Tennis no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi, Jump, Shueisha
Summery: A magnate has captured the Seigaku regulars! And now, they have to win in a tennis tournament or have their lives taken. The prize that the magnate wants is a brunette who looks very familiar to Ryoma…
Hai ni Naru
Chapter One
Reunion
- -
Apart we've been,
Missing this long awaited meet up…
Who would've known we'd be placed in this situation?
Who would've known we'd meet up like this?
- -
A soft wind trickled against his cheeks and played with his hair as he awoke feeling cold and hungry almost at all once, a yawn also escaped him and he stared blearily around him, confused as to where he was. The room was small and dirty, in fact the bed, he noticed, would release a puff of dust when he'd move to sit up and this sudden discovery caused him to shudder inwardly before getting off the bed. The floor itself was also covered in dust, so thick that he could make out a pair of footsteps, other then his, leading out of the room and towards the door.
He felt another trickle of wind, this time more harsh then before and shivered before turning to find a window which sat besides the small twin bed, open. Sniffling, he turned back around and moved towards the door, hoping to get out of there. Where was he? Better yet, why was he, Echizen Ryoma, who had just won Wimbledon once more, at a place like this?
In a matter of a few steps, he approached the door and touched the handle. The warmth from the handle caused him to jump; he had not expected the handle to be so warm when he thought, like the room, it knob would be near icy to the touch. Grasping the handle, he tried to turn it but it wouldn't turn and when he pulled at it, the door gave a threatening moan. Cursing inwardly, he moved quickly towards the window and found it impossible to climb, jump, or step out of. The height was high enough to cause the young seventeen year old to grow dizzy, the height most likely being over five stories. Plus, the snow that was piled at the bottom which caused the ground to look even deeper then it probably was, didn't reassure Ryoma at all.
What the hell was going on? He wondered. He soon tried to close the window as best as he could, but the window, probably because of its age, barely budged under Ryoma's persistent shove. He managed to get it about more then half-way before he gave up and sat slowly back onto the dirty bed. His hand reached upwards and he found his hat was gone, he cursed out loud this time. It was one thing to wake up in a place he didn't know, but for his hat to be gone? His hands tightened together into a fist, whoever had stolen his hat and placed him here was going to pay.
Shaking off the anger, he frowned, casting a glance towards the floor in deep thought. What had he been doing before this? All he remembered was going to an interview his manager had wanted him to attend and then… He shook his head, his frown deepening, he couldn't remember. "Achoo!" He sneezed suddenly, his body reacting in a slight jump causing the bed to give off powders of dust. He coughed violently for a moment, waving a hand at the dust before standing, cursing vigorously.
"You're awake then," a deep voice said behind him, causing him to stiffen before spinning around. The man before him smiled, his blue eyes shining at him in a manner that almost made Ryoma smile back if he hadn't been so grouchy about waking up in an unknown place for an unknown reason. He glared at the man as they walked towards him, their large boots hitting the floor in a loud thud causing the floor to moan under the new weight.
He was much taller then Ryoma, probably a good six feet or more. He had red hair that was cut short in its waviness, stopping above his shoulders. He wore a simple brown sweater with black trousers which matched the belt that hung loosely on his hips. At the end of the belt, hung a hoister for a sword which now gleamed dangerously at the tennis player.
"Who are you?" Ryoma asked, quite bothered and a bit threatened.
The bulky man laughed before bowing a bit, his eyes gazing humorously into Ryoma's. "Sorry, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," he said, standing up straight again, a smirk settling on his lips. Ryoma's glare hardened. "Fredrick Welsh, at your service," he said, sounding almost loyal if it weren't for the frown and the cringe that had followed soon after.
"Why am I here?" Ryoma tried again, his annoyance rising towards anger.
The man, Fredrick, stiffened for a moment before flicking his thumb against his nose and sniffing. "I'm not at liberty to say," he said dryly, "I'm only here to feed and get you warmed up before bringing you out. Unless… you want to stay in this freezing room, then go ahead." Ryoma swore on his life that Fredrick had added the last sentence only to tempt him, however, he didn't budge from his spot despite the fact that he was now shivering.
"Why can't you tell me? Why are you carrying a sword on your hip?" Ryoma asked, his fist clenching at his sides, angrily, "Where am I?"
"Can't say," was the dry reply.
Ryoma stalk towards the man and fisted the front of the shirt, however, before Ryoma could even blink the man had shoved him onto the dust covered floor and had pulled his sword silently out. Now, glaring at the sword which was aimed at him threateningly, he slowly gazed up at the red head who sighed, tiredly. "Just come, will you? If you make it any harder and keep asking me these questions I'm gonna have to knock you out."
"Fine," Ryoma snapped, shoving the sword away from his face.
"Hm, don't seem too afraid of my sword, do you?" Fredrick asked, sliding his sword back into the hilt.
"Doubt you'd kill me. You did enough to get me here didn't you?" Ryoma sneered, pushing past the other man and entering the other room. Almost immediately his body shivered, welcoming the warmth with goosebumps traveling up and down his arms and legs. His eyes scanned the other room and noticed that it was a rather small kitchen.
It held a small table against the wall which sat besides the fireplace, where a fire burned brilliantly and welcomingly. Besides the fire was another bed and Ryoma glared at it for a moment. Fredrick probably had slept in that bed while he was freezing on the other side of the area. After a moment, a hand shoved him forward and he looked over his shoulder, glaring at the red head who gave a smirk back.
"Calm down, already," Fredrick said before motioning to the table nearby the fireplace. "Go on and sit, I'm going to fix you some soup and hopefully get rid of that cold of yours."
"I wouldn't have a cold in the first place if I had been sleeping inhere," Ryoma said dryly, his head titling to the bed that sat nearby the fireplace, looking warm and cozy. Nevertheless he moved towards the table as Fredrick answered back.
"I wasn't allowed to let you sleep here," was the reply. Ryoma gritted his teeth from asking who hadn't allowed him to sleep in the room before pulling out a seat and sitting down. His eyes shifted to Fredrick who began humming a foreign tone while he poured some liquid into a pot and began to mix.
"How can you speak Japanese so well?" Ryoma asked, leaning on his hand, his elbow currently resting upon the table.
"Ah, a question I can answer," Fredrick said merrily. "I've been training with a friend in Japan up in the mountains for the past twelve years."
"A friend," Ryoma repeated. "Is it the guy who put me here?"
"Hm, I wonder."
Ryoma's eyes narrowed in his annoyance before he turned his head away while taking a long and steady breath to calm him, personally he'd rather keep conscious and eat something then be unconscious and let Fredrick do whatever he wanted to him. He tapped his foot impatiently, spacing off as he stared at the walls of the small kitchen-bedroom-dining area. The place was certainly cleaner then the room he had slept and didn't seem to have a spot of dust anywhere, this caused him to frown as he grew even more annoyed, his stomach growling in agreement.
However, his stomach had also seemed to have reacted to the sudden scent that filled the room. Reluctantly, Ryoma turned his head back to Fredrick while licking his lips in want as he watched the man pour the brown liquid, which now consisted of chunks that seemed to be meat and vegetables, into a round bowl. "Smells good don't it?" Fredrick asked, catching Ryoma's stare. Immediately the boy turned his head, looking away.
"Not really," he huffed, "I don't like western food."
His stomach growl in objection to this and Ryoma blushed, a light pink touching his cheeks.
"Traitor," Ryoma hissed to it as the sound of Fredrick's boots neared him.
The taller man laughed before setting the bowl down and handing Ryoma a silver spoon. "Anyway, eat up. It's going to take a few hours before we reach the mansion—"
"Mansion?" Ryoma repeated, frowning. He hadn't moved to eat, despite the fact that now his head was beginning to throb dully as well while his stomach clenched hungrily. "What did Atobe plan this or something?"
"Atobe? Who's Atobe?" Fredrick asked, titling his head sideways, obviously confused.
Ryoma shook his head and faced the meal, despite having asked about Atobe without a deeper meaning to it, he supposed it had been a last subconscious hope. Muttering an 'itadakimas', Ryoma lifted the spoon to his lips slowly before cautiously placing it into his mouth. His eyes closed without warning as the warm liquid melted on his tongue before sliding down easily down his throat, the soup was delicious. Opening his eyes again, he frowned as he looked over to Fredrick who was stowing pulling out a sweater and a jacket from somewhere in the small kitchen. His head throbbed a bit more persistently and his stomach growled again, sighing in defeat, Ryoma ate the rest of the soup in silence while listening to Fredrick humming the same song he had hummed earlier.
- -
After Ryoma had finished eating, Fredrick had told him to go into the bathroom, which was out through a hall, and dress before they had to leave. Ryoma wondered vaguely as he walked down the hall why Fredrick let him on his own for, clearly, he could just escape when the man wasn't looking. However, the hall he had been sent to was just a small stretch to a small bathroom where a toilet and shower was tightly squeezed into a cramp room. The room bared no windows and Ryoma had to shuffle around a bit, bumping into things before finding the light.
His eyes scanned the area soon after and with a defeated sigh, realized he had no way to escape. Also, if there had been a window, Ryoma couldn't simply jump out of it, not with the height probably being the same as the dirty bedroom. His eyes stared down at the heavy brown coat and thick brown pants he had been told to put on. He moved to the toilet first and relieved his bladder before placing on the clothes and leaving the room, the clothes hugging around him almost too tightly. By the time he had gotten back into the kitchen-bedroom-dining area, Fredrick had given him a pair of thick boots like his.
"Wear 'em," he said. He had placed on a similar outfit to Ryoma causing the young tennis player to wonder where in the world they were going and if it really was going to be as cold as they seemed to be preparing for. Deciding not to wonder on things he wouldn't know at the moment, Ryoma placed on the boots which were very wooly and warm inside despite its hard appearance.
"Give me your hands," Fredrick said soon after Ryoma had stood, the boots strapped on firmly.
Ryoma blinked at the other man. "Why?"
"Just give 'em," Fredrick drawled, sounding a bit tired. Ryoma reluctantly handed his hands over and watched as Fredrick tied a rope to his right wrist before placing his own right wrist in front of Ryoma. "Tie the rope onto mine—not to tight!"
Ryoma fought a smirk as Fredrick sighed while Ryoma loosened up the rope just enough for it to be comfortable for the other man. "What's the rope for?" Ryoma asked in a bored tone. The rope was short and thick, permitting Ryoma to only stand a few feet away from the other man.
"So, you won't go too far," Fredrick said dully, rubbing at his wrist, "I know you're mad but do you have to go and take it out on me?"
Ryoma shrugged. "You're the only one here, aren't you?"
"Come on," Fredrick said, tugging on the rope as he moved towards the kitchen. A door was by the stove and Ryoma raised an eyebrow, thinking this was the oddest home he had even been too. "We're going to travel by horse for about a mile—"
"We're traveling by horse? In this weather?" Ryoma asked, his eyes widening a bit.
"Oh, is it too hard for you?" Fredrick asked, mocking him. Scowling, Ryoma choose not to answer and Fredrick continued on. "Right then, after traveling by horse for about a mile we're going to meet up with a few of your… friends."
"If I ask," Ryoma said slowly, following Fredrick as they walked down a flight of stairs, "Are you going to tell me who these friends are?"
"Nope," Fredrick sang.
"Thought so…"
- -
It only took fifteen minutes on horse back for his butt to hurt, and what seemed like two hours later, it turned numb. However, the complaints of the pain were kept quiet as he looked at his surrounding, trying to figure out where he was. It was hopeless however, because the snow was so thick it nearly covered everything, even the trees. Frowning, he wiggled his nose before rubbing his hand, which had been resting in the coat pocket for warmth, against it. His nose was sore, his hands were turning numb, and his butt hurt. Whoever the hell was doing this to him was going to pay.
The horse stop and Ryoma swayed dangerously when Fredrick, who probably had forgotten he had kept Ryoma on a rope, tugged on Ryoma sharply while getting off the horse. Cursing, Ryoma followed Fredrick off the horse. The taller man had snickered and patted his back before saying they had to climb up the hill before meeting up with the rest. Staggering, Ryoma followed the red head rubbing at his ears which had gone so numb they began to sting.
For a while now the snow was falling lightly around them and, luckily, barely any wind was blowing about. The snow crunch beneath their feet as they silently walk their way up the steep hill, and as they did so Ryoma didn't even bother to look around him. Instead, he kept his head towards the ground while trudging up the snow wearily. He was trailing behind Fredrick who didn't seem affected by the weather at all; in fact, he was strolling up the hill as if he were walking by the ocean on a sunny day at the beach.
After a moment, Fredrick stopped and Ryoma had nearly bumped into him. Glaring at the redhead, he watched as Fredrick placed two fingers into his mouth and whistled twice before listening. Soon after, crunching of footsteps came from the right and left and Ryoma gazed at the people coming towards him, his heart stopping.
A man bearing a long ponytail and a noticeable scar above his right eyebrow was coming at Ryoma's left first with a rope tied to his hand and a frowning man looking man whose glasses were missing while bearing a fresh cut along his right cheek. "Inui-sempai," Ryoma whispered, taking a step towards him but was stopped when Fredrick placed a hand out to stop him. Ryoma caught sight of two more people behind Inui who, like the two of them, had a captor with them and a rope trailing in-between them and the captor. "Kaidoh-sempai… Kikumaru-sempai…"
"Echizen…" a familiar deep voice echoed in his ear from his right. He's head spun around and Ryoma eyed the man with wide eyes, his heart feeling as though it was being crushed.
"Bucho…" he whispered back, shakily.
"We only have five people here," Fredrick mused aloud as Ryoma lowered his head, in defeat. "So, we're missing…"
"Three," a man with short brown hair and blue eyes answered.
"Damn," a man with blond hair said, "I'm freezing!"
"Calm down, calm down," Fredrick said, breathing in deeply.
"You need eight people?" Inui's voice caused Ryoma to snap his head up. "Are you planning to bring—"
"Yes," said a man on Ryoma's right, dryly. The man was quite short, standing close to probably five feet if Ryoma had to guess and unlike the rest of captors, carried two swords instead of one. "Sorry I'm late, this one fought like hell."
"Momo-sempai," Ryoma gasped, tugging harshly towards his best friend. However, Fredrick gripped at the arm that tied to them together tightly and pulled Ryoma back. "Let me go! Let me—"
"Stop it, Echizen!" Tezuka's voice snapped causing Ryoma to halt on command his eyes still staring at Momo. He stared at his best friend who dangled unconscious upon a horse; Ryoma felt his heart sinking even more. If they needed eight people then, then Fuji-sempai and Oishi-sempai were probably going to get captured as well. Ryoma swallowed harshly, as the sound of heavy footsteps grew near them.
"Dedicated to your captain, huh?" Fredrick muttered besides him as he let go of Ryoma's arm. "Don't you think it's a wonderful reunion? If I'm right, you haven't seen any of these people for nearly three years."
"Yes," he muttered dryly as the familiar sight of a light brown hair and opened sapphire blue eyes came towards them, "a wonderful reunion."
End
Chapter One
Author's Note: The title means: Burning Ashes. After this, probably tommorow night or Sunday morning, Together on the Courts will be updated.
