Ryoma… Babysits?
It was during summer break when a phone call from his aunt and uncle ruined Ryoma's whole day. The emerald haired boy with cat-like green eyes had just come inside from the court outside their house when he felt the eyes of everybody on him.
It was nighttime and the only sound to be heard was the crickets chirping in the silence. An owl hooted forlornly and then the faint sound of its beating wings.
"Che…" He muttered at the awkward silence and pulled down his Fila hat that had made itself a well known resident on his head.
"Gaki…" It was his dad that spoke after that.
"Eh…Ryoma…can you do us a favor?" Then his mother spoke, with a glare at his dad.
Ryoma visibly gulped at this. He was not a fan of favors and especially when his mom put "Eh," in front of a sentence. That was bad news. "Yadda," he said over his shoulder as he tried to escape to his room.
"Gaki," his dad muttered again as he pulled back the tennis player by his shirt collar.
His cousin Nanako had appeared behind him, blocking his other escape route. "Ryoma-kun, can you please help?" She pleaded desperately.
Even though it was phrased like a question he was not going to get a choice on the matter. "Che," he shrugged, hoping to dissuade his parents and cousin.
"Ryoma, your aunt and uncle just called." His mother, Rinko, stated in a matter of fact tone. "They are going to have their 20th anniversary and they need someone to babysit their children."
"What's babysitting?" Ryoma asked with a clueless shrug. His family sweat dropped at this.
"It's where you take care of a baby or someone younger than yourself, though the last part is not necessary. I take care of you dad all the time." Rinko added this last part with a glare at his husband who was scratching his head with an uncomfortable smile.
Well, that put a damper on the word. He had thought that it was where you sat on babies, which was an absurd idea, but it was better than the alternative.
He was still trying to walk away when he heard the meaning of the word babysitting. Never in his life could he imagine something as horrible as having to do that. 'It should be a crime to put kids through something as horrifying as that' He thought with a scowl. "Why can't you do it?" Ryoma asked in a monotone that didn't fit his expression at all.
"Nanako and I have to buy stuff for school and your dad supposedly needs to get his eyes checked." Rinko said, though everyone knew that the last part wasn't true.
"Baka Oyaji," Ryoma scowled, glaring at his dad who had managed a way to wigglr his way out of this.
"Gaki, just be glad you don't have to do it for the whole day." Nanjiro said jerking his hand back to make sure that the prince wouldn't run away.
Ryoma's face was able to resume its stoic expression after that.
"Oh wait, you do." His dad added as an afterthought that earned him a slap from Rinko and a glare from Ryoma.
"Please, Ryoma. You only have to take care of them for a day." His cousin that had been silent so far spoke up. Her head tilted in a bad attempt at puppy eyes.
Ryoma sighed; Nanako should know already that puppy eyes didn't work on him. Nevertheless, he agreed since he didn't have a choice.
His dad relinquished his hold on him and went to read one of his porn magazines much to Nanako's disapproval.
"Thank you Ryoma!" His cousin exclaimed and jumped forward to give him a hug, which he avoided deftly. She pouted for a while before skipping in to the living room and dialing the number of his aunt and uncle to tell them that Ryoma would babysit.
"Great, now, Kyoko and Akemi will be here tomorrow." Rinko said, naming the names of Ryoma's twin six-year old cousins.
"Tomorrow?" He asked in mild surprise. Though inside he was thinking: Tomorrow? Tomorrow?! Argh, this is so annoying. Why do I have to do it? Baka Oyaji probably is lying. Basically, everything Ibu Shinji from Fudomine would have muttered if he were here.
His mom probably hadn't heard him since she was still talking. "… Need to take care of them for a day and they can't eat ice cream, yogurt, candy…"
Ryoma stopped listening as the list went on and on about all the things his monkey cousins weren't aloud to eat. Honestly, they could quiet Osakado with their endless banter.
"Understand, Ryoma?" He broke out of his thoughts at the sound of his mother's voice.
"Che," he agreed and pulled his Fila hat even lower. "Can I go now?"
"Yes."
He quickly removed his shoes having forgotten to before and sped up the stairs to his room. Tomorrow, he thought with an annoyed mental expression. Sighing, he took a shower, changed into his pajamas, and climbed into bed, deciding to ignore his empty stomach that had come from skipping lunch and having a miniscule dinner.
The night came and went along with Ryoma's peace. He woke to the sound of a doorbell ringing and the feeling of being prodded by little fingers. He opened his eyes to find two pairs of cat-like green eyes and blue eyes staring back at him curiously. He sat up quickly thankful that he didn't sleep in his underwear and quickly shooed his cousins out. Quickly he changed and opened his door just a crack. He peeked out the corridor and turned his head from side to side, checking that the coast was clear. Ryoma's stomach rumbled from the smells of food wafting from the kitchen. He couldn't wait to eat it. That is, until he found out who was eating it.
The sight that awaited him in the kitchen was not pretty. His parents and cousin had left a note saying that they left breakfast on the table. Breakfast was indeed on the table, but so were the two rascals, Kyoko and Akemi. It was 8:30 A.M. and this did not please the boy one bit. They were probably trying to escape. He assumed the most likely answer.
"Cousin Ryoma," two voices squealed from the pigsty that was his kitchen before they came.
"Che," He muttered and pulled his Fila hat down. Looks like breakfast would have to wait. Just then, his phone rang. The twin terrors that were Kyoko and Akemi flocked to the thing like moths to light.
"Hello, Echizen-" Momoshiro Takeshi's voice rang through the receiver only to stop at the sound of raspberries being blown at him. "Eh? What was that?" He asked.
"Hands up," Akemi started, his high-pitched voice brought down lower in a comical way.
"Give us your money." His sister commanded in an equally comical voice.
"Echi-" Momo was cut off yet again by the whining and a distant 'Cousin Ryoma.'
"Momo-sempai," The familiar voice of his kohai rang through the receiver.
"Echizen, what was that just now?" Momo asked in a confused voice.
"My cousins." Ryoma replied.
"Nanako?"
"No, they are from my dad's side." He replied in an annoyed voice. "I have to babysit."
A guffaw sounded on the end followed by some dialing and a third voice added to the mix. Ryoma's cousin were still attempting to reclaim the phone until he told them he would do something fun with them.
"Ochibi! What is all the talk about you babysitting?" Kikumaru Eiji's voice rang though the receiver.
Ryoma sighed, another person to annoy and bug him. "Che," the traditional answer was followed by the pulling down of his Fila hat.
"Echizen answer." His other annoying sempai commanded him through the phone.
"Are you really babysitting? Do you even know what that means?" Eiji asked.
Silence, because he didn't even know such a word existed before his mother told him, ending his obliviousness to the terrifying world of babies.
"Oi Echizen, are you still there?" Momo asked. This was followed by more beeping and another voice joined in.
"Momo, what is it?" Oishi Shuichiro's voice asked.
"Ochibi is babysitting!" Eiji said, holding back a laugh.
"Is it true Echizen? You can't do that! The poor baby's pain." Oishi exclaimed, taking the phrase the wrong way. "I am heading over there right now."
"Yeah, we should go over to." Momo agreed.
"Nya, lets all meet up at Ochibi's house. He will be so happy to see us."
And the three sempai-taichi hung up.
Ryoma meanwhile, had left the phone on the table and was currently being abused by his cousins. So, he was not aware that his sempai-taichi were going to pay him a visit.
"Ger'off me." He said while Kyoko pulled his hair and Akemi played horsy.
"Move horsy, move." Akemi yelled gleefully perching on his back.
Suddenly, a doorbell rang. His cousins stopped their painful antics and shared a glance before running to the door yelling: "I wanna get it!"
They opened the door to three tennis Regulars. "Eh? Who are you?" They asked in mock adorableness. Anyone who had a heart would have fallen for it except Ryoma who had just spent the last ten minutes getting his hair pulled out by them.
"Nya! They are sooo cute!" Eiji exclaimed and bent down on the floor to look at them closely.
"Eh? Who are you? Where's Echizen?" Momo asked looking past them to a certain kohai collapsed on the floor.
"Echizen! You shouldn't sit on babies. See this is what you get for putting these poor things in so much pain." Oishi then exclaimed. The twins glanced at him questioningly before resuming their childish antics with someone equally as childish as them.
"Momo-sempai, Eiji-sempai, Oishi-sempai?" The boy on the floor looked up in surprise.
The Twins closed the door after the guests and started attacking Eiji on the floor. Soon, they were on top of him and doing the same thing to him as they were Ryoma awhile ago.
"Run, horsy!" Kyoko said while her brother attempted to push her off.
"My turn, Kyoko. My turn." He said while Eiji's struggled to free himself from their abuse.
"Help me, Ochibi. Help me!" Eiji said, while moving around on the living room floor as to not suffer the abuse of not moving.
"Made made dane, Eiji-sempai." Ryoma said with a smirk. Now that his sempai-taichi were here, he would not need to worry.
"Nya! Ochibi, you are so mean." Eiji pouted while rearing up like a horse to try to throw Ryoma's cousins off.
"Ryoma you shouldn't have been sitting on them." Oishi scolded with a sympathetic gaze at the Twins. "They are so innocent."
"Oishi!" Eiji exclaimed from the floor.
"Echizen, do you want to go get breakfast?" Momo asked next, oblivious to the havoc in the room.
Everybody in the room sweat dropped and even the twins, Akemi and Kyoko, stopped tugging on Eiji's hair to give Momo a patronizing glare.
"What? I'm hungry." He said in a defensive tone that made his voice go up a bit higher.
"Baka," Ryoma muttered to himself as he pulled down his Fila hat…again.
"Please, Cousin Ryoma. Please." They were on him like a pack of wolfs.
"No." Ryoma shook his head.
"Echizen, this is the least you can do for sitting on him." Oishi added looking at him with a glare that said he didn't have a choice.
"Hey, I wanna go to." Eiji jumped in while the other sighed at how much he sounded like Ryoma's cousins.
"That's great. It's on you Eiji-sempai." Momo said, tricking Eiji into paying for their breakfast.
"Nya, Ochibi and Momo are so mean." The acrobat pouted adorably to Oishi.
"Ok, why don't we all go? That way, we can make sure Echizen doesn't sit on his cousins again."
"Oishi-sempai, I wasn't sitting on them." Ryoma explained, thoroughly irritated. His sempai-taichi should know better than to think that his parents wouldn't make sure he knew the meaning of 'babysitting' before leaving him with a baby. Ok, his dad might, but not his mom. But still, it kind of hurt.
Oishi scratched his head uncomfortably at this new information while Echizen glared at him. "Eh, sorry Echizen." He apologized to the silent seventh grader.
"Ok, can we go now?" Akemi whined impatiently.
"Cousin Ryoma," Kyoko sniffled while tugging on Ryoma's sleeve.
"Cousin Ryoma?" Momo guffawed some more at the name he had heard his kohai being called.
"Momo-sempai," the boy replied in a monotone.
"What, Cousin Ryoma?" Momo teased his kohai mercilessly. Well, it could be worse. Syusuke Fuji could be the one who found out.
"Yadda," Ryoma said, turning his head away from he faces of two six year olds and one Eiji-sempai.
"Echizen, you have to." Momo commanded, grabbing his kohai's ear and pulling him out the door.
"Momo-semapi, you should show kindness to your kohai." Ryoma scolded.
"Yadda," Momo retorted irritably. Ryoma's face formed into a scowl when he heard this.
Outside, three bikes awaited the return of their owners. Ryoma grumpily took his place behind Momo-sempai while his cousins leapt onto Eiji and Oishi.
"Now, everyone must put on their helmets." Oishi instructed lifting his own green colored helmet to his head. This had quite a funny affect as now the top of his head was green while the little fang-like bangs on his forehead were black, like he had just drunk a shot of Inui's Juice.
Momo started to chuckle and soon Eiji was too.
"What?" Oishi protested, looking around as if there was a hidden joke that he couldn't see.
"Nothing, nothing." Momo and Eiji replied while the Twins just giggled and was only stopped from pointing by Ryoma who had pinned their hands down.
Oishi scratched the back of his helmet before shrugging and started to peddle with Kyoko holding onto his shoulder. Momo, who didn't bring a helmet went after him with Ryoma riding in the usual fashion. Eiji came soon after with a black helmet as it was the only color that fit him that wasn't unicorns and rainbow. Apparently, they were having a sale on girlish helmets that day. Akemi stood behind him.
The six arrived at the burger joint to which Momo and Ryoma didn't hesitate to have and all out eating war.
"A coke, medium cheeseburger, and fries, please." Oishi ordered, he smiled nicely at the person who was tending as if apologizing for what was to come.
"Nya, I don't know what to get." Eiji complained. "Ochibi, you go before me."
"Hmm, what do you want?" Ryoma said, looking down at his cousins faces.
"We'll take one large coke, two large cheeseburgers, and one large box of fries." They ordered in unison, practically drooling from the mouth.
This was stunning, as the two six year olds only weighed about 90 pounds together.
"Are you sure?" The person at the register asked, his eyes dilating in surprise.
"Yes, thank you." They both said with a smile that could charm a tiger.
"Eh, Ochibi. Looks like the big appetite runs in the family." Eiji says, glomping the boy who would have gotten out eaten by his six year old cousins if not for his extreme competitiveness.
"Che, I'll take one medium fry, a medium coke, and a large cheeseburger." He said just as Momo said the same thing. The two glared at each other for awhile before Ryoma reordered.
"Make that one large fry, three large cheeseburgers, and two large cokes." Ryoma said.
"Eh!? Fine, I'll get two large fries, four large cheeseburgers, and two large cokes." Momo added.
"Are they always like this?" Kyoko asked, tilting her head up cutely.
"I'm surprised you didn't join already." Eiji replied.
"Why would we? It's uncool." Akemi said, appearing beside his sister.
"Eh!?" Momo and Echizen exclaimed.
"Sirs, would you please finish your order." The register guy said in a scared voice, probably thinking that these two might eat all their ingredients.
"Fine, one large coke, two large cheeseburgers, and two large fries." Ryoma said, determined not to have his cousins out eat him.
"I'll have the same as him." Momo said, gesturing to his kohai who was glaring at him.
"Che."
"Ok, I'll get a medium coke, one medium cheeseburger, and one small box of fries." Eiji said, having decided his order.
The register guy visibly sighed and soon after, all six had gotten their breakfast. Together, the three sempai-taichi, Ryoma, and Kyoko and Akemi found a seat next the window. They sat down and dug into their meals, some overly large and some just right. Once they were done, they walked out the joint.
Momo whistled and folded his arms behind his head while Eiji counted his money, complaining about how his parents were going to kill him, considering how much Ryoma, Momo, and the Twins had eaten. Ryoma walked with his hands in his pockets and Oishi's arms swayed around their owner. The Twins were as jumpy as always and nobody remembered the bikes that they forgot at the joint. A gust of wind blew past the six bringing a flyer straight into Momo's face.
"Gak!" Momo exclaimed, doubling back and crashing into Ryoma. "I can't see." He continued, oblivious to the seventh grader on the ground. Eiji started giggling and so did Kyoko and Akemi.
"Echizen, are you all right?" Oishi asked, being the worry wart that he is.
"I'm fine," the freshmen replied in a monotone, glaring at his sempai who had almost sat on him.
"Momo, you got a flyer on your face." Eiji laughed. He strutted over to the struggling second year and removed the flyer to see the blush on Momo's face.
"Eiji," the second year whined while Oishi checked for injuries.
"Nya, it's what you get for making me pay for your meals." Eiji fake pouted, folding his arms to his chest.
The Twins plucked the flyer from Eiji's hands and read it. "Look." They commanded waving the flyer in Momo's and Eiji's faces. "There's an amusement park today." They said enthusiastically, begging Ryoma for permission to go. "Cousin Ryoma, can we go? Please!" They said in perfect unison, jumping up and down to tug on Ryoma's sleeve.
"Nya, Ochibi. Can we go?" Eiji pleaded joining the twins in their mad jump for permission to have fun.
Oishi scratched his head, wondering what he should do before deciding that a little fun never killed anyone. "C'mon Echizen, a little fun never killed anyone." He said pleading with the twelve year old, though skipping the jump up and down part.
"Eh, maybe it could be fun." Momo pondered to himself.
Echizen meanwhile, was wondering why everyone was asking him. Can't they just go by themselves? He pulled his cap down a continued walking, hoping that the annoying sounds would cease if they were ignored. "Yadda," he said over his shoulder.
"Ochibi, Nya!" Eiji said keeping pace with his acrobatics.
"Cousin Ryoma, please!" The twins, Kyoko and Akemi plead with puppy eyes.
"It could be fun, Echizen." Oishi tried to reason with the stubborn first year.
All the while, Momo argued with himself between yes and no.
"Whatever, he's probably scared of roller coasters." Momo finally said, reaching his decision. "Sorry Akemi and Kyoko, but we wouldn't want to scare him." The tennis Regular said with a smug smile.
"Nya, Ochibi is probably just scared." Eiji said, joining in on the assault on Ryoma's ego.
The boy stopped and turned around a fierce glint in his eyes. "Alright, Momo-sempai. Let's go."
Momo had a triumphant gleam in his eyes and Eiji and the Twins cheered. Oishi was happy too and in all the excitement the six still didn't remember their methods of transportation so they walked to the amusement park.
Momo, Echizen, Eiji, Oishi, and Kyoko, and Akemi stepped into the crowded fairgrounds. Merry-go-rounds spun and the sound of screams resonated from the roller coasters nearby. They quickly traded their useless tickets for a map and scouted out the most efficient path. Together, all six walked to the right in the direction of the roller coasters.
Momo and Echizen quickly spotted a scream-worthy ride and went in line with Eiji, Oishi, and Kyoko and Akemi behind them.
Akemi jerked forward from someone bumping into him from behind.
"What is it, Akemi?" Momo asked, looking behind him. He looked up and met the eyes of Kamio from Fudomine. Further looking resulted in the spotting of Ibu Shinji also from Fudomine. "Oi, Echizen." Momo nudged the seventh grade boy.
"Hn?" The boy turned around to also find Kamio and Shinji. "Eh, what are you doing here?" He asked arrogantly, glaring at the pair.
"Oh, Echizen, Momo, Oishi, and Eiji?" Kamio asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I asked you first." Ryoma retorted.
"Hey! What about us?" Akemi and Kyoko exclaimed poking their heads up between Kamio and Shinji.
"We're going to ride rides." Eiji said from out of nowhere.
"Hello, Kamio-kun and Ibu-kun." Oishi said, shaking their hands.
"How's the grip tape?" Shinji asked Ryoma, bringing the conversation back to the grip tape they had fought over earlier.
"Nice," Ryoma replied in a monotone.
"Eh? Who are you?" Kamio says in the conversation with Momo, Oishi, and Eiji.
"They're Ochibi's cousins." EIji replied happily.
"He's babysitting." Momo added to clarify.
Kamio starts laughing and soon everyone is staring. "Echizen *laugh* knows the meaning *laugh* of babysitting?" *Laugh* laugh*
Back to Ryoma and Shinji's conversation Shinji is questioning the same thing.
"You know what babysitting means?" He asks. "Of course, it is likely that he knows, but this is Echizen so anything is possible. I should've gotten the grip tape." The last sentences he muttered much to Ryoma's annoyance.
Thankfully, they are saved from answering the question by the fact that they are at the front of the line.
The eight each enter into a cart with Ryoma and Shinji sitting in front, Momoshiro and Kamio sitting behind them, Eiji and Oishi are second to last, and the Twins are last.
The ride, called the Kamikaze, started with a squeak. Eight people held their breath in waiting for the fall and three closed their eyes. The ascent lasted for about thirty seconds and by the time they were at the top Eiji and the Twins had their hands over their eyes and Oishi was chanting "We will not die." over and over again like a mantra. Momo was already whistling and Shinji muttered his fear to rest. Of course, Kamio was also scared, but he covered it by shouting 'What the heck!' into the air. Overall, Echizen was the only one who wasn't afraid, though he was annoyed by his sempai-taichi's noises.
"Made made dane, sempai-taichi." He smirked just as the ride shot downwards.
The sound of screams and a "What the heck!" from Kamio sounded in the air. Ryoma was eerily silent though he did mutter something about noisy sempai-taichi.
Shinji was sitting with a stoic expression and was muttering louder than usual. "This ride is scary, though it is really fun. Echizen isn't screaming, I wonder why. Why is it that Echizen is the youngest, beside his cousins, and yet he isn't afraid? I'll have to ask him about that." He mused to himself as everyone on the ride sweatdropped.
"Made made dane." Ryoma said, grabbing hold of his Fila hat to keep it from flying off.
"Nya, nya, nya! I don't want to die, Oishi!" Eiji screeched, clinging on to his double partner. He continued making a sound like a cat and no doubt this was the most noise the roller coaster has caused in years.
"We're not gonna die, Eiji!" Oishi yelled back, tears streaming from his eyes from the wind.
"Why do people yell to each other on rollercoaster? I would never do something so stupid. I wonder why these people like screaming so much. Hmmm, they should stop screaming, it is really annoying." Shinji mused to himself yet again.
The Twins screamed in pleasure and yelled inaudible things to the wind, though Kikumaru and Ryoma with their sharp hearing thought that they could detect something that sounded like a song in their mantra.
The Kamikaze twisted and turned. It went through loop-the-loops and corkscrews. The eight went upside-down and backwards. The wind blew in their faces and by the time the ride was over, even the most hardened person would have to admit that they could barely walk. Some conditions were worse then others.
When they got off the first thing most of them did was run to the bathroom. Momo and Eiji's hair was pulled back in a permanently windblown look. Kamio's bangs seemed to have disappeared and Shinji was fairing know better as was Ryoma. Surprisingly, the twins and Oishi were the only ones that didn't have comical hairdos.
"Gak!" Momo screamed as he made a dash to the nearest trashcan. Oishi followed soon after.
"Argh!" Kamio screamed as he promptly puked in the trashcan. Everyone cringed away with a narrative from Shinji.
"I don't know why Kamio would do this. If it were me, I would never have done it. I wonder what happened to his hair and why is it that the Twins are the only ones not sick?" He muttered to himself.
Echizen moaned as he got out of the ride only to fall to his knees again. Somewhere along the way, he had slammed his face into the bar holding him in. This resulted in an angry looking red slash across his face.
"Hahahaha! Ochibi looks so funny. Nya!" Eiji screamed from the trashcan.
"Echizen what happened to you? Are you hurt?" The mother hen fussed. "What happened to your face?"
Echizen gave them all in irritated glare before shooting a reply back at Eiji. "Sempai, at least I'm not puking my face off." He retorted bitterly.
"Nya! Ochibi is so mean." Eiji exclaimed, glomping the boy after he was done with some things.
Kamio started arguing with Momo about something and during that time… the Twins snuck off.
"No way! You were the one whistling like an idiot." Kamio said pointing at Momo.
"What do you mean 'whistling like an idiot'? At least I wasn't the one yelling 'What the heck!'" Momo yelled back grabbing the front of Kamio's shirt.
"Well, I didn't steal a person's bike!" Kamio replied, having run out of arguments.
"Baka! I was doing it to stop a thief." Momo replied, purple eyes ablaze with fury.
"Who are you calling baka?" Kamio said with a retort of his own, albeit not a very good one.
"Stop, you might get hurt." Oishi commanded running into the fray to hold them apart.
"Nya, Momo stills argues with people even though Kaidoh isn't here." Eiji commented sadly.
"Che, baka sempai-taichi." Ryoma said watching the argument unfold in front of them.
"I thought Momo only argued with Kaidoh. Why is Kamio arguing with him?" Shinji muttered. "Akira, stop fighting with Momo!" He said raising his voice.
The speed demon raised his head and looked at his friend before going back to his fight with Momo. Echizen and Shinji sweatdropped at Oishi's attempts at stopping the fight and dragged the two tennis Regular back by the shirt collar, anime style.
"Gak! Echizen let me go. I'm gonna give that idiot a piece of my mind!" Momo shouted, struggling against his kohai frantically.
"You better not. Your already stupid enough, don't make it worse by giving away more pieces of what's left of that thing you call a brain." Kamio retorted deftly, which angered Momo even more.
"Ouch," Eiji cringed to add to the drama. "He poned you, Momo." Eiji said.
A vein popped out on Momo's head and he was finally able to escape Echizen's grasp. "Kikumaru-sempai!" He yelled jumping to the third year with a red face.
"Nya! Oishi, help me!" Eiji wailed in distress, hiding behind his doubles partner.
"Heh," Kamio smirked in an infuriating way.
"Why you-"
"Iii data." A certain juice making sempai appeared behind the two fighting boys.
"What the heck!" They both exclaimed at the same time, jumping back to collide with Shinji and Ryoma.
"Nya! Inui is so scary. I don't want to drink juice." Eiji said clinging tightly to and equally scared Oishi. Of course, the name 'Inui' is always associated with the word 'juice'.
"Well, I'll be going now." Inui said and left, which was very weird since he almost never passes up a chance for data.
"Juice! What's so scary about juice?" Kamio asked in confusion, ignoring Inui's absence.
"Eh!?" The Seigaku Regulars shouted in unison, they were all glad that Inui couldn't threaten them with juice and decided that they would not mention him.
"Nya! You don't know the legacy of Inui's Juice?"
"What is so scary about juice? I wonder why even Ryoma is scared? This might be interesting." Shinji muttered, he just didn't care about Inu's juice or absemce.
Momo cleared his throat theatrically before beginning. "Long ago…"
Crickets chirped and owls hooted. The six, minus Twins, found a seat and listened.
"Just get on with it!" They all yelled after a very long moment of silence.
"Ok ok, geez." Momo complained before clearing his throat again. "Ok so, once Oishi invited all of us to bowling."
"Wait, I thought the story was 'Long ago…'" Kamio interrupted.
"Do you want the story or not?"
"I am just sayin-"
"What? Huh? You were just say-" Momo was interrupted by the sound of other people's impatience.
"Just get on with it!" Everybody yelled again in annoyance.
"Fine, just don't let him interrupt me." Momo said, giving Kamio a pointed glare.
"Hmmph, like I care." Kamio retorted, folding his arms around his chest like a child.
"Sempai, you look like a child." Ryoma commented smirking… again.
"What did you say?" Kamio said, meeting the boy's smirk with a smirk of his own.
"Echizen, you shouldn't say things like that to your sempai." Oishi scolded the boy.
A snicker came from Momo's chair and then a full out laugh. "Good one, Echizen." He said between gasps for air.
"Nya! Ochibi is so arrogant." Eiji said also laughing.
"That boy is so arrogant. I wonder why he is like that." Shinji mumbled to himself. "Hey, Echizen, why are you so arrogant?" He asked, raising his voice above the guffaws of Momo and Eiji.
The table instantly seized its noise and everyone held its breath for it was a question everyone wanted an answer to.
"Yeah Ochibi, why are you so arrogant?" Eiji asked.
Ryoma smirked at the curious, and mad in Kamio's case, faces around him before replying. "Made made dane, sempai-taichi." He said, pulling down his hat.
A sweatdrop appeared on everybody's head at the reply.
"Echizen, that wasn't an answer. Give us a better one." Momo whined at the arrogant boy.
"Yadda," Echizen's reply came for the irritated sempai-taichi.
"Are we gonna hear the story or not?" Kamio asked, since he didn't care why Ryoma was so arrogant.
"Yeah, are we gonna hear the story?" Ryoma agreed, eager to get away from the interrogation. Everybody stared at him like he had grown a second head when he said this. "What?"
"Ochibi agreed with someone on a matter that isn't tennis." Eiji said with a surprised look from the ground, he had fallen off his chair.
"So?"
The sempai-taichi all sweat dropped and then decided that the subject would be left at peace for a while.
"Story," Kamio reminded the absentminded tennis Regulars.
"Ahh, yes, so Oishi had invited us too bowling…"
Flashback
Fuji had just gotten out from a gutter ball.
"Saa…Kaidou, how bad is it?" Fuji asked, referring to the penalty: Aozu or Blue Vinegar.
Silence…
"Here you go, Fuji." Inui said handing the tensai a tiny cup of Aozu.
"Thank you, Inui." Fuji replied with a smile.
"Nya, Fuji, do not do it!" Eiji exclaimed.
"Its ok, Eiji." Another kind smile, or sadistic, however you want to think about it. He took the seemingly harmless juice from Inui's hands and drank it all.
Silence…
Slowly ever so slowly, a bit of it leaked out of the tensai's mouth. A while later…
"Fuji? Fuji!" Everybody yelled, looking at the tensai on the floor.
"He fainted," Momo observed.
Silence…
End of Flashback
"Sooo, what exactly is the 'legacy'?" Kamio asked curiously.
Everybody looked at him like he had grown a second head. Then, a sweat drop was apparent on even the most controlled heads and if Tezuka were here even he would have sweat dropped enormously and no one would have been surprised.
"Made made dane, Kamio-sempai." Echizen commented smirking at the slightly embarrassed face of the boy.
"What?" Kamio asked defensively.
"Nya! Kamio-kun is so slow." Eiji said insensitively.
"Eiji, that is rude." The Oishi said to his doubles partner.
Momo coughed again, thoroughly enjoying the attention that was brought upon him every time he did it. "He made Fuji faint. That never happens." He clarified for Kamio.
"Neh, where is Kyoko and Akemi?" Echizen suddenly asked, realizing that the Twins weren't there.
"Nya, Ochibi lost his cousins." Eiji said, jumping up on a chair to look for them.
"Oh no, they could be anywhere. What if they got lost or kidnapped? Or even worse, what if they volunteered for getting dunked at a game and was dunked in a tub full of piranhas?" Oishi moaned, going into worry wart mode. "Echizen, I knew you didn't know what babysitting meant." He said, shaking the young boy a bit.
Ryoma at this time was equally frantic and took charge pretty effectively. "Kamio and Shinji, you guys go look in the water park. Oishi and Eiji, you look on every rollercoaster. Me and Momo will check the food courts." Everyone sweat dropped at this last area.
"Ochibi, that isn't fair. Why do you guys get to be around the food?" Eiji pouted.
"Echizen, we need to focus. Right?" Momo asked, trying to save his chance at being around the food.
"On second thought," Ryoma said scratching his head thoughtfully. "Me and Shinji will visit the food courts and Eiji and Kamio will visit the roller coasters and Momo and Oishi will visit the water park." He rapped out, changing the order and partner completely.
"Eh? Why can't me and Eiji-sempai search together?" Momo complained to his kohai.
"Because, I can't trust that you won't just fall asleep at some food court." Ryoma snapped, reaching the limit of his patience.
"Nya! Ochibi is so mean."
"Get going!" Ryoma finally yelled at everyone.
"Hai!" They all saluted then ran off in different directions.
~Ryoma and Shinji's POV~
Ryoma and Ibu Shinji were heading towards the main food courts of the park. Shinji was muttering to himself and Ryoma was getting annoyed.
"Shinji," he warned the older boy.
The muttering seized and the two spent a blissful while in silence. They heard the sound of kids screaming and they were soon at the food courts.
Candy's Sweet Store. That was the first name they came upon as they entered the plaza like area. All around them stores and food courts full of hungry people waited. It was arranged in a palm tree shape with the name Kingdom of Food at the 'trunk'.
"Hey, how are we going to find them here?" Ibu asked looking at the crowded area.
It was true that the area was crowded. People were constantly milling around so that if one was to even catch sight of Kyoko and Akemi's emerald hair it would be gone in an instant.
"Eh? I don't know." Ryoma replied, scratching his head cap uncomfortably. This set up another bout of muttering that was soon quieted by Ryoma.
They entered the sweets store to find a mess. There was ice cream on the floor and more than one person was on their butts. A waiter had yogurt on his head and it wasn't pretty. The manager was storming around and ordering his crew to get up but what was really interesting was the two emerald haired kids eating ice cream behind the counter.
When they caught sight of Ryoma and Ibu, both dropped their ice cream and ran. One paused on the way to scoop up ice cream from a waiter's apron.
"Wasn't that…?" Ibu trailed off staring at the two kids.
"Yeah," Ryoma replied also looking at the two kids who had just run off.
"Shouldn't we…?"
"Probably,"
The two took off running behind the Twins, trying to keep them in sight. Soon they were running towards the water park.
When Ryoma and Ibu got to the arched entrance of the water park they were out of breath and annoyed. They had lost sight of the Twins and were now subjected to look in the water park. Their only hope was that Momo and Oishi would bump into them.
~Momo and Oishi's POV~
While the Ryoma and Ibu were searching for the Twins… again. Momo and Oishi were having problems of their own. They had problems of their own. Well, at least Oishi was having problems.
"Wheeee! This is so fun." Momo exclaimed, riding down from Rapid Falls. He had run to the nearest ride when he got there and got on without a second thought as to where Ryoma's cousins were.
"Momo, we have to look for Kyoko and Akemi." Oishi yelled from the ground like a patronizing grandpa. "They could be anywhere."
Momo let out a whoop and splashed into the water below. A big splash went up followed by an extremely wet Momo and Kyoko and Akemi.
Wait. Kyoko and Akemi?
"Huh? When did you get here?" Momo asked the two, too dazed to remember to grab on to them.
"Momo! Hurry, catch them!" Oishi yelled, running to the group of wet people.
"Wait, what!" Momo looked around completely forgetting the job at hand. "Gak!" He lunged forward in an attempt to latch onto the run-away twins.
Kyoko and Akemi giggled in delight and ran away hand in hand while Momo and Oishi stared after.
"Momo, Hurry, GO!" Oishi commanded, finally snapping out of his daze and running in the direction that the Twins went.
"Gak!" Momo surged up bringing a bucket of water and some wet clothes with him. He ran in the direction of the two naughty twins.
"Hey, come back here!" Oishi screamed, scaring some pigeons and a few pedestrians in the process.
"Kyoko! Akemi!" Momo yelled, running full-pelt towards the Twins. "Wait, huh?" He reached out just in time to stop a little girl with pig-tails from falling onto her butt. "Sorry, I have to go now." He apologized, then ran off again, dodging pigeons and people.
"Hurry up, Momo!" Oishi screamed from ahead. They were exiting the water park and could only hope that Ryoma, Shinji, Kamio, and Eiji could find the twin terrors.
"Whoa," Momo skidded to a stop at the sight of the familiar familiar head clad in a white Fila hat. "Oi, Echizen, did you catch the Twins?" He asked, hopefully.
"Echizen, did you find them?" Oishi skidded to a stop behind him.
"No, we were hoping that you would find them." Ryoma replied, gesturing to Shinji who was muttering to himself behind him.
"Do you think Kamio and Eiji need help with catching them? Momo couldn't even though they were right beside him." Oishi said.
"What? How is that possible? Is he that slow?" Shinji asked from beside Ryoma. "I would never let that happen." He added as an afterthought.
"Baka, how dare you call me slow." Momo picked up the challenge immediately.
"Made made dane, Momo-sempai." Ryoma commented.
Oishi, meanwhile, was staring off in the distance. "Maybe they are going to the roller coasters next." He cut in hopefully. "That way, we can chase them here and help Eiji and Kamio catch them."
"Eh, that is a good idea, Sempai." Ryoma said, heading off in the direction of the roller coasters.
"Let's go." Momo, Oishi, and Shinji followed suit.
~Eiji and Kamio's POV~
"Nya! Finding Kyoko and Akemi is so hard." Eiji complained from next to Kamio. He was licking an ice cream cone while as the afternoon sun blazed.
"Argh, why won't they just le us find them?" Kamio seethed from beside Eiji.
"Well, I know I wouldn't." Eiji commented. "I would go ride rides."
"Say that again." Kamio commanded, he had just gotten an idea.
The red haired acrobat gave him a look that said he doubted the other boy's sanity. "I would go ride rides," he repeated.
"Ok, well why don't we look fro them on the rides?" Kamio reasoned.
"Nya! That is a great idea." Eiji exclaimed.
The two stopped at a scary looking ride and looked up. Twin emerald haired children ran past them.
"Wait, wasn't that Kyokon and Akemi?" Kamio asked, looking after the Twins.
"Waaa! They are riding a ride without us." Eiji cried in despair, running towards the Twins.
"Oi, Eiji wait up." Kamio ran after the acrobat.
"Nya! Kyoko, Akemi, wait up!" Eiji yelled, getting in line for the same ride te Twins were getting on.
Kyoko and Akemi looked back from first cart and blew twins raspberries at their two sempai-taichi.
"Nian nian na boo boo!" They exclaimed mockingly.
A few screams erupted from the ride and at the end the four kids got off. "Kyoko, Akemi, wait up." Eiji commanded running after the boys, while Kamio tried not to barf.
"Eiji," he rasped. "Wait up."
"Nya, we have to catch them." The red haired boy looked back.
Twin giggles came from the twins as they ran away towards the entrance.
"Argh!" Kamio's legs sped up and he ran dodging the people and pigeons.
"Nya!" Eiji chased after the Twins.
~Normal POV~
Oishi, Momo, and Shinji, and Ryoma ran in from the other direction only to collide with Eiji and Kamio. A cluster of "Wait, huh" 's and "Get those twins!" 's erupted from the cluster followed by six teenage boys pelting down the road chasing two toddlers giggling down the road.
"Caught you!" Kamio exclaimed, finally catching up to the monkeys that were Kyoko and Akemi.
"You are going to stay with us now." Ryoma panted.
"What were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt or dunked in a pool of piranhas." Oishi fussed over the twins.
"Nya! That was hard." Eiji exclaimed leaning on Momo.
After all six had patronized the Twin enough they decided to deposit the Twins into Ryoma's care saying that they were busy or mentally stunted from the traumatic experience. Shinji and Kamio parted ways with the Seigaku Regulars.
"Wait, where are our bikes?" Momo and asked.
"We left them at the burger joint." Oishi, Eiji and Ryoma sweat dropped.
The six departed to retrieve their bikes.
~That Night~
"So, how was your day with Kyoko and Akemi?" Rinko asked her son who was lounging on his bed, stroking Karupin.
"I hate babysitting." Ryoma replied blatantly.
The End