Yagyuu puts a wall of reflective glass between himself and the world. For Niou, the distance between his eyes and his thoughts is sufficient.
Yanagi’s strategy encompasses more detail than his own; Yanagi’s concrete observations range far wider. But Niou knows there is a space of colorful intuition at the heart of his own strategies that Yanagi does not like to enter.
His initial equation to describe Sanada was ‘winning equals everything’. His new equation is ‘winning equals everything, but duty equals everything squared’. The line this equation describes has become interestingly curved.
Yukimura, on the other hand, is the same quadratic equation he’s been since Niou met him; equally gentle or merciless depending on how he calculates. Which is the positive conclusion, and which the negative, Niou has never tried to resolve.
He suspects he will need calculus to graph Kirihara properly.
Marui, he puts on like a festival mask when they play together, showy technique concealing unsmiling concentration. They smile at each other once the game ends.
Jackal’s quiet sense of humor curbs Niou’s dispassion. It wasn’t until he met Jackal that Niou understood dispassion could be as wild and out of control as any emotion.
Steel tipped darts have the most satisfying weight in the hand. It requires weight to fly true.
Red meat has the same weight in the body, and the richness of its taste has the same weight on the tongue.
Watching opponents on the court stumble and freeze and fail has the same weight in his soul, round and satisfying.
He likes the numbers that describe fractals; he finds it typical that he prefers the numbers alone, while Yukimura always sketches the design out in the margin of a notebook.
He likes the taste of greens with sesame; it tastes like fresh air. He knows that he thinks so only because his mother often makes it in the fall, as the heat passes and the windows are opened, a stubborn association that isn’t shaken no matter how often he eats it in other seasons. The irrationality of this delights him.
He likes the blues of the sky best at sunrise or sunset. When they’re changing.
He thinks Yagyuu’s taste for standing outside in storms is a bit much. But he joins his partner to watch what he’s like, then.
He thinks Yagyuu is very like water. He takes on the shape of his container until he breaks it. He takes on the colors around him and remains clear in himself.
He thinks Yagyuu’s eyes are the color of water.
Niou and Kirihara have an even record of winning at Ou-sama, because no one has found a truth either of them hesitates to tell. Unless, of course, the King is Yagyuu, because they both like the dares he comes up with.
Perception calms him; it is precise and uncompromising. There are times it feels like anger, that way. The sure knowledge that Sanada would never understand this comparison amuses him.
To deceive is to control the perception of others. Niou would rather like a match against Hyoutei’s Atobe some time. He wonders how much it would be like playing Marui or Yukimura.
No one will control him. The point of the whole thing is freedom.
End
*fascinated * ooh. This is delightful. I love the first set, Niou’s thoughts of his team members. Yanagi vs Niou – I confess I’m still wondering as to which of the two is the more intuitive.
You know I love the Sanada one already, and the Yukimura one, about positive and negative solutions, is just genius. Ditto with Kirihara. (although you have me wondering about Kirihara now. parabolas? hyperbolas? logarithmic curves? combination of all three, with an exponential curve thrown in to boot?) And Marui of course. Marui and Niou. The festival mask is a really apt image.
Your thoughts as per the weight, weight weight are really interesting. I find Niou almost unreal, as in his ability to seperate himself from the world and observe – it’s why I cast him as the Rikkai precognitive in Streets of Nippon. I like the thought that these things – darts, meat, tennis – are what ground him in the world.
The greens with sesame and the fresh air is just brilliant. Niou the rational, drawn to the irrational? And that segues so nicely into flaring, irrational Yagyuu. And the Niou and Kirihara thing just makes me laugh, because they would have such different reasons for telling the truth. (although has anyone in Ou-sama ever seriously asked Kirihara some penetrating question with regards to Sanada?)
*really wants to see Niou vs Atobe now*
*grin* And seriously? Niou-chan is one of the Rikkai characters who defeats me fic-wise, at least for now, so I’m so delighted that you’ve written this one and it’s just fantastic. The voice you’ve used here strikes me very much as something Niou would use, in that far-off place where he is all thought and observation.
Your last line sums up things beautifully.
Ah, good, the voice worked, then. Man, Haru-chan gave me so much trouble with this one… It’s his expression, though, really; all though the Rikkai matches, that distant, watching expression.
*laughing* Actually, my thought about Kirihara and calculus was the whole change-over-time aspect. If the younger generation has an ensign, I think it would have to be a delta.
I really think Niou is drawn to the irrational, the wild and messy, in a way that Yanagi isn’t. For one thing, there are those constant anger-marks, with him. For another, well, there’s Yagyuu, and even his profile calls him the fiercest and most aggressive on the team. My own theory is that Niou likes occupying the two extremes, rational and not, and feeling the tension between them. Yanagi is intuitive, but his match with Inui also shows that he has a weakness when it comes to handling strong emotions. *considers* I bet he still wins against Niou, though I couldn’t immediately tell you why I think so.
*grins* This was a pain, but it was fun too.
*hmmm* I think Yanagi wins against Niou because logic, if far-reaching and all-encompassing enough, defeats even inuition. It might not defeat pure intuition at its finest (i.e a Yukimura) but Niou is not pure intuition, but as you said, straddles the two.
*thinks* I have to confess great curiosity as to what Sanada’s Rin consists off.
*nod* His expression really is like that the whole time. He really is the least emotionally expressive of the team. Which makes me wonder as to the general fandom portrayal of him as the constant ‘Bad Boy with Attitude’. I do think he has Attitude, but it’s more the attitude of utter freedom, as your fic suggests – Niou sheerly doesn’t care. He doesn’t piss people off for the sake of pissing people of – not unless there’s some interesting reason to do it – a psychological conundrum, something potentially sparkly and attractive.
A pain but fun does seem to describe an alarming proportion of ficcing. *g*
I have to confess great curiosity as to what Sanada’s Rin consists off.
*vigorous nodding* I mean “immovable as the Mountain” is fairly obvious; it almost has to be a defensive posture. But the original for Rin is “In marching slowly, as stately [or deliberate, or silent] as the Forest”. My first rendering, for Challenge, was a variation on concealing one’s ki, one’s intent to strike. But I wonder whether it might not be a counter-tennis thing? Deliberate, measured, waiting, unrushed. *boots Konomi a few times* We’re dying of suspense, here, hurry up!
*makes face* I think the Bad Boy thing might come from the anime, which did give Niou a good deal more expression and obvious Attitude. I also see it attached, a lot, to his hair, in particular. *wry*
*sparkles, delighted* I like Niou’s way of graphing his teammates. It’s so very analytical and so very him. *purrs*
And wow, he is wound up in Yagyuu. *deeply amused*
*grins* I’ve always held that Haru-chan is crazy, and this didn’t change my mind.
And isn’t he? I mean, good grief. He insisted on three for Yagyuu, though.
Well I enjoyed that thoroughly! I been here and there with 20_facts but yours is one of the best ♥ But I didn’t expect anything less. :3
Thank you! I was going to resist, but the idea is just so addictive. ^_^
*hearts*
I was SO going to avoid it too but I’m weak. *points to LJ* >_> ♥ I’m probably going to write more as well.
*adores*
*takes a peek*
… gotta say, I’d have voted for the leash. But, then, I’m like that about rugrats. *grins*
….why is it I feel like I’ve just had fantastic sex whenever I read something of yours? All tingly and satisfied…. [feels like purring]
*helpless giggling* Was it good for you, too, darling?
^___^ exquisite
I get that feeling from Em’s writing too. >D
Oh so nice. 🙂
^_^ Thank you!
This is really very fabulous. I like that you brought in Niou’s mathematical ability and made him not manic. Excellent story!
Thank you very much! I’m still very happy with the way this one came out. *grins* I’ve often thought Niou is a bit crazed, but definitely not manic; he’s way too cold for that.