"Managerial Mayhem"

SUMMARY: Wanted! A manageress for Hyoutei's Tennis Club. Applicant? Ito Himawari, an ambitious girl who wants to be anything but normal. What to expect: Headaches, sore legs, angry fangirls, flying tennis balls, and maybe even… love?

DISCLAIMER: The Prince of Tennis was created by Konomi Takeshi. As usual, the characters in the franchise do not belong to me and belong to their respective owner(s). Aside from the characters I create, I do not mean to infringe on any current copyrights on the series. Thank you and have fun reading!

CHAPTER 8: The Manager is a Tennis Prince

Fully prepared to shout or else gripe at the janitor for his persistent interruptions of his quietly passed time that involved playing Solitaire on his cellphone, the manager of the love hotel 'Romantique' was left wrong footed by the sight of a potential customer. He smiled broadly at once when he recovered, showing off his pearly whites.

"Welcome," he greeted enthusiastically. "How may I be of service?"

As discretely as the manager could, he studied the newcomer, a tall and well-built young man with an uncommon aquiline nose, and a mole below his right eye. He would've mistaken the guy for a foreigner-

"Ore-sama wishes to see the one in charge of this place."

- if not for his perfect Japanese.

"I'm the manager," he replied.

"You do not have a staff to man the front desk?" Atobe asked, looking almost appalled.

"Er," the manager straightened his tie. "His wife had gone into labor."

"And the manager is the only one available to help him relieve his duties?"

"We're short-handed at the moment," the manager quickly replied. "It's not always like this."

"You can't remain competitive if this is a regular occurrence."

The young man's looks are not the only thing worth noticing; his way of talking spoke volumes regarding his self-confidence. The manager grimaced and remembered his sorry younger years wherein he was an unpopular and awkward kid who couldn't even hold a girl's hand without his eyeballs rolling upwards.

Clearly the man before him wasn't anything like that.

The manager looked behind Atobe's shoulder and hoped to change the topic, "Ah yes, before anything, I did not fail to notice that you are by yourself."

"You can stop stating the obvious," Atobe drawled and crossed his arms.

The manager remained undaunted. "Just checking. Now, the list of rooms that-"

Before the manager could finish his sentence, Atobe snapped his fingers in one swift, fluid motion. As if on cue, the members of the Hyoutei Tennis Club appeared, sauntered over, and then stood behind their captain, forming a half-circle.

"I forgot," Atobe said with a laugh. "I do have company."

"One, two, three," the manager narrowed his eyes and counted the newcomers. "eight. Plus you, so there are nine. Nine."

"We want a room!" Shishido, always the impatient one, demanded loudly, making the manager almost fall over.

"We're part of a tennis club. And this is part of our training," Oshitari explained, though it did little to completely erase the look of confusion on the manager's face.

"You're all boys!" The manager exclaimed as he watched them give indifferent shrugs.

Well, there was this one young man who actually had the grace to seem embarrassed. He was the shortest of them all, a boy whose upper face was covered by a blue cap. The boy sensed his scrutiny and squirmed slightly-

"Wait," the manager said as he inspected the boy with the cap closer. "Aren't you a girl?"

"He just has feminine features, like my companion over here," Oshitari immediately replied as he motioned towards his tennis partner.

Gakuto looked at him in shock. "Hey!"

The manager touched the bill of the blue cap. "I'm pretty sure she's a gir-"

"What are you doing?" Himawari angrily said as she slapped the manager's hand away. This wasn't her idea, but there was a perverse sort of pleasure in crossdressing that she didn't know she could feel. Better go all out with her, er, impersonation. "Don't you know who I am? I am Echizen Ryoma, the prince of tennis!"

Muffled laughter could be heard.

"But your voice!"

"I'm undergoing puberty," Himawari said as she adjusted her cap. "Don't laugh at a boy's troubles!"

"Ore-sama thinks that's enough. Kabaji?"

"Usu."

The giant of Hyoutei towered over the manager and dragged him back to the desk.

"Am I being filmed?" The manager looked longingly at the tennis players back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of a hidden camera. "Cool prank, guys. As if anyone would believe that a training session would take place in a love hotel!"

Shishido facepalmed.

"What do you guys r-really want?" The manager barreled on, beads of sweat now on his forehead. He smelled something foul here. "It better be good or else I'll call the cops."

"Psst!" Jirou whispered to Atobe in a voice that defeats the purpose of his action. "This isn't working!"

"Let's just try the foolproof Atobe approach!" Gakuto said as he hopped over and massaged Atobe's shoulder, bringing comically a similar image of a personal trainer and a professional boxer. "I told you we should've gone for the first plan. That ought to take care of things!"

Atobe sighed and whipped out a golden card.

The manager gulped.

Jirou made a drumroll.

Everyone else watched in boredom.

"At what price can you be bought?"

"So this Mayumi girl, her family owns this place," Oshitari said. "Solves the mystery why she's so-"

"Clingy?"

"Love-depraved?"

"Starving for attention?"

"Slutty?"

"No Gakuto," Oshitari sharply retorted as he turned to Shishido. "And no foul language to describe a lady, Shishido. The word I was looking for was romantic. She's a romantic."

Gakuto snickered. "Sounds like your kind of girl then."

Hiyoshi looked over his shoulder and frowned deeply, almost as if it was his own way of saying to himself that he was not associated with these people. Valuing silence came with a price, unfortunately.

"Shishido-san, your cap…"

"Oh right!" Shishido turned to Himawari and instinctively backed away when he sensed an ominous aura surrounding the girl's outstretched hand. She blinked, then slowly gave a grand smile, her hair seemingly fanning unseen flames. Openmouthed, Shishido turned to his groupmates, but everyone else looked preoccupied with something.

"Is something the matter, Shishido-san?" Himawari asked, her owl-like eyes giving him the creeps.

"No, things are great," he gnashed his teeth and took back his beloved cap without making eye contact with the manager. It definitely wasn't his imagination this time, he was sure of it!

"Guys, guys! I think this is the room!" Jirou announced as the group skidded to a stop in front of a mahogany door with the number 309 etched on it. "Uh, so what happens now?"

"Allow me to handle this," Oshitari stepped forward and knocked on the door three times. "Room service!"

Anticipation filled the air as the group stood awkwardly, waiting for the door to open. Finally, for what seemed like an eternity, the door clicked and...

"No, no! Like, don't enter!"

Too late. Oshitari pushed open the door while Shishido rushed to get inside. Mayumi grabbed on to Shishido in an effort to push him away, but he was of course stronger than her so he naturally managed to break free of her grip.

The mini commotion distracted the group from the sweet melody that embraced the pink-colored room, the sound coming from the dexterous fingers dancing nimbly across black and white keys with practiced ease. The musician looked lost in his own world and for a moment everyone else's hearts fluttered in sync with the allegro beats. The sound that captured them was a stimulating, high octane movement that just won't stop, er… until-

"Erm, what exactly are we interrupting?"

- Gakuto decided to be the buzzkill.

A look of utter stupor claimed Shishido's face, and he looked back and forth between Choutarou and Mayumi. "You were teaching her how to play the piano?"

Mayumi pressed the binder full of music notes firmly to her chest and huffed. "Incorrect! I'm already a capable pianist. And for your information, Choutarou-kun was demonstrating a complex passage from the first movement of Schumann's Piano Sonata No.2 in G Minor! This piece is famous for its highly virtuosic demands, which was why I was so impressed to see Choutarou-kun perform it so splendidly at the First West Kanto Piano Competition. He might have gotten first prize, if only he wasn't disqualified."

"I didn't compete at the second day since we had summer training back then," Choutarou sheepishly explained while he rubbed the back of his head.

"It's supposed to be played very fast, but it takes a certain kind of control to avoid messing up the fingering." Mayumi sounded very passionate. "My instructor advised me against playing this piece, telling me that I'm better suited to a work by Tchaikovsky. My playing style is too haphazard, or so my instructor tells me. But then I heard Choutarou-kun play! I had to…I had to ask him how he did it!"

Gakuto blinked. "You know, you actually spoke normal human language."

Mayumi tilted her head sideways. "Excuse me?"

"How nice of you to seek Choutarou's counsel. However, there are questions from our little group that are needed to be answered," Atobe interrupted as he slammed his hand on the piano keys.

Hiyoshi, who was seating beside the piano, pressed his hands over his ears as he let out an undignified gasp. Fortunately, no one heard him since everyone else's attentions were centered on Atobe.

The Hyoutei king smiled. Perfect, the spotlight was on him!

"Well, for starters," Atobe languidly sat on the velvet chair stationed near the piano and crossed his legs. "Ore-sama wants to know why you chose a love hotel as the place of your little musical date with his kouhai."

All eyes turned to the girl in question.

"My mother told me that this establishment is a place where one can get intimately acquainted with another," Mayumi answered with utmost candor. "There was a music room in this place, from what I remembered. So I rented it just in case. It saves a lot of trouble of course."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Shishido stood up, his arms raised up in the air as if in utter defeat.

Oshitari faced Mayumi and prodded further, "You didn't want to meet at, say, a café?"

Mayumi shook her head. "That didn't cross my mind! This was the first place I thought of and it has a piano too!"

"But a love hotel?" Shishido questioned edgily.

Mayumi was mollified. "What's wrong with that?"

"Shishido-san, it's a very lovely place," Choutarou piped in, clearly and painfully unaware of the, erm, implications the place carried.

Oshitari nodded in approval. "I agree. This is one of those classier ones."

"Chou-kun, nyahaha! You don't know what people do in love hotels, do you?" Gakuto teased as he poked Choutarou's cheek.

"…getting sleepy…" Jirou looked very tired.

"Listen, it's not decent!" Shishido bristled in response.

"SILENCE!" Atobe stomped his foot on the floor. Instinctively the talkative members bowed their heads in submission as Atobe turned to Mayumi. He inspected her for a minute, and then assumed a position that's very familiar to the members of the Hyoutei team. "Aan~? I see. So this girl speaks the truth. Hmp. Misguided you may be, but my Insight tells me that there is something more to your story."

Himawari, who had been silent all this time, placed a hand on Mayumi's own and gave her a small smile. "Anything you want to tell us?"

Mayumi flushed.

"Or do you want Ohtori-san to only know?"

"No, it's fine," she said, her gaze aimed at the piano on the room. "I just… I didn't know how to approach Choutarou-kun. I fell in love with his piano playing, but I'm not, I mean I'm not good… Good with words. I love music with all my heart, but it's not always there to help me express myself is it? So I watched some girls and tried to imitate them. How they walked, how they talked. I thought that if I imitated them, then I can talk to him and ask him myself how he played Schumann."

Himawari felt herself go cold. 'It must be the airconditioning,' she thought. 'It's almost freezing here.'

But she knew deep inside that it wasn't the AC that made her pulse quicken; it was Mayumi's confession that eerily got through her.

"I'm sorry, I just can't be confident if I'm myself," Mayumi wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress. She looked very vulnerable. "No one here probably understands."

Atobe exhaled sharply and before she could help herself, Himawari looked at him. For a split second, their eyes locked together, and the awkwardness of it all made a defenseless Himawari tear herself away from him and clutch her chest protectively.

'What was that all about?'

"You could've approached him and directly asked him about music, Nekozawa-san," Himawari quickly said as she tried to block Atobe's piercing blue eyes from her mind.

"But I can't! My mind tells me I'd be rejected if I didn't act the way I did!"

"Even if you say that, you did not have to act so lovestruck," Oshitari said sagely. "Er, you're not attracted to Choutarou-kun romantically, are you?"

Amusingly, Choutarou and Mayumi both shook their heads as if they practiced it.

"So, you totally don't, like, talk like this?" Gakuto asked.

"No. But it's how the popular girls from my school talk. It's not how one usually talks, but for teenage girls it might be normal…or not…?" She trails off when she sees looks of disbelief plastered all over her companions' faces. "I'm not really good with this, see?" Mayumi finally says and buries her head on her binder.

"I see. But one more thing," Oshitari pressed on, his eyes now with a glint of mischief. "When your mother- Kami-sama bless her- told you that this place is where people get intimately acquainted, what exactly was your interpretation of that? Nn?"

The team members all gape at Oshitari.

Mayumi looked up and innocently answered Oshitari's question. "Heart-to-heart conversations?"

Jirou promptly fell down the bed.

The group hurriedly got out of the love hotel sans Nekozawa Mayumi, who decided to stay since it was a family-owned establishment after all. Oshitari wanted to educate her about the 'realities of life' –or at least that's what he called it- and explain to her the nature of their family business, but thankfully changed his mind at the last minute.

"Maybe I can give her a heart-to-heart conversation in another place where we can get intimately acquainted with each other next time," he said as they left discretely from the back door of Romantique.

Himawari looked at the tensai with a horror-struck expression. It was disturbing how he actually sounded serious.

"Is Jirou going to be okay?" She asked, trying to distract herself.

"He does this all the time," Atobe said as he waved a hand dismissively. "Kabaji will take care of him."

"Usu," Kabaji answered as he effortlessly carried a sleeping Jirou.

And then a funny thing happened.

Atobe stopped and then abruptly pressed a hand on Himawari's shoulder. They were at the back, and the people ahead of them were weary and lost in each other's conversations that they they didn't bother to check if there was anyone who lagged behind.

("That would be their problem for being slow!" Shishido would reason.)

The sudden action made her jerk in response, but Atobe didn't seem to mind. She just wasn't ready enough to feel the sudden weight of his hand. She craned her neck slowly and tried to keep her facial expression neutral.

"What's wrong, Atobe-san?" Himawari asked in a nauseatingly sweet voice.

In truth, she was a bit alarmed, but of course she couldn't show her weak side to Atobe of all people, could she? Of course not! Nonetheless, she was felt a bit prepared for the Hyoutei King's reply, her own mind working a retort around the abruptness of the situation.

"Mayumi…"Atobe said. Himawari wasn't sure if he was whispering or speaking softly. "She's better than she thinks she is. And if someone asks Ore-sama… So are you."

The girl blinked a few times, as if she still couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard. "I'm not sure what you meant Atobe-san," she heard herself say. "But t-thank you?"

Damn it, did she stutter? She hoped she didn't but she heard her own voice and-

Oh blast it all. She did.

Atobe almost broke out into laughter. "Don't disappoint the tennis club."

Himawari licked her lips and placed her "good girl" mask back. Did Atobe pull her back just so he could say such a seemingly trivial thing to her? When would Atobe stop surprising her? She didn't know. Throwing those questions at the back of her mind, she dryly responded, "This is quite the way to motivate someone, Atobe-san."

Atobe released her and flicked his hair. "You can say whatever you want. You've actually had it easy, Ito. But this time, the club needs you to come up with an extensive training regimen for this week. There's a Regulars Selection, or haven't you been paying attention?"

"Did you think I forgot?" Himawari was pleased that there wasn't a biting edge to her tone.

"Ore-sama thinks you need constant reminders."

"I can do my job just fine, Buchou," she intoned as she tried to give another smile. "You didn't hire an imbecile."

"When did Ore-sama ever say that?"

Himawari couldn't help but make a face at that. "When you said that I needed constant reminders a second ago, Atobe-san? I'm not sure even sure why you need to tell me such a thing in this manner. Am I to assume that you're doing this because you want to tease me?"

Atobe raised a brow, his eyes twinkling in shrewd intelligence. "I suppose I am."

Himawari opened her mouth, swallowed convulsively and then stared at him, her eyes wide. So he was toying with her, trying to gauge her reactions towards the situation he created? What was wrong with him. And more importantly, what kind of effect did he have on her? Whatever it was, it was making her lose her equilibrium!

"Y-Y-You…" she stuttered, her arms hovering above her mechanically. To anyone's eyes, the girl looked scarily prepared to inflict physical harm on Atobe, but instinct luckily kicked in and Himawari pressed her hands together above her head.

"Aan~?"

"Ah, what a wonderful time to have afternoon stretches!" Himawari chirped as she bended sideways.

This time, Atobe really couldn't help but laugh. "You're really amusing."

"Where are Atobe-buchou and Ito?" Shishido asked, his voice trying to drown out the noise of the busy Tokyo streets.

The group came to a halt.

"They're behind Kabaji?" Gakuto wildly guessed as he ran towards the giant for closer inspection. "Meh, I guess not."

Oshitari flashed a paternal smile. Oh, this was interesting to him indeed. He had no doubt in his mind now that Atobe didn't want to let go of Himawari as the team manager. It was so obvious, but he wasn't sure if Atobe himself realized it. He never had a female friend before after all. The tensai coughed and then waited as his teammates turned to him.

"What is it, Oshitari-senpai?" Hiyoshi asked for all of them.

"Didn't they stay at the love hotel?"

Everyone stared at each other.

This marks the end of 'Managerial Mayhem.' The next part would be a sort of bonus chapter, set a few months after the current timeline.

You can choose to not read if you so desire.

OMAKE:

AKA the epilogue that really isn't an epilogue at all

"Oh Kabaji, he would be so mad."

Hyoutei's stoic giant moved past his companion and stood in front of an intimidating-looking mahogany door. He turned, as if waiting for a go signal.

"No, I'll do it…" She took a deep breath and then rapped on the door. It flung open right away, and the girl jerked her head back, one hand raised in the air, as the door revealed Atobe Keigo's handsome visage. She hadn't really expected him to open it. He usually waited behind his desk, seated comfortably as he beckoned for people to come inside. Was she really that late?

"Ore-sama called you half an hour ago," Atobe drawled as he walked back to his desk. "What have you been doing? Taking a leisurely walk?"

"I came as fast as I could," she bit back, her breath still a bit choppy. "I was in the middle of a meeting."

"Heh, an unofficial meeting," Atobe's voice was laced with condescension. "We're graduating tomorrow and you're sharing information and video clips with the other managers of Kanto's tennis clubs. Prioritize, Himawari, prioritize."

The girl gave him a disbelieving look. "I told you a week ago that I would be meeting up with them. You, on the other hand, told me merely 30 minutes ago to meet up with you. I'm the one who traded my precious time to answer your 'mighty summon' and now I'm the one who should learn how to prioritize? Keigo, really?"

Atobe looked unmoved as he arranged his desk. "Hmf. Don't waste your breath. Besides you're getting a little too chummy with Seigaku's Inui; he's rubbing off on you."

"What are you talking about?"

"That Ito juice?" The Hyoutei king turned his chair towards the window and peeked through the velvet curtains before he whirled his chair around to look back at the girl. "Yes, please explain."

"I've been using that as a motivational drink for a half a year now!"

"Exactly, and before you know it, the next time Ore-sama sees you, you would already be spouting nonsense involving graphs and numbers."

Ito Himawari regarded the stubborn set of Atobe's shoulders, his mulish expression and the pugnacious angle of his jaw, and reminded herself to be irritated. Or at least to look irritated. Surely the manager could manage that?

'Oh, but he looks so good today,' she thought to herself, aware that her attraction to him couldn't be denied any longer.

For some reason, Atobe was impeccably dressed that day. He wore a sleek dark blue business suit which she recognized to be an ensemble straight out of Armani's menswear collection for the next season. His hair was slicked back. The room was also heavy with the masculine and woodsy scent of Atobe's favorite fragrance.

What was the occasion?

As if he sensed her thoughts, Atobe gave a smug smirk and lifted a piece of paper for her to see, "Ore-sama was asked to give an opening speech for this year's U-17 training camp."

Now the girl looked surprised. "They give speeches there?"

"During our time, they didn't," he replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "The management changed hands this year. They wanted a show, an event that can be broadcasted on national television. And what better way than to have Ore-sama open for them, aan~?"

Himawari took the paper from Atobe –dammit, even his handwriting looked perfect!- and read silently. So this was his speech, huh?

"Ore-sama is supposed to be there by five o' clock."

The girl shot him a curious look. "Then why aren't you already headed there? It's almost four o'clock!" She glanced at the grandfather clock positioned on the corner of Atobe's study.

"Ore-sama was waiting for you."

"You can't blame everything that goes wrong with your life on me," she answered back crossly. She found that her mouth was twitching and made an effort to straighten her face.

"You chose Inui and the rest over Ore-sama…" Now Atobe sounded like a petulant child with his accusations.

Himawari wanted to pull out all of Atobe's glorious hair, but thankfully decided against it. She and Atobe weren't a couple yet, but they had a mutual understanding of each other's feelings. He wasn't desperately overt about his actions; there were no conspicuous hand holding or long loving gazes even when they were alone. Himawari was at least comforted by the knowledge that the Hyoutei King had a possessive streak.

There was no sense in pushing the current issue any further though. She took a deep breath and met his gaze. Using her most pleasant voice, she turned to him, "Alright, Atobe-san. Which of my services do you require?"

"Ore-sama wants you to do his necktie."

"Excuse me?" A vein inadvertently popped on Himawari's temple.

"Himawari," Atobe gestured to the manager and then pointed to a silver grey striped tie "My necktie."

"You really want me to tie that on you?"

"Very perceptive," Atobe remarked wryly as he went to grab the article of clothing himself and proceeded to hand it to the girl. "The clock is ticking, Himawari."

"Why of course, Atobe-san," she half-snarled as she seized the necktie from Atobe. "Makes one wonder why you didn't buy a clip-on if you didn't know how to tie one little necktie. Could've saved the both of us the trouble."

"What are you muttering?"

She looked up at him and fought the urge to turn scarlet. How could this gorgeous creature make her feel embarrassed and annoyed at the same time? They weren't even compatible- or so she sometimes told herself whenever she would have those moments of self-doubt and insecurity.

Atobe laughed when he saw the raven haired girl's spaced out expression. He then placed his hands on top of hers and gently pushed them down. She blinked as he looped the wide end of the tie above his neck and pulled it down, effortlessly making a Pratt knot.

"What do you think?" The heir to the Atobe Zaibatsu stood back and tilted his head inquiringly.

She only stared at him.

"Ore-sama looks ready to awe everyone, don't you agree?"

Himawari promptly shrieked.

"You can tie that damn necktie of yours! Don't bother me when I'm doing something, your Pompous Majesty!" She kicked his desk and threw a chair with frightening Amazonian strength. Atobe flinched and instinctively went over to Kabaji's side. The girl ended her fit of destruction when she gave him one last glare before she marched towards the door and loudly slammed it shut.

Atobe inspected his private study for a few seconds or so. He sighed and then looked at his friend, "Well, Ore-sama is whipped isn't he?"

Kabaji hid a ghost of a smile.

(x)(x)(x)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERI-CHWAN! MY GIFT IN ADVANCE! BUT IRIE IS MINE BWAHAHAHA~

(x) (x) (x)

- Schumann's Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-minor, Op. 22 was composed from 1831 to 1838. It was his last attempt at this genre, the other ones being the Piano Sonata in F minor (Op. 11) and the Piano Sonata in F minor (Op. 14). Among his Sonatas, this one is very frequently performed and recorded.

-First West Kanto Piano Competition is real. I made it up and searched it in Google then howled in surprise when I found out that there was an actual competition titled as such.

AN: A wild update appears! Wait, after three years? Whoa. Actually, this was the last chapter of 'Managerial Mayhem' stored in my laptop and I planned to delete it because it's just junk now. And the writing was atrocious. Ugh. But at my friend's behest, I decided to upload this one because, well, the readers deserved more. Or so she reasoned. And she's right.

I deleted a few parts, and my good friend MystiqueDragon tidied some things up. The original chapter was waaay longer, with parts that included Reina and the Seigaku team. But, uh, I'm not going to continue writing this fic anyway so I had to cut those things up so things won't get confusing. This is the FINAL CHAPTER of 'Managerial Mayhem' after all.

(On the plus side, I edited the chapter titles and made a cover pic. BECAUSE I CAN. Ha!)

I want to give a holla to ideal fairytale who provided a lot of good constructive criticism regarding my writing in her review. I think it's pretty obvious that I don't do a lot of edits or get betas now, huh? Anyway, thank you for pointing out my grammar mistakes. I'm not good with the tense thing. Whatever pops into my mind, I type it right away. So, um, yeah. Anyway, we're cool man. I would try to keep in mind your awesome comments the next time I try to write something!

I'm done with fanfiction for now though folks. :P