AN: Here is the work that has been consuming my inspiration for the last few weeks. I'm 10 chapters in already and haven't worked on anything else. I don't really know what else to say so I'll get on with it. It's an AU (my first) from Prince of Tennis and somewhat OOC. I hope you like it.
Pairings: TezuRyō and more.
Rating/Warnings: NC17(eventually)/Future yaoi. The first couple of chapters are safe.
Disclaimer: I do not own PoT.
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Tezuka sat in the waiting room at his boss's office. He'd been summoned to obtain a new recruit which did not please him in the slightest. The Special Tactics for Outer Perimeter Protection team had been perfected over the last several months and adding a rookie would only complicate and exacerbate things. STOPP did not need anymore players in his opinion.
The man sighed and stood to stretch his legs. He walked to the window beside the receptionist's desk and checked his reflection. His attire was standard combat blues, which consisted of a royal blue zip-up jacket with silver trim and matching cargo pants. Tezuka slyly looked over his uniform in the glass and brushed a bit of dust from his shoulder.
On his way back to the chair he'd been occupying, the door to the hall opened softly. The new comer was probably only a year or two Tezuka's junior and slightly shorter than he. It was a good-looking kid with what looked like naturally prominent green highlights in his dark hair and large golden-brown eyes. The kid was also wearing combat blues, though his did not have the distinctive silver trim.
The boy closed the door just as quietly and approached the receptionist.
"Echizen Ryōma to see Ryūzaki-Shachō," he heard the kid say. Tezuka noticed the boy had a rather cocky and arrogant aura about him as they passed each other and rolled his eyes. This rookie was going to be a pain, he could just tell.
"Please go right in. She's been expecting you," the receptionist instructed.
"Thank you."
The boy was behind the Director's door quickly and the man let out a long sigh. Tezuka adjusted his glasses on his nose and closed his eyes. His team did not need any more help, but he was under the impression he really didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Are you feeling alright, Tezuka-Buchō?" The receptionist's voice was soft and almost irritably timid.
The man looked up to meet her gaze flashing a very brief smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." He turned his head toward the Director's door and continued to wait to be introduced to the younger man as his commanding officer.
--
"You wanted to see me, Shachō?" Ryōma stood just inside the door to the Director's office. The woman looked up to him from her desk with a devious smile. She seemed to have an affinity for practically torturing the kid and had only gotten away with it because she and his father were somewhat close.
The Director of the Interplanetary Arms, Earth Branch was a middle-aged woman with a permanent scowl. She was a bit portly, rather brash and extremely capable of doing the job assigned to her. The woman turned to the window behind her chair and spoke.
"I'll be blunt with you, Echizen. You have risen to the top of your academy class and were able to complete your training in nearly record time. You are amongst the top recruits that have come from Seishun Interplanetary Arms Academy and so will be reassigned effective immediately."
She paused and the boy's face lit up for an instant. He was known for not only his intelligence and combat skill, but also his stoic demeanor. That was not going to be put in question because of some stupid promotion, he made sure of that. The woman continued.
"You have been reassigned to the Special Tactics for Outer Perimeter Protection team, known as STOPP." She turned to see a slightly shocked look on the boy's face.
The boy's eyes were wide and his brows were raised. "Who the hell is that?"
"STOPP is precisely as the title suggests. It is a team of highly trained individuals who are deployed under severe threats to this planet or planets with which we have alliances."
"Never heard of them."
"Not surprising. They are purposely unknown to most for safety and regulatory purposes. It's a small team of less than ten—"
"Ten people?! Are you serious? That's not an offensive team, it's a social gathering! What are you trying to do, old lady?!"
The woman leaned down and spoke into her intercom to the receptionist beyond the door. "Sakuno, you can send in Tezuka now."
"Yes, ma'am," chirped the soft voice.
"Oi!" Ryōma was still confused and was quickly turning angry. "Oi! I didn't work my ass off in that damned academy just so you could throw me in with a piss-ant little group of unknown talent-less space-jockeys!"
"Watch your mouth in the presence of your commanding officer, Echizen!" the woman barked suddenly with a stern face. His eyes were locked with the Director's and the heat was rising to his ears.
"You asked to see me, Ryūzaki-Shachō?"
Ryōma's eyes widened at the new deep voice behind him. He turned his head slowly as the embodiment of the voice took a few steps and stood beside him. It was the man from the waiting room, the one with the weird uniform. The boy's posture straightened and he lowered his head and eyes to the floor. This guy looked intimidating in every aspect of the word and now Ryōma was stuck with him.
"Tezuka, this is your newest STOPP team member Private Echizen Ryōma. Make sure that he is outfitted with the proper uniforms and accommodations for the department change."
"Understood." Tezuka bowed lightly and turned to the door.
Ryōma eyed the man as he stepped away then turned back to the Director when she spoke again.
"Echizen, your first assignment is to return your Captain to the drill ship in the Geospace training quadrant. You're dismissed."
He glared at the woman for a few more moments. What was she trying to pull by sending him into an underground unknown department of the military? The boy was utterly perplexed and turned to follow his new commanding officer out of the office. When his eyes fell on the man, he noticed his new captain looked to be stern and unforgiving, the no-bullshit type. The man was looking at the Director then lowered his eyes and headed for the exit.
Ryōma stole a quick glance back over his shoulder as the woman's office door swung shut. She was reaching for her phone when the door closed and he raised a brow. When he turned back to follow his Captain, the man was not in front of him. He rolled his eyes and headed to the elevator surmising the man was most likely as unpleased about the reassignment as he was.
He silently met with the man at the lift and they stepped in together. Ryōma watched the man as he pressed the button for the ground floor and waited patiently with his hands at his sides. He noticed the man's brown hair brushing lightly over the thin rimless glasses that covered his hypnotically dark eyes. The boy's eyes slowly traveled down the man's body. His new captain didn't look like all that much, but Ryōma knew he didn't either. When his gaze got down to the man's shoes, he raised a brow. The man's combat boots were spotless and very shiny, almost blinding, and his blues were immaculate as though they had just been taken from the package.
"What is it?" The deep voice seemed to echo in the small enclosure.
Ryōma raised his head in light surprise but the man didn't look to him. After a minute or so, the boy dropped his head and locked his eyes on his own shoes. This was not going to be pleasant. He suddenly noticed the state of his own boots. They were clean but dingy, as if they'd been worn for a few months, which they had been. All graduates of the academy were issued the standard combat and dress uniforms with corresponding shoes when they received their diploma and Ryōma really liked his combat boots. They were always on his feet unless he was required to wear something else.
He let out a light sigh and waited…
Tezuka turned to his new recruit when he didn't answer. The boy was looking down, golden eyes poorly hidden by wisps of green hair. Echizen stood about a half-head shorter than him and the Captain noticed the boy's build was a bit more muscular than he'd thought. He eyed the boy up and down and recalled the file he'd been given on the recruit. The boy went to the top of his class very early in all fields and even graduated early. His flight simulations were continually flawless, and as an added bonus, he was quiet and relatively obedient. He heard the boy sigh and looked to his watch.
"We'll head to your quarters first to gather your personal effects then go get your new uniforms. After that you will be relocated in your new quarters then drop me at the training grounds as per your personal orders. Are there any problems with that?"
"Would it matter if there were?" he heard the boy grumble softly and shifted his eyes to the recruit.
"What was that?" The question was quiet and gruff and he saw the boy straighten abruptly.
"No, Buchō."
The man's eyes went back to the front and he smirked without moving his lips. The doors slid open and they stepped out. Tezuka and Ryōma exited the building and headed toward the recent graduates' dormitory.
Ryōma kept pace with his captain easily as they walked the few short blocks in silence. Tezuka followed Ryōma up to his room only a few steps behind. As they turned from the stairwell into the hall, Tezuka looked around in mild amusement noting the interior of the building had changed a bit in the years since he'd stayed there. The recruit's room was vacant of any bunkmates when they walked in and Ryōma pulled his duffel bag from a dresser.
Tezuka looked around the room and stepped just inside the door. "You'll need to turn in your original uniforms before you are issued the new ones. Where are they?" he asked as the boy started shoving seemingly random things into his bag.
The recruit pointed to the dresser from where he'd pulled the duffel and without turning from his bunk mumbled, "Top two drawers are mine." He resumed gathering his toiletries and other items that were on and around his bunk then turned with the intention of clearing out his drawers. He stopped abruptly when he saw Tezuka holding his street clothes and underwear and looked up to the man's eyes a bit confused and creeped out.
"It goes faster if you have help." Tezuka said unprompted. Ryōma held the duffel open and the clothes were placed inside. The captain watched as the recruit set down the bag and pulled out a pair of worn jeans and a grey t-shirt. The boy sat on his now former bunk and began untying his boots and the man turned back to the dresser to gather the uniforms.
"Will I need to turn in my boots too, Buchō?" The boy changed quickly and handed haphazardly folded combat blues to the man by the dresser.
Tezuka refolded the clothes as he replied. "You may keep those if you wish. Is there anything else of yours here?" He turned back to Ryōma as the boy reapplied his boots.
"Just the Fila sneakers and jacket in the closet."
The man nodded and waited for the last two items to be tossed into the duffel and they were off. As they headed for the outfitting department, Tezuka raised a brow. It was rather odd that the recruit hadn't asked anything about a department he'd never heard of. What exactly were the two of them in for?
--
"This is STOPP Tango1 requesting channel 7 radio-check."
Ryōma heard the captain's voice crackle in the earpiece as he secured the communication system around his neck. He adjusted the volume then popped the piece into his ear and turned the small dial surrounding the microphone at the left side of his throat.
"10-2, STOPP Tango1. Control reads you loud and clear."
He heard the captain's voice again. "10-4, Control."
He sighed and the two climbed into the training ship Ryōma was issued for the mission. Even though it was an actual mission, regulations did not allow fighter ships in any training grounds, so the recruit climbed in and made the proper adjustments for the flight. He gave a quick nod to the captain and the taller man climbed into the seat behind him and secured himself. Ryōma absently acquainted himself with the ship while he called into control then secured the seat belts around him.
"This is STOPP Echo1 requesting channel 7 radio-check." It pained him a bit to have to say that, especially since he didn't know anything about what the old woman had set him up for with this reassignment. He'd obediently followed his captain to the outfitting department of the base then to his new quarters where he could only drop off his duffel bag and change into his new combat blues. The radio looked standard issue, but now that he was actually using it, the boy was picking up subtle differences between the new one and the one he'd been issued with his original blues. He looked through the windshield and sighed heavily waiting for something to happen.
"10-2, STOPP Echo1. Control reads you loud and clear."
"STOPP Echo1 requesting clearance for take-off. Precious cargo on board."
Tezuka's attention had been caught with that last transmission and he looked to the back of the pilot's head. He scowled a bit then shook his head lightly as the radio cut in.
"STOPP Echo1, you are cleared for take-off."
"10-4, Control."
The kid was definitely going to be a handful, at least for a while. Tezuka glared out the front of the ship and braced himself with a keen eye. They'd be back on the grounds soon and he could see what this new recruit really had to show for his impressive track record.
Ryōma pushed the throttle and accelerated smoothly. He grumbled a bit when the ship didn't handle quite as well as the ship he'd been using since the academy, but quickly adjusted his flight style to accommodate the crappy rudder. His eyes and brain were alert, but he relaxed a bit when he saw the base he was to return his captain to. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. That old woman never did anything stupid without good reason, so maybe Ryōma just wasn't seeing the big picture yet. As he approached the base he noticed there was really no activity on the grounds, which was unusual if one was expecting a new recruit, unless…
Tezuka felt the ship accelerate as they approached the grounds base and raised a brow. The ship was rapidly getting too close to the docking station for them to stop and suddenly they were inclining at a rapid rate. The ship circled vertically in an instant and the man saw the back end of another training ship in the windshield. He heard the trigger for the weapon's firing system and watched as a small series of red splotches bloomed on the dingy green hull of the other ship.
"Are you kidding me?" Ryōma looked at the so-called damage he'd done to the ship with jaded disappointment. "Paint is my weapon?"
"Is something wrong, Echo1?" the captain's voice sounded in the boy's ear.
"No, sir."
There was a light thump at Ryōma's left and he accelerated quickly and flew over the other ship just barely missing contact. This was either to test his skills or the team members' initiation for him. Either way he was not going to be taken down that easily. He moved quickly and fluidly avoiding traps that even a pre-academy student could see and rolled his eyes. Hopefully it would get better than this. He avoided a series of fire off his right and circled high above the base.
Tezuka smiled almost evilly knowing what was about to happen.
There was a ship-rocking series of explosions behind them and they were off again. Ryōma caught site of a ship and suddenly there was a bright orange spot at the corner of the windshield. He growled a bit and headed toward the ship at high speed. The ship evaded seemingly easily and was off. Ryōma turned his ship abruptly and gave chase. He was keeping good pace with the attacking ship when he felt a light thump at his ship's rear. He fired repeatedly on the ship in front of him but to no avail. Whoever was piloting the ship he was chasing seemed to be pretty good at evading fire, but Ryōma had a stupid test to pass.
He was right on the ship's tail when he glanced down to the ship's perimeter monitor and saw not one other ship, but three behind him. He fired again on the ship he was pursuing and again hit nothing. The rudder stick started shaking when he tried to match speed with the front ship and he started losing his control a bit.
"Shit…" he said under his breath. They did this to him on purpose, didn't they? With no other options, he pulled back on the rudder and released the throttle a bit sending the front ship off into space alone. Two of the ships had retreated from pursuing him and he felt another light thump at the rear hull of the ship. Without a proper ship, it was near impossible for his true skill to come forth, but he was going to try anyway.
His all-around skill was impressive for a new recruit, the captain had to admit, but he knew his team was far better than this initiation would ever allow. He watched out the front as the boy showed off his evasion skills and sighed thinking maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. He recalled the brief scene in the recruit's new quarters. The boy had dropped his duffel just inside the door and immediately taken off his shirt to change into his new blues. The boy looked annoyed when he tossed his t-shirt and jeans on to his new bed and the captain found his eyes wandering.
This new recruit was definitely not to be taken lightly. His body was thin and very finely toned, probably due to hours of extra training, and his tests and post-graduation assignments showed that he was exceptionally intelligent and adaptable. As he watched the boy dress, he saw a scar across the boy's right shoulder blade that appeared to have been stretched. It was most likely acquired during early childhood, perhaps from friendly horse-play that had gotten out of hand. His body was hairless and pale which was only accentuated by the uniform and… the captain snapped back to reality.
His gaze was focused out the front again and they'd lost sight of the training base. As the boy steered the ship to evade fire, the man looked around. They were setting him up for an ambush, weren't they? If he knew his team as well as he thought he did, there would be six ships closing in on him any minute now. There was fire from all directions and the front view was blocked by several different colors.
Ryōma's eyes widened and he looked to the screen which indicated there was a ship each directly in front, behind, to the left and right of him as well as one just over his head and underneath him. He watched the monitor as the ship in front of him pulled away slightly but the rest stayed put. With rolling eyes, he followed his captors and cursed under his breath.
"Shit…"
--
"This is Tango1."
They were back at the training grounds' land base and everyone but the captain and new recruit was still in their ship. Ryōma didn't hear the captain's voice over his radio and looked to the man trying to see the dial on his radio. He was standing close enough to the man so he could see the channel had been changed to 5, so he adjusted his own channel and looked back to the floor.
"All team members are to report to the STOPP briefing room at precisely 1130 hours for an informal meeting. You have thirty minutes to clean up then you'll be dismissed for the day."
The boy heard a chorus of acknowledgements and confirmations in his ear then looked back to the captain. The man turned off and removed the radio from his neck and looked back to the recruit.
"Please come with me." The man turned and headed for the exit. He overheard the team members' light conversation as they dismounted their ships and checked to make sure the boy was still following him. As he listened to the team talk, he tried to note their reactions to having a new member.
"Ah… that was fun!" Eiji.
"That new recruit is pretty good." Ōishi.
"It sucks that they gave him a crappy trainer though." Momo.
"According to his file, he was number one in his class his entire time in the academy." Inui.
"Do you think he'll be ok with such a drastic reassignment?" Kawamura.
"I think he'll be a fine addition to the team." Fuji.
"Sssshu." Kaidō.
Ryōma looked over his shoulder as the last member hissed. The group was walking in the opposite direction and he scowled at their backs. He turned back around to the captain and took a deep breath.
"Information request, Buchō." He fell in step beside the man and saw the big dark eyes shift to him.
"What is it?"
"What exactly is STOPP?" The question came out soft and he felt the eyes on him leave.
"Why do you suddenly want to know, Private?"
Ryōma's eyes shifted nervously over the floor as they walked. "Because…," he tried to gather his thoughts.
"Because you finally realize the Director didn't place you with a social gathering of talent-less nobodies?" the captain prompted trying not to sound contemptuous.
The boy lowered his head a bit more to try and hide the color rising in his face. He didn't think the man had heard all that when he was in the old lady's office. "Um… yeah… My apologies, Buchō."
Tezuka sighed as they approached a lone elevator and lowered his glasses. The retina scanner beeped twice and the door slid open granting them access to the private upper level of the building. They entered and the captain began.
"STOPP is an elite group of exterior spatial fighters assigned to protect this planet and all allied planets upon request. We are deployed only under certain or drastic circumstances with specific orders directly from the Military Head. You will meet the rest of the team in the briefing room shortly."
As they stepped off the elevator, Tezuka noticed the recruit's confused expression. He led the boy down a short hall and stopped at a doorway. The man entered a six-digit code; they heard a beep and the door slid open. They walked through and Tezuka continued.
"As a member of this team, you will be privy to a number of different perks. We have our own private gym here at the training center and you will be issued a new top-of-the-line ship as well as your private single quarters at our building. I will give you a quick tour of this facility then we must head back to my office to finish some paperwork before the meeting begins."
With a brief nod of confirmation, the two men walked quickly and thoroughly through the gym then back out to the elevator. As they descended, the captain looked to the recruit again and noticed the confusion still tainting the boy's smooth pale face. He looked forward again and ventured for clarification.
"You look confused. What is it?"
After a pause, the boy spoke. "Why is this department a secret?"
Tezuka responded with a soft nod. "It isn't really a secret it's just not spoken of."
"Why?"
"This is a team that thrives on one's own natural ability. If the students in the academy knew definitively about this department of the military, chances that we would rather not take are likely to be in favor of students showing false determination and overexerted abilities in order to be considered for this team. Ryūzaki-Shachō decided that would be entirely too much pressure to put on those students and as a result, this team is left off the list of achievements one might be able to attain by joining the Interplanetary Armed Forces. Does that make sense?"
The boy nodded.
They were back on the street walking toward the building that housed the STOPP team just two blocks away. They entered and descended to the basement level. The elevator opened to a large room that looked like a corporate conference center. There was a large table made of shiny dark wood in the center of the room with six large office chairs along each side and one at each end. There was nothing on the walls accept for a projection screen that sat flush against the far wall.
Ryōma looked back to the table and saw the tiny projector box at the center. It looked well used and cared for and far more advanced than anything he'd seen prior to that day. Tezuka led the boy through the large room to a door on the same wall as the projection screen. They entered the captain's office and sat. After a few minutes of minor questioning, scribbling and typing, the captain spoke.
"You're retina scan has been updated to the proper clearance so you will be able to go anywhere this team is permitted. After the briefing, I will leave you in the hands of your teammates so they can help you get familiar with your new status."
Ryōma watched the man with a keen eye the entire time they were in the office. He was finding himself more accepting of his reassignment than earlier simply by hearing the man speak over the course of the morning. He should probably take back all those nasty things he'd said in his head about that stupid old woman and figured he'd save them up for something else. This new captain, Tezuka-Buchō, was smart, authoritative and charismatic from what Ryōma had witnessed, and struck the recruit's interest quite nicely.
"You won't be escorting me after this point, Buchō?" The boy had inadvertently tainted the question with mild disappointment and the man looked to him over his glasses.
The large brown eyes shifted back to the computer screen and the man handed the boy a small sheet of paper riddled with numbers. "No. I will be available, though, if you have any questions or problems at any time. The six-digit number on top is your personal access code that will match your retina scan. The rest is a list of every team member and their IAF issued wireless phone numbers. Please program them into the one you were issued with your new uniforms when you get a chance."
The elevator in the conference room dinged and the room and office were filled with voices of a good nature. Tezuka and Ryōma stood and walked out to join the rest of the team. Ryōma looked to the men in the room and was struck with mild surprise. They were all in street clothes of varying styles instead of military uniform. It seemed a bit unusual, but he decided it wasn't all bad.
The captain closed his office door and the room fell silent. The two men were positioned in front of the projection screen and the man cleared his voice.
"This will be a brief introductory meeting. Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet the newest member of the STOPP team, Private Echizen Ryōma. He graduated early at the top of his class just a few months ago and has been reassigned to this team. According to his file and what we have all witnessed today, it seems he will be an asset to the team and I expect no less than an elite soldier out of him. Please help him get acquainted with his new status and surroundings."
There was a chorus of "Yes, sir" and the captain spoke again.
"Fuji, Inui, I will meet you for dinner later this evening. You are all free to go."
The group stood and waited for the elevator. Tezuka returned to his office and closed the door halfway. Ryōma's eyes followed the man until the elevator opened. The group piled in and they were off to get acquainted. The boy closed his eyes and sighed dreading what they had in store for the new rookie.
TBC...
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I realize that this story will contain a lot of millitary jargon and am willing to answer any questions any reader may have as to what something could mean. Thank you for reading and, as with all my works, reviews and critique are greatly accepted and appreciated.