The Grapevine

by xxkoffeexx

Dedication: To all those under-appreciated female characters in Prince of Tennis, this is in honor of you.

Extra Special A/N: Just so you know, this little tale focuses heavily on females (as you probably have an idea about from that little dedication thing up there). But I mean, really, really heavy. Like, the-world-revolves-around-them heavy.

I don't think anybody cares, but I got into a minor accident last, last Friday… involving a horse. Yeah. It hurts like bloody crap but the good thing is, the idea for this story struck me just before the whole horse-kicking-me-in-the-ankle thing. So as I've been stuck sitting in my room for hours upon hours on end, I had a lot of time to stare at the computer screen and write this heavily-female-centered story… and voila! "The Grapevine" is born.

Warning: It's not supposed to be dead serious or anything. I just want to shed some (a lot of) light on the females. You know, give a few in-depth looks and stuff. And I'm not very familiar with all the different tennis teams (Shitenhouji) or the characters I used (Yukimura Seiichi, Sakurai Masaya…) but I gave it my best shot. Remember, not serious.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. This applies to every fanfic, every chapter, every sentence that has anything to do with the show.

Part 1: Tomoka (.x.The Woes of Tomoka.x.Ryou's Long Hair.x.Ryou's Triumph.x.)

It wasn't that she loved him. She'd never been in that kind of love before, so it wasn't like she knew either. All she knew was that every time he entered the room she was in, there would be a flip-flopping in her stomach and something in her chest would thump excitedly. It wasn't a pleasant experience and she'd rather do without all the pomp and circumstance, but in the end it all came down to one thing.

Tomoka had the hots for Kaidoh Kaoru.

She didn't know how or when she began thinking of him like that and she didn't care to know. She preferred not thinking too long about it for fear of actually finding out. All that mattered was that nobody knew about her secret crush—especially him. She refused to become a lovesick fool who would dream and blush and eventually sigh into oblivion. If she was going to have the hots for someone she was going to be practical, dignified and absolutely level-headed about it.

Yes. Of course, this wouldn't be required at all if she hadn't acquired the 'hots' for him in the first place, but she'd long since passed that stage of denial (she's a hard veteran now) and so she faced her current dilemma: Toning down the level of 'hots' she had for him.

She realized that at her age it was only too normal to get excited when near the opposite sex, especially when she liked that particular member of the opposite sex. But she didn't consider herself a hormone-driven teenager (hopefully) so she decided to control her natural instincts to jump him whenever he came within ten feet of her 'hots' radius. The problem was how to actually acquire that control.

Tomoka thought long and hard, hard and long, frowned, pulled her hair, banged her head against the pillow, cried, laughed hysterically… all she succeeded in doing was freaking her brothers out and worrying her parents. And she even got a good mind picture of Kaidoh-senpai shirtless—

She finally went to seek the council of those who were more veteran and wise on matters like this. In other words, she cried her heart out.

Moms were the best people to go to on lo—like issues, she'd believed. After she'd poured out her woes on her mom's shoulder, her mother patted her hair, smiled, and told her to go after him. "Tomoka, dear, don't suppress your desires. Chase him. Run after him and grab him with all you have! Hold tight and don't let go until you're satisfied."

Tomoka wondered if this was how her parents married and felt a little sorry for her dad. She decided her mother was not the best person to go to in this kind of situation after all, and went on to the next female: Sakuno.

Sakuno did have some experience when it came to harboring feelings for the opposite gender. In fact, even after two years Tomoka wasn't sure if her friend had completely gotten over a certain hat-wearing tennis-loving boy who was visiting from America. Tomoka was confident that her best friend would be understanding and sympathetic.

These hopes were dashed when the first thing she asked was, "Um, Tomo-chan? Will you tell me who he is first?"

And the final blow came when Sakuno told her to suck it up and tell Kaidoh that she had the hots for him. In a nicer form, of course.

Tomoka reluctantly turned to number three.

Over the years she, Sakuno and Tachibana An had gotten closer through various, natural events, such as tennis and school. They were girls around the same age who watched tennis matches nearly everyday, so it was only expected that they would share the same ideals and opinions on, say, boys. By the time they graduated from middle school, and after many arguments, fights, reconciliations and finally acceptance, Tomoka was pretty sure that their bond rivaled that of the boys' tennis teams.

When Tomoka confessed her troubles An immediately asked who the guy was. And then she told her to suck it up and tell Kaidoh that she had the hots for him. Word for word. Not only that, An offered to accompany her if she needed moral support. Funny, since Sakuno offered the same thing.

It was then Tomoka realized she was screwed. If three of the closest and wisest females in her life told her straight out to confess, then she had no choice but to disown them and move out of the country to live as a hermit. Some wise counselors they were.

But then she would be lonely, so she had to settle with not taking their words of advice.

Sitting on that park bench on a lovely Friday afternoon eating her mocha cone, she must've looked like a lonely, pining teenage girl with nothing to do. Heck, she felt like a lonely, lovesick teenage girl and she had nothing to do. This was why she hated having a crush. She would mope and eat sweets and get fat, all because she was a lonely, pining teenage girl with nothing else to do. She viciously bit into the cold ice cream and nearly spit it back out, feeling the freeze go up to her brain.

"Hm? What's a cute girl like you sitting by yourself?"

If it was a guy's voice she would've ignored it. But seeing as it was a girl's voice—no, a woman's voice—she merely looked up and felt her jaw drop.

The woman was beautiful. Probably a model. Slim body, great legs, wonderful clothes, stunning face, the elegantly-styled hair—she was a goddess. Here was a woman, Tomoka thought, who probably had no problem telling a guy she had the hots for him. She looked strangely familiar, but when she couldn't remember where she had seen her, Tomoka decided she was probably from some magazine.

Since Tomoka was too dazed to answer, the woman sat next to her and did the talking. "Someone as cute as you should be with a handsome guy, or at least hanging out with friends. What's the matter?"

It was that word again—cute. Tomoka slumped and muttered, "I have no friends." She wasn't serious of course, and the lady knew that.

"That's why you're sitting here by yourself, eating ice cream? In that case, should I hang out with you for the rest of the day?"

Tomoka blinked, but the goddess was smiling. The smile was so full of compassion and kindness, that, before she knew it, she blurted out everything. From her troubled love life, the advice from her friends, the way she felt like a heroine in a cheesy romance whenever she saw him… everything to this stranger.

The goddess didn't interrupt to ask who he was, nor did she say anything at all until Tomoka was finished. After a pause, she said slowly, "I think I know what can help."

Tomoka nearly cried with relief. "You do?" The woman nodded that familiar smile.

"The solution is simple. You want to tone down your hots for him, is that right?" A nod. "Then you need a way to leak it out. You've been holding in all your emotions for him and it built up until you think he can feel those waves of emotion. Just let it out. Confess indirectly."

"What?"

A cell phone rang and the lady started. "Oh, I completely forgot! I'm supposed to go to a sponsorship meeting for a new flower shop… I'm so sorry. I don't mean to just get up and leave you…"

Tomoka shook her head. "No, it's fine. Thank you so much for spending time with me. You've helped me out a lot." She grinned. "I feel better already."

The goddess petted her hair and practically glowed as she said, "You're so cute! Well, I have to go now. Remember, don't hold it all in! Confess to something besides him, like a rock or tree." She waved as she walked away. "Good luck!"

It wasn't until she was standing in the middle of the park facing a tree trunk and ready to pour out her heart that she knew why she hadn't thought of this before. It was too silly. What would she do if a person walked by and saw her talking to a tree? It would be worse if she knew the person.

But she had no other choice if she wanted to find her peace again. With this thought in mind, she closed her eyes and began to talk.

"Um, hello, Kaidoh-senpai."

She giggled. Then she stopped and with great effort forced herself to get serious.

"I know this is stupid, but I really need to get this off my chest. I…" Opened her eyes and glanced around. Nobody. "I really like you. Not love, but just like. It's so crazy because I don't know why. But yeah, I like you." She stared at the bark expectantly. It only stared back. "I like you, Kaidoh-senpai." Hearing it come out of her mouth felt funny, but it got easier. "I like you, Kaidoh-senpai. I really, really like you, Kaidoh-senpai." She took a deep breath and then smiled. "Hehe."

She stepped back and then suddenly shot her arms up to the sky, giddy with relief and happiness. "Ahh… I'm so happy." She felt as light as a feather, as if a ton of weight lifted from her soul.

Then she whirled around just in case by some twist of fate the object of her affections was standing right behind her. To her great relief, there was no one. Of course, it wasn't like this was some kind of drama or romance story where, after the heroine confesses out loud, the guy of her dreams is standing right behind her, listening to every word she said. This was life. And so, just to prove that, she wrapped her arms around the tree and kissed it soundly.

A faint noise that sounded suspiciously like a person made her freeze. She listened and heard nothing, but she still stepped back from the tree. Warily, she craned her neck over the bushes and saw a white shoe. It was connected to a dark pair of slacks. She considered screaming and hightailing, but the stopped when she realized it might not be a dead body. Bracing herself, she leaned over the bushes and saw a boy. He didn't look dead, so she stepped over the bushes and got a good look at him. Relief flooded her when she saw that he was sound asleep.

Questions flitted through her mind, like, who was he? Why was he sleeping here of all places? And did he hear her? He was wearing a school uniform, but she couldn't quite recognize it. She saw the duffel bag that he was half-laying on and figured he must like sleeping in the park. In that case, she didn't know if she should wake him or leave him be. She bent down so she was eye level with him. His sleeping face was cute, she decided. Yet there was something familiar about him…

There was a rustling sound and she spun around, only to see nothing. Realizing that the sky was dark, she spared a glance at him before going on her way. In any case, this was a public park, and if he was a student, he should know what he was doing.

Soon, a smile spread on her face and she good barely contain her delight. Her steps had a new energy in them, a new kind of bounce.

I love life.

Life was funny, Akutagawa Jirou thought as he stretched from the tree. After tennis practice he'd somehow found this park and decided to sleep. The next thing he knew, there was the sound of laughter. Wondering if he was still at school as he heard a girl's voice, he tried to fall back asleep.

"I really, really like you, Kaidoh-senpai."

His eyes opened. Where had he heard that name before?

"Ahh… I'm so happy."

This was definitely not Hyotei. And he didn't recognize this girl's voice. Clearly the girl didn't know he was here, or she wouldn't have blurted out her feelings so carelessly. Briefly entertaining the thought of alerting her of his presence, he decided to just stay silent and wait for her to leave.

That is, until he saw a pair of arms wrap around the tree he was leaning against and heard the unmistakable sound of a kiss.

He stifled a laugh but the girl still heard it. Immediately he feigned sleep, knowing ultimately the easiest way out. He heard rustling as she came through the bushes and then awkward silence when she stared at him. He wondered if she was going to kiss him too. Finally, she went on her way, apparently deciding to leave him alone.

Making sure she was well away, he poked his head around the tree and saw a young girl wearing the Seigaku High School uniform. It was too dark to see anymore, but he was pretty sure she wore pigtails. He frowned as he tried to remember which girl in Seigaku wore pigtails, but none immediately came to mind. Well, she had seen his face, so she could recognize him anywhere. As for him, tracking her down would be a breeze, what with him having Atobe as a captain.

And he knew her secret. Life was funny that way.

But even funnier was that he remembered who Kaidoh was.

Tachibana An was normally a level-headed and capable girl. Not much fazed her, unless it was about people she cared about, and even then she liked to think she was calm and rational.

But what she just saw blew every rational thought out of her mind.

She had been walking home from a late tennis practice and decided to take a shortcut. As she walked through the park, something caught her eye and she turned in time to see Tomoka bending down to give some guy a kiss. If she hadn't met and comforted a desperate Tomoka only a few days ago, she would have thought the girl had moved on. But she had met her a few days ago, and she knew that there was no way Tomoka could've moved on so quickly.

But that didn't change the fact that Tomoka was about to give a kiss to a guy who was definitely not Kaidoh.

A gut feeling told her that something was not quite right. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, she decided to call Sakuno.

"Horio-kun, could you get me some tape please?" A silence. "Horio-kun?"

Katsuo passed by Sakuno as he carried a box, saying, "Horio-kun is in the bathroom. Do you need masking tape?"

"Um, yes. It's all right, I'll get it." The pigtails girl crossed the classroom to Horio's work area. Suddenly, her phone rang, making her jump slightly, and she answered it with a surprised, "An-chan?"

"Sakuno, I've got a class A emergency."

"Ryuzaki!" a voice called. "Can I have that tape after you?"

Flustered, Sakuno placed a hand over the receiver and told them, "Oh, um, you can have it now! I don't need it yet." To An she asked, "Emergency?"

"Yeah, it's about Tomoka. By the way, where are you?"

"Um, I'm at school." She went outside the class for some privacy, but there were students working outside as well. She jumped out of the way as two boys holding a heavy box hurtled down the hall. "W-wah! I'm sorry!"

"Eh? So late?"

"Yes! We're having a festival soon and our class is preparing a food stand. So, um, what's the emergency about? Is Tomo-chan in trouble?" She entered the girl's bathroom, relieved that it was empty.

"No. At least, I hope not. You may want to sit down for this…" An was only too aware of Sakuno's lack of balance and she wasn't sure how much the news would shock her.

"Okay, I'm sitting," Sakuno said bemused, sitting on the toilet cover.

"Tomoka has a boyfriend."

"E-EH?" Sakuno was glad she was sitting, or she really might have fallen. "Tomo-chan… has a boyfriend?"

"Yup. And that's not all. I saw her kissing him."

"T-Tomo… She was k-k-kissing him?" Poor Sakuno thought she would faint. She knew that her friend was outgoing and confident, but not this confident. "But… An-chan, are you sure?"

"I wish I'm not, but I really did see it. And even weirder was that he wasn't Kaidoh-san."

Sakuno frowned. "But that doesn't really make sense… Did you see who it was?"

"They were a little far away, but he had brown hair. Actually, it was more like orange."

"Orange? He had orange hair?" She wondered who of all the people Tomoka knew had orange hair.

"Yeah, but that's all I know. He might have been cute-looking, but I couldn't tell. In any case, Tomoka has something she's not telling us. You'd better get some answers from her."

"O-Okay…" Sakuno didn't say that maybe it was best to let Tomoka say it when she was ready. "Ah, An-chan, are we still meeting tomorrow?"

"Ahh! Sakuno, I almost forgot to tell you! I'm really, really sorry, but I just got a dentist appointment tomorrow. And then my brother asked me to do some errands…! I'm really sorry!"

Sakuno smiled. "It's okay, An-chan. Maybe we can go some other time."

"I know! Why don't we meet at the mall next Saturday? There's a new flower shop that I want to check out."

"A flower shop in the mall? Oh! I heard Obaa-chan saying she wanted to buy some flowers from there for her friend's birthday. Okay, so next Saturday? At eleven, right?"

"Yup! Sorry again, Sakuno. Ah! Why don't you go with Tomoka tomorrow? That way you can interrogate her thoroughly."

"E-eh… okay." As usual, An was full-speed ahead, even if Sakuno thought she was overreacting.

But then, why shouldn't she be? Tomoka was kissing a boy only two days after she proclaimed her love for Kaidoh. There was something not Right. This was indeed a class A emergency.

"Okay, An-chan," Sakuno said suddenly. "You can count on me!"

'Tomo-chan… don't worry, I'll help you. As your friend, I will not fail!'

Horio unglued his ear from the bathroom wall. His eyes were wide and the gears in his head whirled with what he just heard.

He had been busy answering nature's call (still was, in fact) when his keen ears picked up a familiar girl's voice through the wall. It was Ryuzaki. This is what he heard:

"…boyfriend… kissing… orange hair... An-chan… flower shop… mall… next Saturday… eleven…"

Based on his superb deduction skills (which he'd picked up from a certain data man), Horio concluded two things. One, that Ryuzaki was just having a normal, harmless girl's chat/gossip. Or two, which he highly believed to be the truer, that An Tachibana was kissing her orange-haired boyfriend and had a date with him at the flower shop in the mall next Saturday at eleven in the morning.

Tachibana An was the younger sister of Tachibana-buchou of the Fudomine tennis team. Although rivals, they were on friendly terms with Seigaku, and if anything happened to one team, the other team would be sure to aide them.

Horio, backed by his intelligence and great logic, reasoned that the sister of a tennis captain would date no one other than a tennis player. So it was safe to conclude that Tachibana An was dating a tennis player with orange hair.

This was where the problem started. Neither Akira Kamio nor Momoshiro had orange hair. And he was pretty sure nobody else from Seigaku and Fudomine had orange hair. That only left… Horio's eyes widened.

Sengoku Kiyosumi. Yamabuki vice captain. That tall, amazing player clearly had orange hair, and he was a reputed flirt. And if he remembered correctly, which he knew he did, Sengoku-san had played against both Momoshiro and Kamio … and lost. Granted, he beat Momoshiro later, but it was possible that great tennis players counted any loss, regardless of the wins, as a loss.

Horio nodded thoughtfully. Yes, it all made sense now. Sengoku-san, feeling sore because he lost, decided to take revenge and steal the one thing Momoshiro and Kamio cherished most: Tachibana An's feelings.

Horio was elated. This was top secret information that nobody among the tennis players had except for himself. There was only one thing to do.

"I have to tell Momo-chan senpai."

Friday. Weekend. Home. Warmth.

If there was one thing Fuji Yuuta loved most about coming home, it was the delicious aroma that assaulted his craving senses the instant he stepped over the threshold.

Food.

"I'm home!" he called, waiting for either his mother or sister's voice, or even his brother's, but he doubted he was home yet—

"Welcome home," greeted Syusuke as he poked his head from the kitchen. "You can take your time putting your stuff away, Yuuta. Dinner won't be ready for a while."

"What? Why? Are you making dinner?" The last part was said with some dismay, and Syusuke's head appeared again.

"Why, what's with that tone little brother? You don't doubt your Aniki's cooking skills, do you?"

Yuuta snorted as he entered the kitchen, seeing the arrayed dishes of food on the table. "Nee-san already made all of this. Speaking of Nee-san, where is she?"

The genius smiled as he stirred the pot. "Beats me. All she said on the phone was to not touch anything until she came back." This was directed at Yuuta as he tried to sneak some food.

"When?" Maybe if he kept his brother busy answering questions he could get away with some meat.

"If I knew I would tell you," came the answer. "Anyways, tell me about your week. How has my little brother been? How's high school?"

"Aniki, I keep telling you to stop calling me 'little'!"

"You'll always be my little brother, Yuuta."

"Yeah, but I'm taller than you now, so technically you can't call me that."

"But I'm older, so technically I can."

"Aniki, you're—is something burning?"

They looked at the pot, which was indeed bubbling and smoking.

"Oops, I must have put the heat too high."

"Ack, Aniki! The smoke!"

"Yuuta! Open the windows!"

"Hurry and pour out the soup before Nee-san sees—"

"Before I see what, Yuuta?" Yumiko Fuji stood in the kitchen doorway, a cheerful smile on her face that belied the danger lurking beneath it.

Realizing their lives were at stake, Syusuke turned and gave his older sister a disarming smile. "Ah, Nee-san, you're back. Would you like some soup that Yuuta and I made for you?" Yuuta shot him a glare and backed away.

"Oh no, Aniki, you're not dragging me into this. This is your fau—Nee-san!" Yumiko suddenly grabbed her brother's neck into a choking hug and gave him a resounding kiss on the cheek. "Gah! Nee-san, stop it!"

She released him, smiling widely. "Punishment, baby brother." Her smile turned on Syusuke, and he immediately knew what was going to happen… but then she burst into laughter. Her brothers stared as their older, mature sister uncharacteristically spun around sighing, "I think I should become a love counselor. What do you think?"

Realizing he could save himself, Syusuke quickly said, "You would make a great love counselor, Nee-san." Yuuta grumbled something like 'coward' as he rubbed his cheek.

Yumiko was in her own world now. "She was a cute girl from your school, Syusuke." She giggled. "It must be wonderful to be so young and full of love."

As she drifted off, completely forgetting about the burnt soup, Yuuta looked at his brother and hissed, "You're a suck up, Aniki. Nee-san could never become a love counselor and you know that."

Syusuke only smiled and said, "Those who run can live to fight another day. And you have lipstick on your face, little brother."

"Ack!" Yuuta hurried away to the bathroom. "Stop calling me that!"

"Little!"

Home. Warmth. Food. Family. Laughter. Love.

This was why he came home every weekend without fail.

Momoshiro Takeshi probably had dual-personality disorder, Ryoma decided. That explained how the friendliest person in the world could suddenly engage in the world's biggest, longest, stupidest arguments.

"Oh yeah? I bet you couldn't get a girl to go out with you even if she felt sorry."

"What would you know? A girl wouldn't even look at you, let alone talk to you for five minutes!"

"Too bad a girl already has, you punk! That's more than you can claim!"

"What did you say?!"

Ryoma resisted the urge to tug on his old cap, the common phrase ready on his lips. He and Momoshiro had agreed to play at the street courts and had arrived early, only to find the courts occupied by none other than Fudomine High. Apparently, their captain and manager told them to practice before enjoying their Saturday, and they had arrived extra early to take all the courts.

This would have been totally fine with Ryoma since there were plenty of other courts. But as they were leaving, Akira Kamio, who had woken late, collided with Momoshiro, making him drop his racket. The resulting argument the instant they saw each other soon erupted into a heated spat. It somehow became a fight over who attracted the most attention from the females.

Stupid, Ryoma knew.

The rest of the team glanced curiously over at the arguing pair, the loud voices carrying over easily to the far courts. The battle about who was better-looking provided more entertainment for the sleep-deprived players than half-heartedly hitting the ball back and forth, but respect and fear for their captain's orders held them back.

"They're quite noisy." Ibu Shinji had no such restraints as he appeared by Ryoma's side. The boy didn't answer, hoping the loquacious senpai would get the hint. This hope was dashed as Shinji paused and then said, "It makes my head hurt. They're too loud for so early in the morning. They should make use of their energy and practice instead of arguing over such a pointless matter. If I were them, I would settle it over who wins a game. A battle of words can expand your knowledge, I'll admit, but how do you know who the winner is if they don't stop talking? It's unreliable. It's stupid. Their stupidity is making my head hurt. Why don't they just agree to a match and decide the winner fair and square? I want to tell them, but for some reason, I doubt they'll take my advice. What do you think, Echizen? Do you agree that their stupidity is making them blind to the solution in front of their eyes?"

"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom," Ryoma said, realizing he could escape now while he still retained his sanity. Shinji didn't seem to hear him as he continued talking.

"They say that ignorance is bliss. I don't agree with that statement at all. By being aware of all the consequences of your action you become a wiser, better person than before. Those who fall can learn from their mistakes and stand back up again. I know that I have fallen many times, but I have not let that stop me." He didn't seem to notice that the arguing pair whom he was trying to lecture was not listening, and in fact, they had gotten louder. Unconsciously, he raised his own voice as well. "Echizen, the greatness of a person is not determined by words but by their action. That is why tennis is so important. In tennis there is not so much talking as there is action. By doing things physically it proves that you are a real man. I personally think…"

Ishida was nearest to them and remarked to his double's partner, "Oi, isn't Shinji just contradicting himself?"

Masaya shrugged, returning a backhand. "I don't think he cares."

Momoshiro was seconds away from throttling Kamio. "Ha! You have a girl who's practically on your team yet she chooses to spend time with me! It doesn't say much for your charm."

Kamio's visible eye twitched violently as he retorted, "She just feels sorry for you, seeing you play here all alone! We see each other at school everyday so she doesn't need to spend pity time with me!"

"Oh yeah? Then why does she ignore you when I'm around? I think you're misunderstanding something, Mr. I've-Got-Rhythm."

"You're the one who's misunderstanding, you monkey! You're just jealous because An-chan and I are closer than you'll ever be!"

They were practically frothing at the mouth, grabbing each other's collars.

"She's just forced to be nice to you because you're on the team and your captain is her brother! I feel sorry for her. She has to see your ugly face everyday!"

"I pity you for your stupid brain. You don't seem to realize that An-chan and I have known each other far longer than you have. Actually, I pity her because she has to put up with your stupidity!"

"Why you little bast—"

"Momo-chan senpai!" They turned to see Horio running towards them, a frantic look on his face. "Momo—" He stopped at the sight of the two senpais ready to pummel the lights out of each other.

Behind him, Kachiro and Katsuo were panting. "Wait, Horio-kun! Don't tell him yet!"

Horio was panting as well, but he still managed to say in his loud voice, "What do you mean? Of course I have to tell him now! We've been searching for you everywhere, Momo-chan senpai!"

"No we haven't!"

Momoshiro managed to blink in his anger. "Huh? Why?"

"Oh, it's just you guys," said Ryoma as he returned from his (long) bathroom break. He had been wondering why it had suddenly gotten so noisy.

From the courts, the rest of the team had watched as the group around Kamio and Momoshiro grew. By now it was obvious they weren't getting much practice done.

Ishida put his racket on his shoulder and said, "You guys keep practicing. I'm done for today." As he walked away, Masaya followed him. Kyousuke and Tatsunori glanced at each other, shrugged and joined the group. They decided that facing the possible wrath of their captain might be worth watching the show.

Horio was feeling important now that everyone was paying attention to him. Not only that, but Fudomine was here as well. Ah, the looks of surprise and awe on their faces when he told them. "Ah, ahem. You can listen to this too, Echizen. This is a very grave matter of importance that has to do with the one and only Tachibana An."

Both Kamio and Momoshiro blinked. "Eh?"

Kachiro and Katsuo could practically see disaster ready to strike. "Horio-kun…" They looked at each other and sighed. "I guess we can't really stop him."

Suddenly Horio felt the atmosphere grow tense, and when he stopped preening to see why, he cringed. Kamio and Momoshiro were looming dangerously close to him, their auras so high that he felt like they were going to pull a special tennis move on him. He began to wonder if maybe he should have kept his mouth shut.

But it was too late. "So? What about An-chan?" Kamio barked. Horio flinched.

For once Momoshiro was in agreement, demanding, "Out with it, Horio. What about Tachibana-imotou?"

Sweating profusely, the freshman squeezed his eyes and blurted, "I'm sorry, but I overheard this from Ryuzaki! She was talking to Tachibana-san over the phone and I heard… I heard… that she's dating Sengoku-san and that they're going to meet next Saturday at the mall at eleven! That's all!" He braced himself, close to whimpering, but when nothing happened he slowly opened one eye.

Momoshiro had a blank look on his face. "Dating… Sengoku-san…" He said incredulously, "Tachibana-imotou?"

"An-chan? She has a boyfriend?" Kamio had an expression of shock that slowly turned into disappointment, but then quickly turned to outrage. "Sengoku?"

"Sengoku-san?" Masaya was confused. He glanced at Ishida. "Lucky Sengoku? But why would An-san date a player from Yamabuki?"

Momoshiro was grinding his teeth as he said, "He must have tricked her into becoming one of his girlfriends! That bastard… I thought he was a good guy, but now I'm going to crush him!"

Kamio's eye twitched as he clenched his fists. "That damn player! If he even touches her I'm going to kill him!" He suddenly rounded on Horio, who was trying to slink away. "You!"

Horio nearly peed his pants. "Y-yes!"

"Did you say they were meeting next Saturday? Where?"

"Y-Yes! They're meeting at the mall in front of the flower shop!"

"Wait." Momoshiro fixed an eye on the quivering kouhai. "Are you sure this is absolutely true?"

Horio could hardly keep himself from whimpering as he answered, "Y-yes, Momoshiro-senpai! I didn't hear his name, but she said that she kissed an orange-haired guy…" His eyes widened in horror. Kachiro and Katsuo groaned, knowing they were now officially dead meat.

"RAAGH!" Kamio had to be restrained before he went and did something rash—like kill Sengoku. "An-chan! How could you k—k—! GAHH!"

Similarly, the freshmen (excluding Ryoma, who wisely stayed a distance away) had to hold down Momoshiro before he could go on a similar hunt. "I thought he was decent! That bastard! I'll tear him apart if he makes her cry!"

"Momo-chan senpai, stop it! Please calm down!"

Ryoma watched the two thrashing second-years out of the corner of his eye before he took a sip of his Ponta. "Hm. Mada mada dane." He quickly turned around, but when he saw nothing, he shrugged. The sound was probably just his imagination.

Kyousuke glanced at Shinji nervously. "Hey, Shinji?" The normally talkative boy was silent and staring at the ground quite intensely. "Uh, I know you're mad and you probably want to do something, but we're upset too. An-san is like our little sister. So, uh, don't get too angry." Ishida placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head.

"It's no use when he gets like that, man."

Shinji blinked and then looked up at Momoshiro and Kamio. "Stop it, you two."

Everyone looked at him with surprise. He continued, "Getting angry won't accomplish anything."

Kamio was still seeing red and retorted, "Then what should we do? Attack Yamabuki?" His tone was not sarcastic, indicating that the idea was not lost on him. "Why are you so calm, Shinji?"

"I have a plan." At the blank expressions he explained, "While you guys were acting on your emotions, I was thinking. The plan is simple."

Momoshiro forced himself to calm down and asked, "Oh? And what is it?"

Shinji smiled slowly. Everyone felt chills go down their spines.

"We sabotage their date."

"Inui? Is that you?"

The data tennis player turned and saw Eiji blinking at him. "Eiji, good morning. What brings you here?"

"Huh? I was just buying some toothpaste that was on sale." He eyed Inui's ever-present notebook that was open and said in surprise, "Inui, are you taking data this early in the morning?"

Inui was undeterred by his incredulous tone. "The early bird gets the worm first."

The bubbly half of the Golden Pair wrinkled his nose at this analogy. "Nya, I guess I can understand that. What are you taking data on?" Inui adjusted his glasses and smirked.

"Extremely interesting data, Eiji. Something that will spark more than just rivalry between schools."

"Come on, I want to try out that store first!" Tomoka pointed and walked quickly to it, leaving behind Sakuno. "I feel like changing my style."

The braided pigtail girl kept from sighing and caught up with her energetic friend. "Tomo-chan, you already changed your style five times in the past three months. Why don't we go get something to eat before hitting the clothes?" And possibly get her to talk about her new boyfriend, Sakuno thought.

"But if we eat we can't fit into any of the clothes, Sakuno!" Tomoka stopped abruptly and said, "Unless you're hungry. I don't really mind either way."

Sakuno was speechless for only a second at her friend's uncharacteristic behavior. "Um, yes, I'm a little hungry. I forgot to eat breakfast…" This was actually true because she'd woken up late. She'd gotten home after working hard in preparation for the festival and barely managed to set a date with Tomoka before she fell asleep. She smiled brightly and said, "Let's have pizza then."

Tomoka's eyes lightened at the mention of something Italian. "Yeah! Let's go to that one restaurant on that one floor! Come on, Sakuno, I suddenly got really hungry!" Sakuno barely had time to agree when she was pulled by her friend. "Pizza, oh pizza, I'm coming for you!"

Sakuno smiled. Good. Now if she could get her friend to let her guard down over a few slices, then her mission would be a breeze. A certain buchou's words that would have warned her friend against such an act made her giggle silently.

Sweet fragrance filled her nose as a different kind of breeze brushed past her, bringing her attention to a small, well-decorated shop with an array of brightly colored flowers. Feathery chimes hung at the entrance and made silvery tinkling music as the wind gently blew at them. Through the glass she could see silk, embroidered pillows and adorable plushy dolls holding flower bouquets for display. The shop had such a calm and peaceful atmosphere that Sakuno couldn't help but sigh.

Suddenly, she saw a girl stand up. The girl was a little older than her, definitely in high school, and pleasant-looking. Judging from the apron she was a worker. Sakuno kept watching, wondering if the girl was a florist. Why did An want to meet at this shop?

And then, a familiar bandana-wearing tennis player appeared by the girl's side, holding a beautiful bouquet of roses. The shock that went through Sakuno was not pleasant, and she realized that Tomoka was not supposed to see this. No matter if she had a mysterious boyfriend. She glanced at her friend and was about to ask what kind of pizza she wanted, but Tomoka's attention was elsewhere. To her dismay, she was looking in the direction of the flower shop.

"Ah, Tomo-chan, we're almost at the pizza place!" Sakuno tried to grab her attention, but it was too late. It was impossible to not see Kaidoh handing the bouquet (and what an amazing bouquet it was!) to the girl. The blush on his cheeks was even easier to see. It was obvious what this gesture meant to him. Sakuno berated herself for staring at them so stupidly and tried to think of something to say.

Tomoka seemed riveted to the spot, her eyes betraying the shock and confusion that her blank face hid. Sakuno winced and slipped her arm through her friend's, firmly tugging her to move. "Come on, Tomoka."

An must have mistaken what she saw for another couple, because clearly, Osakada Tomoka very much still liked Kaidoh Kaoru.

It was a beautiful late afternoon with the sky clear of any clouds and the sun shining brightly. The sounds of children laughing and couples chatting and dogs barking filled the busy city. The streets were crowded with students and tourists and the air had the scent of different kinds of food that sold in vendors or restaurants.

It was the perfect kind of day to go out somewhere. Maybe a picnic. Or the festival the town was holding. Or hang out. Whatever. For Shishido, he preferred to play tennis, but doing all the aforementioned things was cool by him. Just as long as he did not have to be dragged along in a group outing—or, as he called it, "team bonding under the magnificent tutelage that is Ore-sama!"—and be forced to endure the swarms of fan girls crying "Atobe-sama!" and "I love you!" and "Please look at me!"… he wouldn't really care.

"Look, it's the tennis team!"

"Kyaah! It's Atobe-sama!"

"Atobe-sama!"

Unfortunately for him, the esteemed tennis captain of Hyotei decided that, in order to strengthen the bonds that would ultimately defeat his greatest rival the entire team should accompany him to the small festival that the city council decided to hold over the weekend. He had ordered everyone to come, and when Shishido absolutely refused to step into the typically grand limo, there had been a not-so-veiled threat of fan girls being allowed to come to every practice and get a "closer look at the great and awe-inspiring Captain." With a threat like that who could blame him for going?

"Isn't that the captain of the Hyotei tennis team?"

"Wow, they're so cool!"

"ATOBE-SAMA!"

"Why?" he muttered quietly, so that nobody could hear. Beside him, Choutarou heard the single-worded complaint anyways.

"Don't worry, Shishido-san, it won't be much longer before we can go home." The tall boy was actually enjoying the festival, but he didn't say that to his irate doubles partner.

Behind them Gakuto scoffed. "So dumb. Do you think he'll go anytime soon with all these fans?" Near the back of the group, Hiyoshi grunted in agreement.

Oshitari Yuushi nodded. "Not only that, but I think he actually likes it here."

Shishido fought the urge to pull his hair, not because it would look uncool, but because he had already accepted the fact that it was useless to act emotional when it came to Atobe's whims. It only proved to result in a big headache later on.

"Hm?" observed Yuushi. "There seems to be a commotion." Indeed, there was a large crowd gathered near one of the game booths, and it seemed very interesting judging from the excited voices. He pushed up his glasses, remarking, "It sounds like a game."

"Eh?" Gakuto craned his neck, trying to see over the heads and said mockingly, "What could be more interesting than buchou?"

Hiyoshi rolled his eyes as he said, "I can name a few."

"Apparently those girls can't," Yuushi said, nodding at the squealing crowd of girls surrounding Atobe and the ever-present Kabaji.

Choutarou frowned, wanting to support his captain, and protested, "Senpai, they just admire buchou. A lot," he hastily added at their looks. Shishido had to roll his eyes at his friend's naivety.

Gakuto snorted, "If forming a freaky cult is what you call admiration, fine. If you ask me it's just a bunch of slutty girls who want to be his official harem."

"Gakuto-senpai!" Choutarou looked horrified. But then, loud cheering kept him from continuing as everyone turned to look at the crowd from before. It had become larger while they weren't looking.

"I admit, I'd like to see what kind of game it is," Yuushi mused.

"Billiards." They turned and saw Jirou yawning from his position on the bench where he'd been dozing. "I heard from some guys. There's someone challenging people to a time-limited game—ten seconds per move, or something." He yawned again.

Billiards, Shishido thought, perking up just a tiny bit. He hadn't played in a very long time, what with high school and tennis taking up his spare hours.

Choutarou looked at him. "Shishido-san, you like to play pool, don't you?"

Shrugging, he said, "It's probably just some amateur player who rigged up the game."

Gakuto's eyes were glinting maliciously. "Oh? Are you scared that your skills aren't good enough to beat a rigged game?"

Choutarou knew what his senpai was doing and he tried to interfere, but Shishido was already stalking towards the game. "Shishido-san!" He sighed. "Gakuto-senpai, now he won't leave until he's done."

Yuushi adjusted his glasses again, saying, "This might be interesting." He headed toward the crowd as well, and Gakuto jauntily followed. Hiyoshi had a disapproving face but curiosity won over and he too left. Choutarou was alone with the half-sleeping senpai.

Sighing, he soon followed. "I guess I should go too." It was a resigned tone of voice that knew he had to do whatever damage control he could.

Jirou slept peacefully, curled up on the bench and a content look on his face.

It wasn't as if she were in love with him. She thought she'd already gone through that. But what was that feeling in her chest when she saw him smiling so gently at that girl? Why did she still feel the flip-flopping in her stomach, the thumping in her chest, the awareness that he was right there and she was looking straight at him? She shouldn't be feeling any of these, not when she'd gone through the trouble of toning down her emotions. That indirect confession worked, didn't it?

No, it worked. It just wasn't enough. She nodded to herself, gripping the pole tighter as the bus swayed around a corner. The next time she would have to pour out every single drop of her soul. Catharsis.

If there was a next time.

...His girlfriend is pretty.

She clenched her hand tighter around the pole and tried hard not to feel the hot prickling at the back of her eyelids. Tomoka was a strong girl. She was not a highly sensitive, overly emotional teenager. She was Osakada Tomoka, freshman (freshwoman) at Seigaku High. These petty feelings were only a passing crush. She didn't love him or anything, so it was okay.

Really though, she thought back, she had to give Sakuno some credit. The normally gentle girl had suddenly taken command and dragged Tomoka around the entire mall—anywhere, as long as it was away from that flower shop. She'd forced the suddenly comatose girl to eat pizza and then pulled her into store after store after store. Sakuno had even bought a cute little necklace with a delicate chain and a friendship ring—only a small token of their camaraderie.

Tomoka reached a hand to touch the necklace and blinked when something brushed her skin. Her hair was down and out of the hair ties that restrained them. Again, it was Sakuno's idea—something about "let your beautiful hair be free just this once." She'd done it just to appease her friend, but she really wasn't used to having her hair brush against her face and shoulders. So she gathered her hair back up into a ponytail.

"Ow!" Something pulled at the scalp of her head and she realized it was her necklace. Some hair had gotten caught on the clasp and wasn't about to let go. She tried to untangle it, but since it was at the back of her neck it was difficult. Somehow, it got tangled even worse, and she huffed. "Jeez." Her day just had to get worse, didn't it?

There was no help for it. She looked around the bus, hoping to find someone who could help her. Sakuno had gone home with her grandmother since they had a special dinner with some guests, and Tomoka said she would go home by herself despite their urging to give her a ride. She wanted to be alone and mope.

A fat lot of good that did her now.

Luckily, there was a tall girl with long dark hair wearing a white hat standing near the doors. Gathering herself, Tomoka went and tapped her shoulder, and then turned around quickly before her blush could be seen. "Excuse me, but can you untangle this for me? I can't really see it, so…" She lifted as much hair as she could from her neck, hoping nobody was watching them.

Coming all the way here by bus took longer than Kisarazu Ryou had expected, but at least he had the equipment he needed for the next gig. He and his newly formed band were performing for a festival that his school was holding next week, and he needed new strings for his electric guitar. As he stared out the window, watching the cars pass by, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

When he turned, he didn't expect to see a slender neck and a hand holding up long tresses from said neck. And so close too. He felt a blush suffuse in his face and he blinked when the girl asked him to untangle something for her. Multiple thoughts ran through his head, one of the main ones wondering if the girl had any idea how bold she was to approach a stranger in such a manner.

Then he realized she was still there waiting for him and he mechanically reached for the knot of hair tangled in the necklace. It was a rather complex snare that took all of his concentration to untangle, and he had to be careful not to hurt her on accident. He tried not to notice when his fingertips brushed her skin, or just the unnerving proximity she was to him.

Finally, he finished, and he brushed away the loose hair that couldn't be saved from her shirt. She turned with a bright smile, saying, "Thank you, Onee-san—" She froze and her eyes widened in shock.

He felt his own eyes widen in horror as his face burned.

He'd been mistaken as a girl.

"Jirou, wake up!"

Even in the deepest slumber he could recognize the imperious voice, and knowing that the voice wouldn't stop until it was obeyed, he opened his eyes and saw Atobe standing in front of the bench with Kabaji silently by his side. It was getting late, he realized as he yawned and sat up. The others were missing. He remembered something about a pool game and an interesting challenge.

"Where is everyone?" Atobe was more curious to know why everybody was not waiting eagerly for his golden attention. "They are quite rude not to wait for Ore-sama. Right, Kabaji?"

"Ossu."

Jirou leaned back drowsily, saying, "They said they were going to play billiards. Over there." He pointed. If possible, Atobe's scowl turned haughtier. His sharp eyes observed the large crowd and indeed he could see familiar light hair standing above the rest of the heads. It bothered him slightly because not only was the crowd paying attention to something besides him, but they actually seemed like they were having fun.

"I will let my presence be known to them, because it is obvious that they have no idea that Ore-sama is here. Come with me, Kabaji, Jirou."

"Ossu."

The sleepy boy didn't really feel like accompanying the captain to make his presence known, so he said the first thing that came to his mind, "Atobe, do you know any pigtail girls in Seigaku?"

"Hm?" Atobe turned slightly to give Jirou a slightly surprised look. Then he caught himself and smirked. "Ore-sama is known by many girls in Seigaku. But why would you ask such a question?" He didn't have to add that out of all the boys in Hyotei, Jirou was the last person to ask after a girl so specifically.

Despite his appearance, the Sleeping Beauty of Hyotei was quite cunning and observant. He shrugged, saying, "A really beautiful girl with pigtails ran into me the other day. She was wearing the Seigaku High uniform. But I didn't get a chance to ask her name." He opened an eye. Good, Atobe was looking at him. It was probably at the word 'beautiful.' He continued, "Since you of all people are acquainted with beautiful women, I thought I should ask you who the name of the goddess was." 'Nice one, Jirou.'

Atobe, for all his acquaintances and superb memory, did not remember such a girl. But like the person he was, he refused to be overcome by such a small obstacle and he closed his eyes. A flash of long, braided pigtails flitted through his mind's eye and he smirked radiantly.

"Ore-sama knows your goddess' name. She is the granddaughter of Ore-sama's greatest rival's coach… The goddess you have fallen in love with is Ryuzaki Sakuno!" He flipped his hair elegantly and waited for the shouts and ebullition of admiration to follow his amazing memory. Belying his confident attitude, his mind was thinking swiftly.

Ryuzaki Sakuno was present at almost every single one of that brat's matches. She and her very loud friend were always cheering Echizen on, even when Atobe was obviously on the court. Ryuzaki was clearly not swooning in awe at the sight of his prowess, and in his egotistical mind, that only meant one thing.

Ryuzaki Sakuno was Echizen Ryoma's girlfriend.

So deep within his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear Jirou comment with a yawn, "No, Sakuno-chan is in love with Kaidoh Kaoru."

Atobe was surprised, but he quickly recovered and demanded, "That is ridiculous. Ryuzaki Sakuno is Echizen's little girlfriend. And why do you call her with such familiarity, eh? Ore-sama thinks you are trying to commit adulterous acts." Ignoring the nonplussed look he received, Atobe added irritably, "And do not spout lies either. Ore-sama is well-aware of what kind of person Kaidoh Kaoru is—no, animal. That boy is, without doubt, a snake. No innocent doe would fall in love with a predator!"

Jirou didn't say that Atobe was crazy because one, the captain wouldn't have believed him, and two, it was already a given to everyone who was used to Atobe that he was eccentric. So he settled with shrugging, "I heard her say that she loved him, straight from her mouth. There's no mistaking it—the doe can fall in love with a snake."

A regal scoff, but Atobe was thinking hard. If Ryuzaki Sakuno was not in love with the brat anymore, and she confessed her love to the snake, then there was sure to be a conflict. Echizen was, as much as Atobe hated to admit, a very strong player and even had Tezuka's eye on him. Atobe had no doubt that when Echizen found out his girlfriend loved another, his inexperienced heart would not be able to take the pain and his tennis would ultimately be affected. And if one member was down, the whole team was down.

'The only person worthy of being called my greatest rival is Tezuka. And if his team is not up to its full potential, then it would not be worth defeating him so effortlessly.'

Atobe smirked at his amazing conclusion and said, "Ore-sama is not satisfied with defeating Tezuka in such an unmerited manner. Ore-sama will conquer Tezuka when he is at his best. Right, Kabaji?"

"Ossu."

"Ore-sama has decided to honor Tezuka with a visit after the weekend and warn him of the circumstances involving his two players. Then he will be awed by the sight of Ore-sama's generosity and mercy. Right, Kabaji?"

If Kabaji had no idea what Atobe just said, he was careful not to show it. "Ossu."

Jirou floundered, having lost the captain around the first minute of his speech. "Huh?" He yawned, and then said with some relief, "Oh, they're back."

Shishido came stalking first, his hands shoved in pockets and his face looking like he could kill someone. The thunderous cloud above his head seemed to get worse as Gakuto hovered beside him, taunting and snickering.

"Hah! You lost! You sucker, you lost to a girl!" The acrobatics player had been forced to watch the longest game of billiards in his life and rubbing the loss into his teammate was an outlet for his pent up boredom. Fortunately Choutarou was there to admonish the senpai and mollify his doubles partner, even if he too looked like he could laugh.

"It wasn't that bad, Shishido-san. Wasn't it a good game, Oshitari-senpai?"

Yuushi pushed up his glasses as he commented to Hiyoshi, "Now that was entertainment I wouldn't have missed for all of Atobe's greatness." The normally stern boy smirked in agreement.

Atobe raised an eyebrow, only somewhat annoyed that they weren't paying him any attention. "I see you all have enjoyed yourselves."

Choutarou smiled brightly, "Yes buchou." The only response he got was a sniff. The tall boy glanced at Shishido, whose aura seemed to grow even darker as Gakuto continued laughing and Yuushi and Hiyoshi made amused comments.

Atobe was slightly curious. "What is so amusing?"

But the acrobatic player was doubled up, clutching his stomach as he continued to snicker. Choutarou was starting to look upset and said, "Gakuto-senpai, it isn't that funny. Shishido-san played well considering he hasn't played in a long time, and that girl was probably a professional. Or she might have rigged the game, like you said."

Since Gakuto couldn't speak, Yuushi explained for him. "You may be right, but what was funny was his attitude."

"He was totally serious!" Gakuto burst out, wiping his eyes. "He was cocker than a rooster! Pahaha!" Then he suddenly stopped and said in a voice that perfectly imitated a certain pool-loser, " 'How lame. I'll beat you and your rigged game!'" Another fresh peal of laughter. Choutarou glanced from his senpai to Shishido, who was emitting a sort of killing intent.

"Gakuto-senpai! Stop it!" Choutarou gave his doubles partner a terrified look and swallowed. "Shishido… san? Um, you aren't that angry, are you? Shishido—" A hand on his shoulder stopped him, and Yuushi shook his head.

"You'd best step back before he loses it." Jirou was sneaking away, the smell of the food appetizing him more than the promise of a violent show. Hiyoshi was already following his senpai with the knowledge that sometimes even strong fighters like him had to back out. Gakuto would survive, somehow, as he always did, and this time he kind of deserved whatever Shishido dished out.

Even the great captain of Hyotei High knew when to preserve his life, and so he remarked to Kabaji, "Ore-sama saw a decent-looking food cart a while ago. Ore-sama will bless the plebeians by purchasing their handmade products and spread the benevolence that only Ore-sama can give."

"Ossu."

They wasted no time in going to that plebeian's food cart.

Gakuto finally stopped laughing and took a moment to catch his breath. He blinked. "Huh? Where did everybody go? Oh, hey Shishido." He cracked a grin, apparently not sensing the death aura around his teammate or he would've run for his life. "Or should I call you, sucker of pool that lost to a girl?"

Shishido Ryou finally found. After all those hours of waiting, enduring, suffering, and ultimately, losing (to a girl), he finally found something worth putting up with so much crap.

Gakuto's two shiners.

End Part 1

A/N: Just one thing... in this particular fic, I spell their names An and Syuusuke. Since I've already written it out it's too late to change them. Eh, sorry if it bothers you.

Thank you so much for reading!