stormy1x2fanfic | [fic] Tennis Teens for Charity, 5/9

Title: Tennis Teens for Charity, 5/9

Author: Stormy1x2 (traveling_storm)

Word count: 6000+ (/45,000ish)

Chapter 5

It was 9:30, and the tournament was about to officially start.

Kamio scanned the stands eagerly. He had been utterly shocked when Akaya had tugged on his jersey and pointed to a very familiar person approaching the stands. Their next door friend and neighbour, Makamoto-san, stood there smiling at them. Sachiko and Michiko had instantly detached themselves from Kamio, and reattached themselves to her instead. Seeing her had been a surprise. Finding out Kirihara had invited her was a stunner. Not to mention helpful – Kamio had been about to have the girls stick by him or Kirihara whenever they weren't playing, but Michiko wanted to stay with the elderly woman. Kirihara had found her and the girls good seats right in the middle where they could see the B and C courts clearly. If they played on courts A or D, they'd go and get them.

He caught sight of Michiko standing on the small cement barrier that lined the front row of each section. She was wearing the noise-reducing headphones he'd picked up on the doc's orders after their doctor's appointment. They were huge and dwarfed her head. Sachiko was standing on the chair and Makamoto-san had a hand on the hem of her t-shirt in case she fell. Kamio grinned and waved back. Then he turned to the podium where Atobe was suddenly standing in front of the microphone.

Screams went off like sirens as he smiled at the crowd, and Kamio flinched. Akaya leaned over to speak directly into his ear. "Does he put something in the water or what?"

"Rikkai fan girls are just as bad," Kamio replied. "But man, I'm glad I made Miki bring her headphones." Kirihara nodded.

Spotlights suddenly aimed at the podium, and two camera men had moved in close. The Hyoutei regulars were standing in a line behind their captain, looking like smiling sentries in perfectly posed and groomed uniforms. Static from the mike crackled, and then Atobe cleared his throat. "Welcome everyone, to the first, annual, Tennis Teens for Charity Tennis Tournament." White light glinted off Atobe's toothpaste-smile and Kamio shook his head, amazed. The teen simply had amazing stage presence and charisma. Atobe made another gesture, and the crowd screamed again.

"That guy irritates the hell out of me," came Akaya's voice in his ear again, making him shiver. "But man, can he work a crowd."
Apparently Akaya was reading his mind today.

"As you know, the money raised today will be donated to a secret charity at the end of the tournament today," Atobe continued. "Donation boxes have been set up at all of our entrances if you should feel the urge to give." He paused and winked at the crowd. "I know tennis fans are very generous and wonderful human beings, ahn?"

"Could he lay it on any thicker?"

"Akaya, be quiet!" Kamio elbowed him.

"Allow me to introduce to you the special referees who have graciously volunteered their time to be here today." Atobe gestured to the people sitting behind him. "From Seigaku middle school, coach of two-time National champions, Ryuuzaki-sensei." Ryuuzaki-sensei stood up with a wave, smiling at the applauding crowd. She was dressed in her familiar purple track suit, hair severely pulled back into a tight ponytail. Kamio counted down.

Three, two...

"Holy crap," Akaya complained. "Do you hear that screaming? That's Kikumaru. Christ, he sounds like a girl."

Kamio buried his head in his hands and snorted.

"Our next guest referee is another coach with an illustrious career. From Yamabuki High School, Banji-sensei!" The man with the perpetual smile, Kamio recalled. He stood up, eyes creased into sunny half-moons.

"Fuckin' creepy."

"Akaya."

"I'm just saying!"

"We were very fortunate to secure the services of our next referee. One of the top names in the media tennis world, and the number one reporter at Pro Tennis Monthly. Allow me to introduce you to Inoue Mamoru." Atobe made a gesture that made half the girls swoon. Inoue-san stood up and waved, a big smile on his face. There was another shriek - somewhere in the audience, Kamio was positive, Tomoka-chan from Seigaku was waving her pompoms and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"I remember that guy had an old lady with him," Kirihara commented. "She took my picture once. I never did figure out why. Maybe she thought I was from Seigaku?"

Kamio stared at him, confused. "Huh?"

"And last, but most certainly not least, we have a truly special guest referee," Atobe continued. The fourth person wasn't on the stage. Kamio blinked, and craned his head searching. "A legend in the tennis world, I am privileged to introduce you to the Samurai of Japan - Echizen Nanjiroh!"

Kamio blinked. "Echizen Nanjiroh?"

Kirihara scanned. "Where is he?"

Suddenly a man dressed in monks clothing, barefoot and with stubble all over his face, hopped on to the podium. "Halloooo!" he boomed.

There was silence.

The man whipped off his sunglasses and raked a hand through his hair. His eyes gleamed, and suddenly a roar went through the crowd. Kamio could hear whispers - 'Echizen Nanjiroh?' 'Wow, that's Echizen Nanjiroh!' 'Wow, he looks great!' 'What? He looks weird!' 'Oh my god, it's the Samurai!' "Interesting choice," he remarked. "I wonder what Ryoma thinks of this."

Kirihara snorted, but his eyes were bright. "I wonder if I could get him to play me," he murmured.

"Our referees are going to take turns selecting names from the drum," Atobe said, bringing the spotlight back to himself. He spun the drum once with a flourish. "Once all the names have been selected, the tournament shall begin promptly at 10:00." Turning, he bowed dramatically. "Ryuuzaki-sensei, if you please?"

Ryuuzaki-sensei stood and made her way to the drum. She spun it a few times, and laughed as Momoshiro started the Seigaku crowd in chanting their school name. "From Rikkai High, Yagyuu Hiroshi!"

Cheers went up as different names were called. There were going to be some interesting matches right off the bat, Kamio noted. Niou was going against Shinji in the second wave of first round play. Yagyuu against Mizuki, Marui against Kaneda.

"What are the odds of the first two matches both being Rikkai vs St Rudolph?" Kamio wondered.

Akaya looked blank. "Who?"

"Who?"

Names continued to be pulled out. Over the podium where the drawing was taking place, there was an enormous, giant screen TV with the layout for the tournament, and as the names were drawn, they were added on the screen. There were some murmurs as different matchups were called out. Kikumaru cheered over everyone else when his name was called – and his wail echoed over the crowd again when he was matched with Itsuki from Rokka. Kamio snorted. "Somewhere in the crowd, Itsuki is asking why he got Kikumaru, and why Kikumaru's making that sound."

"Followed by a dozen more 'why's'," Kamio finished. They smirked at each other.

Kirihara's name was pulled next, playing Akazawa Yoshirou. "Who?"

" Another one from St Rudolph."

"….who?

"Never mind, Akaya."

Second round waves were drawn. Kamio hadn't been surprised to hear that the first round had to be split in two – it was a one day tournament, and they had the eight courts in Gym B to use. Gym A was being used for normal daily functions apparently, though it was more than likely empty with everyone coming to watch the matches.

Sengoku got a bye. Half the crowd shouted 'lucky' with him, making him blush even as he waved his hands in the air.

Shinjou was called and Kaido was matched up with him. It wasn't hard to hear a loud whoop that could only have come from the dunk-smasher Momo, and the answering hiss wasn't unexpected either.

Hiyoshi's name was called next.

"Please don't pick me," Kamio prayed.

"Now you've done it," Akaya snickered.

Sure enough, his name was pulled out next. Kamio scanned the crowd - and saw Hiyoshi glaring at him from the Hyoutei team. "I guess he's still mad at me for our last year of middle school."

Fudomine had won the Nationals, crushing Hyoutei who had the same problem most of the teams had had – all their top players had graduated. Fudomine had had the advantage that year in having mostly third year players save for one, and they had been determined not drop the ball. They hadn't. Kamio had been the icing on the cake, beating Hiyoshi in the finals.

"You can take him," Akaya waved away any concerns. "You've already beaten him."

"He's probably improved a lot," Kamio murmured. "He was tough to beat the first time."

"So what? So have you." Akaya rolled his eyes. "Now me, I gotta face that St Rudolph guy, Akazawa." He shook his head. "Man, I was hoping for some decent competition to get me started."

Doubles were next, and Inoue-san started them off this time. Saeki and Aoi were selected first. Their opponents were Tezuka and Fuji. A rumble went through the crowd at that.

"That's gonna be an interesting match," Akaya said. "Too bad I gotta play so soon. I wanna see if super Tezuka can play Doubles like he plays Singles."

"He's playing with Fuji. Fuji can play Doubles," Kamio pointed out.

The Atsushi Twins – "Who?" "Don't start that again, Akaya." – were set to play against Shishido and Ohtori of Hyoutei. Momoshiro and Ryoma were slated against Dan Taichi and Muromachi. Dan's excited squeal was easily picked out of the crowd. Kawamura and Ishida against Kurobane and Davide promised to be a hard hitting and heavy-handed match, Kamio was sure of that. Atobe (pause for the sound of a million screaming women) and Jirou were selected to play the Tanaka twins. Akaya opened his mouth to ask, and Kamio slammed his hand over it. "From Jyousei Shounan. Shhhh!"

Yukimura and Sanada got a decent ovation from the crowd – particularly from the right wing bleachers which were packed with girls wearing the yellow and red scarves and uniforms of Rikkai. Akaya cheered for Yukimura and booed for Sanada. He only stopped when Sanada's gaze seemed to fall right on him and Akira kicked his ankle. They would play Wakato and Kajimoto from Jyousei Shounan.

"The bendy, flexible guy?" Kirihara looked interested. "Imagine what it'd be like, being able to bend that way in be—"

"Akaya!" Kamio flushed bright red and kicked him again.

Uchimura and Mori were picked and then a roar went up as An and Yuuta were pitted against them. "Oooh, tough break," Kirihara said, grinning.

Kamio laughed. "What were the odds that three of my best friends would have to play each other in the first round?" He looked over to where Uchimura and Mori were gaping at the screen. An had a look of fierce determination on her face - one that matched Yuuta's. "I don't think they're going to show any mercy."

"Gonna be a good match," Kirihara nodded. "Too bad you'll only see about a minute of it before yours."

Kamio checked the times. "Ah, damn it!"

"Have no fear." Akaya pointed across the courts to Sachiko standing with Hana-chan and Minagawa-san who had apparently just arrived. Sachiko had a digital camera in her hands – Akaya's - and was filming the ceremonies. Hana-chan had her own pink camera out, and Minagawa-san had a video recorder. "There are lots of cameras, and Atobe even got the news crews out." He pointed to the side where a news van had set up a large antenna. There were three camera men checking cameras, and a fourth one was aimed at the podium. "When Hyoutei does charity work, they take it seriously."

Kamio could only blink. "Apparently."

The last of the names were called out and put onto the giant light board. The crowd of players and spectators began to shuffle off to the stands or to start warming up. The tournament was about to begin.

Round 1

Mizuki vs Yagyuu

Kamio, Kirihara, An, Sakurai, Uchimura, and Mori wound up standing next to each other in the stands set aside for players to watch. Marui's match started at 10:10, so he'd left soon after Atobe's opening ceremonies to go warm up. The girls had stayed with Makamoto-san – who had assured them it was no trouble for her to watch them. Apparently, Minagawa-san was bringing Hana-chan to cheer for Kamio and Kirihara, and would meet them. Kamio had flushed bright red when Makamoto thanked Kirihara for telling them about the tournament. He'd pay back his big-mouthed boyfriend later.

In the meantime, Mori and Kirihara were squinting at the 'A' court, where Yagyuu had stepped up to begin his match. "He's playing who?" Kirihara wrinkled his nose.

"Mizuki used to be the manager at St Rudolph back in middle-school," Kamio said for the third time. "I don't know much about him, except he used to try and recruit tennis players all the time."

An leaned forward, watching the match as it got underway; Mizuki had the first serve. "Yuuta says he's calmed down a lot over the years, focusing more on his tennis than anyone else's."

"Really," Kamio commented. "Yuuta says, huh?"

An didn't have to look at him to hit him, he discovered. "Yes. What, you think you and Momoshiro are the only people I talk to at the street court? Who else got you all the info you wanted about the other teams?" She flipped her hair at him and batted her eyelashes. "Who wouldn't want to spend a few minutes talking to a cute girl like me?"

"Me," Akaya said instantly. "Last time I did that, I fell down a staircase."

"Oh, get over it." An reached over and hit him too."It was an accident, and I never touched you. I already apologized."

"I gotta go warm up." Akaya changed the subject. "Atobe's matches are staggered a bit, so all the matches start five or ten minutes after the one before it. Mine's at D court, so I have just under half an hour." He squeezed Kamio's hand, nodded at the group, and then jogged off.

"Gives people a chance to walk around and watch different games," Sakurai said, nodding his head. "Smart."

"Looks like Yagyuu's playing seriously," Mori said, frowning at the court. They all looked back to the court. Mizuki was fighting hard, but they were only a few minutes in and he had already lost his service game. Yagyuu served and play resumed.

Kamio was impressed when Mizuki fought back, stealing a few points from Yagyuu with some tricky drop shots that looked like they could have been stolen from Hyoutei's Akutagawa Jirou. They watched long enough for Yagyuu to pull ahead, 3 games to one. Inoue-san was the referee for this particular match, and he was taking his job seriously, making each call in a loud, crisp tone that brooked no interference.

Kamio was showing Rikkai support for Yagyuu. The others were there to watch with him. Across the court, he could see Sanada, Yukimura and Yanagi watching Yagyuu and talking amongst themselves. No doubt they were plotting ways to help Yagyuu avoid those drop shots. Akira winced – he foresaw a great many skinned knees in Yagyuu's future.

A few minutes later, Kamio hitched his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm gonna get a better spot," he said. "'Kaya's match is starting in a minute."

"I'm coming," said Sakurai, and Uchimura and Mori shrugged, neither of them really caring who they saw at the moment. They didn't have a match until 12:15. Kamio was scheduled for 12:25, so they wouldn't be able to see each other's match. Until then however, they could spend time together – which meant watching their former captain's boyfriend. Kamio grinned and led the way to D court.

Akazawa vs Kirihara

Akaya's match against Akazawa had just started, Akaya winning the serve. Kirihara didn't waste any time, starting right off with his knuckle serve. Akazawa tried – you had to give him credit – but he couldn't hit it. The score was forty to zero before Akazawa managed to bat one back. Kirihara hadn't expected the lucky swipe, and it just managed to clear the net. Kamio could see Akaya's nostrils flare from where he stood. Kirihara was pissed at himself. That old teacher from Seigaku, Ryuuzaki, was the ref, and Kamio didn't miss the way she watched Akaya with narrowed eyes as she made the call.

Akazawa served. It was fast, but Kamio could see it wasn't close to Yagyuu's laser that Akaya had learned to return years ago. Akaya drove forward in a lightning quick move, legs pumping like pistons as he smashed the ball in a wicked forearm back across the net almost before Akazawa had even recovered from the serve itself.

"Nice," whistled Niou.

Kamio snapped his head around. "Where'd you come from?"

"Here and there," he shrugged. "I don't play until 12:15, Marui's kicking Kaneda's ass, and Yagyuu's almost done mopping the court with what's left of Mizuki, so I figured I'd come and see how the baby brat is doing."

"Not interested in the Doubles?"

"No one worth watching," he shrugged. "Unless you count Fuji and Tezuka against Saeki and Aoi from Rokkaku."

Kamio's ears picked up at that. "Oh yeah."

"Yup. They've drawn quite a crowd, most of it females, wooing themselves all over the place about how romantic it is to fight against your lover."

Kamio wondered how that match was going. He'd played against Kirihara many times before – hell, one of the first 'dates' they'd ever had, back before they'd even started dating, had been a tennis match. They were each other's favourite opponents – it was hard to play against someone who knew you so well. Kirihara managed to keep ahead of him by just a little, mainly due to the fact that he focused only on tennis, while Kamio was split between tennis and running. His speed was up, but he didn't get the same amount of practice. Did Fuji and Saeki feel the same way?

"You should go check it out," Niou said casually. "'Kaya won't care. This Akazawa guy isn't even a match for him."

Akira refocused on the match. Akaya had already pulled ahead three games to zero. "Fifteen more minutes you think?"

"If he drags it out," Niou said. "'Aka-chan came to play today."

Kamio snickered. "I'm gonna go check out the other matches."

Niou waved him on.

Itsuki vs Kikumaru

Kikumaru whirled around and smashed a blind shot back to the court. Itsuki scrambled for it, exhaling like a steam engine, but missed it. "Why?"

"Because I was faster," Kikumaru proclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "You have to be faster than that, Itsuki-chaaaaan!"

"Eiji!" From the bench coach, Oishi looked at him with a mix of sternness and fondness. "Don't get over-confident."

"Hoi hoi!" Kikumaru saluted him. "I'm okay!"

He was, actually. High school matches usually consisted of three sets, and Atobe had gone back to their old middle-school, one set match for the sake of time. Kikumaru's stamina had greatly increased over the past three years, to the point where he could go full speed for a one-set match even if the match reached the forty-minute mark.

Itsuki was a power hitter with good eyes and good senses, but Eiji could hit balls back without even looking; it was only a matter of time until their match was over. He was already leading four games to two, and it was still his serve. Speaking of which…

Kikumaru pulled another ball from his shorts pocket and threw the ball into the air.

A few minutes later, a loud cry – "WHYYYYYYYYY?" – echoed across the court, followed by Eiji's maniacal cackle.

Kaneda vs Marui

Marui was bored. His opponent – Canada? Camembert? Kangaroo? Whatever – was barely worth the effort. Already halfway through the match and his gum hadn't even begun to lose its flavor.

Across the net, the other player was panting for air. Didn't other schools indulge in any form of stamina training? Was Rikkai the only school that could go full blast for twenty minutes without needing to stop for a break? Marui was vaguely tempted to call for a time out so he could offer the guy a piece of his gum in the hopes it might charge him up and make him a worthy adversary. But then he figured the faster he won, the faster he could go and check out everyone else.

"Don't worry, uh… you!" he called cheerfully. "We're almost finished, okay?" His next shot bounced off the pole, dropping neatly onto the court, making it five games to zero.

Kaneda bit back a growl as he missed another shot. Why didn't his opponents ever remember his name? Another shot bounced off the pole – the opposite side this time – and he cursed fluidly inside his head as he scrambled to the other side of the court. Again.

Shishido/Ohtori vs Atsushi Twins

Shishido looked at Ohtori and nodded. The Atsushi twins were good, very good, but they weren't in step with each other. Shishido figured it was all those years of going to separate schools – twin or no, it was hard to know someone well when you only saw them a few times a year. Ohtori moved behind him in the Australian formation, and a roar went up from the crowd. Shishido smirked –Australian formation was hard enough for the pros to pull off, and to see high schoolers do it at the level they could was always a crowd-pleaser.

They'd been playing for almost an hour, and had pulled ahead four games to one.

"Shishido-san?"

Shishido cocked his head, turning just enough to see his partner. "Yeah?"

"Shall we end this quickly now?"

Shishido smirked and gave him a wink. "Let's do it."

The game was over eight minutes later.

Tezuka/Fuji vs Aoi/Saeki

Tezuka was not impressed. The tennis was fast and furious as always – but so was the flirting going on at the net. Fuji and Saeki kept murmuring to each other over the webbing even as they got ready to play, and Tezuka rubbed his forehead, yet again trying to think of why he'd agreed to this. "Fuji!"

"Yes Tezuka?"

"Flirt after the game," he snapped. "Aoi, serve!"

"Of course!" Aoi yelped, and did as directed. At least someone was paying attention.

Momoshiro/Ryoma vs Muromachi/Dan

Ryoma was in hell. Not only was he stuck playing Doubles – something he just wasn't that great at, even if he hated to admit it – but he hadn't even known his father was going to be a referee. That certainly explained the mysterious and gleeful grins he'd been sporting for the last few days.

But to make matters worse, he was the referee for his match. Ryoma gritted his teeth. If his father made one more comment about how poor his back hand had been, or how silly they looked getting caught in the middle, he was going break his racquet over his father's head and run screaming out of the building.

"Oi, shounen! Are you sleeping or what? It's your serve!"

Ryoma snarled and slammed forward a twist serve that scorched across the court and struck the racquet right out of Muromachi's hand. Dan 'eeped', and even Momo looked sideways at his partner. His father laughed raucously in his chair, slapping his knees. "That's a bit better! Still not up to my level – "he paused to wink at some of the girls sitting by his chair. Ryoma had noticed them earlier. They were hard to miss, what with the huge 'We *heart* Echizen Nanjiroh!' signs they were carrying. "—but much better."

Ryoma pulled another ball from his pocket and fought back the urge to aim it at the ref chair.

Kawamura/Ishida vs Kurobane/Davide

Kawamura couldn't believe how out of shape he was. He was still the power hitter he always was, but his stamina had gone right down. They were only fifteen minutes into the match and he could feel himself starting to flag a bit. Lifting ice-filled crates of fish every day kept his strength up but if this match was any indication, he needed to start jogging in the mornings again.

Ishida was a bit better – he had to walk everywhere and usually ran when he did so, including to and from cram school each night – but the lack of daily, specialized training was starting to show with him too. Kawamura could see him gasping for air just as he was.

Still, Kawamura thought as he fired a shot back to Kurobane. It felt good to be back out on the courts. Despite the fact that they were down three games against the Rokkaku team, and there was very little chance of them mounting a comeback against a team who had obviously been practicing together for several years, he still smiled and shouted, "HA! GREAT SHOT!" when he managed to hit a Hadokyuu that finally scored them a point. Davide waved his racquet at them in recognition of the shot, and Ishida rolled his eyes at Kawamura.

"I showed you that shot," he reminded Kawamura with a grin. "Why did it become so famous with you?"

"Must be my charisma," Kawamura chuckled, and waved his racquet in a circle over his head. "COME ON BABY! LET'S GO!"

"Is that what you call it?"

"SHUT UP AND PLAY!"

Kamio didn't spend too much time watching any one game. It was painfully obvious the Atsushi twins were no match for Shishido and Ohtori, even if they'd started out looking strong. They simply didn't have the bond between them that the Silver Pair did - which was kind of ironic, considering they were twins. Kamio shook his head. Akaya would think that was pretty pathetic. He had to agree.

Equally as outmatched were the twins from Jyousei Shonan. Apparently Atobe and Jirou didn't consider them worthy opponents, and fell back on the old Hyoutei stand-bye 'fifteen minute match'. They were done, Jirou asleep, and Atobe back surveying his empire nee tournament almost before the rest of the matches even got started.

The Seigaku – Yamabuki match had more for the sheer entertainment value. Dan was bouncing around the court, eyes bright with determination and eagerness – and cheering for everyone, no matter who scored, even when it was their opponents. Muromachi looked like he was caught halfway between amusement and pure exasperation.

Momoshiro was reaching new heights with his Dunk Smash technique, and his Jackknife was as deadly as ever. Ryoma was playing well, but having his father for the referee – and who was the sadist that arranged that? – was throwing him right off. He kept turning around to shout at him to shut up, to which Nanjiroh replied with jeers and telling him he shouldn't talk to ref's that way unless they wanted to be disqualified.

Kamio's eyes widened as Ryoma suddenly screamed with frustration – and burned a shot that spun the racquet out of Muromachi's hand. It landed three meters away. The crowd went silent. Then Nanjiroh's voice echoed across the court. "About time! 2 games all! Change court!"

Kamio muffled a snicker at the outraged look in Ryoma's usually expressionless eyes, and the amusement in Momoshiro's as he went over to his partner, murmuring something in the kid's ear. Ryoma nodded tightly, and stalked over to the bench coach, throwing his father a glare that could have stripped paint. If the kid didn't calm down they were going to lose on general principle.

There was bark of harsh laughter, and Kamio turned to see the white-haired psycho of Yamabuki – Akutsu, wasn't it? – leaning against the stands, watching the match with real amusement in his eyes. Kamio shivered and moved away. He'd heard too many stories about that guy. He'd feel safer with a larger distance between them.

He walked around the perimeter to E court to see how the Tezuka/Fuji pairing was doing against Rokkaku.

Yagyuu slowly straightened up after firing his Laser Beam. Mizuki was still staring at the ball where it was rolling along the ground. He'd been completely dominated in that last game. Yagyuu debated for a minute whether or not to feel sorry for the other player before deciding against it. Mizuki knew what to expect when he played against Rikkai.

To his surprise, Mizuki looked up with a wry smile, and walked easily over to the net. Yagyuu almost raised an eyebrow at this, but joined him at the net, looking at him questioningly. Mizuki held his hand out. "Good match."

Yagyuu studied him a minute, and then nodded. He was, after all, known as the Gentlemen. He gripped Mizuki's hand firmly. "Indeed."

Mizuki gave him a small smirk, a hint of his old expression, and then strode off the court to where some of the other St Rudolph players were waiting for him. Yagyuu found himself re-evaluating the manager of St Rudolph team.

It seemed Mizuki had grown up a bit. That was interesting. Yagyuu adjusted his glasses with a shrug and headed to the bench to cool down.

Muromachi didn't know whether to cry or laugh. On one hand, he and Dan were now getting their butts soundly whipped by the Seigaku team. Apparently the jeers from the ref had fired up Ryoma and Momoshiro. On the other, now every time they lost a point, Ryoma would whirl around and hurl another verbal barrage at the ref. It was starting to become a bit of a side show, and even the audience was watching the encounters with smiles and laughter.

Dan returned a shot that managed to slink past Momoshiro, and he immediately began dancing in place. "Did you see that Muromachi-sempai? I did it!"

Muromachi fought back to pat the first year on the head. "Good work Tai-tai!"

"And you think you're good enough for my son with moves like that?"

"Shut up old man!"

Muromachi and Dan turned to see the next round of 'Referee vs MomoRyo'. Momo was waving his racquet at the monk apparently known as Echizen Nanjiroh (and was he really a pro? Did pros act like that?) who was laughing raucously and threatening to deduct points.

Momo and Ryoma suddenly turned back to Muromachi and Dan with fire burning in their eyes. Muromachi gulped and prayed the match would quickly.

Kurobane grinned at Davide. They were ahead, four games to two, and going strong. He could feel it in his bones that they were gonna move on from this one and best of all, Davide hadn't made any stupid comments thus far-

"Two games for two players, while we are truly Doubles with double points," Davide said inanely, snorting out a laugh.

Kurobane whirled around and slammed a foot into his partner's back almost before he knew what he was doing. "And you were doing so well!" he lamented at his partner's prone form. Across from them, Ishida and Kawamura were blinking, wide-eyed. Kurobane flushed red and waved awkwardly. "Eh…sorry."

Davide got back to his feet, shaking his head. "That pain is a real pain," he muttered absently, rubbing the back of his head.

Kurobane controlled his reflexive urge to kick. "Just serve, Davide," he pleaded wearily. Davide winked – confirming 'Bane's belief he was deliberately trying to infuriate him now - and trotted back to the baseline.

Kamio couldn't stop himself from snickering. Saeki and Fuji were blatantly flirting at the net, Aoi was completely oblivious and was shouting everything at the top of his lungs – and Tezuka looked like he was very close to using the strings from his racquet to throttle the lot of them. His face was blank as ever, but his eyes were shooting veritable daggers.

Saeki strutted to the front of net and turned slightly so he could see his partner get ready. As he did, he cocked his hip and struck a pose. The fan girls watching all shrieked with glee, and Fuji pretended to fan himself with one hand. Kamio was pretty sure he could hear Tezuka growling even though his face remained still as stone.

"I'M SERVING NOW!" Aoi shouted helpfully and slammed his racquet down. Tezuka returned it, and Saeki went for a smash. Fuji immediately returned it with a Brown Bear. Saeki and Aoi watched the ball roll along the back wall, and then Saeki stuck his racquet under his arm to applaud his boyfriend. Fuji bowed. Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose.

"GREAT SHOT FUJI-SAN!" Aoi cheered. "TEZUKA-KUN, I BELIEVE IT IS YOUR TURN NOW!"

"Yes," Tezuka said through gritted teeth. "Thank you Aoi."

"IT IS MY ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO BE OF ASSISTANCE, TEZUKA-SAN!"

Kamio clapped a hand over his mouth as Tezuka froze at the baseline and even Fuji cracked his eyes open in amusement. Then Tezuka was serving, a swift and hard serve that blew past Aoi and left them all gaping.

Kamio had a feeling the remainder of this particular game was going to be very short. He decided to head back to Akaya's match to see the ending.

It was about quarter to eleven when he found Marui standing, sweaty but still full of energy, behind the low, perimeter court barrier where most of the players watched the matches. "Done already?"

Marui nodded, blowing and snapping a bubble. "Finished just after 10:30," he replied. "Canada wasn't much of a player."

Kamio blinked. "Who?"

"The St Rudolph guy."

He meant Kaneda. Kamio stifled a laugh. "Congratulations," he offered. "How's Akaya doing?"

Marui pointed at the court. "See for yourself."

Kamio looked at the court where a gasping, dripping Akazawa was staggering to his feet after a failed dive. Akaya had his racquet resting on his shoulder, watching the other with a barely concealed look of contempt. Kamio rolled his eyes – he loved Akaya dearly, but there was no denying his boyfriend was a tennis snob.

He looked at the scoreboard – Akaya was winning 5 games to love. Akazawa had managed to return a few lucky shots but not enough to win a single game. It was Akaya's serve – again – and he served a Phantom Ball that disappeared from Akazawa's sight and subsequent swing. "How many times has he used the Phantom?"

"A few," Marui said with a shrug. "He was dragging it out earlier – you know how Akaya likes to play with his prey. Guess he's getting frustrated now."

Indeed, a few minutes later it was all over, six games to zero, and Akaya was strutting off the court, looking barely winded. On the court, Akazawa was stumbling towards the gaggle of St Rudolph players coalescing by the barrier.

"Having fun?" Kamio asked with a wry smile.

Kirihara shrugged and leaned forward, nuzzling him. "Wasn't a decent competition," he complained into Kamio's neck. "Wanted a harder opponent."

Kamio patted his back sympathetically while rolling his eyes. Uchimura and Mori who had been watching with wide-eyed fascination at the intimate interaction, cleared their throats, looking away.

Marui snorted. "Oh please, this is nothing," he assured them. "Did you hear about the time me and Jackal caught them in the locker room shower—"

"And that's enough of that," Kamio snapped, flushing hotly, reaching out to punch Marui. The pink-haired boy yelped and jumped away, rubbing his arm.

Akaya pulled back, nipped Kamio's lips playfully and then looked at the board. "So what's next?"

Everyone looked up. Uchimura and Mori looked over at An and Yuuta who were talking quietly to each other. "We play them in an hour," said Mori.

Kirihara grinned, rubbing his hands together. "I can't wait to see you get your asses kicked by a girl," he snickered.

"You're not gonna watch Kamio's match?" Marui asked. "His starts about twenty minutes after theirs does"

Akaya waved his hands. "Twenty minutes should be more than enough time for An and Fuji-junior to get a decent lead on them," he said. "Then I can check out 'Kira."

"No, you really don't have to," Kamio said glumly. "Really, feel free to watch their entire match."

"What's wrong with you?" Uchimura shot him a look of concern.

"You're not still worried about Hiyoshi, are you?" Akaya rolled his eyes and bumped his shoulder against Akira's. "You've beaten him once, you can do it again."

"It was close," Kamio said. "Very close."

An and Yuuta joined them. "What are you guys doing for lunch?"

"I'm gonna go get the girls," Kamio said. "I brought our lunch."

"I've got a huge bento," Marui said. "My mom packed enough for five people. She didn't want me to be rude and not have enough to share."

An held up a large bento bag. "Same here." She turned to Yuuta. "You'll be joining us, right? We have time to eat something and then get ready."

"Us too," Mori and Uchimura chimed in.

Kamio nodded and agreed to meet them on the south lawn behind the courts once he and Akaya retrieved the girls. As they walked over to the stands, Akaya reached out and grabbed Kamio's hand, squeezing it once. Kamio looked at him. "What's up?"

"….we don't have time for a quickie, do we?"

Kamio smacked him on the head.

End Chapter 5.

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[fic] Tennis Teens for Charity, 5/9

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