Kicked Out of the House
Summary: Ryoma Echizen wanted to spend a normal week just to carry on with his household chores, but his father decides that having his snarky son home all day isn't good for him at all. So, he decides to send his son off to survive on his own with his sempais from various schools. Will the captains be able to dish out some paybacks of their own on Nanjirou?
Chapter 2: Stingy Sempai vs Jumpy Sempai
Ryoma was glad to have spent an entire day with Marui as he boards the train out of Kanagawa and back into the comfort of his own house. But unfortunately for him, his father was watching him with a perverted look on his face in the backyard.
Once the tennis prodigy entered his house, he managed to sort out his personal belongings and went into the kitchen to feed his cat and checked to see if there were any leftover foods Nanako left for him from overnight.
As he sat down to eat, Nanjirou strolled in as usual and said to him, "Looks like you had some fun with bubble gum boy over the weekend."
"Yeah, I did, no thanks to you."
"Maa, Echizen. You should be thanking me for suggesting such a thing. In fact, there is another person that you could try and spend a night with."
"Oyaji, if you are trying to get me involved with another one of your perverted schemes….." but he never got to finish his sentence as Nanjirou snatched the phone out of his son's hand and dialed in a random number.
Meanwhile, in Hyoutei
"Shishido-san, you were great today! I can't wait to see how well you perform in the next tournament." Said Choutarou
"It was nothing, Choutarou. But your speed needs a little more work. Keep going." Remarked Shishido.
Just then his phone rang.
"Moshi Moshi!"
"Hello there Mr. Dash Specialist! How are things?"
Shishido had no idea who was on the phone but sighed. "Who is this, and how did you get my number?"
"Who me? Why I am the legendary Nanjirou Echizen, the retired tennis pro!"
"Che, more like the legendary pervert." said Ryoma in the background.
Unfortunately, Nanjirou was blushing as he continued speaking on the phone. "Don't mind my son, he hasn't found his true love yet."
Shishido was not in a mood for the old man's games. "Look, I could care less about your bratty son finding true love. What do you want Nanjirou? I am busy. As a tennis player, I have things I need to do."
"So Stingy."
"Would you hurry up and tell me why you called before I hang up!?" yelled Shishido.
Nanjirou held the phone away from his ear to avoid hearing the screams of the capped dash specialist before resuming to speak again.
"Ah yes, I was wondering if you have a girlfriend?"
"What kind of a stupid question is that?"
"Well I was just wondering if you and Choutaro are…"
"Lovers? No! We are just friends. I don't know why you asked me that question."
"Well, my son here is looking for love and I was trying to hook him up with a guy like you so…."
"BAKA OYAJI! WHAT THE FUCK?" yelled Ryoma. "If you are trying to make me go out on a date with Shishido-sempai, you can forget it!"
The dash specialist had to agree with the brat. How dare that pervert suggest something so stupid!
"I have to agree with your son. Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK, OLD MAN!? Do you realize that you could be sued for sexual harassment? Let me make this perfectly clear to you: I will not, under any circumstances, date your son. Are we clear!?"
"Sorry I couldn't understand you. Can you repeat that please?" said nanjirou.
"Do I need to spell it out for you? I will never date your son! Young men do not date boys, is that clear enough for you?" finished Shishido.
"C-crystal clear."
"Thought so."
Even the rest of the Hyoutei team heard the commotion as they rushed over to see what was going on.
"Shishido-sempai, who are you talking to?" asked Mukahi.
"I wonder if it is some random girl in his class." Added Jirou.
"It's not a girl, okay? I am talking with Echizen's father." Said Shishido.
"Ahn, the legendary tennis pro? I wonder what he is up to." Mused Atobe.
"If you ask me, probably one of his little random schemes." Stated Yuushi
"Looks like someone is trying to hook you up with a date, buddy boy." Smirked Hiyoshi.
"Shut it, mushroom head." He then turned his attention to the phone. "Since you called me abruptly today, why are you trying to get your son to hook up with me?"
"To spend a night with you at your house?"
Shishido knew where this was going and said, "Hell no! You will do no such thing!"
"Aw come on! I want him to at least enjoy some alone time with you."
"Oh my god! What are you, a stalker? I will not let your son anywhere near me or my house, got it?"
"Not even for one night?"
"Nanjirou!" growled Shishido.
"Okay, Okay! Sheesh, you are so grouchy today. Sorry for disturbing you then. Before I go, can I talk to your resident Red-headed Acrobat?"
"You mean Mukahi? Just as long as you don't get on his bad side."
"I make no promises."
The team turned their attention towards Mukahi since he was the best hugger and the quickest jumper in hyotei because there seemed to be a heated rivalry between him and Kikumaru.
"What are you all looking at me for?"
"Someone obviously likes you." Smirked Yuushi
"I guess we should congratulate Mukahi. Pretty soon, he will have another so called "brother" in his household." Said Jirou gleefully.
"S-Shut up Jirou! I never said I wanted a brother!" protested Mukahi. Just then his phone rang.
"What is it? You better have a good reason for calling me."
"You must be the acrobatic specialist. I am so glad to hear from you at last."
"And you must be the most perverted tennis player that we've heard so much about."
"Really? I would like to make a proposition for you."
"I'm listening."
"I would like for my son to spend a night with you at your place because even if he continues to stay with me, it isn't worth it. I feel that he needs to go out more."
"Why are you asking me to look after your son? Isn't Echizen too old to have a babysitter?"
"Sure, I know that he is young. But I am saying he should spend more time with his friends."
"Doesn't he already have friends from his school?"
"Well, yes. I was saying he should have more friends from your school as well. He needs more interaction skills and that's where you come in."
"I see. Well, I have a challenge as well. If your brat can best me at tennis, then I will let him stay at my place. Where do you want me to meet him?"
"At my house. I will let him know you are coming."
Mukahi nodded as he hung up the phone and stuffed it back into his pants pocket.
"So, it seems that you have a plan to bring that brat in, ahn?"
"Atobe, this is only temporary. I doubt that gaki could beat me. After all, his communication skills need to be polished."
"When he was talking with his girlfriend from Seigaku, he was showing her how to play tennis, isn't that already enough to convince us that he has no problems in communication?" said Choutarou.
"Now you are involved in their love affairs, Choutarou?" asked Shishido
"Shishido-san! That's not the point! All I am saying is that those two are good friends." Replied Choutarou.
"Well even if you think they are good friends, Echizen's chances of falling in love with Sakuno is very low at this point. He just doesn't understand what girls really want." Added Hiyoshi.
"I agree with Hiyoshi. Besides, what will Ryoma do without Sakuno around?" said Oshitari.
"Whether or not Ryoma dates Sakuno is his problem, not ours. In the meantime, you lot get back to practice!" barked Atobe.
They all resumed practice without any arguing.
As school ended for the day, Gakuto was still thinking about what Echizen's father had said. It was quite a shock for him to have Echizen over at his out. What exactly will his parents say? But he couldn't think about that now since the seigaku freshman was cocky and bratty at times. But he was a pretty good tennis player and he does have some degree of respect for his opponents. After all, Echizen did defeat Hiyoshi during the Kanto tournament. Even Atobe was surprised at how well the kid could play, let alone defeating a second year student.
As Gakuto arrived at the Echizen household, he could see the backyard looking like some sort of a Buddhist temple. Even the house itself was ornate and filled with lanterns.
"How did the Echizens ever afford a house like this?" thought Gakuto to himself as he entered through the gate and closed it behind him. He then walked over to the door and rang the bell. The door opened and out came a monk with a magazine in one hand and a cat in the other.
"Can I help you?" asked the old man.
"Yes, you were the one that called me here to pick up your son."
"Really? I didn't remember picking up the phone." Said the old man.
Gakuto watched in disgust. "Listen, I am not here to listen to your stupid jokes. Please tell your son to get out here."
The old man looked at the third year acrobat for a moment and an idea suddenly came to his mind. "Ah-ha! You must be that red-haired kangaroo who developed a crush on my bratty son. Well don't just stand there, come on in!"
Gakuto nearly vein-popped at that insult as he stepped into the house.
"Make yourself comfortable. Do you want anything to drink?"
"Water will be fine. But I will not be here for long."
"Of course. I will be right back then." Said the old man as he set the cat down on the floor.
As Gakuto looked around the house, he could see various photos of the Echizen family plastered all over the wall, including an elder sibling that looked exactly like Ryoma. He examined each one of them closely before taking a seat on the couch.
Just then, Ryoma came in to the kitchen to get something to drink when he spotted the third year hyotei student sitting on the couch. "Oh, I didn't notice you were here."
"Really? I was outside of your house a few minutes ago and you didn't notice? Your father was the one that buzzed me in."
"Yeah, I know. Don't mind him, he's just having one of his perverted delusions."
"Does he always act like this?"
"Believe me, I deal with his crap on a daily basis. He always delve himself into his so called porno magazines. I don't know where they are coming from or how he subscribed to them, but I usually discard them into the recycle bin to be taken out the next day."
"Is Nanjiroh really this sane or has he developed a fetish with naked women?" thought Gakuto to himself.
"Gakuto-sempai?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"We should get going.
"Oh right, we cannot miss the train. Come on!"
Both of the boys gathered up their belongings and exited the house. But not before Ryoma took a stash of those porno magazines and a lighter to avoid being seen by his father. Once they were out of sight, Nanjirou could finally rest easy.
"I knew my son couldn't resist that kid from Hyoutei, right Karupin?"
The cat just meowed at him.
"Yeah, I know you don't mind him. Now then, where are my magazines?"
Nanjiroh quickly got up and looked around for his stash, but he discovered that none of them were in the house or any of the bookcases.
"If they aren't in the house then…." He began. But then his eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh no! If my son took those magazines, who knows what he is going to do them?" he thought. "Bah! I don't really care if my son has them. As long as he brings them back in mint condition, that's all fine."
A Few hours later…
Gakuto and Echizen arrived at the house.
"So this is where you live? It's a very nice neighborhood."
"Well, yeah, I do have very nice neighbors. Sometimes I usually run errands for them on the weekends just to keep myself busy."
"Oh I see. You are earning some cash for yourself." Smiled Ryoma.
"Well, not always. I just save the cash until I really need it. Now then, let's go inside. I cannot let my family wait."
Once the boys stepped into the house, they both took off their shoes and removed their belongings before placing them in a box. Then they donned slippers and headed towards the living room.
"Gakuto-niisan! You're back! And we see you brought a guest over. Is he your brother?"
"What? No. He…. He's a friend." Said Gakuto nervously.
"So those two must be your siblings."
"Yeah, but don't mind them. They can be, how shall I put this? Um…"
"Weird and stupid?"
"Yeah."
Just then his mom popped into the living room.
"Oh Gaku-chan! So glad you made it home. I was wondering where you were. It is your turn to do the dishes tonight."
"I will be over there in a moment."
"Of course. By the way, who is that kid?"
"Oh him? He is the son of the legendary tennis pro.
"Echizen Ryoma? So that means his father is Nanjiroh Echizen?"
"Yup. But his father is a porn addict."
"Really? What makes you say that?"
"My dad keeps a stash of porn magazines lying around the house. Just watching him reading those gives me the creeps." Replied Ryoma.
"I see. How could you have such a lecherous pervert as a father?"
"It's not my fault. I only read tennis magazines. I don't really get into naked women. No offense ma'am."
"None taken." She smiled at how polite Ryoma was. "Gakuto, when you are done with the dishes, will you show Ryoma to one of the extra rooms?"
"Why me?"
"He's your guest. Make him feel comfortable."
Gakuto sighed. How did he end up being the babysitter to that brat?
Ryoma reached into his backpack and took out the lighter plus the magazines and headed outside into the backyard. But not before Gakuto held onto Ryoma's arm tightly, preventing him from leaving.
"Where are you going, Echizen?"
"I am going to burn these porno magazines. They should not even exist. Do you have lighter fluid?"
"I should have one. Just give me a moment and I will be back. You still owe me a tennis match though. Meet me in the backyard."
A few minutes later, Gakuto returned with the lighter fluid and his tennis gear. "Are you ready to lose?"
"Bring it on then."
The two of them dashed towards the backyard with their tennis rackets in hand while his family watched in interest.
"Ryoma is pretty good since he never did go easy on his opponents."
"True, but he shouldn't underestimate our son." Added the father.
"Go Gaku nii-san! Beat him!"
As the game went on, Gakuto was ahead of Ryoma by 3 games to 2. There was no way Ryoma could catch up to his opponent now.
"You're pretty good. How did you manage to take advantage of the game so quickly?"
"Lots of practice. You should know that as a member of the Hyoutei tennis club, I have to practice day and night just like you do. Furthermore, you have tell me where you got your tennis skills from."
"My dad taught me when I was little and even after he won so many tournaments; I guess I have to follow in his footsteps. But today, I am choosing a path for myself and that is to defeat a certain someone."
"You mean, like a high schooler?"
"Maybe."
"Well then, if you lose, you are going to have to read a bedtime story to my brothers."
"Sounds like a plan. What book did you have in mind?"
"They love Goldilocks and the three bears."
"All right then. But at least let's get rid of these magazines after the game is over."
"You're on!"
As the game continued between the two rivals, Gakuto was proving to be too strong for Ryoma to handle. After he won the final set, both boys collapsed onto the grass with exhausted looks on their faces.
"Had enough yet, brat?"
"Not unless you want to lose again."
"What was that? I beat you already and you want to go again? Geez, dude!"
"Looks like I am going to read that story after all."
Gakuto's parents watched both boys and smiled as they walked outside. "You guys were great. But before you guys do anything else, take a shower."
"Right now?"
"Yes, we don't want the house to stink. And oh Echizen, do you have a change of clothes?"
"Yup, I have them packed in my bag."
"Good. Get going boys!" said the father. "Oh, and don't worry about the magazines. We will toss them in the fire pit and burn them there."
"Your parents are very accommodating people." Whispered Ryoma.
"You think?"
"I know so. I've dealt with plenty of nice folks like that."
"What about Sakuno?" asked Gakuto.
"What about her?"
"She offered you food and you don't compliment it very much. That is so not like you at all. You got to show that you truly love what she prepares for you."
"Well sometimes I do compliment her grandma on the food. Other times, she gets a little nervous around me. Just so you know I do my best to try and compliment her.
"You got to do more than just 'I am doing my best' here. You got to prove to her that you truly care about her."
"I will consider it."
Once the boys went inside the house, they took their bath and changed into their casual clothes before heading into the family room.
"Ryoma nii-chan! You promised to read Goldilocks and the three bears to us!" said the siblings.
The tennis prodigy sighed as he grabbed the book from the shelf and started reading while Gakuto flipped through the television for any tennis related programs.
After 30 minutes have passed, Ryoma closed the book and said, "I hope you guys enjoyed it."
"We did! Thank you so much Echizen nii-san!"
"No problems."
"We need to get to bed now. Our parents tells us that we need to sleep early. So I trust you guys won't stay up for too long right?"
"Don't worry, we will be done by midnight, you brats." Replied Gakuto.
"Good night!" said the boys. And off they went into their room.
"Do you often read to your brothers on a weekly basis, sempai?"
"No, not really. Why do you ask?"
"Just asking. Because as a big brother you've got a big responsibility."
"Damn it, Echizen! I hate being the oldest here!" protested Gakuto.
"You've got no other choice. Anyway, who's playing in the tournament tonight?"
"Roger Federer and Agassi playing doubles against two South Korean tennis players."
"Those two reminded me of the Golden pair in Seigaku."
"Che! You have to remember that Choutarou-sempai and Shishido-sempai are the best doubles players ever. They can easily beat your golden pair."
"We shall see about that." Smirked Echizen. "Do you have a pen and paper?"
"What do you need them for?"
"I need to write a letter to Shishido-sempai. Normally I don't write a lot of letters, but this is important and I need to tell him my feelings."
"What!? Are you in love with him?" snorted Gakuto.
"No, it's not that. It's just that I feel kind of sorry for him after he heard my father's appalling behavior. And I would like to make it up to him somehow."
"Sure. But you have to let me deliver the letter to him once you are finished."
"Done!"
The next day at Hyoutei….
"Sugoi! I hope you enjoyed spending a night with that tennis prodigy. Did you cuddle with him?" smiled Jirou.
"Shut up Jirou! I did nothing of the sort with Echizen."
"I presume that you guys played tennis last night?" asked Oshitari.
"Yes, so what if we did? He wanted a challenge."
"Ahn, so I see that you are pretty comfortable with having that bratty prince over at your place, right, Mukahi?" said Atobe as he entered the clubroom.
"It…. It's not like that!" said Gakuto. "I only invited him over because his father asked me to do so."
"What is that in your hand, sempai?" asked Hiyoshi.
"It's a letter for Shishido-sempai."
"A letter for me? Oh, I wonder who sent it?" said Shishido as he took the envelope from Gakuto's hand and placed it on the desk and examined the contents.
Dear Shishido-sempai,
First of all, I wanted to apologize on behalf of my father's inappropriate behavior yesterday. I know he means well, but sometimes he can get a little too carried away with his choice of words. Anyway, it is a pity that I couldn't get a chance to stay at your house. However, it would be nice if you could introduce me to your cute little dog sometime soon. If we do meet up at the park, maybe I could bring my cat and have her interact with your dog and hopefully I can teach it to play fetch if that's okay with you?
Second, I really suck at playing doubles so I was wondering if you have some tips or advice on how I can improve in case if I face you and Choutarou next time at the street courts. The only reason why I am writing this is because I would like to get to know you better and maybe we can become best friends. I hope you understand my intentions here as I do not want to engage in any sexual perversions whatsoever since that would be highly offensive and creepy. Please write back and let me know if you are willing to help me. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Echizen Ryoma
Everyone in the clubroom was shocked. Even jirou was squealing with delight after seeing the letter itself, Oshitari and Mukahi were smiling like crazy, Atobe was laughing his ass off, and as for Hiyoshi and Choutarou, they were wondering where the brat came up with an idea like this.
"Wow! Even I had no idea he would become such a sweet guy." Said Mukahi.
"I have to commend him on his penmanship." Added Oshitari
"Aww Shishido-san, you finally made a friend." Said Choutarou as he hugged his doubles partner.
"What…. What are you doing Choutarou? Let go of me!"
"That prince charming sure knows how to protect the people he loves." Said Hiyoshi.
"I see that the brat really does admire his opponents." Added Atobe.
Shishido placed the letter back into the envelope and shoved it into his tennis bag before running into the school building.
"Where are you going, Shishido-san?" asked Choutarou.
"I got classes that I need to attend. I will see you guys later at practice!" said Shishido. He then smiled to himself without looking back at his teammates.
"Echizen-san, you are so unpredictable. I think we can definitely become best friends. I will be more than happy to show you how to play doubles in the street courts later on. Although I am a bit allergic to cats, I guess it couldn't hurt. Maybe we do need to get to know each other a little better." He thought to himself.