PoT Fic: Recombinant Chapter 13
Sorry its kind of late, but here it is! My first big action sequence . . . hope you like!
Title: Recombinant
Author: Dolly (universal_doll)
Rating: PG to PG-13
Characters: Echizen, Tezuka, Fuji (primary); Tachibana An, Tachibana Kippei, Momoshiro (secondary); and the rest of Seigaku.
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, AU (or rather, Alternate History/Timeline)
Summary: “Why couldn't you have been magical girls?”
Full Story Notes & Previous Chapters
New Chapter:
Chapter 13
“Was that really necessary?” Tezuka asked disapprovingly.
“Saa, it worked, didn't it?” Fuji countered.
“Ah, I'll never be able to look Kuge-sensei in the eye again,” Momoshiro said mournfully.
Oishi just sighed. “Well, at least we all got out of class.”
The eight of them had just managed to catch the bus to Tokyo Memorial Gymnasium, which Fuji had told them was the fourth point and was about to be destroyed. Tezuka very much regretted turning his phone off that day, as he would have liked to have heard about it first hand rather than from the ever-evasive Fuji. But even if the details where sketchy, he knew enough. There was a demon about to destroy the fourth point, and they had to stop it. And Echizen was there too, apparently 'stuck' somewhere. Meaning, probably, that he needed help.
As they stepped off of the bus in front of the gymnasium, it was immediately evident that there was some form of energy emanating from the main arena, which was strangely deserted. Tezuka's gaze fixed on it, and he saw his teammates turn instinctively towards it as well. Exchanging uneasy glances amongst themselves, they went over to it. Its doors opened easily for them, allowing them entry.
“Even though there aren't any events this place is still open today, but there's no one anywhere around here,” Eiji said in a hushed voice.
“The demonic aura here is very strong. It is likely that even ordinary people may be able to sense it on some subconscious level, causing them to stay away,” Inui theorized.
“I guess they've got more sense than we do then,” Kaidoh grunted.
“Who needs common sense when you've got magic?” Momoshiro said jokingly, though the attempt at humor was obviously strained.
Tezuka stopped and faced the others. “The demon should be in the central most stadium, which is where the energy seems to be coming from. Most of us should go there to defeat the demon, though we need to find Echizen as well,” Tezuka said authoritatively, radiating a calm that he did not wholly feel. Though he may have been the captain of the tennis team, he had no more experience with demons and magic powers than any of them did and was reluctant to take the lead. But someone needed to.
“I'll go find Echizen, buchou,” Momoshiro volunteered, unsurprisingly.
“And I will too!” Eiji offered with a grin.
Suddenly, the whole building seemed to quiver, and the demonic energy felt as though it jumped around them.
“Oh, better hurry!” Eiji grabbed Momoshiro and took off towards the stairs going down before anyone could say anything. “Good luck, guys, do your best!”
“I hope Eiji remembers where they're going,” Fuji commented.
“He'd better.”
With Tezuka and Fuji in the lead, the tennis players-turned-Guardians quickly but cautiously made their way up to the expansive stadium. Tezuka looked all around the field and the stands with a careful eye, though was disconcerted to see that there was nothing that appeared to be out of the ordinary.
“I don't see anything,” Kawamura said hesitantly.
“But there is a demon here somewhere,” Tezuka reminded them.
“Maybe its afraid of us?” Oishi ventured.
“Or it could be just toying with us,” Fuji said sharply.
“Oh you are a bright one, aren't you?” The voice, both smooth and mocking, seemed to come from nowhere and all around them at the same time. A small space near the opposite entrance shimmered strangely, and a tall man with blood red hair flickered into existence. A demon. “But you're hardly my first choice for entertainment.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Fuji said icily, his eyes narrowed and slitted open.
Tezuka tensed and held his hands ready, and saw the others do the same out of the corner of his eye. It happened so fast that he wasn't quite sure who threw the first blow at the demon, though his first guess was Fuji. The wave of fiery blue hit the demon squarely in the shoulder, sending him flying back several meters. Before the demon could even get up, more icy blasts went flying at him from not only Fuji, but from Inui and Kaidoh as well. The demon flew back even farther, and hit the wall with an audible thud.
Dust and cold vapor rose up from the impact, obscuring their view. But nothing moved.
Tezuka exchanged a look with Fuji, but before either of them could suggest what to do next a head of crimson hair became visible as the cloud cleared. Looking only slightly ruffled, the demon stood with a feline grace and gave them a smirk.
“This is not good,” Inui said dispassionately.
“That is one strong demon.” Kaidoh glared at it.
“The name's Orias, children; do remember that.” Almost lazily, he took a step forward, and was immediately met with a shower of icy fire, which was joined by Tezuka and Oishi's unseen energy pulses and a smattering of fireballs from Kawamura. The demon - Orias - flinched, but only for a moment before a red-tinted shield formed around him. It radiated an essence of heat, and the icy blasts, rather than going through it, simply dissolved.
The smirk returned. With a wave of his hand, Orias sent Inui, Kaidoh, and Fuji flying backwards and into the stairwell, which he then collapsed with another wave. “So boring,” he said with a sigh. “And not even cute. Why couldn't you have been magical girls?”
Tezuka and Oishi exchanged a grim look, both worried for their teammates and by the fact only they and Kawamura were now left to fight the demon. Tezuka met both of their eyes and gave a small nod, and the three of them threw all they had at the demon. His and Oishi's powers, he noticed, seemed to have a synergistic effect with Kawamura's, and the demon stumbled back slightly as he was hit by their combined blasts.
But it was not nearly enough. Kawamura's fire lacked the intensity that he had seen in Eiji's and Momoshiro's, and Tezuka belatedly wished that someone had thought to bring him a racket. Though it didn't seem to matter as another shield appeared around the demon, this one a pale blue.
“Oh no, I'm sorry you guys!” Kawamura apologized as his attacks were rendered useless by the frigid cold shield.
“Go check on the others!” Oishi called out, and Kawamura gave a nod before running off.
And now they were two.
Determinedly, Tezuka concentrated his pulses of energy with Oishi's at the demon's head and chest. The demon grimaced momentarily, but then began forming a ball of energy in his hands. In one smooth motion he threw it up in the air, and sharp bolts of light began to rain down on them from it. Tezuka had no choice but to divert his power from the offensive to the defensive as he formed a much-needed shield around himself and Oishi.
“Thanks,” Oishi gritted out, still sending pulses of energy towards the demon. “What now?” It was clear that Oishi's efforts were doing little more than annoying the demon, at this point.
“Well, I'd suggest that you run.” Orias flashed them a feral grin, then sent a tiny flicker of red light into the ball of energy that hovered above them. The ball stopped sending out bolts, but after a moment it began expanding rapidly. “Between taking down this point and playing with that little tenshi of yours, I think I have enough to keep me busy; but I'm sure I can fit you in if you'd care to stick around.” The energy ball continued its expansion, and quicky reached the size of a small house.
Tezuka and Oishi didn't need to exchange more than a glance before they retreated, heading back towards where their teammates had been thrown. There, Kawamura was desperately pulling away rubble from the stairwell's entrance, and Tezuka was relieved to head sounds from the other side indicating that they were doing the same. He and Oishi joined in, using carefully controlled pulses of energy to help move the rubble away. Oishi looked anxiously over his shoulder as the edges of the energy ball closed in on them.
“Almost there!” Kawamura proclaimed, and sure enough, Tezuka saw a hand break through from the other side. Within a few seconds they managed to get through, and were met inside the stairwell by Fuji, Inui, and Kaidoh, all of who, thankfully, seemed unharmed.
“We have to leave,” Tezuka told them, and though he caught some questioning looks they followed him as he moved quickly down the stairs. Pausing only to snatch up their bags from the floor on the way out, the six of them nearly ran out one of the arena's doors as the structure began to rumble ominously.
“We couldn't stop him,” Oishi said regretfully, as they all turned to look back at the now-crumbling building from a relatively safe distance. “This point is going down.”
And three of their teammates were still unaccounted for. Fuji voiced his concern.
“If they aren't out by now . . .”
It wasn't a thought that Fuji needed to finish.
“Hey,” Kaidoh said, jerking his head slightly towards the street. “Look who's here.”
Tezuka looked over and saw Tachibana approaching them, looking vaguely put out. “I see I'm too late,” he said, frowning slightly. “This was one of the points, I assume. Is there a reason no one called me?”
Tezuka frowned as well; in their rush to get here, he hadn't considered Tachibana at all. And obviously, the others hadn't either
“Ah, I'm afraid not” Fuji replied in a subdued voice. “You got the text message from Echizen, though?”
“Yes.” Tachibana very nearly glowered in annoyance, and Tezuka knew that they owed him an apology for slighting him even though they had all suffered for his absence.
~*~
“Slow down, Momo-senpai,” Ryoma said irritably as he tried to keep up with the older boy's pace as they fled the rapidly deteriorating arena. His leg hurt too much to put much weight on it, so he was reluctantly using Momo as a crutch. But Momo was too tall to be of much help, and he was walking much too fast for Ryoma anyway.
“Sorry, Echizen,” Momo said apologetically, but didn't slow down. “But we've got to hurry. This place is going to collapse any minute now!”
“I hope the others got out too,” Eiji said worriedly as he jogged along beside them.
Why Eiji and Momo had been the ones to come get him, of all the Guardians, Ryoma had no clue. Tezuka, Oishi, or Tachibana could have probably used their powers to help remove the rubble; and Fuji, Inui, or Kaidoh's powers would have at least been less dangerous in close quarters. Not to mention that Momo and Eiji weren't exactly the most calm and analytical thinkers out there. After several ill-conceived attempts to melt the rubble, the pair had finally decided to do what Ryoma had been doing from the start; namely, digging. Needless to say, it had been a slow process, and they had barely made it out before the entire underground stairwell had begun to collapse on them.
They finally made it to ground level, stairs crumbling behind them, and Ryoma found himself being lifted off the ground by the strong arm around his waist as Momo broke into a run for the door, with Eiji alongside them. And it was not a moment too soon. Scant moments after they practically flew out the door, the structure gave an ominous rumble and then began to implode in a massive cloud of dust and debris. A bright red light could be seen coming from the stadium.
Ryoma's eyes widened slightly as he watched from over Momo's shoulder . . . but wait, when had he agreed to let Momo carry him? And Momo was still running, and it didn't look like he was thinking of putting him down anytime soon.
“Hey,” Ryoma began, tapping impatiently on the junior's shoulder. “Let me down.” But Momo, unfortunately, was distracted.
“Look, there's the others!” Eiji cried excitedly.
~*~
“There they are,” Oishi said relievedly, as three familiar figures came darting around a corner and into view just moments after the main arena began to fall in earnest.
Tezuka could make out Eiji waving at them wildly, but he and Momoshiro didn't stop running towards them. In Momoshiro's arms Tezuka saw a decidedly female Echizen, who was futilely tugging at the other's shoulder. The team's powerhouse didn't seemed to notice, and just kept on going until he and Eiji finally stopped in front of them.
“We were worried about you guys,” Kawamura said earnestly, offering a small smile.
“Is everyone okay?” Tezuka asked, directing his question at the newly arrived trio. But said trio didn't seem to be paying attention to him for once, with Eiji clinging to Oishi and Echizen trying to wriggle his way out of the oblivious junior's arms.
“Momo-senpai,” he complained, and Momoshiro looked down at him in surprise.
“Eh? Fine, here you go.” He carefully set Echizen down, but kept one arm loosely around the freshman's waist. “Don't be careless and put too much weight on it though,” he admonished. Tezuka looked at their smallest member critically, and immediately honed in on the freshman's bloodied right leg.
“Ochibi got stuck under some rubble,” Eiji supplied, seeing where Tezuka was looking. “The stairwell at the bottom was caved in, so we had to dig him out!”
Inui looked at Eiji curiously. “Hmm. The arena did not begin to collapse until after we arrived, so it is quite odd that that particular area was collapsed earlier.”
“Then it was probably done on purpose,” Fuji said deliberately, then turned his gaze on Echizen. “Do you have any ideas, Ryo-chan?”
Echizen did not looked happy to be addressed in such a way by Fuji, but replied, “It was Orias. He did it to trap me down there.”
“'Ch. Sadist.” Kaidoh crossed his arms and looked to the side.
“Orias?” Tachibana questioned.
“The demon,” Tezuka informed him.
“What a bastard! That's a terrible way to try and kill someone,” Momoshiro said fiercely, drawing Echizen a little closer.
“He wasn't trying to kill me. He was just making sure I couldn't leave.” Echizen corrected, having apparently given up on escaping from Momoshiro.
At this, Tezuka was struck by something that Orias had said before they'd escaped, and he felt his stomach clench. The thought of Orias 'playing' with any living being was unsettling, and he didn't even want to think about what a demon like that would do to a cute and undeniably female tenshi, however a reluctant of one.
“Echizen, did he . . . do anything to you?” Tezuka asked, his voice slightly strained. But though it was a rather uncomfortable question, it really did need to be asked.
But his worries seemed to be unfounded, as Echizen just blinked back at him with his usual unbothered expression. “Not really.”
“Your leg looks bad though,” Oishi said worriedly, and bent down to take a closer look.
“You need to have that looked at,” Tezuka said, in a tone that brooked no arguments.
“I'll ask my uncle to stitch it up for you,” Oishi offered. “We can stop by the hospital on the way home.”
Echizen shifted awkwardly and looked down at the ground.
“You're staying with me,” Tezuka told the freshman, though not unkindly. Echizen just nodded in response.
Of all the Seigaku members, only he and Fuji were able to have a female overnight guest. Fuji's parents allowed it so long as his older sister agreed to look after them, which Fuji had said she was happy to do. As for Tezuka, though he hadn't ever asked his family about it, they had always trusted him and given him ample leeway when it came to his fairly limited social life. And when he had mentioned his concerns about his family accepting a female houseguest to Tachibana, the other boy had brushed them off and hinted that Echizen himself would take care of any problems they might have. Tezuka wasn't quite sure what he'd meant, but he was sure that his strict yet kind grandfather wouldn't mind such a small, quiet houseguest.
And Echizen was looking rather worn out. Of all their houses, Tezuka was reasonably certain that his was the quietest; and besides that, he was the only one of the three who hadn't taken Echizen home with him yet.
The ten of them stood in uncertain silence for a moment after that, before Fuji finally said what Tezuka was sure they were all thinking.
“Well, that was a disaster, wasn't it?” His voice was gratingly cheerful, but only to the untrained ear. Fuji was definitely displeased, and in a big way.
“Mm.” Tezuka agreed. “We'll have to do better next time and use what we learned this time. This isn't the place to discuss strategy though.”
“Tezuka is correct; I estimate it will be approximately one and a half minutes before the authorities arrive,” Inui told them.
Strategy would have to wait.
~*~
Chapter 13 Notes:
They really flopped at their first fight, didn't they? XD This is their first time fighting demons, so I think its only natural that they wouldn't be in sync the first time, even if they are a team. Fighting a demon =/= playing tennis! And Ryoma's the only one with any significant supernatural instincts to guide his actions, after all -- he may be a tenshi, but the Guardians are human.
Oh, and fight scenes are really hard to write. -_-
Thanks for reading! ^_^
Title: Recombinant
Author: Dolly (universal_doll)
Rating: PG to PG-13
Characters: Echizen, Tezuka, Fuji (primary); Tachibana An, Tachibana Kippei, Momoshiro (secondary); and the rest of Seigaku.
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, AU (or rather, Alternate History/Timeline)
Summary: “Why couldn't you have been magical girls?”
Full Story Notes & Previous Chapters
New Chapter:
Chapter 13
“Was that really necessary?” Tezuka asked disapprovingly.
“Saa, it worked, didn't it?” Fuji countered.
“Ah, I'll never be able to look Kuge-sensei in the eye again,” Momoshiro said mournfully.
Oishi just sighed. “Well, at least we all got out of class.”
The eight of them had just managed to catch the bus to Tokyo Memorial Gymnasium, which Fuji had told them was the fourth point and was about to be destroyed. Tezuka very much regretted turning his phone off that day, as he would have liked to have heard about it first hand rather than from the ever-evasive Fuji. But even if the details where sketchy, he knew enough. There was a demon about to destroy the fourth point, and they had to stop it. And Echizen was there too, apparently 'stuck' somewhere. Meaning, probably, that he needed help.
As they stepped off of the bus in front of the gymnasium, it was immediately evident that there was some form of energy emanating from the main arena, which was strangely deserted. Tezuka's gaze fixed on it, and he saw his teammates turn instinctively towards it as well. Exchanging uneasy glances amongst themselves, they went over to it. Its doors opened easily for them, allowing them entry.
“Even though there aren't any events this place is still open today, but there's no one anywhere around here,” Eiji said in a hushed voice.
“The demonic aura here is very strong. It is likely that even ordinary people may be able to sense it on some subconscious level, causing them to stay away,” Inui theorized.
“I guess they've got more sense than we do then,” Kaidoh grunted.
“Who needs common sense when you've got magic?” Momoshiro said jokingly, though the attempt at humor was obviously strained.
Tezuka stopped and faced the others. “The demon should be in the central most stadium, which is where the energy seems to be coming from. Most of us should go there to defeat the demon, though we need to find Echizen as well,” Tezuka said authoritatively, radiating a calm that he did not wholly feel. Though he may have been the captain of the tennis team, he had no more experience with demons and magic powers than any of them did and was reluctant to take the lead. But someone needed to.
“I'll go find Echizen, buchou,” Momoshiro volunteered, unsurprisingly.
“And I will too!” Eiji offered with a grin.
Suddenly, the whole building seemed to quiver, and the demonic energy felt as though it jumped around them.
“Oh, better hurry!” Eiji grabbed Momoshiro and took off towards the stairs going down before anyone could say anything. “Good luck, guys, do your best!”
“I hope Eiji remembers where they're going,” Fuji commented.
“He'd better.”
With Tezuka and Fuji in the lead, the tennis players-turned-Guardians quickly but cautiously made their way up to the expansive stadium. Tezuka looked all around the field and the stands with a careful eye, though was disconcerted to see that there was nothing that appeared to be out of the ordinary.
“I don't see anything,” Kawamura said hesitantly.
“But there is a demon here somewhere,” Tezuka reminded them.
“Maybe its afraid of us?” Oishi ventured.
“Or it could be just toying with us,” Fuji said sharply.
“Oh you are a bright one, aren't you?” The voice, both smooth and mocking, seemed to come from nowhere and all around them at the same time. A small space near the opposite entrance shimmered strangely, and a tall man with blood red hair flickered into existence. A demon. “But you're hardly my first choice for entertainment.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Fuji said icily, his eyes narrowed and slitted open.
Tezuka tensed and held his hands ready, and saw the others do the same out of the corner of his eye. It happened so fast that he wasn't quite sure who threw the first blow at the demon, though his first guess was Fuji. The wave of fiery blue hit the demon squarely in the shoulder, sending him flying back several meters. Before the demon could even get up, more icy blasts went flying at him from not only Fuji, but from Inui and Kaidoh as well. The demon flew back even farther, and hit the wall with an audible thud.
Dust and cold vapor rose up from the impact, obscuring their view. But nothing moved.
Tezuka exchanged a look with Fuji, but before either of them could suggest what to do next a head of crimson hair became visible as the cloud cleared. Looking only slightly ruffled, the demon stood with a feline grace and gave them a smirk.
“This is not good,” Inui said dispassionately.
“That is one strong demon.” Kaidoh glared at it.
“The name's Orias, children; do remember that.” Almost lazily, he took a step forward, and was immediately met with a shower of icy fire, which was joined by Tezuka and Oishi's unseen energy pulses and a smattering of fireballs from Kawamura. The demon - Orias - flinched, but only for a moment before a red-tinted shield formed around him. It radiated an essence of heat, and the icy blasts, rather than going through it, simply dissolved.
The smirk returned. With a wave of his hand, Orias sent Inui, Kaidoh, and Fuji flying backwards and into the stairwell, which he then collapsed with another wave. “So boring,” he said with a sigh. “And not even cute. Why couldn't you have been magical girls?”
Tezuka and Oishi exchanged a grim look, both worried for their teammates and by the fact only they and Kawamura were now left to fight the demon. Tezuka met both of their eyes and gave a small nod, and the three of them threw all they had at the demon. His and Oishi's powers, he noticed, seemed to have a synergistic effect with Kawamura's, and the demon stumbled back slightly as he was hit by their combined blasts.
But it was not nearly enough. Kawamura's fire lacked the intensity that he had seen in Eiji's and Momoshiro's, and Tezuka belatedly wished that someone had thought to bring him a racket. Though it didn't seem to matter as another shield appeared around the demon, this one a pale blue.
“Oh no, I'm sorry you guys!” Kawamura apologized as his attacks were rendered useless by the frigid cold shield.
“Go check on the others!” Oishi called out, and Kawamura gave a nod before running off.
And now they were two.
Determinedly, Tezuka concentrated his pulses of energy with Oishi's at the demon's head and chest. The demon grimaced momentarily, but then began forming a ball of energy in his hands. In one smooth motion he threw it up in the air, and sharp bolts of light began to rain down on them from it. Tezuka had no choice but to divert his power from the offensive to the defensive as he formed a much-needed shield around himself and Oishi.
“Thanks,” Oishi gritted out, still sending pulses of energy towards the demon. “What now?” It was clear that Oishi's efforts were doing little more than annoying the demon, at this point.
“Well, I'd suggest that you run.” Orias flashed them a feral grin, then sent a tiny flicker of red light into the ball of energy that hovered above them. The ball stopped sending out bolts, but after a moment it began expanding rapidly. “Between taking down this point and playing with that little tenshi of yours, I think I have enough to keep me busy; but I'm sure I can fit you in if you'd care to stick around.” The energy ball continued its expansion, and quicky reached the size of a small house.
Tezuka and Oishi didn't need to exchange more than a glance before they retreated, heading back towards where their teammates had been thrown. There, Kawamura was desperately pulling away rubble from the stairwell's entrance, and Tezuka was relieved to head sounds from the other side indicating that they were doing the same. He and Oishi joined in, using carefully controlled pulses of energy to help move the rubble away. Oishi looked anxiously over his shoulder as the edges of the energy ball closed in on them.
“Almost there!” Kawamura proclaimed, and sure enough, Tezuka saw a hand break through from the other side. Within a few seconds they managed to get through, and were met inside the stairwell by Fuji, Inui, and Kaidoh, all of who, thankfully, seemed unharmed.
“We have to leave,” Tezuka told them, and though he caught some questioning looks they followed him as he moved quickly down the stairs. Pausing only to snatch up their bags from the floor on the way out, the six of them nearly ran out one of the arena's doors as the structure began to rumble ominously.
“We couldn't stop him,” Oishi said regretfully, as they all turned to look back at the now-crumbling building from a relatively safe distance. “This point is going down.”
And three of their teammates were still unaccounted for. Fuji voiced his concern.
“If they aren't out by now . . .”
It wasn't a thought that Fuji needed to finish.
“Hey,” Kaidoh said, jerking his head slightly towards the street. “Look who's here.”
Tezuka looked over and saw Tachibana approaching them, looking vaguely put out. “I see I'm too late,” he said, frowning slightly. “This was one of the points, I assume. Is there a reason no one called me?”
Tezuka frowned as well; in their rush to get here, he hadn't considered Tachibana at all. And obviously, the others hadn't either
“Ah, I'm afraid not” Fuji replied in a subdued voice. “You got the text message from Echizen, though?”
“Yes.” Tachibana very nearly glowered in annoyance, and Tezuka knew that they owed him an apology for slighting him even though they had all suffered for his absence.
~*~
“Slow down, Momo-senpai,” Ryoma said irritably as he tried to keep up with the older boy's pace as they fled the rapidly deteriorating arena. His leg hurt too much to put much weight on it, so he was reluctantly using Momo as a crutch. But Momo was too tall to be of much help, and he was walking much too fast for Ryoma anyway.
“Sorry, Echizen,” Momo said apologetically, but didn't slow down. “But we've got to hurry. This place is going to collapse any minute now!”
“I hope the others got out too,” Eiji said worriedly as he jogged along beside them.
Why Eiji and Momo had been the ones to come get him, of all the Guardians, Ryoma had no clue. Tezuka, Oishi, or Tachibana could have probably used their powers to help remove the rubble; and Fuji, Inui, or Kaidoh's powers would have at least been less dangerous in close quarters. Not to mention that Momo and Eiji weren't exactly the most calm and analytical thinkers out there. After several ill-conceived attempts to melt the rubble, the pair had finally decided to do what Ryoma had been doing from the start; namely, digging. Needless to say, it had been a slow process, and they had barely made it out before the entire underground stairwell had begun to collapse on them.
They finally made it to ground level, stairs crumbling behind them, and Ryoma found himself being lifted off the ground by the strong arm around his waist as Momo broke into a run for the door, with Eiji alongside them. And it was not a moment too soon. Scant moments after they practically flew out the door, the structure gave an ominous rumble and then began to implode in a massive cloud of dust and debris. A bright red light could be seen coming from the stadium.
Ryoma's eyes widened slightly as he watched from over Momo's shoulder . . . but wait, when had he agreed to let Momo carry him? And Momo was still running, and it didn't look like he was thinking of putting him down anytime soon.
“Hey,” Ryoma began, tapping impatiently on the junior's shoulder. “Let me down.” But Momo, unfortunately, was distracted.
“Look, there's the others!” Eiji cried excitedly.
~*~
“There they are,” Oishi said relievedly, as three familiar figures came darting around a corner and into view just moments after the main arena began to fall in earnest.
Tezuka could make out Eiji waving at them wildly, but he and Momoshiro didn't stop running towards them. In Momoshiro's arms Tezuka saw a decidedly female Echizen, who was futilely tugging at the other's shoulder. The team's powerhouse didn't seemed to notice, and just kept on going until he and Eiji finally stopped in front of them.
“We were worried about you guys,” Kawamura said earnestly, offering a small smile.
“Is everyone okay?” Tezuka asked, directing his question at the newly arrived trio. But said trio didn't seem to be paying attention to him for once, with Eiji clinging to Oishi and Echizen trying to wriggle his way out of the oblivious junior's arms.
“Momo-senpai,” he complained, and Momoshiro looked down at him in surprise.
“Eh? Fine, here you go.” He carefully set Echizen down, but kept one arm loosely around the freshman's waist. “Don't be careless and put too much weight on it though,” he admonished. Tezuka looked at their smallest member critically, and immediately honed in on the freshman's bloodied right leg.
“Ochibi got stuck under some rubble,” Eiji supplied, seeing where Tezuka was looking. “The stairwell at the bottom was caved in, so we had to dig him out!”
Inui looked at Eiji curiously. “Hmm. The arena did not begin to collapse until after we arrived, so it is quite odd that that particular area was collapsed earlier.”
“Then it was probably done on purpose,” Fuji said deliberately, then turned his gaze on Echizen. “Do you have any ideas, Ryo-chan?”
Echizen did not looked happy to be addressed in such a way by Fuji, but replied, “It was Orias. He did it to trap me down there.”
“'Ch. Sadist.” Kaidoh crossed his arms and looked to the side.
“Orias?” Tachibana questioned.
“The demon,” Tezuka informed him.
“What a bastard! That's a terrible way to try and kill someone,” Momoshiro said fiercely, drawing Echizen a little closer.
“He wasn't trying to kill me. He was just making sure I couldn't leave.” Echizen corrected, having apparently given up on escaping from Momoshiro.
At this, Tezuka was struck by something that Orias had said before they'd escaped, and he felt his stomach clench. The thought of Orias 'playing' with any living being was unsettling, and he didn't even want to think about what a demon like that would do to a cute and undeniably female tenshi, however a reluctant of one.
“Echizen, did he . . . do anything to you?” Tezuka asked, his voice slightly strained. But though it was a rather uncomfortable question, it really did need to be asked.
But his worries seemed to be unfounded, as Echizen just blinked back at him with his usual unbothered expression. “Not really.”
“Your leg looks bad though,” Oishi said worriedly, and bent down to take a closer look.
“You need to have that looked at,” Tezuka said, in a tone that brooked no arguments.
“I'll ask my uncle to stitch it up for you,” Oishi offered. “We can stop by the hospital on the way home.”
Echizen shifted awkwardly and looked down at the ground.
“You're staying with me,” Tezuka told the freshman, though not unkindly. Echizen just nodded in response.
Of all the Seigaku members, only he and Fuji were able to have a female overnight guest. Fuji's parents allowed it so long as his older sister agreed to look after them, which Fuji had said she was happy to do. As for Tezuka, though he hadn't ever asked his family about it, they had always trusted him and given him ample leeway when it came to his fairly limited social life. And when he had mentioned his concerns about his family accepting a female houseguest to Tachibana, the other boy had brushed them off and hinted that Echizen himself would take care of any problems they might have. Tezuka wasn't quite sure what he'd meant, but he was sure that his strict yet kind grandfather wouldn't mind such a small, quiet houseguest.
And Echizen was looking rather worn out. Of all their houses, Tezuka was reasonably certain that his was the quietest; and besides that, he was the only one of the three who hadn't taken Echizen home with him yet.
The ten of them stood in uncertain silence for a moment after that, before Fuji finally said what Tezuka was sure they were all thinking.
“Well, that was a disaster, wasn't it?” His voice was gratingly cheerful, but only to the untrained ear. Fuji was definitely displeased, and in a big way.
“Mm.” Tezuka agreed. “We'll have to do better next time and use what we learned this time. This isn't the place to discuss strategy though.”
“Tezuka is correct; I estimate it will be approximately one and a half minutes before the authorities arrive,” Inui told them.
Strategy would have to wait.
~*~
Chapter 13 Notes:
They really flopped at their first fight, didn't they? XD This is their first time fighting demons, so I think its only natural that they wouldn't be in sync the first time, even if they are a team. Fighting a demon =/= playing tennis! And Ryoma's the only one with any significant supernatural instincts to guide his actions, after all -- he may be a tenshi, but the Guardians are human.
Oh, and fight scenes are really hard to write. -_-
Thanks for reading! ^_^