A/N: I'm baack! -strikes victory pose-
Loving the feedback, everyone! You guys have got some awesome theories, and I'm getting a kick out of everyone's guesses at Echizen's Word. (Personal fave: the power of PONTA. Oh, if only! Although if I ever do a crack-version of this in an omake, that is totally going to be it! XD)
On another note, make sure to read the notes at the end of the chapter! It's always a mix of background info or answers to some reviews (since some of you don't have FFnet accounts to reply to, or more than one person asks the same question). :)
Oh, and I also misplaced Ishida Tetsu's grade last chapter (I don't even know how I messed it up in the first place!). Anyway, fixed it up - after I stopped crying about my own idiocy, that is.
Disclaimer: I do not own~! (This includes both Prince of Tennis and Aphorism!)
Warnings: Ditto the first chapter.
Pairings:
- some convoluted form of the OT3 (TezuFujiRyo)
- (guaranteed) Golden, Emerald (InuKai), AkuDan, MomoAn, Tango, Platinum, Dirty, Silver, Sweet, KajimotoMizuki, SengokuTomoka (don't you judge me!)... There's going to be a lot of implied side pairs.
Chapter Four
"No one's side but his own."
In the next moment, all of the Doors in the Courtyard began to dissolve into nonexistence - gone, just like the monsters from the Hunt. Most of the students began to disperse, re-entering the school building or dormitories depending on their mood. It didn't look like much time had passed, as the sun still shone high in the sky.
"Ryoma-kun!" Dan greeted brightly, rushing towards the solitary figure.
Echizen Ryoma acknowledged the Yamabuki boy with a casual nod. Nothing about the golden-eyed youth looked different; he was perfectly unruffled, uniform and face wiped clean of anything. He'd given his attention to the chattering Yamabuki boy, seemingly not noticing the myriad of stares he'd gained.
"-so Tezuka-senpai broke the clock and we were transported back here! I'm surprised you weren't among the first to arrive, though, Ryoma-kun. And then when the time ran out, I really thought we had lost you!" Dan continued.
Echizen snorted, not even bothering to detach himself from the boy, "It wasn't that hard."
Dan laughed. Something in his demeanor changed then, but it was hard to tell what - his smile remained cheerful, his eyes bright, his posture practically radiating elation. Yet something very sinister seemed to settle into Dan Taichi. Tezuka finally noticed the shadow the freshman boy was casting; instead of his silhouette, the shadows attached to Dan curled around his feet like smoke, an incongruous form that continually shifted.
Dan leaned close to the other boy so that his next words were audible only to Ryoma: "As expected of you, isn't that right - beloved Prince?"
With that, Dan turned and wandered over to Sengoku. Unperturbed by his section mate's prior conversation, Sengoku greeted the boy cheerfully and the two Yamabuki students idled away without a backwards glance.
"Echizen," Fuji began - voice low and dangerous, blue eyes open to pin the younger boy with a look. "Where are your teammates?"
Echizen merely cast him an unimpressed look as he swept by, re-entering the Freshmen's Wing. "That's the wrong question, Fuji-senpai," he said as he passed, not even a shadow of an expression flickering over his features.
School was getting so much more exciting now - Momo could barely stifle his grin. His peers were finally adjusting, if the lack of suicides were anything to go by. It was also becoming easier to befriend others; many students new to the real Tengoku were starting to lose that paranoid, hysterical edge and were more willing to strike up friendships, if only for potential allies.
Granted, some of the Fudoumine kids could be better. Kamio was just too bitter to talk to and Momo really couldn't understand anything Ibu said - but An was nice enough. She was spunky and sharp, and knew the advantage of having friends in Tengoku. Momo had never been that good at socializing with girls, especially pretty ones like An, but he wanted a connection in Fudoumine. The girl had promise in comparison to some of her Fudoumine peers.
Momo could admit he was getting readily comfortable with his position now. He'd had his doubts at first; he wasn't anything close to shy, unlike Kaidoh, but that didn't mean he was used to going out of his way to establish connections. As accustomed as he was to the concept of Tengoku and all it stood for - practically raised with it - he just wasn't used to dealing with people who weren't. He even felt slightly resentful about it; why did they get to grow up without even the faintest idea of what sort of nightmare lay before them?
Ibu's probably right, Momo mused. We are pretty rotten people.
"Takeshi-kun!"
Momo nearly stumbled at the feminine croon, turning startled eyes to the pretty brunette making her way towards him with a bright smile. Tachibana An was practically running towards him - and didn't even bother to slow down as she passed, merely grabbing his wrist and forcing him along to follow.
"Eh?" Momo gaped.
"I'm kidnapping you!" An announced pleasantly, giving him a playful wink.
"Eh?" Dammit, his weakness was pretty girls!
She bounded past the dining hall, the Courtyard, and further into the territory Momo recognized as Fudoumine's. He hadn't been this far before - there had been no point, as there was little report on Fudoumine and the members who had gotten in. Even Ryuuzaki-sensei had given the general feeling of 'don't bother' concerning a few of the sections, Fudoumine among them. Echizen hadn't been interested in the freshmen, outside of keeping them alive for backup later.
"An-chan," Momo started weakly, looking up at the dormitory as they approached it. "It's very...pink."
An laughed, "Our colors are black and cerise pink. I suppose the black would make it look too gloomy."
That's emasculating, Momo thought.
The dormitory set-up was identical to Seigaku's, with the exception of the color scheme and a preference for inner-city paintings as decoration. An pulled him past the commons room and into the study area, where already four boys were gathered - Ibu and Kamio among them. The other two boys were taller, although only one was a senior: the boy with close-cropped black hair and bindi on his forehead. The boy with the white bandanna already had his staff out and was leaning against the furthest wall, eyeing Momo calmly as An dragged him inside.
"This feels mildly threatening," Momo noted aloud.
The senior smiled at him disarmingly, "It's not meant to, I assure you. I am Tachibana Kippei - An's older brother."
Tachibana nodded to the two familiar juniors, "And I know you've met Kamio and Ibu already."
"I'm Ishida Tetsu," the other junior spoke up. "Nice to meet you."
"Momoshirou Takeshi," Momo nodded in greeting.
The study room looked relatively unused - odd, in comparison to the Seigaku dorm's, which usually had two or three groups occupying it at any given time. Momo couldn't recall the exact statistics of the Fudoumine dorm, aside from the higher rate of suicide. It was possible they suffered heavier losses across the board concerning the Trials.
"I still say we shouldn't trust this guy!" Kamio interjected in a huff.
Tachibana frowned, "Akira-kun, we talked about this. From what An says," he directed to Momo. "You're familiar with how Tengoku works?"
Momo took a seat in one of the available desk chairs, trying to lessen the tension in the room as Kamio's temper simmered. If he didn't look ready to attack them, it may put some of the more flighty members at ease - in this case, everyone but An and her brother. The Seigaku junior nodded in the affirmative, connecting the dots and starting to understand why this little meeting had been executed in the first place.
"You guys don't know anyone else that's in the know, huh?" Momo mused.
Tachibana's pleasant expression faltered, looking almost pained. "Well, Uchimura-kun was kind enough to fill us in on the first night... But he didn't make it past the Second Trial."
"Ah," Momo grunted in understanding. "Sorry about your friend."
He wasn't really, but he could fake it well enough.
Tachibana paused briefly to compose himself but forged on soon enough. "To be honest, Momoshirou-kun, it's because of the Second Trial that I... Well, I suppose I became a bit more curious on how things worked around here."
Momo perked up, eyeing Tachibana carefully. The Fudoumine senior appeared to be trying to keep up the appearance of being genial, but there was something very focused about the way he was evaluating the Seigaku boy across from him. There was a certain aura of authority that the boy gave off, as evidenced by the way his peers had yet to interrupt his conversation.
"What do you mean?" Momo prodded.
"From what Uchimura explained, the Trials were infallible - you either passed and survived, or failed and died," Tachibana said. "In short - Trials cannot make mistakes."
This was starting to enter dangerous territory. Momo recognized it well enough, as did the other Fudoumine members: Ishida was gripping his staff tightly, Ibu's expression was defiantly blank as he stared straight at Momo, and Kamio had begun tapping out a rhythm against the wall he leaned on. An remained next to her brother but her posture spoke of one ready to launch into an attack if provoked.
Momo wondered if she'd be able to draw her bow quick enough to stop him from throwing a grenade.
Tachibana continued on, "Which is odd, because from eyewitness accounts - the Second Trial did make a mistake. And a Seigaku freshman escaped unscathed."
Momo snorted. He couldn't help it - the idea of Echizen running from something was laughable. The monster was probably just trying to escape him, he thought in amusement.
Tachibana cocked his head. "Is this...funny?"
"Kind of," Momo admitted. "But I've been told my sense of humor is terrible." Oishi was so snippy these days, really. "Don't you think you're asking the wrong person about all of this? I wasn't in that room with Echizen either, you know."
"And yet you don't deny knowing how he did it," Tachibana returned evenly. "Which means you know far more than anyone else in this school, Momoshirou-kun."
"Everyone knows how chummy you are with the freshmen," An pointed out.
Momo grinned, "They're not that hard to talk to, they really aren't! Everyone just doesn't want to give them a chance, is all!"
"The devotion to Echizen is suspicious," Ishida put in. "We only have eight freshmen - and each one refuses to talk to us about anything involving Echizen or the school."
"Did you ever think that's because you're approaching it like you have a problem with it?" Momo suggested blithely. He fixed each Fudoumine student with a knowing look, lips pulled up into a small smirk that had Kamio's hackles raised. "What's so terrible about being loyal to your friends?"
Silence descended after that statement. Ishida didn't look very convinced, and both Kamio and Ibu just looked like they'd rather bash Momo's head in than converse any longer. An was giving this statement some thought, though - her lips had settled into a small frown as she tried to recount her past attempts at talking to the freshmen students. Tachibana's gaze was even, carefully thinking about what he would say next - some counter-claim, Momo was sure.
"If you're so interested in Echizen, I'm sure I can arrange a meeting of sorts," Momo suggested brightly.
Tachibana stilled completely.
An's eyes were wide, "You can do that?"
"Connections are important in a place like this," Momo stated efficiently. This was why he was brought here in the first place, made one of the forerunners in a plan that was just coming to fruition. Where Echizen hid, where Kaidoh remained a stable rock to work from - Momo must be able to expand, to draw others in so that, at the very least, their broken bodies could be used to surmount what stood between them and their goal.
"An alliance?" Tachibana proposed.
"What could it hurt?" Momo agreed with a small laugh.
Tachibana breathed out, looking tired. Momo could only guess at the stress the other boy must be feeling - being made de facto leader while remaining as ignorant as the rest had to be terrible for one's health. He seemed the efficient sort, though, and a reliable person was always a better ally than foe.
"We would not be adverse to such an arrangement," Tachibana said.
"As long as you bastards keep up your end of it!" Kamio sharply interjected. Tachibana only gave him a look to settle the younger boy back down.
Momo shrugged in acceptance, "Fair enough. I can arrange the meeting."
"If you would," Tachibana nodded.
Momo stood, satisfied with what he believed work well done. Not bad, if he said so himself: an alliance between another dorm, the fine-tuning of a solid base within Seigaku itself, and all of the beginning pieces falling into place nicely. He was getting a good lead starting out, to his pleasant surprise.
"Momoshirou-kun?"
Momo paused in his stroll to the door, glancing back at Tachibana who remained seated at the desk. He was looking over at Momo curiously, as if trying to puzzle something out but finding the pieces unsuitable.
"Are you so sure of yourself because Echizen is on your side?" he asked quietly.
A pause - then Momo threw back his head and laughed. It was long and hard, deep guffaws that seemed to bounce off the walls and rebound down the desolate corridors of the Fudoumine dorm. The laughter subsided into choked chuckles, but the wide grin on the junior's face never dissipated.
"That brat, on my side?" Momo echoed, unable to stifle his snickers. He gifted Tachibana with a look bordering on manic, not bothering to leash himself; the Fudoumine leader stifled his reaction to cringe, uncomfortable with the expression.
"Tachibana-san," Momo began. "If nothing else, remember this when you meet him: Echizen is on no one's side but his own."
Rumors circulated surprisingly fast in a school of mortally-afraid students. Echizen Ryoma, the Seigaku freshman that had turned a Black Door to White - and had walked out alone. There were whispers that the boy was strange and terrifying, that he had some kind of hold over his entire class; not a single Seigaku freshman ever spoke ill of him and always looked to Echizen for guidance.
No one knew his Word. No one was foolish enough to ask him.
Fuji had been approached privately more times than he dared count, questioned by his peers on his roommate's power. Fuji had only shook his head and admitted he was no more knowledgeable than they were, to some students' irritation. One Shitenhouji third year had frowned, fingering the bandages wrapped around his left arm as if weighing the merits of pushing further. Fuji had tensed, not quite willing to believe the worst in this total stranger but knowing better than to let his guard down. The Seigaku senior needn't have worried - Kaidoh had skulked up the stairs, lips twisted into a scowl as he glared over at the intruder on Seigaku grounds. The Shitenhouji student left without further probing, casting the snake-like boy a scrutinizing look as he passed.
More than anything else, Fuji felt he was missing something. Some basic understanding of his new surroundings that he couldn't quite grasp but yet he always felt so painfully aware of; it was not the last traces of ignorance on how Tengoku Academy worked, not the basic understanding of needing to pass the Trials that his peers so often discussed - it was something deeper, a meaning he was missing even as it stared him right in the face.
No first years had questioned him. It was one of the first things Fuji realized after two straight days of people asking about Echizen. Second years and third years from all sections, of both genders, regardless of their prior knowledge of Tengoku. Not a single freshman, however; they dare not even glance at him. The ones in Seigaku barely registered their upperclassmen as existing; they ghosted around the dormitory, quiet as they conversed amongst each other and openly eyeing any upperclassmen who drew near them.
Not that Fuji quite trusted anyone yet as well. Tezuka and the others were fine; Momo and Kaidoh, however, were something else. Fuji trusted the two juniors enough to believe what they said about the school but not enough to trust his back to either. Momo's connection to Echizen remained unclear and the boy laughed away any requests for clarifications. Kaidoh was properly respectful and even sweet, if some of Inui's candid observations of his roommate were anything to go by - but the methodic way in which Kaidoh trained every day with his Word was too unusual to be considered a product of justified paranoia. Fuji did not make a habit of keeping tabs on either junior, but he saw them around just enough to realize that they had established relations with the freshmen. Given the fact that no one else had, seeing as each freshman student was so aware of Echizen's attention, this put both Seigaku juniors under suspicion from Fuji's side.
It was a strained situation, Fuji readily admitted to himself. Echizen was hardly ever in their room enough to actually talk to, returning late into the night if he ever returned at all. In the freshman's absence, Fuji had once rifled through the boy's belongings; his drawers were filled with only the school uniform, the required bathing supplies, and a bevy of wristbands. The only personal items were the books atop the dresser and the cat picture.
The books themselves were a mystery. One looked to be the common dictionary - but once Fuji flipped through the pages, he saw nothing but a disorganized jumble of letters and numbers, as if they had been printed out by a malfunctioning computer. The second book was recognizable: Le Petit Prince, even though it was in its original French. The third and final book had unsettled Fuji the most, however: it was smaller than the previous two, the black cover worn with age and over-use, the pages yellowed by exposure. On each page, from the very first to the very last, printed over and over in the exact same font and size was one phrase:
I will tear your wings asunder.
Page after page was filled with this one sentence, lining the book cover to cover. Fuji felt as if someone had run a cold hand down his back as his eyes flickered over the repeating mantra. It was printed neatly and concisely - clearly not done by human hand - but the book was otherwise devoid of any other words or possible sites of origin. He had placed it back in the spot Echizen left it, the icy feeling in the cavity of his chest leaving him as soon as he'd stopped looking upon it.
Fuji gave in to his urge to sigh, running a hand through his hair. Tezuka glanced back at him questioningly, although the Seigaku senior still had half his attention on his study materials. Homework was optional in Tengoku - probably so they'd have more time to train or get through Trials - but self-study was encouraged, especially given that they had an exam to keep them up-to-task every other week. There were already study groups forming among the sections - freshmen once again being the only ones to ever do cross-section anything - for all of the subjects taught.
Their own group had enough varied talents and were astute enough that they had no need to find others. Kawamura and Fuji were both exceptional in mathematics and English, Tezuka had a talent for literature, Inui for the general sciences, and Kikumaru held a keen intellect for history. They were all average or above in most classes, and given that if they survived until graduation, getting into a career or university wasn't much of a concern anymore.
While they did study - at least three hours a day, excluding the days when Trials occurred - they tended to put their education on the backburner to devote more time and attention to training with their Words. Kikumaru spent half his time in cat-form now - usually of the housecat variety - although he shifted into the more ferocious felines just to experiment.
Kawamura remained wary of his own power, not desiring a repeat of a backlash. He worked on controlling his word from the smallest size: a fire from a lighter. Oddly enough, this had lured in some cross-section contact courtesy of Akutsu Jin, who would ask Kawamura for a light for his cigarette. How the Yamabuki senior had even managed to get the cigarette in the first place was unknown, but Kawamura seemed pleased with the expansion of his contacts so the others saw no need to jeopardize it.
Tezuka had been hard at work on concentrating mass into a singularity, creating tiny black holes that pulled in only the select few objects Tezuka willed them to. The bespectacled senior wasn't yet confident enough to risk creating a "Tezuka Zone," as Kikumaru had taken to calling them, close to another person. Although all preliminary tests had proven he could pull in any small number of objects, or one large object if he tried hard enough - he was neither able or willing to see if his Word had the ability to amass another human being.
Inui seemed to be having the most fun out of the seniors, pulling up information in his notebook with only a precursory observation. His 'DATA' wasn't limited to Trials, he'd figured out - he was able to pull up some of Kawamura's personal information by simply wanting it. There were holes, as Kawamura had pointed out - but all of the basic information (height, weight, blood type, etc. - it was more like a hospital record) were correct. Inui had tried it on the others, as well as Kaidoh and Momo; there it was discovered the two juniors had been in the same class starting from kindergarten. That had practically screamed conspiracy at Fuji, but Momo had merely waved it off with a resentful "I can never escape his ugly mug!" (Kaidoh much reciprocated that statement.)
Trying to gather 'DATA' on others was more complex. Inui had tried his first external-group experiment on Echizen, as the freshman was present in the Courtyard when Inui went scouting for possible guinea pigs, but the only information that showed up was his name. (Momo's laughing, "We should have expected that, we really should have!" did nothing to stifle suspicion.) And only a minute after Inui had attempted to get the freshman's information, Echizen had looked over at them with this galling smirk. Subsequent tests done on the freshmen with Echizen (Osakada, Ryuuzaki, Katou, and Rikkai's Urayama) yielded the same lack of results.
"Perhaps his Word can block or limit mine," Inui noted to himself, adding this information to the page on Echizen himself. "If another Word can affect my own, then it's possible a Trial can as well... I will have to be more careful. I cannot just blindly believe the information given anymore." Data can change, Inui mused internally. He should have known that.
Fuji was a bit more candid with his own training. Now, sprawled over Tezuka's bed as he was - he'd had nothing better to do, given that Kikumaru had accompanied Oishi to the Nurse's Office to be present for the boy's own training - he let his eyes wander over the other male.
Tezuka was tall and lean. His legs were long and fit with muscle, built from tennis practice and honed from exercise he had yet to cease. Pale skin stretched from head to toe, blemishless despite their age. His features were sharp, eyes narrowed just enough to be considered the picture of beautiful masculinity. His hair was a lighter shade of brown, sometimes streaked with gold in the sunlight, naturally wind-swept and silky. The narrow bridge of his nose held up his glasses, his lips somewhat thin but a light pink hue and unchapped. Sharp, rounded chin, and his thin brows held the fine lines of too much frowning between them. Long, slender fingers with trim nails, lightly-muscled arms attached to broad shoulders.
"Tezuka," Fuji started. "You are unfairly handsome."
Tezuka turned - likely to ask what his friend was going on about - but his words died in his throat at the sight of the other boy. His reflection stared back at him, donned in the same uniform but lacking his spectacles. The mischevious smile on his own lips was enough to clue him in to the abrupt image.
"Oh," said the not-Tezuka. "You have a mole on the left side of your neck."
A mole showed up in the exact place only a blink later on the copy. Tezuka could feel a headache coming on. Fuji-as-Tezuka stood from the bed, looking down at his new body with a growing smile. "Well, this could entertain me on some lonely nights."
"Fuji," Tezuka began warningly.
Fuji-as-Tezuka gifted the original with a smirk bordering on sinful. The sight of it on his own face made Tezuka want to cringe. "But I could find all your sweet spots, Tezuka!"
"Turn back. Now." Tezuka's limit: reached.
Fuji did so with a small laugh, his features effortlessly melting back into his own.
"You ruin all my fun."
Truth be told, Momo was doing quite good for his first week. He'd pretty much firmly entrenched himself with what he knew to be some of the most promising of the Seigaku seniors, even though the group was still wary of him. After the Second Trial, however, they came to trust him a bit more. It probably helped that he had Kaidoh on his side, as his fellow junior was more courteous and had gotten on Inui's good side.
When they'd first arrived, Momo hadn't had much hope for the Seigaku senior class as a whole. No one he'd known had gotten in so he'd pretty much assumed they'd die out as the time went by. Running into them during the First Trial had sparked his interest, but it was Kaidoh's own observations of his roommate and the group at large that cemented Momo's investment. Momo liked all of his upperclassmen. They were interesting and their reactions to Tengoku were pretty entertaining.
Still, he liked his underclassmen more.
"Hey, kiddos!" Momo greeted enthusiastically, throwing open the door to the dorm room. "What are you guys up to?"
And of course he'd have a gun pointed at his face. The barrel of the firearm was less than a meter away, held by a scowling Tomoka with one finger on the trigger.
"Oh, it's only you, Momo-senpai," Katou said in mild surprise. (Momo was amused that Tomoka still did not lower her gun, though.) The freshman boy was sitting on one of the beds, next to Sakuno who had an open notebook laid on her lap and had apparently been taking notes. Across from them on the opposite bed were a bemused-looking Horio and Rokkaku's energetic Aoi Kentarou. Standing in front of the one window was Katsuo, who had only glanced back at Momo's entrance but returned his placid stare to the outside.
"It's rude to barge into someone's room without permission," came the dry reproach from the boy seated at one of the desks. Echizen's bored look never wavered as he met the junior's eyes.
Momo waved it off with a wide grin, "I'm sure Horio and Katou don't mind! Right, guys?"
"I mind if Ryoma-kun doesn't like it," Katou answered dutifully.
Horio snorted, "Since when does Momo-senpai care about our opinion?"
Momo just laughed good-naturedly. Echizen sighed, a flash of irritation crossing his features before it settled back into a deadpan look. "What do you want, Momo-senpai?"
"Why do I have to want something to spend time with you, Echizen?" Momo quipped, but continued at Echizen's pointed stare. "You've caused a ruckus."
"And?" Echizen prompted.
Momo shrugged, "Well, I don't really mind - it's pretty funny, after all. But don't you think it's a bit too early for all of this? They'll be watching you even more closely now, especially after what happened with Sakurafubuki. If you get too out of hand, they'll do more than just spectate, they really will," Momo continued calmly. "And you aren't ready for that yet."
Echizen scowled, "Who are you to tell me what I'm ready for?"
Momo closed the distance between them, slamming his hands down on the desk and leaning close to stare into golden eyes. "I'm your friend and the only one with enough guts in this entire school to tell you to your face what the reality is."
Momo leaned back - having ignored the click of Tomoka's gun as she cocked it - and held Echizen's gaze. "Get yourself back under control, Echizen - even you have your limits. If you become so enthralled with your own power, you'll end up just like Ryoga."
For a split-second, Echizen stilled completely. Then the freshman glanced about the room with hardened eyes, catching the freshmen's attentions. "All of you - leave."
There were no protests, although whether that stemmed from Echizen's clear displeasure or that the boy had trained them well enough was unclear. Each freshman filed out of the room without a sound, never giving either of the boys left inside a fleeting look. Once the door shut softly behind Katsuo's departing steps, Echizen turned his attention back to Momo.
"I know that was a low blow," Momo began softly, sitting down at the other desk and looking over at the freshman with tired eyes. "And I'm sorry for saying it, but you have to know you're treading a fine line now. Even Viper is worried."
Echizen didn't look very concerned, staring at Momo evenly. "You two need to focus on your own mission and stop concerning yourselves with what I'm doing. I don't need you guys getting in my way."
Momo's eyebrow ticked in irritation, "Did it ever occur to you that we could help?"
"Stay out of it," Echizen warned, voice low and dangerous. Momo had to stifle the urge to shirk back at the boy's tone. "I have what I need. Anything more and it will be a burden."
Momo sighed, leaning back in his chair and looking up towards the ceiling. A taut silence stretched between them for several minutes, Momo thinking over what to say and Echizen not inclined to start a conversation.
"I heard that Dan was being obnoxious. Should we warn him?" Momo asked.
Echizen snorted, "Don't bother. He knows better than to get himself entangled in things beyond him." The freshman's expression relaxed back into a state of idle curiosity, "Did you hear that from the seniors? I've noticed you hanging around with them."
Momo grinned, looking pleased. "Some of them are really interesting, you know? Very interesting! Especially Tezuka-senpai and that roommate of your's - I totally had them pegged to die during the First Trial."
Echizen leaned his head against his fist, propping his elbow atop the desk. "Tezuka-senpai's Word is interesting. To be able to use 'CONCENTRATION' offensively like he had... Dan was impressed."
Momo frowned, "You don't think Dan will cross borders, do you? We need him to maintain his hold in Yamabuki."
"He won't. He's invested too much in that white-haired maniac to switch over," Echizen dismissed. It was amazing to Momo, how bored the boy could sound when discussing their carefully-laid plans - as if Echizen hadn't sacrificed everything he was to get to this position.
Momo couldn't even begin to imagine it. As it was, he could barely handle his own role; he was scared he would mess up along the way and send the whole deal crashing and burning. That was why he had been partnered with Kaidoh; where Momo was sociable and eager, Kaidoh was patient and reliable.
"The seniors can be useful," Momo said casually. The smile on his face was almost feral with the way his eyes seemed to glint like steel. His entire body language seemed to dictate he was on the prowl - a hunter, through and through. Echizen would not have accepted any less.
"Then use them," Echizen ordered softly.
Day 7
Attending Students: 333
Deceased Students: 0
Students Remaining: 333
毒を以って毒を制する。
"Use a poison to overcome a poison."
A/N: Devious Momo is devious.
Note 1) Echizen's Three Books: These books are so important to the plot it is ridiculous. I'll let you guys chew on their significance, because you won't know what's going on with them for awhile~!
Note 2) Aphorism: As mentioned in the very first chapter - yes, this is a fanfic based off of Aphorism with TeniPuri characters. (Read my Author's Notes, dangit! XD) But as you can see, it's starting to veer off from Aphorism canon and into its own wonderful world of AU. This will be more apparent as it goes on.
Note 3) Ryoma's Word: Very important to the Plot, and considering you guys have barely seen the actual plot of this story, you're in for the long haul. Here's some hints, 'cause I love you all:
- It's not Tomonaga's Word. (Ryoma is clearly based off of his attitude but his reasons are a completely different. And as much as I love Tomonaga, he was kind of a crazy bitch. XD)
- It's not going to be an obvious power, i.e. "God" or "Death".
Note 4) Fuji's Power: He slowly builds it up, but just wait until you see him use it for his own ends. It's all rather...nefarious, actually...
Note 5) Rikkai, Hyoutei, etc.: Everyone makes an appearance eventually. EVERYONE. (I only tend to kill minor characters off screen - sorry, Uchimura.)
Note 6) Tengoku Gakuen: "Tengoku (天国)" translates loosely into "paradise", so the name of the school can be read as "Paradise Academy". However, it can also be read as something along the lines of "Heaven Prison" (天獄), using the first kanji of "paradise" (the "ten 天" in "tengoku 天国") and the last kanji for "Hell" (the "goku 獄" in"jigoku 地獄"). I like to think of it along the lines of "Heaven's Prison" but I'm not quite sure I can manipulate kanji meanings to read like that...
Note 7) "Use poison to overcome poison." : Basically means to use shady means to deal with shady problems.
Questions, comments, speculation, criticisms? Then...
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