Disclaimer: My sister would be the first person to tell all of you that I don't own Prince of Tennis or its extraordinarily handsome guys.
Author's notes: My "loving" sister tells me that I have a lot of grammatical errors in my previous chapters. So I will try to do better from now on. And I found out that my sister is writing a story of her own!!! Yippee!!!
This regular conversation (usually in Japanese)
These are thoughts.
Yukimura won the poll. Then it was Fuji, Sanada, and lastly Atobe!!
=====Chapter 10: After the First Day…======
"Whoever invented laps must have been smoking something…" Ryoma muttered to her friends as they struggled to keep up with their senpais. Tomoka, Kachiro, and Katsuo nodded in between breaths. The tennis prodigy could hear loud gasps coming from behind her and turned around to find its source.
The loud-mouthed Horio was struggling to keep up with the others. He was emitting noisy, quivering gasps as his strength was slowly being sapped. The freshmen were only on their fifteenth lap, and Sakuno, the least athletic of the friends, was already on the sidelines, cheering her friends on.
Looks like Horio is about to give up….Ryoma thought as she noticed the condition that her friend was in. As they were all rounding the corner of the court, she noticed that Kachiro, Katsuo, and Tomoka were also winding down. Damn…I didn't think that they would tire so soon. While Ryoma was musing about her friends' conditions, several things were happening at the same time as well.
.
Slightly behind the freshmen group were also three other freshmen. One of them in particular was staring at the green-haired beauty. Every now and then, soft sighs could be heard coming from the boy. His two friends could only tsk and shake their heads at the sight of their leader.
Jin Chan turned to his twin brother, Wei. "He's really too sad to watch."
"Atobe-sama is going to be mad at us for letting Shiro get like this." The more serious of the brothers said.
Jin sighed. "And he just got over from that bad break up with Meiko-chan…"
Wei rolled his eyes at his brother's wistful voice. "She was a two-timer and a lying prick. I can't believe that you and Shiro aren't even mad at her!"
His younger brother shook his head at his brother. His green eyes were filled with sympathy as he stared at Wei's stone face. "I'm sure that she has grown up from that immature girl that she was before. And Shiro is a much stronger person than before."
Wei could only stare at his twin with disbelieving eyes. This dobe was just moaning over the fact that Shiro has fallen for that Ryoma chick. And now he's defending him!
Wei couldn't believe his brother and expressed his displeasure. "THIS ALL HAPPENED JUST LAST YEAR!!"
Jin rubbed his left ear. He hated it when his brother yelled at him. Geez. He didn't have to yell like that. I was only saying what I thought was true. Jin was about to open his mouth to say something about his brother's behavior until someone beat him to it.
"I'm sorry."
The twin brothers turned their identical green-eyed stare onto their best friend. Said best friend with his somewhat long hair in a short ponytail continued to look ahead, ignoring the question in their eyes.
"I'm sorry for making you guys worry. I'm still made at Meiko-chan, you know. It's just that…" Shiro took a deep breath. His two closest friends were surprised at how unsteady their leader's breathing was. "It's just that she's not worth it. And…and I just didn't want you guys to worry about me…"
Jin's gaze turned soft. It would be like Shiro to act like a fool to not make us worry. I mean... he never acted like his brother before he met her. Wei was thinking similar thoughts.
"Is that why you acted like your brother this past summer?" Wei asked the second heir to the Atobe Corporation. "You always did give me the heebee jeebees when you do that ridiculous pose."
Shiro smiled softly. The teenager didn't notice the giggles coming from his fan club watching him in the crowd. He also didn't notice that his brother was splitting his time watching the love of his life and his little brother. Keigo was slightly startled to see Shiro smile. How long has it been since I've seen him smile like that?
The captain of Hyotei was lost in his own musing about his little brother's behavior until he hear a loud shout come from said brother.
.
"YOSH!! I'LL GET HER TO GO OUT WITH ME IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!!"
.
Everyone looked at Shiro. Jin and Wei looked away from their leader and whistled a little tune. Ryoma just muttered mada mada dane while her friends, who were now all watching from the sidelines, laughed at the boy's declaration.
Keigo was mildly amused at his little brother's antics. I wonder who the lucky little lady is. The diva captain thought about his imouto's behavior during the last year and was happy to see that he was feeling more like his usual self. I can't wait to meet the girl who helped Shiro get over that little….witch. Unconsciously, Keigo started to hum the nursery song, "Mary had a Little Lamb", which made the other players around him start to edge away from him.
It seems that Keigo has finally cracked. Oshitari thought before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The tensai of Hyotei looked past Shiro and at the fading backside of another figure. I guess he's happy that Shiro is back to normal. But besides Shiro, there seems to be one other interesting character this year.
Before Atobe could go onto a second verse of "Mary had a Little Lamb," loud screams could be heard coming from nearby. The remaining runners stopped in their tracks and looked in the direction of where Fuji and Yanagi-senpai were standing. There were several of the tennis members lying on the ground. Some of them were foaming at the mouth and others were stretching their arms out as if they were asking for Kami's help. Sadly, they didn't get any.
The two regulars noticed that everyone was staring at them. Fuji opened his closed eyes to reveal two gleaming cerulean orbs. He pasted a delicate, yet sweet smile on his face that didn't fool anyone who knew the tensai.
"Saa...I don't know why they fell down like that." Fuji shrugged his shoulders. He turned to his partner in crime…to his partner in timing. "Do you know why they are acting like this, Yanagi-san?"
The data master of Rikkaidai finished scribbling in his notebook before closing it and looking at his fellow tennis player. "I think they are just too overjoyed at being rehydrated after spending such a long time running."
"Yes. That must be it." Fuji smiled an angelic smile that made all the girls in the audience 'aw' and make hearts flutter out of their eyes. The other tennis players around him shuddered at his smile.
Yanagi gave a small chuckle. "It's thanks to Inui-san that all of our players are in prime condition. Right my friend?"
A figure appeared from behind Fuji and Yanagi. A bizarre background materialized as Inui rose out of nowhere.
An evil gleam skittered across from his glasses. "Yes, with this new and improved Penal Tea V. 3, everyone will be more energetic." The manager of Seigaku lifted a large glass mug of the "tea" for everyone to see. Black smog rose out of the mug and the purple liquid oozed out green foam. A noxious odor could be smelt from across the courtyard, and even some of the audience members fainted after inhaling its scent.
Ryoma, Jin, Shiro, and Wei, the only freshmen left running, turned white at the thought of drinking the "wonderous" drink. This must be the punishment Monkey King/Atobe-sama/Nii-san was talking about! They all thought simulataneously.
The upperclassmen who had already tasted at least one concoction of Inui's freaked at the sight of a third version of "Penal Tea." The regulars who were on the sidelines watching the show gave breaths of relief as they realized that they were safe for another day. Thank Kami that I'm not the one out there today!
Inui noticed that remaining runners had stopped in their tracks: Arai, Taki, Yai, Ryoma, Shiro, Jin, Wei, and a dozen or so second and third years. He caught Fuji's and Yanagi's attention. The data master jerked his head towards the runners. The smiling brunette tensai immediately thought of a fun idea. And like the majority of his ideas, they usually caused someone to be miserable.
"Saa…I have a good idea. Since all of you runners are just standing around and are basically in the same spot, I think we should have a little competition. Don't you think so too, Yanagi-san?"
The third Demon of Rikkaidai smirked as he caught on to his friend's plan. "Yes, I think so too. And for the winner, there will be an all-expense paid buffet to Kawamura Sushi courtesy of the tennis club."
Loud cheering could be heard from the remaining runners. Yanagi waited until they stopped cheering before continuing. "But, for the losers….They must drink a large class of Inui's special tea." He gave a smile as he turned to his childhood friend. "Will you do the honors of pouring the loser's drink, my old friend?"
Inui chuckled evilly and pushed up his glasses. "Of course. Anything for an old friend."
"Now that everything is settled, the contest starts…now!" The smiling tensai said softly.
Many of the second and third years were still lingering around. Arai, Taki, and Yai were still stupefied by their senpais' freaky contest. They didn't notice that the number of people around them were fewer than before.
Fuji chuckled and caught their attention. Seeing their befuddled looks, Fuji decided to take pity (yeah right!) on them. "It seems that the first years are ahead already. All of you should be getting a move on….unless." Fuji gave a sadistic smile. "Unless all of you want to end up like your friends here."
Clouds of dust were his only response as the runners took off. Fuji chuckled before making one last announcement. "And don't forget! The last five runners of each round are counted as the losers!!!"
"KUSO!!!" could be heard from the runners.
Yanagi, Inui, and Fuji let out evil chuckles as they plotted more "helpful" plots to improve the teams. Momoshiro and Kirihara, the two players closest to the plotting trio, shuddered at the sight of their senpais. If they had bothered to look close enough, they might have been able to make out the shadows of their forked tails and horns on their heads. But the two second years were already plagued with nightmares from their scheming senpais and didn't need the further trauma inflicted to their psyche.
Time passed and soon it was only the four freshmen and Arai and his lackeys left. Some of the upperclassmen were gossiping that the only reason the freshmen were remaining was because they had a head start. Of course, some of the tennis regulars, such as Sanada, Yagyuu, and Kabaji, were taking note of said persons and were going to enact some punishments of their own later. Some punishments that would make even some of Fuji's plans seem like child's play. No one talks trash about Ryoma when we're around!! The three over-protective senpais thought together.
.
Geez…this school is crazy!! Ryoma thought as she continued running. She remembered the penalty for the losers of the marathon. What kind of school lets students poison other students in the name of 'improvement'? As the girl mused to herself, some of the other runners around her were also lost in their own thoughts.
Taki and Yai were thinking in the same train of thought: Whoa…I didn't expect these freshmen to be so good. Are these guys even human? They thought as they continued to struggle to keep up.
Waah!! Ryoma is so cute in her shorts and tank! If only she was wearing a skirt… A certain freshman was thinking as he gazed wistfully at his crush.
Arai wasn't thinking much at all. The instinct to survive and live another day overcame filled his head. Jin and Wei were just musing about what they were going to do over the weekend.
.
It was the final corner before the finish line. Everyone in the audience including the remaining tennis players was anticipating who would make it first. A large cloud of dust blocked the view of the runners, making it very hard to see who was first and who was last. The watchers were holding their breaths as they waited for the cloud dust to settle.
"Oh My GOSH!!" Tomoka screamed loudly. "GO RYO-CHAN!!"
Her excellent vision had allowed her to catch the first glimpses of the runners before anyone else since she was also the closest to the corner as well.
.
It was Ryoma and Shiro tied for the lead. Arai and his two friends were running closely behind. Jin and Wei were struggling to pass up their senpais. All of them had looks of desperation on their faces as they all were desperate not to be the one who had to suffer the punishment.
But like all competitions, there must be a loser and a winner.
"Saa…since it was a tie for first between Ryo-chan and Shiro-san, you two will run one last lap." Fuji declared. Then he turned to the five losers. Arai and the others gulped at the look that their senpai was giving them. Yanagi took over the race after Fuji left to help Inui prepare the punishments.
"Now, we will have one final lap between you two." Yanagi motioned for the two freshmen to stand side by side. "On the count of three."
"ONE!"
"TWO!"
"THREE!"
Ryoma and Shiro ran off. Shiro had a slight lead due to his longer legs, but Ryoma was running close behind. Before they could make it that far, however, loud screams could be heard coming from the starting line. Shiro and Ryoma turned around as they were running and saw that losers were lying on the ground. Their bodies were twitching and foam was coming out of their mouths.
.
Ryoma shuddered and turned her head away from the sight. I am definitely not drinking that! The tennis prodigy was so focused on running and not wanting to drink Inui's Penal Tea, that she didn't notice that Shiro had stopped after seeing his friends acting like zombies.
**Crash**
Shiro fell backwards onto the ground. Ryoma was falling down in the same path. The boy wrapped his arms around the beautiful girl to help protect her. Ryoma, however, wasn't use to guys 'hugging' her and was shaking her arms like a bird. She was trying to catch her balance. It wasn't working.
A small cloud of dust and sand arose from the ground. Sakuno and Kachiro, the two people who had been closest to the pair, gasped and blushed at what they saw. Mixed reactions filled the court as other bystanders saw the sight. Some of the tennis players were looking with envy. Others were mildly amused while several of them were interested at the sight before them. Many of the girls were jumping up and down at the cute sight before them.
Shiro was lying on the ground and his arms were wrapped around Ryoma. He had positioned his body so that Ryoma was lying comfortably on him. This made the tennis girl to be slightly curled on top of Shiro. Her head was resting between her opponent's neck and shoulder. One of Ryoma's braids had come undone, and her silky emerald hair was spread out over Shiro's chest.
Camera shutters and flashes could be heard and seen around the court. Before Shiro could really register what was going on, three voices chilled him to the bone. He looked up to see the scariest people looking down at him: Yukimura-senpai, Fuji-senpai, and his own brother, Kei-nii.
"What exactly do you think that you are doing?" Yukimura asked in a velvety voice. The Rikkaidai captain was emitting an aura filled with coldness and the promise of retribution.
The tensai of Seigaku was not looking happy either. "What do you think that you are doing to Ryo-chan?" Fuji's eyes were wide open and his normally smiling mouth was set in a grim line.
"I…I wasn't doing any…anything wrong!!" Shiro stuttered out. The combined death glares that his three senpais were giving him freaked him out.
"Then why don't You GET OUT FROM UNDER RYOMA-HIME!!!" The captain of Hyotei shouted at his brother.
Not a second later did Shiro wiggle his way out from under Ryoma. However, Ryoma wasn't aware of what was going around her. Fuji frowned. He leaned down to shake Ryoma's shoulder. She wasn't waking up.
Yukimura and Atobe leaned down on the ground as well. The two captains felt for any injuries on Ryoma's body.
Blood appeared on Atobe's fingers as he felt Ryoma's temple.
"It seems that she bumped her head when she fell down." Atobe said out loud.
Footsteps could be heard behind the small group. The group looked up to see Tezuka.
"I let practice end already." Sure enough, as they looked around, there were only a few scatterings of members milling around the courtyard. Only the freshmen and regulars were remaining on the courts.
Tezuka noticed the blood on his friend's fingers. He frowned at the lack of action that his friends were doing. "Why don't one of you take Echizen-chan to the nurse's office? It looks like a mild concussion to me."
Fuji and Atobe brightened up at the idea of holding Ryoma in their arms and being her knight-in-shining armor. Both of them reached out to grab her, and both of them glared at each other when they noticed the other's actions. They both stood up.
Fuji glared at his friend. "Why don't you let me take care of this, Monkey King?"
"Psh! Ore-sama is more than able to take care of this matter."
"I asked politely. I already said that I could handle this."
"No. Ore-sama will handle this matter."
The tensai of Seigaku and the captain of Hyotei continued to argue. Finally, both Fuji and Atobe reached down to pick up Ryoma, only to find that she was nowhere on the ground or around them. They looked up and gave Tezuka a demanding, yet questioning look.
Tezuka sighed before answering them. "While you two were arguing, Seichi took Echizen-chan to the infirmary himself."
Both Fuji and Keigo cursed under their breath. I can't let Ryoma fall for Seichi! The two tennis players thought before leaving to go their own separate ways.
Tezuka could only pinch the bridge of his nose as he too walked away. He had a feeling that this school year was going to be one hell of a school year.
.
-----In the Infirmary-----
.
Yukimura had just placed his crush onto a soft bed. The girl was in a deep sleep as the nurse, Sayu-sensei, examined her patient. After a few minutes, she proclaimed Ryoma to be A-Ok!
"It's so nice to see young men such as yourself treat your girlfriends in such a gentlemanly manner." Sayu-sensei said.
Yukimura blushed. His cheeks were colored faintly with red. "Ah… I'm not her boyfriend."
Sayu-sensei's jaw dropped. "But you two look so cute together and you treated her so gently!"
"No." The captain of Rikkaidai sadly said. "I'm not her boyfriend."
The nurse of Star Academy silently left the bed area. As she walked quietly to her desk, she couldn't help but look back at the effeminate boy. She saw that Yukimura had undone Ryoma's other braid and had smoothed out her hair. Sayu-sensei wasn't able to resist giving a small squeal as she watched Yukimura start singing softly to Ryoma while he brushed her hair.
If those two aren't really going out, then I'm going to set them up!
Sayu thought about her own high school love from before. And she remembered the chances that passed him and her up. And the lonely days that she was used to now.
I'm not going to let that happen to someone else! Besides! They look so cute together!!
Sayu Masahiro left the room to give Yukimura some personal time with Ryoma. Inside, Yukimura, the famed Child of God in the Japanese High School Tennis Circuit, couldn't help but give a shudder. Why does it feel like someone is going to involve me in a plot? A plot that may be more trouble for me than what it's worth?
.
Meanwhile, the slumbering Ryoma was struggling to wake up. The tennis girl had heard a soft voice humming close by and could feel a brush sliding through her hair. The atmosphere felt much similar to how her brother treated her when she was sick.
Ryoma opened her eyes and saw a person's head shadowed by the room light on the ceiling. Her vision was slightly fuzzy.
"Is that you Ryo?" Ryoma asked the figure. She had forgotten where she was.
The figure lurched back. Ryoma struggled to sit up.
"I've missed you Ryo!" the girl said in a shaky voice.
The figure flinched before responding. "Who's Ryo?"
The soft voice brought Ryoma back to reality. Her eyes widened and cleared as she saw who had been actually sitting beside her.
"Yukimura-senpai!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And now Chapter 10 is done! I'm so happy!
This chapter helped bring in some new characters and some mysterious histories of some of the characters in my story.
I hope all of you enjoyed it.
Please read and review. Thanks to all those that reviewed,
Don't forget to vote on the new poll. Each vote helps out a lot!
.
.
Updated 5/31/09.