By: Orestria (old pen name that she's too lazy to change; lady tyria)

Dedicated to: Michelle who got me addicted to Rokkaku, the rokkaku LJ community that got me info I needed, and Sierra. For helping me make the phone ring. I'm so pathetic sometimes.

Date Started: Jan 22, 2005 (story) Jan 28 (this chapter)

Rating: PG-13 I guess.

Disclaimer: Obviously not mine, or else the anime would be more 'interesting' winks

Note(s): If you don't know the Rokkaku characters, there are notes about them (or about my use of them) at the bottom of chapter one, which I'll assume you've read before reading this one. Hopefully people know the Saint Rudolph boys a little better, but I know some of them garner the reaction of 'he was in tenipuri?' so I guess I'll do SeiRu character summaries at the bottom of this chapter.ha. I had the date as 'Jan 22 2004' for the first chapter. That should be 2005. I hate Januaries

Love ROKKAKU!

Ch. 2; Love SeiRu?

Mizuki Hajime had been having a good day, that is, until he got to practice. He counts again in his head, all the while twirling one strand of hair around his finger, and once again comes up short. This is absolutely inexcusable. One of his regulars is... missing. Such an absence reflects poorly on him as a manager. Once more, since he could hardly believe any of his players would have the cheek to skip practice, he checks again. First there is himself, of course. Leaning against the chain link fence unobtrusively near the practicing non-regulars. Rather, it would be unobtrusive if he weren't the rather devious manager of Saint Rudolph's boys tennis team. As it is, his mere presence is enough to keep the juniors on task without any real effort on his part. He pushes off the fence, and heads towards the regulars.

Over on the main courts, Nomura Takuya stares wide-eyed at the spot where the ball had just hit. He had barely even seen it coming, and he certainly hadn't had time to react as it flew past, "So fast...!"

The vice-captain's opponent, Fuji Yuuta, smirks slightly at his No-Touch Ace. It is the sort of expression that the younger brother of the tennis genius of Seigaku would rarely if ever make off the tennis courts. Mizuki shifts his gaze away from Yuuta just in time to see the team captain Akazawa Yoshiroh finishing off his doubles partner Kaneda Ichiroh with a brilliant smash. The team manager certainly approves of having a little flourish to your game, but that sort of behaviour would not help with their all ready sub-par doubles combination. He makes a mental note to have yet another little talk with the Captain on the subject. Since he'll need someone to watch over the juniors, he stops, slinking up behind Akazawa, who is too busy enjoying his victory to notice him, and slides a slim hand onto the taller boy's shoulder.

The Captain spins around only to look down with a strange combination of contempt and concealed terror. He takes a step back, hoping rather futilely to regain his personal space, knowing from experience that it will never really work. It takes all his will power as a stoic captain to not blabber, and Akazawa is actually quite proud that in the face of the black haired boy's 'usual' treatment, he only stutters a little, "M-Mizuki-kun. What do you want?" Yoshiroh winces, wishing he could shoot himself for using that particular phrasing with the Manager, but luck is on his side for once since Mizuki is on a mission.

"Akazawa-buchou," the dark-haired boy murmurs, mostly because he knows that using such a sensuous tone of voice will always freak out the taller boy. As expected, the captain fairly twitches as Mizuki leans in closer, "I'm busy, but the juniors require supervision. I'm sure as their Captain you won't allow them to go on without guidance, right?"

"Aa. Of course," Akazawa nods before using this chance to escape from the manager. He toys with the idea of running, but his pride would never allow that, so he simply turns on his heel and walks as quickly as he can while still maintaining some dignity. A slim finger rises up and twirls a strand of black hair as its owner chuckles before moving on to Court C, where Kisarazu Atsushi and Yanigasawa Shinya ought to be playing a match, but it is most definitely vacant. Decidedly in a foul mood now, Mizuki wonders if he could possibly be missing two regulars, which is an even more impossible idea than missing one!

Finally, he comes into sight of one of the absent doubles team's members. Yanigasawa is at the wall, practicing with himself. Now knowing the identity of the missing regular, and having a rather convenient doubles partner to interrogate, the Manager picks up his pace, quickly closing the distance between himself and his teammate, who is spared from the 'usual' manager treatment since, well, since Mizuki has standards. He stands still a scant second without being noticed before making his presence known, "Yanigasawa-kun."

Yanigasawa Shinya had not been having a good day. He had spent the entire practice thus far being nervous as all hell. Finally, while practicing against the wall, out of their evil manager's line of sight, he had been able to relax a little. Then, the cause of his nervousness calls out for him, almost from right next to him! When had Mizuki gotten there! The manager's appearance is enough to completely throw his concentration, and he utterly misses the sweet-spot of his racket, barely hitting the ball at all. The ball is sent flying high up over the wall and out of sight. The two tennis players watch the ball sail away, Mizuki apparently rendered temporarily speechless by this display of incompetence.

Quickly composing himself after that pathetic display, he sweeps a hand through his hair. To display his annoyance at the current situation, he skips straight to the point, "Yanigasawa-kun, you wouldn't happen to know where Kisarazu-kun is this afternoon, would you?"

"Uh... M-Mizuki-kun da ne. I don't know how to tell you this da ne... But-"

"Get onwith it." Mizuki urges, his patience quickly wearing thin. He crosses his arms in front of his chest in a subconscious gesture. He doesn't want to have to listen to five minutes of stammering and 'da ne's just to get his answer.

"Kisarazu-kun s-said he wasn't coming today da ne!" Shinya blurts everything out quickly, so quickly it is almost slurred all together. He takes a step back, really not sure how the manager is going to react, and not necessarily wanting to be around to see. He feels it is to his credit that he doesn't run away or shrink back, no matter how much he wants to at that moment.

Mizuki Hajime is quite taken aback. Outright insubordination? What could drive the usually so acquiescent Kisarazu to such an act? Hajime snarls, his control over his team being challenged, "And why on Earth not?"

"Did you hear the news this morning da ne? Rokkaku Junior High exploded or something da ne. Kisarazu-kun has been trying to contact his older brother all day da ne." The doubles player babbles, trying to hurriedly explain everything so as to hopefully avoid the wrath of their slightly evil manager.

Mizuki's normal smirk returns to his face. A perfectly legitimate (if annoying) family reason, not disobedience. Furthermore, he can use this situation to his advantage. Helping the Kisarazu boy to get through this situation will get him further loyalty from both members of the double team, with a minimal of fuss, and help his image as an amazing manager. "It can't be helped. Since Akazawa-buchou is watching over the juniors, go play a practice match with Kaneda-kun. I'll go check on Kisarazu-kun."

Yanigisawa goes from being simply relieved over his lack of punishment, to immensely grateful over Mizuki's concern about his doubles partner, "Thank you da ne! I'll work hard here da ne! You go take care of Kisarazu-kun da ne!" He runs off contentedly to play his match, confident that the manager will take care of everything. Hopefully without causing too much trauma in those around him.

In a park downtown, in a small wooded area, in an even smaller clearing within the wooded area, crouches Kaidoh Kaoru. The Viper of Seishun Gakuen had been distracted from his walk home by a quick glimpse of a feline tail disappearing off into the park.

Snake eyes meet cat eyes as he creeps ever closer. One hand slithers out ahead of him towards the intrigued but apathetic feline. Just as an eager finger tip manages to brush against the warm fur, the tennis ball tumbles out of the sky and strikes the back of his head. The unfortunate Kaidoh tumbles face first into the ground, as the cat mewls in indignant shock before running off to safety.

Kisarazu Atsushi puts down the phone receiver after yet another failed attempt to catch his older brother Ryou at home. He'd left a message on his twin's cell as well, but he keeps calling the home line just in case the cell is out of batteries, or something like that. Ok, so maybe he just likes it better when he feels like he's doing something instead of sitting around idly waiting for news. He stares at the phone, imploring it to ring. Interrupting this tense silence is an insistent knock on the dorm room's door.

With a parting glare to the useless phone, Atsushi treads over to the door and cracks it open to find Mizuki Hajime. Being in a poor enough mood as it is, he goes to close the door again, hoping to avoid having to deal with his evil tennis manager. However, the sly boy is too quick, and manages to sneak in a foot, and then slide entirely into the room. Fortunately for Kisarazu, Mizuki lets the rather rude gesture slide... for the moment at least. Instead the manager leans against the door, closing it in the process, before beginning what is a little too obviously a concerned act, "Kisarazu-kun, I couldn't help but notice your absence from practice. Of course, I heard the news about Rokkaku this morning on the radio, so I just had to come up here and check on you myself."

"You didn't have to check up on me, Mizuki." In fact, Atsushi will prefer it he doesn't in the future, but he isn't about to say that. He goes back over to his bed and sits on the edge, resuming his staring contest with the telephone, "Haven't heard from him yet."

Mizuki swaggers over until he is standing directly in front of the other tennis player. He leans over until his bangs are brushing against the other's, so that he can't possibly avoid the manager's gaze. He elaborates,"You're going to ruin your immune system and catch yourself a cold fretting like this, and he wouldn't want that. He's probably busy figuring out what's going to happen for the rest of the year, or something like that. Rokkaku might be closed for some time, you know."

The younger twin shifts and moves to the side away from his manager whose obsession with closeness is not exactly making him feel better, then closes his eyes and tries to calm himself down. What Mizuki said may be true, this situation is making him feel a bit unwell, but- "Even so, Mizuki-san, I won't be able to feel at ease until I hear from him. I know it's not likely that anything's actually happened to him... it didn't say anything on the radio about injuries or anything, but..."

Then finally the phone rings, and like a sudden storm after a drought, its waters revitalizing the dry earth, all of Atsushi's energy floods back to him as he fairly springs at the infernal machine. When he answers it, his voice reflects more of his anxiety than he would have liked, "Hello? Ryou?" He lets out the breath he knew perfectly well he'd been holding, giving a small smile of relief.

Mizuki saunters over closer, hoping to catch some of the words from the other side of the line, but all he can hear of the Rokkaku player is dull and incomprehensible from this distance. His curiousity will never be satisfied with just one half of this phone call, so he will certainly be getting the full scoop from his player afterwards. Still, he listens closely for hints as to what is going on, to help with the impending interrogation.

"Thank goodness, I'm glad... So that's what happened. What about your school year?" Aha, the big money question. Almost despite himself, Mizuki leans forward slightly, trying futilely to catch some of those words, like, trying to catch minnows with one's bare hands. Due to his proximity, the manager is almost hit when Atsushi suddenly jumps back, eyes wide, "Eh! Does that mean! Can Ojii-san do that? Ugh. So everything's really just all up in the air still. I hope everything works out... no, no, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm glad everybody's all right. Aa. I understand. Ok, I'll talk to you later then. Bye."

Atsushi continues to stare forward even after he hears the line disconnect, stunned by whatever it is his brother had told him. Mizuki clears his throat, but fails to gain the attention of the other tennis player. Slightly irritated by being ignored, even momentarily, by the other boy, he takes the receiver from him and puts it back in its holder. The doubles player is still lost in his thoughts, so Mizuki gently solicits, "Kisarazu-kun." However again he receives no reply. He smirks slightly, deciding rather gladly to move on to a slightly more drastic attempt. He slides an arm around the shorter player's waist, and whispers his name into his ear.

The younger twin comes out of his stupor at this and immediately shoves his evil Manager away. He doesn't care if Hajime's 'usual' treatment for pretty much all the Saint Rudolph regulars is a bit more touchy-feely than most would care for, that had been simply too far, "Mizuki!"

"Hmph, kids these days. So rude. Here I am, just trying to help..." He realizes that he's not really going anywhere with that argument, and flips his hand through his hair to regain his composure, "Anyways, what did your dear older brother tell you that was so shocking?"

"Ryou said... That they might be coming here. Well, they're hoping to be able to come here."

Mizuki stares at the black-haired boy for a moment, feeling a bit of the shock the other teen had displayed earlier, "'They'. You mean Rokkaku's team? And they'll be joining Saint Rudolph?" This is a cause for celebration, if this means what he hopes it means. Between the currently regulars of their school and the regulars of Rokkaku Chuu he could make a sort of super regular team! Data quickly flies through his head as he tries to grasp the enormity involved.

Atsushi observes Mizuki's curiously vacant expression for a moment before realizing what his manager is thinking, "They aren't coming here to join our team, Mizuki-san. That's why I said they might be coming here. Ojii-san, er, he's the coach for Rokkaku, he's trying to strike a deal with the Headmaster for them to school here, and share the courts with us, but continue to play in the championship as Rokkaku Chuu. Can... Can they do that, Mizuki-san?"

"Not usually, no. However this is quite an unusual circumstance... Part of the decision will come down to our tennis club as well, whether we want to share our court space or not..." Mizuki smothers his urge to smirk at the wistful expression on the other boy's face. So, the younger twin who left his school because of his brother doesn't want that same brother to lose his chance for success, hm? That is interesting information. Hajime realizes all the data he could gather from having the other school there, and the increase in morale and competitiveness. Not to mention some easy grateful loyalty from the short-haired twin. Finally, he does smirk, before declaring, "Well... It would be no great victory for us if one of the strong teams drops out of the competition... I will have a talk with Watabe-Sensei. Not only will the Saint Rudolph Tennis Club allow Rokkaku to share the courts, but we will request that the Headmaster allows them here."

The next day, Mizuki Hajime is rather conspicuously absent from tennis practice. Apparently the Captain knew this was going to happen in advance since he begins and controls practice without even waiting to see if the Manager iss just going to make a fashionably late appearance. Akazawa ignores any questions from the juniors about the whereabouts of the team manager, meanwhile the Regulars are enjoying their respite too much to really inquire. After a few minutes, it doesn't seem that different from any other practice (Mizuki must have told Akazawa exactly how he wanted practice to progress), except that there is a lot less of Mizuki's lack of consideration for the personal space of others.

With only ten minutes left in practice, Mizuki finally shows up. He must be deep in thought because he takes over watching the juniors from Akazawa rather quietly. The captain doesn't ask about the manager's silence, although that is less out of respect and more out of caution brought about by the pure-evil smirk on Hajime's face. At the very end of practice, Mizuki calls the whole tennis team to Court A, regulars, juniors and freshmen alike. Nobody particularly enjoys gathering in front of him, all wary of how, well, how happy he seems. It just can't be a good thing.

"I have a bit of an announcement to make. Things are going to be changing around here. I don't know how many of you have heard of the explosion at Rokkaku Junior High, but since the school is closed for the rest of the year... their tennis team's regulars are coming here. Unfortunately, they will not be joining our team, however we will be sharing our court space with them so that they can continue to participate in the competitions." Many of the juniors groan, anticipating far less opportunities for practice matches. The regulars groan as well, but that's because they are close enough to see that Mizuki is still smiling, even when he says 'unfortunately', which, just like his happiness earlier, can't be a good thing. He finishes with a flourish, "Of course, I expect every one of you to treat them with fairness and respect, and help them to get adjusted. Dismissed!"

To Be Continued

Characters

(for people who don't know Seiru. Well, really it's for people who don't know, like, Nomura, since most know mizuki and yuuta... anyways)

Mizuki Hajime, third year, Manager (but with more real power than the Captain, because he's evil). He's devious, underhanded, and wears far too much purple. He plays a sort of data tennis, although not exactly the same as Inui's, and is more than willing to manipulate others for his own personal gain.

Akazawa Yoshiroh, third year, Captain (but with no real power). He's tall and he's kind of scary. He apparently is more used to singles than doubles, although Mizuki makes him play doubles with Kaneda.

Fuji Yuuta, second year, the younger brother of the tensai/prodigy Fuji Syuusuke, Mizuki recruited him from Seigaku. He hates being compared to his brother, and wants to be known on his own merit and not as 'the brother of Fuji'.

Yanigasawa Shinya, third year, plays doubles with Kisarazu Atsushi. Called 'ducky' by many a tenipuri fan. He says 'dane' at the end of every sentence, which can be rather annoying, but he and his partner do have good combination.

Kisarazu Atsushi, third year, the younger twin brother of Ryou from Rokkaku. He was recruited by Mizuki from Rokkaku, and made to cut his hair and wear a ribbon so that people could tell him apart from his brother. He plays doubles with Shinya.

Kaneda Ichiroh, second year, plays doubles with Akazawa, and has very little characterization in the show. He appears to be pretty good at doubles since he manages not to play horribly with Akazawa who is used to singles.

Nomura Takuya, third year, vice-captain. He wears glasses. he never played or really did a damn thing in the show. he's the weakest player on Seiru because Mizuki stacked the singles matches against seigaku.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first part! Ha, there was so little rokkaku in this chapter it's almost like the title is false advertizing... don't worry, from here on in, there will be more rokkaku (and Seiru) goodness .