Stick in the Mud

Grandmother's footsteps is a children's playground game similar to 'What's the time Mr Wolf?', where players have to sneak up on Grandmother without being seen by him/her to move.

Stick in the Mud or alternatively Stuck in the Mud (used interchangeably) is another children's playground game common in the UK which is a variant of tag. One/Two/Three players are 'it' and have to tag the others. A tagged player has to stand still (as if stuck in the mud) until a free player crawls through their legs to release them. The game continues until either everyone is stuck or until general exhaustion brings an end to it.

A stick in the mud is slang for 'one who lacks initiative, imagination, or enthusiasm.'

I know these are technically British games but I don't know the Japanese equivalents. Please excuse the inconsistency.

“I thought that Oshitari-Gakuto and Momoshiro-Kaidoh might prove educational for both pairs.”

“Aa, they‘ve never played each other before,” Tezuka agreed, watching the movement behind him carefully in the window behind the desk by the wall of the common room. “I’m sorry, could we continue this tomorrow evening?”

“Tomorrow? It isn’t as if ore-sama has anything better to do,” Atobe said, though they both knew that they were just attempting to fill up the empty evenings with talk of practice matches to come. Senbatsu was a great experience during the day but in the evening, forbidden to touch their rackets and limited in their options, time dragged on.

“I appreciate your understanding,” Tezuka said, as he reached behind him and caught an errant hand just before it landed on his shoulder. There was a muffled snigger and he turned to eye the culprit with disappointment.

Fuji and Yukimura appeared to be trying to hide their giggles: Yukimura trying to extricate his hand from Tezuka’s firm grip. If he hadn’t known better, Tezuka might have guessed that they were the mischievous first years in junior high that they had been five years earlier.

All eyes were on them now. The chance to see Rikkai’s captain being dressed down by Seigaku’s captain was a rare opportunity, particularly for those who were normally in trouble themselves.

“Seiichi,” Tezuka said as quietly as possible, instinctively identifying the instigator, “is there any reason that you felt like playing ‘grandmother’s footsteps’ at Senbatsu of all places?”

Yukimura giggled, sounding nothing like the seventeen year old he was.

Tezuka stared at him blankly for a moment. Fuji hid a snicker behind his hand. Atobe was looking at the only other Hyotei player present - Oshitari - quietly playing poker around a table with Kuwahara, Tachibana and Oishi and obviously feeling grateful for Hyotei’s current responsibility.

“Yanagi-kun?” Tezuka asked, at something of a loss.

“I believe he sat with Marui-kun at dinner,” Yanagi said, looking up from his book. Sanada was making his own way over to them, detecting trouble in his team with the ease of long practice. “It’s most likely a sugar high.”

“A sugar high,” Tezuka repeated and took a deep breath. If it happened in his team, they’d be running laps but he wasn’t sure that would work in this case. “At Rikkai, what would you normally do in this situation?”

“With Seiichi on a sugar high? Send him to practice on the ball machines for as long as it takes to wear him out.”

With the racket ban in operation - their coaches knowing exactly how much rest would happen if it wasn’t - that wasn’t an option.

“We’re allowed at the gym at this time, correct?”

“If you think I’m going to the gym, Kunimitsu, you have another thing coming,” Yukimura said, all trace of humour fading.

“It reminds him of rehabiliation,” Sanada said, placing a hand on Yukimura’s shoulder. Tezuka wasn’t entirely sure if it was meant as reassurance or to keep him there.

There was nothing else for it.

Tezuka stood up, grateful that he hadn’t bothered to change out of his tracksuit.

“Sanada, I’ll need all Seigaku and Rikkai players outside on the grass in ten minutes for . . .a fitness exercise, please. Anyone else is welcome to join us.”

Sanada looked at him for a moment, then sighed as Yukimura started bouncing again and moved to gather the rest. Atobe looked on with amusement.

“This might be interesting,” he said. “I’ll come and supervise.”

Tezuka paused, looked at him and raised an eyebrow before moving out without comment.

Ten minutes later he had twenty boys facing him expectantly.

“We’re going to play stuck-in-the-mud,” he said, proud that his voice was completely level. “Yukimura, Sanada and I are it. The playing area is the grass area here. Atobe, please send anyone slacking to do laps - no deliberately getting caught.”

“Stuck in the mad, actually,” Tezuka said, pushing his glasses up his nose as he felt the beginning of a headache coming on. “Given what you were doing, I don’t think you’re in any position to object.”

He got the feeling that Yukimura was laughing at him.

“You have ten seconds to get moving!” he called and the boys scattered. They were casting doubtful looks his way but at least they were obeying.

“That was the best you could come up with by way of deterrent from bothering you?” Atobe asked, as Yukimura bounded off in pursuit of Echizen, who looked less than enthusiastic to be dragged away from his GameBoy for a children’s game. "No wonder Seigaku is so erratic."

Tezuka looked at Yukimura’s flushed cheeks and apparently endless energy.

“Would you want to share a room with that?” he asked and headed off after Kirihara.

Half an hour later, they were sprawled in exhaustion over the damp grass. Tezuka leaned back on his hands, breathing heavily, aware that his trousers were going to be wet when he stood up. Yukimura was lying with his head in Tezuka’s lap, looking up at him with laughing eyes.

“I have to say that when you started planning to wear me out, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind,” he said with a laugh. Distracted, Tezuka brushed a stray lock of hair out of Yukimura’s eyes.

“What were you expecting?”

Tezuka flushed and Yukimura laughed again.

“You’re still such an innocent sometimes but I think I‘ll forgive you. I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen Sanada play tag before. We even managed to drag Atobe in.”

Tezuka smiled.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Shall we head upstairs now?”

His boyfriend was out of his lap in a flash and searching for his second in command.

“Genichirou!” he called, spotting him sitting with Atobe, eyeing Niou and Fuji with suspicion. “We’re going to bed. Keep an eye on things for us here, will you?”

Sanada looked as if he would rather not know but raised an arm in assent as Yukimura towed Tezuka back towards the building by the hand.