A/N: This is a story featuring a Yuki/Ryo pairing and other Crack pairings inspired by other writers. This is also inspired by my favorite TV show, Heroes. Please enjoy!!!!!!! Warning: might expose random OOC's. Rated for language, violence and possible sexual context.
Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis and Heroes. Don't sue me. I swear I'm only following the power list on Heroes™. Don't sue me!
"" for dialogs, '' for thoughts and sound effects, italics for flashbacks and memories, underscored words for English dialogs passive aggressive
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There was a silent chaos inside the house of Echizens. Clothes were haphazardly packed into their luggage and three sets of tickets were lying on the table, waiting to be picked up. A baby sat still on his high chair, watching two adults, a woman and a man, going to and fro in a frantic mood. A girl, not older than three sat opposite her baby brother. She has an unreadable look on her face as she merely observed her parents pack their things.
"We have to hurry Anata or they'll be here!" the woman muttered urgently to her monk-dressed husband.
"Hush now Rinko." The man replied. "They don't know we're here and we need to keep it that way."
"Ka-san…" the girl whispered.
"Not now Reina. Ka-san is busy making sure everything is ok before we fly back to America." The woman whispered to her daughter before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
"Rinko! Hurry!" the man whispered in outrage. He took a peek on the window, checking for new comers.
"I'll be right there!" the woman called back, making sure her voice is not louder than a whisper. She held her daughter's face in her hands. "Now you watch over your brother while we finish up ok?" a pair of cute golden orbs looked but at her.
"Ka-san..." the girl whispered. " Ka-san and Tou-san love Reina?"
Rinko's lips quivered. "Yes we love you."
"And Ma-chan?" the girl peeked past her mother to gaze at her baby brother.
"Ma-chan loves you as well Reina." Nanjiroh suddenly appeared into the kitchen.
"Reina loves Ka-san, Tou-san and Ma-chan too." The girl said.
"We know darling. That's why we need to protect those we love." Nanjiroh gave her a small peck on the cheek. He gave Rinko a meaningful look which sent the woman out of the kitchen.
"Protect?" the girl asked. "Tou-san said Reina special."
Nanjiroh felt his heart broke into a million of pieces. His daughter, only three years old, is trying to understand their situation. It is a situation that even Nanjiroh Echizen, the Samurai, is not able to solve. "Yes you are special. That is why we need to leave."
"Ma-chan special too?
"We don't know yet, Reina."
"But Reina loves Ma-chan." the girl grabbed hold of her father's robes and held on tightly. " Reina protects Ma-chan."
"Hush darling." Nanjiroh placed a finger on the girl's lips. "We need to hurry." With this, he left his two kids in the kitchen.
Reina studied her brother for a while before she slipped off her chair and walked timidly towards her brother.
"Ma-chan."
A similar pair of golden orbs looked back at her, mimicking her stoic expression. The little girl balanced herself on the baby's high chair.
"Ma-chan," a small hand reached out to caress the baby's cheeks. "Nee-chan loves Ma-chan. Nee-chan protects Ma-chan." she strained her neck to place a chaste kiss on her brother's cheeks. The baby blinked twice at the contact and smiled at the little girl.
"Ma-chan is not special." The little girl took a small white hanky form her pocket and made the baby grab it. "But Reina is special so Reina will protect." She gave her brother one last kiss before stepping down the high chair.
Her small feet slipped during the process so she fell on the floor. She managed to stay as quiet as she could, trying her best not to cry. She glanced down, finding out that she scraped her knees, scratches that soon faded away as seconds passed by.
She stood up and timidly went towards the back door.
"Reina shall protect people she loves."
Rinko and Nanjiroh were busy stuffing more clothes into a bag when they heard Baby Ryoma's faint cry from the kitchen and the sound of tire screech from outside.
"Oh my GOD!" Rinko cried as she and Nanjiroh dashed into the kitchen, only to find out that the back door was open and Ryoma was thrashing in his high chair, his hand grasping a familiar white handkerchief.
"NO!!!" Rinko cried as she struggled to take Ryoma from his chair.
Nanjiroh bolted out of the kitchen only to find some men dressed in black suits grab Reina who was standing in the middle of the street.
"REINA!!!!!!!!!!" Nanjiroh screamed as he dashed towards the gate. One of the men took out a machine gun and fired a couple of rounds at Nanjiroh.
"DON'T HURT TOU-SAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Little Reina screamed before she was roughly tossed inside the van. "DON'T HURT TOU-SAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" her muffled screams can still be heard.
Nanjiroh fumbled to get the pistol he placed inside his robes while he was crouching behind the concrete posts of the gate. The man was still firing shots at him. He whirled around and fired a few of his own before the backdoor opened and he saw Rinko went out with Ryoma in her arms.
"GET BACK INSIDE!!!!" Nanjiroh cried as another round of bullets were fired at them.
Rinko, by instinct darted back into the kitchen as the bullets rained by their door. She was trying hard not to let panic take over her despite Ryoma's continues wails and her daughter's muffled screams from inside the van. She crept low, protecting her son with her body as the glass shattered above them. She opened a cupboard under the sink and hid the thrashing baby inside while she fumbled for her own gun.
"Enough of that! We have what we came for!" Someone from inside the van called out, making the gunman stop firing. Nanjiroh took the opportunity to fire more shots, hitting the gunman once of the shoulder and twice on the gut. He was reloading his gun when a hand shot out of the van and grabbed the wounded man before it dashed off, leaving only the fading sound of tires screeching and a few splatters of blood.
"GIVE ME MY DAUGHTER BACK!!!!!' Nanjiroh rushed out of the gate. The van already disappeared by the corner before he could even think of running after it. "REINA!!!!!!!!"
It was then that Rinko ran out of the house, only to find her husband crying in the middle of the streets, pounding the concrete with his fist.
"Nanjiroh!" Rinko cried. "Where's Reina!? Where's our daughter?!" Her frantic inquiries were only met by more wails coming from her distraught husband.
"I'm not able to protect her Rinko." Nanjiroh gritted his teeth as he continued punching the hard concrete until his knuckles started to bleed. "I wasn't able to save her. I'm so useless!"
Tears started to fall unabashed down Rinko's cheeks. "No." she stepped a little closer to her husband. "This is just a dream." The frightened neighbors started to pool around the couple. "My baby…" Rinko clenched her fist tighter as anger consumed her. "She's only three years old…she could barely understand…"
"Rinko…" one of their neighbors reach out and placed an arm around the distressed woman.
"SHE'S ONLY THREE YEARS OLD!!!!" Rinko screamed before she dropped into her knees and cried hysterically. Nanjiroh could only pull his wife into his embrace despite the fact that he knows nothing in the world could comfort her.
Rain started to drizzle slowly upon them, slowly erasing the scent of gunpowder and blood. It was as if heaven is lamenting their loss. Their mourning was cut short when they heard soft wails coming from inside the house. Without second thought and bereft of exhaustion, the couple ran back to their house to come to their son's aid.
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Ryoma Echizen was in no celebratory mood even after he had won the game against Atobe Keigo of Hyotei Gakuen. He was in no cheerful mood either when they announced that Seigaku is the National Champions. He kept his stoic expression as the awarding committee gave him his medal.
"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!" The freshman trio chanted as the other tennis club members celebrated with the other regulars. Ryoma in turn drifted into one corner, in his hand was his cell phone.
Ryuzaki surveyed her overjoyed players but noticed that the most important figure was missing. Then a thought came to her. 'Today's the day isn't it?' She scanned the crowd, only to find the one she's looking for in the benches, talking to someone in his mobile phone.
"Ryuzaki-sensei!" Kikumaru cried. "We won!!!! O'chibi's really great!!! We won!!!!" he glomped at their coach.
"Matte, where is he?" Kikumaru asked, still clinging to their coach.
"Eiji!" His doubles partner, Oishi rushed towards them looking very worried. He pried his partner off their coach. "You'll hurt Ryuzaki-sensei!" His voice got lost in the noise their teammates were making. He studied the chaos in front of him and noticed as a few other teams are coming to join the mess.
Rikkai, Fudomine and Rokakku came forth to congratulate the winners. Hyotei on the other hand were still recuperating from their loss.
"Tezuka." Yukimura smiled and extended a hand to the bespectacled captain of Seigaku. "Omedatou gozaimashites!"
"Domo, Yukimura-kun." Tezuka gave him a curt nod and accepted his hand.
Kirihara was done sulking about the fact that Seigaku just stole the championship from them. He was scanning the crowd for someone.
"So where's that cocky brattling of yours, Tezuka-buchou?" Niou asked, giving Tezuka a sinister smile.
"Haru," Sanada imposed a warning hand on the Trickster's shoulder. "Mind your manners."
Fuji came forth. "Hi guys!" He smiled his same closed-eyed smile.
"Actually, Mura is the one who dragged us here." Marui popped his gum as he spoke. "He wanted to talk to the amazing freshman tennis god of your team."
"Bunta!" Sanada cried indignantly. Yukimura couldn't help but blush a little but he maintained composure.
"What?" Marui huffed. "I'm just quoting Buchou."
Yukimura sighed and faced his teammate. "I'll get you for that later Bunta." He smiled at the redhead, sending chills down his spine before turning back to Tezuka and Fuji. "So…where were we?"
Fuji chuckled a little at Rikkai's antics. "He's around here, somewhere. You know how Echizen hates crowds."
"I heard he made a bet with Atobe." Yanagi spoke up, pencil and notebook ready.
"It's a 97.8 sure that he will shave Atobe's head as stated in their verbal contract earlier." Inui suddenly popped into their crowd, holding out his notebook and pencil too.
"Ahh Sadaharu…you never change." Yanagi gazed into his friend with his half-closed eyes.
"Speaking of which…" Fuji muttered.
"Oi Echizen! What are you doing here in the corner!?!" they heard Momo cried. They all turned their attention towards the bleachers where Momo and Kirihara had cornered him.
"Yeah!" Kirihara's voice echoed. "I wanna see you shave Atobe's head!" It was then that they started to drag the poor freshman towards Hyotei's bench where Atobe was starting to recover.
"Smells like tasty trouble I say." Niou almost skipped towards the commotion.
"We better check them out." Sanada muttered. The rest agreed and followed them.
"Yadda." Ryoma muttered.
"Oh come on!" Momo passed the razor to the freshman but Ryoma still won't accept it.
Atobe on the other hand, stared in horror at the gadget Momo was holding while Shishido and Gakuto held him captive. "I swear Echizen, if you dare touch even one strand of Ore-sama's glorious locks I will make sure your family grows broke in just a few minutes!" His eyes were flaring as he threatened the poor brunette.
"Come on Echizen!" Horio egged him on.
"SHAVE! SHAVE! SHAVE!" The players chanted.
Ryoma sighed and took the razor from Momo. Everyone cheered when he did that and Atobe's sat there, gaping at him. He advanced on the Hyotei captain, expression still unreadable. Everyone was sure that he would do it when…
"Yadda." Ryoma muttered before he dropped the razor right beside Atobe. Everyone stood shocked at what had just transpired. It was very uncharacteristic for the freshman prodigy to let go of such an opportunity.
"But why?!?!?!" almost everyone, even Atobe, asked in unison.
Ryoma just pulled his cap lower to hide his face before hoisting his bag. "It was a stupid bet anyway. And besides, I'm not in the mood." With this, he started to walk away from the crowd.
"Nya O'chibi!" Kikumaru glomped at the freshman. "Where are you going?! We're still having our victory celebration!!!"
"Eiji!" Oishi cried as he tried to pry the acrobat off the poor freshman. Had Echizen not been turning blue, Kikumaru wouldn't have let him go.
Ryoma dusted off his jacket before hoisting his bag up once more. "I have some places to go. I don't think I can join you senpai." He continued walking. He was stopped for the second time by Yukimura this time.
"I don't think it's proper to leave your senpai-tachi like this, Echizen." Yukimura smiled sweetly at the freshman. "You're the star of this tournament! You shouldn't disappoint your team." He reached out to pat the freshman's shoulder but he hesitated when he saw how Ryoma's eyes glimmered in the afternoon sun. It's as if the freshman's agonizing over something despite the victory that he has achieved.
"I'll call your parents, Echizen. I'm sure they'll understand." Ryuzaki spoke up, giving the freshman a meaningful look.
Ryoma sighed. "I will try to come. But don't expect me." With this, he went off, leaving a heavy aura behind.
"Aww!" Kikumaru slumped on the ground with big frown. "It's no use without O'chibi."
Oishi sighed and helped his partner up. "He seemed like he's really going off somewhere important. He said that he'll try, right?"
Yukimura couldn't help but frown as little as he watched Ryoma's fleeting image.
"I'm not accepting this crap." Fuji stood beside him. "You want to play detective?" he smiled at Yukimura, his eyes opened this time.
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Ryoma walked briskly down the busy street. He looked neither left nor right. It really seemed like he knows where he's going and no one's going to stop him. There's so much going on inside his head that he didn't even realize that four pairs of eyes are following him.
"I'm really sorry if I may turn out like I'm imposing this to you but I would just like you remind you that it's your Oneesan's twelfth death anniversary. Gomen nasai Ryoma-san."
Ryoma felt an unfeeling coldness in his heart upon recalling his cousin's words earlier. He went around the corner, almost nearing his destination.
"Rinko-baa-san said you can skip, given that it's your night. It's up to you to decide though."
'I never really knew who my sister was. I was only a few month's old when Mom said she passed away. All that I know about Nee-san is supplied by my parents and some old pictures." Ryoma stopped abruptly. He was still lost in his thoughts when he found himself standing in front of a flower shop.
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"A flower shop?" Oshitari asked. He's curious as hell. He wanted to know what the brunette was up to especially after he backed down from the bet earlier. He stared at his three other companions. They were the type that you would never suspect to be spying on some kid.
"Maybe he's going to give it to some girl." Niou supplied some answers for him. Among the four of them, it was only he who seemed having the time of his life.
"This is ridiculous." Yukimura muttered. "We shouldn't follow him. His business doesn't concern us."
"But you still came." Fuji smiled at the Rikkai's captain. "No matter how morally wrong you put it, you still can't get over your fascination of my kohai. That's why you came."
Their two other companions stared at the handsome captain. "Fine! So I fancy your kohai a little."
"See? Caught red-handed." Niou muttered before turning his attention back to their task.
"He's coming out." The Hyotei tensai muttered and indeed Ryoma left he flower shop with a little something in tow.
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Ryoma got stuck in the intersection. He noticed that the sun's rays grew redder. 'I need to hurry. I haven't given her a minute of my day earlier. I need to make up for it.' he held on firmly on the package that he bought from the flower shop.
"Ka-san, it is ok if I plant flowers over Nee-san's grave? I don't think flower arrangements will do her any good. If I want to preserve her memory in my mind, I better start remembering her with the living."
Ryoma sighed when he crossed the street and finally drifted into the outskirts of the busy downtown area. 'I can't really explain but I think she means more to me that just old pictures and stories.' He absentmindedly reached inside his pocket and took out a small white hanky.
"This once belonged to your sister, Reina." Rinko had a bittersweet smile on her face when she handed the delicate-looking fabric to her six year-old son. "She treasured this hanky so much that she wanted you to keep it as a memento of hers."
"Rei-nee-san, wait for me." Ryoma whispered to the air before he took the familiar route to a Christian cemetery. When he turned around the bend, he saw four familiar faces in his visual periphery. He let out an irritated sigh before he decided to ignore them. 'Baka senpai-tachi.'
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"A cemetery?! Now this is turning out to be the best day of my life!" Niou said, showing Yukimura and the others his trademark sinister smile.
Yukimura sighed and held him off when he was about to follow the freshman. "I think we should stop. We're already invading his privacy."
Oshitari took off his glasses and wiped it before placing in back. "I thought we already did when we decided to tail him."
Fuji didn't like this anymore. His kohai is so mysterious. "We've come this far. Are we going to go back now?" he studied his companion's faces. "At least with this knowledge we can find a way to help him."
Yukimura sighed before he watched Ryoma walking along the cemetery grounds. 'It was just a stupid crush. Oh well, we're already here.' He took a deep breath before purposely walking ahead of Niou. "Let's go or we'll lose him. I don't want to play maze inside a cemetery."
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Ryoma gently settled his bag beside a newly painted tomb. He then opened the parcel he bought from the flower shop and took out the tools he needed to plant the Jasmine sprig that he personally picked from the shop's wide range of plant merchandise. After saying a small prayer, he diligently started in his mini-gardening task. He studied the tomb area and noticed that the sides are almost full of the lush bushes with flowers from his rituals for the past 8 years of his life.
"I'll place this at the foot of your bed, Nee-san." Ryoma muttered before he started digging into the soft, fertile soil. He worked diligently and silently, as if his labor is a form of prayer itself. He was sprinkling water on his newly-planted Jasmine when he heard a few rustled footsteps.
"You know, you don't have much of a talent when it comes to stalking, senpai." he called out. He waited patiently as one by one, all four came out of their hiding place. Ryoma stood up and faced them. "Welcome."
heroesheroesheroes
A/N: hehehehe… I hope I did ok. I'm on my third year in college, taking up Nursing as my pre-med. I'm not assuring you that I could update promptly as I had in TMTYM but I will try my best.
So it turns out that even I can't wait a week. Oh well…I how you'll like this story just as much as you loved TMTYM
NOW MAKE ME HAPPY AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!