Niou and Yagyuu become a doubles pair, and the game continues.
Masaharu opened his mouth to ask a pointed question about why it was Yukimura making all these decisions and announcing them, and not the captain standing, silent and uncomfortable, behind the Trinity. He closed it again, with a smooth look, at Sanada’s burning glare.
Niou coaxes Yagyuu into more intimacy; or perhaps it’s the other way around.
He reached out and, delicately, removed Yagyuu’s glasses. A signal, a symbol, a talisman, but more than anything else an intense desire to see Yagyuu Hiroshi’s eyes.
Niou has an idea for a trick.
Yagyuu moved forward, fingers trailing ever so lightly over Masaharu’s wrist in passing. Masaharu suppressed his reaction, sternly, but couldn’t hold back a grin. Who would have thought that Yagyuu would be an incorrigible tease?
Disaster strikes for the whole team.
After such a golden autumn, no one expected what happened in the heart of winter.
Takes place during Chapter Seven. Sanada finds an opponent who can help him improve his game, and, perhaps, offer some much needed distraction from his captain’s illness. Yanagi notes, in this, the possible start of a dangerous trend.
Genichirou never could decide whether he preferred Seiichi’s manner, who invariably drew whatever Genichirou was thinking out of him, or Renji’s, who rarely asked since he could usually be assumed to know already.
The team starts to recover, and Niou and Yagyuu find another kind of comfort.
It stretched him to the edge of pain, but never quite over. It was, perfectly, everything he desired of his partner, every reason he pressed Yagyuu to let himself go, the extremity of sensation that could have been destruction but, to him, was not.
For Regionals, the team pulls out all the stops.
Masaharu didn’t know about the others, but he’d had to catch Yukimura from falling more than once, while spotting for his “light” practices, and had to carry him back inside twice. He’d watched the frustration his captain could keep out of his voice but couldn’t keep out of his eyes, and shuddered to think what it must be like.
The team brings the results to their captain.
“Is it over, do you think?” Yagyuu asked, at last, barely whispering in the silence. He didn’t protest when Masaharu twined a hand into his hair, drawing his head down to Masaharu’s shoulder.
During Chapter Ten Yanagi deals with Sanada guilting.
It had been a split-second decision, almost an impulse, really, except for the calculation behind it.
Immediately after Chapter Ten, Sanada (and, to a lesser extent, Yanagi) explains himself to Yukimura.
“You take too much on your own shoulders so often,” Renji sighed. “That was exactly what got you into this situation in the first place.”
Sanada and Kirihara address the unproductive aspects of their interpersonal relationship, pursuant to one of Yanagi’s observations in “Water Over Fire”.
Genichirou tried to take the opinions of his hormones with a grain of salt. Akaya was impulsive, considerably moreso than any other member of the team. Giving his impulses free rein was a large part of what had brought them to their current, slightly uncomfortable, position. It behooved Genichirou to at least make sure his younger teammate thought twice. Even once might do.
Yukimura apologizes to the teams his own injured, and picks up a challenge on the way.
Seiichi’s eyes narrowed. He had come here to render an apology, but he’d be damned before he stood still to be a source of entertainment for Fuji Shuusuke.
Kirihara decides to tease Sanada, and the results are about what one might expect.
“Do you remember what I said about teasing, Akaya?” he asked, softly.
Pressed against the length of Sanada-san’s body, so tightly he could feel as well as hear the deep, smooth voice, Akaya couldn’t hold back a triumphant grin.
“That it works?” he suggested, breathless.
Yukimura is finally convinced that he is fully recovered, and is beyond pleased over it.
Seiichi stepped away, and then spun to face them. “It’s all here,” he said, and Genichirou’s throat closed at the wonder in his voice, “I’m all here, still. Again.”
Sanada teaches Kirihara a lesson about teasing. Or, possibly, a lesson in teasing.
The look in Sanada-san’s eyes should have warned him.
A small snafu leads to some practice time between Rikkai and Seigaku, just before the end of Nationals.
Momo cast his erstwhile opponent a thoughtful glance. “You know, Marui-san,” he said, slowly, “all of you are acting really different, today.”
Marui cocked an eyebrow at him. “Of course we are,” he responded, easily, “Yukimura’s back.”
The long awaited last match of Nationals.
Seiichi’s smile changed, undiluted pleasure added to the satisfaction. It was the last round of Nationals, and they were ready.
Suppose that Sanada and Atobe were roomates at Senbatsu. Now suppose that Atobe is feeling provocative after their match in ep. 140. Now suppose gratuitous sex ensues.
“It’s simply my unfortunate fate to love a good challenge. Unfortunate because I don’t get many of them. Getting you to loosen up a little, though, definitely qualifies.”
Companion piece to “Games for Fun”. Set after the US-Japan Senbatsu matches. Yet more gratuitous sex.
Keigo eyed Sanada’s back and smiled with appreciation as Sanada tipped his head back and the spray sleeked down his hair and emphasized the sharp planes of his face.
Tezuka and Echizen settle in with each other.
“But, really! I never thought, in a hundred years, Echizen would actually catch him…”
When the third years retire from the club, Kirihara has to deal with taking over.
It was an obvious truth that few, if any, of them could become what Yukimura or Sanada or Yanagi was. Akaya nodded, and raised his voice. “It doesn’t matter. What we are is Rikkai. We will win.”
Sanada’s and Yanagi’s reactions to the whole story about Belial.
Saying that Genichirou and Renji were not happy simply did not address the magnitude of their feelings on the subject.
Sanada makes a further discovery.
Seiichi knew the moment Genichirou noticed Mad Hatter’s seal, low on one hip and inconspicuous except to a thorough lover.
Sanada and Belial talk about Seiichi.
"What do you want with Seiichi?" Genichirou asked, bluntly.
"His soul," Hatter answered.
Genichirou reminded himself, strenuously, of Renji’s caution that he wouldn’t get anywhere with Hatter unless he could keep his temper. He told himself it was just like dealing with Niou in a really bad mood.
Kurai and Noise explain things to Sanada.
Belial waved a hand. “Not at all,” se said. “Her Majesty is here to relieve certain misapprehensions regarding her husband’s domain.” Se glanced pointedly in the direction of the boy se had indicated previously, who was standing a little ways off and obviously trying not to look too much like he was hovering.
Yukimura followed the glance. “Ah,” he said. “I see.” He looked back at Kurai. “In that case, welcome.”
SanaYuki make up smut.
"Seiichi…" Seiichi blinked; even when they were alone, Genichirou rarely let his voice soften so much. Genichirou’s arms closed around him, almost lifting him against Genichirou’s body. Seiichi released a tiny breath of his own and let himself relax into that support.
"I’m sorry," Genichirou murmured.
Belial talks to Rikkai about the past.
"One is not kind," she said, very precisely, without looking around. "Nor benign. One has corrupted lives and souls and cities. Most recently, one provoked the Host to attack an ally and caused the destruction of Kurai’s kingdom and people. One led Kurai herself into a marriage that would have sacrificed her life, by lying to her at nearly every turn. You should remember this."
Sanada and Belial spar a bit, verbally and otherwise.
Genichirou had known it was dangerous to invite Hatter to spar with edged weapons. He had, however, been confident that Hatter wouldn’t kill him, or even significantly damage him. He didn’t normally like the idea of handicaps, but in the case of a demon he’d take it.
He was coming to the irritated realization that, even restraining himself, Hatter was fast enough to touch him.
Belial gets a tennis team.
"Absolutely no interfering in the games in any way, shape or form, or the whole deal’s off," Sanada declared, firmly.
Belial leaned hir chin in hir hand. "Doesn’t that conflict with the clause about injury-proofing, though?"
The seal of the contract.
Seiichi remembered when Belial had set the seal of their contract.
Some embarrassment over the seal.
Genichirou, Renji noted, seemed unwilling to look anybody in the face—no, that wasn’t strictly accurate. There were specific people he wasn’t looking in the face, and all of them had just signed the same contract.
If the seal broadcasts sensation…
"Niou," Sanada said, carefully, "are you really suggesting an… orgy?"
Sanada gets enspelled and everyone gets a surprise.
Belial really couldn’t help but find it entertaining that Genichirou complained about Hell’s demons not being serious enough in their work.
"I mean, really," Genichirou was currently holding forth, "this is ridiculous, what am I doing here? I’m in the wrong story!"
This is an answer to a challenge, the challenge in question being to write a serious story featuring Girly!Sanada and, preferably, Manly!Yukimura. Valentine’s and associated pratices seemed to offer a useful occasion for this. See Yukimura get chocolate from an unexpected source; see Sanada fidget and blush. Seriously.
A very small voice in the back of his mind was praying fervently to any kami that might listen and feel merciful that Niou never, ever found out about this.
The new year begins and Kirihara suffers a bit of culture clash.
“What are you doing here?” Akaya exclaimed, wide eyed.
Suzuoki blew a stream of smoke at him. “The coaches drew straws to see who would stay with each division this year. I got the short one.”
Kirihara’s relationship to Sanada and his temper.
The first time wasn’t really a surprise. Even one summer of observation was enough to tell anyone that Sanada-senpai had no sense of humor.
Some friendly bickering within the Rikkai team.
They were all getting off the bus, stretching and exchanging dinner plans, when Masaharu heard Yanagi ask Kirihara, softly, “So which are you going to be, Akaya? A tiger cub, or the boy who swallowed a dragon pearl?”
Yukimura’s reaction to his team’s behavior during his absence.
“Too many of those games were sloppy, and too many were aimed at cheap victories that were unworthy of you. We are Rikkai. We are the best.” His eyes narrowed. “We don’t need to win by default. Ever.”
Sanada practices, and considers connections between sword and tennis.
Sometimes intense focus shut out the rest of the world; sometimes it only brought the world closer.
Possible origin of Rikkai’s “law”, and what it means to different people.
“We can’t lose.” That surety sings through him, like the blood through his muscles; he feels it.
Takes place after the Sanada v Atobe match (manga). With some prodding from Yukimura, Sanada loosens his brain up, and finds some new techniques. Also with sex via tennis.
“I don’t care how you do it. But we can’t afford to have you paralyzed whenever someone besides Tezuka actually manages to push you.”
Loosely based on the Five Stages of Love prompt. Yukimura and Sanada, over the years.
Seiichi nodded toward the rest of the club. "What do you think?"
Sanada crossed his arms, gazing across the courts again. "I’m glad you’re here."
Yukimura and Sanada have victory sex in the shower, after Nationals.
The sound of his team rummaging around and getting dressed beyond the tile wall was both immediate and distant, the way everything had been since the blinding moment he realized the last point was his.
He was glad for it when warm arms slid around him and pulled him back against a solid chest.
Arriving in high school, Kirihara gets a nice welcome back from Sanada. Written for Porn Battle, with the prompt: Sanada/Kirihara, size queen.
The day couldn’t get much better than this. It was a new year; he was a Regular on the high school team; everyone else had gone home and Sanada-san was fucking him, hard and big, stretching Akaya open perfectly.
Yukimura really, really likes the way Sanada looks in a kimono. Written for the Porn Battle prompt: Yukimura/Sanada, traditional dress.
Seiichi liked how Genichirou looked in traditional clothing. The falling lines of a kimono or even yukata displayed Genichirou’s broad shoulders and straight height, reminded everyone who watched of the power waiting in that still, composed figure.
Yukimura and Sanada discuss the future a little.
Yukimura turned his head back to look up at the ceiling. "I may not be with you at Kawanakajima this time." The curve of his mouth could not be called a smile.
A rewrite of the end of Regionals and the month until Nationals. Echizen gets obsessed, Rikkai is still on edge, Tachibana is brooding, Momo is insightful, Kirihara retrains, Atobe is annoyed, Fuji gets down to business, An is delighted, Yukimura is not particularly happy, Tezuka is plotting, and everyone is coming to town.
When the match with Sanada reached five games all, Ryouma knew he was in trouble. It was a new feeling. When he played his dad, he was always in trouble, so the knowledge was meaningless and he’d learned to ignore it. When he’d played Tezuka he’d barely had time to understand that he really was in trouble, and notice what it felt like, before the game was over. After all, it wasn’t like a lower score meant he was losing! He’d come from behind plenty of times and won anyway.
But he could feel his pace falling, now.
Semi-finals. Atobe takes Sanada by surprise, Zaizen’s senpai help him start to think more flexibly and Echizen finishes the job, and Shiraishi pushes Fuji all the way.
Finals. Spectators gather and next year’s players start to think about the future, as Rikkai and Seigaku battle it out. Yuuta is gleeful, Kirihara is thoughtful, Zaizen starts getting to grips, and Echizen finally figures out what’s more important than winning.