Chapter four
Rachel sighed, staring up at the night sky. She was glad it was night. It was her favorite time of day, when everything was quiet and dark. Nothing bothered her. And the stars were brighter than ever tonight.
"I wonder what they're doing." she spoke absently. She really didn't need to. She already knew. It'd been three days since everyone left on their rescue mission. By now, they had to be nearing St. Rudolph. Yes, she was certain they were there.
But she wondered how Fuji would last there. What with Mizuki there... But she supposed they'd deal with their dislike of each other in a civil way. Fuji wasn't one to just deck someone over a disagreement.
"But Yu chan is there..." she said, scowling up at the sky. Sighing, she sat up. Her own preparations were nearly complete, and she'd have to pack a few things before she left in the near future. She was certain they would need things, and she would too when she was done with her own agenda.
She didn't need to be thinking of them at the moment. They'd be fine until they got to Hyotei. Rachel wasn't too sure what was going on there. But she was certain that if Atobe was part of it, then the rest of his minions would be too. And she didn't feel like dealing with them at the moment.
---[---
Tezuka sighed, finally realizing where they were. The country of St. Rudolph. This really wasn't good news. He hoped they could just sleep a night, then pass through on their merry way. But he knew that it wouldn't happen. 'Oh no.' he thought. 'Mizuki will say something, and then all hell will break loose.'
He could already tell the tensai was frustrated. Maybe even angry. But he was certain of the frustration. Really, though, Tezuka was surprised that he hadn't seen this coming. They were taking the most round about way to get to Hyotei, and that involved going through just about every small country around. St. Rudolph included.
He managed to block out Momoshiro, Kaido and Haseo the entire day, and tried hard to concentrate on his head knight. He could never figure out what Fuji was thinking. It was just too hard. But those three and their bickering weren't helping his concentration any. But he couldn't tell them to shut up without explaining why it was important they do.
So he kept his mouth shut, choosing to try and endure the stupidity of the day instead of causing more confusion and trouble.
'But the trouble would come anyway.' he reminded himself. So long as they were in St. Rudolph, Mizuki still had a chance to make an appearance. And that would only piss off Fuji, which is something Tezuka had only seen once, and he never wanted to witness it again.
He just hoped they could leave here without incident.
---[---
"Want another piece of the puzzle?"
Tezuka jumped. No, it was definitely safe to say he hadn't expected Haseo to make an appearance in his window, of all places. He supposed he would have to get Haseo's back story, if he didn't get if from Rachel's.
"Yes." he answered after fighting his inner thoughts. He was thinking too much recently.
"Well, let's see." Haseo said, positioning himself in a more comfortable position in the window sill. Really, there wasn't a way to get completely comfortable, but he supposed some was better than none. "What's your question for today?"
Tezuka thought for a moment. He hadn't thought of a single question he wanted to ask, but he had thought of several of them. There were so many things he wanted to know, but he wasn't quite sure where to start. Rachel's story must be complex, or else she wouldn't have gone through such lengths to hide it from everyone.
"Why did you and Rachel travel through Fudomine, and St. Rudolph? People here know her too. And I'm quite sure she hasn't been here, teleport spell or not. It seems like she's settled in Seigaku for the time being." Tezuka said.
"That's an easy question to answer." Haseo sighed. "Life at home was boring. We needed something to do. And the people there were thoroughly succeeding in pissing Rachel off to no end. What with all the stupidity that flows through that country. It's hard not to get frustrated with it all."
"Stupidity? That would be present everywhere." Tezuka sighed, feeling like he hadn't gotten much information for the question. "Wouldn't she get angry and frustrated everywhere then?"
"No. That's not how Rachel is. The people there, well, she has her reasons for thinking of them all stupid. And it's probably one of the only things I won't tell you, out of respect for her." Haseo explained. "It's something she doesn't want anyone to know about her. Only myself, a few of our friends from home, and Ryoma know."
"Ryoma?" Tezuka paused. "He knows?"
"Ah, we'll save that for another piece of the puzzle. And I can guarantee it's something I won't tell you about just yet. It'll be more fun to wait that one out and see how you react to it later." Haseo smiled, standing up in the window. "Trust me, when we get the kid, you'll know everything you need to know."
"Will I really? I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere with you."
"Of course not. But you're farther along than you would have been with Rachel." Haseo said. "She would have you try to break a locked door down before telling you the key was in your pocket."
"Why all the secrets?" Tezuka asked in a whisper.
Haseo smiled. "'Only people worth my time would go to such lengths to break them.' She told me that when I asked her the same question. Keep prying. You'll get all the answers to ask for."
Tezuka nodded and Haseo left the window, probably back to his own room for sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day, if they could escape without Mizuki noticing.
---[---
"Aniki!"
All turned around at the male running towards them. Tezuka cursed his luck. He was hoping that no one would notice them. This person especially. Although, it would be good for Fuji, it wouldn't be good if Mizuki showed up out of nowhere.
"Ah, Yuuta." Fuji smiled.
Oishi turned to Tezuka. "Yuuta?" he asked.
Tezuka nodded in the brunette's direction. "Fuji's younger brother." he explained. "Fuji Yuuta."
Everyone looked shocked, except Haseo and Kaido, who didn't seem to care either way, and turned to watch the two brothers converse.
"How have you been, Yuuta?" Fuji smiled as he asked the question.
Yuuta nodded. "Good. It's been such a long time since I've seen you, aniki." Yuuta smiled. "How's it been in Seigaku?"
"Alright I suppose. We had a bit of trouble earlier this week, but we're dealing with it now." Fuji explained. "So there won't be much of a problem left."
Yuuta nodded. "Was it Hyotei? I've heard rumors that they're starting to make a move towards the west. Towards all of us little countries. Although, Seigaku isn't that small. I guess it'd be a good place to take over first."
"I suppose you're right." Fuji sighed.
Yuuta opened his mouth to say something further about their topic, but he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "Uh, aniki, let's go this way!" he said, rushing just a bit, his words jumbling together to form something incoherent.
Fuji gave off a confused look, as did everyone else except Tezuka. Tezuka sighed, knowing that it was too late. There might be blood shed here today. Mizuki Hajime was headed their way. And they were already spotted.
"Well, well. If it isn't Fuji Syuusuke of Seigaku. What brings you to St. Rudolph?"
"Ah, Mizuki san." Fuji smiled, and Tezuka and Yuuta knew that the world was about to end for Mizuki. Why didn't he just understand that Fuji hated him? Did he not know who Fuji is?
"You know, I've been waiting for you to return here." Mizuki smiled. He suddenly pointed at Fuji and yelled "I want a rematch!"
Tezuka wanted to grab hold of Fuji and drag him away, since he knew that Fuji would never back down from this challenge. But he also wanted to keep his life.
"Gomen, Mizuki san. But we currently have something to do, and it doesn't involve me playing a match with you. Perhaps on our return trip..." Fuji said, shocking both Yuuta and Tezuka.
Both looked at each other, surprised. "Ne, Tezuka kun, what exactly is aniki planning?" Yuuta asked, a bit frightened to call Fuji Syuusuke his aniki.
Tezuka shook his head. "It's Fuji we're talking about here. I have no idea. At any rate, we should get out here, before he changes his mind."
Yuuta nodded, and took hold of one of Fuji's arms. Tezuka held Yuuta in a high place on his list of people he thought courageous, since Yuuta was the only person who would sanely grab onto Fuji in a time like this. Tezuka would rather let the tensai wreak havoc than try to stop him.
"Saa, aniki! Let's head this way, shall we?" Yuuta said, pulling Fuji along. "Ne, Mizuki san, I'll see you later!"
"Later, hmm? Yuuta?" Fuji said, glancing up at Yuuta.
"It's nothing! Aniki! Really!" Yuuta said, not looking at Fuji. He might loose his nerve to keep going.
---[---
Haseo let out a huge sigh as the party exited the busy streets of St. Rudolph and entered a quieter side street. Eiji happened to catch the sigh.
"Hoi! Haseo! Why are you sighing?" he asked, jumping on and latching himself to Haseo.
Haseo glared out in front of him, since he couldn't turn his head enough to glare at Eiji without breaking his neck. "That Mizuki."
With this being said, everyone else turned and looked at him.
"Hmm? You know Mizuki?" Fuji asked what Tezuka hoped was a completely innocent question.
"Oh, that reminds me." Yuuta said, gaining everyone's attention. "I meant to ask why you're here, but uh, Mizuki interrupted my thoughts."
Haseo pointed to Tezuka. "Thanks to this one's relationship with a certain someone [Tezuka nearly blushed at the statement., I'm stuck on this rescue mission." Haseo sighed again. "Why does she make me do such things..."
"I'm surprised Rachel isn't with you." Yuuta laughed. "You two go together like, how did she phrase it, oh, butter and toast!"
Haseo glared at the St. Rudolph citizen. "I will kill you."
"At any rate," Tezuka cut in, afraid for Haseo's life, since he caught the glare that Fuji cast in Haseo's direction. "Rachel didn't come with us."
"That's a shame." Yuuta smiled. "It was always more fun with her around."
"That's only because you didn't live with that blasted woman." Haseo shot back. "You weren't as close as she and I were."
"That's why she said butter and toast!" Yuuta smirked.
"Jerk." Haseo said, looking in another direction.
"So wait, you two know each other?" Oishi asked, confused. "It seems a lot of people know you and Rachel both."
Haseo nodded. "Yeah, why is that so strange?" Oishi blushed at the question, feeling like he was imposing on Haseo's personal life.
Yuuta laughed. "So no one knows about your escapes across the land?"
Haseo shook his head. "No one asked, so therefore, no one would know."
"Seo chan has a point! Nya!" Kikumaru smiled, jumping on Haseo and smiling.
"What? Wait! Don't you start calling me Seo chan now!" Haseo nearly hollered out, if it hadn't been for the lack of breath thanks to Kikumaru's 'hug of doom', as Tezuka referred to it.
"But Rachel san comes up with the coolest nicknames!" Kikumaru argued, but none the less continued with his thought before. "It's not like we asked him if he'd been here before. We all just assumed, nya!"
"But Haseo kun could be more open with us, even though we are all strangers." Fuji stated. "Since we are all traveling together, we might as well get to know one another."
"That's pointless." Haseo sighed, finally getting out of Kikumaru's death grip. "It's not like I'll be around for awhile after we rescue this kid."
"But you're with them now." Yuuta pointed out.
Haseo glared. "Shut up you. You're not helping me at all." He paused to sigh. "This is turning out just like before... Why is it you gang up with everyone else against me?"
Yuuta smiled. "It's more fun that way."
Kaido decided to let out a 'fssh' at this very moment, since Momoshiro had fallen asleep standing up. It was then they heard Inui mutter something about data again, although they hadn't heard it at all since the conversation began.
"Tell me, Inui." Fuji started. "How many pages did you just fill up?"
Inui smiled. "Enough." he said. "But we should probably go to an inn, or something. Since Momoshiro is out cold, it appears."
To prove his point, he lightly poked Momoshiro on the arm, and the boy toppled over. Inui sweat dropped as he readjusted his glasses.
Momo jerked awake, jumping to his feet. "What? What's going on?" he asked, completely awake now.
Everyone just shook their heads at him, disappointed.
'These people are all supposed to help save Echizen?' Tezuka thought to himself as he eyed his party. But that hadn't been what Rachel said. She had said that everyone here had a reason to go. 'But that doesn't necessarily mean everyone here should have come.' he thought bitterly. They were slow.
---[---
Tezuka slowly opened his eyes. His surrounding were...familiar, but he felt that he shouldn't be here... He glanced to the side and noticed the plush pillows and clean walls and realized he was home.
He shot up, thinking that everything had been a dream. He hadn't been sleeping well before everything started, maybe it was his body's way of telling him to get more sleep. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and walked out of the room.
He walked the halls for what felt like an hour, before realizing no one else was there. The halls were empty, there was no noise, and it scared him. What if it all hadn't been a dream? What if he'd been hurt in the process, and while in an unconscious state, everyone else left? But that wouldn't make sense. How would he have gotten to his bed then? Someone else must be there.
The entrance to the main hall had been blocked off, probably from the attack, and this had worried Tezuka. He saw a window and decided to climb out of it, and go in through the front gates. His plan worked, since the gates were already slightly ajar.
He walked into the main hall, and he turned around as a down pour began outside, and strong winds closed the gates. He turned around once more, and saw Echizen Ryoma laying on the ground, bloody and seemingly torn to pieces. But he was breathing, Tezuka could tell.
"Ryoma!" he yelled, running to the boy. He hadn't gotten halfway before someone got in his way: Atobe Keigo, previously known as Aihara Ryoki.
"Ah, prince. Ore sama was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show up!" Atobe smirked. "You do want your boy toy, ne?"
Tezuka glared at him. "Don't call him that." he growled out. "What the hell do you want with him anyway?!"
Atobe laughed. "That's good, prince. Let out your anger. You'll be much more angry later."
Tezuka only glared at Atobe. What was the man thinking? Tezuka couldn't be sure. He didn't know who Atobe was anymore. "Get out of my way, Atobe."
"Hmm?" Atobe smirked. "Or what? Will you kill Ore sama?" he asked mockingly.
"If I have to." Tezuka answered, more serious than ever before. He'd never actually been in a real battle before, and he'd never been in a situation where one man needed to kill the other to survive. He wasn't sure if he had the guts to kill him.
Atobe's laughter filled the room. "That's great, Tezuka!" he yelled, tossing a sword to Tezuka. "Then kill me, so you can get your toy over there!"
Tezuka held the sword in his hand for a few moments. Well, he supposed he had no choice now. It was either let both himself and Ryoma get killed, although him living and Ryoma dying was a more probable outcome, or kill Atobe right now and save them both.
Tezuka pointed the sword towards Atobe. "You'll die right here, Atobe!" he yelled, suddenly lunging forward, trying to pierce through Atobe's torso.
Atobe easily dodged the attack, and before Tezuka could react at all, Atobe swung his own sword down, giving Tezuka a large cut on his left side.
Tezuka held his side with his right arm, as he held the sword still pointing in Atobe's direction.
"You're failing at this, Tezuka." Atobe spoke. "At this rate, you'll die, and leave your toy for me to play with. But who knows." Atobe smirked here. "I might break it."
Tezuka's eyes went wide. He hadn't thought of that. Sure, it'd be much easier for Atobe to kill him, and do whatever he wanted with Ryoma. And this heavily angered Tezuka. "I won't give you that chance!" Tezuka hollered, and lunged again.
"Don't get angry Tezuka!" Atobe smirked.
Atobe shook his head, dodged to his left this time. "Anger dulls the blade, after all." he chuckled and brought his sword down to slash at Tezuka again. But he hadn't expected to hear the 'clink' of metal. He looked down to find Tezuka blocking his attack.
Atobe was confused, and Tezuka took complete advantage of it and pushed Atobe back, causing the prince to loose his balance. Tezuka took this opportunity to slash Atobe.
Atobe hissed as the sword came into contact with his flesh. He hadn't expected it, to be honest. He clamped an arm over his chest, he could feel the blood seeping into his sleeve.
"Atobe." Tezuka huffed. He was so out of breath, and he was loosing blood fast. "Anger may dull my blade, but it'll hurt a hell of a lot more when I cut you."
Atobe smirked at this. "Do you really think you can save your toy?" he asked. "He's in a worse condition than either of us, and he's been there, bleeding, for far longer than we've been here fighting."
Tezuka's eyes widened at the thought. He turned on his heel and looked to Ryoma. The boy's eyes were open. He must've witnessed the whole fight, or at least a majority of it. He was smiling and Tezuka swore he was crying.
"Ryoma!" he exclaimed, starting to run towards the boy. Atobe smirked behind him, and Tezuka looked horrified as a gigantic black pool of what appeared to be darkness surrounded Ryoma. Tezuka started to run faster, but the pool of darkness turned into a hand, it's fingers gripping onto Ryoma's body. Ryoma mouthed something, looking desperate, and held out his hand for Tezuka to grab onto. But the hand dragged the boy down before Tezuka could do a thing.
Tezuka gasped, but then realized he was no longer in the castle. He was outside, at the tennis courts where he usually met Ryoma at night. He heard familiar humming.
"In the land of twilight, under the moon." he heard. "We dance for the idiots. Ring around the roses, jump to the moon. We sing with the castanets."
Tezuka looked up, and saw Ryoma sitting on the wall, singing. "Kaasan." Ryoma stated. "would sing that to me all the time, when I was little and couldn't fall asleep." he explained, but Tezuka had already heard this explanation once before. "But you don't seem to have much problems with trying to sleep."
"What do you mean?" Tezuka asked.
Ryoma chuckled. "It's not obvious?" he asked, trying to conceal his amusement. Ryoma started to hum the song again. "Ne, Kunimitsu?" he said after a little while.
"What?" Tezuka asked, feeling so dejected he thought he wouldn't be able to go on any longer.
"Your dreams are only toying with you." Ryoma smiled. Ryoma turned his head and smiled at Tezuka. Ryoma jumped off the wall and faced Tezuka. He still smiled up at the prince, and placed his hands on Tezuka's face. "You'll still come save me, right?"
---[---
Tezuka shot up, completely awake. He placed a hand on his head. He was sweating. He sighed, trying to calm his racing heart. It'd been awhile since he had a nightmare, let alone a dream.
"Tezuka?"
Tezuka turned his head and saw that Fuji was looking at him through the darkness of night. He looked around. The woods were a little ominous. He was so desperate to get Fuji out of St. Rudolph and away from Mizuki, that he suggested they keep on going, instead of staying another night in St. Rudolph. And they had decided to set up came off the road and into the woods.
"Are you alright?" Fuji asked, since Tezuka hadn't replied.
"I'm fine." Tezuka answered after a moment. "I just had a nightmare, I'm fine."
Fuji chuckled. "It sounds so childish, hearing that from you."
Tezuka blushed and was damn happy Fuji couldn't see it. "Did I wake you?"
"Not really." Fuji explained, deciding to leave that topic for another discussion later. "I was already semi-ly awake, but you're tossing and turning made me curious." Fuji was quiet, and Tezuka hadn't said anything in reply. "Saa, Tezuka." Fuji said slowly. "Just who is this Echizen Ryoma to you?"
Tezuka was quiet, staring straight out in front of him. "He's a friend." he finally answered.
Fuji sighed quietly, so Tezuka didn't hear. He knew that Tezuka wasn't telling the whole truth. The boy was much more than that, but Fuji wasn't sure how much more. The only thing he could think of was that Echizen Ryoma was a friend, one of so much importance, that Tezuka snuck out every night to go see, that Tezuka kept secret from everyone.
Fuji watched as Tezuka lay back down, assuming that the conversation was done, or telling Fuji silently that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He let out a slightly louder sigh when he knew for sure Tezuka was asleep.
Maybe Echizen Ryoma was so important because he was one of the few people Tezuka knew outside of the castle.
---[---
He blinked his eyes a few times, unsure of why everything was so bright. He turned his head. He wasn't in a familiar place. No, everything here looked expensive yet old and outdated at the same time. Suddenly, one of the songs his mother sung came into mind.
He started to hum it as he stood up from the extravagant bed he was laying on. It wouldn't hurt to explore. It might give him some clues as to what happened before he blacked out.
He could remember feeding Karupin before hearing a loud explosion, somewhere near the castle. When he turned to look, there was someone there, and that was all he remembered.
Ryoma started to hum a little quieter than before, since he knew he was probably nowhere near Seigaku. He stuck his head out the door and looked up and down the hallway before finally emerging.
He walked around for what seemed like hours, his humming finally stopping, since he was feeling a little more comfortable wherever he was. His mother's voice always calmed him when he was young, and now her songs did that in her absence.
He turned and walked into the largest room he'd seen so far. And he knew for a fact it was or once was a throne room, since there were two seats on a risen platform. The room looked like it had once been very extravagant, but it looked too dusty and run down for use.
He walked into the middle of the room, and noticed a large painting behind the risen thrones. Ryoma blushed, feeling ashamed with himself, since the first thought that ran through his mind was 'he's good looking.' He felt like he was being disloyal to Kunimitsu somehow.
He took a second glance at the painting, and his eyes widened.
"It seems you finally get it." he heard whispered into his ear.
He jumped and turned around immediately. He was shocked, to say the least, to have the man in the painting standing right before him. "Who are you?" Ryoma immediately asked.
The man chuckled at his reactions. "Atobe Keigo." he bowed. "And you," he said, smirking. "are Tezuka Kunimitsu's playmate."
"What?" Ryoma asked, confused.
Atobe chuckled. "Would it be more accurate to call you his toy, then?" he asked.
"I'm neither." Ryoma answered, rather bluntly.
"Aw, now that's not true." Atobe smiled. "Since you two have been meeting secretly at night for the past year, is it?"
Ryoma blushed. "How...how did you know that?"
Atobe laughed louder. "It seems I've hit the jackpot." he smiled again. "But it doesn't matter how I know it." he smirked now, taking on a dangerous tone. Atobe leaned in close to Ryoma, his lips centimeters away from Ryoma's ear. "Since Tezuka isn't around to play with you, why don't you let me?"
Ryoma blushed and immediately backed out. "No." he said. He looked around for the nearest exit, thinking he could make a quick escape, but noticed six others in the room. 'Damn, probably guards or something.' he thought bitterly.
"Come now, you are a toy. And toys are meant to be played with." Atobe smirked, managing to grab hold of Ryoma in his distracted state. "Ore sama won't break you that badly."
Ryoma gulped, knowing full well there wasn't anyway out of this. He'd have to bear with it, as much as he didn't want to. He'd put up a fight, but he knew that it was pointless. They'd either kill him or knock him unconscious. And he didn't want either right now. He'd find a way to escape, one way or another.
And before then, he'd give 'ore sama' his payback.
---[---
"They're being awfully noisy today. Is it a special occasion?" Haseo asked sarcastically, referring to Momoshiro and Kaido, who were, once again, arguing over something no one knew of. Yells of 'baka Mamushi' and 'fssh' were heard since they started walking.
"Haseo." Tezuka said, gaining his attention. "Why did you and Rachel decide to travel around?"
Haseo stared at Tezuka for a moment, surprised that he had asked the question in the presence of everyone else. He wasn't sure if he wanted that. But through his peripheral vision, he could tell that no one was paying attention to them. Fuji, Oishi, Kikumaru and Inui had their attention on Kaido and Momoshiro, who had their attention on each other. It appeared that Tezuka and Haseo were the only two not paying attention to the argument.
"Asking the questions early, aren't we?" Haseo chuckled.
"I didn't ask one yesterday."
"Ah, that's true." They had all slept out in the open, together. If Tezuka had asked a question, any one of their travel companions could have overheard. 'So he does realize this can get to be real personal.' Haseo thought. He smiled. "We got sick of staying home with a bunch of idiots."
"That's it?" Tezuka asked, shocked. He didn't think that would be the reason for their travels.
Haseo shook his head. "Sort of." he said, trying to figure out how he was going to explain this. "There's something that Rachel has always kept secret. Well, since she left home, she's kept secret. I'm sure I could count the number of people outside of home who know on one hand, with fingers to spare." Haseo explained.
Tezuka was about to say something, but he was interrupted.
"Saa, who know what?" Inui smirked, leaning in between the two.
Haseo looked away, uninterested. He'd have to explain the rest to Tezuka later. "Exactly." he smirked, quickening his pace to leave a confused Inui and Tezuka behind a few steps. He hoped they'd reach the next town soon, so he could explain more to Tezuka.
Haseo looked around before sighing. 'Damn, we're only just getting to St. Rudolph's limits. This is going to take forever.'