Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.
Lady Monozuki: Thank you everyone for the reviews and encouragement. I really appreciate it! I apologize for not getting this chapter out on time. Life loves working against me and I didn't get the chance to write this until today. I do apologize.
Chapter Two: Trouble
He sighed and turned in the bed again. After since he passed out on the courts, his boyfriend called his house and surprisingly; his father came to pick him up. His head still ached and there were bouts of dizziness that kept him in bed. What worried him the most was that his father was acting like a real parents. After turning once more, he decided to give up on sleeping. His head was preventing him from getting any. He had originally intended to sleep it off, but that proved to be impossible.
Something happened….
With that thought, sleep finally claimed him.
-◊-
The next time he awoke, his body felt better than it had been. Though he still had a slight headache, he attributed that toward his baka oyaji for banging on several pots to get him up. He dressed for the morning and went down for breakfast. His cousin had prepared a feast mixed with his favorite Japanese foods and some western dishes. He picked through his meal and gave brief answers to his mother's and cousin's inquiries. He did not feel like talking to anyone. Ryoma did notice that they were giving him an odd stare. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his tennis gear before heading out the door.
He stared for a moment and wondered why his sempai wasn't waiting for him already. He guessed that he was running late and started to head in the direction of the school. A few of the neighbors waved him good-bye, but he ignored them—as usual. He rounded a corner and stopped when he saw a shadow. He looked up to see his boyfriend. He blinked.
Wait, shouldn't he be at the clubhouse all ready? What's he doing here?
Without saying anything, his boyfriend pulled him in for a hug. Ryoma was shocked by the sudden display of affection.
"Gomen Kunimitsu, I worried you again."
"Are you feeling better?"
"Hai, I'll be fine." He frowned. Did his boyfriend come all of this way just to ask if he was doing okay?
Did Kunimitsu really give up opening clubhouse just for that?
"Ne, what time is it?" he asked.
"A quarter to six, why?"
Ah, so that's why his family gave him such odd looks. "Shall we head to practice?"
His boyfriend nodded and they headed in the direction of Seigaku. They arrived at the tennis courts earlier than he preferred. However, he did not complain because that meant he got to spend some time alone with Kunimitsu before practice. Silence, however, reigned in the clubhouse. Even though he did not know what was on his boyfriend's mind, he could sense that there was something troubling the older teen. He frowned. He had not imagined their time alone going like this at all.
"Kuni, are you all okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm thinking."
"About what?" he pressed. While both of the liked the quiet, he figured that his boyfriend would have more to say—especially after what happened yesterday. He reached out and grabbed Kunimitsu's hand, giving it a small squeeze, while silently conveying his message. He would be there when his boyfriend felt like talking. They stayed like that for a moment before dressing for practice. Their alone time would be over soon anyway. He tied his shoes before staring at the wall. If he went out there now, there wouldn't be anyone to practice with as his boyfriend still had other things to attend to before club officially started.
Lips pressed against his forehead. He leaned up to give his boyfriend a light kiss. The slamming of the door made them jump. He pushed Kunimitsu away and turned to see Fuji and Oishi in the locker room. He scowled and tried to give them a death glare, but the blush on his face ruined his effect. Fuji looked amused at his attempt though, while Oishi seemed to be in a state of shock.
They have the worst timing ever.
"Saa, looks like we were interrupting something important. Gomen you two," Fuji said in a sickly-sweet voice. Ryoma frowned. As sweet as it sounded, he detected a hint of anger in there as well. At that sentence, the mother-hen fuku-buchou blushed. Obviously, they had seen the whole interaction between him and Tezuka. He turned his attention to his racquet, trying to take his mind off the tension in the air.
"A-ah, I'll go o-open the equipment ro-room while you finish!" Oishi stammered. The mother-hen made a quick exit.
"You're lucky he didn't see the second kiss," Fuji said in an amused voice.
"Fuji," Tezuka said in a harsh voice. Ryoma stared at his boyfriend. What was up with the serious tone?
"I'm going to run some light drills," he announced. Whatever the reason, he did not want to get caught in the middle of it.
-◊-
He noticed that Tezuka and Fuji were giving each other the cold shoulder after he had left them in the locker room. He frowned because it was odd to see those two treating each other indifferently. He was so used to Fuji torturing Kunimitsu and his boyfriend tolerating everything the tensai did. They shot each other glares from the other side of the court, a few times he caught them staring at him. That made him uncomfortable. It wasn't bad enough that his boyfriend and friend were treating each other like enemies, but somehow he had ended up in the middle of their battle as well. He wished that practice would be over soon so that he could sleep off the headache starting to form during his classes.
He caught Fuji staring at him once again. Ryoma then looked at his boyfriend; a glare was pointed at the tensai until Kunimitsu caught his questioning glance. His boyfriend simply turned away from him. Now he was convinced that what was going on between the two of them was because of him. He started to move over to his boyfriend to ask him what was going on, but was stopped when a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up to see Fuji with a strained smile on his face.
"Don't worry about me and Tezuka. We just had a minor disagreement," he said in a gentle voice.
"About what?"
The tensai didn't answer. Instead, he back away. Ryoma almost went after him to get some answers, but didn't when he heard footsteps behind him. A hand grabbed his own and pulled him to the side of the courts. Ryoma didn't need to know who had grabbed his hand. He knew that familiar grip anywhere. He frowned at the treatment.
"What's going on?" he snapped.
"What did he say to you?" his boyfriend asked.
"He just told me that you two got into a fight," he answered in a harsh tone. "Now answer my question. What's going on between you two?"
"Nothing, don't concern yourself with this."
He scowled at that response. "Tezuka-buchou," he said in a cold voice, "it is my business when you two are sending each other looks that could murder each other. Fuji's opened his eyes so many times today that the freshmen are scared to get in the same court as him! Now tell me what you two are arguing about!"
His boyfriend squeezed his hand and sighed. He waited for an answer, but that didn't come. He had never been a patient person and this was getting to be ridiculous.
"Buchou, if you keep holding my hand, the club is going to come up with rumors."
The stoic captain released his hand. "We were fighting over you. I've been afraid of losing you and when you fainted, I realized that Fuji might take you away from me."
He blinked. Then the whole reason for their childish behavior was because of his boyfriend's insecurity?
"Baka," he mumbled. "I wouldn't leave you for Fuji." A look of relief spread across his boyfriend's face. "Ne Kunimitsu, would you ever leave me for someone else?"
"Never," he boyfriend replied. "I would never give you up."
Ryoma wanted to give Kunimitsu a kiss for saying that, but didn't when he remembered their surroundings. He gave a small smile.
"I'll reward you later," he mumbled. With that, he went to find Momo to do a practice match. He found his friend competing against Kaidoh in doing their warm-ups. They had one more lap to go from the looks of it and they were still arguing about who was better. He waited for them to be done before interrupting their rivalry.
"Ne Momo-sempai, play a match against me," he said.
"Oh? Have you found a way to counter my new smash?"
He walked on to the court. "Mada mada dane, Momo-sempai." The junior followed him after picking up his racquet.
"Brat, what type of answer is that?"
"Which?" Ryoma asked.
"Smooth," Momo said. He spun the racquet and it clattered to the ground with the R facing upward. "Service."
With that, they marched off to their respective sides of the court. He prepared himself to receive his friend's serve. The ball bounced toward him and he returned with a front hand. A rally took place, he was testing the strength of his sempai today and didn't want to use too many moves or else it would end too quickly. The shots were starting to become stronger and Momo used a jackknife to try and score a point. He used both hands to return the shot so he wouldn't overburden any one wrist. They continued to hit the ball back and forth.
"What's the matter, you're not going to use any moves today? We both know that you love to show off."
"Che," he said. "Why don't you focus on scoring instead?"
He switched alternately between his right and left hands so to prevent any chance balls. He didn't want to deal with Momo's-ridiculously-long-named-and-stupid-sounding smash just yet. The shots started to become heavier, he was certain that this was because his sempai had been trying to draw out his skills.
"Have you gotten weaker, sempai? It's taking you a long time to score," he taunted.
"You're not scoring either, brat!"
"But I'm not using a jackknife," he stated.
He hit a drop shot, catching the junior off-guard and scoring the first point of the game. He smirked.
"Let's get serious then, Momo-sempai," he said. The ball bounced in front of him and he returned it. The rally continued until he hit a Drive B to score the second point. The familiar sounds of the game was enough to ease his mind about the events that had taken place and allowed him to relax. He accidently hit a chance ball, giving Momo a chance to score. He tapped his racquet against his shoulder. He'd rather not try to counter a ball that could make such a black mark on the court. The next time though, he made sure to score the point.
"Game Echizen, four games to two."
He blinked in surprise at the score. How long had they been playing? Oh well, at least he was winning. He waited for Momo to serve when a loud siren distracted him. He heard the tennis ball make contact with Momo's racquet. He turned his attention to the game and returned the ball with a precise shot to the opposite corner. Ryoma could hear the shouts of different people nearby. He tried to not let it irritate him, but for some reason his focus was less than usual. The other club members seemed to also be curious as to what was going on.
"Minna, get back to work!" Tezuka shouted.
Everyone tried to do as he said, but the shouting became louder. Soon they say four people in police uniforms approach the court along with Ryuuzaki-sensei and the principal. Ryoma tore his gaze away from them and turned it back to his match. Momo, unfortunately, was distracted with what was happening with the police. He sighed.
"Gentlemen, can't this affair wait until after our practice is over?" Ryuuzaki-sensei tried.
"No, we are here to take him into custody," one of the officers snapped. Ryoma frowned. What were they doing here? Any who did they want to take into custody? The gaze of the officer fell upon him; he turned his attention away from him. He heard them whisper amongst themselves for a few seconds before starting to walk across the courts. They approached him, his stomach churned.
This is not good.
"Echizen Ryoma, we're here to take you into custody."
To be continued…
