Cimorene

i have a difficult time looking at yanagi and not seeing the inui/yanagi

Exactly. I was thinking the other day that we see so much of Inui outside of the 122-23 match that you have a lot more wiggle-room with him as far as shipping goes. But Renji's characterization is developed almost exclusively through his match with Inui and their shared history. And so it's hard to separate Renji from that, in my mind, and I don't really want to. :P

Yeah, I always have gotten the impression that, even when they were wee, Renji was always one step ahead. In the manga, he acknowledges that he's the one who taught Inui all the data tennis strategies in the first place, so it's like maybe his perspective on other things was wiser, too, and he could see below the friendship on the surface.

slk;fdsaklf;fsal I love their match so much. In the manga, Renji says, "Just once, I'd like to play against you until my heart is content," and I think that really fits with what you're saying about the singles played by opponents vs. doubles played by partners. It's a whole different expression of feelings between them, even more emotionally charged than their perfect cooperation while on the same side of the net. (Eee, I am excited for you to read the Rikkai arc in the manga. So good. *___*)