The Rumour

The Aftermath Part 1 (Wherein the Regular-tachi Realise It Is A Bad Thing To Get Their Buchou Angry)

It was the Monday after the fateful Match. The dying afternoon light flooded the office with a warm orange glow. Tezuka stood in the middle of the room, arms clasped behind his back, head upright. He was the very picture of responsible authority.

"Tezuka, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Ryuzaki sensei worriedly. "Yes, it did go a little too far in the end, but they were only joking after all."

Tezuka looked straight ahead. He hasn't really forgiven her for that stupid 'ass' crack on Saturday. "It would be educational for the regulars. And it would also help train them into better players," He said emotionlessly. Unseen by anyone, he clenched his fist just a fraction harder for just an instant. Then, Tezuka continued to wait in silence. 

"Well, yes… I suppose so," the coach studied her tall unmoving captain for a moment. "All right, all right, you can go ahead with your plans." She capitulated with a sigh. "Stubborn boys… The next eight Sundays, is it?"

"Yes. Thank you, sensei."

Tezuka turned about and strode out of the room. He stopped by the hallway window overlooking the empty courts, sunlight glinting off the sides of his glasses. His lips pressed together thinly. Yes. They will learn.

***

It was the first tennis practice after that fateful Saturday tennis match and a sense of impending doom hovered over the Regulars. Even Fuji's smile was a little weak, and Inui's Super Deluxe High Performance Juice was almost drinkable.

Momoshiro jogged up to Oishi, "Eh, Oishi-senpai. What do you think buchou is going to do to us for last Saturday?"

Oishi absently adjusted his racket grip, taking time to think about his answer. Around them, the rest of the regulars had heard Momoshiro, and were all waiting with bated breath to hear his answer.

"I think…" Oishi started, his voice trailing uncertainly.

"Yes? Come on, Oishi-senpai! Don't make us suffer like this!" Momoshiro pleaded.

"Shut up and let fuku-buchou speak!" Kaido growled from his corner where he had been doing warm-up stretches.

Momoshiro shot an indignant look at Kaido, but managed to keep his peace. He fidgeted impatiently as Oishi turned to look at the building where Ryuzaki sensei and Tezuka were currently in. Finally, the vice captain broke his silence and said softly. "I think we should hope that Tezuka decides to just give us laps as punishment."

"Laps again?" Momoshiro moaned. "But we just ran 100 laps last Friday!"

Eiji's face fell. "Nyah! My new shoes are getting all worn out with all that running! Still," he brightened slightly. "Anything's better than Inui Juice."

Inui adjusted his glasses and coughed lightly. "Ahem. My juice is supposed to make you stronger. But, more to the point," he flipped through his notebook. "Do you realise that Tezuka has never assigned anything else but running as a punishment? It's a 99% probability that we would be running laps for the rest of our practices, at least until we third-years graduate."

Momoshiro paled. "But, but that's at least 3 months away!"

"Yes, but considering that nearly all the teams in the prefecture showed up last Saturday, I think it's actually quite a mild punishment."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you have a point," Momoshiro admitted. Ryouma simply lowered his cap and sighed under his breath. 

"Buchou's here," hissed Kaido.

The Regulars hastily straightened and stood at attention. "Buchou!" They chorused guiltily, sneaking looks at the tall imposing captain.

There was no perceptible change in Tezuka's attention. "First years, racket swinging practice in court A! Second-years, volley practices in courts B and C! Regulars, assemble in front!"

Everyone moved to obey. Within seconds, the regulars were assembled in front of Tezuka.

Tezuka folded his arms in front of his chest and began without preamble. "I have spoken to Ryuzaki-sensei about what happened last Saturday, and she has agreed to leave everything to my discretion. I do not intend to allow this 'thing',"  His voice managed to impart utter contempt to the word. Quite a few regulars flinched in response. "To interrupt practice any further than it already has."

"So, the original instructions, for Regulars to stay back an hour after practice to coach non-regulars will stand. In addition, I expect all of you to report in front of the school, at 9am on Sunday, for the next eight weeks. For this coming Sunday, be sure to wear your running shoes. End of announcement. Any questions?" Cold eyes swept across each and every face. There were no takers.

"Fine. Begin practice!"

The week seemed to crawl by as the regulars speculated endlessly about the horror that was awaiting them on Sunday.

"Bet you it's another intense training camp," groaned Eiji, slumping beside Fuji in exhaustion at the end of the last practice for the week. Fuji handed a towel to Eiji sympathetically. "Well," he smiled. "We've survived those before, haven't we?"

"But, er…" Kawamura interrupted apologetically. "Tezuka said we don't have to bring our rackets along, so it can't be training practice."

Momoshiro flung himself on the floor, panting. "Oi Ochibi! Bring me my water bottle while you're there!" He turned his head to his senpais. "Neh, Taka-senpai, are you sure about that?" He asked a little sceptically. "I can't imagine buchou giving us any non-tennis-related punishment at all."

Fuji smiled. "I guess we will all find out tomorrow, won't we?"

***

The next day dawned, and all the regulars reported bright and early at the arranged meeting point.

"Nyah, is Tezuka late?"

"No, Eiji, we're early."

"Ah, buchou's here! Buchou!"

Tezuka walked up, wearing a blue polo shirt and slacks. "Nn. Is everyone here?" He asked Oishi.

"Yes." Oishi reported.

"Nn. Let's go!" Tezuka turned and made for the bus stop.

Tezuka made them get off the bus in the heart of the city, just in front of a cinema.

"Eh? What are we doing here?" Momoshiro looked around in surprise. "Is there a tennis court, or a track somewhere here?"

Ryouma blinked. "Buchou, I thought we were going running?"

Tezuka's eyes flickered towards the young boy and back. "Since you all wanted a date with me so badly, I thought I'd fulfil your hopes." He said expressionlessly.

"REALLY?!" The regulars replied in shock.

"Nyah!" Eiji glomped Tezuka happily. "I knew you wouldn't be so mean to make us practice during a Sunday! Hey, what movie are we watching?"

"The 4 and a half hour extended version of 'The Battle of Sekigahara'."

"THE WHAT?"

Tezuka's glasses glinted in the morning light. "I thought the underlying lessons of loyalty and betrayal would be very educational."

"Oh." Everyone's faces fell.

"Let's go. I already bought tickets."

Soon, the regulars were seated in the air-conditioned theatre. Momoshiro and Ryouma were snoring within seconds of the opening, while the rest of the regulars struggled to stay awake. Only Tezuka, Fuji and Kaido managed to watch the long historical epic in its entirety.

They walked out of the theatre four and a half hours later, most of them yawning and stretching as Tezuka led them into a fast food restaurant. After everyone had finished eating, he began distributing sheets of paper and pens.

"What's this?"

"A 100 question quiz on the movie you just watched. You will have to run 2 laps around this shopping mall for every wrong answer. You have 45 minutes to complete this quiz," Tezuka looked down at his watch. "Starting now."

"Eh?"

"A quiz?"

"Che, I didn't even get to eat popcorn at the movie."

Tezuka raised his voice slightly over the grumbling. "You may begin."

The regulars bent over their quiz. Soon, another wave of soft grumbling can be heard.

"Nyah… this is hard!"

"When was Ieyasu appointed shougun? How should I know? I slept through the whole thing!"

"Eh, Fuji, do you know how many daimyos there were in 1615?"

In the end, Kaido was the only person who managed a perfect score. He and Tezuka wound up eating strawberry parfaits as the rest of the Seigaku regulars ran around the mall for the next two hours.

"Momo-senpai? Dates with the buchou are scary."

***

The next Sunday came.

This time, Tezuka brought them to a videogame arcade. Momoshiro and Eiji crowed happily. "Now this is more like it! Street Fighter, here I come! Let me at them!"

Tezuka cleared his throat. "We will be playing this game behind me, tournament style. Losers have to run twenty laps around the mall." He moved away.

"PRETTY MAGICAL MAKE-UP SAMMI SOLDIERS VS KAWAII SWEET SOCERERS OF TOYOTA?!"

"Try fighting for Love, Truth and Justice for once," advised Tezuka dryly. "I'd pay particular attention to the Truth part, if I were you."

To everyone's surprise, a blushing Momoshiro won the tournament at the end of the day. Tezuka gave him a Pretty Magical Make-up Sammi Soldier Wand and a box of muscle ointment.

The rest of the regulars ran.

***

The third Sunday was spent on an eight hour trek up a mountain. There were no casualties, except for a freak accident involving Kaido, a length of string, a puppy and two cans of Ponta. No small animal was hurt in the process, although Ryouma and Momoshiro did fall into a stream on the way back and had to go back half-naked as neither of them brought spare shirts.

***

Another Sunday, another date with Tezuka.

By this time, the regulars were already learning not to take their 'date' locations at face value. Which was why there was a distinct lack of excitement when Tezuka led them to a karaoke place on the fourth Sunday. 

The regulars looked around suspiciously. "What do you think he's going to make us do?" Inui murmured quietly to Fuji, eyes darting around the brightly painted room. Fuji's smile had faltered. "Tezuka and karaoke? I have no idea…"

Tezuka stopped in front of the entrance and faced the regulars. "Today, we would be spending out date with some other people. I expect you all to behave politely and with respect to your elders. People who don't…" Tezuka trailed off threateningly.

The rest of the regulars answered resignedly. "Run twenty laps."

Tezuka nodded curtly and opened the door. A group of about 15 old men and women smiled at the young boys. "Kunimitsu-kun! Thank you for inviting us over for karaoke!"

"You're welcome, Mrs Tamaguchi. Everyone, these are my team mates from Seigaku."

"Come in, come in!"

"Oh, what lovely boys!" 

"Hirumi-san! Behave yourself!"

"Why? I'm old, not dead!"

Twenty minutes later, a harassed Kaido and Momoshiro cornered Inui at the quieter end of the room. "Who are these people, Inui-senpai?" Kaido asked hoarsely. "They keep asking me to sing!"

"That's nothing! Those two old obaa-san keeps petting me on my head!" Momoshiro gritted through his teeth. "My head!"

Inui looked sternly at his two kouhai. "Behave yourself," he admonished. "These are people from the Tokyo Police Pensioners and Widows Association."

"The Tokyo Police Pensioners and Widows Association?!"

"One of the older ladies told me that the gentlemen are mostly retired policemen, while the women are widows of policemen killed in the course of duty. They set up this association to help them socialise a little outside their usual circles. Tezuka usually goes with his grandfather to attend their monthly function."

Kaido faltered. "All these people…"

Momoshiro looked silently back at the group of happy, singing pensioners, a soft light coming into his eyes. Then, he smiled. "Come on, Kaido. Let's go entertain the obaa-sans and the oji-sans!" Raising his voice a little, he walked towards a tiny old lady and a bigger grin grew on his face, "Neh, obaa-san, want to sing a love duet with me? I can sing 'Okinawa Nights' or 'Love Me, Love Me, Sakura Baby'!"

Kaido looked up at Inui, "Sorry, senpai," he muttered, before returning back to the group to refill the glass for the singing old folk.

Inui adjusted his glasses, and walked back to resume his earlier conversation with one of the elderly men. "So, oji-san, you were saying that you're interested in health drinks…?"

Three hours later, the boys bid a rowdy farewell to the group of pensioners. As they watched them walk down the street, Eiji turned to Fuji, "Neh, Fuji! You were talking to that oji-san the whole time! What were you two talking about?"

Fuji smiled sweetly. "Oh, the old police inspector was just teaching me some of the holds the police use to restrain criminals. It seemed like a really useful thing to learn."

The rest of regulars shifted a little further away from the smiling tensai. Eiji shuddered. "Fuji! You're being all scary and evil again!"

***

Tezuka brought them fishing at his second-favourite fishing spot the next Sunday.

Momoshiro and Kaido managed to get into a fight within the first five minutes over who's got the better casting technique and scared away most of the fish.

Inui found some interesting botanical samples that he thought might make good ingredients for his new, experimental Inui Juice that he would call Super Enhanced HydroSludge La Mer. Apart from being really good for strengthening the body; he also suspected that the concoction would have great beautification properties as well. 

Eiji and Oishi caught a frog and a boot respectively. Kawamura shocked everyone by landing a 9 pound salmon. Fuji helped him net it.

Momoshiro fell into the water. Again.

Tezuka made them run all the way home.

***

The sixth Sunday was spent at the amusement park, where the boys practiced their aim and their hand-eye coordination at the game stores. Losers got a ride on the stomach-churning roller-coaster; multiple losers got multiple rides. Quite a few of the regulars lost deliberately at the end.

"Neh, buchou, can I get cotton candy? After all, I did win," Ryouma smirked, clutching a cute plushie that resembled Karupin under his arm.

"Nn. And here's a balloon for you as well."

"Thank you. Should we wait for Fuji-senpai, Oishi-senpai and Eiji-senpai?"

"Nn. I want to drop off the extra toys that you guys won at the children's hospital."

Tezuka and Ryouma walked on, leaving a green-faced Momoshiro, Kaido, Kawamura, and Inui in their wake.

***

It was raining very heavily that seventh Sunday, so Tezuka decided to call off the date.

"Nyah, really? We don't have to go out today?" Eiji asked wide-eyed.

Tezuka cast an evaluating glance up at the dark skies. A flash of opportune lightning lit the sky in a dramatic, well-timed split-second. "Nn. No, it's not safe to go out in weather like this. You can all go back now." Tezuka pulled his wind-breaker close and walked away under a black umbrella.

The regulars stared at Tezuka's disappearing back in shock. After a while, Momoshiro scratched his head and suggested. "Well, since there's no date today, and we're all outside anyway… Why don't we go for a burger and fries?"

The rest of the regulars agreed half-heartedly.

Soon, they found themselves more or less alone in the burger shop, with trays of food in front of them. Eiji picked at his food, the corners of his mouth turned down. "Nyah, I'm bored. I want to go out… How come we can't go out with Tezuka just because it's raining." He pouted.

Oishi smiled weakly, and tried to defend his best friend. "Well, it is raining very hard… Tezuka probably had planned some outdoor activity for today, so it had to be cancelled…"

Kawamura nodded. "It does feel strange not being out with Tezuka on a Sunday." He said softly.

Momoshiro swallowed the last of his burger manfully and grinned, "I liked the karaoke date the best! Those old geezers rock!"

"Really? I thought you'd like the video arcade date the best… Neh, what did you do with your Pretty Magical Make-up Sammi Soldier Wand anyway, Momo-senpai?" Ryouma asked with evil smirk. Momoshiro blushed. "I won by accident! By accident, okay!"

Kaido hissed softly. "I liked the movie."

"Yeah, and you're probably the only one who does!"

"The fishing date was fun… And the running was all right, too. At least we got to see a bit of scenery while we ran…" Kawamura volunteered.

"Yes, I got yii materials for my new Inui Juice on that date," agreed Inui with a sinister smile. "What about you, Ryouma?"

Ryouma thought for a bit. "I like the amusement park date. Buchou bought me candy floss and a balloon. And I won a Karupin stuffed toy too," he pointed out with a satisfied grin.

Eiji bounced up and down in his seat happily. "I like the amusement park one too! Oishi liked that one best too, don't you? He won for me another giant size teddy bear that day!" He turned to Fuji, "Neh, Fuji! Which date did you like most?"

Fuji smiled, his face a pleasant unreadable mask. "Oh, they were all quite good," he said noncommittally. "I guess I don't really have a favourite."

"Really? Oh. Well, it's a bit sad to think that we only have one more date to go…"

"Has it been seven weeks already? Seemed shorter, for some reason," commented Momoshiro as he took a gulp of his coke.

"I think it's really nice of Tezuka to think up all these dates for us..." said Kawamura.

"WHAT? Are you crazy, Taka-san? We were tortured!" Eiji complained with a whine. "All that running – well, except for the amusement park one. That's still my favourite date."


"Hmm…I think I agree with Taka-san. And all of this must have cost Tezuka quite a bit. I mean movies, and arcade games, and karaoke, and meals for all nine of us don't come cheap, you know," Oishi pointed out.

Kaido offered. "Maybe we can do something in return for Tezuka buchou next Saturday instead," he said in his low raspy voice.

The regulars turned to stare at the bandana boy. "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, KAIDO!" Eiji glomped his kouhai happily. A small blush covered Kaido's cheeks at Eiji's praise, even as he winced in embarrassment.

Oishi smiled. "Eiji is right. It is a really good idea, Kaido-kun. Everyone, what do you think we should do for Tezuka?"

Momoshiro waved his hand. "We should do something really good! Show buchou what a real date is like!"

"Neh, Momo-senpai. How do you know what a real date is like? After all, you've only been on one date with Tachibana's younger sister," Ryouma pointed out innocently.

Momoshiro blushed furiously. "That wasn't a date! And you don't have to go on dates to know that they shouldn't entail hard exercise!"

"Hard exercise?" Ryouma blinked, his long lashes fluttering. "What kind of hard exercise?"

"I mean --- ARGH!" Momoshiro pounced onto Ryouma and got the younger boy in a headlock.

"Ow, ow! Senpai, stop it! It hurts!"

"Then shut up about dates already!"

"Che. Mada mada dane."

Oishi sweatdropped. He turned to the rest of the regulars. "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Inui frowned. "Well, we've actually covered quite a lot of the usual dating options already with Tezuka… It doesn't leave us much to work with."

Kawamura suggested timidly, "Ano… What about a picnic?"

The regulars turned to look at Kawamura. Kawamura blushed.

"Taka-san, you are a genius," pronounced Eiji solemnly. Oishi smiled as he pulled out his notebook organiser. "That's a great idea! Come on, everyone. Let's see what needs to be done… Fuji, can you be in charge of telling Tezuka that we are taking care of the eighth date please? And the food… Ah, Taka-san and Kaido, could you two take care of that…"

The regulars spent the rest of the morning happily planning their perfect group date with Tezuka.

***