Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its chars. I only own my plot.

Warning: Shonen-ai fic, Mpreg

Pairings: Inui X Yanagi, Sanada X Yukimura, Tezuka X Echizen hints.

A/N: Posting this chapter one day earlier as I'm not sure if I'll have internet access tomorrow.

Mew, ehehe. Well, here's the next chapter.

Lillian, lol. Need a rope to do so? (hands over a noose)

Data Pair Lover, maa…apparently Inui is pretty blind when it comes to anything involving himself.

Tinker, (turns to Inui) ::slaps:: . Done. XD

Data Tales

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 10

"Braxton Hicks Contractions." The doctor announced once he entered the sitting room.

The five occupants in the room stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. Inui was the first to break the silence. "What?"

"False contractions. He will be quite prone to that during the third trimester of his pregnancy. Sometimes this may lead to premature labour, but other times this will just be an on and off thing. It'll come and go from time to time. Yanagi-san's condition has already been stabilized."

There was a collective sigh of relief in the room. Inui glanced around at all those present. When he had called Atobe earlier on, the Hyotei captain immediately sent over one of his personal doctors. Apparently, he had also called the two Rikkai demons and Tezuka too. Inui could only guess what kind of excuses they had come up with to sneak out so late at night.

The doctor perused his report briefly. "What I'm concerned of is that those contractions were stress-induced."

Another round of silence as the atmosphere became tense again. "Stress-induced?" Tezuka repeated, frowning.

"Aa. Also, his blood pressure is rather high. That might be dangerous to both him and the baby." The doctor continued on.

Sanada instantly turned to Inui, his glare so powerful that Inui felt small, even though he was supposed to be the taller one.

"You! Just what have you done to Yanagi to stress him out like that? He's only been living with you for less than a month and you give him high blood pressure?" Sanada snarled.

"Genichirou, calm down." Yukimura touched his arm.

Sanada rounded on him next, still pointing at Inui. "That's why I didn't want this guy to be the one to watch Yanagi. Either of us would have been a better choice."

"We've discussed this before, Genichirou." Yukimura sighed.

"This is still a bad idea, Yuki-"

"Gen." It was just a simple three-lettered word, but Yukimura had lowered his voice, making him sound more masculine…and a tad scary too.

Sanada halted immediately. It was at moments like these when Inui remembered that Yukimura was indeed the Rikkai captain. "I still don't like the idea." Sanada muttered, completely deflated.

Yukimura patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry to trouble you, but just be patient." He next turned to Inui. "It's getting very late, so we had better take our leave now. We'll leave Renji under your care then."

"Aa." Inui gave his promise. He saw the others out and closed the door before heading over to Yanagi's bedroom.

His friend lay on his bed, sleeping. His breathing was deep and even, and his face peaceful. A surge of relief filled Inui at the sight of his pain-free face. Yanagi's hand rested gently on the mound of his stomach, where their baby continued to grow quietly. Reaching out, Inui placed his hand on top of Yanagi's. "You have given us quite a scare there." He whispered, not specifying whether that statement was for Yanagi or the baby.

Inui was about to leave, but Yanagi gave a whimper, seemingly having a bad dream. He placed one hand on Yanagi's, and the Rikkai data master quieted down. Inui felt bad to leave if his friend was having nightmares like that, and he pulled up a chair to Yanagi's bedside to keep watch. It was the least he could do after what Yanagi had suffered.

He brushed away a lock of hair from Yanagi's face in a caring gesture, watching the peaceful expression. Somehow, a surge of peace ran through Inui too, as he laid his head next to Yanagi's sleeping form, just listening to Yanagi's breathing and the slow 'tick' of the clock.

He didn't realize he had been lulled to sleep until he felt someone touching his head. Jolting awake, Inui sat up immediately to find his friend watching him.

"Have you been here the whole night, Sadaharu? I'm sorry for the trouble." His friend apologized.

"Nope. It was no trouble." Inui yawned as he rubbed his eyes. He noticed Yanagi trying to get out of bed and panicked. "No, don't move about so much!" He promptly lifted his friend off the bed and carried him to the washroom.

"Really, Sadaharu. I'm perfectly fine." Yanagi sighed.

"No you're not…" Inui muttered, remnants of the fear from the previous night returning.

Inui kept a hawk's eye on his friend throughout the day. It was a weekend anyway, and while usually he would be outdoors gathering data or practicing his tennis, today he stayed at home to keep watch over the pregnant teen.

Also, he bustled about getting the housework done, feeling it better if Yanagi moved less. He took the day off work too, despite Yanagi's protests ("I'm perfectly fine, Sadaharu. You don't have to worry for me like that."). In fact, with how he was acting, frankly speaking Inui was scaring himself too.

Yanagi gave up trying to dissuade him after a while, and allowed Inui to do as he pleased. Once Inui was done with the housework, he sat down and, after getting Yanagi a cup of tea, began to run through some of his data to entertain the Rikkai data master. He mentioned his Rikkai trip, but made it sound like he was there scouting instead. Yanagi smiled gently, rubbing his abdomen from time to time. "I miss Rikkai. I look forward to returning to my school, once the child is born, that is."

"Aa." Inui's phone rang at that moment, and he picked it up. "Moshi moshi? Ah Kaidou. What is it? Hmm? Today?" Inui threw a glance in Yanagi's direction. The Rikkai data master was completely calm, not giving as extreme a reaction as the day before. Still…

"I'm sorry, Kaidou. I'm rather busy today. I'll see you during tennis practice tomorrow to go through your schoolwork. In fact, I'll be compiling some notes for you, so that you won't have to rely so heavily on my coaching." He ended the call.

"Are you really sure you want to do that, Sadaharu?" Yanagi asked. He was so incredibly calm that it started to unnerve Inui.

"Aa." Inui wanted to stay home with his friend.

Yanagi shrugged. "Is that so? Well then. Let's go through that data again, shall we?"

XXX

Inui must be quite possessed, for there were certain practices which he did on a daily basis, feeling incredibly uncomfortable if he missed out on either one of them.

The first, of course, was that he always carried Yanagi back to his bedroom, not thinking so much about the baby anymore, but more to because he secretly liked having Yanagi in his arms. Yanagi's comfortable weight and body warmth seeped through his hands, and served as some form of reassurance to Inui every night before he went to sleep.

Also, he made sure to set his alarm earlier, putting all his data collecting to good use. He knew what time Yanagi usually woke, and made sure to wake before he did to get breakfast ready before heading over to help carry Yanagi over to the washroom to wash up before carrying him to the breakfast table. Yanagi no longer protested, humouring Inui's antics. It was getting increasingly difficult for Yanagi to walk once he reached eight months of pregnancy anyway.

He was getting incredibly keen on observing Yanagi's every move now, feeling very much like some kind of a stalker. Yanagi was excellent with time management, and frequently passed time by reading. Inui made sure to get him more books, seeing how much the Rikkai data master enjoyed them. They lived like that under one roof, and Inui found himself enjoying Yanagi's presence greatly, sometimes even more so than he enjoyed data collecting. They acted almost like a married couple, or a family.

Inui paused on that thought. No. That wasn't too true either. No matter how Inui tried, Yanagi just didn't seem to take any interest in him. Inui seemed to be the only one who crossed the line of 'friends', but Yanagi hadn't.

Inui did not give up though. He cut down a lot of the time spent on data collecting so that he could be home as much as possible to keep Yanagi company. In fact, his data nowadays were more to do with whatever might interest Yanagi instead of keeping track on the opponents. Inui even cut down on his time coaching Kaidou, and he made sure to check through his work thoroughly, so that he wouldn't have to work overtime unless absolutely necessary.

The Seigaku data master continued with his subtle hints, hoping that eventually Yanagi would able to pick them up.

XXX

Inui was getting incredibly frustrated as the days went by. His attempts to get Yanagi to notice him were quite futile, as Yanagi showed no interest in him at all. In fact, the Rikkai data master had an air of calmness around him which didn't seem quite normal, but made him look pretty rigid instead. Yanagi seemed to have changed slightly after the false contractions' incident. Inui's data all pointed to that.

Inui wanted to confess his feelings, yet at the same time, he didn't dare to. He had been treading lightly around Yanagi, afraid that he might trigger another stress-induced attack. He didn't know what had caused the first attack in the first place anyway. The doctor mentioned stress, and Inui deduced that it might be something he did. No matter how he racked his brains, however, he couldn't figure out what it was that he had done that had affected Yanagi so much though.

Yanagi was doing his homework when Inui returned home that day, and he glanced up when Inui entered the room. "Ah, you're back, Sadaharu."

"Tadaima." Inui said even as he took off his shoes. Yanagi's brow furrowed as he tried to solve one of the equations, and after Inui had set his bag down, he walked over and joined Yanagi at the table.

"Let me see that." Inui reached out and turned the book slightly so that he too could read it. His hand brushed against Yanagi's briefly, and felt that tingle again. This time, however, he knew what that was, and glanced quickly at Yanagi.

There was no change to the Rikkai data master's expression, much to Inui's disappointment. He went back to his original task, glancing through the equations and discussing them with Yanagi. They argued over certain points, but in the end, it left Inui feeling better, since they hadn't had such a spirited chat in a while. Not since Yanagi's change in behaviour.

Their discussion of schoolwork became their newest form of bonding. Yanagi didn't seem so rigid anymore, and spoke more cheerily to him as they discussed their schoolwork. Inui was incredibly grateful to Atobe for providing a tutor for Yanagi, or his friend would surely have a difficult time trying to catch up.

There was no change of Yanagi's behaviour towards him though, as Yanagi still treated him as a friend. No more than that. Inui was beginning to wonder if there was any other way to get Yanagi's attention, or if he was only wasting his time.

He was bustling about the house, sweeping the floor when he noticed Yanagi watching the television screen intently, while holding a cup of green tea in his hand. Curiosity got the better of him and he walked over. "What are you watching, Renji?"

Yanagi glanced up at him. "The video you took during your last Rikkai scouting trip. I have quite some time on my hand right now, so I thought it might be a good idea to catch up on data collecting. Do you want to sit here, Sadaharu?"

There was no way Inui would pass up on that offer. "I'll be over in a moment." He finished his chores and dropped into the spot next to Yanagi, flipping to a fresh page of his notebook. Two data masters were always better than one, and Inui was looking forward to hearing what observations Yanagi might have.

He relived his little adventure to Rikkai as he watched the characters on screen. Yanagi chuckled when Kirihara scribbled on Sanada's bag. "Akaya is always like that. Last year, he had potential to be a regular, and since he's the baby of the group, we seniors tended to be rather soft on him and his childish ways. I see he hasn't changed even though he's a regular now. Sanada will be better off not seeing this video."

"Aa." Inui gave a light laugh. He was about to comment more when the scene changed again, and Rikkai's doubles 1 pair came on screen. Inui remembered that they had been the ones blocking the camera (unintentionally) at that time.

Yanagi continued to watch with mild interest. "Oh. They've progressed much further than last year. Back then, the Gentleman wouldn't even be within a 10-foot radius of his doubles partner, let alone hold hands. Interesting data." He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. Inui had no doubt that he was already memorizing their data.

Inui would love to give a comment to his words, except that the make-out scene was having some sort of effect on him. A good effect…no…a bad effect. Not good. 'Bad Inui!' he mentally scolded himself.

He swallowed, wondering why the room suddenly felt so hot. That couldn't be. Yanagi had the air-conditioning system switched on. He threw a sideglance at Yanagi to see if he felt the room temperature change too.

Yanagi seemed oblivious to that though since his eyes were still fixed on the screen. Inui watched as Yanagi licked his lips to moisten them, stared with fascination as the tiny pink tongue worked. It had an even stronger effect on him than the make out scene had.

Inui tore his gaze away forcefully. 'Don't look at Renji. Don't look at Renji.' He repeated to himself in his head. Even if he didn't look at Yanagi, it was impossible to ignore his presence though, as Inui became acutely aware of Yanagi sitting right next to him. He could feel Yanagi's body warmth from the proximity.

"Hmm, I wonder if we can get the correct angle of that kiss." Yanagi muttered thoughtfully. He shifted, bumping against Inui slightly. That tingle became a jolt of electricity, and Inui felt the room temperature rise yet another few degrees.

He decided that it wasn't such a wise idea for him to remain in the same room as Yanagi anymore, and Inui decided to excuse himself while his rational mind was still intact. He turned to his friend and opened his mouth to give an excuse…but his voice died instantly.

For he caught sight of his friend, whose face was illuminated by the light from the TV screen. Inui had always felt that Yanagi was very attractive, and currently, the scene before him…

…was more than his self-control could handle.

Inui's hand moved automatically, gently holding Yanagi's chin and turning his face over. Yanagi stared at him, his eyes still half closed, while his lips moved as he tried to form a question to Inui's actions.

Inui moved without warning, leaning over and catching Yanagi's lips in a hungry, mildly desperate kiss. Yanagi's eyes flew open and he made a sound of confusion in his throat. Inui wasn't really able to keep track of his actions after that, but somewhere along the way, he might have knocked them both over, as he continued to kiss Yanagi on the floor. His mind was too far-gone to notice anyway.

Yanagi remained unresponsive, his whole body completely rigid. Somehow, that seemed to bring some of Inui's rational mind back, as he realized what he was doing to his friend, who was pinned underneath him.

'Oh no…ohnoohnoohno-' The same words repeated themselves in Inui's mind as panic set in. What had he done?

He leapt to his feet, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Renji, I…I…I'm sorry!" Inui fled from the room.

XXX

Inui sighed for the 42nd time as he swept the same spot on the shelves that day. His mind kept replaying his actions, and Inui was highly tempted to suffocate himself with the feather duster he was holding.

He didn't know if he could ever look Yanagi in the eye again. He had completely lost control of his own emotions, and had kissed Yanagi. He had broken the trust between them…

He gave a groan and hit his head against the wall. He was the worst, doing something like that. He hadn't seen Yanagi the whole day either, the other data master probably avoiding him now after his horrible actions. Inui didn't even know what he could say to patch things up between them again. A kiss wasn't something one could easily make excuses for.

He continued to rearrange the books on the shelves to keep himself occupied. If he thought about the incident anymore he'd drive himself insane. Somewhat satisfied with his work, he was about to leave when he thought he saw his name.

He backtracked, browsing through the books on the shelf. His eyes hadn't played tricks with him. There was one notebook with the name 'Inui' on it. Did he accidentally leave one of his books down?

He drew that book from the shelf. No. This wasn't his notebook. With this handwriting, Inui was pretty sure this was Yanagi's notebook. So it was a book with his data?

Even from when they were younger, Yanagi's notebook was not something Inui has had the chance of seeing before. The original data master once told him that a true data master would not reveal his secret weapon to the enemy, hence hiding his notebook.

Inui had differing opinions in the sense that the secret weapon could be used as strong blackmail material too, to inflict fear on the enemy. Hence the bespectacled boy was always carrying his notebook around.

For Yanagi's notebook to be found like this, he sure has gotten careless. Taking note of where the book was positioned initially and at which angle it leaned, Inui decided that it shouldn't hurt if he took a peek. It was Yanagi's weakness to let him find his secret weapon in the first place anyway. Ii data…

He flipped it open. Surely enough, he could see calculations and notes filling the pages, from all of Inui's skills to all of his weaknesses. Yanagi had even recorded events in there, such as the first time they met, to when they had started becoming friends. Inui chuckled to himself as Yanagi had first described him as a 'bespectacled, slightly dorky looking newcomer'.

He flipped a few more pages. As expected of Yanagi, the book was filled with a lot of personal insights. He raised an eyebrow when Yanagi made a comment on his high-speed serve.

"Sadaharu's new serve has reached 195km/h. Quite impressive, and the pose when he executes that move is rather cool too. It's a very elegant skill, just like the rest of his tennis. Then again, elegance is one of Sadaharu's strongest charms anyway."

As Inui flipped the pages, the calculations and notes became less, while insights…or were they personal thoughts instead…became more frequent. From a data notebook, the pages seemed to sound more and more like a personal diary instead. As Inui read on, realization began to dawn upon him…

To be continued…

Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.

-Gwyn86