Hyotei's First Date
By NarutoandBleach
Teacher: Who has all the rights to Prince of Tennis?
Students: Konomi –Sensei of ocurse! The Person writing this will not own the series whatsoever!
Chapter 43: True Love Conquers All (Part 1)
As Atobe cursed under his breath after stepping out of the bus, he took out the phone that showed him the directions towards Ryoma Echizen's house. He was certain that Tezuka wanted to make the diva's live miserable by giving him confusing instructions on what bus goes to the boy's house instead of an address. Unfortunately for Atobe, Tezuka was the only one in Atobe's acquaintances that knew where the Echizen brat lived.
With the thoughts of Tezuka's mind out of his head, he could see the annoyance peasant walking on the sidewalk and disappearing around the corner and decided to walk after him since he would lose sight of the boy.
"Echizen, wait up!" said Atobe as he was only a few feet away from the boy.
Echizen immediately turned around with his cat held tightly in his arms. His eyes widened when he recognized the person that spoke his name. He then shook his head and kicked Atobe in the kneecap.
"OWW! What the fuck echizen? Why the hell did you kick me!?" yelled Atobe.
"Just making sure that I am not dreaming." Muttered Ryoma.
"Yeah well slap your face instead of kicking me!" protested Atobe.
Ryoma paused for a moment and handed his cat to Atobe who kept it at an arm's length. He stared at the boy's passive face and heard a smack sound. "You didn't just slap yourself, did you?" asked Atobe
"Yeah, and it hurts a lot."
"The hell it does!" yelled Atobe as he shoved the cat back to its owner. "Please offer me some refreshments! I hoped you can appreciate the trouble that I went through to find you!"
"Yes of course." Said Ryoma as he raised his hand to slap himself again. But Atobe grabbed his wrist and said, "You slap yourself one more time, I will personally knock you out myself."
"Right." Said Ryoma. He couldn't care less about being knocked out because Karupin might get lost again. Ryoma was not sure if he could trust his boyfriend to take care of his cat. "I am glad you are here."
"Yeah well, I am on the sidewalk. Please let us go inside. You do live around here, don't you?" continued Atobe.
"Yep, that's our house." Said Ryoma as he pointed a finger at his back and Atobe's eyes went to the direction that the boy was pointing at. The house was nice for a family since it was not too big or small with a fence and a bell surrounding it. "So why are you here?" asked Ryoma.
"Because we had an appointment and you didn't show up when I called you." Answered Atobe.
"I didn't know where you lived."
"Yeah, but you could have called."
"I wanted to, but I didn't have your number. Besides, I would have called up Oshitari and asked him about it. So you really wanted to show me your house?" said Ryoma as he went to his gate and opened it while talking to Atobe.
"That's not the point. Whether if my associate wanted to give you the number or not is irrelevant. You said you wanted to come and yet you have forgotten. A simple phone call would have sufficed."
"Like I said, I don't have your number." Said Ryoma as he placed his cat down once they were on the porch.
"Then I will give you my number so that you can keep it in your memory." Said Atobe as he followed the cat inside and Ryoma followed behind him before closing the door.
"What? Seriously? You are giving me your number?" asked Ryoma.
"Yes, of course." Said Atobe.
"Thanks, so what do you like to drink?"
"Tea would be fine, thank you."
"Oh, right I forgot that we had that." Ryoma headed towards the kitchen and Atobe followed him, wondering if the kid really hit his head at some point for acting strangely. He then heard a beep underneath his foot and realized that he had stepped on Echizen's phone. He then picked it up, programmed his number on the phone before closing it.
"Do you prefer jasmine tea or lemon tea?" asked the boy.
"I prefer water." Said Atobe.
"We've got milk." Suggested Ryoma.
"Water will be fine." Insisted Atobe. Ryoma looked around the kitchen and noticed the pile of unwashed dishes in the sink and a stack of tennis magazines on the table and decided to clear them out.
"Where is your father by the way?" asked Atobe.
"He is probably on vacation with my mom." Answered Ryoma. "She got time off work and since dad was not doing anything, they decided to go on a second honeymoon."
"And they left you all by yourself?" asked Atobe in disbelief.
"I'm old enough to look after myself." Snapped Ryoma as he placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. Atobe just smiled at him amusedly.
"I didn't claim otherwise." Answered Atobe. "My parents barely have the time to go on trips now because my father has his hands full with the family business. Furthermore, if my mom is not busy with her own things, she just loves to interfere with my life. And whenever they are not home, I am never alone because there will always be someone around the house, even if it is only one of the servants."
"Really? I thought your parents were divorced." Frowned Ryoma
"They're not. What gave you that idea?" asked Atobe.
"I do remember you threatening your mom that you would move in with your father. I am just thinking that if they didn't live together…" shrugged Ryoma as he filled a glass with water and handed it to Atobe.
"Oh, that!" said Atobe as he lifted the glass and stared at it against the light before he drank from it while Echizen finished the last of the dishes. "No, my dad was to remain in England for some work. But he will be back by the end of the year."
"He just decided to stay in one country for a year?" asked Ryoma
"Yes." Said Atobe.
"And you are okay with that?" Ryoma was puzzled by that.
"I don't remember anyone asking for my opinion." Shrugged Atobe. "Anyway, I will pick you up from school tomorrow. Don't you dare forget this time." Said Atobe.
"Why?"
"To show you the house of course. Or have you forgotten the promise you made to my mom?"
Ryoma didn't make any sort of promise but shrugged it off anyway. "Okay then, see you tomorrow after school."
"Yes of course, don't be late." Confirmed Atobe as they stared at each other. "I should get going then." Said Atobe as he placed the glass on the table.
"Take care of yourself, bye." Said Ryoma as he walked his boyfriend out of the house before waving at him.
Atobe waved back at him into the distance since Ryoma didn't know why the diva was still here. "You are still a brat!" he barked. Ryoma could only sigh in relief as he picked up the glass and poured water all over himself.
The next afternoon, Echizen's phone starting beeping off like crazy. This somehow attracted the attention of Hideki and Yoichi.
"Do you want to see something cool, Yoichi?' asked Hideki.
"Sure, what is it?" asked Yoichi as he grinned. They were thinking that Hideki has bought a new phone or had a playboy with him since he likes to visit Hideki's house because his father had a lot of playboys.
"Follow me" said Hideki as he headed towards the club's vice captain. He then grabbed a hold of friend's arm and hissed, "Are you sure we should be heading over to Echizen-sempai? He sure is scary."
"Trust me," said Hideki as he flashed a grin at his friend before turning his attention towards the boy. "Echizen-sempai."
"Yes, Hideki, what is it?" scowled Ryoma at the two.
"Was that your phone that went off?" asked Hideki.
"Phones are not to be used during practice, you know that, Hideki-kun." Scowled Ryoma dangerously.
"I thought I heard a beep, didn't you, Yoichi-kun?"
"Well, not really. Please pick up some balls before I give you laps." Frowned Ryoma as the three freshman left.
"What on earth was that about?" hissed Yoichi
"Just watch." Grinned Hidenki as he pointed towards the vice-captain. As Ryoma glanced around, he made sure no one was looking and took out his phone from the pocket and opened it up quickly to respond to a few messages before putting it back in his pocket.
"That was it?!" yelled a furious yoichi. "I only risked a few laps just so you could tell me that Ryoma has a phone at practice time?!"
"You haven't seen everything yet." Grinned Hideki as he looked sideways at Ryoma.
After a while, Ryoma took his phone out again and opened it before staring at it and grinned again. This made Yoichi's jaw fall off since Echizen-sempai never grinned! He glared, frowned and smirked wickedly. "I told you it would be cool." Grinned Hideki
"He is very disturbing," answered Yoichi.
Once school was over, Atobe waited at the gates of Seigaku with his bags on the ground next to him. He didn't pay any attention to the kids that passed him since he was too busy with other things. When Echizen finally arrived, Atobe was frowning because the look on the boy's face was still the same as yesterday. He was not willing to witness another ridiculous attempt on echizen's part to convince himself that this was no dream. He then leaned forward and slapped echizen on the side of his head.
"Ouch! What the hell was that for? Asked Echizen as he rubbed his head.
"I was doing you a favor." Answered Atobe as he picked up his bags.
"A favor? Care to explain that?"
Aa-Ahn, I just saved you the trouble of smacking yourself on the head. Now then, let's go." Said atobe as he started walking away with Echizen following him close behind.
"Are we really walking towards your house?"
"Nope, my mom is having her friends over and I cannot let you go and embarrass her." Said Atobe.
"I would never do such a thing." Argued Echizen
"I'm afraid I find that hard to believe since you embarrassed me many times." Snorted atobe.
"Ah yes that, but it's different. I just like your mom." Replied Ryoma
Atobe glared at echizen for a moment and found the kid smirking at him. "if you are going with that logic, you would let me date in peace?" he asked.
"Probably." Muttered Echizen
"Well then, I will finally make you my lover!" declared Atobe
"are you sure?" snorted Echizen. "So where are we going?"
"I don't know, but my mom said I should do something delinquent. So, do you have any ideas?"
"How about going to the arcade? I can always call the devil Kirihara and ask him."
"Now you are friends with that devil bastard from Rikkai dai?"
"I usually see him around since he and I still chat about the good times. He even mentioned about Sanada's rejection." Said Ryoma.
"I guess he is not taking it too well, huh? Well, then it's your call. We will go to the arcade." Said Atobe. He was just happy that echizen hasn't been talking about the former Rikkai ace no matter what sort of claims he might make. Besides, Sanada and everyone else was a touchy subject for Atobe since Kirihara was the first witness to see his fukubuchou's bitter breakup and he did not wish to see how quickly Sanada ran off towards Yukimura.
"Last' chance: it's me or him, Genichirou. I refuse to be your second in command or your heart. Choose wisely!" atobe could feel his composure slip away from him, having being forced to listen to sanada listing Yukimura's virtues.
"There is no choice." Stated Sanada. Atobe only smiled at him since he was confident in his decision. "It's always been Yukimura."
Atobe's mouth was twisting as he remembered the stoic voice that broke his heart for months. What hurt him the most was how Sanada had been able to say them without any emotions showing on his face. He didn't even have a crush on that guy because he meant a lot more to Yukimura than the diva. Now, with Echizen here to start the vicious cycle again, Atobe refused to be a part of it because it would crush his heart again. In the end, if Atobe could open up to Echizen a bit more then he would be the one to hurt since he has showed his feelings for Echizen just like with Sanada at the beginning.
Atobe diverted his eyed to the boy walking alongside him because it was not uncommon for him to develop feelings for the brat since this kid was interesting and not because of tennis that always intrigued the diva. It was his rudeness and annoyance that attracted him, especially when Echizen amazed and amused him. However, Atobe finally realized that spending time with the brat was not such a bad idea after all. This was his chance to make his move and let him forget about having a crush on Tezuka since the diva will always come out on top,
"Are you sure you don't want to have your limo driver pick you up?" asked Echizen.
"What? And risk all this time waiting? You're kidding me."
"You are sure that walking won't be strenuous for you?"
"Echizen, I am an athlete and I work out my body on a daily basis. Of course I am up to it!" snarled Atobe.
He was surprised when the brat didn't continue to bait him, since there was a frown on his face and asked, "Can you not call me brat anymore?"
"What, would you rather be called Ryo-chan?" smirked Atobe. He was thrilled that for once the tables were turned on Echizen that was irked about the way Atobe referred to him instead of the diva fuming about being called "Monkey King"
"That would be more appropriate since I am your future boyfriend after all." Scowled Echizen as he moved on ahead.
"All right then, but wait up for me, Ryo-chan!" yelled Atobe.
None of them made it to the arcade because both boys have passed a tennis court where two girls are playing. Furthermore, Atobe's steps slowed when he saw one of the girls make a perfect volley and the other one stopped to return the ball. There was no way that wild horses could drag him away as the rally continued.
Echizen was no wild horse as he grabbed a hold of Atobe's wrist and pulled. "What the hell, Echizen!?" he shouted.
"There is no time for you to ogle with the girls now since you are with me." Said Echizen.
"I was not ogling at them!" insisted Atobe as he stopped and dropped Echizen's hand off his wrist. He then tried again, but Atobe would not budge.
"The hell you weren't!" screamed Echizen as he glared at his boyfriend.
Atobe's eyebrows rose as he placed his wrist towards himself while a stubborn Echizen was dragged towards him so that their faces were close towards each other. His cheeks was turning red as he stared into Atobe's amused eyes. "And if I was," Atobe spoke with a whisper. "It doesn't have anything to with you."
"Of course it does!" argued Echizen
"How can you claim such a thing?"
"Because I can't stand you dating other women!" yelled Echizen
Atobe snorted as he laughed. "You are so unbelievable. Just because you have a crush on someone, does not give you the right to rule over them."
"And why not?"
Atobe gaped at him and said, "Sorry I cannot talk to you." He answered as he dropped the boy's grip from his wrist and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Echizen yelled after him.
"Home!" answered Atobe.
"You can't! Your mom kicked you out, remember?"
"Shit!" cursed Atobe as he turned around.
"How about some tennis to pass the time?" suggested Echizen.
"Against an inferior person such as you? It would be a waste of my time," spoke Atobe with a dramatic air.
"You're not fooling anyone." Muttered Echizen. "I'm not going to beg if that is what you are hoping. Besides, there is an empty court not too far from here. We can catch the bus from there." Said Ryoma as he pointed at a bus stop across the street.
"Fine, but I am not settling for one set!" demanded Atobe
"What, do you want to do two?"
Atobe quirked an eyebrow and smirked.
"Che! Fine you want three? Let's do it!" said Echizen as he crossed the street with Atobe following after him.
"This is a tennis court?" asked Atobe as he saw the court with no one bothering to look after it. The fences had a lot of holes that even Kabaji can go through and the ground itself had more cracks than atobe's mother had shoes.
"Yeah? What's the problem?" glared Ryoma as he sensed his boyfriend's disapproval in his tone of voice. The court itself might not be in perfect condition, but it had meant something to Ryoma. This was where he played against Tezuka and found something more in tennis other than just beating his father. Furthermore, it would betray something sacred bringing his boyfriend here.
"Nothing too bad, but you have to win two sets to beat me!" shouted Atobe as he began his serve.
"yeah, Yeah! Get on with it!" ryoma yelled back.
After the match, Ryoma laid on the ground, gasping for breath, heart racing, and clothes drenched in sweat. The sun was making him squint as he longed for the protection of his cap that usually will prevent the sun from blinding him. As for his hat, it would need time to find it since he was too tired to move. Suddenly, a shadow stepped between him and the sun.
"I want to do it again," smirked Ryoma
All Ryoma got was an amused snort.
Two weeks have passed since Atobe went on a date since he spent time with Echizen playing tennis with that brat. However, they do spend time in the arcade or just hanging around town. They would become something like friends when atobe was not paying attention and it would be ridiculous if he was not watching the brat's team play. Furthermore, he would have left immediately once the Rikkai's cheering squad was here, especially those sickly yellow uniforms. However, he cannot back out now as he made a promise to his boyfriend that he would be there or else he would face some painful memories.
"Atobe? Is that you?" said a familiar voice. This was a shock that could be compared to someone pouring water over someone's head in the morning. He was not expected to meet Yukimura because the sight of him being all lovey-dovey with sanada would crush him. So, he has to keep his eye on the Seigaku team since Echizen is among them since he was very confident by his captain as they observed the first doubles match since he would likely face Yukimura later on.
"Hello, Yukimura, he greeted the other boy coldy, but was surprised when the captain's smile seemed to waver. "Are you here to scout the new talent?"
"Something like that." Answered Yukimura with a frown. "Did I offend you somehow? Because I am so sorry that Sanada rejected you since I am not the one responsible."
Atobe was laughing bitterly since he had the urge to get up and punch yukimura. The boy still looked frail and even though the diva knew it was an illusion, Yukimura still had more strength in his lithe frame.
"What do you mean, can't hold you responsible? Please, you are responsible for your actions!" Atobe was seething since he lost his temper.
"How is that possible? I never said anything negative about you to my boyfriend Genichirou. In fact, I was favoring you and thought you were a great match." Yukimura then took a seat next to atobe and placed his eyes right at him with his own. "You shouldn't accuse me of something I didn't do."
Atobe could only breathe a sigh of relief and realized that Yukimura had no knowledge of the reason behind their split. He was thinking that Sanada would go run to Yukimura since he would be more than happen to receive him with open arms. He then suspected that Sanada's feelings for yukimura were unrequited. If that was true, Sanada would have moved on by now.
"So, how is Sanada?" asked Atobe
Yukimura only sighed at Atobe's evasion of the question. "Not very well, he misses you."
"I highly doubt that." Snorted Atobe. "He made is very clear that he cares a lot about me."
"Not true." Said Yukimura with a serious look. "I can see Sanada speaking of you often. You should try again.
"Not possible." Answered Atobe. He wasn't looking forward to playing the second fiddle to anyone, especially not Yukimura.
"you've found someone new already." Guessed yukimura. "Why else would you be here if you are not watching him?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Atobe.
Yukimura was nodding towards the court and Atobe followed his eyes before seeing Echizen glaring at them from under his cap with his arms crossed. Furthermore, Atobe could see his lips stretching to a smile at the brat's jealousy. He was able to recognize Yukimura since he was having a feminine side.
"He does not seem very happy at seeing me here. I guess he wants me to tell you into seeing sanada again."
"Why would he think that? Besides, Echizen knows nothing about Sanada."
Yukimura took his eyes off Echizen and glanced sideways at him. "I think he does. Besides, I don't see any reason why he would tell akaya to keep 'his cap-wearing greasy sempai' away from you. I think the order was followed by a few select threats that are too colorful for me to repeat when there are young children here."
"How could he have found out?" glared Atobe as he crossed his arms.
"Nothing can be kept a secret forever in the high school tennis circles." Replied Yukimura. "I heard Echizen is very close to his sempais. They're rooting for you." He smiled at the diva. "I won't need to press you anymore since you should call Sanada and talk to him. I got the feeling that you both regretted saying things you didn't mean to say. Therefore, you must get past them."
Atobe noticed that Yanagi and Kirihara are there on the bleachers before he saw that devil monster cuddling Yukimura. His eyebrows flewup and looked away after Kirihara blew a raspberry at him. That could only explain the reason behind Sanada's desire to reconcile since Yukimura already had a boyfriend.
Atobe then turned his eyes back to the court to see the first singles match since Seigaku already lost the second doubles game after winning the first one. Echizen was playing singles two and yes he was infuriating since he had no business running his mouth off to Kirihara like a jealous boyfriend. But despite that, he still loved the boy and wanted to stay to watch his match.
Atobe was watching a video that he made when he and Sanada were alone in the room since it was already on dvd. He had forgotten to take it out of the player and somehow, this gave him memories that he would be trying to ignore and forget. He then stopped the video since he couldn't make himself erase that image from the screen. Just then, the screen went black.
Atobe looked up and sees Echizen holding the plug but couldn't find the words to say to him as he held the remote. He then heard a sharp crack and turned his head towards the sound. His DVD was shattered in half after Echizen took it out of the dvd player.
Yes, he was lauging like crazy. But there was nothing amusing about this as his laughter grew even louder until it became panicked. He tried stifling his laughter with his hand and when that didn't work, he hits his leg and clenched his jaw before yelling like crazy.
Echizen walked towards Atobe and planted a kiss on his lips since that brought him back to his senses. He then breathed in before inhaling the brat because that reminded him of spring.
The brat had his eyes closed while his hands are on Atobe's shoulders. He could feel the boy's smile against his lips as the boy said to him, "Finally, that made you close your mouth."
Atobe frowned and leaned back. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I called your cell phone but your mom answered it and invited me in." said Echizen
Atobe immediately stood up and glanced over to his desk since he did not see his phone anywhere. He must have left it downstairs since he was exactly the kind of person to invite people over just like his mother. Besides, it was her pleasure to make her son's life miserable.
Author's notes: Well, we resolved the Sanada issue and now, Echizen made his move to finally show off his true feelings to his boyfriend before Atobe could do anything. I guess the final chapter will determine if atobe has the courage to show if his love can defeat Sanada once and for all. I know I promised you guys an ending that will bring these two together but the final chapter will decide it all. Besides, I told you that Sanada was not Atobe's true calling since he was only a substitute and to me, I guess he wants Yukimura back because he would not go anywhere without him. I will see you all next week for the conclusion.
