Hello anybody reading this!

Blufox- Teasy Tezu. If he's not careful, that boy's gonna have a mountain of nicknames before I'm done!

D'cute- In my opinion, Tezuka has quite a sadistic side to him as well. It doesn't show often, which is probably why it took Fuji by surprise! -Laughs.-

Alaena Flame Dragonstar- Sorry, sorry! It'll come into the story soon. Before the Ball, at least. -Twitches. (I want to write it really bad, but have a few things to do first.)-

KaL KeY- Sorry! Sorry! The folder and the ball are coming soon. Don't worry!

Yoshikochan- Twister was fun. My friend was reading a printed copy in class, and read the beginning with an 'oh my god' face, and then starting cracking up. Yeah, talk about awkward. And, yes, Tezuka cheats. Why do you think he's so good at poker? Just kidding.

KiriharaAkaya- Twister is so great... Yeah. And about the Hyotei guys, after the ball, I'm going to post a chart as to what everyone is. So, just be patient with me, and all of your worries will soon be appeased. (I love that word...)

Skyblue147- I agree with you. He's just so cute sometimes! As for the stallion... Only Shishido. -Laughs.- Every time I think of the silver pair and their animal affiliates in this story, a million lame puns flood into my mind...

P.S. This chapter is almost all -Crosses out almost- RyoMomo. Sorry for those of you who dislike that. I've been neglecting them. Also, Ryoma gets a little OOC, but please remember that even prodigies have feelings.

Disclaimer- I do not own Prince of Tennis

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Ryoma was outside, leaning against a tree about two hundred yards from the house, letting the winds engulf him. They were especially strong tonight, and it had a soothing effect on the freshman's senses. He had really come to love moments like this, since his change. Of course, he had loved them before, back when he needed to get away. Away from his baka oyaji, or his sometimes annoying senpais, away from his own thoughts and feelings.

Still, now times like these held a whole new significance for Ryoma. Times like these, he didn't have to listen to other people's thoughts. He couldn't help it the rest of the time, he just heard things, without wanting to. It was hard, especially with tennis. He didn't like hearing his opponent's thoughts; it took some of the hype out of playing the game. He tried, all of the time, to gain a control of his power, but it seemed to have a mind of it's own. It was constantly growing, too, and becoming more acute. He didn't just read minds anymore, he could now move things with a thought, could track people by singling them out, and he could tell when someone was behind him, and who they were, without ever turning around. He was also beginning to fear that he could influence others' minds.

It had happened that day. A few times, actually. One time was when that girl who always hung out with Sakuno... What was her name? Oh, it didn't matter... Anyway, she just kept talking, and Ryoma was starting to wish she would just go away. She continued babbling, and then Ryoma's mind finally screamed 'Shut up!' He hadn't even sent the words to her, she just stopped. Mid sentence, stopped and told Sakuno she had to be somewhere. Okay, maybe it was a coincidence. That was what he had been trying to convince himself all day, but whenever he thought that, he thought 'Yeah, and people normally stop in the middle of a word'.

That wasn't all though, perhaps if it was just that, he could have eventually convinced himself that it was just a lucky chance. Then there was lunch, when Horio picked the lunch that Ryoma had wanted. It was the last one. Ryoma remembered thinking 'No, not that one!' and Horio told the lunch lady that he was sorry, but that he had changed his mind. Ryoma took the lunch instead. Still, Ryoma argued with himself, saying that he was just having a good day, and should enjoy it rather then question it.

If only he could have left it at that! He had decided to test it, and had spent the rest of the day trying to make people do things, small things at first, and then outrageous things, that couldn't be a coincidence. It worked every time. And it scared Ryoma so bad that he couldn't think straight. All of these powers, he knew, he had been using inadvertently since he changed, and it was only when they grew that he noticed them and could use them consciously. Who knew what he had 'inspired' since his change, and not been aware of it.

Ryoma Echizen froze. He had started dating Momo after he changed. His head sunk onto his knees, which he had unconsciously pulled against him in his distress. Ryoma remembered that day, and until now it had been one of his most cherished memories, though he publicly teased his senpai to no end. He remembered, feeling a bit sick now, that he had thought 'Please, please love me...'

Kami-sama... What if Momo was dating him because he had prompted him? Ryoma knew that his powers were stronger when he was more emotional. There was a very good chance that his power had reached out and persuaded the violet eyed boy to do what Ryoma wanted most. No, no! Ryoma shook his head vigorously. He remembered reading Momo's thoughts. The older boy cared about him, didn't he? Oh, but Ryoma had quite badly wanted those thoughts there. What if he had... Oh, Kami-sama...

No, no! Momo had asked him to Atobe's ball right? It was tomorrow, and Momo had asked him almost immediately after they had heard about it. Oh, he had wanted that too... Wanted it just then... Kami-sama... Ryoma felt like crying. Everything he had was a lie. Momo's feeling were a lie, something he had put there himself with his power. No... He didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't see any reason that it wasn't true...

Ryoma realized then that he was crying. He was bawling, practically, or perhaps literally, howling. Ah, there was no way that he couldn't be heard at the mansion. Ryoma then noticed that he had even slipped between forms, his ears and tail out, poking out of the back of his pants. Right, there was a hole there, he had changed since getting home. Thank goodness.

He continued to howl, not caring anymore. Nothing mattered. Momo was not his to have. He would have to let him go, and knew it. He couldn't... He wouldn't keep Momo trapped like this anymore, it wasn't fair. He didn't want to do this... He had never said it, but he was so happy... Or, had been so happy. Another howl ripped it's way out of his throat, when he felt a presence, several presences. Ah, of course, they had heard him at the mansion and were coming. Momo was ahead of them all. Of course he was. He thought that he loved Ryoma, and that he was in pain. Ryoma was in pain, and dashed through him again, thinking that poor Momo was being deceived, even now.

Momo, in fox form, ran towards Ryoma, and a few feet away, changed forms, coming to kneel by his side. "Ryoma..." he said breathlessly, his eyes concerned, "What's wrong."

No... This was what Ryoma wanted. He wanted Momo to be concerned for him, to worry about him. It broke his heart to see that look there, knowing just how fake it was. How unnatural it was for Momo. He knew what he wanted to do, and it was tearing him apart from the inside, out. "Momo... I don't like you that way." he said, not able to look into those violet orbs. Finally, he forced himself to, "I never liked you that way. I... I was just curious. I'm sorry."

"No..." Momo whispered. "No... You don't mean that, I can see it in your eyes. What's wrong, Ryo-chan?" He tried to kiss Ryoma's neck, but the other boy moved away, his golden eyes turning to stone.

"No, Momoshiro-senpai." He had never called Momo that, and saw it in his now-ex-boyfriend's eyes. "I don't like you that way. I don't love you. I don't. I never did." His heart broke, but he knew this was the only way to release the older boy from his web of tricks and lies. "I never will. Go away. Get away from me!" He shouted the last four words, both out loud and in his mind, and watched as his power finally took the right kind of hold on Momo. The other boy looked pained, as one part of Ryoma desperately wished he would stay, and then he ran off into the woods, the force of Ryoma's latest order too strong. Momo disappeared from sight just as the others came into view. Eiji was leading the way, and they were all moving a bit slower to accommodate Ryuzaki.

"Hoi? Where's Momo? I know he darted off in the right direction..." Eiji said, looking confused and concerned. "Ochibi! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ryoma said. Everyone, it seemed, minus Fuji and Buchou were there. He knew his howls must have been really terrible to gather all of this. "I'm fine..." He repeated, trying to convince himself that as well. The thoughts around him didn't believe him.

"Ryoma," Eiji said seriously, acting more solemn then Ryoma had ever seen him. He leaned down by the seventh grader, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I heard you howl. I understood it. No one else did, except for Momo, because we have canine blood too, but I understand. Your howls were those of anguish." Ryoma sat there, stone-eyed, unmoving, so Eiji sighed, and turned back to the others. "Momo-chan went that way," he pointed, "You guys should go find him. Shuichiro." Oishi seemed to understand, and began to lead the way. Everyone except Ryuzaki and Inui followed, at a much higher speed, each changing forms simultaneously.

"Echizen," Inui said softly, "is this about the development of your power?" Ah, that was right, he had told Inui. He wanted to be able to stop it. Sure, his power came in very handy most of the time, but there were times that he wanted to be able to turn it off, or at least down. He thought that the data man might be able to help him.

"...Ah," Ryoma finally said, and knew that fresh tears were coming to him eyes. He wanted to stop them, and tried, futilely. Inui sighed, getting down on his knees so that he and Ryoma were eye-level. "I... I hurt him... It wasn't right. I made him..."

"You think that you made him love you?" Inui said softly.

"...Ah," Ryoma said again, crying a bit harder. Eiji wrapped him into an embrace.

"Nya, Ryoma-chan, Ochibi," Eiji reverted back to using Ryoma's nickname, which he found strangely comforting just now. Familiar. He didn't push Eiji away. "You sounded so sad before. I nearly cried, listening to your howls. I could tell you were sad, so so sad..." Eiji was crying now. "Momo-chan loves you, Ochibi. He really does."

"No," Ryoma said, "I put the ideas in his head, and made him say things that he didn't mean. I know it now. I'll be okay now, I will, and Momo will be better, once I'm okay. Because when I'm okay with things again, I'll stop wanting him to love me, and he'll do just that. He'll stop."

"You foolish boy," Ryuzaki whispered softly, "You really think that you can control others?"

"He's done it, Ryuzaki-sensei, I've seen it, experienced it, myself," Inui said, looking at the elderly woman in bewilderment.

"I'm sure he has," Ryuzaki said, "But do you really think that you can make Momoshiro love you and then just stop, like that?"

"Yes, Sensei," Ryoma said, still crying, "That's what I did." Oh man, this was so unlike him. He couldn't act like this in front of his teammates and coach. He was Ryoma Echizen, known for being arrogant and apathetic. He never showed this side of him, not to anyone. He hardly ever let himself cry or get emotional, even by himself.

"Ochibi, Nya," Eiji shook his head feverishly, "Momo-chan does love you. He has, for a long time. Since long before we ever changed." Ryoma looked at him, his eyes wide. His tears stopped in his pure shock of what he was hearing. "He did! He told me, a long time ago. Not long after you came. He wanted to know if he was in love, or just curious. He asked me."

"Ii, data doesn't match up," Inui said, thinking back. He had seen no sign of it then. "Ah, but Momo is Seishun's fox." What an ironic statement.

"Hoi, I didn't know either, until he told me, Momo-chan is hard to read," Eiji said, his tears drying up as well.

"I saw it," Ryuzaki confirmed, "Just as I've seen it many times before. He cares for you, Ryoma."

"Kami-sama... What have I done?" Ryoma said, a hand to his forehead. His confidence had faltered, and he hadn't even thought that Momo might actually love him. Even now, he found it hard to believe; that a good person like Momo might actually like someone like him.

"We caught up to Momo." The voice was that of Oishi's, as he came into view. He looked a bit concerned. "It wasn't easy, but we caught him. He's upset, but won't tell us what happened, just that Ryoma wants him to go away. What happened?" He asked, noticing Ryoma's red, tear swollen eyes.

"It's just a big misunderstanding," Eiji said, smoothing Ryoma's hair. He was still holding the freshman close, as if he might fall to pieces if he let go. Just then, Ryoma felt he might have.

"Well, it took a bit of work, but he's back at the mansion now. Pure luck that he ran that way," Oishi said. "He won't go into his bedroom, so he's in our room. Taka is keeping an eye on him."

"How is Tezuka?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Asleep again," Oishi said. Ryoma was confused.

"What happened to Buchou?" Ryoma asked, as Eiji helped him up.

"Not sure," Ryuzaki sighed, "It was like one of his sleep pains, but different. He was screaming, just as you howled. Very strange. Fuji took the pain from him, when he couldn't stand watching anymore, but it was like a normal pain for him."

"Ah, his power," Ryoma nodded. He had known all along, of course, about Fuji's power. He actually thought that he understood it better then Fuji did. Fuji could turn off his power, so could Buchou. He should have a talk with them later, after he had talked to Momo. He didn't expect Momo to forgive him anyway, but that came first.

They continued towards the house.

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Momo was finally recovering from the initial shock. Or, at least, that's what he thought he was recovering from. He still had no idea why he had suddenly run, when all he wanted to do was figure out why Ryoma was lying to him. Hadn't the freshman told him just that morning that he did love him? Yes, he remembered that. When they had first woken up. Ryoma was half asleep, like he always was in the mornings before school.

It didn't make sense. Not at all. His head turned to the door the moment he saw it move, and his breath caught in his throat as a disheveled Ryoma entered the room, his head down. Momo's first instinct was to run and fling his arms around the younger boy, and tell him that he would fix whatever was wrong, but he held back, thinking that Ryoma might need a little bit of space just now. Eiji put a comforting hand on Ryoma's shoulder, and it wasn't until then that Momo noticed that he and Oishi had come into the room.

"Taka," Oishi said quietly, and the said person got up off of Oishi's bed (Momo was sitting on Eiji's) and followed them out.

"We'll be right outside," Eiji said, giving Ryoma a soft look. Momo felt instantly jealous, but quickly pushed the feeling down. Eiji had heard those howls too, and was merely trying to be a good friend to their kohai. Momo decided that he should be thankful. The door shut, and Momo and Ryoma were alone.

It was silent for a moment. "Momo... Senpai," Ryoma said slowly, as if not sure how to address him, "I... Lied before..." Ryoma couldn't meet his eyes, "My... Power has been developing, and I had thought that I was using it on you... To make you love me. It's hard... To explain, b-but... I-I thought it w-would be best i-if..." He was stumbling over his words and now crying. Momo wasn't used to seeing the usually so strong freshmen cry, and moved instinctively to put his arms around the frail figure. "I lied... To make you leave me... I'm s-sorry... I didn't m-mean it... I-I do l-love you... I l-love you a-a lot, Momo-chan... Momo-chan."

"Shhh..." Momo said, rocking the other boy slightly. "It's alright Ryo-chan, it's alright. I forgive you. I love you too. I think I've always loved you." He was smiling now, and lifted Ryoma's face to look at him, "Hey, it's alright. I love you."

"I'm just so sorry," Ryoma said, trying to dry his tears, he was smiling slightly. "I didn't think you would ever forgive me. I was so scared... That..."

"Hey, don't think about that," Momo moved them so that they were both sitting on the bed. "It's alright. Why don't you tell me about this development of yours."

"Alright," Ryoma smiled, "It's like persuasion..."

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"Hey, Kunimitsu, are you awake?" Fuji said softly, opening to the door to the room that he shared with the captain. A slight rustling on the said person's bed told him that he was.

"Yes," Kunimitsu said softly. He sat up, with a bit of a struggle.

"I'm turning on the lights," Fuji said, and did so once he had Kunimitsu's okay. He moved over to his own bed and sat down so that he was facing the captain.

"How is everyone now?" Kunimitsu asked, his breathing a bit irregular still.

"Fine," Fuji said, "They're getting ready for bed now. It seems that everything was a misunderstanding."

"Ah, and Echizen cried," Kunimitsu whispered. Fuji looked a bit surprised, but nodded.

"He, apparently, thought he had been using an aspect of his power on Momo, and knew that he had to get out of that situation." Fuji shook his head, "And he was even more devastated after he had said all of those terrible things to Momo, and learned that none of what he had thought was true."

"His power is a difficult one. He can't turn it off like we can, and it keeps growing," Kunimitsu explained quietly, as if talking any louder was too much of a strain. "He'll need our help, Shusuke, or else something like this could happen again."

"You mean, something could happen to you again as well?" Fuji asked, not meeting his buchou's eyes.

"It's likely. It's the exchange for my power. I turn of people's senses, so it's only right that I will feel what others feel at times like this. It just becomes physical pain, for me," Kunimitsu's eyes were drooping again, and he yearned to sleep, but kept himself awake to answer the tensai's questions.

"Which is why it was a normal pain for me," Fuji nodded, fitting things together in his mind. "My retribution is that I feel the pain I transfer from others, and Ryoma..."

"Has a great emotional pain and confusion that he must undergo. In some ways, I think he has it the worst of all of us," Kunimitsu nodded. "I can't even imagine, thinking that something good might have happened to me because I 'made' someone do it. It would be like never accomplishing anything for yourself for as long as you live."

"Hai... It sounds terrible," Fuji agreed.

"Gomenkudasai," The voice carried through the doorway, and Kunimitsu bid them entry. Ryoma came in, almost cautiously. "Buchou, dochirahe?"

"I'm fine, Echizen. Yourself?" Ryoma looked confused by the question.

"Ah, me too," he said. It wasn't until then that he realized that Fuji was glaring at him slightly. There was a sadistic smile on the tensai's face that made Ryoma the slightest bit uneasy. He thought he had seen that smile a million times before, and was used to it, but something was slightly different tonight. Oh, Fuji-senpai looked like he wanted revenge.

"Shusuke," Kunimitsu whispered to the tensai, and Fuji looked to the buchou, his eyes open and looking innocent.

"Was what happened to you my fault?" Ryoma suddenly asked, his eyes looking determined. That was much more like Ryoma.

"No," Kunimitsu said. It wasn't exactly a lie. Anyone in Ryoma's amount of distress could have had a similar effect on him. He had felt twangs of pain before, from others, but this was certainly the worst. "It could have been anyone. Anyone in your amount of distress could have caused it. It just happened to be you this time."

"Oh," Ryoma said, "Good night, then." He turned to leave.

"Echizen, I expect you at your best tomorrow. Both at practice and at the ball. Don't get careless," Kunimitsu said, his voice taking on it's 'Buchou Tone'.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma replied, and continued out.