Pairings: …hahaha… I'm still torn D:
Warning: Might be OOC. Some swearing and cursing.
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favs! Especially for all of you who gave me reviews, I'm overwhelmed with happiness when I read them all, since it made me knew that someone did love my story (though, I'm still wondering what made you like this fic, lol). Thank you so much! :)
Beta'ed by the lovely AngelDono. Thank you darling~ ;D
Guest reply:
Guest 1: Thank you! Here is an update~
Guest 2 & 3 (who asked for sensual): Let just see how the story goes, because I haven't decided the exact pairing for Ryoma at all. For now, there will be only hints and hints~ Nothing too serious though.
Anonymous: haha, okay~ here is the awaited update ;)
Kariza2013: Did you disabled your PM feature? I'll just reply to you here then. I will! Here is the new chapter~
The Prince's Regime
~Rikka~
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~
Chapter 2
- Those who want to become stronger -
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~
The black-clad men started to stand up one by one. They were covered in dirt and looked beat up, not to mention lifeless. Their facial expression darkened, looked dejected, and was surrounded by a gloomy aura all around them. The scene felt so much like a horror movie, one where zombies rise from the dead, albeit they weren't dead… yet.
The high schoolers walked in rhythm, approaching the still-shocked middle schoolers. Their arms hung straight down, bodies crouched low, with heads also facing downward.
"Wh—what's wrong with them?" Kenya asked as his face started turning pale, ready to bolt away at any moment.
Momoshiro's mouth gaped open and close like a goldfish. "We really stepped in at the wrong time."
Only then, the high schoolers noticed who was exactly standing right before them. "You guys are—?!"
Seemed like even the senior high dropouts were surprised by the middle schoolers' arrival.
Still upset from having been beaten by them earlier, which resulted in being sent to this place, one of the senior high dropouts growled in vexation. "What are you middle schoolers doing here?!"
"What are you guys doing up here yourselves?" Kintarou countered.
"Shut up! It's got nothing to do with you!" the tan blond-haired man, named Sasabe Junichi, replied. "Do you want me to beat you up?"
"What did you say?" Kaidoh, never one to stay still especially when being threatened, walked up. "If you're going to do it, then do it!"
"Fine by me!"
The crows, that were silently watching them from the trees up till now, suddenly flew away and broke them from arguing by their flapping wings and warning vocalization.
It made them realized, again, that they were not the only ones up there. Their coach, Mifune Nyudo, stared at them displeased.
"Enough talking!" He barked. Growling, he reached out for his gourd. "I can't believe I have to take care of you trash. What a pain in the ass." Mifune drank his liquor.
'Our coach is a drunk?' Shishido thought, not liking the fact at all.
"Listen up! My orders are absolute up here. Make sure to do anything I tell you, or else I'll throw you off the cliff!" Their drunken coach shouted commandingly.
"You heard him." Sasabe snickered.
"Well, I'm not too sure you middle schoolers will make it through the training up here, though," he continued in mocking tone. "I won't blame you if you run away."
All the other senior high dropouts lightly laughed in approval.
The middle schoolers glared at them intensely.
"Hurry up and move, trash!" Mifune cut in, obviously ignoring the hostile atmosphere between the two. "Training starts soon."
Consciously, he wandered his sight to Ryoma, who was watching them from a distance.
The middle schoolers changed from their school jerseys into plain white t-shirts, as was instructed by their new coach. Their jerseys were now left hanging on the wooden fence in front of a wooden house, which was located behind Mifune.
"Got changed? Plain t-shirts are enough for you trash."
"Hey! Who are you to call us trash?!" Fuji Yuuta shouted, feeling so fed-up from being called trash continuously.
"Trash is trash," Mifune replied coldly.
"What?" Momoshiro looked more than ready to brawl.
Ignoring their fury, the drunken coach continued, "or, would you prefer I call you losers?"
That… successfully shut them up. They couldn't rebuke that statement, couldn't really shout 'No', because it was one painful truth they had to admit. Even when they felt terrifyingly frustrated, vivaciously so, it was indeed true. They were losers.
Mifune threw shovels to the ground. "Alright, to start with, dig a hole. A deep one."
'Holes?' Confusion swelled up in all of them.
"I'll be back in an hour," he simply said, then walked away, taking the high schoolers with him.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?"
"Guess we'll just do it?" Kenya answered in an unsure tone. "Or else, he'll throw us off a cliff."
And that sealed their fate.
They were digging holes under the bright sun. Hours had passed, though no one seemed to realize as they dug one hole to another. They were all covered in dirt; endless sweat had soaked every part of their bodies.
"Alright, stop."
Mifune stood right behind them –when the hell did he come back— without any of them noticing, taking them by surprise.
He gulped down his liquor then commanded, "Put the shovels away."
"Y—yes!" They all shouted in unison, then quickly scattered to put the shovels back in the storage room.
"That drunken old man, I wondered how he was going to train us, but he just makes us dig holes?" Shishido complained after they finished putting the shovels away and had now gathered together, creating a circle, and stood right in front of the storage room.
"There are plenty of better things we could be doing," Yanagi stated. "Why is he making us dig holes?"
Inui who was standing beside Yanagi thought the same thing.
"Let's head back for now."
When they returned, they found their coach nonchalantly taking a pee right in the holes they dug.
"Okay, fill them up," Mifune, realizing they had come back, said.
Not believing the scene before them, they were all dumbfounded and upset at the same time.
"You mean those holes… were just for him to take a piss?" Kaidoh muttered in disbelief.
"Quit bitching and fill the holes back in!" Mifune ordered. "Move it! Where are your shovels?!"
They quickly ran back to the storage room.
"Even though we just put them away."
"Damn it!"
They filled the holes back after retrieving the shovels. The old man was now lying on a big stone, watching them while drinking at the same time.
Which felt like a long few minutes, the holes were finally filled back again.
"Did you fill them completely, trash?"
Momoshiro sighed, wiping the sweat on his forehead. He caught something on the corner of his eyes. "Hey, our jerseys are missing."
Their jerseys were gone, completely vanished from where they were left before. The fence was now bare, without anything covering it up.
"I thought we left them over there," Kawamura added in confusion.
"They're right there." Their coach piped in, he cast his eyes downwards. "Under your feet."
"Our feet?"
"You don't mean…"
Realizing what he had meant, they all quickly looked at the ground below them.
"Seriously?"
There was a laughing sound heard suddenly.
"That's great." The senior high appeared.
"Your precious little jerseys aren't worth anything up here," Sasabe smirked mockingly.
"What did you say?!"
"I've had enough of you!" Kaidoh was beyond pissed.
"Stop it, Kaidoh." Kawamura tried to calm his junior down.
"But, Kawamura-senpai, they—"
"Kaidoh!" Sanada shouted. "Don't forget our goal."
The newly appointed Seigaku captain complied unwillingly, leaving him to shake in rage.
The middle schoolers were ordered to climb down and up the mountain again, in the task to bring water, while the senior high dropouts were playing tennis on the court. They panted heavily and felt vexed having to carry the wooden basket filled with water throughout the climbing. Especially when the said water was used for the sake of making the high schoolers regain their energy. It pissed them off, seeing their hard work to be used, not even for themselves, but instead for the person they were having dispute with.
They also had been commanded to do tree training; meaning they were being hang upside down while holding a racket. At the same time, countless balls were hit towards them and they must not let even one ball fall to the ground.
Another training was tricycle riding. They had to ride small sized tricycles up the hill, which was difficult since the vehicle's size was obviously not meant for their builds.
After finishing all their training, the middle schoolers were found sprawled on the ground, panting harshly. As expected, the training had really drained their energy.
"I'm so hungry," Seigaku's trickster grumbled.
"Now that I remember, we haven't had breakfast yet."
"This is getting stupid," Kenya complained. "Is that drunk really one of the coaches?"
"Speaking of which, I wonder what they're doing right now," Shishido said bitterly.
"They?"
Shishido sat up. "The winners, of course."
"Damn it. While we're dealing with this nonsense, they're…"
The same thought flashed through their minds. The image of the winners' team having the joy of their lives, being served with the best; the best treatment, the best facilities, and the best food.
Ultimately, the thought made them feel envious even more.
"I can't take this anymore!" Momoshiro groaned.
"How long are you guys gonna take a break?"
The high schoolers stood before them.
"Hey, someone get some water," one of them said, throwing a basket to the ground. "Make it quick, kids," he added mockingly, then walked away.
Sanada's eyes narrowed dangerously. Not only Sanada, but the rest of the middle schoolers also clearly looked beyond pissed.
Unbeknownst of them, their drunken coach stood few meters behind them shielded by a tree, observing them silently.
"You're not going to do anything?" he asked the teen who was standing a few steps behind him, after taking a sip from his gourd.
The capped teen simply shrugged, leaning against a tree nonchalantly, and stared back at the old man without saying a word.
"They might give up at this rate," Mifune continued.
They kept their gazes to each other for a moment, before the dark-haired teen tugged his cap down slightly. "If they stop just because of this, then they don't mean that much."
The hermit-clad man observed him thoroughly, before the tip of his lip rose upwards. "You have faith in them," he stated as matter-of-fact.
The teen was only silent, which already indirectly signified that the old man's statement was true.
Mifune smirked. "You like them."
The golden-eyed teen scoffed, then turned his back.
"Oi, where are you going, brat?"
Ryoma walked without stopping even once, not bothered to answered the old man's question.
Observation room
"How is that lot doing?"
"That lot? You mean the losers?"
Coach Kurobe and coach Saitoh talked as they were watching all the players from surveillance cameras that were planted throughout the entire place.
"They should be training hard in the mountains right now," coach Saitoh said. "Though, in this day and age, grit, grit, and more grit is such antiquated philosophy."
"Humans are mysterious creatures. Hidden inside us is something immeasurable even with the most cutting edge technology," the wavy dark brown-haired coach, Kurobe, stated.
"I wonder how much of it is psychological," coach Saitoh muttered.
"Figuring that out…"
"...is my job as the mental coach," coach Saitoh said, finishing coach Kurobe's words.
"Then why don't you go do your job?" another voice chirped in.
They both immediately turned towards the voice's source.
Ryoma was standing in front of an opened door and leaning against it, while taking a sip from a grape flavored Ponta.
Coach Saitoh's face brightened at the sight. "Echizen-kun! Why didn't you tell us you were coming? I could have prepared a feast for you."
Ryoma only stared at him with bored eyes.
"You're coming back?" coach Kurobe asked.
"Che, no."
Coach Saitoh looked fairly disappointed. "Haven't you got bored already playing in the mountain?"
"I'm not playing around."
"Sure, sure," Coach Saitoh dismissed him easily.
"Right!" He clasped his hands suddenly. "Why don't you go see the new recruits? We have gathered some potential playmates for you. I'm sure they can keep you entertained."
Ryoma glared at him skeptically. "They're not your toys to play with."
Coach Saitoh smiled smugly, "They are, unless they prove otherwise."
The dark-haired teen scowled. Glaring at the ever easy-going coach for the last time, he strode out of the door.
"Stop teasing him," coach Kurobe remarked, after making sure Ryoma was already out of their sight.
"But he was so adorable when angry," the tallest of the two answered, way too happily. "I can't help it."
Letting out a sigh, Kurobe commented. "I'm starting to think you are the reason why he hated being here."
"Anyone interesting?"
Irie Kanata walked, approaching Oni and Tokugawa who were observing the winners' team of the middle schoolers. They were currently training under the supervision of Tsuge Ryuuji, one of the coaches who was in charge of physicality training.
Oni didn't even bother to look at Irie. "What do you mean?"
The honey brown, curly-haired man fixed his round shaped glasses, smiled. "Well, those middle schoolers! Is there anyone that interests you?" He swept his sight to the field, checking the players, and then turned his red eyes back to Oni. "I mean, they are going to be your teammates soon."
Teammates…
That's right. Those middle schoolers had grown at such terrifying speed that it really is just a matter of time before they reach the court Oni currently dwelled in; court 5.
Though, all the courts below court 5 were nothing to be proud about. They couldn't be compared with the upper courts. The difference in strength between court 5 and above, and the lower court was so painfully obvious, especially the residents of court 1. They're the best out of the best, it was no wonder that they stand on top, particularly the 1st stringers.
"Your turn is coming soon," Irie continued. Propping his elbow on the concrete fence, he smiled in amusement. "To test them and to judge their worth…" he drawled.
"Whether they will pass the trial and join us—," he echoed the words deliberately slow on purpose. "—is your role as The Gatekeeper from Hell."
Irie lifted his body up and settled himself to sit on top of the fence, glasses glinted in glee. "Ah, but, I guess we still need our little prince's approval first~"
The dark redhead let the leader of 3rd court speak without responding to him even once. Irie's words reminded him of why he was known as 'The Gatekeeper from Hell'in the first place. Rather flashy way of describing someone, but befitting nonetheless.
Tokugawa, apparently, had only been quietly listening to the conversation, devoid of any intention to contributing a thought.
"You talk too much."
The Honey head immediately brimmed in delight once he realized who was butting in their discussion; albeit it was a one-sided one.
"Ryoma-chan!"
Ryoma's eyebrows twitched in annoyance at the nickname. He had asked the bespectacled man to stop calling him with that suffix once, though it was most likely to have been ignored by the older man. Irie claimed that the name was his means to show his affection towards their baby brother, though in Ryoma's defense, he was convinced he did it on purpose to rile the teen up. Irie had a rather whimsical personality and loved to prank people with his seemingly innocent acting. A pretense that more than often had people fooled, especially if it's used in tennis. The honey haired man loved to tease Ryoma the best, because according to him, the teen looked the cutest when he was peeved.
The dark-haired teen gave a brief greeting to Oni and a slight nod to Tokugawa.
Irie hopped down from the fence and walked towards Ryoma. "It's been a while since the last time we saw you," he said, taking Ryoma's hat off then ruffled his hair fondly.
Ryoma slapped Irie's hand away, frowning.
The red eyes man only laughed heartily at Ryoma's somewhat rude behavior. "Alright then, what are you doing here? Curious of your possible future teammates?"
His silence became the answer.
Irie sighed. "Okay, so, it's a no." Seemingly to be lost in thought for a moment, he gave a wide smile —a too suspicious smile in Ryoma's opinion— suddenly, "Oh! Did you miss us, Ryoma-chan?"
The teen rolled his eyes.
"Stop riling him up, Irie," Oni said before Irie made another remark to tease Ryoma again.
"Fine, fine," he lifted both his hands up, a gesture of conceding. "So then, why?"
Giving Irie the cold shoulder, Ryoma walked past him, towards Tokugawa.
"Let's have a match."
The dark blue haired man nodded in consent.
"I see." Irie smiled slyly. "You come to see Tokugawa only." Emphasizing on the word 'only'. His eyes failed to hide his amusement, along with a voice that was shrouded in a teasing tone. "I'm jealous."
Ryoma bore him an impassive look, already used towards the older man's antic.
Irie chuckled. "Okay, okay, I'll stop now." He leaned against the fence. "But, what are you going to do with them?" he asked, flicking his finger in the direction where the middle schoolers were.
Shifting the tennis bag on his shoulder, Ryoma glanced from the fellow middle schoolers to Irie, then Oni. "I'll leave them to you, Oni-san."
The redhead beckoned an affirmative nod.
"I'll trust your judgment," Ryoma added quickly, stopping Irie from speaking again. He, then, put his cap back to crowning his hair and threw Irie one last hard glare. "You should do your job too."
Not waiting for a reply, the teen strode away with Tokugawa following closely from behind.
Irie made a casual shrugged and one submissive smile plastered on his face. "The little prince sure is demanding."
Letting out no reaction, Oni simply returned his attention back to the hard-working middle schoolers. "You reap what you sow".
"Why should we sleep here?" Momoshiro grumbled as he prepared his sleeping bag.
Inui dragged his sleeping bag, settled himself beside Yanagi, and said, "Because we lost."
After they finished their training, coach Mifune had gathered them all along with the high schoolers, and made them have a match against one another. A match between the middle and the high schoolers, where the losing team will be punished to camp out in the cave. Both teams were separated by the net; the high schoolers occupied the upper side of the court, while the middle schoolers took the bottom. The rules were simple; Anyone who missed had to leave the court and the team that had the most players inside at the end, won. At first, they were really confident of winning, especially since they had already beaten them once back then. The only miscalculation on their part was the court itself. Different from the usual court, the ground was made from soil, pebbles, and rocks. So, when they hit the ball to the ground, it created an irregular bounce. Coupled by the fact that they were totally unused to a terrain like this, and their difficulty in moving caused by the large amount of players gathered together in one spot, rendered them even more in an disadvantage.
The court made it hard to play on, since it was impossible to predict how the ball was going to bounce. They even tried to hit the ball before it landed using volleys, but it proved to be ineffective because the opponent outnumbered them. They finally met their shining moment when the duo data masters stepped in. Using the data they had accumulated, by inputting the court's topography and angle of reflection, Inui and Yanagi were able to predict where the irregular bounce was going to occur. After that, the middle schoolers' team was in the winning flow, but when it seemed like they were going to win and was left with only 3 senior high and 2 middle schoolers, the drunken coach suddenly stopped the match and announced the high schoolers' victory.
Hence, making them lose and left to sleep in the cave as the result.
"But, it's not fair! Not fair at all!" Momoshiro whined. "We should have won if he didn't stop the match!"
"I don't think there's any use in complaining against coach Mifune," Kawamura replied.
"He didn't even listen to us," Zaizen added as he tried to make himself comfortable inside the sleeping bag.
"By the way," Inui adjusted his glasses. "Have any of you seen Echizen?"
That statement immediately drew everyone's attention.
"You're right! I didn't see him at all since this afternoon!" Momoshiro exclaimed loudly.
"I think he didn't return after leaving back then," Yanagi replied.
Oishi cast his sight everywhere in panic. "Could something have happened to him? Maybe he got attacked by wild animal, or fell from the cliff, or—,"
"Calm down, Oishi-senpai," Kaidoh said reassuringly.
"Maybe he went to piss?" Kintarou muttered offhandedly.
"Or maybe he lost his way!" Kenya laughed at his own words.
"It can't be, can it?" Shishido chirped in.
At the same time, Ryoma was seen stepping into the cave —looking as nonchalant as ever much to everyone dismay—, still wearing the same attire and carrying his tennis bag, surprising everyone.
"ECHIZEN!"
Momoshiro quickly stood up and approaching the cap teen. "Yo, where have you been?" he asked while resting his arm on Ryoma's shoulder.
Ryoma simply shrugged Momoshiro's arm off, then walked to the far end of the cave, next to Oishi. "I was lost," he answered while dropping his tennis bag down.
"Seriously?!" Kenya shrieked at the background.
"You're lucky not having to do all those weird training. Very lucky I say." Momoshiro waved his hand eagerly, making an exaggerate exclamation.
The rookie of Shitenhouji, Tooyama Kintarou, was skipping towards Ryoma. "Hey, hey, how is your name written?"
The dark-haired teen stared at him flatly, then started to write his name on the ground using his finger.
"So, that's how it's written," Inui who, since-God-knows-when, crouched next to Ryoma muttered. He quickly wrote down his newfound discovery into his note-book.
Kintarou let out a hum and nod repeatedly at the same time. "Oh! So, your name is Koshimae!"
Golden eyes narrowed at the remark.
"No, no, Kintarou-san. This is read as Echizen," Konjiki Koharu explained, tapping at the kanji 'Echizen'.
Kintarou frowned. "What are you saying? It's Koshimae!"
Konjiki shook his head. "It's Echizen, Kintarou-san. E-Chi-Zen," he spelled it out slowly.
"It's Koshimae!" Kintarou rebuked stubbornly.
Kenya patted on Konjiki's shoulder. "Give it up. Kin-chan is not going to listen."
"May I ask you something, Echizen?" Inui, ignoring the silly conversation happening beside him, asked.
Ryoma only stared at him, giving a silent approval.
"Which schools are you come from?"
"None."
Inui was stunned, and before he was going to asked again, Yanagi –who was now crouching right to Inui—beat him up. "Then, where did you come from?"
Ryoma took a sleeping bag out of his tennis bag. "U.S."
"I see. So, that's why I have no data about you," Inui mumbled as he was writing furiously on his notebook. "That makes sense now. It's because you came from overseas."
"You came here from the U.S. specially to join this selection camp?"
Ryoma was going to say 'not really', but that reply might invoke even more questions (which was troublesome) and he didn't feel like explaining (he was tired, mind you. Besides, talking was never one of Ryoma's forte), not to mention it was complicated (or maybe not); so he settled for a simple nod.
Momoshiro patted Ryoma's back, impressed. "Wow! You must be really strong to be specially invited here!"
Inui stroked his chin. "The possibility of Echizen to be really strong is 100%. I really want to see you play in a match."
Kintarou brightened up at the probability to have another strong player, especially one around his age. "Hey, hey, Koshimae! Have a match with me!"
Ignoring the redhead's challenge (and possible future question), Ryoma suddenly stood up. He took a step towards the cave exit.
"Koshimae! Where are you going?"
Not bothering to look back, he simply answered. "Toilet."
They silently watched as Ryoma disappeared from their sight.
It didn't take long for them to notice that their newest addition slash teammate was not a talkative person. Or to be exact, he didn't seem to like talking that much.
"Oh, great. We got another fuku-buchou," Niou muttered. No offense.
Sanada bore Niou a murderous glare.
Mifune Nyūdo hummed lightly as he refilled his gourd with the liquor bottle he retrieved from the refrigerator. He took a few gulps from it then burped loudly afterwards. Beside the now empty bottle, a can of a carbonated drink was placed on top of the table.
He put his gourd on the wooden table, then picked the can –labeled grape Ponta—up. He walked towards the other wooden chair, which was being resided by the emerald haired teen.
He shoved the can to the teen roughly, then strode back to his chair.
Ryoma —obviously didn't go to the toilet— opened the can and took a sip, letting a content smile emerged on his face. Emerald haired fluttered softly as he bent his body down slightly, moving the white cap that was resting on his lap to the table.
"So, what do you think of them?" the bearded old man spoke, trying to start a conversation.
Having Ryoma go silent on him again, he continued in a more oppressive tone, "You'll answer me this time, brat."
As though Ponta was the most interesting thing to look at (maybe it really was, in Ryoma's case), he eyed the can intensely.
He did hear what the old man in front of him said. No, he wasn't ignoring him –not this time at least—, he was just searching for the best way to described his answer, and while he did, Ryoma recalled the event that occurred back then. The time when coach Mifune purposely dropped baskets of tennis balls off the cliff.
When they were half-way through the mountain, stamina and energy had obviously been drained out of them. They were painting heavily and color was swept out of their faces.
Not a few of them started to question what the hell they were doing.
"Don't lose focus, Shishido!" Mukahi shouted, when he saw Shishido lose the grip on his foot and slipped down.
"I know!" Shishido replied in retaliation. "I know, but… damn it! how did this happen?"
"Shishido…"
"We're being tested, aren't we? Damn it! I bet they're watching us from somewhere and laughing!"
That statement made the looks on their faces darken. The painful truth they had to accept. A lot of their vigor had already vanished and it was really questionable of how much was still left.
"Is this it?" a voice calmly broke them from their self-pity. "Is this your limit?"
Golden eyes shone oddly bright, even though the light had been stolen from them when the cloudy sky emanated and veiled the sun. It felt like a silent challenge was being thrown from them.
Sanada, who's position was the closest to Ryoma, watched as the teen returned his focus back at the task of climbing the mountain without expecting an answer.
"Do you know?!" Sanada shouted at Ryoma, sounded somewhat desperate.
Ryoma stopped on his track and glanced back at Sanada.
"What's up there? What's waiting for us?"
"Who knows?" the teen turned his head back and looked upwards to the peak. "The only thing that's certain is that climbing to the top will make us stronger."
"The top?"
Ryoma settled his eyes back to Sanada's brown ones. "You all want to become stronger, right?"
That simple statement startled them all up. It had reminded them the reason why they're doing this and why they were here in the first place.
As they climbed till about a quarter-way before reaching the peak, ridiculous amounts of yellow balls rained down towards them. When the balls made a contact with the cliff, it successfully caused not a few of slopes to crumble against the impact.
It had become very dangerous as the slopes collapsed one by one.
"Uwaaaa! This is bad!" Tanishi Kei screamed as he clung desperately on the stones for his life.
"What the hell was this?!"
Sanada gritted his teeth in anger as he watched the balls fell.
"Momoshiro, are you okay?" Kaidoh asked worriedly.
"Instead of me, you should worry about yourself," the Seigaku's trickster replied hastily. Obviously the burden on Kaidoh was much worse than anyone else, since he wasn't just carrying his tennis bag but Momoshiro too.
"Don't be kidding with me!" Shishido shouted, filled in rage. "How much more do you have to mock us before satisfied, you bastards?!"
A few pebbles fell directly on Kaidoh and collided with his head, making him to lose his balance. He fell a few meters downwards, which also resulted in Momoshiro to accidentally loosen his grip on Kaidoh.
"Momoshiro!"
Panic engulfed them; they watched in horror as Momoshiro steadily fell.
Sanada caught him by hand. "Don't let go, Momoshiro!"
"Sanada-san…"
"Listen up, guys! Right now at the top of this cliff, undoubtedly, he's there! Someone who is mocking us that lost!"
At Sanada's words, as more balls rained down, they all began to help each other out.
"This is our new battle," Rikkaidai's Emperor continued. "We'll stare back at those who mock us and beat the arrogance out of them! Don't back down! Don't be afraid! Don't look back!"
They all nodded in approval.
"There's only one thing we must do now!"
More and more balls were coming down.
"Listen up! Leave no one behind! We'll all rise up together!"
Those words managed to ignite the fighting spirit inside all of them. The look in their eyes changed. They were now flickered with determination and fervor. They're not going to lose. They're not going to let whoever standing on top of this cliff to win. They will show them; Show them what they're made of. Rejuvenated, they roared in unity, turning their new-found will into strength as they climbed up the mountain.
Small smile formed on the dark, emerald haired teen's face as he saw the change in his possible future teammates.
Back from his flashback, Ryoma's golden eyes gleamed in excitement. Moving the Ponta away from his lips, he smirked in delight. "They aren't bad."
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
- [Mahatma Gandhi] -
I'm digging my own grave. Why must I made my chapter longer and longer the more I write? Hopefully you guys don't mind long chapter. *crossing my finger*
For all of you who haven't watch/read new prince of tennis, just FYI, Tokugawa Kazuya, Oni Juujirou, Irie Kanata, Mifune Nyudo, Saitoh, Kurobe, Tsuge, Sasabe really are the new original casts from Shin Tenipuri. I didn't create them up, okay! They're not my OC.
Right, if I don't update for a long time, you guys might need to bug me into updating, because I have a tendency to get lazy and forget things pretty easily.
Feedback are loved and welcomed~ Thank you :)