The said players gathered in the middle of the tennis courts and Ryuuzaki took out a radio.
"These are the rules," she began. "If you stop dancing, you're out. If I decide that you are not dancing convincingly enough then you're out. If you try to sabotage another team then you're out as well. This will be judged entirely by me, and I will be the only one judging so do not shout to me if you see something wrong. Any questions?"
"Yeah, I have one." Said Ryoma, raising his hand. "Is there any advantage to winning?"
"I second that." Said Sanada. "I mean, the so called special prizes that we've all been looking forward to every time have always been something lame." He thought of the disco ball. Damn that disco ball.
"Oh yes!" said Ryuuzaki with a chuckle. "I simply cannot believe that I would forget to leave out a piece of information like that!"
Everyone waited.
"For every five points you receive, you get one piece of furniture OF YOUR CHOICE back." Ryuuzaki explained as she pointed over at a huge pile of furniture on the other side of the courts that everyone failed to notice beforehand.
"GASP." Said everyone who was missing furniture that they longed for.
"But what about families that didn't lose any furniture?" Momo asked.
"Then you get to take someone ELSE'S furniture!" said Ryuuzaki.
"We could get the bunk beds back!" said Taka to Fuji.
"Yes, and then you and I could have the big bed all to ourselves." Fuji said to Taka.
"Another couch wouldn't be so bad!" said Momo to Choutarou.
"I could go for that…" agreed Choutarou to Momo.
Kabaji looked at Tezuka who was propped up next to him. Then he raised his head so it at least looked as though he was paying attention.
"There's a possibility to get a total of twenty-four points in this competition…" Ryoma said to Sakurai.
"So we can get at least four of our pieces of furniture back as long as we win everything!" Sakurai said to Ryoma.
"All we have to do is get five points and we can get our television back." Said Oishi to Sengoku.
"Or we could win everything and then take everyone else's televisions just for fun!" said Sengoku to Oishi.
"Um…" said Oshitari, awkwardly standing next to Akutsu.
Akutsu was glaring at Kaidou.
"Maybe we can get someone ELSE'S disco ball too!" said Jirou to Sanada.
"Our team is the only team with a disco ball." Sanada said to Jirou.
"Let's get two couches." Said Yuuta to Shinji.
"No more fighting over the couch!" said Shinji as he slapped Yuuta five.
"All right!" said Ryuuzaki. "You all seem a bit more pumped up to dance now! So grab your partner and I'll start out with a CD I bought especially for this occasion! The Most Romantic Love Songs In the World…Ever."
Ryuuzaki put the CD into the radio and allowed the music to blast. Of course, the first song on the CD was "I Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis, so it's not like it was BLASTING.
We are, by the way, suspending belief for a little while here. Obviously these characters are Japanese and OBVIOUSLY Elvis's timeless "I Can't Help Falling In Love", despite it's beauty and sexiness, would not be their first pick for a romantic song. But if you've come this far then I suppose you can at least accept this as well.
"What are you all waiting for?" demanded Ryuuzaki. "GO!"
"We had no idea that we would be SLOW dancing." Said Oshitari.
"Are any teams going to back out before the challenge even STARTS?" said Ryuuzaki.
All the teams looked at each other. None of them wanted to be the first that was eliminated, so painfully and ever so slowly, they all reached for the others' hands and began swaying.
After like twenty seconds of watching this, Ryuuzaki got bored so she changed the track to a more upbeat song…"The Time of My Life" by what's his face and what's her face!
"Grab your partner, throw him around and make it a good show!" said Ryuuzaki. "Or I WILL eliminate people!"
"Aren't you going to eliminate people anyway?" Shinji questioned.
"That's it!" said Ryuuzaki. "Team Eight is eliminated!"
"WHAT?" yelled Team Eight.
Eventually they trudged off the courts however, where they were greeted by Bane, Jackal and Atobe.
"Nice job." Said Atobe. "But not really."
"She just doesn't want us to win because we don't have any Seigaku members on our team…" Yuuta decided.
"Well, since we were eliminated first, we get one points for this round." Shinji reasoned. "So…we still have a shot at getting our three pieces of furniture back as long as we don't screw up too much in any of the other challenges."
They looked back at the dancing competition, and suddenly felt OKAY that they weren't involved in it anymore.
Ryuuzaki weaved in and out of the groups, trying to find one that didn't look like their hearts were into it.
She finally settled at Akutsu and Oshitari who were still really only just holding hands and swaying like fools.
"In case you two haven't noticed, the pace of the music has picked up a touch." Ryuuzaki commented looking smug for no reason.
"Um…" they both said slowly.
"OUT!" Ryuuzaki screamed, pointing at where all the people were still watching.
They bowed their heads in shame and went over to their team.
"Well, that could have gone better…" said Oshitari as he kicked off his high heels. "I can't believe I actually wore those."
"You seemed like a natural in them." Ryou commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Oshitari with a glare.
"Well, you walked around in them like you wear them all the time." Ryou said defensively.
"I DON'T." said Oshitari adamantly.
"OUT!" Ryuuzaki screamed again.
They all looked up to see Jirou and Sanada looking depressed and dejected as they made their way over to Team Seven.
"I KNEW trying to throw you up into the air and catch you was a bad idea." Sanada sighed in Jirou's direction as he sat down.
"Yeah, but if it had worked, I'm sure we would have gotten first place for sure!" said Jirou, looking pumped. "You wanna practice?"
"Why?" said Sanada. "We're NEVER going to dance with each other again. Ever."
"Jirou, did you notice that your face is bleeding?" Tetsu asked, pointing to Jirou's face, which was, in fact, bleeding.
"Huh?" said Jirou, touching the spot. "I am! Why?"
"I think it probably has something to do with when I threw you up into the air and then you fell on your face." Sanada tried.
"There is a one hundred percent chance that that assumption is correct." Inui said.
"I don't even remember getting hurt." Frowned Jirou.
"Here," said Renji. "Have a Thomas the Tank Engine band-aid."
"Yay!" said Jirou as he took the aforementioned item.
Meanwhile, with the dancing peeps, the song had since changed. Ryuuzaki had actually changed the CD all together because most of them were slow and she found that to be boring. The next song that started was Zoot Suit Riot. OMG.
"By the way, Choutarou," said Momo as the two of them did crazy swing dancing like it was their JOB.
"Yeah?" said Choutarou, who happened to be super ESPECIALLY tall today because he was wearing high heels, and we all know how much he really doesn't need them.
"I don't think I ever really apologized for sneaking up on you and using chloroform on you and then tying you to a chair…" Momo said, looking ashamed.
"No…you didn't…" Choutarou nodded.
"Well…sorry." Momo said genuinely.
"I appreciate that." Choutarou smiled.
"Less talking!" Ryuuzaki screamed. "More crazy dancing!"
"SORRY!" said Momo and Choutarou as they immediately went back to dancing crazily.
Ryuuzaki chuckled warmly to herself as she moved to the next group, which just so happened to be Ryoma and Sakurai. And, it ALSO just so happened that at that exact moment, Sakurai tripped over his high-heeled shoes (having never worn them before after all) and fell right on top of Ryoma. The two of them tumbled to the ground before landing in a heap.
"Oh man…" said Sakurai, sitting up.
"Well, well." Said Ryuuzaki, crossing her arms. "You two have stopped dancing."
"Only for a second!" Ryoma argued.
"You're OUT!" Ryuuzaki WOULD NOT listen to reason and ordered them both to depart.
Oishi and Sengoku stepped over the arguing trio. "This judging is really harsh…" Oishi said as he and Sengoku danced like they had been dancing together since they were born. You see, for Oishi it was EASY because he plays DOUBLES, which means he would be AWESOME at dancing with other people.
Yeah. Cause that's the way the world works.
And he's really good at bowling, apparently.
"I wish you were a real girl." Said Sengoku, looking less than excited.
There's really no way to react to that sort of comment so Oishi just didn't. That's when he accidentally bumped into another pair.
"Excuse me, watch where you're going." Fuji said in almost a threatening tone as he turned into Scary Fuji.
"Sorry…" said Oishi as he watched Fuji and Taka waltz by.
Ryuuzaki, meanwhile, had made her way over to Kabaji who was dancing with Tezuka as if he wasn't a lump. Actually, it was quite intense in which Kabaji was throwing Tezuka around and catching him and acting SO very professional.
"Very good job, Team Three." Commented Ryuuzaki with an impressed nod.
"Yes." Said Kabaji.
Luckily Ryuuzaki turned her back just as Kabaji dropped Tezuka, but quickly picked him back up as Ryuuzaki spun around to see what the loud THUMP noise had been.
Then, having observed the remaining four teams, Ryuuzaki turned off the music and requested attention from everyone.
"The last four teams have all done very well!" Ryuuzaki announced. "But now we're going to make things a little more dramatic."
"…" said the remaining four teams, which included Teams One, Two, Three and Five.
She then gestured for her male counterparts to come over and aid her.
They were carrying seven chairs and arranged them in such a way so that six were back to back and one was at the end.
Now everyone was curious and maybe even slightly excited to know what was going to happen.
"MUSICAL CHAIRS!" Ryuuzaki shouted as she started playing Bye Bye Bye by N'Sync.
The remaining eight people looked at each other with skeptical expressions and didn't circle the chairs a single time before Ryuuzaki pressed the pause button.
"Well what are you all waiting for?" she asked. "You don't want to lose, do you?"
There was another slight pause, and then there was a mad rush for a chair. Kabaji pushed everyone out of the way and claimed a chair for himself, and even managed to sit Tezuka down in a chair as well. Fuji went at a slower pace for a chair, and everyone mutually decided not to try and oppose him. Momo and Taka engaged in mortal combat over one of the chairs, and while they were doing that, Sengoku dove in and took it instead. Oishi grabbed a chair, and Choutarou was thankful to have one of his own as well.
Taka and Momo looked up and realized that there was two of them and only one chair.
"Taka!" said Fuji as he pulled a racket magically out from behind his back and tossed it to Taka.
Taka caught it.
"BURRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNING!" he shouted from the very base of his diaphragm.
Momo dove for cover as Taka plowed through any small animal that may have been innocently hopping by at the moment.
"Momo is eliminated!" Ryuuzaki said. "So if Choutarou gets eliminated then Team Two is out!"
"So much pressure!" Choutarou said helplessly.
"We're as good as eliminated." Momo frowned as he went back to his team who were less than thrilled to accept him.
"Let's start up again!" said Ryuuzaki, removing a chair as the music began again.
This time everyone was already circling the chairs when Ryuuzaki stopped the music. Everyone jumped for a chair, but Tezuka sort of slid out of his chair, so Oishi seized the opportunity to get himself in the now unoccupied one.
"Tezuka is eliminated!" said Ryuuzaki.
"OH WOE IS US!" cried Aoi. "Tezuka has RUINED our chances of winning! There's no WAY he is doing the best out of all of us! That much is clear!"
Aoi looked at Tachibana for approval, but Tachibana just slapped his forehead.
"Let's go again!" said Ryuuzaki, taking away ANOTHER chair, so now there were only five.
Six people circled round and round until the music stopped once again. Unfortunately, once everyone was in their chairs, the only two that remained were Oishi and Sengoku.
"Well…this is stupid." Sengoku said as he and Oishi stared at the remaining chair.
"Let's see…" said Oishi. "Which one, out of the both of us, has the best chance at winning?"
"Probably me." Said Sengoku.
"What?" said Oishi, putting his hands on his hips. "Probably ME, I think."
"Oh really?" said Sengoku.
"Yeah really." Said Oishi.
"Okay, you two are out of time so you're BOTH eliminated!" said Ryuuzaki as she ran over and pushed them out of the way.
"HEY!" they both wailed.
She removed two chairs this time around. So now only three chairs remained with four people.
"There are two members from Team One, Taka and Fuji," Ryuuzaki narrated. "One from Team Two, Ootori, and one from Team Three, Kabaji. Who will win it for their team?"
"Frankly, I wouldn't want to be Fuji around all those really tall people in a game where everyone's pushing each other out of the way." Momo said to Eiji.
Eiji looked at Momo questioningly. "Momo." He said. "This is Fuji we're talking about here."
"Oh yeah." Said Momo with a nod. "Then let me rephrase that. I wouldn't want to be anyone who has to be near Fuji for longer than they have to."
"I agree." Said Eiji.
Ryuuzaki stopped the music exactly then and everyone made their jumps for the chairs. There was a cloud of dust and flying paper, and when the dust cleared, everyone was surprised to see Kabaji standing in the front looking so sad that one might think he was about to cry.
"Wow." Said everyone, wondering how the others had managed to outmuscle Kabaji.
"Well!" said Ryuuzaki. "That means that Team Three is eliminated as well! Leaving only Team One and Two remaining. Ootori's at a bit of a disadvantage, but if he manages to get a chair in this round then it'll even everything up!"
"I'm SO nervous!" said Choutarou, rocking back and forth in the chair.
"Let's start!" said Ryuuzaki as she pressed the button for the music.
Everyone got up and started circling the two chairs that were back to back. It was very nerve racking as everyone was leaning in eagerly waiting for when Ryuuzaki would press the PAUSE button.
She finally did, and Fuji calmly sat down in one of the seats that just so happen to face out to the audience. And he just sat there being creepy while staring at everyone as Taka and Choutarou struggled to get into the chair. But you can imagine the struggle since they're such nice guys.
Both pulled away and stood up.
"You take it." Taka said.
"No, you take it." Choutarou insisted.
"TAKE IT!" screamed Team One and Team Two.
Choutarou must have been paying better attention to his team supporting him or SOMETHING because he sat down first.
"Taka!" said Ryuuzaki, pointing. "Eliminated!"
"Aw man, I gave it my all!" Taka said.
Fuji and Choutarou both stood.
"This is the final match!" said Ryuuzaki. "Whoever wins this one wins the Mom and Dads competition!"
"Hang on one second!" said Eiji dramatically as he ran out to Choutarou. "Don't worry about it, Ootori! You're going to do great! Just keep your mind in the game and play hard to the very end, and we're proud of you no matter how good or bad you do! You've already done this great to get this far against all those upper classman! And just remember to believe in yourself and trust your instincts!"
Choutarou blinked a few times. "That was so inspirational." He said finally.
"They're all Oishi's words!" said Eiji as he looked over at Oishi and gave him the thumbs up.
"Thank you, Eiji!" Oishi called, giving the thumbs up right back.
"So you can do it!" said Eiji as he ran back to his team.
"I…CAN do it!" said Choutarou as he stood up and a wave crashed behind him.
Fuji only stood there looking creepy while staring at Choutarou.
"Er…so anyway…" said Ryuuzaki. "Are you both ready?"
"Ready!" said Choutarou, looking determined.
"I suppose." Said Fuji vaguely.
"Go!" Ryuuzaki pressed the button, and the two started circling the single chair that remained.
It was the most intense twenty seconds of anyone's life. But, when the music stopped, Fuji was in the perfect place to just seat his bottom down. And, as he was doing such, Choutarou saw what was about to happen, so he grabbed the chair and pulled it right out from underneath Fuji.
While Fuji's ass landed on the ground in a disoriented fashion, Choutarou put the chair down and sat down in it, looking confident and crossing his legs with this face that said, "Oh yes. I DID just win."
First there was silence as Fuji only sat there looking slightly surprised, but not as much as he SHOULD have been, and Choutarou sat there looking as though he could conquer the world if someone told him it was okay with everyone else to do it.
Even Ryuuzaki seemed a little surprised.
"Winner!" she shouted once she was over her shock. "Ootori! Team Two wins the Moms and Dads competition and the eight points!"
"YAY!" cheered Team Two as they leapt up into the air.
"Aww…" said Team One sadly since they had been pretty sure that they would win with no problem.
Choutarou stood and held out a hand for Fuji.
Fuji took it and Choutarou pulled him to his feet.
"Nice game!" said Choutarou.
Fuji kept his mouth closed and was being all pleasant like. "Mm." He said, not letting go of Choutarou's hand.
Choutarou looked down at their hands that remained clasped.
"Uh…" he said finally.
Fuji finally let go and then turned his back to Choutarou. As he walked away and Choutarou's team came over to celebrate, he uttered just BARELY loud enough for Choutarou to hear, "Watch out."
Choutarou suddenly didn't feel as excited about his win anymore, even as his team attempted to hoist him up over their heads but they just decided to hug him instead.
"The next competition will be the SISTERS competition!" said Banji. "And I will be judging that one because I drew the short straw! All the Sisters please report to the center of the courts!"
The Sisters grumbled, but they did as they were told.