CHAPTER 6: Of Cats and Anikis

Thanks for the support guys! Hope you enjoy and please don't hesitate to comment, review, rant, fangirl, flame, or critique! Every reaction motivates me. ^^

And I apologize for the delay. I kinda got stuck, in my main POT story, and looking at the chapter now- I probably would be again. So be warned! XD

DISCLAIMER: I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

...

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

The three regulars sat stiff on the soft Sheraton couch. They felt awkward under Yukimura's stare, even when he wasn't openly glaring at them.

Actually, the bocchama was smiling. And that smile sent shivers down their spines. Not to mention the tension within the room was suffocating. It was so heavy that they found themselves in an unmoving straight, not to mention uncomfortable, sitting position.

'What is with these two? Did they have a fight?' The observant Niou mused in contrast to his two oblivious teammates. He noticed the miniscule changes in expression Echizen and Yukimura showed. He couldn't see everything since they were even better than Sanada-buchou in composing themselves. Who would have thought, right?

So it made him all that much more curious as to what happened for them to be this... well, readable.

But Niou knew his priorities. Curiosity would come later. First-

"Please reconsider the captainship Yukimura-sama."

"Ha..." Niou let out, as someone beat him to saying those words. It was Marui Bunta, mustering all his courage (not to mention pushing his blush down) to speak. Apparently, the red-head was still crushing over Yukimura. Niou was still unsure whether or not his teammate is gay (or bisexual to be more precise. Marui did have a few girlfriends), or it was just that Yukimura was that lovable.

He mentally scoffed at that. Yukimura might be gorgeous, but lovable? Fat chance. Niou thought Ryoma was more charismatic than his master.

"I really don't see the issue with this." Yukimura said, eyes looking to them and yet at the same time, not looking at them at all. Niou learned (by implication) from speech class that this was a sign that he was talking to a group—to no one in particular... or talking to someone he was not looking at.

"I just thought that since I'm suggesting training regimes anyway, wouldn't it just be offending to Sanada if I kept doing so? Besides he agreed with the bet."

That actually made sense, everyone even Yukimura thought. He mused as to why he didn't think of this earlier. He focused on his peripheral vision and stared at Ryoma. That boy really had a knack on making his IQ lower.

"He can always be the fukubuchou, anyway." It was a given he would not be second in command. Kirihara's eye widened at the realization a little later than all of them.

"Oh, right."

"Baka." Ryoma muttered, stood up, and went to the kitchen.

"Kaa-san. I'm hungry." The boy stated a few meters away from them. They were hearing the sound of frying... and that scruptuous smell finally invading their noses as they were too nervous to notice before.

"Just a minute!" A woman said and not even a few seconds later, they heard a little clank. "Ready."

Suddenly, their stomachs groaned. They were suddenly hungry. And as if on cue, the same woman (whose voice was that much more attractive now that they were hungry) called them sweetly.

"Boys~ Time for dinner."

Yukimura let out a sigh. They were drooling, after all. What choice did he have?

"Come."

"If you don't mind us intruding..." leave it to Marui to suddenly be conscious a little too late.

He was ignored though, and Yukimura absent-mindedly lead them to the kitchen. Niou saw that Echizen was setting the table up and he couldn't help but smirk. Even if he knew the boy was a servant, Echizen certainly emitted an aura of arrogance around him and it always surprised him when the boy did banal tasks like picking up tennis balls.

But then again, doing something feminine... Echizen really seemed kinda cute.

"Sit down boys." A brown-haired woman smiled at them, and for some reason Niou though the woman pulled him out of his daze on purpose. Mah, the food smelled nice so he sat down obediently anyway. But before he sat, he recalled his manners and extended his hand over to the lady.

"Nice to meet you Ma'am. Niou Masaharu." he said boyishly and the woman chuckled. He was followed by his two teammates upon realizing that the food could wait... for a second.

"MaruiBuntaMa'am." the region's best volley-specialist said rather swiftly. Niou knew he couldn't speak coherently since saliva might come out. The nice smell of the food wasn't helping, either.

"Kirihara Akaya. Yoroshiku!" The team seaweed grinned and then turned to Echizen, who was then standing beside him and putting in his plate. "Wow. Does your whole family serve the Yukimuras?"

"Sort of." the boy shrugged and Kirihara just stared at him for a while as the others took their seats. When Echizen finished off the set-up, he paused and frowned at his teammate's antics. "What?"

"N-Nothing. You just didn't seem like the type to follow orders." Kirihara muttered, and Niou internally nodded. Yep. That's he thought, too.

"I'm not the type to follow orders." Echizen said almost immediately, before shifting his head slightly to Yukimura's direction- intriguing Niou quite a bit. "...that are not my master's."

But before Kirihara could say anything else, they were interrupted by a silky voice they knew all too well now. "Ryoma." He said. "Sit down"

"Hai."

And Niou could not help but blink at the slight smile that crept up the new buchou's face.

...

*Several Minutes Later*

That dinner, for the three, was quite tiring. Sure, at school even with the bocchama's presence they could be themselves. But at his lush house with a fine middle-aged lady eating with them... they were forced to act appropriately. That house was, as Niou would term, one of those places that could manipulate a person's behavior. Yes, like museums and churches.

In any case, his habitual observations did not stop as they ate their gourmet-level dinner (oh, he could so eat here every day). It was then that Echizen suddenly stood up, seeing the drinks had already been drank away, to get some more.

Niou blinked. Watching him move without obstructions, he concluded there was something fundamentally different about that boy, and yet he couldn't quite tell what it was. There were very very miniscule differences in the form, the movement, and many more but it was hard to tell what the overarching difference was.

Niou frankly was surprised. He had been thinking about this since the previous day. He usually figured these things out, even under the pressure of tennis matches, in a matter of minutes.

At that thought, a familiar smirk climbed up his face.

Challenge accepted!

But then he felt a glare. He twitched, automatically whipping his head to the direction it emanated from. 'What could you be watching my body guard for, hm?' it stated. It was Yukimura, of course, and once again Niou found himself blinking.

'Those two are weird...' He mused. They acted so cold with each other and yet oddly possessive? 'Weird couple.'

His eye widened. 'Couple? Where did that idea come from?' But his reverie was quickly broken by Kirihara and Marui gasping simultaneously. It was followed by a soft 'meow'.

"It's a cat!" Marui literally squealed. "Kawaii..."

"Himalayan!" Kirihara grinned and oh-so etiquette-ly stood up to hold it up in a swift manner. But as his palm touched the cat's soft and silky fur, a very annoyed and stern voice from behind them was heard.

"Oi." It was Echizen. At that point, everyone that didn't know the cat was intimidated.

"N-Nani?"

"Karupin is my cat. Don't touch him."

"Isn't that being too possessive?" Kirihara snapped, and sparks immediately flew between them. Niou crossed his arms and looked at the two parties in alteration. He liked watching conflicts. Besides, it wasn't every day he saw Echizen looking so openly annoyed. It was interesting, and he knew Yanagi would have loved to see this.

Maybe he'd record this and sell it to the data master...

"N-Niou?"

It was Marui, starting to look pale.

Just the thought of prospective profit made stars sparkle around the trickster and Marui could only sweat-drop, seeing he was the only sane one there left in the team.

"So? He's my cat." Echizen repeated glaring Kirihara, who barely holding up. "Let him go."

"You cannot control a living thing's actions like that."

"...says the idiot who just grabbed the poor innocent Karupin up before he could retaliate."

"Teme—"

But before Marui could run in front of Kirihara to stop this fight, they heard simultaneous coughs. Actually they were clearing their throats. They forgot about them—the most sophisticated people in the room. Or in town for that matter.

"Sit down." Yukimura ordered, while Rinko stood up and took the drinks from Echizen and laid it down on the table herself. The three did as they were told and continued the awkward dinner in silence.

...

Later that night, after a thorough 'thank you for the meal', the three finally took their leaves. They were now standing in front of the door saying their goodbyes.

"Be sure to close the gates~" Rinko smiled, waved, and headed inside ahead of the two kids. The brunette smiled when she saw Karupin waiting a meter from the door.

"Hai. Sorry for intruding." Marui said as they remained by the door. Niou nodded and Kirihara only 'hmped' since he was still unsatisfied with how his verbal match with Ryoma ended.

"Mah, I'll be sure to punish you for intruding tomorrow." Seichi said, and along with the three, Ryoma stared at waited, and waited... until Seichi finally opened his mouth to explain.

"Be sure to go to school early. You'll be running 20 laps before the morning practice." He said, slowly turning around as well. "Be late, and it'll double."

"JA."

And the bluenette was gone.

"-EEEEEEEH?" they yelled as soon as he was out of sight, and so loudly that it made Ryoma, who was innocently just standing there, to cringe.

"Oi, oi."

"Captain's words are absolute." Marui stated, immediately composing himself thinking that maybe Seichi was probably in the vicinity. The red-head then 'maturely' patted Kirihara's back before he did anything stupid.

"He is not the captain." the seaweed brain said, making all of them frown.

"Stop being stubborn, Kirihara." Marui pouted earning another childish 'Hmph!' from the sophomore. Ryoma was too tired for this so he held the door and waved his hand at them dismissively.

"Ja." Ryoma uttered and slowly closed the door to say his message. The three reluctantly turned around, albeit Kirihara was forced to, and said another batch of short farewells. The so-called ace of Rikkai gritted his teeth in annoyance, but as he was about to turn around to give off one last glare at his enemy, he heard a soft 'meow'

"Ah, Karupin. Sorry I made you wait long." Kirihara's eyes widened.

Doki

He gulped and his steps halted, eyes unconsciously not straying an inch away from the sight that Echizen made. 'He could make such an expression?'

He mused, not expecting this at all. He watched the boy finally shut the door and hence finally escaped from his sight. Still, a newfound wander stayed inside his head, keeping him at the daze.

"Oi, Kirihara! What's wrong?" Only when Marui shook him (violently) did he escape from it.

"N-Nothing."

And so, the three too finally exited the property.

...

Ryoma entered the living room, carrying her previous feline. She saw her mother and Seichi standing there seemingly waiting for her. It was then that Seichi turned his head towards her direction. "I'll be heading to bed now." He said, and she automatically looked at the clock. "Just ask Rinko-san to take you to your room."

Her eyes twitched at the last sentence, momentarily forgetting why she looked away in the first place. "I won't get lost you know."

"Sure, you won't." he said satirically, but of course Ryoma didn't say anything else. So she just watched him slowly turn. "Good night Ryoma, Rinko-san."

But then she recalled what the clock said. "At 6:30 in the evening? You just ate."

"Then I'll stare at the window for an hour."

"And go to sleep at 7:30 in the evening?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Sure, neither of them needed to study. They could do their home works within a few minutes. But still- Ryoma shook her head.

"Are you feeling alright, Seichi-sama?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked rhetorically and dismissively waved his hand.

"I'm just tired. Oyasumi."

...

Ryoma washed the dishes in a daze. Although it wasn't always the case, Yukimura usually hang around the living room reading a book from their large bookshelf until a good time of the night. She felt a little worried. He usually didn't lock himself up in his room so early.

"What are you thinking?" Rinko asked, smiling, as she put the left-overs to the fridge.

"Too bad... He seemed utterly comfortable with them the first few days."

"Well, you didn't exactly help with the awkwardness." Rinko chuckled and saw that Ryoma had already done her dishes and proceeded to Karupin who was patiently waiting for his master.

"Ah." her daughter just said and patted Karupin's fur as she carried him along. Ryoma smiled and took the feline to the living room to play with it there.

Karupin soon felt tired, though, and Ryoma massaged her head at the thought of how quickly Karupin lost energy now... Rinko felt a twinge of pity for her daughter. She saw Ryoma stare at the more-than-usual amount of fur that stuck to her hand in sadness. He was becoming thin, and was eating a lot less than he used to.

Ryoma hid her despair well, but she was her mother—she could see that Ryoma was truly sad of the impending events.

"Karupin is already more than 12 years old. You better be prepared." Rinko stated. It was time to voice it out, even when they all knew of it by intuition. Ryoma frowned at her.

"So? I'm sure Karupin'll live long, ne? Besides don't cats have 9 lives?"

"Ryoma-"

She swiftly turned her head to the floating Karupin."You won't die until he returns ne?" She asked and gently moved him so that his tail waved elegantly like the cat that he was. "That means you have a looong time before you leave me."

Rinko stared at her daughter but decided not to go against her. "Yes, the family has a frivolous blood, but Nanjiroh and you returned right? Ryoga's just a late bloomer."

"And we'll all sure to smack him when he returns."

"Meow."

"So stay healthy. You have 8 more lives, though."

"Meow."

...

Rinko watched the girl carry her sleeping cat to her room. A few minutes later, Ryoma went down wearing her usual casual (boyish) attire with her tennis items behind her back. She could only raise a brow and place her hands on her hip in questioning.

"Where are you going this time in the night?" Ryoma looked at their grandfather clock. It indicated that it was barely past 7.

"Courts."

"But in the middle of the night?"

"It's still early. And don't worry. Thugs here aren't stronger than in England."

"I know. That's not what I'm worried about." Duh. She was pertaining to her getting lost and not finding her way home until the next day.

"I'm fine." was all Ryoma said, obviously not hearing her own mother's worried tome (or perhaps ignoring it openly), and walked to the door.

"Ryoma."

"Ryoga."

"..."

"Ryoga's going to return with Karupin alive and well. We're going to smack him together. And I'm going to beat him in tennis, too. It's time for me to start practicing seriously again."

Rinko stared at her daughter. She wanted to hug her daughter but went against it. Tennis is what could comfort her now. So she just let out a sigh.

"Good Luck, then." and decided she needed to go to bed early as well.

PUBLIC COURTS, An Hour Later

Echizen Ryoma just arrived at the courts and the first thing she did was hit the ball against the wall. Other than her father, walls were her only opponent anyway.

Pak

As she hit and hit, her mind wandered as to why she suddenly felt like getting some air. So challenging her dad was out of the question. That man was just friggin' stressful.

Stressful.

Pak

Her brother's face appeared on the wall, and her shot sure as hell got stronger.

...

CALIFORNIA, 13 years ago

"ITTEEE!" Ryoga shouted when the young Reina hit him with a tennis ball. "You so did that on purpose!"

"Mada Mada Dane."

"W-Where do you get the arrogance, brat?" he gritted his teeth as he took the ball and dribbled it. He first stared at the ball and stole a glance of his 3 year old sister. She had that serious expression on her face. "Be thankful you're so cute!"

"Eww. Just serve, aniki!" the little girl just yelled. Ryoga then sighed, sent a wink, and threw the ball up. But before he could hit it-

"RYOGA!"

"Kaa-san."

"The school bus is there. Get ready for school."

His posture immediately relaxed and his hand automatically fixed up his things. "Hai~"

"EH?"Reina blinked in surprise, she did not expect her brother to run away! And he was not stopping either. "Oi, baka-aniki, Stop running!"

Ryoga, who was already a few meters away, paused and cheekily turned his head. He sent out a tongue. "Bleh. It's not like you'll beat me either way anyway."

Her eyes twiched, and Ryoga only grinned.

"See ya' later, lil' sister~"

...

Later that afternoon, Reina was being taught by a personal tutor on how to write and read. She was way advance than most kids her age, the old man said so himself. But this also meant she easily got bored.

"When are they coming back?"

The old man looked at the clock. "Soon." he said and slid a notebook to her side of the table. "Time isn't running faster, kid. Answer that. Hoho~"

"Che." she muttered and looked at the notes. Math. She sighed and scribbled her answers.

Scribble Scribble Scribble- Creak

"Tadaima~" She perked up at the sound of her brother's voice and stood up.

"R-Reina-chan!"

Her expression didn't change and she slid the notebook to him. "There!" she said and ran to the door, making the poor old man shake his head. He looke dat the answer though and was surprised they were mostly correct. So, he shrugged in the end and stood up to meet the tennis prodigy as well.

"Look what I got on my way to school." was the first thing he heard. Ryoga had his hands on his back and maneuvering himself so that the prying Reina wouldn't see.

Banji found a smile on his face.

"Just let me see, baka-aniki!"

" Waaaaitt."he grinned, but the 'surprise' itself could no longer wait either.

'Meow' it said, and when Ryoga sighed in exasperation. He slowly revealed the feline. Banji especially liked furry ones, so he went closer to the two kids as well, to dote on the Himalayan Kitten. He then turned to look at Reina, who had literally stars floating around her. She was openly excited and Banji wished even harder that he had a grand child.

"I-It's a cat!" She said, stating the obvious. And lowering her voice and stance, she whispered: "Kirei."

Ryoga and Banji grinned at the cute sight. The younger man nodded proudly. "I know, right."

"So... we gonna keep it?"

"Yep."

"Keep what?"

"Karupin."

"MEOW."

The kids blinked. Their mother looked comprehending- NOT a good sign.

"Please Kaa-san?"The kids said at the same time, and Banji only chuckled. Rinko frowned deeper and raised her voice.

"But taking care of animals is a big responsibility! And you've already named it?!"

"It's fine! It's a cute name, anyway."

"That's not the point."

Ryoga then pretended to think and smiled at his little sister who, in turn, tilted her head. "Then we'll take care of Karupin together, ne, Reina?"

Reina beamed. "Yeah!" And then ran towards her mother and jumped excitedly. Rinko's face turned red probably finding it harder and harder to refuse her cute daughter.

"Pleaseeee! Onegai!"

Rinko's eyes could only twitch in her failing attempt of denial.

"F-Fine."

And with that, a family of five was formed.

...

"Meow!" Karupin mewled and Reina smiled to pick him up.

A few years passed since they met and Reina was officially going to be a first grader! She told it proudly to Karupin who just licked her face affectionately. Her brother, who was going to the middle school just across the street of her new school, glared at the cat.

"Darn cat. Taking advantage of my cute lil' sister~?" Ryoga then hugged the 6-year old playfully.

"EEK! Go away Aniki!" Reina pouted pushing him away. It was then that they heard the door open and they stopped playing to see who it was. It was Nanjiroh, looking serious.

"Ryoga."

"Oh. What is it Oyaji?" Ryoga narrowed his eyes, while Reina watched them guardedly. She did not like this atmosphere. Their father gestured for Ryoga to come up to him so that they could speak. Reina unconsciously went to follow, but Nanjiroh's hand stopped her from moving.

He smiled, but it was the type of smile that she never saw her father wear before. "Stay there, kiddo."

PAK!

That was the last day she saw her brother.

It had been a shock to her of course. She wasn't able to sleep for weeks straight when she overheard that Ryoga ran away. After that talk he looked comprehending, and not even Karupin could make him smile genuinely anymore. She even blamed her father. She just knew what the old man told him was one of the causes of why he left.

And it didn't take long for her parents to explain Ryoga ran away because of the family tradition she was going through now. It was really just for the males of the family, and they told her she didn't need to go through it.

Who would have thought a few years later that she would go against that tradition herself?

And due to some unforeseen circumstances, too.

Her eyes jerked.

PAK!

She continued to hit the wall, imaging a few different faces in alteration being hit by her strong shots.

She was in a deep daze... and soon, she realized, albeit a tad too late-

That someone had been watching her.