The Prince of Tennis Play

Disclaimer: What is the meaning of 'FanFiction'? You know it.

Rating: PG or K+

Genre: Drama, humor, slight suspense

Pairing: Fuji and Ryoma (if you see it that way), implied Momoshiro and Ryoma (if you see it that way), implied Tezuka and Ryoma (if you see it that way)

Warnings or notes: OOC-ness, grammar and other errors (English is not my mother tongue), 1500 words.

It was so much fun to torture Tezuka in the last chapter so this time is Ryoma's turn! Oh well, though I think I did quite a bad job, if it's to be compared to my other chapters. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading and please feel free to give me any idea you want to.

Oh yeah, sorry for the late update. College has been keeping me occupied. :sobs: And yay for the 10000+ hits as well as 100+ reviews. I'll try to keep all the nonsense humors aside and work on the real drama. Bet you all are getting impatient. :winks:

Thanks to Carzla for editing my story! Nyu, do drop a review na?

: Ready… Go :

Chapter 11 – Late

"Echizen, it's time to wake up…" a soft voice called, but to no avail. Pausing for a moment, a better idea crossed Fuji's mind. "I wonder if Momo and Tezuka are interested in a kitty Echizen," he cooed into the sleeping boy's ears with a sly smirk. Almost instantly, Ryoma's eyes popped open and he jerked up from his slumber like a robot. 'Ah, how effective it is,' Fuji thought silently as he stared at Ryoma's widened eyes.

It would appear that the boy did not realize his senior was in his house, to be precise; he was in his room and was sitting on the edge of his bed. It took him a few seconds for that thought to cross his bewildered mind and he nearly had a heart attack. 'What on earth is Fuji-senpai doing here in my room and on my bed!' his mind was practically screaming.

Upon registering the questioning look on Ryoma's face, Fuji grinned wider. "Momoshiro's late to the practice and he thought you come on your own. But when we realized you are still sleeping at this hour, I volunteered to pick you up," he offered an explanation as he stood up slowly. "Seems like our little prince is not a morning person," Fuji teased, which it nearly earned a growl from Ryoma if he was not facing the older currently.

"Would you mind leaving my room for a while so that I can change?" the sour boy asked without offering an apology for being late to practice and for the trouble his senior went through. 'If anything, I'm sure he enjoys it!'

Raising an eyebrow, Fuji walked towards the door casually. "Maa… and here I was thinking that I could snap a few gorgeous pictures," was all Ryoma heard before the other prodigy stepped out and closed the door. Ryoma interpreted his last sentence as 'Maa… and here I was thinking that I could have more blackmail material' and shuddered automatically. He made a mental note to lock his door from that day onwards. Though, vaguely he remembered he did lock up his room the night before…

"Inui said you can't be late for more than an hour!" he heard Fuji's call out slightly louder than his normal tone. He checked his alarm clock and realized he overslept for half an hour. Maybe if he were fast, he would reach the school in less than half an hour's time. After getting ready in haste, he went out of his room and descended the stairs. However, some laughter and voices distracted him and he slowed down his pace.

"The brat is always like this! I apologize on his behalf for all your trouble, Fuji-kun," a deep voice said, followed by a short laugh. Ryoma recognized the voice as Echizen Nanjiroh's at once. What was his father talking about? Embarrassing his own son like this, the boy mused crossly.

'And Fuji-senpai planed this all! I freaking swear the sadist loves seeing me being tortured!' Really, if Ryoma was more of Momoshiro than an egoistic brat like what he showed the world, he may have already shouted those words at his father emotionally.

"Oh no, it's not troubling at all. I was the one who volunteered. And being a father is really hard. You really make a great parent, Echizen-san," Fuji replied, changing the topic effectively because Nanjiroh grinned sheepishly. Mentally, Ryoma groaned. Fuji praised his father? Gosh, it only spelled chaos.

"If only Ryoma has a tiny bit of your manners, I'd thank Kami-sama for my whole life," Nanjiroh replied, the grin still plastered on his face. As a reply, Fuji only smiled politely.

'Better go before that stupid father of mine says more or before Fuji-senpai asks some embarrassing questions,' Ryoma thought firmly. The incident of being blackmailed by the third year regular was vivid in his mind. Speaking of which, if he put his perverted father and a cunning Fuji together somewhere, Ryoma swore he would regret it for eternity. Grunting at his own thoughts, Ryoma headed towards the main door without even greeting his father. Instead, he just tugged his feet into a pair of sports shoes and went out of his house in silence. Seeing his departure, Fuji followed suit after a bow and 'thank you'.

"How proper his senior is. That brat has such a great senior and yet he mentioned nothing of it," the elder Echizen murmured with his right hand rubbing his chin as if deep in thought. Ah, if only he knew the famous sadistic side of Fuji… maybe he would reconsider his impression on the genius. If only he knew.

Outside the Echizen household, the twelve-year-old boy walked almost too quickly for his normal speed. Fuji, who was following the other, did not ask any awkward questions to his relief. But, that did not mean he could not say something to mock the baby of their team, did it? "Echizen-san said he doesn't believe your taste to be unique and all," the soft voice cooed.

At first Ryoma did not pay attention to what his senior was talking about. He was too busy thinking on how to escape Fuji's schemes to notice the smirk on the other's face. It was until he realized he was blocked by Fuji did he raise an eyebrow. To his discomfort, Fuji grinned knowingly and it was that kind of creepy grin he wore every time he turned on his sadistic mode. "Ne, don't you agree you pick the perfect boyfriend?"

If Ryoma was drinking a can of his favorite Ponta, he might have ended up choking or spitting. The words 'Fuji', 'perfect' and 'boyfriend' were not supposed to fit together in one sentence. No, it was not merely a grammatical misusage or something like that. It was just so wrong to put them together, Ryoma mused. The youngest regular would never deny Fuji appeared to be perfect in certain ways (though he would never admit it either). Yet, 'perfect boyfriend' was altogether a taboo.

Yes, definitely a taboo especially when the word was directly related to Fuji Syusuke. And the boy forgot to deny the fact Fuji implied that he swung that way. "What are you trying to imply, Fuji-senpai?" In the end, Ryoma decided to confront his senior bravely. It was now or never. He had to end all these flirting or whatever Fuji liked to call it.

So, he quickened his pace in order to catch up with Fuji, who had started to resume walking. "Am I implying something?" Instantly, Ryoma growled in annoyance and earned a chuckle from the sandy-haired boy. He hated such mind games, which reminded Fuji of a certain captain. "I'm a boy and I am your friend so that makes me your 'boy friend'. At least I believe you consider me as your friend. Why, am I wrong to assume such?"

Trust Fuji to twist the words and turn them into something people would never imagine. 'Better than being marked as a rival by you anyway...' The younger then pulled his cap lower to cover his frown. 'First the blackmail, then the surprise visit, and now this! Just what does he want…' Ryoma sighed mentally. 'This is just a waste of time… Wait!' It was only then the younger prodigy realized something.

As if on cue, Fuji chose to answer his thought. "By the way, I forgot to remind you that Inui said whoever is late for more than an hour is going to drink his juice for one whole week," Fuji's mischievous voice said as he titled his head aside with his left hand holding his chin. "Oh, and you are late for…" he paused to check his watch for a moment. "… an hour and seven minutes," he finished his speech finally after they stepped into Seigaku.

Oh my, they had spent more than half an hour walking to school? Poor Ryoma was seriously doomed. 'He loves to torture me!' If he was more like the acrobatic player in their team maybe he had already wailed pitifully. All he did, however, was to break into a run towards their school's hall. Behind him, Fuji merely smiled and strolled casually after the anxious freshman. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Echizen," the genius murmured in an amused voice. "You are so much like our dear Buchou in many ways."

"For lunch you'll have Inui Juice in your menu for this entire week, Echizen," Inui's firm voice echoed just as a panting Ryoma stepped into the hall. All heads turned to look at him. Almost immediately, they sympathized with the youngest player. From the looks of it, he was going to faint any moment.

Upon hearing Inui's statement, there was a thud as Ryoma collapsed onto the hard ground unceremoniously. But it was not so uncalled for. Really, Ryoma thought he might as well take a break from all the misfortunes and insanities. Little did he know, more chaos would be coming soon…

: To be continued :