Day Three
Team One
Fuji picked up a triangle and rang it vigorously. He waited a mere five seconds before the family all shuffled into the kitchen.
"Lunch is ready." Fuji announced.
They all looked at the kitchen table that was candlelit and had nice little set-ups at all four seats. Each placemat had a plate on it with a peanut-butter sandwich on it.
"Wow." Said Mizuki as he went over to the table. "Peanut-butter sandwiches. You definitely got the opportunity to try cooking."
"Oh, that's not your seat, Mizuki." Said Fuji, guiding Mizuki to the other side of the table where there was a little nameplate in front of the plate with the name 'Mizuki' on it. "This is yours."
"Assigned seats?" Yana said.
Fuji nodded happily and gestured for them all to sit.
Everyone took their seats and then there was silence.
"Aren't…you going to eat too…?" Kirihara said to Fuji.
"No." Fuji answered. "I'm not hungry."
The four at the table stared at each other.
Fuji only stood there and didn't say anything. He had his hands in the pockets of the Mom apron.
"You know, I'm not that hungry…" Taka said, lightly pushing the plate away.
"But Taka…I made that sandwich especially for you." Said Fuji.
"Yeah, I think I'm with Taka on this one." Kirihara said. "I'm not hungry."
"These are all special sandwiches I made especially for all of you." Fuji said, crossing his arms. And then he transitioned to Scary Creepy Fuji. "You will not leave this kitchen until all the sandwiches are finished."
"Couldn't I just fill up the bathtub and drop the radio in it instead…?" Mizuki sunk in his seat.
"You can do that after." Fuji offered genuinely.
Still, everyone did not touch their food.
"Oh right!" said Fuji. "I almost forgot the beverages!"
Fuji went to the refrigerator and pulled out the Kool-Aid. Then, after briefly looking back at the family at the table, he grabbed four glasses and retreated into the other room.
"He's going to kill us all…" Yana whispered just as Fuji returned with the four glasses filled.
"Here we are!" he said as he gave everyone a glass. "Oh wait, no this one is Mizuki's…" He quickly exchanged the glass Taka was holding with the glass Mizuki was holding.
Mizuki held the glass nervously and then slowly put it down.
"Fuji, what's in these drinks?" Yana asked, putting his down as well.
"Kool-Aid." Fuji answered.
Kirihara drummed his fingers on the table. "Fuji, do you hate me?" he asked.
"Hm?" Fuji said. "No, not really."
"Even though I blinded you during that tennis match we had?" Kirihara said.
Fuji paused. "Oh right…" he nodded. "I forgot about that." Then he smiled and became pleasant again. "I can't believe I forgot about that."
Kirihara slapped his forehead.
Fuji put his hands on his hips. "Isn't anyone going to eat the meal I prepared?" he asked.
"Frankly Fuji, we're afraid you put poison in our meals." Taka said.
Fuji didn't initially react. "How silly." Said Fuji as he backed out of the kitchen and disappeared in the hallway.
Everyone ran to the window and quickly tossed their sandwiches and all their beverages out. Then they all prayed to their appointed God that somehow they'd make it through the rest of the week.
Team Two"Are you sure we're allowed to walk on the highway?" Momo asked as he and the rest of his family walked along the highway while carrying groceries that they had obviously just gotten.
"Well, we don't have a car, and even if we did we can't drive so what are our options?" Gakuto pointed out.
Just then, someone drove by and rolled down his window. "HIPPIES!" he screamed and then laughed with his friend.
"We are NOT hippies." Said Marui, glaring at the car as it drove away.
"I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to walk on the highway." Momo said.
"My hands are starting to hurt!" Eiji complained.
"Here, let me take some of the bags you're carrying." Choutarou offered as he walked over and took like practically all of his bags. "You just carry the milk."
"But the milk is cold…" Eiji whined.
"Okay, how about you carry the milk, Momo?" Choutarou suggested.
"The milk is going to be cold if I carry it too." Momo said. "AND I'm carrying lots of bags already. I'm sure you'll survive."
"Is that any way to talk to your superior?" demanded Eiji.
"Sorry." Said Momo. "Maybe it's just that I'm frustrated with this whole situation we've been forced into, and the company doesn't make it any better, you know?"
His four family members stopped walking and gave him questioning expressions.
"I'm just saying," Momo tried to fix things. "You guys are all WAY too obsessed with playing doubles and all you ever talk about is how much you miss playing doubles or actually miss the person you play doubles with."
The four of them gave heavy sighs in remembrance of playing doubles or the person they play doubles with.
"See?" said Momo. "See what I mean?"
"Momo, if YOU played doubles, you'd understand." Eiji said.
"I DO play doubles!" Momo reminded him. "Remember I played doubles with you that time? And how I played a few times with Kaidou, and a few times with Ryoma. Face it guys. I've probably played doubles more than I have played singles."
The other four looked at each other.
"Well, if THAT'S true…" Choutarou started. "Then…why don't you miss your doubles partner?"
"Because—" Momo began but then he quickly realized that saying, "Because I'm not a clingy bitchy doubles player who can't play with anyone except one person in the world!" was kind of a bad idea so he decided to rephrase. "Because… I'm more… versatile…?"
"Hm?" said all the family.
"I play with lots of different people." Momo said, just going with it. "AND I've played some singles matches. So I can survive without my partner. Maybe if you guys ever played tennis with someone who WASN'T your appointed partner ALL THE TIME or even played a few singles matches, then you wouldn't be going through this withdrawal."
Silence.
They looked like they were mulling it over.
But Momo's hope for the chance that everything would change in an instant was dashed when he suddenly began to notice that their faces were changing from thoughtful consideration to utter disgust.
"Play with someone BESIDES Shishido?" Choutarou finally broke the silence. "But I would never betray his trust like that!"
"Yeah!" said Gakuto. "Oshitari would NEVER forgive me!"
"That's just crazy talk!" Marui added.
"You can be SO insensitive sometimes!" Eiji said, bursting into tears. All the other doubles people comforted him while glaring at Momo.
"…" Momo stared at them in disbelief.
Team Three"Tezuka, is your arm going to be better for the challenge today?" Tachibana asked as everyone sat around the kitchen table. And they had enough chairs, too, because of Tachibana's special chair he made.
"Are you concerned?" Tezuka asked. "Or are you hoping it won't be better so I won't win the individual aspect of the challenge and you all won't have to sabotage me?"
"Sabotage you?" Aoi demanded probably TOO quickly and in a voice that was probably a little TOO enraged.
"We would NEVER plan such a horrible thing!" said David.
"We are fighting for the good of the team." Said Tachibana.
"What gave you an idea like…like we were trying to SABOTAGE you?" said Aoi, looking BEYOND confused.
"Oh I don't know." Said Tezuka, folding his hands and looking ultra serious that it was a little intimidating. "Probably that I overheard you and your cohorts discussing it earlier this morning."
Aoi, Tachibana and David all lowered their heads in shame.
"I'm sorry." Said David.
"I'm sorrier." Aoi agreed.
"I'm the sorriest of all." Tachibana nodded.
"No you're not." Aoi said.
"Yes I am." Tachibana argued with a glare.
"That'll be twenty laps around the house." Tezuka said.
Tachibana, Aoi and David all raised their heads.
"What did you just say?"
"Twenty laps around the house." Tezuka repeated. "For conspiring against your captain. I think it's a rather generous punishment if I say so myself. Now go and get that done before I decide to make it thirty."
"Um…Tezuka, perhaps you didn't notice, but you're not OUR captain." Tachibana leaned on.
"Yes I am." Tezuka said. "Have you already forgotten my speech I made yesterday?"
"Something about this team only needing one captain, but that doesn't make you OUR captain." Aoi said.
"I'm my own captain." Tachibana said.
"As am I." Aoi agreed.
"Aoi's MY captain." Said David.
"Do you feel this way too, Kabaji?" said Tezuka.
"Yes." Said Kabaji.
Tezuka leaned back and considered the information he had just received from his family members.
"Hm." Said Tezuka, readjusting himself in his seat and looking at all the faces waiting for him to respond. "I thought we had got past that issue. Apparently I was wrong. I confess myself… disappointed."
Tezuka then stood up.
"Fifty laps around the house." He ordered, pointing at the door. "And think about how you have defied me. All of you."
"Tezuka…were you even listening to us just now?" Tachibana asked.
"I'm going to use the bathroom and by the time I get out, you all better be outside doing your laps." Tezuka threatened as he left and went into the bathroom just like he said previously!
The people remaining at the table stared at each other.
"Now, more than ever, it is essential we dethrone him." Tachibana lowered his voice.
"We have to do whatever is in our power to ensure that he does not win the individual challenge today." Aoi agreed. "Whatever sacrifice is necessary!"
"Would you guys think I was sappy if I said I was pining for him to be dethroned?" David said.
And then he laughed.
Everyone was going to tell him that they didn't think he sounded sappy, but then the pun processed and that made them get angry.
"SHUT UP!" everyone yelled as they slapped him.
Team Four"I'm so glad we explored the shed and found this sidewalk chalk." Said Hiyoshi.
Sure enough, the entire family was outside playing with sidewalk chalk. Well, except for Yukimura. He had another one of his sick fainting spells so everyone decided to leave him inside. But then they felt bad for him and realized what he needed most was fresh air so they dragged the comfy chair outside and propped him up in it.
"What are you guys drawing?" Sakurai asked the rest of the family.
"A tennis racket." Saeki replied.
"Really?" said Sakurai. "Me too!"
"Me and Hiyoshi decided to collaborate and draw a picture together." Ryoma said.
"That's so—" began Saeki but then he looked over to see that they were drawing a picture of them in their intense tennis match against each other, and as it turns out, they were both doing a victory dance. "Oh. Well. ONE of you is wrong."
"That's me." Said Hiyoshi, bowing his head and looking sad.
"Aw, don't cry." Said Sakurai, patting him on the shoulder.
"I wasn't going to cry." Hiyoshi said, sounding offended.
They all went back to their sidewalk chalking.
"Hey!" said Saeki suddenly as he jumped to his feet.
"What?" said all the others who were conscious.
"We should draw a tennis court on the street and play tennis!" Saeki said.
"OHMYGOSH HELLZ YEAH!" screamed all the others as they got up and shrieked excitedly like little girls.
"Ryoma, you draw the court." Saeki said.
"Right!" said Ryoma as he grabbed chalk and ran into the street.
"Sakurai, you find some things we can use as rackets!" Saeki continued.
"I'm on it!" agreed Sakurai.
"Hiyoshi, find something we can use as a net…" Saeki went on.
"Okay." Said Hiyoshi as he departed as well.
"And I will find the ball!" Saeki declared.
Ryoma measured out the exact dimensions of a tennis court and worked endlessly to get it perfectly. Then he realized that the street was not wide enough for him to make it exactly right. So he had to make the court about a third of the size it was supposed to be.
That made him sad.
Then everyone else came back from their hunts.
"Guys, the court is so far from being the right size…" Ryoma reported regrettably.
"So I brought these sticks…" Sakurai said, holding up a few sticks and looking half ashamed and half excited.
"And I found a basketball…" Saeki added.
"I figured we could turn the kitchen table on its side and just use that as the net…" Hiyoshi said.
Everyone stared at each other.
"Well, so what are we waiting for?" said Sakurai.
Because YES. They were THAT desperate to play tennis.
They all grabbed one of the sticks and decided to play DOUBLES so everyone got to play right away.
"I have the first serve." Said Ryoma as he threw the basketball up in the air and tried to do the Twist Serve. But he OBVIOUSLY failed. OBVIOUSLY.