More craziness, more nonsense. And a bit of an explanation about the nonsense.
Yukimura brought up a visual of Yanagi Renjii on his screen, and stared at it, frowning.
Yanagi was sitting in his own control room, on his own leather swivel chair, and was staring at his own screens. But what bothered Yukimura the most was the fact that he was staring at a visual of Yukimura's room. Which meant that there was a camera in his room that he hadn't known about before.
"It appears I have a problem," Yukimura said out loud, knowing that Yanagi would hear him.
On the screen, Yanagi smiled, and turned to face the camera. "Yes, I believe you do."
The nerve.
Yukimura half smirked, and turned all his screens except Yanagi's off. He enlarged the visual and stared hard at his image on Yanagi's screen, trying to figure out the position of the camera.
He studied the angle closely for a moment. The screens to his left were visible, but appeared slightly tilted. Actually, the whole image was tilted. The camera must have been positioned crookedly.
After a few moments of thinking, Yukimura stood up and made his way towards the bookshelf in the back of the room. He pushed aside a few books, and at last, between The Charisma of a Leader and Dealing with Incapable Underdogs, he found a tiny, perfectly camouflaged button camera.
"Don't do it, Yukimura," Yanagi's voice spoke up urgently. "Think about it. We could be partners, and share information. Think about the things we could achieve together. We could rule the world."
Yukimura smirked slowly. "Of course we could," he said slowly. He picked the camera up and gently dismantled it. "But I could alone, as well."
Moments later, his phone pinged, and he picked it up, already knowing who'd be messaging him.
'Well. You've chosen.
But you might want to know that Sadaharu and Mizuki-san have joined forces, and Fuji's getting angry because Mizuki's taken his brother over to his side. He's going after Atobe now to build his power.
I could still help you. – Yanagi.'
So Fuji was angry, was he? And if he was going to recruit Atobe…well. Well, well, well. That could prove dangerous.
Yukimura settled back into his swivel chair and thought things through for a moment. Yanagi was right, joining forces would be useful. But he wasn't ready to give Yanagi as much power as he wanted. That could prove dangerous as well.
He thought about it some more. He could try to get Tezuka to join him, but Tezuka was too noble to plot against his teammate. He could get Niou, but he'd never know if it was Niou or Yagyuu, and that might give him an advantage. Sengoku? Nah. The boy got on his nerves.
At length, he came to a decision. He picked his phone up again and typed in a short text:
'Echizen-kun,
Come to the Rikkai Dai tennis courts if you want to play a game. I'm free for the rest of the day.
-Yukimura.'
Yukimura smiled wryly. The boy would come for sure. He never could resist a tennis match. Echizen would be the ideal partner - He didn't talk much, he'd be happy to plot against Fuji and Atobe (especially Atobe), and he was small enough to hide in a suitcase during desperate situations.
Moments later, Yukimura received a reply, and his smirk widened.
'I'll be there. – Echizen.'
A few hours later, a rather grumpy looking Ryoma sat in another swivel chair in front of Yukimura, glaring at the ground.
"You told me you'd play a match with me," he said, scowling.
Yukimura sighed. "For heaven's sake, Echizen. I'm offering to let you help me take over the world. And you want a tennis match?"
Ryoma's scowl deepened, and he turned to glare at Yukimura instead. "Okay. First of all, I don't see how any of you are going to take over the world. It doesn't make any sense. Second of all, even if you could take over the world, and even if I did help you, you wouldn't let me rule anyway. You'd probably drown me in a river somewhere and rule by yourself."
Well, that was true. Yukimura never intended to share power. But the kid wasn't supposed to know that.
"I can't deny that," he said lightly, eying the younger boy warily. "But you must admit you'd make a lousy ruler."
Ryoma shrugged.
"Anyway, let's compromise." Yukimura leaned forward slightly. "You help me, and I'll play a match against you. And you also get to make a fool of Atobe. How's that?"
Ryoma considered it."And you'll buy Karupin food for six months."
Yukimura nodded.
"And buy me ponta for a year."
Yukiura sighed, and nodded again.
Ryoma grinned. "It's a deal, then. But I still don't understand any of this taking over the world stuff."
"I'll explain, then." He'd never understand Echizen. He'd just turned down the throne for soda, cat food, and a tennis match. But, well, to each his own.
He turned back to face his screens and gestured for Ryoma to do the same. He clicked on the internet icon in the corner of the monitor and typed in a few words in the search box. A picture of a man, with dark blue hair, blue eyes, and an ugly scar across his face came up.
"Do you know this man?" he asked. Ryoma shook his head.
"This," Yukimura began, "is my great grandfather, Yukimura Kenji. The first ruler of the Land of Tennis."
"The land of – huh?"
Yukimura gestured for him to be patient. "The Land of Tennis, an underground, illegal Empire, responsible for anything that happens in the world related to tennis." He paused for an added effect. "Whose idea do you think it was to send Tezuka to Germany? The Empire. Who provided Sakurafubuki with the funds to set up that cruise that you all nearly died on? The Empire. Who ensured that the rules for the Goodwill Games were changed? The Empire."
Ryoma stared at him in disbelief.
"They gave me financial help for my surgery," Yukimura went on. "And instigated the car crash that the Fudoumine players ended up in before their match, causing them to forfeit. In fact, the very cap that you're wearing right now? It was the Empire's idea to get your father to buy it for you, since they thought it would make you look cooler."
Ryoma continued staring at him, mouth slightly agape.
"So you see, the ruler of the Land of Tennis influences the life of every single tennis player on this planet. And also influences the results of many matches, sometimes with the use of steroids, even though that's illegal. And recently, the Empire has taken to blackmail and gambling over matches, so it is becoming even more of an unlawful organization than before."
"So you all want to become the rulers of an illegal Empire?"
Yukimura nodded.
Ryoma made a face. "So… you're all fighting over who gets to be the bigger criminal?"
Yukimura winced. "I wouldn't put it quite so…crudely. But more or less, yes. Logically, I should inherit the throne, because I'm a descendent of the Yukimura family line. However, recently, Mizuki Hajme from St. Rudolph has begun to oppose me. He's joined forces with your former teammate, Inui-kun, and Fuji's little brother. And now Fuji has begun to oppose me, because he believes that we're all corrupting his dear younger brother, and he's pulled Atobe over to his side." Yukimura sighed, exasperated. "Atobe has more than enough money to wreak havoc on the whole world, and Fuji is crazy enough to provide him with infallible plans as to how to wreak havoc on the whole world. Those two must be stopped at any cost."
Ryoma gave him a look. "You want the throne that badly?"
"Of course. Imagine, with that power, I could set up campaigns to make Tezuka-kun dye his hair purple."
Ryoma snickered. "Point taken."
There was a pause as the two boys studied each other and contemplated their situation. "So, you agree to work with me?" Yukimura asked again.
"Would you really make buchou dye his hair?"
"Of course."
"And you won't make me dye mine?"
"I won't."
"Then yes, I'll work with you," Ryoma nodded. "But let buchou dye it back to its normal color after a few weeks. Or people might be scarred for life."
Yukimura smiled. "Deal."
They shook hands, and the pact was sealed.
Far away, in his own control room, Fuji looked through his messages and frowned.
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