach Saito snaps Yamazaki out of her thoughts on Shishido and Ootori.
“Yes?” She turns to look at the coach.
“Look over there, looks like your other teammates are about to go at it as well~” he tilts his head towards Mukahi and Oshitari entering an empty court. Oh dear.
Giving Mukahi’s tendency to showboat, he will probably try to prove to Oshitari that he will do well on his own without him. Oshitari however, is an enigma. Knowing him, he probably just wants to see Mukahi’s downfall for the entertainment of it.
“Let’s go, Yuushi. Whoever loses, no hard feelings.” Mukahi approaches Oshitari on the bench who’s tightening his shoelaces.
Oshitari stands. “I’m glad you said that. I couldn't bear having you hate me.” He walks inside the lines of the court.
“What? Wait– Yuushi! You think it’s a given that you’ll win, huh?!” Gakuto growls.
“Of course I do. No one steps into the court thinking they’ll lose, no matter who he’s up against.” Oshitari looks over his shoulder, glaring icily at Mukahi.
That’s a look Yamazaki hasn't seen on Oshitari in a while.
—
Yamazaki’s head constantly turns left and right to observe both matches of her teammates, frantically writing notes down on the clipboard.
Mukahi: Has a tendency to show off in front of Oshitari. Most likely to prove that he can do well without him.
Oshitari: Currently calm and collected. That will come crumbling down later on.
Meanwhile on the other courts, Rikkai’s Yagyuu and Niou had already begun their match. Seigaku’s golden pair have just entered the court.
“Hmm, it looks like everything’s going according to plan,” Coach Saito stands. “I’ll leave the rest to you, Yamazaki-chan.” He smiles before walking off.
‘I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown.’ Yamazaki sweatdrops as the coach leaves, then turns her head back to the Shishido-Ootori and Oshitari-Mukahi matches. It isn't looking good for Shishido and Mukahi. They’re lagging behind.
Saito leaves the bleachers and enters the viewing room, accidentally bumping his head against the door frame.
“Ack-!”
“...How are they faring?” Coach Kurobe asks from his seat, holding a cup of tea.
“Well,” Coach Saito rubs his forehead. “Everything’s going more or less as expected, though few of them refuse to cooperate.” He smiles enigmatically at one of the CCTV screens showing Echizen and Toyama facing off highschoolers left and right in the outside courts instead of participating in the elimination matches.
Coach Kurobe’s eye twitches at the two first years. “...Send them away immediately.”
As Yamazaki nearly gives herself whiplash trying to watch the two matches, a hand placed atop her head stops her head from turning. She was so busy trying to write down notes, she hadn't noticed a presence right behind her.
“Your head’s going to fall off at this rate, fool.” Atobe huffs from behind.
“Get off me. And I’d much rather prefer that than watching these matches.” Maki swats his hand away while her eyes remain on the two courts.
Atobe hops over one of the bleacher seats to settle down next to Yamazaki. “What did that lanky coach tell you to do?” He looks over at her clipboard.
“Told me to write down their weaknesses when playing against each other.” She hands him her clipboard for him to read. “He probably wants me to analyze how each of you play under intense pressure” she scoffs.
“Tch. Ruthless man. Knew something was off with that smug grin of his.” Atobe furrows his brows reading her notes. But he must admit, he’s a damn good coach.
He told everyone to pair up, allowing the players to think they’d be competing in doubles matches, only to shatter that idea down by turning them against each other.
Since they’re all used to working with their doubles partners, having them play against each other puts them in an unfamiliar yet high-stakes situation that could cost their future in tennis.
Not to mention, this could help the coaches evaluate each player’s mental resilience in the camp. No wonder Saito calls it “Mental Strengthening”.
“It’s an ‘every man for himself’ situation.” Atobe furrows his brows.
“Yeah,” Yamazaki nods. She winces at the sight of Mukahi diving and reaching his racket out for the incoming ball, only for him to miss and face plant onto the field.
“Dammit!” Mukahi pounds his fist against the ground.
“Tch. Disgraceful.” Atobe clicks his tongue.
“...How are you feeling about this?” Yamazaki asks Atobe, watching Hyotei’s doubles pairs face off against each other at the courts.
“The same as you,” Atobe replies. “It’s unsightly and a cruel twist of fate,” his brows that are usually so furrowed soften ever so slightly.
“But if they can't rise above this, then they’ve got no place here.” His gaze then hardens.
“...Yeah.” Comes Yamazaki's muttered response.
“All we have to do is watch it unfold.” He says.
Which is what they do, along with the rest of Hyotei and the other teams watching. None of them intervene nor cheer. They all simply…observe.
And deep down—though Atobe would rather drown than admit it—he loathes the idea of his teammates leaving the camp.
—
“...”
Yamazaki and Atobe watch as Oshitari scores the winning point against Mukahi.
“Sorry, Gakuto. It’s a shame it’s come to this.” Oshitari looks down at Mukahi at the other side of the court, exhausted and defeated.
“Game and match! Oshitari!”
He takes one last look at Mukahi before walking off the court and adjusting his glasses. That was their last game together.
Yamazaki’s fingers clutch her pen.
“Were you expecting that?” Atobe asks Yamazaki, his gaze following Mukahi as he too, walks off the court.
“...I hate to say it, but…yeah. Oshitari would’ve won, no matter the circumstances.” Yamazaki sighs.
Well, at least that’s one match out of the way–
“Game and match, Ootori, 9-7!”
The laptop screen next to her shows Shishido’s and Mukahi’s profiles labelled with an angry red “DISQUALIFIED” in bold text in front of their faces. They’re going to leave the camp.
This mental strengthening exercise is too much.
“Dammit!” Shishido curses in frustration after the game, packing his tennis racket into his bag.
“That was close,” Ootori says softly. “When you returned all my Scud Serves, I thought I was done for.”
“Tch. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Choutarou. There’ll be plenty of guys who’ll do that here.” Shishido scolds, making Ootori pipe down with a quiet “yes”.
Yamazaki watches as Shishido gives Ootori his remaining racket grip tape, harshly smacking his back and consoling him. She smiles softly at how Ootori tears up.
“T-thank you…” he nods while sniffling.
“Geez. Don't make that face. You look kinda lame.” Shishido scolds, looking away in embarrassment.
“Look at you, blushing like a schoolgirl after giving her crush a love letter.”
Shishido stiffens up and glares at Yamazaki and Atobe leaning onto the bleacher’s railing with a shit-eating grin on their faces.
“Never knew you could be that sweet, Shishido.” Atobe looks down at him
“Who’re you calling a schoolgirl, hah?! And I can be sweet when I want to, damn it!” Shishido spits. “You’ve just been watching there the whole time watching us suffer!”
“Oi, I was suffering too! How do you think it feels for me watching my precious teammates face against each other–” Yamazaki argues, then pauses. Oh shit–
“Yamazaki-san, did you just say ‘precious teammates’?” Ootori blinks in surprise.
“Ahn?” Atobe smirks.
“Wait–”
“Oho? Is the cold-blooded Yamazaki-chan finally admitting that she loves her teammates?” Oshitari chimes in after his match with Mukahi, looking equally smug.
“No–”
“Awww, you do care about us after all!” Mukahi joins in with the teasing.
“You’re acting super lame right now, Yamazaki.” Shishido smirks.
“Usu.” Kabaji nods. When the hell did he show up?
“If you all don't shut up within two seconds I’ll feed you to the wolves–”
Coaches Kurobe and Saito watch the Hyotei tennis players each take their turn jabbing at their flustered manager through the CCTV screens.
“A draining match between equally matched players—it seems like it was a good use of time.” Coach Kurobe nods in approval. “They’re all sporting good expressions.” He smiles subtly at the team’s camaraderie despite what had happened.
“But, that doesn't change the fact that their friends are eliminated.” Coach Kurobe’s face loses his smile, watching Kikumaru win against Oishi. Oishi walks off the court after giving Kikumaru one last high five.
“Now then, shall we move on to the next matches~?” Coach Saito pulls up a tab on his laptop screen.
“These will be interesting, don't you think? A match between current and future captains~?” He clicks on the pairs of the next matches:
Atobe Keigo vs Hiyoshi Wakashi
Tezuka Kunimitsu vs Kaidoh Kaoru
“...Indeed.” Coach Kurobe nods, sipping his tea.