—Grayson
"Point" Joseph muttered once more, the holographic screen was now displaying [2/5]
"I almost slipppedddd…." Reynold muttered in annoyance as I could only give a wry laugh, it was a short exchange. But I've seen enough. They were rusty, but they were definitely improving. like a perfect animal adapting, like SCP-682, the hard to destroy reptile.
They complimented each other in ways that seemed uncanny, Ray was reading everything, every habit, every move, everything, yet he played with aggression, on the other hand, Robert who was the famous Detective R with a form of foresight was extremely passive.
Tak
I served, as Reynold got into position, her footwork still needed a lot of improvement, it was never a problem when she had her monstrous inhuman strength, but right now—She did not
"Woah." She exclaimed as she stumbled almost losing her balance, and as a good partner. I covered
Pak
Not a thunderous smash, but a low fast drive that skimmed through the net, in badminton terms they'd call this a Drive.
Tak
Robert lunged, his racket barely connecting, the shuttle arced forward, a weak defensive clear.
"Thanks Gray" Reynold said as she had finally regained her balance, the entire exchange had only lasted 3 seconds after all.
SMASHHHHH
Ray had jumped, his racket already swinging, his eyes focused on the shuttle as if he could already see the trajectory of the shuttle, he wasn't exactly reading badminton, it was more like he was reading the people.
Tak
A Badminton player reads racket angles, body positioning, timing—Ray reads habit, patterns, choices, every Rally his eyes only looked at the shuttle for a fraction of a second before locking his eyes into us.
Collecting Information, Adapting, Improving.
Not their badminton skills, those were still extremely rusty, it was their decision making
Tak
Again Reynold moved first, Too aggressively, without her demihuman physique, she couldn't recover as quickly.
"WOah—" She stumbled again. I stepped across immediately. Covering
Pak
I played a tight net shot, low in power, but extremely close to the net.
"FUCK"
Tak
Crash
Robert lunge forward, The lift is short, An Opportunity. Yet before I could move—
SMASHHHHHH
Ray was already airborne, for a moment I froze. Not because of the smash, I've seen better, but his eyes. They weren't looking at the shuttle, they were looking at us
"Point" Joseph said once more, the holographic screen displayed [3/5]
"HeH 50 year champion? I'm going to take that title from you now bud" Ray said as he gave me our usual banter, it was funny, I should be laughing. Yet I wasn't, instead my eyes locked into Ray's
Right. If I keep on treating this as a warm up match, I have a feeling I'll regret it.
—Joseph
"Point" I said as the holographic screen displayed [3/5], Oh this shit was bound to be good streaming material—Hmmm? Grayson froze, it wasn't something that noticeable, but I've known the bastard for centuries
"Hey Joseph, why did Grayson froze right there?" Gaby asked me, yet it entered through my right ear and left through my left ear. I was too focused on his face. Ray said something, I couldn't hear what he said but it was obviously our usual banter.
"Joseph?" Gaby urge once more as she tapped my shoulder, "Yeah? Sorry I didn't catch that" I said as I gave her a curious look, "Why did Grayson froze right there?" She asked me her red eyes curious, her left arm still squeezing hers.
"He's no longer seeing this as a warm up match." I answered with a grin, Gaby looked rather confused, I mean that was to be expected, she never treated badminton seriously even before The Change.
"Well you'll see." I said right on time as—Tak It was Robert who served this time, with a smile but almost instantaneously—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
"Point." The holographic screen displayed [3/6] this time, the rally had ended instantly in the corner of my eye I could hear Gaby flinched before she tugged the hem of my shirt,
"Uh… is Grayson mad?" She asked her voice still slightly startled, HeH to think the second in command of Aurelion's Party was scared by a badminton player.
"No, he's just taking this a tad bit more serious then before"
"This was a tad bit more serious?!?!?!" She exclaimed
"If you've seen his matches in the tournaments, you'd be surprised."
"Right, focus back on the match, you're about to see a master at work" I said as she returned her eyes to the match.
Tak
This time Robert served low.
Tak
Reynold pushed the return flat
Tak Tak Tak
A quick drive exchanged followed suit, no lifts, no clears. Just Raw Speed
Then Ray moved, not towards the shuttle, towards the Reynold. More specifically, where she wanted to move into.
Pak
His racket intercepted the next drive early, The shuttle plunged downward, Reynold barely dugged it up. A weak lift. An Opportunity—Yet.
BOOOOMM
Ray was already in the air, the smash tore through the air towards Reynold's backhand side. A kill shot, it should've been a Kill shot. I was about to say 'Point' but with speed that shouldn't have been possible for a normal human.
SMASH
A blur, no, it was Grayson. Somehoe he had already moved, his racket face absorbed the smash cleanly, the shuttle losing almost of its pace before tumbling back over the net. A Block. Simple. Efficient. Terrifying.
"Huh?!?!"
"Woah?!?" Gaby exclaimed as I realized I had just stood up, it was just that surprising, because Grayson didn't just returned the smash. He returned it exactly where Ray didn't want it
Front Court. Tight. Tumbling. Forcing Ray to sprint forward.
Tak
Ray reached it, late, His net shot sat slightly too high.
And Grayson immediately saw it
Pak
A fast push, Not a smash, Not a winner, Just a A push towards the empty middle, forcing Robert to move.
Tak
Robert reached it, barely as the shuttle floated upwardly again. Not high enough for a full smash, Not low enough to attack comfortably. An awkward ball. Exactly the kind Grayson wanted. He was.
"Setting the tempo huh." Gaby muttered her mouth slightly agape even someone who barely played badminton noticed it.
"That's why he's the 50 year champion of badminton."
Tak
The shuttle descended once more, Grayson could've smashed it, but he didn't. Instead he played a steep half smash
Fast. Sharp. But controlled
The shuttle moved down towards Robert's right hip, one of the most annoying places to defend
Tak
Somehow Robert got his racket behind it, instincts? Perhaps.
The return floated upwards again.
Not a lift, Not a drive. It was a Desperate block.
Pak
Yet Grayson was already there, with no hesitation, no wasted movement, every muscle moved with just the right amount of power without wasting extra precious energy. then a straight dive.
Tak
It was intercepted by Ray.
Tak
Reynold followed.
Tak Tak Tak Tak
The pace exploded and for a few seconds it stayed that way. Nobody lifted, Nobody cleared, Nobody backed away. Just pure doubles. Flat. Fast. Violent. Until—BOOOOOMMM
"Point." The score showed [3/6]
—Grayson
"Point" Joseph muttered once more, the score now showed [3/6]
Their points had stayed the same for a while. yet something felt wrong. No. Something felt Right. I twirled my racket once, then twice watching them.
Ray rolled his shoulder as Robert adjusted his grip. Neither of them spoke, not a single word. Yet somehow they moved like they were one. It wasn't like this at first. They were messy, wrong.
Ray overcommitting, Robert reacting a tad to late, it was inevitable, one relied on 'envisioning' the other on 'foresight' powers that were currently sealed. but now? It was different. Subtle. Small. The sort of things normal people wouldn't notice.
Which I'm not.
Tak Tak
It happened again. Ray was beginning to cover Robert's weaknesses before they even appeared.
Tak
And Robert began to trust Ray enough to stop forcing plays. The result? It was Simple. Every Rally lasted a little bit longer then usual. Every Exchange a little cleaner then before. Every decision becoming a little bit faster then before.
Adapting? No. Chemistry
Tak
The kind that couldn't be taught. The kind that couldn't be gained in a day. The kind that had to be built. Slowly. Brick by Brick. Through Years. Decades. Centuries. My eyes drifted towards Ray, then towards Robert and for a moment, 2 figures seemed to overlap with them.
2 Figures I used to admire before The Change.
One was aggressive
One was reactive
One constantly applying pressure. The other constantly allowing it.
Different styles. Different Strengths. yet they were like brothers. Brothers for life. with a bond that could never be explained nor taught.
Tak
Kim Won Ho.
Seo Seung Jae.
Even after humans gained immortality. They refused, stating they want to life and die like a normal human being. Obviously they weren't as good, it would've been an insult to compare them to those two.
BOOOOOMMM Pak
Their footwork was rusty. Their rotations inefficient. The shots they picked had obvious flaws. But it was there. The Chemistry. And that was the scary part. Skills could be trained. Techniques could be honed. Muscles could be built.
But Chemistry?
Tak
That was different. Even if you trained with the same partner for eons. The chances of you having great Chemistry isn't guaranteed. Which is why. It was even rarer. for every Rally was making it stronger then ever.
BOOOOMMM
"Point." Joseph's point could be heard once more. The Holographic screen now showed [4/6]
I see. I get it now. So that's how it is. That's how it should be. That's how—
—?? —?!?! —?!?! Son—?!?!?
"Grayson?!? You good bud?" Reynold's shaking shook me out of the daze, at a glance I could see everyone looking at me with worried, the drone was turned off. Right. They were also my friends. I was with them at one point of my life.
"HeH. Nothing. I thought I saw something." I said with a smile.
—Joseph
"HeH. Nothing. I thought I saw something." Grayson said with a smile, for a moment he suddenly stopped moving for a few seconds, it was just a few seconds, but he was the 50 year champion of badminton, and for him to stop means something.
"Should we continue things?" I asked once more before the others just nodded, at the same time, Francis activated the drone again as I took my seat right beside both Gaby and Francis, and the match started once more.
Tak Tak Tak Tak
Another Rally.
Tak
Another Exchange.
The score changed. and changed again. at some point I stopped paying attention to it. That was weird. I always paid attention to the score.
Tak
Again Ray moved forward, Robert shifted back. No words.
Tak
Robert covered the middle, Ray attacked the opening.
No Signal, No discussion. Nothing. Yet it was working. Somehow
Again.
and again.
and again.
"Huh."
"You good?" Francis suddenly asked yet I didn't answer immediately. Because for a second—I could've swore I've seen this before. Not the badminton, Not the shots, Not even the chemistry. Just…
Them
The way Ray laughed whenever Robert made a good play, The way Robert no longer looked back when the shuttle reached a spot he couldn't cover. The way the both of them didn't need to say a single word. It reminded me of something.
Tak
Something even before The Change
Back when Fiction hadn't bled to reality. Back when we were just idiots doing University. For a moment I looked around. Ray. Reynold. Robert. Francis. Grayson. and those 2 who were once one. We were still here even after everything.
Pak
Somehow.
Maybe that's why Grayson froze earlier because for a moment—It felt like nothing had changed.
Tak
The shuttle flew across the court once more.
BOOOOMMM Tak Pak Tak
Right—Just like the good old days.