Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I only own my original chars, though Tina and the headmistress are up for adoption, if any of you would like them.
Warning: Spoilers for latest manga chapters. Shonen-ai fic. This chapter ends with major angst.
Pairings: Tezuka X Echizen, Momoshiro X Ann.
(This chapter is followed by chapter 13 in Life After Seigaku)
A/N: I do hope you people weren't eating or drinking anything when you read the previous chapter. I doubt spitting hot chocolate at the computer screen is a good thing. The ending of the previous chapter is definitely not for the weak hearted. So far, only five of you have managed to guess what that scene might have been.
Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, you actually managed to guess it. Omedetou…XD
llimecandy, you somewhat managed to guess a little of it. Well then. Read on for the answer.
Skyla Ladona, You managed to guess it as well. Omedetou.
mik89, you've guessed a part of it.
um..., you're the only one who caught the hint I threw in Life After Seigaku. LOL! Congrats. You've guessed it as well.
As for the ones who have not guessed it...
darksaphire, I agree with you. Not to mention it's a whole batch of bishies, so I'm not surprised that it's one of the most perverse animes ever. XD .
Tenkoi, I've set the rating at T just for in case. The hints in the previous chapter were really ambiguous after all, and K+ doesn't allow any form of suggestive hints.
HEIDI, oooh. You like AtobeJirou as well. Nice. Aside from AtobeJirou, another pairing I wouldn't mind is TezukaAtobe, the best alternative after TezukaEchizen. Hmm…AtobeFuji huh…mind, I was tempted to do that, or InuiFuji, but I'm sticking to him being straight in this fic. We can't have all of our bishies going gay or there would be nothing left for the girls. Already we're short with two bishonen captains. XD.
Trumpet-Geek, Kurai-hoshi5, looks like I have something in common with you people after all. (formerly homophobic). I'm still quite reserved though. I'm alright with gays (not really with lesbians though. Maybe coz I'm a gal myself) but if they start making out in front of me I would be looking somewhere else. Even with straight couples, I don't quite like public displays of affections. Gah! I feel like such a hypocrite. I'm making Tezuka and Echizen kiss after all. (Guilty…) Please excuse me for sounding like Ibu Shinji.
mimikitty, (replying for Seigaku Kittens, Echizen, Our Buchou and Life After Seigaku) Glad that you're joining the POT fanclub. Welcome. Welcome. Hehe. About why I don't have POT related stories amongst my favs…well…when I added fav authors and stories the last time, that was quite a number of years ago, and I did that so that it's easier for me to look for those stories again. I'm not adding anymore favs recently. Too lazy to. :p Glad that you're another TezuRyo fan. To look for other TezuRyo fics, set the pairings on the top right corner of the Tennis no Ohjisama page to Tezuka K. and E. Ryoma, then click 'go'. That's what I did when I first started having this TezuRyo craze. A few good ones I would recommend…hmm…It Began on the Streets and The Fall of the Prince. I found these two very nice. As for another fic that I really like (but it's not TezuRyo. It's TezuAtobe) is Changechildren. Go read that one as well. For humour, I would recommend Training Camp or Not and Tenipuri Phone Messages. Especially the latter. I've laughed so much I think a few of my teeth might have fallen out, though you might have to use 'search' to look for Tenipuri Phone Messages. It was posted a long time ago and I have no idea which page it would be in by now. I think that's about it, my current favs…
Thank you all for your reviews
Please read this fic first before reading Life After Seigaku.
Currently going slightly crazy. The latest chapter I've read to now is a match between Tezuka and Chitose (chapter 332). Pinnacle of Hard Work VS Pinnacle of Great Wisdom. There is a 100 percent chance that Tezuka would lose (or Ryoma would not be playing at all, since now Seigaku has 2 wins and 1 loss), but I sure hope my guess is wrong. I dislike the idea of Tezuka losing. Can't wait to see the next chapter!
So sorry for the very long A/N. On with the story…
Echizen, Our Buchou
By: Gwynhafra
Chapter 11
"I can't take it anymore…Kunimitsu…please…I'm going to…"
"ECHIZEN!!!" Momoshiro didn't care if Nanako had heard him mowing down the door with his brute strength. It was important that he rescued his best friend from the clutches of an evil, horny ex-buchou/monster.
He stopped short at the sight that greeted his eyes...
For both Tezuka and Echizen were on the latter's bed, fully clothed, and apparently...Tezuka was force feeding the younger boy a whole box of Kawamura's Spiciest Volcanic Sushi- The K-high captain's favourite form of punishment.
(A/N: Hmm…I should start charging Kawamura for advertising. What were some of you people thinking anyway? XD)
"I'm going to die!!! Water! Water! Water!" the prodigy finished his sentence, tears streaming out of his eyes, while it seemed that the Wasabi had caused him to have a nosebleed as well.
Tezuka sighed. "I guess you really can't take the penalty after all. All of my Kanto High members are given this punishment if they performed badly during practice, you know." He kept the rest of the sushi in his bag, zipping it close when he was done.
The still stunned Momoshiro handed Ryoma's water bottle over to the prodigy, and the boy drank gratefully. "Tezuka-buchou...you're such a monster..." Momoshiro was turning green.
Ryoma shook his head. "I've asked for the punishment, so that the both of us would play seriously against each other, but I didn't expect him to get the XL-sized Sushis. Heck, look at the amount of Wasabi oozing out of this thing." He gave his boyfriend a glare, though Tezuka looked unrepentant. On the contrary, the K-High captain looked like he was holding down a laugh.
Once Ryoma had managed to regain his composure (and stopped his nosebleed as well), he turned his attention to his vice-captain. "By the way...what are you doing here anyway, Momo-senpai?"
Momoshiro was still green, as his imagination had already fried half his brains. "I wanted to drag you out...but I've changed my mind. See you tomorrow at school then. Have fun with buchou." He walked rather unsteadily away. He would most rather ask Ann-chan out now. Just when he thought he was alright with gays, those two had to go and scare him like this. It looked like he would not be getting used to them anytime soon after all.
"Do you think he's alright? He looks like he's about to pass out any minute." Ryoma stated, seeing Momoshiro stumble a few times.
Tezuka on the other hand had a rough idea of what Momoshiro might have been thinking about, and was biting down the urge to yell '100 laps!' "He'll be alright." He answered bluntly.
Once Ryoma's throat had recovered a little from the spicy torture, he looked over at Tezuka. "I hope you're feeling better now. This really is the last time I'm having this kind of match against you." While Ryoma had hated the sushi experience, he was glad that at least Tezuka didn't look so stressed out anymore.
"The next time, I think I'll just ask Inui to share some of his latest inventions." Tezuka said with a straight face.
Ryoma paled. "On second thought, the Wasabi sushi sounds delicious to me." He mumbled.
The prodigy then reached up to touch Tezuka's face lightly. "I hope you're not too troubled by the headmistress anymore. If you need someone to complain to, always know that I'm around to listen." Ryoma grinned.
Tezuka smiled in return. This kind side of Ryoma was reserved only for him, and Tezuka loved the other boy for that as well. "Aa." He leaned forward.
Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Nanako's yells. "What happened to the door?! Ojii-san and obaa-san are going to be mad...!"
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Momoshiro was the only one watching over the tennis club members that day, as Echizen-buchou had gone off to help out the Seigaku girls' tennis team with their training.
Two weeks left to the District Games and counting. This round, the senior high and junior high games were roughly around the same time, so he severely doubted that Tezuka and the others would be able to watch their games.
"I wonder how Echizen actually manages to keep the club under control..." he muttered, seeing that 90 percent of the members weren't playing seriously.
Aside from the regulars, only a number of the non-regular members were actually practicing. The rest were just standing by the sides, chatting amongst themselves.
"Alright. Switch players. Those who haven't played yet, you're all up next." Momoshiro ordered.
His words had little effect on the members, as all of them took their own sweet time to enter the courts. Then again, many of the members didn't take the friendly vice-captain seriously anyway.
As time went by, Momoshiro's mood switched from neutral to bad.
"That's it! Group punishment! 50 laps!" he yelled.
A few of the members could be seen complaining, as some started jogging instead of running.
"Anyone who doesn't make it back in 10 minutes would have to try out my new Akaizu." Inui suddenly stated, and all the members began running like their lives depended on it, though everyone could see that only the regulars looked like they could run within the time limit.
So it was 20 minutes later when the tennis courts were filled with players sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth. The regulars were all spared as they made it within the time limit. All of the regulars (minus Momoshiro, who had not run and Echizen, who wasn't around at all) were sitting in Court A, trying to regain their breath.
"Thank you, Inui-senpai. I really am not cut out for this…" Momoshiro sighed.
Inui scribbled something down in his notebook. "Your friendly nature makes everyone think of you more as a buddy than as a vice-captain. You should be stricter the next time. In time, people would learn to have a little more fear towards you, and you would not have any trouble giving commands to the team."
Momoshiro groaned. "Fear huh…I really hate intimidating others into listening to me." He looked up at the sky and sighed.
"That Echizen is so lucky. He's probably enjoying himself in the presence of all the girls now. How is it he gets the easier job…?"
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"Momo-senpai is so lucky…how is it he's getting the easier job…?" Ryoma sighed, feeling the gaze of over 50 girls on him. Had Momoshiro been here, the senior would most likely have enjoyed the attention. Not Ryoma though. Aside from on the tennis courts, he didn't like the spotlight to be on him.
Currently, he was standing with the girls' team captain Serika, who was giving the order for all her members to assemble.
"Minna, I believe many of you would have already known who this is. Echizen Ryoma, captain of Seigaku Boys' Tennis Club." She introduced, and already the girls were going into a frenzy. ( You can't really blame them. Ryoma is the third most popular stud in the whole school after all.)
"The boys' captain is finally here! I wonder if he could give me his autograph." One girl whispered, and her friends giggled with her.
"Serika-buchou. Shall we begin? I would have to return to my team soon." Ryoma asked, lowering his cap a little to block off the sight of his gaggle of fangirls.
"Hai. Well then. Split yourselves into groups of 5. Echizen-buchou and I would be checking on your performance. Regulars, form a group amongst yourselves."
This turned out to be the amongst the worst practice that Ryoma had ever seen, as many of the girls deliberately played terribly so that he would have to go over to correct them.
"Relax your shoulders a bit. You're too tense." He instructed one girl, who was beginning to blush madly as he corrected her posture.
"Anou…Echizen-buchou. Maybe you should give her a shoulder massage?" another girl suggested playfully before the she and a few others burst out into giggles, causing the girl he was instructing to turn as red as Kikumaru's hair.
Ryoma frowned. "Yadda. All she needs is more practice, not a massage."
Eventually, he was done with all the non-regulars. While the girls were now practicing amongst themselves, Serika-buchou led the way to the regulars.
"Ryoma-sama! Over here! Over here!" Tomoka waved madly to get his attention, while Sakuno merely smiled shyly at him.
Without a word, Ryoma walked towards them, and all the girls looked excited at the idea of him training them.
"Hello." He greeted Sakuno. At least she was someone he was on friendly terms with. As for the rest, he gave each of them a curt nod in greeting.
"Alright girls. Get into pairs. You would all be playing doubles against each other and Echizen-buchou would be evaluating you based on your performance."
"Hai! Serika-buchou." They chorused before getting into pairs.
Ryoma watched on as they played against each other, noting with a small twinge of pride that it wasn't just the boys' tennis team that was good. The girls were doing pretty well too. In fact, as he watched on, he felt that they weren't making any disastrous mistakes that require his intervention.
Tomoka, whom he noted to have a talent for tennis, was pinpointing all her shots accurately. Sakuno had improved greatly, and looked like she had definitely been practicing with her grandmother. She was a volley player. The girls' captain Serika was a power player…well…nowhere near as strong as Momoshiro or Kaidou, but a power player all the same, though she could also be considered as an all-rounder.
Of course, he corrected some of their grip as they practiced on, but when they were all done, he voiced his satisfaction. "Your team is good enough as it is. Keep up the good work. We hope to see all of you in the Nationals as well." He said.
The girls beamed at him. "Hai! Echizen-buchou."
"Anou…Echizen-buchou…could you show us that twist serve of yours?" a girl asked meekly.
Ryoma raised an eyebrow, though he picked up his racket all the same. "Sakuno, is it alright if you become my practice partner?"
"Eh? H-hai!" she agreed, picking up her racket.
Ryoma did his specialty, the twist serve and all the girls cheered at seeing it fly towards Sakuno's face.
However, to all of their surprise, Sakuno actually managed to return it.
"Eh?" A few girls exchanged looks.
Ryoma smirked at that. Not many people know that both he and Sakuno have been practicing quite frequently. It was Sakuno's request, of course, as she wished to improve her skills. Being her friend, he agreed to help her, and occasionally Tezuka came to join them as well.
"You've really improved, Sakuno. Omedetou." The boys' team captain gave a brief compliment.
"Hai!" she said happily.
Meanwhile, outside the fence, Ryoma's number one stalker, who was missing in action for some time, had started her annoying banshee shrieks/chants the minute she saw him.
"Ryoma! My prince! How I've missed you!!!" she yelled the words so loud Ryoma had a feeling the boys' team all over the other side might have heard her as well.
Ryoma groaned. He had already rejected her flat out, but it seems like she still hasn't gotten the point. It looked like at this rate, she would only leave him alone if he were dead or something.
Serika-buchou frowned as Tina had suddenly barged into the courts.
"Hey! Only club members are allowed in here!' she warned.
"Fork off, beach! I want a word with my Ryoma!" Tina spoke indignantly.
The regulars had to stop a livid girl captain from killing off the intruder, who had marched right up to Sakuno. "Ryoma is only being easy on you. If you can return the twist serve, I'm sure I can too." She boasted.
Ryoma adjusted his cap, his golden gaze showing that he was unhappy that one of his friends was bullied. "Oh? Very well then. Sakuno, please let me have a match with her."
Tina took Sakuno's place and waited eagerly, poised to hit the ball as Ryoma served.
The twist serve flew towards Tina, who caught it perfectly…with her face.
"I think I'm done with my demonstration." Ryoma said, concluding his practice and leaving down a now passed out Tina in the courts.
(A/N: Arigatou cousin Itsuki for the Tina-bashing suggestion. Hehe.)
Serika-buchou looked like she was hiding her glee as her eyes flicked over to Tina sprawled on the ground. "First year. Please dump...I mean...carry her out of the courts." She instructed.
With that, Serika and Ryoma went to the sides for a while for a brief talk.
"As I can see, your team consist of three volley player, two counter punchers, two power players and one all-rounder. Am I right?" Ryoma asked.
"Hai. You really have been very thorough with your evaluating, haven't you?" Serika smiled.
Ryoma had a small smirk as his reply. "Your team is strong enough, as I see it. Some of them would have to improve their left right dashes, and some had to improve their accuracy, but so far, they're alright."
"I see. Thank you for taking some of your time to help us. We really appreciate that." Serika said gratefully, sending him back to the boys' courts.
As they walked, Serika suddenly posed a question at him.
"Echizen-buchou. Do you think the girls' team can match up to the boys' team?"
Ryoma halted in his steps. Slowly, he turned around and lowered his cap a little.
"Mada mada dane." He replied before walking off. Serika shook her head slightly, amused. "Such a cocky captain. I can't help feeling sorry for the boys."
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"Echizen! You're back!" Momoshiro sounded relieved.
Ryoma surveyed the club, noting that most of the members were unconscious. "Were we attacked while I was away?" he asked.
Momoshiro gave a sheepish laugh. "Nothing too serious. They just had a taste of Inui-senpai's Akaizu."
"Ah." Ryoma shuddered at the thought of it. He raised his voice. "How long are all of you going to lie on the courts? Resume practice!"
"Hai, buchou…" the members who had recovered enough had begun another round of practice again.
Momoshiro gave a sigh. "I envy you, Echizen. Somehow you have no problems in controlling the club. What's your secret?"
Ryoma gave him a blank look. "What secret?" he asked. All one had to do was give the command and the club members would obey, right? What was so difficult about that?
"Never mind…" Maybe it was Tezuka's spirit rubbing off on the Seigaku captain. Then again…Oishi wasn't having trouble with the members either, so why was he the only one the players didn't really listen to?
"Did Oishi-senpai choose the correct vice-captain to succeed him, I wonder…" Momoshiro muttered.
The next moment, Ryoma had poked him on the forehead. "Itai!"
"Momo-senpai. Stop it with your self-doubt. I don't think you're a bad vice-captain. I'm sure the players would give you a different response, but they'll listen to you all the same."
The Seigaku captain then crossed his arms. "Besides, I don't think I can work well with anyone else."
At that, Momoshiro had the mental image of Kaidou as the vice-captain, and nearly chuckled at the thought of the mamushi hissing at all the club members.
"I guess so…" Momoshiro finally admitted, feeling a tad happier.
Ryoma smirked. "Baka. Should anything happen to me, you'll have to take over the club, you know."
"Don't say things like that, Echizen. It's bad luck." Momoshiro frowned.
"Mada mada dane. Just have more faith in yourself. Don't drag me down during the District Games." Ryoma said before walking off to check on the regulars.
"That Echizen…" Momoshiro chuckled, glad that Ryoma had at least made the effort to cheer him up.
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"You want me to what?" Ryoma asked, his spoon stopping before it reached its destination (his mouth).
Nanjirou had his face buried behind his papers. "You're coming to help me out with training the Kanto High students after your class has ended. I suppose it's only fair if you help out, since it was you who made the request for me to train them in the first place."
Ryoma thought about it a while. He didn't mind training them, actually. But one thing he really hated was his father's last minute decisions.
"Yadda." He just felt like rebelling. It always gave him a sense of freedom just to go against whatever his father said.
Nanjirou had a gleam in his eyes. "Oh? I was thinking of giving your boyfriend a little test, to see if he's worthy enough to date you."
At that, Ryoma's head snapped up, breakfast completely forgotten. "Oyaji…whoever I'm dating, it's none of your business." He growled.
"I believe I have a duty as a parent to keep an eye out for the welfare of my offspring." Nanjirou grinned.
Ryoma felt the hair on his arms stand. His father had been using very cheesy lines after finding out about his relationship with Kunimitsu. Then again, he father loved to embarrass him anyway.
"Fine. I'll meet you after school. On one condition though…don't you dare tell anyone that you're related to me."
"As usual. I'll know what to do." Nanjirou finally put down the papers
"And no porn magazines." Ryoma added.
The next moment, Nanjirou had spat out his coffee. "What?!"
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"Hmm? So this is where the Monkey King lives?" Ryoma tried not to look too impressed once he gotten off the car.
His father got off and shut the door behind him. "Actually, this is just one of his mansions. Come along. I think you would be pleased to see the 20 over tennis courts he had in there." It was a good thing Nanjirou's back was facing Ryoma, or he would have seen his son's jaw drop.
"Remember not to make a fool of yourself." Ryoma said quietly.
"Of course, of course." Nanjirou replied casually.
"And leave Tezuka alone." Ryoma added.
There was an evil gleam in Nanjirou's eyes. "I wonder about that…"
Before Ryoma could throw a retort at him, one of the butlers had opened the gates.
"The young master Keigo and the others are waiting. Please follow me, gentlemen." He led the way in.
Ryoma kept his cap covering his eyes, not wishing to take in any more of his richly furnished surroundings. It wouldn't do for him to meet the senior high students with his jaw dragging on the ground. He had a reputation to keep.
Ryoma didn't need to look up when he heard pounding footsteps rushing his direction, and surely enough, he found himself being a stuffed human plushie to one energetic acrobatic player.
"Ochibi!" he yelled happily against Ryoma's ear, causing the poor junior to go half-deaf. Just ahead of Nanjirou, the rest of the senior high students looked like they wanted to have their eyes checked, though Tezuka gave Ryoma the smallest hint of a smile.
"He's your assistant?" Oishi asked.
'What assistant? I'm here against my own will!' Ryoma thought, throwing his father a dirty look.
His father gave him an evil grin in return. "That's right. It was by his request that I came to train the club, so I forced him to help out as well."
'You just have to embarrass me, don't you?' Ryoma groaned inwardly.
The next moment, he found his right arm seized by his redheaded senior.
"That's great nya! Come, ochibi! You'll be joining us for practice!" Kikumaru ignored Ryoma's protests as he dragged Ryoma off to one of the many courts in Atobe's mansions, with Oishi and Asakawa trailing behind them. Ryoma stopped resisting, for his eyes were wide as he surveyed the place. His father definitely wasn't joking about the '20 over' tennis courts.
"I want to pair up with Ochibi. Oishi! Go over to the other side."
Oishi chuckled as his doubles partner playfully shooed him away. "Hai, hai. Don't expect me to go easy on you, Eiji."
"Of course!" Kikumaru never got tired of playing against his doubles partner. He loved playing tennis with Oishi as much as he loved playing tennis against him.
With that, all four of them began their game. (Ryoma: "I don't play doubles.")
Of course, with Ryoma around, naturally Kikumaru-Echizen pair had the advantage, though Oishi seemed to have developed a new skill with him extremely accurate shots.
"Ochibi! Oishi's going to use moon volley!" Kikumaru warned.
"Usu." Using his split step, Ryoma was already at the back of the court.
Oishi's shot did look like it made a high arc above Kikumaru's head, though halfway through the arc, it suddenly shot down at a point that was unguarded by either of them.
Kikumaru's eyes widened. "Hoi? When did you learn that kind of shot?"
Oishi laughed sheepishly. "I've gotten the idea after watching how the tennis machine Arnold played during the US-Japan match, though it's still not perfected yet though. I was hoping to perfect it during this match."
"Hmm...interesting." Ryoma finally decided to get serious.
Ryoma did a Twist Serve, "Asakawa!" Oishi yelled.
"Got it!" Asakawa dodged the shot at his face with lightning reflexes before returning it to the other side of the court.
"Hoi, hoi! That's too bad, see you next week!" Kikumaru used his acrobatic play.
"Not really." Asakawa had sped off to return the shot, hitting it back.
Ryoma then scored with a simple flick of his wrist. "Mada mada dane." He smirked.
"Ochibi! Nice shot!" To Ryoma's dismay, his senior had glomped him yet again.
The game went on, and while Oishi's 'Tracking' skill had improved greatly, for some reason Ryoma was able to return it easily as the game proceeded.
"I think it's a good idea to take a break now." Asakawa suggested once the game was over (6 games to 3)
"Hai." Oishi agreed, going over to the sides and plopping himself down on a bench. Kikumaru bounced off to glomp him moments later.
"Oishi lost to Ochibi and I nya." He sang, sticking his tongue out. Oishi merely gave a laugh and batted at the other boy's arm playfully.
"Senpai-tachi…from what I've seen…" Ryoma pinned a look at Oishi.
"Very useful, your 'Tracking'. Your incredible accuracy allows you to pinpoint at the most unexpected places, making it look like the ball had somehow 'dived' to the unguarded spots. However, you have a tendency to glance at the spot you're about to fire your shot to. The more observant ones like me would pick up that hint eventually. That's why I was able to return your shots."
Asakawa gulped when the junior high captain then turned golden eyes to him. "As for you, your advantage is your incredible speed, which allows you to catch up with the craziest shots. However, you accuracy is not too good yet, and you don't usually think much about returning it to a spot where the opponents will not be able to hit, as you are focusing on just getting the ball over to the other side of the net. Well. I can't blame you, as you are still too new in tennis. In that case, put your focus on defending the ball from coming over to your side of the court, and allow your doubles partner to score. In time, when you have gained enough experience, you can then try to polish up on your returns."
Lastly, golden eyes were fixed on a redheaded ball of energy.
"As for you, Kikumaru-senpai…quit trying to latch onto me. It's disgusting." Ryoma muttered. The only contact he didn't really mind came only from his darling pet cat Karupin and Kunimitsu, and occasionally his okaa-san. Aside from that, everyone had better keep their distance (and hands) from him.
"Hoi hoi! There's nothing wrong with a friendly hug, ochibi!" Already, Kikumaru had Ryoma in yet another bear hug.
"Eiji…" Oishi sighed at seeing how Ryoma was struggling to get out of his senior's grip, while Asakawa was chuckling.
Just then, Ryoma stopped struggling as he stiffened.
"Ochibi?" Kikumaru looked down. Did he squeeze too hard and cause the other boy to faint or something?
"Buchou…" Ryoma suddenly muttered. Shaking out of Kikumaru's grip, his head spun sharply over to one of the other courts.
They could then see Tezuka having a match against Nanjirou, and by the looks of it, Tezuka had activated the Pinnacle of Hard Work.
'Oyaji!' Ryoma scowled. For the level-headed Kunimitsu to activate his strongest skill in a practice match, his father must have said something terrible to his boyfriend.
Before he knew it, he had sprinted out of the court and had headed over to see how the match was between his father and Kunimitsu.
"Whoa! Tezuka-buchou is really fierce nya!" Kikumaru commented, now bouncing on the spot excitedly at seeing how the K-High captain was scoring again and again.
'Oyaji is not playing seriously yet. If he does…Kunimitsu might get hurt…' Ryoma felt worry run through him.
Just as he feared, Nanjirou had then activated the Pinnacle of Perfection, and Ryoma didn't feel like watching the game anymore as his father evened out the scores at a rapid pace, though Kunimitsu was putting up a good fight as both were now using the Tezuka Zone.
"That's enough!" Ryoma decided to stop the match as he stormed inside the courts. He marched right up to his father to give him a good berating.
"Seishonen! You're not supposed to walk into the courts in the middle of a game, you know. Where are your manners?" Nanjirou asked, his pinky now picking his ear.
"Oyaji…I thought I've asked you to leave him alone. What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.
"Haa? Did you say something like that? I didn't notice." Nanjirou drawled lazily.
Seeing how agitated Ryoma was getting, the older Echizen then ruffled Ryoma's hair. "I was just fooling around with him, to test how serious is he about my son. Nothing wrong with that now is there? Well. He's all yours, seishonen. If you want dating tips you can always come to me."
"As if I will, you perverted oyaji." Ryoma had been keeping his voice low all that time for fear that the others might hear that they were related.
"Ah well. I haven't had such an intense match in a long time. He gives a better challenge than even you, seishonen."
"Oyaji…" Ryoma felt the urge to throw rackets. It was a good thing his father had then walked off, whistling his "mada mada dane" tune, or Ryoma might really do something that would get him sent to jail.
He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and turned slightly. Tezuka was giving him a small smile. "Don't put all the blame on him, Ryoma. I had agreed to this match after all. Besides, I think he said what he had said to make me play seriously, that's all."
"Kunimitsu…what was it he had said to you?" Ryoma asked.
"Not telling." Tezuka said, though his cheeks had flushed slightly.
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"I'm glad that's over." Ryoma sighed, happily enjoying a can of Ponta.
He had to train each of the players in turn, except Tezuka and Atobe. Ryoma had felt that Tezuka was good enough, and didn't need training. Atobe had thought that he himself was good enough, and didn't need training either.
Currently, he, Tezuka and Atobe were headed over to Kawamura Sushi. The others had gone ahead first. Ryoma had to stay back a while for a short rest, and also to have a glaring competition with his dad regarding the date the latter was going to. (Ryoma didn't know that his dad was going out for dinner with his mom)
"That baka oyaji…I really don't understand how he enjoys going out on so many dates." Ryoma snorted.
Tezuka for one was highly relieved that at least Ryoma did not inherit those perverted genes from his father. He severely doubted he would be too happy if Ryoma dated multiple partners at a go.
"So how are things over at your side?" Ryoma asked to start the conversation.
Tezuka's expression did not change. "We've figured out a temporary solution to one of our current problems. Atobe said that he would deal with it."
"Aa. We would definitely be in the Nationals before you know it." Atobe agreed. For most of the trip to the sushi restaurant Atobe had been quiet, as he appeared to be thinking. He only added a few words into the conversation occasionally.
"Hmm…" Ryoma smirked. He looked up at Tezuka. "I believe in you, Kunimitsu. When you play seriously, I don't think anyone can stand against you."
"I wonder about that…" Tezuka recalled his intense match against Shitenhouji's Chitose last year. It had been a clash against two extremely powerful players, the Pinnacle of Hard Work against the Pinnacle of Great Wisdom.
Ryoma shook his head slightly. "I still think you're the stronger one, so make sure you win the District Games." He grinned.
Tezuka sighed at Ryoma's odd encouragement. "Aa. You had better win yours too, or else you would have to enjoy some sushi, no?"
"Yadda." Ryoma paled at the memory, causing Tezuka to chuckle.
Soon enough, they had reached a crossroad.
"I would have to get over to the other side. Only one week left till the District Games. Good luck, you two." Ryoma said.
"Don't you dare lose to anyone else aside from ore-sama."
Ryoma gave his cocky glare at that. "Hmm…maybe the next time I play against you, you wouldn't have to shave just your hair, but your eyebrows as well."
He felt satisfied at seeing Atobe walk off indignantly. "Good bye, Kunimitsu." He gave Tezuka's hand a last squeeze before crossing the road.
Ryoma had barely crossed over to the other side when he heard the loud screeching of tires and the screams of pedestrians. Immediately, all his senses warned him of danger.
He whipped around, and his heart nearly stopped beating.
For a bright red sports car, driven by an obviously drunk young man, was speeding dangerously down the road, and currently the car was aiming at…Tezuka!
"Kunimitsu!" he yelled, for the senior high captain had walked on ahead and didn't look like he had noticed the car.
It was as if Ryoma had gone into the state of self-actualization, as his mind stopped thinking and his instincts took over.
Using the single footed split step, Ryoma reached Tezuka before the car did and knocked his boyfriend aside, just moments before the car hit him.
As Ryoma struggled to stay conscious, he could see Tezuka getting up through his blurry vision.
"At least you're safe…Kunimitsu…" Tezuka's name was his final words before the darkness claimed him, and the boy fell silent.
To be continued…
A/N::cough:: Yup, I've killed off Echizen Ryoma. I wonder if that was considered as angst though. Still bad at writing angst…-.-
That scene might seem rushed in this fic. It would be explained in the other fic as to who the drunk driver was. Hope that would clear things up.
Anyway, please read and review. NO FLAMES PLEASE.
-Gwyn