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Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 1

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

It started with a broken doorknob.

Echizen Ryoma and Momoshiro Takeshi were heading out of the clubhouse with their tennis gear for practice.

"After I beat you, will you buy my burgers, Momo-senpai?"

"You'll have to actually BEAT me first, Echizen." Momoshiro winked.

"Yeah, and after that, you're buying, right?"

Momoshiro laughed at Ryoma's assumption that he'd win. It was so like him. "We'll talk about it afterwards," he promised and went to open the door. The knob broke off in his hand.

"What the --?" Momo said as he and Ryoma looked at the doorknob in his hand. "Did it fall out or something?"

Ryoma peered at the spot where the knob had been. "Momo-senpai," he said slowly, gazing up at him with wide gold eyes. "It didn't fall out – it snapped in half. You broke it."

Momoshiro stared at him, then back at the doorknob. "But … how?"

At that moment, Fuji Syuusuke was running late for practice himself. It wasn't his fault, really. At least, he didn't think it was.

People kept stopping him. Once they had done so, they didn't want to let him go on.

He had just managed to ditch two classmates when he rounded a corner and came face-to-face with one of his teachers. Their eyes met.

"Shido-sensei!" Fuji gasped, putting a hand over his heart. "Thank goodness it's you. You startled me."

"Fuji-kun," the teacher said, regarding him with an expression Fuji had never seen an adult direct at him before. "You're looking VERY beautiful today."

Considering Fuji didn't think he looked any different than he had three hours ago when this man had taught his class, the comment made him uneasy. Not to mention the obvious desire in the teacher's eyes. "I – I have to go, sensei," Fuji stammered and tried to move around him. Shido-sensei caught his arm.

"Don't go," he pleaded. "Stay with me, Fuji-kun."

The fourteen-year-old's aqua eyes bore angrily into the teacher's. "Let go and don't ever touch me again!"

Instantly, Shido-sensei released him. Fuji wasted no more time and ran down the hall, heading for the tennis courts.

Ryuzaki Sumire watched as her tennis team of Seigaku Regulars began practice. Some of them already seemed a little off their game, and Fuji had arrived late, which was almost as unusual as Kaidoh not having shown up at all. For some reason, a distracted Tezuka Kunimitsu hadn't ordered the petite Senior to run laps for his tardiness, but that was his perogative as Captain. She noticed that Inui Sadaharu was rubbing his eyes in a way that concerned her.

"Inui!" she called out. "Is something wrong with your eyes? Glasses need a new prescription?"

"No, Ryuzaki-sensei," the data expert assured her. "It's just a headache."

"All right," she said, and looked over at the far court where Kikumaru Eiji, Momoshiro, and Ryoma were watching Oishi Syuichirou trying to pry a tennis ball from between the wires of the mesh fence. She hadn't seen what happened, but she could guess. "Momoshiro! You did that?"

The Sophomore looked apologetic, helpless, and sheepish all at once. "Yes, Sensei, but I didn't mean –"

"I'm sure you didn't," she said. It wasn't unusual for her power players to do such a thing. Why it embarrassed Momo now, she had no idea.

Sumire saw that Kawamura Takashi was still drinking water and hadn't yet set foot on the court. "Kawamura, are you part camel? Get a move on and grab your racquet – Fuji is waiting to play with you!"

"Oh, uh, yes Sensei." Kawamura wiped his mouth and headed toward Fuji, who held out his racquet for him.

"Here you are, Taka-san." He smiled.

Kawamura grinned shyly at Fuji and accepted the racquet. His expression began to change, and with it, his personality. Sumire turned away, but could still hear him get fired up like he usually did.

"Awwwwright, baby, I'm BURNING!"

Fuji's sudden scream made Sumire spin back to witness a horrifying sight.

Kawamura had burst into flames.

Sumire was still shaking when the doctor released Kawamura and asked to speak to her privately.

"First, let me reassure you that Kawamura-kun is fine –"

"He spontaneously combusted, doctor. That is NOT fine."

"Nevertheless, he's unharmed, Ryuzaki-san." The doctor folded his hands and leaned forward on the desk. "Truthfully, this is happening with alarming frequency lately."

"Children catching on fire?" Sumire asked, expecting a chuckle in return. It worried her when she didn't receive one.

"Not specifically, but strange occurrences involving children around Kawamura's age. Authorities are still trying to determine the cause, but the fact is that whatever has caused it, these kids are evolving and taking on unusual abilities." He opened a notebook and began writing something down. "I'm giving you the contact number for a woman named Hanamura Aoi. She's the –"

Ryuzaki held up a hand. "I know who Hanamura-san is. Where does she fit into this?"

"She was the first in the area to bring in students showing signs of evolvement."

Although his expression was the same as always as he road the train home, Tezuka was worried about his teammates. After Kawamura was taken to the doctor, Momoshiro and Echizen had confessed to what happened in the clubhouse. Fuji said that people had been acting strangely around him all day, but didn't see how that could be his fault. Inui was suffering from a massive headache that he just couldn't shake and wasn't much help with ideas on what was going on. But then, how COULD he know what would cause one of his teammates to become a human pillar of fire?

Tezuka's cell phone rang, and as he went to pull it out of his pocket, he both saw and felt a blue spark of electric shock. It hadn't hurt him, but when he checked the phone, he found it had shorted out. Why on Earth had that happened?

The train started a curve and Tezuka took hold of the metal post in the middle of the car for balance. Static crackled around his palm and another man who had already been holding the same pole yanked his hand back with a cry of pain. Tezuka tried to pull his own hand back but couldn't, and the pole was suddenly crackling up and down its length with visible electric current. The lights in the car began flashing on and off and the other passengers screamed and pointed at Tezuka, who was now fighting to free his hand from the pole.

The power went out entirely and Tezuka fell back onto the floor, tiny sparks dancing around the metal rim of his glasses. The train doors opened and everyone hurried off, whether it was their stop or not, including Tezuka.

He needed to get to a phone and call Ryuzaki-sensei.

Sumire wrapped her hands around the cup of tea that Hanamura Aoi placed in front of her.

"I'm glad you came, Ryuzaki-san," the beautiful redhead confessed, sitting across from her. "I know we haven't always gotten along in the past, but for the sake of the children, I hope we can put that aside and move on."

"I'm all for that, Hanamura-san," Sumire replied and sipped the tea. "But exactly WHAT is going on with the kids? The doctor was rather vague."

Aoi sighed. "That's because the cause of all this is still a mystery. For some reason, only tennis players seem to have been affected, and only junior high level, at that. But not all of them – at least not yet. Only three of my Masterpieces have shown signs of being Changechildren."

"'Changechildren'?" Sumire repeated. "There's a name for this now?"

"It's not spoken of widely for obvious reasons, but yes, that's what they're calling them." Aoi pushed a hand through her hair and gave Sumire an earnest look. "Two days ago, the Tanaka twins collapsed onto the tennis court during a practice match. Both of them at the same time, covering their ears, their eyes clenched shut, wailing in pain. We were all at a loss as to what was wrong or how to help them. I managed to get them to the doctor, and by then they weren't screaming anymore, but kept begging me to 'make the voices go away.'" She looked down into her cup of tea. "It turned out that their already extra-acute sight and hearing had increased to levels that go off the charts. They were hearing conversations happening in the next BUILDING. Their eyesight was magnifying even specks of dust into large, exact detail – they could barely walk for fear of tripping over something that normal people wouldn't even notice."

"My God," Sumire murmured. "How are they now?"

"Better," Aoi assured her. "After a few hours, the intensity had settled back to normal, but the capability for amplified hearing and sight is still there. When they focus on it, they can use it, but right now they're wary of not being able to turn it off again, so they haven't tried much." She smiled ruefully. "And there's more. They can speak telepathically to each other now. That they HAVE been experimenting with, and I find it rather disconcerting."

"You said there were three of your players with this problem. Who is the other?"

"My Captain, Kajimoto Takahisa. Did you feel that earthquake yesterday morning?"

"It woke me up," Sumire admitted.

"Takahisa confessed to me that he thinks he caused it. He doesn't know how, but the first quake was an accident, he says, and occurred when he was having a nightmare. The three aftershocks were deliberate attempts to see if he could do it again."

"Are you sure he's not just pulling your leg?"

"I wish that were true," Aoi told her. "If it was Wakato, I might believe that to be the case, but Takahisa isn't the type to do so. After all, admitting to something like this could easily make him sound crazy, and why would he want that?"

Sumire snorted wryly. "It sounds crazy, anyway. All of it." She sighed. "But I can't pretend that I didn't see what happened to Kawamura today." Her cell phone rang. "Excuse me," she said, and spoke into it, "Yes? … Tezuka? … What's wrong? You sound strange."

Aoi watched the colour drain from Sumire's face. "What is it?" she asked worriedly.

Sumire looked at her. "Tezuka has had an incident. Something to do with electricity – he's charging or shorting out everything he touches." She turned back to the phone. "Tezuka, stay where you are. I'm going to pick you up." She hung up and gave Aoi an apologetic glance. "I have to go."

"By all means," Aoi replied. "But please, keep me posted." She jumped slightly as her own phone rang and she answered it. "Hello …? Sakaki-san?"

Sumire paused. Sakaki Tarou was the Coach of the Hyotei tennis team.

Aoi had closed her eyes as if trying to will away the news she was hearing. "Yes, as a matter of fact, there HAVE been some strange incidents here at Jyousei, and at Seigaku, as well. In fact, Ryuzaki-san is here with me – we were discussing it." She paused to listen, her eyes growing wide. She looked over at Sumire.

"Whatever it is, Ryuzaki-san, it's affected members of the Hyotei team, too."

"Well, damn," Sumire stated. "Tell Sakaki I'll be in touch. If this is spreading like it seems to be, we'll need as much information from each other as we can share." She headed for the door. "In the meantime, I've got to go pick up my team Captain and try to figure out why he's become his own power source."

Sakaki Tarou hung up his phone and shivered involuntarily. He turned to look toward Atobe Keigo, Captain of his Hyotei team, their very own Ice Emperor.

Only now, it wasn't just a nickname.

The entire office was coated in a fine layer of glittering ice, including his desk and all the items on its surface. Atobe had his palm held in front of him, and he was forming ice cubes in it, then blowing on them gently to make them melt into water, which he would once again form into ice cubes. He didn't seem to be affected by the sub-zero temperature of the room at all, but then, he was apparently the one generating it.

"So," Atobe said casually, "does anyone have a clue or not?"

"It's happening at other schools," Tarou replied, fighting to keep his teeth from chattering. "Jyousei and Seigaku."

Atobe closed his hand over the ice cubes. "Seigaku?" He frowned slightly. "I tried calling Tezuka earlier, but he didn't answer."

"Ryuzaki-san was going to pick him up. There was an incident on the train home."

Atobe's frown deepened.

End of Part 1

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 2

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Echizen Nanjiroh looked up as his only son came into the house. "Hey, Boy, how'd it go today?"

Ryoma took off his jacket. "Kawamura-senpai caught on fire."

"Doesn't he always?"

"I mean he burst into flames." Ryoma headed upstairs. "Momo-senpai can crush doorknobs, Fuji-senpai is irresistible, Tezuka-buchou is a living lightning rod, and Kaidoh-senpai is missing." Just before he turned the corner at the top of the stairs, he called back, "And Ryuzaki-sensei wants you to phone her."

Nanjiroh shook his head. "She probably wants to tell me that my kid needs a shrink."

Inui had tried everything for his headache, but it seemed to be getting worse instead of better. Part of that was probably concern over Kaidoh's disappearance and the strange incidents surrounding his teammates, but knowing that didn't help much. What was worse, he couldn't relax enough to take a nap in hopes that it would disappear while he slept. His mind was too busy. He tried counting sheep, but found himself running down a list of unique properties of sheep instead. When he switched to counting backwards from one hundred, the numbers began forming equations and formulas, each one drawing his consciousness down various paths until he no longer remembered his original intent.

Inui realized at that moment that the more he allowed himself to explore these calculations and analogies, the less his head hurt.

Suddenly, the pain disappeared entirely and was replaced with an overload of information. Anytime he tried to grab onto a single thought, it evolved into a series of other thoughts that came at him so fast it might have made a normal fourteen-year-old go insane.

However, Inui knew now that he was no longer normal. He took a deep breath and deliberately, forcefully, began to give order to his racing mind.

The woman in charge of the local animal shelter had been having a very typical day until her assistant came back from the area where the animals were housed. Her skin was chalk-white.

"Hari-san, what is it?"

"B-Back there!" the pale woman said shakily, pointing. "You have to see it to believe it!"

The director frowned, but headed down the hall. She didn't even know what she was looking for!

Slowly, she passed by the cages, peering into each one. When she reached the last one, where she had earlier placed a stray tabby, she gave a small shriek.

The cat was gone, but the cage was still occupied. By a teenage boy.

He was hunched over, his arms wrapped around his knees with his face buried in them. He was shaking all over, and when he raised his head, his green eyes were moist.

"Please," he whispered in a low, hoarse voice. "Make them stop."

Oishi hung up his phone, feeling chilled. What was going on with everyone?

"Oishi!" Eiji called out, then peeked into his bedroom. "You left me alone in your kitchen. If you don't come soon, I may start eating and will make no apologies for what disappears from the pantry."

"I have to go," his doubles partner told him. "That was Tezuka, talking to me on Ryuzaki-san's speaker-phone because he can't touch a regular phone. Not only is his problem with electricity not getting any better, but Kaidoh's been found –"

"But that's GOOD news!" Eiji enthused. "I was really worried about him, nya!"

Oishi looked at the redhead with worry in his expression. "He was found in a cage at the animal shelter, Eiji. The director called Tezuka for him because he couldn't speak for himself – he keeps breaking down in tears."

Eiji's blue eyes widened. "Hoi?" he said in a small voice. "Kaidoh?"

Oishi pulled on his jacket. "We need to get there as soon as possible, before the director decides to call the police or something."

"You think she WOULD?!" Eiji exclaimed. He bolted for the door. "Hurry up, Oishi, come on, we've got to get there fast!"

"I just said that, didn't I?" Oishi retorted with uncharacteristic annoyance. "The whole world is going crazy and right now all I wish is that I was old enough to drive – the bus will take us forever to get there!"

"But Kaidoh needs our help NOW!" Eiji grabbed Oishi's arm and abruptly, the scenery changed.

The two boys stayed frozen in place, only their eyes moved to confirm that not only were they no longer in Oishi's bedroom, they were outside, standing in front of the animal shelter.

Eiji's lip began to tremble. "Oishiiiii ….," he whimpered. "what just happened?"

"I – I don't know," Oishi answered, hoping he wouldn't throw up from the tumult his nerves were going through. He drew a steadying breath and patted Eiji reassuringly on the back. "We can only worry about one thing at a time, Eiji. Right now, let's help Kaidoh."

The acrobat nodded wordlessly and followed him inside on shaking legs.

"Let us out!"

"We don't want to be here!"

"Where's my master?"

"I'm scared!"

Kaidoh Kaoru pressed his clenched fists tightly against his ears, but it didn't help – he could still hear them. All of them, all at once, incessantly crying. He could feel their fear and anguish penetrating his soul and couldn't help crying himself. He knew he had to get out of there, but couldn't bring himself to leave while so many were left behind.

"Kaidoh? Hoi, Kaidoh!"

"It's us! Eiji and Oishi!"

Familiar HUMAN voices. He struggled to focus on them. "Senpais?" he murmured.

"He's been like that since we got him out," he heard a woman say. "Does he have mental problems?"

"No, it's nothing like that!"

Oishi-senpai! Kaidoh looked up and saw both his teammates standing over where he was huddled on the waiting area couch. They looked afraid.

Oishi touched his shoulder. "It's us, Kaidoh, we're going to take you out of here, okay?"

Kaidoh tried to move, then dozens of voices swam through his head once again. Fear, hunger, thirst, fear, tired, playful, anger, FEAR!

Kaidoh made a loud keening noise and wrapped his arms over his head. "I can hear them, senpai!" he cried. "The animals, they're talking to me! I swear, I can HEAR them!"

Terrified, Oishi gripped his shoulder hard and yelled forcefully, "No, you CAN'T!"

Kaidoh blinked. Slowly, he looked up at Oishi.

"I – it's gone," he said, his tone one of wonder and relief. "I can't hear them anymore."

Eiji flopped onto the couch. "I think I just had a heart attack, nya!"

"Don't get comfortable, we're getting out of here." Oishi pulled Kaidoh up and Eiji bounced to his feet.

"I wish we could get home the same way we got here," the redhead said lightly. "It sure was quicker!"

"Don't even joke about that," Oishi told him grimly. "I'll be happy taking the bus for the rest of my life if it means nothing else weird happens to any of us."

Inui couldn't find his phone.

He was in the library, and his phone was ringing, but he had placed it on the table in front of him and it was buried under a dozen newspapers, at least twenty textbooks, and two sets of encyclopedia. He felt for it and found the mouse for the computer he'd been using, but no phone.

"Young man," the Librarian scolded, "please take your phone outside!"

"I will when I can find it, Ma'am," Inui said, missing the look of horror the woman's face had taken on when she saw the enormous mess on the table. Finally, his hand brushed against the phone and he spoke into it softly, "Inui here."

"Why are you whispering?" Sumire demanded. "Oh, it doesn't matter! Things have gotten worse, Inui – I just heard from Oishi and Eiji. They picked up Kaidoh, but he claims that not only could he hear the animals talking to him in the shelter, but that he was brought in as a CAT himself!"

"Transformation is a possibility," Inui told her. "Just as my enhanced capacity for retaining knowledge has increased beyond the charts of any genius level –"

"What?" Sumire interrupted. "Are you saying in that convoluted way that you know what's going on?"

"Yes and no. It's obvious that many of us have gained superhuman abilities, the limits of which we've yet to determine, but I have not yet ascertained an exact cause nor can determine whether the changes are permanent."

He heard the teacher sigh. "In any case, I've called a team meeting at the Kawamura sushi restaurant. Kawamura's father is closing the place early so that only those I've notified will be able to get in."

"I'm on my way." Inui noticed the Librarian tapping her foot impatiently and eyeing the table. "Right after I clean up some data."

Fuji Syuusuke went down the stairs. "I'm going out!" he called. "I'll be at the Kawamura sushi restaurant if anyone needs me!"

His younger brother, Yuuta, came to the top of the stairs. "Is Kawamura-san okay to have visitors?"

"He's fine," Syuusuke replied. "There's no explanation for it, but the flames didn't burn him at all, thankfully." He paused and glanced back up to the landing. "What about you? You were coming down with a sore throat earlier and sounded terrible – it doesn't sound hoarse anymore."

Yuuta shrugged. "I don't know, it cleared up, I guess. Good thing, since St. Rudolph has a game tomorrow." He scratched his head, avoiding his brother's gaze. "Probably just as well you're going out, too. Mizuki-senpai is on his way over to talk strategy with me."

Syuusuke frowned slightly. "Yes, then perhaps you're right." He opened the front door, then paused.

"Something wrong, Aniki?"

Syuusuke sighed. "I guess I'm a little nervous about going out," he confessed. "People have been behaving strangely around me today."

"Not me. I'm the same."

Syuusuke looked back and met Yuuta's eyes, smiling. "Yes, you are," he said gratefully. "I'll see you later."

Syuusuke closed the door behind him, leaving Yuuta staring after him. If he had seen the change in his little brother's expression, he would have rescinded his gratitude.

"Aniki," Yuuta said breathlessly.

Fingers snapped in front of his face and he jumped to find Mizuki Hajime beside him. "Senpai!" he gasped. "When did you get up here? I didn't see you."

"Your brother let me in just now," Mizuki replied, scowling at him suspiciously.

"But I would have seen if he –"

"Maybe you were too busy mooning over him," the St. Rudolph tennis team manager snapped. "You were all dreamy-eyed just now, watching him leave. Why was that, Yuuta-kun?"

The younger Fuji brother couldn't explain that any more easily than he could his having missed Mizuki's entrance. But whatever the reasons were, he decided he didn't like them.

End of Part 2

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 3

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Things were getting loud in the sushi restaurant run by the Kawamura family. Sumire took a head count and saw that of the people she was expecting, Hanamura Aoi was there with the three Jyousei tennis players affected by powers, Sakaki Tarou had arrived alone, but assured her that his afflicted Hyotei players were on their way in Atobe's limo. Most of her own team was already there except for Fuji, who was late again. She went over to Echizen Nanjiroh, whom she had invited to come along with Ryoma.

"Weird, isn't it?" she said, nodding in the direction of Tezuka, who had a visible, low-level electric current running up and down his form from head to foot. The others were giving him a wide berth, and he looked exhausted.

"I'll say," Nanjiroh agreed. "At least the Kawamura kid isn't on fire anymore, though."

Sumire watched Kawamura behind the counter, trying to help his father prepare sushi for the boys, then scolding him because he kept cooking the raw fish as he tried to shape it with the rice between his fingers. "Not on fire, no, but his skin temperature is hot enough that no one can touch him. He could go up again at any moment, I fear."

Momoshiro, sitting with Eiji, elbowed his teammate and motioned toward the Tanaka twins, who were seated across the noisy room. "Those two sure stick out with that neon hair!" he whispered. "You think that's natural?"

"We can HEAR you, you know!" Tanaka Youhei yelled in his direction.

"And you've got KETCHUP on your face!" added Tanaka Kouhei.

"I do?" Momo turned toward Eiji, who studied him closely.

"I don't see anything … oh wait, is it that tiny speck there?" He poked at it with a finger. "I thought it was a blackhead, nya!"

"It's old!" Kouhei snapped.

Youhei snickered. "It's probably been there for days and he didn't know it!"

Momoshiro moistened a napkin and rubbed at his skin, blushing as the twins laughed at him. "I guess I deserved that," he admitted to Eiji.

"Hyotei's here!" someone said, and they all watched as Oishi let the other team in the door, Atobe Keigo leading the way.

"I'm sorry we're late," Atobe told Tarou. "We had to catch Gakuto. He was floating away."

Shishido Ryo snorted. "I still think we should have tied a string around his ankle and let him float outside the car window as we drove here!"

"Shishido-san!" Ohtori Choutarou gasped.

"Shut up!" Mukahi Gakuto yelled at Shishido. "At least it would have been WARMER outside the car, thanks to Atobe!"

The team Captain gave a casual shrug. "I'm still getting the hang of my power, and I wouldn't talk until you're able to keep both feet on the ground."

Sumire realized that Gakuto was hovering a couple of inches above the floor, which was probably why his hand was firmly grasped in that of his boyfriend, Oshitari Yuushi.

"Just these five from your team so far?" Aoi asked Tarou.

"Yes, but like you, I'm keeping an eye on the others, just in case."

"So that leaves just Fuji to get here," Sumire said, frowning. "Maybe I should have told him to call a cab."

"It wouldn't have helped," Fuji Syuusuke said as he came in, looking upset. "If the cab driver was anything like the bus driver, he wouldn't have let me out of the vehicle!"

"What are you talking about, Fujiko?" Kawamura asked worriedly. "Did someone try to hurt you?"

Fuji sighed and shook his head. "No, Taka-san, but when the bus doors opened and I went to get off, I smiled at the driver in passing and thanked him, then he shut the doors again! He had every intention of driving all night with me trapped on the bus with him, but I begged the other passengers for help. Suddenly, there were three of them restraining the bus driver so that I could escape!" He shivered and rubbed his arms. "Is it cold in here?"

"Sorry," Atobe replied.

"Now that we're all here, find seats where you can," Sumire said and nodded toward Seigaku's data expert. "Inui, you said you might be able to shed some light on all this, so start talking."

Inui stepped forward and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Before I begin, I'll just say that I don't yet know what has caused these changes in us. It might be some kind of natural human evolution or related to an astronomical event -- after having reviewed all major newspaper stories from the last month, I could come up with theory after theory. However, knowing the cause isn't as important as how we deal with the situation right now."

"The most important thing to me is how to STOP this," Tezuka stated. He snapped his fingers and everyone watched blue sparks fly from their tips. "I can't go on like this, Inui."

"Unfortunately, Tezuka, I don't think we CAN stop or reverse it," Inui told him. "But I do believe I have discovered the secret to controlling our newfound powers so that they don't complicate our lives anymore than they already have."

"And what might that be?" Yuushi asked.

Inui looked at him. "Stop fighting it. When I did that -- when I calmed myself and let the power flow through me -- I was able to focus it rather than have it run wild. If you stay calm and focused, then you control the power, not the other way around."

"But Inui," Fuji said desperately, "I'm not even sure yet what my 'power' IS, or even if I have one!"

"It would seem that people are latching on to you without any provocation, Fuji. If you learn how to turn it on and off, you could potentially have others willing to do your bidding without question."

"I thought he could do that already!" Eiji giggled.

"Inui!" Sumire exclaimed. "Don't tell him that!"

"Why not?" Inui asked. "It's something I believe he would have figured out on his own eventually." He turned back to Fuji. "Tell me exactly what happened since you noticed these occurrences."

Fuji recounted the incidents since that morning, and by the end of it, Inui was nodding.

"I see," the other boy said. "So in every case, the other people looked into your eyes before they became mindless Fuji-disciples. And you were also looking into the eyes of your teacher when you told him to back off, and that was when he finally obeyed you."

Fuji looked up at Inui in surprise, then quickly averted his gaze in fear. "But … but if you're right … does that mean I can no longer ever look anyone in the eyes?"

"Not at all, but you must stop fighting your power and accept that you have it. I'm convinced that once we ALL do that, we'll have taken the first step in being able to regain control over our lives."

"All right, I'll try," Fuji agreed. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I'll need to test it on someone," he said, still keeping his eyes shut.

"You can use me, Fujiko," Kawamura volunteered.

"Kawamura-senpai is already a Fuji-disciple," Ryoma piped up. "It's not a fair test."

Kawamura blushed while Fuji smiled and turned toward Ryoma. "Maybe I should test it on YOU, Echizen."

"Don't bother." Nanjiroh laughed. "The boy's only in love with his cat."

"Oyaji," Ryoma growled.

"I was the one who made the suggestion," Inui said. "You may use me as your test subject."

Fuji nodded, then slowly raised his head to look Inui in the eyes. The taller boy blinked and shook his head as if to clear it.

"It's potent, but you're doing well at suppressing it, otherwise I'd be a slobbering idiot already. See if you can shut it all the way off – no, don't look away."

Fuji kept his gaze on Inui's and tried his best to push down whatever it was that wanted to capture his teammate's desire. "It's hard," he admitted.

"But you succeeded," Inui said, not without some relief. "Because you accepted that the power is yours and you can gain some control, you should be able to manage. It would be best if you could practice more often with it, however."

"Would that work for all of us, senpai?" Kaidoh asked quietly. "Somehow, Oishi-senpai helped me suppress my power earlier, but I think it's coming back."

"I believe it should work, Kaidoh," Inui assured him. "Just accept your abilities and don't pretend they aren't there."

Kaidoh drew a deep breath, then let it out slowly. After a few moments, he looked up. "I think it worked. I'm not hearing random thoughts of the birds in the trees or stray cats right now, anyway."

"Now concentrate on deliberately hearing them," Inui suggested.

Kaidoh shook his head. "I don't want to."

"Please."

The younger boy frowned. He couldn't turn down a request from a senpai. He tried to focus on the outside animal voices he was hearing before. He nodded. "Yeah, they're there again. Except that one cat and a couple of birds have moved on, and there's a dog walking by with his owner. They're all saying how the wind has picked up."

"It HAS gotten breezier out there," Choutarou remarked, peering through the blinds.

"All right, Kaidoh," Inui said. "Now that you've gained a little control, see if you can shut out the voices as you did before."

The Sophomore concentrated on _not_ hearing the animals anymore. His expression showed relief. "They're gone."

"I can't promise that you won't hear them again when you don't expect to, but I'm fairly sure that the more you practice turning it on and off, the more control you'll have." Inui looked around. "The rest of you try it now. Even if your power isn't activated, just relax and accept that you HAVE it. Take that first step."

The room grew quiet as the boys concentrated. Ryoma scanned the room, studying the various expressions on everyone. He saw Gakuto's suspended form lower until his feet touched the ground. The acrobat's eyes flew open and he smiled broadly.

"It worked!"

Other voices chimed in their agreement. The Tanaka twins hugged each other and cried with relief. Atobe reached out and touched Tezuka's shoulder. The other Captain looked up in surprise, then he gave Atobe a wry look. "You could have gotten a nasty shock, especially considering YOUR power."

"You don't get anywhere in life without taking risks," Atobe said, and sat down beside him. He chuckled. "I think it's already getting warmer in here."

"That wind is getting worse out THERE," Momoshiro remarked, looking outside. His phone rang and he looked around apologetically. "Oops, sorry!" He brought it to his ear. "Momo-chan here! Oh, hi, Tachibana's little sister!" He winced and held the phone away briefly, then brought it back. "Sorry, sorry! What's up, An-chan?" He frowned as he listened, then cleared his throat. "Just one second!" He covered the mouthpiece and looked at Inui. "Tachibana An says that it's her big brother responsible for the windstorm and he doesn't know how to stop it! It's getting worse the more panicky he gets!"

"It's hard to imagine Tachibana Kippei panicky," Eiji remarked.

"After all this, I'll believe anything," Gakuto replied.

"Momoshiro, tell An what we've been doing here and have her pass it on to her brother," Inui said. "And tell her that we'll get back to him once we've figured out where we go from here."

Momo followed Inui's instructions while Sumire looked at the other adults. "Where DO we go from here? We've attained a temporary fix, but all of these kids are still new to these powers of theirs."

"Wouldn't this be best if the kids who are suffering from this condition could all stay in one place for a while?" Tarou suggested. "Somewhere they can practice gaining control without interference? Since most of my team is involved, I would volunteer to be an adult presence there."

"So would I," Aoi agreed. "I want to be of help, if I can."

"Well, since ALL of my team seems to be affected –" Sumire stopped herself while looking at Nanjiroh, and the two of them turned to gaze toward Ryoma.

"He hasn't shown any kind of power yet," Nanjiroh remarked. "Unless snarkiness is a power now."

"I hadn't realized until this moment," Sumire admitted. "Maybe he's too young? The other boys are all at least a year older than he is."

"If his teammates all go away together, he'll want to go, too," Nanjiroh said, digging his finger into his ear. "And I've been bored at the temple lately. I'll give you all a hand with the kids."

"Great, you'll keep them well-supplied in girlie magazines, I'm sure," Sumire retorted dryly, but didn't turn down his offer.

"The wind's calmed down," Takahisa pointed out.

Inui nodded. "It would seem that Tachibana-san took our advice."

"We'll be calling him back shortly," Sumire announced. "We've decided it would be best if all you kids could take a period of adjustment together for a while – consider it another kind of training camp."

"All of us?" Kouhei said in surprise.

"I'm sure all the parents will understand," Aoi told him. "They'll want you all to come to terms with these new abilities of yours."

"But where will we go?" Oishi asked.

Atobe raised a finger. "I have a place that would be suitable. My parents just bought it a couple of months ago and the renovations have all been completed. It will house everyone comfortably with room to spare in case anyone else with powers turns up. It's a bit more of a commute, but everyone should still be able to attend their own schools."

"Your parents won't mind, Atobe-kun?" Aoi inquired.

He smiled at her with confidence. "If I ask them, they'll say yes."

"Are there tennis courts?" Shishido asked.

"Of course."

"Sounds good to me."

"Hoi, I just thought of something!" Eiji said brightly. "Now that this big group of kids has all these cool powers at our disposal, does it mean we'll be wearing spandex costumes, taking on codenames, and saving the world?"

The boys all exchanged looks and replied in unison, "Naaaaaaah!"

"Too cliché!" Gakuto made a face.

Atobe sniffed. "The world can take care of itself."

"We're tennis players, not superheroes," Tezuka stated.

"Okay, okay, I was just asking …."

End of Part 3

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 4

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Tachibana Kippei loved his Fudomine players dearly, but if his Vice-Captain didn't stop bouncing from one side of the cab to the other, he was going to blow him out the door.

"Akira, knock it off!" he said forcefully. "We're almost there."

"IknowbutIcan'thelpitit'ssuchareliefthatwe'llbeabletofigureoutwhat'swrongandevenifwecan'tfixitwecanmaybecontrolit—"

"I already told you how to get started, so why don't you calm down and maybe you won't be so hyper." Tachibana had thought his problem of starting impromptu hurricanes was bad, but at least Momoshiro had told him how to more or less control it. The exercise didn't seem to be working for Kamio Akira, who had already been nicknamed Speed Demon before he had any powers. Now he was moving, thinking, and speaking so quickly that he wasn't always coherent. The truth is, if Kamio was running to this hideout of Atobe's, he'd already have beaten them there long ago.

"And before that, the person who took this cab was a drunk who cheated on his wife. Before him was a woman with a five-year-old girl with her. Before her was a –"

Kamio's boyfriend, Ibu Shinji, was his other player afflicted with powers. He always was a mumbler who carried on lengthy monologues, even during tennis matches. Now, however, he wasn't so much talking to himself as he was conversing with inanimate objects. Tachibana wasn't sure which was worse.

"We're here," the cab driver said, tactfully not commenting on his unusual passengers. In his business, he'd met all kinds.

Kamio was already gone and Shinji was thanking the cab for the ride by the time Tachibana finished paying.

Momoshiro was the only one in the foyer when a knock came at the door, so he headed over to answer it. He was rather surprised; although he hadn't been there long himself, he knew that it was necessary to be buzzed in through the gate before anyone could approach the mansion.

He was even more surprised to open the door and find Kamio there.

"Hi," he said. "I didn't know you were coming -- we were expecting Tachibana."

Kamio hooked a thumb back toward the gate. "He'sstillbacktherewithShinjithey'llbeinsoonsowhere'sourroomgonnabe?"

Momoshiro stared at the redhead and tried to make sense of what he said. "I guess it's got you, too," he finally remarked. "And Ibu as well?" He laughed. "Echizen will love that!"

"Echizenisheretoowhatpowerdoeshehaveohthere'sthefrontgatebuzzertheymustbereadytocomein!" Before Momoshiro could say anything, Kamio had already hit the gate release button on the intercom.

"How'd you get in here ahead of them, anyway?" Momoshiro said, holding up a hand. "Tell me SLOWLY."

Kamio tried to remember what Tachibana had said about staying calm and focusing. It wasn't easy, but when he concentrated as hard as he could, he was able to slow down. "I ran over the wall," he managed to get out.

The stone wall was at least ten feet high, maybe fifteen, Momoshiro thought. How fast had Kamio been going?

The Fudomine Sophomore was letting his team Captain and his boyfriend in the front door, just as Eiji materialized by Momoshiro's side.

"YIPE!" Momo jumped into the air. "Eiji-senpai, do you HAVE to do that?!"

"Mengo, mengo!" Eiji chuckled sheepishly. "I wanted to see who was here!"

Tachibana was staring at him. "You just appeared out of thin air. Or did you run in here as fast as Akira?"

"I teleported here -- that's what they call it, anyway," Eiji explained. "I want to give it a cooler name that's more ME, like 'Hoi-ing' or something."

"IsthatnamecoolIwouldn'tbesosureaboutthatheydoyouthinkyoucanteleportfasterthanIcanrun?" Kamio asked. Eiji blinked at him.

"Hoi?" he said in confusion.

"This used to be a thriving country club," Shinji mumbled. "Before that, it was a hotel, but it was too expensive for most people to afford. It's happy to have children staying here now so long as we don't cause structural damage."

Eiji looked even more confused and glanced at Momoshiro for help. He shrugged.

"Welcome, boys," Aoi greeted as she came downstairs. "Kamio-kun, Shinji-kun, we weren't expecting you."

Tachibana bowed. "My apologies. My teammates only started to exhibit their powers last night, after I last spoke to Ryuzaki-san about coming here."

"It's perfectly fine -- we're open to anyone who needs time to learn how to cope with their power." She motioned to Eiji. "Kikumaru-kun, could you please show them to some empty rooms upstairs please?"

"Sure, follow me, nya!" Eiji declared, then disappeared from sight. Aoi sighed and gave the boys an apologetic look. Eiji reappeared, blushing.

"Oops," he said. "Sorry. Up here." He walked toward the stairs. Kamio sped to the top before his teammates had taken one step.

"The last person to touch this banister before me was Momoshiro," Shinji murmured as he started up the stairs. "The first person to ever touch it was a man named Koujito back in the year 1960 when this place was first built --"

"Ibu-san."

Shinji stopped on the stairs and looked up at Ryoma, who stared impassively down at him from the landing. "Echizen Ryoma. I didn't hear about you having any powers, so what could you possibly be doing here?"

"My teammates are here, so I'm here," he replied, then scowled. "Besides, my father is one of the chaperones."

The boys found out the reason for his attitude a moment later when a scruffy-looking man in a monk's robe joined Ryoma and rumpled his hair. That made him scowl even harder. "And what do we have here? More cute boys moving in? Welcome, one and all!" He pointed at them. "Hey, I remember you three! Fudomine, right? I've seen you play, you're good."

"Thank you," Tachibana replied. "And you are ...?"

"Echizen Nanjiroh," he replied and mussed Ryoma's hair again. "This is my brat."

"That hurts," Ryoma muttered, wincing.

"HeyEchizenNanjirohthatmeansyouweretheworldclassprotennisplayergeezIneverthoughtyou'dlooklikesuchabum –"

A harsh gust of wind knocked Kamio over, and Tachibana bowed in Nanjiroh's direction. "I apologize for my player."

"Why? He just told the tru-mmph!" Ryoma struggled to free his face from his father's hand, which had slipped down from his head to cover it entirely.

"I won't keep you any longer!" Nanjiroh said cheerfully and stood aside, half-dragging Ryoma with him. "Go ahead and take them to rooms, Kikumaru-kun!"

The boys followed Eiji while Ryoma shoved his father away and gave him a dirty look.

"What?" Nanjiroh asked innocently.

"WHERE are you going again?" Yuuta asked Syuusuke as he watched him pack. "And since when do you wear sunglasses in the house?"

"I'll be leaving in a few minutes, and I don't want to forget them before I get on the bus. I'm going to one of Atobe Keigo's properties – the number is by the phone in the hall," Syuusuke replied, opening a drawer and pulling out a hardcover notebook. He frowned, studying it. "Yuuta … you didn't have cause to go into my drawer, did you?"

"As if I would!" his younger brother scoffed. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing." Syuusuke was sure he remembered putting the bookmark ribbon back in place in his diary, but it was laying loose in the drawer now. He knew Yuuta wouldn't lie to him, so maybe it fell out while his sister was putting away his clean clothes for him.

"Hey … Aniki," Yuuta said slowly, rubbing his own arm nervously. "I have something to show you before you go." He held out his hand, palm up. "See that paper cut on my index finger?"

Syuusuke peered at the finger. "No, I don't. Where is it?"

"That's the thing – it's gone. Just like my sore throat yesterday." Yuuta looked uneasy. "Not only that, but last night when Mizuki-senpai was here, and we were getting a snack in the kitchen, he burnt himself on the toaster. I took his hand so I could look at the burn, and while I was holding it …." He looked away. "He said it stopped hurting. There was no sign of the burn after that, either."

Syuusuke paused. "Is it possible Mizuki was just exaggerating the seriousness of the burn to begin with?"

Yuuta looked annoyed. "No, Aniki! I heard him yelp when it happened, and I saw the redness of the burn just before it disappeared!"

"I'm sorry, Yuuta. I didn't mean to imply anything." Syuusuke gave him a wistful smile. "I just hoped you wouldn't be one of those affected by these powers."

"So you think now that I've got some kind of power?" Yuuta asked softly.

Syuusuke placed a hand on his shoulder. "I do, and I think you do, too, or you wouldn't have told me about it." He grinned. "At least it seems to be a nice power to have – to be able to heal yourself and others as well."

"I guess, but I'm still nervous," Yuuta admitted. "What do I do now?"

"Get packed," his big brother replied cheerfully. "You're coming with me."

"What do you MEAN we can't room together?!" Gakuto screamed.

"Exactly what I said," Sumire told him firmly. "Sakaki-san says you and Oshitari-kun are involved, and we're not inviting trouble by putting you in the same room."

Gakuto put his hands on his hips. "You're a little late to avoid THAT kind of trouble! Yuushi and I have been boyfriends for a long time now!"

"We weren't responsible for you before; now we are." Sumire motioned to Yuushi. "Come along, Oshitari-kun. We'll find you another room."

"Yuushi!" Gakuto thrust out his arm, and suddenly Yuushi's feet stopped moving, causing him to overbalance so that he ended up on his hands and knees.

"What the --?" Sumire gasped, staring from Yuushi to Gakuto. "What's going on?"

"Gaku," Yuushi said calmly, "stop this. You can't hold me forever, and I won't be going far."

"But I want you with ME!" the tiny fourteen-year-old whined.

Sumire bent down to help Yuushi up, since he didn't seem inclined to do so himself, but found that she couldn't lift his hands off the floor. "How is he doing this?" she asked and looked back toward Gakuto. "I thought your power was flight!"

"You were wrong," Yuushi answered calmly. "Gaku can control gravity. Both his own and others'. But this has gone far enough."

Gakuto pouted, but made an upsweep motion with his arm. Yuushi heaved a sigh of relief and slowly rose to his feet.

Sumire shook her head, making a mental note not to assume too much about these kids and their powers. Obviously, some of them still held surprises up their sleeves.

Mizuki Hajime was not happy.

"Did you just say that you're going with your brother?!" he snapped into his telephone.

"Don't worry, senpai, I'll still be able to attend and play for St. Rudolph, but right now I need to be with other kids who are adjusting to their powers."

"I told you not to tell him what happened!" Mizuki said angrily.

"I – I'm sorry," Yuuta faltered. "But I figured he'd understand, since he's dealing with his own problem …."

"Oh, really?" Mizuki said thoughtfully. "And exactly what IS Fuji Syuusuke's 'problem'?"

"They're calling him a Siren. He can, um, attract people … lure them, entice them … that kind of thing. Inui Sadaharu thinks Aniki will be able to make people do whatever he wants, the power makes them love him so much."

Mizuki felt a shudder rack his entire body. "That sounds positively revolting! How does it work?"

"Well, he wasn't sure at first, but they discovered that it can be triggered when people look into his eyes. He's learning to turn it on and off at will now."

"I see," Mizuki murmured. He took a deep breath. "Well, Yuuta-kun, it seems I don't have a choice in this matter."

"I'm sorry, senpai. I promise my performance for St. Rudolph won't suffer."

"I'm sure it won't. Goodbye for now." Mizuki hung up the receiver, then looked up at his reflection in the hallway mirror. "So Fuji Syuusuke is a Siren, is he? I guess that explains why Yuuta-kun behaved so strangely when he was going out last night." He twirled a lock of his dark hair around a finger and smiled mischievously. "I guess I really DON'T have a choice now. I'll simply have to join them there."

The St. Rudolph manager giggled naughtily as he watched his reflection disappear from sight.

End of Part 4

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 5

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Tezuka watched Atobe unpack in silence. Their room was huge – all the bedrooms were – but that didn't take away the question that puzzled him about this situation. Finally, he felt he had to ask.

"Why are you here?"

Atobe hung up yet another expensive-looking shirt and frowned. "I wish we had staffed this place already. I'm not accustomed to doing anything with my clothes besides wearing them."

"Atobe, why are you here, in this room with me?" Tezuka asked again. "There are plenty of free rooms, and I'm sure you're also unaccustomed to sharing."

"As true as that is, I thought this would be best," Atobe replied. "Sakaki-sensei says that the adults prefer for all of us to be doubled-up for now, and I suppose it wouldn't really be fair for me to be the only one with his own room."

A half-smile quirked Tezuka's mouth. "Since when does something like that bother you?"

"Normally it wouldn't, but these aren't normal circumstances." Atobe cast a knowing glance at him. "Besides, I'd rather choose my roommate now rather than be moved in with some random person later, if we take on anymore kids." He approached Tezuka's bed and crawled onto it, moving toward him like a stalking cat. "I don't hear you objecting to the arrangement, Tezuka." He pressed his lips against those of the rival Captain. Tezuka didn't push him away.

"They'll find out," he said.

"Not if we're careful," Atobe replied with a naughty grin.

"THIS isn't being careful. The door isn't fully closed."

Atobe sighed and slid off the bed. "You have no sense of adventure, Tezuka."

"I'm involved with you. That's adventure enough."

"Thank you for letting me room with you, Eiji," Fuji said as he put his books away.

"I'm happy to have you, Fujiko-chan," Eiji told him, tactfully not adding that he would have rather been rooming with Oishi, but Ryuzaki-sensei had put her foot down flat on that possibility. Besides, he knew that Fuji would prefer being with his younger brother, but Yuuta had refused. "I hope you won't be jumpy about my hoiing in and out."

Fuji looked up. "'Hoiing?'"

Eiji blinked, feeling some residual effect of Fuji's power. He looked away before he could decide to throw himself at his teammate's feet. "Yeah, that's what I'm calling the teleport thing – 'hoiing'!"

"I see. That sounds just like you, Eiji." Fuji paused, then added softly. "You don't have to avoid looking at me. I won't try to bespell you."

"Oh, I know!" Eiji said apologetically, bounding over to put a comforting arm around his roommate. "I'm sorry. I thought I felt something, and I guess self-preservation kicked in. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Fuji shook his head firmly. "You didn't. I DO understand – I guess some of it is still leaking around the edges, even though I'm trying to suppress it. I'm the one who should apologize for not having enough self-control."

Eiji answered by taking Fuji by both shoulders and turning him to face him directly. "Don't you dare blame yourself, Fujiko-chan! We're ALL learning how to handle these powers, and you can't help it that you have natural appeal trying to emphasize itself through yours! You'll gain total control soon, I know you will!"

Fuji smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Eiji."

"No problem, nya!" the redhead grinned brightly. "Now come on! I'll hoi us down to the kitchen to sneak a snack!" Still holding Fuji's shoulder, the two of them disappeared.

Momoshiro was whistling as he went into his room, then he stopped dead and stared. "What are YOU doing in here?!"

"I'vemovedinalreadyShinjiandIweren'tallowedtoroomtogetherbecausewe'reboyfriendssoSakaki-sanchangedusaroundandnowI'mroomingwithyou."

Momo rubbed his eyes. "Kamio, can you PLEASE try to relax before you speak so I can understand you?"

Kamio nodded and took a moment to gain control over his speed. "I'm stuck in here because Shinji and I can't room together." He gave Momoshiro a glare. "I'm not thrilled about it, either, you know."

Momoshiro walked over and leaned against Kamio's bedpost with a sigh. "Well, I guess we've gotten along before when we had no choice."

"I guess," Kamio said warily. "Just don't break anything of mine again."

"Are you STILL harping on that bike of yours? It was an accident, you know, an accident!"

"You still broke it!"

"I'm sorry, all right?! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!" Momo smacked his hand down on the bedpost and the frame splintered, collapsing the bed underneath Kamio.

The redhead stared up at him. "See?! I've only been here five minutes and you're breaking my stuff already!"

"Oops," Momo said sheepishly.

Kamio sped to the doorway in a flash. "We need to make new living arrangements! This is the worst rooming idea anyone could have come up with!" He stopped in the hallway so suddenly that Momoshiro ventured out to see what had caught his attention. He gave a low whistle.

"Except for THAT one," he murmured.

In the bedroom across the hall, Shinji and Ryoma were staring each other down.

Yuushi looked up at his roommate Choutarou and heaved a weary sigh. "Choutarou-kun, you're pacing."

The tall Sophomore stopped. "Am I? I'm sorry, Yuushi-senpai. I'm just a little nervous." He glanced toward the door.

"Ah, yes, I know exactly what you mean," Yuushi replied, adjusting his glasses as he laid down with a book. "There's no point in fretting about something you can't control. And they ARE teammates, after all."

"Yes, but they're teammates with tempers to rival each other's." Choutarou wrung his hands. "Oh, it would have been so much better if the adults weren't being so silly about keeping us apart!"

Yuushi looked up. "Incoming," he warned.

Choutarou spun around and his entire body became translucent. A flying shoe that had been about to hit him passed right through and hit Yuushi's leg instead.

"Ouch," the tensai muttered, brushing the shoe aside. He took note of the tiny foot size. "Gakuto!" he called out. "Your shoe is here!"

The petite teenager came in and picked up the shoe. "Sorry, guys. I was aiming for Shishido, but I think he activated that good luck of his so that it missed him." He rubbed his knuckles. "And gave me BAD luck so that I'd hit my hand on the bedpost when I threw it!"

"Don't get involved in a power struggle, Gaku," Yuushi warned. "You could both do serious harm to each other, and neither Sakaki-sensei nor Atobe will approve of infighting on the team." He rubbed his leg where the shoe had struck. "Besides, the rest of us could get caught in the crossfire."

Gakuto's eyes widened. "Did that hit you?! I'm sorry, Yuushi!" He looked at Choutarou suspiciously. "You were in the way -- how come it didn't hit you instead?"

"I - I phased," Choutarou admitted.

"Geez, nice going!" Gakuto snapped. "Couldn't you have gone solid instead so it would just bounce off?!" He went to backhand Choutarou's arm but when his knuckles met the flesh it felt instead as if he'd struck a brick wall. "OWWW!" he cried, rubbing his already-sore hand.

"You mean like that?" Choutarou feigned innocence.

Yuushi chuckled under his breath. Sometimes Gakuto had to learn things the hard way.

Yuuta came into his room with a Ponta and a sandwich only to find Mizuki perched on his bed, a suitcase sitting on the floor beside him.

"Surprise, Yuuta-kun! I'm moving in with you."

"M-Mizuki-senpai!" Yuuta stammered. "I wasn't expecting you! I mean, that is – I just came from downstairs and I didn't hear you get buzzed in or enter the house—"

"That's why it's a surprise." Mizuki smiled. "You didn't have a roommate yet, correct? Well, now you do." He picked up his bag and opened it. Yuuta watched for a few moments as his teammate began unpacking.

"Um, Mizuki-senpai?"

"Yes, Yuuta-kun?"

"The kids staying here are all what they're calling Changechildren. They've got powers – you know, like the ones I told you about earlier?"

"Yes, I know."

"Well, um …." Yuuta scuffed his foot on the carpet. "I didn't know you had any powers. You didn't say so before."

Mizuki paused while hanging up a flowery purple shirt to look over at the younger boy. "I had no reason to bring it up." He turned back to the closet.

Yuuta wanted to ask his senpai exactly WHAT power he had, but it appeared Mizuki wasn't planning to volunteer the information, and he didn't feel comfortable pressing the issue.

"Aniki wanted to room with me, but I said no," he revealed, then wished he hadn't. Mentioning his brother was never a wise move around Mizuki.

To his surprise, though, the St. Rudolph manager didn't get angry. He laughed derisively instead.

"Don't worry, Yuuta-kun, you weren't his first choice, I'm sure. He likely would have much preferred rooming with Kawamura Takashi."

Yuuta cocked his head. "How do you know?"

"You mean you didn't?" Mizuki chuckled. "Your brother has a tremendous crush on Kawamura-san. He talks about him all the time."

"I've never heard him do that – at least not more than he mentions any of his other teammates."

"He may not do it out loud. I was thinking more along the lines of on paper." Mizuki closed the closet door and ignored Yuuta's expression of confusion. "That's enough for now – I need to find the adults."

"They're having a meeting, I think," Yuuta told him. "In what Atobe called the boardroom – it's downstairs, on the left."

"Thank you. I'll see you in a while." Mizuki walked out. Yuuta decided to go after him and ask if he was going to tell the adults about his power. However, he was startled to find the hallway already empty.

Sumire looked around at the other three adults at the table in the boardroom. "I thought it would be a good idea for all of us to touch base now that the kids have begun settling in. Any immediate problems that you've seen that we need to deal with?"

"My Masterpieces are doing just fine," Aoi remarked. "My Unit are rooming together, and they like it that way, so there won't be any problems there. Takahisa-kun was placed with Tachibana-kun, and I think they'll get along fine. They're both team Captains, and their personalities aren't completely dissimilar."

"Speaking of team Captains –" Tarou started to say, then a thump outside the door interrupted him. He frowned at the others, then went to the door and opened it to look outside. "No one," he said, and shut it again, returning to his seat. "I thought the kids might have been trying to listen in."

"I suppose Youhei and Kouhei could do that from upstairs if they wanted to," Aoi said thoughtfully. "But I'm not sure they can focus on just one room to the exclusion of all else perfectly yet."

"We may be in trouble when they can," Nanjiroh chuckled. "In fact, we could be in trouble in a lot of ways! These kids have all the powers, and we've got nada."

"We've got the power to kick them off our tennis teams," Sumire said wryly. "That should be enough to stave off a revolution. Now then, Tarou, you were going to say something about team Captains?"

"Yes, I was thinking specifically of Atobe and Tezuka," he answered. "I was a little surprised when Atobe asked to room with your Captain. When I questioned him about it, he repeated that old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. I'm still not sure if this bodes ill or not, but we may want to keep a watch out for trouble between them."

"They're both mature for their age – I'll be surprised if any fighting breaks out there," Sumire commented. "On the other hand, a few scuffles of one sort or another have already taken place."

"That's to be expected when you bring a bunch of teenage boys together in one place," Aoi said.

"Yes, but we invited more trouble with our room placements," Sumire replied. "I figured that by putting some of the more unlikely pairings together, it would force them to learn self-control that much more quickly." She shrugged. "Maybe it will even create friendships where there weren't any before."

"I wouldn't count on Ryoma getting too friendly with that Shinji kid after he cut his eye open," Nanjiroh speculated. "But there are a couple of other pairings where you might be right, and they'll end up friends." He winked. "Or more."

Tarou frowned. "But THAT isn't what we want at all. Care to share your suspicions with the rest of us?"

"No," Nanjiroh replied, grinning. "I'd rather sit back and watch the fun!"

Tarou looked at Sumire. "Exactly WHY did you invite this man again?"

"We're going to need someone to supervise what kids are left here when the rest of us have our team members at tennis practice," she said. "Besides, you were there and heard for yourself. He volunteered to be here because of Ryoma."

"Who still hasn't shown any powers yet and shouldn't be here anyway," Tarou pointed out.

"Oh, but then we would be deprived of his charming presence!" Aoi giggled, and considering her past with Ryoma, the others weren't sure if she was being serious or sarcastic.

"I'd be happy to help you keep tabs on the others."

The four adults nearly leapt out of their seats to find Mizuki Hajime in the room with them.

"Mizuki-kun!" Aoi gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I've already moved in," he announced. "And seeing as this is a meeting of the team coaches, and I'm both manager AND coach for St. Rudolph, I felt it was both my duty and right to attend."

"Isn't this the kid that Fuji Syuusuke slaughtered on the court a while ago?" Nanjiroh inquired of the others, oblivious to the Mizuki's murderous glare in response.

Sumire stood up and walked over to Mizuki, taking him by the arm and guiding him firmly toward the door.

"I take this to mean that you're turning down my offer of help?" he asked incredulously.

"You can assume that, yes." She opened the door and pushed him out. "If you've developed powers, Mizuki-kun, you're welcome to stay. However, this meeting is not for coaches – it's for ADULTS." She shut the door in his face.

Mizuki scowled. She hadn't even given him a chance to use any of the juicy information he'd already gathered in his short time there. He sniffed. Well, it would be their loss! He'd just hold onto his secrets for now, and wait until a more opportune time to make use of them.

End of Part 5

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 6

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The dining room was abuzz with activity when all of the boys were gathered there together for dinner. Atobe had managed to contact his father about providing a kitchen staff in a hurry, but it was still a case of having to take one's own plate to the table.

There was no assigned seating, so the kids spread out and occasionally moved around, but the adults kept to their own table. Nanjiroh marveled at the noise level, while the other three gave him wry, 'you haven't spent any time in junior high cafeterias lately, have you?' looks.

Fuji Syuusuke tapped his brother on the shoulder. "Yuuta, would you like to eat with me?"

Before the younger Fuji brother could reply, a voice not unfamiliar to Syuusuke piped up, "He'll be eating with me – we have business to discuss."

Syuusuke turned toward Mizuki Hajime, who beamed triumphantly at him.

"Since when do you have any powers?" Syuusuke asked.

"Since last night," Mizuki replied. "And I heard about this place from Yuuta-kun, who, by the way, also told me all about YOUR power, so I'll thank you kindly to point those baby blues in another direction."

Syuusuke's eyes narrowed. "I can resist using my power, even if I'm looking at you. Believe me, the last thing I want is to have you following me around."

Mizuki snapped his fingers. "Oh, of course! You'd rather have Kawamura Takashi in that position, wouldn't you?" He put an arm around Yuuta and began steering him away. "Now if you'll excuse us, my ROOMMATE and I are busy."

Syuusuke's jaw dropped as he watched them walk away, Yuuta looking back helplessly.

"Fujiko?"

Syuusuke jumped at the sound of Kawamura's voice behind him. "Taka-san!" he said, fearing the other boy had heard Mizuki mention him, "how long have you been there?"

"I just got here. I saw Mizuki with you and thought maybe you could use some intervention." Kawamura rubbed his head and looked embarrassed. "But I guess I was too late."

Syuusuke smiled with relief. "No, Taka-san. You were just in time. Come on, let's sit down and eat."

Kajimoto Takahisa watched Mizuki head off with Yuuta. "I wonder when Mizuki got here."

Tanaka Youhei looked up and followed his gaze. "Hey, yeah, he wasn't at the meeting, was he?"

"No, but neither was Fuji Yuuta," his twin, Kouhei, pointed out. "I guess people are still developing powers."

"What's it like rooming with Tachibana, anyway?" Youhei turned to his team Captain. "You guys getting along?"

"He's nice enough. Kind of serious, but I guess I can be guilty of that myself at times. At least he isn't disruptive, like some of the others I can hear from several doors down." He shook his head. "I don't know what they were thinking with some of the room assignments."

"I'm just glad they left Youhei and I alone!" Kouhei declared, then paused. "Although it might have been interesting to room with someone as sexy as Oshitari Yuushi!"

"Or Tezuka!" Youhei agreed.

"I wonder who Mizuki ended up rooming with," Takahisa said more to himself than the others, but their sharp ears picked it up, anyway.

"Who else would HAVE him but Yuuta?" the twins chorused.

Takahisa didn't answer. His lilac gaze was focused on the black-haired St. Rudolph manager, who was sitting as close to Yuuta as he could get without being in his lap.

"Hey, Atobe, my milk is getting warm – wanna 'cold' it up for me?"

The Hyotei Captain gave his Doubles player a disparaging look. "Am I your personal appliance now, Shishido? I don't perform on demand."

"Shishido-san, you could at least say 'please'," Choutarou suggested.

Shishido rolled his eyes. "Okay, sorry. Would you please make it cold again, buchou? I hate warm milk."

Atobe held out his hand and Shishido gave him the glass. The wealthy Senior tried to focus on applying just enough of his power to make the liquid colder, but frost began forming on the outside of the glass. "Damn it, I probably overdid it." He looked at the milk. "There are milk cubes floating in it now, sorry."

"That's okay, at least it's definitely cold now." Shishido took it back and sipped it. "Thanks!"

"Every time I think I'm getting a handle on this power, something like that happens," Atobe groused.

"Don't worry about it, Atobe," Yuushi told him. "This isn't like tennis, where you're either born with natural talent or you're not. These powers were bestowed upon us all of a sudden, and we're all playing catch-up."

"How is your power going, Yuushi-senpai?" Choutarou asked. "Are you gaining more control?"

"It's limited only by my imagination, Choutarou," Yuushi replied. He spread his hands over the table, and suddenly there was a complete banquet before them, complete with a huge roasted turkey and candlelight.

"Looks good enough to eat!" Shishido declared and made a grab for the turkey, bumping Yuushi's arm in the process. The illusion dissipated.

"That seems to be my Achilles heel." Yuushi sighed. "I can't maintain the illusion if someone touches me."

"It's still a really cool power, though," Shishido told him. "You can make anyone think that they're seeing anything!"

"Speaking of believing what one is seeing, is Ibu Shinji talking to his fork over there?" Choutarou asked, and the other Hyotei boys turned to look.

"Yes, it would appear that he is," Atobe replied.

"Not only that, but the fork just NODDED in response!" Gakuto yelped. "Ew, that's creepy!"

"Animating inanimate objects? That's just weird," Shishido stated.

"Then it's a suitable power for Ibu-kun," Atobe remarked. He noticed Mizuki and frowned. "Now what is Mizuki doing here? Has he got powers now?"

"He must," Choutarou said.

Shishido shook his head. "That's a scary thought."

"It should be interesting, though," Atobe pointed out. "See the looks he's receiving from Fuji Syuusuke? It would appear that they're both still fighting over possession of Yuuta-kun."

Gakuto snorted. "Yuuta should grow a backbone and tell them BOTH to back off!"

"But then we wouldn't have the fun of watching this play out, Gakuto," Yuushi smiled knowingly.

"Gently, gently," Momoshiro placed his fork down and picked up his glass of milk.

"Are you still having problems with remembering your own strength, Momo-senpai?" Ryoma asked.

"Well, I broke Kamio's bed earlier," he admitted. "So I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought I was, not as well."

"At this stage, I think everyone is still making progress in controlling their powers," Inui remarked. "And it's good that no one has been seriously hurt by accident yet."

"Or on purpose," Kaidoh remarked.

"Yes, it would seem that some people might be inclined to use their powers against others," Inui agreed, glancing surreptitiously toward the Hyotei players.

"At least it was all infighting," Oishi commented. "So far there hasn't been any conflict between schools."

"That's not entirely true, Oishi-senpai," Kawamura said softly, giving Fuji a worried look. The tensai was distracted enough that he didn't notice all conversation at his table had stopped until Oishi touched his arm.

"What?" he started, then saw all eyes were on him. "Did I space out? I'm sorry."

"Did something happen with Mizuki?" Oishi asked. "You were staring at him just now."

"Was I? Well, he's sitting with Yuuta, and I suppose it's no secret that I don't trust him." He sighed. "They're roommates, too, I guess."

"They were roommates at St. Rudolph, weren't they?" Momoshiro asked.

"Probably. I never asked," Fuji replied, half-heartedly taking a bite of food. "At least at St. Rudolph, I never had to watch them together."

Across the room, Mizuki made a point of waving to Fuji behind Yuuta's back.

"I see the problem, nya," Eiji said, then added brightly, "Hey, you know what? You could probably use your power to convince him to leave Yuuta alone --"

"Eiji!" Tezuka and Oishi both rebuked sharply. The acrobat cringed.

"It was just a thought ...."

Kawamura studied Fuji's reaction to the exchange. It worried him even more to see in the beautiful Senior's face that he'd already considered Eiji's idea himself.

Ryoma went back to his room after dinner and picked up his racquet. He was used to playing tennis with his father in the evenings and wondered if they were going to do so anymore. That wasn't the only thing he was wondering about, either.

"Hey, Boy!"

The twelve-year-old looked toward the doorway and saw his father there, holding his own racquet. "What's keeping you?" Nanjiroh asked.

"I'm ready." Ryoma pulled down his cap and walked toward him. "I need to ask you something," he said, sounding like he'd still rather not. "What about Karupin?"

"What about your cat?"

"If I'm going to be here a long time, he'll miss me. I want to bring him here."

"You'd better think about that some more," Nanjiroh remarked. "The cat's safer at home. With all these kids throwing their powers around, he could get caught in the crossfire."

Ryoma frowned. "So could I, but you're letting me stay."

"Yeah, well, you didn't cost as much as the cat." Nanjiroh leaned against the doorway. "You sure you want to stay here at all? Just because your teammates are here –"

"I'm staying."

Nanjiroh scratched his chin. "You haven't shown any powers."

Ryoma held his gaze. His father chuckled.

"You're that determined to stay, eh?" He shrugged. "The matter of the cat is out of our hands, anyway. Atobe's parents don't want any animals in this place besides you kids – he can't even bring his dog."

His son made a face and went around him out into the hall. "Let's get out on the court."

As the two of them were heading down the hall, Ryoma saw Mizuki come out of his room and pass by them, then turn into Fuji's room. Ryoma paused briefly to see if his teammate was in there, but it looked like neither Fuji nor Eiji were around. So why was Mizuki in their room?

"What are you staring at?" Nanjiroh asked as he took his son's shoulder and steered him away. Ryoma glanced back suspiciously, but kept his mouth shut.

Oishi wasn't sure why he felt nervous, since he was fairly sure he hadn't done anything wrong. However, when one was summoned to a meeting of three of the adults who were, in effect, his guardians at the moment, it was hard not to feel some trepidation.

His knock on the boardroom door was met with Ryuzaki-sensei's reply inviting him in.

It was his first time in that particular room, and he had to admit, it was impressive, just like the rest of the property. He could easily see a dozen big shots having important luncheons there while they discussed their next multi-million dollar deal.

"Oishi, we have a favour to ask of you," Ryuzaki-sensei told him. "But first we want to know a little more about your power and how it works."

"Well, about that," Oishi said, looking embarrassed. "I'm not exactly SURE how it works, or even if the whole thing wasn't coincidence. The only demonstration I've seen so far of what I THINK it is was when Kaidoh was being overloaded by his own power, and when I told him to stop, he stopped, just like that."

"But it came back later," Hanamura-san pressed. "At the meeting."

"Yes, that was about an hour or so later, though."

"I don't think something like that could be coincidence, Oishi-kun," Sakaki-san said seriously. "I would say you definitely have the capability to nullify the powers of others temporarily. However," he added, "it would probably be in our best interests to test the theory once more before we proceed."

"All right," Oishi said uncertainly. He wasn't even sure anymore exactly how he did what he supposedly had done. "How do you want to test it?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ryuzaki-sensei told him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "We'll need a 'volunteer' from the audience."

End of Part 6

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 7

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Atobe raised an eyebrow. "You want me to do _what_?"

"Allow Oishi-kun to nullify your power, if he can," Sumire said.

The teenager regarded her dubiously. When he was called into the boardroom, he hadn't been expecting anything like this. "Why should I risk the possibility that he may not be able to turn it back on?"

Oishi blushed. The truth was, he couldn't be sure of that, either.

"It worked on Kaidoh's power – you saw that," Sumire reminded him. "We're just trying to get a feel for how good his control is. This will benefit Hyotei as well as the other teams, Atobe-kun."

"I don't see how. And why me?" Atobe asked. "Why not someone from his own team?"

"Atobe!" Tarou said sternly. "You're a team Captain, and you've exhibited good control. You have to lead by example."

"My control isn't perfect." The fourteen-year-old frowned. "I froze someone's milk earlier when I was just trying to make it colder."

"We're not expecting perfection," Aoi told him gently. "We just need some help with this test for Oishi-kun."

Atobe brushed his hair back and sighed in a careworn way. "Very well, but if it disappears forever, I will not forgive any of you. I'm starting to like having this power at my disposal."

Sumire nodded. "All right then, would you please activate it for us, and then we'll see if Oishi can contain it temporarily."

Oishi swallowed. The look Atobe was giving him wasn't exactly welcoming. No pressure here. He hoped that whatever happened, the Hyotei Captain wouldn't lose his power by his hand.

Atobe spread his arms wide and instantly the temperature of the room dropped drastically. Ice began crawling up the walls and over the furniture. Sumire swore under her breath.

"Atobe, that's too much!" Tarou told him, already feeling his extremities going numb.

"You wanted me to demonstrate, Sensei," Atobe replied casually. "You didn't specify what degree of demonstration you required."

"O-Oishi!" Sumire said through chattering teeth. "If you can do it, do it now!"

The Seigaku Vice-Captain's body was so stiff with cold that for a moment, he wasn't sure he could move. He began to reach for the other boy. Shut it off, he thought firmly, shut it OFF!

The moment his fingertips made contact with Atobe's bicep, the intense cold was gone, fading as fast as the building's heating system could dispel it.

"Thank goodness," Aoi murmured, rubbing warmth back into her arms.

Atobe tried to reactivate his power, but nothing came of it. "How long will this last?" he demanded of Oishi.

"I – I'm not sure," he admitted. "It was about an hour for Kaidoh, but I wasn't really trying then."

"Do you think you can do this without making physical contact as you did?" Sumire asked him.

"I doubt it," he said. "I was trying to will it to stop before I actually touched him, but it didn't work until I did."

"Well, now I guess we just wait and see how long it takes for Atobe's power to come back." Tarou looked at his player. "Try it out periodically and keep us informed."

"Fine." Atobe gave Oishi a warning glance. "But if it doesn't come back at all, I'll be filing a lawsuit."

Oishi watched him go, then looked at Sumire for help.

"Don't worry, I don't think there are any laws on the books governing the removal of powers yet."

Oishi couldn't help thinking that given the financial clout of the Atobe family, they'd find a way to make one.

Mizuki cackled to himself quietly as he sat in the library and read another passage from Fuji Syuusuke's diary. He knew he was taking a risk by removing it from Fuji's room, but also knew he could easily get it back there before he was likely to miss it. He just didn't find a quick peek now and then to be satisfying – he wanted to take his time and savour it.

"'Taka-san is wonderful on the court – I could watch him all day. The power in his returns is something to be feared. How amazing that someone with such monstrous strength can be so sweet and gentle off-court. I hope to tell him how I feel someday, but he's so shy that I fear I would only embarrass him.'" Mizuki grinned. "Luckily, Fuji Syuusuke, _I_ don't have that problem!"

"What do you think you're doing?"

The St. Rudolph manager jumped in fright and spun around, then relaxed. "Oh, it's only you, Kajimoto Takahisa." He shut the book and tucked it into his bag. "I'll thank you to mind your own business."

Takahisa was amused. "Is that what you call it when you read someone else's diary?"

Mizuki's midnight blue eyes flashed. "I don't have to answer to you!"

"No, you don't," Takahisa admitted. "I don't really care, either, although I _am_ curious as to how you obtained it. There are so many kids here that if you just went into Fuji's room and stole it, someone would have surely seen you." He cocked his head curiously. "Exactly what is your power, Mizuki-san?"

The black-haired boy almost snapped back that it was none of Takahisa's business, but figured he'd just be setting himself up for another dig about the diary. He stuck his tongue out at Takahisa instead. "I'm not telling. Eat your heart out!" He gathered his things and left the room with his nose in the air.

Takahisa smiled. Beautiful, spunky, and a little bit evil. He liked that.

Tezuka had heard through the grapevine that the Echizen father and son were playing out on one of the back courts. He went outside to investigate and found more than a few of the other kids already watching in awe.

"Amazing!" Shishido breathed.

"Who would have imagined it?" Youhei said, shaking his head so that his blue ponytail bobbed back and forth.

Tezuka stopped alongside them and watched Nanjiroh for a few moments. "Why does it surprise you that he's so good?" he asked the others. "He came close to being number one in the world."

The two boys looked at him. "We weren't talking about that." Shishido smirked. "Watch Ryoma."

Tezuka did so and saw right away what they meant. Ryoma was getting his butt kicked in a way that only he had done before. But no one else had seen that game except for Oishi.

He noticed another person come up beside him and glanced at Tachibana Kippei. The Fudomine Captain wore a serious expression, which was not unusual, but as someone else who was used to maintaining a poker face, Tezuka could read between the lines. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I'll show you," he said. A moment later, Tezuka felt a short gust of wind that blew the tennis ball heading for Nanjiroh off-course just enough that while he didn't miss it, he had to maneuver to get it. Tezuka regarded Tachibana curiously.

"What if I were the type of person to do that to my own opponent during a match?" the other boy said. "Or what if I wasn't the type to cheat, but simply lost control, and it happened despite my wishes?"

Now Tezuka understood. He thought about Fuji's Siren ability and Momoshiro's strength. He knew Tachibana had to be worried about Kamio and his struggle NOT to use superspeed, not to mention all of their opponents who might not attempt to hold back their powers.

Tezuka wasn't even sure he trusted his own self-control. The power was still too new to him.

"We have a serious problem on our hands," he agreed grimly.

"Oishi!"

Gulp, thought the Seigaku player. He turned to face Atobe, who stalked over to him with an expression that demanded answers.

"It's been almost two hours since you nullified my power and I still can't form so much as an ice cube!" the Hyotei Captain informed him. "What's going on?!"

"I wish I could tell you," Oishi said helplessly. "I didn't even know if it COULD last longer than an hour, or even if I could do it again at all."

Atobe paled slightly. "So my power really could be gone forever?"

"I - I don't know," Oishi replied weakly. "I hope not, Atobe-san. It isn't what I was trying to do."

For a moment, he thought Atobe might hit him. The other boy averted his gaze briefly, then faced him again, his voice tight, "I know the adults bullied you into this, and I will try to remember that if the worst happens." He turned and walked away and Oishi sighed. Would it really be the worst scenario if one of them lost these powers they probably never should have had at all? Maybe not, but if it was going to happen, he'd still rather not be a party to it.

Mizuki strolled down the hall, stifling a giggle as several kids passed him without notice. They couldn't see him, nor the diary he carried. His invisibility power saw to that.

At first, he had been well on his way to a bad mood, thanks to Takahisa's interruption, but he was feeling better now. He only had to think about how he had gained more ammunition with which to torture Fuji Syuusuke. What's more, he would have the satisfaction of returning to his room, where Yuuta was waiting and Syuusuke wasn't welcome. Life was good.

First, though, he would return the diary to its proper place so that Syuusuke could in turn write more secrets in it that would be his as soon as he could next get his invisible hands on it.

"Don't be such a poor loser, Boy!"

Mizuki saw Echizen Nanjiroh and Ryoma come up the stairs and head in his direction. They both looked sweaty, and as they were holding racquets, he assumed they'd just finished their match.

"I'm not a poor loser! You're a poor winner! The way you danced around the court, pointing at me and singing, "Loser, loser, looooser!" was NOT an example of good sportsmanship! And you only did it because we had an audience."

"Sour grapes!"

Mizuki saw Ryoma cast his father a disparaging look, then the diminutive Freshman looked in his direction. He wasn't worried – the kid couldn't see him, after all. Still, it was funny how the gold eyes seemed to drop momentarily toward the diary in his grasp before apparently staring him straight in the face. Coincidence, he told himself. That's all it is.

Nanjiroh and Ryoma passed by, continuing their mild bickering until they both separated to go into their rooms. Mizuki glanced into Fuji and Eiji's room before skipping inside to tuck the diary into the drawer where he'd found it.

"Mmm … Gaku …."

"Yuu~shi … ohhh …."

Yuushi squeezed Gakuto's butt cheek in a way that made the smaller boy press against him and groan with desire. When Gakuto nipped at his neck, Yuushi gasped lightly and drew him more tightly against his own body.

Shishido opened the door to his room and walked in, then stopped abruptly, turning away. "Aw, MAN! Do you guys have to do that here?!"

Gakuto glared at him. "We're still dressed. And where would you suggest we do this – out in the hall?!"

"I don't care, just … not in here." Shishido sat down on his own bed, his face scarlet. The other boys sat up reluctantly and Yuushi chuckled.

"I'm sorry if we offended you, Shishido, but it's no worse than what you and Choutarou do, I'm sure."

Shishido's head whipped around. "That's none of your business!"

Gakuto blew his hair out of his face and shrugged. "If we have to, we'll make up 'Do Not Disturb' signs for the doors, and then you guys can have the other room to yourselves and we'll use this one."

Yuushi nuzzled the burgundy hair. "If we do that, Gakuto, the teachers will notice the signs as well, and will likely barge right in on principle."

"Hmm, you're right," Gakuto admitted with a frown. He snapped his fingers. "Hey, but what if you put an illusion on the door so that it looks like it's open and no one is in here?"

"My illusions won't work if someone is touching me, remember?" Yuushi blew gently in his ear, making Gakuto giggle. "And if we're alone, I'll want to be in contact with you."

"Heh, yeah, that's kind of the point." Gakuto looked thoughtfully toward Shishido. "On the other hand, YOU can use your luck to make sure no one tries to enter either room, can't you?"

"Probably," the other boy admitted, knowing his face was still red.

"Then it's all good," Gakuto replied, like everything was decided. He snuggled up to Yuushi again, and Shishido stood up, planning to make a hasty exit until Atobe appeared in the doorway.

"I can't believe this!" he exploded. "Six hours and STILL my power hasn't returned!"

The others stared at him. "It hasn't?" Yuushi said in surprise.

"How long is it going to be gone?" Gakuto asked.

Atobe scowled at him. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be upset, now would I?"

"I don't know what to say, buchou," Shishido replied. "I'm sorry."

Atobe's gaze swept over his Doubles Two team, taking note of how Yuushi had his arms around Gakuto both protectively and possessively. That and the loss of his power made him feel inexplicably lonely all of a sudden.

He left his teammates and went to find Tezuka. He needed a hug.

End of Part 7

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 8

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

In Sumire's office at Seigaku, the teacher nodded as she listened to Tezuka speak. When he finished, she looked at him seriously. "Believe me, Tezuka, we're as concerned over the potential use of powers on the court as you and Tachibana-kun are, and we're taking steps to do something about it."

The Senior looked relieved. "Neither of us wants to have to give up tennis because of this, Sensei, and I'm sure the other players would feel the same way."

Sumire gave him a wry glance. "Some of them wouldn't even consider giving it up, even if they did have an unfair advantage." She shook her head. "But don't worry, at least not yet. We'll hold a meeting tonight at home to discuss it, and hopefully by then we'll know more."

Over at Jyousei Shounen, Youhei and Kouhei had discovered that at least one of their powers was going to make the passing of surreptitious notes unnecessary.

("We have tennis practice scheduled after school,") Youhei reminded his brother telepathically as they sat in the middle of History class. ("Do you think we're still holding it?")

("Hanamura-sensei didn't say any differently, so I guess we are,") Kouhei replied. ("I wonder if we and Takahisa-buchou are going to be telling the others about our powers or not?")

("I guess we should all wait and see what Hanamura-sensei wants us to do.")

"Youhei-kun!"

The magenta-haired boy recognized his name and felt embarrassed. Here he was with super-hearing, and it sounded like his teacher had been calling on him for quite a while. "Sorry, Sensei, what was the question?"

Kamio gritted his teeth and forced himself to slow down yet again. He was doing much better with controlling his speed-talking, which was good considering he'd had to answer questions in class already that morning at Fudomine. However, because his thought processes were also faster, he was finding it next to impossible NOT to write his class notes at a speed that made his pencil smoke. Glancing toward Shinji in the next seat, he knew he wasn't the only one having problems. He'd already overheard his boyfriend telling his desk to please stop reciting the history of everyone who had ever sat there because it was distracting. Thank goodness no one else seemed to have heard him.

Darn it, he was writing too fast again! He needed a way to regulate it, slow down the tempo ….

Hey, he thought brightly. Maybe THAT was it! Kamio dug into his bag and found his MP3 player. He knew he couldn't wear it during class, but if he could just hear a few notes ….

He held the ear bud between his fingers and bent over the desk to hide as much of the wire as possible. He turned on the player and held the bud to his ear.

Almost immediately, he felt a sense of peace wash over him. He should have known – even with superpowers, he was still Kamio Akira, and he was all about the rhythm. The music flowed through him, pacing him. He no longer felt the urge to race through everything he was doing. With the music, he could regulate.

He put the MP3 player away, but kept the song's beat by softly tapping his fingers against his leg. With his other hand, he resumed taking notes, but this time, they flowed evenly and didn't fly across the page. He was back in the rhythm.

Atobe was edgy.

He still didn't have his power back, and the guy who took it from him was over at Seigaku so he couldn't even yell at him. He could, however, complain to one of the people who had insisted on this experiment.

"Sensei, we need to talk," Atobe said firmly as he strode into Tarou's Hyotei office.

"It had better be good, Atobe-kun, for you to barge in here unannounced."

"My power hasn't returned yet!" the teenager exploded. "How much longer is this supposed to go on?!"

Tarou gave him a stern look. "You might wish to refrain from announcing your situation to the entire school. Close the door."

Atobe was unaccustomed to blushing, but he did so at that moment. The teacher was right. Even if the mention of Changechildren had been circulating in the news already, it probably wasn't a good idea to be shouting about powers like that. He shut the door.

"Now then," Tarou said calmly, "try to be a bit more patient. I realized it's not easy –"

"How?" Atobe demanded. "How can you understand? These powers aren't just something frivolous, they're like a living, breathing part of ourselves. I could have dealt with being without it for a few hours, but it's been almost an entire DAY. Frankly, Sensei, I feel like a heavy smoker being forced to go cold turkey!" He paused. "No pun intended."

"It's true I can't completely understand how you're feeling, but I'm trying to," Tarou told him. "You need a distraction and there's still some time left in your lunch hour. Go hit some balls around on the court until classes resume."

Atobe wanted to say more, but couldn't think of anything that would help his situation rather than make it worse. "Fine," he replied, and stalked out of the office. Tarou pitied whoever was going to be the boy's opponent.

While seated on a bench outside school, Inui busied himself with reading his textbook, writing in his notebook, and doing leg lifts at the same time. There were weights attached to his ankles with Velcro, and even while he was occupied with his other activities, he never lost track of how many times he lifted each leg or how long either was held aloft.

In between, he would occasionally glance toward Kaidoh. The Sophomore had come outside shortly after himself, and was doing easy stretches under a nearby tree. Every so often, he would pause and look up into the branches. Inui wondered what messages he was hearing from the birds and squirrels that might be there.

At one point when he looked over, he noticed that Ryoma was there with him now. The Freshman was saying something that Inui couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it made Kaidoh look at the twelve-year-old sharply and say something that might have been either, "Not so loud!" or "Not allowed!" Inui privately wished for the Tanaka twins' super-hearing – the gossipmonger in him found the appeal irresistible, especially when it came to his teammates.

Scratch that. Especially when it came to _Kaidoh_.

Ryoma didn't seem to react to Kaidoh's admonition, but that wasn't surprising, since the boy didn't show much reaction to anything outright. He said something else, and Kaidoh frowned, then gave Ryoma a short nod and walked around the other side of the tree where Inui couldn't see him anymore. He didn't come back into view, but when a small bird took flight from the base of the tree, Ryoma watched it go until it was out of sight. He headed back toward the school, and noticing Inui for the first time, gave him a tip of his cap as he passed.

Inui wasn't sure whether to worry more about what Ryoma was up to or whether Kaidoh would survive his first solo flight.

Oishi walked down the hall feeling depressed. He had just tried to hold a brief meeting of the student council during the last half of lunch, but had to cut it short because he just couldn't concentrate. With Atobe over at Hyotei, he at least wasn't getting direct harassment, but it was making him more than a little nervous that he just didn't know whether the other boy's powers had returned. He figured that Ryuzaki-sensei would know, but she wasn't in her office when he went there.

"Oishi!"

"Yahhh!" He jumped. "Eiji!" he gasped, then lowered his voice. "You didn't ... you know ... just pop in here, did you?"

Eiji looked affronted. "No, of course I didn't! There are people all over the place -- I'd never just hoi out in the open!"

It took Oishi a moment to realize what his partner meant, but then he let it go. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just nervous."

Eiji put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you still worried about Atobe?"

"What if his power doesn't come back?" Oishi fretted. "I should never have agreed to shut it off!"

"Well," Eiji leaned back against the lockers, "someone had to test it, and we're all sort of in this together, aren't we?"

Oishi sighed. "Tell that to Atobe if they haven't returned by the time we get back to the mansion."

"WOW, Buchou, that was an amazing serve!" Atobe's teammate, Akutagawa Jiroh, had actually awakened to watch the Captain's practice match against Kabaji. Atobe was showing no mercy; it was just fortunate that even if Kabaji couldn't return every shot, he at least was strong enough not to get hurt by them.

Atobe didn't reply. Working off his stress on the court wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't really solving his problem. He fired another serve at the Sophomore across the net.

"Atobe's on fire today," remarked Wakashi Hiyoshi, another teammate.

Gakuto, who had stopped by to watch, gave a snort. "Yeah, and right now he doesn't have the means to cool it off!"

Jiroh rubbed his eyes and leaned toward Gakuto. "What are you talking about?"

The acrobat hesitated, then thought better of it. These were their teammates, after all, and besides, hadn't Inui said at their first meeting that while the powers weren't widely known yet, they weren't really a secret, either.

"Well," he said with a mischievous smile, "here's the thing ...."

Kaidoh had been afraid at first – he'd never tried flying before. However, once he took to the air in bird form, it all came naturally.

What took a while was finding the Echizen house from above. He wasn't used to seeing the city from a bird's-eye view.

By the time he found it, he feared he was going to be late getting back to class. He swooped down onto the gate at the end of the driveway, then fluttered to the pavement, where he assumed his human form and hissed with relief. He'd made it in one piece, amazing.

"Mrrowr?"

He saw Karupin on the doorstep and crouched down to his level. "Come here," he urged gently.

Without hesitation, the Himalayan cat padded down the step and walked over to Kaidoh, rubbing against his leg as he allowed the boy to stroke his fur.

"I don't have much time," Kaidoh told him. "But I have to talk to you …"

Atobe had about given up hope. It was the last class of the day, and there was still no sign of his power returning. He tried to tell himself that he hadn't possessed the ice capabilities long enough to really get attached to them, but he couldn't lie to himself for long. Besides, he thought, pouting, it had been he who suggested all these kids move into his family's property during this time of adjustment – what was he supposed to do now? Stay there even though he had no power? Kick all the rest of them out? He wouldn't mind doing so if Tezuka wouldn't be affected, however –

"Has it turned cold in here, or is it just me?" remarked the teacher.

Atobe's head snapped up. Had someone mentioned 'cold'?

His teammates were trying not to make it too obvious that they suspected the cause of the temperature drop, but they still glanced his way hopefully. Atobe touched a fingertip to his desktop and focused. He watched a fine sheet of ice begin to radiate outwards from it.

"Yes!" he murmured with satisfaction. It was back!

Shishido shivered. "Atobe!" he hissed. "Now that it's on again, can you turn it off? We're freezing here!"

"Of course," he replied smoothly, and concentrated on drawing back the power. He felt it respond as easily as if they had never been separated.

"I think it's a little better now, Sensei," Yuushi said. "Perhaps there was a glitch in the furnace."

The teacher glanced toward the window, frowning. "But it's not really cold out at all, so …." He shrugged. "Oh well, let's get back to our lesson, shall we? Atobe-kun, would you please read the next passage out loud?"

"Certainly, Sensei," Atobe replied with a smug smile as he stood up to read. The Ice Emperor was back, and he was never letting anyone mess with his power again.

"What HAPPENED to you, Mamushi?" Momoshiro prodded Kaidoh as he followed him out of school. "Since when do you show up so late for class that you may as well have not even bothered?"

"It wasn't that late," Kaidoh muttered. "I only missed twenty minutes."

Momo snorted. "It was enough to get you sent to the Principal! If that happens again, it might affect your standing on the Regulars, you know!"

"I had something to do."

"Like what?"

Kaidoh turned on him and snapped, "None of your business! Now shut up and leave me alone before I turn into a REAL viper and give you a bite of venom!"

Momoshiro stared dumbfounded as he watched Kaidoh go on ahead to stop Ryoma. After they talked for a few moments, Ryoma smiled, which only piqued Momo's curiosity more. The moment Kaidoh was gone, he hurried over to the twelve-year-old.

"Echizen, what did Kaidoh want?" he asked eagerly.

"That's what I'd like to know, too," Inui interrupted as he joined them. "Am I right that Kaidoh was late returning to class this afternoon, Momoshiro?"

"Yeah, something like twenty minutes late!" He turned back to Ryoma. "So what's going on?"

"He was helping me with something," Ryoma admitted. "I'll show you tonight."

"Hoi, guys!" Eiji ran out and practically leapt onto Inui's back. "Great news from Oishi! He just got a call from Atobe, and his power has come back! Right in the middle of his last class it happened, but it's back! Oishi practically fainted, he was so relieved!"

"He's not the only one who is relieved," Sumire remarked as she came up behind them. "Since we don't have practice scheduled you can all do whatever until seven o'clock tonight but then everyone is required to be home and ready to attend an all-school meeting. We have some things to discuss."

End of Part 8

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 9

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The Changechildren on the Hyotei team were riding home together in Atobe's limousine. This by itself wasn't unusual, but they had two more passengers than originally planned, and Atobe was still marveling over it.

"How is it that I ended up agreeing to this again?" he inquired of the twelve-year-old sitting across from him with the purring cat in his lap.

"I asked you and you said yes," Ryoma replied.

"No, I mean, how did you convince me to disobey my parents by allowing you to bring that cat to the mansion when I haven't even brought my own dog there?"

"It's just as well you didn't. Karupin wouldn't like the dog."

Atobe shook his head. "I give up," he said, and looked out the window at the passing scenery.

"He's so beautiful, Ryoma-kun!" Choutarou leaned over to scratch behind Karupin's ear. "He can be the Changechildren mascot!"

"How did _I_ wind up holding the litter box?!" Gakuto complained, making a face.

"What about your father, Ryoma-kun?" Yuushi asked. "Didn't he already say no to this?"

"That was before Karupin told Kaidoh-senpai that he wouldn't mind being around a lot of kids so long as I was there, too," Ryoma answered.

"Will that change your father's mind?" Shishido inquired.

"Maybe not, but it made MY mind up," Ryoma stated firmly.

"And what will you say to MY parents if they find out?" Atobe had to ask. Ryoma bestowed him with a smile that could have been either devilish or angelic.

"Stop worrying. I have a way with adults."

Atobe and his friends exchanged wry glances. They were pretty sure that Ryoma's 'way' made most adults want to spank him within the first five minutes of knowing him.

Aoi tried to hide her concern as she watched her Jyousei Masterpieces at practice. She knew that neither Takahisa nor the Tanaka twins were acting on purpose, but she was pretty sure their powers were leaking out regardless. It was tougher to tell with Youhei and Kouhei, since their sight and hearing was already augmented before they became Changechildren, but she was still noticing little differences that weren't there before.

As for Takahisa, the low-scale tremor that she felt every time he served couldn't be anything BUT his power activating. Finally, she called a halt to the practice matches.

"Come over here, Kajimoto-kun, and my Unit," she waved to them. "I need to speak to you three alone. The rest of you please use the far court while we're speaking."

The team split up and the three boys that Aoi had summoned approached her curiously. "What's wrong, Sensei?" Kouhei asked. "Weren't we playing well enough?"

"Yes, Kouhei-kun, perhaps a little too well." She studied the three of them. "I believe that none of you were using your powers deliberately while you were playing, but I know for certain that at least one of you wasn't holding them back completely, either."

The twins turned in unison to Takahisa, who bowed to his Coach. "My apologies, Sensei. I tried, I really did, but I find it hard to concentrate equally hard on managing my power and putting my all into my game, especially when I'm serving."

"That's because Buchou has such a killer serve," Youhei acknowledged.

"The other boys noticed the tremors," Aoi told them. "They don't know the cause yet, but I think we should explain what's going on to them. However, they are YOUR powers, so I won't do it without the consent of the three of you."

Takahisa and the twins exchanged looks, then they nodded. "They're our teammates and our friends," Takahisa remarked. "There's no reason why they shouldn't know."

"Wakato will LOVE this." Kouhei chuckled.

He was right.

Mizuki was leaving St. Rudolph, knowing that Yuuta was waiting for him out front. He went down the steps and caught sight of his Sophomore player, preparing to call out to him that he was coming.

However, another voice beat him to it.

"Yuuta, hi!"

Mizuki stopped in the middle of the school path, forcing others to go around him. He watched as Fuji Syuusuke approached his little brother with a smile. Mizuki took a step forward to interrupt them, then he thought better of it. Slipping off across the lawn, he turned the corner of the school. No one was on that side lawn, since they were all concerned with leaving, so Mizuki was able to initiate his invisibility in private. Quickly, he darted back across the grass, deftly avoiding contact with anyone else until he reached Yuuta and Syuusuke.

"We're all going back to the same place, anyway," Yuuta was saying grumpily. "Why can't the three of us just go together?"

Syuusuke looked disappointed. "Because I'd like to spend some time alone with you. Mizuki makes it impossible at the mansion."

Yuuta avoided his brother's gaze. "He's my teammate and our manager. We have a lot to discuss."

"I know that, but you're already rooming together and going to school together." Syuusuke moved closer and put an arm around the younger boy. "Am I not allowed to have any of your time at all, Yuuta?"

Mizuki didn't want to give Yuuta a chance to cave in, and it looked like he might do that at any moment. He gave his teammate a surreptitious pinch on his backside.

Yuuta jumped with a yelp and spun around to face a perplexed Syuusuke. "Aniki, how could you?! You always do stuff like that and you KNOW it bugs me!"

"Y-Yuuta, I don't know what you mean, I –"

"Oh, please! I know a pinch when I feel it!" Yuuta's face was red with anger and embarrassment. "I'm just glad that my power is already removing the disgusting feeling of your hand on my butt, because otherwise I might have to deck you!"

As much as Mizuki wanted to stick around for more of the show, he had to dash off temporarily in order to rematerialize and put in an appearance for the Fuji brothers. "Ah, Yuuta-kun, there you are! And Fuji Syuusuke, too – what brings you here?"

Syuusuke shot him a hateful look before regarding Yuuta with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry you don't believe that I didn't do anything, but it's the truth. I'll see you at home later."

Mizuki waved goodbye to him merrily before turning to his teammate. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, let's," Yuuta muttered, glaring after his brother's back. Mizuki hid a smile behind his hand.

"What is THAT?"

Ryoma looked at Shinji like he was stupid, which indeed he must be if he couldn't recognize the creature in his arms. "It's my cat. His name is Karupin."

Shinji watched Ryoma put the Himalayan down on the bed. He looked from the cat to the litter box on the floor and back again. "You're not planning to keep him here are you?"

Ryoma gave the Fudomine tensai another glance. "Where else would I keep my own cat?" He followed Shinji's gaze toward the litter box. "If that thing has anything to tell you about its history, I don't want to hear it," he stated.

"I just want to know when you planned on asking about keeping the cat here, that's all," Shinji remarked, then shrugged and looked away. "After all, it's my room, too, and I don't think it's fair when one roommate goes ahead and does something without consulting the other, especially when it affects both of the people in the room –"

Ryoma wondered if he'd finally found someone on the planet who was more annoying than his father.

"Hey, Boy!" Nanjiroh stuck his head in the room. "Because of that seven o'clock meeting, you'll have to wait a little longer tonight before I can whip your butt on the court!"

No, Ryoma thought with a flat-eyed expression, he hadn't.

Nanjiroh nodded to Shinji then noticed the cat. "Oh, hi Karupin. Well, see you boys at dinner." He left the room, then was back a moment later. "What's HE doing here?"

Ryoma glanced at Shinji and shrugged. "He rooms with me."

"Not him!" Nanjiroh pointed at Karupin. "HIM! Didn't I tell you there weren't any pets allowed here?"

"It's okay with Atobe. He drove us home in the limo."

"Nobody asked if it was okay with me," Shinji mumbled.

"That's not the point, Ryoma," Nanjiroh tried to sound reasonable. "It's Atobe's parents who said no –"

"So if Kaidoh-senpai turns into an animal while in the house, I guess he'd be breaking the rules, too?" Ryoma picked up the litter box. "This goes in the bathroom."

"Are you listening to me at all?" Nanjiroh demanded.

"Do I ever?" Ryoma replied and walked out with the box. Karupin jumped off the bed and followed him.

"HA!" Nanjiroh yelled after his son. "If you weren't listening, then why did you answer me? Huh? HUH?" He smiled smugly at Shinji. "Thinks he's so smart, heh."

Shinji watched Nanjiroh leave and sighed. "So I guess the cat is staying then? I suppose I should be glad he took the litter box out, since I really didn't want that in here. All I know is that the cat better not claw up my clothes or chew on my tennis racquet or sleep on my face …."

At seven o'clock, the boys were all in the lounge area of the mansion. Karupin was there as well, making the rounds of the room and getting to know everyone in his own way. The adults were conferring at the entrance in low voices, and only the Tanaka twins might have heard them if they weren't more interested in trying to get Karupin to chase a tennis ball they were rolling back and forth to each other across the floor. Mizuki sat close to Yuuta, casting Syuusuke smug glances just often enough to earn a Glare of Doom in return. Syuusuke relaxed somewhat when Kawamura touched his hand and gave him an easy smile.

"All right, boys, attention!" Sumire called over the din. The teenagers settled down and she nodded. "Thank you. Let's get to this right away because I know some of you probably still have homework to do." She eyed her own students, making Eiji squirm.

"As some of you may or may not know," she continued, "an issue of concern was brought to our attention by Tezuka and Tachibana. That issue is related to the experiment we conducted with Oishi and Atobe."

"The experiment that almost cost me my power, you mean," Atobe remarked significantly.

"We're sorry that you were worried," Sumire told him. "However, we felt it was necessary to establish whether or not Oishi's power could nullify that of others for longer than it did with Kaidoh's that first time. Obviously, now we know it can, and that's a good thing."

"How so?" Takahisa asked.

"The point that Tezuka and Tachibana brought up concerned your powers and fair play on the tennis courts," Aoi told him. "It bothered them that not everyone with powers might hold back in a match, or be able to even if they wanted to do it. Their concern was validated today at our practice – you wanted to hold back, but your power leaked out."

"It's not your fault, kid," Nanjiroh assured him. "None of you are all that experienced with these powers yet, so naturally there'll be times when they come out unexpectedly. Probably more often when you're focusing on something else, like a match."

"Or when you're experiencing extreme emotions," Tarou added. "Lord knows adolescence is a breeding ground for those."

Inui pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You all make it sound like the situation is hopeless."

"On the contrary." Sumire smiled. "We can take a two-fold defense from here on out. The first step is practicing with your powers regularly. We're going to work out specific times for all of you to practice in the presence of one of us, because we don't want you trying this without supervision. We believe that the more you practice using them, the better able you'll be to keep them in check when you want to. Since it's dangerous and impractical to practice anywhere else but here, here is where you will do it, and ONLY during those sessions unless instructed differently by one of us. Understand?" As she looked around the room, most heads bobbed in solemn agreement.

"The other part of our defense is utilizing Oishi's power whenever we want to be sure," Tarou told them. "It's not so important during our own school practices, and besides, once you start using your powers more here and learning how to suppress them when you need to, those practices shouldn't be a big deal. However, when it comes to important matches against other schools or between the ones represented here, we might ask Oishi to nullify the powers of those of you who will be playing."

Oishi swallowed hard. "I don't really think I want to go through again what I did with Atobe."

"That makes two of us!" the Hyotei Captain emphasized.

"All we know right now is that Oishi-kun can nullify powers for one hour, which is too short, or twenty-four hours, which is too long, but still better than the alternative," Aoi explained. "This is why it's so important to attend the power practice sessions and work hard to get all of yours under control. If you do that, and we can see the results, we won't have to consider having Oishi nullify anyone's power prior to a match."

"And if we're unsure about our own ability to control our power under those circumstances, I assume we may ask Oishi if he'll do us the favour of nullifying us temporarily?" Tachibana looked toward the Seigaku Vice-Captain.

"Well, um, sure, I guess," Oishi answered. "I want to help – I just don't want anyone getting angry with me because I might not be able to snap my fingers and bring back their powers immediately after they've been nullified."

"We understand that," Sumire assured him. "But you, too, will be practicing with your power at our private sessions, and hopefully we'll discover that with control comes the ability to set specific time periods for your nullifications."

Oishi nodded. "I hope so," he said earnestly.

"That's about it for now," Sumire said to everyone. "We'll work on those schedules tonight and will post them in the entryway so that everyone can refer to them and find out when your first power practice sessions are and with which supervisor. You're all dismissed."

As the boys were leaving the room, Momoshiro looked down at Ryoma. "So what are you going to do while the rest of us are doing this power practice stuff?"

"I'll watch," Ryoma replied and smiled knowingly up at Momo. "It always works for me in tennis."

End of Part 9

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 10

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Mizuki wasn't sure he was happy with the results of the meeting. It had been fun seeing Fuji Syuusuke's face when he spotted he and Yuuta sitting together, and he was also glad that powers would be nullified for matches, since he couldn't very well use his own, anyway. However, the idea of practice sessions bothered him. He already had perfect control of his power, so he really didn't need further practice. Besides, to do so in a group setting would mean finally revealing the nature of his powers to everyone. He was lucky to have avoided that so far, but this would make it impossible.

Not that having the invisibility discovered would mean he'd stop using it; he was having too much fun.

He noticed Atobe coming down the hall toward him and smiled sweetly. "Congratulations on recovering your powers, Atobe-san. I'm sure Tezuka-san is VERY happy for you."

Atobe gave him a strange look. "I'd like to think that everyone is happy for me, Mizuki-san."

"Of course, of course!" Mizuki said lightly, winding a lock of hair around his finger. "But naturally I thought of Tezuka first, in view of your special relationship." He put a hand over his mouth. "Oops! It's supposed to be a secret, isn't it? We'd better stop discussing it, in case we're overheard. Have a good evening!"

Mizuki could feel Atobe staring after him and barely suppressed a giggle. It was Atobe and Tezuka's own fault, after all. If they didn't want anyone to know about their affair, they shouldn't kiss with their door not fully shut. Otherwise some invisible person might come along and watch through the crack.

No, he thought, there was definitely no way he was giving up his power, even after the others found out about it.

"Is something amusing?"

He looked up at Takahisa and wondered how long he'd been watching from his doorway.

"Nothing I care to discuss," Mizuki replied as he passed by.

"It's not often someone can penetrate Atobe's façade," Takahisa remarked. "I don't know what you said to him, but congratulations."

Mizuki regarded the other boy thoughtfully. "Is it true you lost control of your power at tennis practice today?"

"Only a little. I'm working on it."

"Do that," Mizuki replied haughtily. "Should we ever play a match against each other, I don't want to feel you making the ground shake under me."

"Don't worry," the lilac-eyed Jyousei Captain said smoothly. "When I make the earth move for you, it won't be on the tennis court."

Mizuki's jaw dropped and for the first time in a long time, he found himself speechless.

Tarou was heading back upstairs after stopping by the kitchen for a cup of tea when he happened to glance into the living room. At first, it didn't look like there was anyone there, but he saw a flash of red hair just above the arm of the sofa and heard some murmuring from the same direction. Curious, he ventured into the room.

As he drew nearer to the sofa, his suspicions were confirmed. There were Kamio Akira and Ibu Shinji of Fudomine in a prone position, doing things with their hands and bodies that thirteen-year-olds shouldn't be doing. The only saving grace was that they were still clothed, and Tarou wasn't about to let them have time to change that.

"Okay, that's enough," he said firmly, and hauled Kamio off Shinji by the arm.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Kamio cried, yanking his arm from Tarou's grasp with such speed that the Hyotei teacher was half-spun in a circle.

"Don't use your power against me, young man," Tarou warned when he'd regained his balance. "You know the house rules."

"It was an automatic reaction," Kamio retorted. "You're the one who grabbed me first!"

"That's true, and with barely any warning at all," Shinji complained, pushing himself into a sitting position and straightening his clothes. "I don't understand why you would feel it necessary to interrupt us when we were sharing an obviously private moment --"

"Private my foot," Tarou cut him off. "You're in the middle of the lounge. Anyone could come in here and see you; what's private about that?"

"We're not allowed to go into a bedroom and close the door!" Kamio exploded. "What else are we supposed to do?!"

Tarou wasn't accustomed to being shouted at by any of his own students and he wasn't about to allow it here. He turned Kamio around and landed a firm swat to his backside. "Try showing some self-restraint," he advised the stunned teenager. He looked toward Shinji next, but the blue-haired boy scrambled backwards out of reach, and animated the sofa in the process so that it shifted itself to block Tarou's access to him.

"We get the point," Shinji assured him, careful to keep his distance as he climbed off the opposite end of the couch.

"See that you remember it," Tarou warned. "Just because you're not at home doesn't mean you have license to do whatever you want. Your parents have signed releases, making us your guardians while you're staying here. We're taking that responsibility seriously and I advise you to do so as well."

"I know I'm taking it more seriously than I was five minutes ago." Kamio rubbed his butt.

Tarou put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Kamio-kun, believe it or not, I'm thinking of the two of you. You're still young yet, there's plenty of time for that."

"With all due respect, Sakaki-san, it's not like either of us can become pregnant," Shinji remarked.

Tarou eyed him significantly. "Are you positive about that, Ibu-kun? Becoming Changechildren gave you amazing powers, but who knows what else it's done to you."

He left the two boys staring at each other in horror.

"Gakuto, come here."

The Hyotei acrobat finished stepping over to complete his backbend, then went to join his boyfriend at the window. "What's up?"

Yuushi nodded toward the rear tennis court. "Echizen and his father are playing again. Want to see me have some fun?"

Gakuto grinned. "Go for it!"

Yuushi held up a finger, aiming the illusion at the net separating Nanjiroh and Ryoma. Gakuto laughed when he saw the net appear to have gained an extra foot of height.

"That's great, Yuushi!" he praised.

The tensai with the Kansai dialect smiled with self-satisfaction. "Ryoma-kun is about to serve – let's see how he compensates."

They watched Ryoma as he prepared to serve, and it looked like he was using one of his twist serves. Yuushi and Gakuto waited to see him realize the net was 'higher' and that the usual wouldn't work this time, but it never happened. Ryoma lined up his serve and fired it perfectly, completely ignoring the illusion.

On the other hand, when Nanjiroh went to return the ball, he did a double-take at the last moment and made a sloppy return that blooped over the net for an easy smash from Ryoma.

"That was weird." Gakuto frowned. "That last smash went right THROUGH the illusion-net. Why did the kid even try that when it should have been an obvious fault?"

"I'm not sure," Yuushi admitted, the confusion evident in his tone. The boys watched Nanjiroh walk toward the net, waving his tennis racquet at it as he approached. He barked to Ryoma, who pulled his cap down and looked disinterested. Just before Nanjiroh could touch the net, Yuushi dissipated the illusion. The older Echizen frowned and tapped on the existing net with his racquet. Ryoma shook his head and left the court.

"I don't understand," Gakuto said frankly.

Yuushi sighed. "That makes two of us."

Mizuki couldn't resist his nightly visit to read Fuji's diary, especially since it seemed like a good distraction for getting Takahisa and his innuendoes off his mind. The only people in the hallway when he peeked out of his room were the Tanaka twins. They seemed to be chattering about how amazed their teammates had been at hearing about their powers. No problems there, Mizuki thought, and turned himself invisible before leaving his room to head for Fuji and Eiji's.

"I think Wakato is jealous of us, though!" Youhei was saying.

"Oh, definitely." Kouhei nodded. "He even said that he wished he could have some kind of transformation power so that he could 'CHANGE OVER' for real!"

"And when –" Youhei stopped. "Did you hear something?" he asked, frowning.

Mizuki hesitated. He had almost reached the twins, but surely they didn't know he was there?

Kouhei rolled his eyes. "I'm ALWAYS hearing something lately. Can you be more specific?"

"Something close." Youhei looked left and right in confusion. "I can't see anything, but it sounds like someone's breathing here in the hall besides us."

"Hey, you're right …!"

Mizuki cursed the pretty twins silently. They were between he and his destination, but he didn't dare pursue it now lest one of them make a move to get closer to him. Reluctantly, he backed off and returned to his room, vowing to try again first chance he got.

Sumire tapped her pen on the table thoughtfully. "I think this is a pretty good schedule so far, Aoi-san."

"And if the men have any objections then it's their own fault, since they left us here to make it up alone," Aoi replied, then sighed. "It's strange, isn't it, that neither of us knows yet what Mizuki Hajime's power is?"

"One of the men must have admitted him, since neither you nor I did it," Sumire said. "Since we couldn't schedule him according to power, we'll have to hope we made the best arrangement."

"Even if we didn't, they'll all end up getting mixed around eventually, anyway," Aoi pointed out. "We only have twenty-two children, and it's best if they don't practice with the same people every time. I just hope we can get through these sessions without anyone getting hurt."

"Hello ladies," Nanjiroh said as he walked in. He glanced at the sheets of paper before them. "Hey, you've got the schedules almost done, nice work!"

"Thank you," Sumire said dryly. "You and Tarou-san can take care of the next ones."

"How was your match with Ryoma-kun?" Aoi inquired.

"Weird." Nanjiroh perched himself on the edge of the table. "At one point, the net looked different to me – higher than normal. I messed up my shot because of it, but the boy played like nothing was unusual."

Sumire looked thoughtful. "Is it possible that Ryoma has gained some kind of power after all? Something that could affect the height of a net?"

Nanjiroh scoffed, "Even if he could, he wouldn't. He wants to beat me on his own terms."

Aoi cast Nanjiroh a mischievous look. "Perhaps you were just off your game, Nanjiroh-san?"

He leaned toward her with a gleam in his eye. "I don't have off days."

"Are you looking down my shirt?"

"Of course he is," Sumire said wearily, without even glancing in their direction.

Nanjiroh shrugged and sat back. "You can't blame a man for trying!"

"I wonder if your wife would say the same thing."

"Leave my wife out of it, old bag. She knows me well enough."

"Does she know that you look at some of the boys like that, too?" Sumire inquired.

"I don't keep it a secret that I'm an equal-opportunity letch!" Nanjiroh laughed. Sumire shook her head and Aoi wondered whether or not Nanjiroh was being serious.

"So this is where you all are." Tarou entered the boardroom. "I thought I'd better share news of an unfortunate incident that occurred a little earlier. I caught Kamio and Shinji getting hot and heavy on the sofa and they gave me lip when I called them on it."

"I knew they were involved, but I didn't realize it had gone that far," Aoi remarked. "Aren't they only thirteen?"

Tarou nodded. "That's my understanding, yes." He folded his arms. "Kamio-kun pressed my buttons enough that I walloped him one on the backside. That seemed to get both their attention well enough so that we could settle things, at least for now."

"How annoying," Sumire commented. "If it were a couple from Hyotei, or Jyousei, or Seigaku, any of the three of us would know what to expect from our kids and they would know our probable reactions, too. But in the case of those two, the only way to go over their heads would be –"

"Tachibana," Tarou concluded. "And pardon me if I have a slight problem with expecting a fourteen-year-old to deal with this responsibly. We don't know what HE might be doing himself on the sly."

"Yeah, you've gotta watch out for those quiet ones," Nanjiroh agreed, then chuckled. "Come on, people, kids are going to be kids. At least they're all boys, right? No harm, no foul."

The other three looked at him and Sumire raised an eyebrow. "So if we catch Ryoma necking with one of the other boys we should just look the other way?"

"Yeah, that way you won't see me break both their necks."

The four adults shared a companionable laugh.

End of Part 10

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 11

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Nanjiroh wasn't sure how he got saddled with the first of these power practice sessions, but figured it had something to do with the fact that the other three were teachers and would have to get up to go to work soon. As it was, the kids weren't happy about having to rise early for this either, although Nanjiroh knew Ryoma had gotten up for pre-classes tennis practice plenty of times.

"Okay, gang, listen up!" he announced to his group of seven, counting Ryoma, his powerless wonder. "We're not going to have a lot of formality to this. Like the rest of you, I'm doing this for the first time. Really, our intention is just to have you be able to test out your powers with as little risk as possible to anyone else, and to get more comfortable with them."

"Why's Ryoma here?" Gakuto asked.

"He wants to take part." Nanjiroh shrugged. "Even if it's just observation."

Ryoma yawned. "That was before I knew I'd be scheduled for the before-breakfast group."

"Next question," Momoshiro piped up, waving toward Mizuki. "Why is HE here? I didn't want to look stupid by admitting I don't know what his power is when everyone else has been obvious about theirs, but I can't pretend any longer, I can't!"

Nanjiroh regarded Mizuki with humour while the boy could barely conceal his own grin. "Well, that's the thing, Momoshiro-kun. We adults finally figured out that NONE of us actually knows Mizuki-kun's power or even registered him here – we all thought each other had done it. In reality, he just walked in off the street! Nice going there, kid."

Mizuki giggled. "Thank you!"

"Of course, now you realize that you'll have to reveal your big secret, if you actually have one," Nanjiroh pointed out.

The St. Rudolph manager heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose it had to happen eventually, but honestly, Echizen-san –" everyone stared as Mizuki disappeared in front of their eyes, "I already have perfect control of my power!"

"Oh, wow," Momoshiro breathed. "Invisibility! Wow!"

"Mizuki Hajime with invisibility powers?" Kawamura said nervously. "Fujiko won't like this."

"Mizuki-senpai …." Yuuta stared.

Ryoma was frowning slightly. "Hmm. Interesting."

"He's there, but not there," Shinji murmured. "Or is he really there at all?" He reached out until his finger poked something solid.

"Ouch! Of course I'm here!" Mizuki re-materialized. "Tah-dah!" He beamed. "It's really very easy, and as you can see, I have no trouble managing it."

Nanjiroh's mind was still reeling with all the fearsome possibilities Mizuki's power must have been providing the boy when he remembered to answer him, "Oh, well, yeah, but while I'm sure you've already been working hard on it, it can't hurt to make certain by practicing with the rest of the kids."

"If you insist," Mizuki replied in a bored tone.

"Okay, then let's get organized."

The first practice session was taking place well away from the mansion on the expansive back lawn, which Nanjiroh figured was once either a golf course or horseback riding pasture. Here the kids could spread out and not interfere with each other if they wanted, or they could work together.

Ryoma, who had no obvious power yet to practice with, and Yuuta, whose only opportunity to practice his ability would occur if someone got hurt, mostly just assisted the others where they could.

Nanjiroh's attention was caught by Gakuto, who had Yuuta's help playing guinea pig. The St. Rudolph Sophomore allowed the Hyotei acrobat to use anti-gravity so that he would float a few inches above the ground. Then Gakuto would immediately switch to increased gravity so that Yuuta not only came down, he came down hard and couldn't raise himself again. Nanjiroh watched this repeat process three times, then finally said, "Yuuta-kun, are you all right with this?"

"I'm fine, Echizen-san," Yuuta assured him, brushing himself off. "It seems I can trigger my power to heal me instantly when I get hurt, and even if I don't trigger it on purpose, it starts the healing pretty soon on its own."

Nanjiroh nodded. "So long as you're fine with it, I am, too." He moved on to where he saw Mizuki and Shinji playing a sort of game involving various inanimate objects from their pockets. Mizuki would hold the object and Shinji would touch it lightly, then Mizuki would turn invisible, and the object along with him. Shinji would then test to see if he could both hear the object's voice and animate it while it was in the invisible state. From Mizuki's squeal when a pen squirmed in his invisible hand, Nanjiroh assumed that yes, he could. It seemed like a safe enough way to play with their powers, so he let them be.

Kawamura was the only one who couldn't be paired up, not due to uneven numbers, but because his inflammatory powers were just too dangerous. He was quietly practising creating fireballs the size of tennis balls in his hands.

"Kawamura-kun," Nanjiroh said, "can you throw those away from yourself or does the power need the flames to be touching you in order to stay lit?"

"I don't know," Kawamura admitted, and looked down at the fireballs he held. "I've been afraid to try it -- I don't want to damage Atobe's property."

Nanjiroh patted his shoulder. "Atobe told us that it's okay -- whatever we have to do out here in order to practice, his parents are fine with it. After all, he'll be throwing his ice power around out here, too, and that could cause damage as well. So long as it's way out here and not directed toward the house, it's all right."

Kawamura nodded. "Okay, I'll try it then." He waited until Nanjiroh had stepped back, then tossed one of the fireballs away from himself. It stayed lit, and when it hit the ground, it spread out and began burning the grass. Nanjiroh used one of their water bottles to put out the flames.

"Not bad at all!" he approved. "Now you know you can do it. Try it with a bigger ball – we've got plenty of water here, so don't worry about that."

"Okay." Kawamura grinned. He took the remaining fireball that he was still holding and fueled it with more of his power. It increased enough to be about the size of a soccer ball.

"Now throw it as far as you can and we'll see if distance makes it go out before it can hit the ground. I'll go after it with the water, just in case."

Kawamura nodded and concentrated as he drew back his arm. He launched the fireball with a mighty heave. The moment it left his hand, Karupin shot across the grass from out of nowhere, directly into the fireball's path. "No!" he yelled, and everyone spun around.

"KARUPIN!" Ryoma screamed and charged after his cat, heedless of the danger to himself. Gakuto threw his power at the younger boy in an attempt to lift him out of harm's way, but Ryoma kept going and dove for Karupin, shielding him from the blast of fire that engulfed them both.

Everyone ran toward them but none so fast as Nanjiroh, who immediately doused both boy and cat with water as soon as he reached them. "Yuuta!" he yelled. "He'll need healing! Hurry --!" Nanjiroh stopped as Ryoma grabbed his arm with a wet hand.

"Oyaji, I'm OKAY!" he insisted, gold eyes boring into his father's. Nanjiroh's racing heartbeat slowed as he took in the full picture of Ryoma, still holding a wet and disgruntled Karupin. There wasn't a mark on either of them – not even Ryoma's clothes were singed.

"Ryoma, I'm so sorry!" Kawamura was saying, looking as if he might cry. "I didn't see the cat until it was too late, and then you –"

Ryoma got to his feet and shook water droplets out of his hair. "Geez, Oyaji, what did you use, a fire hose? I'm soaked!" He looked up at Kawamura. "I'm fine, Kawamura-senpai, really. Karupin is, too, see?"

"Mrroow!" Karupin emphasized loudly.

"But you were hit with the fire!" Nanjiroh exclaimed. "I just lost ten years of my life, so I know I didn't imagine it!"

"Not just the fire!" Gakuto told them. "I hit him with MY power dead on and he just ran through it!"

Ryoma looked not at his father or Gakuto, but at Mizuki. He smiled knowingly at him, and the St. Rudolph manager felt his stomach sink.

"You little fink, you do have a power, don't you?!" he accused. "You're immune to OTHER peoples' powers!"

The twelve-year-old's smile turned smug. "Looks like it, doesn't it?"

Nanjiroh caught his son's shoulders and turned him to face him. "Did you know about this? Because if you did, you could have clued me in on it so I wouldn't have a stroke watching you seemingly risk your life!"

"I didn't know!" Ryoma retorted. "Not for sure. I knew something was weird when I could see Mizuki-san when no one else seemed to be able to –"

"And you saw through Yuushi's illusion last night, too!" Gakuto exclaimed. "When he 'raised' the net during your game with your father!"

"Is THAT what happened to the net? I thought I was going crazy!" Nanjiroh said and turned to Ryoma. "Is he right?"

"The net looked normal to me." Ryoma shrugged. "And you're already crazy."

"I'm so relieved!" Kawamura said earnestly. "Your cat wasn't burnt, either – does that mean your immunity extends to someone else if you're touching them?"

"How do I know?" Ryoma asked incredulously. "I only just figured out what was going on myself." He looked down at Karupin and rubbed under his chin. "I wrapped myself around him pretty well, though. It might just have been my body protecting him, not my power."

Yuuta frowned slightly. "You know, this may not be all it's cracked up to be. If you're really immune to powers, that means I can't heal you if you get hurt."

"It means Oishi can't nullify his power, either," Shinji murmured. "And that wouldn't really be fair, since all the rest of us are on the honour system or have to have our powers nullified for matches, and in Echizen's case, there won't be anything anyone can do –"

Gakuto rolled his eyes. "Exactly what could the kid do with his power in a match anyway? Immunity isn't offensive, it's defensive!"

"Good point, Gakuto-kun," Nanjiroh told him, then ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "You know what, kids? I think we're done for this morning. My nerves need some serious unjangling and it's time you were having breakfast, anyway."

The group headed back toward the mansion and Ryoma fell into step beside his father.

"So you nearly had a stroke worrying about me, huh?"

"Pfft. Not likely!"

"You just said so yourself!"

"I lied."

Ryoma ducked his head to hide his grin.

News of Ryoma's power spread all over the mansion quickly, and it was the main topic of conversation during breakfast.

"It sounds like a perfect power for Ryoma." Fuji smiled. "Considering all the enemies you make, a little extra protection can't hurt."

"I have enemies?" Ryoma asked innocently. The older boys decided not to answer.

"I must admit, I can't wait to conduct experiments on your power," Inui told him. "You've already said that you were able to see through Mizuki's invisibility –"

"And I wish you could have told us that," Fuji added with regret.

"I didn't know he WAS invisible, I just thought he was stupid," Ryoma replied, munching on a piece of bacon. "Why else would he go in and out of your room all the time when you aren't there?"

Fuji's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you were right the first time. He IS stupid."

"He always comes out with a specific book," Ryoma said. "He puts it back later."

"I _knew_ it!" Fuji seethed. "He's been reading my diary! That little –"

"Fujiko!" Kawamura interrupted, putting a hand on his arm. "Don't say something you'll regret."

Fuji relaxed and covered Kawamura's hand with his own. "Don't worry, Taka-san," he assured him with a smile. "I'd never regret it."

Eiji snickered and Tezuka turned to Ryoma. "They're right, though, it's a perfect power for you. Your attitude has always been one of apparent indifference, and now your power is, too."

"Hey, Ryoma-kun!" Youhei and Kouhei appeared behind the younger boy, each one peering around him. "Congratulations on your power!"

"Thanks."

"We were testing it from over there!" Kouhei pointed to a table on the other side of the room. "To see if we could hear what you were saying."

"And we couldn't!" Youhei told him. "You were the only one we couldn't hear, and we couldn't see the same details about you that we could your friends at that distance, either."

"Interesting." Inui nodded. Momoshiro glanced at him.

"Aren't you going to make notes in your book about his new data?"

"I don't have to anymore," Inui confessed and tapped his temple. "My notes are all up here now."

"I guess everyone will get a chance to test their power against Echizen's immunity," Oishi said thoughtfully. "Although I don't think I want to test mine on him."

"At least you shouldn't be FIRST in line, just in case, nya!" Eiji winked.

The others laughed good-naturedly, but Ryoma just continued eating. He wasn't worried about his power one way or the other. So long as it didn't affect the way he played tennis, nothing else mattered.

Yuuta was almost wishing he'd gone to eat breakfast with his brother. Mizuki was in a bad mood and looking for someone to take it out on.

"Of all things for that little brat to come up with, it had to be THAT power!" the older boy groused. "How am I supposed to have any fun with mine so long as he's around?!"

"Poor baby."

Mizuki gasped and glared up at a smirking Takahisa standing over him. "If you're not going to say anything helpful, then you can just keep moving!"

"Maybe I can help," he answered. "I can give you something better to do with your time than take advantage of your power against others."

"Oh, really?" Mizuki sniffed. "I'm not interested in hearing anymore lurid comments such as the last one you made to me."

Takahisa smiled engagingly. "But would you be interested in going out with me?"

Yuuta looked between both boys, holding his breath. He wondered if Takahisa-san was about to end up with a plateful of scrambled eggs in the face.

Instead, Mizuki surprised both of them. "Fine," he said curtly. "But you'd better show me a good time to make up for the way you've been acting around me."

"Oh, I will," Takahisa assured him. "Tonight at seven. Dress nicely."

"What do you take me for, a slob?" Mizuki called after the other boy as he walked away. "Honestly!" he said in an exasperated tone as he turned back to his breakfast. He glanced suspiciously at Yuuta. "And what are YOU gaping at?"

End of Part 11

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 12

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Gakuto was tying the tie on his Hyotei school uniform when a knock came at his bedroom door. "I'll be right there, Yuushi!" he called.

"It's not Yuushi-kun," came Nanjiroh's voice. Gakuto was surprised – what could he want?

"Come in," he said.

Nanjiroh stepped inside and looked Gakuto up and down admiringly. "I always DID think the Hyotei uniforms were spiffy. I can't remember the last time I saw Ryoma in a tie."

Gakuto hoped that Nanjiroh hadn't come in to make lecherous comments. The boys were already used to his behaviour and ignored it since it was harmless, but he was getting ready for school now. "May I help you with something?" he asked pointedly.

"I came here about this morning, at the practice session," Nanjiroh confessed, and when Gakuto looked at him, he saw an alien expression of sincerity on the man's face.

"I didn't get a chance to say so earlier, but I wanted to both thank and commend you on your quick thinking in using your power to save Ryoma."

Gakuto shrugged. "It's not like it had any effect on him, so I really didn't do anything."

"You TRIED. And if not for his own power, your actions would have protected him."

Normally Gakuto had no trouble at all accepting praise, but for some reason, he was feeling embarrassed. "Ryoma would have been upset, though, because the cat would have been fried."

Nanjiroh met the boy's eyes. "Ryoma comes first with me, so no matter what he would have thought, I'M grateful." He grinned and added, "I know that Kikumaru-kun made a joke about you boys becoming superheroes, and no one expects you to do that, but it looks like those powers of yours can make you into heroes even when you aren't trying." He ruffled Gakuto's hair and left the room. Yuushi passed him going in and glanced back.

"What was Echizen-san doing here?" he asked, then looked at Gakuto. "And why are you blushing?"

The smaller boy shook his head so that his hair fell back into place. "Nothing important. Come on, let's go."

Yuushi wondered briefly if he now had to worry about Echizen Nanjiroh perving on his cute boyfriend, but decided that if there was a problem, Gakuto would surely say something. He never could keep a secret.

Kawamura was concerned about Fuji. The news of Mizuki's invisibility, and his using it to read his diary, had affected the tensai deeply. It didn't _appear_ that Fuji was angry – he kept his usual smile all through morning classes – but Kawamura knew better. He asked him about it, only to be told gently, "You worry about me too much."

"So you're NOT planning any kind of revenge against Mizuki?" Kawamura asked hopefully.

"I didn't say that …."

Kawamura groaned. "Fujiko, please don't! Unless it takes place on the tennis court with a referee, it's bound to be something that will get you into trouble."

"When was the last time I got into any trouble, Taka-san?" Fuji asked.

"It doesn't matter! What matters is that I don't want you to get into trouble NOW!" Kawamura pleaded. "I know you're angry and you feel violated and that's justified, but revenge won't make you feel any better –"

Fuji laughed. "Like fun it won't!" He turned to Kawamura and touched his cheek gently. "I appreciate your concern, I really do. But this is something that I have to take care of on my own. I don't expect you to support me, but please don't interfere, all right?"

The future sushi chef gave a helpless sigh. He was no match for Fuji's iron will.

"Okay," he relented. "Just … be careful, all right? Kamio-kun got whacked, remember? I don't want anything like that to happen to you."

Fuji paused, as if he hadn't considered the possibility that anyone might even entertain that notion. He nodded reassuringly. "I promise to be careful," he said.

Kawamura tried not to feel disappointed. He knew this was the best he was going to get.

"Oishi, I need to talk to you."

The Seigaku Vice-Captain looked up as Tezuka approached. "Hi Tezuka. Sure, what's going on?"

"You know about what happened with Fuji and Mizuki, of course."

"Yes, and I think Taka-san was going to try and make him see the wisdom in taking some deep breaths before doing anything crazy."

Tezuka nodded. "However, with all due respect to Kawamura, I don't think a Fuji bent on revenge is going to allow himself to be deviated."

Oishi looked at him. "What do you want to do?"

"That's a loaded question." Tezuka admitted, and Oishi saw the hint of a wry grin on his face. "What I WANT to do is not necessarily something that should be done, because truthfully, I'm a victim of Mizuki's invisibility, too."

"What?" Oishi gasped. "He had the nerve to pull something on YOU?"

"Myself and Atobe, actually."

"Oh …," Oishi said quietly. Tezuka had confided to him about his clandestine relationship with the Hyotei Captain, and he could only imagine what mischief Mizuki could cause if he'd found out about it. "So I guess what you're saying is that if Fuji gets his revenge on Mizuki, you wouldn't be upset about it."

"On the contrary. I would be VERY upset with myself if I hadn't done anything to stop it," Tezuka answered. "Atobe is ready to launch a full-scale lynching should Mizuki breathe a word of our relationship. However, someone has to be the responsible person here, Oishi. I can't expect it of Fuji – that violation was too personal." He eyed the other boy seriously. "So I'm asking you to keep an eye on the situation, and if it looks like he's about to act against Mizuki using his power, stop him."

"You mean, by using MY power?" Oishi asked.

"Yes," Tezuka told him firmly. "It's for his own good."

Maybe so, Oishi thought uneasily, but he seriously doubted such a situation would end up being good for himself.

"It's getting windy," Choutarou remarked as he drew his Hyotei jacket around him more closely.

"You think Tachibana is losing it over at Fudomine?" Shishido asked mischievously.

Choutarou laughed. "No, I just think it's windy!" He took a bite out of his sandwich. "Still, I'm glad we decided to eat lunch outside."

"Me too. It doesn't smell like school out here." Shishido drank some milk and nodded toward the building. "Looks like others have the same idea."

Choutarou watched Yuushi and Gakuto head for another part of the campus, and Atobe had seated himself on a bench with some lunch and his cell phone glued to his ear.

"I wonder who he's talking to," the Sophomore said.

"Maybe Kabaji, since he doesn't seem to be there to spoon-feed him his lunch," Shishido remarked and Choutarou elbowed him.

"Hey guys."

They both looked up as Hiyoshi arrived and dropped down at their picnic table. "Have you had a good day so far?" Choutarou asked.

"Eh." The other boy shrugged. "The Vice-Principal yelled at me in the hall for batting a tennis ball against the wall. I only did it twice." He frowned. "I swear, sometimes these teachers have supersonic hearing or something."

"Like the Tanaka twins," Shishido remarked.

Hiyoshi looked at him in surprise. "Those kids with the weird-coloured hair from Jyousei?"

Choutarou nodded. "That's one of their powers."

"Hmmph," Hiyoshi snorted. "Seems like ever since you all got these powers, it's all you talk about."

"You brought it up first!" Shishido accused.

"No, I didn't!" Hiyoshi argued. "I made an off-hand remark that wasn't meant to have any bearing in real life."

"Well, these powers are PART of our real life now, so excuse us if we feel the need to talk about it sometimes," Shishido retorted and tore a big bite out of his sandwich, chewing it angrily.

Hiyoshi shrugged. "Touchy, touchy. It's not like it matters to me."

"I think you're jealous," Shishido replied frankly.

Choutarou gave him a fearful look, but Hiyoshi snapped back, "I am NOT jealous! I haven't even seen you do anything that's so great with your alleged power, anyway!"

"Shishido-san's power isn't the kind you can see, exactly," Choutarou tried to explain.

Shishido gave his other teammate an evil grin. "You want it? You've got it!" He held out a hand toward Hiyoshi, who stiffened nervously for a moment, then looked around, unsure of what just happened, if anything.

"Well?" he demanded finally.

"You'll see!" Shishido said lightly. "Come on, Choutarou – let's go join Yuushi and Gakuto."

Choutarou followed his boyfriend, but glanced back uneasily toward Hiyoshi. He saw the other boy stand up and take a step, only to fall flat on his face on top of his lunch bag. When he stood back up, muttering curses, a random soccer ball hit him in the back and knocked him down again.

"Shishido-san," Choutarou said slowly, "how long is Hiyoshi's run of bad luck going to last?"

"I don't know." Shishido shrugged unconcernedly. "I'm still learning how to use my power, just like everyone else."

Oh dear, Choutarou thought, and looked back once again in time to see a passing bird poop on Hiyoshi's head.

At tennis practice after school that day, Fuji Syuusuke was volleying with Tezuka when he noticed his brother outside the fence, watching them. He motioned to the Captain, who signaled that it was all right for him to take a break, then Syuusuke approached the fence.

"Yuuta, what a nice surprise," he said. "If you want to go home together, I still have practice to finish first."

"I didn't come here for that," Yuuta answered. "It's about Mizuki-senpai, and what he did to you."

Syuusuke looked down at his racquet and moved the strings with his fingertips. "You mean the way he read my diary?"

"Yes," Yuuta said. "I'm sorry he did that, Aniki. It was wrong of him."

Syuusuke looked up with a sad smile. "What a shame that you can apologize for him, but he would never apologize himself."

"Yeah." Yuuta scuffed his shoe in the dirt. "I mean, you may do stuff I don't like, such as pinching me inappropriately –"

"I told you that it wasn't me –"

Yuuta shrugged. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. I just wanted you to know that I don't approve of what Mizuki did."

"Thank you," Syuusuke said sincerely. "That means a lot to me."

"There's something else," Yuuta added, taking a deep breath before facing his brother directly. "I know you're mad about it, but I think you should let it go."

Syuusuke shook his head firmly. "I can't do that, Yuuta. I'm sorry."

"Why not?" his little brother demanded, then gave him a pleading look. "Listen, Kajimoto-san has asked Mizuki-senpai out on a date, so he's probably not going to be causing you any trouble for a while because he'll be distracted –"

"A date?" Syuusuke repeated in surprise. "I thought Takahisa had better taste than that."

"Aniki," Yuuta warned.

"Fuji!" Sumire called out. "Get back to practice! You two can talk at home!"

Syuusuke sighed and smiled. "You heard my Coach. Besides, I think we're done with this topic, anyway." He turned and headed back to the court, his smile broadening. So Mizuki had a new love interest, did he? That little tidbit of information could prove very valuable when it came to exacting his revenge.

End of Part 12

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 13

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Tarou had been delayed by a meeting with the Principal, but was gratified to see that after school tennis practice was going on well with Atobe in charge. His two Doubles pairs were playing in the far court, Kabaji and Jiroh were working out in another, and Atobe and Hiyoshi were ….

What WAS Hiyoshi doing?

It wasn't easy for anyone to play against Atobe at the best of times, but Hiyoshi's problems seemed to go beyond just having a tough opponent. Not only could he not seem to return a single ball, he couldn't even follow through on his own serve. The more Tarou watched, the more it looked like the boy could barely walk without falling down.

Justifiably, Atobe got fed up. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded in exasperation. "Are you on drugs or something?!"

"NO!" Hiyoshi bellowed, drawing the attention of all the other players. "I don't know what's wrong! This kind of thing has been going on all day!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Tarou saw Shishido snickering, and Choutarou nudging him. They held a hushed conversation that involved several gestures and glances in Hiyoshi's direction. When Choutarou finally folded his arms and turned away, Shishido looked like he was about to yell at him, but instead made an impatient motion with his hand toward Hiyoshi with a grudging expression.

"Hiyoshi," Tarou interrupted he and Atobe's argument, "try to serve again."

"Sensei, he hasn't hit a single ball since we've been out here!" Atobe protested. Tarou gave him a Look.

"I've just instructed him to try again. You be ready to return it, or it'll be your lost point."

Atobe clamped his lips shut, although if it had been anyone but his tennis coach, Tarou suspected he'd have had a lot more to say. Hiyoshi looked frustrated but determined as he once again attempted to serve, and this time it was perfect. Atobe was obviously surprised, but let the situation go as he concentrated on his playing.

Tarou glanced at the other boys and saw that Jiroh and Kabaji had resumed their practice as well, and the Doubles players were preparing to do so. Shishido was blushing as Choutarou smiled approvingly at him.

It was pretty obvious to Tarou what had happened, even if he didn't know the reasoning behind it, and although he had no proof, he intended to have a little chat with Shishido and Ohtori later.

"That was a good practice, really good!" Momoshiro enthused. "I'm ready to hit the burger joint! Ryoma, are you coming?"

"Of course," the younger boy replied.

Momo looked eagerly toward their resident redhead. "Are you buying today, Eiji-senpai?"

"Huh?" the acrobat turned, looking horrified. "I don't have THAT much money to spare, and besides, I have to hurry! I'm scheduled for powers practice pretty soon, so I'll be taking the short route to the burger joint. Sorry, but I won't be able to hoi with Ochibi-chan along!" Eiji disappeared from view and his teammates looked around to make sure no one else saw it.

"Let's hope he doesn't just appear in the middle of the restaurant," Momoshiro remarked, then shrugged good-naturedly. "Oh well, I'm not broke, I just like free burgers when I can get them!"

"Me too." Ryoma grinned.

The two of them headed off to their favorite fast food place, noticing that Inui and Kaidoh were stretching down by the river under the bridge.

"They must have gone straight there after practice," Momo marveled. "You'd think they'd have had enough of a workout already!"

"Sometimes I think that Kaidoh-senpai goes out and jogs in his sleep," Ryoma commented.

"And Inui-senpai does leg lifts with weights while sleeping, too!" Momo chuckled. "I admire them, though, I do. They've got a lot of dedication."

Ryoma glanced at him. "Have you ever told Kaidoh-senpai that?"

"Noooo!" Momoshiro shook his head firmly. "And don't you tell him I said it, either!"

The younger boy sniffed. "As if I would."

They finally reached the burger joint and went inside. Ryoma nudged Momoshiro and jerked his head toward the corner table. "Check it out," he said.

Momo grinned as he followed Ryoma's gaze to the table where Kamio and Shinji were seated. The two of them had apparently finished their food already, as evinced by the wrappers and trays in front of them, and now they were indulging in some 'dessert' – kissing. They seemed oblivious to everyone around them, and some of those people were casting them disgusted looks.

"Don't they realize that nice little Japanese boys don't neck in public?" Momo said.

"Doesn't look like they care," Ryoma remarked. "But I guess it's not safe for them at school or at home now."

"Come on," Momoshiro said impishly. "I want to have some fun!"

Shinji brushed Kamio's hair back from his face and nuzzled his neck while Kamio slid his arms around the other boy and tilted his head back.

"You boys should be ashamed of yourselves, engaging in such behaviour in public!"

The Fudomine Sophomores pulled apart abruptly at the sound of an angry adult and both stared up as Momoshiro began laughing at them.

"Wow, you guys are jumpy!"

"You do a good voice imitation of a grown-up," Kamio growled, straightening himself out. "Too bad you can't act like one and mind your own business!"

Momoshiro sat down at their table and Ryoma followed suit. "Seriously, I've never seen you two suck face out in the open before. Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

"Where are we supposed to do it?" Shinji asked. "School is out, home is out. At least we tried to be as innocuous as possible by moving into the corner."

"Somehow I don't think that excuse would wash if Sakaki-san walked in here," Ryoma commented.

"Well, you have to take chances in life, right?" Kamio said. "Speaking of which, I'm going to risk heart disease by having another burger." He was out of his seat and in the line-up in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, no fair, you've eaten already and we haven't!" Momoshiro went after him. Shinji and Ryoma were left to stare at each other.

"For what it's worth," Ryoma said, "my father won't care if he catches you two making out at home. I can't guarantee he won't get off on watching you, though."

Shinji frowned. "I think that may be worse than what happened with Sakaki-san." He glanced toward the other boys at the counter, arguing over who should order first. "Have you kissed Momoshiro yet?"

Ryoma's eyes became huge. "What?!"

"You heard me," Shinji said in annoyance. "Honestly, why do people feel the need to ask 'what' or to otherwise make someone repeat themselves when there's no real reason for it since they obviously heard you the first time –"

"I heard you, I just can't believe you asked me that," Ryoma muttered, feeling heat flooding his cheeks. "What makes you think we even have that kind of relationship?"

Shinji shrugged. "I don't know about you, but when he sat down just now, Momoshiro's equipment bag brushed my leg. It started telling me how while watching Akira and I, Momoshiro was wondering if you would ever kiss him like that."

Ryoma didn't know whether to believe Shinji or if the Fudomine tensai was just pulling his leg. Either way, he had NO intention of discussing his relationship with Momoshiro, whatever it may be, with this guy.

"Here you go, Echizen!" Momoshiro put a tray down in front of him. "I'll treat you to two burgers, but after that you're buying your own. My ten burgers wiped me out!"

"Thanks," Ryoma replied, avoiding his friend's eyes while he unwrapped the first burger. Shinji stood up as Kamio came back.

"Let's go." He began leading Kamio out by the arm.

"Now?" Kamio said in confusion. "I just got another burger –"

"Eat it on the way," Shinji said, then raised his voice enough for all those nearby to overhear. "These two want to be alone."

"They do?" Kamio asked, glancing back curiously.

"We do?" Momoshiro looked between Shinji and Ryoma, puzzled.

Ryoma put his head down on the table.

Takahisa gave Tachibana a sideways glance as another, stronger gust of wind blew across his face. The Fudomine Captain was in a testy mood, and the Jyousei Captain knew why.

"He either forgot or he didn't check the schedule," he said gently. "Try not to be upset – it's not the same as not showing up for tennis practice."

Tachibana looked at him and the wind increased in velocity. "It still reflects badly on Fudomine when my Vice-Captain doesn't honour his obligations."

"Tachibana-kun," Aoi interrupted as she did her best to walk to him with the wind fighting her, "tone it down, please! The other boys are having trouble working through this!"

Only then did Tachibana realize that Takahisa had been trying to shield his eyes from the wind and that Hanamura-san's long red hair was whipping around her head. Beyond her, he could see Youhei and Kouhei covering their ears to shield them from the shrieking gusts, and Eiji and Fuji crouching low to avoid being targets for odds and ends that had taken to the air. He focused on bringing his power back under control until the light breeze was normal and not caused by him. "I'm sorry," he said to all of them. "When Akira didn't show up to this power practice, I felt responsible."

"I'm not blaming you," Aoi reassured him. "He'll have to answer for himself when he gets home." She smiled warmly. "But I think you've just proven why we're holding these sessions."

Tachibana nodded wearily and Aoi patted his shoulder. "Try not to worry, you'll get the hang of it."

"Hanamura-san!"

The Jyousei Coach jumped backwards with a shriek as Kamio appeared in front of her. "Kamio-kun!" she said, placing a hand over her heart. "You frightened me!"

"Sorry!" he said earnestly. "I-only-just-now-realized-I-was-late-to-power-practice-and-even-had-to-run-off-and-leave-Shinji-back-at—"

"Akira!" Tachibana cut him off and another burst of wind flared up. He closed his eyes and forced it down. Aoi nodded approvingly, but held a finger to her lips before he could berate Kamio further. He acquiesced to her unspoken request and remained silent while she turned to the redhaired speedster.

"Kamio-kun, the other boys were here on time, and if your only excuse is that you forgot, I'm afraid I cannot forgive you so easily."

"I really am sorry," he said, then grinned mischievously. "Want me to run laps for punishment?"

"I think not, since you already ran all the way here and probably enjoyed it immensely," Aoi told him, then tilted her head thoughtfully. "I think we'll have you work with Kikumaru-kun. We need to test and see if he can teleport people with him to further distances, but some of the other boys find it uncomfortable to go with him repeatedly."

Eiji teleported to Kamio's side and clapped him on the back. "Come on, Speedy! It's just you and me, hoi!" The two of them vanished, with an "Eep!" from Kamio still ringing behind them.

"You won't have to worry about him arriving late anymore," Takahisa smiled at Tachibana. "To avoid being Kikumaru's extended 'hoiing' victim, he'll probably get here before anyone else next time!"

The Hyotei Changechildren headed into the mansion and began to spread out, but Tarou called, "Shishido, Ohtori! I want a word with you."

Shishido and Choutarou exchanged a glance as the others headed off. Tarou walked over to them.

"I saw something at practice earlier that I didn't like. Any idea what that might have been?"

"My aim was off with my Scud Serve, wasn't it?" Choutarou said quickly. "I'm sorry, Sensei, I was –"

"That isn't it," Tarou told him, "and you know it."

Choutarou coloured and lowered his gaze. Shishido spoke up, "Don't be mad at him. It was me – I'm the one who did it."

"I figured that, but he obviously knew about it." Tarou folded his arms. "You know better than to use your powers against someone else, and on your own teammate, no less!"

"Oh, he was being a pain at lunch, so I just gave him a little touch of it," Shishido told him. "At least, I thought that's all it was." He scratched his head. "Come to think of it, I guess it must have lasted all afternoon."

"You knew the rules and abused your powers," Tarou said firmly. "You're confined to your room for the evening – you can eat your dinner alone. Mukahi shares the room with you, so if he wants to go in there, that's acceptable, but Ohtori-kun, you're to stay out, understand me?"

"Yes, Sensei," Choutarou answered quietly and gave Shishido a sad look.

"You're dismissed. Shishido-kun, go straight to your room."

The two boys started up the stairs, not daring to speak to each other while they were still within sight of their Coach. After they were around the corner and heading for their rooms, Choutarou whispered, "I'm sorry, Shishido-san."

"It's okay, you tried to tell me it was a bad idea." He grinned slightly. "It was still funny, though."

Choutarou shook his head, "You're incorrigible."

"Maybe, but you're still smiling." Shishido winked. "See you tomorrow."

Choutarou aimed a smack at the other boy's arm as he left, but deliberately phased so it wouldn't hurt him. In spite of it all, he liked his troublesome boyfriend unbruised.

End of Part 13

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 14

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Atobe was doing his homework when he heard someone say, "Hey, Atobe, have you got a minute?"

The Hyotei Captain looked over at Takahisa and wondered what the Jyousei Captain could want. They'd barely ever spoken before. "What is it?"

Takahisa leaned in the doorway. "I've got a first date with someone tonight and would like to be able to take him into town in the limo rather than on the bus."

Atobe smiled knowingly. "I can understand wanting to show a first date some class to make a good initial impression." He shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere tonight, so I don't see why not."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Takahisa grinned.

"Who's your date, anyway?" Atobe asked, turning the page of his textbook.

"Mizuki Hajime."

Atobe's head came up sharply. "I rescind my consent."

Takahisa stared at him. "What? But you just –"

"THAT was before I knew I was doing something to benefit that conniving little snoop," Atobe replied firmly and gave Takahisa a steady look. "I'll admit the little weasel is physically attractive, but he's nothing but trouble, and he's even worse since he gained the invisibility power. My advice to you is to break the date and distance yourself as much as you can."

Takahisa's lilac eyes flashed. "I can't do that, nor do I want to."

"It's your funeral," Atobe replied and turned away, signaling an end to the conversation. The room rumbled briefly, then Takahisa stomped off, nearly taking out Tezuka as he walked in. He put out a hand to catch a lamp before it tipped over from the tremor.

"What's wrong with Kajimoto?"

"He's about to commit social suicide and is angry because I won't help him." Atobe shook his head. "Imagine voluntarily dating Mizuki Hajime! The boy must be a masochist."

Momoshiro peered down at Kamio, who lay on his bed with one arm flung across his eyes. "Your skin is a little off-colour there," he remarked.

"I'm surprised it's not completely green," Kamio replied weakly. "That 'hoiing' stuff is a killer! The first couple of times it doesn't bother you, but somewhere around the third or fourth your stomach and head start going flooey and it's all downhill from there."

Momo sat down on his own bed and debated for a few moments whether to bring up the next topic. Finally, he decided to go ahead with it. "Hey, Kamio, when did you first realize you were attracted to Shinji?"

Kamio peered out from under his arm. "Where'd that come from?"

"I just wondered is all. There's, um, someone I'm interested in and I'm trying to get info from more experienced people."

Kamio rubbed his stomach. "Well, I guess I was attracted to Shinji the first day I met him. He was gorgeous, and I loved the sound of his voice."

Momoshiro looked at him dubiously. "You mean that mumbling he does all the time?"

The redhead chuckled. "Yeah. It's typically Shinji, so how can I not love it?" He gradually raised himself into a sitting position. "He and I had a lot in common from the start. Not just a love of tennis, but he was fearless and determined – I mean, you know the hassles we had trying to start a team, right?"

Momo nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Shinji never backed down, even when the older kids were beating us up. He's beautiful and looks like a porcelain figure come to life, but he's tough as hell." He grinned. "He's got a nice butt, too."

The other thirteen-year-old blushed. "Oh. Yeah."

Kamio wrapped his arms around his knees. "So, who is it you're interested in?" He looked wary suddenly. "It had better not be An-chan! She's like a little sister to all of us on the team, not just Tachibana-san, and we watch out for her."

"It isn't her, it's a guy," Momo told him, deciding not to debate the issue of why Kamio didn't think he was good enough for Tachibana An. "I guess I might as well tell you, since your boyfriend already figured it out. It's Ryoma."

Kamio looked skeptical. "Is that kid even capable of enough emotion to put into a relationship?"

Momo held up his hands. "Hey, I'm not you and he's not Shinji. I'd settle for a little handholding and maybe a stolen kiss now and then." He sighed. "Today, though, I think what Shinji did embarrassed him."

"You mean the leaving you alone part or the part where he told Ryoma that your equipment bag said you were interested in him?"

"What?!" Momoshiro jumped up. "You're kidding? Please tell me you're kidding!"

Kamio was shaking his head, then put a hand against it. "Okay, can't do that, it makes me dizzy again." He gave Momo a look of regret. "Sorry, but that's what happened. Shinji told me after we left."

Momoshiro groaned and fell back onto his bed. "This isn't good, not good at all. Now he'll be uncomfortable around me."

"You could look at it that way, or you could take it as an opportunity to come clean about your feelings." Kamio shrugged.

"What if I do that and he's not interested? It could affect our friendship."

"With THAT guy?" Kamio snorted. "He'd just tell you straight out and continue behaving the way he always does. You should know better than I do that he's no emotional rollercoaster."

That was true, Momo admitted to himself. And if that was the case, then he had nothing to lose.

Takahisa put the phone down in frustration. Even though he couldn't really afford it, he had decided to try ordering a cab to pick he and Mizuki up and take them home later, but there weren't any available to come out as far as the mansion at that time. It was starting to look like the bus was his only option, after all. Some great impression this was going to make.

"Is something wrong, Kajimoto-san?"

He looked over at Fuji Syuusuke, who was leaning back against the wall beside him. "Nothing," he lied. He was fairly sure that Fuji wouldn't care less about his problem in showing Mizuki a good time.

"I felt the tremor earlier," Fuji remarked, looking up at him from under his lashes. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

Takahisa caught his breath. He'd always known that Fuji had amazing eyes, but they were even more potent close up. "I need transportation, that's all. Something nicer than a bus."

"Just for you?" the smaller boy inquired, his voice doing something strange inside of Takahisa. It felt like being stroked, as if he were a cat. He couldn't explain why, but it made him feel good. Made him want more of it.

"No," he answered. "For Mizuki and I. I'm taking him to the Bistro."

"That's a very nice restaurant," Fuji remarked softly, his aqua eyes fixated on Takahisa's lilac ones. "I can see why you wouldn't want to arrive by bus. It would almost certainly taint the overall enchantment of an otherwise lovely evening together."

"I asked Atobe if we could take the limo, but he said no," Takahisa explained, part of him wondering vaguely why he was still talking to Fuji, and the other part not wanting to stop.

Fuji smiled at him and Takahisa's heart did a little dance in response. "The limo driver stays in the servants' quarters – I'll talk to him for you."

Now the Jyousei Captain was uncertain. "But Atobe already refused. He won't go against his boss' orders."

"Atobe probably hasn't even spoken to him about it since he already told you no," Fuji said simply, then winked. "And I can convince the man to do it as a favour to me. Atobe need not know about it at all."

Takahisa was overwhelmed. Why did Mizuki dislike Fuji so much? He was obviously a very generous person to do something like this despite Mizuki's treatment of him. A niggling thought about motives tried to push its way into his consciousness, but Fuji was still smiling engagingly at him and he was sure there was nothing to fear.

"All right," he said finally. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the other boy replied warmly, then moved closer. He went up on his toes so that his lips were almost touching Takahisa's. The taller boy couldn't turn his eyes from Fuji's now if he tried, and he didn't really want to.

"You're going to go out with Mizuki and show him a great evening," Fuji told him, his voice breathy and captivating. "Then tomorrow, you're going to –" He whispered the rest directly into Takahisa's ear. "Understand?" he asked.

Takahisa nodded. "Yes," he answered.

"You'd better go get ready now," Fuji advised, patting him on the arm. "I'll take care of the driver."

They parted ways. As soon as they were gone, the Tanaka twins peered out into the hallway from their own room down the hall.

"Can you believe that?" Kouhei asked his brother as they stepped back. "Fuji plays dirty!"

"No one else could have heard what Fuji said, so that means we're the only ones who know what's going to happen." Youhei cocked his head thoughtfully. "The question is, do we want to stop it?"

"We can't let a Seigaku player manipulate our Captain like that!" Kouhei said indignantly.

His twin gave him a pointed look. "Would you rather see our Captain take up a relationship with someone like Mizuki?"

Kouhei's expression mirrored his brother's uncertainty and both boys wished their hearing hadn't been quite so sharp this time.

End of Part 14

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 15

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Mizuki admired he and Takahisa's surroundings as they waited for their meal. The restaurant was lovely, and the St. Rudolph manager had to admit that Takahisa looked incredible. The limo ride had been a nice surprise, too – he wasn't sure why Atobe had agreed, but he must have. Probably Takahisa hadn't told him who he was dating.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Takahisa asked him.

Mizuki couldn't help smiling. "I am." He sipped the water they'd been served in wineglasses. "You certainly know how to impress a boy."

"I could pretend that I'm vastly experienced in the ways of courtship, but the only court I'm familiar with is the tennis variety," Takahisa confessed, his own smile warm. "But I'm happy that you approve."

Their food was brought to the table, and conversation stopped for a couple of minutes. In that time, Mizuki privately mulled over a different conversation he'd had before leaving the mansion.

He had been almost ready to go and was admiring himself in the mirror when two figures came into view alongside his reflection. Mizuki looked at the Tanaka twins curiously. "What do you two want?"

"We need to talk to you about Kajimoto-buchou," Youhei said. At least Mizuki thought that one was Youhei – he'd never paid much attention to them before.

"We need to know if you're going to give him a fair shot or if you're just playing around," Kouhei told him.

"Playing around?" Mizuki repeated. "We haven't even gone on this first date yet!"

"There's a … situation we've been made aware of," Kouhei confessed. "Takahisa-buchou could get hurt, but maybe not so much if we decide you're worth it."

Mizuki tried to determine whether or not the twins were insulting him. He wasn't sure, but somehow he didn't think so. However, he still couldn't tell what they were talking about. "You just want to know if I'm being open-minded about dating your Captain?"

"That's all," Youhei said.

Mizuki paused. He knew these two could read each other's minds, but wasn't sure that they couldn't read his, too, so he tried to be honest. "His invitation surprised me. I hadn't thought about dating him before. But he's handsome and a good tennis player, and interested in me, so that's enough for me to give him a chance." He looked between them. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

They shared a glance and he had the feeling they were communicating telepathically. "Yes," they said, and just like that, they left. He always suspected that the Jyousei team members were strange – you only had to listen to Hanamura-san talk about 'Masterpieces' for five minutes to know that – but now that he was living with some of them, he'd confirmed it.

And here he was DATING one of them.

"Is something wrong?"

Mizuki returned to the present to find Takahisa studying him with concern. "Oh, I'm fine," he replied airily, waving a hand at him. "Just daydreaming."

"Good dreams, I hope," Takahisa answered and cut into his chicken. "I thought that after dinner we could walk to the all-ages club two blocks over and dance for a while."

Dancing? Mizuki thought. When was the last time he'd danced in public? Had he EVER danced in public? However, he wasn't about to appear hesitant in front of Takahisa. "Sure," he said casually. "Sounds like fun."

Gakuto looked over at Shishido and rolled his eyes. The other boy was grounded for the evening, and although he'd been bearable when he was doing his homework and telling him about what happened to get him there (which sent Gakuto into gales of laughter), now he was just being a pain.

"You were just over in Choutarou's room, right?" Shishido asked him. "What was he doing?"

"I was there to see _Yuushi_," Gakuto clarified.

"Yeah, but Choutarou was THERE, right? What was he doing?"

Gakuto gave him an annoyed look. "Who are you, his stalker? I know you can't hang out with him tonight, but there are other things in life!"

"Not in this room," Shishido said grumpily and tossed a tennis ball against the wall, catching it on the rebound.

"Gee, thanks!" Gakuto retorted, folding his arms. "Did it occur to you that your roommate might have a solution to your problem?"

His teammate looked at him dubiously. "Do you?"

"Sakaki-sensei only told you to stay in your room, right?" Gakuto went over to the bedroom door and opened it, then crossed the hall and knocked on the other door. "Hey guys, I'm coming in!" He opened the door widely.

"Hello, Gakuto," Yuushi said with amusement. "Long time no see."

"All of ten minutes, Yuushi, and every second was torture." Gakuto stuck his tongue out playfully, then turned to Choutarou, who was laying on his bed, fiddling with his cross necklace. "You," his smaller teammate pointed at him, "over here!"

Choutarou glanced at Yuushi questioningly, but the blue-haired boy just shrugged. One thing about Gakuto was that it usually didn't take long for him to reveal his purposes. Choutarou stood up and walked over to the redhead, who took hold of his arm and pulled him to the doorway, where he could clearly see into the room across the hall. "Shishido-senpai!" he said happily.

Shishido sat bolt upright. "Choutarou!" He bounded over to the doorway, remembering to stop just short of the threshold. Once there, he felt awkward, and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking away. "So, what've you been up to this evening?"

"Dinner – I'm sorry you couldn't eat with us," Choutarou said. "We missed you."

Yuushi looked toward Gakuto. "I don't remember missing him, do you?"

"Nah."

Choutarou blushed and took a deep breath. "_I_ missed you."

"I missed you, too," Shishido answered, taking off his cap, smoothing his short hair then plopping it back onto his head. "I mean, I wish I could have come down."

"I did my homework after that." Choutarou shrugged helplessly. "Then I didn't know what to do, so I've just sort of been laying around."

"I can attest to that," Yuushi said helpfully.

Shishido sat down just inside the doorway and across the hall, Choutarou did the same. The two of them became animated the more they talked and laughed, and Gakuto sighed and seated himself on Yuushi's lap. "Choutarou's blocking the doorway, so I guess you're stuck with me for a while longer."

Yuushi smiled and slid his arms around him. "Such a hardship."

Oishi pointed to a couple of the fish in the tank he had finally finished setting up in his room. "Those are Kissing Gourami."

His roommate, Kawamura blushed slightly as he watched them. "I can guess why." He glanced shyly at the other boy. "It must be nice – kissing, I mean. Like you and Eiji."

It was Oishi's turn to blush. "Well, you know Eiji. He's very demonstrative, no matter what he's doing. Sometimes he forgets where we are, too, which is embarrassing for me, but doesn't bother him at all." He smiled at Kawamura. "Have you kissed Fuji yet, Taka-san?"

"Oh! Gosh, no!" Kawamura rubbed his head and chuckled. "I haven't even asked him out on a real date yet! I guess it's still no secret how I feel about him, though, huh?"

"And he you," Oishi told him with a playful nudge. Kawamura turned even more red, but didn't look displeased.

The sound of a throat clearing in the doorway made both boys look up, and they were mildly surprised to see the Tanaka twins watching them.

"We came to talk to you, Oishi-san," Kouhei said.

"Considering what we just heard as we were coming toward your room, Kawamura-san may as well stay, though," Youhei added.

The two Seigaku players exchanged a glance, then got to their feet. "Come in and sit down, guys," Oishi invited. "Tell us what's going on."

The twins went in and Youhei shut the door. "Force of habit for us now," he explained. "We can overhear everybody else, so we feel the need to protect ourselves from being overheard, even if no one else has hearing like ours."

"We'll cut right to the chase." Kouhei sat in Oishi's desk chair backwards, leaning his folded arms across the back. "I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but our Captain asked Mizuki Hajime out on a date for tonight – they're out right now together."

"Okay," Oishi said slowly, still not having a clue where this could be going.

Youhei walked over to lean back against the desk by his brother. "Before they left, we overheard Fuji Syuusuke using his power on Kajimoto-buchou. First he talked him into taking the limo that Atobe already told him he couldn't have –"

"He said HE'D talk to the driver, and you know what that means," Kouhei interjected.

Youhei continued, "Then he said that after showing Mizuki a good time tonight, tomorrow he should tell everyone how he was a complete slut and did all sorts of perverted things for him."

Oishi and Kawamura looked shocked. "Fuji said that?" Kawamura said softly.

The twins nodded. "We might not have interfered, except that this makes Kajimoto-buchou look bad, too," Kouhei said, then shrugged. "Besides, he seems to like Mizuki, and even if no one else does, the two of them have a right to date if they want to."

"But if Fuji is successful, Mizuki will hate our Captain, and it won't be his fault," Youhei concluded. "We came to you, Oishi-san, because of your power. I'm not sure how Fuji's Siren stuff works, but maybe if you use your power on him, the previous orders will be nullified."

"And even if it doesn't work, at least someone with more influence than we would have has a chance to talk to him about it," Kouhei put in, then gave Kawamura a significant glance. "Although maybe YOU'D be better in that regard."

"Do you know where Fuji is now?" Kawamura asked.

Youhei cocked his head toward the door, concentrating. "I can hear him talking to someone in the downstairs lounge."

Kawamura stood up, and Oishi watched him head for the door. "Taka-san, are you sure you don't want me to deal with this? As his Vice-Captain, I could –"

The other boy opened the door and looked back reassuringly. "It's all right, Oishi-san. I'll try to convince him first, and if I can't get through to him, you can still nullify his power." He left the room.

"We COULD have gone to Hanamura-sensei about this," Kouhei pointed out to Oishi. "She would have made sure that Fuji not only reversed his orders if he could, but that he was punished for doing this at all."

"I know," Oishi said seriously, "and I won't disagree that Fuji might deserve to be punished for involving Kajimoto-san. However, he's reacting to Mizuki having used his power on him first, and the fact that he wasn't punished for that is probably a contributing factor to this."

Youhei snorted. "It's revenge, Oishi-san. Pure and simple."

"And we don't blame him," Kouhei added. "But we couldn't let our teammate get hurt, you know?"

Oishi nodded. He knew. It was why he was grateful that the twins hadn't gone to one of the adults over this, and why he hoped Fuji would listen to reason.

Mizuki was a pretty good dancer, Takahisa thought as the two of them were having fun in the all-ages club. It made sense, though – all tennis players had to be light on their feet.

From the way that the St. Rudolph manager was smiling at him, the lights twinkling in his midnight-blue eyes, Takahisa suspected that so far, his date was a big success. There was something nagging in the back of his mind, though, but he kept pushing it further away. It was something to deal with later, not now. That much he was sure of.

"Are you all right?" Mizuki asked curiously.

Takahisa started. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because you were frowning a moment ago." Mizuki flipped a curl out of his face. "I thought perhaps you'd decided you weren't enjoying my company."

A rakish grin formed on Takahisa's face and he pulled Mizuki against him, grinding to the raunchy music surrounding them. "Still think so?"

He almost thought he saw the other boy blush, but it was hard to tell in the club's lighting. "No, you've reassured me," was all Mizuki said as he looked at him with a hint of a smile back on his lips.

Suddenly, Takahisa couldn't resist those lips. He kissed Mizuki warmly, lingering just long enough to make it count. "Just in case there are any remaining doubts," he whispered in his ear.

The smile hint turned genuine.

When Kawamura went down to the lounge, he found Fuji there with Eiji. The two of them were watching a sit-com and laughing. He was glad no one else was there.

"Fuji," he said, stopping by the sofa, "I need to talk to you about what happened with Kajimoto-san."

Both boys looked up and Eiji said, "Hoi? Kajimoto?" He turned to Fuji. "What about him?"

Fuji was studying Kawamura's expression. The fact that he hadn't called him 'Fujiko' set off warning bells.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Taka-san," he said carefully.

"Yes, you are, please don't deny it. You were overheard." Kawamura's tone was both serious and pleading. "It wasn't right to use your power on him, no matter how angry you are with Mizuki."

"Mizuki, nya?" Eiji piped up. "What does he have to do with Kajimoto? And why did Fuji use his power on him?"

"Sometimes there are casualties of war, Taka-san," Fuji replied coolly. "I'm sorry that it was necessary to use Kajimoto, but it was too convenient to pass up."

"Well," Kawamura sighed, "the secret's out now, so could you please reverse your command on him?"

Fuji shrugged. "I don't even know if I can do that."

"But will you try when he comes home?"

"No."

"Fuji!" Kawamura cried. "Don't you understand? It's over, anyway, people are going to know why Kajimoto is trashing Mizuki's reputation, and you'll end up getting in big trouble if a teacher finds out!"

"How many people know, Taka-san?" Fuji asked pointedly. "Four? Five? As long as Mizuki isn't one of them, it doesn't matter."

Eiji looked back and forth between them. Fuji was incredibly stubborn, and Kawamura, when not in 'burning' mode on the court, was usually no match for that.

But then a part of Kawamura was now _always_ burning deep inside, thanks to his power. The flame just needed a little fuel and Fuji had supplied it with his answers.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Fuji," he said seriously. "However, I can't, in good conscience, let you go through with this. And if you refuse to even try to stop it, then you leave me no other recourse but to do so for you." He bent down and pulled Fuji over his shoulder, then proceeded to leave the room with him.

"Taka-san, put me down!" Fuji exclaimed, struggling to free himself and having no success against the bigger, stronger boy. "TAKA-SAN!"

Eiji broke out of his stare of shock long enough to yell, "Hoi, Taka-san! Where are you taking him?"

"To Oishi," Kawamura called back. "He's waiting for us, just in case."

Eiji watched Fuji kicking his feet and pounding on Kawamura's back as they started up the stairs. "No way I'm missing this, nya!" he declared, and teleported himself up to Oishi's room.

End of Part 15

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 16

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

After Takahisa and Mizuki went dancing, they walked for a while, talking about school, tennis, and their powers. Mizuki was both touched and surprised when Takahisa confessed that he was sometimes afraid of his own power.

"Why on Earth would you be?" Mizuki asked, then smiled impishly. "No pun intended."

Takahisa chuckled, then sighed. "I don't want to hurt anyone accidentally, and although I haven't tested it to the ultimate, I get the feeling I could cause serious earthquakes if I tried. I've caused small ones just from being in a bad mood!"

"But you're just learning! Everyone slips up when they're learning, and yours happens to be a very strong power." Mizuki gave him a reassuring smile. "But you're also a strong person, or you couldn't be Captain of a tennis team. You'll get a handle on it."

Takahisa looked at him gratefully. "Thanks, I appreciate that." He chuckled. "You certainly seem to have your own power under perfect control."

Mizuki shrugged modestly. "There's not much effort involved in mine, I just have to WANT to be invisible, and voila, it happens."

"Much to Fuji Syuusuke's dismay."

As soon as Takahisa mentioned Fuji's name, he was sorry, because a cloud fell over Mizuki's face and he lost the happy look he'd had most of the evening. "He's probably plotting against me right now. He's not the type to let things pass."

"Neither are you, am I right?"

The other boy gave a short giggle that Takahisa found absolutely endearing and exclusively Mizuki, "Nfu! I suppose I'm not! I guess people who are too much alike make perfect adversaries."

"One could say that they would also make the best of friends," Takahisa suggested, then laughed at the look he received from Mizuki. "Or not!"

"Definitely not," the dark-haired team manager stated firmly. "I already have the nicer of the two Fuji brothers as part of my team – I don't need or want to be any closer to the psychotic one, thank you."

The limo was in sight, and Takahisa turned to face Mizuki. "Just in case there are prying eyes on us when we return to the mansion tonight, I want to say goodnight here." He brushed the other boy's face lightly with his knuckles. "I had fun. Thank you for coming out with me."

Mizuki gazed into the Jyousei Captain's eyes earnestly. "Thank you for asking me."

They kissed, and that was when Takahisa felt the nagging feeling he'd had at the back of his mind dissipate.

Breakfast was a quiet affair at the Seigaku table. Fuji's usual smile was in place, but there was something about it that made his friends wary. Or maybe it was the way that he refused to talk to Kawamura or Oishi.

Eiji knew, of course. He had been there the previous night when Kawamura carried the protesting tensai into the room where Oishi resolved the issue with a touch of his hand. That is, they hoped it was resolved. They wouldn't know for sure until they got through breakfast without hearing rumours about Mizuki circulating. Eiji could tell from the way Oishi kept glancing toward Takahisa that he was fretting about it, and he wanted to teleport over there to hear what the Jyousei Captain was saying to the Tanaka twins.

Hey, the twins! Eiji realized they might be able to put everyone's mind at ease without his having to be obvious about finding out.

Pretending to wipe his mouth with his napkin, Eiji murmured, "Youhei-chan, can you hear me? If you can, scratch your head."

Across the room, Youhei reached up a hand to scratch his magenta hair.

"Great," Eiji continued. "If Oishi's nullifying worked and Takahisa isn't bad-mouthing Mizuki, pick up your glass. If it didn't, pick up your fork."

Youhei lifted his glass and took a sip from it.

Eiji grinned. "Thanks, man!" He put aside his napkin and turned to Oishi. "It's okay, it worked!"

His Doubles partner looked relieved, but unsure. "But how --?"

Eiji winked. "You should trust me by now, nya!"

Oishi smiled. "I do. Thanks, Eiji."

Fuji stood up without a word and left the table. Kawamura watched him go, and his shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"He'll come around, Taka-san," Eiji assured him.

Kawamura sighed. "I hope you're right."

Fuji finished getting ready as quickly as he could, wishing that he had Eiji's teleportational power so that he could get to school without having to ride with the others. He was doing his best to appear normal, but he wasn't in a very sociable mood.

A vision of Kawamura's hangdog expression when he'd ignored him came to mind and made him feel a little sick inside. He liked Taka-san so much, and was pretty sure that his feelings were reciprocated, even if neither of them had come out and said so. It didn't feel right to be angry with him, and yet it hadn't been right for Kawamura and Oishi to gang up on him, either.

"Good morning, Fuji Syuusuke!"

Fuji groaned inside. This was just what he DIDN'T need right now. Fortunately, ignoring Mizuki was a much more pleasant activity than ignoring Kawamura. He finished getting his things together and headed out the door, brushing past the St. Rudolph manager.

"Now is THAT nice?" Mizuki asked, following him. "I thought you might be interested in how my evening went with Takahisa-san. You must know we went on a date, right?"

Fuji began reciting English verbs from class in his head so that he would have something to focus on besides Mizuki's insipid prattling. He sped up his pace slightly and started down the stairs.

The dark-haired boy was right on his heels. "First we went to a lovely restaurant – it was VERY romantic. Then we went dancing, and had so much fun! After that, we took an intimate walk and got to know each other better. He kissed me goodnight and I nearly swooned, it was so wonderful. When was the last time YOU went on a date?"

Fuji stopped so abruptly that Mizuki might have stumbled right into him if he hadn't grabbed the banister in time. When Mizuki looked up again, he found angry aqua orbs boring into him.

"Go jump in the lake!" Fuji snapped, spinning back around to continue down the stairs. Immediately, the tensai began mentally kicking himself for letting Mizuki see that he'd gotten to him. He should have just kept walking, but now the other boy would probably correctly assume that he hadn't been on a date in, well, too long. Not because he hadn't been asked – he just hadn't been asked by the right person. And now because of his own behaviour, that might never happen at all.

It promised to be a really lousy day.

"This is the best way to go to school!" Gakuto declared as he leaned back against the limo seat.

"Beats the bus, that's for sure," Shishido agreed. Choutarou glanced at him worriedly.

"Do you think that Hiyoshi will be upset with you today?"

"Maybe. Who cares? If he gives me any trouble, I'll give him another zap of bad luck." Shishido grinned.

Choutarou frowned. "You can't. Sakaki-sensei would be furious if he found out."

"Which he would, if our next practice is as disastrous as the last one," Yuushi pointed out.

"You guys are wet blankets," Gakuto told them. "We've got these cool powers, but what's the point of having them if we never have any fun with them?"

"Gakuto," Yuushi reasoned, "you can't think it's a good idea for him to hex Hiyoshi again."

"Noooo," Gakuto agreed, "but come on, think about it! There are so many fun things we can do with these powers, and we ARE supposed to be practicing with them."

"Not outside the power practice sessions we aren't," Choutarou reminded him.

Gakuto rolled his eyes. "Loosen UP, already! A few little pranks can't hurt. Shishido did it; why can't the rest of us?"

"Because we're not annoyed at anyone the way Shishido was?" Yuushi suggested.

"Because we don't want to get into trouble?" Choutarou put in.

"Because you're chicken?" Gakuto grinned wickedly. "Because you don't think you can do it without choking?"

"Sounds like a challenge to me," Atobe spoke up. "But no challenge is complete without penalty and reward."

"Fair enough," Gakuto said. "Shishido is off the hook because he did it already, but the four of us have to use our powers to do something fun or at least notable by the final bell or else."

"Or else what?" Choutarou asked unhappily.

Atobe smiled at him. "Or else the ones who don't will be at the mercy of those who did for the entire evening."

"What if we get caught?" Yuushi asked.

Shishido shrugged. "Don't."

"You can't talk," Yuushi told him. "You DID get caught."

"Oh yeah," Shishido said sheepishly. "But hey, if you do get caught, you can blame it on lack of control. You're still learning, right?"

"Then it's settled!" Gakuto announced, rubbing his hands together. "I can hardly wait!"

"I can." Choutarou sighed.

Yuuta was growing increasingly nervous. He and Mizuki should have been half-way to St. Rudolph by now, and as it was, they were going to be late for their first classes. Instead, he was being literally dragged through the woods that surrounded the far-reaches of Atobe's property toward what destination, he had no clue.

"Mizuki-senpai," he tried again, "we're going to be REALLY late if we don't turn around and hurry to school now!"

"We will, we will," Mizuki assured him, skirting around another tree, keeping a firm grip on Yuuta's wrist. "There's just something I need to do first."

"But what's way out here?" the younger boy asked. He had visions of them getting lost in the woods and a search party having to be sent out for them complete with helicopters and scent dogs and Lord knew what else.

"I heard Atobe talking to Tezuka about it," Mizuki replied, pushing aside a thin, low-hanging branch that nearly hit Yuuta in the face on rebound. "He said that the stables on the property used to be full of horses when this was a country club, and there was a riding path in the woods that led to …." The two of them stepped out into open air. "This!"

Yuuta surveyed the beautiful lake before them, and couldn't help thinking that it might be worth the trouble they were going to get into for being late just to see it. On the other hand, they could have come AFTER school. He was about to point out that fact to Mizuki, but when he turned toward him, he realized he was no longer there. A splash brought his attention back to the water, and he stared in shock.

"OHHHH!" Mizuki shivered, shaking water droplets out of his hair. "It's COLD!"

At first, Yuuta couldn't find his voice. He was horrified, amazed, and frightened all at once. It was weird enough for Mizuki to dive into an unknown lake this early in the morning, but to do so in his school uniform?!

"MIZUKI-SENPAI!" he exclaimed. "Are you out of your MIND?!"

His team manager looked over at him and blinked as if he had forgotten he'd hauled the younger boy along for the ride. "Yuuta-kun," he said, then shivered, frowning down at the water that surrounded him. "Maybe I am," he answered vaguely.

"Can we go to school now? Please?" Yuuta pressed. This was too strange for words, and all he wanted was a semblance of normalcy back in their lives.

Mizuki nodded slowly. "Yes, of course." He made his way back to shore and shivered again.

"We'll have to stop at the mansion first," Yuuta said, looking him up and down. "You can't go with your uniform soaked, and you'll catch pneumonia if you try."

"But I can't!" Mizuki met his gaze fearfully. "Echizen-san is still there! He'll want to know what happened and –"

"He won't know if he can't see you," Yuuta interrupted firmly. He didn't know why Mizuki was acting so strangely, but he did know that ONE of them had to keep a clear head. "Use your power, go up and change. I'll call a cab – it's too late for the bus."

Mizuki nodded and let Yuuta lead him back into the woods, but glanced back over his shoulder at the serene lake one last time, frowning.

End of Part 16

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 17

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Nanjiroh came into the foyer from the kitchen area, scratching his stomach and yawning. It felt like it had already been a long day, what with enduring breakfast with twenty-two children. He was just glad that he wasn't the one who had to clean up after them.

It was about time for him to get over to the temple, so he headed for the front door. Before he could touch the knob, it opened on its own. Maybe the last kid out hadn't latched it? It had probably been Ryoma.

Then he saw the footprints – wet ones, steadily moving toward the stairs.

Well, this was interesting. Either something was up with Mizuki or the mansion was haunted.

"Mizuki-kun?"

The footsteps stopped.

"Why are you still here and how did your feet get wet?"

Nanjiroh heard a sigh. "It's not just my feet." Mizuki became visible and Nanjiroh looked him up and down in amazement. The boy was not only soaked head to toe, he was wearing his school uniform!

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Nanjiroh pointed and laughed. "What did you DO, boy? Fall in the pool? Or get caught in a very isolated shower?"

"If you must know, Echizen-san, I jumped in the lake," Mizuki replied stiffly. "Now if you don't mind, I need to get some dry clothes on so that Yuuta-kun and I won't be any later than we already are."

"Yuuta-kun is here, too?" Nanjiroh glanced toward the front door to see Yuuta peeking around the edge nervously. "Well, you go do that, kid, and we'll see if we can get you both to St. Rudolph before too long." Nanjiroh snickered to himself again as Mizuki hurried off. "Jumped in the lake? I didn't even know there was one around here!"

"Me either," Yuuta confessed. "You should have seen him, Echizen-san. He was like a man possessed. He said he NEEDED to do it!"

Nanjiroh scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Really? Interesting." He decided it might be a good idea to make a quick phone call before he took the boys to St. Rudolph.

Gakuto had thought all morning about what prank would be best for his power. The problem was that there were almost too many opportunities! He was the one who had laid down the conditions, and he wanted his prank to be noticed by as many as possible.

Without Sakaki-sensei finding out, of course. That was the real challenge! If there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that none of them were going to risk pulling anything during Sakaki's music class or tennis practice. Gakuto planned to be smart and avoid those himself.

He and Yuushi had already finished lunch and he had excused himself to go looking for a good idea. He wandered across the campus, where the Hyotei track and field team were practicing through lunch. Now there was a stroke of genius, Gakuto thought, watching the boys as they stretched out their legs, all lined up to start a race. He glanced at the stands, saw a good-sized crowd of onlookers there, and smiled. Great! But only if he could pull off something he hadn't tried before.

The track Coach gave the word and the boys got into starting position. Gakuto held out a hand and concentrated – his timing had to be perfect or it just wouldn't be as cool as he knew it could be.

The moment the gun went off, Gakuto shoved his power toward the boys. Without exception, all six of them took a dive to land spread-eagled on the track.

There was a half-beat while the spectators registered what happened, then they all burst out laughing. The Coach began yelling at the boys for joking around during practice. Gakuto released his power on them so that they could get up, all of them claiming that they hadn't done it on purpose. The Coach was having none of it, and Gakuto silently congratulated himself. Not only had he succeeded at using his power on six people at once with precision timing in front of a few dozen witnesses, but there was no possible way to link the incident back to him. Everyone would think the boys themselves had planned it just to be funny!

It was the perfect prank. He couldn't wait until his teammates found out.

Fuji knocked on the office door and heard Sumire call out, "Come in!" He obeyed.

"Close the door," she instructed, then waited while he did so, leaning back against her desk. "I'm sure you know what this is about, Fuji."

"Actually, I don't," the small-statured tensai admitted. "Does it have something to do with tennis practice?"

Sumire sighed. "No, it has to do with Mizuki Hajime, and what you did to him this morning."

"I'm sure if I did anything to Mizuki I would remember it, Sensei. In fact, I might have a commemorative plaque made."

"Don't be sassy with me, Fuji," Sumire warned. "This is serious business. You know you're not allowed to use your power against anyone!"

Fuji looked confused. "This morning, you say? Sensei, I don't know what you're talking about."

Sumire folded her arms and glowered down at the teenager. "This morning, despite how it would make them late for school, Mizuki brought your brother with him on a trek through the woods that boarder the property at home. Yuuta says that Mizuki kept insisting that there was something he 'needed' to do, and it turns out that something was jumping into a lake with his uniform on!"

Fuji stared at her, then covered his mouth in an ill attempt to disguise his smile. "Mizuki did that?" he asked, trying hard not to giggle.

"You MADE him do that, didn't you?!" Sumire demanded.

"What?" Fuji gasped. "No, I didn't! How could I make him jump in the la—" He stopped suddenly, remembering his exchange with Mizuki on the stairs that morning. "Oh no," he murmured, then burst out laughing.

"Fuji, I'm losing patience," Sumire said sternly. "Your punishment will only be more severe if you compound it this way."

That snapped the boy out of his amusement. "Punishment? But Sensei, I didn't do it! I mean, I MIGHT have done it, but it was accidental!"

"Explain," Sumire said tightly.

"I DID tell Mizuki to go jump in the lake," Fuji admitted. "But I didn't deliberately use my power on him. In fact, I thought my power was still under Oishi's nullification from –" He caught himself again, cursing silently that he'd let that slip.

"Oishi nullified your power?" Sumire frowned. "When?"

"Last night," Fuji replied.

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter," the teenager insisted. "The point is that I assumed I still HAD no power, and so couldn't command Mizuki on purpose."

Sumire was quiet for a few moments, regarding the youngster in front of her. Fuji Syuusuke was usually a mystery in many ways, and she knew he could be pretty cagey when he wanted to be. She couldn't tell for sure if he was telling the truth, but she didn't want to think he was lying to her.

"All right, Fuji," she said finally. "I'll take your word for your innocence in this matter, but I'd still like to know why Oishi felt it necessary to nullify you. It's against the rules for HIM to use his powers against others, too."

Fuji knew he could have blown the whistle on Oishi, and it would probably serve him right for messing up his plans for Mizuki, but in spite of it all, they WERE teammates and friends. He didn't want to hurt him. Besides, Taka-san might get dragged into it.

"He did it by request," Fuji answered. And it was true. It just hadn't been HIS request.

Sumire paused again, then shook her head. "All right, I won't go any further with that, but I think it's pretty obvious that your power has returned, so be careful with what you say and how you say it in the future."

"Yes, Ma'am." Fuji bowed his head humbly, hiding a hint of a grin. Even if it hadn't been deliberate, Mizuki jumping in the lake on his order was an even better story to tell than the lies Takahisa had been prompted to spread.

Yuushi came out of the library and shifted the books in his arms. He figured that Gakuto had begged off spending the rest of lunch with him so that he could work on his prank. He hadn't yet come up with anything suitable himself, and it was starting to bother him. He'd thought of dozens of small ways that his illusions could rate a reaction, but none of them seemed big enough. There was still another five minutes until the bell would ring, and then he would be back in class, without any time to choose a prank. It was a problem.

"Oshitari-kun!"

Yuushi stopped walking and closed his eyes, praying for patience. He recognized the grating voice of a teacher whom none of the kids liked, and the feeling was mutual. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the tennis players were his particular targets most of the time. He forced a tolerant smile onto his face. "Yes, Shakutai-sensei?"

"Don't think that I didn't see you and Mukahi-kun whispering during my class this morning!" The teacher shook a finger in Yuushi's face. "The only reason I didn't give you two detention is because that message from the office came in at that moment and I was distracted!"

Yuushi gave a modest bow. "I'm sorry that we angered you, Sensei. Gakuto wished to clarify something about our tennis schedule this week, and I answered him as briefly as possible."

The man sneered. "Tennis! It's all anyone ever talks about in this school! Too much money wasted on tennis that should be going to the arts! Frankly, I'm appalled that our very own music teacher not only doesn't see it, but he encourages this drain on school finances for wasteful activities!"

Tennis? Wasteful? Yuushi's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"I haven't noticed a shortage of funds for the arts here at Hyotei, Sensei. We ARE the richest school in the area, and the fact that our tennis team is national level means even more benefits will be bestowed upon us. I wouldn't worry about it."

"You SHOULD worry about it!" the teacher snapped. "All you Seniors on the tennis team won't be here next year, anyway, so how will your egos get stroked then?"

"When they beg us to join the high school team, of course," Yuushi replied.

Shakutai's face turned fuchsia. "Don't be cheeky with me, boy! I can make your life in my class miserable, and will do so if you don't watch yourself!" He spun around and began walking away toward the busy locker corridor.

Thank you, Sensei, Yuushi thought, for giving me the opportunity I was seeking.

Smiling evilly to himself, he cast a simple illusion over the teacher. Nothing elaborate, just the apparent removal of all his clothing save a pair of lacy satin panties. The moment Shakutai turned the corner, the din of students in the corridor became quiet for a moment. Then someone screamed, more laughed, and a near stampede seemed to take place as others rushed out of classrooms for a better look. Yuushi whistled to himself as he went into his own class and sat down.

"YUUSHI!" Gakuto exclaimed as he ran in a few moments later. "Did you see Shakutai-sensei?! He's running around in women's' underwear! Right out in the open! Come on, hurry – maybe he's still there!" He tried to grab Yuushi's arm, but his boyfriend pulled out of reach.

"Don't touch me, Gaku, or the illusion will dissipate."

Gakuto stared at him, then burst out laughing. "That was Y—mmph!"

Yuushi sighed, holding his hand firmly over Gakuto's mouth. "Well, there we go, I just ruined it myself. Still, there was plenty of time for enough people to see it that it caused a commotion, and that should do well for my power prank, I think." He drew back and let Gakuto seat himself, grinning broadly.

"I'll say it does!" He lowered his voice. "I made the track team fall flat on their faces at the starting gun. I'll bet the Coach is STILL yelling at them!"

Yuushi raised an eyebrow. "You managed to control the whole team at once?"

"Six of them!" Gakuto said proudly.

Yuushi smiled. "Good for you."

"Thanks!" the little acrobat beamed. "You think Atobe and Choutarou will be able to top us?"

"Atobe will certainly try – his ego won't allow anything else," Yuushi replied, then shrugged smoothly. "As for Choutarou, he'll probably lose this challenge for lack of desire. To be able to prank someone means having at least a touch of the devil in you, and that boy is sadly lacking in that department."

Atobe originally thought that he would have no trouble coming up with an interesting prank, but as the day wore on, he almost began to worry. Every idea he thought of was great, except that there was no way to pull it off without a strong possibility that Sakaki-sensei would find out about it. Ice just didn't turn up indoors on its own when it was warm out. If he coated the main corridor with a sheet of glassy ice so that all the kids rushing out of classrooms at the bell went skating unexpectedly, teachers would notice, too. No good. If he froze the seat of everyone's chair so that when they stood up, the backend of their pants would rip out, teachers would find out, too. He needed something in which the blame could be placed anywhere but on himself. Unfortunately, as the only source of ice in the school besides the machine in the cafeteria, he was at a loss.

"Atobe-buchou?"

He looked up at Choutarou, whose expression was an unhappy one. "Have you been having trouble finding something to do as well?" Atobe asked.

Choutarou's face changed to look startled. "YOU can't come up with an idea?"

"Certainly, I can. Plenty of them. Just none that wouldn't result in my getting caught."

"I can't think of anything, period," Choutarou confessed miserably. "I guess I'm just not good at tricking people."

Atobe gave him a fond glance. "That's not necessarily a bad trait, Choutarou-kun." He took a deep breath. "However, our honour is at stake here."

"Not to mention an evening of servitude," the younger boy reminded him flatly.

Atobe frowned. "Indeed. I can't subject myself to that, no matter what the cost." He gave Choutarou a measuring look. "Perhaps if we team up we can find a way to use our powers effectively and not get caught."

"Will Gakuto and Yuushi say that we're cheating?"

"No one said teaming up wasn't allowed, did they? Come -- I just had an idea."

End of Part 17

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 18

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

If Choutarou was uneasy before he heard Atobe's plan, he was downright terrified after learning the details.

"You can't be serious!" he cried, following the Hyotei Captain as he walked out the front entrance to the school. "And there's the warning bell! We have to get to class!"

"We're going to be late, there's no help for it," Atobe replied. "I want to do this while everyone is inside, so they can be surprised later." He stopped in the middle of the front courtyard and surveyed the area. "Maximum viewing by all, perfect." He rubbed his hands together. "Now first, a base!" The fourteen-year-old held out his hands and began forming a block of ice in front of him. At first it appeared to be a little rough, but Atobe added more where he needed to shape it. When he was finished, he had made a three-foot tall, solid cylinder of ice that was flat on top. He hoisted himself up to stand on it.

"Atobe-buchou, please!" Choutarou begged. "You're relying on my skills too much, this is dangerous!" What if I can't do what you think I can?"

Atobe gave him a mischievous wink. "Then get an axe – but be careful." He sighed at the steady look of worry on the younger boy's face. "Choutarou, I saw you do it at Power Practice –"

"With objects, not people!"

"Well, now is your chance to try," Atobe told him.

"You'll get caught, though! There's no way Sakaki-sensei won't at least hear about this – everyone will!"

"I know, but only Sakaki and the other Changechildren will know it was the result of my powers. Everyone else will just think I paid to have it done." He took a deep breath. "I'm going to begin now. As soon as you see that I'm finished, it's your turn."

Choutarou watched anxiously as Atobe began covering himself with ice, starting from his feet and working up his legs. It was both fascinating and fearsome to see the ice swallow more and more of his Captain and he kept hoping that Atobe would chicken out when it reached his neck. He should have known better; nothing frightened Atobe Keigo.

The layer of ice crawled up Atobe's face, and over his head. He was completely encased by it and Choutarou felt a moment of utter panic. He can't breathe! He'll die if I can't do this! Then he realized that if he didn't calm down and focus, his terror would kill Atobe before he could even attempt to rescue him.

Drawing a deep, steadying breath, Choutarou focused on his phasing power. He reached into the ice until he touched Atobe's arm, then tried to remember his practice session. He had been able to phase any object he made contact with, but had never attempted to do so with a human being. As he connected with Atobe, he tried to transfer the phasing to include him. A moment later, Atobe stepped through the ice, leaving it intact as he jumped down to land by Choutarou. The younger boy stepped back in fear, unsure as to whether he was afraid of Atobe or his own power.

"See?" Atobe smiled, brushing off his jacket. "I told you that you could do it."

All of Choutarou's doubts washed away on a wave of pure joy and relief that suddenly found him hugging a startled Atobe tightly. "I'm so GLAD, Buchou! I was afraid you would suffocate before I could get my act together!"

"It wasn't that long," Atobe assured him, deciding it would be best not to mention that those had been the longest ten seconds of his life. He gently disengaged himself from Choutarou's enthusiastic embrace and regarded the results of their experiment proudly. "It looks wonderful, I think. Dresses up the courtyard beautifully."

Choutarou took a good look at the life-sized ice statue of Atobe that now dominated the Hyotei front yard. Because it had been molded directly over every inch of him, the likeness was unmistakable and very detailed. Even the Hyotei crest on his jacket was outlined clearly. He was impressed but not completely surprised that Atobe had remembered to pose decoratively as he was encasing himself in suffocating ice. "Will it last long enough for anyone to see it?" he asked.

"I reinforced it as densely as I could. Considering the cloud cover that's been moving in all day and that chilly breeze, I'm sure it will still be recognizable by the time classes let out." Atobe checked his watch. "And speaking of classes, we'd better get to ours."

Choutarou glanced back at the ice statue admiringly as they headed inside. It really did look like something a professional had created. Even though they were about to be in trouble for being late to class, and despite the knowledge that Sakaki would find out about it, he was rather proud of his part in it all. He couldn't wait to tell Shishido.

"WHAT did you say, Fujiko-chan?" Eiji asked with wide eyes as he looked up from tying his shoe. The two boys were first in the clubhouse after school, getting changed for tennis practice.

"That's what Ryuzaki-sensei told me," Fuji said, zipping up his team jacket. "Mizuki literally jumped in the lake! And with all his clothes on!"

Eiji cracked up. "Bwahahahaha! That's the funniest thing I ever heard, nya!" He looked up as more members walked in. "Oishi! Inui! Over here! You have to hear this!"

"What's wrong?" Oishi asked worriedly.

"Nothing! Fuji was just telling me something, and –!"

Kaidoh and Momoshiro stomped in, obviously in the midst of an argument. "It's your own fault that you walked into the door, Viper," Momo was retorting. "You should watch where you're going."

"Fsshuu! YOU should watch to see if someone is behind you when let go of a door!"

"Quiet down, both of you," Inui told them. "I want to hear what has Eiji all excited."

"Isn't Eiji-senpai always excited?" Ryoma commented as he entered the clubhouse with Tezuka.

"But this is FUNNY!" Eiji exclaimed. "Fuji was saying that --!"

"What about Fuji?" Kawamura inquired as he brought up the rear.

Eiji jumped up and down in frustration. "Okay, is everyone here now? Can I get this out?"

"Looks like you'd better before you explode, senpai." Momoshiro grinned.

"Fuji just told me that this morning before leaving for school, Mizuki Hajime went out back through the woods and jumped in the LAKE with his uniform on!" Eiji finished triumphantly.

The other boys stared at him, then at Fuji. "Is that true, senpai?" Kaidoh asked.

"Yes." Fuji smiled. "We got into an argument before I left and in a moment of anger, I told him to go jump in the lake. I didn't know he would actually DO it."

"Didn't you?" Oishi asked quietly. Fuji looked at him uncertainly.

"What do you mean?"

"Your power enables you to give commands to anyone that they're compelled to follow through on, Fuji," Oishi said uneasily. "If you really WANTED him to jump in the lake when you said it …."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't tell him to drop dead, isn't it?" Fuji demanded. "Oishi, I thought my power was still under your nullification from last night."

"Why did you nullify his power?" Tezuka turned to Oishi. "Did a teacher authorize that?"

"No, but it was necessary at the time," Oishi admitted and looked back to Fuji. "Are you sure that's what you thought, Fuji? Or did a part of you hope your power was working again?"

"Oishi!" Eiji gasped.

Fuji stared at Oishi in silence, then walked out of the clubhouse.

"Fujiko!" Kawamura started after him, but Tezuka caught his shoulder.

"Let him be for now," he advised. "Ryuzaki-sensei is waiting for us at the courts. We can talk to Fuji later, when everyone has had time to calm down." He raised his voice. "Finish getting ready for practice, everybody!"

The boys were quiet as they obeyed. Ryoma looked at Oishi's troubled expression as they began to file out of the clubhouse. "Do you really think he meant to do it on purpose, senpai?"

"I don't know," Oishi confessed. "If he didn't, then I owe him a big apology. If he did, then he owes one to Mizuki."

While riding home in the Atobe limousine, Gakuto shook his head in amazement. "I have to hand it to you, Buchou. That ice statue of yourself certainly counts as 'notable' – I think everyone in school saw it when we were leaving!"

"I couldn't have done it without Choutarou," Atobe said in a rare moment of humility. "I'm just glad I remembered to take a picture of it with my camera-phone, because it will surely have melted by tomorrow."

Shishido grinned at Choutarou. "You guys did a great job! And it's so cool that you can phase people as well as objects!"

The thirteen-year-old blushed. "I didn't know if I could. Atobe took a real chance on me."

"You should have more confidence in yourself," Yuushi told him. "In fact, with everything that the four of us accomplished today with our powers, I'd say that we should be proud. We all exceeded our own expectations of our abilities."

"But nobody lost your challenge," Shishido pointed out. "So now no one gets to be anyone else's servant." He winked at Choutarou. "Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing Gakuto at someone's beck and call!"

"Hey!"

"Just because no one lost the challenge doesn't mean that we all get off scot-free," Yuushi remarked. "Gakuto and I chose pranks that retain our anonymity." His gaze slid to Atobe. "You, Buchou, couldn't have trademarked your creation any better if you posted a flashing neon sign with your name over it."

Atobe shrugged carelessly. "So Sakaki-sensei will find out about it. He can't deny that everyone else will simply assume I commissioned the statue. Besides that, it's not like it was a prank that hurt anyone. What can he really say above those two points?"

"Plenty," Gakuto said mischievously, "if he figures out how you did it."

Everyone looked at Choutarou, who gulped audibly.

Incredible.

Sakaki Tarou couldn't take his eyes off the amazingly-accurate ice statue of Atobe Keigo. He slowly moved around it, studying it from all angles. It looked professional, certainly, but it was almost TOO perfect. Individual hairs on Atobe's head had even been engraved into the ice.

He had heard others saying that Atobe must have paid a fortune to have such an exact replica made, but Tarou knew better. Now that Atobe could make his own ice, why would he bother having someone else do it for him? Why he would want a temporary statue here all was beyond him right now, but that wasn't as important as how this creation was made.

Atobe was an extremely talented tennis player, but so far as Sakaki knew, he didn't have the artistic skills to form such a perfect likeness of himself, especially when he was still new to his ice powers. It almost looked as if the statue had come from a mold, but in order to accomplish that, the ice would have had to envelop Atobe's entire body and then he couldn't possibly get out of it without cracking the statue.

Or could he?

Tarou turned around and headed back into the school. He needed to confirm a suspicion before going home to confront his team Captain.

Nanjiroh heard the front doors of the mansion open and he called out, "Welcome home, whoever you are!"

When there was no answer, he became curious enough to peer out of the lounge into the foyer. He saw Fuji Syuusuke trudging toward the stairs with his head bowed.

"Fuji-kun? Is everything all right?"

The boy looked up and Nanjiroh saw the shine of tears on his cheeks.

Uh oh, a crying child, he thought, feeling a little panicky. This one's not mine, but I'm responsible for him. What would I do if Ryoma were crying? Nanjiroh snorted to himself. Not likely! Damn it, why aren't the women in this house here when you need them?

"Hey," he said, moving forward slowly as if he thought Fuji might bolt, "you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Fuji murmured, wiping his eyes and looking away.

"I'm just a listening ear; I won't make any judgments, I promise."

Fuji's voice was so quiet, Nanjiroh could barely hear him, "They don't believe me."

Nanjiroh quirked an eyebrow. "About what?"

"Mizuki," the boy answered. "They think I commanded him on purpose this morning when he jumped in the lake, but I DIDN'T, I swear I didn't!" Fresh tears seeped out from under long eyelashes.

Nanjiroh felt akin to a heel. He was the one who had called the old bag, of course. Whether it was she who said she didn't believe Fuji or someone else or both, he didn't know. Nevertheless, he felt partly responsible, and even if he hadn't trusted Fuji's motives that morning himself, these tears were genuine.

He put an arm around the boy comfortingly. "I believe you."

"You do?" Fuji looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"Yeah," Nanjiroh said firmly. "And if anyone else doesn't, send them to me. I'll set them straight."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Fuji's face – a look that Nanjiroh thought suited him much better than tears. "Thank you, Echizen-san." He gave the man a quick kiss on the cheek and went on up the stairs, looking much happier.

Nanjiroh blinked and put a hand to his face. Is this what having normal, cute kids is like? Ryoma could take a few lessons from Fuji.

End of Part 18

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 19

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Aoi drove up the long, winding driveway and stopped the car. "And we're back!" she announced to her passengers, peering out the windshield. "It looks like the bus just let off a couple of the other boys."

Youhei and Kouhei giggled as Takahisa jumped out of the car and headed toward Mizuki as he walked toward the front door with Yuuta. Aoi wondered idly just how involved her team Captain planned on getting with the St. Rudolph manager. At the moment, it wasn't causing any harm, so she drove the twins into the garage to give him as much privacy as their superhearing would allow.

"Mizuki," Takahisa greeted the dark-haired boy, then paused. "Why are you wearing a different uniform from this morning?"

"I took an unexpected swim," Mizuki replied, his tone petulant. "I still don't understand why, either."

Takahisa glanced at Yuuta for answers, and the younger boy shrugged. "He took me into the woods out back this morning and jumped into the lake with his clothes on."

"And you don't know why?" Takahisa asked Mizuki, puzzled.

"Isn't that what I said?" the other boy retorted. "It's so frustrating! And everyone will probably think I'm crazy when they find out – I'm sure YOU do now."

"No, I don't," Takahisa assured him. "A lot of strange things happen lately, what with all the powers showing up." He squeezed Mizuki's shoulder in comfort. "Let's go inside and have a snack while we talk about it. There's a reason for everything and this is no exception, I'm sure. We'll figure it out."

Mizuki managed a sheepish smile. "Okay. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Yuuta watched them walk into the mansion together and shook his head. It seemed that Takahisa might be a calming influence on his senpai. He hoped it would last.

The Seigaku players were subdued as they rode home, all of them opting to accept the ride with Sumire, even though she wasn't in a good mood. That was mostly due to Fuji, who had never shown up for tennis practice after leaving the clubhouse.

Momoshiro, while he was concerned about Fuji, also had other things on his mind. He hadn't yet come up with a way to talk to Ryoma about his feelings for him. It wasn't that he was disregarding the advice Kamio had given him; he just didn't have the nerve to openly approach the younger boy, even if he HAD already been clued in by Shinji earlier. Besides, the fact that Ryoma hadn't said anything about it to him might mean that he didn't believe the Fudomine tensai.

"Inui-senpai," he murmured to the boy beside him, not wanting to be overheard as the other boys continued their quiet conversations around him. "If you liked someone, but was nervous about telling them to their face, what would you do?"

Inui gazed at Momoshiro curiously, but didn't question him. "You could write them a letter."

"I don't know that I'm ready to sign my name to one just yet. I want to feel him out about it first."

"In that case, one tried and true method is making yourself a secret admirer. That way, you can capture their attention and interest without revealing yourself until you're ready."

Momo smiled slowly. "Hey, that's a great idea! Thanks, senpai!" He leaned back against the seat and thought about what he'd do. He had something in his drawer that would make a nice small gift – he could write a little 'secret admirer' card to go with it. This could work, he thought firmly, but then a horrible thought struck him. Ryoma knew his handwriting! He probably would also recognize that of anyone else on the team, so he couldn't ask them to write the card for him, and besides, he didn't want them to know about his crush until Ryoma had accepted him. Which meant he also couldn't ask any of the other kids they lived with – even if he left Ryoma's name out of it, they'd want to know to whom he was writing.

That left only one reasonable idea.

"We're home!" Atobe announced as he and his Hyotei teammates entered the mansion. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head. "I'll never get used to living in a house where there's no butler to take my bag and jacket at the door."

Tezuka started down the stairs. "THERE you are," he said to Atobe. "I don't know what you've done now, but your Coach is on the warpath."

"That's one way of putting it." Tarou came out of the lounge and Tezuka stopped at the foot of the stairs. He gave the man a brief bow as an apology for his remark, and Tarou nodded back, then turned to his team.

"Atobe, Ohtori!" he commanded. "Come with me!"

The other boys watched them follow the teacher down the hall toward the boardroom. Shishido was dismayed.

"I don't understand! How could he know Choutarou was involved?"

"At least he doesn't seem to know about the stuff Yuushi and I did today," Gakuto said in relief, then glanced warily at Tezuka. "That's not public knowledge."

"I don't spread rumours," the Seigaku Captain retorted.

"How bad is it, Tezuka-san?" Yuushi asked. "You must have heard him say something if you knew he was angry before we got here."

Tezuka shook his head. "All I know is that when we got here with Ryuzaki-sensei, Sakaki-san was pacing here in the foyer. She asked him what was wrong, and he said that he may have to show great restraint to keep from strangling two of his team members."

Gakuto laughed. "And you just assumed that one of them was Atobe-buchou?"

"Call it a hunch," Tezuka replied, and looked concernedly down the hall where Tarou and the boys had disappeared.

"Fujiko-chaaaaan!" Eiji whimpered from where he knelt in the upstairs hallway, scratching at his bedroom door like a cat. "Please let me in, nya!"

"Why don't you just teleport in?" Inui asked him. "It's your room, too."

Eiji was uncertain. "It doesn't seem right to do that when he's trying to keep us out. I want it to be HIS decision to let us in."

"Please unlock the door, Fujiko!" Kawamura begged. "I just want to talk to you!"

"Oyaji says he's been in there ever since he came home," Ryoma remarked as he walked over to join the teammates that hovered outside Fuji's door. "He was upset that no one believed him about Mizuki earlier." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "He came home in tears, too."

"Oh no," Kawamura looked stricken. "Poor Fuji!"

"It's my fault," Oishi said mournfully. "I shouldn't have implied he was lying." He faced the door and knocked. "Fuji, please listen! I'm really sorry I didn't believe you before! I was wrong!"

"What's with the crowd?" Takahisa asked curiously as he paused on his way past the room.

"I did something stupid and now Fuji isn't speaking to any of us." Oishi sighed.

"It's not your fault, senpai," Kaidoh remarked. "Who would blame him if he HAD used his power on that Mizuki creep."

"What was that?" Takahisa asked coldly. Kaidoh turned an equally icy gaze back at him.

"Mizuki has done enough to provoke Fuji-senpai. It would serve him right if he really had made him jump in the lake on purpose."

Takahisa stared at Kaidoh, then looked around at the others. "That's why Mizuki did that? Fuji FORCED him?"

"It was an accident, an ACCIDENT!" Momoshiro told him firmly. "Fuji-senpai thought his powers were still nullified, but they weren't."

"Nullified? Why were --?"

Youhei and Kouhei came tearing down the hall at breakneck speed, but Takahisa caught both of them by an arm. "Be careful, you two, you'll kill yourselves or someone else at this rate!"

"Sorry, Buchou, we just want to get downstairs!" Kouhei told him.

"Sakaki-san just brought Atobe and Ohtori into the boardroom and he's MAD!" Youhei finished.

"There's no reason for you to go down there when you know you can hear it all perfectly from up here," Takahisa scolded. "Not that it's your business, anyway."

Kouhei pouted. "But how many opportunities are we going to have to see Atobe Keigo reduced to tears?"

"That won't happen," said Tezuka as he reached the top of the stairs, followed by a mixture of petulant and sullen Hyotei members. "I just brought these guys up here so that they wouldn't listen in, and I'm not about to let you two go down to spy on them."

"Fine!" Kouhei retorted. "Like Kajimoto-buchou said, we can listen in just fine from up here."

"Come on." Takahisa steered the twins away down the hall, giving the Seigaku members an unfriendly look over his shoulder.

"Fujiko," Kawamura leaned his forehead against the door, "please let me in."

There was a click, and Kawamura looked up to see Fuji gazing at him uncertainly.

"You really believe me now, Taka-san?"

"I never said I didn't," he answered, taking both Fuji's hands in his. "But I'm sorry I didn't speak up for you before."

Oishi bowed deeply. "The fault is all mine, Fuji. I'm sorry."

"I guess I can't blame anyone if they thought I did it on purpose," Fuji admitted, leaning against the doorframe. "My track record isn't good where Mizuki is concerned."

"Maybe, but you don't lie to us," Tezuka told him, then crossed his arms. "Now, about missing tennis practice …."

"Yes, I'm sorry for that," Fuji said quickly. "I'll run laps tomorrow, and will apologize to Ryuzaki-sensei right now." He took a step forward but Tezuka out a hand to stop him.

"She's downstairs right now – you can apologize later. I think it's best that we all stay up here until Sakaki-san is done with Atobe." He glanced toward the stairs and tried to keep the concern off his face.

Atobe and Choutarou watched Tarou after he had shut the boardroom door and walked around to face them. Choutarou fidgeted nervously, but Atobe regarded his Coach calmly.

"While I believe I know why you wish to speak to me, Sensei, I'm not sure why Ohtori-kun's presence is necessary."

Choutarou glanced at the other boy in surprise. He was going to try and cover for him?

"Atobe," Tarou said evenly, "I am about as angry as I can be right now, so I suggest that you make no further attempts to play games with me."

The fourteen-year-old raised an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing else. Choutarou could almost hear his own heart beating, and had already broken out in a sweat.

"I don't know what possessed you to do such a thing," Tarou told them. "Naturally, as soon as I saw the statue, I knew it had to be your doing, and not with your credit card, either."

"I'll admit to that," Atobe said. "I used my power to create it, yes."

"And a perfect creation it was," Tarou agreed. "Down to the last detail." He tucked a hand under his chin thoughtfully and met Atobe's eyes. "Tell me, exactly HOW did you manage to make such an exact replica? I wasn't aware that you were particularly gifted at sculpture."

"Now who's playing games, Sensei?" Atobe remarked coolly.

Tarou snorted softly and his eyes flicked to Choutarou. "There was only one possible way I could think of that you might have pulled it off. I had already known that you cut part of class to do this, Atobe, but I had to check with the office to find out if my suspicions about your accomplice were correct." He looked back and forth between them seriously. "Now the real question is, what the HELL were the two of you thinking?"

"It was just a statue, Sensei," Atobe replied. "It didn't hurt anything. Yes, we missed a few minutes of class, but –"

Tarou slammed his palm down on the table, making Choutarou jump. "This is NOT about missing class or the statue itself, this is about risking your LIFE! What if Ohtori-kun couldn't get you out? THEN what were you going to do?!"

"I knew he could, so it didn't matter."

"You did NOT 'know', you assumed! And that assumption could have gotten you killed!" Tarou turned on Choutarou. "As for you, you should have known better! You had never attempted to phase a human being and you knew it, yet you were willing to participate in this reckless stunt and just HOPE it would work?!"

"I – I'm sorry, Sensei …."

"Is that what you would have said to Atobe's parents if their only son died of suffocation in an icy tomb, Ohtori?" Tarou demanded sternly. "I'm ashamed of you – I expected better."

The thirteen-year-old bit his lip, willing himself not to cry. He'd already felt guilty for the risk they'd taken, but now he not only felt badly about that, but the fact that he'd accepted praise for it from his teammates afterwards.

"I pressured Ohtori-kun into it from the start, he didn't want any part of it," Atobe explained. Tarou gave him a sharp look.

"Then he should have refused to do it! You're his Captain on the tennis court only; he's not obligated to take orders from you outside that capacity."

"Atobe-buchou didn't order me, Sensei," Choutarou managed to say. "I did it of my own accord."

"At least it seems that you both recognize your own responsibilities in this matter," their Coach mentioned. "That's admirable, but doesn't take away from the fact that you took a dangerous risk for nothing." He folded his arms and glared at them. "Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't take both of you over my knee and spank some sense into you?"

Choutarou hated questions like that. He had been a well-behaved child for the most part, but on the occasions when he wasn't, he became familiar with double-edged questions that had no safe answers. At least he knew the only real option was NOT to answer, but to look as penitent as he felt. He bowed his head.

Unfortunately, Atobe had never experienced those same life lessons.

"I think such an act would be beneath all of us, Sensei," the Hyotei Captain replied.

Choutarou's shoulders sagged. We're doomed, he thought.

Tarou didn't answer Atobe's remark verbally – he knew he was sure to say something inappropriate for junior high students to hear. Instead, he responded by turning a chair around, taking hold of Atobe's arm and seating himself while at the same time pulling the teenager across his lap.

"SENSEI!" Atobe exclaimed in horror. "You can't – OUCH!"

Choutarou winced and looked away out of courtesy. This was going to be bad.

Not witnessing the proceedings didn't mean he couldn't tell exactly what was happening. His Coach delivered fourteen solid whacks to Atobe's backside, and Choutarou's own rear end twitched reflexively with every blow in empathy. Throughout the punishment, he could hear his Captain protesting, struggling, and generally making it worse than it had to be. Finally, Atobe was worn down enough by pain, frustration and embarrassment to do nothing but cry out with each final spank. The older boy's voice was sounding thicker, strained, and Choutarou was careful not to look at him when he heard sounds that indicated he was back on his feet.

A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and he knew it was his turn. Fear shot through him as the teacher turned him around and bent him over, apparently deciding that at six-foot-one, he was too awkward to handle across his lap. Choutarou tensed and shut his eyes tightly, bracing for the first whack.

He heard a crack and a cry of pain that wasn't his, coupled with the release of his shoulder. Confused, he turned around and gasped.

Tarou's face was the picture of pain as he cradled his wrist with his other hand. "I think it's broken." The teacher grimaced. "You used your power to turn solid at the last moment, didn't you?"

Had he really done that?! "I – I didn't mean to!" Choutarou cried. "Oh God, Sensei, I'm so sorry!"

"This needs medical attention," Tarou said and left the room, carefully shielding his broken wrist. Dismayed, Choutarou looked helplessly toward Atobe, who appeared less than elegant, red-faced and rubbing his backside.

"Too bad YOU didn't go first!" his Captain groused.

End of Part 19

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 20

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Mizuki had ended up with Takahisa in the Tanaka twins' room – he'd wanted to talk to him but found him unwilling to leave Youhei and Kouhei alone. When he found out why, he was intrigued. Atobe Keigo in trouble? How delicious! He said as much to Takahisa, and received a chuckle as a reward.

"I know, the significance is not lost on me." His face became serious. "By the way, there's something you should know. I found out why you did what you did this morning."

Mizuki looked surprised. "And?"

Takahisa nodded. "Fuji Syuusuke is responsible. Did he say something to you about jumping in the lake this morning?"

Mizuki paused, frowning. "He might have, I'm not sure. I DID speak with him briefly, but I don't remember what was said." His eyes flashed as he raised them to meet Takahisa's. "But if he used his power on me, I'll make him sorry!"

"_Supposedly_, it was an accident – at least that's the gist I got from it. His teammates were begging for forgiveness because they hadn't believed him, I guess."

"No one SHOULD believe him! He's a snake in tensai clothing!"

Takahisa squeezed Mizuki's hand. "What goes around, comes around. He'll get his."

"Oh my GOD!" both Youhei and Kouhei exclaimed together, startling the other two boys.

"What? What?!" Mizuki demanded "And would you mind not scaring a person to death?!"

The twins stared at them. "You wouldn't believe what just happened downstairs!" Youhei said, wide-eyed.

I won't laugh, I won't laugh, Nanjiroh repeated to himself, but the temptation was great. Only Tarou's obvious pain held him back.

"You really broke your wrist spanking a boy? That must be every kid's dream!"

"Nanjiroh-san, this is serious," Aoi told him, carefully studying the Hyotei Coach's wrist. "It really does look broken."

"Choutarou was as shocked as I was," Tarou said, gritting his teeth. "I think it was an involuntary self-defense move."

"We'd better get you to the hospital," Aoi said. "I'll make a sling –"

"Just a minute," Sumire interrupted. "There may not be a need for that." She went to the foot of the stairs. "Fuji Yuuta!" she called up. "Get down here, and hurry!"

The sound of feet running overheard was followed by Yuuta appearing on the landing, charging for the stairs.

"Careful, Yuuta-kun!" Aoi warned. "Don't break your neck or we'll have two medical emergencies to worry about!"

Yuuta slowed down just a bit as he pounded down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"Sakaki-san seems to have broken his wrist," Sumire told him. "Do you think you can heal him?"

Tarou looked at her. "He hasn't tried healing something like this before, has he?"

"No, I haven't!" Yuuta answered worriedly. "Ryuzaki-san, I don't know if –"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "And you never will unless you try."

"But broken bones?" the thirteen-year-old said uncertainly. "That's serious! I don't want to make things worse!"

"Sounds like it's up to you, Tarou-san," Nanjiroh remarked. "You want to spend six weeks in a cast or take a chance on the kid here?" He rubbed Yuuta's hair reassuringly.

Tarou looked down at his wrist and scowled at it like it was a foreign object. "Right now I guess I'd risk almost anything just to stop this pain, and I'm not looking forward to six weeks of not being able to play the piano." He faced Yuuta. "I would very much appreciate any help you can give me."

Yuuta looked around at all the adults and wanted to help, but so far he'd only had experience healing small injuries – scrapes and cuts mostly.

"You can do it, Yuuta!"

He turned and looked back up the stairs. Syuusuke was there, watching and smiling encouragement at him. Yuuta took a deep breath and moved to stand in front of Tarou. He held both his hands over the music teacher's wrist and focused on activating his healing power.

Yuuta couldn't really explain how it felt to heal except to say that he was drawing the injury out and away from the person who suffered it. Where it went, he didn't know, because he himself wasn't feeling any ill effects from it. All he felt was a sense of 'completeness' that grew stronger with every stage of recovery the injured person experienced. He always knew when the healing was done, and this was no exception.

"I'm finished," he said, a touch of awe to his voice. He'd really done it!

Nanjiroh and the women watched Tarou gingerly flex his wrist. He looked at them in surprise. "It's as good as new," he said.

"Atta boy!" Nanjiroh grabbed a startled Yuuta in a headlock and noogied him. "Way to go, kid!"

"Congratulations, Yuuta-kun!" Aoi clapped her hands together. "You're a hero!"

"Nice work," Sumire commented, feeling Tarou's wrist experimentally. She smiled and nodded in Yuuta's direction. "Good job."

Tarou bowed to the teenager. "Thank you very much, Yuuta-kun."

"Y-You're welcome," the boy answered, feeling embarrassed now. He wasn't used to adults making a fuss over him.

However, when his big brother glomped him from behind in a bear hug, THAT he was used to. And for once, he didn't protest.

Tezuka entered his bedroom and nudged the door shut behind him with his elbow. His hands were already full, as he carried a basin of water and a washcloth. He set both down on the bedside table and regarded Atobe.

The Hyotei Captain was laying face-down on his bed. He had changed clothes while Tezuka was out of the room, and now wore a purple satin robe with ruffles at the collar and wrists. His legs and feet were bare.

"What's all the noise out there?" Atobe asked wearily.

"I think it has to do with Sakaki-san's injured wrist – I wasn't paying attention." Tezuka dipped the washcloth into the cool water, then sat on the edge of Atobe's bed and lifted the lower half of his robe, revealing his naked backside. He frowned thoughtfully.

"How bad is it?" Atobe asked warily. "Should I take pictures before I sue him for everything he's got?"

"You're red, all right, but it would have been worse if he'd taken your pants down." Tezuka laid the washcloth across Atobe's skin, causing the other boy to draw breath sharply. "This should cool it off," the Seigaku Captain remarked, then smiled wryly. "Unless you'd rather just ice-over your butt instead."

Atobe gave him a Look. "I think I'll refrain from coating any part of my anatomy with ice for a while, thank you."

"Then it would appear that Sakaki-san's punishment was a success, hmm?" Tezuka turned the cloth over.

"That has nothing to do with it! It's not as if I would ever have done it again – why would I?" Atobe shrugged. "Besides, I would still need Choutarou to get out of it."

"Speaking of Ohtori-kun and getting out of things," Tezuka began, "it's not exactly fair that you got spanked and he didn't, even if he didn't break Sakaki's wrist on purpose."

"I was rather perturbed by that myself at first," Atobe admitted. "But I WAS the one who pressured him into going along with the idea. I suppose I can be magnanimous about it, considering that side of things."

"Well, I can't!"

Atobe looked back again, surprised at the vehemence in Tezuka's tone. "You're angry with Choutarou?"

"I'm angry with BOTH of you!" Tezuka told him. "Sakaki-san was right; you could have been killed! It wasn't worth it, but you did it, anyway, and Ohtori-kun went along with it." He removed the cloth and dipped it back into the water, his jawline tight with annoyance. "If he hadn't spanked you, I might have done so myself!"

Atobe's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't reply. He gave a yelp as Tezuka put the cloth back onto him. "Careful with that, I think you gave me a shock! Electricity and water don't mix, you know!"

The other teenager met his eyes. "Ironic you should say that, since I AM electricity now, and you're frozen water."

Atobe's expression held a hint of doubt. "Are you so angry that you would start thinking like that now?"

Tezuka caught Atobe's chin and bent down to kiss him hard on the lips. The Hyotei Captain could almost feel Tezuka's anxiety over the near-miss as a tangible object during their contact, and when he drew back, he could see it in the other boy's eyes.

"Don't take anymore foolish risks, Kei-chan. Please."

"I won't," Atobe answered breathlessly. He winced and smiled ruefully. "But just in case, I think I'll hire a whipping boy."

Choutarou was on his bed with his legs drawn up, his arms wrapped around them, and his face buried in them. Shishido was next to him, rubbing his back in comfort, while Gakuto leapt around the room like a hyperactive jumping bean with Yuushi standing beside him.

"I don't BELIEVE this, I flat-out don't believe it!" Gakuto declared, then dropped down on his knees in front of the youngest boy. "Tell me again, Choutarou! Go on, say it!"

A mumbled response came from the Sophomore, "Sensei spanked Atobe-buchou."

"I can hardly believe it myself," Yuushi admitted.

Shishido snorted. "I don't know why you're so surprised! What adult WOULDN'T flip out if they found out a kid risked their life for a gag?"

"True, but I'm certain Atobe has never been spanked before," Yuushi mentioned. "Even if his parents were so inclined, they'd probably hire a whipping boy first."

"Maybe THAT'S why he keeps Kabaji so close all the time!" Gakuto laughed.

"Senpai, please, this isn't funny." Choutarou looked up, his handsome face a vision of distress. "Not only did Atobe-buchou get spanked and I didn't, but Sakaki-sensei broke his wrist on me! I feel terrible!"

"Personally, I'd feel worse if I DID get spanked," Gakuto said dryly, then snickered. "And Sensei breaking his wrist on your butt IS funny, Choutarou!"

"Don't be such an insensitive jerk, Gakuto!" Shishido snapped. "Can't you see that this is really bothering him?"

"Oh, since when are YOU Mr. Sensitivity?" the acrobat retorted. "I'm just saying what you're thinking, and you know it!"

"Maybe, but Choutarou sees things differently and he's the one involved, okay?!"

"PLEASE stop fighting!" Choutarou cried. "Sakaki-sensei will be out of commission for weeks and Atobe-buchou probably hates me. I should have never agreed to help him with this!"

"I'll second that."

The boys looked toward the doorway where Tarou stood.

"Sensei!" Choutarou scrambled to his feet. "Your wrist! Why aren't you going to the hospital --?!"

Tarou held up his arm and rotated the wrist. "It's fine now; Fuji Yuuta healed me."

"He can heal broken bones?" Yuushi remarked. "Impressive."

"I'm so glad!" Choutarou said, smiling with relief.

"We need some time alone, Ohtori-kun," Tarou said seriously and looked at the other boys. "Leave us."

Yuushi and Gakuto went out of the room quickly and Choutarou turned a little pale. Shishido hesitated.

"He didn't want to do it, Sensei," he said. "Either going along with Atobe or breaking your wrist. It wasn't –!" He stopped suddenly when Choutarou touched his arm.

"Don't," the younger boy said, giving him a nervous but reassuring smile. "It's okay." He glanced toward their Coach. "We … have unfinished business."

Shishido looked like he wanted to protest further, but couldn't argue with the plea on Choutarou's face. He jammed his fists into his pockets and headed for the door, pausing at the threshold to look back at the younger boy significantly.

"Good luck," he mouthed.

Tarou closed the door.

Ryoma went into his room and picked up Karupin, nuzzling his face into the cat's thick fur. He figured he'd better finish his homework and put the cat on his bed, then noticed something on his pillow.

"What the --?" He reached down and picked up a jumbo-sized chocolate bar wrapped with a ribbon. There was a gift card attached to it. He flipped the card over and read it out loud.

"'With love, from your Secret Admirer.'" Ryoma did a double-take. What the heck? He had a secret admirer now? Well, at least they had good taste in presents. He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the bar, breaking off a piece and popping it into his mouth. He was studying the card when Shinji came into their room.

"Fudomine tennis practice ran late and now it seems that we missed some kind of excitement around here, although I don't know what it is yet. I wonder if we'll be sorry that we missed it. Right now I'm just curious, but I'm also hungry." Shinji glanced at the bar in Ryoma's hand. "That's a humongous chocolate bar for someone your size. If you eat that, are you going to be hyped up all night on a sugar high? I won't be able to sleep if you're bouncing off the walls, and –"

"Can you be quiet for a minute?" Ryoma asked in irritation. "I'm trying to figure out who sent this – I don't recognize the handwriting." A thought occurred to him and he held the card out to Shinji. "You're the one with the connection to inanimate objects. Can you tell me who wrote this?"

Shinji took the gift card and read it, then paused for a moment. The look of surprise on his face made Ryoma uneasy – Ibu-san didn't usually reveal that much emotion in his expression. "What?" he asked, taking another bite of chocolate. "Who wrote it?"

Shinji looked up to meet his eyes. "Hanamura-san."

Ryoma choked.

End of Part 20

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 21

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Momoshiro chuckled to himself as he went into the kitchen for a snack. Ryoma should be snacking on chocolate right about now, and wondering who his secret admirer was. It was great, with this small gesture he could ensure that Ryoma’s thoughts would be occupied with him all evening, even if right now, his identity was still a mystery. He picked up a loaf of bread and opened it to make a sandwich.

“Momoshiro-kun, you’ll be having dinner within half an hour – can’t you wait?” asked Aoi as she entered the kitchen.

“No, Ma’am, I can’t,” Momo admitted sheepishly. “But don’t worry! I’ll still be able to eat dinner!”

Aoi leaned back against the counter and regarded him with a curious smile. “Well? Has he found it yet?”

“By now he must have.” Momo grinned. “Thanks for writing the card for me. It must be driving him crazy that he can’t recognize the handwriting!”

“That should make it all the more fun and intriguing, hmm?” Aoi remarked. “And I’m sure when you reveal yourself as his admirer, he’ll be very happy.”

Ryoma started to walk into the kitchen, stopping abruptly when he saw the two of them. He turned and ran.

Momoshiro looked at Aoi in dismay. “Or not.”

Choutarou wiped his eyes and blew his nose. He figured he was about cried out now, which was good, since dinner would be soon and he’d have to go downstairs.

A knock came at the door. Yuushi hadn’t returned to their room since Tarou left, so he was still alone. “Come in,” he said, and looked over his shoulder from his face-down position to see who it was.

Shishido entered slowly. “Hi,” he said, his gaze taking in Choutarou on the bed and his moist, red eyes all at once. “Uh, maybe you don’t want company yet –“

“No, don’t go,” Choutarou told him. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t LOOK okay!” Shishido said fiercely.

“Thanks a lot!” Choutarou laughed good-naturedly.

Shishido was dismayed. “I didn’t mean that! I meant –“ He took off his cap and ran fingers through his short hair. “It’s just ….”

“Yes?” Choutarou inquired curiously.

The other boy slapped the cap against his own leg in frustration. “I can’t believe he spanked you, anyway! That wasn’t supposed to happen, not after –“

“You wished me ‘good luck’?” Choutarou smiled knowingly.

Shishido stared at him. “You knew I’d done that?”

“I suspected,” the Sophomore confessed, “and I thank you so much for it.”

“But it didn’t work!” Shishido cried. “He spanked you, anyway!”

“You can’t predict what form the luck will take, Shishido-san,” Choutarou reminded him gently. “And it DID work. Maybe it was that extra bit of good luck that helped me to control my power so that I didn’t break Sensei’s hand this time.” He grinned. “Believe it or not, I’m very happy about that.”

“So,” Shishido said uncertainly, “you’re really okay?”

Choutarou nodded. “I’m really okay.” He chuckled ruefully. “I’m sore, and a little embarrassed to go down to dinner where probably everyone will know what happened, but I’ll be fine.” He reached out and caught Shishido’s hand in his. “Especially if you’re with me.”

The Senior’s expression softened and he gave Choutarou’s hand a squeeze. “You’re a class act, you know that?”

“That makes two of us.”

Mizuki had tried to think of a good way to get revenge on Fuji for the lake business, but none of them seemed quite as satisfying as what he REALLY wanted to do. He was one of the last kids to head down to dinner after the call came, and as he was coming down the hall and saw Fuji leaving his own room, he found himself moving toward him.

Fuji looked up as Mizuki reached him, but didn’t have a chance to say a word before the St. Rudolph player slapped him soundly across the face.

“That’s for making a fool of me this morning!” Mizuki snarled. “And don’t hand me any of your lies about how it was accidental; I know it was on purpose!”

With a hand to his reddened cheek, Fuji raised his aqua eyes to meet Mizuki’s. “It CAN be on purpose,” he threatened.

Mizuki disappeared from view. “You can’t bespell me if you can’t see me, Fuji Syuusuke!”

That was true, but being invisible didn’t mean Mizuki was no longer there. Fuji swung at him and connected, but he could tell at the last moment that he’d only clipped him.

“Ha, you call that a punch?” Mizuki taunted. “Now it’s MY turn!”

In the noisy dining room, only the Tanaka twins heard the initial slap over the din of other students and teachers. They looked at each other, then stood up.

“SENSEI!” they called over to the teachers’ table. “FIGHT! UPSTAIRS!”

“Mizuki!” Takahisa gasped.

“Fujiko!” cried Kawamura.

Thumping and shouts from above could now be heard by all, and the teachers left at a run.

“Stay here!” Sumire ordered the students on her way out. Takahisa and Kawamura exchanged a quick glance, then charged after them. Yuuta, with interests in both combatants, was close behind the older boys. Eiji jumped up as well, but Tezuka gave him a warning look.

“Don’t,” he said. “The teachers will handle it.”

Eiji reluctantly dropped back onto his chair. “But you didn’t stop Taka-san!”

Tezuka gave Eiji an oh-come-on look. “With Fuji in danger, do you think any force of nature could stop Kawamura?”

At first view, the scene upstairs had Syuusuke apparently having convulsions on the floor. Nanjiroh reached him first and hauled him to his feet, but Syuusuke’s fist was tightly closed around something no one could see. A disembodied shriek of, “Let go of my hair!” was followed by Syuusuke crying out sharply, “He bit my leg!”

Tarou reached down in the seemingly open space in front of Syuusuke’s leg and found what he was looking for. Strong hands yanking him backwards made Mizuki lose concentration enough to reappear, but he still lunged for Syuusuke, who tried to kick him at the same time.

“Stop it, both of you!” Aoi commanded. “You should be ashamed of yourselves! What kind of example are you setting for the younger boys?”

“How to defend themselves against deceitful liars like him!” Mizuki retorted, glaring at the Seigaku tensai.

“Speak for yourself, you scheming who – OW!“ Syuusuke looked up at Nanjiroh accusingly and rubbed his backside.

“Sorry, kid, but I don’t like that kind of talk,” Nanjiroh told him. “You’re in front of ladies – well, one lady and the old bag – and your own little brother.” He nodded toward the thirteen-year-old.

“Yuuta.” Upon seeing his younger sibling, the tension drained out of Syuusuke and he looked guilty.

“Who was told to stay downstairs,” Sumire pointed out. “Along with YOU two!” She glared at Yuuta, Takahisa, and Kawamura. The latter looked distressed when he saw Syuusuke’s disheveled condition. His hair was mussed, his clothes torn in numerous places, there were scratches and the discolouration of bruises appearing on his arms and a big red patch on his cheek. Mizuki’s condition wasn’t much better, but Kawamura barely noticed.

On the other hand, Takahisa moved to the St. Rudolph boy’s side, frowning with concern. “Are you all right?”

“Do I LOOK all right?” he asked incredulously, then turned to Yuuta. “Your brother bespelled me on purpose, Yuuta-kun! Don’t look in his eyes or he’ll do it to you, too!”

“I didn’t!” Syuusuke protested, turning toward Kawamura, who hurried over to him. “Really, Taka-san, I told you all earlier, I didn’t do it!”

“I believe you, Fujiko,” the other boy said firmly, gingerly brushing the hair from Fuji’s abused face and looking pained.

“It’s one thing to argue,” Tarou said sternly. “It’s another to come to blows. Who threw the first punch?”

Both boys opened their mouths to answer but Aoi held up a hand. “Before you say anything, do remember that I can go downstairs and ask Youhei and Kouhei just as easily – they heard the fight start.”

Syuusuke closed his mouth and cast Mizuki a dirty look. The dark-haired boy pouted prettily.

“All right, I slapped him first,” he admitted grudgingly. “But you know what he did to me this morning! I was humiliated, my uniform was soaked, I was late for school – I won’t put up with him abusing his power on me like that!”

“Mizuki-kun, I spoke to Fuji-kun about this after school, and I believe that incident this morning WAS an accident,” Nanjiroh said seriously. “On the other hand, it’s not exactly fair of you to swing on a guy, then turn invisible so he can’t hit you back. That use of your power WAS deliberate.”

Mizuki’s pout deepened, but he didn’t reply. Takahisa squeezed his shoulder encouragingly.

“We’re not going to condone fistfighting of any kind here,” Sumire told them. “Mizuki-kun, you can go without dinner and are confined to your room for the evening. Fuji, you reacted to the initial attack but still participated in prolonging the fight, so you may have dinner, but you’ll eat in your room and will also stay there tonight.”

“I’ll go get your dinner,” Kawamura said to Syuusuke and went downstairs.

“That’s not fair!” Mizuki objected. “Just because he’s YOUR player –“

“I agree with Ryuzaki-san,” Aoi interrupted. “You started the fight, Mizuki-kun, and that merits additional punishment.”

The teenager cast a hopeful glance toward the men, but they were already nodding their own agreement. He folded his arms and gave his foot a stamp, but knew he was out of luck.

“Is it okay if I heal them?” Yuuta asked the teachers, who looked at each other.

“If he doesn’t, they’ll have a disadvantage on the court because both of them are going to be sore for a while,” Nanjiroh pointed out.

Sumire gave the boys a stern look. “If I ever catch the two of them throwing punches again, they’ll be sore somewhere else, too,” she said. “But I guess healing them both this time is all right.”

Yuuta used his healing power on both his teammate and his brother. He felt better when they were back to normal, except for the messy hair and torn clothing. By the time he was done, Kawamura had arrived with Syuusuke’s tray.

“Thank you, Taka-san.” The tensai smiled gratefully.

“All right, both of you to your rooms,” Aoi said. “The rest of you, back downstairs to have your own dinner.”

Mizuki gave Yuuta a significant look, and the other boy figured what his senpai wanted was for him to sneak some food up to their room after dinner.

As everyone separated, Nanjiroh threw an arm around the younger Fuji brother and said quietly, “Of course, you know what’ll happen if we find out that you brought food to Mizuki later, right, kid?”

Yuuta gulped. Considering the earlier events of the day, he had a fair idea.

That evening in their bedroom, Kamio stared at Momoshiro for a moment, then burst out laughing. The Seigaku Sophomore glared at him.

“You WANT to die young, Kamio?”

“Aw, come on, man, it’s hilarious!” The Fudomine Speed Demon wiped his eyes. “You get up the nerve to write Echizen a secret admirer note, and he thinks that HANAMURA left it for him?”

“That’s what he told Inui-senpai during dinner,” Momoshiro lamented. “You know he’s always thought that she was hitting on him when they first met, and now he thinks she’s just getting more determined.” He shook his head. “I just didn’t want him to recognize my handwriting, and I figured he wouldn’t know hers!”

“But Shinji got involved and messed things up for you.” Kamio grinned. “You’ve got to set the kid straight, otherwise things will be really weird between he and Hanamura-san.”

“Not to mention that I’LL never make any head-way with him.” Momo sighed. “I don’t know what to do, though. I mean, I know I have to tell him, but how?”

“Just open up your mouth and say it!” Kamio told him. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“That he wishes it HAD been Hanamura instead?”

“He already knows you like him, remember? Your bag snitched on you in the burger joint.”

Momoshiro groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“But that’s a GOOD thing!” Kamio told him. “Seriously, just go to him directly and don’t try anymore dumb stunts that could backfire. Like I told you before, that’s one kid who’ll be straight with you about how he feels, you’ll see.”

Momo knew Kamio was right, but he also knew that if Ryoma rejected him outright, it really would affect their friendship, and that was the last thing he wanted. There had to be a subtle way to feel him out about the idea of dating without actually getting in his face about it.

Kamio watched Momoshiro’s expression carefully and could tell along what lines the other boy was thinking. He didn’t understand Momo’s reluctance, but could easily see him managing to sabotage his own efforts again. That being the case, he wondered if it was time for a little friendly butting in on his roommate’s behalf.

End of Part 21

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 22

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

“Hey, Echizen, wait up!” Kamio cut in front of Ryoma as their Power Practice group was heading back toward the mansion. The younger boy walked around the redhead and kept going. Kamio rolled his eyes and sped in front of him again, putting both hands on Ryoma’s shoulders to stop him. “Just for a SECOND, okay? I need to talk to you!”

“I need a bath,” Ryoma complained, obviously not happy to be held back.

Kamio laughed. “What do YOU need a bath for right now? It’s not like you did anything in practice except stand there and let people throw their powers at you!”

“I had tennis practice earlier, too, remember?” Ryoma stuffed his hands in his pockets. “So what do you want?”

Kamio looked up to make sure that all the other boys had gone on into the mansion. “Come on.” He steered Ryoma toward a pair of patio chairs and tried to put a little burst of speed on to get him there faster, but found that when he did so, nothing happened. He mused that with his own power, there would be no hurrying Echizen Ryoma.

The Seigaku Freshman sat in one of the chairs and started to yawn. “What’s this all about?”

Kamio sat cross-legged on the patio in front of Ryoma’s chair. He figured that would keep himself from buzzing around the kid like a mosquito while trying to get this out. “It’s about your secret admirer. It’s not Hanamura-san.”

Ryoma stopped in mid-yawn and eyed the older boy warily. “You’re not going to tell me it’s YOU, are you? Because that’ll make rooming with Ibu-san even more awkward.”

“Are you kidding?!” Kamio exclaimed. “Why would I want you when I’ve got Shinji?!”

Ryoma shrugged. “Why would I want you when I’ve got my cat?”

Kamio hung his head, wondering if Momoshiro had brain damage for liking this kid at all. “Listen,” he said meeting Ryoma’s eyes, “your secret admirer knew you’d recognize his handwriting, and that’s why he had Hanamura-san sign it for him.”

“That’s stupid,” Ryoma replied.

“It wasn’t stupid until you asked Shinji to identify the writer! Why didn’t you just have him ask the chocolate bar who left it for you? At least then you would have had the right person!”

Ryoma cocked his head and regarded Kamio with unreadable eyes. “So are you going to tell me who it is or not?”

“You already know!” Kamio exclaimed. “Shinji told you in the fast food place! It’s Momoshiro!”

Ryoma’s expression didn’t change. He stood up and headed into the mansion.

“Where are you going?” Kamio demanded.

“I told you already,” Ryoma said without looking back. “Bath.”

Kamio shook his head. He couldn’t tell one way or another how Ryoma felt.

“That kid is so uncute,” he remarked.

Yuuta was getting a headache. Mizuki was hungry.

“But WHY couldn’t you bring me any food?” his manager complained. “You should have been able to hide a LITTLE something in a napkin and tuck it into your pocket!”

“But I already told you, Mizuki-senpai,” Yuuta said helplessly. “Echizen-san warned me not to, and suggested that if I did, I might be the next one to get spanked!”

“They’d have to catch you doing it, wouldn’t they?” Mizuki retorted. “I still don’t see the problem.”

“I’m sorry, senpai,” Yuuta said firmly. “This time I have to put my foot down.”

Mizuki threw a pillow at him in response. “Then go away! I don’t want to see anyone who got to eat tonight when I didn’t!”

Truthfully, Yuuta was grateful to be able to leave. Mizuki’s mood was bound to get worse as his hunger increased.

Atobe was feeling relaxed for the first time since he came home from school. Or rather, since he’d been subjected to the indignity of having his tennis Coach spank him. His earlier partner in crime, Choutarou, was the only one in the living room with him. The two of them were maintaining a companionable silence, although Choutarou was playing the piano. Atobe wasn’t sure how he was managing to seat the hard bench in his current condition, but didn’t ask so that he could continue listening to the music. He himself was curled up in a plush armchair by the fireplace under a bulky quilt.

“Oh good, the two of you are both here.”

The music stopped as Choutarou and Atobe looked up at Inui’s arrival. The Seigaku data expert was holding his ever-present notebook, and he already had it open with a pen poised over it.

“What on Earth could you possibly want with us?” Atobe asked warily.

“I thought it might behoove all of us here to collect some data on the disciplinary habits of the adults in charge,” Inui replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. “That way, we might stand a better chance in the future of avoiding the fate you met today.“

“You already know what happened, Inui-san,” Choutarou said softly, his face flushing. “What else do you need?”

“Details,” Inui answered. “If you could both tell me how many times you were struck, whether you were standing or over Sakaki-san’s lap, whether you were stripped or allowed to keep your pants on –“

“And how will THAT help anyone avoid it?” Atobe asked.

“Well, for one thing, knowing details might make some people more careful,” Inui said. “And if misbehaviour is still unavoidable, they will at least know what to expect.”

Atobe sighed and pulled out his cell phone, punching a couple of buttons. He held it up. “Inui, this is Tezuka’s number. If you aren’t out of here in five seconds, I’ll complete the call and have him come down here to get rid of you.”

“I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me,” Inui told him. “I’m not here to make you uncomfortable or embarrass you. I truly believe that knowing everything I can about what happened will aid in my research toward –“

Atobe touched his finger to the speed-dial, but didn’t press it. “Last chance.”

Inui closed his notebook. “Perhaps when you’re feeling better.” He left quickly.

Choutarou’s forehead hit the piano keys.

“I agree.” Atobe put his phone away. “I hope he gets his wish and finds out all the details he needs by being the next victim.”

Kawamura knocked on Fuji’s bedroom door and Eiji opened it. “Taka-san, hi.” He looked down at the cup of tea in his teammate’s hand. “For me?” He grinned. “You shouldn’t have!”

“Um, actually, it’s for Fuji,” Kawamura said, looking embarrassed. Eiji giggled.

“I knew that, nya!” He disappeared, then reappeared behind Kawamura and gave him a gentle push into the room. “You two can have some time alone. I’ll go see what Oishi is up to!” He skipped off down the hall.

“Taka-san,” Fuji said from the bed and sat up, “I’m glad you came.”

Kawamura brought the tea to the bedside and put it down on the table. “I didn’t know if you’d really be wanting company or not. It’s been a bad day for you.”

Fuji placed his hand over Kawamura’s on the cup. “You made it better.” He smiled.

Kawamura returned the smile, and allowed Fuji to pull him down so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Fuji then took the cup from the table and sipped the tea. “Mmm, just perfect.” He replaced the cup carefully.

Kawamura watched him, admiring the way the lamplight played across his silky hair. Without realizing he was doing it, he reached out and brushed a lock from Fuji’s cheek. The smaller boy looked at him in pleasant surprise.

“I’m glad your brother was able to heal you,” he said. “You’re too beautiful to have bruises.”

Fuji’s smile was gentle. “You flatter me, Taka-san.”

“Maybe,” Kawamura admitted shyly, “but I mean it.” He placed his palm against Fuji’s cheek. “I don’t ever want to see you hurt again, Fujiko. Not physically, not mentally … seeing you with tears in your eyes today broke my heart. I want to protect you from that.”

Fuji couldn’t speak. He could only stare into Kawamura’s eyes hopefully.

“M-Maybe I’m being too forward, but I have to say it now, before I lose my nerve again. I love you.”

Kawamura saw the glitter of tears in Fuji’s eyes once more, but this time they were accompanied by the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.

“I love you, too, Taka-san,” Fuji whispered.

They drew together and kissed. Kawamura’s heart sang and he felt energized.

“Oh!” Fuji drew back suddenly, his fingertips over his lips.

“What?” Kawamura asked, startled.

Fuji giggled. “Your power – your lips were searing!”

Kawamura looked somewhat embarrassed, but managed a teasing grin. “Just call me Hot Lips.”

Fuji burst into laughter and hugged him tightly.

When a knock came at Mizuki’s door, his first instinct was to yell at whoever it was to go away. Then he realized it might be a teacher, and he didn’t want to be scolded anymore that day. “Who is it?” he asked reluctantly.

“The cookie monster,” Takahisa peeked in and held up a foil package, “and I come bearing cookies.”

Mizuki sat bolt upright, waving his arms wildly. “Come IN, come IN! Hurry up!”

Takahisa entered the room and shut the door behind him. Mizuki bounded over to him in one leap, showing remarkable energy for one who thought he’d been about to starve to death. He clutched the package like it was gold. “Oh, thank you so much! Yuuta-kun was too cowardly to sneak me any food!”

“Before you eat those, you might want this first.” Takahisa reached into his shirt and brought out a plastic container. “There’s a sandwich in there.”

Mizuki’s eyes sparkled as he accepted the sandwich, then he threw both arms around Takahisa’s neck and kissed him soundly. “You wonderful, brave man, you!” He paused, a touch of a frown on his face. “But what if the adults find out? You’ll be punished.”

“They won’t,” Takahisa assured him. “I’ve got Youhei standing guard downstairs and Kouhei upstairs. No adult will make a move or sound on either floor without their hearing or spotting them.”

Mizuki grinned widely, then sat down with the sandwich and began to devour it. Roast beef never tasted so good.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t sneak you a drink,” Takahisa told him, joining him on the bed. “I tried putting a can of Ponta into my shirt, but not only did I look pregnant, but the cold was too much for my warm skin.”

Mizuki giggled and swallowed the last bite of sandwich. “That’s okay, this is more than enough!” he opened the cookies and popped one in his mouth.

“I’m sorry you got into so much trouble,” Takahisa said. “At least there’s one bright side, though. Of all the kids who were reprimanded today, you’re the only one who got off without a single swat.”

Mizuki considered that fact and nodded. “I guess you’re right. Even that liar, Fuji Syuusuke got whacked once.” He looked at Takahisa incredulously. “Can you believe the nerve of him? He was going to call me a whore!”

“Pay no attention to him,” Takahisa said, then shrugged. “He’s in no position to throw stones, anyway. When I passed by his room on the way here, he was busy sucking face with Kawamura.”

“Oh, really?” Mizuki raised an eyebrow. “So his diary fantasies have come true, have they?” He sniffed and brushed the cookie crumbs from his hands. “Well, it’s Kawamura-san’s funeral.”

Takahisa gave one of Mizuki’s black curls a tug. “Exactly. So you just ignore the both of them – they deserve each other.”

The St. Rudolph manager smiled at him and shifted closer so that their legs were pressed alongside one another’s. “So, what would you like as a reward for saving me from an untimely death from starvation?”

“It might be hard to top that kiss you laid on me earlier,” Takahisa said mischievously. “But seeing you smile is really all the reward I need.”

“Maybe so,” Mizuki allowed, then grinned and began crawling into Takahisa’s lap. “But maybe I can give you just a little bit of a bonus ….”

Momoshiro stomped into his room and resisted the urge to slam the door, since he’d likely destroy the frame. He had just gotten into an argument with Kaidoh, which wasn’t unusual, but this time he knew he was responsible for picking the fight. He was just so frustrated with himself for not having the nerve to approach Ryoma directly. He knew in his heart that Kamio’s advice was sound, but he just couldn’t do it. He trudged over to sit on his bed and stopped, staring. On his pillow was a keychain shaped like a hamburger, and a gift card propped up against it.

Momo picked up the card and read it out loud, “‘You’re a dork - Your Secret Admirer.’”

The teenager turned to run out of the room, only to find Ryoma was in the doorway.

“Mada mada dane,” he said with an impish grin.

Momoshiro composed himself even though his insides were jumping for joy. “Not very original, you know,” he teased. “I already did the secret admirer thing.”

“Yeah, badly,” Ryoma remarked. He walked over to his teammate and looked up at him. “So, are we boyfriends now or what?”

Leave it to Ryoma to get straight to the point. “Yeah,” Momo said with an affirming nod.

“Good,” Ryoma replied. “I have to go to bed now. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Momo answered. Ryoma didn’t make a move to leave, but rather kept standing there, staring up at him. The older boy wondered what he was waiting for.

Finally, it occurred to him. He bent down and gave Ryoma a soft kiss on the lips. The Freshman tilted his head up to accept it, then left the room.

Momoshiro grinned broadly. “As simple as that,” he said in wonder. “Just that simple.”

End of Part 22

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 23

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Yuuta wasn’t sure where to eat lunch at St. Rudolph. Mizuki still wasn’t talking to him, and his manager was sitting at a table with all their other teammates. Normally, he would join them, but he didn’t feel welcome.

Deciding he wasn’t really hungry, anyway, he opted to just go for a walk off-campus and get some space.

He felt better almost as soon as he left. For a little while, he wouldn’t have to worry about Mizuki back at St. Rudolph or his brother over at Seigaku.

However, he wasn’t expecting to literally run into Akutsu Jin of Yamabuki.

Their collision was an innocent accident – both were coming around the same corner simultaneously. But Jin didn’t believe in accidents if they inconvenienced him.

“Are you looking for trouble?” the tall Senior growled and took hold of Yuuta’s uniform collar, half-lifting him off the ground.

“No!” the younger boy protested. “It wasn’t deliberate, Akutsu-san, just let me go!”

Something sinister flashed in the Yamabuki player’s eyes and then Yuuta’s feet weren’t touching the ground at all.

“You know what happens to people who tell me what to do?” Jin snarled.

Yuuta knew, and as Jin’s other fist cocked back for the punch, the St. Rudolph boy tried in vain to struggle, grabbing hold of Jin’s arm with both hands.

He heard a crack and closed his eyes tightly, fearing it was either his nose or his teeth. Then he realized that he hadn’t felt a punch. What’s more, Jin had dropped him, and was holding his own wrist, grimacing and glaring at him.

“What the hell did you do to me?!” the taller boy demanded. “I think my wrist is broken!”

Yuuta turned and ran back toward school. His mind was reeling – he’d broken Jin’s wrist somehow? He’d grabbed him, but he knew he hadn’t applied enough force to break a bone. Part of him wanted to go back and heal the other boy, but at the same time, he was afraid. Afraid of Jin and afraid of his own power, and whether it was starting to work against him.

Angry or not, Mizuki was going to have to listen to him this time.

“Fuji!” Eiji called from down the Seigaku hallway while trying to make it past the crowd of kids. Fuji watched him approach, and was proud that his friend didn’t give in to temptation and ‘hoi’ instantly over to him instead.

“Hi Eiji, join me for lunch?”

The redhead tugged on his arm, pulling him aside. His blue eyes were bright with mischief. “I just came up with the greatest idea in the world! Where is everybody else?”

“There’s Taka-san,” Fuji replied and waved. “Taka-san, over here!”

“What’s going on?” Kawamura asked, smiling warmly at Fuji while Eiji bounced up and down.

“Ohhh, I can’t wait! I have to tell you two now and then the others later.” Eiji grinned at them. “Are you ready for this? Before school, I ‘hoi’ed out to the lake that Mizuki jumped into and it’s beautiful! It’s a perfect place for a late-night skinny-dipping party!”

“A party? That sounds – wait, did you say ‘skinny-dipping’?” Kawamura gasped.

“That’s a fun idea, Eiji,” Fuji told his friend. “When do you think we should do it?”

“Fujiko!” Kawamura said desperately. “Um, are you sure about this?”

The pretty tensai turned to him with a concerned expression. “You don’t want to participate, Taka-san?”

“Well, um, don’t misunderstand, it’s just, um, can’t we wear bathing suits?”

Eiji winked. “That would defeat the purpose of skinny-dipping!”

“What IS the purpose of skinny-dipping?” Kawamura asked worriedly.

“Seeing a bunch of cute naked butts twinkling in the moonlight,” Eiji replied with a laugh. “Come on, Taka-san – it’s not scary when EVERYONE is doing it!”

Kawamura pouted a little as he looked at Fuji. He wasn’t really crazy about the idea of everyone seeing the tensai naked.

“Hey, there are Inui and Kaidoh!” Eiji said and began waving wildly. “I’ll go over there and tell them about it!”

Kawamura and Fuji watched the acrobat reach their friends and excitedly tell them his idea. Then they watched Kaidoh turn tomato red while Inui smiled approvingly.

Fuji gave Kawamura’s arm a squeeze. “This is going to be great, you’ll see!”

That’s just the problem, the taller boy thought miserably. EVERYONE will see.

Oishi looked puzzled as he met Tezuka in the hallway outside Sumire’s office door. “I didn’t know you were called down, too.”

“Ditto,” Tezuka answered. “I don’t know what this is about, either. I guess we’ll know soon.” He knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Sumire said, and the boys obeyed, closing the door.

“I’m sorry to call you here on your lunch break,” their Coach told them. “Banji from Yamabuki just phoned me. He told me of an incident outside St. Rudolph where Fuji Yuuta broke Akutsu Jin’s wrist.”

Both boys looked shocked. “What?” Oishi said incredulously. “How did Yuuta do that?!”

“Apparently, without even trying.” Sumire sighed. “Mizuki called me as well, just after Banji. He told me Yuuta’s version of the story, and according to him, he grabbed Jin’s arm, but that’s all.”

“You think this is a new facet of Yuuta-kun’s powers?” Tezuka asked.

Sumire nodded. “Either something new or maybe it was there all along and it took a moment of stress to bring it out – who knows? But Inui has said before that some powers could evolve or take on additional properties.”

“Yuuta treated Sakaki-san’s broken wrist recently,” Oishi said thoughtfully. “You think that has anything to do with it?”

“We’ll have to test him at home tonight somehow,” Sumire told them. “In the meantime, it looks like Akutsu-kun will have to live with the injury because Mizuki says he wouldn’t let Yuuta go anywhere near him even if he wanted to.”

Tezuka and Oishi exchanged knowing looks. “I think Mizuki is right on that one,” the Seigaku Captain told their Coach. “Akutsu isn’t forgiving at the best of times, and right now he’d probably react like a wounded wild animal.”

“I haven’t told Fuji about this, but there’s nothing he can do until he sees Yuuta at home, anyway, and he’d only worry about him,” Sumire remarked. “You two go on and finish lunch now. I’ll see you later.”

They left the office. Oishi gave a low whistle.

“I don’t know about you, Tezuka, but if our powers really do end up evolving into something that can hurt people, I don’t think I want them anymore.”

“I never wanted them in the first place,” Tezuka replied frankly. “But since when have we had a choice?”

After school, the remainder of the Seigaku boys who hadn’t already known about Eiji’s party idea found out while changing for tennis practice.

“You’re kidding, I hope,” Tezuka said. He turned to Oishi. “He’s kidding, right?”

“No,” Oishi admitted. “I only found out about it two minutes ago myself, but he’s serious.”

“It’s a bad idea,” Tezuka remarked firmly.

“It’s a FUN idea, nya!” Eiji protested. “I’m sure the other school representatives will go for it – it can be the first group activity for all we Changechildren at once!”

“The adults will find out,” Oishi mentioned.

“Maybe, but so what?” Fuji said cheerfully. “They can’t spank ALL of us!”

“I’ll go if HE does,” Momoshiro stated, giving Kaidoh a challenging look.

“Fsshuu!” Kaidoh hissed. “I’ll be there, so you’d better not chicken out!”

“I’m not sure that water of the cold temperature that the lake will attain by that time of night isn’t detrimental to our health,” Inui said thoughtfully. “However, it does sound intriguing.” He glanced toward Kaidoh, who turned pink.

“I don’t want to go,” Ryoma said flatly. Momoshiro looked at him, startled.

“You don’t?”

“Awww!” Eiji rubbed Ryoma’s hair. “He’s just thinking how he’ll be the smallest kid there in more ways than one – OW! He BIT me!” He glared at Ryoma who returned it.

“You had that coming, Eiji,” Oishi told him, hiding a smile.

His partner sighed. “All right, all right, people who want to be party poopers and wear bathing suits can do so, but I’ll lose all respect for them! Besides, since the rest of us will be naked, I think the ones with suits will stand out MORE!”

“Perhaps I’ll also put together a new version of Inui Juice for the occasion,” the Seigaku data expert mused. “Whoever insists on wearing a bathing suit will be penalized by having to consume it.”

“The Inui Juice or the bathing suit?” Momoshiro giggled.

“I’d rather eat the suit,” Kaidoh muttered.

Kawamura looked at Tezuka. “You think Atobe and company will go for this?”

His Captain averted his gaze. “Atobe lives to show off. He’ll love the idea, but would prefer a heated pool to the lake. He’ll probably go, though.”

“And his team will follow his lead, like always.” Kawamura sighed.

“So we’ll plan on sneaking out just after eleven, okay?” Eiji looked around. “The adults have usually done their last bedcheck by then.”

“How do you figure we’ll all manage to get out without getting caught?” Kaidoh asked.

“There are several other exits besides the front door. Maybe the Tanaka twins can pinpoint the location of the adults before you guys head out.” Eiji grinned helplessly. “I can hoi out to the lake directly, so it won’t be a problem for me.”

“You can take people with you, right?” Momoshiro asked hopefully.

Eiji wagged a finger at him. “Not THAT many. I’ll take Oishi, and that’s it.” He beamed at his partner, who sweatdropped.

“All right, it’s time to get out on the courts,” Tezuka said, opening the clubhouse door and signaling an end to the conversation for the time being.

The Hyotei Regulars were also getting ready for afternoon tennis practice in their own elaborate clubhouse. Atobe cast a look toward Jiroh. Kabaji had carried him in earlier, but when he put him down on the sofa, the smaller boy had stretched out lazily on his stomach and gone into a deeper sleep. At least he was already wearing his tennis uniform.

“Did you hear anything else about your ice statue, Atobe?” Yuushi asked.

“Yes, several people mentioned that they saw it yesterday and complimented me on it.” The Captain finished tying his shoe. “Naturally, they don’t realize that I created it myself.”

“With Choutarou’s help,” Shishido pointed out. His partner gave him a wounded look.

“Please,” he said, “I’d just as soon forget it ever happened.”

Shishido gave him a quick one-armed hug.

“Well, it’s about that time,” Atobe said, heading for the exit. “Kabaji, get Jiroh.”

“Oh, let me!” Gakuto bounced over to the slumbering boy and gave his bottom a sound whack. “Wakey wakey!”

“Owww.” Jiroh rolled over, wincing. “Kabaji, you’ve got to stop smacking my butt every time you wake me, ‘kay?”

“Every time?” Yuushi repeated in amusement, casting Kabaji a glance of new respect.

“That was me this time, doofus!” Gakuto informed him. “It’s time for practice, so come on!”

Jiroh sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. “Can I play you today, Buchou?”

“Yes, Jiroh, just get out here and join us.” Atobe stepped out the door.

“Hey!” Jiroh looked up, his eyes suddenly bright. “I know I’m not a Changechild, but can I come to your skinny-dipping party, too?”

Atobe backed up into the room again and stared at him strangely. “What on Earth are you babbling about?”

Jiroh jumped up, wide awake and excited. “You know! The skinny-dipping party you guys are having at your mansion – I want to go!”

“A WHAT party?!” Hiyoshi asked incredulously.

Atobe looked around at the other Changechildren. “Do any of you have a clue what he’s referring to?”

“Not a one,” Gakuto admitted, then grinned. “But a skinny-dipping party isn’t a half-bad idea!”

“No, it sounds like an ENTIRELY bad idea.” Choutarou sighed.

Atobe’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out. “It’s a text message from Tezuka,” he said, frowning. “It’s not like him to message me during both our practice sessions.”

His teammates watched him read what Tezuka had said and saw colour drain slowly from his handsome face.

“Atobe?” Yuushi inquired. “Is something wrong?”

“That depends on how you look at it,” the Hyotei Captain said slowly. “He wanted to warn me that Kikumaru has planned a skinny-dipping party for tonight.”

As one, seven pairs of eyes turned toward Jiroh.

“So,” he said eagerly, “can I come, too?”

End of Part 23

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 24

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Nanjiroh scratched his stomach and fed another tidbit of chicken to Karupin. “The boy should be home any time now,” he said. “Don’t tell Kaidoh-kun that I was giving you treats – he might tell Ryoma.”

The cat meowed loudly and Nanjiroh heard the front door. “That sounds like a bunch of kids now.” He picked Karupin up. “Let’s go see which group it is.”

When he arrived in the foyer, he saw the Hyotei boys chattering as they took off their shoes. Tarou came in after them, pocketing his car keys.

“Why don’t you ride home in Atobe’s limo with the kids?” Nanjiroh asked.

“I like my Porsche,” Tarou replied, then added dryly, “Besides, I’m with the kids all day and now all evening – I need the twenty-minute drive home to regain my sanity.”

“Hey, there’s an extra kid here, isn’t there?” Nanjiroh remarked as he counted heads.

“Two, actually,” Tarou said, and as Nanjiroh turned back to him, he found himself face-to-chin with the tallest kid he’d ever seen. This one had a good inch on Choutarou! The large boy was looking down at Karupin in Nanjiroh’s arms, then reached out to stroke him. The cat purred.

Atobe approached Nanjiroh. “This is Kabaji Munehiro, and over there is Akutagawa Jiroh. They’re moving in.”

“They both have powers, too?”

“Only Jiroh, who seems to have precognitive abilities,” Tarou said. “However, Atobe insisted that Kabaji come as well.”

“I also invited Hiyoshi, but he says he has responsibilities and can’t leave his family dojo unless he actually develops powers.” Atobe gave a smooth shrug. “As for Kabaji, I wasn’t about to leave him out when all the rest of us are here.” He looked at the tall boy. “Come along, Kabaji, and we’ll set you and Jiroh up in a room.”

“Usu,” his teammate replied and followed the Captain upstairs. The other team members were right behind them, but Jiroh had to be pulled along by Gakuto and Shishido. Nanjiroh thought he overhead a snore from the orange-haired boy.

“I’m not sure how the old bag will feel about bringing in non-powered children,” Nanjiroh admitted.

“It’s Atobe’s house,” Tarou replied. “He can bring in anyone he wants. Of course, the more kids we get, the harder it will be for us to give individual attention.”

“Or keep track of their activities,” Nanjiroh added knowingly.

“I think everyone is here now,” Aoi said to Sumire, who nodded, surveying the gathered Changechildren. She and the other adults had decided to call this group meeting as soon as they knew everyone was home.

“All right, boys, listen up!” she called, wating for them settle down. “We brought you all in here for a couple of updates. First of all, we have a new Changechild in the mansion.” She nodded toward Jiroh, blissfully snoozing away, oblivious to all eyes on him.

“Akutagawa-san?” Tachibana said in surprise and turned to Atobe. “What is his power?”

“So far as we can figure, and mind we’ve only seen it once so far, he can see events in dreams that he hasn’t otherwise heard about,” Atobe replied. “I questioned him earlier, and he thinks there have been more incidents that he thought were just coincidence.”

“It’s not exact, either,” Choutarou piped up, then blushed. “In the car on the way home, he woke up and asked which two of us got spanked yesterday.”

“So it’s not just the future, it’s the past, too?” Oishi asked curiously.

“Probably,” Atobe stated. “Like Choutarou said, it’s not exact.”

“What about Kabaji-chan?” Eiji looked over at the big boy. “What’s his power?”

“Being Atobe’s flunky,” Kamio murmured to Shinji. The Tanaka twins snickered across the room.

“Kabaji is here as my guest,” Atobe said in a tone that indicated no one need question further.

“There’s something else you all need to be aware of,” Sumire said seriously, glancing toward Yuuta. “There was an incident outside St. Rudolph today where Akutsu Jin accosted Yuuta-kun. While trying to free himself, Yuuta involuntarily used his power to break Akutsu-kun’s wrist.”

“Yuuta!” the elder Fuji brother jumped up, horrified. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Why didn’t you call me?”

“He’s fine, Fuji Syuusuke,” Mizuki said tartly. “And he had no reason to call you – I was nearby to help him in his time of need.”

Syuusuke’s aqua eyes flashed. “You weren’t there to help him when Akutsu attacked him, though, were you?”

“Neither were you!”

“That’s enough!” Yuuta exclaimed. “If you guys want to go at it maybe the adults can set up a round with a referee, but not here or now, okay?”

“I’m sorry, Yuuta-kun, you’re absolutely right,” Mizuki said agreeably. “I shouldn’t let him get to me – someone has to be the mature one.”

Syuusuke opened his mouth to protest but a sharp *SNAP* of electricity made him yelp instead. “Tezuka!” he cried, rubbing his wrist.

“Sit down and be still, Fuji,” Tezuka told him evenly. The tensai obeyed, but didn’t look happy about it.

Momoshiro leaned toward Ryoma to whisper, “I’m not sure I like Tezuka-buchou being a human stun-gun.”

Ryoma shrugged. “It won’t affect me.”

The older boy gave him a flat-eyed look. “Why do I like you again?”

“Getting back on subject,” Tarou interrupted. “What happened with Yuuta-kun emphasizes what we’ve all been concerned about from the start. You may not yet know everything your powers can do, so please try to be careful.”

“We’ve done a little bit of minor testing with Yuuta-kun,” Aoi said, holding out her right hand. “This paper cut is one that he transferred to me. He says it’s in the same location as one he had the day he discovered his power.”

“It would appear that once Yuuta healed an injury, that injury lies dormant inside him until his power is prompted to transfer it to someone else,” Inui commented.

“Yes, and he can do so either at will or accidentally, in moments of stress, such as today,” Sumire concluded.

Yuuta shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll really try to be careful. I don’t want to hurt anybody. I didn’t even want to hurt Akutsu; I just wanted to get away from him.”

Mizuki clucked his tongue and petted Yuuta’s hair. “It’s all right, Yuuta-kun. Everyone knows it was an accident.”

Kouhei frowned and telepathically asked his twin, (“What’s that weird grinding sound?”)

Youhei smirked at him. (“I think it’s Fuji Syuusuke’s teeth.”)

“Anyway, I guess that’s it for this meeting,” Sumire said. “You can do your homework before dinner.”

There were some assorted groans to accompany the scraping of chairs as everyone got up. The adults were closest to the door, so they left first, and before any of the kids could follow, Eiji teleported to the doorway and peeked out, then shut the door.

“Hey, what gives?” Kamio demanded.

“I need to have all of you together so we can tell those who don’t know about the party tonight, nya!”

Atobe glanced at Tezuka. “Is this the one you messaged me about?”

“Yes,” Tezuka replied. “Not that I think it’s a good idea.”

Jiroh’s head came up from the table he’d been drooling on in his sleep. “Hey! Now that I’m a Changechild, too, that means I can DEFINITELY go to the skinny-dipping party tonight!”

“The what?!” Tachibana exclaimed.

“All RIGHT!” the Tanaka twins cheered.

“Tezuka-buchou, you already told Atobe’s team, nya?” Eiji asked.

“Actually, JIROH told us,” Choutarou corrected him. “But we didn’t want to tell the teachers that that was his first prophecy dream.”

Takahisa looked at Mizuki. “Are you going?”

“This is the first I’m hearing about it,” the St. Rudolph manager replied, twirling some hair around a finger. “Where will it be held?”

Syuusuke smiled sweetly. “At the lake.”

Mizuki’s expression darkened and he lifted his chin. “I don’t want to go. I’ve had quite enough of that lake already, thanks to you.”

“That’s a pity,” Takahisa remarked, casting Mizuki a rogueish smile. “It sounds like fun.”

The dark-haired boy blinked, then a slight blush crept into his cheeks. “Well … I suppose if everyone else is going ….”

Tachibana made his way over to Tezuka and Atobe while the boys around them chattered excitedly about the upcoming event. “You two really approve of this?”

“No,” Tezuka replied.

“I see no harm in it,” Atobe answered. “It sounds like a fun adventure. I assure you that the lake is perfectly safe, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

Tachibana stared at him evenly. “I’m concerned about Akira and Shinji catching pneumonia jumping into cold water in the middle of the night. Not to mention the likelihood of all of us getting caught.”

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Atobe sniffed.

The Fudomine Captain met his eyes. “YOU should know better than most of us.”

Tezuka tried not to smile at the sudden rush of colour to Atobe’s face. His boyfriend recovered well, waving a hand dismissively.

“There are too many of us for THAT to be a viable punishment,” he retorted. “We may all be confined to the mansion instead, but considering the opulence of its interior, I’d hardly consider that to be intolerable.”

Takahisa wandered over to join the other three boys. “Is it all right if I join this meeting of the Captains?”

“We were just discussing the possible ramifications of this party,” Tezuka told him.

Takahisa grinned. “You mean such as having fun? Spending time as a group and getting to know each other? Making friends outside our own teams?”

“Getting the snot beat out of us,” Tachibana put in dryly.

Atobe heaved a weary sigh. “No one is FORCING you to go, Tachibana.”

“Attention, please!” Inui called out over the din of voices. “I would just like to announce that should anyone be having second thoughts about attending a skinny-dipping party, they’re more than welcome to wear bathing suits or even stay home.” He smiled and his glasses gleamed under the overhead lights. “However, it might interest you to know that I am preparing a special new mix of Inui Juice which those individuals will be obliged to consume tomorrow morning for breakfast.”

Atobe raised an eyebrow at Tachibana. “Still want to cop out of the party?”

“No,” the other boy replied flatly. “I’ve heard of the horrors of Inui Juice. I’ll go.”

Eiji bounced over to the Tanaka twins and threw an arm across both their shoulders. “We’re going to need your skills tonight, boys!” He waved toward Yuushi. “Oshitari-chan! You too, come here, okay?”

“’Chan’?” Yuushi repeated uncertainly and looked at Gakuto.

“You heard the man!” Gakuto gave his boyfriend a push in Eiji’s direction. “Get over there, Oshitari-chan! We’ve got a mass escape to plan!”

End of Part 24

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 25

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The Changechildren spent more time formulating their escape plan than doing their homework that night, but when the time came, they were ready.

The first to act had to be Tachibana. Roughly half an hour prior to their planned mass exodus, he started up a breeze outside and gradually built upon it every few minutes. Finally, it was enough to make noticeable random sounds from wires, tree branches, rustling leaves outside the house, and soft creaking around the mansion itself. The noises were meant to help cover up any sound their leaving might produce.

As predicted, the final bedcheck on the boys was done just before eleven p.m., then each of them got up, already wearing the clothes they had been hiding with blankets pulled up to their necks. Youhei and Kouhei positioned themselves in the hallway, listening for any sign that a grown-up might be approaching. Then it was Yuushi’s turn to get to work.

The Hyotei tensai wasn’t sure he could pull it off, having never done anything on such a wide scale, but intended to try his best. He went from room to room and cast an illusion of its occupants asleep in their beds. It had been determined that any attempt to go down to the second floor exits would double their chances of getting caught, but thanks to their powers and careful planning, they didn’t have to. Therefore, Yuushi finished his illusions with Atobe’s room, because that was where his assigned group was preparing to go out the window.

Atobe himself leaned out the window enough to see his objective, then summoned his power to form a slide of ice that extended all the way from his windowsill to the ground below. “I’ll test it first,” he said to the others. “Remember, avoid coming into contact with Oshitari for as long as possible or his illusions will dissipate.” He started to hoist himself up onto the sill, but a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.

“I’ll go,” Kabaji told him. “If it holds me, it’s safe for all of you.”

Atobe opened his mouth to protest, but couldn’t argue with that logic. “All right, but be careful,” he said, and moved aside so the younger, larger boy could crawl out the window. They all watched as Kabaji slid safely down to the ground and nodded up at them afterwards.

As the others began sliding down after him, in two other rooms, the second and third groups were preparing to go out their own windows.

Gakuto was heading his bunch, using his gravity power to lift each person down one at a time. Ryoma was in that group, and since the power didn’t work on him directly, the younger boy had to climb onto Momoshiro’s back and wrap his arms around his neck while Gakuto used his power on the Sophomore instead.

Outside the third room, Takahisa had raised a staircase of earth and rock that rose up under his windowsill much like Atobe’s ice slide. The kids were able to walk down easily, and at the end came Takahisa himself, flattening the staircase behind him and pushing the earth back down when it came from so that all looked normal again.

Atobe couldn’t leave his ice slide there, either, but wasn’t sure he could manage getting rid of all of it alone. Kawamura stood by, ready to flame it if necessary, but Atobe wanted to try himself first. As he’d done before, he gently blew on his ice, focusing on that part of his power that could revert it back to water. To his immense satisfaction, the ice began to melt rapidly. Experimentally, he spread his arms to encompass the entire slide and watched the melting process spread even faster.

“I guess I wasn’t needed here, after all, Atobe-san,” Kawamura murmured with a grin. “You’ve got it under control.”

“But of course,” Atobe replied in a soft tone, smiling. “Still, as we know from tennis, it never hurts to have an alternate.” He patted Kawamura on the shoulder. “Besides, we’ll all need your help once we get to the lake.”

The last two boys to leave the house were the Tanaka twins, having heard the others exit successfully, they were good to go themselves. From where he now stood on the ground, Gakuto lifted both of them down as gently as he could manage.

What followed was a mad dash across the grounds and into the woods, with everyone trying to move as quickly and quietly as possible. Kaidoh turned into an owl and flew on ahead while Eiji teleported himself and Oishi directly there. Choutarou went insubstantial and made good time running right through all the trees, bushes and even people who got in his path, until he reached Momoshiro, who was still carrying Ryoma on his back. In his haste and excitement, Choutarou forgot about Ryoma’s power and attempted to go through the pair, but bounced backwards off the twelve-year-old and caused a domino effect in the kids right behind him.

“What happened?” Momoshiro glanced back at the pile of boys all griping at Choutarou, who was at the bottom.

Inui jogged up alongside the pair. “Ohtori-kun found out the hard way that he couldn’t run through Ryoma.”

“He tried that?” Momoshiro gasped and yelled back, “Ohtori-kun! Don’t run through people, that’s creepy! Creepy!”

“Over-this-under-that-whoops-a-rock-hey-a-mouse-think-we-scared-it-hi-Momo-see-ya-there!”

“Bye, Kamio-san,” Ryoma replied, but the other boy was already gone.

“Was that talking blur Kamio?” Momoshiro asked, then chuckled. “I guess to you he’s going at normal speed. Man, I can barely negotiate these woods at night at normal pace, let alone as fast as he’s running!”

“Luckily the moon is bright enough to give some light.” Ryoma looked overhead. “I think the wind’s dying down; the leaves aren’t moving so much.”

“Tachibana-san was only keeping it going while we were sneaking out,” Momo replied. “It’ll be too cold when we’re wet if he doesn’t cut it out before we reach the lake.”

“It’s not far now!” Youhei grinned at Momoshiro as he ran by him. “We can smell it!”

Ryoma frowned slightly, watching the twins dodge around branches and rocks as easily as Kamio had, although nowhere nearly as fast. “Smell it?” he said. “I can’t.”

“Me neither,” Momo told him. “But from the sounds of yelling up ahead, some people have already found it!”

When he ran into the clearing around the lake, Momo let Ryoma get down and they admired the look of it with the moonlight shining on its surface as the others were doing.

“It’s so pretty,” Fuji said.

Eiji had rolled up his pant legs and was standing ankle deep in the water. “It’s colder than I expected,” he admitted.

“Is that why you aren’t in there swimming yet, Kikumaru-senpai, since you got here first and all?” Ryoma taunted.

“I wanted to wait for everyone else!” Eiji protested. “It wouldn’t be fun swimming alone!”

Oishi cleared his throat and Eiji gasped, “Oh, sorry, Oishi! Of course, you were here, too, nya. It’s just –“

“It’s just that the water is cold right now,” Atobe said and looked toward Kawamura expectantly. The other boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, blushing.

“I forgot that doing this would mean I’d be first one stripping down,” he admitted.

Fuji touched his arm. “I’ll go first then. I don’t mind.”

“I do!” Kawamura looked horrified, then embarrassed at Fuji’s surprised expression. “I mean … I’m not crazy about everyone seeing you at all, but for you to be FIRST ….”

“For Heaven’s sake, _I’ll_ go first if it will get us into the water before sunrise!” Atobe stated and began to undress. He handed each piece of clothing to Kabaji, who had just deposited the sleeping Jiroh onto the grass nearby. He folded Atobe’s clothes neatly and set them atop a rock beside their towels.

Tezuka tried to maintain his taciturn expression as he watched his boyfriend get naked in front of almost two dozen witnesses. Typical Atobe, the Hyotei Captain wasn’t phased in the least, but instead seemed to enjoy the attention as he always did. He made a languid show of sliding out of his pants, despite his earlier complaints about being kept waiting, and deliberately threw a wink over his shoulder at Tezuka as he revealed that he wasn’t wearing underwear. The Seigaku Captain couldn’t help smirking just a little. Atobe had ‘un’dressed for the occasion ahead of time.

“All right.” Atobe stretched his arms overhead, his nakedness obviously not of concern to him. “Kawamura-san, if you would, please? There’s a chill in the air leftover from the earlier wind.”

Kawamura nodded resolutely and undressed, blushing harder at knowing that Fuji was there, despite having shared locker room space with him for over two years. When he was done, he walked into the lake, activating his power as his flesh met the cold water. Instantly, the cold wasn’t bothering him anymore, and the further in he ventured, the more he increased the heat surrounding him, pushing it gradually outwards and away from himself until he was waist-deep. Then he concentrated hard on extending the heat to the outer edges of the lake in one great shove.

To the shock of everyone watching, bubbles rippled across the water surface briefly, then a gentle rise of steam rose toward the moonlight.

“I hope there weren’t fish in there, nya,” Eiji breathed.

Fuji dipped a toe in and smiled. “It’s like a hot spring now!”

The kids all cheered for Kawamura, who still appeared bashful about his success, but pleased as well. Clothes started flying off in all directions and most of the boys charged in without further hesitation while some of the more reserved ones took their time. Someone awakened Jiroh, who seemed surprised to find himself there, but eagerly began to disrobe. Momoshiro elbowed Ryoma and nodded back to where the Tanaka twins were heading for the water behind them. “What do you know?” he whispered mischievously. “They ARE boys!”

“We heard that!” Youhei shot back. “Pervert!”

Kouhei reached the water before his twin and yelped as soon as he ran in. He quickly jumped out again, grabbing his brother. “Don’t, it’s too hot!”

Takahisa looked back at them, already deep in the water with Mizuki. “What’s wrong?”

Youhei experimentally bent down and touched the water with his fingers, yanking them back and wincing. “It’s boiling! How can you all stand it?”

“It’s hot, but not scalding,” Yuushi told them, then gasped as Gakuto leapt on him from behind. “Gaku, you know you’ve just ruined my illusions back home, right?”

“Ask me if I care!” the acrobat replied, grinning at his boyfriend from over his shoulder. “There was no WAY this party was gonna happen without my touching you!”

Yuushi smiled and turned in Gakuto’s grip so he could kiss him properly, his hand dipping under the water out of sight. Gakuto moaned into Yuushi’s throat.

The twins gazed at each other helplessly on the shore. The rest of the boys began splashing, screaming, and tackling each other, or just swimming if they were lucky enough to avoid the more rambunctious amongst them.

“This is really nice,” Choutarou remarked, swimming up alongside Inui and looking back toward the Tanakas. “What do you suppose is wrong with them?”

“I’m suspecting that like with Yuuta-kun, another aspect of their power may have manifested,” he replied.

Shishido came up behind Choutarou and slid an arm around his naked waist. “Whose power is doing what now?” he asked.

“Youhei and Kouhei find the water too hot,” Inui told him. “On the way here, I heard them say that they could smell the lake, and that was well before most of us could even see it.”

“Their powers are supersight and hearing, though, right?” Shishido queried. “And that telepathy thing they’ve got between them, but what could that have to do with –“

“The senses!” Choutarou piped up suddenly. “Sight, hearing, now maybe scent and … touch?”

“That would leave taste,” Inui nodded slowly. “We may have to experiment with that later, but I believe you have guessed it, Ohtori-kun.”

Shishido snorted. “If they have supertasting abilities now, just don’t give them that Inui Juice of yours. I’ve heard of that stuff -- you’d kill them both!”

“What about the telepathy that Shishido-san mentioned?” Choutarou asked. “What does that have to do with the senses?”

“Perhaps it’s a sixth sense,” Inui suggested, then smiled. “Or maybe it’s just a twin thing that the rest of us can’t understand.”

Shishido nodded toward the two boys on the beach. “They’re coming in now, I guess the water is cooling off.”

“I hadn’t noticed, but you’re right,” Inui said and began swimming toward his teammate. “I’ll go ask Taka-san if he can maintain a more or less steady temperature without making it too hot for the twins.”

Shishido and Choutarou watched him go, then looked at each other. Shishido fingered Choutarou’s hair. “Would it be totally corny of me to say that your hair is the exact colour of the moonlight right now?”

“Maybe,” Choutarou breathed, “but I still like it.”

Shishido moved closer until their lips met softly.

“It looks like everyone’s having fun,” Tachibana remarked to Tezuka as he took a break from being drenched by random splashing boys. “I have to admit, I am, too. Maybe I was wrong to worry so much.”

“I wouldn’t say that; it’s never wrong to be cautious in situations like these,” Tezuka said, watching Kaidoh and Momoshiro engage in a water fight that seemed to produce more laughter than anger. “But I can see that we all needed a chance to cut loose like this. Ever since we all learned about our powers, I think there’s been more underlying tension than we’ve wanted to admit to.” He sighed. “I wasn’t even sure I should get into the water. What if I lost control of my power and electrocuted everyone?”

Tachibana grinned. “Then the remaining schools would have a lot less competition.”

Mizuki had been having fun with Takahisa, but the Jyousei Captain had just deserted him to confer with Inui about some unimportant theory regarding the Tanaka twins’ power. Okay, so the pair had some trouble getting into the water at first; they were there now, and having fun, so what was the big deal? Probably they just wanted attention, as if being twins and their neon hair didn’t gain them enough most of the time! A tiny smirk formed on Mizuki’s face. If that was what they wanted, he could give them some more. He dove under the water and turned invisible, making his way toward the two boys.

Youhei’s piercing shriek stopped all conversations and activities, and Kouhei hollered right afterwards.

“OW, that HURT!”

“Something BIT me on the butt!”

Bit, no, Mizuki mused, having surfaced several feet away. Pinched, yes, although I suppose if you’re that sensitive right now, then it may have felt like a bite ….

“There’s nothing in this lake that would bite,” Atobe called out before the entire group could make a frantic swim for shore.

“Are you two all right?” Takahisa asked the twins.

Red-faced, the two rubbed their backsides and pouted. “I guess so,” Youhei said. “Whatever it was, it really hurt.”

“What a pity,” Mizuki purred. “Perhaps you both would be safer on the shore; you don’t seem to be having much luck tonight.” He gently steered Takahisa away by the arm, giving the Tanakas a triumphant look over his shoulder.

“I think we’ve been had,” Kouhei muttered. “And I’ll bet I know by whom. What does Buchou see in that guy?”

“An easy lay, probably,” Youhei replied bitterly. “Come on, let’s swim. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of getting out now even if sharks were in this lake!”

Echizen Nanjiroh was sound asleep and having a nice dream. It involved Ryoma admitting that his father was the wisest person in the universe and he could only dream of being half the man he was someday. Then not only Ryoma, but all his little friends bowed down in awe of his magnificence. For some reason, they were all facing the other way, but they were wearing tennis shorts, so it was okay.

A jarring noise wiped the dream away in an instant and while Nanjiroh struggled to get it back, the telephone was more insistent. He fumbled to grab hold of the receiver. “Yeah?” he murmured sleepily. “Echizen here.”

“It’s one a.m.,” a strange voice said softly. “Do you know where your Changechildren are?”

End of Part 25

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 26

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The skinny-dipping party was in full swing. Boys were chasing each other in a game of water tag, while others had paired off to float lazily and talk. Syuusuke noticed that Mizuki had deserted Yuuta for Takahisa and made his way over to his younger brother.

“Are you having fun, Yuuta?” he asked.

“Sure,” the other boy replied. “Aren’t you?”

Syuusuke glanced over to where Kawamura was chatting with Inui and smiled. “Yes, I’m glad I came.” He turned back to Yuuta and his expression changed to one of concern. “Yuuta, about today, are you all right? Really?”

For a moment, Yuuta looked about to become angry or dismissive. In the end, he gave in to the worry in his brother’s eyes. “I’m really okay, Aniki. I mean, I was scared when Akutsu came at me, and even more so when I broke his wrist, but I’m dealing.”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you anymore –“ Syuusuke started to say, but Yuuta shook his head

“How are you going to do that? You can’t beat up a guy that size. And if you use your powers, then both Fuji brothers would have misused their power on him. That’s not right, Aniki.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m a big boy now. You don’t have to keep coming to my rescue.”

“I know I don’t have to,” Syuusuke said with a wistful smile. “But old habits die hard.”

Nanjiroh crept through the woods until he reached a point where he could peer through the trees and see the lake. Teenage boys were swimming, splashing, and generally having fun, all in glorious youthful nakedness. It was almost a shame he’d have to put an end to it, but these kids had to get up for school in a few hours.

Then the option was taken away from him entirely as one of the kids spotted him.

“Yuushi!” he heard someone yell, and suddenly everybody disappeared. Or at least, that’s how it seemed. The lake was calm, with no one in it or anywhere near it. However, all around him, Nanjiroh could hear frantic splashing and running feet. Didn’t any of these kids realize that he had already checked their rooms before he left the mansion and knew that every darned one of them was here? Oh well, he decided he might as well have some fun!

“Ah-HAH!” he declared as he randomly reached out and grabbed at what looked like open air, but still made a breeze as it passed him. He felt wet skin for a brief moment accompanied by a girlish squeak, then the flesh dissolved from between his fingers and the feet pounded onward.

Whee! Nanjiroh thought. He gave a wild yell and leapt into the fray of invisible charging boys, playfully grabbing at random. He brushed more bodies than he actually nabbed, but it was entertaining to try and identify the various yelps, outcries, squeaks, and protests.

That is, until a particularly big one bowled him over and left him laying flat on his face on the forest floor.

Oh well, fun’s over, he thought, hearing the sounds get further away. As he pushed himself up, he realized the illusion used on his surroundings must have dissipated, because there was something there he hadn’t noticed before.

The boys had all left their clothes behind.

Nanjiroh threw his head back and laughed.

Unlike the carefully executed escape from the mansion, the trip back was nothing more than a mad dash.

“Why are we running?” Tachibana asked Tezuka as they came up alongside each other. “Echizen-san must have seen us before we noticed him!”

“If you want to be naked and slow-moving around Echizen-san, be my guest,” Tezuka said dryly.

“Buchou!” Ryoma caught up to them and Tezuka suddenly felt guilty that he might have overhead him.

“I’m sorry, Echizen.”

“What for?” Ryoma asked in confusion. “I just wanted to know if you saw how Inui-senpai is riding Kaidoh-senpai.”

“WHAT?!” Both Captains turned to stare at the twelve-year-old, who blinked innocently at them and pointed behind him. A big black horse galloped by with Inui on its back, holding onto the animal’s flowing mane.

Ryoma ran ahead to catch up with Momoshiro, and Tachibana looked wryly at Tezuka. “Did your Freshman do that on purpose or does he really not realize?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Tezuka said flatly.

“I can’t believe Eiji just left me here!” Oishi exclaimed as he ran alongside Shinji. “As soon as the alarm went up, poof, he was gone!”

“Same with Akira,” the Fudomine tensai told him. “But I take satisfaction in knowing that he won’t be able to get in the locked doors.”

Oishi looked horrified. “And if Eiji forgets to unlock them, neither will we! Where’s Ohtori-kun? He’ll be able to phase through the door and unlock it for the rest of us!”

“If he’s too far ahead and doesn’t remember then I’ll do it,” Shinji said. “I think I can convince the door to unlatch itself.” He lowered his voice and mumbled, “Providing it doesn’t think that we should learn a lesson by getting caught, since some of the older buildings can have the mindset of older people ….”

Oishi closed his eyes briefly and hoped SOMEONE would be able to get them inside.

“Ew, that disgusting old man TOUCHED me!”

Takahisa looked around as he ran, using his power to push rocks out of his path at the same time. “Mizuki, he couldn’t have known it was you. Not only did the illusion hide you, but you turned invisible!”

“I don’t care! I’m not letting him see me naked – hey, don’t push that rock in my way!”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t see you, either – you’re STILL invisible!”

“And I’m staying this way until I’m in bed!”

Fuji laid his head on Kawamura’s shoulder. The moment the rush had started, he’d been surprised to have the larger boy scoop him up and take off with him in his arms. Not that he really minded, but he was concerned that his extra weight might be slowing Kawamura down. He voiced his concern and his teammate replied seriously, “There’s no way I’m leaving you back there with him; he was GRABBING at us.”

“I think he was just teasing, Taka-san. It’s not as if he could see any of us.”

“Great, the less of you he sees the better!”

Fuji giggled and held on for the ride.

Eiji and Kamio were the first two back at the mansion. While Eiji had been able to teleport directly into his room, Kamio first tried the back door, then finding it locked, put on an extra burst of speed and ran straight up the vertical side of the house into Takahisa’s open window. He kept going all the way back downstairs to unlock the rear door for the others, and at that moment, Eiji appeared in front of him. Both boys yelped out loud then covered their mouths.

“I just remembered to unlock the door, nya!” Eiji whispered.

“I’ve already done it,” Kamio hissed back. “Now let’s get out of here before we’re the ones who get caught!”

The two were gone in an instant.

Shortly afterwards, boys began pouring into the mansion. Those with the means to get up to the second floor through the windows they’d escaped from did so. The others had to take their chances going in the back door and up the stairs as quickly and quietly as they could.

Nanjiroh followed the group at a more leisurely pace. He didn’t have any reason to hurry, since he didn’t plan on confronting any of them tonight. It was already two a.m., and the kids had to be up for school early in the morning. As he finally entered the house and all seemed quiet, he caught sight of the schedule on the wall for Power Practice and realized that he himself was supposed to supervise the pre-breakfast session. His initial horror at getting up that early after a night like this gave way to sadistic humour. The kids involved in this particular practice had been specifically chosen, and it so happened that they were the ones Nanjiroh wanted most to have words with.

Tezuka was too tired to dream, so it probably would have been a straight, uninterrupted sleep-of-the-dead for him if someone wasn’t banging on he and Atobe’s door at six in the morning.

“Wha --?” He heard Atobe groan, brutally awakened from his own exhausted slumber. Tezuka blinked at the clock, but even without his glasses he knew it was too early.

The banging came again. “Tezuka! Atobe! Get your butts outside for Power Practice!”

“Was that Echizen-san?” Atobe mumbled. “He must be insane.”

Tezuka moaned. “Unfortunately, he’s right. Today is that special practice just for the four of us – I forgot about it.”

Atobe pulled his pillow over his face. “I’m dead tired and smell like lake water.”

“Same here, but if we don’t show, I’m fairly sure he’ll come back for us.” Tezuka began getting up, wondering if he would make it through practice without feeling inclined to electrocute the instructor.

Nanjiroh mused that he hadn’t seen less enthusiastic children since Ryoma’s last trip to the dentist. Atobe had his arms folded and was pouting at a professional level. Tezuka kept taking his glasses off to rub already bloodshot eyes. Tachibana had his own eyes closed and was weaving slightly on his feet, while Takahisa wouldn’t stop yawning.

“Nice of you all to show up, albeit fifteen minutes late,” Nanjiroh said, then stepped forward and smacked Tachibana upside the head.

“HEY!” the fourteen-year-old exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot and glaring at Nanjiroh accusingly.

“Although some of you seem to be more ‘here’ than others,” Nanjiroh finished. “You looked like you were asleep, Tachibana-kun.”

“I was,” the Fudomine Captain replied grouchily.

“Well, guess what?” Nanjiroh said. “So was I! Even on a good day I wouldn’t want to get up at this hour, but after chasing a bunch of naughty teenagers through the woods at two o’clock in the morning even LESS so.” He looked seriously from one face to the next. “I find it pretty fortunate that this special practice just for you team Captains was scheduled on the morning following that event.”

“Shouldn’t we be using this time for practice and not personal matters?” Takahisa suggested.

Nanjiroh nodded. “Sure, kid, we can always save the discussion about last night for when Hanamura, Sakaki, and Ryuzaki are up and around.”

The boys glanced at each other. “You mean you might not tell our Coaches otherwise?” Tezuka asked.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Nanjiroh told him. “Despite the disobedience factor, there wasn’t any real harm done except to yourselves. All your team members are going to be dead tired today, and you guys in particular will be walking zombies. You may have had your fun, but you also punished yourselves at the same time.”

“And here I thought the only reason you’d keep silent would be to hide how you tried to molest us all when you caught us,” Atobe said dryly.

“Oh please, the old bag wouldn’t expect anything less,” Nanjiroh replied and wagged a finger in the Hyotei Captain’s face. “And I wouldn’t get too cheeky if I were in your position, Atobe-kun. It may not be practical to spank all the boys who were at the party, but it’s certainly possible for we four instructors to spank YOU four as examples.”

Atobe paled. Takahisa looked horrified and Tachibana put a hand over his face. Tezuka maintained a stoic expression, belying the way he felt. Nanjiroh almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

“Okay, here’s the deal, boys,” he said. “There are really only two options. I can’t punish twenty-plus kids alone and NOT expect the other teachers to find out. So if I don’t tell them, it means the whole thing would stay a secret and I’ll hope that you feel so exhausted and miserable all day in school that you’ll have learned your lesson. The other option is that I share what I know with the other adults and we decide as a group whether punishment is warranted.”

“I vote for the first option,” Atobe remarked.

“I didn’t ask for a show of hands,” Nanjiroh retorted. “The problem is that I’m as wiped out as you are and can barely think straight, let alone make major decisions on the welfare of the entire student body. So I’m going to make this simple.” He fished a coin out of his pocket. “Heads, I talk, tails, you walk.”

The teenagers stared at him. “You’re leaving our fate up to chance?” Takahisa asked incredulously.

“Yep!” The coin flipped into the air.

THE FOLLOWING NOTE IS FROM THE ORIGINAL POSTING IN 2006 - PLEASE DON'T VOTE!

*Note* Well, we all knew that Nanjiroh wasn’t the most responsible adult on the face of the planet, right? ^_^ But his indecision allows for readers to have a say in how the coin toss comes out. Would you like the Changechildren to catch a break and Nanjiroh keep his silence? Or should they have to pay the price for their fun? Feel free to vote either way – I’ll be compiling opinions from LJ, Yahoogroups, and ff.net (basically, wherever I’ve got this posted.)

End of Part 26

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 27

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The Captains of Seigaku, Hyotei, Fudomine, and Jyousei all watched anxiously as the coin twirled in the air, finally landing on Nanjiroh’s wrist. He slapped a hand over it, then lifted it just enough to peek under. “Ooo …,” he said.

“Would it be too much to ask to let us in on the results?” Atobe asked in annoyance. Tezuka squeezed his shoulder to quiet him.

Nanjiroh grinned evilly at them and uncovered the coin.

“I-It’s tails,” Tachibana said, sounding as if he couldn’t quite believe it.

“So it is,” Nanjiroh agreed, dropping the coin back into his pocket. “So you get off, aren’t you lucky?”

“Infinitely.” Takahisa breathed a sigh of relief. “Sengoku-san has nothing on us.”

“Well,” Nanjiroh rubbed his head and yawned, “I don’t feel much like doing this practice thing, so I’m going to bed.” He started walking away.

The boys looked at each other. “What about us?” Tachibana asked.

“You stay here and practice, of course,” Nanjiroh tossed over his shoulder. “It’s your own fault you stayed out late. Why should I suffer anymore than I already have?”

Atobe stepped forward. “Before you go, Echizen-san, there’s something I want to know. How did it happen that you discovered us gone last night? You couldn’t have heard us leaving; it took too long for you to come after us.”

Nanjiroh paused and looked back. “I received an anonymous tip on the phone. Someone wanted to make sure you boys got caught.”

The Captains exchanged serious looks as their instructor headed back to bed.

The other Changechildren awoke with trepidation, all of them knowing Nanjiroh had seen them the previous night and wondering what punishment they’d have to face as a result. Just dragging themselves out of bed after only a few hours’ sleep seemed enough to them. Word spread from the Captains throughout their teams quickly, putting their minds at ease until they found out about the informant.

Inui used his time before they had to leave for school gathering data from the other boys and compiling everything he learned. It wasn’t until they were at Seigaku and safely out of earshot of Sumire before Kaidoh regarded him curiously. “Did you reach any conclusions, senpai?”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t much to go on,” Inui admitted, rubbing his eyes. “Or maybe I’m just missing something due to lack of sleep. So far, the data as well as my own observations last night makes it very unlikely that anyone amongst us attempted to sabotage things from the inside. All of us were at the party and had an equal chance of being punished. If the call had come earlier, while we were still in the mansion or on our way out maybe, but not after we were all gone.”

“But who else knew about it besides us?”

“That’s where unknown quotients come into factor.” Inui sighed. “We know for a fact that the party was discussed here in school – you and I did it ourselves. Most of the other schools didn’t find out about it until we were home, except for Hyotei, who found out from Jiroh-san, so chances are someone passing us by overheard, or perhaps there is another Changechild with hearing as sharp as the Tanaka twins’.” He shook his head. “In any case, we may never know who called unless they do it again.”

Kaidoh looked at him worriedly. “You think they will?”

“We don’t know who did this or why in the first place, so it’s a distinct possibility if they have a particular grudge against one or all of us,” Inui told him, then shrugged. “On the other hand, it might have been an isolated incident.”

Kaidoh didn’t like the uncertainty of it all. He preferred an enemy he could take on face-to-face, and had no respect for someone who used such underhanded methods. Whoever it was had to have stayed up very late themselves to call the mansion when the party was already in motion.

Wait a second … call?

“Inui-senpai,” he turned quickly to the older boy. “The caller – do you think their ID is still on the phone at home?”

Inui’s jaw dropped slightly. “Such a simple solution.” He smiled sheepishly. “Suddenly I don’t feel as if my Changechild power is intelligence so much as it is missing the obvious.”

Kaidoh looked away demurely. “It may not help at all. Maybe it’s an unlisted number or –“

Inui gave the younger boy’s shoulder a warm squeeze. “Let’s investigate the idea before disregarding it. I’ll ask Eiji to teleport home at lunchtime and get the read-out.”

“Yuushi, I feel awful,” Gakuto whined. “I can barely keep my eyes open while walking around – what will happen the moment I sit down in class?”

“Leave it to me, Gakuto,” his partner told him. “Take a nap in class if you need to – I’ll cover for you.”

“How are you supposed to do THAT?” Gakuto’s confused expression gave way to a grateful smile. “God, I love your power, Yuushi, thank you! But what about you?”

“Well, one of us better get the work done in class,” Yuushi replied, then yawned. “Although it may take all my concentration just to stay awake.”

“Oh, excuse me!” Choutarou said after bumping into someone for the third time. He felt like he was sleepwalking and could only be grateful he hadn’t tumbled down a flight of stairs in his daze. He spotted Kabaji entering their classroom and tried to catch up to him. “Kabaji-kun, how are you doing? I feel terrible myself.”

Kabaji nodded. “I’m very tired.”

“Shishido-san thinks he’ll end up falling asleep in class. I hope he doesn’t get into trouble.” Choutarou sighed. “Atobe looked like death warmed over in the limo this morning. I can’t believe he and the other Captains had to get up so early!”

“I didn’t notice how he looked,” Kabaji admitted. “I was asleep.”

Choutarou gave him a wan smile. “I guess we all zonked out on that ride for a while.”

“Hey, Ohtori!” Hiyoshi hurried over to his classmates and lowered his voice. “Did you guys have that party Jiroh was talking about yesterday?” He paused and studied the two boys critically. “Never mind, I can see that you did. How was it?”

“It was fun until Echizen-san caught us,” Choutarou told him. “Atobe says someone called the mansion in the middle of the night to tell on us, but we don’t know who.”

Hiyoshi scowled. “I hope no one suspects ME just because I’m an outsider who knew about it. I wouldn’t do something like that to my own team.”

“No one thinks that,” Choutarou reassured him, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Hiyoshi pushed the classroom door open before Choutarou could walk into it face-first. “Do you have any real suspects yet?”

“No,” Kabaji replied.

“There hasn’t been time to start looking,” Choutarou admitted as they entered the room.. “And we’re all so worn out we can barely remember our own names, let alone figure out any possible clues.”

Hiyoshi caught Kabaji’s arm before he could walk right past his desk and directed him into his chair. These guys are all going to end up getting scolded by teachers at this rate, he thought grimly, deciding it was probably just as well that he wasn’t a Changechild who had been at this party.

“I’ve never been so humiliated in my life,” Shinji murmured to himself as he leaned back against the corridor wall of Fudomine junior high. “So I fell asleep in class, it’s not like someone doesn’t do that every day, simply because sensei’s class is so boring that even at full rest people start nodding off.” He smoothed his hand against the wall behind him. “You must see a lot of this,” he said to it. “Kids being made to stand in your hallway, that is. I know Akira ends up out here often enough, but not usually me. Everyone thinks he has a volatile temper, but really, I’m worse for that. I just have more subtle ways of reacting, that’s all. Maybe I’ll make sensei’s chair slide out from underneath him later.” He stifled a yawn with the back of his hand and listened to a response only he could hear. “Okay, maybe you’re right, and that would cause more trouble than it’s worth, but still, it would be satisfying. I wouldn’t even mind being out here so much if I could lay down and go to sleep ….” Shinji found himself sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. “Now how did I end up down here? I’ll get in even more trouble if he comes out and finds me here. Think you could warn me if you hear him coming? Thanks ….” Shinji closed his eyes and nodded off to sleep, trusting his surroundings to alert him if his teacher approached. Inanimate objects were so much more reliable than people.

“Gakuto, it wasn’t my fault.”

The acrobat’s wine-coloured hair bounced as he strode down the hall ahead of his boyfriend, deliberately not looking at him. “You could have woken me up!”

“How? Sensei had already asked you the question and he and everyone else were staring at you. They’d all have seen if I prompted you awake.”

“But they all saw me ASLEEP when you removed the illusion!” Gakuto finally stopped and turned to face him. “Sensei rapped me on the head with his ruler and it HURT!”

“I’m sorry about that,” Yuushi said sincerely. “But I couldn’t hold the illusion when it projected an image of you as alert and attentive and Sensei was going over to you. Either he’d have thought you were in a trance or he’d have tried to touch you and realized you weren’t really sitting up straight. It was safer to take the illusion off before he reached your desk.”

Gakuto rubbed the back of his head. “Didn’t FEEL safer.” He pouted.

Yuushi glanced around to make sure no teachers were in the vicinity, then put his arms around Gakuto and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”

The smaller boy sighed. “I know. I’m sorry I was crabby about it. I shouldn’t have let you cover for me.”

Yuushi tipped Gakuto’s chin upwards. “What are partners for?” He lowered his mouth over the other boy’s. For a few moments, both of them forgot how tired they were and just enjoyed the lingering kiss.

Eiji appeared in the mansion in he and Fuji’s room, grateful that his sleep-deprived state hadn’t landed him back in the middle of the lake by mistake. He gave a wistful sigh at the sight of his inviting bed, but he was there to do a job, not sleep. He needed to get to the house phone and see what the read-out said about who had called during the night.

He peeked cautiously out the door into the hall. He didn’t think he was breaking any rule by teleporting home in the middle of lunch, but it didn’t hurt to be safe. No one was there, so he crept over to the hall phone and scanned through the caller Ids.

There it is, he thought, then frowned. There was no accompanying name, just ‘unknown caller’, but at least he had the number, which he quickly wrote down on the palm of his hand. He was actually glad he didn’t recognize it, but he hadn’t really expected this person to be a friend of his, anyway.

A sudden shout from down the hall made him jump, and a moment later, Karupin came darting out of Nanjiroh’s room, followed by the man himself.

“Blasted cat, why do you always attack my feet in my sleep – YAHHHH!” Nanjiroh jumped into the air as he came face-to-face with Eiji. “What the heck are you doing here, Kikumaru-kun?! You’re supposed to be at school!”

“It’s lunchtime. I just came back to do something.” Eiji decided it was better not to mention they were trying to hunt down the one who squealed on them. “I’m going to hoi back now, though. Bye bye!” He waved and disappeared.

“Hmm ….” Nanjiroh scratched his chin and looked down at the phone read-out. He’d noticed a number on Eiji’s hand when he waved at him, and considering which number was showing up here, he suspected the boys were on the warpath. Not that he blamed them or was surprised at all. Ryoma wasn’t the type to let something like this go, and Nanjiroh figured his friends weren’t any different. He almost felt sorry for the caller.

Then he yawned and decided he didn’t feel so badly for him after all. He just hoped that if they received any more late-night, tattle-tale alerts, one of the other adults would be the one to answer the phone instead.

Tezuka nodded as he listened to Atobe over his cell phone. His teammates were standing nearby as they all awaited Eiji’s return inside the school’s main entrance. “I know,” he said wearily, “I nodded off in class a few times myself. It’s been a bad day for all of us.” He paused to listen again, then continued, “We’re working on it right now, actually – Kaidoh had an idea on how to find out, and Eiji is –“ He stopped as Eiji came running toward them. “He’s back now. Stay on the line.”

“Did you get the number, Eiji?” Kawamura asked the redhead.

“Yep, it’s right here!” Eiji held out his palm and everyone leaned forward to read it.

“I don’t know that number,” Tezuka said, then spoke into his phone. “Atobe, do you know it?” He read the phone number to the other boy and waited. He shook his head at his teammates. “He doesn’t recognize it, either.”

“Call it, Inui-senpai,” Kaidoh urged.

“We’ll use the pay phone,” Inui said. “If he sees it’s one of us calling, he may not pick up.”

Tezuka turned his cell on speakerphone so that Atobe could hear what happened along with them.

Everyone watched as Inui dialed the number into the pay phone and waited to hear who would pick up. A strange look crossed Inui’s features briefly, then he hung up.

“Did they answer?” Oishi asked.

Inui nodded. “Yes, they did. He also identified himself when he picked up. I’m afraid he was still speaking as I hung up on him, but I couldn’t exactly respond when –“

“Inui,” Tezuka interrupted, “who was it?”

The data expert adjusted his glasses and turned to his Captain. “Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkaidai.”

End of Part 27

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 28

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Yukimura Seiichi walked out of Rikkaidai and scanned the area, looking for a familiar head of curly black hair.

“Yukimura,” said a voice next to him, giving him a little start.

“Sanada, I didn’t see you, I’m sorry.” He searched the crowd of kids heading home. “I was trying to catch Kirihara – I missed him at lunch.”

“I think he’s in detention, so he won’t be coming out for a while.”

Yukimura frowned. “I wanted to talk to him about his behaviour at morning practice. I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow. Oh!” he gasped suddenly and looked down to where a fluffy kitten was rubbing against his leg. “Look at this, isn’t it cute?”

“Someone likes you,” Sanada remarked, bending down to pet the kitten. It eyed him warily, then swiped at him with its claws. “And doesn’t like ME,” he added wryly.

Yukimura couched and stroked the kitten, which began to purr. It put its paws on his arm and tried to pull itself up, but couldn’t quite make it. The Rikkaidai Captain laughed and picked it up. “It …,” He turned it around and peered under the tail, “that is, HE, is adorable!”

“He doesn’t look like he has any I.D. tags.” Sanada peered at its neck for a collar. “He’s pretty young to be wandering around alone.”

“Are you lost?” Yukimura asked, rubbing the animal’s ear. “I can’t just leave him out here. I’ll take him home and see if my mother will let me keep him while we try to find his owner. I can make some fliers to post around this area.”

Sanada smiled. “You’ll probably end up keeping him permanently, if I know you.”

“And you do.” Yukimura returned the smile and rubbed his nose against the kitten’s. “I won’t mind at all if that ends up happening!”

The two of them left the campus. Eiji peeked from around the edge of a phone booth and grinned, lifting his cell phone to his ear.

“It worked, Inui; Kaidoh has infiltrated enemy camp, nya!”

“Good,” his teammate replied. “Once inside Yukimura’s home, he should be able to find out why he told on us and what revenge strategy would be most effective.”

Aoi was not a happy Coach. Only half her team had shown up on time for tennis practice, her Captain had arrived late, and her Doubles Two unit had yet to come in at all.

“Does anyone have any idea why Youhei and Kouhei are late?” she asked the others, focusing on her Doubles One team. “You two are in their class, aren’t you? Did anything unusual happen?”

Kiriyama suddenly became very interested in his racquet strings. Oota tried to hide behind his much-larger partner.

“I’m waiting,” their Coach said in a tone that held no further patience. The two boys exchanged a helpless look.

“They’re in the Principal’s office, Sensei,” Kiriyama admitted reluctantly.

“What?” Aoi said in surprise. “What on Earth for?”

“Kouhei fell asleep in our last class of the day,” Oota told her. “The teacher was going to smack his hand with a yardstick while he was asleep, but Youhei got in the way and took it across the wrist. Kouhei woke up and …,” he let his voice trail off.

“And?” Aoi prompted fearfully.

“Youhei was crying,” Kiriyama finished. “No one could figure out why exactly – the smack must have hurt, yeah, but not enough to make him cry. Kouhei got really mad that his brother had been hurt and said stuff to the teacher –“

Takahisa swore and Aoi looked at him. “Do you know what’s going on, Kajimoto-kun?”

“Some of it,” Takahisa admitted. “Yesterday the twins began showing signs of being hyper-sensitive to touch and smell, like they are with sight and hearing now. If Youhei’s power was activating at the time he was struck, it would hurt a lot more than it should.”

Aoi paled. “You take over the practice. I’m going to the Principal’s office.” She hurried out of the room.

“We know about the party,” Oota told Takahisa. “In a way, you’re lucky that this development with their powers will probably overshadow the fact that Kouhei fell asleep and you look like hell – Sensei may not notice.”

Takahisa had worried about a lot of things that day. He’d heard from Tachibana who had been contacted by Atobe about Seigaku’s plan to send Kaidoh in after Yukimura’s secrets. Having all their fate resting on the volatile Sophomore was cause for concern. Whether Mizuki made it through the day all right was another. The twins having problems with their powers was the worst.

Whether or not his Coach found out about the party wasn’t a priority any longer in relation to all of those.

Kaidoh knew he couldn’t really die of embarrassment, but he felt like he’d come close when Yukimura examined his kitten-genitals to sex him. The cat part of him didn’t care, but his human mind felt exposed and somehow violated. He hoped that Eiji hadn’t seen it.

Aside from that, he was already having serious doubts about his ability to pull off this plan of Inui’s. There was nothing specific that he was supposed to look for, he only knew that he was to listen and watch at close range and find out why Yukimura had snitched on them. Was it because he was a closet Changechild himself and resented not being part of their group? Or maybe he was jealous because he DIDN’T have powers. Maybe it had nothing to do with powers, and he was just being a jerk. Whatever the reason, Inui-senpai and the others were counting on him to find it out, and to get a clue as to Yukimura’s weakness. Something that they could use against him in revenge.

So far the only weakness Kaidoh could see was a fondness for orphan lost kittens.

The trip home was spent inside the Rikkaidai Captain’s jacket, as he tried to hide Kaidoh from the bus driver while still letting him get enough air to breathe. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, in fact, it was rather warm and cozy in there. As tired as he was from the party the previous night, Kaidoh’s body betrayed him and he napped the entire ride. It wasn’t until he heard Yukimura announce his arrival home that his eyes opened and for a moment he wondered where he was. Then he was brought out of the warmth and held out in front of a strange woman who blinked at him in surprise.

“Look at him, Kaasan – he was all alone and wandering around campus. May I keep him while I try to find his owner?”

Yukimura’s mother’s face softened and she stroked Kaidoh’s head softly. “Poor little baby. Are you sure no one was looking for him?”

“I didn’t see anybody or hear them calling. I’ll make some fliers and post them around tomorrow, though.”

“Well, I guess it’s all right, Seiichi. You’d better let me warn your father about it before he comes home, though.” She tickled Kaidoh under the chin. “He must be hungry. Let’s get him some tuna.”

Kaidoh normally didn’t care one way or the other about tuna, but when the smell hit his cat instincts, he suddenly couldn’t devour it fast enough. Yukimura and his mother seemed happy to see him eating it, so he supposed it was all right. Still, it concerned him that he might not always have complete control over the instincts that warred with him when in animal form. This was already the longest he’d been any animal, and it would only get longer. He hoped fervently that with practice he’d be able to choose more easily what urges to give in to and which ones not.

“You can take him upstairs and do your homework while I call your father and finish getting dinner ready,” Yukimura’s mother suggested. “Oh, and Akiko will be home anytime now, so be prepared for that.”

“Yes, Kaasan,” Yukimura answered, picking Kaidoh up while he was still trying to lick invisible tuna from the bowl. He was held against the fourteen-year-old’s chest as he went upstairs and into a spacious bedroom decorated with tennis paraphernalia, trophies, photos, and ribbons.

“I should think of something to call you while you’re here, shouldn’t I?” Yukimura remarked as he knelt by his bed and placed the kitten on the spread. He folded his arms and put his chin on them, studying Kaidoh thoughtfully. It made the Seigaku Sophomore uneasy. He knew that the other boy couldn’t tell he wasn’t a real cat, but the closer he looked, the more worried he felt about it. Then he noticed a lock of Yukimura’s hair touching the bedspread in front of him and he pounced on it without thinking.

Yukimura laughed. “You’re a tough little tiger, aren’t you? Maybe I’ll just call you ‘Tiger’ then.” He ruffled Kaidoh’s fur and the kitten batted playfully at his hand.

Kaidoh scolded himself internally for acting like a twit, then realized he was just behaving like a normal kitten. Considering the form he was in, he knew he shouldn’t fault himself – it was those blasted instincts again. Apparently, this was a battle he was unlikely to win, and fighting against it would only make this job harder.

All right, he told himself. Even if it goes against your nature as a man, right now, you’re a kitten. Let the kitten part do its thing, and save your worries for how to find the information Inui-senpai wants.

With that decision made, Kaidoh felt some of his burden ease, and he even allowed himself to purr as Yukimura scratched behind his ear.

Then came the air raid siren from Hell.

“NIISAN, YOU’VE GOT A KITTEN! LET ME SEE, LET ME SEE!”

Kaidoh’s ears laid back and he scrambled away from the oncoming horror that was Yukimura’s little sister.

“I’m really sorry, Hanamura-sensei,” Youhei said softly as he and his twin were escorted out of the Principal’s office by their teacher.

“It’s all right, Youhei, it’s not your fault,” Aoi assured him with a brief hug. “I just wish you boys had told us about this new development with your powers when you first noticed it.”

“It was only last night, though,” Kouhei told her.

“If there are any other new problems, tell us right away, okay? This unpleasantness could have been avoided if we’d all known.” She looked puzzled. “Although I’m not sure what your powers have to do with Kouhei falling asleep in class.”

The twins glanced at each other. “Um, I didn’t sleep well last night, so I just dozed off,” Kouhei said.

Youhei nodded. “Sometimes with our power picking up every little noise, it makes it hard to sleep soundly.”

“I see,” Aoi said with sympathy in her eyes. “It seems you two will have to have extra practice at controlling your powers, or maybe Oishi-kun could turn them off for you before bed until you feel like you can do it yourself.”

“We’ll practice more,” Kouhei promised.

“We have to now, anyway,” Youhei added, rubbing his wrist. “We have new aspects of our power to work on.”

The three of them walked into tennis practice to see everyone else working hard. Takahisa stifled a yawn and came over to ask the twins if they were okay. Aoi frowned slightly, wondering why he looked as tired as her Unit did. Was there some kind of mass Changechildren sleep-deprivation going on?

Tarou was appalled. Utterly, unquestionably, appalled. THIS was his championship team of Hyotei Regulars?

Gakuto had all the jumping power of a rock. Yuushi’s usual calm had been replaced by irritability that even had him snapping at his doubles partner. Shishido, too, was getting annoyed with Choutarou, who couldn’t seem to hit a straight ball to save his life. Kabaji wasn’t doing anything at all except for watching Atobe talk on his cell phone, which Tarou was tempted to hit his Captain with. Jiroh hadn’t cracked his eyes open once since he stretched out on the bench to sleep. The latter by itself wasn’t so unusual, but even Gakuto dumping the contents of his water bottle over his teammate’s head hadn’t awakened him.

Thank God for Hiyoshi, who seemed to be the only one playing at a normal, superior Hyotei level. At this rate, he was going to be a one-man show!

“All right, everyone, get over here!” he called out, signaling the players. “We need to talk!”

“Look out, Sensei!”

Sakaki ducked just in time to avoid a Scud Serve that would have taken his head off. “Ohtori-kun!” he bellowed. “What is WRONG with you? Are you trying to kill somebody?!”

“I-I’m so sorry, Sensei!” Choutarou apologized. “My control isn’t very good today.”

“There was NO semblance of control in that serve, boy!” Sakaki didn’t usually yell at his team, but he was fed up and didn’t care who knew it. “Akutagawa-kun, wake up and come over here! Kabaji, you too! And Atobe –“ He strode over and yanked the phone out of the boy’s hand, speaking into it, “Atobe can’t talk right now, he’ll call you back later if there’s anything left of him.” He hung up and handed the phone back to the stunned Captain.

“Sensei,” Atobe started to say.

“Don’t start,” Sakaki warned. He looked around at his team. “I don’t know what’s wrong with all of you today, but I don’t like it. I’m used to Akutagawa sleepwalking through practice, but not the rest of you! And it’s not just practice, either.” He eyed Choutarou, who began sinking through the court until Shishido hissed at him to stop. “Ohtori-kun, your performance in music class today would have made Beethoven cry. You’re better than that, and you’re certainly better than to send a Scud Serve into the stands!”

Choutarou could only stare at the ground guiltily. “I’m sorry, Sensei.”

“You all look exhausted, except for Hiyoshi, whom, by the way, is the only one of you performing up to my expectations today.” He gave the Sophomore a nod of acknowledgement. “That leads me to believe that this problem is a Changechild thing. Maybe you’ve all been going to bed too late at the mansion, and we should adjust the bedtimes accordingly.”

Atobe scowled, but didn’t say anything. The others carefully avoided looking at their Coach.

“There’s no point in continuing practice with most of you in this condition. Go home and try not to mess up your homework as badly as you messed up your tennis today.”

The boys trudged off the courts, feeling even worse than they had when they’d arrived. Sakaki decided that he would confer with the other Coaches when he got home and find out if their teams were as far off the mark as his was.

Kaidoh was beginning to wonder if he would ever have a minute alone. Yukimura kept him with him almost all the time, partly because he seemed to truly adore the addition to their household, and partly to protect said addition from his sister. Akiko had also been enchanted by Kaidoh, but the moment she’d picked him up, he could tell that the girl wasn’t going to be as gentle handling him as her brother was. Yukimura could see it, too, and firmly told Akiko that she wouldn’t be allowed to hold him at all until she could be nicer about it. That ultimatum didn’t sit well with the girl, and Kaidoh could almost feel her watching him every moment for a chance to grab him away from her sibling’s protection.

Their father at least seemed as nice as their mother, and gave Kaidoh’s head a scratch before giving his permission to keep him while searching for his ‘owner.’ He also fed him tidbits of chicken from the dinner table, which the cat in Kaidoh liked very much. Actually, he didn’t mind it much himself – he was hungry, even after the tuna. He wondered if it took more energy for him to maintain animal form for a long time, and that made him crave more food. He’d have to remember to ask Inui about it later.

Thinking about Inui made him wonder how the others would explain his extended absence to the adults if he couldn’t get back home soon. After dinner, Yukimura took him upstairs and closed his bedroom door, so he couldn’t even slip out into the hallway. So far, he hadn’t figured out anything he needed to know yet, anyway. There had been no evidence of Changechild powers from Yukimura, and no particular proof that he had a grudge against them. Kaidoh did note that the Rikkaidai Captain was very fond of his own team, judging from the photos he had on the desk of the group of them together and as individuals, but that wasn’t so unusual. Kaidoh had an album of pictures and clippings of his Seigaku teammates, too, although he wouldn’t tell anyone that probably 50% of the pictures were candids of Inui.

He was curled up on Yukimura’s lap as the boy read a book he was assigned for school, wondering what his next move should be, when he heard a phone ring down the hall. A couple of moments later, Akiko stuck her head in the door. “Phone’s for you – it’s Akaya.” She held it out.

“Thanks.” Yukimura sat up and took it from her, batting her hand away when she tried to reach for Kaidoh. “Akaya! I’m glad you called, I wanted to talk to you ….”

Kaidoh crawled off Yukimura’s lap as Akiko left, remembering that Akaya was probably Kirihara Akaya, the only Sophomore on the Rikkaidai team and a troublemaker if ever there was one.

Yukimura was frowning as he listened to his teammate. He shook his head. “No, Akaya, I don’t want to hear it. I was perfectly justified in taking your phone away from you at morning practice – you know better than to be fooling around with it after I’ve already assembled the team.”

Kaidoh cocked his head curiously. What was that he said about a phone?

“You’ll get it back tomorrow morning … no, there were no calls – oh wait, yes, you had one at lunch time, but they hung up after I answered.”

Kaidoh stared up at him. WHAT?!

“All right, just a moment.” Yukimura climbed off the bed and dug into his bag, pulling out a cell phone. He checked the read-out and spoke into his own receiver. “All it says is ‘pay phone’, sorry.”

Kaidoh didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. His mind was reeling with the realization that although Yukimura had answered the call Inui-senpai made to the informant’s phone, it hadn’t been HIS phone at all. It was Kirihara’s phone that Yukimura had confiscated earlier that day!

He was in the WRONG HOUSE!

End of Part 28

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 29

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Inui was getting worried. Kaidoh had been gone for hours, and they hadn’t heard from him. It would only take five minutes at most for his teammate to change back to human form and give him a call, but he would need those five minutes alone. His data showed that Yukimura’s family was average-sized: Two parents, two children. Surely Kaidoh could avoid four people for five minutes.

Inui took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Maybe it had been a mistake to send Kaidoh in there, even though the younger boy assured him he’d be fine. He realized with a start that he didn’t even have a way to contact Kaidoh himself.

A knock came at the door and he donned his glasses. “Come in.”

Tezuka entered. “Any word yet?”

“None,” Inui answered, “and I won’t pretend that I’m not concerned.”

“What did you tell Ryuzaki-sensei about his absence?”

“That he’s staying with his parents for the night,” Inui replied. “If Kaidoh is able to find what we want and leave Yukimura’s sooner, he’ll fly to his house to stay with his parents for real. If not, at least he has an excuse for not coming back here tonight.”

Tezuka nodded. “If worse comes to worst and Kaidoh has to stay where he is overnight, at least tomorrow morning when the Yukimura family leaves to go about their daily routine, he’ll stand a better chance of getting out.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.” Inui sighed and his gaze shifted toward Kaidoh’s neatly-made bed.

Ever since realizing that he was wasting his time in Yukimura’s house, it somehow became even harder for Kaidoh to get away from him. The Rikkaidai Captain kept him close as the family watched tv together, then brought him back to his room afterwards and closed the door while he made fliers about his foundling. He even brought the makeshift litterbox into his room so his little guest wouldn’t have a reason to leave. Kaidoh figured most of this was because of Akiko, who complained loudly all evening about her brother hogging the kitten. Finally, after she was sent to bed, Kaidoh figured he might be allowed the run of the house and could escape.

Instead he found himself being lifted off the ground. “Come on, Tiger, let’s go take a bath!”

Oh no! Kaidoh thought, his internal human blushing while his kitten self squirmed to get away.

“Relax, I’m not taking you into the water.” Yukimura laughed as he closed the bathroom door and put Kaidoh down. “I just want you to keep me company.”

This guy needs a boyfriend, Kaidoh thought sourly. Then, watching Yukimura undress, he decided there was something wrong with the world if he didn’t already have one.

“Won’t it be great if I can keep you?” Yukimura asked him after he had settled into the bath. “If that happens, you’ll have to get used to Akiko, but she’ll relax, too, and will handle you more gently.”

Kaidoh peered around the room, focusing on the window. It was closed, but if he could slip back in later long enough to change to human, open it, then fly out as a bird –

“Hey, tomorrow’s Friday,” Yukimura said suddenly. “Maybe I’ll ask Kaasan if I can invite the guys here for a sleepover tomorrow night and everyone will get to meet you!”

The guys? Was he referring to his entire tennis team? All of the Rikkaidai Regulars in one place, all of them handling him, examining him –

He realized suddenly that at least it would put him in a position to get information on Kirihara, but at what price? Inui-senpai had told him what excuse he would use for his absence if he ended up spending the night here, but if it ended up being more than that, Ryuzaki-sensei would get suspicious and would likely call his parents. Then both he and Inui would be in trouble.

There was no use for it. He had to abandon the mission and get out of there. That brought him back to the same problem he had before – how?!

Nanjiroh yawned and regarded the three Coaches of the Changechildren house with amusement. The kids weren’t going to like the way this conversation was going.

“So you two had the same problems with your students all day?” Tarou remarked. “The only reason I can think of for all of them to be so tired at once is that we’ve been letting them go to bed too late.”

“I didn’t think we were, but there doesn’t seem to be any other explanation,” Sumire noted.

“According to experts, teenagers need nine and a quarter hours of sleep a night,” Aoi pointed out.

“But they’ve been getting that for the most part and are still exhausted in school,” Tarou replied.

“When half of our kids fall asleep in class, we know we’re doing something wrong.” Sumire shrugged. “We’ll move the bedtimes up half an hour and see if that helps – Nanjiroh, why are you snickering?!”

“Do you have a different opinion on this matter?” Tarou asked him.

“No, no, I’m fine with earlier bedtimes,” Nanjiroh assured them. “It’s never easy to get Ryoma up no matter when he goes to bed, anyway.”

Aoi studied him thoughtfully. “You seem very tired yourself today, Nanjiroh-san.”

“Me?” Nanjiroh blinked. “Nah, I took a nap this morning, I’m fine now.”

“’Now’?” Sumire repeated. “Why didn’t you sleep last night?”

“I did,” Nanjiroh insisted, then grinned wickedly. “I could detail all my erotic dreams for you.”

“Please don’t,” the other three adults begged.

“All right, let’s go tell the boys of our decision,” Tarou said. He looked at Nanjiroh as they headed out. “By the way, how did practice go with the Captains this morning? With Atobe such a useless wreck all day, he probably didn’t have the energy to make an ice cube.”

“It wasn’t what we were hoping for,” Nanjiroh answered, scratching his cheek as he had an evil thought. “We should probably reschedule the four of them for another early practice soon and give them another chance to perform better.”

“Good idea,” Sumire agreed. “And we’ll be sure to schedule you as instructor again, so that you may have another chance yourself to bring out the best in them.”

Nanjiroh pouted. This wasn’t fun anymore.

Kaidoh was starting to feel just a little panicky. It was late now, and Yukimura had already changed for bed. His window was shut, and so was the bedroom door.

The Seigaku Sophomore was trying to figure out if he should wait until the Rikkaidai Captain fell asleep, then risk changing to human right there in the room and opening the door himself. His thoughts were interrupted as he was picked up once again.

“Come on, Tiger, time for bed.” Yukimura pulled back the covers and slid under them, bringing Kaidoh in with him. He cradled the kitten under one arm. So much for changing to human, Kaidoh despaired. There was no way he could do that now.

Yukimura kissed the top of his furry head. “Goodnight, Tiger.”

Kaidoh might have blushed internally at the kiss, except he’d been embarrassed so many times already that day that his blusher was all worn out. He yawned. Despite the few little cat naps he’d managed during the day, he was still feeling the effects of the previous night. Since there was no use for it, he settled down to sleep and recharge his batteries. With any luck, maybe he’d find a way out early in the morning so he could at least get to school on time.

Kabaji went into the room he shared with Jiroh and saw his senpai asleep at the desk where he’d been doing his homework. From the looks of it, he had finished it, but just hadn’t made it away from the desk before dozing off. Kabaji put a large hand on Jiroh’s shoulder and shook him. “Wake up, senpai. It’s time to go to sleep.”

“Huh, wha --?” Jiroh blinked and looked up at Kabaji, his eyes suddenly wide. “I had one of those dreams again, I think.”

Kabaji stared at him. “What was it about this time?”

“Us … that is, this household.” Jiroh rubbed his arms as if cold. “It wasn’t as specific as with the party dream. A sense of loss or maybe gain … the numbers here changing ….”

“Like someone new moving in?”

“Or someone here NOT being here anymore.” Jiroh frowned. “I can’t tell one way or the other.”

“Kaidoh-kun is already gone, at least for tonight,” Kabaji pointed out. “Maybe that was it.”

“Maybe,” Jiroh said uncertainly. He yawned and stretched. “No point in worrying about it now, I guess.”

A knock came at the door and Sumire peered in. “It’s time for bed, you two.”

“Going now,” Jiroh assured her. “How are the others adjusting to the idea of the earlier bedtime, Ryuzaki-san?”

“Surprisingly well,” she admitted. “I don’t think we got a single objection, although considering how exhausted everyone seemed today, maybe that’s to be expected. I’ll be even more surprised if the good humour over it lasts another night,” she added wryly. “Goodnight, boys.”

She shut the door and Kabaji looked at Jiroh. “You didn’t tell her about your dream.”

Jiroh shrugged. “What could I say? I had a non-specific dream that could go one way or the other or maybe none at all because hey, it could JUST be a dream and not a prediction. My power isn’t one that’s under my control, and never will be.” He crawled into his bed and flopped onto the pillow. “G’night, Kabaji-kun.”

The younger boy got into bed himself and turned out the light. He hadn’t even gotten comfortable before he heard Jiroh snoring again. He wished it was going to be that easy for him, but exhausted or not, his roommate’s dream was going to weigh heavily on his mind until he found out what, if anything, it meant.

Or until tomorrow, when he could tell Atobe about it and share the burden with his more decisive team Captain.

Kaidoh was awakened the next morning by his own natural urges. The fact that he was a kitten meant that he had no choice but to use the litter box provided. For a couple of moments he debated changing into human form so he could slip out into the hallway and over to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Yukimura’s alarm clock went off just as he hopped off the bed. Reluctantly, he veered off and headed for the litter box, hoping he could finish his business before the Rikkaidai Captain saw him doing it.

“Good morning, Tiger!” Yukimura called out, and Kaidoh’s ears went flat against his head. He couldn’t even use the bathroom in privacy! How did real cats stand it? Oh yeah, they didn’t have human minds, trained to believe that certain things just weren’t done. Like coming over to scratch someone’s head while they were trying to pee.

“I can’t wait until tonight – I’m sure Kaasan will let me have the sleepover, and then you’ll get to meet all my friends!”

I’ve met them, Kaidoh thought waspishly. I don’t like them. And I’m pretty sure I’ll like them even less when they’re picking me up and rubbing at my fur. He finished what he was doing and instinct had him kicking litter back over his business. He tried to evade Yukimura’s hands as he jumped out of the box, but the other boy was faster and scooped him up for a cuddle.

“Come on, let’s see what’s for breakfast. You must be hungry.”

Now that you mention it, Kaidoh thought eagerly, the idea of food was suddenly very appealing.

Yukimura brought him downstairs into the kitchen where his mother was bustling around, getting things on the table. “Good morning!”

“Good morning to you both!” His mother petted Kaidoh’s head. Yukimura dug into the fridge for some leftover chicken to feed to Kaidoh.

“Kaasan, would it be all right for me to invite the team to sleep over tonight?”

“I don’t see why not – you boys can use the living room like last time. That worked out fine. Just don’t stay up TOO late, all right?”

“We won’t. Thank you.” Yukimura kissed his mother’s cheek and nodded to his father as he entered the room. “Good morning, Tousan.”

“I’m glad you look all right, son,” his father said. “Your sister isn’t feeling well this morning.”

“Oh no,” his mother said. “Is it the flu?”

“I’m not sure. She says she has an upset stomach, but there’s no fever. Her colour is a little off, though, so I figure she can stay home today, just in case.”

Yukimura frowned. “Does that mean I can’t have the sleepover after all?” he asked his mother.

“If your friends want to risk it and their parents don’t mind, it’s still all right.”

“By the way, Seiichi,” his father nodded toward Kaidoh, “your sister wants you to bring the kitten to her room before you leave. She promises she won’t hurt it, but she wants him for company today.”

Kaidoh’s alarm bells went off. God, no! His only hope for getting out of there that day lay with being able to sneak off alone, and now Akiko would be watching him every second! His feeble hopes that Yukimura would be able to talk his parents out of it were dashed the moment the teenager tried and was threatened with his sleepover being cancelled if he didn’t go along with it. Yukimura gave him an apologetic look.

“I tried, Tiger,” he said with regret. “I’m sorry.”

Not as sorry as I’m going to be, Kaidoh thought mournfully.

End of Part 29

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 30

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Atobe gave Kabaji a serious look as they waited in the limo for their teammates so they could go to school. Only Jiroh was already there, dozing in one corner of the seat.

“And Jiroh has no idea what this dream meant?”

“He said it was vague. It sounded that way from his description.”

Atobe paused, then lowered his voice, “You weren’t able to draw anything more out?”

“The dream was already over.”

“I see.” Atobe was quiet for a few moments. It was possible that Jiroh’s dream WAS referring to Kaidoh being gone, or it could mean something else entirely. Perhaps he would discover that Yukimura had powers and would thus be recruited into the Changechildren home. On the other hand, Yukimura already knew of the home’s existence, so if he did have powers, why wouldn’t he just ask to move in?

“Don’t say anything to the others about this dream,” he told Kabaji.

“Usu.”

They saw the other boys approaching and Atobe’s thoughts went to Kaidoh. He hoped the Seigaku Sophomore would be at school that morning, or things might start to unravel for all of them sooner than they expected.

Kaidoh wasn’t getting to school anytime soon. He figured he’d be lucky if he even survived the morning.

Akiko, although not feeling well, was thrilled to finally have ‘Tiger’ all to herself. It was fairly harmless to begin with, as she seemed content to just have the kitten in the bed with her while she read comic books and watched tv. Kaidoh still had no chance to escape; all he could manage was to stick his face out from under the blankets long enough to grab a breath of fresh air now and then.

As the morning wore on and Akiko began to feel somewhat better, the real torture began. Kaidoh found himself wearing a bonnet and a dress, surrounded by dolls. He yowled miserably and squirmed to get away, but Akiko was insistent. She gave him a ‘makeover’ that involved glitter in his fur and nail polish on his claws.

Kaidoh had to hold himself back from scratching the girl, even though both cat and human instincts yelled at him to do so. He knew he had already missed first period, maybe even second, too. There was no way at this point that Ryuzaki-sensei didn’t know of his absence, and it was only a matter of time before she found out the truth.

I’m sorry, Inui-senpai, he thought sincerely. I did my best, and I failed you.

“Here’s some nice perfume for you, Tiger!”

Kill me, Kaidoh begged silently.

Inui looked up as the teacher called his name. He had been preoccupied in thinking about Kaidoh and hadn’t noticed that someone was at the door of the classroom. He swallowed nervously as he recognized Sumire.

His friends watched silently as he went up to join the adults at the door.

“Ryuzaki-san has something to discuss with you, Inui-kun,” his teacher said.

I’ll bet she does, Inui thought, noticing the grim expression on his Coach’s face. Resignedly, he went out into the empty hallway with her and the teacher closed the door behind them.

Sumire didn’t waste any time. “Inui, where’s Kaidoh?” she demanded. “Yesterday you told me that he was spending the night with his parents. But when he didn’t show up for homeroom this morning, the Principal asked me about it and I had to call his parents myself. Apparently he hasn’t been there at all!”

“I know where Kaidoh is, Sensei,” Inui told her. “It’s just that I can’t exactly get in touch with him –“

“Where IS he?!”

Inui cleared his throat. “At Yukimura Seiichi’s house.”

Sumire looked justifiably stunned. “The Rikkaidai Captain? What on Earth is he doing there?”

“It’s hard to explain, but in short, we were conducting a bit of undercover work and Yukimura-san took Kaidoh in as a kitten,” Inui admitted. “I’m guessing that it’s been a little harder than I figured for him to get back out.”

“Let me get this straight,” Sumire said slowly. “For some reason, you felt it necessary to spy on Yukimura-kun, and sent Kaidoh in as a cat. Now he’s STUCK there?!”

Inui avoided her accusing gaze. “I haven’t actually spoken to Kaidoh since he left, so I’m not completely sure as to his current situation, but it was confirmed that he went home with Yukimura.”

“Well, this is just GREAT!” Sumire hissed, trying to keep her voice down lest those in the surrounding classrooms overheard. “Kaidoh puts a lot of faith in you and the other older boys as his senpais and you let him – no, you _encouraged_ him to get himself into a mess like this?! I can’t even go to Yukimura’s and get him back without their finding out that you were spying on him!”

“Um, well, if you went there looking for a lost kitten it might be conceivable ….”

“Why would any of US lose a kitten so far away from here? There’s no way Yukimura wouldn’t be suspicious, and we can’t tell him the truth, can we?” Sumire glared at her data expert. “You lied to me last night, put Kaidoh in a dangerous situation, and left me in an awkward position with his parents. Don’t disappear after school, Inui, because when we get home I’ll be introducing you to my wooden spoon!” She stomped off down the hall, leaving Inui puzzled.

“Now why would she want to intro – oh.” The teenager’s face flushed and he headed back into his classroom. As bad as things were for him now, he was still far more concerned about Kaidoh and whether or not he was safe.

It was lunchtime when Kaidoh finally caught a break.

Because Akiko was feeling better, she decided to go downstairs to find out what her mother was making her for lunch. She left the bedroom door open.

As soon as he heard her go far enough down the hall, Kaidoh changed into his human form. He cursed silently as glitter fell out of his hair. He had bigger things to worry about now.

He peered out the door. He could hear Akiko and her mother talking downstairs, so he quickly brought out his cell phone and was about to dial Inui’s number when he hesitated. By now, there was no way that Ryuzaki-sensei didn’t know he was gone, and his parents most likely knew as well. He didn’t have enough time to go through Inui. He dialed Sumire instead.

She must have seen his name on her phone read-out, because she answered, “Kaidoh?! Are you all right?!”

“Yes, Sensei, I’m fine,” he said, glancing out the door again. “How much do you know about what’s happened so far?”

“Inui confessed that you’re spying in Yukimura Seiichi’s house as a cat!”

“Yeah, I’m still here,” he said. He was about to tell her he was coming back, but his mind began to ran through scenarios. He could escape now – go to the window, open it, and fly to school as a bird. But then wouldn’t the whole point of this mission be wasted? He’d spent a night in the home of someone who had nothing to do with blabbing about their party, but the REAL culprit would be coming over later that day. He still had a chance to find out why Kirihara had told on them, whether or not it had anything to do with his having powers, and most importantly of all, whether he was planning another attack.

“Kaidoh, I want you to get out of there right now and come to school,” Sumire ordered. “We’ll talk more when you arrive.”

The Sophomore drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Sensei, I can’t do that.”

“What do you MEAN you ‘can’t’?! Just do it, right now!”

“I haven’t accomplished what I set out to do, and I’m not a quitter!” Kaidoh argued, then remembered he needed to keep his voice down. “I’m sorry to be missing school, and I’m sorry to be disobeying you. I’ll be home tomorrow for sure.” He hung up the phone and shuddered. He was going to be dead meat when she got hold of him, especially as she’d had to deal with his parents. Lord only knew what kind of leftovers THEY would make of him.

But it was as he had said. Kaidoh Kaoru was not a quitter. As long as there was a miniscule chance in a match that he could score a point, he would fight. This battle was no different.

“Ti~iiger, do you want something to eat?” Akiko’s voice preceded her coming up the stairs. “Kaasan borrowed some cat food from the neighbours!”

Kaidoh’s shoulders sagged. In all battles, there had to be sacrifices.

Atobe’s teammates watched and listened as he spoke to Tezuka on the phone.

“So are you saying that the jig is up and the adults know about the party?”

Gakuto grabbed Yuushi’s arm. Choutarou stared down at his untouched food, and Shishido scowled.

Atobe sighed in relief and gave the others a thumbs-up. “All right, so at least for now the only ones in trouble are Inui and Kaidoh. I can live with that.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and made a face at it before speaking into it again. “Tezuka, it is not my fault that your super-genius decided to dig his own grave by lying to Ryuzaki-san; no one asked him to do that.” He paused for a few moments to listen, then shrugged. “I can’t imagine why Kaidoh-kun would decide to stay there if he had the chance to leave, but he must have felt he had good reason. Now that one of the adults knows, everything will be wasted if he doesn’t come back with some information for us, ahn?” He shook his head. “No, I don’t mean to say that protecting my butt is more important than Kaidoh-kun’s safety, but really, Tezuka, your team cooked this up on your own. It was also your teammate’s idea to have the party in the first place. As far as I’m concerned, the longer this can keep from involving the rest of us, the better.” He looked at the phone in surprise. “He hung up on me!"

“Imagine that,” Yuushi said dryly.

“Am I wrong?” Atobe asked him. He looked around at the group. “Are we supposed to all march in there and confess to our involvement when at this point, the party itself is still a secret?”

“Certainly not!” Gakuto exclaimed. “If the party DOES come out, then yeah, we’re screwed. But this whole business about Kaidoh going undercover was Seigaku’s idea!”

“That’s not to say that we don’t hope for Kaidoh-kun to return safely,” Choutarou added.

“Or that we won’t take advantage of any information he brings back.” Shishido grinned.

Kabaji nodded. “Usu.”

“It behooves us to think on the practical side,” Yuushi commented.

“And I find it very practical not to do anything rash that will result in my getting spanked again. Seigaku are on their own.” Atobe stated, casting a musing glance toward the slumbering Jiroh. At least Kaidoh’s decision to stay away probably explained Jiroh’s dream.

Kaidoh’s afternoon was moderately easier than his morning had been. Once he stopped trying to get away, Akiko became more relaxed about letting him roam around her room or even leaving it. It was ironic that now he had decided to stay and complete his mission, there were many opportunities to escape.

When Yukimura came in after school, Kaidoh was surprised so much time had gone by. He hoped Inui had made out all right.

“Hi Tiger!” Yukimura picked him up.

“See, he’s okay,” Akiko said defensively. “I was nice to him.”

Well, for half the day, anyway, Kaidoh thought.

“Thanks,” Yukimura said sincerely. “I put up fliers around Rikkaidai, so we might hear from his owner soon, if he has one. How are you feeling?”

“A lot better. Are your friends coming over?”

“Yes, after dinner,” he replied. “Because you’ve been sick, you won’t be able to hang out with us, but you can have some pizza.”

“Okay!”

“I’ve got to go get the living room ready and clean up my bedroom.” He paused and handed Kaidoh to her. “Take care of Tiger for me while I do that, all right?”

Akiko grinned widely. “Thanks, Seiichi!”

While Kaidoh thought it was nice that the brother and sister were sharing and all, he hoped Yukimura would reclaim possession of him for the party or he would have gotten himself and Inui and maybe every kid in the mansion in trouble for nothing.

“Ryuzaki-san,” Tarou said as the Seigaku Coach walked into the mansion, “we expected you back sooner.”

“I had some paperwork to finish up.” Sumire noticed Aoi and Nanjiroh coming down the stairs. “I’m sorry if my phone calls to all of you didn’t make any sense. Frankly, this whole situation makes little sense, except possibly to Inui, and I don’t have his super-intelligence to figure it out.” She looked at the three of them. “He came home with the others, right?”

“Yes, he’s in his room,” Aoi said. “Kaidoh-kun is the only Seigaku member who didn’t come home with the others.”

Sumire sighed. “And if what Inui was saying is any indication, he won’t be home tonight at all.”

“What IS going on?” Tarou asked. “Was Kaidoh-kun with his parents last night or not?”

“Not,” Sumire replied, and proceeded to repeat her earlier conversation with Inui to them.

“That’s what they ended up doing? Sending Kaidoh-kun in there as a CAT?!” Nanjiroh laughed so hard he had to hold his sides. His laughter began to die out when he realized the other adults were staring at him.

“Nanjiroh,” Sumire said, “I’ve had the feeling that you knew more about this from the beginning. It sounds like you expected some kind of action taken against Yukimura-kun for some reason.”

“Would you care to enlighten us, Echizen-san?” Tarou asked.

“Well, uh,” Nanjiroh rubbed his head, “I knew the boys had some sorta plan going on that involved a grudge against someone. I guess it was Yukimura-kun.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m sure it’s just kid stuff, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“We have no choice BUT to worry about it!” Sumire exclaimed. “We’ve lost one of our children!”

“He’s not lost, exactly,” Nanjiroh said. “We know where he is.”

“The bottom line is that Kaidoh-kun is in disguise at Yukimura-kun’s house,” Aoi stated.

“And we can’t go over there to get him or he’ll be discovered as an infiltrator,” Tarou remarked. “That would be bad form all around, and could result in police involvement.”

“Something like that doesn’t reflect well on the Changechildren powers – right now, the authorities are staying relatively calm about kids gaining all these abilities, and we’d like to keep it that way,” Sumire said, then took a deep breath as her expression became resolute. “We may not be able to retrieve Kaidoh without arousing suspicion, and the kids may be keeping closemouthed about what’s going on, but there is ONE matter I can deal with now. Inui lied to my face about Kaidoh staying with his parents.” She walked out of the foyer, heading for the kitchen. When she reappeared, she was carrying a wooden spoon. She started up the stairs.

Nanjiroh clucked his tongue as he watched her go. “Y’know, if Inui-kun is such a super-brain, he’d have spent his time since getting home building his own spaceship to the moon. It’s about the only place he’ll be able to hide from her.”

End of Part 30

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 31

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Kaidoh thought he was mentally prepared by the time the Rikkaidai players arrived for Yukimura’s sleepover. However, when the group of boys began piling into the living room and he had to dart around to avoid being squished, he began to reconsider.

A pair of unseen hands lifted him up. “Is this the little guy?” Kaidoh was bodily turned to face Marui Bunta. “He’s cute!”

The redhead blew a gum bubble that Kaidoh’s cat self wanted to bat at, but his human mind held back, not wanting gum all over his fur.

Another hand scratched behind his ear. “Man, he really is just a baby, huh?” said Kuwahara Jackal. “How could his owner let him get away?”

“I figure he was born as a stray,” Sanada answered. “You haven’t had any calls back from those fliers you put up, have you, Seiichi?”

“Not yet,” Yukimura admitted. “If he IS a stray, I think Kaasan will let me keep him.”

“Let’s see him.”

Kaidoh’s hackles rose automatically but he struggled to remain calm as he was handed over to Kirihara Akaya. The youngest Rikkaidai player held him up to study him. “He looks pretty healthy for a stray.”

“That’s true,” Yukimura agreed. “He’d doesn’t even have fleas.”

Kaidoh’s kitten eyes locked with Kirihara’s green ones. This was the guy who snitched on them, and one who had caused they and others trouble in the past. Did he have any powers? What was his reason for calling the mansion? Whatever it was, Kaidoh intended to find out that night one way or another. Everyone was counting on him, and he wouldn’t let them down.

Atobe wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, and he didn’t appreciate it. “Tezuka,” he said, standing over the other boy, who sat at the desk in their room, “don’t ignore me. Tezuka, I’m speaking to you!”

“I’m doing my homework,” the Seigaku Captain replied.

“You can spare a few moments to talk to me!” Atobe argued. “It’s the least you can do after hanging up on me earlier today. My entire team was there -- you embarrassed me.”

“You’ll survive. And you deserved it.”

Atobe sat down on his bed, pouting. No one but Tezuka was capable of making him feel like this, and while part of him resented it, it didn’t change how he felt. He sat in silence for a few moments, then softly said, “I’m sorry.”

Tezuka looked over at him, studying his face. He knew that Atobe Keigo didn’t offer apologies lightly, and his dark eyes were sincere.

“I appreciate that,” he answered. “This hasn’t been an easy couple of days for any of us, but some of us still have Kaidoh to worry about while your team has written him off.”

“That’s not true,” Atobe disagreed. “I don’t want anything to happen to him, either, but deciding to stay there was his own idea. Give him the credit he’s due for either bravery or stupidity, but acknowledge that the responsibility is his.”

Tezuka gave a nod. “All right, yes, it was his decision. But he’s doing it for all of us.”

“At the risk of getting you angry with me again, maybe ‘all of us’ would rather have dropped the whole plan so that we didn’t risk our Coaches finding out about the party,” Atobe pointed out. “I saw Ryuzaki-san going after Inui with a wooden spoon, Tezuka. Aren’t you the slightest bit concerned that it might be your butt next?”

“Of course I am, but what’s done is done, Atobe.” Tezuka shrugged. “We encouraged Kaidoh to go on this mission, at which point all strategic moves became his to decide.” He held up a hand. “And by ‘we’, I do mean my teammates and myself. I believe that you would have supported the initial idea yourself, but there was no chance to tell you before it was already being carried out. Maybe you don’t agree with his decision to stay – truthfully, I don’t, either – but now that he’s done it and Ryuzaki-sensei is suspicious, all we can do is cope.”

Atobe sighed and moved over to stand behind Tezuka, sliding his arms around his neck and resting his chin on top of his head. “I AM sorry I upset you. I suppose you’re right; we all went to the party together, so the responsibility for the fallout should be shared, if it comes to that. But am I at least allowed to wish that Kaidoh-kun hadn’t decided to stay the extra night?”

Tezuka placed his hand on the arm that encircled him. “Yes. You may wish that.” As do I, he added silently.

Takahisa and Mizuki were in the living room watching a sports news program when Youhei and Kouhei entered. Mizuki gave them a glance, then ignored them.

“Hey, guys,” Takahisa looked at them with concern, “how are you making out?”

The twins had been putting in extra power practice since the incident at school that took them to the Principal’s office, and their entire team was worried about them. “Pretty good,” Kouhei said. “It started at the lake, as you know, and it’s harder to control at the beginning, like the hearing and sight were, but we’re getting better at suppressing it when we need to.”

“That’s not why we’re here, though,” Youhei told them. “We were talking about what’s happening with Kaidoh-kun –“

“Especially since we heard the aftermath with Inui-san after Ryuzaki-san got hold of him.” Kouhei shuddered. “No amount of suppression could block THAT sound out.”

“Really?” Mizuki perked up. “What happened?”

Takahisa glanced at him. “You didn’t know? He was spanked with a wooden spoon.”

“Ten times,” Youhei added, rubbing his arms. “It sounded horrible, and even down the hall we could hear Inui-san’s reactions, even though he seemed to be trying to suppress them.”

Mizuki barely hid a smile behind his hand. “Imagine that,” he replied, and turned back to the tv.

“Well, anyway, since we’re all sort of involved in this because of the party, we thought maybe we could figure out a way to check on Kaidoh and make sure he’s okay,” Youhei said.

“I can’t see how we could,” Takahisa admitted. “It would be too dangerous for any of us to go over to Yukimura’s without a good reason.”

“It wouldn’t be so risky if the person who did it was invisible …,” Kouhei let his voice trail off while he and his twin both looked pointedly at Mizuki. Takahisa followed their gaze until the object of their attention realized that all had fallen silent around him. He turned away from the tv screen to look at them all.

“What?” he asked suspiciously.

“Would you consider going to Yukimura’s while invisible, Mizuki-san?” Youhei asked.

Kouhei added, “You wouldn’t have to stay long.”

“Certainly NOT!” Mizuki exclaimed. “Why would I want to get involved in that?”

“It could put everyone’s mind at ease,” Takahisa mentioned. “Especially Inui’s.”

Mizuki stared at him. “It’s not just around the corner, you know! How am I supposed to get there at this time of night?”

“Kikumaru-san would teleport you there,” Youhei suggested. “And you wouldn’t have to go inside – just peek in the windows.”

“No!”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Takahisa assured him and gave the twins a firm look. “His answer is no, so we’ll leave it at that.”

Youhei and Kouhei looked disappointed, but didn’t argue. “If you say so, Buchou,” they replied and headed out of the room.

“Imagine! The nerve of them!” Mizuki fumed, folding his arms and pouting. “Why should I risk my neck to play Peeping Tom?”

Takahisa decided not to mention that he didn’t think that would normally bother Mizuki so much if it was for something he himself wanted. “You know,” he said slowly, “it was suggested to us that if this whole party thing is found out, it may be the Captains who suffer the most. We’re seen as being somewhat responsible for the rest of you, and we allowed the party to happen.”

Mizuki frowned. “So if Kaidoh doesn’t show up for school tomorrow, the whole story will probably come out?”

“I don’t think Ryuzaki-san will tolerate being put off any longer if Kaidoh doesn’t show up when he said he would.”

The St. Rudolph manager heaved a weary sigh. “I don’t want you to get into more trouble than anyone else, and I don’t want to be in trouble at all. I suppose I can take a quick look around.”

Distantly, from somewhere upstairs, the two of them heard the Tanaka twins cheer. Mizuki looked annoyed while Takahisa laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Come on, let’s go talk to Kikumaru-san.”

Nanjiroh stuck his head into Momoshiro’s room where he and Ryoma were playing video games. “Hey, Boy, time for bed!”

“Huh?” Ryoma glanced at the clock. “This early?”

Momoshiro nudged him. “The earlier bedtimes, remember?”

Ryoma scowled. “But this is even earlier than THAT. And on a Friday!”

Nanjiroh shrugged. “You’re the youngest one here – you go to bed earlier.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Ryoma grumbled, getting up.

“Who me? Nah!” Nanjiroh patted his head as he went by, then snapped his fingers. “Oh, I almost forgot, you got a letter today!” He pulled an envelope out of his robe. Ryoma reached for it and his father yanked it away. “Tut tut, not tonight! I’ll give it to you in the morning.”

“Why?!” Ryoma demanded.

“Because for one thing, you’re supposed to be getting ready for bed,” Nanjiroh pointed out, then waved the envelope. “And for another, what if there’s something stimulating in here? You might lay awake all night thinking about it and never get any sleep at all!”

“And piqueing my curiosity then leaving it unsatisfied is supposed to be better? Sheesh!” Ryoma stalked off to his room, leaving Nanjiroh to giggle evilly.

Momoshiro shook his head. “You’re a hard father to deal with, Echizen-san. Really hard.”

Nanjiroh sniffed. “You’ve got it wrong, Momoshiro-kun. It’s Ryoma who’s the difficult KID to deal with.”

Momoshiro watched the elder Echizen leave and smiled knowingly. “Okay, so we’re BOTH right.”

The slumber party was in full swing. The Rikkaidai boys were all eating pizza, listening to music, and gossiping about school and tennis. Kaidoh was right in the midst of it, playing the part of his kitten self to the hilt, getting a lot of attention from anyone he got close to. So far, the conversations didn’t interest him very much, seeing as they were mostly about teachers and students from Rikkaidai he didn’t know. But in the middle of the discussion about recent tennis matches, the Seigaku name came up and that’s when someone finally said something that caught his interest.

“Did you really go through with snitching about the party you heard about at Seigaku, Akaya?” Nioh Masaharu asked the younger boy.

Kirihara nodded eagerly. “Yep! I even set my alarm clock so that I would wake up in the middle of the night and could make the call.”

“Talk about being in the right place at the right time,” Yanagi Renji remarked, feeding a piece of pepperoni to Kaidoh. “I’m sorry that Inui had to be involved, but they WERE breaking rules.”

“Did you get any other information while you were hanging around the team?” Yagyuu Hiroshi asked. “About new tennis techniques or anything important?”

“Nah, at the time I was inside that Senior, all the Seigaku players were talking about was the party, and I couldn’t stay long or I’d be late getting back here,” Kirihara remarked. “Like Renji said, though, the timing was just perfect, since at least I was able to find out their secret and get them all caught!”

“I don’t see much point in it,” Sanada remarked, leaning back against the couch. “Isn’t getting them caught for such a thing rather … petty?”

Yukimura shrugged. “That’s what I thought, too, but Akaya wanted to make the call, and since he’s the one who found out about it, I left it up to him.”

Marui wrapped his arms around his knees. “They still don’t know you even HAVE a Changechild power yet, do they?”

“No, but it doesn’t matter,” Kirihara replied, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m not moving into that house – it’s too far from school and full of losers, anyway.”

“Not to mention that you’d be Public Enemy #1 if the other kids found out it was you that told on them,” Kuwahara pointed out dryly.

“Yeah, like I’m SO popular with them now,” Kirihara remarked, then smirked. “Besides, I’d bet money that even the adults wouldn’t want me there, considering MY power.”

Nioh snorted. “True enough. What kind of practice sessions would they have for you? No one would want to be the one to train with you.” He took on an affected voice, “’Sure, Kirihara-kun, you can possess MY body so that I no longer have control over it, but I trust you not to do anything bad while you’re manipulating me!’” He shook his head. “Yeah, right!”

Kaidoh went completely still. Possession? Kirihara had a power and it was POSSESSION?! It was worse than any of them could have imagined! No wonder he had been able to overhear them so easily – he could have been inside any other kid in that hallway where they were talking!

“From what I hear, that place has an open-door policy, anyway, so they can’t force me to go,” Kirihara remarked.

Thank goodness for that, Kaidoh thought, then realized suddenly that he had all the information he needed now and could finally leave. He began walking away from the group, but was scooped back up by Kirihara, who turned him to face him.

“I wonder if I can possess animals, too. What do you think, guys, should I try it?”

Kaidoh hissed at him. If this bastard managed to possess him, he’d probably find out who he REALLY was in nothing flat!

He was never so grateful as when Yukimura took him out of Kirihara’s hands. “Don’t even think about it, Akaya,” he said firmly. “It’s too dangerous, both for you and for Tiger.” He put the kitten down out of Kirihara’s reach, and Kaidoh darted out of the room. He ran into the kitchen and ducked under the table, looking around carefully. No one was there, and the kitchen was out of sight of the living room. He came out from under the table and went over to the outside door, changed to his natural form and let himself out.

At last, he thought, taking a moment to tilt his head back and feel the breeze on his human face. I’m free.

“Hello, Kaidoh-kun.”

The Seigaku Sophomore leapt into the air with a cry, then flattened himself against the side of the house in case anyone looked outside. Who had said that?! He wondered, glancing around wildly.

Then someone tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped again. There was nobody there! A horrible thought struck him – were there GHOSTS guarding Yukimura’s house?!

“Nfu!”

Wait a minute – he knew THAT laugh. “Mizuki-san?” he growled.

The St. Rudolph manager became visible and pointed at him, laughing. “You should have seen your face, it was priceless!”

“What are you doing here?!” Kaidoh hissed, glancing back toward the house cautiously. They were out in the open here, it wasn’t safe.

“I was asked to come check up on you, but it seems you’ve just made your escape.” Mizuki nodded down the street. “Kikumaru-san is waiting in that park over there, he can probably take us both home if you don’t feel like flying.”

Kaidoh nodded, suddenly feeling bone-weary. He’d felt nothing but stress and anxiety for far too long now, and his subconscious was willing him to shut down. Mizuki took hold of his arm and steered him toward the sidewalk.

“So,” he said as they headed for the park, “did you find out anything?”

“Yes,” Kaidoh replied grimly, “we’d all be smart to leave Kirihara-kun alone.”

End of Part 31

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 32

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Aoi glanced at Sumire as they walked down the hall. “Is it just me or are the kids avoiding us tonight?”

“I’m sure they’re avoiding _me_,” Sumire replied. “They probably all know what I did to Inui earlier.”

“I can’t believe we have no choice but to leave Kaidoh-kun at Yukimura’s,” Aoi said with a sigh. “His parents would take him straight out of here if they knew.”

“They already know something is up, since I thought he was with them. He can explain his actions to them himself when he gets back.”

They walked into the kitchen and both women stopped, staring.

“Nanjiroh, what are you DOING?!” Sumire demanded.

“What does it look like?” he asked, adjusting the envelope over the steam blowing out of the boiling kettle.

“Whose letter is that?” Aoi asked.

“Probably Ryoma’s,” Sumire said dryly. “He received one today.” She glared at Nanjiroh. “Why didn’t you give it to him?”

“Because I forgot about it until he was going to bed,” Nanjiroh retorted. He checked to see if the glue sealing the envelope shut had loosened sufficiently, then began pulling the letter out. “Ouch! Hot!”

“Echizen-san, that’s a terrible thing to do, reading your son’s mail!” Aoi protested.

He sniffed. “I have to protect my child, don’t I? I need to make sure it’s suitable for his innocent eyes.” He opened the letter and began scanning it. The two Coaches watched his eyes widen, and in spite of themselves, they were curious.

“What is it?” Sumire asked.

Nanjiroh tore a piece off the paper, then crumpled up the rest of the letter and envelope and threw them into the garbage. “Let’s go get Sakaki,” he said, his tone serious. “We have to take care of this right now.”

Inui was trying to sleep, but wasn’t having any success. His backside still burned from the wooden spoon and his mind was too full of questions and concerns. More than anything else, he was growing increasingly worried about Kaidoh.

“Inui-senpai.”

Now he was even hearing his voice!

A hand touched his shoulder, and Inui, who had been trying to sleep on his stomach, twisted around abruptly. “Kaidoh!” he exclaimed. “When did you get back?”

“Just now. Eiji-senpai and Mizuki-san were outside when I left Yukimura’s house,” Kaidoh replied. His eyes shone with concern. “They told me what happened to you. It’s all my fault – I’m sorry.”

“Not at all, we’ve been in this together since the beginning,” Inui sat up, wincing. He looked at Kaidoh curiously. “Tell me why you stayed longer than we planned.”

“I was at the wrong house, senpai,” Kaidoh said. “Yukimura had Kirihara Akaya’s phone when you called. It wasn’t Yukimura who told on us – it was Kirihara.”

Inui was confused. “But if we were wrong, why spend even MORE time in Yukimura’s house?”

“Because he planned a slumber party for his whole team tonight,” Kaidoh answered. “And when they came over, here’s what I found out –“

Inui listened as his teammate recounted the conversation about the call Kirihara made and about his power. He was shocked.

“Possession? It doesn’t get much worse than that, does it?” The data expert looked thoughtful. “And he says he’s NOT interested in coming here?”

“He sounded pretty certain about it,” Kaidoh admitted.

“At least now we know who did it and how he found out.” Inui glanced at him. “Is he planning a follow-up?”

“I don’t know. He probably thinks we all got in trouble already, so he wouldn’t have to.”

“Echizen-san hasn’t said anything to the other adults yet, and probably won’t now. If Kirihara assumes it’s over, we should be all right.” Inui smiled ruefully and massaged his rear. “Well, the others, anyway. It’s a little late for me.”

“Maybe me, too.” Kaidoh sighed. “I have to go find Ryuzaki-sensei and tell her I’m back.”

Inui caught the younger boy’s hand before he turned away. “You did an excellent job, Kaidoh. Thank you for all you endured.”

“You too, senpai,” Kaidoh answered softly. He gave Inui’s hand a gentle squeeze before leaving the room.

Inui smiled after him warmly. He decided never to mention the pink nail polish he’d seen on Kaidoh’s fingers.

Atobe came out of the bathroom wearing his purple robe and stretched. According to the new bedtimes, he was supposed to be asleep by now, but strangely enough, no adults had come around the rooms to enforce it yet.

He glanced down the hall as he spotted motion and did a double-take. “Kaidoh-kun?”

“Atobe-san,” the Seigaku player said, frowning a little. “Why is everyone in their room already?”

“Our bedtimes were moved up after we were falling asleep in school because of the party.” Atobe scrutinized the younger boy. “You look terrible.”

Kaidoh wished he could say the same, but Atobe looked as beautiful and perfect as usual. “I haven’t been able to bathe since I left here,” he answered. “I’ll do it right after I find Ryuzaki-sensei.”

Atobe nodded to a point past him. “You’re in luck, here she comes, and with the full contingent of adults.”

“Kaidoh!” Sumire said in surprise and sped up her pace to reach him, grabbing his arms. “Are you all right? You said you weren’t coming home tonight!”

“I’m okay,” he assured her, feeling a little embarrassed at all the eyes on him. “Really, I’m fine.”

Sumire gave him a severe look. “I ought to wallop the tar out of you, young man. You’ve caused no end of worry and trouble, and you still have your parents to answer to.”

Kaidoh nodded resignedly. “I know, Sensei. If you want to punish me, I’ll understand.”

“You spent nearly two days as a kitten in a house with kids,” she said wryly. “I figure you punished yourself worse than I could.” Her expression turned grim. “Besides, we have an emergency on our hands, so for now we’ll have to leave things at that.”

“What emergency?” Atobe asked.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed, Atobe-kun?” Tarou said pointedly.

The fourteen-year-old replied, “I was on my way there, Sensei, but may I ask if I can first help with this emergency, whatever it is?”

Aoi touched Tarou’s shoulder. “Maybe he CAN help, Sakaki-san. Atobe-kun probably has a plane at his disposal.”

Atobe and Kaidoh glanced at each other. A plane? “I do,” the Hyotei Captain told them. “I can have it ready to go anywhere you want within the hour.”

“I guess we’ll take you up on that, then – we haven’t much choice.” Sumire sighed. “I just wish time wasn’t so important. We may be too late by the time we arrive.”

Nanjiroh scowled. “Too bad Kikumaru-kun can’t teleport greater distances. But we’d still need him to be able to take a lot of people with him, anyway.”

Atobe paused, considering. Finally, he looked up. “What if he could?”

The adults and Kaidoh gave him strange looks. “You mean Eiji?” Sumire asked. “Atobe, we’ve not tested Eiji outside Japan, and that’s what we need now. What if he can’t make it? Or what if he DOES make it, but doesn’t have the strength to get back? Besides, like Nanjiroh said, we’ll need to transport several people.”

“I know a way,” Atobe told her. “You go get Kikumaru, I’ll get Kabaji.” He walked away.

Now it was the adults’ turn to exchange puzzled glances. Then they all faced Kaidoh, who put up his hands.

“Don’t look at me! I’m here in the dark with you!”

“Then get out of the dark and into the bath,” Sumire ordered. “And after that, go to bed.”

Kaidoh was half-relieved, half-annoyed as he obeyed. He was glad to leave without a spanking, but dying of curiosity as to what was going on.

Eiji giggled, grinning widely at Fuji, his head propped up on one hand. “You’re right, Fujiko! Taka-san has a GREAT butt!”

“Oishi does, too,” Fuji said with a conspiratorial wink from the other bed. “I confess, I took a peek while we were at the lake.”

“I think we all peeked at someone or other,” Eiji said. “Except for Taka-san – his eyes were all for you.”

Fuji smiled, reflecting. “He was sweet, wasn’t he? So concerned about others seeing me naked.”

“Kinda funny, since a lot of us have seen you naked in the locker room plenty of times, but still sweet.” Eiji chuckled. “Hey, and you know who else has a really cute butt --?”

“Who?”

Both boys gasped, looking quickly toward the door to see who belonged to the interrupting voice. “Echizen-san!” Fuji said in surprise.

“Were you listening, nya?” Eiji asked worriedly.

“Nah, I just heard the last line. Luckily for you, it was me who came to get you, Eiji-kun.”

“Get me?” Eiji blinked. “For what?”

“Come and find out. Oh, but get dressed first – you’ll be going out.”

“What about our early bedtime?” Fuji asked.

“Unfortunately, this is unavoidable,” Nanjiroh said apologetically. “If it takes too long, Eiji-kun might be excused from early practices tomorrow so he can get some sleep.”

Eiji shrugged. “Okay,” he said and began unfastening his pajama top.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Eiji,” Fuji said. “But be careful, all right?”

“Don’t worry,” Nanjiroh told him, hoping he at least sounded reassuring. Since he still didn’t know what Atobe had in mind, he wasn’t so confident himself.

Atobe and Kabaji were already with the other adults when Eiji emerged. He looked around curiously. Kabaji, like himself, had gotten dressed to go out.

“Eiji,” Sumire said in a serious tone, “we have need of your teleporting skill.” She frowned. “Although in reality, I doubt you can take us where we need to go.”

Eiji hoped it wasn’t too far, since he’d already been transporting Kaidoh and Mizuki to and from Rikkaidai area, which was further than he was used to. “Um, how far exactly?”

Nanjiroh pulled a torn slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. “That’s as close a location as we know.”

Eiji facefaulted when he read it. “Are you kidding me?! I can’t hoi that far!”

“Atobe claims there’s a way,” Tarou told him, giving his player a dubious look.

Atobe flipped some hair from his eyes. “I wouldn’t do this if you hadn’t said it was an emergency. Kikumaru-kun, how can you usually tell what your limitations are for distance?”

Eiji wasn’t sure how to explain it; to him, it was just a feeling. “I guess it’s no different than hitting a tennis ball with the kind of speed and intensity needed for a specific shot. If you’re tired or sore, you can still try it, but you know the ball will come up short.” He shrugged. “It’s instinct, nya.”

Atobe looked at Kabaji and nodded. The younger boy stepped forward and placed his hand on Eiji’s shoulder. The redhead gave a start, his blue eyes suddenly wide.

“NOW how do you feel about your limitations for distance?” Atobe asked knowingly.

Eiji stared up at Kabaji in amazement. “I don’t have any,” he breathed. “I feel like I could hoi to the moon!”

“And perhaps you can,” Atobe remarked with a sly smile. “But I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“I demand to know what’s going on here,” Tarou said firmly and faced his Sophomore player. “Kabaji-kun, what have you done to Kikumaru?”

“I used my power,” Kabaji answered.

“Since when do you HAVE a power?” Tarou turned back to Atobe accusingly. The teenager shrugged casually.

“I never once said that Kabaji did NOT have a power, Sensei,” he replied. “I just thought it in his best interests not to reveal it until it was necessary.”

“I don’t understand, Atobe-kun,” Aoi said, frowning. “Why would you decide that on your own?”

Atobe cast her a tolerant glance. “Kabaji’s power is Enhancement, Hanamura-san. He can give anyone with a Changechild power an extra boost that can make the potential of that power unlimited within its context.” He turned back to look at Tarou. “Can you imagine how people might want to take advantage of him for what he can do?”

Tarou nodded slowly. “That’s why you kept quiet about it.”

“I felt it was for the best,” Atobe answered firmly.

“We can talk more about this later,” Sumire interrupted. “Right now, we need to get moving. Does Kabaji-kun need to go with Eiji?”

“Yes,” Atobe answered. “But it’s all right – so long as he’s there to enhance his power, Kikumaru won’t feel the strain of carrying extra people or teleporting further distances."

“I don’t think more than two of we adults need to go,” Tarou said. “With the situation at our destination as uncertain as it is, I think it should be Echizen and I.”

“We’re in too much of a hurry for Hanamura-san and I to argue the sexism of the matter,” Sumire replied. “Go, and be careful.”

“Everyone take hold,” Eiji advised. The two men moved over to him and Tarou placed a hand on the redhead’s shoulder that Kabaji wasn’t already touching, while Nanjiroh gripped Kabaji’s sleeve.

The two women and Atobe watched as they disappeared.

End of Part 32

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 33

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

At first, Kevin Smith thought he was losing his mind. One day he began hearing voices at tennis practice, but they weren’t fabricated people talking in his head – they were his teammates. And none of them were moving their lips.

(“Where’s my water bottle?”)

(“He’s going to hit cross-court.”)

(“That math test was killer; I wonder what I got?”)

(“That guy is staring at my brother’s butt!”)

(“Why does Niisan look so distracted?”)

(“Watch out, Cowboy, this one’s going through the fence!”)

(“What’s wrong with Kevin?”)

The team Captain blinked and looked over at Billy Cassidy, who had held up his hand to halt the game he’d been playing and was now watching him with concern. “You all right, Kev?”

He hadn’t been all right, then or since.

He knew about Changechildren, but hadn’t wanted to be one himself. They were tabloid-fodder in the States, reporters loved them. At the moment, they were especially loving Tom and Terry Griffy, who had already been idols before their powers were discovered. The brothers were managing to go to school and tennis practice, but Kevin had seen for himself that more persistent reporters than usual were following them around, even invading their school campus to get pictures or beg for interviews. His teammates were coping, but that didn’t mean he wanted the same problems they were having. He kept quiet about his newfound mindreading abilities and did his best to shut out the voices in his head.

A week after that tennis practice when he recognized his power, he came home to find his father drunk again. Kevin gave him a wide berth, but his father’s narrowed gaze followed him.

“Practice good?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Yes,” Kevin answered.

“The Griffys were there?”

Kevin paused and looked over at him suspiciously. His father had been asking a lot of questions about Tom and Terry lately. In fact, it had been going on since the scoop about their powers came out. “Yes,” he answered and began heading for his room.

“Why don’t you bring them by tomorrow? I want to talk to them.”

With those words, images flashed boldly across Kevin’s mind. He resisted the now-familiar urge to push the invading visions away, even though his blood suddenly ran inexplicably cold.

He saw inside his father’s memories – saw him making a deal with an independent group of scientists specializing in studying Changechildren. They operated outside the law, experimenting on their subjects’ powers, studying their brain waves, performing exploratory surgeries, and more. The government promised harsh penalties for anyone using Changechildren against their will for such studies, but this was one organization that had managed to evade their notice.

His father had promised them the Griffy brothers. And now he wanted Kevin to lure them into the trap.

“Sure, I’ll ask them,” he said, infusing as much steadiness into his voice as he could manage. He quickly went to his room and shut the door, then pulled out his cell phone with shaking hands and dialed.

“Tom, we’ve got trouble,” he said in a hushed voice. “My father is planning to sell you and Terry to one of those Changechildren research facilities – the kind you don’t ever leave. Do you know of any place where the three of us could hide for a while that no one would think to look?”

His older teammate sounded understandably shaken. “Um, yeah, I think there’s one place, but why do you need to hide with us?”

Kevin cast a grim look toward his closed door. “Because I don’t want to be next.”

“You have powers, too? Since when?!”

“I’ll tell you about it later. Give me the address where we’re going, and I’ll meet you there. We’d better grab some supplies on the way; we’re going to be there for a while.”

Once he and Tom were through talking, Kevin made one more call. This one was to his best friend.

“Billy? I need your help – listen carefully, okay?”

By the time Kevin finished explaining what he wanted Billy to do and had shut off the phone, he was holding back tears. Damn his father for forcing them all into this.

They took refuge in the old barn on the property where Tom and Terry had formerly lived with their abusive aunt. The woman had long since moved away, but the property remained unsold. While the house itself was locked up, the boys knew of a loose board that gained them access to the barn. It was like déjà vu for the Griffys, who had spent more time living there than in the house.

Now it was over a week since they’d moved in, and he and the Griffys were still safe, although not exactly comfortable. The supplies they’d laid in were dwindling. Because of their idol fame, Tom and Terry couldn’t go out and get extra money the way they used to when their aunt was starving them. The press and maybe the police were looking for them now. Kevin didn’t know if his father had bothered to report him missing or not, but couldn’t take the chance. They were trapped until Billy’s part of the plan came through.

The temperatures during the day were all right, but after nightfall it grew chilly, and the barn was drafty enough that the three boys had to huddle together for warmth. Kevin stirred awake just as the first rays of dawn were filtering through the boards. Something had disturbed his sleep, and it wasn’t just the cold.

Suddenly he was instantly alert. Thought waves were nearby – people were on the property.

“Tom, Terry!” he hissed, rousing the brothers as quietly as he could. Once their eyes were open, he spoke to them telepathically, (“There are people out there, but I don’t know who yet. Stay here.”)

He disentangled himself from their blanket and crept to the barn door, peering through a knothole. The door opened before he had a chance to react, and he looked up into a face that although familiar, he had never once seen in person.

“Kevin Smith?” the man said. “I’m Ryoma’s father; he received Billy’s letter.” He looked past Kevin to the Griffys, who had gotten to their feet and looked ready to bolt. “Are all of you okay?”

“Yes,” Terry answered, peering at him uncertainly. “Are you really Echizen Nanjiroh?”

“Doesn’t look like a legendary pro tennis player, does he?” Kevin said wryly. Nanjiroh gave him a look.

“Just what I need, another smartass twelve-year-old.” He motioned behind him and Tarou, Eiji, and Kabaji came over.

“Kikumaru-san!” Tom exclaimed at seeing the player he and Terry had once beaten in Doubles.

“Hoi hoi!” Eiji saluted. “Nice to see you guys again! This is Sakaki Tarou, the Hyotei Gakuen Coach, and one of our other guardians. And this is Kaba-chan – his power is enhancement, and thanks to him I was able to hoi further than I ever have before!” He paused, frowning. “Hey wait, you don’t understand Japanese, do you?”

“They understand it fine, but who can understand YOU in any language,” Kevin remarked.

“Actually, we hired a private tutor after we were last in Japan and have been studying with him ever since. We’re not bad at it now.” Terry smiled.

Eiji winked. “Not bad, no, but your pronunciation sucks!”

The younger Griffy stuck his tongue out at him while Tarou looked at Nanjiroh. “Let’s get them out of here.”

The other man clapped his hands together. “Okay, boys, gather your stuff and then we’re going home.”

“Going to the airport will be risky,” Tom said, picking up a hat to cover his dark green hair with. “We need to disguise ourselves first –“

“Don’t bother!” Eiji told him with a wink. “We’re taking the direct route!”

Early Saturday morning, Kaidoh got off the bus and headed down the street. He had received special permission from Sumire to do this, and had also let her know that afterwards, he intended to go home and see his parents for real. They deserved an explanation of his activities of the past couple of days in person.

But first, he had some final business with Yukimura Seiichi.

He made his way to the Yukimuras’ street and kept going until he reached their fence, then he ducked down behind it and placed the box he’d been carrying on the ground, opening the flaps. A pair of wide green eyes peered up at him.

“Here’s the family I promised you – you won’t have to live on the streets anymore.” He lifted the kitten out of the box and rubbed his cheek against its back briefly. “You’ll be happy here, they’re decent people. Just watch out for the friend with the curly black hair.” He put the animal back into the box. He had known when he left that Yukimura would be sad upon finding ‘Tiger’ gone, and it seemed unfair to deprive him of his new pet when he’d been an innocent victim in their whole spying scheme. While he couldn’t give him Tiger, he had been able to ask the various animals on his morning jog where he might find a stray kitten that wanted a home. It hadn’t taken long to get an answer.

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and put it into the box with the kitten, then closed the flaps. “You stay there,” he told the little one, then crept silently to the kitchen door and set the box down. He rang the bell and darted back to the fence, changing into a bird and perching atop it to watch.

Yukimura himself opened the door, and Kaidoh saw Sanada right behind him. “What’s this?” the Rikkaidai Captain said, bending down to open the box. “Genichirou, look!” He stood up, cradling the kitten.

“That’s weird,” Sanada said. “One kitten gone and another appears?” He glanced down at the box, then reached in and brought out the paper. He unfolded it and read it out loud, “’Yukimura-san, thank you for taking care of my kitten. In return for your kindness, I give you this one to keep for your own.’” He looked at Yukimura and frowned. “Even if someone saw your fliers and came here, how did they get Tiger out of the house?”

“I don’t know, maybe he slipped out when Kaasan was hanging up the laundry and his owner came by and spotted him?” Yukimura smiled and scratched behind the kitten’s ear. It began to purr. “I’m just happy to know that Tiger isn’t lost again after all; he’s back with his owner. And Kaasan already said I could get my own kitten, and now I have one!”

Watching them, Sanada’s face had become unusually gentle. “I’m happy for you, Seiichi. Come on, let’s go introduce him to the others.”

Kaidoh watched them go inside, then took flight, heading in the direction of his house. Once he apologized to his parents, he would finally be able to get back to tennis training. He’d had enough power practice to last him a lifetime.

Ryoma had hoped to sleep in that morning, since he didn’t have any early tennis practice, but with Shinji coming in and out of the room muttering to himself and the other boys running back and forth outside the door getting ready for breakfast, he finally gave in and decided to go down and eat with everyone else.

He had just finished getting dressed when he heard Karupin give an excited meow behind him. “What is it, Karupin?” he asked in amusement. “Can you smell bacon downstairs?”

A pair of hands covered Ryoma’s eyes. “Guess who?” someone said in a fake voice that he couldn’t identity. He grinned.

“You can’t fool me, Momo-senpai,” he said, taking hold of one of the hands and turning, planning to surprise his boyfriend with a ‘good morning’ kiss. He was the one who was surprised when he almost kissed someone else instead. “Kevin?!”

“Hi!” the blonde boy greeted, cocking his head mischievously. “Who was that pucker for? Did you say _Momoshiro_?”

Ryoma tried not to look embarrassed. “Yeah, well, he’s my boyfriend now --“ He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter! What are you doing here?!”

Kevin looked puzzled. “What do you mean? You got Billy’s letter, right?”

“That was from Billy? I got the letter, but didn’t get to read it, thanks to stupid Oyaji.” Ryoma sat down on his bed. “So what’s going on?”

By the time Kevin was finished telling him everything that had happened in the past nearly two weeks, Ryoma was staring at him, wide-eyed.

“I don’t know what to say, Kevin,” he admitted. “Your father ….”

“Yeah,” the other boy said dryly, “he’s a jerk. I knew that already – he’s always been a jerk to me, but I couldn’t let him destroy my friends.”

“Do you think he’s going to come after you?”

Kevin gave a derisive snort. “After he realized that I double-crossed him by sneaking off with the Griffys, he probably figured he’s better off without me.”

“Maybe, but I think you were smart to keep your power a secret from him.” Ryoma smiled knowingly. “So, have you tried to read my mind since you came in here?”

“No, but usually I get ‘something’ even without trying – I can’t always turn it off when I want to,” Kevin admitted, then looked thoughtful. “I’m not getting anything from you at all, but I guess with your power, I wouldn’t, huh?” He smiled shyly. “That’s kind of neat. I forgot what it’s like not to hear any extra murmurs in my head.”

“Now that you’re here, you’ll be able to practice with everyone. You’ll get better at turning it off,” Ryoma promised, then stood up. “Come on, let’s go get some breakfast.”

“I’m all screwed up from the time change – I went through dawn twice already!” Kevin chuckled. “But I still won’t turn down food!”

Tom Griffy looked over at his younger brother, who had been sitting in front of the mirror, brushing his hair for almost ten minutes. He finally went over and removed the brush from Terry’s hand. “That’s enough,” he said gently. “Even the hairdressers for our photo shoots don’t take that long.”

Terry sighed. “I guess I’m just nervous. We’ve only met a handful of these kids before.”

“You usually like meeting new people.”

“I do, but ….” Terry stared down at his lap. “It’s different here. They’re all Changechildren, and my power … they’ll hate me for it.”

Tom leaned down to wrap his arms around Terry from behind. “Don’t say that, no one could ever hate you. I’m not worried, and my power could freak them out just as much.”

Terry looked up at him uncertainly. “Really? You’re not scared at all?”

“Not a bit,” Tom said firmly. “These guys have all been in our place, Terry. They’re all just learning how to control what they’ve got. From what Kevin told us of Echizen’s past mailings to him, they’ve got kids here who can become invisible and turn off powers entirely – we’re not so different.”

Eiji suddenly stuck his head into the Griffy’s room. “What are you two still doing up here? Everyone’s in the dining room already!” He bounded over and grabbed Terry’s arm, half-dragging him across the room. “Come on, come on, don’t you want to meet them all?”

Terry threw a helpless look back at Tom, who laughed as he followed them out.

End of Part 33

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 34

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Youhei clutched his twin brother’s arm as Kouhei grabbed hold of his hand. Neither of them had been able to speak or do anything but stare for a full five minutes. That was precisely the same length of time since Tom and Terry Griffy had been introduced to everyone in the dining room.

(“I can’t believe it,”) Kouhei said telepathically to his brother. (“The Griffy brothers are going to be living HERE!”)

(“They’re as gorgeous in person as they are in magazines,”) Youhei stated mentally.

(“Should we go talk to them?”)

(“I want to, but there are a lot of people hanging around them already. Maybe we should wait until there’s a break –“)

(“Why don’t you just do it?”) a third voice invaded both their thoughts.

The twins turned sharply to look toward Kevin, who gazed back at them calmly.

(“They’re just normal tennis players that happen to be idols,”) he projected into their minds. (“And Terry especially is nervous right now – he can use all the new friends he can get.”)

Youhei and Kouhei looked at each other, then gave Kevin one last glance before heading over to the Griffys. Kevin shook his head. Fanboys, he thought distastefully. He hoped they wouldn’t drool all over his teammates.

A hand fell on his shoulder. “Kevin,” said Sumire with a smile, “I hope you won’t mind rooming with Ryoma. We’ve decided it would make more sense for you to be with him, since you’re the same age. He’s had a hard time getting to sleep with Ibu-kun as a roommate.” She chuckled. “I guess he keeps talking, even in his sleep!”

Kevin nodded. “I’m fine with that arrangement if he is.”

“Thank you.” She patted his shoulder and walked toward Shinji to give him the news. Kevin’s gaze fell on Ryoma, who was sitting with Momoshiro, stealing a slice of bacon off his plate. He smiled impishly to himself.

No, he wouldn’t mind moving in with his former rival at all ….

“It’s beautiful!” Terry said as he stared at the back lawn of Atobe’s property. Kouhei was doing his best not to stare at _him_. Somehow, after the initial meet-and-greet with the household, the Griffys had agreed to the Tanakas’ stuttered offer to show them around. Now that the four of them were alone, the twins were finding that the Americans, while idols, really did seem to be sweet and genuine. That helped them to relax as well.

“You both speak Japanese really well,” Youhei complimented them. “Did you learn the last time you were here?”

“No.” Tom smiled. “We had a tutor at home afterwards.” A wistful look entered his eyes. “Maybe we had a premonition that we’d need it.”

“Is that your power? Premonition?” Youhei asked innocently. Kouhei felt Terry stiffen beside him and Tom looked away.

“No,” he answered. “That’s not it.”

Youhei and Kouhei exchanged a puzzled look. They didn’t need to communicate mentally to agree that something was wrong.

“I’m sorry,” Youhei said. “I didn’t mean to be nosy, and you don’t have to tell us now.”

“It’s going to come out, though,” Kouhei told them gently. “We have power practices every day for different groups, but no one goes without it at least three times a week.”

Tom and Terry glanced at each other anxiously.

“It can’t be THAT bad, can it?” Kouhei prodded with a good-natured grin. “We’ve all had some problems with our powers, but with some practice --”

Terry’s sepia gaze turned toward him and the blue-haired boy was surprised to see how sad he looked. “You really want to know?”

“Sure,” Kouhei answered, hoping he sounded more confident than he now felt. Terry’s expression was unsettling. “Could you demonstrate it for us?”

Terry looked uncertainly at his older brother, and Tom shrugged. “He asked.”

The younger Griffy nodded and turned back to Kouhei. “Don’t worry,” he said, still sounding dejected, “it doesn’t hurt.” He reached out a hand and touched the other boy’s arm.

The first thing Kouhei noticed was how quiet everything became. His hearing, while still superior, wasn’t off the charts the way it was since his power had first kicked in. His vision, too, appeared to be back to what had been normal for him. All the various scents surrounding him a minute earlier were diluted.

“Kouhei?!” his twin grabbed his shoulder suddenly. Kouhei turned to him and saw panic on his brother’s face. “You weren’t answering me telepathically! Couldn’t you hear me?”

“No, I —!”

“Terry!”

The Tanakas spun around to see Tom crouched next to Terry, who was on the ground with both hands over his ears, his eyes shut tightly.

“Niisan, it’s too loud, there’s too MUCH!” he cried. “Voices everywhere, coming at me! Is this what it was like for Kevin?!”

Tom looked up at Kouhei. “What IS your power?” he asked anxiously.

“Enhanced senses,” Youhei answered for his brother, looking fearfully between Kouhei and Terry, not understanding what was going on with either one. “Sight, hearing, touch, smell – and we can speak telepathically to each other, but –“

“I can’t!” Kouhei interrupted fearfully. “I can’t do it anymore! I don’t understand!”

Youhei gave a sudden start and stared down at Terry. “Was that YOU just now?”

The pretty boy looked up, tears slipping down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, I can’t control it!”

“What happened?!” Kouhei demanded.

“I heard HIS voice in my head!” Youhei nodded toward Terry.

Kouhei gasped, realizing now what was happening. “You TOOK my power?” he demanded of Terry, voice rising.

The American player cried out. “Not so LOUD!”

Tom hugged his brother’s shoulders and looked at the Tanakas. “Terry’s power is absorption. He can take another Changechild’s power and use it himself, but he doesn’t absorb their experience with it. It takes new orientation every time he does it.”

“Great, fine, now can I have my power BACK?” Kouhei’s voice was getting shrill, causing Terry to whimper in pain.

“Yes, please!” he cried. “Niisan!”

Tom kept a hand on his brother’s shoulder and reached out the other toward Kouhei. “Take my hand,” he instructed.

Although he didn’t understand, Kouhei obeyed. A moment later, he felt himself stabilize as his powers flowed back into him. Terry sighed in relief and leaned against Tom, who murmured soothingly to him.

“Are you all right?” Youhei asked his twin, who nodded and gazed down at the Griffys.

“Did you do that?” Kouhei asked Tom.

The older boy nodded. “Power transfer,” he answered, helping his brother to his feet. “I can take powers the way Terry can, but I can’t use them myself. I can only shift them from one Changechild to another.” He stroked Terry’s hair. “My brother can’t return the powers he borrows – I have to do it for him.”

“I’m sorry,” Terry said miserably. “I’m really sorry, Kouhei. I should have warned you what would happen.”

“I guess I asked for it,” the younger Tanaka twin replied sheepishly. “Are you all right? I know our power is kind of overwhelming at first – we thought we were going nuts!”

“It was pretty amazing,” Terry admitted. “I could see detail on a leaf a half a mile away, but it threw my equilibrium off when combined with the sounds and smells. I don’t envy what you must have gone through before you learned how to use it.”

Tom ruffled Terry’s hair. “I hope that those practices you mentioned will enable Terry to grasp control of powers faster when he absorbs them. If they throw him for a loop every time it happens, it’ll never be any good to him.”

“It’s no good, anyway, Niisan,” Terry said softly. “What Changechild is going to want to come anywhere near me once they find out what I do? My power won’t be of any help to anyone but me – it’s a selfish power.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Kouhei assured him. “All of us are still new at this ‘power’ thing, but I think there must be ways yours can help others.”

“I agree, and Tom’s, too,” Youhei said firmly. “Powers alone can’t be selfish – you’re the ones who control what you do with them, right?”

“I – I guess you’re right,” Terry said slowly, blinking in wonder. “I never really thought about it like that.”

“Besides, there are kids around who can do worse with their powers and are more inclined to act on it,” Kouhei said grimly. He threw an arm around Terry’s shoulders. “Let us tell you about a certain incident that happened the other day involving a member of Rikkaidai ….”

Eiji headed downstairs, humming. He had his tennis racquet in hand and was expecting to find Gakuto waiting fro him in the foyer. The two acrobats had arranged an informal match between them and he was looking forward to it.

“Hoi?” he said, stopping at the foot of the stairs curiously. Instead of Gakuto waiting for him he found Oishi, and rather than a racquet, in his hands he held a picnic basket.

“I knew you and Gakuto were going to play, but I asked if he wouldn’t mind taking a raincheck.” Oishi smiled. “You and I haven’t had much ‘alone’ time since we got here, so I thought a picnic by the lake might be nice.”

Eiji’s eyes sparkled. Forget Gakuto – he’d take a date with Oishi anytime.

Shinji walked out of the room he had shared with Ryoma, carrying a box. “I’m not sure how I should feel about this,” he remarked to no one in particular. “On the one hand, I guess I’m going to have a room to myself for a while, and I won’t have Echizen’s cat trying to sleep on my face. On the other hand, what if I get a roommate who isn’t as quiet as Echizen? Or who owns a worse pet, like a tarantula? I don’t think I’d like sharing my room with a tarantula –“

“I doubt the adults would let anyone bring a tarantula in here, Shinji,” Kamio assured him as he followed with another box of his teammate’s belongings. Ryoma watched them go, then closed his eyes and reveled in the peace and quiet.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Momoshiro asked as he stuck his head in. “It looks like Shinji is moving down the hall – you guys have a fight?”

“No, the teachers decided to change some room assignments,” Ryoma replied, pulling the blankets off the other bed.

Momo grinned. “So you’re going to be rooming alone? That could be fun, a lot of fun!”

“Do you mind?” a voice interrupted behind him. “You’re blocking the door.”

Momo turned and looked down at Kevin, who passed by him carrying fresh bedding, his bag, and tennis racquet. He put all of it down on the bed across from Ryoma’s. “Hi roomie!” he greeted.

“’Roomie?’” Momoshiro said in surprise. “You’re moving in here?”

Kevin gave him a mischievous glance. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”

“This is what Ryuzaki-sensei decided,” Ryoma piped up before Momo could snap back at the younger boy. “Since Kevin and I are the only twelve-year-olds here.”

“Mrrowr!” Karupin rubbed against Kevin’s leg and the blonde picked him up.

“Don’t worry, Karupin, I won’t cramp your style,” he promised, stroking the cat’s back.

Momo was frowning as he watched. “I’m not sure this is a good idea at all, not at all. What is Baa-san thinking?”

“Why not?” Kevin put Karupin down and began making his bed. “Makes perfect sense to me.” He glanced over at the other boy. “Or were you hoping YOU could move in?”

“That wouldn’t happen,” Momo stated, surprising Ryoma by moving to his side and encircling him with his arm. “We’re boyfriends. They don’t put couples together.”

Kevin’s gaze shifted back and forth between them. “Is that so? Ryoma, you didn’t write me about your having a boyfriend.”

“It’s a recent development that won’t last much longer if my father sees this.” Ryoma slipped out from under Momo’s arm and began helping Kevin with the bedding.

“It’s a good idea to be careful then,” Kevin agreed, leaning past Ryoma to straighten the sheet, deliberately brushing against him and giving Momo a wily grin as he did so.

Ryoma didn’t notice either the grin or the murderous look Momoshiro gave Kevin in return. He was too busy wondering if Kevin would object when Karupin tried to sleep on his face.

“It’s a lot different here in the daytime, isn’t it?” Oishi remarked as he and Eiji rested at lakeside. The water, the trees, the singing birds – everything seemed so much more cheerful and inviting than it had the night they had gone skinny-dipping. Maybe it was just because they weren’t breaking any rules by being there this time. Or, Oishi thought, glancing over at his partner, perhaps it was the fact that they were alone for the first time in too long.

They had debated briefly how to actually get there. Oishi had wanted to hike it, since walking through the woods with Eiji on a day like this seemed like a relaxing, romantic thing to do. Eiji, however, had pointed out that if they did that, there was a greater risk of a teacher or another kid seeing them leave. The last thing they wanted, he’d said, was to have their picnic crashed by a grownup or worse, being spied on by some of the nosybodies they lived with. For that reason, he felt he should ‘hoi’ them directly to the lake. Oishi had to concede that there was logic in Eiji’s argument, but he suggested a compromise. The acrobat had teleported them just beyond the threshold of the woods; hidden from view of the mansion, but still able to stroll hand-in-hand most of the way to the lake the way Oishi wanted. It had worked out nicely, as most things did between them.

Even though it wasn’t quite lunchtime, they had unpacked the basket and started work on the food right after their arrival. Something about being out in the fresh air and eating by the water fueled their appetites, and now they were just relaxing after their feast.

“Saturdays are the best,” Eiji said, flopping onto his back on the blanket they’d brought, gazing up at the trees and the puffy clouds floating above them. “No responsibilities, all the time in the world to do what we want –“

“And finally, privacy,” Oishi remarked with a smile. Eiji grinned at him.

“I’ve missed you, nya.”

“Same here.”

Oishi crawled toward him and didn’t stop until he was poised directly over his partner, blocking off his view of the sky. Eiji reached up and tenderly played with the loose tufts of hair on his boyfriend’s forehead.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Oishi told him honestly.

“Well, I know what I’d do without YOU,” Eiji said firmly. “I’d float off into the stratosphere! You’re my anchor, my stabilizer –“

“The albatross around your neck?” Oishi teased. Eiji smacked him playfully, then met his eyes, his expression serious.

“You’re my best friend,” he said. “And so much more.”

Oishi was touched. He bent down and kissed Eiji softly.

“You bring fun into my life,” he murmured in his ear. “I love how being with you means never knowing what to expect next.”

A naughty gleam entered Eiji’s eyes and the next thing Oishi knew, his partner had rolled them both over, switching their positions.

“There’s something else I’ll bet you weren’t expecting, nya.”

Oishi grinned and received Eiji’s offered kiss, allowing the other boy to lead the way.

End of Part 34

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 35

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Mizuki didn’t think there was anyone he could dislike as much as Fuji Syuusuke. He certainly wasn’t fond of the Tanaka twins, mostly because Takahisa would always take time to talk to them and Mizuki felt they were overly-familiar with him. All right, so they were on his team and he’d known them longer than the other kids there, including Mizuki, but still. However, he noticed that their relationship was more like a big brother with younger siblings. He could accept that, so long as they didn’t take up too much of Takahisa’s time.

What he could not accept was overhearing Takahisa remark to Tanaka Kouhei that he thought Terry Griffy was pretty.

To his credit, Mizuki managed to keep from exploding. He even kept smiling, although it was a little strained. But when the time came that Takahisa said he needed to go speak to Hanamura-san about their next tennis practice, Mizuki took the opportunity to go protect his interests.

He found Terry chatting with Yuushi, and from the sound of it, they were reminiscing about the time they had played doubles against each other. Mizuki reconsidered his next move as an even better idea came to him. Why do the dirty work himself if he could get someone else to do it?

Mizuki knew that Gakuto was in the living room playing a video game, so he went
straight there. He was relieved to find him alone.

“Mukahi-san, I certainly admire your confidence,” he said as he strolled into the room. Gakuto gave him an annoyed glance over his shoulder.

“What are you babbling about?”

Mizuki lowered himself onto the couch and crossed his legs at the knee. “I’m just surprised that you have no problem with Terry Griffy getting anywhere near Oshitari-san, considering his power.”

Gakuto paused his game so he could face the other boy. “How did YOU find out Terry’s power? They’ve kept it pretty quiet.”

“Not with everyone,” Mizuki replied, waving a hand. “I happened to be passing by two of the teachers while invisible and they mentioned that through touch, Terry is able to STEAL powers from other Changechildren and use them as his own.”

Gakuto stared at him. “And you think he’s after Yuushi’s?!”

Mizuki shrugged. “Oshitari-san DOES have an exceptional power ….”

There was no need to say anything else – Gakuto was gone. Mizuki smiled to himself and wished he could be there to see what happened.

Oh wait, he giggled. He could! He got to his feet and activated his power as he walked out of the room.

By sprinting ahead of Gakuto, Mizuki managed to have a ringside seat when the burgundy-haired boy strode over to where his boyfriend and the newcomer were talking.

“Ah, Gakuto,” Yuushi said as he saw him coming. “Have you met, Terry?”

The pretty thirteen-year-old smiled at him.

“Mukahi-san, I’ve heard a lot about you! You’re an acrobat, too, right?”

Gakuto’s answer was to push himself in between the two boys, glaring at Terry. “Don’t get too close to him, Yuushi! He’ll steal your power!”

All the colour drained from Terry’s face. Yuushi was frowning. “What are you talking about?”

“THAT’S his power -- stealing those of others! If he touches you, it’s all over!”

“T-That’s not true!” Terry stammered. “I can control my power, it’s not just a matter of it just ‘happening’ when I touch someone!”

Gakuto pointed at him accusingly. “But you DO steal powers, right?”

“No! I mean, I can borrow them, but –“

“Taking without consent is stealing!” Gakuto began pulling his partner out of the room. “Stay far away from him, Yuushi!”

“Gakuto!” the blue-haired boy started to say.

“Don’t bother, I’LL stay away – from everyone!” Terry ran past the invisible Mizuki, who couldn’t help but gloat at the tears in the younger boy’s eyes.

Good, he thought smugly. Distance yourself as far from Takahisa as you can, Griffy-kun.

Kamio looked at Shinji as he set up the last of his belongings in his new room. It seemed to take him longer than it had to, but then most other kids wouldn’t be receiving decorating advice from the furniture.

“At least I won’t have to worry about you being lonely,” Kamio remarked jokingly.

“Hmm?” Shinji said and looked up at him. “No, I suppose not, especially as my having no roommate should provide some previously unavailable opportunities for the two of us.”

Kamio grinned. “That isn’t what I was thinking of, but I like that reason better.” He walked into the room and leaned back against the door to shut it. Shinji raised an eyebrow.

“Boyfriends aren’t allowed to shut themselves up in a room with the door closed,” he pointed out. “We could get into trouble.”

Kamio put a hand on the knob. “Did you want me to open it?”

Shinji walked over to him, leaning forward as if to kiss him, then passed Kamio’s puckered lips to whisper to the door instead, “If one of the adults comes down the hall, rattle your knob for us, please.”

Kamio was still looking back at their guard-door when Shinji took hold of his wrist and led him to the bed. His boyfriend never ceased to amaze him.

Fuji and Kawamura came up the stairs and headed down the hall. “I hope Eiji and Oishi are having fun,” Kawamura remarked. “Oishi was really excited about surprising him.”

“I’m sure Eiji was thrilled. It was a very romantic thing to do,” Fuji answered. “I think Mukahi-san was a little upset at being blown off, but he’ll get over it.”

“Fujiko,” Kawamura said carefully, colour rising in his cheeks, “would you consider going on a date with me sometime? We could have a picnic, too, or we could see a movie –“ He stopped as Fuji put a hand on his arm.

“I’ll be happy doing anything so long as we’re together, Taka-san.”

The other boy grinned broadly. He was about to say something else when they both heard the tell-tale sounds of crying nearby. The two of them exchanged a worried look, then followed the sound to the Griffys’ room. The door was open only a crack, but it was enough for them to see Terry with a pillow clutched in his arms, his face half-buried in it.

Kawamura glanced at Fuji to ask if he thought they should disturb him, but Fuji was already going in. He sat next to Terry and was about to touch his shoulder when the younger boy pulled away.

“Don’t touch me!” Terry warned, his soft voice unusually bitter. “Haven’t you heard? I’m poison around here – I steal powers!”

“Griffy-san, what’s happened?” Kawamura asked sadly as he approached. “Who said such a thing to you?”

“Oshitari-san’s partner,” Terry answered miserably. “The only kids who knew about my power besides Niisan and Kevin were Youhei and Kouhei, and I didn’t think they would tell.” He hung his head and murmured, “I really liked Kouhei, too ….”

“Maybe he didn’t tell,” Fuji pointed out. “It’s as wrong to assume he did as it is for Mukahi to assume you’d randomly take powers from Oshitari or anyone.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Terry admitted, wiping his eyes. “I just panicked, I guess. I’m a little sensitive about my power.”

Kawamura gave him a kindly smile. “Fujiko had the same problem at first. He was accused of controlling peoples’ minds and thought that we all agreed with that.”

“But I found out that it wasn’t true – it was just Mizuki Hajime being a brat,” Fuji added, making Terry giggle.

“Will you tell us about your power?” Fuji asked. “Taka-san’s is fire-based, and mine is, well, mind control, for lack of a better term.”

“I kind of like the ‘Siren’ nickname myself.” Kawamura grinned.

Fuji sweatdropped. “I’m not sure I do. It seems to give me more credit than I deserve.”

“You had the ability to attract and control admirers before you ever had Changechild powers,” Kawamura teased, even as his blush returned.

“My power is to absorb other powers,” Terry said. “I can use them myself then, but I can’t give them back. My brother does that.”

“I think that could be a good power to have,” Fuji commented. “There’s no reason for anyone to be afraid of it anymore than they should be afraid of any Changechild.”

“That’s what the twins said,” Terry admitted.

“I think what we should do next is find out how Mukahi-san heard about your power.” Fuji stood up and headed out of the room. “Somehow he got a wrong impression, and I want to know if it was his own imagination embellishing on nothing or if someone deliberately fed him misinformation.”

“What if he won’t tell you?” Terry asked.

Fuji paused at the door and looked back at him, smiling. “He’ll tell me.”

Oishi and Eiji were almost to the edge of the woods, the mansion in view across the expanse of lawn. They were holding the picnic basket between them, exchanging grins that clearly said they’d enjoyed their privacy by the lake.

“I had my doubts about this place in the beginning, Eiji,” Oishi said, “but I really like it here now.”

“Me too, nya! It’s fun living with our teammates, and we get to hang out with kids from the other teams, too.” Eiji stopped and turned so that he could face Oishi. “Best of all is living with you.”

“I’ll second that.” The two boys leaned across the basket and kissed.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could room together?” Eiji said as they began walking again. “Why’d they have to split up all the boyfriends, anyway?”

“You KNOW why, Eiji.” The tips of Oishi’s ears turned scarlet. “We kind of demonstrated that at the lake.”

“That’s my point, though! We don’t room together, but we found a way, right?”

“Well, the adults have to answer to our parents, and they have to at least make an effort to –“

Eiji was jerked back by the basket suddenly when Oishi stopped moving. He looked at his partner and saw him staring at a point through the trees. Atobe stood leaning back against a tree, looking at Tezuka as the two of them conversed, but there was something off about their body language. There wasn’t much distance between them, and what there was disappeared entirely as Atobe took hold of the front of Tezuka’s shirt and pulled him closer, pressing his lips against his rival’s. Tezuka returned it.

“Oishi,” Eiji said in a tiny voice, “since when do Tezuka and Atobe kiss?”

“How should I know?” Oishi answered, trying to be quiet. “Tezuka never said a word about a relationship with Atobe.”

“Does this mean that they’re boyfriends?”

“I don’t KNOW, Eiji.”

The redhead frowned. “If they are, it isn’t fair. They’re roommates and we aren’t!”

Oishi gave him a patient smile. “Isn’t it nice, though, if Tezuka has found someone who brings out his emotions and gives him a listening ear? Would you want to be the one to spoil that for him?”

“Of course not.” Eiji pouted. “Although it’s a little hard to believe that someone so self-absorbed as Atobe could do that for ANYONE.”

Oishi glanced back toward the two Captains, who were so involved in each other that they hadn’t yet noticed them. “I think we can trust Tezuka to know what he’s doing. Come on, let’s go. And Eiji – don’t tell anybody, okay?”

“Okay,” his boyfriend agreed, but accompanied it with a heavy sigh. The biggest gossip scoop of the year, and he had to take an oath of silence.

“Excuse me, Mukahi-san, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Gakuto was eating a sandwich at the kitchen table and stopped in mid-bite to regard Fuji suspiciously. What could the Seigaku tensai want with him? “I guess so,” he said cautiously. “Yuushi will be here in a couple of minutes, so you’d better make it fast.”

“I really only have one question,” Fuji went over and leaned back against the table, gazing down at the acrobat seriously. “How did you find out about Terry Griffy’s power?”

Gakuto shrugged. “Is that all? Mizuki told me. He said that Terry was after Yuushi’s power, so I put a stop to it.”

Fuji was glad that he hadn’t been forced to use his power to get an answer out of Gakuto, but couldn’t believe that anyone was so naïve as to believe a word out of Mizuki’s mouth. “While Terry IS capable of borrowing powers, Mizuki misled you. He isn’t after your partner’s power or anyone else’s – he just wants to cope, like the rest of us.”

Gakuto studied him closely, frowning. “Was Mizuki manipulating me into jumping to conclusions?”

“Pretty much.” Fuji nodded. “I don’t know why he would have a reason to hurt Terry, but that was obviously his intention.”

“Bastard!” Gakuto snapped, throwing his sandwich down on the plate. “I don’t like being used.”

“Taka-san and I found Terry crying upstairs.”

The Hyotei player groaned. “Great, now I have to apologize to him. I hate apologizing almost as much as being used.” He pushed back his chair. “I’ll do it, though. And maybe I’ll turn off gravity under Mizuki forever and watch him float off into the stratosphere!”

“As much as I would enjoy waving goodbye as he became a human satellite, you shouldn’t get yourself in trouble over him. Believe me, he’s not worth it,” Fuji cautioned, then smiled. “We’ll find a more practical way to teach him a lesson.”

A slow grin formed on Gakuto’s face. Note to self, he thought, stay off Fuji Syuusuke’s bad side!

End of Part 35

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 36

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

“You’re in a good mood today,” Takahisa remarked to Mizuki on the tennis court as the two of them played a friendly practice match. “You didn’t make a snide remark about my serve taking your head off this time.”

“Oh, your serve is as lethal as ever,” Mizuki said cheerfully. “You’re right, though – I am in a good mood.”

“Do you want to go out later?” Takahisa asked as he chased after Mizuki’s return. “There’s a good movie opening, and it’s based at a tennis camp.”

“That sounds like fun, sure!” Mizuki was delighted. He had disposed of a potential rival and was going on a date with Takahisa. It had been a productive day already and it wasn’t even over.

Kouhei listened quietly to everything Terry said, but it wasn’t always easy. More than once he wanted to interrupt, but did his best to hold back.

“Mukahi-san just apologized a few minutes ago, and I was really grateful, but I feel like I owe you one as well.” Terry turned to him. “I’m really sorry, Kouhei. It was wrong of me to think you or Youhei might have told anyone about my power for even a second.”

“It’s okay,” the blue-haired boy assured him good-naturedly. “I probably would have suspected me, too, given the circumstances. But Terry, you remember that we told you and Tom that everyone was going to find out sooner or later, right?”

“Yes,” Terry admitted with a tiny smile. “I guess I just hoped it would be later rather than sooner.”

Kouhei grinned. “Well, at least now you know that people WILL understand.” He sighed. “I don’t know what gives with Mizuki, though.”

“Me either! I don’t think I’ve been here long enough to do anything to offend him.”

Kouhei rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t take much! He’s my Captain’s boyfriend, and sometimes I think he hates Youhei and I because we can speak so easily with Buchou, but we’re on the same team, for crying out loud!”

“Well, I’m not going to let a jerk like that get to me anymore,” Terry said firmly. “He’s the only one here who seems to have a problem with me, but whatever it is, it’s HIS problem.”

“Atta boy!” Kouhei praised, then blushed slightly. “Sorry, I guess I’m being too familiar with you now.”

“Not at all,” Terry assured him. “You’ve made me feel very comfortable here – I appreciate it.”

“So,” Kouhei said thoughtfully, “what have they said to you about going to school here? Do you know which one it’ll be yet?”

Terry bit his lip. “Actually, Sakaki-san said that it was most likely we’d end up being tutored. While Tom and I are better at Japanese than we used to be, we’re years behind in some subjects that are standard here. Besides, they think that our being idols would cause trouble with other students and overall safety.”

“Are you and Tom going to continue your career here?” Kouhei asked with interest.

“We’re going to try, if people haven’t forgotten us by now, that is.”

Not likely, Kouhei thought, admiring the other boy’s profile.

Fuji brushed his hair carefully and paused to consider his next move. “Eiji, do you think a touch of clear lip gloss would look nice?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you need it. You’re beautiful enough.” Eiji gave his big teddy bear a hug and bounced it up and down on his lap.

“Are you okay?” Fuji glanced at his roommate. “You seem even more hyper than usual.”

Eiji gave him a wan smile. “I wish I could tell you, but I’m sworn to secrecy.” He put the bear aside and flopped back on the bed. “I hate secrets! What fun are they if you can’t tell them?”

“Well, at least you’re in a better position than me,” Fuji said cheerfully. “You KNOW the secret. I only know that there is one.”

“Secret?”

Both boys looked toward the doorway to find Mizuki smirking at them. “And what secret might THAT be?” the St. Rudolph manager asked.

“None of your business,” Fuji said bluntly.

Mizuki stuck his tongue out at the Seigaku tensai. “I already heard you say you don’t know it, so don’t start with me.”

“I won’t tell you either, nya,” Eiji stated.

Mizuki flipped hair off his face. “Fine, keep your old secret. Maybe I already know it, anyway. I find out a lot of things just by walking around here invisible.” He turned and left, and Fuji got up and shut the door.

“Unfortunately, he’s probably being serious,” he remarked. “Whoever was doling out Changechildren powers couldn’t have given such a devious sneak a worse one.”

“Too bad Oishi can’t take it away from him forever.” Eiji sighed. “He doesn’t deserve a power like that if he’s just going to abuse it.”

“Oishi wouldn’t do that,” Fuji said thoughtfully. He opened the door and headed out. “I still have a few minutes before Taka-san and I leave for our date – I need to talk to someone first. See you later, Eiji.”

“Hoi? Talk to who about what?” The redhead watched him go, then shook the bear in frustration. “Not ANOTHER secret!”

“This was a great idea, Momo-senpai,” Ryoma said over his shoulder. The two of them were sharing Momoshiro’s bike as they rode into town.

“Yeah, a great idea, really great,” Momoshiro said, although Ryoma didn’t notice his lack of enthusiasm. Momo HAD thought it would be a fun day for he and Ryoma to ride to town, get burgers and generally hang out, but that was before….

“I agree with Ryoma,” piped up Kevin as he pulled up alongside them on another bike. “It was sure nice of Kamio-san to loan me his bicycle so I could go with you!”

“Yeah, he’s a saint,” Momoshiro grumbled, making a mental note to kick his roommate’s butt later.

Tom listened quietly to what Fuji and Gakuto told him. Youhei, who had been walking with the American player when they were approached, saw the change in his expression when Fuji mentioned he’d found Terry crying.

“I wasn’t going to tell you about this, because I thought Terry might not want you to know. But I’m a big brother, too, and am very protective of Yuuta. Mizuki has hurt him before, as well.”

“Kouhei is my younger twin,” Youhei mentioned. “I understand how you feel, too.”

“I have a younger brother at home,” Gakuto piped up. “He can be a brat, and I may want to strangle him sometimes, but I’d still want to kill anyone else who hurt him.”

“But we have an ulterior motive in telling you this,” Fuji admitted to Tom. “Mizuki’s power is invisibility, and he’s been using it with impunity around the mansion.” He gave the other boy a wry smile. “Probably against me more than most, as I’m number one on his black list.”

“It looks like Terry is on that list, too,” Gakuto pointed out. “For some reason, Mizuki dislikes him enough that he sent me after him on false pretenses.” He bowed. “And although I already apologized to your brother, I’ll say I’m sorry to you, too.”

“I don’t blame you, Mukahi-san,” Tom assured him. “It sounds like Mizuki is having too much fun at other peoples’ expense.” He shook his head. “I can’t forgive him for making Terry cry. It’s been hard for me to convince him we would be accepted here, and Mizuki’s words played on his fears.”

“Earlier, we were talking about Mizuki’s power, and how he abuses it,” Fuji said softly. “We can’t change what he did to Terry, but we can give him enough of a scare that he might back off of him – and maybe the rest of us – for a while.”

Tom looked wary. “I hope you’re not suggesting that I remove his power from him. If I take a power, I have to give it to some other Changechild. And if I DO take his power without his consent, I’m justifying the fear people may have had in our abilities.”

“I would never ask that of you,” Fuji promised, then smiled sweetly. “However, there’s no harm in a little deception, hmm?”

Fuji Yuuta was a little surprised at what he was hearing. “Your parents really don’t want you and your twin brother to move into the Changechildren mansion? But they let you attend separate schools – what’s the difference?”

There was a long enough silence that Yuuta glanced over at the teammate he’d spoken to, Kisarazu Atsushi. “Senpai?”

“If I tell you the truth, will you promise to keep it quiet?” Atsushi asked.

“Of course, if you want me to.”

“It’s not our parents; they let us decide. Ryoh and I agreed we’d be better off trying to get used to this on our own instead of going with the rest of you.”

“But why?” Yuuta inquired curiously. “It’s kind of fun at the mansion, with all the different kids. The adults are okay, too, so long as you don’t use your powers in a dangerous way.”

“I believe you, it’s just –“ Atsushi sighed. “Well, I’m not sure I trust Mizuki.”

“What?! But he’s our teammate! Our manager!”

“He’s also a manipulator,” Atsushi stated, giving Yuuta a direct look. “Please don’t pretend you don’t know. He does it to you worse than any of us.”

“Yeeess,” Yuuta admitted slowly. His brother had said the same thing more than once, but he hadn’t realized Atsushi had noticed as well. When he told him as much, the older boy laughed.

“Yuuta-kun, look at me.” Atsushi tugged on the long, red strip of cloth that he wore as a headband. “I cut my hair and wear this thing because Mizuki told me to, so he wouldn’t confuse me with my twin. We all listen to him because he’s essentially in charge of our team and has brought us so far. But tennis is one thing – I don’t want him to get any ideas about our powers.”

Yuuta wished he could argue on Mizuki’s behalf, but he suspected that the only reason his manager hadn’t taken advantage of his power was because healing wasn’t useful for much else. A twinge of fear reminded him that the other aspect of his power – the part that broke Akutsu Jin’s wrist – was another matter. But then, who would Mizuki want to hurt like that? He knew he wasn’t fond of Syuusuke, but Mizuki must also know that Yuuta would never harm his brother….

“Yuuta-kun?”

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Atsushi. “You’re right. If your powers can in any way be used against someone else, you might be better off keeping them to yourselves for now.”

Atsushi nodded. “We’ve only told family the details about them so far, and that’s how it’s going to stay for a while. I hope you understand why I can’t say anything more.”

“I do,” Yuuta assured him. “I won’t ask anymore questions.”

The two boys heard the familiar sound of a tennis ball being hit back and forth and realized they were near the Fudomine courts. They went closer and looked through the fence. Tachibana Kippei was playing against another boy. The opponent wasn’t very noticeable in the face of Tachibana’s obvious skill.

“He’s pretty amazing, isn’t he?” Yuuta remarked. “He’s a nice guy, too. My brother and he are friends.”

“He’s at the mansion, right?” Atsushi asked. “What’s his power?”

“Wind,” Yuuta answered, watching in admiration as the Fudomine Captain leapt high into the air, directing a smash precisely between the feet of his opponent. The ball bounced up behind him before he could move.

The referee announced the match concluded with that point, and Yuuta wasn’t surprised to hear that Tachibana had shut out his opponent. The two boys shook hands, then Tachibana spotted the St. Rudolph players and waved. Yuuta waved back as the older boy approached the fence.

“Doing some scouting?” he asked with a smile.

“No, but I’m glad we were here to see the end, that was impressive.” Yuuta grinned. Atsushi glanced at his teammate thoughtfully.

“Thank you.” Tachibana’s gaze lingered on Yuuta’s for a moment before he nodded toward Atsushi in greeting. “I’m going to get something to eat before heading back to the mansion. Did you two want to join me?”

“I’m heading back home myself,” Atsushi said quickly. “But I’m sure Yuuta-kun will go with you.”

“Huh?” Yuuta looked at the Kisarazu twin abruptly, then turned back toward the waiting Tachibana. “I … um … sure. I’d like that.”

“All right, just give me a minute to get cleaned up and I’ll meet you out front.” Before heading off, Tachibana winked at Atsushi, who looked amused.

“What was that about?” Yuuta asked his teammate. “Why’d he wink at you like that?”

“He was thanking me.” Atsushi patted Yuuta on the back. “Have fun. I’ll see you at our next practice.”

Yuuta watched Atsushi walk away and wondered why it always seemed like everyone was clued in except for him. Then he thought about going out to eat with Tachibana, smiled, and decided it didn’t matter.

End of Part 36

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 37

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Mizuki was almost finished getting ready to go out with Takahisa. He checked himself out in the mirror and declared himself to be perfect.

“Mukahi-san!” he heard from the hallway. He scowled; it sounded like Terry Griffy’s voice. He must be stupid to approach Gakuto after the exchange they had earlier. “Have you seen my brother? I can’t find him anywhere in the mansion.”

“Hmmph.” Mizuki heard Gakuto snort. “Not that I have any reason to help YOU, but I think he went with Fuji. I heard him asking Eiji if he would teleport them both out Rikkaidai way, but they probably won’t be long. Fuji was getting ready for a date with Kawamura Takashi.”

“That’s weird,” Terry remarked, sounding puzzled. “Why would he suddenly take off with Niisan if he has a date waiting for him?”

“I don’t know!” Gakuto snapped. “I gave up trying to figure out those Seigaku players a long time ago. Now leave me alone.”

Mizuki frowned thoughtfully. It WAS strange. Why would Fuji Syuusuke go to Rikkaidai with Tom Griffy? The American couldn’t have any business there, and since when were Fuji and Tom such buddies, anyway?

“Mizuki?”

He looked toward Takahisa in the doorway and smiled. The Jyousei Captain always dressed well, and his dipped-collar shirt with laces up the front and sides was just plain sexy.

“Are you ready?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes!” Mizuki got up, resolving to put Fuji Syuusuke and his weirdness as far from his mind as he could shove him.

“I’m going to get a refill,” Ryoma said, and headed over to the soft drink fountain.

Once they were alone, Momoshiro turned to glare murderously across the fast food table at Kevin, who smirked back.

“You can go to jail for doing what you’re thinking,” the younger boy pointed out.

“Stay out of my head, just stay out!” Momo hissed.

“I’m trying, believe me, but the stronger the emotion behind the thoughts, the harder it is NOT to hear them,” Kevin said with a shrug. Momoshiro’s hand suddenly trapped the other boy’s wrist.

“This is your tennis arm, isn’t it?” he growled. “Do you know how easy it would be for me to crush your bones into powder?”

Kevin’s blue eyes met Momo’s. “As easy as it would be for me to sing, “Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer” in your head non-stop until they come cart you off to the funny farm.” His gaze flicked up and he sat back. Momoshiro released him, recognizing the signs of Ryoma’s return.

The younger Seigaku player sat down with them. If he’d noticed any conflict at the table in his absence, he didn’t mention it. “Where to from here?” he asked.

“The mall,” Kevin and Momo said together, then gave each other an annoyed look.

“The mall it is,” Ryoma replied calmly, sipping his drink.

“Gakuto, I want to speak with you.”

The acrobat looked up at Yuushi and couldn’t help noticing his troubled expression. “What is it?”

“I heard part of what you said to Terry Griffy earlier. Why are you still being so rude to him? Fuji told you Terry wasn’t going to attack anyone with his powers and it was all a lie on Mizuki’s part.”

Gakuto glanced around to make sure they were alone, but lowered his voice all the same. “I know that, Yuushi. Terry and I are friends now.”

The Hyotei tensai looked confused. “Then why on Earth did you speak to him like that?”

“For Mizuki’s benefit.” Gakuto grinned. “It was Fuji’s idea; Terry and Tom are in on it, too. Between us, we’re going to stop Mizuki from causing trouble for all of us.”

Yuushi adjusted his glasses as a sly smile touched his lips. “If you can do that, more power to you.”

Downtown, in his father’s restaurant, Kawamura cast Fuji an apologetic look as the beauty approached the counter and put a tray of glasses down. “I’m so sorry, Fujiko,” he said. “We came here to have dinner on our date and ended up helping my father with the rush. Some date for you.”

“I don’t mind, Taka-san,” Fuji said cheerfully. “We’re still together, aren’t we? And I’m getting tips, too!” He touched the other boy’s hand. “I’m happy to be here with you.”

Kawamura smiled widely and squeezed Fuji’s hand, then the two of them got back to work. Fuji pondered whether Mizuki’s date was going smoothly or if he was thinking about Gakuto and Terry’s earlier staged performance.

“Mizuki, what’s wrong?”

“Huh?” the black-haired boy looked up at his date, startled. “I’m sorry, Takahisa. What did you say?”

“I asked what was wrong.” The Jyousei Captain studied him with concern. “You’re frowning a lot. Are you not having any fun?”

Mizuki felt guilty. He WAS happy to be with Takahisa, and the dance club was fun, but he had also been preoccupied. Despite his resolve to ignore it, he couldn’t help wondering what business Fuji Syuusuke and Tom Griffy would have over at Rikkaidai. It gave him a gnawing feeling of dread that he couldn’t explain or dissipate.

“Have you ever felt like there was some kind of impending doom and you couldn’t do a thing to stop it?” he asked Takahisa seriously.

“Maybe on a small scale, like a test I wasn’t sure I could pass or something.” The other boy cocked his head. “Why? What’s making you feel that way?”

“Oh, I think Fuji Syuusuke is up to something,” Mizuki admitted with a pout. “But I’m not sure.”

Takahisa placed a warm hand on Mizuki’s cheek. “If he tries anything, tell me. I won’t say that you haven’t provoked him in the past, but you’ve been leaving him alone lately, so he should do the same.”

Mizuki felt another guilty twinge. He had deliberately annoyed Fuji earlier by butting in on his conversation with Eiji about the mysterious ‘secret’, but that was no big deal; surely not enough for Fuji to be out to get him.

On the other hand, the veiled threat of his using his invisibility to spy on them might be ….

He shook his head and smiled sweetly at Takahisa. “You’re wonderful for wanting to get involved on my behalf, but don’t worry – I can handle that guy myself.”

Takahisa didn’t reply. He took Mizuki’s hand instead. “Come on, let’s dance some more. It’s hard to brood when you’re dancing, right?”

Mizuki accepted the invitation willingly, happy to have an understanding boyfriend and a way to keep busy in spite of certain demons masquerading as angels.

Yuuta laughed, then covered his mouth, worrying that maybe he wasn’t supposed to. “You really once told your little sister that the beauty mark on your forehead was a third eye and you could see everywhere with it?”

Tachibana nodded, smiling as he stirred his spoon in his sundae. “It was a long time ago, and I don’t THINK that I still blush every time I remember it.” He quirked an eyebrow jokingly. “Or do I? Am I red now?”

Yuuta studied the other boy’s tanned face. “No, I don’t think so.” He had the feeling that HE was blushing, however. “I’m still sorry I laughed.”

“Don’t be! It was a joke, after all.” Tachibana chuckled. “She really believed it, too, until my parents made me tell her the truth. She’d been afraid I could see her in the bathroom!”

Yuuta couldn’t hold back another laugh. “It sounds like you had a lot of fun with your sister,” he commented. “I have a sister, too, but she’s older.”

“I know – Yumiko, right? Syuusuke told me. She sounds interesting, especially the tarot readings.”

“Sometimes it creeps me out a little,” Yuuta admitted, licking his spoon thoughtfully. “I don’t let her read me very often.” He gave the other boy a wistful smile. “I kind of envy you, being the older brother to a pretty normal sibling.”

Tachibana chuckled. “I gather you don’t think of your siblings as normal?”

“No, they’re both kind of ‘out there,’” Yuuta admitted, then sighed. “You know Aniki – I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about.”

“I do, but I also think you take him too seriously. He teases you for the reaction – it’s what big brothers do.”

Yuuta was about to protest that Tachibana certainly didn’t treat An like that, but then remembered the ‘third eye’ incident. “Well, it’s still not the same,” he insisted. “Aniki flirts with me!”

“He’s a loving person and you’re the most important one in his life.” Tachibana shrugged. “Just take it with good humour and see what happens.”

Yuuta didn’t think he could do that, but appreciated what Tachibana was trying to do. He was about to say something when he caught sight of a pair of figures walking past the ice cream parlour window. The surprise in his gaze drew Tachibana’s attention and the other boy frowned when he saw the cause.

“Rikkaidai,” he said evenly, watching Yukimura, Sanada, and Kirihara pass. “It’s uncommon to see them in this area. Looks like they were at the amusement park – see the bracelets?”

Yuuta nodded, but was actually lost in thought. He remembered how Kirihara had put Tachibana in the hospital on purpose and had a sudden urge to go heave his dish at the other boy’s head. A hand touched his and he turned back to Tachibana, startled.

“It’s all right,” he said gently. “It was a while ago, and he says he’s changed.”

“’Changed’, yeah. He’s a Changechild now, and his power is creepier than anyone’s.” Yuuta watched the trio warily until they were well out of sight.

“You and Syuusuke aren’t so different as you may think,” Tachibana mused. “You both mean to protect me from the green-eyed menace.”

Yuuta looked at him uncertainly. “I guess it’s insulting, isn’t it? Like you can’t protect yourself.”

“Were you insulted when Syuusuke beat Mizuki to shame on the court?” Tachibana asked. “I wasn’t when he stood up for me with Kirihara then, and I’m not now that your eyes are boring holes in his back. I’ll never complain about having people who care about me.” He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you shouldn’t, either.”

Yuuta didn’t reply, but deep down he suspected that Tachibana’s words made some sense. He just didn’t know if he was mature enough to admit it.

Mizuki was in a somewhat better mood when he and Takahisa returned from their date. That is, until he saw Fuji sitting on the foyer stairs, waiting for him. The Seigaku player stood up. “I want to speak with you,” he said.

“What’s this about?” Takahisa interrupted. The other boy didn’t take his eyes off Mizuki.

“We have something we need to resolve, that’s all.”

“Nfu,” Mizuki snickered, playing with a lock of his hair. “It’s all right, Takahisa, you can go up.”

It made him feel warm inside to see how reluctant his boyfriend was to do so, but in the end, he respected Mizuki’s wishes. Once they were alone, the St. Rudolph manager faced his adversary.

“What is it now, Fuji Syuusuke?”

“What do you think? In regards to your earlier threat to keep spying on us with your invisibility, I have a counter-threat, if you will.” Fuji’s aqua eyes hardened. “Tom Griffy and I made a trip out to Rikkaidai territory today. Thanks to his power of transference, I am in temporary ownership of Kirihara Akaya’s possession ability.”

Mizuki tried not to react, but had a feeling that fear was in his eyes from the way Fuji smiled with grim satisfaction.

“I see you understand,” he said and held up a hand. “I could, with one touch, enter your body and control your actions, your voice – everything about you.”

A bead of perspiration slid down Mizuki’s cheek. Fuji in total control of him; it was a thought more horrible than words could express. He could just imagine how he would sabotage his relationship with Takahisa, or get him in trouble with the adults. Maybe even mess up his tennis game during a match!

“What is it you want?” he asked evenly.

“To call a draw,” Fuji said. “I can’t keep the power indefinitely, but I can get it back at any time, you know that. However, I won’t utilize it to control you if you don’t use yours to spy on us.”

Mizuki wanted to rearrange the other boy’s pretty face and was surprised at himself for having such base thoughts. However, he couldn’t act on them; he didn’t dare.

“Fine,” he snapped. “It’s a deal.”

Fuji held out his hand to shake on it, and Mizuki almost grasped it when he remembered what could happen with contact and snatched his hand back. Fuji laughed with delight and went upstairs.

Tachibana and Yuuta came in and the younger boy noticed his brother disappearing at the top of the stairs, then saw his teammate’s sour expression. “Did Aniki say something, Mizuki-san?” he asked worriedly.

The black-haired boy folded his arms and pouted. “He’s threatening me with Kirihara-kun’s borrowed power so that I won’t use mine.”

“You mean so that you won’t use yours against HIM,” Tachibana corrected. Mizuki scowled back.

“He, his friends, anyone,” he retorted. “I might NOT have done it, I just let him think I would! And he had to go all extremist and have Eiji teleport him to Rikkaidai to find Kirihara --”

“But Kirihara wasn’t anywhere near Rikkaidai,” Yuuta interrupted. “We saw him in town earlier, with Yukimura and Sanada. They had the day-pass bracelets on for the amusement park, so they must have been there a while.”

Mizuki cocked his head. “Oh, really? How very interesting.” He cast a glance up the stairs, smirking. It hadn’t occurred to him that Fuji might be bluffing, especially with the elaborate set-up wherein he overheard Terry and Gakuto before his date. However, if that WAS the case, he need not take his threat too seriously after all.

It looks like your latest counter will prove to be an utter failure, Fuji Syuusuke, he thought with unabashed glee.

End of Part 37

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 38

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Choutarou yawned as he shuffled across the hall to go into the bathroom. His mind was still so clouded with sleep that he didn’t notice the door was closed, and just phased right through it.

“HEY!” yelled Shinji, and next thing Choutarou knew, he was being swarmed by towels, a bathmat, and a shower curtain. The Hyotei boy screamed and stumbled backwards. He turned solid in self-defense, causing him to splinter the door as he fell right through it, awakening everyone in the mansion.

That was how that Sunday began.

A little later, kids milled around, getting ready to go down to breakfast and stepping over the remains of the door in the hallway. In Fuji and Eiji’s room, all was quiet save Tachibana’s calm explanation of the events of the previous night.

Fuji sighed when he was done. “So much for that idea, hmm?”

“I’m sorry,” the other boy said honestly. “I don’t think Yuuta realized what he was doing. It sounds like it would have worked otherwise.”

“I don’t blame Yuuta,” Fuji told him. “He has a blind spot where Mizuki is concerned.” He smiled a little. “And how DID your date with my brother go?”

Tachibana grinned. “I guess it did end up being a date, even if it was spur of the moment. Truthfully, Fuji, I find your brother very attractive and have for a while.” He bowed. “Would it be all right with you if I actively courted him?”

“I can’t think of anyone I would rather see him with,” Fuji told him sincerely. “Please take care of him.”

“If he does me the honour of a second date, I will.” Tachibana winked. “And I’ll keep Mizuki’s influence to a minimum when I can.”

“I appreciate that,” Fuji said, then stood up. “Well, now I have the unpleasant duty of telling Gakuto and the Griffys that we’re back to square one with Mizuki.”

“Not entirely,” Tachibana pointed out. “He doesn’t know that YOU know he’s on to you.”

“True,” Fuji admitted. “He might try something, thinking that we’re trusting him to heed our warning so our defenses will be down.” He gave Tachibana a wan smile. “But when you’re talking about invisibility, we still won’t know if he is or isn’t around.”

Tachibana nodded reluctant agreement. “It’s disconcerting for sure. Maybe we should just hope that Takahisa keeps him so busy he won’t have time to bother with spying on anyone.”

Momoshiro cautiously stuck his head into Ryoma’s room and was relieved to see that he was alone. “Ryoma, hey.”

“Hi, Momo-senpai,” the younger boy replied. “I’m ready to go down to breakfast now.”

“How about we go out to breakfast? Just the two of us,” Momo said hopefully.

Ryoma looked pained. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m on schedule for power practice after we eat.”

Momo looked disappointed. “Aw, okay. How about after that? Can we do something then?”

“Oyaji and I are going home after that, to see Kaasan and stay for dinner. Why don’t you come with us?”

“Your folks won’t mind?”

“No, I’ll just call Kaasan and have her make extra.”

Momo grinned. “Okay, that would be great!” His expression faltered. “Kevin’s not coming, is he?”

“Why? Did you ask him?” Ryoma gave him a knowing smile. “Today it’s just you and me.”

That was just fine with Momoshiro.

At breakfast, Gakuto was torn between laughing at Choutarou’s earlier accident or being annoyed with him. “I really wanted to sleep in this morning, Choutarou,” he said, then snickered. “But I still wish I’d seen Shinji’s face when you walked in on him!”

“I wish it had been you instead of me, then!” Choutarou said emphatically, blushing deeply. “I was so embarrassed! And Ryuuzaki-san lectured me on privacy and being careful with my power –“ He put his head down on the table. “How could I have been so careless?”

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Shishido told him with a shrug.

Yuushi smirked. “Yes, Shinji’s bathroom accessory friends can do that just fine.”

Choutarou threw a napkin at him, and was grateful for a distraction when he saw Kabaji approaching with Jiroh over his shoulder. “You guys are late,” he said.

“Dream,” Kabaji replied, dumping Jiroh into a chair. The other boy yawned and blinked at his teammates.

“Hey guys,” he said.

“What were you dreaming about, Jiroh?” Atobe asked. “Something normal or prophetic?”

“Actually, it was the same dream from before,” Jiroh confessed, sipping the glass of juice in front of him. “You know – the one where someone is missing.”

His teammates stared at him. “You’re still having THAT dream?” Gakuto exclaimed.

“I thought that one was predicting Kaidoh-kun being at Yukimura-san’s house.” Choutarou frowned. “Shouldn’t it have stopped after that?”

Jiroh shook his head. “I’ve had that dream several times since then. Sometimes it’s just a ghost of it, but often it’s in the forefront and the emotions are desperate behind it.” He sighed. “It’s kind of creepy; I wish it would stop.”

“Have you picked up any new clues from it since the first time?” Shishido asked.

Jiroh glanced at Kabaji, who nodded to him. He sat back in his chair and looked around at his teammates. “Just this last time – it’s why we were late, because we were talking about it. Kabaji was trying to wake me up, so he had his hand on my shoulder, and we figured that’s why I saw more than usual –“

“Will you just TELL us already?!” Gakuto exploded. “The suspense is killing me!”

Jiroh lowered his voice and leaned forward for privacy. “It’s one of us.”

“You mean someone at this table?” Atobe asked.

Kabaji nodded. “Hyotei.”

The boys exchanged concerned glances and Jiroh gave a weak laugh. “Hey, guys, don’t panic, okay? It might not have been prophetic, and it might not even be something bad. One of us can be ‘missing’ from here if we’re at the mall or something.”

“Would your power bother having you dream about something so mundane?” Yuushi asked.

“I don’t know,” Jiroh admitted. “I dream all kinds of things, but not all of them are predictions or shades from the past. This one feels different, though.” He rubbed his arms. “I’m always shaking when I wake up from it.”

“Then it IS something bad!” Gakuto cried.

Choutarou looked uneasy. “Maybe we should tell the teachers,” he said softly.

Shishido sniffed. “What can THEY do? They can’t make Jiroh dream details – only Kabaji can help with that by enhancing his power, and he’s already done it. It sounds like the dream has already given as much detail as it plans to.”

“If the teachers think any of us are in danger, they’ll confine us to the mansion,” Atobe pointed out. “I, for one, don’t plan on spending my teenage years stuck here.”

“So what good is Jiroh’s power if all we can do is ignore it?” Gakuto scowled.

“Sorry, guys,” Jiroh said sadly. “This is why I haven’t said anything all along that it was still happening, but Kabaji thought that this time, I should.”

“No, it’s all right,” Atobe assured him. “I’m glad you told us. Perhaps we can’t say anything to the adults, but it’s better to be aware, and we can watch out for each other, as well.”

“Can we tell the other kids?” Choutarou asked.

Yuushi shook his head. “The more who find out, the more likely that the adults will hear of it, too. This stays between us.”

The Hyotei boys shared a nod of silent agreement.

“Hey guys, what are you doing?” Youhei asked as he and Kouhei sat down with Tom and Terry. The two Americans were looking through a phone book, their expressions troubled.

“Oh, hi,” Terry greeted with a strained smile. “We’re looking for an agent to handle our idol career here, but we don’t really know where to start.”

“Mr. Baker ran things the first time we were here, then after we went back to America, the tennis association assigned someone for us,” Tom explained. “Now we’re back to square one.”

“I don’t think you should pick someone out of the phone book,” Youhei said slowly.

“We know it, but what else can we do?” Tom said. “At least there are agencies listed here, but while we can read Japanese better than we could before, it’s still kind of slow going.”

“Get one of the adults here to help you break back into the business,” Kouhei suggested. “Hanamura-sensei would –“

“She’s got you guys – your team,” Terry reminded him. “It wouldn’t be fair to take her focus off that.”

“The only adult here without a team is Echizen-san,” Youhei commented, then glanced at Kouhei. The Griffys couldn’t help noticing that the two of them looked dubious.

“I’m guessing that’s not a good way to go?” Tom asked in wry amusement.

“Welllll,” the twins hedged.

“It’s not that he’s a bad person,” Youhei said.

Kouhei nodded. “He’s kind of funny and not so strict.”

“But,” Youhei sighed, “it’s hard to tell what he takes seriously.”

“Our options are sort of limited right now,” Terry admitted. “Maybe he can at least help us find someone qualified.”

The Tanakas shrugged at each other. (“I can’t think of an objection for that,”) Kouhei told his twin mentally.

(“Me either,”) Youhei confessed. (“Should we warn them that Echizen-san is a pervert?”)

“There he is, Niisan!” Terry nodded toward Nanjiroh as he walked into the room. “Come on, let’s go talk to him!”

Youhei and Kouhei watched helplessly as the Griffys headed toward Ryoma’s father.

“I guess they’ll find out on their own.” Kouhei sighed.

Breakfast was over. Some of the boys were lucky enough to have no obligations to either tennis or power practice, so they quickly spread out to make their own plans for the day.

In their room, Atobe watched Tezuka pick up his tennis racquet. “You’ll be minus players at your practice,” he pointed out. “Echizen and Kikumaru were on the schedule for power practice with me.”

“We’ll work around them,” Tezuka said, unconcerned. He glanced at the other boy. “Are we doing anything later?”

“I wish I could,” Atobe admitted. “However, today I have to go home. My parents want an update on my progress with my powers and how things are generally going here for everyone.” He smiled invitingly. “You could come with me.”

Tezuka looked at him apologetically. “I can’t. Ryuzaki-sensei is in charge of your power practice, so she can’t be at our tennis practice. Afterwards, she and Oishi and I are conferring to plan some strategy for the next tournament.” He leaned over to give Atobe’s cheek a quick kiss. “I’m sorry. I WOULD like to meet your parents.”

“There’ll be other opportunities.” Atobe shrugged. “I’m just sorry we won’t see each other again until tonight.” He slipped his arms around Tezuka, his dark eyes meeting those of the other Captain. “Will you miss me?”

“We won’t be apart any longer than we would be on a school day,” Tezuka said logically.

Atobe rolled his eyes. “This is Sunday. That makes it different.” He kissed Tezuka suggestively, pressing against him in a deliberate attempt to tease, then gave him a mischievous smile. “Consider that a preview for tonight.”

Tezuka’s expression didn’t change, but he had to clear his throat before replying, “I’ll look forward to it.”

That was good enough for Atobe, who laughed with satisfaction as he headed out to power practice. Tezuka left the room with his racquet and saw Eiji standing further down the hall. The acrobat’s head swiveled from watching Atobe go down the stairs back to Tezuka, and his Captain noticed he was blushing.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No, Buchou, nothing!” Eiji said quickly and teleported away so quickly, he left a vague outline image behind. Tezuka shook his head and continued on his way.

End of Part 38

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 39

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

While waiting for Sumire to arrive for power practice, Eiji clapped Ryoma enthusiastically on the back, nearly sending the Freshman flying. “Hey, Ochibi-chan! What are you going to do today?”

Ryoma straightened his hat and looked at his senpai. “Same thing I always do; act like a practice dummy while everyone throws their power at me to see if it has any effect.”

Eiji winked at him. “I already know I can’t hoi you anywhere, but I’ll try again if Ryuuzaki-sensei wants me to.” He noticed Ryoma had glanced in the direction of where the Griffy brothers seemed very excited talking to Kevin. “What’s up with them?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, then waved to get Kevin’s attention. The blonde boy jogged toward him. “What’s going on with your teammates?” Ryoma asked.

Kevin grinned mischievously. “You’ll LOVE this one. They asked your father if he would help them jump-start their idol career again here, since they don’t have a manager now. I guess he thought it was a great idea and is already making phone calls.”

Eiji tilted his head uncertainly as Ryoma hung his. “I didn’t know that Echizen-san had any experience as a manager, nya.”

“He doesn’t,” Ryoma replied flatly. “He probably just agreed because they’re attractive and would be indebted to him.”

Kevin gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “Don’t be so sure! Your dad has managed YOUR career all right, hasn’t he?”

Ryoma gave him a skeptical look. “I don’t think it’s the same thing.”

Atobe came up behind Kevin and pushed the younger boy’s sunglasses down so that they fell onto his nose. Eiji laughed while Kevin glanced up at the Hyotei Captain.

“I couldn’t resist,” Atobe said with a shrug.

Kevin’s expression changed slowly and a grin formed. “You really think I look cool?”

Atobe blinked, then frowned. “Stop reading my mind.” He turned away. “But yes, I do. For a twelve-year-old, anyway.”

Ryoma rolled his eyes as Atobe walked over to chat with Tachibana.

Kevin snickered. “He’s pretty high on himself, isn’t he? I have to admit, he looks cool, too. That’s what total self-confidence does, I guess.”

“That and billions of dollars,” Ryoma replied dryly.

Kevin elbowed him. “Don’t be jealous, you’re even better at the self-confidence projection.”

Ryoma was about to protest the jealousy crack but Sumire chose that moment to arrive.

“All right, boys, let’s get started!”

“A carpenter I’m not.” Choutarou sighed as he sat on the hallway carpet, studying his efforts to fix the bathroom door he’d fallen through.

Shishido clicked his tongue in exasperation. “Geez, Choutarou, NOBODY could fix this mess!” He pointed at the smaller pieces of wood that had been left out when his teammate glued the bigger ones back together. “See? You couldn’t put back those little ones, and now there are small holes all over the door!”

“I KNOW that,” Choutarou retorted in frustration. “That’s what I was talking about; I stink at carpentry.”

The older boy sighed and shuffled his feet, kicking at the wood chips randomly. “You missed the point. No one could ‘fix’ this door – it needs to be replaced. Sakaki-sensei said they’d have another one by the end of the day.”

Choutarou put down his bottle of wood glue. “Oh,” he said in a small voice.

Shishido knelt behind him and put an arm around his neck in a gentle head-lock. “Hey, you did your best. Come on, let’s get rid of this mess.”

They were in the middle of picking up the wood chips by hand when Shinji passed by with Kamio. The Fudomine tensai paused and looked down at the remains of the door, then at the Hyotei Sophomore. “The door says that it hurt a lot when you killed it.”

Choutarou looked up at him with a stricken expression, but Shinji was already moving on. Kamio gave Shishido an apologetic look and was at Shinji’s side with a burst of speed.

Shishido turned to Choutarou. “He’s just messing with you because you walked in on him in the bathroom. Don’t listen to him.”

The thirteen-year-old touched the wood he’d tried to glue together. “I’m sorry, Door-san,” he said softly.

Shishido facepalmed.

Atobe stared at Sumire. “You have GOT to be kidding me!”

“Watch your tone, Atobe-kun,” the Seigaku Coach warned. “The idea of these practice sessions is for everyone to be able to utilize their power and help each other as much as possible. That way you’ll all get comfortable and learn to control them better.”

“And exactly how am I supposed to do all that when _I’M_ always chosen as the power-removal guinea pig?!” Atobe shot a distrustful look toward the Griffy brothers, who exchanged a worried glance.

“You saw them borrow Tachibana’s power first,” Eiji said helpfully. “Ryuuzaki-sensei just wants to see if they can handle taking two powers at once.”

“This is something that the boys haven’t been able to try before, and it might not even work,” Sumire explained. “It will only be for a couple of minutes.”

Atobe saw that the Griffys looked as uneasy as he did and could tell his reluctance was making them feel guilty. He was aware of the problems they’d had fitting in at first and didn’t want to add to it. Tezuka would be proud of me, he thought, then gave a long-suffering sigh. “All right, all right. To further advancement and all that. But I want my power BACK.”

“You’ll get it,” Sumire said and motioned Tom over. The older Griffy moved to Atobe’s side and touched his shoulder. Instantly, the Hyotei Captain felt the loss. Is this how I felt ALL the time before I got my power? He thought. I suppose one can get used to anything.

They all watched curiously to see if Terry could accept the second transferred power from his brother. The younger boy blinked once, then shivered.

“Wow,” he breathed, and a puff of frosty air came out with the word.

“It looks like you have successfully acquired Atobe’s power,” Sumire acknowledged. “Did it cancel out Tachibana’s, or do you still have that one as well?”

Terry made a slow, sweeping gesture in the air and everyone felt the breeze pick up instantly. He grinned at Tom. “Niisan!”

“Great, he can do it,” Atobe said quickly. “Now, may I –“

“Tom! Terry!” yelled Nanjiroh from the back patio of the mansion. “Come here, hurry up!”

“Nanjiroh, we’re not quite done here,” Sumire called back.

“I’ll explain later!” Nanjiroh motioned urgently to the Griffys. “Hurry!”

“All right, go,” Sumire told them grimly. “This had better be important.”

The brothers ran for the house while Atobe stared after them, dumbfounded. He finally gained back the power of speech when they disappeared inside the house. “What the hell?!” he yelled, spinning toward Sumire. “They just took off with my power!”

“They’ve got mine, too,” Tachibana said calmly. “Relax, Atobe. You spent a lifetime without it; you can live like that a little while longer to get it back.”

“They’ll return both powers, nya,” Eiji tried to reassure him. “It’s not their fault Echizen-san called them.”

“Leave bad timing to Oyaji,” Ryoma muttered.

“You can trust Tom and Terry,” Kevin stated firmly. “I promise they won’t keep the powers from you.”

Atobe covered his mouth suddenly, his eyes wide. “I just remembered! I’m going to my parents’ right after practice; I have to get my power back before I leave or I won’t be able to until tonight!”

Sumire checked her watch. “Practice is over now, anyway, so go ahead. You’re all dismissed.”

Atobe sprinted for the house, charging straight into it. The Griffys were nowhere in sight.

“Shishido!” he called out as he spotted his teammate. “Do you know where the Griffy brothers went? They just came in from practice.”

“Yeah, and went right back out.” Shishido motioned toward the front of the mansion. “Echizen-san hustled them out, babbling about how he got them an interview with Monthly Pro Tennis.” He turned back to his Captain and frowned. “Atobe, you’ve gone awfully pale all of a sudden ….”

“Why do you keep going through your closet over and over?” Kamio asked Momoshiro. “The clothes haven’t changed since the last ten times you looked.”

“I’m going home with Ryoma today and I can’t decide what to wear to have dinner with his parents,” Momo explained, pushing shirts aside.

Kamio shrugged. “You eat in the same cafeteria with his father every day.”

“But his MOTHER will be there this time,” Momo emphasized. “That makes it different.”

“As long as what you wear is clean and doesn’t have holes, you’ll be fine,” Kamio assured him, then grinned. “Shinji’s mother loved me right from the start.”

“It was probably just a relief for her to talk to someone she could HEAR.” Momo smirked. A quick knock drew his attention to the door. “Come in!”

Ryoma walked in holding Karupin in one arm. He was scowling.

“Uh oh,” Momo said warily. “What’s wrong?”

“Oyaji deserted us,” the younger boy told him. “He ran off with the Griffy brothers right after power practice. I guess he’s going to be their manager or something. He might have forgotten all about going home today, and that means we’re left without a ride.”

“We can take the bike,” Momo offered. “It’s kind of far, but I can do it. My superstrength means I can pedal a lot longer without getting tired.”

“I know, it’s just ….” He shook his head.

“Hissss!” Karupin contributed. Ryoma stroked his back and sighed.

“Yeah, what HE said.”

Momo laughed. “Well, don’t worry about it – we can still go. And it’s nice if he can help the Griffys, right?”

“The operative word there is ‘if’,” Ryoma said dryly. “Anyway, if you’re not bothered, I’ll try not to be.”

“THERE you are, Ryoma!” Sumire stated, peering in the doorway. “Your mother just called. Nanjiroh phoned her to say he might not make it today, and she called here to ask if I’d come to dinner and bring you with me.”

“You don’t have to, Baa-san,” Momoshiro said. “I can take him on my bike.”

“Oh, were you going, too, Momoshiro?” Sumire asked. “Well, you can both come with me. I’d like to talk to your mother without Nanjiroh around, anyway, Ryoma. She must be quite the woman to put up with him all these years.”

“She is,” Ryoma confirmed. “Thanks, Sensei.”

Sumire left and the boys looked at each other. “At least now I can take Karupin with me so he can visit home, too,” Ryoma said.

“Does your mother know you and Momoshiro are boyfriends?” Kamio asked curiously.

“Not yet,” Ryoma admitted. “But knowing Kaasan, she’ll probably have figured it out by the time we leave.”

Atobe leaned his head back against the comfort of the limousine seat. He was glad to be visiting his parents, and he had a lot to tell them about how things were progressing at the Changechildren mansion. However, it was disappointing not to be able to demonstrate his near-perfect control with his own power for them.

Despite his initial panic attack, he wasn’t REALLY worried about getting his power back. This was different from the time with Oishi. Back then, the Seigaku Vice-Captain couldn’t control how long he nullified powers for. Atobe hadn’t known when his power would return or even if it ever would.

On the other hand, he knew the Griffys didn’t like to hold onto powers any longer than they had to. He’d see them that evening, and chances were they’d all be relieved to put things back to normal.

He looked out the window, surprised to see another car alongside them. They were almost home now, and not a lot of traffic came this far. Funny, the kid in the passenger seat looked vaguely familiar. He seemed to know Atobe, too, from the way he was grinning at him.

He realized too late that it wasn’t a friendly grin.

The other car suddenly swerved and rammed the side of the limo. Atobe fell against the opposite door.

“Keigo-Bocchama!” the limo driver yelled back. “Hold on! They’re going to hit us again!”

Atobe could tell his chauffeur was doing his best to avoid the collision, but the long car just wasn’t built for evasive maneuvers. The other vehicle rammed them harder, and the limo careened off the road, rolling to a stop.

“It has to be you that they’re after, Keigo-Bocchama!” the driver said urgently. “Run as fast as you can for the house – I’ll try to hold them off!” He opened his door and ran to intercept whoever had gotten out of the other car.

Atobe dove out the opposite door and ran. He was fast and knew it, and had good stamina from training and tennis. He could make it.

He felt a sudden sting on the back of his neck. Immediately, his vision swam and his legs felt like the muscles had turned to jelly. He stumbled and fell to his hands and knees. He heard footsteps approaching and tried to get up, but collapsed onto the pavement instead. Drugs, he thought, his mind feeling as numb as the rest of him.

“Like shooting fish in a barrel!” commented the one who approached him. Atobe tried to turn his head to see his attacker’s face, but the darkness claimed him and he passed out.

End of Part 39

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Part 40

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Whenever the phone rang in the Changechildren mansion, it was almost always followed by a rush of teenage boys, all hoping or expecting it to be for them. That Sunday, many of the boys had already gone out, but there were still enough left to make the competition fierce.

“It’s mine!” yelled Gakuto.

“No way!” Kouhei protested. “it’s for me!”

“It might be my mom,” Yuuta interrupted, jogging toward the phone.

Kamio zipped between all of them and picked up the receiver. “Ha!” he said to the others triumphantly.

The phone was plucked from his hand and he spun to confront whoever had done it. He lifted his gaze way up to meet Kabaji’s.

“Mine.”

“Hokay, no prob, all yours!” Kamio conceded, backing off quickly.

Kabaji spoke into the receiver, “Hello?”

All of them could hear a frantic voice on the other end, but only Kabaji and Kouhei clearly heard what they were saying.

“Atobe was KIDNAPPED?!” the two of them repeated.

The other boys fell silent, staring.

Atobe could hear voices before his eyes were fully opened. There were at least three of them in the room with him.

“How long is this going to take?”

“I can’t do anything until they get back to me, now quit asking!”

“You’ve gotta love how this is gonna kill two birds with one stone, huh? Not only will it solve Oyaji’s problems, but Hyotei will be demoralized for tournaments!”

Atobe’s vision cleared and he got his first look at his kidnappers. He did a double-take in disbelief. He KNEW these guys!

The Sasabe family; father, university-aged son and high-school aged son. All of them tennis players, none of them as good as they thought they were. According to Tezuka, Ryoma had taken all of them out easily.

But more so than all that, the Sasabe family was RICH. They frequented the same country clubs that Atobe’s family did. Why the hell would they need to kidnap him?!

The youngest brother noticed Atobe watching them. “Hey, Oyaji, he’s awake!”

The man turned toward where the Hyotei Captain was laying on a couch and smiled in a not-so-nice way. “Welcome back, Atobe-kun. I trust you slept well?”

“Being knocked out with drugs isn’t sleeping,” Atobe retorted. “What’s going on here, Sasabe? You don’t need ransom.”

The man gave a low whistle. “Dropping the honorifics to an elder? You’re a rude brat, aren’t you?”

“Kidnapping negates common courtesy,” Atobe snapped. “I demand to know what this is about!”

“Don’t get too pushy, kid,” the university student warned. “We’re the ones in charge here.”

“Yeah!” chimed in the high-schooler. “And don’t forget it!”

Atobe gave an internal sigh. He felt like he’d been kidnapped by Larry, Curly, and Moe, only without any humour. That is, save the kind that utter stupidity offered. He had been afraid when the kidnapping first occurred, but he couldn’t find it in him to be afraid of THESE bozos. “So are you going to tell me why you’re doing this or what?”

“Sure, I’ll tell you.” Sasabe Sr. strode over to him. “Your father has been beating me out in business deals lately, so I want to level the playing field a little. If he’s distracted with a missing son, he’ll not be paying so much attention to other things.”

“That’s the dumbest reason I ever heard!” Atobe exclaimed. “Don’t you think you’ll get caught?!”

The way that all three Sasabes burst into derisive laughter made Atobe nervous for the first time since he’d awakened.

“If we planned on ransoming you, or holding you for any length of time, yes, that would be a concern.” Sasabe Sr. took hold of Atobe’s chin and looked him in the eyes. “But you won’t be here that long, boy.”

“We’re selling you!” the youngest Sasabe announced gleefully. “To the underground slave trade!”

“That’s right!” His older brother grinned evilly. “Before long you’ll be someone’s personal sex toy, and neither your parents nor your friends will ever know what happened to you; you’ll just disappear!”

Sasabe Sr. patted Atobe’s cheek, obviously enjoying the betraying look of fear that had finally entered the boy’s eyes. “We may not need the money, but that doesn’t mean we’ll turn it down. We’ll get a prime price for a handsome, cultured brat like yourself. Your new owner will have fun breaking you.” He laughed and started to walk away. Atobe leapt to his feet and started to go after him, but the high schooler extended a hand and suddenly the Hyotei Captain bounced off an invisible barrier between himself and Sasabe Sr.

“Oh, by the way, my youngest son is a Changechild,” the man said, glancing over his shoulder with a nasty smile that showed off his gold tooth. “Force fields are a wonderful thing. They can both contain you and protect us.”

“You must know that I’m a Changechild, too,” Atobe hissed, not mentioning the fact that right now, his powers were elsewhere.

“Oh, I’m aware of that. But the drugs we shot you with will deaden your powers for a bit, and once that’s completely worn off, well, my son’s force fields will keep anything you throw at us from getting out.”

“And once you’ve been sold, you can bet your new Master will keep you drugged up just enough so that your power will NEVER be any threat!” crowed the university-aged Sasabe. “We’ve got it all figured out!”

Atobe glared at them, trying not to let them see his anxiety. They may be morons, but it seemed that they HAD done some planning. If they sold him quickly, he wouldn’t have a chance – drugs aside, Terry Griffy still had his power. His only two possibilities were to find a way out of the force field and escape or to be rescued before he was sold.

Tezuka, he thought, trying to keep panic from overtaking him. How about being my shining knight in tennis whites about now, hmm?

It took roughly an hour for all the Changechildren and adults to be called back to the mansion with the knowledge that an emergency was taking place. The Seigaku regulars, with the exception of Eiji and Ryoma, were the last to arrive.

“I’m sorry we’re late,” Tezuka apologized to Sumire. “Practice ran long.”

“This better be good!” Nanjiroh was saying. “It’s my first day as the Griffy’s manager and I was already getting them jobs until you dragged us back here!”

“Nanjiroh, come over here!” Sumire ordered, and the stress in her tone made him shut up and obey for the first time she could remember.

The Changechildren who had been at the phone when the call about Atobe came in were remaining quiet through sheer force of will. It became a moot point when Youhei overheard Sumire telling Nanjiroh what happened, even though she kept her voice low. The magenta-haired boy gasped and Kouhei quickly spoke to him telepathically in warning.

Kevin finally put up his hand. “Ryuzaki-san, I’m not trying to read minds here, honest, but the intense stuff that’s being projected – is it true?”

The kids grew quiet and the adults all exchanged looks. Sumire sighed. “All right, here’s the fact of the matter. Atobe Keigo has been kidnapped.”

There were gasps, murmurings, and a lot of horrified expressions. Eiji was watching Tezuka, and while his Captain’s face didn’t change, he saw a muscle twitching in his cheek.

“As of yet, there hasn’t been any ransom demand,” Aoi told them. “We’re hoping there will be one soon.”

“Sakaki-sensei, what are we waiting for?” Gakuto exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “Let’s go get him back!”

“Sit DOWN and listen, Gakuto!” Tarou commanded. Once the acrobat had grudgingly done so, his Coach continued. “Atobe’s parents and the police have been notified, but all of us are to stay OUT of it unless we’re contacted.”

Voices of protest came from all sides, and it was several minutes before Sumire was finally able to silence everyone with a piercing whistle.

“LISTEN to me!” she barked. “The police know what they’re doing! You don’t want to interfere with their job or get in the way, do you?”

“That may be so, Sensei,” Tezuka said, standing up. “But I also don’t believe we can, in good conscience, do nothing at all.”

“What he’s not saying is that he HAS to do something,” Mizuki drawled knowingly. “Atobe-san is his BOYFRIEND!”

Oishi looked quickly toward Eiji, who gasped, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t tell the secret!”

“THAT was the secret?!” Mizuki exclaimed, sounding dismayed. “I’ve known about their relationship since just after we moved in here!”

“And you didn’t blab it to everyone? Well, until now, that is …,” Fuji remarked.

Mizuki stuck his tongue out at him. “I teased Atobe about it at the time, but –“

“May we get back to the point, please?” Tezuka snapped and faced the adults. “No one wants to interfere with the police, but we do have some advantages that they don’t. Atobe needs all the help he can get.”

“We’re sorry, Tezuka-kun,” Aoi said gently, her pretty face genuinely sympathetic. “We understand your fears, but if you children go out there after him, the kidnapper might hurt him. You don’t want to be responsible for that.”

“Hanamura-san, if we don’t go after him, there’s even more chance this will end badly for him,” Tezuka insisted. “Authorities always say that the longer a kidnapping victim is missing, the less likely it is to find them unharmed. And if there’s been no ransom demand, the situation is even more urgent --”

“Tezuka, that’s ENOUGH,” Sumire said firmly. “Don’t you think we’re all afraid for Atobe-kun, too? Not to mention feeling guilty?” She put a hand over her face and her voice shook, “It’s my fault that he didn’t have his power at the time of his capture – the power that might have saved him. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

Nanjiroh put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed, then looked at the gathered students. “No one says you have to like it, gang. But that’s the way the cops want it; no civilian involvement. We don’t want anyone ELSE getting captured.”

“Because we aren’t sure of the nature of this kidnapping, everyone is confined to the mansion for the rest of the day, just to be safe,” Tarou said. “If there’s any news, we’ll call you back down here. For now, you’re all dismissed.”

‘“Will you miss me?”’

Atobe’s innocent query repeated itself in Tezuka’s memory, and in his mind’s eye, he could see his boyfriend’s handsome face as he’d said it. His head tilted, the sparkle in his dark eyes, a suggestive smile ….

“Kei-chan,” he said softly, but firmly. “I won’t give them time to hurt you. I’ll find you myself, and I’ll get you out of there.”

“We’re going with you.”

Tezuka looked toward his bedroom doorway to see the Hyotei team members, Kabaji at the forefront. It was he who had spoken.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to endanger anyone else,” Tezuka said.

“This isn’t an offer, Tezuka-san,” Yuushi told him.

Gakuto looked at him seriously. “It’s a FACT.”

“Atobe is our Captain, our leader, and our friend,” Choutarou explained.

“And if you don’t take us with you, we’ll go on our own.” Shishido folded his arms.

“We can help,” Kabaji stated.

“So can we.”

Behind Hyotei, Tezuka saw the unmistakable colour of the Tanaka twins’ hair. At their side were the Griffys.

“I still have Atobe-san’s power,” Terry said, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “I can use it for him until the moment we can give it back.”

“We ALL want to help, Tezuka,” Fuji said gently. His teammate peered out into the hallway and saw that every Changechild in the mansion was there, offering their support and assistance.

Finally, the Seigaku Captain nodded. “All right then. Let’s not get careless. We’ll make a plan and figure out who is needed in what capacity.” His mouth tightened into a thin line. “Then we’ll go get Atobe back.”

End of Part 40

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 41

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The more time Atobe spent with his kidnappers the more of his brain cells he could feel dying off one by one. They were all so conceited and self-congratulatory – who could stand being around someone like that?

They played cards to pass the time and all three of them cheated. Every once in a while, one of them would say in annoyance, “When are they going to call?!” and then the other two would berate him. For his part, Atobe just hoped the call would never come. He knew it would be the first step in his being taken to a place from where he may never return.

A sex slave? The very idea seemed impossible. How could anyone think to make a slave of Atobe Keigo? And as for the other part of it, only Tezuka was allowed to touch him intimately. Anyone else who tried would have a fight on their hands.

But they mentioned drugs. If they were serious, and he had no reason to think they were not, he would be too doped up to fight. Eventually, he’d wind up hooked on whatever they were giving him and would forget about everything that made him himself.

He was unable to do a thing about the force field, mostly because they never left him alone long enough to try. However, there was one reason he was fairly sure they’d have to remove it, and would offer him some privacy to look for escape as well. He cleared his throat. “I would like to use the facilities.”

The Three Stooges stared at him like the dim bulbs they were.

“The bathroom,” he clarified.

Sasabe Sr. looked at his youngest son and jerked his head toward Atobe. “Take him.”

During the couple of hours he’d been with these guys, Atobe had gone over what he knew about them. There wasn’t much, because even at the country club he’d tried to avoid them. He didn’t even know their given names. However, there were nicknames that the elder Sasabes had brandied about for themselves on the tennis court. The father called himself The Golden Retriever, and his university-aged son called himself The Puppet Master. Atobe began thinking of them in terms of these nicknames for lack of anything else. However, he realized Sasabe of the high school age had no such nickname, so he assigned him one: Wannabe. He was a wannabe tennis player and wannabe worshipped for the jerk he was.

Wannabe got up and headed over to the couch. He made a brief gesture that Atobe assumed was his dissipating the force field, then reached for his arm as if to pull him up. Atobe yanked it out of reach and stood up, locking eyes with the other boy.

“Down there.” Wannabe pointed, scowling at the show of defiance. Atobe preceded him down the hall, taking note of as much as he could along the way. He had suspected from the spacious living room they had been in that this was Sasabe property, not just some hotel. As he looked at the tacky decorating scheme and ugly knickknacks and paintings on the walls, he was even more sure of it. These idiots had taken him home with them.

However, if the Sasable family was anything like the Atobe family (and God willing, the similarities were few), they would own more than one home.

Abruptly, Atobe was shoved into a bathroom and the door slammed behind him. “Make it fast!” Wannabe snapped at him with an effect of command that didn’t quite come off.

The moment he was alone, Atobe ran for the window. He realized right away that it was far too small for him to crawl through, and gazing out across the vast lawn surrounded by a high metal fence, he suspected there would be obstacles to cross before he could reach the road. There was one now – a Doberman roaming across the grass. Where there was one, there were probably more.

Abandoning the window, Atobe quickly and quietly began searching for anything that could be used as a weapon. If he could find something to gain him a fast advantage before they went back to the living room, he might have a chance.

He was running out of hope, though. There were no spray cans or blunt instruments heavier than a shampoo bottle. Not even a plunger, for crying out loud. Then he noticed the sink plug was fastened to the spout by a thin chain. He began working to unhook it. It was short, but his hands were strong from tennis; it might make a suitable garrote.

“Hurry up in there!”

Atobe flushed the toilet and turned on the sink to follow through with his ruse. He tucked the chain up his sleeve and came out of the bathroom.

Wannabe was smirking at him. “What took you so long? Are you so scared that you couldn’t go?”

Atobe gave him a deadpan look. “Yes, that’s it exactly,” he said in a flat tone. “I’m absolutely petrified with fear.”

The smirk grew wider. “You should be!” the older boy said proudly. “There’s no way you’re getting out of this, we planned it too well.”

The Hyotei Captain doubted these morons could even spell ‘plan.’ Yes, they’d come up with an idea, and initially it might have seemed foolproof. But Atobe Keigo was no fool.

As if to prove Atobe’s doubts to be justified, Wannabe, still high on his own self-satisfaction, broke the first rule in Kidnapping 101. He stepped ahead of the victim as if expecting a cowering boy to follow him meekly back to the living room.

Thank you for being an idiot, Atobe thought grimly and in one smooth motion, slipped the chain from his sleeve and looped it over Wannabe’s head, yanking back with all his might.

Caught off-guard, Wannabe found himself unable to breathe and panicked, doing all the wrong things to escape strangulation by clawing uselessly at the chain and trying to yell for help with no air to give voice with. However, Atobe was having trouble himself; the other boy had two years’ height and weight on him, and if he could gain leverage, he might be able to throw him off. Worse yet, Atobe needed for their struggle to go unheard, but in the heat of the scuffle, he didn’t realize the sounds of their conflict had reached the older Sasabes.

Just as the sixteen-year-old Sasabe went down, Atobe turned to run and was suddenly met with a world of pain that exploded in his right cheek. His body slammed into the wall and as he tried to clear the stars from his vision he heard the Golden Retriever bellowing something about not leaving bruises. When he could finally focus again, the first thing he saw was the nose of a handgun pointed straight at his face. It was the first time any of the kidnappers had revealed a gun in his presence and he realized he might just be screwed after all.

“That was a stupid thing to do, kid,” snarled the Retriever, who called over his shoulder to the Puppet Master, “How’s your little brother?”

“He’s coming around.” Puppet Master abandoned his sibling to join their father. From the way he was rubbing his knuckles, Atobe surmised this was the one who had backhanded him across the face. HIS face. The bastard had Hit. His. FACE.

“Now look at that!” Retriever snapped at his elder son. “That cheek’s swelling up already! We might have to bring the price down because of you!”

“Aw, it’ll heal, his owner will know that,” Puppet Master retorted.

“What I’m wondering is why he hasn’t used his powers yet,” his father mused, scratching his chin with one hand while still holding the gun on Atobe with the other. “The drugs have obviously worn off or he couldn’t fight like that.” A slow, evil grin spread across his homely face. “You actually DON’T have any powers, do you?”

Atobe was still shaking from the adrenalin of the fight and now barely-surpressed rage. “It’s a temporary condition, I assure you,” he hissed. “And when I get my power back, I promise you that I will freeze certain parts of your anatomy so that you will NEVER reproduce again!”

The Golden Retriever drew back his gun hand as if he planned to pistol-whip Atobe, then remembered why he couldn’t. At that moment, his cell phone rang and he brought it to his ear. “Yeah, it’s me … Right, we’ve got him here, everything is going according to plan.” He looked at Atobe and frowned. “Well, there was a little accident – he’s going to have a bruise on his face for a while.” The man winced and pulled the phone away from his ear briefly, then spoke into it again, “No, it’s nothing permanent, don’t worry … Okay, we’ll see you in a while, then.” He hung up and scowled at Atobe. “Tie him up; they’re on the way to get him.” He went over to drag Wannabe to his feet.

Atobe’s heart died a little. Bound, he’d have no chance of escaping on his own power. Tezuka, he pleaded mentally, please hurry.

With Inui’s power of super-intelligence, it was unanimously decided that he be the strategist for the rescue plan.

“As much as we want to, we can’t ALL go,” he told the others firmly. “Too big a crowd will attract the kidnapper’s attention, and our adults will certainly notice how quiet the mansion has become if we all leave at once. We’ll need specific powers on the mission, and those whose powers we don’t need will be necessary in keeping the four adults distracted so that they don’t discover the rest are missing.”

“You’d better be sure to need our powers, because ALL we Hyotei members are going,” Shishido told him, and his teammates nodded firmly.

“I figured as much,” Inui said dryly. “But we may need others’ powers, too, and still have to leave enough people to deal with the adults.”

“How do we determine which powers are needed when we don’t even know how far away Atobe is or the circumstances of his current situation?” Tachibana asked.

“This is how it starts.” Inui motioned Kevin over. “Kevin-kun, how great is the range of your telepathy?”

“I’m not sure yet, we only just started testing it in practice,” he admitted. “If you’re thinking that I can pick Atobe’s mind out of the bazillion people in the world, don’t get your hopes up. There’s too much interference when I try searching, like ‘static’ from other minds. It’s like a needle in a haystack.” He sighed. “Maybe when I’m older and have had more time to hone my power, but –“ He looked frustrated. “I wish I COULD help!”

“I think you can.” Inui nodded to Kabaji, who walked over and put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “NOW try.”

The twelve-year-old closed his eyes and sent out a mental lifeline, hunting for the one consciousness in billions, trying to shut out all others. Compared to his usual attempts to be so specific, this time that intangible line slipped and danced past extraneous minds with ease, taking on none of the mental baggage along the way.

To his surprise, he found Atobe’s signature much closer than he expected. For a moment, he refused to believe it could be this easy, but when he touched the other boy’s mind, he felt him respond.

(“Kevin? Is that you or am I going insane?”)

(“It’s me! Hang on!”) Kevin looked up at Kabaji and Inui excitedly. “I’ve got him, he’s okay!”

Tezuka said a quiet prayer of thanks while the other boys exchanged relieved looks.

“Ask him to tell you as much as he can about his kidnappers, his surroundings – anything that might help us,” Inui instructed.

Kevin obeyed, and the others waited anxiously while he listened to Atobe’s response. They saw his blue eyes widen near the end.

“This is bad,” he told the older boys. “I’ve got some information, but we haven’t got much time to get him out of there, and he’s tied up, so he won’t be able to do anything on his end.”

“We’ll manage,” Tezuka told him. “Now tell us what you know.”

End of Part 41

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 42

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Inui did research quickly on the existing Sasabe properties. He found only one that could match both what little Atobe had been able to see out the bathroom window and fit in the time frame it had taken to get him there. The moment Inui had given the address to Tezuka, the Changechildren divided into two groups. Tezuka took his group out of the mansion while the others split up to keep the household adults busy.

The band of kids going had to keep their group as small as possible while still making sure they had all the powers they knew they would need. They also had to fit into their only mode of transportation.

Atobe’s limo driver looked back as they quickly piled into the car. “Yuushi-bocchama,” he said, “I’ll quite possibly lose my job for this; the police told me to stay with Keigo-bocchama’s parents.” He looked determined. “But he was stolen while in my care. I need to help or I will never forgive myself.”

“This is the best help you could give us,” Yuushi promised, closing the door behind him. “Please take us here.” He handed him the address Inui had written down.

“That’s about twenty minutes away.” The driver pulled his cap down low. “Hold on, everyone. I’ll get us there in ten.”

The Changechildren had never known that a limousine could take corners on two wheels before.

Sumire looked surprised. “YOU want to learn to bake, Inui?”

The Seigaku data expert pushed up his glasses and nodded toward the other boys surrounding him. “We were all talking and thought it would be a new and different experience for us.”

Sumire wasn’t sure what to think, but if this sudden interest would provide a distraction while they all waited for the phone to ring, she’d do her part. “All right, then let’s start with something simple, like chocolate chip cookies.” She brought out a bowl and handed Inui a familiar wooden spoon. He shuddered visibly, but refrained from dropping it like a hot coal. It was for a good cause.

“Come here, Sakaki-san, you should see what Kamio can do,” Tachibana urged the Hyotei teacher into the living room. Tarou wasn’t sure what was going on until he heard piano music preceding his entrance.

A small group of kids were standing around the piano, and in the center, his fingers flying over the keys, was Kamio. Shinji sat beside him on the bench.

“He’s never played the piano before today,” Tachibana said.

As a music teacher, Tarou couldn’t help being impressed. “How did you learn so quickly, Kamio-kun?”

The redhead laughed. “’Quickly’ is my middle name now! I picked up one of Ohtori’s lesson books and read through it in a few seconds.”

Tarou watched for another few moments, then said, “Choutarou should see this, too. It might help keep his mind off Atobe’s situation.”

Tachibana spoke up, “I think your students are keeping to themselves right now. I wouldn’t want to disturb them.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Tarou agreed quietly. He was having a difficult time himself, wondering if his most talented player would come out of this unscathed. Still, he was grateful to be able to watch Kamio’s hands blur as he passed them over the keys.

“The piano says that it tickles when you go fast,” Shinji pointed out.

“Hey, Oyaji!”

Nanjiroh looked up from the magazine he’d been reading to see his son staring down at him, holding his tennis racquet. “What’s on your mind, Boy?”

“What do you think?” the twelve-year-old asked. “Let’s play.” He jerked his head toward a few other kids standing behind him. “They want to watch.”

“You sure you WANT that?” Nanjiroh chuckled. “You never beat me!”

“Maybe this time I will,” Ryoma replied. “Let’s go.”

Nanjiroh put the magazine aside. “All right, sure. I guess we can all use something to keep our minds busy today.”

Fuji leaned toward Eiji as they and the other kids followed the two Echizens. “This is quite a sacrifice for our rookie, isn’t it? I’m sure he doesn’t really want an audience for this match.”

“A noble gesture on his part for sure,” Eiji agreed, then grinned sheepishly and lowered his voice, “I have to admit, I’m glad to be in THIS group. At least we’ll get to watch some great tennis while keeping Echizen-san busy!”

Aoi put both hands on Takahisa’s shoulders. “Calm DOWN! You’ll frighten everyone if the earthquake reaches the mansion!”

A few students, apparently desperate to keep busy while waiting for word on Atobe, had asked if she would mind supervising an impromptu power practice. Takahisa, while he had seemed to have much better control before, now seemed unable to contain small tremors that threatened to get worse with his anxiety.

“I’m sorry, Sensei.” She could see the boy slowing his breathing, trying to relax. It wasn’t until Mizuki came over and touched his hand that he smiled a little and the ground stopped rumbling.

“I think it’s over for now,” Kouhei mentioned, feeling a little guilty that this was all a set-up to distract their Coach, but grateful that it was working.

“Yes,” Aoi sounded relieved, then looked at the blue-haired boy, puzzled. “Where’s Youhei? He didn’t want to take part in this?”

“Uhhh, no,” Kouhei replied, glancing at Takahisa helplessly.

“I last saw him with Tom Griffy,” the older boy said. “I think Tom needed some support, in light of what happened with Atobe’s powers.”

Aoi nodded with regret. “Yes,” she agreed. “I’m glad if Youhei can help then.”

Kouhei averted his gaze. Right about then, Youhei was probably nearing the place where Atobe was being held along with the others who went on the rescue mission. He prayed his twin and the others would return safely.

They had arrived. The chauffeur was instructed by Tezuka to go back to Atobe’s, where the police no doubt were wondering where their only witness had disappeared to, and instruct them to come join them. By the time they arrived, he said, only the clean-up would remain.

The Changechildren, numbering ten in total, surveyed the imposing gate, expanse of lawn, and the mansion beyond.

Tezuka looked toward Kevin. He hadn’t wanted to bring a twelve-year-old on the mission, but the youngster had insisted, and he had to admit, they needed his help. “Ask Atobe to whisper something.”

Kevin mentally relayed the information. Tezuka then turned to Youhei. “Pinpoint him.”

The Jyousei player listened to the response that only he could hear. He smiled wryly at Tezuka. “Atobe said, ‘About time you got here.’” He pointed toward a section of the mansion off to the right. “Ground floor, over there. He’s not alone, either; I hear four heartbeats in the room.” He made a face. “And I smell stale cigar smoke, ew.”

“All right, let’s go.”

The group of them approached the gate and Tezuka put out an arm to stop the others. “Wait,” he instructed, and held both hands in front of him. “It’s electrified.”

The rest watched as Tezuka connected with the current flowing through the fence. It jumped and crackled between his hands and the metal with bright blue-white light. Suddenly, he swept his hands apart and it all stopped.

“It’s safe now, but still locked,” he informed them. “Gakuto, you’re up.”

“Gotcha!” The Hyotei acrobat stepped forward and grinned over at his teammate. “How about a boost, Kabaji?”

“Usu.” The bigger boy moved to his side and put a large hand on top of the wine-coloured hair. Gakuto gave him a slightly annoyed look, not appreciating that the difference in height was being emphasized. Then he felt the increased power he needed and turned back to the job at hand.

Gakuto turned down the gravity pull under all his companions at once, steadily allowing them to rise into the air until they cleared the top of the fence. Normally, he didn’t think he would be able to so carefully control the path of eight people simultaneously, but Kabaji’s enhancement made it easy. He carefully increased the gravity so that they lowered gently on the other side of the fence, then brought himself and Kabaji over to join them.

“Yuushi, you’re next,” Tezuka instructed. “Remember, everyone, don’t come in physical contact with him after this or his illusion will dissipate. Shishido, give him a shot of luck to help prevent that.”

Shishido did as he asked, casting good luck onto Yuushi, who then manufactured an illusion for the benefit of their kidnappers. If the Sasabes looked outside now, they would see nothing more unusual than their own front lawn, minus the ten children heading their way.

Tezuka heard a gasp from Choutarou and saw three snarling Dobermans charging across the lawn toward them. “Kaidoh!” he ordered.

“Fsshuuu,” Kaidoh moved to the forefront and faced the dogs. “Stop,” he told them.

The animals obeyed, whining a little uncertainly.

“Leave us alone,” Kaidoh ordered.

The dogs turned and loped off back to their kennel.

“That’s our last obstacle until we get inside,” Tezuka said, regarding the others seriously. “We won’t have the benefit of being hidden by Yuushi’s illusion after that, so don’t get careless. We can’t predict exactly how these men will react, and we know they have at least one gun. Remember, Atobe is unarmed, tied up, and without his powers, so we need to protect him as well as ourselves.” He nodded. “From what information we have, we’ve planned as well as we can. Remember your assignments and don’t get in each other’s way. Shishido, you start us off.”

Shishido gave the entire group a boost of good luck. They all knew they would need it.

Atobe was both elated and frustrated. His rescuers were here – TEZUKA was here! And yet, he was stuck tied up, unable to do a thing to help them. Maybe.

“Hey!” he called over to his kidnappers. They were busy watching sweaty, fat actors brawl in a ring; something that Atobe felt only evinced their low-brow tendencies. Wannabe shot him a dirty look. Ever since Atobe had tried to strangle him, he seemed to resent him. Funny that.

“What do you want, brat?”

“You know you’ll never get away with this, don’t you?” Atobe said lightly. “You’ll be caught and then you’ll all go to jail.” He smiled smugly. “And you know what happens in jail, right? Especially when it’s revealed that you kidnapped a minor.”

“Keep your mouth shut!” the Golden Retriever warned. “You just start thinking about what YOUR life will be like, spreading your legs for your owner every night!”

“At least I’ll only have ONE partner,” Atobe replied smoothly. “Who knows how many you’ll have?” Out of the corner of his eye, Atobe saw Shishido peek around the corner of the doorway. He watched his teammate make a gesture toward his kidnappers, and surmised that they had just been cursed with bad luck. Then Shishido motioned toward Atobe, and he felt his bonds loosen slightly with the boost of good luck. He didn’t test them, since all the men had their eyes on him. Instead he tried to hold their focus so his rescuers could slip into the room.

“And of course Junior there will go to juvie instead,” he continued, jerking his chin toward Wannabe. “It’s even worse there.” Atobe’s heart leapt as he saw Tezuka enter, but the initial relief he saw in his lover’s eyes turned to dismay when he saw the bruise decorating his cheek. Tezuka glanced toward the Sasabes as if to ask which one had done it. Atobe’s gaze flicked to the Puppet Master and Tezuka’s expression darkened.

The Sasabes still hadn’t noticed the new arrivals; they were all too busy yelling at Atobe.

“Knock it off, brat!”

“You keep your mouth shut or we’ll gag you!”

The Golden Retriever pulled out the gun. “We don’t really need the money, so if you don’t keep quiet –“ He noticed Atobe’s gaze flick behind him and turned, gasping at the sight of the rallied Changechildren. His sons spun as well, and the fight was on.

The Sasabes yelled and the gun came up, but Gakuto increased the gravity and weighed it down so that the Retriever was forced to drop it. Before he could reached for it again, Kaidoh changed into a wolf and tackled him.

Wannabe saw Kevin was both closest and smallest so he lunged for him. The blonde let out a mental scream so penetrating that the older boy collapsed, holding both arms over his head as he whimpered.

Tezuka was glaring dangerously at the Puppet Master, who could swear he saw an electrical current outlining the metal of the teenager’s glasses. “You dared to hurt him?” he said in a tone that nearly made the university-aged Sasabe wet himself. Tezuka’s hands flashed and the Puppet Master flew back across the room from the jolt. His body convulsed as it hit the wall, sliding to the floor. Tezuka advanced on him again.

Choutarou had headed straight for Atobe, but the Golden Retriever, bleeding from his encounter with Kaidoh, swung his fist toward the back of the boy’s head.

“Choutarou!” Shishido yelled. His partner whirled to look, turning solid as he did so. The Retriever’s fist made an audible cracking sound against Choutarou’s face and the man howled.

The thirteen-year-old blinked, then shoved the man backwards so that he fell over Wannabe, who had been trying to get up. Choutarou turned back to Atobe.

“You won’t get him out!” Wannabe snapped. “My force field can’t be broken!”

Shishido snorted. “Who said anything about breaking it?” He nodded toward Choutarou, who changed from solid to insubstantial and walked through the force field effortlessly. He turned back to normal and quickly untied Atobe’s ankles, then changed back to insubstantial while holding his Captain’s shoulder. Both of them were able to breach the barrier of the force field together. Wannabe pounded his fist on the ground in frustration while Kabaji yanked Atobe’s wrist bonds apart.

“Thank you, Kabaji,” Atobe said gratefully, rubbing his wrists. He looked toward Tezuka, who had finished whatever he was doing with the Puppet Master. He noticed that the university-aged Sasabe was still moving slightly, but didn’t look happy about it. His ugly hair was standing on end in an amusing fashion and sparks were dancing across his skin.

Then Atobe’s attention was all for Tezuka, as his beloved came up to him and tentatively trailed fingertips over the bruise. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here soon enough to prevent this,” he said.

“You came,” Atobe said, holding his gaze with heat in his voice. “That’s what matters.”

“My HAAAAAND!” the senior Sasabe was wailing, cradling it. “That rotten kid broke my hand!”

“It was self-defense.” Choutarou pouted.

“You tried to hit him; you got what you deserved, scumbag!” Gakuto scoffed and gave the Retriever’s butt a kick, making him howl even louder.

“Gakuto, don’t kick people when they’re down,” Yuushi chided him.

“But he’s too noisy!”

“I’ve got a trick for that!” Jiroh bounced over gleefully and tapped the crying man on the forehead. “Night night!”

The eldest Sasabe fell into a sudden, deep sleep.

“I didn’t know you could do THAT, Jiroh!” Shishido said, looking impressed.

“It happened during power practice recently. Cool, huh?” Jiroh beamed.

Wannabe was still on the ground, and knew that his brother and father were both out of commission and they had lost. But while the Changechildren exchanged banter about their powers and their successful rescue, he noticed that the fallen gun was within his reach. He tentatively tried to pick it up, wondering if it was still too heavy. Whatever had affected it seemed to be gone.

He focused on Atobe, the cause of all this trouble. The one who had tried to strangle him and whom these kids had risked their lives to save. How ironic that it would all be for nothing. In a swift motion, he rolled over, pointing the gun two-handed at Atobe.

Youhei heard the trigger click a nanosecond before the gun fired. “LOOK OUT!” he screamed, but the bullet was already speeding toward its target. Before Atobe or Tezuka could react, a large figure jumped in front of them. Then it was the Hyotei Captain who screamed.

“KABAJI!”

End of Part 42

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 43

By Haruka (haruka@eastlink.ca)

The moment after the gun went off, Gakuto kicked it out of Wannabe’s hand and Youhei slapped his palm over the high-schooler’s face.

“Wha--?” the youngest Sasabe said in horror as Youhei pulled back. “I – I can’t see! I’m blind!”

“Kabaji, hold on!” Atobe was saying desperately as he and Tezuka held onto the bigger boy, trying to support him. What they didn’t notice was that there was no need for it.

“I’m not hurt,” Kabaji said.

“Look!” Choutarou gasped. “The bullet!”

Atobe and Tezuka peered around Kabaji and everyone stared at the slug that held suspended, pressed against the large Sophomore’s chest.

“Feh, you guys can’t manage without me for long, can you?”

The group of them looked toward the unexpected voice in the doorway. “Hiyoshi!” Gakuto gasped.

Their Hyotei teammate had his hand extended toward Kabaji. He gave it a flick, and the bullet dropped to the ground at his feet. “I developed telekinesis – moving stuff with my mind -- a couple of days ago,” he admitted, trying not to meet Atobe’s penetrating gaze. “I didn’t say anything because I knew my parents wanted me at home. But when I called you at the mansion to talk it over, Inui-san told me what was going on.”

Atobe’s handsome face relaxed into a grateful smile. “Good timing.”

“The cops are here!” Shishido announced, gazing out the window. “Hey, it looks like they’re holding someone at the gate; I’ll bet it’s the guy who was coming for Atobe!”

“I’ll go out and let them know it’s safe.” Choutarou headed for the door. He glanced back and winked. “At least if they start firing at me, I can go solid.”

Sasabe was rolling around on the ground, still wailing about being blind. Tezuka looked at Youhei curiously. “A new development with your power?”

The magenta-haired boy nodded. “Kouhei and I learned that we can turn off any or all of the five senses on others.” He tilted his head at Tezuka. “Should I turn his vision back on?”

“He tried to shoot Atobe,” the Seigaku Captain said grimly. “I’m not the one to ask for an unbiased decision.”

Atobe rubbed Tezuka’s arm gently as he passed him, frowning down at Wannabe. “Wait until the police get in here, then you can do it.”

Arms slid around him from behind and he leaned back against Tezuka gratefully. He realized suddenly that no one seemed surprised to see the intimate contact between them. He glanced over his shoulder at the other boy. “They know?”

He nodded. “Mizuki gave us away in front of everyone.” He smiled wryly. “Although I think all the kids would have known from seeing how determined I was to come after you.”

Atobe was quiet for a moment. “If the adults know, too, they’ll try to move one of us to another room.”

“We’ll deal with that when we have to.” Tezuka’s arms tightened around him. “I’m not losing you again.”

Atobe relaxed and closed his eyes, feeling suddenly bone-weary. Yes, they would worry about all that later. For now he would just enjoy being in his boyfriend’s safe and warm embrace.

Rather than Inui receiving Kevin’s telepathic message that the mission had been successful, Ryoma got a call on his cell phone. After listening, he shouldered his tennis racquet and said, “Game’s over.” He then headed into the house. The group of spectators followed him, and Nanjiroh was left alone on the other side of the court, staring after them.

“What the hell just happened?” he wondered out loud.

At power practice, Kouhei received mind communication from his twin and was a lot less quiet in his reaction to the news than Ryoma had been.

“They’re okay! They’re all okay! They’ve got Atobe back!”

Aoi’s jaw dropped. “What?” she gasped as all the kids cheered and ran into the house. She followed, and she and Nanjiroh looked across the foyer at each other in confusion.

“What’s all the noise in here?” Sumire asked as she and her group came from the kitchen. Tarou was already coming out of the living room, followed by more kids.

“Kouhei says ‘they’re okay and they saved Atobe,’” Aoi explained, frowning with puzzlement. “But how would he know?”

“And who are ‘they’?” Tarou asked suspiciously, surveying the room. “Aren’t we short an awful lot of children?”

Sumire looked accusingly at Inui. “A sudden interest in baking, huh? Sounds like a planned distraction to me.”

He swallowed. Why did she have to be holding that spoon when this happened?

“Out with it, Boy.” Nanjiroh gave Ryoma a nudge from behind. “You know something or you wouldn’t have walked out on our game.”

“Everyone’s okay and they’re on their way back.” Ryoma looked up at him. “What else matters?”

His father motioned to Sumire. “Let me borrow that spoon, Old Bag.”

“Hey!” Ryoma exclaimed indignantly and everyone laughed, the tension broken on a wave of over-whelming relief.

Because no one wanted to be left out of hearing exactly what happened, another mass meeting took place immediately upon the arrival of the missing Changechildren. There were a lot of reunion hugs, but the initial cheering grew quieter when they saw Atobe’s bruised face. Tarou stepped over to him, taking his face in his hands and studying it closely.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked. “Or are any of the others?”

“This is the worst of it,” Atobe said, then smirked. “At least on OUR side.”

Yuuta raised a hand. “With permission, I can heal that.”

Atobe looked at him gratefully. “Please do.”

While Yuuta tended to Atobe’s face, Sumire leveled a glare at Tezuka. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

“And I’d like to know why Hiyoshi is here,” Tarou interrupted, frowning at his Sophomore player. “He’s not a Changechild.”

“Yes, I am, Sensei,” he admitted. “I only found out this week.”

“We’ll explain everything in a moment,” Tezuka said, then bowed deeply to Sumire. “It’s my fault that everyone disobeyed you, Ryuzaki-sensei.” He looked over at Atobe, smiling at the relief that shone on the other boy’s face as his bruise disappeared. “But I can’t regret what we did. The kidnappers are in custody and everyone returned safely.” He studiously did not mention how close Kabaji had come to death. She would find out soon enough.

“I want to know what happened from beginning to end, Tezuka,” she said firmly.

“So do I,” Aoi agreed.

“Before that, I have two things I want to say,” Atobe spoke to the room at large. “The first is to extend my sincere thanks to each and every one of you. My gratitude knows no bounds.”

The kids all cheered and clapped for themselves. Atobe nodded and held up a hand that silenced them instantly. Eiji gave Oishi a fearful look when he realized they had automatically responded to the gesture.

“Uh oh, is that Hyotei condition catching, nya?”

“Ssh,” Oishi quieted him.

“And the second thing,” Atobe continued, looking toward the Griffy brothers, “is that I want my powers back. Now.”

They grinned. “It would be our pleasure,” Tom told him. “And welcome back.”

Explaining the details of how the plan had come to fruition was a double-edged sword. The kids who hadn’t gone on the mission were thrilled and shocked by turns, but the adults simply looked horrified. Nanjiroh was the one exception. He was beaming with pride.

“THAT’S the way to use your powers!” he exclaimed when they were done. “Did you guys hear that? Come on, Old Bag, even you have to admit they pulled off a well-organized plan!”

“Except for the part where the gun was fired and the boys were almost killed,” Sumire said dryly.

“Well, yeah, but still, every thing worked out, right? Everyone’s okay.” Nanjiroh clapped Inui on the back. “Good work on the plan, kid. And Tezuka, nice job of leadership there. Kabaji-kun, what can I say? You’re a hero. ALL of you are heroes.”

The kids cheered again.

“When exactly did we lose control?” Tarou asked Sumire.

“When Nanjiroh started talking,” she replied in a flat tone, then raised her voice. “All right, let’s wrap this up. It’s been a stressful time for all of us.” She looked toward Hiyoshi. “We’ll set you up in a room, Hiyoshi-kun, and will add you to the power practice schedule. Tezuka, Atobe, I want you two to stay for a minute, the rest of you can go.”

The others cast uneasy glances back at the two Captains as they passed. Everyone had a feeling that they knew what this was about, and that it wouldn’t be pretty.

When only the adults and the two boys remained, Sumire regarded them with a mixture of regret and resolve. “After everything you’ve been through today, I’m sure this is the last thing you want to hear, but I have no choice. We have to change your room assignment.”

“No,” Tezuka said.

“Don’t be stubborn,” his teacher warned. “You knew this would happen if your relationship was discovered, that’s why you hid it.”

“None of the other couples are allowed to room together,” Tarou pointed out. “Why should you two be exempt?”

“For one thing, our living arrangement hasn’t bothered you so far, so why should it be now?” Atobe pointed out. “For another, I think you’re making a mistake separating all the couples, anyway. There would be a lot less arguments if you let people room with whomever they want.”

“Your opinion is noted, Atobe-kun,” Aoi said. “But the fact remains that all the parents are trusting us to keep their children safe –“

“Like I was today?!” Atobe interrupted, his voice rising slightly with anger. “My power was taken from me, leaving me without the only protection I might have had when I was kidnapped! I was almost sold into slavery today, ladies and gentlemen, and you’re worried about protecting me from TEZUKA?!”

“Atobe!” Tarou rebuked him. “That tone is uncalled for!”

“I’m truly sorry about what happened, and yes, I blame myself for your being without your powers,” Sumire admitted, her voice a touch unsteady, although her visage remained firm. “However, while not all circumstances are within our control, this one is.”

“No, it is not,” Atobe stated, just as certainly. “Your only recourse if I refuse to change rooms would be to kick me out of the mansion, and this is my property. I am NOT leaving Tezuka’s room.”

“Atobe-kun,” Tarou’s tone was dangerous until Nanjiroh cleared his throat to interrupt.

“I have an idea that should be fair to everyone,” he said. “Why not call their parents and ask them? If they give the okay for these two to stay in the same room, KNOWING about their being boyfriends, then it should be okay with us. It’s no longer our responsibility then, right?”

“And if they say no, then even Atobe and Tezuka will have to obey and can’t blame us for it,” Aoi said slowly, nodding. “It does sound fair.”

Sumire and Tarou glanced at each other. Neither looked very happy about it, but couldn’t deny the logic.

“All right,” Sumire said finally. “That’s what we’ll do then.” She regarded the boys with a raised eyebrow. “Unless, of course, you two are trying to keep your relationship a secret from your parents, too.”

Atobe met her gaze head-on. “My parents found out today; I told them after I was rescued. I wanted them to know to what lengths Tezuka would go for me. They said that they would be calling HIS parents to thank them and to introduce themselves.”

“And what do you think that your parents will think of you two living together, Tezuka?” she asked her team Captain.

“I don’t know, Ryuzaki-sensei,” Tezuka admitted. “This situation is a first for me. Whatever they say, I will, of course, abide by their decision.”

“Then we’ll make the calls,” Sumire said. “In the meantime, I’m sure Atobe-kun would like to relax after his ordeal. If either of your parents wish to speak with you about this while we’ve got them on the phone, we’ll let you know.”

The boys left the room and headed upstairs in silence. When they reached the top, Atobe turned to Tezuka with a sigh. “I’m going to take a hot bath. I don’t anticipate any problems with my parents, but then again, adults aren’t always predictable.”

“I was telling the truth; I really don’t know what my parents will say,” Tezuka told him. “I’m sure they’ll approve of YOU, it’s the room-sharing thing that’s up in the air.”

Atobe’s smile was faint. “I guess it would be wrong to try and convince you to disobey them if things don’t go our way, hmm?”

“I may not be able to room with you, but that doesn’t mean any other aspect of our relationship will change,” Tezuka said firmly. “It will just be more challenging to find privacy.” He hugged Atobe tightly. “Go have your bath, you’ll feel better.”

The Hyotei Captain didn’t argue. He kissed Tezuka softly and headed for the bathroom.

Tezuka pulled out his cell phone and dialed quickly.

Atobe didn’t really want to leave the bath. It was so soothing to the aching muscles that had been bashed around while struggling with his kidnappers and then being tied in one position for too long. On the other hand, his curiosity to know the outcome of the phone calls was getting the better of him. Besides, his fingertips were starting to prune.

He dried himself off and wrapped up in his favorite purple robe. After combing his damp hair and inspecting his face to make sure no trace of the bruising remained after Yuuta’s handiwork, he headed back toward his room, hoping that it still WAS his room.

He walked in to find Tezuka sitting on the edge of his bed, his expression as unreadable as usual.

“Well?” Atobe asked warily.

Tezuka’s rigid expression softened into a smile. “Hi, roomie.”

Atobe fell back against the door and it closed with a bang. Tezuka jumped up, suddenly fearful as he steadied the other boy. “Are you all right, Kei-chan?”

“I was afraid …,” Atobe didn’t finish the sentence. He just shook his head and allowed Tezuka to hold him. “I know why my parents are allowing it – you saved me and I had the chance to tell them how much I love you.” He gazed up at his boyfriend curiously. “But why would yours?”

Tezuka brushed a hand through Atobe’s bangs gently. “Because I spoke to them before the teachers did. I told them that I want to marry you someday.”

Atobe’s mouth fell open and Tezuka covered it with his own.

End of Part 43

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 44

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Hiyoshi looked over at his new roommate dubiously. He had known some tennis players who had obsessions with their equipment, but Ibu Shinji of Fudomine had them beat.

He was talking to his tennis racquet. No, he was _conversing_ with it. This must be the guy all newcomers get stuck with as punishment for arriving last, he thought.

Shinji glanced at him. “Yes, I know he’s staring at us, just ignore him.” He said to the racquet in his hands. “He’ll get used to things around here soon enough … yes, certainly I should be told if he abuses anyone here –“

“Why would I hurt anybody?!” Hiyoshi exploded. “I just got here!”

Shinji gave him a long, deliberate look. “I was referring to the inanimate objects in this room, not the other students.”

Hiyoshi was wondering if he could beg Kabaji to trade rooms with him when Shinji’s teammate, Kamio, burst into the room.

“Shinji, guess what?” he said excitedly. “Somehow Atobe and Tezuka are allowed to stay in the same room, even though everyone knows they’re boyfriends! Let’s go find out if we can move in together, too!”

“All right, let’s.” Shinji stood up and laid his racquet down on the bed, then followed Kamio out.

“That weirdo has a boyfriend?” Hiyoshi muttered, then hesitated, looking around the room uneasily. Were all the ‘things’ in there with him going to tell his roommate that he called him a weirdo?

He felt an overwhelming need to go elsewhere. Immediately.

Sumire closed her eyes and prayed for patience. She had known this was going to happen.

“So when can Choutarou and I move in together?”

“Right after Yuushi and I do!”

“I want to room with Oishi, nya! Oh, no offense, Fujiko-chan!”

“None taken, since Taka-san and I plan to share a room as well, right?”

“Heh. Yeah.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Sumire announced to the five couples surrounding her. “Just because Tezuka and Atobe were allowed to room together doesn’t mean all other arrangements are changing!”

“But that isn’t fair!” Kamio protested. “What makes them so special?!”

“They got their parents’ permission,” she told him firmly. “You think you can get your parents to okay your moving in with your boyfriend? You’re welcome to try. But they’ll have to tell me or one of the other adults personally if they’re allowing it.”

The boys all exchanged looks, and Sumire suddenly found herself alone.

“This should be interesting.” She chuckled.

“It was pretty exciting,” Kevin told Ryoma as he lay on his side on his bed, his head propped up with one arm. “Scary, too, though. Even knowing there was at least one gun involved, I don’t think any of us really expected it to have a chance to go off.”

“Atobe’s lucky he has people watching out for him,” Ryoma commented, stroking a purring Karupin in his lap. “What if Hiyoshi hadn’t shown up in time? And what if Kabaji had been too far away to jump in the path of the bullet?” He shook his head. “Tezuka-buchou really seems to love him. He’d have been devastated.”

“Would you ever jump in front of a bullet to save someone else?” Kevin asked.

“He jumped in front of Kawamura-senpai’s flames to save Karupin,” Momoshiro answered from the doorway. “Since he didn’t know at the time that he was immune, I think that counts.”

“What about you then?” Kevin asked, his blue eyes challenging. “Would you jump in front of a bullet to save Ryoma?”

“Yes,” Momo replied without hesitation, then looked at Ryoma. “A bunch of the guys are asking their parents if they can move into the same room with their boyfriends. You want to try our luck?”

Ryoma met his eyes. “Right now, Oyaji doesn’t know about our relationship. We’d risk him saying that we can’t be boyfriends at all if we do that.”

“But your dad is so easy-going about the other guys dating; he even helped Atobe and Tezuka be able to room together! You think he’d really come down on us? Really?”

“I’m twelve,” Ryoma said simply. “The other guys are older, and so are you.” He frowned. “Besides, if he knew I had a boyfriend, he’d make my life miserable by teasing me endlessly.”

“Hey, I have an idea!” Kevin sat up suddenly. “How about if _I_ pose as your boyfriend?”

“What?!” Momo exclaimed. “No way!”

“Just listen for a second,” Kevin said. “It would be the perfect way for you to test how Echizen-san would react to Ryoma having a boyfriend without it endangering your relationship. It would even show how he feels about him rooming with that boyfriend. If he’s okay with it, that clears the way for you if you tell him the truth. If he’s not, and he kicks me out of this room, then you can offer to take my place without his ever knowing you’re really boyfriends.”

Momoshiro looked livid. “I know why you REALLY want to –“

“It’s a good idea.”

Both Momo and Kevin turned toward Ryoma. “Did you say what I think you did?” Momo asked. “Did you?”

“Well, it IS a way to test him, isn’t it?” Ryoma looked back at him calmly. “We’ll know for sure then.”

Momo looked suspicious. “Are you sure you wouldn’t be doing this just because you’d enjoy putting something over on your old man?”

Ryoma’s smile was almost sheepish. “Maybe, but what’s the harm in that?”

“Then it’s settled!” Kevin clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “We’ll get started right away. And make sure that any of the kids who know about you guys hear what we’re doing so they don’t blow it for us.”

“I’m still not sure –“ Momo began, but Ryoma had put Karupin aside and was heading for the door.

“Come on, Kevin, let’s do it.” He held out his hand, and the American boy eagerly bounced over to take hold of it. Kevin grinned triumphantly at Momoshiro as Ryoma led him out the door.

Momo’s thoughts were decidedly unfriendly, ‘You don’t fool me, you little –‘

He hadn’t intended for that to be overheard, but to his surprise, Kevin replied in his head, (“Temper, temper, Strongman. Be careful or you might break the wall.”)

What Kevin may have heard next, if he chose to poke into Momoshiro’s thoughts further, was a string of words that nice little tennis players shouldn’t think.

“AHHHH!” Eiji cried in frustration, bouncing in place. “I can’t believe my parents said no!”

“Mine did, too, so it’s a moot point, anyway,” Oishi told him.

“It would have been fine for us to room together as friends, but boyfriends? Noooo!” Eiji pouted. “It’s not fair, I’ll bet everyone else’s parents will say yes!”

“You can count mine out,” Gakuto frowned as he peered in the door. “They LAUGHED at me! Yuushi’s, Shishido’s and Choutarou’s all said no, too.”

“What about Kamio and Shinji?” Oishi asked.

“I’ll go ask!” Eiji teleported away, then reappeared less than a minute later. “Their parents want them to focus on controlling their powers now and think that rooming together would distract them too much.”

“So I guess we ALL struck out,” Gakuto said wryly. “I don’t feel so bad then.”

Fuji slipped around the acrobat to enter his room and went to the closet. He began removing his clothing from the hangers.

“Fujiko-chan, what are you doing?” Eiji asked curiously.

The tensai smiled at him. “I’m moving in with Taka-san.”

The others stared at him wordlessly for a moment. “Your parents and his both gave the okay?” Oishi finally asked.

Fuji nodded, humming as he packed his clothes. “My family thinks Taka-san is adorable,” he said. “And he told me that when he asked his father, he was told to grab any opportunity to keep me close, that he’d never find anyone better if he searched the globe.” He giggled. “Isn’t that funny?”

Eiji looked at him mournfully. “That’s so cool, nya. You’re lucky.”

“Um,” Oishi said slowly, “if you’re moving in with Taka-san, where am _I_ going?”

Eiji perked up. “Hey, that’s right! If Fuji and Taka change rooms, then you and I have to room together by default!”

“I think they’ll find a way around that, Eiji,” Oishi cautioned him with regret. “After all, our parents said, ‘no’, remember? They’re not going to go against their wishes.”

The redhead deflated once more and Gakuto shook his head. “Well, I’m outta here. I’m far too jealous to be anywhere near Fuji right now.” He left the room.

“Hey, Fujiko-chan!” Eiji said suddenly. “How about if you use your power to ‘convince’ Ryuzaki-sensei –“

“Eiji, no!” Oishi interrupted. “The other adults will figure it out and then Fuji will be in really big trouble!”

“Awwww ….”

Sumire looked into the room and took note of Fuji at the closet, then faced the other two. “You must already know that you’re changing roommates. After receiving the news that Fuji and Kawamura could move in together, it seemed logical that you two would room together as well, but your parents having said no presented a problem.” She sighed. “We could have split up the Hyotei boys and put two of them in with you, but I wasn’t sure that would be a good mix, and besides, I wanted to disrupt as few room arrangements as possible. So I called your parents back myself, explained the situation, and asked if we could put you together, anyway. They agreed –“

“YAY!” Eiji cheered.

“BUT they caution that this isn’t permission for you two to crawl into bed together.”

“SENSEI!” Oishi gasped, turning red as a tomato.

“I had to accept personal responsibility for this arrangement, so I have to trust you both not to make me sorry that I did,” she said seriously. “Oishi, you can go pack your things to move them in here.”

When she had left the room, Fuji glanced toward his teammates with amusement. “I guess that means the two of you can play around anywhere BUT in your own room.”

Eiji threw a pillow at him.

Because of the kind of day it had been for all involved, the Changechildren were sent to bed early, and even the adults followed suit. No one cared enough to protest, as the weight of the excitement with everything that happened eased enough to leave most of them feeling exhausted.

Tezuka shivered slightly in bed. He and Atobe had been two of the first to retire, but now after sleeping for a couple of hours, he was half-awake and uncertain why. It registered on his sleep-muddled mind that there was no logical reason for him to feel this cold, and yet chilly air was permeating through the blankets. The moment that thought made itself clear, he opened his eyes.

The room temperature had dropped to the point where a layer of ice was forming over everything, himself included. Atobe still lay in his arms, but the other boy was squirming and making small, anxious sleep-sounds. Tezuka saw the shine of tears on his face.

“Kei-chan,” he said, trying not to let his teeth chatter. “You’re having a nightmare. Wake up.” He shook him gently.

Atobe’s eyes opened, wide and frightened. He looked up at Tezuka in confusion.

“Nightmare,” Tezuka repeated, brushing the moisture from his lover’s cheek. “You’re entitled after everything you’ve been through, but it made you lose control of your power.”

Atobe looked around and realized what he’d done. He made a conscious effort to calm down and dissipate all traces of the ice.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I thought I was handling it all in stride, like I do everything else. I guess my subconscious had leftover issues.”

Tezuka hugged him closer. “Don’t worry about it. I’m here with you, and I’ll still be here every time you wake up from now on.” He kissed Atobe’s hair and rested his cheek against the other boy’s head. Atobe settled against him, allowing the reassurance of Tezuka’s pledge to lull him into a slumber filled with much more pleasant dreams.

End of Part 44

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 45

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Eiji didn’t want to move. He had a clear view of Oishi’s bed from his own, and he was enjoying the way his doubles partner looked in slumber. Oishi’s expression was so sweet and peaceful. He wanted to reach out and touch him, but unfortunately, he was across the room. If he stayed still, though, at least he could watch him sleep.

However, it was Monday morning, and their alarm clock had other ideas. It rang, and Oishi’s green eyes blinked open. He smiled when he saw Eiji with his head propped up on one arm, facing him. “Good morning.”

“G’morning!” Eiji said, grinning. “You sure look cute when you’re asleep.”

Oishi blushed a little as he sat up and stretched. “Well, I guess that’s good, since you look cute ALL the time.”

Eiji teleported over to Oishi’s bed, and hugged him tightly. “I love rooming with you, nya, even if we can’t sleep together.”

Oishi turned to face him and brushed Eiji’s hair from his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed him, sliding an arm around his back. Eiji responded eagerly.

A sharp rap came on the door, then it started to open. Eiji gasped and teleported back to his own bed just as Sumire peered in.

“Come on, boys, it’s time for breakfast.” She glanced from one to the other, and Eiji wondered if his teleport had been a half-beat too slow and she had seen his bed empty at first.

“We’ll be right there, Ryuzaki-sensei,” Oishi told her reassuringly. She paused, then nodded and closed the door.

Eiji flopped back and stared up at the ceiling in frustration. “It’s going to be rough taking cold showers EVERY morning.”

This must be what Heaven is like, Kawamura thought blissfully as he gazed at Fuji’s sleeping face so close to his own.

They had spent their first night rooming together in the same bed. He knew that was probably what everyone expected, but he hadn’t assumed anything. It had been a happy surprise when Fuji came to his bedside after lights-out and asked if he could get in. Did he really think Kawamura would say no?

Still, he was a gentleman. He made room for Fuji and didn’t presume that he was entitled to touch the other boy even though he was sliding under the covers with him. It was still amazing to him that Fuji was doing this at all, but also confusing. What did Fuji want? Or not want?

The pretty tensai didn’t waste time showing him. He cuddled up to Kawamura and kissed him hungrily.

“Taka-san,” he whispered, “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“Heh. That makes two of us, Fujiko-chan.”

They kissed again, then Fuji touched him and Kawamura cast any remaining doubts away. There was no question what either of them wanted anymore.

Now he could wake up every morning looking down at this angelic sleeping face and marveling at whatever circumstances had given him this gift.

“I’ll protect you forever,” he vowed softly.

Fuji’s eyes opened and he smiled. Probably he’s thinking that he can protect himself, Kawamura thought sheepishly. He’s always been so strong.

But what Fuji said was, “I know you will, Taka-san.” Then he kissed him.

If this was what mornings would be like from now on, Kawamura didn’t care if he ever slept in again.

Nanjiroh wasn’t sure what to make of Ryoma and Kevin. He had seen them walking around hand-in-hand the day before, and while it had struck him as weird, Aoi had been with him at the time and she assured him that at Ryoma’s age, good friends could still hold hands without it having to mean anything. He was happy to accept that, because honestly, he didn’t want to think about the alternative.

Now, however, watching the two of them in the dining room, feeding each other, casting long looks, and randomly reaching out to touch each other on the hand, arm, or shoulder, he was filled with doubt. Was it possible that Ryoma – HIS Ryoma – had found a boyfriend? The very idea seemed preposterous. Ryoma was snarky and cold and nothing that anyone would call loveable.

But then, Kevin was only marginally better in those categories. Whatever happened to opposites attracting?

“Is something wrong, Nanjiroh?” Sumire asked, sitting down next to him.

“What makes you think that, Old Bag?”

“You’re chewing on your napkin.”

Nanjiroh made a face and threw the napkin aside, then resumed boring holes into Ryoma and Kevin with his eyes. Sumire followed his gaze.

“What on Earth kind of performance are those two putting on?”

“Huh?” Nanjiroh tore his attention away from his son. “What do you mean?”

“Nanjiroh, you should know your own son better than that,” she chuckled. “Ryoma isn’t that demonstrative, and even Kevin isn’t miracle worker enough to coax THAT kind of attention out of him. They’re doing that for someone’s benefit.”

“Who would care WHAT they do?” Nanjiroh exclaimed.

“Well,” his former Coach smiled, “you do.”

Nanjiroh looked back toward the boys and for a moment before he quickly averted them, Ryoma’s eyes had been on him.

“Okay, let’s say for argument’s sake that I believe your theory,” he said. “Why would he even bother? Just to get my goat?”

“That I couldn’t tell you,” Sumire admitted, then frowned. “Funny, though. It looks like it’s having more of an effect on Momoshiro than anyone else.”

Nanjiroh studied Momoshiro and realized that Sumire was right. The Seigaku Sophomore was glaring at Ryoma’s blonde companion murderously. The orange he’d been holding suddenly burst in his grip and oozed through his fingers. As far as Nanjiroh was concerned, that only made everything MORE confusing.

“Okay, so why should he care what those two are do – oh.” Suddenly, it made sense. Ryoma and Kevin were putting on their show for Momoshiro.

“I don’t get it,” Nanjiroh admitted. “It looks like those two are trying to make that kid jealous. But why?”

“I knew Ryoma and Momoshiro were close, but I didn’t know it had developed into anything more,” Sumire said. “Maybe Ryoma is trying to prompt a reaction from him and Kevin is helping him out.”

Nanjiroh snorted. “Kids are strange, but at least they’re entertaining.”

Takahisa was part-way through his breakfast and wondered where Mizuki was when he realized the piece of bacon he’d been about to eat was missing. Then another piece floated off his plate. He watched it rise to about chin level beside him, then there was a crunch and half of it was gone. He smiled in amusement. “There you are. Or rather, aren’t.”

Mizuki materialized next to him and grinned. “Surprise!” He fed Takahisa the other half of the bacon strip. “I’m late because I was talking to my parents.”

Takahisa glanced at him with a grin. “I know you weren’t asking them if we could room together.”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Mizuki said with a sigh of regret. “I can’t dare leave Yuuta-kun alone or his brother will take advantage of my non-presence to influence him. Besides, he needs me.”

Takahisa took Mizuki’s chin between his fingers so he would meet his eyes. “He’s not the only one,” he said huskily.

The St. Rudolph manager smiled gently. “I need you, too, but you know the position I’m in.” He shrugged. “Besides, my parents would say no. They’re annoyingly conventional about some things.”

Takahisa sighed and turned back to his breakfast. “So what did you call them first thing in the morning for?”

“To arrange a dinner at home for us so that they could meet you. Don’t make other plans for tonight.”

His boyfriend chuckled. “You don’t waste time, do you?”

“It’s already been long enough that they should have met you by now,” Mizuki said, waving a hand. He then looked at the other boy uncertainly. “Unless … you don’t want to go?”

Takahisa smiled softly. This was one of the things he loved about the contradiction that was Mizuki. He always seemed sure of what he was doing or saying, but then a kernel of doubt would demonstrate his insecure side.

“I’m happy to meet your parents,” he assured the black-haired boy. Mizuki’s radiant smile was his reward.

Momoshiro had never been so happy to leave for school. Since the American kids had to be tutored at the mansion, it meant he and Ryoma could finally have a few minutes to themselves. Or at least, without Kevin.

“I don’t think that plan is working,” he told the younger boy as they entered Seigaku. “We all know your dad saw you and Kevin acting lovey-dovey and he hasn’t said a word!” He frowned. “On the other hand, a lot of the KIDS now think the two of you are together.”

“I think Oyaji is playing games with me,” Ryoma said. “Pretending it doesn’t bother him like that. Or maybe he really doesn’t care, and if that’s the case, he shouldn’t care if you trade rooms with Kevin, either.”

“Are you sure they’d allow that?” Momo asked dubiously. “They put you two together because you’re the only twelve-year-olds.”

“Yeah, but if we ask to change and give the excuse that we broke up, they might.”

Momo was quiet for a couple of moments. “How long does this have to go on?”

Ryoma looked at him. “You don’t have to be jealous. You’re my boyfriend, right?”

The older boy smiled in relief. “Yes.”

Ryoma smiled back. “Mada mada dane.”

“What a gorgeous day!” Terry enthused as he tilted his head back to let the sun shine on his face.

“I feel for the other kids,” Tom added. “I was disappointed for not being able to go to school with them, but now I kind of like this tutoring stuff.”

“At least it gives you plenty of time for these interviews and photo sessions,” Nanjiroh remarked, checking the itinerary he’d brought downtown with him. They’d had to travel some to get the first appointment, but now they could work their way back toward home as they completed each part of the schedule. First, though, they had to get back to the car. There had been no nearby parking for them at the tv station.

Earlier they had passed a school that had been utterly silent to the outside observer. This time as they began walking by it, there were teenagers milling everywhere on lunch break. Nanjiroh wondered idly what school it was.

Tom was listening to Terry describe a conversation with the make-up artist back at the studio when he glanced past his brother and saw a couple of the kids staring at them. They grabbed another passing kid and pointed in their direction. That girl’s expression changed to one of shock and her mouth began to open.

“Uh oh!” Tom said too late.

A piercing scream went up from the campus, “IT’S TOM AND TERRY GRIFFY!”

“YAAAH!” Nanjiroh leapt into the air, turning pale when he saw dozens of students suddenly tearing toward them.

“Run!” Tom cried, and he and Terry were off.

“Hey, wait for me!” Nanjiroh yelled, charging after them. “I’m the one with the car keys!”

The mob of kids passed him up and continued after the boys, making Nanjiroh swear under his breath. What would these people do when they caught them? Visions of Tom being torn up by long grabby fingernails and hunks of Terry’s long hair being yanked out as souvenirs spurred him forward.

The brothers tore around the corner, heading for where they knew the car was left. They reached it and tried to open the doors to dive in, staring at each other in horror as they remembered who had the keys.

“AAAAHH, THERE THEY ARE!”

The boys looked back as the rabid fans rounded the corner. “Niisan!” Terry cried. Tom put an arm around his brother as if he could somehow shield him from their admirers.

“You guys need help?”

They turned toward a boy their own age with long dark hair, wearing a white cap. He looked vaguely familiar. “Do we know you?” Tom asked.

“You may have seen me or my twin brother around,” he answered. “I’m Kisarazu Ryoh, of Rokkaku’s tennis team.” He looked back at the rapidly advancing crowd. “I know who YOU are. You want to get away from them before they swarm you?”

“Preferably, yes,” Terry admitted fearfully. He loved his fans, but not when they were in a frenzy with no security guards around.

“Where do you want to go?” Ryoh asked, glancing back again. “Make it fast.”

The Griffys exchanged a quick glance. “Home!” they said together.

“You’ve got it,” was the last thing they heard Ryoh say before they found themselves standing in the entryway of the Changechildren mansion.

“What just happened?” Tom said as he and Terry stared at one another in disbelief.

By the time Nanjiroh caught up to his car, the crowd had determined that the Griffys had given them the slip. Much to his dismay, they’d apparently done the same to him. Now he had no idea where they’d gone or if they were coming back.

“Damned kids!” he muttered as he went to a newsstand to buy some much-needed smokes and a girlie magazine. “They’re as bad as the boy!”

“Are you looking for those idol guys?”

Nanjiroh saw a pair of twins, one with short dark hair the other with long, sitting at a table outside an open café. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m their manager.”

“They went home,” the short-haired one said. “They were being chased by a mob.”

“Yeah, but I’M the one with the car!” Nanjiroh waved a hand toward it. “Did a bus just happen to come by while they were running or what?”

“No, I did it myself,” the long-haired boy answered.

“You want them back here?” asked his brother.

“Well, YEAH, we still have stuff to do today!” Nanjiroh pulled out the itinerary and puffed on his cigarette. “We’re gonna be late to our next appointment soon, too!”

“No, you won’t,” replied the short-haired brother. He crooked a finger as if inviting Nanjiroh closer, but instead, the Griffy brothers appeared in front of him.

“What the --?!” Terry cried, grabbing onto Tom. “We’re back HERE now?!”

“THERE you two are!” Nanjiroh exclaimed, then paused and looked at the seated twins. The Griffys turned to face them as well.

“Changechildren?” Nanjiroh queried.

“Yes,” Ryoh admitted. “We’re the Kisarazus; I’m Ryoh and that’s Atsushi. Are you living at Atobe’s?”

“Yes, we all are.”

“We’re not allowed,” Atsushi told him. “Our parents don’t want us to move out yet. So we’re not advertising our powers too much.”

“And what exactly ARE those powers?” Nanjiroh asked.

“Mine is Banishment,” Ryoh answered. “That’s how I sent those two home. I can send anyone anywhere I want.”

“Mine is Summoning,” Atsushi replied. “I can bring anyone to me from anywhere else.”

Nanjiroh gave a low whistle. “You sure you don’t want to come back with us? I can talk to your folks. Those powers might need some practice in a safe environment.”

“They need some more time to get used to the idea of our having these powers at all,” Atsushi confessed. “Maybe after they’ve calmed down about it, they’ll change their minds.”

“Well, if they do, here’s the number.” Nanjiroh jotted it down for them and handed it over. “And thanks for helping us out today.”

“Really!” Tom agreed and Terry nodded.

“No problem,” Ryoh said, turning back to his drink.

“Come on, you guys.” Nanjiroh urged the Griffys toward his car. Terry wrinkled his nose at the cigarette between the man’s lips.

“You’re not getting into the car with that, are you?”

“Yep, and so are you.” Nanjiroh opened the door and made sure both brothers were inside before closing the door after them. He glanced back toward the Kisarazus and shook his head. He hoped for their sake that their parents would see reason eventually. Their powers helped them all today, but he could easily imagine how dangerous they could be under the wrong circumstances.

End of Part 45

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 46

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Momoshiro had been okay with school before. He liked being able to see his friends and play tennis, and classes were a necessary evil. That had changed, though, and school now had an entirely different meaning for him.

It meant that he and Ryoma had time away from Kevin Smith.

Despite how their plan seemed to have failed, Kevin was still keeping up the farce and Ryoma was letting him. He figured his boyfriend was just having fun, and Momo didn’t want to let him know how much it bothered him. His pride wouldn’t allow it.

“This sucks!” he declared, slamming his fist against his locker. He blinked to see his fist was now inside the locker while the rest of him remained on the outside.

“Fsshuu. Idiot.”

Momo yanked his fist free and glared at Kaidoh. “Mind your own business or it’ll be your face next.”

“You’d kill me over one insult? Your tolerance has gone down.” Kaidoh snorted. He opened his own locker and fished around for the book he wanted. “Getting mad at me won’t change your situation, you know.”

Momo leaned back against the lockers, folding his arms and pouting. “What do you know about it?”

Kaidoh glanced at him. “Animals are sensitive to moods. Even in human form I have some of that instinct. At home, you’re always in your worst mood when Ryoma and Kevin are together.”

Momo shook his head and sighed. “Ironic that you should be the one to figure it out,” he said. “Okay, Ryoma and I have an understanding. I want to room with him, and Kevin is supposedly posing as his boyfriend so that the adults will be more willing to take him out of Ryoma’s room and let me, his REAL boyfriend, move in.”

Kaidoh studied him. “Only problem with that is Kevin isn’t kidding.”

“Yeah,” Momo admitted miserably. “He really does want Ryoma for his own, and while he’s ‘pretending under pretense’, it still means he gets to hold hands with Ryoma and act like his boyfriend and be all chummy. If it goes on too long, Ryoma may decide he likes it.”

“Have you told Kevin you’re on to him?”

“He knows, all right. Even if it wasn’t obvious in the smug looks he gives me, he’s a mindreader! He may be practicing how to shut people out, but I’m sure my thoughts about him are too strong to ignore.”

Kaidoh closed his locker. “You’d better make the deciding move, then.” He glanced toward his teammate. “Go to the teachers yourself and ask them directly about the room switch. If they agree, great, and if they don’t, at least Kevin has no more excuse to be overly-familiar with Ryoma unless he wants to battle you openly for him.”

Momo thought about it and nodded. “You’re right, it’s the only way.” He grinned. “Thanks, Mamushi. You can be okay when you’re not a jerk.”

“Fsshuu.” Kaidoh scowled and nodded toward Momo’s locker. “You’d better tell the janitor about that. The bell’s about to ring.”

“Oh, shoot!” Momoshiro ran off down the hall and Kaidoh shook his head after him.

Hanamura Aoi wasn’t sure what to think. She had been contacted by the Principal to handle a problem with one of the Masterpieces from her tennis team. She couldn’t imagine why the Principal would have her get involved, since it was Oota Shoh in question, and any trouble regarding him undoubtedly would have to do with his cheeky mouth. It had happened before, but wasn’t a big issue. The Principal could handle it.

When she knocked on the door and was invited in, however, she knew right away that something was ‘off.’ Oota’s body language, even sitting in the chair, was all wrong for him. His arms were folded, his expression resolute and stubborn. His eyes were hard. When he saw her, she saw a touch of guilt enter them, and he quickly lowered them to stare at his lap.

“What’s this all about?” Aoi asked the Principal.

“Tell Hanamura-san why you’re here, Oota-kun,” the man directed.

“I started a fight,” Oota replied grumpily. “With Sakiru-senpai.”

Aoi gasped. While it wasn’t unusual for Oota’s saucy demeanor to tick people off sometimes, they usually accepted it as good-natured teasing. Sakiru-kun, however, was not only a year older than Oota, but almost two feet taller. At 4’8”, Oota was the smallest Sophomore male in the school, and he wasn’t aggressive with other students. It would be suicide for him otherwise. His doubles partner, Kiriyama Daichi, was the largest Sophomore in the school at 6’4”, and he had been known to have aggression issues before, but never Oota.

“Shoh, why would you do such a thing?” Aoi asked in confusion. “You can’t have thought you’d win a contest like that.”

He looked up at her, frowning. “Why not, sensei? I’ve done it before, it’s easy.”

“What?” The boy wasn’t making any sense. She had never heard of him being in a fight before, mostly because no one ever dared pick on him when his best friend could squash them like bugs.

A knock came at the door and the Principal called out, “Come in.”

Takahisa looked in, and was relieved to see Aoi. “Sensei, I heard you were here.”

“What is, Kajimoto-kun?” the Principal asked.

“I brought Kiriyama-kun with me.” Takahisa stood aside to let Oota’s doubles partner enter. “Something’s wrong.”

“Daichi?” Aoi inquired. The welfare of her players was always foremost in her mind, and to have both halves of her doubles one team suddenly experiencing trouble was of great concern.

To her surprise, Kiriyama gave her a wide, cocky grin unlike any she’d ever seen on his face before. “Well, here’s the thing, Sensei. The two of us were talking to Wakato earlier and he asked us to test something for him.”

“Thrrp.” Oota blew a raspberry. “I don’t know what he was talking about, it was a waste of time, just like this.” He jumped up out of the chair. “I’m outta here.”

“Hold it, big guy.” Kiriyama teased, putting a hand on top of Oota’s head. “You can’t go yet, can’t you tell something’s up here? And it ain’t your height!”

Aoi frowned at Takahisa, who shrugged in a see-what-I-mean fashion.

“Boys,” she addressed the other two slowly, “exactly what was it that Wakato-kun asked you to test?”

Oota folded his arms. “That doofus thinks he’s a Changechild, that’s what. He said he was going to use his power on us, but it didn’t do a thing.”

Kiriyama chuckled. “I think maybe it did!”

“Oh Lord,” Aoi sighed. “I have to find Wakato-kun quickly.”

“Please do,” the Principal requested, looking between the two boys strangely. “Take them with you in case he can … fix it. Keep me posted.”

“Yes sir, come along, all of you.” Aoi headed out with the three teenagers behind her.

“Hey, Buchou, I never noticed before how short you really are!” Kiriyama remarked jokingly. “And is that a grey hair?”

Takahisa shared a glance with Aoi. “No,” he replied dryly, “but I’m sure it could become one before long.”

When Aoi and her boys arrived in the training room, she found Wakato Hiroshi talking to Shinjou Reiji, who had the Tanaka twins hiding behind him.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Sensei!” the twins darted over to hide behind her instead. “Keep Wakato away from us! He’s dangerous!”

“Wakato-kun,” she said, “is it true you’re somehow responsible for THIS?” she waved a hand toward Oota and Kiriyama.

Wakato grinned. “Guilty as charged! They’re proof-positive. See, before, I wasn’t sure if I could or not.” He peered around her at the twins. “Now if these guys would just let me switch them –“

“No!” they both yelled.

“How would you be able to tell they were switched anyhow?” Kiriyama snickered.

“Hey!” Youhei and Kouhei protested.

“You’re able to switch personalities?” Aoi said uneasily, wanting to make sure she was getting the facts straight.

“Cool, huh?” he beamed, then gave a resigned sigh. “Ironically, it seemed the only personality I can’t switch out is my own – I tried trading with Reiji here.”

“My gratitude for your failure knows no bounds,” Reiji commented flatly.

Aoi tried to remain calm. No harm had been done – yet. “You CAN switch them back, right?”

“Oh sure, no problem!” Wakato went over and extended his arms in front of Oota and Kiriyama. “Chaaaange Over!” he declared, making a sweeping motion with both arms.

“Is that necessary?” Kouhei muttered.

Youhei shrugged. “For him, I guess it is.”

The doubles one team were blinking as if disoriented, then they looked at each other. “Weird,” they said together.

“Oota-kun, Kiriyama-kun?” Aoi queried. “Are you … all right?”

“I’m okay,” Kiriyama replied, the teasing tone gone from his voice. He looked down at his partner. “You?”

“Sure thing,” Oota answered, then grinned at Aoi. “Don’t look so worried, Sensei. It was a wild ride, but kinda fun. I felt invincible, powerful –“ He laughed. “And TALL!”

“It’s weird being small enough to go unnoticed,” Kiriyama remarked, giving his partner a wry look. “Except with YOUR mouth, that’s impossible.”

“Har har!”

“Wakato-kun,” Aoi said, “it’s pretty clear that you’re a Changechild. Are you going to come to the mansion with us? You’d be welcome.”

The teenager took his hat off and ran his hand through his thick hair. “I don’t know, Sensei. My folks would probably miss me too much, and besides, do you really think you’ll be able to talk the other kids into letting me switch them around for practice?”

He had a point, she thought, glancing to where Youhei and Kouhei were only now venturing out from behind her warily.

“My powers work pretty straightforward, anyway – it’s on, then off, all at my choice. I don’t think we have to worry about me switching people by accident.” He winked. “But if it ever happens, I’ll tell you first!”

“All right,” she agreed reluctantly, “but please, no switching people around without their permission.”

Wakato looked innocent. “Now would _I_ do that?”

“YES!” the twins yelled at him.

Kevin closed his books. “Okay, that’s it, homework done.”

The Griffys looked at him across the table. “Already?” Tom remarked in surprise. “That was fast, the tutor just left twenty minutes ago.”

“Put it this way; homework is done for now,” Kevin got up. “I’ll finish it before the others get home, but right now my butt’s getting stiff and I want something to drink.”

“Good idea, bring us some Ponta, okay?” Terry asked and went back to writing. He glanced up again. “Please,” he added sheepishly.

Kevin smiled. “Sure, but if there’s any grape, I get dibs.” He headed toward the kitchen. The mansion is sure quiet when everyone’s at school, he thought. Probably Echizen-san is reading a porno magazine somewhere.

He realized he was wrong when random thoughts began penetrating the mental shields he tried to keep in place. These barriers were all that kept everyone’s thoughts from pummeling him at once, but the ones backed by strongest emotions still leaked through. These were intense.

(“I can’t believe this! What am I supposed to say to him?!”)

Pain, anger, fear, love – all of them were punctuating these two sentences, and causing Nanjiroh more distress than Kevin would have expected from him. That alone scared him, but what next flashed through the man’s mind and slammed into Kevin’s worried him much more.

“Ryoma,” he whispered, feeling his heart wrench in sympathy for what he wasn’t supposed to know.

End of Part 46

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 47

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Momoshiro was in class, trying to pay attention, but at the same time planning various ways to bring up the rooming issue to the adults. He was abruptly interrupted in all trains of thought by Kevin’s voice in his head.

(“Momoshiro, we’ve got an emergency!”)

“Gah!” Momo yelped, causing his classmates and the teachers to look at him.

“Is something wrong, Momoshiro-kun?”

“Uh, no, sorry, Sensei,” he said sheepishly. He saw Kaidoh giving him a curious frown and shrugged back at him.

(“I know you can hear me,”) Kevin insisted. (“Answer me!”)

(“Yeah, I hear you, but I’m in class!”) Momo thought back at him fiercely.

(“Do you think I’d talk to you if it wasn’t important?!”) Kevin snapped, then sighed. (“This concerns Ryoma, and it’s serious.”) He began explaining what had happened.

Momo had been about to shout mentally back to him about how he was going to talk to the adults about the room situation and blow his plans sky-high, but then he finally registered what Kevin was saying. All thoughts about their plans regarding the room vanished. If the American was right about what he heard Echizen-san thinking, Ryoma was going to need him. In fact, he would need all the friends he could get.

(“Should we tell him?”) Momo asked seriously.

(“No, his father should. I just wanted you to know because … well, we’re the two closest to him right now. There may be no love lost between us, but I know we both love Ryoma.”)

(“Yeah,”) Momo thought. (“For sure.”) He sighed inwardly and knew he wouldn’t be hearing the rest of class, even if he tried.

Mizuki chuckled to himself as he approached Jyousei Shounan. He had decided to surprise Takahisa at his tennis practice. Of course, the best surprises happened at the last moment. That was why he turned invisible just before walking onto the campus.

There was a lot of activity out back by the tennis courts. Plenty of fans had turned out to watch the ‘Masterpieces’ practice, it seemed. Mizuki noticed that he had arrived during a break in the action. That ‘change over’ weirdo guy was holding court in front of a group of admiring girls. The big guy and little punk were listening to Hanamura as she gave them some private instruction. The pointy-eared one was in his own little world, staring at his racquet. Mizuki finally spotted Takahisa, off in the farthest corner, talking to the neon-haired twins. He headed over there, already anticipating his boyfriend’s delight at having him ‘appear’ unexpectedly.

“I know it’s hard, but we’ve done it this long, and it’s the way Kaasan wants it.”

Mizuki slowed down his approach upon hearing that. What was Takahisa talking about? Why should the Tanaka twins care about something his mother wanted?

Kouhei turned his head to glance across the court, but Mizuki wasn’t sure what he looked at. “It’s weird having them together again, but at least they aren’t fighting.”

“I thought for sure one of us would have given it away by now,” Youhei added worriedly. “You really think we can keep it secret much longer with all of us living together, Niisan? Especially with Kevin being a mindreader.”

Whoa, back up, Mizuki thought, frowning. Wasn’t Youhei himself the older twin? And if so, why would he call Kouhei ‘big brother’?

However, it wasn’t Kouhei who answered. “We have no choice,” Takahisa said firmly. “At least until Kaasan says differently. Now come on, we need to stop talking about this or we really WILL make a mistake where someone can hear us.”

Mizuki moved aside carefully to avoid them, holding his breath in case the twins heard him exhale as they passed. He stared after them all in amazement.

Had he understood that correctly? Takahisa and the twins were siblings? But they had different last names! Were they the result of a blended marriage or something? And why was it such a big secret? Was it because Takahisa was team captain and it might look bad to have his younger brothers on the team?

No, they said it was their mother’s decision. Mizuki’s imagination began working overtime. Was it a case of a mother having kidnapped her kids from the father and now has them in hiding? But wouldn’t she keep them with her instead of at the mansion then? It didn’t add up.

Now he had to decide whether he should keep this information to himself or ask Takahisa about it. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop – would he be angry with him? His track record for using his invisibility in such a way wasn’t good, but it also didn’t feel right to keep his knowledge of it from his boyfriend. Even if it meant losing him.

Doing the right thing stinks, he thought grimly, and left the campus.

Sumire barked instructions toward Eiji and Oishi as they volleyed on the Seigaku tennis court. She was about to head over to where Kaidoh and Inui were playing when one of Ryoma’s classmates, Horio, said, “Ryuuzaki-sensei, isn’t that Ryoma’s father?”

Sumire looked over and saw Nanjiroh approaching, his expression was as serious as she had ever seen it. She went to meet him.

“Nanjiroh,” she said, “what’s wrong?”

Ryoma was playing with Momoshiro when he realized the older boy had stopped and was staring off to the side. Ryoma followed his gaze and frowned when he saw his father and Sumire speaking quietly together. Both of them looked toward him.

“You’d better go, Ryoma.”

He glanced at Momoshiro, curious at the sad tone to his voice. Sympathy was in his eyes, too. He knew something, and it wasn’t good.

As Ryoma left the court, all the other boys quieted down, as if they could each tell that all the signs pointed to something serious. Everyone watched as Nanjiroh put a hand on top of Ryoma’s head and steered him back toward the car.

“Sensei?” Tezuka inquired. Sumire sighed.

“Come over here, everyone,” she said. “You may as well find out now, so you can be there for him later.”

In the car, Ryoma listened to his father speak, but for the first few moments, it was as if everything became surreal and he was listening to a conversation someone else was having.

“Ryoma,” Nanjiroh said gently, “did you hear me?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “You said Kaasan has left us and gone back to America.”

“I’m sorry,” his father told him sincerely. “We tried to keep our problems from you. I hoped some distance, like my being at the mansion, would help.” He looked out the car window. “I guess it wasn’t far enough.”

Ryoma knew his parents had always had an odd relationship, but it seemed to suit them well enough. He’d never heard any fighting that sounded like anything more than mutual teasing. “You did a good job covering up,” he commented flatly. “I never noticed anything unusual.”

“I guess we didn’t do you any favours in the end,” Nanjiroh sighed, “since now it comes as a shock.” He put an arm around Ryoma’s shoulders and squeezed. “We’ll be okay, the two of us.”

Ryoma turned toward his own window and raised a hand to his face briefly. Nanjiroh didn’t bring attention to the tears his son was trying to hide. He started the car to take them home.

Takahisa wondered what was wrong with Mizuki. Not long after they got home and he had gone to the St. Rudolph manager’s room, he had seemed preoccupied. Finally, he asked him about it.

“I’m sorry,” Mizuki said sincerely. “I just, well, it’s because …,” his voice trailed off and that worried Takahisa even more.

“Hey, come on,” he said, taking Mizuki’s hand. “You can talk to me.”

“But can you talk to me?” Mizuki looked at him seriously. “How come I haven’t met your family yet?”

Takahisa’s lilac eyes blinked once, then he averted them. “I didn’t know that bothered you.”

“You met mine, and they liked you. It’s not that you’re ashamed of me, is it?”

“Of course not! I just … didn’t really think of it.”

Mizuki looked upset. He stood up from the bed and turned away, twirling a lock of hair around his finger furiously.

“What?” Takahisa asked, feeling somewhat frustrated himself.

“You’re not being honest with me!” Mizuki accused, then gave a short laugh. “Well, not just me – you’re lying to everyone – but to lie to ME?!”

Takahisa felt himself turn a little pale. “How’d you find out?”

“By accident,” Mizuki stated. “You really should have told me about them.”

The Jyousei Captain sighed and put his hands on Mizuki’s shoulders from behind. “It’s been hard not telling you especially, but Kaasan feels she’s protecting us from nepotism accusations and Tousan has never been that close to us – you know how he is. Besides, to have both our parents here, as guardians to all the other kids? Can you imagine what kind of favoritism they’d say –“

Mizuki spun around. “Wait a minute, what are you talking about? Your PARENTS are here, too? I was talking about the Tanaka twins being your little brothers! Who the hell could be your --?!” He stopped and put a hand over his mouth, staring at his boyfriend. “Oh my GOD …!”

Takahisa sighed in defeat.

Kevin peeked into his room. Ryoma was there with Karupin on his lap. He looked so forlorn – not at all like his usual complacent self. He wished he could read his mind now, so he’d know the right thing to say. But really, what COULD he say? Certainly not what Ryoma most wanted to hear; that it wasn’t true and his mother hadn’t just abandoned him without a word.

So he did the only thing he could do. He went in and crawled up beside Ryoma, slipping a comforting arm around his shoulders. Ryoma didn’t say anything, but neither did he move away.

Momoshiro entered next. He didn’t hesitate to do exactly what Kevin had done on Ryoma’s other side.

If the Seigaku rookie wondered how they already knew what happened, he didn’t ask. He had his cat and his two best friends with him. Even though he wasn’t going to feel any better for a long while, their presence would ensure that he wouldn’t feel any worse.

Nanjiroh was sitting by the pool outside. He wasn’t going to try and figure out where he and Rinko had gone wrong – there wasn’t any one thing that caused it. The important thing now was Ryoma, and making sure that his mother’s desertion didn’t scar him permanently.

“Thank God for this place,” he murmured, looking around the luxurious yet peaceful surroundings. He could hear the boys’ voices and footsteps throughout the mansion behind him. Ryoma was surrounded by friends here, and he would have plenty of tennis to distract him. He himself would be there for his son anytime he needed him, whether he admitted it or not. The boy would be okay.

Nanjiroh glanced down and noticed his wedding ring. With a sigh, he slipped it off and stuck it in his pocket.

“Are you all right?”

He looked up into Aoi’s concerned brown eyes and smirked. “Did the old bag blab to everyone?”

“I think for Ryoma’s sake, she told his teammates.” She sat down in another deck chair. “But she also told myself and Tarou, so we could be there if Ryoma needed us.”

“So the answer to my question is yes,” Nanjiroh remarked with a half-hearted chuckle. “Ah, if it helps the boy at all, I don’t care. Everyone would find out, anyway.” He paused, tilting his head back to look at the blue sky and fluffy white clouds. “Have you ever been in love, Aoi?”

She was quiet for a moment, then answered, “Yes. I was married for a long time. We’ve been divorced for almost a year now.”

“Does it get easier?” He looked at her, his gaze sad, but hopeful. “I’d really like to know that these bad feelings don’t last forever.”

“In our case, it was easier almost immediately after we separated,” she admitted, then smiled ruefully. “Which makes our current situation rather ironic.”

Nanjiroh looked at her, puzzled. “Huh? What do you mean?”

She brushed back her hair and shrugged. “Somehow, my ex and I have ended up living together once more, although we never planned on it.”

“But … you’re living HERE,” Nanjiroh pointed out, feeling even more confused than before she answered.

“We both are,” came a voice from behind them. Nanjiroh looked back and watched Tarou walk over. He stopped by Aoi’s chair and the two of them exchanged a glance before she turned back to face Nanjiroh.

“Meet my ex-husband,” she said wryly.

End of Part 47

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 48

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Sumire had joined the other adults at the pool. She poured tea and passed it around.

“I’m sorry if I did the wrong thing, Nanjiroh,” she said sincerely. “I thought Ryoma’s teammates would be well-equipped to help him through this. That’s why I told them.”

“Ehh, you’re probably right. I’m not mad.” Nanjiroh swallowed some tea and frowned. “I just hope he doesn’t find out why she didn’t say goodbye.”

“It IS rather odd,” Aoi commented. “Despite the problems you and she may have had, as his mother, it shouldn’t have had anything to do with Ryoma.”

“There’s where you’re wrong.” He gave her a grim look. “It had everything to do with him.” He lowered his gaze to the tea cup and turned it around in his hands. “Rinko never wanted children. Ryoma was an accident, and with her business career taking off, she wasn’t interested in motherhood.” He smiled a little ruefully. “It wasn’t a plan I had mapped out, either, but as soon as I knew, I wanted him. I gave up my tennis career to raise him so Rinko could keep working, and we were both happy for a while.”

“What went wrong?” Tarou asked.

Nanjiroh shrugged. “I’m still not sure that it was any one thing.” He glanced toward Sumire. “You know the way I am, and even though she knew about my lecherous ways when we married, I think she thought I’d grow out of it. Between that and her jealousy over sharing me with Ryoma –“ He shook his head. “I guess my moving us in here was the final straw.”

“So in your opinion, does she or does she not love Ryoma?” Aoi asked.

He looked thoughtful. “I’d say she’s fond of him, and there have been moments when she may have loved him, but not like you’d expect from a devoted mother. Not enough for her to reassure him before she left, obviously.” He gave Tarou and Aoi a glance. “At least you two didn’t have any children hurt by your divorce, huh?”

The two looked at each other. “Well …,” Tarou began slowly.

“Um …,” Aoi hedged.

“Oh?” Sumire raised an eyebrow. “But if you do have a child, who’s taking care of it while you’re both here?”

Aoi sighed resignedly. “We are, and so are you two.”

Mizuki was shaking his head. “I still can’t believe it,” he admitted.

Takahisa had a wry look on his handsome face. “I guess I can’t blame you. We’ve all been very careful up until today, but I forgot my invisible boyfriend might be nearby at any time.”

Mizuki pouted. “Hey, I _said_ it was an accident, and I haven’t told anyone. I just don’t get why it’s such a big secret.”

“There were a few reasons why we did it.” The Jyousei Captain leaned back against the wall. “When I started at Jyousei, both my parents decided I should begin a reputation on my own merit, not as ‘rich Sakaki Tarou’s son.’ To help distance myself, I decided to use my paternal grandmother’s maiden name for my last. Kaasan was just taking over the tennis team at Jyousei that year, too, and in case I made it as a member, it seemed like a doubly good reason to hide my connection. She was still using her own name by choice, too, so no one suspected our relationship. The twins started a year later, and for the same reasons began using our maternal grandmother’s maiden name.” He smiled ruefully. “Probably by my senior year and their junior, there was no reason to hide it anymore. Everyone knew we deserved our positions on the team. But it’s hard to stop a deception like this once it’s in motion, and everyone knows you as someone other than who you really are.”

“I suppose it is,” Mizuki nodded slowly.

“There’s something else, too,” Takahisa admitted. “Tousan has never been happy about the fact that we didn’t go to Hyotei. He thinks it reflects badly on him somehow.” He shrugged. “So he was fine with no one knowing we were his kids.”

The St. Rudolph manager stared at him. “I know Sakaki-san comes off as rather cold, but he can’t really be so petty with his own children … can he?”

“He didn’t force us to do the name-change. Neither did Kaasan. They just put forward the idea, and I tried it out. When it worked for me, the twins did it the next year. When the divorce happened, it sort of made things easier, anyway.” He played with Mizuki’s hair gently and smiled. “Don’t look so upset. It doesn’t bother us.”

“Well, it SHOULD!” Mizuki said passionately. “You’re a wonderful person, and I daresay a good son! Divorce or not, they’re both still your parents. It’s time to put an end to this charade, especially with all of you living here together.”

“It IS over,” came a voice from the doorway. Takahisa and Mizuki turned toward a grim-looking Youhei and Kouhei.

“We can hear them from here.” Kouhei folded his arms. “Kaasan and Tousan just spilled the beans to Echizen and Ryuzaki.”

“And speaking of Echizen,” Youhei added with a frown, “it looks like Ryoma has found out how crummy it can be to have his parents break up.”

Nanjiroh gave Tarou and Aoi reproving looks after hearing their explanations. “How could you two all but disown your own kids? Shame on you!”

“Nanjiroh!” Sumire exclaimed. “How many times have you pretended to be someone else when Ryoma was present?”

“That’s different!” Nanjiroh protested. “When I do it, it’s cute! Besides, I don’t want my past career to affect how people look at Ryoma.”

“Not to mention Ryoma prefers you deny your identity because you embarrass him,” Tarou said dryly.

Nanjiroh snickered. “Yeah, well, that’s cute, too.”

“We did what we thought was best at the time.” Aoi said with a shrug. “After all, WE knew about our children’s exceptional talents, but others might not have given them due credit and instead accused them of riding our coattails. You said it yourself, Nanjiroh – you didn’t want your past to influence people where Ryoma was concerned.”

“I see your points,” Sumire remarked. “I wouldn’t have done the same, but you are more on the … eccentric side than I am.” She looked from one to the other. “However, I’d say they’re pretty well established in their own right now. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to claim them as your own again?”

“What about our situation here?” Tarou mentioned. “Won’t the other kids make accusations of favoritism toward our three with both their parents living here?”

“Personally, I think they’d more likely see it as a handicap,” Nanjiroh chuckled.

“Maybe in YOUR case,” Tarou snorted.

“No, Nanjiroh is right,” Sumire said. “The rest of the kids have a false sense of freedom by being away from their parents, but yours won’t.”

“I guess that IS true,” Aoi admitted and glanced at Tarou. “I’ve missed hearing them call me Kaasan.”

“I’d still have to explain why they chose Jyousei over Hyotei.” Tarou frowned.

Aoi shrugged. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Aoi!” Tarou growled.

She put up her hands. “Sorry, sorry.”

“I think you two are worrying too much over inconsequential things,” Sumire said frankly. “You may even have done your kids a disservice with this. By trying to hide their identity, doesn’t it make their positions look even MORE suspect?”

Aoi looked distressed. “Then we shouldn’t have said anything to you at all!”

Nanjiroh chuckled. “There you go again! Aoi, kids are going to have tough problems to work out in life; you can’t coddle them forever. Tell the truth, state it proudly and you’ll see how much more accepting people will be.”

“Oh?” Tarou asked. “And does this mean you’re going to start telling people you’re Ryoma’s father when you meet instead of lying or wearing disguises?”

“Are you kidding?” Nanjiroh laughed. “The boy would kill me!”

“Sooo …,” Youhei interrupted the adults, who turned toward the voice. He and his brothers stood a few feet away, regarding them with curiosity. “Now we ARE telling people?”

Their parents shared a look. “I guess it’s been long enough,” Tarou said and Aoi nodded.

Takahisa scowled. “We’re not going to make any big, tacky announcement about it, are we?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” Aoi assured him. “You’ve done it our way all this time, you can decide how to handle it.”

Kouhei shrugged. “It’s going to leak out, anyway, now that outsiders know.”

“You mean Mizuki,” Youhei said under his breath.

“Hey!” Takahisa snapped. “He asked me about it – he didn’t blab.”

“Either way, if we’re going to let it out, we’ll let it out everywhere,” Youhei said decisively. “I don’t mean announcements, but no more hiding it. Even at school.”

“Be prepared to answer the same questions over and over,” Tarou warned.

“But that will only go on for a few days,” Aoi added quickly. “Then it’ll be business as usual.”

Nanjiroh looked thoughtful as he watched the ‘reunited’ family. It wouldn’t exactly be ‘business as usual’ for he and Ryoma for a while, but he vowed to make their new ‘usual’ an even better one for his son regardless.

The redhead blew a bubble with his gum and popped it, staring at his younger teammate. “I hope I heard you wrong there, Akaya. Yukimura and Sanada would both kick your ass if they found out.”

“Well, they won’t find out, will they?” Kirihara glared at Marui. “I told you because I know you won’t snitch. Don’t make me regret it.”

“But what’s the point in infiltrating the Changechildren mansion, anyway?” Marui asked and started tying his shoe. “Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about that skinny-dipping party they had. The one you busted them for that nothing came out of.”

“Yeah, that sucked. I still don’t know why, but it seemed like none of them got punished for it.” Kirihara sighed and twirled his tennis racquet around in his hand. “Next time I have anything juicy on them, I’ll tell a different adult.”

“So why ARE you going? To find that something ‘juicy’?”

“That would be a perk, but really it’s just to see who’s doing what with their powers,” the Rikkaidai Sophomore replied. “Make sure they aren’t cheating in tennis matches, find out who all exactly is in there now – stuff like that.” He grinned. “Of course, being there might lend itself to spontaneous opportunities.”

“The ‘who is there’ isn’t a secret,” Marui pointed out. “You can find that out easily enough.”

“Yeah, but still, I want to see them using their powers up close.” Kirihara looked thoughtful. “The question is, who should I possess in order to do it?” He smiled evilly. “I know who I WANT to use.”

Marui gave a short laugh and shut his locker. “So do I, and it would be suicide. Pick someone else.”

Kirihara shot him an annoyed glance. “Why is everyone so afraid of Fuji Syuusuke?”

“Because he’s frightening! And he’d get you back in a bad way. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Yeah,” Kirihara said slowly. Marui was right, much as he was loathe to admit it. Interfering further in Fuji’s life was asking for more trouble than he was willing to take on.

Marui popped another bubble. “Two things. First, you’ll have to wait until the weekend to really do this right, so you can spend a couple of days there. After Friday’s game, we’ve got nothing going on with the team, and I’ll cover for you with your folks. You can say you’re spending it with me. Second, if you really want to go through with this, make it someone who’ll be easy to manipulate.”

He was answered with a snort. “Once I’m inside the body, they’re ALL easy to manipulate. All they can do is watch and listen helplessly as I control them completely.”

“You know,” his teammate pointed out, “you smile in a really scary way when you say that.”

“Do I?” Kirihara looked at him, and the feral smile broadened. “Well, mine is a scary power. Now, let’s see how much fun I can have with my fellow Changechildren, shall we?”

End of Part 48

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 49

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Ryoma hit another ball then walloped it again on the return. He was enjoying this time alone, just he and the practice wall. Due to the well-meaning intentions of his teammates and the other kids at the mansion, he’d barely been by himself all week.

Truthfully, he hadn’t minded. The first couple of days after finding out about his mother leaving, he hadn’t wanted to be alone. It was good to always have someone who cared about him nearby. Especially reassuring was his father’s presence. Although Nanjiroh didn’t hover over him, somehow he always seemed to be there when Ryoma needed him most. That first night, Ryoma even slept with him, and if his roommate Kevin found it odd at all that he left their room and didn’t return, he didn’t mention it.

But Kevin was there, and so was Momoshiro. Between the two of them, his father, Karupin, and the quiet support of his teammates and the others, he felt he was finally accepting it all.

There was one more factor helping in that, and it had come from an unexpected source. Word had begun spreading like wildfire about how Sakaki and Hanamura had once been married, and that Takahisa, Youhei, and Kouhei were their children. There was a lot of skepticism at first, but when any of them were questioned, the answers were always the same. Ryoma thought the whole thing was pretty weird, but it did distract people from his own issues somewhat, so he was glad for it.

“Hey, Ryoma.”

He looked up to see Takahisa watching him, holding his racquet. “Want to hit the ball around a while?”

Ryoma tugged his cap down. “Sure.”

The two of them went to the court and began an easy volley to warm up.

“How have you been doing?” Takahisa asked as they played.

Ryoma shrugged. “Okay.”

“I know we don’t know each other or anything but I know what it’s like to have your parents split.” Takahisa ran to intercept Ryoma’s ball. “If you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

Ryoma was about to turn him down flat – he had a lot of friends already who would listen. But none of them had broken families.

“Thanks,” he said, firing another ball over the net. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

A few more balls went back and forth, then Ryoma said, “It’s weird hearing you call our guardians ‘Kaasan’ and ‘Tousan’, but I guess I’m glad not to be the only one with a parent here. Why’d you decide to tell everyone after all this time?”

“It was already in motion before we made any decisions. Mizuki found out at the same time our parents were confessing to the adults. It seemed pointless to hide it anymore after that.”

Ryoma caught the ball at the return and stopped playing to look at him. “I have to ask – what kind of parents ARE they? They’re both kind of weird as tennis coaches.” He rolled his eyes. “I know my dad is the weirdest of all, but I can’t see either one of yours as parents.”

“What, you think my mother practices ‘coordination bedtimes’ or my dad kicks us out of the family if we don’t clean our rooms?” Takahisa chuckled. “Work is work and home is home. Hey, you’ve seen them here long enough to have SOME idea.”

“I guess so, but it’s been hard to tell with my father and Ryuzaki-sensei mixed in, too.”

Takahisa walked over to the net and tapped on it with his racquet idly. “They’ve been good enough parents. They gave us the best opportunities, nurtured our interests and all that. My dad is more reserved with outward affection than my mom, but we know they both love us.” He snorted wryly. “And they’re both strict. It’s hard to get away with anything.”

Ryoma paused for a moment, then asked, “Was it a bad divorce?”

Takahisa sighed. “No divorce is good, but as you can see, they can be in each other’s presence without bloodshed. Actually, since they both moved in here, they’re closer to being friends than they have been for a couple of years.”

“Do you think they’ll ever get back together?”

“No way.” The Jyousei Captain shook his head firmly. “They’ve been divorced for a year now, and they’re a lot happier this way. That’s more important to me than wanting them together ‘just because.’”

“That’s pretty mature of you,” Ryoma commented, bouncing the tennis ball on the edge of his racquet. “How do your brothers feel?”

“I can’t see them wanting to go back to the way things were when our parents were together. Besides, the two of them have always had each other to cling to, so they never really felt alone.” He looked thoughtful. “I think the only lasting problem all three of us have had was being a little jealous of the Hyotei team, because they were seeing more of our father than we were.”

“So you lived with your mom after the divorce?”

Takahisa smiled ruefully. “Not me, I lived with Tousan. But he still spent more time with his team.” He looked back toward the mansion. “That’s why I really like it here. We have both of them together with us, plus the twins and I are together, too. We’re not a family unit anymore, but we’re all in one place.”

“Must be nice,” Ryoma remarked, causing Takahisa to turn back quickly.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Your mom ….”

Ryoma put up a hand. “It’s okay. I guess like you said, I can try to be happy for her. I just didn’t get any warning before it happened, and that made it worse. Oyaji and I will be all right.”

Takahisa nodded. “I think you will be.” He smiled gently. “Your dad is crazy about you, you know. He acts like a pervert and a freak, but for him, it’s all about you.”

The younger boy tugged his cap down again to hide his face, but Takahisa could see he was pleased. He gave Ryoma a bop on the head with his racquet.

“Come on, let’s do some real practicing and take our emotions out on the ball.”

“Okay.” Ryoma tossed him the ball. “Your serve.”

“You asked for it.” The older boy winked.

Kirihara adjusted his hat to make sure his black curls were hidden underneath. It wouldn’t do to be recognized before entering his chosen victim.

He’d given a lot of thought the past few days as to whom he should possess for the weekend. Like Marui had suggested, he tried to think of someone who would be easily manipulated or at least intimidated. That didn’t cover too many of the Changechildren, but he thought he knew of at least one.

Students began coming out the gates of Hyotei Gakuen. Kirihara flattened himself against the wall.

The tennis team Regulars came out as a group. That didn’t surprise him; he could see Atobe’s limousine nearby. All he needed was the right opportunity ….

There it was! His target was last in the group, walking beside his doubles partner. So long as neither turned around, he’d be home-free. Kirihara slipped right up behind him and touched his back. At that moment, the Rikkaidai player disappeared.

He felt it, that sudden shock of realization that meant the person who had been possessed knew he was there. But Kirihara already had a complete hold on him, so he would be unable to alert his friends. However, Kirihara thought it would be fun to talk to him, so he allowed him to think freely inside his own head, and let his victim hear him, as well.

(“Hello, Ohtori-kun.”)

(“Kirihara Akaya?! What are you – oh NO!”)

Kirihara felt Choutarou’s utter despair at his realization. (“Yes, I’ve decided to do a little investigation of you people at that mansion, and you’re the lucky guy who will host me.”)

(“But I don’t want you inside me! Get out!”)

Kirihara giggled audibly. (“No.”)

Shishido looked toward Choutarou curiously. “What’s funny?” he asked.

Choutarou struggled to tell him about the possession he was being subjected to, but to his horror, he heard his own voice replying, “Gakuto-senpai’s face.”

Shishido blinked in disbelief, then laughed. However, Gakuto stopped in his tracks and glared up at Choutarou.

“You want a fist in the nose?!”

The younger boy could tell he had an amused expression on his own face, even if he really felt like crying. “You think you can reach me?”

“You know how high I can jump, you arrogant --!”

Yuushi caught both of Gakuto’s shoulders. “Calm down,” he advised and gave Choutarou a chastising look. “Stop baiting him. What’s gotten into you?”

Choutarou groaned inwardly. If only you knew, he thought.

Tom squeezed Youhei’s hand lightly as they walked through the garden. He had just finished telling him about the photo session he and Terry had had that day, and was listening to Youhei’s description of Jyousei’s tennis practice earlier. He couldn’t help laughing.

“For all your seriousness about tennis, your team seems to have a lot of fun together.”

“Most of us, anyway,” Youhei agreed. “It’s hard to draw Reiji into anything that isn’t fully about tennis.”

“Well, you know we had our own ‘tennis machine’ on our team, but thankfully he loosened up on himself a bit.”

“We’re all serious during practice, though,” Youhei mentioned. “Kaasan’s no easier than any other coach and tougher than most.”

Tom glanced at him. “I know it’s been a few days since it all came out, but it still sounds odd to hear you call her that.”

“Imagine what it’s like for our teammates,” Youhei said wryly. “You could have blown them all over with feathers.” He sighed. “Except Reiji. I think maybe he was jealous at first. He must be getting used to the idea now, though; he’s started speaking to us again.”

“That’s good. It would be –“ Tom fell silent suddenly as he looked ahead. Youhei did the same and saw Tarou had just come outside and was watching them. Youhei felt Tom’s grip on his hand loosen like he was going to let go, but the magenta-haired boy clenched it firmly.

“Hi, Tousan,” he greeted with a cheery smile.

Tarou nodded to his son. His eyes shifted to Tom. He held the American’s gaze steadily for a few beats before walking away.

The fourteen-year-old exhaled loudly. “He doesn’t like me much, does he?”

“It’s not that at all!” Youhei reassured him, then shrugged. “He’s just not used to it. Before the divorce, the only one of us who had ever dated was Takahisa, and he wasn’t really serious about it.”

“I wonder what your dad thinks of Mizuki then,” Tom mused.

Youhei chuckled. “Mizuki can only make you look even better!”

Momoshiro watched Takahisa and Ryoma play tennis from the kitchen window. Taking a bite from his thick sandwich, he chewed thoughtfully.

“Hey,” Kevin greeted as he strolled in, “I’ve been looking for you. Should’ve known to check here first.” He glanced at the sandwich. “Ryuzaki-san will kill you for eating that right before dinner.”

“Nah, she knows I can eat three times this and still have plenty of room for dinner with seconds.” Momoshiro looked over at him. “What do you want?”

“To talk to you about Ryoma, what else?” Kevin joined Momo at the window and watched for a few moments. “They’re doing more talking than playing down there.”

“I’m glad,” Momo said frankly. “Really glad. Takahisa is older, and he’s been through a divorce with his parents. He can give him another perspective.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Kevin nodded. He turned his back to the window and leaned against it. “I’ve decided something. I’m not going to fight you anymore about being Ryoma’s boyfriend.”

Momoshiro looked shocked. “You’re not? How come?”

Kevin smiled up at him ruefully. “Don’t get me wrong. I still love him and want to be his boyfriend, but he cares about both of us and I don’t want to give him anymore pressure.” He shrugged. “Besides, you KNOW you’re not going to get to room with him. They put us together because of age and that won’t change. Our little performance before all the bad stuff came down didn’t seem to be working. So I’ll stay in the room and will get to have as much of his time as you will – we’ll be sharing him. The label of ‘boyfriend’ isn’t so important to me right now.” He winked. “Maybe in a couple of years, if he hasn’t gotten bored with you, I’ll fight you for real.”

Momo normally wouldn’t be sure he could trust Kevin, but he had seen how conscious of Ryoma’s feelings the blonde had been during the past week. Whatever else may be in his mind, he certainly cared about Ryoma. He was right about the room situation, too. Since there was nothing he could do to change that state of things, and Kevin was at least appearing to be magnanimous, he figured he’d go along with it. At least until he had reason not to.

“Okay.” He nodded. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Kevin replied, then paused. “Want to play video games until dinner?”

Another surprise. “Why not?” Momo said with a grin. “I’ll beat you, too. Beat you good.”

Kevin gave a short laugh. “In your dreams!” They headed out of the room but were both pushed back from the doorway as Choutarou forced his way in.

“Quit blocking the way, dorks,” he remarked and headed for the fridge.

Momoshiro and Kevin both stared back at him, then looked at each other.

“Fight with his boyfriend?” Momo guessed.

“Not enough sex,” Kevin said with certainty. They glanced behind at him once more, then burst into giggles and ran down the hall.

(“Sex?”) Kirihara chirped in Choutarou’s mind and searched through the Hyotei player’s memories. (“Seems to me you and Shishido have had MORE than enough. Shame on you. Hey --!”) he said suddenly and laughed internally. (“Who’d have guessed that YOU were the seme?”)

Choutarou wilted as the mocking laughter reverberated in his head.

End of Part 49

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 50

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Choutarou knew with certainty that this would be the longest weekend of his life. It had already been the longest two hours. Not only was Kirihara rude to almost everyone he came across using Choutarou’s voice, but he never shut up when _thinking_ at him.

(“Okay,”) Kirihara mused while they were at dinner, (“so having rifled through your memories of everyone’s powers here, I think I’ve got them all straight –“)

(“And that’s all you wanted, right?”) Choutarou thought in irritation. (“So you can go away now?”)

(“Of course not! I want to stick around long enough to see these powers in person and to find out what else of interest is going on here.”)

(“Like what?”) Choutarou demanded. (“You want to spy on our tennis practices?”)

(“No,”) Kirihara said with a laugh, (“we don’t need that kind of advantage. I just want to see what all you guys from various teams DO here.”)

(“Nothing that would interest you, I’m sure. We eat, sleep, go to school, watch tv, just like any other kids.”)

(“Heh, from what I’ve seen in your memory, some of you have done even more than that, including you and Shishido.”)

(“You leave us out of this!”)

(“Ooo, Ohtori-kun has a temper after all,”) Kirihara taunted. (“Well, you just keep it in check. I don’t plan on you ruining this chance for me.”) He snorted. (“Not that you could. No matter how angry you get, you can’t force me out.”)

I know that, Choutarou thought, trying not to direct it to Kirihara. I can tell. But you can’t blame me if I keep trying.

Tezuka studied Atobe’s profile while his boyfriend stared over at the table where most of his teammates were having dinner. He tried to follow his gaze to see if there was anyone in particular he was focused on, but it was hard to tell. He leaned over to murmur in his ear.

“What has put that look of consternation on your handsome face, my love?”

Atobe looked at him in mild surprise and smiled a little. “I’m sorry if I was ignoring you.” He glanced back toward the other table. “Choutarou’s not himself today. He’s been kind of mouthy. It’s not like him, and it’s irritating.”

“I can see why. You already have Shishido and Gakuto for smart mouths on your team. Choutarou gave it some balance.”

“I suppose everyone is entitled to a bad day, but I don’t want there to be too much infighting.”

Tezuka smiled ruefully. “Good thing you don’t have Kaidoh and Momoshiro on your team, then.” He squeezed Atobe’s arm. “Relax. Some infighting isn’t too bad, as long as it doesn’t come to blows or take focus away from tennis. Sometimes it helps fire the players up.”

“If Choutarou makes Gakuto any more fired up today, he’ll spontaneously combust.”

“Look at the bright side. Choutarou rooms with Yuushi, right? He’s pretty mellow; maybe he’ll be a good influence.”

Atobe nodded slowly. He hoped that was the case, but preferably Choutarou’s bout of attitude would be over sooner than that. As he watched Gakuto jump up and stalk away from the table, he knew it couldn’t be soon enough.

Ryoma looked up at the Power Practice listings in the foyer. He frowned. He was scheduled for another early-morning practice. Why did they do this to him knowing he could never force himself out of bed at that time?

“Hello, Ryoma. Finished eating already?”

He looked up at Aoi and nodded. “Yes. I just wanted to check this in case I was on the evening list.” He sighed, looking at his name again. “I wish I was.”

“I’m sorry, Ryoma, but we have to work around all the boys’ tennis schedules, and both Hyotei and my team have practice on the courts early tomorrow so their Power Practices are tonight and tomorrow night.”

Ryoma shrugged. “It can’t be helped, I guess.”

She put a hand on his shoulder. “How have you been doing? I’ve been worried about you.”

“Better,” he replied. “Keeping busy helps.” He glanced at her. “Any fallout for you with the ‘secret family’ thing? Takahisa says it’s all over Jyousei now.”

“It is,” she confirmed. “There has been some grumbling from the boys’ teachers, and the odd veiled hint that THIS must be why they’re on the tennis team, but not from anyone who matters.”

“Hang in there,” Ryoma replied. “Your kids are good players. Any idiot can see that.”

She smiled and was about to reply when more kids flooded through the foyer, signaling the end of dinner. Choutarou approached the Power Practice sheets, scanning them.

“Oh good, practice in an hour,” he remarked with satisfaction.

“It’s nice to see someone react that way,” Aoi told him. “I’m sure Ryuzaki-san will be pleased, since she’s in charge of that session.”

Choutarou turned toward her and gave her a slow look up and down. “Too bad it isn’t you, sensei.”

Aoi blinked, unsure how to reply. “Um … well ….”

Choutarou winked and walked away. Aoi and Ryoma looked at each other.

“Did he just attempt to flirt with me?” she asked.

“Is that what it was?” Ryoma replied dubiously.

Yuuta grinned at Tachibana as they came out of the movie theatre. “That was pretty good, except for that cheesy bit at the end.”

“It wasn’t really necessary, either,” Tachibana added, then stretched. “It’s nice to have an evening off. No tennis practice, no Power Practice, and I finished my homework at school.”

“Where do you want to go now?” Yuuta asked. “I was thinking about pizza earlier, but we ate so much popcorn, I’m not that hungry anymore.”

“Me either.” Tachibana took Yuuta’s hand and squeezed it, smiling. “We can just walk for a while.”

“Well,” drawled a chilling voice, “isn’t THIS nice?”

The two boys looked over toward the tall teenager leaning back against a store front.

“Akutsu Jin,” Yuuta murmured, watching the older boy take a long drag off his cigarette. His gaze fell to the cast on Jin’s wrist.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Jin said, eyeing Yuuta. “Didn’t expect to run into you here. Or with him.”

Tachibana gave Yuuta’s hand another squeeze. “We don’t want any trouble, Akutsu.”

“Funny,” he snorted. “I hear that a lot.” His gaze fixed back on Yuuta and he tossed the cigarette away. “You and I have business,” he said, walking toward the younger boy.

Tachibana stepped in front of Yuuta, causing Jin to stop directly before them. He sneered. “Don’t be a hero, Tachibana.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh wait, that’s your trademark, isn’t it?”

“Say what you like, but you’re not getting any closer to Yuuta until I know what your intentions are.”

Jin locked eyes with Tachibana and gave him a nasty grin. He pointed toward him. “You’re ON,” he said, the tone of his voice giving it strange significance.

A sudden gust of wind rose up around them. It startled both Tachibana and Yuuta, but Jin looked calm.

“Kippei?” Yuuta asked.

“It’s not me!” Tachibana said, then shook his head. “But … wait, I think it IS!” He tried to force it down, but found he couldn’t. The wind didn’t diminish at all, and their clothes whipped around them as Jin’s smile widened.

“What’s wrong, Tachibana? Can’t turn it off?” Jin laughed in a not-very-nice way. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” His good hand reached out and snatched Yuuta’s arm before either of the boys could stop him.

Immediately, Yuuta felt his power activate. He hadn’t done it himself, and yet it was working, healing Jin’s broken wrist; the one he had caused in the first place.

Even worse, when Jin released him, he knew his power was STILL on.

Jin flexed the fingers of his newly-healed hand. He pulled out a fresh cigarette and tried to light it. The wind was too strong, and he laughed, shaking his head.

“See you around, Changechildren,” he called over the sound of the wind as he walked away.

“Kippei!” Yuuta cried, grabbing his boyfriend’s arm. He felt his power flowing unbidden into Tachibana at the moment of contact and pulled back his hands as if burned. “He did something to me! I can’t turn my power off!”

“That’s why the wind won’t stop!” Tachibana agreed. “I AM doing it, but I can’t even tone it down! It’s like when it first activated and I had no control!”

“We have to get home to Oishi so he can shut us both down!” Yuuta exclaimed. Tachibana reached for his hand but when Yuuta jerked it back cautiously, the Fudomine Captain nodded and the two of them ran for a cab.

Kirihara was finally seeing what he’d come for. It was Power Practice, and all around him were Changechildren – a mixture of Hyotei and Seigaku members -- demonstrating what they could do. It was fascinating.

“Choutarou, watch out!”

He turned just as the tennis ball hit him in the face. (“Ow!”) Choutarou cried out inside his head, which was all he was allowed. (“If you’re going to steal use of my power could you at least USE it?! You were supposed to let that phase through you or go solid so it wouldn’t hurt!”)

(“It doesn’t hurt ME, in any case,”) Kirihara dismissed. (“But I suppose it does look suspicious if I don’t at least try.”)

“Are you okay?” asked Hiyoshi, who had used his telekinesis to throw the ball.

“Yes,” Kirihara answered in Choutarou’s voice. “Sorry, I was distracted.”

Hiyoshi looked toward the others and nodded. “They’re impressive, the senpais.”

They were, and Kirihara noticed Atobe and Tezuka in particular. Like with every other aspect of his life, the Hyotei Captain seemed to have ultimate confidence in using his power, and the ever-calm Tezuka showed no concern as electricity crackled around him.

“Choutarou! Hiyoshi!” Sumire barked. “Get back to work. And pay attention, Choutarou – I saw that ball hit you!”

Kirihara bit back a retort, much to Choutarou’s relief. For the moment, the Rikkaidai invader seemed more interested in staying in the practice so he could see the others rather than smart-mouthing the teachers at Choutarou’s expense.

Sumire watched the various pairs as they practiced for a while, then signaled Shishido over. “I want to increase the difficulty level a little. Cast some bad luck on Choutarou and we’ll see if he can still avoid Hiyoshi’s projectiles.”

Choutarou groaned inside. (“Haven’t I had enough bad luck already?”)

(“Isn’t it funny that his power will work on you but not me?”) Kirihara giggled. (“So don’t worry, I should still be able to avoid the balls. Heh, maybe I should miss some so that it looks legit.”)

(“And so that I get hurt, of course.”)

(“I’m not interested in you being hurt,”) Kirihara scoffed. (“At least not right now.”)

“All right, Hiyoshi,” Sumire said. “Start again, but please don’t aim for his face; he’s at a disadvantage.”

“Okay,” Hiyoshi agreed, and the tennis balls laying around him rose up into the air.

Kirihara saw the first ball coming and used Choutarou’s power to deflect it by turning solid. For the next one, he phased so that the ball went through him.

(“This is easy,”) he said, even as the telekinetically-hurtled balls came faster.

(“Sure, you’re not the one with the bad luck on you, so it won’t slow you up,”) Choutarou muttered.

(“Be grateful – you didn’t want to be hurt, right?”)

There wasn’t anything that Choutarou could say to that, so he fell into a broody silence.

Sumire walked around the group again, making suggestions and giving instructions. When she came back around to Choutarou and Hiyoshi, she watched for a few moments, then nodded. “All right, very good. Let’s try a partner switch now.” She turned. “Atobe! Come work with Choutarou. Hiyoshi, you take his place over there with Gakuto.”

Kirihara could feel Choutarou’s anxiety as Atobe approached. (“What’s your problem?”) he asked the Hyotei Sophomore.

(“Atobe’s power is ice-related,”) Choutarou said grimly. (“That can’t be good for me.”)

(“Pfft,”) Kirihara retorted. (“You worry too much.”)

“Atobe,” Sumire said to the older boy, “Choutarou is doing very well so far at evading objects by phasing or solidifying in time before they can hurt him, even with a dose of Shishido’s bad luck on him. So far he’s only had tennis balls thrown at him, so I want you to try throwing ice balls now.”

Atobe raised an eyebrow. “If he makes a mistake, it will bruise him.”

“There are always risks involved in using your powers, and we’re trying to teach him self-defense. Just don’t aim for the face or any sensitive areas, and keep the ice about the size of a tennis ball.” She patted his shoulder and walked away to check on the others. Atobe turned toward Choutarou and held out both hands at his sides. Kirihara watched as ice balls formed in both palms.

“Are you prepared, Choutarou?” he asked.

(“No!”) came the reply that Atobe couldn’t hear.

Kirihara smirked with Choutarou’s features. “Bring it on, Buchou.”

Atobe launched the first attack, and as quickly as they left his hands, he formed two more. Kirihara phased the first two through, then went solid for the next ones.

“It’s STILL easy!” He laughed out loud. Choutarou cringed inside.

“But how long can you keep it up, hmm?” Atobe asked, heaving one ice ball after another toward his younger teammate. “If you’re going to be cocky, you have to be able to back it up!”

Choutarou was trying hard not to panic but knew that while Atobe probably didn’t want to hurt him, his pride was being prickled by ‘his’ seeming indifference to the danger presented. That meant he wouldn’t let up until Choutarou either messed up or Sumire told him to stop.

Kirihara’s own pride at being able to control Choutarou’s power AND face down Atobe successfully was keeping his concentration pretty focused. Then a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and he felt himself being buffeted enough to make a misstep, his attention diverted long enough for one of Atobe’s ice balls to catch him on the upper thigh.

(“OW!”) Choutarou cried out internally.

(“Oh, don’t be a baby,”) Kirihara snapped, irritated that he had missed.

“Are you all right?” Atobe asked, walking toward him with a concerned expression. The wind pushed at him and he brushed his hair back with a frown. “What’s with this wind all of a sudden?”

All around them others had stopped practicing, wondering the same thing, when Shishido pointed out that Tachibana and Yuuta were running across the lawn toward them. “What’s going on, boys?!” Sumire called out, having to shout to be heard over the increasing howl of the wind.

“Yuuta!” Syuusuke started over but Tachibana got between them.

“Don’t touch him!” he warned, looking more frazzled than Fuji had ever seen him. “We can’t turn off our powers, either of us! Yuuta is in constant-healing mode, so no one can touch him or it will drain his energy until he has none left!”

“Oishi!” Sumire called the Seigaku Vice-Captain over. “Shut them down, quickly!”

The wind pushed Oishi back as he tried to make it to Tachibana. “I can’t GET there, sensei!”

“Tachibana, can you tone it down at least?!” Sumire demanded as Tezuka caught her before she could lose her footing. Most of the other kids were already on the ground, unable to stand in the near hurricane-force winds.

“I CAN’T, that’s the problem! And it’s getting worse!” Tachibana yelled helplessly.

Atobe stayed upright, having frozen the lower half of his legs to the ground. He snapped his fingers. “Kabaji! Give Tachibana a boost with your power.”

“Usu.”

“NO!” Yuuta cried. “If you do that, the wind will just get even worse! You don’t understand – we can’t turn our powers OFF!”

“Kabaji’s Enhancement doesn’t just increase your power,” Atobe explained, raising his voice so he could hear. “It reinforces your control. Tachibana should be able to at least contain it, even if he can’t turn it off.” He nodded to Kabaji, who approached Tachibana. The wind buffeted him, but the Hyotei Sophomore was physically strong enough to force his way through it until he reached the Fudomine Captain.

“Atobe!” Sumire looked over at him. “Are you sure about this?!”

“Trust me,” he said calmly, and nodded to Kabaji. The younger boy’s hand fell on Tachibana’s shoulder.

For a moment, the wind flared worse, then Tachibana felt the power that flowed through him and realized that not only was his own power reacting in strength, but he felt it become more ‘his’ once more. He concentrated on forcing it down, down, down ….

Sumire felt relief as the wind became less until it was barely more than a breeze wafting around them with occasional small gusts. She could see the strain of it on Tachibana’s face.

“I can overcome it that far,” he admitted. “But I don’t think I can hold it back forever.”

“You don’t have to,” Oishi said, hurrying to Tachibana’s side now that he no longer had to fight the wind. He caught his arm, and instantly, the wind stopped. Tachibana staggered and Kabaji grabbed his shoulders.

“Having your power on non-stop like that,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s exhausting.” He looked at Oishi. “Please, help Yuuta.”

“Is it all right, Yuuta-kun?” Oishi asked.

The younger boy nodded desperately. “Yes, please! I need this to stop NOW!”

Oishi obliged by shifting his attentions to the St. Rudolph Sophomore and as soon as his power was shut down, Yuuta fell against Kabaji as well. Syuusuke was beside him in an instant, worry showing plainly on his face.

“Now then,” Sumire said grimly, “tell us what happened to cause this sudden lack of control.”

End of Part 50

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 51

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

(“I had no idea the Changechildren powers were so diverse,”) Kirihara was babbling to Choutarou. (“Can you believe what Akutsu Jin did to those two? Imagine if he turned YOUR power on for good? You might fall right through the bottom of the Earth!”)

(“And what if he did it to yours?!”) Choutarou snapped back. (“You’d have to go from body to body as an evil spirit, never to be yourself again!”)

(“You know, you didn’t have to add the ‘evil’ part in there.”)

(“I call them as I see them.”)

Shishido looked up as Choutarou walked into he and Yuushi’s room. Kirihara spoke for him, sounding more suspicious than Choutarou ever could, “What are you doing here? Your room is across the hall.”

“I know, but I wanted to spend a little time alone with you.” Shishido got up and went over to him. “I’m worried about you, Choutarou. You haven’t been yourself all afternoon. Did something happen at school?” he asked, then more softly, “Or is it something _I’ve_ done?”

Choutarou wanted so badly to reassure him, to tell him he was trapped and unable to speak for himself. Kirihara had other ideas.

“You worry too much,” he said blithely, brushing past him to sit on the bed, pulling his shirt off. “I’m entitled to keep to myself if I want to.”

“Well, yeah, it’s just that when you HAVE said anything, you’ve been short with people or even rude. Something must be bothering you.” Shishido sat by him and put a hand over Choutarou’s. Kirihara snatched it away.

Choutarou gasped inside, and his heart twisted at the hurt, confused look on Shishido’s face.

“Look, I don’t want to talk just now. I’m getting ready for bed.”

“Sure,” Shishido said quietly. “I’ll see you at practice in the morning.” He stood up and left the room.

If Choutarou had been allowed to cry, he would have. (“You monster,”) he murmured miserably in his mind.

(“Oh, boo hoo, you’re better off without him, and right now I certainly am,”) Kirihara retorted. (“Now let’s finish getting ready for bed before your roommate gets here.”)

Aoi walked into the kitchen to join the other adults as they had a late-night cup of tea. “It looks like they’re all bedded down now.” She sighed. “Tezuka and Atobe, and Fuji and Kawamura don’t even pretend to be sleeping in separate beds anymore.”

Sumire shook her head. “At least theirs were the only parents who gave permission for those living arrangements, although it still bothers me.”

“Ehh, I’d rather they do it in their rooms than in the open where the others could get ideas,” Nanjiroh remarked.

Tarou looked at him wryly. “And if Ryoma was one of those sharing a room with his boyfriend?”

Nanjiroh hesitated. “Ryoma is too young to get that serious about anyone. You saw him putting on a show with Kevin – they were joking around.”

“And we never did establish why for sure,” Sumire pointed out. “But I do agree with you that he’s not interested in sex yet.”

“Shouldn’t we talk about the Akutsu Jin situation?” Tarou mentioned. “That boy has a dangerous power, and he was already dangerous to start with.”

“Let’s hope that he got what he wanted by forcing Yuuta to heal his wrist,” Aoi said with a shudder. “It frightens me to think of what being in permanent ‘on’ mode would mean for some of the kids. My poor unit would probably go insane, and Takahisa ….”

“Could cause the destruction of Japan with massive earthquakes, if not the rest of the world,” Tarou finished grimly. “That is, if exhaustion didn’t claim him first.”

“Or if Atobe didn’t beat him to it with another ice age,” Nanjiroh pointed out. “In any case, more than just the kids themselves could be affected.” He looked at the others. “I don’t suppose we could get the Akutsu kid here for training? Teach him why he needs to be careful.”

“You’ve never had experience with that one,” Sumire said dryly. “He’s incorrigible.”

“He enjoys hurting people, Nanjiroh,” Tarou told him.

“And reacts violently if anyone tries to tell him what to do,” Aoi sighed. “To be honest, the other boys – and ourselves – are safer NOT having him here.”

“He hit rocks into Ryoma’s face once,” Sumire said, frowning at the memory. “Your son gave his own back later, but really, bringing that boy here would be asking for trouble.”

“He’d never come, anyway,” Tarou stated. “We’ll make sure all the kids know about his power and tell them to avoid him.”

“Which, if they’re smart, they do as a matter of course,” Aoi added.

“Speaking of avoiding people, Tarou,” Nanjiroh said, “what was wrong with your boy, Choutarou, today? He seemed to be ticking off everyone around him, and he’s usually such a nice kid.”

“I wish I knew,” Tarou confessed. “I’m hoping it was just an off-day, thirteen-year-old hormones and such. We’ll see tomorrow.”

The next morning, Kirihara woke up before Choutarou did. He could have prodded the other boy’s subconscious awake as well, since Hyotei had an early tennis practice, but instead decided to take advantage of the uninterrupted chance to skim through Choutarou’s memories. There was something specific he wanted to know.

He paused when he found the kidnapping and rescue of Atobe Keigo. It wasn’t what he was hunting for, but he had to admit it was quite interesting to re-live how they had planned and ultimately saved the Hyotei Captain. He was impressed in spite of himself.

But he kept searching further back until he finally found his objective. The skinny-dipping party.

He frowned to himself, seeing how much fun they’d had. His phone call to the mansion was supposed to get the whole group of them in trouble, but instead Echizen Nanjiroh had hidden the incident from the other adults. Just his luck.

Well, he sighed, now he knew why they’d gotten away with it. He was about to pull away from the memories when he caught the tail end of something that made him freeze. He took a closer look, and the more he saw, the angrier he became.

Kaidoh Kaoru had infiltrated Yukimura-buchou’s house! He had posed as that kitten; the one his Captain had owned for a couple of days before it ran away. The one he had held in his own hands at that last sleepover!

He couldn’t believe it. The Changechildren had been trying to find out who had snitched about their skinny-dipping and Rikkaidai had fallen right into their trap, discussing the whole thing right in front of the disguised Kaidoh. It was ingenious; not surprising, as Inui had apparently come up with it. Ironically, Inui had been the only one punished, but that was for lying about Kaidoh’s whereabouts.

That wasn’t enough – that wasn’t anywhere NEAR enough! Maybe Inui was punished, but Kaidoh had to pay, and pay dearly for making fools of the entire Rikkaidai team. According to Choutarou’s memories, the adults had already found out that Kaidoh went undercover, but the kids and even Echizen Nanjiroh had managed to sidestep the question of why he’d done it. Well, that was over now! It had taken a while, but finally there would be no more escaping justice for that skinny-dipping party.

He gave Choutarou a mental kick in the head. (“Wake up, stupid! You’ve got practice and then we’ve got work to do!”)

Marui Bunta was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of a world made of sugar. He was about to launch himself into a swimming pool filled with sponge cake when his cell phone rang. Groaning, he reached for it. “Mmmwha?”

“Bunta, it’s Jackal. Where the heck are you?!”

“Huh?” Bunta brushed bright red bangs from his eyes. “I’m in bed, where else would I be at –“ he glanced at the clock, “an ungodly hour to be awake on a Saturday?!”

“At tennis practice, that’s where!” Jackal exclaimed. “Buchou and Sanada are fit to be tied; you and Akaya are both late!”

“Oh, shoot!” Bunta jumped up and grabbed his clothes. “I didn’t know we had practice this morning!”

“The notice was up in the clubhouse and you know it’s no excuse if you don’t read the board.”

“I’ll be right there!”

“Okay, let’s hope Akaya’s on his way, too.”

As Jackal hung up, Bunta swallowed. Akaya wouldn’t be showing up at all, because like himself, the younger player hadn’t known a surprise practice would be scheduled. Bunta couldn’t tell Yukimura why their Sophomore was going to be absent, because he didn’t want anyone to find out he was in on Akaya’s plan.

“Oh well,” he shrugged as he finished getting dressed. “It was nice knowing you, kid.”

Kaidoh entered he and Inui’s room at a lope. As usual, he had gone out for a morning jog and was finally getting back. He saw his teammate at his computer and wondered idly what he was working on. He shook his head. Whatever it was, he probably wouldn’t understand it, anyway.

“You’re not overdoing it, are you, Kaidoh?” Inui asked without looking back. “Three times the menu I gave you is more than enough.”

“I know, senpai. I promised I wouldn’t.” Kaidoh gathered up the clothes he planned to wear after he got out of the bath and turned to leave, then paused, studying Inui’s back. “You’re not overdoing it, either, senpai?”

The question seemed to take Inui aback, and he swiveled in his chair to face the younger boy. “I’m not sure I understand you. Are you talking about my own training menu?”

“No.” Kaidoh jerked his chin toward the computer monitor. “I mean the research you do, and whatever else keeps you in that chair any time you’re not playing tennis.” As Inui continued to stare at him, the Sophomore suddenly felt uneasy, like he was overstepping his bounds. He dropped his gaze and shuffled his feet. “I know your Changechild power is Superintelligence, and it has to drive you constantly in a search for knowledge, but you’re a fourteen-year-old kid, senpai. You don’t do anything fun anymore.”

Inui looked thoughtful. “The collection of data itself has always been fun for me, but I do see your point.” He smiled at Kaidoh. “What you’re saying essentially is ‘all work and no play makes Inui a dull boy.’”

His roommate looked up sharply in horror. “No, senpai, I didn’t say that --!”

Inui held up a hand to quiet him. “I’m not offended, Kaidoh. You’re right. It’s Saturday, I have no obligations – it’s a good time to go out and well, have fun.” He cocked his head slightly, regarding the younger boy with a hint of mischief in his expression. “However, it wouldn’t really be fun to go out alone, would it? And since it was your idea for me to do so, I’d say that obligates you to show me a good time.”

Kaidoh could feel his face heating up. Was Inui asking him out on a DATE? Or at least, fixing it so that he couldn’t refuse? Either way, he didn’t want to appear pathetically eager. He cleared his throat and nodded curtly. “I’ll do my best, senpai.”

“Good, I’m glad that’s settled.” Inui turned back to the computer. “I’ll finish this up while you’re in the bath, then we can decide what we’re going to do that’s ‘fun.’”

Kaidoh grabbed his clothes and hurried out so that the older boy wouldn’t see his tomato-red cheeks. It would be too embarrassing if the data expert guessed that Kaidoh’s first thoughts on what might be ‘fun’ included a stolen kiss he’d never have the nerve to take.

If there was a way of being mentally dragged kicking and screaming, Choutarou was experiencing it. He dug in his metaphysical heels and hollered his head off.

(“NO, Kirihara! I won’t let you do this to me OR to them! I WON’T!”)

(“You make it sound like you have a choice. Now shut up or I’ll shut you up.”)

(“I won’t! I won’t! If you do this they’ll ALL hate me and they’ll be in big trouble!”)

(“That’s kind of the point, genius.”)

(“NO!”)

Kirihara scowled to himself. While Choutarou couldn’t break free of his control, all his internal yelling was making it hard to concentrate. He shut down the portion of Choutarou’s brain that allowed him to communicate with him, but at the same time left him the ability think to himself. That way, the Hyotei Sophomore wouldn’t miss what happened next; he just wouldn’t be able to bug Kirihara throughout it.

Early practices were over and almost everyone had returned. He went looking for the three adults he wanted and felt lucky to find them all together in the lounge, discussing their practices and what plans they had for the remainder of the day. None of the kids were there with them.

“Excuse me,” he said, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I really need to talk to all of you.”

The three of them looked curious and concerned at once. “All of us?” Aoi repeated. “Nanjiroh isn’t here.”

“Actually, it concerns him, too, so maybe it’s better if I start now.” Kirihara sat down, feeling Choutarou’s desperation, fury, and helplessness. He schooled his expression so it wouldn’t reflect his own smugness, and assumed a contrite look.

“This is very hard for me,” he said, keeping Choutarou’s voice soft and sincere. He wrung his hands worriedly. “It’s about something that happened a while ago. Back before Atobe was kidnapped, before Kevin or the Griffys were here. But … it’s been bothering me ever since.” He raised his eyes to meet theirs. “It’s about why Kaidoh-kun went undercover at Yukimura Seiichi’s house ….”

End of Part 51

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 52

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

The three adults stared at ‘Choutarou’ when he’d finished.

“THAT was why Kaidoh was undercover at Yukimura’s?” Sumire said in surprise.

“I thought it was something tennis-related,” Aoi admitted. “When Nanjiroh told us it was revenge for something, we never got into it further because we had the emergency with Kevin and the Griffys.”

“And after that, we never thought about it again,” Tarou concluded.

“But wait -- Nanjiroh KNEW about this skinny-dipping party when it happened?” Aoi asked Kirihara, who was doing very well at keeping a humble Choutarou expression.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said softly. “He received Kirhara-kun’s call and went to the lake to find us.”

“Then he watched it all instead of putting a stop to it.” Sumire snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Well, I don’t know about you ladies, but while this may be ancient history to the kids, it’s news to me, and I’m going to treat it as such.” Tarou got to his feet but Aoi caught his arm.

“Tarou, what are you going to do, spank them all?” she pointed out. “There are too many of them. We have to decide on strategy.”

He stared at her. “Aoi, our teams and our children went skinny-dipping in the middle of the night! They broke curfew and bedtime, sneaked out of the house in ways that could have been dangerous, and got NAKED in front of each other to swim in freezing-cold water –“

“Actually, Sensei, Kawamura-san heated the water –,“ Kirihara interjected feebly, while at the same time giggling inside at how much fun he was having.

“Regardless,” Tarou growled, “we have to do something!”

“We will, don’t worry,” Sumire assured him. “And I intend to have words with Nanjiroh, as well.”

“Uh oh, what did I do now?” Nanjiroh asked cheerfully as he walked over. His smile faltered as the other adults regarded him with the evil eye. “What’s up?”

“You found out about a skinny-dipping party?!” Tarou exclaimed.

“You observed it rather than stopping it!” Aoi accused.

“And you let them get away with it!” Sumire concluded.

Nanjiroh sweatdropped. “Uh, well, yeah, I got a call about a party going on and went to investigate. The kids saw me before I could –“

“As if you WOULD stop it, Nanjiroh!” Sumire interrupted. “You’d have watched all night if you could! And you were even grabbing at kids as they ran by after they spotted you!”

Nanjiroh looked from the adults to Kirihara, who gave an Oscar-worthy performance as Choutarou, demurely ducking his head, blushing.

“Well, I wasn’t really doing anything sinister,” Nanjiroh attempted an explanation. “It was all in fun, and it put an extra scare in the kids.”

“I’ll bet it did,” Tarou remarked dryly.

“And I flipped a coin!” Nanjiroh pointed out. “I knew I couldn’t grab them all, so I was going to use the Captains as examples, but the coin toss said no –“

Kirihara was glad he could keep his gaze on the floor, because he was having a hard time holding back the laughter.

“And then when they were all falling asleep in school and their bedtimes got rolled back. I figured that was a good enough punishment,” Nanjiroh finished, wondering if it all sounded as lame to them as it suddenly did to him.

“It’s something, Nanjiroh, but I don’t think it’s enough,” Aoi told him.

“I don’t think they’ll go out to the lake at night again,” Nanjiroh said.

“Perhaps not, but they might still be tempted to sneak out at night,” Sumire said. “I’ve got an idea on what to do, though. I’ll have to make a phone call first.” She nodded toward Kirihara. “You can go now, Choutarou.”

Kirihara got up and bowed to the teachers, then headed for the door. Fuji was on his way in, and for a brief instant, Kirihara forgot to control ‘Choutarou’s’ expression and sneered slightly at the tensai.

“Excuse me,” Fuji said politely, stepping aside for the younger tennis player. Kirihara passed him, nodding to him, all traces of hostility gone.

Kaidoh and you, Kirihara thought with satisfaction. I owe both of you something special. Him because of fooling my whole team as a cat and you because I just don’t like you.

He remembered then to take off the suppression he had on Choutarou’s communication to him and was greeted with a blast of frustration.

(“I can’t believe you went ahead and did that! And Fuji-san saw ME coming away from the group of adults; I’ll be the first and only suspect when all this comes down!”)

(“Well, if Fuji tells on you, then you can always join me in my dislike for him.”)

(“He has a REASON not to like you! And so do I! YOU have no such excuse for what you did to him, or to Tachibana-san, or what you’re doing NOW!”)

(“You were more tolerable when I kept you quiet.”)

Choutarou fell into unhappy silence. He didn’t know what Ryuzaki-san was planning for all of them, but once word got around who had snitched, he would be both hated and ostracized. The thought of his teammates – of Shishido – feeling that way about him was sickening.

He wondered if Shishido still cared anything about him, anyway, after ‘his’ treatment of him the previous night. This would just solidify any suspicions he may have that his Choutarou had changed, and in the worst way possible.

Atobe hit another ball across the court toward Tezuka, who waited as it curved toward him. He sent it back to Atobe easily.

“Your Tezuka Zone is annoying on the court,” his boyfriend told him, hitting the ball back to him. “But the Tezuka Zone in our bedroom means something entirely different, hmm?”

“KEIGO!” Tezuka exclaimed, his face reddening.

“You just missed the ball,” Atobe told him sweetly. “My point.”

“That was a dirty tactic,” Tezuka told him, producing a new ball.

Shishido wandered over to watch the game, but after a few minutes, Atobe noticed he wasn’t paying attention. In fact, he looked lost in another world. A very depressing one, judging from his expression.

“What’s wrong with you?” his Captain asked.

“It’s Choutarou,” Shishido answered unhappily. “He’s been acting weird since yesterday. Last night he just blew me off, too.” He sighed. “I haven’t even talked to him today, not really. Even on the court at practice he only acknowledged me when he had to.”

Atobe signaled time to Tezuka and they approached Shishido. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I agree he’s been acting strangely,” Atobe said. “He’s off his game, too. He couldn’t hit a Scud Serve this morning to save his life.”

“Tell me about it,” Shishido murmured. “He knows that serve cold; he could do it in his sleep! I just don’t get it.” He shook his head. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to be my doubles partner.”

“If he’s not trying anymore, he may lose more than you as his partner,” Atobe said grimly. “He could lose his Regular spot. I’d better talk to him.”

“Kei-chan,” Tezuka interrupted. “Tread lightly. You don’t know what’s causing this change in attitude.”

Atobe looked back at him. “Well, that’s what I’m planning to find out.” He headed for the mansion, but Tarou appeared in the doorway before he could enter. He looked at the three boys seriously.

“There’s a meeting being held right now. Everyone attends, no exceptions.”

He walked away and Atobe turned to the other two, mystified.

“I wonder who’s in trouble,” Shishido mused.

“How much trouble could anyone on our team be in?” Atobe exclaimed. “We only just got back from practice a little while ago!”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Tezuka remarked grimly.

The conference room was buzzing with kids, all of them wondering what the big meeting was about.

“Maybe they want to introduce a new Changechild,” Mizuki suggested.

“If that IS what’s going on, I just hope it isn’t Akutsu Jin coming in,” Yuuta said with an involuntary shudder. Tachibana gave his hand a squeeze.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Fuji said quietly, glancing toward Choutarou with a thoughtful expression.

“I have to agree with Fuji,” Tezuka said. “When Sakaki-san came to get us, he gave the impression that it was something serious.”

“What else would you expect from Sakaki?” Momoshiro asked. “A smile?”

“Jiroh,” Atobe turned to his teammate, “did you get any ‘previews’ of this event in your dreams?”

Jiroh yawned and cast Atobe a mischievous look. “I don’t think you’ll want to put much stock in my last dream, Atobe; it was too weird. You were playing Cinderella, cleaning the ashes out of the hearth.”

Those around them laughed at Atobe’s expression.

“Are we going to be putting on some kind of performance?” Oishi asked, puzzled.

“Even if we were, I wouldn’t be Cinderella,” Atobe scoffed. “I’d be the prince.”

“Not all of my dreams mean something.” Jiroh shrugged. “I watched a Disney movie a couple of days ago, so maybe that was what triggered it.”

“Looks like we’ll find out what’s going on in a minute,” Gakuto said, pointing to where the adults were coming in.

“All right, everyone seems to be here now.” Sumire looked around the room. “Then I’ll get right to the point: This is a bust.”

The kids exchanged confused looks. “Who’s busted, sensei?” Inui asked.

“And for what?” added Ryoma.

“All of you,” Aoi told them firmly.

“We found out about the skinny-dipping party,” Tarou concluded.

All eyes went immediately to Nanjiroh, with one exception; Fuji was studying Choutarou. The other boy glanced in his direction, then straightened in his seat and did his best to ignore him.

“Hey, don’t blame ME!” Nanjiroh was saying to the group. “I didn’t say anything!”

“We’re aware that a handful of you weren’t living here at the time of the party,” Sumire said, “and I regret that the punishment for the others will have ramifications for you, as well.”

“What punishment is that?” Tezuka asked while everyone held their collective breath.

“Up until now, living in this mansion has been almost like a vacation for you kids,” Tarou stated. “All you had to do was go to school and practice, because you had Atobe’s staff here taking care of the other essentials like cleaning, laundry, meals, etcetera.”

“Not anymore,” Sumire told them. “The staff, for the most part, have been re-located by Atobe’s father. From now on, YOU are the household staff.”

Tezuka caught Atobe’s arm before he could explode from his seat like a Jack-in-the-Box. “That’s impossible!” the Hyotei Captain protested. “My father would never –“

“He did, once we told him what happened,” Tarou informed him sternly. “By the way, he might have a few words for you on the subject of running around naked in the middle of the night.”

Atobe’s mouth hung open. Other kids began murmuring back and forth anxiously.

“The one exception to this is cooking,” Aoi mentioned. “None of us has experience preparing meals for so many people, so the cook remains, but the rest of the kitchen staff is gone. You will be the ones helping with preparation; chopping, peeling, washing dishes and hauling garbage.”

“Garbage?” Atobe repeated weakly. Tezuka patted his shoulder.

“In the foyer tomorrow, along with the Power Practice sheets, you’ll find chore assignments,” Tarou continued. “There are enough of you that everything should be covered without anyone having more than their fair share. Every room is responsible for keeping their own space clean, as well, so roommates will have to work together.”

“Are there any questions?” Sumire asked.

“Do we ever get a day off?” Mizuki asked.

“To maintain a household this size on a daily basis, it’s not likely, but the chores aren’t always taxing, either. We’ll be distributing and rotating carefully so that it’s fair to everyone.”

“Sensei,” Inui spoke up, “I’m sure all of us are curious – how did you find out what happened after all this time?”

“I told them.”

Everyone turned to gape at Choutarou, who was wringing his hands, looking penitent.

“Choutarou,” Shishido asked in confusion, “why?”

“I couldn’t take the guilt anymore, senpai,” Choutarou answered softly. “What we did was wrong, and then we compiled the wrong by sending Kaidoh-kun into a dangerous situation –“

“So Kaidoh had to use a litter box a few times, big deal!” Gakuto yelled. “He’s okay! Everything was okay until you opened your big mouth!”

“Gakuto!” Tarou rebuked him. “You brought this on yourselves! Don’t go blaming Choutarou because he has a conscience.”

Gakuto pouted and folded his arms. The other kids were grumbling and shooting Choutarou murderous looks. Atobe’s icy visage had nothing to do with his power.

“All right, you’re all dismissed,” Sumire said. “Look for the chore charts in the morning to find out who is doing what.”

“We already know what Atobe is doing,” Yuushi remarked slyly, glancing toward him. “Cleaning out the hearth. Right, Cinderella?”

“Come on,” Tezuka said to Atobe, putting an arm around his shoulders and steering him toward the exit. The Hyotei Captain glared back at Choutarou.

“The next time you have an attack of conscience, leave me out of it!” he snapped. Several chimes of agreement came from all around them.

Still seated in his chair, ‘Choutarou’ stared at the ground, but inside his head, things were much less quiet.

(“I’ll never forgive you for this, Kirihara, never! You planned all along to make sure they all found out it was me who told on them!”)

(“You’re not as dumb as you look, Ohtori,”) Kirihara replied. (“It was nothing personal, but it was more fun this way.”)

(“You’ve got to come out SOME time,”) Choutarou warned, his mental voice radiating barely-contained fury.

(“Yes, but it’s still too late for you and your friends.”) Kirihara chuckled. (“All that’s left now is to make good on a promise to Kaidoh and Fuji and then maybe I’ll consider leaving you with all this lovely fall-out. I’m getting tired of wearing your scarecrow body, anyway.”)

Choutarou didn’t say anything else. He liked to think of himself as a good-natured, forgiving sort, but what Kirihara had done to him and everyone else would be too much for even a saint to brush off. One way or another, the Rikkaidai Sophomore wasn’t going to get away with it.

A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up at Nanjiroh. “You okay, kid?” he asked.

Kirihara answered in Choutarou’s voice, “Yes, I’m fine. Just not looking forward to going out there.” He glanced curiously at the man, trying to keep hopefulness out of his expression. “What happened to you because of this? Are the other teachers angry?”

“Yeah, they were,” Nanjiroh remarked wryly. “But they got back at me in their own way. _I’m_ the one who has to make all the chore schedules.” He patted the teenager’s arm. “Come on, let’s go. You can’t stay in here forever.”

Choutarou sighed internally. He almost wished he could.

End of Part 52

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 53

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Choutarou now knew what it meant to be a pariah. Although he hadn’t left the conference room at the same time as the others, in a household of almost thirty kids, he knew it would be impossible for him to go upstairs and not run into any of them. Not that Kirihara cared; safe in his disguise, he would welcome any opportunity to tick people off even more.

What neither expected when they first walked out was to have Fuji there, and before Kirihara could avoid it, he’d locked eyes with the tensai.

“Tell me why you told the adults about the skinny-dipping party,” Fuji commanded.

Kirihara and Choutarou reeled inside. Fuji’s Siren power had hit both of them full blast, demanding a truthful answer. Choutarou was trying desperately to respond, but Kirihara, while he could still suppress the Hyotei player, was having problems resisting the overwhelming compulsion to answer himself.

Finally, he blurted out, “I HAD to!”, then ran down the hall, getting as far from Fuji Syuusuke as he could.

Tezuka listened as Atobe argued with his father over the phone. It sounded like he would have been better off if he hadn’t called at all.

“Father, I don’t think you really understand the situation,” Atobe said. “They expect US to do it all! It’s indentured servitude! It’s child labour! It’s –“ he stopped and Tezuka tried not to smile when his boyfriend stamped his foot and pouted. “But it isn’t! We made one little mistake and –“ Atobe’s pout intensified as he listened for several long moments, then stared down at the ground in defeat. “Yes …,” he said quietly. “I understand … all right. Goodbye.” He hung up.

“Are you okay?” Tezuka asked gently.

“He was … rather perturbed.” Atobe sighed. “He’s not going to relent.”

“Thank you for trying,” Tezuka told him. “But you know, most of us were used to having chores at home, anyway.”

“I wasn’t,” Atobe grumbled. “I can’t believe Choutarou would do this! Has he completely lost his mind?”

“That’s what I was trying to find out,” said Fuji as he stuck his head in the door. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to tell you both what just happened.”

“As long as it doesn’t involve blabbing any secrets of mine, I’m fine with whatever it is,” Atobe remarked dryly.

Kirihara had recovered from the confrontation with Fuji, but he wasn’t happy about it. He was angry with Choutarou for no particular reason, so he shoved him as far away as he could get and shut down communication again.

He tried to take satisfaction in how well his plot had worked. Everyone he passed gave ‘Choutarou’ dirty looks or said something nasty to him. He was about to go into his room when Kamio and Shinji walked by.

“There’s the traitor, Shinji,” Kamio remarked loudly. “You think Tachibana-san would get mad at me if I decked him?”

“Possibly,” Shinji replied. “Better not risk it.”

“Why do you think one guy would DO something like that to everyone, even his own teammates?”

Shinji shrugged, giving ‘Choutarou’ a sly look. “What else would you expect from a door-killer?”

Kirihara hesitated, glancing back with a confused frown on Choutarou’s face. Then he shook his head and shrugged, walking into his room.

Kamio had kept going, but realized suddenly that Shinji wasn’t with him anymore. He zipped back to where his boyfriend still stood outside Choutarou’s door. “Hey, Shinji, what’s wrong?”

The Fudomine tensai turned toward the redhead. “That is not Ohtori Choutarou.”

Bunta hurried to pick up his phone before it stopped ringing. “Hey, talk to me!” he said cheerily, punctuating it with a pop of his gum.

“Bunta, it’s Sanada,” his Vice-Captain said. “I need to speak to Akaya.”

Alarm bells that sounded more like air raid sirens went off in Bunta’s head. “Um, Akaya?”

“Yes, his mother said he was spending the weekend at your place. I want to speak to him about that practice he missed.”

“Oh, well, um ….”

“What?” Sanada barked impatiently. “Put him on!”

The redhead knew he had to be very careful in how he replied. “I can’t, he’s, um, unavailable.”

“Seiichi and I are coming over there. See that he MAKES himself available.”

The click of Sanada hanging up the receiver sounded like a jail cell door slamming shut. Bunta knew he was just as trapped.

“I’m a dead man,” he said mournfully, wondering if fifteen minutes would be long enough to make out his will.

In desperation, he called Kirihara’s cell phone, figuring it would either be turned off or he just wouldn’t answer. It wouldn’t do for ‘Choutarou’ to be seen with a phone that wasn’t his, after all, but he still had to try.

“This had better be important for you to call me here!” Choutarou’s voice with Kirihara’s temper hissed at him. The combination was unsettling enough to make Bunta feel the need to make sure.

“Um, Akaya?”

“Yes, of course it’s me! You’re lucky I’m alone in my room right now. Why are you jeopardizing my cover by calling?!”

“I didn’t really think you’d answer, but I had to do something!” Bunta said. “Yukimura and Sanada are on their way over here to talk to YOU! What the hell am I supposed to tell them that won’t be an obvious lie?”

There was a moment’s pause, then Kirihara replied, “You’ll have to tell them the truth, but also let them know that they’ll be glad I did this when they hear what I’ve learned.”

“I can’t tell them that, they’ll still kill me!”

“Tell them it has to do with Tiger.”

“What?” Bunta frowned. “You don’t mean that kitten Yukimura had for a couple of days, do you?”

“Yes, I do! Just tell them that! Now I’ve got to go, my work isn’t quite done here.”

Bunta heard him hang up and he gulped. He was still in a no-win situation, no matter how he looked at it.

“Next time Akaya gets a stupid idea, he’s on his own,” he moaned and prepared to await his doom.

Eiji grinned broadly. “Oishi, is it true? If so, it’s about time, nya!”

“I think so, too,” Oishi said with a smile. “I know for a fact that both Inui and Kaidoh have liked each other for a long time, and for them to FINALLY make a real date ….”

“It’s so great!” Eiji cheered, then his smile faded. “But … you said they didn’t go?”

“Inui told me they were all ready to head out when the meeting was called, and they weren’t sure afterwards if the adults would be gracious about their going out right away. You know, with the two of them having engineered the whole ‘kitten’ scheme because of the skinny-dipping party and all.”

“Too bad,” Eiji said sadly. “But they’ll go later tonight maybe, or tomorrow?”

Oishi nodded. “Inui says they’re definitely going soon – Kaidoh doesn’t think he’s having enough fun, and is determined to help him.”

Eiji laughed. “I never would have picked Kaidoh to be ‘party time promotion boy’, but I’m highly in favour of their going on a date, whatever it is they do!”

Standing around the corner, listening in, Kirihara smiled on Choutarou’s face. He’d just found Kaidoh’s weak point, and if it ended up affecting Inui, the brains behind the kitten plot, all the better.

“I don’t understand this,” Atobe stated frankly after listening to Fuji’s story. “What could that mean: ‘I had to’?”

“It could mean just what he said earlier; he couldn’t take the guilt,” Tezuka said.

“Or he was being forced,” Fuji said quietly.

“By who?” Atobe demanded. “All of us had reasons to keep it quiet, so why would anyone here make him talk? And how could they do it, anyway? Choutarou may be a nice kid, but he’s not a pushover.”

“But he hasn’t been himself the last day or so,” Tezuka pointed out. “So something might be bothering him. Blackmail, perhaps?”

“I’d like to think he’d come to us if he was being threatened like that.”

“He was certainly fighting me when I used my power on him,” Fuji told them. “It was like he was torn, and half of him wanted to talk, but the other didn’t.”

“That backs up the blackmail theory,” Atobe said thoughtfully.

A knock came at the door and Tachibana peered in around Fuji. “I need to talk to you all.”

“We’re discussing Choutarou right now,” Atobe replied. “And why he’s acting so strangely.”

“That’s exactly why I’m here. Shinji has a reason and he’s adamant about it.” Tachibana entered the room and shut the door. “He says Choutarou is NOT Choutarou.”

“Who is he then?” Fuji asked in confusion.

“I don’t know,” the Fudomine Captain admitted. “But Shinji says he made a deliberate reference to the door that Choutarou broke and he didn’t even seem to know what he was talking about.”

Atobe stared. “You’re kidding? Choutarou would never forget about that; he still gets teary when anyone brings it up!”

“Exactly,” Tachibana agreed. “So I’m inclined to think Shinji is right.”

The four boys were quiet for a few moments as they considered the possibilities.

“Maybe we’re up against a new Changechildren power?” Fuji suggested. “Something that changes one’s personality to the opposite of what it was?”

“I almost hope it is,” Atobe said frankly. “At least I wouldn’t have to think that Choutarou chose to become a jerk on his own.”

“It doesn’t do much good if we don’t know who is doing it so we can stop him.” Tezuka remarked. “Oishi can shut down powers, but the person has to be within reach.”

“How about Kevin?” Atobe mentioned suddenly. “He can at least enter Choutarou’s head and search his memories for who he might have met up with recently who could be a suspect.”

“Hasn’t Kevin been taught strictly not to enter someone’s head without permission?” Tachibana asked. “We’d be asking him to break the rules.”

“Why should he be any different from the rest of us?” Atobe sniffed.

“It’s an invasion of privacy,” Tezuka said. “But it’s for a good cause.”

“It might be our only way to find the truth, I guess,” Tachibana agreed.

“We’ll ask Kevin,” Fuji said decisively. “No one is forcing him, so if he’s okay with it, there won’t be a problem. If he’s not, we’ll think of something else.”

“You ask him, Kei-chan,” Tezuka suggested, then looked at the others. “For some reason, Kevin seems to admire him.”

“What do you mean, ‘for some reason’?” Atobe asked indignantly. Tezuka leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“No offense meant,” he promised.

“Hmmph.” Atobe pouted. “I’ll go find Kevin then. The rest of you keep an eye on Choutarou and take note of any other weird behaviour.”

They all headed out, faces set with grim determination.

End of Part 53

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 54

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Sanada and Yukimura walked up to Marui Bunta’s front door and rang the bell.

“It’s going to be very interesting to finally find out what’s going on here,” Yukimura remarked. “It’s not like Akaya to miss practice and even less like Bunta to cover for him.”

“I don’t get it, either,” Sanada remarked. “It can’t possibly be worth the consequences.”

Bunta’s mother opened the door. “Hello, boys. I thought Bunta was right here waiting for you, but now I don’t see him.”

“He probably slipped out the back way,” Sanada murmured to Yukimura, then aloud he said, “We’ll go to his room and see if he’s there, if it’s all right.”

“Certainly, go ahead.”

The two of them headed upstairs and the redhead jumped as they entered his room. “Oh! Hi, Captain, Vice-Captain! Um … how nice to see you!”

“Where’s Akaya?” Yukimura asked, glancing around. “No sign of sleepover gear, and I know you don’t have a spare room.”

“Oh, well, he actually isn’t here,” Bunta admitted nervously.

“First he is, then he isn’t.” Sanada walked up to stand in front of the smaller player. “I’ll ask you once and for all. Where is Akaya?”

Bunta swallowed hard. There was no way he could lie now. “He’s been at the Changechildren mansion since yesterday.”

“What?!” both boys exclaimed.

“Wait a minute!” Yukimura said. “I don’t care if Akaya has suddenly decided to move in over there – maybe they can keep him from abusing his power. But there’s no excuse for his hiding the fact from us, and missing a tennis practice with no warning.”

Sanada eyed Bunta suspiciously. “Now tell us what you haven’t said about why he’s there.”

Bunta sighed and deflated. “He said to tell you it has to do with Tiger.”

“Tiger?” Yukimura said in surprise. “The kitten? What on Earth could he have to do with this?”

“BUNTA!” Sanada shouted impatiently. “I’ve had enough of Twenty Questions and stupid hints! I want the whole story and I want it now, or so help me –“ He drew back his hand.

Bunta cringed. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk!”

Sanada glanced at Yukimura and said dryly. “I thought he’d see reason.”

Ryoma and Kevin were playing video games in the living room when someone suddenly pushed the ever-present sunglasses Kevin wore atop his head down so that they fell over his eyes. “Aw, Atobe, come on,” he said, pushing them back up with a half-grin.

“How did you know it was him?” Ryoma asked curiously as Atobe moved around to sit on the sofa.

“He’s the only one who ever does it,” the blonde answered.

“Kevin,” Atobe said, leaning forward, “we need your help.”

The younger boys put down their controllers. “Who does?” Kevin asked.

“Myself,” Atobe replied, “Tezuka, Fuji, Tachibana – but mostly Choutarou.”

The twelve-year-olds exchanged a glance, then Kevin turned back to Atobe. “Well, you’ve got my attention.”

Kaidoh was outside on the tennis court, practicing against the machine that routinely fired out tennis balls toward him. He would rather have been out with Inui as they had planned, but his senpai had suggested they wait until later in the day, when the adults had cooled off a bit.

He figured it at least gave him more time to think about what they could do on their date. Inui was counting on him to decide, since he had done the asking, and he didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Kaidoh-kun,” came the voice of someone nearby. Kaidoh deflected a ball from his face just in time, annoyed that he’d been distracted. He hurried over to turn off the machine, then faced the one responsible for his date being delayed, among other things.

“What do you want, Ohtori?” he growled.

“Well,” Choutarou wrung his hands and looked guilty, “first I want to apologize for causing you inconvenience with my confession.”

Kaidoh snorted. He’d been one of those who was used to having chores at home and told Choutarou as much.

“Thank you, but that’s not what I meant,” the Hyotei player said. “I was talking about your date with Inui-san.”

Kaidoh was immediately defensive. “How did you know about that?!”

Choutarou blinked in surprise. “A lot of people have mentioned it, mostly from your own team. I’m sorry – was it a secret?”

Kaidoh looked away. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but he hadn’t figured on word spreading so quickly, either. “No, I guess not.”

“Anyway, I AM sorry that your date was delayed, but … maybe it was for the best. You could still cancel it.”

The Seigaku Sophomore stared at him. “Why the hell would I do THAT?!” he demanded, then blushed. He didn’t want to advertise how very much this date meant to him.

Choutarou looked uncomfortable now. “I don’t want to make more trouble, but I also don’t want to see you get hurt. Inui-san … he doesn’t like you the same way you like him.”

Kaidoh was up in Choutarou’s face so fast he would have stepped back if the Viper didn’t have a tight hold on his shirt front.

“You’d better have a damn good reason for starting with me,” Kaidoh warned.

“It’s true!” the blonde insisted. “I overheard him talking to one of your teammates.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, but what Inui said was that he was just humouring you because he felt sorry for you.”

Kaidoh blinked, and hidden within Choutarou, Kirihara smirked. Take THAT, ‘Tiger’-san!

Then Kaidoh hauled off and punched Choutarou in the face, flooring him.

“Don’t underestimate Kaidoh Kaoru!” he yelled. “As if I would EVER believe Inui-senpai would say that!” He stomped off, leaving Choutarou on the ground with his eye already turning purple.

(“Oh, shut up!”) Kirihara snapped at Choutarou internally. (“That must be hurting you like hell, Ohtori – why are you LAUGHING ...?!”)

Tezuka and Tachibana looked at each other after having observed the exchange between Kaidoh and ‘Choutarou’ from a discreet distance.

“Do you think Kaidoh IS kidding himself?” Tachibana asked. “Would Inui say that?”

“No, never,” Tezuka said firmly. “He’s as hung up on Kaidoh as Kaidoh is on him; the two of them just aren’t that demonstrative.”

“More proof that Choutarou is being controlled somehow,” Tachibana said. “Why else would he tell such an obvious lie?”

“Hey, guys,” Fuji said as he jogged over, “what happened to Choutarou’s face?”

“Kaidoh decked him when he tried to convince him that Inui was only going on a pity date with him.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Fuji remarked. “When I saw his condition just now I offered to see if Yuuta would help him and he told me to mind my own business and not to look at him.” He shrugged. “Either he’s afraid I’ll use my power on him again, or whoever altered his personality is making it more obvious without meaning to.”

“There you are,” Atobe approached them with Ryoma. “Kevin is on his way to investigate Choutarou from the inside.”

“Are you sure it’s all right with Kevin?” Tachibana asked.

“He wants to know the truth, too,” Ryoma assured him seriously. “We all do.”

Atobe’s phone rang and he pulled it out. “Yes?” He glanced toward Tezuka. “Sanada? What do you want?” He listened for a few moments as the other boys watched his expression take on a look of horror.

“What is it?” Fuji asked worriedly.

“All right, but hurry up!” Atobe hung up and began running. “I have to stop Kevin!”

The others charged after him just as Shishido came out of his room. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Choutarou!” was all Atobe had to say and Shishido was hot on their heels.

Kevin had found ‘Choutarou’ coming out of the bathroom after tending to his puffy eye. The taller boy hadn’t seen him yet, which was just as well; he wanted to do some quiet probing without resistance.

He let down all of his carefully-built shields and focused on the Hyotei player, making the first initial touch inside his mind. What he found made him gasp out loud. ‘Choutarou’ spun to face him with resentful eyes just as a group of boys ran toward them, led by Atobe.

“Kevin, get back!” Atobe warned, grabbing the smaller boy and shoving him behind him. “That’s not Choutarou, it’s Kirihara Akaya!”

“What?!” Shishido cried.

“So that’s who the second mind is!” Kevin said, peeking out from behind Atobe. “I only felt it for a moment, but there were definitely two minds in there!”

“That means Choutarou is still okay,” Tezuka said, staring into the tall blonde Sophomore’s eyes, trying to find a semblance of familiarity. “For now.”

“Kirihara, it’s over,” Fuji said. “You can’t hold onto him any longer.”

“Sanada is coming,” Tachibana added. “You don’t want to wait until he gets here to come out.”

“What difference does it make?” Kirihara snapped in Choutarou’s voice, then laughed nastily. “Besides, as long as I’m in here, you guys can’t hurt me!”

Shishido lunged forward and grabbed Choutarou’s arms, shaking him. “Choutarou, fight him! You can do it!”

‘Choutarou’ brought up a knee to catch Shishido in the groin. The other boy fell, groaning.

“Idiot!” Kirihara yelled. “Don’t you get it?! I’m in complete control – he can’t do anything unless I let him!”

More kids and now adults were drawn by the loud voices. “What’s going on here?!” called Sumire from the foot of the stairs with Gakuto, Tom, and Inui behind her. The confrontation was taking place upstairs by the railing, in view from all directions.

“Kirihara Akaya used his power to possess Choutarou!” Shishido yelled, getting to his feet and glaring toward his boyfriend. “He’s refusing to let go!”

“Can’t Choutarou throw him out?” Tom asked.

Gakuto shook his head. “I think Kirihara’s power is absolute in there – wait, what the hell is he doing NOW?!”

Kirihara, despite his bravado, was getting spooked. Everyone in the mansion was there now, and that meant he was surrounded by angry people with dangerous powers. Maybe they wouldn’t do anything, maybe they would. He backed up to the railing that overlooked the foyer far below and swung a leg over it.

“NO!” Shishido protested.

“I’ll do it!” Kirihara threatened. “I’ll make him jump if you don’t all back off right now!”

Everyone hesitated. The fall may not kill Choutarou, but it would almost certainly break him.

“Kirihara –“ Fuji stepped forward but Kirihara turned his head quickly.

“Step back and turn around, Fuji!” he ordered. “I won’t fall for your power by looking into your eyes! Turn around or I’ll make him jump!”

Fuji frowned, but turned his back to Kirihara.

Downstairs, more people had gathered. Tarou touched Gakuto’s shoulder. “Can you catch him with your power if he jumps?” he whispered.

“Already on it, Coach,” Gakuto assured him, his hands held out in front of him, his gaze focused on ‘Choutarou.’ “Don’t distract me.”

For once, Tarou was willing to not only take backtalk from one of his players, but obey him. He stepped back.

“This is stupid, Kirihara!” Shishido argued. “You know there’s no way out!”

“Tachibana-san,” Kamio’s voice was suddenly whispering in his Captain’s ear. “While Shishido is keeping him distracted, should I speed in and snatch him off the railing? I promise he won’t even have a quarter-second to jump.”

“No,” Tachibana said firmly, “no one gets close to him. That’s why Atobe is keeping everyone back. If Kirihara gets the chance, he’ll hijack another body. If he gains access to your speed, he’ll be gone before we can blink.”

“Hey!” Kirihara said suddenly. “What are you mumbling about over there, Tachibana?” His gaze fell on Kamio and a very un-Choutarou-like gleam came into his eyes. “You, Kamio, get over here.”

“No!” Tachibana and Atobe said together, while Tezuka and Oishi moved to block the younger redhead from view.

“We’re not sacrificing anyone else to your possession, Kirihara,” Atobe said firmly.

‘Choutarou’s’ eyes narrowed and he glared at Atobe. “All you Captains think you’re such big heroes, huh? How about if I take YOU? Freezing everyone else in the place will get me out just as safely.” He laughed. “Plus I’d have your credit cards!”

“You know, you’re really annoying.”

Kirihara blinked and looked down to where Ryoma had stepped in front of Atobe.

“Ryoma!” Momoshiro cried and moved as if to pull him back. A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked toward Nanjiroh.

“He’ll be okay,” he said with confidence, nodding toward the two boys facing each other.

Ryoma regarded Kirihara calmly. “You’re not possessing anyone else, so you can wait there until your Captain and Vice-Captain arrive. Even if you jump, Gakuto-san will catch you with his power.”

Kirihara looked below and saw that the Hyotei acrobat was already poised to do so. He turned back to Ryoma, measuring ….

“Go ahead and try to possess me, if you think you can.” The younger boy smirked.

The Rikkaidai Sophomore hesitated. Choutarou had seen enough of Ryoma’s power in practice that Kirihara knew how it worked. He liked to think his own power would be the exception that could overcome Ryoma’s, but the stakes were too high for him to risk it. Ryoma also had all the other Changechildren behind him now, so Kirihara couldn’t touch any of the others.

Suddenly, Ryoma was shoved off-balance by an unseen force that also grabbed Choutarou’s arm and yanked him off the railing onto the carpet.

“Mizuki, no!” Takahisa yelled.

Chance! Kirihara immediately abandoned Choutarou’s body and moved into the invisible form of Mizuki Hajime.

“Choutarou!” Shishido gathered his exhausted partner against him protectively.

“Get … him!” Choutarou gasped.

Changechildren and adults began falling left and right as Kirihara kept his new host invisible while forcing his way through the group. He started down the stairs.

“Kirihara, STOP!”

For a split-second, Kirihara almost laughed. Who did Fuji think he was kidding – he could only command him if he looked into his eyes, and the tensai was still upstairs, behind him.

Then, involuntarily, he stopped. What?! He thought in a panic. No, this shouldn’t be working!

“Release him from your power!” Fuji ordered.

NO! Kirihara yelled internally, and even as he protested, he slipped out of Mizuki’s body and materialized. Mizuki turned visible and collapsed, Takahisa rushing to his side.

Mizuki groaned. “I don’t believe this. I’ll have to be grateful to Fuji Syuusuke!”

Kirihara spun around and glared openly up at Fuji, then did a double-take. The Seigaku player had Hyotei’s Kabaji beside him, one hand on his shoulder.

A bunch of Changechildren began to rush Kirihara, but Sumire yelled, “Stop, don’t touch him! He’ll get inside someone else!”

The culprit looked around desperately. The only way that wasn’t blocked was the front door. He made a run for it.

It opened as if just for him, but then a ferocious blast of water hit the Rikkaidai player full-force, throwing him several feet back into Tarou, who caught him and held fast.

In the doorway with Sanada by his side, Yukimura Seiichi gave one extended hand a delicate flick to rid itself of a final droplet. “Sorry we’re late,” he told the group with an apologetic smile.

End of Part 54

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 55

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

“I’ll take that,” Sanada said, striding over to yank Kirihara from Tarou’s grasp. He gave the dripping boy a dark look, then directed his gaze around the room. “I’m sorry about the trouble he caused you.”

“Is Ohtori-kun all right?” Yukimura asked.

Choutarou came forward, Shishido’s arm tight around him. “I won’t say that I’m okay – I’m not.” He glared at Kirihara. “Just keep him far away from me.”

“From ALL of us!” Mizuki declared. “He possessed me, too!”

“You grabbed me first!” Kirihara accused, but was cut off by Sanada backhanding him across the face, knocking him down. The other kids gasped.

“If I were you, I’d keep quiet, Akaya,” Yukimura advised.

“But Buchou, they made fools of us!” Kirihara protested, still on the floor. At least there he couldn’t get knocked down again. “Kaidoh posed as that kitten of yours and stayed in your house!”

“He also found me a new kitten that I love very much. No harm was done.” Yukimura sought Kaidoh in the crowd and focused on him. “Kaidoh-kun, I think I understand why you came to my house in the first place, and I apologize for Akaya’s having given you all away about the incidents of that previous night.” He smiled mischievously. “Besides, you had to deal with the affections of my little sister, and that’s punishment enough for spying on us. And I AM grateful for my kitten, thank you.” He bowed.

Kaidoh coloured slightly. “Well, I’m grateful he has a good home.”

“So what happens now?” Shishido demanded. “We’re not just letting this guy walk out of here scot-free, are we?!”

“I assure you he’ll be dealt with,” Sanada stated seriously.

“I’m afraid that isn’t enough,” Sumire told him grimly, glancing toward Kirihara’s resentful green eyes. “This boy may need punishment, but we also can’t be sure that he’ll not come back for revenge. I don’t think he can be trusted with such a power right now.”

Kirihara snorted. “You can’t do anything about it.”

She pinned him with a piercing look. “I can have your power taken away from you.”

Kirihara looked unsure. “You mean nullify it? Oishi can’t turn it off forever … can he?”

“I don’t know, but that wasn’t what I was thinking, anyway,” Sumire said. “It’s your power and you’ve a right to it, but not while you’re still using it for anything but self-defense.” She nodded toward the younger Griffy brother. “Terry can take your power away and hold it until you’re responsible enough to have it back.”

Terry blinked, then said, “Um, Ryuzaki-san –“

“No!” Kirhara exclaimed. “You can’t take it, it’s MINE!”

“Silence!” Yukimura commanded. “After what you’ve done, you should just be grateful we’re not throwing you into this crowd and allowing them to beat you to death!” He turned to Sumire. “You do whatever you feel is necessary.”

“Yukimura-kun,” Aoi spoke up, “from that display you showed us earlier, it’s obvious you’re a Changechild yourself. Do you want to join us here?”

“Kirihara-kun should stay as well, where we can keep an eye on him.” Tarou nodded.

“WHAT?!” a general roar came up from the rest of the kids.

“No WAY!” Shishido protested.

“This is the best place for him to learn,” Sumire insisted. “He can sit in on the practices, even if he can’t use his power, and learn to get along with everyone. We can’t return that power until he’s proven himself trustworthy, and that will take time, not to mention we won’t know how he’s progressing if he isn’t here.”

“Ryuzaki-san,” Terry spoke up, “I really have to –“

“I suppose if I’m here as well, I’ll be able to watch him,” Yukimura said thoughtfully. “And so will Sanada.”

“Only Changechildren can live here,” Gakuto told him. Sanada gave the petite redhead a serious look.

“I am qualified to stay here,” he said.

“Really?” Inui remarked with interest. “Yours and Yukimura-san’s powers must have developed very recently, since Kaidoh didn’t hear anything to that effect while he was with you.”

“Several of us gained powers within the same week,” Yukimura explained. “Only two haven’t shown any signs yet.”

“Your friends are welcome also,” Aoi told him.

Yukimura glanced at Sanada, who shrugged. “It’s up to you, Seiichi.”

“Could I just –“ Terry tried to say.

“I suppose if it’s only until Kirihara has proven he deserves to have his power restored ….” Yukimura regarded Sumire slyly. “Would Genichirou and I be able to room together?”

“If your parents are all right with it.”

“Okay then.” He nodded. “I’ll talk to them and the other guys, as well.”

“I’ll need to speak to Kirihara-kun’s parents about our plans,” Sumire nodded.

“You’re not going to tell them what I did, are you?” Kirihara asked fearfully. “They think I’ve been at Bunta’s all weekend!”

“I’m telling them everything,” Sumire said seriously. “About what happened, asking if you can stay here with your power removed for a while, and my intention to introduce you to a friend of mine in the kitchen for your actions.”

“Will someone please listen to –“ began Terry.

Yukimura frowned and leaned close to Sanada. “’Friend in the kitchen?’” he repeated, puzzled.

“I don’t know, either,” he admitted. “But maybe it has something to do with why Inui just turned white.”

“WILL EVERYONE KINDLY SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE?!”

Everyone turned toward Terry, whose fists were balled at his sides in frustration.

“Not that anyone asked, but I am NOT taking his power away!”

The clamor that arose after Terry’s announcement was such that the American player began wishing he had Eiji’s power so he could teleport out of there. Anything would be preferable to having everyone think he was crazy, selfish or worse.

“Terry, be reasonable,” Kevin said to him. “This guy can’t be trusted with a power like that. Look what he did to Choutarou!”

“And me! Don’t forget me!” Mizuki whined.

Terry huddled closer against Tom and Kouhei, both trying to shield him from the fallout. “Kevin, I thought YOU would understand!” he said. “When I realized I had this power, I HATED it, and you know that! And you also know I never wanted to use it on someone against their will!”

“These are extenuating circumstances,” Atobe interrupted firmly. “You were here and heard what Kirihara said. He was perfectly willing to steal any of our bodies and use our powers to escape, not caring who he hurt along the way.”

“He threatened to throw Choutarou over the railing!” Shishido yelled at the younger boy. “How can you NOT believe that taking that power away from him is the right thing to do?!”

“Terry,” Oishi said gently, “if you don’t take his power, I’ll have to try nullifying it long-term. I’m not sure I’m practiced enough that I won’t end up shutting it off forever.”

“Yeah, THAT would be a real tragedy.” Gakuto rolled his eyes.

“I – I don’t know what to do!” Terry cried, burying his face in his hands.

“Griffy-san,” Yukimura stepped forward, “I know I’m a stranger to you, but I’m Rikkaidai’s Captain. Sanada and I are really the only ones here whom you can be certain are thinking of Akaya’s best interests first, and we are asking – no, begging – you to do this.” He bowed deeply to the thirteen-year-old. “Please, help us to help him.”

Terry looked even more confused. He turned to his brother and boyfriend for guidance.

“We can’t tell you what to do,” Kouhei’s blue ponytail shook back and forth.

“But you know we’re behind you no matter what you decide,” his brother assured him with a hug.

“Terry, listen to me,” Sumire said, walking back into the foyer. Terry realized he hadn’t noticed she’d left. “Kirihara’s parents approve of this decision – I made the call right after your announcement. As you can see, his Captain and Vice-Captain also agree.” She patted his shoulder. “Children don’t always like what’s best for them, but sometimes there is no other way to set them on the right path.”

Terry sighed resignedly. Everyone was making good points, and he had seen all the circumstances leading to this himself. There was no question that Kirihara wasn’t ready to bear the responsibility of this power, but did HE have the right to steal it away from him, even with parental approval?

“Consider this,” Tachibana remarked seriously. “If Kirihara retains his power, whose body do you think he might decide to enter next, now that he knows what all of us can do? Whose power would appeal to him more than anyone else’s if he had a chance at it?”

Terry looked over at Kirihara and saw a measure of resentment, but also the spark of desire behind his eyes. Horrific realization struck the pretty boy like a blow.

He himself would be Kirihara’s next target. And with Absorption at his command, the Rikkaidai Sophomore could also drain every other Changechild of their powers until he was the only one left, with the possible exception of Ryoma. The chances of his ever deciding to leave Terry’s body after that and losing all those powers as a result were slim to none.

It meant that not taking Kirihara’s power now, even against his will, would result in everyone else losing theirs, also against their will. And his own power would be the catalyst.

“All right,” he said with a determined nod. “I’ll do it.”

Yagyuu Hiroshi and Nioh Masaharu were busy. Yagyuu’s parents were out for the evening, and the two boys had taken advantage of the opportunity to have an intense make-out session on Yagyuu’s bed. At the moment the phone rang, half their clothes had been discarded, and Yagyuu was on his back with Nioh atop him, nibbling on his neck.

“Ahhh … the phone’s ringing.”

“Mmm,” Nioh murmured into his partner’s flesh. “Good for it.”

Damn, that felt good.

“But … Masa … I have to, ohhh, get that. It could be my parents.”

Nioh kissed Yagyuu deeply, even while the other boy was stretching a blind arm out for the phone. He bumped it with his hand and felt it start to slide off the table. Turning abruptly to make a grab for it, he ended up pulling both he and Nioh over the edge to land hard on the floor. Now their positions were reversed, and Nioh was on the bottom.

“You’re too rough.” Nioh grinned.

Yagyuu rolled his eyes behind his glasses and picked up the phone receiver. “Hello? … Oh, Buchou, hi.”

Nioh licked Yagyuu’s chin in a playful attempt to distract him as he listened, then when that didn’t work, he outright kissed him. Yagyuu made a little ‘mmf’ sound that made Yukimura pause to ask what he was doing.

“Uh, nothing.” Yagyuu moved to sit up and Nioh yelped as his boyfriend’s knee accidentally caught him in the groin. “Sorry! … No, not you, Buchou. Yes, I’m listening.”

The few moments of Nioh’s recuperation were all Yagyuu needed in order to hear the rest of what Yukimura was saying.

“Hmm, yes,” he said, and his tone made Nioh look up. Yagyuu’s handsome face was showing a mixture of disgust and resignation. “I suppose we’re all partly responsible – we knew what could happen but didn’t take any precautions.”

Nioh was curious now, so he leaned over and hit the button for the speakerphone.

“—moving into the Changechildren mansion,” Yukimura’s voice filled the room.

“What?” Nioh said in surprise. “Who is?”

“He turned the speakerphone on,” Yagyuu explained to Yukimura, then turned to his boyfriend. “Akaya’s been a naughty boy with his power. He’s been living inside Ohtori Choutarou of Hyotei all weekend.”

Nioh gave a low whistle. “Whoa, that’s serious business. Did they catch him?”

“Yes, and even then he wouldn’t back down.” Yukimura sighed. “Sanada and I have decided to move there ourselves to help judge his progress as he gets by without his power.”

“Without it?”

“They’ve removed it temporarily,” Yukimura explained. “I think you two should come here as well. The more of us there are to babysit him, the harder he’ll try to toe the line. Besides, they offer power training and control.”

Nioh snorted. “We don’t need their help with that.”

There was a moment of cold silence, then Yukimura said, “How nice for you, Nioh, but I still have a tendency to fill my own bathtub faster than the taps can if I’m not careful.”

Yagyuu gave Nioh a Look and elbowed him. “Masaharu’s not perfect, either, Buchou. Let’s just say he forgot himself in line at McDonald’s yesterday.”

“Hey, how do you know that wasn’t on purpose?” Nioh protested.

“Maybe the shocked look on your face when I pointed out your reflection in their menuboard was a clue.”

“In any case,” Yukimura continued, “I think you two should come, and I’m going to speak to Bunta, as well. Although since he’s still in the doghouse for helping Akaya, I don’t anticipate any problems.”

“We’ll ask our parents,” Yagyuu assured him.

“Tell them it’s for the sake of the team,” their Captain suggested. “Oh, and if you needed any further incentive, consider this; you might be able to room together.”

Nioh immediately sounded eager and interested. “Really?!”

“Well, pending parental approval. If parents give the okay, they’ll let boyfriends room together.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Nioh grinned. “We stay over at each other’s house all the time, and in the same room, too. Our parents either haven’t figured out what we do, or they don’t care.”

“Or they’ve resigned themselves,” Yagyuu remarked.

“All right then, you have them call this number to talk to Ryuzaki-san and then we’ll probably see each other later.” Yukimura relayed the phone number and hung up.

“What do you think of this?” Nioh asked, getting back up on the bed.

“I think Akaya needs his butt kicked,” Yagyuu said frankly. “But as for the rest of it, I think it could be interesting. We’ll be living with players from many different teams, working alongside them, maybe picking up information that will be useful in matches.”

Nioh rubbed his hands together. “We could have a LOT of fun with this, you know!”

Yagyuu peered at him over the top of his glasses. “I know we could.”

Later that night, long after all the kids had been settled down for bed, Yuushi came half out of a sound sleep and rolled over. He intended to go back to sleep, but a strange sound kept pulling him out of it. He blinked and sat up, then realized the sound was coming from Choutarou’s bed.

The thirteen-year-old was crying softly.

Yuushi moved over to sit on the other boy’s bed, touching his shoulder. Choutarou sniffled and wiped his eyes on his pillowcase. “I-I’m sorry if I w-woke you up, Yuushi-senpai.”

“I don’t care about that. I’m worried about you.”

“Every time I fall asleep, I have nightmares,” Choutarou admitted, and fresh tears fell from his brown eyes. “I feel like Kirihara is still hiding inside me, and I’ll never have my body to myself again.”

Yuushi stroked his hair. He didn’t know what else he could do, especially when Choutarou began crying in earnest.

“Oh, Choutarou,” Yuushi said sadly, “is there anything I can do to help you?”

The younger boy whimpered. “I want Shishido-san.”

Yuushi nodded firmly. “THAT I can do.”

He left the room and went across the hall, slipping into his partner’s room. Gakuto was sound asleep, but Shishido lay awake, with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling with a frown. He looked toward Yuushi and sat up instantly. “Choutarou?”

“He needs you,” Yuushi said. “I don’t care what the adults think – you and I are switching rooms tonight.”

Shishido was out of the room a moment later. Gakuto yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Yuushi, is that you? Am I dreaming?”

“If you are,” Yuushi smiled, crawling onto the bed with him, “we might as well make it a nice dream.”

Gakuto grinned and pulled back the blankets for him.

Across the hall, Shishido found Choutarou in such a state of despair that he wanted to kill Kirihara even more.

“Choutarou.” He sat down and gathered him into his arms.

“Oh, Shishido-san!” Choutarou cried, clinging to him. “I tried to be brave, to act like it was over and I should forget it ever happened, but I can’t! He could control everything I did and knew everything I was thinking – HE was the one who decided if I was allowed to go to the bathroom or not!” He buried his face in Shishido’s shoulder. “I feel violated, like … like I was RAPED or something!”

Shishido’s jaw was a tight white line as he held his distraught boyfriend close and allowed him to cry himself to sleep.

End of Part 55

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 56

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Kirihara moaned as he rolled over in bed. He could swear he still felt the sting of the wooden spoon across his backside from the previous night.

It had NOT been a fun experience. That old bat had him bend over the table while she struck him as many years as his age (and for once he was glad to be the youngest on his team.) He felt even younger for having her treat him this way, but when she informed him that some of the others had wanted him to ‘run the gauntlet’ while they ALL swung spanking implements at his butt in turn, he decided he got off easily.

That is, until they took his power away. Terry Griffy, once he’d decided to go through with it, made no more protests when the time came to lay a hand on Kirihara’s arm and remove his Possession ability. Not that Kirihara went willingly – not even Yukimura and Sanada’s orders could hold him still for the stealing of his power. In the end, however, their presence did make a difference in that his resistance was physical only; he didn’t dare try to possess anyone else as a means of escape. Momoshiro’s superstrength was finally enough to restrain him long enough for Terry to do his work.

Now it was Sunday. He would have to go down there and face an ordeal of undefined time in this place without his power, and with everyone including his Captain and Vice-Captain treating him like a criminal.

The bedroom door opened and he heard someone come in. He didn’t bother opening his eyes; he didn’t care who it was.

Then he heard an unmistakable ‘POP’.

“Bunta?” he said in disbelief, sitting up to see his redhaired senpai dropping a knapsack on the other bed.

“Hi, roomie!” Bunta greeted. “You know, I was pretty mad at you yesterday. You got me in trouble with Yukimura and Sanada. But when they told me about having your power taken away, I figured you’d be suffering enough.”

“I wish THEY had felt that way,” Kirihara growled, rubbing his butt as he stood up. “So you’re rooming with me now?”

“Didn’t I already say that?” Bunta popped his gum again. “Hey, I wonder if I can have a second breakfast here?”

“I’m not hungry,” Kirihara grumbled.

Yukimura and Sanada walked into the room. “We just heard you’d arrived, Bunta,” the Captain said. “The others will probably be here soon, if Yagyuu could drag Nioh’s butt out of bed.”

“Everybody with powers is coming?” Kirihara questioned.

“Weren’t you paying attention yesterday?” Sanada said. “We’re all taking some responsibility for keeping tabs on you.”

“Great.” Kirihara pouted.

Bunta threw an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t be like that, kid,” he said. “You should be glad for it.”

“Yes,” Yukimura said, giving him a pointed look. “This plan isn’t just designed to keep them safe from you. The reverse is just as true.”

“Huh?” Kirihara said in confusion, then recalled the hostile expressions he’d seen on the faces of the other Changechildren, especially the Hyotei members. They would not forgive easily, if at all.

Sanada’s hand fell heavily on his shoulder. “Think of it as having five big brothers watching your back.”

Kirihara felt his eyes start to well up and tried to hide it by ducking his head and wiping them hastily. “Thanks, guys.”

“You may be an incorrigible brat, but you’re OUR incorrigible brat.” Bunta grinned.

“And you have to do your part, too,” Yukimura cautioned. “We’ll try to protect you, but if you start provoking them, you’re on your own.”

“In fact, if you do that,” Sanada gave the younger boy’s shoulder an extra squeeze that almost hurt, “we might HELP them. Got it?”

Kirihara swallowed hard and nodded.

The doorbell rang downstairs and Yukimura smiled. “Big brothers four and five are here.”

Atobe happened to be the only one in the foyer when the doorbell rang. He had been busy sweeping, and while he welcomed most opportunities to stop manual labour, someone at the door meant someone else to see him acting like a maid. However, OPENING the door meant acting as his own butler.

“I miss the staff,” he muttered and set the broom aside before opening the door. “Oh,” he remarked without enthusiasm, “it’s you.”

‘You’ were two more members of Rikkaidai, Yagyuu Hiroshi and Jackal Kuwahara.

“Hello, Atobe-san,” Jackal said. “Some place you have here.”

“Thank you,” Atobe tilted his head and regarded them thoughtfully. “I wonder what powers you two possess ….”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Yagyuu replied vaguely. “Thank you for allowing us to stay, and I’m sorry for what Akaya did to your player.”

Atobe frowned. “So am I, but thank you.” He quirked an eyebrow. “It must be frustrating for your partner that you have a power and he does not. There were only six of your team that did, as I recall.”

“Yes.” Yagyuu pushed his glasses up his nose. “I don’t think it was a very happy discovery for him, but he has to learn how to take disappointment.”

“Hey, guys!” Bunta called out as he bounded down the stairs. “Check it out – isn’t it cool? This place is huge!”

“Hello Yagyuu,” Sanada greeted as he and Yukimura followed Bunta. “Hello Nioh.”

“Nioh?!” Atobe exclaimed and spun around to face the newcomers. Jackal grinned in a sly way and then began to physically change before Atobe’s eyes. He became shorter, his skin tone lightened, and wild, light blue hair sprouted and flowed outward from his head.

“My power.” Nioh smiled at Atobe. “Shapeshifting.”

“Cute,” Atobe commented flatly. “That power would have been wasted on me, though, as I have no desire to be anyone but myself.”

Sanada shook his head. “You’ll never change, Atobe.”

“Didn’t I just say that?” the Hyotei Captain replied. “You can show them to a room. I have to return to my slave labour.” He picked up the broom again and left the foyer.

“I don’t think Atobe liked your little trick, Nioh,” Yukimura commented. Nioh shifted again until he looked like Atobe himself.

“Do you think he’d like this any better, ahn?” he asked in the Hyotei Captain’s smooth voice.

The other boys snickered, and Tezuka came down the stairs.

“Excuse me,” he said, moving past Sanada. He nodded a greeting to Yagyuu, then turned to ‘Atobe.’ “Kei, I hope it’s all right to postpone our afternoon plans an extra hour – I just found out my tennis practice was rescheduled.”

“Of course,” ‘Atobe’ replied.

“Thank you.” Tezuka gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away.

“I’m very proud of me,” Bunta declared with a widening grin. “I didn’t burst out laughing.”

Nioh shapeshifted back to himself. “Come on, let’s go check into our room before one of them comes back!”

Kamio had spotted the Rikkai contingent arriving but was out of sight again before they noticed him. It really bothered him that Kirihara was staying after everything he had done in the past, both far and recent. Tachibana, Fuji, himself, Choutarou, and pretty much all the kids in the mansion who had been affected by the possession were all victims. Did the adults really think he could be reformed? Lotsa luck. All Kamio knew was that he was going to make use of his own power to avoid Kirihara and his friends as much as possible.

He was worried about Shinji, though. Not because he thought Kirihara would target him deliberately (and not that he could do much without his power), but just because Shinji was always first on his list of people to worry about because he loved him. He decided to do a quick search of the mansion to find out what he was up to.

In Kamio’s case, a ‘quick’ search took little more than the time between the thought starting in his mind and the completion of it as a decision. Shinji wasn’t in the mansion at all. He sped outside to check the tennis courts and pool area.

He wasn’t there, either, but Kamio saw a familiar head of dark blue hair atop a ride-on mower. He zipped out to jog up alongside it and was startled to see that Shinji’s hands weren’t on the wheel. He wasn’t even watching where he was going; he was absorbed in a tennis magazine.

“Shinji, hi. What’s going on?”

His boyfriend looked up. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m mowing the lawn. It’s my chore for the day.”

Kamio glanced from the magazine to the mower with amusement. “It looks like YOU’RE not exactly the one mowing the lawn!”

Shinji looked down at the mower and patted the steering wheel. “You’re right, it’s doing it all by itself. I could have sat by the pool, I guess, but I thought the adults would object if they saw me.”

Kamio ran a couple of light-speed circles around the mower. “I think this is so cool, that you can enlist the help of objects in doing your chores! I can’t do that, but at least I can finish mine way faster than most – hey, why’d you stop?”

Shinji was glaring at him from onboard the now stationary mower. “Don’t ever run in front of a moving lawn mower. I don’t care how fast you can go – what if you tripped over something?”

Kamio blinked. “Um, well, I can change direction and recover faster, too –“

“I don’t care,” Shinji said firmly. “Don’t ever do it again or … or … or I’ll command Ryuzaki-san’s wooden spoon to follow you around all day spanking you.”

Kamio stared, wide-eyed. “Can you do that?”

“Want to try me?”

“No.” The redhead smiled and in an instant was up in Shinji’s face. “Thanks for caring.” He kissed him and sped off.

“Hmm,” Shinji murmured. “That exasperating, wonderful boy. What am I going to do with him?”

The lawn mower revved its engine twice, making Shinji chuckle at a joke only the two of them could understand.

Terry passed Kirihara in the hall and saw the black look that the Rikkai player saved just for him. It made him shiver involuntarily.

“Are you okay?”

He turned toward a concerned-looking Kouhei and realized he should have known the sense-sensitive Jyousei player would pick up even the slightest changes in his mood. “I’m all right. Kirihara makes me nervous, that’s all.”

“I think he’s lost a lot of his fear factor with everyone else now that you’re safely guarding his power,” Kouhei told him, then asked, “Have you tried using it yet?”

“No!” Terry exclaimed. “I don’t want to!”

“Not even at Power Practice, under supervision?”

“Still no.” Terry scowled. “Anyway, who would want to practice WITH me in an exercise like that?”

“Well,” Kouhei said thoughtfully, “I would.”

“What? But why?”

“Because I trust you.” Kouhei smiled. “And you should be allowed to practice your skills, too.”

“It’s not exactly MY skill, that’s the point.” Terry frowned. “It’s someone else’s skill that I leeched off them.”

“But your one weakness with your power – other than needing Tom to get rid of the surplus powers you collect – is that every power you get is brand new and you never get to use it with ease like you would if you played with it.”

“You’re right, but since I never keep any of these powers for long, what difference does it make?”

“You’re going to have Kirihara’s power for a long time, probably,” Kouhei pointed out as they went downstairs.

Terry looked at him doubtfully. “You really want me to use this on you?”

“It’s not so much that. I just believe you should be allowed to actively use everything your power is capable of,” Kouhei said firmly. “So yeah, you can possess me, and at least see what it’s like.”

Terry grinned mischievously. “I’d be able to read your thoughts, you know, and see your memories, too.”

“I know.” Kouhei shrugged. “Hey, at least my power won’t come as a shock to you – you absorbed it your first day, remember?”

“Yes,” Terry said, then sighed. “Okay, if you really think we should do this, I’ll try. But I take no responsibility for what I might learn while inside you. Let’s go outside.”

Once the two of them were safely out of sight and sound of observers, Terry reached out and took Kouhei’s hand. He concentrated on activating Kirihara’s power, tapped into it, and entered the other boy’s body.

At first, Terry felt panic. He was disoriented, and couldn’t see or hear. The moment he settled in and all his senses returned, he knew right away that they weren’t his. Sight and hearing were both much better than before. He remembered the time he had absorbed Kouhei’s power and realized what he was experiencing now was nothing like that. Part of Kouhei’s training was suppressing most of the extremes of his power. The only thing he couldn’t dampen down was the superior sight and hearing that he’d been born with that had nothing to do with being a Changechild.

(“Terry?”)

The American jumped slightly at hearing Kouhei’s mental ‘voice’. (“Yes,”) he answered tentatively, (“I’m here. Are you okay?”)

(“Sure. I’m toning down my power, but if you want to play with it, I’ll let you.”)

Terry knew he could take control of Kouhei’s power even if he didn’t allow it, but would never in a million years do so. (“No, that’s okay.”)

(“You have to try this out, Terry. If you don’t want to use my power, at least control my movements or something. Don’t be afraid – I’m LETTING you do this, remember?”)

Terry nodded without thinking, then gasped, realizing it was actually Kouhei’s head he had nodded.

(“See, that wasn’t so hard.”) Kouhei chuckled internally.

(“Okay, since there’s no one around, I’ll try speaking,”) Terry thought, then said out loud in Kouhei’s voice, “This is really weird.”

(“That’s for sure,”) Kouhei thought, (“but I’ll bet it’s cool, too.”)

(“Yes, in a way.”) Terry could see why someone like Kirihara would have such a hard time resisting the urge to use this. It really was complete control of another individual. Before he had a chance to stop himself, he accidentally glimpsed into Kouhei’s private thoughts. (“Kouhei … you really think I’m beautiful?”) he asked shyly.

(“Heh, yeah, well. Me and the rest of the world, right?”)

(“But from you, it’s special.”) Terry smiled on Kouhei’s face. (“I’m going to get out now.”)

(“Are you sure? You haven’t had much time.”)

(“It was enough.”) Terry removed himself from Kouhei’s body and breathed a sigh of relief. “That really is one of the scarier powers. It’s like playing God to be able to control someone so completely.”

“It makes me feel even worse for Ohtori-kun,” Kouhei remarked and put an arm around his trembling boyfriend. “I think we’d better not tell anyone we did that. If the adults find out, they’ll flip.”

Terry nodded. He felt a little guilty for not revealing to Kouhei everything he had learned in those few minutes. He hadn’t actively looked through his mind on purpose, but even without trying he had picked up enough flashes to be able to tell what kind of person the Jyousei player was.

And knew more than ever how lucky he was to have him.

“All right, boys, you’re dismissed,” Taroh told the Rikkai members and waited as they filed out of the conference room. They had just had their first introduction and briefing with the four adults of the household. “I know they’re here mostly to keep tabs on Kirihara, but I suspect that a couple of them are going to be more troublesome than helpful.”

“We can handle a few more boys, even if they’re mischievous,” Sumire assured him. “I’ve coached tennis and taught junior high long enough to know there are very few children beyond my capabilities.”

“I’ll bet Akutsu Jin would be one of them,” Aoi remarked. “And I wouldn’t blame you because I wouldn’t want to deal with him, either.”

“Kirihara isn’t Akutsu,” Sumire said firmly. “I think he’s salvageable.”

“That’s why we’re trying,” Nanjiroh remarked. “But I’m with Taroh; I think that Nioh kid and the Marui one could cause trouble with their powers.”

“We’ll have to hope that Sanada and Yukimura were serious when they said they would be responsible for their teammates,” Aoi said. “They manage to control them pretty well without a coach most of the time.”

“Except for how they were oblivious to the way Kirihara nearly broke Choutarou beyond repair,” Taroh pointed out dryly. “I still think you were too easy on him, Sumire.”

“I know you do, but we don’t want to break HIM, either.” Sumire stood up. “I’ve got a tennis practice to coach.”

“It’s my turn for Power Practice supervising.” Taroh headed for the door.

After the other two had left, Nanjiroh got to his feet and looked down at Aoi. “And what are your plans for the afternoon?”

“I actually have none,” she said, turning in the chair to face him. “I’m a little surprised to have a couple of hours of free time, it’s been so hectic lately.”

Nanjiroh rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I already set up Tom and Terry’s appointments for the week and I’ll be able to finish up the Chore Charts tonight, so I guess I’m free, too.” He leaned back against the table and raised an eyebrow at her. “How would you feel about going out for some ramen, away from the mansion and the kids?”

She regarded him with amusement. “Only if you’ll answer one question truthfully.”

He shrugged. “Shoot.”

“Did you look down my shirt just now?”

“Of course.”

She laughed and shook her head. “All right, why not? Let’s go.”

End of Part 56

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 57

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

I’m being stood up.

Atobe was not amused. He and Tezuka had agreed to meet that afternoon precisely an hour earlier, and he had waited faithfully the entire time. Not for anyone else would he have done such a thing, and now it was obvious that Tezuka was not showing up.

Feeling foolish wasn’t something Atobe was well-acquainted with, and he particularly didn’t appreciate being made to feel that way by someone he trusted. Tezuka was going to be getting an earful about this, he growled internally as he stomped back into the mansion.

Speak of the devil, his errant boyfriend was coming down the stairs at that very moment. Atobe stopped and crossed his arms.

“Kei-chan,” Tezuka started to say, a fond smile touching his usually-stoic expression. He hesitated when he saw Atobe’s scowl. “What’s wrong?”

The Hyotei Captain gaped at him. “What’s WRONG?! You stood me up, that’s what’s wrong!”

“I … did?”

“Were we or were we not supposed to meet at one o’clock?”

“Well, yes, that was the original plan,” Tezuka answered. “But then I told you about my tennis practice being rescheduled, remember?”

Atobe regarded him strangely. “What are you babbling about? We never had any such conversation!”

Tezuka frowned. “Yes, we did. I told you about practice and you said it was okay, then I kissed you.”

“That most certainly did NOT happen!” Atobe stated indignantly. “Do you think I would ever forget if you kissed me?!”

“I never thought you would, but apparently you have.”

“I am not crazy and my memory is flawless,” Atobe declared. “If you were kissing anyone, it wasn’t me, and right now I have nothing more to say to you!”

What just happened here? Tezuka wondered as he watched Atobe stride away.

He tried to remember exactly what happened earlier, when he had approached Atobe. There had been others there who witnessed the exchange; members of Rikkaidai. He was about to go after Atobe and insist that he ask any of them to corroborate his story, but then he thought about it. Sanada, Yukimura, Marui, and Yagyuu had been there. Something wasn’t right.

He saw Sumire coming in from the back. “Sensei,” he said, “you had a meeting with the Rikkaidai Changechildren, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she answered, “just before practice.”

“Would you mind telling me what their powers are?”

“Stupid Oyaji,” Ryoma muttered as he looked up and down the hallway. He had come in from tennis practice all fired up and ready for a match with his father, and now he couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Hey, Ryoma, how was practice?” Kevin asked as he approached.

“It was good,” he said, frowning thoughtfully.

“Then why do you look like that?”

“I can’t find Oyaji and I wanted to play him.”

“Oh,” Kevin said, “I saw him go out a while ago with Hanamura-san.”

“Hmm,” Ryoma replied. “Maybe they had some supplies to get or something.”

Kevin didn’t say that it hadn’t appeared that way to him. Ryoma didn’t need to know that his father had started dating already. “Hey, listen, why don’t we play instead? You guys all get regular practices, but most of my team are still back in the States.”

Ryoma smirked. “I’m happy to beat you anytime.”

“Oh yeah?” Kevin gave a short laugh. “Let me get my racquet and we’ll see about that, smart guy!”

As he went toward the room, Kevin did a mental scan for both Nanjiroh and Aoi. He located them far away, and they were still together.

They also seemed to be enjoying each other’s company very much.

Shishido was worried about Choutarou. After the night they had spent, where the younger boy lay trembling in his arms for hours, he wasn’t sure he was feeling any better. Knowing that Kirihara was still around and that his teammates had arrived didn’t help. Finally, he took Choutarou by the hand and began leading him outdoors.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Out to where you can do battle at your best,” Shishido said, bringing Choutarou onto the tennis court. He picked up the racquets he’d left there earlier and handed one to the thirteen-year-old. “Play me. Pound the hell out of that ball. Pretend it’s Kirihara if you want, but get all your fears and aggressions out.”

“Shishido-san,” Choutarou said softly, turning the racquet over in his hands, “if I start this, I won’t be able to hold back. My Scud Serve might seriously hurt you in my present frame of mind.”

“No, it won’t,” Shishido said firmly. “I’ll cast good luck on myself, and I’ll be fine. You just concentrate on blowing that ball away.” He deposited the tennis ball into Choutarou’s hand and went to the other side of the net.

Choutarou sighed. He’d had problems before serving hard balls at Shishido for fear of hurting him, but with good luck on his boyfriend’s side, maybe he could really go all out this time.

“I’m ready, Choutarou!” Shishido said, leaning forward, poised and attentive.

Choutarou nodded firmly and got into serving position. “Ik … kyu … nyuu … KON!”

“I think I could get to like this place.”

Yagyuu nodded in agreement with his teammate’s sentiment. It was hard not to appreciate the splendor of any Atobe property, and the Changechildren mansion was no exception. “It’s a shame we arrived just in time for the servants to be relocated, though. It would have been nice to be waited on.”

“Oh yeahhh ….” Nioh dropped down into one of the deck chairs and snapped his fingers at an imaginary butler. “Bring me another of those ice cream sundaes with extra cherries and whipped cream!”

Yagyuu searched his pockets and pulled out a stick of gum. He studied it for a moment, and in his hand it changed into the sundae Nioh had described. He handed it over. “There you go, sir.”

Nioh grinned up at him. “I really like having you around.” He looked back at the sundae and frowned. “No spoon?”

Yagyuu made a show of slapping his own forehead. “How silly of me!” He glanced around and picked up a pebble from the pavement. After a moment, it shifted to become a spoon. “Here.”

“Thank you.” Nioh took the spoon and tasted the sundae. “Mmm, excellent.”

Kaidoh came out on the deck, dressed for swimming. Inui was right behind him.

“Welcome,” Inui greeted them. “I hadn’t realized you two were here.”

“We’re the latest additions,” Nioh said, licking whipped cream off the spoon.

“Unfortunately for you, Inui-san, you won’t see Renji here,” Yagyuu remarked, seating himself in the deck chair beside Nioh’s. “He didn’t have the good fortune to gain any powers.”

Inui folded his towel onto the end of another chair. “While it would be nice to spend time with my old friend, I wouldn’t necessarily count him as unfortunate,” he commented. “As I’m sure you know, these powers aren’t always welcome.”

Nioh winked. “I’ve never had any complaints of my own.”

“Not even about Kirihara’s?” Kaidoh said gruffly. The two Rikkai boys looked over at him.

“He hasn’t caused US any trouble,” Yagyuu told him, then peered over his glasses at the younger boy. “However, YOUR power did interfere with our Captain’s personal life and enabled you to spy on us. So we could say that Inui is right on that count and not ALL powers are welcome.”

“Your Captain forgave Kaidoh,” Inui stated and climbed down the ladder into the pool. Kaidoh dove in and came up a moment later, shaking water out of his hair and glaring at the Rikkai players.

“Renji did say to give you his regards, Inui-san,” Nioh told him. “and that he would like to spend some _quality_ time with you really soon.”

Kaidoh shot him a dirty look and the other boy smirked.

Inui settled into an easy backstroke. “Somehow those sound like your words, and not Renji’s. Since he and I have never been anything but friends, I’m dubious about the suggestive inflection you put into your tone.”

Nioh shrugged. “That’s your prerogative. I’m just the messenger.”

Kaidoh snorted. “And we know what used to happen to them.” He dove underwater and Nioh and Yagyuu exchanged amused glances.

“I see a lot of potential for fun here,” Nioh remarked.

“I concur,” his partner agreed.

“I do not.”

Both boys looked up to find Tezuka standing over them from behind.

“Is something wrong, Tezuka-san?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Tezuka glowered at Nioh. “You used your power to impersonate Atobe to me.”

“Well, technically it wasn’t for your benefit, since I was already Atobe when you came in.” Nioh grinned. “But thanks for the kiss!”

Tezuka’s eyes narrowed and the other boys saw a crackle of electric current skitter along his glasses rims. “You are not amusing in the slightest. Keep your power to yourself and next time, I’ll do the same.” He reached down and put his hands on the curved metal bars of the two deck chairs briefly.

“Uh, what did you just do?” Nioh asked worriedly, looking down at the chair.

“I believe he charged the metal,” Yagyuu said, pulling his foot carefully back toward him. “It means we’ll likely receive a nasty shock when we try getting off the chairs, unless we can avoid all the metal parts.”

“Would now be a good time to splash them, Buchou?” Kaidoh asked, an uncharacteristic evil smile on his face as he drew back an arm in the water.

“NO!” both Rikkaidai players yelled in terror.

“It’s been handled, Kaidoh,” Tezuka cautioned and looked at the boys in the chairs. “Hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nioh said grumpily. “I won’t use my power on you or your boyfriend anymore.”

Tezuka nodded and headed back to the house.

“You really need a sense of humour, though!” Nioh called after him.

Yagyuu shrugged. “It was fun while it lasted.”

Nioh gave him a sly smile. “Think CAREFULLY about what I said.”

Kisarazu Ryoh was trapped.

He knew it, but that didn’t stop him from running. They were splitting up so they could cut him off ahead while the others stayed behind him. It wouldn’t be long now.

Blindsided! One of them jumped out from around a corner as he passed and grabbed his arms, twisting them behind him.

“I got him! Over here!”

Ryoh’s heart sank a little more as the guy’s friends began appearing. There were more of them than he’d thought.

“Too bad you couldn’t get some kind of power that would help you get away, huh, Changechild?” sneered the ringleader while his cronies chuckled.

Ryoh was thinking the same thing. He could have Banished the lot of them to places unknown, but then there really WOULD be a reason for everyone to hate and fear him.

He was the only Changechild in Rokkaku Junior High. That was apparently reason enough for these guys.

“You think you’re so special, don’t you?” the leader grabbed Ryoh’s chin, forcing him to look at him. “You and your twin – BOTH of you end up with powers, and the rest of us get nothing!” He pushed his face close to Ryoh’s. “But your brother is St. Rudolph’s problem. YOU’RE ours.”

Why am I anyone’s problem? Ryoh wondered. I didn’t ask for any powers, and I don’t use them on anyone unless asked.

He didn’t say this out loud, of course. He’d already tried that once before, and they’d only beaten him up worse.

The leader stepped back, but only long enough to deliver the first punch.

Nanjiroh and Aoi came out of the coffee shop laughing. “Nanjiroh, your son was right about you; you’re incorrigible!”

“Don’t tell him he’s right, okay? He doesn’t need anyone else feeding his ego.”

She smiled mischievously. “You’re talking to the wrong woman, then. I already feed his ego when I watch him play, trying to get him to come over to Jyousei.”

“He’ll never go, he’s a Seigaku kid.” Nanjiroh shrugged. “Besides, I think all that Masterpiece stuff freaks him out a little.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Aoi gave him a puzzled look. “Who wouldn’t want to be a Masterpiece?”

“Well,” Nanjiroh started to answer, then saw her expression change to one of horror as she looked past him. “What is it?” He turned to follow her gaze and saw her staring at the prone form of a boy in the alley they’d just passed.

“Ryoh-kun!” Aoi cried, running to his side. Nanjiroh recognized him, too; he was one of the kids who had helped he and the Griffys before. On closer inspection, he’d obviously been badly beaten and wasn’t conscious.

“We’d better not move him.” Nanjiroh brought out his phone to call an ambulance.

Tezuka knew Atobe wasn’t happy with him now, but he hoped that once he explained about Nioh’s deception, all would be well again. First he had to find him.

He had already been searching for a while when he finally realized that it was Atobe in the living room playing the piano, not Choutarou. He was impressed, and couldn’t resist staying back in the doorway to listen for a while. The music was beautiful, although somewhat somber.

“Hey,” he said when the song ended, “that was amazing.”

“Thank you,” Atobe replied without looking up, his tone cool.

“About earlier,” Tezuka said, “I’m sorry we got our wires crossed, but when I tell you what happened –“

“It doesn’t matter.” Atobe turned on the piano bench to meet his eyes. “There will be no such instances in the future because I will no longer be dating you.”

Tezuka felt as if he’d been slapped. “What? Over one misunderstanding?”

“I said that doesn’t matter,” Atobe stated. “It’s the way I feel. I don’t love you anymore.” He turned back to the piano and began a new song, just as solemn as the last.

“You don’t seem happy with your decision if you’re playing music like that,” Tezuka commented quietly. Something was wrong here. Atobe wasn’t this petty or impulsive, and the two of them shared something very deep and real. They had been each other’s first sexual experience, and had pledged their future to one another.

“Kei-chan,” he began.

“Don’t call me that,” Atobe interrupted. “You no longer have the right.”

Tezuka stared after him as he left the room without looking back.

End of Part 57

(2006)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 58

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Mizuki looked at his watch, frowning. “I don’t understand this. Atsushi is never this late!”

The other St. Rudolph tennis players were already on the courts, practicing. Kisarazu Atsushi’s doubles partner kept looking around every so often, hoping his friend would appear.

Yuuta walked over to the bench where Mizuki sat and swallowed some water. “Have you tried calling him?”

“Yes, his phone is off.” Mizuki nibbled on his thumbnail thoughtfully. “I guess I could try his house and see if his parents have heard from him, but I could end up worrying them for nothing if he’s on his way here.”

Mizuki’s phone rang and he checked the readout. “It’s a payphone.” He answered it, “Hello? Atsushi! Where are you?”

Yuuta watched an alien frown of concern appear on their team manager’s face as he listened. “All right, thank you for calling. I hope he’ll be okay. Bye.”

“What’s going on?” Yuuta asked.

Mizuki looked at him with a grim expression. “Atsushi’s brother, Ryoh, was beaten up. They’re at the hospital with their parents. He has a couple of broken ribs.”

Yuuta was horrified. “Why would anyone do that to Ryoh-san? He’s a nice person.”

“He’s also a Changechild, and I guess the lack of them at Rokkaku has some of the students taking it out on the only one they’ve got.”

“That’s not right!” Yuuta exclaimed. “It’s not anyone’s fault if they are or aren’t a Changechild!” He bowed to Mizuki. “Please let me go to the hospital, Mizuki-senpai. I can help Ryoh-san. We Changechildren should stick together at times like these!”

“You’re right,” Mizuki agreed. “Let me talk to the Captain and then we’ll both go.”

Tezuka paused before hitting the next ball. It was becoming clear to him that taking his frustration out on the court wasn’t helping, especially as he couldn’t even imagine a target to aim for. He was angry, but at the situation. There didn’t seem to be any one person to focus on.

He didn’t want to be angry with Atobe; he wasn’t himself and yet he wasn’t Nioh, either. The Rikkai player had not only promised not to use his power on either of them, but he had actually spotted Nioh shortly after Atobe went in the opposite direction. No, the person who had broken up with him WAS Atobe, just … an inexplicably confusing version of him.

“Hey, Tezuka-san!”

He looked toward Jiroh, waving to him from off-court. Tezuka motioned him over.

“What is it?”

“It’s Atobe,” Jiroh said. “He’s acting weird, did you hear him?”

“Yes, but I’d like to know what YOU heard.”

“Well,” Jiroh rubbed his hair, “I asked if he wanted to come out here and play some tennis with me, and he said he didn’t like tennis anymore.”

Tezuka stared at him. “He said that?”

“Yes! What do you think is wrong? I mean, if he was kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a pod person, you’d think I’d have dreamed about it –“

“Something is definitely off,” Tezuka said, frowning. “He broke up with me just now, saying he didn’t love me anymore.”

“Whoa …,” Jiroh breathed, wide-eyed. “You and tennis, the things he loves most.”

“Yes,” Tezuka paused, mulling over the possibilities. Up until Jiroh gave him this new bit of information, he had still hoped at the back of his mind that Nioh had managed to pull a fast one. But this just didn’t make sense.

Disregarding Nioh as a suspect, Tezuka began going through the Rikkaidai members one by one. Kirihara’s power was secured by Terry. Yukimura’s water power wouldn’t affect Atobe like this. Yagyuu could transmogrify one item into another; again, not applicable here. Sanada’s power wasn’t invasive enough to change Atobe’s attitude.

But Marui’s … it was a little ambiguous, but who said Changechild powers were an exact science? The more he thought about it, the more he knew where he was going.

“Excuse me, Jiroh,” he said finally, handing him the racquet. “I’m going to pay a visit to a certain bubblehead.”

“Atsushi!”

The dark-haired boy turned at the sound of his team manager’s voice. “Mizuki-san, Yuuta-kun,” he said. “I’m sorry about practice –“

“Don’t worry about it,” Mizuki assured him as they walked into the hospital waiting room. “How’s your brother?”

Atsushi sighed. “He’s in a lot of pain. They gave him drugs, so he’s kind of woozy right now. My parents and Echizen-san and Hanamura-san are in with him. They asked me to come out here for a few minutes.”

Yuuta looked surprised. “What are Echizen and Hanamura doing here?”

“They’re the ones who found him,” Atsushi explained, then shook his head. “We’re lucky they did – who knows how long he may have been there otherwise?”

Mizuki and Yuuta exchanged a look. “Senpai,” Yuuta said to Atsushi, “I’d like to use my power to help him, if it’s okay with your parents. It’s bad enough he had to suffer through the terror of the beating; he shouldn’t have to live with the pain.”

Atsushi’s eyes widened with hope. “Really, Yuuta-kun? It’s so horrible seeing my twin like this. And it’ll be weeks before he can play tennis, so I know he’ll be miserable.”

“No tennis? A fate worse than death.” Mizuki shuddered. “Please let Yuuta-kun help Ryoh-san.”

Atsushi bowed deeply to Yuuta. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. When he stood upright, he had tears in his eyes. “I’ll go talk to my parents,” he said eagerly, and disappeared into the hospital room.

Mizuki looked at his younger teammate. “Once you’ve healed Ryoh-san, you’ll have the potential to inflict that serious damage on someone else.”

Yuuta gasped. “Mizuki-senpai, I wasn’t thinking about that at all!”

“I knew you weren’t,” Mizuki remarked with a hint of a smile. “But someone has to.”

Bunta blew a gum bubble and groaned. The little characters on his handheld game screen had just died a tragic, rather explosive death.

“One more try,” he decided. Before he could reset the game, Tezuka strode in.

“Wow, to what do I owe this honour?” the Rikkai player laughed. “To have the Seigaku Captain just barge into my room unannounced – I must be among the privileged.”

“You’ll be among the electrocuted in a minute,” Tezuka said grimly. “What you did to Atobe – fix it.”

Bunta’s purple eyes slid slyly up to meet the other boy’s. “Who says I did anything to him?”

“Nioh might, since he put you up to it,” Tezuka pointed out. “I realize now that he only said he would not use HIS power on me or my friends; he didn’t say anything about using someone else’s.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you or are you not the Mood Maker?”

Bunta shrugged modestly. “Well, that’s what they say I do for the team ….”

Tezuka snatched Bunta’s game from his hands.

“HEY!” he protested, making a grab for it.

“I can short this thing out permanently,” Tezuka warned him, holding it out of reach. “I suggest you start talking.”

Bunta looked desperately at his game. “Please, don’t!”

“Then tell me,” Tezuka said dangerously. “Did you use your power on Atobe?”

The redhead paused. “Maybe,” he said slowly, then suddenly faced the taller boy with a grin, “but don’t worry – be happy!” He punctuated it with a pop of his gum.

Tezuka hesitated. An uncharacteristic wide smile began to spread across his face. He patted Bunta on the head as he handed him the game and merrily skipped out of the room. “Tra, la, la!” he sang.

“Uh oh,” Bunta gulped, peering out the door after him. “I still don’t know my own strength.”

“Welcome to the mansion, boys.”

Atsushi and Ryoh walked in with Nanjiroh and Aoi. “Wow, it’s fancy, isn’t it?” Ryoh commented, looking around.

“Would you expect anything else with Atobe involved?” Atsushi remarked. He couldn’t get over how his twin was completely back to normal. His mother had cried when Yuuta healed Ryoh, and he had come close to it himself. After that, his parents had spent a while talking to Echizen-san and Hanamura-san about the mansion. Their reluctance to let their sons explore their powers with the other boys was gone along with Ryoh’s injuries.

Mizuki and Yuuta brought up the rear. “It’s nice to have a third member of our St. Rudolph team here,” Mizuki declared, patting Atsushi on the back. “Ryoh-san, you’ll be the sole Rokkaku representative, I’m afraid.”

“I’m used to that at school,” he answered wearily. “But at least here, I’m not the only kid with powers.”

Movement at the top of the stairs drew Aoi’s attention. “Here’s one of the first boys who received powers. Tezuka-kun, the Kisarazu brothers are going to be living with us from now on.”

“Well, isn’t THAT nice!” Tezuka declared cheerily. He practically danced down the stairs and over to the group, hugging both surprised twins. “Welcome! Welcome to the mansion! I’m sure you’ll absolutely LOVE it here!” He hummed a perky tune as he headed off toward the kitchen.

Atsushi and Ryoh both turned to raise eyebrows at the stunned adults.

“Uhhh …,” Nanjiroh tried to say.

“Um,” Aoi nibbled on her thumbnail.

“Was that really Tezuka-san?” Yuuta said in disbelief.

Mizuki scratched his head. “I think so, but it looks like we missed something very important while we were gone.”

Ryoma was coming out of the kitchen as Tezuka went in. “Buchou, was that my father coming back finally – YAAHHH!” he cried as he was swept up off the ground and held aloft.

“THERE he is! Our very own baby boy!” Tezuka exclaimed. “You’re just too cute for words, you know that!” He pulled Ryoma forward to rub noses with him. “I could just eat you up!”

“Buchou, what’s wrong with you?!” Ryoma cried, pushing away from him. Something was really bizarre, and not just the fact that Tezuka would never act like this in a million years. There was a Changechild power at work here, but Ryoma didn’t know whose.

“What’s all the noise in here?” Sanada asked, joining them. Tezuka whirled to face him, immediately changing his cheery expression to look as serious as Sanada’s, only even more so.

“This is you,” he said. “You need to lighten up.” Tezuka burst into uncontrollable giggles.

Sanada looked past him to Ryoma. “Don’t ask ME!” the younger boy said.

“Tezuka,” the Rikkaidai Vice-Captain inquired, “are you on drugs?”

“NOOOO!” Tezuka shook a finger at him. “Drugs are bad! Can’t a guy just be happy without artificial stimulants?”

“Some guys, maybe. Not you.” Sanada frowned. “Although you ARE telling the truth. If it’s not drugs, then what is it?”

“Someone’s using their power on him.” Ryoma rubbed his arms uneasily. “I can feel it, but I can’t … see through it. His behaviour feels like a big lie.”

Sanada studied Tezuka as he attempted to throw grapes into the air and catch them in his mouth, laughing at himself when he missed. “It’s not a lie, exactly, because it’s not of his own volition. It’s more like a spell.”

“What spell could make someone insanely cheerful?”

Sanada’s frown deepened. “I don’t know what, but I do know who. Keep an eye on him – I’ll go take care of it.”

“Hey, wait!” Ryoma called after him, but the older tennis player was already out the door. He turned back to see Tezuka playfully pretending to engage a banana in conversation. “Hurry up,” the Freshman silently urged Sanada.

End of Part 58

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 59

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

People may have spoken to Sanada while he was on his way to Bunta’s room, but he was too focused to notice. He wanted to get to the bottom of this and have it resolved before Seiichi found out. His boyfriend and Captain had enough worries with the trouble Akaya had caused; he didn’t need this, too.

Bunta was deeply involved in a handheld video game when he walked in. He didn’t even notice Sanada’s arrival until he pulled the game from his hands.

“Aw, not again!” Bunta started to grab for it, then saw who it was holding it. “Sanada-san!”

“Did you use your power on Tezuka?” the taller boy asked in a tone that allowed no escape.

Bunta looked away, but Sanada would have none of it. “You know my power will work whether you meet my eyes or not,” he warned.

Bunta sighed. “Yes,” he answered. “I used my power on Tezuka.”

It was the truth. Sanada had been pretty certain already, but his power confirmed it.

He was a human lie detector. It didn’t matter if it was verbal or in print, Sanada could tell truth from fiction just from hearing or reading it. Watching tv, reading the newspaper, and even studying some of his school textbooks had been ruined for him. He had never known exactly how dishonest the world was until he became a Changechild.

However, he had to admit, he had found this power to be very useful when it came to his disobedient teammates.

“Did you really think no one would notice Tezuka acting totally out of character?!” Sanada demanded.

“I just wanted him to stop being angry,” Bunta said, then wished he hadn’t. Talking to Sanada had always been risky, but now it was even worse.

“I see,” Sanada said, his face like the Specter of Doom. “Because it’s so much better to make ME angry instead.”

Gulp. “N-no ….”

“Gen?” Yukimura peeked into the room. “Oh, here you are. Listen, something is very weird with –“

“Tezuka,” Sanada concluded, glaring at Bunta. “I know.”

“What, Tezuka, too?” Yukimura frowned. “I meant Atobe. I asked where he thought Hyotei would perform most strongly in the next tournaments and he said he didn’t CARE!” He glanced toward Bunta and realized he was cringing away from Sanada. “Bunta, what have you done?”

“That’s what I want to know,” Sanada intoned dangerously.

Double gulp.

“Come on, guys! Sing with me! ‘If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands --!’”

The Seigaku regulars stood in a semi-circle around their Captain and stared as he joyfully clapped his hands and continued with his song.

“It’s finally happened,” Momoshiro said in amazement. “Tezuka-buchou has cracked under the pressure.”

“Well, he’s cracked, anyway,” Kaidoh mumbled.

“I told you someone is using their power on him,” Ryoma stated. “At least, that’s how it feels.”

“I wonder who would be able to affect such a startling metamorphosis,” Inui mused.

“I wonder WHY they would,” Oishi said, sounding distressed as Eiji eagerly joined Tezuka in a little dance-clap round.

“I like him this way, nya!” Eiji grinned. “He’s a lot more fun!”

“But it’s not really Tezuka, and that’s wrong,” Fuji said firmly.

Kawamura looked doubtful. “Fujiko, if you really feel that way, why are you taking pictures?”

“Can’t we DO anything?” Kaidoh asked Inui with a shudder. “This is creeping me out.”

“I’d turn it off if I could,” Oishi said helplessly. “But I don’t know the source.”

“What the hell?” Nioh laughed from where he came up behind Momo and he and Yagyuu stared at Tezuka. “What’s with him?”

“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out,” Inui remarked. “Ryoma says it’s the influence of someone’s power.”

Yagyuu peered over his glasses. “I can believe that,” he acknowledged.

“Hey, Rikkai!” Tezuka exclaimed suddenly and bounded over to them and shook a finger in their faces. “You two are naughty, aren’t you? Good thing you’re not on MY team, or I might have to spank you!” He tugged playfully on Nioh’s ponytail and stole Yagyuu’s glasses, plopping them onto Nioh’s face. Then he laughed again at his own actions.

“Okayyy …,” Nioh said slowly, removing Yagyuu’s glasses and returning them, “fun is fun, but this is TOO weird. We should go see if Bunta did this for some reason.”

“Marui?” Inui said in surprise. “Why would he do this?”

“Probably just for kicks,” Kaidoh grumbled.

“I know why,” said Sanada as he came over and took hold of both Nioh and Yagyuu. “We need to talk, boys.”

The two miscreants exchanged worried looks.

“What about Tezuka?” Oishi asked desperately. “If Marui really did this, could he please un-do it?”

Sanada looked at him seriously. “As soon as he’s able to stand upright again, he’ll fix both Tezuka and Atobe, I guarantee it.”

“Atobe, too?” Kawamura said softly. “What’s been going on around here?”

“Yeah, I thought your team was here to keep Kirihara out of trouble, not to make more of it yourselves,” Momoshiro pointed out.

“I realize that and I apologize.” Sanada gave his Doubles One team an intimidating glare. “It will not happen again, I assure you.”

Oishi wished he could believe that, but these days it seemed as if everyone was misrepresenting themselves. Eiji sensed his boyfriend’s discomfort and squeezed his arm.

Despite his super-hearing, Youhei wasn’t the least bit interested in the goings-on in other parts of the house. At that moment, he was in his room, and Tom was nibbling on his earlobe, and that was far more important.

“Youhei,” the older boy breathed against his skin, “you’re so beautiful. How did I get so lucky as to find you?”

The magenta-haired boy smiled softly. “And here I was thinking about how lucky _I_ was.”

“With your power of super-senses,” Tom said slowly, kissing his throat, “how does THIS feel?”

The truth was that Youhei usually suppressed the part of his power that made his sense of touch so sensitive. But now he opened it up and let it absorb every detail it could. Tom’s lips on his skin suddenly sent reams of pleasure shooting through every nerve of his body. If one kiss did this, what would more intimate touches do to him?

He didn’t have any time to find out.

“Take your hands off my son!”

Both boys started and Youhei groaned, “Tousaaaan.”

Tarou glared at him sternly from the doorway. “Don’t sound like that, Youhei, you know better than to behave like this.” He turned his pointed gaze on Tom. “Maybe standards of proper behaviour are loose in America, but here with my son, you’ll mind your manners!”

Tom wasn’t sure what to say. If he said he was sorry, it would be a lie, but he didn’t want to stay silent and appear to be ignoring the man, either.

“I’m sorry we upset you, sir,” he answered honestly. “We didn’t mean anything wrong.”

“Perhaps not, but what starts in seeming innocence can quickly escalate to something else entirely.” Tarou turned back to Youhei. “You two should go outside or downstairs and find something else to do. Now.”

Youhei sighed. What sounded like a suggestion was actually an order. “All right, Tousan. Come on, Tom.” He took the other boy’s hand and led him out of the room. Tom felt Tarou’s gaze boring into his back as they walked away.

“Why can’t he go bug Niisan for a while?” Youhei complained. “He’s a year older; he’s more likely to do what Tousan’s worried about first.”

Tom cleared his throat but didn’t point out that he and Takahisa were the same age.

“That looks painful.”

Bunta touched the bruise on his cheek. “It is, thanks,” he retorted, not willing to conjure enough humour to respond otherwise. “Why are you tagging along, anyway, Akaya?”

“Because it’s more fun to see someone else in trouble with Sanada and Yukimura than myself for a change.” Kirihara shrugged.

Bunta rolled his eyes. “Whatever. At least you can verify to them that I did what they told me to do.” He paused outside the library. He’d been told that Atobe was in there less than ten minutes ago, so maybe … yes, there he was, returning a book to its shelf. “Stay here,” he instructed Kirihara, and went in.

“Atobe-san,” he said as he approached the other boy, “I need a moment of your time.”

The Hyotei Captain looked at him disinterestedly. “What for, Marui-kun?”

Reluctantly, Bunta said, “I release you from my power.” He popped his gum.

Atobe frowned and rubbed his eyes. “What … happened?” He glanced around then looked at Bunta. “What’s been going on? I don’t remember coming in here.”

“Uh, well,” the redhead ran a hand nervously through his hair, “as for what’s been going on, you sorta … um … broke up with your boyfriend.”

“WHAT?!” Atobe yelled in horror. “Why would I do that?!”

Kirihara joined them and pointed helpfully at Bunta. “He used his ‘mood making’ power on you so that you fell out of love … with everything.”

“It’s not MY fault, I can’t make it too specific,” Bunta complained.

Atobe started out of the library. “I have to get to Tezuka –“

Bunta caught his arm. “Wait! I’d better go see him first!” He ran on ahead, leaving Atobe to stare after him.

“What the hell did you do to Tezuka, you moron?!” he demanded and took off in pursuit.

Kirihara snickered. “Gotta love trouble that isn’t mine!”

Atsushi and Ryoh moved uncertainly down the upstairs hall. A couple of hours earlier, they had dumped their belongings in their new room and hadn’t been back up there since, so now they had to proceed slowly. “Okay, I’ll admit it, I don’t remember where our room is,” Ryoh said, looking left and right at all the doors.

“They need names on these things,” Atsushi agreed. “I guess you COULD just Banish me to our room, and then I could Summon you there.”

“Yeah, but we really need to know where it is for the future,” Ryoh told him. “I’m pretty sure ours was the last occupied one in the row on one of these sides.” He paused by one of the doors. “I think this is it,” he said, and started to open it.

Atsushi waited for his brother to go inside, but instead, Ryoh hesitated for a few moments before closing the door again. “What gives?” his twin asked. “Wasn’t that our room?”

Ryoh turned to him, red-faced. “Not unless a couple of other people are even more lost than we are.”

Atsushi gave him a funny look, then leaned over to peek into the room. He blinked as he stared at two naked bodies writhing on one of the beds, then managed to gather his wits enough to pull the door shut quietly once more.

“Whoa!” He blushed deeply. “I didn’t see faces; whose room IS that?”

“I don’t know, but ours is over here.” Ryoh peered into the room opposite that one. “I’m pretty sure they said the one across from us was empty, so I don’t think that room belongs to ANYONE. Makes it a perfect place not to get caught doing … THAT, doesn’t it?”

“Only if they learn to use locks.” Atsushi shuddered and followed his twin into their own room.

End of Part 59

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 60

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Tezuka closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Atobe kissing his bare chest. He tightened his arms around his lover, remembering how horrible it had been to be rejected by him earlier that day. Atobe didn’t remember it, but that didn’t make the Hyotei Captain feel any less guilty. Not to mention eager to demonstrate to Tezuka just how much he really did love him. For his part, Tezuka was relieved that his recent stay in Happyland was a complete blank, and that if Atobe had witnessed the strange behaviour that Oishi said he’d exhibited, he was quiet about it.

“Mmm ….” Atobe sighed with contentment as he lay his head on Tezuka’s chest. “I swear if anyone messes with our relationship again, I’ll freeze them so thick they won’t thaw out until the end of time.”

“I think Marui-kun will reconsider using his power on anyone again,” Tezuka said. “Not only did Sanada and Yukimura exact their own brand of justice, but his butt probably matches his hair after Ryuzaki-sensei realized what was going on.”

“That’s not as satisfying as freezing his private parts off or having you turn him into a walking bug light.” Atobe sighed.

Tezuka smiled a little and stroked his lover’s hair. “I know, and just between us, I would have enjoyed that. However, once Ryuzaki-sensei got involved, we had no choice but to back off. Marui is not worth either of us getting punished.”

Atobe snorted. “Why did the Rikkaidai members even bother coming if they’re just going to make more trouble? Who needs them?”

“We can’t penalize the whole group for the actions of a few –“

Atobe propped himself up on his elbows and stared at Tezuka. “Kirihara, Nioh, Yagyuu, Marui – who’s left that hasn’t caused trouble except for Sanada and Yukimura?”

“I suppose you’re right,” the Seigaku Captain admitted. He pulled Atobe back into his arms once more. “Let’s hope that they all learn from what happened and will now go back to what they were supposed to be doing in the first place.”

“And if they don’t, can we go with the freezing and bug light plan?”

“Absolutely.”

A slight scraping sound came from around the door, and when Tezuka turned his head to look, he saw a pink envelope laying on the ground in front of it. “Now what’s that, I wonder?”

Atobe glanced over. “Hmm, interesting.” He got up and went over to pick it up. Tezuka was far less interested in the contents of the envelope than he was Atobe’s nude form crossing the room and bending over. When his lover took a look inside, however, his reaction brought Tezuka back to the practical.

“Oh, you’re not going to live this down anytime soon, Mit-chan,” Atobe said, looking as sympathetic as he could with his eyes twinkling. His boyfriend quickly got up and joined him at the door.

In the envelope were several pictures of Tezuka in the midst of ‘happy’ mode. It looked like he was clapping his hands and dancing, a wide grin on his face.

“You know, Fuji might make a nice bug light, too,” he said grimly.

Tarou was still seething about having come across Youhei and Tom together. He had tried to spend some time cooling off by playing the piano, but every piece he attempted sounded like he was trying to beat someone with a music scale. He went back upstairs thinking that he might get changed and take a relaxing dip in the pool.

He might have passed by the presumably empty room if he hadn’t heard suspicious sounds coming from inside it. He paused by the door, frowning. He hoped it didn’t sound like what he thought it did, which was pretty much what he’d caught his son and Tom doing earlier. If they had just moved to another room after he’d warned them, they were BOTH getting spanked!

He reached for the knob and started to turn it.

Inside the room, Takahisa and Mizuki had been enjoying some very intimate ‘alone time’ for a while now. It had been a stroke of genius on Mizuki’s part to ‘borrow’ a room that wasn’t being lived in. The adults weren’t likely to come in unless another new kid arrived at the mansion, and the other kids probably weren’t smart enough to think of it as an alternative to risking capture in their own rooms.

Mizuki was kissing Takahisa’s bare chest, teasing his flesh with his tongue every so often. It made the Jyousei Captain suck in his breath or groan in turn.

“You like that? Hmm?” Mizuki purred, deliberately turning his head close to Takahisa’s skin so he’d feel his black hair tickle across it. “Yes, I can see that you do ….”

“You’re such a minx,” Takahisa told him affectionately, rubbing a hand slowly up and down the other boy’s shoulder.

“Nfu,” Mizuki grinned up at him knowingly. “You like it that way.”

The two of them started to draw together for a kiss when the creak of a floorboard and the soft metallic clink of the doorknob being turned startled them. Mizuki instantly turned invisible and jumped off the bed in time for the door to open fully.

Mizuki stood absolutely still by the bed but his heart pounded in his chest as he saw Tarou fill the doorway, glaring suspiciously around the room. If they hadn’t heard him … no, the alternative was too terrible to imagine.

“Takahisa,” the Hyotei Coach said, “what are you doing in here? And in THAT state?”

His son had flipped a blanket over himself while Mizuki was getting off the bed, but it didn’t disguise the fact that he was naked from the waist up. “I came in here to take a nap, Tousan,” Takahisa replied calmly.

“I heard strange sounds in here before I came in,” Tarou told him.

Takahisa ran his fingers through his hair. “Sorry about that, I think I was dreaming.”

“And exactly why would you be in here when you have a perfectly good room to nap in?”

“Well, I also have a roommate, and it’s hard to get a restful sleep when someone else is coming in and out of the room all day.”

Mizuki was impressed with his boyfriend’s acting ability, but he really wished that Tarou would leave. He might have been invisible, but he was also naked, and starting to shiver. Besides that, something was tickling his nose. It felt almost like he might need to sneeze soon.

“You shouldn’t be sleeping in the middle of the day, anyway – you won’t be able to sleep tonight if you do,” Tarou was saying. “Get up now and come out here.”

“I’ll be there in just a moment, Tousan.”

Oh, hurry UP! Mizuki thought suddenly, realizing now that the threat of a sneeze was very real. He reached up and pinched his nose shut, hoping to cut it off before it happened.

When Takahisa didn’t get up right away, Tarou noticed his son’s clothes dropped on the ground beside the bed. “You had to get completely undressed in order to take a nap?”

“I sleep better naked.” Takahisa shrugged.

Mizuki carefully and slowly nudged his own clothes under the bed with his toe while Tarou’s attention was on Takahisa’s side, but that didn’t help his tickling nose situation. The sneeze was still building … building ….

“Sakaki-san.”

Mizuki’s breath caught in his throat as Ryoma appeared beside Tarou, looking up at him impassively.

“Are we still having Power Practice? We’ve been waiting for you.”

Tarou looked genuinely surprised. “Was I on today’s schedule for supervising? My apologies, Ryoma, I’ve had a rather … difficult afternoon.”

“Everyone’s outside,” Ryoma told him, glancing into the room. His gold eyes widened slightly at the sight of Mizuki naked by the bed. The St. Rudolph manager had forgotten all about his need to sneeze in the face of this much worse threat. One word from Ryoma and he and Takahisa were toast.

Tarou noticed Ryoma’s attention to the room and snorted slightly. “My son decided this would be a better place to nap instead of his own room. For the future, Takahisa, I suggest you stay OUT of unoccupied rooms, understood?”

“Yes sir,” Takahisa said promptly.

“You too, Ryoma.”

“Sure,” he replied, his gaze meeting Mizuki’s.

No, the older boy mouthed at him, his dark blue eyes pleading. Ryoma looked from him over to Takahisa, who didn’t dare respond, but held his gaze for a long moment.

“Ryoma?”

The Seigaku player turned his head back toward Tarou.

“Is something wrong?” the teacher was frowning suspiciously.

Ryoma glanced back toward Mizuki’s beseeching face that only he could see. “No,” he said. “Nothing. I’ll be waiting outside with the others.” He headed back down the hall.

Tarou watched him go, then looked back at Takahisa, pausing to glance around the room. “I’m leaving now, too,” he said. “You get up and out of here.”

“Okay.”

Takahisa and Mizuki waited in silence until Tarou’s footsteps had long-since retreated down the hallway. Mizuki collapsed onto the bed, exhaling a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

“That was WAY too close!” he murmured. “If Ryoma had said anything –“

“He’s a good kid,” Takahisa remarked gratefully. “I think I’ll buy him a case of Ponta.”

A while ago, there had reached a time in the mansion when Atobe decided that the kids needed a place of their own. Yes, they could hang out in the living room, but the adults were forever in and out of there, and the library and boardroom were no kind of substitutes. He then began working on having the largest room -- originally a master suite of the hotel it used to be -- turned into a ‘student lounge’ that was more like a game room. It had gained shape over time, and before it was even finished, it had slowly become a focal point of the mansion. That evening was no exception.

Kaidoh and Momoshiro were playing pool and arguing. Over at the ping-pong table, Kamio used his superspeed to play a one-man game while Shinji commented on how the ball, paddles, and table were critiquing his efforts. Eiji cheered Fuji on at one of the arcade-style video games that lined an entire wall, while Gakuto heckled Shishido’s efforts at the pinball machine. The Kisarazu twins worked on a 1000-piece puzzle that was set up on one card table and a Monopoly tournament was going on at yet another table between Kevin, Yuuta, Terry, and Kabaji. A console video game hooked up to a large-screen tv was the object of much attention as Oishi and Yukimura battled it out. Over in one quieter corner where some lounge furniture was set up, Inui and Tachibana were trying to move a slumbering Jiroh aside so they could watch taped tennis games on another tv.

Kirihara peered into the room. He had to admit, it was impressive – like a big game center at the mall, only better. He was glad to see Yukimura there, since there was a glaring absence of any other Rikkaidai members, all of whom were either in their own rooms or at Power Practice. Still, he figured he wouldn’t exactly be welcome there.

He took a deep breath. Who cared what they all thought, anyway? He was living there now, and had as much right as anyone to use the facilities. He walked in.

The result was anticlimactic. A couple of the kids glanced his way, only to go back to their own activities. When Yukimura saw him, he offered a brief smile, but had to focus once more on his game before Oishi could take advantage of his inattention.

Now that he’d entered their territory, Kirihara wasn’t sure where to go. He wasn’t willing to get any closer to Fuji, Kamio, Tachibana, or Shishido than he had to. If he couldn’t intimidate or tease them, they were best avoided, and with Yukimura present, he didn’t dare try. His gaze fell on Terry’s back and for a moment he was filled with renewed resentment that this American pretty-boy was temporary guardian of his power. Logically, he knew that Terry was pressured into it, but that didn’t change the fact that he had the power and Kirihara didn’t.

He headed over to one of the arcade games. They were set up not to need tokens, so he only had to push the start button to get it going. As he started to play, he tried to tune out the kids around him. Not because the noise would distract him, but because he was privately afraid they would say something about him that he didn’t want to hear.

“Hey.”

Kirihara jumped, whirling to face Jiroh, who was right behind him.

“Where’d YOU come from?!” he exclaimed. “And what do you want?!”

The Hyotei player yawned. “They just woke me up,” he said, indicating Inui and Tachibana before turning back to Kirihara, his gaze suddenly serious. “I just wanted to say thank you in advance.”

“Huh?” Kirihara said in annoyance. “You’re not making sense!”

But Jiroh had already begun wandering out of the room, leaving him alone with his confusion.

“I always knew the Hyotei members were weird,” he muttered, re-starting his game.

End of Part 60

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 61

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Ryoma sighed and tried not to feel exasperated with his cat. “Karupin, I know you do most of your grooming yourself, but with your coat, you need to let me brush you once in a while.”

“Mrrowr!” the cat replied, batting at the brush in his owner’s hand playfully.

“Maybe I should use two at once,” Ryoma murmured thoughtfully. “One for you to chew on and play with, and the other for me to brush you with while you’re chewing and playing.”

A low chuckled came from the doorway. “He’s like Mizuki; beautiful as sin, but naughty.”

Ryoma regarded Takahisa with a raised eyebrow. “They’re not the only ones.”

The Jyosei Captain smiled knowingly. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I’m very grateful for what you did. I owe you a case of Ponta.”

Ryoma shrugged. “I didn’t do it to get anything from you. I did it because ….” He looked away. “You helped me out when I learned about my parents. It was the least I could do.”

“I’m glad I could help. You can come to me anytime you want to talk,” Takahisa told him.

“Mrrowr!” Karupin declared and darted out of the room. Ryoma looked dismayed.

“Aw, Karupin!”

Takahisa laughed. I think he’s done with the grooming session!” He went over and dropped his hand on top of Ryoma’s head. “Let’s go to the kitchen. If I can’t buy you a case of Ponta, at least I can pour you one.”

“Okay.” Ryoma stood up. “Although I never did say no to the case ….”

Jiroh was getting excited.

The Rikkai players were practicing on the back court. They were all talented and impressive, of course, but Jiroh’s eyes were all for Marui Bunta. The cheeky redhead exuded utter confidence as he effortlessly performed his trademark tightrope shot. Jiroh watched the tennis ball roll neatly along the top edge of the net before dropping onto his opponent’s side. It was pure poetry.

But there was more to it than those fancy moves on the court. There was the way his bright red hair reflected the sunlight, the mischievous sparkle in his wide purple eyes, and his firm leg muscles shifting just below the hem of his nicely-tight shorts ….

Oh yeah, he had it bad, all right. The question was, what to do about it? Jiroh wasn’t experienced with asking people out; especially not when it came to members of Rikkaidai. There had never been any love lost between their teams. Then again, it wasn’t as if others on Hyotei were staying away from rival team members as boyfriends. Even Atobe Keigo himself was completely in love with Tezuka Kunimitsu.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

Jiroh jumped, not having noticed Kirihara Akaya approach on the other side of the fence. Caught off-guard, he found himself stammering. “I, uh, was just watching the practice.”

Kirihara twirled his racquet thoughtfully. “I saw what you were watching,” he said slowly.

Jiroh shrugged. It had never been any secret that he admired Marui’s skill, so watching him play shouldn’t be that big a deal.

Kirihara looked up, meeting Jiroh’s eyes. “I also saw your expression. I may be only thirteen, but I can recognize lust when I see it.”

The Hyotei player’s eyes went wide. That was about the last thing he’d expected to come out of the other boy’s mouth. His own lips parted to speak, but he had no words. Kirihara smirked.

“I was right, obviously.” He shook his dark curls. “I don’t necessarily approve of all this interschool mingling going on with Hyotei, Seigaku, and the others, but you seem to be one of the least offensive guys around here. If Marui-senpai decides to go out with you, I won’t object.”

Jiroh almost said something about how it wasn’t really Kirihara’s business who anyone else dated, teammate or not. But there was his recent dream to consider – the one in which he sensed Kirihara was soon going to do something important, something that would make Bunta very happy. And making Bunta happy was a high priority for Jiroh.

“Thank you,” he said finally.

Kirihara nodded and turned away, heading back toward the courts. “Hey, Bunta!” he called out. “This guy has something to say to you.”

Jiroh blinked, suddenly wanting to spank Kirihara instead. He hadn’t come prepared to do anything about his feelings right NOW! But Bunta was already bouncing over toward him curiously.

“Yo, if it isn’t the Sandman,” the redhead remarked, popping a gum bubble. “What’s up?”

Jiroh gulped, staring into Bunta’s bright eyes and thinking that that question wasn’t exactly the safest one to be asking right now.

“Man, there’s nothing like a long, hard bike ride!” Kamio declared as he swept his bicycle into the driveway. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at Momoshiro, who pulled in behind him. “I love being here – it’s great for riding!”

“I had my doubts about living here at first, but I agree with you,” Momo said. “It’s cool having my friends around me all the time, and I don’t have any younger siblings to babysit.”

“Having our boyfriends so close doesn’t hurt, either.” Kamio winked.

Momoshiro chuckled as they headed around the side of the mansion. “My relationship with Ryoma is still sort of new, but I have to agree with you on that point, too – OOF!” He nearly bowled Kamio over as he slammed into him from behind. “What’s going on?” he demanded. “Why’d you stop?”

Kamio pointed, staring. “We’re not the only ones enjoying the close proximity.”

Momoshiro looked where the other boy was pointing and gasped. Was that Ryoma’s father and Takahisa’s mother lip-locked in the garden?

“Man, who knew?” Kamio said in amazement. “Does Ryoma know about this?”

“If he does, he hasn’t mentioned it,” Momo admitted, but he was pretty certain that Ryoma had no clue.

“Are you going to tell him?” the redhead turned to him uncertainly. “It hasn’t been all that long since his parents broke up, right?”

Momo watched Nanjiroh’s arms tighter around Aoi and felt torn. There was a chance that Ryoma might not see them together like that for a little while longer, and then maybe he’d be more ready to accept it. On the other hand, there was also the chance that he could come around that corner any second himself, and then it would be all over.

“I don’t know, Kamio,” he said. “I just don’t know. Coming from me, the news could hurt him, and I don’t want that. I’d rather he heard it directly from his father; that’s how it should be.”

“So you’re going to talk to Echizen-san about telling Ryoma himself?”

Momo thought for another few moments, then nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

The two of them looked back over to where Nanjiroh and Aoi still weren’t coming up for air.

“Better make it soon,” Kamio advised.

“Jiroh, there you are! Come here!”

“Huh?” Jiroh had just left the court where Rikkai had been practicing, and suddenly had no time for anything else as he was hauled away by Gakuto’s grip on his arm. It wasn’t until they reached the back patio when he heard music, then saw what his teammate was so eager to show him.

Seigaku’s Fuji and Eiji were dancing in unison to the music blaring out of a nearby boom box, and they were doing an impressive job at synchronization. Jiroh understood why Gakuto was excited; the two of them were famous in Hyotei for being pretty amazing street dancers in their own right. They’d come up with routines that made even Atobe praise their skill. It looked to him like Fuji and Eiji shared their love of this non-tennis-related pastime.

“They’re good, aren’t they?” Gakuto remarked. “I’d have expected it of Eiji – being acrobatic helps a lot in street dancing – but FUJI?”

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Jiroh said honestly. “Being sexy and graceful helps a lot in dancing, too, even this kind.” He shook his head in amazement. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone swivel their hips with the ease Fuji does.”

“Come on, let’s join them!”

Jiroh found himself being dragged once more until they were in front of the two Seigaku players, who stopped their performance to look at them curiously.

“Hi guys,” Eiji said. “Is everything okay?”

“We didn’t know you guys danced like that,” Gakuto admitted, grinning. “Loan us your boom box and give us some room; we’ll show you some Hyotei moves!”

Fuji and Eiji glanced at each other, then Fuji turned back to the other two, his eyes twinkling. “Sure, be our guests.” They backed off to make space and Jiroh and Gakuto took their place. As the Hyotei acrobat prepared to start the music, Jiroh’s thoughts bounced back to Bunta and how it was still a secret that they’d just arranged their first date. The memory of how he’d tried to stumble out the offer when earlier faced with that player he admired made him blush. Luckily, Bunta had figured what he was getting at and asked him out first. Knowing he had a date with Marui Bunta made him want to dance more than ever. For once, sleep was the furthest thing on his mind.

Yukimura pulled his uniform jacket off his shoulders. “I think practice went pretty well, don’t you?”

“Yes, for the most part.” Sanada sat on his bed and took off his cap. “I thought Bunta was distracted, though.”

“Didn’t you see?” the blue-haired Captain smiled. “He was showing off for Akutagawa Jiroh.”

Sanada looked skeptical. “That kid on Hyotei who sleeps all the time?”

Yukimura shrugged. “Bunta is one of those players that excites him into waking up, I guess. They spoke some between games. After that was when Bunta kept glancing over at the fence after every shot.”

“Hmm, well, I didn’t yell at him since he still won his practice game, but I don’t want him getting distracted that easily again.”

“Gen,” Yukimura said softly as he stood up and went over to crouch in front of him, “are you telling me that you’ve never been distracted by a pretty face?”

“That’s not a fair question.” Sanada frowned. “If I say yes, it suggests that I don’t always have my mind on my game. If I say no, you’ll be insulted.”

The Rikkai Captain smiled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position.”

Sanada touched Yukimura’s cheek softly, then stretched. “I should shower now that practice is done.”

Yukimura pointed at him. “Water gun!” he declared gleefully and squirted a stream of water into his face. Sanada opened his eyes again slowly, droplets falling off his eyelashes, nose and chin.

“That wasn’t the kind of shower I had in mind,” he said flatly. Yukimura giggled and kissed him lightly on the lips. Sanada caught him in a tight hug and shook his hair so that water fell back onto his laughing Captain’s face.

Kevin was passing by Momoshiro and Kamio’s room when he paused for a moment. He was picking up on some distressed thought waves inside that made him peek past the doorway. Momo was there, frowning hard. “Something wrong?” he ventured.

The older boy glanced at the blonde suspiciously. “Poking around in my mind?”

“No,” Kevin retorted. “I don’t read trash novels.”

“Har har. That’s funny, very funny.”

Kevin sighed and shook his head. “Look, I didn’t mean that. I just thought I sensed something wrong is all.”

Momo took a deep breath and let it out. “I guess I shouldn’t have snapped, either. I’m sorry. And you’re right, something’s bothering me. It’s about Ryoma.”

“Well, now you KNOW I have to find out what’s going on.” Kevin went in and leaned back against the desk. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m trying to figure out how he’ll feel about the way his father and Hanamura-san have gotten very … close.” Momoshiro turned red at the memory.

Kevin folded his arms and stared at the floor. “I got that impression pretty fast with their first date, but then they got distracted bringing the Kisarazu twins here.”

“They’re not distracted anymore,” Momo assured him. “They were lost in their own world out there, necking in the garden, right out in the open.”

“Whoa.” Kevin’s eyes were wide. “Ryoma needs to be told.”

“I agree, but not by us. His father should tell him.” Momo stood up. “I told Kamio I was going to talk to Echizen-san about it, and I’ve just been waiting for him to come back in.”

Kevin tilted his head slightly, focusing. “He IS in now,” he said. “Downstairs, in the kitchen. He’s thinking about beer.”

“That figures. I’d better go catch him then and get it over with.” Momoshiro headed for the door. Kevin followed, and the Seigaku player looked down at him. “Where are you going?”

“To help you,” he said simply.

Momo couldn’t think of a reason not to let him, so he remained quiet and they went downstairs together.

*Note* Thanks to my wife for Seiichi’s ‘water gun’ idea. XD

End of Part 61

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 62

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Nanjiroh was feeling pretty good. For a while, he didn’t know if he’d get over what happened with Rinko enough to want to get involved with another woman, but Hanamura Aoi had him thinking about it. Seriously. She was beautiful, smart, and knew everything about tennis. She even played well enough to make it interesting for him, even if she would never be able to beat him. She was a good kisser, too. Among other things.

The only thing he wasn’t sure about was how the kids would react to their relationship – both hers and his. He hardly knew Takahisa and the twins, other than what time he’d spent with them at Power Practice. He knew Aoi thought highly of Ryoma, but didn’t really know what he thought of her.

He had just taken a sip from a can of beer in the kitchen when he turned and found himself facing Momoshiro and Kevin. He almost dropped the can. “Uh, hi kids. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Echizen-san,” Kevin said, “we need to talk to you about Ryoma.”

That didn’t come as a surprise, since both of the boys were special friends of his son. Something in their expressions told him he might not like what they were going to say, though. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s not that anything is wrong, exactly,” Momo began. “But …,” his face reddened, “Kamio and I saw you with Hanamura-san earlier and wondered if you planned on telling Ryoma soon.”

“Before he sees it by accident like they did,” Kevin added.

Nanjiroh wasn’t one to get embarrassed, but for their own sake, he wished the boys hadn’t seen that. “Hmm,” he said, ruffling his own hair with one hand, “I had actually been thinking about that myself just now.”

The boys looked relieved. “That’s good,” Momoshiro told him. “But how do you think he’ll take it? Especially considering Hanamura-san has come on to him before?”

Nanjiroh stared at him. “What?!”

Even Kevin was giving Momo a weird look. “You serious?”

The Sophomore nodded. “He told all of us about it back when we all first met her.”

Nanjiroh exhaled. “He must have misunderstood,” he scoffed. “She was probably just very enthusiastic about his playing, and he took it personally.”

“Either way, you should tell him about your relationship with her soon,” Kevin advised.

“Yeah, I know,” Nanjiroh agreed. “I just hope he’s ready.”

Ryoma walked into the kitchen a few moments later and was immediately suspicious to see his father and two best friends deep in conversation. “What’s going on?”

“What? Can’t we stand together without you thinking we’re up to something, Boy?” Nanjiroh demanded.

Momo and Kevin both shot him a glare. “Echizen-san …,” they intoned.

The man sighed. “Oh, all right. I swear, kids are no fun these days.” He put a hand on Ryoma’s shoulder and began steering him out of the room. “Come on, let’s go have a talk.”

Now Ryoma was more suspicious than ever. “About what?”

“Just shut up and come on.” Nanjiroh pulled the twelve-year-old out of the kitchen.

Momoshiro and Kevin exchanged a worried look. “I’ll bet even without using your power, you know what I’m thinking,” Momo remarked.

“Yeah, I do,” Kevin agreed with a sigh. “And I hope Echizen-san takes this seriously, too.”

Kaidoh finished stretching, then started running. Like Kamio had remarked earlier, this area wasn’t only good for bike riding, but for jogging as well. The beautiful countryside suited his animal power – he felt at home here. It was quiet and without distractions, too. Well, other than all the animals and birds that greeted him along the way, but he didn’t mind that.

Inui was going to play tennis with him later; he was looking forward to that. Ever since they had revealed their mutual feelings of attraction, they had grown closer, sharing a little more of themselves every day. They hadn’t shared EVERYTHING yet, but that was something that Kaidoh still couldn’t think about without blushing.

He had been jogging for ten minutes when he sensed the approach of another animal, and this one was of a type he hadn’t much experience with, other than the time he’d changed into one.

Around the next bend came a beautiful white horse. Kaidoh stopped running just so he could watch it. As it approached, he saw that it recognized his power and happily tossed its head. It was then that Kaidoh heard the familiar voice of its rider, “Easy, Elizabeth, be a good girl.”

Kaidoh watched Atobe give the horse an affectionate pat and look over at him, reining in the mare so that they stopped by him. “She must be reacting to your power,” he said, watching the horse nuzzle Kaidoh’s hair.

“I didn’t know you had a horse,” the younger boy admitted.

“She was at home, but I decided to open up the stables here for everyone, so she and several other horses were transported today.” Atobe rubbed the mare’s neck. “I’m the only one who will ride Elizabeth, though.”

Kaidoh looked into Elizabeth’s warm brown eyes as he smoothed his hand up and down the long bridge of her nose. “You seem happy with him,” he murmured softly. “He treats you well?”

The mare bobbed her head up and down and nickered. To Kaidoh, it translated as, “Oh, yes! He’s a wonderful, loving master. I’m glad to belong to him.”

The Hyotei Captain wasn’t sure what was going on, but he figured Kaidoh was connecting with his horse somehow. “Is everything all right?” he asked, suddenly worried that Elizabeth might not be completely content with him and that he could be doing more.

To his surprise, the younger boy looked at him with something akin to respect. “You take good care of her.”

“Of course I do,” Atobe replied, feeling somewhat offended that Kaidoh might have thought otherwise, despite his own doubts of a moment ago. He smiled down at the horse wistfully. “I envy you your ability to communicate with her.”

Kaidoh didn’t mention that too many animals he met had much sadder stories to tell than Elizabeth; that was the curse of his power to bear. But he was glad so far not to meet any pets of people he knew who complained about their owners.

“I need to get her back now,” Atobe told him. Kaidoh nodded and stepped back, communicating a goodbye to Elizabeth, who eagerly resumed her trot down the road.

Who knew self-absorbed Atobe could be such a friend to animals, Kaidoh thought. You never could tell about people.

Ryoma’s uneasiness hadn’t calmed any since his father pulled him away. He tried to imagine what ridiculous notion the man had gotten into his head now, but couldn’t. His mind just didn’t twist in the same demented way his father’s did.

Nanjiroh sat him down in the living room and took a place beside him. “I have something to tell you,” he said. “I hope you’ll be okay with it. Your friends are worried. Me too.”

Ryoma felt his mild annoyance and curiosity give way to stomach-turning fear. This felt too familiar, far too much like when his father told him about the break-up. Maybe now he was putting him up for adoption?

Althought that wasn’t a TOTALLY bad idea ….

“Here’s the thing,” Nanjiroh began, and Ryoma thought his voice came out sounding tense; not at all like his usual dismissive tone. “I’ve started dating again.”

Ryoma regarded him skeptically. “Who would be desperate enough to date YOU?”

Nanjiroh glared at him indignantly. “What’s this? That’s all you can say?!”

“Well, what do you want?” Ryoma asked. “You’re not looking for my approval, or I wouldn’t be the third person to find out about it.”

“I wasn’t going to mention it at all if it was going to be nothing but a one-night stand,” Nanjiroh argued, taking small satisfaction in making his son blush. “But I really like Aoi, and I plan to keep dating her, if she’ll have me.”

“Aoi?” Ryoma was suddenly alert. “You don’t mean Hanamura-san, do you?”

“Yes, I do. What’s wrong with that?”

“She came on to me.”

“So I heard,” Nanjiroh said wryly. “But I think you misunderstood.”

The twelve-year-old shrugged. “Maybe. Now that I know she’s got kids of her own, I’ll admit I might have been wrong about her intentions, but she DID fawn all over me.”

“She’s a tennis coach and you’re a … better-than-mediocre player. She was reacting to that.”

Ryoma frowned. “It’s weird to think of you guys going out. Her kids and ex-husband all live here, too – how can you NOT find that weird?” He gave his father a sideways look. “Or is it her chest that you like most?”

“Why are you so crude, Boy? I can’t imagine where you get that from.”

“GUESS!”

Nanjiroh leaned back. “Look, I like the lady, okay? She’s a good woman, loves kids, loves tennis, and yeah, she’s hot. But we can talk, too – your mom and I weren’t able to by the end. I’ve missed that. I’ve missed a lot of things about being in a good relationship.”

Ryoma regarded him steadily for a long moment, then sniffed. “So do what you want. You will, anyway. Just don’t embarrass me.”

His father grinned. “You like to take all the fun out of life, don’t you?”

“Shouldn’t you two be in bed?”

Youhei and Kouhei turned toward their big brother in unison. “We’re getting ready now,” Kouhei assured him.

“We were just about to go find Kaasan and Tousan to say goodnight,” Youhei added.

“I might as well go with you,” Takahisa shrugged. “I’m planning to get in bed soon and just read until lights-out.”

The three of them left the room and Takahisa regarded his brothers expectantly. “So where are they?”

The twins paused, listening. Takahisa saw their expressions change in a way he didn’t like. “What is it?” he asked warily.

“They’re downstairs,” Kouhei said flatly. “And they’re fighting.”

The Jyosei Captain sighed. “We should have known the truce wouldn’t last long. Come on, let’s go break it up.”

The disagreement between Aoi and Tarou hadn’t cooled down any by the time the boys reached the living room.

“I still can’t believe you’re planning to go out with HIM!” Tarou exclaimed.

“For one thing,” Aoi countered icily, “I’m not PLANNING to go out with him – I already have, and intend to continue doing so. For another, our being divorced means I can date whoever I want!”

“Who are you dating, Kaasan?” Youhei interrupted.

Aoi and Tarou glanced their way, then gave each other an awkward look.

“Echizen Nanjiroh,” their mother replied firmly. “He’s fun to be with and I’m enjoying his company.”

“Nan-chan?” Kouhei said in surprise. “Well … I guess that’s okay.”

“Yeah, I mean, if YOU guys aren’t getting back together ….” Youhei shrugged.

“We aren’t,” both adults agreed together.

“Then I’m with them,” Takahisa said, thinking about how the former tennis star had kept their skinny-dipping secret. “Nanjiroh’s okay.”

Tarou stared from his former wife to his children and back again. “I think you’ve all lost your minds!” he stated and stalked out of the room.

“Is Tousan mad at us now?” Youhei asked uncertainly.

“No, sweetheart.” Aoi went over and hugged him. “It’s just never easy to see your ex start dating again. He’ll get over it.”

“Would it bother you if HE started dating?” Kouhei inquired.

Aoi considered the idea. “I’d like to think it wouldn’t, but it would probably depend on who it is.”

“Right.” Youhei nodded. “Kind of how we think Niisan could have done better than Mizuki.”

“Hey!”

“Sort of,” Aoi said. “But in the case of divorced couples, it’s a little different.” She paused. “So … you’re all okay with Nanjiroh and I?”

They nodded. “Hey!” Kouhei piped up with a grin. “This means we should start getting to know Ryoma better, too.”

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy that,” Aoi said, hiding a smile.

Takahisa was also smiling to himself. He and Ryoma had spent time talking about parents and divorce, and he’d helped cover for he and Mizuki with Tarou. He liked the kid. And he himself was already well-practiced in the art of being a big brother. What was one more younger sibling?

He just hoped his father would either come around to accept it or find someone himself. Otherwise things could get pretty awkward around the Changechildren mansion.

End of Part 62

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 63

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

For the first time, Jiroh was almost sorry he went to Hyotei. Although he was even more sorry that Bunta went to Rikkaidai. It meant he didn’t get to spend any time with him during school hours. However, this date was arranged for that evening, so he had that to look forward to. And in the meantime, he could dream about him in the classes he didn’t have to stay awake for.

At recess, Atobe tapped him on the shoulder. “what’s up with you today?”

“What do you mean?” Jiroh yawned. “I’m the same as ever.”

Atobe frowned. “You might be able to fool others, but not me. Something is different.” His expression took on a hint of fear. “You aren’t dreaming about anything worrisome again, are you?”

Jiroh hesitated. He couldn’t in all honesty say no, but neither could he define the latest dream – it was too vague, and might have nothing to do with anything. In any event, Atobe wasn’t involved, so there was no need to freak him out.

“Nah,” he said, “I’m just preoccupied.”

“With what?” Atobe pressed.

Jiroh knew his Captain hated being uninformed, but he really wanted to keep this first date with Bunta a secret until they’d actually gone out. “You know – just stuff.”

Now Atobe looked annoyed. “Well, certainly you’re under no obligation to tell me anything. Just don’t expect me to feign interest.”

Jiroh watched him huff away down the hall and felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn’t that he didn’t WANT to share his news, exactly. Maybe he was afraid of jinxing it, or maybe he wasn’t sure his teammates would approve – either way, for now, Atobe would just have to stay in the dark.

He jumped suddenly as his phone rang. He looked at the read-out and gasped to see Bunta’s name there.

“Hello?” he said, trying not to sound too eager.

“Hey, Jiroh!” Bunta’s cheerful voice came over. “I just thought I’d check and see if you guys were at recess, too.”

“We are, but it’s almost over,” Jiroh said. “What’s going on there?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. I had to stand in the hall because I tried to chew gum in class again.”

Jiroh grinned. “I end up doing that when I fall asleep in class, but then I end up sleeping in the hall.”

Bunta laughed. “Yeah, the teacher didn’t think to confiscate the rest of my gum, so I just chewed it out there. Hey, are you looking forward to tonight?”

Was he kidding? “Yeah, I haven’t been to that amusement park in way too long, I think it’ll be a blast.”

“Me too! I want to go on that new wild ride, the one they’ve been advertising on tv!”

“I know the one!” Jiroh exclaimed, then both he and Bunta burst into the jingle from the commercial.

“Barf-i-nator, Barf-i-nator – it’ll make you PUKE!”

They laughed together and received applause and cheering from classmates passing by. Jiroh blushed, but felt great. It was going to be a date to remember.

Nanjiroh looked down the itinerary for the afternoon. He had just watched the tutor for the three American Changechildren leave, so it was time to tell Tom and Terry what they were doing for the rest of the day.

“Hey, guys!” He waved as they came out of the conference room where their lessons were conducted. “We have a full schedule today. Two interviews, a photo session, and fittings for that clothing line you’re sponsoring –“

Kevin frowned. “What am I supposed to do with you all leaving?”

“How about your homework?” Nanjiroh suggested. “I’m sure you have some.”

“So do they.” Kevin indicated the Griffys.

“They can bring it with them and get it started, then finish it tonight,” Nanjiroh stated, urging Tom and Terry toward the door. “Did I mention that we’re already late for one of those interviews?”

“Can we at least have lunch?” Terry asked.

“We’ll stop and grab something on the way.” Nanjiroh opened the door to step out with the kids and found Tarou about to walk in.

“Sakaki-san?” Tom said. “Why are you here in the middle of the day?”

“I wanted to talk to Nanjiroh,” he said, eyeing the other man seriously.

“I haven’t got time now,” Nanjiroh told him. “We’re on our way out and are already late.”

“Then I’ll make it fast,” Tarou said grimly. “I think it’s a very bad idea for you to date Aoi and you should break it off now.”

The former tennis pro stared at him. “Well, you DO get right to the point, don’t you? And maybe you wanted this to be quick, but I think it’s about to get a lot longer than that and I don’t have time to argue with you.”

“So you’re saying you plan to keep dating her?” Tarou asked with narrowed eyes.

“I do,” Nanjiroh confirmed. “My concern was for the kids, but they seem okay with it, and I don’t see anymore problems except you, and you don’t count. Come on, boys.” He herded the Griffys out the door, leaving Kevin alone with a seething Tarou. The twelve-year-old decided not to mention that he wasn’t allowed to say some of the things Tarou was thinking about Nanjiroh just then.

Taka knew he was blushing. He couldn’t help it most of the time he was around Fuji, despite the many times now that they had been intimate.

While this couldn’t exactly be considered ‘intimate’ on the same level, the blush was unavoidable when they were laying on the grass and Fuji had his head in his lap, tickling Taka under his chin with a dandelion.

“This is nice,” Fuji said. “I love spending time with you like this.”

“Me too,” Taka told him. “There are so many kids at the mansion now that being here at school is almost MORE private.”

“Except in our room.” Fuji smiled. Taka felt his face heat up further.

A shadow fell over both of them and they looked up into the serious face of Tezuka.

“Are you two joining us for practice?”

“Of course,” Fuji answered and stood up. Taka pushed himself up as well and brushed off his sleeve. Fuji giggled and Tezuka cleared his throat, both of which made Taka pause.

“What?” he asked.

Tezuka looked pointedly down at Taka’s chest and the power player followed his gaze. He saw a dandelion head poking out of the top of his jacket.

“Oh, heh.” Taka removed the dandelion and glanced bashfully at Fuji, who smiled back.

“On the court,” Tezuka told them and walked away.

Eiji bounded over to Fuji as he approached. “What kept you guys?”

“We lost track of time, but at least we weren’t late.”

The redhead grinned knowingly. “It’s easy to forget everything else when you’re gazing into your boyfriend’s eyes, isn’t it?”

“Yes, especially when the eyes are as big and soft as Taka-san’s.” Fuji looked over at his boyfriend, who was talking to Momoshiro off to one side. “I still can’t believe I got so lucky.”

“He says the same thing, nya,” Eiji remarked. “You guys are such a cute couple.”

“What about you and Oishi? You’re cute, too.”

“Aw, yeah.” Eiji grinned. “Oishi is really understated, but he can be so romantic.”

Fuji smiled. “I think it’s nice that there are so many happy couples amongst us.”

“Excuse me?” Tezuka interrupted, arms folded as he and the rest of the team looked on. “Are you two joining us today?”

“Sure, we are,” Eiji assured him, flipping his racquet across his wrist a few times. As Tezuka walked away, the redhead winked at Fuji. “Speaking of happy couples, do you think he and Atobe will last?”

Fuji tilted his head thoughtfully. “Forever,” he stated firmly.

Atobe knew something was wrong with his Coach when he yelled at him. In the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn’t take it personally, since Tarou seemed to be especially cranky today, but STILL ….

“Coach,” he said, approaching the bench where the man sat. “I really don’t think I deserved that.”

Tarou raised his eyes slowly to meet Atobe’s. “Did you miss the shot?”

“Yes.” The teenager frowned.

“Then accept the fact that you made a mistake like a man.”

Atobe felt as if he’d been slapped. “I KNOW I made a mistake,” he said stiffly. “It was being chewed out in front of everyone for it that I didn’t deserve. Did something happen or what?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I do,” Shishido interrupted, and Atobe realized that the other boys had slowly been gathering around from the courts. “You seem angry with all of us today, Coach. What did we do?”

Tarou looked around at all his players. Practice had been going on for only twenty minutes, and he could already recall shouting at each one of them at least once for offenses real or imagined. He sighed and ran a hand down his face. “My apologies,” he said. “It isn’t you – I had words with someone earlier and it put me in a bad mood. I shouldn’t have taken it out on my team.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Choutarou asked tentatively.

“No, this is something I must deal with on my own.” Tarou glanced toward Atobe. “And before I go accusing any of you of not handling something with grace, I need to take my own advice.” He gave them a two-fingered point. “You’re dismissed. I have some thinking to do.”

Tarou knew the boys were watching him as he headed for the Hyotei parking lot. It was unforgivable that he’d allowed his personal problems to reflect on his coaching, but it drove home to him the fact that he needed to get this in perspective.

Aoi was no longer his wife, and hadn’t been for a long time. She was free to date other people, even Echizen Nanjiroh. WHY she would want to date him was a whole other matter, but admittedly, none of his business.

He hadn’t thought about it until now, having dedicated his time to teaching and coaching, but maybe he should explore his own options. If Aoi could start over, so could he.

With a whole new frame of mind and determination, Tarou got into his car and left the campus.

Ryoma waggled the tufted toy in front of Karupin’s face, smiling at the way his cat’s eyes followed it back and forth. Finally, he pounced, and rolled onto his back holding the toy in his paws.

“He sure likes that thing, huh?” Kevin remarked. The two of them were in the backyard, kneeling on the grass near the pool area.

“It’s his favorite,” Ryoma said, then watched as Karupin dropped the toy and took off after a butterfly. “I guess there are some things that can’t compare, though.”

“Hey, guys!” Momoshiro came out to join them and sat on the edge of the pool. He swung his legs over the edge to dunk his feet into the water. “That was a good practice, wasn’t it, Ryoma?”

“Yeah, once it finally got started,” the twelve-year-old replied.

“So,” Kevin asked, “how are you doing about your dad and Hanamura-san? Still okay?”

“We haven’t had a lot of interaction since I found out, although both Youhei and Kouhei text-messaged my phone about spending time with me.”

“That’s cool,” Momo said. “I mean, it’s nice that they’re making an effort, real nice.”

“I got another message, too, from Hanamura-san,” Ryoma said. “She’s invited Oyaji to dinner tomorrow night in a restaurant, with me and her kids along.”

“Now THAT should be interesting,” Kevin remarked.

Karupin darted by and leaped on a nearby flower. The boys laughed.

“I think your cat likes it here a lot,” Momo said.

“I thought he might be nervous around all the kids, but he’s been okay with it,” Ryoma remarked and glanced toward Kevin. “I guess your mind-reading abilities don’t extend to cats, huh?”

“Nah, that would be Kaidoh’s power, not mine,” Kevin answered, reaching out to stroke Karupin’s back. “I wonder what he’d say if he could.”

“WOOF!”

The three boys looked up in surprise to see a hairy bundle charging in their direction. Karupin puffed up to twice his size and hissed loudly before charging away, followed by the newcomer, who knocked Momoshiro into the pool as he passed.

“Beat, don’t chase the ca – oh, never mind.” Atobe strolled over and stopped by the younger boys while Ryoma jumped to his feet.

“You brought a dog here?! Is Karupin going to be okay?!”

They heard a loud yelp and Beat ran back to hide behind Atobe, whimpering.

“He’ll be fine,” the Hyotei Captain said flatly.

“Wow, the cat, the horses, and now a dog!” Kevin said as Momo climbed out of the pool. “What else are you moving over here, Atobe?”

The older boy pushed Kevin’s sunglasses off his head onto his nose. “That’s probably it, since they won’t let me bring the butler,” he said, glancing at Ryoma. “I heard in a roundabout way about your father and Hanamura. Congratulations.”

Ryoma shrugged. “It’s nothing much.”

Atobe threw back his head and laughed. “We’ll see if you feel that way after a while, when they announce their engagement!” He headed for the house with his dog following.

“Don’t worry about it, Ryoma,” Momo said reassuringly. “Even Atobe doesn’t know everything.”

That was true, Ryoma thought as he picked up Karupin and scratched behind his ear. Just because his father and Hanamura were dating and they were all living together didn’t necessarily mean marriage.

But it was something to be on the alert for. After all, no one could ever tell what might happen next in the Changechildren mansion.

End of Part 63

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 64

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Kirihara Akaya had never thought he could be bored at an amusement park, and yet here he was. He’d thought about asking one of his teammates to go with him, but then discarded the idea. It still felt too much like he was being babysat whether he was in the mansion or anywhere else if one of the older Changechildren was along, so going alone was like a break.

Except he was bored.

He passed through the food service area, debating whether or not he was hungry. He caught sight of a couple of familiar faces at a pizza table; the Griffy brothers had also come to the amusement park. It looked like some fans had recognized them, and they were signing autographs. He gave them a wide berth of disinterest. As long as Terry had his power, Kirihara didn’t want to associate with him.

He had just checked his money and was heading for the burger stand when a sudden flash of red caught his attention. Was that --?

Kirihara veered off to try and catch up to the couple who had just turned the corner. He peered around the edge of a slushee stand and recognized Bunta and Jiroh from behind. So THIS was where they were going on their much-anticipated first date.

He smiled mischievously to himself. They hadn’t seen him, so now he had to make a choice between eating or following them to see how the date went. It didn’t take long to decide, and he headed after them.

They seemed to be having a good time together – laughing, pointing out the various rides, smiling at each other. Kirihara found himself feeling happy for them. Maybe he wouldn’t have chosen someone from Hyotei, but it was hard to begrudge Bunta-senpai something that made him so happy.

“Hey, you wanna go on the Barfinator again?” he heard Jiroh ask.

“Yeah!” Bunta agreed eagerly, popping his gum. “It didn’t make us puke the first time – I feel cheated!”

They laughed again and headed off. Kirihara took a step to follow them when Akutsu Jin moved into his line of sight. The Rikkai player stopped abruptly and slipped behind a display board, but his teammate and Jiroh weren’t so lucky. Jin deliberately blocked their path.

“Well, what do you know?” he said, taking a drag on his cigarette. “A couple of Changechildren out for fun and frolic?”

Bunta swallowed, but tried to sound brave. “Yeah, so what? We’re here for the rides, not to get into it with you. So if you’ll just step aside –“

Jin’s eyes narrowed. “Who do you think you’re ordering around?” he asked dangerously. He clenched a fist and both Bunta and Jiroh’s eyes widened. Kirihara wondered if he should go in to back them up, but wasn’t sure even three of them could take down Jin without injury.

Then he saw too late that it could be worse than a beating. Jin’s angry expression gave way to a sinister one as he pointed at Jiroh.

“You’re ON,” he said.

Jiroh dropped like a stone. Bunta barely caught him in time.

“Jiroh!” he cried, shaking him. “Jiroh, what is it?!” He bent his head down by Jiroh’s face, listening. He looked up at Jin. “He’s asleep!”

“And he’ll stay that way until I turn MY power’s effect on him off,” Jin said, cocking his head at Bunta thoughtfully. “I won’t turn yours on. I don’t know what it’ll do to me.”

Kirihara expected Bunta to fight back and throw his power at Jin just on principle, but Jiroh’s situation took precedence over revenge. He kept calling desperately to Jiroh and shaking him. People were staring, but they kept walking past. Kirihara figured it was because of the insane way Jin was laughing over the other boys’ plight.

“You bastard!” Bunta accused Jin, tears starting to slide down his cheeks. “Bring him out of this!”

Jin only laughed harder.

Kirihara clenched his fists in frustration. He didn’t care about Jiroh himself, but Bunta was his teammate and friend, and it infuriated him that Jin was doing this to him. If only he had his power!

Then it hit him. His power wasn’t that far away. He turned and charged back toward the food area.

Terry had a slice of pizza half-way to his mouth, finally able to eat after the fans cleared away. He was about to take a bite when a hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him right out of his chair, making him drop the pizza.

“Hey, what gives?!” he demanded, then gasped to see it was Kirihara Akaya who had hold of him and was now dragging him away. “Let go of me!”

Tom was after them like a shot and grabbed Kirihara by the shoulder. “My brother told you to let go!” he warned. The Rikkai player turned on them.

“Look!” he yelled. “I don’t have my power thanks to him, and my friend needs HELP! It’s the least he can do!”

The Griffys exchanged a look. “Okay, I’ll go with you,” Terry said, yanking his wrist back. “Just don’t grab me anymore.”

The three boys ran back to where the scene unfortunately hadn’t changed. Jiroh was still out cold, Bunta was going back and forth between trying to rouse him and yelling at Jin, and the Yamabuki player was still clearly enjoying his misery.

“Jin can turn on peoples’ powers,” Kirihara told the Griffys. “He turned on Jiroh’s and it knocked him into a deep sleep, and Marui-senpai can’t do anything about it. YOU can!” He looked at Terry. “Go use my power to stop Jin!”

“What?!” Terry cried, horrified. “I don’t want to do that!”

“Then your brother can give me my power back so _I_ can do it!” Kirihara snapped in frustration. “Either way it’s got to be done!”

Jin looked in their direction and after a moment’s recognition, he smirked. “Come to the rescue, Kirihara?”

“He thinks I’ve still got my own power,” Kirihara undertoned to the brothers. “Get him while he’s distracted with me, hurry!”

Jin’s expression was positively creepy as he studied Kirihara. “I wonder what would happen if I turned YOUR power on? Would you turn into a bodyless wraith that could do nothing but pass from person-to-person forever?”

Terry looked at Tom. “What should I do?” he whispered desperately.

Tom could see Bunta trying to rouse Jiroh, looking terrified when he couldn’t. He saw the evil light in Jin’s eyes as he considered what he could do to Kirihara – what if he turned his attention to Terry instead? His brother might start absorbing all the powers around him, including Tom’s, and if that happened, would Terry ever be able to get rid of the accumulated powers?

“I don’t know, Terry,” he admitted. “If we interfere in any way, Jin is going to know it, but we can’t just let Jiroh sleep forever, either!”

Terry swallowed his fear and distaste. His brother was right; they had to do something, even if it meant getting pounded on later. “I’m going in,” he said, wishing he sounded more confident than he felt. He remembered how he’d practiced with Kouhei earlier, and focused on using Kirihara’s power. The moment he felt his physical self change to something less tangible, he rushed into Jin’s body before he could reconsider.

Kirihara saw Jin’s expression change first. His cocky confidence gave way to uncertainty, then fury coupled with – dare he believe it? -- Fear.

Inside Jin’s body and mind, Terry struggled for control. Jin knew he was there and was fighting to push him out.

“You little son of a bitch, who the hell do you think you’re trying to control?!” Jin bellowed at him internally. “I’m Akutsu Jin! No one tells me what to do, especially not some pansy American girly-boy!”

Terry didn’t respond – he was afraid that if he stopped concentrating on what he had to do for even a second Jin would win the battle of wills between them. At last his initial stabilization was over and the core of Kirihara’s power was within his keeping now – he could do what he needed to.

The first thing he did was shut down Jin’s ability to communicate to him. He could yell himself hoarse alone – Terry didn’t want the intimidation. He allowed himself to ‘feel’ Jin’s power and took control of it, shutting it down entirely.

Bunta gasped as Jiroh’s eyes finally flickered open. “Mmm, w-what happened?” the Hyotei player asked.

Bunta embraced him, trying not to start crying all over again. “I thought you were gone for good!” he exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” Jiroh asked, noticing ‘Jin’ nearby and fearing the worst was yet to come.

“Terry Griffy used my power to get inside him.” Kirihara stepped forward and grabbed ‘Jin’s’ arm. “You’ve got him under control, right?”

“Yes,” Terry said in Jin’s voice. “But I don’t want to stay here. I can’t hold back all of his thoughts and memories and they’re HORRIBLE! The things he’s done – I just want out!”

“Can you absorb his power while you’re in there?” Kirihara asked urgently. “Stop him from using it ever again?”

“No,” Terry said, “I can’t do that while I’m in here and I won’t do it when I’m out – I promised I wouldn’t take powers without permission!”

“Then what good ARE you?!” Kirihara argued. “You’ve got the opportunity, USE it!”

“Shut up!” Tom snapped at him. “My brother already went against his principles to do this and now you want him to make it worse? _I_ could take Jin’s power, too, even if I can’t use it, but I won’t. It’s not our right!”

Kirihara rolled his eyes. These people were beyond hope. “Fine, suit yourselves. But once Terry comes out and Jin regains control, he’ll squish him like a bug.”

“No, he won’t.” Bunta stood up, helping Jiroh to his feet as well. “I won’t let him.”

Tom locked eyes with the redhead and saw that he was serious. “Okay, the rest of you should get out of here before Jin is back in control. Jiroh, Kirihara, make yourselves scarce.”

“What about you two?” Jiroh asked, looking from Tom back to Bunta.

“I’m not leaving Terry,” Tom said firmly. “And I believe Marui-san when he says he’ll keep Jin from hurting him. We’ll be okay.”

“Please go,” Bunta told Jiroh. “Jin can’t use his power on any of us or he’ll be in as much danger as anyone. But you’re still at risk.”

“Okay,” Jiroh agreed reluctantly. “Come on, Kirihara-kun.”

The Rikkaidai Sophomore wanted to stick around to see what happened, but he also didn’t want to be there in case Jin figured out whose idea it had been for Terry to infiltrate his body. He willingly went with Jiroh.

“Hey, Kirihara-kun.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Now I understand my dream.” Jiroh looked at him as they ran. “Your idea saved me, and it made Bunta happy.”

The younger boy gave him an odd look. “Is that why you thanked me that time?” He shook his head. “It would save a lot of trouble if you could figure out what these dreams mean before it all actually hits the fan.”

Jiroh sighed. “I know.”

Once the pair were out of sight, Bunta nodded toward ‘Jin.’ “Okay, Terry, I’m ready when you are.”

Terry didn’t waste anymore time; he burst out of Jin and into Tom’s protective arms. Jin staggered briefly, then turned eyes of rage toward the younger Griffy. “I’m going to tear you –“

“No, you’re not!” Bunta yelled and threw his own mood-making power at the Yamabuki player. Jin stopped in mid-step toward Terry and blinked, then his eyes widened and he backed up, turning pale. “Oh God, no! Don’t hurt me! Yaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”

They all watched as Akutsu Jin ran away from a pretty thirteen-year-old, still screaming.

“I wish I had film footage of that because no one is going to believe me.” Bunta grinned.

End of Part 64

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 65

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Ryoma hoped the food was good. The company was … noisy.

“Kaasan, may I have the steak and spaghetti combo?”

“You’ll never eat all that, Youhei.”

“I can bring the rest home. Please?”

“I’d like wine with my dinner.”

“I’d like a million dollars, Takahisa, but I’m not getting that, either.”

“Hey, look at the desserts!”

Ryoma glanced toward his father, who was pointing out something on the menu to Aoi. He wondered why he needed to come on this dinner excursion when there were enough kids there already that they’d never notice him missing.

“Hey, Boy,” Nanjiroh interrupted his thoughts, “you’ve got to eat, too. Pick something.”

“I am,” Ryoma retorted in irritation. So maybe he’d been distracted for a moment. Since when did he ever forget to eat?

“What kind of food does Ryoma like?” Aoi asked Nanjiroh.

“Feh, he’s not picky.” Nanjiroh ruffled Ryoma’s hair in a way that made him wince. “He’s a regular pig, too. Can eat his weight in burgers.”

“Look who is calling whom a pig,” Ryoma grumbled.

“Hey, tennis takes a lot of energy, so you have to eat a lot.” Kouhei shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s why I need the steak and spaghetti.”

“Youhei, no.”

“How about if we share it?” Kouhei suggested and his twin nodded eagerly as they both turned pleading looks to their mother.

“All right, fine,” Aoi agreed.

“Takahisa, do you know what you’re having?”

“I’m a creature of habit, I guess. I’ll have the same thing I had last time.”

Kouhei snorted. “You’re no creature of habit, Niisan, or you’d never have taken up a relationship with Mizuki!”

Aoi glanced at her eldest son. “Just how involved ARE you with Mizuki-kun?”

“Probably not as involved as he’d like to be!” Youhei giggled and his twin joined in.

Wanna bet? Ryoma smirked.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Aoi,” Nanjiroh said lightly. “They’re only fourteen; it’s not like they’re planning to elope tomorrow.”

She sighed. “I don’t know. Watching some of the others like Tezuka and Atobe, you have to wonder.”

“Here comes the waiter!” Kouhei announced.

Takahisa glanced at Ryoma and murmured, “Thanks again, for keeping quiet about you-know-what.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, frowning a little as the twins started giving heir order to the waiter simultaneously. “Are they always so noisy?”

“No,” he said, “actually, this is the most animated I’ve seen them since they got their powers. They usually try to keep their noise levels down so they don’t hurt their ears.” He grinned. “They must really be excited to have you and Nanjiroh here.”

Ryoma hadn’t thought of it that way, and wasn’t sure Takahisa was right. But when he looked back at the twins and saw them smile warmly at him, he thought maybe he could be misjudging them.

“What are you gonna eat, Boy?” Nanjiroh chuckled, dropping a hand on his head. “And just remember – pick ONE meal, not ten!”

Ryoma scowled. His father, on the other hand, would always be annoying, and THAT was no misjudgment.

Tarou had spent a relaxing, albeit somewhat boring, afternoon in the city. He wasn’t in a hurry to go home to the mansion where everyone would know Aoi and Nanjiroh were dating. Not to mention he might have to see the two of them together.

He was debating what to do for dinner when he heard a gasp of horror nearby. He turned to see a girl in a traditional furisode standing on the corner, looking back and forth between street signs.

“Oh dear, which way do I go? I made a wrong turn somewhere!”

Tarou hadn’t seen her face yet, but her voice was soft and sweet, although tinged with despair. Her long hair was the colour of caramel, with the sides tied back by a red ribbon. In any case, she was a damsel in distress, and what kind of gentleman would he be if he didn’t offer assistance?

“Excuse me,” he said. “My name is Sakaki Tarou. Did I hear you say that you’re lost?”

She turned to look at him and he caught his breath. She was beautiful, and even the tears slipping down her cheeks seemed to emphasize it.

“Oh … I-I’m Ritsu,” she said. “I needed to pick up a book for one of my university classes, and I’m afraid I’ve gotten lost trying to find the store.” She gazed down at the piece of paper in her hand mournfully. “Why can’t I get anything right?”

“Let me see that.” He took the paper from her and looked at it. “I know that store, and you’re not far away. I’ll walk you there.”

She looked horrified. “Oh no! I couldn’t ask you to do something like that for me just because I was stupid enough to get myself lost!”

“It’s no trouble at all, and you shouldn’t call yourself stupid. People make mistakes, we’re all human.” He offered his arm. “Come.”

“B-But I couldn’t … I mean, you don’t know me and here you are offering to show me around, I must be even more pathetic than I thought!”

Tarou felt sorry for the young woman – she was getting herself all worked up over nothing and somehow he had the feeling that she was just getting started. “Please,” he said, still holding out his arm, “it will be my pleasure.”

That seemed to stop her. “Well,” she said thoughtfully, “a-all right.” She slipped her arm through his and he patted it gently, smiling at her. The shy, grateful smile she gave him in return was all the reward he needed.

Sumire listened intently to everything that Tom and Terry said. She was horrified, impressed, and relieved by turns.

“That was pretty scary, wasn’t it?” she said finally.

“You’re not kidding,” Terry replied with a shudder. “And disgusting, too. Being inside Jin’s head is NOT an experience I want to repeat.”

“Thanks to Kirihara’s quick thinking, you shouldn’t have to.” Sumire looked thoughtful. “It’s admirable that he would think to use his power to help someone else, even if he had to do it through you.”

“You think maybe he’s ready to get his power back now?” Terry asked hopefully. “I really don’t want to keep it any longer than necessary.”

Sumire sighed. It was a tough call. Yes, Kirihara showed great generosity by suggesting his power to be used by someone else for the benefit of another, but was it proof-positive that he was responsible enough to keep it?

“I’m not sure, Terry. I’ll have to talk to the other teachers about it and see what they think.”

“That could take a while, Sensei,” Tom remarked. “I think you’re the only one home tonight.”

He was right – Nanjiroh and Aoi were still out at their mutual-family-getting-to-know-you dinner. She had no idea where Tarou was, but knew he had gone out earlier.

“Then we’ll just have to wait,” she said firmly. “This is too important for one person to decide. Kirihara doesn’t know I’m even considering it at this point, so it’s no loss to him.”

“No, just to me.” Terry sighed heavily. Tom patted his shoulder.

“I should go find out if Jiroh is all right.” Sumire headed for the stairs. “They came home after the incident with Jin, right?”

“No,” Tom answered. “We thought they would, but when Jiroh and Bunta got back together after Jin ran off, they decided to just ditch the amusement park and go somewhere else to finish their date.”

“This was a great idea!” Jiroh commented as they hurried toward their destination.

Bunta thought so, too. He knew Jiroh loved to dance, so when he came up with the idea of going to a new club, the Hyotei player jumped at the chance.

“I haven’t actually been to this place myself,” Bunta admitted. “But I heard from a friend at school that his big brother went and it was really cool.” They came around the corner and approached the club. “Wow, it must be really popular! Check out the parking lot!”

It was full of cars, all right, and the sight of it made Jiroh pause thoughtfully. “Hey, with that many cars – do you think kids our age usually come here?”

“Hmm …, “ Bunta considered. “Maybe it’s not an all-ages club after all. He winked at Jiroh. “Wanna go, anyway?”

The other boys grinned. “Sure, if you think we can get in.”

“Between both of us, I think we can manage.”

The pair approached the entrance and peeked through the doors. Music blared out into the parking lot and flashing lights made it hard to see inside.

“What do you kids want?”

“Yikes!” Bunta started. They were being confronted by a huge bouncer who didn’t look very accommodating or reasonable.

“May we come in?” Jiroh asked politely.

The man was polite in his own way – at least he didn’t laugh at them. He did look them over and shake his head firmly. “Gotta be legal, sorry.”

“I’m sure you ARE sorry,” Bunta mentioned significantly and popped a gum bubble.

The bouncer blinked, then stepped back. “Oh man … geez, I didn’t mean it. Please forgive me, sir, it won’t happen again.”

“I know.” Bunta smiled and took Jiroh’s hand. “Come on, hurry.”

The two of them slipped past the large man, who held up both hands as if to show that he meant no harm.

“I really like your power, you know that?” Jiroh giggled.

“Me too!” Bunta agreed with a grin. “Come on, let’s get on the floor and ….” His voice trailed off as they passed the worst of the lights and were finally able to see their surroundings. “Whoa,” he breathed.

This was obviously not an average dance club. The patrons were almost all wearing leather, which wouldn’t be so unusual if they weren’t also wearing a variety of collars with leashes, handcuffs, satin bindings, and carrying riding crops or paddles.

“This is an S & M club, Bunta!” Jiroh exclaimed. “Wow!”

“That girl’s chained to the wall!” Bunta pointed. “And there’s a guy in a cage!”

The two of them looked at each other suddenly. “Do you want to leave?” they asked at the same time.

“I’m up for staying if you are,” Bunta admitted mischievously.

“Ditto!” Jiroh agreed. “I have a feeling this will be one place where I’ll NEVER fall asleep!”

“Better not.” Bunta laughed, nodding toward a girl who passed them, driving another girl ahead of her with repeated swats from a paddle. “Someone might smack you if you do!”

Well, the food was good, Ryoma had to admit that. As for the company, it continued to be noisier than he liked, but since Youhei and Kouhei both shared part of their dinner with him, he decided he could live with it.

“How are you doing?”

He looked up at Takahisa and smiled a little. The older boy had been attentive to his mood throughout the meal without being overly pushy. “I’m okay. You don’t have to worry.”

He chuckled a little. “Sorry. I guess I WAS worrying a little. It’s different for us – we’re used to having a lot of kids around, but you’ve always been an only child. I didn’t want you getting spooked.”

Ryoma snorted. “Takahisa-san, I live at the Changechildren mansion now, remember? Even a third of the kids living there amount to more than the three in your family.”

The Jyousei Captain raised an eyebrow. “Then why was the noise the twins made earlier bothering you?”

He had a point. Maybe even I can be too much of a snob sometimes, Ryoma realized. “Hey, how about dessert?” he piped up loudly, prompting the twins to cheer and Takahisa to smile broadly.

“Sounds good to me!” Nanjiroh chimed in. “How about you, Aoi --?” His expression changed suddenly as something behind his date caught his eye. She noticed and followed his gaze, as did all the kids one-by-one.

“Isn’t that … Tousan?” Youhei asked.

“Yeah,” Kouhei agreed, staring at the new arrivals who were being seated a few tables away. “But who is that with him?”

“I’ve never seen her before,” Takahisa admitted, frowning. “She’s awfully … young.”

“Hmm,” Nanjiroh looked from Tarou and his pretty companion back to Aoi. “I wonder if he knew we were here and came here on purpose,” he said wryly.

“Tarou’s not like that,” she said, then paused, watching him push in his date’s chair. “I don’t think.”

Ryoma signaled the waiter with the dessert cart while the adults’ attention was averted. Maybe he could score an extra piece of cake before they noticed.

End of Part 65

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 66

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

“Her name is Souma Ritsu and she goes to university. Her parents run an onsen, and she seems to be really self-deprecating. To a fault, even.”

Takahisa glanced at his brothers admirably. “Your powers come in very handy sometimes, don’t they?”

“Youhei, Kouhei, please don’t listen in on your father’s conversation,” Aoi chided off-handedly, glancing toward the other table. “University, hmm? So she must be about twenty years younger than he is.”

“Good for him,” Nanjiroh said cheerfully. “Maybe it’ll distract him from giving US a hard time.”

She turned to him with a smile. “You’re absolutely right, Nanjiroh. At the very least, he’s realizing we can both move on from the past.”

“How long do you think it’s going to be before he introduces us?” Kouhei asked.

“Depends,” Takahisa remarked. “He hasn’t even noticed us yet. If he does, he’ll have to do something right away. If he doesn’t, it’ll depend on whether or not he sees her again.”

“Yeah, I don’t suppose there’s much point in talking about her if this is a one-time thing,” Youhei replied.

Jiroh was having fun. He and Bunta had infiltrated the S&M club successfully to a point, but it hadn’t taken long for the other patrons to realize that the two of them were out of place. Next thing they knew, several of the regulars had joined forces to outfit the boys accordingly. The only thing was, they separated them to do it, and Jiroh had yet to see the results of Bunta’s makeover.

As for himself, he was still staring into the mirror. The new clothes weren’t an exact fit, but they weren’t bad, either. He had a pair of black leather pants now, his shirt had been removed and replaced by a leather vest covered with safety pins decorating it in various patterns. Leather cuffs adorned both biceps. He’d been handed a leash, but right now, that was all he had – nothing was connected to it.

“Jiroh!”

He turned and did a double-take. Bunta’s bright red hair identified him easily, which was a good thing considering Jiroh might not have recognized him in the outfit he was wearing. The leather shorts he’d been dressed in showed off his strong legs, and he was wearing knee-high boots to go with them. He had no shirt, but studded suspenders broke the bare line of his torso. More shining studs glittered from the collar at his throat.

“Wow, Jiroh, you look so … different!” He laughed.

“You too!” Jiroh grinned at him.

Bunta’s eyes fell to the leash in the Hyotei player’s hand. “What’s that for?”

“Well, um, they said there would be a ring on your collar for it ….” Jiroh pointed at the silver loop. “There it is.”

Bunta gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Well, I guess you’d better hook me up then.”

Blushing, Jiroh carefully attached the leash to Bunta’s collar, then stepped back. The image of the Rikkai player he both admired and was attracted to on a leash he carried was odd, but in a fun way.

“What do you say?” Bunta asked, nodding toward the dance floor. “You want to join the crowd?”

Jiroh looked down at his clothes, then back to Bunta. “I think we already did!”

Bunta covered his mouth to keep from spitting out his gum in laughter. “You’re right,” he agreed with a wink, “but let’s go dance with them, anyway.”

The two eagerly bounded toward the dance floor.

She was utterly charming. Tarou couldn’t remember if he’d ever met someone so completely earnest as Ritsu. It was such a shame that she had so little confidence in herself, and he told her so.

“Y-you think so, Sakaki-san?” she said uncertainly.

“I do,” he told her firmly. “And please, call me Tarou. We’ve spent a couple of hours together now, and I find you to be intelligent, kind, and humble. It’s rare to find a combination of all those qualities in one person these days.”

“Why, thank you,” Ritsu said, giving him a sweet smile of genuine pleasure. “I’ve really enjoyed myself. It was so nice of you to buy me dinner and listen to me like this.”

“Now don’t make it sound like you monopolized the conversation; I did as much of the talking as you did.”

Ritsu’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to imply anything! I should never have –!”

Taroh put a hand on her arm. “Relax, my dear, you’ve done nothing wrong. Would you allow me to escort you home?”

“Oh … sure,” Ritsu said, visibly trying to contain herself. “I mean – you don’t have to – but it would be very nice.”

Taroh pulled out Ritsu’s chair for her and offered his arm. She stood and accepted it.

As they turned to leave, Taroh spotted Youhei and Kouhei’s bright hair at a table across the room. Not only were they and Takahisa looking at him, but so was his ex-wife, her apparent date, and the date’s son. He had no choice but to introduce Ritsu.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said, “but my ex-wife and children are over there. May I introduce you?”

“I-If you want to. Are you sure it’s all right?”

“Certainly, come on.”

“They’re coming over!” Kouhei hissed to the others.

“This should be interesting,” Takahisa remarked.

“Hello, everyone,” Taroh said as he and Ritsu arrived. “I apologize that I didn’t notice you sooner.”

“That’s okay, Tousan; we can’t all have supersonic hearing.” Youhei smiled.

“Well, I’d like to introduce you to Souma Ritsu.” He nodded toward the young woman at his side. “Ritsu, these are my children, Takahisa, Youhei, and Kouhei. This is my ex-wife, Aoi, her … friend, Echizen Nanjiroh, and his son, Ryoma.”

Ritsu bowed formally. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Everyone greeted her, then Youhei piped up, “How old are you, Ritsu-san?”

“I’m twenty,” she replied.

“Only six years older than Niisan,” Kouhei said mischievously.

“We’re just on our way out,” Taroh remarked. “I didn’t see you all until I stood up.”

“That’s all right, we’re leaving, too.” Nanjiroh said.

Taroh nodded. “I’ll see you all back at the house later. Come on, Ritsu, I’ll take you home.”

They watched the two of them head for the exit.

“Well, she’s nice, at least,” Youhei commented. “Do you think Tousan will see her again?”

“If he doesn’t, he’s crazy,” Kouhei replied. “How often does a guy his age get to date a pretty girl her age?”

Atobe smiled as Tezuka’s hands glided over his shoulders from behind. He fought the urge to pull away when his boyfriend’s lips trailed the outer curve of his ear. It was very ticklish, but also felt good, and he didn’t want it to stop.

“Do you have any idea how this makes me feel?” he purred.

“Hopefully, something close to what _I’m_ feeling or we’re going to be sitting here just staring at each other.”

Atobe looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “While staring at you would certainly be a worthwhile activity, I can think of better ones.” He shifted in place to face Tezuka and slid his arms around him. They kissed softly, then with more urgency. Atobe slipped his hand up under Tezuka’s shift, and the Seigaku Captain moved his hand under the rim of Atobe’s pants.

“WOOF!”

A big, hairy body suddenly shoved its way in between the two boys and Tezuka found himself facing bared fangs and a growling visage.

“Grrrrr ….”

“Beat, shame on you!” Atobe scolded, pulling the dog back. “Don’t growl at him; he’s a GOOD guy.”

Tezuka tried to reach around the dog to his boyfriend, but Beat snarled and the growling intensified.

“Rather protective, isn’t he?”

“I guess he thinks you’re trying to hurt me,” Atobe said helplessly. “I’m sorry, Mit-chan. I can put him out of the room.”

“That might make kissing you easier,” Tezuka said dryly.

“Come along, Beat.” Atobe snapped his fingers and the dog followed him to the door. When his master opened it, the dog padded out, expecting Atobe to follow. Then he turned around and found the door shut in his face.

“Now then,” Atobe gave Tezuka a heated look, “where were we?”

Tezuka reached out a hand that Atobe accepted and pulled him back down onto the bed. They both leaned forward, eyes closing.

A whine at the door followed by scratching against the wood interrupted them. It started quietly, then became louder and more demanding.

Tezuka sat back. “Obedient pet you have there,” he remarked dryly.

“Now that’s not fair,” Atobe pouted. “He’s in a new home and he doesn’t know you. He doesn’t know WHAT you’re doing to me in here.”

“It’s not his BUSINESS to know,” Tezuka stated.

“Well, yes, since he’s my dog and hence, my protector –“

Tezuka grabbed Atobe and pulled him close. “Forget the dog; I’LL protect you.”

Atobe tipped his face up and chuckled. “I’m sure you will.” They kissed, forgetting about the noise at the door.

“Now what’s this all about?” Sumire’s voice on the other side of the barrier was heard. “Did you want in? There you go ….”

The door opened and Beat charged in, leaping onto the bed and taking up his former position between the two tennis players. He licked Atobe’s face eagerly.

“I’m sorry,” the Hyotei Captain apologized to Tezuka, ruffling the dog’s fur.

Not as sorry as I am, Tezuka thought, locking eyes with Beat, whom he could swear was smirking at him.

Tarou walked Ritsu to her front door, which, she admitted, was not her own home. She was staying with family, an older cousin who was a writer. The house she directed him to was traditionally Japanese with sliding doors, set in a quiet area surrounded by woods.

“Dinner was wonderful,” Ritsu said. “It was very kind of you to invite me.”

“The pleasure was all mine, I assure you,” Tarou told her. “But what I would like to know is whether you will allow me to do it again.”

Ritsu blinked at him in surprise. “Y-you want to take me out to dinner again?”

Tarou smiled, amused by the reaction. “I believe that’s what I just said. Will you do me the honour?”

The young woman blushed. “I would like that, if it’s not too much trouble,” she said demurely.

“Not at all, it would be my pleasure.” He kissed her hand and she giggled softly.

The door opened and a man looked between them. He was as handsome as Ritsu was beautiful, and Tarou knew they had to be related. “Are you Ritsu’s cousin?”

“One of them,” the man said cheerfully. “I’m Souma Shigure.”

“Shigure-niisan, this is Sakaki Tarou,” Ritsu said. “He helped me when I was lost, and took me out to dinner.”

“Aw, and that means you missed out on the dinner Yuki burned,” Shigure remarked. He leaned against the doorway and grinned at Tarou. “Thank you for taking care of Ritchan. My younger cousin can be worrisome for the rest of us.”

“She was no problem at all, I assure you.”

Shigure raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ritsu, who smiled nervously. “I – I should go in. I have studying to do.”

“May I call you about our next dinner date?” Tarou asked.

She ducked her head bashfully, but nodded. “Yes, if you want to.”

“Good, I’ll call you tomorrow then.” He gave Shigure a nod. “Souma-san, it was nice meeting you.”

“You, too!” the younger man chirped. “I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

Tarou headed for his car, and Shigure glanced toward Ritsu, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Now THAT was interesting!”

Ritsu went from sedate to panic mode in a quarter of a second. “I’M SORRY I DIDN’T TELL HIM! I’M SORRY THAT YOU FELT LIKE YOU HAD TO KEEP QUIET ABOUT ME! I’M A TERRIBLE PERSON, CAUSING MY OWN COUSIN TO KEEP MY SECRETS AND –!”

Shigure poked a finger in Ritsu’s side and his cousin slid to the ground in a silent heap. Two teenaged boys who had entered the room stopped just short of walking on him.

“What was Ritsu freaking out about this time?” asked the one with orange hair.

“Boys, it looks like our very own Ritchan has caught the attention of a handsome older man who drives a Porsche,” Shigure declared gleefully.

“Oh?” the silver-haired boy commented dubiously, glancing toward Ritsu, who was just coming around. “Sounds like a disaster in the making to me.”

Tarou hummed along with the radio as he drove home. He really HAD enjoyed Ritsu’s company, and that fact made him feel less guilty about having enjoyed rubbing Aoi’s face in it. Truthfully, he realized he should be grateful to his ex-wife. If she hadn’t started dating Nanjiroh, he himself might not have realized his own opportunities until it was too late.

A flash of bright red on the side of the road drew his attention and he recognized two of the Changechildren from the mansion walking along hand-in-hand. One of them was his own student. He gave the horn a honk and the two of them stopped and turned. He pulled up alongside them.

“It looks like we’re all heading for the mansion,” he said. “Would you like a lift?”

Jiroh and Bunta exchanged a look and shrugged. “Sure, thanks Coach.” They got in and Tarou continued to drive.

“Looks like you two had a good time,” he remarked, taking note of their hands, which had intertwined again.

Jiroh blushed and grinned at Bunta. “Well, it started off a little rough at the amusement park, but the second half of the date was a success.”

“It sounds like we all had a romantic evening then.”

The boys both looked toward Tarou with wide, curious eyes. “Were you on a date, too?” Bunta asked.

“Indeed I was. And I plan on seeing her again.”

“Wow!” Jiroh smiled broadly. “Good for you!”

Tarou tried to suppress a smile of his own. He distracted himself by noticing the small black plastic bags that both boys were holding. “Did you go shopping?” he asked.

The pair glanced down at the bags and exchanged an unreadable look. “Not exactly,” Bunta said, smiling slyly. “You could say these are hand-me-downs from some friends.”

Jiroh chuckled, and Tarou decided not to press them any further. They’d obviously had fun together and he’d had fun with Ritsu. For now, he would just enjoy reflecting on his evening and leave the boys to their secrets.

End of Part 66

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 67

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

“And that’s what they told me,” Sumire said.

Tarou sipped his morning coffee. “Considering their harrowing experience with Akutsu Jin, Bunta and Jiroh were in good spirits when I picked them up last night.”

“They went out again after that,” Sumire explained.

“And now Tom and Terry think we should restore Kirihara’s powers, hmm?” Aoi brushed back a lock of hair that blew into her eyes. It was a little breezy out back by the pool.

“Maybe they’re right,” Nanjiroh said. “The kid didn’t HAVE to tell the Griffys that the boys were in trouble.”

“No, but he also suggested they give his power back so HE could use it on Jin,” Sumire pointed out. “And who’s to say he would have done so once he had it?”

“I guess no one can say that for sure,” Tarou remarked. “But it’s the first positive sign we’ve seen that he’s thinking about someone else besides himself.”

Yukimura and Sanada walked out to join the adults at their patio table. “You asked to see us, Ryuzaki-san?”

“Yes, boys,” Sumire turned to look at them. “We’re debating the possibility of restoring Kirihara’s power. Did you hear about what happened at the amusement park?”

“Yes,” Yukimura said seriously. “Bunta told us all about it.”

“And what do you think?” Aoi asked. “In your opinion, is Kirihara ready to have his power back?”

The two boys looked at each other. “It’s a good sign,” Yukimura said slowly.

“In order for someone to learn responsibility, they must be trusted with some,” Sanada commented.

“So it would seem these two feel he should be given the chance,” Nanjiroh eyes the other teachers. “Are we in agreement, too?”

The boys watched the adults exchange approving nods.

“Thank you.” Yukimura bowed. “We’ll continue to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t take advantage of your trust.”

“Well,” Nanjiroh said, “I guess we’d better get Kirihara and the Griffys together so we can make the switch!”

“I think all three of them will be elated to hear that.” Sumire smiled knowingly.

“WHY won’t you let me look in the bag?!” Kirihara demanded as Bunta snatched it away. “What’s in it that’s such a big secret?”

“It’s not a secret, it’s just none of your business.” Bunta put the bag in his drawer and shut it firmly while Kirihara scowled.

“What kind of store puts its merchandise in a plain black bag?”

“I didn’t buy this, someone gave it to me.”

A knock at the door was followed by Sanada sticking his head in the door. “Akaya, come with me. Now.”

Bunta grinned and popped his gum. “You’re in trouuubllle …,” he sang.

Kirihara backed away from Sanada. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it!”

“Oh yes, you did, now come on.” Sanada grabbed the younger boy by the collar and began pulling him along.

Kirihara’s mind raced in panic as his Vice-Captain hauled him downstairs. He tried to ignore the looks he was getting from other kids along the way, but it wasn’t easy. He frowned when they came out to the patio and he saw the Griffy brothers, all the adults, and Yukimura there.

“Buchou,” he asked nervously, “what’s going on?”

Sanada let go of him and Yukimura smiled. “In light of your behaviour during the incident at the amusement park, the adults have decided to restore your power to you.”

“Thank God,” Terry muttered.

Kirihara turned on him. “What have you got against my power?!”

“Your power AND mine take advantage of other people!” Terry shot back. “I have enough trouble dealing with my own; I don’t WANT yours!”

“Tom,” Tarou said, “please make the transfer so these two can stop arguing.”

The elder Griffy brother took Terry’s hand, then put his own hand on Kirihara’s shoulder. He used his power to shift the Possession ability from his sibling to the Rikkaidai player.

Terry leaned against Tom in relief while Kirihara cheered. “Yes! I feel 100% again! Awesome!”

“Keep one thing in mind,” Sumire cautioned. “You’re still on probation. Your Captain and Vice-Captain will be watching to make sure you don’t backslide into using your power for mischief again.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem!” Kirihara ran gleefully back into the mansion with Sanada and Yukimura following at a slower pace.

“Thank you,” Terry said to the adults and he and Tom went inside as well.

“Another crisis over?” Aoi speculated.

“Let’s hope so,” Sumire commented. “And now we should start herding everyone off to school and get there ourselves while we’re at it.”

The Hyotei boys were all staring at Jiroh as they rode in Atobe’s limo to school.

“Sakaki-sensei was on a DATE?” Gakuto gasped. “Really?”

Jiroh nodded. “He told us when he gave us a lift last night. I did a little digging later and found out they went to the same restaurant as Hanamura, Echizen, and their kids.”

“Heh,” Yuushi commented, “that must have been interesting.”

“Kouhei said his date was really pretty and kind of young – only twenty. She’s a university student. Her name is Souma Ritsu.”

“Souma?” Atobe raised an eyebrow. “I wonder if she’s a member of the affluent Souma family.”

“It would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Choutarou asked. “Sakaki-sensei moves in wealthy circles himself.”

“I’ll be interested in seeing this woman if he dates her again,” Atobe said thoughtfully.

“Usu!”

“What about your own date, Jiroh?” Shishido asked. “You and the Rikkai guy -- what happened after the mess at the amusement park?”

“Oh, we went dancing,” Jiroh replied, his eyes twinkling. “It was fun.”

“Are you going to go out with him again?” Choutarou asked.

“Oh yeah, for sure! We discovered we have a lot in common.” He leaned back and gave a sigh of contentment that made the other boys look at each other curiously.

Kirihara was getting his books out of his locker when someone jumped him from behind, causing him to give a short, girly scream.

“Bunta-senpai!” he snapped when he saw who it was. “Would you please not DO that to me?! I may be only thirteen, but I can still have a heart attack!”

“I couldn’t help myself, I’m happy for you.” Bunta ruffled Kirihara’s dark curls. “I heard about you getting your power back; how’s it feel?”

The younger boy couldn’t conceal a grin. “It feels great. I love having my power back, and it’s kind of nice for a change not to be on everyone’s you-know-what list.”

“I’m proud of you,” Bunta told him honestly. “The other guys are, too. We thought it would take longer for you to come around.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if it hadn’t been one of my own teammates involved, I’d have kept my mouth shut,” Kirihara admitted. “But you were so upset ….” He shrugged, looking embarrassed.

Bunta popped his gum and smiled. “Thanks.”

Kirihara finished gathering his books and shut the locker door. “By the way, senpai,” he turned to look at the redhead, “you DID remember to release Akutsu from your power, right?”

Bunta stopped chewing. His purple eyes widened in horror.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Kirihara said wryly.

He wasn’t going to make it to school. He couldn’t get twenty feet without balking at something or someone, and it had been like that since the previous day.

Akutsu Jin made his way hesitantly toward Yamabuki Junior High, peering around corners before taking them. He needed three turns of the street light before he felt safe enough to cross the road with the other pedestrians. The sudden squeal of a baby in a nearby stroller sent him tearing down the street at a breakneck pace.

But the worst was the little girl.

She was standing outside a store licking an ice cream cone. Jin was trying to pass by without being noticed when her eyes locked with his. Her gaze felt intense; a soulless stare that stopped him in his tracks. Then she held out the ice cream cone toward him and he jumped back with a yelp. She looked puzzled for a moment, then an evil smile crossed her lips and she held out the cone again. Jin screamed and ran away, not slowing down until he reached school.

“Akutsu-senpai, wait!”

“YAH!” Jin cried out again, then realized it was just little Dan Taichi, who was staring at him worriedly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Just d-don’t come near me!” Even Jin’s voice was shaky, and he was backing away as he spoke.

“How can you say nothing’s wrong?” Dan asked incredulously. “This isn’t like you at all!”

Jin was about to start begging the smaller boy to leave him in peace when he felt all the fear that had been building for hours dissipate. Just like that, it was gone.

Dan must have noticed his change in expression. “Akutsu-senpai?” he queried uncertainly.

Jin made a fist, his jaw clenching. “I’ll kill them,” he vowed.

Terry twirled in place and laughed joyously. He hadn’t felt this happy in a very long time.

Tom smiled, watching him. “I don’t blame you a bit; I didn’t like you being saddled with that power, either.”

“I’m glad we were able to help Jiroh-san, but it’s still not a power I wanted to ever have in my possession,” his brother said, then snorted. “No pun intended.”

“I just hope that Kirihara has learned his lesson,” Tom remarked. “There’s still the risk that he’ll decide possessing you for YOUR power would be a fun idea.”

“I know, but ….” Terry sighed and shrugged. “They had to trust him sometime.”

“Hey guys, could we talk to you for a minute?”

The Griffys looked over at the Kisarazu twins. “Sure, but you’d better make it fast,” Tom said. “You guys will be late for school if you don’t leave soon.”

From downstairs, Mizuki called out, “Atsushi! Hurry up! We’re not going to wait forever!”

The short-haired twin rolled his eyes and smiled at Terry. “We just wanted to tell you that we’re happy for you both. We heard about you being freed from carrying Kirihara’s power around.”

“Thank you,” Terry chirped. “We’re glad, too.”

“It was a nice thing you did for Bunta and Jiroh, too,” Ryoh said, meeting Tom’s eyes. “It must have been a hard decision, since we all knew Terry never wanted to use that power.”

“There were only two choices,” Tom said. “Either we did it, or we gave Kirihara his power back on the spot and trusted him to do it.”

“In retrospect, he probably would have,” Terry admitted. “But I think we did the right thing in the end.”

“ATSUSHI!” bellowed Mizuki from below.

Atsushi took Terry’s hand in his, causing the startled younger boy to look at him.

“We admire your bravery and selflessness. Both of you. Don’t ever diss your own powers again – we’re glad you’ve got them.”

Terry tried to form coherent words, but somehow the look in Atsushi’s eyes made him forget how.

Tom was noticing Terry’s dilemma when Ryoh’s hand on his shoulder distracted him. “Maybe we could play tennis together soon?” He grinned. “Or go to the mall? We never got to know you before, but we’ve got the chance now, and it could be fun.”

“Sure,” Tom answered, unable to resist smiling in return.

“ATSUSHI, WE’RE LEAVING! GOODBYE!”

The younger Kisarazu sighed. “That’s my cue,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll see you later, Terry.”

“I’ve got to go, too,” Ryoh said. “Bye, Tom!”

The Griffys watched the pair leave.

“Niisan,” Terry said slowly, “were they flirting with us?”

“I think so,” Tom told him.

“They know we have boyfriends, right?”

“Right.”

“Let’s not tell Youhei and Kouhei, just in case we’re wrong.”

“Agreed.”

The Tanaka twins had been waiting in their mother’s car for her to come out with Takahisa so they could all leave for Jyousei. Now they turned to stare at each other in disbelief.

“Did you hear that?” they asked each other.

“I guess we both did,” Youhei said.

“I was just listening to see if Kaasan and Niisan were on their way out yet, “ Kouhei remarked. “I didn’t expect to overhear … that.”

“You think the Kisarazus are after our boyfriends?” Youhei asked his brother.

“Tom and Terry think they might be.”

Kouhei frowned. “We don’t want to say anything yet – if they make another move, then it’s war. We’ll keep an eye on it.”

“AND an ear,” Youhei stated firmly. If the Kisarazus really did want the Griffys, they were going to have to fight the Tanakas for them.

End of Part 67

(2007)

Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

This fic is not to be re-posted.

Chapter Text

Changechildren (Prince of Tennis)

Part 68

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

Ritsu was using a day off from university classes to clean up around the house. With Kyo and Yuki in school, the only one at home was Shigure, and he was working on his manuscript in his office.

However, Ritsu’s mind was only half on the cleaning. While dusting, memories of the time spent with Sakaki Tarou filtered in. It made the work more fun, and before long, Ritsu was humming contentedly.

A knock came at the door and Ritsu looked up. She almost hadn’t heard the door through her happy daydreaming.

“Yes?” she said upon sliding the door open.

“Hello there,” greeted a man holding a long box. “I have flowers here for a Sohma Ritsu.”

“Who’s at the door, Ritchan?” Shigure came in, peering curiously past his cousins.

Ritsu finished signing for the flowers and opened the box as the delivery man left. “Oh, Shigure-niisan, roses! Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Yes, they are. And expensive, too.” Shigure sniffed at them. “Ooo, and look, a card!” He took it and pulled it out of the envelope. Ritsu reached for it, but Shigure gave her hand a gentle smack and read the note out loud, “’My dear Ritsu, may these flowers bring you as much pleasure as your company does me.’” He grinned at Ritsu. “He’s a real romantic, isn’t he?”

Ritsu blushed and ducked her head.

“Oh, and look – he’s asking to meet you at the café you first went to after you met.” Shigure looked at him. “After school hours today. Are you going to go?”

“Yes, I will,” Ritsu said softly. “I should put these in water, then I’ll call him to confirm.”

Shigure clicked his tongue as he watched her go. “I wonder if that man knows what he’s in for.”

“So, how’d you do on that test you were worried about?” Shishido asked Choutarou as they walked down the hall.

“I think I did all right,” Choutarou answered. “There was only one question I got really stumped on.” They passed by Tarou, who was speaking on his cell phone. He nodded in greeting and continued with his conversation. The boys heard the name ‘Ritsu’ and Shishido caught Choutarou’s wrist.

“Slow down,” he murmured, then bent down to tie his shoe.

While waiting, Choutarou heard Tarou talk to Ritsu about the date they’d planned for later at the coffee shop. He was so intrigued, he was startled when Shishido grabbed his wrist again and pulled him away.

“Did you hear that?” Shishido asked in a whisper. “He’s seeing that girl Ritsu again today!”

“Yes, he must really like her.”

The older boy glanced up at the younger one mischievously. “How about we go spy on them?”

Choutarou stared. “On their date?”

“Yeah, how else are we going to see what she looks like?”

“What who looks like?” asked Gakuto as he came up behind them with Yuushi.

“Sohma Ritsu,” Shishido said. “Sakaki-sensei is seeing her again after school – if we follow him, we’ll get to see what she looks like!”

“That’s a great idea!” Gakuto enthused.

Yuushi nodded slowly and pushed his glasses up his nose. “I must admit, I’m very curious about her.”

“What if Coach catches us?” Choutarou asked uneasily. “He’ll be really mad.”

“I’ll use my illusions to conceal us and Shishido can throw some extra luck into the mix for good measure,” Yuushi assured him. “We’ll be fine.”

“Let’s find Atobe and tell him,” Shishido said. “If we’re going to follow Sakaki in his Porsche, we’ll need transportation and he’s the only one wit

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Changechildren

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Chapter 2

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Chapter 3

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Chapter 4

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Chapter 5

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Chapter 6

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Chapter 7

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Chapter 8

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Chapter 9

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Chapter 10

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Chapter 11

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Chapter 12

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Chapter 13

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Chapter 14

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Chapter 15

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Chapter 16

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Chapter 17

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Chapter 18

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Chapter 19

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Chapter 20

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Chapter 24

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Chapter 25

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Chapter 26

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Chapter 27