Tennis no Ohjisama Halloween Special!
by Suke

4. About Raccoons and Foxes

A huge thank you to all my reviewers! And to all those 'true believers' who were so kind to help me with Jiroh's name: Lots of Hello Panda to go around. Please try the Inui juice -- new juice called 'ten-twenty Inui juice' (appearing sooner or later in one of my fanfics) -- it's good for your body ^_^;

It's true, (it's true, Hirame-san)! I feel like Eiji in this: I need attention to make me write and the more attention the better. And I am a happy Suke-san, which is why I'm updating so fast. I'm also a bit excited to see what happens next myself. I love reviews, especially the long ones! Reviews are addictive! @_@

Anyway, here is an extra long instalment so I can finish by the next instalment -- is that cheating? Please read and review, review, review! Onegai!

Is it too obvious that I'm asking you to review? Yes? Good.

Haha, jodan, jodan (joking -- is that spelt right?)!

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Instalment two and two thirds of three: About Raccoons and Foxes

Ryuzaki Sumire had once commented that the Seigaku tennis team was made up of raccoons and foxes (1). Some of the players were easy to place in one of the two categories. Others were a bit more obscure, hiding their true colours until a moment where they suddenly revealed themselves and then returned to hiding again. If you had blinked, you would have missed it.

Fuji Syusuke was thoroughly and undoubtedly a fox. No explanation needed.

Even now, the small, sweet tensai was smiling beatifically while eavesdropping, ear against door, outside the tennis team's locker room. Inui, another obvious fox, was leaning next to him scribbling into his green notebook.

Kawamura walked by, intending to get something from the locker room but immediately changed his mind when he saw the two sentries at the door. Taka- san was a bit harder to place. He was not a fox -- not that kind honest boy -- but was he a raccoon? The speed with which he had arrived to witness a love triangle on a certain date episode suggested so and of course there was that strongly raccoon personality exhibited whenever he held a racket.

Fuji smiled at him sweetly and Taka-san immediately smiled back, and in that moment of inattention, the door to the locker room swung open.

"Aa, Fuji, what are you doing here?" Vice-captain Oishi asked as he came out of the locker room to see the tensai standing, a little off-balance, just outside.

"Eavesdropping," Fuji said with his angelic smile still in place.

Inui and Kawamura sweat dropped from their position on a tree. True to his character, Inui had already staked out the best place to hide while continuing to observe his quarry. Taka-san wasn't sure why he had hidden himself as well. After all, he hadn't really been doing anything wrong.

"Demo, Oishi-sempai," Momoshiro followed the vice-captain out of the locker room.

He stopped abruptly in mid-sentence and mid-stride, noticing their audience, or rather, just Fuji. Momo knew that Fuji must know. It had been Fuji's party and she had been Fuji's guest, not to mention their coming down the stairs together. But Momo wasn't going to ask Fuji about the girl he had met at the Halloween party. Momo wasn't that much of an idiot.

Of course, Momo kind of felt like an idiot. He felt stupid for being so scared at the Halloween party by a bunch of ghosts conjured by Inui's stupid juice. He felt like an idiot for not noticing when the cute girl he had been dancing with had slipped away from the party. And he felt like fifty kinds of fool for not asking for even her name while they had been dancing.

He had very possibly found his soul mate. And then, he had lost her. Of all the dumb things he had done in his life, Momoshiro Takeshi was sure that this was the dumbest.

*****

"Momo-sempai, I brought you your racket," the voice was low, sweet and serious. "You're lucky buchou didn't see it or he would have made you run 20 laps."

Echizen was walking towards him, holding Momo's racket which Momo had propped up by the court to take a drink after his last exhausting match and then had forgotten.

"E-chi-ZEN?" Momo exclaimed in exaggerated reply. "Are you feeling alright?"

The older boy immediately placed a hand over his kouhai's forehead to check for some sign of illness. When had the bratty kid ever voluntarily done something nice for him? Didn't Echizen usually snigger when Momo did yet another foolish thing and have to run laps? But naturally, it didn't end there.

The small green-haired boy, eyes wide and innocent, simply laughed softly at his sempai's administrations and produced a can of Ponta.

"Momo-sempai, I brought you some juice too. It's your favourite flavour."

Echizen smiled winningly when Momo took the can. His sempai then proceeded to turn the can around in his hands, checking for signs of tempering and glancing at the expiry date carefully. There had to be some catch here. Why would Echizen buy him a drink? The can was still unopened so the boy couldn't have spiked it.

"How thoughtless of me!" The boy suddenly cried when his sempai only stared quizzically at the drink, reaching for the can again. "You must be so tired after your match and I didn't even open the can for you. Gomen, gomen."

"No, that's okay," Momo automatically lifted the can out of the apologizing boy's reach.

Echizen smiled sweetly at Momo. Now, this was getting way too creepy for the sempai.

"Okay, out with it, what do you want?"

"What?" Echizen's voice was tinged with hurt for a moment and then he laughed again. "Oh, Momo-sempai, your jokes are so funny!"

"Why did you buy me this drink?" Momo asked him straight now, not willing to be so easily thwarted.

"I thought you would be thirsty. You mean you aren't? Gomen! I'm such a baka! I should have asked first," the boy berated himself.

"Echizen, are you sure you're okay?" Momo was really beginning to feel worried now. "Did you hit your head on something just now? Now, be honest, how many Pontas have you drunk today? You know what I told you about your sugar level."

"I'm fine, Momo-sempai," another winning smile. "You don't have to worry about me."

Momo looked doubtfully at the freshman who had become one of his best friends. There was no way Echizen could be fine. Either that, or there was some trick he was playing. He was behaving much too -- nice. And everyone knew that Echizen Ryoma was completely and unrepentantly a raccoon.

*****

"Game and match Momoshiro, six games to love."

"Momo-sempai! That was a good game! You're really improving!" Echizen shouted across the court to him cheerfully.

Every member of the tennis team watching from around the court gaped at this new development. As if things couldn't get any stranger! They had just witnessed a tennis match where Momoshiro had completely trashed Echizen in a matter or minutes, probably because Echizen was playing with the motor skills of a seven month old.

And now, Echizen was happily congratulating his sempai, the same Echizen who would never back down from a challenge and absolutely hated to lose?

Echizen had made so many unforced errors that they were sure even Inui had gotten tired of counting them.

"Five hundred and seventeen unforced errors," Inui said dryly, dispelling their unbelief.

"What in the world did you think you were doing?" Momoshiro yelled at his opponent furiously.

"I don't understand, Momo-sempai." Echizen blinked cutely at him.

It didn't seem to be working. Ryoma was just about ready to give up. Ryoma had decided he would make his sempai forget about the cute girl he had met at the party and realise just how much better Ryoma was but it didn't seem to be working. In order to exhibit his innately nice and wonderful and lovable self, Ryoma had, basically, restrained his raccoon-ness.

Ryoma had tried to be everything that guys supposedly liked. He had smiled and laughed at his sempai's stupid jokes incessantly as though he was a bloody genius or something. He had agreed with every baka thing his sempai had said. He had been bereft of opinions and let his sempai make all the decisions, had unthinkingly supported him and given him encouragement.

He had praised his sempai and brought his sempai a towel and a drink after each game. Yesterday, Ryoma had brought a bento for his sempai. Nanako had made it, of course, but his sempai didn't have to know that.

And now, the ultimate humiliation, Ryoma had lost to his sempai on purpose! And his sempai wasn't even playing up to his usual standard.

But all he did only seemed to serve in making his sempai more upset. Momo just became angrier and more withdrawn and frowned at Echizen in increasing bewilderment. Maybe Ryoma was wrong about everything. He just wanted to quit right now.

"You don't understand? YOU don't understand?" Meanwhile Momo continued to rage at Echizen. "You --"

Then, something seemed to snap. Momoshiro had noticed something about the cowering boy. Echizen's hands were clenched so tightly on the racket that his knuckles were turning white.

So, Echizen wasn't possessed after all. The arrogant boy who hated to lose was still there, but hiding for some reason. Well, if Echizen wanted to play these stupid games, Momo wasn't about to back down either. He knew just the thing to make his kouhai return to his true form. After all, Momoshiro Takeshi was also very much a raccoon.

And Momo looked upon the world with perfect equanimity.

"Gomen, of course you don't understand," Momo was suddenly smiling at Echizen. "I was being unreasonable -- Ryoma-gen."

Echizen looked up in surprise but he covered it quickly.

"No arguing on the courts! 30 laps! Now!" Tezuka had arrived.

"Hai!" Both tennis players immediately broke into a run.

"Gomen, Momo-sempai. This is all my fault," Echizen said apologetically.

"Don't mind, Ryoma-gen." Momo grinned back at him.

So, Echizen thought as he ran beside his sempai. So, maybe his plan was working after all. He just didn't know if he could bear it for much longer.

*****

"Ryoma-sama!"

Echizen winced at the form of address as his spiky-haired sempai came up to him. No! I can't take this anymore! Ryoma gritted his teeth. Of course he still loved his sempai but right now, if that purple eyed freak was going to make him to do anything else humiliating, Ryoma would have to hit him.

"Ryoma-sama, can you help me please?" Momo gave Echizen his most charming smile and the smaller boy felt his heart skip a beat.

Ryoma had to remind himself again why he was doing this. Ryoma was helping his sempai to realise how nice he really was so that Momo-sempai would fall in love with him. But his idiot sempai hadn't been making it easy. One stupid request after another, Momo-sempai had gone from asking for drinks and snacks to totally ridiculous things.

"Of course, Momo-sempai." Echizen's smile was wearing thin but he used it anyway.

"I accidentally threw my pencil into the first-year girl's changing room. Can you go get it back for me?"

"What?" Ryoma almost screamed, took a deep breath, and then said, "I mean, how did that happen?"

"You know, accidents do happen," Momo grinned.

"Let me get you a new pencil then," Echizen suggested.

"But that was my favourite one."

"I'll get it for you after school when everyone's left."

"But I really, really want it now."

"I can't just walk in like that," Echizen retorted only to see his sempai's face fall.

"Oh, if you don't want to help me, it's okay." Momo gave him a small, sad smile and turned away.

"Wait! I'll just do it all right?" Echizen shouted, and then added quickly: "I mean, of course, I'll get it back for you."

Momo watched as his kouhai stalk off, frustration barely concealed. And then, he sighed. It had been fun to annoy Echizen and see the cute boy cringe but Momoshiro was getting really tired of it. This had been going on for too long now. Didn't Echizen know when to quit?

He had thought Echizen would have his limits but apparently, for some reason, Echizen was more determined than ever to keep this up. Under other circumstances, if Echizen was doing this for some prank or even in an attempt to better himself and gain nirvana or something, Echizen would never have lasted this long.

Frankly, his kouhai's behaviour was taking its toll on Momoshiro. It was because Echizen was his friend, one of his closest friends. Echizen was someone who he ate dinner at the fastfood joint with after practice, played tennis with during the weekends, and made stupid jokes with about their team mates.

And more than that, Echizen had been someone who understood him, had seen his idiotic joking self and his serious determined self and had understood that both parts were not necessarily separate. Momo missed that person who knew him so well.

And now, especially now, when Momo was going through a particularly important part of his life, when he had just possibly lost his soul mate and wanted someone to talk to, Echizen had to do this.

When Momo thought about it, it made him really angry.

He wanted his Echizen back!

*****

"Stop it, Echizen! Just stop behaving like a simpering idiot!" Momoshiro yelled, his face just two inches from his kouhai's

Echizen had been smiling and praising his sempai as usual when he suddenly found himself thrust hard against the wall. He couldn't quite tell what he had done wrong.

"Why can't you just stop this and go back to being yourself? I want my Echizen back! Give him back to me!"

Momoshiro was panting, his hands on Echizen's shoulders, pinning the smaller boy flat on the wall behind the tennis team's locker room. Echizen's hands were on his sempai's chest. They were so close to each other. Brown eyes met violet ones.

And then, there was a moment. And for some reason, Momo was sure that he had been in this very position, with this very person before.

Momo suddenly jerked away from Echizen and walked off.

It was ridiculous. It was inconceivable. But at that moment, he had wanted to kiss his kouhai.

Only one other person had made him feel this way before -- the girl at the Halloween party.

Could it be? Was it possible to be in love with two people at the same time? And what was it he had said? Momo recalled his own words: "I want my Echizen back!" But how could he want something that he had never really belonged to him in the first place?

Did he love his kouhai? Did he love the girl? Was he even in love?

"If only I could meet her again, then I'd be sure." Momo whispered to himself.

*****

Unknown to the spiky headed boy, his wish was caught by a particularly sharp pair of ears.

"Nya, Fuji! We must do something nya!" Kikumaru Eiji sprung upon his friend on court. "We must help Momo and O-chibi!"

"Have you thought of something good?" Fuji smiled at the hyperactive boy, fox eyes gleaming.

Tezuka, the tensai's opponent until a moment ago, moved a little so that he would be just out of hearing. Oishi joined him in a short while, helping to pick up balls from the furthest edge of the courts.

But still a few phrases floated over on the breeze, carried by the red- haired boy's exuberant spirits.

"... overheard Momo ... can we? ... nya ... hahahaha ... girl again ... bet ... destroy her ... No! ... evil ... kawaii ... tennis skirt ..."

**********

NOTES: (1) Raccoons and foxes: Ryuzaki actually said this during a match in the anime but I can't remember which! I just know that Momo was on court. I did, however, spend some time after that discussing (with the unfortunate people around me) who was which. Here's what I kind of thought. Kaidoh was the hardest to place because, mostly, he's just a snake ^_^

Ryoma is an unrepentant raccoon. Momo is a hungry raccoon. Inui is an obvious fox. Eiji is an incorrigible raccoon. Oishi is a deranged raccoon. Kaidoh is a hidden raccoon. Tezuka is a quiet fox. Taka-san is a split personality raccoon. Fuji is so much a fox.

Heh let me know what you think and we can discuss this haha. I don't know if anyone will agree with me on Oishi but you cannot shake my conviction about it. Just remember the bowling episode and Oishi's after-bowling- behaviour (only on the manga). Oishi is so hot! -- out of point statement.

*****

Next and final instalment 3 of 3: About something -- no title as yet What exactly is this plan of Eiji's and Fuji's? Will Oishi and Tezu be involved? Will Ryoma find himself wearing a dress again? Will Momo ever find out the truth and what will he do if he does? And how kawaii will Ryoma be on the street tennis courts in a little white tennis skirt, more pretty hairpins and large reflective SUNGLASSES?!!

Haha, Suke-san has no idea either or, at least, very little idea.

ryoma_sama_fan! firedraygon97! JMJV! yami no tenshi! Anon! hellen-san! Hirame-san! Joanne-san! Regatto-san! minlight-san! hikkaruchi-san! Cheeseburger of Doom! midd-san! Thank you! Thank you! I feel such a great need to mention each of you by name to convey my extreme delight.

Anon: Haha, sorry, I got carried away by my new found info of the full names of the characters (Rule number 34: blame the internet for all the woes of the world). Aa, and I've always thought of Tezuka as simply being resigned about Fuji. Actually, I came to the conclusion that he's simply, well, slow. Haha, it is a lot less cool, I know, but that is why Tezu will always be 'cute' to me rather than 'hot'.

hellen: Hee, gomen, gomen, I will not mention 'IT' anymore. ^_^ Message to you from Inui about no one noticing the taste of the Inui juice: "I have adjusted the taste perfectly."

Regatto: Hee, I'm actually very shy about writing explicit, which begs the question why I do it so much #_# especially in my Saiyuki fic. Thank you x thousand! And thank you for mentioning Atobe. That's actually my favourite part ^_^;

midd: Hoi hoi! It's nice to hear from you again and see what you think! Thanks lots! I will gambatte on the exams!!!