Disclaimer: The Prince of Tennis and all of its characters are © to Takeshi Konomi. I do not own any of the characters used in this story so far (although I do not plan on using any OCs), but the story is still my property.

Okie-dokie! A few authors notes before we begin! =D I've received a couple comments I would like to address to my viewers.

Okay, I realize that there are a lot of cushions that were thrown in chapter two. I imagine that with Eiji's big family, they would have at least two couches. Then, there would be cushions on the couches, which total between six and eight And then, I imagined a small pile consisting of five or six cushions on the ground, where people could sit on the floor. All in all, that's between eighteen and twenty cushions! Make sense now? ;)

Although, with the upcoming chapters, I cannot explain where they get all the cushions from. Use your imagination, okay?

Another thing…names! I've had quite a few people tell me about using the wrong names for certain people. I'm gonna look out for those mistakes, but as long as you can tell who I'm talking about, then it shouldn't be a really big deal, right? Thankies!

One last thing. Have you read a fanfiction that has not been even the slightest bit OOC? If there was a fanfiction that was not OOC, I would be amazed! I mean, how can a fanfiction not be OOC, if it wasn't made by the creator?!

…that is all. :) Enjoy Chapter Three!

Kittymaru

Chapter 3: Cushion Competition

Everyone froze. Tezuka's glasses dropped to the floor with a tiny chink. Momo was horrified. Eiji and Shusuke silently sniggered for a few seconds at said boy's expression, but were quickly reminded of the severity of the situation, and looked up at Tezuka slowly.

"Mada mada dane…buchou," Ryoma smirked.

The regulars gaped at him.

Tezuka slowly bent down and retrieved his glasses. "Momoshiro!"

Momo cringed.

Tezuka stared at him for a few seconds, which seemed very prolonged to the frightened ones in the room. It was eternity, waiting for Tezuka to speak. Momo gulped. Then, in the blink of an eye, Tezuka grabbed the fallen cushion and nailed Momo in the face with it.

"Haha! Good one, buchou!" Eiji and Shusuke laughed. Momo glared.

"Rah!" he yelled as he unleashed handfuls of cushions at the three of them. Ryoma soon stepped in to help. The victims let out a yelps of surprise as they fell to the ground.

"Moon Volley!!!" Oishi bellowed, squashing Momo and Ryoma with a large couch cushion.

"Yay! Oishi!" Eiji cheered.

"That's not fair! It's four against two!" Momo complained.

"That's your own fault, nya!"

"YOU KNOW WHA—"

TWEEEEEE!

"AAH! What was that?!"

Sadaharu held in his hands a whistle. "I believe I can solve this dilemma."

Everyone else just looked confused.

"Shall we make this into a competition?" Sadaharu smiled.

Oishi looked nervous. "Uh…"

"Why not?" Fuji smiled, "It could be fun!"

"YAY! Cushion War, nya!!!"

Sadaharu smiled and pulled out a microphone. "I shall be referee!"

"Ne, Inui," Eiji asked, "How'd you get that microphone?"

"…I have my ways," he stated. "Are you ready for the rules?"

"You already have rules?" Momo thought aloud. "What do you do in your free time?!"

"Eh-hem!" Sadaharu glared. Momo shrank back. "Thank you. Now, there are three types of cushions, and each has a different size. There are the ones that resemble pillows, which are worth two points each. There are the couch cushions; those are worth two. And then the smallest cushions will count for three points."

He received many looks. Some of confusion, understanding, and intense concentration.

"Is there more…?" Eiji asked.

"Yes."

"Aah! My head's going to explode…"

"I can make your head explode."

"Eep! Gomen, gomen, gomen!" Eiji hid behind Oishi.

Sadaharu continued, "You get double the points if you hit two people with one cushion, triple for three, and so on. Don't throw aimlessly, as you will lose half a point every time you hit your own teammate."

"Pssh! Why would we something as stupid as that?" Momo questioned.

Sadaharu held up a tape. "Let's not forget the Ah-Un pair, now."

"Where'd you get that?!"

"I taped it," Sadaharu gave him a look.

"But…where'd you get it?"

"At the match, Momo. Where else?"

"Aagh, no! How is it here?"

"I brought it with me."

"You carry stuff like that around with you?"

"No."

"Then why do you have it?!"

"I assumed that it would prove useful," Sadaharu smirked. "It did. Now, may I continue?"

Momo huffed.

"Okay, each team will have its own base. Team One will get the foyer; Team Two will get the area behind the couch to the kitchen threshold. Is that enough room?" Sadaharu's glasses gleamed.

No one hesitated to nod.

"You and your teammates cannot enter the other team's base. You have free reign over the center territory. Do not use any foul play, or you will have to join in on the two losers'…requirement."

"Did you make all of that up just now?" Fuji asked.

"Maybe," Sadaharu smiled, "But that's for me to know, and for you to find out."

"Nya, that's confusing!" Eiji whined.

"Oh, and that requirement…" he pulled out a pitcher of bright yellow liquid. And it was shining. "The two people who score the lowest number of points have to drink my Super Special Surprise Inui Juice."

"Special…surprise?" Ryoma mumbled.

Everyone gulped.

Sadaharu laughed. It sounded a little…evil. "It has a different effect every time. I can't wait to see what it does this time."

Everyone gulped again.

"Now we must choose the teams." Sadaharu pulled out a hat from behind his back. "Take one of the papers out," he instructed them. And so they did.

"What's this one mean, Oishi?" Eiji asked.

"I don't know…but I have a two."

Fuji looked down at his number. "What's next?"

"Ones to the right, twos to the left," Sadaharu continued. The two groups formed. Except, the ones ended up on the left instead of on the right. "Close enough," he shrugged.

The ones included Kaidoh, Eiji, Fuji, and Ryoma. The twos were Oishi, Tezuka, Momo, and Taka.

"Do you guys want to choose team names?" Sadaharu asked them.

"We get team names?! YAY!" Eiji cheered.

~*In the huddles…*~

"How about...Team Bumblebee?" Eiji suggested.

"Well, it's better than Team Rainbow," Ryoma sighed. The three glanced at Fuji.

"Well, I liked it," Fuji huffed. "What about Team Cacti?"

"What's cacti?" Eiji asked.

"It's the plural form of cactus."

"Ooohhh."

Ryoma mumbled, "We could just use Seigaku…"

…

"That sounds good, nya!"

"Hmm…it's simple. Alright."

Kaidoh just hissed at them.

"Team SEIGAKU!" Eiji cheered.

Meanwhile, group two was having trouble…

"Team Tennis?" Momo suggested.

"That's a little unusual, Momo," Oishi told him.

"Argh. This is hard! I need a burger…" Momo's eyes lit up.

"We are not being Team Burger, Momo," Tezuka stated. Momo looked a little disappointed.

Oishi said, "Don't team names usually have an animal?"

"Yeah, but which animal?!" Momo was confused.

"BURNING!!!" Taka wasn't paying attention. "GREAT-O!!!"

"…let's just go with Team Burning," Oishi decided. No one rejected.

Sadaharu smiled, "The match between Team Seigaku and Team Burning will now begin. Please get into position."

The players hid behind the furniture of their choice.

"One…two…GO!"

"HEY! You didn't say three!" Eiji whined from his hiding spot.

"BUUURRRRNIIING!!!" Taka sent a cushion over the couch.

"Ow!" Eiji hopped up. "That wasn't nice! NYA!"

Fuji popped out of nowhere and flung the cushion back, where it flopped into Taka. "Whoops…Eiji, you need to keep quiet! That's the point of hiding!"

Fuji got smacked in the side of the head.

"You should listen to him, Eiji!" Momo yelled. "He obviously knows what he's doing!"

You could hear Ryoma snicker from underneath the table. Fuji's hair started blowing in the…er…wind.

"Momo…" Fuji's eyes glinted.

"…Fuji?" Momo stammered, "How are you doing that?!"

"Doing what?" he smirked. Cushions started to hover next to him.

"AAH!" Oishi and Momo ran for cover. Tezuka just sighed.

"Put the cushions down, Ryoma."

"….damn."

"You guys are no fun!" Eiji pouted.

Momo steamed. "Grr…get 'em!" he shouted. Momo dunked a cushion into Eiji, which made him topple over Kaidoh. Kaidoh gave a loud hiss as he grabbed the cushion and jumped over the couch, where he ran to Momo in a flash and started whacking him with it like it was a pillow fight.

Tezuka and Ryoma battled it out like a dodgeball game off to the side, where Tezuka kept using his Tezuka Zone to snatch all the cushions from Ryoma. Ryoma growled before bounding away. Tezuka chased him around the room until Ryoma found his couch cushion and turned the tables on him. The cushions ricocheted off of his makeshift shield and hit the ground, where they twisted up into the air and bounced into Tezuka.

Meanwhile, Oishi was hiding behind a pole, and Shusuke was waiting to hit him. Oishi peeked, but darted back as a cushion flew past his face. Fuji laughed at him. "Come out, kitty…"

"Huh?!" Eiji shouted as he ran by, followed closely by a burning Taka, who brandished a cushion like a tennis racket.

"Not you, Eiji!"

Oishi sneaked behind Fuji and knocked him over. He then ran off to the other side of the room and started chucking cushions in all directions, hoping that Fuji would get knocked off his trail…literally. One of them flew right into Kaidoh's face, which made him fall over. Momo cheered before taking his chance to get his revenge for the whacks. He didn't get that far, as a cry of HADOKYUU! resounded throughout the house and Eiji ducked behind Momo, leaving the underclassman to face the wrath of Taka. Unfortunately for Eiji, Momo toppled over backwards, taking Eiji with him, where they bumped into the couch and fell backwards onto the floor behind it.

"INUI!!! Momo's in our base! Momo's in our base!"

"It's not MY fault!"

Sadaharu's voice boomed from the speakers…wherever they were. "Kikumaru gets one penalty shot!"

"WHAT?!"

Eiji grabbed a couch cushion and jumped off of the couch with a cry of NYA! He barreled into Momo, who was forced back to the ground. Eiji jumped back up.

"He's still in our base, Inui!"

"You didn't give me a chance to get out!" Momo shouted.

"Just get out, already!" Kaidoh yelled at him.

"What'd you say to me?!"

"Momo," Sadaharu said, "please leave the premises of the base at this moment."

Momo huffed and walked halfway across the room before getting smacked by another one of Eiji's cushions. "Why, YOU—"

"BURNING!!!" Taka shoved past him with two couch cushions, braced for attack. Momo fell back into Oishi, who was forced to stop chucking the cushions as he toppled over. Fuji then decided to show up, with a big smile on his face.

"It's your turn, Oishi," he said spookily, his hair blowing again. Ryoma held up the cushions from behind him. Oishi just stared at them.

Ryoma stared back. "Boo."

"Aah!" Oishi shrieked and stumbled back.

That's when the lights went out.

Wahaha! Another cliffie! :D I feel so accomplished!

Again, sorry for the wait! I decided to rewrite the entire cushion war part, cause when I first wrote it, it was obvious which team would come out on top…so I made it fairer this time! And the lights part is new. It just kinda came to me when Oishi shrieked. It seemed like the right moment, no?

I'm still open for suggestions, so please send me your ideas!

Dewa mata atode!
Yukari