The Prince of Tennis Play
Disclaimer: It's mean to remind me every single time I don't own Tenipuri. :sobs:
Rating: G or K
Genre: Drama, humor, slight suspense
Pairing: None in this chapter
Warnings or notes: OOC-ness, 1500 words. Don't really have anything to warn you… Or should I warn you of the madness in this chapter? Lol.
All right, the audition is here now. Those who had the correct guesses of roles, I congratulate you. :D But do remember the roles are selected randomly and the scripts are momentary. If you don't get my hint, it's okay. Enjoy the suspense till then. :P
Thanks for the ideas from reviewers and please don't be disappointed if I didn't use those. I might use them later or in other Tenipuri stories if I write. I apologize for not replying to some of the past reviews.
Special thanks to dear Carzla for beta-ing. Please drop a review, kind readers. I would be glad to hear from you all.
: Ready…Go :
Chapter 8 – Audition
Finally, the fateful day the Seigaku boys had been dreading arrived. One by one, the regulars reached their school hall, where they had gained the principle's permission for the audition. As expected, Ryoma was the last to arrive with the same lame reason of oversleeping. Luckily for him, Tezuka was not one of the directors; otherwise he might end up running laps. Yet, to have Inui as the director was more unfortunate for the freshman. He was on the edge of forcing his newly invented juice into Ryoma's throat had Oishi not been there to stop him.
On a second thought, having Tezuka as the director might be a better choice than having a mad juice maker as one.
"Inui, cut this nonsense," Tezuka interrupted. Those who knew him well enough could detect the slight annoyance in his deep commanding voice. The strict youth did not wish for any more arguments. 'Let me have some peace,' he silently prayed, or rather, begged for Kami-sama's mercy.
Thus, under Tezuka's famous death glare, the directors quickly instructed the others to get ready. Oishi made a mental note to beware of Tezuka that day. He seemed to be in a bad mood that morning. If the captain actually snapped at them… he dared not think of the consequences.
"Okay, when your name is called, go to the middle and start acting," Inui's voice snapped the concerned vice-captain out of his reverie. Oishi heaved a deep sigh before settling on one of the chairs in the huge hall with a pencil and a small blue notebook in his hand. Inui sat down beside him after a while, with the same stationeries to note down the others' short performances.
Meanwhile, the other seven boys were sitting at a corner on the stage. They were all giving each other anxious glances, excluding the ever smiling Fuji, the usually calm Tezuka, and the grumpy Ryoma. Even the Eiji, who was generally hyper, was feeling nervous under Inui's calculating stare. Really, their data analyzer could be so creepy at times.
"First, Taka-san," Inui suddenly announced, his glasses glittered. Kawamura, who was trembling as he always had whenever he was not holding his source of energy, stood up feebly. Walking towards the middle stage, he stumbled and nearly fell if Fuji was not fast enough to grab hold of the powerhouse.
"Th-thanks, Fuji," was Kawamura's timid reply. He flashed a grateful smile at the shorter regular. A warm smile answered him as Fuji handed a racket that had appeared from nowhere to the future chef.
"Here, Taka-san."
When Kawamura took his racket, the 'burning mode' was switched on as he laughed loudly. "BURNING! Come on, you four-eyed freak that mixes foul liquids! Watch how my act defeats everyone else's!" He declared, pointing the racket at Inui, whose eyebrows twitched in response. Momoshiro, and Eiji were trying to refrain their laughs as soon as the words came out.
"Four-eyed freak that mixes foul liquids?" Inui muttered darkly. A vein popped out from his forehead. 'He called my juice a 'foul liquid'!' Before he could stand up to protest, Oishi's hand pulled him back down.
"Audition," was the calm and collected explanation. Oishi was asking him to look over that and focus on their current jobs instead. When had the vice-captain emulated Tezuka's behavior to speak in one-word sentences? Inui hesitated for a moment before finally regaining his composure. "Taka-san, you may start now. And no rackets are allowed on stage. Fuji, you can't give him that."
Everyone else sighed. Fuji only cocked his head aside as if thinking deeply and suddenly a light bulb appeared comically above his head. "This will do the trick." Quickly, he switched the racket with a short rod. "You can hide this under your sleeve," he announced, clasping his hands in delight.
"BURNING! Don't tell me you want to go to the ball, you filthy girl!" Kawamura instantly said, starting the audition without any of the directors' order. Inui and Oishi could only let Kawamura continue. Everyone else raised an eyebrow. Kawamura being the evil stepsister… no, stepbrother might be a bit too much, especially when he was in his violent burning mode.
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"Hoi! You ungrateful child! Sweep the floor!" Eiji exclaimed, trying to look furious by putting up an angered face. Yet, it was all in vain when his face showed a pout instead. Yes, a big pout that was. The others only giggled at his ridiculous but adorable actions.
"He sounds too cheerful for an evil stepmother." Once in a while, Tezuka would give some comments.
"Eiji, you should be more serious," Oishi commented, although he was close to smiling at his partner.
"Nya! Oishi, I can't help it!" Eiji protested.
"Oishi does suit the role of being a mother more, ne Momo?" asked Fuji with a sly smile. Momoshiro, who recalled the incident of declaring Oishi as a wonderful mother to him, flushed bright red on the spot. The others merely laughed.
"But Oishi-senpai is too soft to be the Cinderella's heartless stepmother." Even Ryoma joined in the teasing.
Hearing the discussion among the others, Oishi silently wished he were as stern as Tezuka. 'I will order them laps if there's no choice…'
"Hn." Everyone turned to look at Tezuka in bewilderment. Did he agree because it was an undeniable fact or was he in for a tease as well? But judging by his attitude, it was most likely to be the first option. Tezuka just did not seem to have that kind of humor when his brain was occupied by tennis and tennis only. What a boring guy…
"Hoi! I am still on the stage! Nya, am I allowed to leave now?" asked a pouting Eiji at a sighing Oishi, who nodded in return. He was helpless when the whole team seemed to go against him.
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"Ochibi! Don't sound so forced," Eiji commanded with a wide grin and gained agreements from everyone else. Ryoma was very stiff on the stage. Mostly it was because of the blackmail incident and the stupid role he was assigned to.
Gritting his teeth, Ryoma sneered. "Hai, stepmother."
Not that Eiji minded being called like that. "Hoi! That's a good boy! Wait… my mistake. An obedient daughter. Hohohoho!" and he ended up laughing hysterically, followed by the others. Ryoma's veins popped up instantly as he blushed furiously.
He was too furious and embarrassed that he was totally oblivious of Inui's warning glare. He was stomping off, heading towards the laughing Eiji and was going to strangle him. Never mind if he was acting out of himself or ruining his reputation. He had had enough. Of course, Tezuka was there to save the day by commanding Ryoma to stop.
"Hai," was the unwilling reply from him as he stood there with hands shaking with anger. Later, he stomped off to wash his face as commanded by Tezuka.
"If Echizen is Cinderella, don't let Eiji be the stepmother… Otherwise, before we can start the actual play, there's already bloodshed," Inui exchanged looks with a worried Oishi.
"Both of them will have to change roles," was the firm reply.
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"Hoi! Fuji is most suitable to be the envious stepsister," Eiji turned to Kawamura, who only scratched his head in return. "But then, Fuji can act very well so any role is fine to him! Nya!"
"I thought he is trying for the Cinderella role?" asked Kaidoh suddenly, but no one answered. They were too occupied to Fuji's excellent acting, in which Kaidoh felt left out and caused him to hiss.
"Echizen's too arrogant to be the sweet Cinderella. They're definitely going to change him," commented a smirking Momoshiro and Ryoma only grunted in response. He had become calmer after washing his face a while ago. "We all know how jealous he is when Fuji-senpai is considered being second in Seigaku," the violet-eyed junior taunted.
"Mada mada da ne," hearing those, they all knew Ryoma was back to his old self and had somehow controlled his anger.
"Cinderella is kind, caring, friendly, shy and hardworking." Once again, Tezuka's blunt comment surprised the rest.
'And Echizen is mean, uncaring, oblivious, arrogant and bold. But at least he is hardworking,' Momoshiro thought in silence, grinning all the time.
"For a moment, what Buchou said reminds me of Kawamura-senpai," Kaidoh decided to join in as well, and this time, his words were not ignored. Some of them imagined the said person in a dress with a wig and instantly, they felt nauseous.
"Idiot! That makes Taka-san a well-toned alien in a drag!" Momoshiro shouted at his rival after going into a coughing fit. The said person was speechless to give any response.
"Who asked you to imagine that, brainless fool!" yelled Kaidoh. All their shouts interrupted Fuji's acting and irritated Tezuka nonetheless. The duo was at each other's throat before they found themselves being punished to run around the hall under Tezuka's order.
What a long day this is going to be…
: To be continued :