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Chapter 1- What Started It All


"Echizen!"

No reply...

"Oi, Echizen!!!" yelled a certain Momoshiro Takeshi.

"Unggg..." came the groaning reply.

"What the FUCK are you doing still lying on your bed?! We were supposed to meet the other sempais half an hour ago!" Momo yelled again from the front door of the Echizen household.

"Wha....whaattt?" was the answer that came from the still half asleep Echizen Ryoma.

"UGHHHH. GET THE FUCK OUT OF THAT ROOM, AND THAT HOUSE TOO!" Momo practically roared.

5 minutes later, a poorly dressed and definitely still half asleep Ryoma came pondering out of the house. "Yo Echizen, hurry up and climb on. We're already late as it is, if we don't hurry, buchou's gonna be reeeaaall mad." Momo said, frustrated.

"Wait, WHAT?" Ryoma exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. "BUCHOU's going too?!"

"No duh, why else would I be in such a hurry. You know me, sleeping in as late as possible every single day, even on a group gathering like this one." laughed Momo.

"Oh. My. God. Why didn't you tell me earlier?!?!?!" Ryoma yelled, "If I'd known that buchou would be there.... Oh god, oh god, oh god...."

Momo watched as a slight tint of pink appeared on Ryoma's face... and frowned. "Hey Echizen.... you don't happen to.... have a crush on somebody, do you?"

"Huh, what?" Echizen snapped, face obviously pink now. "Haha, very funny Momo-sempai, tennis is obviously the only thing I care about right now." came the cocky reply, although his voice was a bit shaky.

"Hm....is that so?" Momo muttered, more to himself than to Ryoma. "Anyways, we've gotta get going! We're now almost an HOUR late, thanks to you!"

"What? But...but....I need to go change! I can't go see the sempais wearing.... this.." Ryoma said, pointing at his obviously mismatched apparel.

"......"

"......"

"Oh my GOD Echizen, can't you be READY for ONCE in your freakin life?!"

And just like that, it wasn't until another 45 minutes later that Momo and Echizen arrived at the local park by bike, where they, along with all the other Seigaku regulars (including Inui) were supposed to be playing casual tennis.

"O-chi-biiiiiii!" exclaimed an overly hyper Kikumaru Eiji. "Why were you guys so late, nya? Buchou's been worried! Just look at that frozen frown on his face! Nya~hahahaha!"

".... buchou, you were worried?" The tint of pink on his face was obvious, and it didn't go unnoticed by Momo and this time a certain Tensai as well.

Buchou was worrying for me.... Tezuka Kunimitsu was worrying for me. Ryoma was so happy that he did not notice a pair of intense cerulean eyes gazing at him.

The rest of the day went by rather normally, with the exception of Ryoma intentionally trying to catch his buchou's attention a couple of times. Most of these times Fuji Syuusuke had noticed, but decided not to say anything. When it finally came the time for them to go home, Momo having already left a couple of hours before due to a "family crisis" (most possibly meaning a shortage of desserts or likewise), Ryoma had no choice but to walk home with the few others who were also walking home -- Eiji, Oishi, Kawamura, Kaidoh, Inui and Fuji.

As they walked further towards Fuji's house, for his was the furthest and had connecting roads to all the others' houses, the number of people slowly decreased. Eiji and Oishi were the first to disperse from the rest of the group. Everyone knew that Eiji's house was nowhere near Oishi's, but then again, everyone also knew that the two were now a couple. Kawamura was next, having been called away by his father from the Kawamura Sushi shop front. Another few minutes of ringing silence, and Inui and Kaidoh had left as well, together, obviously, having been the first couple to emerge from the Seigaku regulars.

What followed the departure of Inui and Kaidoh was a round of awkward silence. Since Fuji was just not the type to talk, and Ryoma (also not much of a talker), who was too busy thinking about the interactions he had had with his buchou earlier, which wasn't much, but was enough to suffice.

"Echizen..."

Fuji's whisper was so soft that Ryoma almost thought he was going crazy thinking about his buchou.

"Hm?" came the equally soft reply, entangled with that signature cockiness he seemed to always contain.

"Do you....like anyone?"

The sound of two pairs of footsteps suddenly decreased into one.

"Funny how you're asking me that too, Fuji-sempai. Momo-sempai just asked me that same question this morning." Echizen replied, his voice sounding a little too smooth.

"Saa...really? I guess he noticed it too..." Fuji said, the last part more for himself than anything. Beautiful cerulean eyes opened as he said this, and he directed those sparkling blue orbs at Ryoma.

The gaze was so intense it snapped Ryoma out of his Tezuka-trance, and Ryoma was forced to looked away from the stare that was so serious and unmoving that it scared him.

"So Echizen.... had a crush on anyone lately?" the smooth voice of Fuji Syuusuke said.

".................. Okay, so maybe I kind of have a bit of feelings towards buchou, but it's nothing really.... Just a little more than admiration, that's all." Ryoma muttered, face turning a bright shade of red.

"............."

"Is that so....... well, this is your house Echizen!" Fuji suddenly said brightly, closing those cerulean eyes of his and motioning towards the front entrance of the Echizen residence.

"Hmm..." Ryoma merely managed, before pulling his Fila cap down and stalking towards the door.