Categories > Anime/Manga > Prince of Tennis
Title: Chase
By: Neko Mastermind
High school, Ryoma soon discovered, was a hell of a lot scarier than he originally thought.
It wasn't the classes. He could handle those fine enough, and if he did need help, he could always ask one of his senpai (but that was only in desperate cases, because Echizen Ryoma did not ask for help). And it surely wasn't tennis, either. No matter how hard the coach pushed them, Ryoma pushed himself ten times harder, as he was still determined to beat his father, which hadn't happened just yet.
No, it was something completely different that struck fear into Ryoma. And it came in the form of a skirt-wearing, long-haired (mostly), squealing form that struck fear into all who were not prepared for it.
Yes. Echizen Ryoma was afraid of girls.
All they did was fawn over him, or 'fangirl', as one of his senpai had put it one day after seeing a horde of female fans milling around the tennis courts. Ryoma was not amused.
And it didn't help any when he'd come to school and be greeted with cries of "Echizen-kun~!", and on days where he would be left alone, he would suddenly be swarmed by cheerful, bouncy, loud females.
Ugh.
But today, Ryoma decided as he kicked off his shoes and put them in their cubby, he was going to make it through the day without having to deal with one fangirl.
Mentally preparing himself to avoid every girl in Seigaku High, Ryoma reached out to grab the shoes he wore between classes, then paused. He felt like he was being watched...
Turning his head, he practically gaped as he saw every girl in his class (and were those a few of his senpai? Oh god.) standing there, all smiling widely. Some of them were holding wrapped gifts, while others were holding boxes of chocolate and other objects decorated in pink and red.
/Valentine's Day/, his mind supplied with a sense of horror.
Barely having time to throw his shoes back in the cubby ("Screw it!" his mind screamed), the freshman turned and leapt off the step, making a b-line for the stairs.
He had hoped those girls would have taken the hint and backed off, but when Ryoma turned around and looked behind him, he was horrified to find that the girls were /follow/. No, chasing. Oh god.
What he needed was a hiding spot. Bypassing the second floor, where he was sure to find more girls in his class, he headed straight to the third floor, slamming through the door and shutting it behind him. Even over his ragged breath, he could hear the sound of shoes pounding up the stairs in his wake. I have to hide...
Darting down the hall and ignoring the strange looks the upperclassmen were giving him, Ryoma tried to think of a place to hide. The janitor's closet would be too obvious, and a classroom could have other crazy girls just waiting for a chance to pounce him.
Just as he was about to turn a corner and try sneaking back downstairs, an arm reached out and yanked him into the classroom. Yelping in surprise, he struggled against whoever it was, biting down hard on the arm around him.
"OW!" The person cried, letting him go. "You little brat, is that what I get for trying to help you?!"
Blinking at the familiar voice, Ryoma turned and looked up at a rather petulant Momoshiro Takeshi. "Geez, you bite hard."
"Ah...sorry." Ryoma muttered, cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment. Could this day get any worse?
"What are you doing up here anyway?" Momo continued, rubbing at the bite mark on his arm. "Don't you have class downstairs?"
As if answering his question, footsteps padded by, followed by calls of 'Echizen-kun~!' and 'Come out wherever you are~!'. Momo raised an eyebrow and looked at the freshman. "Oh."
"It's Valentine's Day." Ryoma said darkly, taking a few steps closer to his senpai. If anything, he could use the taller boy as a shield until he could make an escape, if the girls happened to look in here.
"Heh~ That would explain all the girls running around." The spiky-haired second year said thoughtfully, then sighed dramatically. "I wish I had girls running after me, trying to give me stuff."
"You can have them." Ryoma huffed, crossing his arms.
Momo peeked out of the hallway, tilted his head, then made a face. "Eh, now that I think about it...you can keep 'em."
"Che." The freshman snorted, stepping a little closer to Momo. The sophomore noticed the movement and grinned, reaching out to ruffle Ryoma's hair. "What's wrong, Echizen? Scared of a couple of girls?"
"A couple?" Ryoma said incredulously, batting at Momo's hand.
"...Okay, more than a couple."
"There has to be at least twenty of them out there."
"...I don't blame you for being scared, then."
Peeking out of the classroom again, Momo slowly slid the door shut, sighing softly. "You're pretty popular, you know that?"
"Eh?"
The sophomore shrugged. "All the girls talk about how cute you are, even the ones in my class. You're always the topic of their conversations."
Ryoma sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know why. I'm not that great." He paused, then wrinkled his nose. "And I'm not cute, either."
"Sure you are!" Momo grinned, fondly ruffling Ryoma's hair again. "You're the freshman prodigy, remember?" His grin grew. "And very cute."
He laughed as Ryoma flushed and pushed away from him. "M-Momo-senpai!" He said indignantly, but if it was for the hair ruffling or the remark, he wasn't sure.
A few moments went by, and Momo chanced another glance out into the hallway. "Na, Echizen. I think your stalkers are gone." He commented.
Ryoma peeked out as well, sighing heavily in relief. "Good. Maybe I'll make it to class on time."
"They'll probably be after you all day, but if you want, you can come sit with me at lunch." Momo said with a smile, then gave his most charming grin. "I'll protect you from the scary girls-oof!"
"Baka." Ryoma huffed, removing his elbow from Momo's stomach. The sophomore pouted and rubbed his middle. "First you bite me, then you elbow me? You have no respect for your elders. No respect at all."
Ryoma raised an eyebrow, then grabbed Momo's arm, inspecting the red bite mark he'd left earlier. Then, as if it were no big deal at all, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the mark, ignoring Momo's sputtered protest. "I'll see you later, Momo-senpai."
He stepped out in the hallway, turning to glance at the sophomore. Noting the blush on his cheeks, Ryoma smirked. "And I'll take you up on that offer to protect me at lunch. Ja." And with a wave over his shoulder, the freshman disappeared down the hall.
Momo watched him, blinking a few times before shaking his head and chuckling. "Little brat." He said fondly before heading to his seat.
By: Neko Mastermind
High school, Ryoma soon discovered, was a hell of a lot scarier than he originally thought.
It wasn't the classes. He could handle those fine enough, and if he did need help, he could always ask one of his senpai (but that was only in desperate cases, because Echizen Ryoma did not ask for help). And it surely wasn't tennis, either. No matter how hard the coach pushed them, Ryoma pushed himself ten times harder, as he was still determined to beat his father, which hadn't happened just yet.
No, it was something completely different that struck fear into Ryoma. And it came in the form of a skirt-wearing, long-haired (mostly), squealing form that struck fear into all who were not prepared for it.
Yes. Echizen Ryoma was afraid of girls.
All they did was fawn over him, or 'fangirl', as one of his senpai had put it one day after seeing a horde of female fans milling around the tennis courts. Ryoma was not amused.
And it didn't help any when he'd come to school and be greeted with cries of "Echizen-kun~!", and on days where he would be left alone, he would suddenly be swarmed by cheerful, bouncy, loud females.
Ugh.
But today, Ryoma decided as he kicked off his shoes and put them in their cubby, he was going to make it through the day without having to deal with one fangirl.
Mentally preparing himself to avoid every girl in Seigaku High, Ryoma reached out to grab the shoes he wore between classes, then paused. He felt like he was being watched...
Turning his head, he practically gaped as he saw every girl in his class (and were those a few of his senpai? Oh god.) standing there, all smiling widely. Some of them were holding wrapped gifts, while others were holding boxes of chocolate and other objects decorated in pink and red.
/Valentine's Day/, his mind supplied with a sense of horror.
Barely having time to throw his shoes back in the cubby ("Screw it!" his mind screamed), the freshman turned and leapt off the step, making a b-line for the stairs.
He had hoped those girls would have taken the hint and backed off, but when Ryoma turned around and looked behind him, he was horrified to find that the girls were /follow/. No, chasing. Oh god.
What he needed was a hiding spot. Bypassing the second floor, where he was sure to find more girls in his class, he headed straight to the third floor, slamming through the door and shutting it behind him. Even over his ragged breath, he could hear the sound of shoes pounding up the stairs in his wake. I have to hide...
Darting down the hall and ignoring the strange looks the upperclassmen were giving him, Ryoma tried to think of a place to hide. The janitor's closet would be too obvious, and a classroom could have other crazy girls just waiting for a chance to pounce him.
Just as he was about to turn a corner and try sneaking back downstairs, an arm reached out and yanked him into the classroom. Yelping in surprise, he struggled against whoever it was, biting down hard on the arm around him.
"OW!" The person cried, letting him go. "You little brat, is that what I get for trying to help you?!"
Blinking at the familiar voice, Ryoma turned and looked up at a rather petulant Momoshiro Takeshi. "Geez, you bite hard."
"Ah...sorry." Ryoma muttered, cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment. Could this day get any worse?
"What are you doing up here anyway?" Momo continued, rubbing at the bite mark on his arm. "Don't you have class downstairs?"
As if answering his question, footsteps padded by, followed by calls of 'Echizen-kun~!' and 'Come out wherever you are~!'. Momo raised an eyebrow and looked at the freshman. "Oh."
"It's Valentine's Day." Ryoma said darkly, taking a few steps closer to his senpai. If anything, he could use the taller boy as a shield until he could make an escape, if the girls happened to look in here.
"Heh~ That would explain all the girls running around." The spiky-haired second year said thoughtfully, then sighed dramatically. "I wish I had girls running after me, trying to give me stuff."
"You can have them." Ryoma huffed, crossing his arms.
Momo peeked out of the hallway, tilted his head, then made a face. "Eh, now that I think about it...you can keep 'em."
"Che." The freshman snorted, stepping a little closer to Momo. The sophomore noticed the movement and grinned, reaching out to ruffle Ryoma's hair. "What's wrong, Echizen? Scared of a couple of girls?"
"A couple?" Ryoma said incredulously, batting at Momo's hand.
"...Okay, more than a couple."
"There has to be at least twenty of them out there."
"...I don't blame you for being scared, then."
Peeking out of the classroom again, Momo slowly slid the door shut, sighing softly. "You're pretty popular, you know that?"
"Eh?"
The sophomore shrugged. "All the girls talk about how cute you are, even the ones in my class. You're always the topic of their conversations."
Ryoma sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know why. I'm not that great." He paused, then wrinkled his nose. "And I'm not cute, either."
"Sure you are!" Momo grinned, fondly ruffling Ryoma's hair again. "You're the freshman prodigy, remember?" His grin grew. "And very cute."
He laughed as Ryoma flushed and pushed away from him. "M-Momo-senpai!" He said indignantly, but if it was for the hair ruffling or the remark, he wasn't sure.
A few moments went by, and Momo chanced another glance out into the hallway. "Na, Echizen. I think your stalkers are gone." He commented.
Ryoma peeked out as well, sighing heavily in relief. "Good. Maybe I'll make it to class on time."
"They'll probably be after you all day, but if you want, you can come sit with me at lunch." Momo said with a smile, then gave his most charming grin. "I'll protect you from the scary girls-oof!"
"Baka." Ryoma huffed, removing his elbow from Momo's stomach. The sophomore pouted and rubbed his middle. "First you bite me, then you elbow me? You have no respect for your elders. No respect at all."
Ryoma raised an eyebrow, then grabbed Momo's arm, inspecting the red bite mark he'd left earlier. Then, as if it were no big deal at all, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the mark, ignoring Momo's sputtered protest. "I'll see you later, Momo-senpai."
He stepped out in the hallway, turning to glance at the sophomore. Noting the blush on his cheeks, Ryoma smirked. "And I'll take you up on that offer to protect me at lunch. Ja." And with a wave over his shoulder, the freshman disappeared down the hall.
Momo watched him, blinking a few times before shaking his head and chuckling. "Little brat." He said fondly before heading to his seat.
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