Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its chars. I only own my plot…and this particular Inui Juice. (grins)

Warning: Shonen-ai fic, Mpreg

Pairings: Inui X Yanagi, Sanada X Yukimura

To the story then…

Data Tales

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 3

Inui felt like he was sitting on spikes the whole day (even though he wasn't sitting at the moment).

Even with all the usual activities going on in the tennis club, Inui didn't even feel like data collecting, his gaze fixed blankly on a ball cart for ages. He wasn't distracted even when the first years Momoshiro Takeshi and Kaidou Kaoru began a fistfight in his face, and Oishi tried to pull those two apart.

During his match, Inui was barely putting much effort into his shots, moving like a machine instead of a human. Well, that should fuel those rumours running around the club that Inui was part computer, not that Inui actually cared about what the others said at the moment.

The events from the night before replayed in his mind. Inui had been debating with himself as to whether he should run all the way to Rikkai Dai's dorms when Sanada picked up the phone and informed Inui that Yanagi had passed out, and that he was going to take him to the hospital. Sanada had, in a subtle way, hinted that Inui was NOT welcome to run all the way to the hospital in the middle of the night, and the cap-wearing boy had given his word that he could handle the situation.

Inui sighed, his neglected notebook still held in his hands. How was Yanagi doing now? Tennis practice had never felt longer in his whole life. He wanted nothing more than to dash to the hospital, but that might earn him laps…then again, laps didn't sound like a bad idea at the moment.

"Your game was absolutely horrible, Inui. Where is your focus?" A serious voice made him glance up. Apparently the vice-captain was now standing next to him.

"Tezuka." Inui acknowledged his presence. He didn't know how Tezuka knew his state of mind, since Inui kept his usual mask on. It sure took a tree to understand another.

The poker-faced vice-captain frowned at him. "One will not be able to play tennis with such a distracted state of mind."

"Aa. I'm sorry." Inui apologized. He opened his notebook, turning to a clean page, but remained staring at it blankly.

Tezuka remained standing next to him, with his arms folded and the usual frown plastered on his face. Even so, Tezuka was probably aware of Inui's current inner turmoil. The vice-captain eventually turned to him again. "Whatever that is on your mind, you will have to deal with it fast or you won't be able to play at your best."

Inui considered his words for a while. Moments later, he shut his notebook and stood up before turning to the brunette. "Tezuka. I'm sorry, but I'll have to excuse myself early today. I have something important to attend to."

Tezuka gave him a stern stare for a while, saying nothing. Inui had a feeling the brunette was studying him to see if he was lying. After a while, Tezuka turned back to watch the games going on at that moment. "Go. I'll pass the word to the captain and Ryusaki-sensei."

Inui thanked him, grabbed his bag and ran out of the courts at top speed. He was anxious to get to the hospital, having worried himself with unnecessary data on Yanagi's possible condition the whole morning as to what had happened to his friend the night before. Sanada hadn't updated him on anything, but considering Inui and the cap-wearing boy were not even acquaintances, let alone friends, Inui had not expected his call either. Inui didn't like it if he had null data on anyone, especially Yanagi.

He must have broken all his previous running records by the time he reached the hospital. It was a good substitute for his usual training. Wheezing out Yanagi's name to a very startled nurse at the counter, Inui got the brunette's ward number and dashed towards that direction.

Even before he reached, he knew he was in enemy territory, as he could see a sea of yellow before the ward. Rikkai regulars. They weren't the enemies though. He was, and his blue uniform had as much effect on them as if he had tied a headband around his head with the words "The Enemy" on it. All of them gave him a wary glance as he approached, all wondering what a Seigaku regular was doing at a Rikkai regular's ward.

They allowed him to pass, leaving him unmolested, but maintaining a hawk's eye on him. Upon entering the room, Inui noticed Sanada and a beautiful blue-haired lady sitting by Yanagi's bedside. Sanada too wore his Rikkai outfit, while the lady was dressed in a light blue shirt and pants.

Yanagi was awake, and he glanced towards the side when he heard Inui walk in. "Sadaharu. Did you run all the way here?" He sounded happy to see his former doubles partner, albeit a little tired too.

Inui stopped by Yanagi's bedside, just about a foot away from where his friend lay. "Aa. I…"

"Wanted to do some exercise on the way here, was what you were trying to say right?" Yanagi managed a weak chuckle. "It seems that I'm right." He winced slightly, then sank back lower against the pillow.

Inui looked at him, the worry returning full force. "How are you feeling?"

Yanagi smiled weakly. "It's nothing to worry about. There is a 76.3 percent chance that I caught a bug yesterday, and I'm just feeling a little dizzy." Inui's expression was probably unreadable to the others in the room, like Sanada and the blue haired lady, but Yanagi seemed to know what was going on in his mind. "Really, Sadaharu. Don't give me that kind of expression. I'll be fine. 96 percent chance based on my calculations, in fact." Even though Yanagi looked like he was about to pass out again, he didn't stop his reassurances.

Sanada placed a hand on Yanagi's shoulder. "You're not fine, Yanagi. You need rest." Abruptly, the cap-wearing boy then turned to Inui, his eyes blazing. "You! What kind of nonsense did you make him drink? You're the one who got him into this condition! You poisoned him!"

"Genichirou, it's nothing of that sort. His drink was perfectly fine. It was probably something I ate during dinner." Yanagi, who was still nursing a dizzy head, was quick to defend his friend.

"Genichirou. Calm down. You're being too harsh." The blue-haired lady spoke calmly.

Her voice had an instantaneous effect on the Rikkai demon, who deflated, though he did cast Inui one last glare. "You're too soft, Yukimura. This guy should be punished for causing Yanagi to be this sick." He grumbled.

Inui blinked. Wait…Yukimura? The 'Seiichi' Yanagi had mentioned during camp? The third member of the Rikkai Demons? Then…this couldn't possibly be a lady.

The Seigaku data master lowered his gaze to the blue-haired's chest area. Yup. Most definitely male. Looks could be so misleading.

"It's not certain what has caused Renji to be ill, but you can't jump to conclusions so quickly, Genichirou." Yukimura chided. Inui could sense the bond between the two, even though they weren't really showing it. There were those subtle hints. A touch on the arm, the softening of the gaze, the faint smile. For any normal person, they probably wouldn't have noticed it, but for a data master, their actions were speaking volumes of their affections towards each other. Inui now saw what Yanagi had meant by them being together.

He turned away, not wanting to look any longer even though it was good data. As good as their chemistry was, there was just something so wrong with the picture. They're both males!

Yukimura stood up, taking one of Sanada's hands. "Come, Genichirou, you've been here for about two hours already. Let's go for tea. We can leave the two here to chat."

"Two hours, 3 minutes and 47 seconds, to be exact." Yanagi corrected.

"Yukimura! I don't think…" Sanada wanted to protest, but the blue-haired gir…boy gently yet firmly led him away. Yukimura gave Yanagi one last glance, and the two shared a look, one which Inui wasn't able to interpret, before the two Rikkai demons walked out of the door.

Only the data masters were left in the room. Yanagi gave a soft groan and shifted on his bed, trying to get comfortable. Inui walked up to his friend and adjusted the blanket. He was concerned at seeing how flushed Yanagi looked, and touched the Rikkai data master's forehead briefly. He withdrew his hand in shock moments later though. What was Yanagi saying about being alright? He was burning up! That was not all right at all.

"Renji…I'm sorry." Inui apologized quietly.

Yanagi glanced over at him. "Don't. Didn't I say it had nothing to do with your drink? I was perfectly fine after I drank it. There is a 56.6 percent chance it didn't agree with my dinner, that is all." It looked like it was taking a lot of effort just to talk, and Yanagi gave up eventually, closing his eyes again.

"It's not your fault, Sadaharu. I'll be fine." The brunette reassured him once he was able to talk again.

Inui felt a twinge at seeing how his friend was suffering. "Aa. Get some rest now, Renji."

"Mm. I should." Yanagi agreed weakly. Inui watched as his friend drifted off to a feverish sleep.

Inui never left his bedside, sitting there watching his one true friend. Yanagi had one hand over his forehead, probably attempting to stop the dizziness even in sleep, while his other hand was thrown carelessly across his stomach. Occasionally, the Rikkai data master gave a pained whimper, the hand across his stomach tightening its hold, as if he were trying to suppress a stomach ache. Inui could only watch, helpless. There was an 84 percent chance Yanagi said all that so that Inui could rest his mind, but Inui wasn't fooled. It was food poisoning. In his foolishness, he had poisoned one of his closest friends.

Inui did not leave until the visiting hours were up. As he stood to leave, he gave his friend one last glance. "I'm sorry, Renji." He muttered.

Upon exiting, he came across the other two Rikkai demons again. Inui calculated only a 15 percent probability that they were going to stay around for that long, and was feeling a slight bit of surprise that they actually did. Yukimura noticed Inui and smiled at him before walking over.

"How is Renji?" The blue-haired boy asked.

Inui kept his face expressionless. "He was sleeping when I left."

Yukimura nodded sagely. "Is that so? That's good then. Rest can help his recovery. It's nice meeting you, Inui-san. I hope to see you again. Goodbye, Genichirou." The two shared a last look before Yukimura turned away and headed over to one of the other wards, just a few doors away from Yanagi's. Inui realized just why Sanada had stayed so long then. Yukimura was probably being treated in this same hospital too.

It was unavoidable for Inui and Sanada to walk together, since they were heading in the same direction, which was towards the exit. On the way there, Inui kept his guard up, remembering Tezuka's favourite phrase. Who knew what Sanada would do without Yukimura to pacify him.

The cap-wearing Rikkai demon was thankfully quiet for most of the way. It was only once they have left the hospital, and Inui was about to head off in an opposite direction when Sanada called him.

"You…just what is your relationship with Yanagi?" He asked.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "I'm an old childhood friend of Renji's." Why was Sanada even asking something as blatantly obvious as that? Inui was pretty sure Yanagi might have mentioned that to Sanada, since the three demons were very close.

Sanada gave him a stare so severe, he would have made Tezuka proud. "Is that all?"

"Yes. That is all. You can't expect us to be anything more than that. We're both males." Inui's mouth went ahead of his mind. He realized his mistake soon enough, for Sanada's expression darkened. "Ah. I meant we're just friends. Nothing more than that."

Sanada frowned at him for a while, turned around and walked off. Before he left, however, he stopped. "Yukimura seems to have heard very highly of you from Yanagi, but I don't share his optimism. If you so much as cause anymore harm to Yanagi, know that I won't hold back the next time." With those parting words, Sanada walked on, not turning back.

Inui shivered. The bond among the three demons was scary. Well, Sanada didn't need to tell him that. He would never let Yanagi drink those Inui juices again anyway.

Casting one last glance in the direction of the hospital, Inui headed for home too.

XXX

Tezuka sighed, noticing that instead of improving, Inui's tennis went from bad to worse. Tezuka was never one to read emotions. No, if emotions were a subject to be tested on, Tezuka would have flunked it beautifully. However, he was an expert at detecting the changes in one's tennis, and Inui's tennis was screaming of complete distraction.

"Enough. Next pair to go to the courts. Fuji, Oishi. You're both up next." Tezuka gave the order. Inui and his opponent were replaced by the aforementioned two. The data master returned to the sides and took one of his drinks, sipping from it expressionlessly.

"Inui, this is the second time you've shown us a disastrous performance. At this rate, you might lose your position as a regular." Tezuka's tone was stern, but there was a tiny hint of concern underlying it.

Inui set his drink back on the bench and sat down heavily, giving a sigh as he did so. After a long while, the data master spoke up again.

"Tezuka."

"Hmm?" Tezuka indicated that he was listening, even as his eyes were completely fixed on the courts.

Inui felt that he must be mad to be consulting Tezuka of all people about this. Oishi would probably be a better listener, but Inui felt that he wasn't in the mood for mollycoddling today. His closest friend was Yanagi, but one other person who might understand him, since they were, in terms of staidness quite similar, was Tezuka.

"What would you do, if you've hurt someone close to you? If you've hurt them very badly?" Inui asked.

A good thing about Tezuka was that he always took things seriously, being the no nonsense type of person he was. Knowing that whatever Inui was talking about was probably the cause of his poor tennis, Tezuka tore his gaze away from the courts, and those light brown eyes were now focused on him instead.

"It depends on what kind of a hurt are you talking about, physical or emotional." It was difficult to imagine Tezuka giving counseling, but Tezuka was one who has read much, and he made up for his lack of human relations with his knowledge instead.

Inui thought about it for a while. "Physical. I poisoned him."

Tezuka remained poker faced, but Inui observed that there was a 2mm twitch at the corner of his lips for 0.5 seconds. Tezuka probably knew that it was Inui's Seigaku-famous inventions that were the cause.

Tezuka thought about it for a while. "What's done is done. There is no point for you to dwell on that any longer. It's what you're going to do in the future that matters." Having stated his point, Tezuka then went back to watching tennis again. "I'm guessing that it has something to do with that friend of yours during camp." The vice-captain said abruptly.

"Aa. That is right. How did you know that anyway?" Inui asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Tezuka turned to him again. "Narita-senpai and Fuji both gave the report on the camp's progress. They have mentioned you running off with your friend for most part of the camp. What is the relationship between the two of you anyway?"

Inui blinked. Two stoic players had asked him the same question. This was certainly not his day. "Friends. Old childhood friends."

"I see." Tezuka dropped the subject, the games catching the tennis freak's interest better than Inui's current dilemma. Inui was grateful for the silence though, as it allowed him to brood. One thing's for sure, Inui would be heading towards the hospital to check on his friend once practice ended.

XXX

This round, the Rikkai crowd before Yanagi's ward wasn't there, much to Inui's relief. The data master rushed over to his friend's room and opened the door. He was instantly greeted by the sight of…

…Yanagi sitting up on his bed, already packed to leave, and having a cup of tea with Yukimura…

Eh?

"Sadaharu. How nice of you to drop by. Would you like some?" Yanagi smiled at him, holding out a pack of biscuits.

Inui stared blankly at him for a long while. Wait…where was that suffering-in-pain friend of his and who was this guy? He might need a new prescription for his glasses.

Seeing Inui's reaction, Yanagi chuckled and got off the bed. "Strange, isn't it? I was surprised too when I woke this morning and found the fever and the stomachache gone. Like I said, it was just a bug, but now it's gone. See, Sadaharu. I told you it wasn't your drink."

Relief filled Inui's expression. "That's good." He didn't know what else to say.

Yukimura laughed lightly, while Sanada sat next to Yukimura, avoiding Inui's gaze. He had accused Inui of giving his friend food-poisoning after all, and probably couldn't meet him in the eye now that he was proven wrong.

The blue-haired Rikkai demon smiled at the two data masters. "I was hoping that you'll keep me company in this hospital a little while longer. Zannen." He teased good-humouredly. Yukimura got up and padded over to Yanagi, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm glad that you're well though. Go on. I believe you still owe your friend a match."

Yanagi glanced over. "Are you sure? I could always stay a little while longer…"

Yukimura shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I have Genichirou here. He'll be forced to keep me company. Ne, Gen? Go on ahead, Renji." Again, that shared look. Inui couldn't help wondering if he was missing some kind of message passed between the two. He really didn't like data escaping his notebook.

Inui kept close by his friend, afraid that he might collapse again. "Are you sure you're alright, Renji?" He asked.

"Mm. Of course. I'm still a bit dizzy because of the fever, but that should pass in a while. The doctor has shown me the report. He analyzed the contents of what I had drunk or eaten, which would be your Inui juice, as well as my dinner. No traces of food poisoning." Yanagi informed him.

Inui observed his friend for a while. Yanagi didn't seem like he was lying about that, considering he was looking cheery. He allowed himself to stop worrying. "That's good. Well then, since you're fine, I'll let you pick the courts."

Yanagi nodded. "I know the perfect place. Let's go, Sadaharu. Prepare yourself."

Inui smiled. Yes, it was just like the old days again.

XXX

As mentioned, Tezuka could always sense the change in one's tennis, even if he couldn't sense their emotions. He gave Inui an approving nod as once more, the data master won the game 6-0. "Good work, Inui. Keep it up."

"Arigatou, Tezuka." Inui said brightly.

He hadn't been able to meet Yanagi much, but unlike back when they had lost contact with each other during their elementary schooldays, this time they kept in touch via phone, and occasionally, they would meet up for tennis talk, or to go data gathering. Two data masters were definitely better than one, and they quickly became the terrors of the schools in the whole Kantou region.

Yanagi provided a lot of interesting data in his mails, from Sanada's non-stop phone calls to a certain blue-haired beauty when he thought no one was looking, to a non-regular Marui Bunta who had eaten so many cakes that he was on sugar high and ended up bouncing from one end of the Rikkai courts to another. It was good to have Yanagi back in his life, and Inui looked forward to the day they had to face each other again.

Recently, they did more data collecting than had tennis matches with each other though. Yanagi seemed to get tired very quickly, and Inui frowned, wondering where his friend's stamina had gone to. Once, when they took a break, Yanagi had even fallen asleep on the bench by accident.

Inui was still pondering it over a drink when Yanagi held out a hand. "That's your latest invention, isn't it? I haven't had a taste of your Inui Juices in a month, 3 days, 1 hour and 15 minutes. I wonder what flavour it is this time."

Inui held the bottle out of his reach though. He was not going to take that risk again. The old fear lingered, and in his mind, it was almost as if he could hear his friend collapse again.

Yanagi gave a light snort. "Honestly, Sadaharu. I'm not going to fall sick just because of one drink. Besides, aren't you the guinea pig of that drink first? If it's fine for you it's definitely fine for me."

Inui wasn't able to persist, and before long, he relented, handing the bottle over to Yanagi. Yanagi opened the cap, took a sip…

…and choked.

Inui stared, startled as Yanagi clapped a hand over his mouth and dashed away. Inui went after him and found him throwing up behind one of the bushes.

Inui felt the twinge again. Yanagi had been trying to reassure him that he was fine with the drink, but this proved that he was not. Thanks to the earlier experience, the fear remained in his friend. He had lost the only one who had truly been able to enjoy his drinks.

Yanagi continued to cough, and after a long while, he stood shakily on his feet again. Inui wordlessly offered him a tissue, and after Yanagi wiped his lips, he gave Inui an apologetic smile. "I think this round, the ingredients aren't exactly my favourite. Wood, raw fish…and tobacco."

Inui stared. This was the first time he had ever seen Yanagi get all the ingredients wrong. Yanagi noticed his expression and frowned. "No?"

"E-eh…ah, yes. You've got it all correct." Inui lied, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings.

His behaviour continued to baffle Inui, and one day, Yanagi stopped sending those e-mails. Inui couldn't help getting worried, and for a good few days, his performance went down again (much to Tezuka's displeasure). After some time, the e-mails returned, as if the brief pause had never happened. Yanagi didn't mention anything about the e-mails, and he avoided the subject every time Inui brought it up.

"Inui! 40 laps!" Tezuka barked when Inui made another careless mistake. Was it Inui or was Tezuka assigning him 40 percent more laps recently? Inui could feel the vice-captain's glare drilling a hole into his back, and he went to do his laps without complaint. In fact, Tezuka seemed to be giving him more stern glances recently, and Inui was starting to get unnerved. Tezuka must have been more affected by his performance than he thought.

As the months passed, the day of the Nationals arrived, much to Inui's delight. That joy was short-lived though, as he didn't have the chance to face Yanagi. Apparently his friend was put as a reserve. They didn't manage to send the reserves out, for Seigaku was defeated by Rikkai Dai that year.

As Inui followed his fellow Seigaku regulars to the waiting bus, a familiar voice stopped him. Turning around, he found himself staring at his friend.

"Sadaharu. Is it all right if I walk with you a while? I was thinking of having dinner with you." Yanagi spoke up.

Inui raised an eyebrow. This was rather out of the blue. Then again, if it was Yanagi's request.

"Sure." After passing the word to Tezuka, the two walked off, heading towards one of their favourite restaurants. Throughout the meal, a strange silence fell between the two, which was rare. Somehow, Yanagi wasn't his chirpy self, and by the looks of it, he was deep in thought, playing with his food more than actually eating it.

Inui was the first to break the silence. "It was a good match, Renji. Seigaku has lost this round, but we will return stronger than ever next year. We will not lose to Rikkai Dai another time."

Yanagi smiled at that, seemingly returning to his old self. Inui silently gave himself a pat on the back for being able to bring his friend out of his glum mood. "Rikkai Dai will win 3 years in a row next year." Yanagi threw back the challenge.

Inui gave a light laugh. "I look forward to that challenge. It was a pity you were made reserve though. I had hoped to face you on the courts."

That…was a very, very bad thing to say. An odd expression flashed across Yanagi's face briefly. The Rikkai data master became quiet once more, and this round, the mood between them was so heavy, Inui couldn't even bring up a topic to lighten it.

They left together after the meal. Both walked alongside each other; with the awkwardness back full force. Inui was still deciding what to say when Yanagi broke the silence first. "Sadaharu, I…"

"Hmm?" Inui looked over at him, waiting for him to continue.

Yanagi turned away. "Never mind. It's not important."

They walked on further. Inui interpreted Yanagi's silence as regret for not being able to face Inui too. He glanced at his watch. He had no curfew anyway.

"Renji. Why don't we have a quick match before we head on home? It's to make up for us not being able to play a match just now." Inui spoke up, hoping to get Yanagi's spirits back up.

His friend stopped walking. Inui stopped too, turning around to look at him. "Renji?"

Yanagi's expression was unreadable, though he was biting his lower lip, which was quivering slightly. "Sadaharu…I'm sorry…" Without an explanation, Yanagi took off, leaving Inui behind, stunned.

It was a complete replay of the scene years ago. Yanagi was running from him, Inui was rooted to the spot, too stunned to react.

And just like those years ago, Inui didn't hear from his friend again….

To be continued…

Please Read and Review. No Flames Please

-Gwyn86