XD While I was running, I thought of an idea for this, and, this time, my aim is 9000 words. I want it to be long, and I want my readers to enjoy what they're reading! ^^ Enjoy~ I'm going to reply to Dante's questions from the reviews. ;)
Dante: {First review} I, myself am not really sure yet. I'm just going to come up with ideas as I go along into the story, so… Expect the unexpected! {For the school question}
The dream was a bit confusing… I guess you can just imagine the scenes I described, but the last part is very important. Don't worry, he'll be meeting Ryoma soon! ^^ Haha, yes, I like trying to have Tezuka being thrown off his guard because I'd like to see how that would be like. Beware, he might go through a lot more stuff… It adds to the humor, no?
Thank you to everyone who's reading this!
I used the period when it was Echizen vs. Atobe and he cut his hair. T^T NOOOO! ORE-SAMA'S BEAUTIFUL, SILKY HAIR! I'm taking it out of the manga, so... I wanna make it into my own words, but I don't know how to, but I'll try my best… Sorry if it's not satisfactory!
Who should she go to first, Rikkai or Seigaku?
I'm gonna have 'arcs,' so it's gonna be like, Hyoutei Arc for the next few chapters. Then it's gonna be Seigaku or Rikkaidai Arc. XDD I'm gonna always end with an epic Seigaku moment. Would you want to read my Looking Away Challenge fic? *Hopeful hopeful*
"English"
Ryou gaped at her, who was staring at him. "You… You play tennis?" He sputtered, dropping to the ground. His racquet fell down with a clatter.
Tarou was just as confused as Ryou. He didn't remember her coming to Hyoutei after their first meeting, so how did she meet his idol? What if her identity was discovered? The regulars have sharp eyes. If she attended this school, they would notice.
Ryoma raised an eyebrow, already recovered from her small moment of shock. She glanced at the tennis bag that had mysteriously landed on her back. "Yes, I do."
There was a moment of silence before an arrogant voice spoke. "Introduce yourself." The silver-haired King snapped, as if expecting her to answer immediately. "Who are you to so rudely barge into Ore-sama's tennis courts, and distract one of the members? It's not something wise to do, right, Kabaji?"
"Usu." A deep voice replied coming from the blankly staring, large teen.
She thought for a while, searching for the right word to describe his attitude.
"Well? Answer."
Fangirls were whispering to each other in distaste.
"Ignorant – "
" – bratty – "
" – think he is – "
"Ne." Ryoma said. She turned her head, glaring straight at the girls. "I can hear you."
One of them flushed with anger. She clutched the fence, shouting, "So what? You can listen all you want, but it's pretty obvious everyone in here is superior then you both statically and in tennis!"
"Really?"
Now, a few more of them were standing up to her. "It's not like you can defeat any of them , anyway, so who are you to be talking?"
"Atobe…" A yawn was heard and the entire place was silent again. The curly-haired blond rubbed his eyes, blinking repeatedly as he woke up. "What's happening?"
"Jiroh. You're awake. It appears there has been an… intruder."
"An intruder?"
"Yes."
"Jiroh-sama! Kyaa!" He turned and waved, smiling brightly. Ryoma shifted a bit, taking the tennis bag off of her back. She quietly took out her favorite racquet and grabbed a few tennis balls, stuffing them into the pocket of her baggy, camo – like pants.
"Monkey King."
That alone was enough to have all the fans steaming with anger. Who was this person, and what did he {she} want with the regulars?
"Match?"
Atobe smirked. "Challenge accepted." The court erupted with cheers, soon followed by the rhythmic chant of "Atobe! Atobe! Atobe!" and "Katsu no wa Hyoutei!"{The winner will be Hyoutei}
"Tch, it'll feel good when they shut up." Ryoma muttered. "Loser will have to shave off their hair!" She declared.
*LINE BREAK!*
The two talented players started a light rally at first when she suddenly leaned down and slid across the ground before jumping up.
"Eh? What was that?"
"Drive B." Ryoma said, but was quickly ready to return the ball once more.
"As expected of Atobe-sama! He returned it!" However, their cheers halted a bit when she used another serve, one that made it into a shape of a D. Atobe didn't do anything but stand and watch the ball sail onto his side of the court.
"0-15!" {Atobe went first}
"Ore-sama can see you're hiding something." He said quietly. She grinned.
"Ho? So you noticed?"
"Then why aren't you using it?"
"Don't wanna." She bluntly replied.
"In that case… Ore-sama will have to draw it out of you."
"Let's see you try."
"HAA!" He shouted, tensing before making sure the racquet and the ball connected. "Tannhauser Serve!"
The ball sped across Ryoma's side quickly in a straight line before suddenly bouncing up. She was unable to return it. Atobe smirked, knowing the points he'll be scoring after this. "15 all!"
POK! "30-15!"
POK! "40-15!"
POK! "Game, Atobe! 1-0!"
By now, thunderous chants of, "KING! KING! KING! KING!" had spread throughout the area. The atmosphere started to feel different. Tarou glanced at Ryoma and was surprised to see a flaming white aura surrounding her figure as she grew to be calmer than ever. Was that…
"You still have a long way to go."
Gakuto looked at Ryou. They had all settled down in the bleachers, knowing they'd miss something if they so much as blink from this point on. 'What does that mean?' He asked, using his eyes to translate his message. 'It means mada mada dane. You still have a long way to go.' Yuushi answered. "Oh. Thanks, Yuushi!" "Welcome."
Jiroh's eyes shone with admiration. "That's the State of Self-Realization, isn't it? Isn't it? Sugoi! {Amazing}" He leaned forward, concentrating on the petit yet strong girl. "Who is he to be able to do that?"
"He? Isn't she a she?" Ryou asked.
"Who cares? Just shut up and stop distracting me! This is getting interesting!" Gakuto snorted.
*Ooh-lala! This might be a really long chapter. Line break!*
"That's more like it." Atobe's lips curled up slightly in triumph. Ryoma jumped up, and with all the strength she could muster, slammed the ball to the other side.
"Big Bang."
"What did he say? What was that?" Murmurs ran through the crowd as she continued using serves from other players she'd seen use from the past.
'That's how it's supposed to be. Don't hold back or you'll regret it.' He quickly returned it.
She then dropped down, dashing forward before flipping her racquet, holding it backwards and served in a circular motion.
"Viking Horn."
"So that's how it is, ahn? The State of Self-Realization? It allows one to unconsciously change into different styles of play." He stated, using the same serve. "Rather pathetic, isn't it?" He taunted. Ryoma didn't bother to reply, jumping into the air and spun around, using the momentum {If that makes sense} to serve a smash.
"FuuRinKaZan. Fire."
"Isn't that…"
"Sanada Genichiroh's…"
"Smash?"
"It is!"
Unfortunately, it was easily returned by Atobe's use of a certain sadistic tensai's Higuma Otoshi. She was unable to hit another serve, and thus lost a point.
"L-love – 15!"
"Heehh… Interesting… You're not so bad yourself."
With a familiar shout, Ryoma jumped up and leaned back. "HAAAH!"
"T-that's Atobe-buchou's…"
"Tannhauser Serve."
He sprinted forward. If he was surprised by her use of his move, he didn't show it. "As expected. He returned it using a Front Foot Hop, huh?" Ryou commented.
Yuushi pushed up his gleaming glasses. "Atobe stepped out using his left foot, then jumped on it while serving a Top Spin Rising Counter Shot. It gave him access to the ball just as it hit the ground. That's pretty impressive."
"But he's still going on! Look!" Jiroh pointed to Ryoma. Sure enough, she was moving from left to right quickly, forming the illusion of two people at once.
"Aah! Isn't that Kikumaru's Seal Step?" Gakuto gaped in dismay. "How would he know that?"
Atobe closed his eyes, then opened them, sharply glaring. He has had enough of this child's play. He narrowed his eyes. "You're not as great as Ore-sama expected you to be to challenge him so boldly like that." Closing his eyes once more, he breathed in.
"Found."
"0-30!"
What happened? Ryoma had been unable to react to it, although she would've normally been able to return it with ease.
"Damn it!" She muttered, going up to the front.
"Freeze. Your blind spots are as clear as daylight now."
Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized it.
"Each pillar of ice in my eyes… Is a weak point in reality. It's the World Of Ice, and you can't escape."
*Line breakie~ XD Is the tennis match doing okay?*
"HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI!" The cheers were getting louder than before. Ryoma clenched her fists in frustration as she continuously returned each serve aggressively.
"Bad move, chibi. If you keep on attacking like that, you'll lose stamina more quickly as you go on." Hiyoshi nodded in agreement.
"No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to return those shots. It's what happens when you get entangled in my world." Atobe served, aiming for yet another blind spot.
"Game Atobe! 3-0! Change court!"
Ryoma rested a bit, wanting to cool down. She covered her eyes from the heat of the sun, thinking things over. When it was time, though, she was still in the State of Self-Realization, more confident than ever.
"Shouldn't underestimate you now, should I?" She grinned, then leaped forward.
"Kamaitachi."
"All your efforts are futile!" Atobe answered, aiming for what he sees as a pillar of ice.
Despite her tries to return the ball, it didn't work. "Damn." She muttered, rubbing the heel of her shoes against the floor. Sweat dripped down as the time flew by.
"0-40!"
"At this rate, he'll have to shave off his hair!"
"Serves him right, thinking so lowly of Hyoutei!"
"Don't remind me of that, sheesh." She sighed. It might affect her play, so it's best not to worry. However, she was learning to control the State of Self-Realization regardless of her limit.
"Doesn't matter. After all, everything has a dead angle." He smirked.
Pok!
"Game, Atobe! 4-0!"
Panting heavily, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in for a split second, then opened them just as he served.
"Try you might, but all your dead angles can easily be seen." Atobe smirked, but it was completely wiped off when she used her racquet and promptly returned it.
"What? Did he just – did he just return the ball?"
"Impressive… Despite being in his World of Ice, he was able to successfully escape and return the shot. This guy deserves a round of applause, I'll give him that." Yuushi murmured, taking interest in who she was.
They started rallying when suddenly, the ball's path shifted slightly and avoided one of her blind spots. "That's…" He started, but trailed off in shock.
It was imperfect, but that was, unmistakably…
Tezuka Zone. His rival's move.
But was she still in the State of Self-Realization after such a long period of time? Upon taking a closer look, Tarou noticed the aura had died down. She was just normally playing, so how could she have used it?
'Che. Even now, Tezuka, it seems as if you're taunting Ore-sama regardless of your lack of presence.'
Finally. Ryoma had won at least a game out of the match.
"Game, Echizen! 1-4!" {Tarou was the referee guy}
"So her name is Echizen, huh?" Ryou thought to himself. He decided to keep her gender unknown to the others, as they thought she was male. Perhaps it was for a reason. After all, she had purposely tied her hair and tucked it under the cap so it cannot be seen.
*I have so many line breaks, it's not even funny anymore.*
After that loss for Atobe, she had a winning streak. Score after score, game after game.
"Game, Echizen! 2-4!"
Pok. Pok. Pok.
"Game, Echizen! 3-4!"
"The one who'll have to shave his hair in the end… Is you!" She announced, smashing the ball.
"Brat! Don't have such high hopes!" He replied, returning it, but he lost his grip on the racquet and it fell on the floor.
"Maji? {Seriously}"
She smashed once more.
"Rondo Towards Destruction!"
"G-game, Echizen! 4-4!"
"Phew." Ryoma took off her cap, shaking her head a few times before putting it back on. A few strands of hair escaped from the bun she had tied and they hung loosely behind her back. No one except for a certain regular noticed them. Pausing for a few seconds, she smirked at the non-regulars for they had calmed down.
"How refreshing. It's actually quieter. Perhaps it's because there is a bigger chance of me defeating your almighty captain?" She asked cockily, then went back to position.
Although Atobe quickly won another game, she didn't give in and caught up just as fast. They continued their rally, not budging to give the other an advantage.
"Ore-sama acknowledges your talent… But beating me is something you'll never be able to do!" He called over to her.
"Watch me."
Coach Sakaki walked over. "To wear down the opposing player, forcing he or she to yield was just a game for him. However, this time… he has thrown away all his desires in order for Hyoutei to gain victory. He has done well, surely worthy of his title as captain."
"Game, Atobe! 6-5!"
Pok.
"Three more balls!"
POK.
"Two more balls!"
Before he could come out triumphant, though, Ryoma made a comeback and quickly caught up. This led the game to head into a tiebreak.
Point after point, ball after ball, neither of them gave way for the other. When one was a point ahead, the other caught up. It continued this way for quite a while, and it made the spectators wonder if it was ever going to end.
"66-65!"
"66-66!"
"84-85!"
"85-85!"
"89-89, Atobe!"
They were all sweating profusely now, legs trembling and just barely allowing them to stand.
"ATOBE! ATOBE! ATOBE! ATOBE!" The regulars cheered him on. A thud was heard and they saw that the two players had fallen down, no energy left in them.
"If… If one of them does not stand up and serve in the remaining 90 seconds, the opponent scores a point…" Tarou muttered. "So who would be the one victorious in the end?"
"C'MON, ATOBE! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU TO JUST ALLOW YOURSELF TO FALL DOWN AND NOT STAND UP! IT DOESN'T SUIT YOU!" Ryou shouted loudly, hoping his message would carry through.
"A-Atobe-san! I'm still inexperienced and all, but do you really wanna have your hair cut?" Choutarou asked nervously as loud as he could. He fidgeted, fingering the hem of his jacket and the capped teen glanced at him.
"Nice. Least you're cheering for your captain, Ohtori." He nodded in approval, then went back to encouraging Atobe to stand up.
Few hoped for Ryoma's victory, since she was, after all, in an 'enemy's' territory.
"T-the winner is… Hyoutei." The arrogant voice silenced them all as the owner shook, forcing himself to stand.
"YEAH! HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI! HYOUTEI!"
"ATOBE! ATOBE! ATOBE! ATOBE! ATOBE!"
"U-uresai… {Shut up}" She tsk-ed in annoyance, standing as well. Her vision was getting blurry and her head throbbed. "Why's the sun so hot?" She complained, but with an easygoing tone. "Mada mada dane~"
Gripping her tennis racquet tightly, she looked up, jumped, and served.
"Twist Serve."
It flew past him as he didn't do anything but stand, eyes hidden by his bangs.
"118-117, Echizen!"
Another 20 seconds passed but he did not move at all.
"G-game set a-and won by Echizen R-Ryoma, 7-6!" Tarou announced, slowly getting out of the chair. He collapsed, slouching against the fence. Although he did not take part in it, he himself was trembling.
"That was… A crazy game."
"This can't be, right?"
"A-Atobe lost?"
Ryoma closed her eyes, breathing through her nose. "Even though you lost conscious… I approve of your will to win. After all, you're still standing despite your loss. A promise is a promise, though, and I demand something with it." She grinned, taking out an electric shaver. "Hate to do this to a defenseless person, but, hey, I'm a man of my word."
She took off her cap, fanning herself slightly before hopping over the net, humming a cheerful tune. "How delightful~"
"O-oi! How could you do that? He's unconscious!" Ryou turned pale. Who knows what she would do to his captain?
"OI! STOP IT!" Gakuto jumped down, running to catch up to her before it was too late. Jiroh had giggled, extremely amused and watching the whole scene through Yuushi's video-recorder. Hiyoshi, Gakuto, Ryou, and even Kabaji had been dashing or sprinting to try and stop her demonic deeds.
But they didn't manage to reach her in time.
"Zzzzzz~" It made a wonderful sound as snippets of Atobe's hair painfully fell off, bit by bit.
"Oops."
"Uh-oh."
"Did you just… Did you just say oops?"
"Yep – oops again."
"Atobe… I fear for your life." Taki said, still in shock by all of the events that had taken place. Yuushi chuckled, handing his device over to Jiroh.
"You do the rest, and make sure not to lose any of it." He carefully instructed the blonde boy.
"Kay – kay, YuuYuu! You just go right over and help KeiKei!" He giggled, holding the recorder.
Unfortunately… After around 3 minutes, he fell asleep and it rolled away from his hands. "Nyaa, BunBun, don't be like that~" He blushed a bit, then laughed and rolled over.
"Stop it! Let me make sure I keep my word!"
"No! You're cutting too much!"
"I am not! I made a mistake so I'm evening everything out!"
"By literally shaving him bald?"
"Yeah! I cut a bald spot and now I have to make sure his hair is not uneven!"
"KYAAAAAA! I CAN'T EVEN WATCH HIM TO THAT TO POOR ATOBE-SAMA…!" The fangirls shrieked in terror, fainting from the pure horror of it all.
They all stopped arguing, then looked at them. "Pft – " Gakuto started.
"Ha – " Ryoma continued.
"Ha – " Ryou grinned.
"Ha." Kabaji deadpanned.
"Haha. Now that I think about it, this is actually rather funny." Yuushi courteously hid his chuckle by covering his mouth.
"Aww, Yuushi! You ruined our chorus thing!" The red – head whined, jumping up and down.
"I think Kabaji ruined it." He protested, pointing to said teen.
"Sorry."
"… D'aaww, it's okay Kabaji, you didn't do anything bad. YUUSHI DID!" Gakuto glared. "How could you accuse Kaba-chan of doing such a thing?"
"So you accept his apology and not mine?"
"Yeah!"
"Gakuto… That's just WRONG, okay, cause you're supposed to trust your doubles partner very well." Ryou pointed out, glancing at Choutarou. The silver hair had been quiet the whole time, unsure of what to do.
"Ohtori. Loosen up a bit, will you? We're all friends here, no enemies whatsoever. Unless you count he – him." He stopped himself from using the pronoun for females when describing Ryoma.
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm an enemy? I very well may be attending here and I just beat your captain and shaved off his hair. Making me an enemy is… not a very smart choice, now is it?" She smirked, disdainfully turning her nose in the air.
"Ha, just kidding."
"I just don't believe you, kid."
Suddenly, Yuushi's face turned ashen. He was looking at the bleachers where a certain sleeping prodigy had been sitting.
"Where did Jiroh go?"
"He…" Gakuto jumped up, and when he landed, answered Yuushi's question. "Oh, he's just sleeping and it seems like the thing you used to record the match is broken and – IT'S BROKEN?" He shouted, leaping right over.
The blue-haired tensai grimaced, face contorted with pain. "That… cost me money… And it also had all that precious tape in it…" It darkened considerably. "Jiroh…" He mumbled, eyebrows furrowed as if he was thinking of a way to get revenge.
Choutarou could practically see all the thoughts running through his senpai's mind right now, and he fingered his cross necklace nervously. 'Kinda awkward here…' He thought. 'But I hope I'll get to know them all better! Especially Shishido-senpai, he's the one who's actually been helping me, too.' His face suddenly shone happily.
Ryou and Ryoma looked at him, then placed their hands on their hips in unison. "Ohtori-san." They chorused. He looked at them in surprise. "Y-yes?"
"Why is your face shining?"
"Why are your eyes twinkling?"
"Why are your hands on your neck?"
"Why are you not answering our questions?"
"Why are you so quiet?"
They shared a secret glance at each other, grinning manically.
"You know what, Ryou/Echizen?"
"This is pretty fun."
"Let's continue talking like this and freaking everybody out."
"Great!"
Choutarou stared at them. Did they have a secret device that lets them know what the other is going to say, so they can say it together?
"No, Ohtori-san, we do not have a secret device that would let us know what the other person is going to say so we would be able to say it together, though I admit, that would be quite useful, ne~?"
He was left completely dumbfounded as the two new best friends laughed at their feat.
When nobody was looking, they huddled closely together and exchanged recorders. "Ah, how useful it is to be friends with someone who knows my epic mind's pranks." They grinned. "Hey, even without this, we could still talk together!" Their smiles grew wider. "Now all we need to do is get similar voices and…"
Ryou started. "We can pull – "
Ryoma finished. "So many epic pranks!"
They burst out laughing, although it might've been something even Kabaji would find to be unusual.
Oh well. Who cares? It was also unusual that this 'random girl/boy' had shown up and promptly defeated their captain and shaved off his hair, tucking this note in their captain's pocket, right? But it wasn't unusual limousines had driven straight into the courts and men in black tuxedoes with the walky-talky gear and all, with sunglasses as well, had walked out, carried Atobe into the car, and drove out.
Hyoutei. What an interesting school.
*Line break!*
Atobe groaned, sitting up in bed and running his hand through his hair. Or, well, what used to be his hair. His eyes widened in shock when he realized there was nothing but a small spiky stub left. Something was in his other hand.
Monkey King, since you lost to me, and I won, and I'm free on Sunday, I think, you gotta take me to the amusement park that just newly opened up with the rest of your team, especially Ryou. And pay for all our meals. It's just cuz I'm bored. Oh yeah, it's gonna be at 9AM.
Epic Winner
He stared at in shock for a while. "That brat…!"
*On Sunday*
Ryoma wiped her eyes sleepily before glancing at the alarm clock that had so rudely waken her up from her sleep.
"Only 10? Hm… I'll sleep some more…" She yawned, pulling the covers over her head before bolting up. "Today's Monkey King's treat!" She clapped happily, bounding into the bathroom to get ready. Just the thought of going to the park made her excited. It's been like, what, 6 years since she last went? That was when he was still with her before going to America.
"Good morning!" Ryoma chirped, jumping down the stairs. She was wearing a beanie that was jet-black, and it went past down her ears, hiding a lot of her hair. Her shirt was red and striped, though its sleeves were extra-long as it hung down when she put her hands to her sides. She had an over-sized sweater on, something he had left behind for her. The cotton hugged her, keeping her warm since it was nearing September, and the weather was getting colder.
Her trousers were blue and it went slightly below her knees. They had several pockets which was useful if she decided to play tennis so she doesn't have to repeatedly get more.
"Oh? Bishounen, you're awake? Why do you look so cute today? Can it be – you have a boyfriend? And you're meeting him today, so you're waking up extra early just for him? No! What if he hits on you? What if he like, kisses you or something? I won't stand to have my dear daughter to be violated by someone I never met!" Nanjiroh puffed up his chest, beating it a few times with his hands as if to prove his point of his over-protectiveness.
Unfortunately for him, Ryoma had decided to ignore her father's usual antics and went straight to Rinko. She smiled cutely. "Ne, Oka-san… Can you cook something really good for me today? Please? And can you make 2 bentos? I want to give one to him to persuade him to do something with me."
Rinko immediately took the chance to make her child more like a woman. "Dear… How about I teach you how to cook?" She brightened up considerably. "Really?"
"Yes~" She cooed over the girl. Unknown to her, various, colorful thoughts were forming and a lot of images and ideas had been popping into her mind.
Nanako poked her head into the kitchen. "Ryoma-san wants to learn how to cook? Can I teach her, Rinko-san?"
"Good morning, Nanako-chan!" Ryoma grinned, jumping up and down with excitement. Rinko sighed happily. Her baby was finally growing up!
"Ryoma-chan, I'll make the bentos first, okay? With the leftover time, we can both teach you how to cook beautiful things for him~"
"Really? Thank you, Kaa-chan, Nanako-chan!" She hugged them, scurrying to the breakfast table to join her father who didn't notice her until she had ripped the newspaper out of his hands.
"What the – Oh! Hahaha, R-Rinky-chan, this is not what it looks like…!" He laughed nervously, trying to hide the offensive book he had been flipping through by ducking behind Ryoma. She laughed, getting up to join her mother who was growing larger by the second, holding a pan, eyes ablaze.
"Naaannnnjiiirroooohhhh!" She shouted. "Come here! How dare you? I thought I told you very clearly to get rid of all those magazines!" He scrambled out of the way, darting this way and that in an attempt to avoid getting hit.
"Ne, Nanako-chan, what are you doing?" Ryoma asked curiously, staring at the beautifully decorated lunch.
"I'm just adding a few finishing touches for your lunch. I'm going to get started on his lunch soon." She then looked at her cousin who was, as of this morning, being a cutesy girl.
"So, who is he?"
"Who?"
"The boy who's going to eat the bento, of course!"
"Oh, you mean Ryou?"
"Is that his name?"
"Yeah! Except it's his first name, since I'm still in the habit of calling people by their first names."
"Haha, understandable! Say, is he… You know, hot?" She whispered the last part, nudging the other girl.
"Hot? As in like, sweaty and all?"
"No! I mean like, attractive!"
"Hmm… Well, I'd say he's attractive. He has a few fangirls, after all." She shrugged, popping an onigiri {Rice ball} into her mouth.
"Ah! Ryoma-chan! You're not supposed to eat that yet!" Nanako pouted, slapping her hand away before closing the lid to the lunch box.
"Rinko-san, are you done with his lunch yet?" She called over to the woman chasing her husband. Rinko stopped, looking up, before replying. "Yep! It's right over there, on the counter."
"Eh? Kaa-chan, when did you get the time to make Ryou's lunch, too?"
Rinko winked. "Secrets of a wife! You'll get to know soon, too, when you start getting good at decorating and cooking!"
"Aw."
"Now. Nanjiroh. I haven't forgotten." She smiled evilly. So that's where Ryoma got her demonic face from…
"Well, I'm off!" Ryoma shouted, carefully tucking the lunches into her bag before slipping on her shoes and running off to the train station.
"Be careful, Ryoma-chan!" Nanako called after her, despite the door being closed.
"Thank you!" A distinct voice was heard. She grinned. Ryoma really did have such good hearing.
Meanwhile, Nanjiroh lay, twitching in the bathtub with his face bruised and bloodied.
"Ryo-chan left already?" Rinko giggled like a school girl, dancing around. "Ryoma's growing up! Ryoma's growing up! Ryoma's growing up!" She sang.
At that, he snapped back into reality and quickly put on his 'stalker' costume. He sneakily slithered through the backdoor, intent on spying on his precious child.
*At the amusement park!*
Atobe glanced around, looking at his watch repeatedly and impatiently tapping his foot. "He's late." He deadpanned.
"No duh." Ryou frowned, observing all the families and couples who were having a happy time here. They had been waiting here for around an hour by now, hoping that Ryoma would be the next person to walk into the entrance.
No luck.
Gakuto furrowed his eyebrows together, jumping around. He was not allowed to go check the rides and games out because, as Atobe so kindly stated, 'If a jumping monkey like you were allowed to do that, then everybody else would do so as well. Ore-sama is a man of his word and will not wander off like you would.'
"Who takes this long to get ready?" He complained, jumping onto Kabaji. "Kabaji, don't mind me, I'm just gonna drift off to sleep…"
They had all been brutally forced to wake up at 5 in the morning only because their captain takes 3 hours to get ready and an hour to eat breakfast. Luckily, this amusement park belonged to him and so it was nearby their location and they had been able to arrive on time.
Flashback
"Everyone. Ore-sama expects you to wake up." Atobe's arrogant voice boomed throughout all the rooms. Gakuto groaned, holding his head. "What time is it, you peacock?" He muttered, looking at the clock. Then he exploded. "ATOBE! SERIOUSLY? FIVE?"
Unfortunately, some of them had been practicing until late at night and so they did not have much sleep.
Ryou shook his head, blinking a few times and rubbing his eyes. "Damn it Atobe, give it a rest, will you? I was training with Choutarou and only managed to sleep at like, what, 2?" He had gotten used to calling the tall junior by his first name since they worked on their serves together.
"Shishido-san, will you be okay?" Said boy asked worriedly, his gentle voice slightly soothing the feelings of most of the rudely awakened regulars.
"Yes, Choutarou, I'll be alright. What the heck are you doing so early in the morning?"
Yuushi sat up, muttering incoherent words under his breath. He might've even been cursing, for the tensai was never an early waker. His eyes narrowed down as he stood up, staggering over to the grand bathroom they had in their rooms. He supposed he could bow down to Atobe at least once in a while.
Hiyoshi turned over in bed, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep but to no avail.
"Hiyoshi. I know you're awake." Atobe smirked.
"Damn." He swore, rolling out of the king sized bed and shaking Taki's, his roommate, shoulders. "Yo. Haginosuke. Wake up."
"What time is it?" Taki mumbled.
"It's… 5:03."
"Am or Pm?"
"Am."
"What."
"Don't ask."
"Are."
"I said, don't ask!"
"We."
At this point, Hiyoshi rolled his eyes and opened the lights, blinding the boy.
"What you be doing?" He shouted, shading his eyes from the bright light. "Too bright… Melting…" Taki slowly said, inching towards the bathroom. He playfully clung onto Hiyoshi's leg, who tried to shake him off.
"Ya. Off."
"Fine. Cranky boy."
"What – "
Taki snickered, jumping into the bathroom and locking the door.
Kabaji had been the only quiet one, getting up and ready with no complaints. Jiroh needed a bit more effort to wake up.
Fortunately, Ryou had his ways. He grabbed a bullhorn from the table and shouted, right in the sleepy boy's ear, "WAKEY-WAKEY! RISE AND SHINE, JIROH!" Which caused him to yelp, falling right off the bed.
"Good."
He had been assigned to make sure everyone was either A) in the bathroom or B) going downstairs to eat. These days, Atobe has been serving them really good food so that was another reason as to why Gakuto even got out of bed in the first place.
On the large table, there were exotic foods decorating every inch of it.
"Are you trying to make us fat by forcing us to eat all of this?" Gakuto had shouted, though with delight in his eyes.
"Ore-sama would rather nor pay if it's possible."
"Psh, knowing Ryoma, he'd eat all of this and ask for more." Ryou retorted, grabbing a piece of lobster onto his plate. Who ate lobsters for breakfast?
"And how do you know that?"
"It's cause we're awesome people."
"Yeah." The red-head snorted, reaching over to snatch a fairly large slice of ice cream cake. "Deng this is good!" He sighed happily, letting the creamy, smooth substance melt in his mouth, allowing him to savor the entire thing with the extra tint of chocolate added in.
By the time they were done, Atobe had not gone down yet.
"Is he seriously still bathing in that bathtub of rose petals?" Taki asked.
Yuushi glanced up, staying silent for a while then confirming his guess."Still in there."
It was only 6:48, so they decided to burn off all the unhealthy fat and calories by playing a few matches.
{I'm not gonna describe those. Sorry!}
"Where is everybody?" Atobe had casually strolled down in a bathrobe, smelling like ripe fruits. "Ah, the essence of Ore-sama's delightful aroma soothes him despite the troubles he will be going through today." He closed his eyes, breathing into to let the cologne waft into his nose.
"Ugh, Atobe, what's with the smell?" Gakuto wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"It is not one you should be disgusted about." He replied, eyes still closed.
"Yeah, sure. Next time, make sure to be on time, though." The other shrugged carelessly. As he walked by Atobe, he whispered, "It's 8:39."
That made his eyes snap open in shock, and he whipped out his phone, dialing a number.
"Hello? Yes. Ore-sama wants a magnificent breakfast delivered to him – yes." Then he hung up. "Let's go." He declared, going into the wardrobe that had been so conveniently placed right in front of him.
Five minutes later, he walked out, fully dressed in the grandest brands from head to toe.
"Now let's go."
Ryou sighed at the memory, but brightened up considerably when he heard her shout.
"Oi!" She called, running towards them. He cocked his head slightly, assessing her outfit.
"Mismatching." He muttered to her when she caught up.
Ryoma smirked. "I'm not someone who cares about my looks. And besides, the sweater is something he gave me the last time we went to an amusement park together, so…"
"Who's he?"
"Someone."
"Huh."
"Bento?" She offered, lifting the bag.
"Sure."
"Later."
"Let's go, awesome epic buddy!" They said in unison, linking arms and taking large steps. Of course, since Ryoma was a lot smaller and shorter, she had to run a bit but he slowed down.
Atobe frowned. He looked at her, up and down and up again. She looked too… feminine to be male. Then again, he shouldn't really say that because Fuji and Yukimura are practically girls on the outside.
Oh well. He'll think about this later.
Gakuto gaped at them, then jumped onto Kabaji and shouted, "GO!"
He took off running, following the regular's orders as the others struggled to catch up. "Haha!" He grinned victoriously, blowing a raspberry at them.
"Kabaji."
"Usu." He stopped.
Gakuto sulked for Kabaji had gently placed him on the ground, refusing to run any longer because of Atobe.
"Party-pooper."
"Ore-sama is, by no means, a party-pooper."
"Guys. We lost them." Yuushi decided to speak up at this moment to inform them of their loss. "And I think we're lost." He looked at the unfamiliar surroundings.
While they were all busy walking, they had been following Kabaji who had been aimlessly meandering around the park, examining everything.
"Oh… Shit." Gakuto stared straight ahead.
*With Ryoma and Ryou*
"Say…"
"Echizen."
"Yeah?" She looked at him, inclining her head to a tilt.
"Why are you pretending to be male?"
"Oh, that?"
"Yes, that."
"It's a secret."
"You know I'll find out someday."
"I know."
"… Stubborn brat."
"And that's why we're best friends, right?" She grinned cockily at him.
That's when he realized she was actually his ideal type for a girlfriend. The thought flew out the window when his face started to turn slightly red at the idea.
"Yo, Ryou, you're turning red."
"I know."
"Oddball."
"Shut it."
Then they both saw it.
Their faces shined with admiration and anticipation.
"Arcade?"
"Heck yeah!" They raced each other, not even bothering to worry about the others.
*Ooh. Akaya comes in. I just love him too much not to add him in. Oh yes, any pairings you guys like? I'll make sure there are moments of those, because now, I'm mostly including some Silver Pair, Dirty Pair, Adorable Pair, RyoRyou, but I don't know if you want anything else. ^^*
Akaya sulked childishly. He had given up being all depressed for the time being, releasing all his frustrations by viciously attacking the arcade in the park he ended up in. Since it seemed like the place was crowded, he decided there were less chances of bumping into people he knew.
Though he guessed it would be alright if he saw Sakuno again. She had been one of the only ones who actually accepted him before getting to know him better.
"HAH! BEAT THAT!" He shouted at the screen as it read, "K-O."
"Well. That was easy." He then remarked, jamming his hands into his pockets to take another token out. "Ooh, racing? Fun." Akaya pushed his way through the lines of people, plopping into one of the seats and slipped the token into the slot, starting the game.
So… he was supposed to… help an injured person get to the hospital safely? Wow. Sounded like a piece of cake.
"Whatcha! There – ooh – yes!" He cheered as he swerved and avoided another car accident, successfully keeping the patient from losing more blood.
"WHOA!" Suddenly, a truck interrupted his winning streak and they crashed, causing all the passengers to, unfortunately, die.
"I was so close…!" Akaya groaned in desperation. "Again!" It was harder than he thought.
This time, it was a lot more difficult because the injury the patient carried already made him lose a lot of blood. He had to be extra careful.
So absorbed in playing he was that he did not notice the crowd forming not too far away, being amazed by another couple's amazing flexibility and gracefulness while playing Dance Dance Revolution.
The male with the gray sweater had been using his hands AND feet, curving this way and that to hit the correct place in a certain amount of time.
The other one with a blue cap had been practically break -dancing across the floor, though his hands really never left the stage.
"Who're they?"
"Did you see that move? It was awesome!"
"Did they seriously start at the hardest levels?"
"Look at the break-dancing dude!"
"What about the sweater one?"
"Show off." Ryoma whispered to Ryou, who had been smirking triumphantly with all the compliments being thrown at him.
"Let mem have my moment of fame." He replied, purposely making his dance more intense just to show off, annoying her on purpose. He went on his hands, making sure they were still able to move from each arrow to another while spinning in place.
"Whoooaa!"
"Psh." She went back to concentrating on the game, though her limbs were getting a bit tired from all the movements.
Luckily, it was ending pretty quickly but the crowd has yet to be dispersed.
Akaya tore his eyes away from the screen when he knew death was inevitable, and noticed the place to be silent. "Where is everybody?" He asked. A few minutes ago, there were people everywhere.
He heard a cheer and screams of encouragement, and dragged his feet to the spot. They were slightly asleep from being in the same position for so long.
When he saw them, though, his eye shined with admiration. "Whoa." He breathed, amazed by the scene. Then he recognized one of them.
"Hey, aren't you Shishido Ryou from Hyoutei?" He called out, causing said boy to stop and stand up, soaked with sweat.
Ryou wiped his forehead with his arm, taking off his cap to fan himself.
"Yeah."
"Oh."
"You are?"
"Yo. Ryou. You stopped. I won." Ryoma smirked, stopping herself and stretching, interrupting Akaya from his introduction.
He glared at her a bit, then turned back to Ryou. "Kirihara Akaya desu! Yoroshiku onegaisimasu!" {Please take care of me from now on, I think, or treat me kindly.}
"Hehh? Second year?"
"Hai!"
"Pretty eager now, aren't you? To an enemy school? What are you doing without your team?"
His face saddened a bit. "They're doing fine without me."
"Really, now?" Ryou asked. Suddenly, an idea formed in his head. He glanced at Ryoma, who nodded and smirked in return. She leaped over, linking arms with Ryou once more.
"Join us." They said together, smiling eerily.
He shuddered, but, hey, since he had nothing else to do, why not?
"You people. Shoo." She leaned back against the wall, looking all cool and glaring so they would hurry along their merry way.
"Oi, oi, can't call him by his first name." Ryou muttered to her. She looked at him, smirking. "Jealous? Do you want to be the only one I call by name instead of last?"
He scrunched his face up in displeasure. "As if."
"Ha, Ryou's jealous. I should write something about that." She rocked forward, circling Akaya as if examining him. "School?"
"Rikkaidai."
"Hehh… Tell me about the regulars, would you?"
"No."
"Strange."
Their conversation promptly ended as Ryou grabbed their wrists, dragging them outside. "Now. Which ride next?"
*With the others
Kabaji looked around, trying to see where the others could be. Jiroh remained on his shoulder, sleeping like a rock and refusing to budge. Atobe was right behind him, holding his head with a hand as he muttered a few random words. Kabaji didn't bother to decipher them.
Yuushi and Gakuto were off on a roller coaster, and Taki and Hiyoshi were most probably on the Ferris Wheel. Despite the time being early, they always had a knack for seeing the view beforehand. Who knows, maybe love will bloom on the cart.
Back to the matter at hand. Atobe twitched in annoyance. Not only do they need to find Ryou and Ryoma, they also need to find Taki, Yuushi, Gakuto, Choutarou, and Hiyoshi, as well. Choutarou had seen something really pretty and wanted it for his dear 'Shishido-san,' so he had just wandered out of the group.
"Kabaji."
"Usu."
"Any ideas?"
"No."
"Wake Jiroh."
"Usu."
Kabaji let the boy slide off his shoulder, making him land on the floor and wake up with a jolt. "Whoa! Where are we?" Jiroh yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "I shtill want to shweep, KeiKei." He tried, using the large, watery and hopeful eyes on him.
Atobe sighed. "No, Jiroh. Ore-sama will not fall for such tricks."
"Aw." He pouted, then started looking around and sniffing the air. "I smell… Food!" Jiroh grinned, bouncing off in a particular direction.
The two dashed after him, not wanting to add another person to their 'To Find' list.
"Wait! Jiroh!"
"NO WAITING! FOOD IS WAITING~!" He shouted back in response, twisting his neck to get a clear look of everything before going off once again.
*Uh-oh. I think I made this chapter a bit too long and each part irrelevant to the other.*
Tezuka rubbed his temples in frustration. Nothing has been going his way these ways, and it seems as if he's always being humiliated. It's most definitely hurting his reputation.
Then again, with all the fans he earned from the previous incident with the cat, it seems as if his reputation is not being threatened at all.
Even so, Eiji and Momo can't stop snickering about it. He should really make them run laps, shouldn't he? Especially now, when they're talking about it rather loudly.
"Haha, remember the look ion Tezuka-buchou's face?" Momo grinned, walking side by side with his childish senpai.
"Yeah, nya! And how he kept trying to remain calm and composed even though it was obvious he was gonna explode!" Eiji giggled, an exaggerated expression plastered on his face.
"I know, right? Inui-senpai should've really taken a picture or recorded it." He replied. Suddenly, they felt a dark presence behind them. They looked back just to see a grinning dataman lifting up his glasses.
"In fact, Momoshiro. I did."
"WHOA! SERIOUSLY?" Eiji exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
A darker presence could be sensed.
The two who were more afraid of this man than the other slowly turned around, trembling with fear.
"T-Tezuka-buchou…" They said in unison.
"Saa…Eiji, Momoshiro, 100 laps around the court grounds. Now." He commanded in a very Fuji-like way. Inside, Chibi Tezuka was cackling rather evilly. 'Hmm. Perhaps his sadisticness is rubbing off on me.' He mused, watching them pant and sweat with hidden pleasure. 'Payback actually feels nice sometimes.'
Unfortunately for the content captain, irritation would follow up this blissful feeling, for he had spaced out, recollecting memories of how Ryoma was at their first meeting.
PAK!
A tennis ball flew right into his forehead as lifted his head, having set it down while thinking.
He twitched.
What a month.
"Who did that?" He growled darkly, standing up and rubbing the big, red circular spot that had made itself clear and plain amongst his rather pale complexion.
Momo and Eiji had stopped running, carefully watching Inui to see if he was keeping record of this moment.
"Hm. Third time Tezuka was humiliated, being thrown off his guard. I believe it is necessary to start a volume about such happenings." Inui grinned. "Seeing the rate of accidents concerning Tezuka's reputation, it is probable there will be at least 3 more to come for the following month."
"Inui.
"I'll start running."
"You'd better."
Inui smirked. "My calculations were, once again, correct, for Tezuka had planned for me to run the same number of laps as Eiji and Momoshiro. We had done similar crimes to him, if mine was not worse, and so it would be obvious he would assign me precisely 102.43 laps around the court. That would roughly equal up to 102 laps, and so it would take me approximately 2 hours to complete three quarters of it. If I start now, I will be able to finish it by…" Inui paused from his mumble to take a glance at his watch.
"Hm. 4:23, maybe? However, if I continue to dawdle around like this, it would take me a few more minutes or perhaps even an hour if I take my stamina and the heat of the sun into consideration." With that as his final statement, he promptly closed his notebook with a sharp slapping sound so no living soul can take a peek at his precious data. Then he took off.
Tezuka sighed. All those words that had come out of his mouth made his head feel a bit dizzy. He decided to go into the locker room to calm down a bit and regain himself.
Meanwhile, Eiji and Momoshiro had gotten themselves busy by gossiping some more about how amusing things were, especially since Tezuka is involved and his usual serious poker face was broken all those times.
"Do you think there will be a lot more accidents like these?" Eiji whispered over to Momo.
"Probably. I wonder why they're happening, though!" He whispered back, then felt a chill run down his spine. "I think Inui-senpai is right behind us."
Sure enough, they heard a chuckle. "That's right, Momoshiro. And I advise you two not to talk right in front of me because it is not a wise choice. I can easily remember and write down every single word you say, then show them to Tezuka."
Eiji put on a mock-horror expression. "You wouldn't!"
"Oh I would, Eiji, and you know I would."
"… Of course, nya. You would because it's data!" He pointed at him accursedly, running backwards. It was not a wise choice to make.
That 'accursed' cat had been lurking around again, and Eiji didn't see her. Obviously, that made him trip and land flat on his butt.
"Waaa!" He cried out, fake tears pouring down his face. "Momo-chin, help me up!" He pouted, extending his arms.
"Pft-!" Momo stifled a laugh, refusing to help his senpai when he's in such a position and continued running as if nothing happened.
Tezuka, who wanted to advise some of the non-regulars in ways to improve their play, saw how Eiji had stopped running and raised an eyebrow.
"Eiji. Who gave you permission to stop running?"
Mentioned person paled considerably, scrambling up on his feet once again. He saluted, stuttering over his own words while he tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.
"Nya! Uhm… That is… Oh yeah! You see, Momo had… Oh wait, that's not it. Inui – that's not it, either! Mou!" Then he snapped. "That cat! Remember the cat that really liked your head? Yeah? Well she had suddenly appeared while I was running backwards so I fell and tripped, but Momo and Inui had not stopped to help me or anything, so I just stayed there for a little while and then you came out and saw me so – " Eiji stopped when he realized it was not such a great reason after all.
"Momoshiro. Inui. You may take a break for not pausing for such petty things."
"Eiji. Run." The more sadistic side of Tezuka took over.
"The rest of you! Don't tarry; get to work. If we want to win the Nationals, we need to train extra hard and make sure everybody is in top shape and can play."
"Hai!" They all responded at once as Eiji seemed shrink a bit from disappointment.
"Mou. Tezu-chin's so irritated these days." He muttered under his breath as he broke into a jog once more, hoping to finish all his laps before dusk arrives so he and Oishi will have time to visit the pet store.
"Nya-a! Oishi! C'mere!" He tried coaxing his best friend to help him out a bit, but unfortunately, he had been called to discuss a few things with Tezuka. So he resorted to the next most kind-hearted person – Taka-san!
"Taka-san, help me?" Eiji put on his best puppy dog face, putting in a twinkle of hope and make them large and watery just for the heck of it. He grew more hopeful as he saw Taka-san bite his lip as if to decide what to do.
Their captain had not been very happy these days, so it might be a grave mistake to help somebody who had helped in causing more mayhem and adding more pain to the migraine he had. But still, after looking at Eiji's face, he felt himself breaking away more and more.
Until a certain person slipped the racquet into his hand, of course. Things were different then.
"ORAAAAA! MOERUZE! BUURNNING! NOTHING YOU DO WILL CONVINCE ME, EIJI! BRING IT~!" He started shouting, eyes ablaze as he ran alongside Eiji with only the fence separating the two of them, taunting the other.
"Ha! Can't even handle a few laps, now can you, eh, Eiji?" He smirked provokingly. It gave the Neko motivation to speed up, as if to prove Taka-san how much he's worth by finishing all the laps as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, that plan didn't work. By the time he was on his 75th lap, there was a stitch biting at his sides that made running and breathing painful.
So instead, he took to walking as fast as could, so it would still be considered a jog.
Eiji frowned, scrunching up his face in displeasure. They were bullying and picking on him, weren't they? What was it, 'Vent out on Eiji Week?' First, Tezuka had made him and Momo run. Then, Inui joined them and almost made him have a heart attack.
And then, he tripped over that kitty and nobody stopped to help him.
And then, Tezuka just made him run again, letting the other two slack off a bit.
Unfair!
He sighed, staggering to finish his final lap. Finally!
Just one… More… step…!
"YES!" Eiji collapsed, cheering triumphantly.
"Eiji."
"Y-yes, Inui?"
"You still have 2 laps left."
"… What."
"Yes."
"NO WAY."
"Unfortunately for you, Tezuka has decided to assign another 2 laps and is most likely to add more if you continue protesting."
"But…! My sides! What if I get injured?"
"We're not that stupid. You're going to be fine."
"… Meanie heads."
"What was that? Oh. Eiji. Tezuka told you to add another lap to that."
"!" Eiji shouted, squishing his cheeks together and shouting to the sky.
He suddenly sat up, sweating and breathing heavily.
"Nande~? {Oh, what? Something like that} It was just a dream!" Eiji grinned, heart still thumping by the sheer horror of it.
What he didn't know was that he had fallen unconscious, and that what had happened was real.