The Prince of Tennis Play

Disclaimer: Who will write fanfictions if they own the anime/manga?

Rating: PG or K+ for some words

Genre: Drama, slight humor

Pairing: Hints of Ryoma and Unknown, little hints on one-sided Fuji and Tezuka

Warnings or notes: OOC-ness, homosexuality hints, grammar and other errors (English is not my mother tongue), 1500 words. This chapter started off as Kaidoh-centric. However, I am beginning to focus more on Fuji for the entire story.

Okay, maybe I should warn you about my writing style. It is repetitive in some ways. And in this chapter, I didn't include a note on Fuji and Ryoma pairing because Fuji is more like teasing/mocking Ryoma instead of any shonen-ai related stuffs. For the Ryoma and Unknown pairing, you might as well decide for yourself. XP Nope, no Tezuka and Ryoma pairing either although it might seen like it in some ways.

Oh yeah, this chapter is longer than any previous chapters. Well, let's say I want to repay my readers' kindness for continue reading and since there is a reader that requested for a longer chapter. I make it 1500 words in length from now on. :) Hope you enjoy it, although I do admit I do not deal well with long chapters.

If you ever noticed, the title of each chapter is only of one word. Well, just a little attempt on one-word-titles. XD Okay, enough of my ranting. Please review after reading. Sorry for the boring chapter. :bows:

: Ready…Go :

Chapter 5-Insanity

'Lucky I didn't go to the meeting yesterday…,' was the snakelike second year regular's thought. He was thanking God for sparing him from the doom the other regulars had caused last day. Sure enough, if he was present, the laps Tezuka ordered would not be only twenty. It might be doubled, or tripled since Kaidoh was going to fight with Momoshiro, if he was there. Both of the second years were always engaged in arguments, anyway.

By that time he arrived at practice, he saw something was up to no good. Fuji and Eiji were busy chatting, or rather; it was Eiji doing the talking most of the time excitedly while Fuji only added a few points somewhere. Inui and Oishi were discussing about something related to the drama, or rather; it was Oishi doing the part all the time while Inui jotting down everything. Momoshiro and Ryoma were shouting at each other, or rather; it was Ryoma yelling about being a girl while Momoshiro reluctantly putting up a protest all the while Kawamura was trying to stop them hesitantly.

It was strange that Fuji did not smirk evilly at Momoshiro's despair, unlike how he usually enjoyed others' miseries. It was even weirder when Oishi acted like nothing happened and was not fussy over Ryoma's behavior, unlike how he always had been the 'mother hen' of their team. In fact, the entire atmosphere that day was alien. It gave a sense of unfamiliarity, no matter how they looked ordinary.

Kaidoh hissed to himself. He disliked surprises and unfamiliarity of all things. Weirdest of all, their captain was nowhere to be seen, which it was so unlikely to be in the first place. What had happened to them actually? What caused the changes?

"You know there is no point in regretting over things like this, Tezuka. You already accepted the quest. So be it," from nowhere, Ryuzaki's voice came out. From the way she spoke, it seemed like their captain was having a headache. The next thing he knew, they were all running laps around the court. He did not do anything, Kaidoh swore. But Tezuka was Tezuka, and no one dared to interfere with him regarding the punishments. Besides, running laps was one of his trainings as well.

All of a sudden, every members in the team were silent, especially the regulars. Even Ryoma had to keep his mouth sealed no matter how annoyed he was at the moment. So, the practice went accordingly like any normal day, except for the fact that the regulars were acting a bit differently during their matches. Kaidoh was surprised to find he was becoming all observant that particular day. But who would not, when they were that obvious?

After dismissing the juniors, Tezuka asked the regulars to stay for a brief meeting regarding the play. They had, of course, obeyed his order without much word. When the juniors left the court, only Tezuka began the meeting. With a deep voice, he announced, "Inui told me the plans for the script. Since I entrusted the matter into Inui's and Oishi's hands, I wish not to look into it further. However, I still have the authorities to make certain rules. Romance dramas are fine, but no kissing scenes. As for the roles, an audition will be held."

Tezuka was never a man with words, but that day he made an exception; a rare exception. If he left the matter any longer, his teammates might not be only yelling at each other, a war would occur even. And the announcement was only made yesterday! He silently and seriously wondered how many aspirins he should stock.

Little did Tezuka know of Fuji's plan. The expressionless captain was not stupid, nor slow. He saw the mischievous glint in Fuji's sapphire eyes when the prodigy revealed them. So, he had to put it to a stop. He had to draw a border so the others would not go too far. Things could not afford to be lost control. Tezuka was a perfectionist when it involved his concern.

Not that his rules could stop Fuji anyway. That sly genius lived to his fame well, far too well for his own good. If Tezuka set up new rules, he would somehow find some ways to bend them, or use some other ways to overcome those without being caught. Yes, Fuji was really clever with that. But the stoic captain had no choice. At least his new rules would bind the others, if not all.

From a certain distance, Fuji and Inui exchanged glances with that infamous smirk. Ryoma, on the other hand, seemed relieved. He intended to fail in the audition. He did not care what else role he would get, as long as it was a male role, nothing else mattered; as long as it could save his dignity from Fuji's and Inui's insanity.

'Ah, I still will get what I want, Tezuka buchou,' Fuji smiled to himself. Nothing could mess with his perfect plans. A little audition was not a problem to Fuji at all. All he needed was a bit of time for him to kill a small amount of his brain cells to get everything in order.

The other regulars seemed uninterested, or rather, they pretended to be so. Inside, they were nervous. Inui predicted that everything would go accordingly and they would get the roles suited their attitudes best. To Ryoma's dismay, Inui said there was 100 percent he would get a girl's role no matter what.

"You are too small to be a fitted into any male role in Cinderella," was the blunt not-too-convincing reason coming from their manager.

"Maa, maybe Echizen wants to be the princess for someone," here came the feminine voice of their third year prodigy with a so-called innocent smile. Fuji took a glance at the ones he had mentioned and noticed a blush was obvious on one of their faces. He nodded at Inui, who immediately recorded the new good data provided by Fuji, his currently partner-in-crime.

"To hell with it!" was Ryoma's expected reply. This was followed by Inui's '99.9 percent Echizen will say that', to which it earned him a death glare and a few nods.

"Watch your tongue, Ochibi! Nya, it's not good for a chibi to curse," obviously, Eiji had no idea Ryoma's anger was somehow also caused by him the day earlier.

The group was going to repeat the same history as yesterday. Apparently, they did not remember there was their strict captain trying to block out their noises and it was testing his limited patience. Kaidoh was hissing louder than usual when he heard the shouts from their youngest regular. His eyes traveled towards their captain and they looked like they were begging for a solution to stop this stupidity.

"Silent!" suddenly, a so-famous voice echoed and silence fell. Kaidoh and the timid Kawamura were grateful for that for it saved their sanity. "One more word and 30 laps around the courts!" Tezuka warned. For a second when no one ever noticed, his hand gave a little massage on his forehead. That moment, he was kind enough to let them go without being punished.

Of course, only Fuji noticed this and grinned knowingly. "Ne Tezuka-buchou," he began with his sweet poisonous voice. "Do you need an aspirin?" It nearly caught Tezuka when he was going to say 'hn', which it meant 'yes', but he was quick to regain his composure.

"Fuji, 30 laps around the courts now," Tezuka ordered in his deep voice while his eyes narrowed. Everyone else was exchanging curious glances, but none wanted to suffer the same fate Fuji did by only a common question. Fuji rose from his seat and started off his laps like it was reward and nothing like a punishment. "If I were to witness yet another argument like this, the whole show is cancelled for good," Tezuka made his point clear.

Finally, the meeting ended quite peacefully, even though Fuji, who finished his laps and returned, was at presence. Ryoma seemed to calm down when Tezuka demanded Inui to stop his ridiculous calculation regarding the roles and the others to stop provoking the poor first year.

"Nya, there is no fun when this is all serious," Eiji complained to his best friend, Fuji, in an almost audible voice. He was afraid of Tezuka and his punishment to speak out aloud.

Another smile was plastered on Fuji's face. "Ah, no fun? This is where the fun begins, Eiji," was the reply in the same level of voice Eiji had used. Eiji, who was one of those few that understood Fuji and his master mind on 'fun' plans, managed to back away for safety.

'Time to get back at Echizen for turning his back against us,' the prodigy smirked at his own thought. 'There is no one can back out from Fuji Syusuke's plans. Not especially when it involves a certain adorable junior and a certain charming buchou.'

: To be continued :