Chapter Text
Vasily met Ogata Hyakunosuke for the first time at the tennis tournament, Future Tour, Moscow.
Vasily, despite being a rookie with only one year of international competition experience, has been playing tennis for a long time. He held the racket since elementary school until it almost became one part of his body. Moreover, he's also the winner of the national youth competition with a refined experience from a young age. To be honest, Vasily was pretty confident of his skills.
But his competitor seemed quite unusual as well. Although there was no confirmation about how good Ogata was, Vasily's instincts somehow confirmed that easily.
Vasily's sharp eyes fixed on that Japanese guy. The man was the same age as him, but Ogata was shorter than Vasily and his physical potential didn't seem to be higher than the average professional tennis player, but Ogata's calmness clearly told about the professionalism he has. Vasily narrowed his eyes. The blue eyes met the black eyes for a moment.
Then the game started.
The Russian threw a tennis ball into the air. Vasily served in the first game. And most of the time, many players had an advantage in the service game. Vasily's serving was heavy and fast. It was one of the main weapons that helped him win countless times. But even so, Ogata continued to deal with it calmly.
Vasily's eyes widened slightly. Ogata wasn't outstanding in terms of strength and speed. There was no way he could even run to get the ball in the first place. But it was because he could predict Vasily's move from his gesture and he ran to hit the ball at the point where Vasily was aiming. The result ended up like that.
Even if it's only for a second, Vasily suddenly saw a smirk appear on Ogata's face. The Russian quickly responded to the ball with a grin on his face too. The sound of the ball hitting the court echoed for a long time. They played with each other closely for three hours. Both of them were exhausted and made obvious small mistakes.
But then it was Ogata who used a drop shot in the last game. Vasily, who was unable to catch up, watched the ball hit directly at the court and slowly bounced over his body.
"Game, set, match, Ogata, 6-4, 5-7,11-9."
The umpire announced the winner's name with a score. It was that time Vasily heard the loud cheers for the first time. In the final game of the competition, both he and Ogata were so focused on the court that they didn't care about their surroundings. There were no fans, no referee, only him and Ogata who were trying to defeat each other with all their willpower.
But then it was Ogata who defeated him in their last set. Vasily forced himself to walk to the front of the net to shake hands with Ogata. The Japanese player still breathed in exhaustion. His body was drenched in sweat, and when they stayed close to each other, shaking hands. Vasily noticed that the Ogata's legs were trembling to the point that they could barely stand, even though just a moment ago that black hair guy could run and hit the ball with a face that seemed to be fine. Seriously, Ogata deserved a Nika award or Oscar award or whatever awards they are.
The two of them shook hands. During that time Vasily mumbled his gratitude in English softly, Actually, he greatly hated losing but even so, this is one of the best and most challenging games he has ever participated in. Even if he lost, it was really fun.
"Thank you for the match."
"It was fun," Ogata replied in English while gasping for a breath. And this was the first time Vasily had seen some glimpse of emotion mixed in those darkest black eyes. It was the same feeling Vasily felt during the match against Ogata back then. Fun, exciting, and satisfying. They were both satisfied with everything that had happened in the court between them.
"я надеюсь увидеть вас снова, ася."
Ogata switched from English to Russian. Despite how exhausted his body was, he still managed to wink mischievously at Vasily before turning back and dragging his legs to the resting bench. He gathered his belongings while Vasily just let himself hold his hand out in midair for a while, freezing like a stone from the effect of that wink. Various feelings rushed into his chest.
Finally, Vasily stumbled back to his bench in a daze. A scorching heat spread all over his face. It was a little surprising that his Japanese competitor was able to speak Russian. But what was even more surprising was that Ogata knew his nickname too and Vasily just really liked it when his nickname came out from Ogata's mouth and tongue.
The most surprising, however, was how much he found himself looking forward to playing against Ogata again and again. The Russian glanced at the bench at the opposite side after trying his best to prepare himself to ask for Ogata's number, but there was no sign of Ogata and his racket bag anymore.
Vasily felt a little mad and upset at the same time. He cursed under his breath. If that was just a normal polite conversation, why did that guy make it look special with his wink and his teasing tone? Vasily couldn't understand his intention anymore.
In the end, he could only put his belongings in his bag and walked out from the court to join Coach Ilya who was waiting outside. The middle-aged man saw Vasily's grumpy face and offered consolation as they walked away from the venue together.
"Come on, as long as Ogata is playing tennis. You always have a chance to get revenge on him."
Ilya's words reminded Vasily of what Ogata had said in the court. He finally understood.
"Thank you. Ilusha. That helped a lot."
"I told you not to call me that. Maybe pay more respect to your coach?" Ilya argued, exhausted. Vasily laughed while walking away with Ilya in a different mood. Ogata's final words are still echoed in his head.
I hope to see you again, Vasya.
As long as Ogata is still playing tennis, they will meet again, and although he knew little about Ogata, Vasily was confident that Ogata clearly loves tennis. Despite how mysterious he was, the sparkle in Ogata's eyes that he saw at close range couldn't be ignored. It was strong evidence that told him Ogata would never give up on tennis.
Therefore, they will definitely meet again.
..............