Okay guys! Here's Chapter One! It's going to be longer than future chapters (maybe) 'cause of the exposition stuff and what not. Anywho... Tell me if you guys like it or not. This will be shorter than my YYH story (that one was 30 chapters!) This one won't be that long. Imma stop ranting so you guys can read! REMEMBER: Prince of tennis is not mine. If it was, Yukimura and Fuji would get all the spotlight ^_^ Well bye. Love and all, AIR
Marui's eyes snapped open and tried to remember what had happened. His teammates and Seigaku surrounded him. Up above, there were small light bulbs illuminating the room they were in. It was cold and damp. When he sat up, he could see that they were in a small room made of bricks. Every wall contained small cells able to contain atleast three people.
Rikkaidai and Seigaku were scattered around him. "Buchou!" He ran over to Yukimura's sleeping body and shook his shoulders. "Yukimura!"
The blue-haired boy woke up, immediately sitting up. "Marui, where are we?"
Marui shook his head. "Don't know."
The other players started waking up as well. Fuji was the first to wake up from Seigaku, then Momo. Once all seventeen of them were wide awake, the circled up. They weren't harmed as far as they knew and they still had on their school uniforms.
"So, what's the plan, Buchou?" Kirihara asked. All eyes shifted from Yukimura to Tezuka.
"First, we have to know where we are." Tezuka said.
Suddenly, the heavy metal doors opened. The three masked men that gassed their bus came in. "Awake already?" One said. "Impressive.
The Regulars retreated to the far wall in a defending stance. "Don't look so crossed. We won't hurt you as long as you comply." A second voice spoke. "Now, you get one meal per day so try not to eat it all in one sitting. We don't need your physique to deteriorate before our boss shows up and before we get our money. But before that, you need two people to join us."
"For what?" Sanada griped. He didn't like the idea that one of Rikkai's regulars was to go and be with those three men.
"Well, we can't punish each individual, and I think having one person receiving punishments will be enough to keep you kids behaved, don't you?" The man who stood in front of the other two looked like their leader. The regulars didn't like the sound of his venom-laced voice.
"These two people, you're just using them for blackmail, aren't you?" Oishi placed the pieces to create a picture.
The men smiled, "Well aren't you observant One person per school, since I only see two different uniforms. You have two minutes." The three men left the Regulars alone to decide who their sacrifice would be.
"I'll go." Yukimura volunteered as soon as the door closed. All eyes were on him.
"But, Yuki-"
"I'm team captain. It's my responsibility to take care of you. I'm depending on you to keep everyone safe, Sanada." He quickly cut off Sanada, giving him a small grin.
"If that's the case, then-"
"I'll go, too" Tezuka turned to look at his best friend.
"Fuji?" He asked, wide eyed. The shorter boy showed his sharp blue eyes. Tezuka realized they were filled with fear and determination.
The other Regulars quickly volunteered to be in their place. Yukimura and Fuji were the two most delicate looking players in their group, seeing the two of them hurt made the more sensitive players, like Eiji, want to cry.
"B-but Fuji! They'll kill you! Let me go, please!" Kikumaru cried. Fuji wiped away the tears staining his friend's place.
"Don't worry, Eiji. It'll be okay."
The steel doors opened again and the three masked men appeared. "Did we make a decision?" Yukimura and Fuji stepped up. "Then follow me."
One of the other men pointed a gun towards the remaining Regulars. "In case any of you get some funny ideas."
Rikkaidai and Seigaku watched as the three men took away their captain and their prodigy.
Yukimura and Fuji were taken into the next room. Their eyes widened as they saw a gallow far against the opposite wall. There were other shelves that held ropes, metal bars, and other items found in hardware stores.
Fuji stopped by instinct. A man came up from behind and pushed him forward. "We're not going to hang you, if that's what you're thinking. No. That punishment is saved until one of your teammate escapes."
Yukimura saw steel bars aligning with the wall, just like in the other room. "The two of you will stay there." Another man led the players to the cell. The bars closed and the men locked the metal door. "Try not to die."
They waited to talk until they heard the sound of heavy doors closing. "What are we going to do now, Fuji?"
"We don't have much of a choice but to follow their rules if we want to live. I'm rather surprised they haven't hurt us yet or the others. I hope they're okay."
"Don't worry, they will be. Tezuka and Sanada are there. Oishi, too. They have more than enough people to take care of them." Yukimura softly smiled at Fuji. He tried to stay positive.
On the other side of the door, the other players were locked up in cells as well in pairs and one group of three. Sanada and Tezuka winded up together. The others knew that the two of them were already thinking of a plan to get Yukimura and Fuji and a way to get out.
The 3rd years of Seigaku understood how much Fuji meant to Tezuka. And everyone in Rikkai could see how much Sanada cared for Yukimura. Everyone was quiet, trying not to do anything wrong fearing to hurt their "sacrifice."
"So," Momo started, "what do we do now?"
Across from him, Oishi gave the younger boy a helpless look. "I don't think we have much of a choice as prisoners."
"I hate this! I hate being held against my will! And we don't know what's going on with Fuji-senpai and Rikkaidai's captain!" The power player leaned against the wall in irritation. He had to share a cell with Rikkai's Marui and Ryoma. He was kind of glad he didn't end up with Kirihara.
"Hey, is it possible if you can shut up?" Kaido hissed. It was bad enough he had to stay with Akaya, now he had to listen to Momo's complaints next door.
Momo's eyes narrowed. "What did you say, Viper?"
"Guys, come on now. Don't fight while we're like this." Oishi tried to settle down the argument from across the room, but it didn't work. Momo and Kaido continued bickering.
"Mmm… They work decently together doubles, but do they not get along outside of the court?" Marui asked. He tried to keep himself distracted. He was in grave need of sweets and didn't know how long he'd last.
Ryoma lowered his head; an imaginary cap covered his eyes. "It happens less often now. I think they're just stressed out."
The bickering silenced when the large steel door opened. "Shut up! I've had it with you kids arguing so loudly I can barely hear myself think."
Sanada, whose cell was the closest to the doors, peered over the men. He couldn't see everything since it was only one of the double doors open. But he could easily see a wooden pillar and shelves containing whips and metal bars. The sight made him want to collapse. No. Rikkaidai and Seigaku cannot make the men angry if they want Yukimura and Fuji to make it out there alive.
The man who spoke walked towards Momo and Kaido's cell. "You two sure are loud. Shall we find out if your friend can scream louder?"
The eyes of the Regulars from Seigaku widened in fear. What were they going to do to Fuji? Momo started protesting as the men moved to the other room and shut the door behind them.
Fuji and Yukimura could hear two people arguing. It was Momo and Kaido, Fuji explained, feeling slight bit embarrassed. A few minutes later the men appeared from their side and opened the door in anger. They were pissed. The two heard everything that was said on the other side.
When one of the men grabbed Fuji, Yukimura couldn't even stop them. They instructed the smaller boy to strip off the top of his uniform outfit. Fuji did so without hesitation. He didn't want to cause any more trouble. One of the men pushed the younger male down to his knees and tied his wrists to the wooden pillar.
Yukimura couldn't watch as each man took turns whipping Fuji. He could hear the grunts and cries of pain and the crack of the whip against bares skin.
In the other room, Sanada and Tezuka could faintly hear a voice. Tezuka dubbed it to be Fuji's and that something bad was happening. It made the Seigaku captain's heart drop. His best friend was being punished for something he didn't even commit.
Fuji lay on his stomach, the side of his head on Yukimura's lap. The men struck him thirty times. Each. Yukimura could see Fuji's eyes half-open in exhaustion and pain. He didn't put the shorter boy's shirt back on, fearing the fabric would hurt him. Rikkai's captain gently stroked his hand through the brown hair, whispering calm things to the boy. Some of the whips managed to break the skin and blood stained the fair skin of the Seigaku Regular. Yukimura wanted nothing more than to have Fuji's teammate there and taking care of him.
"Y- Yukimura…"
The blue-haired boy glanced down to meet Fuji's tired deep blue eyes. "What is it?"
Fuji didn't answer. He merely stared up at Yukimura, breathing heavily. Sooner or later, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.