Title: Variable Geometry (5/?)

Author name: Leo Dormiens

Author email: leodormiens2000@yahoo.com

Category: Drama

Warning: Non-explicit Shonen Ai

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A love triangle... No wait! It's a love square.

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Takeshi Konomi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author notes: Abinikai and Jennifer M. Despite their busy schedules, they always manage to find the time to help. I am so grateful.

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Mamoru Inoue felt like a little boy under her stare. Ryuzaki-sensei had briefly flipped through the latest issue of Tennis Pro Magazine, before turning towards him with a skeptical smile.

"Come on now, Inoue-kun, the only times you actually bother to bring me a copy in person are when you have something to ask. Stop beating around the bush and tell me why you're here."

He made a face. "Am I that easy to read?"

"We've known each other for a long time."

"In fact, I came with no particular aim in mind. We're off-season in the tennis world, and I'm a bit short of articles ideas. I thought, maybe, things were moving faster around here."

"Hum, not really," she replied, sounding bored.

"What about Seigaku perspectives for the next school year?"

"We won't know where we stand until the new students make their appearance."

"The first-years who will join in April don't count, they aren't allowed to integrate the team anyway."

"You think so?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you forgetting about my ability to dig out prodigies?"

He gave a little laugh, acknowledging her joke. "Precocious children like Echizen and Tezuka are hard to find. You can't hope to get someone like that every year!"

"Of course not." She reopened the magazine and peered distractedly at the pictures. "New members inject fresh blood into the club; they're very important. The team we have now is excellent. The facts speak for themselves. Let's hope it will inspire more students to sign up. More members means a higher budget, better equipment. And in the end, a stronger team."

"What about those who are already in the club?"

"We have an interesting set of personalities. I have great hopes for Arai, for example. He seems to have discovered the meaning of fair play. Lately, he tries to work his way up rather than sabotage other players. I don't know what brought this change of attitude, but I'm not complaining."

"Arai, yes," Inoue nodded, "I will keep an eye on him. He can go far; all he needs is a strong guidance. Incidentally, whom will you entrust to lead the club? Replacing someone like Tezuka is no easy task."

"You're telling me!" she answered, taking her head in her hands.

Inoue chuckled. "You have someone in mind?"

"You'll see."

He waited for her to elaborate, but she immersed herself in the magazine and stayed silent.

"Oh please, Ryuzaki-sensei, don't be cruel. Give me something to report."

She put the magazine back on her desk and gave him a conspiratorial smile. "If you speak to my boys, don't tell them anything about it; it's supposed to be a surprise. I'm organizing a friendly match between Seigaku and Fudoumine, to revive their competitive spirit. For you, it may be a good opportunity to assess two of the strongest teams on the junior tennis scene."

"Excellent. When will it take place?"

"We're still discussing the details. I'll let you know as soon as we fix the date."

Inoue frowned, pondering the idea of taking his colleague with him to watch the match.

"What's wrong, Inoue-kun?" asked Ryuzaki-sensei.

"Nothing. It's just that Shiba.Well, you've seen her in action."

"Don't be too hard on Saori. Try to remember how you were at her age; it will help you put up with her."

"Is it how you cope with teenage frenzy?" he asked in an amused tone.

She stood up and reached for the teapot. "I've been teaching for more than twenty years," she grumbled, "but I still don't know how to cope with teenage frenzy."

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"So, Tomoka, what's this good news? You can tell me now."

Tomoka turned a beaming face towards Sakuno. "Not yet, I want to tell all the girls at the same time. Hurry up, don't take so much time to change."

Sakuno folded her school uniform and placed it in her locker, then crouched down to tie her tennis shoes.

"You're so slow today," complained Tomoka, "why are you taking so much care with your shoelaces?"

"You have to be careful and do it properly if you don't want to trip yourself."

Tomoka gave her an odd look, but dropped the matter. They were alone in the locker room; all the other girls had already changed into their tennis gear and left to start practice. She studied the shelves on the wall, thinking with joy that soon, one of them would have her name on it.

"You finished, now? Let's go." She walked out, then realized Sakuno wasn't following. "What are you doing? " Her friend was coiling her braids into tight buns and holding them up with rubber bands. "It's the first time I've seen you do that."

"It's easier this way," she replied simply. "We can go now."

They walked side by side to the tennis courts, Tomoka babbling, Sakuno gathering up her concentration.

"Hey girls! Come here! I have something important to tell you."

"What is it Tomoka? Is it about Ryoma-kun?"

Tomoka smiled broadly. "No, for once it's about me." She looked around to make sure that everyone was listening. "Starting from next month, my mother will work only part time. She'll have more time to take care or my brothers, which means that I will be able to join the club next year."

Her friends greeted the news with great shouts of joy.

"I'm so happy, Tomoka," said Sakuno. "Together we'll make it to the regular team."

Rei Shimura, the captain of the girl's team, looked at her in amazement. "I see you've decided to give it a serious try, at last."

"I'm no more stupid than anyone else," murmured Sakuno, her eyes fixing the ground. "If I try hard enough, I may achieve something."

"Well said," replied Shimura "The Ryuzaki in you is starting to emerge."

"But Tomo-chan, you'll have to drop Ryoma's fan-club," pointed out a second- year named Kazuko. "Playing tennis takes a lot of time."

"Well, what about you?" Tomoka shot back. "You're in the team, and in Fuji- senpai's fan-club."

"Oops. Got me."

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First practice session of the week, and Ryoma was gratified to see that Kaidoh was present at roll call. Ryoma accosted him, and to his great surprise Kaidoh didn't try to escape.

"Kaidoh-senpai, I should thank you for that thing you gave me last week. Very effective."

"Don't mention it."

Kaidoh's eyes were saying: you asked for it. Ryoma felt like he had been slapped.

"And by the way," he pushed, feeling vindictive, "you still haven't answered my question."

Pregnant pause.

"Which leaves you free to interpret the facts anyway you want."

"I could get the wrong idea."

"Who cares?"

Ryoma adjusted his cap and sent him a challenging stare. "It's not what you said last Thursday."

"Let's put things back in their place. When I think about it, your opinion doesn't matter."

Ryoma was about to reply with something scathing when Ryuzaki-sensei interrupted them.

"You look a lot better, Kaidoh. That's a relief. I was seriously considering forcing you to consult a doctor."

Kaidoh gave a slightly embarrassed nod. "I needed rest, I took some."

And then you're back at your most disdainful, laconic, infuriating self, thought Ryoma with disgust.

"Good," said Ryuzaki-sensei. "From now on, listen to what your body tells you. Allow yourself to stand back before you reach your limits."

"Yes sensei." Kaidoh humbly nodded again. "I've been reckless recently, but I've decided to pull myself together. It won't happen again."

Ryoma couldn't hold a derisive snort.

"I like it that you've come to this conclusion by yourself," said Ryuzaki- sensei, looking indeed very pleased. "I don't have to waste energy on a lecture."

Kaidoh shrugged. "I suppose the first step in resolving a problem is to admit that you have one."

Ryoma raised his eyes. Yes, Kaidoh was purposely staring at him while he said that.

"You're growing up, Kaidoh," said Ryuzaki-sensei, strolling away.

"Good for me." Kaidoh said through his teeth, too low for her to catch.

Ryoma couldn't believe it. A steadfast and sensible Kaidoh. What would be next? A calm and dignified Momoshiro? Well, those new resolutions would be fun to demolish. It will keep him busy for a while. That, and figuring out what the hell was... different with Sakuno.

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Eating too much always made him sleepy. Ryoma shouldn't have ordered two giant ice creams. Momoshiro had wolfed down three banana splits and a vanilla milk shake, but he looked perfectly fine. It wasn't fair.

"Come on, Echizen, tell me her name. I won't tell the others, I swear."

"Get off my back, Momo-senpai," he answered with a yawn.

"As your best friend, I should be the first to know."

Best friend. Really? Ryoma considered his senpai, then the two other people who had claimed the position. Horio, a few months ago, and Nanjiroh Echizen when he was reading all that American psychobabble crap about getting close to your children. One might as well say that Momo won by default.

"By the way," Ryoma ventured to sidetrack him, "how is Ann-chan?"

"Why are you asking me?" said Momoshiro, suddenly on the defensive. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"Then you should call her. If you ask me, she hasn't given up on you yet."

The fit of denial he expected never came. Momoshiro silently turned to stare through the window of the coffee shop.

"What's wrong, are you scared?"

"No."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"She plays tennis."

Ryoma's sleepy eyes abruptly shot open. "You've lost me there."

Momoshiro nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Recently, Ryu. someone asked me if I envisaged to continue playing next year. At first, the question seemed uncalled-for, but it led me to consider how much of my life I devote to tennis, and it's. well, a lot. I spend all my free time playing, practicing or hanging out with other players. I'm not sure if it would do me any good to have a girlfriend as obsessed as I am."

Ryoma pushed away the empty ice cream bowls and rested his head on the table. "You're taking it the wrong way," he said. "Do you enjoy playing tennis, yes or no? As long as the answer is yes, just keep playing. With girls, it's the same. If you want to be with Ann, stop dilly-dallying and ask her out."

Momoshiro guffawed, making him flinch. "Echizen, if you think girls are as simple as tennis, you've got a long way to go!"

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"Have you started studying for the final exams?" Hayashi asked his friends.

"Not really," replied Ikeda, who was shuffling along next to him.

"There's still plenty of time, no need to feel stressed," added Arai.

Supply duty. The coach had given them a list of things to buy and bring back to the club before they could go home.

"I'm studying at least one hour every evening," said Kachiro. "If I don't get good marks, my parents will make me quit the club."

Ikeda glared at him. "Who asked you? Shut the hell up!"

Kachiro and Katsuo looked at each other, but said nothing.

"Arai," complained Ikeda, "why did you ask those two first-years to come with us? They're getting on my nerves. The supplies we're supposed to carry are not so heavy anyway, we can manage with just the three of us."

Arai just pointed at a big store at the end of the street. "Let's go in this one, they have almost everything. That way we'll finish sooner."

They walked quietly, Katsuo and Kachiro a few steps behind their senpais.

"I can't wait to be in second year. Being treated like a ball boy is no fun," whispered Katsuo.

"Do you think we made any progress? I can't really tell."

"True, we've never played a real match."

Arai stopped and turned to face them. "Eh, Katoh, if you want to assess your level, let's play again. Do you think you can beat me now?"

"I'll try with all my heart," replied Kachiro, his eyes glowing.

"Fine," said Arai, resuming his walk.

"You can't do that again," reminded Hayashi. "Last time we all got in trouble. Now that the captain is back, the sanctions could be worse."

Ikeda shrugged. "They can do whatever they want, as long as they do it somewhere else."

"I'll find a place," said Arai, opening the glass door of the store for his mates. "Just keep yourself ready."

"Well, uh, maybe I can help with this," offered Kachiro. "You see, my father teaches tennis at a private club."

The second-years looked at him in amazement.

"You're telling us only now?" reproached Hayashi.

Just then, Sakuno exited the store, almost running into Katsuo. "Oh," she exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

"Buying supplies for the tennis club," answered Katsuo. "And you?"

Ikeda grabbed the plastic bag she was holding and peered into it. "Whaouh! That's a damn good racket you've got here. How can you afford stuff like that?"

"I've been saving money all year," she said, trying to get her purchase back. "Grandma told me my old racket was only suitable for a beginner."

"Are you going home, now?" asked Kachiro.

She hesitated, then said, "In fact, I've still got some money left. I would like to.Uh, tell me, what sort of thing can you offer to someone who. likes studying?"

"Well.maybe a pen?" suggested Katsuo.

Sakuno's face lit up. "Great idea! Thanks." She rushed towards the department store across the street and disappeared in it.

"Okay, we'd better get moving," said Hayashi, rudely pushing Katsuo inside the store.

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End of Chapter Five

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. One of my wonderful betas called this a "filler chapter". Well, she has a point, but sometimes, you have to slow down the pace to make a transition. I know not a lot happened in this chapter, sorry if you were bored to death. I promise, things get interesting in the next chapter.

Thanks again for all of your reviews, it really means a lot to me when people take a moment to let me know what they thought. For instance, your comments helped me realize that some scenes were a bit confusing. My apologies, this is my first fic and I'm sort of using it to learn how to write properly... I was aiming for something short, can you believe it?! But it's been a fun ride so far, I shouldn't complain. LOL

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