Prince of Tennis - Yanagi Renji - 046. Star.
Title: Dreaming to Remember - Lost Heaven
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Yanagi Renji, Yukimura Seiichi
Prompt: 046 Star
Word Count: 3,306
Rating: PG-13
Summary:
Overall: Even today, angels and demons are in a quiet war. These boys are entangled in a cycle of reincarnation, and questions from the past are now coming to light. And Yanagi Renji seems to be the center of all this.
Chapter: Renji is afraid of falling stars and he reveals memories to Yukimura.
Author's Notes:
My LDT found here
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I don't want an ambiguous reality
For most people, seeing a falling star was a lucky phenomenon. For some, it was a cause for tears.
Staring up at the night sky, Yanagi Renji sighed as he saw the light that fell towards the earth. Not another one He thought. Thoughts of his former life passed through his mind as he watched. He wasn't supposed to remember that life, but bits and pieces always managed to flash through his mind occasionally.
"Renji?" A voice called out to him, bring him back to earth. "Making a wish?"
"Ah..." Renji answered noncommittally. "Wishing on falling stars is something children do, Seiichi." He said, continuing to walk towards home.
Yukimura Seiichi frowned, wondering how Renji could be so serious about something so silly. Jogging to catch up to the longer legged teen, he walked alongside Renji in silence for a while. "What do you mean, it's childish?" He finally asked. "It's fun!"
Renji remained silent. You wouldn't think so if you knew what a falling star truly was He thought to himself. "Do you believe in reincarnation?" Renji asked, seemingly out of the blue.
"Hmm?" Yukimura questioned. "I don't know. I think it's possible. It would be fun, at least if you could remember it."
Renji stopped, and stared at Yukimura. "What if you did something so horrible that you wouldn't want to remember it?" He asked.
Yukimura paused. "Well...probably not then..." He mused. "You're strange sometimes, Renji."
Renji just smiled. "I know." He said, turning at a corner. "I'll see you tomorrow, Seiichi."
It was always nights like this that seemed to bring back the memories worse than normal. It made sleeping difficult, if not impossible.
The little bluish-haired boy was playing near a construction site. It was definitely not somewhere he should have been though. A cable snapped, sending a steel beam plummeting towards the earth - and towards the boy.
The tall winged man couldn't bear to see this young boy's hopes and dreams crushed along with his body before he had a chance to realize them. Diving at the boy, the unseen angel pushed him out of the way.
He may have saved a human life, but in doing so, he had brought God's wrath upon himself. His home would no longer be in Heaven for long.
Renji woke up in a cold sweat. These dreams wouldn't be so bad, if so many of the characters in them didn't look so much like his friends. "Why..." He murmured to himself, fixing the blankets on his bed, and curling up tighter underneath them. Sleep was unlikely to return to him.
"You look like crap."
Renji glared in the direction that comment came from "You would too if you got as much sleep as I did last night."
"Cramming for an exam, Strategist?" Niou Masaharu teased. "You'll probably fall asleep in class."
Renji wished Niou wasn't quite so on target with that observation. "I assure you, I won't." He promised. As much as he would like to sleep during class, it was just too dangerous to even try to sleep in a public place.
"Don't give Yanagi any ideas." Sanada Genichirou said, walking up behind Renji, arms crossed. "And if you have nothing better to do than stand around and talk,, you can go run twenty laps."
"Yeah, yeah..." Niou muttered. That was definitely nothing new. He went off to the track to run the laps.
"Already in a mood today, Genichirou?" Renji asked.
"Do you want to run laps as well?" Sanada replied.
"I'll take that as a yes." Renji said, walking off to continue with practice.
With Sanada's bad mood, Yukimura's unusual quietness and even the other members of the team quieter than normal (definitely unusual for Niou), Renji couldn't help but have an ominous feeling about that day.
That afternoon after school, Yukimura Seiichi collapsed on the train platform and was taken to the hospital.
After the team had heard of their captain's diagnosis, they stood in the hospital waiting room in shock. There wasn't a thing any of them could do at the moment, if at all.
Finally, after moments of awkward silence, Sanada finally left. Others followed soon after.
"Yanagi-sempai? Will Buchou be alright?" Kirihara Akaya asked.
Renji looked at the younger boy. "I can't say for sure." He said quietly. "We'll just have to wait and see, just like he will."
Akaya frowned, but understood.
"Go home, Akaya." Renji suggested softly. "There's nothing we can do right now."
"Alright, I’m off then." Akaya said quietly, turning away and leaving.
Renji was glad they were finally gone. Even though visiting hours were officially over, he snuck into Yukimura's room.
"Seiichi?" He asked, almost certain that Yukimura wouldn't want to see him - or anyone.
"Go away." The soft voice said quietly. It was bad enough his friends and teammates had seen his collapse, he didn't want them to see him like this. It was embarrassing.
"Genichirou called your family. They'll be here soon." Renji informed him, ignoring his request. Yukimura looked up at him from the bed, then turned his gaze away. Renji wished he could say with confidence that Yukimura would be alright. Standing there next to him, even though Yukimura was weak and in bed was keeping Renji from having a small breakdown.
Yukimura was quiet for a while. "Thank him for me, will you?" He finally whispered quietly.
"I will." Renji promised, hearing the door open and seeing a younger girl and two adults enter.
"Nii-chan!" The girl cried out softly, throwing herself at the boy in the bed. It was the rest of the Yukimura family.
"I'll let you be alone." Renji said, turning to leave.
"Thank you for staying with him." Seiichi's mother said.
"Ah.." Renji nodded, and finally left. Just after he stepped out the door and heard it latch, he sighed. "I can't save you this time, Seiichi." He whispered to himself.
That night, Renji didn't sleep at all.
Throughout the rest of the school year, Yukimura remained in the hospital. Sanada took charge of the tennis club since he had been Yukimura's vice-captain since the previous year. Sanada's moods got worse and worse. Punishment laps were handed out left and right, and physical punishments were few and far between, but several of the team had bruised cheeks every once in a while.
Renji tried to take on some of the duties and help Sanada as much as he could. Unfortunately, Sanada was stubborn, and refused the help, preferring to do it himself. Renji wished Sanada could depend on him like Yukimura depended on Sanada.
Their second year of middle school came to an end.
Sanada and Renji were Yukimura's constant visitor's over the break. They tended to stay until the nurses kicked them out. Most of them would let the boys stay a little past normal visiting hours, but not for too long. They were almost considered part of Yukimura's family. And as far as Yukimura was concerned they were family.
"I saw a falling star last night." Yukimura said. He'd been on the rooftop as it was getting dark. "I made a wish."
Renji turned away and started to leave.
"Renji?" Yukimura called out, wondering why his friend was leaving.
"I just noticed the time. I have another obligation, forgive me, Seiichi." Renji said, trying to act normal until he got out of the hospital.
You shouldn't make wishes on such a depressing thing Renji thought, catching his breath. He'd make it up to Seiichi somehow.
It was a few days before Renji got up the nerve to visit Seiichi again.
They chatted about little things. The weather, what Renji had been doing during the break and such trivial matters.
Then the awkward silence set in.
"Renji?" Yukimura asked softly.
"Yes?"
"Why do you have such a problem with shooting stars?" Yukimura asked.
Renji looked over at him, then turned his eyes away. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said.
"Try me." Yukimura said.
Renji raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's really going to sound crazy. Remember last year when I asked if you believed in reincarnation and asked if you'd want to remember the past life if you'd done something horrible in it?"
Yukimura nodded, wondering what that had to do with Renji's issues with falling stars.
Renji looked down at his hands. "I remember mine. It's not a complete memory. It's more like random bits and pieces." He said. "I have dreams...no, more like nightmares of that life." Renji admitted. "I don't remember being particularly religious, and I'm certainly not religious now. I definitely don't follow the Christian religion, but...apparently in my past life, I was an angel of God."
Yukimura stared at Renji for a moment, before he burst out laughing. "You're joking."
"I wish I was. The dreams are too vivid to be just dreams. They happen as if I was there - because I was." Renji said.
Yukimura just stared. "So what happened?" He asked, suddenly curious about this side of Renji that he hadn't revealed before.
"I was a guardian angel. We were only allowed to indirectly influence human lives, never to interfere directly. There was a young boy near a construction site - he looked a lot like you, actually. There was a malfunction, and a beam was falling towards him. I couldn't just stand by and let him die. I broke the rules." Renji said.
Yukimura frowned. This was interesting. "So, what happened after that?"
"I was put on trial. God handed his word down to the higher angels. His judgment was that I was to be cast out of heaven to live as a human." Renji explained. "I had that night to say goodbye to my old friends. One of my closest friends had a similar thing happen to another friend of his. I couldn't let that boy die though."
"God punished you because you did the right thing?" Yukimura asked, frowning. That did not seem like something a benevolent god would do. It almost made Yukimura ashamed of his nickname of "Child of God."
Renji nodded in answer. "Just before dawn the next morning in a ceremony that is similar to an execution, the archangel Gabriel drew his holy sword and sliced off my wings. It was a painful experience that was forgotten as I was cast away from Heaven." Renji paused, then looked at Yukimura. "Falling stars are the angels that are cast out of Heaven. That's why it upsets me."
Yukimura looked down at his hands folded in his lap. "Is this the first time you've been human?" He asked.
Renji shook his head. "This is just the first time I remember Heaven and my life as an angel. I remember vaguely a few other lives. Things like struggling through them and barely surviving and doing what I could. This seems like it's the easiest life so far."
Yukimura nodded. "I won't tell anyone." He promised. It had to have been hard for Renji to tell that story, as unbelievable as it sounded.
"I appreciate that." Renji said. "There's one other thing though, that's been making things seem a bit strange. I feel like a lot of my friends are people I knew from when I was an angel."
Yukimura smiled. "Maybe we are."
Renji raised an eyebrow. "Don't tease, Seiichi." He said, standing up. They had been talking for over an hour. "I should get home. I'll see you soon."
"Na, Renji?"
"Hmm?"
"What was the boy's name?"
"I never found out." Renji said. "But...if he was you in a former life...." Renji looked down at the floor. "I wish I could save you again." He told Yukimura quietly.
"If it was, I'm glad." Yukimura put on a sad smile. "I know how you feel. I'll be better by Nationals this year. I promise."
"That's a hefty promise to make, Seiichi."
"I will play in the Nationals. Just watch." He said.
Renji let out a small chuckle. "As Genichirou said before, we'll wait for you."
Practices that year were tougher than normal. Sanada was stricter than he had been, telling people to stop slacking off almost constantly no matter how hard they were working.
The district tournament flew by, since Rikkai was the number one seed and of course they won all their matches.
The regional tournament was easy until they got to the final round.
Renji wondered what Sanada was thinking putting him in singles. It was made worse by the fact that he was facing an old friend.
"It's been awhile." Renji said as they met at the net for pre-game niceties.
"Four years, two months and fifteen days." Was the response. They turned to begin the match as Inui's teammates awed over the fact that they knew each other.
The game brought back memories of them when they were younger. It was playing out exactly as their last, unfinished game had. Renji realized this too late, and a memory of that past game flashed through his mind, as well as a memory of something else a long, long time ago. "Sadaharu..." He breathed under his breath.
The game finished, Inui winning the tie break.
Renji walked up to Sanada who sat on the coach's bench and offered himself up for the standard Rikkai punishment for losers. It was a familiar scene for Renji. Surprisingly, Kirihara interfered, saying he would avenge the loss.
Renji frowned. He shouldn't....that was not how this was supposed to go. Miracles don't happen when the fallen ones are involved.
Kirihara lost his match. Sanada didn't even bother, since Akaya had found a new skill. "Go." He told the rest of the team. "I'll finish this." Sanada said. Even if two of the individual matches were lost, as long as he won, it would be a team win.
The others nodded, rushing off to greet their captain before he went into surgery. They just barely made it before he was taken into the operating room. Renji just nodded at Yukimura before he was taken back. "Good luck, Seiichi." He said quietly, under his breath, knowing that somehow Yukimura had heard him.
Hours later, still under the effects of the anesthesia Yukimura was wheeled back to his room. The doctors spoke to Yukimura's family first, letting them know how it went.
The family turned towards the Rikkai team. "Thank you so much for everything." Seiichi's mother told them. "He should be able to start rehab in a week or two."
Sanada came in as she was telling them this. He breathed a sigh of relief. It would a few weeks until Nationals.
Renji was relieved. Perhaps Seiichi would keep his promise after all.
Everyone said it was a miraculous recovery. Yukimura did make it back to the team, healthier than ever. He was just in time for the Nationals.
Since they were seeded, they didn't have the first rounds to play through. So they could watch some of the other matches. Hyoutei against Seigaku was rather interesting. Renji stood far away from everyone, just barely able to see over the many heads there.
During the doubles 2 match, Renji has a sudden, sharp pain in his head. He sat down, foregoing watching the rest of the match. The team left as a group, hearing the news that Seigaku had progressed to the semi-finals.
They were leaving back for school when Seigaku invited them to join them in their celebration. Yukimura declined for the entire team. As they walked past, Renji remembered to inform Inui that his data from the previous tournament was no longer valid.
Relaxing in his room that night, Renji thought about the upcoming finals. Something wasn't right. The cell phone on his desk beeped with a new message. He looked at it. It wasn't anything important, just a joke from Niou sent to the whole team that Renji just deleted without even looking.
After that, Renji found himself deep in thought. Him, Sanada and Yukimura were called the "Three Demons of Rikkaidai." Was that truly how far a former angel had gone? What was the difference between an angel and a demon anyway? "Master," "Emperor," and "The Child of God" were their nicknames. Master of what? Renji snorted. Perhaps he was a master of demons - there were certainly plenty of those on the team.
Renji sighed as sleep decided to overcome him.
The warmth of a set of a wings not his own enveloped him. They were warm to the touch, and the angular face of the owner of those wings looked sad.
"You're awake." A tenor voice said.
"Mmm..." was the groggy reply.
"You knew what would happen." The taller angel said. "Why did you do it?"
The Renji-angel just stared into emerald green eyes. "I just couldn't let the boy die." He said hoarsely.
"I can't believe you did such a foolish thing." The eyes cast down. "I'll miss you. I wish I could say I'll never forget you, but you know what happens." All angels forget about those that become no longer favored in the eyes of God.
A nod was the answer. "Maybe one day I'll return, Sadriel."
"It's not easy, but I hope you're right. Until then....I know life as a human isn't easy, but I know you'll do your best."
"I've never done anything but that." The Renji-angel answered, shying away from the warm, encompassing wings holding him. "I must go now." He said quietly. "Please don't come to witness the finality of my disgrace." He pleaded.
"I won't." Sadriel promised.
That was when Renji woke up. "Sadaharu..." He said quietly. Inui Sadaharu was one of them. Why was Renji the only one who remembered this former life as a chosen messenger of God?
The finals had finally come. This time it was doubles. Inui and his kouhai Kaidou Kaoru against himself and his own kouhai Kirihara. The younger two were trash talking each other, while Inui and Renji exchanged pleasantries again.
Renji and Akaya were leading the set 5-0 when Inui and Kaidou began their counterattack, finally taking a game off the Rikkai pair. That was when Akaya went wild and started attacking Inui.
"You can't win!" Renji called across the net, not wanting to see any more of that. "It's too dangerous, Sadaharu! I don't want to see you hurt!" He cried out. Despite being hurt, Inui was being stubborn, but the stubbornness got him in the end, collapsing on the court.
"You did well, Sadaharu." Renji murmured quietly as he watched the stretcher take his old friend to the nearest hospital. It was not a win he was satisfied with though.
Right before Singles 1, Inui returned, his head bandaged up like a mummy. Renji had to cover his mouth to hide his laugh. Fortunately, this seemed to be a normal thing for Renji, so no one thought anything of it.
After the disappointing losses, and the award ceremony, the teams broke up, most of them planning on heading to their respective schools.
A small tap on Renji's shoulder, brought him out of his thoughts. He thought it was one of his own teammates, but he turned around to see the blue and white of a Seigaku jacket, and a mummified face. "Shouldn't you go back to the hospital?" Renji asked.
"I just had a bit of blood loss and minor concussion. It's nothing to worry about." Inui assured him. "I....need to talk to you." Renji raised an eyebrow.
"About what?" He asked.
Inui considered for a moment. "...Philosophy." He said, sidestepping the actual topic.
"I see..." Renji said. "I don't have to go home just yet. In fact, I think the victory party has been cancelled, obviously...Don't you have one to attend?"
"I believe this is more important." He said. Renji nodded, suddenly understanding why.
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Yanagi Renji, Yukimura Seiichi
Prompt: 046 Star
Word Count: 3,306
Rating: PG-13
Summary:
Overall: Even today, angels and demons are in a quiet war. These boys are entangled in a cycle of reincarnation, and questions from the past are now coming to light. And Yanagi Renji seems to be the center of all this.
Chapter: Renji is afraid of falling stars and he reveals memories to Yukimura.
Author's Notes:
My LDT found here
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I don't want an ambiguous reality
For most people, seeing a falling star was a lucky phenomenon. For some, it was a cause for tears.
Staring up at the night sky, Yanagi Renji sighed as he saw the light that fell towards the earth. Not another one He thought. Thoughts of his former life passed through his mind as he watched. He wasn't supposed to remember that life, but bits and pieces always managed to flash through his mind occasionally.
"Renji?" A voice called out to him, bring him back to earth. "Making a wish?"
"Ah..." Renji answered noncommittally. "Wishing on falling stars is something children do, Seiichi." He said, continuing to walk towards home.
Yukimura Seiichi frowned, wondering how Renji could be so serious about something so silly. Jogging to catch up to the longer legged teen, he walked alongside Renji in silence for a while. "What do you mean, it's childish?" He finally asked. "It's fun!"
Renji remained silent. You wouldn't think so if you knew what a falling star truly was He thought to himself. "Do you believe in reincarnation?" Renji asked, seemingly out of the blue.
"Hmm?" Yukimura questioned. "I don't know. I think it's possible. It would be fun, at least if you could remember it."
Renji stopped, and stared at Yukimura. "What if you did something so horrible that you wouldn't want to remember it?" He asked.
Yukimura paused. "Well...probably not then..." He mused. "You're strange sometimes, Renji."
Renji just smiled. "I know." He said, turning at a corner. "I'll see you tomorrow, Seiichi."
It was always nights like this that seemed to bring back the memories worse than normal. It made sleeping difficult, if not impossible.
The little bluish-haired boy was playing near a construction site. It was definitely not somewhere he should have been though. A cable snapped, sending a steel beam plummeting towards the earth - and towards the boy.
The tall winged man couldn't bear to see this young boy's hopes and dreams crushed along with his body before he had a chance to realize them. Diving at the boy, the unseen angel pushed him out of the way.
He may have saved a human life, but in doing so, he had brought God's wrath upon himself. His home would no longer be in Heaven for long.
Renji woke up in a cold sweat. These dreams wouldn't be so bad, if so many of the characters in them didn't look so much like his friends. "Why..." He murmured to himself, fixing the blankets on his bed, and curling up tighter underneath them. Sleep was unlikely to return to him.
"You look like crap."
Renji glared in the direction that comment came from "You would too if you got as much sleep as I did last night."
"Cramming for an exam, Strategist?" Niou Masaharu teased. "You'll probably fall asleep in class."
Renji wished Niou wasn't quite so on target with that observation. "I assure you, I won't." He promised. As much as he would like to sleep during class, it was just too dangerous to even try to sleep in a public place.
"Don't give Yanagi any ideas." Sanada Genichirou said, walking up behind Renji, arms crossed. "And if you have nothing better to do than stand around and talk,, you can go run twenty laps."
"Yeah, yeah..." Niou muttered. That was definitely nothing new. He went off to the track to run the laps.
"Already in a mood today, Genichirou?" Renji asked.
"Do you want to run laps as well?" Sanada replied.
"I'll take that as a yes." Renji said, walking off to continue with practice.
With Sanada's bad mood, Yukimura's unusual quietness and even the other members of the team quieter than normal (definitely unusual for Niou), Renji couldn't help but have an ominous feeling about that day.
That afternoon after school, Yukimura Seiichi collapsed on the train platform and was taken to the hospital.
After the team had heard of their captain's diagnosis, they stood in the hospital waiting room in shock. There wasn't a thing any of them could do at the moment, if at all.
Finally, after moments of awkward silence, Sanada finally left. Others followed soon after.
"Yanagi-sempai? Will Buchou be alright?" Kirihara Akaya asked.
Renji looked at the younger boy. "I can't say for sure." He said quietly. "We'll just have to wait and see, just like he will."
Akaya frowned, but understood.
"Go home, Akaya." Renji suggested softly. "There's nothing we can do right now."
"Alright, I’m off then." Akaya said quietly, turning away and leaving.
Renji was glad they were finally gone. Even though visiting hours were officially over, he snuck into Yukimura's room.
"Seiichi?" He asked, almost certain that Yukimura wouldn't want to see him - or anyone.
"Go away." The soft voice said quietly. It was bad enough his friends and teammates had seen his collapse, he didn't want them to see him like this. It was embarrassing.
"Genichirou called your family. They'll be here soon." Renji informed him, ignoring his request. Yukimura looked up at him from the bed, then turned his gaze away. Renji wished he could say with confidence that Yukimura would be alright. Standing there next to him, even though Yukimura was weak and in bed was keeping Renji from having a small breakdown.
Yukimura was quiet for a while. "Thank him for me, will you?" He finally whispered quietly.
"I will." Renji promised, hearing the door open and seeing a younger girl and two adults enter.
"Nii-chan!" The girl cried out softly, throwing herself at the boy in the bed. It was the rest of the Yukimura family.
"I'll let you be alone." Renji said, turning to leave.
"Thank you for staying with him." Seiichi's mother said.
"Ah.." Renji nodded, and finally left. Just after he stepped out the door and heard it latch, he sighed. "I can't save you this time, Seiichi." He whispered to himself.
That night, Renji didn't sleep at all.
Throughout the rest of the school year, Yukimura remained in the hospital. Sanada took charge of the tennis club since he had been Yukimura's vice-captain since the previous year. Sanada's moods got worse and worse. Punishment laps were handed out left and right, and physical punishments were few and far between, but several of the team had bruised cheeks every once in a while.
Renji tried to take on some of the duties and help Sanada as much as he could. Unfortunately, Sanada was stubborn, and refused the help, preferring to do it himself. Renji wished Sanada could depend on him like Yukimura depended on Sanada.
Their second year of middle school came to an end.
Sanada and Renji were Yukimura's constant visitor's over the break. They tended to stay until the nurses kicked them out. Most of them would let the boys stay a little past normal visiting hours, but not for too long. They were almost considered part of Yukimura's family. And as far as Yukimura was concerned they were family.
"I saw a falling star last night." Yukimura said. He'd been on the rooftop as it was getting dark. "I made a wish."
Renji turned away and started to leave.
"Renji?" Yukimura called out, wondering why his friend was leaving.
"I just noticed the time. I have another obligation, forgive me, Seiichi." Renji said, trying to act normal until he got out of the hospital.
You shouldn't make wishes on such a depressing thing Renji thought, catching his breath. He'd make it up to Seiichi somehow.
It was a few days before Renji got up the nerve to visit Seiichi again.
They chatted about little things. The weather, what Renji had been doing during the break and such trivial matters.
Then the awkward silence set in.
"Renji?" Yukimura asked softly.
"Yes?"
"Why do you have such a problem with shooting stars?" Yukimura asked.
Renji looked over at him, then turned his eyes away. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said.
"Try me." Yukimura said.
Renji raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's really going to sound crazy. Remember last year when I asked if you believed in reincarnation and asked if you'd want to remember the past life if you'd done something horrible in it?"
Yukimura nodded, wondering what that had to do with Renji's issues with falling stars.
Renji looked down at his hands. "I remember mine. It's not a complete memory. It's more like random bits and pieces." He said. "I have dreams...no, more like nightmares of that life." Renji admitted. "I don't remember being particularly religious, and I'm certainly not religious now. I definitely don't follow the Christian religion, but...apparently in my past life, I was an angel of God."
Yukimura stared at Renji for a moment, before he burst out laughing. "You're joking."
"I wish I was. The dreams are too vivid to be just dreams. They happen as if I was there - because I was." Renji said.
Yukimura just stared. "So what happened?" He asked, suddenly curious about this side of Renji that he hadn't revealed before.
"I was a guardian angel. We were only allowed to indirectly influence human lives, never to interfere directly. There was a young boy near a construction site - he looked a lot like you, actually. There was a malfunction, and a beam was falling towards him. I couldn't just stand by and let him die. I broke the rules." Renji said.
Yukimura frowned. This was interesting. "So, what happened after that?"
"I was put on trial. God handed his word down to the higher angels. His judgment was that I was to be cast out of heaven to live as a human." Renji explained. "I had that night to say goodbye to my old friends. One of my closest friends had a similar thing happen to another friend of his. I couldn't let that boy die though."
"God punished you because you did the right thing?" Yukimura asked, frowning. That did not seem like something a benevolent god would do. It almost made Yukimura ashamed of his nickname of "Child of God."
Renji nodded in answer. "Just before dawn the next morning in a ceremony that is similar to an execution, the archangel Gabriel drew his holy sword and sliced off my wings. It was a painful experience that was forgotten as I was cast away from Heaven." Renji paused, then looked at Yukimura. "Falling stars are the angels that are cast out of Heaven. That's why it upsets me."
Yukimura looked down at his hands folded in his lap. "Is this the first time you've been human?" He asked.
Renji shook his head. "This is just the first time I remember Heaven and my life as an angel. I remember vaguely a few other lives. Things like struggling through them and barely surviving and doing what I could. This seems like it's the easiest life so far."
Yukimura nodded. "I won't tell anyone." He promised. It had to have been hard for Renji to tell that story, as unbelievable as it sounded.
"I appreciate that." Renji said. "There's one other thing though, that's been making things seem a bit strange. I feel like a lot of my friends are people I knew from when I was an angel."
Yukimura smiled. "Maybe we are."
Renji raised an eyebrow. "Don't tease, Seiichi." He said, standing up. They had been talking for over an hour. "I should get home. I'll see you soon."
"Na, Renji?"
"Hmm?"
"What was the boy's name?"
"I never found out." Renji said. "But...if he was you in a former life...." Renji looked down at the floor. "I wish I could save you again." He told Yukimura quietly.
"If it was, I'm glad." Yukimura put on a sad smile. "I know how you feel. I'll be better by Nationals this year. I promise."
"That's a hefty promise to make, Seiichi."
"I will play in the Nationals. Just watch." He said.
Renji let out a small chuckle. "As Genichirou said before, we'll wait for you."
Practices that year were tougher than normal. Sanada was stricter than he had been, telling people to stop slacking off almost constantly no matter how hard they were working.
The district tournament flew by, since Rikkai was the number one seed and of course they won all their matches.
The regional tournament was easy until they got to the final round.
Renji wondered what Sanada was thinking putting him in singles. It was made worse by the fact that he was facing an old friend.
"It's been awhile." Renji said as they met at the net for pre-game niceties.
"Four years, two months and fifteen days." Was the response. They turned to begin the match as Inui's teammates awed over the fact that they knew each other.
The game brought back memories of them when they were younger. It was playing out exactly as their last, unfinished game had. Renji realized this too late, and a memory of that past game flashed through his mind, as well as a memory of something else a long, long time ago. "Sadaharu..." He breathed under his breath.
The game finished, Inui winning the tie break.
Renji walked up to Sanada who sat on the coach's bench and offered himself up for the standard Rikkai punishment for losers. It was a familiar scene for Renji. Surprisingly, Kirihara interfered, saying he would avenge the loss.
Renji frowned. He shouldn't....that was not how this was supposed to go. Miracles don't happen when the fallen ones are involved.
Kirihara lost his match. Sanada didn't even bother, since Akaya had found a new skill. "Go." He told the rest of the team. "I'll finish this." Sanada said. Even if two of the individual matches were lost, as long as he won, it would be a team win.
The others nodded, rushing off to greet their captain before he went into surgery. They just barely made it before he was taken into the operating room. Renji just nodded at Yukimura before he was taken back. "Good luck, Seiichi." He said quietly, under his breath, knowing that somehow Yukimura had heard him.
Hours later, still under the effects of the anesthesia Yukimura was wheeled back to his room. The doctors spoke to Yukimura's family first, letting them know how it went.
The family turned towards the Rikkai team. "Thank you so much for everything." Seiichi's mother told them. "He should be able to start rehab in a week or two."
Sanada came in as she was telling them this. He breathed a sigh of relief. It would a few weeks until Nationals.
Renji was relieved. Perhaps Seiichi would keep his promise after all.
Everyone said it was a miraculous recovery. Yukimura did make it back to the team, healthier than ever. He was just in time for the Nationals.
Since they were seeded, they didn't have the first rounds to play through. So they could watch some of the other matches. Hyoutei against Seigaku was rather interesting. Renji stood far away from everyone, just barely able to see over the many heads there.
During the doubles 2 match, Renji has a sudden, sharp pain in his head. He sat down, foregoing watching the rest of the match. The team left as a group, hearing the news that Seigaku had progressed to the semi-finals.
They were leaving back for school when Seigaku invited them to join them in their celebration. Yukimura declined for the entire team. As they walked past, Renji remembered to inform Inui that his data from the previous tournament was no longer valid.
Relaxing in his room that night, Renji thought about the upcoming finals. Something wasn't right. The cell phone on his desk beeped with a new message. He looked at it. It wasn't anything important, just a joke from Niou sent to the whole team that Renji just deleted without even looking.
After that, Renji found himself deep in thought. Him, Sanada and Yukimura were called the "Three Demons of Rikkaidai." Was that truly how far a former angel had gone? What was the difference between an angel and a demon anyway? "Master," "Emperor," and "The Child of God" were their nicknames. Master of what? Renji snorted. Perhaps he was a master of demons - there were certainly plenty of those on the team.
Renji sighed as sleep decided to overcome him.
The warmth of a set of a wings not his own enveloped him. They were warm to the touch, and the angular face of the owner of those wings looked sad.
"You're awake." A tenor voice said.
"Mmm..." was the groggy reply.
"You knew what would happen." The taller angel said. "Why did you do it?"
The Renji-angel just stared into emerald green eyes. "I just couldn't let the boy die." He said hoarsely.
"I can't believe you did such a foolish thing." The eyes cast down. "I'll miss you. I wish I could say I'll never forget you, but you know what happens." All angels forget about those that become no longer favored in the eyes of God.
A nod was the answer. "Maybe one day I'll return, Sadriel."
"It's not easy, but I hope you're right. Until then....I know life as a human isn't easy, but I know you'll do your best."
"I've never done anything but that." The Renji-angel answered, shying away from the warm, encompassing wings holding him. "I must go now." He said quietly. "Please don't come to witness the finality of my disgrace." He pleaded.
"I won't." Sadriel promised.
That was when Renji woke up. "Sadaharu..." He said quietly. Inui Sadaharu was one of them. Why was Renji the only one who remembered this former life as a chosen messenger of God?
The finals had finally come. This time it was doubles. Inui and his kouhai Kaidou Kaoru against himself and his own kouhai Kirihara. The younger two were trash talking each other, while Inui and Renji exchanged pleasantries again.
Renji and Akaya were leading the set 5-0 when Inui and Kaidou began their counterattack, finally taking a game off the Rikkai pair. That was when Akaya went wild and started attacking Inui.
"You can't win!" Renji called across the net, not wanting to see any more of that. "It's too dangerous, Sadaharu! I don't want to see you hurt!" He cried out. Despite being hurt, Inui was being stubborn, but the stubbornness got him in the end, collapsing on the court.
"You did well, Sadaharu." Renji murmured quietly as he watched the stretcher take his old friend to the nearest hospital. It was not a win he was satisfied with though.
Right before Singles 1, Inui returned, his head bandaged up like a mummy. Renji had to cover his mouth to hide his laugh. Fortunately, this seemed to be a normal thing for Renji, so no one thought anything of it.
After the disappointing losses, and the award ceremony, the teams broke up, most of them planning on heading to their respective schools.
A small tap on Renji's shoulder, brought him out of his thoughts. He thought it was one of his own teammates, but he turned around to see the blue and white of a Seigaku jacket, and a mummified face. "Shouldn't you go back to the hospital?" Renji asked.
"I just had a bit of blood loss and minor concussion. It's nothing to worry about." Inui assured him. "I....need to talk to you." Renji raised an eyebrow.
"About what?" He asked.
Inui considered for a moment. "...Philosophy." He said, sidestepping the actual topic.
"I see..." Renji said. "I don't have to go home just yet. In fact, I think the victory party has been cancelled, obviously...Don't you have one to attend?"
"I believe this is more important." He said. Renji nodded, suddenly understanding why.