*NOTE* Alternate Universe wherein I shamelessly borrowed/altered ideas from various media sources and even threw in some of my own. If anything is canon here, it's probably an accident.

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 29

By Haruka (email: haruka at ymail dot com)


Inui was getting worried. Kaidoh had been gone for hours, and they hadn't heard from him. It would only take five minutes at most for his teammate to change back to human form and give him a call, but he would need those five minutes alone. His data showed that Yukimura's family was average-sized: Two parents, two children. Surely Kaidoh could avoid four people for five minutes.

Inui took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Maybe it had been a mistake to send Kaidoh in there, even though the younger boy assured him he'd be fine. He realized with a start that he didn't even have a way to contact Kaidoh himself.

A knock came at the door and he donned his glasses. "Come in."

Tezuka entered. "Any word yet?"

"None," Inui answered, "and I won't pretend that I'm not concerned."

"What did you tell Ryuzaki-sensei about his absence?"

"That he's staying with his parents for the night," Inui replied. "If Kaidoh is able to find what we want and leave Yukimura's sooner, he'll fly to his house to stay with his parents for real. If not, at least he has an excuse for not coming back here tonight."

Tezuka nodded. "If worse comes to worst and Kaidoh has to stay where he is overnight, at least tomorrow morning when the Yukimura family leaves to go about their daily routine, he'll stand a better chance of getting out."

"That's what I'm hoping." Inui sighed and his gaze shifted toward Kaidoh's neatly-made bed.


Ever since realizing that he was wasting his time in Yukimura's house, it somehow became even harder for Kaidoh to get away from him. The Rikkaidai Captain kept him close as the family watched tv together, then brought him back to his room afterwards and closed the door while he made fliers about his foundling. He even brought the makeshift litterbox into his room so his little guest wouldn't have a reason to leave. Kaidoh figured most of this was because of Akiko, who complained loudly all evening about her brother hogging the kitten. Finally, after she was sent to bed, Kaidoh figured he might be allowed the run of the house and could escape.

Instead he found himself being lifted off the ground. "Come on, Tiger, let's go take a bath!"

Oh no! Kaidoh thought, his internal human blushing while his kitten self squirmed to get away.

"Relax, I'm not taking you into the water." Yukimura laughed as he closed the bathroom door and put Kaidoh down. "I just want you to keep me company."

This guy needs a boyfriend, Kaidoh thought sourly. Then, watching Yukimura undress, he decided there was something wrong with the world if he didn't already have one.

"Won't it be great if I can keep you?" Yukimura asked him after he had settled into the bath. "If that happens, you'll have to get used to Akiko, but she'll relax, too, and will handle you more gently."

Kaidoh peered around the room, focusing on the window. It was closed, but if he could slip back in later long enough to change to human, open it, then fly out as a bird –

"Hey, tomorrow's Friday," Yukimura said suddenly. "Maybe I'll ask Kaasan if I can invite the guys here for a sleepover tomorrow night and everyone will get to meet you!"

The guys? Was he referring to his entire tennis team? All of the Rikkaidai Regulars in one place, all of them handling him, examining him –

He realized suddenly that at least it would put him in a position to get information on Kirihara, but at what price? Inui-senpai had told him what excuse he would use for his absence if he ended up spending the night here, but if it ended up being more than that, Ryuzaki-sensei would get suspicious and would likely call his parents. Then both he and Inui would be in trouble.

There was no use for it. He had to abandon the mission and get out of there. That brought him back to the same problem he had before – how?!


Nanjiroh yawned and regarded the three Coaches of the Changechildren house with amusement. The kids weren't going to like the way this conversation was going.

"So you two had the same problems with your students all day?" Tarou remarked. "The only reason I can think of for all of them to be so tired at once is that we've been letting them go to bed too late."

"I didn't think we were, but there doesn't seem to be any other explanation," Sumire noted.

"According to experts, teenagers need nine and a quarter hours of sleep a night," Aoi pointed out.

"But they've been getting that for the most part and are still exhausted in school," Tarou replied.

"When half of our kids fall asleep in class, we know we're doing something wrong." Sumire shrugged. "We'll move the bedtimes up half an hour and see if that helps – Nanjiroh, why are you snickering?!"

"Do you have a different opinion on this matter?" Tarou asked him.

"No, no, I'm fine with earlier bedtimes," Nanjiroh assured them. "It's never easy to get Ryoma up no matter when he goes to bed, anyway."

Aoi studied him thoughtfully. "You seem very tired yourself today, Nanjiroh-san."

"Me?" Nanjiroh blinked. "Nah, I took a nap this morning, I'm fine now."

"'Now'?" Sumire repeated. "Why didn't you sleep last night?"

"I did," Nanjiroh insisted, then grinned wickedly. "I could detail all my erotic dreams for you."

"Please don't," the other three adults begged.

"All right, let's go tell the boys of our decision," Tarou said. He looked at Nanjiroh as they headed out. "By the way, how did practice go with the Captains this morning? With Atobe such a useless wreck all day, he probably didn't have the energy to make an ice cube."

"It wasn't what we were hoping for," Nanjiroh answered, scratching his cheek as he had an evil thought. "We should probably reschedule the four of them for another early practice soon and give them another chance to perform better."

"Good idea," Sumire agreed. "And we'll be sure to schedule you as instructor again, so that you may have another chance yourself to bring out the best in them."

Nanjiroh pouted. This wasn't fun anymore.


Kaidoh was starting to feel just a little panicky. It was late now, and Yukimura had already changed for bed. His window was shut, and so was the bedroom door.

The Seigaku Sophomore was trying to figure out if he should wait until the Rikkaidai Captain fell asleep, then risk changing to human right there in the room and opening the door himself. His thoughts were interrupted as he was picked up once again.

"Come on, Tiger, time for bed." Yukimura pulled back the covers and slid under them, bringing Kaidoh in with him. He cradled the kitten under one arm. So much for changing to human, Kaidoh despaired. There was no way he could do that now.

Yukimura kissed the top of his furry head. "Goodnight, Tiger."

Kaidoh might have blushed internally at the kiss, except he'd been embarrassed so many times already that day that his blusher was all worn out. He yawned. Despite the few little cat naps he'd managed during the day, he was still feeling the effects of the previous night. Since there was no use for it, he settled down to sleep and recharge his batteries. With any luck, maybe he'd find a way out early in the morning so he could at least get to school on time.


Kabaji went into the room he shared with Jiroh and saw his senpai asleep at the desk where he'd been doing his homework. From the looks of it, he had finished it, but just hadn't made it away from the desk before dozing off. Kabaji put a large hand on Jiroh's shoulder and shook him. "Wake up, senpai. It's time to go to sleep."

"Huh, wha -?" Jiroh blinked and looked up at Kabaji, his eyes suddenly wide. "I had one of those dreams again, I think."

Kabaji stared at him. "What was it about this time?"

"Us … that is, this household." Jiroh rubbed his arms as if cold. "It wasn't as specific as with the party dream. A sense of loss or maybe gain … the numbers here changing …."

"Like someone new moving in?"

"Or someone here NOT being here anymore." Jiroh frowned. "I can't tell one way or the other."

"Kaidoh-kun is already gone, at least for tonight," Kabaji pointed out. "Maybe that was it."

"Maybe," Jiroh said uncertainly. He yawned and stretched. "No point in worrying about it now, I guess."

A knock came at the door and Sumire peered in. "It's time for bed, you two."

"Going now," Jiroh assured her. "How are the others adjusting to the idea of the earlier bedtime, Ryuzaki-san?"

"Surprisingly well," she admitted. "I don't think we got a single objection, although considering how exhausted everyone seemed today, maybe that's to be expected. I'll be even more surprised if the good humour over it lasts another night," she added wryly. "Goodnight, boys."

She shut the door and Kabaji looked at Jiroh. "You didn't tell her about your dream."

Jiroh shrugged. "What could I say? I had a non-specific dream that could go one way or the other or maybe none at all because hey, it could JUST be a dream and not a prediction. My power isn't one that's under my control, and never will be." He crawled into his bed and flopped onto the pillow. "G'night, Kabaji."

The younger boy got into bed himself and turned out the light. He hadn't even gotten comfortable before he heard Jiroh snoring again. He wished it was going to be that easy for him, but exhausted or not, his roommate's dream was going to weigh heavily on his mind until he found out what, if anything, it meant.

Or until tomorrow, when he could tell Atobe about it and share the burden with his more decisive team Captain.


Kaidoh was awakened the next morning by his own natural urges. The fact that he was a kitten meant that he had no choice but to use the litter box provided. For a couple of moments he debated changing into human form so he could slip out into the hallway and over to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Yukimura's alarm clock went off just as he hopped off the bed. Reluctantly, he veered off and headed for the litter box, hoping he could finish his business before the Rikkaidai Captain saw him doing it.

"Good morning, Tiger!" Yukimura called out, and Kaidoh's ears went flat against his head. He couldn't even use the bathroom in privacy! How did real cats stand it? Oh yeah, they didn't have human minds, trained to believe that certain things just weren't done. Like coming over to scratch someone's head while they were trying to pee.

"I can't wait until tonight – I'm sure Kaasan will let me have the sleepover, and then you'll get to meet all my friends!"

I've met them, Kaidoh thought waspishly. I don't like them. And I'm pretty sure I'll like them even less when they're picking me up and rubbing at my fur. He finished what he was doing and instinct had him kicking litter back over his business. He tried to evade Yukimura's hands as he jumped out of the box, but the other boy was faster and scooped him up for a cuddle.

"Come on, let's see what's for breakfast. You must be hungry."

Now that you mention it, Kaidoh thought eagerly, the idea of food was suddenly very appealing.

Yukimura brought him downstairs into the kitchen where his mother was bustling around, getting things on the table. "Good morning!"

"Good morning to you both!" His mother petted Kaidoh's head. Yukimura dug into the fridge for some leftover chicken to feed to Kaidoh.

"Kaasan, would it be all right for me to invite the team to sleep over tonight?"

"I don't see why not – you boys can use the living room like last time. That worked out fine. Just don't stay up TOO late, all right?"

"We won't. Thank you." Yukimura kissed his mother's cheek and nodded to his father as he entered the room. "Good morning, Tousan."

"I'm glad you look all right, son," his father said. "Your sister isn't feeling well this morning."

"Oh no," his mother said. "Is it the flu?"

"I'm not sure. She says she has an upset stomach, but there's no fever. Her colour is a little off, though, so I figure she can stay home today, just in case."

Yukimura frowned. "Does that mean I can't have the sleepover after all?" he asked his mother.

"If your friends want to risk it and their parents don't mind, it's still all right."

"By the way, Seiichi," his father nodded toward Kaidoh, "your sister wants you to bring the kitten to her room before you leave. She promises she won't hurt it, but she wants him for company today."

Kaidoh's alarm bells went off. God, no! His only hope for getting out of there that day lay with being able to sneak off alone, and now Akiko would be watching him every second! His feeble hopes that Yukimura would be able to talk his parents out of it were dashed the moment the teenager tried and was threatened with his sleepover being cancelled if he didn't go along with it. Yukimura gave him an apologetic look.

"I tried, Tiger," he said with regret. "I'm sorry."

Not as sorry as I'm going to be, Kaidoh thought mournfully.


End of Part 29

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.