Title: Day 3 and 4: The Deception
Author: shy-hinata
Rating: G
Summary: Atobe is sure that if he could just talk to Ann in private, there would be no way she could resist him
Warnings:
Disclaimer: I don't own PoT

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DAY 3

So yesterday hadn't gone all that well. His team couldn't help but snicker and make jokes throughout practice, asking him if wanted to wrap things up early so he could make it to Fudomine in time to see the girl's team practice. Just for that, Atobe extended practice time, and worked the regulars into the ground. The intense training must have sent the desired message, making today's practice much more bearable. Today was a new day, and Atobe decided to make another trip over to Fudomine to see if he could catch Ann. After making a few discreet inquiries, he discovered that she had gone with the boy's team to the street courts for some after-practice training. With a few more inquiries, he had managed to get her cell phone number. It seemed like every other girl in Fudomine seemed ready to help him out, and wondering if he wanted their phone numbers as well. Why couldn't Ann be as cooperative? Now came the problem of what to do. If he went to the courts now, he would have to deal with not only the entire Fudomine team, but her brother as well, and while he certainly respected Tachibana Kippei, ore-sama was not about to waste his time diffusing the temper of an overprotective older sibling. No, the best thing would probably be to talk to her alone. Once he did that, Atobe was sure she'd succumb to his charms. Pulling out his cell phone, he sent a quick message to Ann's phone.

Let's meet when you're done at the street courts. I just want to talk for a little while. --Atobe

With that accomplished, he decided to take his time wandering about the city for a while, not wanting to arrive at the street courts while all of Fudomine was still there. So, he waited patiently for Ann to call him back, because of course she would. Who wouldn't be flattered to have a call from Atobe Keigo? And yet the minutes continued to tick away, and Atobe was starting to question Ann's sanity.

:BEEP:

Ah. There we go. Atobe quickly took his phone out, but of course it was just him being efficient; after all he wasn't at all anxious to see what Ann's reply was. Pushing a button, he scanned her reply.

I don't know how you got my number or how you know that I'm at the courts, but as of right now, I'm blocking all of your calls. Quit stalking me. --Ann

Well, that certainly wasn't the outcome he was expecting. Perhaps she had asked one of the others to pick up her phone, and they had answered for her. Of course. That had to be the case.

And so, the wheels in Atobe's brain started to turn. He headed home, but it wasn't in defeat. He just needed some time to regroup and plan his strategy. All good generals did so, why should be an exception? It wasn't that he was fighting for Ann's affections; after all Atobe was confident he already had them. He just needed to bypass her overbearing friends. It didn't take him long to formulate a plan, but pulling it off would require using his rather massive information network, and consulting a few for technical expertise.

DAY 4

It wasn't that Atobe liked using deception as a way to gain access to something, but sometimes even great generals had to make use of such techniques. If not, there could be a great number of casualties on Fudomine's side, and that might upset Ann. Not that he really cared in the long run since this was all just for the bet, but as a gentleman Atobe felt that he should at least be considerate.

And that was why he was now about to send Ann a message pretending to be her brother. His networking had managed to come through for him again, and he managed to obtain Tachibana Kippei's cell phone number, instructions on how to send messages pretending to be from a different number from the actual phone he was using, as well as the schedule for the girl's and boy's tennis teams. He even knew that they would be heading to the street courts again today to try out some new doubles formations on some other teams. If he timed it right, Ann would receive the message just as her practice was finishing instead of when she was already in her brother's company. Yes, the plan was nicely thought out, as Atobe had expected of himself.

The message itself was quite simple: Sorry, Ann. Running late. Can you just meet me in the park near the street courts? I'll catch up. --Aniki

His timing really was impeccable. He could run his practice and still make it to the park in time to meet Ann (and why was it that Fudomine practiced longer than them anyway? Must be because they weren't nearly as efficient as Hyotei). It would all go like clockwork.

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Atobe made his way to the park after practice and found a shady, inconspicuous spot to sit in as he waited for Ann to arrive. It did cross his mind that she might have messaged her brother back to confirm, but his sources had told him that more often then not, she just waited for her brother. The two even had a usual spot to meet. Atobe mused that perhaps there were some advantages to being a data hounds like Seigaku's Inui. Or one just needed to know how to get that information when necessary instead of wasting time gathering it.

Ah. There she was, still in her tennis uniform, multiple bags perched on her shoulder, drinking deeply from her water bottle, slightly distracted by the music playing from her earphones. As predicted, she sat herself down on the bench underneath a particularly large willow tree. As Atobe approached her from behind, his superior hearing caught Ann's voice singing along softly to whatever she was listening to, and he had to admit that her voice was rather sweet and pleasant. He gently put his hands on her shoulders, not letting her see him quite yet.

"Aniki…I'm not a little girl anymore," Ann didn't even bother to look up from the book she was reading. "You can't scare me by sneaking up on me. And that was fast. I was expecting you to take lon-"

Ann fell silent, mouth falling open in shock, and dropped the book in her lap when she turned her head and saw Atobe sitting down next to her instead of Kippei. Still, she gathered herself in mere moments, and even Atobe was impressed by her composure.

"Just to let you know, my brother's coming to meet me soon, so you're better off leaving now instead of waiting for him to toss you out of his spot."

"Ah. Apologies my lady, but I fear that you have been deceived. It wasn't your brother who sent you that message. It was I."

Her narrowing eyes and slow growing scowl didn't look promising just yet, so Atobe continued to speak before she could reply.

"I simply wanted to talk with you. Away from prying eyes and the eavesdropping curious." At least this much was the truth; Mukahi had been spying on them after all. "I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse. Dinner, with me. How does that sound?" Atobe gave her that smile he knew most girls went crazy over.

And yet Ann didn't budge. There was no swooning, no giggling, none of the usual reactions he usually received. She simply sat there, disbelieving look on her face.

"Hold on a second here. You can't be serious." Hmm…well, it was expected that someone be shocked at the offer of spending an entire evening in the company with Atobe Keigo. He smiled inwardly, confident that the bet would soon be his.

"First you LIE to me, and now you expect me to go out with you? I always knew you were full of yourself, but this really takes the cake. Offer I can't refuse, huh? Well, just watch me. I don't know what the heck is going on that's making you stalk me all of a sudden, but whatever sick games you Hyotei people play, just leave me out of it."

With a graceful quickness that even captured Atobe's attention, Ann pulled herself up from the bench and headed towards the courts, one hand reaching to answer her now ringing phone. Atobe could pick up a few strains of the conversation as she all but stormed away.

"Aniki?...I'm at the street courts...yeah...sorry for making you worry...it's a long story..."

Atobe watched her leave, suppressing a sigh. There were still 3 days left. He still had time.

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That night, something continued to bother Atobe.

First you LIE to me...

It was true. He had definitely lied to Ann, and was now feeling genuinely guilty about it. He picked up his spare cell phone and sent a quick message to her, assuming that his previous one was now being blocked.

Ann,
I'm genuinely sorry for having lied to you. Please accept my humblest apologies
--Atobe

It felt strange. Atobe usually never apologized for anything. Then again, he normally didn't have so much trouble getting what he wanted. Was that why he liked tennis so much? Because, while he was naturally very gifted at the sport, it was still something that he needed to practice in order to truly excel.

Any further musing was cut off by his phone ringing to inform him that he had a new message. Snatching it up, he flipped it open to read what it had to say.

Atobe,
I think I know why Ann 'convinced' me trade phones with her now. Please stop trying to contact her, though I will pass on your apology.
--Tachibana

Closing his phone, Atobe covered his eyes with his hand as he lay down on his plush bed. And no, he did not just groan in frustration because he never did anything so pedestrian as groaning. He was hoping not to involve Tachibana in this, but it seemed too late for that. Suddenly, 3 days didn't seem like a whole lot of time.