Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its chars. I only own my plot.

Warning: Shonen-ai fic, Mpreg

Pairings: Inui X Yanagi, Sanada X Yukimura, Tezuka X Echizen hints.

To the story then…

Data Tales

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 17

They were officially dating now…or at least, that was what Yanagi told the others. Yukimura had seemed delighted by that, as he gave Yanagi a smile before congratulating both of them. Sanada was incredibly displeased, but he gave a resigned sigh before wishing the two of them well, though he did pull Inui aside and hinted not so subtly that if Inui made Yanagi unhappy, he'd knock all the data out of Inui's head. Atobe merely smirked and stated that he had known all along, or, in his words it would be "About time, you two foolish peasants." When he told Tezuka, the wooden block had no reaction whatsoever. That was not new data.

As for Inui, ever since he had finally admitted his feelings, he felt that he and Yanagi had gotten closer. He tried to visit both Yanagi and Yuina at least four times a week, if his schedule permitted it. He seemed to have developed what Yukimura dubbed as a 'Renji-complex', something which amused Yanagi to no end. The Rikkai data master humoured him though.

"Ah, Sadaharu. You're here." Yanagi smiled as he greeted the other data master at the door. The Seigaku data master was here for a visit again.

"Tadaima." Inui returned the smile, even as he wrapped his arms around his friend…no…boyfriend. He had managed to convince his parents to allow him to spend the night out again. A 'study session', as he put it.

Yanagi chuckled lightly. "I take it you're staying the night again."

"You don't want me to?" Inui mock frowned.

Yanagi shrugged. "Maybe. You always end up playing with our daughter instead of doing your homework when you're here. I don't want to be the one to have to answer to your parents when your report card comes in."

"You're so cold, Renji." The two shared a laugh before heading to the table for a light supper. After dealing with the dishes, Inui started on his homework, wanting to finish fast so that he could spend time with his family. Yanagi took some of his other homework before reading through it, discussing with Inui over some of the answers.

Once that was done, Inui gave a happy sigh before collapsing onto the couch, feeling tired after a whole day of school and work. Yanagi held out a cup of tea before him, which he took, giving Yanagi his thanks and sipping slowly. His boyfriend knew precisely what type of tea he liked, and at what temperature. It was a bonus for dating a data master.

Their daughter was in her cot, and the six months old baby was cooing to herself. When she first started to vocalize, Inui had promptly called up Tezuka (who was in Kyuushu rehabilitating) a few times just to gush about his baby girl over the phone. Needless to say, Tezuka always cut him off 5 seconds into the call. His other victim was Yukimura, who humoured him whenever he called. He didn't dare to call Sanada, and as for Atobe…it was always his answering machine that picked up.

Inui glanced to the side, watching as his daughter waved her tiny fists in the air, while continuing to fill the air with her 'oohs' and 'aahs'. He smiled with fatherly pride, happy to see his baby girl's progress.

Yanagi walked over to the cot, and Yuina giggled when she saw him. He scooped the baby out of her cot before heading over to Inui. "You're tired, Sadaharu. Why not retire early for the night?"

"No." Inui sat up on the couch, trying to shake his sleepiness away. "I-"

"Hardly get to spend time with the two of you, was what you wanted to say right?" Yanagi bounced Yuina lightly in his arms. "You've already been with us plenty, Sadaharu."

"Not nearly as much as I would've liked. At this rate Yuina's not going to know me. She'd think her nanny is her parent instead." Inui muttered unhappily.

Yanagi placed his daughter on his lap, supporting her with one arm. With his other hand, he stroked Inui's hair. Inui closed his eyes to the sensation, as Yanagi's touch had a calming effect on him. "We're still in junior high, Sadaharu. Our schedule is out of our hands, so you really shouldn't push yourself. Yuina didn't exactly choose the best of times to make her arrival into our lives, but we'll manage. We have for over a year already anyway."

Inui opened his eyes again. "Had it been so long?" He mentally calculated. Well, more than a year for Yanagi, but not him. He only found out when Yanagi was five months pregnant after all.

Yuina continued to coo in Yanagi's arms. The Rikkai data master patted her softly, trying to get her to sleep. The baby was being persistent in staying awake though, watching her parents while putting her tiny fist in her mouth. So stubborn. Yanagi chuckled inwardly. He hadn't been wrong in calling her an Inui. He threw a glance at the older Inui, who was obviously sleepy, but was also struggling to stay awake.

Yanagi gave up. He placed Yuina on Inui's lap for a while before heading to the back, making another cup of tea. When he was done, he headed back to the couch, handing Inui the drink. "This should keep you awake a while more, since you're insisting on 'spending more quality time' with us."

Inui downed the drink quickly. He did seem more awake after that, as he played with his daughter, laughing softly when she wrapped her whole hand around his finger. Yanagi gave a mildly amused sigh, noting that Inui was back to his habit again. A daughter-complex and a Renji-complex. Was Inui going to develop a data complex next?

After a while, his daughter got tired of playing, and she yawned, looking like she was finally going to sleep. Inui rocked her for a while until her eyes slid close before placing her on his lap again.

"By the way, Renji. I've collected some data on Yamabuki, and I've recorded their practice. Would you like to watch the recording with me?" Inui held up said tape before the brunette.

The Rikkai data master snorted. "I'll pass. I've already taken their data a few weeks back, and frankly speaking, we Rikkai kings aren't so interested in Yamabuki. It's your school we're more wary off."

Inui pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You really shouldn't underestimate your opponents, Renji. That was what caused Rikkai's loss in the Kantou Tournaments." He paused a while, fighting to keep a straight face as he noticed the mildly affronted look on Yanagi's face. Inui took out his notebook, flipping through it before stopping at one of the pages. "It's going to be the Nationals in one month, 17 hours, 23 minutes and 15 seconds. If all goes well, there is a 95 percent chance our schools would be facing each other in the finals. Who knows, this time your school may emerge champion again. Well, not if Seigaku can help it though." He threw Yanagi a playful grin.

"Now who's underestimating whose opponents?" Yanagi retorted. He allowed Inui to pass the baby over to him, as the Seigaku data master got up to switch on the video player. When he returned, he sat on the couch, inching a little closer to Yanagi, so that their hands were nearly touching. Inui flipped to a clean page of his notebook, even as Yanagi watched the screen with intense concentration. For a while, there was silence between them, with the only sounds coming from the matches currently playing. Halfway through the matches though, Yanagi could feel a soft touch on his waist area. Throwing a discreet glance down, he realized that Inui had wrapped an arm around him with his free hand, while his other hand continued to scribble unceasingly into his notebook. Yanagi smiled, already used to Inui's increasingly frequent displays of affection, side effects of the Renji-complex he was having. The poor teen must have really pent up his feelings for too long. Yanagi couldn't help feeling slightly smug that at least he had better control of his feelings than Inui did. Or at least he had better control over his expression of feelings.

After the video had ended, Yanagi turned his collected data in his head for a while before turning to Inui. "You were right, Sadaharu. They shouldn't be underestimated. They did make it to the Nationals after all. Rikkai will be paying close attention to them."

"You seem to be paying close attention to one Sengoku Kiyosumi in particular." Inui muttered, not even bothering to hide the jealousy from his voice.

"He is easily the strongest threat from that school." Yanagi stated calmly. He shook his head at seeing Inui's expression. "You're too old to be sulking, Sadaharu." He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Inui's cheek. "You really are strangely possessive, more so than what my data had initially calculated."

"You'll have to correct your data then, Renji." The Seigaku data master didn't look sleepy anymore. On the contrary, his glasses glinted even as he stared at his boyfriend, who shifted slightly under the gaze. Slowly, he leaned over, closing the distance between them as he pressed his lips to Yanagi's, lightly at first, but with increasing intensity. Yanagi returned the kiss and wrapped one arm around Inui's neck to pull him closer as he did so.

Inui wanted to memorize Yanagi's data, easily the most interesting one out of all the data he had ever collected in his life. He wanted to know Yanagi's likes and dislikes, wanted to know what made Yanagi truly happy, to make up for those months of hell Inui had put him through. Yanagi was an enigma, and Inui couldn't get an accurate data on him. The only thing Inui knew currently was that his boyfriend was hardly submissive. He might have been Yuina's 'mother', but every kiss, every touch he shared with Inui was a battle for dominance. Yanagi would let him win in the end though. Inui mused that if he let his guard down, Yanagi might top him instead…not that their relationship had gone that far. Yet. There were times Inui wondered if Sanada found himself in the same position with Yukimura. Rikkai demons were just too unpredictable.

Their daughter chose that moment to ruin the mood though, as she woke abruptly, not happy that her human cradle (Yanagi) was moving about too much. She began to cry, causing her parents to pull apart. Inui gave a disappointed groan, while Yanagi chuckled.

"We had better put her to bed. Speaking of which, it's already late. You had better go to sleep too or you will be late for school tomorrow." Yanagi bounced his daughter lightly in his arms. She continued to cry though, and Inui took over the task of putting her to sleep, as he rocked her in his arms, speaking to her softly while recounting his day's adventures. Not a few minutes later, the baby was asleep again.

"Am I that boring that she'd go to sleep whenever I talk to her?" Inui wondered aloud, pouting slightly.

Yanagi took the baby. "It's your voice. There is a very low, soothing quality to your voice. She likes it."

"And there is an 88.88 percent chance she's not the only one." Inui teased lightly.

He noted that a faint flush had appeared on Yanagi's cheeks, though the other data master merely shrugged. "Perhaps." He got up, carrying the baby in his arms as he headed to his room. He stopped before he reached his door and turned around. "You're not joining us, Sadaharu?"

"I'll be there in a while." Inui promised, even as he put away his notebook and video tapes. He gave an inward smile as Yanagi went into his room. What had taken him so long to confess anyway…

XXX

It was a good thing Inui had finally settled his feelings with Yanagi, as now, the impending Nationals was already causing the tension in Seigaku to be raised to higher levels. If Inui was still in a dilemma over his feelings, he would have been insane by now.

Oishi was doing a good job at being the temporary captain in Tezuka's absence. While he wasn't as strict as his best friend, he had, nonetheless, increased practice for all the regulars, trying to keep them ready for the final battle.

"Nice save, Inui." Oishi complimented as the data master managed to return one extremely difficult shot, scoring a point from the vice-captain. Inui wiped the sweat from his face. He had played against Fuji, Kikumaru and Oishi so far. He had wanted to play against Echizen for data's sake, but apparently the youngest regular had played truant right after his match against Momo, running off to the cafeteria and not returning. Such a pity.

Inui was still halfway through a game against Kaidou when Oishi called it a day. After the club members (including Echizen, who returned five minutes before practice ended) assembled, Oishi gave them all one final bit of (motherly) advice before allowing them to dismiss.

"Ah…I'm hungry. Where are we going to eat, Echizen?" Momoshiro could be heard complaining somewhere on his left. Kikumaru had bounced over to join Momo and Echizen. Fuji and Kawamura went home together, while Oishi made sure the courts were clean and the clubroom was locked before he joined Kikumaru's group.

Inui waited until everyone had left before he closed his notebook, deciding to let his data gathering rest for the day too. He picked up his bag and made to leave the school when he noticed Yanagi standing at the school gates.

"Renji!" Inui jogged over, delighted to see the Rikkai data master there. He noticed that Yanagi had his notebook in his hands, and he could roughly calculate that there was a 98 percent chance Yanagi would have a video recorder in his bag too. Most likely the other data master was here scouting. Still…Yanagi had waited up for him? Inui resisted the urge to throw his arms around his boyfriend, Kikumaru-style.

Yanagi folded his arms. "You're slow. I should have gone on ahead if I had known that you'd be the last to leave. You've really exceeded my data this round." His tone was more teasing than scolding.

Inui looked mildly sheepish. "Gomen, Renji. I certainly hadn't calculated the possibility of a sudden visit from you. Well. Shall we go then?"

"Go where?" Yanagi raised an eyebrow, looking mildly curious as Inui started walking towards no direction in particular.

Inui grinned. "It's a date, of course."

Yanagi said nothing as he walked alongside his boyfriend, who was seemingly intent on taking him on a tour around the whole city. They had been walking for over half an hour already, and Inui didn't seem like he was stopping anywhere in particular anytime soon.

"You're so strange, Sadaharu. Don't most people choose mornings for a date, not evenings?" Yanagi asked playfully.

Again the sheepish grin which Yanagi was getting increasingly fond of. Inui said nothing, though Yanagi looked down when the other data master had taken his hand.

"I've thought about this for quite a while already." Inui began, turning to him. "Ever since a few months back, I've promised myself that once you've had our child, and once you're free to leave the house again, I'll show you around. You've been cooped up in the house for so many months, this is the least I could do for you."

Yanagi certainly didn't want to remember that time. He had kept his mind focused on his pregnancy, thinking of his child to keep his mind off the loneliness and boredom which came with being cooped up for so long. Still…was Inui still blaming himself over that again?

"I've mentioned before, Sadaharu. It's not your fault. Males don't usually get pregnant from drinks, so that possibility wouldn't have been included in either of our data." He pulled Inui down by the front of his shirt, so that they were nearly of the same height now. "Well then, since you're taking me out on a date, shouldn't you at least make it memorable? We have been walking for ages, and I do think that it's around dinnertime now." He allowed his eyes to open, knowing the effect it had on Inui.

Surely enough, he could see the other data master deflate. "Aa. Let's go for dinner then." Inui led the way. Yanagi allowed him to, since Inui would be more familiar of this area than he was.

Before long, both of them were seated at one of the tables in a cozy Japanese restaurant. Yanagi tried to keep his face straight as he noticed the look of absolute concentration on Inui's face, as the other data master was most likely memorizing the menu. He was the first to order, while Inui took about 15 minutes to decide on his order, seemingly calculating the nutritional value of each dish before he did so. The waiter attending to their table left seething.

For a while, the two of them struck a conversation regarding the Nationals. Yanagi mentioned Yukimura's return to the tennis club, having recovered from his successful surgery. Inui wasn't too sure if Tezuka would have recovered enough to return by then, but Yanagi didn't have a doubt for that. Surely if Yukimura were to stand in the courts, the only one who might have a chance against him would be Tezuka.

The brunette paused at that thought. That was not exactly true. There was the first year rookie Echizen too. After Sanada's defeat, he realized that his data on Echizen was very much inaccurate. That guy's potential was limitless. Yanagi did not have a doubt that the first year might become another Yukimura in years to come.

"Renji?" He blinked when he realized he was addressed. Inui looked mildly concerned. "You look a little tired. Maybe we should cut dinner short?"

"I'm fine, Sadaharu." He gave a chuckle when Inui reached out to touch his cheek. "Honestly, Sadaharu. I've agreed to go on a date with you, but with the way you're acting, it's as if I've agreed to marry you instead."

Inui's hand stilled, and Yanagi could almost see the thoughts going through his boyfriend's head. He gave a snort. "No, Sadaharu."

"I didn't say anything, Renji." The bespectacled teen tried to look innocent. He didn't really need to say anything though. It was written all over his face.

"It's too soon to think about that." Yanagi replied firmly. "Marriage is something I'm not going to think about until I'm 20."

Inui's glasses glinted. "There's nothing wrong with making arrangements early first. It's for Yuina's future too…" His boyfriend had, thankfully, dropped the subject at the incredulous look Yanagi had given him.

Their food arrived soon enough. Inui picked up his utensils and began eating, but before he could take even a mouthful of his food, a certain redheaded acrobatic player popped up at his table.

"Hoi hoi! Inui! What a coincidence to find the two of you here too. What's it about a marriage?" He chirped.

Inui choked on his food and promptly went into a coughing fit. Yanagi reached over and patted him on the back until he stopped coughing. When the Seigaku data master had managed to recompose himself, he looked up to find Kikumaru, Oishi, Momoshiro and Echizen standing by his table. Good grief. According to his data, these people didn't make it a habit to come to this particular restaurant at all, so what were they all doing here today. It didn't make any sense!

"Who's getting married?" Momoshiro asked curiously. Trust Momo to be the first to misunderstand.

Yanagi shook his head, giving all of them a calm smile. "Nobody. We were just discussing some essays."

"Oh." Momo sounded satisfied by that explanation. Echizen had given a smirk, pulling his cap lower as he threw both Inui and Yanagi a look before giving his usual 'mada mada dane' phrase.

Yanagi gave them a polite smile. "Since all of you are here, would you like to join our table?"

Inui wanted to protest to that. Wasn't this supposed to be their date?

To his horror, his teammates agreed to that, immediately dropping into the seats next to them. Oishi had voiced out his apology for disrupting them, but Yanagi reassured the temporary captain that he wasn't disturbing anything, much to Inui's dismay.

Inui threw a glance at the brunette, who looked perfectly at ease even though he was surrounded by Seigaku regulars. He couldn't help wondering if this was going according to Yanagi's data. Again.

Momoshiro and Kikumaru seemed to be rather awed to be in one of the Rikkai king's presence, and they bombarded him with questions, all of which were answered calmly by the Rikkai data master.

Inui kept glancing at his watch, biting the urge to feed his teammates Inui Juice when they just didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. He threw a look at Yanagi, wondering if this was part of the other data master's plans.

Momo and Kikumaru continued on with their never ending questions, while Oishi and Echizen concentrated on their meals. Kikumaru took a huge mouthful of his food and started his next question.

"Sho wat agh juu gooing gear?"

"Eiji!" Oishi chided immediately.

Kikumaru gave a sheepish grin, swallowed, and tried again.

"So what…"

"…are we doing here, was what you were trying to say right?" Yanagi completed the sentence for him. His eyes opened very briefly before closing again. "We're on a date, of course."

Momoshiro choked on his food that very instant, as did Inui, who had not calculated the possibility of that unexpectedly direct statement. All eyes turned towards Yanagi (sans Echizen's), as if trying to ascertain whether he was joking. The next moment, Inui found three pairs of eyes on him.

"A data date, of course. We met up for the purpose of collecting data." Yanagi clarified, sipping calmly on his drink. Inui could sense an underlying hint of sadistic glee behind his calm words.

Momoshiro sagged with relief at that. "Oh. That kind of date. Don't scare us like that, Yanagi-san."

"What were you thinking anyway? There can't possibly be anything between Sadaharu and I now, can there?" He threw Inui a very small smirk. Inui was a hundred percent sure Yanagi was enjoying his revenge.

Momoshiro scratched his head. "Yeah. That's right…" He began, though the next moment Inui had placed a glass in front of him.

"Momoshiro. I have just made a new vegetable juice, and I need someone to test it for me. Would you like to have a drink?" His glasses glinted menacingly.

The Seigaku dunk smash player paled instantly, as did the other three occupants of the table. Only Yanagi retained his calm expression. The Rikkai data master reached out wordlessly, taking the drink before finishing it in a few gulps. That caused the other three to pale even more as they stared at him. Yanagi licked his lips briefly. "Hmm…seaweed, onions and mushrooms. Interesting flavour."

"You've managed to guess the ingredients, as usual." Inui finished the last bit of food on his plate before standing up, noting that Yanagi's plate was empty too. "Shall we take our leave now, Renji? It's getting late, and there is still a lot more data to collect."

"Hmm…that sounds reasonable." Yanagi stood up too, taking his bag. He excused himself and followed Inui, who paid for their food before walking out of the door.

XXX

Inui walked his boyfriend home, not speaking a word on the way back. Yanagi's eyes opened slightly, glancing at the Seigaku data master. Perhaps he might have gone overboard with bullying Inui. Inui was giving him the silent treatment.

He racked his brains, trying to come up with an apology to pacify the bespectacled teen. He was so busy with his thoughts that it was a while before he realized Inui was taking a different route home than usual.

"Sadaharu. I think you…" Yanagi began, though the next moment Inui had taken his hand and led him to an alley. The Rikkai data master gave a soft grunt of surprise as his Seigaku counterpart pushed him against the wall and began kissing him. It was a battle for dominance again. Yanagi always thought that it was very thrilling, seeing his controlled boyfriend became this aggressive. As was usual, he would let Inui win the battle.

When they pulled apart, Yanagi tried to catch his breath back, while Inui straightened his glasses. "Was this part of your calculations too, Renji?" Inui murmured near his ear.

Yanagi grinned. "Not at all, Sadaharu. You've exceeded my data this round."

"I see. So you've decided to get me worked up because you want me to go to your place for a sleepover again?" Yanagi didn't need to reply to that. Inui knew the answer anyway. "It worked." Inui said solemnly before kissing him again.

XXX

Yanagi had just left the shower, and was toweling his hair dry even as he walked into the living room, where Inui was playing with their daughter. Again. He threw a glance at the untouched pile of homework on the table and gave a sigh, shaking his head.

"Sadaharu." Yanagi chided sternly. Inui gave a sheepish grin and placed Yuina in her cot before picking up his books, starting work on his maths homework. Yanagi joined him at the table, working on his own set of homework, and for a long while, the two of them did not speak, the only sounds being the pen's scratching on paper.

"By the way, Renji. I've analyzed that drink's components. The one which gave us Yuina." Inui spoke up abruptly, passing a small notebook over to the other data master, who took it and began flipping through it.

"Oh? And how did you do that?" Yangi asked curiously.

Inui's glasses glinted. "I drank it."

The notebook slipped out of Yanagi's hands even as his eyes snapped open. "You what? You can't be serious! Are you…" He lowered his gaze, not being able to continue on that sentence.

"I'm not." Inui replied the unspoken question. He tapped a pen against the table lightly, as he tried to phrase his explanation. "I have been doing a lot of thinking about that drink, since I've thought about something. I might not have been Yuina's father. The one who drank the drink would become one parent. That was unavoidable, but what about the second parent? It could have been anyone. Another thought came to my mind then. Would the drink have worked if there was no second parent? So I deliberately left one ingredient out of the drink."

"Baka Sadaharu! What would you have done if the drink had ended up successful?" Yanagi scolded, even as he tried to recover from that scare.

Inui grinned. "I haven't thought of that, but well, risk-taking is part of the data collecting business anyway. Besides, Yuina wouldn't mind a sibling, I'm sure."

Yanagi gave a groan and massaged his head. "This is no joking matter, Sadaharu. It's difficult being teenage parents to one, and you want to add another one to that? You're really impossible."

Inui reached out and touched Yanagi's hand lightly. "Gomen. I must admit that it was rather reckless of me to do that."

Yanagi gave a sigh. "Honestly." He calmed down and looked up again. "Well? What was that ingredient you left out?"

"My blood, or if I am to be the maternal parent, then it's your blood. I believe you need an item containing DNA in order for this drink to have any effect. It could be blood, hair, nail, or even a skin sample. At least, that is my hypothesis."

Yanagi cocked his head to one side. "I see. So if a bird happened to fly past when you were creating that drink, and happened to drop a feather into it, would Yuina have wings?" He joked.

Inui frowned. "I believe it works only with human DNA. I have yet to come across human-animal hybrids in everything I've read, and I severely doubt my drinks can do that."

Yanagi chuckled, throwing a glance at Yuina's cot. "So if your blood wasn't added into the mix, it would have been just a harmless juice…"

Inui looked slightly guilty. "I'm sorry, Renji. I was careless."

Yanagi shook his head. "If that had happened, we wouldn't have her. I do not regret having Yuina." He reached out, placing his hand on top of Inui's. "If anything, I'm glad it's you, Sadaharu."

To be continued…

Please Read Review. No Flames Please.

-Gwyn86