Summary thus far: Ryoma and Kaidoh are now in the high school regulars! The former is disappointed to find Tezuka not the captain of Tenshi High, but that the captain is an eccentric silverette named Kiryu Shinju. Tezuka and Ryoma have a lot of catching up to do, but can they do it when a devious teenager plans to entwine their fates?

TENSHI HIGH'S EVIL BUCHOU!

-Chapter Two: Try Playing Doubles With Him-

Ryoma slowly opened his golden eyes, yawned, and stretched sleepily. He patted Karupin on the head, washed up, and dressed into his school uniform. He snapped out of his daze when he smelled and unfamiliar smell. "Kaasan?"

"Yes, Ryoma dear?"

"What are you making?"

"I'm not sure what it's called, but I ate it at my friend's house last night. It was delicious!" Rinko said. "Oh! It's already seven o' clock! You should hurry up and get going to school."

Ryoma grunted. "Unn, see you later, kaasan," Ryoma grabbed his bag and ran out the door quickly.

The young teen mounted his friend's bike parked just outside the gates. "We have to get there quickly, Momo-sempai."

"I know, but this whole 'party' thing you told me about," Momo started to pedal, "I'm beginning to think that your buchou has something set up."

Ryoma shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, I have a sneaking suspicion that he's up to something."

"People say he's quite a plotter. You should watch your back."

Ryoma smirked. "Che, I'm not going to let some guy I barely know get the best of me," the two then silently arrived at their destination.

"Well, I have to get to the basketball courts, see you later!" Momo called as he dashed to his club meeting place. Ryoma waved silently and walked on toward the tennis courts, startling in surprise when there was a joyful cry.

"Nyaa~ LUCKY!" Eiji shouted happily. "I'm with Oishi, nya!"

"A-Ah… don't say it so loudly Eiji!" Oishi scolded and literally gaped when he saw Ryoma.

"What're you looking at, Oishi…?" Eiji looked at Ryoma and blushed. "Oh, ochibi…"

Ryoma scratched his head. "Am I missing something here? Are you two sick?"

"As a matter of fact, Echizen—"

"Echizen!" Shinju ran up to the young teen and grabbed his wrist with a large grin. "C'mon! You have to look at your partner! Oh, and try on your costumes while you're at it! I have to know for sure if they fit or not."

"Erm… okay…?" Ryoma quickly walked to the club house. 'Something is definitely off… something is trying to ruin my life… no, someone is trying to mess up my already screwed up life… but I wonder who my partner is…? Oh god, what if it's—'

"…Tezuka-sempai?" said junior had his head in his hands and Ryoma felt his face heat up. "I don't… what is… umm…"

Shinju smiled evilly at the reaction. "Try your outfits on… both of you."

Tezuka looked up and sent a withering glare at his superior. "I refuse to wear… that thing," Tezuka practically spat out in his sulking anger and Shinju put his evil face on.

"Wear it or else."

The two teens flinched. "I don't really think it's a good idea to oppose Kiryu right now…" Ryoma whispered, but the silverette heard it and smiled. Shinju gave a little dance of joy, and both Tezuka and Ryoma thought the same thing.

'He HAS to have a dual personality.'

Shinju smirked evilly when the two disappeared into their personal dressing rooms. "Ne Shiro… how long do you think it will be until Echizen scr—"

The senior was cut off by a, "NANI? What the HELL?" Ryoma stomped out of the room holding something akin to a dress. "WHY DO I HAVE TO WEAR THIS… THIS ABOMINATION?" Ryoma yelled loudly.

"Remember what Tezuka will be wearing… and both of you agreed that you wouldn't back out."

"Gah…" Ryoma sulked and dragged his feet back into the dressing room. "Oh kami-sama… why are you punishing me like this? What did I ever do wrong?"

The Tenshi High tennis captain stifled his evil laughter at that.

Ryoma stepped out of the room with the tiniest hint of a small blush. He was wearing a red kimono, that actually fit his stature and accentuated his feminine body, with small blue flowers imprinted on the bottom of it, which was pink. A white sash with a golden bird sewn into the middle of it was tied tightly around his waist. "I'm not going to go through this embarrassment along, Tezuka-sempai! Come out!"

"Y-Yadda!" Tezuka refused uncharacteristically and Ryoma dragged his former buchou out of the dressing room.

"Ah…" Ryoma blushed at the junior's attire and Tezuka blushed at Ryoma's outfit.

"S-Stop staring…" they both said.

Tezuka was wearing a thin brown T-shirt and shorts with a tail. Ryoma stared at the ears adorned on his sempai's head. "Is this really a necessary costume… Kiryu-buchou?"

"…Sorry… Tezuka… I was too busy… laughing…!" Shinju coughed and held his mouth to try to get rid of his laughing fit. "But it depends on Echizen, because I do have a replacement costume for you that would probably be more fitting."

Ryoma looked up at the mention of his name. "Eh?"

"Do you want Tezuka to wear this embarrassing outfit?" Shinju asked with a glint in his eyes.

"Erm… well… huh? Oh, I mean… it's… just… it's distracting… what I mean is… yeah. I mean! N-No… I don't want sempai to wear this… it's just too embarrassing for him."

Tezuka sighed in relief and Shinju frowned, his fun drowned in the toilet (so to speak). "The other outfit is somewhere in the dressing room."

"Aa," Tezuka replied quickly and went into his changing room as Ryoma turned to Shinju.

"Can I pick something else?"

"Of course not! That would ruin the theme! It was originally supposed to be a princess and her loyal pet, but then… you know… Tezuka acts and seems more of a seme than you."

"…Acts more of a… seme…? What the hell is a se—"

"Yes, in a relationship between you too, I'm sure Tezuka'd be the seme and you'd be uke…" Shinju nodded, a convinced look on his face.

Toushiro shook his head. "Keep your comments to yourself, Shin."

The teen smiled. "Okay. So anyway, I made Tezuka a different outfit since… yeah," the silverette waved his hands to remind Ryoma of what he was saying before and put his hands back on his hips to grin devilishly. "Now, the theme is a princess and her guard!"

"GUARD?" the Echizen child nearly screamed. The dressing door opened and Ryoma blushed deeply at his former buchou's attire.

Tezuka was wearing a dark blue hakama with a light blue shirt underneath and a golden sash held a realistic katana, which was actually fake, anyway.

"See~? It all works out! Tezuka, the ever faithful samurai, protects Ryoma, the princess of a faraway land!"

"I'm not a girl!"

"But~ you're~ dressed~ like~ one~!" Shinju smiled. "Kikumaru and Oishi's theme is an animal trainer! Kikumaru is a werecat (?) and Oishi is the animal tamer!"

Oishi gulped. "A-Animal tamer?"

The tennis captain winked. "Yep! Go, dress, now!"

"U-Umm… but…" Oishi stuttered.

"No backing out now, I said that and all of you promised," the silverette reminded with a cool smile that lowered the temperature about ten degrees.

The Golden Pair shivered. "Ya."

Shinju smiled. "Good. Now, as for Inui and Kaidoh, your theme is a mad scientist pair. Inui's the head scientist and Kaidoh's his assistant," Shinju clapped his hands together, waiting for the four aforementioned teens to go to the dressing rooms. When they didn't, he glared.

"Go. Change. NOW."

"Ha-Hai!" the four ran into their dressing rooms out of pure fear.

"Ah, that leaves Fuji and Kawamura. I was unable to find a theme, so you guys are free to pick your own costumes. Of course, if you want, I can find something in my head—"

"It's fine," Fuji quickly replied. "But I'm curious to know your theme, Kiryu-buchou."

Shinju rested his head in his left hand. "It's magician partnering! I got the idea from this manga called Negima? (I DO NOT own this either). Basically, every master magician has a partner, and to get one they have to go through a process called the pactio! The pactio was a kiss, by the way…"

"How… interesting…?" Kawamura offered with a small smile.

Shinju smiled. "Oh, it's ten minutes until school starts! So Tezuka… Echizen… pose!"

"P-POSE?" Ryoma half shouted out loud.

"Ya! Like a heroic hero saving the damsel in distress!" Shinju moved toward the former Seigaku buchou. "Put your hand on this, and unsheathe the katana like that. Tilt your head a bit up… look that way! Perfect."

"It's better to get it over with, Echizen. Believe me when I say I know Shin's personality. He will do anything and everything to get that picture."

"Thanks for the advice… coach…"

Shinju literally threw Ryoma into Tezuka's arms. "Put both arms around Tezuka's neck… yeah, like that! Oh, and tiptoe so you can lean against his body, perfect! Tezuka, wrap your arm around Echizen and— not your LEFT! You look like your stabbing him, use your right arm!"

"Oh gods, Shin, hurry it up!"

"Hmm, try to look somewhat confused and sad, Echizen… and take your glasses off Tezuka! PERFECT! Okay…" Shinju clicked the small button. "Mmm, it makes me want to do unspeakable things to Shiro! X3"

"Shut it, Shin," Toushiro said with a slight blush.

"Next!"

Eiji was wearing cat ears and pants that had a tail. He was also wearing gloves that looked like paws. Oishi was wearing a dark green T-shirt, brown cargo pants, and a coiled red whip hung off his waist.

Shinju blink when he took Inui and Kaidoh's picture. "Y'know, Inui just looks like his usual persona…" the silverette noted and everyone agreed.

"The bell's about to ring," Toushiro informed once everyone was back in their school uniform.

Shinju looked up. "That reminds me, practice will be a bit different today."

Eiji blinked. "I don't understand; what do you mean by different?"

Shinju covered his mouth and smirked with an evil glint in his eyes. "You'll see."

"Since the 'Golden Pair' is the best at doubles, they will be playing against every other team."

"…That doesn't seem like a fair match. You do realize that Echizen sucks at doubles?"

"Ah, I know. How should we do this?"

"Make it… a small tournament against Regulars. Let Oishi and Kikumaru play against Tezuka and Ryoma. While that's happening, you should play with Fuji against Inui and Kaidoh."

Shinju wrote the stuff down. "Hou, a mini tournament eh?"

"…Don't use your Angels or Devils."

Shinju smirked. "Only you've seen my Devils… and as for my Angels… I don't plan on letting anyone see them unless I'm serious."

"Shinju."

"…Fine. I won't use my special Angels, but I can't deny my Midori."

Toushiro sighed with a nod and opened the door. "Come on, they're waiting," the whitenette murmured. Shinju smiled happily and gathered the papers before following his coach out of the door. Said door silently shut behind the evil little tennis captain. "Don't get carried away, Shin."

"I'll try~!" the young captain said with an evil gleam glowing in his eyes.

"Eh? Masaka… the difference is that you're going to make us ALL play doubles? But… ochibi sucks at it!" Ryoma scowled at the comment. "Gomen, ochibi… but you know it's true-"

"That's why… I'll be pairing Echizen with a special person… Tezuka," Shinu smirked. "To play doubles with him… just try to play doubles with him, okay, Echizen."

"First the party, then the pairings, and now this? Are you trying to say something, Kiryu-buchou?" Ryoma practically shouted at his captain.

"Err, no. It's just that you seem to do so much better when Tezuka is involved… since he is your former buchou and all… so I thought the same would go for doubles!"

"Besides, I picked the teams, not Shin," Toushiro noted.

Ryoma grumbled. "Let's just get this over with," the sophomore took his place behind the net.

"Whoever loses will drink my new juice, I call it my Pakinn Juice. It erases most of the drinker's memories for about ten minutes, and he or she will act like a child."

"It's… brown…" Ryoma's eye twitched. "It looks like… brown gelatin… only it looks more like ice cubes than—what the hell is this, Inui-sempai?"

"He already explained it, Echizen. You lose your memories for about ten minutes, big deal."

Ryoma twitched even more. "It is a really big deal! Have you ever tasted—!"

Eiji clamped Ryoma's mouth, "For the record ochibi… and I'm sorry for interrupting, but buchou's taste buds are like Fujiko's. Except buchou's is even more messed up."

Ryoma blinked. "Eiji's right, Echizen. Buchou cooks food that looks wonderful, but tastes worse than Inui's concoctions. Only our coach can eat it happily.

"So we're guessing that his taste buds are also shot," Fuji finished and the Golden Pair nodded simultaneously.

"Hurry up and start the match!" Shinju called loudly.

Tezuka served and stayed near the baseline. Eiji hit the tennis ball back and Tezuka ran forward to hit the ball. Unfortunately, Ryoma was aiming to do the same.

Their rackets hit each other. "…That was clearly my ball, sempai."

"No, I believe that was mine," the two stared at each other and simultaneously replied to what the other said.

"It was my ball."

"Oi, they have no synchronization at all, buchou! Are you sure you want us to train like this?"

Shinju nodded confidently. "It will prove useful in the future. However, I didn't expect Echizen to be this bad in doubles…" Shinju mumbled the last part quietly.

"If you say so, but…" Oishi trailed off.

"I'm sure that was my ball."

"They keep fighting calmly, nyaa!" Eiji complained. "This match is going to go nowhere!"

Shinju sighed. "This really is worse than I thought…" Shinju put a hand on his chin and pressed his forefinger to his lip. "But once this is over…"

"I'll just use Tezuka Zone, then."

"BZZT! There will be no special shots at all, just a regular rally… OKAY?" the four teens on the court sulked but obediently nodded. "Good. So the score is love—fifteen, step up your game, you two!"

"We're trying! Che, sempai… I'm… sor—"

"Let's get this over with, Echizen," Tezuka looked at his kouhai. "There's no need for apologies now. You did nothing wrong," Tezuka served and Eiji hit it back.

Ryoma successfully hit the ball and Oishi lobbed it into the air. Tezuka jumped up and smashed it down. Eiji jumped back and sliced, aiming for the middle.

Once again, the white and red rackets hit each other. The two silently fumed but this time not at each other. "…Love—thirty. Serve the ball, Tezuka. Oh, Shiro, should we start our game?"

"Ah. I'll referee this game, and Kawamura can referee yours since he's here today."

"Okey-dokey! C'mon Fuji. Let's beat them down!" Shinju walked onto the court and a serious expression adorned his face.

"Hou, getting serious this early in the game?"

"Are we able to use special shots?" Inui asked curiously.

"Mm… if you want…" Shinju drawled.

"Saa, I think we should."

"Fshhhhhhhhhhh… sure."

"It'd make things more interesting."

"Alright. You guys serve first," Shinju said.

"Fshhhhhhh, but you're the captain," Kaidoh pointed out and the other tennis player shrugged.

"Okay, if that's what you want," Shinju held the ball out and dropped it. "Midori Tenshi."

The tennis ball sped toward the outside of the court before curving just inside the baseline and crashing into the net with such a force that the metal poles holding the net up shook. Shinju smiled. "Regret making me serve first?"

"F-Fifteen—love!"

"Congratulations ochibi!"

"Hah? What happened?" Shinju asked.

"Echizen got a ball past Oishi and Kikumaru…" the white haired coach began hesitantly.

"…I hear a 'but' in there somewhere."

Toushiro nodded and looked at Shinju. "The Golden Pair was shocked at your Midori Tenshi."

"Oh yeah… I never showed my Midori… oh well!" Shinju looked serious again. "Here's the next one, and you better be ready."

"Fifteen—thirty."

The next rally went up to thirty balls until Eiji unexpectedly lobbed and Ryoma crashed into Tezuka trying to chase after the ball… landing right on top of him.

Ryoma quickly jumped away from the close contact with a deep blush, which he covered with his cap so no one would see. "G-Gomen sempai…"

Tezuka also stood with a light blush, and was slightly disappointed at the loss of contact. "Ah, it's… okay…"

"Hou, is everything all right, you two?"

"Aa," Tezuka called lightly.

"L-Let's just get this over with," Ryoma felt his heart thumping quickly.

"One game to zero! Kiryu, Fuji pair in the lead. Y-You should really slow down, buchou," Kawamura advised.

Shinju smiled. "No thanks."

Inui shook his head and only sighed heavily. "My data is failing me…"

"Six games to one! Game and match, Kikumaru, Oishi pair wins!" Toushiro announced.

"Six games to three! Game and match, Kiryu, Fuji pair wins!" Kawamura called.

"Now either Echizen and Tezuka or Kaidoh and myself will have to drink my Pakinn Juice," Inui said with a depressed aura, not wanting to drink his own creation.

"Since the bell's going to ring soon, let's continue the tournament on Monday," Shinju announced before Toushiro whispered something in his ear, causing the silverette to nod and turn to the regulars. "Do you guys mind if we have the party on Sunday? You can relax tomorrow instead."

"No problem," the regulars replied happily… anything to get rid of the Pakinn Juice.

"Okay then, see you on Sunday!"

Ryoma leaned back on his bed and pat his cat's head. "Oh Karupin, what am I going to do? I can barely think straight… I've changed so much…"

"Meow."

"It's all because of Tezuka! I swear Karupin; he'll be the end of me. I mean, it's impossible for him to like me back, much less love me," Ryoma closed his eyes and sighed tiredly. "But… I like saying it… my Kunimitsu…" the teen smiled lightly before widening his eyes and burying his head in his pillow. "Gah! What the hell am I thinking about?"

A knock on the door alerted the tennis player of a visitor. "Ryoma, someone's here to see you," the golden eyed teen's mother called before entering the room.

"Who is it?" Ryoma asked curiously.

"Umm… what's your name young man?" the red haired woman asked after she turned her head slightly.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"Let him in," Ryoma immediately said.

"Okay," Rinko nodded and walked out of the room.

Tezuka walked into the room and closed the door. "Echizen… I was going to say that… do you think we should train?"

"Hah? Why?"

"Because… we'll be going against Inui and Kaidoh on Monday. Don't you think we should be able to beat them?"

Ryoma set both of his hands in his lap. "…Sure why not? It's a good time to try and perfect playing doubles," Tezuka nodded in agreement. "So where should we go?" Ryoma looked up and both of them flinched when they heard the sound of a bullhorn.

"OI! Get yer butts out here right now!" now, that voice was quite familiar.

Tezuka looked out the window with an apprehensive look on his face. "What are you doing here, buchou?"

"I'd like to know as well!" Ryoma snapped.

"Shiro's here too! Besides, I wanted to help you train! If you train with a stronger person, you'll get stronger yourself."

Toushiro scoffed. "I think you're confusing video games with reality. Come on Shin, we have to go."

"Eh? What're you doing? Or is it where are you going…?"

"Well since we have some time, I thought that Shiro and I would go play some street tennis doubles! It really has been a while…" Shinju smiled as he reminisced about his past.

Toushiro leaned his metallic blue racket against his shoulder. "Mm. I'd say it's been about three… no, five years since we last played doubles together."

"You played doubles with him?"

"Ehe, yep! I first met him seven years ago… today's actually the day we met! I was ten and he was eighteen."

"I see…"

"You wanna come? It might help you improve. I have a special training course just for getting used to or perfecting doubles tennis," Shinju looked pensively at the sky. "…That is… only if you want to though."

"I'll do it. How about you, sempai?" Ryoma asked as he turned to his former buchou.

"It's fine," the brunette answered.

Toushiro nodded. "Come on then, we'll start from the basics."

Tezuka and Ryoma stood at the court on opposite sides. "…What? Aren't we supposed to play doubles?"

Shinju held a finger up. "To be a doubles team, one must know all of your partner's moves and nature."

"So you will play many matches against each other in the beginning," Toushiro cleared up for the two.

Shinju nodded. "Yeppers! You see, I've created a five-step method in playing doubles… and this is the first 'stepping stone' as one would say."

Tezuka and Ryoma nodded uncertainly.

FIFTEEN MATCHES LATER

"Now?" Shinju shook his head.

"No."

The two younger teens sighed tiredly and began to play their sixteenth match.

THIRTY MATCHES LATER

Ryoma panted. "N-Now?" Shinju closed his eyes.

"…No."

Ryoma rolled his eyes and Tezuka just shook his head in exasperation.

FIFTY MATCHES LATER

Tezuka was sitting on the ground and panting harshly. "I-Is it… fine… now…?" Shinju looked at Tezuka, then at Ryoma.

Finally, the tennis captain clapped his hands together. "Okay! This is good."

"Finally!" the two looked at each other. "E-Eh? Stop copying me sempai/Echizen. I'm serious!"

Shinju chuckled. "I believe this is the result I was looking for. From playing so many games together, you've learned each other's nature and reached a somewhat synchronization."

"But it's not perfect… not yet anyway," the coach instructed Ryoma to go where Tezuka was and brought out a ball hopper. "This is the second step in this method: putting what you've learned about each other to the test."

"Mm… okay. Come on sempai, let's become a great doubles team!"

Tezuka looked at Ryoma, confused as to where the teen got his sudden burst of excitement. It was out of character, but quite… cute. "…Aa!"

Shinju smiled. "Echizen and Tezuka pairing up in doubles… I never cease to amuse myself."

Toushiro looked at the two younger tennis players and asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah," the teens nodded simultaneously.

The ball was dropped into the machine.

-End Chapter Two: Try Playing Doubles With Him-