Fic: Switcheroo
Author: Aishuu
Series: Tennis no Oujisama
Rating: PG
Type: Gen
Challenge: Epiphany
Warnings: Muchos Spoilers for Manga 202-205.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in PoT. Konomi-sensei rocks
my world, proving that he can create something
resembling a plot twist around tennis and bishounen
after 200 chapters.

~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~


The first time they switched places, they were in
first year.

Uncharacteristically, Yagyuu couldn�t remember who had
originated the idea. It seemed to him that it was a
mutual decision, to become the other, but one of them
would have had to bring it up first. He guessed that
it was Niou, since it was his type of plan, but there
was a practicality and long-range planning to it that
was more his style.

It didn�t matter. What mattered was once they did it,
there was no going back.

It took place in school, and only for around fifteen
minutes. Niou simply swiped Yagyuu�s glasses,
rearranged his hair, and helped Yagyuu style his own
usually-neat locks into a wild look that made him feel
like he was someone else - and he was, almost.

But not quite.

People looked at him strangely those fifteen minutes,
while he walked down the halls to Niou�s locker to
drop off a notebook, and it was with a great feeling
of relief that he was able to duck into the nearest
bathroom with Niou to reclaim his own identity.

Switching places was both easier and harder than it
should have been. Both were master watchers - him,
because he collected data and memorized facts the way
he breathed, and Niou because the best tricks could
only be set up with proper preparation. They looked
quite similar, but not identical, but that wasn�t hard
to deal with, because people only tended to notice the
obvious things, like hair and manner. No, the problem
was learning mannerisms and speech patterns. The
hardest thing was learning to be mean. 

Yagyuu was polite, and Niou... wasn�t.

Niou took to the charade like a duck to water,
delighting in the fact he was pulling one over on
everyone, including their teammates and coach. Yagyuu,
though, was always the more cautious one, and analyzed
everything. He could see the advantages to being
mistaken for Niou. Niou liked keeping people confused,
and as his partner, Yagyuu knew it was wise to
facilitate any plans the other boy had. 

Still, it was odd to walk around without his glasses,
looking at the world through slightly out-of-focused
perspective, with a smile curled on his lips, being
loud and opinionated rather than trying to fade into
the background.

Niou smiled. Yagyuu did not.

Gradually they began to swap more and more frequently,
and their masquerades became longer in duration. One
day, they actually switched for an entire day at
school, and no one noticed the difference.

�Is it alright?� Niou asked after that day, still
dangling Yagyuu�s glasses from his fingertips. Without
the glasses, and with both of their hair styled in
Niou�s ponytail, it was rather like looking into a
mirror.

�It will be,� Yagyuu said, reclaiming the spectacles
with a quick grab. There was no telling what Niou
would do with them, if left alone too long. �You
shouldn�t wear these too often. They�ll make you
dizzy.�

Niou snorted. �The prescription is weak. I barely
notice it.�

It had been a surprise to Yagyuu, who thought he had
understood everything about himself, to realize that
he could see well enough without his glasses to
function. His mother had gotten them for him when he
had been three, after realizing that her son�s vision
was less than perfect, and he had worn them ever
since. Unlike most boys, he wasn�t clumsy enough even
then to break them, so it had never occurred to him
they weren�t necessary.

�Hmmm,� Yagyuu had said, straightening them. �Still.�

Still. There were things they needed to work on until
the switch was complete, and Yagyuu, ever the
perfectionist, understood this. Their tennis styles
were different, and it took a while, and a lot of
trust, for him to give up his Laser Beam to anyone,
but it was Niou who pointed out that even if he
learned it, it would never be the same. All players
were different, and it took more than training to
truly master a shot.

It wasn�t until they were second years that they made
the switch, in a match at the street courts located
near their school. None of their teammates were there,
but some of the boys who hung out invariably
recognized the duo who had just made Rikkai�s first
doubles slot.

�You�re from Rikkai, aren�t you?� one of the boys, a
high school student by the looks of him, asked.

Normally it would be Niou who would answer, but the
trickster was standing by the bench, watching from
behind a pair of glasses that didn�t belong to him.
Yagyuu glared, remembering that he was supposed to be
belligerent, since that was the way Niou was. �What�s
it to you?� he demanded, knowing that he wasn�t
supposed to be nice.

The challenge was inevitable. They didn�t bother to
introduce themselves, but merely let the others assume
their identities. Glancing over at Niou, Yagyuu went
to the net, crouching low, smirking.

You are Niou now, he told himself. You are Niou....

Game, Match. Won by Yagyuu-Niou pair, but people
didn�t figure out which was which. It didn�t matter,
because that wasn�t the last time they did it - who
cared if the right name was attached to the right
person?

Niou had been thoroughly amused by it, though usually
he liked causing a ruckus when pulling one of his
stunts. Still, something about this great deception
seemed to amuse him, and he was smirking like he was
planning something. Yagyuu recognized the look in the
other player�s face, knowing that Niou was going to do
something elaborate.

�How long can we keep it up?� Niou demanded.

�Indefinitely,� Yagyuu replied, straightening his
shirt. Niou was a bit messier than the gentile Yagyuu,
a bit more wild. �But you won�t want to, will you?�

Niou tilted his head, and the long hair brushed across
his cheeks. �That�s no fun. But... it�s fun watching
them all think I�m you. It�s fun to pretend to be
someone you�re not, isn�t it?�

Yagyuu, if he had been the type, would have rolled his
eyes.

Their charade became more perfect, and eventually they
decided to switch for an actual game. It was one of
the Kantou matches, and the switch took place in the
bathroom of the courts, since they didn�t dare spend
too much time around their teammates. Sanada was a
perceptive one, and that wasn�t even considering their
vice captain, Yukimura. 

Playing Hyotei would be fun, and going up against the
Reika-Torishima pair would be more than worth it, Niou
said to his partner. Whenever a Hyotei player lost,
they were automatically removed from the team. It was
going to be a great fight, and watching the Hyotei
egomaniacs go down would be more than worth it.

When they entered the court, Yagyuu felt the eyes of
everyone on them. Yukimura wore a slightly puzzled
frown as he watched them take their positions, but he
didn�t say anything.

He knew better than to ask anything of his first
doubles team.

They were vicious that day, and stuck to their roles
perfectly. Yagyuu knew that he had to be nasty, and he
was. He fired shots that went from side to side,
forcing Reika and Torishima to run all over the court,
and just when they were done, he stepped aside,
letting Niou fire his passing shot, the Laser Beam...
or something close enough to pass for it.

The Laser Beam still wasn�t perfect. Only sharp eyes
would notice - and a few did. Yukimura stiffened, his
eyes going wide, and beside him, Sanada seemed to
shake himself out of his usual calm as well. 

They knew.

Nothing was said, though, and Yagyuu and Niou won, of
course, six games to love. And since no one broke the
code of silence, Yagyuu knew they would keep up the
act.

After that, Yagyuu often found himself changing
identities. Some days, he would go to practice, only
to switch halfway through, while others they would go
a whole week without swapping identities. Some games
they played as themselves, while others they would be
the other. It was a grand joke, a secret that Niou
found hysterically funny, and Yagyuu just kept,
because it was his nature to keep secrets.

Third year came, and their deception grew. They traded
more and more frequently, until some days Yagyuu would
have nearly no idea who he was. He had to limit some
of his abilities and strain others to act as Niou, and
Niou had the same challenges before him before each
time they traded places.

Yagyuu wasn�t sure when it became more comfortable to
be Niou than himself. But... he realized it had
happened when he was threatened with losing it.

Kantou finals, Seigaku.

�We have the Golden Pair against us,� Yagyuu said to
his partner as they lingered in the locker room the
eve of the match, staring at the data he had gathered.


Niou leaned against the wall, thinking on it. �They
might be worth a good fight.�

�Indeed,� Yagyuu agreed. Everything he read indicated
Rikkai should win, but he knew that Seigaku was known
for having their players pull rabbits out of their
hat. Doubles 2 should be a guaranteed win, and they�d
probably win Singles 3, but watching Doubles 1 and
Singles 2 and 1 would be fiercer fights. Anything
could happen.

Niou seemed to think on it. �What�s the weak link?�

Yagyuu couldn�t think of anything. The Golden Pair had
perfect coordination, amazing skills, and relied on
each other with a trust that transcended friendship.
�We need to break their doubles for sure,� he said.
�The Golden Pair...�

�I�m tired of that,� Niou said. �We�re better. We�re
platinum, and it�s time show that.� He leaned forward,
and yanked Yagyuu�s glasses off. �Ready for the last
act?�

Yagyuu let a smile curve his lips, but he didn�t feel
it. �A grand finale,� he said.

When they met on the court, the Golden Pair was
everything he had predicted. Oishi, the substitute
captain, wore determination around himself like a
cloak, and his partner, Kikumaru, flamed with
confidence. 

We�ll take you down...

At the net, Kikumaru stepped back and forth, moving so
quickly that there seemed to be two of him. Yagyuu
couldn�t keep track of him, but knew that behind each
of them, the baseline players were engaged in a fierce
duel.

He knew Niou, knew Niou knew his style, and knew what
he would do. A straight shot was about to be fired
down the center, and he would be expecting Yagyuu, who
was currently playing the trickster, to step aside at
the last minute. If done right... Kikumaru would get a
face-full of tennis ball.

Niou would do it in a heartbeat.

Yagyuu, though, was a gentleman and would never
intentionally hurt someone. It was crude play,
unworthy of him. 

But if the shot worked, Kikumaru might be taken out -
and the match would be won. Yagyuu would never get the
satisfaction of being cold and cruel himself... but
Niou would.

And that was why he didn�t want to give up being Niou.
If Kikumaru was taken out, maybe the masquerade could
continue.

It�s fun to pretend to be someone you�re not, isn�t
it?

Without thinking on it, he stepped aside so the ball
slammed into Kikumaru Eiji�s face. 

END

~*~*~*~*~*~


Note: Yes, I am aware this will probably be out of
date by chapter 206. Yes, I know Yukimura is captain -
but the incident referred to was in the second year,
so Yukimura was vice captain, as Tezuka was in his
second year.


=====
That unfulfillable emotion that never settles down somewhere--
just decide to ignore it, then overtake it.
Aim for the loophole in this shy, trembling society,
for the place we keep struggling towards. I want new world.
Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
Fanfiction: http://www.midnightrevolution.org/quicksilver/
Fic Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/~quillofferings

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