Perception

Title: Perception

Rating: M, nothing explicit, mentions of yaoi and shounen-ai (and sex... but we're all big kids now! ..Right?).

Pairings: Shinji/Ryoma, Momo/Ryo, Inui/Renji, onsided Kaidoh/Inui, Momo/Kaidoh, Golden Pair, Golden Pair/Ryoma comfort, mention of Tezu/Fuji in this chapter. Eventual Kevin/Ryoma.

Summary: Kevin Smith wonders why Echizen Ryoma cares so much about Karupin. Starts out with some background info stories.

Timeline: First part (mainly, this chapter) starts from somewhere between when Seigaku played against Fudomine and St. Rudolph. The rest of the timeline will be provided at the end of the chapter!

A/N: My first fanfic! I got this idea from reading Akkiko's 'Free Fall' and 'Landing' (mostly from 'Free Fall'), but I'm not totally stealing her plot.. I hope. To be truthful, I haven't had this idea for very long, but I've been wanting to put it into words. I just have a problem with continuing any fics I start, so I apologize ahead of time if I don't update this. I will try though! The first part won't have much dialogue except for the flashbacks. I'll try to incorporate some action that's missing from this chapter into the later ones.

I am not a character or pairing basher. Honest! Okay, so I don't really like Momo/Ryo or Tezu/Fuji, but I'm not bashing! I'm sorry to Fuji fans because I will be making him sort of the antagonist in the next (few?) chapter(s), but it won't be for long.

...Really!!

Points to anyone who notices the name trend. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. I do not own the bishounen tennis team. I only own Makoto Shizu. And maybe the Ishigawa Cinema. But that belongs in Japan (if it even exists XD), so I guess I don't own that either.

All the people Ibu Shinji (also owned by Konomi Takeshi) mentions in his rant also belong to Konomi Takeshi (yes, they are actual characters). I own only my own original characters.

And as mentioned above in notes, this plot was borne from Akkiko's fics, so I suppose that should go in the disclaimer too?

Echizen Ryoma knew and understood more than he let on. Being the type of person who doesn't blackmail – unless he benefitted from it – he merely stored away the miscellaneous information. Things like Kaidoh-senpai's furtive glances at Inui-senpai, or Momo-senpai getting into more and more fights with his viper rival. From the small things like Kikumaru-senpai always seeming cheerier around Oishi-senpai, to the more noticeable things such as Inui-senpai receiving calls and messages during practice and Buchou's face showing something other than its normal stoic features when he was alone (or so they thought) with Fuji-senpai.

He sees the way Momo-senpai looks at him the same way he looks at Kaidoh-senpai, or maybe the way he looks at the new tennis shoes he's always wanted. He knows Momo-senpai likes him the way Kaidoh-senpai likes Inui-senpai, like how Inui-senpai always seems more than cozy around Yanagi Renji-senpai. Echizen knows this, yet he can't help but like Momo-senpai back, because he has no one else. He comforts Momo-senpai and is by his side until the day Kaidoh-senpai has the courage to ask Inui-senpai, only to be rejected. He still supports Momo-senpai after that.

Oishi-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai comfort him briefly after the break up. Echizen wasn't supposed to cry though. Echizen never cries. Except for the time when Karupin was lost, but even then he was only "close" to crying.

He cried.

Oishi Shuichiro, being the mother hen of the tennis club, was perceptive by nature. He sees the way Momoshiro and Kaidoh act around each other He sees the way Kaidoh looks longingly at Inui, who's already taken.

Oishi is worried. He worries for their Ochibi's health after his break up with Momoshiro. He and Eiji take Echizen to the new amusement park that opened a few weeks ago (Eiji said he had been saving the free tickets for a special occasion; Oishi didn't know to laugh at that idea or to kiss his boyfriend for being so smart) to cheer him up. He still remembers what happened after that.

Oishi didn't know to think if it was good that Echizen was strong not to cry, or if he just didn't love Momoshiro enough to cry. He figures it's the former, because the young prodigy was really miserable. Even his tennis affected, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

After all, Echizen Ryoma was never service aced while playing left-handed against Eiji.

Kikumaru Eiji remembers that day too. Ochibi seemed more tense than usual, but he doesn't snap like he does when he's tense. He barely spoke, and when he did, it would only be one to three word replies. He sounded strained, but with such short replies, they couldn't really tell. Well, Eiji couldn't tell. He couldn't tell if Ochibi was hurting. He only knew that he was hurt because Shuichiro told him. When he thought about how he would feel if Shuichiro decided to break up with him for someone else, he felt sad too. Sad and hurt, but, he thought it would have meant that Shuichiro had found someone who could make him happy(er).

Not that it would ever happen. The golden pair reassured each other about that often in various, subtle ways. But he knew that if he and Shuichiro were to break up, they would have very good reasons why. They promised each other not to be too said if it ever happened.

That's what Eiji thought Ochibi and Momo-chan had done. That perhaps Momo had told Ochibi not to cry.

He was wrong.

"Nya, Ochibi, aren't you sad?"

"..Hah?" Echizen had looked shocked and surprised at the question. He didn't seem to have been paying attention to the conversation until now.

"Hoi.. you and Momo-chan just broke up. How come you're not crying? My sisters always lock themselves together in a room and use up al the issues then their boyfriends break up with them." Eiji recalled, hands clasped lazily behind his head. The three of them – him, Ochibi, and Oishi – were in Ochibi's room after the amusement park. A strange monk had ushered all three of them upstairs without an explanation, only the words, "Dig that gaki out of his pit of despair already, god dammit!"

Ochibi had opened the door – after the monk slammed it shut – and initiaited a shouting match with the strange man he referred to as – disrespectfully, Oishi noted – 'oyaji'.

Now they had closed the door again and were sitting on the edge of Echizen's bed with the boy in the middle, hugging his knees.

"Eiji-senpai Why would I cry if I'm not sad?"

Kikumaru didn't know what to say. He knew Ochibi was sad, but didn't want to force it out of him. Shuichiro knew, though.

"You can cry because you're happy for Momo.."

As soon as the sentence was out, the young prodigy had buried himself in Eiji's side, crying silently. Eiji wrapped his arms around the boy's small form and started crying at the sight of a saddened Ochibi.

Pretty soon, all of them had wet streaks down their face. Oishi was crying out of sympathy for his boyfriend and kouhai. Eiji was crying for Ochibi, and then because he had looked at Oishi to see him crying as well.

Ryoma was crying, not because he was sad, but because he had realized how lucky he was to have such caring and understanding senpai.

Really. That was the only reason. And maybe because he was happy for Momo.

After that, the Golden Pair left a sleeping Echizen Ryoma with Karupin and left. The monk thanked them as they left, and Eiji was starting to tear up again. He didn't, though. He refused to cry in front of the great Echizen Nanjiroh and Ryoma's father.

Echizen Rinko smiled gratefully from behind her husband while consoling a sniffling Nanako. They were all smiling though, so they were at least happy.

When practice rolled around in two days, Ochibi was Ochibi again. Kawamura, Momo, and Kaidoh were relieved – they couldn't stand seeing a sad Echizen (though he hid his feelings well). Tezuka claimed he was only glad because his Pillar was performing well again. Inui was gathering more data as usual. And Fuji.. was smiling. Like usual.

But he seemed happy, so it couldn't have been a bad thing.

Echizen Ryoma's first crush was actually someone he had known since he was little. They weren't officially together; that statement just sort of hung in the air. That is, until Ryoma found the girl laughing and joking with another group of boys. She didn't even look guilty when she saw him; she just invited him to join the group. She didn't act like someone who had been caught 'cheating' on her 'boyfriend'.

He remembered that day, not because it was mushy or gushy or filled with confessions, but for another reason.

He remembered because he had found out that he wasn't as straight as he thought.

"Hey there, boy," one of the girl's friends called out when the 12-year-old Ryoma reached the group.

"Ne, he's pretty cute. You sure he's a boy?"

"Saa," The girl stated with a sly smile. Ryoma felt a sting in his heart. He didn't know why. Maybe because she seemed to be agreeing.

The tallest of them sauntered up to the boy wonder and circled him like a hawk, smirking coyly.

"So you're the one who managed to haul in our little one here..?"

Ryoma's reply was quick and sharp and said without a second thought at the moment. "No. Not anymore."

He turned to the girl, ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from the other boys. "I just came to tell you that we're moving. To Miami, Florida."

"..Aa..."

And he left without looking back, scowling thoughtfully.

A week after they moved, he turned on the TV to see something interesting on the tennis channel.

"--done it again! 12-year-old Makoto Shizu does it again! He has won the American Junior tournament for the third time in a row--!"

Ryoma had watched long enough to burn the image of the girl - no, guy - into his mind before the blackout hit his section of town.

He told his oyaji he wanted to enter the American Junior, but by then, Makoto Shizu had already moved to Japan. Nevertheless, Ryoma kept entering until he had won 4 tournaments in a row, breaking Makoto Shizu's previous record of 3 tournaments in a row.

Echizen Nanjiroh was proud of his son. He was nowhere near his level yet, but he was getting there. All he needed was inspiration to keep going. He decided it was time to move to Japan to find some better players to help his son improve.

Ryoma realized that the girl he had a crush on was actually the boy named Makoto Shizu.

Ryoma's first relationship was with Momoshiro Takeshi. It had only lasted a few weeks (a month at most) before his senpai left for Kaidoh-senpai.

His first kiss had been with Ibu Shinji, the second year from Fudomine. They had finished a game on one of the street courts, having been meeting routinely every two days, and were resting on the benches when Ibu started mumbling his train of thought again.

At first, Echizen put up with it. At first, he only mumbled about what his mother might be making for dinner, or about a new tennis move he wanted to work on. Echizen even heard him mumbling about his homework once (Ryoma had offered a study date at Ibu's house since both of them seemed to be learning roughly the same material). That time, though, he was going on and on about the upcoming school dance and who he should go with.

Ryoma was staring. He knew that.

There was something about Ibu Shinji that made him want to look at him. Maybe it was his strange hair color. Maybe it was the eyes that sorta matched his hair but didn't... but it did. And didn't. At the same time. Weird.

Maybe it was the way the boy spoke. He mostly mumbled in a monotonous tone, sorta like Inui-senpai (the tone, not the mumbling). Except Inui-senpai actually sounded excited when he talked about this new Inui Juice Silver Redux Version 3.5, or about his improved combination Katakuchi no Iwashimizu Penal Tea (1). Ibu Shinji just looked.. bored. Except when they played tennis; then he looked annoyed. And sometimes he would look like he was having fun, but mostly annoyed. Now, he was just looking at the tennis ball in his hand almost hypnotically.

He was still staring (observing!) when the other boy started mumbling. (Again.)

"Hen na... Echizen-kun uses Slazenger. I use Penn. Why? Maybe Slazenger is better than Penn..? They look about the same. I've heard that Slazenger has less fuzz.. Tachibana-buchou uses Slazenger, too. Maybe it is better. I should probably buy some then. Hmm... the school dance is coming up."

If Echizen was interested at what might have brought this random thought, he didn't show it, and continued drinking from his can of Ponta.

"I wonder who I should ask. Akira-kun has asked An-chan. He always asks her. Masaya-kun and Tetsu-kun will be out of town then.. Kyousuke-kun and Tatsunori-kun are going with the Yatsuda twins from homeroom.. Tachibana-buchou will probably go with that brunnete who keeps fawning over him. Maybe I should ask that one red-headed girl from science. I can't remember her name... but she reminds me of Echizen-kun," - here, the child prodigy almost choked at being compared to a girl (Again!) - "They're both short and stubborn.. But she's way too clingy. No, I won't ask her. Maybe I should ask Echizen-kun.. Iie, he's not even from the same school. The rules don't say anything about bringing people from other schools though.. Echizen-kun."

Echizen didn't reply. He wasn't paying attention, but was in fact thinking about how annoying it was being compared to a girl all the time. Then again, he had thought that boy he used to like was a girl...

"Echizen-kun." Ibu repeats, a bit louder.

Nothing. Echizen probably mistook it for Ibu's mumbling.

The violet-haired player leaned over to nudge the other with his elbow and succeeds in getting his attention. Echizen snaps his head to the side to look at Ibu before the other boy loses his balance and falls, catching himself just before he completely squashes the younger boy.

Even at such a close proximity, Echizen Ryoma shows no weakness - excluding the marginal widening (approximately 3.3 mm) of the eyes and the brief glance (aproximately .47 seconds) at Ibu's mouth. He only remained in his position, making no move to get the other boy off of him.

"What?"

Somewhat perplexed at his lack of embarrassment, Ibu continued on. "I was wondering if Echizen-kun would like to attend the Fudomine school dance with me next week."

7.6 seconds of staring later, Echizen leans forward (up?) and presses his mouth against Ibu's in a chaste kiss, which Ibu accepts and returns gently (after .34 seconds). Both of their eyes flutter closed at the same time.

It lasted 6.3 seconds, and Echizen is the first to break away, not for breath, but to reply.

"I'm not a girl."

"Hm. You could dress as one."

Echizen snorts and pushes the other boy off of him gently. "Yadda."

"School dances aren't meant for two guys to go together though." Ibu states, leaning over to pick up the tennis ball he dropped. "What a stupid rule. Tennis doubles are played by two guys, except for mixed doubles. Guys usually pair up for school projects too. Why can't two guys go to a school dance together then? It's a stupid rule."

"Then don't go."

Ibu stared at Echizen as if the boy had read his mind. He was about to ask how he knew but didn't when he saw the flat look the other boy was giving him. He looked at the tennis ball again.

"..There's a new moving being shown in the theatres next week."

"Hmm.. what time?"

"5:30 pm. At the Ishigawa Cinema. I'll pick you up at 5:00."

"Aa."

"Where do you live?"

It was a few seconds before Echizen replied, pointing to the higher (in terms of elevation) part of the city.

"Temple."

"Temple? I never thought you to be so devotedly religious. Then again, maybe he just lives nearby. I shouldn't judge by where he lives. His father's probably a monk –" Echzien tried (and failed) to hold back a snort, "- and his mom is probably a nun. Hen na. Echizen doesn't seem like someone raised in a temple."

As he continued his muttered rant, Ryoma had just realized how little Ibu's mouth moved when he mumbled. It made him sound like a ventriloquist, or like he really could read the boy's mind. He chuckled at the thought.

"What's so funny?"

When Echizen shook his head and continued chuckling, Ibu started off on another rant until the other boy finally calmed down, smiling, with an amused glint in his sunset reflecting eyes. It was getting late.

Ibu Shinji smiled, drawing Echizen Ryoma's gaze away from the sky.

"I still think Ryoma-chan should dress as a girl."

"Urusai yo, Shinji."

Shinji chuckled.

Ryoma found out that the best way to get Shinji to shut up was to kiss him; and it happened often, mostly during their study dates at Shinji's house (Shinji, and consequently Ryoma, had gotten thrown out of the library more than one for his constant mumbling, and Ryoma's house was too loud with his father's demanding to know what they were up to in Ryoma's room to get any work done.

It was like a routine, one that Ryoma swore Shinji continued for the kisses. When Shinji's mumbling became incessant and distracting, Ryoma would say his name once or twice, and most of the time the other boy stopped knowing that he was annoying someone, though he didn't know how.

When they were alone, though, he would continue his mumbling until Ryoma leaned over, grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him down for a kiss, stating, "Urusai, Shinji."

The one time this routine was disrupted was when Ryoma insisted they visit the nearby bar just once. To observe, he said.

He had ordered two glasses of plain water, and had returned (unknowingly) with two glasses of highly concentrated white win. For some reason, neither of them noticed the strange taste, but that one glass was all if took to drive them out (Shinji was complaining about the nasty water). They spend the rest of the night at Ryoma's house (His mother and Oyaji were on a honeymoon in Sapporo, and Nanako was at a friend's house for a sleepover, so one would be hone for another 24 hours at the least). Ryoma had dragged the portable television upstairs and turned it on to the same movie he and Shinji watched on the night of the school dance. Unfortunately, in their slight drunken stupor caused by the single glass of 80 proof white wine, they ended up paying more attention to each other instead of the TV after Ryoma pulled his boyfriend down to shut him up with a kiss.

It was the longest time Shinji had gone without unnecessary mumbling.

It was the first time Ryoma slept with his boyfriend (or with anyone; the same went for Shinji). Even when drunk and inexperienced, Shinji was trying his best to be gentle for Ryoma (who was on the receiving end, surprise surprise). And while they didn't regret what they did the next morning, they agreed to never go to a bar again, and to always check their water before drinking.

The second, and last time, Ryoma slept with Shinji was the day they were forced to separate (neither could bring themselves to say 'break up'). The violet-haired boy's parents had decided to relocate closer to Fudomine High (Ryoma cursed whoever built the sister school 2.56 miles away), and Ryoma had wanted something good to remember Shinji by ('at least one decent round of sex', as he put it) instead of just memories. He wanted a physical impression.

They agreed to meet and chat every so often at the same bar they refused to go to because it just so happened to be exactly half-way between the two houses. When it got too hectic, they would move over to the café across the street. They still acted the same around each other, and still acted the same with others (though Shinji had visibly managed to decrease his mumbling).

Ryoma had actually been against the 'separating', but when Shinji told him that you don't necessarily have to be in a relationship to love someone, he hesitantly agreed. It was true, when he thought about it. You don't have to be in a relationship to be in love, and being in a relationship doesn't necessarily mean you're in love. Besides, he thought, there always seemed to be more pressure when they were together, and it just seemed to lift after Shinji moved. He wondered if Shinji felt the same way. Not that Ryoma had stopped loving him – he still did – but it just seemed less stressful.

And stress was the last thing Ryoma needed more of in his life.

What he needed was someone to talk to.

He didn't have anyone to talk to.

But Echizen Ryoma will always have Karupin to talk to, because she knows exactly how he feels.

(1) Katakuchi no Iwashimizu Penal Tea - Katakuchi type of bowl; Iwashimizu/Iwashi Mizu fresh water/sardine water (drink); Katakuchi Iwashi Anchovy; the whole thing would basically imply "A bowl of Sardine and Anchovy with Penal Tea (Penalty)." Made from my imagination. Nasty. XD Note, it could also mean "A bowl of freshwater and Penal Tea/penalty."

Reminder! Points for figuring out a name trend in this fic, and if you don't notice it, wait for the later chapters. I'll be putting out notices for the points thing.

1 point - guessing close to the mentioned trend (guessing counts!) or another trend I sort of planned.

2 points - finding the mentioned trend.

3 points - pointing out a trend even I didn't notice!

The reader who has the most points the week before a special holiday (Valentine's Day won't count, it's too early) will be able to suggest a special chapter for this story! Either that, or they can suggest a mini-fluff chapter of an OC (mine or their own) with a character from the series (or one of my OCs, if that's what you wish).

I will be keeping track of the points, so either make an account, or use the same nickname each time. I won't take 'oh, this is so-and-so under a different nickname!' because even though this is just for fun... it's still cheating. ;

If points don't get you motivated, how about virtual cookies? ;D

See ya next chapter! There will be Kevin/Ryoma soon... after another background chapter with some dialogue (FINALLY?) and more OC intros.