The Legend of Inui Swamp

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or the associated characters. I also do not own the song The Legend of Wooley Swamp.

Author's Note: As intimated in the disclaimer, the story told in this fic is based on the song The Legend of Wooley Swamp by The Charlie Daniels Band. For those who don't remember, Royal Inui Juice Z is what Inui named the stuff he got from mixing Aozu and Akazu.

…

Kaidoh stared into the roaring fire, wondering just what had possessed him to agree to this. Surely drinking an entire pitcher of Royal Inui Juice Z would have been better than sitting around in the woods with his teammates on Halloween night. At least the bubbling purple substance was good for the body. Supposedly.

Thinking of the stuff made him look up at its creator, an action he immediately regretted. Inui was sitting across the campfire from him, staring straight at him with the near manic grin he always had when he was plotting something particularly evil.

Kaidoh shuddered and looked away, hugging his knees to his chest. That grin was almost as frightening as whatever might be lurking in the woods. Inui was his best friend – his only friend, really, though the introverted teenager had slowly started warming to some of the other members of the team – but that wouldn't protect him from the older boy's gleefully sadistic side.

Kaidoh nervously glanced at the others. They were all closer to the fire, and each other, than he was, leaving him on the fringe of the group, outside looking in. That's the way it usually was. No one ever wanted to include him in things – he had only been forced to come because he was on the team, not because they liked him – and he had learned from painful experience to never approach people unless they initiated things first.

Also setting him apart was the fact that he seemed to be the only one utterly miserable and longing to go home. The rest all seemed to be enjoying themselves. Inui had stopped staring at him and was talking animatedly to the other third years while Momoshiro and Echizen seemed to be having a marshmallow eating contest.

He shivered slightly and rubbed his bare arms, reflecting that wearing a sleeveless gray and purple hoodie probably hadn't been the smartest wardrobe choice for a night out in the woods. At least he had worn jeans, so his legs were warm enough.

He hesitantly scooted closer to the fire just as Momoshiro began gesturing wildly with his marshmallow stick. The freshly toasted marshmallow on the end sailed off, hitting Kaidoh right in the middle of the face.

"Fsshuu…."

There was absolute silence around the campfire as Kaidoh slowly lifted his hand to his face, removing the hot, sticky mass before it could get his clothes dirty. The silence was broken by Momoshiro's howls of laughter, quickly followed by Eiji's muffled giggles and Oishi's appalled admonishments toward them both.

Kaidoh clenched his teeth and fists, unintentionally squishing the already pulped marshmallow in his hand. Of course Momoshiro would laugh at him instead of apologizing like a civilized human being.

"Do you remember our little talk, Momoshiro?" Inui asked before Kaidoh could give in to his rage and attack the other second year. His voice was soft and even, but his words had an incredible effect on the violet-eyed teenager.

Momoshiro instantly stopped laughing, his face going pale. He swallowed hard and stared at the ground. "Sorry, Mamushi," he muttered.

Kaidoh blinked at him, too shocked by the apology to get annoyed by the nickname. He distractedly murmured his thanks as Oishi gave him some damp paper towels and helped him clean up. Everyone else was quiet, the upbeat mood from earlier completely broken.

"Stupid mamushi always has to ruin everything," Momoshiro grumbled under his breath as Oishi went back to sit with Eiji. "It's not my fault he doesn't have a sense of humor."

Kaidoh hissed at him. "What did you say, monkey boy?" he snarled, jumping to his feet.

Momoshiro also got to his feet, stepping toward Kaidoh and grabbing his shirt. "I said-"

"Momoshiro," Inui interrupted in that same calm tone he had used earlier.

The spiky-haired teen immediately let go of Kaidoh's shirt and backed away from him. "… something completely out of line. I humbly apologize." He bowed jerkily and abruptly sat back down next to Echizen.

"…Wha…?" Kaidoh blinked and looked from Momoshiro to Inui, wondering just what the evil genius had threatened the moron with. And, more importantly, why he had made the threat.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to start telling ghost stories?" Fuji suggested before the moment could get any more awkward.

"G-ghost stories?" Kaidoh repeated, turning bright red at the sudden squeakiness of his voice. He shot a glare at Momoshiro as the other second year stuffed his fist into his mouth to keep from snickering. The entire team was well aware of Kaidoh's embarrassing fear of the supernatural.

"I'll… uh… go collect some more firewood," the bandana-clad teenager declared, relieved that his voice had returned to its normal low pitch.

As he passed Inui, the third year grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked. Kaidoh yelped as he was pulled down, his cheeks once again flaring scarlet as he suddenly found himself in Inui's lap.

Inui smiled blandly at him and pointed at the stack of wood they had all gathered earlier. "I think we're good for the rest of the night. Besides, you don't want to miss my story, do you?" He bared his teeth in another one of his near manic grins.

"You can go first, Inui," Fuji offered with an angelic smile.

Inui inclined his head in thanks and gently pushed Kaidoh out of his lap, keeping a firm hold on the younger boy's shirt so he was forced to sit right up against his side.

"It wouldn't be a good idea for you to go off into the woods at night, Kaidoh." Inui whispered the words against Kaidoh's ear, but pitched his voice so everyone around the campfire could hear him.

"W-why not?" Kaidoh asked hoarsely. His eyes were wide, and he was shaking slightly.

"There is a swamp in the middle of these woods, Kaidoh. It isn't safe to wander too far in the night. There are things out there that make strong men die from fright. There are things that crawl, and things that fly, and things that creep around on the ground. And they say the ghost of Ishida Koji gets up and walks around."

The Seigaku regulars all listened intently, mesmerized by the soft cadence of Inui's voice as he began his story.

"He was an old man who lived in the swamp way back in the woods. He never really did much harm, but he never did any real good. He went into the nearest town sometimes, and no one who saw him thought very much of him. They all thought he acted funny. The old man didn't care about people though. All he cared about was his money.

"He kept it in jars and he'd bury it all around. And on certain nights, if the moon was right, he'd dig it up out of the ground. He'd pour it all out on the floor of his shack and run his fingers through it. Ishida Koji was a greedy old man, and that's all there was to it.

"Now, the Utagawa boys lived over by the creek. They were as mean as oni and as sneaky as tanuki. And on a day that dawned bright and sunny, they thought up a plan to steal the old man's money.

"That night they found the old man out in the back with a shovel in his hand. Thirteen old jars had just been dug up from the land. The Utagawa boys beat the old man, then picked him up off the ground. They threw him in the swamp and laughed as the black water sucked him down.

"They went back to the shack, then grabbed the money and ran. They didn't even get a mile away before they got stuck in the bog. They struggled and screamed, but they couldn't get away. And just before they went under, they heard the old man laughing in a voice as loud as thunder.

"That was fifty years ago, and if you go deep into the woods, you can still find that shack. And on autumn nights, when the moon is right, you can hear three young men screaming."

Inui's voice was soft and low as he spoke, causing them all to lean close to hear him. They were so intent on his words that they didn't see it as he reached into his pocket with one hand, the other tightening imperceptibly on the back of Kaidoh's shirt.

"And you can hear one old man laugh." Inui hit the button on the tape player in his pocket. Deep ghostly laughter boomed out.

At that point, several things happened at once. Momoshiro screamed and grabbed at Echizen, nearly smothering the younger boy. Eiji wailed and clung to Oishi. Taka tried to hide behind Fuji while the smaller boy smiled in obvious delight at the story. And Inui grunted in pain as Kaidoh nearly pulled his arm out of its socket in his frantic attempt to flee.

With a sinuous twist of his body that would have done a real mamushi proud, Kaidoh slipped out of his shirt and ran, his blind panic sending him off into the woods. Inui stared at the empty shirt he held, his head cocked slightly in mild bewilderment. There had only been a three percent chance of Kaidoh getting away from him and haring off into the woods.

"Hm. Interesting," he murmured to himself. "I'd better go after him."

…

Calm down, get a hold of yourself, Kaidoh told himself as he fell to his knees next to a large tree. It was just a stupid story. And that creepy laugh was probably something Inui set up ahead of time. The only things in these woods are animals, and animals like you. So there's nothing to be scared of.

It was all logical, but it didn't really calm his panic any. His breathing was harsh, his pulse fast and loud. That was why he didn't hear someone come up behind him. Why he had no idea that he was no longer alone until a hand lightly rested on his shoulder.

He surged to his feet with a terrified yell, but was kept from running again by strong arms wrapping around him and holding him tightly.

"Kaidoh, calm down," Inui murmured soothingly into his ear.

The younger boy froze, no longer trying to escape but not relaxing either. "I-Inui-senpai?"

"My apologies, Kaidoh. I didn't expect you to be willing to slip out of your shirt like that. You didn't get hurt, did you?" he asked in concern, his hands lightly brushing against bare skin of Kaidoh's torso as he checked for injuries.

"J-just some scratches," he stammered, glad for the darkness as he blushed for the third time that night. Being touched normally made him uncomfortable, but for some reason, he never minded when it was Inui. In fact, he usually found it disturbingly pleasant when Inui touched him.

He scowled as something suddenly occurred to him, overwhelming the confusing emotions Inui had stirred up. "Momoshiro is never going to let me live this down."

Inui chuckled evilly. "Don't worry about him. I know about your… aversion… to ghost stories and talk of the supernatural. It was inevitable that you'd have some sort of reaction that would embarrass you. I told Momoshiro to leave you alone for tonight and to never tease you about anything that might happen."

"What did you threaten him with?"

"A month of testing various forms of Inui Juice."

Kaidoh leaned back against Inui, titling his head against his chest so he could look up at him. The corners of his mouth curved up into a small smile. "If he does something to earn that punishment, can I watch?"

Inui smiled down at him warmly. "Of course."

Abruptly realizing that he was half-naked and leaning against Inui, Kaidoh jerked away from him, breaking free from the gentle hold of his arms.

"W-we… um… we should get back to the others," he said nervously.

"… Yes," Inui agreed reluctantly. "I suppose we should…. And this time, you should sit next to me, instead of off by yourself."

Kaidoh slowly smiled at him again. "Yeah. Maybe I should."

He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself as the wind picked up a bit. Inui frowned and shrugged out of his jacket, holding it out to Kaidoh. The younger boy took a step toward him, then froze as laughter filled the air. It was higher pitched than before and much creepier.

Kaidoh scowled at him as the laughter faded away. "That's not funny, Senpai."

"That… wasn't my doing, Kaidoh," Inui said slowly. He had gone perfectly still, looking somewhat alarmed. The laughter started up again. Both boys immediately bolted back toward the camp.

Behind a nearby tree, a slender figure stopped laughing. "That was fun," Fuji murmured to himself with a small smile.