Author's Notes (1): No real hard Japanese words used. Pluse I couldn't spell coack, so I used Sakai-sensei.
Author's Notes (2): As the title says, it's an excerpt because my sense of twisted humor was bothering me all day to write this blurb. Don't worry- it'll connect with the story. Somehow…
Title: Excerpt: Atobe Ambushed
Atobe forced a plastered smile on his face as the group of fan girls started to shoving bouquets of hothouse roses in his face. "And these are for you, Atobe-sama!"
"We hope you like them, Atobe-sama!" squealed one girl as she clasped hands with her other squealing compatriot. The two jumped up and down like a yo-yo on a string.
"We got the very best roses for you, Atobe-sama!" shrieked another as she clasped her face between her hands.
"Please accept them with our love!" screamed another girl as she thrust her bouquet at him.
Without casting his irritated glance at his group of smirking Hyotei Regulars as they walked out the club room, Atobe mentally cursed himself as the soft petals assaulted his face before he was able to take them. His nose itched at their cloyingly sweet scent. Of all times to be ambushed by his adoring fan club!
He heard a sharp clap as an amused voice called out, "Ladies, please, you're suffocating Atobe-sama in roses."
The roses were pulled thankfully pulled away. Breathing much easier now, Atobe lifted an eyebrow and gave a delicate sniff. How odd that the scent of roses did not appeal to him any more. As best he could, he graced them with an indifferent smile that sent the girls squealing again. "They smell quite lovely. Ah?"
From behind him, Atobe heard Shishido snicker as the fan girls melted like ice cubes before him, sighing, "Ahhh…"
"Shishido-san, please stop laughing," Otori whispered from behind him.
Atobe's eye twitched as Muhaki called out, "Yuushi, get the shovel out- Atobe's melted his fan club again!"
A striking girl with long black hair stepped up and smiled as she looked at him. Atobe vaguely recognized her from one of parties that his parents told him to attend. "They felt it was necessary that they show their support for you, Atobe-kun. You are, after all, going to be representing Hyotei in the Nationals."
"Ore-sama thanks them for it," Atobe said courteously with a regal nod of his head, sending the fan girls off into another meltdown. He gritted his teeth as Muhaki joined in Shishido's snickers. Without looking, he held them out. "Kabaji, take these and deal with them as usual."
"Usu," Kabaji said as he took the flowers and walked into the club room with them.
"Can we practice now?" Hiyoshi groused as he gripped his tennis racket and glared at the girls. "We do have a Nationals game to practice for."
Usually, whenever Hiyoshi acted that petulant, Atobe had never failed to reprimand the boy for his general surliness. However, this time, he merely lifted an eyebrow at the blushing sophomore. It was at this moment, the girl said with a clap of her hands, "Indeed, you do. Ladies, it is time for us to make our leave."
As the girls squealed and shrieked their words of lucky and adoration before they hastened away, the girl remained and looked at Atobe with some calculated amusement.
Atobe lifted a perfect eyebrow at her. "And why are you still here, ah?"
"Because I'm not like the rest of those girls," she answered with a smirk. She stepped closer to him. "And I have no desire to take one sniff of them and then have my precious flowers given to the Takeda Nursing Nome like the others."
"If that is your wish," Atobe said with a shrug, ignoring the girl. He glanced at his team as they stood against the club house door and cocked an eyebrow at them. "Shall we go to practice now?"
"You have no idea what I wish for," the girl said in dulcet as she took another step and leaned towards him. "But first things first, allow me to reintroduce myself to you, since you've obviously forgotten my name-"
Atobe lifted his eyebrow at her. "I don't forget important things-"
"Then you should remember it because it'll be very important for you," the girl answered smoothly. "It's Kyoko Watase of the Tsukimoto Investment Group."
Atobe sighed as he looked at the girl, bored. "And this should be important for ore-sama because?"
"I'm definitely going to be ore-sama's wife," the girl said as she stepped back.
Atobe let out a bark of laughter at the girl's attempt at audacity. "And here, ore-sama thought you were going to say something original. Ah, Kabaji?"
"Usu," Kabaji answered with a nod.
"This is just stupid," Hiyoshi grumbled as he looked at Atobe sourly. "Can we just go now?"
"This is so boring," Muhaki yawned as he looked at the girl sourly. "You could have at least tried to do something more original!"
"And has anyone ever told you they would marry you?" the girl snapped back. "Or is it just your mother that loves you?"
His face red, Muhaki was about to snap back when Oshitari sighed and shook his head. "Ya-re, ya-re, at least Madame Stalker has more flair than you."
Her face red, the girl swirled around and lifted her eyebrow at the Hyotei Regulars. "Who has more flair?"
"You'll have to get in line with all the other girls that have claimed Atobe," Shishido called out to her. "Right, Chotarou?"
"That's not a nice thing to say, Shishido-san," Otori scolded gently. He gave a pitying glance at the girl. "She has, after all, confessed her feelings to buchou."
"Confessed nothing," Shishido snorted as he stepped away from the club room. "She just said that she wants to marry him." He looked at Atobe and studied him. "Though for the life of me, I don't know why."
Atobe lifted an eyebrow at Shishido. "Because of ore-sama's perfection, to look upon ore-sama is to want ore-sama."
Shishido sniffed as he looked at Atobe. "I'm looking at you and I sure as hell don't want you."
"And that is something that ore-sama is eternally grateful for," Atobe said smoothly.
"Do not ignore me!" the girl shouted as she glared at Atobe.
"What's going on?" Jiroh yawned as he walked out of the club room, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Why are we out here and why aren't we practicing?"
"We're here because some girl has delusions that she's going to marry Atobe," Muhaki said as he looked at Jiroh.
Jiroh stopped wiping his eyes to look at Muhaki. "Another one?"
"Yeah," Muhaki nodded then he looked at Jiroh's excited face. "Oh, hell."
Oshitari looked at his doubles partner, amused. "There's no way that I'm lending you money today, Gakuto."
"Yay!" Jiroh lifted his arms up in triumph and started jumping around like a little kid. "This means that I won today's betting pool!" He pointed at Muhaki. "And you owe me my pocky!"
Atobe lifted an eyebrow at Muhaki. "Ah? You bet on pocky today? Why was ore-sama not informed of this?"
"It wasn't pocky that we bet on," Gakuto said as he glared at Atobe. "It was a week's worth of snacks." He glared at the furious looking girl. "You just couldn't keep your proposal until tomorrow, could you?"
"How dare you bet on me!" the girl shrieked. "I am Kyoko Watase of the Tsukimoto Investment Group! My father is-"
"Minoru Watase, the primary shareholders of that company," Atobe yawned as he looked at her, utterly bored. "Yes, ore-sama knows and simply does not care."
The girl stared at him. "What?"
"Nor does ore-sama care," Atobe said as he flicked back a lock of his hair. "All ore-sama cares about is winning the Nationals and playing tennis. So now if you would take your presence-"
"ATOBE-SAMA! ATOBE-SAMA! WHERE ARE YOU, ATOBE-SAMA! I LOVE YOU ATOBE-SAMA!"
"Who on earth is that?" demanded the girl as she glared at Atobe.
Atobe's shoulders slumped. As the rest of the regulars looked up around them, looking for where the booming voice was coming from.
"Now where could Madame Stalker be now," Oshitari mused as he cocked his head. "She still has to keep the requisite fifty feet…"
Searching the grounds, Shishido finally pointed. "There she is! She's right up in that tree!"
"ATOBE-SAMA! ATOBE-SAMA! WHERE ARE YOU, ATOBE-SAMA! I LOVE YOU ATOBE-SAMA! WHY AREN'T YOU PRACTICING YET? ARE YOU SICK ATOBE-SAMA?"
"She's hurting my ears," Hiyoshi growled as he stuck his fingers in his ears.
"I think I'm awake," Jiroh said as he looked at the girl in the tree. "How is she shouting so loud?"
"Aw, hell," Muhaki grimaced. "She's got a megaphone this time!"
"At least, she didn't break into the control room and play her love song for buchou like she did last week, sempai," Otori said brightly. "Right, Kabaji?"
"Usu," Kabaji answered with a nod.
"Who on earth is that girl?" the girl demanded.
"Someone who has more flair than you," Oshitari answered as he winced at the megaphone's squawk.
"ATOBE-SAMA! I HAVE A NEW SONG FOR YOU!"
"Oh no," Shishido groaned as he buried his face in his hands. He glared at Atobe. "Do something! She's your stalker!"
"MY LOVE IS FOR YOU, ATOBE-SAMA-
HOW I LOVE, YOU ATOBE-SAMA!
YOU ARE THE SUN IN MY EYES-
THE SMILE IN MY LIPS-
ALL IS ONLY FOR YOU!
YOU HAVE MY HEART, ATOBE-SAMA-
HOW I LOVE ATOBE-SAMA –
THE NIGHTS ARE LONG WITHOUT YOU-
ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS YOU-
YOU ARE IN MY SOUL, ATOBE-SAMA-"
Oshitari looked impressed as glanced at Atobe. "If you take your name out, she's trying to sing in iambic pentameter."
"Who care about that! Just stop her!" Shishido barked at Oshitari then glared. "Just stop her before we have to run laps!"
Atobe gave an irritated glare at Oshitari and Shishido then snapped his fingers. "Kabaji and Jiroh, go call Sakaki-sensei and tell him that we're handling her. Otori, Muhaki, go call campus security. Hiyoshi, Oshitari, the two of you try and get that megaphone away from her! The rest of you, try and coax her down from that tree!"
"And what are you going to do?" Shishido demanded with a scowl.
"MY LOVE IS FOR YOU, ATOBE-SAMA-
HOW I LOVE, YOU ATOBE-SAMA!
YOU ARE THE SUN IN MY EYES-
THE SMILE IN MY LIPS-
ALL IS ONLY FOR YOU!"
Atobe looked at him haughtily. "I'm going to get a set of ear plugs and practice with the non-Regulars until this is over."
"Fine," Shishido groused then looked at the other Regulars. "Let's go."
As the Regulars started to disperse, the girl stepped in front of Atobe. "You are not leaving-"
Atobe looked coldly at the girl. "You will gracefully step away from ore-sama now for ore-sama's patience has been quite used up."
With that, Atobe walked away.
The girl seethed as she looked at Atobe's retreating back then at Oshitari. "Just who does he think he is?"
"He's Atobe Keigo," Oshitari shrugged before he left the girl.