Okay, so after playing some Tenimyu DL4 and DL5 songs non-stop (namely Fuurinkazan and Hijou no Tennis), I managed to create another chapter for the tournament arc. This is mainly about how the family system works in canon. As I've said before, it requires one hell of a mind screw for you to understand it. Also, we get into some of the other 'parents', namely of the Seigaku and Hyotei ones. I would like to credit BleuFleur for the term 'wish-children'. I hope you don't mind me using it as the chapter header.
Warnings and Disclaimers: Same as the first chapter.
Chapter III-B: The Wish-Children
Akaya can't believe what he was hearing. He and Echizen have more in common than he had thought!
"Who're his parents, then?!" He asked, incredulous. The mere fact that there was another person like him, a teen who was separated from his parents at birth and never knowing the truth until now was enough to give him a small shock. He looked behind his parents to see the Seigaku team unloading their own equipment. "He doesn't look like any of them at all!"
"Look more closely, Akaya." Niou snorted. "There's one thing that Takeshi-sensei didn't change about Echizen Ryoma from the day he was born."
"Huh?" Akaya blinked. "What does Niou-senpai mean by that, Okaa-san, Otou-san?" He turned to his parents.
The couple hesitated. "How do we explain this…?"
"In order for the fans not too see the relationship between the parents and their children, Takeshi Konomi-sensei would alter the children's appearances before you were introduced to us again as your senpais." Yanagi was the one to answer the question. "That's why your hair and eyes are different from Seiichi's and Genichirou's."
"When you were born, you had blue eyes, like Yuki's." Marui continued while chewing his ever present gum. "And your hair was straight black with a slight bluish tinge to it."
"But it seems like Echizen-kun was changed the most out of all the children born from the middle school circuit." Yagyuu noted thoughtfully. "Some had changed with some slight physical differences. With Echizen-kun, his height and the color of his hair were changed drastically."
"But it can't be helped." Jackal sighed. "If sensei didn't change Echizen's hair color, the readers would make the connection all too easily. Especially since he has Tezuka's eyes…"
"No way!" Akaya mouth was agape. "Echizen's father is his buchou?!"
"And his mother is Seigaku's number two, Fuji Shuusuke." Yanagi nodded. "Quite a combination if you ask me, but since Tezuka and Fuji are part of the most popular fandom…"
"Is it that hard to believe, Akaya?" Sanada asked wryly. "If you could be born to us, then Echizen could be born to Seigaku as well."
-/-
"Yudan sezou ni ikou!" Tezuka finished his short speech with his trademark catchphrase.
"Hai, buchou!" All members of the Seigaku tennis club chorused in unison before scampering off to do their usual tasks. The Seigaku captain sighed, running a hand through his metallic brown locks as he surveyed his team. Once again he found his gaze lingering to a certain freshman rookie, who was currently at the mercy of Momoshiro and Kikumaru, with the second year holding the younger teen's head in a headlock. He resisted the urge to go over there and pry off the power player's arms over the rookie, combined with one of his patented death glares, as it would be very out of character for him to do so. He couldn't stop the worry, however, and he jumped slightly at the sudden pressure on his bicep, though he didn't show it outwardly.
He looked to the side, looking downward, as he recognized the touch, ladled with warmth.
"Shuusuke." He didn't stop the pain from showing in his voice.
"I know, Kunimitsu." The tensai answered back softly, his usual smile tinted with a sadness that was getting more and more frequent on his features. Fuji was looking at a distance, his close-eyed gaze centering on their future pillar.
"Everything will work out. I know it will." His hold on the captain's sleeve tightened.
-/-
"So… does Echizen know about it?" Akaya finally asked.
"You," Niou poked the second year's chest pointedly. "Weren't supposed to know about it. Ever. It was supposed to be a secret, and you would only know about it after the series has ended. But since you found out on your own…" The trickster shrugged.
"I was careless at that time." Yanagi interjected quickly. "I never really took Akaya's curiosity into account."
"I guess we have to thank Akaya's curiosity, then." Yukimura smiled, cuddling his son close, starting to coo over him again.
"O-Okaa-san!" Akaya yelped, blushing wildly, while Sanada briefly ruffled his hair before going off to resume his responsibilities as the vice-captain.
Akaya was happy. Truly, he was. But right now he was feeling as if he cheated on somebody. He shouldn't be this happy. He wasn't supposed to know about the nature of his birth. Guilt was starting to claw into his chest, and as much as he tried to suppress them, the feelings still stayed.
He was being unfair. It wasn't his fault, he knew, but if there's one thing that playing tennis taught him, it was to exercise fair play in all aspects of life. He had an advantage over the rest of the teenagers who were also born like him, and it sickened him to the core.
Playing against Fuji Shuusuke, Echizen's birth mother, once taught him that.
-/-
Fuji paused and suddenly sneezed, much to the surprise of the regulars who are with him.
"Fujiko, are you sick, nya?" Eiji looked at his best friend worriedly. "Do you have a cold?"
"No, I'm fine." Fuji smiled and assured the acrobat, although it was more for the benefit of a certain bespectacled teen looking at him with worried eyes. "Someone must be thinking about me." He continued thoughtfully.
"Isn't it supposed to be 'talking about you', senpai?" Momoshiro asked with a light, slightly jesting tone, causing the tensai to chuckle. "Momo, if someone's talking about me, then it would mean that he was thinking about me as well, right?" He stopped and noticed that the freshman had been looking at him that was longer than usual. "Echizen, is there something wrong?"
Ryoma gave a start. "Ah, no. It's nothing." He turned away, adjusting his white cap to avoid further question. Inwardly though, he berated himself for getting caught.
Why am I staring at Fuji-senpai for so long? Am I… actually worried about him? But why?
He didn't notice the sad shadow that loomed over the tensai's face, to be quickly replaced with his usual, happy smile.
-/-
"ATOBE-SAMA!!!"
The Hyotei regulars didn't stop the cringe that appeared on their faces the moment they stepped off the luxurious coach. Instantly they were surrounded by a gaggle, of screaming, wailing girls who were intent on one person only: their buchou, the great diva, Atobe Keigo.
The King of Hyotei Gakuen raised his hand and snapped his fingers, causing everyone to be immediately silenced.
"Ore-sama bigi ni yoi na."
The fans went wild, and Rikkaidai, who was near, was watching with renowned interest. Sanada resisted rolling his eyes at the display.
"As usual, Hyotei's flashy at their entrance." Yanagi noted.
"What can you say? Atobe-kun clearly loves the attention." Yukimura said serenely.
"Sugeee! We're finally here!!! Wait, is that Rikkaidai I see?! Oh my God, is Marui-kun there?!" They heard the definite squeal of one Hyotei regular, and the aforementioned volley specialist groaned loudly.
"Oh great…" He muttered. "Not him again…"
"Looks like your fanboy is here at last, Marui." Niou slung an arm over Marui shoulders, clearly stopping himself from laughing out loud. "Any last words?"
Marui looked like he was going to be sent to the gallows. "Hide me; please hide me before Akutagawa arrives…" He was behind Yagyuu's back, already cowering.
"Jirou! Calm down!" They heard Atobe bark, and the strawberry blond volleyist kept quiet, although still pouting that he hasn't seen his beloved Marui-kun.
"It must be nice to have a fan, Marui." Yukimura commented offhandedly in a light teasing tone. Marui looked at him as if he was crazy. "Trust me Yuki, that would be the last thing you would ever want to have..." Marui shuddered back. "It's a good thing that Atobe has him shackled or else he'd still be following me…"
"We're back!" Jackal and Akaya arrived, carrying various bottled cans of different brands. Both of them were in errand duty for the day, and while Akaya didn't like it, it was still nice to see an appreciative smile on his parent's faces.
"Thanks, brat." Niou raised his hand and caught the can that Akaya aimed at his face. Akaya huffed, muttering something incoherent.
"Niou-kun, be more appreciative." Yagyuu chided him lightly, receiving his own ordered drink with thanks. "You're setting a bad example for our godchild."
"Since when did I say that I'll teach Akaya something good?" Niou smiled wickedly. "Puri."
"I will never understand why you chose Niou to be Akaya's godparent." Yanagi said in an undertone to Sanada.
"I didn't." Sanada's eyebrow was twitching. "It was Seiichi who wanted to."
"By the way, is that Hyotei?" Akaya looked over to the other side of the court in question. "They have a lot of people over there."
"Blame that on Atobe, their buchou." Yukimura smiled, patting the second year on the head. "He's very… flamboyant."
"He's a terrible example to his team." Sanada huffed. "A captain must always be responsible and reserved."
"You forget Genichirou, that he has beaten you once." Yanagi reminded him, watching the sudden flinch at appeared on the vice-captain's face. "So he's not all talk, I'm afraid."
"Makes me wonder what his son is like." Marui shrugged. "I didn't see anyone like him in his team."
"Even if we try looking by appearance, it would be impossible." Jackal shook his head.
Akaya gave a start at that. "Wait… there's someone like me on Hyotei?!" Is it possible? Is it possible that there were more people like him and Echizen?!
"There is an 85% chance that there is, Akaya." Yanagi answered ruefully. "But I cannot be sure about the other teams."
No way. Akaya turned to Hyotei, looking at their regulars carefully. Who? Which of them was also conceived because of a wish?
"How can you be even sure that Atobe-kun is a father?" Yagyuu asked in an incredulous tone.
"I can feel it." Sanada answered quietly. "As loud as he is, he cannot mask the emotions in his heart."
"We parents have a… sixth sense, if you could call it that." Yukimura explained softly. "We are empathic to each other's feelings and emotions. That's why, earlier this day, I felt Fuji-kun's hurt."
"So, in theory, it could help you cope with the secret easier, am I right?" Yanagi asked, and the couple nodded.
"Do the others know…?"
"No." Sanada shook his head. "They could only feel our happiness at this moment. It's up to them to discover why."
"I see…"
Akaya didn't hear any of this. He was concentrating on the Hyotei camp, intending to find out who the teen is. He was fairly sure that once he saw him, he would feel that strange connection again. His forest green eyes skimmed over each head, frowning as each second passed. But finally, he felt it, that tug at his chest as his eyes rested on a tall, silver haired male and a smaller brunet, who looked as if the rest of the world was against him.
But…
Which of the two of them was it?
-/-
Ootori Choutarou felt a shudder ran through his body and he looked up, slightly confused. What was that? It was as if someone was tugging at his chest…
"Choutarou, you okay?" Shishido noticed that his partner was looking among the other teams, a puzzled expression on his face. "Something wrong?"
"Ah, no." Choutatrou was rubbing his chest, feeling a bit disconcerted. "It's just that… I have a feeling that I'm missing something…"
"Shishido, Ootori, what are you doing?!" Atobe's voice rang throughout the place. "Ore-sama does not like to be kept waiting!"
"Ah, yes, coming!" As they took their places for the opening ceremony, a certain teen did not notice the ice-blue eyes looking at him with softness, before darting back to look forward again.
Now I've introduced Hyotei into the story, I think it's pretty obvious to all just who the son of the Hyotei family is. I have several reasons why I chose Choutarou instead of Hiyoshi, which I would reveal (as well as the other wish-children) in another spinoff after I'm done with the Rikkai one... if I put myself up to it.
Reviews and constructed criticism appreciated.
Mitsukai20