Unexpected

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ego trip: Hi everyone! Taking a break from the books to write this now, head is about to explode from all the facts I've been trying to cram into it. Sorry if my unstable state affects the story, I cannot be held responsible for the after effects of too much studying. Sigh, just had a horrendous Economics paper this morning and there's a long literature paper coming right up tomorrow, but I'm sure none of you care about my pathetic life… Anyway about the Monopoly thing, it did seem as if I was grasping at straws didn't it? Actually, it was based on my own experience, when I spent some time in the hospital last year; I played Monopoly with my friends and relatives who came to visit me. Well on with the story…

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis characters are not mine…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At Ryuzaki residence

"Hooray! Welcome home Kazura/Kazzie!" shouted the crowd of people who had managed to wedge themselves into impossibly small corners in the living room of Ryuzaki residence. This included the Seigaku regulars, Sakuno, Misaki and Ryuzaki-sensei. They had planned a surprise welcome home party to celebrate Kazura's discharge from the hospital.

At the sight presented before her, Kazura could only stare and blink repeatedly, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. She had been suspicious when Tony said he would be the one to send her home today since the others were busy. A sense of foreboding had settle into her spine when they reached the Ryuzaki residence driveway.

Before stepping out, she had turned to Tony and said, "Please tell me no one is going to jump out at me and yell "Surprise!" Tony…" Seeing her baleful look, Tony knew Kazzie was shrewd enough to realise something was up. However, with a straight face, he said, "No one's going to yell "Surprise!" at you."

"Why am I not convinced?" Kazura muttered to herself, completely convinced that Tony was lying through his teeth. Yet, she was just glad to be back, to be out of the hospital.

When she was finally able to react, she immediately turned to Tony who was standing behind her trying his best to look innocent. "Before you accuse me of anything, may I point out to you the lack of "Surprise!" So technically, I didn't lie," Tony said, in a feeble attempt to defend himself. Kazura responded by making a face and sticking out her tongue at him.

"Come Kazura, we have all sorts of nice food for you, after all that hospital food, you must try this cake, this pie and this…" said Eiji excitedly as he pulled her into the room. With a resigned sigh, Kazura allowed herself to be pulled into the party mood.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Days went on as usual…

After Kazura returned to Seigaku, things settled down and everyone began to focus all their energy on the rapidly approaching Regionals. Training became even more gruelling, especially for the regulars. Inui had even concocted a new Super Deluxe Vegetable Juice Version 2.0, especially for those who lost during practice matches. This led to a sudden surge in ability, the regulars holding nothing back in an attempt to escape the drink. The atmosphere would often become murderous as the regulars fought out of their self-preservation instincts.

"Here you go Momo-chan, enjoy…" said Kazura, trying with all her might not to laugh at his horrified expression. But it became impossible to curb the urge when his face turned a myriad of colours including green and purple, after just one sip. Knowing it was quite evil to laugh at the misfortune of others, Kazura could only turn her back on poor Momoshiro who was at the moment trying very hard to keep his lunch and breakfast from making a reappearance. Hearing his gagging and moaning caused Kazura to breakdown with laughter. Both she and Momoshiro were bent over, for completely different reasons. Momoshiro was bent over clutching his stomach with an expression of extreme torture while Kazura was bent over in laughter, still valiantly trying not to laugh out loud, resulting in her whole body shaking uncontrollably. To the crowd that had gathered, the two seemed to be having fits.

"Hmm, what interesting results my new Super Deluxe Vegetable Juice Version 2.0 has produced…" mused Inui at the sight before him. Having been summoned to the office by some teacher, he'd left Kazura in charge of serving out the Juice to the losers.

"Um Inui, I think your Juice has just claimed its first casualty," said Oishi from behind, rather worried about the way Momo had stopped rolling around and was now lying facedown, completely still.

"He's just playing dead, no cause for worry," deadpanned Ryoma as he approached, taking care to step on Momo who was still lying on the ground.

This brought an immediate revival to Momo who jumped up and yelled," You little brat, why in the world did you step on me, now my jacket has footprints all over."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't notice you lying there, if you don't want to get stepped on, don't lie in the way," Ryoma said, as he continued walking away while Oishi and Inui had to restrain him from trying to murder Ryoma.

[In the background] "I'm going to KILL him, let go! Ryoma Echizen, I'm going to KILL you!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I take it your match is over, so will it be you or Eiji-senpai who'll be trying out Inui's new Juice?" teased Kazura.

Her question was answered by a loud wail, enough to wake the dead," Nooooo… I don't want! I'd rather die! Nooooo…"

Everyone turned towards the source and saw Eiji clinging onto Fuji, desperately trying to escape the much-feared punishment.

Before anyone could react, "Kazzie! Why are you still here? It's time to go, we're here to pick you up, come on."

Recognising the voice, Kazura turned and saw Leila coming towards her. Racking her brains for what she could possibly have on right now, it suddenly dawned upon her that she had an appointment at the hospital for a check up, an appointment she has only 5 minutes to make.

"Oh shoot, I'm freaking late! Oh fish!" she exclaimed. Turning to the regulars, who had gathered around, she said," Sorry but I've got to go I've got an appointment at the hospital that completely slipped my mind. Sorry." After which she immediately ran off towards her waiting friend who was waving to them, recognising them from the time they met at the hospital.

The rest of the members having never met Leila were all astounded by her beauty. Everyone crowded around the regulars asking about her, until… "The regionals are almost here and all of you are still mucking about! 30 laps now!" came the order from Tezuka who had just returned from Ryuzaki-sensei's office.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the doctor's office

"Well, everything seems fine, so I hereby declare you perfectly healthy. Congratulations Kazura," said her doctor after the check up yielded no problems.

"Woohoo, does that mean I don't have to come back again?" asked Kazura, showing a vague dislike for hospitals.

"Let's hope not," concluded the doctor, closing her file and storing it away in the cabinets.

Leaving the office, Kazura flashed thumbs up to Leila and Tony who were both waiting outside. Both sighed in relief simultaneously, followed by the patented Servaro smiles that was renowned for its charm and dazzle. The nurses passing by could be heard swooning over Tony's rare display just as they enviously discussed Leila's.

Stifling a giggle at the reactions her two friends elicited from others, Kazura knew full well that her two friends were attention grabbers, intentionally or otherwise. Both were blessed with the superior genes of their mixed ancestry of Spanish, French, American, Asian and Italian. There wasn't an ugly person in the entire family, something that had led to much envy from others and was often a private joke amongst them.

"Great let's go celebrate!" said Leila excitedly, always trying to find an excuse to have fun.

"Well you girls go ahead, I've got to get back to the work, the new designs are due soon. But I'll drop you off wherever you want to go," said Tony, the workaholic. Being a fashion designer for the Servaro fashion house, he needed to work throughout the year to produce the newest and coolest trends. Coming to Japan had given him new inspiration for the upcoming summer season and he couldn't wait to start sketching. It didn't help that he'd severely neglected work in the past days when Kazura had been in the hospital, which meant extra hours had to be put in now.

"I want to go shopping! Japan's got such great fashion accessories, can't wait to spend some money!" said Leila eagerly as they left the hospital. Leila loved to shop, which was probably still an understatement. Leila lived to shop, or rather she shopped to live. Since the fashions in Europe and US were quite different from those in Japan, she was already dying to break out her collection of credit cards.

"Oh please, spare me! You know I hate shopping with you, it takes too much energy," begged Kazura who was the exact opposite of Leila. Kazura hated shopping, preferring to wear whatever Tony sent her from the Servaro label. It helped that Tony designed clothes with her and Leila in mind, so it was almost as if they had their own personal fashion label.

Leila was left pouting as Tony and Kazura both erupted in laughter at her disappointed face. The sounds of laughter filled the air as they drove away from the hospital without a backward glance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day of the regionals

[Whisperings in the background]

"Look, that's Seigaku. Damn it, they look super strong…"

"Heard they've got a first year though…"

"Really? Ha, they must be losing their touch, so desperate that they've accepted first years?"

"Maybe we'll finally get a chance to beat them this year…"

"Hey Ryoma, hear that, we're getting desperate that's why you're in the team, so stop acting so cocky all the time," teased Momoshiro as the team waited for Tezuka and Kazura to register them at the tournament board.

Ignoring him, Ryoma continued sipping on his Fanta until Inui sneaked up on him and snatched it away, leaving Ryoma with a bottle of fresh milk. Of course Ryoma wasn't one to take this lightly, a scuffle ensued between Ryoma and Inui, or rather Ryoma was seen jumping up and down, trying to grab his Fanta that Inui was holding high above his head.

The sight that greeted Tezuka and Kazura when they returned was one made for the Funniest Home Videos show. With Inui standing in the middle of the pavement calmly holding a can of Fanta high above his head while Ryoma jumped up and down trying to reach it, and the other members in various degrees of hilarity. Fuji and Eiji were sniggering to each other while Momo was mocking Ryoma for being too short, Oishi and Takashi were trying valiantly to muffle their laughter and even Kaidoh was seen looking slightly amused beneath his usual scowl.

"And these are the people we have to depend upon to win the Nationals… Doesn't inspire much confidence does it?" Kazura asked in sceptical amusement, knowing exactly what Tezuka's reaction would be.

And true to her prediction, "Everyone 20 laps now!" ordered Tezuka in a mixture of embarrassment and irritation. Looking at his team, he couldn't help thinking that this was the best team yet and they definitely have what it takes to win the Nationals, with more focus and discipline…

"It's all your fault you baka, it's always because of you that we end up running laps."

"Inui-senpai started it!"

"If you keep drinking Fanta, you'll stay short forever. From now on you can either drink milk or my New Super Deluxe Vegetable Juice Version 3.0 "

[A collective shudder ran threw the team at the thought of a new and 'improved' version of the feared juice]

"Sounds yummy, can't wait to try it out."

[Ugh… Ew…]

"Hiss… Shut up and run…"

With a sigh, Tezuka realised there was still much that had to be done to turn this team into champions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This year's winner of the Tennis Regionals: Seigaku Tennis Team," announced the chair umpire.

[Thunderous applause]

"This year's runner-up of the Tennis Regionals: Fudomine Tennis Team," announced the chair umpire.

[Applause mixed with murmurs of disbelief]

"End of ceremony," announced the chair umpire, signalling for the teams to leave the courts.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Well done everyone, especially Ryoma. That win didn't come easily did it? No matter, victory is ours and you've all put in your best efforts. Training will resume tomorrow so today…" said Ryuzaki-sensei during debriefing.

"Today we party!" said Kazura, appearing from behind sensei, winking at the team while flashing victory signs.

"Yay! I knew you wouldn't disappoint us. You're the best manager we've ever had!" exclaimed Eiji, excited by the prospect of a party.

"Correction, I'm the Only manager you've ever had," deadpanned Kazura.

"Well, you're still the best!" retorted Eiji, undaunted.

Their excitement was contagious as the team, still high on their victory left for Kawamura Sushi Place, where Kazura had arranged with Takashi and his father to book the entire place for the team victory celebration. As they rounded the corner of the sports complex, who should appear in front of them but the entire Fudomine team, headed in the opposite direction. Both teams stopped in their tracks and stood facing each other warily, much like two tigers facing off.

"Next time we meet, we'll pay you back for today's defeat," said their captain Tachibana.

"We'll be waiting," replied Tezuka with a slight inclination of his head to acknowledge the challenge.

Without another word, both teams filed past each other behind their respective captains.

End Of Chapter

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yep, that's the end of yet another chapter. This one was relatively shorter than the previous few due to a lack of time and inspiration. However, I really wanted to get this chapter out so please forgive me if this isn't really on par with the previous chapters. Sorry, I'll try to regain my muse as soon as possible, seems I've hit a patch of writers block… Anyway, nothing much really happened in this chapter, just treat it as a transition chapter from the hospital episode to the future happenings, something to tie up the previous story line and pave the way for the future. I've included some info on the Servaro pair, but I'm not sure people really want to read about them so if you do please let me know. Anyway, I'm sorry if you find the quality of this chapter lacking, I'll try my best to improve in the future!