Fate loves Bears, a prince of tennis fanfic

Prince of Tennis

One-shot

Theme: Bear family
Written by: Lady Abbess
Team: Seigaku
Message: Read, enjoy, and review!
Standard Disclaimer Applied

"To the toy store we go…!"

Eiji Kikumaru admits that he was a childish person. There was no way he could hide that fact and besides, everyone loves him that way. He was friendly, cheerful and playful – it fitted his acrobat tennis perfectly. But being in college made life a bit blue for him. It was so sad. He barely sees his friends anymore – they got into different universities and Ochibi was the only high schooler left. And being a loner never was for him. But that was how he exactly felt.

He knew he couldn't call up and visit them every time as they are all busy with term papers and lessons.

They barely have time for get-togethers.

Tennis wasn't the same.

In the end, Eiji settled for building up his bear collection.

And Daigoro wasn't the only one occupying his bedroom anymore.

There was Tezuka sitting on top of his dresser, Fuji on the carpet smiling as ever, Oishi was tending to a miniature fish tank he had on his table, Inui was surrounded by small plush tennis balls and plastic glasses and pitcher so he'd still be able to make his concoctions, Kaidoh wasn't alone with the puppy plushies Eiji bought for him – he knew how much Kaidoh liked puppies, Momoshiro was in a toy kitchen so he wouldn't go hungry, and Ochibi was looking cool with his small red tennis racket.

Eiji liked his growing bear collection.

It was like being with his friends again.

But he couldn't afford to spend money almost everyday, though, and he was forced to save up and buy two bears a month.

It didn't matter though.

He counted his bills and knew that he could buy a Sakuno bear and Ryuuzaki-sensei bear today.

Next month, he'd buy Ichinen Trio bears.

Eiji was really happy.

He grinned like the Cheshire cat and said to himself, "To the toy store we go…!"

"Nya! I didn't expect to see you guys here!"

Fuji had dragged Kawamura and Oishi with him along that day – they have a term paper to help him finish for both have agreed to help. Besides, it was a perfect opportunity to try and catch up with their lives. They haven't seen each other for months and a few months more, it'll be a year.

He laughed and sipped his coffee.

"I really miss meetings like this – it's such a shame we can't do it often." Oishi said, taking some cookies from the platter.

"Oishi's right. Maybe we should try to do this more often. Invite the guys and have some get-together. What do you think, Fuji?" Kawamura asked.

"It'll be great – I just hope someone could convince Echizen and Kaidoh."

Oishi smiled and shook his head. "Ah, those two. Really troublesome houseguests, my landlady was angry the last time we met at my place. Echizen couldn't leave without his pet Karupin, ne? And Kaidoh got into a bit of a scruff with Momo – it took all of us to convince Tezuka not to do anything about it."

"I remember that time." Fuji added, "Weren't you guys causing much of a commotion?"

Kawamura scratched the back of his head. "I was handed a racket at that time. I think it was Eiji's doing."

"Oh yeah, you were screaming mad that time – I thought my landlady's gonna kick us out."

"Ne, I'm glad she didn't."

Fuji let his gaze linger for a while on the crowded park when a flash of red caught his eyes and saw one his best buds since junior high. "There's Eiji."

"Really, where?!"

"He's there, Kawamura."

"Oi, Eiji!!!! Over here!!!" Oishi called out and waved.

The redhead found them and waved back. "Nya!!!! I didn't expect to see you guys here!!!"

And he ran towards them.

"How are things, Inui?"

He was known as the 'Data Man' and loved everything that involved numbers and percentages. It helped him a great deal but some would say he was pretty dysfunctional.

Was he?

There was a 60 percent chance he was.

Although he couldn't tell if his data was right.

But the data never lies.

Right?

He walked down the street and was preoccupying himself with counting the number of dogs he passed by – nothing much was fun ever since he entered college, except the time they got together at Oishi's house.

He never knew Echizen was a silly drunk.

And that Fuji could tolerate his liquor.

And that Tezuka wouldn't touch the stuff at all.

Hm, that was the twelfth dog today.

He was going to buy himself a new microscope, four black markers, two 90-paged notebooks, a sliding folder, a rim of bond paper, legal pad, and buy himself dinner before he returned to his apartment.

He had a project waiting.

Not aware of his surroundings that time, he was quite surprised when someone tapped him on the back and asked, "How are things, Inui?"

"I'd have a double cheeseburger, please!"

Ryoma was made captain of Seishun Gakuen's tennis team being the only senior member. He was glad that he found fresh talent for the team but perfection doesn't stop there. Talent needed harnessing, and so he would harness them. Ryuuzaki-sensei said he was like Tezuka when he was still captain.

He didn't mind, of course.

But things felt different than before.

He does miss those days.

Tugging at his cap – he still kept the getup – and followed the mother and daughter he was standing behind of in the line to the counter of his most frequented fast food restaurant.

After a meal there he'd stop by the public library and borrow some physics textbooks.

He never had any problems with English, after all.

No need to worry about the test.

"I'd have a double cheeseburger, please!" A cheery, familiar voice said.

Hm, could it be?

He peeked a bit and saw the tall figure with the weird hairstyle, "Momo-senpai," he murmured and tugged lower at his cap.

He'll approach him later.

But for now, he needed a burger and some fries.

"It's nice to see you again."

Kaidoh prided himself for many things – his Snake shot, his endurance – and never thought that his job-hunting would land him where he was. But don't worry; he prided himself of his job too.

No matter what others would say.

A job is still a job.

His schedule was adjusted to fit his class hours and thank God his boss was a kind man, he never had to rush to meet the demands college was hurtling at him.

It made earning money a bit easier for him.

And with that same sort of luck, he seemed to have landed a job in one of the most frequented stores of all.

The toy store.

As a clerk.

How many times had he seen children drag in their parents to look at a few of the toys and have them bought one?

It was a crazy job.

The crying.

The whining.

Oh but it was part of life.

He has come to accept that.

And with another opening of the door, he braced himself for another bout of wails and compromise.

Fssh…

"It's nice to see you again."

Kaidoh bowed and looked up, "It's nice to see you too, buchou."

"Nya! Let's buy some bears!"

Fuji laughed again, him and Oishi being pulled along by an overenthusiastic Eiji, towards a place he never stopped by so often.

Kawamura chatted with Inui while they followed the unruly trio of college boys, the redhead acting a little child.

"Nya! Let's buy some bears!" Eiji exclaimed, "I want a small, cute, fluffy one to be Sakuno-chan!!!"

"Oh? You've added more to your stuff toy collection?" Kawamura asked.

"Yup!!! Next month, I'll buy Ichinen Trio bears!!!"

"I see. It meant I was 90 percent correct about this."

"But, Eiji," Oishi went, "They shouldn't be called the Ichinen Trio anymore."

"Ah, how should we refer to them?" Fuji asked.

"The Three Bears?" Eiji butted in.

They laughed again, excluding the data man who was scribbling busily into his notes.

His day seemed to have taken a better turn.

"Oh, here we are!!!" Eiji exclaimed.

They opened the door and were surprised to see two people they haven't expected to find.

"Ano… Tezuka… Kaidoh… What are you guys doing here?"

"It seems like Fate had other plans for us, ne?"

It was a lovely afternoon and the girls walking down the street thought that there was nothing lovelier than seeing a group of seven attractive men joined together, talking.

"How is Ayana-san?" Fuji asked, taking a look at the bears in Eiji's paper bag.

"She's fine, Fuji. I'll tell her you asked, she'd be pleased." Tezuka replied quickly.

Kawamura was a few steps ahead the group with Kaidoh and Oishi, then he started going backwards, facing them, "You know, it's much of a coincidence that we've met each other out here."

"Well, we can't blame anyone else but coincidence and fate, ne?" Oishi said, "Not that I'm saying we should blame fate…"

"It's a 100 percent chance that this is highly coincidental." Inui responded.

"Ah, and so you keep that sort of information too, Inui?" Fuji was amused.

"Of course."

"Ne, Kaidoh, you're boss's a good guy, nya!"

"Fssh. Yes, I suppose, senpai. But I was almost over with my shift…"

"We didn't know you worked there. How was the job?" Oishi questioned, curious.

"It's okay…"

"That's good."

They passed another series of shops and stopped upon approaching the red light, halting and waiting for the signal to cross the street.

At that moment, in a restaurant near them, emerged two young men – one capped and the other with his hair all shiny and indescribable – whom they've recognized immediately.

"Hoy, Echizen, Momo!!!"

It's so good to see you, nya!!!"

Tezuka exchanged looks with Inui.

Momo grinned and waved wildly while his companion just raised a hand in greeting.

Fuji just smiled his charming smile, "It seems like Fate had other plans for us, ne?"

END.

A/N: How do you like this, ne? I sure hope you review, please do!!! Thankies, mwah!!!