Atobe Keigo stood on top of the Hyotei bleachers.
It was a sunny day. The courts were rolling in green grass and sweaty tennis players. The club room shone over a spanning horizon of golf courts and soccer fields. From his peripheral vision, the girls' tennis team was finishing up practice. Hundreds of pretty girls with swinging ponytails and short skirts were jogging around the court parameters.
Atobe smirked. Maybe he would go observe later. Cute girls were always fun to watch.
A couple feet away from him, Jiroh hung lopsidedly on the bleachers, drool trailing from the corner of his mouth to his chin. Gakuto was reading a tennis magazine, and Oishitari was leaning over his shoulder making smartass remarks. Kabaji sat behind Atobe, eyes trained in front of him, somewhat like a solidly unmoving statue. Shishido applied new grip tape to his racquet, and Ootori watched him with an indiscreet blush.
All in all, it was an ordinary day in the courtyard of Hyotei junior high.
Tennis practice would start in fifteen minutes, and the regulars were waiting for the girls' tennis team to clear off the courts.
"Ahn… it's so hot…" Atobe wiped his forehead with a silver handkerchief. He wished he was allowed to bring his servants to school, but the school board had a policy that forbade him from doing so. Disgruntled, Atobe made a mental note to ask his father to bribe the school board into changing the rules. He really needed an ice cold pink lemonade. Speaking of petty annoyances…
"Ne, Atobe?" Shishido said suddenly. "Isn't that a Seigaku member?"
"Pfft, what's Seigaku doing here!" Gakuto groaned.
Atobe followed Shishido's line of vision. Walking around the outside parameters of the courts was a boy in a trademark blue-and-white Seigaku jacket. A white cap was pulled low over his face, and a Ponta can was permanently stuck to his mouth.
Atobe stared for a moment. There was only one person that was barely five feet and a regular on Seigaku's team. He smirked. "Echizen Ryoma."
"That freshman brat?" Gakuto murmured.
Oishitari looked rather disturbed. "Who let him in? Only Hyotei students with their ID card are allowed into school parameters."
Jiroh awoke to the commotion, and smiled sleepily. "Hey, it's that cute freshman!"
"He's not cute," Shishido said immediately.
"He's a rival." Ootori nodded in agreement.
"Atobe," Oishitari said. "Shouldn't you do something about this? He isn't allowed on school property."
Atobe figured he should do something. Then again, the brat had probably been led here by Atobe's magnificent aura. Atobe figured his pull was hard to resist. Cloaking his jacket over his shoulders, he nodded slightly to Kabaji. "Come, Kabaji."
"Usu."
The two Hyotei members approached Ryoma. Upon closer inspection, Atobe noted that the brat looked to be deep in thought. He was bouncing a tennis ball on the rim of his racquet, but his eyes were trained on the ground.
Great control as always, Atobe admitted reluctantly in his head.
Atobe cleared his throat. "Ore-sama has arrived."
Ryoma looked up from the ground, and stopped in his tracks. He stared at Atobe for a long moment. Then his eyes gleamed. "If it isn't the Monkey King."
Atobe frowned. "That's Atobe-sama to you."
"Hai, hai." Ryoma smirked. "What's up, Monkey King?"
Atobe refrained from twitching. Instead, he kept a cool façade. "This is a private school. Only Hyotei members are allowed on property." He narrowed his eyes at Ryoma who appeared too nonchalant for his own good. "I advise you leave."
Ryoma shrugged. "I'm bored." He frowned into his Ponta. "We should play a match."
"Hyotei has tennis practice in a few minutes," Atobe said. "And besides, Ore-sama would rather eat a burger than play with a brat like you."
"A burger?" Ryoma arched a brow. "I don't get it."
"Burgers are filthy and middle-class," Atobe explained.
Ryoma snorted, taking a sip of his ponta. "Che. Whatever. I'm leaving, then." He turned on his heel, and began to walk the other way.
But people did not simply walk away from Atobe Keigo.
"Echizen," Atobe said in a chilling voice. "Turn around."
Ryoma looked over his shoulder. "What is it?"
"You broke school rules." Atobe waved him forward. Ryoma sighed and walked toward him once more. "How did you get in? The school forbids outsiders from entering."
Ryoma shrugged. "I hopped over the fence."
"You what?"
"I hopped over the fence." Ryoma practically sneered. "It's not that tall."
Atobe stared. And stared. "You hopped over the fence?"
Ryoma shrugged. "Okay, well, I climbed, and then hopped. Can I go now?"
"No - I – " Atobe turned to Kabaji. "Send a letter to the school demanding they make the fences taller." He swiped a hand through his hair, muttering, "What has the school security come to." Kabaji nodded with an "Usu" and removed himself from Atobe's side.
Ryoma watched him go. "Heh. Now your bodyguard is gone."
"He's not my bodyguard." Atobe sniffed. "He's my personal friend."
"Your personal friend?" Ryoma peered at him skeptically.
"Yes." Atobe looked miffed. "Anyway, my question is, why did you come to Hyotei? Were you so desperate to see Ore-sama that you needed to hop over fences?"
Ryoma snorted again. "I was bored. I wanted an opponent. All my senpai-tachi are busy studying for exams." He shrugged. "Hyotei already had their exams, right?"
Atobe watched him carefully. "Yes. Ore-sama got top in the class, as usual."
"Me too." Ryoma smirked. "But unlike you, I didn't even have to try."
"Who said I tried, brat?!"
Ryoma opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by commotion in the distance. A group of security guards decked out in black uniforms entered Hyotei, stepping out of a long, sleek limousine. The girls finishing up their tennis practice stopped and stared. Other Hyotei students paused mid-conversation, entranced by the fancy vehicle and bodyguards. Hyotei was used to having rich students, but everyone, especially Atobe, knew that bodyguards were currently against the Hyotei school rules.
"Wow." Ryoma hummed. "Who's that? He looks richer than you."
Atobe scoffed. "No one is richer than me." Still, he couldn't help but stare. This was an unusual situation. Ryoma probably thought it was normal considering Hyotei was a rich private school, but Atobe knew Hyotei well enough. This never happened regularly. For a few moments, everyone just stared as the body guards moved forward in a pack. They seemed to be protecting someone in the middle.
"Hey," Ryoma said. "They're walking to you."
Atobe crossed his arms over his chest, and sharpened his gaze. The bodyguards, unfazed, walked toward him.
"Atobe Keigo," the front bodyguard said. He was twice Atobe's size, and triple Ryoma's. "You're the captain of the Hyotei tennis team?"
"That would be me." Atobe's gaze didn't waver.
"Hmm." Ryoma sipped on his Ponta. This was getting interesting.
The front bodyguard nodded briskly. "Your current coach is Sakaki Taro?"
They knew the coach? Atobe just stared. "Yes. What do you want?" He didn't like this atmosphere.
The second bodyguard pulled out a sheet of paper, and shoved it into Atobe's unwilling hands.
"What is this?" Atobe's eyes skimmed the contract in his hand.
"We are willing to pay ¥12093500 to replace your current coach."
Ryoma coughed on his drink.
Atobe's eyes widened a fraction. That was a large sum of money. Too large.
"Why?" Atobe uttered. For once, he was nearly speechless.
The first bodyguard said: "Our owner, Kon Nikolaj is the CEO of the largest company in Japan. He also has great interest in tennis. He wanted to be able to coach Japan's richest junior high tennis team as a personal passion."
"CEO of… the largest company…" Atobe gaped. "Coach for a junior high team?"
Ryoma stared at the bodyguard. Kon Nikolaj… why did that name sound so familiar…
"Yes. Welcome the great Kon Nikolaj." In perfect harmony, the bodyguards sidestepped, opening up the protective circle originally formed. Left in the centre was a middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth, a golden ring in his left hand. Expensive clothing splattered his broad body. He smirked. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I…" Atobe could not close his mouth. It took him a moment to realize that Kon was not looking at him. Instead, he was looking at…
Ryoma?!
"You…" Ryoma's whole body was trembling, and the Ponta can fell from his hand and onto the ground. Purple liquid oozed onto the pavement.
Kon leered at him. Ryoma's breathing became shallow, his eyes wide and panicked. In a state of paralysation, he grabbed a fistful of Atobe's shirt, pulling close to his side. Atobe's face morphed into stunned disbelief. What was going on with the brat?
Kon tore his gaze from Ryoma and strode past them. He patted Atobe on the shoulder as he passed. "I look forward to working with you." His voice was chilly – the calm before a storm. Atobe stood rigidly as he watched the bodyguards follow Kon into the school. For the longest time, everyone on the Hyotei property was silent. The students watched in awe as the bodyguards disappeared into the school building. The girls' tennis team was still and unmoving. Ryoma was vibrating next to him.
Then the girls' tennis team captain shouted, "Practice is over!" and everything resumed. Students began talking. The girls chatted with each other as they cleaned up the tennis courts. Jiroh was heard fanboying about something across the far end of the bleachers.
But all Atobe could think about was the small body pressed against his side, shaking from head to toe in fear.
There was something weird going on.
And Atobe, being an Atobe, was going to get to the bottom of it.