Author's note: Hello! Yes, I am still alive and with a story to boot! This is the new version of Closed Doors that I promised. Yes, it's a multi-chapter story, but I promise to do my best to finish this one properly! Some parts may be a bit rushed, but I'll do my best to make it a bit reasonable. There will be short time skips (usually from weeks to months), so please bear with me a bit on that. *bows deeply*

Chapter 1: Vermillion

Rinko sighed as the taxi stopped in front of a plain white and blue two-story house—their new home. "We're here." She informed her son. They got out of the taxi then paid the driver after getting their luggage which wasn't quite many. It was only filled with clothes, essentials and some other stuff. "Welcome to our new home." She sighed deeply then they entered the house.

The place itself was simple at best, Rinko noted. This was an old house of her parents' before they moved to the States and had her. She remembered spending vacations at this house until they stopped going here when she started college, also in the States. She noticed her son looking over the interior, just before he opened the carrier he was holding to let Karupin out. She smiled at her son fondly as he beckoned Karupin to leave her carrier.

She looked over the state of the furniture, which was dusted and neat. 'Nanako must've prepped the house earlier today.' She thought with a smile. With that already dealt with, she took her luggage and made her way to her room. She didn't need to worry about Ryoma for now. He needed time to coax his cat out of the carrier and wander around. She unpacked her stuff then sent a message to Nanako, telling her niece that they arrived at the house safely.

Later that day, while they were eating lunch, Ryoma asked her, "What school am I attending, mom?" "You'll be going to Hyotei Gakuen." She replied. Ryoma simply nodded and finished his lunch. "Your uniform is in my room. Your first day is tomorrow." She added before he stood up. "Okay. Excuse me."

Rinko sighed when her son left the dining room. She was really worried with how quiet he has been ever since that happened. 'Well, I'm not any better.' She thought as she looked out the window, not really seeing anything.

'Nanjirou…'

Ryoma spied on his mother from the doorway, not that he would actually get caught with how distracted she was. He frowned deeply when he noticed the bags under her eyes. He knew she was not getting that much sleep and this worried him very much. Knowing that there's nothing else he could do right now, he simply stepped away from the dining room and headed to his mother's room to get his new uniform.

'Hyotei.' He thought as his fingers touched the embroidered school logo. He wasn't that shocked that he was going to Hyotei Gakuen, since the new neighbourhood they were living in belonged to the people who most likely belonged to the upper class. He wasn't that worried either since Atobe and most of the regulars would have graduated already. 'I better ask mom if they gave her a map of the area.' They didn't have a car and so his mother couldn't drive him to school if campus was far. With a sigh, he left his mother's room and went to his own.

The rest of his day was spent playing with Karupin and working on a set of paintings that he kept secret, even from his family. While working on one of his paintings, he held up a round bristled paintbrush and applied red paint on it. He cursed inwardly at the result and proceeded to crumple it up. He glared at his paintbrush as he left it on the crumple heap of papers.

"Good morning. I'm pleased to tell you that we have a new student. Please enter." The teacher said. He entered the room and stood in front of everyone. The teacher told him to introduce himself then he said, "Echizen Ryoma." "Can you tell us a little about yourself?" The teacher asked.

"I came from America, and I live with my mom and cousin." He answered. "Do you have any questions for Echizen-san?" The teacher asked the class. Many of them raised their hands. Ryoma picked the brown-haired, green-eyed guy from the far back. "Tsukire Hiyachi. What school are you from?" He asked after standing up.

'He isn't as conceited as everyone else. I may grow to like him.' He thought before simply saying, "Seishun Gakuen." Hiyachi nodded then sat down on his seat. Ryoma picked the red-haired, grey-eyed girl just a few seats from Hiyachi. "Kuzashi Yuriko. What club are you planning on joining, Echizen-san?"

'She's nice and not acting like a fangirl to me.' He observed before saying, "I'm planning on joining the music club and possibly the photography club as well." "Thank you." Yuriko bowed and sat down like Hiyachi. He answered a few more questions about his status, his hobbies, and his family background.

"Echizen-san, please sit beside Kuzashi-san." The teacher said. Ryoma nodded and took his seat. He noticed all the stares he got, but he ignored them. Once he got to his seat, he received a small note.

Hiyachi-kun and I are a part of the photography and music clubs, Echizen-san. We also know a senpai from the music club. Think about it. - Kuzashi Yuriko

Ryoma wrote a quick reply and past it to his seatmate unnoticed by anyone.

Sure, Kuzashi-san. Where shall we meet? - Echizen Ryoma

Yuriko wrote the place in a swift motion then passed it back to him, going unnoticed as well.

Come with us to the roof at lunch break. Hiyachi-kun and I usually go there with senpai. I'm sure he'll be there later. - Kuzashi Yuriko

He reread the note to be sure at the place written. He wrote his reply and fixed his gaze back to the front of the class.

Sure, Kuzashi-san. See you then. - Echizen Ryoma

She smiled a bit and brought her gaze back to the front of the class.

Later that day, the three juniors went to the rooftop to meet up with the senpai Yuriko and Kuzashi knew—Choutarou Ohtori. "Echizen-san, it's nice to see you again." The senior greeted. "Same." Ryoma replied curtly. "You two know each other?" The other two juniors asked in surprise.

"Yes, we do. He used to be in the tennis club of Seigaku. I never thought that a Seigaku student would be the new student." Choutarou answered. 'Much less the wonder boy that won the Nationals for Seigaku.' He continued in his thoughts. A pained look in Ryoma's eyes passed for a split second, but everyone caught it, as they were all looking at him. "Oh… Well, let's get to business. Echizen-san wants to join the music club, senpai. I was wondering if you can accompany him there while Hiyachi-kun and I do something for the photography club." Yuriko stated when she noticed the uncomfortable look Hiyachi gave her. "I don't mind." Choutarou said with a smile.

They all went their own ways. Choutarou led the silent freshman to the faculty room. He wanted to make small talk and even ask why the boy didn't mention anything about joining the tennis club. However, the blankness on the teen's pale face and the flash of pain in Ryoma's eyes when he mentioned 'tennis' earlier made him hold back.

They reached the faculty room soon enough, and the teacher was free to talk. "So, you want to join the music club. Which instruments do you play?" The teacher asked seriously. "I can play a few, but I favour the cello, ukulele, and piano, sir." Ryoma answered politely. "I see... We rarely have students like you joining this club so, you are very much welcome to the music club, Echizen-san. Here are the schedules of our regular meetings and practices, and also the names of our president and vice-president." The teacher informed with a smile while handing him an envelope with the following documents. "Thank you, sir." Ryoma said with a bow then left with Choutarou.

The next day, he was escorted by his two new-found friends to the rooftop for lunch. Yuriko chatted on how she kept her hair away from her face when Hiyachi mentioned how long hair was troublesome when taking pictures. This was due to the fact that out of the three, he was the one with the shortest cut, while Yuriko's hair reached a bit past her shoulders. "Well, I always bring clips and ties. I have no choice, because I like my hair a certain length so I can achieve this very dramatic effect when I play." Yuriko concluded her short speech with an amused chuckle.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Did you get in the music club, Echizen-san?" Yuriko asked excitedly. Ryoma nodded in reply. Yuriko almost squealed in delight. "That's great! I'll show you the photography club room after you talk to our adviser." Yuriko stated happily but her voice not going over the average volume anymore. "If it is okay with you, that is." Hiyachi added, not wanting to scare a possible new member with Yuriko's over-enthusiasm. "It's okay. My mom would want me to make friends and join clubs anyway." Ryoma told them with a shrug. His two companions chuckled at him silently. An amused thought struck both of them.

'This will be fun.'

Juggling both the photography and music club wasn't difficult for the succeeding two weeks so far, because both clubs were pretty laid back since they were still busy getting more students to join. He was lucky that he was only a week late since classes had begun, or else it would be too troublesome to join clubs. Yuriko assured him that it wouldn't be too stressful to be a member in both clubs, as she has been a member since last year. Hiyachi couldn't really say since he was new to the Photography club like him though.

When the talk about the 'initiation' of the new members of the music club has been spread, Yuriko wouldn't stop pestering him on what Ryoma plans to do for his performance. It was a given that this first performance of his would determine his mastery level—or lack of thereof—in the instrument he favours the most. Ryoma knew it wasn't going to be as simple as performing, but he appreciated how Yuriko and Hiyachi never spoke of the details of the initiation or even their experiences. In the middle of his reverie of what instrument should he use in his performance.

"Echizen, what's Seigaku like?" Yuriko asked out of the blue, distracting him from his thoughts. "It's okay compared to this school. Here at Hyotei, there are more snobs while there at Seigaku, there are more weird people." Ryoma answered in his usual bored tone. "Really?" Hiyachi asked, a little unsure. "Yes. Well, I could show you a picture of last year's nine regulars of Seigaku to show you what I mean." Ryoma suggested, being more open than usual. 'Why am I so open to them about this? I'm not usually like this.' He thought at his sudden suggestion. Before he could ponder more into his unusual actions, Yuriko asked, "Nine? It thought there was supposed to be eight?"

"Well, there were eight regulars, but the manager was actually a regular too. Well, he should've still been a regular if only someone hadn't joined the club." Ryoma answered, not bothering to tell them that it was he who joined the regulars last year. "Ah… So that's why there were nine." Hiyachi commented.

"You're right. The captain was a rock, the vice-captain was a worry-wart, the manager was a mad scientist, and the tensai was an always smiling sadist." Ryoma described his ex-team mates in an amused tone. "Wait. The genius was an always smiling sadist? That's weird and creepy." Yuriko commented. "You don't know the half of it. The other two third years were a shy third year with a split personality, and a hyper, cat-like acrobat that plays doubles with the vice-captain." Ryoma added. "He's a hyper, cat-like acrobat? Now that's something I want to see." Hiyachi commented with a smirk.

"One of the second years was like a viper, while the other one was a glutton with a height for a basketball player. The last one was the cocky prince that was a first year." Ryoma ended, not bothering to react to Hiyachi's weird comment about wanting to see Eiji hug the life out of him. "The first year was a cocky prince?" Yuriko asked. "That's what others call me. Some call me an arrogant brat." Ryoma shrugged.

"You were the first year regular?"

His first three weeks at Hyotei were boring at best, he noted as he worked on his latest painting. He was learning a lot of new stuff at the music and photography clubs, and the music and art electives he took, as he was too focused on tennis to actually practice and learn more than the basics of his artistic interests.

He dabbed some tissue over the new line he drew, not wanting it to spread too much. With a flick of a pointed paintbrush, he remedied the small error. Thinking deeply while painting wasn't an unfamiliar occurrence to him, but he knew he had the tendency to drift off in his thoughts when left unchecked.

He glanced over his finished work. It was of a crudely painted tennis racket. The strings were obviously snapped and the grip tape worn. The frame was a dull shade of red from too much blotting. With angry tears in his eyes, he crumpled up his work and threw it to his other failed works piled up in a heap in a corner of his room. Soon followed his palette and cup of used water, tinted primarily red due to the abundance of the colour used, causing the papers to turn into a dull red like the tennis racket he painted.

Not wanting to see that annoying colour anymore, Ryoma stomped over to his bed and laid down on his stomach, burying his head into the pillow. Karupin padded lightly into the room and immediately headed towards her master. She rubbed her head against his arm, but got no response. She simply curled up next to him and then slept. Ryoma felt guilty for ignoring her but he was too frustrated with himself.

He couldn't push tennis out of his mind, but painful memories haunted him still, like the colour red in his dreams.

I hope you liked this chapter!

I want to keep Ryoma in character throughout the whole story, but there will be some forms of OOCness. If said OOCness seems too out of place or just plain extremely not Ryoma anymore, please tell me so I can make necessary adjustments. Even if I am basing Ryoma's actions and behaviour based on how I understood his character, I don't want my portrayal of him to be unrecognizable. Honestly, I tend to go a little worked-up with the story-writing since some parts would be hitting a bit close to home.

Oops. I'm rambling now. Sorry.

Please review if you want to! (Review, I mean.)