I love you for this, you know.

My god, you've captured Oshitari's manipulative spirit. Nibbling and working at Atobe little by little...his interest in Shishido suddenly backs up Atobe's strange behavioral loops of fancy when it comes to getting the Silver Pair to BECOME the Silver Pair.

His constant scrutinizing of the situation...struggling and obsessing over the whys and hows of Hyotei's continual losses, and then figuring out that passion was the key...that's so like him. And this line here?

/Once again, Hyoutei lost. Oshitari found himself trembling, ever so slightly.

He was not a passionate person. Until now, he had never wanted to be. But watching them, he wanted to feel that drive towards victory, at least a little bit./

My god, this heralds his performance against Momoshiro in the National arc. Oshitari's a genius of tennis, like Fuji. However, like Fuji, he's disabled in a way that he can't give his absolute all into a match...until he's spurred on and inspired by watching another person's 120% passion. This was an awesome oneshot and it seamlessly, deliciously fits into canon even without "Out of Defeat" as a companionship.

Meanwhile, Atobe's small limelight of dialogue totally wins. His declarations of them all being permanent members...his shrewdness is finally coming through, and I think he finally sees what Oshitari sees. In a way, haven't we all assumed that Oshitari was someone, if anyone, Atobe would've conferred to in tennis matters? And the next line...

/Besides, wasn’t the National Tournament scheduled to be in Tokyo this year? He would have to look into it…/

I totally love you right now. Have I mentioned this is a kickass canon companion fic? Because it is. It really is.

BWAHAHAHA! This made me laugh! Everything that Atobe said! It explained exactly who he was! He is a super hypocrite!

I am sad to see this story go! I never want it to end! but it has such a good ending!

:heart: I love it!


HSWT

Awesome a usual XD

I really love how you write Hyotei. The way you write about their team makes a whole lot of sense... You make them seem more like a team than just merely a group of tennis players who all just follow Atobe along the way... Again, good job. :D

This was definitely some good insight into Oshitari and his character. I've always wondered if he was the scheming type. Guess I was only half right lol. Anyways, the ending was left open enough for a sequel. =D Well, hope to see more works from you!