My Star (Oc x Tezuka)

Let's Have A Friendly Match

When we arrived at Hyotei, the students were all on the courts watching the teams play against each other. I could immediately see Wakato and Sengoku's orange hair along with Jirou sleeping on the bleachers. Eiji and Oishi were playing doubles against Momo and Ryoma. I turned away from them, hesitantly walking up to Sengoku and Wakato, feeling Seigaku's eyes on my back as I passed them.
"Akira!" Sengoku said happily. "Haven't seen you in a while. You were on a trip, right?"
"Yeah. It's nice to see you guys again," I said.
"Your brother told us that you've practically quit tennis. Hope you'll play us when you feel better. You also turned down the chance of a lifetime to be the youngest pro tennis player ever," Sengoku said, shaking his head back and forth. "Anyways, aren't you with Seigaku now?"
"Yeah," I said quietly.
"Shouldn't you be practicing with them, then?" Wakato spoke up. I turned to him and nodded.
"I should. But I'm skipping school today. Yesterday . . . let's just say yesterday wasn't my best day there. I spent the night at Keigo's, so I might stay there for a few more nights before going back to Seigaku," I explained.
"A match, Kira?" Keigo said politely. I turned to him.
"Sure," I answered. "Make sure you don't get hurt."
"Hope you can recover soon, Akira!" Sengoku shouted after me with a quick smile before heading onto his own court and smiling, saying 'lucky' everytime he was complimented for his skills. Wakato moved back to his court and then I kept hearing his fan girls shout 'Change Over!' with him.
"Let's just have a friendly match, alright, Keigo?" I said as I set my bags down and pulled out my racket and wrist bands to limit a little bit of my strength. I quickly tied my shoes and then I stepped onto court, drawing the attention of the Seigaku regulars.
"You sure you want to do this?" Keigo said, his eyes behind me on Seigaku.
"Not really. But I trust you know me well enough to tell when I'm here and when I'm not," I responded.
"Alright. Here I go," Keigo said, tossing the ball into the air and then delivering a hard serve at me. My body automatically responded and I returned the ball in a flash. Sometimes I feel like I'm not even thirteen. I feel too old for all of this. I quickly returned the next ten shots Keigo fired off and then scored the first point in the game. zi took the first game from him by one point and then he got a bit more serious during the second game, using his move Rondo Towards Destruction. I flinched when the ball came flying at my wrist. I took a few steps back and let the ball smash into the ground before I slammed it back at Keigo, accomplishing a drop shot. Keigo landed back on the ground, a slight look of shock and disbelief on his face.
"You might now me well, Keigo, but that also means I know you well. Don't you remember? I helped you come up with the idea. Did you not think I had a plan in mind to stop that move when we came up with it?" I mused, a smile forcing it's way through my expression.
"See now, your smile's back!" Keigo called across the court. "You've been so depressed lately, just have some fun. Let loose. I know you well enough to avoid the dangerous attacks." Let loose. Is that really possible with all the people around me? Could I really manage to keep them all safe from myself? And so far, the only memory trigger I have is Tezuka.
"I trust you," Keigo mouthed from across the court. I nodded to myself and then bounced the tennis ball on the ground a few times, throwing it up into the air and then hitting an ace serve straight through the court.
"Nice one," Keigo muttered, turning his full attention on me. I blocked out the world as he stepped up his game and started returning my shots with quicker speed and better accuracy. He accidently hit a lob and swore under his breath as I jumped up and hit his own signature move back at him, making him shake his head as he picked his racket back up. The sideline watchers were starting to cheer us both on instead of only Keigo.
"See? Now isn't this more fun than having to hold back all the time?" Keigo mused.
"I'm still holding back," I muttered.
"You're holding back one move. But your speed, stamina, accuracy, and strength are all at it's top peaks. Plus your different less permanently damaging skills are being used perfectly," Keigo replied. I took two more games after that. It was 3-2 and nearly an hour had passed. The students were still intently watching our play. Especially the younger club members of our teams. Hitting return after return, serve after serve was refreshing. It was nice not having to completely hold back in fear. Eventually, after another hour and a half, the match ended. Keigo and I were both a bit wiped. Well, he was definitely wiped, but I could probably play another game towards the end of the day if I really had to. But honestly, this was probably the most fun match since I got back from Australia.
"Nice job, Akira!" Sengoku shouted as he jogged over to us. Wakato smiled at us and then stood in front of us next to Sengoku.
"Were you really holding back?" Sengoku asked. I nodded.
"I'm going to practice how to copy you next," Wakato said.
"Such a compliment," I said sheepishly. "You sure I deserve it?"
"Hai!" they both shouted.
"Well played," Keigo mused beside me. "Using my own signature move against me. I tried not to hit too many lobs, but your skills allow you to use multiple different skills from any point of the court."
"Yeah, I guess so," I shrugged.
"Are you staying at my place tonight or going back home?" Keigo asked after a pause.
"I'm not sure. I'm just going to see how this day unfolds," I replied, being honest.
"Today was fun, though," I said quietly. "Thanks."
"No problem. After all, what are friends for?" Keigo said, a slight smile forming on his face before it disappeared. I smiled back at him.