Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, so don't sue me!
Warnings (for this chapter): Mention of NCS, language, violence
Pairings (for this chapter): Oishi + Eiji, Momoshiro + Ryoma, Fuji + Tezuka
Author's notes: This is my first fanfic outside of Gundam Wing, so be kind with reviews. I'm also doing a marathon dash through PoT as well as this story being AU, so characters may be OOC! I've also decided to push the characters' ages up by three years, making the freshmen 16, juniors 17-18, and the seniors 18-19.
I'm also celebrating two things. First, I finished the Prince of Tennis anime (the first series), and I'm starting on the National Championship series. Second is this story being archived in a C2 community. Not quite sure what a C2 community is, but hey, it's an achievement!
I want to thank everyone that's reviewed so far, especially IHaveNoLife. I'll try to answer any questions anyone has, just bear with me.
Chapter 4
Retaliation
"Game and match, Echizen Ryoma!"
Ryoma sighed. Finally the match was over! He walked to the net to shake Edmundson's hand.
The blond boy glared at him. "You'll regret not letting me win," Edmundson growled, his light grey eyes burning with hate. The pale teen stormed off the court, leaving Ryoma alone.
"Whatever," Ryoma said nonchalantly, shrugging to add insult to injury despite the fact that his opponent had already left. "Made made dane."
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 1 day, 12 hours, 59 minutes (1:11 P.M.)
Momoshiro glanced over at Ryoma. The small teen sat stiffly on the seat next to him. Ryoma stared at his tiny hands which folded in between his legs, and he looked younger than his age in overlarge jeans and sweater. He also appeared incredibly weak.
One of the cart attendants came up to them. "Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.
Momoshiro shook his head. "What about you, Ryoma?"
Ryoma looked up. Wary hazel eyes darted between Momoshiro and the attendant. "Do you have Ponta?"
"Of course! Here you are." She handed Momoshiro the can of grape flavored soda, and he gave it to Ryoma. The boy opened it up and began to sip at it.
"How much do I owe you?" Momoshiro asked.
The woman smiled and leaned down. "He looks like he needs it, so consider it on the house, okay?"
Momoshiro grinned slightly. "Thank you." She nodded and continued on to the next seat. Momoshiro turned to Ryoma. The young teen was staring at his drink. "How is it?" When Ryoma didn't answer, Momoshiro reached over to touch his shoulder.
Ryoma jerked back violently, hit the wall, and gasped in pain. Momoshiro froze, then pulled his hand back. The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Sorry," Ryoma muttered.
Momoshiro shook his head. "No, it was my fault. I should have made sure you were paying attention…"
Ryoma turned to look out the window, and conversation between the two friends ceased until they reached Tokyo.
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 3 days, 15 hours, 10 minutes (3:22 P.M.)
The room was silent. Nanjiro had let Momoshiro take Ryoma to his house for the day, and in turn, Momoshiro had called the other Seigaku regulars. They had all arrived about the same time.
Ryoma curled tighter into his blanket, away from the others and closer to Momoshiro. The older teen frowned. He understood why Ryoma was shying away, but Momoshiro knew that the reaction was counterproductive to Ryoma's recovery.
"I think I know who ordered attack on you," Inui said. The entire group turned to look at him. The glasses-wearing man closed his notebook and leaned forward. "Ryoma, you said that your last opponent that day was a boy named Kyle Edmundson. I think that is the same Edmundson as the son of Erik Edmundson, CEO of the international Edmundson Medical Corporation. They work in the biological field of medicine.
"The company was recently investigated for suspicious activities concerning its competitors. Apparently several high-ranking executives of the competing companies were attacked in their homes; five of them were killed rather brutally. The Edmundson Medical Corporation is not to be trifled with, and I feel that this is only the beginning…"
Silence reigned. Ryoma wrapped the blanket around him and leaned against Momoshiro. The severity of the situation sank into the group of tennis players, especially Ryoma. If this was the beginning, how bad would it get?
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 4 days, 17 hours, 19 minutes (6:31 P.M.)
"Was your day good, Eiji?"
The redhead looked up from his plate. He nodded cheerfully and returned to his food. He speared a piece of chicken and began to bring it to his mouth.
Both fork and chicken fell to his plate as a sharp pain erupted in his stomach. Mumbling an excuse, he dashed to the bathroom. He then threw up his dinner into the toilet bowl. After his stomach was empty, it continued seizing. Eiji waited until it calmed down then washed his mouth and the toilet seat.
Eiji sat on the toilet seat, his head in his hands. Another spasm wracked his slender body, and he curled instinctively around the pain.
"Eiji? Are you alright?" his mother asked, knocking on the door politely.
"I- I'm alright!" he yelled back. At least, I hope so… "Something in the food must not have agreed with me." He continued to play down the situation until his mother walked away.
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 6 days, 16 hours, 31 minutes (4:43 P.M.)
Inui began walking across the busy street, his nose buried in his worn notebook. He skimmed over the notes he took from Atobe about the Arcanum Corporation. He knew that something was hidden concerning the family heading the company, and he was determined to find it.
A shrill scream rose through the background noise muffling Inui's environment, and he looked up in time to see a rather non-descript car come charging towards him. Through the tinted glass, the data analyst noted a pale man with short, but wavy dark-colored hair.
The notebook fell from his hands as he tried to jump back to the curb.
Pain erupted from his lower abdomen. The car picked him up off the ground and easily threw him twenty feet down the road. People screamed and ran towards him. The hostile driver continued on, disappearing around a corner.
"Call 1-1-9! Don't worry, kid. The ambulance is on the way."
"Did someone see the license plate number of that car?!"
The world began to dim sharply.
"Hey… Hey! You have to stay with-."
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 2 weeks, 12 hours, 19 minutes (1:31 P.M.)
Eiji sighed. Then sighed again.
He just wanted life to go back to normal. Instead, one friend was recovering from a "traumatic incident", and another was in the hospital for a fractured hip and a broken leg. An international corporation was suspected of being the ones responsible. The situation was probably hopeless…
The redhead shifted in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position. He felt hot and cold at the same time. His mother had told him to take the day off when the thermometer showed his temperature to be 101 degrees. She put it off as a mild case of the flu, and sent him to bed to sleep it off.
Eiji rolled over, pulled the covers up over his head, and willed himself to sleep.
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 2 weeks, 19 hours, 3 minutes (8:15 P.M.)
Ryoma stared at himself in the mirror. He couldn't see why anyone would want to spend time with him, especially if an assassin was after him. He brought his wrist to inspect it. His entire arm throbbed at the movement.
It did not look any different…
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 27 minutes (8:39 A.M.)
The bright light blinded Inui as he was wheeled out of the hospital. The nurse handed his wheelchair over to his mother, and the two women helped him into the car. The nurse folded the wheelchair for transportation as Inui's mother talked to the physical therapist and doctor. Soon, the car pulled away from the hospital, and the occupants began the ride home.
The young tennis player looked out the window as the city passed by. His injuries throbbed painfully, but his mind was focused on data. There's only a 10 chance of another attack on Ryoma or myself, but a 75 chance exists for an attack on someone close to someone near Ryoma. This is an act of retribution…
--
Time since discovery: 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 8 minutes (9:20 P.M.)
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Fuji ran down the stairs to answer the phone. "Shuusuke Fuji speaking."
"This is Detective Sakai. Are you related to Yuuta Fuji?" the caller asked.
Fuji felt his blood run cold. "Yes," he said cautiously. "I'm his older brother."
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but can you come down to the station? We have some questions for you concerning your brother's disappearance."