Today was a day to do absolutely nothing. Most Saturdays, Niou would go out with family or friends and spend the day having fun. But today was a different kind of Saturday. A lazy one, where all Niou wanted to do was lay in bed. He was exhausted and felt he deserved a break. Ever since Yukimura had returned from the hospital, everyone was relieved and glad to have him back. But that didn't give them a break. They were being worked to the bone now. It was because of their loss to Seigaku at the Kantou Tournament. Sanada had taken it roughly too, of course, so with both him and Yukimura on everybody's tails, practice was nearly twice as long and ten times more rigorous. Niou thought for sure everybody was sleeping in on Saturdays and Sundays, when they could.
Since his parents and sister were at work and his brother was at a friend's house, Niou had the home to himself. He planned on lazing about, watching some TV or playing video games, and eating junk food. He deserved that much for all his hard work. So far, he was still sound asleep and it was nine in the morning. He was a bit baffled when he was awakened at someone beating on his front door. At first he thought it was just some strange dream he was having, so he rolled over, bundled up in his blanket, and began to doze to sleep again. But he heard it once more: Continuous beating on his door, and then a muffled voice. Niou groaned, rolling his eyes and throwing his blanket off his legs. He walked out of his room, trotted down the stairs, and unlocked and opened the door. He was astonished to see Akaya standing before him, looking desperate.
"Niou!" cried Akaya, his fists balled up and his eyes filled with deep concern. "Sorry, but…let me use your bathroom!"
"What?" Niou muttered, his brows furrowing.
"Just let me pee! Please!" Akaya begged, clapping his hands together and bowing his head. Niou pursed his lips with a glare at the black-haired boy. He sighed, however, and stood aside. Akaya was already rushing past him. He steered himself into the rest room and slammed the door shut behind him. Niou cocked an eyebrow at the door and rolled his eyes…so much for his lazy morning. He turned around to close the front door, but stopped when he saw another familiar face approaching.
"Yanagi?" he murmured. The other boy was collected, as usual, though he was a bit out of breath.
"Good morning, Niou. Did Akaya come here?" Yanagi inquired politely. Niou nodded. "I'm sorry if he interrupted your morning." He paused and, sensing that Niou hadn't received the story from Akaya, Yanagi cleared his throat. "You see, Akaya was helping me at the courts today. I had some work to do in the clubhouse and he came and helped me. He was drinking an awful lot of water, but insisted he would be fine until he got home. Of course, while we were walking back, he realized he needed to…relieve himself. I calculated that your home was the closest within walking distance, but before I could make a different suggestion, Akaya had run off."
"Figures," sighed Niou. He looked at Yanagi again, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. Holding back yet another sigh of indignation, Niou gestured inside his home.
"Oh…thank you, Niou," Yanagi said with a small smile, and walked through the doorway. "Sorry to be a bother. We didn't wake you, did we?"
"What do you think?" mumbled Niou. Yanagi glanced back at his appearance––messy, uncombed hair, a loose gray shirt, sweats, and a frustrated look in his dazed eyes.
"The chances you were in phase four of sleep are 83%. Again, I'm sorry for Akaya's outburst," Yanagi said, bowing a bit to show how truly sorry he was. Niou waved his hand and said, "Want something to drink? I'll be right back." He walked down the hallway before Yanagi could respond. The brunette shifted a bit, standing with his arms behind his back. He didn't want to impose on Niou's morning. He could already tell the boy wasn't happy about it. He would be sure to make Akaya apologize.
Niou returned a moment later with a glass of water. Yanagi thanked him, having felt a bit tired after chasing Akaya, and drank it slowly. Finally, they heard the sink running in the bathroom and Akaya exited, looking much happier. But when he walked to the others and saw Niou and Yanagi's expressions, he grimaced.
"I am so sorry," he said, bowing low with his arms stiffly at his side. "Thank you so much, Niou. I thought I was going to explode."
"That's too much information," murmured Niou. "Just don't do it again."
"I won't, I swear," Akaya replied sheepishly. He straightened a bit and looked at Yanagi, then added, "Sorry you had to…chase me down."
The brunette smiled a bit and said, "It's all right." He looked over to Niou. "Thank you for letting us in, but we can––" Yanagi was interrupted, though, when there was another knock at the door. The three exchanged glances before Niou walked over and opened the door. Marui and Jackal were standing before him.
"Niou!" the redhead exclaimed. "This is terrible! Jackal was taking me to my favorite sweet shop, but it's closed for renovations! How lame is that? I just suggested we come over here since you live pretty close, and…oh. Hey, Akaya, Yanagi. What are you guys doing here?"
Niou didn't let either of the other two speak.
"What do you want?" he muttered, glancing at Jackal, who gave him a helpless shrug.
"Well…I just thought that since you were so close by, maybe you had some snacks on hand you weren't planning on eating?" Marui said, his light eyes glowing with eagerness. Niou's eyes narrowed and he was tempted to tell all of them off for interrupting his morning, but he knew that would make him look like a terrible teammate and friend. So, instead, he took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, come in. I don't much like sweets. Not like Marui does."
Marui, if possible, got even more excited.
"Thank you, Niou! What a lifesaver. See, Jackal, I told you we could rely on him."
"I still don't think we should have come over," Jackal uttered, walking in after Marui. He rubbed his head and greeted Akaya and Yanagi, who had decided to stay since leaving would appear rude after Niou's invitation. So the two also walked into Niou's living room with Jackal and Marui, seating themselves on the sofas. They chatted idly until Niou came back with a few bags of snacks.
"Knock yourselves out, but I'm gonna go get ready so I don't look like a hobo," Niou said, jerking his thumb to the stairs.
"Thanks, Niou. Oh! Can we play your Wii?" Akaya inquired. "Please?"
"Just don't break anything," Niou sighed before leaving the room. Marui was already arguing with Akaya about who would be first player as Niou trudged up the stairs. When he was in his room, he sent a text to Yagyuu, who he had planned to watch a movie with later. He explained that he might as well come over now. When Yagyuu asked him what happened, Niou simply wrote "puri" and sent the message before going to take a shower. He made it quick, and changed his clothes and did his hair all in less than ten minutes. He came back downstairs and into the living room, where everyone was watching Akaya fail miserably in a Mario Kart race against Marui and Jackal. Not to Niou's surprise, Marui had eaten nearly an entire bag of cookies already. Niou sighed quietly and walked over to sit beside Yanagi.
"Are you going to play?" Niou asked.
"I'm not very good at racing games. I much prefer puzzle games," said Yanagi in response. Niou lifted his brows and nodded. This was not a shock. As they watched Akaya's character veer off the road time and time again, Niou stood and moved to sit beside Akaya, reaching for the Wii controller.
"Niou! What are you doing?" cried Akaya. His eyes were still glued to the screen, trying desperately to control his character.
"You suck. Give me the remote."
"I just haven't played in a long time," Akaya defended. "Leave me alone."
Niou smirked, but before he could reply, there was yet another knock at the door. Niou glanced back to stare at the door incredulously. Yagyuu didn't live that close…
"Get the door, jeez," Akaya sneered, shoving the older boy off his shoulder. Niou's eyes narrowed as he stood, but he left to answer the door. When he opened it, he was shocked to see Yukimura standing before him.
"Buchou?" he uttered.
"Hello, Niou," said the boy with a smile. "I have a favor…you don't happen to have a watering can, do you?"
"Like…for plants?" Niou said, and Yukimura nodded. "Yeah, I think my mom has one out back…come in."
Yukimura stepped inside as per Niou's request, thanking him. As Niou left to get the canteen for Yukimura, the other stepped into the living room and greeted nearly the entire team. They were all just as taken aback as Niou had been.
"Buchou Yukimura, are you sure it's okay to be out? You weren't feeling well yesterday at practice," Jackal said, voicing everyone else's concern.
"I'm fine," Yukimura reassured them. "I was resting all evening yesterday. I feel much better."
"Does Fukubuchou know you're out and about?" said Akaya off handedly, fiddling with the Wii remote. Yukimura laughed quietly and replied, "Yes, he knows––for the most part. Anyway, I'm glad to see you all here having a good time. Maybe after I tend to my succulents I'll come back and join you."
"You should!" Marui agreed. "Niou has lots of snacks."
"Marui," Jackal mumbled, frowning. Marui ignored him.
"As long as it's all right with Niou," Yukimura said. "I don't want to trouble him."
Just as he said the words, Niou walked back into the hallway with a small purple watering can.
"This is all we have," he said, handing it to Yukimura. "And you can come over any time, Buchou."
"Thank you, Niou. Maybe I'll see you all later, then," said Yukimura, and he waved a bit to the others. He thanked Niou one more time at the door before he left. Niou paused when he shut it, almost expecting another knock at the door. But it was still, so he returned to the living room.
"It's good to see Yukimura up and about," Yanagi said as he watched the TV screen. "He's been working hard. Sanada has been quite worried."
"Buchou's fine," Marui declared casually. "You saw him just now. He's doing great."
"I wonder what he meant by Sanada knowing 'for the most part…' " Niou said under his breath. Akaya turned to say something, but sure enough, there was an intense pounding on the front door that interrupted him. Niou sighed heavily and stood once more. This was just getting flat out ridiculous. He walked to the door and opened it. He was only half surprised when he saw a breathless Sanada standing before him, looking disgruntled as usual.
"Niou!" he exclaimed. "Have you seen Yukimura?"
"Yes," Niou said. Sanada blinked, awaiting a response. Then he cried, "Where?"
"Here."
Sanada waited for more, but when Niou stayed silent, the black-haired boy growled and huffed, "Tell me where he went!"
"Fukubuchou," Niou sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets, "he's fine. He was borrowing something." Niou paused, but Sanada still didn't look satisfied. "He's probably going to come back here in a bit."
"I must wait for him," Sanada demanded, and Niou didn't argue. He simply gestured inside, stepping away from the door so Sanada could enter. He did so, walking briskly into the hallway and pausing at the living room. Everyone greeted him before returning their attention to the television. Niou put his hands on Sanada's back and shoved him forward.
"You're really wound up––as usual. Take a seat and chill out," he said. He guided Sanada to the couch and sat him beside Yanagi. "I'll get you some water." He left the room before Sanada could even argue.
"Relax? Fukubuchou doesn't know the meaning of those words," joked Akaya with a grin. Sanada glared at him and the boy nearly cowered from his gaze. But Yanagi put a hand on Sanada's shoulder, saying, "Niou's right, Sanada. It's the weekend. You should take it easy and have fun once in a while."
Though he hesitated for a moment, Sanada nodded, reaching up as if to adjust his cap, but it wasn't there. Instead he combed his fingers through his hair and sat against the back of the couch. Marui, Jackal, and Akaya stared at him in wonder.
"Nice, Yanagi. Not only a beast-tamer, but a dog whisperer too," Marui said. Sanada shot a glare at him, but said nothing.
"And I guess we know what Yukimura meant by 'for the most part,' " Jackal said in a low voice. "He didn't tell Sanada where he went at all."
Niou entered the room again, this time with a plateful of glasses. He walked to everyone until they all had a cup, then he set the plate down on the table, but he didn't sit down.
"Why don't you take a turn, Niou?" Jackal said, offering the Wii remote towards the silver-haired boy, but he declined.
"Still waiting for some people," he said.
"Is Yagyuu coming too?" Marui said, cocking an eyebrow. Niou nodded. "Cute. You two sure make a good couple."
"So do you and Jackal," Niou commented. Akaya snorted while Jackal blushed a bit––though hardly anyone could tell because of his tanned skin. Marui chuckled playfully. Niou smirked and added, "Puri."
"Niou," said Akaya, looking pensive. "Just what does 'puri' mean?"
At the question, everyone looked expectantly at Niou. It was obvious that Akaya had just voiced everybody's thoughts at that exact moment. Everyone had always wondered the same thing, but nobody ever got around to asking him. Niou sensed everyone's eyes and shrugged, opened his mouth to explain, but smiled when there was a knock at the door again.
"Got to get the door," he said, shrugging, and he walked off, leaving everyone completely hanging from the unanswered question. So they started a different discussion while Niou was gone. Soon Yagyuu and Yukimura walked in with Niou. Sanada was on his feet immediately.
"Seiichi!" Sanada said, looking worried. "Are you all right? You suddenly left…"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly," Yukimura apologized. Yagyuu watched the two then glanced at everyone else, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"So this is what you meant," he murmured to Niou, who nodded and put his forehead on Yagyuu's shoulder. "Stop moping. You wouldn't have gotten anything done today if everyone hadn't come over, and you know it."
"That was the point," Niou grumbled. Yagyuu ignored him and looked around again. Then he stated, "I thought I heard Akaya's voice. Isn't he here?"
"And Marui, too," Niou muttered, straightening to turn around. The redhead and seaweed-head were both gone. Niou immediately looked to Jackal for an explanation, but he was focused on Yukimura and Sanada's conversation. Abruptly, everyone heard a lingering, noisy crash from a different room. It fell silent for a brief moment before Marui's voice called, "It was Akaya."
"What? No! No it wasn't! I didn't do it!" Akaya's voice responded in panic.
"From the sound of the crash and their tones of voice, the chances that what fell was important is…66%," Yanagi said, his voice quieting as Niou stormed out of the room. Yagyuu followed him briskly.
"Marui!" Niou barked.
"Niou," Yagyuu huffed. They arrived in the kitchen, where Marui was backed up against the sink and Akaya was on his knees, picking up the contents of a shelf that had fallen on the floor. Niou's eyes narrowed and he strode towards the black-haired boy.
"Akaya," growled Niou. At his name, the boy turned around and cowered against the wall.
"Buchou!" he cried in fear, hoping that Yukimura would come and save him.
"No," Niou huffed, leaning over and grabbing the collar of Akaya's shirt. "You're in my house, you abide by my rules."
"Niou, stop being rash," sighed Yagyuu, folding his arms. Niou yanked the whimpering Akaya to his feet, then gripped him in a headlock and said, "Relax, this isn't the Edo era." He tugged Akaya into the living room, despite his struggles, and tossed him onto the empty couch.
"Niou, don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" murmured Jackal, thought he didn't seem keen on getting involved.
"It wasn't me!" Akaya defended, backing away on the cushions. But Niou grabbed him, straddling him and pinning his elbows down with his knees. "Niou! Get off!" He writhed as best he could, but froze when Niou leaned over, swishing something around in his mouth. Something. Akaya let out a frightened yelp and struggled even harder. "You wouldn't actually…do that, would you?" he cried.
"Akaya, I have a little brother," Niou said, cocking an eyebrow. He leaned over again, opening his mouth in a carefully formed 'O' shape. Akaya squeaked as he watched saliva gather in a large droplet on Niou's lower lip. But before anything else could happen, Marui ran into the room, saying, "Niou! Niou, guess wha––oh, sorry. Carry on."
But in the time that Niou looked up at Marui's appearance, Akaya stuck one of his fingers in his mouth, then took it out and planted it, covered in saliva, into Niou's exposed ear. Niou let out quite a shriek and released the other boy to wipe his ear off. Akaya rolled off the couch and crawled away, hiding behind the arm of the sofa while Niou glared at Marui, who was blowing a large green bubble.
"It was you," Niou muttered. The bubble popped and Marui blinked. He shook his head while his mouth was busy retrieving the gum from his lips and chin. "Yes it was."
"No it wasn't!" Marui huffed, but began to back away nervously.
"Stop acting like children," Sanada mumbled.
"Only when you stop acting like an old man," Akaya said from the other end of the sofa. Sanada bristled, but turned and nearly pouted when Yukimura laughed.
"He just means you need to take it easy. It's good for us to get together casually like this," the boy said with a smile. "It's fun."
"Yeah, don't you think any of this is hilarious?" Yagyuu said, rather dryly.
"Fukubuchou doesn't think anything is funny. Especially you, Yagyuu," Niou commented, looking sharply at the bespectacled boy, who frowned. "He lost his ability to laugh."
"I most certainly did not," Sanada rebuked, shifting again. "I laugh plenty."
Everyone, excluding Yanagi and Yukimura, exchanged doubtful looks.
"Nope, you lost it," Niou said finally.
"That's not possible," Akaya snorted. "You can't lose your laugh."
"Have you ever seen him laugh, Akaya?" Marui countered, resting his hands on his hips. When Akaya didn't respond, Marui sniffed. "Didn't think so."
"I can laugh," Sanada defended, sounding upset. "And in case you forgot, I'm still in the room."
"All right, then. Let's hear a chuckle," Marui said. Sanada didn't move, sitting stiffly on the sofa beside Yukimura and Yanagi, who watched in silence with everybody else. Sanada's lip twitched and he spoke.
"I can't laugh on command! Nobody can, it's not a natural laugh," he told them. Niou smirked deviously.
"Then we'll just have to make you laugh," he said. He turned to the others. "Think of it as a game: whoever makes Fukubuchou laugh first wins."
"Wins what, dare I ask?" Yagyuu mumbled.
"Food?" Marui said excitedly.
"How about no laps for a week?" Yukimura interjected abruptly. Everyone rounded on him in awe.
"No laps?" Akaya gasped, eyes wide.
"For a week?" Marui said. Yukimura smiled and answered calmly, "Why not? It's an interesting little game."
Everyone looked at each other, and immediately they were all rivals. Sanada didn't seem too sure on this sudden turn of events, but he would abide by whatever Yukimura approved. Thus, despite how ludicrous he thought this game was he would go along with it. At least for as long as he could stand to.
"Well, somebody try something," he demanded. Niou got to his feet, grabbed Yagyuu, and started towards the stairs.
"No fair, you have all your tricks upstairs!" Akaya muttered, scowling.
"Puri," Niou called in reply. Marui walked around the couch and sat on it, leaning over to Jackal and Akaya.
"I'll bet he's ticklish. That'd make him laugh," he whispered. The three glanced back at Sanada who, from their point of view, resembled some form of angry bear. "Jackal, you try."
"What? No!" Jackal muttered.
"Well I'm not going to touch him. He'll break all of my bones with one finger," Marui said. "Just try it."
"No."
"It was your idea, Marui," Akaya told him, jabbing a finger at the redhead's nose.
"Yeah, and you're the cockiest. You try," Jackal said to Akaya, who turned and pouted at him. They looked back at Sanada, who seemed even more frightening than before.
"But we can't let Niou win this!" Akaya said.
"I thought this game was every man for himself," Jackal said. Akaya and Marui looked at him, then at each other. Akaya jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "I don't need you to help me anyway!" before he walked up to Sanada and stopped in front of him. Everyone waited in anticipation while Akaya and the other boy had somewhat of a staring contest. But, after a few more seconds, Akaya slumped and walked away in defeat.
"You didn't even do anything," Marui said in disappointment.
"Because he hadn't thought of something to do," Yanagi pointed out. Marui grabbed Jackal and whispered something into his ear. The two stood and left the room, leaving Sanada, Yukimura, and Yanagi alone.
"I heard quite a funny joke the other day," Yanagi said off-handedly. Both Yukimura and Sanada turned to him, feeling somewhat incredulous. Was he was actually joining this competition? Yanagi, of all people!
"Yanagi, you're competing as well?" Yukimura questioned. Yanagi seemed to avoid the other's blue-gray eyes as he answered carefully.
"I simply heard this joke and thought I would see if you found it as funny as I did," he explained. Yukimura then smiled a bit coldly.
"Let's hear it, then," he replied pleasantly. Yanagi cleared his throat and started explaining some situation about a collection of scientists discussing some math problem. By the time he was finishing up, he was chuckling to himself, and Akaya, Jackal, and Marui had returned and were listening. Not because of the joke, but because of Yanagi. None of them had seen him laugh so much. When he finished the joke with the punch line (which involved an algebraic formula and a small amount of quantum physics), he was laughing quite hard. But nobody else was. Yukimura was smiling politely, and gave a pity laugh. Sanada's lips didn't part once.
"Sadaharu would appreciate that," Yanagi uttered, wiping his nose as he realized nobody had understood the joke.
"You're just too smart, Yanagi," Akaya sighed.
"Sorry, Yanagi. It was a nice try," Yukimura said, and his dark smile returned. "Guess you'll be doing the regular laps after all."
"Uh…yes. So it would seem," murmured Yanagi with an uncertain smile. After holding each other's gaze for a moment, Yanagi turned to look at the other three. "So, who is up next?"
"Jackal!" Marui declared, shoving the bald boy off the couch. Jackal stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. He sighed and turned around, pointing to the back of his head, which had a messily drawn face on it. Yukimura chuckled, and Yanagi smiled.
"Nobody told me I had a twin," Jackal said loudly––and lamely. Akaya and Marui were laughing too, now. But Sanada didn't crack a smile.
"You didn't draw that with permanent marker, did you?" Sanada asked. Jackal hesitated, brows furrowing. He looked at Marui, who instantly cast his gaze to the opposite side of the room.
"Marui!" Jackal cried. "You drew this in permanent marker? You said you checked!"
"It said you could wash it off with alcohol," Marui murmured. Jackal threw his arms into the air in exasperation.
"I'm not buying you any snacks for a week," he mumbled. Marui's face fell and his jaw dropped. Jackal strode past him, rubbing the back of his head in concern as he headed towards the bathroom.
"What about you, Marui?" said Yukimura, still smiling.
"That was my idea," Marui groaned, putting his chin in his hands. "Ugh… No snacks for a week…plus the regular amount of laps. Damn."
"What about you, Akaya?" Yanagi said. "Surely you've thought of something now."
"Uh…of course I have. Yeah. This'll work," Akaya said, standing up. He got up and walked over to Sanada. He stood before him for a moment, fidgeting a bit. Then he reached up and jabbed his fingers at Sanada's armpit. But, unbeknownst to Akaya, the movement looked like an attack, and Sanada was ready. As soon as Akaya's fingers touched him, his arm shot out and struck Akaya in the face, and hard. He was knocked back and fell flat on the ground. Everyone jumped up in alarm, even Sanada.
"Akaya!" cried Marui, though he was half laughing. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry, Akaya, my reflexes…" murmured Sanada as Yanagi and Yukimura hurried over to help him up.
"I'm fine," Akaya muttered, though his hands were glued to his face. "Cuss, Fukubuchou, you nearly broke my face…"
"Sorry," Sanada uttered again, looking at the floor.
"It looks like just a bruised nose, but it's bleeding. You'd better get some tissue and we'll have Yagyuu––"
"No, wait," Akaya interrupted Yanagi. "Give me one of…those one things. Ah, what are they called? They stop bloody noses."
"…tissues?" Jackal murmured as he came back into the room, looking worried.
"No, no, it's a special…oh, never mind. I'm sure Niou has some in his bathroom," Akaya said, waving a free hand. Yanagi helped him stand and guided him towards the bathroom. Yukimura went to the stairs and called up to Niou's closed door.
"Yagyuu," Yukimura called. "I'm afraid there's been an accident and Akaya has a bloody nose. Could you come take a look at it to make sure it isn't broken?"
There was a short pause, then the door at the end of the hall opened and Yagyuu came out, adjusting his brown hair as he trotted down the stairs.
"Where is he?" he asked. Yukimura gestured to the bathroom, where Yanagi was just outside the door. Yayguu hurried over, nodded to the taller boy, and slid past him into the bathroom. He was already asking Akaya some questions. Yanagi sighed and walked back into the living room with Yukimura. Sanada was sitting on the sofa, his head down and his hands laced.
"Genichirou, it's all right," said Yukimura as he sat beside him. "It was an accident."
The other only nodded glumly, not responding.
"Hey, at least you can fix a bloody nose. This marker is going to stay on the back of my head forever," Jackal muttered, glaring at Marui, who shrugged as he blew another green bubble. Jackal watched it carefully, until it was nearly the size of Marui's entire face. Then he suddenly lunged, stabbing one finger at the orb. The bubble popped and the gum landed in a wrinkled mess on Marui's hair and face. Jackal burst out laughing, then turned to Sanada, gesturing to Marui and nodding eagerly. Unfortunately, Sanada was the only one other than Marui who wasn't laughing.
"Sorry, Jackal. I guess you lost," Yukimura said. Jackal sighed and shrugged in defeat. Running wasn't a problem for him, since one of his strong points was his endurance. Still, it would have been nice to get a break. At least he exacted his vengeance on Marui for using permanent marker.
Marui sat there in somewhat of a trance during all this before he finally moved. He reached his hands up and gingerly assessed the damage from the rubbery sea-green substance. He leaned over, peeling the gum easily off his cheeks and nose, but having a harder time with the pieces caught in his bangs.
"Jackal!" he cried. "I don't want to cut my hair!"
"I don't want to grow any," Jackal rebuked, motioning to his marker-covered scalp. Marui's eyes narrowed at him, then pointed at the boy and said, "Okay, we're even now."
"I guess that leaves Yagyuu and Niou, then," Yanagi said, and glanced at Yukimura. "Unless you want to participate in your own competition?"
"No, I'll sit this one out. It wouldn't be fair," Yukimura explained. They all looked up when Yagyuu walked into the room, looking very confused.
"Is he okay?" Yanagi asked, and his tone was filled with concern.
"He's fine. It's not broken, just bruised. It'll be sore for a while." Yagyuu paused, scratching his head. "I need to go ask Niou something." He turned and hurried up the stairs, leaving everyone feeling a bit unsure about the expression on Yagyuu's face.
"I guess that really does just leave Niou and Yagyuu, then," Yanagi said. "I wonder what they're concocting up there?"
"It makes me nervous, knowing Niou," murmured Jackal while Marui still tried to claw the gum from his hair. They talked casually for a few minutes before they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Niou and Yagyuu walked into the room, the first holding a large box. He set it down on the table and reached inside, pulling out a brown wig. He popped it onto Yagyuu's head, then turned to Sanada and gestured. Yagyuu pushed his glasses up his nose and said in a deep voice, "Go without letting your guard down, Sanada."
As he spoke, Niou was in the box again, and pulled out a different wig, another brown one. He put it on his head and lifted his arm, saying, "Tsubame Gaeshi," in a voice that perfectly imitated the soft tone of Fuji from Seigaku. Yagyuu was replacing his wig with another as Niou performed, and when he straightened, he had a messy black wig on his head. Everybody else was already chuckling at their imitations, but this one seemed even funnier.
"Chances of a drop shot are…89%!" Yagyuu said stiffly. This brought out even more laughs from Marui and Jackal.
"Burning!" Niou shouted, taking a dramatic stance with a short brown wig on his head.
"Don," Yagyuu said, eyes narrowing with his glasses gone. He was still wearing the black wig, only he had straightened it up a bit.
"Kara kara kara," Niou announced, pretending to hold a tennis racquet with a bald cap on his head. Yagyuu had pulled out a green towel and put it around the dark wig he had on.
"Boomerang Snake," he growled, pouting his lips.
"Kikumaru Beam!" said Niou in a cheery voice while he donned some terrible curly wig and a bandage on his cheek. He took off the wig and gestured to Yagyuu, who was adjusting a white baseball cap on his head. He turned to Sanada, pointed, and said, "Mada mada dane."
By that time, everybody else was laughing––except for Sanada. Marui was practically in tears, wiping his eyes, and Jackal was lying on the sofa, gasping for breath with his arms wrapped around his waist. Yukimura and Yanagi were even laughing quite hard, unable to contain themselves at the impressions. Niou pursed his lips in disappointment, tossing the wigs back into the box.
"Tch! You really are dull," he sighed.
"Niou and Yagyuu lose," chuckled Yukimura. "I guess nobody won."
"That's unfortunate," sighed Yagyuu as he put the supplies back into the box and began fixing his hair. "Everyone gets laps as usual, I suppose."
"And we never got to see if Fukubuchou could really laugh or not," Marui said, finally sitting up straight. They suddenly heard rushed footsteps, and a flustered looking Akaya stumbled into the room.
"What'd I miss? Did he laugh? Who won?" he said. Everyone stared at him. "What? What's everybody staring at? What did Niou and Yagyuu do?"
Marui let out a loud snort and was laughing nearly to tears again. Jackal was leaning on his knees, covering his face, but was shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Niou was grinning from ear to ear, letting out a loud laugh himself. Yanagi, Yukimura, and Yagyuu simply looked horrified.
"Akaya…" Yanagi finally ventured. "What…do you have in your nose?"
"The thing I was telling you about earlier. Niou told me once that they were for preventing nosebleeds. And I know it looks funny, but come on. It's working really well. Except, Niou, these ones are way too big for my nostrils. Don't you have any smaller ones?" Akaya said casually, gesturing to the white thing stuffed up his nose. Niou, now laughing even harder, shook his head. "I still can't remember what they're called. Tampas? Tampos?"
"Tampons?" Marui burst out.
"That's it!" Akaya said, pointing at the redhead. For a moment, everyone expected Akaya to laugh with them and tell them all he was joking. But he didn't. He simply nodded in satisfaction and looked over at Sanada. "Tampons. So anyway, who won?"
At that, everyone burst out laughing. Even Yagyuu, Yanagi, and Yukimura were doubled over, practically howling. And then, to make it even more hilarious, they heard Sanada snort, and they looked up to see him laughing. This made everyone laugh even harder.
So, for the next few minutes, everyone strived hard to stop chuckling and catch their breath. Akaya was busy declaring that he'd won the competition and didn't get laps.
"I don't know what I did, but I won!" he cheered. "Yes!"
"Akaya, I'm sorry," Yukimura gasped after a fit of giggling. "You…you already tried once. You don't get two tries."
"What? Are you kidding me? I get the most laps out of anyone, and this one time I could have…" Akaya slumped. "Aw, Buchou, that's really mean…"
"Akaya," Sanada said stiffly, trying not to grin again. "Just so you're aware…those are not for nosebleeds."
"What, tampons?" Akaya said innocently. This set off another fit of giggling from everyone. "They aren't?"
"No. Niou tricked you," Sanada said, his lip quivering. He glanced at Niou, who was wiping his eyes, looking incredibly pleased. "They are most certainly not for nosebleeds."
"What are they for?" Akaya said, now looking quite worried. "Niou, what are they for?"
"Yeah, why don't you tell him, Niou?" Jackal snickered.
"Nope. You can ask your sister," Niou said, ruffling Akaya's hair. "She will explain it much better."
Akaya watched Niou suspiciously. He looked at everybody else, specifically Yanagi, for some sort of explanation. But nobody would make eye contact with him. Akaya scowled and blushed, taking the cylindrical cotton substance from his nose by the string on the end.
"I'll go get some tissues then," he muttered, obviously embarrassed and concerned about the real use of the tampon. After he left, everyone turned to Niou, still laughing quietly.
"You didn't expect me to actually explain it, did you?" huffed the white-haired boy in his defense. "None of you would have."
"Touché," said Yagyuu, adjusting his glasses. "I don't think any of us are mature enough to keep a straight face while explaining that."
Marui beamed at Sanada, who was wearing a serious face again.
"I guess you proved us wrong, Fukubuchou!" he declared. "You really can laugh."
"Hard," Jackal added, smiling. Sanada sniffed and said, "I told you, didn't I?"
"Too bad Akaya couldn't win his week without laps," Yanagi said.
"He would have earned laps somehow," sniffed Niou. Akaya returned to the group a moment later, a rolled up piece of toilet paper stuffed up his nose.
"Is it still bleeding?" Yagyuu asked, leaning over to check.
"Barely," said Akaya, flinching a bit when Yagyuu touched his nose. "It's stopping up now."
"Well, now that everyone lost, maybe we should sit down and play the Wii again?" suggested Jackal.
"If everyone has the time and money, we could go out to eat later," Marui said eagerly.
"That would be very nice," Yukimura agreed, smiling softly. "We should do that. Just for fun."
When everyone agreed to the plans, Jackal stood up and turned on the Wii, handing some of the remotes to the others who hadn't gotten a chance to play earlier. Niou sat back and watched, smiling quietly to himself. While he hadn't been able to laze around as much as he wanted, having everyone show up made things quite fun. Perhaps interrupted Saturdays weren't that bad after all.