DISCLAIMER: I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis
WARNING: No Yuki-kun here. xD
A/N: Thank you so much for your support minna-san~! Especially to those who let me know of their support via review, fav, subscriptions, and HUUUUUUUGSSS!
…
CHAPTER XIII: Space Land
TOKYO
"Oi! Watch out lady!"
"YOU! In the name of justice, Stop!"
"Give me back my bicycle d'ahou!"
Echizen Ryoma felt a gust of wind pass her, as if someone so quickly went past her, and a millisecond after that... she watched a bike approach her like the idiot she could be, forgetting she actually had the reflexes to avoid it. She swore for a nanosecond to punch Niou after this for forcing her on this date.
"O-Oi!" She blinked at the yell, and a fast running bicycle went past her (in front, not through her, fortunately) at the speed of sound. She looked down on her stomach and saw huge hands enveloping it protectively. She followed it up and saw a familiar silver-head, sweat very much visible against his pale skin.
"Whoa there, Echizen-chan. Watch where you're going." He grinned. "You'll get fired if you keep being careless, y'know?"
"Let go." She said. He was too close. Some memories she'd rather not have in public were rousing and they needed to be stopped.
"No thank you?" Niou wore an expression of surprise and disapproval, but she knew it wasn't easy to offend this guy. He just didn't take things seriously. And she wasn't in the mood either. Especially when his hold on her only tightened, apparently to rouse some sort of cute reaction from her.
Her eyes twitched.
"Let go."
And in an instant- that he did, raising his hands up as if she had a gun in the process. "Grumpy pants."
"Urusai." She said and started walking away. Niou moved his hand and it somehow ended up behind his head, and started following her.
"So… where are we going?"
"Home."
"Our date—"
"Is done. I did my part."
"Oi, oi! A date is when you go to various places…,"
"Home. Street. Bus Stop. Bus. Tokyo. Street. Check."
"Experience a lot of things together."
"We walked, we jogged, we rode the bus, we walked again, you disappear, I look, we saw a bike together, you pull me out of its way. Check."
Niou puffed his cheek, before grinning slyly and leaned down. Her eyes twitched, and the fact that some people stopped their stroll just to pry did not help at all.
"…"
"Get closer…?"
"We already are, are you blind?" She spat, before stepping back. Niou blinked before cackling, and following behind her once again as she stomped to who-knew-where.
"C'mon, Echizen-chan~ Space Land is fun!"
"I don't care."
"Why don't you take a break sometime?" Ignored. And she did not even bother making any sort of facing expression.
Niou puffed his cheeks again. But this time, the level of seriousness was higher. He, Niou Masaharu, was never ignored, especially not for long, and without any reaction too! Other than the regulars he knew for 6 years of course, and he wasn't particularly glad they ignored him from time to time, either.
Heck, his trickster ways were honed because he wanted to make sure attention was on him when he wanted it. He was not going to lose to this feisty little girl! No, no.
Besides, he disappeared for a with that, his sly grin returned.
"Echizen-chan~"
Ignored.
"You want to get back home to Yukimura-sama that soon?" She paused her steps and froze.
"O-Of course, he's a person I am responsible for."
"Are you, now?" he paused and slowly went ahead of her. "Are you sure you just didn't want to see his face? His chuckle? His smile…?"
"..."
He turned in anticipation but he was still, frankly, quite surprised. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her expression. Her eyes wide and dilated, cheeks wearing beautiful shades of red. It was seriously cute, and Niou couldn't help but utter.
"…tsudere?!"
"…"
"HAHAHAH- TsunTsun Echizen-chan~" He teased, even when his insides was pounding louder than ever. Ryoma was quick to return to her usual façade.
"I am not a tsundere!" She yelled, still managing not to squeak but she was thoroughly embarrassed. How did Ryoma knew of the term's meaning? She didn't. But she was sure it wasn't good nor true.
"That's what Tsunderes say."
"Go away."
And she decided to walk for her dignity.
.
.
Silence occupied the air between them, with her guard all the way to its maximum. But frankly, after what Niou said she couldn't help but think of Seichi and his weird, seriously inconsistent, actions. She couldn't tell if he was being odd, or her rational skills just weren't enough to make anything out of his actions…
Frankly, Yukimura being the former wouldn't fit quite well. The flaw should lie with her, that was how he portrayed himself and his distance to others.
"Ryoma-kun?" Someone called her name with a surprised and confused tone. She halted, and for a second so did her chest.
It was a very familiar voice—belonging to someone who wasn't supposed to be there.
"What are you doing here?" He asked and as she turned, she noticed a little too late that his face was an inch away. It didn't come any closer, but the memories of him 'slipping' that time still kept flooding her head.
She didn't even want to imagine how red she got. Again.
But soon enough, the red caused by something indiscernible turned one of utter anger. That twitching of the mouth, a prologue to a cackle gave this gig away.
She wanted to strangle him..., BAD. It was just Niou—Impersonating Seichi. And he was then stifling his laughter, hs face red as a tomato as well but due to hyperventilating.
"S-SO cute!"
"Temee—"
BAM!
And before Niou knew it he was already on the sidewalk's paving, begging for his life. He gulped and she stared him down. She was stronger than anticipated.
"I'M SO SORRYY!"
Her eyes twitched at his purposely stupid/pitiful sight he made of himself. "This…is not worth it."
And for the nth time that day, she walked away. She ignored those people who seemed to have been following them for a while as if they were shooting a movie or something. They went too far when they started cheering for Niou though.
"Go after your girlfriend, man! She's too cute to let go!"
"Ganbatte silver-head-kun!"
"Go!"
And as if they were the energizers he was waiting for, he suddenly sprinted and was then walking side by side with her again. "You heard them." She only sent out a glare in reply. "Oh c'mon… I'll treat you to wherever you want to eat for lunch there!"
"…"
And then, seeing her incessant silence, he sighed. "Half-a-day without the guy you love should be bearable, no?"
Doki. "Wha—"
"Hahahahhahh~"
"I'll kill you someday."
"You already did-pftt-HAHHAHAHAHAH!"
Ryoma's eyes twitched.
BAM!
And so he was punched to the sky.
SPACE LAND, Later
"My pretty face."
"Oh, stop whining." She muttered, and complained to the heavens why the heck she was still there. If only he didn't make a threat of pretending to be Yukimura for the rest of her stay in Rikkai.
She knew she should have went home anyway. Since not doing so meant she succumbed, that she lost. But… she couldn't risk showing more than she already had! Besides, she made a rationale that it was only to keep him from being a bother to the unknowing Seichi, too, which was not exactly a lie anyway.
So she entered the supposed heaven of the children in a very, very, foul mood.
"Look. If you stop frowning like that I'll stop teasing you."
"…"
"Deal?"
"Whatever."
She then started to look around. She realized her bad mood really did mask the amusing atmosphere the place had. It was called Space Land, for a reason, too. Large planets and rocket-themed rides, with full of happy users, enveloped her view. She was frankly, quite amazed. She barely didn't show it though.
"Want to ride that one?" Niou asked pointing at a roofed structure some meters away from them. It was a weird contraption and she started batting eyelids. She narrowed her eyes and saw the sign saying 'Flying Fiesta' which was a weird name for a space-themed ride but that wasn't the point.
It looked seriously dizzying.
"Never rid one before?" She shook her head.
"How long were you a guard again?"
"A few years."
"So you've been to theme parks before…?"
"…" The answer was no, and Niou seemed to have got it.
"Seriously?" He looked at her with incredulity, before grabbing her hand and grinned. "Then the more reason to enjoy this, then!"
.
.
Blurrrrrppppppp
"Well…," Niou paused looking at the pretty girl who was vomiting her breakfast and her lunch on a large garbage bin. Several passer-bys stopped their steps in concern (nice folks) but he smiled at them politely, meaning to send the message that they'll be alright.
After all, a person like Echizen would not appreciate pity. So there he was, teasing her.
"I can't believe you'd be bad at those rides!" He paused. "And we started out with kiddie rides, too!"
"But you friggin' kept spinning those space-themed teacups!"
"But that's what they were meant to do."
"That one should be more fun. Lets eat something afterwards" He pointed at the rocket coaster. Her eyes twitched. But she was dragged in, anyway.
And… she was vomiting her stomach out after that. Not that there were much left.
"…you said this was going to be fun—bluuurp." She glared at him.
"I thought it would be better!" He said, quite honestly. He felt really guilty now. She shook her head.
"Water."
"Oh. I'll go get some. Stay there and don't get lost!"
"Che." She muttered and sat down on a bench. She let the back of her head rest on the bench's headrest and watched the clouds when a huge shadow ruined her view.
"Hello, young lady."She frowned and tilted her head so that she could see behind her while maintaining her lazy posture. She blinked.
It was a mascot. A large bear with planet-shaped balloons. "Want to learn the secret to liking those rides?"
She stared. "Who… are you?"'
"Saa… I assumed you could read?" he said pointing his large stuffed paws on his shirt. It said 'Mr. Muggles'.
"Mr. Muggles?"
"Hai. So do you want to hear the secret?"
"Is it for free?"
"Saa… maybe for a pretty girl like you, yes." She stared at him. There was something about this… bear… that reminded her of Seichi, but shrugged it off in the end (that was just insulting). The bear seemed to have read her reluctance as that of anticipation and continued his 'revelation'.
"The secret is to let go." He whispered as if everyone else was listening to their conversation. "Accept the… thrill, and forget all other worries."
"Well, that sounds awfully happy-go-lucky."
"Well it's much more enticing than spending the day vomiting no?"
"…"
"Thought so." He said. "Mah, it's up to you to apply the secret though. Here."
She stared at his extended hand, and then looked at the rocket shaped balloon. "How much?"
"For free."
"You're going to be fired, Mr. Muggles."
"Not if I pay for it." She blinked and quickly took her wallet out. But as she took out a bill, and looked up.
The bear was gone.
Ryoma could only stare at the balloon.
.
"Oiii!" Niou disrupted her daze with his looking idiotic, running to her in slow motion as he raised his hand (waving) and the other (the one with water) followed his movements. "Here."
"Domo." She said and drunk the whole thing in a gulp. Niou looked at her other arm and followed the string. From afar, he thought it was a ride.
"Where'd that come from?"
"A nice and mysterious teddy bear gave it to me."
"A pedo bear."
"…maybe." She shrugged and looked around. She pointed at a restaurant, with the eat-all-you-can sign."Treat me."
"What?"
"You promised. And tricksters keep their promises."
"That doesn't—"
"Real tricksters don't have to lie. They manipulate people with the truth."
"Where'd that come from?"
She sighed. "Let's just eat. My breakfast and Lunch is gone now." As their eyes met, Niou's twitched under Reina's stern one.
An Eat-all-you can buffet with a very hungry growing girl? And at an expensive restaurant inside an established amusement park, too!
And Niou could not stop his wallet from burning.
NISPEATERY
"Aiya~!"
Purplish red hair shone as it was swirled around by a finger. It was not easy since it was extremely straight, but the owner thought it was cute. He hoped his companion, his beloved, did too. He was holding his lover's beautifully calloused hands and smiled.
"Yuushi. Thanks for taking me here."
"Of course. We need a break from our diva of a captain after all. He was in an especially bad mood lately, too."
"Any idea why?"
"PMS?"
They chuckled at that. But their gossip and playful talking behind their beloved captain's back was cut by the sound of the bell ringing. Gakuto was the one facing the door, while Yuushi really did not pay much attention other than his parfait, which he was playing with using his free hand.
"Oi. Oi… Yuushi." His lover called softly, patting his hand. "Look. Isn't that Niou?"
Oshitari turned and followed his boyfriend's line of sight. And there he was—Rikkai's famous Trickster—with a rather beautiful girl. They watched them as they placed themselves somewhere near the buffet at the adjacent restaurant, knowing full well they'd be staying there for a while.
Oshitari and Gakuto stared at each other and smirked, started to assume things. They heard about Niou being a playboy and all, hooking up with gorgeous girls. After a few minutes they turned their heads again to the 'couple' and saw quite a bit of plates. Odd thing was, most of it was on the girl's side of the table. The girl had a rocket-shaped balloon tied on her hand as she ate. And even as homosexuals, they found her seriously pretty.
They couldn't tell if the trickster was serious with her or not though… and with that, Oshitari knew what was coming next.
"Let's go, Yuushi." Gakuto said and dragged Oshitari across the joint aisle of the shops and stood to their table. After all, Gakuto was an idealist when it came to love. Seeing a possible train wreck-to-be in front of him…? His lovely would not be able to just sit back and watch.
Oshitari noted that the girl was prettier up close, but she looked nowhere near reactive. Gakuto remained his usual bubbly self. "Yo, Niou! Who is it this time?"
"This is Echizen Ryoma."
"Familiar last name."
He nodded. "Yeah." The girl stoically stared at them. She did not seem all that flimsy considering she was in a date. In fact, Oshitari was sure she was the opposite of flimsy.
"Dare?" She asked stoically and he could feel his lover's hand twitch. Perhaps the red head realized they were not needed.
"Ah. I am Gakuto Mukahi and this? This is my boyfriend Oshitari Yuushi. We play doubles." He just said, presumably to change the topic. The girl looked at him and he could only nod.
"Tennis?" She voiced out, interest perking up her voice.
Gakuto blinked. "You play tennis?"
"Hai."
"Cool!"
The girl stared at Niou. "Ne. I wanna play." And his eyes twitched visibly. Oshitari gaped at them. This was not the interaction he expected the famous trickster playboy/trickster and his pretty date to have.
"Whoa there. Let's at least have some fun here in the amusement park. Entry here is not cheap!"
Oshitari was interested. "I agree." He looked at his date who, fortunately, had a similar idea with him. "Want to have a double date?"
"…" She looked as if she was pondering. "Tennis date?"
"No, normal people date." Niou corrected and she pouted. Oshitari could see they were all gaping at her. What could they do? It was a sin to be so cute. And people liked committing sins. (Oshitari realized he was making weird analogies but shrugged in the end).
"So where do we go next?"
"Arcade." Niou paused and looked at the girl. "Been there before?"
"Yeah." She nodded, as if remembering something that happened far back. She closed her eyes to stop her reverie.
"Shall we?"
And their double date begun. Gakuto was seriously excited.
…
ARCADE
They stood in the middle of the theme park and stared at its impressive arcade. It was a whole friggin' building…! And Ryoma, whose only memory of an arcade was tiny (and already enlarged to her small size back then), was especially impressed. She wondered how Ryoga would react to this. He brought her to arcades sometimes when he babysat her.
And it was already dark, then, so the bright lights were especially enticing. Gakuto grabbed Oshitari's hands, and Niou grabbed hers. She glared at him from the back, but again… he was already immune.
They played a lot of games and started out with a martial arts game, which after 2 games, she was already dominating in."This is easier than I thought..."
"No fair!" Gakuto yelled and Niou who looked impressed, didn't seemed surprised at all. (She did beat him in real life just a little earlier.)
"How can you be so bad at the first minute and unbelievable at the next?! You friggin' Mary sue!"
"…ha?"
"Che." Gakuto puffed his cheek and stood up like the sportsman that he was. Oshitari chuckled at his lover's mood swings. He wanted to be a hero of love and now he was acting like a kid. So, him, the more level headed one in the couple pointed at the games with stuff toys inside (Oshitari always wondered why he never looked up its name).
"Want one?"
"Eh?" Gakuto looked surprised before beaming, and embracing him tightly. "Arigatou, Yuushi~! I love youuu~" He said and they walked to the game, with Gakuto holding his boyfriend's arm tightly.
The two though remained oblivious of a certain Echizen's stare. They are gay? She mused in incredulity. She knew the atmosphere between them was different—like young boys that are seriously good friends.
Before they PDA'd like lovers, their interaction reminded her of her and Seichi's... before he turned hostile. But Seichi abhorred gay people.
Wait a minute...
Her eyes widened at a possibility, and stood up. She was stopped by a hand over hers. "Where are you going?"
"Where are you still touching?" She spat back hurriedly. She needed to get back home. "I want to go home."
"But we haven't even played beyond a game yet."
"I don't care." She said, semi-ignoring Gakuto's cheer for Oshitari to get the bright colored stuffed pig.
She frowned, but before she could utter anything, the other couple was already calling them.
"Here! Look here! Let's play!" Gakuto yelled as he stood in the Dance Revolution Game. They soon started dancing and Niou held her hand tighter to drag her there.
"Oi."
"One last game and you're free. Deal?" He paused. "We have to win, though."
"…fine."
.
.
/A few minutes later/
"W-Whoa! They freaking beat us!" cried Marui and shook Oshitari vehemently. Hyotei's tensai only shook his head. The pair was still playing though, and still a few more moves left to finish. But that only would determine how much they would win. This is a huge blow to the acrobatic Gakuto.
Niou on the other hand, finally got to relax a bit and decided to turn to his partner for a friendly congratulations. But then his eyes widened.
She was laughing. It was silent, but unbelievably light. He did not realize where his feet was going and how uncoordinated it was. He lost his balance.
He felt his whole body falling to her direction—
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!
-Chuu!
They heard gasps, and Reina did not see what was happening until it was already done. But when she realized, her stomach garbled and she, once again, wanted to vomit. She did not notice the pain on her back, and only the annoyance in her front. That annoying weight above her that she wanted to strangle.
Her eyes twitched. Her eyebrows furrowed. And soon, after feeling her lips, she saw a violent shade of red.
She swore someone was going to die that day.
.
.
END OF CHAPTER 13
Coming Soon:
CHAPTER 14: Turbulence
REPLIES TO ANGELS
DragonFire Princess- Thank you for the review~! Hmn... if you mean the flashbacks then no, it won't happen again any time soon. Or rather... I'm hoping I wouldn't have to. lololol.
FudoYuki- thank you for the review~! xD And glad you thought so! It was fun to write Niou... and Ryoma's cruelty to him. *Cackles* Which is why... I made this chapter full of 'em! Hahahaha
TunaForDesert- It was, indeed, a short chappie. xD I had to cut since it was weird to have the funny NiouxRyoma moments after Yuki's dramatic past. Ghahaha. I tried though. lol. Thank you for the review!Xd
shanagi95- Yes it is too early! hahaha. I would have delayed the revelation chap further (I'm guessing he would find out in 2 chapters or so) if I had any more brilliant ideas. xDD Your questions'll be answered the nextchapter tho. Thx for the comment~
WhitewingsFlutter- Why are you rushing? Don't rush! haha. And no, no, Ryoma was still a newborn when the accident happened. And-Nyahaha-I did try to write in a child's POV. Not easy, with Seichi-sama. trololol. Thank you for the comment btw, and good luck w/ the fanart~ And do you have a DA acct?
ChocoMickey- Gyahaha. "Lucky" Niou...pffttt. And... Rinko called someone everyone couldn'tsay anything to Seichi since it wasn't her place to say anything yet.I'll reveal why soon. xD Thx for the comment~
FranscoiseLaraLapis- Indeed! I've always wondered why I only started writing I-want-to-know-his/her-secret scenarios more And oh yeah, I didn't say explicitly what Niou 'readied' when he disappeared, but I hinted it in this chapter tho. ;) Thanks for the comment~
JuRy28- (ch1)SJDHSJDHSH, You're reading one of my stories again~! xD Yay! Hehe. (ch2) I'm glad you thought it was cute! Hope you still think so until the latest (ch9) Nyahaha. YAY~! Umabot ka ng chapter Glad you felt that way, too~ (ch12) I'm happy you think it's cute! Ahaha. And I sure do hope I can keep it Thank you for the reviews!
MintLeafeon- Nyhaha. So true! Ryoma could so totally do the deed for And I'm glad you think this is getting interesting and funny. Hope I can keep it up til' the end. xD And, of course, thank you for the review~!
Yuki Masaharu-More info? Nononono. Hahaha. Too...many...spoilers...must...stop...myself. *Cackles* Ah, and thank you for the review~! lol
BrokenBlackCat- Yeah,but mostly it's the unfortunate circumstances that led Seichi to be firm about being the perfect only child for his kind parents. xD Poor guy. *cough* And nyahahah. Niou arrived in time. xD He just went to ready something lol. Thanks for the comment, btw, and don't apologize for rambling. It was fun to read. lol
Flickering Hope- Thank you for the comment~! And hope the chapter on the Space Land date (this one,chapter 13) was a fun enough read. Trololol
kikumarucat- Lololol. How can you mix the two buchous? Oh wait, they're both awesome. Reasonable enough! xD And haha-she won't be boring this time. Sometimes Ryoma-chan needs to be a damsel in distress! Esp. when she's with a bishie. *cackls* thx for the comment!
Natasya Ivashkov- yeah, Seichi must have been adorable~! xDD I would love to draw him if I didn't have so much at my plate atm. for the comment~
deadlycute17- Oh Seichi will... eventually. lol. It won't be easy tho! He's totally firm on his principles. xD Thanks for the comment~! ;D
0539Sg- No problem. I love replying the reviewers. xD And yeah! is so lovably sneaky. Thank you for the review~!
xDarkxKurox- Hahaha. I would love to see you punch Niou, too! xDD And it's not really a filler chapter, strictly speaking (not that I know what that means) But it is definitely way shorter than usual. Haha. And thank you for the review~!
Guest [2/2/13]- Hehhehe. Thank you for the review, and I'm happy you liked those parts! They were seriously fun to write, I tell you...! xxD
DigimonLoveForever- I will include Niou more (esp. in this chapter), but not as much as many would want though. Hehe. Thank you for the comment~! xD
Darkspider- Ahahahah. And who knooowss~! xD The Seigaku arc isn't up until way later. *Cackles* And about your parents... I don't think it's strange. The person is your friend after all, you can influence their standards and such. ;D And HAHA- She's a bodyguard when they're outside and she's on a date when she's not? Ah~ Annoyed Yuki here he comes! xD Thx for the review~
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Thank you so much for reading~!
I would love you even more if you let me know what you thought!xD