Idyllic Dystopia

Because of a few particularly endearing reviews, I felt like I owed you people something. So here is another update, right after I updated the day before! Isn't this just lovely? I apologize for its briefness, which has been complained/mentioned in some reviews. XD I'll see if I can lengthen the chapters following this one.

This story is either going to be AtoRyo or FujiRyo.

And for Raraikii, I changed the BC and AD to BCE and BC, and I'm sorry for my mistake. I, however, actually live in Canada. XD

x Seriatim Affair

Atobe sat in his class, watching his teacher's mouth open and close as he talked about poetry.

Atobe wasn't taking in any of it. His mind wasn't on poetry at all. But he couldn't help it.

It was focused, instead, on a particular capped freshman of Seigaku.

Atobe prided himself on knowing a lot, whether about tennis, or school subjects, or about his friends and classmates.

And the fact that he still didn't know why Echizen had disappeared and then reappeared irked him. Greatly.

He didn't know why it was bothering him so much. Echizen wasn't even from his school. But there was something about the cocky brat that just distracted him, the way he smirked, the mocking way in which he'd say 'mada mada da ne', the antisocial glare...

Perhaps it was because Echizen was one of the few people that Atobe would consider on his level in tennis?

Atobe watched the second hand of the clock on the wall slowly move by, ticking away the time until the bell signalling lunch would ring. The teacher still droned on and on about some irrelevant thing, talking about sonnets and haikus...

'Hey. Atobe.'

Atobe looked up from his desk, and noticed that he had fallen asleep. He said arrogantly, 'What is it, Oshitari?'

Oshitari Yuushi raised an eyebrow. 'The bell rang.'

'Ah.'

Oshitari commented, 'If you're that worried about Echizen, you might as well go and check up on him after school.'

Atobe stared at Oshitari, astounded. He had known that Oshitari was a genius, but... to understand Atobe to that extent...

'You were sleep talking, Atobe,' Oshitari finished with a smirk. 'Quite audibly.'

Atobe harrumphed and left the room.

x

Ryoma sat by himself on the grassy field, leaning against a tall Japanese maple. At least in the field nobody would bother him, or so he hoped. He looked back at the school, certain that in one of the rooms, his tennis club senpai-tachi were discussing the cause of his unwillingness to join the tennis club.

He had been worried for a moment, when he saw Inui, the data man of Seigaku. What if Inui recognised his symptoms? Luckily enough for Ryoma, Inui hadn't questioned him about anything, or Ryoma might not have been able to make up a suitable lie in time. He wasn't the world's best liar.

He opened his bag to find a bento with a note attached, written in what he distinguished as his mother's writing. He quickly read it in his head.

Ryoma-

I packed your bag for you. I hope I didn't forget any of the school stuff you needed. If you're feeling unwell at all or tired, call Nanako immediately. Be careful and don't strain yourself!

Try your best to finish the bento though.

-Kaa-san

Opening the bento, Ryoma found an elaborate lunch. Picking up the chopsticks that had come with the bento, he looked at the food, finding that he didn't have much of an appetite.

'Oi! Echizen!'

Ryoma groaned, and saw Momo running up towards him. Perhaps the senpai-tachi weren't discussing about him then.

'What is it?' Ryoma asked in an apathetic tone, putting his bento and chopsticks away in his bag. He could finish it some time later.

Momo's face was serious, a drastic contrast from his usual cheerful expression. 'Why are you not joining the tennis club?'

Ryoma shrugged. 'Don't want to.'

'Echizen-' Momo started, but then the school bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.

Ryoma said readily, 'I think that I better get going, Momo-senpai.' He quickly snatched his bag up from the ground and walked towards the building, leaving Momo standing by himself.

Ryoma knew he was being ridiculous, even as he walked off. He knew that everyone would find out eventually.

But that didn't stop him from trying to prolong the time in which nobody else knew anything.

x

Fuji sat in class, not really paying attention the teacher's ramblings. Though he held a pen in his hand, the page that he was supposed to be writing notes on was completely empty.

He felt somebody poke him in his side, and turned to see Eiji, who handed him a sheet of paper.

Fuji put it onto his desk, and read it quickly.

Do you think ochibi is okay?

Fuji wrote a reply, keeping an eye on the teacher to make sure she wasn't watching him.

I don't know, Eiji.

Fuji handed the paper back to Eiji, who scribbled something down, and passed it over.

Do you think he's sick? I don't understand why ochibi doesn't want to play tennis any more.

Fuji frowned slightly upon reading said reply, opening his azure blue eyes to reflect upon the words. He didn't understand why Ryoma didn't want to play tennis either... And he didn't enjoy the feeling of not understanding. He was about to write down an answer when his teacher called him.

'Fuji-san, would you mind reading us the notes you've taken on my current topic?' The teacher asked, smiling quite vindictively.

Fuji smiled back his own innocent smile. 'Sure, sensei. The Jomon Period was from 13000 BCE to 300 BCE. The name of the periods comes from the name of the era's pottery. The period that comes after this is the Yayoi Period, which is from 300 BCE to 300 CE.' Fuji took a pause.

'Would you like me to continue, sensei?'

'Ah, Fuji-san, that'll be enough.'

Fuji continued to smile his smile, as the teacher, a bit flustered, returned to her droning.

The smile slipped off his face though, as he started wondering about the reason for Ryoma's disappearance, and if it correlated to why he wasn't joining the tennis club.

He decided that he might as well just ask Ryoma, as his pondering wasn't bringing him anywhere.

There were only ten minutes until the end of school anyhow. Fuji was glad that he was a tensai, or the minimal amount of study notes (or rather, the nonexistent notes) that he had written down would have worried him.

x

Ryoma walked towards the gates of Seishun Gakuen. He had managed to get out of the school unnoticed by any of his senpai-tachi, thus avoiding any awkward confrontations and question-and-answer sessions. He had gotten enough of those from Tomoka during class, who had only stopped talking after the teacher yelled at her maybe twenty times or so.

He kept his eyes on the ground, trying to avoid the eyes of other, lest they became aware of his presence. He'd end up with another bunch of nosy people asking about where the brilliant Prince of Tennis had been, and other annoying questions of the like that he really didn't feel like answering.

He had almost reached the gates when-

'Echizen! Get into the limo.'

Ryoma looked with increasing dread at the smirking Atobe Keigo, standing next to a shiny black limousine right in front of the school.

x x x

Chapter 6, finished! XD I can't promise that the next update will be so soon though

Same thing as last chapter. I really appreciate reviews; they're what made me churn out this chapter so fast XDD They inspire me! XD Or so I like to believe. So, please review? -awinchan