CHAPTER 11: MOUNTAIN TRIP PART 4

"I'm making Brownie Torte and I was wondering how many eggs I need," Marui said casually into the phone as he opened his refrigerator, searching for the eggs.

"That's why we have the Internet-idiot. So stop calling me. 'Sides, this is the only time of the day I can actually do what I want!" Niou shouted into his phone. It was near midnight, and why the heck was Marui baking a cake at midnight anyways? He was about to end the call when Marui stopped him.

"Did you hear the news?"

"What news? If it's about the attempt to bake the world's biggest cake, I have already heard that a thousand times."

"No it's not that- it's about Atobe." Marui picked up the egg carton and nudged the refrigerator door shut.

"Atobe?"

"Yeah, you know the dudes who robbed that bank up in Tokyo? Well, they hijacked Atobe's limo. The police found it crashed into a tree, and most of the dudes got arrested."

"Most of them?"

"Atobe's chauffeur was actually their boss! He got away, and they couldn't find Atobe either. His mom and dad are like freaking out right now."

"Seriously, doesn't Atobe have like a secret microchip installed in his brain so they can just use some device to find him or something?" Niou asked sarcastically and flipped the magazine he was reading (contents are not disposed for public eyes).

"They lost track of the chip, for some reason." Marui shrugged, cracking an egg and cursing when the a little bit of the yolk spilled onto his fingers.

"I meant it as a joke. Puri."

"And I meant my answer as a serious answer- so how many eggs do I need? I don't have all night, you know."

Akaya stared up at the ceiling while cursing silently. Ever since Atobe had arrived, his life had become somewhere between a slave's life and... oh right, a slave's life.

Atobe was the most annoying person he had ever met. The Hyotei king had taken Akaya's bed, so now he had to sleep on the floor with a whole bunch of snoring Seigaku players. And, even better, Inui Sadaharu was sleeping beside him.

Akaya swore the data master's glasses were flashing while he slept. It was a general rule (to Akaya) that glasses shouldn't have a secret life of their own, plotting nefarious plans.

The Rikkaidai ace turned away while he hugged his teddy bear tightly. How long would he have to stay here, in this dreadful scary place? It even had Fuji in it, for Pete's sake. Fuji.

The inn didn't have any cellphone service and the car was out of gas. Kawamura something could probably drag the car down to a gas station, but everyone knew that was not a good idea.

All their hopes rested on Atobe's chip. He let himself relax. Slowly, his eyes began to close as he envisioned himself sleeping on Sanada's cap.

"Be quiet! You'll wake him up and, according to what chapter 2, page 37, paragraph 12 says, he will become -!" Akaya turned around a little bit. Was that Tezuka? So loud...

"Are you afraid, Tezuka?" A confident voice spoke, no doubt belonging to Atobe.

"...Of course not, Atobe. You're not making any sense."

"I do indeed make sense… hey, stop laughing at me!" Atobe was probably shouting at those monk- Seigaku, of course.

The little boy sat up and wiped some sleepy tears from his eyes. A loud yawn escaped him as he stretched.

"Glad to see you're finally up," Ryuzaki greeted the half-asleep boy who was tottering down the stairs in a t-shirt many times too big for him. It looked like one of Sanada's t-shirts; it had the slogan 'All work and no play makes Jack a strong, good boy' emblazoned on it.

Sanada sneezed into in his text book.

"Sanada," the teacher said reprovingly. "I expected better of you!"

"Sorry, sensei," he apologized sincerely. He wasn't sick or anything.

"What time is it?" Akaya asked as he sat down on the sofa and starting eating the piece of bread he had just been given.

Ryuzaki looked at her watch. "About 10 o'clock. Hurry up and finish eating. The others have already went out and started their training."

"Training? Then- did Atobe go with them?" Akaya asked innocently. Perhaps, finally, he would have most of the inn to himself.

"For your information, I don't train with Seigaku," Atobe said imperiously. "I do not fraternize with my opponents. I'm going to enjoy some Earl Grey while watching."

Ryuzaki and Akaya looked over at Atobe who stood in the door with a folding chair under his arm and a pair of sunglasses on his nose, very much a rich, spoiled son.

"Ah... I'm so boooored. All I can do is sit beside the Monkey King and get sunburned!" Akaya whined loudly as he glared up at the steaming sun, which showed no sign of relenting any time soon.

"You know that I can hear you, right?" Atobe lifted up his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed.

"That's the point of saying it out loud! Jeez. Old men these days."

Old men all over the world sneezed.

Sanada sneezed into in his lunch. He mentally cursed; what a stupid and embarrassing thing to do.

"Are you catching a cold, Genichirou?" Yukimura asked, a little worried about his friend.

"Maybe... I'll be careful... oh, and Jackal-" He said and nodded to Jackal. Jackal didn't notice that his chocolate torte had suddenly vanished into Marui's hands.

"Yeah?"

"150 laps when practice starts."

"What did I do?"

Niou and Marui snickered.

"Niou, Marui, 100 laps each for snickering!" Sanada barked, now in a bad mood. Yukimura smiled lightly, casting the light of doom onto all the regulars' faces (not Sanada, Yukimura, and Yanagi of course).

"It's so hot! Too hot!" Momoshiro complained as he wiped some sweat off with his towel. All the Seigaku players sat, leaning into the cottage, trying to get closer to the AC.

"I feel like I'm burning up inside. Do something, Oishi!" Eiji whined and swept a soaked red lock of hair out of his eyes.

"Maybe I could go and get some more water bottles?" Kawamura offered nicely and bowed down to pick up his racket.

"Taka-san, that's not a water bot-" Fuji started and then gave up. It was too late.

"BURNING! LIFE IS WONDERFUL! WE DON'T NEED WATER BOTTLES WHEN THERE'S ALREADY 71% COVERING THE EARTH!"

Inui realized the truth of that statement, and promptly began scribbling something in his notebook. Frowning, he said, "My predictions about Taka-san were proved wrong. How unfortunate."

"Fssshhh." Kaidoh ignored him and picked up his water bottle. The sound of Tezuka's voice cut off his hiss from continuing.

"Minna-san! We are taking a short break! Short. We'll be continuing in a while- and, Kirihara, you come too," Tezuka announced to his teammates.

"Why?" Akaya shouted from his shadow under Atobe's gigantic chair. "I don't wanna!" He liked the shade. Tezuka sighed and picked up his phone, which nobody knew he had. "Sanada-san texted me when you were sleeping in the bus."

"What?! Fukubuchou can text?!" Akaya exclaimed in surprise. He had always assumed that Sanada was technologically retarded, which, in a way, he was.

Tezuka ignored all the times is name appeared in the text, which was more like an order: "You have to take Kirihara with you when you train, even if you have to force him. I will not tolerate if you let him slack off."

It skipped a line, and then continued: "Also, if he is wearing my t-shirt, please burn it before you return. -Sanada"

"But I don't wanna practice!"

"Looks like you have to, Kirihara-kun," Fuji said with an icy smile. "Perhaps... you don't enjoy training with us?" There was a trace of menace in his voice. Akaya squirmed uncomfortably.

"No..." He replied awkwardly. "It's just... uh, I'm tired...?"

"Where is Taka-san?" Momoshiro asked as he noticed that their sushi restaurant coupon-giving teammate was gone.

Suddenly, a loud noise from the forest was heard by all.

"I know where he is," The author laughed as a pair of horns grew from her head. "And I won't tell you!"

"What?!"

MOUNTAIN TRIP PART 4 END