Title: Pickled Mangoes
Author: shiroirukaze
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis does not belong to me
A/N: Based on Fuji's exotic taste in food. Reviews are much appreciated. Thanx for reading and reviewing. Pickled mangoes are not really that sour, unless you have the misfortune to eat the young, unripe mangoes. An error occured when I first submitted my entry, many apologies for the error.
"Itadakimasu!" Momoshiro said before biting off a big slice of the tuna bun. A grin spread across his face as he devoured the whole bun. Eiji stared at his junior who is famous for his big appetite and sighed.
"You really can eat a lot, ne Momo-chan."
"Don't mind Momoshiro, Eiji. Here, take one of my tempura prawns." Oishi transferred the batter-fried prawns from his lunch box into Eiji's. Immediately the acrobatic player's face lit up and licked his lips upon seeing one of his favorite dishes.
"Ah! Tempura prawns!" Momoshiro cried, hurried over to Eiji's side and peered into his senpai's lunch box. Eiji quickly lifted up his lunch box high above his head so that Momoshiro couldn't steal any of his food.
"Nya Momo-chan! You have enough buns to satisfy your hunger." Eiji scowled at Momoshiro and then stared at the pile of buns lying on the ground beside Fuji.
"I wasn't going to steal any of your food, Eiji-senpai. There's no need to lift your lunch box so high. I just want to have a look what's in it." Momoshiro walked back to his place while Inui noted everything down in his notebook.
Fuji just smiled at Eiji and Momoshiro, amused by the antics of his teammates. He rolled up his sandwich plastic coverings into a ball and made a mental note to throw them into the recycling bin later. From his lunch bag, he took out a transparent container and opened it. A sweet-sour smell wafted into the air, drawing the rest of the group's attention.
"What is that, Fuji-senpai?" Momoshiro asked, eyeing the yellowish-greenish thin slices inside the container with apprehension.
"It looks like some kind of fruit." Oishi said.
"Oishi is right. There is a 75 that those are pickled mangoes. Am I right, Fuji?" Inui pushed up his glasses, waiting for an answer to confirm his data.
"Hmm…You are right, Inui. Yuuta's friend from Yokohoma bought these at the Chinatown market. He said it's good for cooling down the body during hot days. Want to try some?" A wider grin appeared on Fuji's face as he offered his teammates the delicacy.
"Pickled mangoes? Nya won't it tastes sour and salty?" Eiji asked with a horrified look. Momoshiro gulped and Oishi had a look he was thinking twice about trying. Only Inui remained calm (but we can't tell what he was thinking behind those thick lenses).
"Don't worry. I am sure and there is a probability of 95 that the main ingredient to preserve the fruits is sugar, not salt." Inui's words were greeted by sighs of relief from Oishi and Momoshiro while Eiji was the first to try it. He dropped a slice into his mouth, chewed and grinned happily at the sweet taste.
Seeing Eiji happily eating the fruit and sensing no harm in trying, both Oishi and Momoshiro took a slice each. Their eyes widened as they too enjoyed the sweet succulent fruit. Then, they heard the most horrible sound ever from Eiji. Green in the face and was shaking his head wildly, Eiji screamed, "Sour! Sour!" before falling to the ground, unconscious.
"Eiji!" Oishi rushed over to his doubles partner and opening his eyes feebly, Eiji rolled out his tongue and made a gagging sound. Terrified, Momoshiro stared at Eiji with fear in his eyes and when he turned to face Fuji, the tensai was smiling happily. Realizing that he was chewing the fruit earlier, he tried to remove the fruit from his mouth but it was too late. He swallowed it! Soon the sour taste overwhelmed his entire mouth and his taste buds went berserk. It was so sour that tears welled up in his eyes and slowly darkness grew all around him. He couldn't open his eyes at all.
"Momoshiro! Hold on!" A voice called out to him but it was growing fainter and finally he couldn't hear anything at all. Over the other side, the sourness overwhelmed Oishi and as he watched his junior fell to the ground, he too fainted.
"This is good data." Inui said, standing behind Fuji while watching the three of the Seigaku players dropped to the ground one-by-one.
"Ne Inui, if you are wondering how sour the fruit is, you can try one too. It is good information for your data." Fuji offered the last piece of the yellowish-greenish fruit to the data man with a smile.
"No, thank you. My data is complete." Inui replied, walking away.
"Too bad then because it is delicious." Fuji popped the last piece into his mouth and chewed happily, following Inui back to class.