*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. Some chapters contain corporal punishment.

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 35

By Haruka (email: haruka at ymail dot com)

Mizuki didn't think there was anyone he could dislike as much as Fuji Syuusuke. He certainly wasn't fond of the Tanaka twins, mostly because Takahisa would always take time to talk to them and Mizuki felt they were overly-familiar with him. All right, so they were on his team and he'd known them longer than the other kids there, including Mizuki, but still. However, he noticed that their relationship was more like a big brother with younger siblings. He could accept that, so long as they didn't take up too much of Takahisa's time.

What he could not accept was overhearing Takahisa remark to Tanaka Kouhei that he thought Terry Griffy was pretty.

To his credit, Mizuki managed to keep from exploding. He even kept smiling, although it was a little strained. But when the time came that Takahisa said he needed to go speak to Hanamura-san about their next tennis practice, Mizuki took the opportunity to go protect his interests.

He found Terry chatting with Yuushi, and from the sound of it, they were reminiscing about the time they had played doubles against each other. Mizuki reconsidered his next move as an even better idea came to him. Why do the dirty work himself if he could get someone else to do it?

Mizuki knew that Gakuto was in the living room playing a video game, so he went straight there. He was relieved to find him alone.

"Mukahi-san, I certainly admire your confidence," he said as he strolled into the room. Gakuto gave him an annoyed glance over his shoulder.

"What are you babbling about?"

Mizuki lowered himself onto the couch and crossed his legs at the knee. "I'm just surprised that you have no problem with Terry Griffy getting anywhere near Oshitari-san, considering his power."

Gakuto paused his game so he could face the other boy. "How did YOU find out Terry's power? They've kept it pretty quiet."

"Not with everyone," Mizuki replied, waving a hand. "I happened to be passing by two of the teachers while invisible and they mentioned that through touch, Terry is able to STEAL powers from other Changechildren and use them as his own."

Gakuto stared at him. "And you think he's after Yuushi's?!"

Mizuki shrugged. "Oshitari-san DOES have an exceptional power …."

There was no need to say anything else – Gakuto was gone. Mizuki smiled to himself and wished he could be there to see what happened.

Oh wait, he giggled. He could! He got to his feet and activated his Invisibility power as he walked out of the room.

By sprinting ahead of Gakuto, Mizuki managed to have a ringside seat when the burgundy-haired boy strode over to where his boyfriend and the newcomer were talking.

"Ah, Gakuto," Yuushi said as he saw him coming. "Have you met, Terry?"

The pretty thirteen-year-old smiled at him.

"Mukahi-san, I've heard a lot about you! You're an acrobat, too, right?"

Gakuto's answer was to push himself in between the two boys, glaring at Terry. "Don't get too close to him, Yuushi! He'll steal your power!"

All the colour drained from Terry's face. Yuushi was frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"THAT'S his power - stealing those of others! If he touches you, it's all over!"

"T-That's not true!" Terry stammered. "I can control my power, it's not just a matter of it just 'happening' when I touch someone!"

Gakuto pointed at him accusingly. "But you DO steal powers, right?"

"No! I mean, I can borrow them, but –"

"Taking without consent is stealing!" Gakuto began pulling his partner out of the room. "Stay far away from him, Yuushi!"

"Gakuto!" the blue-haired boy started to say.

"Don't bother, I'LL stay away – from everyone!" Terry ran past the invisible Mizuki, who couldn't help but gloat at the tears in the younger boy's eyes.

Good, he thought smugly. Distance yourself as far from Takahisa as you can, Griffy-kun.

Akira looked at Shinji as he set up the last of his belongings in his new room. It seemed to take him longer than it had to, but then most other kids wouldn't be receiving decorating advice from the furniture.

"At least I won't have to worry about you being lonely," Akira remarked jokingly.

"Hmm?" Shinji said and looked up at him. "No, I suppose not, especially as my having no roommate should provide some previously unavailable opportunities for the two of us."

Akira grinned. "That isn't what I was thinking of, but I like that reason better." He walked into the room and leaned back against the door to shut it. Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"Boyfriends aren't allowed to shut themselves up in a room with the door closed," he pointed out. "We could get into trouble."

Akira put a hand on the knob. "Did you want me to open it?"

Shinji walked over to him, leaning forward as if to kiss him, then passed Akira's puckered lips to whisper to the door instead, "If one of the adults comes down the hall, rattle your knob for us, please."

Akira was still looking back at their guard-door when Shinji took hold of his wrist and led him to the bed. His boyfriend never ceased to amaze him.

Fuji and Kawamura came up the stairs and headed down the hall. "I hope Eiji and Oishi are having fun," Kawamura remarked. "Oishi was really excited about surprising him."

"I'm sure Eiji was thrilled. It was a very romantic thing to do," Fuji answered. "I think Gakuto was a little upset at being blown off, but he'll get over it."

"Fujiko," Kawamura said carefully, colour rising in his cheeks, "would you consider going on a date with me sometime? We could have a picnic, too, or we could see a movie –" He stopped as Fuji put a hand on his arm.

"I'll be happy doing anything so long as we're together, Taka-san."

The other boy grinned broadly. He was about to say something else when they both heard the tell-tale sounds of crying nearby. The two of them exchanged a worried look, then followed the sound to the Griffys' room. The door was open only a crack, but it was enough for them to see Terry with a pillow clutched in his arms, his face half-buried in it.

Kawamura glanced at Fuji to ask if he thought they should disturb him, but Fuji was already going in. He sat next to Terry and was about to touch his shoulder when the younger boy pulled away.

"Don't touch me!" Terry warned, his soft voice unusually bitter. "Haven't you heard? I'm poison around here – I steal powers!"

"What's happened?" Kawamura asked sadly as he approached. "Who said such a thing to you?"

"Oshitari-san's partner," Terry answered miserably. "The only kids who knew about my power besides Niisan and Kevin were Youhei and Kouhei, and I didn't think they would tell." He hung his head and murmured, "I really liked Kouhei, too …."

"Maybe he didn't tell," Fuji pointed out. "It's as wrong to assume he did as it is for Gakuto to assume you'd randomly take powers from Yuushi or anyone."

"Yes, you're right," Terry admitted, wiping his eyes. "I just panicked, I guess. I'm a little sensitive about my power."

Kawamura gave him a kindly smile. "Fujiko had the same problem at first. He was accused of controlling peoples' minds and thought that we all agreed with that."

"But I found out that it wasn't true – it was just Mizuki Hajime being a brat," Fuji added, making Terry giggle.

"Will you tell us about your power?" Fuji asked. "Taka-san's is fire-based, and mine is, well, mind control, for lack of a better term."

"I kind of like the 'Siren' nickname myself." Kawamura grinned.

Fuji sweatdropped. "I'm not sure I do. It seems to give me more credit than I deserve."

"You had the ability to attract and control admirers before you ever had Changechild powers," Kawamura teased, even as his blush returned.

"My power is to absorb other powers," Terry said. "I can use them myself then, but I can't give them back. My brother does that."

"I think that could be a good power to have," Fuji commented. "There's no reason for anyone to be afraid of it anymore than they should be afraid of any Changechild."

"That's what the twins said," Terry admitted.

"I think what we should do next is find out how Gakuto heard about your power." Fuji stood up and headed out of the room. "Somehow he got a wrong impression, and I want to know if it was his own imagination embellishing on nothing or if someone deliberately fed him misinformation."

"What if he won't tell you?" Terry asked.

Fuji paused at the door and looked back at him, smiling. "He'll tell me."

Oishi and Eiji were almost to the edge of the woods, the mansion in view across the expanse of lawn. They were holding the picnic basket between them, exchanging grins that clearly said they'd enjoyed their privacy by the lake.

"I had my doubts about this place in the beginning, Eiji," Oishi said, "but I really like it here now."

"Me too, nya! It's fun living with our teammates, and we get to hang out with kids from the other teams, too." Eiji stopped and turned so that he could face Oishi. "Best of all is living with you."

"I'll second that." The two boys leaned across the basket and kissed.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could room together?" Eiji said as they began walking again. "Why'd they have to split up all the boyfriends, anyway?"

"You KNOW why, Eiji." The tips of Oishi's ears turned scarlet. "We kind of demonstrated that at the lake."

"That's my point, though! We don't room together, but we found a way, right?"

"Well, the adults have to answer to our parents, and they have to at least make an effort to –"

Eiji was jerked back by the basket suddenly when Oishi stopped moving. He looked at his partner and saw him staring at a point through the trees. Atobe stood leaning back against a tree, looking at Tezuka as the two of them conversed, but there was something off about their body language. There wasn't much distance between them, and what there was disappeared entirely as Atobe took hold of the front of Tezuka's shirt and pulled him closer, pressing his lips against his rival's. Tezuka returned it.

"Oishi," Eiji said in a tiny voice, "since when do Tezuka and Atobe kiss?"

"How should I know?" Oishi answered, trying to be quiet. "Tezuka never said a word about a relationship with Atobe."

"Does this mean that they're boyfriends?"

"I don't KNOW, Eiji."

The redhead frowned. "If they are, it isn't fair. They're roommates and we aren't!"

Oishi gave him a patient smile. "Isn't it nice, though, if Tezuka has found someone who brings out his emotions and gives him a listening ear? Would you want to be the one to spoil that for him?"

"Of course not." Eiji pouted. "Although it's a little hard to believe that someone so self-absorbed as Atobe could do that for ANYONE."

Oishi glanced back toward the two Captains, who were so involved in each other that they hadn't yet noticed them. "I think we can trust Tezuka to know what he's doing. Come on, let's go. And Eiji – don't tell anybody, okay?"

"Okay," his boyfriend agreed, but accompanied it with a heavy sigh. The biggest gossip scoop of the year, and he had to take an oath of silence.

"Excuse me, Mukahi-san, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Gakuto was eating a sandwich at the kitchen table and stopped in mid-bite to regard Fuji suspiciously. What could the Seigaku tensai want with him? "I guess so," he said cautiously. "Yuushi will be here in a couple of minutes, so you'd better make it fast."

"I really only have one question," Fuji went over and leaned back against the table, gazing down at the acrobat seriously. "How did you find out about Terry Griffy's power?"

Gakuto shrugged. "Is that all? Mizuki told me. He said that Terry was after Yuushi's power, so I put a stop to it."

Fuji was glad that he hadn't been forced to use his power to get an answer out of Gakuto, but couldn't believe that anyone was so naïve as to believe a word out of Mizuki's mouth. "While Terry IS capable of borrowing powers, Mizuki misled you. He isn't after your partner's power or anyone else's – he just wants to cope, like the rest of us."

Gakuto studied him closely, frowning. "Was Mizuki manipulating me into jumping to conclusions?"

"Pretty much." Fuji nodded. "I don't know why he would have a reason to hurt Terry, but that was obviously his intention."

"Bastard!" Gakuto snapped, throwing his sandwich down on the plate. "I don't like being used."

"Taka-san and I found Terry crying upstairs."

The Hyotei player groaned. "Great, now I have to apologize to him. I hate apologizing almost as much as being used." He pushed back his chair. "I'll do it, though. And maybe I'll turn off gravity under Mizuki forever and watch him float off into the stratosphere!"

"As much as I would enjoy waving goodbye as he became a human satellite, you shouldn't get yourself in trouble over him. Believe me, he's not worth it," Fuji cautioned, then smiled. "We'll find a more practical way to teach him a lesson."

A slow grin formed on Gakuto's face. Note to self, he thought, stay off Fuji Syuusuke's bad side!

End of Part 35

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.