Kicked Out of the House
Chapter 6: A Trickster Situation
I do not own Prince of Tennis so keep that in mind.
Ryoma was not in a good mood after suffering through an hour long homework session with the Rikkai team. He was even starting to worry about his own missing assignments, his sempais, and even his own school. As he took out his phone, he discovered that there have been several missed calls, some from Momo and the others from Oishi and Eiji. As he scrolled down the list, he could also see a missed call from the coach.
He kind of felt bad for not calling and telling them where he was. But telling them now wouldn't help matters since his sempais are either too busy with their own things or just studying. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice in the matter. Tomorrow would be a good chance to tell everyone about the torment he had gone through.
As Ryoma returned back to his own house, he took off his shoes and donned slippers before slowly going upstairs into his room and unpacking his bags. He was going to make his father regret the day he ever kicked his son out for no reason. Right now, he was too tired to even think of anything else to say. Right now, his stomach was growling and he needed food in his system.
Once Ryoma settled himself at the table, Nanako noticed that he wasn't in a good mood.
"Oh, Echizen-kun, you're home! I didn't even see you come in earlier, darling. I hope that the Rikkai team has treated you well?"
"Yeah, I'm back safe and sound after being tormented in Rikkaidai. I just want something to digest tonight, Nanako-chan."
"What were you doing in over there anyway?"
"I was forced to complete paperwork for the team. You have no idea of the pain and suffering I've endured."
"Ouch! Sorry about that seishounen! But you pulled through afterwards. But hey, at least you had fun today." Smirked Nanjirou.
"Fun? You call that fun? Do you have any idea what you've put me through!?" shouted Ryoma
"Relax, Seishounen! You've learned a lot from visiting those guys. I am sure your school didn't mind you being gone for a little while."
"My teammates are going to kill you if they find out what you did to me," said Ryoma. "Even my own coach wants to know what happened as well."
"Oh I am sure they will. But still, you live and you learn."
"That is so not helping me."
"It's called humility. I'm sure you will get used to it."
Ryoma had nothing else to say as he started eating dinner. He was going to be running death laps tomorrow for missing out on school activities.
By the time dinner was over, Ryoma went towards the living room and watched a bit of television to help ease his mind. He also noticed Karupin staring at him with a blank expression as she hopped onto his chest and snuggled him for a little while.
About an hour later, Ryoma could hear the phone ringing as he got up and answered it.
"Hello, this is the Echizen residence, Ryoma speaking."
"Echizen! About time you picked up. Where were you?"
"Buchou! Listen it's not my fault. I can explain."
"Yeah, you will explain everything to coach ryuzaki tomorrow. Do you know how much schoolwork you've missed?"
"It's all because of my father, okay? He kicked me out of the house."
"Your father did what?"
"You heard me. I was forced to live with one of the freshman from Rikkaidai."
Tezuka couldn't believe what he was hearing from his freshman. The tennis prodigy was kicked out of his house and he ended up staying with that seaweed head? Oh boy! His father was going to get what's coming to him and his teammates are going to have a field day.
"I see." Tezuka managed to regain his composure. "I'm just happy you are back home. But I still have to punish you for missing school tomorrow."
"I know. I am going to be running a lot of laps and doing cleaning duties."
"Yeah, but you also owe your teammates an explanation as well when you return to school tomorrow."
"I know."
"Good, I am glad to hear that you are safe. Get some rest."
"I will. Thank you for calling."
"Of course. Good night, Echizen."
As the line went dead, Ryoma breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to the couch.
But no more than 5 minutes later, the phone rang again. This time it was Nanjiroh who answered it.
"Hello, Echizen residence."
"Am I speaking with the father of Ryoma Echizen?"
"Yeah, who is this?"
"Who is this? WHO IS THIS!? I am echizen's HOMEROOM TEACHER if you haven't noticed!"
Ryoma's father paused to pull the phone away from his ear to avoid hearing the screams on the other line. Once it was safe, he answered it again.
"Yes, it is so lovely to hear from you sir. What can I do for you?"
"Well for starters, how about letting your son resume his education? Do you know how much school work he has missed? He still has to take a math test and he hasn't even finished his Japanese literature essay yet. What the hell have you been doing to him over the last week?"
"I was pulling him away from school so he could spend some time with students from other schools. Think of it as a mini vacation."
"Oh really? And what kind of an irresponsible father does that to his own child? You better make sure your son gets to school tomorrow on time or there will be dire consequences, do I make myself clear?"
Nanjiro nodded and hung up the phone while Echizen walked over to him.
"I guess you can't send me to anyone else's homes for a little while now." Said Echizen. "Geez, do you realize what kind of trouble you put me through?"
Nanjirou just sighed and went to bed without saying anything else.
The Next day at Seigaku
Ryoma entered the clubroom and changed into his tennis gear as usual.. But not before several pairs of eyes met up with him.
"Ochibi! Where have you been? I was worried about you!" wailed Eiji as he glomped his favorite kohai
"Sempai, can't breathe!"
Eiji immediately released his hold.
"I was at a friend's house last night, courtesy of my father."
"And on a school week no less!?" asked Momo angrily as he grabbed Ryoma and gave him one of his signature noogie.
"It wasn't my fault!" said Ryoma as he shook himself free from Momo's grasp. "I tried to come, but my father wouldn't let me."
"That is so irresponsible of your old man. Doesn't he know that your education comes first?"
"My data shows that the percentage of you getting punished is about 95 percent at best." Stated Inui
"Echizen, for being absent from school without permission: 50 laps around the court!" ordered Tezuka. "Afterwards, I want you to clean up all the tennis equipment on the courts today."
"Hai buchou!"
Ryoma went ahead and started running his laps. Afterwards, he went inside the tennis courts, gathered all the tennis balls and stacked them neatly inside the bins. He also picked up all the tennis racquets and placed them in the clubroom before closing the door behind him.
"Echizen."
Ryoma looked up and saw Ryuzaki-sensei approaching him.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Your teacher told me to personally give you your missed assignments. Feel free to stop by my office and finish them after your match."
"Thanks sensei."
"No problem. I would also like to dish out some payback on your father for neglecting your education. Also from now on, don't ever skip school unless you have an emergency."
"Of course, it won't happen again."
By the time Ryoma resumed practice in the tennis courts, he was wondering what the whole point of staying at each of his sempais' houses was. Like what did he gain from doing this? Was this all some test organized by his father? He started thinking that over for a bit.
Just then a voice could be heard from outside the school gates.
"Niou-sempai, what exactly are we doing here anyway?" asked Akaya
"I am asking that freshman brat for an impromptu tennis match, puri." Stated Niou
"An impromptu match? Didn't you already beat Jackal earlier?" asked Yagyuu.
"Yeah but I want a match with that brat right now!" whined Niou as he banged on the seigaku school gate as hard as he could, causing everyone to rush over and see what was going on.
"Saa, if it isn't Rikkaidai." Smirked Fuji.
"What are you guys doing here? We haven't scheduled a match with you guys yet." Said Oishi.
"Well, Yukimura asked us to stop by here. In fact, he personally asked me to play your freshman, puri."
"Maa, looks like I am going to have to up the ante here a little bit." Smirked Fuji evilly as a cloud of aura appeared on his head.
Many of the tennis players back away just in case.
"Nya! Fujiko is plotting something against my ochibi!" wailed Eiji as he shook his doubles partner so hard he nearly fainted. When Oishi recovered, he cleared his throat.
"Let the impromptu match commence!"
"Saa, and I got some Aozu here for the loser as well." Smirked Fuji as he placed a large pitcher filled with that vile drink on the bleachers. Once the players saw the drink, they all ran for their lives.
"Maa, what's wrong with you guys? Do you not like Aozu?"
"GET THAT STUFF AWAY FROM US!" shouted the tennis players.
Suddenly, Niou Masaharu has an idea. He walked up towards Ryoma and pulled him away from the crowd and moved him directly toward the vile concoction. He then poured half a cup of it and served it to the tennis prodigy.
"Is this some kind of trick, sempai?"
"I can assure you this is not a trick, Puri."
"How can I trust you?"
"If you defeat me in a tennis match, I will let you stay at my place for free."
"And if I lose?"
"If you lose, I am going to stay at your house."
Ryoma thought about that for a moment and said, "Sure." He then downed the drink before swarming off to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Ryoma returned and directed Niou to the tennis courts.
"Rough or smooth?"
"Smooth as always, puri."
The tennis racket flipped right side up. "Looks like you serve first, sempai."
The game was going smoothly for Niou since Ryoma had some trouble keeping up with him since the score was working in Niou's favor.
"Ochibi! You can't let that trickster win!" shouted Eiji
"Yeah, take that bastard down!" shouted Momo
"Can't you see I am trying my best here?" sighed Ryoma as he sent the ball back towards Niou with a dunk smash, but Niou didn't seem to be fazed by it.
"Is that all you have to offer? I got something much better!" said Niou as he activated his illusion technique and launched two balls directly at Echizen.
"If you can send two balls back at me, I can do it as well!"
Ryoma managed to send the balls back to his opponent repeatedly without any problems. How is this kid able to keep up with Niou's movements?
"You're good, brat but can you send three balls back to me in one shot?"
Ryoma wasn't sure what Niou was suggesting with that.
"If you are trying to trick me, it's not going to work." He then grabbed three balls from the ground and sent it back to his opponent, but Niou was nowhere to be seen.
"Okay, what are you doing now? We are in a middle of a match here."
"Look behind you." Smiled Niou
Ryoma immediately turned around and was shocked to see the trickster sneaking up behind him as he quickly move towards the net for safety.
"What is it with you tricksters sneaking up on people without permission? I'm not colorblind you know!"
"Pfft! And you thought I was in front of you? Puri!"
"You will regret that, sempai!" Ryoma then took this opportunity to hit a ball back to his opponent, but he dodged it with ease. It seems that nothing can outsmart Niou Masaharu, no matter what gets sent his way.
"Game and match, 4 games to 3, change court!" called the referee.
As the game went on, Ryoma was starting to lose badly thanks to Niou's illustrious illusions and he soon collapsed on the floor exhausted.
"What's the matter, brat? Tired already?"
"Your little tricks cost me the match. But still though, a win is a win I guess."
"Don't underestimate the power of my illusion techniques. You are already in a tricky situation."
"I guess I will have to work harder to beat your illusions next time."
"You'd better! Puri!"
Once niou left, Ryoma packed up his things and headed home to think about how to get himself out of that mess he was in. But no sooner than that, he noticed a blur of white hair sitting on the couch and decided to see what was happening. He also could see the guy's tennis bag was set in the living room floor and rushed over to the family room to find Niou Masaharu laughing and talking with Nanjiro.
"Seishounen, welcome back!"
"Oyaji, what is the meaning of this? And why is niou-sempai over at our house?"
"I invited him over since you lost your match to him. Besides, I've asked him to sleep in your room."
"Why? Then where I am I going to sleep?"
"First of all, his house is undergoing repairs. Second, you will be sleeping on the couch."
Ryoma then looked over at Niou before turning his attention towards his father. "Che! Fine, but I don't want to be bothered by his snoring though."
Niou smiled and said, "Thank you for letting me stay at your place brat. I promise you won't regret this!"
"I am already regretting it." Sighed Ryoma. "Did you guys eat already?"
"We did. Nanako has left your food on the table."
Ryoma walked towards the dining room and started eating before taking care of the dishes in the sink. Afterwards, he went upstairs to take care of his assignments. Once that was done, he returned downstairs to feed Karupin with Niou watching over his shoulder.
"What?"
"You seem to be really calm when I was here."
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Usually you are loud and cocky, but today you seemed to be… different."
"Normally I'm like that on the field. But when I am at home, I feel more laid back and relaxed after a stressful day of school, not to mention the annoyance of Eiji's death hugs."
"I see. When it comes to my little kohai Akaya, you have no idea on how annoying that little bugger gets when he is at school. Why I have half the mind to kick his ass next time if he annoys me in class."
Ryoma giggled upon hearing that and said, "I know what you mean! I would love to spike Kikumaru-sempai's water bottle with Inui juice next time if he gives me more death hugs."
"Puri! I should have one ready for Akaya just in case."
Soon, laughter could be heard upstairs with Nanjirou listening closely. "Those boys are getting along so well." He thought to himself.
Once the laughter dies down, both boys went to the bathroom to brush their teeth before sleeping.
The next day, Ryoma noticed that Niou had already gotten up from bed and was downstairs eating breakfast before he sprinted out the door to meet his friends. However, he could see a note left behind on the nightstand and read it.
"Brat, thanks for inviting me to your place. Sorry about the mess. I hope you don't mind cleaning up after me because I hate being nagged by people. We will meet again for our next match, Puri!"
Ryoma sighed. Why does he have to clean up after his sempais? That's really not fair! As he looked at the clock, he dashed downstairs and ate breakfast before heading to school as usual.
"I will have to get him back sooner or late for tricking me like that." Thought Ryoma to himself.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I know this one took a while to do because of all the yard work I did previously. Niou may be a trickster, but he does have a sense of humor here. With that said, I wonder whose house Ryoma will travel to next? See you next time!