Woah! Already chapter 10! Time flies by~ ^o^

To FallenSlayer17: Thank you very much for your review, it made my day! I'm glad you like the story, and yeah, perhaps Inui should give the regulars some stalking lessons. XD

Again thanks for alerts and favorites! Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own PoT.

Chapter 10: How to create a misunderstanding

Today was the first afternoon rehearsal. Rin entered the hall where they would be practicing. There was a stage with dark red curtains on each side, making it seem like a theater, only the tiers were missing. Instead there were four square desks and several folding chairs. All the students were already assembled except the tennis club members who had to prepare for the tournament finals. Nohara-sensei hadn't arrived yet, so they started without him. She explained the tasks of each group, and then sent them to work, while she planned to watch the actors' performance. She clapped her hands to gain the attention of the cast.
"Okay everyone! Of course we'll start with the first scene and you're allowed to use your scripts, if you have forgotten your text. Then we'll discuss how to improve your acting skills."

She sat down and watched them walk up the stairs to the stage. A male student of the other group responsible for making the background and getting the necessary stage accessory walked up to her.
"Ummm, Moriyama-san, how do we change the background during the play?"
"Oh, we'll just close the curtains and let the narrator tell something while you change it."

A girl popped up in front of them. "We don't know where to get glass shoes for Cinderella or should we just get normal ones in white?"
Rin had already thought about this question and responded immediately. "Normal shoes should be alright."
"Does the king need a throne? And where can we get a crown?" Another girl asked her.
"A throne would take up too much space, so no. Concerning the crown, there should be one left in the school's storage room from other plays."
"Do we need wigs for the actors?" The next question was shot at Rin.
"Well, that you have to discuss with the students making the costumes."
Now she was surrounded by lots of people asking her about many other things, if something else was needed or where to get it. Bombarded with one question after another, she slowly grew annoyed. Why did they have to ask her about each and every single thing? And where was the teacher who should help her? Right now she should have watched the actors and acted as a director, but she didn't even get the chance to because of the other group.
"Wait! Not everyone at once. Write a list of the things we'll need, I'll look at it and cross the ones out we won't use or we can't get."
The students nodded and the crowd slowly dispersed. Rin sighed in relief and turned her attention back to the actors. They had gone through the first scene and were repeating it. All of them were quite skilled, talked with a loud, clear voice and their acting looked natural. Especially the main role stood out.
"What amazing actors we have here!" A male voice behind Rin exclaimed which startled her. She turned to see a man in his thirties wearing glaring red jeans combined with a white shirt, a black jacket and blue-yellow striped sneakers. On top of his head was a black hat with red polka dots. He was handsome, tall with dark hair and emerald green eyes, and looked like a singer. Rin was stunned by his flashy clothes until he talked to her.
"Ah, you're Moriyama-san, right? You really look cute, interested in older guys?" The students stared at him because of his flirt attempt and it took Rin awhile to answer.
"It depends on the age gap, but Sensei would be a little too old for me." She responded as politely as she could.
"Aww, girls always reject me because of my age. Am I that old?" The teacher whined.
"But I heard you are in a relationship with that interim captain from the tennis club." He whispered barely audible to hear for Rin.
She got flustered and changed the subject. "Sensei, could you help with improving the acting, please?"
Rin also slowly got impatient. They only had less than three weeks for practice, so time was crucial for them.
"Sure, how can I reject the request of such a cute girl?" He winked at her.
"Then I will plan some details with the other group. Thank you very much for helping us."
"It's not a big deal, after all I can work together with these beautiful ladies." Some girls giggled.
Rin focused her attention back to a student holding the list. Work was starting now.

After practice Rin stopped by the student council's office. She knocked and the voice of the president told her to come in.
"Ah, it's you, Moriyama-san." He moved her to take a seat in front of his desk.
"I have written the list and wanted to give it to you." She pulled out a paper and handed it him. He took a look at it, smiled pleased and then tucked it into a file.
"If you could do me another favor..., there is some paperwork that needs to be collected. Could you please get the material lists of each class from the class representatives?"
Again Rin had the urge to decline using the play as an excuse, but as soon as she had those thoughts, he looked at her with his puppy eyes. Sighing, she accepted the work. Damn his adorable eyes.

As she passed the tennis courts on her way home, she heard someone screaming: "I'll never drink this! Get away from me, Inui!"
She recognized it as Eiji's voice and decided to take a look, after all it was her job as manager to keep the players fit and help them.
Upon arriving at the court she saw Eiji running away while Inui followed him. Momoshiro was blocking the court exit, so that Eiji couldn't flee. As a last resort he tried to climb the fence.

"Eiji, get back to the ground! That's dangerous!" Rin shouted.
If he fell, he would be hurt and at least wouldn't be able to play in the Kantou finals. Eiji followed her order and got back down, where a smirking Inui holding a glass with a weird green substance awaited him. Rin turned to Fuji, asking him whatever happened.

"Well, Oishi and Ryūzaki-sensei had something to talk about, so Inui had to watch over practice. He wanted to test out his new juice; anyone who made a mistake had to drink it. I have already tried it, it's really good, I highly recommend it."

"Then why does Eiji not want to drink this?"

Momoshiro pointed to a corner where three unconscious persons were lying: Ryoma, Taka-san and Kaidoh. If the juice was able to knock out people, Rin knew someone she really wanted to use it on. Grinning she left the court while a plan was forming in her mind. "Rin-chan, help me! Don't leave!" But Eiji's pleads didn't reach her because she was already gone.

Rin was at home doing her homework lying on the ground. After this she was going to Oishi's place for her second tutor lesson. Pulling out the next book in her school bag, she noticed that it was the math book. A piece of paper had been tucked in between the pages. It was the math test they'd gotten back today. She still hadn't looked at the score because she was kind of afraid of it. After an inner dispute she decided to just look at it already. Breathing in deeply she took the paper and held it in front of her face.
Her jaw dropped.

Oishi had currently just arrived home, exactly when his mum was leaving for work.
"Then I'm counting on you to look after Yumi. I'm really sorry, I know how important practice is to you guys, but-"
He interrupted her. "I know mum, it's alright. You should leave or you'll be late." His mother gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then left.

"Is mum already gone? I wanted to show her my drawing!" A small girl with the same hair and eye color as him appeared, holding a piece of paper in her hands.

"Show it to her when she gets back, okay Yumi?"

The small girl named Yumi pouted. "Yes."

At that moment the doorbell rang.

"This must be Moriyama-san." Oishi thought.

He went to open the door. Just as he did, Rin suddenly hugged him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed while almost choking him with her hug.

"Please calm down, what happened?" He asked her.

"Guess what! I got a nearly perfect score on my math test! If this goes on I'll still make it this year!"

"Congratulations."

"It's all thanks to your help."

"Is this your girlfriend, onii-chan? You haven't told us about her!" The offended voice of a small girl snapped Rin out of her state of absolute happiness.

"Is this your little sister? She's really cute." She asked a blushing Oishi. The small girl smiled proud of receiving compliments.

"Her name is Yumi, Yumi, this is Moriyama Rin."

Yumi huffed. "I can already introduce myself!" They laughed at her behavior.

"So, just because you are pretty and nice to me, doesn't mean I'll accept you as my brother's girlfriend." At this Rin laughed even harder, having problems with breathing.

"Your sister is the cutest little girl I've ever met." She managed to tell a even redder then before Oishi. "I nearly forgot, I brought some cookies as a thank you gift. I made them myself, hope you like them."

Yumi's eyes went wide as she spotted the big box full of cookies. Her eyes sparkled and she started drooling.
"I totally accept her as your girlfriend, can I have the cookies now?" She asked her brother while jumping impatiently.

"Yumi, she isn't my girlfriend. Just a friend from school."

"Whatever, give me the cookies."

"Didn't you eat chocolate before?"

"Cookies and chocolate aren't the same."

"But you already had sweets today."

"It wasn't enough."

"What about your teeth?"

"I'll brush them after eating and before sleeping, okay? Just give them to me already!"

Oishi sighed in defeat. "Okay, but don't eat too much."
He handed her the box and the small girl disappeared in the house with a loud "YEEAAAHHH, I got cookies!"
He shook his head, then remembered the guest standing beside him who had watched them with an amused smile.
"Please go ahead into my room. It's on the second floor on the left side. I'll prepare some tea." Rin nodded and he left.
She climbed up the stairs and went straight to the room on the left side. Slowly she opened the door, curious about how Oishi's room would look like, and peeked in. It was just as she had imagined it would be. Everything was neatly tidied, the bed in the right corner, the desk beside it, even the shelf. There was one thing she didn't expect to see: an aquarium. In it were beautiful fish of different colors, most of them were smaller than Rin's thumb, but they looked really pretty. Oishi arrived with the tea and put the plate on a small table in the middle of the room.
"I didn't know you like fish." Rin started a conversation.

"Well, it's my hobby. I keep them as pets. So, why were you so happy?" Both of them thought of the hug. "I got a very good score on the test." She smiled.

"Then let's start with today's lesson."

Oishi had been surprised to hear of Rin's improvement in such a short time. It seemed she wasn't that bad at it if there was someone to explain it to her, something which Oishi could do very well, even Tezuka would sometimes ask for his help with more complicated formulas. He watched her concentrated face. It looked kind of cute; she had a small frown, her blue orbs staring down at the paper as if to burn a hole into it, while her fingers played with the pencil. After thinking for awhile she'd write some numbers down and the whole thing would be repeated.

Concentrating, thinking, writing.
Concentrating, thinking, writing.

He got bored and tried to find a topic to talk about. "So, how's it going with the play? Today was the first rehearsal, right?"

"It's a lot of work, but it's fun too."

"There was something I wanted to ask you."
She looked up at him. "I've read the script and I was wondering, why does the prince have to kiss Cinderella in the last scene? It's not like with the story of the sleeping beauty."

"It's a love story, so there should be a kiss. You can just give the girl a kiss on the cheek instead of the lips, but you don't have to."

"That's good." He sounded relieved.

"Why are you only talking about kissing, but not doing it yourself?" An innocent voice asked.

"Yumi! I told you we're not a couple!"

"The both of you look so cute together!"

"I'm not cute!" Oishi had a reddened face again; his sister was staring at them with big eyes.

"What do you want, Yumi?"

"Eiji-niichan has called." She held up a phone.

After practice was over, Eiji had immediately headed home, glad to have survived Inui's juice, though he did have been unconscious for half an hour. But then he became bored. So he decided to call Oishi. He wasn't surprised when his little sister got the phone call.

"Ah, Yumi-chan, is your brother here?"

"Yes, he's in his room with his girlfriend. I think they are talking about kissing right now."

"Girlfriend? Kissing? Who, nya? He hasn't told me anything!"

"You didn't know, Eiji-niichan? Her name is Moriyama Rin and she's really pretty. And good at baking too! She's also nice. And-"

"I want to talk to Oishi immediately."

"Okay~"

After a while he finally heard Oishi's voice.
"Hello? Eiji?"

"What is this about Rin being your girlfriend and kissing, nya?" He could feel how Oishi stiffened over the phone.

"Yumi misunderstood. I tell you about it tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, 'kay. Not like you can let your girlfriend wait-"

"EIJI!" "I know, I know, but it's fun to tease you." He smirked.

"See you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah, bye!"

Now Eiji could think of some more ways to annoy Oishi. "Not bored anymore~" He hummed.

"Thanks for tutoring me again."

"You don't need to thank me, I'm glad I can help you."

"See you tomorrow at school."

The door closed. Behind Oishi sighed. Now he had to clear the misunderstanding caused by his little sister, but that wasn't going to be easy because Eiji will continue teasing him about it. There were already some rumors at school.

Meanwhile Rin reached her home. As she entered the house she found her mother in the kitchen wearing a frilly apron while cooking something.

"Why are you here mum?" She was surprised to see her because she wasn't at work as usually.

"Not a nice greeting, dear. I even took a day off for you. I hope you haven't forgotten the date on Sunday. Tomorrow we're going shopping, you are in need of new cute clothes!" Her mother squealed.
Rin's happy mood vanished completely. The next day was going to be hell.