A/N: Thank you to Lonely Rain for beta-reading.

From last time…

"Echizen-dono," Kirihara said.

"Drop the -dono-thing," Nanjirou said. "Don't need to be so polite with me. Call me Nanjirou."

"Ah, hai. Then Nanjirou-san, can I have a match with you, please?" Kirihara asked, stars in his eyes.

"Hey! I wanted to ask that first!" Marui protested. He turned to Nanjirou. "Nanjirou-san, can I have a match with you too please?"

"Me too!" Niou said.

"Me too!" Ootori, Kikumaru and Momoshiro said.

"Hahahahaha!" Nanjirou laughed. "Then grab your racket and join me in the court!"

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" they cheered. They hurried off to grab their rackets.

"Hahahahahaha! Mada mada dana, senshounen (1)!" Nanjirou laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha…" Kirihara, Marui, Niou and Ootori panted heavily, utterly exhausted. Even if Nanjirou retired many years ago, he sure didn't loose the touch.

All the regulars were exhausted to dead. They lay scattered one the tennis court. Even Tezuka couldn't stand on his feet. He sat, leaned against a wall, as well as Yukimura, Fuji, Sanada and Atobe. They faced Nanjirou in single, then two against one, then three agains one, then four, then six, and so on. But no matter what, they couldn't even mark one ball in Nanjirou court side. It was clear to them that they didn't bring the Samurai to play with all his strenght against them. Nanjirou gave them a handicap: he played with his eyes closed.

"Ha ha ha… Ochibi-chan… ha ha ha…" Kikumaru panted. "Your dad… ha ha ha… is very good… Ha ha ha…"

"As expected… ha ha ha… from… ha ha ha… Samurai… ha ha ha… Nanjirou… Haaaaaaaa…" Kirihara said dropped his head on the ground, releasing a long sigh of exhaustion.

"This is… ha ha ha… the first time… ha ha ha… I lost so badly… ha ha ha… to anyone… ha ha ha…" Niou said.

"Echizen… ha ha ha… do you… ha ha ha… play tennis… ha ha ha… with your dad… ha ha ha… everyday day… ha ha ha…" Marui asked.

"Yeah…" Ryoma answered, sighing.

"No wonder… ha ha ha… you're so good… ha ha ha…" Ootori said.

"And here I thought… ha ha ha… that we could have… ha ha ha… a day break… ha ha ha… from practice… Ha ha ha…" Gakuto said.

"We had… ha ha ha… a more intense practice… ha ha ha… than ever… ha ha ha…" Shishido said, his towel covering his head.

Jirou smiled, nodding. He was fully awaken, very tired but very happy. It was very exciting playing against Samurai Nanjirou.

"Nanjirou-san… ha ha ha… Thank you very much… ha ha ha…" Sanada said.

"We are… ha ha ha… We are very enlighted… ha ha ha… by your play… ha ha ha… today… ha ha ha… Thank you…" Yukimura panted.

"Thank you very much!" all the regulars chorused.

"Hahahahaha! Dou itashimashite!" Nanjirou said, his racket on his shoulder. "But I must admit, you're not bad. I'm very impressed. You have a lot of potential."

They smiled, feeling happy to be praised by Samurai Nanjirou himself. Nanjirou proceed to point out the strong points and the weakness of each of them, telling them what they need to do so they can become stronger. They carefully listened to him and registered in their head Nanjirou's words. Lastly, Nanjirou turned to Yukimura.

"As for you, you're pretty good too," Nanjirou said. Yukimura smiled at the compliment. "For a girl," Nanjirou finished.

"Heh?" Yukimura's smile wiped off. He wasn't sure that he heard what he thinks he heard Nanjirou said.

"Pffffffffffffffffff!" his team mates snickered.

"Not to mention that you're a pretty cute one too," Nanjirou continued between his teeth.

"Heh!" Yukimura didn't hear wrong.

"Hmn hmn hmn hmn!" Suffocated laugh of his team mates.

"I'm glad that bishoujo have a strong and pretty girl like you as her friend," Nanjirou continued.

"But…" Yukimura said.

"Hihihihihihihihihihihi!" Laugh from behind.

"Hey, why don't you come here more often?" Nanjirou said to Yukimura, grinning. "I'm sure that if bishoujo hangs more often around you, maybe she would be able to get rid of her tomboyish behavior and become more feminine, more lady-like, just like you."

"Ah errrr…" Yukimura tried to correct Nanjirou's misunderstanding.

"Hohohohohohoho!"

"Can you teach her how to dress properly like a girl should?" Nanjirou continued, cutting Yukimura from his explanations. "For example, dresses and skirt. Preferably, mini skirt. And… (Tonk! Thwack! Two hits on the head, from a frying pan and a tennis ball.) Outch!" Nanjirou turned around to see his wife and his daughter standing her service position. They were exactly in the same position. Like mother, like daughter people would said.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! What was that for, Rinko, Ryoma?" Nanjirou yelled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Nanjirou, you're hopeless!" Rinko said. "What you are doing is call paedophilia! This young lady is still underage, for Heaven sake! You should be put in prison for that!"

"But I…" Yukimura tried again.

"Hmn hmn hmn hmn hmn hmn!" Laugh from behind again.

"Oyajii, I can't believe that you're also a bisexual!" Ryoma said. "Not only you perv over girls, but also on boys. And worst of all, on Yukimura-senpai too!"

"Hey, I'm not bi! I'm not interested in boys! How can you call this pretty girl a boy! That's very rude from you, bishoujo!" Nanjirou argued with Ryoma.

"But I am…" Yukimura tried again.

"Hahahahahahhahahahahahaha!"

"Yukimura-senpai is a BOY, for Peter's sake!" Ryoma yelled.

"What are talking about?" Nanjirou retorted. "A boy cannot be that pretty! She's a girl!"

"Echizen-chan is right. I'm a…" Yukimura tried again.

"Wuahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"See for yourself!" Ryoma said to Nanjirou. She went to Yukimura and patted his chest.

Pof pof pof!

The shirt revealed a flat chest.

"See! This is a boy's chest!" Ryoma said.

"What? No way!" Nanjirou went to Yukimura and,

Pof pof pof!

'Huh?' Nanjirou blinked.

Pof pof pof!

'It's… It's kind of flat…' Nanjirou frowned.

Pof pof pof!

To have an irrevocable confirmation, Nanjirou lift up Yukimura's shirt.

Flat.

It was flat.

Flat like a boy's chest.

A boy's chest.

A boy…

. . .

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Nanjirou yelled and stepped back, pointing a finger in Yukimura's face. "You're… You're… YOU'RE A BOY!"

"Yes," Yukimura said, smiling dazzingly.

"BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

This time, Kirihara, Marui, Niou, Ootori, Kikimaru and Momoshiro erupted. Ryoga joined with them too. Fuji and Jirou also laughed, but not loud. Yanagi, Yagyuu and Oshitari tried to act like gentlemen and suppressed their laugh, but they miserably failed. Their body were trembling from too much effort and their face were red. Shishido, Gakuto, Kaido and Ooishi looked at Nanjirou with round eyes, like fish out of water. Inui recorded the data on Ryoma's father in his notebook. Sanada and Tezuka were frozen while Atobe was twitching an eye. Atobe don't know if he should laugh of not. Kabaji was Kabaji.

"You're really a boy?" Rinko asked Yukimura.

"Hai, Echizen-san," Yukimura nodded.

"Hmnn…" Rinko thought a moment. "Oh! I remember now. You must the pretty-girl boy Ryoma had talked about!"

"What?" Oshitari said.

"The pretty-girl…" Tezuka repeated.

"…boy…?" Sanada completed.

"Hahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha! WUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" This time, the regulars and Ryoga exploded, clutching their stomach and crying tears.

"No! It's not possible! I cannot have touch a boy! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! This is terrible! Aaaaaaaaaaaah! I must clean my hands! I must clean my hands! I must clean my hands!" Nanjirou repeated over and over, as if he was mad.

He turned to his wife.

"Rinko, only you can heal me. Let me touch you breast! (Pang! Another frying pan on his head.) Outch!"

"You impossible pervert!" Rinko mumbled through her teeth, her right eye twitching.

"Nanako-chan, how about you? Won't you help your uncle and let me-…! (Punch! A punch in his face.) Outch!"

"Kyaaaaaaah! Ojii-san wa ecchi (2)!" Nanako yelled.

Last hope remained. Nanjiro turned to Ryoma.

"Bishoujo, let me-…!"

He immediately stopped. The atmosphere suddenly became very tense, very cold and VERY dark.

Nanjirou gulped and turned around to see a red eyed giant Rinko with a frying pan in her hand, an equally red eyed giant Ryoga with a racket in his left hand and a ball on his right, and an also red eyed hissed Karupin with his claws out. A strange black aura was emitting from their bodies. Behind them, thunder struck.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! / Rawwwwrrrrrrrr!" The mother, the son and the cat growled menacingly.

"Ah… I mean it's a joke, only a jo-…!" Nanjirou tried to calm them, his face blue, heavily sweating cold.

Pang! Pang! Pang! Pang!

Thwack! Thud! Pouch!

Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Nanjirou yelled. He was sent rolling to the wall where he collapsed, head upside down, eyes twirling. "Ara ara ara ara ahhhh…" Nanjirou whimpered.

"Ahou…" Ryoma mumbled, twitching her left eye.

"Damn you, oyajii!" Ryoga yelled, his fist raised. "You are really a sick bastard!"

"How can you even think like that about Ryoma?" Rinko asked, seriously mad, a huge red vein twitching on her head.

"Meoooooooow maw maw maw maw rarwwwwwwwww!" Karupin added.

Next ensued a concert of colorful words from Rinko and Ryoga addressed to Nanjirou. They also hit him, kicked him and did any kind of torture to him at each words they said. Karupin had his part too with his claws, his teeth and and neighs. They completely forgot about the guests in the house.

"This is…" Inui started.

"…Echizen…" Yanagi continued.

"…Nanjirou…" Oshitari said.

"…the invincible…" Kirihara said.

"…Samurai…?" Marui added.

"…It's…" Niou pursuit.

"…hard…" From Ootori.

"…to believe…" Hiyoshi ended.

Shishido, Gakuto, Kikumaru and Momoshiro nodded.

"Ochibi-chan, why didn't you tell us that Samurai Nanjirou was your father?" Kikumaru asked.

"I didn't know that he was that famous. Anyway, it's embarrassing to have an old man like him as father," Ryoma answered, grunting. Yuuta chuckled. He knows what Ryoma means with the entire story she told him from her family.

"But even if he's a pervert, he's totally inoffensive. He only enjoys collecting questionable magazines, but he won't set his eyes on anyone else other than on his wife," Yuuta said.

"Otherwise, kaa-san will make him pay to the last drop of his pervert blood," Ryoma said. She sighed and turned to Yukimura, bowing to him. "I'm sorry, Yukimura-senpai. Even if oyajii has a sick pervert twisted brain, I assured you that he had no bad intentions."

"Huhuhuhu!" Yukimura chuckled. "It's all right. You don't have to worry about that."

"Arigatou, senpai," Ryoma said.

After a moment, the commotion behind stopped.

"Since you are here, why don't you stay and eat with us?" Rinko asked the visitors with a charming smile, as a true hostess should do.

No one would think that this charming, graceful, beautiful and nice lady could have anything to do with the poor beat up, all bloody and scratched out dead body behind her.

The visitors sweat dropped.

'Echizen Nanjirou is invincible on the tennis court, but facing his wife, he has not a chance,' they thought.

"It's very nice from you, Echizen-san, but we don't want to impose ourselves any longer," Yukimura said.

Kirihara, Marui, Niou, Ootori, Kikumaru and Momoshiro, who were beaming at Rinko's invitation, suddenly became sad.

"Oh no! You're not imposing at all. It's a pleasure for me," Rinko said. "You have taken very good care of Ryoma that I want to thank you again. Beside, you must be very hungry after playing tennis so long with that pervert over there," she said, thumbing the corpse behind her.

"Ah, but…"

"There are plenty of food. It will be a waste if you don't eat it."

"Buchou, it's rude to refuse an invitation from a lady!" Kirihara interrupted Yukimura.

"Yeah, you can hurt her feelings like that, you know!" Marui added.

"It's not the way a gentleman should behave," Niou said.

"And it's not right to waste food either," Ootori said. Kikumaru and Momoshiro eagerly nodded.

'They only think about their stomachs,' Tezuka, Sanada and Yagyuu thought.

"I insist," Rinko said.

Yukimura smiled, resigned.

"Then we shall happily accept your invitation," Yukimura said.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Kirihara, Marui, Niou, Ootori, Kikumaru and Momoshiro cheered. Rinko and Nanako chuckled.

The table was set. It was covered with a lot of food. It was a feast, a real feast.

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!"

"Suge (3)!" Niou said.

"Uma sou (4)!" Kikumaru said.

"It smell good too, like always," Ootori said, taking a deep breath. Jirou nodded, agreeing. Nanako chuckled.

"Then let's start now," Nanjirou invited.

"ITADAKIMASU!"

They dug in the food as if they didn't eat anything for days. Kirihara, Marui, Niou, Ootori, Kikumaru and Momoshiro didn't care about their manners. They gulped their food like pigs. They were very hungry, after the matches they had with Nanjirou. Shishido, Gakuto, Hiyoshi and Ooishi looked at them, feeling a little bit embarrassed. Tezuka, Sanada and Yagyuu weren't that happy about their lacks of manners. Jirou, Hiyoshi and Oshitari didn't care about them and just ate. Yanagi and Inui did the same. Yukimura and Fuji thought that they were funny to look at.

'And I thought that they were raised like proper gentlemen,' Ryoma thought as she chew her rice, her eyes closed, trying to ignore them. 'But it's true that I never saw them acting like gentlemen anyway.'

Plick!

One of her shrimp got stolen.

"Hey Kirihara! Get your own shrimps over there and don't touch mine!" Ryoma yelled. She started a battle for the food with Kirihara. Apparently, Ryoga, Marui, Niou and Ootori thought it was a game so they joined in too. They preferred the shrimps in the nearly empty plate in front of Ryoma instead of the shrimps in the other plates. Yukimura, Fuji and Yuuta chuckled while the others laughed at Ryoma's dismay.

"Yuuta-kun," Rinko said as she put a hand on Yuuta's shoulder.

"Ah, Echizen-san."

"Here, this is for you," Rinko said, putting a bowl of soup in front of Yuuta. "It's a special recipe in my family. I also add some medicinal herbs. You're just out of the hospital and you're still recovering. It will help you to heal faster. It's very good to rebuilt the ligaments and the muscles of your shoulder."

"Ah! Arigatou Echizen-san," Yuuta said. Rinko smiled at him and left. Yuuta started to drink the soup.

Fuji didn't miss the whole scene. He was impressed and touched by what Ryoma's mother did for Yuuta. Yuuta was not of the Echizen family, yet Ryoma's mother thought about him and prepared something special for him to recover faster. After the games they played against Nanjirou, Fuji saw the monk took Yuuta away. Fuji followed them to see Nanjirou teaching Yuuta some movements to help him putting least burden on his shoulder while playing. He also recommended a series of exercises to help his shoulder.

Fuji looked at Ryoma, who was now fighting for the fried fish against Ryoga, Kirihara, Marui, Niou and Ootori. From what Yuuta told him, it was Ryoma who was the first person who told him to stop using the Twist Spin Shot. Yuuta didn't listen to her at first because of his stubbornness. But when he was in the hospital, Ryoma didn't make him feel bad because he didn't listen to her advices. On the contrary, she even asked her father of a way to help him. Nanjirou told Ryoma to bring Yuuta home once he was released from the hospital and he will personally take care of Yuuta.

'She was the one who told me to tell you, by myself, when I will be released from the hospital,' Yuuta once told him.

Fuji now opened his eyes, still set on Ryoma.

'So it was her who provoked the change in Yuuta,' Fuji thought.

He remembered the time when he apologized to her for bumping into her. She took her responsibility and admit herself that she was also at fault, that she didn't pay attention while walking.

'She is a very nice girl.'

It was her who helped him, without knowing what she did it, to restore his sibling relationship with Yuuta.

Unaware of what he he was doing, Fuji smiled, a soft and tender expression on his eyes.

'Ryoma, you did something wonderful for me. I owe you a big favour,' Fuji thought.

(1) senshounen: young boy;

(2) ojii wa ecchi: "Uncle is a pervert". The "wa" is written "ha".

(3) suge: from "sugoi", equivalent to wonderful, incredible;

(4) uma sou: from "umai", which means tasty. "Uma sou!" is similar to "It looks so yummy!".