A/N: I love how both myself and one of my darling reviewers, cheerful-pinkstar, mourned the wasted chocolate from last chapter. XD

Please read the author's note on the bottom of the chapter, too! It will clarify some things and answer a few questions some reviewers had. :)

Warnings: Ditto last chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Pairings: (applicable to this chapter) Mix'n'Match-OT6, Golden, AkuDan, MomoAn

Chapter 4

It was nearing 11 p.m. now. Through the windows, a moon only ¾ full shone bright amongst the stars scattered about, hidden by the occasional cloud. The door to the balcony was wide open, letting in the smells of a freshly-watered lawn, roses, and a breeze that blew past the curtains and throughout the room. The night air was slightly cold due to the encroachment of winter, but it was a reprieve to those within the room.

The floor was made of pristine white tile, a pathway of lavish red rugs leading around the bed and towards the door and bathroom. A monster of a dresser lurched in one corner of the room, made of mahogany with wide mirrors stretched above it. The bed frame was made of the same wood, sturdy and unbending, the sheets a pure white with numerous pillows thrown about.

Tezuka exhaled shakily as Sanada finished, collapsing against Tezuka's back and panting heavily into the flesh of his neck.

Tezuka didn't bother to move away, aware of their still-joined bodies and aching everywhere. Sweat glistened across his skin, catching the chill in the air and cooling their feverish bodies. Tezuka's face was half-buried into one fluffy white pillow - which he had previously been clutching as a lifeline - as he tried to regain his breath.

Sanada placed a lingering kiss on the back of his neck. The answering shiver that ran down Tezuka's spine was not one of pleasure, but of contempt. Tezuka turned fully into the pillow, wondering if he could smother himself right then and there.

"Beautiful," Atobe applauded. The man was seated in an armchair next to the bed, afforded the greatest view of their previous activities. Tezuka could feel Sanada's deep chuckle against his back at his lover's praise and obvious enjoyment.

Three more days of this.

His superior had ordered him to go on a business trip to Yamaguchi with only very little instruction. The cover story was something about Atobe Bank opening up another branch there and needing a consultant from Matsura Offices. A five-day trip that Tezuka had to take alone. He hadn't been at all surprised when he'd been told, once he'd arrived at Yamaguchi, that plans were already in motion for the new branch, that the consultant was not needed, and that he was still expected to remain there 'just in case'.

The hotel he had reserved beforehand told him his reservation had been cancelled, and before he could argue or even get another one, he'd been forcibly taken up to the penthouse suite where both Atobe and Sanada waited.

"Gen, your body is as gorgeous as ever! And the way you moved," Atobe continued, eyeing his lover hungrily as his eyes brightened in appreciation. "And Kunimitsu, your moans were absolutely delicious. Ore-sama is pleased to know you are finally enjoying yourself here."

It took all of Tezuka's willpower not to glare at the other man for the use of his first name. That was a privilege very few were allowed to have, and if he had a choice, these people would definitely not be among them.

"Kunimitsu, you're tensing up again," Sanada chided softly. He punctuated his chastisement by trailing his tongue down Tezuka's nape, beginning to suck softly at the over-sensitized flesh at the juncture of neck and shoulder.

Round Two was brutal, if only because Sanada liked it rough and Atobe liked to have complete control. They fought in bed just as much as they bickered outside of it, only this time they used Tezuka as their own personal tool and weapon between them.

Only once they'd finally fallen asleep a few hours later did Tezuka dare to slip out of the bed. He walked shakily over to the joined bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him. For one moment, he didn't look up - too worried about what he'd see reflected back at him in the mirror. Instead he went to the sink and tried to gargle out the taste of Atobe in his mouth, downing nearly half a bottle of mouthwash in the process. Before he even bothered to clean out the semen from his bottom, he looked himself over in the mirror.

Faint circles in his eyes - between the guilt and the sex, he wasn't getting much sleep - and his hair was in complete disarray. Bite marks littered every part of his body because that damned Sanada liked to mark what he fucked, the most astonishing of which was the clear bite on his chest, directly over his heart. The symbolism was not lost on the office worker.

Tezuka bent over the sink and sobbed quietly.

"So then Oishi comes home with this giant bouquet of flowers, gets down on one knee - I really thought he was going to propose to me, Fujiko - and apologizes, nya! How could I stay mad at him? Oishi is so cute!" Kikumaru giggled, idly tapping his spoon against the empty parfait bowl.

Fuji smiled in response, knowing his redheaded friend didn't need his input to continue but providing it regardless: "How wonderful. I suppose you had the best make-up sex?"

Kikumaru flushed bright red, arms flailing as he tried and failed to stutter out a response to that. Fuji only chuckled, knowing that he'd thrown the other man off. They'd been good friends ever since they'd met back in university, and though Fuji's independent photography career had taken off while Kikumaru flip-flopped from one major to another, their friendship had never waned. Fuji was thankful for that; his life had taken on a particularly rocky trend ever since he'd entered high school, and it only seemed to get rockier as his life progressed.

That didn't mean he enjoyed hearing about the redhead's sickly-sweet love life, though.

"So how have you been?" Kikumaru asked, only a lingering pout on his lips.

Fuji shrugged, "I have another commission from that rising actor - Kajimoto Takahisa. But that's not for another month."

"How lucky, nya~! He's really cool looking!" Kikumaru chirped.

"Saa... I suppose so," Fuji allowed. "Oh, I also found a new toy. He's really cute."

Kikumaru frowned, already knowing what he meant by 'toy'. The redhead knew Fuji and his lovers had a habit of picking up and discarding people with little to no sympathy, but he'd always made no comment on it. Kikumaru knew his opinion would hold no importance to Fuji's lovers, and his judgment would not be appreciated by the brunette he called a friend.

Fuji had always been a little...off, even back in college. The slender man had been single when they'd first met, and Kikumaru would be lying if he said he'd never had a small crush on him. But the minor infatuation had given way to friendship once he'd gotten to know the man, and then he'd met Oishi at a group date (to the disappointment of the girls that had been present) so all of his love went to his present object of affections.

Besides, as far as Kikumaru had seen, Fuji had no intentions of settling down. He'd went through one lover after another throughout their school career - it was rare for him to say no to anyone who'd asked. The one time Kikumaru had dared to ask if Fuji would ever find just one, his blue-eyed friend only laughed and told him, quite self-loathingly, "I'd never be satisfied with just one. I'm a greedy man."

Then he'd gone and proven it, hooking up with Atobe shortly after. When Fuji had rejected one advance after another, Kikumaru had almost believed Fuji had finally found the one he could love.

Then Sanada and Yukimura appeared, as if they were supposed to be there all along.

Kikumaru hadn't known what to think, then. The relationship was...strange, to say the least. Part swinger, part polygamous - but entirely weird. For one whole year, the four had been inseparable; they rejected every other advance and every offer of joining, content with one another and - to their friends - actually in love. It was for that reason Kikumaru had not said anything about it; as long as his friend was happy, who was he to judge?

Then came along Koishikawa Kenjiro.

Kikumaru hadn't liked him - Koishikawa was bitter, and angry, and absolutely contemptuous. He'd joined Fuji and his lovers, and for awhile, they treated him like he truly belonged. Naturally, no one had seen it coming when they'd unceremoniously dumped him only one month later with absolutely no explanation besides that they'd tired of him.

Their friends had thought 'that was that' and 'He wasn't very likeable, anyway,' and nothing more was said on the matter. But then, only two weeks later, they picked up Kai Yuujirou (who lasted three weeks), then Hirakoba Rin (five weeks), Aoi Kentarou (two weeks), and on and on and on.

Kikumaru had kept his mouth shut, even after Fuji had betrayed his own little brother by seducing his then-boyfriend. (Yuuta never forgave and never forgot, a lesson Fuji learned far too late.) He'd even let Fuji sleep over at his place the night Kisarazu Atsushi killed himself in the bar Yukimura owned when the four lovers had been present. (Atsushi would never let them win, even if that meant he had to lose everything - including his life.) As far as the redhead was concerned, he was completely powerless; between Atobe's wealth, Fuji's connections, Sanada's strength, and Yukimura's cunning - what could Kikumaru do to save anyone? There was a reason he never let Oishi and Fuji meet, too scared to tempt fate. Fuji had a sadistic streak that he unleashed on anyone he wished, and Kikumaru wasn't going to lose the love of his life to his best friend's whim.

Once upon a time, Kikumaru had thought of asking Fuji 'why'. 'Why are you like this' or 'why do you do this to people' or 'why don't you care at all'; but the chances of getting a straight answer were zero, and Kikumaru had learned that the best way to get information was to simply wait and watch, even if it meant watching his friend destroy person after person without care.

"Seiichi found him, actually. He's feisty and he has a foul mouth, but overall he's very appealing," Fuji continued on happily.

"He doesn't sound very fun," Kikumaru said carefully.

Fuji chuckled lightly. "He's very thrilling! Ryoma-kun won't be easy to woo, but Gen and Keigo already agreed after seeing his picture."

Kikumaru cocked his head questioningly. "Ryoma?"

"Takeuchi Ryoma," Fuji explained. "He's a university student at T-Uni, although we don't know what his major is yet-"

"It's Criminal Justice," Kikumaru cut in sharply, startling his normally-composed friend. Fuji's eyes snapped open, caught off-guard by not only this information and the person providing it, but also by the other man's tone. Fuji had never heard Kikumaru speak so...icily, before.

"His major is Criminal Justice, with a minor in psychology and international studies. He's short and a brat, he has no tact, he says what he thinks, he never gets up on time," Kikumaru continued, voice getting angrier as he went. Blue eyes framed by bright red hair were particularly hard as they stared straight into Fuji's pair.

"And he's taken, Fuji. He's found the love of his life already, and none of you are him," Kikumaru said. "Leave him alone."

Fuji's eyes slipped closed as his lips dipped into a frown. His friends usually had nothing to say to him about his conquests. Even now, Saeki had only good-naturedly told him good luck and little else. Fuji was accustomed to Kikumaru's half-hearted cheer about any more proverbial notches in the bedpost, so seeing his usually-jovial friend looking just shy of punching him was startlingly new.

"You know him, Eiji?" Fuji inquired softly.

Kikumaru huffed. "Of course I know him!" the redhead replied waspishly. It was amazing how utterly bitchy the man could sound when riled, Fuji thought privately. "He's the lover of Oishi's best friend!"

"Saa...how interesting," Fuji murmured.

"Ochibi has Tezuka, Fuji," Kikumaru said pointedly. "And I know he won't see anyone else. They've been together since high school, according to Oishi. They were all in the same tennis club."

Fuji's eyes snapped open again. Kikumaru talked often enough about Oishi that Fuji knew the man had attended Seishun Gakuen Senior High - the same school his junior high boyfriend had been accepted to. There could only be one tennis-loving, Seigaku-attending Tezuka in the world.

Tezuka Kunimitsu and Takeuchi Ryoma were together.

Fuji closed his eyes, barely restraining himself from bursting into laughter. What could be more perfect? What were the chances? The man they were currently playing with, and his own lover would be their next conquest! Fuji couldn't stop smiling.

Kikumaru must have sensed something in that smile, as the redhead's expression darkened once more. "I mean it, Fuji - leave them alone. I like Ochibi, and if you hurt Tezuka, you hurt Oishi."

Kikumaru stood, using the height advantage to glare down at the brunette. "And if you hurt Oishi, I will never forgive you."

A business trip.

Like I'm really going to believe that! Ryoma thought spitefully. He had been in inner turmoil for the past three days now and it was starting to show. There was a faint shadow to his eyes that spoke of restless nights, increased irritability, and he'd even snapped at Horio yesterday after the other man wouldn't stop talking about this new drama he'd started watching.

The truth was, Ryoma didn't know what to think; he'd mostly accepted the fact that Tezuka had apparently had some drunken affair that one time. Ryoma wasn't going to blame the man for adultery, on account of the alcohol and the fact that Ryoma had a growing suspicion that both Yukimura and Fuji were a couple of forceful sluts. Then Tezuka had a business trip, the details of which he could not fully explain - and he hadn't called in the past three days. Ryoma had only received one text each day with a short message about how his lover was doing fine and how he had a lot of work to do.

A lot of work doing nothing, as it turned out. Ryoma had heard from Inui that apparently Tezuka's role in Yamaguchi had been cut, but that he'd have to remain there the full five days for baffling reasons that Inui couldn't logically understand. Although, from the sound of it, Tezuka should have had plenty of free time for those five days - especially enough time to pick up one of Ryoma's calls. The nagging feeling that something very wrong was happening persisted and it bothered Ryoma each day of Tezuka's absence.

Drastic times called for drastic measures. Ryoma needed information: who was involved? How powerful were they? What did they want?

Information was costly. Ryoma tried to consider this as experience work for his future career (somehow), but he wasn't quite buying it himself. There was just something very unsettling about being able to buy information on just about anything and anyone for the right price.

Ryoma spotted his target idling near their university's library cafe, glancing at something in his notebook with a studious expression on his face. He was seated on a stone bench set apart from the busy sidewalk wound around the building - how very fortuitous. It wasn't lost on Ryoma that this was how the other man often conducted business with possible clients.

Ryoma took a seat next to him. Dan Taichi closed his notebook with a smile.

"Ryoma-kun! Finished with your Behavioral Psychology class already?" the petite male greeted brightly. "You're so lucky; Osamu-sensei always lets you guys get out early."

"That's because he keeps trying to 'coincidentally' meet Shiraishi-senpai in the halls," Ryoma returned in a deadpan. "But you already knew that. I have a job for you."

"That's rare," Dan mused.

Ryoma ignored him. "My boyfriend is cheating on me. Find out who he's with and what they're capable of."

Dan blinked up at him, shocked. "Tezuka-san is an adulterer?"

Why am I not surprised he already knows who my lover is? Ryoma wondered dryly. "I thought it was a one-time thing, but he has a week-long business trip that should be, by all rights, cancelled. He hasn't called me once, only texted me once a day, and lately he's been coming home with weird bruises."

Dan kept his eyes straight ahead, in full-on business mode. He never made eye contact when he was calculating something in his head. "Nothing from Tezuka-san's history would suggest he was even capable of committing adultery. It goes against everything he stands for and believes in."

"I know," Ryoma snapped curtly. It was the only reason he wasn't breaking it off with Tezuka right then and there - it was too strange. Something else had to be going on.

Dan frowned. "I'll look into it. Anything else you know that's related?"

"A man named Fuji Syuusuke is involved; he was Tezuka's ex-boyfriend from junior high," Ryoma stated. "As well as Yukimura Seiichi, owner of the Black Sea bar and restaurant."

Dan took a moment to connect a face with the name. "You mean Shiita-kun's senpai? The pretty one with the wavy hair?"

"That's the bastard," Ryoma bit out.

Dan turned to stare at him. "Are you saying Tezuka-san cheated on you with both of these men?"

"At the same time, too," Ryoma snorted. "That's also why it doesn't make any sense. If it had just been Fuji, then maybe it could be an old flame thing...but an orgy?"

Dan nodded, "That really doesn't make any sense at all. I'll look into it, Ryoma-kun."

There was a momentary pause, before a smirk began to curl Dan's lips. "Now, about the subject of payment..."

Ryoma groaned, "Sometimes, I really fucking hate you, Dan."

"I just need to know if Momo-senpai still has feeling for Tachibana An," Dan had said cheerfully. "Someone recently tasked me with finding out. It was either asking you or Kaidoh-senpai, so I guess I got lucky with you..."

Sometimes Dan was just too nice for his own good.

All in all, Ryoma knew he had gotten off lightly with Dan's cost. There were many perks to being the man's friend, one of which was leniency when asking for favors. It helped that he'd known the other youth since their freshman year in high school, and even became something of a role model for him once he'd beaten Dan's current lover - Akutsu Jin - in a tennis match.

Then Ryoma's father had died, along with Ryoma's will to play tennis. Dan had been a godsend during that time, being one of the few not to question his decision - just accept it as the most natural thing in the world, thus starting a friendship that pushed both boys to be better.

Stepping past through the doors and out into the university courtyard, Ryoma almost choked on brown fur as something big, fuzzy, and plushy was unceremoniously shoved into his face. He pushed it away, startled, golden eyes forming into a glare at the answering chuckle this action earned him.

Yukimura, holding out a giant teddy bear, beamed at him.

Ryoma eyed him with something like wariness crossed over with contempt. "Don't you ever work? Your business is going to fail if you keep leaving your job to stalk unsuspecting university students."

"I'd hardly call you unsuspecting," Yukimura protested playfully.

Ryoma tried to walk past him, but Yukimura only fell into step with him as he continued out the school gates. Ryoma swallowed down the urge to ask where Fuji was, half-suspecting the other man to be in Yamaguchi with Tezuka.

"Ryoma-kun," Yukimura called with an audible pout. "Don't you like your teddy bear?"

Ryoma didn't even glance over at him. "I wanted one as big as a horse. That thing's only dog-sized, at best."

Brat! He's a complete brat! Yukimura groaned inwardly. If he'd known his newest target was going to be such a nitpick about the details, he'd have gotten a teddy bear as big as a goddamned giraffe.

"It's rude to reject a person's gift to you, Ryoma-kun," Yukimura chastised lightly.

"You'll get over it."

Yukimura had half a mind to hit the younger male with the stuffed animal. It was already hard enough to navigate the sidewalk with the giant plushie, and Ryoma's speedy walking pace certainly wasn't helping.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Yukimura wondered aloud, losing some of his good cheer.

Ryoma smirked over at him. "Meeting a friend of mine. And there she is," Ryoma looked over pointedly at a pretty girl standing in front of a tea shop. She was slender, with fair skin and wearing short-shorts and a flattering blouse. Her stylishly-touseled light brown hair was done up in two loose pigtails, her manicured nails simple and trim. She was a beauty, but Yukimura wasn't interested in women - and he was fairly sure Ryoma wasn't either.

"Tomoka," Ryoma said abruptly, catching the girl's attention. She glanced between him and Yukimura in confusion, but before Yukimura could make his greeting or even before she could ask about him, the younger boy continued. "He's a Sasabe."

Confusion flickered across her face, before something clicked and a small smirk broke across her lips. Almost instantly, she was at Yukimura's side; her previously-devious face morphed into one of disgusted terror. Ryoma had walked past them and towards the entrance of the tea shop without a backwards glance, so Yukimura was taken off guard when Tomoka laid one carefully-manicured hand against his chest and shoved.

"You pervert! You're disgusting!" Tomoka cried, tearing up on cue. If he hadn't been the source of such a scene, Yukimura would have been honestly impressed by her acting skills. Tomoka pointed at him with such a look of fury and disgust that all bystanders in their immediate vicinity stopped to watch what was going on. "He tried to feel me up!"

There was a general outcry from the female populace, immediately followed by the men next to Yukimura grabbing on to him as if he'd try to run. Tomoka took a step back, looking visibly upset, practically melting back into the converging crowd that was clamoring for someone to call for police action against the pervert.

Even as he was forcibly shoved against the nearby wall to wait for a police officer to arrive, Yukimura managed to catch sight of Ryoma's smirking face as the youth walked off down the street, arm in arm with a giggling Tomoka.

The girl was carrying the giant teddy bear.

Yukimura's answering glare turned venomous. Some people just aren't partial to honey, I suppose...

End Chapter 4

A/N: Think about it... Out of all of the freshmen in PoT, which one would likely be the most strategic? To me, it was wannabe-manager Dan Taichi. XD

Note 1: "He's a Sasabe." The Tomoka-and-Ryoma tactic. An example I took from real life. Basically, a person or event that left such an impression that just one word related to it triggers the appropriate response. My friends and I use it when we don't want people in our immediate vicinity to know what we're really saying, or even use it as a counter-argument. Usually a person or place. In this story, you are to assume that Sasabe was a person they wanted to get rid of, so they used a similar tactic, thus turning the event into a codeword.

Some Concerns Readers Have Had:

Character's Past! Will you elaborate on it?

-For all of the main characters (OT6), yes. The SanaAtoYukiFuji is so sadistic and cruel here, they'd better at least have a reason why. Ryoma and Tezuka also have quite a few issues that will be addressed later on.

One reviewer was confused by the past. Since this is an AU, please just automatically assume everyone is a stranger unless I have specifically written otherwise. As it stands, this is the current timeline as portrayed so far:

-Fuji and Tezuka attend the same junior high, hook up, then break up after graduation and go to different high schools. They do not remain in contact.

-Tezuka enters Seishun Gakuen Senior High. Befriends Oishi and Inui.

-Ryoma's first year. He is a regular in the tennis club. Tezuka is captain.

-Yukimura, Sanada, Yagyuu, and Yanagi attend Rikkaidai. (Niou is not in the tennis club, but does attend Rikkaidai.)

-Tezuka's arm injury surfaces. He goes away for medical treatment. Ryoma defeats Yukimura in Singles 1 during the last match of the Kantou tournament.

-Yukimura collapses, gets medical treatment. Goes through with operation, does not recover in time for Nationals. Ryoma defeats Sanada in Singles 1 for the National championship.

-All third years graduate.

-Fuji and Kikumaru meet in college. Kikumaru and Oishi begin to date.

-Ryoma's second year in high school. Echizen Nanjiroh dies.

-Atobe and Fuji hook up in Fuji's final year in university. Post-graduation, SanaAtoYukiFuji is formed.

Special Note: Yukimura and Sanada do not remember Tezuka from their high school days (and vice versa), in lieu of more recent memories of their college years and career. There was no great rivalry between Sanada and Tezuka, and Yukimura and Tezuka were virtual strangers.