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Socially Challenged

7

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"Nya! Ochibi's finally here!"

"You're late Echizen. 15 laps around the court. Now."

"What?!" Momoshiro looked furious. "I was late but came earlier than he did. And you gave me 20!"

"Fine. Echizen, 20 laps. Momoshiro, do another 5."

Momoshiro gaped. He opened his mouth to retaliate but thought better of it. Grudgingly he walked out of the tennis court and started running. Ryoma dropped his racquet and schoolbag and followed. As the two completed their fourth lap, Kikumaru noticed Ryoma's bag was slightly unzipped. He went to close it when a particular book caught his eye. Making sure Ryoma wasn't watching, he unzipped the bag and pulled out the book. Staring at the cover, a grin spread across his face.

"Nya! Come look at this!"

"What is it? Let me see!" Momoshiro, quickly finishing off his fifth lap

re-entered the court and gathered with the rest of the regular team members to see what Kikumaru was holding. One by one, grins started to spread over their faces. Ryoma turned his head to see what all the racquet was about. His stomach lurched. Oh shit. Oh SHIT! He watched in horror as the Seigaku regulars pointed and sniggered.

"The Ulitmate Teenager's Guide to Romance. The do's and don'ts for the nervous teen," read Kikumaru aloud. "I always thought ochibi was socially challenged but never this badly!"

The other team members laughed. There was even a hint of a smile on Tezuka's face, though it looked more like a smirk. Oh god thought Ryoma. I've died and gone to hell. As he finished the 20th lap, he trudged slowly back into the court. Dammit. Now I'm going to have to face the rest of the team. Damn damn damn damn damn. They're gonna make me wish I'd never left America.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Hey Echizen! Who's this girl you're trying to get?" Momoshiro grin could have reached Mount Kosciusko.

"That's classified information for my ears only." Ryoma gritted his teeth. God, this is so embarrassing.

"Fufufu. This is very interesting data. I wonder if your social incompetence will affect you when you play," said Inui as he scribbled furiously into his notebook.

"Nya ochibi! I didn't know you were such an amateur."

"Leave him alone Eiji." Fuji smiled. "I think we should pity Ryoma's lack of social skills."

Yeah. Great help there Fuji. Ryoma thought bitterly. He was extremely relieved when practice was over. Grabbing his bag and racquet, he headed towards the door. He was almost there when he was stopped by Kikumaru.

"Nya ochibi, you forgot your book." Kikumaru winked. Ryoma took the book and shoved it deep into his schoolbag where it couldn't be seen.

"By the way Eiji-senpai," said Ryoma, giving him a death glare. "If you or any of the others tell another living soul, I'll tear out your liver while you're still breathing and feed it to my cat."

Kikumaru gulped. Normally he would have blown the threat off but something in Ryoma's eyes made him feel very insecure.

"Uh…I'll go tell the others then…"

Kikumaru hurriedly walked away from Ryoma's murderous stare.

A/N: I hope you didn't mind the occasional swearing in this chapter. I tried to keep it as…uncoloured as I possibly could. Well, almost as uncoloured as I possibly could. Hope you're liking this story so far!