(A/N:  Hello again.  Thanks to the reviewers for your wonderful input!  It helped out a lot!  I'm glad to know that you are still enjoying this cracked out story! This is such a weird fanfic.  I'm sure you are all wondering how the other teams will fit in.  I discussed it with my brother and he thought I was on crack. (^_^;)  Enough with my rants so here is another chapter! Btw Jen-chan, the white creature with the jewel is Mokona.  Inuki doesn't have a jewel.  He's just a huge white bunny)

Disclaimer:  I own PoT and the characters are my slaves.  I wish those were true. "Sigh."  No I don't own PoT.   

Italics mean person's thoughts.

Chapter 3:  Let's Save the Princess!

Back in the world of Tenipuri, the Seigaku regulars with the guidance of Inuki, reached Konomi town before the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains. Luckily for them, no more attacks occurred on the rest of their journey towards town.

Konomi town appeared to be a quiet peaceful town.  People were going about their merry way and small children played on the dirt road with chickens scattered around.  There were about 30-40 houses and/or shops that made up this small town.  The buildings were mostly two stories tall and made of wood with straw covered roofs.  In a way, it looked as if they flashed back into the medieval era.  

"Ramen! Get your ramen here!" 

So maybe it wasn't exactly the medieval era.  Local stores were selling a mix of foods that varied from roast pigs to Chinese food.  A few of women looked at the Seigaku regulars with strange faces, noticing how their tennis uniforms were quite different from what they usually saw.  Some of the men walking around were carrying tennis rackets strapped to their backs.  Eiji concluded then that in this universe, the weapon of choice was the tennis racket. 

"First, we should go find the blacksmith's house."  Inuki flipped through his data book looking for the directions.  "His shop is probably closed now so we'll pick up our new weapons in the morning.  Hopefully he'll let us crash at his place for the night."

"I hope he has food.  I'm famished!" Momoshiro replied in an exhausted tone.

Besides him, all the regulars were tired and hungry.  Since they were first transported into this world, everything has been a weird experience.  The little fairy, the 2 ft. tall Inuki, tennis rackets as weapons, encounters with familiar faces, and magical powers.  All of these seemed to be out of place in this world. 

Inuki hopped down the road with the Seigaku regulars following.  Eiji was helping Oishi walk since his leg was injured from his encounter with the Jimmies.  At the last house down the road, Inuki knocked on the door. 

"Coming!"  A man who appeared in his thirties opened the door.  He had short back hair and was wearing a pair of dark round sunglasses.   Both Oishi and Tezuka nearly choked at whom they saw. 

"Yamato-buchou?!" Both exclaimed in unison. 

The man scratched his head in confusion.  "Yamato-buchou?  Usually people call me Yamato the blacksmith."  He looked at the Seigaku regulars. "I guess my name must have gone around or something.  I don't think I've seen you guys before." 

"Over here!"

Yamato looked down to where the voice was coming for.  Standing near his feet he recognized a familiar face.  "Well hello Inuki!  Long time no see!"   Yamato crouched down and Inuki jumped into his arms, giving him a big welcome hug.  The regulars looked on at the strange site of a full-grown man hugging a large furry creature. 

"I think it's been a year since I last saw you!"  Yamato exclaimed.  "So what have you been up to?"

"Oh you know…the usual stuff.  Running errands for Ryuzaki fairy, going to the annual carrot-eating contest, saving the world.   Nothing really special."  Inuki replied as he fixed his glasses casually.

Yamato laughed.  "Is that so?  By the way, where is Ryuzaki fairy?"

"It's a long story.  Do you mind if we can stay at your house for the night?"

He nodded and smiled at the Seigaku regulars.  "Not a problem.  Anybody that happens to be Inuki's friend is also mine."  He motioned for the Seigaku regulars to come in.  The house was very tidy and brightly lit.  There was a small kitchen connected to the dining area on one side of the house and a wide living room area on the other side.  There was a small staircase leading to the second floor of the house.  All of the regulars except for Tezuka collapsed on the ground. 

"You guys look exhausted.  My wife recently made dinner, so feel free to help yourselves."  Right when Yamato said the word 'dinner', both Momoshiro and Ryoma ran to the dining area and started filling their plates full of food. 

"Momo-sempai! Stop hogging all the noodles!" Ryoma yelled as he pushed Momoshiro away from the food. 

"Now you two.  Let's not fight over this." Kawamura replied in his attempts to calm down the underclassmen.  "All of us are hungry so make sure you leave some for everyone else."  His words didn't seem to do much since Ryoma and Momo continued to fight over the food. 

"Settle down or you two are going to run 20 laps around the town."  Tezuka said sternly.  Both of them became silent.  They were so tired that running laps was the last thing they wanted to do. 

"Don't worry, there is plenty to go around."  Yamato said in reassurance.  All of the other regulars went to get some food.  After eating their share, most of the regulars sat in the living room trying to relax as best they could.  After clearing off the dining table, Inuki was telling Yamato the entire story about what was going on.  Tezuka and Fuji also sat at the table listening in. 

"So that's what happened to Ryuzaki fairy."  Yamato said with a frown on his forehead.  "So she's asking me to provide these people she summoned from another world with tennis rackets.  I assume the situation is bad if she wasn't able to give them some quality ones." 

"Will you be able to help us out?  Some of the rackets she gave us were destroyed in an attack."  Inuki was standing on the chair talking while the other three were sitting down. 

Yamato leaned back in his chair.  "Since it's for the sake of the world and Ryuzaki fairy is asking for help, I should be able to.  I made some new rackets recently that I left in my shop.  Do all you guys know how to use them?"  Yamato looked at Tezuka and Fuji. 

"Only two of us so far were able to use the magic Ryuzaki fairy provided us.  However, we're fast learners so it should be no problem."  Tezuka responded. 

"Ryuzaki fairy mentioned how the magic comes in time of need.  So as long as we're in some sort of danger, we should be able to use it."   Fuji smiled.  "I'm curious to see what everyone can do."

"Okay then.  I'll trust you guys with my rackets.  It's getting late, so I'll bring down some blankets.   You all can sleep in the living room.  Tomorrow morning I'll take you to my shop on the other side of town." 

Yamato stood up and went upstairs.  He came down a few moments later and passed out blankets to all the Seigaku regulars.  Since most of them were exhausted from the unusual day, they fell asleep quickly. 

Oishi had a hard time falling asleep.  It could have been due to Momoshiro and Ryoma snoring loudly, but just the fact that they were stuck in another world with no clue as to how long it was going to take to get back home was bothering him.  He turned his head to the other side and noticed that Eiji, who was sleeping next to him, was missing.  Oishi stood up from where he was sleeping and also noticed that Tezuka was gone.  Worried for their safety, he got up and went to go look for them.  The night air was cold, so he wrapped the flannel blanket he was sleeping with around him and left the house. 

Right when he walked out the front door, he noticed Eiji was sitting down next to the door with his knees to his chest and his arms around his legs.  His head was down and he looked like a lost child curled up.

"Eiji! What are you doing out here?" Oishi asked quietly since he didn't want to wake everyone else up. 

Eiji looked up from where he was.  "Oishi.  I didn't feel like sleeping, so I thought I go outside and look at the moon."  Oishi could see that Eiji was shivering a bit He sat down next to him and wrapped part of his blanket around Eiji.  "Thanks Oishi.  Is your leg alright?"  Eiji looked at Oishi's leg that was newly bandaged. 

Oishi nodded.  "Yamato's wife gave me some herbs to ease the pain as well as reduce the swelling.  Don't worry, by tomorrow morning I should be able to walk just fine."

"That's good."  Eiji looked at the moon again.  The moonlight hit his cat-like eyes, revealing a glint of sadness. "Nee Oishi.  When I look at the moon, I wonder how my family and friends are doing.  Are they worried? Will we ever see them again?"  Eiji tilted his head down again.  "I miss them.  I want to go home and sleep with my teddy bear again." 

 Oishi looked at Eiji with concern.  He was sure all of the team members felt the same way.  Everyone wanted to go home.  He wrapped his arm around Eiji pulling him closer as the two huddled together.  "Don't worry Eiji.  I'm sure we'll get home soon.   Just remember that we're all in this together and you're not alone.  I know you don't have your teddy bear here, but if it will make you feel better I can be your substitute till we get back."  Oishi smiled at Eiji. 

Eiji's eyes widened with happiness.  He leaned his head on Oishi's shoulder.  "Sure thing! I won't mind."  Eiji felt glad knowing that Oishi was there to ease his worries. 

Both of them were starting to fall asleep when they heard the front door open.  Yamato came out and looked at the Golden Pair.  "What are you two doing out here?  You'll catch a cold in this weather." 

Oishi and Eiji got up and were heading back in the house till Oishi realized the reason why he came out.  "Oh yeah, I was suppose to go look for Tezuka." 

"Don't worry about him.  He should be back soon." 

"Yamato-san, do you know where he went?"

"He asked me earlier about some tips on using magic.  The next thing I knew, he took one of those rackets Ryuzaki fairy gave you guys and went out the door.  Anyways, you should go get some sleep.  I'll stay up till Tezuka comes back."

"I wonder what Tezuka would be doing." Oishi took a glimpse at the distance before heading inside. "Thank you Yamato-san."  Oishi and Eiji then went back in while Yamato waited by the door for Tezuka's return. 

PRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNISPRINCEOFTENNIS

The next morning…

A loud scream was heard. 

"What the hell was that?"  Ryoma exclaimed as he rubbed his eyes in his half-awake state. 

All of the regulars woke up and wondered who or what screamed.  It was then that they noticed that Kaidoh was sitting at the corner of the house shaking with a pale look on his face. 

"Hey Kaidoh.  What's wrong?"  Oishi tried to calm him down.  Kaidoh still had on his shocked face as he slowly pointed his trembling finger at something.  Oishi was confused and looked at the direction Kaidoh was pointing.  "I don't see what's wron…what in the world is that?" 

At the direction Kaidoh was pointing in, there was a humongous white furry ball. [1] 

Ryoma was kneeling next to the ball poking it.  Fuji joined in and rubbed his hands on it.  "I wonder where this came from."  Fuji replied curiously.  Eiji liked the feel of the furry ball and started rubbing his cheeks on it. 

Momoshiro was laughing his head off.  "Hahahahaha!  Mamushi got scared of a white fur ball?!" Kaidoh started to blush for freaking out over a silly thing.  "Shut up you hedgehog!"

"But still, what exactly is this?"  Kawamura picked up the white furry ball and looked at it from all sides. 

"What's with all the noise?"  Tezuka said with a frown as he cleaned his glasses and put them on.  He looked at the huge furry ball Kawamura was holding and became speechless. 

Yamato came down the stairs yawning.  "Wow you guys are up early.  What's with the commotion?" 

"Yamato-san.  Where did this thing come from?"  Oishi asked as he pointed to the white furry ball.  Yamato looked at it and laughed.  "So this is what caused the commotion in the morning?  I guess I should have told you that this is how Inuki sleeps."

"This is Inuki?!" All the Seigaku regulars exclaimed at the same time.  They all stared at the huge fur ball, wondering how that was possible. 

"But…it's a furry ball…with no ends."  Ryoma replied slowly as he rolled the ball all around. 

"So how does he return to normal?"  Eiji started pulling and stretching the ball with no success. 

"Inuki is a heavy sleeper so you have to use drastic measures to wake him up."  Yamato held the furry ball in both hands.  He kneeled down and started smacking the ball into the ground several times.  The regulars looked on at the awkward site, wondering if this could be even considered a form of animal abuse.  They assumed Inuki was going to wake up with a very huge headache from all the banging. 

After Yamato slammed the Inuki ball into the ground about a dozen times, Inuki started to roll out like a jelly blob into his normal form.  "Is it morning already?  Let me sleep some more."  Inuki's ears were crumpled as he continued to sleep belly up.  

Ryoma waved his arms into the air.  "That's it! I've seen enough weird stuff already!  I wish the real Inui was here so that he could make some toxic juice and end this!" 

"I think everything that's been going on since we've came here has been weird."  Momoshiro replied sadly, shaking his head. 

This was going to be another long day. 

After eating a quick breakfast and straightening the house up, Yamato lead the Seigaku regulars over to his shop to provide them with rackets to help them on their journey.  Inside his shop, there were a variety of rackets hanging on the walls.  They were made of various types of material that ranged from wood to steel.  Yamato brought out a large box and opened it, revealing 8 nicely crafted rackets of different colors. 

"I recently finished these rackets using a new material called 'titanium'.  These not only enhance magic power, but can also be used as a shield against incoming attacks, can be used as a bat in close encounters, and also works well as a frying pan.  I call this the multi-use racket!"

"How should we pay you for these?" Tezuka asked. 

Yamato shook his head.  "No need for that.  I'm glad to help out Ryuzaki fairy.  If you didn't know, I was her apprentice a few years back.  I guess you could say I'm lending you these rackets, so when you are done with your mission you can return them back."

"Thank you very much."  Tezuka bowed in gratitude. 

Everyone acquired a racket.  Ryoma picked up a red one and was testing it in his hands.  "Hm…not bad.  Feels like my old one." 

"Now that we got our new rackets to protect us, we should start finding those items Ryuzaki fairy asked us to get."  Oishi took out the list she gave them and everyone looked at the items. 

"So what should we look for first?"  Kawamura questioned. 

"I think we should look for the 'crystal tennis ball'."

"Why should we get that first Fuji-sempai?  It's not even the first item listed."  Ryoma asked pointing at the list.

"Because of this."  Fuji pointed at a flyer outside of the shop that was posted recently.  Eiji ripped it off the wall and read it.  "Princess kidnapped.  Those that bring her back safely shall be rewarded with the legendary 'crystal tennis ball'.  For more details, come to the Hyotei Kingdom." 

By now, the Seigaku regulars were starting to get used to the weird fact that everything they encountered in Tenipuri was somehow connected to tennis. 

"Hss...this doesn't sound so hard."  Kaidoh replied. 

"This is cool!  So we get to rescue a princess anyways!  I hope she's hot!"  Momoshiro exclaimed in excitement. 

"We better be careful though." Oishi said in caution.  "We don't know exactly how dangerous these people are that captured the princess.  I think we better go to this Kingdom to find out more." 

"Well either way, we have to do this."  Tezuka replied.  "We better hurry as well because Banji is also looking for the items."

"So how far is it to this Hyotei Kingdom?"

"It's quite close Eiji.  See?"  Fuji pointed up from where they were standing and noticed he was pointing at a sign that said "Welcome to Hyotei Kingdom"

"Eh?  Where did this come from?  Eiji exclaimed as he looked up at the huge castle.  It was a magnificent castle that stood right next to Konomi town.  All of the regulars walked through the front gates. 

"Halt! Who goes there?"  One of the Hyotei soldiers stopped the Seigaku regulars using a long steel tennis racket he had in his hand.  "You don't look like you have any business here so go away."

"We're here to find out details about rescuing the kidnapped princess."  Inuki told the soldier.  The solider backed his weapon and lead the Seigaku regulars and Inuki into the huge throne room.  There were two thrones in the room with many soldiers and civilians all around.  One of them contained an older man sobbing with many people trying to calm him and the other had a conceited younger man with an arrogant look. 

"King Sakaki, there are some warriors here that say they want to save the princess."  One of the messengers spoke.  The king stopped sobbing and looked at the Seigaku regulars.  "Is that so?  I'm so glad more people are going to help.  So far everyone that has tried to save the princess has never returned."

"Never returned!?"  Most the regulars exclaimed.  Seems like this mission wasn't going to be that easy. 

"Mada mada dane."  Ryoma replied casually.  The young man in the other seat heard Ryoma's response.

"Hm…think you can take the challenge?"

Ryoma looked at the guy that spoke.  "Who are you?"

"I'm Atobe, Prince of Hyotei Kingdom.  I'm also the best fighter of the Hyotei army consisting of more than 200 soldiers."

"Really?  Then why don't you go save the princess if you think you're so good?" 

Atobe smirked.  "I could if I wanted to, but it's interesting to know if there are people out there that are worthy of a challenge."  Atobe snapped his fingers.  "Bring Hiyoshi out."

Murmurs started to circulate around the room.  "Hiyoshi is the second best fighter." and "Oh the poor chibi is going to get killed."  People standing around started to feel pity for the boy that was challenged. 

"Oi Echizen!  Just what did you do?"  Momoshiro exclaimed as he tugged on Ryoma's arm.   Ryoma shrugged his arm off. 

 From the other side of the room, a lone figure walked out.  He had short brown hair and was wearing a gray and white cloak that hid the racket he was carrying underneath.  "You called Ore-sama?"

"I want you to have fun with this boy over there."  Atobe pointed to Ryoma, who looked at Hiyoshi with a smirk on his face. 

"Hey Tezuka, shouldn't we stop this?"  Oishi asked in concern. 

"Echizen got himself in his own mess.  He can get out of it."  Tezuka replied without moving his site from Ryoma. 

"Hm…I think we'll finally be able to see something interesting."  Fuji's blue eyes were open as he stared at the conflict between Ryoma and Hiyoshi. 

Hiyoshi snorted.  "I have to fight a weakling like him.  Such a waste of time."

"I think it's more like you are my waste of time."  Ryoma held the racket in his right hand and started bouncing a tennis ball with his left hand. 

"What?  You're such a cocky bastard. I'll show you who's weak!"  Hiyoshi brought out his racket.  He started to glow a bright green. 

Ryoma smirked again and started to glow a bright red.  He tossed the ball up. 

"TWIST SERVE!"

Ryoma smacked the ball and it hit the ground near Hiyoshi's feet.  He prepared to shield himself from the ball, but didn't realize the ball was directed towards his face.  In the next second, the ball slammed into Hiyoshi's face and he was knocked to the ground unconscious. 

"Yay!  O-chibi won!"  Eiji jumped up and down happily. 

"That was too easy.  Mada mada dane."  Ryoma replied fixing his cap. 

"Dude…that was pathetic."  Atobe sighed as he shook his head.  He snapped his fingers and about 30 Hyotei soldiers came out surrounding the Seigaku regulars.  "I can't really say that was much of a challenge.  Hope you can entertain me with this one." 

All of the soldiers started to attack at once.  30 glowing tennis balls came straight at the Seigaku regulars.

"How are we going to defend against all of them?!"  Kawamura exclaimed and started to panic. 

Ryoma was about to attack back when he noticed that Tezuka was glowing an intense bright blue.  Tezuka brought out his racket and started swinging it around. 

"TEZUKA ZONE!" [2]

The swinging caused a massive whirlwind.  The wind circled a great diameter around the regulars, causing all the tennis balls to stop in their tracks and revert back to their owners.  As the wind died down, 30 Hyotei soldiers were on the ground with tennis ball dents in their heads. 

Atobe was quite pleased at the site.  "Seems like I found a worthy opponent." He started clapping.  "Bravo!  You proved to me that you have the ability to rescue the princess and come back alive." 

"Show off."  Ryoma muttered under his breath. 

Oishi was shocked at what Tezuka did.  "How as he able to handle the magic so well? Was this what Tezuka was practicing last night?"

"Hm…that was interesting. Tezuka's magic attack didn't require the use of any tennis balls."  Fuji was scratching his chin, wondering what other sorts of magic abilities might be possible. 

"Now that we got all that settled, please tell us some details on who kidnapped the princess."  Tezuka looked at Atobe with a stern look in his eyes. 

Atobe smiled.  "Of course.  There was supposed to be a wedding between myself and Princess Ann. Yesterday, the St. Rudolphians kidnapped the princess on her journey to the Hyotei Kingdom.  As you probably noticed, King Sakaki has been very distraught over the kidnapping and is desperate enough to give the legendary 'crystal tennis ball' as a reward for rescuing the princess.  If you guys are up for the challenge of rescuing the princess, I'll give you directions as to where the St. Rudolphians are hiding."

"We're up for the challenge." 

 TBC.

1)  Back in the late 80's, I had some plush animal called Popples that could be rolled up into a  furry ball.  For some reason, I had an urge to see Inuki rolled up into a ball.  Yes my mind is weird.

2)  I read this crazy crossover story called Wankage and Tezuka was in it and he did Tezuka Zone to deflect a crystal attack by Eriol in CCS.  I laughed so hard and thought, "Hey, it would be good if there were attacks that did not use tennis balls.  I will tell you later that there will be more like that. ^_^;

(A/N:  First off, if there are Hiyoshi fans out there I am so sorry I bashed him! Gomenasai! Shoot me.  I swear my mind has gone cracked up.  Yes the items are somehow tennis related.  This is Tenipuri!  What did you expect?  Something normal? LOL! Any suggestions or comments?  I like to add in what reviewers like to see.  If you want to see more of a character, just tell me and I'll do my best to add it in.  Thank you so much for those that read this.  It's a very different idea.  I hope it's still funny.  Any suggestions for Sakuno's role?  LOL  Anyways, please review or send me emails on how the story is going.)