HAHA! This is the…ummm…yeah! This is a chapter! I can't remember what number it is…wait…wait…chapter 11! Oh gosh! And for a reviewer my answer is that yes I forgot that Kaoru is Kaidoh's first name…hehehe…but I won't be using Kaoru in reference to Kaidoh so I think just forget about it…hehehe…


Chapter 11: Chibi jealousy

Tezuka followed the waiter to the designated room for them. Everyone else followed behind him. And they were all quiet because Eiji wasn't there to make some noise.

"Here…please wait for the food to arrive…" the waiter bowed to them and proceeded to the kitchen.

The girls were chatting when the door slid open and in came a number of boys they knew. They all stared at each other.

"Oh…I didn't expect to see you here…" Fuji said when Akari approached him.

"Inui-chan!" Kaori ran to Inui and flung her arms around him to the surprise of everyone who saw.

Inui detached himself from her and looked at her. She had grown pretty since he last saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Mou…I am staying in Tokyo until I finish my studies. I'm currently going to study in Hyotei." She smiled.

From the other side of the room Oishi was fuzzing over a girl.

"Are you ok? Are you supposed to go out yet? I mean…how did you make it here?" Oishi was almost about to faint.

"Oishi, Oishi! Calm down…I'm fine now…anyway…I can't miss this chance when I get to see my oh so beautiful friends after a long time…" she smiled after she explained.

"Alright…but I'll walk you home after this…"

"Yes, sir!" Yuna gave him a salute and laughed.

"Taka! Sit here!" Yui shouted from a corner of the room. Taka walked to her and asked how she was.

Tezuka was sitting on a pillow at the head of the table like the leader he was. He watched everyone as they chatted or introduced themselves. Then to his left, a familiar voice called to him.

"Hey, Tezuka-chan!" Miharu mumbled.

Tezuka looked at his right to find Miharu staring at him.

"Hn."

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.

"How did you know her?"

"Oh…Riko-chan…we were friends since elementary…"

"Hn."

"Nothing else you might want to say?"

"None."

"Sure?"

"Hn."

"Ok…so…I guess the foods here…" she smiled as waiters flooded the room carrying loads of food.

After the waiters finished setting up, food almost flowed out from the table.

"ITTADAKIMASU!" everyone said and started digging in.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Mou…This is it!" Ann said as she checked the name of the restaurant one more time.

Eiji and Riko were walking towards the restaurant when they saw her.

"Wait…I think that's…" Riko said but Eiji shouted.

"Hey! Ann-chan!"

Ann turned around to see the regular and a friend she had from a longtime ago.

"Riko-sempai!" she ran to hug Riko.

"Hello…how's our favorite kouhai doing these days?" Riko asked as they went inside.

"I'm going to Fudomine now…" Ann said.

"The food here is delicious…nya?" Eiji said.

"Sure…Ah…Here we are!" she slid open the door only to find the table gleaming with wiped clean dishes and glasses.

"Eiji…where have you been?" Oishi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He tried his best to make his teammates wait but in a matter of seconds even before he could end his sentence it was all loaded to their plates and ready to pop in their mouths.

Eiji dropped his jaw to the ground. All the food he had been expecting to see, gone. He looked around him, his face a color of the palest white. The girls were already chatting; Tezuka was wiping his mouth with a white handkerchief. Momo was taking his last bites off a drumstick, while trying to look like a gentleman to Ann.

"Nani? Where's the food?" Riko asked.

Ann was beside Momo trying to talk to him.

"I guess we arrived late…" Ann said.

"Ehhhh!!!!!!!!" Eiji and Riko shouted.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Fuji was sitting beside Sakuno. She was still quiet. He was about to eat a strawberry sundae that he snatched from the table away from Momo's prying hands.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan…do you want this sundae?" he asked. From the corner of his eye he could see Ryoma turn his attention to him. Fuji smiled.

"Ah…is it okay?" Sakuno asked.

"Sure…here!" he handed her the cup and a teaspoon.

"Arigatou!" Sakuno tasted it, "It tastes so good!"

"Glad you like it…oh…you've got ice cream." Fuji said then pointed his own cheek signifying that Sakuno got ice cream in there.

Sakuno grabbed a tissue and tried to wipe it away. "Is it gone?" she asked.

"No…let me." He took a tissue and wiped it away. He saw a glaring Ryoma sitting a few meters away. There is nothing more fun than making people suffer.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Riko had another platter brought up for Eiji. They were sitting beside Ryoma. Since Riko was still trying to catch up with her friends, Eiji turned to a certain O'chibi.

"Nya…O'chibi…this food is great…wanna try?" he asked but Ryoma did not react.

"O'chibi! "He called to his attention but Ryoma did not budge.

"What are you looking at, nya?" Eiji asked and followed Ryoma's stare that led to a certain Tensai and a girl next to him. They were laughing at something they can't hear.

"Hoi! Hoi! Are you trying to keep an eye on them?" Eiji teased. Our o'chibi sure is growing up.

I sure will make that Fuji pay for this…How dare he touch Sakuno! Then it came to him. Anyway…I don't like her…but why do I feel this way when I know she's happy? Kami…I fell so defeated now…this is worse than losing a tennis match…Arghh…as if I know that...

Eiji tried to bring Ryoma back to his senses. After about 5 more minutes of not answering, Eiji shook Echizen's shoulders until he looked at him.

"Hey! O'chibi! Could you tell me what's going on!" Eiji called.

Ryoma looked at him and detached himself. "What do you want?" he looked really pissed off.

"Why are you glaring at Fuji and Sakuno-chan?" Eiji asked, a smile creeping on his face.

"I'm not…" Ryoma said.

"Hoi! Hoi! Are you jealous?" Eiji poked Ryoma's arm.

"Why would I be jealous? I don't like either of them…"

"Really?"

"Hn."

"If I were you, I'll tell her how I feel before my chance is over…You're not the only one who likes Sakuno…Almost everybody does…You're lucky she likes you…but it's hard to wait you know…"

"I'm not telling her anything…don't say such nonsense." Ryoma looked away. "And how could you say that she likes me…She's just an ordinary friend to me I happen to like spending special times with."

"Are you sure it's just that?" Eiji raised his eyebrow. He just can't wait to tell Momo about this conversation.

"Mada mada dane, Eiji-sempai…" Ryoma said. He already figured that Eiji would tell this to Momo and he wouldn't like that or the whole school would know that he was jealous over Fuji being with Sakuno. Well, as if he care about things like that, but what would she think? As if he would actually care what she thought about him. Silence. Yes, he would care…after all it was his business since it's about him…I think?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Riko clapped her hand to get everybody's attention. She stood up when everyone looked at her.

"Okay…so who's going to come tomorrow?" she asked.

"Where?" almost all the regulars said.

"Oh yeah…you still don't know…I'd like to invite everyone here to a hot spring for one whole week!"

The room erupted mainly because of Eiji and Momo.

"Hoi! Hoi! We're going to have fun!"

"I'd go! I'd go!" Momo shouted.

"Okay…" she looked at the other regulars. They all gave a nod except for Ryoma.

"Ne…Why don't you want to go?" Riko asked. Everyone looked at Ryoma.

"I don't have time for those. I need to practice tennis since there is no school."

"O'chibi! Don't be a spoil sport! Let's go!" Eiji plead.

"I still don't want to go…"

Eiji sighed, he put his hands behind his head.

"I guess we're going to have Sakuno-chan all to ourselves for one whole week, ne Momo?" he added a smile.

Momo got his drift. "Yeah…because…ummm…yeah!"

Ryoma already knew what they're doing. If he suddenly wants to go now they'll just tease him non-stop about liking Sakuno. But, he caught a glimpse of Sakuno; she is staring at me as if I said something so hurtful. He tilted his hat.

"I changed my mind…One week away from that perverted old man would be nice…" he said.

"I knew Echizen likes Sakuno-chan too much! Maybe next time we could use the same excuse to let him do whatever we want." Momo whispered to Eiji.

"Yeah…we should do this more often...next time we'll just say we're going to kiss Sakuno-chan or whatsoever…"

"We can't do that! Buchou would kill us! And so does Coach! She'll kick us off the team!"

"Nya! That would be horrible!"

"Oh my…look at the time…I guess you should all be going!" Riko announced. "And 9am in front of Seigaku on the 21!"

"Thanks! Ja ne minna-san!" they all departed.

They were all outside. Sakuno and Tomoka were preparing to leave when Ryoma approached them, hands on his pockets. Tomoka noticed him and she quickly made an excuse to an errand somewhere and left immediately before Ryoma got there.

"Tomo…" Sakuno whispered.

"Sakuno…" Ryoma addressed her.

"Ryoma-kun…you need something?"

"It's already dark. I'll walk you home. I don't trust you by yourself at hours like this." He said.

"Nah…I could walk home by myself…and I certainly could protect myself, besides, I would just be a bother…" Sakuno turned around and scanned her surroundings. She then turned back o Ryoma again. "You happen to know how to get to my house? This place is so crowded…it's hard to remember my directions…"

Ryoma sighed then took her hands and walked her home.

"How could you say that you are a bother to me?" Ryoma asked without looking at her. He still held her hand since he might lose her in the crowd. It's rush hour.

"Anou…"

"Because you are anything but that…" Ryoma said blankly.

"Arigatou…" Sakuno smiled.

Though Ryoma could not understand what she's thankful for he just said, "Betzuni…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ore-sama feels compelled to have a hot spring vacation. Do you want to accompany ore-sama?"the captain of Hyotei proclaimed while they were still at school. With him was the whole Tennis regular team. They were resting on the benches after a tiring practice that ended that day and that year.

"Sounds good." Oshitari commented. The others nodded in agreement while Jiroh shot up, wide awake and already shouting his joy over the news.

Atobe stood up and struck a pose, his hands on his pockets.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow we're all going to my private resort!"

"Hai!"All the other members shouted. Gakuto flipped while Jiroh came back to sleep from all of the excitement.

"Usu!" goes Kabaji.

0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ah..we're here!" Kirihara flopped down on the sofa. His teammates roamed around.

"That was such a tiring trip…" Yukimura said.

"Maybe you should go rest…Kirihara! Get out of there!" Sanada growled at the second year.

"What?!? I just got here!" Kirihara moaned but moved after receiving a glare from Sanada.

"Thanks…" Yukimura said to him. "Where did my sister go to?"

"I saw her go upstairs." Jackal answered

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" a shout rattled all of them.

"What's that?" Amaya, Yukimura's sister asked as she went down the stairs. Some of the regulars who were in the living room hurried to where it came from, the kitchen.

"What happened here?" Sanada asked.

"Marui's got a little problem…" Niou leaned on the counter.

"What is it, Marui-kun?" Amaya asked as she approached Marui who was still in front of the fridge.

"There's no cake in here!" Marui cried.

Everyone gave him their profuse pity and went back to unpacking their things.

"C'mon Bunta…It's not that bad…" Niou patted him on the back and he's got a sly smile on his face.

Marui saw this and shot him a glare. "Do you have anything to do with this? I'm sure coach wouldn't forget to load up on cake here…"

"What? Of course not! I won't do something that bad to Marui!" Niou put his hand in his pockets.

"Alright I believe you…I won't be playing tennis here anyway…but still…Oh well…got to fix my things and sleep now…" Marui skipped upstairs and went to his and Akaya's shared room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kirihara had gone upstairs since Sanada kicked him out of the sofa. He was rolling on the bed when Marui skipped in. He took the bed on the left opposite where Akaya is.

"So…what's your problem Marui-sempai?" he asked, a pillow covering his head.

"Nothing serious…I hope…" Marui sighed.

"There's no cake in here…I almost craved for one in the bus…" Akaya said.

"Yeah…me too…I was expecting to eat here…" Marui flopped down on the bed.

"I'm done…I'm going to sleep now…" Marui said and turned off the lights.

"Yeah…so tired…" Akaya stretched himself on his bed and hoped that morning would come soon.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"WAHHHH!!!! YOU PERVERT!!!!! WHO ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!?" Hikaru and Kaoru shouted, running out of the pool area.

"What?!? You just surprised me! Why didn't you knock in the first place!" a young man emerged from the bath fully clothed now. "And I'm not a pervert! It's Echizen Ryoga!"

"What are you doing here?" twins recognized the youngest tennis pro yet.

"Mr. Shinohara invited me here! I met him during one of my matches when I happen to want a vacation from playing. So he lends me this place for the time being…" Ryoga explained

"Then why are you…" Hikaru said.

"In the girl's pool?" Kaoru finished.

"Well…it's just that I thought nobody would be here except for me and since I know I'm alone I just randomly select any place that I want to go too! I just got here yesterday, you know!" Ryoga flopped down on the couch, "And you just came barging into the pool area!"

"Because we thought we were alone!" the twins shouted.

"Alright! I'm sorry! Now would you two quit it?!?" Ryoga cried.

The two hid behind the sofa. Ryoga was starting to lose his patience with the girls. Now what?

The twins peeked from the top of the sofa.

"What did you see?" they asked grimly.

"None!"

"Really?"

"Are you saying that I'm a liar?"

"Maybe…and a pervert…"

"I'm not a pervert! And who are you two anyway?" Ryoga folded his arms and stared at the two.

"I'm Hikaru!" Hikaru stood up and sat properly on the couch.

"I'm Kaoru!" Kaoru did the same.

They both have the same stance. Arms folded, legs crossed, an accusing stare at Ryoga.

Damn…What have I gotten myself into! I should have visited my father and chibisuke first! Ryoga thought then grabbed the remote and turned on the television. "Whatever…" he made himself comfortable in the sofa.

The twins looked at each other then ran upstairs.

Good…They finally left me alone…or I would have gone nuts…hmmm…I wonder what Francine is doing right now… Ryoga thought to himself. Then his mobile phone rang.

"Hello?" Ryoga answered.

"Ryoga! How are you doing?"

"Great…what have you been working into?"

"Nothing…I'm finished now…coach said I could take a rest now…this tournament ticks me off...but I'm still glad I won the championship!"

"Really? That's great news!" then he heard someone calling the name of the girl he had just been talking to.

"Oi Ryoga! Got to go! I've got some things to fix here…hope to see you soon!"

"Okay…goodbye Francine!" he heard a small click. He put down the phone and went back to watching t.v. Hearing her voice relaxes him the most. Bad thing she did not make it here…Ryoga thought to himself. Francine was his friend for a long time now and he could finally admit to himself that he really likes her. But the thing is…he couldn't say so because it's either they both have tennis matches or one of them have. Sure they still have time for each other but he still could not tell her. And it was bugging him for quite some time now. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep over the real reason why he wants to get away from everything. He fumbled for a small contraption then pressed a button that turned the lights off in the living room. He cuddled on the couch and got his sleep.

Two shadows crept behind the sleeping Ryoga.


It takes me longer to update now...hehehe...I've been busy...sorry about that...Please review!