*NOTE* Alternate Universe wherein I shamelessly borrowed/altered ideas from various media sources and even threw in some of my own. If anything is canon here, it's probably an accident. Later chapters may include corporal punishment.

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 4

By Haruka (email: haruka at ymail dot com )

Tachibana Kippei loved his Fudomine players dearly, but if his Vice-Captain didn't stop bouncing from one side of the cab to the other, he was going to blow him out the door.

"Akira, knock it off!" he said forcefully. "We're almost there."

"IknowbutIcan'thelpitit'ssuchareliefthatwe'llbeabletofigureoutwhat'swrongandevenifwecan'tfixitwecanmaybecontrolit—"

"I already told you how to get started, so why don't you calm down and maybe you won't be so hyper." Tachibana had thought his problem of starting impromptu hurricanes was bad, but at least Momoshiro had told him how to more or less control it. The exercise didn't seem to be working for Kamio Akira, who had already been nicknamed Speed Demon before he had any powers. Now he was moving, thinking, and speaking so quickly that he wasn't always coherent. The truth is, if Kamio was running to this hideout of Atobe's, he'd already have beaten them there long ago.

"And before that, the person who took this cab was a drunk who cheated on his wife. Before him was a woman with a five-year-old girl with her. Before her was a –"

Akira's boyfriend, Ibu Shinji, was his other player afflicted with powers. He always was a mumbler who carried on lengthy monologues, even during tennis matches. Now, however, he wasn't so much talking to himself as he was conversing with inanimate objects. Tachibana wasn't sure which was worse.

"We're here," the cab driver said, tactfully not commenting on his unusual passengers. In his business, he'd met all kinds.

Akira was already gone and Shinji was thanking the cab for the ride by the time Tachibana finished paying.

Momoshiro was the only one in the foyer when a knock came at the door, so he headed over to answer it. He was rather surprised; although he hadn't been there long himself, he knew that it was necessary to be buzzed in through the gate before anyone could approach the mansion.

He was even more surprised to open the door and find Akira there.

"Hi," he said. "I didn't know you were coming - we were expecting Tachibana."

Akira hooked a thumb back toward the gate. "He'sstillbacktherewithShinjithe y'llbeinsoonsowhere'sourroomgonnabe?"

Momoshiro stared at the redhead and tried to make sense of what he said. "I guess it's got you, too," he finally remarked. "And Ibu as well?" He laughed. "Echizen will love that!"

"Echizenisheretoowhatpowerdoe shehaveohthere'sthefrontgatebuzzertheymustb ereadytocomein!" Before Momoshiro could say anything, Akira had already hit the gate release button on the intercom.

"How'd you get in here ahead of them, anyway?" Momoshiro said, holding up a hand. "Tell me SLOWLY."

Akira tried to remember what Tachibana had said about staying calm and focusing. It wasn't easy, but when he concentrated as hard as he could, he was able to slow down. "I ran over the wall," he managed to get out.

The stone wall was at least ten feet high, maybe fifteen, Momoshiro thought. How fast had Akira been going?

The Fudomine Sophomore was letting his team Captain and his boyfriend in the front door, just as Eiji materialized by Momoshiro's side.

"YIPE!" Momo jumped into the air. "Eiji-senpai, do you HAVE to do that?!"

"Mengo, mengo!" Eiji chuckled sheepishly. "I wanted to see who was here!"

Tachibana was staring at him. "You just appeared out of thin air. Or did you run in here as fast as Akira?"

"I teleported here - that's what they call it, anyway," Eiji explained. "I want to give it a cooler name that's more ME, like 'Hoi-ing' or something."

"IsthatnamecoolIwouldn'tbesosureaboutthatheydoyouth inkyoucanteleportfasterthanI canrun?" Akira asked. Eiji blinked at him.

"Hoi?" he said in confusion.

"This used to be a thriving country club," Shinji mumbled. "Before that, it was a hotel, but it was too expensive for most people to afford. It's happy to have children staying here now so long as we don't cause structural damage."

Eiji looked even more confused and glanced at Momoshiro for help. He shrugged.

"Welcome, boys," Aoi greeted as she came downstairs. "Akira-kun, Shinji-kun, we weren't expecting you."

Tachibana bowed. "My apologies. My teammates only started to exhibit their powers last night, after I last spoke to Ryuzaki-san about coming here."

"It's perfectly fine - we're open to anyone who needs time to learn how to cope with their power." She motioned to Eiji. "Kikumaru-kun, could you please show them to some empty rooms upstairs please?"

"Sure, follow me, nya!" Eiji declared, then disappeared from sight. Aoi sighed and gave the boys an apologetic look. Eiji reappeared, blushing.

"Oops," he said. "Sorry. Up here." He walked toward the stairs. Akira sped to the top before his teammates had taken one step.

"The last person to touch this banister before me was Momoshiro," Shinji murmured as he started up the stairs. "The first person to ever touch it was a man named Koujito back in the year 1960 when this place was first built -"

"Ibu-san."

Shinji stopped on the stairs and looked up at Ryoma, who stared impassively down at him from the landing. "Echizen Ryoma. I didn't hear about you having any powers, so what could you possibly be doing here?"

"My teammates are here, so I'm here," he replied, then scowled. "Besides, my father is one of the chaperones."

The boys found out the reason for his attitude a moment later when a scruffy-looking man in a monk's robe joined Ryoma and rumpled his hair. That made him scowl even harder. "And what do we have here? More cute boys moving in? Welcome, one and all!" He pointed at them. "Hey, I remember you three! Fudomine, right? I've seen you play, you're good."

"Thank you," Tachibana replied. "And you are ...?"

"Echizen Nanjiroh," he replied and mussed Ryoma's hair again. "This is my brat."

"That hurts," Ryoma muttered, wincing.

"HeyEchizenNanjirohthatmeansy ouweretheworldclassprotennis playergeezIneverthoughtyou'dlooklikesuchabum –"

A harsh gust of wind knocked Akira over, and Tachibana bowed in Nanjiroh's direction. "I apologize for my player."

"Why? He just told the tru-mmph!" Ryoma struggled to free his face from his father's hand, which had slipped down from his head to cover it entirely.

"I won't keep you any longer!" Nanjiroh said cheerfully and stood aside, half-dragging Ryoma with him. "Go ahead and take them to rooms, Eiji-kun!"

The boys followed Eiji while Ryoma shoved his father away and gave him a dirty look.

"What?" Nanjiroh asked innocently.

"WHERE are you going again?" Yuuta asked Syuusuke as he watched him pack. "And since when do you wear sunglasses in the house?"

"I'll be leaving in a few minutes, and I don't want to forget them before I get on the bus. I'm going to one of Atobe Keigo's properties – the number is by the phone in the hall," Syuusuke replied, opening a drawer and pulling out a hardcover notebook. He frowned, studying it. "Yuuta … you didn't have cause to go into my drawer, did you?"

"As if I would!" his younger brother scoffed. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing." Syuusuke was sure he remembered putting the bookmark ribbon back in place in his diary, but it was laying loose in the drawer now. He knew Yuuta wouldn't lie to him, so maybe it fell out while his sister was putting away his clean clothes for him.

"Hey … Aniki," Yuuta said slowly, rubbing his own arm nervously. "I have something to show you before you go." He held out his hand, palm up. "See that paper cut on my index finger?"

Syuusuke peered at the finger. "No, I don't. Where is it?"

"That's the thing – it's gone. Just like my sore throat yesterday." Yuuta looked uneasy. "Not only that, but last night when Mizuki-senpai was here, and we were getting a snack in the kitchen, he burnt himself on the toaster. I took his hand so I could look at the burn, and while I was holding it …." He looked away. "He said it stopped hurting. There was no sign of the burn after that, either."

Syuusuke paused. "Is it possible Mizuki was just exaggerating the seriousness of the burn to begin with?"

Yuuta looked annoyed. "No, Aniki! I heard him yelp when it happened, and I saw the redness of the burn just before it disappeared!"

"I'm sorry, Yuuta. I didn't mean to imply anything." Syuusuke gave him a wistful smile. "I just hoped you wouldn't be one of those affected by these powers."

"So you think now that I've got some kind of power?" Yuuta asked softly.

Syuusuke placed a hand on his shoulder. "I do, and I think you do, too, or you wouldn't have told me about it." He grinned. "At least it seems to be a nice power to have – to be able to heal yourself and others as well."

"I guess, but I'm still nervous," Yuuta admitted. "What do I do now?"

"Get packed," his big brother replied cheerfully. "You're coming with me."

"What do you MEAN we can't room together?!" Gakuto screamed.

"Exactly what I said," Sumire told him firmly. "Sakaki-san says you and Yuushi-kun are involved, and we're not inviting trouble by putting you in the same room."

Gakuto put his hands on his hips. "You're a little late to avoid THAT kind of trouble! Yuushi and I have been boyfriends for a long time now!"

"We weren't responsible for you before; now we are." Sumire motioned to Yuushi. "Come along, Yuushi-kun. We'll find you another room."

"Yuushi!" Gakuto thrust out his arm, and suddenly Yuushi's feet stopped moving, causing him to overbalance so that he ended up on his hands and knees.

"What the -?" Sumire gasped, staring from Yuushi to Gakuto. "What's going on?"

"Gaku," Yuushi said calmly, "stop this. You can't hold me forever, and I won't be going far."

"But I want you with ME!" the tiny fourteen-year-old whined.

Sumire bent down to help Yuushi up, since he didn't seem inclined to do so himself, but found that she couldn't lift his hands off the floor. "How is he doing this?" she asked and looked back toward Gakuto. "I thought your power was flight!"

"You were wrong," Yuushi answered calmly. "Gakuto can control gravity. Both his own and others'. But this has gone far enough."

Gakuto pouted, but made an upsweep motion with his arm. Yuushi heaved a sigh of relief and slowly rose to his feet.

Sumire shook her head, making a mental note not to assume too much about these kids and their powers. Obviously, some of them still held surprises up their sleeves.

Mizuki Hajime was not happy.

"Did you just say that you're going with your brother?!" he snapped into his telephone.

"Don't worry, senpai, I'll still be able to attend and play for St. Rudolph, but right now I need to be with other kids who are adjusting to their powers."

"I told you not to tell him what happened!" Mizuki said angrily.

"I – I'm sorry," Yuuta faltered. "But I figured he'd understand, since he's dealing with his own problem …."

"Oh, really?" Mizuki said thoughtfully. "And exactly what IS Fuji Syuusuke's 'problem'?"

"They're calling him a Siren. He can, um, attract people … lure them, entice them … that kind of thing. Inui Sadaharu thinks Aniki will be able to make people do whatever he wants, the power makes them love him so much."

Mizuki felt a shudder rack his entire body. "That sounds positively revolting! How does it work?"

"Well, he wasn't sure at first, but they discovered that it can be triggered when people look into his eyes. He's learning to turn it on and off at will now."

"I see," Mizuki murmured. He took a deep breath. "Well, Yuuta-kun, it seems I don't have a choice in this matter."

"I'm sorry, senpai. I promise my performance for St. Rudolph won't suffer."

"I'm sure it won't. Goodbye for now." Mizuki hung up the receiver, then looked up at his reflection in the hallway mirror. "So Fuji Syuusuke is a Siren, is he? I guess that explains why Yuuta-kun behaved so strangely when he was going out last night." He twirled a lock of his dark hair around a finger and smiled mischievously. "I guess I really DON'T have a choice now. I'll simply have to join them there."

The St. Rudolph manager giggled naughtily as he watched his reflection disappear from sight.

End of Part 4

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.