Hohoho! This is the second last chapter! Heheh... will add some TezukaxAtobe pairing in the last chapter! Pls comment!
Disclaimer: I dun own the Prince of Tennis
Warning: Some characters are out of character! Hohoho!
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It was almost noon when the Seigaku regulars and the Hyoutei regulars met at the tennis court for a practice match.
"Listen guys," Oishi said to his Seigaku members. "Atobe had given us permission to have practice matches with Hyoutei regulars. We'll have 2 friendly doubles and 3 singles match."
"Ah," Katsuo said. "Atobe is so generous!"
"Yeah!" Kachirou said. The three freshmen turned to look at Atobe who was seated on a beach chair, his decorated cast in full view. Kabaji was holding a yellow umbrella to shade him from the hot mid-day sun. Atobe held an empty glass in one hand.
"Kabaji," Atobe said. He pointed to his empty glass.
"Usu!" Kabaji said as he took a pitcher of lemonade from his cooler and poured it into Atobe's glass.
"He's still scary as usual!" Horio cried. Kaidoh saw the whole thing and he found it extremely irritating.
"Your majesty, The Monkey King," Kaidoh said under his breath. "Irritating. Chih!"
"Oshitari, Choutarou, Doubles One. Gakuto, Kabaji, Double Two. Shishido, Singles Three. Wakashi, Singles Two and Jiroh, singles one," Atobe said in a confident voice. The guys from Hyoutei nodded. They dispersed to do warm ups.
"Atobe buchou is confident as usual!" Sakuno said. "No wonder his teammates look up to him!"
"Yeah! He's cool!" Tomochan yelled. "Atobe is so amazing! HIYAH! ATOBE-SAMA!"
"Uh, Tomochan… You are supposed to cheer for Seigaku!" Sakuno said. Tomochan laughed.
"Ah ha ha! The more I see him, the more gorgeous he becomes! HAHAHA!" Tomochan laughed. Atobe turned to look at them. Sakuno covered her face, embarassed.
"Tomochan…." Sakuno said, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, Sakuno! I still love RYOMA-SAMA!!! I am still the president of his fan club, you know!" Tomochan reassure her. Sakuno just shook her head.
Oishi looked at the Hyoutei guys doing their warming ups. They all seemed determined and confident.
"Okay, you guys. Listen up! Kikumaru and me will play doubles one. Kawamura and Kaidoh, doubles two. Momo, singles three, Echizen, singles two and Fuji, Singles one. Inui will be gathering data. All ready?" Oishi asked.
"Let's crush them!" Momo said. Horio quickly handed Kawamura his racket.
"You forgot something, Kawamura-senpai!" Horio said.
"BURNING!!!!!!!!!!!! GREATO!!! HYOUTEI-SAN... COME ON, BABY!" Burning mode Kawamura shouted at the top of his lungs.
"SEIGAKU!!!"
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
Doubles one started and Atobe watched the match closely. His team had lost to shitty Seigaku twice already.
"They looked stronger then when we last met them," Atobe said. "Right, Kabaji?"
"Usu!" Kabaji said.
"Hey, what did that old man want now?" Hiyoshi suddenly said. Atobe and the guys turned to see Nanjiroh watching the match too. He had a cheeky smile on his face.
"Oi, Atobe, did you get to learn anything from him?" Gakuto asked.
"He seemed uninterested to teach me," Atobe said thoughtfully. "I think I have to change my plan now."
"Oi, he's looking at us!" Gakuto whispered. Atobe pushed his fringe away and waved at Nanjiroh. Nanjiroh ignored him.
"Nanjiroh, I admire you but what Atobe wants, Atobe gets," Atobe said under his breath. The other remaining guys laughed.
"Oi, we seemed to be losing!" Shishido interupted them. Seigaku was leading the game, 4-3.
"KIKUMARU-SENPAI!!!!! OISHI SENPAI!!!! GAMBATE!" Tomochan yelled holding a banner she made. The banner read: "Crush Your Rivals and be no. 1… I LOVE RYOMA SAMA!"
"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno shouted at her. Tomochan usually get carried away during matches. "This is a practice match and not a real match! So hush!"
"Hush??? I made this banner especially for Ryoma-sama and I want to show it off!!!" Tomochan cried.
Gakuto glared at them. "Oi, you two noisy girls!!!! Can u be quiet and just watch the game?"
"ACK!" Tomochan yelled. "Sakuno! That cute red haired guy just talked to me! Did u hear that?"
"Tomochan!" Sakuno scolded her. "Hush!"
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Atobe watched the game, amused. His guys lost both the doubles game. It was Singles 3 now. Had Seigaku gotten stronger or had his team gotten careless? Atobe paused when he saw Inui studying him from afar. What does that irritating data gatherer wants now? Maybe he is admiring my good looks! Atobe thought. Atobe saw Inui walk towards him.
"Do you have something to say, Inui?" Atobe asked. He held his glass of lemonade to Kabaji so that Kabaji could pour more lemonade into it. "You kept looking at me. Why? Are you so blinded by my great confidence?"
"I'm impress by your ability to act," Inui said, adjusting his glasses.
"Act?" Atobe repeated. "Oh you mean act cool? I am cool. In fact, most people are blinded by my ability to act cool when times are really bad-"
"You are up to something," Inui said. "Something bad."
Kabaji took a step towards Inui angrily. Atobe stopped him.
"So Seigaku really had such talented data gatherer, ah?" Atobe said. "I'm impressed."
"So it's true," Inui said.
"You think I enjoy being… how do I say this… crippled… and staying under the same roof with that poker faced kid?" Atobe asked.
"It's about Tezuka then, isn't it?"
Atobe thought for awhile. "Tezuka and me went way back. People assumed that I met him at the training camp a few years ago but I knew Tezuka since we were kids. In fact, if it weren't for me, Tezuka would have not picked up tennis. And Seigaku will crumble to dust."
Inui looked at him. "You knew Tezuka since you were young? Tezuka never said anything about it-"
"Why must he?" Atobe asked, coolly. He sipped his lemonade.
"So why are you so keen to defeat him?" Inui asked.
"Inui-kun. You are blocking my view of the match. Please make yourself useful and go stand somewhere else," Atobe answered. Inui just stared at him. He adjusted his glasses again and walked away.
Kabaji went over to Atobe's side to pour more juice.
"Oi, Kabaji. Keep an eye on that shitty data gatherer. I don't trust him," Atobe whispered to his loyal servant and friend.
"Usu!" Kabaji said.
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Evening came and the match ended with Seigaku winning all 5 games. It made Atobe even madder. They had lost three times to them! THREE TIMES!
Ryoma's mom made dinner and Seigaku took the kitchen while Hyoutei took the living room to feast.
"Ah… we never had so many guests before!" Ryoma's mom said and laughed.
"Sorry for all the trouble!" Sakuno and Oishi said at the same time.
"It's okay! Really!" Ryoma's mom said as she took some food to the Hyoutei guys.
The living room was silent. The Hyoutei guys seemed upset and angry at their loss.
"Lucky coach isn't here, or we'll all get kicked out of the team!" Oshitari said. All the guys nodded in agreement.
"You guys totally sucked," Atobe said.
"They've grown much stronger!" Shishido said.
"Why of course!" Nanjiroh said. He was at the TV and had heard the conversation loud and clear. "You guys won't have a chance against Seigaku."
"Stupid old man!" Gakuto cursed. "Who is talking to you?"
"Nanjiroh," Atobe began. "Don't try to be funny or you'll regret it."
Those words seemed to keep Nanjiroh quiet.
"Sheesh, Atobe, even that old man is scared of you," Shishido whispered.
Atobe yawned. "Why of course. If he don't want to go bankrupt!"
The Hyoutei guys laughed.
"Atobe, I'm amazed by how your brain works," Gakuto said. They all laughed again.
It was almost ten when the guys from Hyoutei left Ryoma's house. The Seigaku guys had begun to pack their stuffs in their respective rooms.
Atobe yawned as he watched Fuji, Kawamura, Inui and Kaidoh pack their belongings.
"How long will you guys take? I need my beauty sleep, you know," Atobe asked and he pretended to yawn.
Fuji turned to him and smiled. "Eh heh… we won't be long. Sorry to trouble you."
Kaidoh and Inui finished packing and left first. Atobe watched as Fuji helped Kawamura pack.
"Sorry, Fuji. I think I bought too much stuff!" Kawamura said, laughing.
"It's okay, Taka-san," Fuji said.
"Oi, Fuji," Atobe said. Both Kawamura and Fuji looked at him. "What you said yesterday… about Tezuka… I will prove you wrong."
Fuji just smiled. He turned to Kawamura. "Let's go, Taka-san."
"What did he mean, Fuji?" Kawamura asked.
"Heh, it's nothing," Fuji said, smiling brightly at him. Kawamura scratched his head, slightly confused.
Atobe watch them leave. Finally, he thought. Some peace and quiet!
"RYOMA-SAMA!!! WE WISHED WE COULD STAY LONGER! YOUR HOUSE IS GREAT! I WANT TO COME AGAIN!!! DO CALL US OVER AGAIN NEXT TIME! HIYAH!!!!" Tomochan yelled. Ryoma sighed. Something about her voice irritates him.
"Mada, mada dane," he said, under his breath.
"So I guess we shall leave now! Sorry to burden you, Echizen! I hope Inui had gotten what he came here for!" Oishi said.
"I've gathered good data today," Inui said. "I will go home and process those data. I hope to find something useful."
Momo turned to Echizen. "Is he's talking about our data or Hyoutei's data?"
Ryoma did not answer. He thought Inui wanted to investigate Atobe. Ryoma watched them go and quickly locked the gates. He sighed. Finally, some peace and quiet. He looked up at the window where Atobe's room were. It was already dark. He must be sleeping, Ryoma thought. Maybe I should too. He walked into his house.
"Mada, mada dane!" he said.
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Hohoho! Somewhere in this chapter is a part where Atobe said if it weren't for him, Tezuka would have not taken up tennis! Hohoho! I thought of another story idea involving this history! Hope to start writing it soon!