Hi guys! Sorry I updated late. I've been preparing to go on vacation. And with that being said, I won't be uploading part II until Monday :( soooo sorry! I wanted this to be one chapter but it was too long for me so two parts it is! Please don't kill me! Thank you guys for reviewing and below is a way to help you figure who's who. 'cause it wasn't so easy to write it. I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I loved trying to figure out how it ended :P (was not fun. I did like three drafts before finally settling on this one) Love and all, AIR
Their captors aka the three men:
Isana-leader w/ green eyes
Ibuki- guy w/ gray eyes
Izumi-guy w/ brown eyes
Outside, clouds bunched together, darkening the sky. Soon, rain began to downpour. From inside, the regulars easily heard the raindrops and thunder. They were told many times that rain was a tennis player's worst enemy. But now, more than ever, they wanted to be outside in the rain. They wanted to play in the heavy storm and enjoy every moment. Freedom was starting to become a thing of the past.
The police searched the surrounding towns north of Kyoto and found nothing. That's where the signal stopped. Either the boys were being held captive in the city itself or somewhere south of Kyoto. Either way, they had little time to waste, only given a week before the kidnappers kill the young tennis players. Even so, it was a large amount of land to cover in such little of a time.
A cold hand grabbed Yukimura by the arm, jolting the captain awake. He was pushed into the narrow hallway again and into that room. "Clean up," was the last thing he heard before everything stilled again.
It hurt to move. Yukimura's back pained at every movement he made. Still, he made an effort to clean himself and dowse in the water, even if it was freezing water. Once he hit the cold ground of his cell, he wanted to pass out and continue sleeping.
Fuji was in the room washing himself down. Yukimura was exhausted and starving. He remembered that he and Fuji would receive no food for the next four days. Four long torturous days.
When the blue-eyed boy returned, he lay on stomach next to Yukimura. He was just as tired and hungry as the taller boy. They lay there side by side in silence until exhaustion forced them back to sleep, like they cared. They hadn't had much rest in the past few days.
Marui, Momo, and Ryoma tried their best to keep their eyes off of everybody else's food tray. Their stomachs growled uncontrollably. Marui was having the hardest time out of the three players. He had gone five full days without sweets and swore he was suffering from a withdrawal.
A few cells down, Tezuka and Sanada sat across from eachother, arms crossed, and wore the same emotionless face. Only this time, there was a hint of determination.
"What do you the chances are of us actually taking down one of those men when they come back?" Sanada asked, his eyes focusing on the figure in front of him.
"Why don't we ask our data specialists?" Tezuka directed his voice towards Inui's cell on the other side of the room and the opposite end. "Inui, if Sanada and I were to fight one of the men head on, what's the probability that we'll win?"
A short silence lingered before Yanagi and Inui both answered, "25%."
"There's an 88% chance that they'll have some sort of weapon with them and a 73% chance that one of them equals the strength of Taka and Momoshiro combined. So it's clear to say that the two of you will have no luck in beating one." Inui continued in detail.
"That's not all. If you do try your escape plan, which I hope you won't, there's a 100% chance that they'll gravely hurt Seiichi and Fuji. So please, don't do anything reckless." Yanagi added, three cells down from the two stoic boys.
Sanada and Tezuka found it hard to believe that their chance of escape was so slim. They just didn't want to escape; they wanted to help Fuji and Yukimura as well. Out of anything, Tezuka hated feeling useless.
Around noon, Momo and Marui were both groaning with hunger. It was only their first day and their body begged for food. Ryoma tried not to show how hungry he was. Jackal, seeing his doubles partner in great need of something to eat, wrapped up one of the water bottles and a stale piece of bread in his blazer. He slipped the food between the bars and threw it towards Marui's cell as hard as he could.
The three players unwrapped the wonderful gift from Marui's partner, the volley specialist nearly crying. "Jackal!"
Jackal nodded with a smile. Oishi and Eiji both followed Rikkai's example and hurled a piece of their meal towards Ryoma and Momo.
"We can't have you guys dying on us." Eiji called over.
Marui, Momo, and Ryoma all ate the food they were generously given ravenously, not caring if there was going to be none left for the evening, and thanking their senpais and doubles partner.
Sanada and Tezuka weren't hungry to say the least. They would've given their teammate something to eat as well if they were in the same world right then and there. They were too busy thinking of other ways to escape and rescue Yukimura and Fuji.
The sound of heavy steal doors opening disrupted their thought process. The man with green eyes stepped in followed by the other two. They walked slowly, glancing in every cell to make sure everything was okay. The green-eyed man suddenly stopped in front of Marui's cell.
"Oh? What do we have here?" He squatted down to get a better look and saw water bottles in their cell. "I don't remember giving you any sort of meal this morning. Were your friends stupid enough to actually defy you punishments? I guess blackmailing you with your own teammate isn't enough. Or is it because you don't know what's actually happening to them so you don't care? Well in that case, it can't be helped." He didn't give the regulars a chance to reply to his comments. He turned to his friends. "Get them."
Tezuka and Sanada cringed at the sight of Fuji and Yukimura. They were barely strong enough to stand up right. The two frail boys stumbled in the room, and Isana forced them to look at him straight in the eye. "What? Just a few whippings and you're already weak?" He said it mostly towards Fuji. The smaller player wasn't nearly as strong as Yukimura; therefore, Isana targeted the blue-eyed boy first.
He forcefully grabbed Fuji and threw him down, the boy cried out in pain. His left shoulder hit the ground first, the mark on his back taking most of the impact. He heard several of his friends call out to him, even some of Rikkaidai's players. Fuji then felt like a brick fell on his ribcage as the man punched him repeatedly. Some landed across his face, right under his eyes and some on his jaw. Fuji didn't appreciate the metallic taste in his mouth. He thought, as long as it only him getting beaten up, it was okay. As long as Yukimura and everyone else weren't harmed, it was okay.
When Yukimura freed himself from the grasp of the man named Ibuki, he was immediately restrained with just a pull of his hair. He felt a tip of a blade pressed against his temple.
"Don't move." A raspy voice whispered. "Or this knife's going straight through your head."
Yukimura stood still watching as the leader beat Fuji with his own two fists. Tezuka grabbed the bars of cell, hoping so badly that he'd be able to break it and save the angel being tortured by a devil's spawn.
Isana still didn't feel satisfied. Blood stained the side of Fuji's mouth and lip, and it still wasn't enough. The man stood up from the broken boy and faced the regulars, a devious smirk on his face. "Which one of you has the closest relationship with this brat?"
Tezuka's grip suddenly rattled the bar. The man holding a knife to Yukimura's head noticed the change in his atmosphere.
"Isana." Yukimura's captor shifted his eyes over to Tezuka.
The man named Isana smirked even wider. He opened up the cell that held Seigaku's captain and pulled Tezuka out in the open. "Light that." He commanded the other man, the one named Izumi. The man took out a lighter and a safety pin. He unclasped the pin and held the sharp point against the flame. "Make sure it's hot."
Tezuka didn't like where this was going. Were they going to brand him and Fuji or what? The other regulars watched in horror as the man gave Tezuka the hot needle and pushed him down towards Fuji.
"Now, you're going to mark that boy on his wrist until he bleeds, or," the pointed a handgun towards Yukimura, "that one dies."
Tezuka's eyes widened. He didn't want to. He didn't want to hurt Fuji. But Fuji wasn't even struggling, he didn't even protest, like he accepted what was going to happen to him. Those deep, captivating eyes that used to shine with life now seemed distant and afraid… and dead. Tezuka could feel Fuji's body racking with small sobs, but no tears spilled from his eyes.
"You have ten seconds." A cold voice warned. The needle slowly inched towards Fuji's wrist, the sobbing became more erratic and pleading.
He knew Fuji didn't want this; he just told his body that it was okay. "Tezuka." The captain stopped and met the eyes of his friend.
"Fuji… I-"
"Three."
"It's okay. Go on."
"But-"
"Two."
"Tezuka!" Yukimura yelled.
"Go on. I'll be fine."
"Fuji-"
"One."
