Journal of Atobe's Little Sister

Part III: My Baby: Leiko

"Sick?" Momo asked, looking at Tezuka when the captain announced that wouldn't be joining them that day.

"Yes," he answered, arms crossed and eyes on the team’s practice. He kept his eyes on their progress, they had a match against Rokkaku next week and he wanted to make sure that everyone was fit and ready for it.

"Echizen! Momo! 50 laps for stalling!" he frowning at them disapprovingly as he noted them goofing off. He knew Momo was concerned about , but that was no excuse for slacking. Holding each player's menu in his hands, he studied it to see how how he could get maximum output from each. The boys of Rokkaku were strong and he wanted them to be ready.

"Maybe scheduling a camp for the weekend might be good," Inui suggested, coming from behind Tezuka. Normally any other person would've freaked out by his sudden appearance, but Tezuka was never bothered by that. "Also, -chan won't come to a boys’ camp anyway so she can get some time to rest."

Tezuka closed the folder he was holding and looked at Inui. "What do you have in mind?"

~~~

"You don't look too good!" Ootori Choutaro said, his brows knitted together as he bent down and looked at , who lay half-dead on the sofa. She was in pajamas, a blanket around her, and a pillow under her head. hated staying in her room when she was sick, so she was lying in the TV room where some Hyotei regulars were that day.

"Maybe a kiss from her prince will help her." Oshitari Yuushi grinned, towering over the little half-awake Atobe. Her long hair was all over the place, messed up in a cute way as it framed her face. To him, she really did look like sleeping beauty.

"Go away..." she muttered, her voice croaky. "Leave me alone," she wheezed, trying to wave her hand at him.

Touching her forehead, Oshitari frowned. "You're really burning up, . Have you seen a doctor?" he asked worried. Oshitari had known for a couple of years now and if had anyone to call close friends then it would be him and Ootori.

Atobe stood next to her and looked down. "The family doctor came to see her earlier. She just needs to rest," he explained.

"But..."

"Tezuka also called and said that they're going to camp for the weekend and you're to stay home and rest," Atobe ordered. "That's an order from me as well."

"Argh!" she whispered, knocking the blanket onto the floor out of frustration.

Oshitari picked the blanket up from the floor and placed it on top of her as finally admitted defeat and went to sleep. Sighing, he felt a bit bad. was like his own little sister. Although she always showed that she was happy and friendly, he knew there was a part inside her that was lonely. Atobe was busy with tennis and being president of Hyotei’s student body; he didn't really have much time. Her parents were divorced and both were too busy with either work or their own social life.

And lacked girlfriends. Once when she was feeling vulnerable, she had confided in him that she missed having girlfriends. Most girls at Hyotei were rather shallow for her and wanted only to get to know her because she was Atobe's little sister. The situation was no better for her in Seigaku, since she managed the tennis club and was always surrounded by the boys. Looking at her one more time, he left her alone with Ootori while he went to check on some stuff.

~~~

"Are you sure you should be out?" Ootori asked as they walked out of the house the next day. It was a cold day too. He was worried what would his senpai do to him if he knew that he had let her go out when she should be resting at home.

Sniffling, looked at him. "I have to pick up Leiko," she told him. "The driver was not here, so we have to walk."

"You should've sent someone to pick him up," Ootori suggested, walking by her side. He wanted to give her some warmth because he knew she was freezing, but he wasn’t sure if he should take that step.

Ootori-kun..." she said, looking at him as they crossed the street. "You know my Leiko only loves me and can be very jealous."

He blushed at the comment and nodded. She was not joking when she said that Leiko was jealous. She was not joking at all. "Yes," he agreed softly. 's kitten was a funny one. It would get jealous if anyone went near her; even Atobe had been attacked several times on her account.

~~~

I realized I've never really spoken about Leiko.

Leiko is my kitten. My father gave him to me a couple of months ago on one of those rare moments when he was actually home. He had said something about a belated gift, but I never got the meaning.

Anyway...

Leiko is Leiko! He is a beautiful gray kitten with baby blue eyes.

I love him to bits and spoil him rotten. Yes, Leiko is very spoilt, even worse than Keigo!

The only problem I have with Leiko which had surfaced a couple of weeks after I got him, is that he is extremely jealous! *sighs*

Yes! I know, weird, but what am I supposed to do?

Leiko has successfully attacked Keigo, Oshitari, and anyone of the opposite sex who comes near me. Hehehe.

The butler. The cook. The gardener. The driver. Everyone…

By now, all of Keigo's friends that frequent the house know better than to talk to me when Leiko is around me. Only Kabaji never had a problem. I think it's because Leiko mistakes him for a statue or something. He rarely moves or talks.

I have still yet to find that one person that Leiko will actually like.

~~~

"Hey sweetie," said lovingly, holding the kitten in her arms. Leiko purred at her and nestled comfortably in her arms as she walked out of the vet’s alone. Ootori knew better than to be with her when she was picking up the kitten. He was reluctant at first but she had told him it was better that she left him or he might have a hard time playing tennis with scratched arms. He took the hint and left.

As walked down the streets, she was beginning to tire. She knew that she shouldn't have left the house, but Leiko was family and family meant business to her. Finding a seat in a secluded park, she sat down to catch her breath. She was shivering and feeling warm at the same time. She browsed through her bag because she knew it was time to call the driver.

"Ack! I forgot my phone!"

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid, she thought, scolding herself. I'll just rest a bit and see if I have the energy to move later, she finally decided, knowing that cursing herself will not get her anywhere.

"If it isn't little Miss Atobe."

opened her eyes and turned around.

"Rikkai Dai!" It was Nioh, Yanagi, Kirihara, and... "Sanada-san."

Sanada looked at her. "Atobe," he acknowledged with a nod of his head.

"What's up?" she asked, standing and looking at them.

"You were going to fall asleep," Nioh told her, amused. "Sure you should be doing that in public?" he asked with a grin. He stood next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You never know who might steal a kiss from the sleeping princess."

rolled her eyes. "I'm fine when Leiko's with me." She took a step back. She could feel Leiko stiffen in her arms. She suppressed the urge to giggle, knowing that Leiko was preparing himself for an attack.

"You have an unusual look on your face," Renji remarked.

blushed. "Well... You might think I'm crazy, but my kitten gets jealous," she explained, glancing at Nioh. "And he's not happy with Nioh-san at the moment."

Kirihara smirked. "You're joking, right?"

took another step back and wanted to warn Kirihara, but it was too late.

[ROWR]

Yes, it sounds like a lion's anger. Leiko is an Atobe as well; therefore, he felt he had the right to cause drama. He showed Kirihara no mercy as he dug his claws in wherever he could.

"Ow! Ow!" Kirihara screamed.

frantically tried getting Leiko off him, but it was no use. The other three regulars quickly figured that going near the kitten or would be a bad move, so they just watched. finally managed to get Leiko off Kirihara and she hugged him tightly. Leiko squirmed. Leiko screamed and tried getting off her, but she kept a tight hold on him.

Kirihara looked at his scratched arms. The scratches were bleeding and they stung like hell. "That is psychotic."

Nioh grinned, forgetting about the kitten and walked towards . "Interesting character you got there."

"Masaharu, I don't think you should do that," Yanagi warned.

Nioh completely ignored his words and kept on proceeding. He knew it, but he still wanted to test it out. "I'm just testing theory."

Sanada looked at them wryly. He was wondering why he was still there in the first place. Nioh was in his entertaining mood while Kirihara was still cursing at the kitten, which was glaring at him.

" -chan." Nioh smiled. "I'm sorry."

looked at him confused. I'm sorry? What is he sorry about? Before she could ask her question, she was pulled straight into his arms. She even dropped Leiko in surprise.

That was a bad move.

Leiko not only screeched, causing kids in the park to stop and look at them, but he attacked Nioh with full force. Leiko scratched Nioh, pulled his hair, bit him, and did anything else he could do to him.

Nioh swore and it took both Yanagi and Sanada to pull him away from the kitten. Nioh fell on the floor and winced. He was hurt all over.

"Don't say it," Nioh muttered, knowing that 'I told you so' was written all over their faces.

"Leiko!" said horrified, trying to control him. She tried so hard to keep him in control, but she lost her grip. She also lost her balance and shrieked knowing that she was going to hit the floor. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the floor…

frowned, wondering why she didn't feel any pain yet. She felt an arm around her. She turned to see who it belonged to and her cheeks turned pink.

Sanada helped her to stand without a word.

"Is it me or is the demon calm?" Kirihara asked, noticing that Leiko was not doing anything to Sanada.

blinked.

Renji rubbed his jaw, critically analyzing the situation.

Kirihara had his jaw wide open.

Nioh stood up from the floor dumbfounded. He ignored his bruised arms, legs, and ego and walked towards them. No one warned him or said anything to him this time. It was obvious that they were all curious.

Nioh pushed Sanada's hand away and held .

Leiko lunged, but Nioh sidestepped him and pushed toward Sanada. lost her grip and fell right into his arms. Her cheeks burned as Sanada caught her.

Leiko went quiet.

"Let's try this again," Nioh said, walking towards her, but stopped him. “I'm not a guinea pig…”

He stopped. "But…"

"No buts!" said angrily, picking up Leiko. "We get the point."

Nioh smirked. "Do you now?" he asked, making her blush.

Before could say anything, Sanada intervened. "Masaharu, stop it."

Nioh knew better than to argue. The matter was over, but they all saw it. And they all knew. Finally, they decided to go back and asked if she could walk with them half way because she was not feeling well.

Yanagi watched and noticed that her cheeks were pink. He wasn’t sure if she was feverish or if the 'incident' had embarrassed her. However, he concluded that it was a fever. “Are you sick?”

She looked at him and nodded. "Yes," she admitted, walking next to him. 'I got sick staying out in the rain."

~~~

Interesting! Even Leiko knows that Sanada is the one...

Very interesting...

It's scary, yet interesting.

I wonder…

Leiko has never liked anyone. It's also weird that Rikkai Dai know I'm his sister. Actually everyone knows by now, but still…

I am Atobe …

I am Atobe .

~~~

DeVeliCious

Edited by Elenniel