Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Warning: Rated M for adult content.

Author's Note: There will be OC characters. Characters may be out of character. This fan fiction is not related to the anime/manga. It will contain boy x boy. This fanfic is based in a different world, thus first names will mostly be used.

Chapter One

A creak in the dark hallway startled the blond girl. She gasped, turning around on her heels. The sweep of her flashlight caught something darting around the corridor. She suppressed a scream, a squeak emitting from the back of her throat. She turned again, running in the opposite direction. Panic filled her expression as she turned a corner. A black shadow appeared in front of her. Pale hands flung out, grabbing her by the neck. It threw her, flinging her to the wall as she screamed. She crashed into the wall with a loud thud. The girl shakily clambered back onto her legs, trying to run again, but the figure was on her again. It grabbed her by the hair, tugging her backward. Her shrilled scream echoed loudly. A distorted face broke through the dark abyss. Its mouth open, revealing sharp fangs. The creature pulled the girl close, bringing its fangs down, biting into soft flesh. She struggled against his hold, but the bone crunching sound of her spine breaking as the creature squeeze her, stopped her from moving.

There was screaming again, but seeing as the girl was no longer alive, Ryoma suppressed a yawn. He glanced away from the theater screen to the side where his current "date" was gripping onto his arm and screaming. He looked around and found and heard other movie goers screaming too. He sighed. The horror movie he was currently watching had a high rating, but Ryoma couldn't find any interest in it. It was the typical movie about a group of teenagers going on a vacation, ending up in a creepy mansion that practically screamed haunted or something, and the teenagers getting killed one by one except the lead role who either kills the creature or escapes the house. The end. As for the rest of the teens who died, one will never know if teir bodies will ever be found again. Ryoma sighed again. He slumped into the chair, popping a popcorn in to his mouth. He chewed slowly, agonizingly hoping the movie would end soon.

Forty-seven minutes later, the ending credits finally filled the screen. He had been nodding off and the music woke him. Ryoma stood up, wincing when he looked over to the arm his "date" had been gripping tightly. It was bright red, angrily stinging. He pressed his lips together, slightly annoyed. He turned to leave, but his "date" wrapped an arm around his injured arm. She started chatting nonstop, talking about how scary the movie was. Ryoma sighed inwardly, ignoring her as he trudged down the aisle along with the rest of the crowd. When they finally escaped the dark movie room, Momoshiro, along with his date, An Tachibana, were already waiting for them. Ryoma quickened his pace, hoping to rid himself of the girl clinging to his arm.

"Hey!" Momoshiro greeted them as soon as he spotted them. "So, what did you think of the movie?"

Ryoma frowned, explaining his answer. His expression made Momoshiro laugh, but he didn't think it was something to laugh about. The movie really wasn't scary. It was a little on the cheesy side and boring enough to make him fall asleep. The girl next to him, however, starting talking excitedly about the movie. He sighed again, but the girl hadn't noticed. She continued to talk even as they started walking toward the exit of the cinema. Momoshiro gave him a pitying look. Her high pitched voice droned on even as they sat in the car. Momoshiro drove in silence, but even then the girl hadn't stopped. Ryoma groaned to himself, wishing the night was over already.

Momoshiro at least had the great idea of dropping her off first. Ryoma was tempted to stay inside the care, but An glared at him through the rear view mirror. Grumbling to himself, he clambered out of the car after the girl and walked her to the door. She batted her pretty, long lashes at him, no doubt hoping he would kiss her, but Ryoma merely waved a goodbye and hurriedly left. He could tell she was disappointed, but he wasn't even interested in her, so there wasn't a point to lead her on. He sighed in relief the moment he got back inside the car which was now softly playing some pop music.

"Sorry about that, Ryoma," An said, "I know you're not into women, but since it's also a secret and she wouldn't stop asking me to ask you, I forced you to go out on a date you didn't care much for."

"It's okay," he mumbled. "At least it's done and over with."

"Yeah, and hopefully she'll take your uninterested look as a hint." Momoshiro said cheerily.

"I hope," Ryoma muttered.

They dropped him off next. He got out of the car after making a promise to Momoshiro they would go out on the weekend for a tennis match. He got to his door, opening it then turned to wave goodbye to them before stepping inside the duplex house. He shuddered at the coldness inside the house. Flicking on the light switch, the light flickered on unsteadily. It blinked twice before it became a steady hum. Ryoma took off his shoes, his black jacket following next. He rummaged through the pocket, taking out his cell phone, then hung his jacket. He flicked the light off again, using his phone as his light. In his socks, he shuffled to his room. He plugged his phone into the charge, pulled out his Pjs, and then a towel to shower. After he showered, he sipped on his t-shirt and cotton pajama pants, and flopped into bed. When he rolled to his side, he noticed his phone had a text message. He swiped the phone, checking his text. Sakuno had texted him asking him about the movie. Ryoma flipped onto his stomach and started texting back, explaining how the movie was boring, he fell asleep, and his suppose date was annoying. A minute later, his phone chimed. Sakura had replied with a laughing emoticon. She also wrote that if she didn't have an exam tomorrow, she would have gone to watch it too. Ryoma hummed, quickly texting back that she shouldn't because it was a waste of money. He was just putting his phone down when it suddenly starting ringing, startling him. Arching a brow, he answered it.

"You really don't find horror movies enjoyable, don't you?" Sakuno's voice echoed on the other line without a greeting.

"They're all the same storyline anyway," Ryoma replied, rolling onto his back again. He checked that his charger was still plugged into the phone, carefully maneuvering the strip around to make it more comfortable for him to be laying on his back.

"Every story and plot has the same underlining cliché. Why don't you at least try to be excited? Halloween is coming up!"

"Don't care for it."

"You really don't believe in the supernatural? I mean, maybe not like vampires or werewolves, but what about ghosts? Demons? Halloween is also Samhain, the time of the year where the realm between the human and the Otherworld opens, letting all the supernatural creatures and the dead venture into our world."

"How long have you known me? You should know by now that things like that are make belief stories meant to scare children." Ryoma yawned.

Sakuno laughed on the other end of the line. "Of course, that is very you, my dear childhood friend. Anyways, I'll let you off now. We both have an early start with classes tomorrow."

"Mmm."

"Oh! Before I forget, are you going to Horio's Halloween Party?"

Ryoma cringed slightly. "I...don't think so."

"Ohhh, please go! I don't want to go alone!"

"You're not going alone. Momo and An is going too."

"But I'm not close to them like you are! Pleeeease!"

Ryoma grumbled, but sighed. He agreed to go, but only hoped to stay for an hour or two. He didn't really like parties. Sakuno squealed in delight which was probably the only reason why he agreed to go. Sakuno was like family to him. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Ryoma pulled the blankets over himself, falling asleep. He dreamed of dark hallways and running around corridors, all the while red eyes chased after him.

The weekend came around faster than he expected. Luckily, he wasn't called in for work, so he gathered his tennis equipments and met up with Momoshiro waiting in the car outside. An and Sakuno decided to join them at the last minute, so they made a detour and picked them up along the way. Ryoma sat in the passenger seat, watching the passing view of buildings and scenery. He could hear Sakuno and An talking, but didn't pay attention to their topic. Instead he focused on the Halloween décor of the town.

Halloween was a huge holiday for their town. As far as he could remember, their town was said to be founded on the day of Samhain and was actually near a portal that opened to the Otherworld. The founder of the town, Masatsuna Nagahiko, fought off the evils that entered into their world and even created a group to hunt down otherworldly creatures. A story which has been told hundreds of time over, even when he was in elementary school, was the story of Seiji Hamura, who fell in love with an otherworldly creature, specifically a vampire. The Hunters went after him to stop his rendezvous with the vampire, but when they found him, it was too late. Seiji had turned into a vampire. The Hunters fought him and killed him. The vampire that turned him disappeared. Ever since then the otherworldly creatures feared the Hunters of the town and never returned. However, on one day of every year, the creatures of the Otherworld would always return, Halloween. Ryoma frowned as he went over the story in his head. If the creatures from the Otherworld always returned on the same day, he didn't understand why it was celebrated joyously. He sighed. "I don't understand."

Sakuno and An stopped abruptly in their conversation to stare at him. Sakuno smiled and asked, "Don't understand what?"

"If Halloween, Samhain, whichever it is, is suppose to be the day where monsters come into our world, why do we celebrate it with laughter? Shouldn't we be scared and stay indoors?"

"Well, that's why we wear costumes. It's to prevent the monsters from knowing we are human," An answered.

Ryoma scoffed. "If they're not human, I'm sure they can tell we are human even with a costume on. And what's with the idea of handing out candy?"

Momoshiro burst into a laugh. He shook his head. "Ryoma, Halloween isn't meant to be thought about logically. I thought you didn't believe in that stuff anyway?"

"I don't. I'm just trying to make sense of it." Ryoma shrugged.

"You know the story of Seiji Hamura?"

"How can we not? We're practically told that story every year during October. We know the story by heart. Seiji who fell in love with a vampire, got turned into one, and was killed by the Hunters." An summarized the story to the basic points.

"My grandmother," Sakuno started, "said that Seiji was actually killed on Halloween day. Our town has a different reason to celebrate this day. It's because the Hunters were able to stop Seiji. To be honest though...I think it's a little sad. He was in love, but his love was unacceptable and he was punished for it."

"Oh Sakuno, you romanticize everything," An teased.

Ryoma could see Sakuno blushing from the rear view mirror. His lips lifted slightly in amusement. Sighing, he flicked his gaze back to the side window. He also thought Sakuno was right. The story of Seiji Hamura was sad. He was in love with a vampire, was turned into one, maybe because he wanted to become one so he could be with his lover forever, but in the end, he was abandoned by said lover and sentenced to the cruel death by the hands of the Hunters.

"Okay, we're here!" Momoshiro announced.

Ryoma broke from his thoughts. He got out of the car and grabbed his racquet from the trunk. The four of them settled onto the open tennis courts. An and Sakuno watched from the sidelines while he and Momoshiro played a match. Best two out of three with six games. It was the usual match. Ryoma won the first round, but Momoshiro had wanted a rematch. Again, they played and played until it was nearly sunset and the girls were complaining about getting hungry. Momoshiro suggested he and Ryoma shower first before they head out for dinner. All four agreeing to his idea, they stopped by Momoshiro's house first, then Ryoma's. From there, they went to the local diner which was actually owned by Sakuno's grandmother, who also happened to be Ryoma's and Momoshiro's tennis coach back in high school.

Though they had all graduated, only Momoshiro and Ryoma stayed behind in the town. Everyone else went off to college in the city or left to go pro, like their captain, Tezuka. Ryoma still remained in contact with him, but lately he hadn't been able to email him or vice versa since Tezuka was now in Germany and busy with becoming a pro tennis player. He missed his captain, partially because he once had a crush on him, but also because Tezuka was a great tennis player and he wanted to play against him once more.

Shaking off his thoughts, he turned back to the conversation at hand while they were being led to a table. Once settled, they ordered their usual and waited. The conversation returned to the local lore, Seiji Hamura.

"Do you think the vampire that turned him is still alive?" Sakuno asked.

"Considering the story isn't real, no," Ryoma replied blandly.

Sakuno sighed. "Okay, fine. If it was real, do you think he is still alive?"

"The tale doesn't talk about it, only that the otherworldly creatures went into hiding," An said thoughtfully, "maybe the vampire is still alive."

Ryoma saw Sakuno shudder at the thought of the vampire still alive. He rolled his eyes. "It's a story, not a real event that happened."

"But don't you think-" Sakurano was interrupted by the arrival of their food, served by none other than her grandmother. "Hi grandma!"

"Hello Sakuno. And how are you four today?" she asked, setting the plates down in front of them.

"Ryoma and Momo just got done playing a few tennis matches. We were watching them," An answered happily.

"Oh? Good to know you two still practice tennis," Sumire said, patting both Ryoma's and Momoshiro's shoulders. She talked to them for a bit, then left them to eat.

As they ate, Sakuno suggested they check out the vendors. In October, their town always gets visitors from all over the city, some tourists, others setting up business for the Halloween month. Each year always brought different vendors, so it was always different and new. Ryoma didn't want to, but the other three begged him till he agreed. Sighing inwardly, he finished the rest of his dinner. When they were done, they paid for the food and left to explore the street vendors that were now setting up in the market. It was a long straight street that led to the dark, dense forest that surrounded their town. As they walked along the sidewalk, peering at each merchant's items, Ryoma would find himself looking to the forest. As children, the adults always told them never to wander into the forest at dark or the creatures from the Otherworld that never left would eat them. It wasn't true. In high school, the student council set up a courage test for the senior class to test out the theory. Everyone always came back unscathed and every one also knew the ones scaring the students were just other students or adults.

"Oh! Look, a palm reading booth!" An exclaimed, pointing to a deep purple tent lined with gold engravings.

Ryoma looked over to it, curious at the engravings. He followed after the three as they hurried over to the tent. An opened the flap, calling out to see if anyone was there. Even standing outside, Ryoma could barely see inside. It was dark, a little unsettling. Suddenly, a light flared on. A flame flicked on the wick of a single candle, but it lit the whole tent inside. The light of the candle reflected against colorful glass mobiles hanging from the top. A kaleidoscope of colors splattered against the cloth walls and floor. An intricate, swirl, designed rug was placed in the middle of the tent. A lady dressed in a dark red cloak sat behind a table. Gold bracelets clinked against one another as she folded her hands atop. When she looked up from beneath long, dark lashes, Ryoma saw a flash of gold and green, but it quickly disappeared. Ryoma looked into her eyes once more, but they were now a hazel brown.

"Welcome," she greeted in a sweet, lilting voice. "Would you like your palm read?"

An walked in, tugging Momoshiro along. Sakuno followed behind them. She stopped, looking over her shoulder to raise a brow at him. Ryoma sighed again. He forced his feet to move, trailing inside the tent with them. He stood awkwardly to the side as An tightly pulled Momoshiro along with her to the table and sat them down across from the psychic lady.

"I want a reading on our relationship," An said.

Momoshiro's eyes widened. "Wha-? Ah, come on An, we don't need someone telling us what our relationship will be like in the future."

"Afraid?" the psychic asked with a lift of her lips.

"No!" Momoshiro exclaimed.

"Then why don't you give it a try?" The woman unfolded her hands, resting so her palms faced upward. "Give me your hands."

An quickly put her hands in the woman's. Momoshiro was a little reluctant at first, but eventually did. Arching a brow, Ryoma stepped closer to see. The palm reader examined their palms, slowly tracing each lines with her eyes. Again, he could almost see her eyes glow a bright gold green before returning to a hazel brown. She smiled serenely.

"The two of you will have a long, healthy relationship. The two of you will grow old together and live a good life. You will have two children...you will also see them grow up to be married and have four grandchildren," she said quietly. The psychic looked up from their palms, her eyes seeming to shine a bit.

An squealed, hugging Momoshiro. Ryoma huffed a laugh when he noticed Momoshiro was blushing. They got up, thanking up. Sakuno quickly sat down, holding her hand out. "I would like my palm read as well. I have an exam coming up. Will I pass it?"

The lady nodded. She touched Sakuno's hand, once again tracing the lines with her eyes. Slowly, she nodded her head again, humming. "Yes, you will. Study hard and you will definitely pass."

Sakuno smiled brightly. She got up and turned to him. "You should try it too."

Ryoma shook his head. "I don't need my palm read. There's nothing I'm concerned about anyway."

"What about your love life then? Your last boyfriend wasn't exactly...the most exemplary." Sakuno tapped her chin with her chin. "So, let's see how your love life is."

She tugged on his arm and forced him to sit down, despite him trying to struggle against her. Groaning in irritation, he sat with his arms folded across his chest.

"Come on, Ryoma. Just try it," Momoshiro urged, "it's not like it will harm you."

Huffing, Ryoma glared at him. He relented, placing his hand hand. The psychic lady chuckled at his antics, but gently held his hand in hers. At first she traced the lined with her eyes, but the smile that was on her face faltered, and she reached out to trace the lines softly. Ryoma shuddered from her touch. He watched her intently, brows furrowing when she looked up at him, her expression grim. A touch of chill grazed his skin, sending goosebumps along on his arm.

"You will meet your true love soon...under the night of the new moon. The trees of the forest will be your witness," she whispered, suddenly gripping his fingers tightly in her hands. She stared into his eyes, a sad and sorrowful look passing through hers. "But you must listen closely. It is an ill-fated love. You must avoid it at all cost...this love will only end in death."

Author's note: Sooo, for those who may have been following my previous work for this story by the same title, I scrapped it. I scrapped the storyline of the previous Dark Nights and decided to re-write the plot. It is slightly the same plot-wise, but also very different. For one, Fuji isn't Ryoma's guardian. XD I hope this new revised version will be better.