Konnichiwa minna-san! Gomen for the unreasonably short chapter, I found that annoying, and I'm the one that's writing this ^^;;;. Thanks to the people that reviewed so far. This is for both Chapter one and two.

Hirame: Ah, the oddness of my imagination ^_^. I'm glad u like the story so far. I'm not sur if you got my email, but you could've done the drawing, if you wanted to. I was the one that asked the readers if they wanted to draw. I was the one that would need permission from people if they actually do draw the picture, ehehe ^^;;;;.

xxkurenaixx: Uke Ryoma? I'm still working on that.

nagibook: heeheehee!! Looks like am not the only one that was imagining that ^_^.

A-chan: ehehe *scratches the back of her head* thanks that you think that way *turns red*. I did as much as I can in this chapter so it's a longer than the other two put together ^_^. Gomen for the mistakes, I fixed it… I think O.o;;;;

Z.Y.H.: O.o;;; dude, ur odd, I practically tell u what going on in the story. Ah well, read on, I made a few changes from what I told you anyway.

Leina: Hey Lyn! Hey, it's not my fault I freak out on the first story I submit on a new section. I would've thought u'd know that by now O.o;;;. This chapter, I aimed for 2000, happy? ^^

Carmela: … that's it, no more Pocky for you, young lady. Am I getting u obsessed with Karupin? O.o;;;

Kori: Thank you so much for the drawing. I don't know if you were able to get my email, but thanks for doing a drawing of Karupin. *glomps you very happily* Though I don't see how u messed up the legs O.o;;;;

Hikaruchi: thanks that you find this story interesting. I'm working on this story pretty well, so hopefully I'll be able to pull this off pretty well.

Destroyer Angel: Of course I'm going to continue this fic, I love it too much to not finish it :3 and besides, I dun think my weird imagination (or in ur words imagination and talent) is going to let me going to let me down on this fic just yet. Where'd Karupin run off to, u say? He's around, don't worry. Now I'm actually wanting a cat to glomp.

Noor: Heehee, thanks. More is coming soon.

Mei Neko: Well, I thought this would work out better if Karupin was human, ne? ^^;

nall: is it that weird? *panics for a second* oh a good weird ^^;;;. If it was a bad kind of weird, I was going to say "Blame it on Carmela" ^^;

Baki-chan: I'm not too sure if Ryoma will be the uke, but am working on it. FWEE!!! This pairing is cute, isn't it? *goes to fangirl heaven XD*

nanaka: ehehe… I know it's weird, but so far everyone likes the pairing, rite? ^^;;;

*Looks at list again* I think I got everyone. OH, and Kori already sent me her drawing of Karupin. I bugged Carmela to put it up so here's the link to it if you want to see: www. angelfire. com/ anime2/ bubblegal89/ art/ HumanKarupin. txt er… just delete the spaces ^^;;;

Thanks again, Kori ^_^. Oh, I've stalled you people long enough. Standard disclaimers are applied, all I'm getting are the reviews from the readers so yeah :S.  Pardon any mistakes or anything, I'll fix that as soon as I can ^^;;; Enjoy chapter three ^_^

~*~

Chapter 3: Enter Fudomine

Momoshiro watched quietly as he saw Echizen running around looking for his guest.

"Ano yaro…" He said to himself quietly. He then closed his eyes as he crossed his arms in thought. "So concerned about his guest. Now, where did I see him this worried before?"

"Oi, Momo! What are you muttering to yourself?" Eiji asked as he noticed the usually loud second year was unusually quiet. "Silence and you doesn't seem to fit at all."

Momoshiro then looked up from his thoughts and then blinked. "What?"

"You were murmuring to yourself." Eiji commented. "You're reminding me of the guy from Fudomine that always mumbles. Ne, Oishi, what's that guy's name again?"

Oishi looked thoughtful for a second as he was recalling the name. "Shinji, I think. Ibu Shinji. Here's your drink, Eiji."

Eiji smiled gleefully before taking the drink from his partner's hand. "Sankyuu, Oishi! You're the best!" He then glomped the other boy for all he's worth. The Vice Captain of Seigaku's boy's tennis team felt heat rising up to his cheeks as his partner was holding him like that.

"Doitashimashite, Eiji." Oishi smiled tenderly, the blush still gracing his features as he patted the acrobatic player's head affectionately.

Momoshiro, who slightly went back to his train of thought, looked at his two senpais. Besides the one that he was thinking of right now, another thought came to his mind. Ever since the Golden Pair came back from their loss with St. Rudolph during the Prefectural Tournament, the two seemed…closer. Even in the match with Hyotei, Eiji wasn't playing his best until he remembered how Oishi guides him. Momo then remembered how Eiji-senpai willingly did most of the attacking during the match with Jousei Shounan just so Oishi-senpai could rest his broken wrist. Is there something-

"Karupin!" Ryoma yelled, cleanly cutting through Momoshiro's thoughts. "Karupin!"

Momo, once again, looked up to see Echizen still running around.

"I know I've seen him this worried before. Only question is, when was it?" Momo asked himself as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Hey Momo, can you be our referee for now?" Oishi asked the second year. "Since Echizen is not here, we can't really play doubles. It's Eiji's serve."

"Alright then, a one set match. Kikumaru-senpai versus Oishi-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai to serve."

~*~

Ryoma sighed, leaning against the vending machines with a can of Ponta in his hand. Last time he lost Karupin, Momoshiro and his senpai-tachi bought him back to Ryoma.

"Okay, that's at least twice I ran around the street courts and I still can't find him." Ryoma said to himself as he popped the tab of the can and started drinking. I doubt he got very far and for all I know, he could be sleeping around here somewhere."

"Ah, Echizen-kun!"

Ryoma paused in mid-drink to look at who called out his name. A girl with red-brown hair placed back in clips waved to his direction as she was approaching. Ryoma looked at the girl and her two companions. 'Tachibana's imouto, the hot-head rhythm guy and-'

The dark-haired boy from Fudomine stood in front of him.

"Yo."

"Domo."

A gust of wind swirled around the two tennis players along with three or four random leaves blowing with the wind.

"Ne, Echizen-kun," Ann asked as she broke though the two boys' trance. "What are you doing here?"

"You mean besides the obvious? I'm looking for my ca-" Ryoma froze. He can't say that he's looking for his cat, especially since his cat isn't a cat anymore. "My friend. I was just looking for my friend."

The three members of Fudomine looked at him rather oddly but then shrugged it off. Then, upon hearing footsteps coming from a distance, the four looked towards the direction of the sound.

"Yo, Mamushi." Kamio called, as the figure got closer.

"Fshh!! Urusai, you rizumu yaro." Kaidoh hissed, as he got closer. The two boys got into a glaring contest as Ann continued to inquire about Echizen.

"Oh, so who are you looking for?" Ann asked Ryoma as he finished off his drink. The freshman creased his brows in thought before replying.

"A close friend. My family knows him fairly well. He was wearing a white shirt with red sleeves and black shorts. Come to think of it, it was the shirt that I wore before I became a regular and I was also wearing it when you brought Momo-senpai and myself here to play tennis."

"Same shirt before getting the Seigaku jersey?" Ann asked, making Ryoma nod. Kaidoh froze as he overheard the two. His glaring match with Kamio ended when Shinji was talking to himself again and Kamio decided to snap him out of it. Kaidoh's eyebrow twitched as he remembered the little scene that happened a few minutes ago.

~Flashback~

Kaidoh is doing his usual jogging before he joins the other Seigaku Regulars in the street tennis courts. Considering that he'll end up there anyway, Kaidoh decided to run around the streets courts instead of his usual route before he joins the others.

"Kshhh!" He hissed to nobody in particular as he continued to jog. Within a few seconds, he heard footsteps following him. Slowly stopping, he then looked back on who was following him. A young boy, probably a year or two younger than him was following him.

"What do you want?" Kaidoh asked as the boy that was following him stood in front of him.

"Ano…"

Kaidoh blinked as he heard the tone of the kid's voice. It sounded…very familiar, but where and when did he hear it before? Kaidoh's eyes bulged before roughly shaking his head.

'Masaka… This kid can't be the cat that was at school, can he?'

"Karupin!" Ryoma's voice was somewhat faint, but that didn't stop the two boys from being able to hear it.

"Ryoma…" Karupin said as he looked back to he was just walking from. Kaidoh stared as he remembered how the voice, and even the clothes, was so familiar.

"Hey, do you need help in -eh?"

Kaidoh paused as the younger kid leaned his head on his shoulder for support. Kaidoh heard the even breathing of the kid a few seconds later before he was able to confirm that the kid had fallen asleep.

'This kid is just like that player from Hyotei.' Kaidoh thought to himself as he hoisted the boy to the hill. 'I don't want to leave anyone alone like this right now, but after I finish my run I'll bring you to Echizen.'

With his mind made up, Kaidoh straightened up and got ready to finish up his routine jog.

~End Flashback~

"Oi, Echizen." Kaidoh said, interrupting Ryoma's conversation with Ann.

"Nani ga, Kaidoh-senpai?" Ryoma asked and then noticed the light tinge on his senpai's face.

"The kid you're looking for, he's under the tree behind the vending machines." Kaidoh said as he looked away and started jogging towards where his senpais are. Ryoma blinked but then shrugged it off. If Kaidoh-senpai were right, he'd just thank him later when he goes back to where his other senpai-tachi is.

"Echizen-kun, we'll see you later." Ann said, pointing to Kamio and Shinji. "Kamio-kun seems to be more edgy than usual."

"What are you talking about, Ann-chan?" Kamio almost bellowed in protest. "I am not edgy. I'm just off my rhythm today."

Ryoma stared at the three as they walked towards the courts. He then shrugged dismissively and walked past the vending machines. He then let out a sigh of relief as he saw Karupin curled up, sleeping. Ryoma then walked up to him and shook the other boy in attempt to wake him up.

"Mrryoma?" Karupin asked sleepily as he looked at Ryoma.

"Yes, Karupin, it's me. Ryoma said, nudging the boy awake. "Come on, wake up. Let's go back to where my senpais are."

"Hmm…" was Karupin's quiet reply. Ryoma shook his head as he slung Karupin's arm over his shoulder and supported the other boy as they started walking.

~*~

"Out! Game to Oishi-senpai. 4-3, change court." Momoshiro declared after Eiji returned the ball on the double border of the court.

"Ah, Momoshiro-kun!" a familiar female voice called out. The three players of Seigaku looked at the same direction where the voice came from and saw the three students of Fudomine.

"Yo, Tachibana's imouto!" Momoshiro greeted, causing Ann to puff her cheeks in indignation.

"I have a name, Momoshiro-kun, and you've called me that when we played in these courts before."

"Ehehe warui, warui." Momoshiro replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Kamio then clenched a fist and stomped over to where Momoshiro was standing. Ann blinked at Kamio's approach and then sighed as she saw the clenched fist of the redhead. 'Oh boy, here we go again...'

"Teme! Why are you here? Don't you have any other places to go to? The Zengokou tournament is coming up, so why are you loafing around?!?" Kamio asked heatedly. "Oh and by the way, don't you even remember Ann-chan's name? It's so easy, for crying out loud! Ann! A-n-n! Ann!"

Momoshiro blinked as Ann let out a sigh. "Kamio-kun, try not to lose too much of your temper. We're here for a break, don't you remember? Not to have a heated argument with Momoshiro-kun."

"Demo Ann-chan…"

"Kamio Akira!"

Kamio cringed as Ann called him by his full name. Usually when people call him by his full name, he is in some sort of trouble. Also usually, in Ann's case, she like calling the boy's on Fudomine's team by their full name on occasion. This time doesn't happen to be one of them. Momoshiro, who was behind him, started snickering. This caused Kamio to have a vein in his temple just about ready to burst.

"Momoshiro," Oishi warned in a chiding tone. Momo then scratched the back of his head, inaudibly mumbling his apology to Kamio. A faint hiss then caught the two second year's attention.

"Yo mamushi!"

"Ne, baka mamushi, you're late." Momoshiro commented as he tapped his tennis racket on his shoulder. Kaidoh just presented him with an annoyed hiss and a glare before setting his stuff aside.

The golden pair then continued their match by doing self-judging instead, considering Momoshiro is in another verbal war against Kamio. Kaidoh on the other hand just sat and waited. Voices were soon heard as Ryoma emerged, supporting the sleeping boy with him.

"Echizen, why didn't you just leave your friend at your house?" Oishi asked as they stopped their game for the moment. "He doesn't seem okay right now. Are you sure he had enough sleep before he came with you?"

Ryoma let Karupin lie down on the bench and used one of his unused shirts from his bag as a pillow for the boy. "He's always like this." Ryoma said as he thought of Karupin when he was still a cat and then shrugged. "I guess he just can't seem to have enough sleep." Ryoma then absently petted Karupin's hair before sitting beside the boy. The other students that were present were pretty busy doing their own thing to even notice Echizen looking at the sleeping boy. Kaidoh stole a glimpse at the two younger boys and then hissed quietly to himself as a light tinge colored his face.

The resting boy stirred as he felt someone patting his head. Looking up, he saw the stoic face of his owner sitting beside him. "Mrryoma?"

"Are you fully awake this time?" Ryoma asked, not really looking at Karupin. A light 'hmm' was heard before Ryoma finally faced Karupin again. "How come you didn't listen to what I told you earlier?"

Karupin looked down guiltily as he toyed with the hat that Ryoma gave him earlier. Sure, he knew that Ryoma told him not to wander off, but can he help himself? He still thinks like a cat and he wanted to wander around and play. He heard Ryoma sigh, so he looked at him quietly.

"Just don't make me worried like that again, okay?" Ryoma said, ruffling Karupin's hair before he placed the hat back on his head. Ryoma then went back to watching his senpai play, though there was this little thought that was nagging him at the back of his head. This though was actually bugging him since this morning. How did Karupin turn into a human, and what will he do if Karupin suddenly changes back into a cat?

~tsuzuku~

Wah! =^_^= Karupin is so Kawaii!!!! Is it just me, or am I really making him like Jirou? Both boys are practically sleeping wherever they find it comfortable O_o;;;. Wah, I love him anyway! The last part… I just decided to add as an afterthought. What do you guys think? Well, I'll write more of this in the next chapters. *runs off to find her notebooks where chapter 4 is and her Golden Pair fic is being written*

Ritchie Waterfighter