Title: Rumour
Author: Halu
Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Tezuka/?
Summary: Wherin conversations stop when Tezuka appears, a fern is involved somewhere and Inui has a lot of data. A lot of data…

A/N: Unbeta-ed. It's a crack fic. Just laugh along and go with it.
Disclaimer: PoT not mine.

"Am I late? Have they started their practice yet?"

"No, the club is not here yet. Why were you late?"

"I overheard some of the tennis club members saying that Tezuka-san went on a date with a girl yesterday evening!"

"You're lying…"

"I'm serious! I heard so many things. It turns out that Tezuka-san is such a sweet person. However, Ryoma-sama is the only one for me. They're coming! I'll tell you more later."

The members of the Seigaku Tennis Club walked past the two girls who were always hanging around the tennis courts.

"Good afternoon, Ryoma-sama! You will always be number one in my heart!" Tomoyo called out and waved her arms frantically while Coach Ryuzaki's granddaughter blushed in embarrassment.

"Where did they go for their date?"

"They went to watch a movie."

"What movie?"

"Before Sunset."

"What sort of a movie is that?"

"An American one."

"So the girlfriend must be really good at English too."

"That's what I heard…"

"Ssh….buchou is staring at us."

Tezuka stared disapprovingly at the second years whom had stopped their training to chatter nosily among themselves. He turned his attention back to the remaining second years with an impassive look.

"Tennis practices must be done seriously. All second years are to do extra forehand strokes and backhand strokes. Forty times each," Tezuka ordered and the sounds of tennis balls bouncing on the courts filled the air.

Satisfied that they were taking practice seriously, Tezuka moved on to observe the first years.

"When they left the theatre, they went to a French café for coffee…"

"I didn't know buchou was the romantic type!"

"They were laughing and giggling loudly in the café."

"Buchou? Laughing? Are you sure you heard right?"

"Yes! Very sure!"

"Quiet, buchou's coming."

Tezuka felt a moment of uneasiness as the first years members stopped all conversations when he passed by them. The conversations resumed immediately when his back was to them. He clamped down the childish urge to turn around quickly to see if they would stop talking again.

Everyone should concentrate on practice, he thought. It should be more important than catching up of the latest gossip or rumour floating around school. This was unacceptable to him. Tezuka disliked people who talk behind peoples' backs. He would make them run extra rounds before practice ended as punishment.

"You're telling me that after coffee, they went into a flower shop and the girl came out with a small pot of fern?"

"That's right! Unbelievable, isn't it?"

"Psshh…"

"So he bought her a fern instead of flowers?"

"Eh…yes."

"That can't be too romantic…"

"Pshhh… I think it's very romantic of him."

"Stupid mamushi, it's a fern. You and buchou are romantically-dysfunctional. Girls like roses, not ferns."

"You are superficial. If he bought her flowers, they will wilt and die. However, the plant will not and it will serve as a constant reminder to her. Whenever she sees the plant, she will think of him. pshhh…"

"When you look at it this way…wow, buchou is really romantic!"

"Did you just call me superficial? You wanna fight with me?"

"Pshhh…"

"Eh…the two of you are always fighting. I think I hear someone calling us. "

"Kaidoh! Momoshiro! Kikumaru!" Tezuka called for the third time. They seem to be quite engrossed in the conversation they were having. Once again, the uneasiness came back with full force.

"You are the Regulars and should set a good example for your juniors. No private conversations during practice. Five rounds around the court now."

"Yes, buchou," Momoshiro and Kikumaru sighed.

Kaidoh glared at Momoshiro, hissed and began running.

"Tell me more."

"Are you sure that it is such a good idea to write all these data down? I mean, why do you need to know more about buchou's date?"

"Every bit of data is crucial to finding out what sort of a person Teuzuka is. Now tell me, who was the girl?"

"Well… nobody seems to be sure. I heard she had short brown hair and was slightly shorter than Tezuka. She was smiling a lot during the date too."

"I see."

"She is also studying in this school…"

"Hmm…who did you hear this from?"

"From a couple of year ones, they were discussing it loudly in the changing room before the practice started."

"Do you know who they are?"

"No, when I came out they were gone. But now that you mention it, their voices sounded familiar and I…"

"Why have you suddenly…"

"stopped…" Inui trailed off as he felt a familiar presence behind him. Kawamura was turning interesting shades of red.

"Bu…buchou," Kawamura stammered out and shifted his feet nervously.

"Is there something wrong?" Tezuka asked with a hint of concern.

"Uh…no…I…uh…need to go," Kawamura stuttered and escaped, leaving Inui to handle the situation.

Inui's spectacles gave off an evil gleam in the sunlight as he contemplated switching Kawamura's water bottle for a bottle of his extra-spicy special juice. He would definitely have a valid reason to scream "Burning".

"Inui, it is noisier than usual. Everyone is distracted," Tezuka remarked.

"Yes, it is 78 noisier than usual," Inui replied casually as he turned around to face the buchou.

Tezuka was observing the first years practicing their swings. There was no expression on Tezuka's features. Not any of the creasing of the brow or biting of the lip or a slight twitch of the eyelid movements that would give away any sort of emotions.

"I could not hear the two of you," Tezuka spoke and his eyes flickered over to Inui for a minute before focusing on the first years again. "I think the practices need to be quieter. There is too much of talking and not much of practicing."

Inui smiled with a hint of relief. He decided that the probability of getting caught or being overheard by someone was too high to chance it. It would be easier to get more data after practice ended.

"Tezuka, the practice has gone quite well," Oishi observed as practice ended and they made their way back to the changing rooms. Tezuka simply looked thoughtful as the rest of the team whispered and spoke in softer tones than normal.

"Ryoma-sama! Good practice today! You looked so cool when you did your twist serve!" Tomoyo called out and waved her arms frantically while Sakuno blushed in embarrassment.

Ryoma ignored them again and strolled past them without a single word. Then Momoshiro whacked him on his head with his tennis racket.

"Ouch."

"You're so rude to the girls, Ryoma," Momoshiro lectured.

Kikumaru nudged Oishi and sighed, "I wish I were as popular as ochibi."

Momoshiro took a deep breath and began imparting the art of getting a girlfriend to a dense Ryoma. "How are you ever going to get a girlfriend? You must learn to be gentle and…"

"Tezuka, Momo-chan giving Ryoma tips on how to go on a date. Perhaps you should listen as well," Fuji teased him gently. Tezuka stared at him impassively.

"Momoshiro, this is the fifty-seventh time you have given the lecture," Inui interrupted. "You should consider more effective ways of imparting him the skills and tricks."

"And what would you suggest, Inui-senpai?" Momoshiro asked while putting a hand over Ryoma's shoulder to prevent him from running away.

"I suggest modeling a date from the start to the finish. Perhaps one of us could bring him out on a date," Inui replied while referring to his data book.

"I know! Ochibi can follow Tezuka that the next time he goes on a date!" Kikumaru declared triumphantly while the rest of the regulars turned different shade of white.

"The next time I go on a date?" Tezuka enunciated each word carefully to make sure he understood what Kikumaru was saying.

"Maa, buchou, don't get angry at us! We're just really happy that you've finally found someone!" Kikumaru grinned happily.

"Tezuka…it must have been a misunderstanding…" Oishi began but stopped when Tezuka's eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses.

"When did I go out on this date?" Tezuka questioned in a deceptively calm tone.

"Yesterday," Inui replied, double-checking with his data book. "You met the girl at the theatre at 4 p.m. and watched "Before Sunset". The movie ended at 6.30 p.m. After the movie, the two of you went to a French café for coffee. You had a coffee, black while she had Earl Grey tea and a slice of cheesecake. The both of you left at 7.30 p.m. and went to a florist nearby. You bought her a maiden's hair fern and sent her home at 8.30 p.m."

"Inui-senpai's data collecting skills are really formidable," Kikumaru shuddered.

"There is something wrong with your data. I was out with Fuji yesterday," Tezuka corrected.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, Fuji started laughing. Kaidoh and Momoshiro stared at Tezuka in disbelief. Inui took out a pen and corrected his data. Kawamura suddenly found the floor of the tennis court interesting. There was a faint blush on Oishi's cheeks while Kikumaru blinked repeatedly.

"It doesn't matter to me," Ryoma spoke up. "As long as they are in love and happy, it doesn't matter."

Kikumaru nodded his head vigorously. "Ochibi is right. I support the two of you."

"Ah…as long as the two of you don't starting making out in the office, I'm fine," Momoshiro stated.

"If you ever have an engagement ceremony or something, you can do it at my father's shop," Kawamura offered with a shy smile.

"It happened right under our noses and we didn't know. Congratulations, Tezuka and Fuji," Oishi said apologetically.

Kaidoh mumbled congratulations while Inui shook Fuji's hand. "I can make my Special Love Power Drink for the two of you to boost your sexual drives."

"Enough! Fuji, you explain it to them," Tezuka folded his arms cross his chest in mild annoyance.

Fuji turned and smiled lovingly at Tezuka, "But Tezuka, we did go out yesterday and everyone is being exceptionally supportive…"

"Fuji," Tezuka's voice was full of a quiet rage, waiting to explode. Fuji merely sighed.

"Actually, I had free tickets for the movie and planned to watch it with my sister. However, she had a last-minute engagement. Tezuka was free so I asked him."

"What about dinner?" Inui asked while scribbling furiously in his data book.

"Tezuka gave me a treat to thank me."

"Then what about the fern?" Momoshiro questioned.

"I bought the fern for Yuuta," Fuji clarified.

"So…it wasn't a date?" Oishi finally found his voice but earned a glare from Tezuka instead.

Fuji smiled almost wistfully, "Nope. We did not go out on a date yesterday."

"Then whoever said that buchou went out on a date, must have mistaken Fuji for a girl!" Kikumaru concluded, causing almost everyone to break out in giggles or blushes.

"Isn't it funny?" Momoshiro laughed.

"No, I do not think it is funny at all," Tezuka replied coolly, his brown eyes narrowing behind his glasses. The laughter came to a halt.

"Fifty rounds around the courts as punishment," Tezuka declared, "for spreading vicious rumours about me behind my back."

"But it wasn't us! We didn't do anything wrong…" Kikumaru whined.

"Now!"

"Yes, buchou," a chorus of unhappy voices answered.

"Tezuka? Even me? We did go on a date yesterday and since I am your date, I should be spared," Fuji said, a sweet smile on his lips. Tezuka's left eye twitched slightly.

"Sixty rounds."

"Yes, Kunimitsu-kun."

"Horio-kun, tell us more about Tezuka's date…"

"Tomoko, we shouldn't talk behind buchou's back. Besides, Horio, you've told Arai-senpai and all the first years. "

"But, Katsuo, he didn't tell me anything and he's the only one who saw everything!"

"I may have been too far away to get a good look at the girl but with my experience with the opposite sex, she must be a gorgeous girl."

"Horio, you must tell me everything!"

"I will, if you buy me lunch and dinner for a week…hey Katsuo, where are you going?"

"I'm going home. I refuse to get involved in this discussion. I don't want to be punished when buchou finds out who's been telling the whole world about his date."

"Your loss. So, Tomoko, I was going home when I saw buchou and this girl…"