Disclaimer: Contrary to my wishes, a genie did not appear and grant me Fuji Syuusuke for a New Year Present. However, if a certain blue-eyed tensai appears on my doorstep on V-Day you guys will be the first to know! Oh, and the other hotties in PoT haven't shown up either (yet!) so unfortunately, I do not (yet!) own them.
But I own the plot, so no stealing!
Anyways, have fun reading! And if you like it, or decide that I should get a really great award for writing such a wonderful (not really) story, just push the review button. Because I love you too. Mwuah!
Fifth Grade: Staying Away
Ryoma POV. The NEW Echizen Household
I stood there disobediently, much to the surprise of both of my parents and my older brother. If the circumstances hadn't been so harsh I would have laughed at the expressions on my baka oyaji's face. Yes, he was officially a baka now, because Nanako said it was his idea to move to the US.
Why can't they understand that it's not the different school systems that I don't like? In fact, I could care less about school; I could pass all my classes without showing up even once.
Boing. Smack. Whack.
It was just that I didn't want to leave the people that I had come to care for.
And, I know I'm going to hell for this, but I'm probably going end up doing a lot of things that will make me go to hell. My family is no longer the most important thing to me. I'm not sure when it happened, or why, but all I know is that even after the plane ride, even after the devil incarnate appeared and turned my heaven into hell, all I want is to run into the arms of my half-brothers.
They were my half brothers now. Because I realized, they never broke the promise. I was the one who broke the promise. But they'd be forever in my heart now, and I knew that for sure. Because, here I was, the perfect kid, athletically and academically speaking, defying my parents.
Yet again.
Boing. Boing. Slam!
This had become routine for me. Mom would ask me to do something, and I would tell her I was going to practice tennis, even if what I was planning on doing earlier had absolutely nothing to do with tennis.
Tennis was my escape, my haven from hell, my sanctuary from sin. It had even more meaning to me, now that I knew I might never see them again. But tennis was a tie between all five of us, which could never be broken, no matter how far away we were.
I don't know if I was supposed to love tennis, I mean if my baka oyaji likes tennis, then I'm supposed to hate it, right? But it felt all right to like tennis, because it reminded me of them.
Rain dripped into my eyes. It had been raining? I looked around; no wonder there hadn't been anyone else on the courts. By the looks of it, it must've been raining for at least an hour now. I guess I'd been too caught up between tennis and thinking about the people I missed the most to realize it.
Boing. Smash. Boing.
It didn't matter, rain didn't bother me anymore. Nothing bothered me, now that I'd cast away so many emotions. Among them, happiness, because I'd already experienced true happiness and I knew I'd never feel it again without them. Tennis was bittersweet now, because of them. And yet, for some reason I'd rather feel this hurt than go through life without meeting them that fateful day at the park.
I knew it was strange. I knew it wasn't fair. I knew it wasn't right. But this hate, this love, this want, this need…it made me stronger. It made me strive for the top. The top, where I knew I could see them again. Because I didn't admire them the moment I saw them for no reason at all.
I looked up, the rain splashing my face even more. I vowed to the same sky that hung over Genichirou and Keigo's heads, that one day I'd play with them. And I'd stand on the other side of the net.
I vowed to the same clouds that Syuusuke and Kunimitsu saw on a daily basis, that one day, I would be able to play at Wimbledon. And I'd win for them, I'd do it all for them.
Boing. Boing. Clank…
And I vowed to the rain that would one day soak all of us, that I would practice until that day. No matter how wet it got. No matter how cold it got. And no matter whom I met. Because next to my most important people, little things like the weather were just insignificant details. It didn't matter to me much before, and it didn't matter at all now.
That was the last thing I remember thinking, just as Nanako ran towards me, her umbrella flying away, forgotten. Oh…that and the fact…that I loved my half brothers…
Syuusuke POV. Seigaku Infirmary.
"Baka Tezuka!" I pounded my fists into the wall, punching harder and harder, despite the damage to my hand. I didn't stop when the nurse called out to me, the tensai at the top of class, to tell me that I shouldn't damage school property. I didn't stop until Tezuka himself stepped out and looked into my eyes.
"Gomen," he said, obviously unaware of how much he meant to me. To all of us. It didn't matter if Genichirou said that he needed to attend a school in a different prefecture, because he never said he wanted to. It didn't matter that Keigo said we were unworthy of his presence, because his eyes gave away his lie, just like they always did.
And Ryoma…although I didn't have any solid proof that Ryoma didn't really hate us; the majority of my memories of him were all of him being adorable. And if I can't remember anything bad about him, then he was either an innocent angel or the bad things weren't important enough to remember anyway.
Except when he left us. But he didn't have a choice in that either.
I reached out for his bandaged arm. I thought he knew better than to pick a fight with seniors, but I figure he needed it. Mitsu hadn't shown an interest in anything other than his studies and tennis recently. He only stopped every now and then to eat something so his mom would stop worrying, or to pretend to sleep for an hour, only to get up as soon as he was sure everyone else had fallen asleep.
Then the next morning, he would still be sleeping, his head on his desk, with the lamp light still on. His papers would be neatly strewn across his desk, with books propped up against each other. Then he would get up and continue working, as though nothing had ever happened.
I lay against the cool brick wall. Kunimitsu followed my lead, seeing as he really didn't have too many choices anymore. And the choices he did have, he chose not to make, preferring to instead allow others to make choices for him. So far, he had become the star student that every parent wanted, although he did not rank first in class.
I was happy to steal that spot from him. Kunimitsu worked hard, but I worked just as hard, although not at the same things. While Kunimitsu barely slept, locked away his feelings, and even turned to the point where he asked his "old friends" to call him Tezuka, I chose my own path.
Or rather, my path chose me. I pulled out a camera, which I had snuck into school without any teachers, staff, students, or most importantly, Kunimitsu noticing. I snapped a picture silently and stealthily, knowing that the angle and lighting would all be perfect. I smiled mentally. After running across an old album with memories of my loved ones, I had decided that pictures really do preserve time.
And I wanted to preserve these moments for Ryoma. Because someday, I knew he'd come back.
Keigo POV. The Mall.
I had an interview with a wannabe tomorrow. Well, that's what I called him. Personally, I saw it as a date with a devil. It wasn't the devil, or even my devil, just another distraction my father thought might be in the best interests of me or at least the company.
The girl was rich, her father was influential, and she was a rising actress. But she was no substitute for Ryoma, for Genichirou, for Kunimitsu, for Syuusuke. Those were the only people who crossed my mind when it was too late to work. They were the faces that ran through my mind while the rhythm of tennis balls chorused through my ears. They were the only things I ever thought about.
I passed by a few windows, glancing into the overpriced stores and automatically dismissing it as a possibility. I was searching for some rich looking outfit, not a business suit. But of course, rich men play tennis, and right in the middle of the mall was a tennis shop, beckoning to me with the offer of possibly talented players.
I stepped inside to find one of the most talented players, my own Sanada Genichirou.
"Of course, I'll help you shop for an outfit," that's what he said, but he looked rather jealous. And sleepy as well. I wonder how his middle school life went. "So what does the girl you're dating prefer?"
I laughed at that one. Genichirou looked at me like I was crazy. "I'm not dating anyone for a while. Unless, that is, you're interested? I think you looked pretty jealous for a moment there." I only meant to tease him, but he blushed an interesting shade of red. Yes, how could I forget the adorable blush Gen-kun always had.
After an hour of me rejecting clothes, Genichirou refusing to try on the "frivolous" clothes I kept asking (begging) him to try, and fighting over whether or not to ask for directions to a particular shop until we found ourselves in front of a map, I finally had a stupid outfit.
But I had to admit shopping with Gen-kun was rather fun.
"When will I see you again?" I asked, as we both left the overheated mall air. He looked seriously into my eyes. I was reminded by the look Ryoma gave us when he told us about his flight to America. I was crushed.
"What happened, Gen-kun?" My voice cracked, desperate. The response I received cracked my heart even further.
"I'm sorry," he began. I shook my head, a fruitless attempt to sway away any bad news Gen-kun could possible have. "But I'm attending Rikkaidai, and I might not see you for a while. In fact this is the first time I've seen any of you guys since the day Ryoma left."
Tears welled in my eyes momentarily, burning them. No, this couldn't happen. Ore-sama didn't want it happen. And what Ore-sama wanted, he got! I leaned over and kissed Genichirou a few minutes walk away from the mall. Right there on the streets.
"Ore-sama will not let you leave like this."
Ryoga POV. The NEW Echizen Household.
"Oi, Baka Oyaji! The brat's at it again. I think you should bring him in before he catches pneumonia again." He was annoying, yes. But he was my little brother, and he was cute. I stood the door, motioning to the figure playing tennis against the garage wall despite the rain.
But of course, oyaji was busy with his magazines. And I don't feel like getting wet right now. Besides, Ryoma would just ignore everyone, and we knew it. I slouched against the door, watching the brat play tennis. Tennis couldn't be that amazing, could it? Mentally, I noted to try it sometime when it wasn't raining.
Nanako rushed out into the rain, a towel in her hands. "Ryoma-kun, come inside! You can play again some other time! You shouldn't get sick, you'll miss school. And it's absolutely terrible for your body!"
Baka nee-chan. She doesn't realize that firstly, Ryoma doesn't play tennis. He practices. He doesn't get sick easily either. He had a cold once, and that was the very first time he played in the rain. Now, it's a regular occurrence for him to come inside the house absolutely drenched, and go up to his room to talk with Karupin.
Another thing she doesn't realize, Ryoma doesn't care about school. He can ace all his classes without teachers breathing down his neck. I wish he wouldn't though; it'll only get Mom on my case again. The whole, your little brother does better in school that you do thing. Oh and Ryoma doesn't care about his body. It's like he's punishing himself for something.
I walked into the kitchen and collapsed into a chair. I didn't feel like watching Nanako beg Ryoma to come inside. Reminds me of the times when I tried to coax him inside. Mom gave me the "I need to talk to you and your dad" look. I sighed; a teenage boy doesn't get a break, does he?
After baka oyaji finally sat down, Mom started. This wasn't going to be another "Ryoga is doing bad in school" lecture is it? Luckily, or unluckily, Mom said, "Ryoma's been acting strangely lately."
Dad and I exchanged looks. It was our mental way of saying "Duh!" without pissing off Mom. Because that would lead to us attempting to do the dishes after dinner. So instead I answered, "Yeah, you'd think he'd be over the moving to America thing by now. I mean it's not that bad."
And Dad, genius that he is, said, "Unless he got a girl pregnant before we moved. That would explain a lot." Mom looked horrified for a moment while she attempted to calculate just how many times she hadn't known exactly where Ryoma was and who he was with.
"Relax, Mom. Unless Ryoma's gay, he hasn't done anything with anyone. The only people he's ever befriended for more than a month are those four guys. You know, the ones you and Nanako think are adorable?"
While this seemed to make Mom feel better, it did set off quite the chain reaction with Dad. He burst into almost inaudible murmurs of "Ryoma's gay?!?" and the like. And of course, Ryoma chose this moment to actually come back into the house.
He took one long, hard glance at us, before walking upstairs and disappearing into his room. Gentle mews met our ears moments later, and I crept up to his room with Nanako. We peeked into the room through a crack Ochibi had left because he was a lazy sleepwalker right now.
He lay against his bed, flipping through an album. His fingers glided across the page, and rested on a picture of five extremely young boys. Neither Nanako nor I could be sure whether or not it was a stray droplet from his hair, now wet from the rain, or actual tears, but the page blotched right under the picture he was fingering.
When Mom found out, the first thing she said was, "Book a flight back. Now."
But of course, just because oyaji is a baka for a reason, he decided to book a flight for next year. The summer of next year to be exact. So basically Ryoma would be in 6th grade, and he would probably done missing his old friends. And then we would have to fly back to America for some friend Ryoma made in America.
I mean, they were just friends, right?
So, now that there is a fixed date for Ryoma's return, what will happen when he does return? Personally, I'm rather looking forward to Ryoma's reaction to the flight, and more importantly, what he'll do when he finds out his dad booked a flight for a year later. (Insert sigh here) So much lost time.
But of course, that just means we're getting close to the good stuff. It makes me happy that the story's actually moving. But of course that's because I love my readers so much. And to my reviewers, you people are AMAZING! You are my inspiration, mwauh!
Every reviewer gets a cyber Ryoma plushie. And returning reviewers get a cyber Ryoma plushie AND a cookie. Just because I love you so much.
I can't promise a date for the next post, and I'm having a hard time contacting crassreine, so the next post probably won't be beta-ed either. But I do know that I will repost at least three times before V-day. Because I have an amazing V-day oneshot for you guys.
Mwauh! I love you guys! Review if you have time!
