Sanada didn't know what to do with the boy. He really didn't. It had only been a few days since he lost to the brat, but he really felt no regret. There had been the initial shock, the disappointment for not being able to keep his promise to Yukimura, but the actual match was not something he could regret. Rather, he looked back at it and couldn't stop labeling it as his most exhilarating match yet. But the scariest of all was that Sanada wanted to see the little brat. He kept trying to tell himself that it was for more tennis…but….he was having a hard time convincing himself. The emperor of Rikkai Dai never had difficulties in making decisions. It also didn't help that the thought of the brat calling Tezuka "Buchou"made his kendo game all that more intense. For once in his life, Sanada was thankful for his naturally stoic face and nature. At least it wouldn't show when Echizen kept running through his mind.
Yukimura noticed something was off about Sanada. Normally, Sanada would have been furious about losing Kanto for weeks, but he didn't seem to be affected by it. Furthermore, he noticed that Sanada's lips and eyes had been twitching ever so slightly and quite often at that. It was almost like his face wanted to smile, but didn't quite know how. Yukimura was thoroughly amused and curious as well. He stored it away in his brain and made a mental note to ask Fuji about it. After all, that guy noticed everything about everyone.
Fuji ended his phone call with a smile and a glint in his eyes. If any of his teammates were around they would have recognized that smile. Unfortunately for them, they would have no warning before Fuji hit them. And it was true—Fuji had been noticing some interesting behaviors around his own teammates lately as well. Well, around one particular teammate anyway. It was hard to tell because the brat was, well, a brat, but he had become increasingly bratty of late. Fuji decided to watch the boy for a bit longer and then tell Yukimura what he saw.
Echizen was bored. Ridiculously, mind-bogglingly, immensely bored. Buchou was still away in Germany and he wanted someone to play. Not just anyone, he wanted a Buchou-esque player to play against. He missed that feeling. The Monkey King wouldn't work—even if he was a captain, he was just way too…weird. Oishi fukubuchou didn't work either, he was too much of a mother hen. Tachibana from Fudomine? Nope, didn't know him well enough. All the others weren't deemed interesting enough for inclusion into the list. He knew he could have played with his senpai-tachi if he wanted a strong player, but he wanted someone who would drive him to his limits while being completely serious. His senpais were just so strange. Echizen wouldn't have minded playing that one guy from Rikkai Dai again. Sanada was it? When he played at Kanto he was serious about winning and didn't try to talk one's ears off. Meh. For now he'd just beat everyone on the school team and "mada mada dane" everyone to vent. Echizen smiled.
Fuji, the ever-observant Fuji, noticed all of this. He noticed that Echizen was strangely telling everyone they had lots more to work on and that he kept playing as if he was trying to reach something. Even if Echizen wasn't quite sure, Fuji knew that Echizen's body craved to be pushed to the limits like in his match with Sanada. That gave Fuji an idea. He would call Yukimura up and ask to set up a practice match between the two schools. And they would be sure to pair the two up to see what would happen. Fuji gave his most mischievous grin yet. Yukimura was pleased. Fuji had suggested an interesting idea and an even better plan to test this idea. As a bonus, they would be able to practice their skills as well. But the real objective was known to Fuji and Yukimura alone—to see why the boys were acting weird and to see if their hypothesis was correct. Well, they had a pretty good idea of what the results were going to be, but it would be amusing to see the outcome.
Sanada was suspicious. When one had Yukimura for a captain, it was something you learned or you just wouldn't. You also learned the warning signs; otherwise, it would be too late. And Yukimura had that gleam in his eyes. That one gleam that meant he was plotting something. Sanada let out a sigh and resigned himself to whatever Yukimura was planning. He knew if Yukimura really wanted something to happen, it would and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only pray that it wouldn't be too embarrassing. Rather, he should probably concentrate on the practice match between Seigaku and Rikkai Dai. This was a chance to redeem themselves from the Kantou match. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
"No this is not a chance to see Echizen, it's a chance to play tennis" he thought, but his eyes and lips gave a telltale twitch that showed he was happy. Yukimura noticed it of course, he knew Sanada too well. And if Sanada was interested in someone from Seigaku, it could only be the brat, even if he was a little young. Yukimura decided to keep this from Fuji, he'd let Fuji find this one out on his own. He just hoped he would be there when Fuji started manhandling Sanada for being interested in the baby of Seigaku.
Echizen was ecstatic, on the inside. Rikkai Dai was coming over for a match and that meant that he might have a chance to play Sanada again. He had played tennis with Monkey King the day before, but it just wasn't the same. All the "ore-sama's" and "the winner will be me" got annoying after awhile. But it was entertaining to poke fun at the Monkey King's eccentricities. Regardless, he would finally be getting a decent match where someone acted normal.