Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine to give away. Or own. Whatever
Author's Note: Enjoy! Also, if any of you are also fans of Naruto, I have a different story up starring a Female Naruto. Check it out if you want!
Please, no flames? Just enjoy and review, if you want, but no flames. Effective criticism, on the other hand, is always welcomed.
Anyway, thanks for sticking with this story for so long people! Have fun!
.
.
.
This is regular conversation in Japanese.
These are thoughts.
Signals a change in language other than Japanese.
.
.
.
Chapter 21: Cabbages are for eating, not ammunition against the Carrot People….
It was early morning and the sky was still a velvety blue color. It seemed that no one would be lurking outside their room at this time of day, and yet….And yet, there was one figure that could be seen doing laps around a secluded tennis court if any had been awake to see in the first place.
"That makes twenty laps! Whew," The shadowy figure panted in relief while taking a swig out of the water bottle. "I've done my stretches, practice swings, and laps…now all that's left to do is…"
"Play a match against me." A voice said. A body followed shortly after out of the shadows. The figure on the ground quickly stood back up.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping? It's pretty early after all." The player teased the newcomer.
"My roommate snores like a there's a contest for who can snore the loudest. I'm sure he would take first if there was such a contest."
The shadowy athlete gave a snort of laughter. "Atobe-san can't be that bad."
Leo smirked at his friend. "I thought the guy was loud when he was awake and talking. But his snoring could rival that of Nanjiro's when he's drunk and knocked out."
"Now I know you're really exaggerating because no one can top that."
The Yama heir laughed along with his friend. "True, but he comes close though. But regardless of how loud Atobe can snore, I want that match…Ryoma."
Ryoma lifted her head and stared at her long-time friend with a piercing look. "No."
"But why?" Leo asked, frustrated by the lack of progress he was having with Ryoma. "Don't you owe me that much? After all we've been through?"
Ryoma looked away from him and continued to speak as if he hadn't said a word to begin with. "I gave that life up, Leo. I don't want to be the Prince anymore. I just…I just want to be me."
"But you'll never be truly yourself if you don't accept the Prince, Ryoma." Another voice said gently. Both Ryoma and Leo looked at the newcomers. Leo smirked at who finally made it to the show.
Leo joked, "Been reading those romance novels again, Brock?"
"Hardy hardy har, Leo." Brock mocked, "It doesn't seem like you're having much luck either you know."
"I was…it's just…she's so damn stubborn!" Leo muttered. Hiro, with a sleepy Toya riding on his back, made his way onto the court.
"Let's be serious for once you guys." Hiro, the peacemaker, said, "Leo and Brock are right, Ryoma. You can't escape from the Prince's grasp."
Ryoma turned to glare at her friends angrily. "But I don't want to be the Prince of Tennis anymore. Hell, I don't even want to be the Princess of Tennis. And haven't you heard? I've quit tennis remember?"
"That's not…." Leo tried to speak but Ryoma cut him off. "I've quit tennis. I don't even like it anymore!"
"Bull." Hiro said in a low voice. The others looked at him. He spoke louder and clearly so that they couldn't…wouldn't mistake his next words. "If you really had given up…if you really hated tennis like you said, you wouldn't be keeping in shape. You wouldn't be practicing in secret so that no one else could see your efforts."
The lone female angrily shook her head. "Stop trying to analyze me, Hiro. I'm not one of your opponents!"
Brock added his own input, "Ryoma, Hiro is just stating what he thinks. You know he would never go against you like that!"
"Maybe, maybe…" Leo started to say but he seemed unsure…unsure of how to say his words, "Maybe you need to take a look at yourself more closely, Ryoma. I don't think that you can let the tennis part of you go so easily."
After saying those words slowly, as if they were weighed down with lead, Leo walked towards Hiro and grabbed his little brother for him and walked away.
Brock turned towards his crush and opened his mouth but closed it after. The fading moon reflected in his pale yellow eyes before he closed them and walked away as well. As Ryoma watched her friends leave, Hiro made his way to Ryoma and wrapped his arms around her.
A startled Ryoma looked up at her friend and was barely conscious of the fact that there were tears running down her cheeks until Hiro wiped them away.
"I…I don't…"
Hiro placed a figure on her lips before speaking himself. "Ryoma, we all love you. We may love you in each our own way, but it still doesn't change the face that you are a part of our hearts."
The red-head teenager wrapped his arms tighter around Ryoma before continuing. "We don't care if you were the Prince of Tennis or act as the Princess of Tennis in the future. We love you for the stubborn, cocky girl who can cook up a storm and play a tune that melts the heart…even if you can't carry a note with that voice of yours….So strange."
Ryoma bit back laughter. Hiro smiled as he noticed that the tears were reducing on his friend's face.
"And let's not forget my partner-in-crime when it comes to tormenting Leo and Nanjiro! But what I'm trying to say is that we will love you and be with you no matter what you do. It's just that tennis is as much a part of you as your love for Karupin is. So don't say you hate tennis because not only are you lying and hurting yourself, you're hurting us too…"
"Is it wrong…" Ryoma asked in a quivering voice, "to deny tennis….would that really be so wrong?"
"Have you forgotten Ryoma?" Hiro chastised her in a gentle voice. He sensed that Ryoma was going through an emotional roller coaster at the moment, and like a typical Echizen, they…she doesn't deal well with emotions. "The reason why Leo and Brock, as well as myself, are so mad is because tennis is what brought us to you. If it wasn't for tennis, we would most likely never have met each other at all."
The emerald-haired girl smiled at his words and the smile turned into a smirk as a memory flooded back from the back of her mind.
"Neh, Hiro…I know tennis is what brought Leo and Brock to me. But I recall something other than tennis balls or racquets helping us two meet." Hiro blushed as he too remembered their first encounter.
"As I remember, cabbages are for eating. So how on earth could tennis ever have anything to do with cabbages….or carrots for that matter?"
Hiro chuckled embarrassingly and put up his hand in a defeated gesture. "Ok. Ok. You got me. If you recall, I've haven't done a single prank involving cabbages and carrots since."
"Yeah. But you've moved on the meatier sides of the food pyramid last time I checked from Brock."
The German student just shrugged before giving a matching smirk to the one that she had donned. "It's amazing what you can do with fish….and chickens."
"And cats. Don't forget the cats!" Ryoma jokingly added. Hiro, too, laughed lowly beside her as he also remembered the attack of the invading cats.
Shaking his head musingly, Hiro spoke again, "So. Here we are reminiscing about the past like two old folks when we should be sleeping in our beds like sane students should."
Ryoma smirked, "Yeah, but whoever would be stupid enough to call us sane?"
As the two players laughingly made their way off the court, neither of them noticed that there was an eavesdropper in the tree behind them.
Oh man…oh man…oh man! I gotta tell sempai about this. The figure chanted repeatedly in his head. After making sure that the coast was clear, the teenager climbed down the tree with the excitement of a squirrel on speed, and crept his way back to his place.
.
.
In just a little under four hours, the eavesdropper made his way into his sempai's room. Still seeing the sleeping form under the covers, the visitor opted to poking his upperclassman away with his book.
A grumbling third year turned to send a sleepy look at his underclassman. "What do you want? It's a weekend. No classes, remember?"
"I know sempai! But I've got some news for you!" The jittery student said excitedly.
.
.
.
.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!"
"Sempai, I heard everything that they were talking about. Trust me. The female student Ryoma Echizen is none other than the retired male Prince of Tennis."
The third year let a satisfied smile creep onto his face. "Excellent. Mwuahahaha."
The now slightly frightened reporter tried not to show how freaked out he was by his sempai's crazy laughter. "So what are we going to do now?"
The crazy laughter stopped and the third year turned to his kouhai. "First, we are not going to let anyone else know what you've just told me. Is that clear?" The dark-haired eavesdropper nodded his head in acceptance at his sempai's decree.
"Good. Now, this is what we are going to do next…."
He continued to explain his plan while the underclassman's eyes widened with each passing second.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Finish with chapter 21..
.
Read and Reviews…Argh, just no flames please! Effective criticism is okay though.
.
.
Originally written 7/3/10. Edited and posted 3/4/11
Whoa. What a huge gap. Sorry about that!