I was watching the last few episodes of Prince of tennis when I thought, what would happen if Yukimura played against someone less determined than Echizen Ryoma, someone normal and more human? This is the result, a story. Sorry I haven't updated much; VCE is a pain in the ass. Just a short story, not sure if I'll make it into a series though…
Yukimura Seiichi believes in absolute victory, a match without a win is useless, Enma believes in the journey, the end result is not what matters but the road you took to get there. Despite their difference in opinion the two are best friends from a young age, later becoming what looks like the perfect couple, an absolute understanding, until the day they play a match against each other.
Where there's nothing Chapter 1 (maybe)
The red light remained on above the operating room door, Yukimura sat outside while Sanada paced, the third demon had stayed at school to watch over the club.
"Is she going to be alright?" asked the Child of god, but Sanada had no answer, he'd been keeping a secret from Yukimura, and now, because of it, his childhood friend was now drifting in and out of consciousness.
"I don't know," he answered finally.
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Yukimura, still wearing his sport jersey from when he'd changed to play a match not even half an hour ago.
"She didn't want you to know," Sanada answered.
"Then why did she tell you?" This was a fair question; it seemed ridiculous that someone would choose to tell Sanada anything over Yukimura.
"She didn't, not willingly at least," he replied. He recalled spotting her clenching her and struggling to breathe hiding within the shadows casted by the male locker room, it was the one place where no one would look to find her, she was always complaining about the lack of hygiene anywhere near those walls. "She told me it was just class 3 tuberculosis, there was radiographic evidence of the disease but...it was just a latent infection, she told me there was less than a 10% chance of it progressing into the disease."
But, I guess, when the two of us played tennis, being cut from all her senses…" Yukimura trailed off; he didn't want to think of it, he didn't want to think it was his fault she was now fighting for her life.
"An infection becomes a disease when the bacilli overcomes the immune system and begin to multiply," Said Sanada remembering her telling him so. "There's no way this is your fault."
"SHE'S IN THERE BECAUSE OF ME!" shouted Yukimura standing up, he gasped and sat back down. "I'm sorry Sanada." His hand was trembling, he couldn't believe himself, his hand was trembling, and his mind replayed their match over and over. She'd lost the moment the moment she had lost her sense of touch and hearing, she waited, and listened, during a match her eyes would always wonder but her mind stayed fixed on the match. There was no need for him to take away her sight, sense of smell or even the taste of the apple sweet which still lingered on her lips. He remembered her dropping the racket on the ground, the way she stumbled to find her place…the sound of her screams.
He swallowed. The sound of her voice when she screamed, he'd dropped his racket and ran across the court but the moment he was near her, she pulled away. She was terrified of him, her breathing was rapid and her eyes wide, even when her senses returned, this state did not change, but worsened instead, she was leaning against Sanda's support coughing up blood.
The red light turned off, the doctors had installed a temporary pace maker to help her weaken heart, her lungs were struggling but there was nothing they could do, they said. They described the feeling she now felt as worse than drowning and being crushed to death combined. Her lungs were now being crushed as they struggled to breathe. Despite those saying their tennis match had nothing to do with her condition, her body was a time bomb, it was going to give way sooner or later, this did not make Yukimura feel better. But the worse was yet to come.
"En," said Sanada as he opened the door to her hospital room, she looked away from the window and smiled at him, she was pale, dark circles under her eyes and she'd lost a large amount of weight in a short time.
"Gen," she replied, her face lighting up. Sanada forced himself to smile back, it felt strange but she'd always complained about his stoic expression, even if it was the slightest time, if it helped, it was worth it, and it did help, her smile brightened, the smallest amount of life returned to her blue eyes.
"How are you feeling?" he asked walking closer, he had brought her a large bar of hazelnut chocolate, it wasn't the traditional get well gift, but she hated flowers, she was once attacked by a bee when picking flowers and had been terrified since.
"Like shit," she answered with a sigh, she used to swear quite a bit until Yukimura began correcting her coarse tongue, it created a strange combination. "Remember that time we climbed up a tree and I fell?" Sanada nodded, she'd broken her right arm, two ribs and bruised another three. "It fells like that but, then the pain was constant, I got used to it, but…now, it comes and goes, my throat hurts from all the coughing and I'm attached to this," she indicated to he drip and several other needles in her body. "Now, I can't even be bother to changed the TV channel because every time I move I have to untangle myself from four tubes and I've spent the past few hours watching re-runs of House." Sanada chuckled at her predicament. "Not funny, I'm in serious agony," but she couldn't help but smile at the foolishness of her own troubles.
"This might help," Sanada reached for the remote and changed the channel to the ABC tennis round robin, she snatched the remote so quickly out of his hands he couldn't react and she changed it back to house.
"No thanks, I'm good," she assured him but winched as a needle moved and poked her flesh. "I'm currently on like five different antibotics, Ethambutol, soniazid, pyrazinamide, rifampicin and streptomycin. They're thinking of putting me on Rifabutin but it's impractically expensive." Sanada counted the needles in her body and cords wrapped around her, there were only three not including her IV and the heart monitor. "Three by injection, one by pill and another through gas inhalation, they said if they were all the same my immune system would overload." She smiled, "I'm fine, really, and the treatment will take about nine or so months and after that I'll be good as new." Sanada's frowned deepened. "What did I do now? I'm counting seven wrinkles, oh! Eight now!"
"Can you still play tennis?" he asked noticing her response to the ABC round robin.
"Of course," she assured him. "But, I can't handle long matches, it not like it infected the central nervous system, bones and joints or anything," she pointed to her chest and neck. "Just the pleura and scrofula." Sanada didn't know even know which was which, or where they were.
"I haven't seen you play in a tournament for almost a year now, was-"
"No," she cut in. "Gen I'm not like you, I don't define myself with the victory of the match, for me it's the match itself regardless of the outcome…I can do that in an unofficial match, I don't need a title to my name, that and I couldn't be fucked going." Sanada snorted.
"How rich, this coming from the person who won the single female kantou and national junior high tournament in her first year," he said. "I was wondering why the No.1 female didn't participate in the district tournament last week and here's the reason, because you couldn't be bothered." She smiled and shrugged. "There's someone else here to see you," he said. She looked behind him to see Yukimura standing quietly by the door, so quiet she didn't notice he was there. "He was worried about you, you know-" but before he could finish she screamed.
"Enma?" Sanada stood up as she tried to move as far away as possible from Yukimura, pulling at her needles she retreated to the far corner of the room, the alarm went off the moment her heart monitor was disconnected, she was now huddled up in a corner, her eyes closed and her hands covering her ears. Yukimura walked towards her but she curled tighter into a ball, Sanada pulled him back. "Don't," he said. "You'll make it worse." Reluctantly Yukimura nodded and left the room, Sanada bent down beside her trembling figure and held her tightly. Doctors and nurses rushed in to see what had happened.
The sight of her pitiful state created a knot in his chest. The one who was once regarded as Japan's top female junior high tennis player was now trembling in his arms, her voice too dry and sore to scream anymore.
No," he heard her whispered to herself over and over. "I don't want to go back there, not that scary place where there's nothing, never, I won't play anymore, don't make me, leave me alone, I won't play anymore…so please, just leave me alone…"
His heart fell further when he realised she was talking about tennis.
A/N: The end, if it becomes a series I was thinking of this.
Enma is left broken and mentally unstable, and practically flees to England for treatment, almost a year has past and Enma returns, paler and thinner than before, she transfers to Hyotei to avoid the Child of God, but due to protocol, she is forced to make once last visit to Rikkai before her transfer is approved. When Sanada spots her what will he do? Tell Yukimura, who despite his ever calm demeanour misses her desperately? Or keep it to himself to protect her?
What do ya think?
