Fic: Chrysalis (Prince of Tennis, Pillar Pair)
Title: Chrysalis
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Echizen Ryoma/Tezuka Kunimitsu
Word Count: 1,557
Warnings: None
Summary: Fantasy AU. Tezuka survives a shipwreck only to find himself trapped in the middle of the ocean with a siren for company. It is unfortunate that sirens are known to have a penchant for eating humans.
Tezuka opened his eyes to see two orbs of glimmering gold staring at him mere inches away from his face and threw up his arm instinctively, only just barely biting back the cry of alarm that threatened to escape. The too-bright eyes disappeared instantly, before Tezuka could properly see the face attached to them.
It wasn’t long before his uncharacteristically sluggish mind registered other things, such as the ache in his limbs, the burn in his throat and the hard rock digging painfully into his bare back.
Wait.
Bare back?
Sure enough, he seemed to be naked from waist up. That was all the incentive Tezuka needed to force his exhausted body into a sitting position, gritting his teeth as sharp pain pulsed through him. A quick look revealed several thin lacerations along his arms and torso, and his legs as well, if the rips in his breeches were any indication. It seemed his shirt hadn’t survived the swim.
It was an acceptable loss considering how Tezuka had really not expected himself to survive.
“You’re awake.” A disinterested voice announced, tearing Tezuka from his thoughts with the reminder that he was not alone. He whipped his head to the side, wincing as that triggered another burst of agony, and found himself a few feet away from the owner of those golden eyes. “Took you long enough.”
Tezuka barely heard the words, busy as he was staring at the creature before him. The eyes from before, gold and slitted like a cat’s, were odd enough but they paled when compared to the long green hair that seemed to be swaying wildly in a nonexistent breeze or the sleek tail that occupied the pace where legs should have been. The torso region seemed similar to that of a human male but through the shifting hair, Tezuka spied what could only be gills on the creature’s neck.
He had read of sirens, even heard a few rumors that there were some in these northern seas but to actually see one was… well, it was something no mortal ever wished for. Realization dawned, stark and unpleasant, as he recalled the eerie music that had ensnared his captors and the storm that had followed. He suddenly had a good idea about the fate of those pirates. But that still didn’t explain how he was alive and stuck on what seemed to a large rock in the middle of the sea with a siren that was staring at him with entirely too much amusement.
Tezuka blinked at the creature, thankful yet again for his perpetually stoic countenance. He knew all too well how unwise it was to show fear in front of a predator.
“Wh-” His attempt to speak failed miserably, only a hoarse croak emerging from his brutally dry mouth. He swallowed with some effort and tried again. “Who are you?”
It just stared at him for a long moment, giving no indication of having heard him. Then it raised one long arm and extended it towards Tezuka, curling his fingers in a beckoning motion.
“Come here, human.” Its voice had a strange double-timbered quality to it, one that hadn’t been there before. Tezuka frowned and leaned away from the hand. He was not foolish enough to go even closer to a siren. Not that he believed it would make much of a difference as he was still trapped and in no condition to run even there was anywhere to run to. But that didn’t mean he should let his guard down.
The siren frowned and repeated the words. Its voice seemed to reverberate in Tezuka’s mind but he remained as he was, wary eyes fixed on the creature.
“I would rather not.”
A look of surprise flitted across its ethereal face for a second before a crooked smirk took its place. The brief glimpse of sharp teeth did little to ease Tezuka’s nerves.
“Heeh,” it drawled, tilting its head to one side. It sounded normal again. “Interesting.”
It stretched its lean body and Tezuka could only watch, stupefied, as the scales on tail glowed and twisted in unnatural ways, writhing and shrinking into two human legs covered in a thin sheen of blood and a sort of clear fluid. The siren just watched gruesome process with a mild frown, no sign of pain on its face. Simultaneously taken aback and transfixed by the sight, it took Tezuka a few moments to notice that there was now what was essentially a naked man sitting in front of him.
He blushed and snapped his head to the side, embarrassment momentarily winning over self-preservation.
A faint laugh suddenly sounded from far too close. Tezuka felt air brush his cheek an instant before something warm and heavy slammed him down to the rock, the impact driving the breath from his lungs in an undignified yelp. His entire body was screaming in pain.
Tezuka glared up at the siren whose deceptively slim form was effortlessly pinning him down. He only received another mocking smile in response.
This was not the way he imagined he would die. He’d never actively tried picture his death but the vague thoughts he’d had were of peaceful ones, like his grandfather perhaps, passing in his sleep. Seishun was a peace-loving country that relied more on diplomatic methods than military strength. As the crown prince, Tezuka was remarkably sheltered from violence.
Or at least he had been until his ship was attacked and destroyed on the voyage to Hyotei and he himself was taken prisoner by the pirates who attacked them. It had only become worse from there; the pirate ship wrecked, the pirates presumably eaten by sirens and Tezuka mere moments away from the same fate.
Tezuka glared harder, unwilling to show fear or weakness. This may not be the calm, dignified death he would like but he would not shame himself with cowardice. The siren, if possible, looked even more amused.
“I’m not going to kill you, human. I already ate anyway. Your captors were tasty.”
Oddly enough, that did not reassure him any.
“You’re immune to our voice. You’re the first I’ve met.”
Apparently, the siren wanted to have a conversation with him while perched naked on his stomach.
“Pardon?” Tezuka bit out, still a little short of breath.
It tilted its head it at him, its ever-shifting hair falling into his eyes, hiding them from sight. The effect was quite eerie. “Our voice. It bewitches humans. Those pirates were happy even as they were being devoured. You, though, swam away and made it this far.”
“Oh,” Tezuka voiced his acknowledgment, trying very hard not to imagine those people being happy about being eaten. That wasn’t a fate he thought anyone deserved, not even the despicable men who’d brought this misfortune upon him. He instead focused on what it told him.
Immunity to siren voice. It was true he’d felt nothing upon hearing the same music that bewitched his captors and even this creature’s recent attempts to beckon him had failed. It was an unexpected boon and perhaps ultimately useless but Tezuka found it in himself to be grateful for not being reduced to the mindless, frantic wrecks he’d seen the pirates turn into.
“What’s your name?” It asked, poking Tezuka on the cheek as if to get his attention.
“Tezuka,” he answered automatically.
It hummed deep in his throat. Flashes of gold shone from behind forest green hair.
“I’m Ryoma.”
Tezuka was tired and in pain and maybe perhaps slightly scared and this pointless charade of conversation was only getting more surreal by the second, so he felt completely justified at pressing his head back hard against the unforgiving rock and scowling up at the smirking siren. Ryoma.
“Why am I still alive?” He asked flatly, wondering if trying to dislodge Ryoma from his chest was worth the effort. Probably not. It would most likely not work anyway.
It frowned as if Tezuka had asked a particularly stupid question.
“You’re immune,” Ryoma said, sharply emphasizing the last word. “Even now,” it added, one hand reaching backwards to graze Tezuka’s groin.
Tezuka squeezed his eyes close as heat rushed to his face. At least now his ‘immunity’ made sense. Tezuka had never been physically driven like the vast majority of his peers. He’d begun suspect that his disinterest had more to it that mere reticence when his twenty-fifth year had passed and he’d remained entirely unmoved by even the most stunning specimens of both gender.
His abrupt epiphany notwithstanding, this whole situation was mortifying. Dying seemed far less frightening all of a sudden.
He opened his eyes, staring resolutely at where Ryoma’s eyes should be.
“So?” He somehow managed to keep his voice steady.
Ryoma sighed, the sound startlingly and uncomfortably human.
“Immune humans are rare. We don’t kill them.” Roma straightened from he was slouched almost perpendicular to Tezuka. The movement exposed his eyes, which glowed with an unholy light that sent shivers down Tezuka’s spine. Dread pooled in his gut and Tezuka was suddenly sure that he would not like what he was about to hear.
The creature smiled a smile that didn’t reach its eyes. It raised an arm.
“We keep them.”
The last thing Tezuka saw was webbed fingers and hooked claws before his unimaginable pain erupted in his chest and his world went black.
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Echizen Ryoma/Tezuka Kunimitsu
Word Count: 1,557
Warnings: None
Summary: Fantasy AU. Tezuka survives a shipwreck only to find himself trapped in the middle of the ocean with a siren for company. It is unfortunate that sirens are known to have a penchant for eating humans.
Tezuka opened his eyes to see two orbs of glimmering gold staring at him mere inches away from his face and threw up his arm instinctively, only just barely biting back the cry of alarm that threatened to escape. The too-bright eyes disappeared instantly, before Tezuka could properly see the face attached to them.
It wasn’t long before his uncharacteristically sluggish mind registered other things, such as the ache in his limbs, the burn in his throat and the hard rock digging painfully into his bare back.
Wait.
Bare back?
Sure enough, he seemed to be naked from waist up. That was all the incentive Tezuka needed to force his exhausted body into a sitting position, gritting his teeth as sharp pain pulsed through him. A quick look revealed several thin lacerations along his arms and torso, and his legs as well, if the rips in his breeches were any indication. It seemed his shirt hadn’t survived the swim.
It was an acceptable loss considering how Tezuka had really not expected himself to survive.
“You’re awake.” A disinterested voice announced, tearing Tezuka from his thoughts with the reminder that he was not alone. He whipped his head to the side, wincing as that triggered another burst of agony, and found himself a few feet away from the owner of those golden eyes. “Took you long enough.”
Tezuka barely heard the words, busy as he was staring at the creature before him. The eyes from before, gold and slitted like a cat’s, were odd enough but they paled when compared to the long green hair that seemed to be swaying wildly in a nonexistent breeze or the sleek tail that occupied the pace where legs should have been. The torso region seemed similar to that of a human male but through the shifting hair, Tezuka spied what could only be gills on the creature’s neck.
He had read of sirens, even heard a few rumors that there were some in these northern seas but to actually see one was… well, it was something no mortal ever wished for. Realization dawned, stark and unpleasant, as he recalled the eerie music that had ensnared his captors and the storm that had followed. He suddenly had a good idea about the fate of those pirates. But that still didn’t explain how he was alive and stuck on what seemed to a large rock in the middle of the sea with a siren that was staring at him with entirely too much amusement.
Tezuka blinked at the creature, thankful yet again for his perpetually stoic countenance. He knew all too well how unwise it was to show fear in front of a predator.
“Wh-” His attempt to speak failed miserably, only a hoarse croak emerging from his brutally dry mouth. He swallowed with some effort and tried again. “Who are you?”
It just stared at him for a long moment, giving no indication of having heard him. Then it raised one long arm and extended it towards Tezuka, curling his fingers in a beckoning motion.
“Come here, human.” Its voice had a strange double-timbered quality to it, one that hadn’t been there before. Tezuka frowned and leaned away from the hand. He was not foolish enough to go even closer to a siren. Not that he believed it would make much of a difference as he was still trapped and in no condition to run even there was anywhere to run to. But that didn’t mean he should let his guard down.
The siren frowned and repeated the words. Its voice seemed to reverberate in Tezuka’s mind but he remained as he was, wary eyes fixed on the creature.
“I would rather not.”
A look of surprise flitted across its ethereal face for a second before a crooked smirk took its place. The brief glimpse of sharp teeth did little to ease Tezuka’s nerves.
“Heeh,” it drawled, tilting its head to one side. It sounded normal again. “Interesting.”
It stretched its lean body and Tezuka could only watch, stupefied, as the scales on tail glowed and twisted in unnatural ways, writhing and shrinking into two human legs covered in a thin sheen of blood and a sort of clear fluid. The siren just watched gruesome process with a mild frown, no sign of pain on its face. Simultaneously taken aback and transfixed by the sight, it took Tezuka a few moments to notice that there was now what was essentially a naked man sitting in front of him.
He blushed and snapped his head to the side, embarrassment momentarily winning over self-preservation.
A faint laugh suddenly sounded from far too close. Tezuka felt air brush his cheek an instant before something warm and heavy slammed him down to the rock, the impact driving the breath from his lungs in an undignified yelp. His entire body was screaming in pain.
Tezuka glared up at the siren whose deceptively slim form was effortlessly pinning him down. He only received another mocking smile in response.
This was not the way he imagined he would die. He’d never actively tried picture his death but the vague thoughts he’d had were of peaceful ones, like his grandfather perhaps, passing in his sleep. Seishun was a peace-loving country that relied more on diplomatic methods than military strength. As the crown prince, Tezuka was remarkably sheltered from violence.
Or at least he had been until his ship was attacked and destroyed on the voyage to Hyotei and he himself was taken prisoner by the pirates who attacked them. It had only become worse from there; the pirate ship wrecked, the pirates presumably eaten by sirens and Tezuka mere moments away from the same fate.
Tezuka glared harder, unwilling to show fear or weakness. This may not be the calm, dignified death he would like but he would not shame himself with cowardice. The siren, if possible, looked even more amused.
“I’m not going to kill you, human. I already ate anyway. Your captors were tasty.”
Oddly enough, that did not reassure him any.
“You’re immune to our voice. You’re the first I’ve met.”
Apparently, the siren wanted to have a conversation with him while perched naked on his stomach.
“Pardon?” Tezuka bit out, still a little short of breath.
It tilted its head it at him, its ever-shifting hair falling into his eyes, hiding them from sight. The effect was quite eerie. “Our voice. It bewitches humans. Those pirates were happy even as they were being devoured. You, though, swam away and made it this far.”
“Oh,” Tezuka voiced his acknowledgment, trying very hard not to imagine those people being happy about being eaten. That wasn’t a fate he thought anyone deserved, not even the despicable men who’d brought this misfortune upon him. He instead focused on what it told him.
Immunity to siren voice. It was true he’d felt nothing upon hearing the same music that bewitched his captors and even this creature’s recent attempts to beckon him had failed. It was an unexpected boon and perhaps ultimately useless but Tezuka found it in himself to be grateful for not being reduced to the mindless, frantic wrecks he’d seen the pirates turn into.
“What’s your name?” It asked, poking Tezuka on the cheek as if to get his attention.
“Tezuka,” he answered automatically.
It hummed deep in his throat. Flashes of gold shone from behind forest green hair.
“I’m Ryoma.”
Tezuka was tired and in pain and maybe perhaps slightly scared and this pointless charade of conversation was only getting more surreal by the second, so he felt completely justified at pressing his head back hard against the unforgiving rock and scowling up at the smirking siren. Ryoma.
“Why am I still alive?” He asked flatly, wondering if trying to dislodge Ryoma from his chest was worth the effort. Probably not. It would most likely not work anyway.
It frowned as if Tezuka had asked a particularly stupid question.
“You’re immune,” Ryoma said, sharply emphasizing the last word. “Even now,” it added, one hand reaching backwards to graze Tezuka’s groin.
Tezuka squeezed his eyes close as heat rushed to his face. At least now his ‘immunity’ made sense. Tezuka had never been physically driven like the vast majority of his peers. He’d begun suspect that his disinterest had more to it that mere reticence when his twenty-fifth year had passed and he’d remained entirely unmoved by even the most stunning specimens of both gender.
His abrupt epiphany notwithstanding, this whole situation was mortifying. Dying seemed far less frightening all of a sudden.
He opened his eyes, staring resolutely at where Ryoma’s eyes should be.
“So?” He somehow managed to keep his voice steady.
Ryoma sighed, the sound startlingly and uncomfortably human.
“Immune humans are rare. We don’t kill them.” Roma straightened from he was slouched almost perpendicular to Tezuka. The movement exposed his eyes, which glowed with an unholy light that sent shivers down Tezuka’s spine. Dread pooled in his gut and Tezuka was suddenly sure that he would not like what he was about to hear.
The creature smiled a smile that didn’t reach its eyes. It raised an arm.
“We keep them.”
The last thing Tezuka saw was webbed fingers and hooked claws before his unimaginable pain erupted in his chest and his world went black.