Rae: Well, here's my next little oneshot. It wasn't actually a planned one, but it was spur-of-the-moment. It's a little weird, granted, but I was in a weird mood when I wrote this. I'm neutral as to how this came out. It's not my best work, but it's by far not the worst one I've ever done. Anyway, I don't own Prince of Tennis, and I hope you enjoy!
I was always careful during and after practices and sports. The only thing that gave any hint to my having anything unusual about me were the two faint but fairly long raised scars that ran down either side of my back. I told people they were left over from back surgery. They would ache sometimes through lack of use during the day.
At night, however, there were so few people to see me, and those who possibly could were usually drunk. It felt fantastic to launch myself off the top of the Tokyo tower and free-fall for ages before snapping my wings open and soaring away, allowing air currents to catch me and carry me. My wings meant freedom, unbound by the laws that fastened other people to the ground. Of course, it was a given that I had to keep my special skill secret, simply because I didn't know how others would react and I really didn't want to become a lab experiment, thank you very much.
They are a soft white and easily 10 feet across each, with tawny spots and splotches decorating the feathers. I often thought they looked like barn owls' wings. Certainly, they're the best and worst thing that have ever happened to me. I'd tell you how I got them, but I've no clue myself. I just don't remember. I fell asleep crying on the night of my parents' funeral, and when I woke up again I had two tawny wings splayed out behind me, feathers slightly ruffled, and it was two weeks after the day I'd fallen asleep. So yeah, I've no idea what happened. I investigated thoroughly, obviously, but nothing came out of it so I dropped it.
The one thing you have to understand about my wings is that they are extremely sensitive. They add so much more sensory input to the stuff my eyes, ears, skin and everything else take in I'm surprised my brain hasn't exploded yet. With my wings I can feel changes in pressure in the air, vibrations, magnetic and sonic pulses, sounds waves on certain frequencies and other such things in my surroundings. It's like having a whole other sensory network. I'll bet if I was blind and deaf I'd still be able to function perfectly normally thanks to them. While safely tucked into my back they're not as sensitive, but my scars still are far more so than the rest of my body. I'm still not sure whether I hate people behind me or not. As you can imagine, though, it really really hurts if you damage them. Even just an accidental little bump into a doorway can be agony.
Of course, that little fact sometimes leads to a bit of skepticism on the part of others. The first time Momo saw my scars he trailed his fingers down my back to trace them, in what I can only say was a horrified fascination. That tracing, however, made me shudder with the sheer sensation that bombarded my brain by that simple gesture. He thought he'd hurt me in some way, and it took me a while to assure him that it was nothing of the sort. He accepted my assurances, but not my vague explanation as to where they came from. Apparently, having back surgery wasn't a valid excuse from where he stood. Nor was it with Fuji, who kept trying to touch my back to see what kind of reaction he'd get. Inui hadn't done or said anything about it, but I'm assuming he too was a little suspicious. You can never keep a secret this big to yourself forever, though, not without some miracle every time it's about to be revealed. I wasn't that lucky.
Certainly, we never expected what occurred on that Monday evening. The nine of us had gone to the Tokyo tower for a night off from training, but having seen the view from it so many times I wasn't all that interested. But everyone else seemed really eager to go, so I conceded. I suppose the awed look on Momo and Kikumaru's faces at the top was worth it. What we hadn't planned was for a couple of crooks to appear and threaten us with knives and a gun, but it happened.
They were typical, wanting all the cash and jewellery that we had on us and threatening to shoot us if we didn't comply. Momo and Kaidoh weren't going to let that stand, though, and I'm still not sure whether to call them brave or idiotic. But the leap they both took at the men seemed to catch them by surprise, and soon Tezuka, Fuji and Taka were in the fray as well. Thank heavens the gun and knives had been dropped when Kaidoh and Momo first tackled them, as I don't think I could've handled anyone else getting hurt. Regardless, they were soon subdued, locked in holds courtesy of Kaidoh, Taka and Fuji. I made a mental note never to piss any of them off.
Things like this rarely go this smoothly, were my initial thoughts after the attack, and they never rang so true as when one of the thieves broke away from Fuji and lunged for the gun while Oishi called the police and ambulance. He turned around and took a random shot in desperation. It hit Momo in the shoulder. He'd been stood next the railing, and the force of the bullet unbalanced him, giving him the necessary momentum to go falling over the railing and plummet 250 meters to the ground. I didn't even pause to think what I was doing. I didn't think at all, it was just instinct. Momo was in danger.
I barely registered another bullet fly past my head, missing me by millimeters, and the others' shouts of "Echizen!" before launching myself off the observatory and following Momo down. I reached my hands out towards him to grab him, and once he was in my grasp I pushed with the muscles around my scars. The oh-so-familiar white wings I had grown accustomed to erupted from my back and slowed our descent. I flapped them wildly and quickly, slowing us down even more. The added weight of Momo wasn't something my wings were used to and I was straining, but by some miracle I managed to land us safely on the ground. I collapsed to my knees to catch my breath, not caring that Momo and several other people were staring at me incredulously. The police and paramedics arrived a minute later, but by that time I'd tucked my wings back in. The cops came back after about 5 minutes, the thieves and my teammates in tow. One look at their faces told me they'd seen everything, but to their credit nothing was said.
After being checked over by the paramedics and handing Momo over to them so he could be taken to hospital we were free to go, and I nearly snickered when I saw the police trying to calm several near-hysterical bystanders who could've sworn they'd seen me fly. I was surprised when Fuji gently took one of my arms and led me away from the scene.
"Come on," he said quietly, and it took all my will not to wrench my arm away and run for it. There was utter silence in the cab the entire way to the hospital where Momo had been taken, and I had the feeling it was a little awkward for them, as if they didn't know where to start. It was understandable. Me? I felt numb. Just, void of emotion at that point.
Once at the hospital, we were directed to Momo's room. We found him awake and alert, if a bit pale. He smiled wanly when he saw me.
"So, it seems I have my own personal angel looking after me," he said. I couldn't look at him and just mumbled, "Yeah, something like that," while staring at my shoes.
"I think you owe us an explanation, Echizen." Tezuka sat down and arched an eyebrow at me, inviting me to enlighten them.
"I would if I knew what happened myself," I growled. I knew I was coming across obstinate, but at that moment I really didn't care.
"You flew," said Fuji shortly. "How?"
"Wings, duh."
"Then you do know."
"No, I don't!" I snapped. Fuji looked a little taken aback by that, but I ignored him and continued. "I don't know how I got these things, all I know is how to use them and that they work. You should be thanking me; I just saved Momo-senpai's life!"
"Echi... no, Ryoma," Momo's quiet voice from the bed broke through the simmering emotions that seemed to have broken loose in my head and soothed the swell somewhat. I visibly calmed down, I think, because Momo's next words were a little louder. "Thank you, Ryoma. You saved me." They were also very heartfelt, and I could hear a whole mountain of gratitude behind them. I stared at him for a moment before ducking my head to hide my blush and mumbling, "You're welcome, senpai."
We stayed a while longer, me being bombarded with questions that I pretty much deigned to ignore and instead chose to sit in the corner and sulk. Eventually they gave up and left after bidding Momo goodbye. I told them everything I knew the next day, but at that point I was just happy they'd left. There was a silence for a few minutes, and then Momo spoke.
"Ryoma, I'm not mad or anything, just surprised. And grateful." A pause. "Ryoma, please look at me." His soft voice made me lift my head from its hung position, and I saw him pat a bit of the bed next to him. I walked over and sat down slowly, and then yelped when he gathered me up in a fierce hug. "I owe you one, big time," he said.
"No you don't," I mumbled when he let go. "I couldn't stand seeing you in danger." I could feel his intense gaze studying me from behind for a few seconds, and then he started shifting around. I turned my head to see what he was doing, but before I realized it his lips were on mine. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant experience, and the part of my brain that was screaming that it was wrong to be kissing your best friend was soon drowned out when the majority of my brain said 'oh fuck it'. My arms tentatively wound round his neck and pulled him a bit closer. The kiss lasted for a while, and we were both gasping afterwards. He grinned when my eyes met his. My own ones widened, though, when a hand I hadn't seen traced one of my scars delicately. I barely suppressed a shudder, and Momo laughed quietly. "I knew it. They're really sensitive, aren't they?" I could only nod in response.
This leads me to my current situation, in which I'm perfectly content. It's been two years since then, and I still have Takeshi all to myself. My friends accept me the way I am, I'm still going strong in my tennis career and my parents' shares in Atobe's company have increased hugely. I'm off to America next week for the US Open, so I'm really looking forward to that.
I still have to be careful, but it's all level ground now that my friends and Takeshi know. They've helped enormously. I've never been happier, and in my current standing I feel on top of the world. Having wings is definitely the best and worst thing that's ever happened to me, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.
Rae: Told you it was weird, can't say I didn't warn you. I actually can't describe to you how I was feeling when I wrote this, simply because I have no words that could express it properly. All I can say was that I've never felt that way before. But, regardless, hope you enjoyed!