Hee hee! I wrote this on Keigo-Chan's birthday! So, Happy (late) Birthday Keigo! And I hope you all wished him a happy b-day too and if not… DO IT NOW! ; I'm obsessed.

Disclaimer: Konomi Takeshi owns PoT, not me.

Chapter 3: Le Big Game

"Tezuka is mine."

… ...

Ok, Sanada was looking at him funny. Atobe figured he would have to fix this little misunderstanding and quick.

"He'sMY rival," seemed to make a little more sense to both of them.

"I've seen you since Tezuka came back; the way you've been watching him. You want to play him. You want to get back at him for the defeat he handed you in the Kantou tournament last year ah? I recognized that look in your eye Sanada because I feel the same way. However, you won't be the one to defeat him. It will be me. I am his true rival, not you.

"…How do you know he feels the same way?"

Now, what exactly was that supposed to mean? How dare he! Atobe had been the one to beat Tezuka Kunimitsu. Why wouldn't he feel the same way? And the fact that he had asked himself the same question was really beside the point!

Of course, Atobe Keigo was much too composed to twitch, so he settled for sending Sanada a glare that would have had anyone else running in fear.

"Ah? Maybe Ore-same needs to show you exactly why Tezuka does feel the same way!"

"Maybe so."

Perfect! Now this conversation was finally leading where he had wanted it to be in the first place. He had been knowing that Sanada considered himself to be Tezuka's rival, and it was about time someone set him straight. Tezuka only needed one rival, and that was him.

He plastered his infamous smirk back onto his face and gave a flick of his beautiful hair.

"Good. Tomorrow, then. When everyone else is doing warm ups."

Without bothering to wait for Sanada's approval, he started walking toward the door. "We should be getting back to the party before we are missed, ne?"

With that he walked out of the door, Sanada following shortly after. When they arrived, they saw that the celebrations had picked back up. The teams were all inter-mingling, food was being served, and they even had some music playing. Of course, the music was no where near as good as when they had sang.

Atobe had actually quite enjoyed their little karaoke session. The song had been some pop song chosen by the rhythm boy and that weird mumbling kid, and Atobe had to admit that it sounded pretty good. Especially when he sang it. It had surprised him, though, when Sanada had started singing. His voice had been deep and almost velvety sounded. In Atobe's opinion he had been the second best singer up there. It made him wonder why Sanada had been so reluctant in the first place.

At the moment, some sort of heavy metal, American song was being played, and most of the tennis players were having a blast banging their heads and jumping around like crazy. Amidst all of this, it was rather easy to spot one lone figure leaning against the wall.

Tezuka seemed to be refusing to have any fun whatsoever, but there was no way Atobe was going to let that stop him. He dodged his way through the mess of rowdy teenagers, (almost being trampled by a jumping Momoshiro) and came to stand next to his stoic rival.

"Are you not enjoying the party?" He said, as he straightened his hair and clothes that were messed in the dodging.

"Mmm," was the oh-so-witty reply that he received.

"You know, Tezuka, you really do need to work on those people skills. It's a party, your supposed to mingle."

Tezuka rose an eyebrow…well, it was a reaction at least.

"Isn't that what I'm doing?"

…Wow. He spoke! That had to be the most words he had gotten out of Tezuka ever. Well, non-tennis related words anyway. However, it was such a blunt statement, and so undeniably Tezuka, that Atobe couldn't help but start laughing.

And there went the other eyebrow. "What's funny?

It didn't look like Tezuka appreciated being laughed at. Well then, if upsetting him was the only way to make him respond…

"Heh. Tezuka, I'm beginning to suspect that the only reason you don't talk is because you never have anything interesting to say." He gave his most devilish smirk. "Well, am I right?"

Tezuka sent him a glare that mirrored the one he himself had given Sanada earlier. Was it going to work?

"There are times, Atobe, when words are simply unneeded."

Lo and behold, it actually worked. And this time the sentence had consisted of a whole 9 words. Yet, it was still so very much Tezuka.

However, for some reason, Atobe couldn't think of anything to say to that. He was always very good at words, so leaving him speechless was quite a feat indeed. But, when he thought about it, it really did make sense. Especially for Tezuka. There were so many times when, without him saying a thing, one could just tell what he wanted. It was something in his presence; a presence that seemed to be pulling Atobe continuously closer.

Atobe spent almost the rest of the party just standing next to Tezuka in an uncomfortable silence. (Uncomfortable for him anyway; Tezuka seemed right at home)

He only moved when the party was almost over, and everyone was demanding another performance from Pull Tab to Kan, a name chosen by Kirihara and Sengoku.

When he got on stage and started singing, he couldn't bring himself to look away from Tezuka. The boy was still just standing against the wall, arms folded, and eyes closed as everyone else bang their heads and sing along to "Mera Mera."

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Coincidentally, Atobe Keigo had been forced to share a bedroom with Sanada Genichirou. Which, given their previous conversation, could have been a very awkward thing. However, see hadn't actually seen the other boy since their last little performance. It would seem that he had snuck away as soon as he had gotten off the stage. As he opened the door to their room, he realized that this was a good thing, for Sanada already seemed to be asleep.

Atobe quickly followed suit. After the party he was quite tired. Plus, he was very much looking forward to his match with Sanada. He had to be sure he was going to be well rested.

The next morning Atobe was the first to arrive for breakfast, but when Sanada did come down, their eyes met. Atobe could see that Sanada was already wide awake, and there was no way he had forgotten about their match. Sanada's eyes were burning with determination, and Atobe was already getting the feeling that wouldn't be a very easy game.

Which, of course, was just how he liked it.

Getting out of practice was easy. Just a simple, "I have to go to the bathroom," and he was good to go. Apparently, Sanada had had no trouble either. They met on the road that led to the court, and walked the rest of the way side by side.

Atobe started talking mainly to ease the tension, but he found himself speaking of things that he had been keeping to himself for quite awhile. He told Sanada that it was he who had sent Tezuka to Germany in the first place. (He hoped none of his guilt had showed in his tone.) He also told him of his feelings after that game. Like how he felt that it wasn't really he who had won that match, and how much he truly wanted to surpass Tezuka.

This was more than Atobe had ever shared with anyone. However, he figured that if he was going to play Sanada just for Tezuka's attention, then the other at least deserved to know why.

They were at the court now, and Sanada was staring at him. His expression seemed to say that he was unfazed by this knowledge, but then—

"I hadn't realized that you had felt that way. But, there can only be one strongest, and that's all there is to it."

Atobe had to let that sink in for a few seconds. It was so blunt, it almost seemed like something Tezuka would say….except, in more words…

Well, when he was right, he was right. There really could only be one strongest. And the only to prove who that was, was for Atobe to win this match.

He didn't say that, however. Instead, he just sent Sanada a smirk and gave him the first serve, then got ready to play this deciding match. He watched as Sanada threw the ball in the air, and then…

…then they were interrupted by Hanamura.

Luckily for them, Sakaki-sensei was passing by right at that time. He made it quite clear that this game was going to be played. (Which made sense as he was Hyoutei's coach and this was very good experience for Atobe) This shut Hanamura up pretty quickly.

And so, finally, without any more interruptions, they were able to begin.

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Atobe knew, of course, that Sanada was very strong, but that serve had been something else. It had taken a hell of a lot just to hit it back over the net. The next few shots proved to be equally as difficult.

If Sanada was surprised to see Atobe actually returning all of his shots, he didn't show it. Though, his face did look quite surprised after it was he who lost the first point.

Atobe wasn't the top of 200 players for nothing.

It was becoming steadily more obvious to Atobe just why Sanada was respected so much. The boy definitely determined. He was strong and smart, a combination not too often seen among the younger players. There was also, like with Tezuka, a passion within him that you could just feel. A passion that upon reflection seemed to almost overshadow. Tezuka's own….Almost…

Yes, Sanada Genichirou was one of the best players he had ever faced. He could already see that even after only a few points.

"Game, Atobe! 1 game to Love!"

But there was still NO way he was going to lose.

He looked to the opposite side of the court to judge his opponent's reaction. Infuriating as it was, Sanada seemed to care less about the win. He was fixing the strings on his racket and just staring straight ahead.

Swallowing he indignation, Atobe tried to focus on his serve. However, all of a sudden, his focus was thrown off by a blue jump suit standing out in a crowd of red jerseys and the flash of glasses shining in the sun.

Yep, there was Tezuka Kunimitsu, who's eyes seemed to be literally burning into his own. Atobe knew exactly what they were saying too. They were telling him that he better win. They were demanding not to be let down.

Heh! Well, who was he to deny such a request from such a deserving opponent?

'Don't worry Tezuka. You're my rival only. I'm not about to let anyone else have you!'

With that he sent a nod toward his rival, and then sent his first serve flying over the net.

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WEEE! All finished! Wow that was like long and stuff. Um, I hope to have the next chapter up by Tuesday…wish me luck with that.

Next chapter is Sanada again! And then the chapter after that is what begins some sort of actual plot thingy! Yay! Hope yall stay with me that long.

Oh btw, I know there's no continuation of the party in the anime, but that's why this is a fic. Plus I wanted to add the random Tez/Ato-ness. (It doesn't last long don't worry!)

Anyhoot! Review!