CR: Not much time…again, because tomorrow my cousin is getting married and I am going. Also, *sigh* they have buffet lunch and their wedding ceremony is at night. IN A CHURCH! I didn't realize churches have night service, I thought it's usually in the afternoon…really, my cousin has the weirdest wedding requests. For instance, instead of the usual black his bridegroom suit is the color of beige, which is the same color as my aunt's walls. Also, he wanted the church service to be held at night instead of the usual afternoon. Well, back to the story, anyway!
The next day, the ITM champions got up very early and met for breakfast. As soon as they were seated, they were served an enormous platter of food. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes. A tureen of fruit sits in ice to keep it chilled. The amount of rolls they set before the champions will keep them going for a week. There's an elegant glass of orange juice, cups of coffee, and rich brown cups of hot chocolate.
As they ate breakfast, Tyler spoke up. "Does anyone want to try the Kinect Dance Central at the Training Center? I heard it's on the 14th floor."
"How did you know it's at the 14th floor, Tyler?" said Philip, shovelling his eggs.
"I read the directory briefly when Paku took us to the elevator." said Tyler.
"Dance Central doesn't seem like a bad idea." said Christopher. "Right, Captain?" he said, turning to Ryoma.
"Hmm…alright. How about it, Pakura-sensei?"
"Don't call me sensei, Ryoma. You're the captain."
"True, but you mentor me. I am giving you respect."
Pakura sighed. "Alright, let's go there then."
After breakfast, they went to the fourteenth floor where the Kinect Dance Central was. The dance lounge was huge, with polished marble floors, comfy couches enough to fit 5 people in each couch, a dance floor for the players and CDs in one rack and a DVD player below the huge screen. The Kinect was situated a shelf above the DVD player. There is also some drink machines provided in the lounge, in case you get thirsty. Derek searched through and found the Dance Central CD. Philip activated the Kinect and the screen, and placed the CD in.
"Right, who wants to go first?" said Christopher.
"I don't know, Chris. Why don't we do rock-paper-scissors? Winner goes first." The others nodded. Chris and Philip won the rock-paper-scissors.
"Yay, let's go, Philip!" said Chris, as he dragged Philip to the dance floor.
"Alright, which song do you want?" said Philip.
Chris frowned, moving his arm to select the song. "I know! Let's dance to DJ got us falling in love!"
Philip shrugged. Whatever you say, Chris." They selected their characters and chose easy mode.
"Do you want collaborate, or dance battle?" said Philip.
"Dance battle." said Chris.
"Fine." said Philip, selecting dance battle.
The music started, and the moves they were supposed to do appear. Chris kept mixing up which side was he supposed to move to and which way is he supposed to dance. Philip, on the other hand, was calmer and he tried to recompose himself every time he danced the wrong move.
Finally the song ended, and the game tabulated the scores. Philip won the match.
Chris pouted, but his spirit wasn't dampened by his loss. "Ok, who's going next?" he asked.
William and Jude said together, "We'll go."
They selected the same things, except they selected the song called, "Bad romance."
Both of them never danced before, so it was a whole new experience for them.
William won by only 30 points. (But it's still a win)
"Good battle." said William, shaking Jude's hand. "Thanks. You're not bad yourself." said Jude. "Who wants to go next?"
Ryoma, (who was watching the dance), said, "Alright. I'll go next. Come on, Paku."
Pakura reluctantly stood up. "Alright."
She selected a female character and asked Ryoma. "What song do you want?"
Ryoma looked at the list of songs. "Ok, I want that song." He said, pointing to the song title.
Pakura looked at what he was pointing, and said, "Alright." Before moving her hand and selecting "Like a G6."
Both of them selected Hard Mode (to the team's surprise) and waited for the moves to appear. When they did, it was very fast and very complex, yet the two of them moved gracefully and easily, as if it they have done it before. The other six watched in awe as both of them moved like a mirror image to the characters on screen.
They easily scored more than two million points, and the screen complimented their moves as "Flawless". Of course, both had "Flawless Finish" but Ryoma won by 2 points. Why? Because at one point in the song, while Pakura only had a "Nice", and Ryoma had, "Flawless". "Well, looks like I lost, Ryoma." said Pakura, shaking his hand.
"Nah, it was a good dance battle. You are a good dancer." said Ryoma.
"Very funny." said Pakura, but she is smiling. "Who's going next?"
They stayed in the dance lounge without being disturbed until 5pm, when it's time for the prep. Heck, they didn't even realize it was 5pm, until Coach Levi knocked on the door, poked in his head and said, "There you are. I've been spending the whole afternoon looking for all of you. It's time for your prep, guys."
They bade good bye to each other before they are sent to their respective locations to get prepped. Pakura was sent to Natural Beauty Base. Natural Beauty Base turned out to be what a person looked like if they stepped out of bed looking flawless but natural. It meant her nails are perfectly shaped but not polished. Her hair soft and shiny but not styled. Her skin smooth and clear but not painted. Wax the body hair and erase the dark circles, but don't make any noticeable enhancements. After that, she was sent to a little room with couches and magazines. She supposed it's the Makeover Base, where they give you the make-up, manicures, hair-styling, etc. She got to read magazines and was even served cherry cola and provided a phone while her nails are being painted, her make-up being put on, her hair being styled.
When they were done, they dressed her in a pink sheer sparkles dress that is sleeveless and had matching elbow gloves and matching high heels with jewels glued to the shoes. Her hair was curled at the bottom and it was decorated with sapphire clips. There isn't a single inch of her that hasn't been pinched, cut, filed, painted, sloughed, blown dry or moisturized, yet she still had her natural beauty. When they released her, she went to meet the others at the 12th floor penthouse.
"Wow, look who's just turned into a princess." said Tyler. His hair was deliberately messed and he was dressed in a dark blue suit that matched his hair. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you are a princess."
"Totally agree." said Philip. He was wearing a purple suit that matched his eye color and his prep team probably put gel in his hair. "Right, Ryoma?"
Ryoma, who looked cute/handsome in an elegant black suit with a gold watch around his wrist, looked at her and nodded.
He checked his gold watch. "It's nearly seven; let's go to the ballroom now."
The ballroom is at the 21st floor of the Training Center, usually used to hold dancing lessons, but it is very huge and also, there is a stage. The ballroom was full of floral decorations with balloons at the top of the stage. The tables were set with shiny utensils and highly breakable dishes, and it was covered with a white tablecloth. In between the balloons was a banner that stated, "Welcome, Champions" that is probably hand drawn, Tyler muttered to Ryoma. (No one can argue because he is a genius at Art).
They took their respective seats, to the applause of the other players. (They seemed to have to get ready for the party themselves, unlike the champions) Pakura reluctantly allowing Ryoma to sit with Atobe. "But you must promise to join us once we introduce ourselves." She said.
"Alright, I promise." He replied, before joining Atobe.
Just then, Coach Levi came up the stage. "Attention, everyone! Today, all 8 of the champions are here!" the players cheered, taking a glance at the table where all the champions (except Ryoma) were seated.
"I would like to get them all up here to introduce themselves. Do note, all of them were captains of their own school tennis team! Also, they were the strongest 8 members of the Chess Pieces, which means, they are all Knight class!" there were murmurs of admiration.
Pakura hated the stares they are giving them, especially her. It must have shown in her face, because William put a hand on her shoulder, and asked, "Paku, are you alright?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."
All 7 of them got up to the stage, to loud applause. Coach Levi passed the mike to Philip.
"Hello, everyone. I am Philip Robinson, from New Explorers High School." He passed the mike to Derek.
"I am Derek Evans, from All Hallows High School." He passed the mike to Jude.
"Jude Harrison, from Bronx International High School." He passed it to Chris.
"I am Christopher McKiddie, from Fordham Preparatory School" he passed it to William.
"I am William Anderson, from Bronx Community High School" he passed it to Tyler.
"I am Tyler Clearwater from Bronx High School." He passed it to Pakura.
"My name is Pakura Goldstein, and I am from New Day Academy. However, I am not the captain of my school tennis team." There were gasps. "Rather, I am the vice-captain for the boys' tennis team. I am also the vice-captain of this team!" There were cheers and applause.
"Wait, where's the captain?" shouted Kintaro, jumping up and down his seat. "If he's the captain of all of you, then he is the captain of the captains, right?"
"He couldn't make it?" shouted Kamio.
"Oh no. He's already here. In fact, he arrived earlier than us." said Tyler, snatching the mike from Pakura.
"Really? Where is he?" said Saeki.
Meanwhile, at the Hyotei table…
"Ryoma, wake up." said Keigo to Ryoma, who was asleep on his shoulder. "Wake up!" the boy didn't stir. Atobe took drastic measures and plants a kiss on his lips. Ryoma woke up with a muffled shout, before returning Atobe's kiss. "The champions seem to be looking for you." He whispered in Ryoma's ear. Ryoma looked up, and sure enough, they were looking around for him.
Finally, Chris snapped, grabbed the mike from Tyler, and said, "Oi, Captain! Get your butt on the stage now!"
"That's not nice, Chris." said William.
"I know, Will, but he's probably sleeping again."
Ryoma grumbled, and got up, ignoring the shocked stares. He took Pakura's hand, and she led him up on stage. He took the mike from Chris. "Echizen Ryoma, from New Day Academy, Captain of the Chess Pieces and of this ITM champions." he said in a bored tone.
Fuji dropped his wine glass, which shattered musically against the floor, his eyes open. Momoshiro accidentally bit on his finger when he was eating bread. Oishi spat out his juice, spraying Kaidoh, who was too shocked to immediately get a napkin. Eiji dropped his cake, which stained his suit. Inui dropped his notebook. Even Tezuka stiffened. William saw those reactions first. "Hey, Ryoma," he said, nodding at the Seigaku table. The others looked as well, and muffled their laughs behind their hand.
'This is fun. Wish I had a camera.' thought Ryoma, as his team was sniggering next to him.
Omake (Sleeping)
Narrator: One night, the ITM champions were sleeping in the forest.
Chris and Derek: (Snoring)
William: (who was sleeping next to them) I can't sleep with those two snoring so loud!
C: (sleeping) Yeah! (Punches William)
W: (sits up) Ouch! (Sits up, rubbing his head) Oh sheesh (dodging random items thrown by Chris)
D: (Still sleeping, gives William a flying kick)
W: Ouch! So much strength even when asleep. I will never get sleep at this rate (blocks Chris' punch)
D & C: (throws a ball, serves at William)
W: (hits the balls with own racquet and blocks Derek's and Chris attacks) I've got to do something.
Later….
W: (puts tied up sleeping Derek and Chris on the ground, sporting a few bruises in the process) Finally! Now I can have some peace.
Pakura: (who have woken up because of the ruckus) I agree. Why don't you go back to sleep? (Takes out her knife)
W: (sweatdrop) Uh oh.
(Pakura sliced at William)
W: NOOOOOOOOO!
A/N: So what do you think of the omake? I got this inspiration from when Yamato couldn't sleep because of Naruto and Kiba, but since the ITM champions are not ninjas, I had to make it as normal as possible.