Just passing through and editing before the next chapter comes out ~Night~
Original A/N:
Hey All. Thank you to those of you who reviewed, please keep reviewing so I will keep being motivated to post if you enjoy this story! Thank you for reading!
"Masa-chan, Usagi-chan, Aka-chan." She called softly, using their nicknames from when they first came to live with her.
"Don't call me that, 'Tou-san." Bunta protested half-heartedly, not really awake.
Ana sat on the edge of Akaya's bed and Akaya immediately climbed into her lap, Bunta and Masaharu got onto the bed on either side of her and she put her arms around them. "I have distressing news, my dear ones. My baka-aniki decided to go back to school, starting in Middle School. He left for Seishun Gakuen early this morning. He'll be joining the tennis team so he apologizes but says you'll meet him again on the courts."
Masaharu's face darkened in anger, teal eyes turning almost black. "That bastard!"
"Masaharu!" Ana scolded, "You're too young for that language."
"He abandoned us, I'll never forgive him." Masaharu vowed, ignoring Ana's scolding.
"Yeah, he's not my 'Kaa-san anymore. We'll meet him on the court, and we'll beat him!" Bunta said, standing up and locking eyes with Masaharu as his eyes darkened as well. Masaharu stood as well and they grasped hands.
Akaya didn't say anything; he just clung to Ana, tears rolling down his face.
"It's alright darlings. I'm still here and I will not leave you as long as you live." Ana promised, rocking her youngest. "My brother is a free spirit, Aka-chan; this is not your fault. He has often run when responsibilities became too much. I feared this would happen so I set up a punishment in my own way."
Masaharu and Bunta turned to see their baby brother's distress, realizing that the five years weren't enough to soothe the younger boy's fear of abandonment. They climbed up on either side of Ana and cuddled into her sides to hug the smaller boy.
"Kuni's an idiot, Aka-chan, we don't need him." Bunta whispered.
"Yeah, and he's going to Seigaku. Rikkaidai is a lot better; we'll crush him, and his team." Masaharu added darkly.
"We're better off without him, now we get 'Tou-san to ourselves." Bunta added, much to Ana's amusement.
"She won't have to take care of Kuni anymore so she can focus more on us." Masaharu warmed up to the idea.
As Ana listened, the two older boys convinced Akaya of a few things. First, that her brother was an idiot and they were better off without him there to mess up things. Second, they would get their revenge. Third, that neither she nor either of the boys would ever pull the same stunt that Kuni had. And the final thing, and most amusing in her eyes, that Kuni took up more of Ana's attention then strictly necessary. That he had needed to be looked after just as much as the boys did, which was not true seeing as Kuni was an independent adult vampire over a thousand years older than them and more then capable of looking after himself. Kuni also, according to the boys, was a lazy person who had made them do all the work around the house while Ana was gone and now that he no longer was there his tyrannical rule had ended and life would be better. Ana wondered where they got these ideas from, and then was slightly worried as Akaya seemed to believe most of them. Her youngest was far too gullible with anything his brothers told him.
Over the next week their small family clung together. Ana doing more to reassure the boys she would never leave while Masaharu and Bunta continued their outrageous stories when they thought she wasn't listening. So the two older boys were able to start Rikkai with no problems. They joined the tennis club, though remained apart from the rest of the players as they kept to themselves during the club time playing each other, or as a doubles team. In class they kept to their friends, the twins, though they began interacting with their own class, 1-C, more, eventually becoming the boys' leaders. Neither boy really noticed that the girls were distant, they always had been, and both boys already knew they weren't interested in girls. Within tennis club, though, Bunta began being partnered with a half-Brazilian boy named Kuwahara Jackal, and because of this Jackal became friends with the two brothers as well, though they kept secret their sibling relationship. As their skill became clearer they came to the attention of the three best First Year tennis players, Yanagi Renji, Sanada Genichirou and Yukimura Seiichi. Yanagi was the first to approach Masaharu, two months into school.
"Niou Masaharu, correct?"
Masaharu looked over from where he lay on the roof during the lunch break, waiting for his brother, to see the brunette with half closed eyes. "Aa?"
"Yanagi Renji, class 1-A, would you like to play doubles with me? I think we would play well together."
"I know who you are, Yanagi Renji of class 1-A, you're a data collector. You should know that I don't play well with others." Masaharu drawled as he propped himself up slightly to look at the standing boy better.
"Except Marui Bunta." Yanagi countered. "You get along with him."
"I'm a singles player, Yanagi-san, and so are you, regardless of your past. 'Sides, how do you figure our play styles mix?"
"Play a match with me, us against Marui-san and Kuwahara-san. If we win, you'll be my partner until one of us finds a new partner. If we lose, I'll leave you alone."
Masaharu's eyes narrowed. "And I suppose that if we win I will pass the test and find myself allied with the 1-A leaders?"
Yanagi didn't reply at first, but his eyes opened revealing an odd golden color. "Our only aim is Nationals; we will only accept the best."
"Total domination, huh?" Masaharu lay back down again. "We'll see on the courts this afternoon then."
Yanagi nodded and left Masaharu alone as Bunta finally arrived.
"What did Yanagi-san want?" He asked, handing Masaharu a drink.
"To play doubles with me against you and Jackal to test us to see if we're good enough to help win Nationals." Masaharu propped himself up again as he dug into the food Bunta brought. "Looks like we caught the attention of the 1-A leaders with our skills."
"Of course, I'm a genius aren't I?" Bunta grinned wildly. "Let's make this more interesting between the two of us."
"A bet, Bunta? Alright, if Yanagi-san and I win you have to…" Masaharu trailed off as his teal eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "If we win you have to give Jackal a kiss right there in front of everyone."
"What!" Bunta cried, "Why?"
"Because it would embarrass both of you even more in addition losing against a doubles pair who doesn't know the first thing about each other." Masaharu grinned wickedly. "If you're too chicken to take the bet you can always just say so."
"Alright, but if you lose you have to kiss Yanagi-san." Bunta caved. He hated being called a coward above all else, as Masaharu well knew.
Masaharu held out his hand. "Deal, ototou-chan."
"Don't call me that, just because you're a few months older than me!" Bunta complained, shaking the offered hand.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly and soon the brother found themselves on opposite sides of the net. Sanada sat in the umpire's chair while Yukimura watched, coolly leaning against the fence, his expression unreadable. Behind the fences the 1-C friends of Bunta and Masaharu, twins, Saitou Shin and Hajime, watched excitedly. The brothers told the twins the bet to ensure that neither would chicken out, though they knew they didn't need to worry about Masaharu who, the previous year, informed the entire class he was gay so the few girls who were already bothering him needed to stop. The match was fairly one sided, to Masaharu's surprise, as he and Yanagi won 6-3. Though he and Yanagi didn't know each other personally, both were very observant, as Yanagi was a data player and Masaharu was an analytical player, they relied on knowing everything about everyone to get their way in situations. As a result they played well off of each other. Masaharu grinned wickedly at Bunta.
"So I won, huh Bun-chan?" He drawled, his eyes dancing mischievously at the pink haired boy.
Bunta blushed bright red as he remembered the bet. The adrenaline rush the game had given him caused him to temporarily forget about the kiss. The twins cat-called from their position, while the 1-A boys looked confused, even Yanagi. With a glare at his silver-haired brother, Bunta turned to his confused doubles partner and pulled his head to down kiss him lightly on the mouth. Masaharu's grin twisted into a smirk as he caught it on his camera he pulled from somewhere. Bunta heard the click and chased after the taller boy. So Renji became Masaharu's doubles partner, and Genichirou and Seiichi became their friends. By late November they had a tentative plan for taking over the tennis team, though they all felt like something was missing. The last week of November Masaharu surprised them all.
