WtLB Chapter 11
X-X What have I done? -falls into the fiery pits of hell- (I think this has been my worst chapter as of yet, even though it’s the longest I’ve ever written. Note to self: don’t ever write long chapters again.)
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
"Bold" English
"Italic" Thoughts, dream, flashbacks, important stuff, etc.
"Normal" Japanese when used for dialogue.
Recap
Finally, hours later, the light to the emergency room turned off, and the doctor appeared from behind the white doors. The doctor, a man in his mid fifties, with crow’s feet and laugh lines on his face, was missing the jolly smile that everyone one of them had always seen on him.
When the Line Breaks
Sweet Obsidian Rain
Chapter Eleven: Worry
"No matter how much you try to forget it; forget him… He always comes back- shining brighter than before.”Fuji slowly stood up and pulled Yagyuu up with him. The man, deathly pale, was shaking silently, and Fuji said nothing as he supported Yagyuu. The honey-haired boy's shoulders were sagging, as if the weight of a millions lives and more was on it (which could be true…).
Marui gently freed his shirt from Yagyuu's tight grip and moved to stand next to the only other person who came along with him- Jackal. Everyone turned to look at the doctor with hopeful expressions; fear lingered in every pair of eyes, afraid that they would lose their close friend.
The doctor cleared his throat, making eye contact with Fuji as he spoke in a grave manner, "We did everything we could, but..."
Seishun Academy, Dormitory A: Room 411, 8:03 P.M.
One Echizen Ryoma glared at the doorknob to the exit of his room as he leaned back on his office chair, spinning in slow circles. The chair stopped spinning abruptly, and the boy leaned on the desk, sighing, to tap on the smooth surface with a pencil in his hand.
The sound cut sharply through the still silence in the room except for the occasional squeaking the chair made when Ryoma moved.
A few more minutes passed.
Snap.
Cat-like, golden eyes narrowed before the boy threw the two halves of the pencil at the door. Ryoma stood up, pushing the chair back without care, making it collide with the shelves behind it.
There was a hint of a pout on the boy's lips before it turned into a full scowl. Ryoma huffed, and stomped up to the door, flung it open, and stomped out.
The check in table was still open; the loud first year that always seemed to only be all talk, but no skills to back up his boasting was there. The unibrowed freshman yawned, on the verge of sleeping until Ryoma slammed his hands against the table none-to-gently. "Oi."
"Uwah! I'm awake!" The boy blinked. "Huh? Oh, it's only you, Echizen-senpai." (1)
Ryoma emitted a low growl that made the freshman withdraw and quiver before speaking, “Check me out.”
“E-Echizen-senpai…”
“Now.” The glare that the freshman had received set him to work. The boy immediately turned to the computer and started typing away with shaking hands.
“S-senpai, when will you be back?”
Another growl. “You do not need to know that.”
“Actually,” the frightened freshman cleared his throat, “it is information that is req- Eh?! Echizen-senpai! Wait!”
But it was all too late as Ryoma was already out of the door with a dark cloud hanging over his head.
Still sulking, Ryoma lazily walked towards the school, feet dragging on the pavement. “Stupid Fuji-senpai. Stupid Monkey King. Stupid injuries… Stupid. Stupid. Stup- Damn!” The boy stumbled and flung his arms out for support. His hands met nothing but air though; eyes widening, Ryoma quickly moved his arms into position and did a flip, landing on his feet perfectly. The stinging on his stomach worsened.
Ryoma glared at his feet. To say that he was annoyed was an understatement. Irritated wasn’t the right word either. He couldn’t think of the right word to describe what he was feeling at the moment, but he knew that he wanted very badly to strangle someone-anyone-to death. His fingers had even curled up in reaction to his thoughts, held up like he was about to pop the head of a chicken off.
Realizing how he must have looked, in the middle of a sidewalk with a murderous expression on his face and hands up in a strangling motion, the boy forced himself to flex his fingers slowly. Taking a deep breath, he continued to walk.
Arriving, Ryoma wasted no time going around the school, and entering the nearby woods in the back. It was dark already, and being in a place full of trees made the place even darker. Any normal human being wouldn’t take chances being out in a dark opening where he or she could be attacked any anything. However, Ryoma could care less about what normal people did. Besides, he wasn’t even normal himself, now was he?
The woods though, were the best place to host a secret base for a group of people from the Samurai Demons. The place connected to the (huge) apartment that Atobe, Yukimura and Sanada shared. Of course, if Ryoma wanted to see them, he could've just walked to the apartment of the said people, but with all the new developments, it was too much of a risk- even if someone walking into the dark woods at night was strange.
Taking care to avoid obstacles ahead of him, Ryoma kept his senses high as he made his way to the middle of the woods. The center of the place had been cleared away many centuries ago, forming a circle of open field. Five giant boulders of different sizes were scattered in the grassy field; a nearby stream completed the image. A small foot-made path formed by humans and creatures of the wild when they pass through this clearing was visible ahead of him, and his followed it halfway before splitting off to the left. He didn’t stop until he reached the farthest boulder.
Ryoma walked around it a few times before finally spotting a small barely noticeable scratch mark- the mark of the Samurai Demons, which was of rose and cherry blossom curled around a kanata. Smirking, the boy carefully traced the mark before pushing in. The boulder creaked and Ryoma moved back to wait for the entrance of the secret base to open for him.
Nothing happened.
The boy frowned and waited for a few more minutes before he glared at the mark with frustration. He wasn't in a good mood and wanted things over with. Suddenly, the hairs on his neck prickled, and he felt another presence in the field. Before he could do anything though, a deep voice spoke to him. It was slightly off sounding, hoarse, and it sounded like it hurt to speak. “You’re suppose to use the pendant,” the man, as Ryoma assumed, judging from the mature voice, said quietly in a monotone.
Ryoma, alarmed, whipped around to see a figure sitting on another boulder about 20 or so yards away. It was dark out, so the boy could only see the man’s outline. “Who are you?” he asked cautiously, trying to get a glimpse of the man’s face.
“I am of no importance. All you need to know is that you need to use the pendant to open the entrance.”
Eying the figure suspiciously, Ryoma’s brows drew together in question. “What pendant?”
There was a slight rustle of clothes; the man shifted. “You didn’t get the pendant?” The emotionless voice held a slight touch of surprise.
“No. What pendant?” The boy was getting impatient.
The man seemed to be sighing inwardly; his head was bent down slightly as if trying to decide on what to do. Finally, after seemingly having to come to a conclusion, the figure reached around his neck. The action had Ryoma in a fighting stance immediately. Noticing how the boy was growling, the man took whatever he was now holding and held out his arms.
“What…” The man threw whatever he had in the air, and Ryoma stared at it as the thing curved down.
“Catch it.”
Ryoma did nothing.
“I said, catch it.”
His body instinctively reacted. His hands reached up and as the object brushed against his hands, his fingers closed around it. Eyes wide, Ryoma brought the thing down to examine it. He was holding onto a disc-like object attached to a string. He could not see everything on it, but he could feel something engraved into the disc. The engraving seemed familiar too… What ever this stranger had given him was…
The stranger!
Ryoma snapped his head up to speak to the man but as his eyes rested on the boulder where the figure previously sitting on, he was gone. Gapping, the boy pondered over who the man was. It was awkward (he would use the word scary, but Echizen Ryoma didn’t get scared that easily) too, when he remembered how his body automatically reacted to the command. His mind barely registered anything when he reached up to catch the pendant (he guessed that the pendant the man was talking about was the disc), his arms just seemed to shoot up by themselves.
The voice was somewhat familiar too, but he couldn’t place his finger on who the stranger was.
Shaking his head, he decided to deal with this incident later. Ryoma looked back at the pendant and traced the engraving again. After a few moments, Ryoma realized why the rough texture and design were so familiar. He dropped down by the boulder and felt around for the Samurai Demons’ symbol. It was very dark now, and the moon was only a crescent, barely helping him see. A slender finger followed the lines hardly engraved into the big rock.
“Bingo,” Ryoma muttered. The design was the same as the one on the pendant.
Holding the disc-like object directly mirrored in front of the symbol on the boulder, the boy pressed the pendant down and pushed. His ears twitched as he heard the boulder creaking. Finally, rock moved, and a metal door that led underground was revealed.
“Please scan your left eye,” the machine’s robotic voice requested. There was a flash of red from a certain slot. Ryoma bent down carefully, opened his left eye wide and waited for the security system to scan and match his profile. There was a small beep, “Access granted.” The metal door unlocked and swung open.
Eyeing the steps he was supposed to walk on in a wary manner, Ryoma lightly set a foot down and pushed down on different areas to test it out. When he had deemed it safe, the boy took one step at a time. Soon, he was jogging at a nice pace, less than five minutes away from the apartment his senior friends and allies lived.
About four minutes later, one could find Echizen Ryoma swiftly typing in the pass code to enter through the secret entrance of the building. It didn’t take long, as the door slid open, and Ryoma lazily walked in. Glancing around, he shrugged. It wasn’t his fault that no one provided him a map, so he might as well wander until he found someone. Picking a random direction, the boy headed down the hallway on his right. It led to two places, a well-used restroom, completed with a mini bathing Jacuzzi and a silver table with fake vines twined around it. The other location was a neat and organized office with many hues of blue decorations in it. He sweatdropped when he spotted a giant blue penguin in the corner of the room.
Blinking, he guessed whose this office was. Yukimura’s no doubt because the man was the only person he knew who had a strange obsession with blue penguins. Something that, as he had found out, Yukimura did not develop until he met Ryoma. It seemed that the penguins somehow reminded the blue-haired man of Ryoma (to which the boy scowled and demanded to know how, but Yukimura just smiled knowingly and continued to talk), and of course, blue was his favorite color.
Turning around, Ryoma took a step, planning to return to where he first arrived and go off from there when he bumped into someone. “Ah! Ryo-chan is here,” the delighted voice of Yukimura Seiichi reached his ears. The boy glared up at the man.
“Yukimura-san, please don’t call me that.”
Ryoma’s comment was ignored as Yukimura turned to the person next to him to talk. “Genichirou, I think we may have to continue our conversation next time. I hope you don’t mind?”
The normally stoic Sanada looked flustered as he nodded and bowed politely before excusing himself. Ryoma raised a brow and stared up at Yukimura; the man responded with his own set of brows raised. “Yes?” he asked the Prince sweetly.
It was only on certain occasions did Ryoma dare try to provoke Yukimura (for fear that he would have to suffer the man’s wrath and die at a young age). This was one of the times that he decided to risk his life on. “Ne, Yukimura-san,” he said cockily. “Sanada-san seems rather smitten to you.”
The reaction he got wasn’t one that he wanted.
Yukimura chuckled. “Saa… He is quite the looker.” Ryoma stared in disbelief. “And the way he dresses shows how firm his buttocks are… I wonder how they feel like?”
Blushing and sputtering indignantly, Ryoma tried to get rid of the mental image of Yukimura doing things to the stoic man out of his head. The boy shivered. He cursed himself repeatedly for even starting the conversation. “Ah… Yukimura-san… That is nice to know-“ I need to learn when to shut up. “-but I’m not here to talk about Sanada-san.”
“Oh? So is there anything I can help you with then?” Yukimura smiled infuriatingly.
Glaring, the boy deadpanned, “Why was the security system changed without telling me? I’m the one that needs to bloody know these things!”
“Ahh… About that. You see, a little dog from the outer circle (2) decided to cross the river to the other side and bark.”
Ryoma twitched. “And?”
“Well, for some reason, the little dog ate the wrong treat, and choked.” The blue haired man chuckled, and Ryoma swore the room temperature drop a few degrees. The boy knew better than to think that this man, Yukimura Seiichi, had nothing to do with the “dog’s choking”. One may know to stay away from Yukimura when he was in his sadist mode, but when one was to get in the man’s way of accomplishing something, they would finally get to know how dangerous and capable the man really was.
The boy raised an eyebrow and pushed on. “What did you do?”
“Saa… Let’s just say that we’ve been giving out fake pieces of information to the people from the outer circle to test their loyalty.”
“Heh,” a smirk formed on the boy’s face as he said this. “You guys actually listened to Ryoga’s suggestion.”
“Of course.” Yukimura bowed mockingly. “Now, would you so kindly tell me how you got in here since you had no clue about our new system until recently? Oh, and please do tell me why you’re here in the first place.” His face was now completely serious.
Ryoma sweatdropped.
(Huge) Apartment, Atobe’s Room (which is on a different floor, where all bedrooms are located at), 8:30 PM
Typing.
Processing information.
More typing.
Clicking and scrolling.
Atobe brought a steaming cup up to his lips and took a sip of top quality French Vanilla coffee before putting it down on the table to his right with much practiced grace. His eyes were trained onto the computer screen as he read through the contents of the report he had recently received from an agent. His left hand was on the mouse, scrolling down the page as he read.
The only sounds in the room were of slender, smooth fingers typing across the keyboard at lightning speed, the occasional clicking and scrolling of the mouse, the computer processing data and the breathing of the one and only Atobe Keigo.
There was a sudden vibration from a small device on Atobe’s right, next to the mug of coffee. The shaking of the electronic object caused the table to vibrate along with it. A few drops of coffee landed on Atobe’s hand as he reached out to answer the call. The nurse took one glance at the caller ID before answering, his lips curving up in a half-smirk, half-smile. “So you finally need Ore-sama’s help, ahn?”
“Atobe,” a deep unwavering voice spoke through the line. “We need to talk. In person.”
“You can come see me at my place, you know. I already told you to do so if you ever needed to talk,” the silver man snapped, impatient.
“I can’t. I don’t have the pendant anymore.”
“What?!” Atobe stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over. The man’s eyes narrowed, “What did you do?”
“Echizen needed it to get in. I gave it to him.”
“…Oh.” A sigh of relief escaped from Atobe’s lips. He leaned against the table, moving the cup aside carefully. “You didn’t show yourself to him, did you?”
“No.”
“Good. I’m coming to find you now.”
The round disc-like object was tossed into the air and curved downward as gravity pulled it down.
“Catch it.”
Ryoma tensed up more and kept one eye on the man, the other on the disc.
“I said, catch it.”
Ryoma’s arms shot up on their own record and he caught the pendant.
--
“He’s what?!” Fuji’s eyes snapped opened, and his face was rapidly paling. “I... I’m coming. Meet me on your way there.”
Ryoma sat up from his bunk after gearing his senpai’s shout. His ears strained to hear what was going on, but it was no use. The older boy was already by the door, putting on his shoes, too far for Ryoma to hear. The only sound that Ryoma could make from the person Fuji was talking to was muffled Japanese spoke quickly, in a panicking tone.
“Aa. Yes. Okay, see you there.” Fuji flipped his cell phone shut and shoved it in his pocket before adjusting his shoelaces, straightening up when he was done. The tensai’s hand froze in mid-air as he reached out to turn the doorknob.
“Fuji-senpai, are you okay? You look like you’re about to faint anytime soon.”
The honey-haired boy had his head bowed slightly; his hair fell across his face, making it impossible for Ryoma to see his expression. “I’m fine, Echizen-kun. Go back to your reading.”
The boy wasn’t convinced, but he complied, though not before asking, “When will you be back?”
“I don’t know. Later in the evening, I think. Sorry, you’re going to have to go eat without me.” And with that, the door was flung open and slammed shut. Ryoma was hear Fuji’s running footsteps fading as he got farther.
The boy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something happened, I know it, he thought. But what?
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Ryoma decided. I’ll give him an hour or two. If he isn’t back, I’ll find the others. They’ll know what to do. Although the boy knew he could always follow his senpai, Ryoma knew that he probably wouldn’t be as lucky as last time if he was caught. (Deep down, though he would never admit it, he knew he chose not to follow Fuji partly out of respect, but also partly because his gut instinct told him to stay away.)
Mada mada dane, Ryoma mused as he turned back to his book, I’ve gotten careless… But my gut instinct is never wrong.
---
Yukimura stared at the boy, his eyes unreadable as Ryoma finished narrating the events that happened to him a few hours before. “… So you didn’t see who the man that gave you the key was? Not even his face?”
Ryoma shook his head. “Too dark.”
“And you came here to ask if we know what to do with Fuji’s sudden disappearance?
A nod.
Yukimura’s face was calculating as he tried to process everything and find a solution. It wasn’t every day that their Prince would actually request for help. “Yukimura-san?” The dark-haired boy poked his comrade.
Blinking, Yukimura reeled in himself from drifting off and smiled. “Ne, Ryoma-chan, you’re actually concerned about Fuji Syusuke, aren’t you?”
The boy scowled at the teasing question. “No,” he snapped, and after a while he added, “I’m just suspicious.” But the boy couldn’t help but feel something sink in his stomach.
Liar, was the silent message Yukimura has sent to the boy after noticing Ryoma’s reaction. The two engaged in a silent staring contest until Yukimura finally gave in.
The man sighed. “You’re a very troublesome child, you know that?” Fine. I’ll leave you be for now.
“Che. I’m not a child.” Good.
Still, Ryoma couldn’t but wonder, Am I really concerned?
Kajimoto Fitness Inc. 9:00 P.M.
Beep.
A brown haired man wearing a casual sweatshirt with small tennis designs embroidered around the hems poked at the answer button on the phone with his pen. “What is it, Tsuki?”
“Kajimoto-san, there’s a man by the name of Mizuki here to see you. He also has someone else with him,” a woman spoke, her voice laced with irritation. “Mizuki-san refuses to give us his full name, and the boy he has with him is… mute. What do should I do?”
Kajimoto’s eye widened in surprise before he pressed another button and ordered, “Send them up.”
“But they’re-”
“It’s fine, Tsuki. They’re acquaintances of mine.”
“As you wish.”
The line went dead, and Kajimoto sat back, closing his eyes to relax himself a bit as he silently ponder over Mizuki’s sudden visit. He and the man were old colleagues in high school and college until Mizuki suddenly transferred overseas to study. Over the last six years since they separated, they had only contacted each other once, and Kajimoto was the one to do that, asking to meet up with Mizuki when he went to the States for business.
Now, what did Mizuki want from him?
There was a knock before the door opened and Tsuki’s head peeped in. She was a woman in her late twenties; she had black hair tied up in a loose bun, and was decked out in from top to bottom in expensive, top-notch clothes. Seeing that her boss was expecting the visitors, she moved back and pulled the door open more for a man with a mop of black hair that was as annoying as hell, and a poor mute boy who she wanted to cuddle like a mother would with her child. “Kaijimoto-san, I have brought the visitors.”
The brunet sat up and nodded. “Thank you, Tsuki. You may leave now.”
Nodding, the woman shut the door behind her and moved away. Kajimoto waited until the two other occupants in the room were seated before demanding for an answer. “Well? What brings you here, Mizuki?” He glanced at the ‘mute’ boy before looking back at Mizuki’s smirking face.
“Nfufufufu… Kaji-chan-” Kajimoto twitched at the old nickname. “-you should already know what case I am working on, no?”
The man rolled his eyes. Of course, he should’ve expected Mizuki to come to him of all people. After all, he was one of the few people who lead the investigation section of Japan’s government in disguise. “Yes. What do you want?”
Mizuki’s Cheshire cat grin widened. “Information.”
“About the Prince, I presume?”
“Nfufufufu… Kaji-chan, you really do know me best after all these years. Nfufufu…”
The boy next to the detective snorted, catching Kajimoto’s attention. “Mizuki-san, we don’t have time to waste.”
“Eh? I though the boy was mute, Mizuki?”
The said boy glared. “Blame Mizuki-san.”
The detection continued to chuckle, “Nffufuf… Hai, hai.” He turned to Kajimoto. “Kaji-chan, I need you to look up which school Echizen Ryoma goes to.”
“Echizen Ryoma?” the man echoed.
“Hn. He’s got… connections with the Prince,” Yuuta answered, not trusting Kajimoto with the information he knew.
“Now, now, Yuuta- Ow! What-“ Mizuki gave another grunt of pain as Yuuta stomped on his foot again. Getting the message, the detective pouted and nodded to Kajimoto.
“Just look up Echizen’s school.”
Sighing tiredly, Kajimoto gave in. “Very well. I shall have the data for you by tomorrow evening.”
“Thanks Kaji-chan. Nfufufufu…”
U.S. Samurai Demons Headquarters, 11:34 A.M.
“Nanjiroh-sama! Nanjiroh-sama!” A frantic man ran through the hallway, calling for his king. Stopping at the giant door that led to Nanjiroh’s chambers the man pounded desperately. “Nanjiroh-sama!”
The door swung open, and an irritated Nanjiroh glared. “What?”
Shaking, the man kneeled. “I bring with me bad news.”
Eyes narrowed, the golden-eyed man stared hard at the messenger. “Speak.”
“The agents in Japan have noticed something amiss among the people of the Midoriyama Organization. People there are moving, planning some type of ‘rebellion’. Against what, we are still unsure of. Ryoma-oujisama’s (3) cover may have been seen through,” the man spoke, his trembling slightly.
“There’s more. Tell us.” Rinko appeared from behind her husband, worry evident on her face.
“The government investigators caught wind of our Prince’s location, and the head detective of the case has already flown to Japan.” There was a pause as the man took a breath and cleared his throat. “And… it seems our Crowned Prince, Ryoga-oujisama, has disappeared along with Nanako-sama. Dan-kun went to call Ryoga-oujisama out for dinner earlier, and he was not found. Instead, a note was found on his bed stating that he was going to go after Nanako-sama, who has not been seen since yesterday morning.”
Eyes widening, the coupled looked at each other before turning back to the man. “And why is it that we were not informed of Nanako’s absence?”
“W-we… We thought that she went out to the temple like she does every month…”
“I see.” Nanjiroh’s voice turned cold as he issued out orders. “Find Tachibana and tell him I want to see him as soon as possible. Do not speak to anyone about these matters or there will be consequences. I shall take care of the rest. If anything new arises, inform me immediately.”
“Y-yes sir!”
MO Private Hospital, 6:00 P.M.
“-I’m sorry. It was all we could do,” the doctor bowed his head before looking up at Fuji. “We are at your command, Fuji-san.”
Heads turned to the prodigy, and the audience awaited Fuji’s decisions. After what seemed like an hour to everyone, Fuji finally spoke up, “Jackal, I want you tell everyone part of the outer ring that Niou has been sent elsewhere for a mission. Make sure their unrest is taken care of. Marui, inform the inner ring that Niou is dead. Nothing else spoken in this waiting room shall remain only in this room, is that clear?”
“But what about-”
“I’ll talk to Yanagi-san myself. Now, are my orders understood?”
Jackal nodded silently and turned around to exit the room, already taking out his cell phone to make calls. Marui, however, was more hesitant. “What about Yagyuu?” He glanced at the man that Fuji was supporting. Oddly enough, Yagyuu, lover of Niou Masaharu was quiet. He didn’t even look up, as his head was bowed, and his body was still trembling as he clutched onto Fuji.
Fuji glared and opened his mouth to answer.
“Listen to him, Marui. I’ll be fine.” Yagyuu interrupted, his voice slightly cracking.
Glancing at Yagyuu, then back at Fuji, and then at the door, Marui nodded and took his leave, feeling two pairs of grieving eyes boring into his back.
T.B.C.
You’re probably thinking, “How could you kill Niou?” The answer is… A secret. (Actually, I blame it all on watching Koutetsu Sangokushi. I swear that anime has people dying every episode. I mean, why did he -coughRikusoncough- have to die at the end?! But I still love it. xD)XD Maa ne, anyone want to guess who the stranger is? Where did Nanako and Ryoga go? Is Ryoma finally falling for Fuji? OMG. Is Atobe really working for the Samurai Demons? Stay tuned for more answers (and questions!)
1. Remember, Ryoma skipped a grade and is a second year (while taking advanced classes) while Horio is a freshman. That’s why Horio calls him, “Echizen-senpai”
2. In these groups, there are a few ‘circles' that can be considered as status, but not really. The inner circle is where all the leaders and most trustworthy people are in. The people in this circle are usually close to the Royal family. The outer circle is made up of the people who work under the inner circle and their leaders. They are just agents that may or may not be trusted. Most of the organization is part of this circle.
3. Ryoma-oujisama - “oujisama” means prince. “Prince Ryoma”.
Happy Holidays! (And leave this poor girl a review? Even if she makes a million mistakes? XD)
First Unrevised Version 12.25.07
First Revised Version 12.25.07
Previous Chapter
Next Chapter (N/A)
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
"Bold" English
"Italic" Thoughts, dream, flashbacks, important stuff, etc.
"Normal" Japanese when used for dialogue.
Recap
Finally, hours later, the light to the emergency room turned off, and the doctor appeared from behind the white doors. The doctor, a man in his mid fifties, with crow’s feet and laugh lines on his face, was missing the jolly smile that everyone one of them had always seen on him.
When the Line Breaks
Sweet Obsidian Rain
Chapter Eleven: Worry
"No matter how much you try to forget it; forget him… He always comes back- shining brighter than before.”Fuji slowly stood up and pulled Yagyuu up with him. The man, deathly pale, was shaking silently, and Fuji said nothing as he supported Yagyuu. The honey-haired boy's shoulders were sagging, as if the weight of a millions lives and more was on it (which could be true…).
Marui gently freed his shirt from Yagyuu's tight grip and moved to stand next to the only other person who came along with him- Jackal. Everyone turned to look at the doctor with hopeful expressions; fear lingered in every pair of eyes, afraid that they would lose their close friend.
The doctor cleared his throat, making eye contact with Fuji as he spoke in a grave manner, "We did everything we could, but..."
Seishun Academy, Dormitory A: Room 411, 8:03 P.M.
One Echizen Ryoma glared at the doorknob to the exit of his room as he leaned back on his office chair, spinning in slow circles. The chair stopped spinning abruptly, and the boy leaned on the desk, sighing, to tap on the smooth surface with a pencil in his hand.
The sound cut sharply through the still silence in the room except for the occasional squeaking the chair made when Ryoma moved.
A few more minutes passed.
Snap.
Cat-like, golden eyes narrowed before the boy threw the two halves of the pencil at the door. Ryoma stood up, pushing the chair back without care, making it collide with the shelves behind it.
There was a hint of a pout on the boy's lips before it turned into a full scowl. Ryoma huffed, and stomped up to the door, flung it open, and stomped out.
The check in table was still open; the loud first year that always seemed to only be all talk, but no skills to back up his boasting was there. The unibrowed freshman yawned, on the verge of sleeping until Ryoma slammed his hands against the table none-to-gently. "Oi."
"Uwah! I'm awake!" The boy blinked. "Huh? Oh, it's only you, Echizen-senpai." (1)
Ryoma emitted a low growl that made the freshman withdraw and quiver before speaking, “Check me out.”
“E-Echizen-senpai…”
“Now.” The glare that the freshman had received set him to work. The boy immediately turned to the computer and started typing away with shaking hands.
“S-senpai, when will you be back?”
Another growl. “You do not need to know that.”
“Actually,” the frightened freshman cleared his throat, “it is information that is req- Eh?! Echizen-senpai! Wait!”
But it was all too late as Ryoma was already out of the door with a dark cloud hanging over his head.
Still sulking, Ryoma lazily walked towards the school, feet dragging on the pavement. “Stupid Fuji-senpai. Stupid Monkey King. Stupid injuries… Stupid. Stupid. Stup- Damn!” The boy stumbled and flung his arms out for support. His hands met nothing but air though; eyes widening, Ryoma quickly moved his arms into position and did a flip, landing on his feet perfectly. The stinging on his stomach worsened.
Ryoma glared at his feet. To say that he was annoyed was an understatement. Irritated wasn’t the right word either. He couldn’t think of the right word to describe what he was feeling at the moment, but he knew that he wanted very badly to strangle someone-anyone-to death. His fingers had even curled up in reaction to his thoughts, held up like he was about to pop the head of a chicken off.
Realizing how he must have looked, in the middle of a sidewalk with a murderous expression on his face and hands up in a strangling motion, the boy forced himself to flex his fingers slowly. Taking a deep breath, he continued to walk.
Arriving, Ryoma wasted no time going around the school, and entering the nearby woods in the back. It was dark already, and being in a place full of trees made the place even darker. Any normal human being wouldn’t take chances being out in a dark opening where he or she could be attacked any anything. However, Ryoma could care less about what normal people did. Besides, he wasn’t even normal himself, now was he?
The woods though, were the best place to host a secret base for a group of people from the Samurai Demons. The place connected to the (huge) apartment that Atobe, Yukimura and Sanada shared. Of course, if Ryoma wanted to see them, he could've just walked to the apartment of the said people, but with all the new developments, it was too much of a risk- even if someone walking into the dark woods at night was strange.
Taking care to avoid obstacles ahead of him, Ryoma kept his senses high as he made his way to the middle of the woods. The center of the place had been cleared away many centuries ago, forming a circle of open field. Five giant boulders of different sizes were scattered in the grassy field; a nearby stream completed the image. A small foot-made path formed by humans and creatures of the wild when they pass through this clearing was visible ahead of him, and his followed it halfway before splitting off to the left. He didn’t stop until he reached the farthest boulder.
Ryoma walked around it a few times before finally spotting a small barely noticeable scratch mark- the mark of the Samurai Demons, which was of rose and cherry blossom curled around a kanata. Smirking, the boy carefully traced the mark before pushing in. The boulder creaked and Ryoma moved back to wait for the entrance of the secret base to open for him.
Nothing happened.
The boy frowned and waited for a few more minutes before he glared at the mark with frustration. He wasn't in a good mood and wanted things over with. Suddenly, the hairs on his neck prickled, and he felt another presence in the field. Before he could do anything though, a deep voice spoke to him. It was slightly off sounding, hoarse, and it sounded like it hurt to speak. “You’re suppose to use the pendant,” the man, as Ryoma assumed, judging from the mature voice, said quietly in a monotone.
Ryoma, alarmed, whipped around to see a figure sitting on another boulder about 20 or so yards away. It was dark out, so the boy could only see the man’s outline. “Who are you?” he asked cautiously, trying to get a glimpse of the man’s face.
“I am of no importance. All you need to know is that you need to use the pendant to open the entrance.”
Eying the figure suspiciously, Ryoma’s brows drew together in question. “What pendant?”
There was a slight rustle of clothes; the man shifted. “You didn’t get the pendant?” The emotionless voice held a slight touch of surprise.
“No. What pendant?” The boy was getting impatient.
The man seemed to be sighing inwardly; his head was bent down slightly as if trying to decide on what to do. Finally, after seemingly having to come to a conclusion, the figure reached around his neck. The action had Ryoma in a fighting stance immediately. Noticing how the boy was growling, the man took whatever he was now holding and held out his arms.
“What…” The man threw whatever he had in the air, and Ryoma stared at it as the thing curved down.
“Catch it.”
Ryoma did nothing.
“I said, catch it.”
His body instinctively reacted. His hands reached up and as the object brushed against his hands, his fingers closed around it. Eyes wide, Ryoma brought the thing down to examine it. He was holding onto a disc-like object attached to a string. He could not see everything on it, but he could feel something engraved into the disc. The engraving seemed familiar too… What ever this stranger had given him was…
The stranger!
Ryoma snapped his head up to speak to the man but as his eyes rested on the boulder where the figure previously sitting on, he was gone. Gapping, the boy pondered over who the man was. It was awkward (he would use the word scary, but Echizen Ryoma didn’t get scared that easily) too, when he remembered how his body automatically reacted to the command. His mind barely registered anything when he reached up to catch the pendant (he guessed that the pendant the man was talking about was the disc), his arms just seemed to shoot up by themselves.
The voice was somewhat familiar too, but he couldn’t place his finger on who the stranger was.
Shaking his head, he decided to deal with this incident later. Ryoma looked back at the pendant and traced the engraving again. After a few moments, Ryoma realized why the rough texture and design were so familiar. He dropped down by the boulder and felt around for the Samurai Demons’ symbol. It was very dark now, and the moon was only a crescent, barely helping him see. A slender finger followed the lines hardly engraved into the big rock.
“Bingo,” Ryoma muttered. The design was the same as the one on the pendant.
Holding the disc-like object directly mirrored in front of the symbol on the boulder, the boy pressed the pendant down and pushed. His ears twitched as he heard the boulder creaking. Finally, rock moved, and a metal door that led underground was revealed.
“Please scan your left eye,” the machine’s robotic voice requested. There was a flash of red from a certain slot. Ryoma bent down carefully, opened his left eye wide and waited for the security system to scan and match his profile. There was a small beep, “Access granted.” The metal door unlocked and swung open.
Eyeing the steps he was supposed to walk on in a wary manner, Ryoma lightly set a foot down and pushed down on different areas to test it out. When he had deemed it safe, the boy took one step at a time. Soon, he was jogging at a nice pace, less than five minutes away from the apartment his senior friends and allies lived.
About four minutes later, one could find Echizen Ryoma swiftly typing in the pass code to enter through the secret entrance of the building. It didn’t take long, as the door slid open, and Ryoma lazily walked in. Glancing around, he shrugged. It wasn’t his fault that no one provided him a map, so he might as well wander until he found someone. Picking a random direction, the boy headed down the hallway on his right. It led to two places, a well-used restroom, completed with a mini bathing Jacuzzi and a silver table with fake vines twined around it. The other location was a neat and organized office with many hues of blue decorations in it. He sweatdropped when he spotted a giant blue penguin in the corner of the room.
Blinking, he guessed whose this office was. Yukimura’s no doubt because the man was the only person he knew who had a strange obsession with blue penguins. Something that, as he had found out, Yukimura did not develop until he met Ryoma. It seemed that the penguins somehow reminded the blue-haired man of Ryoma (to which the boy scowled and demanded to know how, but Yukimura just smiled knowingly and continued to talk), and of course, blue was his favorite color.
Turning around, Ryoma took a step, planning to return to where he first arrived and go off from there when he bumped into someone. “Ah! Ryo-chan is here,” the delighted voice of Yukimura Seiichi reached his ears. The boy glared up at the man.
“Yukimura-san, please don’t call me that.”
Ryoma’s comment was ignored as Yukimura turned to the person next to him to talk. “Genichirou, I think we may have to continue our conversation next time. I hope you don’t mind?”
The normally stoic Sanada looked flustered as he nodded and bowed politely before excusing himself. Ryoma raised a brow and stared up at Yukimura; the man responded with his own set of brows raised. “Yes?” he asked the Prince sweetly.
It was only on certain occasions did Ryoma dare try to provoke Yukimura (for fear that he would have to suffer the man’s wrath and die at a young age). This was one of the times that he decided to risk his life on. “Ne, Yukimura-san,” he said cockily. “Sanada-san seems rather smitten to you.”
The reaction he got wasn’t one that he wanted.
Yukimura chuckled. “Saa… He is quite the looker.” Ryoma stared in disbelief. “And the way he dresses shows how firm his buttocks are… I wonder how they feel like?”
Blushing and sputtering indignantly, Ryoma tried to get rid of the mental image of Yukimura doing things to the stoic man out of his head. The boy shivered. He cursed himself repeatedly for even starting the conversation. “Ah… Yukimura-san… That is nice to know-“ I need to learn when to shut up. “-but I’m not here to talk about Sanada-san.”
“Oh? So is there anything I can help you with then?” Yukimura smiled infuriatingly.
Glaring, the boy deadpanned, “Why was the security system changed without telling me? I’m the one that needs to bloody know these things!”
“Ahh… About that. You see, a little dog from the outer circle (2) decided to cross the river to the other side and bark.”
Ryoma twitched. “And?”
“Well, for some reason, the little dog ate the wrong treat, and choked.” The blue haired man chuckled, and Ryoma swore the room temperature drop a few degrees. The boy knew better than to think that this man, Yukimura Seiichi, had nothing to do with the “dog’s choking”. One may know to stay away from Yukimura when he was in his sadist mode, but when one was to get in the man’s way of accomplishing something, they would finally get to know how dangerous and capable the man really was.
The boy raised an eyebrow and pushed on. “What did you do?”
“Saa… Let’s just say that we’ve been giving out fake pieces of information to the people from the outer circle to test their loyalty.”
“Heh,” a smirk formed on the boy’s face as he said this. “You guys actually listened to Ryoga’s suggestion.”
“Of course.” Yukimura bowed mockingly. “Now, would you so kindly tell me how you got in here since you had no clue about our new system until recently? Oh, and please do tell me why you’re here in the first place.” His face was now completely serious.
Ryoma sweatdropped.
(Huge) Apartment, Atobe’s Room (which is on a different floor, where all bedrooms are located at), 8:30 PM
Typing.
Processing information.
More typing.
Clicking and scrolling.
Atobe brought a steaming cup up to his lips and took a sip of top quality French Vanilla coffee before putting it down on the table to his right with much practiced grace. His eyes were trained onto the computer screen as he read through the contents of the report he had recently received from an agent. His left hand was on the mouse, scrolling down the page as he read.
The only sounds in the room were of slender, smooth fingers typing across the keyboard at lightning speed, the occasional clicking and scrolling of the mouse, the computer processing data and the breathing of the one and only Atobe Keigo.
There was a sudden vibration from a small device on Atobe’s right, next to the mug of coffee. The shaking of the electronic object caused the table to vibrate along with it. A few drops of coffee landed on Atobe’s hand as he reached out to answer the call. The nurse took one glance at the caller ID before answering, his lips curving up in a half-smirk, half-smile. “So you finally need Ore-sama’s help, ahn?”
“Atobe,” a deep unwavering voice spoke through the line. “We need to talk. In person.”
“You can come see me at my place, you know. I already told you to do so if you ever needed to talk,” the silver man snapped, impatient.
“I can’t. I don’t have the pendant anymore.”
“What?!” Atobe stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over. The man’s eyes narrowed, “What did you do?”
“Echizen needed it to get in. I gave it to him.”
“…Oh.” A sigh of relief escaped from Atobe’s lips. He leaned against the table, moving the cup aside carefully. “You didn’t show yourself to him, did you?”
“No.”
“Good. I’m coming to find you now.”
The round disc-like object was tossed into the air and curved downward as gravity pulled it down.
“Catch it.”
Ryoma tensed up more and kept one eye on the man, the other on the disc.
“I said, catch it.”
Ryoma’s arms shot up on their own record and he caught the pendant.
--
“He’s what?!” Fuji’s eyes snapped opened, and his face was rapidly paling. “I... I’m coming. Meet me on your way there.”
Ryoma sat up from his bunk after gearing his senpai’s shout. His ears strained to hear what was going on, but it was no use. The older boy was already by the door, putting on his shoes, too far for Ryoma to hear. The only sound that Ryoma could make from the person Fuji was talking to was muffled Japanese spoke quickly, in a panicking tone.
“Aa. Yes. Okay, see you there.” Fuji flipped his cell phone shut and shoved it in his pocket before adjusting his shoelaces, straightening up when he was done. The tensai’s hand froze in mid-air as he reached out to turn the doorknob.
“Fuji-senpai, are you okay? You look like you’re about to faint anytime soon.”
The honey-haired boy had his head bowed slightly; his hair fell across his face, making it impossible for Ryoma to see his expression. “I’m fine, Echizen-kun. Go back to your reading.”
The boy wasn’t convinced, but he complied, though not before asking, “When will you be back?”
“I don’t know. Later in the evening, I think. Sorry, you’re going to have to go eat without me.” And with that, the door was flung open and slammed shut. Ryoma was hear Fuji’s running footsteps fading as he got farther.
The boy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something happened, I know it, he thought. But what?
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Ryoma decided. I’ll give him an hour or two. If he isn’t back, I’ll find the others. They’ll know what to do. Although the boy knew he could always follow his senpai, Ryoma knew that he probably wouldn’t be as lucky as last time if he was caught. (Deep down, though he would never admit it, he knew he chose not to follow Fuji partly out of respect, but also partly because his gut instinct told him to stay away.)
Mada mada dane, Ryoma mused as he turned back to his book, I’ve gotten careless… But my gut instinct is never wrong.
---
Yukimura stared at the boy, his eyes unreadable as Ryoma finished narrating the events that happened to him a few hours before. “… So you didn’t see who the man that gave you the key was? Not even his face?”
Ryoma shook his head. “Too dark.”
“And you came here to ask if we know what to do with Fuji’s sudden disappearance?
A nod.
Yukimura’s face was calculating as he tried to process everything and find a solution. It wasn’t every day that their Prince would actually request for help. “Yukimura-san?” The dark-haired boy poked his comrade.
Blinking, Yukimura reeled in himself from drifting off and smiled. “Ne, Ryoma-chan, you’re actually concerned about Fuji Syusuke, aren’t you?”
The boy scowled at the teasing question. “No,” he snapped, and after a while he added, “I’m just suspicious.” But the boy couldn’t help but feel something sink in his stomach.
Liar, was the silent message Yukimura has sent to the boy after noticing Ryoma’s reaction. The two engaged in a silent staring contest until Yukimura finally gave in.
The man sighed. “You’re a very troublesome child, you know that?” Fine. I’ll leave you be for now.
“Che. I’m not a child.” Good.
Still, Ryoma couldn’t but wonder, Am I really concerned?
Kajimoto Fitness Inc. 9:00 P.M.
Beep.
A brown haired man wearing a casual sweatshirt with small tennis designs embroidered around the hems poked at the answer button on the phone with his pen. “What is it, Tsuki?”
“Kajimoto-san, there’s a man by the name of Mizuki here to see you. He also has someone else with him,” a woman spoke, her voice laced with irritation. “Mizuki-san refuses to give us his full name, and the boy he has with him is… mute. What do should I do?”
Kajimoto’s eye widened in surprise before he pressed another button and ordered, “Send them up.”
“But they’re-”
“It’s fine, Tsuki. They’re acquaintances of mine.”
“As you wish.”
The line went dead, and Kajimoto sat back, closing his eyes to relax himself a bit as he silently ponder over Mizuki’s sudden visit. He and the man were old colleagues in high school and college until Mizuki suddenly transferred overseas to study. Over the last six years since they separated, they had only contacted each other once, and Kajimoto was the one to do that, asking to meet up with Mizuki when he went to the States for business.
Now, what did Mizuki want from him?
There was a knock before the door opened and Tsuki’s head peeped in. She was a woman in her late twenties; she had black hair tied up in a loose bun, and was decked out in from top to bottom in expensive, top-notch clothes. Seeing that her boss was expecting the visitors, she moved back and pulled the door open more for a man with a mop of black hair that was as annoying as hell, and a poor mute boy who she wanted to cuddle like a mother would with her child. “Kaijimoto-san, I have brought the visitors.”
The brunet sat up and nodded. “Thank you, Tsuki. You may leave now.”
Nodding, the woman shut the door behind her and moved away. Kajimoto waited until the two other occupants in the room were seated before demanding for an answer. “Well? What brings you here, Mizuki?” He glanced at the ‘mute’ boy before looking back at Mizuki’s smirking face.
“Nfufufufu… Kaji-chan-” Kajimoto twitched at the old nickname. “-you should already know what case I am working on, no?”
The man rolled his eyes. Of course, he should’ve expected Mizuki to come to him of all people. After all, he was one of the few people who lead the investigation section of Japan’s government in disguise. “Yes. What do you want?”
Mizuki’s Cheshire cat grin widened. “Information.”
“About the Prince, I presume?”
“Nfufufufu… Kaji-chan, you really do know me best after all these years. Nfufufu…”
The boy next to the detective snorted, catching Kajimoto’s attention. “Mizuki-san, we don’t have time to waste.”
“Eh? I though the boy was mute, Mizuki?”
The said boy glared. “Blame Mizuki-san.”
The detection continued to chuckle, “Nffufuf… Hai, hai.” He turned to Kajimoto. “Kaji-chan, I need you to look up which school Echizen Ryoma goes to.”
“Echizen Ryoma?” the man echoed.
“Hn. He’s got… connections with the Prince,” Yuuta answered, not trusting Kajimoto with the information he knew.
“Now, now, Yuuta- Ow! What-“ Mizuki gave another grunt of pain as Yuuta stomped on his foot again. Getting the message, the detective pouted and nodded to Kajimoto.
“Just look up Echizen’s school.”
Sighing tiredly, Kajimoto gave in. “Very well. I shall have the data for you by tomorrow evening.”
“Thanks Kaji-chan. Nfufufufu…”
U.S. Samurai Demons Headquarters, 11:34 A.M.
“Nanjiroh-sama! Nanjiroh-sama!” A frantic man ran through the hallway, calling for his king. Stopping at the giant door that led to Nanjiroh’s chambers the man pounded desperately. “Nanjiroh-sama!”
The door swung open, and an irritated Nanjiroh glared. “What?”
Shaking, the man kneeled. “I bring with me bad news.”
Eyes narrowed, the golden-eyed man stared hard at the messenger. “Speak.”
“The agents in Japan have noticed something amiss among the people of the Midoriyama Organization. People there are moving, planning some type of ‘rebellion’. Against what, we are still unsure of. Ryoma-oujisama’s (3) cover may have been seen through,” the man spoke, his trembling slightly.
“There’s more. Tell us.” Rinko appeared from behind her husband, worry evident on her face.
“The government investigators caught wind of our Prince’s location, and the head detective of the case has already flown to Japan.” There was a pause as the man took a breath and cleared his throat. “And… it seems our Crowned Prince, Ryoga-oujisama, has disappeared along with Nanako-sama. Dan-kun went to call Ryoga-oujisama out for dinner earlier, and he was not found. Instead, a note was found on his bed stating that he was going to go after Nanako-sama, who has not been seen since yesterday morning.”
Eyes widening, the coupled looked at each other before turning back to the man. “And why is it that we were not informed of Nanako’s absence?”
“W-we… We thought that she went out to the temple like she does every month…”
“I see.” Nanjiroh’s voice turned cold as he issued out orders. “Find Tachibana and tell him I want to see him as soon as possible. Do not speak to anyone about these matters or there will be consequences. I shall take care of the rest. If anything new arises, inform me immediately.”
“Y-yes sir!”
MO Private Hospital, 6:00 P.M.
“-I’m sorry. It was all we could do,” the doctor bowed his head before looking up at Fuji. “We are at your command, Fuji-san.”
Heads turned to the prodigy, and the audience awaited Fuji’s decisions. After what seemed like an hour to everyone, Fuji finally spoke up, “Jackal, I want you tell everyone part of the outer ring that Niou has been sent elsewhere for a mission. Make sure their unrest is taken care of. Marui, inform the inner ring that Niou is dead. Nothing else spoken in this waiting room shall remain only in this room, is that clear?”
“But what about-”
“I’ll talk to Yanagi-san myself. Now, are my orders understood?”
Jackal nodded silently and turned around to exit the room, already taking out his cell phone to make calls. Marui, however, was more hesitant. “What about Yagyuu?” He glanced at the man that Fuji was supporting. Oddly enough, Yagyuu, lover of Niou Masaharu was quiet. He didn’t even look up, as his head was bowed, and his body was still trembling as he clutched onto Fuji.
Fuji glared and opened his mouth to answer.
“Listen to him, Marui. I’ll be fine.” Yagyuu interrupted, his voice slightly cracking.
Glancing at Yagyuu, then back at Fuji, and then at the door, Marui nodded and took his leave, feeling two pairs of grieving eyes boring into his back.
T.B.C.
You’re probably thinking, “How could you kill Niou?” The answer is… A secret. (Actually, I blame it all on watching Koutetsu Sangokushi. I swear that anime has people dying every episode. I mean, why did he -coughRikusoncough- have to die at the end?! But I still love it. xD)XD Maa ne, anyone want to guess who the stranger is? Where did Nanako and Ryoga go? Is Ryoma finally falling for Fuji? OMG. Is Atobe really working for the Samurai Demons? Stay tuned for more answers (and questions!)
1. Remember, Ryoma skipped a grade and is a second year (while taking advanced classes) while Horio is a freshman. That’s why Horio calls him, “Echizen-senpai”
2. In these groups, there are a few ‘circles' that can be considered as status, but not really. The inner circle is where all the leaders and most trustworthy people are in. The people in this circle are usually close to the Royal family. The outer circle is made up of the people who work under the inner circle and their leaders. They are just agents that may or may not be trusted. Most of the organization is part of this circle.
3. Ryoma-oujisama - “oujisama” means prince. “Prince Ryoma”.
Happy Holidays! (And leave this poor girl a review? Even if she makes a million mistakes? XD)
First Unrevised Version 12.25.07
First Revised Version 12.25.07
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