He sat there, staring up at the sky. Really, the night was when he felt the best. It was always so peaceful. Nothing at all bothered him when he was sitting outside in the moonlight. Nothing could bother him while he was outside at night.
So the fact that the bouncing of a ball was currently bothering him baffled his mind. He had no idea why, but he felt compelled to find whoever was bouncing the ball and tell he or she to stop before he threatened them. And he always came through on his threats. He was no pushover.
But he wasn't so sure why the sound annoyed him so much. He heard it everyday. Everyone in the kingdom of Seigaku was crazy about tennis. He heard these sounds everyday. So why did it bother him so much?
Maybe it was the fact that his silence and peace was shattered by the sound. It was alright for daytime when people were expected to be loud and out of control. But at night, everyone was supposed to be sleeping; that's when he decided to go out and play.
Deciding he'd had enough of the sound for one night, he stood up. He figured he should at least see who else was out at such a late hour. He followed the sound, not so much where he was going. It didn't matter though, he'd find his way back. He knew these streets too well.
Finally, he came upon a court that was well away from the town. He hadn't realized he had gone this far from town. He always did things on auto run while he was out at night. He looked around, and saw that there was someone hitting a ball against the wall. He was surprised. He thought that he was the only one to wander about at night and practice against a wall.
He walked up closer without realizing it. He only realized when the person stopped and turned to look at him. "I wasn't aware I was being watched."
"I wasn't aware I wasn't the only one out here." he shot back. Something about that voice sounded very familiar to him.
The man before him shrugged. "This is the first night I've snuck out." He bounced the ball once. "Do you play?"
He scoffed. "Of course, retard." he smirked. "Who doesn't?"
The man didn't seem to mind his remark and smirked before tossing him a racket. "Then play me."
"Does my new opponent have a name?" he asked, walking over to the receiving end of the court.
The man stood poised to serve and smirked. He tossed the ball up. "I'll tell you only if you beat me."
"A challenge to learn your name, huh?" he smiled. "Well, I'll tell you what. I'm going to beat you. You should at least know the name of the person who defeats you, right?" he smirked this time, hitting the ball back, earning a return ace. "Echizen Ryoma, nice to meet you."
It was an agreement. Both played to their full potential. The game lasted at least two hours. At the end, the mysterious man was the loser, and Ryoma was the victor.
The man walked up to him. "I guess I have to tell you who I am, Echizen Ryoma." He extended his hand for a handshake and Ryoma reluctantly took it out of good manners. "Tezuka Kunimitsu."
Ryoma nearly fell on the spot. "Wh-what?" he stuttered. "You mean to tell me you're the Tezuka Kunimitsu, the prince of this kingdom?"
He shrugged. "That's why I was only going to tell you if you beat me. I figured it wasn't likely I'd lose." Tezuka took his racket from Ryoma. "But that was the best game I've had in years, even though I lost. I should thank you."
Ryoma was quiet. "Well, then. You should sneak out more often. You're way more fun to play than Momo senpai is."
Tezuka smiled. "We'll see."
Both looked to the horizon as the sun started to rise. Neither was aware of the time. Both looked to each other.
"Well, I'll see you then?" Ryoma asked as he started to walk down the hill. "Eventually, right?"
Tezuka smiled at him as he watched the boy walk away from him. "Sure." he whispered, even though he knew Ryoma was out of ear shot.
---[---
He suddenly shot up, unaware that he had fallen asleep. And he definitely wasn't expecting a dream like that. He hadn't even thought of that night since...well, since forever ago, really. It'd only been a year, but he hardly ever thought about it.
"Were you sleeping?"
Ryoma turned around to see Tezuka walking up to him. He smiled and jumped off the wall he was sitting on. He slowly walked up to meet Tezuka halfway.
"No, of course not."
"We don't have to play if you're tired. We've been doing this every night for a year. It has to be taking a toll on your body." Tezuka said, concern etched in his voice.
"Well, what about your body?" Ryoma shot back.
"My body has been used to lack of sleep for years." Tezuka answered. "Besides, I'm two years older than you are. My body is different."
Ryoma 'pssht' and held up his racket. "Well, I don't care about that." he said matter-of-factly. "This match is the only thing I have to look forward to all day. You can't take this away from me."
Tezuka laughed. "Sure I can." he said, leaning down to get his face closer to Ryoma's. "And you know it." He leaned in further, causing his lips to touch Ryoma's.
They were locked there for a few moments, stuck in a passionate kiss they hardly ever got to do. The got together every night to play a few games of tennis, and then it was always time for Tezuka to leave for the castle. They both needed some sleep.
Ryoma shrugged when they finally parted. "But if I admitted that, you wouldn't have done what you just did."
"You manipulate people too much." Tezuka laughed. "But I guess that doesn't matter much."
---[---
"Hey, Echizen!"
Ryoma cringed at the voice. Why, oh why did Momo have to show up so damn early? "What do you want, Momo senpai?"
"Come hang out with me today!" he exclaimed, jumping into Ryoma's room. He walked over to a window and pulled back the cheap curtains, letting in plenty of unwanted sunlight. He had just fallen asleep an hour or so ago.
Ryoma's house was simple. It had the essentials. A kitchen, a living area, his bedroom, a spare bedroom and one bathroom. It was all he needed. That and the few furnishings he could afford to have.
"Come on, Echizen!" Momo exclaimed, walking over to the bed Ryoma was curled up on.
"No. Go away. I'm tired. Leave me alone." he growled out from under the blankets. "I'm not going anywhere with you today. I'm sleeping in."
"Oh come on!" Momo whined. "I waited until noon to come bother you! The least you could do is come with me!"
Ryoma shot up. "It's noon?" he asked. He couldn't believe he slept that long. He was supposed to go meet Kaido for a match at one. Well damn. He'd have to get up now. "Damn it."
Momo smirked. "You forgot about your match with Kaido today, didn't you?"
"No." Ryoma answered, pulling the covers back and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I wasn't planning on sleeping in this late."
Momo walked out of the room to let Ryoma get himself presentable. He donned a pair of regular shorts, a short sleeved shirt, and his usual cap. He wasn't like most of the others when it came to dressing up. He stayed simple while everyone else went on the extravagant side.
He thought of Momo with his style of clothing. He really wasn't simple, but he wasn't extravagant either. He was more in-between with his long sleeved black shirt that seemed a little too tight and his dark blue pants and black shoes. Really, Ryoma would never have worn something so...hot looking. Just looking at Momoshiro made him sweat. But it was just Momo being Momo.
When he was finished dressing himself, he walked outside to where Momo was waiting. The older boy smirked. "You finally ready, sleepy head?"
Ryoma shot him a glare. He had his racket and a few balls in his pocket and he was definitely ready for his match today. "Shut up." he said, walking towards the tennis courts. "And yes, I'm ready. What kind of stupid question is that?"
---[---
The match itself wasn't too bad. As usual, Kaido made him run around with his snake shots. What was knew was the use of his 'boomerang snake'. It was a nice technique, but it made him run everywhere. He was panting and sweating when the match ended.
"Ah, good game, Kaido senpai." Ryoma smirked, extending a hand.
As usual, Kaido just glared down at the younger boy. Briefly taking the hand and shaking it, he turned around and mumbled "One of these days, I'll beat you, Echizen."
Ryoma smirked. "Well, then. I'll be waiting, Kaido senpai."
---[---
"Ah ha ha! I can't believe Mamushi could lose so quickly!" Momo laughed.
"You know, Momo senpai. I think you lost to me faster." Ryoma smirked as the two walked down the dirt path. Living conditions in Seigaku weren't that great, but no one complained about it. Everyone knew there was nothing anyone, not even the king, could do about it. After all, there was a war raging on in the far east, with the kingdom of Hyotei. The people of Hyotei wanted to use the land of Seigaku and all it's residents for it's own enjoyment. And that meant tennis. For some reason, everyone was crazy about tennis. But no one was crazy enough to play all day, almost as if it were slavery.
Ryoma sighed. Tezuka had been extremely exhausted the last few nights they met. He had suggested that they not meet for a few nights, so that they could catch up on sleep. Ryoma could only imagine what the war meant for Tezuka. He's had to do so much for the land...
Ryoma looked to Momo, who was mumbling on and on about how he should treat him as his senpai more often. But that Ryoma didn't care about. He had never once spoken about his meeting with Tezuka with Momo. He wondered if he should or not, since Momo did have best friend status...but what would that mean for Tezuka and himself?
"...Oi, are you paying attention, Echizen?" Momo asked.
Ryoma snapped out of his thoughts. "Yeah."
Momo was quiet for a moment, and Ryoma already knew what was going to be asked. "Are you alright? You've been acting strange for awhile now..."
"It's nothing, Momo senpai." Ryoma smiled. "Let's just get lunch. I'm starving!"
---[---
They had just sat down after obtaining a bit of food. Ryoma was about to comment about something to Momoshiro, but he had totally forgotten about his appointment with her.
Seemingly coming from nowhere, a woman pounced on Ryoma. She glared at him as she had him pinned on the ground. If this didn't happen regularly, people around them would stop to watch. But seeing her pounce on anyone like this was normal, especially if she was angry.
"You suck." she whined. "I spent all day messing with that bastards recipes to make them taste good, and yet you don't even show up!"
"Rachel senpai..."
"No! Don't Rachel senpai me, you little snot!" she growled out. "You know I hate even smelling Inui's contraptions...let alone mess around with them!"
"It's not like I asked you to..." Ryoma whispered out, fully knowing where this was headed.
"I know that! But he did!" she yelled, pointing to Momo. She stopped, and Ryoma knew she was thinking. When she manically looked towards Momo, he looked a little...frightened. "Hey, Shiro chan." she smirked. "Since you're the idiot who asked me to make them taste better, try it." She held out a bottle filled with a vile looking green liquid.
Momo glance at the bottle. He knew damn well that he didn't want to even go near that cup. But he thought of the consequences of that, and decided that it was better than having Rachel be pissed at him. Reluctantly, he grabbed the bottle and took a huge swig of it.
Rachel and Ryoma looked on, surprised at finding Momo still standing. When the boy finally swallowed, though, he let out a piercing yell and fell to the floor, passed out. Rachel seemed shocked, but Ryoma was used to it. Inui was known for his alchemy...but he was more known for his vile juices.
Rachel, on the other hand, wasn't so good at alchemy. She was the high mage of their land, but not many knew that. She said that the only people who knew were the king and queen and himself, plus some others she knew years ago. Momo and the prince didn't even know about it. But a lot of people knew her as an ordinary mage. Ryoma wasn't even sure what made a person a high mage, and he didn't really care. But he had learned many a nifty spell from her.
Suddenly, a different bottle was thrust into his hands. He recognized the color and immediately looked horrified.
"Oh don't worry. That one's fine. It only looks like one of Inui's juices. I changed that one's flavoring." She saw his glance. "I drank it myself. I'm not that mean, Ma chan." she smiled. "Don't worry about it."
Ryoma still stared at her. "Don't you have a shop to run?"
She looked shocked. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! I'm on break. I closed the shop and I said I'd be back in ten minutes! Damn it!"
Ryoma smiled as she ran off in the direction of her potions and miscellaneous items shop. She sold almost everything that had to do with magic in that one shop. He was surprised at all the little things the walls of that building held.
Thinking about Momo's clothes being too warm, he always thought Rachel's had been too cold. Well, it was perfect attire for summer, like it was now, but during winter...he was surprised she didn't freeze her ass off. She chose to wear shorts that were just a little too short for his preferences [although his preference wasn't woman. He wore a tank top that didn't cover her stomach at all. He'd consider it a bathing suit top if it went just a little bit higher. The shirt had a large collar that hid the bottom part of her face. Occasionally, she'd wear thigh high socks and her add on sleeves. And the fact that she never wore anything other than black sort of bothered him. But only a little.
Looking back to the passed out Momoshiro, he sighed. Turning on his heel, he walked off in the direction of his house.
Really, he wondered why the empire just didn't send a bunch of Inui's juice to the enemy... They'd win the war for sure.
---[---
Tezuka sighed. He had watched Ryoma's match from a balcony. He really wished he wasn't the prince. Then it wouldn't matter where he was. He always, always had to stay in the castle, or else someone would worry. Really, he should just go see that stupid mage. Maybe she'd know a doppelganger spell...
He sighed again, walking away from the balcony. That was a stupid idea. Of course his mother and father would know it was a fake at once. And before they noticed, Fuji and Oishi and even Atobe would notice. It was all a fruitless attempt.
And then there was the matter of Sakuno...that girl he was supposed to marry. When he found out about the arranged marriage, he had immediately informed Ryoma of it. Then boy seemed hurt about it, but he did understand. It wasn't like he loved the woman, after all. It was just something that happened between kingdoms so an alliance would form.
But he still didn't like that look on Ryoma's face. It still haunted his conscious whenever it was inconvenient for him.
"Hey, Tezuka."
Tezuka turned around. Great. Aihara Ryoki. It's not like he hated the other man, he could just be really aggravating at times. And this would be one of those times.
"What is it?"
"Now, now, don't get mad at ore sama." There he went again. It was always 'ore sama this' and 'ore sama that' with Aihara. He always referred to himself as ore sama. It was one of his bad points. "Fuji was looking for you. I guess he didn't think you'd be here."
Tezuka was quiet a moment. "Where is he now?"
Aihara shrugged. "Hell if I know."
Tezuka sighed. He muttered a quick thanks and left Aihara alone in the room. Walking down the halls, he tried to think of where his lead knight would be.
Fuji Syuusuke was of course the strongest knight in all the kingdom. So he was hired by the king and queen, Tezuka's parents, to guard the beloved prince. At first, Tezuka thought it was stupid. The man was no older than he was, and this title was given to Fuji when Tezuka was thirteen, six years ago. He stopped a moment. They would be turning twenty one this year...
But that was besides the point. Suichiro Oishi had been Tezuka's best friend since they were young. He was one of the maiden's sons, and when Tezuka was young, he had been his only friend. But now that they were older, Oishi had become a mage. Tezuka wasn't sure why. Oishi had said something about doing something no one else could, but he wasn't sure what that was.
He'd made another acquaintance through Oishi though. He met Kikumaru Eiji, Oishi's lover. He wasn't sure of the circumstances of which they met and fell in love, but he knew how they must've felt. But he wasn't quite sure why Oishi chose to be with Eiji. They seemed like polar opposites. With Oishi being calm and collected and Eiji being hyper and everywhere. It wasn't a bad thing, he just wondered why.
Aihara Ryoki, on the other hand, he had met a year and a half ago. He always wondered about the timing, since that was when the war with Hyotei stared, but he never actually questioned it. But Aihara showed up without memory of anything. So his parents had decided to take him in, and make him a knight under Fuji's jurisdiction. Fuji nor himself minded, but they both thought that Aihara was a strange character.
Turning a corner, he saw Fuji down the hall, dressed in his usual clothes. He chose to be simple, like Tezuka. He wore black pants and a long sleeved black shirt with a single silver belt, on which his trusted sword hung. No matter where he was, Fuji carried that sword. Unless he was playing tennis of course...
Tezuka looked down to his dress. He had to dress a little more out there since he was the prince and all, but he didn't like it. He, too, wore the black pants, only he had on three silver belts instead of one. His shirt was different, too. It was all a dark blue color. Not navy blue, a little brighter, but definitely not light. It was also more of a tank top, too. He did have sleeves though, they just weren't attached to the rest of his shirt. He liked the style though, as much as it'd kill him to admit it. That and Ryoma, well... Enough said there.
"Fuji."
The brunette turned and smiled. "Ah, Tezuka. I was wondering where you were."
"So I've heard."
"At any rate, I was told to warn you, well, I guess you would call it more informing than anything." Fuji said, knowing full well he was straying from the main point of the topic.
"Fuji. Just get to the point."
"Ah, yes. The point." Fuji smiled. "We're expecting a full scale attack from Hyotei's army." Fuji lost his smile. "We're not sure when, exactly. But we know it's soon. They're going to send everyone they can to fight us. They know that they're going to lose if they don't do something now."
Tezuka was quiet. This wasn't something he liked to think about. He knew that Hyotei could easily attack the castle. It wasn't like the castle wasn't on the border or anything. It was right up next to it, actually. He always thought that was stupid on his ancestor's part, but he didn't ever question it.
Tezuka looked out the window towards the blustering town. Everyone was happy. No one would think that just beyond the border, the enemy marched closer. No one would expect the attack when it came. And warning them about it would only make matters much worse. But he knew he needed to warn at least one person.
"We're going to try and head them off first, so they don't reach the town. If we can at least do that, then it's all worth it." Fuji explained. "We can't have the whole town be slaughtered, can we?"
Tezuka looked at him for a moment. It would be worth it. So he wouldn't have to warn Ryoma after all. He might not even know about it anyway. He smiled.
"Well, we'll have to do what we can, right?" Tezuka said slowly. "To protect...the townspeople."
Fuji stared at him a moment, his smile still not on his face. He didn't like the way Tezuka said that, but he didn't know why he didn't like it. It was odd, because Tezuka had never acted like this at all since they had met. Fuji could tell that he was hiding something, and it must've been big if he was hiding it. Tezuka hardly hid anything for anyone. But Fuji didn't care much. He had a job to do, and that was protect Tezuka and his secrets.
---[---
Rachel walked up to her shop. She was thinking that she really shouldn't have lied to Ryoma and Momoshiro, but it couldn't be helped. She could trust Ryoma with the information, that she knew. But Momo would have said it like it was worth nothing. He might have even panicked. She didn't need to cause an uproar in the town.
She opened the door and entered. She smiled when she saw a familiar figure standing and looking at random bottles aligning the shelves. "May I help you?" she asked sarcastically.
"Oh shut it." the man answered. "I only came because you said I'd be helpful. And I owe you a lot."
"Damn straight you do."
The man scoffed. He was dressed in white, mostly. The collar of his tank top was black and grey. His removable sleeves [much like Rachel's where white with black trim. His pants, thought, were grey. And he had on black boots. His shirt always made Rachel laugh, since the cut from just above his belly button down made it seem like a woman's shirt. She never got enough of his pinstripes either.
"I do need your help though. You'll come in handy. But you might hate me for it later." she spoke, sounding very serious.
"Whatever, just explain what it is you need from me." the man sighed, sitting down. "You know I'm game for just about anything, if it's important enough."
Rachel smiled. "It could mean the fate of this kingdom."
The man sat up, brushing back some of his silvery white hair out of his red eyes. "Okay, now I'm interested."
---[---
Tezuka wasn't sure what he was thinking about as he laid on his bed. He was supposed to be catching up on sleep this week. But he felt strange not sneaking out to go see Ryoma. He wondered what the other boy was doing, but he didn't really want to think about it. He hoped that Hyotei's forces didn't attack at all.
He closed his eyes for only a moment, drifting in and out of sleep. But when the castle shook and an explosion could be heard nearby, he shot awake. His door shot open, and Fuji appeared in the doorway.
"Tezuka!" he yelled. "It's happening now!"
"Why now? You said..."
"I know what I said, none of us were expecting this. But we need to hurry!" Fuji exclaimed, his usually closed eyes wide open. He was glaring, which was what usually happened when his eyes were open. He had his sword unsheathed and ready to use.
As Tezuka dressed himself for battle, and explosion shook the castle again. This time, he could hear servants and maids yelling and screaming for their lives. Fuji and himself looked horrified. They had made into the castle already. Forgetting about his clothes, Tezuka rushed out in only his pants and a light shirt, brandishing his sword.
They rushed out into the main hall, where bodies lay tossed and mangled in their own lifeless ways. Tezuka could only imagine the town looked the same. As he passed a window, he had looked out and saw smoke and flames everywhere in the town. He wished he could run out and find Ryoma to see if the boy was safe, but it was no use. He was needed here.
---[---
The man watched from a hilltop far from the city. Rachel stood next to him, both watching the destruction. He turned to her, all the playfulness gone from his face.
"Is this what you were talking about?"
"No." Rachel sighed. "No, what I want you to do is a little different. This just sparks everything." she explained. "I'll need you to go with some people to help them rescue someone."
The man looked confused. "What?" he asked. "Someone's getting kidnapped tonight?"
"That's the whole point." Rachel sighed. "It's all that this is. It's just one huge distraction so the king and queen would get murdered, and someone from the town to get kidnapped. And trust me, it's a very important person. At least, to the prince."
"And that's what you meant by the fate of this kingdom?"
"If he's to rule, I don't want him doing so with a tainted heart. If he lost this person, it is so going to happen." Rachel explained.
"Well, I'll do what I can." the man sighed.
"Oh, and it'll all be worth it."
---[---
Tezuka was tired. He was tired before this all happened. His body felt like it was on fire. He just wanted to rest. But he couldn't. He had to protect anyone he could. And he'd do it too.
Turning the corner, he realized he was back in the main hall. He wondered why he was so lost. Maybe it was all the bodies laying around on the ground. It threw everything off. He sighed, lowering his weapon. There was no one here.
"Tezuka!"
Tezuka turned. It was Fuji and Oishi running up to him. Kikumaru wasn't too far behind. The four of them stood in the hallway, quiet. Everything was quiet. There were no more explosions, no more yelling. Everything just stopped.
Hearing footsteps in the quietness, the four turned to another doorway. The king and queen stood there, looking quite angry. Tezuka was pleased to see them alive. He hadn't seen them since this whole thing started.
Suddenly, the front doors, the ones that lead outside, slammed open. Tezuka hadn't been aware it was raining, but that wasn't what was concerning him right then. It was who opened the door, and what he was holding.
"Aihara!" Tezuka yelled. "What are you doing?"
The man chuckled so manically, he'd never thought he'd ever heard such an evil sounding laugh. He mentally cringed at the sound of it.
"Well, well. The mighty prince." Aihara smirked. "Well, I was planning on killing off the king and queen tonight, but since that stupid mage had to go and spoil the surprise, they're both still alive."
Tezuka just glared at the man. "What about him?" he asked, referring to what Aihara was holding. He knew who that was even though he hadn't seen the face yet. The figure, the hair, it was definitely him. It was Ryoma.
"This guy?" Aihara asked, feigning stupidity. He lifted Ryoma's limp body a few inches. "Well, isn't it obvious?" he laughed. "I'm going to kidnap your little 'playmate', prince!"
"Playmate?" Fuji asked. "What is he talking about Tezuka?"
"That's right, you never told anyone about your nightly outings, did you?" Aihara smirked. "Oh well, I guess I let out that little secret." Aihara smiled. "Well, I guess I'll take my leave now, since I got what I came for. I'll come back to kill off you two." Aihara said, talking to the king and queen, who only glared at him.
"Wait! Aihara!" Tezuka yelled, starting to run towards the man. But with a gust of wind, the man was gone. Tezuka stood outside in the rain, wanting to kneel over and cry. Aihara had Ryoma. And who knew what that meant?