"Problems With Training"

[Neesan]

Five-hundred years ago, it was Atobe Keigo's birthday [Oct. 4th], and while I've been in the most non-writing mood ever, I got a really sweet email for a request for an Atobe birthday fic. Excited at the coincidence as I had thought about doing something for him earlier that day, I spent forever writing something up for him. 8D

Pictures: Here is the entire Hyotei team, some get mentioned through the fic. Atobe looks kinda weird in the anime, so I like to think of him in his manga form. More so how he is in the games. Merow.

No warnings, no yaoi or anything like that. If you want to squint hard and look upside down there can be some Atobe-Oshitari hints, but it wasn’t what I was going for, really. XD! I didn’t have a great idea for this so sorry if it’s meh-worthy. x_x; I had an extra hard time writing the sounds, so some are absent, but I think it works either way. Enjoy!! :3

☆ Problems With Training ☆

The early morning breeze drifted through the opened windows, lifting the long sheer curtains to dance in a slow rolling rhythm against the smooth polished floor. Being midsummer, the weather wasn’t suffocating with heat, the trace of autumn making the warm air crisp and fresh.

Indeed, it was beautiful weather, and the room’s inhabitant was content enough to sleep in the nude with the windows opened, a silk sheet draped over him for comfort only. Then again, Atobe Keigo was the definition of comfort. Even when he was vacationing with his teammates, he went all out to keep his room as close to home as possible.

At the moment, Atobe’s sleeping form wasn’t quite comfortable, sleeping features stirring slightly. It wasn’t enough to fully wake him, his cheek nuzzling against the silken pillow to unconsciously shake the feeling away. A quiet sniff broke the silence of the room, his brows pulling together irritably. Still, he dozed when the outside irritation died down, embracing the warm arms of deep sleep.

Of course he didn’t notice that his lips parted with a sigh of air when it was becoming impossible to breathe through his nose. It wasn’t a normal occurrence, but it also wasn’t something that would wake him out of slumber. Not even when his parted lips drew into a slight sneer with a slow inhale of breath.

“huhh... hah’ktschuh!”

Through the parting of heavy lids, a pair of bright blue eyes stared at the side of the room his head was turned towards. Atobe’s sleep induced mind whirled for a moment, wondering what had woken him up so suddenly. Pondering lasted only a moment, realizing his nose was stuffed up and an painful itch was looming through his sinuses.

More awake, and now scowling, he sat up from the bed as the light sheet pooled around his body. How annoying. Reaching for the night stand where a box of tissues were stocked, Atobe sniffled softly, but it did more harm than he would have thought. He was a little quicker with his actions at grabbing the tissue which he used to catch a body shuddering sneeze muffled by the tissue but not lacking the strength.

He paused, not moving the tissue away while the burning itch raged still in his sinuses. “-hmpft! ....uh...” He plucked fresh tissues from the box in time to cover his nose and mouth, catching two more before he felt the tickle die down.

Fully awake now, Atobe’s watery eyes shifted to the digital clock next to the tissue box with a frown. Well, he only had fifteen more minutes of sleep anyway. Turning the alarm off, he got out of bed and padded to the bathroom where he tossed the used tissues away and turned the shower on.

Atobe knew full well he wasn’t sick and tossed this whole occurrence as a freak tickle that caught him off-guard in his sleep and nothing more. The steam that the shower produced cleared him up and he was in better spirits when he got the call from his maid that breakfast was ready for him and his team members were being informed now.

This wasn’t just any vacation for the Hyotei tennis team, they were all on a strict schedule this week for training. Atobe would not let Seigaku beat them again, and getting away from the school and focusing the entire week on training and tennis would surely shape them all up. The thought made him smirk as he dressed into the fresh clothing he had laid out for him last night.

Running a brush through his drying strands, Atobe gave his reflection in the mirror a proud grin and turned from the bathroom to the bedroom. Surely the rest of the team would be heading down to breakfast now, and his mind was already going over the training menu afterwards. Stretching, weightlifting, endurance...

“Hit’schuuuh!”

Caught completely off guard, Atobe was forced into a slight bow when the sneeze crept up on him out of no where. It wasn’t the first, and when he realized that, making a grab for the box of tissues that were a few feet away on the night stand. His breath hitched, willing it into temporary submission before... “huu-uh...” his wrist came up, pressing his knuckles under the tip of his nose, one eye squeezed shut from the struggle. He reached the box in time, pulling one out...

...and nothing.

“Che!” Highly irritated at this point, Atobe used the tissue to clear his nose and tossed the tissue into the garbage can. Pausing in thought, Atobe realized this was not a fluke and something was actually bothering him. His gaze slid around the room accusingly. It was very clean, the light scent of roses drifting in the air from his cologne, mixed with the remaining steam from the shower. That wasn’t the problem...

When his gaze shifted toward the clock, he groaned slightly. He was late for breakfast. Another scoff issued when his hand reached for the doorknob, a second thought hitting him and he looked down to the box of tissues. This is so embarrassing. The thought stuck with him as he pocketed a bundle of the soft paper, heading out of his room and to the dining area.

“Oi, Atobe. You’re late.” Shishido was first to pipe up, the surly brunette sitting in his chair with his arms crossed in front of him. The rest of the team didn’t seam to care, though Jiroh was excitedly inspecting the silver trays that the help was holding.

“Aa, but I’m here.” Atobe waved a hand and sent the two maids to work, placing a small dish of hors d’œuvres in front of each of the eight teammates while the butler poured each of them a cup of coffee. When Atobe reached his seat, the head of the table naturally, looking up finally at his team. “I trust you all slept well, of course.”

A light muttering went around the table of “yes” and “thanks” which was mostly credited to the food being sat down before them. Atobe only grinned, taking his coffee cup and taking a long sip of the contents.

“Oi, Atobe...” The deep drawling voice from his left didn’t make Atobe look up right away, expecting him to say something first. Oshitari Yuushi wasn’t dubbed Hyotei’s prodigy for nothing. “Can you pass the sugar please?”

Oh? They were going to play a game. Atobe’s eyes opened, glancing at him with a slight grin. “Of course.”

Breakfast went on, to Atobe’s relief, with no further incidents. He did notice the itch that played in his sinuses was still there, though nothing he couldn’t control. Just as a precaution, Atobe made sure to clear his nose of whatever was bothering him while the team changed into their uniforms to begin practice. He wasn’t quite worried any more, but to lose control in front of his team wasn’t something he wanted to do.

Once he finished and headed down the stairs, he was pleased to see everyone had assembled in the foyer with the training menu in their hands.

“Alright! Let’s get started! No more slacking off for Hyotei come Nationals.” His commanding voice drifted through the room, the air of his confidence added to the statement and caused the team to smile with positive replies. Pleased at that, and himself, Atobe lead them outside while looking over the piece of paper in hand.

Suddenly scowling, Atobe was grateful his team started to talk amongst themselves while his hand went to rub his knuckles irritably against the tip of his nose. The tickle that had been dying down started to come back a little stronger now, the kneading not helping much.

“Ah, not good.” Oshitari suddenly spoke up, catching attention since he stopped walking with the rest of them. Even Atobe stopped to ask him what the problem was, ceasing the rubbing right away when faced to the others. From his pocket, Oshitari extracted a bundle of white. “J-Japanese cypress.” Behind his glasses he squinted, before his wrist raised and caught a heavy sneezed, followed quickly by another. “Ahh...” Regrouping with a sniffle, the navy-haired prodigy opened up the surgical mask and slipped it on.

“Japanese cypress?” Shishido piped up, looking over at them while balancing the racket on his forefinger.

Gakuto nodded next to him, gaze shifted over to the woods around them. “Yeah, Yuushi’s allergic to them.”

“But, we’ve been here before.” Shishido pointed out simply.

“It was early spring last time we came.” Oshitari told him, mask in place and covering his mouth and nose securely. “They didn’t start releasing pollen yet. And since this summer has been so hot, I figured it would be really bad when we got here.”

Gakuto nodded firmly. “That’s why you took that medication last night and this morning.”

Atobe, meanwhile, was struck into the conversation with a slightly shocked look. Impossible! He couldn’t have been suffering from allergies! “If you’re all done discussing Oshitari’s problems, let get to work.” The irritation in his tone caused the team to look at their captain curiously, but Atobe was already walking toward the courts with Kabaji in tow.

It felt as if his body was becoming treacherous; he had never been allergic to anything before. Well, besides cats... But that wasn’t a problem if he stayed away from them. This was very different. There was no way he could say away from the outside, not when he was supposed to be working on training.

The short walk from the house to the courts wasn’t enough for Atobe to fully run the scenario though his mind to make sense of it. It was true, his sinuses were being more troublesome outside, but his proud determination didn’t show that when he turned to his team and started them all stretching.

Teamed up with Kabaji, his faithful and closest friend, Atobe felt much better knowing those little sniffles that came from him would not be questioned by the other. Stretching out didn’t last as long as Atobe would have liked it to be, though when he stood, he began scrubbing at his eyes which were becoming quite irritated as well.

“You alright, Atobe?” Of course Oshitari had to approach him when he was clearly moving away from the others to deal with his little problem.

“Of course.” Atobe shrugged it off when he turned back around, surprising Oshitari with how he looked. Atobe couldn’t quite see for himself the state he was in; pink lining around watery eyes, nose taking on the same pink color, as well as the slight nasally sound of his voice. “Twenty laps!” He called out, stepping past Oshitari and waving to the team. “Five jogging, rest running. What?”

Oshitari just shrugged, his smile hidden by the mask as he too set off to start jogging around the courts. He knew Atobe a little too well, the King of Hyotei obvious was having a problem with the outside like himself, but would be the very last one to admit it, if ever. Oshitari caught up with the rest of the team quickly, eyes shifting over toward Atobe every so often.

“Oi, Yuushi!” Gakuto complained on their third lap, pulling Oshitari’s gaze back to him. “I thought you said that medication doesn’t make you daze out.”

“Very sorry, Gakuto.” His eyes closed with a hidden smile, knowing he wasn’t listening to what his doubles partner was going on about. Gakuto picked up where he had left off, and once more Oshitari looked over to where Atobe was setting up things for matches. Highly suspicious since Atobe’s help would have done all that for him.

Oshitari smirked to himself, nodding down to Gakuto least the acrobatic player yell at him again. On the next lap, when the team was on the opposite side of the courts from their captain, Oshitari’s suspicions were now confirmed. Atobe had turned his back on the courts, visibly shuddering four times in a desperation Oshitari was far too accustomed to. Inwardly sighing, he glanced back with a frown when Atobe gave up the work and went back toward the house.

This is pathetic. That thought went over and over in Atobe’s mind, becoming more vicious each time he thought it. He left practice to head to his room, wrist pinned against his nose to fight off the painful stinging at least until he got some tissues. He wouldn’t let this, or anything, keep him from training.

“h’KTSHN!” Smothering the sneeze against his wrist, Atobe didn’t make it to his room when the flurry started, causing his eyes to water from the strain. “Huhh-EHKTSCH!”

“You shouldn’t hold them in like that, you know.”

Atobe didn’t look back, a shiver of aggravation racing up his spine when the velvet voice called to him. He walked on, having paused at the top of the stairs to keep more of his concentration on his sinuses. “You’re supposed to be out running laps, Oshitari.” And with that sniffled his way to his room. He was a little past caring about what his body was doing to him, focused on training instead.

In his room, he cleared his sinuses a few times and was in th process of stuffing some tissues into his jersey pocket when his pursuer caught up.

“I have some medication that will work on you.”

“I’ll call my doctor over tonight.”

“Fine. I have an extra mask.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Atobe...”

“Oshitari.” Atobe turned around finally, eyes narrowed at his teammate. “Don’t fuss, it’s not becoming of you.” A small chuckle sounded and the captain made his way past Oshitari and back down the stairs.

Watching Atobe leave, Oshitari’s small smile was hidden by the mask he still wore. “Just like him, that Atobe.” Before heading back outside, he picked up one of the new masks inside his room and tucked it in his pocket. Just in case.

Outside, Atobe stepped out to the team finishing up their running. “Alright! Over here!” He called to them while crossing the grounds to unlock the gate to the courts. There were six of them, the entire estate more suited for a country club than just a retreat. Then again, Atobe already started to debate in his mind whether or not to actually keep it now if it would repeat this annoyance every time he came up.

When the team gathered, Atobe took the notebook one of the servants held for him and began to read off the names. “Shishido with Ootori,” itching, itching... “Kah... Kabaji with Hiyoshi, Gakuto and Oshitari, a-and when Jiroh wakes up he’s with... me. Ehktshuuh!” He wasn’t able to hold back, turning from the book in his hands to force the sneeze to his side. “Now...”

“A-Atobe-buchou! Are you ok? Do you have a cold? We should...”

“Ootori, that’s enough. I’m not dying, so none of you should worry about it and concentrate on your work.” The sentence ended rather quickly and Atobe turned around fully after pulling out the bundle of tissues to catch the strained pair of sneezes that followed. A pause before two more. Sighing heavily, Atobe scrubbed at his nose with a clean corner of tissue before turning around.

He wasn’t the least bit happy.

“What are you all staring at?! Get to work!” Perhaps, he thought, his plan wouldn’t work after all. “Act like they’ve never seen anyone sneeze before.” Muttering darkly, Atobe went to the lounge chair and table that the maids brought out for him, telling one of the butlers to get him some warmed tea. Oshitari had been right, pinching off them caused his throat to strain and become quite uncomfortable.

“Ihtsht!” Speak of the devil. “Here.” Oshitari left the package mask on the table next to Atobe.

“Hmph. I'm absolutely not wearing that. And it doesn’t sound like it’s helping you much.” Atobe noted, sniffling against a new tissue he pulled out.

Oshitari laughed softly, shrugging a shoulder. “One or two will get out eventually.” He looked back down at his captain and frowned. “You should go to your doctor today, Atobe. You look like hell.”

“I never look like hell, idiot.” Atobe frowned, though was a little more upset because he actually didn’t know how he looked. Judging on how he felt, he was sure he wasn’t the same dashing Hyotei Prince as usual. He gave in with a sigh, fingertips massaging his itching eyes. “Perhaps I should.”

“Good.” With a hidden grin, Oshitari nodded slightly and picked up his racket from the other side of the fence. “Can’t have our captain...”

“EH’TSCHUH!”

“...doing that the entire time.”

“Very funny.” Atobe grumbled, sniffling hard against the tissues. He already had his phone out, getting a hold of the main butler of the house. “Get the closest and best allergist here to see me as soon as he can.” Hanging up, he made a ‘happy now?’ gesture to Oshitari before accepting the tea that was brought out to him.

“I’m proud of you for giving in.”

“Well,” Atobe set down the cup of tea, feeling the stinging in his throat soothing a bit. “I can’t have you looking more composed than me.”

“Of course, Atobe-sama.” Oshitari went for a slight bow before picking up the schedule that was on the table. “I’ll just follow this for you until you get back in any case.

Atobe nodded, saved trouble from asking Oshitari to do so. While the team didn’t have a co-captain, Atobe was sure Oshitari would have been a very adequate stand-in while he was out. “Let’s hope this whole mess is cleared up n...” “HAAHPTSCHHUUH!”

“S-Shishido-san?!” Ootori’s cry was just as loud as the sneeze that came out of his doubles partner. “Did you catch cold too!?”

“Oi! You bastards getting everyone sick!” Shishido turned to Oshitari and Atobe, scowling hard and rubbing at his nose.

With a defeated sigh, Atobe picked up his phone again and dialed the main number. “Cancel the appointment, make it for my doctor in Tokyo. We’re all going to be leaving in an hour.”

“Sounds like a wasted trip, ne?” Oshitari sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the team who had all stopped playing when they heard the announcement.

“Not exactly.” Atobe took a sip of tea before commenting. “We just found out that nearly half of the team can’t play up here during high pollen counts.”

-Owari-

[Sneesee]

Lovely! Well written, and just yummy! Thank you!

[Garnet]

I'ma have to make this quick as I have to run to a physics lab, but WAHHHH KISA SO CUTE! ;3; !!! Of course I don't know any of the characters or the series from, like, a hole in the wall, but was so damned hot! 8D I'll have to read it ohhh two or three more times when I get back from doing stuff. Behehe!

Mad-love for Atobe's failing aloofness and gnaummm those sounds were perfect, shh! 8> (Kitty-allergies FTW) All desperate and allergicy. Oshitari guy is pretty cute too, omg such a pest!

Arararr SEE YOU CAN SO still write, crazypants! This is one of your better ones, I thinks!

[Neesan]

Sneesee: Nono, thank you! I'm very glad you like it, thank you sweetie!

Gaaarnet: Waaaai, ILU!! I know how much you loooove PoT X3, but I loves you more for reading~ and very glad you likey it. 8D! Still think the sounds were problematic, but it worked out so I am happypants. Keehehe, Atobe fails at wrongness and Oshitari is a pervert pest and I'm glad I conveyed that, bwahaha! XD!!!

*squeakflail* Thanks you soooo muuucherly~ ;o;! I feel much better about it now, as new writing format made me nervous. :9 *LOVEYOU*

[Guest SunStar]

It's Prince of Tennis! WooHoo! Katsu no wa Hyoutei! I'm actually a fan of the TeniMyu Musicals, but I still enjoyed your fic immensely, I just pictured the actors and I hope you write more for this fandom! Great work!

[Neesan]

It's Prince of Tennis! WooHoo! Katsu no wa Hyoutei! I'm actually a fan of the TeniMyu Musicals, but I still enjoyed your fic immensely, I just pictured the actors and I hope you write more for this fandom! Great work!

Makeru no Seigaku! Shousha wa At....ohnoooo! Now I'll be chanting all day! I'm not such a huge fan of the myus, I watched a few and really loved Oshitari (I forget his real name now n_n;!) and Sanada~. <3! Ahem! I'm very glad you liked it! There will no doubt be more, I've been stuck in tenipuri-obsession again after the year break, hehe.

[Guest Malaya]

Yeah...I don't usually do this, but...*FLAILS AROUND ROOM* OH GOD, I LOVED READING THAT SO MUCH! I MUST READ IT AGAIN 92347289347892374 TIMES!

Psssssst, my boyfriend who claims to have not caught the fetish from me, but squeals over practically EVERYTHING on this site read it too and is now rolling around on the ground while cuddling a blanket...He's a loser. I love him

[Spoo]

Kyaah! I always get so excited whenever I see something new from you, Aku, or Garnet~!

I'm loving this fic, man. Everything just seemed right, and adjfkasdjlfksf@Atobe. 83 Lovelovelove.

~Spoodles.

[Neesan]

Malaya: Awwww! Too cute! ! I'm very glad you (and your boy) enjoyed it! *giggle!* Thanks a bunch!!

Spoo: Hee~! Hopefully I can get some more out at some point, me and Garnet need to get our butts working on something. *nodnod* EEE! Thank you soooo much, I'm way glad you liked it! Mwahaha! Atobe torture!

[Guest SunStar]

It's Prince of Tennis! WooHoo! Katsu no wa Hyoutei! I'm actually a fan of the TeniMyu Musicals, but I still enjoyed your fic immensely, I just pictured the actors and I hope you write more for this fandom! Great work!

Makeru no Seigaku! Shousha wa At....ohnoooo! Now I'll be chanting all day! I'm not such a huge fan of the myus, I watched a few and really loved Oshitari (I forget his real name now n_n;!) and Sanada~. <3! Ahem! I'm very glad you liked it! There will no doubt be more, I've been stuck in tenipuri-obsession again after the year break, hehe.

Takumi Saito plays Oshitari in the Myus, I haven't seen the Rokkaku or Rikkai matches yet. I think it was decided on one of the TeniMyu forums that Takumi-san could be Oshitari even without the blue hair, he just IS Oshitari lol. Ooh more stories *awaits rather impatiently*

"Ore sama no bigi ni boggie woogie"

[Neesan]

It's Prince of Tennis! WooHoo! Katsu no wa Hyoutei! I'm actually a fan of the TeniMyu Musicals, but I still enjoyed your fic immensely, I just pictured the actors and I hope you write more for this fandom! Great work!

Makeru no Seigaku! Shousha wa At....ohnoooo! Now I'll be chanting all day! I'm not such a huge fan of the myus, I watched a few and really loved Oshitari (I forget his real name now n_n;!) and Sanada~. <3! Ahem! I'm very glad you liked it! There will no doubt be more, I've been stuck in tenipuri-obsession again after the year break, hehe.

Takumi Saito plays Oshitari in the Myus, I haven't seen the Rokkaku or Rikkai matches yet. I think it was decided on one of the TeniMyu forums that Takumi-san could be Oshitari even without the blue hair, he just IS Oshitari lol. Ooh more stories *awaits rather impatiently*

"Ore sama no bigi ni boggie woogie"

I'm such a huge Rikkai supporter so I was bias watching the Myu (which I totally reccomend, if only for "SANADA DOJO!"). Then again, the first one I watched was the Hyotei one because I love them just as much. Hiyoshi~! That reminds me I have to dig out his gekokujou song. He's such a nerd. <3! That's so true about Takumi! I vowed if I go to Japan I might just go and kidnap him.

[Guest SunStar]

It's Prince of Tennis! WooHoo! Katsu no wa Hyoutei! I'm actually a fan of the TeniMyu Musicals, but I still enjoyed your fic immensely, I just pictured the actors and I hope you write more for this fandom! Great work!

Makeru no Seigaku! Shousha wa At....ohnoooo! Now I'll be chanting all day! I'm not such a huge fan of the myus, I watched a few and really loved Oshitari (I forget his real name now n_n;!) and Sanada~. <3! Ahem! I'm very glad you liked it! There will no doubt be more, I've been stuck in tenipuri-obsession again after the year break, hehe.

Takumi Saito plays Oshitari in the Myus, I haven't seen the Rokkaku or Rikkai matches yet. I think it was decided on one of the TeniMyu forums that Takumi-san could be Oshitari even without the blue hair, he just IS Oshitari lol. Ooh more stories *awaits rather impatiently*

"Ore sama no bigi ni boggie woogie"

I'm such a huge Rikkai supporter so I was bias watching the Myu (which I totally reccomend, if only for "SANADA DOJO!"). Then again, the first one I watched was the Hyotei one because I love them just as much. Hiyoshi~! That reminds me I have to dig out his gekokujou song. He's such a nerd. <3! That's so true about Takumi! I vowed if I go to Japan I might just go and kidnap him.

Have you seen Dream Live 3rd? They get Hiyoshi when they're mimicking funny moments. Apparently the actor forgot his lyrics. "Gekokujou Daze Hmm hmmmm hmm!"

[Guest wouldyoucatchme]

OMG KISA! I know, I'm commenting a little late (shame on me!) but OMG KISA you wrote Atobe-sama Torture! I haven't been able to spend that much time in the forums lately but when I saw this I was so excited and just HAD to comment because it's been awhile since I've read anything fetishy and also because it's Tenipuri, Atobe-sama torture , and it's written by YOU!! Eeeee! What an awesome read (one that will be read repeatedly!) and very well written, as is always the case with you! I miss your writing (and you, for that matter!) and the fics that come from that mind of yours.

I always enjoy your writing styles even when they change or evolve. It always remains the same, though, that you have a wonderful way with your words and characters. I liked how parts of the writing and dialogue came out in a way that it would if translated directly from japanese, which makes it seem all the more natural since Tenipuri is japanese!

This came at the perfect time too because I just started getting into it again after my first time at Yaoi-con two weeks ago! All that awesome fanart, and yummy pretty doujins. Came home read the manga, some doujins, looked at some fanart, watched the new OVAs, and BAM! Here I am, thrown right back into the fandom. Not that it ever truely left, mind you.

So, before I get too off topic, I just wanted to say thank you for writing and sharing this most delicious read. I really loved it. And even though it was challenging for you and you haven't been in the writing mood I'm glad you still did and I really do hope that you get inspired to write more soon!! I also must thank whoever it was that emailed you. If that's what it takes to get you to write I should start nudging you in email form more often!

[Neesan]

Ahhh... wouldyoucatchme (Because - yes. Yes I would.)... I can't help adoring you more and more, seriously.

*squeal!* You're a PoT-head too?!?! Omg I'm so happy!! I've been wanting to write tenipuri fics like crazy, but nothing came to mind to type out, but I may have to rethink that when it's for my sweetie wycm! Anyone in mind? I shall have to collect some fetishy-fanart I've gathered through the years for ya'. Hehe!!!

Ahem! OHHHH you make my LIFE, I swear you are just the sweetest in the world and I had to read that a few times because ah!! Just.... Yes!!

I'm so very happy you enjoyed it and while I haven't been too writey lately, I need to get my head back into the game to straighten out all these bunnies that have been running around in my head. (This is such an addicting fandom! XD!) And I thank you for your very kind words and know they always touch me deeply and WAIII! You're so awesome!!!