Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Remember to drink your milk ❯ Nan de ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer : `Tennis no Oujisama' belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

 

For a teacher, a colleague and a friend who adhere to her principles with great tenacity till the last.

 

Nan de(1)

 

Two pairs of eyes followed the troubled gaze to the pixie-faced first-year who was his usual nonchalant self and back to the black-haired substitute captain who had worry writ all over his kind face.

 

“Something's up between Ooishi and Ochibi(2)!”

 

“Zettai(3)!”

 

Despite being so worried that he was quite ready to swear, (In private, of course, and not too loudly.) Ooishi Shuuichirou could not dispel the creepy feeling he felt on the back of his neck. He turned and saw a sight, which would have looked fishy, if he was not so preoccupied. Kikumaru Eiji and Momoshiro Takeshi had an arm around each other's shoulder in a huddle but were looking in opposite directions. The latter was even whistling a variant of his `Shampoo Song'.

 

“You're in charge of wiggling it out of Ochibi, Momo! I'll get it out of Ooishi.”

 

“Hai(4)!”

 

“Chot-to mat-te(5)!” he wailed on second thought. “Why do I have to deal with Echizen? He's only marginally more vocal than Buchou(6)!”

 

“Ne… Eiji-senpai(7)…”

 

But the third-year had already followed Ooishi into the next court.

 

 

During lunch break the next day, Momoshiro gathered the three non-regular first-years who hung around Echizen Ryouma.

 

“Erm, I don't think there's anything wrong with Ryouma-kun(8), Momo-chan(9)-senpai,” answered Katou Kachirou. Mizuno Katsuo looked rather undecided.

 

“Heh! You two are too slow to catch such things,” Horio Satoshi said in his grating, mightier-than-thou tone. “With my two years of tennis experience, I can tell that Echizen is very distracted nowadays.”

 

“What has tennis experience got to do with this?”

 

“Really!” Momoshiro exclaimed through a mouthful of soba(10) bun.

 

“That's because Horio-kun is in the same class as Ryouma-kun.”

 

Before Horio could counter the two negative responses, Momoshiro intercepted with a request for details.

 

“Eto(11) … Echizen usually pays attention in class ,” he said with his chin in a hand, “Except English class. But he hasn't been all that attentive recently. Sometimes, he says, `Mada mada dane(12)' to himself. And he'd even forgotten about an English test!” Although he did score better than me.

 

Momoshiro looked serious as he munched his first chocolate cookie. He had finished his three soba buns.

 

“But it's nothing to do with schoolwork from what I see. Tennis Club looked okay to me too. It's probably something at home. No girl problem either. Unless it's too many girls. Hng! Must be something at home!” Horio concluded by pounding fist into palm.

 

“Sou ka(13)? Any idea what exactly?”

 

Three heads shook in unison.

 

“Hmm…” the quartet sounded in unison as their fellow lunchers looked on in amusement.

 

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 

1)Why

2)Kiddo

3)Definitely

4)Yes

5)Wait a minute

6)Club President

7)senior

8) title for a male who's a peer or junior

9) title for someone who's a peer or junior & whom one's very close to

10) buckwheat noodles

11)Well

12)It'd be a long time yet.

13)That's why, is it?