Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Rikkai team
Challenge:
Challenge Eight: (A) line(s) of dialogue to include. (One, two or all in one fic!)
"The knife just slipped. Sixty-seven times."
"The last time you stayed up to watch a scary film, you ended up having to sleep in my bed."
"You realize that image will stay with me for the rest of my life?"
Notes: The Rikkai team play a prank on their vice captain. I didn't put much effort into this, and it's not the greatest of things I've written. An attempt at humor. About 900 words.
----
"Ju-On is on," Niou commented as he channel-surfed, settling on the opening credits for the horror movie. "We should watch it."
"Anything would be better than letting Niou-sempai have the remote," Kirihara grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and resisting the urge to hide his face in someone's shoulder. "Even a bad horror movie."
"You mean you won't be scared, Akaya?" Marui teased, with Niou reaching over to ruffle the second year's hair, almost ready to add something to Marui's teasing when Yukimura's voice cut in.
"We shouldn't. Sanada doesn't like horror movies."
All eyes immediately shifted to Sanada, who was sitting in an arm chair next to the couch. He scowled at everyone. "I'm fine. We can watch it."
"If Sanada-san is going to be frightened, maybe we shouldn't," Niou said. "We wouldn't want fukubuchou to be scared, after all. He might cry."
Sanada's hands twitched, sending Niou into a fit of laughter, with Yukimura and Yanagi smiling, far too amused for their own good. "I said I'll be fine. It can't be that bad."
"Sanada, do you remember the last time you stayed up to watch a scary film?" Yukimura asked. "You ended up having to sleep in my bed."
That sent the team members that were not laughing into laughter; Marui and Kirihara collapsing against each other with laughter and Jackal and Yagyuu hiding their laughter behind hands or smiles. Sanada's scowl deepened; if kills could kill, the entire room would be full of dead corpses.
"We're watching the movie," Sanada told the team at large.
"Are you sure, Genichirou?" Yanagi asked, the only one to effectively hide the laughter in his voice.
"We're watching the damn movie."
---
"Sanada-fukubuchou, Sanada-fukubuchou," Kirihara screamed, jolting Sanada from the almost trance-like state he was in, absorbed in the movie playing on the TV. On his feet immediately, Sanada looked around wildly, not spotting anyone else in the room, and rushed from the living room into the hall. Kirihara crashed into him, tears running down his face and a frightened look in his eyes.
"Sanada-fukubuchou! Yagyuu-sempai's gone crazy," Kirihara sobbed, latching onto Sanada, his arms slipping around Sanada's waist and soaking his shirt with tears. "He's crazy! We have to get out of here before he kills us, too."
"What the hell are you talking about, Akaya?" Sanada demanded, giving up on getting the younger boy off of him.
"Yagyuu-sempai," were the only words Kirihara could force out, his body trembling, and Sanada didn't ask him again, simply dragged the boy with him down the hall, looking into the deserted rooms one at a time, trying to find Yagyuu.
"Don't go in there," Kirihara whispered, when they neared the last room, and it only motivated Sanada into pushing open the door and looking inside.
He regretted that move the moment he stepped into the room.
"The knife only slipped," Yagyuu said, standing over Yukimura's dead body. "Sixty-seven times."
Sanada could see black at the edges of his vision, and he tightened his grip on Kirihara, stepping back, into the hall.
"I didn't mean to," Yagyuu told him, walking closer to him. Sanada was starting to wonder if Yagyuu and Niou had switched that day, and Niou was going to pin a murder on Yagyuu. "But since all of you have seen it, I'm afraid you must die."
Kirihara screamed and bolted from Sanada's grasp, running down the hall. Sanada shook his head and turned to take off after the younger boy, but was met with Niou's form, bloody and appearing to be near death. Sanada instinctively took a step back in horror.
"Sanada-san," he whispered. "Help me."
The black around the edges of Sanada's vision was increasing and the last thing he saw before fainting was Yanagi's mutilated body.
---
Sanada woke to cold water touching his face, and a wet washcloth being placed on his forehead.
"Really, Genichirou," Yukimura said. "I didn't expect you to faint."
"Am I dead?" Sanada croaked, reaching up to touch the washcloth on his forehead. "Did Yagyuu - was it really Yagyuu, or Niou? - kill me? The sight of "
Sanada heard snickers then, and Yukimura hushed them, then smiled back down at him. "Of course not. It was -"
Sanada didn't hear the rest of Yukimura's words, pulling the washcloth from his forehead and sitting up, looking around at his teammates, all alive and well and valiantly trying to hide laughter. Yukimura, Niou, and Yanagi all had clothing stained with what looked like blood, but when Sanada reached out to touch Yukimura's sleeve and brought his fingers to his lips, appeared to only be corn syrup dyed with food coloring. He curled his fingers into a fist.
"Fifty laps first thing on Monday," he barked. "All of you."
"Even Yukimura-buchou?" Kirihara asked, among the groans and complaints.
Sanada looked at Yukimura, his lips flattened into a tight line. "No. But he should."
Yukimura laughed, reaching up to hide his grin behind his hand. "I'll run them with you, Akaya," he told the second year. "We'll let Sanada sulk by himself."
"And try to forget he fainted," Niou teased, leaning against his partner, breaking into more laughter when Sanada turned his glare toward Niou.
"Maybe Genichirou should try to forget the images of us looking dead," Yanagi said. "I can offer tips on how to clear your mind, you can work on them Monday morning while we run laps."
"You realize that image will stay with me for the rest of my life?" Sanada demanded. "No mind clearing techniques will help at all."