Title: Something of Value
Fandom: Prince of Tennis: Fudomine Chuugaku
Characters: Ishida Tetsu, Ishida Gin, Tachibana Kippei, Kawamura Takashi, Sakurai Masaya, Mori, Uchimura
Prompt: 019 - White
Word Count: 1524
Date finished: 04/24/2007
Rating: G
Summary: Tetsu's life and the things he finds out about himself. In spite of his brother.
Author's Notes: I have no idea where it came from. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.

Ishida Tetsu was used to being overlooked - at least, figuratively; physically it had been impossible since he was ten. Maybe before that.

As a second child, he felt more often than not that he was sort of… back up for his brother. He couldn't really point out where the idea had come into his head, but by the time he was six, it was unshakable. And no one had ever taken the time to actually tell him he was wrong.

He picked up tennis a year after Gin did, when the older boy had grown out of his first racket. Tetsu went to each practice, copying what his brother did - well, what all of them did, but he watched Gin more than anyone - learning the strokes and the rules from outside the fence. It was only until after Gin complained that the kids were making fun of him that their parents actually got Tetsu into lessons as well.

Tetsu did pretty much everything his brother did; he thought that was what he was supposed to do, so that if something happened, he could step up and take his place.

The problem was that he didn't look like his brother. He was, for one, far too tall, and for another - he was bald.

His hair had all fallen out - for a reason even the doctors shook their heads over, trying to figure out - some time during his tenth year. And after a long time of consideration, he decided that, frankly, something would look better there than nothing.

It took him a while to settle on a white scarf - of sorts; he only called it a scarf because he wasn't sure what else to call it - and it wasn't long before people barely even noticed it. His mother did ask him what was going on, and when he explained, she merely shrugged and went back to what she was doing. At least she'd noticed, but seemed willing to let him do as he wished.

His last year in elementary school, two things happened.

The first was that Gin was recruited by Shitenhouji, a school in Osaka that offered a partial scholarship for him if he would continue to play tennis. It took his parents very little time to accept that.

The second was that he was seated next to a very odd boy named Ibu Shinji in school; it took a while to understand him, but once Tetsu had made friends with him, it turned out they had a lot in common.

The events actually happened the other way around, but for Tetsu, his brother always came first.

That year, Tetsu watched as Gin worked to perfect a very powerful move. And quietly, secretly, he began to do the same, trying to understand the mechanics and get it right.

Only his brother seemed to know, and caught him at it.

"You can't do this," Gin said firmly, standing far too close to Tetsu for him to continue to work on the Hadokyuu.

"Why not?" Tetsu always felt insignificant next to his brother.

"Because you'll get it wrong."

"So, teach it to me."

Gin stared at him, as though he saw him for the first time. "Why?"

"So I don't get it wrong."

It was, he would be the first to admit, circular logic, but it worked. Gin actually laughed and nudged him. "All right."

He rather enjoyed that time, working with his brother, but it was far too short. There just weren't enough days before his brother packed up and moved to Osaka, leaving Tetsu behind in a house that felt amazingly empty.

It wasn't until the next year that they realized the repercussions - they had no money to send Tetsu to a private school.

Tetsu found himself at Fudomine, a public school - which his father detested. He was not quiet about his complaints about the school, the education, the people who went, but he never once acknowledged that he was actually responsible for sending his son there. Tetsu didn't mind any of it. Ibu Shinji was in his class again, and they joined the tennis team together.

They became at least allies of the other four freshmen, banding together for protection and for support as the rest of the team picked on them, trying to get them to give up or something, Tetsu was never quite sure. But they stuck it out, trying different things that merely got them injured and no results.

It took someone else - who accepted them for who they were, considered misfits among the misfits of Tokyo schools - to make the difference they needed.

It was one of the most freeing things, to finally be able to hit back, to inflict damage on those who had done so much to him, and to his friends. Even if it meant they missed out on one tournament, they were determined to do much better.

Tachibana was a good captain and a great coach, and he taught them a lot.

Including control.

"I don't want you using that," he told Tetsu one afternoon. He'd been practicing the Hadokyuu against a wall - never against his teammates, because none of them had the power he did, and he did not want to hurt them - and his arm had gotten a bit overheated. He knew to cool it down, at least.

Ishida looked at him, brow furrowed. "What?"

"You're going to injure yourself so that you won't be able to play. Then what will we do?"

It was one thing to bring up an injury to himself; he really didn't care. But to bring the rest of them into it - that was something else. "But…" he said, not really willing to let it go.

Tachibana eyed him. "I know," he said. "You want to use it, you want to be able to honor your brother like that. I understand. But without you, we're rather… sunk."

"I know." He looked away, watching the water running over his arm.

"How about this." Tachibana lay a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful with it. I don't want you doing it more than once a game - and only if I allow it. Understand?"

Tetsu thought he could live with that. He was, after all, not unreasonable - and neither was Tachibana. If he thought it would be enough….

Tetsu nodded. "Okay."

It was a complete shock to him when Kawamura approached him after Seigaku had beaten them and asked to learn the Hadokyuu. "It's an amazing shot," the other boy said, eyes alight in a different way than his "burning" state on the court. "I'd… I'd really like to learn it, if I can."

Tetsu blinked at him, unable to hide his surprise. "I… uh… sure. I think."

Kawamura grinned sheepishly, one hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I mean, if it's not a problem. If it's a family thing, I totally understand."

"Oh, no, it's not that," Tetsu protested - although it was. "It's that, I'm not sure I'd do a good job." He hesitated. "Let me think about it. Can I call you?"

Kawamura nodded. "That'd be great." They exchanged numbers, and Ishida went to rejoin his team, who were all curious.

"What did he want?" Sakurai asked, sounding… antagonistic.

"He, uh, wants to learn the Hadokyuu," Tetsu told his partner. "He was really nice about it."

Tension drained from the team, the change obvious. "Really?" Mori asked. "I guess he could handle it; he's got the power."

"Are you sure you want to teach it to him?" Uchimura asked. "We'll go up against them again, I'm sure."

"I don't know," Tetsu admitted. "But I'm thinking about it. Because, you know, he was nice."

Kamio laughed. "You said that twice," he pointed out.

"He was!" Tetsu protested, and the rest of them laughed as well, but it wasn't embarrassing. It felt less like they were laughing at him, and more like they were sharing his surprise. They'd been looked down on for so long - over a year - it was nice to recognized as someone to be reckoned with.

"Just be careful," Tachibana said as they split up to head for home. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll think about that, too," Tetsu promised, and headed for home.

It really wasn't a hard decision, when he realized how much he respected the other player - and how seldom his brother crossed his mind these days. He was more likely to wonder how Tachibana - or Kamio or Ibu - would handle a situation, and it had been really odd when it started.

But he rarely saw Gin any more, and when he did, his brother didn't seem to notice him.

He was dialing Kawamura's number before he realized it, and they set up a time to meet on the courts the next afternoon.

That was the difference, he decided the next afternoon as he helped Kawamura understand the mechanics and everything about the Hadokyuu. Kawamura didn't look down on him even if he were a year younger; he respected Tetsu, respected his playing abilities, and no one - outside his own team - had ever done that. Not even his own family.

It was one of the most interesting feelings, walking home after that lesson - Kawamura's word, not his - to know that someone thought he was worth something.

Maybe Sakurai knew what he was talking about.

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