Chapter 2
"What is it? What is it?" asked Kiyoko eagerly the day before it was time for the Kanto games. Inui, Ryuzaki-sensei, and Tezuka were standing at the front and the team members were standing according to rank. There was a map at the front and Ryuzaki-sensei smiled.
"Because it is the day before the Kanto tournamen," began the coach, "usually I would give the team a rest. But today we will have a treasure hunt. You will be divided into pairs and will look for treasure hidden all over the school."
"What's the prize?" asked a second year. Inui now grinned and held a large pitcher with a mysterious brown liquid.
"You will not drink Inui's Golden Special Activity Mix," said Inui though he was clueless as to why people wouldn't like his drink. Everyone grimaced.
"Um," said Yuki backing away with Eiji not far behind, "I think I'll pass."
"Yuki-chan!" said Eiji clinging to the girl, "I'm not going in alone!"
"You will all be divided into teams of two and the first years may have a group of three," said Ryuzaki-sensei. Yuki brightened. She ran to Fuji and grabbed his arm.
"Fuji-chan," said Yuki, "Will you be my partner?"
"Hai," said Fuji smiling.
"Oi! Yuki-chan," whined Eiji, "I went to you first!"
"Eiji," said Oishi running to him, "We'll be partners." Now Eiji looked enthusiastic.
"Yeah! Now we can definitely win," said Eiji enthusiastically.
"Kachiro, Mizuno," said Horio grinning at the other two, "We will definitely find the prize!"
"Hai!" said the other two enthusiastically. Soon all the first, second, and third years had paired off into twos and threes and were standing in small groups waiting to see what was next. The only ones who didn't have partners were Kiyoko, Momo, Kaidoh, Ryoma, Rei, Inui, Takashi, and Tezuka. Kiyoko thought.
"Hm," said Kiyoko aloud, "Oishi-senpai and Eiji-senpai have good cooperation skills and Yuki and Fuji-senpai are really smart. And my partner will be...Ryoma!" She hooked on to the boy who didn't look too unhappy.
"Kiyoko!" said Rei, "What ever happened to the old saying 'blood is thicker than water'?" Kiyoko blushed.
"But syrup is thicker than blood," said Kiyoko as she ran to the other groups not wanting to face Rei's wrath.
"Because I am the game master," said Inui, "I will have to stay out."
"Eh?" said Momo in surprise, "Inui-senpai! That's not fair!" His objection went to unheard ears as Inui suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Because the group is uneven," said Inui, "Momo! You, Kaidoh, and Takashi are a team."
"Nani?!" said all three in surprise. Momo and Kaidoh glared at each other.
"Who wants to be with Mamushi?" asked Momo looking at him straight in the eye.
"Nani? Baka!" said Kaidoh glaring at Momo. The two were now in a staring contest and Takashi tried to break them up.
"Taka-senpai," said Rei handing him his racket. You could clearly see the transformation.
"Burning! I will stop all quarrels!" said Takashi, "Cooperation! Cooperation!" Takashi started chasing Momo and Kaidoh with his racket of justice.
"Tezuka," said Rei walking to him with a small smile on her face, "Looks like we're the only ones left." Tezuka said nothing but Rei noticed a softer expression on his face. Rei had only been able to talk to Tezuka alone since the match against Ryoma and the treasure hunt was the perfect opportunity for some alone time. Now all the tennis members were assembled. Ryuzaki-sensei blew a whistle and the members immediately opened their envelopes to see the message inside: YOU CAN ONLY FIND ME IN A GRAVEYARD. I LIVE IN THE DIRT AND I WILL SMILE WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME. Most people were already on the move in different directions but the regulars were still there thinking. Eiji's face would scrunch up comically as he tried to think.
"I know!" said Yuki suddenly before hauling Fuji in the direction of the school. Everyone else had gone to the trees to dig up the next clue. Suddenly Ryoma started walking in their direction and Kiyoko followed. He knew what the clue was too. Takashi, Momo, and Kaidoh had gone into the forest along with the other students. Rei and Tezuka knew where it was too though they were going in a much more leisurely pace despite knowing that the punishment was juice.
"Oishi!" whined Eiji, "I wanna go! Everybody's already gone." Oishi was still thinking before it clicked and he grinned at Eiji.
"Hayaku Eiji," said Oishi urging him to go faster as they speeded to the school. Screams suddenly erupted from the outside and the member that had headed for the school turned in that direction in surprise.
"Inui probably set up some traps outside," said Kiyoko. The group was glad they had not gone that way. Now Yuki and Fuji went into the Science room and Yuki picked up the clue inside the skeleton's mouth.
"'YOU CAN SEE THE WORLD HERE'" read Yuki. Fuji smiled and walked out of the classroom.
"This way," said Fuji as the two headed up the stairs. The two were leading but Kiyoko and Ryoma were not far behind. Rei and Tezuka caught up to Kiyoko and Ryoma as they read the note. They were stumped for a bit before suddenly shouting.
"The Geography room!" said the Rei and Kiyoko before dragging their respective partners to the Geography room where they kept the globe. They saw Yuki and Fuji there and now the six sat to figure out the third clue: THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE TO RELAX. Everyone was stumped. There were millions of place you could relax! The rooftop, outside, the nurse's office...
"There!" shouted Kiyoko before grinning at Ryoma and then going in the direction of the nurse's office. Yuki and Fuji decided to try their chances outside and Rei and Tezuka headed for the rooftop. Now Kiyoko and Ryoma had the final clue. They leaned closer to read it: GO TO WHERE THE FLOWERS CAN DANCE AND FLY.
"Dance and fly," mused Kiyoko.
"Eh," said Ryoma amused before heading for the door.
"Wait up Ryoma!" said Kiyoko following the boy, "We're a team remember?"
"We need to go to the sakura blossoms," said Ryoma, "Since there are traps outside...Be careful." The two walked to the sakura trees and began peering into all the holes. In one tree Ryoma had been caught in one of Inui's traps. Kiyoko burst out laughing when she saw him with a racket shaped indentation on his face. Ryoma was not amused.
"I thought you said to be careful," said Kiyoko grinning.
"It doesn't look like it's here Tezuka," said Rei as she looked outside at the school campus, "It's a good view though." Tezuka looked out with Rei at the whole campus and the tiny people at the bottom.
"We should go back," said Tezuka heading for the door. Rei pulled him back and made him sit next to her.
"Stay with me for a bit," said Rei before yawning and leaning on his shoulder, "I've been so tired lately. As captain isn't it your job to take care of your members?"
"They're all downstairs," said Tezuka flatly. Rei only snuggled closer to the boy who was clueless as to what to do for once. Usually he only told the girls to leave but he didn't want to tell Rei that. Plus, it wasn't so bad having Rei lean on you. Rei finally got Tezuka to lean back and look remotely relaxed. She smiled.
"You don't usually show your laid back side at school, Tezuka," said Rei as more of a statement, "But I guess that's what it takes to be a Captain, right? To have the respect of the other team members."
"The respect I attain from the members is strictly because it was earned," said Tezuka, "I don't think it has anything to do with my personality." Rei was slowly smiling inside. This was the most the two had talked and Tezuka was halfway opening himself up. She then looked at him directly.
"Doing that for your team is all nice and good but," began Rei turning serious, "would you mind if I wanted you to rely on me? I know it's selfish but, I really like you, Tezuka." Rei leaned closer to the boy knowing that her feelings were on the line as she pressed her lips lightly on his waiting to see if he would push her back. He didn't. Rei leaned closer to Tezuka who now held her close to him. When she broke off Tezuka was flustered and confused at what he had just done. Rei had to make him show his carefree side more.
"We shouldn't do this," said Tezuka standing up, "Our reputations would be at stake if anyone found out." Wow. Tezuka, THE Tezuka, was actually worried.
"You mean if people knew I liked you?" asked Rei, "Tezuka, I really do like you. But I'll give up right now if you tell me that you don't like me back." Tezuka was silent and Rei's happiness grew tenfold as she smiled and hugged Tezuka from behind. "Then, if you want, we can both keep this a secret. At school, we'll just be related through tennis."
"I'd like that better," said Tezuka as the two made their way down the stairs, "Would you mind?"
"Not in the least," said Rei. She was already shocked at the day's events. She didn't know she could go this far with Tezuka. He made her feel so happy. She was only slightly aware that he was slowly opening her emotions.
"You look so funny!" gushed Kiyoko when the two had sat by the sakura trees and Kiyoko was still giggling at how cute Ryoma looked despite the racket shape you could clearly see on his face. Ryoma pouted.
"Why did we have to do this treasure hunt?" asked Ryoma aloud, "It's lame." Kiyoko stood up and started walking around to take away the lazy feeling she got when she sat down.
"But it's fun! I got to see you with a racket head!" she grinned, "Even I'm not that stu- OW!" She gave a shout when she tripped over a branch and fell into a hole. Ryoma grinned as he made his way to the girl.
"What was that again?" asked Ryoma looking at the hole Kiyoko had fallen into.
"Aren't you going to help me up?" asked Kiyoko changing the subject. Ryoma smiled one more time deciding he would remember this forever before he helped Kiyoko out. She landed on top of the boys and she blushed at the close proximity. She moved away immediately. "Sorry"
"It's nothing," said Ryoma coolly before saying, "Let's give up on the treasure hunt. We could always run before Inui gives us the juice." Kiyoko's eyes widened suddenly remembering.
"The juice!" cried Kiyoko before pulling Ryoma up and looking for the next clue with a vigor, "I ain't drinking the stuff, Ryoma." She was looking into every single space she could find before giving a triumphant shout.
"THE PRIZE IS WITH RYUZAKI-SENSEI," read Ryoma.
"Score!" said Kiyoko before the two headed for the coach's office.
"I want to go home," said Yuki aloud when they had been walking for a really long time. She was already bored and thought that she should be resting rather than doing some treasure hunt. It had lost its appeal after she was nearly trapped with a net Inui had set up. Fuji just smiled.
"It'll probably end when someone finds a clue," said Fuji. They were walking for another few minutes when Yuki looked surprised at what she saw in the next clearing. She burst out laughing. All the tennis members were trapped in nets along with Takashi, Momo, Kaidoh, Eiji, and Oishi.
"What happened to you guys?" asked Yuki.
"We fell into a trap," said Takashi, "Fuji, could you help us out?"
"I'll do it!" volunteered Yuki taking off her jacket. Fuji stopped her.
"You can just stay here," said Fuji smiling, "You're tired right?" Yuki looked surprised before nodding.
"Will you two lovebirds cut the romance and get us out of here?" asked Momo in an annoyed voice. Fuji smiled and started cutting off all the nets except for Momo's, Takashi's, and Kaidoh's. Eiji laughed before letting them go. Right before they were about to separate again, a whistle blew.
"I guess someone got the treasure," said Oishi smiling before suddenly realizing that he had to drink the juice. The non-regulars were already a step ahead of him and had already jetted to the school gates thinking that their own health was better than risking to get their things. Now the regular members were torn between running or going to the courts. Fuji made the decision for them.
"C'mon Yuki," said Fuji cheerfully as he dragged Yuki to the courts.
"Ahh! Someone help!" cried Yuki. In her opinion, going through hell training was heaven compared to drinking Inui's juice. Eiji laughed at Yuki who glared before latching onto his arm. "I'm not going down alone, Eiji!" Eiji tried to grab onto something but ended up clinging to Oishi who grabbed Momo who grabbed Takashi who grabbed Kaidoh. Now they were all on their way to the courts. They only saw Inui, Ryuzaki, Tezuka, and Rei standing there. Then they saw Kiyoko and Ryoma sitting on the ground with swirls in their eyes. The members were horrified. Rei and Tezuka knew that they had to stay there but the regulars had immediately let go of Fuji and ran for cover only to find that Inui had locked the gates. They stood there waiting to accept their fates.
"Gross!" cried Yuki gagging before falling with the other members not far behind. Fuji was the only one standing along with Tezuka who stayed the same as ever. Rei gave a triumphant shout. Inui had run out of juice!
"Hm," mused Inui, "Maybe I spent too much on the ones who had run away..."
"What is it? What is it?" asked Kiyoko eagerly the day before it was time for the Kanto games. Inui, Ryuzaki-sensei, and Tezuka were standing at the front and the team members were standing according to rank. There was a map at the front and Ryuzaki-sensei smiled.
"Because it is the day before the Kanto tournamen," began the coach, "usually I would give the team a rest. But today we will have a treasure hunt. You will be divided into pairs and will look for treasure hidden all over the school."
"What's the prize?" asked a second year. Inui now grinned and held a large pitcher with a mysterious brown liquid.
"You will not drink Inui's Golden Special Activity Mix," said Inui though he was clueless as to why people wouldn't like his drink. Everyone grimaced.
"Um," said Yuki backing away with Eiji not far behind, "I think I'll pass."
"Yuki-chan!" said Eiji clinging to the girl, "I'm not going in alone!"
"You will all be divided into teams of two and the first years may have a group of three," said Ryuzaki-sensei. Yuki brightened. She ran to Fuji and grabbed his arm.
"Fuji-chan," said Yuki, "Will you be my partner?"
"Hai," said Fuji smiling.
"Oi! Yuki-chan," whined Eiji, "I went to you first!"
"Eiji," said Oishi running to him, "We'll be partners." Now Eiji looked enthusiastic.
"Yeah! Now we can definitely win," said Eiji enthusiastically.
"Kachiro, Mizuno," said Horio grinning at the other two, "We will definitely find the prize!"
"Hai!" said the other two enthusiastically. Soon all the first, second, and third years had paired off into twos and threes and were standing in small groups waiting to see what was next. The only ones who didn't have partners were Kiyoko, Momo, Kaidoh, Ryoma, Rei, Inui, Takashi, and Tezuka. Kiyoko thought.
"Hm," said Kiyoko aloud, "Oishi-senpai and Eiji-senpai have good cooperation skills and Yuki and Fuji-senpai are really smart. And my partner will be...Ryoma!" She hooked on to the boy who didn't look too unhappy.
"Kiyoko!" said Rei, "What ever happened to the old saying 'blood is thicker than water'?" Kiyoko blushed.
"But syrup is thicker than blood," said Kiyoko as she ran to the other groups not wanting to face Rei's wrath.
"Because I am the game master," said Inui, "I will have to stay out."
"Eh?" said Momo in surprise, "Inui-senpai! That's not fair!" His objection went to unheard ears as Inui suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Because the group is uneven," said Inui, "Momo! You, Kaidoh, and Takashi are a team."
"Nani?!" said all three in surprise. Momo and Kaidoh glared at each other.
"Who wants to be with Mamushi?" asked Momo looking at him straight in the eye.
"Nani? Baka!" said Kaidoh glaring at Momo. The two were now in a staring contest and Takashi tried to break them up.
"Taka-senpai," said Rei handing him his racket. You could clearly see the transformation.
"Burning! I will stop all quarrels!" said Takashi, "Cooperation! Cooperation!" Takashi started chasing Momo and Kaidoh with his racket of justice.
"Tezuka," said Rei walking to him with a small smile on her face, "Looks like we're the only ones left." Tezuka said nothing but Rei noticed a softer expression on his face. Rei had only been able to talk to Tezuka alone since the match against Ryoma and the treasure hunt was the perfect opportunity for some alone time. Now all the tennis members were assembled. Ryuzaki-sensei blew a whistle and the members immediately opened their envelopes to see the message inside: YOU CAN ONLY FIND ME IN A GRAVEYARD. I LIVE IN THE DIRT AND I WILL SMILE WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME. Most people were already on the move in different directions but the regulars were still there thinking. Eiji's face would scrunch up comically as he tried to think.
"I know!" said Yuki suddenly before hauling Fuji in the direction of the school. Everyone else had gone to the trees to dig up the next clue. Suddenly Ryoma started walking in their direction and Kiyoko followed. He knew what the clue was too. Takashi, Momo, and Kaidoh had gone into the forest along with the other students. Rei and Tezuka knew where it was too though they were going in a much more leisurely pace despite knowing that the punishment was juice.
"Oishi!" whined Eiji, "I wanna go! Everybody's already gone." Oishi was still thinking before it clicked and he grinned at Eiji.
"Hayaku Eiji," said Oishi urging him to go faster as they speeded to the school. Screams suddenly erupted from the outside and the member that had headed for the school turned in that direction in surprise.
"Inui probably set up some traps outside," said Kiyoko. The group was glad they had not gone that way. Now Yuki and Fuji went into the Science room and Yuki picked up the clue inside the skeleton's mouth.
"'YOU CAN SEE THE WORLD HERE'" read Yuki. Fuji smiled and walked out of the classroom.
"This way," said Fuji as the two headed up the stairs. The two were leading but Kiyoko and Ryoma were not far behind. Rei and Tezuka caught up to Kiyoko and Ryoma as they read the note. They were stumped for a bit before suddenly shouting.
"The Geography room!" said the Rei and Kiyoko before dragging their respective partners to the Geography room where they kept the globe. They saw Yuki and Fuji there and now the six sat to figure out the third clue: THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE TO RELAX. Everyone was stumped. There were millions of place you could relax! The rooftop, outside, the nurse's office...
"There!" shouted Kiyoko before grinning at Ryoma and then going in the direction of the nurse's office. Yuki and Fuji decided to try their chances outside and Rei and Tezuka headed for the rooftop. Now Kiyoko and Ryoma had the final clue. They leaned closer to read it: GO TO WHERE THE FLOWERS CAN DANCE AND FLY.
"Dance and fly," mused Kiyoko.
"Eh," said Ryoma amused before heading for the door.
"Wait up Ryoma!" said Kiyoko following the boy, "We're a team remember?"
"We need to go to the sakura blossoms," said Ryoma, "Since there are traps outside...Be careful." The two walked to the sakura trees and began peering into all the holes. In one tree Ryoma had been caught in one of Inui's traps. Kiyoko burst out laughing when she saw him with a racket shaped indentation on his face. Ryoma was not amused.
"I thought you said to be careful," said Kiyoko grinning.
"It doesn't look like it's here Tezuka," said Rei as she looked outside at the school campus, "It's a good view though." Tezuka looked out with Rei at the whole campus and the tiny people at the bottom.
"We should go back," said Tezuka heading for the door. Rei pulled him back and made him sit next to her.
"Stay with me for a bit," said Rei before yawning and leaning on his shoulder, "I've been so tired lately. As captain isn't it your job to take care of your members?"
"They're all downstairs," said Tezuka flatly. Rei only snuggled closer to the boy who was clueless as to what to do for once. Usually he only told the girls to leave but he didn't want to tell Rei that. Plus, it wasn't so bad having Rei lean on you. Rei finally got Tezuka to lean back and look remotely relaxed. She smiled.
"You don't usually show your laid back side at school, Tezuka," said Rei as more of a statement, "But I guess that's what it takes to be a Captain, right? To have the respect of the other team members."
"The respect I attain from the members is strictly because it was earned," said Tezuka, "I don't think it has anything to do with my personality." Rei was slowly smiling inside. This was the most the two had talked and Tezuka was halfway opening himself up. She then looked at him directly.
"Doing that for your team is all nice and good but," began Rei turning serious, "would you mind if I wanted you to rely on me? I know it's selfish but, I really like you, Tezuka." Rei leaned closer to the boy knowing that her feelings were on the line as she pressed her lips lightly on his waiting to see if he would push her back. He didn't. Rei leaned closer to Tezuka who now held her close to him. When she broke off Tezuka was flustered and confused at what he had just done. Rei had to make him show his carefree side more.
"We shouldn't do this," said Tezuka standing up, "Our reputations would be at stake if anyone found out." Wow. Tezuka, THE Tezuka, was actually worried.
"You mean if people knew I liked you?" asked Rei, "Tezuka, I really do like you. But I'll give up right now if you tell me that you don't like me back." Tezuka was silent and Rei's happiness grew tenfold as she smiled and hugged Tezuka from behind. "Then, if you want, we can both keep this a secret. At school, we'll just be related through tennis."
"I'd like that better," said Tezuka as the two made their way down the stairs, "Would you mind?"
"Not in the least," said Rei. She was already shocked at the day's events. She didn't know she could go this far with Tezuka. He made her feel so happy. She was only slightly aware that he was slowly opening her emotions.
"You look so funny!" gushed Kiyoko when the two had sat by the sakura trees and Kiyoko was still giggling at how cute Ryoma looked despite the racket shape you could clearly see on his face. Ryoma pouted.
"Why did we have to do this treasure hunt?" asked Ryoma aloud, "It's lame." Kiyoko stood up and started walking around to take away the lazy feeling she got when she sat down.
"But it's fun! I got to see you with a racket head!" she grinned, "Even I'm not that stu- OW!" She gave a shout when she tripped over a branch and fell into a hole. Ryoma grinned as he made his way to the girl.
"What was that again?" asked Ryoma looking at the hole Kiyoko had fallen into.
"Aren't you going to help me up?" asked Kiyoko changing the subject. Ryoma smiled one more time deciding he would remember this forever before he helped Kiyoko out. She landed on top of the boys and she blushed at the close proximity. She moved away immediately. "Sorry"
"It's nothing," said Ryoma coolly before saying, "Let's give up on the treasure hunt. We could always run before Inui gives us the juice." Kiyoko's eyes widened suddenly remembering.
"The juice!" cried Kiyoko before pulling Ryoma up and looking for the next clue with a vigor, "I ain't drinking the stuff, Ryoma." She was looking into every single space she could find before giving a triumphant shout.
"THE PRIZE IS WITH RYUZAKI-SENSEI," read Ryoma.
"Score!" said Kiyoko before the two headed for the coach's office.
"I want to go home," said Yuki aloud when they had been walking for a really long time. She was already bored and thought that she should be resting rather than doing some treasure hunt. It had lost its appeal after she was nearly trapped with a net Inui had set up. Fuji just smiled.
"It'll probably end when someone finds a clue," said Fuji. They were walking for another few minutes when Yuki looked surprised at what she saw in the next clearing. She burst out laughing. All the tennis members were trapped in nets along with Takashi, Momo, Kaidoh, Eiji, and Oishi.
"What happened to you guys?" asked Yuki.
"We fell into a trap," said Takashi, "Fuji, could you help us out?"
"I'll do it!" volunteered Yuki taking off her jacket. Fuji stopped her.
"You can just stay here," said Fuji smiling, "You're tired right?" Yuki looked surprised before nodding.
"Will you two lovebirds cut the romance and get us out of here?" asked Momo in an annoyed voice. Fuji smiled and started cutting off all the nets except for Momo's, Takashi's, and Kaidoh's. Eiji laughed before letting them go. Right before they were about to separate again, a whistle blew.
"I guess someone got the treasure," said Oishi smiling before suddenly realizing that he had to drink the juice. The non-regulars were already a step ahead of him and had already jetted to the school gates thinking that their own health was better than risking to get their things. Now the regular members were torn between running or going to the courts. Fuji made the decision for them.
"C'mon Yuki," said Fuji cheerfully as he dragged Yuki to the courts.
"Ahh! Someone help!" cried Yuki. In her opinion, going through hell training was heaven compared to drinking Inui's juice. Eiji laughed at Yuki who glared before latching onto his arm. "I'm not going down alone, Eiji!" Eiji tried to grab onto something but ended up clinging to Oishi who grabbed Momo who grabbed Takashi who grabbed Kaidoh. Now they were all on their way to the courts. They only saw Inui, Ryuzaki, Tezuka, and Rei standing there. Then they saw Kiyoko and Ryoma sitting on the ground with swirls in their eyes. The members were horrified. Rei and Tezuka knew that they had to stay there but the regulars had immediately let go of Fuji and ran for cover only to find that Inui had locked the gates. They stood there waiting to accept their fates.
"Gross!" cried Yuki gagging before falling with the other members not far behind. Fuji was the only one standing along with Tezuka who stayed the same as ever. Rei gave a triumphant shout. Inui had run out of juice!
"Hm," mused Inui, "Maybe I spent too much on the ones who had run away..."
