Summary: POT Headlines! Tezuka Kunimitsu, the stoic, expressionless and rocky captain is finally rumored to be involved in a love triangle with the Seigaku Student Council Vice-Chairperson and Hyotei Tennis Club Buchou Atobe Keigo! Full story inside. Editor-in-Chief: Mizuki Hajime
Main Pairings [with a twist]: OCxAtobexFujixTezuka, YukimuraxSanada
Minor pairings: to be revealed in the future… ^_^
Disclaimer: Konomi Takeshi owns POT.
Chapter 3: The Party: Prelude
[The Atobe Private Indoor Beach Resort, 8:00 AM]
"This place's bigger than I'd expected…" Oshitari said, standing in front of the doors of the resort.
"This is the first time I've seen something like this… it's so unique." Choutaro marveled at the sight.
"Duhhhh." Gakuto rolled his eyes, pointing at the noisy battalion of people (mostly girls) behind them. "I don't think his highness would book a shack for these people."
"Right." Shishido turned to Atobe. "And why the hell did you invite these shrieking fangirls of yours, huh, Atobe?" He complained. "Those screams are starting to impair my precious hearing!"
"It's because I'm kind enough to repay them for loving thy Ore-sama. You're just jealous because majority of those screams are for me and me alone…" Atobe took off his sunglasses and turned to his fans. He snapped his finger and the whole place went silent. "Go forth and enjoy what my greatness offers you, my fellows."
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The regulars stepped aside as the stampede of screaming and excited Hyotei students flooded the entrance of the resort.
"Damned egotistical brat." Shishido muttered to himself.
As he looked at another direction, he noticed a lone female leaning on a wall beside the potted palm tree. She was totally exhausted but still looked pretty despite her disheveled blue, ponytailed hair. She was wearing a now wrinkled white tee accentuated with a silver dog tag, camouflage khaki shorts, flip-flops and an olive-colored newsboy cap.
"Hm?" He strained his eyes. "Kana-chan?"
"Who?" Gakuto asked.
"Kanami, Oshitari's younger sister. She's our kouhai." Shishido replied, pointing at the girl standing beside the palm tree.
"Eh?" Choutaro looked at the same way. "She looks so haggard… I wonder what happened to her," The boy commented.
"Nanya. I did tell her not to gallivant until I say so." Oshitari said as the girl stormed towards them.
"OSHITARI YUUSHI." Kana said between jagged breaths. "You dared to leave me alone in that rampage! How could you?"
Oshitari smirked. "I told you, didn't I? It's not my fault you entertained your curiosity and left."
"I was entertaining the call of nature, baka aniki." Kana retorted.
Atobe surveyed the girl from head to foot. "You better fix yourself, tomboy. You look like you've been raped. Na, Kabaji?"
"Usu." Kabaji replied as usual.
Kana raised an eyebrow at the buchou as she put a hand on her waist. "First of all, I am not a tomboy." She said. "And before you go on criticizing me, you better fix those untamed fangirls of yours, Atobe-san. They can be dangerous if stampedes like that happen everyday."
"Unfortunately, it does happen every single time we go out of the courts, Kana." Oshitari said.
"Well, in that case, a day will come when the newspaper headlines will be: 'Hyotei student found dead after a violent stampede by Atobe's fangirls!" She said, mimicking a reporter. She then smirked. "That's what I call, 'someone worth dying for'."
Shishido and Gakuto snickered. "That is what I like about your sister, Oshitari…" Shishido put and arm around the girl's shoulders. "We can really become good partners-in-crime… ne?" He said as the girl nodded in agreement.
"At least there's some proof that not all of Hyotei's female population are awed by your prowess, Atobe." Gakuto added.
Oshitari shrugged. "I guess no one can romance my tomboy sister after all."
Kana shot a sharp look at her brother. "What part of 'I'm not a lesbian' couldn't you freaking understand?"
"Everything." Oshitari said, smirking teasingly.
"You're so cute when you're like that, Kana-chan," Shishido innocently (?) commented. Kanami, who was under Shishido's arm, slightly blushed at the statement.
Oshitari smiled at Kanami. "That's why I tease her so much." He pinched Kana's cheek.
"Ow." Kana rubbed the spot where Oshitari pinched.
"Yuushi…" Gakuto's face looked troubled. "I knew you were always interested in women… but seducing your own sister?"
Oshitari's eyebrow raised in Gakuto's stupidity. "What are you blabbering about, Gakuto?"
"He must've been high with sugar again." Shishido said.
"I'd rather fall off a cliff rather than falling for that baka aniki." Kana muttered.
"Oh? So is there a possibility you'd fall for me, Kana-chan?" Atobe seductively teased, moving closer to the girl.
Kana, who was still under Shishido's arm, grabbed hold of the dash specialist's hand and smirked. "I'd rather die than fall for you."
The Hyotei regulars snickered. "Ooh, Atobe got dumped." Gakuto said.
Atobe glared at his regulars. "Hmph. I'll let you off the hook since it's my day. And Oshitari…"
Oshitari folded his arms. "Yeah?"
"Set a good example for your sister, will you? Don't allow her to hang out with such unscrupulous beings like some people I know." Atobe said, looking at Shishido and Mukahi's direction. The two just smirked, knowing they won the round.
The tensai shrugged. "Hai, hai."
"Let's go, Kabaji." Atobe walked off inside the dome as the copycat genius trailed behind him.
oooooo
[9:00 AM]
"Ohhhhh… Suuugeee…" Marui ogled at the huge establishment in front of him.
"As expected of Atobe." The gentleman, Yagyuu commented.
"I seriously thought that he'd hold a grand masquerade ball or something." Jackal said.
In front of the Rikkai regulars and company is a large, dome-like structure, which is about the size of an island, also known as the Atobe Private Indoor Beach Resort.
"Heh. Not bad." Niou smirked. "A beach party in the midst of fall. Only Atobe could make that possible.
"What are we standing here for, senpai-tachi? Let's go and have fun under the sun!" Kirihara jumped around enthusiastically, waving his surfboard as his senpais ducked to avoid being hit.
"We'll get hit bull's-eye if he swishes that board at a 30 degree angle more to the right…" Renji said, eluding another hit. Sanada, who was a tad pissed, grabbed hold of the surfboard and the sophomore ace to protect the people in the vicinity from being knocked out.
"You're the Rikkaidai students, I presume?" The receptionist asked.
"Yes." Sanada politely replied, suppressing the Kirihara and the board.
"You're the early birds, ne. Please do sign in this guest book." The woman handed Sanada a red guestbook.
"Take over, Jackal." Sanada handed the board to the defense specialist and signed the guest book in behalf of the group.
"Can we go in now?" Kirihara impatiently pleaded.
"Why, yes of course." The receptionist said to the wavy-haired boy.
"Whoo! Beach! Here I come!" Kirihara sped off inside the building.
"Akaya-kun's always hasty, ne, Genichiro?" A lovely blue-haired teen with delicate, feminine features said.
Sanada nodded in agreement. "Let's go before he wreaks any havoc inside."
And as much as the outside part of the resort made their mouths gape open, the inside finally made their jaws drop. The resort is very much like those 20-storey five-star hotels in Hawaii, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and competent service staff. The dome has solar panels, which radiates the same amount natural sunlight during summer. The beach almost seemed natural with fine, white sand, waves perfect for surfing and different kinds of real marine and coral species can be found under the sea. Not to mention, the resort is filled with lush greenery, with a built-in lake, perfect for those people who doesn't really enjoy skinny-dipping under the sun. Like a natural island, there are also mountain ranges where people can go hiking and enjoy the ambience of nature.
As soon as the Rikkai students had entered, Atobe approached the group. "Welcome to Ore-sama's resort, fellows."
"Ehhhh… What a magnificent place you have here, Atobe-san…" Kirihara complimented as his eyes wandered all over the place.
"Thank you for appreciating my grandeur, Kirihara-kun." Atobe flashed his trademark arrogant smile. "Enjoy yourselves here. You may put your gifts inside the hotel."
"Tch." Niou smirked. "Oh well, you would love my gift, Atobe." He said, flashing a dangerous smile.
Atobe, knowing the trickster's intentions, smirked. "Make sure of that or you'll really get a taste of your own medicine."
"Yeah, yeah." Niou rolled his eyes. "I'll be going ahead people." He said as he walked off to the luxurious hotel.
"Ja, I'll see 'ya later!" Marui and the others followed Niou to the hotel.
"Genichiro," Renji whispered. "Remember, today is your biggest chance. Don't screw up or I'll really be forced to meddle if you still can't make it." He said before he finally walked away. Sanada of course, perfectly knew what the data master meant.
oooooo
Meanwhile, out of the earshot, Yukimura approached the host. "Happy Birthday…" She finally said, handing Atobe his present personally. "You haven't changed a bit. You're still the same person I have always remembered, Keigo."
"Neither did you, Sei. You're still dazzling as always." Atobe said, enveloping the blue-haired girl in a friendly hug.
"I've really missed you, baka!" Yukimura hugged the guy tighter.
"I missed you too, yaro!" Atobe replied, hugging her even tighter.
A vein popped on Sanada's forehead as he watched the touching reunion moment going on. "Ah-herm." He cleared his throat, breaking the hugging scene between the two. "I'm afraid I'm still here, watching your intimacies going on."
"Why, Sanada?" Atobe purred. "You want a hug too?"
Sanada looked away as cheeks were tinted with a little red. "No, thank you."
Yukimura chuckled. "Maa, Genichiro, you want me to hug you instead?"
Sanada walked ahead to avoid the two from seeing his face flushed. "I'm going ahead, Yukimura." You could save that hug for later. He thought.
Atobe and Yukimura looked at each other and smirked. "Shall we?" Atobe held his arm to Yukimura.
Yukimura hooked her hand onto the latter's arm and smiled. "Lead the way, Keigo."
oooooo
[Seishun Gakuen soccer field, 9:45 am]
"Gaaaaaaahhhhh!" Eiji expressed, almost pulling his hair out. "Where the hell is Ochibi?"
"Sou da…" Horio said. "At this rate, Echizen will be left behind!"
"That fool's probably still fast asleep!" Momo said, walking to and fro. "Let's leave that brat or we're missing half of our lives!"
"It's just a damned party, you peabrain." Kaidoh retorted. "The chopper isn't even here yet."
"Yeah right. It's just a damned party your face!" Momo snapped. "For all I know, you're itching to get your –toot-ing ass to Okinawa!"
"NANI?" Kaidoh growled. "fsssshhhhuuuuuuuu…."
Momo grabbed Kaidoh's shirt. "You wanna go at it, AAAH?"
"HORA! You two!" Ryuzaki-sensei yelled but it didn't seem to affect the squabbling sophomores.
"Here we go again…" Oishi stood up to mediate in the fight. "Momo, Kaidoh," He spoke slowly. "I want you to be good children, all right? Just for once, please. Don't give me another heck of a migraine just for this day. Please?" Oishi pleaded, with a matching sparkly, innocent smile.
"Tch." Momo hastily let go of the viper's shirt. "If it weren't for Oishi-senpai…"
"Don't worry, I'll get back at you. Fsssshhhhuuuuuuuu." Kaidoh hissed.
Oishi let out a sigh of relief as he put a hand on his chest. "Finally… they listened to me."
Fuji patted the drained Fukubuchou's back. "That's okay, Oishi-kun. At least it went out well…" She grinned.
"It's not easy to manage folks like them every single day, you know." Oishi said. "If Tezuka and Inui weren't here, I would have died of hypertension by now."
"You really live up to your name, don't you?" Fuji said, flashing her trademark grin.
"Name?" Oishi raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "What name?"
"Being the 'Mother of Seigaku' of course," Fuji replied.
"Ehh… maa…" Oishi scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Am I really like a mother figure?"
Fuji nodded her head. "Mm-hmm."
5 minutes later…
Fuji was already bored to death. Seeing the others [eg. Momo, Eiji, et al.] having fun made her itch to have do the same thing. Her eyes roamed for probable candidates whom she could use as her outlet for boredom. She smirked as she spotted her most suitable target- the stern captain who was quietly sitting beside Seigaku's resident data man. The said Buchou, who was notorious for the catch phrase "Yudan sezu ni ikou" was currently showing signs that his guard was slowly going down, which gave Fuji a perfect opportunity to entertain herself and her torture material- Tezuka.
Fuji sat beside him. "Ne, Tezuka-kun…" She said, softly poking Tezuka's shoulder.
The coffee-blonde haired buchou sent a piercing look at the seemingly innocent girl. "Nani?"
As usual, Fuji grinned wider. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Tezuka silently struggled, avoiding himself to violently choke on his saliva. He kept quiet instead of answering the girl's nonsensical question.
Meanwhile, Inui's ears automatically twitched at the direction of the conversation. 'This is going to be interesting…'
"I know of someone who I'm sure is definitely your type of girl." Fuji continued.
Still, Tezuka said nothing. He gave the girl a chance to speak, thinking that she might be able to come up with a better solution for his problem.
"She's pretty, she's smart and talented and she's a very calm and refined girl…" Fuji enumerated, smiling even wider. "Not to mention, she also has a great figure! After all, her cup size was… F, was it?" Fuji put a finger on her chin as she glanced at Tezuka from the side.
"Ooooh… Ii data…" Inui muttered to himself as he was writing the details furiously in his handy green notebook. "So he likes girls with big…"
"What the—" Tezuka glared at Inui and then at Fuji. "You're talking nonsense Fuji-san." He said, looking down to hide the slight tint of pink in his cheeks. "Why are you even here?"
Fuji caught that small detail and smirked. "Didn't Atobe-san inform you that I AM invited, Tezuka-kun? After all, I am the Vice-chairperson of the Seishun Gakuen Student Council, am I not?"
"It doesn't have to do anything with Atobe." Tezuka replied sternly.
"Oh? Then why is the rest of the student council here, Tezuka-kun?" Fuji pointed the chattering students at the other side of the world.
Tezuka looked at the small cluster and was again silenced by the fact. Fuji retained her sadistic smile, which annoyed Tezuka even more.
Inui continued to scribble as much information he had got from the conversation. He smiled maniacally as his glasses gleamed at the glaring beam of the sun.
"Fuji- 15. Tezuka- LOVE." Fuji thought as she walked away, satisfied and entertained.
Seconds later, a loud, whirring sound was heard together with a powerful gust of wind. At long last, the awaited chopper has finally arrived. Everyone ran hurriedly to the 'copter in excitement.
"Momoshiro-senpai, anou…" Sakuno shyly grabbed Momo's sleeve. "Ryoma-kun hasn't arrived yet… I've been trying to contact him all morning but he wouldn't answer his phone…"
"Naaah, he might still be busy helping some pregnant woman he met on the street, Ryuzaki-chan." Momo emphasized 'pregnant woman' while doing air quotes.
"Eh? I better go-"
Momoshiro dragged the girl. "Saa, let's go, Ryuzaki-chan!"
"Ehh? Chotto—!"
Sakuno couldn't resist to Momo's grip and so, she was forced to ride the chopper.
Meanwhile, as the chopper ascended, a distinctive little figure in a casual outfit was flailing his arms, hoping to catch the attention of the passengers.
"Eh… isn't that Echizen?" Eiji strained his vision on the figure below.
"Maaaaaatteeeee! Senpai-tachiiiiiii!" Echizen screamed at the top of his voice, even though his efforts were futile because his voice was drowned by the whirring sound of the propeller.
" Nya… I guess I miss ochibi terribly that I am starting to hallucinate."
"Eiji! You're not hallucinating!" Oishi jumped from his seat. "It IS Echizen!"
Tomo looked out and then stormed towards the aviator. "Chotto matte driver-san! How dare you try to leave Ryoma-sama behind! Stop this helicopter immediately!" She yelled at the poor guy, who knew nothing about leaving the rookie behind.
"H-hai! Sumimaseeeeen!" The pilot said as he lowered the vessel down.
Kawamura and Oishi, who were near the door, helped Echizen up the chopper.
"Gomen, senpai-tachi I was helping—"
"A PREGNANT WOMAN. Yeah, we know." The regulars said and rolled their eyes in unison.
Tezuka's brow furrowed in irritation. "Echizen, run 80 laps as soon as we get to Okinawa."
"Demo, Buchou I was—"
"I'll make it a hundred."
Echizen, as his buchou's favorite anger outlet, sighed. "Hai."
oooooo
"Otanjoubi Omedetto, Atobe." Tachibana greeted.
"Ahh.. Fudomine." Atobe smiled. "Thank you."
"And thanks for the invitation. You have a wonderful place here. " The Fudomine captain said. "By the way, is Tezuka here yet?"
"No, he still hasn't arrived. He disappointed Ore-sama for being late." Atobe folded his arms. "I clearly stated in my very personalized invitation that he shouldn't be tardy on my special day."
"Tezuka and late never coincided but with Echizen on the side… " Tachibana grinned.
"Hmm… you have a point." Atobe turned to the girl beside Tachibana. "Oh, by the way, Rikkai is already enjoying themselves. Perhaps Ann-chan would like to join Kirihara-kun and his friends inside… Ahh?"
"More like minions." Ann rolled her eyes upon hearing the demon-elf's name. "Aren't you ashamed of taunting me in front of my brother, Atobe-san?"
"I'm sure your brother wouldn't mind." Atobe looked at the grinning captain. "After all, it's Ore-sama's birthday, right, Tachibana?"
"Aa." Tachibana nodded. "I sure wouldn't mind. But I think Kamio would…"
Kamio blushed beet red. "Tachibana-san!"
"Oniichan… I can't believe you're taking part with this madness." Ann pouted at his brother.
"Well, we might wanna quit the teasing because Momoshiro from Seigaku is now coming to town." Atobe pointed at the chopper above them.
Ann blushed upon hearing Momo's name. Kamio glared at the chopper, as if cursing the aforementioned person to fall off and die.
"Ann-channnnn! *Hisashiburiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiii…!" Momo screamed as loud as a thousand megaphones combined.
"Speaking of the devil. Momoshiro is loud as always. He didn't even have enough shame to scream loud enough to be heard in the entire archipelago. I bet the people on that chopper are deaf by now. Tezuka-san and Oishi-san must be really exasperated too-"
"Shinji! What did I tell you about your habit?" Tachibana reprimanded the mumbling sophomore.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Shinji…."
"Hai." Shinji said as he went inside together with his other companions.
oooooo
"Waaaaahhhh! Incredible!" Eiji said, walking towards the direction of the place.
"Words aren't enough to describe this place…" Oishi said.
"And now, is it just a damned party huh, MAMUSHI?" Momo flashed a crooked smile at Kaidoh.
Kaidoh rolled his eyes in reply. "Hmph."
"Seigaku. You're late by a second. But anyway, welcome." Atobe, the dear host, said.
"We're sorry for the tardiness, Atobe." Tezuka said, glaring at the freshman beside him. Echizen backed off and cowered behind Oishi.
"With Echizen around, it can't be helped." Atobe said. "So, you guys sign the guest book there and then you can go wild all you want. And don't forget to deposit your gifts in the hotel." Atobe gestured at the smiling receptionist.
"YAY!" Eiji and Momo ran as fast as they could, not even leaving their shadows behind.
Oishi sighed. "It seems that my job here would be the babysitter… again." Oishi said as he walked off to follow the two hyper regulars. The other regulars together with a few(?) extra people went ahead, leaving Tezuka and Fuji behind.
"Happy birthday, Atobe-san." Fuji said.
"Thank you, Fuji-san." Atobe said, putting his hands in his pocket to restrain himself from hugging the girl in front of him.
"Yuuta hasn't arrived yet, ne?"
Atobe shook his head. "You can go wait for him inside."
Fuji inched closer to Atobe and tiptoed to whisper something in his ear. "When are you going to tell me the important thing?" She then looked at Tezuka as if she were teasing him.
"Later, during lunch." Atobe stole a quick glance at Tezuka, whose suspicion is evident in his face. "And Sei's already dying to see you."
Fuji stepped back and turned to catch up with the others. "Ja, I'll be seeing you guys then!" she skipped away happily.
Atobe and Tezuka watched the girl. "She's interesting, isn't she?"
Tezuka sighed. "I'd better go ahead and rest a bit." He said, evading Atobe's previous question to avoid blurting out negative comments. It isn't in his personality to say ill things about a person anyway.
"Fine." Atobe smirked as he joined Tezuka inside.
[At the beach…]
"NIOU-SENPAI! GET THAT CRAB AWAY FROM ME!" Kirihara, his body buried under the sand, screamed as the huge, red crustacean crawled towards his face.
"Ooooohh… So the notorious little devil is scared of crabs?" Niou taunted the boy, pushing the crab closer to him.
"Noooooo…"
"I should have brought a camera with me. Dang." Marui said, enjoying the priceless moment where fear was painted all over Kirihara's face.
"Senpai! I'm begging you…" Kirihara pleaded, face to face with the darned crab.
"Maa, Niou, be a little gentler to your kouhai here." Yukimura sat beside Kirihara as she got the crab away from the poor boy's face.
"Haaaahhh…" Kirihara sighed in relief. "Thanks a lot, Yuki-senpai…."
"Tch." Niou buried Kirihara with more sand.
Yukimura stood up, still holding the crab. "I'll bring this to the chef. This would be a nice addition to our sumptuous lunch!"
"What? So you just wanted the crab? You didn't have any intentions of saving me?"
Niou smiled dangerously. "Yukimura's not as angelic as you think, my dear kouhai…"
Yukimura smiled, amused at Niou's last comment. As she was about to turn away from them, a pair of hands grabbed hold of her arms. "Messing with your kouhais again, Sei-chan?" A familiar female voice said from behind.
"Shusumi!" She spun to embrace the person behind her, dropping the crab on Kirihara.
"OUUUUUUUUUUUCH!" Kirihara howled in pain as he tried to get the crab's pincers off his nose.
Niou and Marui were laughing their heads off. "Akaya the red-nosed REINDEER!"
Yukimura, not minding the agony of the boy, continued to hug her best friend. "I've really, really missed you so much!"
"Me too!" Fuji replied, a little teary-eyed.
"Ne, Yukimura, you know each other?" Marui asked while he was noogey-ing the demon ace.
Yukimura nodded. "Yup."
"Wait, I saw you at the sports congress last year! You're the Vice-chairperson of the Seigaku student council!" Kirihara butted in, clasping his swollen nose.
"And you're Kirihara-kun, right?" the smiling girl said.
Kirihara nodded. "You two seem very close, Yuki-senpai." he said, watching the crab as it made its way back to the sea.
Yukimura was the first to let go. "She's my long time best friend, Akaya-kun." she said, smiling at the girl beside her.
"Oh…" Kirihara sat cross-legged on the sand, brushing off the sand Niou and Marui were showering on him.
Fuji bent down and eyed Kirihara intently. "Kirihara-kun, what happened to your nose?"
"Oh, this?" Kirihara flashed his innocent elf look. "Yuki-senpai accidentally dropped the crab on my face so…"
"I'm so sorry, Akaya-kun!" Yukimura gasped. "I didn't mean to…" she bent down and placed a light peck on the boy's nose. Kirihara blushed totally, literally looking as red as a tomato. "I'm really sorry."
"I-it's okay, Yuki-senpai! It doesn't hurt that much." Kirihara scratched the back of his head. He turned and glared to his senpais who were snickering behind him.
"I'd better report this to Sanada! Kirihara stealing his precious Yukimura… he wouldn't be too pleased. Tee-hee." Niou said, pretending to walk off together with Marui.
Yukimura's brow raised. "Eh? You've got the wrong impression, Niou…"
Kirihara clutched on Niou's board shorts. "Don't do it! Please, I beg you! Sanada-san will seriously behead me! I still wanna live for a hundred prosperous years!" the boy pleaded, remembering what became of those guys who tried to woo his stunning senpai.
Yukimura sweatdropped. "Akaya-kun… Genichiro and I are just very close friends."
Niou and Marui exchanged looks. "Oh?"
"You're so oblivious, Yuki-senpai." The elf muttered under his breath.
Fuji, hearing every word Kirihara uttered, let out a soft chuckle. "Kirihara-kun truly is cute off-court, ne?"
"Was that a compliment?" Kirihara, somewhat insulted, asked.
"It's up to how you take it…" Fuji replied, her sadistic smile again plastered on her face.
"Kehhh." Kirihara was thinking of retorting but it was the truth, after all.
"So," Yukimura tried to ease the tension. "Sei-chan and I will go ahead, Akaya-kun." She turned to Fuji. "I still have a lot to catch up with you, ne?"
"Hm!" Fuji nodded. She whispered something to Yukimura, which made the girl display a suspicious angelic grin.
"Niou, Marui, take care of Akaya-kun for me, will you?" Yukimura said, smiling pleasantly.
Kirihara cringed upon hearing his name. "I'm dead."
"It's our honor, my lady." The two said in unison. They flashed an evil smile on Kirihara. "Now, shall we play again, Akaya?"
Kirihara sighed. "Why oh why, Kami? Why me?"
ooooo
[At the Karaoke booth no. 1…]
Kimi no egao ga mabushii yo…
Yureru nami no hikari…
Suiheisen ochiru yuuhi…
Kimi ga… tanoshii sogo ni…
Nami ni nani ka… sakenderuuu…
"KYAAAAAA! RYOMA-SAMAAAAA! YOU ARE OH SO HOTTTTTTTTT!" Tomoka and the rest of Echizen's fangirls screamed as he continued with the song.
"Tomo-chan…" Sakuno put a hand on her face, embarrassed for her friend.
Horio covered his ears from the ear-splitting screams. "That's it! I'm getting out of here!" he said, storming out of the room.
Momo sipped his orange juice. "That Echizen's showing off again."
"Ne, Momoshiro-kun," Ann smiled. "Why don't you go next?"
"Eh?" Momo scratched his head. "I don't really sing that well. Ahaha…"
A jealous Kamio shot a glare at the rascal. "Then don't let him sing, Ann-chan. This place is going back to dust if he does."
"What the f- what the heck's your problem, huh?" Momo growled.
"Your mere presence is my problem, Momoshiro." Kamio sneered.
"Then you shouldn't be here in the first place! "
"If it weren't for Ann-chan, I wouldn't be sticking to places where I could see your face, you wretched bike stealer!"
"For the millionth time, I did NOT steal your bike! I just borrowed it!" Momo then smirked. "AND… Ann-chan doesn't need bodyguards.. especially a lousy one like yourself!"
"Why you-"
"Guys, guys…" Ann-chan stepped in between them to avoid them from ripping each other apart. "Why don't we settle this in a friendly karaoke match?"
The two boys flared up. "LET'S GET THIS ONNNNNNNN!"
oooooo
[At the hotel swimming pool…]
"Here goes nothing!" Eiji glided down the long, twirling slide. "WHEEEEEEEEEE!"
"Eiji, be careful!" Oishi yelled, his 'mother instincts' on the move.
A big splash came when Eiji hit the pool. He then emerged from underwater. "Nya!" the acrobat cutely said, making a "v" sign.
"And I thought cats hate water…" Oishi jested.
"I'm not an ordinary cat, nya! I love water!" Eiji squirted water on Oishi with a water gun. "Bleh!"
Oishi splashed Eiji in return. "Take that!"
"WHAT'S WITH THIS POOL MADNESS BABYYYYYY!" Kawamura in his burning mode jumped in the pool with a racket in his hand.
"Taka-san… how can you swim with your racket?" Eiji asked.
"NONSENSE! I CAN SWIM PERFECTLY!" Taka-san paddled with his racket, wetting the golden pair.
"Oi, oi, it's getting noisy here… na, Yuushi?" Gakuto, who was a few feet away from the seigaku regulars, complained.
"Yup." Oshitari agreed.
"Let's go somewhere else." Shishido suggested.
The trio were about to hoist themselves out of the pool when…
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, HYOTEI BOYS?"
The three twitched. "It's none of your business, Kawamura." Oshitari said.
"YOU THREE ARE JOINING US IN A POOL FIGHT!" Taka-san said while grabbing Oishi and Eiji.
"Ehhh?"
"Oi, can somebody get Taka-san's racket away from him?" Oishi struggled to free from Taka's grip.
"I don't think anyone here could, Oishi…" Eiji sighed.
"SAA! LET THE GAMES BEGINNNNNNNN!" Taka-san waved his racket. "ALL PEOPLE IN THIS POOL ARE PARTICIPANTS!"
The other innocent students in the swimming pool cringed in fear.
"Can't you do anything to get him out of his hyper mode, Kikumaru?" Shishido irritably asked.
"Nope…" Eiji replied. "We'll just have to play along until he's tired…"
"Looks like we can't escape now…" Oshitari said.
"LET'S DO THIS, BABYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
All five of them sighed.
oooooo
[At some random balcony in the hotel…]
"Have you gotten enough rest, Tezuka?" Atobe asked, leaning on the railings.
"Yes." Tezuka closed his eyes as he continued to lie on the recliner.
A gentle wind blew against them. "Feels good, doesn't it?" Atobe said, his hair slightly swaying due to the breeze.
"Aa."
Atobe's attention was focused on the pool, which was floors below them. "I think Kawamura is going wild down there." He said, looking at Taka-san being held down by lifeguards as Oishi struggled to get the racket away from Taka's grip.
Tezuka stood up and looked at the scene. He made a mental note to tell Oishi to confiscate Kawamura's rackets for the time being.
The glass door behind them slid open. Atobe and Tezuka turned to see who it was.
"Having a reunion without us?" A certain Fudomine captain said.
Atobe smiled. "Tachibana. Sanada."
"It's been years since we have gathered like this." Tachibana said, sitting on one of the recliners.
"So, what was this important thing you were going to tell us?" The Rikkai emperor inquired.
"Don't be too excited Sanada, it's so unlike you. Besides, the whole gang isn't even here yet. Na, Kabaji?"
YOU'VE GOT MAIL.
Atobe pulled out his phone and read the message. He smirked as he showed it to the rest.
"From: Kabaji Munehiro. Message: USU."
The three sweatdropped. "Is Kabaji psychic or something?" Tachibana said.
YOU'VE GOT MAIL.
"Don't tell me it's from Kabaji again." Sanada said.
"Nope. It's from Sakaki-kantoku. He said the Jyosei people had arrived."
"Shall we go get them?" Tachibana said.
oooooo
[Back at the entrance…]
"I feel like a broken record but anyway, welcome." Atobe said, running a hand through his hair.
"Happy birthday." Kajimoto smiled. "I'm glad you didn't forget to invite me, Atobe."
"Thanks for the invitation, Atobe-kun. I sure am glad to be in this magnificent resort of yours." Hanamura chimed, stealing a glance at the Hyotei coach.
Atobe, catching the teeny-tiny detail, smirked. "I know, Hanamura-sensei." I know you're so glad to be in kantoku's arms once again.
"Oi! Atobe!" A familiar voice hollered from behind.
"Sengoku." Atobe muttered under his breath.
"Ya! It's been a long time!" The lucky vice-captain said, with two girls wrapped under his arm.
"Yes, I know." Atobe looked at the large group of girls chattering and giggling behind Sengoku. "Look's like you're going to surpass my popularity, ahh?"
"Nahhhh." Sengoku waved his hand. "I'm just lucky, that's all."
Brrrrrrrrrrt.
"Whose stomach was that?" Atobe asked.
Silence.
"Ja, it's about time that we had lunch." The king fished out his phone again and began to type a text message. After a few seconds, the sound of message alert tones resonated throughout the resort.
"Lunch is served, buffet style at the Mediterranean reception hall." Sengoku read aloud.
Atobe kept his smug look. "I shall go ahead."
Again, the sound of a stampede was heard.
A/N: And there goes the part one of my twist.. I hoped you all liked the idea of Yukimura being a real girl. She's the last one, though. :D
Part two of the twist will come up soon in the following chapters! I hoped you guys enjoyed reading! And please don't forget to drop off your reviews.. Your thoughts would mean a lot to me. :)