DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis. I wish I owned Royal Pair though, but I don't. So...
WARNING: This is YAOI / BL story.
THANK YOU FOR R&R: asou, itachisgurl93
A/N: Here comes the next chapter. I'm looking forward to your reviews. Remember, bolded text is in English.
ENJOY !
Chapter 20: Doubles
The next day, after breakfast, Nanjiroh gathered all boys next to the tennis courts. Fortunately the weather was again warm and there were not many clouds on the sky. He looked at the players. They seemed rested and in an exceptionally good moods. Yesterday, after barbeque, majority of them relaxed in the lounge room. They were watching old matches on TV or playing games.
"Since some of you," Nanjiroh started, "had such a cute little fits yesterday about using your rackets, I've decided to let you start on the second part of the training menu a bit earlier."
Kikumaru turned towards his double partner and tugged at the sleeve of his jersey. "Nee, nee, Oishii. Does he mean what I think he means?"
"I hope so Eiji". This pleading, anticipating eyes of the red head did something weird to Oishii's stomach. It had that effect for some time now. Looking into those eyes made him forget everything else. He had seen in them all the victories they shared and all the defeats they faced. His stare moved lower. Through Eiji's cute, little nose to his lips. Looking at them he could remember all the pouts but also all of the smiles and "Bui" sent his way. With all of those thoughts running though his mind Oishi started to unconsciously leaning towards Kikumaru. When he was mere inches away someone pushed him lightly from behind. That broke the moment. Oishi shook his head. "Sorry Eiji." He then straightened and faced the coaches again. If only he would look a split second longer he would see the disappointment in the dark blue eyes of his doubles partner.
"Koshimae-no-otousan, does it mean, we do get to–"
"Oi, don't be rude Kin-chan" stopped him Shiraishi, "You should call Nanjoroh-san a coach or sensei".
"Sorry", Kintarou bend his head in quick apology, "so Koshimae-no-otousan-sensei –" Shiraishi palmed his head with his bandaged hand, "does it mean we do get to play today?"
Nanjiroh smiled. He really liked this hyper guy. "Yes, that is exactly what it means".
Ryoga clapped his hands, "Now, you have exactly 3 minutes to get back here with your rackets. Those who are late will do the penalty laps around the courts".
The players didn't have to be told twice. Probably, if it was the first day of training they would not have taken those three minutes that seriously, but now, after almost a week, they knew those were not an empty threats.
Once the players were back and the laps of those being late were finished Nanjiroh gathered the boys once again.
"Ok, seihounen. The goal for this camp is not only to improve your stamina and skills but also, or rather mainly, to choose eight players who will form the Japanese team during the upcoming Goodwill Game. As we still assess your individual abilities and capabilities, we cannot forget that the matches will be held in a standard arrangement of two doubles and three singles matches. And as such not everyone is fit to be a part of the double formation."
At that many pairs of eyes turned towards Ryoma. "Che" the US captain slid his cap lower over his eyes.
"Now find yourself a doubles partner. As we have ten courts and around sixty people we will have 3 pairs per court. You will plays best of one set matches. The loosing team will do the penalty rounds around the courts."
With that all players started to look for partners. Some of the pairs were fairly obvious like Kikumaru with Oishii or Shishido with Otori.
"Sanada, pair with Ore-sama. You were not that bad of a partner three years ago during the last Goodwill game." Sanada only nodded and moved to stand next to Atobe.
"Kirihara" Yukimura said to his junior, who instantly straightened and tightened all of his muscles. He will never get used to being called out by his captain. "I will play with you. I'd like to see close by if you improved your attitude on court".
Kirihara gulped. "Yes, captain."
Fuji looked around to target Oshitari. They fit so well outside of the court so he was counting on matching well on the court as well. He was about to open his moth when he saw David from the American team shaking Oshitari's hand. Seems that although there were eight Americans so they could easily create pairs, David decided to pair with a Japanese player. And neither of coaches had anything against it. That moment David looked towards Fuji and smirked lightly. The latter opened his sharp eyes. There were not many people acting on his nerves as much as the this guy. Maybe only Mizuki, who he still hold a grudge against due to him teaching his baby brother the Twist Spin Shot.
"Tezuka," he turned to his friend. The expression on his face got back to normal with his eyes seemingly closed and light smile on his face, "would you like to be my partner?"
"Aaaa" Tezuka nodded.
"Good" he said aloud and then added under his breath so that no one could hear him, "I have someone to maul today".
Outside of their earshot David was looking at Fuji. "Your boyfriend," he said to Oshitari, "looks like would like to kill me."
"Good." Oshitari nodded.
"I have other opinion on this matter. You sure you don't want to pair with him after all?"
"Nope." Angry Fuji meant passionate Fuji. Something he planned to fully take advantage of later in the evening. Besides he loved to see this jealousy streak in his eyes, and thought it was high time to move their relationship further and become official.
"Heh, I will never understand you Japanese people."
When most of the pairs were already chosen, the eyes of all of the players turned towards the scene taking place nearby.
"Oi, what do you think you are doing?" Echizen shouted to his teammates, when they gathered in the circle and started to slowly, one-by-one pulling sticks from the small box.
"Sorry captain, but we are determining who will get the…eeee… honor of being your doubles partner." said Tony. From few feet away Momoshiro nodded in understanding.
"Don't bother," Ryoma said turning towards Kevin who was slowly retreating to towards the rest of the USA team. "Kevin will play with me."
"No way man." Kevin shook his head. "You know I love you like a brother and I would do anything for you but you are a shit doubles partner"
"Che. Thanks" said Ryoma.
"Did you even read the "Doubles for dummies" book I bought you last Christmas?" Kevin asked pulling a stick from the box. Fortunately it looked like a long one.
When Echizen said nothing, Kevin shook his head, "My point exactly."
When the box was finally empty, the boys compared their sticks.
"Not again. Why do I have to have the shortest stick. Again. That is not fair." Matt, one of the twins wailed.
Alex patted him on the shoulder. They were usually doubles partners, but in this situation it couldn't be helped.
"Did you say anything Matt?" Echizen growled.
"Ehhhh. No."
"That's what I thought."
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An hour into t he training and you could already see some of the pairs dominating their courts.
"What do you think Ryoga?" Nanjiroh asked his son when they were doing rounds between the courts.
"Some of them are not bad, but that is to be expected based on their records." Ryoga nodded. "I bet at least some of them will be pursuing pro career after high school too."
Nanjiroh nodded. He may look like a monk and have an aura of not giving a shit about his surroundings but his sharp eyes were evaluating the boys at all times. Nothing escaped his attention. He had seen that although Chitose Senri did well with his impaired vision in his right eye he still subconsciously send more balls to the left allowing him to see better. He had seen that Shiraishi Kuranosuke who was famous for his style that wasted no energy by avoiding all unnecessary movements, was still doing a half a step too much countering heavy attacks. He had seen that Tezuka Kunimitsu was getting mini contractions in his forearm when using some of his more powerful shots or that Sanada Genichirou should flex his wrist a bit more when using his Fu, Rin, Ka, Zan techniques. He even had seen a few holes in the play of Yukimura Seiichi, although he was well known in Japanese tennis world for his nickname "The Child of God" which only strengthened in the past years.
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Three hours into the practice and Atobe was tired. Pleasantly tired, but tired non the less. He not only played number of matches but also had a fair share of laps to run around the court. He hated loosing but could also appreciate that each defeat meant he played with a strong opponent and could improve his technique. After all beside him and Sanada, the remaining two pairs on the court were Shiraishi with Chitose from Shitenhoji and Tezuka with Fuji. The latter seemed however somehow distracted and was frequently glancing to the court nearby where his boyfriend was playing. Atobe knew about them for quite some time now, ever since he almost walked in on them in the Club's shower, when they though no one was at the lockers anymore.
Just as Atobe was taking a swing of isotonic water from his bottle Junior came running in his direction, his cap twisted on his head so low that he barely could see anything. That did not stop the five year old and with the whole impact of his small body he collided into Atobe.
He hug his legs and yelled "King Kong!" for the whole court to hear. The bottle Atobe was holding in his hand flew away and the air in his lungs was knocked out of him.
"Oi!" Atobe said trying to keep his calm. "What do you think you are doing brat, ahn?"
"Lyoma and Kevin play matches. I want to play too. Will you play with me?" He asked raising his head. His big green eyes looking at him so pleadingly. He looked like a puppy, although probably the better term would be like a kitten.
Adobe was not known for his love for kids, he preferred adults much better as they could, in most cases, be reasoned with. Nevertheless with each passing second his resolve to ignore the kid diminished as the kid was not backing out. Besides that was Ryoma's nephew and as he planned to be a permanent part of Ryoma's life he would probably have to learn to accept the kid a well.
Atobe sighed, "Tell you what, Ore-sama will teach you later some tennis if you stop calling Ore-sama King Kong. Do we have a deal?"
Junior nodded. "Okey," he said we a smile.
"Right," Atobe cleared his throat, "Why don't we look for your father now?"
Junior drawn his arms towards Atobe. "Up?"
"What? You are five not three, you can walk by yourself."
"Please?"
"No"
"Pletty please?" Junior was adamant. His lower lip was starting to tremble and his eyes were becoming wet.
Just not to cause anymore commotion, as this whole situation did not already bring to Atobe all the unwanted attention, he bended forward and picked up the smallest Echizen, who immediately entwined his legs around his waist. His small hands tangled behind his head. The picture they portrayed was truly one of a kind.
"You are the best Keigo," said Junior and rested his head on Atobe's shoulder. Despite himself Atobe smirked lightly and moved towards the coaches.
When he approached them, he deposited Junior in his father hands, "Oi Ryoga, I think you misplaced your brat." He smirked and left. He got to the court he was playing at and bent down. He reached out to grab the bottle that he dropped earlier. When he was rising up his head spin and the whole world went blank for a split of the second. He shook a bit and quickly regained his balance. He slowly straightened up and assessed his condition. Beside a bit of ringing in his ears he seemed to recover. However, his brief indisposition did not escape the sharp eyes of Sanada and Oshitari.
"Atobe," Oshitari was to ask his friend if he was alright, but changed his mind at the last moment. He knew Atobe would not appreciate being called out with so many people present. Even if they did not look like it at least some of them were listening on their conversation. One should never underestimate curious teenagers. Instead of asking of what he originally planned on he said "I see you've found yourself another admirer."
"Oh, shut up Yuushi." Atobe spat at his long-time friend. "You better worry about your own problems."
Oshitari raised his brow. Atobe seemed to be already alright. "I was not aware I had any problems." He stated as a matter-of-factly.
Atobe looked towards Fuji, who was currently playing with Tezuka against Shiraishi and Chitose. "You may have one soon enough." He smirked. "Some people like to meddle but do not appreciate being on the receiving end of meddling themselves."
Oshitari looked towards his boyfriend. And gulped,
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"Ne Viper, did you see that?" Momo asked rubbing his eyes. He referred to Atobe carrying Junior.
"Fssss"
"Don't fssss me. Say clearly yes or no, because I think I'm going mad." Momoshiro growled.
"Fssss," Kaidoh hit him in the shoulder, "you are not going mad. You are just plain stupid you peach-head."
"Stop it you two." Tachibana who was just leaving their court brought them to order. He might not be their captain, but he was a Captain and as such he felt certain level of responsibility for them as long as they were playing in one group.
"Aaaa, I knew it it" Shinji Ibu, who o was Tachibana's doubles partner for the day, started to mumble. "Popular and privileged people always get even more popular. I envy Atobe-san. Even Ryoga-sensei's son adores him." He bowed his head even further and moved towards the bench to grab the bottle of water, still continuing his monologue. "Maybe I should ask him how he does it? Maybe if I cut my hair and dye them silver I will become more popular. I really wonder where his secret lies. I bet he would rather not share it with me, but maybe if I ask nicely he will reconsider…" His mumbling was becoming more and more incomprehensible with each sentence.
"See Momoshiro", Kaidoh addressed his temporary doubles partner, "this is how going mad looks like".
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In the evening after shower Atobe walked up to the chest of drawers and pressed the button on the high-end coffee machine standing on top of it to get the double espresso. After yesterday's instant coffee he was forced to drink in the afternoon he instructed Takuma to deliver real pressure coffee machine. He grabbed his cup and went back to the desk. He moved his head few times from side to side and popped his fingers. He then took a deep breath and opened his laptop. He still had a work to catch up.
"It's not my business Atobe," Yukimura said laying into bed and grabbing a book from his night stand, "but should you be drinking coffee at this time of a night?"
"You are right Yukimura," Atobe responded not taking eyes from the laptop "That's not your business. Ore-sama has something to take care of that cannot wait."
Yukimura did not continue the conversation further. For a few moments he looked intently at his roommate. Atobe was commonly known for his wealth that he often generously spent on his teammates as well as for his dedication to tennis. Everyone knew that behind his aura of superiority there was an extreme hard-worker. What people apparently did not realize was how much work Atobe was putting into everything including keeping his material status.
When Yukimura woke up briefly at 3 a.m. he saw Atobe still working on his laptop. That does not bode well for his health he thought and got back to sleep.
A/N: Thank you all for reading. I hope you've enjoyed it. Stay tuned for the next chapter.