Hyoutei's First Date
By: NarutoandBleach
When Ryoma gets word that the Hyoutei Captain has become obsessed with him, everyone knows that something is up and Ryoma is keeping secrets from his friends. Are they really dating each other or is this simply a plan to bring two rivals together as one?
Disclaimer: The original manga, Tennis no Oujidama, is the work of Konomi Takeshi. Characters and settings have been adapted without authorization or approval, and I am making no profit from their use.
[A Date with Fudomine]
"Seriously? You mean I have to date this weirdo that likes to talk a lot, spew out jokes that are not funny, and likes to try and jump into action without thinkingh?" asked a shocked echizen.
"Yes, I am your date, so what's wrong with the unfunny jokes? Am I really that boring to you?" glared Shinji as he approached echizen with a deadly aura.
Ryoma was starting to get nervous when Shinji was all over him. Everyone else sweat-dropped while Kippei sighed in response.
"Ryoma, I told you not to get on my teammate's bad side. Now look what you have done, your little insult only made Shinji jealous of you even more. Besides, I am sure Kamio feels the same way when Ann is dating Momoshiro."
"Captain, what are you insinuating? And just whose side are you on anyway?" protested Kamio.
"Guys, save the incriminations for later. Right now, Shinji and I are going to practice tennis for a bit before I start dating him since Atobe wants me to buy a couple of things for him. Frankly, I can't even believe why I am running monkey king's errands." Groaned Ryoma as he grabbed his rival's hand and headed off into the courts. As the game progressed, Shinji has his opponent backed into the corner since he is playing a lot differently than before thanks to the latter's training. Furthermore, Shinji isn't playing like an amateur since he is starting to get stronger now, leaving no chance for the young rookie to fight back. Ryoma was surprised to see that his opponent was trained well and decided try and give it everything he has. Unfortunately, he was already at his limit and there was no point for this game to go any further.
"You have come a long way since we first played together, Ibu-sempai. However, the training that I have endured is a lot different because we both pushed ourselves to be the best out there. But it seems that the training methods we used are a lot more advanced now. Therefore, don't let your guard down when the World Cup begins later on." Warned Ryoma.
"I won't hold anything back in the world cup, but shouldn't we get some shopping done?" continued Inu.
"Ah yes, that. Yes, furthermore, our match will be put off for another day. Anyway, what do you need?" asked Ryoma.
Ibu showed Ryoma the shopping list from his phone and the amount of money that needs to be spent and to his surprise, Ryoma seems to have a little less than that. But he wasn't worried though since he got some money from his father during the Chinese New Year as an incentive and lucky for him, he reached into his pocket and found the red packet containing the money before putting it in his wallet while Shinji watched.
"What? My family isn't that rich so this is only chunk change." Said Ryoma.
"You call that chunk change? More like you family seems to be generous enough to give that to you." Added Inu as he pointed at the wallet.
"Yeah well your family will give you cash when you need it right? Anyway, you wanted a pencil case, a game cartridge, some snacks, and a manga book? You are just like me and don't want to do anything but sit and rest all day. Since when are you into video games?" asked Ryoma.
"My life has been focused too much on tennis and my brain hurts just thinking about it. However, I decided to give the sport a break to rest my brain before it melts. That's why I decided to come and go shopping to clear my head of those unpleasant images. All of sudden, you show up out of the blue and decided to date me thanks to your boyfriend. Tell me, are our lives intertwined with one another?" continued Ibu.
"I believe so. It seems that we have different ways of thinking about things and I have ways to lead my own team to victory. And it just so happens that I have found my pencil box and snacks at the superstore and the video game I need in the electronics area. I guess 240 yen has been reasonably spent here so all I need are a couple of manga books and we should be all set. Now, all I need is just another 80 yen from you and we can call it even." Said Ibu as he took the cash from Ryoma's wallet and went inside the bookstore before texting him, "thank you for the generous donations."
Ryoma wasn't sure what to say after seeing his money being taken away by Ibu since this guy doesn't seem to understand anything about "saving cash" for the bare necessities. Elsewhere, Eiji, momo, Kirihara, and yuushi watched from behind the store alley area and were confused since they had never seen Ibu spent that much cash before. "Okay, what just happened back there? Aren't those two supposed to be out on a date? What are they doing in a store like that?" asked Kirihara.
"It seems that Ibu is asking Ryoma to get some shopping done for him since you do remember how Shishido and Keigo asked for that brat to bring something back for them? Well this time, Ibu wants that kid to show some appreciation for him as well since all the schools wants Ryoma to do something special. In other words, he wants thought and consideration from that kid," added Yuushi.
"For real? Our O'chibi doesn't carry that much cash on him! Where did he get the money from anyway?" asked Eiji. "When I buy things, I sometimes ask my doubles partner to help me out, but Ibu is obsessed with cash and that isn't like him at all."
"Look at his wallet, you can see that he has extra cash on him thanks to his father because during Chinese New Year, Nanjiroh gave him the cash for safe keeping and he even lets him spend some of it on the things he needs." Said Oishi.
"Geez! That kid really seems to care a lot about us instead of himself. I think that Atobe must have taught him a lesson on caring for others and I must admit, he really has showed off his brotherly role to everyone thanks to his caring side. Does he always do everyone these sorts of favors? Because it looks to me like he knows deep down that we have done a lot for him and thus, he is returning the debt of gratitude. I am so glad that he has been taught well by his peers." Smiled Kirihara.
"That's our ochibi for ya, he always likes to be more aware of people around him because he seems to be gaining more friends among us. To me, it's showing a sign that we have taught echizen the meaning of caring even though he does not want to admit it because he does get embarrassed at times." Smiled Eiji
"The only reason why Ryoma gets embarrassed is because you hug him too much and he doesn't like that. So it would be best to limit the hugs since we need that kid to be more comfortable around people without letting him get distracted by anything else. Furthermore, a simple wave and a "hello, how good to see you" will be enough." Added Yuushi.
"He may be stubborn, but he is definitely our adorable baby prince." Added Kenya.
"Yeah, for sure. I did bully him once, but he didn't feel any reaction at all and brushed it off like it was nothing. I am not sure where he is getting the courage and strength to stand up for himself, but I am starting to warm up to him." Chided tanishi while munching on his snacks while Kite and his teammates looked on in disgust.
"But I think hugs are a lot better and we always give them away for free you know? I can understand that Ryoma doesn't want hugs for now, but he will need them in the near future." Continued Eiji.
"Sure, but you always seem to be hugging your doubles partner a lot more than you have for Ryoma now. I think I should do the same for that kid later on." Added Gakuto.
As the date resumed, Ryoma and Shinji looked at each other with lightning bolts striking at the same time since the kid didn't realize that some of his allowance money was gone. Eventually he knows that Shinji spent it, but decided to overlook it this time since they are still on a date together and if there is a fight going on, their time together will be ruined. As of now, both pretending lovers must compromise together and will agree to split their spending equally so that they can both share at the same time. Although Ryoma hated that idea, he had no other choice because he did not want to hurt Ibu's feelings while endeavoring to respect his wishes. As the two finished shopping, they headed over to the ice cream parlor where Kamio, Momo, and An were waiting for them. Once arriving, Ryoma waved after Momo and An while Akira and Ibu checked off the shopping list since he was quite surprised to see the weirdo dating Ryoma.
"Ibu-sempai, pardon me for asking, but why are you dating that brat? I thought I mentioned this to you before; Atobe is that kid's lover and all of a sudden, you took him shopping? What's the deal?"
"If you really must know, Atobe wanted me to spend a little time with him and I had asked him what he wanted to buy and so, he showed me his list and I showed him mine. Furthermore, we made a compromise and split the payments without any confrontation." Said Shinji
"For real? You guys succeeded without any confrontation, but whenever momoshiro is around Ann, I don't trust him since he can easily take my girlfriend right under my nose. What does that freak-of-nature see in her?" said Kamio
"I heard that, Kamio! For the thousandth time, I like Ann because she is there to comfort me when I am stressed out or when I am just not in a mood to practice tennis. She can easily cheer me up in a heartbeat." Smiled Momo.
"Well, I don't have the same personalities that you do! Sometimes you are too care-free around girls and I think you are getting too obsessed with them. You have to take it easy on An because she does get too sensitive to the whole date thing and I don't want her to date for any wrong reasons. As for Atobe, I don't know why he is turning Ryoma into his bachelor for hire but I can tell you that if he is coming after an, I need to keep an eye on him as well since I cannot let you guys get into trouble with my captain since he is very protective of his sister." Continued Kamio
"I don't think that's the issue here. Do you remember how Atobe tried to make Ann fall for him before? We managed to step in and save her just in time. This time, Atobe has become less interested in An and took his fetishes on Ryoma instead because he feels that our ochibi will make these dates more interesting. Personally, I don't blame keigo for his way of finding love, but I think he officially broke up with that girl from his school for a good reason before taking Ryoma into his life." Added Momo.
"Really? So Atobe feels that I am not his type? That is understandable, but why does he like Ryoma so much? I mean, that girl from Hyoutei tried to get back together with him but he is totally not into her because she was just too annoying for him to deal with. IN other words, I am assuming Ryoma echizen is more important to him than any other girl in his school?" stated An. "If so, then I have to thank Atobe personally for turning that cute kid into a bachelor. Anyway, Ryoma care to join me, Kamio, and Momo for a double date?"
"A double date? Well, I guess I can kill some time since my work with Shinji is complete. I got nothing else to do anyway." Shrugged Ryoma as he sat down at a table next to the ice cream shop.
"Echizen Ryoma, I thank you for your business dealings that you have done with me and I enjoyed hanging out with you. But now, I need to get back into tennis practice with some of my fellow doubles players at Fudomine. Catch you later, brat!" waved Ibu as he ran off into the distance after eating ice cream.
"Sure thing, I will see you soon as well." Waved Ryoma as he turned his attention towards An Tachibana and Akira Kamio. "Now then guys, what brings you here today?"
"Why, we're on a date of course! And besides, Keigo has asked Kamio here to date Ryoma as well." smiled An.
"Ann! Did you have to reveal our plans to that kid? You're embarrassing me in front of that popular ladies' man sitting across from us!" protested Kamio as he sat down next to Ryoma who was sipping on ponta while studying the menu in front of him.
"That's no biggie at all, Besides, dating Kamio was my plan all along because I haven't had time to practice my tennis moves with the speed demon yet. Furthermore, a movie is also ideal too so I got time to do both things together. Anyway, An, what movie did you wanted to see?" asked Ryoma.
"Well, it's a romance movie for all of us. It's not a double-date, it's a three-in-one date now. Yes, that means you must see the movie with me because I love having to cuddle three cute boys right in front of me. I think you guys might enjoy the movie called "Romance in Paris" because the characters are doing the same thing we're doing: dating people at random."
"An, since when did you make this a three-in-one date? I thought this was supposed to be between me and Momo. But why did you add Echizen into our group?" asked kamio.
"Well, since Atobe has asked Kippei to let Ryoma come with us, he wants that kid to fulfill my desire to see the movie with me before taking me to the restaurant of my choice. Therefore, we have to comply with his decision." Finished An
"Since when did that pompous jerk started flirting with you? He is messing with our heads!" shouted Kamio as a tick appeared above his head. "Atobe, when I am done with you, there will be hell to pay!" Ryoma could see that Kamio was getting fired up and decided not to interfere while slurping down his ice cream while momo was busy holding onto An's shoulder posing for a picture together. This made Kamio vein pop even more as he tried to take An away from that good-for-nothing jerk.
"Hands off my girl, jerk! What makes you think you can just pose a photo with my girl without permission?" asked a ticked off Kamio.
"Hey! She is our girl and we have to share her, remember? She asked me to tag along because I got out early from practice. I am sure Ryoma would agree with me that he was asked to come as well, right kid?" smiled Momo as he ruffled the young prodigy's hair while he sighed.
"Momo, seriously, you are starting to act like Eiji all of a sudden. Control yourself!" said Ryoma.
"Sorry about that, Ryoma-kun! You know I cannot resist on a good movie like this!" smiled Momo.
"Sometimes, I really wish that Atobe would come up with a better plan than this! I mean why did he have to choose me to date Ann? I mean we are not sibling related. Furthermore, even I am at a loss as to why I have to be picked as the bachelor for Ann Tachibana?" he thought to himself as the three of them finished their ice cream before tossing it in the trash can. Furthermore, Ryoma could see that Kamio still had ice-cream stains on his mouth and decided to wipe it clean with a napkin for him.
"Ryoma, you know I can easily clean up after myself, right? Thank you for your help, but I can take care of this." Said Kamio as he took the napkin from Ryoma's hand and wiped his face and mouth clean of the ice cream drops before heading over to the water fountain to wash it off. Afterwards, the four of them headed inside the movie theater and bought their tickets for the "Romance in Paris" movie. Once the gang got settled inside the theater, they watched a couple of previews and chatted a little bit since the beginning portion were mostly just commercials and upcoming shows on television. Afterwards, the previews showed mostly action movies and drama related previews for the next few months.
"This is pretty good stuff, but too bad some of the viewers below us are not too interested in drama related movies." Said Momo.
"That's true, I am more of an action movie and sci-fi stuff because superhero movies tells me to be aware of dangerous situations around me. And it will be up to me to protect those that matter to me the most." Added Kamio.
"Same here guys. I don't watch drama related things because it just stirs up pain and torture. So I decided to stay with comedy and action related shows now despite the fact that my family is forcing me to watch their crappy shows every single weekend, leaving me no chance to catch up on my sleep since practicing for several hours in a tennis court really wears me out." Finished Ryoma.
As the movie began, Ann had her eyes glued to the screen the entire time while listening to the introduction narrated by the main character as he searches for the person that he loves the most while trying to find his way home since Ryoma and Momo are starting to have heart shapes in their eyes while hugging Kamio tightly.
"Guys? What's your deal? Get off of me!" protested Kamio as he struggles to set himself free, but it was no use since Ryoma couldn't seem to let go of his lover. Momo feels that it was time for him to hold onto Ann's hand while embracing her tightly. At that moment, Ann blushed a bit and decided to lift the seat handle before resting on momo's chest. At that moment, Kamio vein popped and tried to lift Ann gently up, but she refuses to move as the movie goes on to the scene where the girl starts to develop feelings for the man as he followed the girl to her house. Once there, the woman introduces her lover to her family and they seem to be pretty excited about the man. However, they wanted to know more about him and his job, his life and occupation.
"Looks like that guy is falling for her in an instant." Said Ryoma.
"Agreed, this is one of our favorite scenes. I do believe he should marry that woman if they have feelings for each other. Furthermore, they do make a cute couple." Added Momo.
"Same can be said between you and Atobe because I can see why he took quite a shine on you." Finished Kamio.
"Really? So you really do feel that Atobe has feelings for me?" said Ryoma.
"But of course, I've seen how well you bonded together and I can see why Momo has bonded so well with Ann, maybe I can learn a thing or two from him because my captain wants me to try and take her to places that she enjoys the most." Continued Kamio.
"I thought you didn't like Momo flirting with Ann," retorted Ryoma.
"I changed my mind, I am perfectly fine with people flirting with ann anyway just as long as they don't hurt her." Finished Kamio.
~/~
By the time the movie was over, Ryoma and the others exited the theater and headed over to a fancy restaurant. As the guys took a seat, they noticed a group of people sitting behind them. Surprisingly, it was the guys from Josei Shonan who showed up sooner than expected since the twins were fascinated by Ryoma and Kamio's little date with Momo and Ann together. Furthermore, Hiroshi Wakato started taking photographs of the cute couple together, making them blush in embarrassment.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Kamio.
"Hanamura sensei wanted us to tag along and see if you guys were really dating each other. And to our surprise, you both really hit it off. I am surprised that our coach made an accurate prediction of you guys dating." Said one of the twins.
"Actually, I am called the bachelor by Atobe keigo since he still thinks I am his little prince of love. Furthermore, he asked me to date Kamio since this is my chance to get to know him better.
"But dating is hanging out altogether, you know that?" stated Kajimoto.
"True, but since me and Kamio are having a thing with each other, it just brings us closer together." Said Ryoma
"Ryoma, you know that I don't have any love feelings for you!" protested Kamio.
"Come on, this is just pretend dating. Furthermore, we don't want Ann to be embarrassed at what we are doing because she still has feelings for Momo over there." Finished Ruoma.
"But you are making this date real! How can this be pretend when you started the bachelor role? After all, our coach has made a proposition for you to date us next after you wrap up with Fudomine. Furthermore, Atobe has made it clear that he needs you in the spotlight because you are famous for dating boys at other schools. Therefore, it will be in our best interest that you date us next." Continued Kohei.
"Are you sure? I have to ask Keigo about that since he makes most of the decisions about whom I should date next since he loves having me around at his place. In other words, I always get chased by girls since they want me to date them as well because love doesn't come cheap, you know? Besides, I've dated plenty of boys in my time because Kevin wanted to see how many girls would be able to come to me without letting them fall for other men in their lives." Commented Ryoma
"Wow, you lucky son of a bitch! How did everyone start falling for you all of a sudden? Do you get paid for dating anyone that you come across?" stated Youhei.
"I don't get paid for the dates, but I do get a lot of signed autographs in return since keigo wants all the schools to sign autographs for me and I have to message them back as a token of my hard work. Furthermore, a lot of people are counting on me to continue this bachelor mission but I do have a hunch that Atobe's former girlfriend is trying to break us up since she wants that beautiful diva for herself. Furthermore, I hear that she is doing everything in her power to try and stop me from continuing my pursuit of boys in schools. However, I am not going to let that bother me since Atobe does not want her in his life." Finished Ryoma.
"That's cool, and I am glad to see that you have the guts to continue dating even when that girl is trying to ruin the moment between you guys. Whatever happens out there, good luck. Besides though, that girl from Hyoutei is pretty cute, I would love to date her soon and thanks to some assistance from Sengoku next to me, we are considered to be lucky. Maybe we can ask Atobe to take that girl off his hands since he has other things to attend to, what you think?" asked Hiroshi.
As everyone settled down for dinner, Ryoma took a sip of his drink and continued, "Sure that would be good. I am sure Atobe wouldn't mind having you guys taking that girl off Monkey King's mind for the next few days since he is going to want me to date Kippei Tachibana the next day. I am sure he has something bigger in store for me since he already knows my plan and the dates that I went on so far." Finished Ryoma.
"Wonderful! Thank you so much for doing us this favor! I promise you won't be disappointed." Smiled Hiroshi as he shook ryoma's hand before texting Atobe and ask him to date his former girlfriend. Once he agreed, Ryoma and the others wrapped up their day in the restaurant and paid their tabs before Kamio and Ann thanked Ryoma and Momo for a great time. By the time they left, Momo asked Ryoma, "Do you need a ride back home?"
"Sure, I mean I've had a long day. Besides, I am sure Kippei would want me to make his date as smooth as possible for tomorrow so that I won't have to worry about anything else.
"Okay then, let's go." Smiled Momo as the two of them boarded a train headed back to their home. Once arriving, Ryoma and Momo splitted up and headed towards their respective houses. Elsewhere in the control room, Renji and Inui were pretty impressed at how well Ryoma handled the situation in the restaurant earlier. Furthermore, even Yuushi couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment. "I don't get it, how did Ryoma know that Atobe had a girlfriend before?"
"This was something that atobe never told us since he first started having feelings for that brat. It's pretty amazing knowing that our captain is keeping tabs on that kid every single time they dated. Furthermore, Hiroshi and Sengoku are really interested in Atobe's previous girlfriend since she always pesters him so much." Added Gakuto.
"I see, so it's the same girl that is trying to get Atobe to take the bento that she made for him during the national tournament right? I already told her that Atobe was not in the mood for her food and I hope she will understand that he has his lunch prepared by the butlers at his house. Furthermore, her interference will only drive a wedge between Atobe and that brat." Said Hiyoshi.
"Yup, but none of us have anything against her since she is only trying to look out for Atobe's best interest." Stated Shishido.
"Unfortunately, Atobe is refusing the bento that she made for him since he has the butlers to help make it for him before he heads out the door in the morning. I think she is burdening lot of responsibility on him and needs a break from that. So I do agree that the guys from Josei Shonan will be able to take her out for a special date that she needs for tomorrow." Continued Choutaro.
"My school doesn't have a lot of girls that act like this. Furthermore, my little sister knows what the guys want and she will always have the assistance of Tomoka and Sakuno to assist her when necessary. Besides, she asked them to bring water bottles for our school and would recommend them to volunteer at Fudomine to help serve food and drinks for my teammates later on." Said Kippei.
"really, since when you are this caring about the people of Seigaku?" asked Kirihara.
"ever since I heard Ryoma and Atobe started dating each other. This tells me that I have developed a strong friendship with him because I care so deeply about that kid. He never ceases to amaze me when he and Shinji reached a compromise in that store earlier. I guess that kid really knows what he is doing after all. Tomorrow, I am hoping to meet him in person since he did well with dating my sister." Said Kippei
Oi! Ochibi dated Ann Tachibana? Wow no wonder Sakuno didn;'t find him so interesting!" whined Kikumaru.
"Ryoma has his ways of choosing a girl that is right for him. Furthermore, I have seen how Sakuno always dates Ann on a daily basis and she seems to be beating him to the punch, saa!" smiled Fuji.
"So Sakuno and Ann eh? Those two don't fit together; it's like watching two old birds going senile while drinking tea! Cough!" said Davide.
Everyone in the room sweat-dropped at that unfunny joke as bane immediately knocked his teammate to the ground with his foot. "Your jokes are so lame, it's not even funny anymore!" shouted a ticked off Bane.
In the corner, Kintaro and yuji were laughing like crazy while Shiraishi tried his best not to laugh at Davide's failures. Just then, Echizen arrived in the control room while setting down his tennis equipment before taking a seat next to Shiraishi.
"Oi, Echizen, did you know that Ann has personally invited Sakuno to her school for the summer?" stated Taka.
Echizen immediately stood up at that remark and turned to his teammate, "Excuse me?"
"Sakuno is going to Fudomine you know that?" added inui.
"Well, great for her! I hope she enjoys her time volunteering at that place. Just seeing her and Tomoka interrupting my tennis practice is already annoying enough." Said Ryoma while lowering his cap.
Everyone was shocked at his remark. "Echizen! That's rude. Just because Sakuno dumped you for another girl doesn't give you right to kick her to the curb! Besides, how do you feel about Sakuno working for another school?" asked Kikumaru.
"I don't care either way. With sakuno at Fudomine, I can finally practice tennis peace and I won't have worry about hearing their annoying cheers every single day." Finished ryoma.
"Nya, brat! you don't know a thing about girls!" whined Gakuto.
"Maybe he was acting a little bit girlish because he played the role of Juliet at Hyoutei Academy a few years ago." Jeered Kenya.
Ryoma immediately blushed in a flash of red and shouted, "Shut up! It's not what you think!"
"I saw you kissing Sakuno a few weeks ago, so are you lying to us?" added Eishiro.
"Yeah! You are pretty bad at making up lies, dude. Tell us the truth or we will never forgive you!" boasted Tanishi.
"I definitely saw them kissing in the practice field." Elaborated Renji as he grabbed Inui's notebook and said, "What is her relationship to you?"
Ryoma tried to escape the wrath of his friends, but Kippei immediately nodded towards Kirihara and Kintaro to block the door, preventing him from escaping. At this point, Kippei could finally have his personal one-on-one date with the brat from Seigaku without letting anyone else interfere.
"Me and Sakuno are just friends, not brother and sister!" I swear that's all I know!" begged Ryoma.
"Really? I can see that she is always giving you food to suit your tastes. Did you ever think about thanking her instead of criticizing her cooking?" asked Shishido.
"I guess I never did. Maybe I wasn't warmed up with her foods yet, but I will still give it a chance." Said Ryoma as he retired into the bedroom down the hall with kippei following close behind him.
"I hope so! Because you really have to try out some of Ryuzaki's hand-made foods They are really good!" smiled Momo.
Ryoma didn't say a word except giving a thumbs up towards his friends before heading to the room down the hall.
"So Ryoma, are you ready for our personal date tomorrow?" asked Kippei.
"Sure, but where are we going?"
"you will see soon enough." Replied Kippei as they both entered the room and fell asleep on the bed after brushing their teeth and changing into their pajamas.
