Here is the next chapter!!!!
Everyone was avoiding Sanada. It was twenty minutes before morning practice and the usually hectic cafeteria was unusually quiet. Everyone had seen it.
The horrible limp that Ryoma was walking with and the bite marks that speckled Atobe's body. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened during the date and Sanada wasn't a idiot. He had woken up and had rush, or rushed as much as his pride allowed, to see Ryoma only to find him limping towards the shower. Ryoma had looked at the horrified face of his boyfriend and immediately turned around to enter into the showers. Sanada had not chased after. He hadn't demanded answers. Rather he had walked straight into the cafeteria, gotten his food, and sat down far from everyone.
No one dared go near him. Everyone knew Sanada was human, just like everyone else, and couldn't shoot lightening or anything, but that didn't mean they were ready to challenge that theory. Black clouds were forming over the vice captain and getting darker and darker by the moment.
Kikumaru whispered to Oishi.
"Mou…do think Echizen really cheated on Sananda?"
"Sheeee! Eiji! Later. Not now."
"But Oishi! If Echizen cheated on Sanada, shouldn't we, as his sempai-taichi, talk to him?"
"Echizen doesn't need our help him this."
"But Oishi!"
"Later Eiji. Now is not a good time to talk about this."
Eiji looked putdown but brightened instantly when he caught sight of Ryoma walking in.
"OCHIBI!" the Segaku acrobat player yelled across the cafeteria.
No one breathed, as if waiting for the start of a great storm.
Ryoma looked passed his sempai-tachi and at the living thunder cloud in the back of the cafeteria. Walking straight towards Sanada, he didn't even look anywhere else.
"Is that what you call walking into the eye of the storm?" Momo asked Fuji.
"Saa…."
Everyone's attention was turned to the unfolding of a drama at the corner of the room.
The boy wonder reached the table and looked down at the glaring boy.
"I had sex with Atobe."
Everyone gasped.
Someone in the back of crowd whispered.
"He's being suicidal."
"Sheee!"
Sanada pushed his tray away and griped his hands together. His knuckles were turning white.
"Why are you telling me this? What kind of reaction of are you expecting?"
Ryoma looked back coolly.
"Nothing. I thought you should know."
Echizen sat and began picking at the food Sanada abandoned. Nothing had been eaten off of it.
"Now I know."
"Now you know."
"Let's break up." Everyone gasped again.
Ryoma looked up from the food and straight at his boyfriend.
"Your're serious?" Did he want him to be lying? Tell him they would solve this out like they had done before?
"Just as serious as I was when I asked you to date me."
Ryoma understood what Sanada was saying. Everyone knew what Sanada was saying. He was accusing the prodigy of never taking their relationship seriously.
"Fine." Ryoma stood and began making his way out the door.
Sanada watched the golden-eyed youth walk away.
"Fine." He whispered.
Ryoma was pissed. Why? He didn't know yet. He was just angry and he knew where to channel that energy: tennis.
He had gone straight to the ball machine after his talk with Sanada and then straight to practice from there. He put all his anger into his shots. Each shot took a little bit of frustration away and replaced it with guilt. Guilt drove him to push himself harder, a little faster. His opponent had a hard time keeping up, trying to catch up the super junior. But the time morning practice was halfway over Ryoma had popped the strings of all three of his rackets, that's how hard he had been hitting the balls.
"Buchou."
Tezuka looked up from the chart he had been reviewing.
"I need to go into town."
"Explain."
"I need to replace my racquet string."
"You have two other."
"I need to replace all three."
Tezuka raised his eyebrow.
"Don't miss evening practice."
"Hai."
Ryoma picked up his tennis bag and began walking towards the phone. He needed his mom to pick him up and drive him.
His mom was always prepared, always thought ahead. She had to be since she was married to Nanjiro Echizen. She brought him his spare fourth racquet he kept at home without him asking and drove him to the shop that he preferred to get his racquet strung. The owner had not been busy and was able to have it done by dinner. His mother offered to drop it off that night so he could return to practice early. They drove back.
"Ryoma. Did something happen?"
His mother was perceptive, or maybe all mothers are like that with their children.
"Nothing."
"How's Sanada-kun doing?" He had brought Sanada over a couple of times. His mother took an instant liking to the other boy.
"Fine."
"You should bring him over more often." Did his mom know?"
"Maybe."
"You should talk about things when you have a problem" Was his mom psychic?
"Che."
"You have a habit of ignoring things not related to tennis." What was he? A book? Why was his mom reading him like he was one?
"…."
"One mistake isn't the end of everything. You can still work things out if you're willing to put the effort in." Ryoma stared at his mom. What the….?!?!
"Relationships are different from tennis. Practice doesn't make it better. Willingness and trust does." Maybe his mom had superhuman powers that he didn't know about.
"Nothing is wrong." It sounded feeble even to his ears.
"If you say so." His mom knew he was lying. He knew he was lying.
They were back at the camp. His mom promised to come by that night with the racquets.
"Ryoma, you're an Echizen. We Echizen's don't run from any kind of problems. We face them and we conquer them."
Ryoma looked at his mom with new eyes. His mom had always seemed so…lenient with things that didn't' considered his dad. She had never told him anything like this before in his life. It made her seem like more than he had seen her as.
"Hai." She smiled.
"Have fun." She waved and drove off.
Ryoma watched the car drive off wished for the first time in his life to call her back and have her hung him like she had when he had been a baby. He shook the thought away and turned around to find his captain waiting for him.
"I saw you from the front door."
"Were you waiting?" Echizen walked passed him.
"No. I just happened to passing by." Tezuka followed. "What are you going to be about Atobe?"
"Eh? I didn't know you cared."
"I care about our team members: Which you are part of."
"Che." Ryoma stopped walking and turned to look up at the taller boy. "I'll take care of it."
"Will you?"
"Eh?"
"Will you really face this problem? This is different from tennis."
"I know. I'll take care it."
Tezuka looked at him hard then nodded.
They walked back together just in time for the start of afternoon practice.
Nothing eventful happened until evening when Echizen ran into Atobe.
It had been a busy day and neither had time to seek each other out or pursue their personal goals. It was by chance that Ryoma had run into Atobe in the hall, who had been on the phone with his secretary. Why a middle school-er had one was a mystery.
"Ryoma."
"Monkey King." Ryoma looked at the standing boy while the said boy finished his conversation.
"Oh my…you must have really missed me if you were willing to wait for me to get off the phone."
"Shut up monkey king. I have something to say."
"I wait with bated breath." Atobe took the only seat on the hall way. He sat looking as if he was posing in front of the camera. He looked good.
"I'm not going to date you…or sleep with you again." Ryoma added after a pause.
"Are you not?" The self proclaimed perfection looked at the grumpy looking youth.
"No."
"Oh?"
"NO."
"But you're not dating Sanada." It was a statement more than it was a question.
"Yadda."
"Will you date Tezuka then?" Atobe looked at the boys face for some clue.
"No." Ryoma glared back.
"Then will you get Sanada back?" Casually flipping his hair back, the Hyotei king looked at the shorter boy sideways.
"That's none of your business." The said shorter boy glared harder.
"Of course it is." Atobe smiled.
Ryoma glared harder. Maybe if he glared hard enough Atobe would burst into flames.
"You won't get rid of me by staring."
"Che."
"Fine you won't date me."
"Or have sex with you."
"Or sex." Atobe smiled. "But I will."
"Huh?"
"I'll date you." The smile grew bigger. "And have sex with you."
"That's rape, Monkey King." Ryoma widen his eye.
"Oh don't worry. I'll make sure you don't think of it that way." Atobe laughed as Ryoma turned red.
"You arrogant-"
"Yes, you keep reminding me. Smile, Echizen, you have finally gotten what so many other have wanted and craved." Atobe straightened his clothes. "Me."
"You can have it back." Ryoma turned around to walk back to his room.
"You know I saw Sanada earlier." The first year did not even look back. "He was on the phone with Yukimura. They seem to be having a very INTENSE conversation."
Ryoma stopped. Keigo smiled.
"Monkey-"
"Did you know? Sanada had a very personal interest in Yukimura before you came into the picture." Ryoma turned to face the Hyotei captain. Ryoma had thought for a fleeting moment that there was more to Sanada and Yukimura's relationship, but had brushed it off.
"Now…what could they be talking about this late at night?" Atobe began laughing as he walked away from the gaping youth. He was positive he could hear grinding of teeth.
Ryoma was not amused. They've only broken up less than 12 hours ago and Sanada goes running to his captain. There was nothing funny about that. But then again, there was nothing funny about cheating on your boyfriend either. Maybe it was payback. The confused youth sighed. This was too much of a headache. He did not need this, especially with the appearance Kevin. So many problems not related to tennis, He wasn't sure how to deal with the problems. This completely sucked.
Walking back into the room, Ryoma found his second year sempai snoring away and an angry looking Rikkai ace looking at him from his bed.
"Geinchiro."
"We need to talk. Now."
"Che." Why today. Why did everything have to happen today.
They walked out of the room into the common area. Ryoma picked the most comfortable looking couch to sit while Sanada sat in the stiff backed wooden chair.
haha...i'll update again...soon