Chapter Text
Kunimitsu Tezuka hummed as he walked around the Seigaku campus. He had just finished morning practice and was on his way to the admin office. As he turned the corner, he bumped into another person, causing the smaller to fall down. Tezuka looked down, preparing to help the person up when he was met with angry hazel eyes. The person’s face was very young and contained large kittenish hazel eyes. The person had a button nose and a small plush mouth. Their hair was dark-colored, with green undertones and shined in the morning light. Their face was devoid of expression except for the intense glare the cat eyes were forming. Tezuka reached out a hand.
“Are you okay there, kitten?”
Silence responded to his words and Tezula felt himself sweatdrop. The name slipped out without his consent. He had to force his face to not lose its stoic expression, acting as if calling a stranger ‘kitten’ was completely normal. The stranger jumped up, a full head and half shorter than Tezuka, and slapped the hand away.
“Hentai,” the cute stranger muttered before turning in the opposite direction and walking off.
Well, it seems his kitten was a boy.
As Tezuka entered the admin office, he was in deep thought about the boy he met. He had to be a first year, he was so small. Maybe his small stature was the reason Tezula had never seen him before? Tezuka was quiet and kept to himself but he was highly observant. He would have at least noticed the boy before.
“Ah, Tezuka-kun there you are. Perfect timing as usual,” Principal Ishikawa Hiroyuki greeted warmly as soon as he saw him. Standing next to the principal was his chibi-neko, with an irritated expression on his face.
“Echizen-kun, this is our Student Council President, Kunimitsu Tezuka-kun. He is the captain of our esteemed tennis team as well. Tezuka-kun, this is Echizen Ryouma, our new student. Echizen-kun, Tezuka-kun will be giving you a tour and showing you to your first class. Take care of Echizen-kun!” The Principal ended on a cheery note, disappearing into his office.
Silence followed his exit, neither of the boys being ones to start conversation.
Tezuka cleared his throat, “Right, I will give you a tour.”
As Tezuka gave his chibi-neko a tour, he could not help but steal glances. His chibi-neko was so cute, even though he had a bored expression on his face. He had not said one comment since they started the tour, and Tezuka found he wanted to hear his voice.
“This is one of the recreational places we have at the school,” Tezuka said, noting how his chibi-neko’s eyes lingered on the vending machine. “Would you like something to drink? It will be my treat.” Actually, Tezuka was eager to know what his chibi-neko would get. It will serve as great knowledge for future reference.
“Hmm,” his chibi-neko said. “I will take a grape Ponta.”
So his chibi-neko liked sugary things? Tezuka thought as he got the drink. He handed the drink to Ryouma, observing how quickly he drank it.
“Ah, Tezuka! There you are!” Fuji Shusuke exclaimed, running up the pair. He curiously looked at Ryouma, “Who’s this? New student?”
Tezuka cursed, mentally trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. He had to be incredibly careful, or Fuji will immediately know how cute he thought his chibi-neko was.
“Hai, this is Ryouma Echizen. Ryouma-kun, this is Fuji Shusuke, he plays singles on the tennis team.” Tezuka said, applauding himself for not calling Ryouma ‘chibi-neko’.
Fuji hummed and Tezuka realized his grave mistake. He had introduced Ryouma with his first name. It was too late, Tezuka knew Fuji had already recognized his attraction to Ryouma.
Fuji smiled, but Tezuka knew what followed will be anything but friendly. “Ahh~you look like a little kitten! What if I called you Chibi-Neko-chan?”
At once Tezuka felt the temperature drop. He looked over to his chibi-neko to see his large eyes burning with a glare towards Fuji. Before any more words could be said. Tezuka promptly dragged Fuji over to a corner.
“You can’t call him that,” Tezuka said, voice devoid of emotion.
“And why not,” Fuji replied, voice amused and tone implying he already knew why.
“That’s my name for him,” Tezuka said, unabashed and not showing a hint of embarrassment over his attraction being exposed.
Fuji chuckled, clearly enjoying his uncharacteristic actions. “Hai hai, Ryouma-kun it is. I must say, I’m surprised that the person causing you to act like this is a small boy.” There seemed to be a hint of sadness in his tone.
“He’s not just a small boy,” Tezuka started, voice firm. “He is an angel sent down to this earth. He is my chibi-neko sent down to brighten my life. He is endlessly adorable with his large hazel eyes that reflect amber, emerald, and lilac. His eyes sparkle like diamonds and speak a thousand words. His long eyelashes flare out teasingly, giving a flirty look. His hair is constantly reflecting different colors, whether it’s blue, purple, or green. It shines regardless of any lighting. in He likes sweet things, probably because he is just as sweet. His short height gives him an aura of defencelessness and makes anyone want to protect him, me included. Although only I should protect him, and he is my chibi-neko. He is perfect.” Tezuka finished, feeling incredibly satisfied. He could not wait to write that down in his journal later.
Fuji listened to his whole rant, not interrupting. Fuji frowned, jealousy flaring in his gut. He had liked Tezuka for many years now, and he was upset that he was taken away so easily, Fuji forced a smile on his face, “Oho! You sure are unashamed huh? Well, I wish you luck.” Fuji gave a salute goodbye and walked away, feeling a tad bit bitter.
Tezuka frowned, Fuji’s response had seemed off. He ignored it, for now, wanting to get back to his chibi-neko. He walked around the corner, seeing his chibi-neko being spoken to by none other than Momoshiro. Tezuka felt a flare of irritation, he just wanted to keep his chibi-neko to himself.
“Yeah so if you’re not busy later you should totally watch me at practice today!” Momoshiro said, flirting.
“No thanks,” his chibi-neko said, disinterested.
“Aw why not,” Momoshiro fake whined, not deterred. “How’s this, if you come, I’ll treat you to a drink later. Plus, I’m really cool!” He winked, trying to win Ryouma over.
Tezuka walked over, clearing his throat. “Momoshiro, I’m afraid we have a tour to continue with.” He glared, clearly sending a message for Momoshiro to fuck off.
“But Captain! I’m trying to get this cutie to come to our practice!” Momoshiro whined.
Both Tezuka and Ryouma ignored him. “Come this way, Ryouma-kun.”
The boys started walking, leaving a Momoshiro to gawk in the dust. It was silent between them before his chibi-neko spoke. “Why do you call me by my first name?”
Tezuka did not miss a beat, “You can call me by mine as well.”
His chibi-neko did not respond, so he took it as a win. “Now that I’m thinking about it, you should probably come watch practice today. Our school is known for our tennis team, so it might be in your favor to get familiar.”
His chibi-neko sighed, “Fine, but you have to get me another Ponta since I didn’t take that weird guy’s offer.”
Tezuka hid a victorious smirk, now his chibi-neko will be looking for him at practice. “Sure, practice starts at 4.”
Tezuka had not stopped thinking about his chibi-neko all day. It was like his mind was a magnet attracted to his chibi-neko. Not that anyone would have noticed. He went through his school routine without any hiccups, face not revealing school was the last thing on his mind. Tezuka sighed, pulling out his phone. Displayed was a picture of his chibi-neko under a tree. He was lightly resting against it with his eyes closed. Tezuka thought it was adorable how his chibi-neko liked to nap like a kitten as well. He got a little carried away and ending taking multiple pictures of them. His angel photographed so well he could not stop. Realizing how creepy it was, Tezuka decided to just keep his favorite picture and make it his home screen. (Note: this is just as creepy)
“What are you looking at?” Fuji asked, peering over his shoulder, only catching a brief glimpse before the screen turned black.
Tezuka closed his eyes as he got up from his seat, “Nothing. Let’s go to practice.”
Fuji frowned, knowing it probably had something to do with Tezuka’s little crush on the small boy. He chose not to call him out, knowing it will just make him even more upset.
On the inside, Tezuka was extremely pleased. His chibi-neko would be at practice, and for once Tezuka really cared about how he appeared. His fangirls always were always screaming about how cool he looks during practice, so he could only hope his chibi-neko feels the same.
Tezuka effortlessly returned the serve, forcing his partner to run for the ball. Normally, as Captain, Tezuka did not need to participate in practice, but he wanted to show his chibi-neko his skill. Tezuka looked over at the fence, seeing his chibi-neko watching the practice with a bored expression. Tezuka looked over at Fuji, nodding for him to kick it up a notch. Fuji served a nearly impossible to return serve and Tezuka jumped up to do a twist shot. He heard his fangirls start cheering and he shot a quick glance over at his chibi-neko. To his dismay, his chibi-neko was gone and he looked frantically around for him. He relaxed when he saw his chibi-neko returning from the vending machine, a grape Ponta in hand. He slightly huffed, choosing to be done practicing for the day.
“Chibusuke!”
Tezuka whipped around at the deep voice calling his chibi-neko that. His eyes narrowed at the sight of a tall, muscular man lifting up his chibi-neko. The man spun him around, and while his chibi-neko was glaring, he did not outwardly protest. Tezuka jogged over, needing to know who this mysterious man was. As he got closer, he noticed a surprising similarity between his chibi-neko and the man. While the man was clearly older and more well built, they had similar hair and eye colors. The man looked like an older, more muscular version of his chibi-neko.
“Ah, Ryouma-kun, there you are,” Tezuka started, as if he was not aware of the boy’s presence the entire time. “Shall I get you that drink you wanted as promised?”
The man set his chibi-neko down and locked eyes with Tezuka. Immediately a line of connection was established, and the man knew exactly what Tezuka felt for Ryouma. Tezuka knew the man was extremely overprotective of his chibi-neko and did not trust him.
“Who are you,” the man said, looking him up and down.
Tezuka was far cooler, adjusting his glasses and giving the man a calculating look. “Kunimitsu Tezuka. Captain of the Seigaku Tennis Team and Student Council President. May I ask who you are?”
The man frowned, “Tch, Echizen Ryouga. So you’re the captain, huh? I’m planning on trying out tomorrow. Me and my otouto just started.”
Tezuka resisted the urge to smirk. “Well, we have a rule where any member with a younger brother must have the brother watch the practice every day.”
Ryouga flinched, shocked at how bold that move was. “Bu-”
“Where are they?”
Both Tezuka and Ryouga looked down at Ryouma who was looking around curiously. “Shouldn’t there be a group of boys somewhere?”
Tezuka cleared his throat, “Yes well, should Echizen-san get on the team you would be the only one, Ryouma-kun.”
His chibi-neko made a face, choosing not to comment.
“That’s bullshit!” Ryouga exclaimed, getting close. “You just want an excuse to see my adorable little brother.”
“I’m afraid rules are rules,” Tezuka said smoothly, ignoring the spot-on accusation.
Ryouga groaned, “Fine, but only the first 10 minutes. Chibusuke has other things to do.”
“Fine.”
“Let’s go Chibusuke,” Ryouga muttered, shooting one last glare at Tezuka.
“Matte,” his chibi-neko said. He focused his eyes on Tezuka, making his stomach jolt at the sudden attention. “My drink.”
Tezuka nodded, jogging over the vending machine and getting the drink. He handed it to his chibi-neko, watching him drink it greedily. His hands twitched with the urge to snap a picture, but Ryouga was also watching Ryouma like a hawk. The brothers turned away, neither bothering to say goodbye. Tezuka lifted a fist to his chest in victory. Not only had he secured in seeing his chibi-Neko every day for at least 10 minutes, but he had also won a battle with his newly acquired rival. He frowned, remembering how easy Ryouga could touch his chibi-neko. ‘ One day ,’ he promised himself.
Tezuka stopped on his way back home, staring intently at the shop window. It was for a split second, but the camera glinting on display caught his attention. The shop was having a 20% off sale. ‘ With this, I could have pictures...developed!’ It was a no-brainer. Tezuka walked out of the shop extremely satisfied, a new camera in his bag.